My Favorite Four Plus One!

My heart belongs to these beautiful people~

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Attorney at Law, aka..Chicken Herder!

My dear brother, Nic, so graciously agreed to "chicken sit" for us this weeknd while John and I go out of town.  Honestly, I can see why farmers never take vacations...its too hard to find someone to take care of all the creatures....I mean my friend Harriet is keeping the kids, mom and dad have the dog, and Nic has chicken duty (and maybe catepillar in a cocoon duty)....

We are running out of folks to ask...I try not to ask the same person over and over....(Mom and Dad..your turn is coming :)...So my sweet brother is coming to let the chickens out, change their water and food, and then herd them back into the pen after letting them run free for an hour or so.  I really do appreciate his willingness.  He came over the other night to let us show him how to herd them back in to their cage. 

My brother and I are so different.  We are different in just about everyway...aside from the fact that we are in very different stages of life...we have different political views, religious views, family structure views, the way we eat is different, and the list goes on but we love each other and I am a proud sister.  I am proud  of my brother's accomplishments, his passion for helping others, and we also have a lot of fun "making fun" of my mother together (mom, you know we love you!)...

Recently, we found some common ground...we both like New Leaf Market! 

Anyhow, I'm very proud of my brother.  He recently was selected to be flown to Washington DC to interview for an attorney position with the Federal Government...he was 1 of 4 individuals chosen out of 435 (I believe) applicants.  After his interview, he is now the top  pick for the job...just waiting for the General Counsel's approval or sign off on the job hiring...

So more than likely, my brother will be moving to Washington DC!  I am very happy and proud for him and excited that we might get to go visit him in the near future!  He is always so helpful, so supportive of me, so loving, and thoughtful and obviously would do just about anything for me...even herd my chickens...I would do the same if he had chickens or any other kind of pet...I would make him chicken soup if he needed it (I think he likes my cooking)...He took care of me when I was sick with Molly and I will take care of him if he ever needs me to.  We are different but I love him MUCH! 

Here are some "lawyer" pics of Nic and his co-lawyer...they are going to be featured in a newsletter about a pro bono case they recently were in involved in...I like these pictures!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Adventures

Everything to me these days is about adventure and challenging the kids and myself and teaching them something....a couple of things I have been very appreciative for lately and noticing is this:  It is a SUCH A BLESSING for us that John works shift work.  He gets to spend so much more time with us!  He is home much more often than most daddies.   Most dad's (8-5 working dads) have two days off during the week...one day would most likely have to be to do things like mow the grass, fix the toilet, etc and the other day would most likely be a family day of going to church, resting, etc.  Because John has either 4 days off or 6 days off in a row, we are much more likely to take off...we like to go...we like to try new things...we like to drag the kids along with us for the most part...

John and I figure that we have these 3 kids and if we don't teach them to camp or hike or canoe or swim or bike or whatever it is that we like to do, then they won't learn and it will be a nuisance to try to teach them later....when they finally get old enough and then they won't want to learn or won't do it the way that we want them too at least :)  ...Now we have certainly had some busts like when we took John Daniel tent camping in March when he was only 5 months old...it was sooo cold and miserable (probably one of the worst nights of my life) but its fun to laugh about it now and John and I are so stubborn that even after the worst night of our life where we got up at 4:30 am and drove an hour to Gainesville to sit at a Denny's in our Pajamas (kids had no shoes on..we looked homeless) just to get warm...we still went back after getting warm and rented a canoe and paddled down the Sante Fe river for 3 hours instead of packing up and coming home...

Camping has certainly made us try new things.  People ask us how we camp with three young kids and I just say GO!  Yes, giving a baby a bath in a campground shower is a pain but we have tried it every way possible....and its cheap!  Its how we get to travel sometimes...because it doesn't cost very much.  Training the kids when they are young to act they way they should act on a trail or in a camper or in a canoe is important to us....as I've said before, don't dare complain about it in front of John.....the kids know not to complain about bugs or the heat or walking and for the most part they do just fine....We have some great memories!  Hey, my kids have hiked on the AT and I think that is so cool!  One of my favorite personality traits of my husband is that he isn't aftraid to try anything almost....(like my dad)...he got into a lot of trouble in his young years and has scars to prove it but I like his free spirit and that he will jump off a rope swing and hike down to a waterfall or pick up a snake and that he drags the rest of us with him...its awesome for the kids!!!  I truly think hat they are better for it!  And now, every adventure is like a glorified field trip where we can learn about the world around us and experience it hands on!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Planning, Planning, Planning....

One of the best parts of homeschooling (or pre-homeschooling in my case) so far is the planning.  I have spent hours, literally, reading websites, looking at book reviews, reading emails sent from other moms, reading books...and I LIKE IT ALL!!!  I want to take a piece from everything I read and put it together...I love homeschooling moms...they are awesome and my life has been changed forever and for the better since knowing and listening and hearing from some of these women.  I love how everyone has their own style and things they do best and things they lack in....

Last week, I kind of got it all figured out and decided on what I wanted to do.  I know that I have way too much stuff planned....I already know this and figure I will eventually decide what to cut out but there is just so much good stuff to do and teach the kids.  Here is what I have in mind:  It will probably sound very confusing and I will have to tweak it but so far this is what I want to do with Emily.

Personal Quiet Time
Family Bible Reading/study
Habit Training using the Young Peacemakers book (12 week study)
Math--Using ABEKA 3rd grade
Copy work to then advance into cursive second semester
English/LA/spelling/grammer....using ABEKA but also looking into From the roots up (15 minute a day greek/latin studies)
Science/History/Geography..unit study using My Father's World...American History and Nature study for 3rd grade...We will be using a timeline, world and U.S. maps and nature studies/books for science

At night:  Read Alouds..fun reading/classics

Most Homeschooling moms I know do school Mon-Thurs.  Depending on when I work (I only work 2 mornings in the whole month of August so far) then it may look a little different for us but I would like to do formal school at home Mon- Thurs and then take Friday as a "Fun Friday" and go to Maclay Gardens and read out of our book "What makes a Rembrandt a Rembrandt" or take our colored pencils and let her draw something she sees and then read some poetry or a story from "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" or make it a library day or do some cooking or sewing or a really cool Science Experiment Day or do some Mindware puzzles or have a field trip or some of the extra things that I have heard about that I might not be able to add in our regular school day.  I have finally figured out that if I did all of the wonderful things that I want to do with her or that are out there in "homeschool land", well we would have 11 hours of school everyday, so some of those wonderful things like reading shakespeare might not happen everyday! 

I kow this will change but I guess right now you can call me an ecletic homeschooler....or an ABEKAunitstudycharlottemason "ish" type of gal...

other things I have swirling in my mind are:  Science Fair, Geography Fair, Washington DC trip, Vocab notebooks, art classes, mission work, studying about missionaries, book reports, unit studies on parts of nature, and the list could go on! 

Adventures in the life of US!

As you can tell, I haven't gotten around to telling about our latest adventures and I go thru spurts of wanting to and then not wanting to but here are some of my favorite photos from recent adventures!

As you can see we have had a fun packed summer....making memories!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Thankful in the midst of trial!

We "Christians" always talk about being joyful when in the midst of a trial...well I was today!  I was actually VERY thankful and joyful!  Today was a busy day...I had a doctor's appt, then we had to get a bday present for a friend to then attend a Zoinks bday party...I had a lady coming to my house to pick up something, needed to get dinner ready and then pick up kids from bday party.  In between buying a gift at walmart and heading to Zoinks...Molly had a poopy diaper.  She has had some weird poopy lately that is making her have really bad daiper rash....I'm not for changing diapers in the car or in Walmart so I decided to drop Molly off at home (where John was mowing the lawn) to change her diaper and put her down for a nap (she was becoming ugly fast!)...then off to Zoinks with the big kids.  John was mowing the grass but would check on her periodically until I got back.  I dropped the kids off and my plan was to zoom home, meet the lady, start dinner, and go back and get the big kids.  Well, when I got to my van in the Zoinks parking lot...it wouldn't start!  My first thought was to freak...I called John but knew he wouldn't answer because he was mowing.  I tried to call the lady that was coming to my house to tell her not to come but couldn't get ahold of her.  So I called John 6 more times :O  No answer...then I decided to start taking action.  I called AAA and they said they would send a truck.  My radio, air, lights,automatic doors all worked....but the engine wouldn't turn over.  I knew I had until 5pm (when the party was over)...so I figured eventually John would wonder why I hadn't shown back up at the house and call me.  AAA was there in a matter of 15 or 20 minutes.  The man said the battery was good so it might be the starter...it had to be towed :(  So a tow truck was called and I told the man all by myself where to tow it to!  Tow truck was there in 15 minutes.  It was about 4:30 by this time...I called my mom to come get me and the big kids and our mountain of important stuff that I had taken out of the van (including Molly's car seat) ( I seriously looked like a bag lady at this point walking through the Zoinks parking lot with all my stuff)..I picked the kids up right on time and my mom was in the parking lot about 5 minutes after that.  When I got home, Molly had just woke from a 2 hour nap and John was making dinner (he did end up calling me in the midst of all that after the lady showed up at the house looking for me)....he told me I was a smart girl and had made all the right choices!!!! 

So in the midst of the chaos and unplanned circumstances, there was A LOT to be thankful for and believe me, as I sat outside in the parking lot, I was sure to thank my Lord!

1.  I was thankful that this happen within Fresh Market walking distance, where I ran in while waiting, to buy a water, diet coke, and some nuts.

2.  I was thankful that my big kids were inside of Zoinks...playing and in the AC not knowing a thing about what was going on.

3.  So thankful that Molly had that poopy diaper that made me take her home instead of with me!!!!  Oh it would have been a nightmare doing all that with a tired and hot Molly.

4.  Thankful for my smart phone that allowed me to look up numbers and addresses.

5.  Thankful for AAA.

6.  Thankful for the speed of the services...it was all done before I had to pick up the kids!

7.  Thankful for my mom being able to come get us because John didn't have a baby seat in the other car.

8.  Thankful that I had parked the van far away from the front of the stores so that there weren't too many cars around the vehicle to get in the way of the service trucks.

9.  Thankful that we know of a trustworthy, knowledgeable, friend to look at and fix the van.

10.  Thankful for a little peace and quiet all to myself even if it meant chillin' in the shoe station parking lot with the windows and doors open.  It was actually kind of relaxing.

I will have to say, it was nice to slow down today and sit!  Now I'm praying that the car repair bill is not enormous...but I'm not going to fret yet!  I was certainly taken care of today!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Our Normal

We don't have cable and this morning we happen to come across some cartoons on ABC and the kids are totally mesmerized so I have a few minutes.  Things are going along as normal around here lately.  John works, kids and I do our thing.  I was having a hard time several weeks ago because the kids were bickering a lot and I started second guessing my choice to homeschool or for that matter being a mom at all.  I cannot stand the bickering...it drives me absolutely crazy!  John will agree....just plain crazy :)  He found me crying on the porch one day when he woke up....I was contemplating the thought of spending the rest of the day with my chickens in the yard and leaving the rest of the family to fend for themselves...

John did like any man would do, he tried to fix it, gave me some ideas of things to do, said that he fought with his sisters all the time and it was a fact of life and then told me that we needed to quit letting them get the best of us and stop complaining and move on....You gotta love my husband...he really dislikes complainers....he doesn't see the purpose in complaining about circumstances, etc....that's why our kids eat so well....he won't allow any negative talk about food on the dinner table...its one of the things I love and dislike about him.  He isn't great at letting me vent...and he knows all this and reads this blog by the way.  So I went and talked to two girlfriends and I felt so much better.  Ann and Harriet said that they too were questioning their desire to be mothers as well (just kidding) because of their children's bickering....and one of them helped me see that I needed to relax a little.  I get so overstressed about this house.  If it is dirty (and I don't even keep an immaculate house) then I am in a bad mood.  I start bossing everyone around.  I can't stand the stacks of paper, toys all over, miscellaneous nonsense laying around.  John's sleeping bag that cost an arm and a leg is suppose to be hung up and not smooshed inside a bag...well it was about to put me over the edge if I saw that thing laying around one more time....so we found a place to hang the prize possession (on a hanger behind the closet door)...and it is out of my site!!!!  Yay!!!  Its little things like that I let spin this place out of control....

My dear friend told me to in a sense lower my expectations a little, smile more, and adjust.  So since that time, I've changed a couple of things...

We have a new and improved chore system..I have decided that no chore system is long lived...its always changing and that is good because then the kids get reenergized about it and it makes for happier chore time  I can't, nor can John do all the chores around here.  I am praying more (duh).  I am trying to smile more.  And I have again started reading before bedtime.  This may not seem like a big deal but it is for me.  I am a "get in bed at 8" and Mommy is done kind of girl.  I get emotionally and mentally drained during the day to where reading or saying goodnights and snuggling is work sometimes....just being honest here!!!  But I picked up a book that was recommended to me by one of my dear friends and we are now doing read alouds...we read for about 30 minutes.  We are reading In Grandma's Attic.  Its great, I enjoy it, the kids are enjoying it, and it ends the day on a good note.  We are almost done with the book and last night even got a big chuckle out of one of the chapters and that was fun!  Its going to be part of our school....believe me...everything I do now...I document so I can prove to myself and the world that I am teaching my children something:)  My good friend also told me that I would "get over that" eventually as well.  I told John a couple of weeks ago that I am a great mom if we are out and about doing something.  My kids are well behaved, I would take them almost anywhere, they don't complain, etc but get all 5 in this house for over 2 hours with no real plans and it falls apart and honestly this really bothers me....We, as a family, have to be able to live peacefully in this house without falling apart...and its not because we have a small house...its a character thing!  I want our home to be a safe haven, a peaceful retreat and a place we all want to be!  I'm working on it!  I read another one of those dag-gum Pearl books on our way to Orlando last weekend and with tears in my eyes I was like ....UUGGHHHH!!!!  It hit home to say the least!  The chapters I read just so happen to be about my hurts and trials lately.  So I've hit the redo button and on we go, with a refreshed mission and outlook....Our NORMAL is hopefully a new NORMAL!