The Parris Family

Our Last Post

2010-05-04T23:00:00.001-04:00

From now on you will find our family at sixparriskidsandcounting.com Now for the exciting news click the link above

Change is Coming!!!

2010-05-03T23:36:00.002-04:00

In the next few days "The Parris Family" blog will have a new home at the "Six Parris Kids and Counting" blog. There's really no reason to have two and this is something I have wanted to do for quite some time. Everything is not completely ready and it will be a work in progress but we thought now was the perfect time. So stay up to date with our family through this link. You never know what Big news we may have in the future.
sixparriskidsandcounting.com

A Prayer Request

2010-04-28T15:57:00.002-04:00

I had been keeping up with this family and just heard on Amy's Daily Pleasures that this sweet little baby has been born. Please remember this family in your prayers. Even though they knew he would be born with this I cannot imagine how sad they are to know that he will only be with them a short time. It's easy for me to complain about and not be as thankful as I should be for my very healthy young ones. I've heard so many say " just as long as their healthy". I pray to never say that flippantly in passing but to be so thankful when they are healthy and also to have peace, understanding and thankfulness especially if they were to not be healthy. Please pray that this Mother and Father, brothers and sisters and entire family will feel God's Love and peace. Here is the link

Tuesday Girls Night Again

2010-04-28T09:39:00.003-04:00

We have started to really look forward to our meetings that we are having. Our little group is starting to grow. Last night we had close to 20 people altogether ( not counting the boys that were playing). One family didn't get to make it due to her husband's work schedule and I hate that she missed it because we had such a fun time. It's so encouraging to get to talk with other Moms and see that we all have so much in common. This isn't the best picture but I had to post about it so that we could look back and remember those great Tuesday nights. This is a quick picture of some of the girls. We didn't do a Mom picture. Maybe another time.

Large Family Living

2010-04-21T08:09:00.010-04:00

Some would consider our family "large". In my opinion it just depends on how you look at it. I would think that a large family might have ten or so kids. We aren't there yet and only the Lord knows what our future holds. I heard a sermon by a local pastor titled " Is Ten Too Many". ( I have got to remember to bring that back to the library) I love what he did at the end, he called each child up on the stage. Yes they were prepared for this. He went on to say had they not made the choice to let the Lord bless them then these children would not have been there for them to enjoy and Love. This made a huge impact on me. I had felt the same way but didn't know how to express it but thanks to Pastor Gibson it was so clear. When I see Sarah and Samuel I realize that this is because we just couldn't say yes to those questions you are always asked- Will this be your last one? Are you getting your tubes tied? Even with the birth of Jacob we had left the norm! No birth control?!?! Are you nuts? Said by many who got a little too much into our business. So when I see a picture of my family I see 3 that we planned almost down to the exact month and then I see three that we took our timing out of the picture and allowed for God's timing to take place. I can remember after Josiah's birth Sammy went in for the big "V" consultation. I am so glad that he is wiser than I am and said No! With all the issues of Josiah's birth, fear crept in and I was afraid to have more. Isn't it just amazing that when I was pregnant with Jacob all those problems that -would get worse- just simply started to disappear. God showed up when we allowed him to take control! Now with Mother's Day quickly approaching I always look forward to that day. When I was a kid it was a different story. Being raised by a Grandmother instead of a Mother made for some very uncomfortable Mothers Days to say the least. I remember Mamaw would rarely go to church but on Mothers Day she sometimes would just because my Aunt Vickie really wanted her to. We would all have to wear those great big huge corsages. I hated mine! Why did I have to wear some flower half the size of my chest. To me it was so ugly and so heavy. But I didn't dare say a word, obviously it meant something to someone. Funny thing now is that for the past few years I have really wanted to wear a simple small corsage on Mothers Day. As crazy as it sounds I would feel proud to wear one. I am throwing hints hear and there but I think I will just pick one up at Bi Lo or someplace. Would I make my girls wear one? Only if they wanted to and only if it were very small. Our church doesn't do this and probably not many do now but I can remember as a kid the preacher would give a pot of flowers or some kind of plant to the oldest Mom and the one with the most kids. I loved seeing these gray haired little ladies yell out " I've got 8" or "I've got 10" sometimes I can remember the number going above that. In my mind I would think WOW that had to be a really neat family to grow up in. You could see the pride coming off them when they would talk about those kids. Not the looks of disgust that so many have today. So maybe it started out as a small child that loved to hear about big families and dreamed of having one. God started something in my heart years ago and now I am the Mother who looks forward to Mothers Day. But in a different way not the little girl who was a mistake from two people. I didn't care for Mothers Day or for that matter Fathers Day and to even hear the word "Family Tree" would totally cringe. Now I am the adult Mother who looks forward to Mothers Day celebrations. In spite of all that "junk" and all those mixed up feelings as a child came a huge desire to be a Mother. So now for a visual and yes I am being a copy cat from his sermon I spoke of earlier.

The last two that we have had would be considered our "quiverfull minded" babies, but to make it easier and not sound so -out there- we just call them blessings!

Happy Anniversary!!!

2010-04-17T07:30:00.001-04:00

Today April 17th two people were joined together in holy matrimony. Making a life long commitment when they said "I do for better for worse for richer for poorer in sickness and in health". These two people are my parents.

They never knew they would be raising six children, homeschooling and be in full time ministry.

My mom is the best friend I could ever wish or hope for and is continually showing how a Godly wife should act.

My dad is also my best friend and is teaching and guiding the whole family to trust Christ in any circumstance.

I believe I have the most wonderful parents in the whole world.

I Love you mom and dad!!!

My beloved is mine and I am his.~Song of Solomon 2:16

( They are celebrating their 17th anniversary on April 17th)

By Morgan for all of the Parris Kids

Friday Outing

2010-04-10T15:13:00.006-04:00

Friday we took a fun trip to the Zoo in Chattanooga. It was packed! Never have I seen it so crowded before. The kids all had a ton of fun. This was Sarah's first trip (except as a 5 month old) and she really enjoyed herself. I loved seeing her smile and wave at the animals. She was so sweet! If you want to see animal pictures you will need to head over to Morgan and Katie's blog. They took some great pictures. After that Daddy surprised us with a trip to Red Lobster. Oh my, it was so so good. I always get the Cajun Chicken Pasta and then Katie and I share because they don't have it on the kids menu and I think she loves it as much as I do. Well now Morgan and Josiah tried it and found out how great it is. Wish I could come up with a similar recipe. The biscuits were warm and perfect!!! This was probably the best I have ever had there. Of course I can count on both hands just how many times I have been to Red Lobster. We went around 5:30 and hit it just right! Looking forward to the rest of the weekend!!

Too much time on the computer!?!?

2010-04-07T14:57:00.005-04:00

Am I the only one or does it seem like in bloggy land I spend way too much time on the computer? How much time? Well I would hate to add it all up. Between the little bit of time I spend on my own blog to all the other great blogs out there that I love to read it can be very time consuming. I remember a few years ago when I spent NO time on the computer except to check an occasional email through the local homeschool group. This then developed into finding tons of info in general about homeschooling. After that I somehow stumbled across a few blogs. Large Family Living, Lockwood Family and Joel's Journey were some of the first ones I read regularly. Then it seemed like everyone was blogging. I have enjoyed finding and reading so many blogs, oh yeah there was also Money Saving Mom who really got me started with coupons and all that good stuff. But when does it become too much? Back to the original question. I have to admit that on my daily schedule of our free time/rest time in the afternoon I could go straight to the computer and waste many precious minutes. Not that looking at everyones blog is a waste but you know what I mean. This is not healthy for me, the kids, my husband, the house and the list could go on. I seem to let things go that I need to get done and then complain that I don't have enough time. Or worse yet after reading about everyone else I then get off the computer feeling like a complete failure as a Mom and ya know I wish I could do it all as good as they could attitude. Now isn't that crazy, I am who I am and that's just how it is. I know I have plenty to work on but that's okay. I don't want to cut out blogging altogether but I do want to put a limit on time spent on the computer. My girls enjoy their blogs so much but they are young and have extra time to have this as a hobby. Hubby has a blog but it doesn't consume him ( I still want to link our blogs together, it's on the to-do list). I started this blog to keep up with pictures and also plain everyday stuff or exciting new adventures. So how did this happen? Not really sure but I do know that I will try to limit 30 minutes maybe a couple times a week. We'll see how that goes. Okay so I have shared my personal feelings. This is not to say that everyone spends too much time on blogs, it's just an area in my life that I need to refocus and cut back on.

HIP HIP HOORAY

2010-04-05T21:46:00.003-04:00

Yes, I am excited! Tonight while Morgan was at piano Josiah and I walked a nice brisk walk for 30 minutes. It might not sound like much but for me it was a huge step towards trying to take off some of this extra weight. Now if I can just stay motivated and continue walking several times a week. I even thought about doing my weight and then a target weight that I would like to be at. Also making notes of when I did some sort of exercise. I have since then decided not to publicly humiliate myself and skip the weight part but keep up with the exercise. Okay one step in the right direction and it really felt good!!!!

Spring Pictures 2010

2010-04-05T00:00:00.004-04:00

A 10 Year Celebration

2010-04-02T22:59:00.006-04:00

A couple weeks ago we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of our pastor and his family at our church. There was a great power point with all kinds of pictures of the entire family through the years, many I hadn't seen. He was given a lovely plaque that I wish I had taken a picture of and there was also a big reception afterwards. He was then presented with a Holy Land trip. So many people were there to let Allan, Taunya and the children know how much they are loved. A few shared some words at the reception. I know that my husband has told me many times that Allan is not only a great pastor to our church but personally has become a true friend to him as they have worked together. The celebration was enjoyed by all. I had several pictures I wanted to put on here but I can't seem to get them to scan good enough so I will need to add some of the children later. I took several shots of just random people and families in the crowd but being the photographer I am they also didn't quite turn out. These are at the reception after church. It was decorated beautifully and the food was wonderful. We are blessed at Waterville!!!!

My New Book- Be Fruitful and Multiply

2010-03-25T17:27:00.002-04:00

Vision Forum had a great sale last week! We got Jonathon Park season 1 for $5.00 and I also got this book. I have heard about it so much for several years so I was excited to find it during a great sale. Can't wait to read through it. I started this afternoon and I'll pick up at bedtime on Chapter 2.

Even In The Valley God Is Good

2010-03-23T23:09:00.003-04:00

This past Friday was the funeral of Carolyn Pigg. It was the last day of Winter but it was a beautiful "springy" day. Very fitting for this dear ladys home going celebration! It was an honor for me to call Carolyn my friend. She was a shining example of a true lady. We at Waterville loved her. In her final months her devoted husband, children, family and friends took loving care of her and treasured their time together. Carolyn loved the Lord! Her daughter called her not only her mother but her best friend! How blessed they were to have each other. Carolyn's sister Linda wrote about their childhood. It was so touching! Carolyn had picked out some songs for the choir to do at the funeral. These were some songs that were from the Easter musical a few years ago. I can remember her saying how much she loved them. Johnny and Carolyn were a beautiful couple. I know he was blessed to have a godly wife. I always loved it when they would match on Sundays! I pray Sammy and I can be examples to other couples too just like John and Carolyn were to us and so many others in our church.

Even in the valley God is good, even in the valley He is faithful and true. He carries His children through like He said He would. Even in the valley God is good.

An update on Sarah

2010-03-18T09:07:00.003-04:00

Sarah had her regular appointment with Dr. Waldrop yesterday. As usual Sammy took her and the kids and I stayed in the overly fancy waiting room. The small statues (forgot the proper name) always amaze Jacob. Let's just say I do not like to go to these visits. Not that Dr. Waldrop is unlikeable just that it makes it that much closer for us to make a decision on what to do for Sarah. The Dr. we are seeing has worked on children but never the head so he felt like it was time to see someone at Vanderbilt in Nashville. This shouldn't have surprised me but it did. We have went from Dr. to Dr. but have finally been seeing him the past few times. He said they have an excellent team of Docs there and has heard nothing but good about them. Sammy mentioned someone else that we had heard about to see and Sammy said he turned pale as a ghost and just shook his head witha big fat NO. That was good enough for us. We have no reason to not trust the person he sends us to. So with that all being said we are just waiting to get in with the group at Vanderbilt. Have we decided to go ahead and do the surgery? No not yet, but we have to know what we can and can't do. The age of two is fast aproaching and this is the age we knew we would have to get serious about making a decision with the help of a knowledgeable Dr. I know that we can pray and ask the Lord to show us what to do. He gave us Sarah and he loves her more than we all do put together. She is still just so little to me and I hate to see her go through all this if we decide to go ahead with everything. I wish I had been doing a blog when she was a newborn. I would love to have documented everything we have been told and also studied about through others that have had this procedure done. We are still praying that it would just go away on its own. It has gotten lighter but the size is still very irregular. That is what the Dr.s don't like about it and also that it is just so big. Now on a funnier note, as we were leaving the office yesterday, Sammy was trying to tell me a little about what was going on. I could tell it was more than just your normal visit. Well this very nice couple held the door for us as we walked out and Thank you and Have a nice day were exchanged. Just a few steps away these two very nice professional looking women were walking down the hall. All of the sudden I thought one was about to fall dead and the other one stared like somthing goofy. Ok was there a snake in the floor and I didn't see it. Let's just say I WAS NOT in the mood for it. Sammy was trying to quietly talk to me as we headed to the elevator and I was trying to ignore the two women but then- here she blows- "OH MY ___ THEY HAVE SIX KIDS". And so forth!!! Sammy didn't even here it he was looking for the restroom as he was talking. But the kids and I both saw and heard it. Why is that such a big deal? And it wasn't the nice you have 6 kids and that is kinda weird but hey whatever. It was the RUDE " I need some attention type woman so I am going to be a smart elick" Why don't people like that just glue there mouth up. Okay that was ugly! I know I am also doing wrong to match their ugliness. Most times I can laugh it off (like the one a few days ago that I can not even type on here it was so bad) it just got to me yesterday. Someone needs to start a list of all the dumb things people say so that everyone else can learn from it. Those poor women if they only realized how dumb THEY looked. We finished our trip with our usual visit to Krispy Kreme. We usually just go through the drive thru but I knew they would have special ones since it was St. Patricks day. The oldest 4 went in with me and we decided next time we would all come in and enjoy eating them inside. Let me just say DELICIOUS!!! They are always good but today they were exceptional. I could have ate more!!! Yum Yum.

Memorable Days

2010-03-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

Well it was another day that I can't believe I didn't bring a camera. Today was a really fun day. All of us with the exception of Sammy who was at work and Morgan who had her 2 classes went over to spend the afternoon with our friends the McNelly's. This would include both Julie and Jane who live by each other and their children and then 2 other families and all their kids. It was such a quiet relaxing afternoon for us Moms. We had such enjoyable conversations about kids, curriculum and just life in general. Now for the boys they enjoyed playing outside with Nerf guns. Josiah and Jacob were thrilled with how many boys were there. Sometimes it seems like they are always outnumbered with girls. Not to say they don't enjoy playing with their sisters or any other girls, but what fun they had with those Nerf guns. Jacob fell in the mud and to be honest I'm not sure if I have ever seen him that muddy. So before getting in the car I just took his shoes off and wiped down his pants so he was good to go for the ride home. The last thing I wanted to do was squash their great afternoon with worrying about a little bit of dirt and mud. Jacob and Josiah both decided they would be back in a couple of days but I informed them we would have to wait till the next get together and that would be in about 4 more weeks. Katie had a good time too. I think at first she felt a little lonesome with Morgan not being there but she quickly perked right up and I could here all the giggles coming from the girls in the other room. Morgan looks forward to going next time. I think her classes should be finished by then. We are starting a young ladies bible study in a few weeks with a few other Moms and daughters. It will only be twice a month but I think we can get through the book pretty quick. It is such a good study, I've read through it a couple times. It just says so much about how to be a lady and how important modesty and purity is. Not just on the outside but also what you are on the inside. Because let's just face it- What's on the inside always comes out good or bad. Looking forward to the weekend. Upward Basketball is over so now we can rest some and do some things around the house. There's always something to do when it comes to the house and yard. I think I may even try to get in a few posts a week. I started this to help us look back and remember fun things we do because it looks like my scrapbooking days are gone for now. But Sammy and I are thinking about just doing the six kids and counting blog. I've got some ideas rolling around in my head if I can just find the time to post about it. Off to do more laundry!!!!! That's what happens when you stay gone to much in the afternoon.

A Hectic Sunday

2010-03-02T08:22:00.001-05:00

All seemed to be going well Sunday until I heard the BIG CRUNCH SOUND in the driveway. It was a terrible sound and then to realize I had backed over Daddy's car. He always parks right behind me but I always look back . Not this time. Actually the van turned out to look worse than the car. He took his car over to our friend Charlie's lot and he is able to get most of the dent and scratches out. We'll work on the van too. Our afternoon was much better. Our sweet friends Ernie and Shirley took all of us out to eat for lunch. The kids really enjoyed that. They are a lot of fun to be with. We meant to take some pictures but forgot the camera. Then after church Sunday night my very good friend Cindy gave us a very precious gift. She knew how my morning started. But this was a special surprise. I think I am either going to hang it above the fireplace or I will sit it on the mantle with picture of the kids above it. It has everyones name on it . I just love it.

Great Parenting Books

2010-02-11T10:32:00.000-05:00

I have recently read 2 more great books on homeschooling. Beyond Survival by: Diana Waring and Home Educating with Confidence by: Rick and Marilyn Boyer. These are wonderful books. When I find a book I really like and one that I really enjoy I usually reread it several times, always finding something new each time. I had thought about making a post about my favorite books. Katie and I were at the bookshelf trying to pull them all out and then I realized I could go on and on. I thought I could just pick a few but there are just too many. So I think I will just slowly throw in a title here and there on the few posts that I make. I enjoy reading books with Sammy after the kids go to bed. We enjoy talking about the different things that the author points out. In the past we have went through Keeping Our Children's Hearts and then Raising Godly Tomatoes. He has been reading and now finished another book that he would read to me and now I need to go ahead and read it all the way through. Sometimes these books are hard to read. Not because they are boring but because they speak the truth to us. That can be hard to hear. What I really like about the books by the Maxwell family is that they apply everything to scripture. I can spend hours in books. Sammy has noticed this and even though he also loves great books he always reminds me to make sure I am spending as much or more time reading the Bible as I do all these other books. So let's not forget the Bible is by far the best book. Reading through it shows us exactly how we need to parent our children. Monday afternoon we were able to catch up with an old friend and her children for lunch. This person is older than me and has raised several and still has several to go. She is an encourager. I talked about a few things I struggle with pertaining to the kids and homeschooling and with her wise words she gave me a great idea. Just enjoy it!!! This was the second time in a matter of days that I had heard these words from veteran homeschoolers. I had to make a call to Gateway, the school we are registered with, and I was told the same thing. Maybe when my kids are adults I will be able to return the favor and be an encourager to a younger Mom. So next I will plan to start sharing my favorite books with others that could also enjoy them. Looking forward to the weekend. The girls are planning on all kinds of Valentine treats for us to bake. Hope there will be a cheesecake in all that baking. My favorite!!!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

2010-02-02T19:44:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to the man of my dreams and best friend I LOVE YOU Sammy!!!! LOVE, Missy

Happy Birthday Daddy, wishing you a happy 41st Love, Morgan, Katie, Josiah, Jacob, Sarah, and Samuel

What Morgan loves about her daddy: I love when I have long talks with him about staying pure, and not going with the flow. Besides the Lord Jesus Christ YOU are the number ONE man in my life right now, I LOVE you!!!!

What Katie loves about her daddy: I love when my daddy helps me with my singing ( thanks for giving me that solo in the Easter musical I'll try hard)

What Josiah loves about his daddy: I love that my dad is a good singer.
What Jacob loves about his daddy: I love when my daddy acts funny.
What Sarah Loves about her daddy: I love when my daddy sings me to sleep.
What Sam Loves about his daddy: I love when my daddy feeds me my bottle!!!

The Party

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Tonight we had a little celebration for Sammy AKA Daddy. My mom and sister came over and had dinner, opened presents, and had donuts!!!! Sammy wanted donuts for his cake so we had the cake and candles together.
The kids made signs for their daddy and put them all around the house.

They LOVE their daddy!!!!

Samuel really enjoyed the bow

Morgan and Josiah enjoying the Krispy Kreme donuts

Sarah and Samuel

2010-02-01T19:55:00.000-05:00

I had Sarah and Samuel twelve months and three weeks apart. They are the closest in age in all six of my children. Sarah is petite for 20 months, while Sam is very large for 7 months. So, there height and weight is just about the same.
~ Sarah now has teeth and there is eight or ten coming in at one time, poor girl~

--Sam is almost sitting up!!--

We somehow ended up with the same outfit, since they both wear the same size we decided to let them match and wear the outfits for a picture.

More Snow Pictures!!

2010-01-31T18:17:00.000-05:00

The kids went out in the snow again and had a blast!!! Shasta(our Siberian husky) went out to play too. The kids made two snowmans and had a snowball fight, all of them had a really good time!!

~Shasta looked so pretty playing in the snow~

~Here is a picture of behind the house we thought it looked really pretty with the snow~

And the finished project.....

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!!!!

2010-01-30T20:05:00.000-05:00

We did not get that many snow pictures because all the kids would not stop running around throwing snowballs, trying to make a snow man, and getting the lid off the trash can and trying to "slide" down our driveway finally realizing it was NOT going to work. I wonder who thought of that one, Morgan.

-- a picture of our house you can't get a good picture of it because we have so many trees--

Have a blessed Sunday everyone

Schedules

2010-01-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

Now that the kids are much better we are enjoying getting back into our regular schedule for school and home. This is not easy for me. I have a tough time keeping up with everything but life runs much smoother when we implement our schedule. The best thing we have ever used is from the Maxwell Family. Managers of Their Homes and Managers of Their Chores. It helps us to stay on track, this in turn helps with better behaved children and that is always a plus. When we are off our schedule it seems like everyone is going in a different direction. This usually ends in chaos and confusion. Not a good thing ever. I need to get the Managers of their School book from the Maxwells. This sounds like a good one too. I had planned on getting it from them when they came through our area but plans changed and we didn't make it. This also allows time to schedule in all the extras. There is so much we want to get to but never have the time for. I hope to do better at that. We are also back to the Flylady for keeping up with the house. The kids enjoy doing that so I just let them go for it. Not everyone enjoys cleaning house(that would be me) but they get in pairs and enjoying working together. Older with the younger works out well!! The boys can't be partners very much they seem to get sidetracked.

This Sunday is something I have been looking forward to. It has been several weeks since i made it. We have a group coming in "This Hope" . My husband has a wonderful video of these on his blog. It is worth your time to watch it. It is based on a true story and it brought me to tears. ( I know that sometimes isn't too hard). I love the words to this song. We are so free in our country to worship God. I can't imagine what it would be like to not have that freedom. But lets not kid ourselves about it. It might not always be that way. We need to pay attention to what our kids are being taught. We need to make sure they have the correct truth and not what the world wants to teach them. Okay so watch the video it is so good. To think what this man had to go through. It makes me want to stand even taller and be even prouder of this life that we have chosen. I know I won't go to jail for this because it is legal. But to get teased, be made fun of or talked about. Through the years we have faced this at some point. But the blessings from God and the encouragement and kindness from others totally outweigh the negative. Isn't there and old saying that a true friend loves you, faults and all. I pray for me this is true because I have plenty faults. Would I change anything if I had to go to prison and be away from my family. Very tough question. I pray that our family would stand strong with Gods help. Here's the link to the video http://sixparriskidsandcounting.com

Sam and Sarah update

2010-01-21T11:40:00.000-05:00

It has been a long week so far-after a quick trip to TC Thompsons Sunday night we found out that the RSV had caused Pneumonia to start setting up. They didn't want to keep him since he was feeling pretty good and thought the antibiotics would work well. Let me just say this is a very hard place to be at. I walked down the hall to go for a chest x ray and everywhere I turned I heard screaming sick babies. They were full at the ER in every spot. I noticed several times many Dr's and nurses working on one baby. One image in my mind I wish I could forget but it keeps popping up. I am so thankful that my little boy was looking up grinning at me almost to say" Hey I feel better let's go home". My heart was so heavy for the other parents there. When we first pulled in I saw an ambulance bringing in someone. Never a good thing to see at any ER but just something about it being at a Children's hospital gave me that sick feeling in my stomach. When we got home with the baby Sarah had already started running a fever. We Had thought she might be able to get over it easier because she was a little older, but of course I was back at the Dr. with her Tuesday morning. Her chest x ray showed no pneumonia but her high fevers really scared me. As of Wednesday things seemed to be improving except for the fact that Samuel still hates his breathing treatments and just loves to spit out his medicine. But that's OK he will probably have to get used to them if he is anything like Jacob. Now on Thursday the Dr. has decided to finally put Sarah on antibiotics because her symptoms are changing just like Samuel's did. Hopefully we will see a major improvement in her in about 24 hours. So what we are trying to do is just keep a normal routine as much as possible and let the older 3 do alot of independent school stuff and then if the little ones go to sleep at the same time we do our group time together. Poor Katie is starting to get sick now too. She has been such a little helper to me. The oldest 3 have been such helps around here. Morgan and Katie doing just about whatever needs to be done. From house stuff to food to helping with the little ones and Josiah is trying to keep up with folding our always huge pile of laundry and also doing some of the girls regular chores as I need them in other places. This has been a time for us to all pull together. Anyone who knows me well knows I don't do very good without sleep, I know I should just get used to it, so I really appreciate them working.
A funny side note- when Sarah and Samuel weighed we were sure that he had passed her up but she still has about a pound on him. So funny, one petite one and one chubby one. Who would have thought. Prayers for all of us would be great. #1 for no more of this junk to be passed around and #2 I can't seem to get over this queasiness of maybe indigestion stuff . I think I need to just get back on some prilosec and here's the big one stop drinking coke and lose about 50 or so pounds. I just can't stand this yucky sick feeling. It could just be nerves. Looking forward to the weekend and praying away this sickness. Thank you Lord for taking care of us!!!!

Our sick Baby Boy

2010-01-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to do a quick post and ask those of you that keep up with our family through the blog to pray for Little Samuel. He had been sick for a few days so we made an appt. with the Dr on Friday. He has RSV. That is a pretty scary thing for us just because he is still so young. They also did a chest x ray and checked his oxygen level. It was at 100 % and there was no sign of pneumonia. He was just having a hard time with his breathing so they wanted to really check him out. He was able to get past the flu somehow a few months ago and just caught this somehow. The Dr said he should be improving by Sat. Well it's now Sunday and I don't think he has improved but it could be worse. He doesn't like the breathing treatments but of course who really would. Sarah has started to feel yucky too. If you remember, say a prayer for us.

Sunday Service

2010-01-03T21:46:00.000-05:00

We had an awesome service this morning. I was excited to get ready and be at church for the first service of 2010. Sammy took a Sunday off last week and we did not have service Wednesday so it seemed like it had been so long since I had been in church. We had some great music!!!! And then a sweet little girl that I have known and loved since she was a baby was baptised today. I have been friends with her Mom for over 20 years and her parents were in our wedding and we were in theirs. I know they are so excited to know that both of their girls have accepted the Lord. What more could you ask for? When our oldest daughter Morgan was baptised it was on Easter Sunday. I'll never forget it . We were in revival and she had went forward one night. Then a few days later her Daddy was able to pray with her and she asked Jesus to be her saviour. How thrilled we were. Since then we have seen Katie and Josiah both be saved and baptised at Waterville. We do something a bit different than I was used to but I really love it. When the person along with the pastor come out into the Baptistry, he asks for a word of encouragement to be shared. This is when a parent or spouse or maybe even a teacher speaks directly to this person and gives a bible scripture. Sammy did this for Katie and Josiah. I watched them look at their Daddy so sweetly as he spoke to them. It is a very special time. Today Kendall's Dad, Tim spoke to her just before she was baptised. You could tell he was moved beyond words. Sammy and I remembered tonight when Tim was saved quite a long time ago in our younger years. We are so proud to be in church serving the Lord with Tim and Loren and their girls. Our pastor then challenged us to daily read the word and pray. I really enjoyed the sermon. We all need to be reminded of the basics. It is so easy to get in a rut. I am not one to do a typical New Years Resolution but I do enjoy a fresh start. I think I am going to get our One Year Bible and start reading with the kids. I know they will do their best to keep us up to date. I saw on another blog I enjoy reading that she had a 90 day challenge going. That sounds great too. Morgan, Katie and I are also going to do a study together called Raising Maidens of Virtue. I am looking forward to it too. I have wanted to read this with them for sometime now. We might share more about it as we're going through it on one of our blogs. Not sure who will post about that one. Looking forward to the year ahead.

Last Post of the Year!!!

2009-12-31T18:27:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year if you want to see pictures of our Dollywood trip, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day photos head on over to my daughters blogs, Morgan and Katie!!

Our young lady turns 14

2009-12-14T21:59:00.000-05:00

Morgan and Josiah have a birthday 12 days apart. We had planned on going to Dollywood on the 5th but it snowed and we had a change of plans. Morgan and Josiah had decided they would share that day and we could celebrate for both of them(with the tickets Katie won). It would have been a winning day though for everyone. Oh well we will try again after Christmas. The night before I made Morgan's favorite food- TACOS and also her favorite cake or should I say one of them. It's a tie between Lemon and Strawberry. She also went ahead and opened her gifts because we didn't want to rush it all the next day. It was a disappointment to not go to Dollywood but we reminded Morgan that she was the only one to ever have snow on her birthday!!! We love you Morgan!!!!

Our 9 year old

2009-12-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

These are much later than they should be but I wanted to make sure that I got a few pictures on here of Josiah. He had the flu on his birthday but we tried to make the best of it. He is really into Legos this year. The 2 things he really asked for were more Legos and a suit like Daddy. He looks really handsome in a suit. We love you Josiah!!!!!! The first picture was when he was actually 8 several months ago but I thought this was a neat in the air type picture. Not to mention it is so him.

Family Favorite

2009-11-28T22:52:00.000-05:00

2009-11-26T19:25:00.000-05:00

Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Thanksgiving Day 2009

2009-11-26T13:47:00.000-05:00

This Thanksgiving didn't turn out the way we had planned but God does know best. We aren't having a big celebration with friends and we are not having family come over, my extended family are afraid they will get sick from it. I'm amazed at just how well the kids are feeling today. They are determined to have a great Thanksgiving. And I guess what we are having is just what we need. Sickness always gives me more time to reflect. Maybe that is because staying up hours on end with little ones allows for a time to just think and pray. For me, I don't know if the thinking part is a good thing. Because I may think too much. I have realized some things though. These are things I already knew but have made themselves clearer in the past few days. First, I think my husband is just great. He wants to be very involved and always helps with the kids any way he can. No he is not perfect, no one is, but he is always an encouragement to me. I have always felt that since I am here with the kids, this is my full time job. I need to not only take care, educate, love, discipline, and train the kids, but when they are sick it is my job to do the yucky stuff. I am so thankful that my husband always jumps right in and tries to make it easier on all of us. Now just to let you know he may or may not read this but stuff like this does embarrass him some. So I don't say this lightly and I probably don't say it enough but I am very thankful for him. He is a good hearted husband and father. Of course I am so thankful for all my children and for any more God decides to bless us with. Is it a tough life, sometimes it is, but it is what we have chosen and I wouldn't want anything else. The good days are much more than the hard ones. God has blessed me more than I ever imagined. Do people look at me like I am strange for having 6? All the time, but then I think they are strange too, my goodness it is only 6! Why all the stares??? This time last year my mind was going in a million different directions. Another baby so close to Sarah, what will I do? But like I said earlier, God knows best. I can't imagine life without Samuel he is such a blessing. It wasn't that I didn't want another baby, it was just the timing that shocked me. Now I can say that I enjoy them being so close in age. I am amazed at the way Sarah already loves him, as do the other ones. They are all quick to tell me how they want another baby someday. I wonder if that's how it is in most families with several kids. You always welcome more? Also I am also so thankful for our church family. These people love on us through it all. They are there in the good times and also through the hard stuff. I would hope that all churches are like this but I really think we have something special at Waterville. God tells us to love one another, and that is what our church is good at. Loving people, praying for each other, and encouraging one another. Now of course our greatest thanks goes to our heavenly Father. In those late nights that I spoke of earlier, He is always listening. When you feel like there is no one who really cares and understands; He does. When there may be things that you can't voice to others, He already knows about it before you mention it to Him because He knows our heart. He loves us! What more could we ask for.

The Flu

2009-11-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

Today is Josiah's 9th birthday. Morgan has some pictures of our small celebration for him on her blog. I wanted to share a little about his birth but for now please pray for him he tested positive for the flu today as did Sarah. So far it has went Morgan, Josiah, Sarah, now Jacob is really sick. Katie didn't take a flu test but she has a few of the first symptoms the others have had. Please pray for them and also for little Samuel . So far he is OK. Daddy is trying to take care of him and help me but I am mostly taking care of the sick ones. The one good thing is that it seems to be moving on fairly quick. Morgan already feels much better and Josiah is better than he was 24 hours ago. I told him he could pick any kind of a cake he wanted. So the choice was an ice cream cake from DQ. Poor boy, after we cut it and he opened his presents he said he needed to go lay down. I don't know if he even took a bite. He went around and hugged all of us except Katie and Samuel (since they are still well) and thanked us for his stuff. I only wish it could have been what was planned - a big trip to Chuck E Cheese. We will try to do that next week. It could be worse though. I am thankful they are at home with us recovering. They could be in the hospital like others are. It helps me to remember to pray for those who are not able to be at home for Thanksgiving. Hopefully by Thursday this sickness will be well on its way out of our home. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Samuel is already 5 months old

2009-11-21T16:31:00.000-05:00

Samuel is growing into a big boy. He is such a sweetie. He is finally starting to sleep all night (as long as you fill him up)this past week. I think these pictures are so sweet of him. They show his easy going personality so well. He's a very happy boy!

Samuel's 4 months

2009-10-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

Jacob Turned 5!!!

2009-10-11T20:38:00.000-04:00

Dollywood

2009-09-27T09:17:00.000-04:00

Cades Cove

2009-09-26T18:20:00.001-04:00

2009-08-25T08:58:00.001-04:00

Birthday Cakes from WiddlyTinks.com

Random Pictures

2009-08-15T20:00:00.001-04:00

Lake Winnie

2009-08-15T14:43:00.001-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-05T20:18:00.000-04:00

SUMMER STUFF

2009-08-04T00:09:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it is already the start of a new week and month. We have started this week with sickness. So far 2 of the 6 are not well. We are praying they recover quickly and it is not spread to the others. We try to keep the baby away so Morgan and Katie are taking turns with him until Daddy is home while I tend to the sick ones. There is nothing like sickness that puts a complete halt on everything unimportant. The older 3 have big plans this Saturday so I hope everything is gone by then. I am trying to find some pictures of our summer fun times this year. I wish we had taken more pictures, like the simple stuff, playing board games, jumping on the trampoline, bike rides till dark, swimming with friends. We have a few pictures but not enough. I need to do better at that and either pull out my camera more or learn how to use Morgan's. We are getting ready for school to start and all the activities that go along with that. I am excited to get started. I am going to make out a big list on all that we are doing and turn it into one post. I am enjoying this new blog. It is just a great way for me to look back and remember. I have joined facebook too and I'll just say that it is not quite what I thought. Some things are just too much for the entire world to know about. But that would be a whole other story to talk about. We ordered some new books and DVD's from Vision Forum with the great deal they had this week, can't wait to get them. For now I am going to see what pictures I can share maybe I'll have more later.

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY KATIE

2009-07-31T15:16:00.000-04:00

Katie's birthday was July 5th. It was on a Sunday this year so after church we all went out to eat and then we came home for cake and present time. About 2 weeks later we had a big cookout birthday party at the Westwood Pavillion to celebrate Katie. We hadn't done anything like this in several years, so all the kids were excited about the big day. They took their bikes and we had a great night. It was so cool and comfy for mid July, nothing like 11 years ago when I had Katie, it was HOT that year. We all had a wonderful time with friends and family at the park.

SARAH'S FIRST YEAR

2009-07-30T15:24:00.000-04:00

SARAH'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

2009-07-30T10:09:00.000-04:00

May 23rd was Sarah's first birthday. We had pizza, (her favorite) brownies, and birthday cake. She didn't really know what to think about opening presents but she enjoyed the musical toys she got. We took her birthday dress off so she could dig into some cake. These last two pictures were taken a couple days later at JC Penney. I think they turned out so good. She loves to have her picture made and the girls there enjoy taking them because she is so much fun. Sometimes they have to wait a minute and give her a "smile break" because she is smiling so much she starts laughing. Her birthday dress was so beautiful. A special friend gave this to us at her baby shower. We wanted to make sure she put it to good use. So she wore it on her birthday and then we got it ready the next day for church and then again for pictures. The blue color just made her eyes look even brighter. Sarah is loved by all, you can't help but warm up to her because she is so lovable.

Samuel Joshua Parris born June 19, 2009

2009-07-29T13:54:00.000-04:00

Samuel was born 8:02 on Friday June 19th. He was by far our biggest baby weighing 9lbs. 5 oz. and his length was 22 inches long. I joked quite a bit when I was pregnant saying he would be at least 10 lbs. because I was so HUGE!!! I just didn't really think he would be this big. I am glad we scheduled an early c-section because he was very ready to join us. My contractions were getting closer and harder as we waited to get started. It was a great delivery again by Dr. Wolf. And the whole team in the operating room were just the best. As soon as I saw him I thought WOW he really is a big boy. We love him so much he is a wonderful addition to our family.

First Pictures of Samuel Joshua

2009-07-28T21:12:00.001-04:00

These are the first few pictures of Samuel Joshua with his Daddy and siblings. I love Sarah's face, she didn't know what to think of this little guy. We were all wanting to see what she would do when she saw him. Not even a smile, that is so unlike her, but she seems to have grown fond of him in the past weeks. Everytime we have had a baby I love to get those shots of the older ones with the new baby. It is something to always cherish.

A more recent picture of the kids

2009-07-28T16:59:00.000-04:00

This is the first family picture with Samuel. He was not very happy here. So we did not get many pictures taken, but I still Love this picture with all my little ones in it.