Laundry Giveaway!

 My Blog Spark recently sent me two packages of All Small and Mighty Action Packs( 48 loads in all), a beach bag, beach ball, and beach towel. They also have another set they'd like to send to a reader of this blog.

The action packs are really handy, I love that you can just throw them in the washing machine and that you don't have to worry about spilling detergent everywhere. And my kids were thrilled to have a giant beach ball to play with!

• all mighty pacs are an innovative laundry solution that simplifies the laundry experience, without sacrificing cleaning efficacy
• all mighty pacs are conveniently pre-measured to contain the right combination of powerful concentrated detergent with active stainlifters™ to deliver the same cleaning and stain removal benefits that consumers expect from the all brand.

If this is something you'd be interested in winning, leave a comment in the comment section, follow along with this blog if you're not already(you can also subscribe by email), and tell me how many loads of laundry you think you do in a week(unless that's too depressing to think about!:) I'll pick a winner next Thursday!

“Disclosure:  The information, products and additional all mighty pacs gift pack was provided by all® through MyBlogSpark.”

Details and a Thank you

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments here, and on my facebook! Telling people you're expecting your fifth child in five years is a little....nerve wracking, to say the least. Generally speaking, with each pregnancy we wait a little longer to tell people we are expecting another child, mainly for fear of what the reactions are going to be. However, with this one I started "showing" literally within the first week, so we started telling people a little earlier! Thankfully for the most part people have been very sweet and encouraging, though we have had to deal with some negative reactions. So here's a little more details, for those of you who are interested;

- I'm 10 weeks along, and am feeling much better than I was a couple of weeks ago. But my morning sickness has not been nearly as bad as it was with Lily or Max( with those pregnancies I had to be put on medicine.)

-We actually do believe in some forms of birth control. We have personal convictions against the pill and other things like that, but we are not against other methods- though none of them seem to work for us! :)

-With that being said, no this wasn't a "planned" pregnancy, but ultimately we believe God is sovereign in all situations, and we firmly believe children are blessings from Him. And even though the thought of having a fifth baby is a little overwhelming, I am clinging to the promise that I can do all things through Christ.

-Max will actually be able to claim himself as the baby longer than any of my other kids. I was telling someone yesterday that I've never had a baby turn one and not been at least 5 months pregnant. Max will be 20 months old when the baby, Lord willing, is born in March.

We are very much looking forward to meeting this baby, and the kids are all very excited to have another brother or sister to play with. Thanks again for all of your encouragement, it meant so much to me!

Be sure to enter my giveaway!!

Coming Clean

Well, I believe it's time to let you all in on the little secret I've been hiding for the last few months..

Yep, Baby number 5 is expected to arrive this March!

Happy Birthday, Anna!

Seriously where does time go?! How on earth did this little girl go from this 

To this

in what feels like five minutes?

Today my sweet Anna turned four! Because family is sort of spread out all over the place, we just had a little party at home for her(which is pretty much what we've done with all the kids since moving last year.) Last week my mom and dad came in town, and my mom and I took her out for a birthday date, which was really special. When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she said,"Pink cake with pink icing and pink ice cream." So that's what we did!

Anna is very sweet, pretty easy going, and finds so much joy in things. She's a lot of fun to surprise because she jumps up and down and gets so excited. My mom and dad got her gymnastics lessons for her birthday present, and when they told her she literally dove into their arms exclaiming,"Thank you!"

She loves reading, her favorites are Curious George and the Berenstein Bears. She very much wants to be my helper, and takes the jobs I give her very seriously. She's Jack and Lily's best friend. She loves Max, but she doesn't seem quite as interested in babies as Jack or Lily.

Happy fourth birthday, Anna! We love you so much, and can't wait to see what God does in your life!

First Day of School

Why yes my five year old did try to wear this for his first day of school. Aww the beauty of home schooling! Though he didn't wear it very long, apparently it's difficult to work on memorization with a knight helmet on.

This past Monday we officially started kindergarten. On Mondays we go to a group called Classical Conversations, so technically Tuesday was our first official day of home school. So far it's going pretty well. Jack is doing very well with his memory work and reading, and Anna is enjoying learning her letters and numbers. And everyone enjoys reading books with mommy. :)

My plan for now is to do school while Max is taking his morning nap. Lily being the crazy ball of energy that she is doesn't always care for sitting at the table and coloring/ looking at books, but it's only the second day and I'm still figuring things out. My basic plan for the next couple of months is to get Jack reading and writing well, and to do our CC work. I also plan on reading a lot of good books, and sending him outside to play a lot! In a few months I'll probably start adding in some more things, but for right now I feel like this a good balance.

Be sure to enter the giveaway for some free laundry detergents!!