Taters thinks he’s a robot.
No, he believes he’s a robot. With his whole heart.

A few weeks ago, he informed me that he was actually a robot and had always been a robot. He said “You know, when I was in your belly I was plugged in to you with a cord in my tummy. You told me that. That means I was charging.”
He insists that he can fly (when jumping off my couch) because he has rockets in his feet that only his robot eyes can see. He also says that he’s going SUPER SPEED when he’s running.
I asked him why does he have to eat if he is a robot so he responded ,” Because, I am LIKE a human but I’m not a real human.”

Ahh the wonderful imagination of a 5 year old!

When the three older kids were little they LIVED in their super hero outfits. Handmade of course. The rag-tag things I sewed for them certainly didn’t look flashy like the store bought variety but oh they loved it. They felt on top of the world in their capes. Even better when a few years later their Grandma made them their own custom super hero outfits out of a silky colorful material. (we still have those)

Ninja had such an active imagination when he was four he told me a story with such detail, I wrote it down and published it. (it’s on Amazon, search My Warrior Princess) He really thought that a super hero princess was coming to his room at night to take him to a magical land called Manitory.

Hedgehog believed that he was going to marry a pink hedgehog named Amy and she would give birth to ten babies at a time in their car. (Taters was born in our van when Hedgehog was 3 ½ years old)

Mr. Responsible wanted to be Bob the tomato. Or a cat. Now at age 11 he still wishes to be a cat. (for those who remember me at his age….yes he IS a boy version of me. that’s a story for another time….)

Then there was the time that the three bigger boys wanted to dress up as Grandpa for halloween. We shaved the top of their hair and they were thrilled! Grandpa got such a kick out of it. The boys keep their hair like that for nearly a month!

The kids love to play with each other. Usually they get along pretty well.

I love playing with my kids. Especially the little ones. Over the years they have each come up with games of their own design, but by far the most popular one that has stuck with the kids ever since Mr. Responsible was 2 years old is the “Dripping Soup” game. (I wrote a children’s story book about it)

The children lay on a bed or couch pretending to be ingredients for soup. Mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, chicken, noodles….whatever their fancy is that day. I play the role of the Chef. I make them all tenderized (tickling their tummies) and then put them in the “pot” (the bed or couch) and they make bubbling noises to indicate that they are cooking. Then the “Chef” falls asleep (not really) and the dripping soup runs out of the pot and down the hall giggling all the way. I then chase them and try to catch them. If I catch them they go back in the pot after a good tickling.
They play another game that’s similar called Biscuits. Basically the same game except that they are biscuits and the bed or couch is an oven instead of a pot.

Another game they like to play is Roar. This one has changed a little thru each child. Mr. Responsible and Ninja called it “Monsters” but then Hedgehog wanted a softer version of the game where the monsters didn’t scream and chase each other but snuggled instead. Kabuki Warrior tackles everyone while laughing like crazy. Taters and Princess put their own spin on the game, turning the monsters into purple fluffy baby monsters that only get mean if they eat watermelon but turn nice when they are hugged. And little Squishy growls and pretends to eat everyone’s noses and cheeks.

Giant Omelet is another game. This one came from my own childhood and I shared it with my children. we all hide under a blanket, which is the “egg” and we have to figure out how to get out without getting cooked. But the floor is the pan, so if you can’t escape without touching the floor than your cooked anyway. (out of the pan, into the fire!)

 I love playing with my kids.

When I was young, the game that I remember playing the most was called “Dent-Dents” it was a game that my siblings and I played often. It started with a dented mirror, which we said caused my sister’s face to become dented. She then threw the “dents” to the floor and of course that caused lava to spill out of the carpet, so we had to escape the dents by running across pillows. If we fell into the lava the Dent-Dents could get us! To keep them at bay we would put up force fields called “Rubber bubbies” and as long as the Dent-Dents didn’t use their laser beams we could escape them and hide within the Rubber bubbies.   Ahhh, childhood.
When I tried to pass this game onto my kids, they made it their own as well. they turned the Dent-Dents into the Dentist and ran from the invisible Dentist. This game was short-lived though because once the Dentist fell into the hot lava he died.

The imagination of a child is such a wonderful place. May they never lose that creativity and desire to play.

some of my art

I love to draw. Usually I draw my children, either in sketches or in cartoon form.
here's a few of my drawings for you to enjoy today.

If you like them, I also have some of my art for sale in my children's books on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/My-Art-Sonya-M-Lillis/dp/1511748265/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1458255376&sr=8-19&keywords=sonya+lillis
http://www.amazon.com/Visits-Earth-Sonya-Marie-Lillis/dp/1512312762/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&qid=1458255376&sr=8-26&keywords=sonya+lillis

Thanks for stopping by!

until next time,
Sonya

shoveling and serving

This winter my oldest “Mr. Responsible” had it in his heart to help our next door neighbor. She’s elderly, and lives alone having lost her husband a few years ago.  He noticed how difficult it was for her to shovel her own driveway and wanted to help. So, one day while out shoveling our own driveway he just went over and shoved hers as well. She called to say “thank you.” Later that day she also send over fresh baked cookies. This made him feel really good, so he asked me if he could go around our block and see if anyone else needed shoveled out.

When he came home that day, just as it was getting dark he told me how everyone had asked what he would charge for his services and that they were all shocked that he said “Oh, I wasn’t going to charge anything I just wanted to be helpful.”
That night we incorporated his experience into our Bible lesson, and the next morning it had snowed again. It was a weekend and he didn’t have any other responsibilities that day so he put on his snow gear and went out to serve the neighbors. We explained to the children that when we go out to serve expecting a reward we may get nothing at all, but when we go out to serve God will reward us in ways we can’t yet imagine.

After two or three times out he came back really excited one day “MOM!! Someone PAID  me! I told them I didn’t need any money but he insisted that if I was going to shovel his driveway he was going to pay me!”

This kind man wasn’t the only one with that in mind; they had seen his diligence and several people gave him money for his hard work. Half way through the day his shovel broke, so he went down to the local hardware store to purchase a new shovel. While there, one of the ladies he had shoveled out saw him and bought it for him instead. He came home just beaming with joy. By the end of the day he had earned over $100.

Pretty soon, every snowfall was a call to action. He never asked for money, but there were several people that paid him. Some people called every time it snowed asking for him. He had a regular little business going. He would tell me “you know mom, when I don’t get money for shoveling I don’t feel disappointed at all because I know that I’m doing something for our neighbors that they can’t do themselves. It’s a really good feeling. Like I’m being the hands and feet of Jesus.”

His hard work was really paying off in more ways than one….for one thing Mr. Responsible has always struggled with his weight, and until this year nothing I said or did motivated him to change his activity level. But as he shoveled the pounds came off. Suddenly I wasn’t looking at a boy anymore I was looking at a young man.

He set in his mind that he would save any money he earned for a hunting bow he’s been wanting for several years. A special bow, by the Matthew’s company. It was called the Craze 2, blue camo colored. http://www.mathewsinc.com/  It’s a bow that “grows” with him by being adjustable so he can hunt with it for many years to come. The bow was expensive though, well over $500.

About the time that he had earned half the money he’d need for this bow he developed asthma. He kept it a secret from me for a while until I watched him nearly collapse one day while doing jumping jacks in the livingroom. For the next month he was told by the doctor he could not go out shoveling. He was devastated.

About the same time, our Pastor wrote about my son’s hard work and servant’s heart attitude in his daily email devotionals. (This is the part of the story we were unaware of until much later)

Pastor’s wife is a real estate agent. She had been showing homes to a man that day and they got to talking. She mentioned the email devotionals and he said “OH yes please sign me up.” The first one he got was about Mr. Responsible working hard to serve the neighbors and earn money for his bow.

This touched the man’s heart so much that he decided to send my son that bow he wanted---with all the bells and whistles too.
Our Pastor emailed me, asking for details about the bow my son wanted but said he couldn’t say why he needed it. Knowing he was up to something, but trusting that I would hear the whole story eventually I gave him the information he wanted.

Three weeks later, a package arrived for my son. Mr. Responsible opened it and it was his bow! It had everything he wanted, the exact color he wanted. And there was a letter, addressed to my son. It was from the president of the Matthew’s Archery Company, Mr. McPherson….he was the man mentioned before. He wrote to my son about being diligent, and how God rewards hard work. He included Bible verses and spoke about how much Mr. Responsible story had touched his heart.

My son was overwhelmed with joy. He could barely walk or speak, we were all in tears. It was a truly amazing thing to be able to see such a tangible answer to his prayer, and a very real reward straight from God for his servant like attitude in wanting to help our neighbors.
We wrote back to Mr. McPherson saying thank you and sending pictures of Mr. Responsible with his new bow.

When Mr. Responsible shared this information with “Dad-Man’s” cousin (who is also Kabuki Warrior’s Personal Care Assistant) he informed us that he has been good friends with Mr. McPherson’s brother for many years. So then, Kabuki Warrior’s PCA text his friend, sending pictures and telling him how much it blessed his heart to see his little cousin so happy. The McPherson brothers text back promising to come out to visit this summer and teach him to shoot it as well.

My son was over the moon.

But the best thing in all of this was that it made the Word of God so very very real to him and the rest of my kids. Mr. Responsible diligence and faithfulness to what God had put in his heart had been given a very tangible reward, drawing him closer to God.

Proverbs 20:11 Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

7 kids.

Yes you read that right. I have 7 children.

6 boys, and 1 girl.

Most people ask me if I'm going to start a basketball team, or a baseball team.....to which i usually laugh, because not a single one of my kids are into sports.  We tried T-ball years ago, and my boys sat in the dirt and made sand castles instead of playing with the rest of the team.

My girl is a princess. Some days she wishes she had a sister, and other days she's happy to have her pink frilly skirts all to herself. At one point she really thought she was the only girl in the whole world. (Well, to be fair, she was the only girl in HER world.)

Anyway, here's an introduction for the children:

"Mr. Responsible" 

My oldest is my most reliable, most responsible child. He is always helpful with the younger kids and eager to help out around the neighborhood. This winter, he made it his mission to "be the hands and feet of Jesus" to our neighbors by going around town shoveling out driveways for free. Even though he never asked for money he ended up making some which made him excited to get his first job in a few years.  He is only 11 but sometimes he seems older than that.

He's often thinking of ways to help out his little brother "Kabuki."

Currently he has grown taller than me and reminds me often that in just two years I will be mom to a teenager! Seriously, how did that happen so fast? Where did my tiny guy go? 

No matter how big he gets though when I look at him I still see my little "Honeybee." My very first baby that I learned and grew with, the child that first made me "Mom." When he was born I held him in my arms and announced, "If all my kids could be as amazing as this tiny guy than I want to have a BUNCH of them!" ---and that's just what we did.

Mr. Responsible also enjoys video games, cats, toy planes, cats, fishing, cats, playing outside, cats, and did I mention cats?

"Ninja"

My second oldest wanted his nickname to be "Ninja" because basically he thinks he is one. He loves to break-dance (and he's pretty good at it) He's my most hyper kid, always moving, always doing something. He likes to prank the other kids and tell jokes. Basically he likes to be the center of attention.

"Ninja" is growing pretty fast. He just turned 10 in the fall. ("Double digits Mom, I'm Double digits!!") He likes to remind me how "old" I'm getting. (like 32 is really that old??) 

He is also a very helpful child, except when it comes to homework. He would rather do ANYTHING but read. He loves to draw. Most of the time if he's not bouncing off the walls he's in his room drawing or building legos.

"Hedgehog"

My snuggler, my  third child. He's called "Hedgehog" because he is obsessed with Sonic the Hedgehog and has been pretty much since he could talk. 

Hedgehog loves to read. He's the easiest kid to homeschool because he LOVES to do his homework. He's the kid that's up early in the morning and often finishes his lessons for the day before I've even finished making breakfast. He's also several grade levels ahead of where he would be in a public school. He's very proud of the fact that he skipped second grade when he was only 6 1/2. he's now 8 and somewhere between 4th and 5th grade. 

Hedgehog loves to cuddle the younger ones, and he's "besties" with Squishy. 

"Kabuki Warrior"

My fourth son is a warrior. He was born with many genetic issues due to changes in his DNA. Just after he turned 7 we learned that he has Kabuki Syndrome, a very rare, non-inherited disorder. it's named Kabuki after the large eyelashes that Japanese Kabuki actors wear. It's such a cute name, and when ever we say it he smiles big so we've taken to calling him our Kabuki Warrior.
Kabuki has had many many medical issues, he doesn't say more than a few words, eats with a feeding tube, can't walk (but he does crawl) has seizures and a bad immune system making him ill most of his life. He has had to go thru surgeries (with more coming up soon) and faced many many set backs.....
but he's the happiest most joyful kid you'd ever meet. Just being around him makes people feel blessed and happy. Kabuki loves everyone. He will give even the newest stranger a big bear hug.

Our Kabuki Warrior is a fighter.

"Taters"

Taters is my 5th child, 5 years old. He asked me to make his nickname "Six pack of Taters" because of a silly little song I used to sing him when he was a baby.

He's in that stage where he's not really ready to be a "big kid" but he's not really a baby anymore either. He's grown up alot in the past year, and he's learning how to read!

He's got a very commanding presence and loves to be the center of attention. He even took center stage the night he was born (in our van....in someone's driveway....at 4 in the morning....in winter...)

A few days ago he informed me that he is actually a robot. Right now he believes that with all his heart. He runs up to me every few minutes and shouts "MOM, you are my VIP!! And I am your Very Important Robot!"

I love 5. It's such a wonderful age.

"Princess"

Our only girl, age 3. She's the pinkest of pink, all the time. She's also my mini-me, looks exactly like Mommy when Mommy was her age.

She loves her My Little Ponies, pink frilly dresses, fluffy skirts, hair bows, earrings and all things "girly"

After having so many boys I was in shock when the doctor told us she was a girl. Having her has been such a different journey than the boys, and I love them ALL so much....there's just something wonderful about having a girl. FINALLY someone feminine in the house other than me! an excuse to buy all things pink! LOL.

Princess loves playing with her brothers, and often tries to carry around Squishy even though he's almost the same size as she is. Most of the time when someone new talks to her the first thing she talks about is our trip to Yellowstone last year. (or as she says "Lellowstone" )

She also loves to dance, and her favroite song is still  "Gangnam Style."

"Squishy"

I'm not really sure when I started calling him "Squishy" somewhere in the first few weeks after he was born.  Right now he's 17 months old and I think he thinks that "Squishy" is his real name sometimes.

He's adorable. He loves music especially the silly songs by Internetainers Rhett and Link. Seriously, we've listened to "Rub some Bacon on it" nearly 100 times a day for the past month....but it's just to cute watching him dance his heart out each and every time.

"Dad-Man"

My hubby, the most wonderful amazing man I have ever known. My prince charming, and the father of all my children. He's my other half, I would be lost with out him.

"Dad-Man" and I were married at a young age, he was 20 I was 19. We always wanted a large family and we are so happy with the blessings God has given us.

Dad-man has an amazing job, and he gets to work from his home office so he's around for all of the kid stuff too!

Every day I look in his eyes and fall more and more in love with him. To the kids, he's a super hero, and to me he's my everything.

"Sonya"

Then there's me, the only "real" name I'm using in my blog.
I'm a homemaker, homeschooing, Christian mom of 7 crazy wonderful kids married to the man of my dreams. Life is good.

Every day I thank God for each moment I get to spend with my family.

My goal in life is to raise my family in a happy, loving home to grow in the Lord each day. My greatest hope is that they will all follow Jesus all of their days and look back on their childhood as the best time of their lives.


until next time,

Sonya

book review

Have you ever read the posts by Time Warp Wife?

(https://www.facebook.com/timewarpwife)

She's amazing. She's got this radical idea that we should be living as God intended--submitting to our husbands and loving the job of motherhood. I say "radical" because this day and age so many people look at being a wife and a mother as a terrible thing. They look at it as an archaic bondage to be thrown off or discarded as soon as possible.

But, I disagree with people who would think that way.

Being a mother and a wife is, for me, the most rewarding experience of life. Beeing needed, wanted, loved and serving my husband and children in the way God wants me to has brought such purpose to my life and I would never ever change the decisions I've made to bring me here.

Most of you know, I am still a "young" mom, being only 28 years old but I'm expecting child #6 in just a few weeks! People look at me and think I'm crazy sometimes....

but anyway, this post is about a book....so on with the review...

The Good Wife's guide: embracing your helpmeet by Darlene Schacht is the title of a book that really touches my heart.

it's not a "Stay at home" mom book or a "working" mom book, it's a book for every mom who's looking to serve her family the way God intended. As the book points out it's different for every family and every situation, God didn't make us all cookie cutter women so serving Him looks different in each family. The book is about giving your all, for your husband and your children, throwing off the idea that motherhood is a drudgery and to be avoided and showing how to embrace life as a wife and mom.
There are tips on how to organize better, how to make things "work" and what submitting to your husband really means. It's filled with Biblical examples and advice and the bare naked truth at the very core of society's views: our own selfish hearts.

I encourage all mothers to read this wonderful book and "turn back the clock" on society's views of motherhood and being a Godly helpmeet to your husband.


Blessings,

--Sonya

haven't been updateing in a while....

lol i just realized how very long it's been since i last updated my blog.

well i'm pregnant with baby #6...our first girl! I'm due April 15th and I've been spending most of the last 8 months making girl diapers and adding ruffles to her clothes. We are so excited!!

Little Bretac, our 15 month old is getting so big. he's into EVERYTHING and growing faster than I can keep up with. :) (I wonder if baby sister is going to be born in the car like he was....)

Teal'c is learning alot lately. for the past 6 or 7 months he's been making amazing progress. He's learned to crawl, he's starting to talk, he can HEAR with out his hearing aids!! (Praise the Lord!! that is a miracle!!) so many things have changed. Every day we see new miracles. Just today he said two new words, and learned to blow bubbles with his spit. Oh, i know it doesn't sound like much but with a child who never did these things before every new thing is amazing. (Teal'c is 3 1/2 now)

Ronan is turning 5 in just a few months. what happened to the time?? He's learning to read although I'm not formally schooling him yet. His favorite thing is Sonic the Hedgehog---infact when he grows up he's told me he's naming all his children Sonic and Sonic-the-girl. =) silly boy.

Robert is 6 years old. He has learned to read and is now somewhere inbetween kindergarden and first grade. Getting him to sit still is a day long battle, every day. he would rather be standing on his head or walking on his hands than sitting still reading or working on math problems.

Dyllan is my biggest helper. he's almost 8 years old already!! he's been such a big help keeping an eye on the little ones when i'm cleaning up or going to the bathroom or something...and he's so smart too. school can be a battle though because he tries very hard to trick me into letting him escape some of his homework...most of the time it dosen't work though. still, i think both of us will be very glad when summer time comes and we don't have to do class every day...

Rob is working hard, almost finished with College! he's got one year left after this semester...he's also started at his new job back in December. he loves it. so much more flexibility than he had before.

and me, I'm joyfully blessed with a wonderful family that i thank God for every single day. oh sure some days are hard and stressfull, but most of the time I am surrounded by love and joy and wonderful chaos. :)

I asked God to show me his love,

I asked God to show me his love, and so he gave me a baby. As I held my new precious bundle in my arms, so full of love i could burst, God said to me
"The love you have for your child, those feelings you feel right now....that's how i feel for you, only i feel it a billion times more."

one of the closest things we get to understanding how much God loves us is by loving our own children. you see, we are God's children, crafted by his own hand. He loves us so much that he sent his own Son to die for us, wich the Son out of his own great love for us did so willingly with great joy! How many of us would gladly lay our lives down for our children? and God feels that a billion times more for each and every one of us. The only thing He asks for in return is that we love him back.

John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command." God wants our obedience not out of spite or force, but out of love, just as we want our children to obey not because we want to be the "boss" but because we don't want to see them get hurt or into trouble that following the rules can keep them out of.

today, when you go about your day remember that you are loved by an amazing creator that loves you billions of times more than you love your own children. ♥