Upside Down & Inside Out

During our winter months, Jason changed roles in his company from supervisor to sales. If you watched our family during this time, you knew it was very difficult. It required him to work weekends and some evenings. We recognized that during this economy, we were very thankful for a job and continued to trust the Lord for grace for each new day. Some days were harder than others. Now, I know there are many others that have this schedule and do great. However, with 6 children, our family struggled to spend time together.

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We prayed for a change in career paths, but never sensed the Lord's direction to change at the time. On April 1st (no joke), we were on the floor praying that God would give us a sign. We wanted it clear that Jason should stay where he was at or move us elsewhere. The next morning, his boss told him that his job no longer existed. It was a strange excitement to know that the Lord has answered our prayers, yet somewhat scary to know what this new adventure looked like.

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After two weeks, we don't have a definite career plan in front of us. However, I am testifying to God's great faithfulness. He is providing our daily needs, giving us hope in new job prospects and allowing our family to serve Him in new ways. I am overwhelmed in my spirit right now to think of all the ways we are seeing answered prayer. I KNOW that we are in God's care and I love being right where we are. I am so thankful that God has chosen us to be in relationship with Him. I don't know how I would do life without Him...I guess I just wouldn't truly live life. Thank you Father!

He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother

I have really enjoyed watching the "boys be boys" lately. They run hard, play hard and sometimes sadly enough fight hard too. I really love each of my boys and am so thankful God gave them to us. Here is a look into some of our days...

Samuel & Noah try out their NEW (used) bikes!Isaac tries to phone home.
Benjamin brings home his friend, Dalton, who fits right in with defending the peace (or lack thereof).
We have never seen these 2 aliens again.

Sickies

Our week has been full of getting sick-uugh! After our little Spring Fling, temperatures starting going up, coughs were heard and we ran out of tissues. Poor Benjamin finally made it back to school Thursday. I change up our whole diet when illness comes into the house. Usually, you can hear it said, "somebody must be sick". I try to get all of the junk out. We eat mostly veggies, fruit, some protein, grains, NO sugars, and drink lots and lots of water. It's a good kick start back into some really good healthy eating. Overall, our kids are pretty good sports. So, hopefully, I can get some more done on our blog next week. So much going on ...

Poor Baby!

Spring Fling

It's Spring Break this week for the Hummer clan. We decided to take the kids away for a couple of days. The plans for this trip were not decided until the last minute. We toyed with several options, but I kept coming back to the ages of our family. I really don't like to spend money to take our littlest kids places that they won't appreciate. We try to save those for later. We have plenty of years to add in those vacations. So, we capitalize on the simplicity for now so they can have something to look forward to as they get older. So, here is our trip...

We reserved two adjoining rooms at a Comfort Suites in Indianapolis. This was great because we had lots of space. We got the rooms for $45 each!!! I hunted for some great rates that included a pool and continental breakfast. The highlight for the kids was the pool, of course.

Jason had been wanting to take the boys to "Ride Makerz" to build a remote controlled car. He took the boys that direction and I took Lynnea to Build-A-Bear. It was a good morning.

In the evening, we took the kids to the Old Spaghetti Factory, thanks to our friends' recommendations. We reserved the "train car". It was a good meal and lots of fun.

We walked around downtown and the kids loved looking at everything.

Our last big adventure was to go to the IMAX Theatre to watch "Monsters & Aliens" in 3D. The 3D was the best part on the BIG screen. A couple of the kids took their glasses off so they wouldn't be scared.
Our family had a great time together. It was a much needed break to spend some time together. I think we suprised the kids and made for a memorable time. While I can welome our regular routine, I thank God for times of R & R.

Monday: Wash Day

So, how does a mom with 6 children tackle all of my laundry. I make it very simple. I have a few things working for me. In 2006, my wonderful husband bought me the washer and dryer of a lifetime! It is the Whirlpool Duet HT. It has commercial capacity which took 3 loads of work into 1. That was great shortly after the twins were born. Other tools I use are a laundry sorter, drying rack, ironing board and baskets. Also, during our home remodel, we remodeled a room into a killer of a laundry room with a laundry chute. I have plenty of space.However, my tips for laundry have nothing to do with either or these. They work for any washer/dryer, any family size, and any size room.

1. I picked 2 days that are specified laundry days where I work diligently at laundry. These need to be days I am at home most of the time. I picked Monday and Thursday.
2. I plan to begin laundry early. If I can, I sort the laundry the night before. This way, I can throw in a load before getting the kids up in the morning.
3. I listen for the washer/dryer signals and go immediately to switch the load above any other task (excluding feeding lunch, helping a child, etc). I make it a priority over my other jobs. This keeps it moving.
4. I iron sometime during each "laundry day". This pile could get HUGE if I don't stay on top of it.
5. I fold laundry as I take it out of the dryer. This helps with wrinkles and avoids loads of laundry sitting in baskets haunting me =).
6. I have 4 baskets designated for each bedroom. As I fold, I sort the clothes into one of those baskets.
7. I teach my children to put their own laundry away by age 4 or 5. They take their basket upstairs when the loads of laundry are done and work together to put away their clothes.
8. Each of my children have a bath towel with their name embroidered on it. We reuse towels. I wash these towels after about 5-6 uses. Their bodies are clean when they use them...so why wash after each use?
9. I wash PJs after about 3 uses, unless they become soiled during the night. This eliminates more clothing.
10. I teach the kids how to sort their clothes for clean vs dirty when they are about 5. The clean we put back in the right place. The dirty goes down the chute. Before age 4 or 5, it's ALWAYS dirty (or so it seems).
11. I clean up the laundry room at the end of the work so it doesn't look like anything happened that day. It's nice and fresh for the next time around.

Laundry isn't consuming this way. I get it done and over with...and I kinda like it too. Sometimes I get more help than I need too!

Baby Isaac fit in the laundry chute. The kids got a real kick out of that one.Happy Monday!

Simple Pleasures

Be Who You Is

This blog is an inside look into what God is teaching me, kinda journal like. It amazes me that I am just now figuring this out and I thought that it might be an encouragement to my friends. I am becoming more aware of the need to find who God has made ME to be and then grow within that...not find out what God made YOU to be and then strive to be better at that. Strange, you might think, but everyday I am met with the desire to compare myself with others and allow that person to be a determining factor as to whether I measure up to the "standard". Yesterday, it became clearer than ever that I don't want to do that. It can be so exhausting and I don't believe it to honor God. I began to realize that I am a learner, loving to learn new things, but I might not have to be the master in each of those. I can thank my parents for that love. Here is my list that I started...

1. Bible Study-I love to read the Bible and gain new insights. I love to see how it fits my life, family and the world around me. I don't like to do inductive Bible Study.


2. Teaching-I enjoy sharing truths that I have learned in almost any area. I love to pass that along to others in most formats. I don't enjoy studying for hours to make a presentation.


3. Parenting-I love to spend time with my kids doing something-reading, making something, going somewhere. I am not good at playing toys with them.


4. Exercise-I can appreciate a good workout for good health and really enjoy it for about 30-45 minutes. I don't have to master every style of exercise and really don't want to.


5. Fashion-I love to dress stylish and LOVE shopping (with money). I don't have to have a huge wardrobe. A few new things for a season and I am set.


6. Finances-I enjoy working with numbers and learned truth from God's Word about spending wisely. Sometimes, I can splurge and break out of budget.


7. Bargain Hunting-Everyone can appreciate a great deal. I enjoy finding them when I have the time. Sometimes I can work too hard for one. However, I don't enjoy 2nd hand shopping and I might pay too much for a great sweater just because I love it. Quality is probably most important to me. How long will it last?


8. Photography-I love pictures. I love looking at them again and again. I love finding the right angle and I think I have an eye for it. On a nice day, I don't have to have my camera attached to me. Sometimes I forget to take it to events and I am okay with that. I love to scrapbook, but for short periods of time. I enjoy the finished product mostly.


9. Housework-I love seeing my house in order. I like it clean. I don't obsess with it's perfection. I might hide something in a closet just to deal with it later. I usually have one room needing attention.


10. Cooking-I love to cook and bake. I think it's fun to try new recipes and prepare a beautiful meal. I don't like to experiment much on my own.


11. Eating Healthy-It is a priority to create meals for my family that are healthy. This has to stay within a budget, so sometimes I have to trust the Lord to keep us healthy when I can't afford to buy all organic, fresh or something. I can appreciate a trip to McDonalds or some candy and chocolate. Ice cream is my favorite!


12. Decorating-This is one of my favorite places to allow my creativity to flow. Unfortunately, budget and my love for quality slow me up in this area. It takes me too long to decide so my home is somewhat empty. Simple is best at times.


13. Relationships-This is probably my #1 love. I can distracted from everything else to spend time with others. I might think I would like a day to myself, but it's always better to me to take someone along...especially Jason or one of my kids, mom, sisters, friends,...you get the point. I really dislike being misjudged and wish pride didn't exist in relationships.

Okay, here is my start. This has been good for me to do. Being honest with myself allows me to pursue what I love and spend time following what God wants me to do. I will probably struggle with being a perfectionist and wanting something right and precise. But, I applaud you for what you are good at...the best cook, photographer, blogger, cleaner, shopper, whatever...but enjoy it. Live life to find God's purpose for who you are!!!

Joseph's Totally Rockin' Party

As promised, here are some details from Joseph's big party. I need to let you in on a few things first. When this all started, we were going to invite 3 families to the party. During the course of two weeks, Joseph invited 4 more families. Jason and I wondered how to really pull this off. We decided to just make it a HUGE carnival theme, add some desserts and a "pinalla" (pinata) which was Joseph's only request. In the morning, I made a chocolate cake, rice crispy treats, brownies, white chocolate cookies and chocolate peanut butter dessert (my favorite). All the kids got involved and it was suprisingly fun that morning. During nap time, we decorated, taped the floor for games and put on the finishing touches. We all went out to McD's for dinner so the little boys wouldn't destroy everything before the party.

So the guest list looked like 14 adults, 19 children and 5 children under the age of 2...yes, 38 people in our house at one time. I got rather scared as some families entered looking very overwhelmed. I knew by their expressions, that they might have like to run away quickly.

This started as a little pool to dig for buried treasure and ended up being a pool to swim around in.Joseph's lifelong friend (literally), JakeNo party is complete without the Gates FamilyJoseph with friends Mary Ellen and "A Bekah" (Rebekah)Joseph with Evan. I think they are planning the next sleepover.Joseph & Noah with Iain & EmmilynnDon't believe their faces...I know that the Orbaughs had a good time.Neighbor friends Clay and Graham (with Hogan not knowing he is in the picture)We had a great night! It was so much fun. All the adults were good sports about it. This party reflects Joseph's love to be with people....I guess I never took it so literal.POST PARTY CLEAN UP-CRAZY!