WAYYYYY behind in my blogging

Well, I am back....I hope. I started working again in July and I have been sooo busy with everything that blogging has been last on my list.

Anyway, our school year has been going great. I have been concentrating on reading, reading comprehension and parts of speech with the kids. I have noticed recently that there are quite a few kids who don't know much about the english language or how to write properly and it's been bothering me. I am not the perfect writer nor do I claim to be, (Dan is actually much better than I am), but I want to teach my children the proper way to write.  So here is what we did today...



Booger loved this lesson, he says it will help him with one of his favorite games, MadLibs.

Hopefully I will be able to blog again soon. The kids are all doing so great and learning so many new things (I have been doing a few new things too). So until I blog again...

Working Mom and Homeschooling

Work?! Well, yes I am working again. It's hard but I will admit that I love my co-workers and I love being out of the house. I also like contributing again, (in a monetary fashion). I do NOT however like being tired, or being away from my kids. But you do what you have to do. And that means that I have to work. The company I work for is very well known and always super busy. I like that part too, time flys at work and makes it easier for me to be away from my kiddos.

One day, hopefully soon. I will be able to actually be home with the kids and not have to go back to work. That's my goal. So, this year, I am going to be frugal, and I mean SUPER frugal. (it's one of my goals, not resolutions for the new year.) I am trying out a new menu planning system, a new/old cleaning system, and a new shopping system. Here's to hoping and praying 2012 is my last year as a working mom. Lord knows that Homeschooling is getting way more involved and I need to focus my time on that, not making people their morning lattes.

Your how old?

For those of you who don't know, yes I am a very young mom. I just celebrated my birthday on Monday (Happy Birthday to me) some of the people at work were blown away to know that I am only 27. Since you are probably doing some math in your head right now, I was only 18 when I had my sweet little Booger. Anyway, that aside. I consistantly get a puzzled look when I tell people my age. I guess that having 3 kids and being a homeschooling mom people think that I should be older, and rightly so. Now I come to the reason for this blog. I don't mind the puzzled looks or the questions, but I do mind when people find out my age and then assume that I am not capable to school my children. (Usually my blog isn't a complaining blog but today....sorry.) I have in the past, far and near, been criticized for my decision to homeschool only after someone heard my age. Which I don't think is fair at all. If anything, and no offense to you slightly more mature in age moms than I, I have a ton of energy and love every minute I spend with my crazy kids!! My kids are doing great, we are about to start, I can't believe I am saying this, our 4TH year of homeschooling, and we love it.

God laid this on my heart almost 5 years ago now, it was the first time that I heard that still small voice. At first I resisted but when I came to my senses and listened to the Lord about this, I am so glad about my choice and God's calling on my life. I wouldn't have it any other way. So, yes I am 27, my children are 8, 5, and 2, and I am great mom and teacher and we are going to have another great school year. Thanks for listening to me vent a little :)

Tomorrow is kind of a sad day....

Joyful, happy, sad, astonished. Just a few of the emotions I have been feeling today as I realize that tomorrow my sweet little beanie will be 2!! Where has the time gone? I know that all parents say that, but really. She is in a toddler bed, almost completely potty trained and I am depressed. You know I thought I would be elated when the "baby" stage was done, I am not. I miss the cuddling and the sweet baby smell. I miss breast-feeding....sorry I know thats a bit much for the guys...but I do. I miss all of it and I am kinda tearing up just thinking about it.

Children are so hard to raise but so much fun, challenging but joyful, and I love every minute of it.

Beanie has been a wonderful addition to our family. She is funny, smart and the cutest little thing. She is definitely the baby of the family. Everyone gives her everything and she just soaks it all up. It's hard to believe that 2 years ago she wasn't even a part of our family and now life would feel wrong without her. Everyday, I look forward to seeing her and receiving all of her hugs and kisses. Because while I am trying to enjoy every minute, I am also fully aware that time keeps ticking.

So for a moment go back with me....

Happy Birthday Sweet Beanie!! I love you so much. God has truly blessed our family with you and I can't imagine my life with out you!!

She should've been sleeping....

My sweet peanut. She is a night owl, she gets it from me. Last night I saw her sneak out of her room and lay something on the dining room floor. When I got closer this is what I saw....

She had left me a folded up piece of paper, I went a little closer and saw that it was addressed to me.

I honestly started to giggle at this point, because I knew I needed to discipline her for being out of bed, but this was going to be good.

 This is what she was doing when she should've been sleeping. By the time I had taken the pictures and went in to talk to her this is what I found...

My sweet little peanut. She is such a mommy's girl, and I love it. And for all those times when she is pushing my buttons and being rotten, these moments remind me of what a great child she is. Thank you Lord for our little peanut, our lives would be quite dull without her.

Kids and Messes and Laundry ....Oh My!!

This is my house today....a little crazy....

Lunch, Mac n' cheese with grapes and pretzels

The living room as of 11:30AM!!

Self Explanatory

Anyone wanna join me?

Camping Trip with my son, Hubby and a few great friends.

We got up ready to start our trip, we packed the car, loaded the bikes, and left, only 2 hours later than I wanted to. In the midst of the packing I am pretty sure that Booger asked about 700 times when we were leaving. I don't think he has ever been more excited, a camping trip without his sisters, what boy wouldn't be? We picked up a great friend on the way out, and headed to Garrett County for the long weekend.

THE CAR RIDE.....
The Car ride was sooooo much fun, we sang songs, listened to Booger play the harmonica I bought him at Cracker Barrell (sorry Summ!), played a few hilarious games of Mad Libs and even slept a little. Booger only asked what time it was and if we were there yet about 750 times, so really not to bad for a 7 year old who is more excited than he has ever been in his life!!!!!

WEDNESDAY....
Wednesday was mostly a day to set up camp and enjoy a great dinner of Tacos made by yours truly. Booger helped a good bit to set up the tent but mostly played with a good friend "Z" who also went along on the trip with us. We did get to take a small hike around the falls, with the whole group of 8 which was very nice. Once it was dark we started the fire and had Smore's...I think between Adam and Z they ate about 10 smores.....a side note, my best friend of 19 years Stephen, planned this trip, he was super organized and super prepared, and I am super grateful because given the recent events with our family vehicle I was in desperate need of some time away where I wasn't the one in charge. So thanks Steve!!

THURSDAY......
Tut tut it looks like rain.....for about 30 minutes.....but enough to deter us from going on our bike trip which was planned for the day. Instead we decided to head to place called Smiley's and make a ton of memories. Smiley's is a fantastic little place that has Go Karts, putt putt, bumper boats, bumper cars, laser tag and a small arcade....a 7 year olds dream!!! Booger had so much fun, even though he was a bit small to ride the Go Karts alone he loved being able to ride along with all of the adults and cheer us on. My Good friend Summ and I had a fantastic and absolutely hilarious time on the bumper boats and when told by the attendant that we drove the bumper boats worse than a 3 year old couldn't stop laughing. Thursday ended with some of the best Ice Cream I have EVER had in my LIFE, Card games, more Mad Libs and teaching Booger how to play Sudoku, (which he is actually very good at).

FRIDAY.....
tut tut looks like rain.....again.....and it's cold....oh well, 5.5mi bike ride through the woods here we come!!! So we start off on the "bike" trail. Which I later learn is not actually a bike trail, but rather a hiking trail, on which if you choose to torture yourself you may ride your bike. Even though the "bike" trail was extremely hard, Booger and his friend "Z" who is 10, did a fantastic job, though they did walk some of it (we all walked some of it).  What a beautiful ride through God's creation, and what a sense of accomplishment at the end. I was exhausted and ready to call it quits for the day after lunch, when my energizer bunny convinced me to take him and Z out onto the lake in a scanoe. For 8$ and a smile on my boys face I couldn't say no. But I had to convince the hubby, who looked more tired than I did.  Of course he agreed, but once out on the lake we could both feel the tiredness start to set in, I am a little sad to say that we even though we paid for a ful hour we only spent about 30 minutes in the scanoe, before calling it quits. Our friends however enjoyed the full hour and came back to the docks happily singing,  screaming "row, row your boat", We ended Friday around the fire tired and worn out. What a great day!!

SATURDAY....
Our LAST full day....We split up the group, the 5 friends we came with us enjoyed an afternoon of horseback riding, while we enjoyed a long hike through the woods to admire the falls. We saw unique mushrooms, amazing trees, a beautiful beaver dam, and some gorgeous rock walls. Dan, Booger and I got to spend a great 3-4 hours together hiking through the woods and simply enjoying Gods beautiful creation together. I couldn't have asked for a better time on the last day of our trip. When we returned to the camp site, our friends were waiting. We went and had some more AMAZING ice cream and saw a movie together to finish out the last day of our trip. Then we sat around the fire till 12:30am planning our next trip and talking about how much fun we had in our short 4 days together.

SUNDAY.....
Do we really have to go home? Packing wasn't to hard, we were leaving the camp site by 11:30 and we had some lunch together before heading back to cell phones, computers, TV and chaos. I so enjoyed the quiet, the talking, the jokes (and there were many!!), not being able to use technology. It was great. Booger has already talked about the scrapbook he wants to put together to remember our trip. I can't wait to start it with him.

A little side story for Sunday......
Booger had been catching frogs and Toads and other creatures all weekend. We asked him NOT to bring any of them home with him, however being a boy and being my son....hardheaded...he did not listen. As we were packing Booger caught another friend. He repeatedly tried to hide the toad in the car, and we repeatedly asked him not too. He then got a brilliant idea, "I will put the toad in my pocket." and he did. Through lunch at the restaurant our little friend, later named Trevor, sat in Booger's pocket. Once we were back in the car and headed for home, Booger decided to quietly take the toad out and put him into a side compartment on the insdie of the car door. Trevor must not have liked it there, because he made his way up front and up the pants leg of my husband, yes I did say "up the pants leg". When we stopped for gas Dan noticed that there was something wet on his leg....yes you guessed it....little Trevor. Adam immediately confessed that he brought the toad home and told us the story. TOOO CUTE. Trevor is now living in our back yard in the play house...I am pretty sure he is happy there, although Adam thinks he misses his family.

REMEMBERING THE JOKES.....
I know that most of you won't get this, but my friends who joined us will.
ALLEN!!! STEVE!!!!
YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!!
Batmoth.
That's what she said.
More movie quotes than I could ever type...Here's one though.....WHOA!! Dream Big!!
"Moments" together.
Dylan singing.




MONDAY......
It was great sleeping in my bed, but I miss my friends. I did miss my Beanie and Peanut immensely. But I am ready to pack up my family and friends, girls included this time and go back. It was ALL so simple. We had what needed and nothing more. Life was what it should be if only for 4 days. Who wants to come?


Thanks to Hubby, Steve, Summerly, Dustin, Dylan, Z, and Booger for an amazing camping trip. I can't wait to go again.

A super fun, super tiring, super frustrating and yet totally awesome day!!

So the day went a little something like this...

I got a text from a good friend who asked us (me and the kiddos) if we wanted to head to the zoo. Of course we did!! So, I get everyone ready including my youngest sibling, (Spot <----Family joke), and head to the Zoo. On the way, I decided to take care of a phone call that Dan asked me to make, and Peanut and Booger begin to have a conversation that goes a little something like this....

Booger- "Peanut, don't do that while mom is driving. She has to have her hands at 10 and 2."
Peanut- "10 and 2? The driving wheel isn't a clock, Booger!!"
Booger- "I know Peanut, its just a figure of speech!"

And of course I am laughing, first of all the fact that my 7 year old knows what 10 and 2 means is hilarious. Then the fact that he used the phrase "Figure of Speech" for the most part, correctly in a sentence is pretty amazing.

So the rest of the drive was pretty boring, minus 2 prius' deciding that they owned the road.

We arrive at the Zoo, and get everyone out of the car, Beanie, Peanut, Booger and Spot. And I shut the door, and can't find my keys!!! The panic sets in!! Where are my keys?! Check the diaper bag....no. Check the purse....no. Check the lunch bag....no. Check the stroller....no. Can't find them, check everything again....and again. Then after 15 minutes and being super late to meet my friend for the zoo, I find them in the stroller even though I checked the stroller 3 times. Anyway, the day goes on, We decide to ride the TRAM into the zoo. The reason TRAM is capitalized is because on the TRAM, I was informed by my friends 3 year old, after calling it a train that it is actually called a TRAM. Too cute.

First stop Polar Bears, Beanie LOVES bears. We have a little convo about the Polar Bears, I am going to try to type this as cute as it sounded.

Beanie: "Bear a sleepin?"
Me: "Yes baby the polar bear is sleeping."
Beanie : "Bear a pillow?"
Me : "The bear doesn't have his pillow?"
Beanie : "Bear no pilloooowwww!"
Me: "where did the bears pillow go?"
Beanie: "I nuh no."

And I was able to get it on video!!!! LOVE IT!!

Some of my other favorite parts of the day include two super sweet almost 2 year old's holding hands. My little Peanut following ALL directions and being the best little girl she could've possibly been the entire day. She was so fantastic that I even took her out to buy her a special reward! Spending the afternoon with a dear friend with whom I am so glad that I am getting reacquainted with. And getting flowers from another sweet friends garden.

Some of the frustrating parts of the day, were that my usually fantastic, little Booger, lived up to his name today. He was not a good listener, got put on red, which in this house means punished, and was not able to get a special reward at the end of the day. I am trying not to dwell on it, because everyone is entitled to a bad day but I guess it was just frustrating because he took over being rotten while the Peanut was doing everything that is expected and asked of her (SOOOO unlike her). Also that I bought 3 chocolate smoothies for the kids from Starbucks figuring they would LOVE them....only to find out that they did NOT love them because I forgot that there were bananas in them.

But overall, pretty great day today....what did you do?

The School Year comes to an end....sort of.

Well, we just finished our review this weekend, and once we get the certificates in the mail we will officially have a 1st grader and 3rd grader :)

I really feel like the kids have done well this year. They are both so smart and willing to learn, I love it! So the reason I say "sort of" done is because I school all through the summer, so even though they are "done" with course requirements I want to be sure that they don't lose speed in the things that they are doing well in. Paige will actually be starting her 1st grade math book in the next 2 weeks, and Adam will be continuing on with review and worksheets in the things that he has already learned.

I LOVE teaching my children, and being a crucial part of their learning. I feel like it makes us as a family stronger, and better at working together to accomplish things.

So here's to another school year coming to an end.

Blogging for a purpose

A good friend told me last night that my blog is helping him through some things. I have to admit while I was talking to him, I got a little teary eyed. I love talking about my kids and my family, and the whole reason I started to blog was to help other families and people realize that you don't have to be the perfect family, for God to use you in amazing ways. So here's a great big THANKS to my friend for always knowing just what say to lift my spirits!!!

Things kids say.....

Booger, Peanut and Beanie are hilarious.....

Booger is a smart, cute type of funny. His favorite new word is Hypothesis. It is absolutely one of the cutest things I have ever heard, when he tells me that he has a hypothesis for something. Yesterday while swimming he had a hypothesis for why the ice melts in the swimming pool. Within minutes he was testing his hypothesis and drawing conclusions. I love listening to him when he gets excited about science. He also told me yesterday that he wants cure cancer, and once he figures out the cure he is going tell God so that he can cure everyone else. His heart is so big, it melts mine.

Peanut is a sassy type of funny. I don't even think she tries to be funny, she just is. She is a lot like her dad in that sense. We were at a Graduation Party for a friend of ours and one of the girls was wearing a strapless dress that had only 1 sleeve, confusing I know but try to picture it. Peanut walked right up to the girl and informed her that she lost one her sleeves. Everyone was cracking up, can you blame them? Peanut is also my actress, she walks around the house talking in English and southern accents, no one can be upset or in a bad mood with a 5 year old walking around telling you she is "Falling madly in love with you" in an English accent.

Beanie is just naturally funny in every way, another one who doesn't try. I wish I was naturally funny. Beanie's new thing is asking why, to EVERY thing I tell her. We are taking a nap...why? we are eating lunch....why? we need a bath.....why? A tad annoying but also super cute coming from a not even two year old. Beanie also has different tones she uses in her voice to get a rise out us, sometimes she'll talk in a low voice, other times in high voice just looking for a laugh.

Our house is never quiet and never dull. We laugh a lot and wouldn't have it any other way. I love all the fantastic things that my kids say...I just hope I remember to blog about them or write them down so I don't forget. :)

Peanut...in a nut shell

So, our little peanut is probably the sweetest, most lovable, most ornery, rotten, fantastic, pain in the rear end child I have ever met. She is all of these things at the same time, not to mention she is super funny. There are times when I want to rip out all my hair and give up, and other times when all I want to do is cuddle with her and love on her. Those times usually come within minutes of each other.

Her "school skills" like reading, math and writing are fantastic, but her common sense skills and ability to take direction are well, not. I am blogging about this not to bad mouth my child but to reach out for some advice from other mothers of "strong-willed" children. Peanut is determined and smart. She will be successful in life because she has the competitive drive needed to move her forward. But I know that right now if I don't help her figure some things out, she will be successful for the wrong reasons. I know, some of you are thinking she is ONLY 5, but I need to nip this thing now, other wise neither of us will make through her teenage years.

Peanut is my middle child. I don't want her to be the "typical" middle child. I want more for her. I love her so much and I am excited to see who she will become, I just want to guide her on the path God has for her. If you have any advice for raising a strong willed child please let me know:) thanks

Wow...it's been a while

Sorry for my absence. 3 kids, homeschooling, a ladies retreat, overall tired mom = little to no blogging. Any who, I am officially a working mom again. We are trying to diminish our debt so it's back out into the world I go, but I am super excited to be working again and helping Dan to pay the bills. Let's just all say a few prayers together that Dan and I can be an even better team than we are now with the kids schooling and duties around the house.

So, schooling update, we are almost done the school year, and I am proud to say that the kids have done spectacular with everything. I like teaching throughout the summer so we will likely continue with a few things over the summer months. But, I am proud to say that I will officially have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader in the fall. Booger is such an overall great kid. I can't say enough how proud I am of him. Peanut is a fantastic reader (a girl after moms heart) and I am so proud to say that I have taught them thus far. Beanie is talking more and more, and finding her place in our family. Before I know it she'll be starting school, time flies so quickly.

I truly enjoy my family and I am excited to see all the amazing things that God has in store for me and my family. God is so good.

A day at the Zoo.

Monday was beyond gorgeous, and minus the sunburn I have now it was a fantastic day. 

Beanie wanted to drive us to the zoo, but I decided against it since she doesn't quite have her license yet.

The kids asked about 70 times "Are we there yet?" Which can definitely wear on you after the first 10. But we arrived safe and sound and had a blast!

The little one on the end is my 4th baby, we will call her E. I adore her. Between her and Beanie, Booger Peanut and I were laughing the whole day they were having a blast and so excited about their first real trip to the zoo.

I love this pic of the two of them, leaning over, excited to learn and watch. So Sweet.

Booger being "eaten alive" by some bones....It was a bit scary.

One of my new favorites of my 3 goofballs.

My little peanut, isn't much of a Peanut anymore....I wish they would just stop growing up.

One of my favorites of the Bean from the day.

I love the Zoo, I love that we have yearly pass to go whenever we like, but most of all I love that my children learn while we are there. Not because I spend tons of times teaching on each animal, but because they love to ask the zoo keepers questions and read the signs posted about each animal. Booger and Peanut constantly surprise me with how much they have learned from a few hours of exploring on their own. I love being home with my kiddies. What a fantastic day!

Dankeschön

So we are now learning about Germany in our World Study. Yesterday I was teaching the kids a few words in German and they couldn't stop laughing. They though that every word was funnier than the one before it. They could barely even pronounce the words they were laughing so hard. Soon I was laughing so hard that I could barely carry on the lesson. What a fun way to learn German.

Why do we have parents?

After Peanut got yelled at for changing her clothes about 4 different times, she went to Booger and asked him "Why do we have parents? All they do is boss us around and tell us what to do. If we didn't have parents we could do whatever we want and eat candy and sweets all day". Booger paused for a bit and then said, "We need Parents, God gave us parents to help us do the right thing, and to teach us what we need to know. Plus if we ate candy all day we would be fat, and I don't want to be fat, Do you want to be fat?" Hubby and I were stunned at his response. Wow. I mean really, this is coming from a 7 year old boy. God certainly knew what he was doing when he put Booger in our lives. I don't even want to begin to imagine where we might be without our son......or how 'fat' I might be....lol

Poor Screaming Baby....and an update on Booger and Peanut

Now I know why Bean was screaming yesterday, poor girl is still wheezing and now also has an ear infection in her right ear. This Bronchitis is getting the best of her. I am praying she gets better soon.

Last night the Peanut could not sleep, so she asked me if it would be okay for her to stay up and read in her bed. How can you say no to that? She read 3 books before falling asleep. I love that she can read now and enjoys doing it.

We are learning the countries of the world in our social studies lesson and doing small studies on a few key countries. Both Booger and Peanut are doing so well, I would say that Peanut can locate 65% of the countries in North America, South America and Europe and Booger can locate about 75-80%. It's amazing how quickly they are both learning, and how well Peanut is keeping up with Booger even though she is working at 2nd grade level when she is only in kindergarten.

I am so proud and love teaching my kids.

Screaming Babies and Teaching....not a good combination.

This morning as I was trying to teach Booger and Peanut, the Bean thought it would be a good idea to scream as loud as she could. It was honestly one of the more frustrating mornings I have had trying to teach.

As the Bean was screaming I thought, Peanut and Booger have got to be just as frustrated as I am. But, they kept their cool and finished the morning lessons with ease. And also taught me a lesson in patience and perseverance. Even though they could've whined or complained at any time they were fantastic. Once again, I am the one being taught.

My Husband Rocks!

Well, he does!! and thanks to my good friend April over at http://www.2slicksgoodtimes.com I won a 25$ gift certificate in her Union28.com give away!

Here is why my hubby rocks; He can ALWAYS make me laugh, He prays with me and loves me as much as I love him, He is an amazing father to our children, and even though he is the leader of our house, he walks alongside me and helps me every step of the way! I love you Baby!!!

Prayer

Prayer is a huge thing in our house, I pray with the kids about almost everything. I want them to learn that God is always here, and that no matter what you are going through big or small you should take it to God. I want to start incorporating more bible verses and passages into our prayer time but I know that will come in time.

Booger has been having some trouble sleeping lately and so he asks me to come a pray over him at night. Last night he was in and out of bed and I was getting frustrated. I was trying to hang out with the hubby and a good friend last night, and I will admit I was being quite selfish with my time. Finally Booger came out into the living room, and said "Mom, will you PLEASE come and pray that I won't have bad dreams tonight?" Part of me wanted to tell him that we had already prayed for the night and that it was time for bed, I really thought it was just one more excuse to get out of bed, but I got up anyway and went and prayed with my son. God is so great, because after that Booger did not get out of bed again, he REALLY needed that prayer to go to sleep and to give him peace of mind. Thank You Lord for again using my children to show me how to have that "childlike faith".

Where are your parents?

Okay, so lately my children have been whiny and needy and fighting and etc. etc. etc. The house is a mess, I look like I haven't slept in weeks, something's gotta give. I know that a lot of it has to do with being cooped up in this house for day and days and end because of how cold it has been outside. But I am not sure where the rest of it is coming from.

Last night we "enjoyed" a family dinner at Friendly's. Beanie was testing her lung strength, Booger was seeing how many times he could get out of seat before my head exploded, and for some crazy reason Peanut was rocking back and forth in a chair which was clearly NOT made for rocking. At one point I wanted to stand up and say "WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS? WE HAVE BEEN WAITING HERE FOR 15 MINUTES AND THEY ARE LATE!!!!" Just so people wouldn't think that this crazy brood belonged to me.

My children are blessings from God, I love them dearly. But sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder if today is the day I will actually lose my mind!

A fantastic uplifting day

For the past few weeks, I have been struggling with my confidence in homeschooling my children. I have been praying about it, and asking God for some sign that would help me to regain my confidence. The first 'sign' came at around 10am yesterday;

I made a trip to hobby lobby to purchase my supplies for a craft night at church last night. As I was getting the kids into the van I noticed an older couple reading the bible together in the parking lot. Just as I was about to get Beanie out of the stroller the lady rolled down her window and proceeded to tell me what a great job I was doing. I replied 'thank you', and she then asked me if I homeschool my children. At first I thought it was odd being that I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, but I replied 'yes'. She then told me that she homeschooled her 7 children and that 3 of them had doctorate degrees and that 2 of them homeschooled their own children. She went on to say how God truly blessed their family because they followed His plans for them, and not their own. She was just as sweet and soft spoken as she could be, but she spoke with such authority that I was pulled into her story. She and I talked for about 10 more minutes and said our good byes. I got in the van and thought 'what a lovely conversation', and then went about my business.

The next sign came in the mail, I received a new book from our Umbrella group. As I was skimming through the foreward I came across this verse "And the Master God, stays right there and helps me, so I am not disgraced. Therefore I set my face like a flint, confident that I'll never regret this". Isaiah 50:7. My heart was bursting, there it was, right there!! I immediately opened my bible and began to read it over and over again. God is always right there helping me, he will not let me be disgraced for following His plan, and because of Him I will never regret my decision to keep going. I then started thinking about my encounter from the parking lot earlier that morning. God was telling me to keep going, that he would bless me for my decision to homeschool.


The last sign that day was when we were actually in the midst of our school work, Peanut turned to me and said, "Mom, I am going to homeschool my children too." Well at that point I almost cried.


God thank you for such an amazing day yesterday. I know that I will probably doubt myself again, but I will never doubt you. Thank you for the signs and for the encouraging words when I needed it most.

Bean is Super Clean

I have noticed lately that the Bean LOVES to clean. She loves putting things away and cleaning up. It's like a fun game to her. This is such a change from her big sister who rarely picks anything up, and when she does its worse than going to the doctors. But Beanie cleans and cleans. I wonder what their room will look like as they grow, because atleast for the time being they will be sharing a room.

New Year's Resolutions.....#3

#3 Stay focused and on track with the kids schooling.....

I feel like I deserve a great big fail for this one....As of January 1st we were already behind 3 weeks because of all the sickness in December, now with Paige's broken leg we are another week behind. It's not like we will never be able to catch up, we will. It just seems like such a daunting task on top of everything else.

These are the days when I wonder if it would just be easier to send them to school. I am sure that every homeschooling mom questions her abilities as a teacher and mom, it is a lot to put on yourself. So, today I am going to take a deep breath and start fresh, Tuesday January 25, 2011 is the start day of this particular resolution. I am not saying that we will have a stress free second semester, or that we won't miss a day or two here or there, but I am ready to get focused and stay focused.

The day started off pretty good...

Monday was a great day.....until about 7pm. We spent the morning with a friend and her son at a local indoor play area. The kids had a fantastic time running around and getting TONS of energy out. I forgot to take my camera so, no pics...sorry. Anyway then we went home and enjoyed a movie on the couch together. I then got everyone ready to head to a cousins birthday party with my mom while the hubbs and I headed to our first night of imarriage at bible study. Within minutes of arriving at bible study I received a text from my mom that said "I think Peanut needs an X-ray". I called my mom and found out that she was pretty sure that the Peanuts leg was broken, I could her my 5 year old crying in the background. Then my mom says she'll call me back. What? call me back? NOOOOOO keep me on the phone. So I turned to the hubby and told him we needed to head to the hospital and that my mom would meet us there. And so we missed our first night of imarriage, I was really looking forward to it too.

My mom called me back once she had Peanut and Beanie in the car, she left Booger with my stepdad at the party, and said that there was a lump on her leg possibly her bone sticking out!!! I started panicking thinking that she had a compound fracture and would need surgery, a million things were running through my mind. The hubby however was super calm and he just walked outside and prayed for my sanity and for our little girl. Then I met him outside and we prayed again. When my mom pulled up to the hospital we scooped Peanut out of the van and headed in to be checked. Once we were inside and I got to look at her leg, which was already very swollen, I was able to calm down. Her bone was not sticking out...there was hope. Hubby held her the whole time we were waiting and he went in with her for her X-rays, I knew I couldn't handle it. I could hear her screaming through the door of the X-ray room, and I wanted so badly to go in and save her, but I knew that she was in good hands....her daddy's hands.

Then we were put in a room and Peanut started acting more like herself, talking to us and joking around a bit, which was nice. At one point she had to go to the bathroom which was and adventure in itself. Let's just say that when we came out of the bathroom the nurses looked quite concerned and asked us if she was okay. She was screaming things like "I do not like hospitals", and "why did you bring me here?" I felt terrible for her to say the least. When we got back into our room they were ready to put a splint on her. I was dreading this part, but to my surprise she did quite well while they were wrapping her leg. The water works came when I had to cut her pants to get them over her cast. Her exact words were "Those were really nice pants, and now I can't wear them anymore, I wish I never broke my leg!" After all that, my little fashionista was more worried about her pants than anything else.

Peanut has done spectacular over the last 3 days. I am so proud of how she is handling this. She hasn't once asked why, she is happy and taking her time with everything. We have made necklaces, and colored a lot, we are now attempting to make friendship bracelets thanks to a friend who got her a new kit. (We'll see how they turn out). This has been a trying time for the whole family, trying to adapt to carrying Peanut around, and treating her like a baby again, while also balancing the other two kids. But this to shall pass, and we are so thankful to God that she only hurt her leg and nothing else, and that so far she healing beautifully according to the doctors. So thank you everyone for your prayers and well wishes!!! We look forward to seeing our little Peanut running around again soon.

new life for old clothes

As I was putting together a bag of clothes that I don't wear anymore I realized I could give some of my old clothes a new life by making a few changes. This is my first project....

 This old blue tshirt shrunk and faded terribly after being washed a few times, but I love the flower detail. Here's a close up of the flowers....

And this old lime green tshirt has a bleach stain.

So I decided to cut the flower detail off of the blue t-shirt and sew it (by hand) on to the green tshirt. I LOVE the final product and it has inspired to "go shopping" in my own closet.

So ladies, if you are looking for something new, take a trip to your local closet and see what you can come with. It's super fun and practically free!!!

New dresser?

So I REALLY want a NEW bedroom set, but there is just NO way to

afford it right now. So I was thinking what if I painted the dressers?

This is what our dressers look like right now. We bought them second hand. I have ALWAYS hated the color. But I just haven't known what to do with them.

Then I got the idea to paint them, my first thought was to white wash them, but then, I really don't want white furniture. So I thought how about a light heather grey? I messed around on picnik for a bit and this is what I came up with.

Not really sure why it's sideways, but you get the picture. I would like to paint the dresser gray and spray paint all the hardware black. So what do you think?

I know I almost always post about the kids, but this is a big decision and I want some honest opinions.

Thanks a head of time :)

Fashion from a 5 year old...

This morning as Peanut was getting dressed, I asked her if she needed any help. Her response was "No, Thank you. I already know what I want to wear." So I went back to fixing breakfast. Soon enough she was dressed and came out into the dining room where we have a closet with mirrors on it. She started 'posing' in the mirror and talking to herself about her outfit. Saying things like "Wow, that looks good." and "I really like all the sparkles on my skirt." I am in sooooo much trouble in a few years. But, I must say she does look super cute today.

I walked right into that one.....

To cute not to blog about..... Anyone who has kids knows that they say the cutest things. Booger has been cracking me up lately. He's at that age where he is starting to really understand quirky little sayings, and he tries to use them every chance he gets.

So, I am always trying to sneak kisses from Booger because now that he's 7 he doesn't kiss me as much as he used to. This morning was no different. I said "Hey Boogs, come here. I want to tell you something." So he walked right over and I planted a big wet one right on his lips. As he jumped back laughing he yelled "Man, I walked right into that one!" I couldn't help but to laugh, and blog about it.

A new year......

Happy New year to everyone!! I hope everyone that everyone had an amazing time celebrating.

New Year's Resolutions, I make them every year and every year they are gone by Jan 31. Not this year, this year my very first resolution is to keep my New Years Resolutions.

So here's my list:
1. Read my bible EVERYDAY....even if its only for 1 minute
2. Get healthy. Yes of course I want to lose weight, but the right way with real changes.
3. Stay focused and on track with schooling the kids.
4. Take a small vacation with Dan.
5. To get $1500.00 in the savings account and keep it there.
6. To go to bed no later than 11pm Sunday-Thursday, and possible Friday and Saturday too :)
7. To give more, in whatever ways I can. Whether by money or time.
8. to Blog once a week

I think that's it. I think that's a lot. and I think I can do it.

In 2011 I want to be stronger in every way and I think that this list will help keep me on track. And I hope you will too!!