Winter, You're Not So Bad

January has come to an end and, I must tell you, I'm not in the least bit sad to see her go. In fact, I'm hoping February and March quickly follow her into the history books. I'm not fond of cold weather and gray skies. I like color! I want warmth! I need sunshine!

All complaining aside, there are some things I enjoy about the cold weather. Any excuse to have a couch full of kiddos is fine by me.

I like how they cram together and pile on top of each other with no pushing, shoving, pinching, biting, kicking, hitting, yelling, crying........at least not that you can see.

Hearty meals taste better in the winter months. One of my favorite times of the day is sitting at the supper table with my favorite gang. We talk about our favorite part of the day or I ask a question about life and everyone has to answer. Sometimes the questions bring wonderful conversation, other times they are met with rolled eyes.

Ironic my favorite time of day is usually preceded by the day's most stressful hour. It's not easy to cook with little (and big) ones wanting my attention. Crock pot meals make me happy! So do helpers.

I employ kitchen help from all ages.

Why is it the ones who are willing to help the most are the ones who are the least helpful (defined as makes more work for Mom)?

Cold months are also good for snuggling up and sipping warm drinks. This winter I was introduced to Java. You can call him Coffee. We have become good friends. I regret talking bad about him behind his back all these years. He's a little boring on his own, but aren't we all? Pair him up with Flavored Creamer and he is the life of the party! Especially with Miss York peppermint patty creamer! Coffee, I'm glad we met. I'm sorry I snubbed you for so long. I have to warn you though, I may be a fair-weather friend. My warm months belong to Sweet Ice Tea.

When I'm not day dreaming of warm, sunny days, I try to live in the moment and enjoy the quiet of winter. I may not like the physical aspects the cold brings, but with it comes a renewing of the mind; a time to be still and refocus on life and to reorganize priorities.

Winter is a little confused today with temps in the 50s. Maybe he's trying to get on my good side. Even so, Jack Frost, you may not be my best friend, but really, you're not so bad.

Pictures for week 4 of 2012:
It is truly special that my kids have four great grandmas and three great grandpas still living. We don't see them all as much as we would like. My maternal grandparents, however, are very involved in my kids' lives. Grandma and Grandpa are blessed with good health and mobility, making it easier for them to play an active role.

No man rocks a purple shirt like Grandpa.

Emmaly got to listen to some of the old gospel records that  I remember
from childhood. She wasn't impressed. :)

I love how my kids get to play with the same toys that I did. This Fisher Price
town was my favorite. 

Bring on the New Year

Today I boxed up the last evidence of Christmas. The plastic 6 1/2 ft Colorado Pine was folded up much like an umbrella and crammed back into the closet where it will live for the next 10 months. The three wise men, along with the whole nativity, are wrapped in newspaper and packed into their 30+ year old box. I wonder what memories of Christmas 2011 my children are locking away to treasure for years to come.

Christmas morning

The picture cards will grace my kitchen all winter long.

Christmas weekend Mom and Dad came up from Missouri, not a long enough visit, but I'm happy they came.

We spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents with my brothers and their families. Unfortunately, my sister and her crew weren't able to make it. We were surprised with a short but sweet visit from them a week later, though!

grandkids minus jody's 

Jody took some pictures of all the kids last summer. One was made into a canvas for Mom and Dad's Christmas gift.

This is the first time I have ever seen my dad with a beard. I even let out a gasp at first look.
He's just a fuzzier big teddy bear.

The highlight of the day was watching and listening to the carols, worship songs and country music played by the talented musicians. New tradition? I hope so!

My dad, brothers, son and nephew

Josh teaching Kodi some chords

future guitar player

Dad playing the mandolin

One of the headbands Mom crocheted for Faith

We left our Christmas tree up so when Jody came it could still feel like Christmas. It didn't work, but that's okay. It was the best ever New Year's treat!

It was so sweet to catch E and L reading the Bible before they went to sleep. 

Fun memories were made with the other side of the family too.  We were blessed to finish out the year and bring in the new year with loved ones. I'm optimistically excited to see what 2012 holds in store.

I have (loosely) made resolutions. I do every year. We won't talk about how they are usually the same ones as the year before....be more organized, exercise, eat healthier, blah blah blah. This year I'm also resoluting (yeah, it's a word.) to stick with the resolutions. :-) But instead of resolutions I'm going to call them goals.
Goal number 1. Make life simpler. (Be more organized)
                     2.Increase my energy. (Exercise)
                     3. Meal plan. (Eat healthier)
:-)I think those are things I will always be working at and I'm okay with doing great sometimes and not so good at other times. Having goals is important but it is also freeing for me to take a break from the rigidness of a schedule.

There are some things this year that I really want to improve on, mostly on what God is calling me to do and who He wants me to be. I want to be a better wife and mother, more patient and aware of what my husband and children need. I want to be an encourager. Above all, I want to be in His will at all times.

Lord, here I am, your servant, your hands and your feet. Use me as you must. Open my eyes to what You see.  Give me the courage to do your work. I am yours.

Another thing I want to try accomplish this year is to share a photo of the week. I thought about doing one picture a day but I can't add one more thing to my daily tasks. And I don't want it to be a task. So, one a week it will be.

Week ONE:

My littlest is a "doffee" thief. Don't leave your cup of joe (or hot chocolate) unattended or little hands, that may have tiny polished nails, will steal your brew and leave you with an empty mug and, most likely, a spill.

OR maybe this pic:

Theses two peas in a pod were born thousands of miles apart and live hundreds of miles from each other. Their love as friends keeps them close and their bond as family means forever. I loved seeing them read scripture together, especially without any prompting.

As you can see, there are no rules to my weekly picture(s).

Welcome 2012!

Self Discipline

I was asked to speak on discipline at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). I'm speaking along with two other ladies. My portion is on self-discipline. If that isn't a laugh! I am so undisciplined in several areas. Me being asked to talk about and give advice on self-discipline is like asking my 18 month old to explain why markers are used for drawing on paper.

 An example of lack of discipline:  Last Thursday I was sick with a cold and sinus infection. (I'm still battling the infection...I'm determined to get over it without a doctor's visit.) I woke up feeling that I had been smacked in the head with a bat. But there are no sick days in Mommyhood. Most of my everyday duties got accomplished. Kids were fed, homeschooling supervised, laundry somewhat done, toddler messes picked up, no one had to get stitches.....and the reward was bedtime. However, no dishes got washed. I have a hate relationship with washing dishes. With a family of eight, washing dirty dishes is ne.ver.end.ing. Not having a dishwasher for over a year (because of electrical issues) has been unpleasant to say the least! *Don't take this as whining and ungratefulness because I feel so blessed to have running water and a house full of little people.* So, the dishes didn't get done, oh well. Then Friday came and I was feeling better but not great. My kids were at Friday School, so it was just me and my littlest. I got a few chores done but I closed my eyes to the mountain of dirty dishes. Maybe if I didn't see them they would go away. It was more fun to be lazy have snuggle time with my baby then get my hands pruney in dishwater. Earlier in the week my wonderful, jack-of-all-trades brother-in-law fixed my electrical problem and we were getting a dishwasher! I knew this in the back of my mind which is a little of the reason I let the stinky, crusty dishes set in the sink, on the counter top, and stove. Friday came and went with dishes undone.

 The only thing worse than washing dishes is waking up to a kitchen overtaken by dirty
bowls and plates and glasses and mugs and pots and pans. There was not one piece of clean silverware. Cooking was almost impossible. (The grossness of all of this is not lost on me.) I knew that Saturday afternoon we were getting the much anticipated new appliance! Just a few more hours of shielding my eyes from the embarrassing sight of the kitchen. I know some of you are thinking that I have several big kids who could/should be doing dishes.

Yes, they should and they do. But their school workload has been so full lately that I haven't been making them. And for some reason they don't volunteer to in their little free time.

Because of busyness we didn't end up getting the dishwasher until late Saturday evening. I was very excited to see it hooked up and doing its business. But... we didn't quite have everything it took for it to be hooked up (sigh) so I had to wait until after church on Sunday. Are you counting the days? That would be day FOUR of only washing a dish here and there to get by. After an hour of Hubby and Austin installing the beauty we turn it on and NOTHING!! ?!?!? The outlet quit working again. This old house has problems. (Hopefully not dangerous complications....electricity can be scary.) After 3+ hours of washing dishes by hand my husband comes in the house with an extension cord. Wha? What? You mean I spent over 3 hours with my hands drowning in hot, soapy water scouring dried on food when we could have plugged it in somewhere else? WAIT! You mean I could have had a dishwasher 13 months ago and just plugged it into another outlet?!

I would have been more than happy to wind up a cord after every use. Why did I not think of that? We are having the outlet looked at again but in the meantime you will not hear one complaint from me about tripping over a heavy duty cord that rests across the kitchen floor. The point of this story is if I was more self disciplined I would have washed those dirty dishes right away instead of waiting until I was ready to move out and leave all dishes behind. Housekeeping isn't the only thing that takes an extra dose of self discipline for me. I like sleeping in. No, I LOVE sleeping in. My bed is so soft and cozy and warm. It begs me not to leave. It whispers promises of comfort and sweet dreams.

I don't like to disappoint. When it asks me to stay for just 5 more minutes, I almost always comply. Today I have decided to end the relationship. When my queen-size love dressed in king-sized clothing insists I spend "just a little longer" wrapped in its coziness, I will resist. Maybe not all mornings but most. I'm telling you this because I need accountability. Go ahead. Give me a call at 8:00. I'll be downstairs and ready for the day. Today instead of pulling the covers over my head when Court got up, I got up too. It felt good to see him off to work and to have a bit of alone time before the house awakened with the noise of laughing, crying, yelling, singing, stomping, clapping and all the other sounds of the Bitting house. I'm taking the challenge of self-discipline. I know it won't be easy.  "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11  I want my children to reap the rewards of being self-disciplined. I want to be a good example.
                 So, I'm dying to know.....how do you stay self-disciplined??

Work Work Play

I had the fun opportunity to go to work with Court last week. He was touching up on ceramic tile he had previously installed. He does awesome work. He impresses me with his perfectionism. (Sure glad he isn't a perfectionist on my housekeeping!)

My job was to wash the grout off the tile. Tedious work.

I got to witness that my husband actually does wash floors. :-)

And wouldn't you think that since he installs tile for a living that we would have tile floors, showers and back splashes? As the saying goes... the cobbler's children go unshod. That's okay, it's in the plan for one of these days.

I've been asking him to teach me how to drive our zero turn mower all summer. He and Austin have been working so much that I told them if I knew how to mow with it I could take over that chore.

What a laugh!! Have you ever drove one of those things? I was laughing so hard that I couldn't drive straight. Ok, that's a lie. I couldn't drive straight even if I was perfectly still. It doesn't have a granny gear. It has two speeds: fast and faster. I did finish the back yard. It may not have had professional diagonal lines like usual but the grass was shorter. It was fun but we came to the conclusion that they get to keep mowing. Also...no little kids will be allowed outside while that mower is being used! I never realized how speedy and dangerous it was until I was the one behind the wheel....er, handle-lever-thingamajiggers.

Austin drove the bigger red tractor to clean up the garden. It was a sad, sad garden this year. I'm ashamed of how we let the weeds rule. The produce didn't stand a chance with me as the head gardener. I failed. I really should have been fired early on...like in June.

We took advantage of the last hot day of the season (and we know that meteorologists are never wrong) and decided to give the van a good washing.

Some even washed their bikes.

And this family does not believe in all work and no play! We have been looking for a swing set all summer. We couldn't find what we (by we I mean I) had in mind. So we changed the route and decided on a TRAMPOLINE.

We had a smaller one a couple of years ago. It fell victim to a wayward trash fire. The old one didn't have a net. I love the enclosure!

It's like the perfect outdoor playpen for this little girl.

She loves the "sump-a-sump". (I don't know if she is saying jumpy jump or trampoline but whatever she is saying it's pretty cute!)

She always finds the escape route. It has been fun for all of us. Even us old ones.

We had to set some bouncing rules after someone got a goose egg on her forehead after day number one. Then we had to revise the rules and add some more after someone sprained an ankle. Hmmm...maybe we (again, I) should have thought this purchase through a little more. But there are no guarantees for safety anywhere.

Especially with this little daredevil. He's the reason I use Preference by Loreal.

He's also the reason we laugh everyday.

Come on over! Take off your shoes and let yourself feel like a kid again on the jumpy-jump!