See that lil honeydew melon under my skin?

side view isnt as impressive, those are my ribs, not my bbs I promise:0)
Theres Maddy.....blessing #6 15.5 weeks

She is kicking a lot now. I started feeling a slight something here and there at 14 weeks, but I can feel her entire body roll from one side to the other and just feel her kicking about in there all day.

A Slave to the Dollar

We all know what the Bible says about being in debt (Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender KJV), but what about those with little to no debt who just have an addiction and/or love of money. We happen to be struggling with this very problem. We are so used to Nate putting in large quantities of overtime and seeing very large paychecks(albeit...paychecks that went straight the lenders) being on the Dave Ramsey plan, that we are now in a place where that money is no longer "needed." Problem is, we THINK we need it. We WANT it, we are ADDICTED to it. It controls us. We have become slaves to the dollar, slaves to the overtime, slaves to money we dont even need. We don't use it to help the homeless or feed the hungry, no, we selfishly lavish ourselves with expensive clothing, designer footwear and underclothing(Victoria's Secret anyone?). We have gone haywire since getting out of debt. We have become the opposite of the frugal people we were during the debt payoff plan. Its like we reverted 10 fold. If Nate is still going to work overtime, why did we bother paying off all that debt. Where in our right minds have we went so wrong? We are only 2 months post debt payoff, but after checking the budget yesterday, I am ashamed to admit we entertained ourselves/bought clothing/ate in restaurants/etc with over 4 thousand dollars in just 2 short months. Yes, you read that correctly, 4 thousand strictly for entertainment and crud we didnt need. Do you have any clue how many hours of work that equates to that my husband would not have had to work had we not lavished ourselves in all these expensively fun vacations, dining out, etc. We have decided to truly quit the overtime and live on his regular salary. There will always be the inherent 4-10 hours per paycheck of overtime that he cant help because he gets stuck coming in a little early or leaving a little late, but the truth is TIME is way more valuable than money. Right now, we work hard all week......both of us(me husbandless makes my job longer and harder). We then play really hard every weekend, just go go go go nonstop to the point of cranky kids and a cranky, arguing Mommy and Daddy. There is no rest in between these long work hours and long weekends jam packed with expensive fun. I can tell you what there is though, mental and physical exhaustion, lack of intimacy in our marriage, stress, and difficult communication as well as half way done discipline on the go. God fell to the wayside, praying became scant at best, keeping the sabbath diminished all along with the true heart of happiness within our family. Fun things cant make up for the real things that are of value in life. The real issue here is time. Time is way more valuable than people realize and I feel it flashing before me this pregnancy. I cant believe I am 15 weeks already. It seems I just gave birth to Kenna a month ago. Its insane to me most days to realize that those little flutters inside me are a whole other life well in the making. I sometimes just plain forget I am pregnant because we are so busy. That isnt good, I dont believe that is what God intended life to be like. Nate's body isnt nourished with proper amounts of sleep or food. Our priorities need to get back in the right place, not so worldly I guess. We want more peace and we know just how to find that peace.....Him, He is the only way for us, but if life is so crowded with everything else, how can one make time to study what He has written for us? How will one make time to pray? To enjoy the blessings one has that money cannot buy?

What the Bible tells us about money

• Proverbs 21:5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenty; but the thoughts of everyone who is hasty only to poverty. -We are told to be diligent with our spending, not hasty.
• Luke 14:28-30For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. -This verse makes me think about budgets. A fool would go spending before making a budget first and paying their bills before going and buying Starbucks or a designer purse.
• 1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. -We should be saving......umm not something we have been doing lately as we have a lovely way of spending everything by the next payday and never putting a dime aside.

Contentment has lots to do with people thinking they need more money also. These verses speak loud and clear for themselves.

• Psalms 23:1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
• Matthew 6:31-33“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
• Luke 3:14Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
• Philippians 4:11-13For I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances may be. I know now how to live when things are difficult and I know how to live when things are prosperous. In general and in particular I have learned the secret of eating well or going hungry of facing either plenty of poverty. I am ready for anything through the strength of the One who lives within me.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:11 And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you
• 1 Timothy 6:7-10For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
• Hebrews 13:5Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.

God doesn't have many pleasant things to say about the love of money either.

• Mark 8:36For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
• Mark 4:19But the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

I Believe

I didnt write this, but I found I agreed with every word written and it was inspirational that I wanted to pass it on.

I Believe

A birth certificate shows that we were born; a death certificate shows that we died; pictures show that we lived! Have a seat . .

Relax.And read this slowly.

I believe - That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe - That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe - That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe - That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe - That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe - That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe - That you should always leave loved ones with loving words.It may be the last time you see them.

I believe - That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I believe - That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe - That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe - That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe - That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe - That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe - That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe - That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe - That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.Some times you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe - That no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe - That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe - Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe - That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe - That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I believe - That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe - That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I believe- The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

We have her name

We are going October 30th(next thrusday) to have her sex confirmed, but as long as she stays a she, her name is going to be Madelynn Breann. We will call her Maddy for short.

ITS A..............

My baby wants world peace already, if only it were so simple sweetie
Profile--look at her perfect little heart in her chest
Just hanging out, see you all in 5.5 months
Ahh I LOVE this one

Sweet
See those 3 lines the arrow is pointing to.....oh yeah, thats a HAMBURGER!
her little teeny nub is completely flat.....ALL GIRL!
Her sweet profile again

She is so calm and seems so sweet. She is hammy, but not overly active and crazy like my boys were at their u/s. She seems like she is just going to have such a sweet, calm demeanor! I am in LOVE. It was amazing. It was so fun because it was so shocking. I was so sure it was a boy based on symptoms that is was so fun to have such a surprise like that. How blessed are we? We will have an even 3 and 3 so it looks like #7 will be a tie breaker:) God is so good.

Wyatt's Surgery

Wyatt relaxing with his blankie and basketball after surgery

Wyatt had surgery this morning at 7 am, they did a bowel resection to help finally stop all the prolapse issues that he has dealt with since he was 3. He will be 7 in January to put it in perspective. He had one other surgery recently to try and fix this problem, it was just sclerosing injections and failed. This time they actually cut out some of the bowels that were prolapsing out during every bowel movement he had. They also did more injections to the upper areas of the bowel to make SURE that he has no more prolapse. He is doing well considering, although he has complained about his "butt" hurting quite a bit. They actually sent him home same day which suprised Nate and I, but I guess these days they dont keep you in the hosptial for any longer than needed which is kind of good. Wyatt always wants to be home as much as possible so this is where he will heal up best. He has not had much appetite, but seems more lively this afternoon since the kids came home from their last day of school.

What did we do with 5 gallons of apples you wonder?

Getting ready to heat that caramel
dipping the apples
mmmm

Tanner enjoying a yummy apple
Nate peeling, slicing and coring with our old fashion corer/peeler/slicer
The last caramel apple, 2 of the pies and the ciders....mmm
the waste bag....not much for 5 gallons of apples ey?
worm infested waste

Well I didn't get pics of all the final products because some were eatin up before I had a chance(caramel apples) and I froze one of the pies, but of 5 gallons worth of apples, we made 2 gallons of cider, 3 pies(REALLLLLLY good ones I might add) and 10 caramel apples. There was no waste. What peels were taken off for pie apples, were thrown into the juicer for cider and in the end, we had a wee lil bag of a few rotten....worm infested cores and about 1 gallon of mulch that we took out and fed to our trees and flowers in the yard. I feel so happy about the fact that we were so unwasteful with so many apples.

The Apple Pie Recipe

Crust (makes 2 shells...top and bottom basically or 2 for pumpkin pie)

2 and 1/4 C. of flour

1/2 cup oil

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp milk

The Pie

7-8 peeled, sliced and cored apples

butter

3/4 C. sugar

1/4 C. Honey

lotsa cinnamon

The way I did it: I browned the apples a tad in a pan with butter, some sugar and cinnamon. I then dumped them in a waiting pie crust. After that, I poured the honey, sugar, and cinnamon on them evenly and laid the top crust over. Press the crusts together to make cutsey crust finger marks and then take an egg white and brush the top of the pie. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. YUMMMMM Best pie ever. Oh and no, NOT diabetic friendly!

Back in the Saddle

We finally went to church today after a 2 month hiatus. I needed the time for thinking and having a break. After going to the LDS church and deciding it wasn't for us, I needed time to soul search before entering back into a house of worship. We went to the Calvary chapel near here that we always attended before the LDS church and its been almost a year since being there, but there were many familiar faces and many new and in either case, it felt like home. The message was good. It made me think a lot about my life and who my friends are. Our pastor said, "A person is defined as much by his friends as he is his enemies and why they are his enemies." Very profound. I took a lot of notes as we went through enemies of Jesus and how they showed his good character and enemies of king Herod and his character. It made so much sense. It made me think about my enemies or those who don't like me much and he went on to quote Gal 5: 19-21, 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Why is this important? What does this have to do with enemies.....well, it has everything to do with them. It is saying that if our friends are those who are worldly and commit such acts as stated in those verses, we may not inherit the kingdom of Heaven, yet if those same people are our enemies or those who we don't agree with, it shows highly of our character. Now that isn't to say we shouldn't talk to them or shun them, but its to say that we must stand up for who we are and what is righteous and if they do not like it........well, that is their problem, not one we should try to befriend. There were just a lot of great points today. The kids had so much fun there as well. Their children's programs are so wonderful. I am just glad to be back.

We have our apt set up

We find out WHO is in there next Sunday, October 19th at 11am. I will update with that and hopefully lots of beautiful u/s pics next week. I can't wait to start shopping and name picking

Pumpkin Patch 2008

Kenna was driving the pumpkin wheelbarrow machine hehe
Nate and I(13 weeks preggs-getting a tad thicker)

Riding the racecar, golf cart, pull ride
Stuck in the corn maze
Taking a ride to get pumpkins
Look at the prize picked pumpkins
Kenna with her wee wittle pumpkin

I just love him
and him
and her
and him
and apparently, she loves me too! :0)

Wyatt and a sheep
Tanner having a hayday...literally!
Wyatt had a lotta fun with the animals
Everett loved the llamas most
Me with the kids on the Hay Castle-How blessed am I?

Well the pictures tell all! What a long, fun afternoon. I wore Kenna for most the time, but after having the urge to pee for so long, I asked Nate to help out haha. I think wearing her on top of the uterus and baby pressing on my bladder, made for an interesting feeling of needing to pee nonstop! The weather was beautifully chilly and crisp and there was more fun than the kids knew what to do with. After finally pickin our pumpkins, Tanner had a typical 3yo/had too much fun, meltdown. :0) We forgive him! hehe. Oh yeah and my hair....I went blonde for anyone wondering!

Apple Pickin

Family photo with our pickins
The kids with Grandpa and their apples

HAHA those apples were WAY up there
looking for fallen apples
YAY we found some
mmm Kenna loves em
Oh no, RUN the apples are going to hit ya on the head! hehe

Yesterday, we got up early and headed up to the mountains for some apple picking. Nate has been picking apples from this old tree since he was a little boy. Its a long ways back off a dirt road and no one knows about it. We got 2 huge 5 gallons buckets full of fresh, organic apples. It was apparent bears had been there a ton because they must not have an issue with pooing where they eat:0) haha. We have plans to get the apples today and make pies(some for now....some to freeze), caramel apples, apple muffins/pancakes and cider! MMmmmmm. The best part is they are organic and were free and it was such a fun outing......freeeeezing cold, but so fun.

Oh ME oh MY, How I LOVE Decorating!

The fun kitchen stuff
The kids and I made these tie pillows from a craft kit from oriental trading co
Our table

The spooky bathroom
The living room is really cute, but its hard to get it all in one shot
I love these lil stuffed stackables
I made that pumpkin tie blanky with the kids the other day
the scary computer area

Out front
Eheheehehe
Our porch up close

I am the Halloween Queen, Thanksgiving Turkey Lurkey and Mrs. Claus! I absolutely love every single second of fall. I love the feeling of cool crisp air and rainy cloudy days, I love being able to decorate, shopping for Christmas, pumpkin patch outings, trips to Oak Glen to pick apples from the orchards and buy cider from the cider mills. There is so much to do and the weather is perfect and permitting. Shopping, baking all the warm pumpkin, apple, banana and zuchini breads and muffins is always so much fun too. This year I am making the same treats we love in a much healthier way. It has to be diabetic friendly because I got the call on vacation that my blood sugars were once again too high. So for my banana nut muffins, I used this recipe and they were heavenly AND healthy with slower digesting carbs and lots of fiber. Honey is a much slower digesting sugar than regular sugar, not to mention hardly any is used in the recipe. Even still, I have to watch my portion sizes carefully and pair them with protien....but hey a muffin and milk always goes well together.

BANANA NUT MUFFINS

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

2 heaping tbsp. honey

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. soda

3/4 c. oats (oatmeal)

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp. oil1/2 c. milk

1 c. mashed ripe bananas

1/3 c. chopped pecans

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, soda and oats. Add egg, oil, milk, honey, bananas and nuts. Stir only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until done. Serve warm with a teaspoon of butter on top. Makes 12-18 muffins.

I am excited and up to the challenge of healthier alternatives for the holidays because its good for everyone and will keep me from having another oversized GD baby!