Happenings.....

We have just had a crazy couple of weeks here!

We've been averaging having 2 different evenings a week where we had people over for dinner!  Which I love doing, but I'm quite exhausted now!  And there is more to come.  Our house ~ mainly the living room and kitchen were torn apart for a while, so now that we can entertain, we do!

My former Pastor and his wife came to see us again on Saturday!  I absolutely love when they come!  We have such great fellowship and can just feel comfortable from the moment they get here.  She doesn't care what my house looks like, she just wants to see us!  Makes a girl feel good to hear that.

And then of course, the shopping.  Oh my.  It's time to step away from the computer for a while!  Such great deals right at your fingertips.  And all you have to do is enter your credit card number.  It's lovely really!  I have just had a great cyber Monday!  Now, I am going to go clean so my husband can find it easier to forgive my spending.  Right?  Isn't that how it works?  He SURELY can't be mad at me when  he has a clean house, right??????

What great deals have you found?  {{{Anything I should scurry out to buy?}}}

Thanksgiving

I don't know about you, but it is a tradition in my family to go around the table and say what you are thankful for.
Not a generic answer either.
Be creative.
So a couple of days ago, I got the kids all hyped up and told them to be thinking about it.

And then I started thinking about it too.
What am I really thankful for?
Yes, my husband.
Yep, my kids.
Yep, my home, etc.

I started thinking back of this year and of course, the blood clot came to mind.
There were a lot of scary moments for me since July 3.
Knowing that at any moment, this clot could break loose and I would be gone.
I live with that knowledge daily.
Makes you think about a lot of things.

Well, there was a period in my life after this last hospital stay that I started wondering a couple of things.
Like, I thought about it ALL THE TIME.

One day, I was sitting on the edge of my bed, crying.
Justus came over and sat beside me.
He knows my heart.  He didn't even have to ask.
But I had a question for him that I don't think he expected.
So I figured I better just ask.
I wondered what he would do with Annaleah if I were to die.
Would he keep her?
Would he let one of our family members raise her?
I know, it wouldn't matter to me, but I just HAD to know.
He looked at me, shocked.
He said "she's our daughter, what do you mean?  I would raise her just like I would the others."
And I felt better just knowing that I guess.  She would be with her siblings.  With her Daddy.  There is peace in that.

So, this year, I can honestly say, I am so thankful that I get to be the one to raise my children.  I'm so thankful that I get to remind Chloe to brush her teeth EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  I'm so thankful that I am the one that gets to "rocky-baby" Ty-ty when he is hurt or tired.  I'm so thankful that it's me that Ben comes to and hugs when he needs a hug.  I'm so thankful that I get all of Isaacs funny lil' humor.  I'm so thankful that I get to feed my baby and change her lil' diapers.  So thankful that I get to do my husbands laundry.  Make his dinner.  It's me.  I get to be the one to meet their needs.  Thank you Lord!

Drama Queen in the making.

Do you ever wonder how Drama Queens are formed?

I have found the secret. 

In small rural homes in small towns...

one scream at a time.

This is what she does when she wants attention.

And lately she doesn't care who gives her the attention, so long as someone does.

Ben, Chloe, Isaac, Titus, Mommy, Daddy, 

JUST SOMEONE COME PICK ME UP!

NOW!

My Titus....

He's so quite and thoughtful.

He often is found just walking around outside by himself playing.

He spends alot of time at the table eating dinner.

You can't hurry him.

He likes to enjoy his food even if everyone else is done

and watching a movie.

He sits.

And eats.

Several times a day, he comes up to me and kisses my hand or my side

and says

"I just love you."

That's all.

I just love you. 

He doesn't want anything, he just loves me.

Go Cart Rodeooooo!

We had a Fall contest for the teens at church.

The winners got to come to our house on Sunday after church. 

We had so much fun.

It was a beautiful fall day!

It was supposed to rain and be cold, but it was in the 60's and no rain!

Praise the Lord!

We had three teens come.

Played some big ball!  OH yeah.

 And, of course, rode some go carts while chasing the big ball.

These boys had the best time! 

They had never rode a go cart before.

Isaiah is ornery like my Isaac and Sean...Sean just wanted to talk.

And talk.

And talk.

And talk.  

He was cracking me up!

And then there is this teenager:

I'm just gonna throw this out there and say that he had more fun than all the others combined!

Here's me:

I was telling Yui to "GRAB THAT BALL YOU LIL' RASCAL SO THE BOYS DON'T WIN."

I'm a bit competitive!

Our kids couldn't wait for the teens to come over!

We had just a small bonfire to cook our hot dogs and smores, but Titus was there for the better part of the day.  He loves fires!

And here is me and Annaleah.

My hair is not really that big.
Is it?

Do I always look like that?

God, help me.

My poor children.

No wonder they hate me.

Chloe and Yui.  

She is so good with our kids.

And another shot of the teenagers...oh, I mean Justus (the youth Pastor.) HA.

And here is where the day took a turn for the worse. 

My husband had this crazed look on his face.

I saw it but wasn't sure what to make of it.

I heard him yell to Ben over the roar of the go cart "BEN OPEN THE GATES!"

Of heaven, I wondered?

But no, he just meant our fence gates.

So Ben opened them while we all stood there staring at them in wonderment.

"What could this possibly mean?"

And then here comes the roar!  And Justus and Isaiah covered in mud. 

They decided to visit the backlands....where the mud dwells.

They found it.

All of it.

And then he had to take all the kids to see the mud. 

Wow.  I may still be harboring bitterness.

Good ol' Ty.  He hates mud.  I love him.

Isaac "wait for meeeeee Dad!"

Ben thought it was great that you could put weeds on the fire and make smoke.

My oh my, they are so easily entertained.

And, that was our go cart rodeo.

Good times.

Randomness....

So, I've become one of "those" bloggers who has a baby and then doesn't blog anymore.

But who could blame me? Look at that smile! She is such a little bit of joy for us.  Even her Dad is in love.  Our other children fuss over her and I hear a million times a day "Mommy, is it my turn to make Annaleah smile?"  She's been a very easy baby so far.  Slept through the night at 2 weeks of age.  Never had that happen before!  Of course now, four months later, she is up during the night wanting to eat.  A girl's gotta eat, right?  Her's hungry.  She can't possibly sleep knowing there is food to be had.  And I don't necessarily mind.  I did finally order some cloth diapers.  LOVE THEM!  I had at first thought I would just use them while I was at home, but I use them all the time now.  It is really so easy to use.  They wash up well.  And she looks adorable in her Fuzzibunz!  No idea why I never did this before.  I have a small stock pile of disposable diapers (by small I mean about 6 packages of Huggies) that I am considering taking back to the store.  I really love cloth diapering.  And so does Petunia.


School is in full swing here at the Snow household.  I am still loving the ABeka videos!  They have been a lifesaver!  I do very little with their schooling.  Of course, Isaac is in kindergarten so I do most of that with him.  And I have been doing a bit of preschool too with Titus and the little girl I babysit.  It's always fun....


We have redecorated our downstairs a bit...
This is our kitchen wall.  It's a yellow/gold/orange color.  Ha.  Really pretty though.  I like it much better than the dark red I had before.

 And our living room is a pale green!  It's perfect.  We had a sage green in there before, and I liked it for a while, but it was pretty dark.  We both wanted a lighter, brighter house.  We got it.  It's beautiful!

We are loving our church!  We've made some really great friends.  I've never been to a church quite like ours.  If you are in the hospital, expect to be visited by most of the members.  Expect to be prayed for.  The older men in our church are all leaders.  You will find most of them at the alters during the invitation.  I feel blessed to be there.  Our Pastor and his wife just swooped in and picked us up and loved us.  I will forever be grateful !!!


I joined a gym 2 months ago.  I've been 3 times.  Oh yeah.  I can feel it working.  Bwahahahaha!  Thank God it is only 12 bucks a month! I had to go back to the hospital for three days the week after I joined and am just now starting back at it.  


And so...that wraps up the update for today.  Loving that it is November and high 60's!!!  Maybe I will take the kids to the park today!


Hope you all are doing well!  Would love to hear from you!