productive morning so far...

What is the actual definition of "productive", anyway? For me in the morning, it means I have accomplished something other than just get the kids fed and brushed and dressed and out the door to school, the dog walked and fed and watered, the newspaper brought in, my coffee prepared, and my bowl of shredded wheat (or AppleJacks or LuckyCharms, I am not picky) poured before I get on my computer....well, this morning, I did not send any small children to school, they are still not 100% better, but....



1. I wrote a letter to Benjamin, put it in an envelope with one that Margaret wrote (we are stamp-save-y here), and addressed it. It hasn't been put into the mailbox yet, but still...



That's it. I feel productive. That is the good thing about aiming low, no disapointment.



And I know I have the whole rest of the day to feel even more productive.



I did put a dent in the laundry yesterday...I love it when I put through load after load, then someone brings a huge pile of bedding and says, "Mommy, I wet the bed last night..." Although it is better than when I go to tuck them in at night and they say, "I can't get into bed, it is wet...."



The clothes monster has gotten a little bit smaller, which is very very good. Couch monsters by nature grow daily, and it if isn't growing, even that is progress. But if it is shrinking, even by small amounts, it is tremendously encouraging. Okay, I know, I CAN just go over there and put everything away. It doesn't take very long. But believe it or not, when I am not on this computer, I do get busy, and it just doesn't make the top of the priority list when I am cleaning up and taking care of kids. And, once I take care of the whole thing and pronounce that the couch Will Not Have Clothes On It Anymore, where am I supposed to put things?



I have been thinking about babies....so I thought I would write about my babies, all those wonderful babies I was blessed with....



Emily: I was 19 when she was born....she was way too precious to entrust to anyone else, I never left her when she was a baby....at all.



Abigail: I was 21 when she was born.....oh my goodness, she was challenging after the contented Emily. She was also so little and petite compared to Emily's chunkiness....when she started sucking her thumb at four months old, things got better....



Benjamin: I was 23 when he was born...he came a week early, but his due date was exactly a year after I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks....he was even smaller than Abigail, 6 pounds three ounces...and he had reddish hair...he looked directly in my eyes immediately after birth, he did not cry or fuss, he just stared at me as if to say, "oh, you are my mommy!" He did the same thing with Paul afterward...I fell totally and deeply in love with that baby!



Mariel: I was 24 .... I remember the labor for her birth being....awful. I was in agony. Paul was doing a Jumble puzzle across the room, I glanced at the jumbled word he was puzzling over, and said, "The word is AGONY!"...and it was. He kept telling me to remember that my tribulations were "short and light", and I argued with him and said, "Through MUCH tribulation we enter the kingdom of heaven!" (how dare he call my horrible pain, "short and light"!)...then the nurse kept suggesting I change position, when we all know that is impossible sometimes during labor....she insisted it would help the baby come quicker, but I did not want the baby to come quicker....I just wanted to stay just where I was....Paul joined her in encouraging me to change positions, so I did...but I remember saying to God, "I am humbling myself, you HAVE to give me grace now..." Ohh, I was grumpy, transition I guess. Anyway, she was born almost immediately after I humbled myself and changed positions....



Joseph: I was 25... Joseph was born on a 95 degree day....two or three pushes, easy and simple and almost enjoyable....he was long and lean, 8 pounds ten ounces and 22 inches long. He never curled up, his feet always stuck out of his receiving blankets. He had big blue eyes and dark wavy hair...



Aaron: I was 27 ....He was the biggest baby I bore, 9 pounds one ounce....the nurse told me to go ahead and push, she would go get the dr...and out the door she went. Well, I pushed one push, and his head was born...I asked Paul to catch him, he also went out the door for the dr....I shall spare the details, but that was not pleasant. Baby number six comes quickly sometimes, I guess. He was so different than Joseph...he had a big head, and was more compact and cuddly...of course by the time he was born, Joseph was toddling around in our brand new house....

Molly Rose: I was 28... (I spell her name and Mirielle's name different on here at their request) The first word Mali ever heard was "God" because when she was born, the doctor prounounced, very loudly, "God WANTS you to have babies, Della!" Now, that was a good birth....I was ready to go home at quarter after four that afternoon, only four centimeters and tired...then she was born at 5:10. It was just this sudden rush of contractions, one push, and there she was.

Samuel James: I was 30...he was my eighth child. He was born in August, it had been a long hot summer, taking care of the kids...Emily was eleven then, and it was the year we had our new swimming pool installed....I remember sitting there with newborn Sam, watching all those kids in the water...

Margaret Cheryl: I was 31...her birth was also very easy. She was 8 pounds 7 ounces, and had tons of dark curly hair, which she still has. She was a sweetie right from the start. She was born right on her due date, and we left the hospital with her two days later, on Christmas Eve.

Kathryn Grace: I was 32....after her birth, I had a terrible headache....one that brought tears....I asked the nurse to please take the baby for a while. I heard her say to another nurse as she wheeled her out, "I don't know what she's going to do when she gets home...TEN KIDS!" I just sat there crying my eyes out, wondering the same thing...

Evelyn Joy: I was 34....she was also born in August, over a week late. Emily was fifteen years old, I had eleven kids....Evelyn was a beautiful baby. Sometimes when baby pictures are not labeled, one has to use the clues of the background to figure out which baby it was, but not so with Ev...she always had a distinct look...she was a really fussy and peticular baby, she had to be held just so, or she screamed. I could not put her down. Ever. Until she was at least six months old. And even then only for a few minutes or she would cry....

Suzanne Eleanor: I was 35....honestly, all these girls born right in a row, I don't specifically remember too much...I do know she was much easier than Evelyn was....and she was beautiful.

Sonja Kathleen: I was 36, having my thirteenth....Miss Sonja's birth was unique, my sister was there, two of my daughters, and five of my nieces. They held her before I even did. It was really amazing though, sharing the experience with them. She had red hair, which she still has. She came only 14 months after Suzanne, so I was BUSY. I had Five Little Girls In A Row, Margaret was only five, Kathryn 4, Evelyn 2 and a half, Suzanne one, and newborn Sonja. (Sam was six, Mali was 8, Aaron was 9, Joseph was still ten....

Robert William: I was 37....he was stillborn at 6 and a half months. Margaret was graduating from kindergarten, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, and Sonja were still at home....Cheryl had to go to Kindergarten Graduation because it was on the very day he was "born". Sad, just sad.

Jonathan Robert: I was 38...he was born less than a year after Robert, the last day of April. Emily was with us for the birth, she was comforting and helpful...Jon did not like being born, he screamed and cried for a few hours, and I was very alarmed....but once he settled down, he was a very calm baby. I remember the family coming and seeing him....I do not think we could have been one bit happier, not if we had been given ten million bucks...after losing Robert, Jonathan was practically worshipped around here. And, after those five little girls in a row...a boy! He was the best dressed baby boy ever!

Charlotte Claire: I was 40, and had had two miscarriages between Jon and her...Emily was there for the birth again. When the kids came up to see her, oh my goodness, they were excited. Another girl! Our tenth girl!

Camille Anaya: I was 42....I had a terrible beginning to my pregnancy....I bled and bled, starting at seven weeks or so, and the sonogram showed No Baby. So I mourned, and bled, and at one point even considered going in and asking for a D.&C. because I was bleeding so much...but it got better....my father had died, my mother had died, I felt awful...I was tired and sick and felt depressed....then I went in for a check-up, the pregnancy test was still positive...the dr. said that happens sometimes...so I went back in a few weeks later...still positive. Bloodwork done. Call the next day to come in urgently. I had read a bit, and thought "ovarian cancer"....well, they brought me right in for a sonogram, and there she was...14 or 15 weeks gestation, waving and swimming all around in there. Happy DAY!!! I don't think there was a dry eye in the dr. office that day! And when I came home from the appointment and told everyone that we were going to have a baby after all, well, we were just rejoicing! Camille....she has been a total blessing right from the start. A gift. (Anaya means "God has given")

And...here I sit...writing and solving problems, talking to Jon, who seems really ready to go back to school tomorrow...the little girls are playing dollhouse, one of their dolls is named, "Ashley"...