Lazy Sunday

Here is one of my favorite pictures I took of the farm last week. It is of one of the silos. I am loving how blue the sky looked against the color of the silo. My Daddy used to climb that silo many a day! I wouldn't trust it to climb today but it would be interesting.

Speaking of farms, I found out today that my uncle's farm that is not far from here will be torn down in the next few months. My aunt has already moved (my uncle died almost 9 years ago) and had called Mom to let her know about the barns being torn down. I am planning on going out there and taking pictures of how it was/is right now. It just makes me sad to know all of what I was used to growing up is being replaced or torn down for something larger and "better" but, in my opinion, it isn't better. Gone are the days of growing up on a farm around here. That continues to be something I hate my children will never know. At least with my pictures I can preserve the past as much as possible.

We didn't do much this afternoon like I had "planned." We did work on the kids AWANA verses, reading and their Kindermusik but in the middle of all of that Steve and I fell asleep! He had fallen asleep in our room after working with them on their verses and I pretty much passed out on the couch after working with one of them read. ha! They had fun this afternoon getting into all kinds of "creative" stuff, some of which they had spilled (water for painting) and had to clean up! It was nice to actually take a nap. I had better enjoy it because this week is going to be rather crazy so I know a nap will not be anywhere in sight! After we finished working with the kids they watched a movie before I read to them and put them to bed. They were tired.

I got to scrapbook a little this afternoon. I had wanted to do more but time wouldn't allow. I am still "stuck in a rut" with all of my Christmas pages. I'll get done with those hopefully by next weekend. :)

Well, off to get ready for another week. I want to go and read..since I had a nap this afternoon I should be able to read more than a page! ha! Have a great one! :)

Salamander hunting

My brother scheduled a nature class for Wesley and Mikayla today. We went to a local park and got to search for salamanders!! It was so neat and the kids really enjoyed it. The class was an hour long and we got to look under logs to find them! It was actually a great learning experience for me, too, because I didn't have a lot of knowledge about salamanders. Please know that they are NOT reptiles like lizards...they are amphibians and they have no scales. :) I even held one! That is a LARGE step for me because normally things like that literally gross me out. ha!! That is my hand in the picture.....they were really light! Mikayla was VERY into it. She was down on her hands and knees digging in the leaves to try and find some. She found a lot of snails and some other creatures. I was proud of her for not being scared. Wesley loved it, too, but he was not on his hands and knees much. He was absorbing it in a different way. He told me tonight he'd love to do it again. It was a really fun morning and something I can take back to the classroom as well!! :)

After the nature class we went to get my pictures developed, ate lunch, ran by Walmart and the birdseed store for my brother before coming home to scrapbook! I was helping my brother get his trip pages done. I got a few pages for Christmas done. I find that my Christmas pages are not as ornate because there are so many at that time. That doesn't bother me...I'm just ready to get those done. Honestly, the pictures and words will speak for themselves. :) While we scrapbooked I had some CD's on from Ronnie Milsap to Disney songs and my brother and I sang most of them at the top of our lungs. hee hee...

The kids spent all afternoon outside helping Steve around the yard. He was driving a small tractor around and spreading some mulch my Dad had brought him. Wesley and Mikayla took turns helping him "drive" it and they had a blast. They also helped him stack wood. I enjoyed looking out the window watching them.

I now have to get them ready for bed and read some stories. After that I am going to grade papers by the fire. That was the *only* set back to not being at school all day yesterday...I couldn't get those tests graded during my time I have while the kids go to a special. Oh well...my day with my children was MUCH more fun! :)

Enough rambling. Off to read to the kiddos. Have a great one! (Try to see if you can find salamanders in YOUR yard...they like wet places! hee hee....)

Ice skating anyone?

Here is another pic from around the farm. This is the front of my Daddy's old tractor. I love this picture...I guess it is the colors as well as the vented backdrop of it. I just thought it turned out neat.

Today I was a teacher for an hour but then I was able to leave and be a Mommy the rest of the day. The kids had a field trip to a local ice skating rink and Steve and I went. We really had a great time. I was nervous at first because I wasn't sure how we would do but everything worked out great! Steve had NEVER been ice skating or roller skating in his life so this was definitely a new adventure. He was funny...he kept worrying that he was going to break his leg or something and miss his golf trip he has planned in a month. The kids had to wear their bicycle helmets to protect them. It was a good thing, too!! (Yes, Wesley's is a John Deere one...We couldn't find Mikayla girl a butterfly one!) Wesley didn't like the ice skating at first but he finally got the hang of it. I just didn't want him to quit because I thought he would enjoy some of it if he would just hang with it. I haven't been skating in years and was a bit nervous but I did OK...but Steve...well, he just became a world renowned "figure skater" in 30 minutes. HA!! He was going to the middle of the ice rink and taking the kids out there while I continued to cling to the side. ha! If I got too fast I had to slow myself down before I did something that would not make my body happy in the morning. I was amazed at how badly my ankles hurt. Those ice skaters we will see in a couple of weeks in the Olympics have my complete admiration. HA!!! Miss Mikayla did an awesome job from the start! She started "skating" on her own and kept on the whole time! She clung to the wall more like ME but when Steve took her out to the middle she did great!!!!! It was really a fun day. Steve has said he wants to do it again.... I'm not sure about that, but, hey...I guess we could. ha!

It was so nice to be off today. I have never done that before and, wow..it was great. Normally I am the one in charge of the field trip and worried over my students, but today all I had to worry about was my own two and that wasn't a stresser at all!! :)

We cleaned the house together this afternoon so we could get it done faster. Now, there are parts that are still disastrous, but it looks a lot better than it did when we left this morning! Some of our best friends came over tonight so we could celebrate the husband's birthday. We had a great time together and we all were able to sit by the fire. We didn't drink hot chocolate but we had some AWESOME chocolate birthday cake. Our local bakery that I love surely put a good spin on THAT cake! Oh my word....thankfully, they let us keep some so I can get another chocolate fix tomorrow. ha!!!

Steve is going to be cutting wood tomorrow....I am thankful so that we'll have more wood for our fireplace. :) My brother and I will be taking the kids on an outing that I'll share about tomorrow and then we'll be scrapbooking the rest of the afternoon. Maybe I can get done with my Christmas pictures!!!!

Well, off to try and read a bit before I head off to la-la land. I am so glad it is the weekend. :)

In my element

I was in my element today after school. We came home and I was getting the mail I looked up and saw the silos looking so pretty against the blue sky. I decided right then to get out my camera (I had taken it to school...that story in a minute..) and began taking pictures. I didn't have time to get them all on the computer today. When I parked the van I started wandering around our old barns and farm areas and taking pictures of things that meant a lot to me. I realize the picture to the left is not the most glamorous, but it is special to me. It is the start/stop buttons to the feed auger (sp?) on the farm. It made me sad to see the STOP button pressed down. It has been that way for almost 20 years...that is how long we have been out of dairy business. I remember those buttons well, but had forgotten all about them until today. As I was wandering around the silos and barns I took plenty of pictures and saw a lot of things I hadn't really seen in years. I will be sharing them in the next few days. I was trying to think outside of the box and not take "typical" pictures. I am now planning on doing some scrapbook pages on the farm and how it looks now. The wind was blowing something fierce so some of them were a challenge, but it was still a wonderful hour I spent taking those pictures. It was also a precious time to remember how things used to be. It does make me sad to know my children will never experience that. There are times I seem to forget myself. I can't believe it has been 20 years this year since we stopped farming. I feel as if I am babbling! ha! I guess I just can't quite put into words how great it was to walk around the farm today. Memories are a precious thing.

My day began by taking pictures as well! On the way to school I noticed how beautiful the moon was. The sky was crisp and clear and the moon was a pretty crescent shape. When I got to school I saw it through the trees so I grabbed my camera (I had brought it to take pictures of some things for school) and got back outside and starting taking them. One of my fellow teacher's came up while I was doing that and just laughed. I thought it turned out pretty neat. It wasn't the best in the world, but for hand holding it and it being cold and blustery I thought it turned out pretty neat! :)

Other than this it was a "normal" day. I am thankful for my fun opportunities of picture taking today. God gave us such a beautiful day. The wind was a bit overpowering at times, but it was so pretty. I have a picture of the silos I will share that is awesome. The sky looked so blue behind it.

I am off to get ready for another day tomorrow. I'll share more later. :)

Trying to be Rachel Ray

Today's picture is of bare branches...with no snow on them... I was working on that picture thing with these! This one isn't one of my favorites, but I thought I would show it anyway! :)

I tried to be Rachel Ray tonight for supper. Every now and then it comes out in me, but my previous posts about cooking still stand. HA!! Anyway... I was doing chicken tonight (shock, I know...) and I didn't want to do it the "same old way" I have done it before so I went to the fridge and pulled out what I had. I called my brother for a little advice on what I was thinking of doing and he assured me I would do well with it. :) I took the chicken breasts and cut them up into smaller pieces, "dipped" them in sour cream and put them in the pan. (OH! I can't forget that I followed his directions and salt and peppered them before I did this.) I then melted a stick of butter and then put stuffing in it and mixed that up and then poured it over my chicken. (I found that I really wanted bread crumbs but stuffing was all I had.) I then put Mozarello cheese on it and baked it for an hour. It turned out quite well! I was pretty tickled with myself. :) Steve and the kids liked it so I passed that test!

Wes didn't have the best day in the world due to not wanting to do his work at school so this evening we got the privilege of doing more work. :) Now, this wasn't from his teacher...it was from his MOMMA. (But..it also caused Momma to have a lot more homework tonight, too! Over an hour between the two munchkins...) I think he has learned his lesson that he is going to do his work because that is what is expected out of him not "because he didn't want to..." He knows now that if he goofs off in school there is no play time at home and all work! HA!! Bless his heart...he has so much to learn. (Of course, I still do, too!)

It was actually cold today! Most of us were in shock because it has been in the 60's and 70's so it was nice, but still shocking. I still wish it would snow. We just need one good snow where we are out of school a day or so and get to play in it. We'll see what February brings because January hasn't brought anything! ha! I still have a fire tonight, though, thanks to my wonderful husband! :)

I have a pile of children's clothes waiting for me to fold. I am not glad about that, but know it has to be done. I guess it is time for me to close so I can get that going. Have a great day!

Special weeks and Walmart

Here are Wesley and Mikayla's Special Week stories about them. I thought they were so sweet. Their teacher put up pictures of them that we sent in from when they were babies till now. They also got to display their greatest work from the week they were on the board. Mikayla's ended this past Friday. I must say this was something I had been looking forward to for years...to have my children on that board. I am thankful for that. This will be something I will always treasure about their Kindergarten year. Mikayla said when she grows up she wants to be a teacher....Wesley said he wants to be a farmer. I hope you are able to read their stories. :)

I had to run to Walmart to do some grocery shopping this afternoon. I didn't want to go on Sunday but I had to because I knew I wouldn't get time as the week wore on and we were running out of some things. I have decided I do not like to grocery shop by myself. To me it is much more fun to do that with Steve and the kids. Granted, it can be a bit more hectic, but I just missed them being with me. I found some cute bins for Mikayla's room that are a light green color so we can actually see her bed instead of it being covered in stuffed animals. They actually fit quite a bit of them! She liked them. I, of course, had cleaned up her room when I moved them from her bed so she really liked that! ha! She is not my totally neat child....she doesn't see that something needs to be put in a special place like Wesley does. I'll have to keep working with her on that! HA!!

Anyway, it was a nice day but it is back to work tomorrow. Oh, and I changed purses tonight...I am using the black one with circles on it for a while. It is kind of neat! :)

Well, I had some hot chocolate by the fire tonight....but I think it must have been old because I wasn't too thrilled with it! ha! I will have to try more later....

Off to see Iron Chef America. Steve is watching a golf tournament, I think, so I guess it will just be me watching. Till later.... :)

Flea market and friends

I went to the flea market with one of my best friends today. It was SO much fun. We went without our kids and just had the best time. I bought these two purses. I am quite proud of myself. If you knew what I was like with purses before a year ago you would have passed out when you saw these. I used to be a one purse for five or more years woman. Usually the purses were of a practical color with compartments. My friends had been trying to get me to change for years but I refused. One of my friends secretly gave me a "more hip" purse at Christmas last year but I took it back because it "just wasn't me"...little did I realize my friend had gotten it for me!! ha! Anyway, I had bought a purse last winter that I thought was much more "hip" and all but when my best friend saw it she just turned her nose up and said "Oh...well, I wouldn't have bought it for myself, but if you like it..." I was devastated because I just KNEW she would be proud of me. HA! At the end of the school year last year one of my students gave me a cute purse with my initial in it and it was definitely one I couldn't "take back". SO....that began to open my eyes to the possibilities! I began to realize I didn't need to take everything with me in my purse that I "thought" I had to have. I also found out the compartments only limited what I actually COULD fit in my purse. It was actually quite freeing. HA!! Since then I have acquired a Tinkerbell, Alice in Wonderland, Butterfly and black John Deere purse. The purses I got today are quite cute and I bought them more spur of the moment than I normally do. (I usually walk around with something for a long time before talking myself out of it as I leave the store...) It was quite exciting and I can't wait to use them. I think I am going to use the black one with pink, orange and green circles first. :) Wesley LOVED the John Deere purse and took it around with him today. We made sure he understood that he didn't need to do that after today! :)

My friend and I also went out for lunch and then went shopping at Kohl's. We found more good deals on winter things they are trying to get rid of. It is nice to buy something a lot cheaper! I bought two new sweaters. I am trying to update my wardrobe. I have watched the show "What Not to Wear" a few times and have learned a great deal. HA! I am trying to weed out things that make me look too large or things that I have had since before I had children that I KNOW I will never make it back into. hee hee... Anyway, we had such a great time today. I was disappointed when it came time to get back to reality.

Tonight we went up to Mom and Dad's because they cooked supper for our friends that helped us so much when Mom was so sick and in the hospital. The husband is an ER doctor and he was in the ER when Mom was admitted. His wife is a critical care nurse and she was able to help us understand things as well. We all wanted to thank them for what they did for us and this meal has been in the works for a while. We just had to coordinate schedules. We had a great time together. We are good friends with them now, anyway, so it made it even more fun. Hearing him talk about Mom's illness tonight reminded me of just how close we were to losing her. She truly was sick woman and she is definitely a miracle. If people out there do not believe in God they just need to look at my Mom because God put His healing touch on her. There is no way she would have been on this earth right now if it hadn't been for the Lord. I continue to praise Him for what He did for her.

Oh...I managed to take a few pictures today of a tree with rain droplets on it. I'll post those another night, though. I worked hard on my photographic homework the past two days. HA!!

Take time to enjoy your loved ones and friends today. :)

Was Jesus wearing flip-flops

That is what Mikayla asked me tonight when I read them their Bible story. I have been reading about where Christ died on the cross and the Bible book I am reading has pictures. They were both looking at it and Mikayla said "Was Jesus still wearing His flip-flops?" I HAD to laugh at that one. I asked her if she meant sandals. :) How sweet is that?

I came home today, got out my camera and went around taking pictures of trees/branches in the yard. I told y'all it would be my goal to try to make them interesting. I don't know if they are interesting or not, but here is one. ha! This is of a branch on our maple tree in our front yard. I don't know if these would be considered blooms or what. I am so not a botanist. ha! Anyway, it has been so warm here I wondered if it was trying to start springing forth with new life. Who knows...I thought it was interesting. I had the BEST time going around taking pictures. I also took some of Wesley and Mikayla that were quite cute/silly. I shared those through email. When Steve got home I went inside and decided I'd "take a nap"...well, that didn't quite happen because a little person came in to give me kisses. That was fine to be disturbed for that. She came in a second time and brought me these hinbits from our yard. (Did you know hinbit has a square stem??? My brother taught me that and I actually remembered something he told me so he should be proud!) It is, of course, a weed, but a pretty one. I even took a picture of some before she even came in with her little bundle. Here are her pics with that. She is always trying to think of ways to give me flowers. I used to love picking hinbit myself when I was little. :)

I am so glad today is Friday. I have come to LOVE Friday's more than I ever thought. When I got home I did not clean my house...do you think that bothered me? Not in the slightest. I was going to go to the grocery store today but it wasn't in me to fight the traffic. I did exactly what I wanted to do....took pictures of my babies and God's Creation, chilled on the couch and now am hanging out IN FRONT OF THE FIRE with Steve. :) I love being home with nowhere to go. Those are really happy times for me. Home is definitely where my heart is.

Well, I am going to go enjoy more of that fireplace. At least it is cold enough around here at night to have one. The days are hot, though....I literally broke out in a sweat at school today! Oh well...weird winter.

Enjoy the little blessings of your life today like I did in mine. :)

The Lord works always

I know, I know....no winter pictures yet. This is of the waterway at the lake where my Father-in-law lives. I thought the water was soothing looking. It was in the 60's again today. At least the nights are cool enough to have a fire! :)

Today was a busy one. The Lord gave me the opportunity to talk with one of my parents who had recently lost her dad to a sudden illness. It was similar to what I had faced with Mom, although Mom was able to recover. It was so nice to be able to help her and give her words of encouragement. It is another testament to how God takes something bad and can use it to help others.

I was not very patient with my children for homework tonight. It took an hour again...I guess I need to get used to that! Wesley had three pages of words to read and Mikayla had four. By the time I got to Mikayla, who I did second, I had NO patience. Bless her heart...I know she was not happy with me. I asked her to forgive me at supper. I hate to stress them out. I truly just have nothing left when I get home from school and I know my children bear the brunt of that. Thankfully, those little heads know how to forgive their Mother.

Wesley "lost" his "Mam" tonight. (His lamb he takes with him EVERYWHERE.) He had taken him outside earlier today after homework and I "passed out" on the couch and didn't notice if he had brought him in or not. Well, tonight I had a scrapbooking get together and Steve helped me bathe them and put them to bed. We went on an all out search for "Mam" only to come up empty. When Steve told him to just go to bed without him it broke my heart to hear Wesley crying. During my get together I went outside with Steve again and we searched with the flashlight. I had a panicked moment thinking that he could be lost forever. That truly would be tragic. (I love that lamb as much as he does!) Anyway, I just began to pray and ask the Lord to help us find him. When I came back inside I went and asked Wesley yet again where he thought he could have had it. He said he didn't go into the office, but I looked anyway. Well, there was the precious "Mam" under my desk this whole time. God is so good to have led me to where he was. I am going to tell Wesley he needs to thank Jesus tomorrow for allowing us to find him.

Speaking of prayers, Mikayla's best friend is sick and can't go to school again tomorrow. Since it is Teddy Bear Week they are having a teddy bear picnic at lunch. This afternoon I was in her room sorting through some things and she asked me if her friend could sit with her and I told her she couldn't because she was still sick and wouldn't be at school. She was so disappointed but all of a sudden she bowed down to the floor and I could hear her praying that God would heal her friend so she could be there at lunch. How precious is that? It touched my heart. When she saw I was looking she stopped. I bent down and told her how precious that was and that I was glad she was praying for her friend.

Well, since it is getting late I guess I should close. My "get up and go" has "gone up and went"!!!! It shouldn't take long to get to sleep tonight.

Hope everyone has a blessed day. May the Lord show His presence today and answer a prayer for you. I continue to see how He takes care of us even in the little things.

Homework....oh, the joy

I took this picture near my Father-in-law's when we were there for Thanksgiving. We don't seem to be having any snow around here so I really can't give you any winter pictures!!!! SPRING? Things are beginning to bud out around here. It is so windy here tonight that we can't have a fire...it would cause smoke to blow back into the house. Something about the way our chimney is and the fact we are on a "hill". Anyway, I am bummed about that.

Let's just say that homework is becoming more and more interesting. It took me 45 minutes with Wesley today. I thought I was going to pass out. He is just so slow because he is trying to figure out the words and I can't handle much of that after teaching all day. Plus, he wasn't fully paying attention to me. He'd go much faster if he would just stay focused. Mikayla did better but it was because I warned her beforehand because I had just worked with Wesley for so long! Poor thing...she didn't have a chance today. I had ZERO patience for her. She only took around 15 minutes. By that time I was wiped. Thankfully we went out to eat tonight to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Of course, you all know how I feel about cooking, but truly during the school year...that is the LAST thing I desire to do. Steve had a great idea with going out.

Wesley was quite cranky this morning due to the fact he stayed awake too long last night looking at one of his scrapbooks. While I am thrilled he loves to look at them....when it comes time for bed he needs to get on to sleep! I can't stand the whines I get early in the morning when that child doesn't get enough sleep. We have made a rule about it now so he knows not to break it or he'll get in trouble.

I am ready to have a long hot shower and settle down for the evening. I have clothes to fold and then I'll probably be off to never never land. You know those chapters I was wanting to read last night???? Well, they never happened because I fell asleep on the couch in front of the fire
last night and then woke myself up long enough to walk to bed and fall in it. I was glad I had taken out my contacts first!!

Well, off to calm my nerves....again. ha! Enjoy your day!

Trouble by the double! :)

This is the picture I took of the moon that evening. I wish I had of had my other lens on to get closer, but this will do, I guess. It is no award winning photograph, but I do love the look of the moon.

Wesley and Mikayla got in trouble today during NAP time! ha! Wesley got in trouble more because he had already been warned. Miss Mikayla decided to share all of that information with me as soon as I came into my room from duty this afternoon. (She's all about sharing any info. that makes her look "better.") We had a serious talk tonight and then when Steve got home there were consequences. I also told Mikayla she needs to take care of herself and not Wesley. She is such a sister....ha!

We began something new in their homework tonight, and, oh my....it took twice as long! I worked with them for a half hour each..that was a long hour. I even fell asleep at one point while I was working with Wesley. He eventually got up and left!! After teaching all day it is hard to stay awake while working with them on this type of thing. They are still working hard and have come a long way, but I know they still have a long way to go, too. I hope every night doesn't take that long!!

Last night Steve and I watched "Iron Chefs" from the Food Network. (My brother will be so proud.) My brother and parents had talked about it at lunch yesterday so we thought we'd check it out last night. That is a pretty neat show! I learned a few things, which I forgot by this morning, but at least I learned them at the moment. Cooking is just not my thing. I wish with all my being that what I dream about is going in a making gourmet meals for my family...it isn't. I do what I have to do because I have to do it. Steve cooks more than I do during the school year. ha! At this time in my life I am doing good to get "basic cooking" tackled, let alone adding other things to it. My brother has taught me lots, though, and I realize I COULD do it, but it is not always in me. That is why if I ever bake or cook for people....I REALLY love them. hee hee Maybe it is because I have a great desire to go out and take pictures so much... Or maybe it is because I am so bogged down with the kids and other things around the house I can't seem to find that desire that, I assume, is hidden down deep. WAY deep. My brother says it is there. Hmm....I just don't know some days. :)

I took my student helper out to eat tonight. This was actually her Christmas present from me but we couldn't get our schedules right over the holidays. It was a nice time. She is so sweet and I enjoyed my time with her. I took her to a place where it is a buffet. I love this place because they have soups and salads and tonight they had my favorite soup...Cream of Mushroom. Well, I didn't want to look like a pig in front of this teenager so I only had ONE BOWL!!!! I usually eat TWO! HA!! I had "saved" up for this meal all day long, too. They also had another of my favorite soups tonight. I am pretty bummed that I didn't just go back and get more, but I didn't feel that was the most important thing...stuffing my face while she eats a small meal. Of course, I could blame it on being a mother/teacher and that I needed the calories to teach and keep up with Wesley and Mikayla. ha! Next time I'll try that...... :)

I must say I felt "old" compared to her. It is a different place to be from where I always thought I fit in life. Why would someone want to look up to ME when I am still learning myself!???? ha!! I find myself becoming like and saying things like my Mom. Not all bad, but definitely something I never thought would happen when I was a teenager. Ha!!!! Of course, when you are a teenager you know everything, when you get out of college you could do brain surgery blindfolded, when you get married you start realizing you aren't as smart as you thought, but you still know A LOT....and when you have been married a while and have kids...well, you begin to feel stupid and don't know what you are doing most days. ha! I find the older I get the less I know and the more ignorant I feel. Of course, that is what the Lord wants, in a way, because we become more dependent on HIM and less on ourselves. :)

Steve had the fire going when I got home..what a welcome sight and feel to me! I have not enjoyed these warm days around here. It has not felt like winter at all. Of course, the bright side of it is that we aren't using up a lot of heat which is making that cheaper. Try to find a bright spot in every dark cloud.

Well, it is off to bed soon. It won't be long before I have to head off to dreamland. Maybe I'll get more than one chapter read in my book tonight? I remember the days I could stay up late and get a book read in 2 days. Those days are gone for now! :) Enjoy your day!

Here is the sunset picture from our house. I thought it turned out pretty nicely.

We went to some friends house last night for supper. Steve went to highschool with the husband and they were the best of friends. It was nice to go and spend time with them and their two boys. Wesley and Mikayla seemed to have a great time, too.

Today we went to church and then went to Mom and Dad's for lunch. It was nice just spending time with them and relaxing. We came home and worked with the kids on their verses for this week. They got to watch a couple of movies after that and I scrapbooked a bit.

Well, I am off to take care of a weepy child. He doesn't like the teddy bear I picked out for Teddy Bear week at school! I will also journal some on my pages. Everyone have a great evening! I am sitting by the fire again!! yahoo!

Back again!

I realize it has been a while since I last posted. Getting back into the swing of school has been challenging! This week was much better with our schedules so it seemed to calm down on that end, but the week was still a wild one!

Today's pictures are of some of Wesley and Mikayla's favorites at the moment. We had gotten this large Hershey bar for Christmas (can't remember who actually got it) and when I was cleaning off the countertops before school started back I noticed it had been eaten but I figured Steve had been nibbling. That night, Steve came home and started laughing when he saw it. Apparently, Wesley had been the one doing the nibbling!! I took it out of the package and this is what I saw. This cracked me up. I then took a picture of it with the wrapper (which I didn't include in this picture) and took a picture of him eating it so that I could do a scrapbook page on it. That boy LOVES chocolate and I know he got it from his Momma! :)

Mikayla's favorite isn't chocolate...it is these little white cowboy boots. A friend of ours from church gave these to her when her daughter had outgrown them. Mikayla fell in love with them immediately, even though they were well worn, and desires to wear them all of the time. I think she would wear them 24/7 if I would let her. Most every day when we get home from school and they can go outside to play she will come in and take off her tennis shoes and put these on. I think it is precious. I know they don't look the best, but if they are a simple thing that bring her joy...why not?

This past week was Wesley's "Special Week" at school. He was "interviewed" and then a little story was written about him. His favorite color was green, of course, favorite food was cucumbers. He said he loved playing with tractors (shocker there...), drawing and swinging. He also said that when he grew up he wanted to be a farmer. I thought that was so sweet. Mikayla's "Special Week" will be this coming week. I am sure I can guess what she will say, but I will wait until she is officially "interviewed" to share that. :)

School has been good for them the past week and a half. They have both begun learning long vowel words (ex: make, take, paid..) instead of short vowel words (ex: wag, dog, bed...) It has been funny watching how they do with them. I am still amazed at how far they have come. They got their second report card this week and there has been improvement! Wesley still struggles in the reading, but we know it and are working with him on that. Mikayla is doing her best, too. As I was talking to Steve about it this week we realized a lot of the kids in their class are older than they are. Some turned six right before school started or right after so that really makes a big difference! Considering my babies didn't go to pre-school and are not as old as some in their class, I feel they are doing awesome. There truly has been a lot of growth. Next week they are going to be starting special Phonics sounds so that really should be interesting! ha!!

This week has been HOT for winter! We have been in the 60's and 70's all week and I haven't been able to sit by the fire ONCE! I am looking forward to having cold weather back like it should be. We had thunderstorms last night which caused the temperatures to drop drastically from yesterday. It was 72 yesterday and today it is in the 40's and we may have snow flurries tonight, then it is supposed to be back up in the 60's by Monday. CRAZY weather...no wonder people are so sick!! I am a person who generally enjoys the season I am in instead of always wishing for the next season to come. I find that time flies too fast as it is so why wish it away. I love all seasons, but I think my favorites are spring and fall. I love summer because of being out of school and being able to wear fun stuff, but I hate the hot humid days that drag you down. I love winter for the crispness and, of course, the ability to sit by a fire, but it isn't my favorite either because some days can look quite depressing! ha! So, spring and fall are my favorites because the skies are usually that beautiful blue and colors are all around me. That is what I think about life....the beauty of God's Creation is enough to take your breath away some days.

Speaking of God's Creation...I haven't been able to take many pictures of it lately. There doesn't seem to be anything special about a tree with no leaves up close, but I may make that my "project" to try to take some interesting pictures of that. I did manage to get a beautiful picture of a sunset the other night with our oak trees in the foreground. I also took a picture of the moon that night. I had wished I had my different lens on at the time to show it more closely but you do what you can. I'll share those in the next few days.

I am now caught up in my scrapbooking of our album (journaling and all) till Thanksgiving. I'll start on that, hopefully, today. I would love to do some ultra scrapping today and get caught up through Christmas....doubtful, but it is great to have high expectations, huh? I'll have to share a few of those pages. I still have to get Wesley and Mikayla's albums caught up from summer. Their albums will not be as difficult because after the summer pictures I am only doing school happenings in their albums. That is where their life is the most time consuming now.

I guess nothing is getting done sitting here typing. I was trying to catch up on the latest. I have to go teach Wesley and Mikayla how to vaccuum their rooms. That will become their responsibility now along with cleaning up their room. I want to instill the importance of chores to help around the house. The house has been a disaster for so long that I just need their help to get it where it needs to be. It is, after all, a lot of their toys that make it so disastrous! ha!!!

Have a wonderful day, everyone. I'll try to be better this week about my posts! ha!

Tears of a child

I found out yesterday that Daddy had to put down the cow at the clinic. Diamond was his name and he had been there as long as Daddy. He was Daddy's pet and quite special and he was also Mikayla's favorite. It broke my heart to find out he had to put him down yesterday because I have been trying to get up there so Mikayla could see him one last time. I was even going to do a scrapbook page on it so she would always have that in her memories. Well, when we got sick last week that kind of put a damper on it and then school started back and we didn't get the chance. I had to tell her today. I waited until this afternoon when we were alone. Wesley had gone home with a friend and I decided to tell her then. She took it better than I thought at first, but now, at bedtime, when she normally prayed for Diamond to get better, she began to cry. It broke my heart and I cried with her. I knew this was going to be hard. I realize it is just a cow, but to a five year old that cow was pretty special. (Of course, I am 34 and cried, too!!!) What was pitiful is when she told me on the way home this afternoon..."But Mommy, I PRAYED for Diamond!" I told her I know and that she needed to understand that her prayers helped him to last a few weeks longer than we thought he would. (He was old and had arthritis.) What a hard thing to explain and a hard thing to hear.

Steve helped me put some things back into perspective today. He told me one of his co-workers child who is about Wesley and Mikayla's age found out she has a brain tumor. It just makes you thankful your children can get up and be healthy. I had talked to their teacher today and she had explained how they were pretty much "average" and that Wesley is pretty weak in reading right now and Mikayla is a little better. I was a bit bummed over it, although I knew that was the case, but it is always hard news to chew on when you hear it. Well, after what Steve told me tonight, I know that it is alright. Their schoolwork is something we can work on....we don't have a sick child with a life threatening illness. Thank the Lord for His goodness.

I will say that overall today was a better day. I am still a bit in my "funk" but much better. It is just hard getting back into the swing of things again.

Tonight while we were cleaning up the kitchen Steve put on the new Martina McBride CD Timeless. It is really good and has old songs and the old country on it. Wesley was exhausted and laying in front of the fireplace going to sleep so I went ahead and put him to bed before Mikayla. When I came out from saying prayers with him and kissing him goodnight I heard Steve and Mikayla laughing. I walked in the kitchen and saw them dancing together. Can I just say that tugged at the heartstrings? (Still is, in fact, as I am typing..) It was SO precious and something I wish I could have frozen in time. I knew a picture wouldn't have done it justice, but I wish I had grabbed my camera. Of course, I stood there for quite a while and soaked it all in. Then, Steve and I began to dance around the kitchen. You know, that really did me good tonight. Steve was making me laugh and being all goofy. Have I said lately how much I love that man and am so thankful for him? What a treasure I have here on earth...

My Mom left "treasures" in our mailbox today. It was quite funny and something she hasn't done in a long time. She had gotten some bedroom slippers that were too little for her feet so she bagged them up and stuck them in my mailbox for me so I could try them. HA! She also wrapped up sugar wafers for the kids so they could have something to open and wrote them a little love note on the outside. That was the sweetest thing. It just reminded me yet again how thankful I am that she is still here.

OK..I have pretty much been teary-eyed or cried through the entire typing of today's blog. I think I need to just go sit by the fire and calm my nerves. :o) And, yes, the fireplace is going tonight. We haven't needed it for part of the week since it has been so warm and I don't think this cold is going to last but a couple of days. I really would love some snow. I want winter...not spring/summer. We'll see what the Lord has in store for us.

Have a great day! I'm off to settle my emotions in front of the fire! :o)

Need an 'attitude' adjustment

OK...yes, I will admit it right away...I am having an attitude problem. I had to go back to work yesterday, and although I love what I do, I was not in the mood to be there and am still fighting that one. Reality stinks sometimes, doesn't it? Today was much better but I'm still asking the Lord to give me a better attitude. It seems I became spoiled being able to stay home, relax, and be with my babies.

I hate to say it, but I envy Moms who can stay home with their children. It is exhausting just working, but then you add kids, homework, household things, hobbies, etc.. on top of that and you are just downright tired. Since I can "do" both...meaning I have off some weeks in the summer between classes, I find that I am so much less stressed when I can stay at home. It doesn't mean I don't have anything to do, but the things I have to do are done over the entire day and not just crammed into a few hours after work. Some days I truly do feel I will go crazy if I can't just stop and "smell the roses." Why is life so hectic, anyway? The thing is, I have purposely NOT made our lives as hectic as I know some people's are. Maybe it is because I am a super homebody who loves home so much that I desire that more than anything.

Can you tell why I need an attitude adjustment??? I truly do love what I do, but some days I wonder if it is worth it when all you feel is stress. BUT...I have no choice so I might as well get past this and move on. I know God uses times like these to teach us patience and contentment.

I think I am going to close for now. Hopefully tomorrow my attitude will be back to normal and I'll be able to think happy thoughts all day long!! Ha! Some days I wonder if it is just me feeling this way. I just need to think on the simple things in life and be thankful for what God has given me. Please excuse the "whine"..... :o)