Redbook House Party

We had a fabulous time at our house party for Redbook Saturday night. If you did not have the chance to make it, fear not! You can STILL win an awesome Swag Bag from Redbook and Loreal. Please use the rafflecopter form below and be on the look out for my next post with details of our party! 

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Convictions of the Heart

"Are you DONE YET?"


That is a question I get asked weekly.  If I have all of my kids out in public together, I might get asked that question 2-3 times in just one day. People are curious about big families. We can't fault their curiosities. Unlike a century ago, big families are no longer the norm. There are plenty of theories as to why but I think the two of the biggest reasons are the womens movement and the invention of birth control. Another big thing we see today is society no longer views babies and children as blessings, rather, as burdens. 


"The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing; but in our culture, we apply for a curse and reject blessings. Something is wrong with this picture." ~ Doug Phillips


Truer words cannot be said. 


When I was a child, I was fascinated by large families and the logistics of how they worked. It sure seemed like they were happier and things moved at a slower pace. There was no constant get up and go. The web of relationships that exists in a larger family is much more complex, enabling opportunities for children and parents to hold close relationships with one another. I have found now having my own family that these things are true.

A few years before I married, I strengthened my walk with Christ and read this passage: 


Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies at the gate. -Psalm 127 3-5


God spoke to my heart on this and I was convicted to not use birth control in my marriage. The term 'Quiverful' has thus sprung up from families who leave their fertility up to God. The negative connotations that are  connected with this term are so frustrating that I rarely use the term when speaking of our convictions. People hear "Quiverful' and immediately envision a house full of dirty children running amuck and uneducated parents. I've also seen women on sites like Cafemom, describe quiverful families as "scary cult-ish religious nuts." 


In reality, our priorities have merely shifted from what society says is 'success.' 

We aren't a "simple people"- we choose to LIVE SIMPLY.

I have struggled over the years to loosen my grasp on worldly things. I wanted my kids to "have what other kids have-" and this has led to evidence of spoiling. Most of the expensive toys I bought my kids for Christmas just 6 short months ago, they barely ever play with. But I wanted them to have them so that I could show the world that "Hey- just because I have 8 kids doesn't mean they can't get the "cool gifts." Well. I proved that point, but did so foolishly. It's funny how you give a kid poles and a sheet and they can build a fort in the backyard that they want to play in all day. If you hand them a tablet to play on, over an hour or two of play they'll be bored. We are slowly reversing back to simpler living without giving up ALL modern conveniences. I'm trying to undo the damage thats been done over the past couple of years by my own hands- I'm trying to "unspoil" my kids. Evidence of entitlement has popped up so much lately that I am sad for my older girls who feel genuine disappointment when I deny them a previous convenience. 


Look around you. Look at the state of our society. People are mean. People are selfish. People are vengeful and hateful. Parents are lazy- LAZY! We have kids who act like spoiled little brats and why? Because they are! (I know, I've seen it in my very own house!) 

I want to be the change I want to see in the world.... and I want my children to be that too. I want my children to be raised virtuous and kind- not entitled and spoiled. 

We can't have it all- and neither can you. I think that's part of chasing the American Dream for some. We want to "have it all-" and unless you have a ton of money, it's just not possible. (And that is most of us.) Right now, I recognize that I cannot have a great big new house full of shiny new appliances and modern day conveniences AND a shiny expensive brand new car, expensive new name brand clothes for everyone AND go on vacations AND put my kids in expensive sports AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I don't want that. With that big new shiny house comes a great big scary house payment. With that shiny new car  comes a great big car payment. Expensive new name brand clothes for my kids to get muddy and stained? (Why!?) Go on expensive vacations every year so my kids are raised with the expectation that they should do the same? (no way.) Putting my kids in expensive sports every season so that  we have no family time together? Not interested.


Most of us do want these things and I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive for better for our lives. BUT I challenge you to question yourselves why you want for the things you want. There is no right or wrong answer here. Just think about it. I'm not saying you shouldn't try for more, but don't expect to have it all without working really hard for it. This is a lesson that Clay and I struggle with. 


Anyway- so to answer the question, "Are we done yet?" I guess we are leaving that up to Lord to decide when our quiver is full. 

~The House on Kercher Street~

Want to win $200?

Homeschool Giveaways is the sister site to Hearts at Home- where I purchase the majority of my children's curriculum. They are having a CASH giveaway! (Via Paypal) If you do not have paypal, they can award the winning to you in the form of a gift card to Amazon, or Target.

Click here to visit their site and enter. If you win, let me know! :-)

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Some of the best things in life are free

Today was Father's Day- marking the near end of a 2 month pinch. In May I have Noah's birthday and Mothers Day followed by Chloe's birthday in early June, Father's day, then Jack and Grady's birthday. It's an expensive midpoint to Christmas. It's easy to get caught up in the frustration of feeling financially strained during a time like this. And it's not just me- Just about everyone we know is pretty financially strapped, whether they have 8 kids or 2 or none at all.   And, just out of curiosity, do other big families feel like they are never allowed to mention money being tight? Because its seems like if you dare mention that finances are tight you will get slapped with the inevitable "Why did you have so many kids then?" line of questioning which some people think is entirely okay to lay on you if you have a big family. *However, you may NOT turn this same line of questioning back around on anyone else because, "we stopped at 1...(or 2 or 3)." So... you are allowed to be financially strapped with 2 kids but I can't be financially strapped with 8?

Tirade over.

Anyway.

Like I was saying, today was Father's Day. My sister and I took my Dad out to breakfast to a mom and pop spot we've been dining at for 25 years now. At breakfast my parents mentioned a tree outside their new home that was filled with hundreds of fragrant juicy peaches.

I was torn. Go home and make Clay something fantastic for Father's Day dinner.. orrrrr, let him play PlayStation games with the Sony Network card he got for Father's day and pick some peaches at my folks place.


Who can resist the draw of a ripe peach tree?

So we headed there- grabbed a ladder- and started picking.We gathered a small bundle and I decided to go home and see who wanted to help pick. The girls are spending the night with Grandma and the babies were sleeping. So I left Clay with the twins and Chloe and returned to the peach tree with Noah and we picked... and we picked... and we picked.

It occurred to me as I was picking peaches with my Mom, my sister, and my oldest son how much fun I was truly having- and it didn't cost a thing. The challenge to climb to the top to grab the most blushing ripe peaches was exhilarating. The fun helping Noah fight his fear of  heights - the listening to Mom tell stories about growing up on a farm- all of it- free. memorable. fun.

After picking 15-20 lbs or so we headed home so I could hunt up a good recipe to bake a few pies. Of course, I immediately hit up Pinterest- because frankly, who uses cookbooks anymore when Pinterest is there to entice you to make something beautiful. *side note- Recipe.com and Pinterest should really hook up.

I brought our haul in the door and we separated big and juicy from medium and firm. Peach pies are best made with medium firm peaches or else they will get runny while baking. Im saving our juicy peaches to make a nice peach and ginger bbq glaze for ribs this week. Chloe, Luke, Grady and Jackson immediately grabbed  a couple for taste testing.

We peeled and diced and sugared and spiced :)  Little hands took turns curiously wondering in and out of the kitchen to taste test, watch, and help. After the first pie was nearly complete I was getting hit with a million and one "is it almost ready yet" questions. The kids were excited and I relished in this feeling of joy. It may not seem like much to many but memories were made today... and they didn't cost us a thing.

(Pie 2 egg washed and heading into the over, Pie 1 resting.) 

For a complete recipe and instructions on how to make this pie, go here.

This Weekend- Our Family Fun on a Budget

The first question I am often asked when people learn we have 8 children is how can we afford to do anything "fun" with that many kids. My answer is honest- it's sometimes tricky. The babies we cannot go canoeing with or take to Kings Island amusement park with us. Well, we can- we just opt not to. I think a lot of people are running into this scenario with the economy being in the state it is, and people just not knowing what to do anymore so they end up often not doing anything at all. I know we, as a family are really tight right now due to the impending school year coming up and having to buy new curriculum for our children whom we homeschool. (oh and we have 8 kids, Lol- that would make anyone's finances tight.)

This weekend we decided to take advantage of our city's festival scene. We had the Rockin' Green Tomato festival downtown which had a bouncy house, live music and a hula hoop contest. The farmers market was set up as well as local food vendors all offering samples. Now, by the time the children have sampled all there is to offer, they aren't even hungry enough to ask for a full size serving of anything. So we hit the festival scene for a good two hours and walked back through town, heading home.

Wait, did you catch that? We walked home. We have a gas hog van. To pinch pennies and save gas, as well as a step in a "greener" direction, we have pledged to WALK through town to places we need to visit rather then ride in our van. This has a trickle down effect. Walks to the 3Dips ice cream parlor or the Hamburger Wagon have now become adventures. We take a different route often. Walking gets our exercise in, and encourages the kids to talk about what they see. We get to know our neighbors better, thus building relationships. As previously mentioned, we save the gas money, and lower our carbon footprint together, as a family.  By the time we get home, the kids are usually ready for a nap or if we've made the trek in the late afternoon or early evening, they are ready to get baths and slip into bed- worn out. Clay and I have also started riding a bicycle to and from the grocery store and other places in town. ---And let me tell you, I can feel the burn after a few minutes. My thighs are STILL screaming from yesterdays excursion to Krogers. *Note to readers, prairie skirt and bicycling = stupid stupid idea. By the time I realized I had a skirt on and should have changed, I was halfway there and I was picking the end of my skirt out of the rear breaks after it was nearly ripped from my behind. Yes, Yes, I know common sense would have screamed "Hey before you leave, change your skirt"- but I blame mommy brain for that mistake. But I digress...

So after we hit up the Rockin' Green festival, we walked a few blocks away to Miamisburg Assembly of God's community festival. They offered free hot dogs, face painting, nachos, lemonade and water, games, bouncy houses and best of all free fun family games. Our city is full of churches-  as a matter of fact my street which is a half mile long plays host to a Wesleyan, Baptist, and Presbyterian church. The church entities in our city play a vital roll in hosting community events encouraging family time and getting to know your neighbors. We love to attend these festivals and events because they offer affordable (often free) wholesome family fun and opportunities for us to enjoy one another as a family to create memories.
Some photos from this weekend..-

Potato Sack Racing

 

Tug O War- Clay vs some of the kids :) 

Jack LOVED the bouncy slide!

Motivated Mom Awards

I am currently in the running for the Motivated Mom Awards- The Connector Mom. This is a very important nomination and contest to me. If you could please take a moment to vote for me, I'd appreciate it. <3 Thank you so much! (Please make sure you are voting for mine- its found with my picture and Twitter Handle @CarterFamilyof9

http://enlistmoms.com/motivated-mom-awards/motivated-mom-awards-nominees/the-connector-mom/

Chloe Turns 3- Madagascar Style

A few months ago I joined a site called Crowdtap where I get to connect with brands to share my opinion and get opportunities to try free products and even throw parties! Just last week I went shopping for a new bathing suit (free!) and got to take my sister along so she could get one too (free) from Old Navy. Crowdtap provided a Madagascar Party kit for me to throw this party.  If you would like to join Crowdtap (FREE- ALWAYS FREE) please click here and start tapping! 


Madagascar 3- We elaborated and celebrated!

Our little Chloe turned 3 on Saturday and with Madagascar 3 coming out Friday we decided we would throw her a Madagascar 3 party- watch all the movies- and go see the premier. It turned into an all day Madagascar affair!

#Crowdtap provided a digital kit with tons of goodies for us to use to decorate. We had a recipe for a cake, games, decorations, and face painting instructions. We logged onto www.MadagascarMovie.com to download even MORE fun things like stickers we used to decorate and 3-d paper toys that the older kids enjoyed the challenge of creating.

The night before I started on the cake after Clay had left for work- and well, between laundry, and helping the kids make decorations before bed I sorta forgot to set the timer and didn't realize it until we smelled something burning. I was in a panic. Chloe needed a birthday cake and I needed a main dessert.

And then I improvised. I had planned on making rainbow jello jars for the kids later in the week and decided 10pm on a Thursday night was as good a time as any to do them for the following day.

Now- if any of you have ever made them before, you know they take hours and hours to make since you need to allow the colors to cool between pouring. But I stayed up until 4 am and pulled it off. And frankly- it fit the circus theme of Madagascar quite well!

So the following morning we kicked off the party by watching ALL 3 movies. 

After the first two movies were over- we decided then was the time for treats!

For snacks we had popcorn, cotton candy and circus crackers. The kids also had lollipops for later and of course jello jars!

Face painting! (Pin the tale on Gloria in the background there along with spot the difference games, and 3-d paper toys.)

Noah was like - "mom this is itchy!"

After the kids started decorating their jello jars, we turned on the bubble machine for a while. *quick tip*- bubble machines are best used outdoors but if you DO use it indoors, its gets the floors soapy rather fast- so plan to mop up (but HEY! your floor is clean!)

These 3-d paper toys were fun for the older kids- available free to download from the above mentioned link.

Chloe getting wiggy with it! We all wore our noses to the movie later that night and Chloe sported her wig. Lots of fun :) (and of course my camera battery died the moment we pulled into the movie parking lot!)

The day ended with a trip to the cinema with 6 of the kids, Clay and I. The movie was hilarious- I mean, FUNNY. Even Clay and I were laughing out loud. The premise is the gang misses New York and wants to get home. They stumble into an old run down circus while trying to flee from a rogue animal control officer. They decide the best way to make it back to NYC is to perform in an amazing circus so that an American promotor might want to bring them back to the states. 

The movie was great for all ages. Clay and I and 6 of the kids met back up with my cousin and her children so our group of 12 ranged from ages 2 1/2 years to us old fogeys! 

I'm Back :-)

Admittedly I found another site to blog on for a while and I had totally forgot about this one. I decided to spruce things up on this one and pick up where I left off. Since my last (first) post- I have given birth to our beautiful Juliet <3 Things are always busy around here. I'm homeschooling my kids now and trying to keep up with life :-)

This is my crazy life.