Random thoughts

Seems like Christmas is a time for reminiscing. I went to bed last night with a jumble of thoughts in my head. Some funny, some sad. I remembered Freddys' first Christmas....he was just a month old. We have pictures of him with his Great Grandma Beep. Thats what we called her, because when she would get close and hug you her hearing aid would beep. So, she always was called Grandma Beep. Such a sweet woman, I still miss her. I remember her telling me stories of when she had her kids, such details that she never forgot. I loved her like she was my Grandmother, in fact I was closer to her than I was my own grandparents. I thought of when Bubba was about 2 years old and we had a paper route. He decided to throw his shoe out the window....what a time we had finding that shoe. Because of course we didn't realize it was gone until we got home. I remembered when I could first put Abigails hair in piggy tails, she was 2 years old. Such beautiful blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Now she is 11 years old, tall and thin. I remember my little Miah, such a chubby, squishy baby. Such a sweet little guy. So many memories. Such happy times. Makes me love having a large family.

As a side note, it's 65 degrees here today and our snow is GONE.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday seasons have been happy and peaceful. Mine has. I have enjoyed my children and husband immensely. I will have pictures to post within the next couple of days of our church Christmas program and our Christmas. We started a new tradition this year also. We went to brunch at IHop this morning and it was so nice. My husband and I decided to make it a tradition. Good relaxing breakfast and no mess and no cooking for me!! Nice. I have so enjoyed my 2 days off from work. It seems like longer than 2 months that I have been working. I yearn and long to be at home again full time. May it happen soon :)

Brrrr

I no sooner wrote my last post and our weather took a turn, it is now snowing and blowing and about 8 degrees. YIKES!! Anyway, seems much more normal for this time of year. The kids were so excited to see the snow, and honestly so was I. I really want a white Christmas. It has been so hard to get in the Christmas spirit this year. Maybe this will help :) I will post some pictures of it soon.....

Swingset

I have been so busy lately, so I haven't been around much, sorry. I have been keeping up on my favorite blogs though;) Just haven't had the time or energy to post on my own. I have to get a lot done today (we don't even have our Christmas decorations up yet) and I have to work from 4 to 11 tonight too. Yuck. Today is one of those days that I just don't want to go. I want to stay home with my family and enjoy just an ordinary day. There have been too few of them since I started working. So, if you get a ordinary day with your loved ones today (even if it's a little boring) be thankful.
Remember the swing set I told you about? Here are some pics! The kids have really enjoyed it. Notice the lack of snow, very strange to this girl from Michigan. Here we are at the middle of December and this is what it looks like. It has snowed twice, but it didn't stay more than 2 or 3 days. It's 50 out today :O Crazy stuff, I tell ya. I sure hope we don't have a brown Christmas.

Shocking!

I drove by the gas station on my way to work and noticed the price of gas. Now, not long ago I was noticing it too, but not in a good way. It is $1.47 a gallon here!! I really didn't know if we would see the day it would go under $3 again. It is so nice to fill up the little car for $15. What are gas prices where you are?

Thankful

I love Thanksgiving! Maybe it's because it's in the fall and I love fall. Or maybe because my birthday is around this time too...... Or maybe it's the pumpkin pie! Yeah, I plead guilty to that. I LOVE LOVE LOVE pumpkin pie!
I have so much to be thankful for this year: my children, a wonderful husband, food to eat, my health, lots of friends and a great extended family! Thank you God for these many blessings!

Hello!

Hello! Sorry I have been absent sooooooo long ;) I have been very busy. This whole working mom thing is hard. I hardly talk on the phone anymore either. It feels like I'm wasting time I could be spending with my babies or doing something more productive....so alas I have been MIA. Things are going fairly well here.
The neighbor is moving and gave the kids their swingset, the kids are over the moon about this! They always want to go over and play on it, and I wouldn't let them unless the neighbor was out and they asked permission. So, now it is theirs and they can play until they drop! They are out there right now playing in fact.
We brought Abigails cat Remington to the clinic to get neutered this morning. She is heartbroken without him and started to cry as we left. I felt bad for her, she is so attatched to him. They have to go back tonight when I am at work to pick him up. I should post a picture of him here soon, he is a cute cat. Loads of personality too.
Work is going good too. I am training at the customer service desk now. Not sure how I'm going to like that, I really don't want to deal with the angry customers.....but the time sure flies there.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. I have to get some things done before work.

May God help us

I still can't believe it. I have tried closing my mind and heart to it. But I think he's here to stay.....America has elected for the first time a Muslim and Socialist. Congratulations! If you voted for him, pat yourself on the back, your life as you know it is now over. Change! Thats what people say about him. Well, you'll get change alright, but I don't think it's going to be the change people are dreaming of. I am amazed the number of people that didn't take the time to research the candidates, they are just going with what the media says or voting because of race. You can be just as much racist for voting for someone because they are black as for not voting for someone because they are black. I DID NOT vote for Barrack Hussien Obama and it had NOTHING to do with race. It had everything to do with him being a card-carrying Socialist. Nazi-Germany anyone?

More to come....

Trying to post more

I am going to try and post more, even if it's just a little every day :) Before I made this blog, I kept a journal online. It was completely private, so I could say what I wanted about anything or anyone and not worry about it. Now, being I have friends and family reading I feel I have to censor what I say. lol. Anyway, The kids went to a Fall Party at the church last night, I had to work :( They had a blast though and each came home with a bag of candy. Work was crazy busy when I got there, then about 6 pm it totally died. So slow....it stinks when it's so slow. Then the time goes by so slllllooooooooowwwwwwwllyyy. Oh yeah, I got my first pay check Thursday!! YAY!! $220!!

Tired

Whew! I have a new respect for working moms. I am so exhausted!! It's been 1 1/2 weeks since I started at Wal-Mart and my word have I been tired. Then to top things off, my husband got laid off :( It's nice because I'm able to see him during the day instead of me working at night, him during the day and us never seeing each other. But, financially it's going to be tough. Thankfully he will get unemployment. In all his company laid off 8 people, one guy had been there 7 years. My husband has a job interview here and one in Michigan, where we grew up and lived all of our lives. So, we have a huge decision to make......and soon. I guess a lot of it rests on if he even gets an offer from either of them.

Work!

I no sooner wrote the last post when I got a call from Wal-Mart. I had put applications in at every place in my town that I would work at. I have not worked in 14 years and really didn't figure anyone would hire me, lol. Now those of you who know me are probably shocked, I am probably one of the last people you would think of to go back to work! Believe me it was NOT what I wanted to do! My husband in the past has taken 2nd jobs at night, so I would not have to. But since we have moved here, to Kansas.....well lets just say it's a little more expensive here than we thought and without my husband getting his overtime we just couldn't make it. I mean when you have $50 left for gas and groceries for a week and you have 5 children, you know you're in trouble!!So, we talked about it and I decided that this time was my turn and I would work after my husband gets home from work. That way we still home school, I have all day with my babies and no daycare or babysitters.(which is VERY important to us) Now, this is only temporary, my husband has had several interviews and is activally looking for a better paying job. He is one credit short of a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering so, he should get paid better than he does. It's just this economy is making things difficult :)
SO, anyway, I got a call from Wal-Mart within a couple days of putting in my application and was called in for a interview and offered a cashier job (seems their desperate for cashiers here)I was beyond shocked. So, now I am a working woman for the first time since I've had children 14 years ago. The kids are doing great with it so far, granted it's only part time and in the evening/night. I think we are all going to learn a lot from this. My husband and I to appreciate each other more, the kids and I to spend the time we have together better, no arguing and bickering. It still seems to be a VERY strange thing so far. Wish me luck learning all the cashier stuff! I have never ran a cash register, lol. This more than I bargained for :)

*~Happy Birthday~*

It was Bubbas birthday yesterday. He is now 8 years old. How fast the time flies!! We had a family b-day party for him this year. Last year he had 2 parties, one family (my in-laws were visiting) and one with his friends! So this year we just did a family party :) He was happy, and we were happy. He's a very easy to please child and for that I am thankful. I also brought him to McDonalds (his choice) for a Happy meal and to Wal-Mart where he picked out a small gift. It was nice to go out just him and I. We had a great time and lots of laughs! I do so enjoy spending time with my children. You would think after home schooling them and being together all the time, I would want to get away more than I do. I guess I often remind myself these days will be over too soon and I will be alone and to enjoy them now. Not that they don't drive me crazy some days, because believe me, they do :)

Rainy days

Been raining for 2 days here and while I love the rain, with 5 kids inside all the time....it can get crazy. To top it off I got some stomach virus Sunday night. So, I was throwing up all night and all Monday morning. yuck! It doesn't surprise me though Kaitlynn and Josiah both have had it. The older kids watched the younger ones and they had a day off of school. They mainly played the computers and helped me out. Abigail was my nursemaid and Freddy the babysitter. I was quite impressed by how well they coped and behaved without me right there. The house was a bit messy by afternoon when I finally stopped getting sick.
It seems like we've had a lot of bad news lately. My husband interviewed for a job and heard this weekend he didn't get it. Then my Mother-in-law called today and told me their fall trip to visit us is cancelled. We are so heartbroken. They full time RV and since they have been traveling they have always visited in the fall and in the spring. This will be the first time they haven't. My kids are so upset and I really don't blame them. They haven't seen my parents in almost 2 years! This economy really stinks. Seems like money troubles are hitting everyone.
I really don't mean to sound so negative. I know the Lord has it all in his hands, it's just so hard to understand sometimes.

Friday 5

I stole this from Sarah over at themommylogues and apparently she stole it as well, lol. Write 5 things you love about fall. Fall is my absolute favorite season!! A time for new beginnings, cooler temperatures, and back to school. So here goes!

My favorite fall things!
1. homemade applesauce
2. a trip to the orchard
3. trees turning beautiful colors
4. my boys playing football in the back yard
5. order and routine once again


What are your favorite fall things?

My Bubba

Bub is my middle child. Middle of the family and middle of the boys. Hard place to be sometimes. He is 7, going to be 8 in October. He is a sweet child and was such a sweet baby. So very smart, which makes life difficult at times also. He gets bored and acts out. His favorite things right now are cowboys (we got him cowboy boots for his last b-day and he wears them ALL THE TIME), video games, spiderman, Webkinz and reading. Bub is just now getting his 2 front teeth in, he's really starting to look like a big kid. Here are some pics of him from when he was a baby until now. Such a handsome young man!!!

End of summer

Is it really the middle of September already? Almost the end of summer, or is summer already over? Is it technically fall yet? I don't know. I guess I ought to find out. I always considered the start of school the end of summer. The weather here is beautiful today, sunny and mid-70's. Can't beat that. The kids have done their school work and chores with minimal complaint and fighting today. They have been arguing a lot lately and we've really had to come down hard on them. In fact I have 1 child grounded indefinitely from the computer.

Here are some fall pics from years past! Hope you enjoy them!!

September 11

I didn't have time to post this yesterday.

A Very Cute Hairdo!

This is my eldest daughter. I tried this hairdo out on her yesterday. I got it from a blog called Meaningful Days. She gave step by step instructions and it took no time at all. Perfect when you have 5 children to get ready for church. I thought it was so cute and perfect for church. We had an evangelist last night and also tonight. How much you want to bet I'll be doing this hairdo again today :)

The pony tail girl

I was brave/crazy enough to put Kate's hair in a ponytail again. She does not want me messing with her hair and does not sit/stand still for me. But I prevailed!! Got some cute pictures too. She looks so different with a ponytail. I really like it and wish she would cooperate so I could do it more often. Her bangs are starting to hang in her face, and normally I use a barrette to hold them back. She is growing like crazy and really starting to talk. Remington (Abigails kitten) LOVES her when she is asleep, but not so much when she is awake. He'll get up and want to lay with his nose in her hair, but it'll wake her up and then he'll run for his life, lol.

Our school year is in full swing and is going well. The weather has been chilly, more like fall. I think it was from Gustav. We had a bunch of rain and a cold front came through. The boys have been loving it. Every fall they play football like crazy. Fall is the favorite season for most of my family. I LOVE it!!! Finally we have routine and order again. Ahhhhhh

We are starting a home school co-op. We have so many in our church that home school now that the church school closed. We will have our first meeting shortly. Right now we are having a hard time finding a date that works. Everyone is so busy and the fellowship hall at the church is being used on several of our dates.

Summer fun!

Here is a glimpse into our summer days. It has been a fun summer and we have spent a lot of time outdoors. We are not back to school yet. We start our homeschool in September. Can't believe it's almost that time of year again! The children here went back to school August 12th.

Baking cookies

My oldest daughter and I spend a lot of time together in the kitchen.Whether it's cooking or baking, she always gravitates there if I am in there. She LOVES to cook and bake. Hopefully it will serve her well in life. The nice thing is she will also clean up :) Can't beat that!

New Look!

I have been fiddling and messing around for several days to change the look of There's No Place Like Home. Don't ya just love the tornado picture?!? Makes ya thankful to live in tornado alley, lol. The threat of tornado's were the only reason my children didn't want to move here. Every time it storms someone gets worried. Not as bad now as it was in the spring..... but then again we haven't had many storms recently.

We have had a busy week here. Everyone has been sick, including my dear husband. Not sure what is wrong, we had the flu 2 weeks ago and now a sinus, throat, chest cold. In August?!?!?! I just hate being sick when it is so nice out. Does not seem right :( We were supposed to go to a Youth for Truth rally in Bonner Springs today, we went last night and the kids had a blast! But when we woke up this morning everyone was under the weather, except Freddy. So he went with a friend. He was gone the WHOLE day. On the way home the family he was with stopped to clean our church, so he was part of the cleaning crew also. He was tired but happy when he returned. We on the other hand missed him a great deal. You would think being I have 5 children, 1 being gone wouldn't be a huge deal. But I feel like something isn't right, something is missing when any of them are gone. The rest of the family had a quiet day. We just lounged around, read and played games together.

The $1 bike

Here are he pics of Miah's bike I promised you! The $1 bike we bought from our neighbor's garage sale. He absolutely LOVES it and rides it EVERYDAY! Normally he has his helmet on, but I had him posing, lol. Can't beat the price :)

Summertime!

Been a bit cooler here lately, which is wonderful. We have been busy with summertime activities. The county fair was in town last week. My kids thought this was especially cool because it was only 2 blocks from our street. We could walk out the front door and see it. So needless to say we walked over nearly everyday to look at the animals and watch the horse shows. VERY fun. We did not ride rides or even eat any food there though. Believe that one or not. Will post more shortly my honey just walked through the door and wants on his computer :) I do my blog on my husbands computer (we each have one) because we keep all he pictures on his computer. I only have a very few on mine. Anyway, the kids are enjoying the outdoors and have went out daily before breakfast to ride their bikes. I then feed them breakfast outside. We also have been riding to the library at least 2 times a week.

Little Dexter

Miah, also known as Little Dexter, Bully, Bull Frog, My guy. A sweet little cuddly guy, whose about to turn 4. Hard to believe. He loves cars, motorcycles, kittens, riding his bike, cowboy boots and talking. Man, I'm telling you that kid can talk. ALL THE TIME!! The only time he is quiet is when he is asleep.

Jeremiah got a big boy bike today from the neighbors yard sale. He is so excited over it. The only thing it needs is training wheels. We are looking for Josiah's old ones in the garage. His little bike broke about 1 month ago, it was one of those plastic spiderman 3 wheeled bikes. We called them Hot wheels when we were little, I'm not sure what they are called now. Anyway, he had it for 2 years and was ready for a big boy bike. We will post pics soon of him riding his new bike.

The first shall be last and the last shall be first!

Not exactly what the bible meant, but a fitting title today. Kaitlynn will probably not be the first at much, being the youngest of 5. But today (at least in my blog) she will be first. She is a fiesty and sassy little girl, but sweet and precious also. She is also a little bit spoiled. Standoffish to anyone she doesn't know and to lots of people she does know. The exception to this rule is Grandpa Braam. She was completely charmed by him from day 1.
Her favorite things right now are her kitchen set,( that I bought her at a garage sale Friday) her baby dolls, a red purse Abby gave her and playing cars with her brothers :) Much the same things Abigail liked at that age. Personality wise the girls are very similar, but not in looks.
Sunday I put her hair up in a pony-tail for the first time!!! It was soooo cute:) But once it started to dry it fell down.....I should have taken a picture.

Me

Thought I would post a small post about me, then each of the children in the following week or so.



I am 33 years old. I have 5 children. The oldest is 13 and the baby is 17 months. I have been married almost 14 years. I enjoy riding my bike, going to Museums, reading, blogging, and reading blogs, shopping, stamping, going for walks with my family, camping and traveling. My favorite kind of books are mysteries. The funniest thing is my mom, my sister and myself all read the same types of books. I live in Kansas now. I have lived in Kansas, South Dakota and Michigan. I must be boring that's all I can think of. hmmmmm I will add more shortly the baby needs to lay down for a nap :)

4th of July weekend

We had a GREAT 4th of July holiday. Sorry, no pics though. I forgot my camera. We went over to DeSoto for the fireworks, met up with several families from the church. We (not me) set off our own then we went to the city ones, then back to the park to set off more. Freddy was in his glory, he got to light some of the small stuff himself. We never made it home until 1 am. The kids were dead tired at that point and immediately fell asleep. Me too :) All in all it was a relaxing, fun weekend for our family. Kaitlynn and Miah got their pics taken by a photographer from the paper, guess they didn't print them though, or I would have heard about it. That would have been cool!
Nahomi is coming to spend the day with Abigail tomorrow and I'm taking the kids to the Summer reading program at the Library. It's getting hot here, was 94 degrees today. It's still 83 and it's 10:30 pm. Yuck. Thank God for air conditioning.

Last day of June

Can it be?!?? The last day of June already? Where is my summer going? I need to get out there and enjoy this beautiful weather. We ( read:ME) picked vegetables out of our garden today. Enough lettuce to make a large salad, some radishes, 3 cherry tomatoes, and enough green beans for a meal! I was soooo excited to see those green beans. There is nothing like fresh green beans. Fred must have thought so too because as soon as he walked through the door after work, he was eating those beans raw!! The garden has been a family project. This is our first garden EVER. Fred and his mother planted everything when they were here in May. Then Fred, I and the kids all weed it and water it.

I got my first comments today. Hi Sister Cheryl!! Love you and miss you!!! It's too funny because she started her blog the same day I did, lol. Here is the link to hers
http://cheryl-outonawhim.blogspot.com/

Some cute kids!!

Fred fixed the computer and downloaded the pics off the camera. Boy, were there some cute ones on it!!

New Car!!!

This is a memorable day in the Braam household. Today we purchased our first brand new car!! It's a Kia Rio and it's Fred's commuter car for his new job.

It's a cute little car, reliable and most important--good gas mileage!! We figure he'll use half the gas that he uses in the van. That is considerable with gas almost $4 a gallon and a 38 mile (one way) commute.

New Job

Fred started his new job Monday. Praise God!! It is so nice for life to get back to normal. The kids have been a bit out of sorts but are adjusting well. Time to finish our school year and enjoy the summer. The older kids have about 2-3 weeks left of school and will have August off. We will be heading home to Michigan in August, family camp in Wisconsin is the second week of August, then we are heading to the UP to stay with the Griffins for a few days (week maybe) then to downstate Michigan to visit family. I have not seen my family in 18 months, so it will be nice to see everyone again!! My in-laws visit me twice a year, they full-time RV so they come where ever we are. VERY nice.

Memorial Weekend

Over Memorial Day our subdivision (really just a cul da sac) had a block party. They do this every year and have a fire truck for the kids to see and sit in. Normally they spray the kids with the hose, but this year was a bit too cold and windy. Perfect for me though, lol. Here is Abigail and her friend Nahomi.

Rapid City, South Dakota

Hello! We went to the Western side of South Dakota a month or so before we moved. What a wonderful time we had!! We only had a long weekend, because Fred got a day off for Good Friday. So Easter Sunday we spent in Rapid City.










Here is a pic in the Badlands!!

Everything is so much better in person than in pictures, we absolutely loved it.

Little House on the Prairie

I had originally called this blog Little House on the Prairie. Even though that is true we are on the prairie, I thought this was cute being we are in Kansas. Those of you who are now wondering what I'm talking about think--- Wizard of Oz. And truly there is no place like home. All though I have only lived in Kansas for about 6 weeks, my home is where my children and husband are. But really my heart is in Michigan, in the U.P., that always feels like home to me :)

My first blog

I've been wanting to do this for a long time. But I wasn't sure I wanted just anyone to read my inner thoughts. So, I decided to compromise, I will use this blog to keep in contact with my friends and family and use a journal for more personal things :) I think this will be easier than e-mailing so many people. It seems that we've moved around a bit and now have a number of people we are close to and want to remain in touch with. I am not complaining one bit, but it has been difficult for me to have enough time to e-mail, call or write to everyone.