Two nights ago

Thursday night around 8:00 we received a phone call from Albert's squadron wondering if we were safe. Safe from what? we wondered. The girl on the other end informed us that a city that marries up to the base was on fire. WHAT? We turned on the news immediately and found a huge wild fire about 5 miles east of us. Apparently it started burning around 2:00 pm. At the time we started tuning in, they estimated 50-100 homes completely engulfed in flames. The fires were so hot and so numerous that the fire department had to just stand by and watch them burn. It was too windy to use helicopters and the water buckets, then night swept in.  I'm not sure of the number of homes that were burned, or the final survey of the damage, but yesterday the news reported that these fires were set intentionally by a few teenagers. This fire stretched 10 miles and completely destroyed everything in it's path. My jaw dropped when I heard that it was started on purpose. 

I don't have any deep thoughts to share on the matter, just sadness for the families and thankfulness for God's grace. This is what we all deserve because of our sin, remember Sodom and Gomorrah? Yet God sees fit to save us from completely destroying ourselves. What an amazing God we serve!

The Octuplets

I just have to write something about this situation. There is a special on Dateline, so I might chat a little while they are interviewing her. Enjoy!

I think it is interesting that this Nadia's mother would not speak to Dateline, that seems a little odd. 

........ commercial break .........

Ok, back to the mother, Nadia. I read an article on her situation the other day, it was very interesting. My heart aches for her. She has been called all sorts of terrible names by people who do not even know her. I must admit that I do think she has a problem, a problem that a lot of women have. It seems that she has turned her worship, worth and life toward children. It seems that her need for children is really a distortion of her need for Jesus Christ. I don't think this is an uncommon issue among women, others just don't have a spotlight on them like this lady. 

........... back to the show ............

She had 6 children in 5 1/2 years. That would make me crazy being a happily married mama! I have to wonder if she would be given the same attention if she were happily married and having children in this time frame. Here is the question that offends me, "You have six healthy children, what would possess you to want another baby?" Again, I have to wonder if she would be asked this if she were married and having babies naturally. Our society certainly things six kids is more than enough. Heck, they think three kids is only acceptable if your first two are the same gender. And, if the third is the opposite, well then you must be done and tying the tubes! 

I have to wonder why the doctor harvested so many eggs to begin with. I totally understand why she did not want to throw any away, but again, why did they take so many to start with! She says that 6 embryos were implanted each time she went through IVF. Now they are questioning her for not "selectively eliminating" any of the babies. Again, if she was willing to throw a baby away, wouldn't she have done it before the implantation instead of after the babies started growing? The way the other people are talking about Nadia makes her sound like a baby hoarder for wanting to give all of her babies a chance at life. Ah, my thoughts are all over the place about this. 

Okay, that's enough commentating. I think we've all spent at least a few minutes thinking about this mother's situation. Like I said before, I think she is suffering from a problem that we all have. We are all created to worship the one true God, Jesus Christ, and we all turn that worship to sinful things. In this case it is having children and being a mother, for me it is often what people think of my parenting. The real issue here is not baby hoarding, but a heart issue. I think we should all be praying that this mother and all women who want children will first seek the will of our Father and have peace in His will.

(hope this makes a little bit of sense!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to all! Now the day is almost over and I still don't feel like it's Christmas time! It doesn't help that it was 60-70 degrees today and extremely muggy. The clouds looked like they should have been dropping snow, but they were merely holding moisture in the air. It does not help that Albert is at home (our house) and we are not. It just doesn't feel like Christmas.

Nonetheless, the hope of Christmas is alive and well. Christmas is the day that we celebrate the gift the creator of the universe gave us and the hope we have of eternity with Him. We have been reading the first part of Luke 2 in preparation for Christmas. I can not help but think of the individuals who were involved in that special nights. I think of Mary, the young girl was in labor and riding on a donkey. Now, I did ride in the car for an hour or so while in labor with Boaz, but I do not think it compares to riding on a donkey! I wonder what she was thinking. And Joseph, he probably delivered animal babies previous to this, but I have to wonder what was going through his mind! Was he a frantic first time father or was he calm and collected, confident in the adventure ahead? Mostly I have thought of the shepherds. It's no wonder the angel told them not to fear! I picture them sitting around a bonfire in the middle of a very dark field with only sheep around, then all of a sudden another being appears and talks to them. Yep, I would be fearful. Then, to receive such an amazing message. Their urgency in finding our Savior is the perfect response. 

I hope this Christmas has been special to you and you have reflected on the blessings and trials God has brought you through this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Ducks.

Pregnant Women in the Kitchen

I think it would be safer for all involved if pregnant women were not allowed in the kitchen. Or at least this pregnant woman might need to take a bit of a break from cooking. On Wednesday I baked some oatmeal raisin cookies. I have made these cookies several times before, but this time they ran all over the stone and look a bit more like pancakes than cookies. They still taste great, though are not very soft, but they look like pancakes. 

Yesterday was even worse! I woke up early to have a little time before all of the cooking began. The 22 lb turkey was in the oven by 8:00 and I was mixing everything up. After a couple of hours I hear a lot of popping in the oven, I opened the door and everything looked fine. So, I continued with the sides. All of the sudden my eyes are watering like crazy and I can hardly breath. Let me back up a minute first. The last time I went grocery shopping I bought a couple extra gallons of milk so that we would not run out over Thanksgiving. I put the two extra gallons in the deep freezer. I took one out on Wed. for it to start defrosting. Yesterday, in the midst of mixing and cooking, I noticed that the milk jug had cracked and there was cream all over the shelf. So, Albert was outside hosing out the milk jug when I started smelling smoke. I opened the oven to find 6-8 inch flames. Yes, a grease fire started in our oven. I rushed over to the window to yell to Albert that there was a fire. He ran in and got the fire extinguisher and put it out. I was so upset! All of that work down the tubes. Albert called the base police to let them know that we had a fire and it was out. He was so shaken up that he gave them the address of our rental property in Enid. So, the police never came. We ended up taking all of our sides over to our friend's house and cooking them and eating there. We were still full without the turkey, but it just wasn't a complete meal. I think the meat on the inside of the turkey would have been fine, but it was not finished cooking, so Albert just threw it away. A 22 lb. turkey went in the trash! My stomach still turns at the thought of this. At least we all got out safely and the house did not burn down. It was a rough day though.

Blogging Brain

Lately I have not been blogging much because I have not been able to think of much to write about and when Albert is home, I try to not sit on the computer as much. Well, today I went to the grocery store by myself and actually had a little time to think. I could not think too much because I forgot my list......... yes, that was frustrating, but I did let my brain wander a little.

I don't think I've written much about my thoughts on Boaz's cat-scan. It was a precautionary measure all along. The doctor said if he was not walking along the furniture by his 12 month appointment and his head continued to stay in a higher percentile than his body, she would like to do a cat-scan to make sure there wasn't anything extra growing up there. I left the appointment feeling a bit like I had failed Boaz as a mother. He was not physically where he needed to be, was this because I had not worked with him enough? Now that I am not reading "What to expect the first year" I don't even know what he should be doing or when. I mean, I knew he was behind, but I didn't think he was that far off. Also, I have not had any concern for the size of his head. His brother and cousin both have very large brains and very big heads. A week or so after his appointment I ran the scenario by a friend from church who is a pediatrician and sees Boaz almost every week. Instantly she said that she had been concerned about the size of his head. This information coupled with the fact that my mom had a brain tumor when she was a teen made me feel a bit more urgent. I called Monday morning to set up the appointment. I also started thinking that if there was anything wrong and we did not find out until the beginning of the year, any treatment could run into a newborn baby's arrival and I am not sure if I could handle all of that at once. So, the sooner the better. Still, I was not expecting them to find anything, but I just wanted to get it over with.

The cat-scan went very smoothly. We were called on a Tuesday morning and asked if we could bring him in at 8:00 the next morning. This did not leave much time for worry, which was great. We had a little bit of a wait and the boys switched hands in the process. So, when the lady called Boaz back, Albert was holding him. Now, I completely trust Albert, but I wanted to know every detail of what they did to him and how he did and what the machine was like and if she would give me any info or indication....... well, this does not happen when you are sitting in the lobby! So, Albert took him back and I just smiled to keep from crying and felt like I was glued to my chair waiting for my baby to come back to me. Canon played nicely with the toys in the waiting room and I waited. Before I knew it, Albert and Boaz walked back in and said we were done. Ahhh, I was glad it was over. I became a little anxious and was slightly comforted by it taking so long to receive the results. I felt that if there was something on his brain, we would hear something quickly and if there was nothing extra, they would take their sweet time. Well, I was right! It was just over a week, and several calls to the Dr.'s office, before we finally heard that the scan came back and everything was normal and they would see us at his 12 month appointment.

That day Boaz seemed to start doing the things that caused the doctor to be concerned. He started sitting up on his own, crawling a little, and tries to pull up some. I'm so thankful that we have the technology and insurance to check out any concerns we have of our little ones.

Safe in the Fold

Jesus my rock, my refuge, my all

In you will I trust, in you will I call

And praise you forever for blessings untold,

Your right hand upholds me

Though stormy the way

Though thunders may roll

Your spirit of peace shines in my soul

The sky may be cloudy and the night may be cold,

Yet under your watch care

I'm safe in the fold

Your right hand upholds me,

I'm safe in the fold

I'm safe in the fold

All glory to you

I look to the day when I enter through

The gates to the kingdom and worship to you

There I will ever be

Safe in the fold

Your right hand upholds me

I'm safe in the fold

I'm safe in the fold

Your right hand upholds me

I'm safe in the fold (repeat)

-Sons of Thunder

This song has been an amazing source of comfort through trials and celebrations over the last few months. Some of the times that I have cried out this song the most have to do with the expectancy of our newest little one and Albert's deployments. The truth in this song has brought me so much comfort.

Albert's deployments are always a challenge. I tend to sing this song, on repeat, after we have dropped him off or am just having a really hard day. I seem to feel wrapped in Jesus' arms when this song is pouring out of my heart.

I don't think I've expressed the emotional journey I've been on the last couple of months. I feel like I am on the right path now, but I was stubborn in getting here! When we first thought we were pregnant the test was not strongly positive or negative. Since I only take tests when I am pretty sure (very late) I am pregnant, so that I'm not wasting money, I was very surprised and saddened. A week later I took another test and I was shocked by the result. Yes, I am a woman who is still working on having self-control over my emotions! I laughed out loud and the questions for God started rolling. There were several times that I was at home and in a semi state of panic and turned this song on. I know the words of this song are true. I know that God has a plan for our family and this baby, but I could not shake the questions. The responses we have received from people we know and complete strangers has not been completely encouraging either! I often think "are we in a relationship close enough for you to say that?" or "maybe I should just smile and change the subject." I don't think I've seen eyes get any bigger or questions about birth control and surprise shoot out of people's mouths any faster then over the last several weeks. Well, while I've been having a pitty party God has continued His work. Thankfully! He has humbled me again and again and again. So much so that I sometimes find myself slipping into the opposite mind frame of "I'm not worthy!" Well, I'm not worthy and I know that I cannot make it through one day with out completely relying on HIM. He has reminded me of dear friends who desperately want a baby and has shown me families with 5 children 5 and under, 5 children 4 and under, added 6 children in three years to the previous 4 children.....making 10 children. I'm not even sure how I found some of these blogs and women. God has truly led me to some of the work He is doing. It has been so humbling and encouraging. These blogs have made me feel like a wimp and capable. I'm not saying that I won't dip on the roller coaster of life. I am still a sinner, but at this point I am able to be safe in the fold of my Father's wing knowing that He is in control and I am happy about it!

Please don't feel that we are unhappy about our Little Duck's arrival. I can hardly wait for him/her to arrive. I already have great plans for the bedding and am brainstorming coming home outfits, rearranging drawers and closets.....I just was very over whelmed thinking of how I was going to survive in my own strength. Well, I'm not going to survive in my own strength! This family is something that only God can handle and He is willing to take the lead from me! What a blessing!

Election

I promise not to get very deep with this, but I just have to say something. I am always a little overwhelmed with politicians and election time. I hate the commercials and "pick a side" mentality that lasts so long before the big day arrives. I do not enjoy the bickering back and forth and pointing out each other's weaknesses and failures. Is this how I want my children to interact? NOO! Personally, I'd rather hear exactly what each person wants to do and I can figure out the differences between the candidates.

Any who, a friend recently said something along these lines and it really has stuck with me: With the economy the way it is and the election coming up, maybe Americans need to realize that Christ is the only stable thing that we can rely on.

I'm not sure if that's exactly what she said, but that has been my thought each time I hear about the race. I do have to wonder what it is going to take for each individual, American and Immigrant, to realize that Jesus Christ is the only one we can count on. If it means Senator Obama is president, then God's will be done. If it means Senator McCain is president, then God's will be done. If it means we all have to rent because no one can pay their mortgage, then God's will be done. What is the focus of our lives? Is it serving Christ? Or is it seeking the "American Dream"? Is anyone really living "The American Dream"? When Moses left Pharaoh's house and visited the Hebrews, he left the American Dream and counted it a blessing to be tortured and banished for Christ's sake. What are we willing to sacrifice for Jesus Christ?

Also, I think we need to strive to be debt free. Maybe we all need a little lifestyle change!

Manager of my home

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about several books that I have been reading. Well, I've put most of them down and decided to read one at a time. This is a much better plan as my crazy brain cannot remember where I left off and bookmarks seem to disappear. So, while I have not finished Managers of Their Homes, I am trying to continue to implement the concepts. It has been a great source of organization for my days. Sometimes they still seem long and like they start off in a hurry and fully loaded, but we seem to be accomplishing something.

In the past week I have gotten my sewing machine out on a few occasions. I accumulated a ton of material while in Colorado this summer and have been waiting for this deployment to put it all together. Well, obviously I have also been putting it off. So, a few days ago I put my fears aside and got the machine out. I have some great anxiety about my machine, I feel very nervous and unsure of myself when I think about using it. But, when I actually get it out, I can figure it out. So, anyway, one night I cut most of the materiel. Over the course of a few different sittings, I have put a lot of it together. I've made baby blankets and burp cloths and my Halloween costume. I still have some work to do, but this is great progress.

So, with the help of Managers of Their Homes, I have organized my evening activities. This has been such a relief. We already have our baths and things like that scheduled, but I felt like I was still floundering a bit after the boys went to bed. So, now I am cleaning and prepping for the next day for about 30 minutes. (This actually was not scheduled but seems to happen anyway.) Then, every third night I either read, sew, or visit the computer. This plan has relieved me of some guilt of wanting to read and sew as often as possible and has helped me restrict my computer time. I think I am enjoying it already!

Little Boys, again

I knew there was more that I wanted to put on that post!

A few months ago Albert and I listened to a sermon that taught about the character of men. This has been a great inspiration for us in raising our boys and seeking out husbands for our daughters some day. The four roles of men are to be Providers, Protectors, Profits, and Priests.

Now, these are all roles that will hopefully be displayed throughout their lives and with everyone they run into, but they are definitely rolls that take training to develop.

My heart has smiled to see Canon learning some of these roles. He is not a Profit or a Priest yet, but he is learning a bit about being a Provider and Protector. He is often heard protecting Boaz and me. He will tell Boaz, "Do not pull my mama's hair." He has told me, "Do not eat BoBo's food." I think he might still be a little on the bossy side, but he is starting to look out for us.

He is a slight Provider with his willingness to help. He seems to enjoy having a job to do. I often ask him to put something in the sink or go find Boaz's paci. So, in this sense he is providing help.

Both of these are little, but hopefully will grow into an amazing young man some day.

Little Boys

I have recently been convicted of my seemingly lack of being mission minded. I want to reach out to others, but I am conflicted with reaching out and training within my home. I have not been able to discern whether this is the Holy Spirit or a lazy excuse, but I have recently found a great need and purpose to be working in my home. OK, so the peace or lazy excuse that I have found is this, I am reaching out to others by training my boys. They are the next generations leaders, husbands, employees, daddies, missionaries. If I train them well, only by a gift of God, they will have the potential to reach countless people. If we have 4 or 5 or however many children God wants us to have and they all know Christ and share Him with their children, that could easily turn into 20 Christians heading into the next generation and eternity with the Father. So, I must set about my work diligently and remember "where words are many, so are sins." That is a poor paraphrase, but it speaks loudly to me!

Thoughts

I feel like I post only about my children and the funny and crazy things that happen in our home. Well, God is doing a mighty work around here too and I'd like to share some of that with you.

For starters, I feel like the Holy Spirit has been putting several blogs and families in my path with very large families. This started out when I met a sweet couple last September who were due to have twins in February. These twins would be numbers 4 and 5 of 5 children 5 years old and under. I was pregnant with Boaz at the time. Recently I read a book called "Managers of Their Homes." In the back of this book there are 24 family's schedules typed out. A large amount of these families have 8 children. Even more recently I have stumbled upon SEVERAL blogs written by women who have 6, 8, and 10 kiddos. Most of them are middle school age and under. Frequently these families have newborn babies or are expecting a new arrival. These families are mixed with home grown little ones and adopted little ones.

Now, Albert and I have talked a fair amount about adoption, birth control, future babies and the like. We definitely feel like God is calling us to care for many children. When I was pregnant with Boaz, before any one knew, we found out that a young cousin was expecting a baby. We talked and prayed over this and offered to adopt this baby. As you know, this did not go through. Since having Boaz, we thought we'd like to wait a little while for our next bundle of joy and talked about looking into foster/adoption for number 3. God obviously has other plans and our own "home grown" number 3 will be arriving in April. We are excited for this little one's arrival but are very........well, I'm not really sure how I feel.

For those of you who have kept up with me on facebook, you know that I went through quite a struggle a few weeks ago. I have to admit that I have already been on an emotional journey and feel quite silly when I read of these ladies having many more children than 3, but this is still a big time in my life. I have struggled with wondering how in the world I will care for three children under three years old and clean my house and use my first energies for my husband. How am I going to care for them when Albert is gone? Why has God decided to give us another little one so soon? I have shamefully even gone so far to ask God if he is really sure this is a good idea. I feel like some of these concerns at least have a little backing. I had a cesarean with Canon and every piece of medical reporting says that the next baby should not be due less than 18 months out from a cesarean, especially for trying a VBAC. I felt like we already risked it once with Boaz and is this time going to be safe? I know that all of my questioning is a complete lack of faith in God and a desire to rely completely on myself and the doctors. But, I must be honest, this is where my thoughts have been. I have been completely reminded/convicted/challenged to rely completely on God. This is the battle/lesson that I wrote about on facebook. I cannot make it through one single day without God. Even now, with just the two and being pregnant. There is no way that I can eat enough or sleep enough to have the energy I need to do all that needs to be done in one day. Only the intervention of the Holy Spirit will fill that bucket. I am still learning this each day.

As I continue to learn more about parenting my boys and shepherding their hearts, I see that the task is even more overwhelming. I have a terrible memory already, how can I memorize all of the scripture that I need to know to train my boys in the way they should go? Maybe at this point I should just highlight and bookmark them. It wouldn't be so bad to pull out my Bible for some clear direction from God's word for the boys. Yes, Boaz is already needing some redirection and Canon is well into the years of discipline.

So, among my thoughts of worry and despair, I have a great many things to be thankful for. One is that I have not been physically sick from pregnancy one single time. This is completely from God's provision. With the boys I was sick very randomly and throughout pregnancy. To be 11 weeks and not be sick a single time is amazing. I am also thankful that my boys are so sweet and loving. Canon will often tell the baby good morning and kiss my belly. He is learning to be such a good big brother, I just have to be patient with him. Boaz is so loving as well. He has no idea about the baby, but he looks at his big brother with such adorning eyes. He seems to long to interact and play with him. Canon can often be heard making very loud noises and Boaz has recently started to enjoy mocking these. I'm sure the baby will start moving to the noises of his/her big brothers soon enough. Another thing I am thankful for is that God has helped me to persevere in a time of great trial. I have a very difficult time dealing with the emotional yo-yo of Albert being gone and the business of our home, but God has given me great success with little things throughout the day and big emotional things. I still have a long way to go, and I'm not sure that that makes sense to the reader, but just know that God is definitely working on me and I hope the fruit will start showing soon.

Our God is a mighty God and I am excited to train the next generation of daddies and mamas and husbands and wives. Right now we just have husbands and daddies to train, but maybe we'll have a little lady mixed in in the future.
In Christ,
Robin

Books

I'm not sure what the last book was that I read cover to cover, but I have got to share a couple of books with you! One of my dear friends has been a great source of wisdom for me. She has loaned me several books over the last few weeks and I am amazed at the information they contain. I can not help but share them with you. Now, I have not finished any of them yet because I am flipping back and forth between a couple and waiting for my own copies to arrive so I can mark in them, but so far they have really challenged me.

The Power of Enough is one book. This book has challenged me to clean out my clothing and really consider every item that I think about buying, including food. It has also challenged me to save more financially. I have really struggled with being content while we've been in Oklahoma and this book seems to have helped me put things in their place. I'm sure my husband's prayers have also contributed to this contentment and I am thankful for both!

The second book that I can't get enough of is: Managers of Their Homes by Steven and Terri Maxwell. This book has already done wonders for how productive my days are. The Maxwell's encourage scheduling out your whole day along with the kiddos. I am only doing a little bit of preschool, so the homeschooling part is not extremely applicable at this point, but the schedule of planned activities is! I have gotten more done by 8:30 a.m. the last two mornings than I have gotten done in several whole days! Including cleaning my back door, vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms. What a way to start the week! Every family could benefit from this book. Especially those of you with little ones!

One book that I am just scratching the surface on is Parenting in the Pews. It comes highly recommended and I am anxious to see how it will work for our little fireball. The sub-title is something along the lines of leading your children toward a heart for worship. We keep Canon in the sanctuary with us, by choice, and I want him to learn about Jesus and sitting quietly, but I am just not sure where to start. I am hoping, and have heard, that this book can help. I'll let you know.

The last book that I am still waiting for is Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp. This one has come highly recommended by three families completely unrelated to each other. I can not wait for it to arrive!

So, with our new schedule I am finally getting some much needed reading in and hope to had in some sewing in the next few days. Please let me know if you try out any of these books.....we could have a little book club!

Cycling through life

The other day I was checking out a few different websites and one of them had the most interesting advertisement on it. I have not been able to get it off my mind. Please let me know your thoughts on this.... especially you other women!

The add says "Cycling Naturally Through Life." I'm completely fine with that part. Under this is a three person bicycle. In the front is a young, thin woman, who is very stylishly dressed and has a very modern hair style. Behind her is a pregnant woman with a similar hair style and clothing style to the first woman, very chic. Then it seems to all go down hill. The last woman has a funky (not in the cool sense of the word) hair style, wide hips and jeans that come up to her true waist with her shirt tucked in tightly. Does this mean that we can be cool and "with it" through pregnancy, then we turn into "mom jean" wearers?? I don't think so! I will not be getting my hair cut in a way that has to be teased and I will not be wearing jeans that come up to my waist and tucking my shirt in to reveal all of my loose skin any time soon! Just because we have babies doesn't mean we let ourselves go. Can't we go back to the girl in front, just with looser belly skin?

Just a Mom

I think all of the stay at home moms will enjoy this one! I received this as an e-mail, but do not enjoy forwarding things on, so here it is for your convenience. Also, be aware that this blog may bring about a swelling of your pride. This is not the objective, but is likely to happen due to our societies lack of interest in our "career" of choice. Enjoy!

JUST A MOM?
A woman, renewing her driver's license at the 'S office, Was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. 'What I mean is, ' explained the recorder, 'do you have a job or are you just a ..?' 'Of course I have a job,' snapped the woman. 'I'm a Mom.' 'We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife' covers it,' Said the recorder emphatically. I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself In the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, Efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like, 'Official Interrogator' or 'Town Registrar.' 'What is your occupation?' she probed. What made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out. 'I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.' The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and Looked up as though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, In bold, black ink on the official questionnaire. 'Might I ask,' said the clerk with new interest,'just what you do in your field?' Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, 'I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't) In the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out). I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family) And already have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) And I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers And the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.' There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she Completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door. As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, Testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had gone on the official records as someone more Distinguished and indispensable to mankind than 'just another Mom.' Motherhood! What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title on the door. Does this make grandmothers 'Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations' And great grandmothers 'Executive Senior Research Associates?' I think so!!! I also think it makes Aunts Associate Research Assistants.'