"Gingerbread" Houses

When I was a little girl, either 6 or 7, I was sleeping over at my mom's best friend's house. She made some amazing gingerbread cookies, complete with icing and candy. Later that night I came down with a stomach bug and well, let's just say my love for gingerbread was short lived.

Last night we made our own gingerbread houses - but we used graham crackers (still can't be around real gingerbread... bleh!), icing, and leftover Halloween candy. The kids had SOOO much fun! Here's a picture of Doodle Bug beginning her construction.

Here's a picture of Little Man's contsruction.

Here is Lulu's construction.

And here are the final products:
Buddy Boy

Lulu's flat top design:

Doodle Bug's house kept caving in, so she made a collapsed gingerbread house.

Finally is Little Man's house, complete with a river and some rocks.

We have enough graham crackers and frosting left over to make at least two more sets of houses, so I'm sure we'll be doing this again in the next few weeks. :) Who knows, maybe I'll have them work together to make a giant gingerbread house (that'll be interesting).

Life changes in a moment

My life changed in a moment on October 17th when I got a call from my mom with some bad news. My father passed away during the night - not expectedly.

He suffered a series of strokes in 2007 and had surgery to clear up his artery just before Christmas. During the surgery it appears that some plaque was dislodged and caused a more severe stroke. He woke up unable to speak or to move his arms and legs. After a few months of rehab, he was able to come home (just in time for Lulu's birthday trip to Disney World). His mobility steadily increased, but never fully returned. He was, however, able to return to his beloved golf. He no longer scored under 90 on his favorite courses, but still did amazingly at around 100.

He grew slightly more fragile as the years went on, but that comes with age and with not fully recovering from the strokes.

The weekend of October 8th, I was suffering from a bad cold, so a planned one night sleepover turned into a two night event with all four of my children. They had the BEST time. The following Wednesday, we found out my dad had the flu. He wasn't feeling all that well, so I called to check in on him a few times.

He missed Lulu's soccer game that next Saturday and was feeling a little worse. Sunday night I spoke with my mom, she was going to take Dad back into the doctor to see how they can help him feel better. Around 11:00 that night, he took a turn for the worse and my mom was in for a traumatic night. He passed away, at home, around 12:15 Monday morning, about 15 minutes before the paramedics arrived.

It doesn't sting quite as severly as it did that first week, but I stil miss him dearly. Wishing I could hug him one more time, tell him I love him one more time, or watch him smile and laugh at my silly children one more time.

I try to hold onto the many wonderful memories I have of him - as a father, a man, and as an amazing grandfather. My children talk of him often, remembering all the fun things they were able to do with him. We still cry, and it still hurts. But I'm glad to have these memories to hold on to.

If you're dad, or mom, are still around. Give them an extra hug tonight. Tell them how much you love. Enjoy each day God gives you with them.

I'm now officially a soccer mom

I really try to update this more than once a month, but life's been busy (as usual) so here's an update.

The school year has started and I've found two amazing math worksheet sites that I wish I knew about years ago. They are Smiley Face math and using our zoned schools website - they have math worksheets up for each grade and they're fantastic! The kids have smiley face and star (for the zoned school worksheets) charts where we plot out how many smileys or stars they earn for their worksheets. They've LOVING it! Little Man is actually almost finished with his kindergarten math book. He breezes through pages and pages each day and even asks to do more. Thanks to having two older sisters, he learned most of this math when he was 4 - the only thing he's really getting out of his math book now is how to properly write the numbers. So we'll be purchasing the 1st grade math book for him next month - I'm so proud of him!

Doodle is doing MUCH better in her math as well - I think it's mostly do to the smiley face and other worksheets we've found. I raced her in addition problems the other day and she only missed one problem (out of 20+) - and that was only because she forgot to regroup. The only thing we really need to focus on now is memorizing her multiplication facts. She already knows TONS of them, but struggles with the 6s, 7s, and 8s - so she has this mental block. I realized that our School House Rock DVD has multiplication songs, so we've been trying to watch those a few times a week. The other kids are actually learning their tables as well and go around the house singing "8 times 8 is 64" all the time :)

Lulu has decided to play soccer this year. Well actually, my mother and aunt decided she SHOULD play soccer after visiting Mississippi last Christmas and showing some excellent skills on the field. Her first game was on Saturday and she did a decent job. It's much more fast paced than soccer - so no time to chase butterflies or pick flowers. She got to kick the ball in a few times and during the second half of the game, actually went after the ball a few times. Now, there were two occassions when the ball game directly at her and she threw up her arms for protection - but hey, she's learning :) She also made a friend at the very first practice - her name is Ava and the two of them are just precious. Only down side is, the first two quarters they played together and were more concerned about talking on the field than playing the game - silly girls - no idea where they got that from :)

Buddy Boy is now three years old and is learning his letters. Yesterday at church we were walking into the sanctuary (it's labeled 'auditorium' above the door) and he looked up and said "Mama! An A, an A!" So far he's loving it. This week we're working on B and Little Man is having fun teaching him all the things that begin with B. It's so nice to have all of these little helpers.

Our fifth year

This is our fifth year of official homeschooling - I cannot believe it! What a way we've come. We've learned so much about each other, about our teaching methods, about our children's methods, about how to work even better together. It has been SUCH a beautiful journey.

As with any journey, we have our ups and downs. Some weeks are just wonderful - everyone is in a good mood, the lessons go well, we have lots of fun with our special units and crafts, the house is clean (mostly), we aren't exhausted - I LOVE those weeks. Then we have those nasty little weeks that creep in where someone's not feeling well, or we're unusually tired, or school becomes more of a chore than a joy. I do not love those weeks. But hey, they make the better weeks even more sweet don't they? Plus, it's through those 'blah' weeks where we become refined, refocused, and redisciplined. Count it all joy when you encounter various trials. Count it all joy.

We're beginning the 7 weeks of 4 birthdays this weekend. Doodle turns 9!! I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday I was holding my beautiful, cheesy baby girl and seeing her eyes just bore into my soul. It's been such a joy to watch her grow up. I thank the Lord for the years we've had and pray we have many more to come.

Buddy turns 3 the following week. A few weeks ago I was mentally going over my pregancy with him - all of the ups and all of the very many downs. From April 1 to his birthday, September 4, we had many emotional struggles - almost every appointment in fact. It started with my blood work coming back abnormally and having to be rushed into the doctor - they were afraid either he had died, there were two of him, we were much further along, or I had gestational diabetes. After a tearfilled ultra sound it was confirmed he was alive, there was just one, and the due date was fine - but he wasn't large enough to rule out down syndrome or spina bifida (two other things that could result in the abnormal blood work). I would have to have monthly ultra sounds to determine if there were any errors. After the sixth month of pregnancy, we were 90% sure he would be fine. There was an appointment where they couldn't find his heartbeat and I just laid on the table, with little five year old Lulu at my side, and just prayed and prayed. After an exhausting five minutes, they found it. Then at 7 months they discovered a cyst on his brain. These cysts usually disolve without any complications (in fact Lulu had the vary same cyst on her brain at 7 months). At about this same time I started measuring very large. Turns out I had too much amniotic fluid, which puts the baby at risk for cord strangulation, heart problems, and lung problems. Great, just bring it on - I'm emotionally exhausted at this point. This now requires ultrasounds every two weeks. This continues to be monitored until I deliver the little guy. When I just entered my final month of pregnancy, an ultra sound revealed a very lethargic baby - no movement, not much activity. I had to be hooked up to a monitor for over an hour in an attempt to pick up some activity. The doctor was VERY concerned. Which completely freaked me out. I was also alone at the appiontment - Ryan at home with our brood, my parents away in Hawaii (it was actually my mom's birthday). The doctor said that if he doesn't start moving in five minutes, he's sending me over to the hospital (right next door) for monitoring and possible delivery. Then he left the room and I prayed/cried and voila - he started moving!! But, this brought on even more constant monitoring. I was now prescribed soda before every appointment and ultra sound - yes.. The doctor actually prescribed me a can or two of soda to drink before every appointment (which were weekly and twice/weekly now.. I'm not a soda person - so this wasn't exactly pleasant).

Ok, wow.. LONG story short - four weeks and many ultra sounds later, he was delivered via c-section and weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces. They thought he'd be 10-12 pounds - he fooled us all! I had complciations from the delivery and guess what I was prescribed - caffeine, in the form of soda. So my affair with soda didn't end until he was a few weeks old. Boy was I glad to finish drinking those things! Now I'm exhausted from writing all of that out - wow! But it's amazingly theraputic.

Now he's a vibrant, normal, and typical almost three-year-old boy and he brings SUCH joy to our chaotic family.

So school has started, the birthday extravaganza begins, and we're ready for whatever comes our way (I think..).

Summer is almost over

Wow - I can't believe it's been 2 1/2 months since I updated this blog. Needless to say, we've been quite busy.

We moved (three houses down the street) at the end of June and are LOVING our new home. It's 600 square feet bigger, has a fantastic yard, and we have some amazing landlords. We were not actively looking for a new home, but knew our residency in our current home would be coming to an end soon. While outside playing with the kids one Sunday evening our neighbors walked by and asked if we go to Calvary Chapel. Turns out they did too. In fact, our neighbors fiancee took pictures for our directory (small world - small town). About a month later she came by the house and asked us if we'd be interested in renting her house when she moves out to get married. After a brief discussion and much prayer, we said "Yes!" A few weeks later we moved in and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids like the fact that they kept their same friends and say our new home feels more like a 'resort.'

We also finished up the homeschool year and I'm happy to report that both girls completed their grades. They both excel at reading but Doodle Bug has still been struggling with math. She's had this "I can't do it! I hate it!" attitude for the past two years- well this school year she worked REALLY hard and her attitude improved dramatically. Unfortunately, she is not up to grade level on math yet - we found out this was mainly due to the curriculum we used. So, with lots of feedback from her evaluator, we're making preparations for next school year and making sure we bring Doodle back up to par with her math.

This will be Little Man's first official year of school and he is SO excited! Ryan even has a Bible class for just the two of them planned out. They're going to learn about the book of Acts first. I'm not sure who's more excited, Little Man or Ryan. :)

It's also Buddy Boy's turn at some more structured schooling as he turns 3 in September. The wonderful thing with him, is that because of his birthday - he'll be turning 6 just weeks after starting Kindergarten (unless we feel the need to put him in early - which as of now, we don't) which means we'll be able to give him three full years of 'structuring' with him before his official education begins. I just LOVE the preschool and early elementary years!

My school has also ended for the summer and I have one class remaining to complete my AA (I hope!). I am WAY excited to finish this long chapter in my life and anxious to see where God leads me after this December.

Ryan and I have been making a point to have more people over to the house, whether it's family or friends. So far we've had four 'entertainings' and are already scheduling more for next month. There's just something wonderful about opening your home to family or friends, breaking bread with them or just talking and watching the kids play. Cherished times.

One thing I am SUPER excited about is how we have been working on being better stewards with the money the Lord has blessed us with. Since March our food bill has been reduced by an average of $76 a week. Our July food and gas averages were reduced by $100 and $25 respecitvely from March. It's wonderful! We've accomplished this savings by better utilzing coupons, sales, and comparison pricing. We've also been reviewing our food purchases and not buying foods that have little or no nutritional value. We still buy the occassional bag of chips, but instad of two or three bags a week, we've reduced it to it will be two or three bags a month. Really helps keep costs down! It has not, however, helped to bring our weights down. But that's another story...

Ch Ch Ch Changes

Softball and T-Ball seasons are winding down. Little Man has thoroughly enjoyed his first season, although at times he does complain about having to get up to get to a game or practice - but once we're there he is so excited. Before his first practice he came to me and said in his most excited voice "I've been waiting for this day for 3 years and it's finally here - I am SO excited!!" It's been a blast.

It's also been crazy. Many of the girls games are at the exact same time as Little Man's - just across town. Thankfully my parents have been more than wonderful about taking the girls or Little Man to a game while I'm at the field with the other one(s).

Doodle Bug is playing well - you can tell she's played for three years now. She's doing very well with hitting, catching, and paying attention. Lulu started out more focused than two years before, but she would still spin around in the outfield occassionally (at least she wasn't picking flowers or chasing butterflies this time). A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to practice with her, one on one. Since then her hitting, catching, and running have improved dramatically! Their last two games, she's actually played better than Doodle has. I need to get out there and work with Doodle and Little Man by themselves - give them some personal attention as well.

Did I mention that my mom is paying them to play? Yes, every run they score, every ball they catch - or attempt to catch - get's them a quarter and dime respectively. The girls are racking it up!

While practice and games have been going on, our van has been in the shop - three times... First time was to a long list of "To Do's" done. Second time was a bad starter - well, third time was too - the first starter they put on was bad.. The most recent problem was a sensor in the transmission. Glad it wasn't the transmsision itself because we wouldn't have been able to fix it. But as always, God is good. I had no problem saying "Your will be done" but I did have a problem with trusting His will. "You do realize we can't fix a major repair, right?" I found myself saying to Him. His reply "Trust me." Well, unfortunately it wasn't easy for me to do. Thankfully, He came through as promised - the repair cost $130 less than what we were quoted - it took less to repair/test - so not only did He know what He was doing - He had an extra blessing for us and we didn't even expect it. He is GOOD!

Along with school (kids and mine), work, raising a family, and scooting around town to various games and practices we are trying to be much better stewards of the wonderful salary God has given me. We've switched to even more store brands and are buying less 'convenience' foods (pre-cooked bacon anyone? not us anymore), and packing more of a punch with coupons. So far this month we've saved $31 in coupons alone - not including BOGO deals or store brand savings. It's awesome! Yes, takes me maybe an hour a week to hunt for/cut all the coupons, search the store ads for the best deals, but it's WELL worth it. We're hoping to cut our grocery bill down by 25%. So far, we're down 21% from last month and hoping it continues.

It's also time for the kid's school year to end and to get ready for next school year. The girls have come SUCH a long way in their schooling this year. Lulu's highlights include her reading and writing - she is writing wonderful short stories. Doodle's highlights include math (a struggle last year) and her writing. Her first drafts are getting better, but once she revises her stories truly go from good to great. Little Man is doing well also, always asking to do more. He went through all of his preschool books in just a few months, so we've been supplamenting with advanced preschool and kindergarten materials. He can't wait to start official school in the fall. My baby's growing up!

That's all for now. Praying you are all doing well.

So much to do, so little time

A lot has happened since my last post. A lot that I've wanted to document on here, but seems like every time I open this window I forgot what I was going to post.

Well today's different. I actually remember what I wanted to say - yay!

We (mainly I) have been praying a lot about home school recently. It's something we embarked on after over a year of prayer and lots of confirmation from God (love it when He does that). Well, four years later our zeal and love has fizzled a bit. It's daunting to stay on top of what the kids are learning, making sure it all adheres to state standards, recognizing learning (and teaching) flaws and finding out new ways to manage them, and constantly find ways to have their love of learning grow.

There's a lot of pressure associated with home schooling - they learn everything from us. We can't blame the school system, lack of time for subjects in school or anyone else for our children's ill education. It's all up to us, and that's an enormous task - espcially while raising four children, keeping a household going, and me working full time and going to school part time. Some weeks are a blur, and I hate that - because I like to take time to relish each day God has given me.

As I've been praying and doing my morning studies, I've been reminded that I felt a strong pull on my heart and a strong call from God to do this. Now granted, my husband shoulders a majority of the duties as he's home with them during the day, but none the less - it's something we felt called, and honored by God, to do.

I'm reminded of the Israelites and how God called them to the promised land. Instead of running with opened arms, they stood in fear of a few beefy men occupying their promised land. Instead of running toward what God had called them to do, they mumbled. They complained about their angel food cake and fresh poultry, worshipped a golden calf, and took for granted all that God provided for them.

This is kind of how we've been. Mumbling about not having much free time because we're teaching our precious children. Grumbling about the stress of making sure they have enough work to do while allowing them the free time to absorb it all. Fearing their year-end tests that we'll be deemed "unsuitable teachers". Not sure of what we'll do next year.

In remembering we felt called to do this, I've been thinking about how we should respond to God's calling. Not with grumbling and mumbling, but with joy and thanksgiving. Working all that we do as if we're working for Him. Finishng the race He set before us - and finishing it well. If I'm mumbling within about something He calls me to do, I'm not setting a good example for my children to follow and am certainly not pleasing God. He's more concerned with the inward than the outward. I may be following His call on the outside, but mumbling and grumbling inside do not follow His plan.

Now, I look to schooling the children as an honor, a great adventure that we get to embark on. It's like holding a great and valued secret, having it bubble and swell inside of you and only being able to share it with a select few.

If anyone reading this finds themselves with love fizzling out, remember the race and the task God has set before you - finish it and finish it well.