In Which We Haven't Covered That Yet

The kids had an assignment from church last week. They all remembered when they walked in this morning. They were supposed to think of something Jesus or Paul did that they should do as well. (Coming off of Paul's words about if you have seen anything in him, imitate him....etc.) So the older girls thought of something and wrote it down. I was working with Baby Bee to think of something.

Me: Tell me some things Jesus or Paul did in the Bible.
Her: Jesus died on the cross. He rose from the grave. He walked on water. He gave a promise not to flood the earth. I don't know Paul.

:) Well...to be fair, we are still reading the Old Testament and she's only 3! We'll get there!

This week in school I have some goals. One of them is to, you know, DO school and FINISH things every day.

I know. Wow.

But the other is to keep up with Sweetheart, who was given some freedom and trust last week and decided to completely skip both Biology and Math all week! So, back to babysitting in a hard way. I surely wish we had another set up so that I could be beside all the girls at once. Need a bigger house! And not just because of homeschooling either. This floor plan just isn't working for us anymore. But...here we are. Until the Lord makes a way for us to move, we are here.

I've been brainstorming about rearranging but haven't come up with a solution just yet. I can assure you when I do, it will be easier to just do it than talk to S about it first. Even though we are going to have some major school work going on this summer, I am still getting in the mood to rearrange, paint, and fix things up around here! We don't have any plans to go anywhere much so I should have plenty of time!

In Which the Ages are Getting to Me

I'll tell you, there are SO many blessings of having kids ranging in age from 3 to 16. BUT.....sometimes it is not so good. The 12 year old and the 3 year old have especially been grating on my nerves lately. I truly understand how mothers used to say in olden times that their nerves were rattled. When I read about mothers whose nerves were rattled in old books I always think, "what a wienie." Like women who used to have to go lie down whenever something stressful happened. Please.

But as I'm typing this, the very energetic 3 year old who never stops ever not even for a nap is pelting me with wads of stuffing. They are "snowballs". About the 5th one that hit me in the face started me to twitching. Oh she rattles my nerves some days. She just has so much energy and needs so much attention and we just can't. The big girls are doing school. I'm doing school with them. Or I have to pay a bill. Or I'm trying to switch the laundry. Or I'm trying to load the dishwasher. I mean, I have played with her today. She will need more of that because she doesn't have a sibling close in age. I wish sometimes she did! I know I will need to play with her more but it's never enough. She never wants me to stop. So I have guilt about her needs.

Little Bee in the dentist chair yesterday.

And the 12 year old has issues. I mean, some things truly bother her. Today Bee was putting her hand on Little Bit's jeans. And it was making her crazy because she said Bee's fingernails were kind of scratching her jeans and it was giving her goosebumps. See? Issues. Those kind of things she cannot overlook and get over. So there is a constant balance between asking Little Bit to put up with something (I mean, Bee was leaning over on her while she fixed her show--she wasn't exactly doing anything wrong) and getting onto Bee because I know Little Bit has reached her breaking point. It's a hard balance.

Bee, Me, and Little Bit. So pretty.

And Little Bit needs things perfect. And just so. And Bee is anything but "just so." She is like a tiny Tasmanian Devil. A whirl of words and motion and movement and constant doing things. And Little Bit wants to direct her and tell her no. And tell her to watch out. And tell her to stop. And it's going to be the death of me. Of course Bee reacts to bossy sister by doing the annoying thing more.

Sigh. Hard balance.

Good news? Sweetheart got her learner's permit today! Which means I did the paperwork right! It was a huge job gathering every little thing and I'm so thankful they accepted what I had brought. Facebook friends were very helpful with the advice.

When we left the DPS office I handed the keys to Sweetheart and told her to act like she was driving home. We did it just to watch Little Bit's face. She panicked. She doesn't want to ride with Sweetheart "until she's a professional." Her words. Can't blame her. I sure wish my van had a brake on the passenger's side.

As we were at story time today before the DPS office, I was watching a mom with a newborn and a little 3 year old boy. How different her world than the one where you have a 3 year old and a driver.

Hmm.

Love them all three.

Even when Mama's nerves are rattled.

In Which the Lord Comes Through for Us

Let me just go ahead and tell you: today was a very successful potty training day. That is all you need to know. And maybe that's why I felt like getting on here and blowing the dust off of the old blog. Oh, I've had SO much to say. 

So. Much.

But....3 year olds, and potty training, and ADD, and high school, and Tourette Syndrome, and vision problems and deaths in the family and lots of other things I'll catch you up on later....have prevented me from feeling like I had the time or brain cells necessary for blogging. Not like I used to. 

I really like writing here. 

It's good to be writing tonight. 

Tonight S is fishing. All three girls are asleep and the house is quiet. I've been despairing for weeks of how we will ever have the money we need for this school year to happen. Deep down I know the answer is just "trust God", but my very practical side wonders how? How will God work this out?

All day I've been writing down recent blessings that have come our way. I can't believe how long the list is. God is truly amazing. Some people might say we have just been lucky, or things have just worked out by coincidence, but I know better. I know that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." 

I'll just share a few things God has done for this broke family in the last week:
*a small refund
*a free shirt for Sweetheart (back to school clothes!)
*a box of large sheets of paper was given to us that we will be using for a future venture
*some folks from our homeschool group decided to bless our family by giving us, not selling us, their microscope they were finished with
*my used curriculum sold 
*some other unexpected money 

Crazy, right? We will make it to next payday and we will even be able to buy some of our curriculum. Why should I even concern myself with HOW we will buy the rest? Obviously the Lord knows our needs. 

Which makes me even more committed to well....committing this school year, this homeschool of ours, to Him. Last year, to quote Annie, was "just plain awful." Sweetheart and I especially had a really bad  year in 9th grade. This high school thing kicked our butt and won. But we learned a lot and we are not giving up! School is not easy for my children. I have finally come to terms with that. I see other people studying things far above our capabilities and I wonder why we can't even seem to get the "normal" stuff done. But as S pointed out to me recently, "Our homeschool will never look like other people's. We have a lot going on here." He's right, you know. I don't consider Little Bit to be "special needs" but actually she is.  Add to that Sweetheart's failed ADD meds attempt, and various other challenges and school can be just plain hard. 

But I know that we are the best ones to educate our children. I think my focus just got all skewed worrying about transcripts and college and credits and what the world says we are "supposed to" be doing with our girls' schooling. 

Forget all that. I'm changing our focus. I can't totally throw out the high school graduation requirements, but they don't have to be at the center of our decisions. The Lord should be there. I'll fill you in later how I'm making sure that happens this year. 

Ah...it's good to be back here. A new background, some updated pics of the girls and their correct ages....now...who is going to read this thing? :) Oh well. It feels good to write anyway!! 

Until tomorrow, 

Brenda

Why Yesterday Was Awful and OK--a List for Your Viewing Pleasure

Yesterday was awful because...

• Bee poured a huge cup of water all over the couch, my ipad, the floor, etc. 
• We were still doing school at 8pm
• S had to work on church stuff so he was pretty much disengaged all evening
• Bee won't come when called and I don't like spanking her in public. It just makes every single trip to the store or anywhere 50% harder than it needs to be. 
• Actually right now it's all harder. She doesn't want to get buckled in her car seat. She doesn't want to sit in the basket at the store. She doesn't want anyone to hold her hand. She doesn't want to walk into the house, she wants to examine every leaf in the yard. Sigh.
• It was the first day back after spring break and a wonderful vacation and I just wasn't ready to "be back." 
• I didn't sleep good. My coughing, Bee waking up, Little Bit's bad dream (all layered on top of each other of course.)
• I told the girls I was going to sack up anything in their bedroom floor and they both told me it was good and I sacked up an entire tall paper garbage bag FULL. 
• I had to sweep the living room (we have carpet) just so we could get all the crap in a pile and it took 3 of us 15 minutes to clean it all and we had started the day with the floor clean.

Yesterday was OK because...

• S did Bible stuff with the kids before bed. And Bee sat so proudly between her big sisters holding her Bible and just beaming.
• We got a little refund check and now I'll be able to pay off some more debt.
• We had enough food for supper so I didn't have to go grocery shopping.
• Bee took a nice, long, early nap and we got a lot done on our projects.
• The girls were happy to be back at choir.
• Everyone was healthy and we are blessed.

Not sure I'm ready for today either but at least we can stay home (except grocery shopping-ug) and get stuff done. Maybe we won't have to be doing school all evening. S has a Bible study with a gentleman tonight so he'll be gone all evening, which I'm not looking forward to. Spring Break was probably the most and longest we've been around him ever and I liked it. 

Going to sack up anything from the girls' floor or bathroom again today. Let's see what kind of bag collection I can get going in the garage. 

Off to tackle this day....ready or not...here it comes.

Little Toot

What do you do when Mama says, "Stay on the hard floor to eat your muffin. Don't get on the carpet"?

Well of course you go stand right on the edge. 

I'm Either a Really Great Crafter or a Great Pinner

Can't take credit for any of the ideas. Every single one was either inspired or copied straight off of Pinterest! How I love Pinterest! In the olden days I would have had to flip through old magazines for inspiration.

Wow there's a lot of pink in this post.

Baby Bee loved passing out Valentines. And getting candy.

Bee's shirt was just 2 hearts put on with Wonder Under. And some heart pants we got somewhere. 

Of course a bird shirt for Little Bit. She loves birds. 

Little Bit's balloon was fragile and fell apart during the party. But it worked well. 

She made her own shirt. It's very light and subtle but it was just a doily used as a stencil. 

Sweetheart's box won a prize. A few years ago she was absolutely heart broken when another robot box beat hers out. She was excited to win yesterday (and to eat the pretzel she got from the snack bar!) but it amazed me the difference in her reaction compared to a few years ago. Sometimes maturing happens very gradually and we don't always notice it's been going on!

We had a great time at the party and no one broke any bones. Success!!

Now tonight we are going to have a special dinner on our china and celebrate Valentine's Day together as a family. I think that's fun. I wish more people just celebrated together instead of making it strictly about couples. It hurts a lot of people.

Having said that, S and I do plan to do something special together. Just not tonight. Restaurants are going to be really crowded tonight! Date nights are important and time as a couple is important too.

Off to wrap up the school week, get the grocery shopping done, and finish cleaning up the house for our special dinner! Busy day!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Valentine Boxes

I made sure to take pictures of our Valentine boxes this year but then realized I didn't take any with the girls holding their box.

And THAT'S what I want to remember. How they looked and how proud they were of their box! So I will take those before we leave for our skating party today. But here they are:

Little Bit's Lalaloopsy hot air balloon. Got the basket from Grandma. Bought the doilies and washi tape and balloon but some of those things served double duty for the shirts we made. 

Of course this one is Baby Bee's! Made from a cereal box wrapped in upside down Christmas wrapping paper, painted, construction paper, duct tape. Free.

Sweetheart's cupcake. Bought a paint bucket for $2 at the hardware store. Used a balloon we bought for Little Bit's box and bought tissue paper. Not too bad.

All boxes inspired or copied straight from Pinterest. Thank you Pinterest! They also worked hard on their Valentines. Bee painted 6 pieces of paper and I printed the To and From on top of the painting and cut each sheet up into 9 cards. 

Working hard!!!

Dollar store stickers add the finishing touch. Total cost: $1

And Little Bit opted to do part store-bought and part homemade.

And Sweetheart made all hers from an idea in her American Girl magazine. Will have to get a picture of hers later.

I'm very proud of all the girls for their hard work! And we made Valentine shirts! I'll get pics of those later too!

These Things Were More Fun When I Was Little

Whew! The girls had their first choir concert last night. Due to losing our first venue, we had to have the rehearsal and concert all on one night. This resulted in a crazy schedule of keeping up with who needed to be in the auditorium at what time and getting them dressed in the bathroom at certain times and feeding them in between all of that. Goodness. All while keeping up with this little one who ran around for 4 hours before the concert started.

One of the finer moments was me sitting in a chair in the handicapped stall trying to put on my tights and trying to hurry because I knew our friend would need the handicapped stall in a minute....Little Bit was body blocking Bee from playing in the toilet. Bee is yelling, "Go 'way! go 'way!" to Little Bit and then she just dropped her arms down by her sides, threw her head back and screamed the most ear piercing scream ever.

After apologizing to everyone in the restroom, we got done and out of there. But the good news is she behaved very nicely during the concert.

 Little Bit, middle...

Sweetheart, top middle...(unedited pics. Sorry)

So I am very proud of them, etc. But more than that, I am relieved its over! What a lot of stress for a Mama! So many logistics to consider. Being a kid is much easier.

We got home well after 10pm so everyone is sleeping in today. After that, and pancakes, Sweetheart and I will be going to her first physical therapy appointment. School will happen in bits and pieces again today.

And Saturday we are going to see the Texas Tourette Association's Christmas Tree featuring an ornament by Little Bit. She's going to be so proud.

Have a great weekend!

The House o' Therapy

S and I thought it might be fun to drop a bunch of dough on doctor's visits in 2 days' time last week. Whee!!! We know how to party.

So, Bee had an ear infection--$25 copay
Sweetheart needed her back looked at as we were concerned about the curve of it--$25 copay.
Sweetheart was sent to have x-rays of back--can't actually remember but I think we spent money there too.
Little Bit went to an opthamologist because we found out she has double vision--$50 copay.
Sweetheart went to an orthopedic surgeon to look at back--$50 copay.

So the bottom line is this:

Bee got some antiobiotics. It's only her 2nd ear infection of her life so I wasn't upset about that. Problem solved. $10.00

Little Bit has convergence insufficiency. That means her eyes are not playing nice and working as a team. So when she does any "near work" her eyes take turns wandering outside of where they should be. You can't really see it happening, but it is. This explains the headaches, the crying, the frustration, the rubbing eyes, and all the trauma we've had in school this year.

I went back and looked at her last year's work and I could not believe the difference in font size between the two math books, the two phonics books, etc. Her reading books obviously are smaller as she's reading chapter books now. No wonder this problem has come up this year. (Alhtough she's always struggled in school. I can't imagine double vision + tics were helping.)

She says she's always seen double as long as she can remember. We found all this out during a conversation with my dad. We had Little Bit screened for Irlen Syndrome, we took her to the optometrist and her gave her reading glasses----nothing was helping. Then my dad told the story of when he used to get headaches and got some reading glasses as a young man in the Air Force. He descirbed how he sees double--Little Bit pipes up from the backseat, "That's how I see too!"

Um...what??? Good to know! So we dropped $64.00 on a computer program we can use here at home. She's to do the program, which will be her vision therapy, for 7 minutes a day, 5 days a week. It will take her a few months to complete the program and hopefully, this will fix her eyes. Oh I certainly hope so!! I could really go for school being easier. I was losing my mind before Thanksgiving break.

We are also using a homemade slant board for school for now. There is a really nice one for $30 online, but that can wait until after Christmas.

As for Sweetheart, she has a diagnosis of scoliosis and kyphosis. If you haven't heard of it, kyphosis is when the spine curves too much from the side view, causing a "humpback" look. We've been concerned about her back for about a year. We tried doing some different stretches, because I noticed her hamstrings are incredibly tight. She literally can not sit up straight on the floor with her legs out in front. She also could not do the stretches. We've nagged her about her posture for a really long time, and her walking posture has improved. But then we'll see a photograph of her sitting or bending over and it looks just awful. A friend of hers was diagnosed with kyphosis recently and when I found that out, I hit the internet. Oh....NOW I knew what exactly our concern was. It can be caused from poor posture, or a progressive disease called Scheurmann's disease. She has the latter. Some of the vertebrae in her back are wedge-shaped. So, she was relieved to find out it wasn't her fault. The good news is no surgery or brace neeeded. She's to do physical therapy for 6 months and come back for an x-ray. Physical therapy 2x a week for 4 weeks (or until she learns the exercises). I was going to take her to all eight sessions because I figure she'll do better with a professional watching her than she will at home, but at $25 a pop, we'll see...

We are also considering a gym membership for her so she can just generally strengthen her muscles, which will be needed to combat this disease. She doesn't have any gym clothes to wear to physical therapy or a gym.

Are you sensing a theme of concern by me? I KNOW I shouldn't be worried about money when my children's health is at stake. And really, the most important thing to me is that they are OK. I was relieved to have both diagnoses and a plan of action for both girls. BIG load off my mind. I've had enough time now to consider the cost of everything though. Ouch.

So, I'm hoping Bee doesn't feel left out, being the only child with no therapy going on at the moment. We're good, Bee. No, really.

These Three

Oh the age gaps. They are interesting.

Having a 14 year old, a 10 year old, and a 1 year old all at the same time is mostly really cool. The big sisters adore that baby. And they are really, truly helpful. Not like, "Can you get Mommy a diaper?" useful....I mean, I can shower uninterrupted and not worry. They've got it. They will handle whatever unless it's an especially bad diaper. Even then they wouldn't mind if they knew she would just lay there and let them change her. But she will not.

They play with her. They teach her things. And they love on her all the time.

And they still have a great relationship with each other. There are only 1 or 2 things they still play together, those older two. But they still have a great time with those two things. It was just the two of them as sisters for 8 years and that will always be special.

But I love watching their relationship with the littlest sister grow as well.

Not that everything always is perfect or smooth in their relationships. I don't want to let you think that. But really, I feel so blessed that these three have each other. I think the space between them makes our family a little unique and it's fun watching them learn from each other and help each other. 

Now as far as school time goes, the age gaps are not that helpful. If you don't have children and you know you are going to homeschool, I highly suggest having your kids close enough together that you can do at least a few subjects together. It would help, it really would. 

And as far as the tiny tornado being helpful during the school day? She's not. At all. But man are my older girls learning to prioritize and deal with interruptions! Good skills people. Good skills. 

Baby Bee's Birthday

We had everyone over for brunch and served breakfast tacos.

 

The farm theme came about because she LOVES LOVES LOVES Baby Einstein's Baby Mac Donald movie.

We built her a barn to play in. It's not like it needed to be big since all her cousins are way too big to care about playing in it with her. Poor baby. Her growing up years are going to be very different from her sisters'.

She had a great time though.

Playing peek-a-boo with my Sister.

Cousin Gnat with Sweetheart and Little Bit...

Opening her presents.

My sisters...

Happy Birthday Baby Bee!!!!

End of the 2012-2013 School Year

Good-bye 7th and 3rd grade!

We very happily wrapped up our school year a week early just like we hoped to. I was very pleased with what all we got done. Little Bit has 2 books to read this summer that we didn't get to, but waiting will be better anyway as they were getting to the edge of her ability by the end. And Sweetheart has one to try this summer that was too hard for her during the year.

Here are the happy students after we had our traditional "dance around the house to this song" like we do every year.

Now we are enjoying a care-free week of summer before our summer school starts next week. Monday we went to the park with friends from our homeschool group and sweated together for an hour and 15 minutes, called it quits and went to go find sno-cones.

Tuesday we went to the American Girl store for Little Bit (she had been saving money for the trip) and to Justice for Sweetheart (she saved too). We don't go to the mall very often so its like a big treat for the girls. So funny. We shopped, ate lunch, and had a good time.

Since Bee didn't get to buy anything, we let her play in the baby play place a while.

Then yesterday we didn't have any plans except to turn in library books. We got there just in time for a presentation on monarch butterflies and it was very good!

Other than that, we've just been swimming and enjoying time together and NOT doing school!!! It's so nice. And Daddy had some time off too so we've got to see him more this week.

Sweetheart and S have their sights set on joining the church's washer pitching team this year. They've been practicing.

So far, this week is a win!

Today's plan is to pack away last year's school stuff and start getting things ready for summer school next week. I've already had someone get onto me that "those kids need a break!" Well you know what? (And I told them this) Those kids need to graduate on time too and not still be finishing high school when they are 22 living at home. Don't you agree?

Tomorrow I'll share our summer school plans.

Hope you are enjoying your summer too!

I would just like to point out that it has been summer break here for 5 days and I haven't rearranged anything.

The Year That Just Won't End

We are in the home stretch for wrapping up this school year but as it turns out...the home stretch is stretchy. Or really long. Weeks seems like months.

We are down to just the basics--reading, math, history. Those are our basics anyway. We need to wrap up science too. I'm claiming Lee Binz' advice that public schools call it good when they have completed 80% of the curriculum. I'm all for finishing 100% of most subjects, but in science I'm shooting for that 80% this year.

Can I play the "we had a newborn this year" card one more time please?

Thank you.

Sweetheart suffering through one of Bee's beauty treatments.

The calendar goal has been to be finished by June 14 all along. That's one week later than public schools around here so I was really hoping we could speed that up and get out the same week as them.

And we just may. Either way about it, I am super proud of the year we have had. I think we did an incredible job for a year with a newborn.

I am ready for this year to be done and the new year to start.

Little Bit struggling through the standardized test.

Well, after summer of course.

And there is summer school naturally. We're homeschoolers. Well, homeschoolers who aren't just doing preschool. If the kids were little still, we'd be having fun in the sun. But older kids just have too much to squeeze in during the year so some of it must be done in summer.

But it's a nice, relaxed schedule. Just a little bit of school each day is fine. There is still time for swimming, art, library, and just plain old playing and sitting around.

Mama is ready!

If your school year is already over, please feel free to refrain from telling me that in the comments. If however, you are still suffering...please give a girl some encouragement!

Just kidding. You can brag here too. I will be joining you in just a few more weeks.

Just so you know its not all smiles around here.

In Which Testing Makes Us Tired

It wasn't just the standardized test the girls just finished. It was the getting up early every morning. It was the leaving the house at a certain time. It was the packing our snacks and backpacks and diaper bag the night before. It was bathing every night and having to lay our (presentable) clothes out the night before.

I don't know HOW I could get all these kids to public school/daycare every day. Thank you Lord that I don't have to!

I truly had forgotten what a blessing it was. Whew.

We need a few nights of good sleep and a few days at home to recover.

We'll get the test results in about 6 weeks. Right now, I'm just glad its over!

NOW...it's time to wrap up our Keepers at Home club for the year (tomorrow) and get ready for Baby Bee's first birthday on Saturday!

I KNOW!

Really, this was me last year:

Can not believe its been a year.

frog legs :)

I'll be back next week with party pictures!

It's Summer School Jack!

OK. We don't have TV. But we have watched several episodes of Duck Dynasty and Sweetheart just loves that show. We watch it online after it has already aired. We have a lot of respect for the folks on the show and she likes it a lot so I thought, "Why not have a Duck Dynasty birthday party this year?"

She said no thank you.

Humph. And there was a lot of cute stuff on Pinterest too.

Double humph.

So.....I already had a pin board called "Language Arts Boot Camp." That's what I was calling what we were going to do this summer. We pretty much ignored language arts this year in school because we had a newborn and were doing good to get everything else done. Therefore, we are spending our summer break cramming some major language arts down little throats. Er...filling their little heads full of knowledge I mean.

Why not combine the two ideas? Yes sir. We are going to have camo pencils and use some camo duct tape on our binders and we are going to have us a fun theme for summer school!

SUMMER BOOT CAMP.

I'm the drill sergeant.

I might wear a whistle.

So last night I was trying to really start thinking about how this will all look. S was in the Navy (no camo there, but boot camp nonetheless) and what they did a lot of was drill.

This week we are taking the IOWA test with our homeschool group. I am already seeing what gaps my girls have in their education thanks to this test. So I know for a fact they need drills on grammar and punctuation and capitalization and all that jazz.

In the 90s when I was a public school teacher, we used to do DOL or Daily Oral Language. You would have a few sentences on the board when the kids got there and they would copy them down in their journals, making corrections of the on-purpose mistakes. THIS is what my girls need. Not every day...but some.

So I know we will be drilling rules. And I'm going to be doing writing instruction with each of them separately. The other girl will be in charge of playing with the baby. She's such a sponge right now. Little Bit sat down and played play food with her last night. In just a few minutes she had learned to shake the pepper on her food, squirt the ketchup bottle, and pretend to eat it all. They are so proud to teach her things. So they will enjoy that job.

Spelling will also be taking place. And reading practice. And math will continue 3x a week. Oh there is a lot to be done this summer. I sure wish we could just take off, but no. We have much to do.

And don't think there won't be push ups involved.

By the way, the drill sergeant doesn't have to do push ups.

Just wanted to clear that up.

Here's my Pinterest board for boot camp.

In Which Life Gets Easier

I feel like we're digging out of the last 2 years lately. The house is getting back in order. We're throwing stuff away right and left. We're keeping on top of chores somewhat.

Compare this to the year of all the sleeping (otherwise known as when I was pregnant) and then the year of the newborn...

Now? Bee is sleeping through the night 95% of the time, which makes a HUGE difference in how I feel physically every day. She's a walking, going maniac, which means she's happier and more content and I can get more done every day. We're wrapping up the school year--which makes everyone happy!

HUGE EXHALE......

This week our good friends the Holidays are coming for a visit. We haven't seen them since January and its time! Mr. Holiday will be working out of town, so Mrs. Holiday and the 4 little Holiday girls will be coming. Can't wait!! We're taking a few days off of school to spend time with them so that means a short week at school.

It also means a lot of cleaning went on over here this weekend. Having house guests is GOOD for your home! It makes you take care of areas you otherwise happily ignore.

We were able to get the girls new bikes this weekend. Sweetheart's was stolen earlier this year right out of our backyard and Little Bit had outgrown hers. We added a bike for me too, with a seat for Baby Bee so now we can add "bike riding" to our routine instead of just walking all the time. I still want to walk sometimes--it's good for you, but boy peddling a bike with a 20 pound baby on it is good for you too!

Baby Bee last May...

I just can't believe Baby Bee is about to be 1 and I also can't believe what a difference a year makes. Yes, we've seen an amazing difference in her of course. But what a difference in our whole life! I'm so thankful to God for the blessings of this family and for the health to enjoy and take care of them.

Baby Bee now...with a little friend at field day. She LOVED his hair.

Oh and by the way, it's Teacher Appreciation Week this week.

For a homeschool mom, this plays out much like Mother's Day, don't you think?

So if you have a minute, go ahead and send me some appreciation for all my great teaching. Ha!

Just So You Understand--This Wasn't Planned

I always admire those Mamas who take a picture of their child in the same basket every month of their first year of life. They end up with this neat little montage of their baby's growth.

I tried that a few times. Never could remember to take the stupid picture.

But by complete accident, I did something kind of cool. See, when Sweetheart needed to go get her 9 month pictures made, my mom had made her this really cute dress. I picked the sunflower/basket prop from Sears, and wah lah:

Snapped a picture of the framed picture. Thus, the reflection.

When it was time for Little Bit to have her 9 month pictures made, 4 years later, I couldn't find a good outfit for her to wear. I still had the pretty little yellow dress, but I didn't want my poor baby to wear hand-me-downs! Unless....

I asked the lady at Sears if they still had the basket and sunflowers. She went climbing through the prop closet and emerged victorious! And so:

Naturally, since both girls had their pictures made in the dress, I kept the dress. I didn't hold out hope that Sears would have the same props 8 years later, but still.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought sunflowers. I showed the lady the older girls' pictures and she went and found that same basket. And so:

Seriously--am I not SO planned and ORGANIZED? Are you amazed at my ability to coordinate this over a 13 year span?

I thought so.

Daddy's Birthday

S turned 43 yesterday. We hadn't mentioned his birthday in front of him because we kind of wanted to surprise him by decorating the house and having dinner for him when he got home. (Why yes, me cooking IS a surprise! Not really... just kidding.)

But yesterday morning when we woke up, I didn't want him to feel unloved so I told him "Happy Birthday." Yep, he had completely forgotten it was his birthday. He even had planned to meet someone at church that night.

The girls decorated the dining room with streamers and birthday banners and set the table for dinner. Then we met Daddy at his work and got to eat lunch with him. That was nice. He works long days and we don't get to see him as much as we'd like to. After we dropped him back at work we went to buy his present. My plan was to get him a couple pairs of jeans and some shirts. He needs them and I knew he would appreciate them. But when we got out shopping, I suddenly had an idea.

An idea that caused us a lot of work!!!!

So we went to a local discount store and bought some patio chairs. The tables were not a good size and we already have a wooden table out on our patio. We bought a table cloth, a new welcome mat, a wind chime, something to hang on the wall, and a pretty citronella candle to go on the table.

Then we went home and started cleaning the patio. It was pretty bad. The girls have recently been playing a game that involves mud. Ahem. We threw a lot of stuff away and even got it out to the curb in time for the trash truck AND they took it all!

Then we set out all the new stuff and waited for Daddy to get home to show him his new, clean, relaxing patio. The girls were so excited.

There's a lot more I want to do out there, but this was a good start. Seriously, if you had seen the before, you would be more impressed.

I hope you had a good birthday S! Even though you had to work and all. We love you!

Bee worked hard on Daddy's card. She absolutely understood that she had made one just like her sisters. Daddy asked, "Is this one from you?" She nodded her head big and beamed.