Out with the Old - In with the NEW!

OK, there have been enough changes already this year to write our whole Christmas Newsletter, and it's only January 7th!

I've been pondering over the past few weeks and have determined that I'm just not happy and my existence exists of getting up in the morning and doing the same thing over and over - and yep, the results are the same.
There's ALWAYS dirty laundry.
I have NO IDEA what's for dinner.
The house is a MESS! (Could it be anything else with 7 kids and a husband? LOL!)
Nothing is organized - can't find what we're looking for - everything is a shambles
and all this boils down to one thing...

STRESS!

SO, I decided we're changing things ...
I've reinstated my FLYLADY Routines.
I've got my ONCE A MONTH COOKING menu and recipes printed and ready to go.
I'm re-arranging all my kids' closets to get their clothes in order.
The Room Fairy is paying visits to the kids' rooms and leaving treats for clean rooms.
We re-arranged our chore chart so the kids are not skipping chores because they hate doing what they were assigned.
We're putting in new storage options so that there's a place for everything and (hopefully) everything will be in its place.
I'm rearranging my kitchen so everything is in a more logical place (AND I have my new colors picked out to redecorate it - AND the Dining Room!)
And above everything else ... We are attending a new church!! (YES!)

Things are feeling really hopeful and everyone seems to be happier (not to mention things are a lot more peaceful around here)!

I can't wait to get everything in place and get this place whipped into shape. (Then, I'll start working on the weight loss - LOL!)

Merry Christmas!

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas - all of my family was "home" (at my parents' house) and we had a great time. Christmas morning at OUR home was fun and joyous. The kids came down the stairs to see what Santa had brought along with the gifts that were already under the tree. They spent some time dumping out their stockings to see what was inside, then we stopped for a bit to read the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible - because this is the TRUE meaning of Christmas.
After the reading, Dad began to pass out presents and everyone exclaimed that this was the best Christmas ever. (Which does a Mom's heart good!)

One of the greatest gifts I received was a new waterbed! We had a waterbed when we first got married, but when we moved to our last house, DH was afraid the floor in our bedroom (being an old house) wouldn't hold up the weight of 600 gallons of water. I have not had a decent night's sleep since we moved to THAT house! When we moved here, we bought an air bed (Comfort Aire). That was THE BIGGEST waste of money we ever shelled out! For many, many months, we've been getting up with a backache, the foam padding around the outside of the mattress shifted constantly and we had to keep unzipping the lining and putting it all back together. The fuse blew in the motor and DH had to tear it all apart to fix it. The baffle blew and the company had to send us another one. It was just a lemon as far as beds go.

SO, Every morning for months my first words to DH upon opening our eyes was "what I wouldn't give for our old waterbed back." (Of course we no longer had it - I think the frame became part of the chicken coop (no I'm not kidding) and the headboard is somewhere in the barn being used for something else - probably to hold feed or something.

So when I saw an ad in the paper the week before Christmas for a Queen sized waterbed - complete with frame, mattress and even sheets, I jumped with glee. DH called about it and told them he would take it over the phone. (When Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!)

Forward to our first night in our new waterbed - I don't remember it! I slept through it! (When did THAT happen last?) When I opened my eyes, DH was leaning over me asking - "well, how'd you like the new bed?"

My answer was something like this ---

I heard angels singing!
I was in a meadow filled with flowers next to a babbling brook - and I wasn't sneezing!
Ferrero Rocher was hand feeding me chocolates - a LOT of chocolates!
I was skinny again!
There were fireworks!
I was in the Shire!
and OUR HOUSE WAS SPOTLESS!! (That's how good it was!)

So how did you like it?
and he said...
"I'll have to get used to it again". (sigh)

He did get me some really nice girly things - a Cashmere scarf and a Cameo brooch, but then he always gets me something I need that I didn't know I needed - this year, it was a 500 gig external hard drive! (He loves me!)

Saying Goodbye : (

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, at 9 weeks pregnant, we said goodbye to our baby in the womb. I had my third miscarriage - the first being after #4, the second was after #5 and this third one was after #7. No matter how experienced I become at having miscarriages, they just don't get any easier!
The baby was tiny - only a little over an inch from head to rump, but every little finger and every little toe was perfectly formed. His face, too, had two little eyes, a little nose and mouth. We had a private ceremony and buried him in a little silver heart shaped box. It was a cold, rainy day and it seemed fitting for the occasion.
I have always been pro-life, but now that I've seen my baby, who had only been forming in the womb for 7 weeks, no one can tell me that he was not a child -- that he was "just a fetus" or "just a lump of tissue". He was a baby. He was MY baby. He was my son - and we named him Sean Emanuel, which means God is gracious/God is with us. He truly is!