Beauty

I was just looking on a friend's blog and at the blogs this dear friend follows. Now, I have some new faves. There are women who create BEAUTIFUL things for their homes and it is really inspiring! I mean, I knit some measly things and take FOREVER to finish projects....or....gasp.....never finish projects that I start. That is shameful. I need to organize my life so I can enjoy creating more beauty for my home.

My dear husband may be getting a raise at work, soon. The amount of the raise to go with his promotion would be more money that I could make if I were to go to work after 14 years and half a degree. Wow. I'm so proud of him and how hard he has worked for this - working himself through school and through his career. I'm grateful for a husband who works hard outside the home, so I don't have to go there. He laughed when we when I was telling him this and said I make it easy for him. HA! Easy in that there is food on the table and clean clothes on his back and a tidy home - well, half of the time, anyway! I love this man.

I have watermelons growing out at our land and I'm psyched! I cannot wait until I get the huge garden I want for next year. I planted some watermelons out at the land 2 months ago using the lasagna garden method. They were organic, native seeds, so I figured they would thrive without much care from me and boy, are they! I'm only out there about once per week to water them and they are very happy growing along the stream flowing out of our spring-fed pond. I have a couple of melons the size of the palm of my hand. Keep growing, little beauties.

I have never grown a large garden, so I'm planning and excited to get to do it next year. We will be living out at the land by then. Right now, the house we lease has a very shaded and sloped yard. Our TX yard was too shady, as well. Our AR house before that was OK - I grew a couple of things, but Roman was very small, then, and I didn't have time or energy to do much. So, I've container gardened for a few years, now, but I'm ready for something on a larger scale.

My in-laws gave us an Aerogarden for our anniversary this year. I have basil, purple basil, chives, thyme, mint, and parsley growing in my laundry room! I have harvested the basil several times. Yesterday it all looked like a jungle, so I harvested and froze all the herbs for later use. Love it.

Well, this afternoon is HISTORY! My favorite subject. We're using Usborne World History, Story of the World, and a Kingfisher World History book that is on it's lovely way.

I'm still alive...

Yes, I am still alive. It was a busy summer with all the camps, out-of-town visitors, baseball, and stuff. Yes, stuff.



It has been great taking a break, though. I didn't plan a single homeschool outing all summer. We actually took a summer break, but didn't go on vacation. We usually school through the summer, but it didn't work out this year. We did a little here and there, but nothing formal. I needed a break, as I was fast reaching the burn-out point!

I've been walking 3 mornings per week with a dear friend. It is invigorating! Not only physically, but mentally because we get to have girl talk. We go about 2.6 miles, so I feel like I'm such a serious athlete, now.

So, the month of August is here and I am all gung-ho. We had our "Not Going Back to School" party last week in combo with a neat field trip to Hobbs State Park. We got together with our lovely friends and are on a history schedule. I've made a list of what I need to buy for my different students and my kids have done school work almost everyday for a week. Our co-op will be starting up in the next couple of weeks and I signed up 3 of my kids for an art class taught locally. We're also scoping out shows performed at our local arts theatre so we can make a ticket order soon. I'm trying to figure out what to do for science.



The tab is quickly adding up, though, and getting expensive! I'm trying to think of ways to stay within my budget without slacking off on anything. Tricky...



August had his 12th birthday on the 11th. This was exciting for him - he is now a Young Man! He had an awesome birthday campout at our land and before that he learned to drive our new 4-wheeler. He was ordained a deacon at church, so he is a priesthood holder, now. He went on his first temple trip this past Saturday. I'm excited for him. He is a special guy.


We're planning a little trip to St. Louis and Nauvoo for September. I'm excited about that. We didn't take a trip this summer and need to get away as a family and have fun in a different setting. Also, Chris and I are traveling to HAWAII in October together and need to take the kids on a trip somewhere fun, too!

All for now...

Get the facts straight!!!

http://www.mormon.org/ and www.lds.org , people. Get the facts straight :) You'll never be the same!

Getting Older....

India and I celebrated our birthdays yesterday. I can't believe I now have a teenager. I remember when I was her age - 13! More and more often I see this certain beauty in her, this glimpse of her adult self shining through. A different beauty. She is growing up to be a good and righteous girl. She knows what is right and stands up for it on her own. What a wonderful birthday present it was to have her sent to me 13 years ago. A present I'll never forget.

When my father was still alive, he dreamed I would have a baby girl on my birthday while I was pregnant with her.

I have the best husband. He takes such good care of me and our children. He took the day off yesterday to spend with us. I love having him here. I have enjoyed him with us this weekend. The kids love him here, too. The boys really look up to him, and he is a great example for them. India adores him. He is a good man.

Well, we are buying those 33 acres of land. We close in a couple of weeks. We're so excited and are drawing up plans for what we will build there. The kids are so excited to live there and explore.

Things are slowing down for me, and I'm so glad. I'm gradually learning to say, "no", and not over-commit myself. My family and home come first right now. I'm not going to turn down church callings. So, everything else has got to go. I need to have my toe dipped in, rather than fully immerse myself in other things. A delicate balancing act I'm learning as I get older...

Happy Easter!

Well, Happy Easter! We had a great weekend. It was busy - August had a Friday night sleepover/campout. Saturday morning was a Primary activity. India went to a party Saturday afternoon and August had baseball practice. When all of that was over, we drove out to some property we are thinking about buying. We spent a few hours out there hiking it and trying to get a good feel for the land there, which is over 33 acres. Some of it is wooded and some open land. Some of it is rolling hills and some of it is flat. There is a huge spring-fed pond, and a little brook. It was in the 60s and sunny and gorgeous. We all got some great exercise and enjoyed beautiful creations.

This morning it was off to church. This afternoon, we drove back out to the property to check it out after heavy raining last night and today. We wanted to see what the water situation was like and make sure there was no flooding with the brook and other run off. It was just fine! Then, we came home and dyed eggs and made Easter dinner while listening to some Mo-Tab. After dinner, we did our Resurrection Eggs activity to tell the Easter story. Now, we are relaxing, which our family really needs.

We're so grateful for Christ and his sacrifice for us. We know he knows us individually by name and suffered for us so that we could live with our Father in Heaven again some day. I'm so happy that when we die this isn't the end. When our loved ones die it isn't the end. We will get to see one another again.

Overhaul

About once a year or so (sometimes twice), I feel the need to overhaul our schedule and priorities in my and my kids' lives. Usually when I feel like we aren't accomplishing much and the house is a wreck and we're running around too much! When we came back to NWA a year ago, I tested the waters with my toe trying to figure out what to get back into. Now, I feel like I've jumped in feet first and sometimes feel like I'm drowning. So.

My dear friend, Keli, has been so kind as to suggest we do science and history together once per week and that has been a blessing because it MAKES us get that organized, whether convenient or not, one day out of the week. This also MAKES me tidy up the house because I know they are coming :) At least the main rooms....

I organized "Culture Club" within our homeschool group, also. We meet once per month and share what we learned about whatever assigned country we decide on each month. The food is always superb. This is super fun, and also MAKES me do some culture study and geography each month.

I say MAKE because when we are so busy, these subjects tend to be overlooked and having to be accountable forces us to make time and not slack. I need that sometimes. Slacker that I am. Also, history and culture and geography are my favorite subjects. Science, not so much, but Keli loves it, so I let her teach that.

Spring break got us all out of whack on our time schedule. Chris is waking up so early to go to work that he isn't waking us before he leaves to read scriptures. This causes us to sleep in and then it is rush, rush, rush all day to get things done. We try to squeeze in scripture time somewhere in there. I think that not starting the day reading together causes our day to be out of sync. I need to just do it with or without Chris when he can't be here. Can't wait for this season to be over for him at work! The added stress isn't great for him, either. I love him for working so hard for our family.

Did I mention we got a puppy on top of everything? A sweet little toy poodle puppy named Scooter. He is India's doggie and was born January 23, so he is tiny. We've had him for about a month, and we're still trying to house train. It is driving us nuts, but he is cute and fat and will be spoiled.

So, we need to get back on track! I need to make up a loose schedule for each day of the week to follow, as well as "to-do" lists for the kids. That really helps them know what to do when I'm not available. I need to manage my time better so I'm not glued to my laptop working or out of the house most of the day! I need to allot time for that and not let it consume me, which it is quickly doing. When that happens, our home sort of starts to fall apart. The kids get off track and the house becomes a wreck and bills don't get paid.... Moms really are the glue keeping families together!

Off to overhaul our days.....

Guilty

Yes, I'm feelin' guilty for NOT blogging for over a month! I'm so busy, though. Sigh. I have the regular homeschool co-op and activities work, but August played basketball for 2 different leagues this year so we were running around to do that. I got a new calling AND a stake calling thrown into the mix. Oh, and Chris works late just about everyday with new job responsibilities he has going on. Whine, whine, whine... did I mention we also have school work to do everyday??

Basketball is now over - and August was a rock star, by the way - but, now baseball is getting underway, as well as soccer. India is playing soccer and all three boys are playing baseball. India has also started a violin class in addition to what she's doing at our co-op.

Keeping up with the house work is just about impossible.

I see burnout in my future, but am trying to hang on! If I could just get through until July. At that point sports will be over and Girl's Camp and Cub Scout day camp, but I'll have to focus on getting the co-op up and going by August. We'd like to take a trip west in July....

I'm learning to say "no" to activities and people when we just have too much going on and need to just be home. I need at least one full week day at home to take care of things here. Or else, we'll be living in a pig stye.