15 Weeks and baby's heartbeat;0

Okay so this week is the week that my baby Haven's heart stopped beating. So I have been listening to this baby's heartbeat everyday:) Last night I recorded it. It such an amazing thing to hear, and to know that a little baby is in there growing:) January 6th, I will be 16 weeks and will go to hear the heartbeat at the doctor and on January 8th we are going to Baby's First Images in Alpharetta, GA to find out what we are having:)

Update

Where have I been??? Everywhere!! We have been so busy and I have been really sick. Everything is going well with my pregnancy. I had another ultrasound today, and it was so amazing seeing my little baby move around. It looks like a baby now, not a peanut. The heartbeat was 169. My due date is June 23. I am almost 12 weeks:) God is so awesome!!!!

Our newest little blessing:)

Yesterday I went to the birthing center for an ultrasound. I measured at 6 weeks and 3 days with a due date of June 20. The only concern right now is the heartbeat is 114 and they want it to be 120. My hcg levels were 11467 and they wanted them to be well over 12000. I have to go back in Monday for more blood work to make sure that my hcg levels are doubling or they are going to be "really concerned". I have to go back Wednesday for another ultrasound to check "viability". But I know that there is a God and he listens to prayers, so please go in prayer with me that everything will be okay and that this baby is developing and will LIVE!! Here is a picture of our little one:

Let's Try AGAIN!!!!!

Sorry I have been so quiet on here, but I have been so busy. I will update soon. But in the mean time I need lots of prayers!!!!!!!!!!!! I got a positive pregnancy test(okay 3 positive tests). So please keep me in your prayers because I have lost 4 babies in the last 3 years:( Proverbs 3:5-7

Summer is gone, Time for school!!!

Wow this summer has just flown by. We have had such a busy summer, but I am ready for cooler weather. It has been so hot lately, but the last few days I could "smell" fall in the air. It has been so hot my poor garden has pretty much died, I only have 2 tomato plants left:( But next year we are definitely going to have a bigger one:)


We started back school last week.
For Hannah(6th) we are using Abeka

For Bryson(2nd) we are using Bob Jones math, English, and reading
For Science, Spelling, and History we are using Abeka.

Haley is in Kindergarten, but she is finishing up her "teacher on line" through abeka academy for Pre-k(we started late she should finish up over the next month). I am not sure what we are doing for Kindergarten, I am still trying to decide. Any suggestions would be great:)

Here is a picture just for fun of my husband's "redneck" hayride,lol Have a blessed day!

New Friends:)

We met some new friends last week from San Antonio, TX. They came to our area for an AIG conference. They stayed with us Monday and Tuesday night. I was sad to see them go. They have 7 children and it was a blast. We hope to see them soon:)

Here is a picture of all the children:(the blond little boy that is facing the children, is Asher, a little boy I babysit)

Singing

Last night at our church we had a singing and both Hannah and my husband sang. My husband played and sang with the youth band and Hannah sang Beautiful, Beautiful.

COW APPRECIATION DAY 2010!!!!!!!!!!

We went to chick-fil-a today for their annual Cow Appreciation Day!!! This is our second year going, check out last year's post here. My husband even went. We got $29.79 worth of food for free:) Here are the pictures:

Jesus loves me:)

Haley wanted to sing for the camera so here it is

PICKLES .... Anyone????

I am super excited about canning my first pickles. I made up 4 jars, but we kinda of already started eating one before I got the picture:) These are Bread and Butter pickles from the Complete book of Home Preserving Book recipe. Here is the recipe:
BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES
10 cups sliced trimmed pickling cucumbers
4 medium onions, thinly sliced(I only used 2)
1/2 cup pickling or canning salt
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric

1. In a bowl combine cucumbers, onions, and salt. Mix well, cover with cold water and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Transfer to a colander placed over a sink, rinse with cool running water and drain thoroughly.

2. Meanwhile prepare canner, jars, and lids.

3. In a large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in vegetables and return to boil.

4. Pack vegetables into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

5. Place jars in canner, insuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Since I use pint jars I also added 1/8 tsp of pickle crisp to each jar, because we like crispier pickles. Have you canned anything so far this season??

More sickness:(

Monday I started getting a headache:( I thought it was from being sick, but it just kept getting worse. By Tuesday it was severe. Same Wednesday, I could not even go to church. The Doctor called me in imitrex which is supposed to get rid of it, if it is a migraine. So I took 2 Thursday and it did not work:( Then I started to run a fever and my ear was hurting like I had an ear infection. So Friday I went to the doctor(which I do not do unless I am pregnant or it is severe). I had blood work ran and everything came back normal except my iron is low. I had blood in my ear from a busted blood vessel and he said the blood vessels in my eyes looked strained. So he recommended that I go for a vision visit. He adjusted my back and gave me a steroid shot. I have to go back for a physical in about a month. Today I went and had my eye exam, the eye pressure(in which the dr was worried about was normal), however I have astigmatism so I get to wear glasses:( Not all the time, just when I am on the computer, watching tv, driving, reading etc.. pretty much all the time. The good news is My headaches is pretty much gone. After being in the bed for a week, I feel so much better:)

Sickness:(

It has been a long couple of days. Strep throat has entered our home. It started Wednesday with Miss Haley, she didn't feel good so she and I didn't go to church. She told me her neck hurt and she was running a fever. Then Thursday morning I woke up and my throat was killing me and Hannah told me her throat was hurting too. So I made them appointments and sure enough Hannah's quick test came back positive for strep and Haley's was negative. But the one they do overnight came back positive. I knew I had it so I called the doctor to call me in some antibiotics. The girls felt good by Saturday but I felt awful I was achy all over like the flu, My temp got up to 103. Today I feel a little better, but I still don't have all my strength back:(

Garden update!!!

My garden is growing wonderfully:) Look here at when we first planted. What a difference??





We had our first "mini" harvest today. It was only 4 cucumbers and one little cherry tomato, but there are lots more tomatoes that need to ripen, and more cucumbers.


We are in awe of gardening and can't wait to do a BIGGER one next year:) Does anyone have any garden tips for me??

How Does Your Refrigerator LOOK!!!

We are trying to eat more healthier. So I went shopping at the Farmers Market, Earth Fare, and The Fresh Market. Of course it is more expensive to eat Whole foods and organics, but we are trying to eat healthier. Our goal is to eat 80% raw, but with that said we are taking it slow. We will first just try to eat one salad a day and work our way up. As far as organics go, one rule of thumb is if it is peeled, it doesn't have to be organic(bananas, avacodas a favorite here, onions, cantaloupe, etc.). Some things are definitely organic(carrots, celery, apples, especially because we juice). After watching Food, inc. and King corn, it really made me think "where my food came from!!" As far as meats, we are trying to cut down, but I have started buying from the farmers market from local farmers, only grass-fed organic ground beef and free range organic chickens(of caourse I still have some chicken and meats that was in my stockpile that we will use first, so you will see those in there:). We are doing it slow so that it is not a big hit in our budget, but it is worth it. Here is a look into my refrigerator and freezer and I would love to see everyone's too. Blessings, and have a great day.

HERE IS AN OVERALL LOOK


HERE IS A LOOK AT THE SIDE STORAGE(MOST ARE ORGANICS AND NATURAL SAUCES



HERE IS A CLOSER VIEW OF THE TOP TWO SHELVES




HERE IS A VIEW OF THE BOTTOM TWO SHELVES




HERE IS THE "GREEN DRAWER"




IN THE FREEZER

FROZEN FRUIT FOR SMOOTHIES



FROZEN VEGETABLES



BEEF

Busy........

We have been so busy, but I have a lot of new posts coming soon:)

My garden!!!

(my first tomato)



My garden is not very big, but it is my first year. Even so, I am still excited about it. I have a raised garden because our yard is so flat, it floods. I mostly have tomatoes and cucumbers, but also some lettuce and peppers too. Do any of you have any good garden tips for me???

Belng a mother!!!

What do I like about being a mother?? Everything!! Honestly I love every stage(so far), that my children have gone through. There is nothing I don't enjoy. Sometimes it is challenging, but it is so worth it. There is nothing more precious than your children coming up to you and giving you a hug saying "I love you mommy". I love tucking my children in at night. I love being able to stay home with them. I love homeschooling them. I love watching them grow and their relationship with God grow. I love the million and one questions they ask me EVERYDAY!!! There is so much I love, I could go on and on. I am not saying that I don't struggle, believe me I do everyday, but I rely on the Lord to get me through it all. I really miss having a baby around and do pray the Lord will bless us with many more children, but if he decides it is not his will, I have 3 wonderful children that I cherish every moment I have with them. They are truly gifts from God and I can not imagine my life without them. I was planning on doing this post last week, before Mother's Day, but the time got away. So Happy Late mother's Day to all you wonderful mothers out there!! Here is a video of one of my favorite songs by Selah. It really isn't relevant to the post but could be if you have been through circumstances in motherhood!!

Kroger Trip 4/19 I saved 55% on groceries!!!

I got several things free, but overall I saved 55%. My total before store discounts and coupons was $180.30. I had $48.47 in coupons plus an extra $8.30, some of them doubled. Plus I saved $41.83 with my Kroger Plus card and I got a $2 coupon for my next trip. I spent $77.39!!!

Nursing cover giveaway!!!

Christine is holding a wonderful Giveaway on her blog, so go over and enter it.

Kroger trip 4/13/2010 saved 89%.

2-2liter 7ups $1 each used 2 $1/1=FREE
2-sundown folic acid on sale for $1.43 each used 1 $3/2=FREE(plus .14 overage)
2 sundown vitamin d on sale for $1.78 each used 1 $3/2=.28 each
4 nature bounty magnesium vitamins on sale for $1.78 used 4 $1/1 = FREE(plus .88 overage)
2 McCormick seasonings on sale for $1 each used 2 $1/1 coupons= FREE
4 scotch brite sponges on sale for $1 each used 4 41/1 coupons=FREE
1 Domino sugar $1.85 used .50/1 doubled to $1/1= .85
2 honest teas at $1.69 each used b1g1 free=.85 each
2 yo-plait greek yogurts at $1.19 each used 2 .30/1 doubled to .60/1=.59 each

Total before store sales and coupons was $53.69
After I used my Kroger plus card the total was $33.83(all that is used towards gas points)
I used $24.79 in coupons and they doubled 3 of them for an extra $1.10 off)
My grand total was $6.09($2.47 was taxes)
A total savings of $47.60(89%)

Tough week!!!

I don't know but the last few days I have felt so depressed:( I don't know if it is because a lot of my blogger friends are rather pregnant or have had a baby recently and I kinda feel left out(and I am happy for all you). It just still hurts so bad to have lost little Haven, even though I didn't get to see her or hold her, I feel like a piece of me is missing. I don't feel complete. I am so very grateful I have 3 beautiful children to love and hold, but I don't understand why I feel so empty inside. I have prayed and asked God to take this pain from me, and I know he will. I don't understand why things happen. It really frustrates me when I hear of someone mistreating a child, do they not understand what a gift they have??? Oh well sorry to ramble but I just had to get it out. I think I am going to read my Bible now, that always makes me feel better.

Target deals for the week!!! I saved 96%!!!

Yesterday I went to Target and got some pretty good deals:
2 Johnson & Johnson bathroom buddies @ $.97 each
2 Airwick oils @ $7.99 each
3 cfl light bulbs @ $2.99 each
2 crest kids toothpaste @ $1.49 each
2 bandaids @ $1.50 each
3 7th Generation cleaners @ $2.99 each
Total $44.73
I used
$1 off each johnson and johnson soap=FREE
2 airwick target coupons $2 off and manufacture coupon for $4 off= $1.99 each
3 target coupon for $2 off and manufacture coupon for $1 off= FREE
2 Target coupons for $1 off kids crest toothpaste=$.49 each
2 target coupons for $1 off bandaids
3 manufacture coupons for 7th Generation $1 each and $1 off Target coupon
Total $33 in coupons
I paid $6.79 out of pocket and I am going to mail in a $5 rebate for the 7th generation.
Final Total will be $1.79 which is a 96% savinings.

Modesty

Lately I have really been praying about if we girls should wear long dresses and long skirts(not above the knee)all the time. It is something I have really been talking about with my husband. We do wear long dresses and long skirts 50% of the time, but I really feel we should wear them 100% of the time(except gauchos when we are riding bikes or hiking, etc). Hannah is not too excited about this. Haley loves wearing dresses. Now modesty necessary does not mean you have to wear dresses or skirts, but I feel that is the right choice for our family. Here are a few bible verses to reflect on:

I SAMUEL 16:7: “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

PROVERBS 11:22: “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.”

I JOHN 2:16-17: “For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

ROMANS 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Here are several links for modest clothing:

http://www.hannahlise.com/

http://www.modestclothingsite.com/

http://www.modestapparelusa.com/

Of course this is just a few, we get most of ours from thrift stores and eBay. Now keep in mind too it does not do any good to wear long skirts or dresses if it has a a slit way up, is too tight, or your top is too low cut.

Here are some resources:

Christian Modesty and Public Undressing Of America

The Beauty of Modesty(This book is new and I have not read it yet, but I assume it is a great resource because it is from the vision forum)

Raising Maidens of Virtue(this touches on the subject some, but it is a wonderful book)

http://www.solvefamilyproblems.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&category_id=55&product_id=1010&Itemid=14

Easter 2010!!!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday with Family and friends:) Here are the pictures including the ones from the Easter Egg Hunt Saturday April 2nd with our church.








Two Pictures up is of Bryson and my baby brother Dylan. They both are 7, Dylan is 5 months older than Bryson, but he looks like he is about 3 years older. It is so neat having a brother and son the same age. What is more interesting is that Hannah has an uncle 3 1/2 years younger than her. Dylan lives in GA(where we are from), and is on spring break this week, so he is staying with us. I will miss him so much when he is gone. I miss all my family in GA, especially him:( The first picture of Hannah shows her prize for the most eggs. She was especially excited because next year she will be too old to hunt:(

Marie Madeline Giveaway:)

Head on over to the The Modest Mom for a fun Marie Madeline Giveaway:) They are one of my favorite companies. I have bought several items from them including "happy scrappy" quilt.

My computer has a virus:(

I had great posts for the week but my computer got a virus. It would not let me log on the internet at all. Right now it is in the process of getting fixed. Hopefully I will get it back Wednesday and I will do a super long post on all our exciting happenings this week. Right now I am using my husband's laptop and can not get it to load pictures:( I will be back Thursday.

Getting Ready for Easter week!!!!

We have a lot planned for Easter week starting tomorrow. We will be having our Easter Egg hunt at our church.
Our book list for the week is:
The Easter Story
another"The Easter Story"
The Three Trees
The legend of the Easter Egg
Several Arch books The week that led to Easter, The Easter Gift, The Day Jesus Died, Jesus Enters Jerusalem, Good Friday
We also have the Easter Story coloring Book
We have lots of yummy meals planned and we are going to try a Lamb cake!!!

"They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive!" Luke 24:23(nlt)

I am excited to celebrate next week as we get closer to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope to post lost of pictures of our adventures next week. I hope everyone has a very blessed weekend and I will be back on Monday:)

Haley's Glasses!!

My sweet 5 year old has to wear glasses. She has a lazy eye(it is not that noticeable), and if it is not better in 3 months she will have to wear a patch over the "good" eye to strengthen the weak one. I had no idea she needed glasses, she seemed like she could see fine. In September 2008 I took all 3 of them because Hannah was complaining of headaches. She just needed reading glasses. Bryson's eyes were fine. They said Haley needed them then, but I wanted to get a second opinion, because she seemed fine. Now I feel really bad because we didn't go sooner. She wore her other ones, but they got broke when we were moving, so she has gone 4 months without them. Oh well you live in learn.

Saint Patrick's Day!!

Today we celebrated Saint Patrick's Day.
We celebrated this morning with Irish Oatmeal(Please excuse the pictures, I have misplaced my camera and these are from my phone).


For lunch we had baked chicken with "green spices"(basil, parsley, etc.), broccoli, and green beans.




For dessert we had "green" cupcakes!!!




We also learned some interesting facts about Saint Patrick's Day and the Shamrock. Patrick was not born in Ireland but went there after God called him to go. He used the Shamrock to explain the Trinity. We colored some shamrocks and wrote short stories on what we learned:)