by admin -

Blogaversary or is it Blogiversary?

3momst13

Today is my 1 year blogaversary. I can hardly believe it! In some ways it seems like I have been blogging for years and in others I feel like I am still a newbie. So in celebration of this monumentous occasion (ha ha!) here are thirteen random blog tidbits about me.

  1. This is not my first blog. I had a blog almost three years ago during my husband’s deployment. It was very different from this blog as I used it mainly as a way to keep him updated on our family.
  2. My site didn’t always look so fun! In the beginning my site looked sort of like this…
  3. My first blog post was short and sweet. It went something like this

    After a year break, I have decided to blog again. I have left my old blog behind and am starting with a new look. I have nothing against my old blog, I am just ready for something different. My last blog was more of a diary. I hope for this blog to be less personal and more practical.

    Happy reading and thanks for stopping by.

  4. The Happy Housewife was not my first choice for a blog title. I can’t remember what my first choice was, but THH was probably choice #58…. In real life I am pretty grouchy :). Kidding….just kidding…
  5. My first real comment (that I could find) was from Barbara Lee. She was probably one of my first regular readers as well.
  6. I have written 696 posts (not counting this one). Can someone say “Get off the Computer!”
  7. Seriously though, what did I do before I started blogging? I don’t really remember, I still read, sew, cook, and homeschool so I am not quite sure what I gave up to make time for this…
  8. I have never received a nasty comment! Can you believe it, I can’t?
  9. I have received 6,206 nice, intelligent and thoughtful comments. My readers are the best!
  10. My most popular post, not sure… Boys and Books received the most comments.
  11. Since starting this blog I have been introduced to an entire new vocabulary; twitter, stumble, digg, delicious, Mr. Linky, memes, I could go on and on.
  12. In June I launched another blog, Happy to be at Home with two of my bloggy buddies, Kate and Joy. Contrary to popular belief we are not related to one another and we have never actually met!
  13. I really, really, really appreciate my readers. I know I don’t respond to every comment (I try!) but I do read every one. I have met so many other wonderful bloggers and nonbloggers this year and have learned so much from this experience. I wouldn’t blog if it wasn’t fun, so thanks for keeping it enjoyable!

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For more Thursday Thirteen visit Happy to be at Home.

by admin -

Hope

Kristi asked for an update on my husband, sorry it took me so long, things have been busy around here!

Many of you who read my blog know that my when I started writing this blog my husband was recovering from an injury that occurred during a deployment in 2006. It is difficult to explain his injury, but basically he suffered a bilateral infusion of his inner ears during a rapid decent on an aircraft.

The immediate results of this injury were severe ear pain, hearing loss, and headaches. This was a big deal, but because he was deployed he worked in spite of his injuries. Over time, and as his ears began to heal the real problems started. Apparently the injury caused his ears to “stop working.” Since the human body is so amazing his eyes compensated for his ears in areas such as balance, and perception. As he healed his eyes kept working overtime, even though his ears were doing their job again. The result of this was constant vertigo, balance issues, ear pain, tinnitus, and blurred vision. As time went on his ears got better and everything else got worse. It became so bad that he was unable to drive, read, and sometimes even stand up.

The doctors were baffled by his case for many months. Over time they tried many different medications as well as every test in the world to try and figure out what was wrong. The medications were very powerful and many of them left him unable to get out of bed.

We were finally referred up to Maryland to see the world’s expert in dizziness. He suggested some very simple things; ping pong, Tai Chi, badminton, and vestibular rehabilitation. The goal was to stimulate his brain to help everything work together again. To be honest we were a little skeptical at first, but we had nothing to lose. These activities with the combination of some more high powered drugs (that were supposed to reset his brain) actually worked.

Well, I should add there was a whole lot of prayer going on too. Last summer he started driving again. Thankfully we live very close to his work so he was able to ease back into driving. He was given a job in June (for the first time in over a year) and has no problem reading, driving, or doing normal activities.

To test his new dizzy free life he rode every roller coaster in the parks on our last vacation with no ill effects. He truly is better! I am thankful for everyone’s prayers, those who know us and those who do not. During this entire ordeal every doctor told us there was very little hope for him to fully recover. Thankfully my hope is not in doctors, although I do appreciate their hard work.

As for now we have resumed a normal life. I am not the only driver anymore, thank goodness, although we are preparing for our oldest to drive soon so more prayers will be needed! Our journey through this trial helped make us weaker – and more dependent on God. I thankful we were given this opportunity to show joy in all circumstances and keep our focus on Him.

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For more Gratituesday visit Laura.

by admin -

Vacation Day 1

I decided to journal my vacation because I am really bad at writing down “memories.” Feel free to skip over these posts and get to the meat in my site, but if you want to read about taking 6 kids on a family vacation to Disney World read on.

Day 1

We planned to wake up at 4 am and get on the road about 4:30. The car had been packed the night before and everything was ready to go. Usually we go to bed early, but my husband and I ended up staying up pretty late. At 3am boy #2 came in our room and flipped on all the lights…

We tried to go back to sleep, but I was wide awake. I made a command decision at 3:30 am to get up, take my shower, and start our trip. We left of the house around 4:15 am. The trip was relatively uneventful in the early morning. Unlike most children who groggily sit in the car, mine are wide awake from the first second. They are talkative, excited, and have no intention of sleeping peacefully for the first several hours.

We stopped around 7:30 for breakfast in southern Virginia. Our waitress had an accent thicker than molasses and she called us names like sugar and honey. We should have stopped at a fast food joint, but we chose Shoney’s instead. I thought the kids would fill up and perhaps eat some fruit. I was wrong as donuts were on the buffet, and most of the kids chose those over pineapple and grapes.

We got back in the car and encountered heavy traffic and bad weather. We were able to make it another 4 hours before we stopped for a bathroom break and gas. We ate lunch in the car and the kids happily watched movies.

At some point in the afternoon our four year old asked,  “Are were there yet?” I wasn’t officially keeping track, but I think this was the 1,786,398 time this question was asked. I told her we weren’t and her reply was, “Well, that’s a problem for me because I really have to go to the bathroom!” We stopped again briefly for a potty break.

In Georgia we encountered heavy traffic and ended up sitting on I-95 for over an hour. We found a secondary road and finally got around whatever was causing the back up. We pulled into my parents driveway around 7:30 pm tired and ready to be out of the car. No one really slept on the trip, but seeing the grandparents gave the kids a small second wind. They all went to bed without a fight and are eagerly awaiting their cousin’s arrival this morning.

Today we plan our 5 Day Disney Adventure!

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by admin -

New Year, New Look

For those of you hoping I was going to show off a new hair cut, I am sorry to disappoint. I try not to make many big decisions while pregnant (like cutting my hair) because I almost always regret them. I do however love to move furniture around.

December is Laura’s last monthly round up of the year and she is finishing up with “The Living Room.”  Since we had to move furniture to put up our Christmas tree I thought this would be the perfect time to try out a new look.

Before December our living room looked like this.

I really liked this set up, except for the fact that the bookcase was always a mess. Since this is the first room you see when you walk in my house I don’t like people to see a mess!

We moved things around for the tree and it looked like this.

Now the tree is gone and it looks like this.

I like this set up because it brings another chair into the room and we never have enough seats. What I don’t like about this arrangement is that my windows look bare!

If I am going to keep it this way I think I need the following:

  • Big picture or mirror over the piano.
  • Small table between the two khaki chairs.
  • A little something for the windows.
  • Some type of storage for a few games or toys for the kids.

We moved the tall bookcase to the stairwell and I really like it there so it is not coming back down. Plus it is a big pain to move all those books. The piano can be moved because it is getting fixed next month and they have to take it to the shop to fix it, but I like it on that wall.

I am not an interior decorator, my style is something like late yard sale/ hand-me-down. I would love any opinions you have to help me finish off this room!

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by admin -

Gratituesday

Laura suggested the final Gratituesday of 2008 should be How God was Great in 2008. I love this idea, so much that I already blogged about it a few weeks ago.

As I reflect on 2008 I can clearly see a larger picture unfolding. I know that sometimes, when you are in the middle of a trial or difficult circumstance it is hard to see beyond your situation. Just one year ago I was sitting in a 3 bedroom house, with a husband who was so drugged he couldn’t work, kids that had just been uprooted for the third time in a year, my grandfather was living out his final days in the hospital, and all my close friends lived somewhere else.

Now I look across the street at my old house, and I am alone because my husband is at work and I didn’t drive him there. My kids are surrounded by good friends, it is a joy to see their faces light up when we walk into church on Sundays. My grandfather passed away in January of this year, but I am rejoicing that he is now with Jesus and no longer suffering. I have made many good friends here in Maryland and am thankful to be surrounded by such wise women!

Looking back on our struggles over the past two years I am tempted to wonder, why me? But I will not. These last few years have taught me more about myself and helped me to grow in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I am thankful for my trials not because they made me strong, but because they made me weak. I realize now that the Lord doesn’t need strong vessels, he uses the weak ones. It is only through Him that I can be strong. How thankful I am that I am weak on my own! It really takes the pressure off of me! If I had to do everything on my own I would be a miserable failure, unable to cope with the storms that come my way.

If my strength lies in Him, then all I need is faith. Faith to persevere through the hard times, be joyful in all things, and give thanks to Him for everything.

Looking upward in 2009…

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by admin -

Merry Christmas

From my family to yours…

Click to play Christmas 2008
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I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, whether you be with friends, family, or a little of both.

My favorite Christmas song:

“Hope has Come”

Let us join with the angel voices
Let us join their happy song
All of heaven and earth rejoices
For the Lamb of God has come
He has come to rescue sinners
Come to meet our desperate need
He was born to bring forgiveness
Born for Calvary

Alleluia, Hope has come
Alleluia, Christ has come
We once were slaves in misery
Till You appeared and set us free
Alleluia, Hope has come

Let us lay our gifts before Him
Let us magnify His Name
With our thankful hearts adore Him
For the Lord has come to save
He has come to break sin’s power
He has come to set us free
Hope was born that glorious hour
Christ the mighty King

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by admin -

What I am thankful for this week….

Usually I try to think of one specific thing I am thankful for each week for Gratituesday. This week there are so many I decided to list them all, well at least the ones I am thinking of right now.

  • My father’s heart procedure was a success.
  • Warmer weather for our cookie frosting party.
  • Good friends who care about us and always lend an ear to listen.
  • A loving church home.
  • A well stocked freezer.
  • Six wonderful kids.
  • A husband that survived a week of homeschooling on his own.
  • My great bloggy friends.
  • My sister’s upcoming visit.
  • A short commute for my husband.
  • Our upcoming vacation.
  • That my piano will be repaired soon.
  • Our newest happy baby arriving in April.

What are you thankful for this week?