CELEBRATING JULY 4th!

This year our July 4^th celebration didn’t go as planned.  That’s fine with us, we are nothing but flexible here!  Robert headed into work and I browsed Pintrest to come up with some last minute recipe ideas.  After a quick trip to town, our menu was set and we were ready to have fun!  We celebrated the fourth by ourselves in true Best Family style!

Our menu was simple.  We had ribs, broccoli salad, potato salad, baked beans, and a red, white, and blue poke cake.  The cake was a huge hit; the kids can’t wait for us to make another one.  Even Robert enjoyed the cake flavors, he was a little uncertain when I mentioned jello in the cake!

My plate before we dug in!  Have I mentioned that Robert is an amazing cook?

Our jello poke cake thanks to Pintrest!  We will be making this again for next year for sure!

While I was in town, I picked up some simple fireworks for the boys to enjoy.  We also had some sparklers from the previous years so the boys had fun with those as well.  Maggie wouldn’t come outside to join us, she always gets eaten by mosquitoes so she was smart and watched from the kitchen window this year.  Jacob adored the fireworks display.  He clung to John Robert’s leg and kept saying: “OOOOH, FIRE!”  It was a lot of fun for us to see the simple fireworks through Jacob and Cole’s eyes this year.

No, we didn’t have a huge get together with everyone.  Yes we did miss visiting with family.  But, in the end the simple, laid back, at home celebration was just what we needed this year.  Our Fourth of July wasn’t huge, but it was perfect for us!

FATHER'S DAY 2016

If there is one thing in this crazy and uncertain world that I am certain of, it’s Robert’s love for his children.  While he is far from perfect, as we all are, he is a man who knows what he values and what matters the most.  For Robert and I, what matters the most is our children.  Each one of our children is a precious reminder of the man that Robert is.  I truly believe that the reason we have so many sons is because of the legacy that Robert is leaving through his children, especially his sons.  Growing up, Robert never really had a great male role model.  He didn’t meet his biological father until he was 17.  In spite of his upbringing and its aftereffects; he is an amazing father today. 

For Father’s Day this year we decided to get a gift that the family could enjoy, well most of us can enjoy.  Several years ago, Robert had a very nice fishing rod and reel stolen from him. This year we bought three cane poles for the boys to use and replaced Robert’s rod and reel.  That was an adventure in and of its self.  I HATE fishing and anything to do with the sport, so in our shopping quest for the perfect gift for Robert, I made some great friends with two gentlemen as they laughed at me in the sporting goods department!  

Opening his card.  He laughed so hard at this card this year.  Maggie did a great job picking it out!

Opening his new reel.  

Putting together his new rod and reel.  

Needless to say, Robert was beyond thrilled with his gift, but most of all he was thrilled with the thoughtfulness of his kiddos.  Not only was this gift a personal one, but it was one that the kiddos and Robert can enjoy together as a family.  This is part of the legacy that Robert and I want to build in our children.  We want to instill in them the idea that gifts are meant to be shared and enjoyed as a family.  We want them to want to spend time and enjoy us while they are growing up so we will have the right bond with them when they leave our home.  I think that Robert’s Father’s Day gift shows this perfectly!

Robert and our five kiddos posing under our tree.  

Happy Father’s Day to my amazing husband!! We are beyond blessed to have you in our lives.  We adore you and can’t wait to use your new Father’s Day gift.  Yes, I will even go with you, as the official Best Family photographer of course! 

Mother’s Day 2016

This year my Mother’s Day didn’t go as planned, but I was ok with that, after all I am a mother.  Being a mother for almost 16 years I have learned that there are times that you have to be flexible.  This year happened to be one of those times.

It all started almost two weeks ago when Ethan came down with a wonderful stomach virus.  The virus went through all five children, hitting Jacob and Cole twice, before finally hitting me.  Let me tell you, being 4 months pregnant with baby number six, battling anemia and the general pregnancy exhaustion while raising five other kiddos, and then getting the stomach flu stinks.  It really stinks in a monumental smelly like a rotten skunk kind of way.  The worst part of the whole ordeal was that it knocked my iron out of whack even more so and now my recovery was taking twice as long.  Needless to say, this prompted me to spend my Mother’s Day weekend in bed. 

Literally, all day Saturday and part of Sunday (until my parents arrived and I was forced to get up), was spent in bed.  I slept for almost four straight hours on Saturday alternating between extreme hot and freezing cold.  Sunday was slightly better, but the exhaustion was still there.  This is where the gift of my children shines through.

Maggie was amazing.  She literally did EVERYTHING.  She cooked.  And I mean she cooked fresh snap beans from her garden, homemade potato salad, baked beans, and rolls.  Not to mention the chocolate, blueberry, and cinnamon muffins and coffee cakes she made for breakfast.  It was an incredibly delicious day!   She cleaned, and I don’t mean a light picking up but total house disinfecting in case anyone was still contagious.    She made sure that laundry was somewhat done, and that I was napping and resting as needed.  She helped her Daddy in the garden and kept the little boys as quiet as possible while I was down.  Of course Robert and the boys did what they could to help, mainly staying outside to keep the house quiet for me and cleaning up their bookshelves, but Maggie was amazing. 

How I was greeted Sunday morning.  Freshly baked treats for breakfast, candy, and my gifts.

I was spoiled Mother’s Day weekend.  Not with a ton of gifts, although the meal out with Robert and the pedicure from the kiddos was an amazing treat, but in the actions of my family.  I wasn’t planning on being down, literally all weekend.  I had wanted to do the cleaning to give Maggie a break, but she stepped up and did it all willingly without complaint.  I was spoiled in the unselfish love that was shown to me by my family.  My children aren’t perfect, far from it actually, but for me their perfect love and help was the best gift I could have received. 

Mother’s Day weekend didn’t go as I had planned, and that’s ok.  To me, it was better than what I had wanted.  My children showed me their character, their ability to come together and work hard to help our family when it is needed.  This to me is the greatest gift a mother can be given, to see that the training and ideals she is trying to instill in her children are taking root.  I am blessed as a mother.  I am highly favored in more ways than one.  I am so thankful for my children and their sacrificial love as I recover from the flu.  Their love is the greatest gift I have been given.  I am so proud to be their Mother.  

RESURRECTION SUNDAY

Our Resurrection Sunday didn’t go as planned this year.  To me this wasn’t that big of a deal, I have learned over the years that if you want to have children you need to be flexible.  In spite of the lack of planning that went into this Sunday, it was a perfect day for us.

Our morning started off with the kiddos Easter baskets readied and the boys’ toys hidden for them to find.  Easter baskets in our home are kind of like stockings at Christmas, they are filled with tons of practical things like shampoo, toothbrushes, and a little candy.  This year Ethan, Cole, and Jacob got a Lego set of some kind while Maggie and John Robert got some new art supplies.  The boys also had their toys hidden that were personalized for them.  The little’s had new truck toys while the big’s had water guns and water bomb toys.  I know my kiddos and their gifts were a big hit. 

All six baskets waiting and ready to go.

Ethan and all his goodies.

Cole and his baskets.

Jacob and his new Mega Block tractor.  

John Robert finding his basket of toys.

While the kiddos scrambled to unload all their new goodies, Robert fixed us a super yummy sunrise breakfast.  We had ham, eggs, and grits.  Of course there was lots of coffee and orange juice.  While he was making breakfast, I was putting together our dinner.  I wasn’t supposed to be cooking, normally we go to my parents for Easter Sunday, but this year my mom and dad both have pneumonia, so cooking for us was now the new plan.  My Mom called to cancel our dinner on Saturday; thankfully she called while I was in the grocery store, so everything worked out perfectly.  We had jalapeño poppers, roast, mashed potatoes, cheesy broccoli and cauliflower, and banana pudding for dessert.  We asked Robert’s Granny to come eat with us since this was her first Easter without Granddaddy.  So while Robert made breakfast, Maggie and I threw together what we needed for our Easter dinner.

Maggie made the banana pudding.

We of course, spent our morning at church enjoying the service that First Baptist here in Lake Wales offers.  Unfortunately because our morning was so busy, I forgot to take pictures of everyone in their Sunday best. But, our color of choice was blue and everyone looked wonderful in their Easter finery.    After church we came home to eat, play, and eat some more. 

Maggie doing her weekly coffee face mask hiding with her dark chocolate candy.

This Easter there were no egg hunts.  There were no kiddos scrambling to compete and find the big money eggs.  There was lots of good food.  There was lots of sweet fellowship.  Most of all, there was time spent reflecting on the wonder of what Christ did for us at Calvary and how his resurrection made us who we are today.  No, our Sunday didn’t go as planned, but it was perfect for us.  

MOTHER'S DAY 2015

This past Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day in a very low key manner.  I knew that the celebration of me would be non existent that I day, in fact I asked for it to be that way.  My reason, it was my E-Man's 8th birthday and I wanted the focus to be on him and not on me.  It was a lovely day, and I got what I really wanted, a nap and was surprised with a lot more.

The morning started off in the normal way.  Robert and I bustled around trying to get all five kiddos up and dressed. It's funny to me that it never fails, no matter how many times I lay out clothes for Sunday morning, something disappears in the night.  Be it the baby's socks or someone's shoes there is always a rush to get things done.  This Sunday morning was no exception.  But we were able to get some Mother's Day photos in our Sunday best!

A silly picture to start the morning off right!

A serious everyone stand up and smile picture to make the morning complete.

After church we came home and enjoyed a wonderful meal and celebration with the birthday boy (more to come about him after his party this weekend).  That's when I purposed to get the little one's to lay down.  Of course they wouldn't sleep so Daddy offered to take them and I napped.  It was comical to wake up and find the chocolate cake smeared everywhere.  It seems Daddy fell asleep and Jacob the Destroyer struck.  Seriously, I'm still finding chocolate in places and it's been almost a week!  UGH!  It was at this time that I got the best compliment I've ever been given from my sweet husband.

     It's hard work keeping up with these kids!

I laughed, hard.  He's right!  It is hard work keeping up with all these kiddos.  Yet they are also the ones that make my life so amazing.  Take, for example, my gift.  Everything was planned by Maggie.  She made the entire gift just from listening to what I have been saying about organizing the house.  I was given a beautiful tray, a lovely glass jar, some make-up ( including some samples of Organic Cow girl Dirt, but more on that later), and some beautiful earrings.  

I'm really enjoying this natural ~ organic makeup, but more about that later!

I LOVE the tear drop shape to these earnings!

My new tray and jar.  I think it's cute how Maggie wrapped the jar in burlap and the Cowgirl Dirt makeup came in the little burlap bag.

My Sunday morning selfie AFTER church showcasing the makeup still going strong!

All of the gifts were chosen for me because of something that she had heard me say I wanted to use, try, or she thought I would like.  It was a Mother's Day gift worth cherishing, I am so grateful that Maggie took the time to hear me when she heard me chatting.  I felt so special!  More than that, it was a perfect Mother's Day.  We celebrated the kiddos, I napped, and I was abundantly blessed by my daughter and husband with a gift that means so much.

I am not a perfect mom.  More often than not I fail, at every turn.  It is easy to make life seem perfect in blog posts, choosing only to highlight the pretty and not the "real" of a life with five kids.  In spite of not being perfect, I have children who love me and think of me as the Proverbs 31 Woman.  I am abundantly blessed by God as He allows me to walk this path of being my kiddos Mama.  I pray that everything I do brings glory to Him and helps prepare my children for His purpose in their lives.  Mother's Day was special because of the family that I have.  I am so glad that they are mine!

CHRISTMAS OF 2014

I love Christmas, it is my favorite time of year for so many reasons.  This year, our holiday time has been challenging, and if I am being truthful, in many ways just not fun or what we expected it to be.  In spite of our personal heartache over some things, we had a great Christmas together as a family of seven.

We normally do all of our Christmas baking on the Friday before Christmas.  Sadly this year I got the stomach flu.  I was in bed all day, literally thinking I was dying, and I was so upset and bummed out about not being able to do the baking with the kiddos.  I shouldn’t have worried though, Maggie, being the amazing big sister and young woman that she is, got the supplies together and did the baking with the boys.  She even took a lot of photos for me.  Knowing this was Jacob’s first Christmas, she didn’t want me to lose out on any memories.

The Saturday or Sunday before Christmas the Best side of the family has a get together.  This year, like last year, Robert was on call and actually wound up working so we couldn’t attend.  But, after me having the stomach flu, I didn’t think they would mind us not sharing our germs.  Christmas Eve is the day that we usually celebrate with his side of the family and all of the Massey’s.  Sadly we weren’t able to join them for this due to some circumstances that were beyond our control.  But, Poppa Best came to our rescue and joined us for some relaxing fun time on Christmas Eve.  Poor Maggie wasn’t feeling well and went to bed with a migraine, so our annual pajama and reading tradition was cut short.  I don’t think any of the kiddos even slept in their Christmas jammies this year.  I know that it’s a silly thing, but it is something that bothers me a lot.

Christmas Eve fun with Poppa Best

Making silly faces waiting on Maggie to get her meds.

Finally time to open Christmas Eve presents, new pajamas.

At LAST it was Christmas morning.  We told the kiddos not to get us up before 6:00 so Jacob wouldn’t be too grumpy.  I was up at 5:30, so excited I couldn’t stand it.  I had to WAKE my kiddos up at 6:30 for our family time.  It was the perfect morning.  We opened gifts, including our big family gift of new camping gear, we ate a big family breakfast, and then spent time playing with our new goodies.  For me, this was the time it finally felt like Christmas.  No one was sick, no one was hurt and disappointed, and no one was sad; we laughed, relaxed, and enjoyed each other.  At 1:00 we headed to my folks home to visit with my Grandma and parents and celebrate Christmas with them.

Christmas morning FUN!

Time for Christmas with Nana and Papa and  Great Grandma Peacock!

While this Christmas season didn’t go as we had hoped, and we were disappointed and saddened by a lot of things, one aspect was even more precious to me; my family.  My children were amazing as they loved and served each other to prepare the cradle for the birth of baby Jesus.  My husband was awesome as he got more and more excited over being able to make memories with his children.  My heart is full because within the confines of our small home, we saw God in action in full pursuit of our hearts with His love.  All because of the holiday we call Christmas. 

Chrismtas of 2014 was not the perfect Christmas, but it was one that was ful of joy, laughter, and love.  That is what makes this our BEST Chrismtas ever.