A Very Busy Week, Indeed!

School with Kimberly
Checking out the view--love being that high for noise reasons
the whole awesome crew!
The competitors
The family on Easter morning. Love that bunch!
With cousins and grandparents at grandma and grandpa's ready to hunt candy!

Last week was kind of a blur. We schooled a lot, and studied Revelation a lot. It was LTC crunch time. I know we had a good week, though.
Early friday we headed out to a dental checkup for Clay and arrived in Dallas at 7:50am. Coffee in hand of course! That took all of 20 minutes so we were stuck with a full day in dallas. We killed time eating at a McDonalds in Dallas and then headed to Northpark Mall. Amazing what they charge for those brand names! We played "guess the price" on a Jimmy Choo purse in Nieman's. It was so funny to watch the kids expressions as they guessed. But alas, no one got it right. Real cost was $1395.00...for real...for a purse, folks! Unbelievable! Cute shoes for a mere $895, too! Clay said, "i'll get ya that purse for Christmas..." funny, dear...I'll take the cash instead (like we'd even spend that much on the whole Christmas experience! Get real!).
So after that we got lost looking for a game stop, then ate at Mattito's. It was good-never heard of it before, but it was tasty and they had great service.
On to the hotel...We arrived around 1:45pm, got to our room on the 21st floor and rested. I turned in the art at 3pm, then we headed downstairs at 4pm for Emily's chorus and Jacob's puppet competitions. Then back to the room for sandwiches, then back down at 6:30 for Bible Bowl for Jacob, Emily and Elizabeth. that was from 7pm-9:30pm. 100 questions over Revelation. Not easy, even after 4 months of study. The kids all did their best and I am proud of their effort and attitudes. I know for one of mine it was a seriously difficult task to take the test.
After the test we headed to the room, where Clay was with the 2 youngest. I had to take Jacob to the 25th floor for a drama practice, and Kim went too. we got in at 11pm, and hit the sack.
By 7am we were up making coffee, and getting ready to go downstairs for Jacob's live drama. Then we saw Elizabeth's puppets, and by 11am we went back up to the room to eat and pack. From then on we lived in the Marsalis ballroom with the other youth groups. The girls competed in live drama at 3pm and then we headed home (with another monstrous meltdown...remember Hobby Lobby?...at the valet parking desk--oh, fun!). Overly tired children do that from time to time. We were wiped out and went to bed after watching The Ten Commandments. Funny how biblically inaccurate it is.
On Sunday we went to worship, went to my parents' house for lunch and egg hunt, went home and to the store to make sandwiches for church, then back to church for awards banquet and sandwich supper.
We were exhausted to say the least.
So this week we headed to the Mesquite Metro Airport for a field trip on Monday, and today we are hunkering down under threat of tornadoes. Lord willing we will be protected tonight and get to run errands tomorrow, and ready ourselves for our next big adventure!

Smile!

Kinder math
Emily doing schoolwork
Jacob doing schoolwork
Jordan doing schoolwork, but secretly looking at pictures of Roman soldiers
Liz and sidewalk chalk--I think it's a gnome?
neighbors bungee swing--FABULOUSNESS!
K riding a bigger bike with training wheels!
Jacob's live drama for LTC
Emily in chorus for LTC
Liz and Em in puppets for LTC (with her broken foot, Em took a rest)
Jacob in puppets for LTC
Lizzie's puppet group for LTC
Liz at LTC dress
Brayden, Jacob, Cody, and Gina at LTC dress
Elizabeth and Karalyn at K's party

Much Better Week

Well the past week was so much better than the previous one! For our family, lots of schoolwork was done, lots of Bible was learned, no one had a major illness or injury, we finished our co-op classes on a great note, dance classes went well, and the kids did fabulously on LTC dress rehearsal. I am especially proud of Elizabeth! Last year she could barely read and this year she is spouting off puppet lines like a pro and reciting the lines for her drama without a hitch! (smiling!) The upcoming competition will be hectic, crowded, crazy and rushed, but very fun. Lots to do for preparation. So all in all the week was good. Got lots of thinking done about schedules for summer and the next school year and almost everything is ordered. Got some retro chairs for the backyard that the kids cannot break (cause they are steel! ha!), and the garden is growing nicely--been eating the spinach and lettuce all week--YUM! Oh, and the new oven arrived. It is awesome. the plug still needs to be moved and the filler strip is not here, but it works, and for that I am SO THANKFUL!
But there have been some kinks in the lives of friends this week. A family lost their 2 year old daughter. A friend with young children was diagnosed with breast cancer. A friend had a tornado go through their yard and lightning strike it. These people are going to be covered in prayer though, and i have confidence that the Lord will bring them through to the other side. The Lord never promises us a life free from pain and suffering. That is just not possible in a sinful, fallen world, and not a promise ever found in scripture. But He does tell us that all things work together for good for those who love God, and that if we are faithful to obey Him we will have a home in Heaven. He also will give us strength to get through the things life brings, though He doesn't promise it will be easy, He does promise never to leave us. And that gives us hope for eternity.
Blessings to all during this week!

I Love Our Homeschool Group!

It was almost five years ago when i began working with the local teaching co-op. My youngest was a mere 6 weeks old. But the older ones were wanting more interaction, and this seemed like a good place to start. Just 8 half Fridays each semester, with 3 classes each friday. I think there were only about 12 families at the time. All had to agree to a statement of faith, which i didn't really totally agree with due to the wording, but I told them my concerns and they were ok with it. So we joined. The oldest was in third grade back then. We met some great people and kept going. They weren't perfect (just like us!), but they all were trying to live godly lives, and that was worth its weight in gold. But the biggest plus for me was the adult interaction among homeschool moms. All of us were at different points in the journey and all making different decisions, and it was great to bounce ideas off each other. We talked about parenting, homeschooling, and church. I learned so much about love and patience and kindness. As the years have gone by we have been a fluid group and many changes have occurred. We are bigger now, and I think better. This group has put us in contact with so many great families and has been a HUGE blessing. The best part is that now, i am director of this group with a great team of friends to help. I won't always be in this position, and that is a good thing, but it is where I am right now. And it is a blessing to our family. The kids love it and so do I. These moms are like family to me, just as my church family are. Our kids are growing up together and sharing life in a positive setting. Rarely do we encounter negative issues. We have all learned a lot, from the content of the classes and from each other. We learn how to bear with others as they are on their spiritual walk and how to share scripture in a non threatening way, that promotes love and respect. We learn what other "religions" are like, and how we are different, and how to look to the bible for the truth. We learn how to resolve issues and make friends, how to take care of the building and how to share our experiences. We look forward to next semester already, even as this spring semester ended today. What a great place to be!

What A Week!!! Seriously!

Well, this week was totally unexpected. The events of this week, I mean. I had a great plan for school and we were all ready to embark on it until Saturday night when Kim started vomiting. OK, she is the littlest and kindergarten is not mandatory for 4 year olds so that was easy to take care of. Then Monday came and school went very well. But about 5pm I told Jordan to get ready for scouts and he said he couldn't, that he felt bad, so he laid down to rest and fell asleep. Very unusual. Ok, he's tired. WRONG!! He woke at 7pm, and started vomiting at 7:30, so the cleaning began. Then at 9pm Liz said she felt bad and her vomiting began around 9:30. More cleaning, and loving on sick kids. I was up until 11:30 with laundry from this and had 4 loads done, while staying up with the sick kiddos. About 2AM Jacob comes to the living room floor and collapses, sick. He begins vomiting around 4am. By 6am I am in the bathroom doing you know what, too. Then Jacob is at it again, so I get Clay to clean it up, and find out he is sick too! It is now Tuesday morning and I call the inlaws for help. Only 2 are left standing--Em and Kim. The rest of us are completely bedridden for the day. Mamaw and Papaw come with gloves, a mask, lysol, ginger ale, crackers, gatorade and applesauce. Very brave. She washes and folds laundry, gets drinks and helps Emily take care of Kim and us. THey leave around 2pm. Clay finally gets up about 7pm and helps Emily clean house. The rest of us do not really move until wednesday morning. That was a hard day, very tiring. Jordan and I are last to recover. Obviously we did no school for two days. By Thursday we are not eating much, have few groceries, but do some schoolwork. Then we head to ballet. Kim's class goes well and we decide to turn in some library books before Emily's class, and get a snack. When Emily gets out of the van to turn in books, she trips. After she gets back in she cries about foot pain. I chalk it up to drama. We get some breadsticks and drinks. She is still in pain. I go back to the studio and get a look at the foot. It is swollen and purple. Not a good sign. I explain to the studio what happened and tell them we are going to the doctor. No appointment - I just walked in and said, "You need to look at this foot." X-ray confirms a broken bone. Great! No ballet or recital. Tough time for vacation and LTC competition, but it will heal nicely. She needs crutches and a boot, but her attitude is great. All stores are closed so we head home with ibuprofen. Friday is co-op, and afterward we begin the search for crutches and a boot. That takes until 2pm. They are all hungry. We grab some sandwiches and unload the van. In an hour we had theater class. We are all exhausted. So we watch a movie (Narnia) and go to bed. Saturday is hip hop class and we get a few groceries. Then we buy sandals for everyone. Then we head to Mamaws for Easter. Yes I know Easter is 2 weeks away but it was the family's only free weekend. My stomach is not feeling well again, but I will spend Sunday at church and planning for the schoolweek, while we work on LTC. Maybe next week will be better (and the new oven will arrive?) Maybe! I am hopeful that we will have a great week. I have to count many blessings this week. Satan didn't get us down. We are flexible, we have family that loves us, we are motivated to help one another. We have supportive friends, our illness was short, we have insurance, we have some savings, we have prayer and bibles and freedom and a savior who loves us and died for us. God is good to us, even though we are far far from perfect. Crazy weeks let you know your strengths and weaknesses. I count it all joy that we are all here together to walk through this life and that in the end we will be with our Lord.

Coming Soon.....

In one week, we have a family Easter.
In two weeks we have a birthday party.
In three weeks we have LTC competition.
In four weeks we have a vacation.
In five weeks we have Mother's Day.
In Six weeks we have a photo shoot and rehearsals.
In seven weeks we have a dance recital.
In eight weeks I will be exhausted and ready to hide from society!
Then will come Memorial Day, birthdays, NETSYS camp, VBS, and when July 4th passes i can relax for a few weeks, I think. Maybe.
Then we can just bowl, swim, homeschool, skate, bike ride, and relax a bit.

A New Week to journal About

Well! It has been interesting! Cooking without an oven has been a new experience. I am a homemade cook, from scratch, and do lots of baking. LOTS of baking. SO this being without an oven has not worked well for me. BUT, my home warranty assigned Sears to come out and assess the situation for $60. Turns out, the whole cooktop has to be replaced so the oven controls don't short out again, But the range is not made anymore so they will be replacing the entire thing. I chose to upgrade to a 5 burner convection range by GE, and it should be delivered this week. total cost for me will be about $290 out of pocket (and that includes the $60 service call). Happy momma! So on to the homeschooling week....we had a full 3 days scheduled so we could do first of the month shopping on Thursday and co-op, theater and social activity on friday. All went well except PE. All the stuff I planned was outside and the weather turned cold. But a lot was learned, the kids got along, there was much bonding, and love. No complaints here. Homeschooling definitely rocks! I think I would have to be medicated for severe depression if I ever had to send my kids to PS or even private. I got the new Sonlight catalog this week so that was fun to peruse. Got to think about all the neat stuff we will be teaching/learning over the next few years, yet felt profound sadness at the thought of Jacob being in his last 5 years of school. Still doing a read aloud study of I Kissed Dating Goodbye with the two oldest. really great concepts of godly behavior in relationships. Plants fabulous seeds in them, and in me. I also began prereading more of the kids bible growth literature. Love what I am reading! The current book takes a look at the challenges of some real bible teens, like Mary, Daniel, and Timothy and gives lessons to learn in staying strong. Placed an order to Apologetics Press for some study courses that i plan to use with devo time. Can't wait for that to arrive! Shopping day went very well, and so did Friday except we had to cancel a get together with hollyM due to an illness (her, not us). Saturday we had a reunion with my FIL's family and it was really nice. Then we headed to mamaw's to fish and bake frozen pizza. Got home at 8:30, and K began to be sick. Vomited twice and then I got nauseous, so we went to bed at 10. Em was not feeling well by morning, so we left church early. Too bad, too. I wanted to hear Mr. Parrish. So this afternoon I need to get lesson plans and assignment sheets filled out, and do a bit of shopping for LTC art, and get a little rest. Vacation is coming soon and I am excited!!!!!!