Interactive Blogging

Okay here's your big chance...if you've never posted a comment on my blog this is the time to do it (hence the title interactive)! So now that I'm a homeschooler I've decided to have an official "snack time" instead of kids just saying, "We're hungry!" all day long and me waving them off to the pantry to grab something. I think it's better for the budget and for their eating habits if we limit the snacks. However, we are getting a little bored with the usual snacks: Goldfish crackers, pretzels, fruit snacks (which I really don't like anyway because they stick to your teeth), granola bars and the like. So here's where you come in...I need snack ideas! Tell me what you used to eat for snacks or what you give your kiddos now. Healthy is definitely good but it can't be yucky. Most of you already know that I somehow ended up with this strange aversion to healthful food and I don't eat fruits and veggies BUT I don't want my kids to inherit my bad habits so I want to give healthful snacks that taste good. It's a tall order, I know.

Perspective

Psalm 63:1-8

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.

Our first days of school

I stayed up until midnight on Sunday night making sure I was ready for the first day of school. So much for going to bed by 10 pm to be well rested! I read a book called "Managers of Their Homes" over the summer. It's all about scheduling and I love it. So I have the day scheduled in half hour increments for every person. Our first day of school went pretty well, with only a few bumps in the road (Chloe dumped mixed berry applesauce on the carpet during lunch and Josiah didn't want to stay in his crib during his "crib time" so he climbed out). Overall I was pleasantly surprised. I thought, "One day down, 179 to go!" Today was another story. The kids wouldn't go to sleep last night so they were up until almost 9 pm. I spent from 9 pm to 10 pm preparing for today so I felt like my entire day was engrossed in school, even though we were done by 2 pm. Things started out okay today and our circle time and Bible lesson went well. Even math went well after that. But at about 9 am Josiah went downhill. He wouldn't stop crying and wasn't happy anywhere I put him. He was just tired from going to bed so late last night but what could I do? So he cried on and off for at least an hour. We had to get most of the school work done by 10:30 so we could leave for Explora, where the kids are taking a science class for home schooled kids. Things got better when we left. Abigail and Joshua went to their class and I took Chloe and Josiah to a playground. On the way home Josiah fell asleep and I just laid him down when we got home without lunch. We ate lunch and then finished school. The kids had rest time and I did my preparation for tomorrow during that time so I won't have to do it tonight. For a while this morning I was thinking...Can I still send them to school??? We invested some money in our homeschool curriculum but maybe we could return it??? What kind of learning environment is this anyway? A crying baby and tons of other interruptions, how can they be retaining anything we're working on? I cried a little bit. I think it's mostly because it didn't go so well and I don't have Bob here to help me work through it.
I just have to keep reminding myself that "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." And that I am serving my children and my family and I need to do it with a joyful heart. I'm sure that this experience is going to teach me more about grace and patience then it will teach my children about math and science.

Happy Birthday Dear Husband

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday Dear Husband (half way around the world)
Happy Birthday to you!!!

We sent Bob a birthday party in a box, including hostess cupcakes, candles, party squawkers, and candy but I doubt that he'll take it all in to the office and make everyone sing to him. I wish we were there to give him a proper birthday celebration but alas. I guess I'll just have to plan on making his 30th birthday next year extra special! :)

I love you, O Captain my Captain! Have a happy birthday! :)

Home, Sweet, Home

50 days, 7,400 miles, 17 states, 11 houses of family and friends, and tons of fun activities! It's been a whirlwind to say the least but I can honestly say that I'm glad that we did it. It was so good to see so many family members and friends. We had so much fun and we were encouraged by everyone. I'm still amazed at all the people who were praying for us during these past two months; we had prayers from around the country. The kids did so well in the car, no flat tires or speeding tickets!!! God was watching over us.
The drive home was very long but my mom was along for the ride and she kept the kiddos happy! We also got to caravan with my sister who took a new job in northwest Arkansas and had to travel up there from Tampa. It was all good.
Everywhere I went people were telling me how brave I was for taking this trip with four young children. I don't really think it was bravery...I think it was the perfect opportunity to take a trip and be with people that I wouldn't otherwise get to see. I had people to help me everyday and people to talk to at night after the kids went to bed. I'm the one who was blessed by so many people, all I had to do was drive. :) I'd do it again! Thank you to everyone who welcomed us into their home and to the masses who prayed for us while we traveled. We feel truly loved by you all.
I've included some pictures from our last two stops in Florida. In Crestview Amy took us to a beautiful beach with white sand that was like flour. It was the kid's first time in the ocean. They were a little shocked by the salt water but they had fun. My sister took us to a fun place called "Pump It Up" in Tampa. They have giant inflatable jumpy houses and slides and obstacle courses inside. It's fabulous! That was a blast!!

8 years and counting

Today is our 8th anniversary and there's so much I could say about my husband but it's just not coming out right. All I really want to say is that I'm so very thankful for him. He's passionate and loyal, loving and fun. I just love all of him. He makes me smile. He's a FABULOUS daddy! He does things that no one else will do. He talks to strangers like he's known them for years. He loves God. He's a leader. He's a Tiger fan. He's silly. He's mine! :) I love you Sweetie!!! I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us in the next 8 years (and lots more after that too)!

The long and winding road...

Well we're not on that long and winding road back to Albuquerque just yet but we will be soon. We've had a great time in Florida so far! We spent last week with my friend Amy in Crestview. It was a wild week because she was in charge of VBS at her church but it was super fun and we managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach too. Now we're at my sister's house in Tampa. I went and picked up my mom today and she'll be with me until we get home, Praise the Lord for a buddy in the car!!! Now I can stop and go to the bathroom without having to get all the kiddos out! So tomorrow will be our last day of fun stuff and then it will be 3 grueling days of driving. We're all ready to be home even though it's been MOST FABULOUS to see everyone! The time has gone by so quickly, I feel as though we just started this crazy journey and here we are on our last leg of the trip. I think we're all ready to sleep in our own beds and get back to a normal schedule. It will be good to be home...

They're GREAT!

I've always known that my mom is great. In fact when I was in the 4th grade I wrote an essay for a contest for "The Township Times" a local paper. The title of it was "My mom is great!" I won first place. Personally I don't think it's because I had such fabulous writing skills, I just had a FABULOUS subject to write about! I thought it then and I think it even more now. She's amazing!

We got to Birmingham Monday evening. Mom had a conversation with Abigail earlier this summer about Laura Ingalls and how she wore a bonnet and Abigail said that she wished she had a bonnet. Mom made one for her...she loves it. She's been wearing it almost everyday. In fact Chloe liked it so much she wanted one and mom started working on it first thing the next morning. The kids had also mentioned they wanted to have a tea party so mom was right on top of that too. She had straw hats for the girls to decorate with fake flowers. Oh and there had to be name cards for the table so we made those too. It was so much fun getting ready for our fabulous tea party. Wednesday was the tea party. We were out in the pool playing before the big event and Joshua said that he was going to be a pirate because he didn't want to dress up handsome for the party. Then we started talking about how pirates don't have tea parties and we decided we'd write our own book similar to the ones we have, "How I became a Pirate" and "Pirates don't change diapers" by Melinda Long. The kids had fun coming up with story lines and later that day we wrote the story down and Abigail illustrated it. I LOVE THIS STUFF! But back to the tea party...mom made little cucumber sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches and we had fruit and the cookies they had made and mom even set out little cream puffs that she had drizzled with chocolate. The best part was that each of the kiddos got to pick one of Grammie's pretty tea cups to drink out of. She served tea and chocolate milk out of pretty tea pots and we all drank with our pinkies up and called each other darling, except for the pirate that is. It was so fun!

The next day my dad met us at the McWane Science Center, which is a children's science museum and we had lots of fun there too. We even got to see Bob the Builder. We've been to Poppy's work, had a picnic, and played wiffle ball too. Oh and how could I forget Poppy's favorite game, Ant's in the Pants! It's been a most fabulous week that will not soon be forgotten!

My mom is great and so is my dad and I'm so thankful for the time we've had with them. I only wish it wasn't coming to an end so quickly!