Introducing Our Newest Princess

Our youngest princess arrived on May 28th at 5 am after three hours of labor.  Such a sweet little thing she is too.  I really can't believe she is already over 3 weeks old!  She weighed in at 7 lbs even and was 20-1/2 inches long.

I would like you to meet Kierrah Jane Slocum.

Taken by a friend(who is a professional photographer) at 3 days old.

Taken by me at 3 weeks old.

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9 years and 9 kids later. . . .

My husband and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on June 6th.  We were married in 2004 two weeks after I graduated from high school!  It seems like such a long time ago now, but really it wasn't.

In those nine years we have become the parents to 9 beautiful children.  The oldest two are now 8 years old and our youngest is a week and a half.  How time flies as it feels like I just found out I was expecting our first!

I plan to start sharing stories of our life, how we met, and what we've been through to get to this point, but so far I haven't gotten those posts written.  I thought I'd just drop in and post this quick little note to let you know that I'm still very much in the land of the living, but my past two weeks have been busy!

I also wanted to share the picture below of the gorgeous bouquet of roses that my husband surprised me with for our anniversary!  He also gave me my traditional gift which is a new rose bush!  I have some really large ones now and of course we also have the ones that have died off.  I don't have 9 living bushes now, but I do have the first bush he bought me that has survived through it all including a move.  May this rose continue to grow and bloom just like our marriage and our family!

My gorgeous dozen long stemmed roses!

And they smell just as nice as they look!

I wanted to edit these pictures a little bit to make them pop out and look professional, but haven't found the time and didn't want to put this post off any longer!  Hope you enjoy them as much as I am.  They're still sitting in my kitchen looking gorgeous! Pin It Now!

Happy New Year!

Just wanted to drop in and wish all a Happy New Year.  I hope your New Year is filled with all things good and if you are tested that you recognize and grow stronger through the lessons you learn along the way.

Did you stay up to ring in the New Year?  I stayed up until around 11pm and then went to bed.  Probably a good thing as the kids were up around 5am this morning.  My kids all seem to be the opposite of me and be extreme morning people.  I've always been more of a night owl but am training myself to get to bed earlier so that I can get some sleep as I know they will have me up way too early!

Do you have any special plans for today?  I plan to make some Chinese food for us to eat for dinner but otherwise we're just going to stay inside and enjoy the nice day.  Or if you're my children you may be going outside to play in the snow we got yesterday.  It is very white outside!!

But I am missing out on doing puzzles with my 2 year old baby girl Fionna so I'll see you later!


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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from my crew to yours!  Hope you're having a lovely Christmas.  I've been having lots of fun with my family today even though our youngest is still not feeling well.  Hoping she gets better soon.

Zyera loving on her new pony.

Fionna being cute!

Audry looking so big these days.

Our oldest.  With her cute dimples.  Can't believe she'll be 8 in a  month.

Poor sick  baby.

Colin looking at his new Bible intently.

Mariah digging deep into her stocking.

Lucas showing off his little Bible until his big one comes.

Patrick is very impressed with his new game. . . Battleship!

While we do Christmas, we do not do Santa.  Our focus on this day is on God and Jesus and the little baby born so many years ago.  We take all day to open our presents so we remember to be thankful for what we have and that getting isn't what it's all about.  This year each of the kids got books, a Bible of their very own, a toy or game, and a new pair of pajamas.  They also got their stockings stuffed full of goodies.  Stay tuned for more of a detailed run down of our Christmas traditions. . . .after the holidays of course!

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Hoping for Snow! And more snow!

We have our first big chance of snow today and the kids are all so excited they can't sit still!!  I have some in the living room running from window to window, some in the bedrooms hopping around the windows, and still others in the dining room running across from one set of windows to the next.  You'd think we hadn't had snow yet this year. . . . well we really haven't!  At least not enough to play in!

I have to admit I'd love to get a really good snow storm so we get snowed in for a few days with my husband at home.  I love the times we're "snowed in" and have fun as a family together.


UPDATE:  The above was written last night, but I didn't publish it.  Well. . . .we got about 3 inches of snow with a bit of ice underneath.  The interstate near us is closed northbound but we're safe and snug in our little house.  The kids were out playing in the snow for two hours this morning and can't wait to go back out this afternoon.  I on the other hand think it's not enough snow to mess with and would have preferred we get a good big snow instead of this little bit.  If I'm going to be putting up with snow I want a bunch!

Here are a few pictures that I took while the kids were out and about this morning!

Colin had to immediately check out the ice!

Sirus loves snow!

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An Ordinary Housewife with an Extraordinary God

our trees at sunset one evening

Do you ever feel like you don't stand out in a crowd?  Like you're just the non descript, wall flower at the dance?  Ever feel like what you're doing doesn't matter?

I think all moms or wives or probably just women in general feel this way at some time.  I know I have.  I occasionally get down and wonder if what I do really makes a difference.  What if I didn't do laundry for a few days?  What if I didn't do the dishes?  Would our house really fall apart if I took a few days off?  (are you nodding your heads yet)?

Well guess what?!  Each and every last one of us does matter!  We were created in the image of God.  Who wants to call God a wall flower?  Who wants to say that God is not important?  Certainly not me!

Our God is extraordinary.  If we have an extraordinary God, can we really be only ordinary or only a housewife(what's only about all we do!)?  I don't think so.  I think by nature of us being Women of God and also children of God that we are no longer ordinary but extraordinary too!

We don't sing "our God in an ordinary God" now do we?!  No we don't!  Our God truly is awesome and that makes us awesome as well!  

Look at the two pictures I have put into this post.  Can you see anything ordinary about those sunsets?  They look extraordinary to me!  I thought it was beautiful and amazing.  If God can do that then I think with God we can do anything!

So gorgeous! Definitely extraordinary!

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Fun Times just a Milkin

So I thought I'd share a quick little funny from my night.

My husband has been going out with me when I milk in the evenings since I sprained my ankle last week and bringing my goat down.  I'm only milking one right now.  Well tonight I go out to the barn and am waiting for them to come down.

I hear Yvitra's bell.  She always comes halfway down the hill and stops to wait until I call for her.  She is such a friendly little pet more than a "farm" animal!  So here she comes the rest of the way to jump up on the milk stand and chomp on her grain.

As I'm milking I also have turned on the water to fill the large horse tank with water.  I notice that there are two chickens in the tank.  I think we have suicidal chickens as I've been finding dead chickens in there a lot lately.  My husband pulls those out to take care of them later.

As I'm done milking and go to let Yvitra off the stand I hear my  husband say shh stay still.  He picks up a board  and walks quietly out the door and into the old goat pen.  There I see him calmly whack a possum upside the head.  Yeap this is also an almost everyday occurrence!  We've had trouble with possums and raccoons lately killing our chickens.  At the rate we're going we may not have chickens much longer.

But I wanted to share this quick glimpse into my evening before heading off to bed.  I hope you enjoy a good night's sleep and may God bless you all!

Oh and a picture from today to make you smile!

Fionna running away from me squealing in delight telling me "catch Ona again"

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Quick Photoshoot!

Just a few quick pictures of my princess in her new outfit!  Doesn't she look cute?   She loves it!   She also decided to play peek a boo by pulling up the tulle and looking through it!  I was in love with this cutie, maybe even more than before!  Sigh such a sweetie.

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Birthday Boy!!

Some of you may know that I didn't work on the blog yesterday because it was my youngest son's birthday!  Colin turned 4.  It really does not seem like he can be this old already.  But to me it never seems like my kids should be as old as they are. 

We had a fun day!  Daddy was at a Civil War Reenactment so cake and presents waited until bedtime(or a few hours past really).  Colin started out the day by going out to help me milk which meant he chased around the goats waiting to be milked because he wanted to pet them.  And he also carried around the cute little kitten, Joy, who was not thrilled.  We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast(watch for this to come out), went to Mama and Papas for lunch(my parents), and had some homemade pizza for supper(again watch for this one to come out)!  When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted he was very adamant that he wanted chocolate with green icing. . . .  So!!

Yeah I know, not the best, but Colin helped make it and decorate it!!

I should let you know that this is the moistest gluten free cake I've had before.  It was wonderful!  And it rose!   Just like a gluten cake!!  Stay tuned for this recipe, it was to die for.  In fac, I must confess that we didn't eat the cake last night because it was almost 10 before we had presents and were blowing out the candles.  So Daddy said they could have some tomorrow.  What do you think they wanted for breakfast?!  No, I didn't let them eat the cake for breakfast. . . . well not totally. . . . they had a bowl of cereal first!

Colin posing with his cake and wearing one of daddy's t-shirts!

We also always make sure to give the kids their gifts from Mommy and Daddy on their actual birthday.  They get presents from everyone else on their "party" day.   I had wanted to get Colin Peter Pan 2 the movie, but couldn't find it anywhere.  He loves Peter Pan.  Instead I found a really cute VTech laptop Mater that is for preschool helping them learn letters and numbers.  It was on clearance. . .   I had to get it!  We also got him his own bicycle helmet and bell as we've had a few people give us bikes for the kids to use and Colin is a bit accident prone. 

Our helmet and the dingy bell it came with. . . I will regret that bell I'm sure!

Mater laptop!

Fionna had to see this one!

Blowing out our candles!

So we had a super fun day yesterday celebrating this little guys birthday!  I really can't believe how grown up he is.  And how ornery he is. . . yeap he's a handful but I wouldn't trade him for the world!  Hope everyone else had a great 1st day of July and here's hoping today will be just as nice or better! Pin It Now!

#BlogChallenge -Day 19

Prompt:  June 19--Something you're proud of from the last few days.

I am super proud of myself today!  I have been wanting something that I could use to carry the two babies around without pushing a stroller or carrying them on my hips for long periods.  I found a size 7 Natibaby woven wrap(20%cashmere and 80% cotton) that I used to make a back rucksack and front cross carry!  First time wrapping ever!  Super proud of what I did! See picture below, the babies loved it and fell asleep on our two mile walk!

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#BlogChallenge Day 15

Today's prompt is to post a photo we're proud of.  I have several of those, but here are two that I just uploaded to my facebook from a day of kids playing in our little pool.

Love the water from the splashing!

He was waving at Fionna!  It was so cute!


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#BlogChallenge Day 14

Prompt:  Give 15 tips to get through life

This is actually harder than it looks.
1- Don't sweat the small stuff.  Is it really that important that the kids eat the meat before the salad?  I know silly example but it serves its purpose.

2- Choose your battles.  It goes along with number 1.  Choose what you want to battle over with your kids, coworkers, etc.

3-  Take time for you.  Even if it's a few stolen minutes by yourself in the bathroom daily!

4-  Wake up before your kids.

5-  Teach your kids how to help with chores.

6- Going along with number 5 remember that everyone has to learn sometime.  Don't stress if it's not done perfectly to your standards, they'll get there.

7- Teach your children by example.  If you want them to eat healthy, then show them how.

8- Stay active.  As a nurse I can tell you that this is very important.

9- Read.  Reading is a great way to broaden your mind and let yourself explore.

10- Make sure to tell your husband/children you love them.  You never know if it might be your last opportunity.

11- Enjoy life.

12- Don't take life too seriously.  Have fun and laugh often.

13- Have pets.  They lengthen your life and give you a sense of purpose.

14- Do what you enjoy.  It doesn't matter if others don't approve, its not for them!

15- Forgive.  It only hurts you if you don't forgive others.

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#BlogChallenge Day 13

Today's prompt is How do you see yourself by the end of the year

Hmm I hadn't really thought about this one.  By the end of the year I hope to be ahead in our homeschool for the school year.  I hope to have at least one of the babies potty trained(though I'll hate to get rid of the super cute cloth diapers). 

For the blog, I hope to be at a point where I can maybe start making a little bit of money off my blog.  That was never an intention of mine, but it would be nice.  I'd also love to have people pitching me to review their products instead of me pitching them.  I'd love to raise my PR by one or two and get my Alexa under the 100,000 mark.

What about you?  Where are you seeing yourself by the end of the year?

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#BlogChallenge Day 12

Worst injury you've had & how it happened.

The worst injury I've ever had would be when I broke my foot.  That in and of itself wasn't so bad, it was only a break down by the toes.  Had to wear a cast for 8 weeks.  No, the bad part was that it was very simple how I broke my foot.  I stepped off a stair wrong at the age of 10 and broke my foot.  That was when I realized that my aversion to milk was getting me into trouble.  At that age I had no idea what an allergy or intolerance was, luckily later I realized that not only did I not like the taste of milk but I was lactose intolerant.


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#BlogChallenge Day 11

Best day of your life.

The best day of my life was my wedding day.  I was so excited to be marrying my best friend and such a great guy.  I was 18 years old.  Two weeks prior I had graduated from high school.  I was starting college in the fall and starting my life as a wife.  We were married on June 6, 2004.  D-Day as we're both history buffs, but also because it is my parents wedding anniversary as well and I wanted to help honor them because they are such wonderful people and spent so much time raising my brothers and I.

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#BlogChallenge Day 10

Cost aside, famous art piece you would have in your home.

I'm not a huge art fan.  I've never been to an art museum and never studied art or paintings.  I do have a lot of pictures on my walls.  I love the Godey's ladies prints.  My bedroom walls are covered in them!  So for me, I guess I'd have to say some original Godey's prints!


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#BlogChallenge Day 9

Prompt:  Your worst cooking disaster

Hmm, my worst cooking disaster would have to be when I was 7 years old.  I was allowed to make chocolate chip cookies all by myself for the first time.  I was so proud of myself.  I worked really hard and didn't even stop to taste test the dough.  I got the first batch of cookies out of the oven and immediately took one to my mom to try.  When she made a face and said they weren't any good I thought she was teasing as my family does that a lot.

Unfortunately, she wasn't.  They really were horrible.  I had misread the recipe and used 1 CUP of Baking Soda instead of 1 tsp.  It was so bitter and gross.  I threw that batch away and immediately made a new batch which was edible.  To this day my family still teases me about my cooking disaster.

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#BlogChallenge Day 8

Not including blogging, your favorite guilty pleasure ;)

My favorite guilty pleasure is to steal time to myself.  I know that doens't sound like much, but it's not something I get very often.  I used to get a once a month shopping trip to myself, but that hasn't been happening much anymore as I've not had anyone to watch the kids. 

I love those minutes after the kids are asleep that I can curl up with a book and read without feeling like I'm not being available to my kids.  Another guilty pleasure would be going horseback riding, but that's something I don't get to do very often at all.

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#BlogChallenge Day 7

Today is to post a picture of something that makes you happy! 

There are so many pictures that I could post for this.  Pictures of my kids, pictures of my husband, horses, goats, etc.  I'm sure you get the picture!  I decided to post a picture that I took last Saturday at a Civil War Reenactment.  I've been reenacting for 20 years now and it makes me very happy!!  Especially when I get to do it with my kids!

My oldest and youngest together

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#BlogChallenge Day 6

Today's question is to tell any nicknames you have and why you have them!

My family has always been huge on nicknames which is probably why I don't like them very much. 

My great grandfather nicknamed me Hank when I was born because he said that the only "Erin" he knew was Hank Aaron!

My dad has always called me Airhead.  Not very complimentary, but it might have something to do with the fact that I really am a blonde.  I could share stories, but they're a bit embarrassing so we'll leave those for later.

Well, there are two of my nicknames.  What are yours?  Come on I shared mine!

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