Team Tate

by Steph // Thursday, September 29, 2016 // Comments off

It has already been a week ago that Blake and I took Tate back to Madison to see the orthopedic surgeon.

I still want this doctor’s visit recorded in my little scrapbook!

This was the day where all of the rain we have been having was causing some major flooding in our area. We knew we needed a different route to get to Madison, as the way we usually take is right through the flooded areas. We also knew of one bridge that was closed on that route.

This is usually a small thin creek that runs through Coon Valley. It was not small and thin that day! It was almost to the road.

We came upon an accident where we sat and sat.

We made it to Madison 10 minutes before our appointment time. Thankfully, Tate’s appointment was not at the main hospital as usual, but at another smaller campus. We didn’t have too wait long, but Tate is used to waiting rooms and loves to explore every nook and cranny of them!

We were very grateful to learn that Tate is STABLE. That is music to his Mama’s ears! We are prayerfully hopeful that Tate will remain this way as he grows and we could then avoid surgery all together! I do tend to hold my breath as we wait for the surgeon to measure Tate’s new imaging and hear what he has to say.

Tate pretty much stole the heart of everyone on the floor of that building we were in. He is good at stealing hearts!

We hit up Whole Foods for some lunch afterwards. It is Tate’s favorite part of Madison trips!

We were in Grant’s car for this trip, as our van is, well, less than good, ahem! Thanks, Grant, for your car for the day! Tate slept the whole way home.

We got home around 5 p.m., and by then it had stopped raining. We ate a delicious meal that Addie Mae had made, and then went on a family walk. Or maybe a bike ride and walk. That is until Tate’s tire came off his big wheel!

I think I can cautiously say that we are getting into a groove with our littles doctor’s appointments! It really is something we need to get comfortable with, and keep breathing the whole time through. I will admit, though, that when we get home from a day in Madison, Blake and I both are pretty much worthless! We really didn’t “do” anything, but we always feel so wiped out.

I know I say it every time, but we are SO incredibly thankful for the team of doctors, nurses, and people who help care for Tate and Eliza. We love all of their doctors, especially Tate’s orthopedic surgeon!

STABLE. What a great word. A great report. Maybe even a miracle. I have never feared Tate’s prognosis, because I believe in a powerful God who created Tate and planned Tate’s life…….but I never could have imagined how amazingly well Tate would be doing.

We will take stable. Yes, we will. Thank you, Jesus!

Fun Facts Friday!!

by Steph // Friday, September 23, 2016 // Comments off

It’s FRIDAY!!!

So cliche to say it, but it seems like three months ago that we were at Family Camp, and this week has gone SO fast!

My prayer at the end of my quiet and prayer time every morning is that I would use the day that the Lord has blessed me with wisely, and redeem the time He has given me with the burdens that He has placed upon my heart!

It is crazy, crazy busy here most days….so I hope and pray that I am doing just that in the midst of this busy season! I know He hears my prayers and knows the desire of my heart!

When we were planning our packing for Family Camp, I got this idea to use a cleaning caddy to carry things back and forth from the RV to the sessions.

It really worked well! So I thought I would share that idea with you all! Just in case you are ever living in an RV for a week! Just kidding, because you really could use a caddy in a lot of other scenarios too!

I learned some AMAZING laundry hacks at camp this year! Laundry is just one of those things you never finish right? Please tell me you all never finish your laundry either! Since Eliza and Tate have been home, I really struggle to get to the laundry room and to get anywhere on what is suppose to be going on in there!

Since Addie Mae is working part-time now, she has blessed me beyond measure and offered to be my full-time laundry gal. I KNOW!! You can’t have her! I am going to still keep Chad and Lane doing their laundry chores of washing towels and cleaning rags though, because it is a skill I want them to have.

During a women’s session at camp, the dot system was shared. I have heard of this system before, but did not need it last time I did. You mark your boys/girls clothes with a black dot with a permanent marker based on their birth order. I just need this for Grant and Chad’s clothes. They are in the same size and it is difficult to remember whose clothes are whose. Since Grant is the oldest his clothes get one dot, and since Chad is next his clothes get two dots. If I had more boys clothes I wanted to mark, I would just add a dot for each child down the line in birth order.

This works well for hand-me-downs too, because if Grant hands something down to Chad, I would just add a dot to the one that was there to make it have two dots for Chad. Hope this is making sense!! I don’t think I will be handing anything of Grant’s down to Chad, but I still like how easy it would be to use this system to do so.

Another laundry tip that was shared was about socks.

I DREAD white laundry. It usually sits clean in a basket way too many days.

Someone mentioned using laundry bags for socks – which would mean no more matching socks. I was all in!! And bought all the laundry bags I could find on our date last Saturday night! I still need more, and plan to get them tonight.

So, we have one bag for each boy, with their initial written on it. Their socks are all SO similar, but are not the same. Everyone brings their dirty clothes to the laundry room before bed each night. Now, when the boys bring their dirty laundry to the laundry room, they put their dirty socks in their laundry bag. The bag will get zipped and washed with the whites, dried in the dryer, and then taken to the right boys drawer and dumped in. Can you see me dancing?!?

Do you all make your own salad dressings? We do. I just don’t like all the extras that are in pre-made salad dressings. We have been in a salad dressing rut around here. I make ranch dressing weekly. It is the kid’s favorite. We needed to get out of this rut though! So I found some recipes. This apricot sweet and sour dressing was SO good! I have to be honest, the ingredients did not sound like they would be good together. But it will be a favorite one to make now too!

Recipe:

1/2 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano

I blended this with an stick immersion blender, but you could use a regular blender too. Add water to thin to desired consistency. Pour into a mason jar and store for up to one week in the fridge. I need to double this next time!

I put this photo on IG the other day and got a lot of requests for a recipe! In 2012 we grew squash on our farm for Organic Valley and got to keep the seconds. We ate squash in every way possible! I will share some recipes here on the blog soon.

I also shared some photos of Tate on IG this week when he got stung by a bee. My poor boy! I used Young Living’s essential oil owie blend and the swelling went out of his eye in just a few hours! Gotta love those oils.

Last, but not least, let’s talk the weather. We are SO blessed. There has been some serious rain around these parts, flooding everywhere, and even mud slides that included a house that slid into the highway and killed the person inside. It was the highway we took to get to Family Camp just last week. Our farm is wet, like really wet with standing water everywhere. Our basement has a drainage tile system and a sump pump that has not been able to keep up as well. But we are safe. And made it to Madison and back yesterday for Tate’s appointment, even though we had to take a different way to get there and back. So much to be thankful for on another dreary, wet, rainy day!

This photo is of a small thin creek that runs through our town. It was almost to the road!

I can’t wait to share Tate’s awesome report from the surgeon yesterday! But first I need to help my crew finish cleaning this big ole house and make a grocery list! And go and check the basement again! And drink some coffee, just to be honest!!

Hope you all are having a great week and will enjoy your weekend!!

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

Family Camp Traditions

by Steph // Wednesday, September 21, 2016 // Comments off

There are many things we can count on when we go to Family Camp each year!

I have already mentioned the amazing fellowship, the teaching, the blessing of others sharing their talents….

but there are a few other things that the kiddos look forward to the most.

One of them is called “The Mighty Mighty Scoop Noodle Challenge.”

And it is a HOOT.

Imagine a hundred or more children and some of their Moms and Dads on a football field playing a game like Capture the Flag on steroids. Really!

There are two teams, red and blue, and it really just looks like complete chaos, but I guarantee that there is strategy, team work, running, sweating, and in the end one team is the winner!

Right after I snapped this photo, my hubby said to me, “I am not going to be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning.” No sympathy here, honey, sorry!!

Another much anticipated event are the boat races!

The whole week the guys were building their boats to get ready for the races.

And yes, the boats are made out of cardboard.

It is hilarious!

We all headed to the lake on Wednesday afternoon to watch 30 some boats race across to the other side, a couple at a time.

Grant, Chad and Lane were on a team with some dear friends of ours, so Chad rode across with Sam, and Grant took Sam’s place on the way back across the lake.

They did not win, but were one of about ten boats to make it across and back! Good job, boys!!

Here is Chad loading while Grant holds their boat!

Go boys, go!!!!

Here they are on their way back!!

Wednesday was GORGEOUS! And summer like!

Kayla visited again that afternoon, and I really enjoyed watching the littles all play together in the sand and water.

Tate and Eliza just LOVED being at the lake!!

I love when Tate sits in his little Chinese squat!

If you are a homeschooling family and have not considered a camp like this one, I would encourage you to look into it! It is such a blessing for the kiddos to be surrounded by other kiddos that are homeschooled too, and the fellowship and encouragement I received as a Mom of those kiddos was priceless! I love how Family Camp falls right at the start of a “new” school year, even though we really school year round for the most part. I come home fired up and ready to jump back into reality!!

Speaking of reality – can I just say camp laundry is the yuckiest biggest job?! I did sixteen loads when we got home!!

We are counting down the days until next year’s Family Camp as we cannot wait to go back, Lord willing!

A couple of years ago when we were just home from Family Camp Lane asked Kayla, “Kawa, how many days do we have to stay in this place until we can go back to Family Camp?” My sentiments exactly, Lane Stevan!

Family Camp 2016, you were SO good to us!!

My Heart

by Steph // Tuesday, September 20, 2016 // Comments off

When it comes to our two littles, Tate and Eliza, Family Camp was such a great opportunity for them in so many ways. We have been in a state of cocooning – in some way or another – for over two years now, and our world has been pretty small for their sakes. I was so excited to see how they would do away from home, with different sleeping arrangements, and so many people around us all day long!

I am not surprised, really, at how AMAZING things went! The Lord has really, really blessed our efforts with Tate and Eliza!!

There were two beautiful afternoons at camp where I took Tate, Eliza, and the first afternoon Lane, over to the playground after nap time. I sat on a bench in the shade the first day, chatting with another Mom, while keeping a close eye on the kiddos.

My heart was SO full watching Tate just go after everything his brother and sister did, with a huge grin on his face, and no question in his mind that he would not be able! This boy has taught me so much.

It was when Eliza came over and told me she wanted to go barefoot like Lane and Tate that I thought my heart might burst. I was telling her “No, sweetie, you really don’t want to do that! Do you see you are standing on grass right now?” (what in the world is wrong with me?!?) But she insisted – took off her shoes and socks, walked back to the playground like she was walking on sharp nails, stepped into the soft sand like she was walking on broken glass…….but kept pushing and pushing herself…..and in about one minute she was running all over that sand with a huge smile on her face!

I kid you not. I am embarrassed to say I did not think she could do it. The Lord is truly blessing our efforts in ways that are so humbling.

Pretty soon Lane was off with his big brothers, and Tate and Eliza had settled on a slide that they just kept going up and down and up and down. I moved into the shade where I could see them, and enjoyed watching them SO much. So, so much!

Tate could not keep up with his sister, at all. It never discouraged him, and Eliza always stopped to not only check on him, but to encourage him to keep climbing. “You can do it, Tate! Just follow me!” Oh my heart. I just love thinking of the Lord’s plan for these two precious cherubs. How He knew they would need each other. And they do.

My view from my chair, besides watching my littles, was this. Yes, it was a great afternoon – one to remember.

We played on the playground again another afternoon, and there were LOTS of other kiddos there that day. It was SO sweet to watch Tate and Eliza interact with them!

Tate did come to me that day crying and told me that he was told by another child that he could not possibly be five because he is way too small. Sweet boy. Mind you, he was standing next to a three year old who was much bigger than him! I asked him “What does Mommy always tell you?” and he knew the answer right away, “I was made by God just the way He wanted me.” Yep. I told Tate just to say that truth when another child questions the way he looks!

We came home from camp late on Friday afternoon, and have not had any behavioral “aftermath” from our time away. This is amazing in itself as well!

The last two years have been all about a new way of parenting, a different level of protection than we have had with our older children, and constant purpose to try to help Tate and Eliza overcome all that they must…..but I am here to tell you, it has been so, so worth it.

Our precious cherubs deserve nothing less.

And it is an honor and a privilege to be called their Mama.

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Strengthen My Hands

"…Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands." Nehemiah 6:9

Team Tate

Fun Facts Friday!!

Family Camp Traditions

My Heart