And The Houston Is.....

The Houston in the picture is Nathanael. Many of you guessed it right!!! Good job for those who chose to NOT 2nd guess yourself!!! ;-)Sorry I don't have his picture. I promise I will post one later. Currently, my computer is in the shop getting fixed. Safe eyes caused some glitches so I am posting from my phone. I do not know how to get a picture from my phone to my post. Sorry!!

Another Houston Baby......

Ok folks, here is the next Houston to name......

Got Meat?....Red Meat?

We found out this week that Ezekiel LOVES steak!!!  Safeway is having an awesome deal...buy one pack of steak, get a 2nd free!  I tell you what, we couldn't have even eaten at McDonalds for as cheap as we ate the steak for!!!!  Since we had Bro. Moses from India with us, we gave him the option of what to have for dinner.  He chuckled and said, "barbecue!"  When Zeke heard we were having steak, he shouted out, "STEAK!"  and did a sort of happy dance!!  I cut his pieces very small so he wouldn't choke and then added rice and steamed broccoli.  He shook his head no for the other food and then proceeded to pull his pile of steak away from the other food!  In a few short minutes, he had polished off his entire steak!  And folks, I must add that he had the same size of steak as I had!!  Anna wasn't very hungry and asked if anyone wanted her steak, Zeke smiled and nodded vigorously!  We told him he had to eat his rice and broccoli first.  After a bit of convincing, I was able to feed him the other food (which he normally loves!)  Then, he watched very intently as I cut the 2nd steak into tiny pieces.  He then gobbled that up quickly....another steak the size of the one he had just eaten!!  Here are some pictures of his pure joy last night!!

cheesy smile

Yum!!

happy boy enjoying his meat

posing for a picture

happy for his seconds!!!!

The Answer........

The baby in the picture is of Naomi!!!!  I chose this picture as I thought it might throw some of you off a bit.  For one, she didn't have a very feminine outfit on....it was a gift that I felt guilty not putting on her so for one day, I did.  And the other reason, I LOVE her chubby cheeks there!!!  She has grown into quite a young woman!!  No more chubby cheeks!! ;-)

Another Day....Another Houston to Name.......

Here is the next Houston baby to name.....can you guess who this might be?  Have fun guessing!!!!!

Time is quickly passing.....

I was talking with my hubby today, telling him how fast this pregnancy is going!!  This has to be the fastest ever!!  Though my body says, "I'm soooo ready to have this over", my mind says, "what?!  I'm due in 3 1/2 weeks?!!!!!  How can this be possible?"  I know going in for my 8 week ultra sound expecting to see a tiny 8 - 10 week baby and seeing a 15 week baby on the screen really helped to make this a much shorter time for me.....a very nice gift from God!!!!  Hey, if I don't get the "joy" of having my babies "on time", this HAS to be the next best thing!!  ;-)

I am striving to enjoy feeling the wriggling of this little one as I don't know if I'll get this experience ever again.  (ok, I see all the rolling of the eyes)  Seriously though, people, God has blessed me with 11 wonderful arrows to raise for His glory and honor.  I do not presume that He will give me more.  Just as I will not tell Him, "no" for more.  I am ever so thankful for the ones He has given, as unworthy as I feel to train up this many!!  Sometimes the feeling of being overwhelmed can get the better of me, but when I put my trust in God, I am sustained.........

So you weren't easily fooled..........

I kind of figured that ANNA-RENEE would be easy for everyone to figure out!  Yep!  This is Anna!  Good job everybody!!!

It's Time To.........

Name That Houston!!!!  In all fairness, I must let you ALL know, I did not have digital cameras from Lydia on up.  So the quality of photos from here on out will not be all that great.  Well, here goes...... which Houston is this?

Random Thoughts.........

Today my thoughts are as random as the weather outside of my window.  The clouds have given way to rain, and then to sun, the breeze is blowing softly then more briskly.  This is my mood today...........

I am missing my sweet husband.  With the exception of him being in his study last Saturday and then sharing him all day Sunday, he has been gone for two weeks.  Last week was boyscout camp in which he and our three oldest boys went.  This week he flew down to S. Calif. for a conference, and then on to Virginia to visit with some very dear friends.  I was originally going to be with him on this trip, but due to being 8 months pregnant, I decided I would be miserable.  ;-)  Naomi and Anna are also away for a couple of days.  With family gone, the dynamic of the household is quite different.

My normally spunky three year old has slowed down today, a definite sign she is catching something!  Likewise, my youngest, Zeke and my 7 year old are getting a cold.  Zeke is having trouble breathing through his nose and Julia's face is swollen and her nose running.  It's not allergies as those would have been bothering them before and it has just come on all of a sudden.  The sluggishness is catching.  I am exhausted.  Though this may be due to the fact that I don't sleep well at nights.....waking each time I need to change positions.

As I sit on the couch, I watch my belly changing shapes.  The children likewise watch in pure amazement at this awesome phenomena.  The anticipation of meeting this unique little person grows daily.  My desire to look at the calendar and think this child could actually come in the next few weeks increases, but then the reality check of 10 previous babies comes.......and I know that it will really be more like 7 weeks.  Sigh.  I must really still have a need for learning patience.  =-)  I look forward to being "normal" again as the daily checking of blood sugar levels (making my fingertips into pin cushions), and the pain that envelopes my body has me weary.  I look forward to being able to walk without sharp pains racking through my lower back.  Though I will admit that I am truly thankful for each of my precious children and will gladly go through the physical "sorrow" that comes with bringing them into the world again and again if the Lord wills it.

We are now preparing for naps.  Zekers is in his playpen, Juju and Lyd are off to their bed, and Abby is going to have "snuggle" time with mommy.  So, for now, I am off..........randomness and all.  Have a blessed day.

And The Baby In The Picture Is.......

Ok, I must say that I am really shocked that I was able to fool all but one of you!  I thought that the "newest" Houston would be the easiest for EVERYONE to guess!!  Well, we all laughed with glee at every guess as we were pleased to have fooled ya'all!!!  Hahahahaha!  The baby is EZEKIEL!!!!!!!!!!

 I was inspired to have a prize at the end.......so, after we have finished the entire game of guess the Houston, the person(s) with the most correct guesses will receive a $5.00 gift card to Starbucks.  But, don't be discouraged, there are still PLENTY of Houstons to guess, so don't give up!  Keep checking in to see when the next one comes up!!!!  =-)

Name That Houston again....

It's time to.......Name That Houston!!!  Once again, I am posting baby pictures of Houstons and you are to guess which one.  So here is another Houston baby:

An Agenda?.......

There is nothing quite like little girls and baby dolls.  I love old pictures of little girls with ruffled dresses pushing their babies in buggies.  It shows a heart of desire to be like their mama.  When I was little, I couldn't wait to get the Christmas catalogs in the mail, as I was anticipating going through and dreaming of which new baby doll I might get.  Of course, with the new baby, I dreamed of all the accessories that I could get too.  Things like strollers, bottles, pacifiers, blankets, diaper bags with diapers and sippy cups, etc.  They had a huge section devoted to baby dolls and all that goes with them.  I couldn't wait to grow up and become a mommy with real babies to love and to cuddle, but that seemed so far away........

Now I am a mommy and 5 out of 10 of my children are daughters.  It is my hope that they too will have a strong desire to become what is gloriously taught through Scripture as their God given role.  Whether God opens their wombs or not, I hope the desire for children will be there, deeply seeded in the heart.  To nurture their desire, I encourage the playing with baby dolls.  But I have noticed something that alarms me greatly.......

Little girls are no longer encouraged to have baby dolls.  I mean, it's ok if they're like 2 or 3 years old, but after that they are getting a bit old for them.  I also see that many parents allow their daughters to "grow up" too quickly, I mean 7 years old is NOT to old for baby dolls!  In fact, at 7, I'd say a girl still has close to 4 or 5 years left of girlhood.  I take my girls to the toy section to let them see all of the baby stuff and to get them excited over babies and to my horror, there is but a very small section with a few items.  As you scan the isles of toys, I notice something equally alarming.  The shelves are filled with rockstar dolls and "pets" with all of the accessories to go with them.  You have all kinds of pets with carrying cases and brushes, special food dishes and even bottles.  You can pamper your pet and baby your pet in any way you can imagine.  I don't know, maybe because I live so close to Seattle where the population of dogs is higher than the population of children, I am a bit sensitive.  But maybe, just maybe there is an agenda going on here.  An agenda against the family.  An all out attack from Satan to turn the hearts of our daughters away from what God has intended for them.  The lie that says, you can grow up to be anything you want to be!  You can be the rockstar like the ones in the toy isles or you can skip the nuisance of children and just have your pets be your babies!  Things that are contrary to what the Bible teaches.  Shouldn't we teach our children that their desires should be to become what GOD wants them to be?!  Next time you go to the store, check it out.  See if I'm right.  I will continue to encourage my young daughters to play with babies, pretending they are real and that they are real mommies.  I will continue to train my daughters to desire the things God desires for them........ What about you?

Maternity Photos....

Anna and I had a little fun today.  She curled my hair, and then we went out and had a photo shoot.  These are a few untouched photos.....she is looking forward to touching them up, but I wanted to share.

And the Answer Is..............

If you guessed Abigail, you are right!!  This precious baby girl is Abigail Faith Houston!!!!!  She was our "deluxe model" with all of the hair!!  Thank you all who participated.  Look for more to come!!

Name that Houston.......

I decided that we would play a little game.  On occasion, I will post a picture of a Houston and YOU must guess who it is......got it?  Ok, let's play!

A Night to Remember......

Not too long ago, we had the privilege of having our dear friends and missionaries, the Kecks, at our church.  We enjoyed time together for a few days and got to spoil them a bit.  We took them on the ferry, (their 2nd time ever) had a lovely dinner, and went to the symphony (a first for them and our two eldest daughters), after the symphony we went to the Cheesecake factory and had.......what else?  Cheesecake!  We all shared as the pieces are much too big for just one person!!  Here is a  picture of that special night, sorry for the lack of quality, but it was taken with our phone! I would have a couple of other pictures, however, they are not showing up for some reason.  Hmmm... oh well!