Hello

Hey!  So, I rarely post on this blog anymore...and here's why:

1.  I have 7 kids and am very, very busy.
2.  I am no longer following Trim Healthy Mama.
3.  I post mostly to my Facebook page as it is quick and easy.
4.  School will be starting soon, and I will be even busier.
5.  I need to dedicate my time more to my family and our home.

Some things that have happened in the last few months:

1.  We have 3 gardens this year.  I am enjoying my first year of canning!

2.  I found out I was misdiagnosed with PCOS, and am using other means to try to lose weight.

Where have all the Strong Women Gone?

Our culture is constantly bombarding women with this message:  "Women are better than men."  It has become a bad thing to be a man in this day and age.  With all the sexual misconduct allegations against pretty much all the men in powerful positions, I wonder if we should just acknowledge that every man who has ever talked to a woman is a sexual predator.  (kidding...I'm kidding...seriously!)  I fear for my boys growing up in a society where chivalry is looked at as sexism, and where they are seen as bad simply because they are male.  I fear for my girls growing up in a society where staying at home and being a wife and mother is scorned.

You don't have to be feminist to be a strong woman.  It takes strength to go against the grain.  It takes strength to submit to the man you married.  It takes strength to stay at home with small children, teaching them, and guiding them in the right way.

All I see in movies, in commercials, in the news, is this message that women have been opressed for SO LONG, we need to push for our rights as women!  What rights don't we have?  Oh...yeah... the "right" to kill our children...to rip the babies out of our wombs.  Yeah, that is so worth fighting for...NOT!  How insane is that?!  We have thousands of women marching for the "right" to murder their babies.  I'm ashamed for my fellow women.  I am angry.  I am sick.  It's disgusting.  You know what...you didn't make that baby on your own.  You needed...oh, that's right...a MAN!

Why should women want to be wives and mothers? Why should wives submit to their husbands?  Why should we love and protect our unborn children's lives?

Because God says so.
  
Strong women are those who love their God with all their hearts, minds, and souls and obey Him.  Strong women are those who love their husbands and children.  Strong women are those who stand up for their beliefs and are not swayed by trends or ungodly paths.  

"She dresses herself with strength...Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." Proverbs 31:17a, 25
 

Post Partum Ponderings

Well, it's been 10 weeks since I had Teylie.  I struggle alot during the postpartum stage.  I hate my body, it's so fat and none of my clothes fit.  I'm heavier than before the pregnancy, which is frustrating since I worked out 3-5x a week up until the 34th week, and ate well for the most part.  I am not the type of woman who loses weight easily, and breastfeeding doesn't help.  I am also still trying to sort out my day, on top of schooling 4 kids, nursing a baby, trying to corral 2 small children, and keeping my house clean.  I'm worn thin, let me tell you. (I have been staying on top of the bathrooms, at least!  And my darling husband has been doing the laundry until I get house and school pretty much under control. {can it ever be under control with 7 kids??})

My mom-in-love (and Dad) moved away from us, which is very hard.  They lived just down the road so not having them so close is taking alot of getting used to.  I'm trying not to cry every time I think about it. We saw them every Sunday at church, and every Wednesday for Pioneer Club when they were at Prayer Meeting.  So, going from that to only seeing them once a month or so is really difficult for both me and the kids.

We have FINALLY gotten back into a school routine!!  I think we're on track to finish school by June this year!!  I do some school during the summer as my kids need it so the transition back into full time school isn't SO hard.  Liam is doing school about 2-3 days a week, so he'll do some during summer, too.  Ronan is begging to do school, so I think we may try Kindergarten in the fall with him. He turns 5 in December.

I've been brainstorming some ideas for more posts, so stay tuned!!

I really appreciate the understanding you all have as I cannot blog all the time. 

She is Here!

Well, I know it's been a while, I'm sorry about that.  We have been so SUPER busy this last month!

Teylie Robin arrived on November 30, at 5:45pm, weighing 6lbs. 12oz. and measuring 19in.  Our church put on a baby shower for us, and we were unable to make it as it started at 6:30pm the day she was born!  I went to see my midwife the day before and was admitted.  Even though she was slightly early, she had no need to be in the NICU.  We stayed for 2 days and then were discharged.  Teylie was showered with love by all 6 of her siblings. 

We had a great Christmas with the family! My older brother came up from FL to visit and it was good to catch up with him.

Our family had a good 2017...I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2018!

Jumbled Thoughts

Yesterday, I saw another mommy blogger post on Facebook, "What do you spend on average per child for Christmas?"...and I was shocked by the answers.  Most people commented that they spend an average of $200 - $500 PER CHILD.  I was floored! Who has that much money to spend per child for a holiday???  I didn't comment because you know how much we budget per child??.......$25-$30.  That's our budget per child.  And our kids are perfectly happy and content.  We have the set budget, and whatever can fit in that amount is what they get.  So it could be one gift, like LEGOs, or it could be 3 smaller gifts.  It would cost us $3000 if we spent $500 per kid for gifts!!  Now, I honestly don't care what you spend on your kids...I just didn't realized it was that common to spend that much. 

I'm fairly confident this baby girl will arrive within the next week.  Midwife visit yesterday showed effacement and dilation.  Today I'm feeling extremely moody, cranky, stuffy, crampy, and Teylie has been quiet.  I have a stuffy nose with a sore throat from post nasal drip...which I get before labor.  I also get these moods where I just want to be left alone.  I am SO cranky, it's ridiculous!!  I am trying to not be...but it is very hard.  My back and lower belly ache so much!!!! Mary said Teylie is also in a -1 station so she is definitely getting ready to come. 

I cannot wait for Black Friday....because my husband lets me play Christmas music and put up my Christmas decorations!!!!!!!!!  

I'm Back!

So, I finally got a new laptop!! I budgeted one in this week, and found a nice one for a great price!  I bought and returned 2 devices in 2 days...before finally finding the right one!! (the Walmart electronics guy had no idea what he was talking about, and I ended up buying another tablet...which is considered a mobile device.  The Chromebook I got at Target isn't compatible with most coupon printing software...so I couldn't use it for the very reason I bought it in the first place!!!)  I ended up getting an HP with Windows 10, and I am loving it so far!

This means that I can now post blog posts with pictures and all kinds of other nice things again!! So stay tuned! Thanksgiving is coming up, and our baby's birth looks like it will be in the near future.

Our newest Baby Sortwell

I posted about our 20 week ultrasound that showed we are expecting a girl.  We have finally figured out her name!!!  Now, it took us a while because we had a first name, but the middle name we had chosen just wasn't working with it.  Our brother's first wife's name was Kaeli Ann...and we discovered she kept his last name (Sortwell).  She isn't a very nice person, so we didn't want our daughter's name to be SO close to hers.  But we were pretty set on the first name.  In order to make it work we decided to go with my mother-in-law's  name, Robin.  So, our daughter's name is...

Teylie Robin Sortwell