Happy New Year!

Is it hard for you to imagine that it is really almost 2009?

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration. Happy Birthday Jesus!!!
My children didn't wake up yelling and jumping. Rather, Daniel awoke first and asked for something to eat and I responded with "Merry Christmas." He said, "Merry Christmas Mommy, I'm hungry. You make me something to eat please?" We woke everyone else up and all snuggled in our bed while Peter read the story of the birth of Christ from the book of Luke. After that we are prayed together. The children waited patiently at the top of the stairs while we went down and lite the fire and poured a cup of coffee. I remember my parents doing this when I was a child and my siblings and I were so anxious to run down the stairs. It always seemed like they took forever. Now that I am the Mom, I understand why it is nice to take 3 minutes to yourself before the rush of the morning. The children came down the stairs and went to their stockings. We had one gift per child set out with their stockings and had them take turns pulling one thing out at a time. After all was opened they were so thankful. It was sweet to see them appreciate all the goodies and the one gift. But we were done only in appearance! We handed one last gift to them. It was the same thing for everyone so they all opened them at the same time. It was a Wii remote. Peter and I had set up the Wii in the basement so that it would be ready to go. They ran down the stairs and started bowling. We have had such a great time with it over the past few days. My parents bought us Wii Fit and we are all enjoying that as well. What a great morning with my wonderful children! Although Peter was on call for work, he didn't get called in until yesterday. He was able to be with us during the 25th and 26th. Such a blessing!
I am a bit tired after running here and there for the several days of Christmas get togethers. Someone at church told me that I looked tired this morning. Don't we all love the honesty of fellow believers?! At least they didn't tell me that I had gained a few pounds from all the holiday cheer. :)
The children and I are off to my parents to watch Polar Express this afternoon. We will relax, snack and recover from running around the past few days. Peter will be home this afternoon and we will play Wii late into the night. We have quite a competition going...well, at least I do, I am not sure he knows about it yet. Heehee. Last night I played Wii Fit for 23 minutes after the kids were in bed. I know the exact time because it keeps track for you and you earn points for how long you work out. I beat his high score on one of the strength exercises. I can't wait for him to see it. If the "surprise" is ruined and you are reading this, don't worry Babe...you will always beat me in Jiu-Jitsu!

Relaxing Saturday

The children and I enjoyed a relaxing Saturday. The weekend was supposed to be jam-packed with parties of all types: 40th Birthday Party, Ladies Christmas Party, Concert and Dinner. It was an hour before we were leaving for the surprise 40th Birthday Party that Peter got "The Call." For those of you who are Believers, no, not that kind of call...yet! He was off to work "just for the evening" and I was off to a party where I would only know a hand full of people. On the way to the airport, Peter's schedule and destinations were changed three times and now we are husband-less and father-less for the weekend, but of course never in spirit or in Spirit. The Ladies Christmas Party was exactly that, only for Ladies, so the girls and I had to back out because you can't leave a 5, 4 and 1 year old alone at home while you go eat chocolate. Instead we played at the park in the 30-something degree weather, watched a Christmas movie (we are doing this as part of our advent calendar) and then jumped around/worked out to the Hillsong Kids video. Tomorrow is another story! We will leave for our usual 9am church service, stay for 11am to watch Ashley sing and then drive to PA to watch my cousin sing in her High School Christmas concert at 2pm. By the way, we have 2.5 hours to make the 2 hour drive. Please pray we make it as we cannot back out of Ashley's concert and do not want to miss Katie's. It should be a fun drive as we are taking my parents with us in the new van. Whoo-hoo!

Gingerbread Train

Peter has been gone so much lately we decided to have an extra fun family night of make-your-own pizza. We had a meeting yesterday that turned into a trip to Costco, which turned into a trip to Outdoor World, which turned into a longer drive home, which turned into a later night! So, being the smart parents that we are, we decided to have pizza at Costco (definitely not the same, but the kids still liked it). While there the smart Mommy decided to purchase a Gingerbread Train kit. Now, I need you to know that I am a make-everything-from-scratch kind of person, ie no boxed cakes, no boxed brownies, no boxed gingerbread, etc. But, it was $7.00 and included everything! I just couldn't pass it up. My wonderful husband looked at me a bit cross-eyed because he likes me to make everything from scratch as well. I reassured him that it was a good plan, so we went with it. It came with all the candy, 2 gingerbread men, pre-made frosting (yes I usually make this too), the train cookie parts and a stand to build it on. I thought about who would do what while we were driving home. Which of my older four children should get the gingerbread men? Well, another example of God's goodness and how He cares for even the small things in life...we opened our box to discover they had mistakenly put 4 gingerbread men in our box. Yea God! Thank you for caring about the small things. We love you Jesus!

Ok, so I lied...

I told you that I took the Vision Forum special banner link off my blog because the sale was over and it was. But, check out the new banner to the right and the FABULOUS deals they have going starting Monday. You won't be sorry if you pick up some of these great finds for your loved ones for Christmas gifts. You will also be supporting a wonderful company with employees who (from everything I have seen and read) are living out their family values. Check out the deals and get free shipping for Christmas.
Merry Christmas!

PS We made a huge order this past week. Yes, we do really like their products. ;)

Vision Forum again

Vision Forums big sale ended on the 11th. I took the large banner out, so ignore that last post. I will tell you that we really like their books, toys, dvds, etc. It is worth it to pay them a visit. You can get to their site from my affiliates section on the right side of this page. Just scroll down a bit.
Have a wonderful Saturday!

Vision Forum

Are you looking for great Christmas presents for anyone??? Vision Forum has it all. Click the large banner to the right and start shopping!

Kid Quote

Today, while making cookies, Abigail lined up the chocolate chips. This is our family as represented by chocolate chips!


Today's quote:

John: "Mom can I have more pancakes?"

Daniel: "John, you can't have more because you still have some on your plate. You have to finish those first."

John: "You're not the boss of the pancakes Daanniieeel."

Mom: "John, you need to finish what is on your plate first."

Funny homeschool video

Thanks to MamaArcher for posting this at her site. I had to embed it here. Too funny. Especially in light of our new purchase. Enjoy!

My house is shrinking

Yes, I am convinced. It's shrinking. The good news is we can move part of the stuff, or people, or maybe the Christmas tree out to the van, because frankly, it's huge. I l-o-v-e it! I was overwhelmed today with that same feeling that has been hitting me recently. We need more space, a better flow, room for the kids to run... My boys spent their day riding tricycles around the "circle" (hallway that connects the main living spaces of our house) while pulling their suitcases. They were playing "We are going to the airport!" Hmmmm, any idea where they might get that game idea? (See photo right.) I think the game might have been more fun and perhaps more quiet had they been in an unfinished basement. It's cold outside and we happen to live on a fairly busy street so no bike riding unless Mom is standing there and frankly I just didn't feel like doing that today. No, today I wanted to stay in my pjs, eat bon-bons and watch the snow fall. No, "they" don't make bon-bons anymore and yes, that is a proper noun and should thus be capitalized. Instead I got dressed and attempted a short schooling day in order to make up for all that we missed during our wonderful family reunion the past few weeks. I didn't accomplish much for school and I didn't eat bon-bons. I did get dressed and the snow fell for an hour. Beautiful. I remain thankful knowing that "He makes all things beautiful in His time." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Look what we bought!

We are now the proud owners of a 15 passenger Chevy Express van!


I wish I had photos of all the kids reactions...


This is what Daniel thought of it:

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, complete with a new nephew being born just a week prior. Welcome Payton! He is wonderful and his parents are so pleased that he has arrived. Peter's Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother-in-law, their 3 kiddos, Gramma and Auntie all flew in from Cali to meet Payton and celebrate all for which we are so very thankful!

We celebrated an early Christmas while they were all visiting and hired a photographer to take family photos. I am sure there will be an update to my blog header before you know it!

We have been out of school mode since everyone arrived. Tomorrow we dive head first into a 25 day Christmas Unit before we take another break (maybe!). We will also attempt to put the house back in order after our fun party week.

Happy December First!!! Remember when the years went slowly?

Not sure where to give this year?

There are so many opportunities to give during the Holidays (Holy Days) and throughout the year. Where, who or what are you planning to give to this year? Leave a comment and let me know.

If you are looking for a place to help support our troops, visit:
THIS and Help A Hero!

Van Wanted

Well, the adjuster came and after much calculating decided that our van is to be totaled. I am sad. Although we were to purchase a new van this Summer, our now totaled van was supposed to become hubby's car, not be hauled off as if it had never been an important vehicle in our lives. It is the car in which we grew our family and I am sad to see it go...
We are thankful to friends from church who have loaned us a van until we can find our new one. It is a 7 passenger, so it's just us!

So, Van Wanted! If you are selling a fabulous 15 passenger, low miles, practically new Chevy Express or GMC Savana, please leave me a little comment with some contact info.

Venison! It's what's for dinner.

Doe a deer, a female deer

Ray of hope for meat for winter

Me wrapping it up all pretty

Far a long long way to tow

So we may get our new van early

La Mommy's not holding her breath

Tea we won't drink as we are nauseous

Which brings us back to Doe free Doe

Daniel turned 4!!!!

Our sweet no-longer-baby boy turned FOUR on October 29th. We have been so busy and his party was such a big full day that I did not have time to post about him. So, Happy Belated Birthday Buddy! We love you so much. You are an amazing blessing to us and we are thankful to be your parents. XOXO

Here are a few pictures from his big day! We start each birthday morning with the kids waking up to the house decorated for them. We always put something in the doorway of their bedroom. For Daniel we hung 4 balloons so that he had to walk through them to come out of his room in the morning. We then put Speed Racer table cloth, plates and napkins on the table so that was ready to go for his special breakfast that he picked out: "vanilla donuts, chocolate donuts, sausage, eggs because they are healthy and lollipops!" Then we had family and friends to the house in the late afternoon/early evening for "pin the license plate on the hot-rod," more yummy food and of course cake and ice cream. It was such a fun day and he was so pleased.

He was so excited he pulled the cake off the counter.
Yea! It was still enclosed and only slid to the back of the box.

Happy Birthday Amber!

Today is my sisters birthday.
She is 29 and holding.
Happy Birthday Sister!
We all love you so much.
We are excited for the next year of your life.
We can't wait to meet your beautiful baby in March!
XOXO

Muslim Talking Doll? You decide.

I found this video interesting. What do you think of this talking doll?







Here is the link to the OneNewsNow article about the doll.

Adoption: We Want More and 40 Days For Life

Peter and I want more children. We know God has impressed this desire upon our hearts and we readily accept this calling. We are quiverfull. It is funny to say that we are quiverfull when the essence of this means to be open to God controlling the womb, either by giving you 1 or by giving you 18. Nevertheless, we are quiverfull and know that God has a rich plan to grow our family for His purposes and His glory. We do not know where are next child is or where he will come from, but we know he is out there and we are preparing our hearts for him (or her).

I had an anonymous poster on my AFA Journal post who asked for prayer for her daughter who is pregnant and needs clarity on a plan for her unborn baby. Please pray for this girl as well as her family as they help her to make a prayerful decision. Anonymous: I will pray with you. God has a plan for this baby. I will pray that your daughter has ears to hear what God is telling her and that she sees you as a source of wisdom.

Abortion is a big topic in our country around election time. But it's a huge topic to God all the time. Abortion and Adoption go hand in hand. Since Roe v. Wade the number of infants in the foster care system has been drastically reduced due to the increase of abortions. The movie Expelled talks about the link between Planned Parenthood and racism. I probably don't have to tell you that adoption, abortion and racism are all topics that are at the front of my mind. That being said, have you heard about 40 Days For Life? This is a powerful tool that God is using across the country to bring Pro-Lifers from differing denominations together in order to pray and peacefully picket abortion clinics. Please check out the link and pray. Maybe you can join a peaceful picket near you.

I know there are people reading this who have had abortions. My heart weeps with you at the emotion that is in your soul. I know your heart is hurting. There are many places that offer caring help. This is one. I am praying for you too...

Pray for YWAM-Orissa

Please pray for this situation during the next 10 days...


"We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kin d of carnage.... And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media ....
Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bea r the name of Christ.
Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home.
They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.' Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past three days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer.
More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left.
We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.
All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.' More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen.
This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.

Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission. What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa....Prayer works!”
~ Facilitators to YWAM frontlines

Peter Quote

This morning at breakfast:

Kristen: "Peter, would you like some more eggs?"

Peter: "No thank you, I'm full. I'm just gonna have some bacon and jelly."

We both chuckled good at that one. He is so funny.

Apple Picking

On Monday we went on a wonderful field trip to go apple picking, berry eating and pumpkin patching! It was fabulous. We brought home about 50 pounds of apples, but they are going fast. Today, the children and I made crock-pot apple sauce. We are enjoying eating them and are anxious for our own farm, complete with apple trees! I promised my Mom that I would send text photos, but didn't take my phone into the orchard. So, here they are instead Mom. Enjoy!

Braving it by the beehives!

Daniel will be 4 at the end of the month. Little stud pulling 20 month old brother.

Ummm, any clue what happen?

Just apples, no little brother!

Catching back up.

D's tired. (Hope you enjoyed the progression. I couldn't leave that out, too funny!)

Our apple load.

50 pounds of You Pick apples (4 varieties), four pumpkins, loads of berries, fruit roll snacks from the shop, picnic by the goat pens, lots of walking, hot cider and a short drive through the country wondering if there is property for sale nearby! It was a really fun family filled day!

U. N. Opportuniy for Pro-Lifers

OneNewsNow.com had this article regarding the U. N.'s 60th anniversary celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be held on December 10, on their site. International abortion providers are hoping to influence the U. N. to read the declaration with the inclusion of the right to abortion. The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, otherwise known as C-FAM is gathering signatures for their petition in order to persuade the U. N. to interpret said declaration as protection for the unborn child. The petition has an inclusion for the right of parents to educate their children and choose "the kind of education for their children ."
You can sign the petition here.

Adoption: AFA Journal

This months issue of the AFA Journal had an article about adoption entitled, Like Father, Like Son, which included many informative links.

A quote from the article:

“A large number of Christians – at some point in their journey – consider adopting, but they don’t know where to go or who to trust in that process,” Sandberg said. “I always say to them: ‘Of course you would consider adopting. You’re just like your Father because He adopted you. If you’re a child of God, naturally you would want to reflect Him.’” Encountering the Father and becoming a true reflection of His glory is what it’s all about for His children.

I thought that was so neat. As we grow more in knowledge of and relationship to God, we want to reflect Him. Adoption is one way that people are called to reflect Him.

Sandberg also states:

“Adoption isn’t ministry,” Sandberg said. “Adoption is choosing to parent and choosing to love and calling a child my own, as God calls me His own. “So if you’re looking for a ministry, you shouldn’t adopt,” she added. “You should … care for orphans … [in some way].”

This statement is true in some ways, but in one specific way I disagree. Adoption is choosing to love and parent a child that is not biologically yours. It is treating that child like they are biologically yours in every way without being blind to their needs to discuss their adoption. In an adoption court hearing you swear to treat them "as if your own" including promising them their share of inheritance. Cool, huh? Adoption is not rescuing a child. It is not treating them like you are their great blessing or with an "if it weren't for me" attitude. But, it certainly can be a ministry. God has led our family to adopt through the foster care system. Children from the system have varied backgrounds and suffer huge, sometimes life-long, consequences due to other peoples behavior. But why do children get into the system in the first place? It is not typically due to their birth parents "choosing an adoption plan" for their kids. They are taken from their parents, usually due to their parents negative behavior (drugs, various abuse, neglect, homelessness, not protecting them from others). Due to the backgrounds of some of the children from the system I think it can be a ministry. However, it must be balanced. An adoptive parent must make sure they are loving, nurturing, disciplining, caring for, feeding, teaching and discipling their children. You can't spend each day looking at your child as a ministry, but some days certainly can feel that way. Each day must be loving them completely in order to bring them to complete healing through Christ. I can do nothing apart from Him. I can't even love my children completely but for Christ.

Adoption poll is soon to end...

I have had my adoption poll on my sidebar for almost a year. It is amazing how quickly the time went. If you haven't voted, please do so. My purpose in asking those specific questions was to understand who I may be reaching through my blog that I may encourage you, answer questions and just be here should you decide to adopt. So, my poll is ending and I am kicking off my adoption posts. I want to point you in the direction that you may need to go in order to pursue what God has placed on your heart. If He has not shown you that His plan for you is to adopt, please don't leave! Read along with us and see where our discussion may take you. I welcome questions, so feel free to post them in the comments section of the latest post and I will answer. You may even give me motivation for an in depth posting.

Although this is the official "kick off" to talking in depth. I kind of started on Friday when I posted about our sweet Daniel and his retelling of his adoption story. If you haven't read it, please read below or if you are joining us late, click the link above.

I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts and encouragement to you. Stay tuned!

Adoption-A Story by Daniel

We are always open with our kids in talking about adoption. I tell and retell their stories so that they are very comfortable with them and feel free to ask questions. I had the pleasant surprise of having Daniel tell me his story tonight and this is how it went...

Once upon a time I was a little baby in my BaMommy's tummy (at this point he is actually looking at my tummy, but I know he is trying to get "birthmom" across but does not quite understand what that means yet). I was in there for THREE DAYS. Yes, THREE DAYS! (This is how he really said it, so cute!) I came out and Jesus gave me to Mommy. (We tell him that Jesus planned for him to have us as his Mommy and Daddy.) Now, I eat here. (This cracked me up! We often ask the kids, "How do you know we love you?" We help them with their response: we take care of you, we feed you (this is where he got that last part!), we play with you, we teach you, we discipline you...).

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my boy.

Friday Fevers and Fun

Seriously, that's my title. I have two down with colds and slight fevers. Although the day involved a lot of tissues and hand sanitizer, we still had fun.

I "twisted" or "locked" Abigail's hair while we watched a bit of our school movie. This style should last a few weeks since we are not in and out of the pool anymore for the season (sigh). It is really cute on her.

I made this for dinner! It doesn't look as good in the picture, but it was fun. Any guesses?
It's a non-seafood seafood theme. The turkey-dog is an octopus. The noodles with cheese are sand. The almonds are shells. The grapes are sea nettles. The cucumber is seaweed. Although Daniel preferred to call it a snake! The black beans are "ink." The kids really enjoyed figuring out what each thing was supposed to be and then they enjoying gobbling it up! Tip: Cut 8 legs onto your hotdog while leaving about 1.5 inches together at top, then boil. The ends will curl, helping to create your octopus.

Face stuffers! Ashley doesn't really eat like that; she saw me coming with the camera.

Don't let those cute, clean faces fool you! These are my sickies.
Come on, look sick or noone will believe me! Papa and Gramommy will just think I was teasing them in order to get them to take Ashley to her 9:15 pm soccer game. Yes, you read that right, 9:15 pm. Huh?!
Thanks Dad and Mom aka Papa and Gramommy!!!

The non-sickies after dinner. They had a great time on the trampoline.
These are their funny faces!

Hope you enjoyed our day in pictures. All photos were taken on my cell phone, so no excuse now. I will just post kind of blurry phone photos. Have a happy Saturday!

A little blog refreshing!

I did something for "me" tonight. I updated my blog page. I hope you like the new color scheme and family photo atop. Is that really the best photo we could do?! Actually, yes.

As you can see from the picture the children are in full swing for soccer. We will actually be finished the first week of November (if we don't have any more rain forcing us to postpone games). The boys had their first game last night and really enjoyed it.

John gets a little Mommy coaching before the game
while another player practices making a goal.

Daniel worked so hard. He is still only 3 and smaller than the "big" 4 and 5 year olds that he is playing with. He keeps up so well and does a great job! He is our wonderful soccer dribbler!

John is hungry after making 3 goals all by himself! He worked hard too.

The girls had soccer photos last night so Aunt B stayed with them to make sure they were primped properly while Daddy and Mommy took the boys. The girls and Aunt B made it to the field to watch the last 10 minutes. The boys LIT UP when they saw Aunt B was there!

We are halfway through our third week of school. It is going well and the children are learning so much. We stepped off the actual size of Noah's ark yesterday. It was so fun and such a great way to get a real idea of the massive boat. The children couldn't believe it stretched almost from our house to Papa and Gramommy's. Wow. They are also enjoying Math U See. They are really understanding their Math concepts. Even the boys!

We dug out an old camera and are hoping to get more photos of the children. We will post them as events happen. Maybe. If the old camera continues to work. If we remember to bring the camera. If we don't leave it in the bathroom of whatever event we are at and then fly, in an airplane, several hours away from that bathroom, never to find the camera again. Maybe. We'll see. You'll see.

Well, I have one tiny boy with a bad cold who kept me up for several hours last night. Another big boy came in before said tiny boy and decided to cuddle me no matter where I went on my bed. So, I was up for about 3 hours... Wonderful Husband is gone on a trip tonight so I am off to sleep, sleep, sleep, sleeeeeep..... Good night!

Did you miss me?

I can't believe how long I have gone without writing even so much as a hello!
Let me catch you up on our family events...

Our Summer was wonderful and altogether too short. We ended it with a drive through Hurricane Hanna to OBX. We spent a fun week in Avon before heading home to begin our KONOS school year. Don't ask for pictures because, although we purchased a camera and I double checked to make sure we had it, we reached the beach only to discover it was nowhere amongst our possessions. We returned to find it sitting on the kitchen island (sigh).

Our first week of school has been challenging. It is always difficult to get back into the swing of things. I am praying for wisdom in carrying out the plans for each day. Sometimes it is hard to see where, as a home school mom, I am over or under tasking. If I do either someone is going to be frustrated (ok, it's me, I admit it!).

Oma is flying overhead to visit us for a few days. She lands in an hour, so I am off to find hubby to make sure he knows the time. I know where he is, I am just not telling you. Made you curious though, huh?

A new blog I found

Hi,
I am adding this blog to my "Places I Go" list (below left). It is an amazing thing to bring a child into your home, whether by birth or a child who is not biologically related to you. It is amazing to love them, nurture them, pass a mirror and wonder how it's possible that they don't look like you and pour yourself out to them...because they are yours. It is totally another thing to do that with a child who you know has the potential to die under your loving care. The above link is to a family who is doing just that. I know there are many more out there. Bless you for your compassion on these dear ones.

Raccoon

In an effort to simplify our homeschooling as well as get things more on track with wanting to have an emphasis on Biblical teaching, we have decided to not return to our homeschool co-op in the Fall. Instead, we will be diving into KONOS. We are really excited about this type of learning. We will be teaching all the children at the same time and they will have assignments based on their learning level. My husband is very excited about this as it will enable him to do some of the things with the children that he has been wanting to do but never seemed to have time. For weeks (since our decision to use Konos) he has been talking about making raccoon skin caps for/with the children. He had it in his mind to pick up five raccoons from the side of the road, bring them home, skin them, tan them and bury the remains. I have smiled at him as he has spoken of this adventure, knowing that he certainly had the fortitude, but that I would in no way encourage him to bring it to fruition. Tonight the long awaited dream of scraping up road kill and bringing it home became a bittersweet reality. Bitter (blaa) to me, sweet to him! He used a large plastic bag to first poke the animal. You have to make sure they are really dead you know. You don't want those possibly rabid suckers suddenly waking up, clawing and shrieking for freedom, while your children kick, scream and throw pretzels in the back seat. So, it was dead and he made the "really good husband" decision to tie it to the top of the van. We/It made it home safely, except for the fact that it was dead of course. He spent time and creativity in skinning his prize, then buried the remains 18 inches underground in the garden. Yes Dad, I am hoping the neighborhood fox doesn't find it either. The skin is stretched (aka nailed hands, head and feet spread as far apart as possible) on a large piece of scrap wood outback. I am awaiting the vultures. My husband is awaiting the salt to help dry it so that he can begin the next step of assembly. I may have to make a needle out of its bone to really get the whole effect. I am not sure which child will get the first cap. None of them are jumping up and down yelling, "oh pick me, pick me!" It may just wind up that Hubby gets the honors. He is so cool. What a manly man!

Kid Quote

This morning after breakfast I was playing Candid Conversation with Daniel (3 yo). This is a fun game where you draw a card and answer the question. The questions are supposed to inspire conversation about that topic. Daniel kept drawing cards, I would read them and then he would repeat what I was saying. Only once did he decide to answer the question rather than mimic me. The question was, "What do you do if someone in front of you drops $20?" Daniel's response, "Clean it up!" Oh my kids are so cute! Do you think maybe I emphasize cleaning up?

Wedding Pics

Mom and Aunt B sent the first few photos that I have received. Thanks!

I had to put this in because my boys are so cute!
My hair was cute too, but you'll never really know.

Ashley and Abigail as the sweet flower girls

I love this photo as Dad and Mom are smiling at their guests,
the Bride only has eyes for her Groom.

The ceremony took place on Dad and Mom's pier.

First dance as Husband and Wife

Wedding Bells!

We just got home from my sister's big day! She is now the Mrs. to her tall Mr. My kids made up most of the bridal party as the flower girls and ring bearers. We didn't take any pictures, so stay tuned for when I have some sent my way.

The wedding was on my parents pier with the guests all standing on the beach. I spent most of last evening rolling my girls hair in spongy pink rollers. This morning I pinned their hair up. They were beauties! The boys all had matching Hawaiian shirts. So sweet! I am sure our family photo will make it as the main photo at the top of my blog.

The story that we will look back and laugh at (but is not completely funny to me yet!) is...
Our John thought it was a good idea to roll down the grassy hill in the backyard. He did this a few minutes before he was supposed to take the ring bearer walk down the pier. Well, he rolled in dog poop!!! It was all down his pants legs, a little on his shirt and my dad (Papa) was having to wash it off the couch (John had come in and sat down to wait). We stripped him down, through his pants in the wash and then ran home to see if we had another pair that would work. We did! We had him changed and looking spiffy before my sister was even ready. We are sure that the delay in the wedding will be blamed on John for the rest of his life, but in reality, it was the bride (hair, make-up)!

After the beach we headed to a nice reception and enjoyed plenty of yummy food, cake, fellowship and dancing. I had to ask the DJ to play something a little less sensual as it was mainly my kids out on the floor and I didn't want to hear one more song about anyone's backside!

It was a fun day. Peter has taken the girls back to the beach for an evening swim. The boys, having missed their nap, are down early for the night. I am hoping to watch an episode of Little House before falling into bed.

Here is the song that played while the Bride walked down the pier to meet her Groom. Be blessed by it!

Did you do this this week? We did!

This is how we started the week:

The Boat.

The Gramommy.

The girls.

The Papa.

The pictures are your only hint! Do you know where we visited this week?

Yes, he's comfortable. Don't laugh. Ergo carrier, get one!

Chocolate. I bought the chocolate covered potato chips.
(not pictured, devoured)

This is how we ended it:

WE ARE SO BLESSED!