Rawsrvnt - Christian Hip-Hop

   I thought I would introduce you all to my children's favorite Christian singer (well and mine) Rawsrvnt. A few months ago I was going through my sons ipod and could not believe some of the music he was listening to. I was appalled and felt like a terrible mom for not paying closer attention to what my children were putting on their ipods. Of course I decided to have a sit down with them and explain that this kind of music was not something they needed to be listening to. So we were going through some Cd's that we had and came across a CD we had gotten at a block party we had a few years ago at church.

Rawsrvnt. We popped it in and the boys started nodding their heads and got up to do the dance they learned to "Bows Up" while at church. Rawsrvnt was it! This man of God was a great Hip Hop artist and all the kids loved him. I have to admit his new album No Ordinary Love is great and if you get the chance I would check it out. His motto is "I worship Jesus just the way I am. Raw". Here is one of his newest songs from No Ordinary Love. It's a big hit in our home. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Operation Belle Glade

  Operation Belle Glade was a huge success! All the 4th and 5th graders took a charter bus to a school in Belle Glade where they unloaded a huge truck full of school supplies for the children who needed them. They all sorted the supplies, wrote notes for the kids, and stuffed the bags. After such a great day all the kids are locked in at the church for a whole night full of fun. Here are some pictures my 10 year old took.

Giving Back

 I'm so excited about this opportunity my 10 year old has that i just had to share it with you all. Our church is having a mission trip for children entering 4th and 5th grades and my son was more then happy to jump on this experience. The children are going to a low-economic area of Belle Glade (a city about 45 miles from where we live) with the purpose of helping others. They will be stuffing backpacks full of school supplies for the children  who otherwise would not be able to afford them.  I know this will be a great experience for Johnny because he is my boy who doesn't understand that some people don't have the things we do and sometimes we take what we have for granite. Some people in Belle Glade have no air conditioning. You drive by and see doors and windows open in these apartments and it feels like 100 degrees outside. This is a perfect chance for him to see and appreciate what he has and to give back. These children are going to be so happy to just have a new backpack and new supplies. All the children leave Wednesday morning on a bus so please keep them in your prayers and I will be sure to post some pictures of this great mission trip.

Girls Birthday trip to Busch Gardens

Well I guess you can imagine how stressful it can get when you have so many kids Birthdays so close together. So this year we decided we would take the girls to Busch Gardens. My step daughter was turning 9 and my oldest daughter was turning 17. We kept it a surprise until we got there. They were both so excited and since the two of them seem to bunt heads a lot it was so great to see them so happy together. We spent the entire day watching the animals (we could have watched the monkeys all day long) and riding roller coasters. Just seeing the two of them playing around a laughing together was worth it all. I can honestly say it was a great bonding experience for them both.

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Teenage girls trying to grow up so fast

I came across this article and wish I would have found it about 2 years ago when my then 15 year old daughter started wanting push up bras and thongs. It was a never ending battle with her to just slow down. If any of you out there have a teen  maybe this can help you. I sure know it would have my daughter and I. Let me know what you think.

Lately when you go shopping, your daughter has been begging for low-rise jeans, thongs. and push-up bras

Where she's coming from: The older the tween or teen girl, the more important dressing like her friends and "matching" them is, says Machoian. So if friends are going for the edgy fashions, your daughter will have trouble resisting. "From about fifth grade on, if you don't have the right clothes, you're scorned. And for kids in this age group, nothing is as important to psychological health as having friends."
There's a simpler factor at play, too. "When a girl's body is developing, it's like when you drive your first car," says Wiseman. "You want to see what it can do and how people react. You want to experiment."
What to do: "Have her show you pictures of clothes she likes," says Wiseman. "Then compromise on the items you can live with and veto the ones you can't."
If she's young enough that you're still shopping with her, and you think something she wants is too tight or too revealing, calmly say, "Let's try it in a bigger size and maybe we can buy it." Or "We'll keep looking until we find something similar we both like." If shopping trips are becoming a nightmare, consider a mom-swap -- you go with a friend's daughter, she goes with yours. (Obviously the other mom should share your standards.)
The most important thing you can do, though, is use your daughter's fashion experiments as opportunities for deeper discussions. "If your daughter's on her way out the door in an outfit you think is too tight or revealing," says Wiseman, "send her upstairs to change. Then say, 'These are my rules, but I realize you could find a way to break them. Just remember that I might find out. Not only will there be consequences for disobeying, but I will be horribly disappointed if you've betrayed the values of our family.'"
Also tell her to observe how sexy clothes make her feel and act. "Ask her to notice if her behavior matches what she's wearing," says Wiseman. Talk with her about it later, staying calm even if she says she likes how it makes her feel. Being open to hearing about her experience boosts your credibility. And helping her think things through may reinforce what you want her to learn.

Another typical Saturday

Working Monday through Friday 8-5 doesn't leave me to much time to clean so most of my  Saturday morning consists of washing floors,having kids clean the rooms and doing mounds of laundry (seems like I'm always washing clothes in this house) So with the older children out with their friends I have 5 little ones arguing over who going to watch what and who wants to play what game. Why can't they all just get along? lol. Anyway its time for mommy to start dinner and hopefully get to relax a bit. After dinner its movie time. The best time of the night for mommy...... Finally some peace in this crazy house!!!

Rainy Forth of July

The Forth of July was a rainy one here in West Palm Beach Florida. Our family made the most out of it and continued with our bbq. My oldest daughter Steffany made a very yummy flag cake. All of us gathered in the living room with the xbox and played Rock band and sang kareoke. Then it was off to the park all of us hovered under a big blue tarp to watch the fire works. It was a great Forth. :)

Our Story

                               

I met my husband when I was 8 years old. I had the biggest school girl crush on him. Our parents were close friends so we hung out alot. Went to church together and had bbqs. We grew up together. We started dating when I was about 13. You couldnt keep us apart. We rode our bikes everywhere together. Out to eat, movies, arcades it was great. We stayed together until I was about 15 then we broke up. We both went our own ways married other people and had our own children. About 6 years ago by the grace of God we were reunited and in 2007 we were married. Together we have 8 beautiful children. 5 boys and 3 girls. Now our family is complete! Let the adventures begin...........