Updates, Updates, Updates

*School*

We're a little over 2 months in to our first official year of homeschooling now and things are going well. Its not exactly what I had envisioned, but somehow we're managing. Our days are looking like this:

B'fast

Chores

TV time

Snack & Bible story

Centers (They choose from Puzzles, Books, LeapPad, Blocks, Art, & Build-a-Word)

Circle time (This wk we're learning about letter D and continuing with our Fall theme, focusing on birthdays in spanish since Jared & my birthdays are this week)

Room time

Lunch

Story & Naptime for the boys (We're reading The Boxcar Children)

Book work for Rach (She's taking a break from the Bob books and working thru Dick & Jane; We went with the Kindergarten LifePac Math b/c the Mathusee Alpha seemed a bit over her head. She also does handwriting in her journal during this time)

Afternoon snack & Book basket turnover

Free time til Daddy gets home

I've actually learned (or started to learn) to give myself permission to not have the perfect day everyday and there is so much freedom in that!

*Baby #4*

I'm just over 14 wks along and so very glad to be in my 2nd trimester. This pregnancy has been the hardest of the 4 by far. I haven't been sick really, more just exhausted and uber-emotional. Headaches have been a big problem as well. We find out what we're having next month!

And so it finally begins...

The "it" here would be our official homeschooling journey. Technically, our journey began several years ago when we became parents. But little missy will enter kindergarten this fall, so to most of the parenting world, this would be the official beginning. I'm excited and scared all at the same time. We've been preparing for this moment for a long while, and now its finally here. The school room is set up for the most part, and Jared and I are meeting with the administrator of our prospective cover school, Heritage Academy, next week.

It still seems unreal to me that Rach will start kindergarten in a few short weeks. Since I'm her teacher, I figure I can set her schedule, so we're starting the day after Labor Day. I think its crazy that kids are going back to school this week. This is way too early for school to start.

I'm still working out our daily school schedule, but I have decided on what we'll be using as our curricula.

How to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons and the Bob books.

Math U See Primer

Five in a Row

Espanol para los chiquitos

I'm hoping I'm not being too ambitious here. I'm also hoping that I can remind myself to take time to enjoy this journey and not get so bogged down by all the details.

just a simple Q & A, right?

Jared is so faithful to lead family worship time for us each night. He's walking thru the Bible with the kids. After the Bible time, they recite verses, and then we all sing together. Anyway, after Jared tells the Bible story, he asks the children if they have any questions. Some nights they have a hard time sticking to the topic, but other nights their questions spark some amazing conversation. Here's a sampling of the things we try to tackle:

Rach: "Some times we do bad things and some times we do good things, so I was wondering , are we going to go to heaven or to hell?"

Rach: "How was Jesus able to do miracles when He wasn't even there, like when the soldier's little boy was sick?"

Noah: "How many more prays do we have before God puts a baby in your tummy, mommy?"

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I posed the question to Rach & Noah during supper tonight. They both have some pretty interesting career plans...

Rach: "mmm, I want to be a cheerleader."

Me: "for who?"

Rach: "mmm, for Auburn."

Me: "what do you want to do after that?"

Rach: "I want to be a doctor."

Guess we better start saving now for her med school.

Noah: "I want to be a football player for Auburn!"

Me: "What do you want to do when you get finished playing football?"

Noah: "What?"

Jared: "You can only play football for Auburn for 4 years. What do you want to do after that?"

Noah: "ummm, I'll be a soccer player!"

Rach: "And I can be a cheerleader for his soccer team."

Me: "So, you're going to be a doctor and a cheerleader?"

Rach: "yes."

Happy Birthday Noah!

Just a few of the best pictures from Noah's birthday party. They're definitely out of order, but I have yet to figure out how to do a good job posting pictures on blogger. Oh well..

Jared and I used some of the boxes we had already packed to make a treasure ship. I think it turned out pretty well.

See, even big boys love playing pirates!

Uncle Thias as the Dread Pirate Roberts handing out treasure rocks to all the kiddos. I got the idea for the treasure rocks from Family Fun magazine, which is a wonderful idea storehouse. The rocks are made with used coffee grounds, flour, salt, sand, & water. I just picked up a bunch of party favors from Party City and 'buried' them in the rocks. The kids had a great time breaking up the rocks, and we of course had a great time watching them.
The Dread Pirate Roberts! (Yes, we are huge fans of the Princess Bride.) Uncle Thias was such a good sport to dress up for the kids. He did a great job!

He was the cutest big boy pirate ever! And yes, I am biased. What a great and wonderful day!

A huge shout out to Publix for the yummy cake. My plan had been to make his cake, and I found a great one in Family Fun magazine. It was a cute and seemingly simple pirate hat cake. Well, it completely fell apart last night as I was trying to frost it. Let me just say that I had a bit of a come apart. Rach & I went scrambling to Publix this morning before 8 to beg the sweet ladies in the bakery for anything they could come up with. They were so incredibly gracious, and we were able to pick up Noah's cake in plenty of time for his party!

Here we go again...

So, we found out today that little man Noah is to have yet another surgery. Next Thursday, he'll have his adenoids removed as well as another set of tubes put in his ears. I understand that both of those procedures are routine and that Noah will be fine. As an aside, whenever a doctor or nurse uses the term, routine, I always think in my mind, "routine for who exactly?" I know I certainly don't deal with surgery every day. Am I the only person who wonders this? Sometimes I wonder if its the irrational mommy in me. Anyway, back to Noah. Dr. Goodson, an ENT at Brookwood, wanted to do a round of meds with Noah first before going the surgery route. Jared and I agreed until I talked with the pharmacist at Wal-Greens and found that these meds would cost over $200. Our outpatient surgery co-pay is only $150. Jared and I found ourselves in a bit of a quandry at that point. Dr. Goodson didn't seem to have a ton of confidence that the meds would work. Plus, Noah has been dealing with his hearing issues for several months already. We definitely didn't want there to be any permanent damage. And too, Dr. Goodson had said that the surgery would produce immediate results. We're opting to go on ahead with the surgery. I know I'll always second-guess myself but it is what it is at this point.

Poor guy! Noah is such a trooper though. God certainly blessed him with an incredibly contented heart. He has been through so much in his short little life already, but you would never know it to meet him. He is always just as happy and playful and loves life so much. I could learn a great deal from him.

Prayers for Haiti

Jared and I watched a couple of hours of CNN's coverage of the earthquake in Haiti the other night after the kids were in bed. I don't remember what our original purpose was in turning the TV on, probably to find a basketball game. But we flipped to CNN and were just silenced by the pictures and video of the utter devastation. There just are no words to describe what has happened to those people. I remember trying to pray and not being able to say more than, "Lord have mercy" over and over again. I didn't want to not be affected by what we were seeing and hearing. I also had this overwhelming desire to do something to help. So, I continued to pray for the lost (physically & spiritually) there in Haiti and also for opportunities to help. I saw in the paper over the next two days, two places here locally providing aid. Flipflops and whatnots in Cahaba Heights is collecting shoes and the Wesley Foundation at UAB is collecting items for Health Kits (uabwesley.org) Anyone know of any more?

Its nothing personal; its just football.

I love football, every level of football. I can't remember a time in my life when watching football didn't encompass the majority of my fall weekends. Growing up, my parents would take my brother and me to the local high school's games every Friday night. Saturdays were spent watching college football, and NFL games claimed our attention on Sundays. Recently, high school football has taken a backseat to the other two, but football is still very much a part of my life.

One of my favorite things about football is the rivalries. And there isn't a better rivalry in all of college football than the one found here in the state of Alabama. There are very few more emotionally charged moments than the last seconds just before kickoff in the Iron Bowl. Half of the fans clad in their burnt orange and navy blue, the other half clad in their crimson and white and houndstooth, all holding their breath, their eyes focused on the 22 college kids lined up on the field. It gives me chills just to think about it. For most folks in this state, this is the pinnacle of the entire football season. And regrettably, for some, the pinnacle of life.

I've spent my falls cheering for Auburn and jeering the Tide. My parents are the ones responsible for starting that trend. My mom is an Auburn alum, my dad a lifelong fan. They tell me that a friend of my dad once told me to say "those" words to my mom when I was 4 years old. Not knowing any better, I walked proudly up to my mom, bore a huge smile, and said...'Roll Tide.' A dark cloud passed over her face and she threatened to wash my mouth out with soap. Now, I had not a clue as to what those words meant, but I saw immediately that anything having to do with them must be very, very bad. To this day, I don't believe I've ever said those words aloud again. A lot has happened in the past 30 years, I've grown up, graduated from Auburn, gotten married, had 3 children, but my feelings toward that other school pretty much remain the same.

If pushed to give a reason for my disdain, I suppose that I could list one or two that might have some validity, such as any success for them hurts our efforts in recruiting. But if I'm going to be completely honest, the reason I don't like Alabama is simply because I love Auburn. The one naturally follows the other. It's a phenomenon that is admittedly impossible to explain to the casual sports fan or even to the rabid sports fan that is unfamiliar with life down here. But for me, it just is what it is.

So, this past week has left a horrid taste in my mouth sportswise. (It'd be nice to be able to lessen the pain through enjoying my Redskins, but alas, they're horrible.) I've had to watch as the University of Alabama claimed their "13th" national title. Several of my friends who are Alabama fans couldn't understand why I wouldn't "cheer for the SEC" or "support my state." But for me, when I see the University of Alabama, I don't see a fellow conference member or a neighboring school, I only see a bitter rival. Call it insane fanaticism if you will.

Fortunately its only football.

On the Streets of Philadelphia, pt 2

Does anyone else have a horrible time posting pictures on here? I can never get the spacing right for some reason, so vexing. Anyway, so there may or may not be more pictures of the trip. They are all up on Facebook though. Back to the trip highlights...

If you've ever driven for any length of time with young children in the car, you can just imagine what life was like for us during the 32 hours total we were on the road. We finally got the DVD player installed in working order while we were in Philly, so we had a movie marathon on the way home. Cinderella, Jungle Book, Winnie-the-Pooh, Shreks 1 & 2, and part of the Gospel of John got us to Chattanooga. The next day, Emperor's New Groove and most of the Pixar short films got us home. We made the trip up all in one day, and it truly was not as horrid an experience as one might think, even without a working DVD player. The one meltdown came from Isaac about 3 hrs outside Philly at 10-ish. I finally just had to take him out of the car seat and let him ride in my lap the rest of the way. He fell asleep as soon as I put him in my lap, and I was riding in the back seat.

Uncle Mike & Aunt Lynne were incredibly gracious to host us for a week. The children loved their little dog Jake, perhaps a little more than Jake wanted to be loved. We also spent a lot of time in the city with Nate & Hannah. We didn't do a whole lot of touristy things this trip, just an afternoon at the Franklin Institute. Mainly we spent our time hanging out with family and doing local Philadelphia stuff. I did have two delicious cheesesteaks while we were there, yum!

On the Streets of Philadelphia

Jared & I, along with Uncle Teve, took the kids up to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving. We left Birmingham the Friday before at 615 am, and after a "brief" layover in Knoxville to try and correct some Best Buy issues and various other pitstops, we arrived in Philly at 1-ish on Saturday morning. It was a wonderful time full of family, games, movies, junk food, walking, playing, and just about any other enjoyable thing you can think of.

Probably the most satisfying part of the trip to me was watching the children enjoy their cousins. As Nate mentioned at Thanksgiving dinner, its just wonderful to see another generation of family love each other. They had the best time!

Rachie celebrated her 5th birthday while we were up there. We all went ice skating during the day and then had dinner and her party that night. Aunt Lynne made her yummy Santa Fe soup, and we all had bday cookie afterwards. There were pink ballons, princess rings, pretty necklaces, and of course party blowers! Big fun for everyone!

A little perspective

Noah told me to put my iphone down the other day while we were in his room playing cars. Kyle & Natalie will undoubtedly get a big laugh out of that, but in my defense, I was planning a playdate for later in the day. Noah's request, or demand, did give me pause however and made me think how often the "most pressing" usurps the "most important." I thought about how often I make decisions without taking a step back to consider the big picture, how often I focus on the here and now without taking the time to consider the future. I began to ask myself some uncomfortable questions and found myself struggling with the answers. And yes, all this while racing matchbox cars and building lincoln log cabins for Polly Pockets. Just a sampling...

*Do I really have to say no when the children ask for one more story or when they ask if we can play car wash on the deck? Granted there are times when things such as those are just not feasible, but not often. They're young, and my time with them is limited. It shouldn't always matter whether I want to play or not. I imagine that the day will come years from now when I'll wish Noah would ask me to play football while I'm loading the dishwasher or Rach would want me to read a chapter book while I'm making supper.

*Is it really that big of a deal if Rach wants to wear her princess dress to basketball? Again there are times when its important to dress appropriate for the occasion, but not as often as we like to think. We're just heading to the gym to watch Jared play basketball with some guys from church. Does it really matter that my daughter is dressed as Cinderella? Or would it be better for me to let her enjoy picking out her clothes and getting ready all by herself?

*Am I going to remember a slightly offensive statement in 5 yrs? I can barely remember everything a friend and I talked about two nights ago, much less 5 years ago. And I'm pretty sure that my memory will get worse as I get older and not better. Wouldn't it just be better for me to go ahead and forget that that comment ticked me off now?

*Will it really bother me years from now that Jared didn't pick up his socks last night? Sure it frustrated the crap out of me this morning, but if something were to happen to him, would I care two straws about the stupid socks?

*Is that apology that I think I'm owed more important than that relationship? Again, if something were to happen to this person, would I honestly be still wanting an apology at their funeral? Wouldn't I much rather just be wronged and move on instead of letting a relationship be put on hold indefinitely?

*Do I know what kind of day the lady at the drive-thru had? Do I know all she has been through in her life? Regardless of that, am I even truly entitled to a polite greeting just because I decide I 'need' a frappachino?

*What will matter in the light of eternity?

Perspective is a very humbling, sobering thing. At least it is for me. I need those random reminders, such as a request to put my iphone down, to bring me back to that which is truly reality. So often I allow myself to become distracted with stuff that just does not matter. Lord, help me to see life, all of life, even the mundane everyday, thru the light of the cross.

Its that time of year again!

We took the big kids down to AU for the first game of the season! Big Thanks to Joe & Jennifer for watching Isaac for us! And Big Thanks to Kyle's mom's boss for the free tickets! And Big Thanks to the two unknown Tiger fans who handed free tickets to Rach (story to follow)! 

This might sound like a 'Duh!' statement, but experiencing an AU football game as a parent with small children is very different from experiencing an AU football game as a student or even as an alum without children. For me, this trip was quite nostalgic. It was almost surreal to walk through campus holding my daughter's hand...the whole time, my mind was rewinding back a few years to my days as a student. I found myself saying things like, 'your daddy and I had classes in this building' and 'I used to walk on the concourse every day' and 'there used to be a big eagle's cage right here.' 

Funny story ~ Before the game, we ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A on Magnolia. As we were leaving, three big guys were walking up the steps, and one of them had painted his chest orange. Noah zoned in on him and watched him walk all the way up the stairs. He was fascinated. As the guy walked by, Noah looked up at Jared and said, "Daddy, is that man wearing a shirt?"

"No, Buddy. He painted himself orange."

"He painted himself?"

"Yes, Buddy."

"Daddy, when I grow up, can I paint myself too?" We all thought that was too cute. Even the 'painted man' laughed and laughed.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day....

Rach practicing her 'I need tickets' pose. It worked! Jared put her up on his shoulders and within five minutes, two different fans handed an extra ticket to her. Yay Rachie!
Rach and her new doll, Auburn.

Look at me, Mommy!

Isaac has found some new favorite things to do ~ take a look...

Climbing up on the steps...

and pushing his airplane around the house...
and drinking out of a big boy sippy cup...
and riding around on his airplane...
and climbing into Noah's dump truck to wait for one of his siblings to push him across the floor.

Why I Tweet

I was asked recently about my affinity for Twitter over Facebook, and while both have their good points, I definitely lean toward Twitter. The main reason being that there are limits. My tweets can only be made up of 140 characters. In order to get my point across, I have to be direct. Theres no bush to beat around; theres not room for it. Granted, I'm not very good at this yet, but I'm trying. I'm beginning to see that being direct and to the point does not necessarily equal being rude and short. Its a very good lesson to learn. Not only does tweeting force me to be direct, but it also pushes me to be creative. I have to actually consider how I'm going to say what I want to say.  Theres only so much space. I have to think of various ways of communicating an idea before I can make it fit into the 140 character window. Thats another valuable lesson: Communicate, don't just talk. Another benefit to Twitter, theres no fluff. I don't have to weed through endless applications, updates, news feeds, etc. Not that there's not a time and place for all the meaningless time wasters on Facebook, there's just too much of them there. I get distracted. Every click leads to another click and before I know it, 30 minutes of my life is gone. I like logging in, seeing all the creative, direct tweets on one screen, and logging out. 5-10 minutes, and I'm done. With all that said, I am still a fan of Facebook, I'm just a bigger fan of Twitter.

Updates, Updates, Updates

I haven't blogged recently for several reasons, but the main one is because there seems to be so much to write about that I get overwhelmed just trying to condense it all into one readable (short) post. Life happens so quickly sometime, well most of the time, and I feel as though mine has gotten away from me over the past few months. I asked Jared when it was that our life turned into merely semi-controlled chaos, and he responded, 'probably around the time we first decided to put our house on the market.' That would have been back in January. Is it truly possible that my wheels have been spinning that long? Wow. So much has happened whether it be home repairs, or family drama, or projects, or family drama, or birthdays, or family drama, or vacations, or family drama that it would be near impossible to share it all. I'll make an attempt to hit the high points quickly yet thoroughly.

*Family Vacation to Foley*

The 5 of us spent several days down at my parents' house last week. Our new floors were being finished, and we needed to be out of the house because of fumes and mess. We had a great time and took lots of pictures, most of which are already online on Facebook. We spent one day at the beach (Love to the Freemans!) and it was full of moments that you live for as a mom. It was Noah and Isaac's first time to see the ocean (yes, i know Gulf Shores is not technically the ocean, but how do you explain the difference to preschoolers?) Noah wasn't too keen on the whole idea; he much preferred playing in the sand. Rach & Isaac, on the other hand, had a ball! It was really good to spend that much time with my parents as well. 

*House update*

As I said, the floors are finished! YAY! We have moved most of the furniture back in its place! YAY! We have a new dining room table and chairs! YAY! We have a new rug for the den! YAY! Most importantly though, my stress level has decreased dramatically and I feel like I have a home again! YAY! There are still a couple of minor finishing touches to be made, like touch-up painting the places were the "workers" sloshed stain on or scuffed up the base boards. And Jared still has to put up the new crown molding in the dining room. But other than that, it is ALL DONE! No, I haven't taken any pics yet...I don't plan too until everything is completely finished.

*Noah*

For those familiar with little man's tummy issues, we think that his reflux may be acting up again. He has had problems keeping his food down over the past few weeks, only after he eats fairly acidic foods, like spaghetti or pizza or even OJ. We started him back on his kiddie prilosec today so we're hoping that will take care of things. 

*Family Drama*

As you read at the beginning, theres been a ton. I'm not writing any details...just please pray for our (mine & Jared's) families. 

Hopefully, I'll have some time and patience to post some recent pictures. It just takes so long to do so on here that its hard for me to find the motivation to do it...esp when most folks can just click over to FB and see them all. (Sorry Trace & Kelley W!)

Happy Birthday Isaac (a week late)

So, my little (-est) man turned 1 last Tuesday, and I'm still having a hard time believing it. He has been 'baby Isaac' for so long that its difficult for me to think of him as anything other than my little cuddle bug. He's definitely not so much of a cuddle bug anymore though...the world is too fascinating and way more fun for him now that he can move around on his own. Another milestone this week~he took his first steps yesterday! YAY! I was so very excited b/c I actually got to see it! Somehow, even though I stay at home with the kiddos all day long, I missed Rach & Noah's first steps. Jared got to see those precious moments, and I'm actually glad b/c he doesn't get to see a lot of 'firsts.' Here are some of my favorite pics from Isaac's bday week:

Playing in the sprinkler moon bounce at the church on his actual bday...he had the best time crawling back and forth and fussed at me when I wouldn't let him in there with the daycare kids.

This is from his 2nd bday party at Gigi's house. I love his little face here! He was SO ready to get into his cupcake!
Isaac's dump truck cake. I made it using a cupcake kit from wal*mart, so fun!

This one was taken at his pool party on Friday after he had eaten his cupcakes.

Kitchen Update

Jared knocked out the wall between our kitchen and dining room last week....

The kids thought it was great fun to watch him and will still tell folks that 'Daddy broke the wall.' 

He has also removed the crown molding and chair rail in the dining room.

The trim and pantry & laundry doors in the kitchen that were once dark wood are now an antique white. 

The walls that were once red are slowly becoming a sprig of ivy.

Our hardwood floors are going to be put in over three weekends, which means that we'll have to be traveling three weekends in a row. I'm not too sure how I feel about that, but it is what it is and we'll find a way to roll with it. 

I've learned several things about remodeling projects thus far....

*time is always relative and schedules are always subject to change. this rule is helping me to grow my patience.

*there will always be some 'something' that must be done that you hadn't planned on. Because there was an outlet and light switch in the wall that we knocked out, jared and his dad are having to rewire that whole side of the kitchen.

*the folks at home improvement stores are not always the most helpful nor the most diligent of workers. 

*my husband has many hidden talents. it has been amazing to me to watch jared become quite the DIY-er. theres not much he can't do around the house. 

Doing a little painting....

So, after all the belly-aching I've done about painting trim, Jared and I have begun to do just that. With all today's rain destroying his 'hopes' of doing some more landscaping, Jared brought up the paint brushes and cans from the basement. The kids are playing in their makeshift fort in the keeping room, and we are saying good-bye, slowly but surely, to the dark wood trim in our kitchen. Its actually easier to do when we're not concerned about any errant paint strokes. Its only a matter of time (hopefully a short amount of time) before we get around to painting the walls and laying hard woods, so why fuss with painter's tape? Very freeing!

Also, I've decided that the size of the perfect house for a family is all relative, no pun intended. A couple of family members have hinted to me (and I'm sure a great many more feel) that we may be out-growing our little house, and that if we decided to add a 4th little one to the brood, we would definitely have to move immediately. To that I say, pooh. I'm falling more and more in love with our house with every improvement we make. What does it matter if we're a tad cozy?  

Stream of Conciousness...

I, like thousands of others, watched the season premiere of Jon & Kate Monday night. I don't think that I could express my opinion of what has happened to this family better than one of my friends in her recent blog post, so heres the link:

http://thevks.blogspot.com/2009/05/call-to-prayer.html

Our home's listing expired this wknd, which takes it officially off the market. I was amazed to receive 3 (yes 3) letters/postcards from various realty offices in the mail today offering their services. Does this marketing idea ever drum up business? I would think most folks who take their house off the market have a good reason for doing so and already have an alternative plan in place. Perhaps not...

I've decided, well almost decided, that I'm going to make an effort to begin following major league baseball. I absolutely love football and basketball. And in the past when these two seasons have wound down, I've found myself struggling to get thru the summer, sportswise. I used to watch the Braves every single night when I was younger, thanks to TBS. It wouldn't take a whole lot for me to get excited about baseball again. Just need a team to follow and cheer for. I would go back to the Braves, but Jared pretty much hates everything associated with that team. (So do his brothers.) So, I'm on the look out for another option....

Resolution ~ Bloom where you're planted.

Jared and I have decided that we're going to stay in our little house for a while longer. Several reasons behind this decision...

*1*  we should be able to pay off our mortgage in 5 years...thats a huge draw.

*2* we haven't found a house that we just love. we found several that we liked and even made a couple of offers. nothing just grabbed us as a must-have house though.

*3*  we're planning to home school for the first couple of years so we don't need the school systems yet.

*4* (and this was the kicker for Jared) Several folks were laid off from Protective last week. Now, Jared has no reason to think that there will be another round of layoffs or if there is that he'd be included, but then again, neither did any of the people who were involved in the first round.  

At any rate, I'm okay with the decision which is an answer to prayer. If I had known that this would be the ending to our house-hunting story a month ago, I would have become very angry and bitter. But God did a work in my heart, and I am content with what He has given to us. 

We are planning some fun projects for our little house that I'm really excited about. We're shopping for hardwoods for the den, dining room, and kitchen. We're also hoping to knock out the wall between our kitchen & dining room making the two into one big room. Its exciting! The whole family went to Lowes this afternoon to pick out light fixtures and outlet covers. Its amazing how little things such as those can change a room. I have a feeling that Lowes & Home Depot are going to become two of my favorite stores really soon!