California

Our whirlwind trip began Friday morning...we flew into LAX and drove to Palm Desert, Ca. The rehersal was Saturday in Riverside and the wedding Sunday in Temecula...Monday was "free" and Tuesday we flew home where we have out-of-town company for the next 8 weeks (Jon and Noelle!!!!!!!!!!). Next week Nate and Courtney are here then the next weekend we go camping at the sand dunes....the summer has begun!
WHEW!
Enjoy the trip in pictures!!!






This is our condo...nice, hu?! Thanks to David and Stephanie! We were in Palm Desert, California. The wedding was in Temecula...wine country.





Driving from L.A. to Palm Desert. The kids were exhausted.






Our plan was to go to the beach and swim until traffic in LA died down...however, it was FREEZING so we just looked around. The waves were so big...I had never been on the west coast before!





Getting ready to leave for the rehearsal dinner.




YES, he is posing. He was SO proud of the tuxedo! This was the first fitting and he did not want to take it off.





Sarah meeting Laz for the first time.







They had horses in the backyard!!!!






"...here, let me give you my card..."





Isn't her wedding dress stunning? :)




Gotta brush those pearly whites!





Mommy and Laz





David (i.e. Poo-Pa)






the Bride!!!






the dress





the *most adorable* ring bearer



























Brad seeing his bride for the first time that day.

















The kiss.......




Husband and wife!!!
I love her expression in this picture...she is ecstatic! :)

































Caught ya!!!!!!!!!!!

























It was SO cold that I needed to change Laz's clothes...what a cute little necked child!














Beverly (Josiah's grandmother) and Laz






Pres and "his" flower girl.





Laz was the hit of the party...everyone wanted to hold him!





Josiah's dad, David and his 3 brothers. All their stories scare me. No, they terrify me!!!






Kellen, Ryan and Lisa (Josiah's brother and sister)



































Brad is seeing that the garter is camo...niiiice!






Holding my son up to catch the garter, are you??!!!


Okay...here is where the fun begins. The dancfloor is open and...who dances every dance for HOURS all night? Oh! it's the Flamm boys!!!
I have video of them dancing that I will post this weekend sometime. It is classic.



Pres and his woman. Her dad walked up and said (joking), "Get away from my daughter!" It was hysterical. The kid has moves...











After numerous hours of dancing, Pres put himself to bed! Poor little guy!






His gift for being the ring bearer...an Indiana Jones whip (what every little boy needs)....or, to my sons, a slapper. Yes, a slapper!



We said goodbye to Sarah and Brad...as they left for Tahiti and Bora Bora. Yeah, I feel for them.



The next day was our only "free" day in CA so we went to Joshua tree National park.
And for $15 you to can see rocks and trees!!!!!
It was okay...not worth the money, but lesson learned.

















See that spot on the tip top of the rocks???
That would be my husband.
Never mind that we are thousands of miles from home with zero cell reception...and that he is married with 5 children...he wanted to climb the rocks!!! It was fine, really. I just kept reminding him that if he dies I will be a millionaire. :)























We finally got back to the condo and went swimming for a while...fun!!!













The "oasis" that well, kinda dried up.






Lisa and Laz...he burried his face in her neck and went to sleep!






Aunt Lisa and Uncle "silly" Ryan






Headed home the next day on the airplane. Poor Pres just could not stay awake.






The grand canyon!!! I would love to go there someday, but for now, at least I can say that I have seen it :)






Last, but not least....Kellen and a can of whipped cream.
Sweet.

Prayers

Please be praying for Christian music singer Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. Their youngest daughter, Maria Sue, was killed last night accidentally by her older brother. He did not see her as he was driving down the driveway. This is unimaginable and I am hurting for the whole family.

FoxNews Story


In Memory of Maria Sue


They were just celebrating the engagement of their older daughter and the graduation of their son...and little Maria Sue had just turned 5 years old 10 days prior.
The Chapman's have 3 biological children and have adopted 3 girls from Chine (Maria being the youngest). Personally I have looked into their organization, Shaohannah's Hope, as an option for us adopting a child. I also know friends that have used this ministry in adopting and really were blessed by it.

I am simply overwhelmed with grief...please pray for God's grace over this dear family.

Tonight...

...we will find out who the winner of American Idol will be.------------------------->

On my very unscientific poll the winner seems to be David Cook...and, well, we are all still fuming about Chris Daughtrey. I hope Cook wins! I live in a house divided, though, since half are for one David and half for the other.

On another painful note...it is summertime. Time for the torture we as women put ourselves through for no apparent reason. (well, none that we care to mention! ha!)
The bikini wax.
Need I say more?
I am sure in a few hours you will hear me yelling from where you are.

And N-O...I will not be donning a bikini anytime soon. Still fighting with that last 10 lbs of baby weight.*

*as I sip my Java Chip Frappacinno...some things are just not worth giving up.

A few of my boyz...

I took this short film last night and just had to share it. As a mom I find it adorable...I hope you do as well! Tarin and Kell were getting Laz to do this funny thing with his face so I had to tape it.
Poor Laz has a cold so his tiny nose and eyes are red...but to me he is still the cutest thing EVER!






Other items of note...movie night last night was a big hit. I got "Zorro" for the boys to see for the first time. They OF COURSE loved every second! (well, except all the seconds we made them close their eyes) and today I awoke to them playing Zorro....er, "Zero" to a few of the little ones.

We leave on Friday for sunny California and Sarah's wedding!!! This is a good thing save the fact that we have 3 sick kids at the moment. Laz has a horrendous cough as does Presley. Ethan is better today after 2 full days of a high fever and throwing up. Kell had it last weekend (on Mothers Day) and Tarin has yet to get "it". I have the cough part and Josiah is, as always, just peachy and not sick at all. All the rambling to say....I sincerely hope we are all well for the whirlwind trip that is before us.

I'm Sick and Tired of it.....

....tired of Babywise. I hate it, honestly.

Why such venom? (other than the obvious fact that the authors are charlatans)

Because having your baby sleep through the night is just not important...especially not as important as breastfeeding.

And yet again, I have another mom call me with nursing trouble...

...she does Babywise...

...her milk is gone. The baby is "to small" and not gaining weight. She has to start formula (or solids if the baby is old enough)...and stop nursing. The doctor is freaked out.

Listen people....God made us to nurse. That's why THEY are there (contrary to some popular opinions from the male species). If you nurse the baby when the baby cries, then you will will have PLENTY of milk. Again, God is pretty darn smart. The whole system is supply and demand. The more the demand, the more the supply. It is not rocket science. When you try and put the baby on a schedule at a young age (less than 3 months) then it directly interferes with the supply. It is A LIE that the baby nursing to much will only get the foremilk and not the hindmilk.

A L-I-E.

All this to say.....I have done Babywise with one of my sons. # 1...or the Guinea pig. It "worked." He slept all night at a young age. And what did I gain from it? Pride. Selfishness. More pride. The satisfaction of saying, "MY baby sleeps all night..." as if that made me a good mother. And years later when I had more children I realized all that I missed out on....that special time during the night when we bonded...MORE sleep because the baby was not in the other room (screaming, many nights)...the pleasure of awaking every morning to a smiling face and the precious coos from a happy baby snuggled against me....and the fact that now my # 1 is almost 11 years old and I cannot physically hold him anymore. EVER AGAIN. I cannot pick him up and snuggle him, kiss him, smell him or nurse him. EVER AGAIN.
What would I trade for all those nights I left him in another room to cry it out so he would learn to self soothe...just to be able to snuggle with him all night?

I would trade every night of good sleep I had.

Burn the book, ladies. Do what your mommy instinct tells you to do. Go with what our Creator created!

I really could go on and on...shocking to you all, I am sure. But I just wanted to vent for a moment...and feel sorry for all those babies out there who are not being nursed because some "godly" couple wrote a book about infant training.

*stepping (a bit wobbly) off my soapbox*

for now :)

A sweet birth...

Click below to see a beautiful slideshow of a VBAC mom having a homebirth.


Birth Slideshow

You gotta watch this one...her baby was over 11 lbs!!! Her last C-section was for a "big" 9 lb baby.

WHATEVER.

She is awesome! :)

Mothers Day

I am on the email list for Vision Forum and received a great article for Mothers day that I wanted to pass along...see link below:

The Rise and fall of Motherhood in America


My mothers day was spent...being a mother! :) My little Kell got sick that morning and has been sick for 2 days now...poor little guy.
I was able to go to the mall ALONE (shock) for a while before being called home to care for him. I must admit that my attitude at "losing" MY day was pretty crappy...and until I read THIS little post by my dear Audrey I was very put out. The Lord used her to slap me back into reality and to remind me of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family...and to be able to care for them. My Audrey has lost her son and I know would give any amount of "free" time to have him back...and I am humbled by her grace and strength. (I love ya girl!!!)

I hope all you beautiful mommies had a WONDERFUL day!!!

On another note...I closed all our credit card accounts and cut up ALL our cards today! It was FANTASTIC! I am very excited to get rid of our debt and not go down that path again. We have been debt free most of our marriage but the past 2 years have proven difficult and we found ourselves using debt to "comfort" buy...and down the slippery slope we went. So now we are sellling everything but the kids (!) and paying off all debt. So if anyone is looking for...well, anything...we probably have it and want to sell it! The pridefulness that I personally have had is shocking. The things I must have...appalling. We have been so strapped that we have not been able to help others who REALLY need it and that is shameful. Proverbs says that a righteous man leaves an inheritance for his children's children. At the rate we were going all they would have been left is debt and more debt. We spent ALL our money on...us. Shameful.
The whole Dave Ramsey class has just been SO awesome...not only from the debt standpoint but from so many other facets as well. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Today...

...We (all the kiddies and myself) got sunburnt from head to toe. It was great!

...We heard that Noelle and Jon will be coming here to paradise for 8 weeks!!! I am STOKED. We will tear it UP baby. Yeah. Watch out now.

...I realized that it is only 2 weeks until we leave for California for Sarah's wedding! AH!

...I watched as my baby rolled all over the room. Laz is no longer a real little baby. *sniff sniff*

...It is only 2 more days till Mothers day!!! :)

...We got our "stimulus check" from the government. I am completely against it in every way and feel it was a VERY unwise decision for the USA to do this...however, I am spending every cent, chi-ca!!! It has already been dispersed into the budget and is save and sound :)

...And the day is not over...

Another Baby!!!

Michelle Duggar is famous.
Famous for the multitude of children she has.
Back in "the day" this would have been:
A. considered a huge blessing
B. not anything out of the ordinary

But now it is a big news story and a "reality" show on TV (that I do admit to watching).

Michelle is now expecting baby #18, due on New Years! I, for one, am excited for her and see that family as BLESSED.

The Bible says that children are a BLESSING from the Lord. Most people think of a blessing as money, "stuff", etc. and not children. Kids COST money, time, effort, time, money, time and effort. How is this a blessing? Well, when you die (and we all will one day) and you leave behind all your millions (ha) and your nice, new cars and your big ole house...SO WHAT? If you leave behind your children...raised to the glory of God, that is your legacy.
"There is no greater joy that to see my children walking in truth."
So while we may not all have 18 children, I admire this family for doing what they want in spite of the growing cynicism around them.
It also cracks me up how the doctors treat her. Talk about a GRAND multi para of advanced maternal age!!
AH! HIGH RISK! AH! A VBAC! AAAHHHH!!!!
I do find it all quite amusing.
And she has had babies every way available...hospital, home, c-section, natural at the hospital...what a woman!




http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354694,00.html

Video

A cute little video about having multiples...twins and triplets...without a c-section!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E-wULAaD50

the air conditioner is on.

i repeat.

the air conditioner is on.

for the first time in 7 months!

the photo shoot

My cousin Dawn is a FABULOUS photographer. She can capture such beauty in her pictures...a look, a laugh, a smile....she captures love.

The following shots are from my pregnancy with Laz. These were taken 3 days before he was born!!!




































































The following pictures were taken when Laz was 10 days old. I cannot believe how small he was (to me)!!! How time passes so quickly.......





































































This my mom...Grammy...isn't she beautiful?!

This past week

the boys have been really into making their own weapons from dead tree branches...and so Ethan made a non-weapon for Laz since he is so small...he made him a fishing pole! Laz looks a bit freaked about the whole thing, though.






3 of the Boyz









Ethan and Pres...giving "the look"








Laz....sleeping through all the hammering at the Home Depot craft-making section. He obviously has 4 older brothers.







Tarin working hard.








my handsome Ethan.









Everyone with their completed pirate ships! The next day they got (without permission) all my Sharpie markers and painted the ships and the sails BLACK. the whole house smelled like Sharpie. We were high all day.










Kell-O











Presley











Ethan has developed a love for reading. YEAH!!!!!! I am overjoyed...being one that reads everything all the time...to see my son enjoying a good book. Here he is reading a Narnia ("suburbia" if you ask Tarin) book first thing in the morning. He never came down for breakfast so I went up to check on him. he had woken up and just HAD to finish the book. Mean ole mom had forced him to go to bed the night before at the last chapter.






Pres in his cowboy suit and snow boots :)







It is May 1st today.
Yesterday it was 80 degrees and we ran the air conditioner and wore shorts.
Today it is snowing.
I am bummed :(

Birth is....continued....

Here is a reply that I felt needed to be shared! Every mom should feel this way after having their baby :)






"Birth is one of the greatest gifts in a woman's life :)


The only sad thing about a homebirth experience is when it's over. When you work with a homebirth midwife
they offer you so much valuable time. They spend hours with you for prenatal visits listening, loving and supporting you in such a caring way. They become such a friend and great inspiration. They let you lead your own journey into motherhood and respect and honor you the whole way. Homebirth midwives take nothing away from your experience, only make it so much greater! After the hours of labor and hard work birthing your baby, you think, WOW I did it!!! You feel so lucky to have had your midwives there guiding you through this experience in your own way and in your own space. You look into the eyes of your midwives with nothing but complete joy and thankfulness. They did not deliver your baby, they did not have power over you, they let you have your baby in the most sacred and personal way. They hold a safe place , keep their wise watchful eyes open, hold their educated hands ready at an arms length a way, and keep you grounded with comfort and validation. Your homebirth midwife will never leave your side, yet give you all the space that you need. When you think back about the birth of your child it's one of the greatest days of your life. You feel so proud of your midwives for being there and you truly miss them like family when it all over. It makes you truly feel so sad for all the women that tell horror stories of their births in hospitals. There isn't one horrible thing I could even come up with about my homebirth, and I know how lucky I am for that experience. I truly thank God for the strong and courageous work of these homebirth midwives. They truly make a difference in this world for so many generations! I whole heart-idly feel every woman should be allowed the experience to birth their babies in the way that homebirth midwives allow you too! It's such a blessing!"

Love and miss you guys!!
Krista

Another "session"

I had to go to the dentist again today.


After a few weeks of tooth pain I had to give in and go get the filling fixed (it had a crack or something in it allowing cool items to penatrate and casue untold amounts of pain).

Apparently the dentist remembers me (despite not seeing me for over a year)...see story below...and gave me enough numbing drugs to knock out a horse. I am STILL numb (3 hours later) from my eye down my face to my collar bone and around to the front of my chin. I talk funny. I drool. I cannot smile on one side. (my kids are loving it) and I cannot eat. Now, I am wanting to lose baby weight...but not this way!!! Lack of food leaves me cranky... ask anyone in my house right now...

http://flammtastic.blogspot.com/2006/05/drama-drama-drama_24.html
This is from May 2006

Healthy food on a budget

Ever heard of the Urban Homemaker??? Well, if not, you should check out the site.

Below is a link to a long list of recipes to cook on a budget...HEALTHY recipes!!! :)

Many are stew/soups and I know it is almost summer...however, making a stew/soup is a great way to get lots of yummy veggies, beans, grains, etc easily.

Enjoy!





http://www.marilynmoll.com/?p=78