Mama's Leavin'
Just for the weekend that is. I'm heading to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the WholeHearted Mother Conference. There's much to do before leaving on a trip, even if it's just the weekend. Besides packing for myself and the baby, there are a number if things I do for my family so that things will run more smoothly while I'm gone. My husband will be taking care of five of the kids while I'm away. I'll be taking the baby, of course, but also my 16 yr old daughter, who will be one of the group sitters. Between my very capable husband and my 13 yr old daughter, taking care of five kids won't be too difficult. Nonetheless, I feel better about leaving when I know I've made things as easy as possible for the ones left behind, especially when four of the five are young and require "all hands (and eyes) on deck". So, these are the things I've done in preparation for leaving.
Meals: Both my husband and 13 yr old daughter are wonderful cooks, but again, I want them to be able to focus on the little ones instead of preparing meals all weekend. So, I made three special dinners and put them in the freezer. All they have to do is remember to take them out to thaw and throw them in the oven. I bought bagged salads and breads to easily complete the meals. Lunches are simple too, one of which will be a picnic. Greg is the breakfast man, so he'll make things like oatmeal and pancakes. But there's also plenty of cereal as a back-up. The Friday morning they drop me off, they'll be making a doughnut run for breakfast. Meals will be no-brainers this weekend with little work involved.
Laundry: We usually do 1-2 loads a day. But since I will be gone, I don't want them to have to worry about keeping up with laundry, the girls and I have finished all of the laundry. Everything is put away and ready to go.
Itinerary: Don't laugh at this one! Every time I go out of town, I write out an itinerary for Greg and the kids. We talk about the things they'd like to do and I put it all together for them. It's filled with fun activities and outings. This weekend, they'll be going bowling, picnicing in the park, seeing a movie, going out for ice cream, and having an in-house sleepover complete with a movie and popcorn. They can't WAIT for me to leave. And that's the way I like it! They'll have so much fun, they'll hardly miss me. Knowing that their weekend will be just as special helps me to fully enjoy mine, even IF my husband makes fun of my "schedule" (lovingly, of course). He does appreciate it.....he just giggles whenever I mention an "itinerary". ;-)
So, all that's left to do is pack for myself and the baby. I'm looking forward to a wonderful weekend of fellowship, refreshment, and fun! And doing these few things before I leave ensures that my family is well taken care of and everyone will have a great time! ;-)
Showing posts with label Daddy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daddy. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thursday, October 09, 2008
A Change of Heart
Our Journey to Many Children
I am no stranger to large families. My mother is the sixth of fourteen children, my dad is the oldest of five, and I am the second of four. Even the generations before, there were many children in our family line. I grew up surrounded by lots of family and LOVED the chaos of family gatherings and reunions. My husband, however, is an only child, and so is his mother. You'd think that I was already signed up to have many children and that my husband would lean towards one or two. Well, that wasn't the case....
When Greg and I were engaged, I don't think we necessarily talked about a specific number of children, but I knew my husband was in the "I want 20 camp"......I just laughed, as in "yeah right"! Three months after we were married, we found out that we were expecting our first child. We were thrilled. Until.....I began death-like morning sickness! I was so sick for seven months. Continuous vomitting, dehydration, etc. After this, I KNEW I would not be in a hurry to do it again. Our daughter was born and we were very happy first-time parents. Yet, the memories of how sick I was haunted me. About two years later, I began feeling suspiciously sick and took a test. It was positive. Although I welcomed the "idea" of another baby, I was terrified of going through such agony again. And how would I do it now with a toddler? And to make matters worse, we were moving back to the states from England in just a few months. How am I going to handle a major move, plane rides, and a toddler?
The morning sickness intensified and I just took it one day at a time. Our little two year old spent most of her days watching children's videos and I cringed each time she said she was hungry. It was difficult to get up and prepare food. Greg was working 24 hour shifts, so when he was at work, he was gone ALL DAY!
It came time to move. I left England a month before Greg so that I could spend more time with my family before heading to our next base. I was four months pregnant, still sick, and was now going to travel back to the states with our daughter, by myself. UGH! Sixteen hours and three plane changes later, I made it home. Barely! That night, my dad offered to go get me something to eat and food actually sounded good. The next morning, I woke up and felt great! God was good and faithful and allowed morning sickness to last only four months instead of seven! Our second daughter was born and we were the honored parents of two little girls. I was content.
I think I immediately felt like two was enough for us, although I knew my husband wanted more. He never pressured or asked, but I knew his heart welcomed more children. As time went on and the girls got bigger, I began to enjoy the independence and the freedoms of having children out of baby stage. I also began planning my future which included finishing school and possibly a career in the future. I had all kinds of ambitions, goals and aspirations. And now that the girls were getting older, I could finally work toward these goals. By this time, we were moving again. Greg was getting out of the Air Force and we were moving back home. As soon as we were settled, I enrolled in school. Oddly enough, it was during this period of life that I began to question all of my reasons for only wanting two children. This was strange to me! I loved school, I loved the girls being older and I was set on being able to afford to send these girls to college. How would we afford more children? And, do I want to go through morning sickness again?
Nonetheless, my heart was being pulled in another direction. I questioned why I only wanted to have two children when I have a wonderful husband who wants more? Was God not faithful in getting me through morning sickness? Will He not provide for more children? Is pursuing a career what I really want to do? And is it God's plan for all of our children to even attend college? All these questions ate at my core until finally it was clear! God had turned my heart to welcome more children. Greg was elated!
We were living in CA at the time and getting ready to move back to Texas. We agreed that as soon as we got back to Texas we would try for another baby. The first thing we did when we arrived was shop for a hospital. Once we picked our place of birth (which didn't end up being the one we chose), and upon a friend's recommendation of a fertility book, we began charting and trying. ;-) To our amazement, two months later we were pregnant with our third child.
Yep, sick again. I survived and we welcomed our third child, a son, SIX years later! Seven months later, to our SHOCK, we were pregnant again! Fortunately, my good friend was pregnant too, so it made it a little less scary. Sick again, still nursing baby #3, survived again and welcomed our fourth child, another girl.
Okay, at this point, I'm not sure what our "plan" is now. We still hadn't come to the point of welcoming "any and all" children, but we weren't saying we were done either. So what we did was continue to chart. I would chart until I felt "ready" to be pregnant again. By now, I knew that God would get me through morning sickness, we knew He would continue to provide, and we were thankful for our four children.
Our fourth child was about 13 months old when we "put the charts away". Soon after, we were pregnant again. Yep, sick again and now living in a tiny rental home. Five kids, three very small bedrooms, no problem. Our fifth, another girl, was born and we were thrilled!
God continued to do a work in both of us concerning our view of children and what scripture says about children. Over and over, scripture calls children a blessing, a heritage! Although I think most people would have agreed that our quiver was certainly full and probably overflowing, we weren't content with that. Don't get me wrong, we were content with our five children, just not content with deciding five was "it".
During this time, I was at a HOPE meeting (our home school group), when a dear friend , the wonderful woman who leads our studies, shared with us her journey to having nine children. As a matter of fact, it looked (the age gap) and sounded a lot like ours. She shared of how Hannah, the mother of Samuel, prayed fervently for a child. She went on to say that she realized there were ONLY examples of women in the Bible praying FOR children! There is not one example that God gives us of a woman (or man) praying NOT to have children. Yet, we see in the Bible that there were many varied sizes of families! And being that we know modern birth control did not exist (although we know the story of Onan "spilling his seed", and God was not pleased), we can assume that God was in control of family sizes! This, in conjunction with God's Word referring to children as blessings, arrows and a heritage, was HUGE for me. God used my sweet friend's own story to continue writing ours! Thankfully, my husband shared the same conviction and we went on to have two more children. No charting, no worrying, just freedom. You see, for us it really is freedom. Since we welcome any child God is willing to entrust us with, there are no worries about getting pregnant. We just enjoy our love for one another and welcome "the fruits of our passion", as my husband so sweetly puts it! ;-)
We don't know what the future holds, but we do know we built our six bedroom home with the hopes of filling every bedroom with children. Yeah, I know, crazy huh? Definitely God! I thank Him almost daily for changing my heart, for my husband's loving patience, for friends who share a similar conviction, and for seven beautiful blessings.
If you know me, you know that I am NO supermom. I struggle daily just like every other mom does. I have days when I want to string these little blessings up by their toes or run away to a tropical island. But this I know......God is faithful, God has provided for our every need and then some, God has helped me not to fear morning sickness....too much, and God has freed me from the worldview ideals I held all those years ago. We couldn't be happier. There's nothing I'd rather be doing than raising and growing our heritage.
So, to end this story, I would like to happily announce the blessing of our eighth child......to arrive in June!
Also, congratulations to Tiffany, Shannon, Janelle, Blair, and Stephanie G. who are also expecting in June! And to Stephanie C. who is due in May! Soli Deo Gloria!
UPDATE: On April 20, 2015, we welcomed our 11th child....another precious girl. We now have 8 girls and 3 boys. I am 42 years old, so we'll see what God has in store for the future. :)
I am no stranger to large families. My mother is the sixth of fourteen children, my dad is the oldest of five, and I am the second of four. Even the generations before, there were many children in our family line. I grew up surrounded by lots of family and LOVED the chaos of family gatherings and reunions. My husband, however, is an only child, and so is his mother. You'd think that I was already signed up to have many children and that my husband would lean towards one or two. Well, that wasn't the case....
When Greg and I were engaged, I don't think we necessarily talked about a specific number of children, but I knew my husband was in the "I want 20 camp"......I just laughed, as in "yeah right"! Three months after we were married, we found out that we were expecting our first child. We were thrilled. Until.....I began death-like morning sickness! I was so sick for seven months. Continuous vomitting, dehydration, etc. After this, I KNEW I would not be in a hurry to do it again. Our daughter was born and we were very happy first-time parents. Yet, the memories of how sick I was haunted me. About two years later, I began feeling suspiciously sick and took a test. It was positive. Although I welcomed the "idea" of another baby, I was terrified of going through such agony again. And how would I do it now with a toddler? And to make matters worse, we were moving back to the states from England in just a few months. How am I going to handle a major move, plane rides, and a toddler?
The morning sickness intensified and I just took it one day at a time. Our little two year old spent most of her days watching children's videos and I cringed each time she said she was hungry. It was difficult to get up and prepare food. Greg was working 24 hour shifts, so when he was at work, he was gone ALL DAY!
It came time to move. I left England a month before Greg so that I could spend more time with my family before heading to our next base. I was four months pregnant, still sick, and was now going to travel back to the states with our daughter, by myself. UGH! Sixteen hours and three plane changes later, I made it home. Barely! That night, my dad offered to go get me something to eat and food actually sounded good. The next morning, I woke up and felt great! God was good and faithful and allowed morning sickness to last only four months instead of seven! Our second daughter was born and we were the honored parents of two little girls. I was content.
I think I immediately felt like two was enough for us, although I knew my husband wanted more. He never pressured or asked, but I knew his heart welcomed more children. As time went on and the girls got bigger, I began to enjoy the independence and the freedoms of having children out of baby stage. I also began planning my future which included finishing school and possibly a career in the future. I had all kinds of ambitions, goals and aspirations. And now that the girls were getting older, I could finally work toward these goals. By this time, we were moving again. Greg was getting out of the Air Force and we were moving back home. As soon as we were settled, I enrolled in school. Oddly enough, it was during this period of life that I began to question all of my reasons for only wanting two children. This was strange to me! I loved school, I loved the girls being older and I was set on being able to afford to send these girls to college. How would we afford more children? And, do I want to go through morning sickness again?
Nonetheless, my heart was being pulled in another direction. I questioned why I only wanted to have two children when I have a wonderful husband who wants more? Was God not faithful in getting me through morning sickness? Will He not provide for more children? Is pursuing a career what I really want to do? And is it God's plan for all of our children to even attend college? All these questions ate at my core until finally it was clear! God had turned my heart to welcome more children. Greg was elated!
We were living in CA at the time and getting ready to move back to Texas. We agreed that as soon as we got back to Texas we would try for another baby. The first thing we did when we arrived was shop for a hospital. Once we picked our place of birth (which didn't end up being the one we chose), and upon a friend's recommendation of a fertility book, we began charting and trying. ;-) To our amazement, two months later we were pregnant with our third child.
Yep, sick again. I survived and we welcomed our third child, a son, SIX years later! Seven months later, to our SHOCK, we were pregnant again! Fortunately, my good friend was pregnant too, so it made it a little less scary. Sick again, still nursing baby #3, survived again and welcomed our fourth child, another girl.
Okay, at this point, I'm not sure what our "plan" is now. We still hadn't come to the point of welcoming "any and all" children, but we weren't saying we were done either. So what we did was continue to chart. I would chart until I felt "ready" to be pregnant again. By now, I knew that God would get me through morning sickness, we knew He would continue to provide, and we were thankful for our four children.
Our fourth child was about 13 months old when we "put the charts away". Soon after, we were pregnant again. Yep, sick again and now living in a tiny rental home. Five kids, three very small bedrooms, no problem. Our fifth, another girl, was born and we were thrilled!
God continued to do a work in both of us concerning our view of children and what scripture says about children. Over and over, scripture calls children a blessing, a heritage! Although I think most people would have agreed that our quiver was certainly full and probably overflowing, we weren't content with that. Don't get me wrong, we were content with our five children, just not content with deciding five was "it".
During this time, I was at a HOPE meeting (our home school group), when a dear friend , the wonderful woman who leads our studies, shared with us her journey to having nine children. As a matter of fact, it looked (the age gap) and sounded a lot like ours. She shared of how Hannah, the mother of Samuel, prayed fervently for a child. She went on to say that she realized there were ONLY examples of women in the Bible praying FOR children! There is not one example that God gives us of a woman (or man) praying NOT to have children. Yet, we see in the Bible that there were many varied sizes of families! And being that we know modern birth control did not exist (although we know the story of Onan "spilling his seed", and God was not pleased), we can assume that God was in control of family sizes! This, in conjunction with God's Word referring to children as blessings, arrows and a heritage, was HUGE for me. God used my sweet friend's own story to continue writing ours! Thankfully, my husband shared the same conviction and we went on to have two more children. No charting, no worrying, just freedom. You see, for us it really is freedom. Since we welcome any child God is willing to entrust us with, there are no worries about getting pregnant. We just enjoy our love for one another and welcome "the fruits of our passion", as my husband so sweetly puts it! ;-)
We don't know what the future holds, but we do know we built our six bedroom home with the hopes of filling every bedroom with children. Yeah, I know, crazy huh? Definitely God! I thank Him almost daily for changing my heart, for my husband's loving patience, for friends who share a similar conviction, and for seven beautiful blessings.
If you know me, you know that I am NO supermom. I struggle daily just like every other mom does. I have days when I want to string these little blessings up by their toes or run away to a tropical island. But this I know......God is faithful, God has provided for our every need and then some, God has helped me not to fear morning sickness....too much, and God has freed me from the worldview ideals I held all those years ago. We couldn't be happier. There's nothing I'd rather be doing than raising and growing our heritage.
So, to end this story, I would like to happily announce the blessing of our eighth child......to arrive in June!
Also, congratulations to Tiffany, Shannon, Janelle, Blair, and Stephanie G. who are also expecting in June! And to Stephanie C. who is due in May! Soli Deo Gloria!
UPDATE: On April 20, 2015, we welcomed our 11th child....another precious girl. We now have 8 girls and 3 boys. I am 42 years old, so we'll see what God has in store for the future. :)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Moving Update
What We've Been Up To
Celeste is our resident comedian. And while she's been a tremendous help during the moving process, she's been caught playing on more than one occasion!
Well, her humor was contagious so Daddy joined in............
Ready to be shipped off to China.........
Fun aside, we've been VERY busy preparing for our move. MOVE??? The Sabo's are moving??? I know, I have been very neglectful on the updates, so for those of you who haven't heard yet.........we're moving!
It's a long story but I'll give you the short version for now. A year ago we decided to build a house. Two months later we put our house on the market. New house was completed six months ago. Our house hadn't sold. New house went on market by builder. New house stayed empty (on the market) five months. YEA! We finally sold our house! Yea again! Call builder to say our house sold and we want new house! Builder says new house is under contract by another family! BOO HOO! We wait to see what will happen, but begin looking for another house. We check back. Still under contract. Check back again. Still under contract. Check back AGAIN. Contract cancelled......house is available. YEA! We sign contract for OUR house and now we're packing. The End.
Someday, I'll give the longer, more exciting version. At any rate, we're excited, eager and looking forward to move into our new home. God is good!
And I can't end this post without a cute picture of Genevieve, now 5 months!
Celeste is our resident comedian. And while she's been a tremendous help during the moving process, she's been caught playing on more than one occasion!
Well, her humor was contagious so Daddy joined in............
Ready to be shipped off to China.........
Fun aside, we've been VERY busy preparing for our move. MOVE??? The Sabo's are moving??? I know, I have been very neglectful on the updates, so for those of you who haven't heard yet.........we're moving!
It's a long story but I'll give you the short version for now. A year ago we decided to build a house. Two months later we put our house on the market. New house was completed six months ago. Our house hadn't sold. New house went on market by builder. New house stayed empty (on the market) five months. YEA! We finally sold our house! Yea again! Call builder to say our house sold and we want new house! Builder says new house is under contract by another family! BOO HOO! We wait to see what will happen, but begin looking for another house. We check back. Still under contract. Check back again. Still under contract. Check back AGAIN. Contract cancelled......house is available. YEA! We sign contract for OUR house and now we're packing. The End.
Someday, I'll give the longer, more exciting version. At any rate, we're excited, eager and looking forward to move into our new home. God is good!
And I can't end this post without a cute picture of Genevieve, now 5 months!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Greg's New Job
I Love A Man In Uniform......
I love THIS man in uniform.....
After 17 years as a fire fighter, today Greg began a new journey within the Fire Dept........he is now officially a Fire Inspector. This is a promotion for our hero and we are very proud of him! His schedule will be quite different......no more 24 hrs on/24 hrs off........he'll now work Monday through Friday, although, he will still work one 24 hr shift a week. I'm sure this will take some getting used to for all of us, as we've only ever known the 24 on/24 off schedule, but we're looking forward to the road ahead!
Way to go, my love! You're our hero!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Purity Ring Photos
(Full Story Below)
Greg sharing stories from Cheyenne's early childhood..........
More stories..........
Presenting the ring........
Greg sharing stories from Cheyenne's early childhood..........
More stories..........
Presenting the ring........
Greg placing on the ring........
I LOVE this picture...............
End of "ceremony"...........
Prayer.........
The gang.........
I LOVE this picture...............
End of "ceremony"...........
Prayer.........
The gang.........
Thank you, Longenbaugh's, for the use of your camera. We wouldn't have captured these memories had it not been for you!
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Purity Ring
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
One of things we had been looking forward to since Cheyenne was little in an effort to guard her heart was presenting her with a purity ring. We have known people through the years who have made this an important event in their families and it has encouraged us to consider the same.
The purpose of presenting the ring is for the young person to be reminded of his/her commitment to flee any situation that might compromise their commitment to abstinence, but it is also a reminder for the parents to encourage the young person, through accountability and prayer, by wearing the ring.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1 Timothy 6:11
Last October, we were finally able to present a ring to our oldest daughter on her fifteenth birthday. It was a ceremony filled with memories, commitment, and prayer. It was one of the most beautiful and meaningful occasions in our family and one we look forward to doing with the rest of our children in the years to come.
In the weeks leading up to Cheyenne's birthday, we began planning. We hunted and purchased this ring. We wanted something pretty and feminine, but also something that wasn't too expensive; in the event it is lost we can easily replace it. We also spent time developing "the ceremony". Greg thought long and hard about how he wanted to present the ring to his daughter. It was well worth the planning......it was so sweet!
On the day of her birthday, we celebrated throughout the day just as we normally would. She opened her gifts that morning, saving the ring for later. After dinner and the cake, it was time!
Greg began the ceremony by sharing stories from Cheyenne's early childhood through the present. She was brought to tears as she listened to her daddy reminisce through the years stories of laughter, growth, and testimonies of God's faithfulness. Greg told of stories that even I had forgotten. It was precious and beautiful!
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
Once we were all good and teary-eyed, Greg presented the ring. By accepting the ring, she is making a commitment to God, her parents, and to the man God has chosen to be her husband, to remain pure. Greg then placed the ring on her ring finger and led our family in prayer, which concluded the "ceremony"!
Words cannot describe how precious this day was and how meaningful this was to Cheyenne. Not only did the presentation signify and encompass the beauty of purity, it also showed Cheyenne how much we love her and our level of commitment and protection over her.
As an additional resource, here is a site I recently came across called Purity Pledge . It's a family business of hand crafted purity rings and lockets.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Gun Wars
Gun Wars
Daddy and Seth having a blast with Seth's Nerf guns!
Did I mention this took place during a math lesson today? Yep.....gun fights during math! I lovingly asked Greg how math would be incorporated into this gun war. He said that Seth was very rambunctious today and needed to exert his extra energy. "Ohhhhh, I seeeeee!"
It's hard to tell which one of them was having more fun, but, I have to say that Seth DID do a much better job of finishing up his math once he "exerted his extra energy"!
Daddy and Seth having a blast with Seth's Nerf guns!
Did I mention this took place during a math lesson today? Yep.....gun fights during math! I lovingly asked Greg how math would be incorporated into this gun war. He said that Seth was very rambunctious today and needed to exert his extra energy. "Ohhhhh, I seeeeee!"
It's hard to tell which one of them was having more fun, but, I have to say that Seth DID do a much better job of finishing up his math once he "exerted his extra energy"!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Balancing Act
Balancing Act
Well, Daddy's up to his old tricks again. Once our babies reach about two months of age, Greg puts them to the test. He's done this with all of the children, and now, Genevieve has proven herself to be yet another silly Sabo! When Seth was a baby, he and Greg scored a few seconds of fame doing this very trick when one of our video clips landed on America's Funniest Home Videos.
And just for the record, no, he's never dropped a baby.........yet! ;-)
Well, Daddy's up to his old tricks again. Once our babies reach about two months of age, Greg puts them to the test. He's done this with all of the children, and now, Genevieve has proven herself to be yet another silly Sabo! When Seth was a baby, he and Greg scored a few seconds of fame doing this very trick when one of our video clips landed on America's Funniest Home Videos.And just for the record, no, he's never dropped a baby.........yet! ;-)
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Thoughts, Observations, and Other Musings
Chloe (3) has this cute little purple, fuzzy purse that she carries around ALL DAY! She loves this purse. This purse was a stocking stuffer for Christmas. It's the ONLY present she still plays with everyday. I bought it at the Dollar Store........
A few months ago, while driving in the car, Seth (6) was telling us about his tooth. He asked me if I rememered when it used to be gray. I said yes! He then said that "God raised it from the dead..........."
All of our kids LOVE yogurt. We used to buy family packs of Yoplait yogurt until we made the switch to all natural yogurt. Well, yesterday I decided to buy Yoplait again because it was on sale AND I had a coupon. When Chloe (3) saw the yogurt in the fridge, she very excitedly said, "Yea, the upside down yogurt!"
Ethan's favorite phrase these days is "naughty boy". Hmmm......do you think he's heard that once or twice in his life? He also favors the word "NO"...............
A couple of weeks ago, Seth (6) and Sophia (5) (partners in crime) were running through the kitchen. We have a NO RUNNING IN THE KITCHEN POLICY here! When I caught them, I rhetorically yelled, "How many times have I told you NOT to run in the kitchen? After a few seconds pause, Seth, with a calculating look on his face answered, "Nine?" The girls and I burst into laughter. So much for that lesson in discipline.........
We're so proud of Cheyenne.........she's been able to come up with a new word for the dictionary! While helping her with implied pronoun references in English, she invented the word "fraidiness" as a substitue for the word "afraid". We're so proud..........
(Disclaimer: She's really a VERY bright young lady.......we claim that she's suffering from cabin fever since we've been sick for so long.......at least we got a good laugh out of it!)
I just called Greg at work a bit ago and woke him up from his nap. Yes, you read me right......a nap.......at work! Oh, the life of a firefighter.............
Celeste (12) makes the BEST pancakes. She infuses the batter with vanilla and a mashed banana. Then she makes a homemade strawberry puree to top the fresh whipped cream! YUM!
The other day we were all enjoying a handful of Cheez-its for our snack. After Seth (6) finished his, he walked back into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, we can't buy Cheez-its anymore!" When I asked him why, he replied, "Because Cheez-its aren't healthy!" Hey, WHO told Seth that Cheez-its aren't healthy.........
Baby Genevieve is almost eight weeks old. Just eight weeks! Both of my older girls are ALREADY ready for us to have another baby!!! And people say we're crazy..........
And, as I'm finishing up this post, Ethan (1) comes downstairs in underwear! Not his diaper, underwear! There they go again.........those little ones are trying to potty train him AGAIN! Sorry, Mommy's not ready yet for that! I'd better go get that diaper back on before he........well, you know where that's going........
A few months ago, while driving in the car, Seth (6) was telling us about his tooth. He asked me if I rememered when it used to be gray. I said yes! He then said that "God raised it from the dead..........."
All of our kids LOVE yogurt. We used to buy family packs of Yoplait yogurt until we made the switch to all natural yogurt. Well, yesterday I decided to buy Yoplait again because it was on sale AND I had a coupon. When Chloe (3) saw the yogurt in the fridge, she very excitedly said, "Yea, the upside down yogurt!"
Ethan's favorite phrase these days is "naughty boy". Hmmm......do you think he's heard that once or twice in his life? He also favors the word "NO"...............
A couple of weeks ago, Seth (6) and Sophia (5) (partners in crime) were running through the kitchen. We have a NO RUNNING IN THE KITCHEN POLICY here! When I caught them, I rhetorically yelled, "How many times have I told you NOT to run in the kitchen? After a few seconds pause, Seth, with a calculating look on his face answered, "Nine?" The girls and I burst into laughter. So much for that lesson in discipline.........
We're so proud of Cheyenne.........she's been able to come up with a new word for the dictionary! While helping her with implied pronoun references in English, she invented the word "fraidiness" as a substitue for the word "afraid". We're so proud..........
(Disclaimer: She's really a VERY bright young lady.......we claim that she's suffering from cabin fever since we've been sick for so long.......at least we got a good laugh out of it!)
I just called Greg at work a bit ago and woke him up from his nap. Yes, you read me right......a nap.......at work! Oh, the life of a firefighter.............
Celeste (12) makes the BEST pancakes. She infuses the batter with vanilla and a mashed banana. Then she makes a homemade strawberry puree to top the fresh whipped cream! YUM!
The other day we were all enjoying a handful of Cheez-its for our snack. After Seth (6) finished his, he walked back into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, we can't buy Cheez-its anymore!" When I asked him why, he replied, "Because Cheez-its aren't healthy!" Hey, WHO told Seth that Cheez-its aren't healthy.........
Baby Genevieve is almost eight weeks old. Just eight weeks! Both of my older girls are ALREADY ready for us to have another baby!!! And people say we're crazy..........
And, as I'm finishing up this post, Ethan (1) comes downstairs in underwear! Not his diaper, underwear! There they go again.........those little ones are trying to potty train him AGAIN! Sorry, Mommy's not ready yet for that! I'd better go get that diaper back on before he........well, you know where that's going........
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sick Sabos
This doesn't happen often.......but.......
.....most of our family is sick! We all have varying degrees of illness ranging from severe colds to the flu. Fortunately, Greg and baby Genevieve are still holding strong. We've been praying diligently that the two of them will stay well. Greg has been doing a wonderful job of taking care of us and keeping things running smoothly.
The sad aspect of us getting sick is that I was unable to go to the Whole Hearted Mother's Conference this weekend. Our group left early this morning for a weekend full of refreshment, fun, fellowship and inspiration! I'll miss you, ladies!
On another note, we've finally decided to have our digital camera fixed. After doing the research, it is more cost effective for us to have ours repaired, rather than buy a new one or buy used on ebay. This is good news because I'll finally be able to post pictures again on the blog. It's not nearly as much fun posting without cute pictures to go along. We should have our camera up and running within a few days.......I'll be sure to post lots of pics of our nearly six week old Genevieve. Come on back!
.....most of our family is sick! We all have varying degrees of illness ranging from severe colds to the flu. Fortunately, Greg and baby Genevieve are still holding strong. We've been praying diligently that the two of them will stay well. Greg has been doing a wonderful job of taking care of us and keeping things running smoothly.
The sad aspect of us getting sick is that I was unable to go to the Whole Hearted Mother's Conference this weekend. Our group left early this morning for a weekend full of refreshment, fun, fellowship and inspiration! I'll miss you, ladies!
On another note, we've finally decided to have our digital camera fixed. After doing the research, it is more cost effective for us to have ours repaired, rather than buy a new one or buy used on ebay. This is good news because I'll finally be able to post pictures again on the blog. It's not nearly as much fun posting without cute pictures to go along. We should have our camera up and running within a few days.......I'll be sure to post lots of pics of our nearly six week old Genevieve. Come on back!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Poor Ethan
What a pretty little........girl?
No, this is not Ethan's secret twin sister! Ashamedly, this was Cheyenne and Celeste's doing in protest of Ethan's long hair. And sadly, it worked. He did end up finally getting a haircut, but, it's already time for another. I guess I'd better hurry up and cut it again before they get another bright idea.
Needless to say.......DAD WAS NOT HAPPY!!!
No, this is not Ethan's secret twin sister! Ashamedly, this was Cheyenne and Celeste's doing in protest of Ethan's long hair. And sadly, it worked. He did end up finally getting a haircut, but, it's already time for another. I guess I'd better hurry up and cut it again before they get another bright idea.
Needless to say.......DAD WAS NOT HAPPY!!!
Friday, October 26, 2007
This and That
We've had a very busy morning.......actually, it began last night with the deep cleaning and weeding out of Seth's room/closet. It's amazing how fast that boy's room can clutter up. This morning, the girls and I began another session of REorganizing and swapping out seasonal clothes. I wish this was a semi-annual event for us, but it seems as if we have to do this at least quarterly! I hate clutter so whenever the house starts to feel crowded or unorganized, it's time to declutter. We filled up a huge garbage bag of "goodwill" stuff, which may not seem like a big deal, but considering we filled about EIGHT bags just two months ago, filling another bag was a surprise. Now all of the rooms are in order and the closets and drawers are thinned out and very accessible once again! We also went through our baby bins and put away things Ethan has grown out of and reorganized those bins! Ahhh, it feels so good to have all of that done! Now for the downstairs.....
Okay, I have to admit I'm getting a little nervous about our house selling.....uh......not selling. All along, we have felt strongly that whether it sells or not, God's in control, He has a plan, and we want what He wants. Well, we still feel this way.......it's just gotten a little more tempting to REALLY want to move into the new house. A couple of days ago, our loan guy called and said we may be eligible for Texas Vet. Well, we didn't think we would be eligible because we thought you had to enter the military or exit the military as a Texas resident. To our surprise and joy, that's not the case. SO, what this means is that we were able to get an insanely low interest rate (and we had a low one to begin with) which would reduce our payment even more! It would be a bummer to miss out on living in this very spacious home located in a beautiful area for about the same as what we're paying here. BUT.......like I said, as great as it sounds, God has already gone before us and knows what's best for our family! We trust HIM, not us! If ya think of us and our house situation, would you please pray that God would bring a buyer (we have about a month to get a contract going), or that we would accept graciously and contently not moving into the house we're building! Thanks!
Fall is in the air!!! With the cooler temps sticking around, the sounds of Psalty's Christmas Calamity playing in the background, and the smell of Chili simmering away in the crock pot, it's definitely feeling like fall!
The reality of a firefighter is that it doesn't matter if it's a weekend or Columbus Day or Christmas, if you're scheduled to work, YOU WORK. Well, our reality this year is that Greg has to work on Christmas day. He is trying to see if any of the single guys are willing to trade him Christmas for New Year's Eve, but so far, no luck! I really can't complain though because Greg has been blessed year after year by having Christmas off. The worst we've had it was when he had to work four Thanksgivings in a row. Well, FOR the last four Thanksgivings, the other shift has had to work. It will happen again this year! So, like I said, I can't complain too much that Greg has to work this year for Christmas. We'll just celebrate on Christmas Eve and plan fun activities for the kids on Christmas. Another blessing is that we can go to Greg for Christmas! It's so neat that we can go to the station any time we want to visit him......like we'll be doing tonight for dinner! And, to remind me to be even more thankful....Greg is just at work, down the road......not in Iraq or some other dangerous place. Perspective is a wonderful thing! ;-)
Cheyenne will be starting Driver's Ed training! Enough said!
Wow, I can't believe I'm nearly 30 weeks along in pregnancy. The time has really flown by! I have begun my two week appts with my midwife and we're trying to mentally prepare for the home birth. The only thing that could make this easier is by knowing where I'll be giving birth! This house or the new house? Hmmm......
And finally, I should be out of this boot as of Monday! I'll cry if the doc says I have to leave it on! Okay, so I won't really cry, but you know what I mean! I'll let ya know....
I guess that's it for updates. Better get back to work!
Okay, I have to admit I'm getting a little nervous about our house selling.....uh......not selling. All along, we have felt strongly that whether it sells or not, God's in control, He has a plan, and we want what He wants. Well, we still feel this way.......it's just gotten a little more tempting to REALLY want to move into the new house. A couple of days ago, our loan guy called and said we may be eligible for Texas Vet. Well, we didn't think we would be eligible because we thought you had to enter the military or exit the military as a Texas resident. To our surprise and joy, that's not the case. SO, what this means is that we were able to get an insanely low interest rate (and we had a low one to begin with) which would reduce our payment even more! It would be a bummer to miss out on living in this very spacious home located in a beautiful area for about the same as what we're paying here. BUT.......like I said, as great as it sounds, God has already gone before us and knows what's best for our family! We trust HIM, not us! If ya think of us and our house situation, would you please pray that God would bring a buyer (we have about a month to get a contract going), or that we would accept graciously and contently not moving into the house we're building! Thanks!
Fall is in the air!!! With the cooler temps sticking around, the sounds of Psalty's Christmas Calamity playing in the background, and the smell of Chili simmering away in the crock pot, it's definitely feeling like fall!
The reality of a firefighter is that it doesn't matter if it's a weekend or Columbus Day or Christmas, if you're scheduled to work, YOU WORK. Well, our reality this year is that Greg has to work on Christmas day. He is trying to see if any of the single guys are willing to trade him Christmas for New Year's Eve, but so far, no luck! I really can't complain though because Greg has been blessed year after year by having Christmas off. The worst we've had it was when he had to work four Thanksgivings in a row. Well, FOR the last four Thanksgivings, the other shift has had to work. It will happen again this year! So, like I said, I can't complain too much that Greg has to work this year for Christmas. We'll just celebrate on Christmas Eve and plan fun activities for the kids on Christmas. Another blessing is that we can go to Greg for Christmas! It's so neat that we can go to the station any time we want to visit him......like we'll be doing tonight for dinner! And, to remind me to be even more thankful....Greg is just at work, down the road......not in Iraq or some other dangerous place. Perspective is a wonderful thing! ;-)
Cheyenne will be starting Driver's Ed training! Enough said!
Wow, I can't believe I'm nearly 30 weeks along in pregnancy. The time has really flown by! I have begun my two week appts with my midwife and we're trying to mentally prepare for the home birth. The only thing that could make this easier is by knowing where I'll be giving birth! This house or the new house? Hmmm......
And finally, I should be out of this boot as of Monday! I'll cry if the doc says I have to leave it on! Okay, so I won't really cry, but you know what I mean! I'll let ya know....
I guess that's it for updates. Better get back to work!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Daughter in Training
One of the many ways our family has been able save a little money has been by avoiding the salon or barber when possible. I have been cutting hair since I was a teenager and this has come in handy for our growing family. I am not a professional and have had no formal training, I just seemed to have had a knack for cutting hair. And I had many opportunities when I was young.
My brothers were my firstvictims customers, and then my sister offered her head as a sacrifice practice model. And that led to some of their friends asking for hair cuts.
So when I married Greg, well, naturally I would convince him to let me cut his hair as well. What a nice man!!!
SO, I figure, in the 16 years we've been married, at approximately one cut a month times 16 years, say at $10 a cut, I've saved us at LEAST $1920.00. Of course, that doesn't even include Seth's hair or the girls......just Greg!
Recently, Cheyenne has shown an interest in learning how to cut hair. And since it is our goal to train our girls in all aspects in the art of homemaking, now is the perfect time to begin. The last few "training sessions" consisted of her just observing while I talked about and demonstrated different techniques. Today was the big cutting day......and what a good daddy to allow his head to be used for training purposes!
Cheyenne did a great job and I can't wait for her to be able to cut hair on her own to take some of the load off of me!
So here you have it....our freshly cut men!
My brothers were my first
So when I married Greg, well, naturally I would convince him to let me cut his hair as well. What a nice man!!!
SO, I figure, in the 16 years we've been married, at approximately one cut a month times 16 years, say at $10 a cut, I've saved us at LEAST $1920.00. Of course, that doesn't even include Seth's hair or the girls......just Greg!
Recently, Cheyenne has shown an interest in learning how to cut hair. And since it is our goal to train our girls in all aspects in the art of homemaking, now is the perfect time to begin. The last few "training sessions" consisted of her just observing while I talked about and demonstrated different techniques. Today was the big cutting day......and what a good daddy to allow his head to be used for training purposes!
Cheyenne did a great job and I can't wait for her to be able to cut hair on her own to take some of the load off of me! So here you have it....our freshly cut men!
Monday, August 06, 2007
Fun with Daddy
I just can't compete with this.....
It's a good thing I don't have to....
Thank you, my love, for being such a wonderful (and fun) Daddy!!!
It's a good thing I don't have to....
Thank you, my love, for being such a wonderful (and fun) Daddy!!!
Monday, January 15, 2007
A Tradition No Longer......
Several weeks ago I wrote about our Krispy Kreme tradition and how Daddy just can't compete with the doughnuts on "payday Fridays".
Well, this past Friday our plans were a little different. Greg had decided to ride his bike to work the Thursday before, which meant he couldn't very well ride home Friday morning with two dozen doughnuts under his arm (although that would have been a funny sight). So, Greg came up with the idea that he would ride to Krispy Kreme and the kids and I would just meet him there. He even wanted all the kids to stay in their jammies, to add to the excitement factor.
So, very early Friday morning, the kids and I piled into the car and headed to Krispy Kreme. I could feel the anticipation building up in the kids as we drew nearer to Krispy Kreme. They all watched out the windows in excitement, trying to spot Daddy on his bike as we made the left turn onto the access road leading to Krispy Kreme. As we entered into the driveway, I noticed the building looked rather sparce....things looked strange through the windows. I pulled up to the front of the building to get a closer look and.....sure enough.....a notice....that can't be good.....very hesitantly I read.....
"This location is CLOSED, please visit one of our other locations."
WHAT????
Yes, there it hung.....this horrible notice just taunting us and mocking us as we stared in utter shock! How could this be??? What will we ever do? How will I break the news to the hungry doughnut addicts in the back seat? It was difficult, but I had to do it! The looks of sheer disappointment on their faces was just too much to bear...
So we all wept bitterly!
Okay, maybe not, but we wanted to! This would certainly be the end to one of the kids' most coveted traditions! The other Krispy Kreme locations are just too far to continue our "payday Friday" doughnut run.
Once we, somewhat, got over the shock of the closure (I mean, after all, Greg was just there two Fridays before.....they could have warned us), we remembered that we were still waiting for Greg to arrive. When he arrived, we broke the news to him gently, packed up his bike, and headed for home with heavy hearts and empty stomachs! My poor babies!
I guess we'll have to come up with another "payday Friday" morning traditon! .....Sigh.....
Photo Credit
Friday, November 03, 2006
It's All About the Doughnuts
It has been a tradition in our family that every other Friday Daddy brings home Krispy Kreme doughnuts on his way home from work. So, over the last couple of years, "payday Friday" has become the conversation of the little ones the night before the coveted event! When Greg calls home from work the night before, they're sure to remind him that he's bringing doughnuts home in the morning, right?
Forget "we miss you, Daddy", or "we can't wait to see you in the morning, Daddy"! No.....it's, "Don't forget the doughnuts in the morning!" Even two year old Chloe has caught on to this.....as soon as it's her turn to talk to Daddy on the phone, her first word is none other than, "doughnuts?" And when Daddy replies, "Yes, honey, I'm bringing doughnuts home in the morning", she simply replies, "K" and hands the phone over to another kid!
Poor Daddy.....he just can't compete with "the doughnuts".
One morning he had to stop at the store, before bringing home the doughnuts, to pick up milk......'cause, we can't have doughnuts without milk! Anyway, you'd have thought that the kids were waiting for a drop of water out in the desert the way they stalked the door and window waiting for Daddy's, oh, I mean the doughnuts, arrival. When he finally arrived, the little ones ran to the door to open it! To their dismay, he only walked in with three gallons of milk! Well, instead of throwing their arms around Daddy and welcoming him home, they frantically exclaimed, "Where's the doughnuts???" To their relief, Daddy assured them that they were in the car, so a sigh of relief calmed their worrisome hearts.
But wait....there's more! Each night before Daddy is to come home with the doughnuts, tucking the kids in has become a time a convincing them that Daddy WILL. BRING. HOME. THE. DOUGHNUTS! As I'm pulling up the covers and kissing their heads.....you guessed it, "Is Daddy bringing doughnuts home in the morning?" God forbid Greg can't pick up doughnuts one morning.....what will they do?
Well, today happens to be "payday Friday". Early this morning, about 5:30am to be exact, I awoke to little pitter-patters near my door. I could see that it was Sophia so I invited her to crawl into bed with me. A few minutes later Ethan began to stir, so I brought him into the bed to nurse him.
While I was nursing, Sophie began to whisper, "Mommy, I like Ethan".
I whispered back, "I'm glad you like Ethan!"
And sure enough....just moments after our beautiful conversation about how much we liked Ethan (I think we'll keep him), these words rolled off of Sophie's lips.....
"Is Daddy bringing doughnuts home?"
I guess Daddy's convincing wasn't enough last night over the phone, nor my convincing when I tucked her in last night, nor just the general repetition of doing this every two weeks. My sweet, precious babies.....
Thank you, Krispy Kreme, for being such an important, life-altering, entity in the Sabo home! Our kids wouldn't be happy without you!
Photo Credit
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