May Evaluation

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Yes
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Not really sure, Maybe half the month
• Memorize verses with the kids - No 
• Memorize Proverbs 31:10-31 and Romans 1 (I hope to add more to it, but this is where I want to start)- I read over Proverbs 31:10-31 and have 10-14 down, Have not even worked on this in May

Marriage

• Go out for a date once a month- Yes, we have been able to go on a couple!
• Go on a night away once this year- Have one planned for our 10th anniversary in less than 2 weeks
• Read 3 books together this year- We started our first book yesterday. Looking forward to it!
• Discuss plan weekly on Sunday afternoon- Sort of, getting better at it

Kids

• Spend 30 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Some, but not a lot. Right now Jim and I are working on making our marriage 1st priority, so this will come later
• Go to playgroup each Tuesday- Yes
• Take kids to Science Center or Zoo at least once a month- Yes
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- Wrote in all of their journals at least once
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- Did nothing with this during May

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- Getting back into it
• Keep up with my calendar- Did fairly well with this overall, still room for improvement
• Being fully present when with my family- This has been very hard this month with a lot going on, hoping this will get easier as we make needed adjustments

Ministry

• Continue to host Women's Prayer once a month- Yes
• Have at least 4 Childbirth Conversation classes this year- This may have been too, lofty of a goal. As of right now I might get 1 more in this year
• Start Childbirth Conversation blog- Yes! It is finally launched. You can check it out here

Personal

• Read a book a month aside from Class material- Yes! This month I read "Girl Talk" and "The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance"
• Journal 5 days a week- Not 5 days a week, but I have journaled more, and have done a lot the last couple of weeks
• Write (books) 3 days a week- Nope
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing and research publishing options- Did a little editing one day
• Complete Childbirth Conversation book- Did not work on this at all
• Plan for next novel and write in November- Worked on some planning one day!
• Finish Rosetta Stone Russian level 1 and begin Level 2- Worked on it a couple times
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- Yes! Had a nice meeting with Claire
• Blog 3 days a week- I averaged this between both blogs during this month. Hoping to write a little more next month as I learn and grow

Health

• Go to water aerobics once a week- Unable to do this this month, hoping to start back soon
• Maintain weight until birth- Gained more than I wanted, but less than previous pregnancies!
• Lose weight after giving birth- Beginning to lose the weight, but not being super active about it at the moment

May has been hard. Jim and I have both realized that we need to truly put our marriage first and so some of my other goals may be put on hold until we sort out what our new schedule needs to look like. June will be focused on God and Jim as we seek to put our priorities in the right order. God is showing us that is what needs to be done. May has been spent discovering this need for change and catapulting us quite forcefully in that direction. Praying that next month will be full of joy!

How was your May?

Happy Birthday, Jim!

Today Jim is 31! No, it's not a big birthday, but a birthday nonetheless. I'm so thankful for Jim and his desire to be more like Christ every day. It was nice having a low key day together as well as go out together yesterday. We made ribs (a tradition we started last year) that were delicious and a strawberry cake from scratch. Have I mentioned how much I appreciate that Jim can cook and bake with confidence! I'm so thankful I have a husband who can teach me things I need to know. (And Becca did a fabulous job with the ribs. Thanks for the help, Bec!)
I'm so thankful that 31 years ago, God brought Jim into this world. I'm so thankful He has saved Jim for His Kingdom. I am so blessed to do life with this man of God.

Happy Birthday, Jimbo! I love you!

1 Month Old

I cannot believe it has already been 1 month since Samuel was born. Time flies the more kids you have. He has fit right into the craziness and is very laid back most of the time. We have been so blessed that he is a good sleeper and generally get at least 5 straight hours of sleep a night! Sam is already so alert and loves to be around people and see what is going on. A few times he has already rolled from his front to his back! Sometimes I think I gave birth to a 3 month old. He is loved by his siblings, which is also a huge blessing and I pray that it continues as he grows.

Thank You, God, for giving us Sam. He is such a blessing!

Anastasia The Last Grand Duchess by Carolyn Meyer

This book was an interesting read as I love reading things from Russian history. Anyone who knows me knows this area of the world intrigues me. It was sad as you read what happened to this family. The author kept most of the characters true to history. I would have liked to hear more from the girl, but it was good for a young reader book. I look forward to sharing this book with my kids in the future.

Mother of 5!

Yesterday as I left for writing group, Samuel was with me in his car seat and my 4 older children stood at the door waving and blowing kisses. It's those moments that make you smile.

Almost 4 weeks ago I gave birth to my 5th child. How is it that I have been blessed with 5 kids? I marvel at this quite frequently as I do not deserved to be blessed. I have always desired to have a big family and in spite of my vast shortcomings God has graciously given me my hearts desire.

Today I am so thankful that God has blessed me 5 beautiful children:

Jamey my crazy 5 year old who loves to laugh and learn. He loves his Daddy and siblings. He hates to miss anything. He's beginning to make sense of the things of God.

Lillian is my beautiful 4 year old who is full of life. She is crazy and loves to share tickles. She loves to memorize Scripture, but is still learning what these Truths mean.

Reuben is my energetic 2 1/2 year old who loves to play outside and be active. He is always trying to figure out where he belongs and want to do everything the older two do.

Gabriel is my bright eyed 1 1/2 year old who is into everything. He does everything he can to get your attention, smile at you and act like he is going to the opposite of what you say, then walk away. He makes everyone smile and loves to make faces at his siblings.

Samuel is my precious new 3 1/2 week old. I'm still learning him, but I am so blessed to have him in my life. He sleeps and eats well. He is such a good baby.

These 5 kids, by God's grace, have made me a mother. I am still inadequate and have so much to learn. But by God's grace, He will help me to raise them in His ways, teach them His truth and see them all come to know Christ and do His work for the Kingdom.

Thank You, Lord, for the children You have given to me for a little while. Teach me how to raise them. Guide me by your Spirit so that I can be the mother I need to be for them.

Happy 4th Birthday Lillian!

Today our precious Lillian is 4 years old! It is hard to believe that it's been 4 years since she joined our family. The smallest of our children at birth, she has the biggest personality. Lillian is full of life, smiles and laughs. She loves her family and to be the center of attention. Being the only girl she definitely has a lot of girl flair, but having 4 brothers she is also rough and tumble. She is sensitive and tough. She really likes having Aunt Bec-bec fix her hair in braids, buns and pony-tails.

Lillian loves to memorize Scripture and even takes pride in knowing her verses. She enjoys reading "Excellent Wife" and women's books with her mama. She knows truth and enjoys giving the answer "Jesus" to all questions, whether it applies or not. She also enjoys asking lots of questions. I love her sense of curiosity most of the time.

It is fun to see Lillian wanting to do things like Jamey, but also beginning to learn what she enjoys and coming into her own. Recently she has learned that she enjoys playing dance games and Wii sports. Not only does she enjoy them, but she is really good at them. It is fun to see her excel in something!

Lillian is also a wonderful cheerleader. She encourages everyone no matter how good or bad they do. There are always plenty of high 5's to be given when she is playing with you.

She is already in practice to be a mother. It is a challenge teaching Lillian that she is the sister and not the mom, but I hope to teach her how to be a mom as I intercede.

Lillian is such a blessing and I pray that God will mold her into His child, penetrating her heart of stone and giving her a heart of flesh that seeks Him in all things and makes her like Jesus. I am so thankful that God has given Lillian to us for a little while to teach, train and guide. I look forward to seeing her grow and blossom into who God has created her to be.

April Blessings

I have many things to be thankful for during April, but having a baby I have forgotten to write many of them down. Here's what I can recall.

• Having Samuel Hezekiah
• Jamey growing in responsibility
• Reuben doing much better as using the toilet
• The kids responding well to Sam
• Samuel sleeping really well at night
• Mom being able to come up and help for a few days
• Celebrating Rachel and Becca's birthday
• Celebrating our Risen Savior with our church Family
• God's mercy and grace to us as our family grew
• Sam being born before Good Friday and Easter

God has been so good to us. I know there is much more, but my brain is struggling!

April Evaluation

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Most days it was "HELP ME!" all day long
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Maybe most days. 
• Memorize verses with the kids - Some
• Memorize Proverbs 31:10-31 and Romans 1 (I hope to add more to it, but this is where I want to start)- I read over Proverbs 31:10-31 and have 10-14 down, still working on getting this in my daily routine

Marriage

• Go out for a date once a month- Yes
• Go on a night away once this year- No, need to figure out when this might be possible
• Read 3 books together this year- We have not started any yet
• Discuss plan weekly on Sunday afternoon- Sort of

Kids

• Spend 30 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Due to the nature of the month this did not happen every week, but we have gotten some good one on one time in with the kids here and there
• Go to playgroup each Tuesday- I think we went once
• Take kids to Science Center or Zoo at least once a month- Nope
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- No writing this month
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- Did nothing with this during April

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- Not much at all
• Keep up with my calendar- Did fairly well with this overall, still room for improvement
• Being fully present when with my family- This was challenging, but I was able to some

Ministry

• Continue to host Women's Prayer once a month- I had to cancel in April, sadly. Looking forward to May
• Have at least 4 Childbirth Conversation classes this year- I've had 1 this year and hope to get in 3 more after the baby is born
• Start Childbirth Conversation blog- Yes! It is finally launched. You can check it out here

Personal

• Read a book a month aside from Class material- Yes! This month I read "Girl Talk" and "The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance"
• Journal 5 days a week- No, I did not journal much at all sadly
• Write (books) 3 days a week- Nope
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing and research publishing options- No
• Complete Childbirth Conversation book- Did not work on this at all
• Plan for next novel and write in November- Worked on some planning one day!
• Finish Rosetta Stone Russian level 1 and begin Level 2- Have done a few days of Russian and still remember most of it!
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- We weren't able to meet in April. Looking forward to our May meeting 
• Blog 3 days a week- I did this on both blogs during the beginning of the month, but after the baby I have taken a little hiatus 

Health

• Go to water aerobics once a week- Just the first week, and will not be able to return until June
• Maintain weight until birth- Gained more than I wanted, but less than previous pregnancies!
• Lose weight after giving birth- Beginning to lose the weight, but not being super active about it at the moment

April has been wonderful and hard all at the same time! We welcomed our 5th child, Samuel Hezekiah on April 15th. Before that was super busy with Jim's classes and him going to a conference as well as being pregnant and more than ready to have the baby. My focus was on making it through the day and so many of my projects went by the wayside. After having Sam, it was a challenging recovery as my birth was harder than expected. In the last few days I have begun to feel more normal and have started working on a few things again. It has been an exciting month filled with challenges, but I could not be more thankful for what God has taught me during this month.

How was April for you?