Awesome God

Chase was singing for Levi tonight.  He and Alex have been singing "Awesome God" for a few years now, and I always thought they knew all the words.  So, as I'm listening tonight, this is what I heard...

Our God, is an awesome God

He raise, from Heav'n above

With whiz, and pow'r and love

Our God is an awesome God

I love my kids :)  Have I mentioned that before?

                   

(This is a picture of Levi and Chase "sword fighting" with utensils taken about 9 months ago)

*Small* Group

Tim and I were invited to join a new small group from church. It's great... but not so small! LOL The kids out-number adults by almost 2-1. Last night there were 9 adults (10 when Mitch joined us via web cam), and 16 kids + one still being knit. Chaos was inevitable, but the fellowship -- and the food -- was wonderful. I can't wait to get to know everyone better :)

I just can't believe this!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21358971/

This is just completely unbelievable! What are these people thinking?? And one of the lines that really got to me was the school board member that said he voted against "because providing birth control is the parents responsibility!!! Are you kidding me? For middle school kids?? Have we just become so complacent as a society that we think it's okay for middle school kids (normally 6th-8th grade, ages 11-14) to be having sex?

I just was so upset by this that I had to rant...

Papa Crackers?

Levi's new thing is coming in the house when we've been out and saying, "Wah nack." Translation for those who don't understand "toddler-ese" -- want snack. Today I gave him graham crackers. He sort of said 'graham cracker', but the next time I said it he said, "baa-pah ga-kuh?"

Since he calls grandpa "baa-pah" it makes since. Gram pa... Gram cracker. Must sound an awful lot alike in his 2-year-old mind! LOL I had to call my dad right away and tell him. So I guess from now on we'll enjoy "papa crackers" :P

Lessons In Life

Why is it that our children are so great at teaching us some of the hard to handle truths about life?

After we went to Sam's Club and picked the boys up from AWANA tonight Tim and I brought in our purchases and Chase was supposed to be keeping Victory and Levi out of the entry. He got in trouble for taking it upon himself to *barely even spank* Victory. When I scolded him for trying to be the parent, he got upset and when I came back in the house with another load, Victory was outside and Levi was just on his way out the door. Apparently, he left his post to pout about the scolding.

After swatting his behind I told him, "When you get mad or upset it is not okay to just walk away from your responsibilities. You just need to suck it up and deal with it!"

Wow... that hurts! Especially when you realize that you are not a great example of what you're trying to teach. How many times have I gotten upset and said, "I'm going outside! I can't deal with this right now!" Of course, when I do that I'm probably saving the life of one of my children... LOL

So, I guess that was my big lesson for today.

I never expected that!

Last night on the way home from Steph's house I almost ran over somebody's pet rat. I'm really not kidding! LOL I turned off on Cypress about a block from her house, and as I was pulling up to the stop sign I saw something running across the street. I thought, "What is that!?" It was a black and white rat. The kind we had as a pet in our 6th grade classroom. So I thought maybe it had escaped from someone's house. But then when I turned the corner I saw a "pet box" - you know, the kind you get at a pet store. I just kept driving. But I really debated turning around and getting the poor thing!

So Steph, if you see a rat at your house today, you know where it came from. :P

Gotta' say, I never expected that!

Oh, and if you want to see what Steph and I have been working on lately you can check out her store at http://hyenacart.com/PamperedCheeks/. Everything new is just flying off the "shelf"!

God made that.

Victory came home from preschool today with all her great pictures and projects. One thing she had was a styrofoam cup filled with soil and some grass growing and a cute little face on the front. She said, "I made that!" I said, "You did!? I think Jesus made that!" She said, "That's what my teacher said." LOL

Mononucleosis

Great word, isn't it? (I always did love science stuff.) Turns out that 1 in 20 kids who have mono also have strep. Wouldn't you know, my kids would be in that 5%. lol So far, Chase is the only one actually exhibiting signs of mono, but I suppose the others could have it as well.

Now I get to worry about things like -- what if the rest of us get it? what if his spleen is enlarged and ruptures? what if he's so tired he can't function in school for more than a week? His teacher is sending his math and reading home so he won't get too behind in that. I guess it will be a little *crash course* in homeschooling for me. :P

Anyone who wants to pray for his quick recovery, I won't object! lol And I don't even want to think about what would happen to our household if I got mono... I think I'm *behind* already, so I won't let my thoughts dwell in that place.

Oooh... I just remembered I need to give Chase his mid-day dose of abx! Better go do that before I forget again. LOL We did have good news at the Dr. His strep test came back negative, so the abx are doing their job.

Off to be mom again...

Four Hour Lazy Sunday

Tim decided that today was a "Lazy Sunday". He sat down to watch the game and race he'd TiVo'd. After feeding the baby I decided that I should take the opportunity to head to JoAnn's. Chase came along with me.

I found a really cute curtain rod to go in Victory's newly painted room. I also found some light-weight corduroy to make the girls something matching (haven't decided exactly what that will be as of yet...), some minkee-like dots fabric for covers for Shiloh, and some terry to make new inserts for pocket diapers.

At Wal-Mart, Chase had finally *had it*. Suddenly the bag of chips I had him carrying was too heavy. And of course it was nearly impossible for his legs to continue to support him. I also discovered that he is growing up... he needed to use the bathroom and the men's room was being cleaned so I told him to come in the women's bathroom with me. He was so mortified! I practically had to drag him in kicking and screaming. LOL I managed to get him in by telling him he should close his eyes. Aren't kids great?!

By the time I arrived home, Levi and Victory had managed to make a mess of the basement by taking out 3 or 4 games and spreading pieces EVERYWHERE. Then, the went upstairs, took the styrofoam out of the packaging from the curtain rod, and broke it into teeny tiny bits. Needless to say, that was the end of Tim's "Lazy Sunday". But I think it was good while it lasted :P

P.S. Tim really did have four hours of *lazy*. He watched a 3 hour football came and a 4 and 1/2 hour race in just about 3 and 1/2 hours. Did I mention we LOVE our TiVo?

Crazy life...

I really DO want to blog more often. And there are so many times when I come up with a great title and compose a good portion of the blog in my head. But then I don't take the time to sit down and write...

This week has been CRAZY! I guess it all really started last week. Victory had her first day of preschool (and has had four days total now). She is just SO excited about it! I have to remind her on the non-school days that she doesn't get to go... she's just always wanting to get ready and get to school! lol Hopefully that carries out into elementary. :)

Last Thursday I got a call from the school nurse that Chase had a temp over 102. Tim went and picked him (and Alex) up so he didn't have to ride the bus home. He was home all day Friday and slept most of the day. Saturday he was doing much better. On Monday, he fell asleep on the bus coming home. How do you do that on a bus full of noisy kids?! (Guess that should have been a clue something was NOT right! LOL) Tuesday he came home and took a nap. Wednesday he did the same thing, and Tim made a comment about "he doesn't have mono does he?" His glands were still really swollen so I decided to take him in. Turns out he has strep. And yesterday VJ had a sore throat and when I looked, sure enough, there were the swollen tonsils and white spots. :( I had also had VJ to the Dr on Wed am for her preschool physical, so when I went to pick up her prescription last night it was my 3rd trip to the clinic in less than 36 hours.

Last night, Levi started coughing after he fell asleep. Around midnight he woke up and was coughing and having a hard time breathing. It was so humid that I just went for a walk with him outside. He did better, but I took him in this pm just to be sure. He fell asleep in my arms. His ears were red, and the Dr decided not to wake him up to check his throat. She figured between the red ears and the exposure to strep he'd better just be on abx. So... now I have 3 bottles of abx in my fridge and am administering a total of 7 doses daily for 3 kids. Ughh! As if there aren't enough things to remember!!

On the up side... When I was out walking last night I met some "neighbors" that I had never met before. They have a 3-1/2 yr old boy, and twin 11mo old girls. She's been looking for playmates in the area, and also for a MOMS group to attend. Well, wouldn't you know, I could help her with both! LOL So having a sick kid worked out kind of nice in that aspect :)

I could go on and on, but I'll save it for another post/another day. I'm hoping that I can make this my new "habit" to replace some other less productive habits! And I'd like to be a bit more entertaining... lol I'll have to work on that. You'd never believe some of the very funny things my kids say and do on a regular basis!

Until next time...

Stretching and Growing

I've really been dealing with a lot of internal struggles lately. There are areas of my life that I've hung on to for so long and now I feel like God is really pushing me to finally let go. Until now, I've know that He desires change in me, but He's been willing to sit back and give me time. Now, He's decided it's the right time and He won't wait any longer! I won't kid you, it's a painful process!!! And, I'm ashamed to say, I've been fighting it.

Three verses showed up in my inbox in the last week that really challenged me. I'd like to share them with you.

Romans 8:12
"You have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do."

I can't even begin to say how many areas of my life this pertains to!! I have one personal struggle in particular that I'm having a problem saying "no!" to. Everyday there is this internal struggle that goes on. And now I have this verse posted right in front of my computer screen and it just echos in my head every time I give in to my sinful nature.

Philippians 3:8
"I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ."

This verse has me evaluating what pursuits are distracting me from and intimate relationship with my Creator. Because my sinful nature was nailed to the cross, and I have no obligation to give in to it any longer, I need to be pursuing that closeness with my Savior. Once again, this is an area of real struggle for me.

1 Chronicles 29:17
"I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there."

Is my life filled with integrity? I hope others see it! I'm still working on it - you know, the whole sinful nature thing again... I want God to rejoice when he examines my heart!!

And so, I continue to be stretched by my loving God, and I pray that I will continue to grow in Him, and that he will rejoice when he looks at me!

More Monarch's

Remember last year when I found the monarch caterpillars? Then, I didn't know the wonder of it all. Thanks to Steph T I was able to watch the process from start to finish this year. The following slide show is just a few of the MANY photos I took. We do have an AWESOME God -- if he put so much thought into the creation of a butterfly, imagine how much more he thinks of us!

Some pictures I just had to share :)

I love babies!

I was so incredibly blessed to be in attendance while my friend Steph T delivered baby #6. It was the first delivery I'd ever seen. She did so great! I think she may be my new hero :P Congrats Steph!

On the home front, things are going well. Shiloh is a bit colicky, but wonderful none the less. It is hard to believe how quickly the time goes! She was 6 weeks old on Thursday and when they checked her weight at WIC she was 10#3oz. I really need to get the pictures downloaded from my camera so I can post a few!

Well, that's it for now... Just had to share the new Baby Story :)

Announcing...

SHILOH RAYNE LOUCKS

"God's Gift of Abundant Blessings From Above"

Delivered at home...

April 19, 2007 ~ 3:01am

7lb. 12oz. ~ 19.5in.

Shiloh truly is a gift from God. Her middle name, Rayne (pronounced "rain"), is in honor of her Great-Grandma Mabel who passed away last year. Gram always prayed God's blessing on you before she said goodbye. Before she passed away I was able to tell her that we were expecting a new baby. She talked about it regularly, according to my aunts, and just before she died she told my Aunt Becky that since she couldn't stay around to meet this new one, she might as well go home. To her, "home" was in heaven with Jesus. And I know that she is smiling down on this little life that carries a name in her honor.

Why...

is waiting so hard to do?? One the one hand it seems like forever until this baby arrives, and on the other time just flies by so quickly!! I am much more prepared now than I was at the beginning of the week, and the boys are still hoping for a pre-Easter baby. Of course I am too, but I'm not holding my breath :)

The good news is that the baby WILL come... only God knows when, and he knows best so I've been really trying to just let go and trust. Some days are easier than others :)

I have to smile right now... I'm sitting here typing, and I can here the three oldest in the other room sitting quietly and reading stories. Alex and Chase are taking turns. These are the moments that make all the chaos worthwhile!

Well, off I go to wait some more :) Happy Easter to all!

~kjl

Final prep for baby...

Well, I actually still have quite a bit to get done, but here's a start! I finished 1/2 dozen diapers and one wool soaker. I'm also planning on heading to Steph T's to make a couple more diapers and some PUL covers today.



So, we're getting there! The baby is expected in the next 2-1/2 weeks ;) Can't wait!!

Projects and new skills

I promised a long time ago that I'd be posting pictures of the diapers I'd sewn for Levi. So, here they are... There was one more, but it must have been "used" already :P

As for new skills... I have been taught in the past how to knit, but it never really "stuck". My friend Steph sent me a link to a website that has videos and instructions for learning the basics of knitting. I did it! lol Here's my first little project.

It's a baby bib, and far from perfect, but the further I went the better it got :) So, now I'd like to get more yarn and some larger needles... The needles I have are a 6, so when the pattern said 25 stitches, I had to do 40. With larger needles I'll be able to do the projects faster as well :)

That's it for now... just wanted to share!

~kjl

Alex, Levi, Chase, and Victory Joy

I love my babes :)

Time Flies...

Less than three months left until the new baby makes her appearance :) I'm looking forward to it so much!! There is a lot to get done between now and then, so I definitely won't be sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I'm waiting on some fabric so I can get started on diapers for the new one.

I did manage to get some diapers done for Levi the other day... I'll be taking a picture of them and posting that when they come out of the wash next :) My motivation to get those done was lending some of my others to a friend. She is going to try the diapers with her third, and is expecting twins any day now.

Everyone has been sick here, and just when I think we're over it, something else comes along. It started a few weeks ago with the flu. Everyone had it to one extent or another -- I managed to get it twice =S Then it was colds, and last week I took Chase in and ended up with FIVE scrips for amoxicillin. LOL I guess that's life in a house with lots of kids :) Now Alex has a virus and has had a fever for two days. That's more missed school!

Anyway, life is always interesting :)

~kjl