Talespin Studio

In case you can't guess, that is going to be the name of my pottery studio (and possibly anything else I decide to design and sell). Ed has been working on my pottery wheel lately and I'm closer than ever to starting my dream of making pottery. Of course I really only want to make it for fun and personal use, but hey, if it turns out that I can make money on it in the long run, I'm certainly not opposed to the idea. =)

The name started with me needing to open an Etsy account this evening. And they tell you that your username will be your shop name if you ever decide to sell something. So I figured, why not make it a good one. Ed helped me brainstorm for a little bit and this was what we came up with: Talespin Studio. The idea being that there will be a story behind everything I create...sewing or spinning pottery... and also the little fact that I have 7 little loves that sometimes put me in a tailspin. AND ....we created my logo...which I have always thought was extremely important even if I never sell my stuff. I want it marked with my own logo. I'll try to scan a copy of our drawing, but it's a flying book with "Talespin Studio" cutely arranged underneath. Can you tell I'm excited? My husband is so awesome! I tell him that all the time.

Socks

I have this love/hate relationship with socks. In the winter, there is nothing better than cuddling up with a fresh pair of cozy pair of socks on when your feet are cold. [If you can find a match.] And the selection in the stores.... I love it! The cute colors and styles. Fluffy ones, fuzzy ones, stripey and polka dot ones, ones with toes. Too cute!

But here's the deal see... socks seem to disappear when it's time to go anywhere. Me: "Go get your socks and shoes on." Someone: (wailing) "I don't have any socks!" So I run to the dryer where I know I just washed an entire load of (I'm positive) nothing but socks and I can't find one single matching pair! Once I have spread the entire load all over my bed, I finally manage to scrape together enough socks to get us out the door. (So much for spontaneity.)

Awhile back, I got tired of looking through 15 drawers to find socks so I designated ONE drawer for all the kids socks. They usually all get put in the drawer unmatched and at some point it's someone's job to match them all.{ Not Isaac though, until he learns how it's supposed to work. I had him do it a couple weeks back and at first glance they seemed ok, if not somewhat lumpy. But on closer inspection, like when I went to smooth them out, I found 3 or 4 different socks all stuffed into one. And not one single one matched any of the others. I had to laugh at that one.} Theoretically, it works like a charm....realistically, we rarely have matched pairs of socks. So those who are less fashion conscious ( and have somehow escaped Mom's scrutiny) wind up with two beautifully mis-matched socks.

Then, there is the finding of dirty socks under every piece of furniture in the entire house. (Yep, pretty sure they didn't miss even one.) And at least 1 out of every 3 of these have some sort of little toy or toys stuffed into each one. Who ever came up with that one must have thought they hit on a brilliant idea. "Hey, I know, let me see how many match box cars I can stuff in this one...then the others will never find my secret stash! I'll even hang it from this hook on the back of the door so that even if they do see it they can't reach it. Awesome!"

Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I growl. =)

On the upside, when I ever do open the drawer and find it full of folded matched socks it's inspirational and exciting. Yeah, I know, I lead a boring life.

So that's how it goes...but, honestly, as frustrating as it is sometimes....I wouldn't trade it for the world. It means I have a houseful of little feet running around that bring lots of joy and quite a few laughs.

Where has the time gone?

I was looking at the date on my last post and realized with a shock how long it has been. I think the last couple months have blown by in a flurry of fall leaves. =)

We saw Mom and Dad and the girls off to Mozambique (for 6 months until Priscilla's wedding), and then I immediately dived into prepping all my Duds for Doodlebugs stuff. While doing that I caught the sewing bug and decided I could save alot of money if I made/repurposed a whole bunch of the kids clothes. That produced a whole lot of mess and great results. (I am hoping to post pics of it all.) We squeezed in a weekend trip to Ed's folks and I also got to spend an awesome couple of days with one of my best friends shopping and sewing. ( Hoping to post pics of that too.) I have attempted to do a certain amount of schooling and while we have had a few good solid weeks , I hate to confess that, alot of the time, the demands of the moment have over-ruled my attempts. I try not to let it overwhelm me when I consider how much of the year we have left and how much of it will be spent NOT doing school.

Maybe one day I will get it all figured out.....

Monday, we had a joint birthday party for the girls--complete with outdoor hotdog roast. The weather was absolutely perfect for it. Then the last couple days, when everything was finally slowing down and I was going to get back on that wagon.... I get sick. Flu I guess, I just know I felt miserable. I'm hoping that I'm on the mend now. I think the Lord lets me get sick ever once in a while just to keep me empathetic with my babies when they are sick. Otherwise I'm saying "suck it up and quit whining". =) (Maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit, but that does happen to be a tendency. Especially when everyone is crying. =)

What next?

Well, I'm planning on catching up with a cousin I haven't seen in forever on Monday. Seriously, probably 10 years. Soooo excited about that. And after that, we have a couple school field trips planned for next Friday.

So what has the Lord been teaching me lately?

Well, I think He is always trying to teach me many things but I'm such a slow learner. Seems I keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Like forgetting to prioritize and letting my whims dictate what happens at any given time.

But a couple of verses the Lord has brought to my attention lately are in 1Peter where I'm attempting to continue to memorize.

1 Peter 4:9 &10 " Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath recieved the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE company and doing for others, but occasionally I get frustrated when some of my carefully laid plans get "rearranged". And this was a good reminder to, even in my heart, be thankful and gracious with every bump that comes along.

The good, the bad, and the muddy

The Good: On a whim I ran to Goodwill today to see if I could find Ed some much needed jeans. And what do you know...I found 4 pairs of like new jeans for $5 each. 2 Lees, 1 Levis and 1 Perry Ellis. Soooo happy!

The Bad: I went to the Lil Butcher Shoppe (also on a whim..I guess I was having a whimsical day. lol) to buy meat today. BIG mistake. I got home and started cooking the ground meat, about 5 lbs. worth, and it smelled so bad. But I went ahead and seasoned it and thought it would be fine. I had planned taco salad for lunch and lasagna for tomorrow. I took one bite of my salad and almost gagged. It was awful!!!! Everyone else thought it tasted ok (as in, palatable), but I truly couldn't handle it, and I'm NOT a picky eater. I finally figured out they must have ground up liver with that batch. Ugh, gross! Won't make that mistake again. So I had to go buy some more ground meat at IGA before it closed this evening. I ended up freezing the other stuff for Ed to take to work. His idea, not mine...I was going to give it to the dog. =/

The Muddy: When I got home from shopping this afternoon, I see 4 little mud bugs in the back yard having a hey day. They had turned on the hose and had a small pond going on. Match box cars and mudpies. I was fine with it all except Alyssa was playing in her nicer clothes. (sigh) Thankfully it all came out in the wash and we are good to go again. =)

So that was my day... and a rather nice one if I do say so myself. And the very best part of it is my honey is home from work again and will be off for 4 whole days. Summer overtime has come to an end and I'm so happy. It was a blessing while it lasted, but I sure have missed having my husband around. =)

Updates on the kiddoes

I decided it was time to post some school pics and just a quick update on what each of the kids is doing.

Aaron just turned 10 in July and he is my scientist, brainiac, let-me-tell-you-about-my-latest-idea, child. He loves to invent, and when he isn't inventing he's reading. He is getting to be quite responsible and is such a help around the house and with Asher. He is such a good big brother...he will take him and change him and play with him. His job is cleaning the bathroom and taking out the trash, and laundry.
Lela is about to be 9 in Oct. And I have really been noticing lately how fast she is growing up. Of course, she has always been my responsible one (even before Aaron ever was) but has gotten more so. I have to always remind myself to not put too much on her and Aaron and to spread the responsibilities to the little ones too. Her job is keeping the beds made and room clean in the bedroom. And laundry. She too loves to read and has recently discovered the prequels to the Little House books..."The Caroline Years"...and is really enjoying them. She loves to design clothes and can't wait for school to start. (We were waiting until Sept. so we actually have about a week left.)

Alyssa is my third, and quite possibly my biggest, book worm. If you can't find her she is on her bed with her nose in a book. Or she is cutting out paper dolls. This child loves to cut stuff out...and it makes the biggest mess, but her attention to detail is pretty amazing. She will turn 8 right after Lela turns 9. Though there is only 13 months between them sometimes I think it seems like a couple years. Ironically, Alyssa has just gone through a growth spurt and has passed Lela up in height, but she is still very much younger in her actions. She is such a contradiction of noticing every little detail and yet being completely oblivious to obvious things. She is very thorough in her work but does tend to take forever....but we are working on that. Her job is to unload the dishwasher and put all the dishes away as well as help with laundry. (EVERYBODY has to help with laundry.=) She is anxious to start school too.

Isaac is 6 and he will be starting first grade. He is so excited. Although he can read basic 3 letter words and is good with knowing his phonics he hasn't had a whole lot of practice reading bigger words and books so we will be focusing on that alot. He can memorize ANYTHING and quotes it at any given time. Sometimes to my great embarrassment, if it happens to be lines from movies. He enjoys jokes and pretending to be cartoon characters. He is learning responsibility with feeding the dog and cleaning off the table.
Levi is 4 now, and in this picture looks so innocent. But he is really a little rascal. haha. He keeps us in stitches with his antics and comments! Everything from sword fighting and a fake british accent to pretending he is Buzz Lightyear or Woody. =) He is so ready to be in "thchool" that I'm going to let him be in pre-school this year. We'll see how much we get done. hmmm.
Ky is about to turn 3 in two weeks. She thinks she was born grown and tries to boss or "mommy" all the others. her jobs involve helping put away laundry and picking up the toys and shoes and books with Levi, as well as other random errands. She is extremely helpful and good at getting what she is sent for, but I have my hands full trying to keep track of where she is and what she is doing. Lots of training going on here. She thinks she is a beautician because she gives herself a haircut about every 6 months or so. I finally had it long enough to all go back in her pony tail when she snipped it again. So I gave her a little chin bob. Here is the picture with her hair cut.

I think it looks pretty cute and is staying out of her face (and food) much better. =)

And HERE is Asher. He is 9 months on Sun. and he just spent the last several weeks cutting 4 teeth. He is our little doll man and is getting so mobile. He pull up on everything now and is all over the place if I ever let him out of the playpen. He is still such a jolly baby and loves to jabber and imitate sounds and faces. He has learned how to clap his hands too and says "yay, yay".

About a week ago, Pete called me up out of the blue and offered to keep the kids if Ed and I wanted to go out somewhere. Well, we had been trying to plan one but were having a hard time trying to figure when we could get a babysitter. ( I'm pretty picky about who I leave them with and I hate to ask family too much...) So anyway, needless to say we took him up on the offer. (He is such a sweet brother... Holly would have helped but she was at work.) I decided to take Asher along as I didn't want to rush back and I figured he would be hungry if I didn't ( he is eating some solid foods now but still nurses pretty often). So he came with us and it was still fun. He is just one child and he isn't running around yet. =) Well, we took our time and enjoyed ourselves, and the minute we walked in the door Asher starts bouncing up and down and squealing and laughing like he hadn't seen the kids in forever! I couldn't believe it. Then we realized he has probably never been alone with us with out the kids that he can remember. It was adorable! He was soooo excited to see his brothers and sisters again. =)

Anyway...I have tons more to tell but that will have to wait. This was just about the kids!

FREE, Please Take....It's Works!

This was the sign attached to my most recent answer to prayer.

We have been needing a second refrigerator for some time now and have looked for a good second hand one off and on in the paper. But as is many times the case, when we had the money we couldn't find one, and when we found one we didn't have the money. I finally just decided to pray about it and leave it with the Lord. (Why am I so slow to think of doing that FIRST?)

Well Saturday afternoon we pulled out of the drive to go over to Mom's and a few houses down we see this huge fridge sitting on the side of the road with that sign taped to it. So Ed backed up, got out and we started rolling it across the street to our house. In a few minutes the man who put it there came out and he got his dolly and helped Ed put it under the carport. It all happened so fast that it took a few minutes to sink in, but I was getting goose bumps when I realized the Lord had answered my prayer in a way I had never imagined!!!

I spent alot of the day yesterday getting it all clean and Ed and Aaron made me a nice platform for it to sit on. While I was working on the fridge, I was composing my blog post in my head....How I would tell the story, what the title would be, etc. Then when I was thinking about the title, I thought of the sign taped to the front... and that was when it hit me. You know, that is the sign God has taped to His help all the time. "FREE, Please take. It Works." Ed preached Sunday night and his message was taken from Psalm 121 and was on how God is our Helper. On the fact that He is always there to take care of every need we have or will ever have and how he should be the first One we go to for help, etc. ( I can't preach it as good as he did. =) So, anyway, I already had all that in the back of my mind too. But it is sooo humbling when you realize that the God of the Universe cares enough about you and your problems and needs and wants to personally take care of them...and then to leave you a note to let you know it was HIM and HE loves you!

I'm crying now so I have to quit typing, but I'm still Praising HIM!

Mondays

Mondays are always busy, and today was no exception. On days like these I go for a quick and painless breakfast like milkshake. Blend, pour, drink, done. EXCEPT for.....when I get up to answer the door and Levi spills his entire cup all over the table. That was all I had made so I give him my cup and start to mop up the mess, and what does he do but spill that one all over the floor. Seriously?

It took an entire roll of paper towels to get it up and then I still had to mop and wipe it down with a rag. (I don't own enough towels to try to clean it with a regular ones. haha) Forget milkshake for Levi, he got a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich. ( He did manage to not spill the milk.)

Then on to my Bible study with Scilla. I'm loving it more all the time.

Follow that up with some very fast cleaning. Cause I had gotten a call from a very special friend that they would be stopping by for a visit! Super excited! The kids did a good job helping with clean-up...as long as I kept them away from the books. hahaha. They were excited to see their friends too.

Then I got to kick back and just visit. It's funny...Brit and I were talking about how different things are in the real life of everyday compared to the false impressions we give off when we are at church or when company comes over. At those times we are the smiling patient Mommy who sits and cuddles her babies and has a spotless house and clean, well-dressed children, with food ready to serve at a moments notice. When we all know the "real" scenario looks more like..."Isaac, you pick that up right now and if everything is done you sit on the couch and DON'T MOVE". "Everybody, we are eating our leftover pizza in the kitchen so we don't mess anything up...and Kyla, is that your third or fourth clean outfit today?"

Yep...'fraid so. =)

Anyway, all in all it was a great day!!! Thank you, Ben, Brit and babies for coming to see us!

Gotta scoot and go change my bed from where Ky wet it in nap...yeah that was probably the fifth change.

Morning devotions (and evening meditations)

I know that by starting out with this it will seem that I am always consistent in having my morning devotions. I also realize that I only post ever once in a while so people aren't getting the whole picture. In reality, this is the first morning in a while that I 've gotten up early enough to read and blog before the day starts.

Be that as it may, it was such a blessing (as always) that I wanted to share a bit. I'm reading in Psalms, Ch 25 - 28 today, and I'm so blessed by the constant reminder of the Lord's willingness to hear us and bless us and guide us. The older I get the more I can identify with David, his desire to serve the Lord and have the Lord's leading, his failing, his love for the Lord in spite of inconsistencies, his fears and triumphs. He records the whole scope of human emotion in the Psalms. And it speaks to my heart so much because it echoes my heart cry.

Ps. 28: 6,7

" Blessed be the Lord, because He hath heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him."

The reminder, you know, of how much He does help me and answers my prayers...and also the question...How much have I praised Him publicly for all that He does for me? My children hear my prayers for help....do they also see the evidence of Him working in my life, do they hear the praise for answered prayer?

This is once again my prayer...Instead of voicing my frustrations with some unmet goal, let me praise the Lord for what has been done. My heart has been helped, now let my mouth give testimony to that.

Before I close I have to tell something about last night that is a little testimony ...

We had Julia's 15 th birthday party last night and had a houseful, even Peepaw and Meemaw and Aunt Sha got to come for it. Most of the crowd had left by 9:30, but as usual, we had some guests until after 11 and of course by then my kids are tired and hyper. I had been telling them to clean up and get p.j.s on while I was still chatting, but I hadn't taken any steps to enforce that other than repeating myself. (Probably a mistake, but it is so disruptive to a conversation to run in the other room and spank 6 kids and come back and try to remember what I was saying.=)) Anyway, after I waved the last people off, I went back in and some of them were still running and jumping off the bunkbeds, etc. And there was abundant evidence in the other room that it was not picked up and many things had been played with besides toys. ( This has been a trend lately anyway, any time we have company. Definitely not a first offense, and we have already discussed this many times.) Needless to say, it got to me. So I lined everyone up and "gave them their due". (Trust me, everyone was guilty.) And sent them to bed. I usually follow all this up with a guilt-inducing lecture on "obeying right away, not wrecking the house, yada, yada, yada..." And I was on the verge of doing it again but ( I know it was the Lord) I just felt that little nudge that it wasn't the right thing to do. I had corrected the problem, now move on. Try to restore fellowship instead of letting them go to sleep thinking I'm still mad. So instead, we had prayer together, and after I hugged and kissed each one, instead of a parting reminder, I suggested "Hank the Cowdog". Can you hear the screams of delight? One chapter of that and it was lights out. Of course they begged for more, but it had done it's job. Fellowship restored.

All that to say, the Lord cares about even the little things and I'm so thankful for His guidance and "reminders".

Ok, I gotta scoot. Ya'll have a good day!

So thankful

I'm just laying here (yes, I'm aware of the time) waiting to skype with Ed before I go to sleep, and I'm just counting my blessings. Usually I tend to lay here and obsess about everything I didn't get done today, but "in everything give thanks", so I'm trying to start a new habit.

I was just thinking about the Bible study Priscilla and I have every Monday and what a blessing it has been. We've been reading through the book of 1 Samuel and then just discussing the things that we notice (or even at times other topics ;-), and we've also been memorizing the 1 ch of 1 Peter. We have about 5 verses left to finish the chapter, and even though we are always lamenting that we don't work on it as consistently as we intend to, we are doing more than we would otherwise. So that's very exciting and one of the reasons I'm thankful. I'm also very thankful for my sis...we've become very close over the past couple years and she is such a blessing to me. (This does not in anyway exclude any other family member(s), but she is just the one I was thinking of right now.) Love ya Scilla!

I was able to get some laundry this evening...I'm trying not to focus on what I didn't get done only what I did... 2 of the beds have cleans sheets and the bathroom and kitchen are mostly clean.

Oh, oh,...just remembered a huge happy. Asher now has a play yard and has been playing happily in it all day. We were able to get it on sale at Walmart last night (while I was on a hot date with my hubby;-) and I'm so thankful for it. He has gotten so mobile that I just wasn't feeling safe with him in the floor anymore. And it rolls...very convenient.

The aforementioned date was alot of fun. I always value uninterrupted time alone with Ed. (It's my best thing, as the kids would say.)

Also looking forward to tomorrow's services. You know, now that I'm writing it I realize that most of the time I don't take the time to "look forward" to the services until I'm actually in church and enjoying it. It's usually such a marathon of...washing hair, and bathing kids, and laying out clothes, and "oh, does everyone have clean underwear?" and " WHERE did that other shoe go?", etc. Speaking of which, I'm also thankful that everyone does have clean underwear and I did actually manage to find matches for everyone's shoes for tomorrow. Don't laugh, that is not to be underestimated!

Anyway, I need to get off here for now. I got me some skyping to do! (thankful for that too!)

Yep, it's 31

I can hardly believe that I'm writing this. Last year was scary turning 30, but I could deal with it because I told myself that it' s just past 29. But now... now I'm "in my 30's"! How did that happen? I had to go put on makeup this morning to convince myself that I don't look a day over 20 (Ok, at least 25?).

So maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic... but it is surprising how time sneaks up on you.

My baby. MY oldest child turned 10 on Saturday. I can remember when he was newborn sitting and rocking him and thinking, "I wonder what he will be like at 10?" and then thinking, well I know it will go by fast but I'm just going to enjoy this moment. Well, it has gone fast. I don't feel a day older than I did then, unless you count that I now need naps more often. lol.

I'm so thankful for all the blessings the Lord has showered on me. I have been truly blessed by having the most patient and understanding and loving man ever as my husband; the 7 sweetest, most ornery, most creative, most imaginative, most loving, most forgiving children; and the greatest family and friends I could ever ask for. (Ok now I'm reminding myself of Miss America..." I want to thank my family and friends....") Seriously though, it makes me so much more aware of my responsibilities. I have so many things I would love to see happen in this next year of mine. Top of the list being that I grow closer to my Lord.

I won't lie, it's been a bit of a tough year this past year...for personal reasons. But I trust I can learn from some of the stuff I've gone through. Reading that, I realize that it sounds worse than I mean for it to. But you know how it is, you go through growing pains as a Christian even after you are all done with them as an individual. And the Lord has been showing me areas in my life that I need to improve on and take control of better.

Well, enough introspection for now...

But now you know how to pray for me in this next year if you should happen to wonder. Pray that I am more yielded to the Lord and His working. More sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and more of a testimony of His love and AMAZING GRACE!

Roughin' it

Dirt, sweat, bugs, wild berries, smoky fire, more dirt, more sweat....yep that was us for about 24 hours or more.

We finally ended up getting off Thurs. afternoon and heading to our camping spot. We got there and realized it was far from any running water (otherwise know as a stream, or lake, or pond, or even a mud puddle). So we had drinking water but no "getting clean" water. Anyway, Ed set up the tent while the kids (including Anna Laurie who was along on this trip) all gathered sticks and pinecones. This was after I sprayed everyone down with bug spray. It was a natural one I found and it worked wonderful. I don't think the mosquitoes bothered us at all. We finally got our fire started and from there went about getting supper. Our menu:

- hot dogs, chips, and s'mores for supper

- bacon, scrambled eggs, bagels, cream cheese and fresh berries for breakfast.

Aside from the bacon, everything was cooked over the fire, and the berries we found there. The kids picked them before breakfast and they tasted sooooo good. I guess being outside makes everything taste so much better but that was some good eatin'!

After supper was done I went about trying to remove some of the dirt before the kids went to sleep but I think I pretty much wasted my time. I felt like I was just smearing the dirt around. And I couldn't see very well by that time, it was dark and we just had the oil lamps. It didn't seem to faze them though. They fell right into their sleeping bags and slept hard. Myself, on the other hand....I wish I could say the same, but once my back stopped hurting, and I finally stopped sweating, I still kept feeling all the dirt in the bed. And let me just say it was a freshly inflated air mattress and clean sheets. =} I guess I did fall asleep because Asher woke up at some unearthly hour of the morning (it was still dark in the tent) and wanted to eat. And kept wanting to eat about every hour or so after that. Then Aaron woke up at the crack of dawn and wanted to start "doing things". First he gathered more pinecones, then he rummaged around in the camp gear for something or other until Ed told him to go sit on the log (we are all still trying to get some sleep), then he shot his BB gun for awhile ( I could hear it pinging off the trees and kept hoping he wouldn't accidentally hit the tent), then when he got tired of that he came to the window and started making faces at Asher and trying to get him to laugh. It was a long morning, I'm not sure what time Ed finally got up but I think I slept a little bit more after that and then finally just gave up and got on up. After the kinks shook loose and I had a cup of coffee, I was good to go again.

It took us the rest of the morning to make and eat breakfast and then starting breaking camp. We got everything cleaned up and packed by around noon (I think...neither of us had a watch so it was hard to tell until we got in the van).

When we got home I sent the kids to the back yard to hose off and I got a shower. I'm not sure which felt better, the air conditioning or the shower, but it was soooooo nice to be clean again. I bathed Asher and Ky, sat down to feed my once again clean baby and took a nap on the couch.

We went to Cracker Barrel with Josh and Rachel for supper, then I slept (quite well) in my own bed again.

Call me crazy, but I would do it all again...just give me a couple of weeks.

Life according to Nemo

" When life gets you down ya know what ya gotta do. I'll tell ya what ya gotta do. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming..."--- Dory

I know that sounds funny but it sort of describes our life this past week or so.

Starting with Mother's day...

Sat evening I went to the Mother/daughter banquet at Central with Mom, my girls, and my sisters, and we had plans for Sunday. After church, we were going to drive down to Houma to see Ed's Mom. Well, early Sunday morning Ed gets a text that his grandfather is in the hospital and they don't expect him to last much longer. Even though he was 91 yrs old, I think it was still a real shock in a way. He had been stable and, subconsciously, you just always expect your grandfather to be there. We had also been planning for awhile to go and see him but it just hadn't happened.

After a bit of discussion in which I was attempting to pack for any and all contingencies, we went ahead down to Houma and stayed until Monday evening. We found out around 2 Mon. afternoon that Papa was in heaven. Came on home for Ed to be at work Tues. morning but we knew we would be headed right back down there as soon as the funeral arrangements were made. (Papa had been living in Tennessee, but was going to be buried in Houma, LA.) Even though Ed was supposed to work until 6 Thursday morning, when we found out the funeral was to be Thurs. morning, he got off Wed evening and had someone cover the rest of his shift. We took off about 10 that evening getting in around 1:oo am. Then up again about 6:30 as the wake started at 8:00 am. It was a long day, but on the up-side, all of Ed's brothers and sister got to be together for the first time in about 10 years. Since everyone was there, he took one more day off work and we stayed until late Friday evening and then got in about 2:00 am Sat morning. And he had to be to work for 6:00 am. I was bone weary and I know Ed was the same way. At least his job isn't so demanding and he can rest to a degree. It was an overtime shift so he was back home about 7:30 that evening and then we had to run out and go birthday shopping for Isaac whose birthday was Sun. And, yes, we were having his party Sun afternoon because Ed was/is scheduled to work most of this week.

All I can say is, thank the Lord for Mondays! I guess they are for me like Friday is for most other people. I feel like I can breathe again. (Or at least I can grab a gulp of air before we go under again. lol)

I kind of feel like Marlin in "Finding Nemo"....like we've been swimming all over the ocean running into one thing after another. Forgive me if that's a little corny. The kids just saw it again at Ed's folks and I always enjoy watching it with them. It just seemed to fit. =)

I realize most of this has just been technical details but I feel so inadequate to even attempt to put into words all the things you think and feel at times like this. Thank you, to you who have prayed and expressed sympathy. We appreciate it so much.

I should...

I should be in bed...or at least in the bath getting ready for bed but I haven't been on here all week so I wanted to get a quick post in.

It's been an eventful week...between Asher teething, another round of allergy induced runny noses, and school (Yes, we got some done. More on that in a minute) my house looks like a train ran though it. Or maybe just 6 kids. We tried to clean some this evening, but even with all that the only place that looks decent is the bathroom. Hey, that's something anyway! I have been getting naps every day (planned and unplanned.lol) because last night was the first time since last Friday that Asher slept more than a couple hours. Bless his little heart, he has been miserable, but, thank the Lord, I think the worst is over.

So back to why we got school done this week. haha. I know that sounds funny but it's true. Ed had promised Aaron that he would take him canoeing this Friday, but since he still getting his school done I told him if it wasn't done in time he couldn't go. Closely following that he got an invitation to a birthday party at Laser Mania for next week, also conditional on him completing his school goals. Let me tell you I have NEVER seen a child more motivated. In a day and a half he has completed an entire week's worth of work and started on next week's. Letter perfect. Not one time have I heard "Mom, I just don't get this!" You can't imagine my delight. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to get it to happen again. =) Maybe this will help him realize that if he gets his goals done he will have lots of free time. I sure hope so. As it is we have to keep working through the summer (boo.=() But I'm really hoping it won't be as daunting as I'm expecting it to be. I had soooo hoped to have the summer off, but we just haven't been able to get it done.

Well, I gotta scoot and go get my bath...in case you are wondering why I'm taking one at 12:30 at night it's so I can get completely clean, wash my hair, and shave both my legs at the same time.

Goodnight!

Follow Up

Okay so just had another thought that sort of follows what I just posted and I had to write it down. It's about grace. Does God only give us grace when we are perfectly able to receive it? Because this isn't the first time for me to ask for grace for the day. Does he wait until we have done certain things to give it?

I was thinking about this and a comparison came to me. I always like to look at things like this from the parent/child relationship perspective.

What do I do when my kids ask me for something? I have this picture in my head of pouring Goldfish into their hands. We show them how to hold their hands just so, but if they are in a hurry it's going to spill. They aren't going to get all that they could have gotten if thy had taken time to "prepare" to receive the Goldfish. (i.e. get a cup, or hold their hands closer together, etc.). They will still get some, but will probably get hungry sooner.

Same with us and getting the things from the Lord that we ask of Him. He is constantly pouring His grace and mercy out on us, but if we never take the time to properly receive it...if we just grab some on the go...we are never going to quite have enough to satisfy. But if we take the time to hold out our hands and arrange them to best carry what He is giving, AND to keep coming back for more...we will have all that we need and then some.

The box of Goldfish (Grace) is going to still be sitting there waiting for the next pair of outstretched hands.

My Quiet Hour

I have now adopted the hour from 9:00 am to 10:00 am as "my hour". I am to be undisturbed for this hour so can spend some time reading my Bible and praying and preparing for the day.

I don't know why it took my so long to come back to this...tyranny of the urgent I guess...but we (Ed and I) both just realized that I really need this to be able to function. Not just properly but at all.

It came about last week (Thursday night, to be specific) when I was just at the end of my rope. I was literally ready to quit. Period. I had had it with attitudes and unfinished schoolwork, on top of everything else that is part of just living from day to day and taking care of the babies. I have never been so close to quitting homeschooling before. So before bed, I was sharing all of this with Ed over Skype (he was at work) and he tried to encourage me...get some rest, take my vitamins, he would deal with the attitudes when he got home...and then he reminded me of some verses from Matt. "Ask and it shall be given you...". I did. I asked and He gave. He reminded that "without me ye can do nothing" and I knew that I had to start seeking Him every morning.

I know all this sounds like I'm just now learning that I need a quiet time or even that I haven't prayed or read my Bible in 10 years. This is all stuff I've known since I was very young...theoretically anyway. Before I started having babies I had a regular quiet time every day. Then Life happened. I would still read my Bible but it wasn't a consistent thing. And I do talk to the Lord all the time. That truly is a life habit. But there wasn't that quiet uninterrupted time of reading and prayer and preparing myself for the day. Usually the day would just start and I would wake up running from the time my feet hit the floor. ( Or at least dragging. lol) And too, I'm NOT a morning person. It usually takes me forever to wake up. But since Friday morning I have had the most unusual grace to be able to just get right up and not feel like I'm prying my eyes open. I have been taking my vitamins more, but I know it's more than that. It's the Lord. And you can't imagine how wonderful it is to feel "able" to cope with everything my day is going to throw at me, and not feel like I'm barely hanging on.

It's all HIM and my daily prayer is for strength and grace and that I keep coming back for it. I can't get tomorrow's grace today. It's a daily thing.

So now, I get up at 9:00 and have my quiet time. And if the kids wake up before I'm done, they know they have to stay in bed and lay quietly or they can turn on the iPod and play Scriptures until we come tell them it's time to get up.

"Ministry Moments"

First let me say that I'm stealing most of these thought from Br Johnny's sermon last night although I"m drastically paraphrasing here. But it was such a blessing that it's much on mymind today and I had to share.

Have you ever thought that ministry is not a 4 step plan or a carefully made out list? It's doesn't happen in convenient little time slots and is not wrapped up in neat packages. As Jesus is our example in all things, look at His example in Mark 5: 21-43. He was ministering to a large crowd when Jairus comes running up and begs Him to come with him. he doesn't rebuke him or tell him to wait but immediately gets up and follows...(In other words, what He was already doing was not more important in His mind than Jairus' need). Then on His way to Jairus' house a woman with an issue of blood who has been sick 12 years touches His clothes and is healed. He stops in the middle of this chaotic throng to speak and minister to this woman...and then continues on His way to be met by scoffers and unbelievers. And yet He still ministers to each of these as is needed...He encourages those that don't have faith and gets rid of the mockers and scoffers, and then raises the little girl.

As I said before, I am very much paraphrasing the message and I'm sure not communicating it nearly as well, but this one thought keeps hanging with me.... Do I only minister where and when it's convenient or do I minister in the moment. Can I lay aside my preconceived notions of what my day was "supposed" to be like long enough to see the reals needs of my children or others. Ministry by it's nature is "in the moment", yet I so often tend to think I can minister best by "having a plan". But the best plan is to trust the Holy Spirit's leading on a moment by moment basis. Thank the Lord for His goodness and grace! my prayer is to see and capture all my "ministry moments".

Good-byes

We got to go down to Wiggins last night to hear Uncle Phil preach for the last time before they all head back to Chile. It was a bittersweet occasion, as all such occasions are. The message was such a blessing (it was actually Ed's first time to get to hear him preach) and it was wonderful to get to see all the kinfolk, as always. But later that evening there were many tears on all sides as we sent them off with prayer and lots of hugs. I know Aaron is going to especially miss Bryson, but hopefully they will get to email back and forth and keep in touch that way.

Daddy also dropped a surprise on us when he announced that they believe the Lord wants them back in Mozambique. They will be going back on tourist visas and just take it one step at a time but he's looking at leaving within a few months time. So driving home last night my head was sort of spinning trying to take it all in. I have gotten used the idea of them being here for awhile..living just down road and all of us (brothers and sisters) living close by. I know we've all said "let's enjoy this while we can because it won't last forever" but I guess in my mind I was still thinking it would last for quite awhile longer. And while I'm thrilled that they are doing the Lord's work I know I'm going to miss them so much! (Here I am crying again just thinking about it.)

Anyway...as Priscilla pointed out, we have had 1 year and a half already so I am very thankful for that. And the Lord holds the future for us all. Isn't that a blessed thought? We have Him to hold our hands every step of the way.

Bible study

Today my sis and I started our Bible study! I'm really excited about this as I have been wanting to start one for awhile now. We are going to be memorizing 1 Peter and then going through 1 Sam. one chapter at a time. I know I need the accountability when it comes to Bible study but it is hard to make it to church or group Bible studies because of work schedules, etc. So this is great for me!

I think I will make another page on my blog that will relate to this and try to keep updates on there for future weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord has for us in this!

Levi's "big boy" haircut

We just gave Levi his first "Big boy" haircut. Up until now I've just used scissors on him and left the top long enough to comb but Ed said it was time to give him a buzz like the other boys. I was a little sad but afterwards I thought it looked really cute. Here are the before and after pictures.

The Measure of Success

Ed and I were talking about this subject the other day. What is success in our terms...how does the world view it...our friends and family? I realized that everyone tends to view it differently.

Personally, I find myself struggling (constantly) with feeling like I never quite measure up. That, as a Mom, it's always there dangling just out of reach. Some days I can see it closer, I can even smell it, but it's never really mine. It's always barely out of my grasp no matter how hard I try.

Lately especially....I've struggled and cried and prayed. What does God consider success? For me. Sometimes I find the line between what the Bible says and what everyone else expects (or at least what I perceive other's expectations to be) to be sort of blurry. Where do I draw the line? How do I find balance? I think sometimes that maybe the world at large puts pressure on us as Mom's to be more than is humanly possible.

We've all seen the commercials: Mom works a full time job, yet somehow she waltzes in to a pristine house, fixes a delicious meal in a perfect kitchen in a matter of minutes and the whole family is happily eating and chatting at this perfect table.... you get the picture.

Reality is: I stay home full time, my house is never pristine even if I work for a week solid, meals are never on time, it takes me forever to get them ready, and then we sit down to eat half the time urging everyone to eat fast and stop talking so much so we can "__________".

Now the perfectionist in me is always reminding me of that picture. It doesn't matter that I tell myself that it doesn't happen that way, that it' s not real, etc. Even if I can convince myself that that is not a fair standard there is always the picture of some other homeschooling mom with the perfect schedule and "successful" kids that I find always there to mock me when I screw up yet again.

So I sit and ask myself....what does God really expect? How do I find a way to be content with where I am at and still continue to grow? when will I feel like I have succeeded?

Please don't mistake this for a pity party. I'm not trying to scrounge up some "Oh you poor thing" comments. But this subject has been on my mind lately and this is just my attempt at being honest. I am always having people tell me "How do you do it? You make it look so easy?". I don't know what they are seeing because all I can see is all the places I messed up. And then I wonder...does everyone struggle with this? Do the people I'm viewing as having "IT" all together live just like I do?

I know the Bible says that comparing ourselves to each other isn't wise. So then the true standard is not each other but the Bible. And I KNOW this. So then I'm up against the Proverbs 31 woman...but my question still is, "Am I successful only when I measure up in full to this standard?" I think my downfall is that I excuse not measuring up to the Bible because no one of us can be that perfect until we get to Heaven...but if I see another person (human like me) that is closer to the standard than I am, then I think "well if they can do it why can't I". And maybe that's not the point.

Maybe the Lord is saying the standard for success is not in how much I do or you do but in how much we let HIM do.

I know that when it comes to my children, I don't expect the same things from each one of them. Not because I love one more than another or that my standards for each are different, but because each one is at a different level of maturity or capability. They have different strengths and weaknesses. So then...maybe the Lord sees me the same way. Maybe I'm focusing too much on the external issues that we all see instead of just letting the standard be the attitude of my heart on any given day.

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" 2 Cor. 9:8

I know I will continue to struggle with this issue as time goes by, but my prayer is that I keep looking to the Lord for answers and grace.

Aaron's sleepover

Meemaw just sent me these pics and I thought they were hilarious. Apparently when everyone was watching Facing the Giants the other night Aaron and Bryson thought it would be fun to "suit up" for the occasion. I'm not sure what the padding was but it sure is funny. Aaron had a ball and I'm so glad he got to go and spend some time with his cousin. Wish we lived closer so they could get together all the time! He is still telling us about everything they did... From what I can gather it involved some Wii, some wrestling, "Pendragon" ( a movie he thought was way cool), and a whole bunch of talking. =)

P.S. There were a couple other shots but I can't get them to upload right now.

Not really sure

It's been so long since I posted more than one thing at a time I'm kind of rusty, but here's hoping this won't be totally boring.

I've been trying to update just a bit the past few days and I may even change my background again pretty soon. I get my layouts from Shabbyblogs.com and they are free. I've linked to her in my sidebar if you want to check it out.

I also want to add more pictures. I just found out that I can add pages to my blog so I'm over the moon happy about the possibilities there. One of them I'm thinking will be for the kids to tell about (or me to tell for them... however) their cooking experiences. Another may be for books I plan to read or have read. One is already labeled projects and as I have so many of those on my to do list I'm hoping I can start filling it up.=) I may even post one to record my workouts...when I ever get around to doing them. Maybe that will help motivate me. Or what is that word I'm looking for? I'm plenty motivated...all I have to do is look in the mirror or see an older picture or pull out an outfit I can no longer wear and I'm "there". (You know where "there" is..it's that big red spot that follows you around. Yeah, that one.) Maybe I just need to prioritize my time better. Anyway, you get the point.

I always get inspired to blog when I read other people's. So maybe that's what got me going.

Anyway...that's all my time for now but I'll hopefully be checking back in soon.

In case you ever wondered...

I have been wanting to update my blog for some time now but I guess I've just been too busy living life to write about it.

What do I do that could keep me that busy you ask? Hmmm, let me see... let's go back to the last week of Feb.

The plans are to leave for TX on Wed (before the wedding on Sat.) so we will have time to visit Aunt Carol first. On Mon. morning I get Janell to come and stay with the kids so I can go work on my dress some more. And I needed to find shoes and various other things for the wedding. So I took a couple hours to do some running, and ,thank the LORD, I was able to get everything taken care of in a short amount of time. (An absolute miracle.) Than I headed to Mom's to try to finish up my dress. ( I had planned to sew at my own house but my machine chose the week before to die on me, so I had to end up doing it all at Mom's. Gotta say I love her serger!) I was there until late again but I got all the machine work done, thanks to Mom's wonderful help. Then I headed home. Tues. I spent all day cleaning and doing laundry. I was going to pack but since all (and I do mean ALL) our clothes were dirty I had to get them clean first. =) Wed. morning finds me exhausted, half-packed and with 2 kids running fever. yay. Ed got home that morning so we decided to just see how the kids did and go ahead and finish the packing. I finally got all the packing done by late afternoon and Lela was the only one still running fever. But we got the van all packed and decided to just load up the kids and take off and pray that Lela's fever would be gone by the time we got to TX. We didn't really have a choice as it's an 8 hour trip and we had to be in Beaumont for Friday morning. The longer you wait once you are packed the more time you give for something else to go wrong...=) So 7:30 pm we head out. We had to make a couple of stops for Ed to nap, but we finally made it in to Aunt Carol's about 5:30 am Thurs morning. ( Oh, and Lela's fever was gone...praise the Lord!) we all crashed for about 3 0r 4 hrs. and then we were up again. We had a great visit, although it was way too short. We spent the day just chatting and the kids played games and watched movies. Then Friday morning we headed to Beaumont. Needless to say everything after that was just a blur...bridesmaids luncheon, rehearsal, misc. running, getting ready, and wedding time. The wedding was gorgeous and it was so much fun getting to meet new people. It was good to head for home though. We packed up Sun. morning hoping to be back for the evening services but after a dozen potty breaks it's safe to say we didn't make it.

Ed had to be right back to work Mon. morning and the kids and I slept in. I took me the next whole week to recoup (i.e. unpack, clean, do laundry, and sleep) and then I had to start in on school of course and getting my consignment stuff ready for the sale. I won't bore you with the details of all that but suffice it to say it takes up waaayyyy more time and space than you would think. I usually spend all my time thinking "is this really worth it?". But when I get the check afterwards it always is.

We finally have our new math curriculum in and the kids ( and myself too) are really liking it. We've done a decent amount of school since we got home so I can't complain too much there. I think we will be working off and on over the summer though. We just lost too much time last year. Oh well...it will keep us in practice at least.

Last Sat. was Peepaw's 86th birthday so we went down to Wiggins with Mom and Daddy for the day. I took a bunch of pictures and a video clip so I will try to post them as well. When we stopped at the Walmart down there we saw bunch of baby bunnies for sale and ended up coming home with one. He was the cutest little thing and Aaron named him Twitch. The kids, of course, loved him to death and surprisingly he wasn't scared of all the commotion. After the first day I let him out around the house a bit. Mon evening Ed set up the tent so the kids could sleep in it and unfortunately one of them thought it would be a good idea to take Bunny outside to sleep too. Problem was they had already been told not to... our puppy ended scared the bunny so much it jumped out of their hands and escaped out the back fence. The kids came running in crying their little hearts out to tell us about it and we looked for him over an hour but never found him. I think I felt as bad as they did about it. I'm hoping we can get another one (or maybe two) really soon. It's a hard way to learn a lesson but maybe it did more good than all the sermons I could preach.

Anyway,...I hope I haven't bored you with too many details...in so many ways my life literally does consist of dishes, laundry, school, diapers, and other mundane things...but on the other hand it's so much more. I'm seeing my children grow and learn and change. I'm still learning how to deal with attitudes and the challenges unique to each child. We've decided that Aaron is too old for spankings so we need to find other ways of disciplining him when necessary...he just got to go on his first sleepover this past weekend with his cousin. Lela swings between being a normal 8 yr old who is a bit bossy..to being an unbelievably mature little girl who can clean the kitchen and get her little brothers in bed when I have a migraine. For Alyssa, the challenge is to see that she faces reality while not smothering her spontaneity and imagination. She has an amazing memory and almost outstrips Aaron and Lela in reading and spelling. She and Lela are both taking quilting lessons from Mom and are learning to use the sewing machine. The love it and are learning fast!

Isaac is so loving and goes around singing most of the time. He charges through life with reckless abandon. It occurred to us the other day that he needs more responsibility now so his chore list has grown. And we have to constantly remind both him and Levi to not be so rough. They go from being best friends to best enemies and back again. It's certainly never quiet when they are around. Levi is our charmer... 150% BOY. He usually has a sparkle in his eyes because he's trying to pull a prank or he thinks someone's corny comments are hysterical. He is a perfectionist and has to have each article of clothing on just so (compared to Isaac who honestly wouldn't care if he didn't have any on =). He's enamoured with "army guys" and keeps saying " I love you, Mama. Know what, I would like a BB gun and a bow and arrow foy my buthday".

Kyla is a little busy body. She thinks she is grown and runs around taking care of whatever "project" she deems important. She loves to help clean, to "mother" Asher to death, and to change her clothes 5 times a day. Don't laugh, but I finally had to find a long ribbon that I tied from her beltloop to mine just so I could keep track of her. Asher is just growing fat and happy. He weighs over 17 lbs now and has found his voice. He squeals, coos, babbles and blows spit bubbles. He does not like being alone at all, but for the most part is a very content little guy.

Ed is as amazing as ever. I think I mentioned that he photographed Lauryn's wedding, and, may I say, they are fantastic pictures. He manages to juggle work, photography, being a daddy/husband, and all the other things people call on him for with seemingly no effort at all.

He keeps me balanced out. =)

Me, well, I'm still trying to get my ducks in a row. haha. Don't think they ever will cooperate but I still try. I'm hoping to start working out any day now and maybe even find a spare minute for scrapbooking.

I do apologize for the book. =) If I haven't totally scared you off by now, I'll see you next time!

My new diet

I am on a stress-free diet.

Absolutely No:

- Quandries

- Crises

- Hitches

- Glitches

- Snafus

- Predicaments

Not even a little pickle.....

But I can have all the chocolate I want! =)

"At least we are dancing"

The other day I was picking up the toyroom/dressing room for the millionth time, and I made the comment to Ed (who was helping me) that so many times it seems like life is 2 steps forward 3 steps back and I absolutely loved his answer. He just smiled and replied "At least we are dancing".

The more I thought about it the more I realized how much truth there was in that. I don't know too much about dancing but I do know that it takes two people and alot of work but can be so much fun. Just like a marriage or a family. It IS a lot of work, but it's alot of fun too and I'm so thankful for my man who constantly makes me see the bright side of everything.

I found a quote not too long ago that I just loved and I scrapbooked it into a frame to remind myself:

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's learning to dance in the rain". Ed's a fantastic "dancer" and he is teaching me to be too.

Random facts about me

My family probably knows some of these since they grew up with me.

1. I once played a chinhead in a skit at youth camp.

2. I also once stole a pair of polka dot boxers from the boys dorm and ran them up the flag pole ( I was a counselor that time and I had help =)

3. I am not a huge fan of sports (I could honestly care less who wins the Super Bowl;-), but I like soccer.

4. I love to climb trees (yes, even now).

5. I would live on a farm if I could.

6. I don't like assumptions.

7. I think processing deer into sausage is unbelievably disgusting, and I helped.

8. I like doing things myself and hate having to ask for help.

9. I am very "greener is better" but just because it's healthier, not because I think we are killing the ozone.

10. I have a hard time reconciling my sentimental side with my practical side.

11. I love cleaning, organizing, and interior design.

12. I love to read....in fact, I'm useless if I ever really get into a good book, until it is finished.

13. I am afraid of heights, spiders, and snakes.

14. I love airports and airplanes.

15. I am super non-confrontational.

16. I am a huge fan of independent thinking.

17. My favorite Scripture passages are Psalm 91, Phil. 1:6, and 1 Cor. 13.

18. I am addicted to coffee and dark chocolate.

19. I find it easier to communicate on paper than in person.

20. I think being married to my best friend, and raising our children and following the LORD together, is the best life there is.

21. Oh yeah, and I have never ridden on a roller coaster but I would like to sometime (I think).

Kyla

Kyla loves to sing and one of her favs right now is "o be careful little eyes what you see". Except her version goes "foy da Fader uppa sairs is looking downa sairs, o be ca-ful litta feet whe you go". It cracks me up every time I hear her. =)

housewise

I've been meaning to post about this too:

I know I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to get a grip on my house again as it just seemed out of control. Well, right after that, Ed and I were talking and the Lord just brought to mind a good way to accomplish that.

I don't know if I've said before but our house is pretty small (3 bedroom,1 bath) and as much as we love it, I sometimes feel like we are about to push the walls out. We do have a huge back yard which I'm soooo thankful for, but anyway...back to what I was talking about. We discussed it and decided it would be a good idea to put all the kids in one of the rooms (using a couple sets of bunkbeds) and put all the clothes and toys in the other room, instead of having your traditional boys room/girls room. We were spending so much time just on clean-up and rewashing clean laundry that never made it to the drawers. I desperately need to be efficient if I'm ever going to make any progress and we figured this would be a good way to accomplish that. Sooo, first week of January we were busy rearranging our entire house. As of last week sometime I finally got it all sorted out and I have to say I LOVE it. The washer and dryer were already in the boys room so we made that the dressing room/toy room, and the other room is the sleeping room. I allow nothing in there except the beds and blankets and an occasional book. It has made a huge difference in my laundry already. I can stand there and fold and put away everything within just a few steps. And it has made the kids toys available again but they can only pull out a couple things at a time. I already feel so much more organized because it sort of consolidated alot of miscellaneous stuff too. For example, I now have a drawer for all the girl's hair stuff and jewelry. Another drawer for hats, gloves, and backpack/purses. Just little things like that. They don't seem like a big deal in themselves but it all adds up. =)

Ed and I still have our own stuff in our room and Asher's stuff is in the hall on the changing table. It is already helping and I'm looking for the day when I can see the bottom of my laundry baskets. hahaha. Yeah, I know I'm dreaming on that one.

Anyway,... so far I've made a decent start on some of my goals for this year.

Feeling very thankful!

Miracles still happen...

It's true...I know, because this week we have gotten school done EVERY day. Don't laugh. I'm sure that for most of you that wouldn't qualify as a miracle but for me it sho' nuff is. =)

We started back doing school the 2nd week of January and it has actually been going pretty good. I'm really enjoying our curriculum for a couple of reasons. 1) it's easy to use, 2) it reinforces natural ways of learning and is classical in style, and 3) I'm seeing improvement in my kids.

We still haven't settled on a Math curriculum though...we ruled out Saxon for now as it was just way too much for me to handle, but are looking for a good alternative that will be user friendly as well as something that will move the kids forward quickly. I'm terrible at Math so it needs to be fairly self-explanatory. =) A friend just recommended Math-U-See so I want to check that out.

I was talking to Mom last night and we were discussing the possibilities of an end-of-school production the kids can put on. Somewhere around the first of June. I do realize that is still down the road a ways but I have to start planning for it now. =)I think it would be alot of fun as well as encouraging to them to see how far they have come and get to show off some of what they have learned. I'm hoping and praying we can finish our goals in time to have the summer off. So far we've never had that, but as I said...miracles still happen. =)