Mike Rogers For Congress

We made it to TV !!! OK, so it's not Jon and Kate Plus 8. It's not even like those notorious ALFA quads but it is TV. I was sorta hoping my first TV experience would be Extreme Home makeover but I was thrilled when we were asked to be in a Mike Rogers for Congress commercial. It was about high gas prices effect on large families.

We were to meet at a gas station in Saks at 2:40pm. Great, I had all day to get everyone dressed and ready for TV. I had my list finely tuned so that everything would be perfect by 2:40, everything from drying hair to washing the van and even working Judson's schedule so that he would nurse at the perfect time. At 10:05am as my family is slowly starting into our list and beginning baths in a relaxed, non rushed way THEY CALL. They are wonderfully ahead of schedule and need us there at 11:30. AHHHH!!!I ask for 30 extra minutes and start into my drill sergeant mode. We did make it but it was nothing like the way I had planned. Actually I had made a much bigger deal out of it then what I needed to. The kids basically just had to run around and I had to look sad and frustrated. I still think they fooled me and it was really a pro-choice commercial.

We did meet Mike and he bought the kids candy. We had our picture made but I don't have it yet. I have no idea when it will be on TV so if y'all see it let me know.
It was tons of fun and I think I can even count it as a school day. YEA!!! 10 down 150 to go, but who's counting.

Starting School and Conformers

 

Our summer is over and school is up and running. We have ended up our second week and have settled into a good routine. Here is the run down of my little world this school year.

Mon-Wed 7am wake Annalee, Mary-Grace and Jadon up for breakfast, getting dressed, chores and to begin school. We usually are finishing up around 11am. While we are in school Elyona and Bailey do chores, laundry, homework and play with the little ones. After lunch I have school with Elyona and Bailey which has been taking about 3 hours. While we are doing school the little girls are doing chores, playing with the boys and homework. I meet Melanie so we can walk after I finish up with the big ones. When I get home from walking, the children watch PBS while I prepare supper. On Tuesday and Thursdays supper is on the road. Tuesday afternoon we have piano and art in White Plains and Thursdays is soccer in Alexandria. Both of which has us getting home around 8pm.
Thurs. We will soon be starting our co-op so we will not do school at home but be with all of our friends learning with them. When we get home we do a little science and history before we have to leave for soccer.
Fri. we will save this day for Science and History projects and crafts. We are learning all about Astronomy and Ancient Civilizations this year.
Sat. this fall from 9am till 12n we will have soccer games.
Sun. is truly our day of rest!

Separating the big ones from the littles to teach has worked wonders this year. Also, giving out "homework" for them to work on in their own time has helped tons as well. So far so good.

My house, on the other hand, is slowly becoming hazardous. I have been able to maintain, with the help of the children, laundry, dishes and general picking up but my floors and toilets and such...well, if you are coming to my house and would be offended, bring a scrub brush and a mop.

 

Judson has started his conformer series. A conformer is a clear shell that fits over the entire eyeball and is used to stimulate the tissue surrounding that small eye to grow and "conform" to the shell. We go to B'ham every 4-6 weeks to get a larger conformer until the tissue is ready for a painted shell that is the size of his other eye. I will post so that you can keep up with his progress.

Mastitis Woes

I've noticed that I have not put up many pics in a while but I am sorry, you aren't getting one of this either.

I have developed mastitis. It is so painful. I have never had it before and I am so thankful that this is the first and hopefully only time that I will. Judson decided Saturday that he would only nurse a few minutes before humming, singing and biting. He did this all day. I did develop a lot of excess milk but GOOD NIGHT, not enough to develop this pain in the ying yang. Today is the first day in three that I have felt like living. We did survive with the help of Melanie, who got my antibiotics and Jennifer who came one day to feed the children lunch, make supper, do some house work and give my children something to do other than babysit. The children were so thoughtful though. We had a few fun things planned that we had to skip out on but they were very understanding. I have to brag on them a little. I woke up one time and found Mary-Grace changing Judson's dirty diaper and doing a very good job. She even remembered his diaper rash cream and to wash her hands. Today they cleaned the entire house VERY GOOD, they even mopped and changed the sheets. They bathed up the boys and right now I have a wonderful hot supper waiting on me that they alone prepared... chicken, green beans, potatoes, and rolls. I am so proud of them. Last night when they thought that my fever would never break, they, with their daddy, prayed for me. I looked up and saw Jadon holding my hand, with his little eyes closed, begging Jesus to heal his mama. I love my family. They mean so much to me.

Self -Righteousness

A few Sundays ago my pastor delivered a sermon that knocked me off of my self righteous high horse. Most of my blog readers go to Grace Fellowship and know what I am talking about. For the readers I have that do not, let me catch you up. John 8, the part when the adulterous women is thrown at Jesus' feet and condemned by the Pharisees. Jesus ask the one who is with out sin to cast the first stone and of course they all tuck tail and run. Jesus then forgives the woman and tells her to sin no more. In the sermon, it was brought out that the most despicable sin was not that of the adulterous woman but the self righteousness of the Pharisees. I AM A PHARISEE. But my self righteousness is gained through grey matters not a black and white issues like adultery. At least the pharisees knew that was absolutely against God. You see mine is in all these gray areas that I have laid down as my own way to please God. Here are a few things in my life that I think make me more righteous than...lets say you! I am a stay at home mom, I home school, I have 7 children, my husband is faithful, my house is nicer than yours, or maybe some days it is that your house is nicer than mine so you must be of the more worldly than I am to think so much of your house, I attend church every Sunday, I do not drink, my doctrine, or my church. You see, I have made these "things" replace Christ's sacrifice. More than that, you know what scares me, I am training my children to be self righteous little pharisees as well. How often do I here "that shirt shows her belly, she wears a bikini, they watch Hannah Montana, she has a boy friend, they talk back to their parents, they don't go to church". Shame on me. No wonder my children can't get over that being a Christian is not about what you "do". That is all I ever teach them. RULES!!! Even I know the old saying, "Rules without Relationship lead to Rebellion". Please pray that I will begin by having a right relationship with Jesus and second that I might retrain my children that it is better to be the adulterer laying forgiven at the feet of Jesus than the self righteous Pharisee whose knowledge of God's LAWS keep them from ever really know Christ, the friend of sinners.

Microphthalmia

I have been rethinking Judson's treatment and studying things out for myself. His eye Dr. is a wonderful man but is mostly concerned with Judson's vision and the protection of the good eye (which is a good thing) but is not intense on the cosmetic side of things. You all know that at first I was told that I could get his prosthetic at 4 or 5 years. That bothered me so bad. I did not want my son being stared at for that long. So asked if we could get it sooner and The Dr. was just sorta vague and said we could discuss it at his 6 mo. check up. At the time, that was good enough for me but now it is not. I researched deeply and found several children who already had there prosthetic at 3 months old. So I started E-mailing and Judson now has an appointment with the Ocularist Aug.6th. YEAH!!! The Opthamologist deals with the vision while the Ocularist deals with the cosmetic side and all my microphthalmia yahoo friends say that the Ocularist will be my best friend because he will make Judson look normal. I am so thankful for the Internet and all the information I have found out. At the appointment we will find out if he will need conformers, which are plastic shells that are changed out progressively to stetch the tissue to prepare it for the prosthetic. If he doesn't need conformers then he will immediately get his prosthetic and be good to go until he out grows it and need another. I can't wait to see my baby with 2 big eyes. Sorry for the spelling errors and such I am in a hurry and just wanted to get this posted.

Squealing Happy

You've been there right. When you are so happy you just want to squeal like a little girl and believe me, they do squeal. My heart is overflowing with thanksgiving once again. Yesterday a dear friend, who having read my blog, knew the week I'd had, decided to lavish me with a gift that I do not deserve. She gave me a "Spa Package" to Monet...manicure, pedicure, and a 1 hour massage. I have no way to let her know how thankful I truly am. You know those times when words just aren't enough, even an invite to dinner in return is such a small gesture to show another a thankful heart. It is not just the spa package that I am thankful for. I am thankful that she ,first of all, has a giving heart and had already set money aside to be used to give as the Lord would lead. Second, that she did something for me. She knew if I would have received money it would have been put on something important but never in a million years would I have thought of a spa package. So, a big fat THANK YOU is in order but is still so small.

Now that you all know why I am squealing happy I need your help. I have never in my life done anything like this before. You know me, having my hair done by a professional was a major event in my life. Monet...just the name is intimidating. The pedicure is the least stressful in my mind. I like to paint my toe nails and I am going to the beach soon so I would love to have beautiful toes at the beach. Then there is the manicure. Can I play football after having one of those? I am going to be walking around with my fingers straight as a board for a month trying to hang on to the manicure as long as I can. Now, the big stress, the massage. Ya'll, I'm nervous. I have a few questions that you may can answer for me. First, do I have to be nude. (OMG I am red just typing it) Second, I feel like I am going to walk in this place and alarms are going to go off with the announcement "Country bumpkin trying to live outside her class". Everyone is going to take one look at me and know that I drove all the way from PIEDMONT to get there. And if I have any conversation with anyone I will tell them that I have 7 children. Now I already don't fit in but now they are going to be thinking "there she is living on welfare, having one child after the next with no telling how many different men and spending her money on a massage, how dare she" Third worry, will a man be massaging me, cause you know, Eric wouldn't go for that?

Despite all my worries, I am so excited. It sounds so selfish, but only having to think of me for a couple of hours sounds so nice.

God's people are priceless. My thanksgiving list is just getting longer and longer.
11. The spa package
12. Money from a wonderful couple to take the family out. We went out to eat and to the movies. We did not have to share a community drink and no dollar menus. I could say "tell the waitress what you want". My children were so excited sitting there with their own drink and a huge plate of food. And we did not go to the drive in movie, but the real thing. Thank you friends for a great night out with the family.
13. An invite to dinner this Sunday after church. I know what a service this is. Not only are these people being hospitable, opening up their home, but they are opening it up to my family. I know we are overwhelming.
14. Feeling like family when I'm invited to go to Lisa S.'s parents house.
15. Uncle Bar and Aunt Suzie spoiling my children as only they can do.
16. Lisa giving my blogspot a makeover.

I am so thankful

 

Today at church we had an opportunity to share things that we are thankful for. My list, in a matter of seconds, was enormous. I decided then and there that I may not be able to speak them all at that moment but I could blog about them.

I am thankful for...
1.Our Great God. To steal the thoughts of John Piper, God has made himself the blazing center of the universe. The God that I have the privilege to serve and worship and intimately know is also supreme over galaxies floating in endless space. From the top of Mt. Everest to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. From the peaceful blue whale to the microscopic killer viruses. He is supreme! Over the first cell division of a tiny embryo to the next breath of the 102 year old lady in the nursing home. He is supreme over all weather, from hurricanes, monsoons, tornadoes, earth quakes, floods, snow, sleet, and rain. He is supreme over cancer, malaria, the flu, AIDS, and the wonderful antibiotics and drugs. He is supreme over all countries, armies, suicide bombings, nuclear threats, politics, elections, media, news, sports, entertainment, leisure, education, science, research, business, manufacturing, transportation, all information, and the Internet. As Abraham Kieper(sp?) famously said "There is not one square inch on planet earth that the risen Christ does not say... MINE!!!". I am so thankful that this same SUPREME GOD wants to be my friend and abide with me and calls me his son and that he alone made a way for this relationship to happen.
2. Grace Fellowship. My church is priceless to me. The leadership, teaching, older men and women, younger men and women, and children are irreplaceable. I am thankful for Carlton who preaches the truth with boldness and conviction and with wisdom far beyond his years. For Aaron who is the most humble man I have ever known. For Carlton Brown who's administrative skills and responsibility never keep him from playing with our children. For Ms. Pinkston who is an irreplaceable jewel. For Dave and his immeasurable sacrifice that he and his family have made to serve our church. For the missionaries spread abroad that our church sends out and those that have returned with hearts overflowing at what God is doing around the world. For the gospel of Jesus Christ and the call for sinners to repent being proclaimed at our church(despite popular belief) so clearly yet so intense that even the mature believer must examine himself.
3. God's healing hand. Hearing Aaron give his testimony of praise and thanksgiving was an emotional ride. Hearing his raspy, weak voice is a bitter reminder of what pain and suffering he has been through but on the flip side it is a sweet reminder that God is merciful. Aaron can speak!!!
4. My children. They all woke up healthy this morning.
5. Eric. He is the love of my life.
6. My mama who entertains me when Eric is on 2nd, buys me dinner and serves us all ice cream.
7. My dear friends who listens to my roller coaster rides of ideas, dreams and plans. Who pulls me through when I am down and hangs on tight when I am not.
8. Melanie, who for ANY reason is a phone call away.
9. Honda. I never want to forget where our paycheck comes from.
10. Blogging