And yet, going along in what was your normal life and having every element of it turned upside down and/or erased is no easy road.

The hardest thing, logistically speaking, is that we can’t really begin to “find our new normal” because we are living in temporary housing, waiting to go home. Everything feels like it’s on hold–our eating habits, our daily routine, our normal activities–as if “life will begin” once we go back home. In the mean time, life is; and so I try to make if feel as normal as possible for our family.

“I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4

And I’m reminded of those who can’t, who will never know normal again, and I feel ashamed for having even had the thought of a “hard day”.

Nutshell: we are building quickly and God is amazing. Period. So far my husband has overseen the whole building project (it still costs less for him to be out of work and do that than to hire a GC–and can I just say, my husband rocks!) and most labor has been volunteered. PRAISE GOD FOR YOU ALL!!! Aaron and I have lamented numerous times how much we wish we had had the presence of mind to photograph and journal all the volunteers that have sacrificed their time and families for us. We cannot say “thank you” enough for helping us rebuild our home so quickly!

 

Hubby, our two skilled friends, Ben & Alex and my son, Ashton after a hard day's work. Aaron and Ashton really enjoyed working with these guys!

We hope to be able to move in by Christmas, having the main level completed and finishing the basement (where all the kids’ rooms are) once we move in.

My Dad, (who brushed death with a massive heart attack the morning of the storm), has had to be re-hospitalized twice to have stents redone but now seems to be doing great and is working hard as ever, building their house.

The verse God instantly gave me at the hospital that morning with him–”He is mighty to save”–which I “chanted” all the way to the OR, and would later dwell on through the cold, devastated night, has proven to be a beacon of hope for us in a thousand ways. Perhaps you can find strength in it too:

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

I am continually overwhelmed as I reflect on the love of so many and the provisions God has made daily for our family. We cannot express our gratitude enough to you, to our church family and all the surrounding friends who have walked beside us during this time of testing. My faith grows more and more as we rest on the Rock, our eternal Foundation.

(Thank you, Kathy, for the beautiful blanket–I think it becomes him!)

The birth went very well (I may share more details a little later if anyone cares to hear), though about an hour later, I began to hemorrhage and for the first time ever, I thought I was dying.  My blood pressure dropped to 60/30 and I felt like I was fading away…very scary.  So because of the intense uterine massage I had to have (by 3 nurses at one time), I am extremely sore and experiencing unusual levels of pain compared to my typical deliveries. But we are rejoicing that the Lord kept me here and I’m so thankful to be on this side of delivery, cuddling this sweet little (“little” being a relative term ) boy in my arms.

I cannot begin to thank you all for your prayers, love and concern you have expressed to me through these last few weeks.  There were days when the knowledge of your prayers were all-sustaining as I battled with fear and a host of other challenges, waiting on this little fellow to arrive.  I am so grateful for you all.

As a fun side note, throughout my pregnancy my husband joked about “how fun it would be to have a male version of Mallie”.  Take a look at these photos:

Left picture is Mallie…

Jax is on the right!

In all honesty, this has been one of my greatest struggles with a pregnancy yet. Part of me knows that the truth is a “due date” is only an average between 4 weeks of what is considered normal delivery time. So technically, I’m not overdue yet, though I feel that way.

I am physically pretty miserable but it’s much harder emotionally waking up *still pregnant* day after day.  (I guess in the back of my mind I’m always hopeful that after this many children I’ll actually go a few days before my due date.) I periodically just break down sobbing, then pull myself together and start again. I went “over” two weeks with my first two, but this is the longest past my due date I’ve gone since those.

In addition, Ellia has the stomach virus.  This is her “love the baby” position. She raised my top and fell asleep on my belly after a rough night for both of us. (I hope this picture isn’t offensive; if it is, tell me, and I’ll remove it. It seemed so sweet to me.)

I am learning that I am certainly not in control and that all one can do is be at peace with God’s time table.  Easy to say, harder to live.

It feels like life has been on hold for weeks.

But despite the irrational notion that sweeps over me periodically where I fear I might be pregnant indefinitely, I know little one will come soon.

Also, God has revealed Himself in such a mighty way through all the comforting words, prayers and flood of love and care through friends from the blog world down to my closest ones.

In addition to friends who have already brought meals to us, a very special young lady begged us to come and stay until the baby is born so she could help out.  She has been here over a week already, (she’s staying until we return from the hospital).  She LOVES to cook (I call her a “food artist”) and delights in the meal preparations each day, entertains the children so I can rest, does what needs to be done, and just generally brings joy and a huge helping hand.

Bria works alongside her, of course…I can’t fail to give her due credit. Bria has been such a constant encouragement to me, full of joy and tenderness and service. But Olivia’s presence here takes so much of the load off and makes it more fun for Bria. (They are like a well-oiled machine together, and then they retreat in the afternoons, giggling with their cups of tea and favorite book or movie, to a quiet place to refresh.)

What a blessing to see the vision these two have!  To be happiest when they are serving! (I can’t even *make* Olivia go home for a break.) And what a beautiful thing as I watch them, along with my children, playing, laughing and eagerly serving our family, finding absolute joy in it, where so many would scoff that “it’s unfair”, or that a mother of many shouldn’t *have* to have help.

Beloved, this is what the body of Christ looks like in motion.

Until you’ve seen it, it’s hard to understand.  They’ve had more fun these few weeks, making special meals, baking cupcakes, having mud fights and sunny picnics and “soapy trampoline” time, anticipating with all the energy of children, the arrival of their baby brother.  It’s not the heavy drudgery some might imagine.

I just have to say “Kudos” to all my children and husband (please don’t think me bragging…I am just so humbly grateful) for their patience, their eagerness to do whatever they can to make me more comfortable, their hearts of gratitude, their infectious joy and smiles and all the wonder they bring to my life.  I feel ashamed, when I reflect on these blessings, to complain for one minute about this anxiety I’m feeling.

God has been so good to us!

By the way, unless something unforeseen happens, I will likely have time to post an “I’m in labor!” for you

“Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.”

Apparently I have successfully imparted to my 4-year-old that as home-making-dominion-takers we must strive to see beauty in all things. Mallie tied ribbons around every object in the bathroom while her little sister took a bath.

She has productive hands.  Some would say “messy” if they saw most of her “produce”, (“Mallie, did you fill all the Mason jars with rice?”) but I choose to look at the positive side.

A quick pose while they’re waiting for Mom to finish her hair

Well, I had every intention on sharing my “pattern” from this first hat I made. Unfortunately, when I tried to duplicate it in a larger size, I came up with this:

Equally cute, but not the same.  (This picture tickles me *pink*.)

So I gave up conformity and resolved to emphasize, ahem, the value of the uniqueness of each piece….OK, I don’t know what I’m doing but I do know I’ve now got to crochet all my kids a hat and thankfully they don’t care that every one turns out differently

And there’s this one, even a bit bigger…(Yes, she’s as “sneaky” as she looks and I love every ounce of her.)

I will, however, attempt to give you the general approach I’ve gleaned from other crocheters as I’ve stumbled through making these. Feel free to jump in with your own advice if you are an expert. (An expert means you’ve made more than 3 hats in your lifetime.)

And remember, Kathy @ Teaching Good Things has a great crocheting DVD. (And yes, I will earn a commission if you buy it )

Begin the hat by chaining 4.  Then close the chain with a slip stitch. Begin a pattern of 1 single cr. into first chain, then 2 single cr. into second.  Alternate 1 and 2 stitches into each hole until the circle is as big as you want it before you start decreasing the size of the hat. (If you notice the circle starting to curl instead of lying flat, switch to a 1/1/2 pattern.  (Does that make any sense?)

When you want to begin decreasing the size of the hat, start crocheting 1 single in each hole and continue until the desired size.  If you need a sharper decrease, you can slip stitch into each hole, or single crochet into every other hole.

To make a ruffle, single or double crochet (depending on the size of the ruffle you want) 3-5 stitches into each hole.  If the ruffle isn’t frilly enough, skip a hole.

Now that you are thoroughly confused, I would also suggest you might take a look at some Youtube videos which have a number of instructions and are easy to follow.

There are actually so many different ways to make a hat you may stumble upon your own pattern.  Have fun trying!

(Photo courtesy of Bria)

“Who told the sun where to stand in the morning?

And who told the ocean you can only come this far?

And who told the moon where to hide til evening?

Whose words alone can catch a falling star?

I know my Redeemer lives…

All of creation testifies

This life within me cries

I know my Redeemer lives.”

Thank you, Lord, for a paid vacation…no, a vacation we got paid for!  (Thank you, Chris and Mercy for the use of the condo!)

And thank you, my dear husband, for being willing to drive 1400 extra miles to make it possible.

Bria loves to do photo shoots with the girls.  I’m glad, because otherwise, I don’t know if I’d remember to freeze these babies in pictures!

Yesterday I was reading to several of the younger children.  Kyla likes to repeat me when I read, so I pause to give her time.

“…so then we see the beauty of the world…”

Kyla:  “So den we see da…Mom!  We don’t say ‘booty’!”

Do you know how hard it is to get on to her when she makes this face with these big, brown eyes?  It’s a new thing–the testing–sometimes when I tell her to do something, she’ll just make this face and quip with the sweetest little voice, “Why?”

This is the face she made the first year of her life.  Contemplative???  We found out she was just listening.  Never talking.  And then suddenly, she said everything, all at once.

I think God makes cuteness because it takes the edge off of the hard mothering days.  Boy I love my 6 girls.

“Sweet child of mine, I pray each night that I would not hold on too tight.  You are His on loan to me, my job is to prepare you for eternity.”

We walk day by day.  Ours is a story being written just like yours.  Some days, the pages are embellished beautifully.  Some days, I yearn to rip them out.  Some days, I love to write.  And some days, I don’t feel like I can. Still we walk.  And the Savior walks beside us….perhaps in us and through us.

Ellia and watermelon

Mallie and watermelon

"Gary hung the chandelier for me as a surprise. Why heavens no, I’ve never raised my head enough to see what it’s hanging from. Let’s just enjoy our limes under glass."

From Catalog Living

My parents!

My new favorite indulgence...Oreo Truffles

Crush a pack of Oreo cookies and mix it with a block of soft cream cheese.  Roll into balls, freeze for a few minutes, and dip into melted semi-sweet or white chocolate.  There are no words for this luscious dessert!

My church and the precious people inside.

My husband...

And consequently…

And consequently…