Ratatouille, A Butterfly and A Pumpkin

Well, the title pretty much sums up our week.

Last Friday night I was up late with a certain someone (Samuel) and was watching "TV" on the computer in a dimly lit kitchen and I thought I heard a rustling behind me. I kept turning around and didn't see anything. There were a few flies buzzing around so I thought maybe it was them, but honestly I knew better.

Then on Monday morning while the kids were eating breakfast before school Josiah said, "Hey mom, there is a mouse in the living room under the couch." I hadn't told him about my suspicions and I wasn't 100% sure he would know what a live mouse would look like, not like the Mickey Mouse image in his head, but when I turned around I saw it scurrying along the baseboards and into the cabinet beneath my kitchen sink.

Well now it was official that we had a mouse in the house so as soon as possible I loaded up all 6 kids and headed to Wal-Mart to buy some mouse traps. I wasted no time setting up the trap and only snapped my finger once in the process, OUCH!

I kept checking the trap and we were having no luck. I thought maybe our mouse friend decided our house was too crazy and moved on, although it seemed as if the dollop of peanut butter bait was getting smaller every day.

Well last night Joel and I were sitting in the kitchen watching The Office on the computer and we heard a very distinct SNAP. The mouse was caught, although just his arm. When Joel went to dispose of the mouse I was told that he looked at Joel in the eyes and had a look of, "Don't kill me, I'll be your friend, I'm Ratatouille." He was disposed of anyways. One mouse down. Hopefully that will be the end of our rodent visitors, but there is still a trap set up just in case Ratatouille had friends.
On a lighter note, three weeks ago when I picked Josh up from school, he informed me that he had a "pet". Um OK, not really thinking his teacher would give him a pet, but then Josh proceeded to pull a little cup with a caterpillar out of his backpack. "Mom, it's going to be a butterfly!" Josh exclaimed. Great I thought, I already have 6 kids to feed, now I have to keep a caterpillar alive until it becomes a butterfly! Well the caterpillar did it's thing and turned into a chrysalis and we built our butterfly pavilion and hung it in the kitchen and then Tuesday I went to take out the trash and when I came back in and walked past the butterfly pavilion there was a butterfly in it! I don't know how we managed to keep it alive through all it's life cycle, but we did and now have a orange and black butterfly gracing our kitchen. According to my research it is too cold now to release it into the backyard and it should only live 2 to 4 weeks (their lifespan) so we are feeding it orange slices and sugar water.

And finally our pumpkin. Having never celebrated Halloween (see previous post) I didn't really have any experience with pumpkins, but Josh had to bring in a pumpkin for class on Monday for math (counting seeds, guessing weight etc.) and then he brought it home and told me we had to cook the seeds. Well I've never done that but thanks to google, I looked up that and other recipes and thought if we have this pumpkin we might as well use it. We made the cooked seeds, and I baked the pumpkin, pureed it and on Wednesday we made pumpkin bread for our math/home economics project of the week. Josiah read me the recipe while Josh and Naomi helped me measure and mix the ingredients. All in all it was a success and for the last 3 days we have been enjoying the fruit of our labor, the bread is gone now, but I still have enough puree to make another batch! Can you do the same project two weeks in a row? Maybe I'll make a pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin cookies instead?

Our October 31st Tradition

I was raised in a family that didn't celebrate Halloween, so when we had kids I told Joel that I didn't really want to celebrate it with our kids. There was much discussion about it, but we finally decided that as a family we would not celebrate Halloween, but then there was the problem with what to do with the evening. The kids are somewhat aware of what goes on between what they see on T.V., what other kids talk about, the "decorations" that are up at other houses and the fact that dressed up kids come to our door asking for candy. When I was a kid it was our family tradition to go to Pizza Hut for Halloween and we were able to avoid most trick or treaters who might come to our door. I guess you could say that we have a similar tradition, although we do not patronize Pizza Hut, instead it is Chipotle. We have been going to Chipolte for Halloween for the last 8 years (even before kids). They run a promotion every year they call "Boo-rrito" where if you "dress up" as a burrito you get one free. So, here are the kids dressed up for our free dinner. Really all it takes is a little tinfoil and you get free dinner.

Even a baby burrito (and almost a smile!)

And here are mommy and daddy burrito on our way to Chipotle. If you ask Josiah what we do on Halloween, he will very excitedly say, "We dress up like burritos and get free Chipotle!" It may not be a very traditional Halloween, but it works for us.

We then come home to pass out candy in an effort to be good neighbors to the other kids on the block.

Who said it is hard to get 5 kids to smile??

We recently went to the pumpkin patch with the kids. We deciphered some of Samuel's crying the other day and felt like he was telling us that he really needed some adventure and was ready for the day at a pumpkin patch. What we forgot was that whenever we try and help him grow in his curiosity and learning he usually ends up doing this..



















Here are the other 5 truly amazed at how wonderful their parents (and grandma) are for taking them to have sooooooo much fun. Can't you just feel the excitement in their looks?


Well I guess one of them is smiling. That is close to 5 right. Oh yeah and we have one of those new kind of cameras (I think they are called "digital") where you can take several million pictures and just delete the bad ones ... so here is the one I didn't delete! Thank you technology!



As I was making dinner tonight (well I made the side dishes, Alicia made the main course shreaded BBQ chicken sandwiches, yum... but I digress) I had to get this great shot of Rebekah and her brother (or as Nathaniel calls him, "newbabyboy," which is said as one word with no breaths in between words with an emphasis placed in the oi part of boy)








Oh wait that isn't really why I took that picture for those of you who didn't see why I took the picture here is another picture from a different perspective.










Yeah that's right Rebekah has finally learned how to climb onto the kitchen chairs then onto the kitchen table (I only say finally because Naomi had this mastered at the very old age of 10 months). Yea! Who doesn't love the fear that at any moment your child might slip and fall off the kitchen table and you can't do anything about it because it isn't very practical to screw the chairs to the ground close enough to the table to where she can't climb onto the chair then onto the table, especially not my chair, because well... put it this way, I just need a little bit more room between my chair and the table then Josiah does.

Here is a picture of Naomi about the same age as Rebekah is right now. The really don't look as much alike as I had thought they were.

Life with 8

Well, today is the 16th and on the 19th Samuel will be one month old. Where does time go? I think the first few weeks/months of a baby's life seem to go so quickly because you are so tired all the time. You are never really fully awake enough to enjoy them. At least that is my theory. (Samuel's first bath, or documented baby torture, you decide)

We have 2 weeks left in the soccer season, it's been a good experience both years, but with the weather getting cooler and the sun going down earlier, we are glad that there are only 2 more games and 1 more evening practice.

Josiah and Joshua have already been in school for one quarter and are doing very well, parent/teacher conferences are in a few weeks. It's been nice to have them in school, but I've realized it's not quite the break on Mondays I was hoping it would be.

Naomi is writing her name on everything (including the walls, the television and anything that remotely resembles a piece of paper). She will be 4 in a month, but I often forget this and think she is older because she is doing things at 3 that Josiah was not doing.

Nathaniel's vocabulary has exploded. He went from single words to full paragraphs and is constantly a narrator for what is going on around the house. At his two year check-up the Dr. wanted us to take him to a speech therapist because he was lacking in his vocabulary, well we never did due to insurance issues and finances, but I think he has more than caught up. Next step potty training!

Rebekah is very busy and is driving her big brothers and sister crazy. She has learned the buttons to turn off the computer, T.V., VCR, DVD and goes around the house "interrupting" their activities. She thinks it's great fun, they don't see the humor in it.

Samuel is a good baby and only cries when he is hungry, that's just usually every 3 to 4 hours which doesn't bother me during the day (unless I'm trying to take care of one of the other kids) but at night my strength to get up and feed him is very off and on. Some nights it's no big deal and other nights I lay there thinking, "Do I really have to get up with him?"

Joel and I? Well . . .we are just trying to trust that God knows what He is doing with us. It's been a humbling yet reoccurring lesson since the addition of children to our family. Our society is not really set up very well for one income families (in my opinion). We are surviving, and God is faithful, but we are being stretched. We are continuing to seek HIS direction for our future.

Welcome to the Family Samuel Keith Dennis

Many of you have heard, but for those who haven't, we are officially a family of 8! Samuel Keith Dennis was born September 19th at 2:34 pm weighing 9 lbs 8 oz and was 21 inches long. For those of you who are interested here is "the rest of the story"

On Wednesday the 17th I had an appointment with my midwives to do a non-stress test, an ultrasound and a checkup because I was "overdue". He was due the 13th and I had not really been having any regular contractions yet. All of the tests came back looking good, with the added information that based on the ultrasound our little guy was not so little and was going to weigh around 11 lbs 7 oz at birth. This information sent us into a whirlwind of decisions/confusion/prayer/stress. The ultrasound weight is based on 3 measurements 1) head circumference 2) abdominal circumference and 3) femur length. If you know Joel you know that 1) he is tall and 2) he has a big head, so even though they were predicting a big baby, it was also easy to see how these measurements may not accurately predict his true birth weight. With 2 of our other babies they were predicting in the 9 lb range and no one had been over 8 lbs 12 oz yet. But, medically speaking after your baby is "measured" to be larger than 11 lbs they have to offer a c-section. The reason is because there is a chance the baby may not fit on it's way out which can cause major complications.

So there Joel and I were at what we thought was going to be a routine appointment being told that we had an above average sized baby and should consider the possibility of a c-section. Wow, heavy stuff. One of the midwives had personally had a c-section and was very reassuring that a c-section would go well and the other midwife in the practice that day kept trying to gently persuade us towards a "trial of labor" or an induction with the c-section as a last resort. We sat in the office and talked for about an hour and felt like maybe a c-section was the best choice. So we scheduled the c-section for 9:30 am on the 19th. We figured that God had 36 hours to start labor naturally if He disagreed with our decision, but we were at peace with where we were headed.

Thursday the 18th, an emotional roller coaster of a day! I woke up feeling fine and was still comfortable with the c-section, but thought I should really look into what was ahead of me/us as far as recovery was concerned. I had heard that it was a solid two week recovery time with 6 weeks before you were really "back to normal". So I researched online and the more I looked into it the more I cried. I was a wreck. I was sitting at the computer with my 5 kids running through the house just bawling. Nathaniel spilled his cereal on the floor twice that morning and Rebekah came in from the back yard covered in dirt and I sat there thinking, how in the world can I be recovering for 2 weeks (to the point where I can't even walk up stairs). And how can I not pick up my 14 month old for 6 weeks?? This just didn't make sense, but on the other hand what if we tried to deliver the baby and he got stuck?? I just felt like I couldn't make the right decision.

Then the phone call came. About 12 o'clock the phone rang and it was the Dr. at the office who was scheduled to perform my c-section. I had never met him and he proceeded to tell me that he was by far the most liberal Dr. in the practice offering women and often talking them into c-sections if they wanted them, just because he enjoyed performing the operations that much. He was calling to tell me not to have a c-section, basically the opposite of any advice he would normally offer. He stated that he had done 3 c-sections for other women recently who were "having 11 lb babies" to find out after delivery that they were all in the 8 lb range. Since I had already delivered 5 other 8 lb babies, he found it highly doubtful that I had an 11 lb baby in my belly. If I wanted the c-section he was more than willing to perform it, but if the babies birth weight was my only reason he felt I should start with a trial of labor. "OK, Dr, thank you for the information, I'll talk to my husband and let you know." Then the tears really started to flow. I felt like no decision was the right decision. I wanted to be wise, but we had a peace about the c-section, now we were being told that it was probably not necessary, but what about the risks? I was soooo confused. Thankfully Joel was home and we were able to talk through it. I also called the office and talked to another midwife (my practice has 5) and she also felt like the weight was probably off. She had assisted with Naomi's delivery and has known me for the past 6 years and felt like even if this was a big baby that my body would be able to "do it" AHHHHH!!! What should we do???? So after much contimplation and reassurance that if anything looked "wrong" that there would be no hesitation towards a c-section, we moved forward with an induction on Friday morning.

Oh the joys of induction. I've been induced with Pitocin twice before. The first time with Josiah 10 hours after my water had broken and contractions never started. And then again with Joshua who was 1 week past due and had a questionable looking ultrasound. What I knew about Pitocin was 1) yes the contractions are stronger (I only know this now because I've done it 3 other times without Pitocin) 2) The contractions are much more regular, usually ever 2 to 3 minutes instead of 5 and 3) you have to be on the monitors at all times which greatly limits you ability to move and breathe through you contractions. So armed with this knowledge and with the stress/possibility of a c-section still in the back of my mind we made a decision we have never made before and that was to have an epidural. We arrived at the hospital around 8 am and the Pitocin was flowing by about 8:30, and by about 10 I was starting to really feel like I was in labor (nothing bad yet, but very regular contractions that were getting stronger) The anesthesiologist came in around 10:30 and by 11 I was no longer feeling anything. It was a really weird experience, not bad, not better, just very different. I thought the epidural went in the middle of your back, but it goes in really low, almost lower than what I consider my back. I thought I wouldn't feel anything, almost like my lower body didn't exist, but that wasn't how it felt either, it was like my legs were asleep, they were kind of tingly and I couldn't move them, but I could tell they were there, I described it as if there was a dead animal hanging from my body. They were very "heavy".

Then we (Joel and I) slept. How weird is that to sleep during labor??? I was 3 cm when we arrived at the hospital, 4 1/2 cm when I got the epidural so I was "in labor" but to sleep for 2 hours seemed odd to me. The nurse woke me up to roll me over because most of the medicine was draining to my left side and I was starting to feel contractions on my right side and Joel went to lunch, this was around 1-1:30. At 2 they checked me again and I was 7 cm and Joel was just getting back from lunch and they said we probably had about 2 more hours before we'd have the baby. About 15 minutes later it felt like the baby was "falling out" of me so I told Joel that maybe we should have the midwife come back and check that everything was ok. They checked and I was "complete" or 10 cm and at +2 which means he was indeed on his way out. After 4 minutes of pushing he arrived. This stage was very surreal to me because I could see by the look on Joel's face and the midwife's face that something was happening, but I couldn't feel anything happening. There was a point during the process that the midwife showed some slight concern that he may not "fit" but it only lasted about 20 seconds because then he was out. And he weighed in at 9 lbs 8 oz, which is a large baby, but not the 11+lbs the ultrasound had predicted. And all I could say was "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you" The nurse who had been working with us all day looked at me and said, wow, I didn't know if you knew how to smile. I was so relieved that he was here a huge wave of peace washed over me. All the stress of the previous 36 hours melted away. The Dr. who would have performed the c-section came in to congratulate me. It was over, and it went as well as we could have hoped.

Samuel was not necessarily our first name choice (I kept telling people his name was going to be Caleb) but it was on our list and after he was born it just seemed to be the one that fit the best. It meas God hears, and Joel especially felt like through our whole ordeal that God heard our requests and answered. Keith is after my maternal Grandfather.
So now he's 9 days old. How did that happen so fast? He is a really good eater. Better than my other babies waking up pretty much every 3 hours to eat. He's a good sleeper (during the day) not so great at night yet. Joel has made the comment that it feels like he's been a part of our family for a long time even though he's only been here for just over a week. The kids all love him and are very curious about where he is and what he's doing all the time. Joel is back to work and I'm home with 6 little ones to care for. Is it overwhelming?? YES. Am I making it? More or less. I'm feeling much better physically, just a little tired. Is God faithful? Definitely!

One proud Papa!!

The boys are both playing soccer again this Fall. I coached them last fall on their two different teams, but we didn't have them play in the Spring. We are done with week two and they are doing much better then last year. Joshua especially seems to be enjoying playing much better. Last year there we times where he would simply sit down in the middle of the field and stop playing because the other kids weren't sharing the ball with him and letting him score goals. Here are some snapshots from the past two weeks.

Josiah kicking off

Josiah in the middle of the pack

Josiah up close and toothless




Joshua's reaction to his first goal
(the picture is distorted a little because I enlarged it to show his face)


Joshua in action


And some of the action in the sold out, members only club level seating


And this because our princess wouldn't let daddy only take pictures of the soccer boys.

My Amazing Wife

In case you didn't know it before Alicia Dennis is the most amazing woman in the world. Now I know that it is primarily women who read this so I will reiterate, no matter how good you are you will always be number 2.

(Alicia, me and Nicholas our nephew)

My wife is an inspiration to many families that we know. We personally know of two families that have been so impacted by her willingness to be obedient to God in choosing to have "so" many babies that they have chosen to have more kids even when they thought they were done.

Her faith level amazes me even though she will adamantly deny that she is my role model. Many of you who know me, know that I have crazy ideas with major consequences. Most of you either agree that what I think is logical and biblical, or simply don't have the desire to engage me in a debate (probably a good idea). The problem with my crazy ideas is that Alicia is often the one who has to suffer the consequences of them.
My beautiful bride turned 30 last month and is about to have our sixth child. I just wanted to take a moment to encourage all of you to encourage her with how she has impacted your life. I know that so many of you have been blessed by knowing her and I feel like it would be a good "birthday present" to tell her what you feel. I don't care if it is forced I want my babe to know how special she is and that I hope to spend the next 30+ growing old with her.


Babe, I love you more than life itself. I want to publicly thank you for being amazing.


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Some new songs for the Baby

The baby is coming soon so I figured I could post some new songs for the arrival of #6. And because there were rumors that no one really likes the Barney song from before.




Rebekah is very ready for the baby to come as she is very tired of being the cutest one in the family. Ok at least the cutest one in this picture.


Here is a walk down memory lane.




You can be praying for us as we prepare for "seis." We are getting anxious about it and are thinking it may come soon.

It's Raining Teeth!

Josiah has lost two more teeth. One more on the bottom and one on the top. He's been pretty excited and has been keeping the tooth fairy very busy this month.


A few more weeks have gone by since my last post, and they have been busy ones. My sister came into town for a long weekend (it happened to be very cold and rainy all weekend). The cousins had fun playing together while the grown ups spent the evenings watching Michael Phelps make Olympic history and playing Texas Hold Em. It was good to have them in town and we are looking forward to seeing them and Aunt Mary and Trevor at Christmastime.

Josiah and Joshua started "school" on Monday. They go one day a week and Monday was their orientation/get to know your teachers day. It went well and I think they will really like it. Josh has 11 other kids in his kindergarten class, which seems like a very manageable size. Josiah is taking 6 classes including a Spanish and Computer class which he is very excited about. There are several families from our church that are also participating in the program, so it is nice to have some familiar faces in their classes. As for school at home, although I have their textbooks, I haven't sat down to figure out a schedule for this school year and haven't been very motivated to do so yet with the pending addition to the family. I may get around to it this weekend, but no promises.

Monday was also my 30th birthday. I had the chance to go out with Joel on Saturday night and celebrate, which is always a fun treat. Then Monday night I went out to the Melting Pot with Jess, my sister-in-law, for ladies night. It was a lot of fun to get away as just the girls. It's hard to believe I've crossed over into another decade. It feels like I should be more of a grown up than I feel like to say that I'm in my 30's.

The baby is due in 2 1/2 weeks, and although I have good intentions of posting weekly, I fully expect the next post will be an introduction post, so stay tuned . . . .

Updates on life as usual

So it's August 7th and I haven't posted since July 18th and I'm sitting here trying to decide what in our life is "post" worthy.
Joel had a birthday and turned 29. Very exciting, for us to be the same age for just over a month! He has been working on his own for Integrity for just over a month and there have been ups and downs. He has had favor with several of the dealerships and has 8 accounts. The hardest part for me is the schedule. There have been some 12 hour days, and most are at least 9, nothing unbearable, but very different from the 4 hour days he was working for Brinks.

Rebekah is 13 months old today and is definitely walking. She has also learned to crawl down stairs, which has opened up a whole new level of independence for her. She follows her brothers and sister around the house and doesn't get "stuck" when they go bouncing down the stairs. She's a very happy girl and getting so big, but I'm not sure she's ready to be replaced as the baby.
Naomi has developed into quite a little mommy, always carrying at least one if not two baby dolls around the house. She is very interested in mommy having a new baby and keeps asking, "Where is the baby?" and, "How does it come out of your tummy?" For now we've just explained that the baby comes out of mommy's tummy at the hospital. Josh has decided it must come out my mouth, while Naomi thinks it must come out my toes. We'll correct them eventually, but for now ignorance seems acceptable.

Josiah is reading, not novels, but enough that it often surprises me what he reads. He always wants to play on the computer and is really looking forward to starting school in a few weeks. He has 3 more loose teeth, but doesn't want any help wiggling them out. He is a big helper around the house and seems to "get it" the most of all of them that with a family our size everyone needs to pitch in.


Nathaniel is almost 2 1/2 and is entering the "wonderful" two's. He is usually one of our happiest kids, but there are moments when he is also quite a challenge. His language skills are still developing and it is often frustrating for him to get across what he wants, causing much frustration. He has grown very attached to his blanket and carries it around constantly. He is also very willing to do/try anything his big brothers or sister are doing.

Joshua is right on Josiah's heels and probably will be most of his life, he is on the verge of reading (although not quite there) and is also looking forward to school starting. We try to stress his individuality, but often he only wants what Josiah wants. Both boys are going to be in Soccer again this fall.


As for mommy, I am plugging away. Filling my day with dishes, dinner and dirty clothes. Glamorous I know! It has been very warm this summer, but we are currently in a bit of a "cold" streak which is a nice change of pace. We have about 5 weeks left before we meet #6. It's amazing how soon that will be! I am very ready to not be pregnant (my hips and back have been fairly sore the last week and I know it won't change until after delivery), but I'm not sure I'm quite ready to have 6 little one's to be chasing around. My mantra is "One Day at a Time" or even "One Hour at a Time" and sometimes "One Minute at a Time." Especially moments like yesterday when Naomi and Nathaniel decided they were hungry for cereal in the middle of the day and couldn't reach the bowls, so they just poured the cereal and milk right on to the kitchen floor for a snack.

After bath the other night Joel commented, "Since when did having 5 kids feel normal and not overwhelming?" to which I replied, "That must be why it's time to add #6!" Can't get too comfortable for too long before God decides it's time to stretch us a little more.

1st Birthday Party and Swimming Lessons

Last Sunday we did indeed celebrate Rebekah's 1st Birthday. It was a low key afternoon with the family over for a BBQ lunch and birthday cake. As usual for a 1 year old, I'm not sure she really understood what was going on, but she did seem to enjoy the cake! Here she is offering to share some with daddy who is taking the picture.


She is on the verge of walking and is getting more and more daring. She will take 3 or 4 steps before falling down, but now instead of just crawling to her destination she will stand up and try again. I'm sure in a few weeks time she will be running to keep up with her brothers and sister.

In other news, the older kids have been going to swimming lessons at the pool down the street from our house for the past two weeks. They are free to us because the school district pays for all the kids to receive one free lesson during the summer. This is Naomi's first attempt at swimming lessons and she seemed to do well. The first day she wasn't so sure about getting in the water and by the end she was blowing bubbles and "talking" to the "fishes".


Josiah and Joshua were in the next level up and were working on their front and back floats as well as learning some swimming strokes. I'm not sure I'll take them in the pool without water wings just yet, but they have definitely gotten more confident in the water. Here is Josiah "swimming" on his stomach.




And here is Josh "swimming" on his back.

Joel's Birthday is tomorrow and we are having a big family gathering at his grandparent's house on Sunday. (Yes we have a lot of summer birthdays in our family!) It's been warm in Denver the past few weeks and I'm hoping that August is unseasonably cooler. (especially being 8 months pregnant!)