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Lukas: "Mom, can we take showers tonight?" Me (after a REALLY long day): "Eh, I don't know that I'm up for that tonight." Lukas: "But we like being clean." Me: "Cleanliness is really overrated." Jacob: "But mom, our bodies are temples!" Me: "Fine." Lukas. . .who apparently "likes being clean"

To the manager at Chick-fil-A who quietly slipped a $100 gift card onto the windshield of my van while my family was inside enjoying lunch. . . .thank you. To the mechanics at a Sam's Club in New Jersey who repaired the flat tire on my van for free without even knowing that I was unexpectedly stuck in Philadelphia alone, with eight kids, for two weeks because of an amputation that resulted in a chronic wound. . . .thank you. To the stranger at a rest stop along the Pennsylvania turnpike, who must've noticed my tired expression as I piled out of the family restroom with all eight of my kids, and followed us out to our van just to tell me what a great job I was doing. . . .thank you. To my biological father who calls me every week (even though I am rarely able to answer the phone) just to tell me how proud he is and how much he loves me. . . . thank you. To my husband who came straight home from work on Monday morning and sent me to bed because I was so sick I could hardly stand...

On Saturday evening I had the privilege of attending the General Relief Society Broadcast. For those who are unfamiliar with "Relief Society," this is the organization within the LDS church for women 18+. The General Relief Society Broadcast occurs once every year and is comprised of inspirational messages from the churches leadership to women worldwide. This broadcast always occurs the Saturday following our anniversary. A week after Richard and I were married, I attended the broadcast. I do not remember all of the words that were spoken, but I do vividly remember walking out to my car that evening to go home. In the driver's seat were seven, beautiful roses (one for each day we had been married) and a card that read, "Thanks for an amazing first week. Looking forward to the rest of eternity!" Though I no longer receive roses on the seat of my car when I leave the broadcast each year, I know that I will find a loving, supportive husband at home who has fed, ba...

I love a good "Service Saturday!" This morning, Richard, the kids and I rose before the sun, donned our brightest apparel and ventured down to the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association Buddy Walk to represent Reece's Rainbow . Our family (as well as my parents and good friend, Stacey) had the privilege of sharing our passion for orphans with Down syndrome and other special needs with any and all who would hear our message. I was humbled as I watched my children eagerly walk through the crowds of people, passing out information and advocating for the children of Reece's Rainbow , whom they have come to love so dearly. Of course, the greatest privilege was the opportunity we had to meet so many wonderful people with Down syndrome, young and old, and all of the people who love and support them. There were over 2500 people in attendance and it moved me to tears as I watched this mass of people, this FAMILY (a family that we will soon be a part of as we welcome Benjamin a...

Nine years ago today I knelt across an altar from my best friend and I promised him eternity. A new family was created and a new journey began. We never could have imagined, as we walked out of the temple that day, where that journey would take us, but we knew the Lord had great things in store for us. We moved forward in faith and He has never disappointed! Most people refer to this day as their anniversary and we did too, until we began welcoming children into our family. We now refer to it as "Family Founders Day"; the birth of our family. It is a celebration of where our journey began and where it has since taken us. It is a day that we celebrate the sacredness, joy and blessings of marriage. We also celebrate each member of our family. Each Founder's Day we introduce our family theme and scripture for the year. This year our theme will be "Love one another" and the scripture, John 13:34-35: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; ...

Over the course of the past year I have received many requests to share information about our decision to homeschool and how we manage to do so with eight children between the ages of 4-9 (with the added challenge of special needs and English language learning). Rather than cover all of the ins and outs in one post, I have decided to divide and conquer in order to cover each aspect in more depth. Before I begin this series of posts, I would like to open the floor to my blog readers. What would you like to know? Ask me your questions, I'll give you my answers. . . . .

1. Yesterday, for practice reading, each of the kids read the BOB book entitled, "OK, Kids." The book begins, "Mom and Dad had ten kids." I chuckled as each of my kids declared, upon reading this, "Wow! That's a lot of kids!" I mean, really, who in their right mind has 10 KIDS!? 2. Yesterday, and again this morning, Lily proactively selected a book and brought it to me to read to her. I do individual story time with my children each day. Most of them initiate this on their own. Lily never has. I have always chosen the book (though I try to encourage her to make the choice) and invited her to read with me. She always enjoys the quality, one-on-one time, but she never initiates it. In addition to initiating story time, she also held on to my finger and moved it along the words as I read while trying to repeat what I was saying. She is making the connection! Have I mentioned that, in the past month, she has also learned to recognize all of her letters an...

What the title of this post should actually read is "Friday's Fabulous 40" because I am fairly certain that it has been THAT long since I have reported any happenings, fabulous or otherwise, from the Rieben roost. Let's face it, I am anything but a stellar blogger and the truth is, sometimes life just gets in the way. It is easy to justify why I simply don't have the time to sit down and blog, but then, in the midst of all of my justifications, I remember why I created this blog in the first place and I am reminded. . . .it isn't about me. It never was. So, it's time to suck it up and make the time, because the fact of the matter is, I believe that it is important to share these experiences and this journey with you. While it would be impossible to do justice to all of the "fabulous" moments that we have experienced over the past few months, I will once again attempt to redeem myself by sharing a small part of those things with you: 1. On July 8t...