more facebook no no's....

we've already discussed this. i believe more than once. but people just keep giving me more ammo. i can't help it. i don't make the news, i just report it.

10. let's talk about pictures. here's a few that nobody wants to see: your placenta, your actual birth, your kid's poop, vomit...just to name a few. listen people, i'm a doula. i'm passionate about birth. but i still don't want to see yours on facebook.

9. status tagging. if we're at the park together, feel free to tag me. if you are doing shots and i happen to be at the same location, do not tag me. i don't drink and i'm friends with my pastor on facebook. i'm talking to you tricia ;)

8. don't tell me what happened on shows! i never watch them at the scheduled time. don't ruin it for me!

7. oh my freakin goodness the status updates that i have to repost to prove i love jesus/america/breast cancer/autism/being allergic to junebugs. Jesus knows i love him. i don't have to prove it to him on facebook. as far as those others, if it's an issue close to your heart, be my guest. but don't try to guilt me into it. only 1% of people will repost this....

6. the "you're going to jail/a haunted house/a mental hospital" statuses where you tag your first five friends or whatever. not funny. not even a little bit.

5. when commenting on MY status, could you try to refrain from massive profanity? k, thanks. (see #9)

4. if you want people to stay out of your business, keep it off facebook. i know, i know, we've gone over this. but it bears repeating. often.

3. don't be the eeyore of facebook. i'll just hide you from my wall. stop bringing everyone down.

2. don't post that you keep losing weight because you "forget to eat". i will cut you.

1. STOP SPAMMING EVERYONE! i'm happy for you that you got a free piece of cheesecake or you found out who's looking at your profile. keep it on your own page. thanks.

top ten things the Bible didn't specify

the Bible has lots to say about marriage and life in general. if you didn't know that, you should check it out. however sometimes it's hard to take things written two thousand years ago and apply them to modern life. (but if you'd like some suggestions on great books that do that very thing email me at themrsanswers@gmail.com!) anywho, i've come up with a few tips that may have been in the Good Book had it been written today....

10. a wise man answers his wife's text messages.

9. a Godly wife works hard to care for her husband and children. she ends her day with reality tv and chocolate, celebrating a job well done!

8. it is better to live with a nagging wife than to sleep in your truck.

7. thou shall not tweet about fights with your spouse.

6. make a joyful noise unto the Lord... just do so quietly when the baby is sleeping.

5. a wise husband thanks his wife for his clean laundry. a foolish husband does his own.

4. you reap what you sow... on facebook.

3. love your neighbor as yourself, even if they have a confederate flag as curtains.

2. on the seventh day, God rested. this does not mean he watched football all day while his wife took care of the kids.

1. treat others the way you would like to be treated. this includes the internet. just because other people can't see you doesn't mean God isn't watching!


**this post is purely for entertainment purposes. it is in no way meant to add/detract from the Bible, nor to offend. if you find it offensive, you should probably stop reading here. **

never judge a book by it's cover...

it's easy to make snap judgements simply based on appearance.
i find people tend to do that often when encountering a large family.
everyone knows you can't judge a book by it's cover!

this may look like the perfect home to raise a family in...
if only it wasn't a two bedroom, one bath!

you might think this little miss is upset because she is having shots. in actuality, she's angry because her mother didn't let her write on the doctor's office wall with a pen.

this little girl with the big blue eyes looks like an angel, yes?
she's mischievous. and sneaky. beware :)

you may think these two are the best friends, being the youngest in our family.
they fight like cats and dogs. all day long.

is this a male model?
no. it's just theMr.
(there is more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking.)

these two look way too young to have babies...
little did they know they were about to do just that!
(a few times over)

it may seem like this child is angry a LOT.
that assumption would correct.

Guest post by my BFF!

(this is a guest post written by one of my closest friends in the world! she is such an integral part of my life and one of my biggest cheerleaders. i am so thankful that the Lord brought her into my life years ago! and for the record, i tried to find the picture because it's hysterical but no luck!)

Let me start by introducing myself, I am the Miss, friend of the Mrs. There is photographic evidence that we have been friends since we were in Brownie troop #1586 together, though our friendship did not officially blossom until a few years ago. (author’s note: I would have included said picture, but it was before the Mrs. mom found out that you don’t brush curly hair and my own mother thought I was the head double for Rapunzel.) You could sum up our similarities by saying we love to laugh and we both love Jesus.

One of the joys of our differences means that once in a while I get to leave my cozy for one person and a dog place and head to the bustling nest of the Mrs.. She is always cooking something delicious and has even taught me to make a few things myself (I joke that It is her singles ministry). Someone is usually constructing something to climb up on or jump off of. If I stop by at night, the kids, one by one will sneak down the stairs (with a creative excuse) to say hi. They get in “trouble” but I secretly love their little welcomes. Each of her babies has come to mean a great deal to me. I am lucky enough to get to spend time with them and see the people they are becoming.

My first visit to the Mrs.’ home is still something we laugh about often. At the time, there were only three little people on the scene. The Mrs. was busy making dinner (because if you are single she does that) and I was chatting away with her in the kitchen. The princess was the only kid hanging around at the time. She sat across from me at the kitchen table, staring me down, with a grumpy/mean look that would have stopped even the toughest villain from messing with her mama. In truth, she didn’t feel too hot and wanted to be held and loved on. (I remember she was sick because it was the first time I had seen a grown up wrestle a child in the name of cough syrup). She was sad that the Mrs. was too busy cooking some stranger a calzone to hold her. I remember offering to let her sit with me. “You can sit on my lap” I added, “I promise we don’t have to talk”. Much to my surprise, she climbed on up. We didn’t say a word, just sat and cuddled while her mama cooked, and it’s safe to say that we have been buds ever since.

Za was going through a Kelly Clarkson phase at the time. He loved to sing Shrimpin’ and Gone, his version of Since You’ve Been Gone. He also performed a little number called Family Bills, That’s What You’ve Got to Pay (aka Beverly Hills). It occurs to me as I write this, that they must have rationed words in the Mrs. house at the time, because what the princess didn’t say Za more than made up for. The thing I admire most about Za is his uncanny ability to be excited about anything, literally, anything. I wish more people were so thrilled to face the day.

It’s safe to say that Za was known for his high energy level at the time. Regardless, I owe this kid any ounce of pride I have left. Remember, this was the first time I had been invited over (I live out of town). At some point in the evening, the Mrs. snuck out of the kitchen to attend to something else. No problem, I can handle small talk with a confused Kelly Clarkson wannabe. At the time, they also had a giant golden retriever, Goliath, who was probably the closest match to Za’s energy. While the humans in the house welcomed a new friend, the dog of the house had different ideas. As I ran around in a small circle in a relative stranger’s friend’s kitchen, being sexually assaulted aggressively welcomed by the family dog, Za stepped up and chased the dog, who was chasing me, and eventually pulled him off of me. No doubt saving my life reputation as a lady and assuring that I had at least an ounce of hope of being invited back. Za, being the perfect gentleman, never said a word of what happened. He is a good kid. Someone I would want on my team every time.

The Bean was her normal, polite, quiet (only at first) self that night. It wasn’t until later that she let me know that she was a giggling, kind, sharp witted little thing. A few weeks after this first visit, she invited me over for Easy Bake Oven cake. And, while I miss those teeny cakes, I am so glad to have a front row seat to see her grow into this amazing young lady!

A few weeks later, the Mrs. learned that the little guy was on his way. And while it has been a joy to have seen this family grow (and grow) I will always look back to my first visit, laugh, and know that it was the beginning of a friendship, not just with the Mrs. but with her family. I’ve been back since, for no good reason, to drop off some thumbprint cookies, or have a dance off (where someone lost a tooth), to do hair and makeup, to laugh and be loved on. So, Bean, Za, Princess, Little Guy, and Essie, thanks for letting me hang around and keep sneaking down those stairs when I visit after bedtime, I probably brought your mom some Schulers veggies, and that will keep her busy.

a tuesday afternoon rant...

i should be writing my next motherhood uncovered post. but i'm not. because i'm frustrated and i need to rant. i would like to offer the disclaimer that i'm not trying to argue with anyone's convictions. i'm not against standing up for what you believe in. i just need to get a few things off my chest:

~ i wish thousands of people would march in anger at the 13 million children a year that are victims of human trafficking.

~ i wish that Americans who are so indignant that their health care costs have risen would stop to think of the millions that die every year from preventable diseases due to lack of safe drinking water and simple vaccinations.

~ i would love to see a well planned uprise screaming out against the fact that there are more slaves today than ever in history.

~ i'm interested in hearing why last week few mentioned that while mr. jobs was definitely a genius, his very own company is responsible for such horrible working conditions that employees are asked to sign a non-suicide agreement before hiring.

~ while we're at it, did you know that in a recent interview johnny depp compared being photographed with being raped? do you know why celebrities can say such things? because we'll keep seeing their movies.

~ i'd like to point out that the poorest members of the US are still able to go to a soup kitchen and get a meal, go to an ER and have their lives saved and vote. they are also able to collect benefits for not having a job, send their kids to school without paying a dime and have a free lunch thrown in too. try complaining that you're "forgotten" like that to the people walking hundreds of miles across africa with their dying children in search of water. not health insurance, not better benefits, not higher stock market yields, WATER. for the record, i'm all for those programs.


most of all, i'd like americans to wake up. if you want to take a stand, take it for life. take it for child prostitutes. take it for slavery or famine or drought or sex trafficking. look in the mirror and realize how flippin blessed you are to be born in america. think about that next time you complain that you are having to increase your gasoline budget or pay off your college education (which you knew when you financed it) or spend more on groceries. thank the Lord that you have a gas budget and a grocery store and a college education. and reevaluate. that's all i have to say.

leaving on a jet plane..

thursday evening i'm heading to the airport... and i'm really excited! my friend Angela and I will travel to the International House of Prayer for an adoption conference. We will be there for three days learning the ins and outs of facilitating adoptions. We hope to return and partner with our local house of prayer and pregnancy resource center to make this happen in springfield. While our passion is multifaceted, our deepest desire is to see the the abortion rate in clark country diminish as women are provided comprehensive adoption support and adoptions are made more affordable for the average household. In 2007 alone there were over 30,000 abortions performed in Ohio. That is an epidemic. As our economy continues to struggle, we must find ways to bring these numbers down in a time where people are feeling increasingly more desperate. The Zoe Foundation is committed to doing just that. And guiding others to do the same in their cities. the basic premise is that the key to lowering the abortion rate is offering better services to birth mothers while also making adoption affordable for normal families. Angela and I are humbled by the opportunity to be a part of this and to serve the Lord in this battle. Would you commit to praying for us?

so the next few days will be hectic for me as i prepare to leave. i'm thankful for a husband that does such a good job when i'm away! i try to have things as prepared as possible so he can enjoy his time with the kids and things will run smoothly. (as smoothly as anything runs in a family our size!) i will miss esme's actual birthdate, which i'm sad about. but she won't know so it'll be harder for me than her! i'm hoping i'll be so busy that day with the conference i won't have much time to think about it!

thanks for being my reader and for supporting me, vocally or silently! thanks for your prayers and for caring enough about my family to take time to read here :)

until next time!

her royal highness turns 2!

last night we had a birthday party for esme! her actual birthday is friday but i will be out of town. it's the first time in 12 years i've missed one of my kids birthdays! while i know she will have no idea, it still makes me a little sad :( however, what i will be doing is really exciting! (more about that tomorrow!) we had this little get together at our house with our parents and siblings. she loved every minute of being the center of attention! the theme was "esme's favorite things" so we served hot dogs, chips and veggies!

waiting for her guests to arrive :)

she doesn't actually like cake. so she licked the candle and threw the rest on the floor!

she got two babies in a double stroller. she's been taking good care of them and nobody is allowed to touch them but her!

two of my brothers with two of my kids!
(and my brother's sweet girlfriend!)