Sprite and saltines . . .

That’s pretty much all I can stomach right now. No, I don’t have the stomach flu. I have a much better reason for my limited meal plan. Yes, dear readers! I am again expecting a little blessing! I would have thought that the excitement would wear off a little, seeing that this is baby number six. But I feel nearly as excited as when I was expecting our first. I am so thrilled that the Lord is blessing us again!

Speaking of children as blessings, I’m going to take a moment to spill my thoughts on the number of children that is “right” or “pleasing” to the Lord. As I said, this is our sixth child. You may not know this, but in some circles it is thought that the number of children you have indicates your spirituality. Children are worn as badges, though oftentimes they are dirty little badges that aren’t well cared for. Believe me, I was one of those “badge-wearing” Christians. Many of my friends and acquaintances were convinced that having a bus load of kids signified your holiness and desire to please God. While I agree that children are a blessing from the Lord and are a reward and I think it is not only selfish, but wrong to refuse to have children, I also think it is a shame that some people bring children into this world to care for and train them even less than they do their dogs. 

Believe me, I have seen this first hand and try not to be guilty of it myself. 

Children are a reward from the Almighty God. Don’t take that lightly. He has blessed you with children. Spend time with them, love them, train them, teach them, point them to the One who made them and gave them to you. Don’t wear them as badges when you did nothing to deserve them in the first place. Praise the Lord for them and be thankful that you were one of the ones he chose to bless with little ones. Some are not so blessed.

I praise the Lord that He has chosen to give us another child and I want to honor Him by raising this child, along with my others to love and glorify Him. J

Complete In Thee

Complete in Thee! no work of mine

May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And I am now complete in Thee.

Complete in Thee! no more shall sin,

Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;

Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,

And I shall stand complete in Thee.

Complete in Thee— each want supplied,

And no good thing to me denied;

Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,

I ask no more, complete in Thee.

Dear Saviour! when before Thy bar

All tribes and tongues assembled are,

Among Thy chosen will I be,

At Thy right hand, complete in Thee.

Yea, justified! O blessed thought!

And sanctified! Salvation wrought!

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And glorified, I too, shall be!

                       - Aaron Wolfe

When life seems too heavy . . .

Have you ever experienced a hard thing in this life? A burden that seemed so heavy that you began pleading with God to let it end? This life, I mean.

Honestly, I have always had a hard time longing for Heaven. It sounds so "unspiritual" to admit, but I've always felt so afraid of the "unknown" experience of leaving this body, world, life behind to go on to a Heaven I've never seen. I become emotional when I think of parting from my family and friends. The things that my mind cannot grasp, oftentimes scare me.

However, in December of 2010, my fear of leaving this world ended. Suddenly, I longed for relief from this burdensome life.

I have intended to record what the Lord did in my life that December. However, procrastination prevented my writing until now.

I have told some friends and family about that December and the few months following, but I know as time goes on, I will forget unless I make a point to write about what happened.

We had been under pretty intense financial strain for a while and it was supposed to be the "jolly" holiday season, but we weren't seeing much by way of a "Christmas" for the kids. I was expecting our fifth child, Andrew. He was due around the end of the month and I was very ready to be done with the pregnancy! : / My last three pregnancies have ended with me struggling with depression. I am not a depressed person, but my hormones go crazy at the end of pregnancy and I really have a hard time.

Well, Andrew finally came on Sunday evening, the 26th of December after a rather bleak holiday. Sounds very pity-partyish, I know. But, when one is depressed, most everything seems bleak. :( Well, praise the Lord, our sweet boy was born after an extremely fast labor and delivery! :) Everything was fine until I began having some intense pain in my lower right side. We assumed it was postpartum cramping, which is common and I had experienced it after previous deliveries. But this pain was different and seemed more localized. I ended up becoming feverish and nauseated. Well, we went to the doctor's office on the 28th and discovered that my white blood cell count was considerably elevated, which means one's body is fighting infection or illness.

Because of the location of my pain, elevated white blood cell count, my recent labor and delivery, and a peculiar "popping" sensation (sorry if this is TMI) in that area during delivery, there was reason enough for an "emergency" CT scan. All this time I had our sweet little 1 1/2 day old Andrew to care for. It was pretty stressful!

Well, we went immediately to the radiologist's office. I called my parents (praise the Lord for parents who will drop everything to help) and they arrived just before I was called back. My mom helped Aaron take care of Andrew. At this point I was feeling pretty awful. I will also mention that I was terrified! You see, I have never, ever been to the hospital for any health trouble. I have never had any tests run or anything even similar to what went on that evening. Some might say that I'm "as healthy as a horse." Though I don't know why that's significant because I've seen some very sick horses in my day. ;P

Once the scan was finished, we sat in the waiting area waiting for the results. I felt so sick that I just wanted to go home. After about thirty minutes (I think) they called me back and told me that there seemed to be some inflammation in my lower right abdomen. Oh, really?, I think to myself. :P Well, does anyone want to guess what the concern was at this point? You got it! It looked like my appendix may have ruptured during labor. The doctor had said that it has happened to others, so it might be what happened to me. I definitely recalled a popping sensation during delivery. Hmm . . . so, off we go to the emergency room.

First, we went to Kmart to buy bottles and formula for my sweet little baby boy. Oh, how hard it was to send him home without me! I knew that my parents would take good care of him, but if you've ever had a baby and had to be separated from him/her so soon after giving birth . . . well, it was tough, to say the least. My hormones were in disarray, I felt so sick, I might have to have and emergency appendectomy, my four other little ones (who were showing signs of a stomach bug) were at home without me to care for them, and I wasn't going to be able to take care of my new baby boy. There were lots of tears! :(

It was at this point that I was done with this life. I just wanted to rest. I wanted the Lord to take me from all this physical and emotional pain. I did not fear death. I welcomed it. This seems rather melodramatic now, but at the time, I was experiencing a very real anguish. I tried to pray, but didn't even feel like I cold hold my thoughts together well enough to tell the Lord what I needed. Of course, He knew everything, but there's a human need to express what one is thinking and I couldn't. When I tried to pray, it would come out with groans and tears. The only words I could seem to put together were, "Lord, please help!"

"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26 & 27

I have felt some confusion as to what this passage is indicating. After reading this wonderful sermon by C.H.Spurgeon, I could not believe how his sermon put words to what I had been thinking and feeling! When one cannot pray, the burden cannot be lifted! Just crying out to our Father eases the pain and worry. He knows! He cares! He loves us beyond measure! That December I saw God as my loving Father for the first time. He was not just the righteous, holy God to whom I needed to be reconciled. He was my Father! The God of Heaven, my Father . . . I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! :)What incredible joy! I have never felt such a freedom from worry and burdens as I did during that time. We have NOTHING to fear! Our Father is Jehovah! Finally I could rest. I didn't need to leave this life. I needed to rest in God's grace and love.

So, after checking things out some more, the doctors came to the conclusion that my appendix had not ruptured and the pain and elevated white blood cell count were caused by two things: postpartum cramping and a nasty little stomach "bug" that was at that moment attacking my children at home.:(
Well, you can imagine my relief! :) Things began to improve and life became normal again for a time. But I had another lesson to learn . . .

Beautiful . . .

"How deep the Father's love for us!
How vast beyond all measure!
That He should give His only Son
to make a wretch His treasure!

How great the pain of searing loss!
The Father turns His face away
as wounds which mar the Chosen One
bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon a cross,
my sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there
until it was accomplished.
His dying breath has brought me life;
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything;
no gifts, no pow'r, no wisdom.
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart;
His wounds have paid my ransom."

By Stuart Townend

Kids Say the Coolest Things!

My kids say some of the funniest, coolest and wittiest things to . . . everyone but me, or so it seems. Friends and family members are always telling me that "so and so" said this or that hilarious or adorable thing and I always think, "You're kidding, right? My kid said that!?"

Well, lately they've been letting me in on their little secret. Or perhaps I just accidently snuck up on them and they let a cute or funny little comment slip. Whichever the case, I do not care! I now know for sure that they are hilarious! :D

Hannah, my two and a half-year-old was caught in the corner with her hands covering her eyes (the way little kids cover their eyes) counting to ten, though her attempt was anything but routine. Most people start at one and count by ones until they reach ten. However, Hannah prefers to deviate from the norm with a new way to count . . . "One, two, seben, seben, eleben", . . . (at this point I could practically see the wheels turning in her cute little head as she struggled to remember the next number in this unusual, yet refreshing sequence) "FIVE"! Yes! She knew she could remember that final number. Who needs a ten when you've got a five? :)

By the way, did you know that when we talk on the phone, the words evaporate out of the power lines? I couldn't believe it either! But who's going to question the wisdom of a newly six-year-old girl? Abigail got it all figured out and is sticking to it until I can figure out a way to explain how telephones are used, how water evaporates and that power lines are best kept away from water and telephones. ;D

Last night, while doing a Bible/History/Geography study as a family, Aaron was asking the children questions about Creation, the Fall, the Flood, etc. After Jesse informed us that Adam was made from dirt, Aaron asked Abigail what Eve was made from. Much "hem-hawing" and "um-ing" went on, then Abigail in her confident way said, "Hmm, . . . I think Eve was made from salt." If you know Abigail, you can picture the completely unsure, "I think I must of said the wrong thing" look immediately after saying this. I was able to snicker and snort over in the corner of the kitchen where I was putting a few things away. Poor Aaron, however, had to figure how to not offend and embarrass poor Abigail while trying to stifle his snickering. I must say, he did a pretty good job. :)

I hope no one gets offended by this next one but if you do, sorry! I just have to share a "joke" Jesse told last night. He laughed so hard at himself that he nearly fell off the couch! I love it when little kids learn to tell "jokes"! :) He said that this guy woke up one morning, sat up in bed and said "cuesta cuanto!" I have absolutely no idea where he came up with this but he was so "tickled" that we all laughed watching him laugh. I assume this guy in the joke had to have been a dyslexic Spanish-speaker, no offense intended - I sometimes think I'm slightly dyslexic and I speak enough Spanish to realize how little I know. The only thing that disqualifies me from this joke is that I'm not the "guy". Well, I've learned a lesson through this. We either need to brush up on our Spanish or improve our joke-telling skills! :)

Last, but definitely my favorite so far is Benjamin's little "fanfare" from last night's Bible/History time. We had talked about Adam and Eve, their sin of eating the fruit in disobedience, God's sending them out of Eden, their two sons, Cain and Abel and the fact that Cain killed Abel because he was angry and jealous when God accepted the slain sheep but not the produce that Cain offered. So, Aaron asked Benjamin what Adam and Eve had done that made them have to leave the Garden of Eden. Aaron even helped Benjamin with a little hint about the Tree in the midst of the garden. So Benjamin concluded that, "They had to leave because they ate the fruit. And they fed it to the sheep." He said this so "matter of fact" that we were nearly rolling on the floor. He became somewhat embarrassed at this point and began to laugh along with the rest of us. I don't know what he was thinking but, perhaps in his sweet little head he came to the conclusion that the sheep had to die because they ate the fruit as well. Or maybe he just thought they were hungry? He is absolutely adorable!

I LOVE MY CHILDREN!!! :)

Achoo!! Excuse me.

I've got a little cold, so if you'll please excuse the sneezes and sniffles, I would appreciate it. :) I don't have much on my mind right now (thankfully, because it's pretty stuffy up there). I thought I'd just post some fun pictures of our summer.

Our dear, wonderful friends Mike, Laura, and Rachael came for a visit in August and we went fishing at an uncle's pond. The kids caught their first fish. It was really fun and funny, especially when Rachael chased Andrew's Bumbo seat down the hill and "fished" it out of the water. :) I just had to mention it Rachael! :D





The kids and I also went to a local park a few weeks ago and had so much fun together. It's so nice to be able to take my kids out for a relaxing, albeit hot day at the park. They are usually so good and play really well together (at least in public). ;)













Finally, I wanted to post some pictures of us just being goofy and having fun here at home. Trust me! Every day is not just a happy, fun-filled, playful, laughter-filled, relaxing kind of day around here, but we're working on it. ;D I also threw in a couple pictures of our favorite (and only) dog, Bela. If you're wondering why I spelled it wrong, don't worry. I intentionally spelled her name this way because that's the Portuguese way to say "beautiful". I did this to remind us of our sweet relatives who are missionaries in Brasil. :)




Well, that's all I know tonight!

In case you were wondering . . .

I have not been sitting around twiddling my thumbs pretending like I'm too busy to blog. ;) This is what I've been doing.

I almost lost a couple kids in these stacks of homeschool junk! Um, I mean highly enthralling, educational, and intellectually stimulating homeschool manipulatives and resources. :O

Well, I finally got it all sorted and restacked in a different location! :)

Seriously, I am so relieved to have some order again! We have had four very successful homeschool days, one zoo day, and one tomato-picking, in-touch with nature day (aka. "throw as many rotten tomatoes in the mud puddle as you can before Mama tells you to stop because you're splashing mud all over yourselves and your little sister day"). Bleh!

The kids really seem to be enjoying school so far. We start the school day with Bible-reading, verse-quoting (Proverbs 1:7 this week), hymn-learning (Blessed Assurance), state and capital drilling, Spanish vocab drilling, and reading a quick story for character-building. All this takes about forty minutes. We then work on copywork while listening to some classical music. Right now our poem for copywork is "The Moon" by Robert Louis Stevenson. It's a cute little poem. :) We're trying a different approach to math and I must admit that I'm a little nervous about how it's going to work out. It's ProfB's Math for the Conceptual Learner or something like that. I don't have it in front of me right now and can't pull the name of it out of my brain.

While the older kids are doing copywork, Hannah colors, Andrew plays or naps, and Benjamin and I work on writing his name and identifying letters and their sounds. He is so excited to get the one-on-one with me. I forget how much it means to each child to get individual attention and not just be one of the kids. :/ I really need to work on this!

We're also doing Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy this year. Jesse is pretty interested in learning more about space and identifying constellations and planets. We've never put much emphasis on this aspect of science. We're all about animals and habitats! :) This should be a fun learning experience for all of us. We are also using the Simply Charlotte Mason History/Bible/Geography module this year. I am really excited about this! I don't know about you, but I never really attached Biblical history with "real" history. They always seemed so separate. This study shows how history began in Genesis and continues on to today. I'm looking forward to seeing what I missed when I was in school!

The only other things I can think of that we do are Jesse and Abigail individually read to me so I can correct any pronunciation problems and I read to all the children from the "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We LOVE these books and have trouble stopping at the end of each chapter. :)

Well, that was long-winded! I'll try to let you know when we have our next adventure. And how do I know there'll be another adventure? Because, when you have this many little kids, every day is an adventure! ;D

I'm trying . . .

to sort through all this crazy homeschool stuff! ;) How can the school year be here so soon? I will . . . trrry . . . tooooo . . . update a little . . . more regularly . . after I get . . . out from . . under this heeeeaaaaavy stack of school stuff . . . kinda' hard to type . . . right now . . . :O ;) Later!

Happy Anniversary! (ahem . . . yesterday)

Yes, I knew yesterday that it was our anniversary. Yes, I intended to blog a sweet little nothing about our darling little 8th anniversary. Yes, I procrastinated and didn't blog anything. But, today I will blog sweet little nothings, or something about our anniversary. Confused? I am! ; )

As most of you know, everyone says, "I can't believe we've been married for ____ years! It seems like it was just yesterday." Well, I couldn't have said it better myself! Wow! Eight years already and we're both still alive and sane!

Okay, sarcasm and kidding aside. Does anyone actually know why time seems to go so much faster as we get older? Why did the first and second (and third, if we dare mention a third) eight years of my life seem to drag but these last eight seemed to fly? Is it because life is so much busier? Has anyone ever researched this phenomenon? I mean I can't believe we've been married for eight years already! Oops! Well, there you go. I said it myself. ;)

So what have I learned from these years of married life? Well, I believe I've gained a lot of "hard-earned" knowledge and hopefully some wisdom. Veteran wives will most likely say that I've got a lot more to learn and I agree and dare to hope so. If I believe that I have learned all I need to know, then I have not learned much. That sounds like a quote from somewhere, but I don't know for sure. :/ Hopefully I didn't just plagiarize.

I'm not going to list all the things I've learned so far. Maybe I will in another post. However, I would like to share what I believe to be the most wonderful part of marriage. The Lord has allowed me to spend my days on this earth with my dear Aaron. I can look to him for guidance, comfort, sympathy, encouragement, reprimand, strength, friendship and love. There could not have been a better match for me! I love you Aaron Marsceau and thank our Father in Heaven for allowing us to spend our lives together! :*)

Did you know . . .

. . . that when blogger says it's "saving" a draft, it isn't always serious? Hahaha! Laugh. Laugh. The joke's on me tonight. : / Oh well! Here goes again.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

This word, or sound (whichever it may be) pretty much sums up potty training these days. I know we have to get this right one of these days! Right!? I mean, have you ever heard of an apparently normal child never getting the whole "tell Mama when you need to go potty" thing down? Sigh. : / I think we can . . . I think we can . . .

Finally

I did it! I made yogurt! It turned out pretty good considering I nearly scorched the milk right to start with. :) The kids enjoyed it, and everyone knows if kids like it, pretty much anyone will like it. We just drizzled some honey over it in their bowls because I didn't sweeten or flavor it beforehand.

Next experiment, homemade cream cheese. I'm so excited!

Good Food?

Well, if you want to learn all about the disgusting things we eat every day, watch the movie "Food, Inc." However, I must warn you not to watch it if you don't want to change the types of foods you eat or at least feel guilty and somewhat paranoid while eating them.
Aaron and I watched it a couple months ago and it has completely changed the way I think about not only what I eat, but also what my children eat!
We have many times talked about going more natural and organic. We sometimes buy "out of date" organic foods from the local discount store. We have even grown our own garden for the last couple of years. However, when I fail to plan ahead or we happen to be in town at suppertime, we firmly believe that "when in Rome, [one should] do as the Romans do." Yep, you got it! We eat out at the local organic, "go green" restaurant. HA! I wish! Can you say, "Arby's, Pizza Inn, Golden Corral, IHOP, McDonald's (unless Aaron puts up too much of a fight), Taco Bell, Wendy's, etc...?" I guess you get the point.
Well, food is just food right? Sure you've got your junk food, but what about those salads and wraps and fruit cups and such? They're good for us, right? Hmmm. . . just check out "Food, Inc.", if you think you're ready.

Mama Song

Have you ever heard the "Mama Song?"
My children sing it all day long.
Sweet Hannah Rose seems to like it best.
She hardly ever gives it a rest.

It often makes me want to scream.
At night it sometimes invades my dreams.
But when I stop to take a break,
My heart will then begin to ache.

Those little voices singing my song
Will all too soon be big and strong.
They won't sing my song anymore.
They'll have new places with songs to explore.

I know I'll one day long to hear
The song my children hold so dear.
So rather than moan, I'll choose to enjoy
The song sung so sweetly by my girls and boys.

I love you Jesse Aaron, Abigail Jane, Benjamin Earl,
Hannah Rose and Andrew David!

by "Mama" Amanda Marsceau

Little Marsceau #5

So, I'm not very good at this blogging thing. Maybe it's best to learn how to blog before starting a blog. Oh well, I usually do things in the wrong order.

Well, it's now ten months later and we are about to add our fifth little one to the quiver. My midwife thinks this one is getting to be a pretty chunky little critter, so we're planning to make a trip to the birthing center and get things going in the morning with a natural induction.

I'm really ready to meet this little one, especially before Christmas and all those yummy meals and desserts. There's just not much room left for Christmas cookies and such! However, I must admit that I am a tad nervous about labor again. It's just not fun! The only things that get me through every time are the knowledge that the LORD has promised not to give us more than we can bear and I'm going to be holding a sweet little blessing again.

If I can figure out how to add pictures again, I'll post some of the new little one and the other children.

Psalm 127:3-5
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

SNOW!!

Okay all you people who live in frozen tundras, I know you don't feel the excitement that we experience at the sight of snow, but if you lived in upstate South Carolina, you would better understand the thrill of waking up to four inches of snow outside your windows!

The really nice thing about our snow is that we can play in it for a day or two, then it's gone. We don't have a chance to get tired of it! :)

My little ones had so much fun playing with their daddy in the snow. We even got to make a completely white snowman, which is quite an accomplishment around here!

Why am I joining the thousands, or dare I say millions who feel the need to write about themselves, their families, or their home happenings. Things that may hold no interest whatsoever for anyone other than themselves?

I guess I need an outlet. As a mama to four young children, I sometimes feel a need to make sure I can think and "speak" more than "this is a blue block", "clean up those toys before you get more out" , "do you need to go potty", "no jumping on the couch", etc.

It's wonderful being a wife and mother! But it's also nice to relax in the evening after children are laying down and remember what it feels like to be beyond preschool! Hmmmm . . . somehow though . . . I wonder if I'll end up writing mostly about . . . Nah! : )

Well, here goes!