Saturday, August 30, 2008

Busy Little Monkey

Micah seems to have hit another spurt of development. This week he put himself in time-out, learned to climb up to the counter, play the piano, and sprouted his 9th and 10th teeth. He is also obsessed with closing doors...any and all doors. He did a great job of nailing Aaron in the head with the microwave door last night!!


Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Birthday Girl

Seriously, she referred to herself as "the Birthday Girl". "The Birthday Girl would like some oatmeal." "The Birthday Girl is going outside to play." "The Birthday Girl is going to color."


What's Next?????

I have not blogged recently and so much has happened over the last week. I am going to attempt a quick re-cap and then will post pics as I am able.

Thursday and Friday-Shopping for a new kitchen sink and faucet. Both are leaking. Hopefully we will not have to replace countertop as well. (Even though I am always up for a change!)

The Weekend-Anna and Kelly were here and I shopped with Anna. Lots of fun. Wrapped up getting school supplies and bought a few kiddos some cute new things to start out the year on the right foot. Which reminds me...I need to buy shoes for kids. Ugh. Sunday found Mom and I canning, again. (Tomorrow we will be doing more of the same.)

Monday-Aaron and I went to the State Fair without children. So much fun just walking and talking. Nothing exciting, but we wanted to celebrate our 13th anniversary!

Tuesday-Our actual 13th anniversary and Maggie's 5th bday.

Today-First day of school. Basically "orientation" and passing out supplies and books. But this huge and exciting day was interrupted because we had a storm in the night which produced loads of lightning. The lightning, in turn, hit our house and fried the desktop computer (Carlie's school work is on there) and the main level TV, wireless router, digital cable box, phones, that kind of stuff. So our time was mixed with phone calls and a visit from the phone/cable company and an insurance adjuster. Whew.

Which leads up to the title of this entry.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Impromptu Visits

Maggie, Liz, and Glory

A big bonus to living so close to family members (all of my nieces and nephews on my side are within a ten mile radius) is the chance for an unexpected visit. Casey and his kids popped in on my parents last night which lead to an unscheduled play date for the kids. Our kids adore their cousins and always jump right in to enjoy the moments they have together.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Transition Time

Summer is slipping away. Part of me is so ready to be done with it but the other part has loved the time off, if you can call it that. We are two weeks out from school beginning and I need every one of those moments to prepare myself. I am sure that this year will prove to be a crazy one with so many various ages, but we will manage! Whether they know it or not, the kiddos are ready for routine. Mostly they are excited about school and fall and the change that each will bring. They are looking forward to changes in weather and the start of fall activities at church.

But we will pack in as much summer as we can these next two weeks, intermingled with practicing getting into a fall routine. This week is HOT and the kids are loving the pool. I am going to take Carlie for a cast re-evaluation on Friday, so hopefully she will get to swim a few more times before we take the pool down. I plan to let the kids enjoy as much summer as they can while I am planning the rest of our school details and canning.

Hope everybody else is enjoying the rest of August! I know some of you are already back to teaching at public school and some of your kids are back in class. I am sure that you are in our thoughts while we are munching on popsicles and lounging in the pool!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Canning and Cleaning

Mommy's little helper.

A man after my heart.

Canning potatoes and beans.

Campfire

The last three days have flown by in a flurry of driving kids back and forth to town for Campfire (Lakeside Fireplace Church "VBS"). This was the first time I had ever had so many of my kids gone at a time. Maggie and Glory had class with Miss Amy from 9-11. Caleb and Ellie were at church from 9-6 pm. Carlie got there whenever it worked out but did not get picked up until 9 pm. Ellie got to bring her friend (C.V.) home each day after camp. The kids got a lot out of this time, especially Glory and Maggie. I have heard all about how Jesus is their King. They sang the Misty Edwards song with the lyrics "He's not a baby in a manger anymore, He's not a broken man on the Cross, He didn't stay in the grave, and He's not staying in Heaven forever. He's Alive!" (Check her out on Itunes. The song is "People Get Ready".)

Our church truly feels like an extension of our family and I love that the kids are getting so much more than just Bible stories and cute songs with hand motions. Those things are great and have there place, but I want more for my children than what I had. So for all of you involved with helping out at Campfire, thank you so much.

Tonight we will wrap up Campfire with our monthly Burgers in the Park complete with food and beach time. After that I am so ready to get back to normal, whatever that is this year, and start practicing a fall routine. These next couple of weeks will race by me and then a more organized and scheduled busy-ness will begin! :)

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Milestones

The past week was a milestone week all around. Glory potty trained herself (finally) and Micah weaned himself. This just proves that you never know what tomorrow (or the next 5 minutes) will bring. I can plan and organize all that I want, but I am so thankful that God is in control. His timing is always so much better than mine. And His care for the smallest details far surpasses anything I could come up with.

What will this week hold? This week the kids will be involved with Campfire at our church, hosted by dear friends, the Vagnoni Family from International House of Prayer. I will make trips running back and forth to bring kids into town. I hope to run some errands and wrap up the school organizing. In between all of that, well I just don't know what will go on. I do know that this week will go by all too fast and before I get a chance to catch my breath, we will be back in the thick of school and the fall routine.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Oh Happy Day!

Yesterday Aaron came home with a laminator for me. To most of you, a laminator would be something that you would use once in a while. Nothing to get excited about. To those of us who are O.C.D. about office supplies, it doesn't get much better than this. I used up all of the laminating packets within an hour of receiving the machine. I can only compare how happy I am with two other memorable days in my life...the day I got a KitchenAid stand mixer and the day I received a label maker.


Friday, August 8, 2008

Princess Stinker



I am not sure who coined the phrase "terrible twos". I think the threes are much worse. I am not sure what is going on with child #5 lately, but the last few weeks have found me challenged like never before. Glory is determined, fiercely independent, bossy, sassy, energetic, naughty, mean, and a whole host of other things lately. She has been catty, telling one sibling that he or she is "my best friend". I think she does that to make the other kids cry. She has been locking herself into bathrooms and bedrooms, getting into all sorts of mischief with water and glitter and chapstick. She changes her clothes ten times a day. She hides things that don't belong to her to keep them for herself. She purposely sits in any spot at meal times other than her own. She screams and taunts and fights.



But she gives the best hugs and kisses. Glory can be so sweet to her baby brother. She is remembering to use her manners when she wants things. She has begun to wear underwear most of the time and gets herself to the toilet. And she enjoys life. The above photo was taken after picking beans in the garden. She loves to be outside and longs for someone to play with her. She still enjoys naps and rest times and being read to. She gets the humor in movies and television shows.



In short, Glory has transformed over the summer from a baby-ish sort of girl, to a little girl. There is no going back now. I guess I had just better roll with the punches and try to figure out how to help an emotional three-year-old through a transitional time in her life. And I will cling to every moment that she lays in my arms, breathing deeply, sleeping after a busy day of just trying to be big.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

One downside to having a half dozen kids shows itself when a virus sweeps through the home. Last week (after being at VBS) the kids started getting sick. Nothing terrible, fever, sore throat, headache, and some stuffy noses. But it is so irritating that it gets spread out over a long period of time. Just when I think they are all done being sick, another one starts in. Last week started with Caleb, two days later was Ellie, last Friday found Glory with a fever. She seemed to get hit the hardest. The positive? Glory slept on and on and on. :)

I thought it was over with but then Maggie got stuffy and Micah started running a fever last night. Poor little guy. He wants to smile, but he feels rotten. Earlier in the morning he was walking around and pinching the skin on his neck while gurgling at the same time. Maybe his attempt to communicate that he had a sore throat? I gave him Tylenol and he slept through the night.

Carlie has been up since 4:30 a.m. with a fever and Ellie was up very early as well with a bad dream. :( Aaron isn't feeling the best either. I wouldn't be surprised if he came home from work early.

Today sounds like a perfect recipe for lots of reading, movies, puzzles, and being around the house together. I hate when the kids get sick, but I can't complain as our family only averages 2 or 3 bouts of minor illness a year. Micah is almost 1 1/2and I think this is his first fever. This will be over soon.

In the meantime...I am thinking we should purchase stock in Kleenex. Hope you are all feeling healthy and well.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

What's Up?

Things we have been up to this week:

*Swimming in the pool
*Organizing homeschool closet
*Sorting curriculum
*Loving on kids who are under the weather (Caleb, Ellie, Glory, and now Maggie)
*Making food with fresh zucchini, green beans, and cucumbers
*Preparing music for me to fill in for the worship leader today (fun!)
*Feeding the kids supper by myself as Aaron worked late every night
*Grandma took Carlie, Ellie, and Maggie to see Kit, An American Girl
*Micah had his well child visit (22 lbs, 30 inches tall...10th percentile for height and weight)
*Aaron and I had our first breakfast date at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday

It seems that this week has been unusually busy, but I am not sure why. I suppose when I take into account the amount of time spent each day applying sunscreen to the kids alone...well my day is broken up into many small sections of "busy". I wonder what this week will bring?