What kind of example am I setting here....

Note the baby face down on the kitchen floor! Sheesh!

At my house last week....

The morning sickness continues. I spent a lot of time on the couch as the piles of stuff (laundry, dishes, toys, books, etc) grew taller and taller. I did get a few bursts of energy so I was able to keep things...well, not exactly under control, but good enough so the health department isn't stopping by.
We're really enjoying our Easter tree ornaments, which wound up having to be hung on my artificial ficus since the pollen has been so horrible that I didn't dare bring flowering branches inside like I originally planned. I love the way it makes us stop to focus on HIM. We've never really celebrated the Easter season before - it's always just been a long weekend of Easter traditions. I really like spending more time to focus on it.
We had a surprise birthday party for my Granny this week - she turned 70! It was a huge success because a) everyone had a ball and b) my kids behaved. Brenna did have a few rough minutes at the beginning - she has some shyness issues that we're working on - but she was cheerful and friendly for the rest of the evening. Also, someone brought the best potato salad I have ever tasted. I was so glad to be able to eat!
Teeball season is off to quite a start. Levi is on a team with five and six year olds so he's one of the youngest and he's having a great time. Me, not so much. The coach is pretty strict about his schedule and the rules (practice three times a week, ya'll! And two of those practices are two hours each!) which I am trying to appreciate. I actually want Levi to have some structure and get used to an authority besides mom and dad. That being said...I'm having a hard time biting my tongue about a couple of things - certain kids are getting away with really bad behavior and poor sportsmanship and there is a lot of focus on how *skilled* the kids are (or aren't), which I think is ridiculous for 5 & 6 year olds. The mother bear in me is definitely growling a little:) But Casey is helping out at every practice and game and Levi is really enjoying himself, so... I guess I'll take a wait and see approach for now.
I did a good bit of clothes shopping for the kids at the Kid's Karosel sale. Since we don't have a used clothing store in town anymore (we do have the Salvation Army, but that's it), a woman in town has started a nice business for herself holding two big kid's clothing sales a year. It works great, you drop off anything you want to sell, set your own prices and get 70% of what it sells for. The last day of the sale is half price on (almost) everything. And there is a big pre-sale for all the consignors. This year I went to the pre-sale and made out like a bandit. I had always waited for the half-priced day, but at the pre-sale I realized that all of the best priced stuff goes first so I actually did better shopping then. Of course I still went back on the last day - who can resist half off? Levi has tons of clothes from all his older cousins and Jack has all of Levi's hand-me-downs, but not all of them are the right size for the season. So I filled in Jack's spring and summer wardrobe and essentially bought all of Brenna's. Levi did get a few brand new polo style shirts for church for $1 each! Brenna got lots of dresses, one with hand smocking across the front. All in all I spent less than $40 for all three kids and I made $48 on the stuff I sold:)
Now, to jump into this week. Only I don't feel like jumping. Maybe I'll ease a toe into this week and see how it goes:)

I sure don't post much, do I?

I have lots of very good excuses like nausea, exhaustion, lots of busy littles...things like that:) But I'm definitely not ready to give up blogging. It's just too wonderful to have somewhere to share my (oh so brilliant!) thoughts. You know, when I'm alert enough to think anything beyond what I can feed the kids that won't make me throw up. Lovely, huh?

Speaking of nauseous...I read an article this morning that literally made me sick. One of the things I enjoy about reading my news instead of listening to it is that I can censor what I read. Ordinarily, I like to be well informed, even about bad news. But when my hormones are out of control, it doesn't take much at all to get me upset... a missing child can keep me up nights for a week. But this morning I read this article anyway. I'm so angry that I'm going to have trouble putting words together. At least twenty-three babies have died so far THIS YEAR in Germany and the only solution anyone is putting forth is to create more "drop off" locations so that mothers can legally abandon their babies. If a woman values her baby so little that she's willing to throw it out a ten story window do policy makers really think she's going to go through the trouble of taking it to a hospital and risk being caught? And make no mistake, these women don't value these babies. Why is that? Why are there mothers who think their own babies are mere trash to be thrown out? Because that's what society thinks. Because that's what abortion IS - tiny babies thrown out like trash. If it's all right to abort a baby, why wouldn't it be all right to wait a few months and do it yourself? We're teaching women and men that children are worthless unless they're wanted so why are we surprised when we find women who take this idea to it's natural conclusion. And what happens when a wanted baby is no longer wanted? When that adorable newborn turns into a six month old that won't let you put her down, a toddler that gets into everything, a teenager who talks back and stays out too late? Will we be surprised when mothers kill their older children because they've become too much trouble, because they want to pursue a career without being held back by motherhood, because their new boyfriend doesn't like kids? We like to think that women kill their children because of depression or mental illness, and that is the case sometimes, but society has to take our share of the blame here too. We encourage men and women to put their own desires first, to avoid having babies until they want them and even then not to let children get in the way of doing what we want. Germany's population (and the populations of every industrialized nation) is decreasing rapidly "because we value prosperity more than we value children" (that's a quote from this great sermon by Voddie Baucham). Society doesn't value children, why do we expect that individuals still will?
I'm *just* a stay at home mom without a fancy title or degree. But I can tell you what it's going to take to save these babies, to save Germany, to save every nation that's on the same path (including our own!). We will all have to believe what God says in His Word about children - that they are blessings directly from His hand. We will have to value being a wife and mother. We will have to teach our children (and ourselves) that there is honor in serving others, in laying down our own desires for the good of someone else. No other band aid solutions are going to work as long as continue to want our own way above all else.

Beginning our Easter Celebration

This is what we've been up to this morning - making ornaments for our Easter tree. I first read about an Easter tree in the book No Ordinary Home which is wonderful, btw. We are doing a simplified version this year (this isn't quite all of the ornaments - I was interrupted before I could finish the empty tomb and the marriage supper) and I hope to add in new stories every year until we're eventually doing a story a day all through Lent.
God has really blessed me this year as I've searched for ways to really teach my kids about Him. I've found wonderful ideas everywhere for traditions that really point us towards God - now it's just a matter of taking a few of them and making them personal for us. I'm so so SO excited about Easter this year - I hope y'all are, too!

Update on 101 in 1001

I finally got around to updating my list today. I was astonished at the number of things I've completed that need to be done again...the emergency diaper bag needs repacking, the kid's toys need thinning out again, etc. But it is a very good feeling to see things crossed off!
Red things are completed (for now anyway!)

Apr 17, 2003 - Jan 13, 2009
Homeschool
1. Pray about our home school goals
2. have a homeschool planning time
3. Get rid of unwanted hs materials
4. attend hs convention
5. join hslda
6. teach Levi to read (working on this!)
7. start having a regular school time
8. have a big “starting homeschool” day this fall
Health & Safety
9. buy and take a quality vitamin everyday
10. put together an emergency/disaster kit
11. put together a first aid kit
12. serve a raw vegetable or fruit with every meal
13. get a fire ladder and have a fire drill
14. do a detox after weaning Jack (ed. Do this after weaning baby #4)
15. drink only water for a week and see if I feel better
16. buy and try stevia instead of sugar
17. take Levi to the dentist
18. exercise 3x a week
19. use only nontoxic cleansers in the house
20. Lose 60 lbs ( I can’t believe I wrote down the number!)
21. go to bed and get up earlier
Homemaking
22. Hold a garage sale
23. Make a family tree and hang it up in the house
24. Decorate the playroom
25. Decorate Mbed and Bath – make it a retreat
26. Get rid of unwanted toys (ed. Did this before Christmas, but it needs doing again!)
27. Decorate the kids’ rooms
28. Fence in the yard
29. clean out my closet and get rid of all the clothes I don’t wear
30. get a new kitchen table and chairs
31. paint scripture on walls
32. complete my black and white picture frame of all our family
33. decorate patio
34. invite people over for supper at least 1x every other month
35. organize storage room to hold outgrown kids’ clothing
36. learn how to make really good biscuits
37. learn how to make a great 14 layer cake
38. have Christmas presents made or bought and wrapped before Dec 1st
39. learn to cook cabbage the way Casey likes
40. put together a list of a months worth of well-liked meals
41. create and follow a workable cleaning schedule
42. make silhouettes of each of the kids to hang up
43. establish a chore chart for kids and use it
44. keep meals in the freezer to take to people in need
45. pack an emergency diaper bag for the trunk
46. read or get rid of all unread books
47. Reorganize all my books
48. make a price book for groceries & household stuff
49. grow an herb garden
50. try once a month cooking
51. Pay off all debt except house
Family
52. sign Levi up for scouts
53. make Easter more meaningful – establish more traditions
54. take the kids to the zoo in Atlanta
55. take the kids to the aquarium in Atlanta
56. swim w/ kids
57. Start Brenna’s pearl necklace
58. Take the kids to the beach
59. Verbally praise more than verbally correct
60. teach kids good manners
61. Have a pajama ice cream run
62. Invite Bet to stay with us over the summer
63. be at Bethany’s high school graduation
64. plan fun things with nieces and nephews
65. start a playgroup in our neighborhood
66. get a playhouse for Brenna
67. have a traditional picnic with Casey and kids
Church Family
68. Encourage someone at church every week
69. Weekly praise a child that’s not my own
70. start a church library
71. go to ladies retreat at least once
72. have a cookie decorating party for the kids at church
Personal
73. build a basic wardrobe
74. take better care of my skin
75. get teeth whitened
76. buy and wear really good makeup
77. get a cool shorter hairstyle
78. Take care of my nails
Spiritual
79. Memorize 3 scriptures per week for a month
80. Pray faithfully for family, church family and friends
81. Finish reading through the Bible
82. establish a daily Bible and prayer time and keep it consistently
Casey
83. pray with Casey every day
84. Pray for Casey daily (use POAPW)
85. plan an overnight getaway for me and Casey
Service
86. be an active prayer partner for a volunteer at the pregnancy center
87. find a way to volunteer at the pregnancy center
88. make shoeboxes at Christmas for the Christmas Child Project
89. sponsor a child
90. grow my hair to donate to Locks of Love
Misc.
91. invite another woman over once every other month
92. get to know some neighbors
93. make a will and have it notorized (or whatever to make it official)
94. get a bigger vehicle
95. finish “baby” quilts for all three kids
96. learn more about the Old testament laws/ traditions
97. write something and submit it to be published
98. Write a letter explaining our “quiverfull” philosophy
99. write 1 letter a month to friends or family
100. Don’t check email on weekends
101. Catch up on scrapbooks

Just two years left to finish this! :-)

When you ask God to send you some wisdom...

you better be prepared to do some reading:) I've had quite a rough few weeks what with the hormones and all, but after I spent some serious time praying (uh, begging) for some answers over the weekend guess what I woke up to find today! Three wonderful women writing just what I needed to hear! I'm going to link specific posts at Dawn's, Amy's and Holly's but be sure to look all around because there is A LOT of GREAT stuff!

an update

Levi, Brenna, and Jack are tickled to announce that the
will be visiting us this fall!

I haven't had much time to post these days

but I am still around:) I want you to head over to Dawn's as soon as you can. She is really speaking to all of us swamped mommies and you'll be sooooo glad you grabbed a cup of coffee (or coke!) and listened in for a bit!

Fall Reading List

Anyone remember this post from way back in ...October? I thought I'd finally get around to a little update. Finally.
1.. Seeking Him: Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival
Our ladies group is still going to read this one but probably not until February. We started a new study at church that has a pretty good amount of daily reading and so the pastor suggested putting this study off to give our full attention to the one the whole church is doing. I'm just not a read one book at a time kind of girl, though, so I'm still glancing ahead in this one. It just looks too good to keep putting off:)
2. Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
I had this one read already when I posted last time, but I'm still going to talk about it a little bit. I think it's the best commentary on the public school system that I've ever read. It really addresses the basics that we're teaching our kids in school - not neccessarily the planned curriculumm, but what they're really learning. It really is well worth the time to read.
3. Teaching the trivium: Christian homeschooling in a classical style
I've got to admit that I wasn't so crazy about this book for me right now. It was just a little too much. It's laid out like a here's how (and why) to homeschool your kids for at least the next twelve years. And while that might be really helpful for some people, it's just not me to let someone else make all the plans:) Now I would like to have it on the shelf as a reference I think. And the author's probably didn't intend for it to be followed to the letter, but my brain just wasn't able to wrap around all that information right now - and yes that does say more about me than the book:)
4. Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends
I still haven't gotten to read this one, even though it's probably the one I was most looking forward to. This is one of my main areas of concern right now so I really have to get this ordered. My three actually get along pretty well except for Brenna squealing every. single. time Jack crawls over to her dollhouse, but since we aren't shipping anyone off for a couple of hours a day it is pretty important to me that everyone plays nice.
5. Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers,
I mentioned before that I really liked this one. I've found myself thinking and talking a lot about this book since I read it. I really feel like God's changing my view point about a lot of things that I never would've thought about before. Especially things like what we spend money on and the way I tend to hoard things. "Well, we might need it one day" is turning into "God blessed us with this, let's see who He'd like us to bless" and " He provided this one, if we need another, He'll provide it too." A very good book.
6. How to Be a Budget Fashionista: The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less
I got this one for Christmas and still haven't had time to crack it open:) But I do want to look fabulous, so it's going next to my reading chair.
7. The Fat Flush Plan
I really liked this book. The diet deals with a lot of the specific problems I have losing weight and I definitly think I could stick with it, but for now I'm just going to be incorporating a lot of very healthy eating into my life. I am keeping up with a few of the suggestions like adding flax oil, lemon juice in water, etc Those were things I had already started that seem to be making a big difference.
8. Small Beginnings
I love this book! I love Barbara Curtis! This book is chock-full of great ideas for toddlers and preschoolers. And she really has a very unique (in this day and age, anyway) view of kids, encouraging moms not to get frustrated with their littles but see things from their point of view instead. She also talks about taking advantage of "sensitive periods" in a little child's life to teach them things (or set them up for things) like independance, order, kindness. It's a great book.
9.Girl Talk Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood
I'm just about half way through this one and so far it's really good. More on it when I'm finished, but it looks like a great book for a mother-daughter Bible study.
Well, that's the fall books...now that it's January. I really enjoyed making a goal instead of just randomly picking books off the shelf, so I think I'll do this again for winter or spring. I'd love to hear what y'all are reading - I'm always up for suggestions!

Jack's 1st Birthday!

Jack had a busy day full of ups and downs. Presents, he liked....

Taking his birthday picture on the front steps....not so much.

A bad day that could've been so much worse

I got some bad news at the doctor today about Jack. He is developing fine as far as milestones and motor skills, but he is too, too small. Not quite 15 lbs at a year. With all of his relux and allergies, he just has not been able to gain weight. SO his doctor and I talked and talked about various ways to plump him up and, while she's very nice, I left feeling guilty and scared and like the world's worst mother.
But that was actually not even the worst thing to happen to me today, because Jack can be helped. With meds and a very determined mommy, he will gain some weight! No the worst thing that happened to me today didn't really happen to me at all. I was a witness to a horrible wreck. Sitting at a red-light, just me and Jack in the car, I watched and did nothing as several people were severely, if not fatally, injured. I watched as an expedition flipped over and landed ON the car next to me. Many people were on hand to help and I stayed until I filled out a report and was sure there was nothing I could do to help. I prayed. I don't know if I've ever felt as helpless as I did today.
And yet I have so much to thank God for tonight. I'm thankful that I could pray for the people in those cars. I'm thankful that the ambulance and police were there almost instantly. I'm thankful that we were not hurt, that Levi and Brenna weren't with me to witness the accident. I'm thankful that Jack has a doctor to go to and that we can buy medicine to help him. Lord, I am so grateful that it wasn't us in that wreck and I pray that you will be with those who were.

Here are some pictures from our Chritsmas. This is the wonderful chaos at my Grandma's on Christmas Eve. The kids were all much too busy opening all. those. presents. to turn around and face the camera:)
Brenna got a princess chest full of dress up clothes from her Granny. Here they are taking off her boring old tennis shoes to put on "sparky shoes."

Here is Levi with his new guitar - that's right a real guitar just like Daddy's (only smaller, of course!). This was his first lesson, but doesn't he look like he's been playing forever:)

This is Jack with my great-neice (hard to believe I'm old enough to have a great-neice!), Raeley. Isn't she precious? She's three months old and nearly as big as Jack already!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are getting started on a great new year. I'm almost out from under the pile of toys!

Our Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas! I hope this finds you all having a wonderful and peace-filled holiday! We have had quite a year and can’t wait to spend a few weeks reflecting on it and enjoying all our blessings.

Jack started our year off with a bang by making his grand entrance into the world three and a half weeks early and catching his mommy quite unprepared. I guess I’ve just gotten so used to being late with everything:) He’s such a sweetheart, though, that we just can’t imagined how we ever got by without him.

Brenna is our little princess. I am loving all the hair bows, playing dress up, and baby dolls that go along with having a little girl who is two and a half. She is such a little doll herself, although being a princess does come with a certain amount of attitude. We’re working on that!

Levi turns five this month. One day this fall he reached up in church and put his hand on my shoulder - he’s really turning into quite a little man. He played weeball this year and had such a great time. Actually we all had a great time. It must be the Warnock in us!

We started home(pre)schooling this fall. Lots of field trips like this one to the pumpkin patch. So far we’re having a great time and learning a lot! I can’t tell y’all how much I have loved being at home this year!

Casey is still working hard, but he always makes time to hang out with us and he’s teaching a Sunday School class that he really enjoys. He and the kids especially love wrestling before bedtime!

I hope you’re all enjoying the holidays with your family and counting all your blessings! Merry Christmas!

Focusing Christmas

The kids and I are having a great time using our Adornaments this Christmas. They were a Christmas gift last year from my Uncle Curtis - and an answer to prayer. We all know how crazy Christmas can get and last year I was desperate for a way to stop all that. I wanted to teach my kids what Christmas (and Easter!) is really about and I had no idea how to do that. But my Father has spent all year answering that prayer and, though I imagine this is a lesson I'll be learning for a long time, this Christmas is already so much more meaningful than last year.
One thing I'm doing with the kids is hanging one adornament each day and reading the story that goes along with it. These are little cardboard "book" ornaments that each tell one of the Names of Christ. The kids love them and I love that we have a time everyday to stop and focus on Christ at Christmas. These are really pretty and come in a boardbook that looks very nice out on a table next to the tree displaying the ornaments to come and storing them neatly(big-time important at my house!) :) And Amazon has a new set for around $10 including shipping. A great deal if you ask me!

My boy is FIVE!

He's grown so much from just a year ago!


How can he be five already? It's going by to fast:(

A must read

This article is so disturbing, but such a must read for moms and dads. Thanks to Amy and Holly for pointing it out.
As I was reading it I couldn't help but flash back to movies that Casey and I watched a few years ago (back when I could still reason to myself that they were "just movies"). Many of the horrific "trends" that the author mentions were in movies just a few years ago. It seems pretty obvious to me that life certainly does imitate "art" (though I hate to use that word in relation to the filth that's out there these days) instead of simply reflecting what's already out there as the media claims. Just another reason why children need shelter.

Levi's Legos

My future architect. His main complaint in life is I need more of this shape! How many legos is enough?

Brenna napping...

Coming in from the grocery store yesterday just proved too much for Brenna. I did go down and carry her up to nap on the couch after I took the picture - it was just too cute to resist:)

Really Beautiful Children's Books

Today was library day and, as always, I let the kids pick out a few books a piece in addition to the ones I had on my list for them. And then I saw a few new books that our wonderful Mrs. Moore was putting out. The artwork on the cover was just beautiful. So beautiful in fact that I picked up the whole stack of them:) The Library, The Gardener, The Friend, The Journey...all lovely. I'd never read anything by Sarah Stewart or seen illustration by her husband David Small, but after spending an hour curled up on the couch with my kiddies, I am sold. I loved these books. The stories are so sweet. It was especially wonderful to read them after finding that I couldn't read the book I brought home about Thanksgiving. I was looking for something that told the story of the first Thanksgiving. I assumed I would have to add to the story to tell about God's Provision. I just wanted a nice basic story. But I was in a hurry at the library and didn't look carefully at what I was picking up. This book, called The First Thanksgiving, looked good. Hmm, maybe I do judge a book by its cover. It begins by talking about Plymouth Rock being a "wandering pilgram" and leaving "its home in Africa two hundred million years ago." It goes on to talk about the Englishmen killing and enslaving the Indians, the great European plague, how the Pilgrams called the Indians savages, and on and on. Now I'm not one to sugarcoat history, but for cryin' out loud. So. Anybody have a suggestion for me about a good First Thanksgiving book? This one is going right back to the library.

Amy on the SImple Life

Go here and read this. Amy writes what I would think if I were getting enough sleep to put two thoughts together:)