A day to celebrate

We are celebrating zemirah's 1st birthday today along with a housewarming party. I had thought this would be a neat joint celebration months ago but with various hiccups along the way, i really wasnt sure it would become a reality.

God has richly blessed us, in children, in home and in life. We have found a church home that has welcomed us in with open arms, we have a community we love and a home we can grow old in. I amazed,even though i know i shouldnt be, at how much God has given us.

We recently found out we have a new blessing on the way, yes you read right, #9 is on the way. I'm not really sure why God has chosen us as the family to give many to, but his ways are often not ours. We are excited around here, the new bambino is due april 28th.

So as we celebrate today, we have many things to be thankful for, indeed God has richly blessed us.

MJ

Musings of a (part timer) working mom

First off, my hats off to all of you who work full time and are parents. Man, I am sooo glad that I wont be doing full time hours. I am utterly exhausted, can barely think straight let alone take care of the kids effectively, make supper etc. I do have to say, today was unusual, i got up at 430 with andrew, took a shower, then eventually got the two little ones up, and to the sitter by 645 am. My normal work hours will be evenings from 3 to 9 and no where near full time status.

I was on the road at 710, and got there around 830 and managed to not get lost. Although the ride home wasnt as kind, some of the exits werent labeled the same so i missed two of them and had to turn around and get back on the right exit. Thankfully i learned how to take the next exit to turn around and didnt get too far gone.

Training was okay, a lot of sitting, a lot of paperwork, forms, even tests blech! We went over tons of policies too. The afternoon session brought more scenario based discussions but all of us in the group were pretty ready to go home by that point. We did our best though. Was disapointed to find we didnt get out til nearly 4, i thought the session went to 3. Tommorrow is supposedly more hands on, some nursing stuff, like pulse checking, and learning the wheelchair lift. At least that location is right next to dairy queen!

I was nervous driving, but the training session wasnt too bad, it wasnt long and i was cracking jokes a bit. The worst part was sitting all day, ouch my body aches.

One more day to go,
MJ

1st day of training

Im a little excited, pretty nervous bout the drive and not getting lost but overall okay. Not looking forward to being gone from 7 in the morning til 4 or 5 in the afternoon but thats life.

My 17 yr old cousin Cady is here for the next two days, she is a neat gal. She can talk sci fi books with andrew, to horses with katarina to life topics with me. I love it and the kids love her too. She will be watching the 6 oldest ones and the youngest two will go to my friend ginas.

Well im off to wake the little ones up and get them dressed, wish me luck!

MJ

Morning all

Its a beautiful sunny pleasant day here in minnesota, so i say its time for a delurking day and for y'all to come out of the closet.

I know I have some readers out there , at least they tell me they are reading. So if you are still reading this blog, stop by and answer this in the comments, what keeps you coming back here to read? Is it the insane life stories of a large family, or just keeping up with a troublemaker like me?

On todays adgenda, hogtieing children in order to get laundry done, and boxes unpacked. Okay so really, maybe just sending them outside to play will suffice. Im so thankful for our huge yard, the kids really enjoy playing out in the sandbox, or climbing trees or riding bikes around the loop.

Enough hyperbole, check in people!
MJ

God provides time and time again

I know i shouldnt be amazed but I am somtimes at how God just knows what we need, when and how. He continues to bless us this season and I am incredibly thankful that i am indeed one of his children.

I got the job, they basically hired me on the spot. I went thru a informal interview of questions but it became clear that they did want to hire me. At the end they asked if i had any qustions, im like um when you do you plan to make your decision, they smiled at each other, and said we already did. The pay itself is indeed a blessing, its 10 bucks an hour, which seems like a mint to me since i currently make my currency in non dollar things. Its totally a God thing, again he led me to the right place, right time. And the hours work, they are evening from 3 to 9 or 3 to 11.

Today we were blessed again by some loving church members, who provided some really nice matching dressers and mowed our lawn for just the cost of gas. It amazes me time and again to see such love pour out on us. God is soo good .. all the time.

1st interview tommorrow

Im excited, incredibly nervous, worrying bout what to wear and thinking could it really be this simple. Did i stumble upon the right one right away? Its in Gods hands, very capable hands i might add.

I know we arent to be anxious but man ive been out fo the work world for so long, that everything feels foreign to me. I am really excited too, that it would be close enough to pop home for lunch or supper if i want.

Gotta run, kids are insisting on talking to me today, makes it tough to blog. Imagine that, they want attention ... hmmm

MJ

Easier said than done

Quite often people, very often of the elder sort, remind me that the kids wont be little forever and to enjoy it while it lasts. When in the midst of temper tantrums, physical fights, arguments and the not so joyous moments of childhood, its hard to remember that.

But today i suceeded at least in a little bit. I arranged to do a playdate at the park with some lovely women of the church. So it really was nice to fellowship with them while the kids played. We had some lunch and quiet time. Then in a rare moment of inspiration i tagged one of them and the game of tag was on. I dont particularly enjoy being outside even on such a beautiful summer day, so i often have to force my desire to stay inside and read and go outside instead. But i do enjoy tag, even though they are much faster these days. And it reminds me why i like having all these kids, the laughter, the smiles and the joy of them. Too often its easy to get bogged down in negotiations or instructing them for the millionith time to wear shoes outside. May God provide more of these moments, after all he made them!~

It was nice, after the game of tag, i grabbed my lawnchair and hung outside with the kiddos, the little ones enjoyed some running around as well.

Well thats all for now folks
MJ

Is this the one?

I applied for another job today, this one just up the street from me. Its at a group home and has various odd shift hours which works well for me as im trying to work opposite andrew. I enjoyed meeting the two ladies in charge, they were great. So im hoping they like me as well.

But its in Gods hands now, and im going to try and leave it there! If this is hte right one, God will work out the details, as he has with everything else in this move. Im trusting that he has the right thing in store for me.

Going to try and muddle thru figuring out our new budget and payment schedule today, not looking forward to that at all!

MJ

A day of rest

I dont think we have had one in along while. The fun of selling and buying a house and the subsquent move usually sucked up our satardays.

Slept in til 9, which was incredibly wonderful. And moseyed around for the morning. My darling husband cooked me breakfast and then we headed off to visit library in our new town. Small but very nice, we managed to find books for most everyone including moi. Came home and had some homemade soup and watched a family movie.

Overall its been a pleasant day.
God is good ... all the time!
MJ

battery hunt

Okay with the masses glamoring for photos from every direction, I will be on a battery hunt today. We need to find our rechargable batteries, as the regular double aa's last only for a few photos before dying. So pictures will be coming .. eventually lol.

Hoping to have company over for supper tonite, im very excited to entertain in my new home. I love having people over and serving them, its one of the things i enjoy most and I also love playing games and the chitchatting. So im hoping the family can come, plus it makes me get my butt in gear for cleaning and unpacking. I msut say i have been doign better on keeping on cleaning here, so other than cleaning bathrooms and vacuuming and decluttering, there isnt a lot to do. Right its mostly just stuff that i need to find homes for.

Two boys are going fishing with the pastor and some other kids i think. So that will help give me some more time to accomplish somthing i hope.

Turned in my first job application last night. Its incredibly nervewracking to do especially when you realize i havent worked outside the home in 10 yrs. I know that i have skill sets, I know i have things that can bring contributions to a company but digging those out has been tough.

well thats about all for now folks!
MJ