Planting The Garden

Well it seemed like a long time in coming but spring is here!!! Lately we have been enjoying the warmer days, getting lots of yard work done, the busyness that comes with seeding, playing sports and long evening walks.

Even though the pace of life picks up a bit in spring...OK it picks up a lot..it's still such a refreshing time of year. My heart is happy as I see the green grass and leaves starting to form on the trees. I know I wouldn't appreciate spring near as much if it were not for our long cold winter. And this past winter was especially cold and long so that means I am especially happy!!

And what a better thing to do when your feeling happy than to plant a garden!!

Let me just brag on my husband here a bit :)
My man is a Godly, hard working man and I love him to bits.
After a break in seeding, he could have done many other things, (as his list is long) or even enjoyed a bit of down time. But instead he jumped off the seeder and set up the tiller and then proceeded to till our garden! 

Here is Jesse. 

He hasn't really helped much with the garden in previous years because he is always out in the field during this time. But this year he was home and was eager to help. 

Must be the farmer in him!

We started by planting peas. Peas take a little more time to plant because we double row them and put up a trellis for them to climb. It takes more time now but is so much more enjoyable and less back breaking once picking season comes around. Here is Kerri and I putting up the trellis.

And of course when you garden with lots of boys there is always lots of goofing around.
Yes Zach, we can still see you!

Josiah shares his love for dirt with his Daddy and farmer brothers. On a side note: you may think that all of our boys are farmers at heart but not so. Even though they do help around the farm when needed only three of the eight are die hard farmers. (By that I mean they are up at dawn and stay up until the days work is done (not always possible, but they try their best to convince us to let them :) and even when they are sleeping they are still farming in their dreams :) Our farm boys? Joshua (obviously!), Jesse and Josiah. We are pretty sure that Eli is headed in the same direction too, but time will tell!

A fresh tilled garden is so fun to play in! But the fun is usually short lived as momma thinks that a hard packed garden is not fun to plant in!

Our sweet Joey

Mikaya is a huge help to our family. She is often found entertaining the little ones and is usually asking throughout the day, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Here's our sticks to mark the rows. Exciting...I know :)

Homesteader Lincoln peas. We decided to plant way more peas this year as we always seem to run out in the winter and you just can't buy them in the store as good as our own home grown. So, knowing that this is going to make pea picking season very, very busy, we figured it would be worth the effort. We will tell you if it this was a good idea after the season is done! We planted double the peas that we did last year.

We love to have little helpers in the garden but it's always a little hard for them to know how far apart to plant the seeds. So we give them something to mark with. This year I labeled a straw with inches so they could measure out their seeds. Here is Brooke trying it out.

Brooke is also a huge help to our family. She is learning how to bake and cook and keep a house neat and clean. Its always a hoot working along side her as she likes to laugh and keep things light hearted. She is a lot like her papa.

And of course only Jaden would come out perfectly dressed for the occasion. We have had such a cool spring that the poor child is thoroughly confused on the appropriate apparel!

Poor sad little Eli.
He doesn't even get out of being potty trained when we are gardening!!

Oh, and a gardening trick from Jesse....it always helps to stick your tongue out!

My little farmer always seems to have a dirty face.

Buddies

This is Kerri. She likes gardening more than her mother.

Boys....

Boys.....

Boys!!!!!!
Never a dull moment with them around!

I told you she likes gardening!

Happy little gardeners. (I am starting to think that all of our kiddos have dirty faces...hee hee!!!

Gardening: 

A perfect mother/daughters bonding time.

Silly kiddos!

I would like to say that we got the garden all planted but the reality is
the garden tiller broke down.
Then we got lots of rain.
So we are waiting for a tiller and some dry ground.
But don't worry, we have lots of other projects to keep us busy.
And maybe you will even get to see a few of those projects because
 my dear daughter Jennifer got a new camera
and has been busy snapping pictures of our every day happenings.
(That's why you don't see her in any of these pictures :)
My girls have been telling me that my blog has been rather "quiet" (aka:boring)
 to which I give all kinds of excuses!
One of them being that Megan used to upload all my photos onto the blog
but now she's gone and gotten married!
So Jen decided to remedy that and has offered to upload pictures to the blog for me!!
I know....sweet girl.
So I hope to do a bunch more blogging and who knows,
you may get sick of me yet!!

My Weight Loss Journey

Recently our daughter Jennifer over at Breathe Deep posted sweet words about me reaching a weight goal that I had set for myself back in March. As she said, I probably would have never posted about it myself….because that's the way I am? Not sure if that's good or bad? But the questions from some of her readers that came about from her post made me realize that maybe I should share a little more of my journey. Not to boast or to "toot my own horn" but rather to encourage others who may be on the same road as me. So whether you're a mom who has children and have had trouble losing the extra weight after your pregnancies, whether you have been trying to live a healthier life, or if you just feel like you are stuck in a rut and don't know how to get out, this post is for you. I am not saying I have all the answers, and I am not saying that my journey will be the answer for everyone, but if this encourages one person, it will be worth saying.

Let me say first of all that weight does not define a person. You can have someone at their perfect weight and yet be the most dissatisfied person around. In the same way you can have someone who is overweight and yet be confident in themself. But I also believe that being overweight often has a connection to something deeper, often something that person doesn't even realize or consciously know about. This is who I was. And it wasn't something that I discovered overnight….it has been a journey of a few years.

I have struggled with my weight ever since we had our first child 24 years ago. After we were married I gained a few pounds (as often seems to happen with newlyweds :). When I look back I realize it was just a matter of living too close to a grocery store, being able to eat any treat I wanted, when I wanted to and not enough self control! But after our first baby was born I was quickly able to shed the baby weight plus any extra I had gained since our wedding day. For a couple of months anyway. Then the weight came back….and more.

1 1/2 yrs later we welcomed another baby into our family and I once again struggled with getting to my goal weight….the weight that I felt was healthy for me.

Baby #2, 3, 4, 5 and then my 6th pregnancy came and I yo-yo'ed in my weight and emotionally as I tried to figure out why I couldn't get to where I wanted to be….both physically and spiritually (in the area of self-control especially). It was at this time that a group of ladies I knew were going through a bible study called "The Weigh Down Workshop". I could see results in their lives and figured that this was something to pay attention too. Not only were these ladies shedding pounds physically, they were also able to deal with the underlying cause of their weight gain emotionally. So I read the book and was so excited about the change that God made in my heart. Not only at the way I looked at food, but also the way I looked at why I put what I did in my mouth every single day. The practical principle was eat until you are full, and don't eat if you are not hungry (sounds like a no brainer….but how many of us ignore that simple nudging!). This book also opened my eyes to the fact that there were things emotionally/spiritually that I needed to deal with. I was so happy to find that I was able to maintain a healthy weight during this pregnancy and then have the pounds quickly come off after I had our son. I was back to the weight I had been before we were married! I was so excited!

Then I became pregnant with our 7th child. Honestly I cannot even remember the weight coming back on. Being a mom with many small children….I felt most days I was just surviving! And in this survival mode I lost sight of the revelations that had been shown to me and started once again back into the dissatisfaction of being less than who I wanted to be both physically and emotionally. It wasn't that I was super unhappy or depressed during these times….quite the opposite…I was happy with my life….just not happy with everything about me. I would try to get back on track….try to get back to where I knew I could be….but honestly….I lacked the ambition and self-control. Chocolate and desserts were my constant comfort and close friend! And it began to stick to my waist like glue!!!!

8th, 9th, 10th, 11th pregnancy…all the same. Yo-yo. Have baby….be determined to get the weight off….only to fluctuate 5 or 10 pounds and then fall back into the same ways and put the weight back on. I think many days I just figured who cares? My weight is so far from where I want to be….it's impossible….why try! Again….I was happy….life was great…I loved being a busy mom. But I still had that constant nagging that things could be better. It was during these years that we started to rethink our way of eating and developed a more healthy lifestyle. More whole grains, less sugar and more natural foods. In doing this I noticed that I started to feel a bit better physically, but still my weight just wouldn't budge.

Inside I knew what the problem was. Food was my comfort. If I was stressed…I ate. If I was busy….I ate. If I was sitting…I ate!!! Well…you get the picture! I liked to eat…often….and mostly chocolate!!! Anyone who knows me knows how much I like chocolate!!!!

During my 12th pregnancy I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. So off I went to the dietician to evaluate my eating habits and see if we could get my sugars stabilized without the use of insulin. I am not a fan of putting foreign objects into my body so I was willing to try anything to make things right. So the dietician taught me how to eat "right" and gave me a chart to write down everything that I put in my mouth!!! Wow….that's an eye opener!!!! So I followed the plan….was able to get my sugars under control and stayed on the plan until our baby was born, all without having to take insulin!!! My wonderful husband did not want me to suffer alone so he joined me in my efforts :) I know, I am spoiled!  I was really surprised what amazing results changing our diet had! He also lost a lot of weight and noticed a change in his health. And I was determined to keep this way of eating in my life even after our baby was born!

So baby #12 was born but my new way of eating was quickly forgotten. My hubby stayed on plan…but I strayed….badly! And  of course it didn't take long before I gained back any weight that I had lost during my pregnancy and more, and I found myself fighting the same old battle.

Pregnancy #13 was typical. I gained no more than 25 pounds. But with the extra weight I had put on before I got pregnant I was the heaviest I had ever been by the end of the pregnancy. Baby was born (5 days after our daughter got married :) and it didn't take me long to realize that something needed to change. Because if it didn't I was quickly going to move into the category of a very unhealthy weight! But I really didn't know where to go or what to do. The 'Weigh Down' method had worked for me previously but I was having a super hard time having the self-control to quit when I knew I was full. And I was also having a hard time emotionally dealing with the things I was pushing down. I knew I needed some kind of restrictions on my food…but I still wanted to be able to enjoy eating! I was able to get together some motivation and started loosing weight by counting calories and walking/running on the treadmill. Some days I would do good, other days I would fail miserably. And when I failed I felt defeated...and sometimes gave up for a week or two, or month.....

In April I came across the book that I am sure many of you have heard of by now called "Trim Healthy Mama". At the time it was brand new. I am not really sure what caught my attention. I am not one to usually take a second look at diet/losing weight books, but I feel it was God that nudged me to pay attention. As I read the concepts of the book they really made sense to me. Then I made a rather hasty decision (which is also unlike me) to buy the ebook. It didn't take me long to dive into reading it. I think I felt the way I hear most people say they feel when I first read it....'That's a lot of info!' and 'Can I really do this?' But I made the choice at that point that this was something that I felt could change my approach to eating if I would give it a fair chance. I didn't want to just try....if I was going to do it, I was going to go all the way!

And so this present journey began. Since we grow a lot of our own food and make most everything from scratch, I was not looking to spend a lot of money to this new way of eating. So I was able to buy a few key ingredients and then just kind of tweek the meals that our family ate to 'fit the plan'. It didn't take me long to realize that this way of eating really did help me to shed the pounds! I was pretty excited as the weight started to come off. And the best part? I didn't feel hungry or cheated. Yes, I had cut out all processed food and refined sugar, but there were so many things I could replace it with and I really felt like I was well fed :) And during this time of changing my eating habits something also happened in my heart. I realized how much I was using food as a comfort rather than something to nourish my body.

But just like on any change in life...the temptations and struggles came. A lot of the struggles were in my head. Things like "I can't do this" "It's not worth it" "I have too much to lose" became frequent thoughts in my day. These were the times that I really dug deep into God's Word and focused on seeing myself as He sees me, 'an overcome' 'a conquerer' 'His beloved'. I found that if I focused on the actual losing weight I would become frustrated and want to quit. But when I focused on His strength through me I was able to keep on track. And eventually I would reach a goal, then set another. Reach a goal, set another.....and every goal I met I would rejoice and give thanks to God for the strength that He gave me.

I don't want to make it sound like all I had to do was pray and God made the pounds fall off. Instead I prayed and He transformed me. He transformed my way of thinking about myself and about food. But in being transformed I had to be pliable. And being pliable sometimes hurt lots....both physically and emotionally!

Every goal I accomplished I was really shocked. In fact if you would have told me a year ago that I would be the weight I am today....I would not have believed you! I never thought I could be this size again!

So I guess I write this post to those of you who may want to lose weight but think it is impossible. I am here as a living testimony to tell you..."IT IS POSSIBLE"! It is possible IF you are willing to change. Because let's face it, if you are dissatisfied at your weight, the way you are doing things now isn't cutting it! And remember Who your strength comes from. As soon as I would start to feel defeated....or prideful....I would lose focus and go off track. But It was in those times of weakness that I felt God's strength the most.

I am not going to give you a lot of details of how/what I ate because I think that everyone has their own journey to figure out. I am also not going to say that this one program was the thing that did it. I think it was rather the transformation that God did in my heart. And He used these things I mentioned as a tool to help me along. And I realize that what worked for me may not work for you. So it is with caution that I tell you some things that really helped me along the way. Not to boast or say this is the only way, but hopefully to help you along your journey and to give you hope.

1. I had to make a decision to jump into this with both feet. This may be because of my personality, but I knew if I did it half way....I would not stay on track. So I decided that I was going to eat only on plan and all other food would be off limits. Now after I reached a few of my goals I decided I could give myself a little more flexibilty. But every time I would "cheat" I would really weigh in my mind "is this worth it?" Was a cheeseburger worth not seeing the scale budge tomorrow? Was that brownie worth delaying meeting my next goal? You know your limits, you know what you can handle, and if you don't...figure it out!

2. I made lots of little goals mostly because the big goal seemed so out of reach and overwhelming. Every time I reached a little goal I would celebrate....and set another one! This way I felt like I was making progress....but still working towards a bigger goal. I had a pair of pants that were my ultimate goal pants. Every once in awhile I would take them out, try them on and see the progress that I had made. It helped me to really visualize where I wanted to be.

3. Being active really helps the weight come off faster. So if you want to shed pounds faster, add some exercise. I walked/ran on the treadmill when it was too cold outside, worked out to fitness dvds, or my favorite, walked outdoors.

4. I had to make sure that I was doing this for the right reason. If my reasons were superficial or vain, I was sure to fail. For me, my #1 goal was to be at the healthy weight that I believe God wanted me to be.

5. I didn't beat myself up when I would make a mistake or go off plan. And I wouldn't wait until Monday :) to get back on track. I would get back on track immediately.

6. I became aware of the triggers that led me to eat. Often it was in times of stress or busyness that I would turn to food to make me feel better. So instead I would pray or simply chew on a piece of gum.

7. I had a plan of what I was going to eat for the day and always had a snack ready on hand. If I didn't I was very quick to grab just "whatever" to satisfy my hungry tummy! Smoothies were always a great "go to" food for me if I was in a pinch.

8. Even though the sweet stuff was healthy and made with all natural sweeteners, I still had to be very careful on how much of this I consumed. The concept of "stopping when you are full" was a real help to me. God gave us that full feeling for a reason! So even though it was a healthy sweet snack I still had to exercise self control. And if I would feel hungry I would drink some tea or chew some gum. If the feeling stayed then I knew I was truly hungry and my head wasn't just playing games tricks on me....then I would have something to eat. 

9. My ultimate goal was/is to be beautiful on the inside. If I had to push my family aside or ignore my calling as I wife and mother...then I needed to reevaluate.  For me this was mostly in the area of getting some exercise in. I had to be careful that I didn't push/everything or everyone out of my way to get my workout in for that day. I had to remember that being at the perfect weight was not worth it if I had to compromise my calling. There is so much talk out there these days about looking after you and that you have to put yourself first. I don't believe this is a beneficial or healthy way of thinking....not to mention that I don't see this anywhere in the Bible. We are to do what God has called us to do FIRST. And if our perspective is right the other things will fall into place. 

10. I need a #10 right!?! Well I don't have a #10 but maybe you can fill in the blanks by leaving a comment!!!

So this is some of the practical side of my journey. I hope that if you are struggling in this area that you will have hope and know that "with God all things are possible!"

Where am I today? After I reached my big goal I felt that i could still loose a few more pounds to get to the right weight for me. I till have a few pounds to shed before I reach my readjusted goal weight. And I would be lying if I would say I haven't been struggling as I have been trying to add certain foods back into my diet. Maintaining is something that I am learning to do right now, and during this learning curve I will be happy if I can stay at my current weight. Every day I evaluate what I am eating, what I am doing for exercise and most importantly what my motives are. Because if they are not to bring my heart closer to Jesus than it is all in vain!


***As a side note, there has been some controversy about the sweeteners used in the Trim Healthy Mama plan. So please make sure you research these before using them. I have heard testimonies of people saying they substituted honey as a sweetener and the weight still came off. So if you aren't sure...that is always a good option.

Giveaway

Hey! Just wanted to let you all know that our daughter Jennifer is hosting a giveaway over at her blog. So go ahead and check it out, it will be worth your while!

Morning Help

This morning I was reminded again of how blessed we are to have our children help us around the house. We have found that if a good attitude, concerning work, is modeled by the parents it won't take long before ones as little as 2 or 3 will be begging to help with jobs! Now I am not by any means saying that our children always do a job willingly or with a good attitude. God knows we have had to do LOTS of training in that area!!! But I can say we do have helpful children. And for that I am so grateful! Thanks Jaden for reminding me of that this morning :)

#4

We are excited to announce that we have another grandchild! Silas Uriah was born to Henry and Megan Froese on Jan. 12th. He was a whopping 9 lbs. 1 1/2 oz.  

What a blessing he is to our family already!!!!

Grampa and Silas' first of many cuddles.

My precious grandson and I 

just a couple of hours after he was born.

Auntie Jen. She tends to be a baby hog 

so we had to keep an eye on her :)

Kerri so happy to finally meet this little man! 

(he was 2 weeks overdue)

Caleb and Silas. Caleb is an amazing Uncle and I'm sure 

Silas and him will have many fun times together. 

Proud Uncle Zach

The rest of the kiddos were not allowed to hold the baby (hospital rules!) but they were able to see him through the nursery window. They can't wait to get in some snuggle time with him!

Proven Weapons

Have you ever listened to the sermon on Sunday morning...nodding your head in agreement to what is being preached? It's so easy to sit there in church on Sunday and agree with our heads what is being said, but what about when we have an opportunity to live out what we heard from the Word?

I had such an opportunity today! On Sunday Pastor Tony preached about proven weapons. It was one of those sermons that ring true right to your heart. He preached that some of our greatest weapons against the devil are ones that we have been proven in our lives. He went on to give a few examples. If you have been prayed for and healed sometime in your life and you are faced with sickness later on, the proven weapon is the scriptures on healing. If you have been bound by an addiction and Jesus has set you free, the proven weapons are scripture on overcoming and freedom in Christ. If you have been saved from your sins and the Devil comes to tell you that you are not saved, the cross  and the blood of the Lamb is your proven weapon!

But the weapon that struck a cord with me and that has stuck with me this week was the weapon of joy. He said that sometimes you come into situations in life that are very frustrating and you may feel defeated....this may be the time that you just need to laugh! And he shared a circumstance in his life that he was discouraged and he just had to laugh. I know now why that stuck with me, because that was the weapon that I needed this morning. JOY!!!!

Here is why. I asked Brooke to go downstairs to the freezer and check if we had some almonds. She came up all panicky saying, "Something red burst all over the freezer!" Knowing this could only mean bad news I went down to the basement to check on the situation. What I saw made me want to cry....instead I yelled! Yes, me....I yelled, a deep from my belly....a moaning/desperate yell!!!! All I could think of was hours and hours of hard work melted into a puddle. Somehow the door on the freezer got left open (a life lesson for one of our children. But that's another whole story) and things were thawing out. This is the freezer where we keep all our our garden produce and jams.

If I had bought this all from the store if would not have been near as frustrating. But knowing all the hours we had put into picking, cleaning and blanching these things made it seem so much worse! So we got the crew together to clean up as quickly as possible and try to salvage what we could. I can tell you that I was not in the best of moods. I had my morning planned, a fun morning of getting ready for Christmas. Cleaning up such a mess was definitely not part of the plan! To top it all off some of the raspberry packages had leaked and so there was red sticky juice over a bunch of stuff meaning most of the packages and containers had to be washed off.

And THEN.....that moment when you realize that the sermon that you heard on Sunday was just for this moment! The moment when you realize that you can be a doer of the word or just a hearer. The moment where you realize that as a mom you can be an ungodly example or a godly example. I am sad to say that up to this moment, in this situation, I had been an ungodly example. But that didn't make me defeated because I still had a choice to make.

So I said to the boys, "This is the time that we need to live out the sermon that we heard on Sunday." And I said, "Everybody laugh!!!" And so we did. NOTE: Some people had to be tickled in order to get a chuckle out of them! But you know what immediately happened? The mood got lighter and we started to feel joyful inside! As the clean up progressed and we started to get a little grumpy again I said, "Everybody laugh!" And we did, and the mood lightened again!

Now I realize that joy is so much deeper than just laughing, it's being content in your circumstances, having that deep peace no matter what comes your way. But I also believe that sometimes our actions can change the way we look at things. In this case laughing (an outward demonstration of joy) was just what we needed to get our day back on track!

So next time you are faced with a situation that seems hopeless or overwhelmingly frustrating, choose a secret weapon from the Bible to help you to overcome. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness he always came back with scripture. May I live my life this way and use the "proven weapons" that have been given to me.


*Apologies to Pastor Tony if I paraphrased your words a bit, I didn't take notes. I tried my  to be accurate. Please feel free

to add or change any key things that I may have left out.

On The Road

This is our 11th day on the road. So far we have visited friends in Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina, spent a couple of days by the ocean and have been enjoying warm sunshine. For updates on our travels check out Jen's blog! Till next time!


                                                                                                                                 

So Thankful!

Today is thanksgiving here in Canada. What a great day to reflect on all the blessings that we have. If I just think even for a minute of all that I am thankful for my list gets very long....and that's not even a fraction of all I am thankful for!

In school devotions the kids and I have been reflecting on our relationship with God. In this study I have become so incredibly thankful for a God who desires to have a relationship with me!!! This is so amazing to my little mind. The God of the universe, the God who created everything, the God who measures the distance of the heavens with the span of His hand, the God who keeps the universe running in perfect order.....this God loves me!!!! Wow!!! If that isn't enough to be jumping up and down with thanks in my heart, I don't know what is!!!

And this God desires to have a relationship with me. James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." All I have to do is make an effort to get to know God, to know what He loves, know what He hates, desire to spend time with Him and read His Word, obey Him and He promises that He will draw near to me! WOW....what an amazing promise....what an amazing God.

So today I find myself not just thanking God for all the physical things I have and all the relationships He has given me, but mostly for a God Who loves me so much that He desires a relationship with ME!!! A God, Who's power I hear in the thunder, cares about the little things in my life. A God Who gave His Son for me so that I could have eternal life.

How could I not be thankful today? How could I not be thankful every day!!!!

GOD I THANK YOU!!!!!

Mom...

Mother of 13 and never a complaint.

The best role model EVER.

Our hero.

Beautiful

Virtuous.

Feisty.

Clothed in strength and honour.

She loves everyone, and everyone loves her

Her husband, home and her children are her love. 

We rise up and call her blessed because she blesses us much every day.

Happy Birthday Mom!

We love YOU!!!

Love: Your kiddoes

I know that there are many, many people out there who have been blessed in some way by our mom. 

Today is her birthday.

If she has touched your life in some way whether it be words spoken, a smile given or just by her living example... let her know. 

Please help us celebrate her by giving her some love. 

14 ***Updated***

UPDATE: Last evening we lost our precious little baby. 

We are doing well. 

We know that God is in control and we trust in His perfect plan. 

We choose to trust Him because He has never let us down. We choose to love Him because He has shown us a love so divine. We choose to rejoice because His way is perfect. We choose to praise Him because He is oh so worthy of our praise. 

Awhile back a funny thing happened in our family. I was shopping in town when I got a text from my little sister saying, "Congratulations on baby #14! At least I am pretty sure that is what "14" is all about. You are sure confusing Mom and Dad."

Well let me tell you that I was as confused as they were!!!!! Why was she congratulating me? I was not expecting #14.....where were they getting their info? So I told my sister that I was confused too! To which she replied that I should talk to my daughter's about their text to my mom.

Well to make a long story short.....I had asked Kerri what coverall size Caleb had grown out of. She texted me "14"....or she thought she had. But in fact she had texted my mom instead!!! And my mom and sister automatically thought we were expecting baby #14!! After I figured this all out I was almost rolling on the store floor laughing!!!!

So because we wanted to see if everyone would automatically think that the #14 was directly related to us expecting again....we put 14 as our facebook status....just to see if other people would think the same!!! A little nasty....I know :( But it didn't take us long to realize that many, many people related the #14 to us expecting again. We didn't let the joke go on too long before we explained that this was just the coverall size that Caleb had grown out of!!!!! Because our friends are such good sports....they laughed along with us :)

Well a little while we texted the #14 to my mom....and put our Facebook status as #14. But this time it was for real!!! Yes, we are excited to announce that, Lord willing, in March, we will be welcoming child #14 to our family! I feel honored and humbled that God would give this special little gift to our family.

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: 

and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; 

so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: 

they shall not be ashamed, 

but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3-5

SUPER MOM

When I meet a lady for the first time, and as we talk and get to know one another, eventually the subject of children comes up. And when she finds out that we have 13 children, her response is usually one of speechlessness or "You must be SUPER MOM!!!!"

Honestly, I don't usually know how to respond to this and often mutter something like, "If you lived with me you would definitely come to realize that I am far from 'super mom'!

SUPER MOM.....a very daunting title....and to huge to live up to, yet I think all of us moms try. Pinterest definitely has a way of encouraging us to try the impossible, to be more creative and to go all out. Blogs of other fine woman have made us want to be a better mom, given us hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and helped us feel like there are others out there in our shoes.

But all of these things, as positive as they can be on our lives, can also be very discouraging and damaging to the view and expectations we hold for ourselves. Everything on pinterest looks so perfect, organized and flawless. But we don't see the many failed attempts before this project was perfected. Blogs can make moms seem so "Super Momish"and alway joyful with never a down moment. But if we were a fly on the wall for a day we would soon find out that she has struggles of her own.

Today as I was making laundry soap I thought to myself, "A decade ago I would have laughed if someone would have told me that I would be making my own laundry soap in a few years." Why? Because a decade ago I had a small brood of children that took my every time and effort just to keep our home and lives afloat. Because if I would have even attempted to think about making laundry soap, I would have felt overwhelmed.

As moms we have to be very careful who we measure ourselves up to. We have to think through what stage we are in our lives and understand that we may not be able to do it all today....but maybe tomorrow......or next year.....or the next decade! When we pin stuff on pinterest we may have to remind ourselves that this is something we will put on the shelf until our lives permit it to be accomplished. When we read that fine mom's blog we need to understand that even though we may not be able to accomplish all that she does in a day.....but someday, when are children are a little older, we may be able to.

I have made the mistake too many time of measuring myself up to moms who looked like "SUPER MOM". And when I have done so, I have usually felt like a failure as a mom. Having 13 children means I have been pregnant 117 months or 9.75 years. It also means that I have had a newborn baby or have been getting up in the night with an infant for about 78 months or 6.5 years. That makes for approx. 16.25 years of feeling tired, ill, hormonal, unmotivated, or just plain "not SUPER MOM!" No wonder there have been days that I have only felt I am able to get the bare necessities done in our home!!! But I soon came to realize that measuring myself up to a mom who had 13 children of whom the youngest was 5, or a mom who had 4 children...all of them school age, or a mom who had children who were all 3 years apart....was just not smart. Because I was at the stage that I was right then....and it is not the same stage as SUPER MOM on the blog or down the street or on pinterest.....I was at the stage  that I was at right then....and I needed to realize that was OK. I would not be able to be all to all. I may not be able to have a perfect home full of homemade decorations with the windows clean and the floor all shiny. I may have to sit for a few hours a day nursing a baby or resting because I feel ill. But I had to realize that was OK!!!! It was not worth knocking myself out, or beating myself up because I didn't measure up to "SUPER MOM"!

Now this didn't give me an excuse to be lazy or sit around and read a book all day. This didn't give me and excuse to have a unhealthy unclean home, macaroni and cheese meals every day, or ignore my husband and children's needs. But it gave me a reason to focus on the main things....prioritize every day what I needed to accomplish and leave alone the things that I thought would make me a "SUPER MOM"! It meant that there might be fingerprints on the wall, that the dishes may have to sit in the sink for longer than I like and that I may have to buy laundry detergent :) But I needed to be OK with that.

Today I make my own laundry detergent, I can get the day's wash done, the floor is usually relatively clean, the dishes are done, I make yogurt, the garden is weeded and clean.....but tomorrow, or next year, or next decade....it may not be. Not because I am not a SUPER MOM, but because I am at a different stage of my life. A stage that God has put me in at that moment. And I will need to be OK with that.

So put away all the SUPER MOM mentalities that have been making you feel overwhelmed, frustrated and inadequate, and look to the stage you are at today....prioritize what is necessary and do those things. Go ahead and pin those things on pinterest.....read that Mom's blog that you admire....but realize that you are who you are, and you are right in the stage and place that God has put you. And remember that a real SUPER MOM is one who is content to be where God has put her today. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, not a decade from now....but today. And next time you see someone who seems like a "SUPER MOM" in your eyes....instead of trying to live up to here.....bless her and smile, knowing that she is human just like you....just in a different stage of life! And be OK with that :)

BE KIND

Sometimes.......

 you just need a Monday shirt!!!!

Marriage Series (part 2)

So to continue our series I wanted to talk about spending time with your spouse. You may be saying "well ya, obviously!" But even though we know in our heads that this is a very important thing to actually do...sometimes it's much easier said than done!

Relationship in marriage does not just happen...it needs to be cultivated and nurtured. Too many couples make the mistake of thinking that once they get married they will be with each other daily and the marriage bond will just happen. This may be true in the first few years, but after awhile it's not so easy. People and things start to take more and more of our time away from each other. It may be a job, ministry, friends or even our own children that causes this to happen. They may all be "good" things....but too many times they/it can steal our time. And often it happens so slowly that we barely recognize it!

What does it mean to make your marriage a priority? Well, just that. Making your spouse the most important part of your day. Giving your spouse the best of you, not the leftovers.

I can hear all the young moms saying, "I can barely get the food on the table, keep the house clean or get the laundry done. And now you want to add another thing on my plate? I am telling you this from someone who has been there. I have had many little ones and no big help. I have been up countless numbers of times in the night with a newborn. I have had the overwhelming feelings that I was never going to get all the work done that I needed to. But I can also tell you something else...... I have never, ever regretted the time that I have invested into our marriage. In fact, I wish I had done it more.

We have seen many couples who have poured all of their time and energies into their children in their growing up years and then one day their children leave the home and what are they left with...two people who barely know each other. Why? Because all of their time was spent investing in others while ignoring the relationship that started it all! Please don't let this be what happens to you.

This doesn't have to be something complicated, or take a lot of money. It can be just the simple little things that will make a huge difference. The most important thing it takes a change of mindset. It takes you asking the question every day, "Who is the most important person in my life?" It takes evaluating at the end of the day, "Who did I invest the most of my time/energy in?" It takes a heart of truly wanting your marriage to be the best that it can be and the willingness to take the effort to make it so.

Mark and I love to be on dates together. We find this a great time where we can focus on each other without having to wipe a child's nose, bring one to the bathroom, or answer the 'oh so urgent' question. It's a time where we can give each other our undivided attention. A time where we can have heart to hearts without little ears listening in. Over the years, depending on our situation, we have had many kinds of "dates"  Some have been going out somewhere, many have been combined with our weekly shopping trip, some have been overnighters and some have just been at home. Probably my most memorable dates have been the ones where we put the kids in bed and then have our own romantic candlelit supper. It takes no money, just a bit of time and planning. And wives, a word to you. It is not always the husbands job to make a date happen. As long as you are in tune with the finances and knowing your husbands schedule you can plan the date! Or you can make a special evening at home for the two of you. Don't make it his job and get all offended if he never plans anything! You can do this to!

We have led the course "Growing Kids God's Way" many times over the past 15+ years. We so appreciate that the Ezzos saw fit to teach on the importance of a strong marriage in the raising of our children. They make the point that when your marriage is strong it offers security to your children. If they know that you love each other, their little world feels so secure. They talk about going on dates and telling your children, "This is for your good!" We have said that to our children many times over the years when they have asked to come with us. We tell them, "No, we are going on a date...and it's for your good!" And they often smile from ear to ear :) This sends a message to your children that your marriage is worth investing in and that it's very important to both of you. And even though their little minds may not understand it...their hearts do. Now when our children hear that we are going on date the word spreads quickly throughout the family and you hear the children all saying to each other excitedly, "Dad and Mom are going on a date!" It really makes their heart glad! Now a word of caution here....if you have had a home where your children have been the centre of attention and you have not made your marriage a priority, you are probably going to feel some resistance from your children. There may be bouts of crying and making you feel real bad about leaving them, but remember to tell them and yourself, "This is for your good!"

But dates aren't the only way to make your marriage a priority although that is a very good tool. Think back to before you were married. When you were away from your love, who did you think about? I think most of our responses would be, "I thought about my love, ALL DAY LONG!" Do you know it can still be that way? You can purpose to think about, give notes, pray for, send texts to your love throughout the day. And when you do you are making a statement, "You are the most important person in my life. When you are gone I think about you." What about when your husband comes home. What do you do? Do you give him your time and attention. Ask him how his day was? Do you make him feel like you missed him while he was gone? Or do your kids get the upper hand with Daddy? You may have to fight your way in there to give your hubby some loving :)

I hope you are getting the picture here. It's not about "what" you do, it's not about "you have to go for a date once a week" or rules like that, it's about your heart attitude towards your marriage. It's about being intentional to making your marriage a priority. It's about not letting your everyday life take over your marriage relationship. It's about loving each other enough to make this work. Remember, it's all a matter of your heart! How much effort are you willing to put into it? How important is your marriage to you?

Little By Little

When I went to camp as a child there was a song we often sang called "Little By Little". Well this is the theme song of our spring on the farm this year!  Little by little we are getting the seed in the ground!

If you have been following our blog throughout the winter you know that we had a unusually large amount of snow. Well with the LOTS of snow we had, and the late spring, things have been quite soggy on the fields. We were very thankful to finally be able to start seeding on the 13th of May. We put in a few very long days and one all nighter (making a farm record of how many acres we seeded in a 24 hr period!) because the forecast said more rain was on the way. And sure enough we got another nice bit of rain which halted our seeding for a few more days. But thankfully, near the end of last week, we were able to get started seeding again. Basically now we are caught up to the dry ground and now have to wait for the very BIG and very SOGGY pot holes to dry. About now we could also be singing the "Have Patience" song because this morning we woke up to more rain....but that's ok...it will help our seeded crops grow :) We always welcome rain....for without rain....nothing grows!!!

Every farming year is different. Sometimes things go like clockwork...and other years....well...they don't! But we are so thankful that we serve a God who know what He is doing!!! What peace and rest to know that He is in control and that He will take care of us like He promises in His Word. I can't even imagine the amount of stress we would be feeling right now if it weren't for the fact that we serve a MIGHTY GOD! And that in our years of farming He has proven over and over again that even if things seem impossible to us in the natural.....He is way BIGGER than what seems impossible! His ways are not our ways.....and that's a GOOD thing....cause I am pretty sure we would mess things up royally!!!

So this spring has been another lesson in trust....trusting that God has a perfect plan. And finding that spot where we rest and the other spot where we go, go, go!!!! We are thankful that we are now seeing the end of our seeding season and look forward to what the rest of the summer will bring! Now maybe we can focus on getting our garden it :)

Well this was an attempt at an update. If it seems like I just wrote about seeding....that's because that is our life right now. Even when we are not seeding.....we are seeding....if you know what I mean. It is always on our minds :)

Here is a scripture verse that I have been thinking a lot about lately.

  "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, 

and cold and heat, and summer and winter,

 and day and night shall not cease ." 

Genesis 8:22 
What a beautiful promise!!!

Loyal Heart

This morning I was reading 2 Chronicles 25:2.

"And he (Amaziah) did what was right in the sight of The Lord, but not with a loyal heart."

This verse struck me and reminded me again how important the state of our heart is to God. He doesn't just look at our actions, but he looks at our hearts.

Our pastor just finished up a sermon series on "Following Jesus". In one of the sermons he talked about following Jesus, not out of duty or habit, but out of love for Him. What a powerful truth to live by.

This is something that God has impressed on our hearts again and again over the years. We have been sure to teach this truth to our children. When we have a situation that needs discipline, and as we go through the steps of repentance, we are sure to bring in the principle that we obey God because we love Him...not out of duty, but out of devotion. If we can get this into our children's hearts....our hearts....we believe obeying God will be a joy rather than a list of do's and dont's.

As followers of Jesus it can be so easy to get caught up in all the "rules" that have been put there, whether through principles of the Bible, or man's teachings. It can be so easy to get caught up in the action rather than the actual state of our hearts. Don't get me wrong....I know there are absolutes in the Bible....laws that God has put there that we need to live by....but if we are just doing them to do "right" and our hearts are not loyal...what good is this?

Let's say you give your child and instruction like, "Please go clean the bathrooms." It doesn't take long to see what the state of their heart is like, does it? They may say "Yes Ma'am" with a smile and a spring in their step or they may say "Yes Ma'am" with a pout on their face and body language that is less than energetic! They will still clean the bathroom....they still obey you and do what is right...but which reaction makes your heart happy?

And I believe so it is with God. Our Christian walk should not be about rules and how far we can bend the rules....but rather how can we please the heart of God. How can we show our love and loyalty for Him with a spring in our step, a smile on our face and a "Yes Sir" on our lips? How can we show Him that we obey Him out of love for Him rather than just duty?

So as you live your life "for God", ask yourself, "Is my heart loyal to God or am I just going through the motions?"  I find that true joy comes when I obey God out of love for Him and a loyal heart rather than duty. Sure I can go through the motions....but what kind of child would I be? One that pleases the heart of God? I want to please Him....don't you?

                                                                                                                               

Harvest In April?

Well I meant to post about our harvest way back in September, but that just didn't happen! And since my amazing daughter-in-law gave me all these harvest photos I figured they shan't go to waste so....I will post about harvest...in April!!!! Since we still have lots of snow here and are experiencing major spring fever I thought this might be good therapy....to remind us that there is hope....nice weather WILL come!!!!

As I have mentioned before, harvest is a team effort around here. Every person from the oldest to the youngest has a special part to play. It's times like this that we are especially grateful for many hands....for they do make lighter work!

Harvest is a very busy time for us. A time where we put in long days and a few hours of sleep is a luxury. The weather largely dictates what we will be doing in a day. If it is raining, harvest is on hold, but that doesn't mean we get much of a break because this is the time that all the work that has been put off is done :) For the men this time is usually used for fixing, fixing, fixing, and for the ladies it is yard work, garden work and house work.

Here's what a typical harvest day would look like for us. Now I say that very loosely because no two harvest days are alike :)

We wake up anywhere from 5-8 depending on how late our night was and what we have to accomplish before getting to the field. An average wake up time would probably be around 6:30-7:00. From the time we wake up until around 11:00 or 12:00 we basically run around madly trying to do the things that need to be done in the house, on the machinery and in the yard. For the ladies it is often laundry, house cleaning, gardening and running after kids :) For the guys it's unloading grain, moving grain, testing grain, fixing and anything else that needs their desperate attention!

Then we head out to the field when we think things might be dry and we test the grain. We use a moisture tester. I wish I had pictures to show you how we do it...but I don't. Maybe someday :) Anyway every grain has their own "dry" point. If the grain is not dry enough when we put it in the bin it could mean spoilage. That's why we test it :)

If it's dry enough, then we go go go!!!! And keep on going until we can't anymore....or until we need some sleep!!! And then we go to bed, wake up and repeat :) Except on Sundays.....God sure knew what He was doing when He gave us that day of rest!

So just to give you a visual here are a few pictures (thanks Becca) of us out in the field and those left at home to feed us :)

Let's start with the food :) And the wonderful people who bring it out to us. There is nothing more wonderful, after being in a combine cab all day, than seeing the meal truck come into the field! Yummy :)

Here is Kerri making sure everything is packed.

 Every once in awhile someone ends up without a fork or something like that....but not very often :)

They do a great job packing an average of 

10 or 11 suppers every day. 

And here is the wonderful duo working hard to feed the crew

And they are still smiling :)

Everything labeled with sweet little notes :)

The notes don't happen every day, but it's a treat when it does :)

A tradition started a few years ago to make perogies 

and send them out to the field.

It's something we all look forward to 

All the meals are delicious but not too many beat this one!

Kerri putting the potato filling in.

Frying them up

(the reason we only have them once in awhile!)

This just makes my mouth water!!!

This is Caleb and I and another passenger (not sure who:)

We have a schedule for which kiddos come out to the field. 

We rotate who they go with every day. 

This lightens the load at home and gives some great bonding time for those in the field. 

How can you not bond when you are in a small cab together for hours on end!!!

The kiddos usually bring something along to play with, read or even school work. 

They also love to listen to stories that we have downloaded on our phones.

And they even get to play on the iPad once in awhile (if they come with mom:)

The combines unloading into the grain cart. 

The grain cart then empties into the grain truck.

And the trucker brings the grain to the bins.

Unloading the precious cargo into the bin.

This is canola.

The grain cart driver, Jen....reading I think :) 

And her little sidekick for the day...Brooke

Jen sometimes gets to have a bit of downtime during the day 

while waiting for the combines to fill (depending on the type of crop it is), 

but I don't envy her because she is the only one without air conditioning :(

The trucker, Josh, and his side kick for the day (Zach I believe).

We keep him pretty busy most days :)

And then there's the cute little helpers 

ready to be taken home from the field!

And who could forget these little sweeties, 

Makayla and Elijah.

I can't believe how much they have both grown over the winter!!!

Ahhhh.....I feel much better now!!! 

Warm weather will come....it has to!!! 

And for now we will try to enjoy the slower pace of life :)

For once it gets warmer and the snow melts and the land dries.....

life will get busy because....

That's life on the farm :)