getting back to blogging

I think I need to get back to writing here. I have a few friends that are great about writing on their blogs consistently. Then there is me.... I have a hard time remembering to write here more often than once a year maybe twice if I am lucky. Writing here seems to be a stress reliever for me.
for some reason today, I have writers block.

13 yrs ago....

I said I do! The past 13 yrs have gone by fast. We had our date night on saturday. Brian got a new sweatshirt and I got well needed snow boots. We went to pizza hut to eat. We are glad we went out on saturday and not waited till sunday. Sunday's weather was yucky. Most of the roads had been closed due to drifting from the blizzard we had.
I am glad I married Brian. He has been there for me many times and I have been there for him just as many. We have been through the good times and the bad. I look forward to what God has in store for our future together. We will watch our children grow. I look back at the vows I had written for our vow renewal in the summer of 2012 and as I read over it again this morning. I still choose him and and still desire him above all others. I also know that he still desires me above all others. It was saddening to not have him next to me this morning when I woke. Brian had to be up early to plow snow. I am making him one of his new favorite meals..... Prime Rib.

I will love you, Brian, till the end of time!

Learning to read

Sometimes I think I am not cut out to teach a child to read.....
Alexandra (7yrs old) seems to think that learning to read is a lil hard and she has given up on even trying. She will read Dick and Jane all day long and can read it just fine. When given her sight words, she just looks at them and does not do anything.
Tanner (5 yrs old) is doing much better than Alexandra. He can figure out the words just by hearing me sound them out. Now keep in mind that he is working on 2 letter words. I have not started him on books just yet. He just gets to see the words as sight words, for now.
Updates to come on their progress.

Trampoline death

Our trampoline had a very snowy, yellow, steal death.  My husband hit it with the snowplow thinking he had more space and turned out he did not. While the children are disappointed, we will replace it once the snow melts and we find a suitable, cost-effective replacement. God gave us choices and skills and we get to make the choices and maybe use the skills to replace this fun outdoor play equipment.

semi sick/rest day

With the way we all sound I think to day might be a sick day. We will do just math and reading and be done for the day. One child got up with a fever the rest of us got up with quite the cough and sniffles and sneezes.
Also the weather is kind of suckish (from the way it looks and sounds like)... it snowed this morning and now the new snow is drifting bad some drifts are almost all the way across the driveway so it is a good day to have a rest day.
I will work on getting things ready for our trip (hopefully) to the water park tomorrow. I know these children need to be free to run. They are getting cabin fever from the lack of days to get outside due to the wind and cold of the midwest. Thought I was going to be able to send them outside today then the wind kicked up and now the wind chills make it too cold to be out for very long.

First post of 2014

So in this first post of 2014 not much has changed for us. I am still homeschooling the children. I am contributing to a blog which I think I will be doing more posting and actually schedule posts so I keep on top of things. Might even start a blog planner in a notebook so that I know what and when I to post.
I have started a menu planner and it helps knowing what is for supper and knowing what I need for groceries.

Life

Life got busy and this blog got forgotten again.
I got to celebrate with my brother and his new wife this past weekend and Brianna and Avri completed the first summer of playing softball.
I have now started the process of getting things ready for the new school year; which for us starts August 19.
I have been invited to contribute to a blog. I am very excited to do this. Tapestry of Grace is a fun way to learn and we get to read lots of books on the history topic we are studying.

Facebook

So after I add my own mother to be a friend I had to unfriend her and place her on the block list yet again. I really wish she would grow up and get over the fact that I homeschool my children. My own sisters have even got over it and even listen to me when I get excited about the stuff we are learning or going to learn. I will not be criticized in public!

stress release

Since I know most don't read this anymore, I can vent here and the ones I an venting about don't even know this exists.
My family is getting to the point where I don't want to talk to most of them. I still homsechool and there are a few members of the blood/by marriage family that have decided that they are God and they can judge others and even criticize others. Last I knew being a christian is to let God and Jesus do the judging.
Just because someone goes to church does not make them a christian and as well as not going does not make you not christian. These same people are always telling me that I need to do this or that and every once in a while I listen but mostly I do not and it makes them mad. I might not be perfect but neither are they. I am tired of getting told to do things like I am a child!!!! Last I checked I was not a child and I have not been a child in many years.

Well, after a bit of trouble, I have gotten back on here.... not sure why I ever left. Oh, yeah now I know life got hectic. 5 kids and housewife duties had me busy. I will try to update this more. Since my last post we have moved into a bigger house and I am still homeschooling the kids. I have joined a homeschooling group and I am glad that they have welcomed me even though 2 of my kids are in a virtual school.

baby issues

I have been having issues this time more than I did last 4 times. I have had cramping more on than off for the last week and today I go see my doc. Let me tell you I am a bit nervous for this appt and I have to take the kids with me so I am really praying for good news today. Maybe even an ultrasound to see baby and that things are ok.

sad day.... (in diaper land)

I had to pack the cloth diapers away for right now. This pregnancy has me wore out anf very tired and keeping up with the laundry has gotten hard. I hated to do it and so did Brian but we need to get everything else caught up (laundry wise). While I love the cloth diapers, I need to be albe to care for my children and not be stuck in the laundry room all day long. They will for sure come back out when the new baby gets here sicne baby will be in them too. I'm not sure if they willl come back out before that. We will have to see how things go from now till then.

well huston we have another problem......

I"M PREGNANT!!!! ( FYI if you are on facebook keep it quiet we have not told any one yet)

yep baby #5 is due around feb 17th.

I will have a busy time over the next year. we need a new house but are unble to get a loan for some reason.

How to make a 3 brm house fit 7 ppl any ideas?

getting better at the photog

i am slowly getting better at taking photos and my kids are getting tired of me taking their photos. I have aquired a new camera a canon rebel k2 (film slr/eos). the new camera has a 28-90mm lens. i am just loving it and have started to save up for a rebel xs.

Huston, we have ......

TROUBLE..... one word ------ Tanner

He can pull up in his crib none the less so that make naps and bedtime interesting with him.
In the first year of his life he has grown so much. He went from my 6 lbs 4 oz 18 in long baby boy to a mobile (quick at that) 20 lbs 27 in long freight train of destruction. He is indeed sick again with RSV.
I have more done on my mother's day project. We every year have started a landscaping project on mother's day or the weekend. This year's project is a patio to replace the dirt path and gravel and grass(it's missing) area we have currently. Well we are about 1/3 of the way done with the project and I will be sure to share pics of the after (forgot befores) once it is all done.

A major vent

I can't seem to get things right when shooting photos and people want me to take photos of their kids. I just don't feel like I can do that unless I can get it right on my own kids. The exposure to me looks ok. It is the focus that usually gets all wonky. I just wish I could get it right.
I am just down on myself and so want to get this right or my mom will make me take my kids to the photo studio to get thier pics taken.

i'm a lil behind

I have not been blogging every day like I wanted to. I have noticed that the younger part of our generation needs to have some respect for others. My OWN little sister called me a nerd due to the fact that my facebook status has on it about the election race here for a high power spot (state school superintendent). The ones that want the job have different views on the virtual schools and he wants to do like they have tired to do and that is make so many laws that they have not choice but to close them and the other one is for them even has her own children in one. It just is horrible that money means so much to the unions in this state.

the sad thing is that the teachers unions have so much at stake here they will do what the can to keep their help in the office.

Then in the last week i have looked at my children many times and they are growing so fast and it saddens me to think that i am done having kids unless by some miracle I get to have another. I look at Tanner and think that this is the last time i will have an 8 month old baby or even see one of my children army crawl to my feet and giggle or this is the last time i will have a party for a 3yo lil girl or the last first birthday party i will get to have.

comments allowed

things are strange and good

a few strange things have been happening here lately..... my eyes have been acting strange i get up and i can't see very well with my glasses on. Tanner will not wheeze all day then after his after noon nap he will start to wheeze again. I will keep doing his breathing treatments till he stops wheezing at all.
I will finish the last 2 refresher classes tonight and tomorrow.
All is well in the south they both (Grandpa and Lily) are doing great. Grandpa is out of icu and Lily does not have a pick line any more and is relying solely on her mom for her food. Grandpa is able to eat solid foods. The prayers are working.
March is also going out like a lion with all this rain and wind. i hope the rest of spring is nice and not as rainy or windy. It is hard to keep a 9 mo old baby's head covered to keep him out of the wind.

many things in one post....

Come on it is the end of march and we are to get up to 6-7 inches.
And a update on Tanner and the RSV .... we are now on a nebulizer as well as other meds. I really worry that he has lost 2lbs in just over 1 wk. Lets hope he gains it back and soon. Since the completely runny poops are gone we are back to the cloth tomorrow. I was not liking the liquid poo in the cloth i had to change him asap or it would run over there was not enough absorption in it. oh well i had a few sposies on hand and used them. so far *knock on wood* we have not gotten a yeast infection yet with the anti-biotic. i guess i could thanks some online sisters for the idea to give him that to begin with even before he got sick.

grandpa seems to be doing OK according to my mom who is in Kentucky. I hope and pray that he gets the tube out of the throat and he will be able to talk to us.
Baby Lily is slowly gaining weight and and getting bigger. (My cousin born 14 wks early)

RAIN RAIN go away

It has been doing that for 36-48 hrs off and on we have had about 30 mins at a time break between showers. And yet the weather people are calling for more rain. i really think this yr will be similar to last year at least in this area of the country. The flooding is starting already i just hope it does not get as bad as last year. DH's work was short on the corn the could plant and had to plant more else were and the beans were hard to get in with the wet ground.

The wind the last 2 days has been nasty too and very gusty.
Please say a prayer for my grandfather who under goes surgery tomorrow to fix a aneurysm near his kidneys.
Tanner is getting better slowly. I however have gotten a cold that has me all stuffed up. DH did have the same thing and was so nice to give it to me after he gave it to Tanner and the girls.

To answer those that wonder how I keep up with this and care for my 4 children...... I write when the kids are being good or are down for the night.