Out of Chaos....A Necessity

Order

I used to think that these kinds of schedules were awesome...for someone else.

I have tried numerous "schedules" and "routines" over the years, but nothing clicked.

Until...

 

This Baby.

My, oh my, is he a cutie!

And, it was because of him (and his five siblings) that I felt the need to be a tad bit more organized.

Enter...

This guy.

My, oh my, is he a babe!

He's really good with schedules and organization too.

He called to check in on how things were going the first day of our homeschool.

 

Chaotic.  

 

That about summed it up.

 

 He told me to stop schooling for the day and wait until he got home that night to come up with a plan.

Gladly.

That evening we made up the "Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday Schedule."  (He had already helped me come up with the cleaning/chore schedules previously.)

 

I can't say that I was super excited about the color coordinated schedule while we were making it up.  In fact, I had a headache, I was grumpy, and I just wanted to get in bed.  I may have even told him how it probably wouldn't work because...it just wouldn't.  So there.

 

BUT 

The next morning I woke up with my alarm and got the day started...and we've been on schedule (mostly) ever since.  It's been a month and the kids and I are liking this schedule.  

 

Everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing, and we all know that school will be done around the same time each day.  Woo Hoo!

 

I'm not completely fanatical about the schedule.  It doesn't rule me.  For example, this morning, I woke up with (another) raging headache (typical for me while nursing) with ringing ears and dizziness, so I took a nap while our oldest babysat the little ones and the boys watched shows.  Some days you have to do what you have to do to survive.  :)

Anyway, 

That's what we've been up to.

That, and...

This.

 

Go get 'em #35!

 

Nice tackle, Jonny!

 

Enjoying Fall,

First Day of School Pictures - 2015

Baby Gerrit

These are my students.  

They look like trouble this year.  ;)

 

 

Camping With An Awesome Nursing Cover - Discount Offered!

Recently we went camping for 8 days.  

That's the longest camping trip our family has ever taken.  We all survived - and even thrived!

We had a fun time with just the 8 of us for the first couple of days and then with a great group of friends for the rest of the trip. 

In the second picture you'll see that I have a black and white striped thing on my head.  That "thing" was a life saver for this trip.

Have you ever heard of Covered Goods Nursing Covers?

Best nursing cover ever!

Seriously.

I have tried numerous covers over the past 11 years, and this cover is BY FAR my absolute favorite.

It is lightweight for hot summer days and super soft for delicate baby skin.  

It FULLY covers you - front and back - and the baby so there are no embarrassing/revealing moments when you are nursing in public.

It also makes it super easy to walk around while nursing.

Touring Maple Moon Sugary in Petoskey, MI

While we were on vacation, we went on three different tours.  I was comfortably able to participate in each one because of this nursing cover.

Touring Kilwins in Petoskey, MI

Some of my friends kept teasing me that they wouldn't know who I was unless I had that "striped thing" on.  :)

Cute hats, hey?!  ;)

I contacted Covered Goods to see if I could get some sort of offer for my blog-reading friends so they could buy one of these awesome covers for themselves or as a gift at a discounted price, and they said yes!

Watching the dads and kids play in the annual camping soccer game

You can get 15% off if you buy a cover (or a few!) today, August 26, through Saturday, August 29.

Just put in the code dearlylovedmist15 at checkout.

I've already bought two covers (at full price - one for myself and one for a gift) and I intent to buy more - that's how great these covers are!

Head on over to Covered Goods to see the cute patterns.

Don't forget to purchase by the 29th or the offer won't be valid anymore.

Enjoy!

p.s.  If you want to pay with Paypal, go to "checkout" instead of clicking right on the paypal link and it will take you through some steps where you can enter the code to receive your discount on the Covered Goods website before you go to Paypal. 

Our 6 Kids

This picture just makes me laugh!

Some of us are adjusting to life with this new little one better than others.  ;)

She ADORES her new little brother, but she also knows that things are different and has been reacting with a stronger will lately.

Knowing that life will take on a "new normal" in a number of weeks (or months) and feeling grateful for all that the Lord has given us,

Finally, He Is Here!

Gerrit Olaf

 

(Named after Nate's great grandpa and part of my maiden name, not after the Frozen snowman, although Gerrit does like warm hugs ;) )

 

Born on July 23, 2015
9lbs 7oz

21 1/4 inches

Adored (and smothered) by all.

We love our "little" guy!!!

Girl Picture Post (Mostly)

Emilia, the older baker (click on link to see funny videos of her baking at age 7)

Always wants to "poo-poo on potty" and while she's only actually tinkled twice, she thinks she's pretty hot stuff up there.  :)

So funny!

21 weeks pregnant with #6

Oldest and youngest

 

Baby #6 is a ...

We enjoy finding out the gender of our babies while they are in the womb.

We've found out for 5 of our 6 kids.

Matthew, our 3rd, was the only exception.  We figured that we had a girl and a boy, so we didn't mind not knowing so much since we had all the stuff for either gender.

But, after not finding out, we decided that we like knowing ahead of time so we can stop calling the baby "it".  ;) 

We like two surprises.  One half way through and one at the end. 

Anyway, that's what we like to do, so if you're opposed to people finding out...don't continue on with this post because I'm going to spoil the surprise.  ;)

Who Knew? Certainly Not Me...

Who knew, 12.5 years ago, when this picture was taken

that I'd spend many mornings sitting on our couch looking at this same picture, thanking God for that faithful man, while holding our babies.  Most recently, this sweet little girl. 

Our 5th.

I used to say that I only wanted 3 or 4 kids.  Hurts my heart that if I had gotten what my younger self thought I wanted...I would have missed having her.

And, who knew that I'd be pregnant with our 6th?  

Goodness.

Glad to be getting over the first trimester awfulness when the most common thing that comes out of my mouth - besides puke - is "this is our LAST child!"

I think I said that (over and over again) in at least three of our pregnancies.
Ironic.

This was taken a couple weeks ago at 11 weeks pregnant.  I am currently 13.5 weeks along.

I never would have guessed that we'd have 5, soon to be 6 kids (Lord willing). 

The year that Nate and I were engaged, I did my student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom.  There was a cute little red-headed boy in the class who had 5 siblings.  My mouth about hit the floor.  A family of 6 kids?!  "What's that like having so many siblings?!" I asked the boy who just shrugged and went off to play.  No big deal to him, but it totally rocked my thought process about the size of a family.  I had two brothers.  Three seemed normal.  Six seemed...so not normal.

I also never would have guessed that we'd homeschool.  

Me?  A homeschool mom?  Not on your life!  I was a huge public school advocate.  I went to public school, I taught at public school, my kids were definitely going to public school... (I still have a fondness in my heart for public school) 

Homeschool?  Craziness, I'd tell you.

6 kids and homeschooling...

It's a craziness that I'm happy the Lord didn't reveal to me when He knew I couldn't handle the thought of it.

It's a craziness that I'm so happy he saw fit to give us a little at a time.

Who knew?

Only God.
  

And I bet He chuckled at the thought of it when Nate and I were getting married 12.5 years ago.

Survival and Thankfulness

Right now, I'm in survival mode.

I shared a prayer request in church on Sunday.  Prayers for my sickly, tired, first-trimester self.

And...I cried.

That was embarrassing.

Probably more for my husband than myself, but at least he just HEARD about it because he was walking the church halls with our fussy, teething toddler.

But I guess it was good that I made a crying mess of myself because somehow crying lets everyone know that you're serious.

I know that this first trimester isn't going to last super long (even if it feels like it), and I know that we CHOSE to homeschool (even if I think we're crazy at times), and I know that we CHOSE to have our 6th child (holy cow), and I know that we CHOSE to...well...want to eat and sleep and live in a semi-clean house (that seems reasonable in this list of maybe not-so-"reasonable" things), but it sure is nice when people rally around you and say,

"What can I do?"

"Can I take your kids for awhile?"

"Can I bring you a meal?" 

 "Can I take your daughter to and from ballet for awhile?"  

"Just call me!  I can help!"

I am not alone, even when I feel desperate.

Thanks to my husband, who works so hard and then gets home and works so hard some more.

Thanks to my kids, who have been so helpful with cleaning, and making food, and taking care of their younger siblings.

And Thank You to those who are helping me during this time.

 The body of Christ, the Church, is a wonderful blessing.

Such a gift from our LORD!

Camping with Friends July 2014