7 weeks 3 days

I have made it this far. I go to the Clinic in Harrisonburg on Wednesday. I am extremely nervous and hopeful all rolled up together. I never know what to expect with my history. I have many symptoms and that is encouraging for sure. I hope we see a bean with a strong heartbeat!

It will be nice to have a wee one in the house again. I do miss it. Carl has grown so fast! They all have for that matter. Oh my....

Last Nights Supper Was so good!

I made the scalloped potatoes with the ham in them and then had some green beans seasoned with ham flavoring, and some rolls. It was so good. I had never made them before, but since I had the ham I thought I would give it a shot. Glad I did! Everyone seemed to like it.

Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin

Found this on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/3 cup butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash white pepper
Chopped fresh parsley
Directions

Combine potatoes, ham and onion in a greased 1-qt. casserole; set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk; stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Add cheese, salt and pepper; stir until the cheese melts. Pour over potato mixture and stir gently to mix. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with parsley.

Christmas Day and the day after....

It was a cold Christmas morning and all in the house were sick with a virus except me and my spouse...lol All the kids had one of the two viruses going around. Head colds and stomach flu were the two. We managed to get to church to see our Pastor and his wife repeat their wedding vows after 40 years! We then came home and opened our gifts and I cooked a huge meal. We ate until we were so stuffed it was not even funny. Even shorty joined in the festivities and was given 2 bowls full of scraps. He was laid out this morning so that Jasper thought he was dead lol! The rest of the evening I cleaned up the kitchen and got most of it done.

Today we were so lazy. I ate mincemeat pie for breakfast, it turned on me and I stayed sick the rest of the day. I finally got to feeling better only to eat supper and hit it again...lol so, I am queezy at this time as I write this blog entry. I am thinking of a nice big glass of Dr. Pepper, caffeine free of course! That seems to appeal to me.

Hopefully tomorrow I will get the pictures posted here for you to see the children unwrapping gifts. Until then I am going after that DP!

Sick sick sick....Did I mention I'm sick? ~Pam

Appointment is made

I will be going in on January 4th for my first opportunity to see if baby is okay. I am trying to keep myself busy as to not be worried all the time. It helps some. Not a lot though. Very concerned still. But symptoms are good and we definitely feel pregnant. Emotions are at an all time high. lol Hopeful!

Oh so sick today!

This will sound so funny but that is encouraging to me! Sick lets me know hormones are up and doing what they should be. Cramping, slight, shows growth. Sleepiness again says hormones are climbing. I am hopeful! Looking forward to having a new baby in the house!

I had a lady tell me what she thought about my newest pregnancy. She said, " you and your husband need twin beds with barbed wire between them". Really! How rude and opinionated can one be?! It's MY body, MY life, MY BUSINESS! What is it with people? If we don't see it how they do we are the freaks! Good grief last time I checked this was the USA and it is still for a little while longer considered a FREE country! I dunno about some folks. I was polite, I nicely told her it's my life and my body, I promise I said it with a grin! lol! I know people have opinions, but, not all share the same ones and that is okay too. What I wished I had told her was that I was pretty sure I could still climb a barbed wire fence! lol

Renee used her new camera to take these pictures of Carl. We also have an order for some for my wall, which I am so happy to get!

 

 

 

 

Two sleeping beauties!
~Pam

Just found my address to send pictures from my phone! Yay!!! Carl after eating an Ice Cream Cookie!

Test
~Pam

Feeling a bit green

I will be 6 weeks tomorrow. I am feeling nausea tonight. I actually have felt it since yesterday. Comes and goes but this afternoon it has stayed with me. That is a good sign and I should be happy. Instead I am still very nervous. I have also been crampy, but that is normal too. The baby growing will do that. I might go ahead and call the Pregnancy Center to schedule my test and sonogram. I wanted to wait until I was 8 weeks though, but maybe not. Maybe seeing it will help me connect better. So hard when you have lost 2 in a row.

Todder Class Christmas Play 2011

Mr. Carl!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Today is the beginning of another weekend. So we finished up out school work for the week and now the kids are watching the classic Bambi on youtube! They have watched it so many times that they can tell you the next scene word for word. LOL! But, at least there are some clean things they can still see. Usually it is the classics! It's sort of gloomy out today and it's only 43 outside today. But we have the wood stove cranked up again and it makes the day bearable.

Jasper is working in Charlottsville again today. I know he is tired. He has worked the last 3 days there and been getting up between 4 and 5 each day. I tried to get in the bed early last night, 10:30, but I think he was just too tired for it to help him any. I am not sure just how much he will be able to rest this weekend. He has play practice tonight and then probably has to work tomorrow too on something or another. Then Sunday we have church and Christmas plays.

We have one more week of school before Christmas Break. I have nothing really planned for that time accept to get Rebecca's room finished. We have to organize her room and also the hall to make room for one of the gifts. Can't say right now what that is. lol Anyway, I have to get these things done before Christmas day.
I have been slowly working on the house and organizing. It has taken me much longer than I had anticipated. I work in spurts. But it is slowly paying off. I can see the results of my work! Hopefully at some point I will be finished and it will just be a matter of up keep.

Bella Grace is learning to climb up on Carl's train he rides. This is good and bad. she is still kinda unstable so it makes for a boo boo eventually....lol But she is learning. Renee is very excited for her baby's first Christmas & Birthday, both are coming fast! I hope she takes lots of pictures.

Well, I will close for now. I have some things I need to finish before DH returns home.

So that's how you do it?

I just learned how to use labels to set the number of pages for that label. Or how ever you word it. I wanted this done but couldn't figure out how until I did a search for it. you tube is great!

Recipes I like

These are some of my favorite recipes.


Brownie Delight

Crock Pot Mac n Cheese

Stuffed Green Peppers  (Top with Cheese)

The Virginia Home

It's a rental farmhouse that we just love!

Dining Room

Entry Way

Living room

Living room with rug

My iron kettle that sits on the stove.

The Monster Stove! I love this ugly thing! 

It might be 22 outside, but inside it is cozy warm!

Carls Corner in our room

This is his new bed I got for $10!

Rebecca's Room

She loves Hello Kitty!

My room

It was clean lol

Pregnancy Journal First Pages

I am making this page to log my pregnancy trials. Hopefully I will be able to have another baby before my clock runs out.
__________________________________________________________________________________
December 14, 2011


So far all is going well. I took another test and it was so dark. The results encouraged me. I have more intense symptoms than the last two times and even a little morning sickness, but not bad. At least not yet.  I know this can change anytime. I am going to try to wait until the second week of January to go get my ultrasound done.I should be far enough along by then to see it good. I think I will be 9 weeks on the 10th. So I would be able to see arms and legs if all is well. I think it will go by pretty fast since we have the holidays at hand. I am hopeful but at the same time I know anything can happen, but then I say But God! So if its His will then God will make the way and all will be well.








December 12, 2011


So, have you been reading my blog and wondering if I was ever going to post?  I guess I will see just how many are checking my blog...lol

On the 5th I tested and had a slight positive result. I was surprised so I immediately took another, it too was positive. I waited another day took another, guess what? Yep, positive again...but still light. So on the 7th, I took another test. Yep you guessed it! So a total of 6 tests later I have accepted the fact that I am pregnant....again. (giggle) I admit I have been hopeful, but was surprised we actually are. I am very hopeful. I am using Progesterone Cream this time. I am hoping to get better results this time.

Here are some pictures of my test results!

December 2, 2011


My cycle is about to end and a new one begin. I should know soon if we are pregnant or not. It is very possible we are. But won't know for a few more days. I would like to test but will wait a few more days. not sure what the levels would be right now. I think the test strips I bought will pick up like 20 hcg. So if I was it is possible to pick it up now. But I will wait a few more days. To be sure.





__________________________________________________________________________________
After I lost my second baby 2 months ago, I decided I may be low on Progesterone since I had 2 cycles at 23 and 25 days. I started using Progesterone Cream on October 21,2011. I am now on day 28 of my cycle and have to take a pregnancy test tomorrow to be sure I am not pregnant before I stop using it for 14 days. At that time we would repeat the same cycle.

I don't "feel" pregnant, but I know that does not mean a thing. I will post my results as soon as we know them.

November 7, 2011

I tested on Friday, which was negative. I stopped using the progesterone cream that same night. It is now Monday and I am still waiting for my AF. Sigh....


November 8, 2011


AF showed up. So we begin another cycle. We will see what happens next. I can tell a little difference in my cycle from using the cream, not bad though.


November 28, 2011


I forgot to do the cream today. Not good. I have to do it tonight or I will start. Sigh. I wish I could remind myself better. I think I will set alerts on my phone. Maybe that will help me. I don't think we will be pregnant this month. But, ya never know. :)

Pregnancy # 12

Wow! I cannot believe that title! This is my 12th pregnancy. Today I am not really totally sick but just feeling green. I ate English Muffins for breakfast and put too much butter on them. It set heavy and my chocolate milk was too chocolaty. I am 5 weeks 3 days so morning sickness isn't supposed to officially begin until 6 weeks. I have a feeling though this is already the beginning.
I have some very pronounced symptoms and welcome them. I am hoping we bring this baby to term. I know that anything can happen and because of my age makes it even more so the case. I just am going to remain hopeful.

We had a great last week!

Last week we were in Revival with Israel Ochoa from Ohio. He is a definite God called preacher! And my did he Preach! It was a very stirring Revival. It made for a busy week and I got nothing done...lol But now I have all week to get things like I want them. All we have is play practice and that I am not required to go to. I usually babysit Bella-Grace! lol I prefer that anyway!

So I am going to spend my day catching up on some much needed house cleaning, mainly that kitchen...uhg I hate dishes! I absolutely despise the kitchen! I will do anything else in the house! Who invented the kitchen anyway? lol! Oh well wondering won't change a thing will it?

So with that said I am going to close this entry and get started on what needs to be done today! Until next time.....

A New Day

The sun is shining and the temps are brrr cold. But it is very cozy warm in our house. I am so thankful for a ll the many blessings we have. We don't always understand why things go the way they do in life. The biggest thing is trying to stay focused on whats really important. I love my husband, I love my children! They are truly the best.

I was so mad yesterday because of the way people treated a poor woman for losing her baby. My anger didn't change a thing, this world is always going to have ignorant people in it. Wasting my energy on anger is a waste of my time. Losers are losers.

So with that said, I am going to enjoy my Saturday!

I have to get ready and go to the grocery store. I dread it because right now is so busy in Harrisonburg with people shopping for Christmas. I dread it myself. I have not bought one thing.

Ooops...gotta run be back later

People are so ignorant

Michelle Duggar just found out her baby has died in utero and the world says cruel things. What has happened to Americans? To the human race? Does not anyone realize she just found out her baby has died! Good grief! So she has 19, that makes it ok? I have 5 living, 6 lost. So that makes it okay? I mean come on. If its 1 or 50 who cares. If we want our babies thats OUR business! If you don't FINE. But don't make us feel like we are the weirdo's for actually being happy because we have a large family and welcome each one God gives us! The least you folks can do is show a little respect for the family. Maybe we should define that:

Here is one definition

Respect

deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment: respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly.

Fun Around the house!

Carl Being silly!

Bella Grace and JJ a rare picture of him!

Brittany sitting in the Lazy Boy Recliner! Her feet barely reach over the foot rest! lol!

And If you look real close Bella Grace is peaking behind the chair! lol!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Do You Hear What I Hear

You will love this song!

December already, wow this year is almost over!

I can hardly believe this year is almost over. Time flies by for sure. A lot has happened this year. Losing 2 babies, some unspoken situations, Renee moving here, and my sister diagnosed with cancer.

Losing the 2 babies was tough for sure. I hold out hopes for at least one more baby, but I just don't know what will happen. I know it is possible! I leave that in the Lords hands.

Unspoken situations...well all I will say is it has made for a roller coaster ride. Nothing to do with my family, just things.

Renee' moving here. Now that has been good for me. I missed her being around so much. I know she hates working and being away from the baby, but I am glad she is here. Hopefully all will work out for them soon.

My sister and the cancer. Now this one did rock my world. I was so sure it would just be a lump. When she wrote saying it was the bad cancer I was shocked for sure. I hate it she is about to embark on this painful journey. I am praying she comes through it well!

I don't know what next year holds but I know who holds the future. I am thankful I serve a living God who cares for me.

Rwandan Children singing "He Knows My Name"

I know these children are from another area, but it makes me want to see the Children of Safe Haven Orphanage!

Our Thanksgiving Trip To Georgia

We went to Georgia for Thanksgiving. It was the first trip since this past March. I had mixed feelings about going, but it was a pretty good trip after all. We stayed at DH parents home. It is always tough staying there, but really this was one of the better trips.

We arrived late Monday evening. Got unloaded and ready for bed. I got up early the next morning and was on the road by 10:30 a.m. heading to pick up one of my brothers and we went to Rome to see our other 2 brothers and our Mother.

First we went to see our brother Jesse in Lindale which neighbors Rome. His wife had fixed sloppy joes and fries for lunch and we had a great time visiting and talking about childhood stuff. Then we went to see Mom and Leo. I had not told them we were even coming to visit. We went and got pizza's for them and some candy too. Then gave them both a shock! It was great to see them laughing so much. It was 10:30 that night before I got home.

On Thanksgiving Day I was saddened to see dinner would include only 9 people of the close to 40 we usually have. It was disappointing for my inlaws as well. But we made the most of it and had a good time still.

Afterward the kids wanted to go fishing. So DH gathered poles and tackle from Grandma's building and down to the lake they went. They caught several fish! It was a great day for the kids!

We decided to leave on Friday. First we stopped back in to the Nursing Home to visit Mom and Leo once more. Then we stopped in Tennessee to eat at CI CI"S pizza with DH lil brother and his family. It was good to see them. We were back on the road by 4pm. We made it home by 11:15pm and we were very tired.

All in all it was a good trip. I don't know when we will get back there. It may be spring or later.

Had a good day yesterday. Surprised my Mom and brother Leo. Took along my brother Mike for the ride. It was a good day! ~Pam.Mom.Granny~ *Jesus Saves*

Finally got to the inlaws after 11 hours! About to take a hot bath and hit the bed! ~Pam.Mom.Granny~ *Jesus Saves*

We are in Dalton, Georgia. Stopped at McDonald's for ice creams and coffee and Dr. Pepper for me... ;) ~Pam.Mom.Granny~ *Jesus Saves*

Headed to georgia. Just got on 75. Be there soon. ~Pam.Mom.Granny~ *Jesus Saves*

Revival was wonderful

We had a great revival this week. The messages were great and the LORD moved last night on his people. I really enjoyed it. Afterward we had a special dinner for Tony and Missy to show appreciation for them being Associate Pastors. It was good.

I dunno why my messages sent from my phone are doing a scrambled secret code. ~Pam.Mom.Granny~ *Jesus Saves*

A few More pictures that I didn't get loaded.

He got a few more gifts!
Trying to dig it out!
Bella Grace wanted something too....poor baby
My lil' Man is 3 years old!
Where in the world did the time go?

Uhhhh I need to get moving....

I have so much to do and I am like the worst ever procrastinator! This weekend will be a busy one. Starting today I need to get working on my very cluttered house and make sandwiches for after church tonight. We have been in Revival all week and tonight are having a surprise associate pastor dinner. I have to make a big pot of soup tomorrow for dinner on Sunday with our Pastop and his wife, and I have to pack in between all this for our trip to Georgia on Monday for Thanksgiving. I told you it would be busy.

Carl is about to pop knowing we are going to see Grandpa! I am so glad the children have gotten to know at least one set well. I never knew mine. I wished I had of.

I guess I better go get started if I want to get finished. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I will try to blog from my phone while in Georgia!

Asking a Mom if she's done....

I don't think people realize when they ask this how it affects people with large families. I love all my children. They are a huge blessing, a precious gift from God. I plan to have all God gives me.

Read the article here

I love this article

Michelle Duggar is role model for all Moms

Whether you have 1, 5 or 20....it is WONDERFUL to be a mom!

My New Lazy Boy Recliner

I got it for $25!! It's only 1 1/2 years old. No rips no stains! Whooo hoo Pam is happy!

Painting with Water Colors! He got a paint book, Thomas of course!

Waiting for his cake to come!

Happy Birthday to you....

Hows this for catching him blowing out the candle?
(thank you Renee)

QT Pie!

Carl's Dye Free Cake
I bought the toppers from Walmarts Bakery Section

Chow down!

MMMMM

Missed a bite

Yummy!

Happy Birthday! Hi JJ...lol

Opening gifts! So excited he kept running to me to show me...lol

Cars!

Thank you Britty!

Candy!

Lil Bella Grace

Opening His plate set

He loves it!

Carefully opening his matching utinsels

Still unwrapping!

He had such a fun day! I cannot believe Carl is 3!
Where did the time go?