Oh well, I’m tired and so wearyBut I must go aloneTill the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yesWell the morning's so brightAnd the lamp is alightAnd the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes
There will be peace in the valley for me, some dayThere will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I prayThere'll be no sadness, no sorrowNo trouble, trouble I seeThere will be peace in the valley for me, for me
Well the bear will be gentleAnd the wolves will be tameAnd the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yesAnd the beasts from the wildShall be lit by a childAnd I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes
There will be peace in the valley for me, some dayThere will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I prayThere'll be no sadness, no sorrowNo trouble, trouble I seeThere will be peace in the valley for me, for me

My week has been anything but fun. We had a scare with the possible mumps....
thank goodness it wasn't! However all the kids are snot nosed and cranky and
my poor immune system finally gave in and I felt really awful for a few days.
By the way, as I am writing this I am hearing all the toy bins being emptied
one after another on the wood floor...sigh, but I have no more energy to bother
with it right now. Yesterday was a "sneak outside and cry my frustrations out
then back in before any kids noticed I was gone" kind of day, to change another
diaper and wipe another nose. This morning was the icing on the cake...loaded 4
children into the van...and what do you know, I think we might actually make the
doctors appointment on time...but the van won't start!!!! So back out of the car
with Robby trying to diagnose the problem... which I admit at that particular
moment was NOT helpful. So back into the house, which is a total wreak....if I
could find the phone number of our maid...I'd call her and give her a piece of my
mind. (HA!)

Always thinking of the bugs....Robby seems to have a love hate relationship with critters. He either wants to put them in his pockets or he is having nightmares about them crawling in his bed. This morning Robby came to me and said "mommy I needed to get this toilet paper " then he held up a handful of crumpled toilet paper "so I could get the bug so the spider wouldn't have so much work to do". huh????? was my reply as I was still working on my first cup of coffee and still trying to wake up from the pm cold medicine I had taken last night.
So of course I asked him to explain how exactly he was "helping" the spider. Apparently he saw the bug and thought that he'd help out the "spiders of the world" because it is, after all their job to rid his bed of bugs (can you hear a mommy midnight "everything is OK go back to bed the spiders are our friends" talk in there somewhere???!!!) and he was going to "take care of this bug" so he could give the spiders a break from their "hard work"!!!!

Oh the mind of a little boy is such a wonderful thing! Do you think God made them that way so just when you think you might really lose it on them they say something so cute and amazing that you just melt all over again for them?

I think a bird flew threw the house, at least that would explain the looks on their faces!!!
sweet cousins, dear friends.
brotherly love!!!! my boys
Madelyn playing outside before the feast.
More Brotherly love.......my dear brothers!

A slight glimpse of our Thanksgiving day.....we are SO BLESSED!!!!

A little taste of home.
As a young girl I used to talk walk down to our local sari-sari store (a little shack type building with candy and soda and other misc. things) one of my favorite breads could also be bought there, and if you got there early enough you could buy them while they were still warm.
I was reminded of Pandesal when I was eating a roll last night, don't know why then...but it got me thinking that I wish I could have a warm pandesal right out of the oven...so the search began for the recipe....and I found it!!!!




Pan de Sal
1 tbsp. vegetable shortening1 tbsp. salt1 tbsp. sugar1 cup boiling water1 tbsp. active dry yeast4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour4 ounces plain crackers, crumbled (about 40 crackers)

Combine the shortening, salt, sugar, and boiling water in a large mixingbowl. Stir and set aside to cool to a warm temperature (about 110-115F).
Combine the yeast and warm water in a small bowl, stirring until yeast isdissolved. Set aside for 5 minutes. Gradually mix in flour to make adough.
Turn out on a lightly floured surface.
Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, untildough is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary to preventstickiness. Return it to the bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise ina warm place until doubled in bulk--about 45 minutes.Preheat oven to 425F.
Flour two baking sheets.Gently knead the dough again. Divide into 16 pieces and shape into buns.Roll the pieces in the cracker crumbs and place on the baking sheets, spreadwell apart. Cover and let rise 20 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes.
Transferto a wire rack to cool.

I had the chance to go to a WOMAN OF FAITH conference at the beginning of this month. It was so much fun!!!! Here is a picture of my friend and I sitting in the sun finishing our lunch. It was such an amazing time, we already have our tickets for next year!!!

Jack is now 18months old. He is into everything and has some spunk that the others didn't have at this age. He is our first to do an "all out temper tantrum". Yesterday I had to take something away from him, and he ran into the dining room and threw himself on the floor and started screaming and kicking....which I IGNORED.... So when that didn't work he pick himself up and ran over to me, threw himself at my feet and proceeded to kick and scream....someone tell him that he is number 4, and he'll have to try a lot harder than that to get his way.

I came across this old poem I had written in high school. It was tucked away in an old sketch book in a box in the garage. I found it while looking for our expired passports...but that is a whole other story. I read it over and it reminded me oh how easily out faith can be questioned and how frail the human mind is. I don't think that my original thought was to express that, but now that I am in a different place in my life its meaning changes. My children are all sick, except for Jack, we are approaching thanksgiving day and my prayer is that they will all be well by then....but in the midst of the crying and coughing and sneezing and did I mention crying...it is sometimes hard to see the sun. So I think I will put on some sweet music and forget the piled laundry that is overtaking my house, over look the daily grind and spend a moment warming myself in the warmth of the SON who gives me strength.

Tomorrow

I open my eyes to the breaking of dawn, I sense the warmth all around,

safe inside its soft rays.

The peaking of the sun lite sky, over taking my loneliness

Leaving no trace of it behind.

I laugh and celebrate in its warm caress.

All the time believing that I'll forever be free, happy and safe.

The it happens, all to quickly, I cry and beg it not to go.

But unaware of my plea's it fades into the far distance.

As I sink to the ground and hold my own trembling body,

I close my eyes to the cold night air.

So scared, so alone.

Only if we were to see that tomorrow holds a better, brighter sunlight for us.

But in our nature we cannot see, but only wallow in our own misery.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I feel lately that I am having an inner struggle, well actually it is probably very evident on the outside as well, with myself. I feel like I am always saying one thing and then asking for the opposite. Mainly in the subject of my children and having them grow up. Go to bed, oh let me snuggle with you a bit longer. I hope they sleep in, I can't wait for them to wake up to see this...

Won't it be great when he is in school ALL DAY LONG, I miss him and wish he were here to help me like he used to...by "matching" all the socks. I can't wait till they sleep though the night, where did that sweet baby smell go? I wish they would color in the lines, or anywhere but on the walls....why are you so worried about every little detail? (that one would be for the first born perfectionist). Grow up, where did my baby go? My guess is that I am not the only mom out there feeling this odd pull. One day when my sweet hubby and I are on our in a quiet neat house, and all the children are grown and off on their own we will look back and say how much we miss that....... a little to close to it today, but I know one day....one day!

Feeling like I was about to loose what little sanity I had left today, I thought I'd do what I love and paint...it worked....I'm still hanging on by a thread!!! yeah for me! it's a bug a blue bug, and I love him. :)

I know these are late but they are still cute.
I will have to wait for family to send the other pictures of the kids, but these
are they ones I have been send so far...I need to get my camera back. :)

I have another quote from Robby...it was just to funny not to share.
Last weekend I ran to the store to get a cooked chicken for dinner and I
had Robby with me. I placed the chicken in the cart and Robby looked at
it and asked me "mommy do they tie the legs together so the chicken
doesn't flop around while it's cooking?" - I almost died laughing, so I had
to make a quick call on the matter and either become a vegetarian and put
the chicken back, or say "no honey" in my most controlled "mommy voice"
and ramble some short explanation about cooking and change the subject.
Oh he makes me laugh!!!!