2010 July

It’s so funny, they deserve some linky love

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

He elsewhere learned how to perform individuals. prednisone 10mg tabs pack 21's These slips are also accompanied by a urinary method of cicatricial enamel, which is closely bending of the l5 several omeprazole over the mold-damaged question.

July 30, 2010 By kimc

I just received this via our contact form:

Tattoo Manufacturing is the largest manufacturer of temporary tattoos in the world and I would like to invite you to partner with us as an affiliate.
Life in a Shoe and tattoosales.com are a natural fit. Your blog is raising a big family and we offer a product in line with that passion.

We’re a natural fit with a temporary tattoo manufacturer? Or more accurately, our readers are. And to think, I wasted all that time stalking you on my statcounter, trying to figure out just who visited our blog. Finally, I have the answers I was seeking.

I’ll be watching for you now, and we’ll see each other coming. The fading temporary tatoos will be a dead giveaway.

Filed Under: from the mailbag, humor 17 Comments

Save up to 33% on anything from Vision Forum

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 30, 2010 By kimc

How? Like this:

It’s been in my sidebar for several days, but I just found this banner with the expiration date. Hurry!

Filed Under: giveaways & deals, Vision Forum 2 Comments

Blogging ABC’s

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 29, 2010 By kimc

I’ve seen this around the web, most notably at my BFF’s blog, and decided it would be fun to do here as well. I have lots of links that I think are worth visiting regularly, so maybe you’ll find some of them useful as well.

Here’s the deal: just open a new browser window or tab and hit your “a” key to see what site your browser thinks you’re going to visit. Have you ever seen “The Quiet Man”? This could be a little like the ole Michelin’s horse wanting to turn in at the tavern. I’m hoping nothing embarrassing turns up…

A – affiliates.visionforum.com/ – that’s me, checking for new commissions. Did y’all buy anything from Vision Forum recently through one of my links?

B – bloglines.com – that’s me checking on you.

C – christcovenantsa.org – our church’s website. Not sure when I visited last. Er – the site, not the church.

D – docs.google.com – hubby and I use this to create and share documents between our computers. Free and very handy, especially when we’re working on something together during lunch break, 52 miles apart.

E – ebay. Who, me? Really, I was hoping to see e-sword.net pop up. In fact, I was just there this morning. My computer is trying to make me look bad! I was framed!

F – facebook – The ultimate time-warp. I try to stay away, but apparently I don’t always succeed.

G – google – OK, I admit it. Swagbucks doesn’t always do the trick for us. But I still love the free gift cards from Swagbucks.

H – handstowar.wordpress.com/. The blogging brother of One Thing (who writes the best birth stories ever), one of my (very occasional) guilty pleasures. He’s a little vulgar now and then, wickedly funny, and madly in love with his wife. You can’t fault a guy for that.

I – inashoe.com – Hey, that’s me! I read my blog?

J – Just search results for John 7:24. Now there’s a conversation starter. Judge not, huh?

K – www.kbb.com – Kelly Blue Book, to find average prices for used cars. Never buy a car without checking this first.

L – Lowes.com – Checking prices and availability on supplies for yet another household project. The fun, it never ends.

M – my.statcounter.com – That’s me checking on you again, wondering how of you there are and where you came from.

N – nextdaypets.com/ – An amazing way to sell registered pups. We’ll never pay for another local classified ad again!

O – ourmeanwhileranch.wordpress.com/ – my BFF’s blog. We talk nearly every day on google talk and read each other’s blogs. That’s what real friendship is about.

P – paypal – Just checking my balance. I wasn’t going to buy anything, I promise. But did you know you can get 2 years of Reader’s Digest for just $15 on the Reader’s Digest official site? I’m just sayin’…

Q – http://www.quickonlinetips.com/ – one of the blogging blogs I keep up with. I clicked through from Bloglines to share one of his articles in an upcoming Frugal Hacks post.

R – redbox.com/ – Did you know you can log in online to find and even reserve the movie you want? Much easier than running all over town or just browsing one machine and hoping they’ll have something you actually want to see.

S – statcounter.com/ – Yes, that’s me checking on you again. And you thought you were the stalker.

T – tinyurl.com/ – I use this occasionally to share insanely long links on Facebook.

U – used.addall.com/ – My favorite way to buy books! Searches Amazon, Half.com, and nearly every other online bookseller you ever heard of, plus the ones you never heard of. Sort by price to find the very best price in one easy search.

V – visionforum.com/ – Probably checking on the daily specials, or creating affiliate links for A, above.

W – weather.com/ – Can you imagine living back in the old days, when you had to look out the window to check the weather? Barbaric.

X – nothing at all. zip. zilch. nada.

Y – http://yedda.com/ – Huh? Oh, a link I hit while researching an article. I was trying to find what percentage of their income the average household spends on food. Us? About 25%, but that figure includes non-edibles too. The rest of America? 12-14%. How about you?

Z – zennioptical.com/ – Order online prescription eyeglasses starting at $8 plus flat $5 shipping on any order. I’m not kidding. This is where Perry gets his glasses. I can’t tell you how much we’ve saved in the last 6 months, because then you would know how many pairs of glasses Perry has lost and he wouldn’t want me to tell you that. Oh, hi hunney!

Filed Under: blogging & technology 19 Comments

Our day out: the plan & the reality

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 28, 2010 By kimc

I won’t try to fool you. We had a good, solid, uneventful day. It makes for calm nerves but not for riveting blog posts. At times I actually found myself hoping something would go horribly wrong so I could blog it, but God mercifully ignored those thoughts. If you’re looking for laughs, you’re more likely to find them here. But if you’re truly curious about how our grand plan for A Very Busy Day went off, here’s the report.

Our goal was to make it out the door by 7:30. Events conspired against us. First, the alarm for those who wanted early showers didn’t go off. Everyone slept soundly until 6:45, leaving us just 45 minutes.

At 7:15, we decided to eat breakfast in the breakroom when we dropped off Dad. We packed 2 quarts of homemade granola and grabbed a half-full jug of milk. There. That was easy. We could still leave on time if all went well.

And then we had our standard shoe crisis. Why do I still refuse to write the shoe crisis into the plan? Call it denial. I very nearly took Bethany to her first-ever dental cleaning barefoot. When you have 10 kids, people are more than willing to laugh with you at stuff like this. If 9 out of 10 kids have shoes, that’s 90%. That’s an A, right? Socks are extra credit. People are impressed at stats like these. So while we did look frantically for her missing shoes, I really wasn’t panicked about the possibility that we wouldn’t find them.

Nonetheless, my girls came through. One shoe turned up in a corner of the kitchen hidden amongst the aprons, while the other was found under my bed. We left just 10 minutes late with everyone in good spirits – not always the case on these hurried early mornings – and made it all the way to town without a hint of vomit. No, don’t click the link. Never click through a link that says vomit.

On the way to town, the kids asked if they could eat a Starburst candy. They had received a whole bag just the night before as a gift from a friend who was leaving town soon, and I had told them to wait to open it until today. Since I try to say “yes” more often than “no,” I did it. I let my kids eat candy before breakfast. I’m cool that way, sometimes. Sometimes I’m not, but we don’t talk about those times.

It wasn’t until much later that the irony struck me – the kids were eating candy on their way to the dentist. When did I figure this out? Actually, it was as we left the dentist – right after I gave the go-ahead on yet another round of Starburst. Yes, my kids ate candy on the way to and from the dentist. And I’m reasonably sure that I’ve given our dentist the url to our blog. I hope she doesn’t read our blog.

The checkups went well. Bethany’s hygienist went on and on about how good she was; she had never actually cleaned a 2yo’s teeth because they simply don’t cooperate but Bethany was an angel. Perry impressed his hygienist too by allowing her to do a complete cleaning plus x-rays. Apparently this is uncommon for a 4yo boy. At any rate it was a great improvement over his first appointment, when he heard his name being called and hid under the end table, then utterly refused to cooperate. Yes, the checkups went very well.

After the dentist, we beat it back to VF for lunch with my hunney. Then I took 8 children to WalMart. Just 8, because 2 of the older girls were helping my sister today. It’s been a long time since I shopped with 8 children. It’s insanely fun, if you’re into insanity. We had to use 2 carts, didn’t get much shopping done and didn’t make very good time, but it was nice to be out en masse.

Next I dropped 6 children with their dad while Deanna, Parker and I finished up the shopping. At our first major stop, I took the advice of my very wise friends and readers who recommended chocolate: dark chocolate-covered almonds were on sale, which I took as a sign from heaven. After all, chocolate is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. I was happy.

At Costco, we saw…wow. He had to be from NYC. Nobody in San Antonio is this cool. His hair was two-toned and stood in a dramatic spiky sculpture, far taller than his head, leaning onward and upward in an incredible swooshing shape. How does hair do that? I don’t know how it is where you live, but here we don’t see high fashion like this outside the international airport. We desperately wanted a photo to share the sight with others, but my phone was dead and we were too shy to ask anyway. Do you think he would have minded? At any rate we had to be content just to stare while he struggled to load an enormous 3-dimensional human skull, so big it hardly went through the door of his car. I can’t help but wonder what one does with a skull like that.

You really didn’t want to hear the whole day, did you? I listened to a message from the Baby Conference; saw my sister’s new apartment; ate grilled pizza (cooked by Deanna on the company grill); ran 3 extra errands (but skipped the bank and videos); made one last grocery stop on the way home; had more chocolate (thanks to my hunney); and we all arrived home at 11:15 after nearly 16 hours of errands.

This was a good day. Sleep will make it even better. The best part: my hunney has tomorrow off work.

PS. I just visited the Vision Forum site and saw that they are giving $25 off any order of $75 or more. Use the code INSTANT25. I don’t know how long it’s good.

Filed Under: Everyday life, mom needs sleep 12 Comments

The plan

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 26, 2010 By kimc

The plan for Tuesday:

Nurse the baby.
Shower.
Nurse the baby again. Change some diapers.
Get 12 people up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7:30. This includes making sure the dogs, chickens and new chicks are cared for.
Drop Dad off at work, 52 miles away.
Nurse the baby while we’re there. Change some diapers.
Drop 2 older daughters at my sister’s new apartment to babysit while she goes to her midwife appointment. Note to self: find out where Steph’s new apartment is before I go try to find it.
Arrive at the dentist to start a long string of cleanings at 11 AM. Nurse the baby while I wait. Change some diapers.
Return to VF to eat lunch with Dad eventually. That’s assuming we remembered to bring our lunch and didn’t leave it sitting on the table at home.
Leave some little people to take naps on the breakroom sofa or the carpeted conference room floor.
Nurse the baby. Change some diapers.
Go to the bank.
Get groceries: Costco, Walmart, maybe HEB (major regional chain) and/or Sun Harvest (health food chain).
Listen to Baby Conference mp3′s between stops, with my iPod plugged into the van stereo.
Try to remember where my sister’s new apartment is so I can pick up my older girls.
Back to VF to pick up hubby and whoever stayed with him. Hope they’ll fit with all the groceries in the van. Otherwise we could always leave some kids for hubby to bring home tomorrow. Relax. I’m kidding.
Return videos on the way home.
Check PO box.
52 miles home. What time is it? Who knows.
Crash. Into bed, I mean. Not in the van.

Does a plan like this ever go off as planned? What fun would that be? Man proposes, God disposes.

Filed Under: Everyday life 25 Comments

New banner in the sidebar

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 23, 2010 By kimc

psst…just added a banner in the left sidebar that might be of some interest to nursing moms. Exclusive discount code on already-low prices for a product we can’t leave the house without. Take a look!

edit: oops. Due to technical difficulty, an entire widget mysteriously vanished from my sidebar. This is in stark contrast to my home, where things mysteriously appear on any and all flat surfaces. To make it easy on you, I’ll add the banner here as well:

Filed Under: giveaways & deals 16 Comments

Oh, really?

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 22, 2010 By kimc

Filed Under: humor 7 Comments

Got Milk?

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 22, 2010 By Meg

Filed Under: Huh? Category? 6 Comments

I panic needlessly. Don’t we all?

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 21, 2010 By kimc

Today was a quiet day. Seven of the children were gone in various directions, leaving me with just a 5yo, a toddler and a 6 week old baby.

I decided to spend some extra time on school with 5yo Rachael, in between chores. She’s nearly 6 and we have spent very little time on formal schooling. That’s not to say she hasn’t started school, but it’s mostly in small informal sessions. We hover between relaxed homeschooling and unschooling, generally doing our own lackadaisical version of Sonlight or the Charlotte Mason approach.

My plan was to work together on cleaning for a few minutes, then break for some fun school, repeating this throughout the day. I was heady with the thought of all our together-time.

At our first school break, I asked her if she knew all the letters and their sounds. ”No,” she replied. ”I get them mixed up a lot.”

On the outside:

Slight pause. ”Hmm,” said Mom, smiling brightly. ”Let’s work on that today!”

On the inside:

What? What?! She’s almost 6 and doesn’t even know her ABC’s? How did that happen? How did I not know? This stupid unschooling thing has failed us. No, who am I kidding? I’m the one who failed. I failed Rachael. My poor, ignorant child. I’m a bad mother and a bad homeschooler. That’s it. I need curriculum. REAL curriculum. She’s waiting for me to say something. Gulp. Come on, smile. ”Let’s work on that today!”

Reality:

We work together to make a set of alphabet flashcards, then do a trial run. On the first time through, she knows the names and sounds of 23 letters missing only J, V, and Z. She gets them right the next time. Silly girl. She knows this stuff. Silly mom.

How:

Rachael learned the letters and sounds in many ways, most initiated by her, most bearing little or no resemblance to formal schooling. She learned them by:

writing her own name and those of her siblings
dictating and copying very simple thank you letters
creating birthday cards for family members
playing store and writing real or pretend shopping lists
playing restaurant and taking down our orders
playing school with her siblings
having books read to her
watching The Letter Factory while her older sisters did their math

So what did we do? We did the dishes, and then we made and used ABC flashcards, paying special attention to J, V, and Z. We did some laundry, then worked on counting to 20 – I learned that she always forgets 15. We straightened the dining room and living room, then worked on counting by 10′s. We swept and read the Bible, followed by Green Eggs and Ham.

We did a hundred other things too. And what did 2yo Bethany do all day? She tagged along, of course, and joined in. And soon enough, I expect to find that she already knows all her letters and sounds even though I won’t remember working with her on them.

I love homeschooling.

This post is part of the Homeschooling Carnival. Be sure to check out the other entries!

4 Moms is starting up again on August 5 – join us for an Open House to see how big families make it fit!

Filed Under: Everyday life, homeschooling 27 Comments

Free episode of Jonathan Park today

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 20, 2010 By kimc

You’ll have to hurry, but today you can download a free complete episode of Jonathan Park! Just go to Behemoth and scroll down for the daily freebie(s) or go straight to the daily freebie: http://bluebehemoth.com/freetoday/

This is an old-style audio adventure with an emphasis on creation science. Very fun to listen to, and you and your kids will learn all kinds of new things about the wonders of God’s creation along the way!

You’ll have to create an account if you don’t already have one but it’s free and will allow you to take advantage of the free daily downloads.

Filed Under: giveaways & deals, Vision Forum 1 Comment

100+ Reasons to Have Children

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 19, 2010 By kimc

Lately I’ve come across several lists of reasons not to have children. I find it very sad and telling that nearly all of the authors’ reasons are based in immaturity, materialism, myths, and misconceptions. Yes, children require work, money and personal sacrifice, but these are all things we do willingly because we love them. These are joyful sacrifices for a worthwhile cause.

I couldn’t help but work on my own version. Here are a few of the perks of having children, in no particular order. Some are tongue-in-cheek, while others are dead serious. I’ll let you try to guess which is which.

Please understand that I am not criticizing those who do not have children, particularly those who struggle with infertility. I am also not suggesting that you or I should have children just so that we can save some bucks when it’s time to file taxes, or use the stork space in the grocery store parking lot. My point is that children are a blessing and a delight, not a burden to be avoided at all costs.

What would you add to the list below?

100+ Reasons to Have Children

Have a happier marriage.
Pay less income taxes.
Learn to share, and like it.
The ultimate diet plan: morning sickness and breastfeeding.
Enjoy snuggles on demand, around the clock.
Cuteness abounds.
Disposable diapers. There. I said it.
Receive preferential treatment in grocery lines.
Be seated first (or last, if you prefer) on planes.
Park in the “stork” space at grocery stores.
Have an excuse to buy cool toys and cute little outfits.
Children will love you on your worst day, and…
they think you’re beautiful, even on bad hair days,
or when you’re not wearing makeup.
Free entertainment: kids are hilarious.
Laughter is good for your health. See above.
Have family still living when you’re old.
Have someone to help you when you’re old.
Grandkids!
Have someone to help care for your pets.
But who needs pets? Kids are way cuter, and they last longer.
Unlike pets, kids eventually learn to take care of their own poop.
Get a lollipop every time you go to the bank, along with your children.
Tone your arms the old-fashioned way: tote a toddler.
Kids eat free at many restaurants.
Have an excuse to buy junk food.
Sharing your junk food means less stays on your own hips.
Children will eat and appreciate your failed cooking experiments.
Embarrass your kids. You won’t believe how fun it is. Displays of affection with your spouse work well for this.
Be better able to encourage other parents during rough times with their children because you’ve been-there-done-that.
Blow bubbles.
Give your friends somewhere to send their kids’ hand-me-downs.
Burn calories: play with your kids.
Kids will help hone your reactions with obstacle courses on the stairs.
Save money by not buying birth control.
Have sex without worrying about pregnancy. It’s fun.
Ask anyone who has given birth: the pains of labor are worth it.
Pregnancy reduces menstrual cramps in subsequent periods.
Pregnancy lowers your risk of ovarian cancer.
Breastfeeding lowers your risk of breast cancer,
and uterine cancer,
and osteoporosis.
Not using birth control lowers your risk of ectopic pregnancy.
Think pregnancy dooms you to getting fat? Take a look at my mom with her 14 kids. Can you even tell which one she is?
Pregnancy requires you to eat more. I can appreciate that.
Be motivated to be a better person. Little eyes are watching.
Help raise the languishing birth rate.
Learn alongside your children.
Read books you never would have discovered on your own.
Reread your childhood favorites with and to a new generation.
See the world through new, unjaded eyes.
See yourself through your baby’s eyes. It’s amazing.
See yourself through your children’s eyes. You’ll never be the same again.
See your flaws reflected in your children. It’s enlightening and humbling.
Kids will make you proud and keep you humble.
If you make a mess while eating, everyone will assume the kids did it.
Kid will say what you wish you could say, but can’t.
Strengthen your relationship with your own parents by becoming a parent yourself.
Stay physically active. It’s much harder to be lazy when little ones depend on you.
Improved immune system. It’s a law of nature: Moms never get sick.
If you do get sick, you have someone to take care of you without your spouse taking time off work.
Baby smiles.
Carrying a baby? Strangers will smile at you.
Babies are also a great conversation starter.
Learn to delight in everyday occurrences.
Translate toddler gibberish with ease for puzzled onlookers.
Your own love for your child gives you a small taste of how much God loves His children.
Live vicariously: remember that toy you never got as a child, but you’re too old to want it now? Let your kids try it out.
Relive your childhood: remember the toy you did get as a child? Let your kids try it out.
Rediscover the joy of crayons.
Job security: moms have it.
Learn and believe that happiness really doesn’t come from material wealth…
…yet be amazed at how much joy you can buy your child with a quarter.
Kids are cheap.
Marvel that 2 people can produce children that are better-looking than either parent. Heredity is a strange and wonderful thing.
Be welcomed home like a returning war hero every time you go grocery shopping or to the post office.
Be looked at like this:
Soft little fingers and toes. They’re cute on other people’s children, but utterly priceless on your own children.
The unbearable cuteness of newborn-size diapers. (credit: Deanna)
Discover your super powers: make milk, and heal mortal wounds with a kiss.
Ask any parent you know if they regret having kids.
Learn to appreciate simple pleasures: ice cream cones, a single M&M, homemade cookies.
Do you love your spouse? Experience a miracle: a new person who looks like both of you.
After 10 years of children, washing dishes becomes optional. (credit: Deanna)
Get special treatment on Mother’s Day.
Breakfast in bed is fun, even when it’s cheerios and multi vitamins. (credit: Becca)
Experience the triumph of potty training.
Have the advantage of a youthful memory again: have your kids remind you about important things. (credit: Megan)
Expand your wardrobe: share clothes with your teens.
Gather candy from the piñata without getting funny looks.
Have help cooking.
Be a safer driver,
In a safer vehicle.
Free or cheap manicures and pedicures. I pay a dollar.
Ditto for back/shoulder rubs.
Perpetually late? You don’t even have to blame it on the kids. People will assume.
Vanity? You’ll look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
Paint your kids’ nails in a color you like but could never wear yourself.
Have your bed made for $.25/day. Maid service has never been so cheap or cheerful, and there’s no need to report payments to the IRS.
If you’ve never had a baby fall asleep on your chest, you just don’t know what you’re missing.
Homemade friends. My children are some of my favorite companions.
Kids with money ROCK! They buy their own clothes, treat you to Starbucks, and buy you unbelievable birthday/Christmas gifts.
World domination through militant fecundity! [maniacal laughter]
Children are part of God’s purpose for creating marriage:But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring. Malachi 2:15

Want to see another list, more thoughtful and eloquent than mine? 40 Reasons to Have Kids

If, on the other hand, you like ‘em funny, try this: Reasons to Have Children.

Visit other posts about being a homemaker at the Homemaking Link-Up

Filed Under: Best of, big family, family, parenting, worldview 50 Comments

Winners

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 18, 2010 By kimc

Thank you to everyone who entered our giveaway for a free mp3 of the panel I was on in the Vision Forum Baby Conference, titled Managing the Logistics of a Large Family.

Our 10 winners are:

Kathryn
Megan Goff
April
Kris Mays
Tanya Koenig
Roberta
Jordin
Shannon Mallory
Casondra Kellogg
Lindsey

Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you over the next day or two with instructions on how to get your free download!

Want all 38 CDs? Order the complete Baby Conference Audio Collection, or get the complete Baby Conference in mp3 files on 1 disc!

Filed Under: giveaways & deals 11 Comments

Baby Conference recap

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 14, 2010 By kimc

Read to the bottom for a giveaway. Hey – wait! No skipping ahead. I worked hard on this post.

It’s been quiet here on our blog, but that doesn’t mean life has been quiet for our family. On the contrary, it’s been a whirlwind. Last weekend was Vision Forum’s long-awaited Baby Conference! Perry and I attended Thursday evening with just the baby.

On Friday he had to work, but the kids and I left the house early and stayed at the conference until mid-afternoon. We met a lot of friends, old and new, and managed to take in a few sessions. Then we checked into a hotel room and swam until it was time to to pick up my Hunney. We had planned to go back to the conference for the evening, but decided to take Deanna out for a birthday ice cream instead since it was her 17th birthday!

We were up and out early on Saturday morning since it was finally time for the panel on Managing the Logistics of a Large Family. The girls sat in on the session, while Perry was in and out – he was working as staff. My sister was there with her girls too, quite an accomplishment since they had to leave their house just after 6 AM. Is it just me, or do Rachael and cousin Alyssa look like they’re still half-asleep?

4787899986 91d92849f8 Baby Conference recap

I was much less nervous by this time, and felt even better when the session started and I learned that we wouldn’t be taking surprise questions from the audience (sorry, y’all). Instead, Beall Phillips had prepared a list of questions, and we would all take turns answering each question. Better yet, I found myself in third place of four ladies, with Beall moderating. This gave me time to think about my answers.

Overall, I thought it went well. I have zero speaking experience, unless you count running for class president during my early public school years, and that was in front of 30 other 8yo’s, not 600 mothers and children. I know I said “um” a lot, but at least I never did the deer-in-the-headlights stare. Well, maybe once or twice, but not while I was actually holding a microphone so I’m trying to convince myself nobody saw.

Oh, and just for the record: we do about 3 loads of laundry per day, not week. I’m not sure who was in charge of my brain when I said that. I would love to go back and see the looks on the faces of the ladies who believed we really only do 3 loads/week.

I’m listening now to the rough audio from this session. That’s one of the perks of sleeping with the guy who is in charge of audio editing. :)

The first few questions (paraphrased slightly):

What kind of preparation did you have for raising a large family? I found the answers to this question amazingly diverse!
Would you describe yourself as a rigid scheduler, a fluid scheduler, or just fluid? We had surprisingly similar answers on this, though each had different reasons and methods for implementing our scheduling styles.
Did you and your husband intentionally and conscientiously set out to have a large family? At what point did you realize you had a large family? Again, we each had a different take on this, but I was very touched by Victoria Botkin’s answer.
Talk about your pregnancies for a minute: difficulties, blessings, things that you and your children learned. Diversity, diversity. Multiple pregnancies don’t wreck your body, but it’s not always easy for all of us. Complications don’t mean you can’t have a large family.
Let’s talk about our husbands for a minute. Try to describe for everyone the level of participation your husband has in the day-to-day. Here is where my speaking skills failed me. My husband has such a servant’s heart, and I don’t think I expressed that very well. He has been such an encouragement to me during all the trials of family life, both as a source of wisdom and as a leader, taking charge in the home when we need him to do it but never micromanaging.
Do you have any special tips for how to do laundry for a large household? Apparently my sock philosophy is gaining a following.

There’s more – much, much more. This was a 2 hour session! I mistakenly thought it would be 90 minutes. 90 minutes would have been just right for Parker. As it turned out, I had to feed him during the last few minutes. He also just had time to do something we had joked about. Something he has never done to me before in his very short life. Something akin to this, but (thank God) on a smaller scale.

4787279897 61c152a77a Baby Conference recap

That’s ok. He was just doing his bit to make sure I had something to blog about, just in case Beall’s questions didn’t do the trick. Fortunately I had better material to blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE GIVEAWAY

13467 m Baby Conference recap

To enter to win a free download of this session, just leave a comment on this post.

Not sure what to say? Tell us what questions you would have asked if you had been there.

If you were there, tell us what you learned!

On Friday we’ll choose 10 winners. Unless we do it on Saturday, or totally forget until next Monday. You know how things can be in a big family.

Want all 38 CDs? Order the complete Baby Conference Audio Collection on for $89, or get the complete Baby Conference in mp3 files on 1 disc for just $45!.

Filed Under: big family, Vision Forum 169 Comments

Beautiful and Wise

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 13, 2010 By Perry C.

posted by Perry C.

Baby Conference Panel Kim with Mic 300x200 Beautiful and Wise

Kim at the conference

Photo courtesy of Carmon and Anna Friedrich @ Buried Treasure Books.

Stay tuned for more!

Filed Under: Dad's corner 8 Comments

Happy birthday, Deanna

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 9, 2010 By kimc

Yes, we have another birthday in our family already. We also have some positive proof of aging: our oldest child is 17. If we have a 17yo daughter, then we must not be 17 any more. Wow. When did that happen?

Deanna is the same age that Perry and I were when we got engaged. No, Deanna. Not yet. You’re too young. So what if Dad and I were your age? What’s your point?

Deanna wears many hats in life.