Phew...it's all over!

I was so excited about the Christmas season this year!  I had so many hopes, plans, and thoughts of special things to do with the kids and hubby. . . most of it never happened.  Actually, it was highly unusual for me to get that excited.  Perhaps my mom is rubbing off on me.  She gets her Hallmark countdown ornament out in October. . . Anyway. . . I was really hoping to spend the season purposefully focusing on others, and helping the kids to do that as well.  The first week of December started out strong.  We did pretty good. But after that. . . sigh. . . not so much.

I had read this amazing blog post about how this sweet lady was sick of focusing on that mischievous little Elf on the Shelf (which I had  never heard of till this year!).  She wanted to place her focus on others too, so she started a plan she called "Light 'Em Up".  I was instantly hooked and began talking with the kids to plan our own "Light 'Em Up" season.  Please go to her blog and check it out here. . . I think that is the original post I read.  It was just what I wanted. Something, anything to take the focus off of "me", what "I want", what am "I getting".  And by "I", I meant the little ones. . . little did I know that I needed to get away from the "me" thinking too!

So, we printed out our Light 'Em Up planner, and made a plan.  My biggest excitement would be writing on the driveways of our friends!  I thought, how cool to let them know how loved they are, and remind them to think on Jesus this season. . . we didn't get to ONE! We did focus on Hubby the first week.  It was kind of a funny disaster!  He finished up his masters degree that first week of December (wooooohoooooo), so the kids and I thought we'd show him how proud we were of him.  We planned to surprise him by writing on his car and sticking a ton of balloons in it. . . But, when we went to his celebratory lunch (with people from his internship) his car was no where to be found!  We drove around the parking lot (with a bazillion other crazy drivers) for-EVER!!!  I finally relented and texted him, saying, we're in the area can we stop by and meet your friends (he had wanted us to anyway, I think). We took the balloons in to him and thoroughly embarrassed him. :) The look on his surprised face was priceless (even though I had worked the night before, and only had about 2 hours sleep, I still remember it- a Christmas miracle).  (BTW- he had ridden there with someone else, which is why we couldn't find his car!)

So, we still had the issue of the car writing that the kids were not going to let go. On the final day of his internship we drove over to the hospital he was at and looked for his car.  You're not going to believe this. . . I couldn't find it!!!  Again, relenting, I texted him saying we were in the neighborhood wanting to go out to lunch when you get done, want to park by your car, where is it?  It was in the employee garage!!!  Can you believe it?  So, we left and went out to lunch.  When we were done eating, I made him stay in the restaurant while we went outside to decorate his car!  I never even took pictures, because I was so frustrated.  We wrote things like, love you, Dad the grad, etc.  It was fun after the frustration died down.  I think he liked it. . .

After that, we went camping.  Then, when we came back, I worked that crazy, crazy schedule (2 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on). . . I call those the zombie days and nothing got done.  Then, the next week, I worked 4 in a row.  It was just an unusually weird month as far as my work schedule went.  I was exhausted, never knew if I was coming or going, and sad. . . I really wanted to really focus on Jesus, on others, and on showing my kids the wonderful ways they can serve and be little lights.  But, it was all I could do to stay awake and keep up with our regular duties.  To say the least, I was disappointed, frustrated, and highly resentful of the fact that I had to work.  Ugh...that's not quite the attitude I was going for this season!

Then Christmas came.  As it has been many times before, it was quite a disappointment.  Without incriminating anyone, let's just say that things are getting better, and that my broken heart is in the healing stage.  Hopefully, this will be the last Christmas spent in tears.  (Many of my childhood Christmases were spent this way- at a certain grandmother's house.)   Then, as if it wasn't bad enough, I had to work Christmas night and the night after. . . So, I've spent the last several weeks trying desperately to adjust my attitude.  I've been reminded of how thankful I am for grace.  While I don't believe my outward behavior was terrible, my heart attitude has been one of selfishness. . . the very thing I started out to set right!  While the season and my hopes were let down, I am infinitely grateful for my sweet Jesus who humbled Himself enough to become a baby, then a man, die on a cross, and love me in spite of my selfishness/self-centeredness.  I am mindful of grace that covers resentment and selfishness, and so ever grateful for it.  I am grateful for the gift of a job that I now really enjoy, a husband who loves me (also in spite of me) and and amazing family to share special moments with...even the moments chasing down Hubby's car!

I think we will try again, all year long, to be lights to the world.  Sometimes I'm going to fail.  Sometimes, though, God just might decide to shine through me!

Do all things without grumbling or questioning that you may become blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life. . . 

Philippians 2:14-16a

Weekly Wrap-Up: Fabulously Crazy

Well friends... it has been another fabulous/crazy week!  Or should I say fabulously crazy?!  We have been busy as usual, but in a super fun way.

In My Life This Week. . . (and some of last week)
First off, I need to back up to last week just a tad (remember my weeks are weird cause I work Fri/Sat).... I had a Friday night off of work!  *Insert here whistles, applause, streamers, and balloons!  It was weird.  But, we made the best of it! ;) Hubby and I decided we'd get the kids some bikes for Christmas, and ourselves too.  And, as you know great deals on Craigslist don't last. So Friday night, and Saturday morning we ALL got bikes. Well, except for Baby T.  She's going to practice on Little Bit's old bike, but will be getting a bigger one for her before Christmas.  Back to Friday night... we cooked together (even Bean Boy who usually prefers to be alone, joined us without being asked!), we had a family movie, popcorn, and just an amazing time together.  Saturday we went to get the rest of the bikes, we went to a little outdoor sale and got a free lunch, and just had fun.  Of course, then it was back to work...but 1 night doesn't really bother me! I feel like superwoman when I only have to do one night! :) Sunday, they woke me up at 3:00 begging to go for a bike ride.  I couldn't say "no".  Especially since Hubby spent Saturday while I was napping, cleaning out the garage to fit the bikes in!  It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time...even ran into a great friend!So, now, everyday I hear, "Can we go for a bike ride?" Which is great!  It will keep me accountable to exercising, and give the kids something other than TV to look forward too!

I've also been getting ready for THE PARTY.... Friday is shopping day.  I'm hoping Hubby will make the chili the day before (he doesn't know that yet!). Thursday and Friday will be organizing day.  I've got lists for what goes on which table (all number nicely like an organizing fool) and will put each list in its own box for each table.  Sunday, I'll sleep after work, then run over to my mom's house and get it all ready.  Thank you Mom for letting us use your amazing yard for such a fun party! I hope we can pull it off after me working the two nights before!

My crazy kids decided to beg me for Christmas music!!! It's playing in the background while the kids work on school and cleaning and such!  I love Christmas music, but feel like it's a little early.  We found our Thanksgiving joke book to offset!  I'll have the girls practice reading by reading me a joke a day until Tday!!!

In Our Homeschool This Week. . .
Well, I'm not going to lie... I'm still struggling with sticking to the plan.  I'm totally rebelling and wanting to do other things.  I think part of the problem is that I have yet to figure out, in my 7 years of homeschooling, how to maintain our home the way I like, and do school.  One or the other suffers...until I feel the walls closing in, at which point they both suffer.  And that is where I am now.  I can't stand the mess, the dirt I know is there, the kid-cleaned bathroom desperately needs mom's touch, my room is worse than any other place!  Geesh!  Ok... this part is supposed to be about school.  We ARE getting everything done, I just don't want to! hehe! With the girls, I'm doing a lot of games, and different things to practice with reading.  Math has been much of the same.  Because of Bean Boy's writing class, every week the girls and I spend an hour in McDonald's   working on our school- they get the bonus of hot chocolate and they work really well there.  It's nice to change it up every once in a while!

I Am Inspired By. . .
Well, while we were in McDonald's this week, an older gentleman (who I believe sat behind us last week) came up to me and said, "I've been bragging about you to my wife.  She is a school teacher.  I told her what a great job you're doing and she wishes that more parents were like you. Your girls are smart and beautiful." Well...even though I don't wanna do school some days, I think that will get me through the next 7 days till vacation!  Thank you Lord, for the encouragement!!!

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing. . . 
We had an impromptu lunch with a friend this week.  My son's best friend and his family, to be exact.  I felt bad, because it had been a long time since we had seen them.  We were already out for writing class, and the chiropractor, so we invited them out.  It was a special treat!  And, I'm so looking forward to Little Bit's birthday party...cause it's just going to be so cool, and because it will be a reunion with friends we love dearly and don't get to see often enough!

My Favorite Thing This Week Was. . . 
I have such an amazing family, that it is hard to decide what my favorite thing this week was.  But, I think it would have to be our times together.  It is a blessing to not have to send my kids away every day!  I love being with them.  Our bike ride, our family movie, school/park day, school at McDonald's, cooking together as a family, late night talks with Bean Boy, late night talks with Hubby, how can a mom decide?

Ya'll have a great weekend!

I'm Ba-ack!!!

Just a quick note to let everyone know I'm back from one of the most amazing vacations ever!  The only things that would have made it better would be if Hubby could have gone and if it were just a tad bit longer!  I'll be posting about our amazing time with some great pics. For now just know that I'm back, "plugged in"

 again, and ready to go!

Enjoy the preview!

Uncertainty and Doubt

My very handsome young man!

So, yesterday was one of those days.  My frustration level hit an all time high, which made my "grit" sink to an all time low. I just wanted to quit.  I'm so tired of fighting to get an "average" (or less) performance from an incredibly intelligent child.  He's your typical "do just enough" kid...and sometimes, it's just not enough.... Sigh.  His ADD and Executive Functioning disorder are more than just a diagnosis.  It opens up his mother to a whole new world of doubt and uncertainty.  Throw in a tad of giftedness (and hormones) and it is enough to make her want to crawl into a hole for, oh, about 18 years!!!  This. Is. Hard!!!!

I am so thankful for this incredible kid.  He is super, crazy smart.  Hubby says at night they make up math problems to do together, and that Bean Boy is making up trigonometry problems!  Geesh!  He's 11 people!!!  He is super creative and constantly that brain is turning.  It makes my brain feel exhausted.  He is funny.  Fortunately, and unfortunately, he got my sense of humor.  It's funny, but extremely sarcastic and for an 11 year old without discernment... well, it can mean trouble.  Adults love this kid! Really, they do. And, they can never figure out why he causes me so much frustration and stress, because they just think he is so wonderful.  And, he is wonderful....

But, he is a strong-willed kid.  When he was younger, it used to really frustrate me when people thought it would make things better to say, "He is strong-willed. He'll be a good leader one day."  I constantly thought, if he makes it!  I totally see now that no one (and I mean NO ONE) will convince that kid to do anything he doesn't want to do. So, the imperative to teach him to do the right thing, and to pray the Holy Spirit will make him desire the right thing, feels that much greater.

Insert doubt and uncertainty here... This is where I am faint of heart.  I struggle with knowing where he is.  Hubby and I frequently compare him to Sheldon on Big Bang Theory.  He is almost completely without emotions or the capability to talk about them.  The only time he shows emotion is when he is dog tired and completely unable to function; which, due to his sleeping issues, is frequently.  And these emotions come in outbursts of tears and unreasonable attitude, and end in him being sent to bed.  I long to connect with him on any level outside of Phineas and Pherb, comics, and fantasy.  It makes my heart ache....

I long for him to be able to sleep.  I long to be confident in the decisions we make concerning him.  I long for him to develop healthy friendships with kids his own age.  The only decision I confidently trust, is our decision to homeschool.  While there are days that I think it would be easier to send him to school, deep down I believe that is a lie from the enemy.  My heart aches for this kid who struggles with a sleeping disorder, inability to organize, and inability to focus.  It hurts.  I do wish it were me and not him.  I never know if I should let him sleep or push him through it.  I never know if I should give consequences for losing school work and books, or revamp our organization.  I feel like I cannot give him the training and tools he needs to become a man who will be able to support his family... there just isn't time!  Some days, I truly feel like a failure.

Insert frustration here.... he's so stinking smart.  My brain and heart oscillate from compassion to frustration.  Surely he is smart enough to remember when you are done with the math book, put it away.  Don't make your sisters squeal; it is not fun for them.  All sentences begin with capital letters and end with a punctuation mark (picture him rolling eyes here).  Now that he is in 6th grade, the pressure (from where I don't know) to focus more on academics and learning certain things, is mounting.  He is 11, I should be able to expect a little bit more maturity.  Right?  So, I get angry.  That solves a whole lot, right?

There just aren't words to describe the constant nagging in my heart, that says I messed up again, the pain of knowing he's not like other kids, the uncertainty and questioning of every decision we make concerning him.  There is fear about what his future holds.  Will he be able to focus enough to hold a job? Will he be able to turn in documents that are completed (and punctuated) correctly, without food and crumpling?  Will he be able to connect with a woman and marry?  There is so much uncertainty...my heart grows weak.

I try not to borrow trouble from tomorrow and the future, especially Bean Boy's future.  It is more than I can bear, to think about what could be.  Instead, today I am choosing to believe that God will redeem the situation.  I believe God has a plan for him.  I believe He has a specific purpose and calling, and that Bean Boy is unique for this reason.  I believe apart from God, I cannot have certainty in parenting this amazing kiddo.  And even then, it is hard.  So, minute by minute I must choose to trust God for my son.  It is hard work, this faith thing!  :)

Yes, he is goofy!

Yes, he does like to read the dictionary.....

Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart; Commit your way to the Lord; trust Him and He will act. Ps. 37: 3-5

Bad Day....Thank you God

Well, Sunday things didn't turn out like I had planned. I was super excited to have a Sunday off (one where I hadn't worked the night before).  It is so very rare! I had all my plans ready to go over to my mom's and spend the day doing some crafts I've had planned out for a while...thank you Pinterest!  Yes, I know we were skipping church, but my hubby was gone, and I don't really ever get to go to church, so I don't have a class, etc.... excuses, excuses.  We had some mighty worship time in the car; much to my son's dismay! He had to listen to us girls belt it out!

So, I get the kids loaded up before 0900... We get to mom's and make a list of things we need (of course, I don't have everything for even one project).  While we are waiting for Michaels to open, Baby T was complaining about being cold.  Well, after some push-ups, jumping jacks, and sit ups, she stopped complaining...exit thoughts about cold from mom's head.  

Once we got to Michael's, the complaints of cold started again. It finally dawned on me that this child never complains about much of anything, much less being cold.  I felt her head.... then the guilt set it.  The child had a raging fever!  In my defense, she never acted sick at all! We finished at Michael's went to Mom's, and while the kids sat in the car, I packed up all of our stuff. No crafts for me that day- they didn't have what I needed anyway.  Then, when we got home, her temp was 102.6!  She was still not acting sick!  We went to bed anyway...hey, she needed her momma to nap with her, right? 

So, yeah, I was kinda bummed that my plans got ruined. BUT, I was so thankful to be with her, that her dad didn't have to manage this (he was at the hospital, on call, till Monday at 4:30).  I was thankful for the snuggle time, which she is kind of outgrowing. And, looking back, especially thankful that I was the one home.  When we woke up, her tempt was 101.something.  She was shivering. I medicated her around 8:00, snuggled with her, then her temp was 104.5!  Yikes! This was an hour after her meds. I put her in the tub, and it went up again to 104.9!!! SO, my mom came over to watch the other kids, and I headed off to the ER, after another dose of tylenol. 

By the time we got there, her temp was down of course. Rapid strep test was negative, and we got to go home.  Now, she has a fever, but is doing gymnastics in the living room.  We got to have another sweet nap together today.  I'm thankful it was nothing serious. I'm thankful that my best friend (also a nurse) was able to come down from work and visit us in the ER.  I'm thankful for my children. I'm thankful that we got insurance when we did (last month!), I'm thankful that God has not seen fit to give  us major illnesses to deal with to add to our stress. I'm so thankful for snuggles with my babies who are growing up way to fast. I'm thankful for the friend who brought us Pedialyte, and the one who brought us dinner. I'm thankful that we were able to get most of our school done today (Baby T excluded from most). I'm thankful that in the midst of something bad, God has given me so very, very much to be thankful for. 

Weekly Wrap-Up: Grateful for "Normal"

• In my life this week…  It was a plain, old, normal week!!! Yippeee!!!
• In our homeschool this week…Let's just say that we've come to the end of the week, and I'm just so thankful that it was NORMAL!!!  I didn't have to share homeschool responsibilities; meaning Hubby nor Grommy were teaching this week, just me and my kids!  Work did not interfere this week!  The last couple of months have not afforded many weeks like this, and I'm just so grateful to have one.  I remember now that I actually like to homeschool, I hate sharing my kids (even with family) and time is so precious and fleeting!  I wish I could make time stand still on our normal days!

       Little Bit started a Jr. Homemaker course.  This semester is cooking.In less than 2 hours they made a 7 layer bean dip, cinnamon/sugar tortillas, and an ambrosia! She did great, and the tacos from our local Mexican restaurant went great with her bean dip.... YUM!I'm excited to have help in the kitchen! (Can you believe I forgot to take pictures?)

       We are working on a review for Math Made Simple, and my son is doing algebra...and likes it!  He is 11 people...oh my word!!! More on this in a couple of weeks.

       We did make it to the park and to a field trip.  Poor Bean Boy did school at the park, and late in the afternoon the next day to keep up!  I'm proud of him.

• I am inspired by…  Pinterest...I tried, tried, tried so hard to resist... but it got me.  My mom yelled at me for actually doing the things I pinned saying I make everyone else look bad. Well... truth be told, I'll never measure up to those amazing people. Ha!  I'll just stick with gluing fabric on plastic cups, and move on! 
• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… Our field trip this week was to see the lego movie Jericho that was written/produced by a homeschool family.  It was hysterical!  AND, very well done!  Impressive! Here is a link so you can sneak a preview...
• My favorite thing this week was…  as stated above, having a "normal" week.
• What’s working/not working for us…  Work is not working for me...anyone adopting a homeschool family????  Though, I have to say I'm getting excited/nervous about transferring to the Trauma ICU....this is my last weekend on my current floor!
• I’m praying for… my friend Angie.  She's a long way from home, and I love her dearly.  Angie, I know your purpose is mighty, and that you are serving the Lord with all your heart!  I love you!

Linking with Kris as usual, and iHomeschool Network
I also love this lady! Rachel always displays a theme of gratitude...something God's teaching me so much about!!!



                                                 

Weekly Wrap: First Concert!!!!

So, this is only 3-4 days later than usual!  My work schedule has been very tough to deal with.  In the last 2 weeks, I've probably worked over 90 hours!  I'm very thankful to my husband, mother-in-law, and friends who have helped keep us sane during the crazy....

Despite that, there are a couple of really good memories from the week that I wanted to share.  First, I re-started SOTW in order to "do it right". I had just been putting in the CDs and moving on.  For my son, that's enough...but for Little Bit, with no history foundation in the 3rd SOTW book, it was, well, just not fair to her.  So, I decided to actually listen with them (fortunately I can do 2 things at once!) and do some of the activities... This week's activity involved 10 lbs of flour... I couldn't imagine throwing all that flour away, so I threw it at my kids!  (Yes, we did this outside!)  It is a lesson I have learned...while the fun was hysterical, I STILL have flour on my driveway and car!!!  My husband is going to pay my son to pressure wash the driveway, and eventually, we'll get the car scrubbed... But, it was fun!!! The neighbor came out to get her mail and got a good chuckle while snapping a picture for us!

Baby T did not enjoy this...she got flour in her eyes. 

This is how it started...

The other fantastic memory was of Little Bit's first concert.  She is my music lover, and singer.  Through FB I discovered that Kari Jobe was coming in concert.  Who doesn't love to sing with Kari Jobe? So, we invited a friend for a girls night out, went to Panera, and jammed with Anthony Evans, All Sons and Daughters (bought the album and LOVE it!!!) and of course, Kari Jobe... It was fun to see the girls jumping on the pews, dancing, singing, worshiping!  Every song asking, when is Kari coming out?!  And what a beautiful first concert.  It wasn't huge like some are.  It was low-key...lots of kids at the front on the floor. Little Bit was fascinated with the lights, so I know the bigger concerts will be exciting for her too.  But, my friend was saying that her first concert was Cranberries...remember them?  So, I was glad that Little Bit's first had such a focus on worship... several times Kari was on her knees before the Lord. Hands raised more often than not, and just speaking the name of Jesus....it was lovely!

Breaking  my rules and showing "face"... but, I was shocked at how much she looks like me!

Sorry for the cruddy cell phone pic, but you can get the idea and see the worship in her heart! God is good!

This week should be better as far as being on time with my update!

Weekly Wrap-up: Finding Adventure in Following Him

Things go better for me when I start this wrap-up in the beginning of the week! I've already forgotten what went down! LOL!!! We did do quite a bit of school, and I distinctly remember loving it and feeling organized and on top of things. Ok, so that was good. We even did school on Tuesday and then attended our Not Back to School Party at JumpZone... that was interesting! 102 kids in one place!

The kids favorite superhero...on this day anyway!

This slide at Jump Zone was very scary because it was super fast!

The kids had a blast. Wednesday was a typical day... school, rain, gymnastics! Rain has become part of our "typical" day around here. I do love the afternoon T-storms. . . but I HATE the mosquitoes, the natural result of all this rain. Baby T must be super yummy, because just running out to feed the chickens results in 4-10 bites! It's ridiculous! Well, I guess the benefit is that it has seemed like a much cooler summer.

I did have a little fun with lunch, inspired by Gina at SkinnyTaste!

Not sure why this came out fuzzy! :(

 
Thursday was special because I had my interview, and got the job! I will be transferring to the trauma ICU some time next schedule (around the end of September beginning of October). I had my choice of med-surge ICU or trauma. It was a very, very difficult decision to make. I tried very hard to get the manager to make the decision for me, but in the end I had to. I still have mixed emotions, but in the end I followed what I felt like God wanted for me. After praying quite a bit about it, I felt like He was saying that in the end trauma training will be good for missions. So, maybe it won't be exactly what I'm looking for, but it will be a fantastic learning experience, and more importantly, what He wants for me. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. It's always an adventure when we let God lead!

Ok... just this morning, the most exciting thing of the week happened! We found our first egg!!!! One of our 4 baby chicks...ok, grown up chicken... has laid us an egg! Yippeeeee! We are all so excited!

Our very first chicken egg!!!

I'm so grateful to God for the special life we live!  I'm so very blessed!
Well, it's off to work for the weekend. I hope you all have a great weekend!

 Linking up with

My Most Awesomest Students Ever!

I'm not going to lie.... it was VERY DIFFICULT to choose pictures for this blog hop.  I don't like to show my kids full faces on the internet, so it took me a while... Not to mention I worked Thursday-Sunday nights and was waaay too tired last night to post anything!

These shots were done by Laina Bowen from Every Generation Photography.  She did an excellent job, and as you can see, we all had a lot of fun.  Some of them even look like serious student pictures!  I included a pic of the whole family for fun!

Baby T and Little Bit being themselves.... super silly!

*I don't have a loner picture of Little Bit that I can use! :( But the one of her with Baby T is great!

I probably shouldn't mention the fight over the feather "pen"... Looks like Baby T won!

BeanBoy did not love this day...though he did like the idea of having his picture taken with books! 

BeanBoy, Kristy, Hubby, Little Bit, and Baby T.

Linking up for the Not Back to School Blog Hop at ihomeschoolnetwork.com

Weekly Wrap-Up: Surpassing Survival!

Survival at Its Finest...
Well, we've survived again!  I'm just so glad that I've decided this year is a survival year, cause then, when we have great weeks like this one, I can say I've surpassed my goals!

Monday I "survived" on 1.5 hours of sleep!  Actually I thrived.  I managed to leave work almost 2 hours late, run some errands, get home, nap (hence the 1.5 hours), run another (unsuccessful errand) and get our free JCP haircuts.  Well, mine wasn't free, but the 3 chilies were!  Hubby showed up and got his cut too!  Who new haircuts could be a family affair!?  Then, I planned, organized, put together all the amazing things for our "Back to School/Not Back to School" party!!! Whew... it was 2300 before I made it to bed! By Wednesday I was dragging!

Back to School/Not Back to School Party
So.... I guess you're wondering about our "Back to School/Not Back to School" party.  I started feeling guilty reading all these blogs with people who have great back to school traditions. We have just always started... no fun, no traditions, no frills or lace.  So, I thought I'd do something fun for a change! Well, my God-daughter and niece both go to school and one of our homeschooling friends follows the county schedule too.  And we, as you know, have been schooling since June... so it's a back to school/not back to school party.

At our party, I set up stations.  At one station, each child had their foot outline drawn, weighed themself, cut yarn to match their height, and put all of that on a piece of construction paper.  Another station had different "About Me Printables" and suggestions to add to them.  And, at the last station, each child painted their hand print onto a piece of construction paper.  Next year they can pull all of these things out and compare how much they've grown.

We had pizza, this amazingly cool cake I made (though it wasn't as pretty as the picture) and we debuted the first "First Coast Kids News" video! I had mentioned that I might post that here, but the kids' first and last names are in the video, and I'm just not comfortable with that. So, you'll have to believe me when I say it was so amazing!  It was phenomenal, and while I was ready for it to be over with, I am motivated to engage in another project, and I think the kids are too!  WOW!!!
















School
Well, aside from the party- Hey, public school has party days too!!!  Aside from our party day, we did very minimal school.  This is our last week with Crazy K before she goes back to PS.  We did have Grommy tutor this week, Bean Boy is doing great with LOF and has kept up with it, we had one science lesson, and I didn't really work with the girls much.  The kids did learn about opposable thumbs, and walked around for about 10 minutes with their thumbs taped to their hands!  They hated it!  So, I'm sure that will be added to the list of things they are thankful for!!! We didn't necessarily do "Bible" but we have sung our hymns and Bible verses...we even sang our verses while we were preparing for our party!

I'm starting to fizzle out, and will need a break soon I think! I looked at the calendar and figured out we've done 8 weeks of school already!  We started, did 2 weeks, then took 2 weeks off...one for VBS, and the other to recover from VBS! We've done light schooling for sure, but have had a great summer.  I think I'll be taking a week or two in the near future, to clean out my school room, work a few extra hours to pay for some things, and to just have a break.  I never take off long because the kids drive me crazy when they don't have scheduled activities! 

Other Miscellaneous
We had hair cuts, eye doctor appointments, movies again, and gymnastics, and gymnastics!  Gymnastics already takes up so much of our lives, and there is more to come I'm sure.... Crazy K, Little Bit and I will be at Yes You Canvas again Friday, and if I have time, I'll post pics...they are doing koala bears this time.


Crazy K
Crazy K has had a tough life.  Things are really looking up for her.  I can really tell a difference this summer compared to previous summers.  Her mom swears she's moody and frustrating....hey Bean Boy is 3 weeks younger and I want to strangle him more often than not... but this year, I've enjoyed K more than any other!  She gave her life to the Lord last school year, and I can really tell the Holy Spirit has calmed her heart.  She has been a major blessing to me and our family, and I am truly sad to have her going back to school!  And, not just because she won't be here to make lunch anymore! LOL! She's added so much to my life!  I am excited that she said she'd continue with her Thankfulness Journal and will email them to me...and I promised to email her our singing verses! I'm so proud of her, and am sure God has big plans for her.  How blessed am I to get to watch her journey!  I'm adding that to the list!!!

Work
Well, I'll be working 3 in a row this weekend and next weekend.  That is including an actual overtime shift.  Hopefully that will help pay for the dog's tooth extraction (probably 3 he goes in on Friday morning) the eye doctor, glasses, and contacts for me and Bean Boy, and groceries!  So, you probably won't hear from me until Tuesday when I link up with Time-Warp Wife.  I'm working on another piece on gratitude... maybe it will be done by then!

Have a great weekend!!!


Wrapping up the week with Kris again!

Spilled Praise

At the suggestion of a friend, I listened to an incredible sermon by John Piper.   It was a sermon based on Psalm 145:4.  You can read it or listen to it here.  The verse is a simple command; One generation shall proclaim your works to another and declare your mighty acts.  Piper does an excellent job of explaining our responsibility as the "one generation".  He then delves into how we need to be infatuated with the Kingdom of God in order to be effective.  In other words, we aren't just teaching our children history, or even just HisStory. We are to model a burning, ravenous, all-consuming love for the Kingdom of God.  Our hearts should be so filled with the treasure of God himself, that it overflows out through our mouths (Luke 6:45). 

Piper had an amazing phrase that made my heart quicken... Spill over in praise to the next generation.... Words that God has had on my heart for some time (just not worded as well as Piper did!)! It goes hand in hand with the Deuteronomy mandate... I've been purposefully looking for ways to share with the kids God's goodness, specifically His goodness to me and our family. Ways to make God "real" and personal, not just a list of stories and facts...

Just this morning I was telling God how my head is usually swimming with thoughts....This is what I wrote in my prayer journal this morning:

Oh how slow I am to learn Lord!  I feel as if I have one of those brains that can't think beyond what is in front of me, which often means I'm not thinking about you!  How many opportunities have I missed to thank you, praise you, talk to you, ask you for help, meditate on your Word, (share you with others-namely my kids), etc.?  But Lord, how can I change this, especially so that my kids can see my good example more than my bad!  How can I "think" about you more so that my love for you flows out of the over-abundance of my heart and others may see it? Teach me.  Guide me.  Show me and help me! My head swims with thoughts of what needs to be done at home, in school, and work...the how to's and what to's and need to's of my life.  But, I want it to be swimming with the things you have told me, how great you are, and what is lovely, pure, and noble, etc....

I admit, I'm not as infatuated as I could/should be and that my other thoughts so often push thoughts of Him out. It is an area He and I have been working on.  So, with God's help, I will continue on my journey of thankfulness.  I'll continue to put good, namely God's Word, into my heart so that it becomes the treasure of my heart, and from the abundance of my heart, my mouth will speak.  (Luke 6:45).  I will rely on the Holy Spirit to continually renew my mind, to shift my focus, and to guide my heart.  I will continue to be purposefully looking for opportunities to share what He personally means to me, has done for me, has given me, and spoken to me, and loved me, and been good to me, and faithful to me, and how is is just absolutely wonderful and worth more than all I could ever give with my babies, and others.  I will do this as often as I can remember, and pray that God will continue to remind me more and more often.  I want my kids to see my love for Him and have no doubt that He is worth it!

 

Weekly Wrap-up

Well, we've survived another week! (That's good since we are in survival mode.) It was an unusual week being as I had to work in the middle of it!  I worked Wednesday and Thursday from 7p-7a (ish).  Hubby came home early Wed and took off Thursday to be available to take kids to gymnastics and the summer movie and to make sure they don't burn down the house!  It was still a pretty productive week though!

Accomplishments!!!!
We finally, finally finished our Olympic lapbooks! I'm not sure what we did wrong, but all of us have decided we hate lapbooks! LOL!  Crazy K said it best, it's so messy, and unorganized, and it takes forever!  I think if I were to do it over, I would do it differently.

Because each of them cut at different rates, we've been just cutting, cutting, cutting... I saved all the gluing for the final day, which turned out to be a mess.  IF, and that's a big IF, we do it again, we'll make the actual book first, then cut and glue after each lesson (or during).  Perhaps that would help.  We've done lapbooks before, but this was the first time we've had all 4 kiddos doing them.  They turned out pretty good, but we're all glad they're over! 

In addition to that accomplishment, my wonderful Hubby hung the monkey pictures for me!  I was surprised to come home to them hanging in the bathroom!  Yeah!

In School
School did happen this week, though it was a short week, with light days.  Bean Boy finished his fractions book from Life of Fred last week, and has started on decimals this week.  He finished the fractions book in about 2 months!  He is still loving it!

Grommy came and worked with the kids again this week.  She and the kids said she worked them pretty hard!  Yeah Grommy!!!  We will be filming our news production this weekend and rehearsing on Friday, so hopefully we can get that out of the way.  I will try to post that, though I've not had much luck posting videos... here's another opportunity to practice, right?

Miscellaneous
This weekend my cousin is getting married!  It will be exciting.  My husband and I eloped 12.5 years ago, and had an extremely small wedding the next day.  (That's a funny story....for another time!) I haven't been to a wedding since we first got married!  Makes my thoughts linger to the time when things were new and exciting and we had the whole world at our feet.... and it makes me glad to be here, where we are friends as well as lovers, where we trust each other more and love each other more; where we've learned that even when we don't "feel it" we can "love" each other in an active way... the way God tells us to.  I'm so glad that we've come through hard times, rejoiced in good times, watched God provide during the worst times, and still are committed to one another.  Every day in our lives with each other and God as the Captain has been a wild adventure! 

Check out Kris at

 

Thankfulness Journey

Give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

It is fitting that I was distracted when starting my thankfulness list. I wrote at the top of my page "Thankfulness Journey" instead of Thankfulness Journal, which was my original intent. However, I like the idea of this project being a "journey." The idea certainly was not original, just something I've "heard of" several people doing. But, it was an idea borne out of frustration with the constant, "Can we go/have/dos" and the "We never gets...." and the "But I don't haves..." that I feel like I'm constantly hearing. It seems like we leave one fun activity that was super fantastic, and they're already asking what's next, instead of lingering over how great that activity was. The "thank yous" are far and few between, without reminders, and I'm frustrated.

But then...perhaps I haven't been the best example. I've been feeling incredibly discontent with things in my life. While I do treasure the little things, and am grateful for them, and rarely forget my own manners, I have had a discontent spirit. My furniture is falling apart now, after many years of being used as a vault and mat, my floors still are not finished, my kitchen looks like a picture of something from the Brady Bunch, and we are struggling to put groceries on the table. What I tend to forget, is that God literally provided all our furniture, and we didn't pay a dime for it! I forget to be grateful that Hubby the Hero mops all my floors (and he's doing it now). I also forget that some of our most amazing memories come from that antiquated kitchen!

Not only have I struggled with discontentment in my "home" but also with the people in my life. Sure, they are all sinners and will let me down (and that is true of myself of course) but they are also blessings! My discontentment has spread to relationships! I shudder to think how dangerous this is! My dissatisfaction with my kids, my husband, and myself have led to dissatisfaction with my God. It is viral! It spreads like fire in a windstorm! And, it is so dangerous. And, I'm sorry! I'm sorry to my family and friends who have had to deal with my sour attitude. And, I'm sorry to God for allowing it to grow inside of me and affect my relationship with Him!

SO- the cure for this nasty virus.... I will be intentional and purposefully thankful. As I've told the kids, each day it gets harder to make that list, we need to be keeping our eyes open for opportunities to be thankful. What nice things have people done for us? What are things we don't like/enjoy and what about them can we be thankful for? For example I don't like washing dishes, but sure am thankful to have food! What can we learn about God from this? I've started two projects to help me be intentional. The first is, as you have already seen here, the list the kids and I are making together during our Bible study time. We will continue to daily list 5 things we are thankful for without repeating. If we list a person, it has to be followed by something specific that they have done to make us thankful. It is making it so that we have to pay attention during the day. The second project is to help remedy the dissatisfaction I have felt in my relationship with my husband. He truly is a guy most other wives would want! Other husbands should take notes.... but I've taken that for granted, and I want to remedy that. So, without saying more, just know that I'm working on that, and I will eventually share some details.

I'd love to know if you are interested in joining me in this journey. I'll email you the details of the project for Hubby if you like, and will probably "advertise" heavily about it when I'm done, but would love to have you join me on any part of this thankfulness journey.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of Jesus, 
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.  
Colossians 3:17

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Psalm 118:1

I'm linking up here:

 

Weekly Wrap-up

This week has been amazing... a few field trips, a little school, some time in the kitchen, and wonderful fun together, as well as a nice surprise... I can't believe I'm already to the end of the week, and about ready to head back to work! It will probably be easiest if I go day by day for this wrap-up.  

Monday
Monday was a fantastic day.  I was just getting over my 24 hour "death bug" and might have overdone it, but it was wonderful!  Swim team is over. . . that means no more leaving by 0730 every morning!!! Woohoo!  So, back to my wonderful routine! Mommy is so happy!!!  However, we didn't have school on Monday.  Just a field trip.  Baby T spent most of the day with some friends, while Crazy K, Bean Boy, and Little Bit and I went to this great place called Yes You Canvas!  They painted these amazing monkeys that I'm going to hang on my bathroom wall!  *I got the hooks, and then discovered I don't have the right nails! Geesh!  I'll post a picture of the completed monkeys after I hang them.

And, it all started from just one yellow circle! The instructor was great!  Step by step he led each student through and they all made fabulous monkeys! 

 

After that, we went to visit Hubby at his work/internship.  We were able to have lunch together.  What a treat for us all. Then it was back to get Baby T, home for a short siesta, and then the cooking commenced...

I organize a casserole swap where each participant makes a casserole for all of the other participants.  So, this time we had 7 people sign-up... I made 7 tonight, 1 for myself and 6 for the other families...all the same casserole.  The girls had fun helping in the kitchen... Yummy Chicken Enchiladas from Skinny Taste!

One of 3 pots of chicken I made to go in our 6 casseroles... fortunately I had some left over I was able to freeze.

 The girls were so helpful all doing whatever was asked of them, and offering to do even more! I'm so blessed!

 Well...they're all piled in our deep freeze waiting to be exchanged now.  It has been invaluable to know that once a week I can pull something out of the freezer and dinner is ready!!!

 Oh... and, Hubby the Hero even helped clean up the mess! And what a mess it was!

Tuesday

Tuesday was just a regular old school day! I'm so thankful that Bean Boy had the opportunity to be on swim team, but even more thankful that it is over, and I have my mornings back.  We spent the morning doing chores and school, and then the afternoon was spent at the gym while the girls tumbled and jumped and walked on their hands!  Nothing special to report except that routine makes me happy!

1st grade math is fun!

Wednesday

Wednesday was some more routine, with a twist.  I had bought some clipboards for the girls and myself to keep our daily "list" on.  This year I started to use Scholaric for keeping up with our lesson plans and Bean Boy is starting to get some grades that Scholaric will keep up with too.  So, I print our lists from Scholaric and put it on the clipboards...anyway- all this to say that I got to spend some time using my creativity to color and decorate the clipboards with Crazy K.  It was something I wouldn't normally do, and was a ton of fun and very relaxing.  As time started to get by, we started to sing our memory verses and hymns while we were coloring! Then onto Bible and so forth.

Baby T saying her memory verse with hand motions!

Wednesday is also a gymnastics day, so I dropped the older two off at the tutor and headed to the gym.  On the way, I got a phone call from a friend who was ill and said she couldn't go to the painting class she had signed up for at Yes You Canvas... she wanted to know if I wanted to take her spot.  I wasn't sure about this.  I did want to, and the picture they were painting was one I had wanted to do, but it was just outside of my comfort zone.  When I talked to Hubby about it, he actually pretty much told me to go.... so I did.  And, I'm so glad that I did!  I had a good time, though I found some parts unnerving and a little stressful, I really like my painting.  What do you think? 

Thursday

My MIL comes once a week to play, I mean school the kids.  ;) She does a lot of the stuff I don't like to work on... flashcards, drills, rote memory type stuff. Usually she comes while I'm sleeping or going to appointments or such, but today I didn't have any of that, so I cleaned! It was fabulous. I cleaned out Baby T's drawers, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned the kitchen (which was a nightmare!) and more!  Then I took a shower.  The kids and I said goodbye to Grommy and headed out to lunch and bowling.  We had a great time bowling with our friends (despite several break downs of the ball return machine!).

After bowling, we returned home to start on dinner...then the ladies came to swap our casseroles... 6 new yummy casseroles in the freezer.  I have one free pass for the next 6 weeks!!! Yippeee!

Friday-

I'm writing this ahead of time, but the plan is to school, have lunch with my mom, and then I go to work...nothing special.  Another week will have gone by, and we will not have finished our lapbooks before the start of the Olympics! :( BUT, we will finish them next week! Then onto our government study, hopefully.

Favorite Part of the Week

I've noticed a spirit of ungratefulness in my kids lately.  And, I must confess, I've had a spirit of dis-contentedness.  So, last week I asked the kids to list 5 things they were grateful for.  They were not allowed to say people, unless it was a specific thing about that person or something they had done. We continued the list each day, and they were not allowed to repeat anything.  This starts to get hard after several days.  I'll share a couple of things from each kiddo here and probably make a whole new post on our Thankfulness Journals.  It is interesting to see the progression from day 1 to day 5...

Crazy K
Day 1:  House, food, God, Peace, Love
Day 2:  Happiness, animals, Bible, bed, stuffed animals
Day 3:  Ms. Kristy keeping me this summer, my family is healthy
Day 4:  Little Bit saying good job on Baby T's clipboard, quiet time with God
Day 5:  Grommy doing school with us

Bean Boy
Day 1:  math, rain, monopoly, pets, Josh cuz he is funny (Bean Boy's writing cracks me up!)
Day 2:  Bible, God, exercise, scientists, Life of Fred
Day 3:  Ozzie (our dog), physics... and I just caught that he re-listed Bible.... I guess I can't complain
Day 4:  Mom cuz she is my teacher, Dad cuz he is my math teacher
Day 5:  water, my brain, clothes

Little Bit
Day 1:  movies, Mellow Mushroom, shelter, clothes, toys
Day 2:  furniture, trees
Day 3:  going camping with my family, money for our family
Day 4:  Mommy doing my clipboard, Bean Boy being nice to me
Day 5:  ice cream, Jesus

Baby T
Day 1:  family and friends, God dying on the cross for us, house butterflies and rainbows, toys
Day 2:  chickens (our chickens are hers), Little Bit making breakfast, gymnastics
Day 3:  God, Crazy K helping with chores, flowers
Day 4:  Crazy K and Mommy making my clipboard nice, sunset, thankful that we sing our memory verses

This proves that we have so much in our every day lives to be thankful for.  Many of these things are things others don't have... sadly including Jesus!  We are so very, very blessed.  What a lesson I'm learning as I keep a journal too!  It has been a great way to start our Bible study.

Our Bible Time... Thank you Jesus!

 I'm linking up with Kris again at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.  Have a great weekend and week