Picture Day

The Latest:

* Emily came home from Seattle. Yeah! We're all so glad she's home.

* Seth turned 12 on August 31. He was so happy Emily was home in time for his birthday.

* We started school a couple weeks ago. It's been somewhat of a slow start, but we're picking up speed.

* Last week a nice little stomach bug went around the family & a good percentage of the kids caught it. Deborah, Emily & I all had it as well. Fun times.

* Yesterday Emily decided that we should all go to the park & take pictures of the kids. Emily took the most pictures & probably got lots of good ones. I got a few cute ones myself as you can see. The kids were all pretty well behaved for the most part, until the end. They started getting a little antsy. Trying to get 7 little kids to hold still for pictures is pretty much a pointless undertaking. Not too many things went wrong however. Olivia only fell in the mud once. That upset her, so Deb picked her up to comfort her, wearing white pants. What a nice mommy, sacrificing her pants to console her baby. I wasn't as nice when Olivia got herself into a little predicament (see the pictures to your right) & I had to snap a picture of it before rescuing her. And, really, I didn't rescue her because she fell before I got to her. Don't worry, it was only a six inch drop into soft dirt, though SHE probably didn't know that. She WAS pretty terrified hanging there. Poor thing. In my defense, I did pick her up & hug her after she fell. Of course, I was laughing at her..........but she was cool with that. Jarod & Micah climbed to the very top of a tree & I didn't take a picture of that. It was a little more than a six-inch drop, and I really didn't want to catch their deaths on camera. I just yelled at them to get down. The reason the girls are crying in the pictures? That was towards the end of our fun picture-taking time & the kids were quickly fizzling out. Emily & Deborah were kindly asking the kids to "SMILE AND SAY CHEESE ALREADY, DANG IT!!!" They decided, for some reason, that that wasn't very good motivation for the kids to smile, so they started singing the Veggie-Tale's classic song, "God is Bigger Than the Boogie Man" & tried to get the kids to be happy & sing along. It came out a little more grumpy & scary-sounding than it was supposed to. Strangely, it didn't have the desired effect. (Deb & Em's voices did blend nicely, however.) I think that's when we decided that picture day was coming to a close. We got a few more cute candid shots & let the kids run around a bit. Sarah bought everyone happy meals at McDonald's (I ate my 2nd big & tasty cheese burger of the day. I really like cheese burgers right now.) & we called it a day. 

Fears

A couple hours ago I heard Seth from the kitchen, "M-o-o-o-o-m! Guess wh-a-a-a-a-at?"

Jarod was screaming, crying, "NO, SETH!!! Don't tell mom!"

Thinking Seth was tattling & that Jarod didn't want to get in trouble I said, "Seth, be quiet. Jarod, you need to tell me yourself."

"No, Mom. It's too embarressing." Still crying in shame.

Seth said, "Mom, Jarod has a fear! Hahaha!"

I told Jarod to come to me. I hugged him & coaxed him into telling me. His fear was that squirrels would jump out of the tree and bite him.

I said, "Are you kidding? That's nothing to be embarrassed about. I am afraid when birds are flying over that they will poop on my head. And Seth has had fears too. He used to be afraid of dolls when he was little. And he used to be afraid of clowns. That was only two months ago."

The reason I say that it was only two months ago is this: Seth had quite the spiritual experience at Summer camp this year. He really connected with God. He came home & told me all about it. I was so excited when he said, "Mom, God spoke to me at camp this year." He said the counselors had them go off alone for quiet time with the Lord & encouraged the kids to "hear" what He had to say to them in their hearts.

"What did God say to you, Seth?"

"He told me I didn't need to be afraid of clowns any more."

Well, that was a different kind of testimony than I'd ever heard before, but that's cool. 

When Seth was 5 years old he did have a fear of dolls. I used to have these porcelain decorative dolls lining my plant shelf up by the ceiling. At night, when he'd have a bad dream & want to come to my room for comfort, I would hear the "thump-thump-thump" of his little feet running past the shelf in the living room to get to his mommy. I always heard the thump-thump, but just thought he was wanting hugs ASAP. Took me quite a while to realize he was running because of those stupid dolls. He was afraid they would come to life, I learned later. I'm not even sure how long that went on. Mom fail. But I eventually got rid of them, which resolved that fear. Poor Sethy. Speaking  of fears, I will share my deepest fear with all of you. My deepest fear is that I will die & not be able to raise my children. If Justin doesn't die with me, please find him a very nice (but not too pretty) wife who really loves kids. I don't want him just marrying some hottie who will only tolerate my children because of how handsome Justin is. And if Justin dies with me, I need someone who will step up and raise all 6 of my children for me. I don't want them separated, and I want them home schooled. And they're not allowed to watch Simpsons or Family Guy. Or SpongeBob...for your sanity mainly. Any takers? 

Happy Birthday Titus & Joshua

As you all know, August 4th was Joshua Nathan's & Titus Nathan's birthdays. Mom, Deborah, the girls, the boys, & I all went to the park for a little party on the 5th. We let the kids run themselves ragged. We ate fried chicken & cupcakes (mom made the cupcakes). The three older boys ate almost an entire watermelon by themselves. Justin had to work & Sarah had to sleep before going to work, so neither of them could be there. The kids had fun anyway. The boys, before we left, went all over the house looking for presents for Titus. He got a nice big pick-up truck with only a few holes in it from Micah. Jarod gave him his musical bear from when he was a baby. Seth bought him a car with his own money. Gideon just emptied an entire toy drawer into a big gift bag & called it good. Of course, Grandma & I had some nice new presents for him as well. It was down-right hot & muggy, but it was a fun little party. I can't believe believe my baby is 2 yrs old already! How did that happen? You're pretty old too, Joshua.

Summer Activities

This past couple of weeks have been pretty busy. We had a lot of last minute school work to finish up. Last week I had a Haukaas family reunion in WA to attend. Seth couldn't come with us because he had church camp. (Well, he could've come, but then he would have hated me until church camp next year.) I was disappointed because I wanted to show everyone how big, handsome, & polite he's become. But I still had a good time showing off my other cuties. It was fun seeing so many relatives. Some of them I hadn't seen since I was about ten. Justin was a little uncomfortable being around so many people he didn't know, but he was a good sport. He kept threatening to go out to the car to read his book, but he never did. My parents paid for a pretty nice hotel for us. It was a family suite & had two queen beds & a king. The boys loved the hotel & got to go swimming a couple of times. I don't have a lot of pictures of the trip since I forgot to bring extra batteries for my camera. The trip was a whirl wind & we didn't get to go see any Sturgeon family, unfortunately. We left Friday from Nampa & got home Sunday. We picked up Seth from our friends' house. He was still wishing he was at camp. 

Then there was Thursday this week. Our biggest Summer adventure yet. Aunt Rara came over, brought Abi & we took all of the kids to McDonalds & the park. We wore the kids out (& ourselves) & came home, ready to sit for a while & drink a nice glass of water. I didn't have a house key because I forgot to get it from Emily before she left for Seattle. I usually come in through the garage......no problem. Except that earlier that day I must have been having one of my OCD-need-to-make-sure-doors-are-locked-even-though-it's-the-middle-of-the-day-moments & locked the house/garage door. So, we were good & locked out. We tried to take the air conditioner box out of the back window, but it wouldn't budge. We tried to squeeze Micah in through the gap between the AC box & the tiny amount of space that the window would open above it. Apparently, he has a big head & that didn't work. So, we got in the car & drove back to Boise to get a house key from Justin at work. We got as far as Sarah's (Aunt Rara) house, when my car died. We hung out at Sarah's house. She was trying to be a gracious hostess to all six kids in her non-child proofed home.  Deb came over, she & Sarah drove over to Moms & got her car, came back took us all to Justin's work to get the house key, drove us home. Of course we got stuck in traffic on the way there. But we made it through alive, though not completely sane. Don't know what I would've done w/out Sarah & Deborah. Justin fixed my car the next day. It was the alternator (not the U-joint, Mom).

The girls are staying the weekend w/ me while Deb goes on a church retreat. We're having fun. So far the kids have all been covered in several different substances. Mud, chalk dust from some neato toys Sarah brought over (they looked like little pink & blue people.......the toys were pretty cool: giant feet you strap on, stomp around & make animal prints), food, water, food, more mud. At the end of the day, I just hosed them down out back.

By the way, happy late birthday, Emily!!! We miss you!!!

4th of July Weekend

Well, we didn't do fireworks this year, but we did ........go on another camping trip! (Big surprise there, I know!) We went with some friends, who shall remain nameless for reasons of privacy (but they have a little girl named Tommy, which may or may not be their internet nickname for her). Despite kids getting sick & mosquitoes eating us alive........we had a great time. No really. It was pretty nice. I especially liked the giant biting flies. Justin spent a lot of time fishing with his buddy. I spent a lot of time gabbing it up with my buddy. The kids had an awesome time floating down the river (the 2 foot deep parts, that is). Seth snorkeled & played fetch with the dogs. The dogs also also played fetch with him...for real: sticks-in-Seth's-mouth-doggie-paddling-real. Jarod & Micah swam & played in the sand with their friends. Titus & Gideon pretty much played next to me & didn't get too brave with the river, which was just fine with me. It's a lot less work when you don't have to continually save your kids from drowning. Oh, and they played with their friend Tommy. We had fun, but this time I was kind of glad to get home. No offense to my friends. Love you guys. 


P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT RA-RA!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Family in Town

Last week was a busy one for us. Joshua & his Heather (my brother in law & sister in law) came into town for a visit. We all went to the lake & had a picnic. I swam with the kids quite a bit & Justin worked on honing his fly-fishing skills. Mom & Sarah watched the smaller children who didn't want to go in the water as much.....and of course they brought lots of yummy food. Joshua took the kids out in the raft for a while. It was a pretty nice little day trip.

Later in the week my parents came to visit. The boys were so excited to see them. Gideon introduced himself when he ran outside to greet them (no, it wasn't their first meeting). "Hi! I'm Gideon!" We went to the usual fun hang-outs while they were here: Costco, out for Chinese, the bank.....though, no WalMart this time. Grandpa helped Seth with his math (it's nice having a grandpa with a masters in mathematics!) & played lots of ball in the front yard with the boys. Grandma brought some pretty funny Christian comedian videos & had the boys cracking up......especially during the part when a ventriloquist was performing. Jarod has been walking around the house imitating him (the dummy, not the ventriloquist) for the past couple of days now. It was sad saying goodbye to them, but we're going to see them in a couple of weeks when we go to Vancouver for a family reunion.

My pregnancy seems to be going normally. I think I'm between 6 & 8 wks along now. I haven't gained any weight, but somehow pants are already not buttoning so well. Seems kind of early for that, but I guess this is #6. I started feeling really nauseated yesterday......so YEAH!!! Here I go again! But it I think I am doing well & am pretty healthy. I thank God that He is creating another person inside of me. I feel blessed. I'm getting excited to hold another little one in my arms again. 

A couple more quick things I am thankful for: We are getting much closer to getting caught up w/ the boys' school work (at least the important stuff) & today is my last day for jury duty. I am so happy about that. I never had to even be on a jury. Phew. Not that I don't want to fulfill my civic duty, but, you know....kids, nausea, life, etc...

My Baby's Not a Baby Anymore

Titus is now talking up a storm. While we were camping, he'd say, "Watch this, Mom!" Then he'd throw a rock in the water & ask, "You see dat? You see dat?" Or whenever he'd fall, he'd get up & say, "I'm alright, Mom!" As I type this blog, I am trying to get him to lie down for a nap. I can hear him from his bed crying & calling out, "I sad, Mom! I sad!" (It is quite the guilt trip, by the way.....he's making me sad!) When did my BABY start being able to verbally articulate his emotions to me?! Good grief.

We Love Camping

We just got back from our third camping trip of the Summer & it's only mid-June. Sometimes I wish we could live out there in God's beautiful mountains. I think the boys just belong out there; they fit right in with all the other wild things. They love to hunt for bugs, snakes, frogs, lizards, & they even pick flowers for their mommy. We actually got to do some swimming this time. Justin took a fly-fishing class before we left & spent almost the entire time standing in the river with his new fly fishing pole. The boys & I played in the water & went for lots of walks. We hiked up some pretty steep hills & of course I had to carry Titus when it got really steep. By the time we got to the tops, I felt like I was going to die. (I may be a little out of shape.) We got to the top of one hill. It was flat for quite a ways & completely covered in beautiful yellow flowers. We went exploring & looked over a few different sides of the hill & saw the river wayyyyyyyyy down below. I was a little nervous because it was very dry & hot at the top, & I could see lots of holes in the ground that looked like snakes might live in them. I think they were hiding from the heat however. The dogs were with us & were great guides. They lead us back to camp & helped us find easier trails. They took good care of us. It was fun but tiring. When we got back to camp (and after some lunch) the older boys went fishing with daddy while I took a nap in the tent trailer with the babies. That was fun too. ZZZzzzzzzzz

#6, Here We Come!!!

I just found out on Sunday that I'm expecting baby #6. This caught me a little off-gaurd, but I somehow already love this kid. I can picture a whole new child with his (of course it'll be a boy! What else? :-) own little adorable personality coming to life inside of me. It amazes me every time. God is good.