First Week of School

Our first week of school went really well. Savannah and Amaris are awesome little students. They learned so much just in the first week of school and are excited about having tests every week. We didn't do tests last year, but this year I am making up tests each week to give them from what we learned during the week. My plan is to give them the test on Monday from what they learned the previous week. I can't believe how much info. we covered in just one week. I came up with 29 questions for their test tomorrow. They might decide tests aren't as fun as they imagined they were.

Jadon did awesome with his school work too. He stuck with it Monday - Wednesday and then by Thursday decided he needed to watch cartoons instead. I was fine with that since I was going to attempt getting two days of school work done with the girls because we took Friday off to go visit my friend and her new baby. I think I'll just stick with 3 days a week with Jadon so he doesn't get sick of doing school every day.

Here are the kids and their school books....


Here are some pictures of the kids and my parents new camper. They can't wait to go on a real camping trip in it.

Trying out their new fishing poles..............

Friday will be Savannah and Amaris' first day of P.E. - Bowling! We joined a homeschool group and every Friday they have P.E. For the month of September it is Bowling. Savannah is super excited about October's P.E. - Soccer!

So much to do!

Well, we are supposed to start school on Monday, and I have so much to do to get ready. We are all really excited to get started though. I love teaching the kids and they are such great students. So far they all seem to have a love for learning which is so awesome. Today when I told Jadon I was taking him and Bethany to the Library he said, "Yay, the library." Then at one point while he was waiting for us to checkout he spontaneously went over to Bethany and gave her a kiss and then me a kiss. Then Bethany gave me a kiss. They are so cute and sweet. Oh, and Jadon had to check out the Arthur book about underwear. Not sure what the storyline is, but Jadon thought it was so funny that the cover showed Arthur wearing underwear and no pants. He immediately snatched the book up and claimed it as his. :)

Savannah and Amaris are staying the night at my parents house in their new camper. They already stayed last night in it with Jadon too. They all had a great time and actually went to sleep with no problem. In September we are all going to go on a real campout in Bastrop. That should be fun. My parents bought all the kids little fishing poles and they practiced with them last night in the little swimming pool in my parents backyard. They thought that was pretty fun. They made a good habit of getting tangled up with one another or in a tree though. I can only imagine what real fishing will be like.

On Saturday Andy had the idea to go to Cabela's in Buda. For us, that's about as spontaneously exciting as it gets. We all had a really good time and enjoyed doing something different. The kids had a blast seeing all the different animals and getting to shoot guns at the little arcade shooting range. Now Jadon really wants a toy rifle. He's so funny. After we got home I asked him what his favorite animal he saw was and he answered, "The dog with the missing leg." Ok, not what I meant. We had gone to the Farm Supply store in Georgetown and they had a dog there and it was missing one of its back legs. I guess he thought that was pretty neat. He is so completely boy.

My Precious Girls

Boy, times sure have changed. I didn't even have a computer until I was in College. I learned how to type in high school on, get this, a typewriter. And though I use my computer daily, I still wouldn't consider myself technologically savvy. Well, these days babies can use computers better than some adults.

With that in mind, Savannah asked me a while back if she could have her own blog. She didn't exactly know what a blog was, but she knew I had one and so she likely thought it would be "cool" (is that word still used?) to have one too. So I gave in, and yesterday I helped her create her own blog.

She is so proud of it, and I have to admit I think it's pretty cute too. I can already tell, though, that I'm going to have to put some limits on her blogging. She is constantly asking me if she can "text" something for her blog. That's her way of asking if she can type up a new post. She hears the word "text" a lot, but she doesn't really know what it means since neither Andy or I text. So cute.

And, of course, since Savannah got a blog, Amaris wanted one too. And, of course, I obliged. Her's looks really good too and my hope is that blogging will be something that they can learn from and be productive with.

I have done pretty much all the work for them both, but I let them pick out their own backgrounds and other things they wanted on their blog. I imagine before long they will have it all figured out on their own and know more about it than I do, which honestly isn't very much.

I set up their blogs under my account and have the security settings in place so that only those who are invited can view their blog. So, If you are interested in seeing their blogs, leave me a comment letting me know, and if you are a friend or family member I'll send you an invitation. And be sure to leave them a comment. It is so exciting to them to get comments.

Life Long Friends Already Included

I sometimes wonder if my kids will have a life long friend. You know, a friend you meet as a child and somehow manage to stay friends with into adulthood and hopefully forever. Well, I am blessed to have two friends that fit that description. One is my friend Donna who I met in seventh grade, my first year of public school. I was going through a lot of changes in my life at that time, and God knew I needed a friend like Donna. The other is my friend Crystal. I met her when, if I remember correctly, she was 3 years old and I was 4 years old. I lived next to her in Leander and we've stayed friends ever since.

Unfortunately with life being as busy as it is, I don't talk to or get together with Donna or Crystal near as often as I would like, but we stay in touch and make efforts to get together when possible

This past Saturday I was able to see Crystal for the first time in probably a year. I am so excited for her and her husband. They are pregnant with their first child. A little girl named Kylie Grace. Kylie should be making her entrance into the world around the end of August. She is going to be one decked out baby. She got a lot of adorable gifts at her baby shower. I can't wait to see her in person!

Me and Crystal at her baby shower.

Well, my kids are already forming relationships and making friends that have me wondering, "Is this a life long friend?" I definitely hope they will find special friends that last. But my biggest prayer is that they will be each other's life long friend.

You know how when you buy some electronics or toys the box will say "batteries included". Well that is a huge plus because the batteries are essential for the product to function and who wants to spend an extra $5 bucks or more on batteries if you can avoid it? Well, I believe God gives us family, siblings especially, to be our "already included" life long friends and to be constants in our life that we can always count on. I love to see sisters and/or brothers that truly love one another, enjoy each other's company, and are best friends. Of course that doesn't mean their won't ever be disagreements, but they are handled with love and respect for one another. I wish I knew the secret to ensuring this would happen with my children, but since I don't I will keep praying about it and trusting God to work it all out for me.

Life Long Friends!?!.......

Savannah, Amaris, Jadon, and Bethany after getting all dirty making a mud "cake" in Jadon's dump truck!

My kids with their friends Colt and Caden.

Bethany and Emma

Bethany and Caden.

It's been a long time!

And I've got lots to share. Time has gone by so fast since my last post. Things got crazy busy around the 2nd week of June and have finally slowed down.

The busyness started with VBS at our church. I had signed up to teach the 1st and 2nd grade class this year. Last year I helped with Amaris' class, and so this year Savannah wanted me to teach her class. I was already stressing about getting everything together and ready for that when we found out the director of our VBS stepped down. Long story short, I volunteered to help out with a few things that I thought would be fairly easy, and ended up taking on a MUCH larger role than expected. Andy also stepped up big and helped out each day with the Worshp Rally and Music. He did an AWESOME job and the kids loved him. The adults were quite entertained by him as well. I wish I had some video of him!

VBS required a lot of time to prepare for and a lot of hard work to accomplish, but we had a good time and so did the kids.

Amaris and Bethany - soo cute!

Savannah and Jadon - not sure they wanted their picture taken.

My classroom that I decorated (with Andy's help)!

Another view of my classroom.

Andy helping with music.

During the planning and preparation of VBS Savannah got sick and had us all a little worried. She basically started out with a fever and feeling tired. She complained very midly of her stomach hurting and a sore throat. After a few days of fever she got a "rash" pretty much over her entire legs. Andy thought it was a virus. The rash faded after one day and was completely gone after two days. The fever and lethargy stuck around though. We took her to the doctor and after blood work and some waiting we found out she had Mono. We were actually very relieved because some of the other options were horrible to even consider. Poor Savannah had a pretty rough time getting over the mono. She's better now though and seems to be good as new.

Amaris turned 6 years old on June 25th. Time really goes by way too fast. We had a little celebration at home on her actual birthday, but for the big birthday celebration she wanted to go to the same resort we took Savannah to for her birthday. It is called The Villages Resort and is near Tyler, TX. It has an indoor waterpark which is a lot of fun for the kids. We went for July 4th weekend and had a really good time.

Since Andy's birthday is July 9th, the resort was a joint birthday celebration for Amaris and Andy. It was a lot of fun. We got to eat snowcones and see some great fireworks, go swimming at the outdoor pool, play putt putt golf, have some fun at the arcade, and play at the indoor water park. My dad was able to come for one night and the kids LOVED that!

The only bummer of the trip was the AC going out in my Suburban on our way to the resort. I'm so thankful my dad was following along with us. He let me and the kids use his air conditioned truck and he and Andy sweated it out the rest of the way in our Suburban. And thankfully Andy should really be called "Handy Andy" because he stopped and got parts along the way and then got up early Sunday morning and fixed the AC on the Suburban in the Walmart parking lot. Our ride home would have been miserable if he hadn't done that. Plus he saved us a lot of money!

Amaris and her birthday cake.

Amaris and some of the new goodies for her baby dolls.

Jadon and Bethany playing at the resort.

How Jadon and Bethany "watched" the fireworks.


Savannah


Amaris

Water park fun......

Amaris and her new American Girl Bitty Baby

that she got for her birthday. She LOVES it!

And last, but not least...Andy got a guitar for his birthday. He loves it too. Now all he needs to do is learn how to play it.

Just Sharing

I came across this article today and thought it was worth sharing. It's not long, so check it out...
http://www.savedhealed.com/trick.htm

How Prayer, Fun Tee Shirts....

....and declaring your Christian Faith are all connected.

A little over a year ago I started praying for a little boy named Noah who I didn't know, but came across on homeschool blogger. Since I began prayng for him, I have, in some way or another, come across many other children in need of prayer. Easily over a dozen. Mostly they have cancer, but some have heart problems, immune system disorders, or leukemia. Of those I have been praying for, sadly many have died. In fact, several of them died within just a few weeks of each other - in April and May of this year.

It really has been a blessing to me to pray for these precious children and their families. It has helped me to keep the right perspective on things in my life and cherish my children even more. For as the Bible says in Proverbs 27 , "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." I was just reading this with Savannah and Amaris Wednesday night (I have been trying to read a Proverb a day with them based on what day of the month it is.) It is such a simple reminder that God is in control of our lives. It is ALL in His hands. Wow! That is very comforting and a little scary at the same time.

At one point, I was overwhelmed by the pain and loss these families were going through. I would burst into tears just thinking about it. It was actually making me somewhat depressed. Especially when I would think about how it could easily be my family going through it. Andy thought I shouldn't be going to people's Carepages anymore because of the effect it was having on me. Thankfully, I have gotten better at coping with it. I think the Lord has just helped me to see that it IS in His hands. My being depressed over it isn't going to help or change the situation. BUT, prayer can. So....I keep praying. Lifting these precious families up to my Heavenly Father and trusting His plan and purpose for their life. And although I am still saddened and grieved by what they are going through, I am more at peace and don't dwell on the tragedy of it as much anymore.

Ok, where am I going with all of this? I don't know if you have noticed or not, but on my sidebar (scroll to the top of my blog and look on either side) are two of the children I am praying for - Luke and Stellan. If you click on their picture you can read their story. I urge you to do so and be in prayer for them and their family. It truly is a blessing to pray for others - a blessing for you and them.

Well, the other day when I was checking out Stellan's Mom's Blog (she seems like such an awesome lady with lots of talents and a BEAUTIFUL family) she had posted that a company called Wild Olive Tees had designed a t-shirt for her because of Stellan. And that part of the profit would go to a charity that she (Stellan's Mom) had chosen. Well, the shirt was so neat that I had to check out the Wild Olive Tees website. Let me tell you that I LOVE their shirts and the purpose behind them. They are so neat. Basically, they have one word or a phrase on the front, and then a scripture that relates to it on the back. As soon as I saw them my mind was in a constant spin with ideas for shirts. It was pretty funny how I couldn't stop thinking of ideas. I think I'm going to ask them for a job! (Just Kidding)

If you want to see some fun shirts that boldly declare God's Word, go check out Wild Olive Tees and if you want to see the shirt they designed for Stellan's mom and the story behind it, click HERE. And don't forget, if you purchase the shirt they designed for Stellan's mom, part of the profits are going to the charity that Stellan's mom chose - Until Journey's End.

So, here's how it is all connected - I've been praying for these children and was led to Stellan. While checking up on Stellan I learned about a neat tshirt that I really liked. My curiosity about the tshirt led me to Wild Olive Tees which is a company that isn't ashamed to declare their faith and uses tshirts as a tool to do just that. So there you have it. (Boy did that take a while!) :)

Love you all. Thanks for listening to my rambling and don't forget to pray for someone today!