Enduring with Grace

Abi's photo session

2011-04-26T16:40:00.013-04:00

This past Saturday, I took Abi to my friend Bonnie for her first photo session. Bonnie loves taking photos, but really loves babies. An hour and half session, along with 212 photos, some crying and one moment where she christened Bonnie's table, here are some that I have chosen to share with all of you. Thank you Bonnie for this wonderful gift!

Abi - One month today!

2011-04-26T14:56:00.003-04:00

Two weeks old - 4-9-11

2011-04-16T09:57:00.002-04:00

Yes, we were a bit crazy and took Abi to Epcot to celebrate Lorelai's 6th birthday. We had a great time and Abi received her 1st Visit button.

Abi from last Friday

2011-04-07T11:10:00.000-04:00

Abi - 6 days old

Ugh

2011-04-06T10:15:00.002-04:00

Since the kids have been at Circle this year, one of the things we have had to get used to is that their teachers do all of the grading of their work and what they say is final. The teachers send the grades to us at the end of the month, then they send them to the records office. We then have to submit attendance, the grades from the teachers and any other pertinent information by the 7th of each month.

The lead teacher, sends an email telling the parents to check their students grades and if something does not look right to email that particular teacher and cc the lead teacher as well. This has been happening since the beginning of the school year. My ugh title is because I have been dealing with one teacher all year, who forgets to put a grade in her record book for 2-3 assignments every month. When I look through the kids notebooks to double check their grades, the work is done and graded by the said teacher, but she forgets to record it herself. This has been happening since September! This month I had to question Liz's grade because Liz has been a straight A student all year. Every class, every month straight A's, but this month she suddenly had a D in one class. The teacher had put F's in four spots that she said she did not receive work from Liz, yet the work was in her notebook and graded. I emailed the teacher to let her know and she apologized and made the corrections, but it is frustrating that we are still dealing with this seven months after the first incident. Three more weeks and we are finished and we will not have to deal with that again.

Bullet point thoughts

2011-04-05T12:00:00.002-04:00

I caught a cold from the kids, so I have been in bed the last two days. It makes it easy to snuggle with Abi, but impossible to keep the rest of the kids on track.

Mike went back to work Monday, so it has been really hard dealing with everything, especially when I am not feeling well.

Abi seems to be allergic to dairy, just like Sophie. She is a spitting up machine. It has made it a bit difficult to eat things, especially when everyone is bringing meals and a majority of the meals have dairy in them.

After having a great first week postpartum, the second week has been a bit trying. I must have done a bit too much last week, which is crazy considering I really didn't do anything. Anywho, my body is telling me I did too much, which has knocked the wind out of me. It doesn't help that Mike is back to work and the kids have their full school schedule this week.

We think my iron is running low again. Mike said I am really pale compared to last week, so I probably need to recheck that and increase my iron rich foods.

Abi is amazing. She sleeps through the night and is very alert during the day. Today she is a sleepy head, but this weather would make anyone sleepy.

Mike is going out of town next week. I am really not thrilled about his trip considering I am still not cleared to drive or do normal activities since it has not even been two weeks since I had Abi. I should be getting cleared on Monday to do that, but to get thrown back into everything so quickly is not cool, especially considering how I have been feeling. I will still not be able to walk up stairs, which is a pain when all of the kids rooms are upstairs and Sophie still on occasion gets up in the middle of the night. Thursday may be my most trying day since I will have to drive the kids to school.

Sophie has done some amazing things in the last week. She has potty trained herself fully. I had been working on this for the last 8 months and we didn't get very far and then she does it in one week. She also transitioned into her bedroom quite nicely, sleeping with Lorelai on the bottom bunk. Again amazing. She was still sleeping with us the Friday night I went into labor. Then she also started eating fruits and veggies, which absolutely dumbfounded me. We could not get her to try something new, let alone, actually eat a salad at dinner. Now, she picks sugar snap peas off of the plants in the garden and eats them right then and there. She is eating salad with dinner and fruit with breakfast. Many of you know how shy Sophie is as well. She rarely speaks with anyone that she really does not know and sometimes those that she does see on a regular basis. This past week she talks to everyone. Anyone who has stopped by with a meal, she starts talking to right away, plus she shows them pictures that she has drawn and books that she loves. While I am thrilled that she has accomplished so much in a short time, it also saddens me because my little girl has grown up. She accomplished so many milestones in one week that it was a lot to take in and realize she is not the baby any more.

Birth Announcement

2011-03-27T09:41:00.003-04:00

Announcing the arrival of Abigail Eleanor Jean (Abi)! She arrived yesterday morning at 11:02 am, weighing in at 8lbs 14 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. She was a longer and hardest labor I have ever had due to her position, but it was still short and not bad compared to many other people I know. I had the hemorraging problem again, but the midwives were awesome and spotted it right away. I think this is the best postpartum experience I have ever had. Welll, I am off to rest with my sweet girl!

Testing update

2011-03-25T11:49:00.002-04:00

This morning Mike and I headed out for the biophysical profile of "little bit." She, which was again confirmed today, is great. She was asleep while they looked at all of her vitals, but figured out that we were taking pictures of her face, so she immediately turned her head. I have never had an ultrasound so late in the game and then having a 4D was amazing. She looks just like the other kids. Lorelai asked last night if we would be able to see if she had hair or not and we were not certain. Today, we learned that you can tell and yes, "little bit" has hair. I guess she really isn't "little bit" either. Her current weight is 8 lbs and 4 oz, just like two of our other children. It will be interesting to see how accurate that will be. The tech was telling us that another girl in her office, who just delivered, had an 8lb 4 oz ultrasound weight and the baby was born 3 days later at 8 - 8. That also means I am all baby again, since I have gained 10 pounds.

Still no baby...

2011-03-23T09:42:00.003-04:00

Just thought I would post an update. Still no baby. After having contractions all day Sunday that were 10-12 minutes apart - nothing. I am officially late. I have not had a late baby since Phillip, almost 21 years ago. He was really late, so I am thankful that they don't let you go that long. He was due June 3 and arrived July 1st!

I was at the birthing center Monday and I had my non-stress test, which went great. The baby did not like the monitors and kept moving them with her one hand. We at least had change as I am now dilated at 3 cm and 90% effaced, but she is still at -1 station. That is because she is in an OP, her head is sitting right on my pubic bone and sacrum. I also have a bit more back pain since she is positioned this way, but that is also because God blessed me with an extra vertebrae right above the sacrum, so a little extra pressure there. If she does not arrive by Friday, I have to go for a Bio-Physical Profile to make sure she is not too big, she is breathing okay and all the fluid is okay. Then I will go back to the birthing center Monday to see what the final plan will be.

Since she has decided to be late, this has thrown some issues with scheduling for the month of April for Mike, which is not a good thing. Example, he is supposed to be in Atlanta April 4 for a big conversion. He also is supposed to travel most of the month, but since he needs to be home for a couple of weeks after the baby is born, that obviously is not going to happen. Hopefully, this will not cause an issue with his superiors.

Midwife update

2011-03-14T18:05:00.001-04:00

No change! I was sorely disappointed today to hear them say there was no change from last week. I think they were suprised too. No birthday baby today.

Lots of Randomness

2011-03-10T08:24:00.003-05:00

So much to post, not a lot of time to put into an actual post, so bullet point thoughts today...

Woo-hoo! Six more weeks of school and we are done for the year. The kids and I cannot wait until we are done at Circle. Praying for them today as they have a huge science exam, one that has more questions than time in class.
Last week, we went on a field trip to Barberville with their school. Mike, Sophie and I joined them. The highlight of the trip were the peacocks. Every time we heard the peacocks, Sophie would say, "There is Kevin." Every one thought that was just too cute, because she thought that the peacocks was the bird Kevin from Up.
School next year...I almost finished planning out next school year. Now I just need to finish buying a few things that I need. It will be nice being home most of the time next year and free to do what we want to do.
Baby news...any day little one will arrive. I am 2-3 cm dilated and 60% effaced.
Sick news...this allergy season has kicked our butt. Sophie is having to use the neubulizer everyday when the pollen count is averaging 10.8 out of 12. So not cool. I caught some bug this week and have been in bed with a sore throat, bad cough, and low grade fever. This morning I am feeling a little better.
Funny, but not...Mike got a phone call from the corporate office wanting him to fly up next Thursday for a meeting. He told them he could not and they questioned why. He said, um, the baby. They laughed because they totally forgot that we were having a baby. I thought it was crazy because they wanted him to fly to Chicago for the day, St. Patrick's Day, which is totally crazy.
Theater...the kids are so excited about the show next week. I am bummed that I am going to miss it, but am thrilled that their grandparents (Mike's parents) will be here to see it.
Garden news...in the crazy nesting stage I have been in we have finally gotten 90% of the garden in. The last two weekends we have cleaned out and planted a multitude of things - 72 pepper plants (8 varieties), 56 tomatoes (6 varieties), eggplants (2 varieties), cucumbers (2 varieties), plus we still have cabbage, beets, carrots, and sugar snap peas. We are trellising the cukes and the tomatoes to the fence this year. This weekend, we will finish with the squash family, unless I have the baby. We also have an abundance of peaches and apples on the trees this year. Mike and Liz thinned the trees and pinched so many blossoms, but we still have a ton of fruit. The blueberries are really doing well too. We still are getting a ton of lemons from the Ponderosa lemon tree, but the Meyer lemon is full of blossoms. I sold so many lemons this year at the co-op and will most likely next year too.

More sickness

2011-02-27T09:42:00.003-05:00

Well, the illness did not stay away. Sophie ended up getting really sick (103-104 fever for four days) and I had to take her to the doctor Tuesday. She tested positive for Type A Influenza. I love, love, love the new pediatrician! They spent quite a bit of time with us asking a lot of questions and giving us some alternative remedies to get Sophie feeling better and to prevent me from getting sick. We are certain Mike had the flu last week and Sophie got it from him. One of the things that they gave Sophie was a type of Chinese medicine, a tea concentrate. She had to have it twice a day for the next 10 days. By the next day, Sophie was back to her normal self, dancing, twirling, singing. It is amazing stuff.

I went to the midwife the same day and they thought I was most likely coming down with the flu too. I was extremely exhausted. Sophie would get up at 1 in the morning and not fall back asleep until 6-6:30 those four days of high fever. Yes, I was a bit sleep deprived, which is not good for someone in their 36th week of pregnancy. It was also blood draw day at the birthing center. Yay! Unfortunately, they could not get a vein since I was so dehydrated, so I get my blood drawn tomorrow. The one midwife actually contemplated getting the blood from my head. Um, no thank you, unless it is an absolute emergency. They at least did a finger prick to see if I am still anemic and of course, I am. It has gotten a little better - I am at 10.6. I came home that day and tried to rest, but had to take care of everyone until Mike got home, then I went straight to bed. I slept 12 hours and felt great Wednesday. I still have not gotten sick - Praise God!!. I think I was just exhausted.

I am going to post more tomorrow, because I have to get ready to celebrate Sophie's 3rd birthday!

Whew!

2011-02-17T16:54:00.002-05:00

What a week it has been. Lorelai was sick through Saturday. Everyone else seemed fine, so we proceeded with our plans for the evening. Mike and I went out for our Valentine dinner Saturday, since he was supposed to head to Chicago. We had planned on going to PF Changs, but when we arrived we found out there was a two and a half hour wait. Seriously. We had gotten there at 8:00 pm thinking we had avoided the main dinner rush - NOT. So we got in the car, drove to Lake Mary and had dinner at Dexters. It was delicious. When we had gotten home, Mike looked at me and said, "We would just be getting seated at PF Changs." What a crazy thought!

And that was the beginning of everything going downhill. The bug came back to our house. It hit Mike and Jon Sunday morning. I haven't seen Mike sick in a while and he was sick. His initial temperature was 102.4. Not good. So, I kept the non sickies out of the bedrooms of the sickies, with the exception of Sophie, who wanted to check on her daddy. She was very concerned. She climbed up in bed with him and fell asleep around 10:30 in the morning, which is not normal. She slept for two hours or so and woke up very talkative. A while later, her cheeks were bright red and I thought, uh oh, she is sick too. Sure enough, 102.4. So three people down with fevers. It lasted through Monday night. Mike got up early Tuesday morning and made his flight to Chicago, fever free, but still sick. He tried getting an early flight home Wednesday, but was unable to and didn't get home until late last night.

Finally, Liz started feeling badly last night. So she stayed home today from Circle. Fortunately, I have been spared, so far.

Cloudy and grey

2011-02-10T11:05:00.002-05:00

This wet, cloudy, grey weather is the perfect weather to describe how today is in our home. Poor Lorelai is sick and there have been a lot of tears this morning since she feels so terrible. We just returned home from the doctor's office and we really don't know what is going on with her. We are thinking it is viral, since the strep and flu tests came back negative, but we are also going to do a urine culture to rule out an infection there. My sweet girl was so excited about yesterday. Yesterday was the AWANA Grand Prix - her first. She worked really hard on her car, designing and painting, but then yesterday I noticed while we were reading that she felt warm. She had a low grade fever of 99.5, so I gave her something to keep her fever down and vitamin c. I called Mike and said what should we do, because she worked so hard on her car. He suggested that we go, since her fever was so low, run her car, and leave immediately so she can race. So I had her rest that afternoon, missing dance, and we headed to AWANA with the intention of leaving after she raced her car. Interestingly enough, Lorelai placed 1st in her heat, so we had to wait to leave until the end when they ran the races for the championship. As soon as that race was over (two hours later) we left. When we arrived home, I took her temperature and it had spiked to 103.6 and stayed in that area the entire night and that was with Motrin and Tylenol. So today, she is missing classes at Circle, plus her class Valentine Party. She was a little disappointed, but not as badly as I thought, which means she really is feeling terrible. Please pray that sweet Lorelai will feel better soon.

Do Re Mi

2011-01-27T08:49:00.004-05:00

Catchy title, huh? I couldn't think of anything else at the moment. The title reflects what Sophie is currently signing as I am typing. She just loves The Sound of Music and knows all of the songs from the musical. Everyday, we have to listen to Do Re Mi and she sings along. She even tries to hit the high notes like Julie Andrews. It definitely makes a very cheerful time.

Ah, Thursday. The older three are at classes today. This semester is kicking their behind. Throw a dose of theater in for fun and they are wiped out and stressed. This is exactly what we told them would happen, but what would we as parents know. Today will be even more interesting because Jonathan made Senior Tour with the local theater company, which adds another day of theater practice which falls today at 4:30. What makes it interesting is two things: timing...he usually gets home from Circle between 4:15 and 4:20, so we will be rushing to theater, barring no traffic issues on 46. Second thing is another day of theater and his school workload. Currently, he is writing two research papers - one is on George Washington's military strategies and presidency and the other...Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect. Fun stuff. Add all of his other subjects in there, plus his learning struggles we are having some long school days. I am thankful this is their last week reading Don Quixote. If we were not at Circle, we would not have some of these issues, but alas this what we are dealing with for now.

Regarding Circle, they are starting a new program next year, which has piqued the interest of both, Jon and Liz. They are starting Circle School of the Arts, which will be for students who just want to pursue art careers. Of course, this is something I am interested in because I have no idea what to do for them since they both want to pursue art careers. Mike and I were and are so academic, that poses an issue for us. Next year is the beginning of their high school career. I don't want to screw that up and that is very possible having a new baby, preschooler, and first/second grader. So we are really praying about what to do. This does not even include the possibility of us moving to South Florida temporarily. Life would be so much easier if there weren't so many questions to answer. :o)

Speaking of baby, we only have 6 1/2 weeks left to the little one arrives. I am going to be washing clothes and packing my bag this coming week, so I am prepared. In some ways it seems like this has been a very long pregnancy, but then it seems like it has gone by so quickly. The kids are getting excited, which thrills me. Mike's parents will be coming the week I am having the baby, so that will be nice. That is also show week for Jon and Liz, so they will at least have someone there to watch them perform, since I will most likely not make it.

Well, time to get off the computer to finish my new Thursday routine of cleaning the entire upstairs and washing most of the laundry. It is easier to get that done when the older ones are away.

Oh, here is a picture, per Chris' request of a picture of Sophie. This is from our Disney trip in November. We had dinner at Tony's Restaurant in the Town Square:

Rainy day

2011-01-21T11:16:00.002-05:00

After a night of little sleep, due to little Sophie tossing and kicking all night long, we awoke to a rainy day. I normally would not mind a rainy day, but when you are sleep deprived this is not a good thing. Then, I had two out of the four children say right away that their throat was killing them. So I got the flashlight and looked at their throats and promptly made call to the doctor. White pussy things covered their throats along with low grade fevers. Then the other two said their throats hurt too, I am bringing everyone to the doctor just to make sure I don't have to return there Monday.

The bad thing about this is I was supposed to work at a conference tonight and the older two had a Storytelling Workshop to attend that was given by Jim Weiss. I am bummed that they will miss it, but I don't need Mike or I getting sick right now. I plan on attending the conference tomorrow though, which I am quite thrilled about because I get to go to the homeschooling your Autism/Aspergers/Sensory Processing child half day session, like last year. I always come back with so much information.

Positive news is that we qualified for the free occupational therapy that is offered by the Elks of Florida for Jon's SPD. They will start coming here every week for an hour for the next six months February 7. This is such a blessing, because we had made the decision that if we didn't qualify that we would have to skip that for now. Yay!

It looks like it will be a quiet school day here, until we have to head to the doctor's office.

More ramblings about last week...this time bullet points

2011-01-18T16:48:00.003-05:00

So the rest of last week was pretty much a bunch of the same craziness, starting with first thing Wednesday morning...

We went to our first meeting with the Asperger specialist in Orlando. I thought I was so wise because I made the first appointment in the morning, so Mike would not miss half a day of work. That is what has been happening since we began with Jon's testing and following appointments with specialists and therapists, they take up half the day. Not cool. Not only do they take up half the day, but they are at least once a week, sometimes more than once a week. Really not cool. Anywho, since this appointment was right smack in downtown, we had to leave at 7 in order to fight the rush hour traffic and yet, we were still late. Only a few minutes mind you, but my OCD, Type A personality really dislikes being late. It is a terrible first impression as well. We went into the office and met with "the specialist", who really seems to think he is special. He never really asked Mike and I any questions. He never opened Jon's file to see what the other doctors and therapists had sent over until I got to say something, the last ten minutes of the appointment. A funny thing is that this appointment was supposed to be an hour long, remember above me mentioning that Mike would not miss half the day. Instead this appointment went on for at least two hours. In total it took up four hours of our time and we left knowing nothing more than we already knew. Some behaviors were confirmed with the diagnosis that I have always thought were Jon's issues, but otherwise nothing. The only thing that he said is that we need to come back once a week. We did not schedule another appointment. Mike made it to work around noon. Fun.
Later that day was busy, as Wednesdays are for our family because Lorelai has dance and AWANA. So, we crammed in a couple hours of academics, then I took Lorelai to her events. I also had to make a trip to my friend's home to drop off our lemons she was selling for us at her co-op. I was quite excited to be able to sell my excess produce and these lemons were beautiful. I also had to stop at Publix to get snacks for Lorelai's class at Circle. They were studying Native Americans and it was our turn to bring snack so I sent: popcorn, raisins, beef jerky, pumpkin seeds, and fruit leather. The teacher was thrilled. The kids not so much.
While I was running around, Mike called. He informed me about some issues at the office, which I knew was happening, so this call was not unexpected. Now that he has this promotion, he is trying to figure out the numbers at all of his locations across the South. The numbers in South Florida are not adding up at all. What Mike has realized is that the person, who was the controller and is still employed down there, knows nothing about accounting. Literally nothing. So Mike is recommending that they get rid of that individual and we will move down there, temporarily after the baby is born, so Mike can get that location in order. It would be interesting moving back to South Florida. I grew up there for the most part, my dad and sisters, aunts and uncles are all there, but I cannot stand the busyness there. I do know it would only be temporary though, so I am okay with it. I will support Mike in anyway I can. His job has gotten extremely frustrating since he has gotten this promotion, but not compensation for all of his work and travel. The guy who works in South Florida, who does not understand accounting makes $45,000 more a year than Mike. Scary stuff...
Wednesday night, Mike looked at me and said, "How are we getting the kids to school tomorrow?" which is really odd because he takes them every week. Then I realized, his car was in the shop and he only had a work truck. The options were two of the kids ride in the truck and strap one to the ladder rack of a roofing company truck, or I would make the trek to Winter Springs in the morning. I, of course, made the trek with all the kids in tow. It really wasn't that bad of a drive. I had a chiropractic appointment that morning anyway, so it all worked out. It was nice too to see some friends that I have not seen in a while too.
My day ended Thursday with driving back to Sanford, then to Winter Park to get Mike's car. Thursday I put 300 and some miles on my car. It was crazy. We at least got Mike's car in tip top shape, now the van is next. New brakes next month - yay!
Friday and the weekend brought a little less craziness, but only because I caught a bug of some sort. I think I was just worn down from all of the busyness of last week. I had a low grade fever for two days and was very achy. That did stop the schedule though. Liz had photography and has been busy preparing photos for the various fairs. Then Jon and Liz had theater that evening, followed by home fellowship. Mike just took the kids and the food I made, so I could rest. It was a nice quiet evening.
In the midst of all that, I also decided that I cannot stand pre-lit Christmas trees. We have had ours for 5 or 6 years now, which means more than half the lights do not work and I have to add strands to our tree. So I had this crazy notion, to start removing all of the lights off of the tree. The top is done, but I have the two large bottom pieces to finish. Anyone, want to come over and help with the insanity? I am about to take the thing to the curb, but figured that would not be a wise.

Back to Business: Last Monday and Tuesday

2011-01-17T08:31:00.001-05:00

This portion was something I started to write last Sunday, then life got too busy and I could not finish. It is Sunday, the day before we start back to school. It will be a gradual back to school work week for Jon and Liz, since they have not gotten many assignments from their other teachers, but they will have math with me, reading, and getting their science studies in order. Their science teacher moved to Colorado during the break, so they now have a new teacher this semester. I already like her style, as she is very organized, detailed with what she expects, a type A kinda gal. The thing I am not so happy about is that she sent out a new supply list, so after church this morning we made a Target run and bought all of the needed supplies. Sixty bucks later, I am counting down the days until we are done with Circle.

Now, the updated version of last week. Last week was very, very busy. I just could not find the time to blog. Mike was in South Florida last Monday and Tuesday. Monday, I did a full school day with Lorelai and a light school day with Jon and Liz, plus Sophie and I had an appointment with the chiropractor. I need to tell you about our chiropractor. We just love her. What is amazing is that Sophie loves her too and asked all weekend long to go to Dr. Erin's house. Now, if you know Sophie, she is extremely shy and still does not talk to people she sees everyday or every week at church. Erin is a chiropractor at the birthing center, but she treats the entire family. She is a real chiropractor, not someone who is just going to treat aches and pains, but someone who wants you to be healthy. She also is a big believer in homeopathics, so she last Monday she wanted me to bring Liz in to look at her foot and finger. She was thinking we can treat the plantar warts that way instead of the surgery that will take 6-8 weeks to recover. I made the trip to see her with all the girls in tow. It was good for Liz too, because she had not been to the birthing center, so I gave her a tour of the rooms while there. I got adjusted, then Sophie. What is awesome about Erin is that if the parent is getting adjusted, your child gets adjusted for free. So I have had Sophie going with me for a few weeks now, since she fell and injured her neck in September. She still has a little issue, but she is sleeping much better now. After our adjustments, Erin looked at Liz's foot. Then she did some tests and it showed that Liz was having kidney issues and a virus, so she gave Liz 6 bottles of some homeopathic stuff. She had to mix half of each bottle together once a day for 6 days. I thought it was worth a shot. It was more expensive than surgery since we do have insurance and that is obviously not covered, but I wanted to see if it worked. Mike was skeptical. On the third day, her warts began dying and her feet are feeling better. They have not gone away completely, but I think we have something here. She goes back Wednesday for a recheck. Erin does not take insurance, so we have had to pay out of pocket for now, then submit to our insurance and health savings account for reimbursement, but she is reasonable for those who do not have insurance. She charges $50 for the initial exam and then $36 for an adjustment. She also barters which is awesome, especially if you need homeopathic treatment. She will take produce from the garden, sewing, beef, poultry, eggs. Like, I said, she is awesome.

We had to rush back home that Monday because we had to get some of the food we had prepared earlier that afternoon to the church for a memorial service for a young teen who had passed away from cancer. He was 13. Jon met him on a couple of occasions, so he wanted to attend the memorial as well. Liz was one of the child care workers for the service as well. The crazy part of the day was a wild storm that blew threw town. We were supposed to get rain, but not a storm. It made baking an apple crisp, a bit difficult considering the power went out 8 times in 20 minutes, then out for an hour. We had to leave, so I made the decision to leave Jon home and once the power came back on he could finish making the apple crisp. I was a bit nervous, because he does not follow directions well and gets very distracted, so I told him to call me once the power came back on. He called, I walked him through the directions step by step, and he made a very delicious apple crisp. Everything worked out.

Tuesday was just as busy. The little girls had their first day back at co-op. We were gone a good portion of the day and again, I was making food for another family who was sick, so I made sure to get up early enough to start it in the crockpot, since there would not be time to get it all done after co-op. I love crockpots! They are such time savers. I was a bit disappointed that Jon and Liz did not do any of their assignments while we were gone, so I told them they will have to start going to co-op with us so I can make certain they are working and not playing. Lorelai and Sophie had so much fun while at co-op. Sophie's class read The Carrot Seed, then colored a large letter C orange, we drew some carrots too. We put a carrot top in a baby food jar with water so we can observe the carrot growing. We read another book about patience, since it the little boy in The Carrot Seed was so patient. Then we played a little game. Lorelai's classes covered: Native Americans, followed by an archaeological dig, then art class, where she painted with watercolors. We had a break for lunch, then we studied butterflies and their life cycle. They had a time for recess, where they made sidewalk chalk drawings as well. Sophie participated in the art class too. She wanted to do everything the older kids were doing and was able too. She had so much fun. She says she loves co-op. :o)

We rushed home, finished preparing the food for the other family, then I started our dinner. We had to rush out the door because it was also the first day of theater! The kids were so excited. They are going to be in Beauty and the Beast. The interesting part of that story is that show week is the week I am due with baby number 6, so I will not be attending the show, unless something really weird happens. I have had to make arrangements with other families to make sure that Jon and Liz have a way there the last couple of weeks.

Mike finally made it home that evening, which led to an interesting conversation, which I will have to post later, because I need to get off the computer to school the littles.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-01-04T10:19:00.002-05:00

I had planned on getting back into blogging, but then sickness hit the house and I could not find time to blog. Actually a lot has been happening here the last two months, since I last blogged. We were not certain if Mike was going to have a job much longer, as the corporate office sent a consultant to determine if it was feasible keeping his location open or if they should eliminate some of the staff (including Mike) to cut costs. It was touch and go for a 6 weeks not knowing what was going to happen, but God did an amazing thing. Not only did they keep Mike's location open, but Mike received a promotion and is now Regional Controller for the SE US. He is now in charge of accounting/finance for locations in Birmingham, Atlanta, Charlotte, and 5 locations in FL. The downside to his promotion is that he is traveling - A LOT! This is something the kids are not used to and reminds me of our early years of marriage. Jon and Liz were too young to remember but Mike would be gone at least 12-18 weeks out of the year auditing locations around the country. At least he is now just in the southeast, and when he is in FL we can travel with him, but I am at a point in this pregnancy where I really cannot travel and since we are locked in at Circle we do not have the freedom to go where we want, when we want.

Another thing that has taken a lot of time and money (I am being completely honest here) is that we were having Jon tested to see if he had learning issues or possibly ADD because he had lost all focus. Actually, we had been trying to have this done for a long time, but our pediatricians thought there was not a problem, because according to them "he would have been diagnosed by age 7." So we contacted a counseling center that we knew did educational testing and counseling because we were also having some anger and self control issues. We had been involved with this particular center before for Phillip. We only got through 2/3 of the testing when they sent us to a fabulous doctor to help Jon. The testing showed that Jonathan has Aspergers, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADD, and a myriad of processing disorders that including learning disabilities, plus some other things. All of his diagnosis build upon the other, so if we treat one, we essentially help all of them, but we are currently treating all of them. It is amazing to see the difference that two months of treatment has done for Jonathan. Don't get me wrong, we still have bad days here, but we have gone from everyday breakdowns to once a week, which is huge. As we keep adding therapies and different methods of helping him, it is just going to continue to get better. This does take a lot of time though and we have 3 appointments per week added to our schedule, but it is worth it.

Liz has been great. She has been busy with photography. She is currently taking a high school level class, since she has completed all but a few of the requirements of Photography I - IV for the State of Florida's Dept of Education. She did catch bronchitis last month, which is odd for her. She has not had to have an antibiotic since she was seven, and then it was the first time she had ever been sick. So she really got the wind knocked out of her. It took 2 weeks for her to start feeling better. Of course, the little girls got it two, so we had four weeks of the girls being sick. Liz is a bit disappointed, because we had to go to a podiatrist yesterday for warts. She found out she has to have them surgically removed, because she has a mosaic cluster with the momma wart on her toe. They spread so quickly that even the doctor was shocked. Unfortunately, the recovery time is 6-8 weeks so she is a bit perplexed since theater starts next week and she is having the surgery at the end of the month which will take her in to show week for recovery. I told her it will be okay. We are going to talk to Amanda, the director, tonight at Meet and Greet.

In the midst of all of this busyness, I am pretty much ready to have this baby. As of Saturday, we have 9 weeks to go and I think we are ready. My sister came for Thanksgiving and brought a vehicle full of baby gear. I have everything I need which is amazing. I laugh because I have never been so prepared this early for a little one.

I hope to keep up with blogging, if my schedule allows.

Tagged

2010-11-09T19:25:00.002-05:00

Tiffany over at Hillside Hollow tagged me for this 8 Question Meme.

So here it goes:

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning? Toasted everything bagel with ham, plus a cup of tea.

2. What is one or some of your Thanksgiving traditions? I always make Thanksgiving dinner with the exception of last year since we were in Michigan and I was just a helper. We typically start our morning watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving, then the Macy's Parade, followed by football. Then we eat until we cannot move. This year, I am excited because some family will be joining us. :)

3. Publix or Walmart and why? Publix. Couponing is a great deal there, better than Walmart. I love that Publix is a family friendly working environment and they treat their employees well. My grandmother worked at Publix for 23 years and when she retired they threw her an awesome retirement party to honor her. Walmart has terrible labor practices and cost the taxpayers millions of dollars each year. There was a study done in Congress that estimates that one 200-person Wal-Mart store may result in an excess cost of $420,750 a year for federal taxpayers. That is just one store. Yet, Walmart, profits millions each year. Craziness.

4. What is your favorite tv show? Hmmm. When I was suffering from terrible morning sickness I watched a lot of NCIS. Now, that I am somewhat back to normal, I don't watch television again.

5. What are three adjectives that describe you? at the moment, stressed, sad, and tired.

6. When you have an hour of free time what do you like to do? sleep

7. What is your favorite type of art? anything by my children, especially their watercolors

8. What is your current favorite song? Starry Night by Chris August

Thursdays

2010-10-21T15:29:00.002-04:00

I have a love/hate relationship with Thursdays. Thursday is the day that the older ones are off at classes all day. What I love is:

quiet time with Sophie
cleaning done without everyone here, so it just gets done
laundry done
little projects or surprises that cannot be done with a housefull of children
return emails, phone calls, and chatting with my sister who lives in MD

What I hate (okay, dislike) about Thursdays:

That the older ones are gone all day
not having the freedom that we once had educational and personal wise because of our relationship with where they take classes
how Sophie desperately misses having them all here
the noise that comes with having four children running about, even if it is arguing
the messes that occur with having four children

I am so glad that we will not be doing this again next year, as is the rest of the house, including Mike. Everyone is in agreement that this is not for us.

Looking forward to Thursdays next year!

A new day, a new week

2010-10-11T09:10:00.002-04:00

Ah, a new day and new week. My attitude was so poor in my last post, but I was feeling quite down last week. Thank God for a new morning.

I am also thanking God this week for "Fall Break." This week, we have no school, so it will be catch up time around here. Basically, the plan is just to get things in order, back to how they were. This pregnancy has been quite the humbling experience for me. I have always been over the top organized. Books in order following the Dewey decimal system, clothes color coordinated in closets and drawers, laundry always done and put away every day, plus a spotless house. Food. Ah, food. The meals I would make for my family, were always a complete meal with all of the important food groups, healthy and very tasty to boot. Plus I would always have something out of our garden. Now, my house is a wreck, the yard has died, the garden was overgrown, takeout and meals from friends has become our mainstay, laundry rarely gets done and being pregnant means I have very few things to wear. I think seeing my house in disarray has caused me to slump into a depression of sort, because this was not my house or me. What happened to the person, who was known as the other "Martha Stewart" to family and some friends?

What happened is that I got real and for the first time in my life realized I cannot do it all and to the standard I held myself too. I was aiming for burnout at some point. Now, that is not saying I was aiming for what my house is looking like right this second, but I needed some balance and this pregnancy has been the thing to point it out to me and my family. So this week, is going to be a reboot, but not back to the old ways. I need to find a simple groove to get back in, where relationships shine, not my tile floor. (To my local friends and family who read this, you know that I would vacuum and mop my tile floors once a day. Confession, I have not mopped in two and a half weeks. Craziness for me.) I have finally realized that I do not need to live in the fear that I had lived in like a child, that has created this OCD, perfectionist non-human female that I had become because I am free.

"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light shining somewhere nearby."

~Ruth E. Renkel

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?

~Ps. 27:1

Planning trips

2010-10-07T14:15:00.002-04:00

I for one am vowing never to plan a trip again. Anytime, I plan a trip that I would like to take, we end up canceling said trip. I am beyond frustrated with this. Why get my hopes up like I did this time or the previous time. Last year, I had planned a trip to North Carolina in October to enjoy autumn the way it is meant to be enjoyed. I had booked a cabin for a week, made plans to go to an apple orchard, hiking and a few other things. Then we canceled because Mike and the kids did not want to go. So they went to Disney, Universal, and Notre Dame on three consecutive weekends while I sat home with the little ones.

Now this year, I plan a trip to Maryland and Washington DC to see my sister and her family, plus take the family to DC and go to the Smithsonian and the Zoo, plus everything else there is to do there. I was also planning on meeting some friends for lunch, some who just moved there from here and others who I went to high school with who now work in DC. I have been planning this trip since June, when we enrolled the kids with Circle because now we don't have the freedom to travel when we wish, so fall break is this coming week. Due to circumstances that I do not control, but others do, I have had to cancel our trip this week. I am so disappointed and so are the kids. At the earliest the next time we will be able to do this is next summer.

So I am giving up trip planning. I will let everyone else do it and I will stay home.

It's been forever...

2010-09-30T09:13:00.002-04:00

As you can see it has been what seems like forever since I last posted. A lot has happened since the last post. We went on vacation, had numerous things break around the house, plus both cars had issues, we have started school at a local private school for homeschoolers, and we are pregnant again, which means a lot of sickness for me. Just a bit of craziness here. I am hoping to start blogging again in October, now that I am starting to feel somewhat better.

Ephesians 3:14-20

2010-06-26T20:18:00.002-04:00

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!
Amen."

My seven quick takes

2010-04-30T13:38:00.003-04:00

1. I have finally finalized all school plans for the upcoming year. I am happy with the plans, the kids seem to be as well, but something still seems to be amiss. I am not sure what, I will just pray and see where the Lord leads. We will be participating in online classes, an outside class, plus our homeschool co-op.

2. Swimming, swimming, swimming. This is what our life seems to be full of these days. Jon and Liz are both on the swim team at the Y, swimming five days a week. It has been great exercise for them and Jon is finally sleeping through the night since starting this new stint. Lorelai's goal is to swim on the swim team, so she has needed to focus on her stroke work, so she and I walk over to the Y each morning for lessons. It has been great because she is either the only there or one of a few. Next week, will most likely be her last week with lessons, then she will start on the team. Sophie is also starting Safe Start next week, due to a wonderful gift from someone.

3. Exhausted. That is how I have felt lately. I weaned Sophie three weeks ago today. It went smoothly at first, but now she has been waking up in the middle of the night and does not want to go back to sleep. Prior to weaning, if she did this, I nursed her and she would go back to sleep. Now, I am living on very little sleep and it is not fun.

4. Lately, one of my pet peeves has really been bothering me. I cannot stand when someone emails me, asks a question which requires a response, then never responds to what they needed. My response requires a response from them, yet three weeks have passed and nothing. I know people get busy, but if you have time to read Facebook, you have time to respond that you are too busy respond.

5. The car is getting fixed starting today and we will have it back next Friday. We were amazed because we found a wonderful individual to do the work at the right price. Thank you Lord!

6. Sweet Lorelai will participate in the graduation ceremony at St. Edwards next month. She is so excited.

7. Is very sad for a dear friend from high school who miscarried last week with her first little one, a boy. Please lift Cheri up in prayer.

A fun day

2010-04-30T09:54:00.011-04:00

Yesterday, I took Mike to work so I could have the car. This is the first time in 7 weeks that I had a car during the day. Yay! Anywho, there was a plan behind me needing the car. We went to Chick-fil-a for a field trip then off to Discovery Gardens. It was a great day. We missed some of our friends who were not able to make the trip due to a family emergency.

The kids loved being able to go behind the scenes at Chick-fil-a. I think the favorite part was when they went into the huge and freezing walk-in refrigerator and freezer.

Lorelai with her friend. She loves the Chick-fil-a cow. He played with her for 20 minutes. They danced, played tag, kept giving each other high fives. If I can only figure out how to have her take a picture with her eyes open.

Somewhat of a group shot, as not everyone wanted their picture taken with the cow. :o)

The little ones learning about aloe plants.

The littles were finding cuts and scrapes to put the aloe on. It was too funny.

Then we headed to the butterfly garden, where they just brought 15 monarch chrysalis
that day for a school group to see. The gal who taught that group earlier in the day, latched on to us and gave the kids an impromptu lesson on butterflies and moths, showing them the different varieties that were in the butterfly house. They have had a difficult time obtaining butterflies and moths this year due to the freeze we had this winter.

Next, she took the kids to see the two resident gopher tortoises, a male and female. She told them how they can identify a male from a female and that they weather determines what sex will hatch from the eggs. It was very interesting.

My sweet Lorelai

2010-04-28T10:18:00.015-04:00

We celebrated Lorelai's 5th birthday 19 days ago. My how time flies! I cannot believe my sweet girl is now five. She has brought much joy and laughter into our lives. To celebrate her birthday she wanted to go to Downtown Disney and the beach, so we tried to accommodate her wishes.

A very happy girl. Her first American Girl doll, Kit. She has been asking for this doll for two years.

Opening gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and her brother. Grandma and Grandpa K got her accessories for Kit, plus the Kit Kitridge movie. Jonathan got her the new Tinkerbell movie, plus Up. All family favorites in this house.

After opening gifts, we headed to Downtown Disney. She wanted to spend some of the birthday money she had received from Grandpa and Elizabeth.

After a long evening at DD, we headed home, so we could get a good rest before loading up early and head to Boca for the weekend. Lorelai wanted to go to the beach. We also wanted to meet Nevaeh, so we combined trips. Unfortunately, the weather was not beach weather, so we walked on the beach instead.

Having cake with Grandpa, Tammy, Aunt Hannah, Aunt Melissa and Uncle Rennie, Aunt Tiffanie, and her cousins.

My sweet baby niece!

2010-04-21T13:17:00.002-04:00

Getting ready for a party!

I love the expression on her face. It is like, "Who is this boy sitting next to me?!"

The Garden

2010-04-20T17:36:00.013-04:00

Here are some pictures from the garden. I apologize to my FB friends who have already seen these. I will be updating with recent pics later this week:

Random lettuce that came up this year. Plus, red, yellow, and sweet onions behind the lettuce.

Cucumbers in pots

Heirloom Roma tomatoes (2) in front. Homestead heirlooms (8) in back.

Heirloom Beefsteaks in pots

Black beauty zucchini (1 of 3)

More random lettuce

Buttercrunch lettuce and Romaine

Beans! I am not sure if these are wax or regular green bush beans. Last fall, I let a row of beans go to seed. I harvested the seeds and planted them this spring. It is exciting to see gardening come full circle.

Peppers and more peppers. Two red, two yellow, 8 green.

Finally, the cabbage. We have 7 or 8 of these.

I did not take pictures of the beets, green onions, or yellow squash. This year is the first year
that we have used only our compost instead of store bought. Finally, cost effective gardening!

Shuttle Discovery cloud trail

2010-04-20T17:31:00.001-04:00

We had tried taking video and photos of the shuttle launch a couple of weeks ago, but I am not used to the new camera, so no pictures or video. This is as close as we get with anything. I love the trail and the neat cloud formations left that morning.

Swim Lessons

2010-04-20T17:27:00.000-04:00

Lorelai finished up basketball season at the Y, then decided she wants to be on the swim team with her sister. She got an information sheet at the YMCA and wrote, "I want to do this. Lorelai" on the top of the paper. So I told her that she had to have some refresher lessons first because the requirement is that you have to be able to swim the length of the pool which is 25 yards. Here she is at her lesson. It is supposed to be a group lesson, but she is the only one signed up. Yay!

She has been swimming 100 yards each morning. Crazy, but true! The backstroke is her best.

Easter Pics

2010-04-20T17:16:00.000-04:00

Running from Mom.

Playing tetherball!

Planting her watermelon seeds that came with her Easter basket.

Hunting for eggs...

Counting the eggs...

Lean upon the fullness of your Beloved

2010-03-28T11:50:00.000-04:00

You are to lean upon the fullness of your Beloved. He is full to a sufficiency for all the needs of His people. There cannot possibly occur a circumstance in your history, there cannot arise a necessity in your case, in which you may not repair to the infinite fullness which the Father has laid up in Christ for His Church in the wilderness. Why, then, seek in your poverty what can only be found in Christ’s riches? why look to your emptiness when you may repair to His fullness? “My grace is sufficient for you” is the cheering declaration with which Jesus meets every turn in your path, every crook in your lot, every need in your journey. Distrust then your own wisdom, look from your own self, and lean your entire weight upon the infinite fullness that is in Christ.
Octavius Winslow

More Nevaeh

2010-03-23T08:57:00.000-04:00

Sweet Nevaeh!

Nevaeh and her daddy.

Nevaeh meeting her grandpa for the first time, his first granddaughter.

Look who arrived today!

2010-03-18T17:27:00.000-04:00

Yes, the picture is small as is the baby. Little Nevaeh Jayde Stennett arrived at 1:30 pm. She was 7 lbs and 1 oz when she arrived. Please pray for my sister, who had quite a traumatic birthing experience, which is not good for a first baby. She pushed for over three hours and at one moment told them she could not push any longer which the doctor and nurse replied, then why don't you get up an go home. Very unprofessional. Baby was a bit bruised, but overall is healthy. Mom is just shaken and exhausted.

Happy Birthday!

2010-03-02T18:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Dad!

It is also my sister Hannah's 6th birthday!

and finally, my cousin Joe. Happy Birthday Joe! This was taken last week...

Here he is receiving an award from Gov.Crist for his brothers current military service. Joe is a legislative assistant in the Florida Senate.

Mmmm, dinner last night...

2010-02-17T17:48:00.001-05:00

Jambalaya in the Crockpot

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails

Directions

In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice and without juice, onion, green bell pepper, celery, and stock. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.

Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low. Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.

Serve over rice.

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

2010-02-14T12:37:00.000-05:00

Another one down...

2010-02-07T10:26:00.002-05:00

I am not going to be blogging this week. Elizabeth is now not well. I am waiting for the rest of us to go down too. Three more to go....

Sick of being sick

2010-02-05T14:40:00.000-05:00

I am so seriously bummed, yet thankful at the same time. Earlier in the week, I had to cancel a garden party that I had been planning for sometime. It was going to be so much fun. Then Lorelai got strep (diagnosed on Tuesday) and Sophie had a cold virus. I decided to cancel the party because it takes 48 hours to not be contagious and who knew what was happening with Sophie. I was concerned that she would get strep too. Well, no. She has hand/foot/and mouth disease. Her tongue is covered with huge blisters. That was the first thing I saw this morning and I was concerned that she burned her mouth eating or drinking something. So I called the doctor and she was able to look further back into her throat and sure enough blisters everywhere - her tonsils, cheeks, tongue, and the roof of her mouth. Not cool. Last night when I brush her teeth, none of that was there. Then we noticed one spot on her foot, that was at 11:30 this morning and at 2:30 her feet are covered. The doctor told us she will be contagious for a week and to expect a fever of 100-101 over the weekend. Lorelai went to the park with friends, while I was at the doctor's office. When she came home, she had red cheeks. So she may have this too. Ugh...
So now, I am thankful that I canceled the garden party. I did pray about what to do and felt at peace about the decision. Duh! God knew that I would need to spend the weekend with my babies -yet again.
Have a blessed weekend...

Books and Beyond, part 4 Neurodevelopmentalist

2010-02-04T09:05:00.000-05:00

Honestly, this was my favorite part of the entire conference. Yes, everything else was wonderful and inspiring, but during this session, the clouds parted in the sky and the angels started to sing. Seriously, it was that good. I was a bit disappointed that I did not go to the all day session, but I was blessed by the short time I had with Kay Ness.

Kay Ness is a Christian Neurodevelopmentalist, who is also a home schooling mother. She explains the neurodevelopmental approach to education and remediation with all children, but particularly with children who are challenged with learning whether it is dyslexia, ADHD/ADD, Down's syndrome, visual processing, sensory integration and autism. This lady rocks. You can tell she is passionate about God, her craft, and helping parents help their children. When we arrived for her session, she was still talking to the other group of parents about reading. I was there specifically for her talk on The Neurodevelopmental Approach to Teaching Math. She wanted to make sure that these parents were getting answers to their questions, that she went over by 40 minutes. I learned so much during that time, I knew that the math session was going to be great.

Anywho, there was so much information that I really cannot explain it all, but I will share the basics.

A Neurodevelopmentalist is a partner that helps to accelerate learning. They give insight into what they have learned about learning.
There are four processes to neurological organization: Receive (visual, auditory, tactility), Process (visual and auditory), Store (cortical hemispheric dominance), and Utilize (visualization and conceptualization)
The first step in teaching math to a child is to make them a good reader. Start young. It can be done.
Start with an abacus (you can start at age 2) start with counting: 1-3; 1-5; 1-10; 1-20; 1-50; 1-100. Then move on to one on one correspondence; penny math; adding/subtracting objects.
No need to buy manipulatives. Do visual circle math. Write the number on the paper and draw the appropriate number of circles next to the number to show how many are there. You can take this with you everywhere, not like manipulatives. Start visual circle math by learning how to draw dots by the numbers, then move to vertical addition: draw dots, count how many all together, write answer below. Next, is horizontal addition, followed by subtraction - vertical, then horizontal. Last, you will teach additon in columns. It is all very simple and straightforward.
Learning Math Facts Do not use drill sheets. Learning math facts requires high auditory input with high frequency, high intensity, and short duration. By doing this, it allows the child to provide his/her own auditory input. The idea is to train the ear to hear the correct answer and develop an auditory long term memory or an auditory pathway to the brain. The card is a prompt to develop the auditory memory. To begin you want to prepare flash cards for all math facts. Put the entire fact on one side of the card and the entire fact without the answer on the other side. Work with only one fact family at a time. Make sure to mix the cards up. Set your timer for one minute. Sit across from the child and set the timer for 1 minute. Start with the side of the card WITH the answer. The child will say the whole math fact aloud with answer. Thge intensity increases as the child tries to say more facts each day in that 1 minute time frame. Make sure to reward them. If they get 20 the first day, 28 the second and 35 the following day that is success! Record the progress on a chart so they can see their progress and reward them. Once you know that your child knows the fact turn the card over without the answer and have him say the whole fact. You will see that is auditory memory has kicked in. If he struggles at first, just sneak a card in and eventually build up. Make sure you stick to just 1 minute. Teach multiplication right away, even if addition and subraction is not mastered, because you cannot go forward in math if you do not know multiplication.
Teaching with 75% visual input. Get books at grade level that will be a guide for concepts to be taught. She likes the Spectrum Math books by McGraw Hill because they inexpensive, visually clean and have clear instructions. To teach a new concept, you the parent, do all the talking and explaining how to do the problem, then say WATCH. You the parent, will work 3 problems and then have the child attempt the 4th. When working the problems do not talk. If the child misses the problem, repeat the procedure: talk, explain, work without talking, student do work. Do this for no longer than 10 minutes. If the child still is not getting it do the same procedure the next day.
Do mental math. She suggests Abeka rapid calculation cards, they are in the 4th grade section.
For concept learning use the Key to series...
Burn all Saxon math. Math U See works too slowly for the brain to process.

What I learned is that Jonathan is not a visual learner which is why math is so difficult for him. It was really great because Kay's son is just like Jonathan. They both were really early readers, they love to write, so math is on the bottom of the totem pole for them. Jon is strictly a conceptualizer- he is all about words - duh! So I have to retrain his brain to become more visual. In order to that he has to draw maps for 10 minutes a day. This is what he does: He looks directly at an outline map of the US and draws what he sees for 10 minutes each day. He then starts from scratch each day. Eventually, he will get better and faster and will be able to fill in all of the states within that 10 minutes. Once he has finished the US, we will move on to the other continents. This increases his visualization which is necessary for his progress in math.

Gosh there was so much more, but I am ending my post now. I will end with my favorite quote that Kay gave that afternoon.

Labels are for canned vegetables, not children.

What I am really excited about is that I have been in talks with her to come back and have an all day seminar in our area.

Having fun with math

2010-02-01T21:03:00.000-05:00

Today, Lorelai had a lot of fun with her math lesson. Really though, Lorelai has fun every day with everything she does. She is one that rarely complains about work. Today, I made sure to take pictures!

We started by reading From Oranges to Orange Juice by Kristen Keller and then Give Me Half by Stuart Murphy. Next, we washed the oranges and grapefruit. We had two sad looking oranges from our trees, so we added grapefruit to the mix too. We discussed how the citrus are spheres and if we measure the part around the middle we will get the circumference. I don't expect her to remember the definitions by any means, but to make the words familiar to her. Then she took string and wrapped it around it around the center of each fruit. She cut the string, then measured all of them with her ruler. I then told her to put the string in order from shortest to longest.

Then we cut the oranges in half. I explained to her that each orange has two parts, but when we put them together, make a whole orange. I had her repeat "two halves make a whole".

Next, she juiced the oranges.

Then after she finished her juice, we cut circles out of orange construction paper. She cut two circles, then cut one circle in half. I had her glue them on a sheet of paper for a pictorial math equation. She labeled the one paper: part + part = whole and another paper with the same pictorial math equation 1/2 + 1/2 = 1. She had so much fun doing that.

Finally, she asked if she could write down all of the new math words she learned today. Of course, I said yes.

Ooops forgot this tidbit about Doreen's talk

2010-02-01T08:13:00.000-05:00

I forgot this important note ladies. Doreen made a wonderful point during her presentation, that we ladies like to make an excuse for our attitudes when it is that time of the month. We like to say that is the reason we snap at our children or just are down right in a bad mood. Ladies that is sin. God made our cycles to be a beautiful thing and bring children into this world...to glorify Him. Not for us to have have bad attitudes, not to have an excuse for being patient or long suffering. So next time you think of using the PMS excuse, think of it a little differently, maybe as a trial instead.

Books and Beyond, Part 3 Using the library and Teaching the Next Generation

2010-01-31T15:57:00.000-05:00

The next session of the morning was titled The Year My Library Card Became the Curriculum given by Cheryl Bastian. Many locals may know Cheryl as a local homeschool speaker, specifically home schooling the high school years. She gave a wonderful presentation how to save money and use your local library. I knew a lot of this already having been homeschooling for so long, but it gave me the nice kick in the pants not to spend money on curriculum. Anywho, I am not going to post any more details about this particuluar session because I am in talks with her about coming to give a presentation sometime in the near future in our area. Details to follow...

Next we had a lovely lunch that was provided by the youth group of the church hosting the event.

The third session of the day was beautiful. Teaching the Next Generation of Women given by Doreen and Faith Morgan. Doreen and Faith Morgan, are a mother-daughter team from the Orlando area, answering those questions that mothers and daughters want to know about each other.

Faith, who is 18, spoke first.
She shared six things that girls want (even if they say they don't want them):
1. Order and routine. Yes, they want this. They want to see us passionate about what we do, be it homeschooling, motherhood, serving in ministry, and our marriage. They see this in us by living lives that are orderly and routine.
2. Laugh at yourself and laugh with them. Don't be serious all of the time. (Yes, I need to follow this one.)
3. Engage with interest. Pull out the characteristics in your child.
4. Keep talks practical.
5. Tell about yourself. Share with your daughters about your childhood, the things you liked to do and did not like to do. It lets your daugher know that you are human too.
6. Keep consistency, but still thrown in surprises. Pay attention to the little things your children like and surprise them with them as gifts. Leave love notes on an unloaded dishwasher for the child who was supposed to unload it. An example, that morning Doreen gave Faith a packet of Mammoth Sunflower Seeds as a gift. Faith has always loved sunflowers and her mom wanted to surprise her with something for her time to serve that day.
Then Faith went onto what God wants:
1. Warn of idols. Explain to your children of all the things that can become idols in their life.
2. Encourage the timid. Remind them of who they are in Christ.
3. Help the weak. Show compassion. Instead of condemning your child, help them through this foolishness.
4. Be patient with everyone.
5. Be joyful always.
6. Guide the sinners. Lead them down the path of righteousness and not academic knowledge.
She then quoted:

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Do not quench the Spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:14-19

She added that I may not have the presidents memorize in order, but I have an indepth relationship and love for Christ and I would not change that for any head knowledge that the world deems important.

Doreen then tried to speak, saying that was a tough act to follow. She was right. Her daughter spoke so eloquently. Then she followed up by sharing:

1 Peter 5:10 NLT

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation

She shared this scripture to let us know that it is never to late to change our relationship with our children. He restores us, confirms us, strengthens us, and establishes the foundation.

She told us to lead by gratitude not deman. Being right is not the most important thing. Remember humility.

Before she closed she shared this acronym:

L ove them as God intended

A ssume the best

D ivide and conquer problems among themselves (love, encourage, and teach their siblings)

I nclude them in your stories

E ncourage them

S urprise them

Finally, she shared, "they are your daughters, but more importantly they are your sisters in Christ."

Proverbs 24:3-6

A house is built by wisdom

and becomes strong through good sense.

Through knowledge its rooms are filled

with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

The wise are mightier than the strong,

and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

So don’t go to war without wise guidance;

victory depends on having many advisers

Books and Beyond, part 2 Mentoring

2010-01-28T21:04:00.000-05:00

The first actual session of the day that I attended was titled Mentoring: It's Just Not for Older Women given by the ever so gracious Tina Farewell. She and her husband Bob are known as some of the pioneers to the homeschooling movement to Floridians. I have known them myself for twelve years, having them speak at some of the homeschool meetings that I facilitated years ago.

To start the meeting, Tina passed around a basket of chocolate. Who could not love that?! Then she started a little off topic, discussing with us that she never wanted children, but then later the Lord gave her that desire. She and Bob have seven children today, two of them are with Jesus. There was a bit more to her conversation at that point, but she ended said this has nothing to do with this session but I felt that I needed to share that with someone in this room. It was totally off topic, but amazing because what Tina shared with the group, another gal and I were discussing prior to her beginning the session. The other gal turned and looked at me with her jaw reaching the ground. It was truly amazing, a word from God.

She opened with readingn Titus 2 and shared that our legacy with our daughters is Biblical womanhood. Next, Tina listed the 5 M's for us: Maturity, Mentoring, Marriage, Motherhood, and Making a Home. These are the skills, aka legacy, that we need to pass onto our daughters.

She emphasized the importance of being in God's Word daily. Also, to love and respect our husbands. How will our daughters love and respect their husbands if we don't do this. She said it is so easy to love our husbands, but respect is so much more difficult. To show respect to our husbands, we must give them attention, show that we appreciate them, look for their approval, and show affection toward them. She gave an example, stating that this may be silly, but some days you may have no idea how to show your husband respect. You may be really upset about a decision he made, but you must respect him. She said to tell him that his eyes are beautiful or his arms are so strong. She said it may sound cheesy, but it is not negative.

She shared that there are different mentoring types: Timothys, Barnabas, Pauls, etc. She said to make a note about the Pauls in your life. Send them a thank you note about the influence in your life.

Final points were these:

Always be ready to share
Never put a mentor on a pedastal
Don't be resentful if you never had a mentor
Do not counsel other ladies at the expense of your husband and children
Use the time you're growing in to mentor.
Take time to nurture yourself.

Books and Beyond, part 1 The Keynote

2010-01-28T08:22:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, I attended the Books and Beyond Conference in Orlando. A local homeschool group pulls this thing together every year for the last three years and this year I really felt led to attend. I am so glad that I did. It reminded me of the conferences that I used to attend in my early days of homeschooling in Michigan fourteen years ago.

The morning started with the keynote given by Linda Werner of Circle Christian School,which is a private option for homeschooling families. Her talk was titled For the Love of Books! She did not focus on books for children, like many had thought she would, but for us the parents. She opened with this bit of scripture:

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Is 40:28-31

I thought that scripture was perfect for this time of year. This is when homeschool burnout typically sets in.

She asked the group where have we grown in the last six months? Do we need help with time management or maybe intimacy in our marriage? It is not about what we do, but who we become. If our children see us just doing things, but not growing, it really is not teaching them anything about life, except that we burnout.

We need to teach our children about life. Teach them to be good stewards and how to stand in a dark world. Let your children see us in our quiet time. Let them see that our relationship with Jesus is the most important thing.

She wanted us to think about the end picture. Where will you be in 10 years? Then think about where each of your children will be in 10 years? What was scary for me is that in ten years my children will be 30, 24, 23, 14, and 12 and we will have been homeschooling for 24 years. Goodness!

She then recommended three books for reading:

The Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Person by Stephen Covey

Good to Great by Chip Ingram

Scream Free Parenting by Hal Runkel

She ended by saying this: Don't be a good wife, a good mom, a good sister, a good daughter. Be a great wife, a great mom, a great sister, and a great daughter.

The Sumerians

2010-01-28T07:59:00.000-05:00

The older kids were reading about the Sumerians this week, along with the Epic of Gilgamesh. One of their assignments was to make a model of a ziggurat. You saw Lorelai's earlier in the week, so here is the other model that the older ones constructed.

They mixed sand in with the paint to make it a bit more realistic.

Family

2010-01-26T18:15:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures from my sister's shower weekend.

The Queen of the Day

The Sisters

(I was so tired when this was taken. I just wanted to go to sleep.)

Melissa and her husband, Rennie, plus his grandmother and mother.

My sister, myself, and niece.

Liz and I (with the paper towel after my lovely cup of coffee spilled :o( )

The sisters and their husbands.

Mine is the goofy looking one. I so love him.

All of the grandkids plus my little sister Hannah, minus Phillip (who came home that morning) and soon to arrive Nevaeh.

Photos from the week so far

2010-01-26T11:12:00.002-05:00

Sophie finally allowed me to trim her bangs. Once she realized what I was doing and she was benefitting from it, she stopped squirming.

Sweet sisters. Lorelai is trying to read Sophie Stone Soup

Lorelai made a ziggurat out of duplos, after reading about the Sumerians. Jon and Liz made one too. We will post pictures once it is dry.

A beautiful fingerpainting by Lorelai.

We have also had great fun watching the various birds come to our feeders this week. We especially rejoiced when we heard the song of the red winged black bird. They were a bit late this year and we were concerned.

Plead His Promises

2010-01-26T07:36:00.002-05:00

“God’s promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; he intended that they should be used. God’s gold is not miser’s money, but is minted to be traded with. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see his promises put in circulation; he loves to see his children bring them up to him, and say, Lord, do as thou hast said. We glorify God when we plead his promises.”
- Charles Spurgeon

An apology

2010-01-25T11:09:00.000-05:00

An apology to my readers for the post below. Now, I will go on to:

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 1 Thessalonians 4:11,12

Finally feeling better and riled up!

2010-01-25T08:20:00.001-05:00

Yay! I am finally feeling better today. The early morning wake up with the weather radio blaring that we were under a tornado warning didn't even bother me. God is good.

I do need to comment on something though that has greatly disturbed me. A Christian sister had posted a comment on a social networking site that has ruffled my feathers a bit. It is one of those yada, yada, then post if you believe the same thing, but worse.

Here is the post:

"news flash!!! I saw on the internet that Haiti is without a government. To help out, I am donating one Obama, one Pelosi, one Reid, one Frank, one Coakley and two Clintons! They may keep them permanently! I'd give them a constitution; but mine's been badly damaged! ~~~ Status borrowed from a friend of a friend, keep it going."

I did respond to the quote, but later found it deleted. Yes, freedom of speech is great, but what was said is not Christ like what so ever. I don't care how terrible you think our leaders are in our country, as Christians we are to pray for them and respect them no matter what.

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17

I wouldn't want to wish those individuals on anyone else, they are our elected leaders. But I really get riled up when you wish to send these people to a country where they have experience great turmoil all of their lives and most recently, one of the worst catastrophic events in recent memory on this side of the world.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”- Philippians 4:8

Some many thought, but cannot post

2010-01-24T11:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I attended the most amazing conference in Orlando for homeschooling moms. I have been praying about a lot of things lately and almost everything was spoken about in each session that I attended. What was more amazing is that the speakers even said this is not what I am supposed to be talking about, but I feel someone needs to hear this today. Wow! God is so good. Anywho, I will post more on what I learned during the sessions later, because I have been fighting a terrible migraine since yesterday. When I arrived home from the conference I lost my vision and it has been on and off all morning so far. So I am off to bed again.

Bullet Point Thoughts

2010-01-22T13:09:00.002-05:00

A picture of the cake/cupcake tier from my sister's baby shower.
I still have Lorelai's expression set in my mind when she stepped on the dead iguana at my dads, while playing hide and seek. The Florida Freeze of 2010 froze all of the iguanas in my dad's neighborhood, that they fell out of the trees. Add to that moment, when my dad asked if we wanted to take one home to disect. I a nerdy science person, but not that nerdy.
Lorelai has been on a monarch crysalis hunt since our butterly emerged the other day and has found 4 new crysalis' since then.
Sophie and Lorelai started tumbling class last week and they love it! My only wish is that it would make them tired to take a nap.
I have a weight loss goal for this year. I have never had a weight loss goal in my life. I cannot believe I have one now, but I cannot live in denial any longer.
We have changed the schedules up a bit and now have Family Worship in the morning, like at 6:30. What a difference it makes to the entire day. We have start with a time of prayer, then Mike reading the Word and discussing it, followed by more prayer. I wish we had been doing this from the beginning. So far, we have gone through Philippians and Colossians, Philemon is next.
Jon and Liz are in another theater production after a sabatical. They auditoned this week for Grease, the kids version, of course. Mark your calendars to come see them perform with their friends March 11-14, also known as my birthday weekend.
Tomorrow, I am off to a conference titled Books and Beyond. I cannot wait to go hear one of the speakers. She is a neurodevelopmentalist that is presenting a workshop titled the Neurodevelopmental Approach to Math. There are many other workshops that I am excited about as well.
Finally, I am not a television person whatsoever, but I really do not care for Jay Leno now. Nuff said...

Well, I need to try to have Lorelai and Sophie take a quiet time. Please pray...

Pure Beauty!

2010-01-20T17:53:00.001-05:00

We have been blessed by having our butterfly garden the last two years. Finally, we have seen two monarch chrysalis' form this season. We were a bit concerned due to the freezing temperatures that we had they maybe they would not emerge. Today, I took Liz and Jon to writing club and came back to the house with the littles. They were getting ready to perform a puppet show for me on the porch when Lorelai looked over at the fence. She said, "Mom, I think something happened to the chrysalis. I think it died." I went over to tell her it was nothing, but to my amazement, the butterfly just emerged still dripping wet. Here are some photos from our time:

(I used my multi burst)

(Sophie is saying hello)

Then it fluttered over to my hand.

We are still waiting for this one:

And a new one forming:

Off to Boca!

2010-01-16T07:12:00.000-05:00

Have a great weekend everyone! We are off to Boca for my sister's baby shower, then onto my dad's house for a visit. We will see you next week.

From the school room

2010-01-15T22:20:00.000-05:00

This week, I asked Lorelai the following question during her math lesson, "What is a mathematician?"

Her answer: A magician with numbers.

Some science photos for fun:

More dissection pictures to come because I cannot get them to upload. It says this blog does not exist. Weird.

Creating

2010-01-15T18:31:00.000-05:00

Many of you who attended Marissa's shower remember the cake stand I made. Well, now I made another one my sweet sister, Melissa. We are celebrating the soon to be arrival of her first child, Nevaeh, tomorrow in Boca. It is funny because her shower theme is Queen of the Jungle, like Elijah's King of the Jungle. The bottom two tiers will fit 30 cupcakes and the top plate will hold an 8in cake. So here are some pictures of the cake/cupcake stand:

I forgot to post Liz's present to Mike

2010-01-12T17:24:00.000-05:00

Liz amazes me. She made Mike's Christmas gift in a day. She found all of my ND (Notre Dame) t-shirts that I had been saving to make Mike a t-shirt quilt. She beat me to it and made him this lap quilt.

Freezing....

2010-01-11T17:48:00.000-05:00

We are so cold here. Our blood has seriously thinned out because it is just too cold to live downstairs. Today, we brought the school books and little television upstairs. We stayed here all day with the exception to get food. I moved a little thermometer thingy that we have downstairs to see what the temperature difference between the two floors and it was a whopping 8 degrees. The tile down there just makes everything cold. The heat is set at 68 and the average temp is 60 down there. Whoever designed our air system was not the brightest bulb in the bunch. They put our thermostat upstairs! So as soon as the warm air rises, the heat shuts off and we freeze downstairs. So we will be living upstairs for the next few days. Please give me a few extra minutes to answer the door, oh and call the cell phone, not the regular phone because I don't have a phone up here either.

Icicles!

2010-01-11T08:47:00.001-05:00

A rare sight in our neck of the woods... I wondered what they looked like earlier, because this was mid morning and they were melting like crazy.

Christmas pictures...finally!

2010-01-11T08:44:00.001-05:00

Before the craziness of paper flying!

Sophie was so excited to see the new kitchen that she did not open any other presents the entire morning. Lorelai had to do it for her. I love our new kitchen! This was a Craigslist find for $50. It normally retails for $350. It is so heavy and will last forever...like great grandchildren.

A digital camera for another photographer in the family. She loves this Grandpa Steve!

Jon was thrilled to get a couple of DVD's he was missing in his Harry Potter collection. Now he has all that have been released. He got a few other movies and then cash, due to a last minute snafu for his original Christmas gift.

Finally, something to take her away from the new kitchen. Notice her hugging these items...they are Nemo cups that we found at Epcot last month. She is a huge Finding Nemo fan, so all of the kids got her something from the Nemo shop: cup with straw, cup and bowl, and bath toys. She is in Nemo heaven.

Liz got these great pair of roller skates for Christmas. She skated in the garage all day that day. She also got a basketball, skateboard, and new bedding for her room.

Mike and I enjoyed our Christmas. He got a book, some audiobooks, and a car jack (exciting stuff for him). I got some jewelry from the girls, wind chimes from Jon, and Mike surprised me with a DVD collection I had showed him months ago. My mom stopped by for a brief visit, which was a nice surprise too.

A New Year

2010-01-09T21:50:00.003-05:00

“In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown—and onward is the goal. Whether it is for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love—the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith.
Looking into the future, the Christian sees sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of eternal glory. Looking further yet, the believer’s enlightened eye can see death’s river passed. He sees himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with Him, and made to sit together with Him on His throne.”

—Charles Spurgeon

Snow!

2010-01-07T08:28:00.004-05:00

For my local peeps, just a heads up that we have snow in the forecast Friday night/early Saturday morning. Crazy, but true! The last time I remember any significant snowfall was 1989.

Um...Brrr

2010-01-04T16:20:00.000-05:00

It is just too darn cold here. The icicles on the house were cute, but I am not looking forward to the 13-16 degree wind chill here tonight.

I still haven't posted...

2009-12-31T17:24:00.000-05:00

I will get to our Christmas post soon, but I have not had time. I am sorry to my family who has been waiting for pictures. :o) Sophie has gotten a bad cough again and has a low grade temp, which has kept me up all night the last two nights. I am on the computer briefly searching for a recipe, so I thought I would post an update.

I hope everyone has a very blessed New Year!

Yes...We fell off the face of the Earth

2009-12-28T09:28:00.000-05:00

Well, it at least seemed like we fell off the Earth. My last post was over a week ago, almost two weeks. So, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Elizabeth had her Winter Wonderland Party combined with a slumber party. It was great fun. We decorated santa and elf hats, decorated cookies, made chocolates and chocolate covered pretzels and marshmallows, made ornaments, and played two Christmas games. We had yummy food, cupcakes for her cake (I made a triple chocolate cupcake then dipped them in a peppermint ganache that I made and sprinkled with crushed candy canes -mmmm), hot cider and a hot cocoa bar. The hot cocoa bar consisted of hot cocoa and a platter of marshmallows, chocolate chips, and candy canes for toppings. Then 9 or 10 girls stayed later and spent the night. We did a soup bar for dinner. I was trying to think of something easy to feed over twenty people and it was cold, so it was a perfect fit. We had chili, chicken tortilla soup, and ham and potato soup. The girls did hair, makeup and all of the girly things that they do at this age. One group went to bed at 12:00, the other 3:00. Mike got up early, made a donut run, and came back and made pancakes for the girls, since they were all leaving by 9:00.

Much to our surprise that morning, Lorelai woke up with a 101.9 fever. As the day progressed, she got worse with her temp hovering around 104.5 most of the day. We went to the doctor Monday, who thought she had Fifth Disease, since the flu test and strep test came back negative. She (the doctor) was amazed because Lorelai's temp did not drop at all while at the office. She was 103.9 while there and I had given her Motrin 20 minutes prior to leaving the house. So we headed home thinking she had Fifth Disease, until the vomitting started. She was so sick on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday brought us diarrhea, still with a fever of 101. Thursday she had a terrible sore throat and lost her voice completely. So we made another call to the doctor who called in antibiotics for tonsillitis. Today is Monday and she is still sick. Whatever bug she has, it is nasty.

I will post later about Christmas.

Bummed

2009-12-16T13:20:00.000-05:00

I am so bummed today. Well, it actually began last night. Elizabeth found about her surprise birthday party that I have been planning for weeks. It totally stinks, but at least she is excited. Now I have to gear myself up for having a house full of girls this weekend.

Faith

2009-12-15T17:36:00.003-05:00

It is not faith to trust God as a saint when you feel you are a saint. Faith is to trust Christ as a sinner—while you are conscious that you are a sinner. To come to Jesus and to think yourselves pure, is a sorry coming to Him—but to come with all your impurity—this is true coming.”
Spurgeon

I love Oswald Chamber's definition of faith:

“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”
Lastly C.S. Lewis:

“Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods”

Our brains finally arrived!

2009-12-14T10:02:00.000-05:00

More on the brains in a moment. This week had been a very busy week. The kids had their regularly scheduled academics, plus a trip to the park on Tuesday to visit with friends, writing club with friends on Wednesday, followed by a trip to the local library for a Hanukkah presentation, where they ate latkes, jelly donuts and learned to play dreidel. Thursday, Liz went to her sewing class to finish working on Lorelai's Christmas present. She is making Lorelai a robe. It is too cute. She also began making my youngest sister, Hannah, some pajamas for Christmas with some extra fabric. Friday, we went to another local park for a nature class that is held for homeschooling families. It was a very cold and windy day, which equals a terrible day at the park. The class was not that great according to Jon and Liz. Supposedly, it was geared for 4-8th grades, but no. My children were extremely bored. They were most thankful that the class has been cancelled, due to the park ranger leaving the area. What is worse about our park outing on Friday, is that Sophie is now sick again. The poor thing started coughing badly again, Friday night. The cold wind is not good for her.

Yesterday was supposed to be a busy day baking cookies for a cookie exchange Sunday, making a freezer meal, and taking the children out for their Christmas shopping. Plus, we were going to go sledding at the local park that brings in snow, then visit Santa at the library for cookies and pictures. Two things were accomplished: making the freezer meal and the childrens shopping trip. The shopping trip was not fun and the meal wasn't made until late Saturday night. Sophie was so sick that I had to take care of her most of the day, then add in Mike was not well either. Suffice it to say, I will not be going to the cookie/ornament exchange today. I am a bit disappointed, but the Sophie is just not well enough for me to leave her.

Anywho, back to the brains. Seriously. Our sheep brains arrived this week for our dissection this week. I decided to continue our study of the human anatomy, since the children had been studying that at Smith Prep. Neurology is our next topic that we will cover.

Well, I need to tackle my to do list.

Jon's Poem

2009-12-10T14:08:00.000-05:00

Jon has been re-reading Jesus Freaks by DC Talk over the past week. In his writing class they had to write a poem. Here is his work:

The Martyr

The walls are dark

Almost like wood’s bark

The food is cold

While the cell’s corners grow mold

And though my eyes are swollen

My love for the Lord cannot be stolen

They beat and scare me till I’m gray

Yet, for them I shall pray

On me, they extinguish their cigars

So I bear Christ’s scars

When they said I die alone,

I smiled and said, “I’m going home.”

Menu Plans for the Week

2009-12-06T23:19:00.000-05:00

Monday - BBQ Pork Burritos, black beans and rice

Tuesday - Kielbasa and cabbage skillet, tossed salad

Wednesday - Cheesy Cauliflower Soup, salad, and fresh bread

Thursday - Teriakyi Chicken, steamed rice, broccoli

Friday - Spaghetti with meatballs, italian chopped salad

Changes

2009-12-06T16:57:00.000-05:00

Our family has been undergoing some changes lately. We have brought the older two home from Smith Prep. Unfortunately, it was not working out. I know many people rave about the education there, but it was just not for us. I do think it was a good experiece for the kids though. So far, their first week back at home has been good too. We started using Mystery of History Vol 1 for history. They had to write a four paragraph compare/contrast essay regarding evolution and creation. They read The Christmas Carol by Dickens this week and will have some assignments this coming week on their reading. Elizabeth had to interview her dad about his life and career for her online writing class. Jonathan had to search for onomatopeias in literature readings this week for his Descriptive Writing class. We discuss and looked for examples of skeletal joints in everyday life, then dissected a tooth, made castings of our own teeth, and a few other experiements about our teeth. In Bible, we discussed the book of Exodus, specifically when Moses and the Israelites made their covenant with God. Good stuff.

Another change that will be happening soon is that Lorelai will be coming home from preschool beginning in January. There are two reasons for this change. The first - finances (obviously this needs no explaination) and the second reason - Jon and Liz. Weird, I know, but the older two are drifting from their work each morning and afternoon, when I leave the house to travel to drop Lorelai off and pick her up each day. So, I am taking all of my outside scheduled activities and making sure they are scheduled for late afternoon. Really, there is not much on the schedule anyway, except preschool. We will be getting down to the nitty gritty and making sure we complete the tasks at hand. They need to learn to be responsible for their own work, chores, real life, etc. and I need to focus on getting them ready for the real world. Hopefully, this will help. This decision did not come lightly. It was prayed over for months.

I have been praying for some really cool things lately. One of the biggies on my list is finding Godly women to mentor Elizabeth. I have specific designations for each woman to mentor Elizabeth over the period of a year, this is in an effort to prepare Elizabeth for a Rite of Passage ceremony or a Christian Bat Mitzvah (although we will be doing this a year later than the traditional Jewish Bat Mitzvah). Over the course of the next year, we will be preparing, praying, learning, and growing while covering certain areas with Elizabeth and her mentors. Mike is also going to be doing this with Jonathan.

Today the Christmas tree is finally going up and the decorations. It was fun until a little while ago and I really am over it. Mike put the lights up on the house without testing them first. Of course, only one strand worked. He is off to Lowes with Elizabeth and Lorelai to purchase more lights. He vented, "I don't know why we do this. We are just celebrating like the Pagans." Oh. my. I told him that don't worry about the lights then, but he went off to buy them anyway to make everyone happy. I just wish it could be a quiet, peaceful day.

I have been sick the last four days. I thought it was a simple case of laryngitis, but no. A terrible cough has crept into my lungs and it hurts to breathe. Not fun, I tell you. I can talk a bit now, but I sound very hoarse. Hopefully, I will kick this thing to the curb soon.

Yesterday was a somber football day. Poor Florida. Maybe Urban should go to ND after that game. The most spectacular game though was Cincinnati and Pitt. Wow! We were literally sitting on the edge until the final seconds. Brian Kelly rocks! He is an amazing coach and ND would be an interesting fit for him: he's Irish Catholic and from the Midwest. But wait! There were some amazing rumors and commentary on various sport shows yesterday calling for Lou to come back. That would be amazing, but I do not see it happening.

My kids love me today!

2009-12-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I hope they love me everyday, but today I know they really do. Why, do you ask? I have laryngitis. I cannot talk. They love that I cannot tell them to get their work done. Really it is true. I am just wondering when I will get my voice back, because it is difficult trying to get a housefull going in the morning with no voice.

So today I will ---- "Be still".

We made it!

2009-11-28T23:18:00.000-05:00

We made it home! It really was a pleasant ride home, just a bit of traffic due to football. Now I am off to bed!

Trip update

2009-11-24T11:57:00.000-05:00

It has been a week since we arrived to our cold destination. Actually, the weather has been quite mild for this time of year. It feels wonderful in my opinion. Lorelai has only complained once about it being cold and that was yesterday.
Mike's grandmother had a lovely funeral service last Thursday. It was so nice to see all of his relatives that we have not seen in ages. Many of them had never met Lorelai and Sophie, since the last time we saw them Jonathan and Elizabeth were their ages. Friday the family had to tie up loose ends with the funeral home. It was a rough bit since they received the death certificate. Everyone is trying to determine why Grandma was going in the basement. It is something we will never know. It is wonderful to have a peace that she is now with her Saviour.
Elizabeth turned 13 on Saturday. She left Friday with her aunt and cousins to their home in Ohio. Her cousins are in competitive cheer and they had a competition in Cinci on Sunday, so she went with them. Mike said she was made team photographer. They will be coming back tomorrow and we will celebrate her 13th birthday then.
Jonathan has been busy trying to stay caught up with his studies. That is one of the pitfalls of participating in outside classes. He also got quite sick. He had a 102 temp for 2 1/2 days. He is finally on the mend, so today I am disinfecting his room.
We are trying to decide if we are going to leave here Friday or Saturday. We really do not want to get stuck in traffic Sunday like last year. Sixteen hours from Atlanta to our home was a bit much. Of course, it will also depend on the weather. We are forecast for snow Thursday! I really hope it snows because Lorelai desperately wants some.

We made it!

2009-11-17T18:00:00.001-05:00

Woo-hoo! We finally made it here. We drove straight through without stopping except for gas. We made it in record time - 21 hours! The kids were great, food was good that we packed, and the hotel is great. We have an indoor water park at our hotel. Now we are off to dinner.

We are off!

2009-11-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

We are heading out to the great white north! Well, I guess it is not white yet, but you get the idea. We will be back in a couple of weeks.

Superfluous

2009-11-12T22:54:00.003-05:00

"Rest in the quiet consciousness that all is well. Murmur at nothing which brings you nearer His own loving Presence. Be thankful for your very cares, because you can confidently cast them all upon Him. He has your temporal and eternal "prosperity" too much at heart to appoint one superfluous pang, one needless stroke. Commit therefore, all that concerns you to His keeping, and leave it there. "

JR MacDuff

superfluous [suːˈpɜːflʊəs]
adj
1. exceeding what is sufficient or required
2. not necessary or relevant; uncalled-for

Amen!

Being at Home

2009-11-02T16:03:00.000-05:00

I am not a homemaker because I had too little ambition or education to make anything else of myself. No—I am a homemaker because God has given me the infinite honour of being a wife, and I delight in employing every ability that He has equipped me with in this glad career. I LOVE BEING HOME."

~ Lanier Ivester

Fixed...temporarily

2009-10-30T11:25:00.000-04:00

The repairman came out yesterday, late afternoon, and fixed the A/C. He has to return next week to install new parts, but otherwise it is cool again. Thank goodness. I am so thankful that our unit was under warranty as well, since it is only three years old.

Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-29T15:39:00.000-04:00

The house A/C is broke. This is not fun when it is 90 degrees with a heat index of 96. My friends who live without A/C you are amazing souls. Hopefully this will be fixed tonight.

He is precious!

2009-10-27T20:33:00.000-04:00

We have need of Him . . .
when we are dark—to enlighten us;
when we are dull and lifeless—to quicken us;
when we are weak—to strengthen us;
when we are tempted—to support us;
when we have fallen—to raise and restore us;
when we are disquieted with fears—to encourage us;
when we are full of doubts and perplexity—to comfort us and give us peace;
when we are staggering at the promises through unbelief—to increase our faith.
As none but Christ can do these things for us—He must be precious to our souls.
"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!" 1 Peter 2:7

(John Fawcett 1740-1817)

Sickness

2009-10-22T14:58:00.000-04:00

I am so bummed that my household is sick. We have bronchitis, strep throat, and flu like symptoms with four of us and it sounds like a fifth one is starting now too. I am bummed because we had many plans for this weekend, which are now canceled or put on the back burner. I am also disappointed because one of the things that we had to cancel is beyond my control and the people are very unhappy about it. I really don't want to get others sick and who would want to see sick people collecting peanut butter. Oh well. I know this is best.

Change

2009-10-20T00:21:00.002-04:00

Do you hear that?

The wind of change is blowing through our house.

Today the kids went off to school, well sort of. They started at a local (meaning Orlando area) classical Christian prep school for home-schooled students. Students meet one day a week with various teachers covering language arts, world history, hands on science, bible, critical thinking, speech and drama (we cover math at home). They are there a good portion of the day, and then work on assignments the remainder of the week. There are approximately 20 students in each class. One of my favorite things about the class arrangement is that they are separated by sex. All of the 7th grade girls are in one class and all of the 7th grade boys are in another. Elizabeth was amazed that she didn't see Jonathan at all.

I do have to admit I was quite apprehensive about sending them off, even for just one day a week. Realistically, it was difficult relinquishing my plans to someone else. That is just the problem; they were my plans, not God's plans. We needed a change. I haven't been motivated or excited to be teaching lately and that is not fair to them. I was being completely selfish. So I have been praying about this for sometime and feel at total peace with this decision. The school fits our methodology of education. It is Christ centered. They pray in every class before teaching and learning begins, sharing praise reports and prayer requests. The work is rigorous, yet fun. Actually, they stressed how rigorous their coursework was and it made me realize after seeing their work for the week that I was over the top. Most of all, they still get to be home and I can guide them through their assignments.

God is good!

FYI...this means that I have a lot of curriculum to sell. :o)

Pressing On!

2009-10-15T20:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I shared with you that I have been stressed. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I want to share with you my reading from today.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

Stressed...

2009-10-14T15:12:00.000-04:00

Seriously stressed. I have had a full plate lately and am ready for a vacation that I am not going to be getting this year. Add to the full plate, a lack of sleep due to sick kiddos - again, plus a lot of personal stuff equals one not so happy person. I am trying to find the joy, but that simply isn't happening around here.

A visitor

2009-10-13T12:03:00.000-04:00

Saturday afternoon we had a visitor. The littles adored this little guy.

Lorelai's fun

2009-10-13T11:51:00.001-04:00

Lorelai went to a friend's birthday party two weeks ago. They had two bounce houses and a petting zoo. Here are some pictures of her riding the pony.

Joy Unspeakable

2009-10-12T23:10:00.002-04:00

Menu Plan Monday

2009-10-12T08:32:00.001-04:00

Monday - taco casserole with fresh guacamole

Tuesday - spinach mushroom quiche, melon

Wednesday - lasagna, caesar salad

Thursday - black beans and rice; spinach salad

Friday - bratwurst skillet dinner

Saturday - steaks on the grill, garlic mashed potatoes, lemon green beans

Sunday - potato and ham soup, homemade bread

If you would like to participate in Menu Plan Monday or get ideas for your own menu go visit OrgJunkie.com.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-10-12T08:16:00.000-04:00

FOR TODAY...October 12th from Stephanie's Daybook
Outside my window... a warm, humid, hazy morning. It is going to be a hot day...again. Sigh...

I am thinking... that changing our schedule a bit will help everyone. I have eliminated the unimportant things and kept only the things that are needed.

I am thankful for... a very discerning husband, who helps me stay on track with many areas of my life.

I am wearing... workout clothes now, but will change into a white peasant top paired with a long, khaki skirt.

I am remembering...my grandparents. Today would have been a birthday and an anniversary.

I am going... to be dropping off cookie orders at the preschool and tutoring for Jon. Otherwise, home for the day.

I am reading...the last chapter of Rite of Passage Parenting. I love that book. I am going to place that title on my to buy list.

I am hoping... to finish making apple butter and have a productive school week.

On my mind... getting the girls healthy. Lorelai and Sophie are sick...again.

From the learning rooms... beginning a new math curriculum with Jonathan, but the goal is to stay on track this week.

Noticing that... that the days are much shorter, just wishing that they were cooler.

Pondering these words... Christians may (and ought to) pray anytime and anywhere, but we cannot do well without a special time and place to be alone with God. We must arrange to pray, to be alone with God sometime every day. The Bible is God's message to everybody. We deceive ourselves if we claim to want to hear his voice but neglect the primary channel through which it comes. We must read His Word. We must obey it. ~ Elisabeth Elliot

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near." Isaiah 55:6

From the kitchen... apple butter, banana bread, quiche, and whatever else I have time to make.

Around the house... go through Lorelai and Elizabeth's closet, adding to the bag of goodies to pass down, clean up the attic, and sort through the recipe bin.

One of my favorite things~ a hot cup of tea or coffee on a cool night or morning.Wishful thinking here...

From my picture journal... Lorelai with her best friend.

Please do stop by Peggy's page to participate in the Simple Woman's Daybook

Hmmmm....

2009-10-09T16:15:00.000-04:00

I just got home from a peaceful library run. Actually, I left the kids at home, went through the drive thru at McDonalds, got a Mocha Frappe, and then went to the library. After I returned my books, I finally got Lorelai and Sophie their library cards. It is time they have their own cards. I have been too lazy to get them, since I was by myself it made sense that today was the day. I came home after a nice quiet drive to see two little boys in my driveway. I was wondering what they were doing there. Then I watched my mums fly through the air. Seriously... These little boys were ripping out the mums I had planted a couple of weeks ago. They were grabbing them by the top of the plants and tossing them into the driveway. I calmly parked and asked them what they were doing. They were looking for their ball that they had thrown into the yard. I helped them find the ball and sent them on their way. I replanted the mums, put the car in the garage, watered the replanted mums, and prayed for those boys. I do not plan on saying anything to their parents because their situation is not good. These children are not in the best living situation, so instead I pray for them and hope that our family can shine a little light for these children.

Another recipe

2009-10-09T11:01:00.000-04:00

Three Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
These are delicious. I wrote this recipe down years ago and I cannot remember who the credit goes to, but thank you!

1/3 c vegetable oil
8 corn tortillas
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 c sour cream
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t pepper
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded and divided
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Sour cream
guacamole

Heat oven to 350.

In 8 inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. With tongs, dip each tortilla in hot oil, turning quickly to soften, about 3 seconds a side, set aside.

In large bowl, stir together cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Stir in salt, cumin, and pepper. Stir in chicken, 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese, Cheddar cheese, and green onions.

Pour enchilada sauce in shallow dish (pie plate works well). Dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Place 1/3 c chicken mixture in center of tortilla; roll. Place tortillas down, in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with remaining enchilada sauce.

Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle remaining Monterey Jack cheese over enchiladas and bake 3 minutes longer. Garnish with sour cream and or guacamole, if desired. Serves 4.

Too hot

2009-10-09T09:23:00.000-04:00

Today is October 9 and it is supposed to be 96 today with a heat index of 106-110. Seriously, this stinks. I want cool temps. The pool temp is in the 90s. It is not supposed to be this way. Bring me cooler weather please!

New Words Wednesday

2009-10-07T18:58:00.000-04:00

Here are Sophie's new words and/or phrases for this week:

try
now
silly
pretty
airplane
swing
one (trying to get her to say I am one, but she says...
I'm two :o)
mine
football
night, night (when she is ready for bed)
pray
Jesus

Recipes!

2009-10-07T15:37:00.002-04:00

Here are a few of the recipes from this week's menu plan.

Blackened Chicken Sandwiches
This recipes is from OAMC. It is very delicious and a favorite in our family.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 T olive oil
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
2 t paprika
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t salt
1/2 t white pepper

6 sandwich rolls (we like the french hamburger rolls at Publix for these)

Mix all of the spices together in a small bowl. Sprinkle or rub (whichever you prefer) the spice mix onto the chicken breasts. Coat both sides evenly.

Heat a large saute pan over med high heat and add the olive oil. ** Cook the chicken breasts 5-7 minutes on each side. Top with lettuce, onion, tomato, and a slice of provolone cheese and place on a sandwich roll. I also serve with ranch dressing or mustard.

**You can also grill the chicken breasts, just oil your grill grates and the cook for 5-7 minutes on each side.

Shrimp Pasta
(Mike makes this recipe all of the time. It is simple, quick, and yummy. One of the kid's favorite recipes.)

8 oz pasta (ziti or rotini, work well)
1 T cornstarch
2 16oz cans of diced tomatoes, not drained
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 t oregano, dried
1/4 t basil, dried
1/8 t pepper

1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat ovem to 400 degrees. Prepare noodle according to package directions, omitting salt and oil. Drain. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup of the juice from the canned tomatoes. In a 3 qt saucepan, add cornstarch mixture with the canned tomatoes, garlic and seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. Add shrimp and simmer until shrimpo is cooked.

Spray a 9x13 pan with non stick cooking spray. Spread drained noodles in the pan and top with seafood sauce. Bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven until cheese is melted.
Serves 6.

Macaroni and Cheese
We first made this recipe years ago, after watching an episode of Martha Stewart. The kids wanted to try it and it has been a family favorite since that time.

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for baking dish

3 cups milk

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more for water

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

3 cups grated white cheddar cheese

1 cup grated Swiss cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni

Sour cream, for serving

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2 1/2-quart casserole dish; set aside.

2.Warm the milk and tomato paste in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup Swiss cheese; set the cheese sauce aside.

3.Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook until pasta is al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain well in a colander. Stir macaroni into reserved cheese sauce.

4.Pour mixture into prepared dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, and dot with butter. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream, if desired.

Marinara Sauce

2 T olive oil, extra virgin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (15 oz) diced tomatoes ----note: I made this with fresh canned tomatoes, meaning homemade, so I
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce used a quart of diced tomatoes and a pint of sauce
5-6 basil leaves

Heat a large saute pan over med high heat. Add olive oil, then add minced garlic. Saute for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add tomatoes and sauce. Turn temp to medium low or low, depending on your stovetop. Simmer for 10 minutes. Chiffonade your basil and add to your sauce. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Serve over hot pasta.

Apple Butter

2-½ pounds Apples, Peeled, Cored And Sliced

¼ cups Apple Cider Vinegar

¼ cups Water

1 whole Lemon, Zested And Juiced

3 cups Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

½ teaspoons Allspice

½ teaspoons Cloves

Place the apples, vinegar, water, lemon juice and zest in a large oven-proof pot. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour the cooked apples into a blender or food processor and blend until well pureed.
Return the pureed apples to the pot, measuring as you go. For every cup of blended apples that you have, add 1/2 cup brown sugar.* Add the spices to the pot. Cover the pot and put the whole thing in the oven. Cook for 2 to 3 hours at 300 degrees, stirring every half hour. When you stir the pot, taste for sugar and spices; you may want to add more depending on your preference.
Store in the refrigerator, or seal in canning jars to store for months (or years) in your pantry, or give away as Christmas gifts, etc.
*You might want to go easy on the sugar to begin; you can always add sugar as you go.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-10-05T16:50:00.000-04:00

Monday - spaghetti with fresh marinara sauce, caesar salad

Tuesday - my version of Chili's Quesadilla Explosion salad with quesadillas

Wednesday - No-Knife Spaghetti, Italian Chopped Salad

Thursday - homemade macaroni and cheese, steamed carrots (kids) We are going out for our anniversary.:o)

Friday - chicken enchiladas, rice and beans

Saturday - shrimp pasta, salad, garlic cheese bread

Sunday - Blackend Chicken Sandwiches, pasta salad, broccoli

If you would like to participate in Menu Plan Monday or get ideas for your own menu go visit OrgJunkie.com.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-10-05T16:25:00.000-04:00

FOR TODAY...October 5th

Outside my window...a gray overcast sky with a few rain drops hitting the window.

I am thinking...that my children have had a sleep deprived weekend. Is it bedtime yet?

I am thankful for...my husband.

I am wearing...khaki capris, melon tank top, with hair pulled back

I am remembering...the day Mike and I married. 14 years ago tomorrow.

I am going...crazy. No, not really, although somedays I feel like it. Lorelai has a dentist appointment this week, Sophie has a doctor appointment, a couple of 4H meetings, a field trip to the philharmonic, tutoring, sewing, a birthday party, and serving at Ronald McDonald House by making the guests lunch Sunday.

I am reading...well, finishing....Rite of Passage Parenting; plus Mara Daughter of the Nile with Elizabeth and Tales of Ancient Egypt with Jonathan

I am hoping...that Lorelai will take a nap. We have a case of the whinys here.

On my mind...all of the things that I need to accomplish this week. My list is quite long...

From the learning rooms...catching up from a few missed days last week.

Noticing that...it is already 4:00. I need to start dinner.

Pondering these words..."We can stop pleading with God to show us the future, and start living and obeying like we are confident that He holds the future.” Kevin DeYoung

From the kitchen...canning applesauce and apple butter, making some muffins, plus a menu plan soon.

Around the house... a few loads of laundry need to be done, weeding in the garden, organizing my desk, and planting a few things in the garden.

One of my favorite things...sleeping in (I haven't done that in forever and wish I could soon)

From my picture journal... Jon's 14th birthday

Please do stop by Peggy's page to participate in the Simple Woman's Daybook.