Sorry for the Brief Hiatus

So sorry for such a long break in my blog posts, but as you can see, I am OK!

I don't think I have ever gone this long without posting and I just wanted to say thank you to those who noticed and sent me comments and emails.  It was such a very busy fall for us and my New Year's resolution is to post weekly.  Maybe that is a little ambitious but I'm going to try.  I seem to think that I have to have a good chunk of time and write a pretty long post for it to be worth it.  But I'm thinking I might just try doing more frequent posts but they would be shorter.  Just snippets of encouragement or funny things we have happening around this crazy busy house of ours.  

But anyway, here is our fall in a nutshell...........

I had 2 boys playing football this fall.  Christian playing Varsity and Luke playing JV.  It was fun but busy.  I hosted quite a few spaghetti dinners for the varsity team.  This picture is from Christian's last game and as you can tell, he had been crying.  Being a senior on your last game is hard.  It was such a great season for him. Even getting a concussion and unable to play 3 games, he still made Offensive Player of the Year and All Conference Running Back.  Nothing like cheering for your boys on the football field.  Luke had a great season as well and got to play in some Varsity games too as a 9th grader. So glad he has 3 more years of high school ball.  We all love going to the games.  It's quite a family event.

Another major thing that happened this fall was that I was able to go with Christian and his senior class to Costa Rica on a mission trip!
All of my older 3 children have gone on the same trip with the Christian school that my children attend for high school.  In the past, I was always pregnant or nursing so not able to go with any of them.  This past summer Ron really encouraged me to go and I felt the Lord leading me as well.  I applied and not only went as a mother chaperon but also the trip nurse.  It was quite out of my comfort zone but let me tell you, I had such an awesome time.  I'm so glad that I listened to my husband and obeyed the leading of the Lord.  The trip was so incredible! Seeing these young high schoolers minster, bless and share the gospel with the young Costa Ricans was amazing!  I got to know so many of the girls so well and use my nursing skills.  Here are some pictures.......

My boy with the Chicos!  They loved him.

All of the chaperones. I had such a fun time getting to know these other moms, dads and teachers. 

And my littlest guy, Patrick, started playing soccer on a 4 year old team.  He was the highest scorer for the other team!  I guess we need to work with him on scoring in the right goal. 

Here he is telling me about his new friend he made.  Patrick really just wants to talk to everyone, including the coach and other team members during the game!

Well, this was a little fall overview.  This post didn't include all the bumps, bruises, fights and disappointments that of course happen in a family this size.  It also didn't include all the joys, hugs, tender moments and the great things the Lord is doing in our lives.  I promise to keep everyone more updated and my posts will be coming more frequent in 2016!  Happy New Year!

Things People Ask My Children About Being in a Large Family

Recently I was in the kitchen with a few of my kids (actually it seems like I'm always in the kitchen with a few of my kids : ) and one of them told me a question that they had been asked at school about being one of 10 kids.  The other child laughed and said, "yeah, I get that same question all the time, plus a few others."  I had never heard them talk about this and thought it was rather funny and interesting.  So here of some of the things they told me that they get asked quite a bit.........

1. Who is your favorite sibling? (this child said he doesn't have a favorite)

2. Who are you the closest to out of all of them? (I think this changes with the age the child is)

3.  Do you have to fight for your food? (like, seriously)

4. Do you get enough food? (my children are all on the thin side but really, do they look malnourished?!)

5. How do your parents feed all those mouths? (well, this is a challenge)

6. Is it super loud in your house all the time? (well, not all the time)

7. How do you get your school work done with so many people around? (this child said he worked better with noise and family chaos ;)

8. Do you have a giant house? (it's plenty big, 5 bedrooms, even though my husband thinks it's not big enough) 

9. Are there any twins or any adopted? (I get this one a lot too and the blended family question)

10. Are you guys Catholic or Mormon? (this one my son says he gets the most and no, we are neither)

11. How old are your parents? (now that one is kind of personal)

12. So, are you going to have that many kids too? (I don't even want to know the answer to that one!)

These are all true questions they have been asked.  I did a blog post a while back on the questions and comments my husband and I get titled "Things People Say."  
You other moms of many should ask your kids what they get asked and let me know : )

This Little Guy....#10 is 3!

My precious baby is 3 years old!
So very hard to believe.  We all love and enjoy him so very much.  He is the "life of the party" at our house.  I also tell people his is 3 going on 13 because he wants to be so big like his siblings.  Sometimes I just want to scream, "Don't grow-up so fast!"  We all cannot imagine life without him and I feel so very very blessed.
For a boy, he is super talkative and sometimes we even tell him, "Patrick it's time to stop talking." 

For his birthday we just had a family party that evening, since our family is like a constant party : )

But during the day we went to the park and even though it was rather chilly, we got some good pics.

This past 3 years sure have flown by and as I get older I cherish the time with my littles more and more.  

Love this little guy so much!
One thing I would say to young moms out there is......
don't rush it.  Don't always be looking for the next milestone to be reached or for things to get "easier."  Really they don't ever get "easier" as a parent, just different.  Enjoy where you are right now with your children, embrace it.  Be content, and yes, I'm talking to myself here too : )