From Caterpillars to Butterflies

When Do I Start?

2011-08-08T10:42:00.002-04:00

Well I had planned on starting school today. You see I have one MAJOR problem, we moved and I still have stuff in boxes and not sure where everything is. Not to mention, I need to plan for school also. So the beauty of homeschooling is we can start when we want, take breaks when we want, and end once we have our required amount of days in.

So I am unpacking more boxes today, doing some much needed planning, and then going for a much needed hair cut and color. We will either start next week or the week after. For now we are enjoying our summer and updating our school room.

New School Year: 4th Grade, 1st grade, and a toddler

2011-08-02T10:04:00.003-04:00

That is what this year will be made off. We will be using My Father's World as our main curriculum this year. It is a great curriculum and we enjoyed it last year. This year for the 4th grader we are studying Creation to the Greeks, this includes Bible, History, Science, Art and Music. She will be using Math U See, Total Language Plus, and Latin for Children.

My first grader will also be using My Father's World first grade and sit in with her big sister when she wants too. She has her own set of student sheets and art cards for the Bible, History, and Art. She will have enough with the first grade but I learned last year that sometimes she likes to be included with the other activities. She will also do Math U See and a Phonics program for right brained children. She is my very creative soul.

For our busy toddler. She will have her own box of activities. When I work with one of the older girls the other girl gets to play with her sister and do these fun activities with her. When I get her box situated I will do a post specifically for that with fun pictures for you all to see.

She is 9

2011-07-28T12:19:00.005-04:00

My oldest girl turned 9 in June (the one in maroon) I know I am slow to post these things but I want to post every year about my girls because it will be something we enjoy later I am sure. Cool facts

1. She loves Jesus and wants to be a missionary.
2. She loves dance.
3. She got her pointe shoes this summer. BIG DEAL! (pic below)
4. Yellow has ALWAYS been her favorite color.
5. She cares about others and has a heart for her friends.
6. This year has gotten particular about fashion and what she wears.
7. Her favorite food: black olives.
8. Can be bossy and I have to remind her that she is the kid.
9. Loves her little sisters and is a HUGE help with them.
10. Loves learning.
11. Just like her mama in many ways. ;)
12. My social bug, always wants to have someone over or go to someones house.
13. Disciplining her is hard, she is really obedient most of the time.
14. She is becoming very beautiful to others around her especially her parents.
15. Has great self confidence (one area she is different from her mama).

Here is another picture of her feet that her teacher is working with while dancing. Her teacher Ms. Jaime means so much to her and has a great impact on her love for dancing and her passion for it.

Disclamer: These pictures are from her first day en pointe. Technique and ballet technique is of HUGE importance for Ms. Jaime but I am no dance teacher. I just loved these pictures b/c they are my daughter and Ms. Jaime helping her.

Coming Soon: She is 9

2011-07-26T17:08:00.002-04:00

My oldest turned 9 in June and I am a little late posting but I will post it soon. I am so proud of the beautiful young lady she is becoming.

She Is 6

2011-06-06T09:11:00.004-04:00

OK so it has been a while and time has been flying by because of our busy schedule. During the time away my sweet middle girl turned 6. I can't believe it. She is such an amazing blessing to our family. I think I will do some cool facts about her...

1. She is amazingly creative.
2. She is a good drawer (creative again)
3. She loves to catch lizards and frogs but needs to do this in a princess dress.
4. Her favorite color is pink.
5. She is extremely emotional and passionate. She loves people deeply.
6. She is our only blonde.
7. She enjoys dancing.
8. Her favorite food is mac and cheese.
9. She still sleeps with her blanket.
10. Lots of friends overwhelm her and she loves her one or two greatly.
11. She talks non stop at home.
12. She is EXTREMELY funny without trying to be.
13. She doesn't care for school a whole lot but in 15 minute spurts she complies.
14. She is asking lots of questions about Jesus right now and what it means to have him in her heart.
15. She LOVES her sisters. They really are her best friends.
16. She doesn't like to leave home. My little homebody.

We love you so much and are so proud of the girl you are becoming. There is nothing I love more than pretending with you!

A Lasting Legacy: My Grandmother

2011-04-11T12:21:00.002-04:00

I am learning a lot lately about what is important in my life and what to hang onto. The Lord continues to remind me that my husband and I are one and we are a WHOLE unit together. I am grateful for him and his love for me and our family.

With that said this is a post about my grandparents, mainly my grandmother who have taught me the most about that. My grandmother passed away last Sunday. It was a happy and sad day for us. Happy because she met Jesus face to face and what an amazing day for her that must have been. Sad for us because she lived 92 years and we will miss her.

Both of their daughters and one husband is walking with the Lord, all 5 of their grandchildren and spouses are walking with the Lord, and some of the great grandchildren are walking with the Lord. The greats that aren't are to young at this point and we are raising them in Godly environments. There is a WHOLE lot to praise Jesus about when it comes to this legacy that is being left behind.

Memommy I love you and will miss you. You are with Jesus and Gege and I praise the Lord that I know that.

Oops...It Has Been To Long

2011-03-21T13:56:00.002-04:00

Honestly I don't have a lot of time to post today. I just wanted to jump on here and let you know I didn't forget. Had a great weekend spending some special time with my oldest daughter. Hopefully going this week to get my toes and nails done with my middle daughter. I will post pictures from this weekend in a minute.

In The Mood For Spring: New Design

2011-03-10T12:44:00.001-05:00

One day I will have a professional design my blog but she is in school right now and that keeps her very busy. Until then I will use fun free layouts on the web. I was in the mood for something new. I wanted to go springy and so here we go. I hope you enjoy the different look.

Mount Washmore!!!!!!!!!

2011-03-09T11:39:00.002-05:00

Does laundry ever end? I can't seem to get a handle on it. Well yes today I am tackling Mt. Washmore. The problem with the washing is that my washer is on the blink and my husband is the only one who can seem to get the thing to work correctly. So here I sit with lots to fold b/c he will wash when he come home in the evening and I will fold during the day when the girls are working on school work. *sigh* The beautiful thing is we have enough, enough to wear and are not without in this house. I am thankful that I have clothes for the family to fold. I guess I need to go through them and get rid of some though. There is obviously an abundance.

Some Of My Favorite Things

2011-03-02T17:18:00.007-05:00

I thought it might be fun to post some of my most favorite things. Some of you know me well and some of you not at all.

Pink I love all things Pink.

Jewelry, I LOVE jewelry.

Fabric. Yummy Fabrics. These are from Amy Butler! What is not to love?

Dresses. Sweet, girly dresses.

Shoes

iPad (we took my one back that I had for less than 2 weeks because we heard about the new release of one. Glad I waited. I will be getting the new one on the 11th.)

These two people.

And this little person.

I don't have an updated photo but my husband is one of the people I love most too.

Sick!!!!!

2011-03-01T11:14:00.001-05:00

Yep mommy's don't get sick days. My kids are hanging out and I am laying around with a head that feels 300 pounds, ear hurting, throat hurting, and fever all last night. I will move forward best as I can today and do what I have to do to get through. I am thankful to have a sweet 8 year old so willing to help.

It's Been a Week!

2011-02-28T15:25:00.003-05:00

Wow! I have been much better about blogging lately but a week is a long time to wait. Well we had a wild week. My poor oldest child ended up allergic to some soap she used and had hives starting Sunday night and they finally went away Thursday after getting steroids to give her. She was miserable and I think for 3 nights we got maybe 4 hours of sleep each night. Well I can't function on that little sleep. This girls LOVES her sleep. Not to mention my poor girl was functioning on very little sleep herself. She is fine now and we have to use free detergent and soap for her now. Not willing to take a chance of that happening again.

Pictures From The Weekend

2011-02-21T12:38:00.006-05:00

Nancy Serving

Precious Pearl and Leader of the Weekend

Girl Talk

What A Weekend

2011-02-21T10:34:00.003-05:00

I don't know if I have discussed this on here or not but I LOVE teenagers. When I became a Christian at 19 the Lord gave me a heart to work with teens not long after that. I think because I was such a conflicted one myself. So after college I worked at a church with the youth there and loved it. It is a story that I will share later. Fast forward to now. I serve at our church with the youth group. I was honored when One of our teens asked me if I would help her lead a purity retreat. WOW what a responsibility. Remember I became a Christian at 19. ;) Well, the time spent with these girls was amazing. I have pictures to share in a little bit. I can't share to much as we promised we wouldn't share what we talked about. I will just say that my heart is full.

Quote of the Day: Middle Child's Musings

2011-02-16T13:07:00.001-05:00

So today the oldest has been doing some research on the countries that she has been studying to make lapbooks with . Well the baby has pulled the papers off the ottoman about 3 times now. Biggest sister finally got mad and started yelling in frustration at the baby. Middle child chimes in and says, "Chill out, she is just a baby!" Bwahaha! I couldn't help but bust out laughing.

Let me clear this up...

2011-02-16T09:58:00.002-05:00

It was made clear that this wasn't a Valentine's Day gift. It was something we both have saved for because I really wanted it. So he came home Friday and surprised me with an iPad. I am in love! It is helping me get my life somewhat organized and hopefully help organize my home. If any of u have any good apps I would love to hear about them.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T15:54:00.002-05:00

Yes today is Valentine's Day. Honestly a way over commercialized "holiday". For some it can cause great pain, for others they love it. I have mixed feelings about it. See I have been very spoiled in the past. When Mark and I dated he never went without overdoing it for every occasion. Well, that made for great expectations on my part. Well imagine my surprise when he "forgot" to get me something. Yep, I acted like a spoiled brat. So in my desire to really let go of this aspect of myself I said to Mark, "You have been working so hard and are such a good provider for our family that I am letting you off the hook. Please don't feel like you have to get me something. ". I meant it, I really did. Well he ignored me.....(to be continued)

New Favorite Verses

2011-02-12T15:56:00.001-05:00

I have some new verses that are really ministering to me right now. I have s feeling I am not the only one.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you and called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. And when you walk through the fire you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Isaiah 43:1-4

The Lord Speaks:

2011-02-10T08:49:00.001-05:00

Psalm 13:4-5

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

An "average" day...

2011-02-09T08:21:00.002-05:00

A lot of people wonder what an "average" day for us looks like so I thought I would post our schedule here.

We get up and eat breakfast (at least the kids do I am not much for breakfast).
We will play with the baby for a little bit.
We do Bible first and pray for a people group from the region we are studying about.
Then Abby will get started on her Language Arts, Math, and Latin if she doesn't need help with it.
While Abby is working on her LA and Math I will work with Anna on reading/phonics and her Math.
Normally sometime during that time I will lay the baby down for her morning nap.
Then we all do geography, science, and reading together.
If we have a craft or something like that we will work on that together.
They both usually have a writing practice to do. Anna working on nice handwriting and Abby working on learning to write papers.

That is our day. Then it is usually lunch time and rest time. Everyone has to rest. Addi Ruth is awake by the "craft" time and we will play with her until afternoon nap time. During afternoon nap time Anna and Addi Ruth usually still nap. Abby reads and I will get things done around here or sometimes nap myself.

One Year Pictures Today

2011-02-05T16:34:00.003-05:00

So today we took Addi Ruth and had her one year pictures made. My sweet friend Brandi with Three E Photography took them. I am excited to see what all we got from these. She is wearing a pettiskirt in some, a cute outfit with hat in some, and some are diaper cover/hat/cupcake/necklace. Yep they are going to be cute! We had a fun time today as she was in a good mood and loved it when we all clapped and got excited. Yep looks like she is going to be a ham. Now if she would just sit still it would make things a whole heck of a lot easier.

Sewing Class

2011-02-04T11:56:00.006-05:00

OK so I took some pictures of the families taking my sewing class. Next week they will get to show you their first completed project. They began this week working on sewing straight stitches. With that comes fun tic-tac-toe boards. I forgot to take a picture of Abby and myself so I will post one next week. (I am in sweats today anyway with no make-up and you don't want to see that.)

This is one mom and daughter. They are having a blast and learning lots. They have a farm and this is their blog if you wanna see a cute baby goat go here now!Sweetland Farms

This is a mom, daughter, and son team that is also having lots of fun and learning lots. This is a brave mama taking on teaching both the kids at the same time. She is OK with that because she gets to learn the projects 3 times. Yes the mama's get to make their own tic-tac-toe boards if they so choose.

Last Day of Chemo for my Mother In Law

2011-02-03T09:07:00.003-05:00

Today is the last day of chemo for my mother in law. Hopefully when we pick her up in a little bit she will feel like celebrating. If not we will save it for another day. Please pray for her continued treatment as she has to also have radiation. We are thankful the prognosis is a great one! Breast Cancer STINKS!

Funny Things From my 5 year old

2011-01-29T17:41:00.004-05:00

We have a certain name for them but because this is a public blog I don't posts my girls names on here. So with that said, my middle child is very "shoot of the hip" funny. She always has something to say and I feel like I need to record some of her latest funnies.

During our sickness in December she finally got up after laying in bed for a day and a half and said, "My knees are dizzy." We just laughed at her b/c it was so funny.

This morning she got up and was getting ready for tryout for our spring ballet. She said, "I like to smile in my dance class because I like it but I think I am all out of smiles for the day."

An AWESOME Blog Post

2011-01-26T11:26:00.002-05:00

I love this blog and her post for today. I am going to try it.

Women Living Well

Homeschooling: How is it going?

2011-01-25T13:04:00.004-05:00

I get asked this A LOT! An my honest answer is that we are LOVING it. I will be honest with you. I couldn't have asked for it to be better than it is. Are there days I want to give up? Yep, sure there are and sometimes I do. Are there days I just don't want to do it? Yep, there are but we push through. I have to say that 95% of the time though we are having a blast. I LOVE having the girls home with me all the time. I love that the relationship as sisters has grown so close that they cry when the other one goes to spend the night away. I love most of all that they are learning about the love of Jesus from their parents and of course God's word. The biggest big for us around here is that I am teaching my 5 year old to read. HUGE FEAR of mine. I was afraid I was going to fail her.

We have also gone on some really cool field trips. The one above was at the zoo where we went behind the scenes. They showed us some neat animals and even let us pet them.

So I am excited about the rest of the year with the girls and next year also.

Our Special Day

2011-01-24T08:45:00.002-05:00

I love the kid in the picture above. You see she is my oldest child and the one who made me a mommy. Saturday we had a special day together. She has saved her money and wanted to go shopping. So it is rare that she doesn't have dance on a Saturday and we took the day and off we went. Shopping first to Justice where she bought a jogging suit and jean jacket. Then we went to get her fitted for pre-pointe shoes. Yep you guessed it, they didn't have any to fit her. That is OK though b/c the shank will be removed out of a pair of pointe shoes we found. Then we went to see my best friend Stephanie and her new baby Spencer. He is such a sweet little thing. Abby and I left from there and had to go pick up her sisters. What a special day it was for the both of us. She is an amazing big sister and such a huge help to them and to me.

Tomorrow is a big day for her. Three years ago tomorrow she gave her life to Jesus. We will celebrate with cupcakes at small group. I will tell you she LOVES Jesus!

House Cleaning: Not My Strong Suit

2011-01-20T15:29:00.002-05:00

OK so when it comes to cleaning house I am not that great at it. I really stink to be honest. I do it because it makes my husband happy to come home to a clean house and well it is part of my responsibility during the day. I have done a pretty good job staying on top of it since we moved. Well I was gone working for a week and the house looked like a bomb went off in it. YEP! It was a mess and I was overwhelmed. When I am overwhelmed I get paralyzed. So my sweet, dear friend Mandy at Controlled Chaos came to help me. It was no small task. She knows I HATE to clean the kitchen so she cleaned the kitchen and helped me finish the living room. Now I can have people over. Thanks girl! It means bunches to me!

Mother/Daughter Sewing Class

2011-01-20T08:59:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow I will begin teaching a Mother/Daughter sewing class. I am "sew" excited about doing this class with my daughter. I have been wanting to teach her for sometime now and was talking with my friend Joann and she suggested that I let her and Caroline come also. So the class was born. On Friday from 1-2 or 3 depending on how long it takes us I will be teaching sewing to my daughter, Joann and her daughter, my friend Amber and her daughter. What fun memories we will make together and treasures to keep for a lifetime.

Trade Show = Exhausted

2011-01-19T12:52:00.003-05:00

I have had the opportunity to have this amazing part time job where I work about every other month. It is a fun job because I work at the Mart in Atlanta and see all kinds of super cool things. So the past week I worked a show and it was a fun exhausting week. The week for me started Wednesday when I battled the snice (snow/ice) to get downtown and set up the wall. Thursday was spent putting the jewelry on the display so that others could buy it. I work for Pink House Imports and we sell beautiful jewelry made in Indonesia. It has really been the perfect job for me as a homeschooling mom.

Tackle It Tuesday

2011-01-11T10:22:00.002-05:00

I am going to start doing this on Tuesdays b/c I like the idea. I am going to work on our laundry today. I am really bad about folding and putting our laundry away today. So today I am going to reorganize my closet, fold and put away all the clean laundry for our family. I will post before and after pictures later today when I complete the task.

Snow in a house full of girls...

2011-01-10T15:14:00.003-05:00

In a house full of girls daddy's have to ride pink 4-wheelers..

He loves his girls and has embraced all things pink and girly.

No Snow Days....

2011-01-09T19:53:00.002-05:00

Yep in this house we don't have snow days. That is the beauty of homeschooling is that we can save the day for when it is nice and warm outside. So instead my girls will be reading out of Matthew 7, memorizing Matthew 5:16, Reading about Nate Saints life (amazing man of God he is), studying the rain forest, and writing a paper on a spider monkey. Now all of that won't happen tomorrow but we will begin tomorrow. Oh and Anna will be working on her reading skills.

I am really not that mean. I will let them play in the snow and we will complete our school work in the breaks they take to get warm. Pictures of the snow fall to come!

All About Her...She is 1

2011-01-06T18:29:00.002-05:00

I really can't believe that our baby is 1. She is such a fun little person and love bug. God knew what he was doing when he gave us her and blessed our family with her. As if I ever doubted his plan when it comes to her. She LOVES being a part of the girls schooling and plays with toys while we are reading out loud and even listens. Some more fun things about her.

She isn't real interested in walking, crawls all over the place though.
She loves to talk, squeal, and laugh.
Words she says, Abby, Dada, Mama, Thank you (more sounded), lily (our dog), bye bye, night night, and there are others.
She uses the signs for all done, more, please, eat, and thank you we are working on.
She also does her hand in front of her nose when you say "Shew wee!"
She has TONS of hair and it is hard to tame at times.
She doesn't meet a stranger.
Everyone LOVES her and loves to be around her when they meet her.
Dances all the time, if music is on she dances.
She loves her ball popper and if she is fussing we can turn that on and she will stop immediately and start dancing. That makes us all laugh.

Her sisters love her so much and spoil her rotten along with many others in her life.

Oh and she is my first child that I haven't insisted on having a sippy cup at 1. Yes she still takes a bottle. I gotta remember how to switch her over, I don't remember it being this hard.

The Baby Turned 1

2011-01-01T20:42:00.001-05:00

Yes she turned one December 16th. I will post a good post all about her and her first year this week. She is such a blessing to our family and so much fun, can't wait to share more about her with you all.

Nutcracker Week

2010-12-02T13:31:00.004-05:00

This week is insanely busy. I have an 8 year old daughter that dances 3-5 days a week and my 5 year old dances 1 day a week. Well they are both in the Nutcracker and dance for Covington Regional Ballet. Abby is an actual part of the company and Anna is a "public" cast. Well this is a CRAZY week. Abby has to at the school theater where they perform every night this week from 4:30-8:30. Anna has to be there a part of the time but ends up staying the whole time b/c my husband is an amazing daddy and helps back stage with props, back drops, and curtain. So tonight is dress rehearsal, tomorrow the 4th grade from the public school comes to watch a small part of it, and the actual shows are Saturday night and Sunday. I will post pictures for you all to enjoy later.

11 Months Old and Not Much Cuter Than This

2010-11-16T10:16:00.003-05:00

She is a cute little bug in this house. She keeps things lively as she has LOTS of energy and laughs a lot. She is my loudest baby I have ever had. The other two were super quiet babies and sometimes easy to forget about. Yeah well Addi Ruth won't let us forget she is around. We can't put her down to crawl unless we have vacuumed the floor over 3 times b/c if there is a speck of anything (even carpet hair) she will put it in her mouth. She is great fun though and makes our whole family laugh and play all the time. She loves her sisters with a passion and they love her back. She squeals anytime they are around and cries anytime they leave the room. They even like to put her in boxes and play house. Haha!

It is hard to believe her 1 year birthday is coming up. Time has gone by so fast. We are so thankful the Lord chose us to be her family. She has really been a blessing and so much fun.

New things:
Pointing at things
Crawling
Trying to repeat lots of words but still won't say mama.
Cut 4 teeth and the 5th is on the way. (The other two were a year at least before they cut teeth)
Loves baths with her sisters.
Eats table food, loves peas, broccoli, avocado

Finally and a Play List

2010-11-15T18:39:00.002-05:00

Well we are finally getting settled into our new place and it is feeling like home though I know we won't be here for a super long time. This is until we find where we really want to be and for the right price. Homeschooling was hard during the move but we still managed to do it everyday. The girls are learning lots and Anna is finally reading and by the grace of God I taught her.

Listen to my new play list. Some of my favorites.

Still No Internet

2010-10-20T11:28:00.001-04:00

Yep still no Internet here at the new place. As soon as it is up I will be back. I have a lot to say. Lol!

Tap, tap, tap is this thing on?

2010-10-11T09:52:00.003-04:00

Just wondering if I still have followers out there? ;) I am writing a couple of posts right now about life and our baby girl. She needs an update b/c she is doing lots of new things.

We Are Moving: The Debt Curse

2010-10-01T09:32:00.003-04:00

Yep you heard that right we are moving. We have decided to rent a house for a while, sell this one, and just pay off debt. Yes we are cutting our house payment and just going to save. Mark and I in the past haven't made the wisest financial decisions and we have tried to make some and then we get to a point of being OK and make stupid decisions again. Well we are tired of that life. We are now going to just pay off debt (hospital bills mainly) and save, save, save. The great thing is we really don't have a ton of debt but the debt we do have bugs us thankfully that was b/c of wise decisions and accountability from before. It could be a whole lot worse. If we plug away at it we can have it paid off in a year hopefully.

So what are we going to do to make sure we stay on track this time? Yes we are going to ask some friends to join is in Dave Ramsey's class. Then we are going to continue to meet with these friends, we have learned it is a lot easier to be disciplined when you have people marching along side with you.

If you feel led say a prayer for us that we can get this house sold quick and move forward in our plans to be debt free, give money away, and save.

Because She is So Darn Cute!

2010-09-18T10:48:00.002-04:00

She had her hair up in a "spout" with a bow all day. We took it out and she looked like a little rooster. We couldn't resist taking her picture and she knows she is cute. Can you tell?

Elkmont 2010: Camping

2010-09-16T09:53:00.009-04:00

Every year for the past 3 years and from here on out we go as a family to Elkmont, TN. This has been the best year so far. We had such a great time with our family and friends. About 20 - 30 families from our church go up there for this fun filled weekend. I would love to share some (OK a lot) pictures with you.

This is our campsite.

The kids love tubing there. This is the oldest and one of her friends riding down the river.

This was my first year getting to walk part of Cades Cove. A lot people bike ride the whole thing. We just walked a small portion.

Enjoy the few I put up. I will post more later.

I will be back

2010-08-23T10:43:00.001-04:00

I haven't forgotten about my blog. I have been so busy homeschooling, trying to get used to our new schedule, and life in general. I have lots of pictures I want to share with you and will be back hopefully today or tomorrow to post pictures.

This Man

2010-07-27T11:24:00.004-04:00

I can't say enough about him. He is the man the Lord gave to me and he choose me. We have been through a lot and have always worked it out. Our marriage is better than ever. Yes that is 11 1/2 years later. I love him. What do I love about him? Well lets make my list

1. He loves the Lord.
2. He love me.
3. He loves his girls.
4. He is an amazing daddy.
5. He works hard to provide for us.
6. He is a rock when things are hard.
7. He is good looking.
8. He 100% supports our homeschool journey and even looks forward to helping.
9. He loves to camp we have found what we love to do together.
10. He has a heart for adoption.
11. He has the amazing gift of service and doesn't need any recognition. In fact he
doesn't like it.
12. He can play the piano beautifully.
13. He has a beautiful voice.
14. He is always there for us as a family.
15. He puts our family first.

Doesn't he sound amazing? Well he is. I love you honey!

New Look?

2010-07-23T10:31:00.002-04:00

I think I may change the look of our blog. I like girly b/c well, I am the mom to 3 girls. LOL! I love having girly looks b/c well, I am girly. It is pretty girly now but I was on "The Cutest Blog On The Block" and I am loving some of the new looks they have. Off to check things out.

Going To The Beach

2010-07-17T07:59:00.002-04:00

And we are off! Every year we go to St. Simons. We are on our way down there as we speak. I look forward to posting pictures of the girls playing in the sand and pool. See you when we get back. Oh and maybe an educational thing or two. ;)

I Miss My Girls

2010-07-08T10:08:00.002-04:00

Well my kiddos went to spend the night with granny last night and I thought I would welcome the break this morning and I am not loving it. My house is TOO quiet. I miss them terribly. I am sure when I get to the lake in a little while with my friend we will have a great time and I will have a good distraction as we both needed a little time away but man this morning my house is empty. I can't wait to see them tonight.

First Day of True Plannin'

2010-07-04T11:37:00.003-04:00

Well I am taking today and spending the day really beginning to plan out our year. It is very exciting. I have the foundation calendar set up. I put the Public School calendar on my calendar so that I will know when my daughter's friends will be out of school. We will continue our schooling on a lighter schedule during the breaks as I really enjoy taking some breaks and feel like the girls will need it too.

I am about to begin planning our first month of school in my awesome "The Well-Planned Day" planner.

Two of my Three are Gone This Week...

2010-06-28T19:00:00.002-04:00

The oldest two are off to camp this week. My oldest will be staying the night there and my middle one gets to go to day camp. The oldest is going to Kingdom Camp (only 30 minutes away) and she is so excited that this is the first year she gets to stay the night. They have to have completed 2nd grade to stay the night so it is a right of passage for the kids that go to our church and a real big deal. Then my middle one gets to go to the day camp at the same place so I do get to see my oldest every day when I drop off and pick up my middle one. It makes her being away a little easier. My middle one just turned 5 and she still likes her naps to needless to say she came home worn out but so excited.

So what do I do with all this time on my hands? Yep you guessed it, sew. The baby is still napping 2 times a day so there is plenty of time for me to do some sewing. I am going to make the girls 4th outfits to wear this weekend. I am also going to start planning our school year out, I figure that it is never to early to start planning. I will also start my list of things we will need for the year. I am getting excited.

She is 6 Months

2010-06-16T17:12:00.003-04:00

I can't believe she is already 6 months old. She is rolling all over the place. Sitting up assisted. She is also pushing up on her arms and on her knees but not at the same time (thankfully). She is loud, she squeals and screams with delight and it is all the time. It is funny to watch her big sisters get frustrated with her about that but I remind them that it could be she was screaming and crying all the time. She is a very happy baby and rarely fusses. If she does it is because she wants to eat or sleep. She sleeps through the night (has been since 12 weeks old) and takes 2 naps a day. She is also my first baby with lots of hair. Her favorite toy to play with is a musical sea horse that lights up and she loves the linking rings. She is such a blessing to our family and we are all so thankful the Lord has blessed us with her.

Today She is 8

2010-06-11T21:33:00.004-04:00

I am going to post the same kind of post on my oldest daughter as I did my middle one. She is so very tender hearted, she already has a heart for the lost, she loves the Lord, she is smart, and she is an amazing dancer. She is just like me in so many ways. I am not such an amazing dancer and I learn from her heart for the lost so very often. Some of her favorite things.

Color: Yellow
Favorite Food: Fish
Favorite Book: Bad Kitty
Favorite TV Show: Garfield
Favorite Song: Here I Am To Worship
Favorite Movie: Shirley Temple
Favorite Thing To Do: Dance
Favorite Thing To Do With Daddy: Go out to eat on date
Favorite Thing To Do With Mommy: Go shopping
Favorite Drink: Dr. Pepper (She doesn't get it much...lol)
Favorite Toy: Kitty (from build a bear)

I should have posted this on her birthday but she was out of town. So here it is today.

Mixed Emotions

2010-06-03T10:11:00.003-04:00

OK now that school is out for the summer I am getting ready to enter my first year of homeschooling my older girls. I am very excited about this new adventure in our lives but gosh it just hit me and I am SCARED! I sat down this morning to figure our what I still need and WOW. I am going to be teaching my middle girl how to read this year and honestly that scares the pants off of me. LOL! So I am just being real here and I need to get my stuff together and my plan. I am excited about the freedom this year is going to provide but I need to get there first.

Comments Fixed

2010-06-02T10:53:00.001-04:00

OK I know some of you had stated you couldn't leave comments. I have now fixed it so feel free to comment away.

Today She Is 5...

2010-05-14T20:25:00.003-04:00

A few things I love about her and where she is in this stage of her life and then some answers to questions I have asked her.

I love that she is funny, a free spirit, and keeps our family laughing. She is very passionate when she makes up her mind about something. One minute she may love you and the next doesn't want to be bothered with you. If you call her on the phone she will say what she wants to say and is finished whether you are or not. She is loved by everyone she meets because she is so much fun and always has a smile to offer and usually a funny word. If you don't want to know the truth about something don't ask her because I promise she is going to be honest with her answer. She is a snuggler and loves lots of hugs and kisses, in fact she needs them. I love you sweet girl and I am so privileged to be your mommy.

Favorite color: Pink
Favorite food: Hot dogs, no bun
Favorite book: Strawberry Shortcake
Favorite TV show: Dora the Explorer
Favorite song: Here I am to Worship
Favorite movie: Tarzan
Favorite thing to do: Play outside with sissy
Favorite thing to do with Daddy: He lets me do all kinds of things that I like.
What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? Play
Favorite Drink: Chocolate Milk
Favorite Toy: Her silky

"If it isn't illegal, immoral, or hurting someone...

2010-05-11T09:40:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you have to overlook it." I tend to be heavy handed when it comes to discipline and I am really working hard on giving more grace. Well I heard Mark Hamby speak on parenting and it was some of the most powerful talks on parenting I have ever heard. I could relate to him as he used to be heavy handed to. I want to parent to the heart of the matter. Well he said that quote and boy did it ever ring true to me. I have started putting it into practice. Wouldn't you know the minute I walked through the door the day of hearing his talk I was "tested". LOL! My daughters first words out of her mouth to me were, "Mommy, you are going to be mad at me." Well I just kept repeating, "If it isn't illegal, immoral, or hurting someone else sometimes you have to overlook it." Well she lost a pair of $12 shoes. I was able to not get mad and overlook it. I think she was so baffled by me not getting mad that she brought it up again later that night to make sure I heard her. Haha! He mentioned the book "Shepherding A Child's Heart" and I need to read it again b/c it has been a very powerful book.

Third Grade Curriculum Bought

2010-05-01T15:56:00.002-04:00

Well the Lord is faithful to answer when we ask. I have been praying about curriculum and had thought I was going to do one section of My Father's World but really wanted to do a different one. I went to the used book sale and what do you know, they had the one I really wanted to do on sale there fully complete except the couple of things they had written in. I was so excited. We are going to be doing Exploring Countries and Cultures this year. I can't wait! I got all the cool books and we are going to get to learn about some amazing missionaries this year. Can you tell I am ready to go? We are also going to be doing Saxon Math 3rd grade and Bob Jones for grammar/writing. No spelling or Latin yet but I am pretty sure we will be using Latin for Children.

As for the little one who will be starting Kinder I am pretty sure we will be using My Father's World for her also. I have been going back and forth on a few things for her but have come to realize that I just have to make a decision. So I will use that with her. We will also do Math U See this year to start off her Math b/c I want it to be fun for her and she is my hands on girl.

I hope you enjoy following us. I will discuss the talks in my next post. I was tested to put into practice what I learned the minute I walked through the door when I got home yesterday. LOL!

Choosing Curriculum

2010-04-29T14:31:00.001-04:00

Who knew it would be so fun, hard, overwhelming, and satisfying at the same time. I can't wait to go to the conference tomorrow and narrow down some of my choices and get my thoughts in order as I approach this coming year. I have a plan of attack of booths I need to go spend some time in and seminars I want to attend. Pray for wisdom as I do believe this is such a great responsibility that I will have the opportunity to carry out. I am thankful I at least have some things narrowed down.

Test

2010-04-29T14:20:00.000-04:00

This is a test post to see how this is going to work.