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!!

5 Years Old

Five years ago, we were blessed to become the parents of our sweet Jack. I'll admit that this birthday makes me scratch my head and wonder where on earth time has gone. It doesn't seem possible that he should be five! 

He's goofy, and silly. But he's also incredibly sweet, and has a heart full of love. He genuinely loves being around other people! Doesn't have a shy bone in his body..

He's a great big brother, and Anna, Lily, and Max all adore him(even if a certain two year old enjoys getting a rise out of him.)

He's learning to be a gentleman by holding doors open for the ladies, and helps carry in the groceries. He asks us often when he's going to be old enough to get married, and right now he's pretty sure Anna or Mommy will be his future wife. He loves all things musical, and loves fixing things. Erik has started teaching him how to use different tools, and Jack takes that job very seriously!

Happy birthday, Jack!! We love you so much, and pray every day that you will grow up to love Jesus. 

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word." Psalm 119:9

Candy Soup

My poor children. Up until about a year ago, I'd say we ate a pretty typical diet. You know, white pasta, white bread, hamburger helper. Any veggies that were consumed in our house typically came from a can, and really they were probably just set on the table for decoration, because no one in this house was going to eat them.


Then I got all weird, and "natural". My dad says I've become a hippie. Regardless of whether or not that's a fair name for me, my point is we've been eating significantly healthier around here. However, we still struggle with eating vegetables. It's tough trying to find ways to prepare them so that they still taste good, but don't lose all of their nutrients.

To their credit, though, my kids have actually done pretty well with learning to eat more veggies. There is only one vegetable they absolutely do not like. Broccoli. Oh my word, the battles we have had over broccoli(which is probably another reason why they hate it so much!) But Erik and I like broccoli, and we really like broccoli cheese soup. So this past winter I decided to make some, using this recipe, and it was a huge hit for my husband and I.

My children, who had seen me chop up the broccoli, wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

My natural reaction when my kids refuse to eat something is to tell them they have to at least try one bite before they can get down. But before I could say anything,I hear Erik telling the kids in a really cheerful voice,"But it's candy soup, guys! Mmmm candy soup is so yummy!"

And would you believe it if I told you, that they actually believed him?

They devoured it, and were soon asking for second helpings, and even third helpings.

To this day they still refer to broccoli cheese soup, as "candy soup." Jack even wants it for his birthday dinner.

You know, I've always been really big on not lying to my kids. But I guess I can make an exception if it gets them to eat more vegetables.