He is HOME!!

Our sweet little man is HOME!

Mommy and Jaden are doing great...just a little tired :)

Jaden is enjoying his big brother and big nephew...

Our sweet little man..

Cuddles with big sis...

RED hair

We LOVE you Jaden!

We Got a Name!!!

Meet Jaden Isaac

It's a....

BOY!!!

Born July 29/10 @ 7:27 a.m.

Weighing 8lb 2oz

Name yet to be decided.

And The Winner Is....

And the winner for the give-away is

*DRUMROLL PLEASE*

Mrs. Mike

Congratulations!!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

(Mrs. Mike if you could please email us your mailing address @ mrpauls@inetlink.ca so we can get your book out to you)

Favorite One Liners

Having a large family brings many people to feel the need of blurting out these 'one liners' Some are funny, some are silly and some are just plain rude :)

But there are some other one liners that I have heard a lot of over the years. Comes about this time each pregnancy.

Here they are.

No baby yet?

You're still here?

When's the big day?

Are you anxious to get this over with?

Are you ready?

Do you have names picked out?

Isn't that baby cooked yet?

So in case you are just wondering:

Yes, I have a baby....it's just still inside!

Yes, I am still here....plan on sticking around for awhile.

Not sure when the big day will be....God knows though.

I am content being pregnant, but I am excited to meet our little blessing....so, yes and no.

If you mean do I have everything ready for the baby....yes. If you mean am I emotionally and physically prepared.....yes, as much as is possible to prepare for labor :)

Have you ever tried naming 12 children? Nuff said :)

My belly button hasn't popped out yet. Does that mean baby's not cooked?

Book Giveaway

Just a reminder about this book giveaway

Get your comments in by July 27th 

to be entered into the draw.

Have a great day :)

Transitions

                                  

This is a day that is always hard for me. I've went through it now....let's see...11 times!

You'd think by now I would be used to it?

But not so.

Each time, it pricks a little piece of my mother heart.

Not sure why.....it just does.

For you see today was the day that my little Joey....became a big boy!

We moved him out of the baby room...and into the big kids room downstairs.

I knew it was going to happen....I tried to prepare myself for it....but to no avail.

Still a little prick in my heart.

Meg put Joey to bed the other night as I was working outside.

When I came in I saw the baby room door open and was ready to close it when.....
it dawned on me. My little Joey isn't in there anymore. He's one of the BIG kids now :)

I had to peek inside, just to make sure. And sure enough, the playpen was empty.

Our bedroom is attached to the baby room...so we have the privalage of hearing the baby babbling in the morning. It always brings a smile to my face. And my hubby will often yell out something like..."Hey Joey, Joey, what are you doing, doing, doing?" or something like that...it makes my morning!

But now it will be silent in the morning......

Now the good news is that in 2 weeks (Lord willing) that spot will be filled again by a new little person. The babbles will be a little different for the first while....but at least it will not be silent.

So once again I find myself wondering....will this be the last time that bed will be occupied? Or does God have more little ones for us in the future? I hope He does, but I also know that He is the one that opens and closes the womb. So with each pregnancy and each "transition" I wonder it will be the last of it's kind.

There are so many transitions when raising children, newborn, toddlers, school age, young adults, marriage, grandchildren. And each one of them is special and unique. I love being a mom!

What about you? What transitions are you going through?

An Encouraging Testimony and A GIVEAWAY!

We are privileged to be living close enough to the U.S. border that we are able to pick up a Christian Radio Station. We don't really listen to it much in the house, but when we are spending hours in the field, their inspiring programs help to pass the time much more quickly, so we will often listen to it.

The other day Mark came in from haying and started to share about a program he had heard that day. The story sounded very interesting to me and so I looked it up on computer, downloaded the programs to my phone (there were 4 parts), and while we were driving on Sunday we listened to them.

Ed Harrell has an amazing testimony of God's power, providence and protection, even out in the middle of the ocean. Here is an excerpt of his story:
Bob: Sixty-five years ago this month on July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine launched torpedoes that would sink the USS Indianapolis. Marine Ed Harrell was on board the Indianapolis that night.

Ed: When I actually left the ship, and there I prayed that somehow the Lord would see me through what lie ahead, and yet I had the foggiest idea that I'm going to be out there for four-and-a-half days. There's times when you pray and there's times when you pray—and there is a difference

I know how much I like to hear people testify of God's goodness to them, and so I thought I would pass on the link from Out of the Depths, to you.  This link is to Part One of the story. If you want to listen to the whole thing you will want to listen to parts 2-4 too. The links are on this page as well.

Oh, and one more thing, parents, if you have children who are quite sensitive to some things, you will want to listen to this first and make sure it's OK for them. There is talk of sharks and some not so nice things they did.

If you listen to it, would you let me know what your favourite part of the testimony was? Then your name will be entered into a draw for this book.....You have until July 27th to get your comment in.

Pregnancy Update

The last couple of weeks have been busy with Dr. appt.'s, ultra sound, tests & dietitian visits.
On Tuesday I had an ultra sound and the technician said everything looked great. I seem to be measuring right on with my due date, meaning the baby is about the right size, so that is an answer to prayer.

I also saw the dietitian again on Tuesday and she was pleased enough with the way things were going that I do not have to go back to her unless my sugars start to go up. I still have to test myself like before, but we are so glad that change of diet is working and I won't have to take insulin.

As for my change of diet, I am finally starting to get used to what I can eat with what and so on. I won't lie and say it's easy. It's very hard sometimes, especially with my sweet tooth :) But I thought I would crave sweets a lot more than I have, so for that I am thankful. And I am also thankful I didn't have to give up my all time favorite night time snack, POPCORN! I did have to give up the lemonade that went so beautifully with it but OH WELL!

I saw the Dr. today and she was pleased with last weeks blood tests. She agreed to let me see my midwife next week, so I am very excited about that. I really want my midwife to be able to be involved in this birth if at all possible. Even though I have a super nice Dr., it is really hard to go back to one after having a midwife with the last 4 babies. But again, I am have a great respect for my Dr. She is caring, listens, takes the time to explain things, and I don't feel like just a number. Really, she's the best Dr. I have ever been to.

I am feeling great! Baby is moving lots and lots and lots! I am not usually even that tired, which is a great blessing. The weather has been co-operating with me, as we have only had a couple of real scorching days this summer, and Mark got the air conditioner in just in time for most of those days :)

The rest of the family is excited about when they will meet their new little brother or sister. We bought a few little clothes and diapers, so that always makes it seem more real to them. Soon we will have to have a serious name discussion. I think each of us have a couple of favorites in mind, but nothing is for sure yet. It gets harder and harder to pick names the more children we have!

So thanks again for all who have been praying for me! I appreciate it so much, and am so grateful to God for answering them. God is good.....all the time!

Don't forget to vote for what you think this baby will be.....a boy or girl. And if you want to leave a comment telling us what you guessed....even better :)

What do you think?

Just for fun

Put in your vote

What do you think

baby Pauls

will be

a boy

or

a girl

(Poll is posted on the sidebar)

Happy Birthday to Brooke

It's hard to believe that 5 years have already passed since we first laid eyes on our little Brookie.

That was a very different year for us as we were living and working at a Christian camp for the summer. You were born a day earlier than your due date and we hardly had to miss a beat. We did stay home and recover for about a week, and then back to camp we went.

From the first moment, you were a quiet baby and basically just slept and ate. This made helping out at the camp a lot easier. When I look back I am not sure how we did all that. Having 9 children, 5 of them under 7, and being sleep deprived, I am amazed how God gave us that strength when we needed it! It gives me hope for this baby, who is due in a very busy season with farming and the garden, that God will give us the strength when we need it.

In some sense it almost felt like you were our first little girl, since it had been 10 yrs. since we had a 'baby girl'. Kerri officially lost that title that she had held onto for so long. But all the girls were thrilled to dress you up in frilly little dresses and be able to love on a little sister.

If I would try to describe you, I would say you are a little girl who loves life to the fullest! You can often be found with a giggle on your lips. You remind me so much of your daddy. But even in your silliness you are quite shy. If you see that you have an audience, you like to hide.

The playmates you are most often found with are Nathan and Mikaya. Nathan will often play house or dolls with you and Mikaya tags along. When Nathan is playing sports with his brothers, then you and Mikaya are usually found still playing with dolls, or helping your older sisters in the kitchen.

You are very good with names of things. If we are making something for a meal that you have never heard of, you ask us what it is, and a few hours later, you announce to Daddy the name of the dish. I am always amazed at how you can remember those little things.

You love to go with your Daddy to the field. When you are in the tractor with him you both make up silly songs and change the words to songs. You still think that the Itsy Bitsy Spider song says, "The sun came up and dried up all the land" no matter how many times Daddy tells you it's "dried up all the RAIN"!!! You and him have had many fun disagreements over this :) You also play the game of A A....butterfly. Or C C....Horsie. Or F F....Piggy!!!! And the two of you will go on and on! I'm sure someday soon you will learn the real sounds to the letters. For now you will just have fun with them!

I see in you a heart that loves to worship. You don't sing very loud, but I hear you often singing worship songs. It blesses my heart!

You love to color by number. And because you can't read, you have to ask me what color a certain number is. But you don't just ask me for one number, you ask me for 2 or 3 at a time. And you remember them. There's that memory again. I think it might come in very handy for me!!!

I can't imagine our family without our bubbly little Brookie. God knew just who we needed and when we needed you! You are a blessing to all of us.

We pray for you, that this will be a year of continued joy in Christ. The happiness of this world is fleeting, but the joy of the Lord will be your strength. Keep on making us all laugh....we need it!

We love you Brooke. Happy Birthday!

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 28:7

What Do You Think?

I wonder what is keeping this little boy so entertained???? 

It is a DVD..

Its not a cartoon....

IT is a singing group....

He comes running when he hears it playing....

It is the ....The Gaither Vocal Band!!!

Silly Sally

On the Pauls' farm we have very talented animals indeed! Here is our milk cow, Sally. How talented is that :)

This is really what she does. We didn't even speed it up!

(if the video doesn't load, try refreshing the page)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Chicky Sticken, Sticky Chicken

When I first wrote this post I challenged you to say Chicky Sticken 5 times. What I meant to say was Chicky Sticken, Sticky Chicken 5 times.

Brookie loves her Daddy!

They do lots of crazy things together.....mostly at the dinner table.

They laugh lots, they talk silly, they come up with crazy rhymes, they make funny faces.....

She follows him like a shadow when he is working on the yard.

She will spend hours on a tractor just to be around him.

But lately Brookie and Daddy have had a dilemma.

Daddy (the master of nick names) and for awhile has called her 'Beautiful Brookie'

Then just recently (probably somewhat to do with the 'interesting hair-dos' she sports throughout the day, depending on the weather :), he has called her 'Curly Sue'.

Brookie

But for some reason Brookie has protested to being called 'Curly Sue', instead she wanted to steal her little sister's nick name...Fluffy?!?!?

and Daddy jokingly argued back and forth over this issue for weeks (you guessed it, mostly at the dinner table)

Finally one day, tired of the arguing (hee, hee) Daddy decided that he would give this little girl a choice of two nick names. This should settle it once and for all.

So at the table one day Daddy came up with the ultimatum.....it's either 'Curly Sue' or.......'Sticky Chicken'!!!! But...... Brookie still insisted on being called her little sister's name..... 'Fluffy'.

Well Daddy then decided he would choose between the two names on his own.........and so the nickname was......You guessed it.....Sticky Chicken :)

After being called this a few days, Brookie said to her Daddy one day....'You can call me Curly Sue'!!!! And he does (sometimes :)....and they laugh....and they still have fun at the dinner table.

Now little sister seeing all the fun wanted to join in and when Daddy called her 'Fluffy' she said, "No, I'm Chicky Sticken"!

Well then Daddy got an idea that everyone should try to say Chicky Sticken, Sticky Chicken

5 times...fast. And guess what...no one could do it....maybe once or twice....but definitely not 5 and definitely not quickly!!!!

So here's a Pauls' challenge for you. Can you say Chicky Sticken, Sticky Chicken 5 times in a row really fast? If you can....we will put you down in our books of 'most talented one'!!!!

There.....now you know a bit of what can go on around our dinner table :)

Random Life Things

Here is what our days have been like around here (and I'm sure many others as well:)

We wake up and see if the sun is shining or not. 9 times out of 10 it isn't, many times in fact, it is raining. If it's raining we try to think of some inside projects that can be left at a drop of a hat, just in case the sun shines. Because if the sun shines....we rush outside and the frantic weeding, mowing, tilling, and anything else that has had to wait for the sun to shine, begins. It's been quite a spring to say the least. Today we were able to get most of the garden weeded and tilled before it started to pour.....again!

Over the years Mark and I have said that we would rather rain than drought. I know lots of rain floods things and drowns things out, but there still seems to be hope with rain. With a drought, when everything is dead with no seeming chance of growing, it is a lot more hard to take.

We have been very blessed in our area. We were able to get all of our crops in and sprayed. There are others in this province, and other provinces who have not been able to get either accomplished. Our prayers are with them as we can only imagine how hard that must be. A farmer's life this time of year is supposed to be crazy busy, instead many are waiting around for things to dry up.

On another note I thought it was time for a pregnancy update. Up until last week everything was going super well. My blood pressure was well controlled, baby growing and moving lots (did I say LOTS!). Then I went in for my routine blood sugar test. The random one came back high, so I had to do a one hour one. That one came back high, the next step was a 3 hour fasting test. That also came back high so now I have been told I have gestational diabetes. This means that I am back to seeing a Dr. at least for a couple of weeks. My Dr. is super nice, I am thankful for that, but still not the route we wanted to go. I was sent to a dietician and we are now trying to bring my levels down simply by diet change. I am happy that this is the first step they take.

So now eating is not such a simple thing anymore. I have to write down everything I eat and test myself 4 times a day to see how my levels are doing. Eating takes a lot more thinking, as I have to eat protien and vegetables with my carbohydrates. I am not supposed to go any more than 3 hours between eating and concentrate on eating smaller meals. Basically I have said good-bye to sweets. I could eat, in moderation, things sweetened with fake sweeteners, but I am not too keen on that.

My Dr. said that if my levels aren't able to be controlled with diet then I will have to take insulin. But the dietician said that this changing the diet route usually works. So we are praying for that.

From what I have read, there is usually no symptoms for gestational diabetes. I do not feel bad at all. There is one thing that I have noticed though since I have changed my diet. It used to be that when I got hungry, I would immediately feel headachy. But now my stomach just feels the hunger. So not sure if that is related or not?

As for my birth plan, everything is up in the air right now. I have an ultra sound coming up to check how the baby is doing and his/her size. One of the common complications with gestational diabetes is that the sugar goes to the baby and the baby grows big. If the ultra sound shows the baby is growing too big, then the Dr's plan is to take the baby earlier. So we are again praying that we caught this early enough and baby is not getting too much chub :)

Once again I am getting practice at trusting God, His timing, and knowing in my heart that He is in control and being A-OK with that. I don't know what this birth is going to look like. I don't know the purposes that God has in allowing us to go through this and that's OK. I don't need to understand, I just need to hold His hand (as the song goes). I am so thankful that I do not need to figure it all out....there's freedom in that!

So for now it is a wait and see thing. See if the diet will work, see what the ultra sound results are, and see if I will be able to go back to my midwife after things are under control. And in the mean time, look forward to meeting our little reward :) Time is flying by and we know baby will be here faster than we think.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for my blood pressure! And could you please add this concern when you think of praying for us? Oh, and if there is anyone out there who has been through this and can give me some pointers, it would be greatly appreciated :)

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome. Deuteronomy 10:17

Lots Of Soccer (By Megan)

If you come into our yard you most likely will see 4 little boys with sweat dripping down their faces playing SOCCER!

Every chance they get (when mom or there sisters don't have work for them that is :) they are out playing...

Just imagine what it will be like when they get bigger! If they keep playing like this they are going to be pro's!

Everybody needs some cheer leaders....

At the end of the day we tear them from their game....

And then the next day they are at it again :)

Apology Accepted?

Last night a couple of our children decided to disobey our instructions to go to bed, lie down and listen to a CD.

Instead they decided to play a game.

So of course they were brought back upstairs for a training moment. As I was talking to them about how serious it was to disobey I also brought up the fact that not only were they being disobedient, but they were also being a very poor example to their younger siblings (who happen to share a room with them.) I went on to say that God entrusted them to the special position of being an older sibling and what a privilege that was. After all, God could have chosen them to be the youngest, but instead He chose them to have younger siblings. Siblings who watch and learn from them.

When we were done talking, I told them that this time I would give them grace (normally I would make tomorrow’s bedtime earlier) and then we proceeded to go through the apology process.

The older one started to say, “I’m sorry…” and I stopped him right there….. I’m sorry would not be acceptable. Here’s why.

Ever since our children were little we have taught them that relationships are nothing to take lightly. And when we offend or hurt someone we need to apologize to them and restore the relationship. But we do not use the words “I am sorry” when we apologize for these things. We use the words, “Will you please forgive me for…..” We reserve the words I am sorry for times when we accidentally do something….like step on their toe, bump into them….things like that. But when we intentionally do something to hurt our relationship with someone, it takes more than an ‘I’m sorry’ to make things right again.

So in this situation last night when one of the boys started to say, “I’m sorry“ ….I stopped him and said, “Did you step on my toe?” This is how I bring them to the seriousness of the moment. They didn’t ‘accidentally’ hurt me…..instead they deliberately and intentionally hurt our relationship.

He then proceeded to say, “Will you please forgive me for playing a game in bed”. Now you may say this was sufficient, he asked for forgiveness, but that still wasn’t the apology I was looking for. Why? Because this was not the moral offence. There are times where they can play a game in bed, and I don’t mind one bit. But playing a game in bed was not the underlying issue here. When I brought this to his attention, he looked into his heart and said, “Will you please forgive me for disobeying you and not going to bed like you asked us to?” Ahhh….there it was. The apology for the heart issue. That’s what asking forgiveness is all about.

We have found that asking someone to forgive you vs. saying I’m sorry takes a lot more humility. And to ask forgiveness for the attitude and actions of the heart takes heart searching.

This principle works between husbands and wives, family or friends. Saying sorry is not easy, but asking for forgiveness takes even more guts and in the end means a lot more.

When I look in the Bible, I never see the word sorry in it. We really believe in using Biblical terminology when we train our children. For instance when we teach our children obedience, we do not say, LISTEN to Daddy or Mommy, instead we say OBEY Daddy and Mommy. When we teach them to be kind we don’t say DON’T HIT, instead we will say be GENTLE. When we teach them to be content we don’t say be SATISFIED, we instead say, be CONTENT. And likewise with forgiveness. We don’t teach them to say I’m sorry when they hurt relationship with another, instead we teach them to say “Will you forgive me for….”

And we see a definite difference in their attitude towards God, us and each other when they apologize this way. There is a much deeper understanding of restoring relationship. And in this they also learn how to ask their heavenly Father for forgiveness.

So here’s the end of our “episode” last night. As they were going back downstairs I heard them say to each other, “Let’s go ask - - - - - - - for forgiveness for being a bad example to them. And as a mother, when I heard those words, it made me joyful inside. Because not only did they get it, they REALLY got it! And that’s what one of our goals should be as parents . Not to make these little robots that say sorry when we tell them to, but rather children that know in their hearts why we ask of them what we do and take the initiative to take these values as part of their own and act on them. This is what parenting is all about! What a great opportunity and privilege we have :)

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139: 23-24

Wouldn't you like to live a life of no regrets.

A life where you look back and say.....if I had to do it all over again....I would do it the same way.

Although this is an appealing thought, it is not reality...at least for me anyway. There are things that I have done in my life that I definitely do regret.

But it's still a goal worth working towards. How about if I would start today?

I have thought of this many times, but yesterday a comment someone made to me got me to thinking again.

It was just regular chit chat. The weather....the kids....health.....helpers...and then the comment came.......

I was just getting into the truck......."You're very lucky." That was it....3 little words...but I know there was a lot more behind it than just little words. They were said in a tone that communicated remorse....remorse for what could have been, what should have been.

I got to thinking on the way home, how sad it is that we go through life.....often come to our senior years and look back on regret of some of the choices we have made.....important choices....ones that cannot be reversed. I wondered why we can't just look ahead now and see the things we might regret and choose to make a different decision. That's what I want to do.

If Mark and I could have a dollar for every time someone has said to us, "I wish we would have had more than 1, 2, 3.......children"......I think we might be able to retire and go to some exotic place and sit on the beach and drink lemonade.......all day long.....hee hee.

But seriously, I don't know how to react when I hear this from people's mouths. Do you say "I'm sorry?" What do you say? Usually we just say that we have never regretted allowing God to give us as many children as He so chooses. And that each one is a special blessing in our family's life.

But how sad.....how sad to look back and regret your decision. The decision of the number of children they should have...and then one day realizing that they wish they would have had more. The decision of working so much that they never really had any time to spend with their children. The decision to send their children to daycare so that they could make more money, than to spend each and every day with their child. That maybe it was the wrong decision?

Why are we people that are so short sighted? When we are in the midst of babies, diapers, sleepless nights, endless training......why do we not see and understand that this will not be forever?

Why do we not look ahead 10, 15, 20, 25 years and see how our life will be different then? That we will long to hear the pitter patter of little feet, feel the kiss of a toddler, hear that constant chatter around the kitchen table and it would be music to our ears......why are we so short sighted?

It is very rare to talk to a senior (although it has happened) and hear them say, "I am so glad that we have the house to ourselves and that our children rarely come home." or "I am so glad that I spent all that time working when my children were at home and I hardly saw them, because now I have a big house and can go on vacations." Those aren't the words I hear anyway....usually they are words of regret...I wish....

I want to be long sighted. I want to look ahead to the days when my children are not little anymore and how different life will be. And on the days that seem to go on forever and I am tired, physically and mentally, I want to recognize that this is a stage in my life that I will not have the privelage of being in forever. I want to cuddle those who want to be cuddled, talk with those who want to talk, I want to marvel at the wonder of a little life kicking and growing inside of my, tickle a baby and lavish their belly laugh, smile at the boyish energy that little boys have, appreciate the middle of the night cuddles with my newborn when it's just the two of us......I do not want to have regrets.

I do not want to look back and see that I refused the blessings that God had for me through our children. I want to have eyes to see the little things that make up my day as blessings instead of inconveniences. I want to have the fruits of the Spirit evident in my everyday walk.

Why? Because.....I do not want to have any regrets.......I do not want to wake up one day and say, "Why did I waste all that time on useless things that really didn't matter.....Why did I think I was wise enough to make the decision of how many children I should allow God to bless me with.....Why did I put the desires of my flesh above what God wanted for my life...Why?

I want to be long sighted. I want to look back one day and know that I didn't let my short sightedness take away blessings in my life. I want to look back from today and say with all my heart "I HAVE NO REGRETS."

How about you?

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,

making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5 :15-16