Blessing #6!

I am reposting this post from my blog! I wanted all my Buggy Full of Blessing Friends to hear our great news too!

Since someone else already posted it on Facebook, I guess I need to make an announcement. (I won’t harp on about Facebook etiquette since I know they probably had no idea that I had not announced it yet!)  Jane Madelynn and the rest of the crew are excited to announce that she will be a BIG sister come July!  Now, I’ll just go ahead and answer all the responses I have already gotten so no one has to wonder or ask me!

1.     “Wow!” 

Yes,  God’s creation of a child deserves a “WOW!” every time! 

2.     “Are they all yours?” 

Have you seen my children and their daddy? Yes, they look just alike and they look like their daddy! 

3.     “Were they all planned? 

Were yours????  Does it matter? 

4.     “Do you know how this happens?”

No, not really! Do you want to show me?  LOL (OR I say) Why yes I do! Don’t you know I use to teach sex education? Do Would you like me to draw you some diagrams!  HAHA!

5.     “Man, your husband must really like you!” 

Why yes, he does!

6.     “Do you know what your families carbon print must be?” 

(After laughing a great deal) I’ll be honest and say – WHAT?????

7.     “I bet you drive a gas guzzler?” 

I live in Texas, everyone drives a gas guzzler!

8.     “Families with a lot of kids (3+) are such a drain on the society” 

Well technically, my kids will probably be paying your social security so…..

9.      “How do you feed them all?” 

I believe in nursing them forever… Conversation over!   (JUST KIDDING!)

10. “How can you afford them all?”

Well, with Obama Care coming, we might not be able to.  JK…. It is possible that my kids may have to actually work one day and help pay for their college! OH NO!!!!!!!!! OH, and we are totally planning a quad wedding. When the first gets engaged, she will have to wait on the other 3.  And I have already claimed all 4 Toler boys just in case.  We can just whip one big family wedding together.  JohnMark is still up for grabs unless I can convince Bonnie to try one more time for a girl!!!  LOL

11. “I bet you want a boy!” 

You know when I had John Mark I was actually initially bummed he was not a girl!  Now, I can’t imagine life without him! I love him being the oldest and would not trade him for the world.  And boy was I not expecting to have 4 princesses next. They make life fun!   So what I have I learned, you know it is really not up to me and Mark.  God decided a long time ago what children he would bless us with.  His plan is truly better than what I can hope for.  I use to even say, I will be happy with a healthy baby no matter what the sex! But after Jane Maddy, I don’t even add that.  Yes, I want a healthy baby (one that can nurse!!!) but I would not trade Jane Maddy for any other version of her!  She is a blessing to so many people!

12. “How much do you charge for your in house daycare?” Ups guy…..

Well, actually these are all my kids and I do it for free!

13. “Was this an accident?

Do you mean like “Oops I stumped my toe?”  Mark has said a lot of things to me but “Oops has never been one of them!”  So I’ll go with no… BUT What if it was….. Don’t you now feel bad for asking?

14. “I bet you are religious?”

No we are Christians. There is a difference. 

15. “Do you not believe in birth control?”

Very much so or we might have 20 by now!

16. “This is your last one, right?”

OH, I bet you would like to know the answer to this one but I think we will keep it a secret!

17. MY fave…. “Oh, is this your first?”  (the dear sweet waitress) 

Why, yes stranger it is…. I mean no want to guess how many more I have? 

18. “You must homeschool!”

Well, I do actually but not sure what that has to do with how many kids I have?????

And probably the worst one that I have gotten more than once…..

19. “Aren’t you worried that this one will be like your last? 

NOT AT ALL. We would be so blessed to have another baby just like Jane Maddy!

And finally,

20. “Wow!”  Just because I get it more than anything  else! 

I feel the same way….. Wow! God has been good to us!  We are very blessed!

Please know that I say all this in jest! I don’t expect most people to get it or to want the same thing.  I think children are a blessing from God. He calls certain people to have big families, others to have small ones, and others to not have kids at all.  It doesn’t make anyone right or wrong.  I am so thankful He has called us to have the family we have! 

Christmas Card Prayers

It's that time again! I've been addressing (with my horrendous handwriting) & stuffing envelopes. Soon your mailbox will be filled with "picture perfect" families showing you their most stylish clothes and biggest smiles. 

A friend told me Sunday that she saves her cards & uses them to pray for her friends & family throughout the year.  What a great idea! 

As I was addressing cards I thought why not say a prayer for each family as I address cards. Of course there was Dora blaring in the background and I had to break up a few fights but as I came to each friend I was reminded of marriage difficulties, friends who are having trouble conceiving, financial problems, even friends and family who don't know The Lord. I didn't spend 10 minutes on each card. I just said a simple prayer while addressing each envelope. It was wonderful to sit down and pray for others. So often I get caught up in praying for only what is directly around me. 

So as you address your cards this season I encourage you to use that time to say a quick prayer for your friends and family. 

Or if your boycott the whole Christmas card idea (we did last year) say a simple prayer for each family that choses to send you a card. 

I love getting cards! Who doesn't? But how awesome would it be if everyone used them to pray specifically for each other. 

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-10

We Are Back! Philippians 4:8 & 9

We're BACK!

I know, I know, we went to 
this amazing Art of Homemaking conference! 
We met the Duggar family twice! 
We were all pumped up! And then we 
just went MIA for several weeks. 

I apologize. To be very honest our family has been going 

through a difficult time and it's not a 

situation we can let the whole world in on.  

We had to choose to keep posting 
as if nothing was going on or we 
could stay completely silent. Quite frankly it 

was just easier to just not post anything at all. 

We definitely want to remain genuine so I do feel it 

was the best decision. Although our hearts remain broken,

we desire this blog to be a ministry to other moms and we feel 

 it is time for us to precede. 

It does feel good to be missed! I was actually 

shocked to find that people noticed we 

had not posted in several weeks. 

We look forward to the weeks ahead! 

We have an even crazier 

December than most! We have what 

we call "Celebration Week"! 

Within 10 days in December, 

3 of my children and

 Jessica have birthdays and Jared & 

I celebrate our anniversary! 

(yes, that's A LOT of presents!) 

I can't promise a post everyday or the most creative 

original Christmas ideas. But I can tell 

you we are going to strive

 hard to share with you all the Christmas 

blessings we have been given this year

and how we celebrate them with our families! 

I wanted to start with this verse. 

This is my family scripture verse

 for this week. It's so important to remind myself and teach

 my children to think about true, right, Godly things.

 I don't know about you, but if I don't take every thought 

captive and test my thinking according to the verse below

 before I know it am headed down a road of sin, 

self pity, judgmental attitude, etc.  

Don't forget you can click on the

link and download it for your 

family! 

Download Free Printable Here

Blessings to you all! Thank 

you for waiting patiently

for our return!

Weekly Verse- Psalm 34:11-14

Download Printable 4x6 HERE

Bubble Pizza- Family Night

After so much talk last week about

Bubble Pizza I thought 

I should introduce my children to their

Nina's famous recipe.

It's a fun recipe that all 

the kids were able to help

make. It was perfect for 

Family Night!

Please excuse the pictures. 

I don't know what my girls 

enjoyed most, cooking or taking pictures?!

BUBBLE PIZZA

What You Need:

4 pack of Biscuits 

Jar of Marinara

4 Cups of Shredded Cheese

Pack of Pepperoni

Gallon Baggie

Bundt Pan

Cut the biscuits

into fourths.

Roman really wanted to help

cut so he got himself 

a little butter knife. 

(it was not sharp enough to

cut anything)

Nixon and Roman

helped put the cut biscuits

into a gallon baggie. 

Isla helped pour

the jar of marinara into the baggie.

She then poured the cheese

into the baggie.

I sealed the baggie and 

mixed up all the ingredients.

After everything was mixed up

Roman added the pepperoni. 

I think most of the pepperoni

got eaten before it made it

into the bag!

Nixon waited patiently because she wanted to

be the one to put the mix in the pan. 

WARNING: 

It gets a little messy! 

Stick the bubble pizza the oven for 

about 45 minutes on 350. 

Lottie didn't help cook

but she was our DJ for the

evening! 

After a few songs and

new dance moves 

Bubble Pizza was ready to serve!

Basically this is like a pizza

monkey bread. 

It's easy to eat to with your hands. And it makes

the perfect dish for movie night. 

I am going to very honest,

bubble pizza was not as amazing

as I remembered it. 

(I think my taste buds have evolved

since the days of slumber parties

and Dirty Dancing) 

But my children loved it as much as I did

as a kid so it remains a family

favorite! 

BOO BREAKFAST

A couple of years ago 

on Halloween Eve I decided we 

should have our 1st annual

BOO BREAKFAST! 

We really don't celebrate Halloween

much but I thought it would be a fun 

tradition! 

It was too late to go to the store so I looked around 

the kitchen and used what I could find.

It's amazing what all you can do

 with a black magic marker! :) 

I had clear little cups that I filled with milk.

I drew ghost faces and bows

to make them look like cute ghosts. 

I drew smiley ghost faces on plain paper plates. 

I had a bag of cuties so 

I drew faces (and again bows)

on them to make them little 

jack-o-lanterns!

Marshmallows and doughnuts are staples at our house.

 I filled a vase with mini-marshmellows

and stuck doughnuts on a screwers

to make mummies!

Chocolate morsels were used for the eyes.

I also made mummies

out of crescent rolls 

and baby sausages. 

I used mustard for the eyes. 

The kids loved their

surprise BOO BREAKFAST!

We have ten days to our 3rd annual

 BOO BREAKFAST!

In fact, I'm in charge of teacher appreciation at 

the girl's school so I am planning a

BOO BREAKFAST for 

all the teachers and staff

next week! 

I look forward to sharing 

what we can come up with

with a little preparation! 

Free Printable Weekly Verse - Psalm 62:8

Download for free here

Our Mom was Awesome WAY before Pinterest!

A week doesn't go by that I am not scrolling down Pinterest and I come across some creative idea and think to myself, "My mom has been doing that for years!".  Since today is our mother's birthday we thought it would be fun to share a few of the creative things our mother has done and taught us throughout the years. We're proud to say, "Our Mom was Awesome WAY Before Pinterest!"

1. Progressive Birthday Dinner
My favorite birthday celebration was her progressive birthday dinner. On her birthday my parents would go to the restaurant that had her favorite appetizer. Then they would go to a different restaurant that had her favorite salad, next her favorite main course and then her favorite dessert. To assure they were hungry for all the courses they filled in between restaurants with shopping and a trip to the movies. At the end of the day she had visited 4 to 5 fabulous restaurants and had the PERFECT birthday meal!

2. Bubble Pizza
A saw this on Pinterest the other day and laughed out loud. I have great memories of watching Dirty Dancing repeatedly and eating Bubble Pizza with my old friend Mary Katherine!  I couldn't find her exact recipe so maybe we will share it soon.

3. Nutter Butter Ghost & Nutter Butter Snowmen
This is very popular now but I remember mom always doing this during the holidays. It's a tradition I have carried on with my children. Simple and delicious!

4. Creative Gifts
My mom has been a pastor's wife for over 38 years. As the holidays approached I knew it was time to figure out what she was going to give all the staff and deacons. Every year she tried topping the year before. The homemade gifts have included: delicious pretzel rods, homemade bread with honey butter, homemade cinnamon rolls, the BEST trail mix ever, rice krispie treats cut into the shape of JOY, popcorn-balls and more!
Looking back I appreciate this more and more. I recognize the time and money she put into preparing gifts for those who served alongside my father and the time they spent hand delivering the gifts to make sure they arrived fresh.

5. Wrapping Gifts
This is something I did NOT inherit. To my mom the way a gift is wrapped is just as important as the gift itself. Thanks to Pinterest I might can learn to make beautiful bows and giftwrap as well as she does!

6. 12 Days of Christmas
This family tradition started in my early teenage years. My mom decided that we would celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas. So for the 12 days before Christmas we got to open a gift each day! Who wouldn't love that?!?! I plan to carry on this tradition once the kids are older.

7. Oreo Balls
If you have never had Oreo Balls your missing out!
She made them way before the days of Pinterest! :)

8. Sweet Tea
I'm sure you can find a billiion recipes for Sweet Tea but I promise none of them will touch Kathy Nixon's! Jessica actually would take a thermos of sweet tea to lunch in Jr. High and sell it to the other kids for money! It is that good!

9. Special Birthdays
Some of my (Jessica) favorite memories are of my birthdays.  My mom always tried to do something special. One year she let me invite all my friends over and she made her famous lasagna. She served everything on fine china. We took pictures and had an awesome night.

10. Cookie in a Jar
This is very popular now but I am told she has been doing this for years. Put all the ingredients needed to make cookies from scratch in a mason jar, add a cute ribbon, and you have a perfect little gift!

11. "I Love You" Gifts
This is my (Julia) personal favorite! From as long as I can remember mom has always gotten us "I love You" gifts. This is just little gifts for no reason other than to let us know she loves us. From a Diet Coke to a new dress, I still like getting "I Love You" gifts!


12. Cinnamon Roll Christmas Trees
Mom has a way of getting any food item into a themed shape. I think this is where I get my obsession with themed food. I loved at Christmastime when she placed the cinnamon rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree and used green and red cherries for ornaments. Again, this is something I have carried on for my children.

 

13. Peanut Butter Ritz Crackers Dipped in Chocolate

This is as simple as it sounds and is AMAZING. Take two ritz crackers and make a peanut butter sandwich then dip it in chocolate. I could eat my weight in these! 

We have a very special mother who spent years creating wonderful fun memories for us. We are not sure she realized how much she was teaching us and the memories she was creating when she was baking, cooking, giving gifts, etc. She was just being a good mom.  She didn't have Pinterest or the internet to get her ideas from. She didn't have Facebook or Instagram to show everyone what she was doing. We are sure she did things that went completely unnoticed or unappreciated.  We are also sure we are forgetting many other yummy recipes and fun days. These are just a few that stick out in our mind today.

All these items may seem trivial to some but to us it's through these day to day activities that she taught us the most. She taught us to serve others, and to put others first.  She taught us to be givers, even when we might not have much to give. She taught us to welcome others in our home, to be hospitable. She taught to enjoy food and celebrate life. But most importantly she has taught us to count the many blessings our Lord has given us no matter the season we find ourself in.

We thank God for our wonderful mother.