UNDAUNTED

This was the title of a blog post I read a month ago and it has been swirling through my head for the last month.  What a great one word description of my life!  I have continued to press on "undaunted" by life events...but enough about me, now on to the kids.  So much has been going on it is hard to pin it all down to just one writeup.  I keep promising to get better about blog writing, but time does get past me!
Katherine is struggling with decisions...real grown up decisions.  Her courtship relationship is getting harder to keep separate from school and family, which I have to remind her is normal.  That is the way God designed it.  She is very torn between him and going to school and the accompanying frustration of knowing they can't be together yet as they would be poor as church mice.  So for now, the daily grind and monetary commitments push the wedding date further into the future.  We did all have a wonderful time on our family vacation this year...to Kitty Hawk, NC!  It was cold, but fun!
We thought it would even get better if we brought boys for Stephen to hang and play with...and we were right!  Two of his friends who are used to being part of a big family came along, as well as their big brother, Katie's intended.  So Paul and I, undaunted, dragged ten children 15 hours east for a week at a beach house we'd rented.

(There are so many pictures I am going to have to inundate you now with loads of beach footage)

and that's a wrap!
(btw, we found a pelvis bone of some animal, heavily toned in ocean water...that is what Paul is holding up)

Catching up on the madness!

The older I get I realize that most everything loops back around...whether fashion trends, diet trends, hairstyles or life in general. Remember hating your mom and talking back? Well, have kids and you get it all back again. Well, around here, it hadn't been that bad, but seemed to reach a crescendo last winter, then we *ALL* had a huge wake up call. I was diagnosed with cancer. It came as a complete shock and took me awhile to digest what it meant. The lab results came just about two weeks before Christmas and seemed to linger on everyone's mind the entire Advent season. Now after weeks of waiting and more trips to the hospital for yet more tests, I am cancer free. The doctors are still wanting one more surgery, but my peace is in not having another surgery and just getting back on track with my life and monitoring my body in the time frame the doctors have given me. Supplements and losing weight are top priorities for Lent. Discipline has been severely lacking in my life and this was just a wake up call to get myself back into leading a more disciplined life.
Katherine is thriving at her new college. Feeling a part of something for the first time in her life, even if it means living nine and a half hours from family and friends; and Kyle!
Megan is finally starting to leave her teenage angst behind her and becoming more mature and responsible as the days go by.
Rebecca is entering teenage angst...need I say more...
Stephen has been a bag of bones for about a year now...we check him occasionally for a pulse.
I noticed yesterday that Lauren is beginning to get accepted into the fold with the older girls. This is a new one. At Church, she sat with the "big" girls without them pushing her away or getting annoyed with her. Friends of ours used to call this "herd mentality." I see it clearly now. The little minions still prefer to be on mama's lap and occasionally getting attention from the other kids, but Lauren has now shifted into the next phase.
Kimberly still wants to be babied and really fights growing up. Veronica is the bain to my existence right now. Demanding, whiny, and all sorts of disagreeableness exist in that child. I guess it is good she is pretty...but reminds me a lot of Scarlet O'Hara...and that shall be her nickname! I think there is even a similarity there! Blue eyes and all!

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me

Ok, Cari @ Clan Donalson told me to do this and link it to Rambling Follower, however, the first thing I have to admit is:

#1 I am a complete computer idiot. In college, I worked three jobs at one point to pay my way through school. One job used two different computers, another one used yet another type and the third job was at a dry cleaner (so no computer). I have seven children and my brain stopped working around the time that number six was born ;). Therefore, I have no idea how to link anything unless it pops up by itself.

#2 I am the oldest of three girls and spent much of my growing up years being accused of being too controlling, bossy, and mean to my sisters. We fought all the time (driving my mother batty). Seven children has cured me of that--now I am more laid back and silent more often than not.

#3 I am terrified of driving over bridges. When we lived in Haughton, I had to drive over the Mississippi River on a daily basis. My heart rate increased and I would sweat, imagining the whole time how I would get the kids out. Came up with an idea for floating child/infant carseats that would propel them up to the surface if the Suburban went down fast and I could only undo seat belts...or would I just drown with them, therefore making it fair? Who could I save?
#4 I love portraying myself as competent knowledgeable and cool. The fact is, I am the opposite. The older I get I seem to be going downhill.

#5 In high school, my mother used to refer to me as the poster child for MTV as I dressed like a cross between Boy George and Madonna.

#6 I never dreamed I would be married and have seven kids...I always thought I'd be a Lobbyist/Lawyer working in Washington D.C.

#7 I love my children more than I ever dreamed I could--and that love is exponential with each child. I still wish I could have more. The dynamics of a large family intrigue me immensely.

#8 My college degree is in Pre-law/Government and my minor is in English (see #6).

#9 My parents divorced when I was in sixth grade and I never regretted their decision. Some people are just better off apart--far apart.

#10 I love to travel--but not to busy places..I am not a fan of big cities!

There, done, now Cari, how do I link this thing?

It is fixed!

I cannot believe after MONTHS of not being able to get on blogger, I have finally managed to fix all the problems and get back on. It all came back to when we changed internet providers and snowballed from there!
This photo became our Christmas card for 2011. The main reason why is because it so aptly captured the personality of our kids. I took this in Springfield, MO when I was picking up Kat for Christmas break at a friend's house. Chances are we won't be going that way again since she now owns her own car and can drive back and forth from school. Thankfully also, she has a daddy who is a pilot and can escort her and fly back.
This past month has been filled with trials in tribulations, which I will not go into at the present moment because I have already wasted too many hours already on this computer and I fear I've lost the children's motivation to be productive today. So, be assured this blog will be updated and hopefully pictures added so everyone can catch up in the busy lives of the Mississippi Harpers!
Love,
Kris

Mother's Day

Last year I got zilch, zero, squat for Mother's Day; or at least from anyone but me! No one wished me a "happy mother's day" except for Rebecca, my artist, who made me a card. So they all knew they had to do something BIG this year! And thus, my garden is born...

Stephen and I found this fountain on sale at Lowes and an inspiration for the "bare spot behind the garage" finally emerged. Keep in mind we've been here four years and I had not the foggiest idea what to do with that space. We'd yanked out an overgrown cherry tree three years before and left a big weed overgrown space for years. My neighbor blessed us a we

Save Now

ek or so ago by bringing her kids over and hosting a weed pulling party in my front yard. But now I had to put something in its place! That is where the fountain and a hundred dollars in plants and topsoil came in....
BEAUTIFUL!

Proof that babies snore

I recently had to undergo a radical hysterectomy and surgical repair of damaged tissue and muscle when I got home 48 hrs later, Veronica had a 102 fever and really didn't want to do anything, but lay in bed with me...here she is in her favorite position, snoring away. By the way, I am now a little over five weeks post op and I feel really good. I started back to the gym this week and I've been able to do more and more every day.

A Lesson in Humility

Humility is an important virtue, not humiliation. Many people confuse the two. Humility means to put others first and yourself last. True humility comes from realizing God's greatness and allowing His greatness to shine thru our weaknesses.
Children are a great example of forcing us into humility. Just when you think you have something down pat, they prove that there was something you never considered; therefore, you don't know as much as you think you did. You'd think after seven kids I WOULD know a lot about raising kids and life in general, but the more I have the more I realize I don't know!
Recent events have taught me much in the way of humility. Being at the mercy of others for my care, nutrition, health and *sanity* have been very good for showing me what control I've exhibited over others for so long that lines blurred and how much pride was exhibited in having said control. This has created a whole new dynamic between myself and my husband, as well as the kids and their dad. It is amazing what happens when mom doesn't butt into and run everything in the home! On another note, I don't think my house has ever been messier! Kids just don't have the same qualification on "clean" that mom does ;)