I stand guilty...

 Yup, after eight children I have one that has a paci.  I'm not sure if I should be happy or not :-)  It came about like this...As evidenced by everything in my pregnancy and post partum, this baby is just different in so many ways.  One way that isn't different is that I have close to an over abundance of milk  This is our first baby who, though she loves to fall asleep nursing, she does not like to stay attached (as all my others did).  Not to mention, after she has drifted off and my milk does a take two on the let down, she gets very upset that she feels like she is drowning.  This sets off a cascade of issues, whether it be hiccups, spitting up, or crying due to be overly tired from repeated wakening.  But at the same time she wants to 'nurse' herself to sleep.  So the other day I bought a paci.  And you know what?  Last night was the first night Merida did not become overly tired!  She slept soundly and peacefully, without a ton of spit up.  She still falls asleep in my arms when she has the paci.  I couldn't give that up :-)  But now she doesn't have to feel like she's drowning.  And as bad as I feel that I gave her a 'plug', she is happy, and who can argue that she looks so cute?  Granted she's cute without a plug :-)  So I guess this disqualifies me from the attachment parenting club :-)

 Big and little sissy.  Moira holding Merida, she was holding her above as well.

 Jonah wanted to make up a photo shoot, and asked me to hang up some different blankets for different backgrounds.  Smart kid.  Here is Aubrey, excuse his messy face, they had used markers to paint their faces to play Indians.

 A sleeping babe.

 More sleeping babe.  This outfit was given to Flannery as a newborn.  It is one of my favorites.  Don't get me wrong I love pink, and it is fun to see on little girls, but the orange was a nice change of pace from all the pink things my newborn girls have.

Jonah looks much older in this picture.  I do believe that should be outlawed, or a sin...don't you?  Ha, ha.  He normally doesn't smile this way, but that's ok, at least he wasn't acting goofy.

Moira doing a selfie.  I hear they are all the rage :-)  My goodness, wasn't she just Merida's size yesterday?  The nerve of these children of mine, thinking they can go and grow up behind my back!  Tsk, tsk.

Jeremiah started a new job!

I suppose I should have written a couple of weeks ago that Jeremiah got a job!  But, since there was still paper work to do (since it is a contract job) I didn't want to say anything until things were final.  But one week after losing his job, he got a new one...praise the Lord.  He started at his new job yesterday.  I am very thankful for His provision, and am reminding myself to not forget that!!!

Merida continues to be our dream baby!  She has been "talking" to us since she has been a couple of days old.  None of our babies cooed so early.  She also started to smile at us at 4 weeks old.  Again, earlier than any of our other babies.  I think she is gearing up for another growth spurt as she has been eating a bit more.  I do believe babies have a second growth spurt around 6 weeks, so she's due for one.  I can't believe she will be six weeks old this weekend!

I'm gearing up to gettting back into the swing of things.  I am seeing greater healing going on, which is promising :-)  I have a lot to say about that, but will need a post...or ten of it's own.  Ok, not ten.  I am looking forward to doing what I normally would be doing.  Though, once I'm back in the swing of things I am sure it won't be long before I think I need a break :-)  Ha, ha!

I was thinking that this blog has been a wee bit Merida heavy, so a little bit about how everyone else is doing...

The bigger girls have gotten into photography and video making.  The older three in particular have been 'playing' with a video making software.  Flannery and Saoirse have really been into Breyer horses.  The other two girls are as well, but the younger two have been making lots of neat videos and stop action with their horses.  Not to mention all of the horse equipment and out buildings they have been making (on a toy scale).  Every box gets confiscated for their building endeavors.

The boys have really been into Legos.  They had watched some youtube videos of people putting together lego creations, and now they come to me showing me not only what they built, but how they built it.  So they take it all apart (no matter how big it is!), and relay, brick by brick how it is made.  It's cute that they try to call the brick 'name' like the people in the videos do.  Jonah was calling every brick a "1 by 16" for a long time.  They were not getting the concept for how the bricks were named.  Jed caught on, and at least now Jonah calls the bricks something else than just a "1 by 16" though he usually does not get it right.  Cute non the less.

Moira and Jonah are the most excited about getting the garden started.  Jonah has been pretty obsessed with it actually!  I let him start his own seeds since he was becoming so impatient.  He is faithful to water his seedlings every day.  However, that only stalled him :-)  He is begging to get to the rest of the seeds now.

Jedidiah has lost his two front teeth :-)  We were a bit concerned that he was having 3 teeth coming in almost at the same time, but his endo doctor said it was a good sign that his body is now growing and developing as it should.

My good friend, M, blessed me by doing my hair for me!  First she put highlights in.  She did mine the last time, 5 years ago (!), which was the first time I had highlights done.  She went soft with those, but this time?  Ooohh, they are bold :-)  And I like them!  Then, when I told her I had to put a hair cut off (can't justify spending money on a haircut when we were still not a 100% about Jeremiah's job situation), and she said she would cut it for me, since I was looking for the same style she wears.  She did and awesome job.  It was just what I was looking for, keeping my length, but thinning things out with some 'messy' layers.

I'm really excited about the things we are learning during this time in our lives.  The Lord has been moving and it is real and good.  I am amazed by the people who have come along side us and are teaching us what GRACE means.  One day I would love to share what we have learned, but for now we are still learning :-)

 Flannery celebrated a birthday!  Twelve!  Oh. My. Goodness.  I know, I always say it, but I always mean it....how is it possible?  She asked to have her birthday dinner at the park, a picnic.  Hmmm, do any of your picnics look like this?  A whole basket of canning jars for drinking, and a large pot of food?  I told her that next time we should plan for some more traditional picnic foods :-)  She chose homemade mac and cheese for her meal.  I made a non dairy version for myself since I can't have milk products.  The first time I made such a dish, and it came out yummy.

 Two cakes, made by Flannery herself.  Flannery is our baker.  And she gets upset with having to share the baking experience with others when it is someone else's birthday, so for her own birthday she was sole baker.  And yes, Moira and the girls' friend, C, in the background, were photo bombing.  Silly creatures.

 It was really windy there, and we couldn't keep the candle lit, so here is Flannery pretending to blow out her candle after we sang to her.

I got a half way decent photo of (almost) all of the kids.  Didn't know the best way to get the baby in, as they were standing on a wall, and didn't feel safe with any of them holding her up there.  Maybe next time :-)

How the baby spent most of the party...asleep.  Party pooper.

Big stuff

I haven't had much time to post...hmmmm...I wonder why :-)  Let us just say that my recovery, although soooo much better in many aspects, has one very major difficulty going for it.  Sigh.  This means that although I finally (after years!!) having energy, after feeling as if I didn't even have a baby three weeks ago (pain wise), there is a major flaw in my anatomy that will take a very long time to heal.  As such I get to practice my mothering skills from the couch.  Not exactly fun.  I do have hopes that since I am taking it easy and doing very minimal exercises, that come the 6 to 8 week mark I may be able to "dive" into doing more to help my condition.  Until then I was told to lay low and let things heal so that I don't add to my troubles.

On top of an unexpected delay in recovery, we are facing some big challenges within our family.  The number one being that Jeremiah lost his job.  Not exactly a good thing with 9 mouths to feed, but it is what it is.  I am trying my best to abide in the Lord, knowing that He alone is our provider.  Funny how we feel that we are in charge of such things until that 'rug' is ripped out from under us.  Not that I had anything to do with the providing part, but I think you know what I am getting at.  

Other than that I am continuing to school from the couch.  I write up lists for the girls as to what needs to be done each day.  I have to say for the most part they are getting it all done.  For that I am very thankful.  It would be helpful if some of it wasn't like pulling teeth...but, hey, it's getting done :-)  

Baby is getting fussy.  She seems to be getting over her growth spurt and slept like a champ last night.  I am thankful for these small things, and try to remain thankful throughout the day for the small things.

Jeremiah has two job interviews coming up this week.  If you remember, please say a prayer that he gets a job quickly.  Thank you!