I had 2 very early dr. appts this morning. I got the kids started on chores, kissed the early leavers goodbye, and gave instructions for the day. I packed a lunch for the road and also packed my man some breakfast, lunch, and dinner because he will be at work for all three.
The appointments got finished in record time. I ran a couple of errands and had lunch in the car with Honey before rushing home in time to take Josh to football.
And this is where things started going south.
I came in to a wrecked house. No chores had been done. There were still traces of breakfast in the kitchen way past lunch time. Messes were left out from the soccer games of last night. Nothing had been done.
Yet my kids met me with happy faces claiming that they finished everything early.
"Everything?'
"Yep, even school!"
Hmmm. So I sat down in the living room while they were watching Spiderman to think up my plan of action and try to figure out why they thought they were "done".
My plan landed on Grace. Give them grace. I was gone 4 hours. Just take it for what it is and work together to pick everything up.
But as we worked, I kept getting madder. It was seriously a mess and I couldn't see that any effort had been made.
When everything was cleaned up, I asked to see their schoolwork. I sat in the middle of the living room floor and asked them to bring me everything they did today. They each brought me a measly stack.
Me: " Where's your folder? Where's your daily schedule? Who checked your math? I don't see your writing. Did you do you reading? "
Them: "Oooohhh, I forgot that. I couldn't find my history book. I don't have a daily schedule. I didn't do my vocabulary. My lesson plan is lost."
OH MY WORD!!!!
And this is where their day went downhill in a hurry. After listening to an hour long lecture at volume 9, they got to go back to bed and try again.
Start the morning list over.
Start the chores over.
Start breakfast over (except we had to pretend dinner was breakfast at this point)
Brush your teeth.
Start school over.
And so here we are at bedtime still doing school and their daddy is still at work,
I think we are all going to sleep good tonight.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Monday, March 09, 2015
Moanless Monday
I went to bed late last night and because of a slight schedule change had to get up a whole hour earlier to see my hard working peeps off to work and school this morning. I thought I'd be super tired, but instead I woke up ready and happy for another week. Thank You Jesus!
As soon as they left I had a very quiet house. And that never happens.
I read my Bible.
I exercised.
I read some blogs.
I read a chapter of the book I'm reading.
And I took my time getting dressed.
The whole house was sleeping quietly and it was bliss!!
By the time the second group of kids were off to school/work, I felt so energized and ready for the day. It would stand to reason that I should try getting up at 5:00 on a regular basis and enjoy this more often but I can assure you that won't be happening. It was a nice way to start the week though.
And it turns out I would need that extra time this morning. My 3rd set of kids were wild and crazy today! Attitudes were poor, chores took forever, and school was intense. But some days are like that, huh?
Anyhoo, here's some Smiles From Last Week....
~Homestudy DONE. As in finished. Forever. The thing I dreaded the most, the thing I heard horror stories about, the thing I was sure we'd fail turned out to be CAKE. Our homestudy lady was fantastic. She talked to the kids and I could hear all kinds of laughs and excited talking from their bedrooms. Then she talked to us and went over our long questionnaire that covered everything from our sex life to our relationships with our parents. And while it sounds like torture, it was actually very easy and was finished in less than 3 hours. I'm guessing we might actually be open sometime this month.
~Another snow day! And while we are ready for spring to spring, we are also thankful for extra family time and teenagers home all day.
~My moms came to visit and WENT TO TOWN helping us get uniforms done for NewFire. It never would've happened without them. The uniforms look great and the kids and parents are happy. Thank you Moms!
~First NewFire soccer games and the field was actually dry enough to play! It was a great day with lots of smiles and happy kids. We came home exhausted, sunburned, and ready for next week.
And What I'm Looking Forward To This Week....
~A quiet week with almost nowhere to go.
~The homestudy lady said she should be finished typing up the report to turn in to DHS this week.
~Sunshine! After today it's supposed to be dry for awhile and warm up. And that means......
~Walking! My walking buddy has been down and out because of surgery but she is ready to hit it again this week with me.
~Bee club. I haven't been since October y'all. And now it's at a new place that I think will be an easier drive for me.
~Girls' Bible study. We had to cancel last week because of snow. Besides, my man was sick and he couldn't have led worship anyway.
~A birthday!! Let the celebrations begin! We will have 5 birthdays in the next 4 weeks.
~And last but not least, week 2 of soccer! Stay tuned for some pictures this week! And until then you can click here to see a few.
As soon as they left I had a very quiet house. And that never happens.
I read my Bible.
I exercised.
I read some blogs.
I read a chapter of the book I'm reading.
And I took my time getting dressed.
The whole house was sleeping quietly and it was bliss!!
By the time the second group of kids were off to school/work, I felt so energized and ready for the day. It would stand to reason that I should try getting up at 5:00 on a regular basis and enjoy this more often but I can assure you that won't be happening. It was a nice way to start the week though.
And it turns out I would need that extra time this morning. My 3rd set of kids were wild and crazy today! Attitudes were poor, chores took forever, and school was intense. But some days are like that, huh?
Anyhoo, here's some Smiles From Last Week....
~Homestudy DONE. As in finished. Forever. The thing I dreaded the most, the thing I heard horror stories about, the thing I was sure we'd fail turned out to be CAKE. Our homestudy lady was fantastic. She talked to the kids and I could hear all kinds of laughs and excited talking from their bedrooms. Then she talked to us and went over our long questionnaire that covered everything from our sex life to our relationships with our parents. And while it sounds like torture, it was actually very easy and was finished in less than 3 hours. I'm guessing we might actually be open sometime this month.
~Another snow day! And while we are ready for spring to spring, we are also thankful for extra family time and teenagers home all day.
~My moms came to visit and WENT TO TOWN helping us get uniforms done for NewFire. It never would've happened without them. The uniforms look great and the kids and parents are happy. Thank you Moms!
~First NewFire soccer games and the field was actually dry enough to play! It was a great day with lots of smiles and happy kids. We came home exhausted, sunburned, and ready for next week.
And What I'm Looking Forward To This Week....
~A quiet week with almost nowhere to go.
~The homestudy lady said she should be finished typing up the report to turn in to DHS this week.
~Sunshine! After today it's supposed to be dry for awhile and warm up. And that means......
~Walking! My walking buddy has been down and out because of surgery but she is ready to hit it again this week with me.
~Bee club. I haven't been since October y'all. And now it's at a new place that I think will be an easier drive for me.
~Girls' Bible study. We had to cancel last week because of snow. Besides, my man was sick and he couldn't have led worship anyway.
~A birthday!! Let the celebrations begin! We will have 5 birthdays in the next 4 weeks.
~And last but not least, week 2 of soccer! Stay tuned for some pictures this week! And until then you can click here to see a few.
Thursday, March 05, 2015
For The Love Of Chocolate
This week E sent over a bunch of very ripe avocados. He told me they were coming and I was super excited thinking of all the possibilities.
Guacamole, of course, and salads and a face mask recipe were all just waiting to come alive.
But sometimes what I imagine in my mind doesn't play out the same in real life. And that's what happened with the avocados. I never get that many big beautiful avocados all at once and these things are rather time sensitive. I decided the best thing to do was a big batch of chocolate avocado pudding. Wendy taught me this recipe and I always think of her when I make it.
This comes together quick in a food processor. A blender is more high maintenance for this one. It's more of a method than an actual recipe.
~Throw a bunch of avocados into your food processor.
~Add a capful of apple cider vinegar
~Add a splash of vanilla
~Add some cocoa powder
~Sweeten: You can use anything. I used a combo of stevia, xylitol, maple syrup, and powdered sugar.
Give it all a whirl and taste it and adjust the seasonings. This freezes very well. In fact, I made 2 big batches and froze one of them in tiny tupperware containers as single servings.
Everyone loves this. But my man said, "You WASTED all those avocados on pudding instead of guacamole?!" What he doesn't know is that we did make guac but we ate at all before he got home.
And with all the cold weather, I wanted to give you my favorite hot chocolate mix too.
Just add it all in a container and shake. Or mix it all up in the blender and it'll have super fine texture. Either way it tastes exactly the same.
2 C. powdered milk
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. powdered creamer
1/2 C. cocoa powder
Mix this with some hot water just like you do the stuff in the packets. And add marshmallows. OF COURSE!
Guacamole, of course, and salads and a face mask recipe were all just waiting to come alive.
But sometimes what I imagine in my mind doesn't play out the same in real life. And that's what happened with the avocados. I never get that many big beautiful avocados all at once and these things are rather time sensitive. I decided the best thing to do was a big batch of chocolate avocado pudding. Wendy taught me this recipe and I always think of her when I make it.
This comes together quick in a food processor. A blender is more high maintenance for this one. It's more of a method than an actual recipe.
~Throw a bunch of avocados into your food processor.
~Add a capful of apple cider vinegar
~Add a splash of vanilla
~Add some cocoa powder
~Sweeten: You can use anything. I used a combo of stevia, xylitol, maple syrup, and powdered sugar.
Give it all a whirl and taste it and adjust the seasonings. This freezes very well. In fact, I made 2 big batches and froze one of them in tiny tupperware containers as single servings.
Everyone loves this. But my man said, "You WASTED all those avocados on pudding instead of guacamole?!" What he doesn't know is that we did make guac but we ate at all before he got home.
And with all the cold weather, I wanted to give you my favorite hot chocolate mix too.
Just add it all in a container and shake. Or mix it all up in the blender and it'll have super fine texture. Either way it tastes exactly the same.
2 C. powdered milk
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. powdered creamer
1/2 C. cocoa powder
Mix this with some hot water just like you do the stuff in the packets. And add marshmallows. OF COURSE!
Tuesday, March 03, 2015
Cold!
This is one cold February! And all season I've been wishing for snow but all we got was COLD. This week the snow finally came and I loved every second of it.
2 snow days with my people home!
Hot chocolate and chai tea.
Warm foods. And lots of foods.
Snowy, drippy, frozen kids with red cheeks.
Snowball fights.
A fire in the fireplace.
Candles burning.
I love helping and watching my kids bundle up to play in the snow. It makes a mess and causes a lot of laundry but we only get to do it a couple times a year. It's fun to see which snow suits and snow boots fit now and which ones have been outgrown since last year.
No school and lazy days of reading and movies and extra naps. Lazy cats sneak in the house and my dog is whiny and discontent because his water is frozen and he can't figure out that the bowl in the house is for him. The heater runs non-stop and fuzzy blankets decorate the couch.
I love it all! Except the high electric bill that's coming!
2 snow days with my people home!
Hot chocolate and chai tea.
Warm foods. And lots of foods.
Snowy, drippy, frozen kids with red cheeks.
Snowball fights.
A fire in the fireplace.
Candles burning.
I love helping and watching my kids bundle up to play in the snow. It makes a mess and causes a lot of laundry but we only get to do it a couple times a year. It's fun to see which snow suits and snow boots fit now and which ones have been outgrown since last year.
No school and lazy days of reading and movies and extra naps. Lazy cats sneak in the house and my dog is whiny and discontent because his water is frozen and he can't figure out that the bowl in the house is for him. The heater runs non-stop and fuzzy blankets decorate the couch.
I love it all! Except the high electric bill that's coming!
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Juiced Up
I've been putting our juicer to good use lately...
This was today's version:
celery
carrot
greens
lime
apple
orange
I have to admit it can be a pain with all the prep. And some days, a lot of days most days I'm too lazy to do it. But when I do I'm always glad. The chickens are happy too because it makes for some yummy scraps for them.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
This Week's Phone Pix
Well this is actually from last week. But isn't he awesome making valentine cookies for his siblings?
And LOOK! My mom made me a New Fire jacket! She made one for Mally too so we wouldn't be cold selling concession snacks. LOVE!
A make-shift recording studio to record some songs.
My Aldi run. And I had no helpers. Despair started to kick in when I realized I had TWO carts and nobody to help me sack it up or load it and I would probably end up spending the night at Aldi. But I sucked in my bottom lip and got busy...because I CAN! I feel great and I'm strong and I can grocery shop all by myself. I actually condensed it into one cart and had bags left over by the time I was done. Aldi shopping tip: Just take a big fist-full of WM sacks instead of the homemade or re-usable grocery bags. They don't take up as much room and they are easier to deal with. Except for that plastic basket thing on the bottom. I LOVE this basket with handles and I use it for everything. I used to have two but I left one somewhere and now it's gone and somebody else is loving it and probably using it at Aldi.
My 3rd grader is doing standardized testing for the first time this year. Until April, we are working on some test prep so she will be a little more familiar with the format. And this is why you should practice fellow homeschoolers! She circled the answer and didn't know to color in the bubble. So cute!!
And speaking of cute....NEW HAIR!! It was too long and frizzy so I cut it. Then I was on a roll and shaved all the boys' heads too. I wish I was confident enough to cut my own.
There was a huge wreck on the way to TKD so we had to turn around. We went to Grandma's to wait for the highway to open and watched some Sponge Bob and played Angelina Ballerina. It was more fun than TKD!
Friday, February 20, 2015
This Friday Morning
1. We had the morning meeting on my bed. All six of us. And it was the coziest best idea ever.
2. My son called from school to request the leftovers from last night's dinner and briefly discuss some New Fire business.
3. We moved the coffee table out and I had the kids teach me the TKD kicking sequence for a front and side kick. It was lots of fun.
4. My Valentine roses are so beautiful!
5. House cleaning day! I picked the music and nobody was aloud to change the volume or request a change. It worked a LOT better than our other house cleaning related music attempts.
6. Joshua had a cow about Nathan wearing skates in the house.
7. Zekey yelled and got in trouble about being the boss of the TV.
8. Mallory threw a fit because the boys were trying to take over her sandwich making assembly line.
9. LB came home for a quick lunch to go because she didn't take her lunch with her and the cafeteria was serving catfish. I gave her $5 her dad wanted her to have because she actually gave him her lunch she made last night.
10. I took out the paper towel/cutting board holder in the kitchen because it was ugly and I was tired of looking at it.
11. We have 4 loads of laundry to fold. By the end of the day we will have 3 more. I'm having the kids dump out their drawers and re-fold and organize everything.
12. My new hoodie I bought at Savers came out of the wash and I tried it on for the first time. It's too small!! :-( Good news is that I have other people who will want it.
13. Mallory browned meat for tonight's dinner.
14. I'm diffusing essential oils in an oil warmer because I don't have a real diffuser and it's not working very well.
15. There are 28 soccer balls stacked on my fireplace, 4 goals on my bedroom floor, and other misc soccer fun that would enjoy living in the garage instead of the house.
16. I bought some new fruit so I'm going to take the older fruit and juice it all for this afternoon.
17. I cleaned out the coffee pot with vinegar water and have the stove's burner pans soaking in zip lock bags with ammonia until tomorrow. No using the stove tonight and it's ok b/c dinner is in the crock pot.
18. There's a real possibility that my bed won't get made today even though it's house cleaning day.
19. I walked around and pulled lots of decor items that were looking cluttery and put it all in a laundry basket. My plan is to go through it one-by-one and see what I really want to go where. As for now, everything looks bare. And I kinda like the cleaned-off look.
20. We are shopping for a new bed frame and head board. Our's is broken. I'm wanting something simple with straight lines and not a lot of complications. No tufts, no shelves, no fancy. Maybe white. And not expensive.
21. This afternoon is football, piano, and art lessons. Cheese and crackers for tea time with another Hank the Cow Dog chapter. Sloppy joes and cole slaw for supper. And a quiet night with almost everyone at home. It's a great day!
2. My son called from school to request the leftovers from last night's dinner and briefly discuss some New Fire business.
3. We moved the coffee table out and I had the kids teach me the TKD kicking sequence for a front and side kick. It was lots of fun.
4. My Valentine roses are so beautiful!
5. House cleaning day! I picked the music and nobody was aloud to change the volume or request a change. It worked a LOT better than our other house cleaning related music attempts.
6. Joshua had a cow about Nathan wearing skates in the house.
7. Zekey yelled and got in trouble about being the boss of the TV.
8. Mallory threw a fit because the boys were trying to take over her sandwich making assembly line.
9. LB came home for a quick lunch to go because she didn't take her lunch with her and the cafeteria was serving catfish. I gave her $5 her dad wanted her to have because she actually gave him her lunch she made last night.
10. I took out the paper towel/cutting board holder in the kitchen because it was ugly and I was tired of looking at it.
11. We have 4 loads of laundry to fold. By the end of the day we will have 3 more. I'm having the kids dump out their drawers and re-fold and organize everything.
12. My new hoodie I bought at Savers came out of the wash and I tried it on for the first time. It's too small!! :-( Good news is that I have other people who will want it.
13. Mallory browned meat for tonight's dinner.
14. I'm diffusing essential oils in an oil warmer because I don't have a real diffuser and it's not working very well.
15. There are 28 soccer balls stacked on my fireplace, 4 goals on my bedroom floor, and other misc soccer fun that would enjoy living in the garage instead of the house.
16. I bought some new fruit so I'm going to take the older fruit and juice it all for this afternoon.
17. I cleaned out the coffee pot with vinegar water and have the stove's burner pans soaking in zip lock bags with ammonia until tomorrow. No using the stove tonight and it's ok b/c dinner is in the crock pot.
18. There's a real possibility that my bed won't get made today even though it's house cleaning day.
19. I walked around and pulled lots of decor items that were looking cluttery and put it all in a laundry basket. My plan is to go through it one-by-one and see what I really want to go where. As for now, everything looks bare. And I kinda like the cleaned-off look.
20. We are shopping for a new bed frame and head board. Our's is broken. I'm wanting something simple with straight lines and not a lot of complications. No tufts, no shelves, no fancy. Maybe white. And not expensive.
21. This afternoon is football, piano, and art lessons. Cheese and crackers for tea time with another Hank the Cow Dog chapter. Sloppy joes and cole slaw for supper. And a quiet night with almost everyone at home. It's a great day!
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Loving God. Loving Others
Everything I'm reading these days seems to say the same thing. Love God. Love others.
Even our New Fire verse is Romans 12:9-12 and talks about outdoing one another in brotherly affection. I think God is telling me something here!
I love Edie's post on How To Find God's Will For Your Life. I think I should read it every single day until I have it memorized!
And here's my favorite part:
See what I mean?
My new Kindle book is also fantastic. Living In Light of Eternity. It's not free anymore, but it is super cheap anyway. KP Yohannan discusses how to live your life with a Kingdom purpose right where you are.
When Jesus called James and John in Matthew 1:16-20, He basically said, "You can waste your life catching fish all day, or you can follow Me and be fishers of men."
They were still fishermen. But now they had a Kingdom purpose.
God has put us here to accomplish His will in this generation. I don't want to waste it by going my own way, living my life selfishly and being a slave to my own emotions and view points. My emotions and intellect can be overcome with deception. So I need to stay in the Word.
I also want to be intentional in the way I love others. The very nature of agape love in the NT is a love that is demonstrative. It is a love that is shown. And that takes thought, prayer, and effort.
And here is a most perfect example played out in the life of a 9 year old.
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27
Even our New Fire verse is Romans 12:9-12 and talks about outdoing one another in brotherly affection. I think God is telling me something here!
I love Edie's post on How To Find God's Will For Your Life. I think I should read it every single day until I have it memorized!
And here's my favorite part:
God’s will is for you to be saved. He has made every provision for that salvation Himself. He has given you everything you need in Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection. You don’t need to do ANYthing to please Him or find Him or discern His will. He is pleased with Jesus and sees you as one redeemed by Christ.
He has placed you in various stations in life and called you to serve your neighbor, since all of YOUR needs have already been met in Him. He has gifted you in certain ways, so that you may serve your neighbor and meet his needs. And the beautiful kicker is this—God hides Himself in your vocation, so that all the service you render to your neighbor, is sacred, because it is, in reality, GOD at work through you, meeting the needs of the neighbor.
See what I mean?
My new Kindle book is also fantastic. Living In Light of Eternity. It's not free anymore, but it is super cheap anyway. KP Yohannan discusses how to live your life with a Kingdom purpose right where you are.
When Jesus called James and John in Matthew 1:16-20, He basically said, "You can waste your life catching fish all day, or you can follow Me and be fishers of men."
They were still fishermen. But now they had a Kingdom purpose.
God has put us here to accomplish His will in this generation. I don't want to waste it by going my own way, living my life selfishly and being a slave to my own emotions and view points. My emotions and intellect can be overcome with deception. So I need to stay in the Word.
I also want to be intentional in the way I love others. The very nature of agape love in the NT is a love that is demonstrative. It is a love that is shown. And that takes thought, prayer, and effort.
And here is a most perfect example played out in the life of a 9 year old.
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
New Fire, Maggie House, and Team Eli
Now there's a new ball in town!
Our business is called New Fire Athletics LLC. You can click here to see our website.
New shipment of soccer balls today!
We've had a tremendous response for our first season. Lots of cute kiddos came decked out for practice last week. We are forming teams, ordering uniforms, and planning concession snacks.
One of our visions for New Fire is to concentrate on local giving opportunities. Thanks to the great participation we got, we will be able to be a sponsor for the Charleston Springfest 5K this year which benefits Maggie House, the new children's home that's coming to town. We are very thankful for this.
Another great cause New Fire is hoping to be involved in is called Team Eli.
Eli is our 3yo neighbor that is battling a brain tumor. You know we live in a fallen world when sweet 3 year olds have tumors.
Do you remember our neighbor's puppy, Blue?
Eli is Blue's owner.
Saturday we had the privilege to attend a benefit dinner for Eli. It was absolutely the sweetest thing to see the unbelievable turn out from this little town.
Please check out Team Eli and Maggie House. Pray and give if you feel led.
Monday, February 09, 2015
Our Saturday
What a GLORIOUS day!!
This is a big pile of empty bee frames that needed new foundation. I had no idea how to do it but I decided it was time to figure it out.
I had lots of good entertainment while I worked!
And I did it!! Why did I think this was hard? I made a big mess with the tools because a lot of the frames still had plenty of propolis that wasn't cleaned up. I'm thinking I need my own tool box. My man might be thinking the same thing.
Boys airing up the soccer balls to get ready for tonight's first New Fire practice! We had a great turn out for our first season.
Buzzy loves the sunshine.
Lots of this...
And some of that. This picture cracks me up! Pink curlers for an afternoon wedding and shooting a pellet gun.
And my new dress Mom gave me. I hadn't had a reason to wear it until now. We had a beautiful wedding to attend and I had something new to wear!
Great Saturday.
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Thursday, February 05, 2015
My Most Recent Crazy Thoughts On Foster Care
~"How will I be able to do this with somebody else's kid in tow? With a baby I can't leave at home"....as I embark on the huge grocery shopping day that involves 3 stores and several hours.
~ "What if our FBI prints didn't take and I have to do it old school and it takes SIX MONTHS to get back?" ....my most recent prayer request.
~ "How can we most effectively re-arrange bedrooms to accommodate our people?" .....my man said we'd take the smaller room. "What!!?"
~" I would just love a very young sibling group of two."
~"I need to YouTube how to do corn rows just in case." ....oh be still my heart!!
~"Sebastian county kids would be fine as long as I get transport for visits. Or I wonder if transporters will bring birth moms here? I need to ask."
~ "Four hours of interviews? OH MY GOODNESS." ....I'll be glad when that's over.
~"I need my foster support families to get their paperwork done."
~" How will Zboy handle this?" ....he might just have some entitlement issues.
~"Can I really just handle this? Because I home school. And I have teenagers. Teenagers take a lot of time and emotional energy. Can I just *fit it in*? Because it's sorta a big deal that will require it all."
~"I need a car seat."
~"If I can't attend visits, maybe I can send notes and pix to the birth family."
~"I need a file cabinet, or a filing box for all the papers."
~"Lord, help me rest and not be anxious." .... I hate the waiting game.
~ "What if our FBI prints didn't take and I have to do it old school and it takes SIX MONTHS to get back?" ....my most recent prayer request.
~ "How can we most effectively re-arrange bedrooms to accommodate our people?" .....my man said we'd take the smaller room. "What!!?"
~" I would just love a very young sibling group of two."
~"I need to YouTube how to do corn rows just in case." ....oh be still my heart!!
~"Sebastian county kids would be fine as long as I get transport for visits. Or I wonder if transporters will bring birth moms here? I need to ask."
~ "Four hours of interviews? OH MY GOODNESS." ....I'll be glad when that's over.
~"I need my foster support families to get their paperwork done."
~" How will Zboy handle this?" ....he might just have some entitlement issues.
~"Can I really just handle this? Because I home school. And I have teenagers. Teenagers take a lot of time and emotional energy. Can I just *fit it in*? Because it's sorta a big deal that will require it all."
~"I need a car seat."
~"If I can't attend visits, maybe I can send notes and pix to the birth family."
~"I need a file cabinet, or a filing box for all the papers."
~"Lord, help me rest and not be anxious." .... I hate the waiting game.
School This Week
Bedtime has been getting later and later. Since my kids are now responsible for putting themselves to bed without being told, they have to watch the clock closely when the time is getting close to 8:30. They do ok with this but not as well as when we first made the rule. Bedtime might be closer to 8:45 by the time they finished getting ready.
But the mornings? HORRIBLE. I have a schedule. I have a list. They know what is expected. BUT. The mornings were continually a struggle and this week I had had enough. So I shot an email to their daddy and turned it over to him.
And let's just say that the boys were glad it was Wednesday and Dad would have youth worship and maybe he'd forget when he got back home especially since they'd be in bed. Except it didn't happen that way.
He got them all out of bed for a meeting in the living room. They got a big long speech about what it means to respect and love their mom. What it means to CHOOSE the right thing and get up when you are told. Being IN bed is not the same as getting ready for bed. And how 8:31 is NOT the same as 8:30.
And this morning was PERFECT! They were up. They were cheerful. And they were ready to work without a word from me. Oh thank you Honey!! As the day went on I noticed that I was way more productive and we had a lot of school behind us by 10am. It made me realize that I had been starting my day with a feeling of defeat. Every morning was a battle. My attitude reflected that and I didn't look forward to the work ahead. I'm so glad we've made a change.
A picture of our grammar work.....
Just a sentence from our Bible reading written on a white board. We label parts of speech and pick out various words to talk about. It takes about 10 minutes and we are done with grammar. I write this in cursive because I'm also working with them on their penmanship.
My kids needed some preposition practice so we've been playing this preposition bingo game. They love games. I also printed off a long list of prepositions for them to copy and memorize by Friday. The first one to pass it off got a Sonic drink. The rest got no screen time until they did.
This article about making lists has changed it all!
Every week I print out an individual daily schedule for each kid that looks something like this.
And it's ok. It makes them responsible for their own work and helps them keep track and work independently.
But when I started keeping my own list BY HAND it made me so much more involved and aware of exactly where everyone was and where we'd be tomorrow. She does such a great job explaining how simple and necessary this is. I hope you'll hop on over there and read it for yourself.
My list also highlighted what we needed to do tomorrow. Friday is catch up day and house cleaning day. But instead of just checking off history I could see that Joshua would benefit from doing a quiz on Friday instead of being hit with it on Monday after being off for the whole weekend. And since ZBoy only had one more lesson in his vocabulary book, he could go ahead and finish it off so he could start a brand new book on Monday.
And while I'm happy with the amount of work we got done, I'm even happier with how much more motivated I feel because our mornings are going to be so much easier!
Thursday, January 29, 2015
The Appointment In Which Everything Went South
So for the last week or so I've been nursing sicklings. You might remember that we had to get check ups for our home study in the middle of FLU SEASON!!
And like I told you, I decided to make the kids wait in the car until it was their turn. So I go out to get the next three kids and my shoe caught the edge of the place where they extended the parking lot and forgot to make it level with the rest.
Well.
Right in the middle of the parking lot during FLU SEASON I went crashing to the ground in a most ungraceful way right in front of my horrified children. And since they just finished CPR training, they rushed out of the van with the first aid kit in hand. All except one who ran to track down my shoe that had flown off. It was all very nice of them and they didn't even laugh. Except Meg. She thought the whole episode was hilarious when I texted her the picture of my skinned up knees. And that just confirms that she IS my baby even if she looks only like her daddy.
There is really nothing funnier than watching somebody fall. A friend of mine fell this week too. She was walking out of the gas station with 2 drinks in her hands, tripped over the curb, WIPED OUT, and the drinks went flying under the car. I can't even tell you how disappointed I am that I missed it!
Anyway.
My kids have been sick ever since. And since we are crazy weird about sickness spreading we had the first sick kid move out to the garage. This was mighty good news for him since we have a whole room built onto the back of the garage with heat, air, a big comfy couch, and all manner of games and books. He even had his own bathroom. He pretty much spent 2 days watching movies, reading books, eating snacks, and wishing he could be sick more often.
But it didn't work. And soon his little brothers had it too. They are not quite old enough to be trusted with garage privileges yet, so the whole house has been subjected to lots and lots of coughing with some fever and snotty noses. And just when they were starting to get over it, their sister caught it.
So there's been lots of orange juice, naps, oreganol and cough syrup. And one of the worst parts is that we've missed everything fun since the Appointment In Which Everything Went South. No church. No piano. No football. No school.
And since round 2 is just beginning, I'm thinking the garage is looking pretty comfy!
And like I told you, I decided to make the kids wait in the car until it was their turn. So I go out to get the next three kids and my shoe caught the edge of the place where they extended the parking lot and forgot to make it level with the rest.
Well.
Right in the middle of the parking lot during FLU SEASON I went crashing to the ground in a most ungraceful way right in front of my horrified children. And since they just finished CPR training, they rushed out of the van with the first aid kit in hand. All except one who ran to track down my shoe that had flown off. It was all very nice of them and they didn't even laugh. Except Meg. She thought the whole episode was hilarious when I texted her the picture of my skinned up knees. And that just confirms that she IS my baby even if she looks only like her daddy.
There is really nothing funnier than watching somebody fall. A friend of mine fell this week too. She was walking out of the gas station with 2 drinks in her hands, tripped over the curb, WIPED OUT, and the drinks went flying under the car. I can't even tell you how disappointed I am that I missed it!
Anyway.
My kids have been sick ever since. And since we are crazy weird about sickness spreading we had the first sick kid move out to the garage. This was mighty good news for him since we have a whole room built onto the back of the garage with heat, air, a big comfy couch, and all manner of games and books. He even had his own bathroom. He pretty much spent 2 days watching movies, reading books, eating snacks, and wishing he could be sick more often.
But it didn't work. And soon his little brothers had it too. They are not quite old enough to be trusted with garage privileges yet, so the whole house has been subjected to lots and lots of coughing with some fever and snotty noses. And just when they were starting to get over it, their sister caught it.
So there's been lots of orange juice, naps, oreganol and cough syrup. And one of the worst parts is that we've missed everything fun since the Appointment In Which Everything Went South. No church. No piano. No football. No school.
And since round 2 is just beginning, I'm thinking the garage is looking pretty comfy!
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Mad Bees And Swirly Designs
~The weather warmed up this weekend and I was oh so happy to see some sunshine. I've been waiting on a day like this to check the bees. It's been cold so there has not been any activity from either hive and I was anxious to check their food supply. Since it was sunny and warm I was certain I'd see activity and since I have top feeders and wouldn't have to actually open the hive, I considered not suiting up. And I certainly wasn't going to go to the trouble of lighting the smoker. I changed my mind and suited up and took about 3 gallons of syrup out. But I was surprised to see no activity again. And when I popped the lid the feeder was still full.
I had this sick feeling that I was going to open the hive and find them dead. But as soon as I pushed the feeder to the side they let me know real quick that they were just fine! And they were none too happy with me nosing around! I've never been so glad to have my bee suit on! They were attacking my veil and in a terrible mood.
The next hive does not have a feeder because they have a full honey super. I peeked in and found them in a good mood with lots of food. It appears both hives are doing just fine with only the brood box full of honey.
And while it was warm I also put everyone to work cleaning out old frames. This needed to be done but I was a bit scared to just jump in fearing I'd break something.....plus not really understanding the best way to go about it. But it was super easy and fun and we had a bunch of them knocked out in no time at all.
~ Our friends at Immanuel were needing a worship leader while their main guy was out having surgery. So for 2 weeks now we've been loving some IBC time. This kid is one of our faves from our youth group.
~ Yesterday we had physicals for our home study. Our doctor's office was very gracious and agreed to see seven of us in one day. But do you know how I hated stepping foot in that office during flu season!? And it didn't help that a lady in the waiting room was coughing up a lung then sneezed out a huge snot that was hanging from her nose!! My boys thought this was HILARIOUS!! The nurse asked the lady to wear a mask while I said, "Load Up!" And made my kids wait in the car until it was their turn.
By next week the other 3 of us will have had their physicals and that will be done. References are turned in, we are CPR certified, PRIDE training wraps up this weekend, and FBI fingerprints are next week. Moving right along!
I had this sick feeling that I was going to open the hive and find them dead. But as soon as I pushed the feeder to the side they let me know real quick that they were just fine! And they were none too happy with me nosing around! I've never been so glad to have my bee suit on! They were attacking my veil and in a terrible mood.
The next hive does not have a feeder because they have a full honey super. I peeked in and found them in a good mood with lots of food. It appears both hives are doing just fine with only the brood box full of honey.
And while it was warm I also put everyone to work cleaning out old frames. This needed to be done but I was a bit scared to just jump in fearing I'd break something.....plus not really understanding the best way to go about it. But it was super easy and fun and we had a bunch of them knocked out in no time at all.
~ Our friends at Immanuel were needing a worship leader while their main guy was out having surgery. So for 2 weeks now we've been loving some IBC time. This kid is one of our faves from our youth group.
Remember Spirograph? I loved that thing when I was a kid and made all sorts of swirly designs with colored pens. Well I bought Mally a cheap version at the dollar section of Target and they have barely left it alone since. It was way harder than I remember and took us a good long time and a lot of paper to figure it out. I think it might have something to do with the $1.00 price tag.
By next week the other 3 of us will have had their physicals and that will be done. References are turned in, we are CPR certified, PRIDE training wraps up this weekend, and FBI fingerprints are next week. Moving right along!
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Goodbye Gram
This week we said goodbye to our sweet Gram.
Gram came into our lives about 9 years ago and I just don't know how we lived without her before that. She was always ready to listen to a little Tagg rattle on and on about whatever. That's one of the things my kids loved about her most. She was interested in them and made them feel special by her attention.
Mally especially loved talking to Gram and has had a harder time with the fact that she is gone. Tonight she just started crying spontaneously about Gram. And I understand. So I asked Meg if she was up for one more sister to sleepover since the other 2 were going over. Spending the night with Meg is a big deal and sure to make her feel a little better. Gram loved Mallory and some of her last words were about her.
Christmas was especially wonderful this year because Gram was feeling so great. And I think all my kids mentioned to me that they felt like they got to spend a lot of time with her this year. It was one of my favorite parts of the TX visit. Gram had me unpack her chest and showed me lots of quilts. Some of them she made, some she didn't, and one that was so ugly she didn't know why it was even in there. We looked at her jewelry and she taught me the difference between real crystal and pretty glass.
One of my favorite things about Gram was her sense of humor. She had a quick wit and a fast come back. Hilarious!
I am so proud of my parents for taking such good care of Gram on the good days and the bad. They are a great example to me.
And I am especially grateful for a loving God that sent His Son to make a way for eternal life. Someday there will be a great reunion in heaven and I can't wait to find my Gram!
Gram came into our lives about 9 years ago and I just don't know how we lived without her before that. She was always ready to listen to a little Tagg rattle on and on about whatever. That's one of the things my kids loved about her most. She was interested in them and made them feel special by her attention.
Mally especially loved talking to Gram and has had a harder time with the fact that she is gone. Tonight she just started crying spontaneously about Gram. And I understand. So I asked Meg if she was up for one more sister to sleepover since the other 2 were going over. Spending the night with Meg is a big deal and sure to make her feel a little better. Gram loved Mallory and some of her last words were about her.
Christmas was especially wonderful this year because Gram was feeling so great. And I think all my kids mentioned to me that they felt like they got to spend a lot of time with her this year. It was one of my favorite parts of the TX visit. Gram had me unpack her chest and showed me lots of quilts. Some of them she made, some she didn't, and one that was so ugly she didn't know why it was even in there. We looked at her jewelry and she taught me the difference between real crystal and pretty glass.
One of my favorite things about Gram was her sense of humor. She had a quick wit and a fast come back. Hilarious!
I am so proud of my parents for taking such good care of Gram on the good days and the bad. They are a great example to me.
And I am especially grateful for a loving God that sent His Son to make a way for eternal life. Someday there will be a great reunion in heaven and I can't wait to find my Gram!
Monday, January 12, 2015
PRIDE Training
You guys. I know this might be terribly boring but I do want to chronicle this part of our lives since it's probably going to be a significant part of our 2015. So I want to talk out this whole business of opening our home for foster care.
Friday night the resource worker came by and it was just the easiest thing. She was very laid back and easy to like. We did some paperwork together and went over our finances. Then she did a walk through of the house looking in rooms and closets. She wasn't looking closely, didn't go through anything, didn't even really go through drawers. I think she was mostly checking to make sure we lived in a normalish way. We asked some questions and she gave us a list of some things to work on. There was nothing to it. That is called the IHC (in home consultation).
Then the training.
This weekend was our big weekend of training, otherwise known as PRIDE. I forgot what all the letters of PRIDE stand for but it has something to do with parents and foster care and resources and something like that.
It's in the book somewhere. And the book....MERCY!! It's gigantic.
Saturday started at 9am in a room over filled with tables and people. Apparently it's the biggest class in a long time and that just makes me smile all over. Our friends, the M family were there but since we got there at different times we didn't get to sit together. I was thinking later how it was a good thing so that we had the chance to get to know new people.
There was lots of talking, flipping through the book, little videos, and projects with your table mates. There were some long and boring sessions but discussion and projects kept it mostly interesting. They also switched out trainers at different sessions and that was helpful to hear someone else's teaching.
We broke for lunch and got to spend some time with our friends. Then back to the room for 5 more hours. Saturday's training was 9-7. We got out a little early though.
Sunday morning was cold and even a little icy. Honey was leading worship at IBC so we were already in town for the 1:00 session. We both enjoyed Sunday's training a little more and felt like we learned quite a bit. Again it went to almost 7pm.
We had lots to talk over on the way home. And we were SOOO happy to get home to our kiddos after being gone all weekend long. Of course we called and checked in along the way and I was so proud of how well they did on their own. The big kids made it fun for the youngers with nerf battles, blanket forts, and laps around the house. And get this...the house was clean when we got home. I KNOW!
I've decided that January is the perfect time to do something like this since the weather was cold and we weren't sitting inside for 16 hours on a beautiful weekend.
We skip a weekend and do it all again in 2 weeks. In the meantime we have a big packet of things to do. Lots of personal questions to answer, documents to find, copies to make. We need to be finger printed and CPR certified. It's quite a thing.
According to the measurements of our bedrooms and the number and ages of our kids, we can potentially be licensed for 2 babies under 2 years old. I'm guessing we will stick to one at a time unless it's a very close sibling group.
And though we still have a very long road ahead of us, I feel like getting 1/2 of the training behind us is a big step.
Friday night the resource worker came by and it was just the easiest thing. She was very laid back and easy to like. We did some paperwork together and went over our finances. Then she did a walk through of the house looking in rooms and closets. She wasn't looking closely, didn't go through anything, didn't even really go through drawers. I think she was mostly checking to make sure we lived in a normalish way. We asked some questions and she gave us a list of some things to work on. There was nothing to it. That is called the IHC (in home consultation).
Then the training.
This weekend was our big weekend of training, otherwise known as PRIDE. I forgot what all the letters of PRIDE stand for but it has something to do with parents and foster care and resources and something like that.
It's in the book somewhere. And the book....MERCY!! It's gigantic.
Saturday started at 9am in a room over filled with tables and people. Apparently it's the biggest class in a long time and that just makes me smile all over. Our friends, the M family were there but since we got there at different times we didn't get to sit together. I was thinking later how it was a good thing so that we had the chance to get to know new people.
There was lots of talking, flipping through the book, little videos, and projects with your table mates. There were some long and boring sessions but discussion and projects kept it mostly interesting. They also switched out trainers at different sessions and that was helpful to hear someone else's teaching.
We broke for lunch and got to spend some time with our friends. Then back to the room for 5 more hours. Saturday's training was 9-7. We got out a little early though.
Sunday morning was cold and even a little icy. Honey was leading worship at IBC so we were already in town for the 1:00 session. We both enjoyed Sunday's training a little more and felt like we learned quite a bit. Again it went to almost 7pm.
We had lots to talk over on the way home. And we were SOOO happy to get home to our kiddos after being gone all weekend long. Of course we called and checked in along the way and I was so proud of how well they did on their own. The big kids made it fun for the youngers with nerf battles, blanket forts, and laps around the house. And get this...the house was clean when we got home. I KNOW!
I've decided that January is the perfect time to do something like this since the weather was cold and we weren't sitting inside for 16 hours on a beautiful weekend.
We skip a weekend and do it all again in 2 weeks. In the meantime we have a big packet of things to do. Lots of personal questions to answer, documents to find, copies to make. We need to be finger printed and CPR certified. It's quite a thing.
According to the measurements of our bedrooms and the number and ages of our kids, we can potentially be licensed for 2 babies under 2 years old. I'm guessing we will stick to one at a time unless it's a very close sibling group.
And though we still have a very long road ahead of us, I feel like getting 1/2 of the training behind us is a big step.
Thursday, January 08, 2015
And Now It Can Officially Start
Meg's birthday was a bunch of fun.
Honey and I got to have lunch with her at work because she only gets 30 min. And it reminds me of when elementary kids have their mommies and daddies come to their school and eat lunch in the cafeteria with them and their friends. I know from my Awana peeps that it's the Big Deal. We got to meet her friends and see her office and even see a real Super Bowl ticket from 2 years ago. It was all kinds of fun and I wish I could do it every single week.
Then Haley came for dinner and our sweet R family was here. It was loud and busy and much fun-ness. We just love our girl.
But now that her bday is over its time to get back to living our normal joyful life and put away all the cookies and maybe even pull out the carrots again.
I woke up feeling like we all needed to reset. Since none of my kids came with a real reset button we did the next best thing. CLEAN HOUSE. Nothing says new beginnings like a sparkling potty.
But first we needed to do a bit of chore re-org. Our old chore system was tired and not working effectively and soooo 2014. A change was in order.
Except for some weekend/evening kitchen work, our teenagers are not doing chores. They are gone too much and too busy to be able to help much right now. So I gave them a good momma speech about making their beds and cleaning up after themselves. Leaving no mess no matter how small. If you do it now you won't have to do it later.... Blah blah blah.
Then I moved to the youngers. And for the first time in a while I reassigned buddies. Jes (12) and Nate (10) are buddies. And Josh (13), Mally (9), and Z (7) are a 3 buddy team.
Everyone starts with their own chores then moves along to help their buddy and have their buddy check their work.
Here's the new chore schedule...
Josh - chickens, back porch, vacuum every afternoon, project room and bar
Jess - Parlor, dining room with Nate
Nate - Dining room with Jess, boys' bath, dog poop with Zeke
Mally - living room, yard pick up, girls wing
Zeke - bathroom trashes, sweep hall, laundry room and laundry bathroom, dog poop
Everyone makes their beds and cleans their own rooms. They fold their own laundry and put it away. COW has kitchen work.
I also took away music and talking privileges during chore times. At least until we are moving along quickly and diligently with good work ethic.
The day was a success. We ended with a clean house, a happy momma, and a trip to the library.
I'm thinking this new system is going to work nicely.
Honey and I got to have lunch with her at work because she only gets 30 min. And it reminds me of when elementary kids have their mommies and daddies come to their school and eat lunch in the cafeteria with them and their friends. I know from my Awana peeps that it's the Big Deal. We got to meet her friends and see her office and even see a real Super Bowl ticket from 2 years ago. It was all kinds of fun and I wish I could do it every single week.
Then Haley came for dinner and our sweet R family was here. It was loud and busy and much fun-ness. We just love our girl.
But now that her bday is over its time to get back to living our normal joyful life and put away all the cookies and maybe even pull out the carrots again.
I woke up feeling like we all needed to reset. Since none of my kids came with a real reset button we did the next best thing. CLEAN HOUSE. Nothing says new beginnings like a sparkling potty.
But first we needed to do a bit of chore re-org. Our old chore system was tired and not working effectively and soooo 2014. A change was in order.
Except for some weekend/evening kitchen work, our teenagers are not doing chores. They are gone too much and too busy to be able to help much right now. So I gave them a good momma speech about making their beds and cleaning up after themselves. Leaving no mess no matter how small. If you do it now you won't have to do it later.... Blah blah blah.
Then I moved to the youngers. And for the first time in a while I reassigned buddies. Jes (12) and Nate (10) are buddies. And Josh (13), Mally (9), and Z (7) are a 3 buddy team.
Everyone starts with their own chores then moves along to help their buddy and have their buddy check their work.
Here's the new chore schedule...
Josh - chickens, back porch, vacuum every afternoon, project room and bar
Jess - Parlor, dining room with Nate
Nate - Dining room with Jess, boys' bath, dog poop with Zeke
Mally - living room, yard pick up, girls wing
Zeke - bathroom trashes, sweep hall, laundry room and laundry bathroom, dog poop
Everyone makes their beds and cleans their own rooms. They fold their own laundry and put it away. COW has kitchen work.
I also took away music and talking privileges during chore times. At least until we are moving along quickly and diligently with good work ethic.
The day was a success. We ended with a clean house, a happy momma, and a trip to the library.
I'm thinking this new system is going to work nicely.
Sunday, January 04, 2015
Four Days Into 2015
I never really feel like the holidays are over until after Meg's birthday on the 6th. And I've kinda noticed that it takes awhile for everybody else to jump back into the swing of things too. People are still on vacation, school is still out, no evening services at church, and the stores are still crowded.
2015 started out just perfect. Meg and Ethan spent the night NY Eve and everybody stayed up late eating food, watching movies, playing xbox, and having nerf battles. Everybody but me because SLEEP!!
Then the next morning Ethan and Christian left for a big backpacking trip and Meg stayed all day until bedtime and we just stayed in our pjs and were lazy. It was a perfect start.
A couple of days earlier we got the great news that Christian and Haley are officially an item. Is that how you even say that anymore? Hanging out? Going With? Dating? Well however you say it, he got permission from Haley's dad to spend some time together and get to know her better. She is precious and we are all looking forward to getting to know her better.
On Friday the DCFS lady called to set up an appointment for this Friday to do the initial walk through of our house to start our home study. So I immediately texted Dana because OH MY WORD and PANIC! I had gotten it into my head that they might skip us since classes start Saturday and nobody had called. But that's not the case. So we are busy doing some of the last minute things that we hadn't gotten around to yet.
Yesterday Meg and I spent the whole day shopping and eating. We always shop on her birthday and it's something I look forward to every year. We hit 7 stores and barely bought anything. It was a ton of fun.
And today my mom and grandmother are coming!! Grandmother hasn't been here since we moved into this house and I'm super excited!
2015 started out just perfect. Meg and Ethan spent the night NY Eve and everybody stayed up late eating food, watching movies, playing xbox, and having nerf battles. Everybody but me because SLEEP!!
Then the next morning Ethan and Christian left for a big backpacking trip and Meg stayed all day until bedtime and we just stayed in our pjs and were lazy. It was a perfect start.
A couple of days earlier we got the great news that Christian and Haley are officially an item. Is that how you even say that anymore? Hanging out? Going With? Dating? Well however you say it, he got permission from Haley's dad to spend some time together and get to know her better. She is precious and we are all looking forward to getting to know her better.
On Friday the DCFS lady called to set up an appointment for this Friday to do the initial walk through of our house to start our home study. So I immediately texted Dana because OH MY WORD and PANIC! I had gotten it into my head that they might skip us since classes start Saturday and nobody had called. But that's not the case. So we are busy doing some of the last minute things that we hadn't gotten around to yet.
Yesterday Meg and I spent the whole day shopping and eating. We always shop on her birthday and it's something I look forward to every year. We hit 7 stores and barely bought anything. It was a ton of fun.
And today my mom and grandmother are coming!! Grandmother hasn't been here since we moved into this house and I'm super excited!
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