Weekend Away And more

As You can see by the pictures the wedding was just wonderful. Mike's youngest step-sister was married - the last girl in the family. Beth and Chris are off on their honeymoon after a wonderful celebration.

Mike and I got into New Jersey late Friday but we were able to sleep in and relax Saturday before the festivities began. The wedding was just awesome. We really enjoyed being with the family and catching up with everyone.

When we got back Saturday morning we headed out to pick up all the kids. They were so good when we were gone. Mike and I were very proud of them. After picking them up we headed to RJ's baseball games. The first game they won and he had a double. In the second game he walked once and then got out. The team played well and lost by one run.

This week is a short one for me. I leave Thursday to go to Detroit. Once in Detroit my sister will pick me up at the airport and off to Chicago we go. We will be there until Sunday watching Austin play in the Nike Bauer Invitational. It will be busy but loads of fun. It is the first time since we have been married that I have gone anywhere without an infant or the whole family. I am sooo excited! Other than that we are having a Halloween get together with my Sister, Brother-in-law and nephew. We are having pizza and trick-or-treating. I will post Halloween Pictures Thursday before I go.

Have a great week everyone!!!

2nd Biopsy Tomorrow

As excited as I am for the weekend to arrive I wish I did not have to endure a second biopsy first. I go in tomorrow afternoon for a deeper biopsy on my mole on my back. As you know the first biopsy showed that it is Dysplastic and so they are going to do a biopsy that goes deeper and compare the two. ouch! I am not looking forward to it as you can imagine. I will let you all know what they say in a couple of weeks.

Other than that we are all counting down to Friday when they all get to go to friend's houses and Mom and Dad get to go away for a couple of days:)

Looking Forward To Friday

Hello Everyone - Well at the start of this week I am looking forward to Friday. It cannot get here soon enough:) Mike and I are getting a weekend away to attend his sister's wedding in New Jersey. We are really looking forward to alone time and time to just chill with the adults. It has been a long time since we have gotten to get away without any kids.

Thanks to the generosity of Mike' parents and all those who are helping out by taking in our kids for the weekend we are going to relax and have some fun:) Now I just have to survive the week!

More Girl Fun

Maggie has this crazy curly hair- which I love - but she refuses to put it up. It hangs in her face and makes me crazy. Well on Thursday night RJ had a baseball game and I decided to try to persuade Maggie into putting her hair up by putting mine up. I put pigtails in and came out of my room and Maggie was soo excited. She wanted hair pretties like Mom's. I put her hair up and as you can see she looks adorable. It was a small price to pay:)

God Fatihful in The Little Details

This weekend my hubby has been gone to Ann Arbor to watch our son play hockey for the weekend. My parents generously paid his way there. Needless to say that such weekends alone with 7 kids, sports, and one vehicle can be a little hectic.

Well yet again God showed me His love for me in the little details. R.J. was supposed to have a baseball tournament locally this weekend and Mikey's games were supposed to be Saturday. Also Kolbe was supposed to attend Mass at 4:00 Saturday with his CCD Class. All this was going to make for interesting arrangement making for me as well as the other kids who were going to be dragged along behind me where ever I went.

In God's great mercy and goodness everything was changed around for the better. RJ had no baseball this weekend - not even practice! His tournament is now this weekend coming up. Mikey's games were changed to today which left us completely free to hang around and get chores done Saturday and attend 4:00 Mass where Kolbe was able to then sit with his CCD class in preparation for First Holy Communion. Not only that but Friday was relatively free so I was able to get a lot of work done for my legal coding job and we still had time to go to my sister's house for dinner and hockey - University of Michigan was on and they get the Big Ten channel with their satellite dish so they had us over for dinner, hockey and fun time for the kids to hang out with their cousin.

All in all it was a great weekend where I continually felt God's gentle guidance. I must continue to ask for prayers for my sanity however. The prednisone (60 mg per day for a week) is making me very hyper and none to kind. I lost my temper badly a couple of times this weekend and had to apologize to my kiddos. They are so sweet and forgiving - I am much harder on myself. I am also struggling a little with my walk with God and all the stresses and the grind of daily life but I have definitely felt all of your prayers and have seen the results of such faithful friends praying for me and thinking of me. Have a great week everyone and I will be back as soon as I can get here.....

The Results Are In

Well - I am back from getting my biopsy result for my rash and my mole.

The rash is Granuloma Annulare and so they are putting me on prednisone for a week and then a month off and then prednisone for a week. They are also giving me a steroid cream to use and they say that should stop the spreading and it should eventually go away.

The mole is not normal. It is not at melanoma stage and may never get here but it is Dysplastic Nevus - the stage before Melanoma. They are going to take a deeper biopsy in two weeks after this one heals a little more. The deeper biopsy will be compared to the other one to see if they need to take more or if they have gotten all the abnormal cells.

All in All not too bad. I am glad to have answers, but I am not glad to need a deeper biopsy in to weeks. Oh well -Such is life.

p.s. - our phone situation should be finally resolved by this evening. What a mess of lost paymetns a dreversed payents - Yikes!!!

Phone Problems

Hey all - If you are trying to reach us by phone our phone company screwed up a couple of our payments and shut our phones off with no warning. When Mike went to try to resolve the issue the computers were already shut down for the day so we have no phone service until tomorrow morning sometime. Reach me her or via e-mail

Sorry about this - we made the payments and they screwed up how they credited them and then they reversed two of our payments so it showed unpaid balances - so crazy.

talk to you all soon

Me

Thanks Everyone

Hi again - I am back after a looong day at the baseball diamond. Mikey's team had a three way where their team and two others play against each other. They won both their games which is HUGE for us. We have not won a game since the first game of the season. It was great to see the boys put together a nice team effort to win their games. Unfortunately RJ had a double header today at a different field and since we have only one vehicle we had to miss his games. they lost both of theirs by a big margin but they played the number one team in the state and did well for the most part.

I wanted to also thank all of you who called or wrote to me with such kind words and support. I must say that it has helped to lighten my load. We also were able to go to First Friday Mass as a family which is a bonus to having a hubby out of work. At First Friday Mass they did a consecration of families to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. It brought me to tears and helped a lot. God knows just what we need. I am still struggling with all of this but it is not as bad - I am not crying myself to sleep every night now and I am feeling more myself. I am struggling with my tongue though and we are fighting quite a bit due to all the stress. That has not helped my feelings of isolation but I know we are both just worn out physically and emotionally.

On a good note he has a job interview on the 16th with the City Police Department as a dispatcher. Please beg God that he gets this job. Though the pay is not great in the beginning the benefits, retirement, stability, etc are awesome.

I love you all and am so grateful to each of you for praying for me, my family, and for our situation. I will be on soon I am sure. Have a wonderful weekend everyone:)

Dropping In to Say 'Hi"

Hey Everyone - I have been so busy that I have not been to good about posting regularly.

Life here is pretty hectic at the moment. We have been very busy with homeschooling. I am teaching 5 kids this year so my days are full not to mention working for home on top of it all. At the end of a day I am spent to say the least. Mike is still looking for work which is stressful. The economy here is horrible and has been ranked as the worst place in the US to find a job. It is causing lots of stress around here but we are holding up. I am waiting for my appointment on the 12th to find out what my biopsies showed if anything.

The kids are busy too. Between school work, CCD for Kolbe and baseball we are always on the go. It is good though. The kids are doing great in school. Kolbe loves CCD and is excited to make his First Reconciliation and First Communion this year. Mikey and RJ are both thriving in baseball and love their new teams. Though they are no winning much they are learning and that is key. Austin is super busy with school work and hockey. He is finding that social time is very limited because he is so busy. Things are going well and many scouts from colleges, National Team Development Program, and the OHL are avidly watching him this year.

I am overwhelmed lately and feeling very alone and stressed. It is hard sometimes to understand why things happen and why they seem to be continual for us. I know God allows suffering because He loves us and that He loves me - it is just hard to swallow it at times. I am tired of the stress, lack of money, lack of stability, the fear of how we are going to make it etc. I am sad and have been thinking about the fact that we may be done having babies. I know we are blessed with the wonderful kids we have yet we want more. Now is obviously not the best time but I have found myself missing the babies I have lost over the past year and a half. I find that my heart and arms feel so empty at times. Well it is just where I am right now - sad, lonely, stressed, a little frightened and tired of it all. I love God and I know He is caring for us it is just hard - I am human after all.

I hope life is treating everyone well and will be back soon.....

I Am Honored

I have been nominated not once but twice for this wonderful Nice Matters Award. This is what the award is about -

“This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded please pass on to seven others whom you feel are deserving of this award."

So I am now going to nominate seven other deserving bloggers for this award and I humbly thank those two ladies who thought enough of me to nominate me for this award.

Here are my seven bloggers:

Lynne -from A View From the Inside - http://lynne-aviewfromtheinside.blogspot.com/ - Lynne is such an inspiration. She homeschools, works, and still finds time to take care of herself by working out. She is tireless and is a good friend whom I am privileged enough to know in person as well as on the web. She definitely fits the bill for this award.

Sharon - From The Bird's Nest - http://www.nesthome.blogspot.com/ - Sharon is such a good mother. I love her thought provoking posts and how her love for her family shines through her writing. I am also inspired by her faith and her weight loss quest through Weight Watchers. I enjoy her and her blog. I am privileged enough to know her through a coupe of venues and I am hoping to meet her in person someday soon.

Justine - From Justinespired -http://www.justinespired.blogspot.com/ - Justine is just a wonderful woman and a phenomenal writer. I love reading her posts which are equally inspiring and entertaining. I am also inspired by her deep faith. She has such a zest for life that shows through her writing.

Ruth - From Just Another Day In paradise - http://thetuckerbunch.typepad.com/ - Ruth is one of the kindest, sweetest people I know. I met her online and have had the great privilege of talking to her on the phone. She is so inspiring and has a very deep prayer life. Her prayers have kept me going for almost a year now. She is very insightful and ha a deep trust in the Lord, Our Lady, and the Saints.

Katie - From Redheadmama - http://redheadmama.blogspot.com/ - Katie is joyful. She is always smiling and she is a very busy Mama. She volunteers and gets involved in her kids activities. She also helps out at church. Katie is always thinking of others and reaching out to them. Her blog is just a peek into the wonderful woman she is.

Bridget - From Our Magnum Opus - http:///www.ourmagnumopus.com/ - Bridget is one amazing woman. I know her in "real life" as well as being able to stay connected through an online community. Bridget personifies Christ and the virtues of a holy woman of God. I feel so blessed to know her. Her blog is inspiring and so is her lifestyle and that of her family.

These are the women whom I feel I know well enough to nominate for this award. Each of you is truly special to me and I am so thankful to have you all as part of my life in some way, shape, or form.

Maggie's 2nd Birthday

On Wednesday the 26th Maggie turned 2!!!! I can hardley believe that my baby is two!!!! She is such a sweet girl. She is very smart, bossy, sweet, into everything, and the ruler of all our worlds.

Her birthday celebration was a lot of fun. She was born on my parent's anniversary - the only granddaughter - and named after my Mom. They were able to be down here for her birthday and their anniversary. We also had my sister, my brother - in - law and my nephew over. It was lot of fun. She is at an age where she is fun to watch play with her gifts. Her two favorite were her cell phone which came in a purse and her Dora fabric toy boxes. She kept talking on her phone - her mother's child - and putting the toy box on her head. It was adorable. She loves Dora and would name all the names of the characters on the Dora things for her bedroom. She also loved her Care Bear (theyare second to Dora) cake and was licking frosting off the bottom of the Care Bear. It was was very funny to watch her dip the Care Bears bottom on the frosting and lick it off.

We are grateful for our daughter and we are enjoying watching her grow up though at times it is bitter sweet. This is the first time that there is no new baby in my arms or on the way when I have a child turning two. It was strange yet we are really able to enjoy her and the other kids. We are looking forward to many more birthday celebrations for her and all of our boys.

Happy 4th Birthday Christian

Happy Belated 4th Birthday Christian!!!

On Thursday it was Christian's 4th birthday. We had a very nice day. For dinner we had Chicken Parmesean and for dessert a yummy ice cream cake. We got Christian his very own football helmet. We also got him a scooter complete with helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. He loves his scooter and rides it all over the place.

Christian is a very sweet boy who loves his mama! I can hardly believe that he is 4 already. Some of his accomplishments this past year include potty training, learning to swim, diving off the diving board, and leaving behind the toddler stage for the big boy stage. We are very proud of him ad we love him a lot!!! Happy Birthday buddy:)

RJ 's Third AAU Game

Here are some pics from RJ's third AAU game. We missed the first two because they were a double header a couple of hours away and he went with his coach.

This was the first game of a double header against a very good team. They beat us soundly but the kids never gave up and tried their best. RJ looked good and is loving AAU baseball.

Maggie Gets Her Nails Done

Girls are soo much fun!!! The other day I was doing my toe nails and Maggie decided she wanted me to do her nails. I had gotten her nail polish for little girls a while back and she wouldn't let me do her nails. She had to adjust to the fact that it had to dry, but she let me do it:) They look so cute!!

Drive By Blogging

Hey all - I have been soo crazy busy and exhausted that I have been neglecting you all. I have to post and I am sending out this drive by blogging to let you know I am here and will blog very very soon. I owe two wonderful women who named me for The Nice Blogger Award and I will get to you both - I promise. We are hanging in there and I miss you all

My First Week Of Work

Yes - I said work! I started working from home this week as an Independant Contractor to a company in Chicago. I code legal documents for them. This week was a little hectic I must admit, but got better as the week went on.

First off it was hard to find time with schooling the kids, keeping the house clean, baseball, etc. Then the first batch of documents I coded was almost entirely in German!!! That was a huge challenge and it took me almost 5 hours to finish a batch of 20 documents. Not a huge money maker. The next batches just got easier and now I just have to hone my typing skills - and my German:) (jk) - and I should be able to complete more batches per hour and make some extra money.

It has Begun!!

Today we started school. Though we did not do a full day we started to ease into our school work and our school routine. Over all it went well, but there is some adjusting that needs to be done. They need to stay focused, entertain themselves better, and get used to less TV and electronics time. I am proud of the boys especially Nate who had his first day of Kindergarten. It is hard to believe I am schooling 5 kids this year! We will need to stay on track and work together but we are looking forward to a great year!!

Mikey's First AAU Double Header

Yesterday was Mikey's first ever game with AAU. The 13 and Under Bombers played a double header against the Nort Port Cats. Each team won a game.

We met at teh Pine Island Super Target and caravaned to the North Port fields. Getting there at 9:30 am. Because their was no time limit we ended up not being done until 5:30 that evening. It was an exhausting and hot day but so much fun.

I am very proud of Mikey. It was a challenge playing on such a big field- the same size as a major league field. He was the extra hitter the first game and played left field. In the second game he played center feild until the last inning when he was moved to left field. He had a lot of hits and was walked twice by being hit with the ball. He loved it and likes his team mates alot. All the boys did great despite the heat. We lost the first game 10-8 and won the second game 16-15 despite being down 10-0 in the first inning!! Not one kid on their team struck out all day! That is quite an achievement! Though they have things to work on I think they did very well their first time all playing together and we are looking forward to a great season.

pic1 - mikey in the van ready to go; pic 2 - the caravan waiting to get on the road; pic3 - Mikey's first AAU hit; pic 4 - Mikey after scoring his first AAU run; pic 5 - The team listening to the coaches after the games were done ( mikey is stretching)

More pics of my Parent's house

Here are more pictures of the kids enjoying the great outdoors at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I have even more but this gives you a good idea of all that they did.

Pic 1 - Nate fishing off grandpa's dock; Pic 2 - Mikey, Nate, R.J., Christian and Kolbe posing for Mom; Pic 3 - Austin up to bat; Pic 4 - R.J. and Austin showing their muscles; Pic 5 - R.J. and Mikey taking Kolbe for a ride in the canoe.

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house

When we went to Michigan we stayed at my Mom and Dad's house. They have such a beautiful home and setting. As you can see they have a large yard that goes to a lake. The kids had soo much fun. They fished, canoed, swam, hunted for frogs - and even caught a few big bull frogs - played baseball, and more. It is such a great place to run free and play. We are so grateful that they put up with us for two weeks of a fun filled vacation. I have more pictures of the fun they had but I could only put this many on the post. I will have to add more to a second post. Stay tuned

Pic 1 - Christian and Nate hunting for frogs ; pic 2 - the yard from the deck; Pic 3 - maggie enjoying a Fudgecicle on the deck steps; pic 4 - Maggie and Christian swimming ; Pic 5 - Nate going down the slide into the lake.

Having A blast!!

Hi everyone - I thought I would update you all on what we have been up to.

Wednesday we went to noon Mass at our former parish Christ The King. It was so wonderful. Fr. Ed did a wonderful job as usual - I sure miss his homilies. After Mass we spent about an hour just saying Hello to many any friends. It was great but he boys were getting hungry and so we had to scoot.

Later that day my brother came over to my parents and we all had dinner together. Nothing like pizza and family!!! It was so good to just hang out togther. We used to do that all often when we all lived in Michigan.

Yesterday we hung out with our dear friends the Faraj's. It was soo good to see them. It was like we never left. They have 6 girls so Maggie ahd her share of Girl time!!! We went to another friend's house to swim. Their pool is amazing. It has a slide and a diving board. Needless to say my kids were in heaven. I even went down the slide!!

After our fun day we had dinner at my parents with my sister and then I went to Women's Group. What can I say about that ? It is such a wonderful group of dear women who love and serve Jesus, who love each other, and strive to improve in everything they do for love of God, their family and each other. I missed them so much.We shared, laughed, ate etc . What a hard thing to leave behind. I am so glad I was able to be here for it though. They are amazing !

I will have to add pictures later - my Dad's computer does not take my digital card so I will have to wait. I will be updating again soon. Today we are visitng more friends and Austin and my parents get back from hockey camp in Traverse City.

We are Here!

Sorry - I haven't figured out my Dad's computer yet so there are no pictures. I will post some as soon as I figure out how to get mine on his computer.

We arrived safe and sound late last night. Thanks for all your prayers - everything went very smoothly. The boys fished and played baseball this moning and then we went to Mass at Christ The King. It was amazing! I missed it so much and it was so good to see so many people. This is going to be a wonderful vacation.

I will have more later but for now - Happy Feast of the Assumption and thanks for all those prayers!!!

Getting Ready to Go!

Well - we leave in about 45 minutes for the airport for our trip to Michigan. Our flight leaves at 6:30 tonight and we get back the 28th. Please keep us in your prayers as it is me and the kids without mike. We are very excited and looking forward to seeing family and friends. talk to you from Michigan!!!

Happy Anniversary Mike!!!

Happy 13th Annivesray to my husband Mike. It is so hard to believe it has been 13 years! The time has gone by so fast. God has blessed us so abundantly in these 13 years together. We have our faith, each other, and our 8 wonderful children.

Mike - all those years ago when we were 12 you said you were going to marry me! Well - you did! Thanks for waiting for me to come to my senses. I am so glad I did! I love you!!!!!! You are an amazing husband and father. I hope we are able to spend many many more years together!!!

Maggie Swimming!!!

Today Maggie was in the pol with Mike and the boys. Mike gave her the noodle and she started to kick her feet and she was off! When he told me I could hardly belive it. As you can see for yourself Ms. Independent has started to teach herself swimming basics. I am sure it will be a while before she is swimming completely on her own but this sure is a great first step.

Everything is breaking!!!

Why does it seem that everything falls apart all at once?

Mike just got his car fixed - again!. the joys of an old car. My dishwasher has been on the fritz for a while. It does not get the dishes all the way clean and so I do most of them by hand - Oh yea! Our van has been without air conditioning for 6 months now and it is getting to the point where I cannot go anywhere because my car is over 100 degrees with only a little breeze coming in. Now it is my washing machine. It has been a week now and am I ever behind on laundry. The repair guy came today and tells me he will let me know in a couple of days what they are going to do. Apparently the barrell, shocks, etc are all worn and not in working order- I have a front loader - and that is why the drum is hanging down. He says it is a three hour job to do the repairs so he is going to try and get them just to replace the machine. I must say I would rather have them replace the machine but I hope they hurry up. We leave for Michigan in 6 days and I NEED to do my laundry!!! Pray for my sanity and that nothing else breaks down.

The Count Down Begins....

Today begins the one week count down to our trip to Michigan! We cannot wait! It has been over tow years since we have all been able to go visit. The kids are so excited and so am I. There are lots of friends and family members we have not seen in a very long time. Many have never seen our little Maggie in person - boy will that be a treat:) I can't wait to post lots of pictures of all of our adventures in Michigan.

He's home!!!

Yea!!! Mike came home from St. Cloud today. We missed him very much. It was the hardest for me at nigth when I was trying to go to bed. I would stay awake until my eyes were burning and then I would sleep with a light on.

Mike has a great time and was able to learn a lot and watch Austin play some really good hockey. He was also able to relax some and just catch a break. He did not have that much time to spend one on one with Austin as the boys stayed in dorms and the parents stayed at nearby hotels. He was able to talk to him in between games and practices and spent the most time with Austin the last day when they were finished with their games.

Mike also had time to speak to scouts for the OhL, colleges and to some different agents. They had presentations on Wednesday where the kids and parents learned different aspects of the hockey world. It was a very god time, but we are all glad that he is home with us:)