A Summer Of Small Trips Pt. 1

We could not afford to take a big vacation this year.  It actually might be a few years until we can afford another, so we took many small local trips this year.  Most of the trips we took, were memberships to local museums and such, paid for by a grant that Antonio qualified for Praise God.  Which means, we can keep going to these same places, as many times as we wish, the rest of the year!  Now that is a wonderful blessing!

The first trip we took was to the Tennessee Valley Railroad.  We have been there many times in the past and even went to "Day Out with Thomas" when William was about five.

Tim has also taken Zeke on several "one on one" trips, to go on the long train ride (day trip) for something special.  I had not been there in years and none of the younger children had ever been there.  So this was very exciting, especially for Timmy and Billy.

There are many old, retired, trains there, to tour and see.

The children all had such a wonderful time!

The weather was perfect and children all in thier best form!  William is always teasing and joking with his siblings.

Zeke and William are pretty rough with each other, in a fun, light, playful, brotherly way.

I am so grateful to God for my husband and family.  That we all love each other.  That the children get along for the most part.  There are a few that have friction occasionally but they would go to bat for each other and support each other, through any hard times in a heartbeat.  Spats are few and far between and they are all great friends as well as siblings.  It has taken a long time but even Elizabeth has grown friendships between herself and her siblings. 

The kids had so much fun looking around in all the train cars and touring the caboose.

It was amazing to me how huge the wheels are on these trains.  All of the boys were so interested in the gears and mechanics of it all. We were so happy to have daddy with us on this field trip!

We toured the whole train yard and then the kids and dad rode the steam engine.  I stayed at the station with Antonio.  The ride goes over bridges and through a tunnel.  It ends at the "works"  or shop, where they repair all the trains.  They remove the engine and everyone watches it turn around on the turn-table and get re-coupled.  Then the train pulls them back to the station.  It is a lot of fun.

 Getting off the train, Kinsley says good bye and thank you to the conductor.

Antonio was having a good spell over the weeks of summer we took these fun trips, Glory to God!  This young man is such a good son.  :)  He has it so hard but is such an inspiration and survivor.

My sweet, sweet Carolyn.  She has always been with me.  I have always home schooled her and she has been my right hand girl. 

Oh how I miss her when she is away at school this year.  She made the choice to attend public school three days a week to participate in their special needs work program.  It is such a wonderful opportunity for her but oh do I miss her.

My youngest princesses.  These two are so happy to have each other.  I pray they always stay this close.

Sigh.  Billy had a great time but boy is he a handful every waking hour.  It can be exhausting at times.  I love him dearly but a challenge, he is.  These boys are a miracle and have come so far!

It sure was a wonderful day and full of such happy memories, that will last a lifetime.  I am grateful to God for my life and all of our many blessings!

Psalm 50:23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

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May God be with you now and always as you live and grow in Him!

Blessings,

susan

June 2018 - Catching Up!

I have done a lot of birthday posts lately.  I try not to share much of what is going on here in a birthday post and keep those posts focused on the birthday I am sharing about.  So today, I will do a bit of a catch up post.

Tim and I recently had to go somewhere that required us to dress up a bit.  A rare photo of us together dressed up.  :)

In March we had a scare with Anna-Kate.  She woke up one morning disoriented and within a few minutes started having seizures.  She had never had seizures before.  I rushed her to the pediatric doctor and they sent her, by ambulance, to our closest children's hospital.  They kept her over night, hooked up for EEG and video monitoring.  It was very scary but extra concerning and upsetting, as she is my youngest and always so healthy.  When all was said and done, it was because of low iron.  Since getting her home, placing her on iron supplementation and kale smoothies daily, she has had no other issues.  I had no idea that could even happen or that her iron had gotten low, as we eat so healthy here.  They said it was just the way her body does not metabolize iron properly.  Possibly because of bio-moms drug use while pregnant.  So, it was an easy fix and something to keep a close eye on, Praise be to God!

The children have discovered that having camp outs in the living room is fun!

 They have enjoyed lots of playground time, swimming and several fun outings.  We recently went to the aquarium.

Timothy and Billy

My own little butterfly in the butterfly room!

Daddy and his baby girl!

My two oldest still at home!

I pair these two up a lot together on outings, as Kinsley is so verbal that Elizabeth does not try to get away with anything. Elizabeth has come a long way and is doing much better.

Carolyn and Zeke participated in our county's Special Olympics!

Last year Zeke was one of the torch runners this year they both were but I could not be in both areas of running at the same time so did not get a picture of Zeke. Here is Carolyn carrying the torch.  She said it was very heavy!

Zeke likes to run so he was in some running events.

Carolyn was in 1 running event and the softball throw.

My special winners!

The Nichols cheering section!!

We had ballet recitals!

Kinsley did ballet in the winter recital and tap in this one!  She loves it!  It is so good for her from a therapy standpoint.  :)

My beautiful young lady!  Both my older girls are so graceful compared to me.  :)

On her way!  Almost showtime!  She does jazz and ballet on point!  Now that takes grace and incredible core  muscle strength.  What a miracle I have seen in her since she was born.  No one would ever believe all her diagnosis and what she can do now!  Her calves are solid rock muscle.  I tease her and tell her that they are no longer calf muscles but cows!

We had three batches of baby goats born!  Can you believe out of 8 goats born this spring only one was a girl!

 I have been gardening!  We have already been through and enjoyed strawberry season and cherry season.  We are just begining blueberry season and am currently enjoying squash, tomatoes, peppers and mulberries!

Some of my garden areas and our invaluable guardian dog Yellow.

I took some of our children to the special needs Hawaiian luau party in town!

Antonio had a wonderful time!

They all did!

I have never taken Timmy to a dance before.  Boy, did this boy dance and dance.  What joy came pouring out of every cell in  his body!

Antonio is on week six of a good spell.  It is the longest good spell he has ever had.  He has had a few small outburst but nothing like the weeks of misery in the past three years.  We are fervently praying for his complete healing and that we never have to go back to that dark place for him again.

My sweet William is growing up so much.  He is currently away on a mission trip for 10 days.   Yippee! for him...ouch for me!   I am tired and ready for his return.  God has helped me to get everything done that needs doing in his absence but I am ready for a rest and for him to be home.  We pay him to do so much around here.  I have been slowly making other arrangements for many of his responsibilities as he is growing up and moving on with his own education and path in life and we need to be able to function without his help around here.  One very special thing that happened last month for him is that...One  year ago, he was in the GED program and participating in the graduation ceremony as a graduate.  This year at that schools graduation program, he was the Keynote speaker.  As he is the EAGLE award representative for 2018.  What a difference a year can make.

The other big thing going on here is that Tim's parents move in tomorrow to live with us permanently.  Please keep us uplifted in prayer.

God is so very good and I feel we are shifting into a whole new season of life for us.  I never know if God will bring more children into our lives or not...but as of right now I have no infants.  The only one in diapers is Antonio.  This fall I will be home schooling three of the four youngest.  These early years of homeschooling are very time consuming, so I am clearing my life and days of as much clutter as possible.  Trying to really simplify our life, so I can pour into our children what they need in their foundation to be successful.  We do a lot of hands on homeschooling, so we get messy and have fun. I am looking for a nurse/sitter to come and help me (mornings) with Antonio five days a week.  I am not able to do Antonio's morning care, long term, with out help, now that William is in college and is not always available to help.  I guess what I am saying, is that my life is shifting to be busy in other ways than it has been in the last four or five years.  Out of intense baby/therapy/appointment mode, to stay at home and really do some things at home that need just as much diligent attention.

Psalms 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

May God pour out his abundant blessings, health and peace into your lives.  May He lead and guide you in all areas, showing you His path for your life as you live and grow in Him.

Blessings,

susan  

Happy Anniversary Husband!!

I thank God daily for my husband.  Under God he is the greatest love of my life.  I have been blessed beyond measure by God, to have him be my leader, head and covering.  It is an honor to serve him in every way and in return, he is tender, patience and kind with me, even though I can really be a handful.  I know I don't write much about him.  I usually focus on our family, children and Gods hand on our life but today I want to share from my heart about Tim.  It is our 22nd wedding anniversary and as I reflect on those 22 years and the years before having him in my life and what they were like...all I can say is I am humbled to the core, to be married to him. 

Tim and I are opposites in so many ways.  He is steady, calm, quiet, low key, and the Fruit of the Spirit naturally flows from him without much effort.  I am rarely still, have to talk about everything to feel connected and ok with life, have to work at holding my tongue and thinking before I speak, hyper, and have to work at having the fruit of the spirit flow thru me.  He likes to pray about things completely and think things thru before doing anything...I am a pray about it but then jump in and do it and we will figure it out as we go along kind of person.  He has great patience with me, the children and life.  He works very long, hard, hours at work all day and is a hands on dad till bedtime. 

He treats me like I am a treasure to him and is in tune with me and how I am feeling and doing.  He jumps in to give assistance if he sees me needing help with the children or our home.  He notices when I need to get away and have a break and finds ways to provide that for me, often it being a surprise day out with just him for the day.  He notices if I am struggling, happy or sad.  He tries to alleviate stress, bring me joy, help me in what ever emotionally I am going thru and tries his best to support me in all I do.  He is incredibly positive about things, even to the point of frustrating me if I want to be grumpy about something.

He is the spiritual leader of our home.  He reads his Bible, prays and actively leads and teaches his family in the Lord.  He has bible study with the children every Sabbath. 

He tries to find at least one common interest to enjoy spending time with and doing with each child.

There is no other man on this earth I would rather be with.  I am beyond blessed and know it.  I am so very grateful.

Happy Anniversary my husband.  May God bless you in all you do.  May I be a good wife to you meeting your needs before you even know you need them met.  May I be that virtuous woman and helpmate to you in every area, every way.  You are loved and cherished by me and our whole family!

Ephesians 5:25-30

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
²⁸ So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
²⁹ For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
³⁰ For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.