We had a wonderful Christmas.

Lots of food, laughter and family.

Hope yours was just as great!

Christmas Menu...

I couldn't decide what to have for Christmas dinner.

It always seems we have the same meal for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

And I just can't do it anymore.

I can't.

So, I asked my facebook friends and they gave me some good ideas.

Then I asked my husband....

and you know what he said?

TURKEY.

Again.

But to mix it up, I just got a turkey breast.

We threw away some turkey from our Thanksgiving dinner.

So here it is:

Like you care, I know.

But still.....

Garlic and Herb marinated turkey breast.

Marinated steaks that we are going to grill.....in DECEMBER.

Oh yeah.

Scalloped potatoes (thanks Angela for the idea.)

Sweet potato casserole.

Green bean casserole.

Deviled eggs.

Cole slaw.

Biscuits.

Carrot Cake.

Cherry Cheesecake.

Oreo Truffles.

Chocolate covered pretzels.

Buckeyes.

There could be more that I am forgetting.

Sound basically like Thanksgiving?

Yeah, it is.

Maybe next year I will be brave and true and branch out.

The question remains:

WHAT ARE YOU EATING FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER??????

I am apparently.....

too old to be pregnant again.

It started out with this stinkin' pregnancy sickness.

Oy.  

I don't know if it was magnified this time, but I was in bed for days.

That is over, thank God.

Now I have the blessed migraines.

Oh yes.

They are a joy.

There is medication for those, but it just takes the edge off.

And I have this pregnancy mask all over.  

Never had it before.

Its weird.

I don't want it on me anymore.

I can't walk up steps.

I had gotten really good at running up our stairs.  

I may have been overweight, but I always made it a point to RUN up the stairs.

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, the running turned to walking with heavy breathing.

And now the walking with heavy breathing has turned to moaning and groaning all the way up the stairs.

Now I have to sit down when I reach the top.

Oy.

I'm uncomfortable.

I hurt.

I don't like being pregnant.

It doesn't feel like a miracle right now.

hehehehe!

Though I know it is.

I know I am so blessed to be able to bear children.

And I do thank God for that.  

Nostalgia....

And it happened at Starbucks, I am ashamed to say.

I know most of you will find that odd, knowing my love for Starbucks.

We have a bit of a job offer....

in a land far away.

It's cold there.

They make cheese.

They pride themselves on cheese.

Of all things.

Care to guess?

Anyway, so today is Chloe's 8th birthday and as is our custom in the Snow household

they get a trip to Starbucks on their birthday.

I buy them a cream based "coffee."  

They think they are being caffeinated and act like wild animals the rest of the day.

No caffeine enters their bodies.

Jokes on them

So, Chloe and I were sitting there discussing her life.

How she likes it.

How we could improve it.

Ha.

and so on.

I started looking around at "my Starbucks."

The one where "I want to go where everybody knows my name."

And I got to remembering all the trips I've taken there.

Some with a kid or two.

Last year when both Ben and Chloe were at school (what glorious days those were), I would

have to take both Ty and Iz there.

The barista's always knew what I wanted.

What if the barista's in this far away land are mean?

What if they stick out their tongue at me and say 

"NO, we cannot make a Grande Peppermint White Mocha Frappucino Light AND with whip?"

How will I live?

What shall I do?

Will someone hold my hand?

It seems a good part of my life was spent there these last 3 or 4 years of living in this area.

WAIT!

A good part of my life WAS spent there.

I'm so sad.

I want to go grab the door and hold on for dear life while shouting "I can't leave them they love me."

Though, I know they really don't.

Do they?

So, there is my story of the day.

I think I will go back and just say "HI."

I'm sure they would love to see me.

Gardening with Grandma.

A few of my favorite things to hear....

Maaaama, can you kit (kiss) my cheek?

Maaaaama can I peep (sleep) by you?

Maaaaama, can you stratch (scratch) and rub my back?

I love that my 2 year old is getting independent enough to want to go out to the garage with Daddy

and yet, he still needs his Maaaaaama!  

I wub him.

Smitten, Story time and a Christmas House....

Meet Emily.

She's sitting between Isaac and Titus.

It's story time at our house.

Chloe has to read to someone, and these three looked really into it.

Now they notice a camera...

and must cheese.

Notice Isaacs arm....

I think he and Titus are in love with lil' Emily.

She's pink.

These boys just don't know how to handle pink.

I get to watch her for a while.

She is just a lil' blessing in this house with a lot of boys and loudness.

She's quiet.

Petite.

Sometimes shy.

But when she giggles, its straight from the belly!

She's absolutely adorable!

These two were enjoying the Christmas house under our tree.

I couldn't resist taking a pic. 

They are so into it.  Awwww!

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas season.

Duggar Laundry Detergent

I finally tried this after much thinking, praying, thinking, realizing how poor we are quickly becoming, and more thinking.

I love it! 

It was so easy to make.

And it even smells good without any oils added to it.

Grab a bounce dryer bar from the store and that will last a good 3 months and you won't have to go down the laundry aisle for a while.

My towels smell nice and fresh, which I think is a good indication of a laundry soap.

Thanks to my dear friend Angela for encouraging me on in the ways of large family living.  

And Jaime for encouraging me to blog about laundry soap, as I have nothing else going on in my life right now worth blogging about.

Hopelessly bored and into doing laundry,

The Beginning of December????

Can it possibly be the beginning of December tomorrow?

Wow.  

I haven't posted for a while and thought I would update those of you who care about our life.

I think the trauma with the baby is over.  

I haven't had any more bleeding!

Praise the Lord. 

Really freaked me out.

I go to the DR on Thursday for an ultrasound and then appointment after that.

I am almost 12 weeks!

You know what that means:

I am almost not sick anymore!

Praise the Lord again.

I hate being sick.

Hate it.

Due to that 6 week time span of doing absolutely nothing but laying in my bed

yelling at my kids to bring me some more pretzels and ice water, my house is disorganized, my kids aren't doing well in school, my hair is a mess (well, maybe that has nothing to do with the sickness) and I just feel an overwhelming need to "pull it together."

It was pretty ugly there for a while.

So, I'm in my "I'm taking back my life" mode.

The kids WILL STUDY FOR 12 HOURS A DAY!

Ty WILL NOT poop his pants any more!

Isaac WILL OBEY the first time I ask him.

THIS HOUSE WILL STAY CLEAN!

And maybe this stuff really won't happen.

But I hope atleast for a while I can pretend like I have it all together.

Justus hasn't been able to find a job yet.

I haven't either.

Though I haven't really looked.

We are hoping to make good use of my Medical Transcription degree that I earned in August.

I am going to start seriously looking.

Ha.

I wasn't before.

I'm not going to lie.

It was a half-hearted effort.

And, so, off to clean my pantry out.

I WILL BE ORGANIZED AGAIN!

Date night!!!

I'm pregnant.

I have cravings.

One of them happens to be Red Lobster.

I'm a sad, sad human being.

So, last week my husband was gone all week helping his brother up in

Indiana while I was home with four kids, pregnant and having complications 

with my pregnancy.

I had to go to the ER on Thursday.

Apparently I have a subchorionic hematoma.

Not life threatening.

But the DR told me to take it easy.

Stay in bed for a couple of days to stop the bleeding, etc.

So, while J was gone, it was me in bed, with my four lil' beings gathered around me

doing laundry, making PBJ's and cleaning the kitchen.

Quite a great time, actually.

Thank God for my sister in law who came over 2 evenings and relieved a lil' boredom.

So, back to the date night..

When Justus came home, he felt that we needed a date.

I begged...

I pleaded....

I got down on my hands and knees...(k, not really)

and he caved and took me to Red Lobster.

Ain't he sweet?

I wub him.

Unfortunately the date took a horrible turn!

You'll never believe what happened next.

It's preposterous!

Unheard of.

It's a crime to human society I tell ya.

We decided to stop at the library and get some videos.

We both respectively got our videos and headed to the front.

I checked out mine.

J came forward with his one video that wouldn't fit on my card due to a limit of 10.;

I looked down to find the title of the video that he felt he must have:

HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE.

Bwahahahahahaha!

Me and the librarian busted out laughing....

J's face got kinda red, though he was laughing as well.

"What, it looked like a good movie?"

And we are watching it together as I speak.

He isn't going to get any ideas that I don't know about.

Just in case.

*DISCLAIMER~  we took the movie out after about 5 minutes!  Not a good movie.  I should have known!  Hahahahaha!

Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Dare I say??????

Today I have put in White Christmas during nap time.

I have my Yankee Christmas Candles all bought.

I have found the Christmas music.

Dare I say, is it time to decorate?????

I am getting in the Christmas spirit folks!!!

YOU?

Titus' baby and a couple of blessings....

God has sure been busy taking care of us lately.

We still don't have a job.

But don't want for anything either.

God has seen fit to lay it on several peoples hearts to give us money.

A man we knew years ago and haven't seen since then, heard that we were without a job 

stopped by tonight and gave my husband 100 dollars!

I have never seen Justus more stunned.

He came upstairs to tell me and was just SHOCKED.

We are indeed, so blessed.

Except this sickness doesn't make me feel blessed at all.

Me and Ty had to stay home tonight because of it.

Him and Isaac have been quite fascinated with the thought of there being a baby in my belly.

So, now Ty has a baby in his belly.

It doesn't make him sick though.

I let him and Isaac look through my belly button one day last week to see if they could see the baby.

Ty saw it.

Iz didn't.

Well, tonight, Ty's baby was hungry.

So, naturally, he shoved a chip into his belly button.

Oh yes, he did.

His baby feels better now.

So cute I can't even stand it!!

Have you started playing Christmas music yet?
Or decorating?
I bought my candles the other day buy haven't burned any of them yet.
Maybe this week.

Things I can eat while pregnant:

Fruit.

Pretzels.

Carrots.

A little of my Mother~in~Laws chicken and noodles.

Rice...maybe.

And, that about does it.

Nice, huh?

Things I cannnnnnooooot eat!!!:

A burger from Steak and Shake.

Meat in general.

Milk products.

Anything that has flavor.

I'm very sad.

I love food.

Can't wait to get the next couple of weeks over and get back to eating as normal.

We spent the last week with my Mother ~in~Law.

It was a really nice break.

She likes to pamper and say things like:
"You shouldn't be up yet."

"Shouldn't you go take a nap?"

"You look tired, Lady."

I like people that tell me to go sleep!  

Right before we left, we went and visited my Father~in~Law's grave.

I had already been there once during the week, but Justus hadn't.

I wasn't sure whether I should go with him, or let him go himself.

So, I just let him go.

I bawled like a baby.

It just doesn't seem right that he should be walking to a grave to talk to his Dad.

He should be here with us...

I know God has a reason, it's just so hard to understand sometimes.

So, after I wiped the snot off my face, I went out there with him.

It's so hard to see the finalitly of the stone.

I know it's final.

I know it's over and there is nothing we can do.

It still hurts.

Seems unreal.

And then I realized that my new baby is due just 2 days from the one year of my Father~in~Law's homegoing.

I think that is pretty neat.

And so to summarize.

I'm hungry.

I'm sick.

I'm tired.

I miss my Father~in~Law.

And I am going to bed.

Good night.

Hope you have a blessed Sunday.

Pregnancy cont, again....

I am really going to try to not constantly be writing about pregnancy.

This is my fifth. 

No big news here.

I don't even think there was a whole lot of shocked people.

HA.

The sickness has come upon me.

Don't even say the word milk.  

DON'T SAY IT.

Gag.

I have some sad news.

Tomorrow is our last day at our church.

I am very broken up about it.

Though, we knew it was leading toward that for a while, it is still heartbreaking.

When we moved to Akron it was from Arkansas.

We decided that this would be our last move.

EVER.

This is where we are going to plant our family.

I was pregnant with Ben.

He's 9 1/2.

That's a long time.

We have grown to love the people at our church.

Made some very dear friends.

We KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is moving in our lives.

We don't know why.

But so often, the verse "thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path" have crossed my mind.

That lamp that lights our feet doesn't shine forward....

it just shows us the next step.

We have no idea what is ahead for us.

But God has it all worked out already.

And He loves us.

And we love Him.

Pray for us tomorrow if you think about it.

I have to say goodbye to my little Sunday School girls and to the Jr Church kids who we love so much.

Then tomorrow night is saying goodbye to the people who have been our family through so much.

When my Mom died of cancer 5 years ago, these people became our family.

Everytime I had a child, these people brought us meals.

When we had a need, these people met it.

And sometimes, they didn't even know we had a need,

they listened to the Holy Spirit and maybe slipped my husband some money.

Or, brought us a bag of food from Amish Country.

They couldn't possibly know what that meant to us,

but they did it.

So, pray for us and them tomorrow. 

Pregnancy cont.

So, let's talk baby weight.

I have gained around 50 pounds with each of my children.

I KNOW!  

And, to date, I have been pregnant 4 times....that's 200 pounds!

WOW.

And while, I have lost most of the 200 (oy)

I still had some weight to lose.  

And then one Saturday evening...

I realized...

something isn't right.

And surprise, we are expecting again.

So, my question is:

How can I NOT gain 50 pounds?

I have been doing my treadmill. 

20-30 minutes 3 or 4 days a week.

I am trying to do more, but I am super busy right now.

I am trying to eat good.

Atleast a salad a day. 

I know I can't cut out a whole lot of calories, but the junk has to go.

Chocolate...how I love thee.

Coffee creamer....love thee too.

Ok, you get the point.

I need tips, advice, help, someone to check in and say "are you gaining 50?"

Thanks!

My Weekend

Pregnancy.

I forgot how very tired it made me...

Though, I haven't been really sick yet. 

Normally its bad before I even know I am expecting...

So, I will praise the Lord for that.

I don't really have a whole lot of time to stop and be sick.

Not today anyway.

My step dad came up on Saturday and we took the kid to a covered bridge.

Here are some pics:

I love to make these collages that tell a story.

Picture #1:

Lovely children.

Picture #2:

Ty: DON'T TOUCH ME!!!

Picture #3:

Ty: I will not stand with these heathen children.

Picture #4:

Chloe: Oh yes you will you little rascal!!!!

And then Mommy says, 

"Everyone get down, we are done."

Sadly, no good pictures of my kids came of that day.

But I did take a good one of my step Dad for his FB page:

Nice pic, huh?

If only my children would cooperate as nicely as PawPaw did.

Ty and his puppy.

My Ty just loves this dog.  

It has been pee'd on.

Shoved nose first into Ty's dinner.

Run over.

Left in the van only to be gotten in the cold dark night by Mamma in her jammies.

(I'm ashamed to say.)

Sneezed on by other kids in the nursery.

Etc.

And yet somehow it makes it back into Ty's mouth.

He wubs his puppy.

And I wub him!

~Amy~

So much going on all at once....

Do you ever feel your head spinning?

Oh my.

We have been through a tornado this year....

one thing after another.

And it all started with Isaac's broken leg.

Imagine that.

Our Pastor told my husband 3 weeks ago that at the end of October he couldn't afford to pay him anymore.

We have felt God leading us out for a while.

Though, to be truthful, when we moved here, it was for life.

It was actually a couple of years ago that we started to feel like maybe our time here was ending.

And it broke my heart into a million pieces.

God was so GRACIOUS to give us this time to get used to the idea.

And, circumstances would happen and we would chalk another one up for God.

Knowing that though "they meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."

It is so comforting to know that we have put our lives in the palm of his hands and He is in control.

AND HE IS.

I know.

So many people have said "I'm so excited for you."

"God is going to do great things through your family."

And, I know this is true, but right now, that doubt keeps coming up.

What if we don't get a job?

EVER?

What if we lose our home and live on the street?

What if...

And then...

SURPRISE!

You are pregnant.

HA. 

DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AT ALL.

We had thought I might be and then I wasn't, so we moved on and I started seriously job hunting thinking that it was for the best with everything the way it is now.

I certainly don't need pregnancy hormones on top of everything else!

HA.

God knows.

And, what a blessing He has given us.

"God meant it for good."

Baby......

Mundane things.....

So, I am terribly sorry about this post.

It may be a bit mundane.

But I have to tell you all about this wonderful product!

HA.

Wow.

Has my life really come to this?

Anyway, I hate dishrags.

Hate.

With a passion.

But, using paper towels (one to two rolls a day) 

was getting to be a bit pricey.

And making my husband lose his mind.

So, I have been shopping for dishrags for a while now.

Again, wow.

And I found these Clorox ones.

And thought to myself "these are clorox, they should stay white and smelling yummy." 

Which is what we all want in a dishrag, right girls?

Anyway, just thought I'd share.

I always like to look at product reviews on other peoples blogs.

I'd rather someone else tell me if its worth the money or not.

Thanks for listening!!!

A neat game at the pumpkin patch...

We had such a great time at the pumpkin patch! 

I took over 100 pictures. 

They had so many games.

Every where you turned there was a game to be played or something to do.

This had to be one of my favorites.

You got to pick your favorite little ducky.

And the color of pump you wanted.

And pump the water out until your ducky made it to the other end!

So fun!

And whoever wins gets a BRAND NEW...

pat on the back from Mamma.

And cheap!

It was free!

Oh yeah.

Aperture.

Been really enjoying using my new camera.

So, I had all three boys the other night while Chloe and her Daddy were running some errands.

We had been schooling all day long and it was like 4:30!

I was nigh unto death.

Seriously.

So, what do all good women do who are 'bout to die?

Call the husband and say "I need money!"

And he said "okay."

Off me and the boys went.

I took them down to Hale Farm and Village again and just took pictures of them.

It was so fun.

Well, I have been diligently studying Pioneer Womans Photography site and reading up about aperture.

I do so think it's my most favorite thing to do with my new camera!  

You see how Isaac is blurry and Ben is completely in focus. 

That is because I messed with the aperture.

I direct you again to PW's sight.

Because I have no idea what it means!

Except that I love it!

Thanks P-dub.

Another lesson learned from one of the greats!

I love you, Man!!!

Pumpkin Farm!!!!

Listening to Louis,

Looking at my babies,

and my man.

I am almost in tears at how blessed I am.

What a Wonderful World.