The Taste Of Blackberries

This weekend we went up to a secret place in the mountains to pick the last of the seasons blackberries. We all had a great time. The fresh air and the shear beauty of the land was amazing. It reminds me of the early days of our country.. when the west was won. The drive to get there is only 20 minutes from our house...but its like going back in time. I love all the old barns and farmhouses I get to see on the drive. The whole experience makes my heart glow and I tingle all over. I could feel the love of God all around.The day was beautiful. I wrote that one in my happy book. I will be writing a post soon all about my happy book,so stay tuned.

I really liked to watch the camaraderie of All the kiddos,seeing the family work together as we picked the berries. The older ones helping the younger ones. The joys of a large family....Awesome.

After the berry picking we went to a small Mexican restaurant for nachos and bean dip. We all had water and the bill was only $15.00. The kiddos liked going "out to eat".We all had full bellies for cheap.

When we got home we made a really yummy dessert. I found a recipe website with nothing but BLACKBERRY stuff. We made the Mountain Blackberry Pie.


Peace and Prayers,
Georgiann

Set Apart..

Below is a link for another blog~ Making Home by Jess. When you click on the link you will arrive on the bottom of the page,so you will need to scroll up. It takes a few seconds. Jess is a great writer and she got a ton of comments.
The blog post is for the Quiverfull minded. The non-quiverfull should read it too,so maybe they will be kinder to those of us living out God's WORD in regard to family size. It is well written and funny too. I hope you enjoy~

In Christ,
Georgiann

Making Home: Some Subtle Effects of the Birth Control Culture#links

Making Home: Some Subtle Effects of the Birth Control Culture#links

~Fall Is Here~Time To Snuggle In~

Here are the cubby shelves I bought at Target. They are made by Closet Maid and only about $45.00. I think I will get one or 2 more.They can stack or just go side by side. The baskets are sold separately for $5.99, I need to get some more. Each child will have a place for their books. My 11 mo. old will have her board book in one, my first grader will have his easy readers ect.. Now the baby can't rip everything off in one foul swoop! I will post pictures when I get more shelves.

Here are the "dog pillows" I bought from Costco $16.00 each. They are 4ft x 4ft. and smell like cedar. I will use them for our reading corner in the living room~ The kiddos love them.

The rug is 9x7 and was only $99.00

I just love the colors in this rug!

Blessing and Prayers,

Georgiann

Busy Busy Busy...

Today is my day to catch up from the long weekend~ I had a wonderful weekend. Saturday I cooked a BIG thanksgiving dinner. Yes, I now its only September. I made Turkey,corn, stuffing,mashed potatoes, green beans,the works. My kids were asking where the mac and cheese was? I normally make it for Novembers Thanksgiving. A total day of comfort food!

Yesterday was church and some shopping. My Dear Husband went to early church, then to the lake to pull his boat out of the water for the winter. He took the oldest 3 kiddos with him. I took the younger 3 kiddos with me for the day.
After church I bought a huge rug for the living room, usually $250.00 on sale for $99.00. It is really nice. I also bought a cubby style shelf for all the book ect. Now I don't have to clutter the living room with 3 full laundry basket full of books. I think I will get another one of the cubby shelf's( you can stack them). I got mine at Target for about $45.00 they are made by Closet Maid. The baskets were $5.99 each and came in many colors. The shelf can in about 5 colors.

OH at Costco right now they have these huge dog pillows for $16.00 They are BIG and to nice for the dog ( I bought 2). I will use them on the floor for our reading corner. I will try to post some pictures of all my stuff later today.

Now I'm off to do 6 loads of laundry and 2 loads of dishes ect...so see ya later.

The Perfect Day!

My Dear Husband Carl and my sister managed to pull off a surprise party for me! They were able to get a handful of my closest friends to help celebrate my special day! They took me out to Mama Stortinni's Italian Restaurant.

My husband bought me a piece of fine jewelry to mark the day~I will only wear it occasionally I don't want it to get broken. Thank you for your sincere thoughtfulness, I feel truly loved.

God has blessed me with good friends and a wonderful family. My sister is the best...thank you GOD for giving me my sister. I had a great time sitting around that BIG plate of food with all my friends. I could not have asked for a nicer evening.

I got so many flower bouquets that I felt like cleaning my house to make room for them. I feel like I'm in the flower shop! It's GREAT!

The night was wonderful and truely beautiful~thank everyone

Peace and Love,

Georgiann

In Between Babies.....

Well I took this picture at one of my son's baseball games~So when you are in between children or done having children and looking for creative ways to use your old baby equipment,a condiment table is a good thing. Martha would be so proud!

Its My Birthday....

Well I'm another year older~ You can probably guess my age from this picture,if not I'm not tellin'. I'm the baby in this picture,my mom is the older lady. Now I'm all grown up,married with 6 kids. LOL.
Today my sister is taking me out to lunch~and no not to Mc Donald's! Tonight my husband is taking me out for Italian food,one of my favorites. I have a fun day planned hopefully everything goes as scheduled. The girls both have a bad cold and they will be going with us today.
I don't really mind getting older..I don't think to much about it. With 6 kids who has time. Well I'm off for a busy day!
Peace and Love,
Georgiann

Quiverfull..

I was asked to write about the topic if being quiverfull. My husband and I have 6 children. When we were first married we used a rough form of the rhythm method. Then I learned the Billings or BOMA method. After our 5 th child I was given 2 books from a friend at church,one was
Life Giving Love (Embracing God's Beautiful Design for Marriage.) and a NFP book.
NFP is only to be used when pregnancy is needed to be postponed for medical reasons. Some use NFP for selfish reasons.
We are currently not using anything, we are open to what God wants for us. Sometimes my husband gets nervous about the thought of more children, some how God always calms his fears.We consider children to to a blessing not a burden. We trust God knows what is best for us. We will gladly except as many children as God will give to us. God is the only one to open and close the womb. Fertility is a gift...
We are Quiverfull!~

Prayers and Blessings,
Georgiann

Violin Lessons?

Well one of my boys told me he wants to play the violin! So some time this week we will go down and rent one. I called around to a few music stores and they are rent to own. The total cost is about $650.00, you pay about $26.00 a month. They say people never end up owning, they upgrade to a bigger one and keep paying or the kid will quit and you can just give the instrument back. I guess that's how the whole thing works. To me it seems like leasing a car, you just pay and pay and never own anything. ( We own our used cars).
Well I am really excited about the whole idea. I can't wait to hear the sweet music in the house! The squeaky sound of the bow going across the strings, I can hear it now! I will have to learn how to put video of him playing on my blog once he gets going. The school offers the lessons free so I hope he likes it. I will keep you posted as to how it all turns out!
Peace, Georgiann

Reflections...

I was remembering what I was doing around Sept. 11, 2001. I was reflecting on how that day effected our family. We had three boys at the time,and wanted another child. We had been trying to get pregnant for several months prior and each time I took the pregnancy test I would sit and watch the test strip lines come up, or should I say line... not pregnant! I was so disappointed.

Well, when my husband came home from work that tragic day, he announced we would not be trying to get pregnant anymore. No more bringing children into such a cruel world! That day really traumatized my husband. So I thought I would let some time pass and ask him agian in the spring.

Well I did not have to wait that long... I was already pregnant and did not know yet! God really knows what he is doing. He knows what is best for us. My husband was happy at the news, and most of his fears were put to rest. Our 4 th boy was born June 11, 2002 exactly 9 months later. God shows us his face in times of trouble, we just need to lift up our heads and look around!

The bible says:

Fear of man will prove to be a snare,but whoever trust in the LORD is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared. Proverbs 3: 25,26

Peace and Prayers,

Georgiann

Where Were You When ...

the world stopped turning? This post is dedicated to those who have served in the military. Thank you ~ Dad, Bro and my husbands niece and nephew.(His sisters kids) and ALL the other families that give so much.
I also want to remember the firefighters,police officers and All the victims of 9/11. I pray for the continued healing of all the families that suffered a lost that day,especially for the children that lost a parent. I don,t want to forget the people on all the planes and in the building that day~you are heros too.

Peace,Love and Prayers

Georgiann

Goodbye Until Next Time.....

Well my husbands parents left this morning. We all had a wonderful visit together. Jackie and Olivia really bonded with Papa. It was fun to watch their relationship grow over the last 2 weeks.

Jarett ,Jacob and Nick had fun playing cards and board games in the moter home (our spareroom) with Grandma. LOL. Its a 1970 Winnobago.

Noah liked practicing his reading with Grandma. She was a big help with all the kids and their homework. Grandma and Papa helped also with evening sports schedule.Thank You!!

A big THANK YOU to Papa for eating the stuffed zucchini with no complains or grumbling. LOL Grandma did ok too. I don't think my dear husband liked it to well. The kids did not fair well either. I think they should learn to be more appriecative of our neighbor Jim's bountiful harvest of squash......maybe I will cook it again.... not. Maybe I will make zucchini bread? That sounds better.

Well I think we created some good memories and a few funny stories to talk about when we all see each other again. Have a safe trip home! God has truly blessed us with a great family!

Peace in Christ,

Georgiann

Then The Tears Came..

Well I finally learned how to take pictures from our digital camera and put them on the computer, so I could put some on my blog. My MIL Shirley helped me and we put ALL 940 pics. on the computer. We should have learned sooner how it all worked but with the boys sport schedule and 6 kids, we needed a few minutes LOL.

I am not homeschooling this year,but when it was just the boys (the older4) I did. We would always go to the State Fair and do all the free stuff and go to the free shows ect..So my husband Carl said "Let the boys skip school and take them with Grandma to the fair. I wanted it to be just the girls,me,and Grandma. Well we all ended up going. I was glad I was obedient because we had a blast...I took sssoooo many pictures of the kids,the pigs, the pioneer farm, some really cool grape vines, oh and all my kids were in the Lets Pretend Farm show. They were ssooo cute all dressed in their costumes.I took so many pictures that the battery went dead. The whole day was a happy time, remembering years past...

Well I bet you are wondering when the tears came down as the title indicated? What putting pics on the computer have to do with the fair? Well I'm about to tell you. I can home and charged my battery,put the battery back in the camera. I then took more pictures of the girls and some really nice ones of all the kids (in one frame) LOL. Some how that night my husband was scrolling through the pics. and every few frames would be red and said" this image can't be diplayed" or something like that. My pictured I wanted where there and told my husband that I would fix it later... well he decided to call the camera company and he told them" my wife and mom down loaded pictures with the camera now it does not work right. Then my husband said "yes" we did ,when NO I DIDN'T! and then in 5 seconds time,while I said wait...took the phone to ask the camera guy some questions..... the photos were GONE FOREVER!!!!! The chip had been reformated,wiped clean. He didn't know that it would wipe everything out!! The pictures from the fair were not saved anyplace. Our day at the fair was gone! My face went white and the tears came down. I cried and cried. My poor husband did not do it on purpose,he felt sssoo bad. He went on line to a site that said they could retreive photos. He followed all the steps,it said there was 10mh or somthing of info. but you had to pay $40.00 so he did ...

We got nothing. Noda. ZIP. Zilch. for the $40.00. My Dad said you can't get stuff from a disc that has been reformated.

So yesterday was a test..was I going to cry all day and miss the church picnic? Was I going to stay mad at the who thing? My husband did not do it to hurt me, I knew that for sure. Well we all went to church and had a wonderful day toghther. We went to the lake and took more pictures.. I still had my kids and my family. God gave me one more day to spend with them,so I was going to do my best to enjoy it. With each new picture taken I felt better and better. I still have our day at the fair eched in my mind-the fun, the joy,the love of the day,it can never be wiped out!

We don't know how long any of us has here on earth, don't take things for granite. So if you have a choice to sit it out or dance.... pick dance.

Remember each day is a gift!

Georgiann

YOU WILL KNOW I'M CHRISTIAN BY MY LOVE

Well I though long and hard before writing this post. I also prayed and was lead by God to step out in faith. I want to say that I'm not ONLY christian but a ROMAN CATHOLIC and proud to be.

I am not writting this blog post to offend anyone. I felt that I was just hiding the fact because I don't want others to judge me for my faith practice.

My reason for just putting" christian" in my intro. on my blog was I did not want others to judge me. Who likes to be out cast? We got our computer a few months ago and was looking for on line groups. Some said they were christian groups that had info to glean about raising large families.They asked me my faith back ground and you could not just say "christian" so I told them Roman Catholic. The monitor of the group e mailed and said they were concerned that all I had in common with them is large families.

Catholics are christians too...I was not wanting to join the group to have christian debate! We are all on a journey with christ and mothers of many.
The devil rejoices when we claim to be following Christ yet work so eagarly to tear each other apart.

I was CRUSHED when I got the email from the group monitor.
I went from being a joyful mother of many to a mother that felt, why are other christians judging me? I just want to fellowship with other mothers,exchange ideas of organizing,recipes ect. So when it came time for me to give an intro on my new blog I typed the words Roman Ca... then hit delete. I did this several times,then all I put was christian.

My husband thought I did that right thing. He did not like seeing his wife feeling so hurt.. he told me " be careful what you tell those ladies or they will break your cross in two,and e-mail it back to you!!".

I hope everyone still wants to be my friend,I will not judge you. Please do not judge me.

The Bible says ....anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

You are ALL sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26

Be on your gaurd; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

Blessing in Christ! Georgiann

Mommies Sweet Girls

Well after having the 4 boys,we had 2 girls! I would love to have more..

Prayers and Blessing all,
Georgiann in WA

My Boys

This are my beautiful boys! They are getting so big. We all had a busy fun summer. The older boys played baseball ( January-August) and now my oldest and 3rd born are playing football. Their practices are 3 days a week. Too time comsuming for me! Next year we will have no sports!!!! LOL Thats my plan anyway.

Well the dinner bell is ringing.

Blessings, Georgiann

Early Morning Sun Bathing

Jackie out early one morning playing in the backyard with Noah. Life is good! I love my big family and would not dream of it any other way!

Peace and Love <><

Georgiann

Olivia

I can't believe our baby will be 1 year old in 4 weeks! She is a real cutie if I do say so myself.

Welcome to ..The Garden Gate. I hope you will enjoy it here, and visit me often. I finally figured out how to put pictures on my blog.yah!!
My husband and I have been married for 15 years and have lived in the Great Northwest all of our married life. We have 6 children, and I would like to have more. I am of quiverfull mind, my husband teeters on the fence. Children are a blessing not a burden. My husband is a good man and usually comes around on arrow at a time. The Lord is always at work.
Thanks for visiting,
Peace and Love Mom of 6,
Georgiann in WA