Hi Everyone!

I'm so sorry about the delay in posting. I wanted to share the details of our new baby's arrival with you all.

He arrived on April 27 at around 6 am. This was a very different birth for me (and my husband..LOL). This was different from all of the other births in many ways.

First of all, it may be worth mentioning that I am 41 years old. No spring chicken. And this can certainly affect pregnancy and childbirth in "interesting ways." My blood pressure wanted to creep up towards the end of the pregnancy, and this interfered with my ability to relax. Sleep was limited factor, and anxiety became a prominent and annoying friend. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time praying when my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and I literally broke into cold sweats from anxiety.

As labor commenced, I could not relax through the pain, and announced to the nurse at the hospital that I wanted the epidural. My first ever epidural. My husband paused and looked at me. Always wanted to accommodate my wishes, he said "Whatever you need."

The epidural immediatly took the edge off the pain, yet I could still feel contractions and had a "hotspot" where the anesthesia didn't take. I like this because I knew when to push. However, my labor slowed down immensely. I normally get to the hospital and give birth within an hour. This time, it took 6 hours. I know many of you have much longer labors!

Little Silas James, 8 lbs. 9 ounces & 21 1/2 inches long, arrived as I was standing in the bathroom. I caught his head and announced to the doctor (who was waiting outside the bathroom) that he had crowned. The absence of pain (from the epidural) made this a very pleasant experience. I even offered to cut the cord and give the baby his bath, since I felt so wonderful. LOL!

It's funny how natural childbirth was so important to me with all of the other children. Actually, I had wonderful births, for the most part, with a tolerable (most of the time) level of pain. This time was entirely different!

Silas is now 4 months old and weighing in at a hefty 17 1/2 lbs. He is a big boy! I still have no photos to share...Sorry! He is a joy to us all.

Had to share!

Blessings,

Camy

Quick Update

Please accept my apologies for the lack of entries.....many of you know that we have gotten rid of our home Internet service. For our family, the Internet is quite the temptation, and it will often occupy our thoughts and thus leading us into certain temptation. It is hard to say "no" to it, and we then use much of our precious time viewing Mortimer Snerd and Davey & Goliath on Youtube (not to mention an old clip of The Six Million Dollar Man battling Bigfoot...it's a 70's thing). The Internet is now accessible to us at the library, where it is well-controlled and contained (grin).

But alas, my blogging days are a challenge due to this relocation of Worldwide Web. I appreciate your patience as I attempt to drag myself to the library to keep in touch with you all. At this very moment, my little John (5) is sitting next to me in a chair and reading a large, oversized comic book. He's my buddy today.

Just wanted to tell everyone that my pregnancy is going blessedly well. We have about 4 or 5 weeks to go! Our whole family is very anxious and excited to welcome our little baby boy into the "outside of the womb" world. God has blessed me with a heavenly pregnancy...and for that I am so grateful.

Winter is trying to hold on, but the 3 foot snowbanks in our front yard are meeting their demise (the sun). We are all renewed and energized by the prospect of spring.

So, that's about it for now. My time is short today. May you all be blessed and encouraged!

Love,

Camy

Don't Have a Phone Conversation in the Bathroom

If you were a random passerby walking near our home, you might hear quite a variety of sounds. Those audible noises can range from utter chaos, mother-gone-mad (embarrassing, but true..LOL), rough housing boys, complete silence (rare), and hysterical laughter (often mixed w/ crying). Yesterday we experienced an "hysterical laughter day (w/ crying mixed in) scenario on the range of possibilities.

S0, dear daughter Rachel (7 1/2 years old) decides she would like to phone her grandmother to have a conversation (usually a one-way conversation ;o) about her own Christmas gift desires. This after she had already given her an extensive list the day before (laugh). Anyway, out of the corner of my eye I noticed Rachel chit-chatting away and walking into the bathroom as she did so. This was one of those "Momma has a red flag moments, but doesn't call it out" type deals.

I lazily chose not to reprimand her, and ignored my own uneasiness regarding her having the phone in the bathroom. In my experience as a mother of many, the bathroom is one of "those" rooms. It has water, waste receptacles, bathroom tissue, cosmetic/personal care products, and important household plumbing. These items are not ideal for children....LOL...and they often need supervision near them, especially when the children are under age 10. You can tell this story is headed to a big finale, can't you?

Suddenly, the bathroom door literally flies open and hits the wall adjunct to it. Rachel is standing there, horrified. "I dropped the phone in the toilet!!!" she exclaims with utter horror. We all stop what we are doing and stare at her. This is when the hysterical laughter breaks out...by the way, I am not the one laughing!

The boys are almost rolling on the floor in stitches of belly-rolling guffaws. They begin imitating Rachel's conversation with her grandmother: "Hey, grandma...this is what I want for Christmas..FLUSH!" They can hardly contain themselves and repeat this over and over. Rachel is not humored in the slightest, and only more troubled by what she has done.

My first reaction was obvious irritation. I gave her a 1 minute lecture about how it is not smart to have a phone conversation in the bathroom. Obviously, I left out the part about me not calling her about it in the first place! This is one of those "duh" lectures where nothing really needs to be said, and that the event itself taught her the lesson. (But it did make me feel a little better...grin). Rachel dramatically flees upstairs to her bedroom to throw herself down on her pillow and weep, Scarlett O'Hara style. (the boys continue to bust their guts with laughter...yelling upstairs and taunting Rachel even further).

We realize the phone is not operational, due to its fall into the toilet. Thankfully, we have a spare phone available.

Elijah (9 1/2 years old) immediately calls grandma to explain what cut her and Rachel's conversation short. She did say she heard a rather loud screech and then dead air.

As Elijah is walking around the house and chatting with grandma, I notice a crude sign taped to the bathroom door, in Elijah's 9 1/2 year old boy handwriting. This brings the beginnings of hysterical laughter to my mouth:

"No phones in bathroom!"

The whole drama died down after awhile...until my husband arrived home. The boys had to explain and re-enact it all over again. At this point, Rachel had gotten herself together, and was able to listen without crying. She even cracked a little smile as the boys mercilessly teased her.

When all was said and done, Roger (my husband) told Rachel a funny story about the time her brother Greyson actually "fell" into the toilet (head first) when he was potty training. This made her smile and gave her a little ammunition to strike back with.

And so goes another sound on the wide range of possibilities featuring noises emanating from our home....

Merry Christmas to all! May your home be filled with laughter and joy!


--Camy

Update

I apologize for the lack of blog entries, but our computer is down at home. It may be awhile.

Just wanted to let ya'll know that we are having another boy! We are all very happy (yes, even our dear Rachel).


See you soon!

Camy

Color With Your Child

My children love to draw and color. I keep a ready supply of paper, pencils, and crayons in a box under our bench in the dining room along with paper nearby. This way, when the inclination hits, they can grab a piece of paper as well as a drawing medium, and go at it.

Rachel drew this photo of a fairy in fairyland, and I helped her color it! We had so much fun. If you want to spend some good, quality time with your child, try coloring or drawing with him/her. It doesn't have to be Picasso-like, just some stick figures if it pleases you. They just enjoy having you close by and doing something with them. And to tell you the truth, it is a lot of fun!



The kids have been telling me that my tummy is getting HUGE, so here is the obligatory pregnant momma photo:

It doesn't do the size of my tummy justice, because trust me, it *is* getting HUGE! I think after having so many children, things just "fall out" a bit sooner (grin). Oh, well, I shall just choose to enjoy the blessing of carrying this little one. Oh, and by the way, we shall have our ultrasound on December 4th! This way, we will get to know this precious one even better. Any dibs on whether we will have a boy or a girl?

Blessings,

Camy

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Big Waters!

My husband's grandfather turned 96 the other day, and we were blessed to be able to spend it with him, his wife, Aunt Cathy, Cousin Kelly, and Cousin Riley.

Our children refer to Grandpa as "Grandpa 'Big Waters" due to the fact that Grandpa and Grandma used to reside along the shores of the "big waters" of Lake Michigan. Grandma is known as "Grandma 'Big Waters."

The funniest moment occurred when Aunt Cathy took a photo of Grandma and Grandpa together. She asked Grandpa to smile. It took him a little work, but suddenly his face burst out with the most delightful smile. We all broke out into joyous laughter at the sight of Grandpa displaying a smile that took him a bit of work.

It is comforting to know that Grandpa and Grandma Big Waters are able to be together in a nice, assisted-living environment. We are also amazed to observe Cousin Kelly help attend to their needs. She always seems to know just what they want...sometimes even before they ask. Kelly is an example of a dear heart who cares deeply and with much love. We can visibly see Grandma's delight at having Kelly there.

If we could all do this for one another, especially for those who really need the help, not only would those being served be blessed, but those who do the serving as well. There is something about caring and serving others. Jesus said if we held onto our lives, we would lose them; yet if we let go of our lives (an example would be service to others) for His sake, we would keep them.

I like that so much. I pray for a servant's heart and that my children would also desire to serve others as well.

When we visit Grandma and Grandpa Big Waters, it is evident that they and the other residents at the assisted-living home, depend on others for daily care, comfort, and survival. It is very humbling for me to be there, witnessing personnel feeding, wiping mouths, and aiding the old and infirmed human beings who live there. I never leave without having something to pray or think about.

Caught On Camera

In the above photos, I am scolding someone...but whom? As you can see, Sam is around the corner looking like he wants to do something shocking. It is likely that I am saying, "Sam, you better watch your back, mister."

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! We'd love to hear your comments. Click HERE to do so.

Blessings,

Camy

The Fall Round-Up

Here the hungry boys pose patiently, waiting to eat these freshly, baked oatmeal muffins. As you can see, Sam (in hat) is rarely without his "gun", which is actually part of one of our dining room chairs (?????)...LOL!

R.I.P, dear aloe vera plant. You once flourished in our home and added comfort and relief to burned and irritated skin. You brightened the living room with your greenliness. Now, you are but a victim of a heinous plant-beating crime.

Greyson holds the weapon used in the plant-beating crime. It is confiscated as evidence "exhibit A."

The guilty perpetrator confesses after a bit of questionning (wink).
This is what you do A LOT when you live and strive to survive with 6 brothers. And as you can see by Rachel's smile, it's kind of fun sometimes (grin).

John, with his weapon at-the-ready.

Frolicking in the leaves.

Noah, #6, ready to lay a hit on somebody.

Malcom getting into position.

The victorious Pop Warner Peewees Greyson and Elijah.

We had to take this picture to show Sam trying to fit his enormous head into a too-small-for-him football helmet.

Things are slowing down a bit here. We are all catching our breaths before it gets busy again.

Take care and say "hi" by leaving us a comment HERE.

Thanks!

Camy