BRRRRR!! I thought we lived in FLORIDA

Well, I must say that I HATE the cold weather we have been having lately! I grew up in the north where it was cold and gloomy 6 months out of the year! I always asked my mom why we couldn't have lived in a warmer climate . . . she never really had an answer, but when I went to college in TN, I experienced a little warmer weather and definitely LESS SNOW!!!

When the opportunity arrived for us to move to Florida, where there is sunshine year 'round . . . I was thrilled!! All I knew was that is was HOT most of the year and it didn't snow!! . . . I have found this to be true for the most part. But this winter has been the coldest winter in the 4 years that we have lived here. I really realized that I DO NOT like the cold . . . and now . . . it is supposed to be 33 degrees tonight. Now that is COLD for Florida!! It's the topic of most conversation around here! I guess I will be breaking out our Northern clothes and coats in order to survive the next few days!! Sorry for complaining . . . thanks for listening!!!

Carter was checking out the baby!!

Carter was looking the baby over very good! He wanted to SEE him, but he didn't want to touch or hold him. So he kept standing over him . . . just looking and sighing long deep sighs!!! It was really funny!! Then when my sis went to change his diaper, Carter saw his belly button and said, "Look, he as two p*nises!!" He was fascinated!! We all got a kick out of that one and I just HAD to share! Life from the perspective of a two-year old is very humorous!!!

My Nephew - Raleigh Blake was born TODAY!!

My sister is 4 days away from her due date (as of yesterday) and she was MORE than ready to bring this baby into the world!!! She had an appointment with the midwife, Rachel at 6:00PM at her house. Rachel was telling Shannon that she would not strip her membranes because it was painful and caused painful labor, so she would rather let her body go into labor on it's own!! My sister, in all pregnant hormones, began to cry!! Rachel felt bad because the last thing she would want to do is make a pregnant mommy upset!!! So she decided to check her cervix and see how far she had dilated. Shannon said that Rachel's face said she was either NOT dilated at all or VERY dilated!! The latter was the case!! Shannon was 6 almost 7CM dilated!! Rachel couldn't believe it!! Then Shannon got up to get dressed and . . . her water broke!!! She thought she was peeing all over Rachel's floor . . . but she was officially laboring!! Rachel thought she may not have time to make the hour long trek home, where she planned to have the baby, but Shannon really insisted that they hurry home. She wanted to have him at home (not at Rachel's house)!!! She they made the trek and got home about 7ish. I meet her there! We all hurried to do the preparations to make the birth go smoothly!! Shannon wasn't really having a lot of contractions though!!

Then all Shannon's girlfriends showed up!! Lots of 'em!! Let me try to paint the picture accurately!! Shannon's house is VERY small!! The midwife and her 2 assistants showed up and that made 6 adults (sis, her hubby & me, midwife + 2 helpers) in the house. Then 5 more ladies!! The excitement and energy filled the room!! There were 11 adults in the house!!

Shannon wasn't really having a lot of contractions and things seemed to slow way down!!! So she kept going for walks. She walked about 6-8 times with different people. Finally she began hard contractions that were about 1-2 min apart at 1:30AM!!! Those that weren't walking with her were crashed on the floor!! So . . . after hard painful contraction began . . . we had a baby at 2:36AM!!

He had a full head of hair and was gorgeous upon arrival!! He weighed in at 9lbs and 4oz and 21 1/4 inches long! he is a big guy!! He is surrounded with love and seems to be happy and content pretty much all of the time!!

I have to say, that birth is miraculous!! I have birthed three children of my own and I have baby #4 in the oven, so I have been there!! There are so many things that must go into the making of a human life that only a Sovereign Creator could put all the pieces together as He does. I cry every time I think about it!! I personally think that a natural birth environment (at home with friends and family) makes it even more amazing!! I often think about Eve. How did she know how to move the baby out of the birth canal or how to feed her infant?? When her daughters began to have children, I bet she was the "midwife" with all the answers!! It's just all so fascinating to me!

I pray that Baby Raleigh Blake stays healthy and safe in the hands of his loving parents! The Lord has a purpose for his life and I pray that He would lead Blake in the path of righteous for His name's sake!! Amen!

Famous People from the Past and Present

Name one famous person that has ever been homeschooled and has also made contributions to society?? Let's take a look at a few!!

The 14 Days of Homeschool!!

This is pretty funny . . .

Eleven Years With My Best Friend!!!

Yesterday my Hunny and I celebrated our 11th year of marriage!! It was low key, as usual! We aren't real big spenders on such occasions. We took the kids to their aunt's and we were off on a DATE!! We went to a movie that wasn't a kids movie!!! It was "adult time!!" Then we went to dinner at the Toasted Pheasant. Someone blessed us with a gift card to go there and it was AWESOME food!! We were full when we left!! It was such a nice evening to be with my sweetie!!



I am so blessed to have him! He is my very best friend. He is so encouraging and funny!! He is an awesome man of God who seeks the face of Jesus to see our family moving in the right direction!! I am so blessed to have him!! Sometimes I look at him and say, "How in the world did we get so happy???" I know it doesn't "just happen!!" God is the center of our lives and so we live in rich blessings surrounded by Grace and LOVE!!! We are so RICH!!

40 Days of Focus

You hear about it everywhere you turn these days. People are unemployed by the dozens!! You never think it is going to happen to you . . . then it does! It is unsettling . . . to say the least!! Life is quite different for us now than is was 2 months ago!! We are taking advantage of having Daddy at home, but he is essentially "working" to find work!! Every minute is consumed with "looking for a job" or thinking about the possibilities of this job or that?!?!? . . . unsettling isn't really a STRONG enough word!!

In these last few weeks with my husband unemployed, we have taken some time to devote ourselves to seeking God. This seems to always happen when life gets tough. Everything is going good and that relationship with Jesus just gets put an the back burner. Sometimes I just want to smack myself for doing that!! "Wake UP!!" So we decided to take 40 days and seek Him in a more intense way.

When I think about finishing up the 40 Days, I get nervous because I have got so close to my Savior during this time. The temptation to slip back into mediocrity is always there for me!! I am an Israelite from the Old testament, at best!! They were always so tempted to worship idols, even though they knew and had PROOF that God would come through for them if they would just remain faithful to Him. So instead of saying, "I'm gonna be devoted to Christ like THIS FROM NOW ON!!" I am going to start another 40 Days to focus. When I say "from now on . . ." I usually fail because I let life & busy-ness get the best of me!! SO, instead I am going to take it 40 Days at a time. Then I will re-evaluate my purpose, focus and methods and start a NEW 40 Days!! So for the rest of the year, I am going to continue in that pattern.

ONE THING I HAVE LEARNED:
James 4:7&8 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you.

I have found this to be SOOO true!! I have taken the first steps to draw near to Him and HE has been so faithful! He has shown me things and taught me things that I would have never learned if I had not had the opportunity to see things from the perspective from which I now see!!

If you feel compelled, please pray for our "job search"!! (We could use all the help we can get!!) It's exhausting and daunting! There are very few rewards in the task and it is really no fun . . . what-so-ever!!! We have been blessed with some very encouraging people in our lives (you know who you are) and we feel like the richness of life is manifesting itself through these people!! Thank you, Lord!!

Thank you for stopping by and for your prayers!! That is my New Year's Resolution in a nutshell. What is yours?