burning the midnight oil…

was a great way to end a dreary day. With overcast skies and alternating rain and drizzle all day, it was difficult to get motivated to do much of anything (quite the contrast to the bionic woman of yesterday). :-) We did get several things done, but I seriously think the weather affected my mood for sure. Today was so much more low-key.

After dinner Bryan went outside to do a little cleaning up. I was really tired of not wanting to do anything so I decided to follow the kids outside. I opened the door and the night air was humid yet, cool and beyond refreshing. I would guess in the 70’s. There were even tiny drops we would feel every now and then.

As Bryan cut down trees and tore down fencing, the kids and I would drag the brush to the burn pile. We weren’t sure the wood would even burn following such a saturated day. Stubborn as we are we tried anyway. To our surprise it burned like a charm. Neither of us really expected to accomplish as much as we did. It was definitely the highlight of the day.

Although it looks like a *blazing inferno,* honestly it was quite pleasant. We worked until after dark and it gave me a chance to play with the camera again. It couldn’t have ended on a better note. :-)

going back to school…

as a child was always a bit nerve racking for me. I suppose it was the fear of the unknown. Would I like my teachers? Would they like me? Would I do well in their classes? The list could go on…and on…and on. But with home schooling, my kids don’t really have that anxiety. Not to say that’s why I’m home schooling or that my kids will never face those fears but it was an interesting observation. Abby has actually been asking to start school for a little over a week now. Her excitement encourages me. At the same time, I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m she’s dragging her heals and moaning, “Do we HAVE to?”

But before I go on about today, let me first mention Saturday. It was one of those all-day-away-from-home days. We had a blast, but any time we get in from somewhere it doesn’t take long before the house looks like the aftermath of a second tornado (the first one usually hits before we ever leave). While in the process of the aforementioned unnatural disaster, Jadon was figuring out his new backpack and all the things he could put in it. He was quiet for a minute. Then in his most sincere Jadon voice he said, “I sure am gonna miss you while I’m at preschool.” Somehow he was under the misguided impression that he was *going* (as in away) to preschool and he SO meant every word he said (sniff sniff ). In a way I think he was trying to comfort me because he was so excited to *go.* And for a fleeting moment, I considered sending him so I wouldn’t have to break it to him that he would be *preschooling* at home. :-) It was just all too sweet.

Getting back to the original topic, our first day back to school went incredibly smooth. Now when I say that I don’t mean that I did everything I wanted to or even did it without a hitch. To be honest, I have resorted to living under the *never expect anything* mentality. That way nothing ever goes wrong. It just goes. And if things seem to be going awry I can usually keep my cool because there really wasn’t a strict course to begin with.

Nevertheless, I want to jot down most of my accomplishments today because I fear it will be a l-o-n-g time before I feel this successful again. Bear with me…

• wake up after only 5 or 6 snoozes on the alarm clock
• 5 minute morning routine - brush teeth, fix coffee, fix bottle, etc.
• baby wakes up - get her and enjoy the 5-10 minutes I get to sit down to feed her
• Jadon wakes up - encourage him to watch Letter Factory as part of first day of preschool
• last but not least Abby wakes up (nice surprise, I usually have to wake her up) - she decides to pull out a kindergarten workbook from last year and work in it while I…
• start laundry and
• shower
• then have kids get dressed and ready for school
• fix eggs, toast, and/or bagels for breakfast
• feed baby mushed bananas and oatmeal
• halfway clean up mess
• put baby down for nap which actually requires a bit of rocking this time
• about 9:30 we start school - Jadon starts on the computer (whining mind you because he doesn’t want to work on the computer, he wants to “start school”) :-)
• guide Abby through her spelling lesson - I’m impressed, she does great
• have Abby read her Bible verses out loud to us
• read two chapters in The Secret Garden to them
• have kids personalize notebooks for each subject - these were two of my favorites (I drew that disproportionate spider for Jadon, he colored it and traced his name)…

• have Abby make her flash cards for math - I’ve found she enjoys them much more when she makes them herself
• 11:30 - check my notes for the home school group and realize it starts at 1:00 NOT 3:00 as previously thought
• regroup and figure out how I’m going to feed three kids and get us all presentable in an hour and a half
• lunch: grilled cheese, raw veggies, chips and a brownie for Jadon while Abby has an ice cream cone
• fix hair and makeup
• clip Jadon’s fingernails and toenails because I recall how unsightly they were Sunday
• make it out the door by 12:30
• run by Bryan’s office (on the way) to get my sunglasses
• arrive 5 minutes early (very uncommon for me) at the local home school group’s meeting place - the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s mobile aquarium is parked outside for the kids, it was really interesting - they pull it on a trailer just like you see it, the driver said she saw two accidents along the way because people were looking at the fish - yikes!…

• discuss field trip ideas and additional classes for the group, along with many other issues with the Moms while all the kids play in the gym next door - I left feeling very encouraged
• went to Sonic for half-priced drinks (first day of school treat)
• stopped by Wal-mart to get diapers and formula
• once home I start rolls for dinner (been wanting them for a long time!)
• let Abby paint while Dani and Jadon nap…

• here is the Tiger Swallowtail I caught on camera that she was painting…

• take some time to check email, start cleaning kitchen, make some of the more difficult flash cards
• Abby goes outside to help Bryan with the burn pile
• Jadon wakes up and does the same
• ahhh, peace for a moment? No, Danielle wakes up
• feed baby and do lots of little necessities that really aren’t noticeable to anyone but me
• fix dinner: salmon patties (thin & crispy - the best), veggies, homemade rolls
• actually clean the whole kitchen this time (kids help some)
• have kids start getting ready for bed
• start another load of laundry (still haven’t folded the last and probably won’t anytime soon)
• Bryan puts the older two kids to bed, I put Danielle to bed
• this is crazy but true, I exercised on the elliptical for 10 minutes (I figure it will help me not be so tired tomorrow)
• stay up late on my sorry Wild Blue internet connection (which *disconnects* often and no matter what they say it’s slower than dial-up, unfortunately it’s the only available option out this far) and try to finish this post
• whew…call it a day!

Now to my best recollection that’s how it all went down with the exception of a few more baby feedings and naps, etc. Like I said, I don’t think I can get this much done in ONE day again for a long, long time. And I never lost my cool!

Flexibility is one of the bonuses of home schooling; different subjects on different days along with different intensities on different days. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun and I really look forward to the rest of this school year. Sorry this post was so incredibly lengthy. I generally try to keep them relatively short, but I need this for future mental pep talks reference. :-)

i say that time flies…

not only when you’re having fun, but also when you’re growing up and old together, when you’re fighting and learning to work it out together, when you’re striving for the same goals and fulfilling your dreams together, when you can’t get enough of each other, and when you’re falling in love more and more every day.

Has it really been eleven years? Oh, where do I begin? We started out having an idea of what direction we wanted our lives to take. We knew the truth of the Bible and that our faith would take us exactly where we needed to go. We just weren’t quite sure of the details along the way.

We took the cheapest trailer we could find to rent and all the hand-me-downs within our reach. Full time jobs, odd jobs and overloaded college schedules occupied more of our time than we wanted. But before we knew it, those days were passed and that’s when our journey really began.

We moved to Roanoke, TX and started our family. Then west Texas was our home just long enough to have our third child. And now our journey has brought us back to Arkansas, not too far from where it all began.

Step by step we’ve grown beyond our furthest imagination. We’ve had our ups and downs, but through it all our lives have shown that our faith has taken us exactly where we needed to go.

We’ve come a long way and I wouldn’t change a thing. You are the perfect husband and father of my children! I look forward to growing up and older together, to fighting more fair and continuing to work it out together, to fulfilling more dreams together, to still not getting enough of each other, and falling in love even more each passing day. Yes, time does fly when you’re having fun! May the rest of the journey be as adventurous as the beginning!

Happy Anniversary!

photo of the week #5…

is one that holds a special place in my heart. It was captured in Abby’s cotton candy pink room on February 18, 2005 and speaks volumes to the many sweet sides of your kindred relationship. Ever since Jadon’s birth, you have been practically inseparable. I pray that love, comfort, strength, and encouragement will always take precedence in your care for one another.

it’s raining it’s pouring…

my two kids are soaking. They went outside and didn’t stay dry so they couldn’t come in till the morning. All together now…you were singing, weren’t you?

We finally got some MUCH NEEDED rain this past weekend. Yea! Everything is turning green again! I don’t think the earth or the kids could get too much of that!

We also had four oakworm moths on our porch that day. I had never seen an orange moth before. We learned that this one is a male because he has a reddish tint to him. I took several shots but the pictures just don’t do him justice. He looked much brighter in person (or should I say *in moth?*).

i spy…

a water faucet…three hoes…& two spindle looking thingies. Can you find them?

Just thought I’d find some use for this junk before we haul it off.

need a quick fix…

for a bad mood? You know the kind you wake up in for no apparent reason whatsoever. I’m sure no one could picture me in a bad mood (no comments please), but it happened the other day. I learned a lot from this particular day. Namely, simple is as simple does.

I decided to *take the day off* (whatever that means for a work-at-home mother) and put the kids in charge. Yup, that’s right; they had to fix their own lunch, clean up their mess, and whatever else I could think of that I didn’t want to do. I even got some pictures.

See the glob…

and the plop of the glob.

The spread of the rest…

and the knife lickin’ taste test.

The pour…

(hey, that clutter? I had the day off remember? Okay, it’s like that all the time. :-P)

the stir…

(does my 25 year old GE wide range qualify as an antique?)

and the whisk.

And this poor little thing was about as grumpy as me but she actually had valid reasons. She had three shots the day before and a fever spike of 103° at 2:30 AM that morning :-( How pitiful is that? Of course, she’s much better now.

Did you notice they were fixing lunch and all still in their pajamas! Frankly, the kids LOVED it and we had so much fun the black cloud disappeared. Now I know this isn’t a novel idea, but I’ve been caught up running here and there and doing this and that, I had forgotten how much fun we’ve had doing this in the past. The moral of the story you ask? Maybe it’s time we got back to the basics of life.

somebody PLEASE tell me…

• when they will start listening
• when they will start paying attention TO ME when I’m talking to them
• when they will stop whining
• when they will start doing what they are told
• when they will stop complaining
• when they will get the fact, that if they don’t want to clean it up then don’t drag it out

and last but NOT least…

• when I can stop qualifying E-VE-RY-thing I say!

It’s been one of those days. I realize they are just 3 and 6 but surely there’s an end in sight. Of course, if I think long enough, which I won’t because I don’t have the energy, I could probably recall hearing qualified statements of sorts up until I got married. Uuuhh, oh no! Say it isn’t so?!

photo of the week #4…

oh, the story it tells…

sssssssssssss…

never heard it and glad I didn’t. Fortunately I didn’t find it either. The plumber did. He thought it was possibly a baby diamondback rattlesnake and took care of him before I ever knew he existed, hence the missing head. :-/

B-u-t…turns out it’s actually a juvenile Southern Black Racer and perfectly harmless. Which, thankfully, means no worries about momma rattler being close by. And even though he’s missing a MAJOR body part, I do think I got a pretty cool shot-didn’t even doctor it. :) I love playing around with the camera.

Oh yeah, it was useful for one other thing…teaching the letter ’s’ and its ssssssssssound. Watcha wanna bet Jadon won’t forget that one? ;-)

Really, sorry about the headless thing. No offense to any of you snake lovers out there, I suppose this one could have been spared but sometimes I do prefer them that way. :-]