a few random things...

Anaya, after her first day of Friday addition, looking a tad disheveled!

The boys measuring the size of Noah's ark, which, I might add, was amazingly huge!

School is going well so far for everyone, we are thankful for a great few weeks in.  Anaya is loving Friday Addition, (the kids go to a home school group every Friday) it feels weird to just have Lucy with me.

 I have started including house work as part of school and we call it "home economics class."  {Thank you Dorothy M. for the great idea!}  Since renaming the 'chores' and doing them as part of our day instead of tacked on to the end of it, the kids have been much better about getting it done without complaining!  YAY!

Dylan plays on the varsity soccer team since there is only one team, and even as a freshman has been able to get in some playing time.  Their team is doing very well and it is fun to watch his games. {yes, I actually said that!}

Dylan is enjoying high school.  I feel like we hardly ever see him anymore, he is involved in sports and has practice or a game then homework and it's off to bed, pretty much.  But, as I look back over the years I am so thankful for the time we had together here at home and I pray that he will be a blessing to those he comes in contact with every day.

How many of you have this on your "To Do List?"  Notice it says "last."  Um yeah, they would do this first and spend all day out there with those cows if I let them!

Lucy has been sick..ish for nearly a month now.  She is totally fine until, she has a "Bronchial spasm."  Then she coughs so hard she nearly passes out and sometimes she throws up or has tons of nasty junk...I'll save you the details, but its bad.  Really bad. I have brought her in to 3 different DR.'s and the ER, and all say bronchitis...one even said "mild Bronchitis!"  That was after I video taped her coughing fit.  Mild my foot!  Shes been on steroids, antibiotics and breathing treatments, nothing seems to help.  So that's been fun...Thankfully she is totally fine most of the time and the fits seem to be getting fewer and farther between, hopefully she can start sleeping in her own bedroom soon?!?

I think that is all for now, we are enjoying the cooler fall weather and getting settled into our new routine, it feels good to have turned that corner of dreading the end of summer and I am feeling rather blessed!

school...

 Dylan's backpack is packed and ready for the first day of HIGH SCHOOL!!!...

All of the home school books are here and organized.  I will have kindergarten, 2nd, 4th and 6th grades going on over here...

Tomorrow is the big day for all but one....

Ready or not the time has come!

8th grade fun...

 Last weekend I had the privilege of going to the Creation Museum with the 7th and 8th graders from Dylan's class.  We also visited a Castle.  

 These are a great group of kids!

 The Creation Museum was beautiful, the outside gardens were AMAZING!

 My boy has passed me up in height and he loves to rub it in!

 I don't know about you, but I am very glad the dinosaurs are extinct!  Wowsers, can you imagine!

Thursday night we had Dylan's 8th grade graduation!  Oh my goodness, I know I gained a few more grey hairs this week, my kids are growing up way too fast!  Thankfully we are enjoying each of the ages and stages and I am thankful for happy, healthy, growing children.

 Dylan received the "virtue" award from his teacher!  I was brought to tears as they read "Goodness of character, knowing that others are being influenced by my life. 2 Peter 1:5"  We decided to home school our kids to form their character, it was great to hear we were on the right track with that!

 This has been such a great year for Dylan.  His teachers were amazing and it was a blessing that he was able to have this year at our small christian school as a transition from home school before he heads to public school next year.  It was a great environment for him to learn and grow in.  He is excited and ready for high school, just wish I could wrap my head around the fact he is going to be a freshman!  It feels like yesterday I was heading off to high school,  however, I was reminded just how long ago that really was as I have my 20th high school reunion coming up this summer!!!  Really?

The 3 amigos!  Dylan, with his friends Jack and Sammy, the 3 of them really bonded being the only boys in their class of 9!

Dylan we are so proud of you and are excited to see what God has in store for your future!

This weekend Ryan and I, along with a few friends, attended a home school convention.  It was just what I needed to fill me with a renewed passion for teaching my kids at home.   I love it when our days are peaceful and everyone is doing the things they should, as pictured below. 

When the littles sneak in between the bigs and learn right along side of them, it fills my heart with joy!

When kids decide on their own to go above and beyond what they need to do and ask if they can make Australian meat pie for dinner because we were studying Australia...GLORY!

Unfortunately, not every day has peaceful, productive and abundant learning taking place...however...I would not trade my job for anything else in the world!  I get to spend time with some of the most precious people on the planet. 

 Psalm 127:3-5 says that "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children are a reward from Him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." 

"Oh God, Thank you that my quiver is full, I don't want to waste my arrows, please give me everything I stand in need of to send them off in the right direction, then guide them in the way they should go."   

school and more...

I sent my firstborn off to school last week for the very first time!  I thought I was gonna cry...he is 13!!!  I don't know how y'all do that with a 5 year old!  But, it was time, he was ready, and is having a great time thus far!  Things are going well at home even with out him being there, we miss him, but know he is where he needs to be.  He is in the 8th grade at a small Christian school at our church.

Anaya started pre-school (home school) this week, and it was pretty funny because she just didn't get the concept of home school.  I read her book, worked on her letters with her, did some art, etc... and when we were done, she asked when she was going to pre-school!  Since she is getting to be such a big girl, I let her skip her nap.  She was so excited, but it didn't take long and she curled up and fell asleep in the chair!  All that learning tuckered her right out!

Jayden is in 5th grade, Spencer is in 3rd and Easton is doing 1st grade all at home!  So, we do school in the morning, and when we are done, we head over to the house and work. 

We had a very generous couple decide to buy drywall for the rest of the walls in our house!  So, it was delivered and we hauled it all in and hung it.  That stuff is HEAVY!  But, now we have beautiful drywall on every wall of our house!  We are hoping to get that drywall mud started and finish up the rest of the mudding this week, then we can start to paint inside!!!

even the girls were 'helping'

While I was busy painting the garage, Anaya came running to me saying there was an "ammamal"{animal} crawling by the barn.  She was very excited and I asked her if it was big or small and she said "its big!"  So I stopped painting and went to check it out.  This is her animal.  A caterpillar!  Not really what I was expecting to see, after all, I don't think I would classify that as an animal nor would I call it big, but then again, I am not 4!

hauling in more drywall...

drywall going up!

kitty

My dad has been working on our porch, here are the posts he had made, aren't they beautiful!  Now I wish they were all getting replaced!  But, that too is expensive, and we are trying to stick to the budget, so only the rotten ones are being replaced.

here is one of the rotten posts.

Doesn't that drywall make it look so much better!  I LOVE it!

Our garage is primed and painted and looks SO MUCH BETTER!

Pastor Mark made all of my cabinets.  Dylan helped him for a few days and they cranked out some beautiful work!  He has amazing woodworking talent, and this weekend he started painting them.  So exciting!!

Tonight we had the senior high youth group at our new house and the focus was on prayer.  We prayed over each student, and we did a prayer walk in and around our home and property.  Such a huge blessing!  Thank you Lord for this place and these people we are privileged to work with.

finally done with school....

I'm gonna miss this!  Dylan reading the history book to Jayden.  I love how close they are, I pray that will continue.

 

 

 

Hebrews 13

 ¹Let brotherly love continue.

We are usually done in early spring, but because of our trip to Colombia, we were a tad behind!  It's bitter-sweet though, as this was Dylan's last day of home school! {We think...} He will be going to school next year, and I am going to miss having him around!  But, it's time, he is ready, and wants to attend school so he can play sports, and let's face it, he needs to learn math from someone other than me!  I bottom out around 5th grade math, so for the last 2 years we have muddled through, and I am DONE! 
Jayden thinks he is going to graduate from home school...um, we may have to hire math out if that is the case!!  We shall see.  Each kid is different and we take it one day at a time.
I love the time I get to spend with the kids while we do school {most of the time,} but I look forward to keeping up with the house work.  YAY for summer!!

history lesson...

The boys keep asking if I remember when____________happened and if I was alive back then when__________, etc...I have to keep reminding them that what they are learning in their history books is, of course, RECENT history! 
{Uh, excuse me boys, I AM NOT OLD!!!}

But, um yes, when I was younger, I do remember...

Ugh, yes, I guess I am getting old!

I love kindergarten...

Teaching my children when they are kindergartners that is.  They are so excited to learn new things, and they think I am so smart!  As the years go by that fades away, but...Today was so fun.  All I had to do is a leaf rubbing, you know with the side of a crayon on paper set on top of  a leaf, anyhow, we did that today and you should have seen Easton's little face!  He was so impressed!  He had a HUGE grin on his face and said, "Wow, that's so cool, I didn't know you know how to do dat!"  Then he had to run and show his brothers who were, less than impressed since they too did that in kindergarten, but when they saw how excited he was they played along and let him show them how it is done!  Too fun! 

Today Easton told me he was jk.  Then he said "That means just kidding!"  Oh my, having little ones who hear things from big ones is quite funny! I also find it funny to teach him when he is "The Incredible Hulk!"

I also have to share a couple of Anaya's latest funnies.
*The other day when I was cleaning out her ears she took a look of the Q-tip and said, "Ewww, boogies!"
*While trying to learn her Bible verse for church she said, "God loved us and sent us guns!"  Oh my how we laughed.  She was supposed to say, God loved us and sent His son!  Oops!  Ryan liked it!


No word on the adoption front, still waiting.......

science...

The boys are loving their science project, and I for one am amazed! Ryan does science with the kids two days a week, at 6:30 AM! (while I sleep in! I love it, my WONDERFUL husband brings me coffee in bed on those mornings!) Last Thursday, they planted various plants and housed them in this "greenhouse." We are all surprised at how fast they are growing! We literally can see the growth in a few hours!
Dylan was actually excited to get up and check the seeds that he had placed all over the house in various places to see if they were growing. Even Spencer wanted to get up early to learn more about the plants! Oh the joys of home schooling!
* The funny thing is that they started out the year studying animals, which they loved, but, when they moved on to botany, they were bummed, they thought it would be BORING! Much to their surprise, they are enjoying it!

Market Day...

Jayden working hard on his project.
Dylan did not want to see another batch of play dough ever again!
Dylan's project ~ Play dough!
Jayden's project ~ Gumdrop pops! They turned out so cute(picture is bad, sorry!)
Market Day finally arrived! The boys did great, and all came up with a profit! Spencer's candy necklaces and bracelets were a big hit!(You can read about his project here.) He sold all but one bracelet! It was a great experience!