I am blessed for sure!

Do you ever wake up just feeling blessed? Like your life, faults, hardships, and all is just blessed. That's what happened to me this morning.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened this morning. The kids got up much to early. Like 7:45 early. I know that sounds late to some. But they were up late last night and Tyler skipped his nap yesterday, so 7:45 is just too early for them today.

I had mountains of laundry to do today.

The kids weren't being naughty exactally, but they sure as heck were acting like wild indians.

There are dishes in the sink that need to be done.

It's supposed to be rainy and hotter than the dickens' today.

So, like I said, nothing out of the ordinary. But I woke up feeling like God was not just shining His light on me today, but put me right in the middle of His spotlight.

I have a wonderful husband. Sure, he has his faults, we all do, don't we? He's got a fairly short fuse and his patients don't strech very far. But he is an amazing husband. Truely amazing. All I have to do is mention that I need help with something, and he is right there by my side asking what I need done. I used to get upset that he wasn't right there helping me every step of the way. I would get mad that he could see me busting my butt trying to get things done around the house, and wasn't taking the initiative to just help. I was also scared to ask for help. I was worried he'd look at me like I was crazy, that it was my job to do all the house keeping. He's far from that guy. Like planets away from that. He's always always willing to help. He never wants me to have to do it alone. I realized he can't read my mind. Essentially, the home is my "work". I know the way things go around here. I know the process that needs to be done to get to the next step. I thought to myself, if I went to his work, I sure wouldn't have the slighest clue what he'd need me to do. I'd have to wait for him to ask me. I applied that to my "work". He's not here all day, he doesn't know what's been done and what needs to be done. But all I have to do is ask, and he's there. He's never made me feel like I'm doing this alone, all I have to do is ask.

Sometimes he'll ask me a million times what I need done. I admit, I'm a teensy-bit OCD. When there are things that need to be done, most of the time I'd rather just do them myself. It's not that I think he can't handle it, or he'll do it wrong. I just prefer it be done my way. I don't complain about it, I don't get mad at him for it, I understand he's willing to help. I'm just not willing to let him help. This is where I came up with the "Honey Will You Please...." List. I'm not a fan of the "Honeydew" List. Sure, it's a cute analogy, but I feel bad saying honey do this...honey do that. I'm not his mom! (And I'm also not knocking any family that uses the Honeydew list. What works for some, doesn't work for others. I'm in no position to judge.) But now when I'm busy, and he asks me if I need help, and I'm being stubborn wanting to do it all myself and my way, I direct him to his "Honey Will You Please...." List. It works for us.

He treats me like I'm the only one he has googly eyes for! That was hard at first. I wasn't used to all the compliments. I used to tell him to just knock it off! Mean, I know. Here's this guy, trying to pay his wife a compliment, and she tells him to knock it off. What was I thinking?!? But I thought he was just saying that because he felt he had to. So not true. I truely believe that he thinks that now. It's an amazing feeling.

He's an amazing father. OK, he doesn't demenstrate the patients like mine I wish he had, but most tell me I have more patients than a saint, so maybe I have an un-realistic expectation for patients. But he's loving, kind, and fair. He is always trying to teach the kids a lesson. And not in a bad way. Wether they've done something good or not so good, he'll relate that into a lesson to be learned. Like, what good and bad things can we take from that situation. How was that handled is a positive and negative way? Most men, come home from work and want to be left well enough alone. And if they see 7 kids running, skipping, jumping, and yelling right for them, they'd run the other way. Not Mr. Goose Poop. He walks in the house with open arms trying to listen and talk to 7 kids at the same time. Amazing, because I know how truely hard it is!!

I could go on and on about how wonderful he is. I love him very much, and thank God all the time that He sent him to me and the kids. We are blessed to have him.

I also feel blessed to have all these kids. When I was little I always told my mom I wanted 100 kids. (Was I crazy?? 100 kids!!) And said if I was rich, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Then I had one. And I hated being pregnant. I mean hated it. Said I'd never do it again hated it. Then I had another one. Said I'd never do it again. Repeat the process 2 more times. Then I really wasn't doing it again. I made for darn certain of that if you know what I mean!! But I still wanted all the kids! Catch 22...

I have these 7 amazing kids. Sure, there are some days I want to grab my keys, hop in the van, and never look back. But I'd die if I never saw those 7 faces again. I always think to myself I can't wait to have some Hubby time. I always get excited thinking about 2 days without the kids. And then they go. 4 go to their dad's for 2 days, and 3 go to thier mom's for 2 days. And oh, it's glorious. For like 3 hours. The first 3 hours, I love it. My house is clean, I've taken a shower in peace, and maybe even got a little reading time in. But then the 3 hours are up, and I want them home. I miss them terribly. Horribly. I want them to be with me every second of every day. I'm like a little kid waiting for the ice cream truck on Sunday evenings. Pacing the living room waiting, staring out the window, just waiting for them to come home. I feel whole when I have them all around me.

I sometimes imagine Jonah and McKenzie going off to college (because they are the oldest, it'll happen with them first.). I can't even think about it. I start getting an upset stomach!! I can't even imagine what it's going to be like having kids go off to college. Mr. Goose Poop can't wait. Me? I can't even think about it.

God gave me these precious beings. I thank Him over and over for letting me be their mom. I love them so. I'm blessed to have them. Through the fighting, and the bickering. Through the diaper changes, and barfing sessions. Through the sports seasons, and the cooped up winter months. Through the endless dishes they produce, and the even more seemingly endless amount of laundry that comes from a family of 9. I thank God that He gave me this job, and not anyone else. This is where I'm supposed to be, and this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

God is good. He knows what he's doing. I have to remember that. He trusted me to raise them, and by God, I won't let him down.

Yes, I have much to be thankful for. Not just with my husband and children. But he's blessed me with my own mom and dad. There aren't words to describe what they mean to me, so I'll leave that one well enough alone. They are my world. God blessed me with a best friend, who I've now been friends with for 18 years. I can hardly believe it. She is the greatest. My so called "in-laws"? They are equally amazing. My mother and father in law are wonderful grandparents. They support us in every why possible. My two sisters in law, I couldn't have asked for better. They welcomed me with open arms into their family. They love my kids like they are their own, and vice-versa.

When I'm cleaning the house for hours on end, I try to thank God that I have a house to clean. When I'm slaving over a hot stove everynight making dinner, I try to be thankful that I have food to put in our bellies. As for laundry, I'm thankful for that too. I have clothes to put on my kids. Even the kids fighting, I am thankful that God trusted me to even have kids.

I could go on and on with the blessing's I have in life. But duty is calling. Lunch needs to be made, laundry needs to be switched, and a diaper needs to be changed. Yes, I am blessed.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son. That whoever shall believe in Him, shall not parish, but have everylasting life."
John 3:16

Last week of my "twenties"

I'm sad...it's almost my birthday. This isn't normal for me. Usually I can't wait for my birthday. I start counting down the days around July 1st. Not this year. No, not this year...

This year...dum da-da dum...I turn the dreaded 30! Yup, that's right. I'll be 30 years old in 5 more days. I never thought I'd be one of "those" girls! You know the ones. They are "29" for the rest of their lives. Or they are "twenty-10" or "twenty-11". Nope, wasn't going to be me. But now, oh now that it's me turning 30, I'm seriously considering it. Seriously.

My best friend is 9 days older than me. Which means she's already 30. She thought it'd be worse then it was, but says it's not a big deal. Really??? Not a big deal?? Trace, you're a better person than me! Because I think it's A BIG DEAL. Plus, you've only been 30 for 4 days! I don't want to be 30. I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna!! Do I need to say it again?! I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna. I don't want to be 30. I want to stay in my 20's forever. And ever. And ever.

Everyone over the age of 30 tells me they love being over 30. They say once they hit 30, their whole lives changed for the better. I mean everyone has told me this. Not one person I know has told me over the age of 30 sucked. Really people?? Are you really being serious? Or are you trying to lessen my blow?? Be honest with me, I can take it. I think.

I'm one of those people who tells my hubster, almost weekly, how much I wish I could go back to high school. I'd literally give my right arm to be back in high school again. Not cuz I'd want to go back and change things. I mean, it'd be nice. But even if I knew my whole life would still play out the exact same way, I'd still want to go. I loved high school. Loved it. I want to stay there forever. Honestly. Mr. Goose Poop tells me I'm crazy. He'd give you his right arm to not have to go back to high school again! Not me. I dream about it frequently. Vividly.

So 30's are better, huh? Well, could they be worse than my 20's? Lets think about this. My 20's were some hard hard years. Married, 4 kids, divorced, single mom-ing it, broke. But they were some wonderful years too. I made some awesome friends, and we made even more memories. I "re-met" my husband, and got re-married in my 20's. I grew as a mother. I became closer to God.

Now that I think of it, I don't so much want to re-live my 20's again. Looking back, sometimes I don't know how I even made it through. Grace of God, my parents, and my family and friends I guess. But even thinking of some of those times in my 20's gives me a big 'ol stomach ache. I'm positive I couldn't live through that again.

In my 30's I won't have to change as many diapers, right? By the time I'm 31 diapers should be a thing of the past. I won't have to go thru the first year of marriage again. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being married to Mr. Goose Poop. Love, love, love it, and I wouldn't have it any other way. But we all know the first year is the toughest. I feel like in my 20's I found who I am, and now in my 30's I can create who I found. Isn't there some sort of sophistication that comes along with being 30? 30 year olds are much smarter than 29 year olds, aren't they? I'm really just that much closer to getting my senior discount. Oh boy, back up the bus Gus...guess I shouldn't get carried away. Lets not go talking about the senior discount already. I'm not quite convinced I'm ready for this 30 stuff.

But I guess it doesn't sound so bad after all. I think I might give the 30-something a try. Just give me 5 more days to think it over, will ya?

Happy Birthday to "My" Aunt Mary!

Today is "My" Aunt Mary's birthday. You're probably thinking, "Why do I care?!" Let me explain. Aunt Mary is a truly special person to me. I can't ever remember a time that I didn't love the dickin's out of her. She lives an hour and a half from us, so I don't get to see her as much as I'd like, but I think of her every single day of my life. And that's no joke.

She is an inspiration to me. I feel like I can kinda-sorta compare my life with hers. I'm so very proud of this woman. I believe God put us all on this earth to serve a special purpose. And she's serving hers for sure. She has raised 3 of the most amazing daughters ever. She has just finished her college degree that she's worked damn hard for for years. She's a teacher (need I say more?). She started out motherhood with not much more than a prayer (Here's where we're alike), and not once have I ever heard her complain about it (and here's where we're different!!). And now she's been blessed over and over again. I don't think I've ever heard a bad thing come out of this woman's mouth. She's always got a positive attitude, and it shows. You can't help but be happy when you're around her. She's a joy. She's kind and caring, and she's patient and compassionate. I don't want to say when I think of "My" Aunt Mary, I think of this Bible verse, because I don't think of any Bible verse to be honest....but when I hear this Bible verse I certainly do think of "My" Aunt Mary.

"Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

~Hebrews 13:1-3

She lives this. She's a true blessing to me. I love her and respect her more than she'll ever know. I have many memories of times we spent together when I was a little tot. Her and her daughter's are the reason I love Corunna so much and secretly would move there in a heart beat. She truly is my heart of Corunna.

Here's to "My" Aunt Mary. May God bless her on her birthday today, and every day here after. May God show her Love, Joy, and Laughter day after day. May I be at least half the mother she's been. Happy Birthday Aunt Mary, and God bless you!

Here's "My" Aunt Mary and those 3 beautiful girls I was telling you about!!

OK, so I've been trying to get some pictures posted of our 4th of July weekend at Nonnie and Poppie's, but damn it, I can't make it work. I must have tried 8 times already. I mean I can get the pictures to post, but for the life of me I can't get them to post where I want them. I can only get them to post all at the top of the page! I don't want that! I want to write a little something, post a picture, write a little more, post another picture, write more yet, post another picture, write more...ok, well, you get the idea! Augh...this is already becoming a pain in my ass!





So lets try again...here we go...everyone with me??




So, for the 4th of July we go to Nonnie and Poppie's (Mr. Goose Poop's mom and step-dad's) cottage. And they put on one hell of a bash let me tell you. Father-in-Law stings fire crackers from a rope, and ties the rope in the air between two trees. This year, I think I heard thru the grapevine, it was 118,000 fire crackers strung up! Yea, I know...same thing I thought the first time I saw it! Who would think to string 118,000 fire crackers from a tree and light them off?!? And what's more...why in the heck would my mother-in-law "allow" this?? But he's been doing it for longer than I've even been alive, and he is actually very responsible about it. (Should "responsible" and "118,000 fire crackers" even be in the same sentence???) Everyone wears ear plugs, the area is completly caution tapped off, and he's wearing complete fire retardant clothing with a weird hat that covers his head and has a shield across his face. He plays the Star Spangled Banner out across the lake, and then it's all systems a go...(Here's where I want to put a picture, lets see if I can make it work...)



(It didn't exactally do what I wanted it to do, but there it is. Posted at the top, I had to move it down. I can tell you, doing that with more than, say, 3 pictures is going to grate on my last nerve!)




Anyway, there it is all set and ready to go at dark.


Now lets see if I can get pictures down here of Poppie lighting them off.

















Interesting, huh?!? It's a blast! (By the way...it just took me 17 minutes to get those pictures there!!) I know it looks like we are really close, but it's just the awesome zoom I have on the camera Mr. Goose Poop bought for me. The fire crackers are actually really far away from us, and and HUGE area is caution tapped off.



Then Poppie sets off what the kids call "real fireworks"!











All in all...great weekend! I'll post some random pictures of the kids having fun.





Here is our boat in the boat parade. Our "theme" this year was "God Bless America". See the 3 tubes being pulled behind the boat? And the boat full of kids? At one point we counted over 30 kids there! We had the boat full of kids and 2 adults, and each tube had kids on it, with an adult in the middle tube!!







My Carter, the fish. He wouldn't have gotten out of the water all weekend, if we wouldn't have pulled him out!!



This is how Dylan would have spent his whole weekend had we let him! He's a lover of fishing for sure!




Christian enjoying a melted cupcake!!


Fun on the water trampoline! One of the most favorite things at the cottage!

I'd post more, but quite frankly it's taken me almost 2 hours to do just this post. I'm done now!! Hope you enjoyed a sneek peak at our weekend. Spose I should go pull my kids out of the pool and feed them some grub!

Boo!!

Here I am friends and family! Being a mom of 7, it's hard to stay up to date with everyone. I came to the realization I just don't have all the time in the world like I think I do (duh!). I've been meaning to start a blog for months now, be see sentence before this one!! I made the time today...shhhh...don't tell Mr. Goose Poop....I've got to get the kids off the video games (shhh...he doesn't know that either!) and have them do a quick sweep of the house. Ridding it of the toys and random articles of clothing before he walks in the door!! Plus it's Friday, and he has a tendancy to come home early on Friday's, so I'm really racing the clock here.

But here I am. Hopefully this will be a fun way for me to keep everyone updated.

We were at Nonnie and Poppie's (Mr. Goose Poop's mom and step-dad's) cottage all weekend long for the 4th. I wanted to tell everyone what a fabulous time we had and share all the awesome pictures I took. But, again, racing the clock here, so maybe tonight I can squeeze in some net time. We'll shall see...