Have you ever sat and thought about how meaningful it is to be married? It really is an amazing thing. No one else is suited to be your spouses best friend , lover and helper the way you are. Each of us has in us- right now- the things we need most, to love and help the special people we call family.What more important place could you fill? I am thinking of the impact we have on the people we share our homes with.Every single day you can make the difference in their lives. Every single day you can be the person they can't wait to get home to, to wake up to see, to talk to, to laugh with, to cry with when they need to, to just be comfortable with. You are sunshine to someones life!!!
Be sure your spouse knows that you love them. That may sound silly to some of you. But truly- be sure they know. People feel love many different ways. So we need to show love many different ways. If you say ,"I love you", but never show love in your actions, it just seems false. We all need to experience the many different kinds of love to know down deep it is real. So the words , a hug and other outward signs of love mean a lot to your spouse. Showing love in tangible ways often inspires our lovers to begin to show love back in tangible ways,and the circle of love continues. It must start somewhere. Let it be in our hearts toward those we love. God bless you as you ponder your vast role in this world. Hugs, Barbara

Good afternoon. We are at the beach today. My mom lives near the ocean and we are spending four days with her. We got up bright and early this morning and played in the ocean for about three hours. That is about all the time we can spend out in the sun at one time as I have so many fair skinned children. We can back full of sunshine, hungry and tired. Hubby went straight to a nap.

This has been an odd summer for us. We never did get any kind of official vacation this year, so this four days at the beach is our mini vacation. Sometimes life just comes at you and you need to learn to role with it. I have found through the years that fussing about changes in your plans makes no difference. Life is life and you have to take it as it comes. If you can learn to go with the flow you will spend more happy hours in the long run. Don't waste time pointing blame, or complaining when you are faced with ruined plans. Put a smile on your face and make new ones. Keep looking forward, you never know what is around the corner or over the next hill. Hugs, Barbara

Good evening! How has your day been? This was my shopping day. I am always amazed at the grumpy looking people I see everywhere I go. My kids comment on it a lot too. It sure seems to me if those people were happy in how they were living they wouldn't look so miserable. I think it is time for a change. I think it is time to put smiling back on your list of daily activities!SMILE!! Send your spouse off to work with a smile. Let your smile be the thing that your spouse remembers all day as they are working.Let your smile be the thing they can't wait to get home to!

Smile!! It does wonders for you. The people around you will start to smile back, (or at least they will wonder what you are up to!)!!! Truly- you will feel like your face looks. I bet when you were dating, you smiled for that lover of yours. Didn't you delight in seeing them? Well, they married that happy smile! YOUR SPOUSE LOVES YOU! THAT IS WHY THEY MARRIED YOU! Don't let the day to day things in your life get between you and that feeling for your special someone. SMILE, they love you! No matter where you are right now in your marriage- a smile will make it better.Are you happy in your marriage ? - SMILE- let the world know it! Are you having trouble in your marriage ? - SMILE- you can make it better! Really you can! Drop that weight off your shoulders for a little while. Forget every thing that needs fixing for just one evening. When your partner comes home, smile at them, tell them you are glad they are home.If they ask why you are so happy- tell them it is because you remembered just how lucky you are to have them! God bless each of you. Hugs, Barbara

Good afternoon! Hubby has the day off so we have been just enjoying the day together. I love being able to spend the day with him. He is my best friend and a lot of fun!

If your marriage is not a happy one, let's work on making it one.I think it is so awful that 50% of marriages end in divorce. Sadder still is that I often see people divorcing who do not have huge problems. They just "lost" each other over time. They did not put any time into loving each other. Then they will date and put tons of energy into a new relationship- for awhile. If they had put half as much energy into their marriage- they would still be married- and HAPPY in their marriage. We all want to feel special. Lets be sure we find the things that make our husbands, and children feel special.

One thing I have found is a smile! Just a smile at those we love makes them smile too! When my husband comes in a room I can't help it- my eyes light up and I smile. THAT is MY MAN!! I love to watch him walk across a parking lot. He carries himself so strong and proud, And I TELL him that! He always laughs and tells me I am a nut, but he sure looks pleased to hear it! He is my best friend after all these years! I can't help it- I watch the clock just waiting for him to get home, just so I can be with him.

God bless each of you as you ponder your marriage. I hope you will share here. I think there are a lot of nice people out there who truly love their families, but were never given any examples to follow. We have all grown up with divorce swirling around us. There are not a ton of happy marriages out there for us to learn from. Lets help each other- share what you do that keeps love alive and strong. Lets give the next generation a ton of happy marriages to learn from! Hugs, Barbara

Welcome to a world of Rainbows!

“Are they all yours?” That always strikes me funny, I can't help but wonder what kind of a person would steal 14 kids and then take them all shopping for groceries with her? If I had a quarter for every time I was asked that question, I would not need to write, I could buy a TV station and share my story that way. I do indeed have fourteen children, and they really are all mine, well one is really more of a loan but I never intend to give her back (shush, don't tell) so I do tend to stick out in a crowd.

I know what you are thinking, “Am I crazy, stupid, careless, or all of the above?” I am none of those. I am blessed. “Well, you sure don’t look like you could have fourteen children.” That is usually the next thing people say when I tell them they are indeed all mine. I guess if you have fourteen kids you are supposed to look old, tired, stressed and nuts. I have been told I look as if I am living my life on a rainbow. My life is full of color and happiness. I have found the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow, and it is not money, it is joy. Welcome to my world. It is a world full of life and color, that is for sure.

Yep,I am the mom to 14 kids. I only have 9 of them still at home though, so we are barely a crowd any more. They keep growing up on me. I have been blogging for over two years now, but it was on a private site that you had to join to see it. I have wanted to step out into the "real" world for awhile now, but was not sure where to post such a blog. So nice of the news to do a story on mommy bloggers just for me. Now I know where you have all been hiding.

So here I am joining you. Life with 14 kids has been a lot of fun. We have our moments like any family ( sometimes those "moments" have lasted for years. LOL.) but for the most part I am just like you, except it takes four carts full of groceries every two weeks to feed us.

Let me tell you a bit about us. My hubby and I were High school sweethearts. So much so that we married when I was just 17 and he was 19. ( Our daughter was born 9 months and two hours later.) He is an ER RN and I was until I "retired" to raise children. I have lived the life of leisure ever since. LOL. We have 7 boys and 6 girls( and one baby we miscarried) to equal our 14. They are 28,26,23,20,15,13,11,10,10,8,7,5, and 4 years old. Our 28, and 23 year olds are married. We have one grandson( He is a treasure.) and two more grandchildren on the way. Our 26 and 20 year olds are both in college. One has her BSN and is continuing on, and the other is getting a degree in Business. Life is good. Messy at times, but good.

We are a home schooling family and have been for many years. I love home schooling and have helped many families get started, or over some humps through the years, so I do quite a lot of writing about that. Feel free to ask questions on that topic if you wish.

The other place I have done a lot of helping through the years is on how to strengthen your marriage. I am not a professional anything, but have been married a long time now, and have walked through some deep water a few times. Please feel free to ask questions, but remember if you ask I will actually tell you what I think.

I topic I usually get the most questions about is raising kiddos though. Come in and share a cup of tea with me each day and we can share thoughts. I have 14 kids, and each one is unique and wonderful. None of mine is perfect, and yet each of them is. I would not change one hair on their heads.( Well, you know what I mean, two of them REALLY need haircuts right now....if I could find the clippers....) They keep me on my toes, and make me look at the world through rainbow colored glasses. You can not miss the joy in the day with a child holding your hand, besides they give you an excuse to watch cartoons and eat chocolate. God bless your day. Hugs, Barbara