Thoughts....

I am thinking today....thinking of how God is going to work in our lives during this challenging time.
I have a list here of concerns. I am not worried....no. Worried is not the right word at all. Not that I don't worry....I am human after all. But I have learned through these trials that God has a much greater plan than me. It is sometimes necessary to have changes to get to the good stuff :)
Nonetheless, here is....

Bethany's Official List of Concerns

My son S. and his behavior...praying it will improve and we will all be happier! He is maturing slowly, but I prefer he moves ahead a little quicker before he gets himself into more trouble. We are thinking of trying new medication...I'm am leery of side effects. What is going to work best for him?

Our vehicle 'issue'. We have a minivan and a Ford Fusion. The Fusion is a lease and we are unable to keep it due to Mark's job loss. If we wake up one morning and do not see it, we will know why (I know....it's not a pretty situation)! We have a little money put away for a used beater car....but my concern is that we find one that is reliable and fitting for our large family. Ideally, we need a 12 passenger van.

My son A. and his future plans. We have an idea where he may go to college...but he needs scholarships!!! Should he pursue elsewhere or keep trying for his 1st pick?

My student teaching placement....will my finanial aid cover class cost? Will we survive with me working 1/2 time, student teaching full-time and RA?? Will the mentor teacher and I be fast friends? What am I getting myself into???

Mark's need for a stenograph machine for school. How can we afford this? Can our lawyer friend find one he can borrow or buy cheaply (these things are $1500 or more!). We need to pray that Dave, our lawyer friend, can find one of these devices!

So...that's it!
I'll keep ya posted on how God will work in our lives!

Blessings!

~Bethany :)

Answered Prayer!

Just wanted to let you know that Baby Stellan is just fine now! God took care of him :)

I am working today...sigh....I actually like my job, really! I am still grieving from not being able to be home with the kids more. At the hours I am working, they are all in school (for the most part) but I tend to work at least one shift during the weekend. I just feel far away from them...

Mark is a trooper--he takes care of the homestead for me while I am away. What would I have done without him??

Have a blessed day!

~Bethany :)

Stellan...

One of my favorite Blogs is called "My Charming Kids" and their newest child, Stellan, is in ICU with RSV. He is hanging on at this point, but it is very scary for this sweet family. If you see this, please say a prayer for Stellan to pull through this without any problem. During pregnancy, his parents were told that he would die from some type of heart problem but the Lord had other plans for him. He was born completely healthy! So now, with an unrelated illness, there is this threat again...that something could go wrong. But we believe that God did not save him from his heart condition so that he could die of a serious cold! No way!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed 2009!!

~Bethany :)

Blended Thanksgiving Festivities!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This our 2nd Thanksgiving as a stepfamily and plans are now underway! Actually, while Mark and I were dating, we celebrated once, but this is our official 2nd Turkey Day!

This year, we are doing things a little different. Seems that EVERY holiday that we've had in Michigan have been celebrated at my Uncle and Aunt's house. And we always have a wonderful time together! My dad is there as well and sometimes my cousin and his wife. Well, this year, my cousin and his wife have a brand new baby girl! She was born on November 6th...which will be easy to remember since Gabe, my youngest, was born on November 8th. Anywho....they will be at my Aunt and Uncle's but we decided to have dinner with Mark's brother and his wife this year. Then, on Friday, we will go visit my family and see the baby and such. We thought it would be a good idea for my Uncle and Aunt to have some time with the baby this year, since she is so new and all. It does get a little hectic with all the children running around crazy-like :) Sooner than not, she will be running around with a runny nose like the rest of them!

We're excited to go to Brad and Kathy's to eat together and play Killer Bunnies :) My cousin introduced us to this awfully fun card game....you should check into it! My only problem is trying to figure out what to cook :) Sweet potato pie, sweet potato casserole....corn casserole....what??
I told Kathy not to be concerned with what the kids will like. They are all way too picky! Mark and I decided that we don't care what they eat on holidays anyway. Who wants to stress about that on a day of thanksgiving? Not me!!

If someone by chance happens to read this, I pray that your Thanksgiving is blessed and stress-free!!!

~Bethany :)

Trick or Treat!!

I was thinking....I'd LOVE to make a sincere effort to maintain this blog. I haven't even told anyone about it (well, except for Mark of course). I was waiting to decide on what I should focus.....

It MUST focus on our stepfamily!

There are many times when I would like to know how other families deal with issues that are created with a family like ours....a non-traditional family if you will :)

The fact of the matter is, there are many, many, MANY step-families. We need to support eachother and know that we are not alone!

So, for now, I am officially making it known (again, I realize no one has really read this blog yet!) that I have changed the blog title in hopes to pursade others to take a peek.

*Regarding the picture: We had such a fun time together on Halloween this year--yes, Mark and Alex are wearing kilts!

~Bethany :)

My Birthday

On July 9th, I had my 38th (38th!!) birthday. I must confess.....it's getting a bit harder to 'celebrate' being almost 40 :) Not that 40 is a bad thing. It's just strange. I don't feel my age.

Several times in the past few years, I've noticed little girls running around in tiaras. Meaning, they wear them for playing dress up or for their birthday. I've even seen women wearing them at a nearby downtown-type festival. I guess it was 'ladies night' and one of the stores gave out tiaras for a special prize. Anyway, I've never had a tiara!

Until now! Mark gave me one for my birthday :) It looks almost like this picture. I should have shown you the picture he took of me with the kids...but I haven't downloaded it off my camera just yet. Now I have my very own tiara. I have NO idea when I will wear it! I guess I can for each birthday....maybe again for a costume party of some sort.

Mark is the best husband I could ever ask for. He's absolutely perfect for me. And yes, he spoils me a little (okay...a LOT). Thank you Lord for giving me the best gift EVER--my husband!

Our Family Mural

A few weeks ago, I had the kids make a 'family mural' of sorts. I took brown packaging paper and rolled it out onto the sidewalk and I painted lines to divide the paper into sections. We called the kids outside and put them to work.


It was interesting to watch them....Mark and I have 7 children together and we like to see how they interact with one another, especially when we do a group project. The two littlest boys went down to the far end of the paper, the youngest girl took the biggest space/division she could find, one middle son took, well, the middle....the two oldest were next to him and the other middle son stayed close to Mark and I (we shared the last space...the one you can see clearly in the picture! If you click on the pic, I believe you will see all of it better!).

It is so amazing how well our children get along....I mean, sure, there are times when some aren't getting along so well...or there is the occasional bicker. Honestly though, God has blessed us with some really great kids!


Being in a stepfamily is a challenge.....in fact, there are moments of complete chaos! There are also times, like the time we made making a mural, that we work together as a family. Sure, it's a non-traditional, crazy-at-times, family with 7 children....but we do alright I think. I'm pretty sure we are one of the best stepfamilies I've ever met :)

-Bethany :)