Seeing the Fingerprints

Pencil Gremlin

2012-02-08T10:45:00.000-06:00

Pencils.

Over the years we have lost and found and lost again a multitude of pencils.

It always amazed me how my boys could lose their pencil while they were sitting at the table and doing their work. They didn't even get up and they'd lose their pencil. I was almost convinced that there was a pencil gremlin in the house who would sneak around and take the pencils of unsuspecting students.

Oh, wait, there have been several pencil gremlins in the house......toddlers.

Anyone else have tots who like to bite the erasers off of pencils?????

Things have changed around here, though.

Cale now has a love of mechanical pencils.

And he manages to keep track of the one that we have and use it for his work daily.

Joe bought a pen on his recent scout trip to the USS Kidd.

He has faithfully used that pen for his schoolwork every day since.

He thinks he can't do his work without that pen. I'm still thinking that math and ink don't work together, but as long as he is getting it done legibly I'm not gonna fuss.

I'm wondering what happened to these boys who once couldn't keep track of a pencil for an hour.

And how can I make it happen a little sooner for boy number three.........

Love and Gratitude

2012-02-07T10:23:00.000-06:00

It is February and "love" is in the air. Well, at least there is red and pink and lacy things all over the stores and commercialism would have us believe we can buy love.

Personally, I do not like Valentine's Day.

It is another one of those obligatory, forced holidays.

I'd rather give and receive love that is genuine.

But, I do believe in working on marriage and love. I've shared before how feeling love is not always there in the marriage and how I think love is in the choices we make and the direction we choose to go with the little things we do each day.

One of the things we have done is to keep little notebooks in the bathroom. Every day I would try to think of one thing for which I was thankful for my husband and write it in his notebook. When I started this exercise I had a lot of negative thoughts toward my husband. Writing in the notebook was my way of trying to transform my mind and direct my thoughts toward the positive. Some days it was really, really hard for me to think of just one thing to be thankful for. That is more an indication of what a dark place I was in than it is of how "bad" my husband was. This all really did help me because I found myself looking for the good throughout the day so that I would have something to write down. I started noticing more good things about him and in turn really appreciating him more.

It was interesting to note that I focused on writing down things that he did, on actions, like "he changed the baby's diaper" or "he went to work and brought home a paycheck."

What he wrote in my notebook was mostly about my appearance or physical intimacy. We men and women sure do have different love languages!!!! It was hard for me to accept his praises for a long time. Especially if we wrote something nice about a part of my body that I did not like about myself. It was a very growing experience.

It has been awhile since we have written in our notebooks. There were some things in there I didn't want a child or guest to pick up and read and somewhere along the way the notebooks got put up in the linen closet in our bathroom. Maybe we will resurrect that practice this Valentines? I know I still have to take my thoughts captive and choose to focus on the positive. It is much easier to do now; I think because I have internally practiced doing it for years.

Gratitude notebooks are something I encourage you to give a try.

"New" Car

2012-02-04T18:02:00.001-06:00

My Beloved bought a commuter car for himself today.

It's a 2001 Camry with a LOT of miles on it, but in good condition.

It gets more than twice the gas mileage of our other vehicles and carries half the number of people.

With gas prices currently over $3.25 a gallon it will really add up.

This little car will be great for him to take to work and for running little errands around town, especially if we have a doctor appointment on the other side of the city.

Oh, and then there is the teen factor.

The big boy will be fifteen in a matter of weeks and he is already studying for his driver's permit.

This will be a good car for him to learn on, but it will still be his Dad's car.

We've always said that we think the children should save up money to buy their own vehicles.

We'll see how that plays out now that we are actually entering this phase of life.

Personally, we always try to pay cash for our vehicles and not carry a loan. We are trying to instill these ideals in our children. This is all new territory for us as parents and I, for one, am proceeding with caution.

Puppy Love

2012-02-02T19:56:00.003-06:00

Aren't these puppies adorable??????

We loved snuggling with them at a friend's house this afternoon.

They are little bitty Yorkshire Terriers and they are precious. If I thought for a minute they'd survive in our house, I might be tempted to buy one. But I know they'd never survive here.

They'd get loved to death. Or stepped on. Or something like that.

Hope tells me daily, without fail, that she wants a dog for her birthday in October.

She has her little heart set on it.

Maybe if our house sells and we are moved someplace with a big yard, I might be willing to get her a Golden Retriever since they are so good with children.

And big and tough and not likely to get smooshed by little folk.

Unsettled

2012-02-01T10:37:00.001-06:00

Have you ever felt the presence of evil?

I wish I could say that I haven't.

I could feel eyes with evil thought/intent on me and my girls the other day as we were out in the neighborhood. There was a man doing yard work for one of our neighbors and he kept stopping and staring at me and the two of my girls that were with me visiting another neighbor outside. It made me want to stand between him and the girls. Mind you, I am accustomed to people staring at my family due to the number of children we have. But this was different and my spirit has been unsettled ever since.

I hate that it was at home and he knows where we live. I just feel on edge about it and I'm having to wage battle in my mind as I know that a spirit of fear is not from God. I put my trust in Him.

Weekend Doings

2012-01-31T16:33:00.000-06:00

Papaw came to visit this weekend!

We played ping pong after lunch on Sunday.
That ping pong set was one of the best $5 I've spent for family fun.

Then all the neighborhood children came over to play out back for a couple of hours bringing the total of children to eleven. Everyone had a big time. That was more noise than Papaw has been inundated with in a long time, bless his heart.

We had our Fifth Sunday singing at church Sunday night. We always taking a whole service to just sing and share testimonies and devotionals. Hope (4) stood up front and recited Ephesians 2 : 8-9 from her memory work. The other children didn't want to participate this time around.

After church we had friends over to the house and ordered pizzas....yummy fun!

Monday night was our Court of Honor. Cale promoted to First Class Scout and was also awarded a merit badge for Citizenship of the World. He has to do some service project hours and then he will have earned his Star Rank.

Oh, and we tore wallpaper and chair rail off the walls in the dining area and garage entry....

it looks AWFUL right now. If I have my way (and if we can find the old can of gray paint), I will be painting over that red tonight!

Have no idea when the wainscotting will go up....that is not my department.

But since the foreman of that department will be reading this.........it sure would be nice if it was done by this weekend!!!!!!

Bath Time

2012-01-25T13:50:00.001-06:00

A quick page I put together while eating my lunch today.

We don't often have the luxury of bubble baths in our house.

With so many little ones and so few tubs, getting clean is more of a factory-style event.

I have been showering all three girls together until recently. Now I shower the younger two and while I'm getting them dried up and combed, etc, Joy takes a shower by herself. Now that she is six, she is suddenly more modest and also able to wash her own hair, etc.

It's kinda funny that she and Kade both became more self-conscious about the same time. I guess that is the difference between boys and girls. None of my boys seemed to notice or mind their lack of clothing until about the age of eight. Joy arrived at this awareness right about the time she turned six.

Anyhow, every now and then I will allow a bubble bath for a special treat, especially if they've been out playing in the cold and need to warm up.

I have gotten to where I really enjoy a bubble bath myself especially if I am chilled and can't seem to get warm otherwise. Too bad my long legs have to prop up on the wall in order for my main body to fit in the tub. I enjoy it nonetheless.

Potty Training

2012-01-23T13:57:00.000-06:00

I can't believe these photos are from a year ago. I've gotten just a bit of work done on little one's album lately. She still doesn't like to get any kind of mess on her. If so much as a drop of water gets on her shirt, she thinks she has to change immediately.

This week I am trying to get her completely potty trained.

I loathe potty training, but it is past time to for her to be proficient in this area.

Although, if she does train completely this week, she will be trained at the youngest age of any of my children. She is ready.

Journal

2012-01-21T15:45:00.000-06:00

In my life this week…

We've had two bugs going thru the crew over the past week. One is a head cold and the other a tummy bug. No one had both at the same time until Thursday evening when I got to be the lucky one to come down with both simultaneously. Needless to say, there wasn't much school going on this Friday. My beloved started in with the cold last night so today we are just hanging out together sharing a box of tissues.

In our homeschool this week…

I had written up a new schedule for our school day a week or so ago. I love how it all looks on paper and flows so seamlessly. In reality, we have had one and a half days this week where we were truly on schedule and I sure did cherish those days!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

I've already shared that the scouts went on a big trip over the holiday weekend. Other than that, Hope had her first dentist appt. this week. She has two small cavities....guess I should have taken her in before the age of four, eh?

On Friday, the girls started swim lessons again. This time, little Faith is doing lessons, too. They love their lessons and have learned so much. Faith did great with her first lesson. I expected her to scream, but she was so excited. She wasn't too happy about bobbing under water and had quite the unhappy face during that part of the lesson. I'll have to take my camera next week to see if I can capture that.

The neighborhood children have been coming over to play a LOT since Christmas break. Mostly I request that they all play in our backyard so that I can keep tabs on my younger ones, but the boys do love to ride scooters out in the street.

My favorite thing this week was…

Joe playing finger songs with Faith. She loves to sing "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" with him and do the hand motions. He is great to do it over and over and the sound of their laughter together is precious. I love seeing my older children cherishing their young siblings. They truly enjoy one another.

Questions/thoughts I have…

I am contemplating volunteering to rock babies in the NICU at one of the hospitals in the city. There was a little write-up about it in last Sunday's paper and it has been on my mind since then. I absolutely love babies and it would be such a privilege to hold and cuddle those wee ones.

Things I’m working on…

I finished painting the built-in desk in the kitchen this week and have been trying to organize and move stuff back into it. The cabinets above the desk have glass in the door which I had always kept covered with fabric to hide the mess in the shelves. But I have now decided to keep the glass uncovered and try to make it look cute, yet functional. It was hilarious when we put the doors back up the other night and twelve-year-old Joe looked at them in astonishment and said, "There is glass in those doors!" He had apparently never noticed over the past ten years we have lived here.

I’m reading…

I have just finished reading "Growing Up Amish" by Ira Wagler. I also just received my new ESV Literary Study Bible. I am looking forward to reading through the Bible again from a literary perspective.

I’m cooking…

uh, no, I'm not. I've been throwing together pathetic attempts at meals from what is in the freezer.

I’m grateful for…

food in the freezer!

The mostly warm winter we have had.

Six beautiful, healthy children.

I’m praying for…

A woman named Becky whom I do not know, but she is a mother of five and she suffered a major heart attack last weekend and wasn't expected to survive. God is working miracles there and she continues to need prayer for restoration and healing.

We are also praying for like-minded friends with children similar ages as our own.

A photo to share…

Abundant Acorns

2012-01-19T18:10:00.001-06:00

We have lived here for ten plus years now, but I have never seen so many acorns in our yard as there are this year. There are thousands of them to the point where it is quite dangerous to walk across the yard on the slippery things. After turning my ankle for the umpteenth time, I decided today was the day to rake those buggers to the curb. The girls think it is fun to pick them up and put them into a bucket, too.

They are tickled when they pick up one that has already begun to take root and they can see the split shell and the long tendril reaching down.

Faith tried on big brother's new glasses this morning. I couldn't pass up such a photo op.
Her hair had so much static in it!
She is such a busy little body. She fills our days with laughter at her many antics.

Scout Trip

2012-01-18T23:45:00.001-06:00

My big guys spent the holiday weekend on a scout trip to Louisiana.

I stayed home with the younger children and relaxed, did school work, watched TV, cleaned out the garden, took them to the playground, played on the computer, etc.

I thought I'd treat the children to lunch at McDonald's one day while the guys were gone, but when I pulled into the parking lot Kade and Joy chorused, "Ewwww, gross! I hate McDeath, yuck!"

And so, I got Happy Meals for the youngest two girls (I would normally not get kids' meals) and a little something for myself and nothing for those two. They quickly changed their tune and declared that chicken nuggets are good, but alas it was too late for them.

Say what you mean and mean what you say.

They were treated to PB&Js at home.

Bifocals and a Baby

2012-01-13T19:53:00.000-06:00

So I went to the eye doctor last week and came out with a prescription for bifocals.

I will be turning forty in February. The number doesn't bother me. I don't feel old inside or anything.
I don't feel like the good life is over or any such drama. But, I have to say I don't care for some of the changes in my body. I think I've shared before that I've gained around 20 pounds in 2011. Middle age spread is real, folks. I have always been blessed with a high metabolism and could eat whatever I wanted without gaining a pound nor an inch. This is no longer true and I'm not adapting well to the new reality.

There has been another big change, too.

This past week, I had a miscarriage. Statistically, I know that as my husband and I get older pregnancy loss is much more likely. While we weren't trying to have another child, the loss of one still grieves my spirit. I am doing well now. I was only six weeks along. This loss has been much easier physically and emotionally than when we lost Grace at eighteen weeks gestation.

The children are disappointed. Kinkade really wanted a baby brother and has been praying for one for several months now. Joe and Kade especially felt it was important that we name this wee one, so my beloved and I have settled on the name Jordan. It is fairly gender-neutral and somewhat poetic as this child has crossed over the river, so to speak, to a better place.

While I do not understand why the Lord allows us to conceive a child only to take that child away so soon, I thank Him for the opportunity to bear a new soul. I trust that He has a plan that I simply can not see from this side.....not even with bifocals.

Transitions

2012-01-03T12:19:00.000-06:00

I love this picture of the family for the most part except that my glasses are dark.

I got transitions lenses a couple of years ago.....the last time I bought glasses.

I can not say that I like them.

My main reason for choosing transitions was so that I would not need a separate pair of sunglasses to keep track of....especially to wear while driving.

What I did not realize is that the transitions lenses do not work inside the car. I think it is due to the UV coating on the windshield that keeps the lenses from darkening. I have been very disappointed as a result. Then there is the weirdo factor. The glasses take quite a bit of time to change from dark to normal after entering a building from bright outdoor light.

I look totally weird with dark glasses on inside stores.

But, today is the day I have been waiting for!

With the new year comes new money in the FSA account and I have an eye doctor appointment today.

I've been looking forward to this for months as my eyes have changed and I am needing a new scrip.

Not only will I be going, but Joe is getting his eyes checked today and we fully expect that he will be getting his first pair of glasses. He is less-than-excited at the prospect, but he recognizes his need.

So, we will be starting off our new year with new vision!

Zoo Crew

2011-12-30T20:07:00.000-06:00

Here is a look at what we did today. The absolutely beautiful weather necessitated time spent outdoors.

We picked up Daddy after work at 2:00 and hit the zoo.

We are looking forward to many more trips there in the coming year.

We didn't have a membership last year, so we haven't been in over a year. This was our first time to see the new penguin display that opened last spring. They are a favorite with all of us and we are so glad that our zoo finally got some. All the animals were very active today and it was a fantastic trip.

Pass the Peanuts

2011-12-29T07:38:00.001-06:00

Last night we ate at a Chinese food buffet. This is the first time we have done so since Kinkade passed his peanut challenge in November. It struck me how far we have come. In the past, going to a Chinese buffet was akin to walking across a mine field with the allergies in our boys. There was a time when the only thing Joe could eat there was white rice and Jell-O. The risk for cross-contamination is high and there are a number of items that contain egg or peanut....neither of which Joe could eat for many years.

Last night we were able to get pretty much anything we wanted from the buffet, though the Cashew Chicken is still off-limits. It was so nice to not have to think about or worry over what the boys were putting on their plates. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal very much.

I am so thankful to have reached this point in our allergy journey.

I praise the Lord that both boys have passed their peanut challenges since statistically only 20% outgrow peanut allergies. Very, very thankful.

Our Christmas

2011-12-27T10:23:00.000-06:00

I think I shall try to blog via scrapbook pages. Photos, stories, and multi-tasking. I love efficiency!

Mom, Have You Eaten.....???

2011-12-20T13:49:00.001-06:00

My little ones are so funny to me sometimes.
Quite often in their conversations I will hear them say, "Mom has eaten that." Or they'll be talking about some animal and stop and say, "Mom, have you eaten ______?"
They have a mixture of awe and mortification that I have eaten "strange" things. Of course, I am referring to some of my picky eaters here and strange is a broad range of things for them.

So, what have I eaten that leaves them wondering?

there are the typical cow and chicken parts from the average diet

Add to that:

buffalo

elk

deer

rabbit

squirrel

bear

duck

goose

turkey

quail

dove

crab

lobster

shrimp

squid

shark

scallops

and

a variety of freshwater and saltwater fish

I am not interested in eating crawdads or frog legs....or chitlins or pickled pig's feet.

I'm not that southern.

I don't think my list is all that unusual.

I'm sure some of you have eaten a wider variety of foods.

What is the most unusual thing you have eaten?

I've been thinking about what I said about marriage and I don't want it to come across the wrong way.

First of all, I meant it toward Christian couples, not to those who are not believers or those who are unequally yoked. And I don't think anyone should stick around in a terribly abusive situation or a situation where the children are put in danger. That is my opinion.

Now for those who are unequally yoked, I do think God directly addresses that situation in His Word and it would be up to the individual to seek Him for wisdom and guidance.

Each relationship is so different and unique and there so many different seasons in our lives.

I just get to a point when, in short time, I hear about 3 different Christian families who are indeed divorcing that I want to scream at the devil for his work and his lies.

I feel sorrow for the couples and the pain they have experienced and will continue to endure as they try to tear their one-ness apart.

And for the children.....the sorrow is greatest for them.

What I most want to convey is that our God is big and He is good and when we seek Him and find our fulfillment in Him, then there is hope. He heals and he works in the hearts of men.

We all have struggles and trials and valleys.

We are all human and have expectations and sin and failures.

We are all vulnerable to stray or to be selfish.

We all need His grace.

I don't want it to sound as though I have "arrived" or that I am condemning those who have been or are headed toward divorce. I know all too well that I am still vulnerable and fallible and who knows where life will find me even a year from now?

I just wish life didn't have to be so hard and ugly.

I have had this hymn going through my head lately:

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

May we all be God-focused today.

(Sort-of) Weekly Journal

2011-12-18T17:29:00.001-06:00

In my life this week…

I've been moving furniture again. This time I stopped the first time my back complained......see, I do learn from my mistakes! I waited for my husband to get home to finish the moving of the huge desk.

In our homeschool this week…

We schooled Monday through Wednesday and took off Thursday and Friday. We will follow the same schedule this week, with only three days of school.

My 2nd grader has finally stopped reversing his J's. This is a huge deal since he uses "J" for his name.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

On Thursday we went caroling at the Children's hospital with our co-op group. The children sang for about 45 mins and it was broadcast on the in-hospital station to the TVs in all the offices and rooms. I kept little Faith out of the picture, but Hope did really well to stand and smile and occasionally sing for the duration of the "concert."

Speaking of concert.....Daddy took Kade, Joy, and Hope to the symphony last night for a holiday concert. They came home full of exuberance to share their experience. It was the first time for the girls to attend and they loved it.

The girls wore their favorite hairstyle. Best yet, it creates lovely curls for the next day :)

My favorite thing this week was…

several times this past week I have seen different siblings helping out the two youngest girls with things like drinks or snacks without being asked to do it.

Questions/thoughts I have…

I'm thinking heavy thoughts about marriage. It is hard work and I believe the devil has been quite busy with planting seeds of disharmony to steal and destroy families. My husband recently received word that he may be subpoenaed to testify in a divorce case of one of his friends. Sadly, this is not the first time we have gone through that scenario.

We have had our ups and downs. I still catch little thoughts coming into my mind from time to time about the "what ifs" or pure discontent with my husband's quirks or whatnot. The trick is to take those thoughts captive and submit them to the Lord. We make choices daily toward love or away from love. Love is a decision and action.

There are seasons in every marriage where there are deep valleys. I've had times when I did not like my husband, much less feel any love for him. I'm sure he could say the same of me. There have been other seasons when I have struggled with depression and it is hard to love anyone when you are in a pit. Sometimes we need outside help from Godly friends or Biblical counselors. We have sought Biblical counseling in our own marriage in the past and the Lord used it mightily to bring beauty from ashes in our relationship.

Things I’m working on…

Christmas cards, Christmas crafts, I'm working on Christmas! LOL

I’m reading…

I just received my first copy of Home Educating Family and I'm liking what I'm reading.

I’m cooking…

Mmmmm....I made a terrific pumpkin pie last night for our lunch with friends today. So good.

I’m grateful for…

The grace and blessings of our Lord. He is so good to us and has already given us all that we need for our lives and the pursuit of Godliness.

I’m praying for…

the hearts of the couples we know to be turned toward their spouses and children. For protection for the families in our circle from the attacks of the enemy. We've been through this so many times in the past 18 years of our marriage and it always makes us feel like the wind has been knocked out of us.

A Funny

The other day Faith (age 2) stuck her little hand in my desk drawer and fished around....naughty child. She found a couple of pennies and pulled back her hand with them in her grip and a victory shout of, "YES!"

Birthday Number Six

2011-12-16T14:34:00.000-06:00

Our oldest girl had a birthday.

She is always making herself a little clubhouse using all the sheets and blankets she can gather. It had really gotten out of hand in some ways, not to mention how much extra laundry it was creating.

So, for her gift, her Daddy and I put together a PVC pipe frame, painted it with pink glitter and tied on a bunch of fun ribbons. She can top it off with her butterfly blanket or leave the top part open.

It'll be a great place to read or nap or just hang out.

She is tickled pink over it to say the least.

She also got a new Fancy Nancy book and a Madame Alexander doll from her Grammy.

Her brother gave her his Leapster Explorer to keep for her own. She is thrilled with that and he was happy to give it to her.

She had lunch at Chick-fil-A with her best friend....actually our two families together.

Fun times, but sad because her bff is moving away tomorrow.

Using What We Have

2011-12-13T13:32:00.002-06:00

I read the Duggars' first book a couple of years ago and one of the things they do in their family is to have lockers for each of the children to store their personal prized possessions.

In a family with a wide range of children and ages, this becomes an issue. Even with two kids it can be an issue. "Johnny got into my ______ and he messed it up!" etc.

With little kids and much-bigger kids living in close quarters and/or sharing a room it can be exacerbated to say the least.

In the past I have tried having special boxes for each child on the top shelf of the closet. The taller children can reach their own stuff and the littles can't, problem solved, right?

Wrong.

There arises issues with children leaving their boxes down in which case I am unsympathetic because they were irresponsible. Or the latest allegations of "They climbed up there and got my box down."

Plausible.

I hate being detective and judge and almost refuse to do it.

So anyway, I've been having Duggar-envy. I've looked at lockers online both retail and on Craigslist.

Do you have any idea how expensive lockers are? Sticker shock!

I've watched the classifieds give-away section.

I even asked a local teacher when they moved into a new school.

I thought I just had to have lockers to solve the problem.

And then I was cleaning out the attic and garage and I saw my old trunk from college....

BINGO!

OK, so it's not perfect, but it is a current solution using what we already have on hand.

I hold the only key to the lock...though the original lock is long-ago broken.

Each child has their own 2 gallon zipper bag in which to store and lock away things they really care about. For my four-year-old that consists of a collection of special rocks she has found :)

Whatever. It is theirs and they don't want their sibs to touch it.

They all seem happy and/or bemused with my latest attempt at solving their plight.

I am just hoping for a bit of peace and less squabbling.

Stretching

2011-12-05T17:37:00.001-06:00

Painting faces......just for fun.

Another simple activity to tie heartstrings with my children.

I've been on an organizing kick the past few days.

I finally got all of our warm weather clothes put away in storage tubs and dragged out the warmest of sweaters that were still hanging out in those same tubs. So glad to have that done.

Then I cleaned out the laundry room cabinets, etc. and ripped out the one shelf and added a five shelf unit that has been hanging out in the garage. Sometimes I just have to re-think our space.

I was so proud of myself for doing it all without my husband's help. The inspiration hit me late at night and he'd already gone to bed. I was doing great until I reached behind the dryer to pick up something that fell down and pulled/twisted/popped something in my shoulder. I went down on my knees and cried like a baby :( It's been a couple of days now and its doing okay...not much pain now.

It was simple stretching that hurt me and not the moving of heavy furniture and appliances.

That just seems wrong.

I guess my life is kinda like that.

I've gone through some really heavy times that have made me stronger, but other times when God has asked me to simply stretch out of my comfort zone I whine and cry.

Perhaps if I exercised my faith more daily, I wouldn't fuss so much and "hurt" myself when I am asked to stretch.

Almost Finished

2011-11-28T17:30:00.001-06:00

We're getting there!

Still have one more coat of paint on those back cabinets to do and we really need to paint the ceiling.

Wainscott will come with time. I think we'll go with white wainscotting in the dining area and hall.

We'll keep a cream color above the cabinets and on the top of the dining area, I think.
I'm trying to embrace and work with the color of the formica countertops.

I have no idea how to take photos to capture how pretty the lights are when they are on instead of them just looking like a burst of white light. It is a completely different atmosphere in the kitchen with the new lighting and I love it. I'm so thankful my Dad was here to help my husband with that project.

We might move the island lights over to the center. It is there just because that is where the junction box was for the florescent light before.

Another shot at what the lights really look like:

Weekly Musings

2011-11-27T16:51:00.001-06:00

In my life this week…

It was a busy, busy week. My parents came to visit for Thanksgiving. They arrived Wednesday and left this morning. Mom and I did some Black Friday shopping and my husband and father worked on kitchen lighting together. They brought their little dog and the girls enjoyed cuddling with him continually. The boys were most interested in borrowing the electronic notepads to play games. They've played their share of Angry Birds this weekend.

In our homeschool this week…

We didn't do much in the way of school as we took off Wednesday through Friday. We did complete a service project by stuffing about fifty bags that will be on their way to Honduras soon with a missionary.

My favorite thing this week was…

I really enjoyed making a big feast for Thanksgiving. It is a lot of work, but I enjoy cooking special meals for family and friends. I think my most favorite time was sharing five blessings each during our family time on Thursday.

On My Mind......

Today my heart is very heavy. It was hard to say goodbye to my folks this morning. They live so far away and we never know when we will see each other again.

Then this afternoon we said goodbye to our pastor and his family. They are moving to another town several hours away as he has accepted a call to another church. This was his last Sunday here. Their children are the same ages as our younger four. It is breaking my heart to think of how much my children are going to miss their friends. Ours will be the only little ones in the church now as we've had so many move away over the past year. I've been crying off and on all afternoon. Good-byes are so hard!

Things I’m working on…

We've been finishing up the kitchen. We have to wait for Lowes to get in a new shipment of pendant globes this week so we can finish our lights, but otherwise they are all installed and it looks great! The difference from that old florescent light to the new lighting is incredible. I still need to do one more coat of paint on some of the cabinets and at some point I will clean out our built-in desk and paint that, too.

I’m reading…

Weird by Craig Groeschel.

I’m grateful for…

Friendships. Our lives have been so full and even though we feel like we are losing friends, I am glad we had the time together that we did.

I’m praying for…

A dear friend is undergoing testing for Alzheimer's. The doctor is fairly certain that is what is going on, but they need to do some more to confirm the diagnosis. It is terribly difficult to see our friends hurting and facing this trial. I remember the last time I saw my Grandma before she passed from Alzheimer's and I just can't imagine that future for our friends. He is just a little older than my husband and this just doesn't seem right or fair. Makes me long for our Heavenly home all that much more when we won't face separations and diseases and pain any more.

A photo to share…

Grammy gave the girls their first big girl dolls for their birthdays this year.

The girls are thrilled with the dolls and all the clothes that came with them.

Funky

2011-11-25T21:30:00.001-06:00

Just thought I'd check in. The kitchen is coming along nicely. My beloved painted the oven drawer a nice black today and it looks great now. Tomorrow he and my father will be installing can lights and possibly new pendant lights over where the island would be. We'll see.

We're having a nice holiday.

I cooked a ton yesterday. We had:

Brined Roasted Turkey....it was perfectly yummy and moist

Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Country Club Squash (my Grandmama's recipe)

Turkey stuffing

Parmesan Asparagus

Creamy Corn

Canned Cranberry Sauce (it is a favorite with my husband and sons)

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Apple Pie

I actually went to some big sales today and got some amazing deals. I didn't go out til after 9 a.m. and the crowds weren't too awful, just some busy stores.

I'm in a bit of a funk.

I'm contemplating letting go of my blog and instead focusing on getting back to digital scrapbooking.

I haven't scrapped much since June and I really do want to leave each of my children a special book of their own. I'm thinking I could better use my time to do their books rather than a blog.

I dunno.

Won't make a big decision on that for a bit yet.

247*365 Cup Parking

2011-11-19T22:31:00.001-06:00

Doing this kitchen project has prompted me to re-think a lot of things.

I was also inspired to finally tackle the problem of children needlessly getting multiple cups throughout the day. They'd forget which one was theirs and I'd have glasses all over the island and counters.

When I was cleaning out the cabinets I discovered this old cutting board and the light bulb in my head went off. Now there is a place for everyone's cup. All I have to do now is train them to use the board and park those cups where they belong. So far it is going well.

I also ditched our traditional silverware organizer. Let's face it, with a family our size we have more than the usual number of eating utensils. I thought these baskets would fit our larger number of forks and spoons quite nicely. Gotta love the dollar store.

I also cleaned out my baking, etc. cabinet.

I now have all of our vinegar and oils together.

A shelf for oatmeal and granola toppings.

Bread making ingredients are stored together.

The whole thing just makes me feel better and like I know where to find things.

Who needs a fancy-schmancy label-maker when there is painter's tape and a Sharpie on hand?

Maybe someday I'll get around to putting pretty contact paper and cute labels on my recycled containers. That is so not a priority right now.

246*365 Progress

2011-11-18T13:15:00.001-06:00

The kitchen looked like this ^ before.

Now we still need to do the doors.......

I am thinking of replacing the florescent fixture in there, but not sure with what. Maybe can lights.

Also considering replacing the oven hood with either something black or stainless.

And possibly painting the drawer under the oven black, too.

We are going to need to paint the walls and the space above the cabinets soon.

I'm not sure what color to go with, but maybe a very light blue????

Any suggestions?

Somehow I ended up with extra cabinet space when I cleaned out and organized.

That is a good thing.

And since I re-organized and moved things around, I can't find anything in my kitchen.

Cooking for Thanksgiving will be quite interesting if I don't know where anything is.

My child who does not do well with change is also the child who is responsible for emptying the dishwasher. He is really struggling today with where to put things and is bristling at the fact that I moved stuff. He said, "Couldn't you just paint and not change where things go?"

I've assured him that we will all adapt quickly enough to the new set-up.

Now to paint those doors......

245*365 Kitchen Makeover In Progress

2011-11-16T14:31:00.001-06:00

This is what I've been doing today.

Hope to have it all done by next Monday.

Well, except the desk and the island. Haven't even begun on those yet.

They can wait until after Thanksgiving.

244*365 Overheard

2011-11-14T12:39:00.001-06:00

Ah, it is so good to be home!

We left for Branson on Thursday afternoon and returned Sunday evening.

We spent Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar City.

We chose to go at this time so we could see the fantastic Christmas lights. "Everyone" has told us about the lights there and so we thought this would be a good part of our Christmas for the children.

The lights were very nice....all four million of them.

I did not care so much for trying to keep track of one another in the dark, but overall the children had a grand time. Joe rode his first big roller coaster, Wildfire, which goes upside-down. He LOVED it.

Joy and Kade enjoyed everything they rode except the big coaster Thunderation.

Joy rode next to Daddy and held onto him for dear life. Poor thing was terrified.

I was shocked that she was big enough to ride in the first place.

Kinkade just keeps saying, "I'm so glad I didn't die on that ride."

He has no interest in getting on it again any time soon.

On another note.......

we stayed in a cabin while we were there.

We had a nice breakfast the first day, but then I went and got some pre-packaged muffins.

Saturday morning came and Daddy and I thought we might sleep in just a bit.

Joe came in our room and asked what they could do for breakfast...he knew I had said I bought muffins. I told him where to find them and he got the box and said, "How do I make them?"

At this point it occurred to me that they have never had pre-packaged muffins.

I've always made them either from scratch or sometimes from a mix in a box,

so he thought they had to be cooked or something.

About this time Kinkade walked up and they were both just stunned that all they had to do was open the packages and eat.

I found that humorous as I drifted back into snooze mode.

243*365 Santa Sighting

2011-11-12T22:56:00.001-06:00

Last night, Hope (age 4), caught her first glimpse of a Santa for this season.

She was in awe.

She whispered, "It's Santa Claus!"

with such reverance and belief.

He took her breath away.

Then she kept looking at me and saying, "I'm so happy, Mom, I"m so happy."

I am amazed.

Most of you know that we don't "do" Santa in our home.

We don't forbid him, mind you, we just don't play the game.

Our older two boys never gave it a second thought, but then Polar Express came along when Kinkade was about four years old and he ran with the whole idea of Santa Claus.

Apparently he has passed along the ideas he has about Santa to his younger sisters.

Then again, they have also seen the movie Polar Express.

Wow, one movie, watched one time a year can have a really lasting effect.

242*365 Amused

2011-11-11T20:58:00.001-06:00

We took the children to an amusement park today.

Little Faith waited patiently through several rides and watched her siblings having fun.

Then we found a ride that she could enjoy.

She was so excited saying, "Hop, hop, hop!" before the ride began.

And then it started going around.

It was okay,

but then the frogs started to "hop" and she freaked out.

She was screaming in terror.

And all the big people around were laughing their heads off at the poor child.

Her mother sitting behind her had tears springing out of her eyes from laughing so hard.

I should really have more mercy for my child, but it was HILARIOUS.

I think I've mentioned before how passionate this child is about everything.

Needless to say, she was happy to wait on her siblings after this, LOL.

241*365 He Passed!

2011-11-10T11:27:00.001-06:00

My little man passed his peanut challenge in the hospital this morning!

So excited and relieved that we won't have to worry about accidental exposures to peanut anymore.

Praising God over here.

240*365 Uh-Oh

2011-11-09T20:00:00.000-06:00

I've been playing with my camera some more. I actually shot these on manual!

It is kinda scary to flip that switch over from automatic to manual, but exciting at the same time.

I'm such a control-freak, I'm surprised I didn't do this long ago.

I love this one (above) of Hope.

I was supposed to go shoot a senior portrait session today. I was on the phone with her firming up our time when I looked out the window just in time to see little Faith get hurt on a rusty old pair of pruning shears her sister had just uncovered from beneath the big bush. I screamed into the phone and said "I gotta go NOW!" and hung up on my friend.

Rushed outside and little one had a puncture wound above her temple. Nothing too horrible and thankful it wasn't worse, but she hasn't had her tetanus shot yet. So, I called the nurse and she worked us into the schedule this afternoon and now this little gal is current on her shots, but not very happy.

Shots and the emergence of her molars = an unhappy camper.

She was much happier yesterday when I took these photos.

And just because we don't want to leave one out....

239*365 Columbus

2011-11-08T20:13:00.001-06:00

The young ones learned about Columbus today in history. I know we are a bit off thanks in part to the sickness last month. Nevertheless, they enjoyed listening to me read Christopher Columbus by Stephen Krensky. After the story, we came in to paint a caravel. This was even more meaningful since we just toured the Nina and Pinta last week in Little Rock. If I had my act together we'd have done all of this on the same day, but we're getting it done anyhow. Repeated exposure just reinforces the ideas, right?

They were supposed to use their handprint as the ship, but the older two wanted to paint their own. Joy painted the Santa Maria crashing on the rocks. Kinkade's is the Nina and Hope's is the Pinta.

Speaking of painting.....

I primered last night and this afternoon I painted the first coat of black.

It's definitely gonna need another coat, but it is coming along.

I have no intention of painting the inside of the cabinets.

I am thinking about putting some pretty art glass pendant lights above the sink when all is done.

Also considering replacing the industrial-looking florescent fixture with can lights.

I hope all this helps to sell the house next Spring.

238*365 Excited and Busy

2011-11-07T17:44:00.001-06:00

Joy rides very well without training wheels now.

I should probably buy her a girl helmet that fits, eh?

She does have a purple bike already.

Guess what I am doing?

I am finally painting the kitchen cabinets.

I've been waiting since August to do this project and now I am jumping in.

I hope to finish it all before Thanksgiving.

Have I mentioned that my parents are coming to visit for Thanksgiving this year?

I'm so excited.

I took the stuff that I don't want to get messy out of the cabinets and now they are sitting out on the counters. Due to space constraints, I'm only painting one section of the kitchen at a time.

I've cleaned the cabinets with TSP and removed the hardware and hinges.

And now I am ready to primer everything.

I just gotta feed the girls first before I block off the kitchen and get busy.

Or maybe I'll wait til they go to bed since oil paint and little girls don't mix so well.

My guys are off to Scouts for the evening....I'd love to have it all primered before they return.

Later this week I am doing a Senior Portrait shoot, a ladies meeting at church, popcorn deliveries, we have our last swim lesson, co-op, Kinkade has his peanut challenge at the hospital this Thursday and then we have a big surprise to keep us very busy this weekend.

Oh, and of course we're doing school lessons, too.

Mostly I want to immerse myself in this kitchen project, but life isn't gonna let me, well, unless I'm really irresponsible or I don't sleep........

sleep is optional, right?

237*365 A Hiking We Will Go

2011-11-05T22:44:00.001-05:00

Today was a gorgeous day with temps. in the 60s and lots of sunshine this afternoon. We just had to be outdoors and Daddy really wanted to take us out where they had been backpacking with the scouts last week. That equalled three hours in the car round trip, but we passed the time in the most delightful ways. For one, we were driving through the country lanes surrounded by amazing foliage in brilliant colors. Each turn offered a new combination of colors. While we drove we listened to an audio production of a Lamplighter book: A Basket of Flowers. It was a wonderful story that held us all captivated.

Here is a little slideshow of our hiking trip. Enjoy!

236*365 The Nina, The Pinta.....

2011-11-04T17:31:00.000-05:00

We took an interesting little field trip today.

The Columbus Foundation has replicas of the Nina and the Pinta as floating museums and they go all over the place. Right now they are docked in Little Rock, so we headed on down there to check it out.

The ships were much smaller than we expected and we learned that the average height of the sailors was about 5 feet. We also learned that none of them knew how to swim and they were terrified of the water. I cannot even begin to fathom sailing across a huge ocean on such a tiny ship and not even knowing how to swim.

For the most part we enjoyed it, but Joy was miserable. It seems that she has motion sickness.

The ship wasn't rocking that bad and at first she didn't fuss, but then a barge went past and there were some waves and after that she started saying her tummy hurt and she wanted to get off the ship.

Once we were back at the van she was chipper and fine.

I am now glad we didn't pursue a dolphin cruise when we went to the beach.

235*365 Plugged In at Two

2011-11-03T19:20:00.002-05:00

We went to pick up our Azure Standard food co-op order yesterday. While I was out helping to unload the truck, I left Faith in her car seat and the Joe in charge while he did schoolwork in the van.

When I returned I found Faith with an iPod, a movie and headphones.

This is how an 11 year old boy babysits, folks.

I have to admit he comes by it honestly.

I have been known to keep her calm with my iPod apps during the hour long wait at swimming lessons each week. And to think that several years ago I would have shaken my head at this.

I used to know how to keep my little ones entertained without media.

Feeling like the frog in the proverbial boiling pot.

To make myself feel a little better, I have added a page tab up on top of books we like to read. They are organized by Little Kids, Big Kids, Historical, Science, and Grown-Up books.

234*365 Regrets

2011-11-02T18:00:00.001-05:00

A photo of my son's lizard.

Do you see the cricket?

The lizard didn't seem to notice him.

Today I am having one of those days where I wish I could dig a hold for myself like Lizzy does.

I could just crawl in and hang out.

And I could even hope to be as oblivious to Satan's bait as Lizzy is to that cricket.

I so wish I could turn back time and make different decisions and mostly keep my mouth shut.

I am thinking of two quotes right now:

"Love the people God gave you because He will need them back one day."

&

"Dear Lord,
Please put your arm over my shoulder and your hand over my mouth."

233*365 Happy Day

2011-11-01T17:07:00.000-05:00

Hee, hee.....I've been playing with my camera and I'm just tickled that this stuff is finally making sense to me. Joy was sweet enough to model for me while I played with the aperture on my camera. I'm sure it is such a no-brainer for many, but learning how to get that fuzzy background is a huge step for me.

We had a great day of school today!

My child who was loathing writing has produced quite a few paragraphs today. Perhaps we've gotten over a bit of a hump? I had to administer some firm consequences with him and we had some unhappy moments. He was up late last night to get his work done, but today he worked diligently and got it all done. Woot!

And as a bonus, I found the missing reading text so there is no excuse to skip that subject now.

And then my husband called to inform me he has discovered where our favorite pizza place re-located to. It's been years, folks. And while we do like our homemade pizza now, it is still not as good as the memory of that brick oven pizza. So, he says we must go try it out tonight and see if it is the same folks :) Happy day!

232*365 Backpacking Trip

2011-10-31T09:29:00.000-05:00

The guys made it home yesterday afternoon and promptly collapsed in their beds. That trip wore them out. Daddy didn't have the luxury of collapsing as he had to hit the shower and get to church to lead music last night. This photo is at the end of the trail. The boys said they felt like they were floating after taking off their backpacks. They hiked about 8 miles with each pack weighing in the 20-30 lb range.

This is part of the trail down to the camping area.

They went on part of the Ouachita Trail.

Home sweet home for the night.

They camped here next to a pond. They even drank the pond water after running it through a filter. Makes my stomach hurt to think about it, but I guess if I was desperate I'd get over it.

A tornado went through this area a few months ago and there were trees down all over the place making the hike a little tricky at times.

The view is quite rewarding.

And to think this is just an hour and half away from home.

Daddy plans to take all of us out there next weekend for a simple hike, not the full trail.

Homeschool Mother's Journal October 24-29

2011-10-30T15:32:00.001-05:00

In my life this week…

I started to feel almost-healthy again about Tuesday. It is so good to have some energy back! With that energy I tackled a backlog of papers, made some decisions and got the laundry pile obliterated. It feels good to be almost-in-control again.

In our homeschool this week…

We plugged along through the week getting most of our assignments knocked out in good time. My son is still struggling mightily with his writing and I am really torn inside about how hard to push him. He definitely needs to make more effort and I need to be kind and gentle in my insistence that he do the work as assigned. He is at the place of digging in his heels and almost-refusing to do it. I know he has real issues with his dysgraphia, but I do not want that to become a crutch or an excuse for him and he is trying to play that card. This is where I am falling on my knees for wisdom in how to best proceed and help him.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

I have found that listening to music while I grade papers makes the task much more pleasant and tolerable. So simple, yet it makes such a big difference for me.

I am inspired by…

my two-year-old! She has so much passion. From the time she was two-weeks-old, I knew this child was passionate beyond any I have ever had. She is loud and persistent. But she also expresses more joy and pure excitement over life than I have on my happiest days. I tend to be very laid-back and don't share my emotions much. Not this child. We always know exactly how she feels, LOL. I really do marvel at how much joy and delight she has. I can learn from her, but I am also going to have to learn how to help her control some of that emotion!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

Monday my youngest son had a Pack Meeting and was awarded his Religion Knot among other goodies. He loves scouting!

Wednesday my brother's family came for a brief visit and it was great to see them again.

Thursday was our usual co-op and a bit of shopping.

Friday found me doing some Christmas shopping out by myself and picking up items to make the prayer board and blessing board that I blogged about yesterday.

My husband and older sons are gone for the weekend on a backpacking trip. I'm getting a little concerned as they were supposed to be home two hours ago and his cell phone goes straight to voicemail...except that he has never set up voicemail.

My favorite thing this week was…

early morning snuggles with my little one. She won't be wanting to snuggle with me much longer, so I am soaking it up now.

Things I’m working on…

I am learning how to really use my DSLR camera. After owning it for about five years, I have printed off the manual from the Canon site and am actually reading it and trying out the different settings. I have also begun to go through these tutorials 31 days to a better photo I have tried to understand all the technical terms before and it was just a jumble in my head, but now I think I am starting to "get it."

I’m reading…

Homeschool Supermom....NOT! by Susan Kemmerer Yes, I have picked this gem back up again. I love this passage that I read earlier today:

"It is God's grace that gets us where we need to be. He reveals our sin to us. He brings conviction. He leads us to repentance. He prepares the work we are to do. He gives us the desire to walk the walk. He gives us the strength to do what He requires. It is He whom makes our response to Him possible. Where I am weak, that is where He is strong and His grace can be most gloriously displayed."

My hope truly is in Him alone.

I’m grateful for…

a heater that works! It has finally gotten cold here, at night anyway. I'm thankful to be able to turn on the heater to keep my family warm.

I’m praying for…

the hearts of my older boys. Our time of input with them is so short and lately I feel like I'm just the taskmaster. I need to engage them more in a casual and fun way and build some good memories with them. I'm praying that the law of kindness will be on my tongue and that our hearts would be turned toward one another.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Our current memory verse is: "Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as stars in the sky holding fast to the word of life..." Philippians 2 : 14

Our current hymn is the Doxology.

230*365 Prayer and Blessing Boards

2011-10-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

I've been contemplating how I want to record our blessings this year. Traditionally I have made a Thanksgiving tree on the wall, but the thought of cutting out leaves for seven people time thirty-ish days was a bit overwhelming.

So, I decided to try something a little different.

I bought two poster frames at half price and the clearance shelf held that cool vinyl rub-on for blessings.

This morning I gathered a variety of leaves from our back yard and made leaf rubbings on paper to fit in the frames.....way easier than cutting out 200 paper leaves!

My plan is to change out the background paper for each season.

These "boards" are housed in our living room/dining area above the keyboard.

For the prayer board, I cut up some paper and wrote things/people we are praying for on each sheet. Then I used sticky tack to adhere them to the board. When the prayers are answered, I'll write the date and put them in a big glass jar on display. I look forward to seeing that jar fill up with God's goodness and being able to go back and recount all those answers.

For the blessings, I am just writing them down with wipe-erase markers on the plastic glass.

I'm including the initial of the person who shared each blessing.

Two things I definitely want to cultivate in my children are prayer and an attitude of gratitude.

We'd been keeping track of these things in little notebooks, but once on the shelf they are

"out of sight, out of mind."

I hope that having these boards prominently displayed will help the children to grow in those areas.

229*365 Under $5

2011-10-28T16:39:00.000-05:00

I have scored some cute outfits lately for under $5 each. Actually, I think I got each of those outfits for less than $3. I just love finding great deals on cute clothes.
Joy is in that awkward 5 yr old stage, where they don't like posing for photos anymore and get all goofy. She also asserts her own sense of style by adding the headband and beads, but hey, that's okay.

I've found them a few more outfits like these for under $5, too. I heart my thrift stores!

My sister-in-law made this adorable knit hat for me and gave it to me when they visited the other day.
It has such beautiful stitching and I LOVE the color. It is made out of bamboo yarn and is so soft.
This almost inspires me to learn how to knit. I can't imagine how she has time to make everything that she does, but she has supplied us with some awesome knit hats over the years. Very thankful!

Hmmm...think I need to do a different up-do to make it less bumpy looking next time.

Oh, see my funky bohemian blouse? Yep, less than $5.

Bathroom Re-do, Part Two

2011-10-27T13:38:00.001-05:00

As I have mentioned, we have been working on the hall bathroom. You can go here to see how it looked a year ago and the changes I made earlier this year with painting the walls and getting new decor.
The white paint on the cabinets was starting to look pretty beat-up from children climbing on them, kicking them, and generally abusing them. They were needing some help, so we opted to paint them a deep, dark brown:

This was a nice change, but it made the pink floor look even worse.

Then my husband said he would like to take out the floor and my jaw dropped. I ran with that idea, I was giddy at the thought. I've hated that floor for ten years!

Buh-bye, floor!

Cale really helped take out the tile and he removed the old vinyl floor that was underneath, too.

Then my beloved man put in this new, very neutral, floor:

Now we just need to put up some new baseboard, frame that huge contractor mirror, throw down some rugs and all will be complete.
(I promise the counter is not actually green. I guess that is from the flash or something. In reality it is white cultured marble.)

I even put new photos in the frames and I LOVE them.

One is of my oldest holding a hummingbird in his hand from several years ago. It goes nicely with the hummers on the shower curtain.

The other is this photo from our recent beach vacay:

I just love those memories!

It makes me smile every time I am in that bathroom helping the little gal with her potty training.

Which is also my big time to cruise around Pinterest on my iPod :) It makes the potty training process some much more bearable.

Decimated Pile

2011-10-26T22:30:00.000-05:00

Faith, age two, Oct. 2011

Backwoods Baby

I have finished!

I have caught up on the pile of papers and recording of grades.

Whew!

Some of it was that I just hadn't really decided what I wanted to do about what to count as grades.

For example, Biology; I hadn't really committed to what was going to count. The labs obviously count and he will get grades for the lab work through his co-op. But I hadn't decided how I was going to count the bookwork at home. I finally settled on grades for the on your own questions and tests. I decided not to record the grades for his study guides. But that indecision has haunted me for weeks now. I was grading it all, but not recording it. Ditto for some of the workbooks my other older student started using this year. Anyhow, it's all done now and I should be able to keep it up easily enough. Note to self: in the future, make these decisions before the school year starts.

In other news, my brother and his family came for a visit this afternoon.

It was good to see all of them again and the children enjoyed playing with their cousins.

I'd share pics, but my general rule is to not post photos of other people's children without their expressed permission.

We don't get together nearly enough, but then they do live in another state.

We are praying for safety for them as they will be on the road for many miles on their family vacation.

Homeschool Mother's Journal

2011-10-22T23:52:00.002-05:00

In my life this week…

I have spent the past two weeks sick and most of the family has been sick right along with me. As a result, I have not accomplished nearly anything of what I had planned with our Fall break. I had hoped to "get ahead" on some things during this time frame, but now I feel further behind than ever. Boo.

In our homeschool this week…

School? What school? Um, no school this week. But I DID get the papers filed that had stacked up. They are now happily residing in binders for each child.

I am inspired by…

During this down time I have discovered Pinterest. I'm loving it! So many ideas and such visual treasures to inspire me to all sorts of projects and organization. And if my hard drive crashes, I won't lose all my little ideas that I've bookmarked all over the internet. I just started, so I haven't pinned a whole lot, but you are welcome to follow me by using the little button in my left side bar.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

As I shared in my last post, we went to Playtime Pizza for a reading reward party. That was probably the most fun we had this week.

Today was very busy! We spent several hours at the church this morning doing clean-up and painting and such. I cleaned out the freezer and found corn that expired in 2002! Yikes!

We then spent a good deal of time at the hardware store picking out our new bathroom flooring, baseboard, moulding, etc. Very excited! My wonderful husband installed the new floor tonight and it looks great. No more pink tile....yay!!!!!!

This afternoon we had a block party. One couple provided one of those huge bouncy houses for the children and they all had a big time jumping around together. It was nice to catch up with those we know and meet some new folks, too. Poor little Faith fell twice during the party and busted her face both times. Her little lip is so swollen and black it just breaks my heart. I'm so thankful she didn't knock her teeth out like her biggest brother did at that age.

My favorite thing this week was…

Seeing my husband and oldest son working together to remove that horrid pink tile from the hall bathroom. I love seeing them work on projects together.

Questions/thoughts I have…

I wonder how long it will take me to finish up the rest of the grading and recording of grades for the big boys? I suspect it will take me longer to procrastinate doing all of that than it will to actually just do it. That seems to be the way it usually works. I have spent way more time dreading a thing than it would take to actually get it done and out of my mind. Silly me. I have finally learned to just do the laundry and dishes and such without the dread or guilt and it has just become part of my day. I hope the grading and recording of grades becomes fluid like that soon.

Things I’m working on…

Home improvement and organization :) Staying sane is secondary.

I’m reading…

I actually finished Peacemaking for Families this week! Being sick did have that advantage. Bottom line from the book? It all goes back to God's grace and giving Him the glory in all things....even conflict and resolution. Point others to the cross after going there myself to remove the log from my own eye.

I’m grateful for…

My husband tackling home-improvement projects this week.

I’m praying for…

A dear friend has been told that his last day of work will be the 27th. We are praying for him and his family as this time of hardship is upon them. He is the sole breadwinner and in his 50s. Praying he will be able to find another job soon.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Playtime Pizza

2011-10-21T21:57:00.000-05:00

During the summer months we hit a lull in our studies and a couple of the children needed some motivation. Kinkade just really didn't enjoy reading as it is a lot of work for him and Joy was getting bored with her 100 Easy Lessons book. It was time to dangle a carrot in front of the two of them.

I wanted Kinkade to learn to love reading and for Joy to get through that reading book, so I made a deal with them that if she would finish all 100 lessons and he would read fifty books (of my choosing, out loud to me) then we would go to Playtime Pizza for a party.

That was motivation for them. It is such a rare treat for us to do something like that and they really wanted to go. They have now finished their end of the deal and today was the perfect day for us to go. We went at lunchtime during a school day......we almost had the place to ourselves!

Even I had fun playing the games.

Those whacking games sure are stress-busters!

Indoor go kart track. The boys had a blast doing this.

Daddy had to drive Kinkade as he wasn't quite big enough to drive himself yet.

Pizza buffet and ice cream...yum!

Sorry for the crummy pictures. I didn't take my nice camera, just a point and shoot.

Kinkade hit the jackpot and got a ton of prize tickets.

He then cashed them in for some fairly cool stuff. The boys are having a big time with the "junkie" stuff I won't buy for them.

"Mud" Room

2011-10-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

Our weather has gone from nearly 90 degrees to the 30s in just this week.

Out came the BIG green tub of winter coats, gloves, hats, etc.

It is a mess! We had to dig through the big tub to find what we wanted.

Last winter it was a perpetual battle with the children who came in a dropped their coats on chairs or the floor. Ditto the shoes, hats, gloves, etc.

I would see photos of mudrooms and drool.

Then I would look at the space I have and sigh.

There is just no way to fit in those amazing looking cabinets with little cute benches and shoe storage all built-in. They won't fit in our space or in our budget.

So I got to thinking....how can I make it very easy for the children to do the right thing?

What can I do with the space we do have?

The laundry room is right next to the garage door where we do almost all of our entering and exiting.

I invested in some hooks and two 3-drawer units and some old boxes and made my own little "mudroom."

There are two hooks and a box for each child.

(There are more on the wall on the right for the two littlest girls.)

The hooks are to hold a light jacket and a warm coat for each child.

The boxes on the floor are for the most-used shoes a.k.a. sneakers.

The drawers are on the shelf under the window and there is one drawer for each child to hold their gloves and hat. The green bin on top holds the winter gloves and scarves for Daddy and me.

I am hopeful that this will solve some issues around here.

It ain't pretty, but it's practical.

Per Request

2011-10-17T19:56:00.000-05:00

Veronica requested to see the rest of the wall where we keep the toys, so here you have it.

With the chair lined up just right, you can't see as much of the stack of papers on the desk furthering the illusion that the house is clean. And speaking of that illusion, here are some real time photos to keep things real around here.

This is my new desk. This was our dining area until a few weeks ago when we converted it into a computer nook. You can see my desk with my computer and the children's computer is right next to it.

We believe it is wise to keep all computers in a high-traffic area of the house so as to lessen the temptation of those who might be inclined to surf the net to places they ought not. We also use the parental controls on the computers and the kid's computer is not hooked up to the internet at all.

This is a "before" shot of the kitchen how it was set up when the house was for sale. A nice normal kitchen with lots of cabinets. But boy does that island get in the way when there are seven or eight people out there trying to get drinks and meals ready for dinner, etc.

So, I had the brilliant idea to move the island over here:

We still get the extra space and eating area, but there is now lots of room to prepare meals with little people under foot. See, Kelly, it is a normal mess. Actually, I know I kept the house really clean and organized all those months that is was for sale, but the past month since we took it off the market I've gotten a bit too comfy in my own home. I was mortified recently when my beloved invited someone to stop by the house for the first time ever after church recently. It was a total mess and I was humiliated. You can bet I'll try to keep it a little cleaner on Saturdays for awhile at least in case he does that to me again. I find myself wondering how on earth I kept it so clean all those months.

Oh, and speaking of my kitchen with all its cabinets.....I am still wanting to paint all those cabinets black. I really am hoping to do so like maybe this week while we are off school.

I'm also wanting to put up beadboard halfway up on the walls in the dining area/computer nook and paint those the same black. And while we are at it, someday I'd like to replace that awful florescent light with can lights and maybe some pendant lights with art glass. Now I just need a free handyman.....or a babysitter.....or something.

223*365 Compromise

2011-10-16T19:01:00.001-05:00

So we haven't gone camping, but we did set up the tent in the backyard today and the boys will sleep out there tonight. There is great excitement surrounding the mere presence of a tent in the yard and the girls must play in it at the very least.
Doing the park yesterday really wore us big folk out. Can't seem to shake this bug we have, but we are getting better, I think.

Since I don't feel like doing much more than sleeping or vegging out, I seized the opportunity to do a bit of digital scrapbooking. I haven't done that since June. I put together about seven pages so far, but I think I like this one the best:

222*365 Outdoor Fun

2011-10-15T18:16:00.000-05:00

We still haven't gone camping, but we are hoping to do so tomorrow for a couple of nights at least.
We did go out to a local festival at the park today and let the children do some fun things.
The big boys were able to go canoeing and they really enjoyed the experience.

Miss Joy's dream came true today.......she got to ride a real horse for the first time.
She, Kinkade, and Hope all got to ride on a real trail. The girls needed buddies to ride with them as they are too little to ride alone. I wasn't properly attired for riding and needed to stay with the baby anyhow, but I do hope to take them riding again someday and I want to ride, too.
All three children truly appreciated the opportunity to ride.

We also got to see the Pioneer people and Native American displays. All very authentic.
Educational opportunities abound.
It was quite crowded on this gorgeous day.

Little Faith didn't get to ride anything, but she had the most fun seeing all the dogs that were out with their owners at the park today. She would squeal with delight over each one and try to woo them over her way. One man told us we really need to get a dog. Um, yeah, we've thought about it.

221*365 Build A Bear

2011-10-14T17:05:00.000-05:00

I took the big girls to Build A Bear today for Hope's birthday.

They loved it!

Hope was a bit overwhelmed by all the choices, but she finally picked out Daisy Bunny and named her Daisy. Joy went with one she is calling Beary. Aren't they original? LOL

Since Hope got money from the Grands for her birthday, she was able to pick out an outfit for her new friend, too.

And I think I have overdone it for the day. I am ready to collapse. Guess my body still has some healing to do. My Beloved feels the same way. Movies for the children tonight while we kick back.

I'm so sad we aren't camping like we had planned, but we are totally not up to speed yet and we can't handle the work involved with going camping :(

120*365 Toys and Such

2011-10-13T23:07:00.001-05:00

This evening we watched The King's Speech. While we watched, I sorted through the toy drawers and cleaned them out. I finished before the movie was over. It is amazing how many game pieces end up in the toy drawers rather than back in the games to which they belong, but I digress.

After I cleaned out and organized the drawers/hampers, I took photos of the contents of each. Then I printed those out on card stock and adhered them to the proper drawers with clear Con-Tac paper.
I used to do this long ago when the big boys were little and I'm not sure when that stopped or why.
I do know that my little girls (and sometimes the boys) don't seem to know where stuff belongs so they have developed a bad habit of just throwing stuff in random drawers out there. When I do have the little ones do it, I have to stand there and point out each item and tell them where it goes. Now there will be no excuse and I will expect the little ones to put away their own things. Shocking, I know. I am here to confess that it has been far too easy to just ask the big boys to clean up the messes or to just do it myself and that was wrong of me. I am doing no one any favors with that behavior. It is way past time that I train the little ones in this matter.

For toy storage, we use "fancy" closet organizers that we have attached along one wall of the sunroom. There are six drawers and two hampers devoted to toys. The tops have shelves with books or games. Daddy's desk takes up a large space along the wall in the middle.

And because I know "someone" will ask, here is a run down on their main toys:

Duplos Legos
Dart Tag stuff
Playmobil figures
Rubiks Cube, A-Maze, other puzzling toys
Wooden vehicles made at Build And Grow Workshops
Hot Wheels
Costumes, hats, dress-up stuff
Baby dolls, clothes, etc
A few stuffed animals (I don't like dust mites)
Horse figures
shape sorters
a couple of electronic phonics toys like Alphabet Pal
Pound-a-Ball and stacking rings
A dollhouse with furniture and wooden people
A kitchen set with food, but not a lot of food

I must not forget.....Hope got a bouncy horse for her birthday. She has been bouncing on that thing constantly since Tuesday. She even sleeps with it. It's the equivalent of one of those big rubber balls with a handle. It is THE current favored toy in the house. She also got a big girl doll from Grammy that she loves.

Now, out in the garage I keep the little Legos, the Lincoln Logs, and GeoTrax. These I will bring out on rotation to be played with for a short time. Too many pieces! The big guys also keep a marble track and some K'nex in their closet only to be played with in their room without little ones around. They do have little Legos in there, too. I'm convinced those little Legos multiply after midnight....especially if I'm walking in the dark in bare feet.

219*365 Photo Wall

2011-10-12T22:51:00.000-05:00

Since we've been spending a lot of time in our bedroom this week I had time to stare at the wall and think up how I want to make a memory wall. I feel somewhat human today and had just enough gumption to pull together photos and frames. My beloved even helped me hang them on the wall.

I'm contemplating changing out the bottom right photo for one of the two of us with Mickey Mouse at DisneyWorld.

Anyhow, I like that it is of just the two of us in our little space. I'm trying to make our room set apart and special. I make an attempt to keep children's toys out of there. I fail to keep the laundry from piling up on the bed, but I am trying to get it all done and out of there before dinner time. I have a long way to go from the ideal in my head, but maybe someday I will achieve it.

218*365 Four Years Old

2011-10-11T20:01:00.001-05:00

Our little Hope is four years old today.
She is a shy little girl who loves animals more than anything else.
She has a very tender heart and usually just requires a harsh look or word for discipline and just that breaks her little heart. She wants to please us very much. She still loves to snuggle up in our laps. She gets along well with all of her siblings most of the time.
She can be a bit mean to her little sister and doesn't want to share her toys with "the baby."
She absolutely loves to swing on the tree swing. She goes high and fast.
I often find her outside on that swing or catching lizards.

Sadly, Daddy and I have been very sick all day. My fever got up to 103 and I was not up for doing all the fun things I had planned. I didn't even make her cake like I always do. I'm feeling some mom guilt here, but I didn't have much choice. When my fever finally broke late this afternoon, I pulled together a little family party for our sweetheart.

Build-A-Bear will just have to wait for another day.

It'll be our first time to go to BAB.

On the bright side, Joy was sick and feverish yesterday and she is fine this afternoon. Hopefully this bug will be short-lived for Daddy and I, too.

217*365 More Painting

2011-10-10T18:01:00.000-05:00

That may not be an exciting photo to you, but I am thrilled by it. My table isn't going to be mauve anymore! It is going to be the brown that I thought that first paint was. The card for that first color was called Mark Twain Brown. It looked more brown on the swatch.

I'm just excited that our table is no longer "pink".

We're thinking about using this new brown to paint the cabinets in the hall bathroom. They need some help. They are currently painted white and looking stained in a bad way.

In other news, we got our schooling done today. We are counting down the days until our break which begins on Friday. However, we might be forced to start that break a bit earlier as half of us are sneezing our heads off with sore throats and Joy is running a fever. I am administering Emergen-C, Grape Seed Extract and Sambucus in the hopes of kicking this cold before we go camping.

I even made Chicken N Dumplings for dinner. Nothing like good old chicken broth for a cold.

Mac users, have you discovered the nifty little Stickies app in Finder?

I just found it this weekend.

I am in love with it. I have my sticky note to-do lists and ideas "stuck" on my main screen.

Maybe I will finally be on top of things. Maybe.

Homeschool Mother's Journal #6

2011-10-09T19:38:00.001-05:00

In my life this week…

I am still obsessed with decorating the house with photos. I found some terrific deals on frames and I'm planning to put together a "gallery" in our bedroom of photos of just us. Oooh, la, la! I got a frame that holds three 5x7s that was supposed to be $32.00 and I got it for $3.20. Oh, yeah, that is my kind of shopping.

In our homeschool this week…

I have figured out what to do with Joy now that she has finished "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." I am putting her into book 108 of the Learning to Read series from Christian Light Education. It begins with vowel sets and blends. I think Joy needs a little more work with those so this is a good place for us to jump in.

The child is loving reading books now. It's not uncommon to see/hear her reading by herself or to her younger sisters. I love that!

Joe began All American History this past week. So far he seems to love it, except that he has to cut and paste flags and bio portraits. He is averse to anything reminiscent of crafts, but he will be making the notebook anyway. The younger children will be using the same curriculum just watered down to their level. Basically, we'll get the books from the library as read-alouds and do narrations and Joe can share his projects with them.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

Monday was Scouts and the Court of Honor for my big guys.

Tuesday was drop-off for the consignment sale.

Wednesday was dentist appointments for the four oldest children. (We got out of there in just one hour...amazing! And no one had cavities, woo-hoo!)

Wednesday night was business meeting and potluck at church.

Thursday was co-op. I ran errands with the other children and we ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A. They played on the playground there for a long time and made some new friends.

Friday Joy, Hope and I went to a girly birthday party. They got manicures and pedicures and had all kinds of fun.

Saturday I met my gal pal in the morning for some consignment and flea market shopping and got some really great deals on clothes for Joy. I bought her a really cute little church outfit for fall for $3.00 and I am sure all three of the girls will wear it at some point. I'll have to take a pic when she wears it.

Last night Daddy took all three boys to the symphony to hear the music of John Williams. They LOVED it. Joe just told me that the bad thing about going to the symphony is that now when he listens to that music on his iPod it will sound dull. LOL

My favorite thing this week was…

helping Joy learn to ride a bike without training wheels. She was so excited and I love to see the faces of my little ones light up when they conquer a new skill.

What’s working/not working for us…

We haven't been starting school early enough each day. I am not a morning person, but I have to, have to, have to start us going earlier than we've been doing. I am not getting into a good rhythm the way things have been going. Doing school until 4:00 in the afternoon is not my idea of fun.

Questions/thoughts I have…

What is living in the wall next to my desk????? I can hear something in there scratching around and chewing. I suspect a mouse or a squirrel has taken up residence. What to do about it? I dunno. I suppose it's time to call an exterminator or something.

Things I’m working on…

This week I feel that all I do is school. When I'm not teaching someone, I'm trying to grade papers or set up lessons or find lost books, etc. I'm so ready for our break next week.

I’m reading…

I'm still reading "Peacemaking for Families" by Ken Sande. Yes, it is terribly slow-going for me. I'm just not finding it all the engaging and I don't feel like I have much time lately. I do really like this tidbit from the book, "The key to effective confrontation, especially with a person who professes to follow Christ, is not to hammer him or her into submission with the law. Rather, it is to give him or her hope through the gospel, which God can use to help us see where we have swerved from His path and encourage us to look to Him to get us back on track."

I’m grateful for…

Every clear word that comes from the mouth of my youngest. A month ago I was seriously contemplating Speech Therapy for her, but now she seems to be speaking at least one new clear word a day.

I’m praying for…

wisdom in how to best raise these children.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

The guys met a few characters at the symphony last night.

215*365 A Terrible Idea

2011-10-08T16:40:00.000-05:00

Today we painted the playground set out back.

Doesn't the boy look proud?

Doesn't the girl look like she is being bossy?

The playground really needed a new coat of paint. It was looking pretty sorry.

So I thought it would be great to let the children help us paint it.

You know, many hands make light work sort of thing. Except that the paint we pulled out of the shed turned out to be oil-based.

And one child spilled a tray of paint down the ladder.

Another child spilled their tray on the top of the slide.

Which means that there was no way down without getting paint on oneself.

There is paint everywhere.

It is all over us.

It doesn't come off.

It looks like dried blood. This was not a good idea at all.

The silver lining is that the children thought it was all fabulous. They had a grand time.

We made a memory with them and hopefully they will recall this afternoon fondly.

214*365 Zippy and a Recipe Tab

2011-10-07T16:20:00.001-05:00

Kinkade caught a new friend today, he has named him Zippy.

We are admiring his bright blue spot on his belly.

He is temporarily residing in the terrarium with our broad-necked skink.

The younger children catch these lizards daily. It is amazing how the lizards seem to go into a torpor kind of state when they've been caught. More than once they have had me thinking they were dead, but when you put them down on the ground, they dart away.

Michelle is seeking crock pot recipes, so I have decided to make a new page tab at the top of my blog just for recording and sharing recipes that we enjoy. I'll add to it periodically, but I'm not so sure about how to organize it. I think I'll just post them in categories like all the ground beef recipes together, all the chicken recipes together, etc. Hope that helps someone.

We are having Tater Tot Casserole for dinner tonight. It is one of my husband's favorite recipes.

Other than that, we have enjoyed a day at home doing our regular routine. The only difference is the heat and air guy came by to service our heater. Kinda hard to think about using it when it is 87 degrees outside, but I look forward to needing it when summer loosens her grip on us.

By the way, I really appreciate whoever it is that checks the feedback boxes at the bottom of my posts to "like" or "love" it, etc. It helps me to know what others enjoy reading/seeing. And it feels good to get positive feedback, too.

213*365

2011-10-06T21:04:00.000-05:00

One of the many things we did today was to take a time out to the park to feed the geese. Little Faith was so excited when I asked her if she wanted to go feed the geese that she jumped up and down and clapped and said the word, "Geese!!!!!" She is slowly starting to use real, English words.

I'm so thankful for that.

As we were finishing throwing the bread we brought, an old man showed up at the pond with a bag of bread for the geese. It was so sweet and cute as instead of throwing it to the geese, he would give one piece at a time to little Faith. He seemed to enjoy watching her more than the geese. She'd take a piece of bread from him and just grin at him so big and we could tell it just made his day.

It was such a blessing for all involved.

212*365 Do Everything

2011-10-04T23:15:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I upload photos from my camera and I am taken aback by the faces staring back at me.
Not because the photos are great or even good.
Sometimes, I catch a glimpse of how big my children have become.
In the day in and day out of living life together 24/7, I can lose sight of how quickly they are growing.
Soon, they will fly from this nest I've made to lives of their own.
Sometimes I think of that and I am terrified by the thought. I fear that I haven't done enough to prepare them for the world. I know there will be hard times ahead for each of them as that is just a part of living life on this earth. It can be overwhelming to think of it all and to realize how inadequate I am for this job of raising these young people.
I have to step back and breathe and trust. There is One who loves them more than me. It is by His Spirit that they can face whatever their futures hold. And it is by seeking Him that I can do my best to prepare them for whatever lies ahead. It is thoughts like these that drive me to my knees. I can not possibly pray enough for each one of them. And I feel inadequate, yet for some reason He has chosen me to be their mom. Wow.

Reminds me of a song off of Steven Curtis Chapman's latest CD release. I especially relate to the first verse.

Steven Curtis Chapman - Do Everything Lyrics

You’re picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
Well let me remind you it all matters just as long as you

Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

OOoh ooooh oooooh

Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name
You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day

Little stuff big stuff in between stuff
God sees it all the same
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do

Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you
To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do

Well maybe you’re sitting in math class
Maybe on a mission in the Congo
Maybe you’re working at the office
Singing along with the radio
Maybe you’re dining at a five star
Or feeding orphans in Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere you are
Whatever you do it all matters
So do what you do and don’t ever forget
to do

Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace as you do
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do

Ooh oooooh
Every little thing you do

211*365 Photo Display

2011-10-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

I had fun putting up a new photo display in the "living room" above the dining table.

On the little shelf, I put up wallet size pics of our family each time we added a new baby to the crew.

It's like a little timeline of our family.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Sadly, I don't have a photo of Joy's latest milestone. I helped her learn to ride a bike without training wheels tonight. I can't take a photo and run beside the bike at the same time ;) We did this during the Cub Scout meeting in the parking lot. She did great and really started to get the hang of it. I took her to Sonic to celebrate and I got the new Pumpkin Pie shake.

It is sooooo yummy!

Then we had the Court of Honor for Boy Scouts and my big boys got some awards.

Cale was awarded his Second Class rank. He has actually earned his First Class, too, but won't be awarded that one until the next Court. He also got merit badges for Oceanography, Weather, and Graphic Arts.

Joe got his Totem Chip and merit badges for Mammal Study, Environmental Science, and Forestry.

I'm one proud mama tonight.

Homeschool Mother's Journal #5

2011-10-01T14:51:00.000-05:00

In my life this week…
I've been emotional this week. I hate feeling weepy or irritable inside, though I try to not show it on the outside. I apologized to my husband more than once for being snippy. I know it is just part of being a woman and the hormones that go with that. Along those lines, I wish I could choose when I have those hot flashes. Oy, getting older is sure an adventure.

In our homeschool this week…

Joy is finished with the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book! She is getting a real Bible of her very own. It is a purple ESV Bible for children. As soon as Kinkade reads ten more books (to reach his goal of fifty) we will go and celebrate both of them reading well by a trip to Playtime Pizza.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

I found these old divider things in the garage when I was cleaning out and I have put them to use on our school shelves. They are great for keeping the books straightened up and organized. We had some trouble with some of the books sliding down or flopping over, but this has solved that problem. Love it.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

Not too busy this week. We had dinner out with a couple from church on Sunday.
Monday night was the Cub Scout family picnic.
Thursday we visited with friends briefly.
Now my big guys are camping with the Boy Scouts.

My favorite thing this week was…

When my husband surprised me on Thursday by bringing me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

I teased him and asked, "What did you do?" since it is a joke in our culture that a man only brings flowers if he is in trouble. He said he just wanted to recognize that I have been working really hard around here and he is thankful for everything that I do to keep things going.

Wow. Thanks, honey. You are really sweet and the flowers are gorgeous and smell so good.

What’s working/not working for us…

Having a desk set up in the entry way for solitary study is working for the most part.

Questions/thoughts I have…

I confess, my thoughts are centered on all the home projects I would love to tackle. Here is a run-down on what I'd like to get done around here:

1. Move the washer and dryer to another wall so I can put lockers for the children in the laundry room

2. Install a pocket door to our bathroom instead of the standard door that is there.

3. Paint the cabinets in the hall bathroom a deep chocolate brown. Replace the mirror. Maybe texturize and paint the walls.

4. Paint the dining table top that same deep brown

5. Paint the kitchen cabinets either deep brown or black. Also, move the knobs from the "middle" of the doors down to the corners.

6. Install beadboard to the bottom "half" of the walls in the dining area. Paint it the same color as the cabinets.

7. Maybe put a new top on the island in the kitchen. A smaller top so there is more room to walk around each other in there.

8. Maybe re-do our bathroom with two sinks and a new vanity??? Also, replace that big old standard mirror with something more modern.

9. Replace the industrial looking florescent light fixture that is in the kitchen.

Things I’m working on…

Photos in our decor.

Tagging items for consignment.

Grades and filing.

Sorting out clothes from my closet to give away.

Cleaning out stuff from under my bed *blush*

I’m reading…

I am still reading Peacemaking for Families and I have finally gotten to the section about teaching children to be peacemakers.

I’m grateful for…

the ability to stay home with my children and educate them. I love this life!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
I can't believe I am sharing this, but it is good for a laugh. I overheard Joy (age 5) telling her Daddy,
"I can run faster than Mom. Mom doesn't run; except when she has to go to the bathroom."

Not entirely true, I also run when I hear certain screams/cries or choking sounds from the children.

210*365 Photo Display

2011-09-30T22:46:00.000-05:00

I have had photography and decorating on my mind this week.

One of the things I did to stage the house when it was for sale was to remove nearly all of our photos from display. But now that I'm "moving back in" I am wanting to use photos in our decor.

Last night I made these little "frames" by wrapping fabric squares over artist canvases and using a staple gun to secure the fabric on the back. Then I used clear adhesive photo corners to attach the photos to the fabric. The canvases are each 8 x 8 and I printed the photos out at 4 x 4 inches.

I had intended to hang them up in the hall bath, but then I got to thinking that the moisture in there from steamy showers might not be a good thing for exposed photos like this.

So, I put them in between two doors in our vestibule. I really like them there and I smiled several times today when I walked past them.

Earlier this week I dug out photos of my grandparents and great-grandparents. I have several that are over 100 years old. I put them on display in my china cabinet next to some of the china and crystal things that were handed down to me from those same relatives.

I am also putting photos of each of my parents from when they were young on display in there.

My husband's relatives are included as well.

It has been fun to talk to the children about who is in each photo and to have them try to guess whose baby photo that is, etc.

I have more ideas bouncing around in my head for how and where to display more photos.

I'm hoping to make a little shelf that is like a family timeline to display small photos of our family as we have grown over the years.

209*365 Busy Little Girls

2011-09-29T23:12:00.000-05:00

The girls were enthralled with drawing on the dry erase board for at least thirty minutes today while I worked with their big brothers on school lessons.

I know I posted about all the goodies inside my cabinet to keep them busy, but there are so many other ways to occupy them as well. I rarely let them go freestyle on the big board so that when I do, it keeps their attention and they feel special.

They are more commonly found playing with Duplo Legos or their doll house or even the traditional play dough. Any toy sets that are rotated out and in of the mainstream play will keep their attention a bit longer.

And for those of you knowing mothers out there, yes, the two year old did color her lips with the marker during this play time. At least it was just her lips this time and not her whole body or pieces of furniture or walls. I was just a few feet away while they were drawing so as to monitor the situation. I would NEVER purpose to leave them alone with markers, but they are fast little people so it does happen as my walls can attest.

208*365 Fused Teeth

2011-09-28T22:27:00.000-05:00

When our youngest son was a toddler and teething, he fell against the bed post and hit his mouth pretty hard. It fattened his lip and busted his gum where his new tooth was coming in, but otherwise everything seemed to be okay. As the tooth continued to come in, though, we noticed that it was a little weird and looked like it was split or something. Hmmmm....

So, we had our dentist friend take a look at it when he was over visiting and he said it appeared to be a fused tooth.......two teeth that have grown together. This can happen due to trauma as would seem to be the case here. He said we'd just have to wait and see how it unfolded when the time came for those baby teeth to fall out, but we might expect a visit to the office for an extraction.

A couple of weeks ago Kinkade informed us that his special tooth was loose. We waited and watched and it has finally come out (with some prodding and poking and lots of wiggling from the boy).

I am so thankful we didn't have to spend the big bucks to have it pulled!

Now, we wait and see what comes in its place.

207*365 Solitary Confinement, Kinda

2011-09-27T19:48:00.000-05:00

I am liking having a semi-decent camera on my phone now.

I never did find the phone I lost over a month ago.

We've been so busy and have been out the past two nights. It is nice to have all of us home tonight.

I had to put one of the boys into "solitary confinement" during school today. All that really means is that he had to sit at a desk by the front door until I checked to see that ALL of his work was done. He hates sitting at a desk and would rather be in the middle of the fray than off by himself, though I could see him perfectly well from my spot at the table with the little ones. I think he might have to repeat this tomorrow since he still skipped some of his work and thought he could get by with it.

I have to remind myself to not show any emotions at all in regard to his repeated attempts to skip out on completing his work. Just check to see if it is done and if it is not back he goes until it is. Oh, but on the inside, I am emotional about it. My blood pressure rises when said child leads me to believe he really finished his work only for me to check it later and find it incomplete.

Just one more area where I am needing to find a new rhythm until this child falls into step.

Oh, and those "stained glass" leaves?

Let's just say that if you try those, make sure your iron doesn't have water in it and that steam doesn't come out. The wax paper doesn't do well wet.

It was a little easier to just put it in the oven on a cookie sheet, but I'll be needing a new cookie sheet after that mess. Or maybe not...I've just got to find some elbow grease, right?

No photos of those, yet, but the couple that we did look really nice. It's just that our bag of red pieces has disappeared and I'm not making any more until I find the red.

I just hope the red didn't get put in with anyone's laundry.

Homeschool Mother's Journal #4

2011-09-25T16:35:00.001-05:00

In my life this week…

I'm starting to feel some semblance of regaining control. I got caught back up on the laundry and that makes me feel a whole lot better. Being caught up means that there is no more than one load that needs to be done and what is done is all put away. (Unmatched socks not included.)

In our homeschool this week…

We got most everything done that we set out to do. I let the little ones have a day off of lessons on Thursday and we just played at the park and ran errands. It was good to just be Mom for a day rather than teacher.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

All of my boys are busy selling popcorn for Scouts each afternoon. They have to go out two-by-two to sell. It is good practice for them in using social skills. They love popcorn selling.

My favorite thing this week was…

Hearing our four-year-old quoting our weekly Bible verse last night during devotional time. There is just something so precious about those little voices lisping out scripture they've hidden in their hearts.

Questions/thoughts I have…

I'm thinking about what I am going to have Joy do for reading/phonics when she finishes up her 100 Easy Lessons book later this week. Should I have her just read for fun and fluency or go straight into the Christian Light reading for first grade, even though she is in Kindergarten? 100 EZ puts them at about a 2nd grade reading level when they finish. Hmmmm....

Things I’m working on…

Getting caught up on all my grading and recording and filing. Ahhhh! If he wasn't in high school, I wouldn't worry about it, but this is for the transcript.

Preparing more items for another consignment sale.

I’m reading…

Peacemaking for Families....someday I might actually finish the book. As slow as it is going, I am highlighting stuff as I go along.

I’m cooking…

The younger children have been learning about fruits and vegetables in their science lessons. We picked out a new veggie to try that we've never had before: parsnips. I cooked them with butter and olive oil along with carrots as a side dish last night. Most of us liked it quite well.

I’m grateful for…

My husband's job. We have close friends who are facing the loss of the husband's job and it makes me count my blessings as far as my husband having a stable job that he enjoys. I am so blessed to be able to stay home with my children and teach them.

I’m praying for…

so many people. One thing we are seeking wisdom on as a family is whether or not to buy a new TV when our 21 year old beast warms up for the last time. Current thought is we might get one on Black Friday, but there is also the thought of just not having a TV at all.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Our verse for this week is:

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Psalm 51 : 10

This week's song is "Count Your Many Blessings."

205*365 Two Year Portraits

2011-09-24T21:48:00.001-05:00

So we were going to do the "stained glass" leaves today, but that didn't happen.

Instead I decided to grade papers and set up lessons for next week. My big guys were out at a Scout event for Emergency Preparedness training or something like that.

I got a lot of paper work done and then noticed that it was a great day for shooting outdoor photos.

So I loaded up my young crew and this sweet outfit and headed for a park with a pond.

I'm so glad that I did.

It was the perfect time to do a photo shoot in honor of this little gal's second birthday.

And this time it turned out SO much better than that feeble, rushed attempt I made last weekend.

I thought this one was fun!

They had fun playing around out there and Kinkade even spotted a snake next to the path. I had just walked right past it without paying attention. It was a harmless snake with cool yellow racing stripes.

He slithered off into a hole pretty quickly, but I had just enough time to snap a photo with my phone.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and seizing the opportunities as they arise.

204*365 Happy Fall Y'all!

2011-09-23T18:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Our mantel is decorated for the season ushered in today.

The children collected leaves and did leaf rubbings.

Tomorrow we will make "stained glass" leaves.

203*365 Garland of Gratitude

2011-09-22T17:10:00.000-05:00

I had saved all of our leaves from our Thanksgiving tree last year and thought I'd use them to decorate this year. So, I stapled them onto a wide ribbon hung up over a door frame.

Voila! Colorful and free decor for a new season.

Right now I am very thankful that this line of storms waited until we were done with our busy day on the town. We had a lovely time playing at the state park this morning. We also had swim lessons and ran to a few stores before picking up our oldest from Co-op. Now my pantry is stocked for that month's worth of meals, minus the fresh veggies and fruits that will need to be re-stocked weekly.

Tomorrow I will be thankful for the cooler, drier air this storm front is bringing with it.

Oh, one more thing, about those swim lessons......

Joy has been very fearful and crying through her lessons for the past month. It is a difficult thing to watch a child struggle with irrational fear like that, especially when she had been doing so well a few months ago. Anyhow, last night we prayed over her and asked the Lord to take the spirit of fear from her. This morning she had a fabulous lesson and didn't cry once and really tried to do all she was asked without being fearful.

God is so good.

Why are we so slow to take these things and lay them at his throne?

Bloggy Fun

2011-09-22T06:31:00.000-05:00

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Isn't this a fun little toy for the blog?I found this thanks to Mary over at Maryz Lit-ll Corner.
I'm contemplating using it as my header.

Keeping Little Hands Busy During School

2011-09-21T17:13:00.000-05:00

Kelly, one of my readers, requested to see what is inside my big green wardrobe. So here is my stash of goodies for the younger children to cycle through while I am working with their siblings during school time. I pull out the activities for them to do each day and that is the only time they are supposed to play with these items, thus keeping their attention due to it still seeming like a "new" or "special" activity. Now, remember, I have been homeschooling for eight years and I've had a lot of time to collect all these items. I wouldn't expect to find this assortment in the cabinet of a first year homeschooler, though kudos to you if you can pull that off.

Here we have a perennial favorite......pattern blocks! These are for freely designing or to try to match to the cards and build specific designs.

I picked up these goodies on deep discount at Wal-Mart and some of them from the dollar spot at Target. Have I mentioned how much I love Target's dollar spot? Oh, yeah.

In this photo we have felt letters, letter stencils, rubber stamp letters, and magnetic interlocking letters. Also the puzzle word cards for learning to make great sentences and parts of speech.
And a bag of kid k'nex for building.

Floor puzzle maps of the world and of the United States! They LOVE floor puzzles.

Here we have a drawer filled with Color Wonder goodness.
A bag filled with prepared science experiment kits and the big seek and find puzzle book.

Our next drawer contains a variety of wipe erase boards and activities.
Also stashed away are some wooden building/balancing toys and a Lauri foam puzzle.

Most of these are perfect for the two-year-old. She loves her Wedgits the most.
We also see wooden beads to lace on a string or on pipe cleaners. The yellow bag contains squares of different fabrics and textures to match. And the tub has a plethora of flash cards and bingo games.
I pick up the flash cards at the Target dollar spot and use them during circle time. But they also make good individual activities from time to time. In the corner you can see our Make N Break game. This is a cool game with wooden blocks and cards with designs to build before the timer goes off. Some of the designs are really difficult. The little ones love to try to match the designs.

This photos holds a magnetic story board with three different scenes.
A Feel N Find activity where they have to reach in and try to guess what the shape is without looking. It also has little boards with the shapes cut out like a puzzle to match up
Then there are some more great Lauri activities.....the number peg puzzles and a colors and shapes activity box.
The math mat challenge is a good kinesthetic activity for number recognition, addition and subtraction facts.
Then there are two wooden activities......one is a stacking game and the other is a little more tricky, but I'm not sure how to describe it.

Here we have the Handwriting Without Tears wooden blocks and cards for learning to make letters.
Also features is a Marbletick magnetic activity with designs to match/build. I like this one because it is all self-contained and there is no loose pieces/magnets...it is all inside the plastic box.
The green thing is called Cash Bash. This is good for my boys to learn how to quickly make change. It's a fun electronic quiz kind of game.

And finally we have our box of puzzles. These girls love to do puzzles. I have a variety of difficulty levels represented so there is something for each of the younger ones.

You can see Hope in the photos wearing her Pooh costume. While the costumes/dress-up clothes aren't in the green wardrobe, they are a favorite activity for my little ones. They love to dress up and imagine all sorts of stories or just spin and dance in princess dresses.

I also have a box of stickers and papers that didn't get photographed. I only pull it out about once or twice a month, but they love it when they get to make sticker stories.

The thing that these girls love to do the most during school time?
Coloring with crayons on scrap paper or coloring books! Simple and cheap, folks.

Le Monthly Menu

2011-09-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

I have finished my one month meal plan! If I was savvy, I would have done this on an Excel sheet, but I'm not very techie, so I used my pocket chart and index cards....hey, it works for me :)

I started by making things very simple. We will have the same things for breakfast every Monday, the same thing every Tuesday, etc. Mind you, my silly children do not like eggs so that is not featured on the menu, though I will make it on the side in the hopes that some of them will warm up to the idea of eating eggs. So here are the breakfast plans:

Sundays - Pancakes or Muffins
Mondays - Oatmeal/Porridge (side of scrambled eggs)
Tuesdays - Leftover oatmeal bread (which is loaded with eggs, but don't tell my children)
Wednesdays - Cereal (it keeps the peace)
Thursdays - Muffins and fruit
Fridays - Granola and Yogurt (I'll boil some eggs to offer)
Saturdays - Biscuits and Gravy, nitrate-free bacon (hey, this is the South)

OK, lunches are the same kind of rotation idea. I like to keep my life simple when I can.
You might even pick up on a theme through the week. Mexican dishes on Tuesdays, Italian style on Wednesdays, and homestyle/comfort foods on Saturdays.

Sundays we have potluck at the church. I will write this down as our dinner of the day down below. Sunday nights we have a free-for-all on left-overs or sometimes we take another family/couple out for a simple dinner.

Eh, but let's get to it. I'll write down lunch, then dinner for each day.

Week 1
Sunday Lunch - Taco Salad, Cheese dip, chips, Apple Crisp

Monday - L: Baked Potatoes;
D: Rice N Beans, Chili Relleno Casserole, fruit salad

Tuesday - L: Tuna Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks, Fruit
D: Mexican Pizza, Chips and Salsa and Guacamole

Wednesday - L: Hot Dogs (we like Hebrew National); Mac N Cheese , Apples Wedges
D: Stromboli, Tossed Salad

Thursday - L: left-overs from Monday or PB&J's on the go (Sunbutter for those allergic to Peanuts)
D: Every week this will be our night out. Thursdays are my crazy town day.

Friday - L: Sandwiches (turkey, roast or chicken); potato chips; raw veggies and dip
D: Salmon, rice, green beans, cauliflower Ice cream for dessert tonight.

Sat. - L: Stir Fry with the left-over salmon and rice
D: Meatloaf, Green Salad, Mashed Potatoes, fresh bread, baked apples

Week 2

Sunday Lunch - Chili, Corn Chips, Cheese, Salad, Cornbread

Monday - L - Baked Potatoes
D: Chicken N Dumplings, whole wheat rolls

Tuesday: L - Left-overs
D: Chicken enchilada casserole; Mexican corn salad or Spanish rice

Wednesday - L: Left-overs or Grilled Cheese sandwiches
D: Homemade Pizza

Thursday - L: PB&J's; chips; fruit
D: Out (or in, with take-out) it's my night off :)

Friday - L: Turkey Sandwiches, potato chips, veggies and dip
D: Beef Stew, fresh rolls Ice cream night (we like Breyer's all-natural)

Saturday - L: Hamburgers on the grill, chips or french fries, pickles
D: Oven "fried" chicken, creamy corn, marinated cucumbers, baked beans, apple pie

Week 3

Sunday Lunch - Pasta Salad Italian with Chicken; cheesecake

Monday - L: baked potatoes
D: Italian Beef Sandwiches, fruit salad, carrot sticks

Tuesday - L: left-overs or Tuna sandwiches
D: Taco Ring, Spanish Rice, Guacamole, Salsa, Cheese, etc.

Wednesday - L: Hot Dogs, Fresh Fruit, Cheese Crackers
D: Spaghetti, Green Salad, French Bread

Thursday - L: PB&Js, chips, fruit
D: Out

Friday - L: chicken sandwiches, veggies and dip
D: Tater Tot Casserole (hubby's favorite), Carrot/Apple Salad, Rolls Ice Cream

Sat. - L: Left-overs
D: Baked Chicken, Buttery Corn, Broccoli, Fresh bread, Chocolate Cake

Week 4

Sunday Lunch - Roast Beef, Carrots, Potatoes, Whole Wheat Rolls

Monday - Baked Potatoes
D: Sloppy Joes, Coleslaw, Chips

Tuesday - L: Tuna Salad, Carrot Sticks, Goldfish type crackers
D: Enchiladas, Black bean and Corn salad, Chips w/salsa and guac.

Wed. - L: Left-overs
D: Baked Spaghetti, French bread, salad

Thurs. - L: PB&J, chips, pears
D: out

Friday - L: Roast beef sandwiches, fresh veggies, apple chips
D: Potato Soup, Wheat Rolls, Banana and Orange fruit salad Ice Cream

Sat. - L: left-overs
D: Steak (grass-fed), Herb-Roasted potatoes, Green Salad, Fresh bread, Carrot Cake

Week 5

Sunday Lunch: Baked Potato Bar, Broccoli Cauliflower Salad, Banana Pudding

Monday - L: Hot Dogs, macaroni, apple slices
D: Chicken Parmesan, Steamed Italian Vegs., Garlic Butter pasta

Tuesday - L: Tuna Sandwiches, Tomato Soup, Carrot sticks
D: Taco Bar with all the fixings

Wednesday - L: Nachos, Pear slices
D: Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

Thursday - L: PB&J, chips, apples
D: out

Friday - L: Turkey sandwiches, veggies and dip, crackers
D: White Chili, Cornbread Ice Cream

Saturday - L: Left-overs
D: Hawaiian Chicken, Rice, Carrot Salad, Fresh Bread, Key Lime Pie

For snacks we will have popcorn, cheese and crackers, dried or fresh fruits, yogurt, and applesauce.
I'm going to work up a rotation through the week for snacks, too, but haven't done it yet.

200*365 Profile

2011-09-19T21:04:00.003-05:00

I just love baby profiles.

Quick "photo of the day" and I'm off to tackle a one month meal plan.

At least that is what I think I'll be doing, but my guys will be in from Scouts soon and that could thwart my plans.

Homeschool Mother's Journal

2011-09-18T16:23:00.000-05:00

In our homeschool this week…

I added in Learning to Read for Hope who is just about four years old. She is thrilled to be doing school with Mama and sits up so proud for her lessons. We had started her out with 100 Easy Lessons for reading, but when I saw the Learning to Read set from Christian Light I thought I would give it a try. Although 100 EZ has successfully taught four of my children to read, I have not been all that pleased with the content of some of the stories. I am certain that the Learning to Read set will have good, wholesome stories for my last two little girls to learn to read.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

I read somewhere recently to start the day with teaching the youngest students rather than hoping to fit them in somewhere during the day. I know what happens when I just hope to fit them in.....they might get two or three days of "school" for the week. So, I am trying out this whole idea of starting with my youngest students. I have seen this week that when I started with my two youngest, they were more content to entertain themselves after their lessons while I worked with their older siblings.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

This week is a big consignment sale in town and I put our baby gear in the sale as well as baby shoes and tiny clothes. Boy, it was a struggle to come to the decision to let those things go! It will be nice to pick up my check, though.

My favorite thing this week was…

Watching the children play in the bounce houses at a local festival yesterday. We were hoping for pony rides, but all they had was the bounce houses. The children had so much fun on those and it was fun to watch them squeal and laugh.

What’s working/not working for us…

Since we've swapped around the rooms, we haven't been keeping up with our quick pick-ups. It's like no one is sure about their responsibilities now that their assigned rooms have different stuff in them. So, I need to have a meeting with the children individually and outline for them what is expected with the new arrangements.

Questions/thoughts I have…

I'm seriously contemplating the need to write out a new daily schedule for all of us using my old Managers of Their Homes book. I'm feeling a bit out-of-control and need a backbone to guide our days. I'm also feeling the need to make out a one month meal plan again. Been a long time since I've done that, but I think it is time to do it again.

Things I’m working on…

Swapping out wardrobes a bit. Our temps have been in the low 50s in the mornings and the children think they are freezing. So I've been in the process of getting out long sleeved shirts and dresses and jeans that fit. Amazing how the boys' jeans turn into high-waters over the summer! Of course all of that brings me to doing more laundry.

I’m reading…

I am so close to finishing the Duggar's new book, "A Love That Multiplies." It has been a good read and has inspired me to keep on keeping on with child training and character development.

I’m cooking…

I have been cooking!

I'll share a funny with you. I was busy making a lasagna the other night when my husband came home. He sat at his computer and said something about, "Are you going to cook every night this week?" which made me feel like he wasn't all that excited about eating my food. What was funny was he was standing there later when I pulled the lasagna out of the oven and he said, "Oh, a lasagna! I thought you were just making spaghetti again." He surely enjoyed his lasagna and the apple pie I made for dessert that night. I made my first-ever crust from scratch and it turned out fairly well.

Yesterday I made three quarts of applesauce and "canned" them for the first time. I'd never before done a water bath or anything like that. Why do they call it canning instead of jarring? To me, cans are way different than glass jars. Oh, well.

I’m grateful for…

Rain! We've had a few sprinkles the past few days, but this morning we got real rain. It was so refreshing and my grass is looking a little bit alive again.

I’m praying for…

Some good friends who are facing the very real possibility of him losing his job soon. He is very stressed out about it and is the sole breadwinner of the family. They have homeschooled for the past 17 years and have two students left in their school to graduate.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

This is my basic idea for her two year old portraits, but I need to try again with a different background and much better lighting. This photo shoot was a failure.

198*365 Cammo Tree

2011-09-18T01:13:00.000-05:00

(

You know she has big brothers when.......

She saw this tree at the park and said, "Look, a camo tree!"

(Camo meaning camouflage for those of you who don't have boys that dress in hunting or military styles.)

Oy, I'm beat.

Switched out some of the clothes today and did the laundry that created.

Took the children to a festival.

Made a Fall garland out of our past blessing leaves.

Did more laundry.

Ran errands/shopping.

Bathed children.

Made pasta salad, 2 loaves of banana bread, 3 quarts of applesauce and canned them, and an apple crisp.

And now it is 1 a.m. and the banana bread is out of the oven and I dare to go to bed.

Please, please let all the girls sleep through the night tonight. We've had a rough last few nights with girls falling out of bed, wetting the bed, having nightmares, etc. I know it is just a season and it will pass, but these have been a long few days.

197*365 Root Beer Challenge

2011-09-16T20:08:00.000-05:00

For our Friday night fun, Daddy set up a root beer challenge.

You must understand that Daddy LOVES root beer and his little ones are following right along in his footsteps with their zeal for this bubbly drink. Me? eh, I have to be in the mood for root beer.

Daddy has been collecting root beer samples for the past month in anticipation of doing this challenge.

Our contenders are:

IBC

Mug

A&W

Virgil's

Abita

Sprecher

We each tasted one flavor and gave our descriptions of it before going on to the next flavor.

I think Joy said "good" for all six of them!

The boys were a bit more sophisticated with descriptions like, "woodsy," "bitter," and "medicine."

Daddy kept a tally of the ratings and wrote down the descriptions of each and in the end our family chose.......

A&W

as our overall favorite.

It was the only one for which Hope said, "Yummy!"

It was described as "creamy, really good, light taste, and smooth."

And now I am hearing a few rumbles of tummy aches and I think perhaps we should have really let loose and held a belching contest after consuming all those bubbles.

196*365 Mm

2011-09-15T22:41:00.000-05:00

OK, so this is terrible photography, but the girls loved this part of their school today.

We are learning the letter M, m this week and today I had them make M, m with mini marshmallows which then became their afternoon snack.

Now, I am beat and heading to bed.

I made a homemade lasagna, applesauce, and an apple pie this afternoon/evening.

This was in addition to swim lessons, grocery shopping and school work.

My house smells good!

A little burnt around the edges which is just how my man likes it.

195*365

2011-09-14T22:34:00.000-05:00

It is so hard to get a genuine smile out of young teens, so when Cale was laughing next to me while I took someone else's photo, I turned the camera on him and got him! It was a bit blurry, tho, so I played around with Picnik and came up with this. I kinda like it.

He is changing so much lately. I am not used to hearing a deep man's voice in my house during the day and sometimes it catches me off guard when I hear him in another room talking.

His tastes have changed, too.

He didn't used to like spicy foods, but now he LOVES anything jalepeno and adds Tabasco sauce to all manner of things. If it says it is hot and spicy, he is all for it.

And how he eats these days! The other day he ordered a half pound burger and I think he finished off a sibling's food after that even. He is still scrawny, though, so I encourage him to eat up. I bought him a case of PayDay candy bars at Sams and he has gone through them in about a month.....ok, I confess that I have eaten quite a few of them myself ;)

He is a little health-conscious, though. He is trying to avoid caffeine and phosphoric acid, so there are very few sodas that he will drink. This was his own decision and he came up with those guidelines himself. He enjoys a large bowl of salad as one of his favorite foods, too.

It will be so interesting to see how he continues to transform into a man....what he will look like and the choices he will make.

I am hoping there is a lot more laughter in his future as well as the joy that comes with wisdom.

194*365 Boy at Work

2011-09-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

This was the view when I looked out my window this afternoon.

Kinkade has been all about building shelters of different types from the limbs his Daddy cut down the other day. Hours of fun right there, though to him this is serious work.

And here is a glimpse at how he took his quiz today.......

Don't you just love boys?

I don't mind how they position themselves while they work so long as they get the work done and I can read it. I learned a long time ago that my little boys aren't about to sit still while they work and I've adapted to their need for sensory input while they are working. This is just one example.