First day of school

School is back in session at our house.  I'm not sure how long our summer was, but I always wonder if it's the "104 days of summer vacation" that Phineas and Ferb sing about.  If you don't have young kids, you probably aren't familiar with this cartoon, but feel free to ask Drew and Knox about it anytime.  They can tell you all about it.  :)

 

Ever since getting home from the FPEA Homeschool Convention in May I have been thinking about and planning for our upcoming year.  We have many changes taking place.  One of the biggest changes has to do with Ellis.  Last year Ellis was still taking a morning nap and we were able to get a lot of school done uninterrupted.  Davis was pretty good about entertaining himself, or working on a few preschool activities with us at the table.  This year will be different since Ellis doesn't nap until after lunch.  So while I will primarily be working with Drew and Knox, Ellis and Davis will also be with us.  This means there will be a few more "breaks" scheduled than in the past.  :)

 

The reason I am getting school started a little earlier this year is because I have created a schedule for Drew and Knox to follow.  I want to have an opportunity to try it out and make adjustments before our co-op begins next month.  Also, this will allow us to take some days off here and there when needed.  Our co-op plans several fun field trips we can participate it, but I am also learning that there are just times when we need a school holiday. :)

 

I try to make the beginning of school a special event so that the kids look forward to it.  I know many people who do year round school, and that is definitely something I would consider.  For now, I like the traditional schedule of taking the summer off.  But, doing that does create somewhat of a shock when it's time to get back on our school schedule again.

 

One of the things I like to do to add some excitement to our upcoming year is to allow the kids to look through their curriculum before starting school.  Our first official year homeschooling we used a curriculum called Sonlight, which is filled with fun and colorful books.  I remember when it arrived in a big box and the kids loved getting to look through and discover these new books.  So this year I divided up each of their school books and included some fun items I picked up at the convention, Target, and other random places.  Each child had a box filled with their specific school items and we allow time for them to discover what will be a part of their upcoming school year.  They love this and it helps to get them excited for the first day.  They think about which book they want to read, or what new manipulative they may get to use.  Drew and Knox both got new Lego accessories to create gladiators and Lego bible movies created by a homeschool dad and his sons.  Davis got several fun workbooks, stamps, and an Imaginets kit.  Ellis got some lip-gloss (that girl already loves make-up), sticker books, triangle shaped crayons, and a few other treats.

 

Included in our new school schedule is a reading time, so I took a little corner and put a bean bag and some baskets.  One basket is for the big boys, and one is for Davis and Ellis.  I am intending to change out a few books here and there each week to add to the excitement of looking in their baskets.  I bought several books at the homeschool convention so I'm going to try and release them a few at a time.  Also, I thought they could put a few of their library books in there to choose from.

 

 

The night before school we present the kids with a goody bag that is filled with some new school items like notebooks, pencils, scissors, etc.  Several years ago I found these really cute printables on line that we use to mark what year of school the kids are in.  It's what we use for their first day of school picture. :)

 

Here they are exploring their goody bags.

 

 

On the back of their school year sign Andy and I write a personal message to each of them about the upcoming school year.  Andy is usually the one to read it to each of them.  Even though Drew can read it himself, he said he wanted Andy to read it to him, which I thought was sweet. :)

 

Today was our official first day, and as you can see it's not unusual for us to school in our pj's.  ;)  I am trying a new system this year for the little ones where I am giving the older boys a "buddy" for the day.  I thought about making a permanent buddy, but I think it will be good for them to take turns having an opportunity to spend more time with both of the littles.  Today Knox was Ellis's buddy and he helped her do things like get toothpaste on her toothbrush, bring her juice to breakfast, and sharpen pencils (plural).  Today Ellis discovered our electric pencil sharpener.  :)  Drew helped Davis with several things, including a new counting bear activity book, which they worked on so that I could have some time to work one on one with Knox.  Hopefully this will be a way to allow the littles to have more interaction with us during school time, but also a way to allow me to have some teaching time with Drew and Knox.

 

I am so excited about this upcoming school year.  The Lord has been opening my eyes to some areas that I am hoping to work on.  One of them is to be more present with my kids.  In the past I have definitely allowed distractions to keep me from being "all there" with my kids.  I'm the first to admit that school days can be long, especially if you don't leave the house, but I am trying to minimize some of the things that were helping me to "escape" when the day got to be too long.  I've been praying and asking the Lord to reveal to me the things that I need to get rid of and to not just reveal them to me, but to take away the desire to spend my time on certain things.  Maybe I'll blog about that later.  :)  For now, I'm finding that He is answering those prayers and I am excited to see what this year has in store for us.  As I wrote on each of the kids school signs...."I am so happy that I get to be your teacher".  I really mean that.  It's a gift and a blessing that I don't want to take for granted. :)

 

 

 

June Birthdays

 In June we had two very special birthdays.  First, Ellis turned 2! 

 

Here she is the morning of her birthday enjoying her birthday breakfast.

 

 

Here she is enjoying her morning birthday show. :)

 

 

We decided that it would be fun to invite all of her friends to a local cake shop to celebrate with cupcakes.  We had a great time and the cake shop was so great about letting us hang out, eat our cupcakes, and open presents.  I highly recommend this as a low stress birthday party idea. 

 

Here is Ellis as we were singing Happy Birthday.  :)

 

 

This is a very blurry picture of all Ellis and her friends at the cake shop.  It's a picture of a picture, but if you squint you can make out some faces. : ) Ellis (and we) have such wonderful friends!

 

 

 

Here is Davis enjoying his cupcake.  He thought it was a great birthday party idea.  :)

 





Later that afternoon we had gymnastics and Andy was able to get off of work early to join us.  Here he is helping Ellis on the rings.  I'm usually in this "mommy and me" class alone with Davis and Ellis, so it was nice to have an extra set of hands.



 

After that we enjoyed a birthday dinner at Cracker Barrel and headed home to finish opening cards and gifts.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate Ellis!

 

 

 

 

 

Ten days later it was time to celebrate Knox turning 6!  Knox is also known as Nonni-Bear.  He is sweet and tender hearted and loves to cuddle.  He is not someone who needs a lot of, or any, alone time.  He always finds someone to buddy up with.  Usually that somebody is Drew.  They are definitely great friends.  Knox also loves sports and will tell anyone who cares to listen how much he loves the Gators.  He will sit and watch almost any sport with Andy.  If it's baseball he will find a bat and practice his swings while watching.

 

For Knox's birthday we decided to let him have a scheduled party at Chuck-e-cheese.  This is the first time we have ever "paid" to have a party on location.  It was pretty great!  We brought the cake, but other than that everything else was taken care of.  Our kids love getting to go to chuck-e-cheese and it's a fun place to catch up with friends since the kids are so entertained. 

 

 

Gone are the days, at least for now, of making the kid's birthday cakes, so they each get to go pick theirs out when the time comes.  Knox had a minute where he was tempted to choose a super hero cake, but in the end the Gators won out. 

 



 

Again, it was another wonderful day of celebrating!

 

As I was told by someone a long time ago,

 

The days may be long, but the years are short.

 

Birthdays are a good reminder of that, and a reminder to try not to sweat the small stuff.  I want to enjoy the moments with my children and hold on to the precious memories made.  If anyone sees me out and about with my kids, please remind me.  ;)

Together...

Last month Andy and I got the opportunity to go away together.  Since it's summer and my mom is off of work, she and my dad were able to come and take care of the kids so that we could enjoy a little vacation.  We looked at a few different options, but finally settled on one of our favorite locations called Watercolor (which is fairly close to Destin).  We decided to stay at the inn, which is on the beach and has a very homey feel to it.  It's not too large, but it's very nice and was perfect for the 2 of us. 

Here is a picture of our room and the view from the balcony.  The room was a good size and included space for a couch in front of the TV.  One night we checked out a movie from the downstairs library and did our best to watch it, but we both fell asleep.  It WAS past 9:00.  We are definitely not late night party animals. :) 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was our first night there.  We got to hang out with one of my high school friends Heather and her husband Phil.  They don't live far from where we were staying so they got a sitter and drove over to join us.  We had so much fun laughing and reminiscing and catching up!  Heather and I both have 4 kids and homeschool so we never run out of things to talk about.  Although, we don't need to talk about kids and homeschooling to find things to talk about.  Just ask our husbands. :)  Hopefully we will see them again soon!  Since they are both FSU alum we hope they will head our way for a game or two. 



 

After our first night there Andy and I still had two full days and nights to enjoy...and we did!  We quickly discovered the adult only pool and spent several hours a day there.  We would lay out, read books, order lunch, and when we got too hot we would hop in the pool.  The wait staff even brought us frozen grapes to cool down. : )  It was so peaceful and relaxing.  It was hard to pull ourselves away from this, but we did go on bike rides, kayaking, and found an ice cream shop to enjoy!  We also spent time at the beach, which was beautiful.

 

We also enjoyed our date nights trying out different restaurants.  Everything we ate was delicious!  I don't think there was a meal where we left anything on our plate. 

It was so nice to have uninterrupted time together.  When we are at home we try to do a good job of scheduling regular date nights, and with the busyness of kids and "life" we value this time together.  This trip was so special since we got to have so much time just the two of us.  We hope to get to do trips like this more often. (Are you reading this mom and dad?) ;)

While we were away the kids were having a BLAST with Mimi and Papa.  I don't know how my parents do it, but they seem to have an endless supply of energy and good ideas.  When we got home the kids couldn't wait to tell us all of the fun activities they got to do that week.  Each day Mimi would have a picnic packed and after swim lessons they would head out on a new adventure. 

Since July 4th is my mom's birthday we asked them if they could stay with us the rest of the week to celebrate.  One day we spent the day at the beach and had so much fun!  On my mom's actual birthday we had a girl's morning and went shopping and out to lunch.  And, of course celebrated that night with fireworks.  It was a wonderful week!

 

Praise God for the Good

Hopefully my blog entry today will end more positively than it begins.  I'm sure the title would lead you to believe I am full of happy thoughts and life is going smoothly.  In reality, I feel like I've been running on empty.  I'm drained, tired, and have been willing to share my woes to anyone with a listening ear. Just ask Andy. (poor Andy)  :)

Andy has had a busy year at work.  Usually, we make it through (survive) session and then we have a little time to catch our breath before he begins some summer travel.  Well, this year session ended on a Friday and by the following Thursday he was catching a plane for a business trip.  And to add salt to the wound, it was a trip to the Florida Keys!  He did not receive much of a loving send off to that one.  Especially when he texted me a picture of his view.  Well, 2 second later I sent him a picture of my view and told him I was not jealous at all.  ;)  Here's the side by side for you to judge for yourself. 

Anyway, that just seemed to be the beginning of his summer of travel.  There have been very few weeks where he has not had to travel.  Although, we did sneak in a wonderful get-a-way, which I'll hopefully get to blog about later.  :) So although it's summer and I don't have the pressure of getting schooling done, it's been fairly exhausting without having Andy around to help.  As I write this I think of how that is a praise.  Andy is such a wonderful daddy and very hands on, so when he is home he is a huge help!  I really do notice when he is gone because he does so much to help lighten the load.

It's also a challenge for me because I am fairly stubborn about not receiving or asking for help.  On a side note: this makes me think of Davis who is very much an "I can do it myself" personality.  I often wonder how God will use his life since he has such independent and determined characteristics.  It is exciting to me when I think about that. :)

I've realized that when I receive help I am so blessed by it.  A perfect example of this happened just the other night.  Our baby sitter, who is 13, is staying with us while her parents are out of town and she is a huge help!  She's someone who just jumps in and lends a hand without you asking.  A few nights ago Andy was attaching some DVD players in the car.  A few minutes later my cell phone rang and it was Andy.  He was calling me to tell me to hurry outside because he needed my help before he lost his patience.  :)  Well, I was in the middle of organizing Ellis' basket of clothes.  I didn't want to stop in the middle of doing that, but I could tell by Andy's tone that he needed someone sooner than later.  I asked our sitter if she would keep an eye on the kids and went to use all of my technological skills to come to the rescue. ;) Video players connected and ready, Andy and I headed back inside.  I did not see our sitter and figured she had gone upstairs.  I walked into our bedroom and found her sitting on the floor of our room surrounded by the stacks of Ellis' clothes that SHE had neatly organized for me.  It was a moment where I immediately gave praise to God for the help and a moment where He opened my eyes to realize,
                                         I don't have to do it all! 
                                         It doesn't have to be done my way. 
                                         I don't get an award for working hardest for the day.
                                         Others are willing and able to help!  
                                     
Being self dependent is draining and exhausting and quite honestly, lonely.  It makes me think of how we are the body of Christ and we each have different gifts and I want to allow others to use their gifts and others to allow me to use mine.  I desire community and in order to do that I need to open myself up to letting others walk along side me, especially in the busier seasons where I genuinely "need" others.  I know God uses these moments to reveal more about myself, and for that I'm grateful.  It once again reveals to me my deep need for Him.  When I try to do things without Him I eventually crash.  I need to come to Him to fill up in the morning, and as I am drained throughout the day, I need continued communication with Him to refill. 

Last week I joined an on line bible study and as a part of this weeks homework they asked you to "Praise God for the good".  There were several categories to get you started and I wanted to share part of my lists here in hopes that it might encourage you to begin your own list.  I have so much to praise God for, but I often find myself more caught up in what's going wrong than in what's going right.  As I began my lists it was just the perspective change that I needed.  I realized that some days it's just a matter of how I look at things....

 

Things that are good about my relationship with the Lord

-He loves me no matter what

-He's always there for me

-He created me

 

Things good about my marriage

-Andy is supportive

-Andy is still the one I would choose

-I enjoy being with Andy

 

 

Things that are good about my kids

-They're fun!

-They're loving!

-They're cute! : )

 

Things that are good about my friends

-They are encouraging

-They care to listen and really know how I'm doing

-They're fun!

PRAISE GOD FOR THE GOOD!



Boys Baptism

Last month Drew and Knox got baptized!  

Drew has been asking about getting baptized for a few years now, but I kept putting him off.  I thought I needed to "teach" him more about what is means and do a study with him about it so he really understood the significance of what he was doing.  So a few months ago when our church started advertising it's yearly beach baptism I thought about how I needed to get on it and begin teaching the kids about baptism so that I could "allow" Drew to get baptized.  Well, fast forward to the week of the baptism.  Andy was out of town and I decided to take the kids to Wednesday night church.  We had a guest speaker, a pastor from Ft. Lauderdale.  He was great!  He began teaching and I was really enjoying what he was sharing with us that night.  Then he began to talk about how we don't need to have complete understanding of everything before we walk in faith.  If God calls us to do something, we should do it!  He gave the analogy of how we don't stop eating because we don't understand all the intricacies of how our body uses and digests our food.  Well, I immediately thought of Drew having a desire to get baptized and thought, "who am I to stand in the way of what he feels led to do?"  So as soon as we got in the car and began to head home I said to the boys, "Who wants to get baptized Saturday?"  Quickly I got a "me" from Drew, but I also got a "me" from Knox, which didn't surprise me since they like to do everything together.  After hearing that pastor share, there wasn't a hesitation in my mind that we had 2 boys who would be getting baptized that weekend. 

The kids and I have talked about baptism in the past, about how it's an outward display of your faith, and that you're symbolizing your death to sin and life in Christ.  Sometimes I feel like I make things too complicated, when really the Gospel is simple.  I think about how Jesus said, let the little children come to me.  I never want to stand in the way of my children "coming to Him".  Sometimes I feel like I get so caught up in the extras that I miss the point.  I desire to know the "truths" that God has given us in His Word.  I don't want to get so distracted that I miss out on what God wants to share with me.  I was recently listening to a Pastor who was challenging his congregation to "eat" the Word of God before eating physical food.  He stated how important it is to fill up with Christ to begin our day.  I can certainly attest to that.  I can tell a difference on the days that I skip time with the Lord.  I am "stretched" and I quickly run out of steam. (and patience!!)  This pastor said that he reads until he bleeds, and by that he means he reads the Bible until the Lord burdens his heart in some way, whether it's a conviction or encouragement or whatever.  He said your time may be limited that day in the bible, but God will use whatever verses you read.  I have seen that to be true.  There have been times when I read something and didn't understand it, or didn't feel it was applicable to my life, and then later that day/week God uses those verses in my life or brings them to mind to share with a friend.  The Word is alive and completely applicable today.  I wonder why so many of us feel the need to look other places when we are struggling instead of simplifying and going to God.  It's so nice to know that in Him we have all we need. 

Well, back to that special day.  The baptism was wonderful.  After visiting and playing with other church families we headed up to a pavilion where we sang some worship songs and the boys got a special shirt.  On the front it said "I have decided" and on the back it said "no turning back".  The boys waited in line and when it was their turn they went out to 2 of our pastors, and together (with Andy standing with them) they were baptized.  It was a day for rejoicing indeed!

I'm back!!!!!

WOW! I can not believe that it's been almost 3 years since I have posted anything on my blog. A lot has changed in the last few years, but then again a lot has stayed the same. The biggest change has been the addition of our baby girl, Ellis Kate.

 

 Just a little side note about her. I had never been someone who "had to have a girl", but now that she's here I, of course, can't imagine our family being complete without her. The best way I have found to describe it is that the Lord knew the desire of my heart before I did. Which makes me think of what my favorite verse has always been:

                                               Delight yourself also in the Lord,
                                     And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
                                                                                   Psalm 37:4

When I was younger I believed that meant that if I was being an obedient child of God then He would give me what I wanted. :) As I've grown I have realized that if I delight in the Lord, His desires will become my desires.

  Anyway, I never understood how much joy I would have in a mother/daughter relationship and I feel like I am just at the tip of the iceberg in what's to come. My desire is to share that with a gentle spirit. I have many girlfriends who yearned for a daughter and were blessed with boys, and having both I have to say I believe there is something just as precious about a relationship between a son and a mom and I feel honored to get to help raise these young boys I have into men.

So, back to returning to blogging. I recently got off of Facebook and one of my biggest hesitations in doing so was that I would be unable to share pictures of the kids with our family. Aside from documenting our family life, I also want to have a place to share my thoughts and feelings, like a journal. I'm not even sure if anyone will be reading this, but I felt led back here and am excited to see where it leads.....until next time here's a few updated pictures from the past few months....