The Sex Talk from a Christian Perspective

Every year when one of our children turn 10, we take them for a special night away-just them and us(parents).  We bring games, swim if we are around a pool or lake, go out to eat, watch movies, etc.  But during this time we also let them know that they are are old enough now to talk about some grown up stuff and how God made men and women special.

 We use 2 books that present sex from a christian perspective: "What's the Big Deal? Why God Cares About Sex" and "How You Are Changing"

The 1st book is for both boys and girls.  The 2nd book comes out in editions for a boy or a girl( and also age groups).  

We start the night by reading the chapter 'Male+Female+God's Gift of Life=Baby!'  out of "How You Are Changing."

And we let the child know that they can ask questions at anytime and any kind of question.  This 1st chapter is enough to get their minds reeling( You and dad did THAT?!).  Especially awkward when you are currently pregnant. So after that we head out to eat.  We have normal conversation over dinner but we do ask if they have thought of any questions about what we read.  Please advise your children to speak quietly! lol  We learned this the hard way.

Then we head back and play games or swim or watch a movie. We read a few chapters out of Why God Cares About Sex book before bed.  This book has parts(Dad, Mom, Child) so everyone takes a roll.  Helps keep the child engaged too.  I was worried about books being too harsh on subjects( like abortion, homosexuality, AIDS, sex outside of marriage, sexual abuse, etc).  We teach love above all else so wanted that to come through.  I found this book to approach the issues beautifully and leads to great discussion and different views on the subjects are addressed well. 

We get up the next day and do some fun stuff and finish the book( easy read).  We talk and answer questions as the come. And we always tell our older children not to speak of this issue with their younger siblings, that way the younger kids can have their own special get away and to be sure they are old enough to understand the information.  

We give them the book "How Your Are Changing" to read the rest on their own.  If it is a girl you are talking with, we do make sure to hit the chapter about menstruating too during our get away.

This approach has worked marvelously every time and really gets the lines of communication and expectation open at an early age( before they hear too much from their peers). 

And each child is so excited about their special time with mom and dad.  It doesn't have to cost a lot of money to get away either.  Previously we  used my in-laws lake house and just went out for pizza.  The main point is for you to get away privately with your child, doesn't matter where.  Maybe if your parents are watching your other kids, just go to their house for the night.  Or camp out perhaps.

This way really took the fear out the sex talk for the Hubby and I and wasn't nearly as awkward for the child.  Hope this approach works for you too!

Many Blessings,

The Mama

Morning Sickness and Trailer Update

Like clockwork.  When 6 week hit last Friday, I was feeling nauseous.  This time has been a bit different though( so far) as it began with me being hungry every hour.  I would have to eat right away unless I would feel sick.  Now I get about that same thing, but it never feels like hunger.  I just start feeling like throwing up and know I need to eat something else to keep my belly full.  Though it is heading into that tricky stage where some foods aren't settling well on my stomach and some sound downright gross. And most things that do sound good are bad for me.  The non-processed lifestyle goes out the window for me at this point lol

Even though the feeling of nausea is pretty constant through out the day, at least I can somewhat control the severity.  I may gain 20 lbs my 1st trimester, but oh well.  I am just looking at one week at a time and that is helping me too.

We got the bigger trailer and I have pics of it.  But there is this strange phenomenon that happens when I am sick with pregnancy.  Anything that is/was going on during that time, I attach my sickness to that.  For example:  When I was pregnant with Little Miss, I had just started serious couponing.  I had to stop during that period of sickness because, well I was sick.  But for a year after I had Little Miss, I couldn't do anything with coupons.  I instantly associated with being sick.

Or when I was sick with Little Miss, the kids were learning a Thanksgiving song to perform at a little concert they were giving to our friends and family.  I heard that particular song for the first time a few months ago and I started gagging!!

Now I am starting to associate being sick with the trailer.

So the Hubby has ordered me not to do ANYTHING in regards to the trailer so I don't have that same bad connection.  Now I try not to think about the RV or anything to do with camping.  Hence why I haven't done an update post on whether we go the Salem or not.

That's the scoop and I am not going to think about it anymore! lol

Many Blessings,

The Mama

Possibly Trading Our RV

So we might be trading our Jayco TT.  Yeah I know.  We have never even used it.  So here is what is happening:


The Hubby and I felt sure that God wanted us to get the Jayco.  So now we are like, "Ummm, how are we going to fit 6 kids and 2 adults (and 2 guinea pigs) in the Jayco that only has 2 bunks?".  Needless to say we have felt a bit frustrated and confused this week over the trailer issue.

We were actually suppose to pick up our RV yesterday or today. We have been super excited.  I even picked up a few things for the new decor(pictures coming soon!).

But for some reason the modifications that we needed done to our TT ( moving the master bed over to make room for the play yard, originally for Little Miss) hadn't been done quite yet.

This was all through messaging with the dealer who was coming home from vacation.

In the email I said how I really wanted our TT this week because we just found out we were expecting and I may not be feeling well soon and wanted to get as much done as quickly as possible in the TT.  I jokingly said,"You don't happen to have a TT with quad bunks we can trade for? LOL"

To which the dealer replied,"Actually I do have a 36' with quad bunks."

We talked about how much he was selling it for and how much we could get out of our current TT.

Turns out the other TT is a 2006 Salem with 2 slides-one in the living room and one in the master bedroom to make and east west bed.  It has quad bunks, one bunk that converts to a dinette table.

This is video is of a 2012 model, but everything is the same except for the full size fridge and electric awning.  

Really, everything we wanted on our Must Have List ( except a full size fridge).

So we were thinking,"Is the reason the modifications hadn't been done in our TT a God thing?  It would be hard to find a buyer for it if the one wardrobe was ripped out and the bed moved over."

The dealer was gracious enough to be willing to give us 10,000 for our TT( which we bought from him for 7750).  But we would still need to come up with 10,000 more.


Here is the main issue:

The Salem is a Forest River model.

Hubby works at a Forest River plant.

We could get a brand new model with everything we need for about 14,000.


So if we sold  our TT on our own for say 7,000 then we would need an extra 7k for the brand new model.

Where as if we bought the 2006 Salem, we would owe 10k more.  Seems silly to owe more for a model that is 7-8years older, ya know?

So I told the dealer our dilemma.  He emailed me this morning saying he would like to make this a possibility for us and he would give us 10k for our trailer and then have it so we would owe just 6500 more on the Salem instead of 10k.

We just love this man.  Such a Godly man and we are so grateful that God brought us to him( through another Godly man).

We still don't know if this is the path we should go though.  We really did not want to incur debt.  If we end up staying here till the baby is born then we could have it paid off by then.  It just all depends on when God sells our house.  I hate variables.

Plus, I had already redecorated out Jayco in my head and felt it was home-we all did.  So it would be really hard to let it go with out ever using it.  I saw so many great trips with it.  Even if we would trade straight up, I would still have to think about it.

We went and looked at both trailers last night, praying that we would get a definitive feeling/answer from God as to what we should do.  But we didn't. Boo.

Though there was an interesting turn of events this morning.

As of last night, we still would have to come up with 10k for the Salem which we knew we couldn't and wouldn't do.  Unbeknownst to me, the Hubby prayed this morning that if we are suppose to get the Salem that the price would be less than 7k that we would have to come up with.  So when I talked to him a few minutes ago on his way home from work and told him the dealer said he would come down to 6500( after the trade in), the Hubby was floored.  He then shared with me his prayer this morning.

So, tonight we have asked that the dealer hook the Salem up so it is warmed up and the lights work.  We will go over and spend a few hours in it to see how it feels and if it's the right fit for us.

We just want to do what God wants us to do.  Whatever that is!! Is this a temptation or a blessing?

Please pray for wisdom and clarity for us.

We'll let you know how it goes!

Many Blessings,

The Mama

Go Ape Treetop Experience with Sissy

Just wanted to post pics of when we took Sissy to Go Ape in March 

for her "Experience" she got for Christmas.  

Since it is outdoors we had to wait till it opened in March to go.  It was chilly but still fun.  I personally am glad I did it but wouldn't do it again.  It was physically and mentally challenging at times.  It a 'treetop adventure'.  You are harnessed at all times, but it's all up to you if you clip and unclip properly.  There is no one up there to help you.  Just staff on the ground keeping an eye on everyone.  In the beginning it's a it freaky but by the end we were old pros and clipping and unclipping ourselves between each obstacle and zipline.

It doesn't look that high until you're up there!!

The Hubby attempting this crazy rope loop thing.  He decided that he didn't want to chance doing the splits and took the easier course(that I am taking the picture from!)

Sissy and Hubby waiting to climb up. 

Sissy climbing up.

 I thought the ladders were one of the worst parts.  When you clip yourself to the safety rope to the side, it  adds 5lbs that your tugging along as you climb the vertical rope ladder.  

Upper arm strength is not my forte.  And it showed.

Sissy after the 2nd and longest zipline.  If you look at the tree behind her to the right, just where the tree starts to split off, you can see the platform where we stared off from. 

All of our carabiners on the belt, color coded to help remember which one hooks to what

( it really does help!)

If you look closely to your right, you can see someone walking across on the the 'obstacles'.

Another zipline. I don't know if that was the Hubby or Sissy coming across.

Sissy

It was lucky that we went when we did in March because you are not suppose to do this if your are pregnant.  Technically I was a few days pregnant.  Oops.

Here is me attempting to cross the rope thing.  There were a few obstacles when I did think,"I can't do this."  Some of them were huge trust exercises that your pulley and clips would really hold you. I did get a good 'rug burn' on my knee on one of the obstacles( the scab just came off).  And I had bruises on my upper arms from having to support my weight on coated wires as I went across.  

I do have sensitive skin though and bruise easily.

Sissy had a blast and it was definitely a neat experience you don't do every day.  We did wish it was warmer( it was in the low 40's) and it would be beautiful when the leaves are out.  But again, glad we didn't wait for that because I wouldn't have been able to do it!  That would be have been a bummer.  Especially because we had to pay and book in advance!

Many Blessings,

The Mama

Big News! Well Little Really...

So the next big announcement  that you would be expecting would be :

We Sold Our House!

Wow that felt REALLY good to type. One day, but not today.

So this is our big little news told by Little Miss:

Big Sister December 2014

WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!

Yep that makes SIX Kids!

Didn't expect that did ya?  Either did we lol  But that's how God works in life... if you let him.

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9

So what does this mean for our travel plans? It means we should have gotten a bigger trailer!!

We still feel that God wants us to RV cross country so I don't know if he will have us stick around here till after the baby's  arrival in early December.  Or if we will sell soon and take off for a few months and come back for the baby's birth.  We were, after all, already planning on coming back for the holidays.

And I hope it goes with out saying but we are thrilled.  A little surprised, but thrilled all the same.

We decided after Little Miss to leave our family size up to God.  We almost missed out on such a blessing with her if left to our own plans that we decided to never let that happen again.

I've always said that maybe we were done growing our family, maybe God would have us adopt again or have bio kids or both.  Who knew.  And any of those scenarios were fine with us.  We just wanted to let God decide, not us. 

That is a very personal matter every family has to decide.  I just wanted to let everyone know where we were coming from on the issue.

We just found out last night and spent today trying to chase down local family members to tell them. 

So yeah, my mind is a whirlwind since last night pretty much.  But a good whirlwind filled with the smell of baby and  those cute newborn cries. 

Can you pray for me though?  In everyone of my pregnancies I have been terribly sick from the 6th week till the 16th week.  Like everyday throw up and it gets worse as the day goes on sick.  Like I can't drink anything with out gagging and am so dehydrated sick.  Like crying at the end of the 6th week because I know how many more weeks this sickness will last and I am positive I will never make it through it.  Pray that this time is different or I find SOMETHING that helps alleviate the sickness!!! 

Many, Many, Many Blessings

The Mama



2 Choices For Our Home

We are currently weighing our options between 2 choices concerning our home.  Both require faith.  But which choice is what God wants us to do?  That is the million dollar question



CHOICE #1

Drop the price of our home a few thousand.

This would take a lot of faith because even if we sell for just under our current asking price we barely scrape by with enough money to sustain us out on the road.



CHOICE #2

Keep our price where it is.

This would require faith because at the price it's at it has sat here for 9 months with no offers.  Not that anyone has complained about the price.  But by lowering the price it could make it more enticing to potential buyers. A deal that can't walk away from.



Do we trust that God will provide that one right buyer at the price it is at and not try to take control of the situation by lowering the price?  Do we trust that God will provide the few extra thousand we need on the road( with no job) if we lower the price?

One thing that has always been important to us is that we not 'outrun' God. What I mean by that is that we wait for His timing and not force things along.  We know all too well then often when it appears nothing it happening in a situation, God is working behind the scenes to make it all come together.

 So would we be forcing things along by dropping the price because that's what we want- to sell out house quicker??

We don't know.

We also looked at which scenario would give God the most glory.

We lean more towards keeping the price where it is just because the human brain says if something isn't selling, then lower the price.  That's what people do.  So most would go with choice #1. Also most people look at (financial) #'s and live their life by them, never daring to trust God that he will provide if the numbers don't line up.  So another reason choice #1 also goes against the grain of most of society.

Our realtor suggested we not have our house come furnished and drop the price a tad and then sell the furnishing to make up for that price drop.  It is a great idea, but one that we decided long ago not to do.

The buyers have the choice to get the house unfurnished, but then we would return a few items in our home to family that we were just borrowing anyhow and the rest we would give away.

WHY?

Because as we look around our beautiful home, we are humbled to realize we paid for almost none of our possessions.  They were given to us or handed down.  I can't sell something that was given to me.  We feel it should be passed on to someone else so they too can be blessed.

Not saying that to get any attention. It is tempting to think of the prospect of getting a few thousand out of our belonging. That would really help. I just wanted to explain why selling our belonging isn't a solution for us.

So what to do, what to do?

Please pray for wisdom, clarity and discernment for the Hubby and I as we make this decision. We will let you know what God leads us to do.

Many Blessings,

The Mama

Showing Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that all we have heard from the showing last Thursday is that they are thinking about it.  The people also looked at the house next to us too.


I would rather hear they are thinking about it rather than they ruled our home out right away.

Better get off of here. Got to grocery shop still  and Sissy is singing  in a talent show tonight at church with her friend H ( Hubby is playing the guitar for them).  They are singing Oceans Deep by Hillsong. Love that song.

 Will try to get some video from tonight to share!

Many Blessings,

The Mama