The Final Countdown

The long anticipated day was coming; actually, I carefully counted down the days to my due date, but nothing happened. Every day I could feel the baby move; he was quite active. This is basically the reason for my decision to continue waiting. I know that it is important to receive prenatal care, but due to various circumstances I will not get into, I had not received any during this pregnancy. I have to admit there was times of worry and even anxiety over the baby's development. Mostly, my concern was making it full term. I had suffered terrible losses in the past, and could not bare the thought of going through it again.

From the first moment I realized I was expecting, I felt overjoyed much more than could be expressed. I was hesitant however to mention any thing about it, due to my husband's concern for my health. I came very close to death last year, and it had been something terribly tough for my husband to deal with. Thankfully due to his fast action and quick thinking, he was able get me quickly to the hospital, which in turn saved my life, B'H. Now pregnant once again, I didn't want to see him worry about me. The thought of a such a wonderful blessing was much too delightful to be clouded by those sad memories. So I went through the first three months keeping the news to myself.

The months went by, and my estimated due date was to be on June the 17th. I was growing quite big, and was thinking along with my daughter, the baby would be arriving earlier than expected. But, the day came, and left without the arrival. For several weeks, I had been experiencing contractions, which would only turn out to be false labor. June passed and July began, but the baby was not ready to be born just yet.

Finally on a Friday after a couple of hours of contractions we decided to go to the hospital. I knew that even if it turned out to be false labor, going there was a good decision. And so we went late that night, and as expected, the contractions began to lessen and come further apart. At the hospital however we all agreed that the best thing was for me to stay there and be induce if necessary. So it was that I stayed there with my husband and was induced. After a long tiring night in labor, the baby was finally born the following morning.

With great joy we welcomed our newborn. Ever thankful to Hashem, we rejoiced with admiration at the sight of our healthy, newborn, baby boy. My concerns about our baby's health were now put behind. I was finally able to embrace the blessing I had long awaited.  We now have twelve blessings in our home, and I am greatly thankful for each one of them. Last Erev Shabbat as we sat around our table, I laughed to see our toddler line up for a second time, while giggling,  to receive a blessing from her Daddy. And then, I couldn't hold back the tears, to see my husband bless our newborn child. I was filled with such joy and gratitude at HaShem's kindness in blessing us with such wonderful gifts. May he give us the wisdom and strength to raise up a G-dly generation.

"Every day I will bless YOU and praise YOUR NAME forever and ever."[Psalms (Tehillym) 145. 2 

Greatly and wonderfully,
Blessed@Home

Making some progress

  It finally feels like we are making some progress. Presently, I have three kids in college and one preparing for his GED exam. We're hoping he is enrolled in college for his first semester this coming fall, by the way. Amazing how time flies. It seemed only yesterday when our firstborn enthusiastically begged to be home-schooled. Now he is attending a university and doing rather well in meeting his educational goals. We have two children that are studying to be physicians and one from the picture above planning on becoming a nurse. 

  Life can be difficult at times and there can be periods that seem progress is no where in the horizon; but if we hang in there, we will see the the results of our labor. We are far from done, as we have seven more kids home-schooling and are due for our twelfth child in about a week. Looking back however, it is such joy to see our kids dedicated to their education and working on their goals. 

  It is by no means an easy thing raising children and deciding a home education is the only way to go. We made this decision years ago and have stuck it out, and now are beginning to see the fruit of our labor. Education is definitely a priority to our family, even though I am the most likely unqualified fit for the job. At least it's how I've felt all along. My thought has pretty much been, a hope not to ruin their education to the point they hate it or give up. But I have learned some valuable lessons along our educational journey. Maybe one the best lessons I've learned, is that teaching the basics and a love of learning, is enough to get them well on their way; and they then take off on their own. Give them the tools, and then give them room. That's basically what it takes. 

Feeling accomplished and,

Blessed@home!

A New Beginning

Here is an old post which somehow never was published.

As this year began I had no idea where it would lead. One thing is certain, my heart's desire has been and still is to serve and know our G-D better and to draw closer to His will. I've always dreaded the thought of being lukewarm; of just getting by each day. Every day that passes, is a blessed opportunity to strive for a higher goal, to learn, to share, to love our Creator and those He has made. My days have changed so much since this year began. Looking back I can say, that it's been a difficult year; and that is just putting it mildly. The hardships nevertheless are by far insignificant when compared to the amazing blessings that have poured into our lives. How can I not be thankful and have a heart filled with joy. An immeasurable peace and love, that can only come from our G-D; that which He has been given to us.

Blessings!

Of Raising Children

When it comes  to children I consider myself far from being an expert. So when my daughter asked me to right a book on raising children, I chuckled at the idea. I know, I have a family which many may consider big and this definitely results in many opportunities for learning; yet while I think, that the time I have invested in my family has taught me many things, there's so much I've yet to learn. My thoughts at this moment, are toward the younger moms out there.Those struggling through those first years and even through the later years. If I could take this opportunity I'd like to just share some of the things I've learned. 

The years spent raising a family seem to have passed rather quickly. Never did I imagined that I'd have a family of eleven children. The fact that I have been able to be a stay-at-home raising a family has been such an amazing blessing in my life. Many lessons have been learned; sometimes through mistakes and others through success brought about by the godly and wise examples in my life. 

More than anything I want to advise young mothers, to make the best of these years. Don't do things without first considering the consequences. What I mean to say, is that when it comes to children, you can never afford to take things lightly. What can seem unimportant  at the present time, can affect your child in unimaginable ways. We as mothers can influence by building up and encouraging; or if not careful our treatment of our children can quickly become a source of discouragement. 

Taking time to try and see life through a child's eyes can be key in successful upbringing. It's the little things that make a difference with time when there is consistency. It's always best to put other things aside when possible. Your child needs to know how important they are to you. This is not to mean that you give in and spoil in any way. Instead, what this means, is that we need to listen. Investing time not only to teach our children but to play with them as well and taking time to work on their diverse interests, is necessary.

One important goal we should have is our relationship with them. Not only would it matter to have them know we love them, but that we actually want to foster a relationship of mutual love, respect, and something along the lines of a discipleship. We need to consider this an immense investment. This is very much a matter of sowing and reaping.

I will stop writing for now, but will continue with the topic as I find more time. As I write this post, I am about a month and a half from giving birth to our twelfth blessing. This is a joyful and exciting time for me, and I hope to make more time to share more posts.

Happily,
Blessed@home

Making Meaningful Memories

 It's a wonderful thing to be a stay-at-home mom enjoying the presence  of one's family. I'm grateful for the years I've been blessed with this privilege.  Things have changed though, and have brought me to a point where I am finding myself employed and away from the home as many other mom's out there. I can't complain, as I am working in a place I like; however, I do miss being at home where I no doubt belong. This is the reason that I haven't had time to get on the computer, much less write anything.

 Because of the time I'm away, I'm having a difficult time balancing my time wisely to spend with my kids and keep up with my housework among other responsibilities. I am grateful however, for the opportunity to work near the house which enables me to come for lunch and spend more time at home. I'm trying to get creative and find ways to make the best of the current situation. If all goes as planned, I'll leave work and be a stay-at-home mom again in about three more months. For now, I'm praying for the strength to get through this time and counting the days until I'm home all day again with my family. I don't want to miss being with my children.

 Though I'm working five days a week, we've managed to make time to do a few things the kids enjoy. Here I'll share some shots taken from these special times.

                                                     Out for some ice cream

                                                             
                                                           Outdoor Play

                                                  Road Trip With my Teens

                                                      At Garner Park

                                                                Hiking

                                                   Our Nice Little Cabin

                                                  Making use of this fireplace

                                             Couldn't leave technology behind

                                                  Bundled up for the trip back

Tea Party With the Girls

Visit to Grandma's

Photo Experiment or Experience

My 1st and 2nd born holding their baby sister

My husband was home for the day, and I suggested we do something together. We had no pictures with our baby so it's decided to visit a park for some photographs.  Yes, even my always-busy-college children were persuaded to join us.  As we left the house I rushed out the door reminding my first born he was to take the last three of his siblings and meet us.  Actually, though we had talked of going to a park to get some family pictures taken, we were running quite late.  It was a bit disappointing at first. When we arrived, we rushed to a favorite spot where a creek now had dried up. As the kids sat on a log, we began taking some snap shots in a hurry. The lighting was going faster than anticipated as the sun went down, and not all my kids had arrived. Then it hit me, why not use the circumstances to our advantage. Yes, we would continue taking pictures but this time with a twist. My idea was to go for a silhouette theme. Bearing in mind, there was little time for planning which resulted in some overlapped figures, I was quite pleased.

Rushing to find a spot for some shots

Some of my kids posing for some pictures

It was sad to see the creek had dried up

Look up!

My 3rd born daughter joins in

Showing the baby to wave

A picture with Dad

We scramble for a spot

Some random arrangement

Last few pictures with light

Still some kids missing

They finally arrive

Wondering how to make this work

First few experimental shots

My daughter

The camera is set to take our pictures

Some kids are overlapped in the images

Another try

Kids by themselves

Trying to get them all in

Making eye shapes

Getting creative

Just having fun

We take s last picture with a flash