Day 20 of Giving Thanks

On Day 20 of giving thanks, I am extremely thankful for pictures. I love that I can look at pictures of past events and it takes me back to that day. I love having pictures of our family around the house. Pictures of John and I when we started dating up on my fridge, silly pictures of the kids and their daddy, pictures of vacation, etc. I am so blessed to have these reminders!!

Day 19 of Giving Thanks

I am extremely thankful for God's grace and mercy in the past year. It was a very hard year for our family because from Sept 2011-Aug 2012 we had my cousin in our home as our foster son. He has alot of emotional issues and once his mom came back into the picture he had alot of issues with that. December last year was a horrible month and I am not sure how we got through it, except for the grace of God!

So yes I am thankful that through our dark days, God saw us through it all!!

My day of rest

So today instead of going to church, John took the kids by himself and covered the video system for me so I could stay home. Of course it would have been awesome to lounge around and do nothing, but since I never get time home alone to do a project, I started on the laundry room.

Our laundry room has gotten so bad that it started overflowing into our family room's furniture. I had tons of totes with outgrown clothes shoved in every available space because our sheds are full of, well frankly most of crap we don't need! I don't even know when the last time I was able to get to the back part of my sheds. I usually just open the doors and throw stuff in. So yeah, they are full of stuff we don't need.

So there was no place for all my totes. And then there was no place for totes, and with a huge piano in there, I then was just shoving outgrown clothes wherever I could. And then there was the laundry.

And yes you read right, I have a piano in my laundry room. Why you ask?! Well my dad gave us a piano, which was nice, but then we got a coach and recliner from my mom for our family room, which is where the piano was. So then there was no room for the piano. And since I couldn't find anyone who wanted it and I hated to throw it out and know it was destroyed and no local thrift stores want pianos, it was shoved into my laundry room.

I actually have a friend who says she wants it, but she has yet to come get it. And boy I have plans for the space when it is gone! I want to put a bench like area there with a basket for each kid under the bench(praying we have enough room for 5) for the kids hats, gloves, shoes, etc. And a hook for each one for their coats and backpacks. So then we have one place for them all. Oh, I pray I get this someday!!

Anyway so I started on my project. Which of course meant the rest of my house(which I picked up before hand) got trashed. At one point my living room, dining room, and red room was packed with piles of clothes, garbage bags of clothes, and totes. Luckily all the rooms are better, but still need work, so my project isn't completely done.

I was blessed to find Kennedy's 3T clothes for Livie and JJ a bunch of size 7 pants. I also was able to organize all the totes and store them nicely back into the laundry room for now. And since I was able to get to the shower stall in our laundry room(don't have a clue why it is in there) that we have NEVER used. I stored some totes in there. At least it is getting used for something. lol

I even went out to the shed and got some totes and went through them. I currently have all my baby boy clothes on my dining room table, sorted by sizes to give to a friend for her ministry. And while going through totes, I found various totes and bags with shoes in them. Not pairs of shoes, just random shoes. But I was able to mate a ton of them, set some aside for a friend, made a tote of mated shoes for when the kids need shoes we can look through and see if we have their size before buying more. Still have another tote full of mismatched shoes, so hopefully I come acroos more shoes. And I have a tote of shoes that are too small for my friends boys, so they are going to another friend and a ministry.

I was amazed by the number of baskets and other things I found with unmated socks in them. So now I have a huge project of mating socks. I actually am getting ready to watch a show and do that right now. Wish me luck!!

Day 18 of Giving Thanks

I am extremely thankful that my children always have clothes! I mean we are extremely blessed by my mom and my sister in this regard! My mom loves to find clothes for the kids, so she keeps them pretty decked out, which is extremely helpful with 5 kids. And since the boys are only 2 years apart and so are the girls, I am able to pack away clothes when Alex and Kennedy outgrow them and have them for JJ and Livie.

And then with my sister having a girl only 2 years older then Kennedy, she passes on Bianca's clothes to us. So we are extremely blessed that we don't have to buy clothes all the time. Usually our kids end up with so many clothes that we then weed them out. And then we can bless others with our hand me downs.

So I am thankful for the blessings of clothes for my children!

Day 17 of Giving Thanks

As I sit here on day 17 of giving thanks, enjoying the quiet of my house, I have to thank God for bedtime!! One thing John and I have been in agreement about was having a earlier bedtime. It started because John used to work midnights so our time together was the evenings. So we would put the kids to bed at around 8 on any nights we didn't have church or other events that kept them up later. That gave us our alone time, which we enjoy.

So even though John works evenings now and is only off 2 nights a week, I still put the kids down around 8. On some nights it is earlier(like tonight because they all are tired and whiny and complaining of their arms and legs hurting, meaning a growth spurt) and Alex sometimes gets to stay up until 9 since he is getting older.

But then that gives me MY time which I desperately need, especially on days when they are super crazy, like today.

So thank you Lord for blessing me with bedtime and the blessing of a quiet house. Now only if our neighbor's dog would stop barking!!

Day 16 of Giving Thanks

For day 16 I have to say thank you to God for giving my husband a good job with good benefits. With this good job, comes good pay. Which makes it possible on days when I am craving sweet potatoe fried from Burger King for my darling husband to go get me some!

It also makes it possible to put our children into Platte Valley Christian Academy. Praise God for that!!

We have been amazing blessed with John's job. He started off basically being a glorified janitor, cleaning locomative toilets and is now a foreman, a pretty good foreman if I do say so myself. It just so happens with every child John has been promoted around the birth or shortly after of each child. I keep joking with him that we are having another one, it is time to get promoted. lol.

With his job also come really good insurance, which is a huge blessing. It keeps the cost of all our medical bills down. Another huge praise!

So I want to give God a huge THANK YOU for blessing us with John's 11 years on the UP Railroad!!

Day 15 of Giving Thanks

Today, as for my 15th day of giving thanks(yes I am catching up ONCE again, lol) I would like to thank God for comfortable pj bottoms. ESPECIALLY when I am pregnant and the button from my jeans are causing irritation on the under side of my baby belly. (I wear my regular jeans during pregnancy, pregnancy pants never fit right)

Now I will not wear pj bottoms all day long(although some days I am tempted) because it is a huge pet peeve of mine. I don't even like to stay in my pj's all day when I am sick. Yes sometimes I wear them until about 10 on days I don't have to go somewhere, but I always get dressed for the day. But I love when it is an appropriate time of the evening that I can slide into my pj bottoms and feel comfty!! Thank you God for giving us comfortable pj bottoms!!

There are days!!!

Somedays I really would like to tell people this..........................................

Day 14 of Giving Thanks

I am extremely thankful for the blessing of my inlaws!! Some people don't like their inlaws but I LOVE my inlaws!! And not just John's parents, but his sister, who is like a sister to me, love that woman!! And her husband and all my nieces and nephews from that side, John's aunts and uncles, etc. They have all accepted me and I honestly love to spend time with them.

The Schimek family picture from about 5 years ago. There has been 3 more children since then, not including Emmalee

Day 13 of Giving Thanks

I am thankful for my brother, Casey and my sister Ashley. I am so blessed that we love each other and are there for each other, not all siblings are like that.  Brother and I are very close, he was my first best friend. And my sister and I have always been close, but being 3-4 years apart in school we never really had the connection Casey and I did. But since she got married and especially had her daughter, she and I have gotten much closer. I am thankful for my brother and sister.

Day 12 of Giving Thanks

I am very thankful for my mom and both dads, (my dad and my stepdad who I never think of as a "stepdad" but just my dad). They have helped to mold me into the person I am. I am thankful that both of my parents found someone to love and share their lives with.

I am thankful that my parents(all 3 of them) are great grandparents and love their grandchildren so much.

Day 11 of Giving Thanks

I am so, so thankful for our home. God has truly blessed us with it. I love our house. It might be messy and very lived in most of the time, but it shows that we truly "live" here. It has been the home we have brought our girls home to and we have grown into this house. When we bought this house 4 bedroom house 5 1/2 years ago we had a 2 year old and 5 month old. We didn't really need all the space but we were able to find this big house for a really good price. And now we have 4 going on 5 kids and the space is sooo nice.

So Lord thank you sooo much for our home. It has been an amazing home for our family!!

Day 10 of Giving Thanks

For day 10 of giving thanks this month I would like to thank God for giving me the gift of being able to do crafts. I seriously love how crafts give me a way to be creative and a way to destress. I have been blessed with the ability to do many crafts and love having a new project. I love seeing a project come to life. I have found that I am one that likes to try a new project so I have many started projects because I often move onto a new one before finishing the old one.

So thank you God for this gift. I pray that the way I use it is glorifying to you!!

Hats I am making to donate for Christmas baskets for children in our community.

Day 9 of Giving Thanks

Today I would like to thank God for the gift Platte Valley Christian Academy has been to our family. When we started Alex in the preschool 5 years ago, our plan was only to put our kids through the preschool and then transfer to public school. As that time drew near, we did alot of praying and seeking God's guidance and knew we were meant to stay with PVCA.

We love the school, we love the teachers, families, and students. We are so greatful for all the volunteers and for the fellow board members who work hard to make sure policy is upheld and the school runs smoothly.

I am so thankful that EVERY school day, our children learn more about our Lord and Savior. That they have teachers who love them and really come to know who each child is. I am thankful that God has blessed us with the finances to send our kids to the school and that He has placed this burden on our hearts for a Christian education. We are so thankful for PVCA!!!

Day 8 of Giving Thanks

For Thursday, I would like to thank God for our new we have yet to meet, Emmalee Jorja Kay. I haven't met her yet, but we are so excited. It is amazing how once you find out about a new life coming into our family, it seems like they have always been apart of our lives. Even our boys' teacher knows all about Emmalee because the boys talk about her alot. We are so excited to meet our newest(and last) blessing in January!!

Day 7 of Giving Thanks

For Wednesday(yes still playing catch up) I give thanks for our youngest child at the moment, Olivia Clara Paige. Livie has definately brought alot of life into our family. She is funny, headstrong, and definately independent. She knows what she wants and sets out to get her way. Praying that she will get better as she gets older.

Livie is extremely smart for an almost 2 1/2 year old. She talks in 4-5 word sentences and she for the most part knows her colors very well. Most of the time when you ask her what color is something, she will be correct.

She is a joy to have in our lives and I couldn't imagine our lives without her.

Day 6 of Giving Thanks

I know, I know I am behind so today I am catching up.

For Tuesday I am thankful for our first daughter Kennedy Jean Elizabeth. She has been such a joy to have in our lives. She is definately a princess!! She LOVES to wear dresses. And I don't mean just loves when she gets a chance to wear them. She loves dresses so much, that that is basically all she wears. She only wears pants or shorts about once or twice a week. She loves all girly things.

She is currently struggling with have a strong will and having to obey others and allow other to do things she wants to do. Praying she can learn how to control herself without too many more issues like she has been having.

I am so thankful that God has blessed us with the gift of Kennedy in our lives. Parenting girls is different than parenting boys that is for sure.

Day 5 of Giving Thanks

Today I want to give thanks to God for the blessing of our son Jeremiah James. He is such a little sweetheart. He has those huge brown eyes that can make you melt. One of his love languages is words of affirmation and is always telling people they are the best, beautiful, doing a good job, etc. He is also a huge charmer.

And it is a good thing he is so cute and such a sweetie, because he is also sooo ornery. He is always up to something and keeps life interesting.

I am so thankful for the gift of JJ in my life. I couldn't imagine life without our little Jet Plane!!

Day 4 of Giving Thanks

Today I am thankful for our first born son Alexander Michael. With the birth of Alex, John and I learned the joys of being parents.

I am so proud of Alex. He is growing up into an awesome young man! He is maturing right before my very eyes. I love that he isn't afraid to tell people about Jesus and his dying on the cross for everyone. He is smart, funny, and a joy to have as a son.  He is a good big brother and watches out of is brother and sisters.

I pray that God will give us guidance and wisdom while raising Alex and the rest of the kids.

Day 3 of Giving Thanks

Today I am thankful for the blessing of our angel Jacob. Jacob is our first baby who we lost at 15 weeks gestation. I am so thankful for the time we had and that we now have meeting our little boy to look forward to when we meet in heaven!

Losing Jacob was incrediably hard for John and me. We never imagined we could loose a baby, who goes into a first pregnancy with that thought.  So when we found out that he was gone and we had to make the decision of what to do, we felt like fish being asked to breath air. I am so thankful that God was there to carry us through that and show us mercy along the way. He even blessed us in finances, because when John's boss heard why John was off he refused to make John use his vacation for the delivary and funeral of his son and gave him bereavement pay.

The short life of Jacob gave us a deep love for our children. We know how short our time can be and we want to cherish every moment. We will never forget our sweet Jacob Robert. And now with the addition of Emmalee, I have my six babies I always wanted, 3 boys first and the 3 girls last. God is soooo good!!

Vacation part 2

So we are back from our vacation. We drove back on Tuesday and with all our pit stops an then stopping in Kearney to go to Target it took a really long time to get home. It was nice to get home and having the house pretty clean, so I was so thankful that I had cleaned it before we left. Of course the unpacking process made it messy for a bit and now it has that look that says, "there is an active family living here." lol

So to finish up the rundown of our vacation, Saturday we went to Britt's Pumpkin Patch. It was alot of fun. Of course Livie just wanted to stay in the jumpy house and JJ could have spent all day going down their slides. He loved it.

We picked up some pumpkins while at the Pumpkin Patch and went back to Uncle Casey's and carved them. We had a boys' pumpkin that Daddy carved and a girls' pumpkin that I carved and the girls' pumpkin kicked the boys' pumpkin's butt!!

Sunday we went to the zoo in Manhattan. It is a small zoo, but that was nice with the kids. Too big of a zoo would have been torture with not having taken a stroller. The kids enjoyed seeing all the animals and there was a snow leopard that was very entertaining!!

Then Monday Casey went to work and John, the kids, and I went to the mall. We enjoyed seeing what a real mall is like. lol. While there we ate at Hu Hot and I got some peanut sauced noodles. I have found a new restuarant to add to my list of favorites. Then we went to Hobby Lobby and I picked up some craft items.

So that is a rundown of our vacation. We all had a blast. But all of us girls came back sick with sinus stuff. We are still battling it. Praying it goes away soon.

Day 2 of Giving Thanks

I am so thankful for the blessing God has given me in my husband John. He is truly my best friend. He loves me for me. He makes me smile and brings joy to my life.

I am thankful that I didn't have to search for years to find my soul mate, but that God brought us together when we were teens.

I couldn't imagine my life without John. I love that man, dorkiness and all!!

Day 1 of Giving Thanks

Yes, I realize today is November 2nd, not the first, but yesterday I felt like poo and didn't get on here. So today I will cover 2 days. Honestly there might be times I have to make up days as I don't always get home to blog.

I think that taking 30 days to give thanks for what we have blessed with in life is a good thing to focus on. Honestly there are days I am more focused on what is going wrong in my day, then the blessings that surround me.

So here is my first thing I am thankful for. I am extremely thankful for my Heavenly Father. That He sees me, the true me, that He created me to be and is constantly molding me into that person. That God can take every situation in my life, the good and the bad and if I allow Him to, He uses it for good.

That He loves me so much, not because of who I am, but in spite of who I am, and desperately wants to have a deep intimate relationship with me. That because of that love, He sent His son to the cross to cover MY sins. That He sacrificed His perfect son for ME!

Greatful that God never leaves me. That He is with me every second of every day and whispers words of love into my ears, even when I can't hear Him.