Good bye 2009

Well I wouldn't say this was the worst year I have had in my life but it definitely wasn't the best! We as a family have learned a lot and have grown a lot through all the trails that the year 2009 brought with it. We had some really fun trips and good memories along with the not so fun stuff. I am just so happy and blessed to be here another day with my family so for that 2009 couldn't have been *that* bad. I will say I am looking forward to starting fresh with a new year. So let's make 2010 the best year EVER...well at least a good one!

It would be nice to start the new year with an offer on our house too...I'm just saying.

Merry Christmas!

I sit here almost 1pm on Christmas day in my pjs still. I love the laziness of today and how we can focus on what a great Savior we have and enjoy the blessings of family. This year J and I decided that we weren't going to go crazy with presents for the kids and in fact we weren't suppose to get each other gifts either. (He doesn't follow the rules) The kids each got a big gift and then a couple small gifts from each other. I really want to teach my kids to give and not always look to receive. We took them to the dollar store and we let each kid pick out two gifts for each of their siblings. It was really cool to see all the thought that each child went through to get gifts that each of their siblings would love to get. My favorite gift opening was my oldest GG, she has been asking for a baby alive for so long. Her friend down the street has one and they would play with it over the summer and I got to see really what that doll was all about. I love the concept of teaching our girls to be loving and nurturing mothers, they have to feed, change and everything else with this doll. She opened that gift and went CRAZY. Last night she had gotten a stroller for *this* doll but she thought it was for her other babies! I loved seeing the joy on her face. As for J not following directions he went out and got me presents anyway. I knew I was going to get two gifts...ones I get every year...a precious moments ornament and a calendar. He also got me a new water bottle since I had to get rid of the one I got last Christmas from my sil and bil. Then about an hour after all the gifts were open there was a present sitting on the couch with the camera pointed at it. I was confused as to what was going on. We had said NO GIFTS. He said it was for me and to go open it. He had gotten me a pair of Uggs. I can't even tell you how excited I am about that. Now my feet will be warm and snuggly. I have wanted and thought about getting some Uggs for the LONGEST time. I just couldn't do it with the price tag. I am a little spoiled this winter because a few days ago I finally broke down and bought a real down winter coat that goes almost to my feet and with a hood...it is so warm.

We are going to be celebrating Jesus' Birthday after Peanuts nap. I made a cake that we can actually eat I just hope it tastes good! Here is the recipe if you are curious...

2 1/2 cups coconut flour
2 tsp.baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 c. organic butter
3/4 c. agave
4 tbls flax powder
1 medium chopped apple in food processor
3 large carrots in food processor
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 X 13 inch pan.
Mix together dry ingredients.
Make a slurry with 1 c. water and 4 tbls flax powder. Add in the slurry mixture. IN a separate bowl add in applie, butter, vanilla, agave. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix thoroughly. Place apple and carrots in a food processor and pulse until fine. Add carrots, stir and pour into pan. Bake for 75 minutes or until done.

Cool and serve.

I made a frosting with almond flour, almond milk, vanilla and agave.

Finally some more news...

The doctor's office called today with 3 of the kids c4a levels back. Just a reminder the normal range is 0-2830. I was 19,605. GG, who gets migraines had a level of 8316...no wonder she has headaches. Monkey, who had tummy issues like me, had a level 7069. Peanut who had the highest level of arsenic had a level of 7281. It will be very interesting to see what happens when Red's tests come back. Speaking of Red's blood work, he had his blood taken a week before the other kids. Then that night they called and asked me to bring him in the next morning to get more blood, so I did. Then when the tests should have been back I called to find out the results and the lab said they needed me to bring him back in and get more blood drawn. I was not a happy mom, to say the least. He got his blood taken yesterday for the 3rd time and hopefully we will get the results in about 3 to 4 weeks. Also got back the three other kids leptin and VEGF and they are all within the normal range so that is good! I went to the store yesterday and got a bunch of veggies and some fruit to juice to help me detox and also the kids. I figure if I am making myself some juice I can make them some too. My hope is to do a 3 day juicing fast I just need to decide when. We have two celebrations coming up on Sunday and Monday. I could start Tuesday but then my fast would end on the big New Year's Day party we go to that has TONS of food. Thinking that would not go over so well with my digestive system! Maybe I will do a one day on the 29th to see how I do and then try the 3 day Jan 2nd through the 5th or maybe longer depending on how my body does. I really want to do a 20 day fast at some point to really detox my body.

Other than all of that stuff the kids are doing great. They are eating food that I NEVER thought they would eat and they are asking for seconds. Last night I made chicken enchiladas minus the shells and the sauce on top, so basically the ingredients that you put inside of them. But they loved it and asked if I would make it again. They are eating asparagus soup and stuffed peppers, without complaining. Though I will say that Peanut does not like the stuff peppers, she sat at the table for almost an hour with the same bit in her mouth. I remember doing that as a kid. She is so my daughter. I can see so much of me in her...poor girl. They are getting used to giving away the candy they get from school and church to other kids.

This post was interrupted by my three oldest kids preforming "We 3 Kings". They sang the words and had motions to go with it. VERY cute wish I could of recorded it :)

I have found a few families around here that are dealing with the same health issues as us and the kids and I are meeting with one family next week. I am excited to get to talk one on one with another mom/women who has been battling the same pains and doc appointments and so on. I think it will be great for the kids to be able to talk about all the stuff without feeling alone because they will have kids about the same ages to play with and talk with. If nothing else they have in common that both of their moms have been sick for a long time and struggling to get better. I know I am getting better but I have a LONG way to go to be completely recovered. My body reminds me of that weekly. Though in no way do I feel the way I did 6 months ago. I feel better physically and I feel empowered to get better with the knowledge I have learned on this journey. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. I'm so thankful to be able to spend another Christmas with my family and bonus to be feeling better!

10 years...

J and I finally made it into the double digits of being married. As I sit here thinking of all the things I want to write about I smile and I tear up. We have been through SO MUCH stuff. But I would venture to say that most married people go through good and bad things. In fact people in general go through that kind of stuff. Though looking through the years I wouldn't take any of it back even the really bad and ugly things that have transpired. It has made us who we are as a couple and has strengthened us. God has been so good to protect us from things that could have happened in different situations. If you have read this blog for any length of time you know that I was sick with an unknown something for the last two years and over the last 3 months have started to recover and get better. There were seriously days I thought I was going to die and I'm pretty sure that J thought the same thing. That is only a fraction of our married life. We have celebrated many things through the years. The birth of each of our four beautiful children, J getting his first job, buying our first home and going on fun family vacations just to name a few of the big ones. But I would have to say the day to day happenings are probably the best memories I have, playing games with the kids, doing family devotions, or just chilling at home together as a family. God is so good ALL. THE. TIME.

Tonight J and I are going out on the town. We are going out to eat and then walking around the Mall I am hoping to get some new clothes but just being with J one on one is really good enough for me. I want to end this with 10 of my favorite things about J.
1. His priorities: God 1st, Me 2nd, Kids 3rd and then everything else.
2. How he provides for the family with a good attitude. (Attitude is so important to me)
3. How he makes me feel special.
4. How loving he is with the kids but firm when needed. They love their daddy.
5. When he plays the guitar at home or at church. Giving God all the glory.
6. That he is a leader in the church, not just as a Deacon but in the children's ministries.
7. How handsome he is, he still makes my heart skip a beat when I see him.
8. How playful he is, even when he jumps out at me when I come out of the bathroom and freak me out.
9. How helpful he is around the house and therefore teaching our children to serve others by helping.
10. Basically I love everything about him even his little quirks! I can't wait to spend many more years with you, J.

movie time

here is the other movie that too long to upload the other day but I think is just so funny because of all the words she says incorrectly but so cute! Enjoy ;)

Fun Times with a 2 year old

I just love the days when it is just Peanut and I at home. She is just such a funny little girl. Today I am attempting to make apple butter for the first time. I had bought a jar at a pumpkin farm in October and LOVED the way it tasted. I came across a recipe for apple butter in my new cook book of things I can eat so I thought I would give it a try. Well Peanut is a very chatty girl and asked me about a million times what I was doing as I was peeling the apples. It got so bad that I started asking her what she thought I was doing! But I do love her. I am currently trying to upload some really cute videos to my facebook account but it isn't working so I thought I would go the good ole blog route! I hope this works :) The first one is of her singing away in the manger kinda sorta anyways! You will have to wait for the second one because the first took too long!

More pictures! Halloween and Christmas :)

We traditionally put up our Christmas Tree the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) but this year we didn't. It was in the garage at our old house. J and I had talked about whether we should bring it or just not have a tree this year. He was saying we should just leave it and not have a tree this year because we don't know if that tree was infested with the mold or not. After not having it up the first few days after Thanksgiving we both decided that we needed to go get it and put it up. It just didn't "feel" right not having one. Here are the pictures from our Christmas tree decorating night. The kids each put up the ornaments with their names on it from years past oh so fun!

I know this is a lot late but here is our Toy Story crew!
Monkey: Woody
Red: Buzz
GG: Jesse
Peanut: Bo Peep

PICTURES

Yeah I know the ole blog has been lacking some pictures. Here are the pictures of our puzzle in progress during our Thanksgiving break. We had a lot of fun doing it together!








I just realized that I didn't bring the other memory stick for the camera that has the new sidebar pictures for the kids. Ugh! They are going to be so outdated by the time I get them on here.