My new phone!

I got a new cell phone!! It's a cute silver flip phone will all kinds of fancy options. The best part is that it was free! My old phone was so old that my phone company had to send me an upgrade. I didn't have to change plans or phone number or anything. It has been fun trying to figure it out. Right now I have the Scooby Doo theme song for my ring tone. It's not the old SD song though so I guess it must have come from the movie. I didn't see the movie so I don't know. I really would've preferred the George of the Jungle theme song...remember that cartoon? It's my favorite and we have a couple of the old VHS tapes so my kids (and me) can still watch them. Anyway, that song wasn't an option. If you have my cell phone number call me so I can hear it ring!!

Surprise!

It was too cold to have Mallory outside at the soccer game last night so I brought the little kids home early. SURPRISE!! There was my mother-in-law's car in the driveway! We knew she was planning on coming Friday but to come on Tuesday was a special surprise.

Today she is out shopping with Maegan, Laney, Joshua, and Jesse and getting caught up on b-days. They will all go out to lunch and have a fun day. Tomorrow she is going to do it again with the ones that stayed home today.

This promises to be a fun week with G'ma here.

Merry Christmas!

Today is the 25th and everytime the 25th falls on a school day we celebrate Christmas. We don't do anything big, although I'm thinking it is a good excuse to make some special breakfast. We just read about the birth of Jesus for our Bible reading and revisit the topic again. We may sing a Christmas song or two and I might read a Christmas book to the little boys. I know it is a little strange but I got the idea from a conference I went to with a friend of mine. Repetition is good and it is a good excuse to celebrate Jesus again and any other month that it falls in the middle of the week.

I would like to expand this mini celebration but, like everything else, it seems to "sneak" up on me even though I've written it on the calendar. I would like to get out the little fiber optic tree we have to decorate the table and make a special breakfast. Oh well, maybe next month....if it is on a school day.

Home Improvement Day

I declared yesterday "Home Improvement Day". That meant we put the school books away and worked on home improvement projects. It was a good change of pace.

Mike has been reminding me about the unfinished painting project that I began so I thought I'd get moving on it. I picked another color called Toasted Cashew. Why do they always look better on the sample card?! Well I started painting and it looks so similar to the original color of my walls (off white) that it was nearly impossible to tell where I painted. That was quite a disappointment. I'm NOT doing this again so Toasted Cashew it is. At least I got rid of the dark green trim. However, when I painted over that the room looked a little like a public restroom or a hospital room. Big sigh..... SOOOO that just means I need new stuff to perk up the room, right? I have lots of ideas but the budget doesn't agree with me right now. Too bad. I will just do little stuff for the time being. I bought a couple of new frames on sale at Hobby Lobby so that's a start.

We also planted flowers yesterday. I thought it would be a good time since it was supposed to rain. I had Laney, Laura, and Joshua working on raking and planting. They look pretty.

The rain was wonderful and it tested the leak in the basement. It's still there. I was hoping that the unclogging of the french drain fixed it but it didn't. I have calls into two irrigation guys today. We'll see what they say.

Tonight is piano, game, and practice. That means lunch boxes! It also means no dinner dishes.

Col 1: 28-29

In my Bible reading this morning was this verse..

"We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." Col 1: 28-29

This verse has spurred me on this morning. My goal in life is summed up in these two sentences. I have 8 little people under my teaching and protection and I so want to present them to the Lord as perfect in Christ. That word "perfect" means mature or complete. And I strive to bring my children to maturity in Christ.

I get discouraged when I see a lack of maturity. Like when my 3yo growls at our dinner guest, or my 5yo does not seem to be able to read when I think he should. Reading this verse gives me renewed hope as I remember the reason why I persevere.

Did you see the last part? The part that says "struggling with all his energy". That part is especially exciting b/c it is His energy that powerfully works in me. That is good on these days when my morning starts at 4:30 with a baby girl that doesn't want to go back to sleep. I was surprised when I woke up this morning to her stirring and found that I wasn't very tired. When I read this verse this morning I understood. God has given me His energy to do this work He's given me.

Will I get tired today? Probably so. Will I get frustrated with that lack of maturity that I'm working on all day? Oh yes. But I have hope b/c of this precious word from the Lord and that helps me to look forward to getting started.

Lunch Boxes

Today is Tuesday and that means so much at our house. Tuesday is our very busy day. The girls have piano, Joshua has a game, and Christian has practice. Mike and Christian will not be home until around 8pm. The rest of us will be home around 7pm. Can you believe that we all actually like Tuesdays? We do!

I'm not sure if my girls like piano because of piano or because of their friends that they get to visit with when it is not their turn. I'm betting it is the latter. Everyone likes Joshua's games. He's such a go-getter and he always scores at least twice. That makes it really fun. Then there's Christian who loves anything SOCCER.

The problem with Tuesdays is that there is no time for dinner. Our solution....lunch boxes! When I first started this I had no idea how much my kids would like it. I guess when you homeschool a lunch box is a big deal b/c you don't get to do it often. Everyone has their own fun lunch box that they've picked out or gotten as a gift. They usually get to make their own lunch but sometimes Maegan chooses to make everyone's so that she can put a surprise in each one.

Since we've recently seen G'ma and G'pa we have lots of fun lunch box goodies. Laura's favorite is V8. If we don't have anything fun then I will try to make cookies or granola bars. Everyone likes having their very own ziploc bags of food. For some reason that is more fun than Mom just bringing a box of crackers for everyone to share. Who knows?

We will have our lunch boxes at the piano teacher's house. She has a big front yard with a great rope swing. I pull out the little boys' lawn chairs and they eat their lunches on their laps. It's even more fun for them b/c they never know what is packed in their lunch box!

Christian's soccer is very busy right now b/c they are gearing up for the State Cup in May. This means that we won't get to have dinner together so often. Eating together and talking around the table is so important to a family. Lunch boxes to the rescue! Mike's office has a pretty pond with a fountain. My boys call it "the ocean". They love going to the ocean for lunch. If we have a particularly busy week, we will take our lunch boxes up there and eat lunch with Dad. The kids look for frogs and throw rocks in the pond while Mike and I sit on the bench and talk. There's plenty of grass to play ball or frisbee. It's a fun time and a good alternative if you can't always have the traditional dinner evening.

Happy Easter!

Praise the Lord! Resurrection Sunday is such a powerful day. We all went to church this morning and got to sit on the front row b/c we weren't early enough. The church was so full, the music was great, and I love the front row! We were able to meet a friend of Mike's from work and we had friends over for lunch.

Our pastor preached a bold message on Jesus. If you don't know Jesus and do not have the promise of eternal life and would like to, here's how....pray something like this...

"Lord Jesus, I confess I am a sinner and need you. I believe you are the Son of God, that you died for my sins and rose from the dead. Please come into my life to be my Lord and Savior. Amen" I know it sounds so simple and it is!! Isn't that wonderful!?

This friend of ours just returned from a mission trip to Mexico. He brought pictures and souvenirs and told us about his trip. It was a nice time.

Here was our Easter lunch menu...

Chicken and stuffing
Mashed Potatoes and gravy
Creamed spinach
Salad and corn
cheesecake and peanut butter pie

Tonight's dinner is DATE NIGHT!! As is every Sunday night at our house.



This is a little strange but it happens to me every year. I forget Easter! Can you believe it? Sometimes I forget Thanksgiving too! I turn the calendar page on the 1st of the month and see that Easter is only a couple of weeks away. I come up with a quick mental list of what I will do with the kids to prepare and celebrate. Life goes on but my plans don't. I forget!

I took the kids to the park for lunch Friday. I was surprised that it was so crowded. Mike reminded me that it was Good Friday and kids were out of school. Of course! Still that didn't really register with me until last night when I realized that Easter was tomorrow and I didn't do any of those things with the kids that I wanted to do.

As I said this seems to happen to me every year so it is nothing new. Another advantage of homeschooling is that I can still do it after the Holyday. That is what we will do...again.
Here are my plans that we WILL start tomorrow...

I will read aloud from my Bible the story of the resurrection. I also have a children's book titled Jesus Is Alive that I will read. We will sing some of the same songs we sang in church this morning and pray and thank Jesus again for his unfathomable grace and mercy toward us. I love the resurrection eggs and we will do those 2 or 3 times for the rest of April. I also have coloring sheets for my younger kids. We'll color eggs (too bad they aren't on sale THIS week!) and talk about new life. These are very simple things that we'll include with our regular school work for the rest of April....if I don't forget!

Do you know about the Resurrection Eggs? They are a dozen colored plastic eggs each containing a small plastic toy that represents a part of the resurrection. Each day you open one egg and read that portion of Scripture. They are fun b/c every egg is a surprise. You can buy these at Walmart.

God Bless you and Happy Resurrection Sunday!!

My baby's *new* bed

My new baby is not really considered new anymore. She is four months old. I love all the things associated with new babies. I love the smell of the teeny tiny newborn diapers, I love the alcohol preps on the belly button, I love that thin breath on my neck. Those days are gone already and I miss them. I especially miss the naps on my chest.

Nathan is consistently sleeping in the boys' room now. It was time to move Mallory downstairs to sleep in the crib. For the first few nights we just kept everything the same and sort of exchanged one baby for another. Since she did so well I decided to make it more permanent. It was time to put on her (new pink!!) bedding and move the mattress. Bending down to the bottom to pick up a heavy baby is a killer on the back!

When Mike finished moving the mattress up to the top my heart leaped for joy! An unexpected new baby thing that I forgot I loved!! I love having the mattress all the way up to the top of the crib. Everything about it means new baby. It doesn't last long b/c as soon as baby starts pushing up you have to lower the mattress. But for now the mattress is up at the top and I absolutely LOVE it.

My New Organizational Tool

At our house we hate putting away clean laundry. Everyone is responsible for putting away their own clothes plus their little buddy's. I think Christian and I dislike it more than anyone else. We do laundry throughout the day and as soon as I put away my stack it seems that there is another stack right behind it!

I went to Walmart and bought everyone their own laundry basket and put their name on it. For the little kids with little clothes I found small baskets at the dollar store. In the morning we line up all the baskets in birth order in the parlor...that is where we fold all the clothes. Throughout the day we fill the baskets with clean clothes as well as whatever else is lying around that belongs to someone else....shoes, toys, etc.

Around 4pm we straighten up the house before Mike comes home. At that time everyone takes their own basket, plus their little buddy's, and puts away whatever is in them. They are responsible for making sure their basket and little buddy's basket gets back up to the laundry room for tomorrow. Since they have names on them it's easy to tell who forgot!!

The first day of the new system didn't go so well. There were baskets everywhere! It took some fine tuning but I think we all got it now. Of course there are still baskets out all day but they are lined up neatly and don't look so disorganized. Also there are not stray socks or 9 different piles of clothes all over the room. The house is also neater b/c there is a central place to dump daily clutter. The best thing is that we only have to put away laundry once!! Christian and I really like that one!

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Have you ever been part of a two-year-old's birthday? It is so precious. Maegan made him an adorable turtle cake that turned out so cute. When it was time to blow out the candles, he knew just what to do. He waited until the Happy Birthday song was over and blew with all his heart. His little lips were inside out and he spit all over his cake. Candles were still aglow. After a few more tries, his big brothers helped him out. Jesse could barely contain himself as he considers himself to be the official candle-blower-outer of the house. It was a fun and sweet time.

Happy Birthday Nathan!! We love you!

Nathan's Last Day

Today Nathan is one. Tomorrow he will be two.

I know that his birthday will be fun and I am looking forward to having a two-year-old in the house again. The problem is that I will miss my one-year-old. It is always the day before the birthday that I think on the most. I ask myself questions like ... did I use this year with him the best way that I could? Did I spend enough time with him? How can I be a better mom to him next year? I also spend the day calling him "one year old" since I will never be able to do that again. Lord willing, I will have another one-year-old since Mallory is right behind him but she will not be the same one-year-old as Nathan.

Here's some sweet stuff about my one-year-old....

~Nathan likes to sleep with his glow worm, red blankey, and a couple of cars.

~He speaks in sentences, signs, and can use the potty.

~He can sit nicely through a whole church service.

~He likes to ride in the car.

~He has been known to stuff the potty with toilet paper.

~He is starting to sing....what a joyful noise it is!

~He loves talking on the phone and reading books.

Here are is b-day meals
breakfast: orange rolls and juice
lunch : vegetable soup and crackers
dinner: Pizza
dessert: a turtle cake with strawberry ice cream

Tomorrow I will be the mom of a two year old. Today I'm enjoying my one year old.

Mom is visiting this weekend. It is the perfect time since Mike is out of town with the boys. I don't really care for the weekends at home without them so I'm especially glad that she is here now.

It will be a fun weekend of shopping, eating out, and playing with babies. As a matter of fact, Mom is out at the mall with the girls now. The babies got tired so I had to bring them home for a nap. I know Maegan will especially enjoy this b/c I don't like the mall. She LOVES the mall. Having G'ma take her to the mall is a huge treat b/c G'ma will shop around and take her time. When I go to the mall, I get what I'm getting and get out!!

Mike, Christian, Joshua, and Jesse are in Little Rock at a soccer tournament. This is the first time that the little boys have gotten to go. They will have a great time, especially since Mike might take them to the zoo!! I'll let ya know.....

The Great Clothes Exchange

It is time to take out the winter clothes and bring in the shorts. I can not tell you what a big job this is! I am in the middle of it now.

After years of practice I finally have this down to a minimal of work. Before, I would have clothes upstairs, downstairs, and everywhere inbetween. It would take about 3 weeks to finish and I would be in a bad mood the whole time!

Last year something changed. As I was going through the mountain of clothes that had been in the attic I was complaining in my heart the whole time. I felt that gentle word of the Lord that said "Be thankful." Thankful! Of course. As I began to look through the clothes I realized that I had not purchased ANY of them. All of them had been given to me by someone else! We even get the socks and underwear that G'ma finds on sale occasionally! What is NOT to be thankful for that? I realized what a great provision this was from the Lord. My whole attitude changed as well as the way I did my work.

I can now do the big exchange in about 3 days with no grumpy attitude. I am glad for all these cute clothes that we did not have to buy. Mike is glad b/c there are not clothes in every corner for weeks. The kids are glad b/c Momma is smiling and not fussing at everyone. Mike calls that the "splash effect".

Our Trip to TX

What a great trip we had. I am sorry that it had to be under sad circumstances but we enjoyed the trip nonetheless.

I am not sure if Grandpa and Nana's house will ever be the same after a visit from Jes. He explored everything....everything. Nothing was left unturned. He even had to take a peek in the dryer! He fed the cows and the rooster and put fancy sprinkles on Nana's Tuesday cake.
The only thing that moved faster than Jesse's legs was his mouth. He talked nonstop!

The next stop was Grandma's house where he had the chance to get acquainted with Auntie B. His genuine enthusiasm over the plastic flowers in the Easter basket was so funny! Aunt Barbara especially enjoyed the lunch when Jesse plunged his knife into his roll then into his mouth. YIKES! We have some manners to work on at home.

The golf cart ride was exciting and Jesse couldn't wait to tell Joshua all about it. Laney found a big spider that Grandma tried to kill with a rag. Whoops, it crawled into a spot and escaped! Laney was sure that he would resurface to bite her face off and kept a close eye on the spot the whole time. Grandma stepped on the gas as the spider jumped out and was hanging on by a thread...or a web. Imagine the screams as both kids wanted off immediately!!

Thanks to everyone who put up with us for 2 days. We love you all!

Norman Gammon

My sweet Granddad Gammon died yesterday. He was suffering and I'm glad he is suffering no more.

We never lived in the same town with Granddad and so I was never very close to him but I always enjoyed him when I saw him. I thought I'd share my favorite memory...

I must have been about six. He was visiting us at our house and I was playing with my EZ Bake oven. I had several creations mixed up and ready to bake. I asked Granddad to help. I remember that one of the mixes did not turn out very well and we were trying to "fix" it. We added more water (from the bathroom sink) but that didn't help. By the time we gave up it was pretty yucky looking. THEN....he ate it!! Raw! He kept trying to get me to taste it too but I think I was giggling too much. He claimed it was yummy and ate the whole thing!

I always enjoyed visiting him at Christmas. He had this small bench/chair beside his phone that I always liked. A couple of years ago when he went into the nursing home, I got the chair. I like it even more now.

Please pray for me as I travel to TX this week. The plans are not solidified yet so I'm not sure exactly when I'm going or who is going with me. Pray for my family at home.

Here is my verse for the day: Psalm 104:34
"May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the Lord."

One more thing...Joshua just woke up and is sitting in my lap watching me type. He says "HI"

Mommaopoly

There is a definite way to make Maeg cry...just pull out the Monopoly board and get her to a few dollars. She's starts mortgaging stuff and in a few minutes the tears will come. She's very competitive and really likes to win. Mom really doesn't play with much compassion...but that's ok. I think it will develop a little character and humility for Maegan. Maybe even improve her monopoly playing. ;-)

God loves birds

Baby birds have a hard time in my neighborhood. There are too many dogs and cats. Springtime is the worst.

Last year it seemed that there was a bird in distress every week. One of kids would go outside just in time to see Myles, our cat, capture his prey. This would cause a panic in the heart of my child with many tears and pleas for me to save the bird. I would go out with a broom, try to free the bird, and come back into the house 2 hours later unsuccessful with a school day shot. Finally after many talks with the kids I made a rule that Myles had permission to keep his own game and we would not interfere.

I guess they forgot. Christian and Laney are taking care of a neighbor's dogs this week. Some sad bird had fallen from a nest. By the time they got home the bird had a name...Jimmy Carlos.
I reminded them that we are not equipped to care for birds nor is there extra money to take them all to the vet. We would just have to pray for him. I reminded them of our rule and they were sad.

The next morning I was reading my Bible and came across this verse.

"to the One who remembered us in our low estate, and freed us from our enemies, and who gives food to every creature. Give thanks to the God of heaven. " Ps. 136: 23-26

How perfect. I gave that word right to my kids and explained how God knows the state of Jimmy Carlos and He is the One to free him from his enemy and to feed him. I think they feel better. God's word is so timely.

Jesse was watching me change Nathan's diaper. When I finished I said "Ok, Nathan you're free!" Jesse says "He's not free, I'M free"(3)!

Laura had a math question that said:
Last year Janet weighed 68 pounds. This year she weighs 75 pounds. How much weight did she gain?

Laura answered correctly.

The second part of the question said:
What type of problem is this?

Laura's answer: Too much food.

I have 6 sick kids this week. Nothing big. Just snotty noses. The good thing is that they are sick at the same time! I love it when that happens instead of one at a time that drags out for weeks. I guess it was brought on by this funny weather.

Bedtime (NOT!)

This day has been full of noise and mess. I'm ready to be done. Bed*time* comes but bed doesn't happen. It should be called cryingtime instead. Round 2 begins. Mallory starts the nightly screaming fit. Nathan won't stay in bed. The other boys won't stop talking and somebody keeps pushing Buzz Lightyear's laser. I take turns going up and down the stairs plugging in a sucky and spanking someone's bottom. It's 9:45 and I've been doing this since 8:00.

I read a post today on a e-mail loop I'm on. This mom says "I always love being with my children!" Always?? I roll my eyes. Either she's lying or I'm doing it wrong.

Mike is having the greatest time in MO. Watching Christian win soccer games, eating out, watching cable tv, and shopping with children that can tie their own shoes and don't need diaper changes. Can you tell I'm JEALOUS?

Joshua's Birthday pictures

Go here to view Joshua's birthday party pictures!!
http://thetaggs.smugmug.com/gallery/1283125