Hubby and I are in the middle of some "stuff" as I call it.
Without giving too many details, lest I potentially put some other "stuff" in jeopardy... we are faced with some HUGE decisions coming up. Yes, again.
I am feeling just a little bit crazy about all of it.
Are you ever faced with two equally good choices, but you feel like one has just GOT to be better than the other? Maybe if I write out ONE more pros/cons list... the choice will be more clear. Maybe if I research our choices a LITTLE bit harder... Maybe if I make a few more phone calls... maybe if I seek more wise counsel... maybe if I beg God to clarify my choices... maybe, maybe, maybe if....
The not-so-funny part is that my poor hubby has a different "I am absolutely sure this is the answer" decision every day. Today is different than yesterday which was new from the day before.
I know this sounds vague... but please, if you have a moment, just pray for our wisdom and clarity in this big decision making process.
My last post (I know... like 3 weeks ago... Sorry...) I illuded to the cool thing that happened on my drive to NY.
Well, first, I was annoyed since I wanted to stop in New Jersey for gas (cheaper and full service) before I had to cross the bridge into NY. I thought there was one more service area before the bridge, but I was wrong... so I missed it.
Irritated by that, I decided I would just stop as soon as I could, without driving through Brooklyn or the Bronx looking for a non-skeevy gas station. I knew at one point after the Verrazano bridge there is this island gas station just before a draw bridge... so I decided to stop there.
Well, I found it and pulled in, went to swipe my card... there is a sign that says "no credit at the pump - come to window." Lovely. So I walk over and I am second in line when the attendant (rudely) says "sorry, our computers are rebooting - its going to be 3 minutes". So I stood there. After about a minute or two, this guy comes up and someone in line told him it would be a couple more minutes and at this point there were maybe 4 people in line waiting to pay. He mumbled something about not waiting and walked back off to his car. I watched as he backed his black sporty car out of his place by the pump, threw it into gear, and screamed out of there. I thought, you know... I really dont have the time for this... I was rushing to get to the in-laws house in time for a bridal shower. I thought, there HAS to be another gas station... and I started to walk off to my car, but decided to just be patient.
Well, I paid and about that time, my oldest was on the phone with my hubby and told him all about how this big procession of 8 or 10 Harley's just drove by. I was pumping my gas and only a couple of minutes had gone by since the scene at the attendants booth.
Well, I got my gas, jumped in the car and drove off.... then got stuck in traffic less than a mile away. It was "new' traffic, in that the police and emergency vehicles were still trying to get through the traffic to get to the accident, and there was no organized method to the madness.
I saw an opening and (becoming a temporary New Yorker) floored it to get through the cars and get past the traffic.
Driving across the draw bridge I see the cause of the accident.
Sporty black car verses Harley Davidsons.
I stopped and prayed that I had the patience to just wait it out at the pump, or I believe I would have been right in the middle of that accident!!
This has happened twice this year... something stopped me before I sped off in frustration... and both times I am moments behind an accident. Thank you Holy Spirit for not giving up on this impatient wretch and making me WAIT when I need protection.
Have you ever had one of those days, or weekends, that feels right out of the pages of the Bible when it talks about the "long day"? I swear I think the days of this past weekend were at least double the length - or maybe that is just because I didnt sleep very much or very well any of those nights!
Friday afternoon/evening was our church's annual Women's Retreat! I was on the committee this year which meant showing up early to help set up, get things looking pretty, and generally help out wherever needed. IT was such a nice night! It is always fun to see my friends from church, hang out with the ladies, laugh, eat and just catch up with some wonderful friends! My new best friend (I am certain we were separated at birth... or at least our husbands were!!) was there with her mom, aunt and sister in law.. so I got to meet them and get to know them a little better!!
Around midnight I went home and cleaned house for about an hour... (after all, hubby had been home with the kids all night ALONE...) before falling into bed. 6am came REALLY early. I had to wake the kids up and drive 3.5 hours to get to NY for a bridal shower that started at noon! Coffee in cup holder, we set out on our second busy day. I must admit, I was not looking forward to this trip... not because I didnt want to support my future sis-in-law, but because I was missing the second day of the retreat in order to drive 7 hours round trip to get there and back (with 4 kids, through NYC, etc.). We arrived, girls jumped into dresses, I re-did my hair and make up, and off we went to the shower while the boys stayed home at the in-laws with their uncles for the afternoon. The shower was very pretty, looooooong, but pretty.
After the shower we went back to the in-laws house to play with the kids in the yard (it was a gorgeous day!) and I decided to try to call a substitute to teach my Sunday school class the next morning so I didnt have to jump RIGHT back into the car to drive 3.5 hours home!!! I did find a sub and I was able to stay there that night and have girls-night watching Enchanted and staying up TOO late AGAIN!!
Sunday morning again, came too soon!! I crawled out of bed at 7 and began rounding up our supplies to head home. I made a trip to a local bagel place to get breakfast for all the kids and a dozen to take home to hubby, then came back to the house to try to convince the kids to eat fast enough for us to get on the road by 8. Then 8:15. Then I was begging to be in the car by 8:30! Finally we said our goodbyes, got into the car to leave, and we were on our way home. After missing my final exit in PA and driving a good 20 miles out of the way to get home, we arrived back home around 11:45. We ran inside, I changed clothes really quickly... then hubby jumped in the car with all of us and we went to go buy a gift for my friend's son's birthday and went to the party!!
The party started at 1pm... we hung out over there with her family so long that everyone else left and we had to figure out what to make for dinner! The hubbies went to the grocery store and we made a lovely meal for everyone. That was the most relaxing and fun part of my weekend! I just love hanging out with couple friends that we have so much in common with!
So today I am EXHAUSTED... I cant believe it was only ONE weekend!
I have to write about my driving in NYC experience soon... I love it when I am able to see God's provision for our family in very CLEAR ways and this was just amazing! (How's that for a teaser!?)
and I AM sorry, and I am SO thankful for my blogger friends who check in often and post even though its been a month since my last post! I feel like sending you all big huge hugs!
What has been going on... well, a lot of stressful things, some funny things, and more mundane things of life than I care to think about.
We had a nice Easter weekend! We visited very-extended family in New Jersey, I got jealous of my sis-in-law's post-baby, nursing, size-4 body... totally unfair, it was way too cold for the cute springtime dresses and sandals I brought for the girls and I to wear to church - but you HAVE to wear spring clothes on Easter Sunday (I am pretty sure its Biblical).
Our dog may have been impregnated by a low-class, fly-by-night, who-knows-what-breed dog and it makes me nauseous to think about it... so I won't think about that until around 50 days from now when I will begin to panic if I feel movement. The 62 day timeframe from conception to birth puts us two weeks before the double-wedding-whammy coming this June. I WILL find out who owns this mongrel and show up with half of the vet bills... just watch me. She was tied outside on our deck -just going potty- we dont have a fence yet - when my daughter comes running in saying "look mom! Another dog outside with Ricotta!!" GRRR. This is the dog who will not CATCH food when you throw it because she wants to inspect it first. This is the dog who pulls clothes out of the hamper to make a bed since the floor isnt soft enough for her. This is the dog who will not drink her water if some food gets into her bowl. This is the dog who follows me around the house when I am vaccuming with the hose extension and will not leave me alone until I vaccum her as well - it feels nice and she LOVES it. She is a princess at 90 lbs, a breed called the worlds most BEAUTIFUL dog... and she went slumming. It just makes me sick. I can't DO puppies y'all! I love love love puppies... but we are in a townhouse - not somewhere with plenty of room for this type of activity to go on!
Changing the subject before I work myself into a tizzy...
Whew. I am registered for the "She Speaks" convention for Christian writers and speakers! I am super excited and nervous about going! I just "feel" like the Lord is leading me into a speaking role in ministry... but I have terrible stage fright. I was in some community theater as a teen, and I only ever had tiny parts. By tiny, I mean walk-on-extra parts - - non-speaking parts. I was a background person in Brigadoon, actually I think I had the named part of "fishmonger"... but no lines. They couldn't hear me during auditions. I though I was screaming from the stage, but the director kept saying "speak up Dear!" Mortifying. I had a small role in a couple school plays, again, no-line-extra parts. Then I found a niche in theatrical make up backstage. That was fun. I got to make 17 year olds look like grandparents. However, I digress. Me? Speak in front of large groups? You know the irony of speaking at women's events? There are almost ALWAYS people there who have initials after their names designating them as having more knowledge than I do - especially of the Biblical kind. I just took my first test in Evangelism 101 (yes, I skipped right over that 101 level class and jumped to 400 levels... not sure how they let that one by), and got a 75!! I would freak out if my kids got a 75 on a test... but I got a 75 in a BIBLE class!!! Ugh. Sucker punch. It was mostly memorization of verses in Romans, Titus and Ephesians... and I stink at memorization. I can finish a verse if someone starts it, but rarely can I give you the reference.
What else, what else....
OH. My 11 year old thought hair loss = cancer. He was pulling out hair by the fingerfulls from the back of his head and I could hear it ripping from the follicles... so I told him all about how cancer patients have to take the chemo drugs and that is what causes the hair loss, not the cancer. Then I discovered he had pulled out enough hair to give himself a 1" diameter bald spot right in the swirl part of the back of his head. Crazy child. It did work out in my favor though, as the embarrasment led him to want to get his hair cut so that it wasnt so obvious!! WOOHOO! I can see his eyes AND ears again!
I will try harder to keep posting things as they happen...
I am reading up on YOUR blogs... just dont have much time to post comments... but I am enjoying the posts!
Well, it has been a sad night at our house. I spoke with the people who are going to be Pharah's (Sarah) new host family till she returns to Haiti and they want to come pick her up tomorrow evening.
The girls cried their eyes out when they found out. I cried because they were crying. I will miss her, too! She is such a sweet baby I just can't stand the thought of having her leave us tomorrow night and she will have only been here 3 days! How on EARTH would we be able to handle it if we hosted her for the rest of the time then had to put her on a plane back to Haiti? My oldest thinks its unfair that she has to go back. I know she has a mother who loves her waiting for her return, but I have my moments too. I wonder how it could be fair for her to have to return to a place where 1 out of 3 infants die before their 1st birthday. How could it be fair to nurse her back to health here, feed her nutritious foods, give her baths in clean water, keep her clean and warm and safe... then send her back to poverty. It just feels cruel.
We love this little baby girl and I just pray that somehow her life will be blessed and that somehow she will grow up to be healthy and happy. I just dont feel happy about it right now.
I wonder if I am cut out for this kind of thing.
I thought I was called to help in this way! I thought the Lord was telling me to help coordinate the care of these kiddos and host one ourselves - after all, how can I tell others to host if I have not? I thought He was leading me in this direction so then why is it so stinking HARD to give her up after only 72 hours?!?!? I feel like I have failed her. I feel like I am giving up somehow, even though I am only obeying what my husband thinks is right in this situation. Why do I then feel so helpless and powerless? I thought there was power and freedom in submitting?
We will all miss this little girl. She is such a blessing.
We have all been blessed to be a part of her life. I have been so touched by my children's compassion towards this little girl. They do not see her like the world sees her. They do not look at her and gawk at her head circumference or stare in horror at her sunsetting eyes. They look at her and see a baby girl. They love to make her smile and laugh! They lay next to her and watch WonderPets because she loves the colors and music. They lay next to her so that she can see them even though she has limited eye movement and can not see people at some angles. They hold her bottles. They kiss her cheeks. They are really, really going to miss her a lot.
I am helping coordinate the folks from our church who are hosting babies from Angel Missions Haiti.
Well, there is a baby named Pharah who has been here since January and had her surgery Jan.31st. Her host family had a crisis and I went to go pick her up last night to bring her to our house! Her name is pronounced "Sarah". She is ADORABLE! She is such a happy baby and so easy going! Last night she came to our house for the first time, had never seen me before, and she slept all night till 7am! She is around 15 months old and is developmentally delayed because of her hydrocephaly, but she is SO social and expressive with her smile!
If you want more info on hosting a baby in your area... we need more host families in the Delaware/Philadelphia/Hershey/Maryland area! www.angelmissionshaiti.blogspot.com for more info and pictures of our little house guest!
She will only be here temporarily since hubby would like for us to not host her for the whole 2 months since he will be out of town so much over the next few weeks and he wants to protect my sanity. Perhaps we will host another child who comes later this year after the weddings are over in June!
Kiddos here are doing great... loving www.time4learning.com for our curriculum right now. Its the season for us to use something like this and the price is right! Its user friendly and I love that I can have them work more independently this way, too!
I was at the pizza place waiting for our order the other night. They had the radio on this station we dont listen to at home, for several reasons. Well.... this commercial came on for Kay Jewelers... you know the one. Well... I dont know if other people find it funny when they flip through radio stations or tv stations and the words you hear mesh together to form some other phrase, but this is what I heard.
"Every Kiss begins with Kay...." "Kaopectate... the number one choice for diarrhea relief."
They way they said it... it sounded like the same commercial, that kisses begin with Kaopectate.
IT was funny! Guess you had to be there........................
I was reading over at my friend Denise's blog (Denisebp in my friends list) and she has this awesome post about opening a book up and seeing what it says.
Here's my go...
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
The book I found is Boundaries in Marriage by Cloud/Townsend.
Page 123 only has 3 sentences. The first part of the page is the last sentence of the verse 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. "Love never fails." then it goes on to say:
"None of us is able to live out this description of love completely, but as we try, love will serve as a powerful boundary against all sorts of evil. It will protect your relationship and give you many, many returns for all that you invest in its enduring power."
Cool! I know that I have been struggling with being the best mom that I can. Do I love enough? Do I give enough? What can I do better? I feel like I put myself up against this unattainable standard of that Proverbs lady and my own insecurities... when maybe what I need to know is that loving my family is a process - a growing gift I give them - not an instant act.
Our Konos virtual co-op is doing Trust right now. These last two weeks have been flight/airplanes/aviation etc. Well, a new friend of mine, Angelene, lives very near by and we scheduled a field trip together with another mom to go to the Mid Atlantic Air Museum (www.maam.org).
Yesterday was the big day! It was a wonderful January day - beautiful weather, and decently behaved kids! We had a great time visiting the museum! The tour guide was incredible. He knew everything about everything - or at least he told convincing stories! :)
The kids brought home souvenirs and lots of information and memories of the day.
Well, I have been back for a few days now... just waiting to blog until I had caught up on my friends posts while I was away!
The move went very well - uneventfully - can't ask for more than that with a move! The new place is so much nicer, morale is certainly better having a clean home with no phantom smoke smell wafting into our closets. I am loving doing my laundry in my own house and the dishwasher, I am certain, was invented by an angel of mercy!
Updates on our family...
Well, I sent in the paperwork today to host a child through Angel Missions Haiti! (www.angelmissionshaiti.blogspot.com)! I am so excited to see what God has in store for us with this mission! There is this little sweetie pie on the blog named Stephen Joseph, he might be the one who comes to stay with us!
My college courses are back in full swing. Now I am taking Creation Studies. It is a VERY interesting course - refutes the whole evolution argument in very scientific ways as well as Biblical points of truth.
I am currently praying that God would take away my desire to adopt. It has been 2 years that I have been nearly consumed by my thoughts, hopes, prayers and such swirling around adopting... and we are no closer today than we were 2 years ago. My husband does not seem very eager to jump in, so I think this may be something we may never agree on. I am very sad about needing to pray for God to remove that desire from me, but I have prayed for seemingly forever that God would ready my husband's heart and He just hasn't done it. I feel this sense of urgency - like that so-called biological clock thing women talk about - this urgent sense that we need to do it now or never. That isn't from God without my husband being on board... so maybe its just a selfish thing I am holding on to. So, sadly, I have begun praying for the Lord to be merciful to me and remove this desire from my heart.
Well... that's depressing. On a happier note, I recently started attending a Bible study on Thursday mornings that is allowing me to get to know some of the women in the church a lot better. Its nice to finally feel like I am making some friends at our church after a year of feeling a little disconnected. (unless you are in my 3rd and 4th grader Sunday School class.... we are very connected! :)
YAY! I am so excited to get out of this apartment!
I have boxes quite literally ALL over the place and I went to Giant today to pick up more!
Giant is so awesome... I just love the newest store near me! They have been open about 18 months now and they are SO friendly and so customer-service oriented! I got all of my boxes from them and from freecycle and I think I may finally have enough! I was in there today and this guy was going into the back and bringing out MORE and MORE and MORE for us to take!
Anyway... the family drama seems to have calmed down a little. We just aren't answering the phone! That seems to work like magic! LOL Just kidding. My daughter just needs a little down-time from all of that and then I am sure she will jump right back into her friendship again.
Thanks to everyone who posted their words of wisdom!
I may not check in for over a week now since our new internet gets connected Monday and we will be unpacking and trying to get settled as quickly as possible.
If you read the issue below about my daughter and her "aunt" who is the same age... here is the update.
I let myself calm down for a day or so and then it just so happened that my MIL called me to talk. She had heard (through her daughter) that we are moving, so she wanted the scoop. Well, the conversation didn't seem comfortable, so I finally said, "can we talk about something for a moment?" and she informed me that she didn't have much time, but to go ahead. I said that I wanted to let her know mom-to-mom what had happened on the phone the other day between our daughters. Well, I was very calm and democratic about the whole thing, even just saying that my daughter was hurt and I know that they are such good friends we should not allow this type of thing to continue. Well... I had barely gotten those words out when she stops and says, "WELL. While we are talking about hurt feelings - the American Girl Place." I said, Okay... to which she starts in on the whole day. She said she and E (her daughter) should have been invited and how dare we come into HER house and be all excited about this special thing we were doing without E. She said she was VERY hurt by not being invited and that E was even more upset that she could not go that day. Well... I then explained to her that we had considered inviting them, but there were no more tickets available for that time since we had scheduled this day back in August!!! AUGUST people! It just so happened that there were events that made us have to be at their home that weekend anyway, otherwise we were just going to meet my sister-in-law Cassie and her hubby in NYC that day for our tea at the AG place. This was just something we had planned to be special between the girls and their Aunt Cassie! The girls are so close to their aunt Cassie since they lived with us at one time when they were first married. They are all "girlie girls" and just really enjoy being around each other. Besides that, E doesnt even like AG dolls, doesn't own and AG doll and when my girls bring their dolls (with extras) to play with E when we visit, she says she just doesn't want to play with them and basically pushes them aside to do other things. Thats FINE if she doesn't like them, but then WHY would she want to go to the AG Mecca?
Anyway... I apologized for hurting their feelings but tried to explain that we couldn't get more tickets even if we had thought they wanted to come.
Then... I didn't get an apology about E's behavior on the phone the previous night. I let it go and didnt bring it up again.
Then today, three phone calls within 2 hours that we ignored since my daughter did not want to chat, but finally I made her call them back since we wanted to be above all of that. Well, E says "Sorry about saying "is that all", I meant like 'are you done telling me' because I thought you were still thinking." That is SUCH a lie. This is what E does. She manipulates the situation and twists her words to get out of trouble. She says, "Is THAT ALL?!?" and then twist's it into "...is that the end of your list?"
I am so frustrated by this whole thing. Now I feel like I am supposed to call and apologize to E for hurting her feelings the day we went to tea, but honestly... I am not sorry. Not about the feelings, about sometimes people get to do things that you are not invited to do - thats life. My daughter isnt in her uncle's wedding coming up and E is. E gets to do ALL kinds of stuff that my kids don't get to do... and one other time we were there E and her brothers left every night for some soccer camp at their church and my kids were not invited. It just wasn't an issue!
Thanks for listening to my vent... maybe I will come up with something funny for the next post.
My dad called tonight. I was in the middle of telling him how we are moving into this townhouse that will be so much nicer than what we have now when he asks "How are the schools?". Well... I know where this is headed. I said I had not had a chance to really check into that yet and that we were opposed to putting the kids in school mid-year under any circumstances. He sounded upset and said that he hoped I would check into the schools more thoroughly so that hopefully I could send them back and be done with this "home schooling thing". Grrr. I told him, "Dad, the kids are doing really well. They are not behind. We will do what is best for them, I dont want you to worry about that." But I know that he really dissaproves of this decision.
The thing is, it was his daughter who has been in private Christian school since she was 3 who asked what state Belgium was in just this past week (4th grade). Not that my kids replied with the chief exports and national anthem of Belgium... but they knew enough to know that they didnt know where it was and when I corrected her that it was a country, not "in a state", she jumped in and interrupted with "Oh I know... its in Africa." like she had just convinced everyone of her intelligence.
Anyway... I was hurt and upset. Nothing like your own parents thinking you are screwing up your kids to really ruin your day.
THEN as if that wasn't enough - - we were further insulted and attacked by the other side of the family. My other sister (in law) who is the same age as my own kids called to talk to my daughter. After she (my daughter) was done telling all the things she received for Christmas, this little brat replies with "Is THAT ALL?!?" and a "Humph" sound, as if to say "thats nothing". Later in the same conversation my daughter explained that we are moving. Again, prideful, selfish, spoiled girl says "Oh, so you get your own room FINALLY!" and my daughter explained that, no, she is sharing with her sister. "OHhhhh.... sorry. When Jon moves out when he gets married I am going to get HIS room because its bigger." and made my daughter feel like we were second class citizens since she is sharing a room with her sister. I was so mad I could scream!! I nearly called my mother-in-law and had a little chat... but then I figured that this is the same little girl who can flat out lie to her parents face and follow it with "when have I ever lied to you?!?" and be believed by them - so she would probably just deny it and make my daughter look like the liar. Grrrr!! I swear! What is WRONG with kids today?!? And THIS is why I should put my kids back in public school!?? Because they need to absorb this kind of behavior?!
We WILL speak with the in laws about this one, but it will come from my hubby since they are his parents. Something has to be done. None of my kids want to go visit anymore because of this little brat. She is the youngest of the second group of kids (first 4 bio kids are all grown, then they adopted 4) and she is treated like the queen of the household AND she gets away with everything no matter how much proof there is against her.
Another SIL story... sorry... had to share!! This last time we were visiting there my girls and my other SIL and I had reservations at the American Girl place in NYC. We had made these reservations 6 months ago and they were booked solid for tea. Well, bratty SIL decides that she will make my daughters miserable about going since she wasn't invited! She proceeded to tell my daughter (that is the same age as her) that she didnt really WANT to go and that it would be MUCH more fun to stay home and What is the big deal... its just DOLLS anyway. My poor daughter was in tears by the time it was time to go... over just feeling sick about leaving her "friend" at home. I told her she was just jealous, spoiled and trying to ruin her time in the city because she wanted to do everything everyone gets to do - no matter what it was. I finally got a smile when I told her that if we all decided to eat poop, she would DEMAND she get some poop to eat, too!!
Anyway... going to go to bed now and try not to think about bratty siblings anymore tonight.
Ok, so 8 days to go till the move and today I picked up approx 15 boxes from the grocery store. I then came home and packed all 15 and it doesnt look like I have done a THING except for the pile of filled, labeled boxes in the living room!! ARGH! I had no idea we have so much stuff in this tiny apartment!! What were we thinking?!?
I have to go get more boxes later... if you have any tips on where to find them PLEASE let me know!
My sister and hubby's brother will both get married (within a week of each other on opposite sides of the country... of course!)
We are moving into a townhouse to give us more room and the ability to pay off debt at a faster rate.
We will be debt free by fall!
I pray we are able to host a Haitian baby for a surgical procedure from Angel Ministries Haiti.
My mom turns 50!
Hopefully at least 2 trips back home to visit family.
Now... I am not really one to make New Year's Resolutions (since they almost NEVER happen if I "resolve" to do them)... but here are some personal goals for this year:
1. I would like to lose a few lbs before my sister's wedding - I am the matron of honor and I would prefer to look a little less matron-ly around the middle.
2. I want to get more consistent with my devotional time in the mornings.
3. I want to institute a family time for us to talk about things, pray together, and just enjoy being a family... on a weekly basis.
4. Plan and prepare ACTUAL meals for my family. This will take a HUGE effort on my part since I am on a "special" diet and I prefer to just fix whatever they will eat and make myself a snack. We all need to be eating healthy foods on a regular basis and I have become lazy with the whole process.
5. Work at becoming more consistent with the Fly Lady daily chores. I was doing pretty well until we moved into such a cramped space... I am hoping that the new place will be just roomy enough for us to spread out a little and I can organize our areas better.
I think that's enough!! We can all sit around and name hundreds of things we would like to change, but then we just feel bad about ourselves afterwards! Instead, I think I will try to focus on those things that are really important to me and my family and once THOSE things are habitual... add something else.
Tonight my husband and a team of apprentice ice carvers created a very large ice carving at the university - santa's sleigh and reindeer, lifesize. Well, since this is his place of employment... I took the kids to see the carving on agreement that everyone was on their tippy top best behavior. Well...
They did really well. They were respectful, if not frozen to the core and unable to really speak while we were outside. Well, all that changed once we went inside and they ate at the university cafeteria. It reminded me of this joke that used to go around in email:
Things I've learned from my boys (honest and not kidding):
A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
A 3-year old child's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to
spread paint on all four walls of a 20 x 20 ft. room.
You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.
Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.
Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.
Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
Super glue is forever.
No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
VCR's do not eject "PB &J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
It will, however, make cats dizzy.
Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.
We were standing up to leave the cafeteria and I was getting all of the kids coats on and getting them all bundled up to go back outside. Remember this is a VERY crowded university cafeteria filled with 18-22 year olds except for our family. Well... my 6 year old says "I HAVE TO GO PEE!" at the very moment that the entire room goes silent. She is WAY too old to say things like that in a loud way... I am not sure WHAT was going on in her head!
Mortified. I know... its not a big deal... but you know how it is... everyone expects kids to be perfect when you are out and about.
On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, we don't like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!
I am beginning to think if God had wanted me to be organized He would have created me with a Palm Pilot attached to my body somewhere. Of course, then He would have also made one of my fingers the pokey stick thing you use to type on them since I would obviously lose that really quickly, too!
I sat for a few hours yesterday trying to make sense of my 2 on-the-radar kids' school work for this year. My Kindergartener does not yet have to comply in PA, so we don't stress over that stuff. However, the two older ones DO have to show some stuff at the end of the year and I was struggling yesterday to find all of those little piles of paper that I stick in strange places when I need to clean off the kitchen/homeschool table in a hurry. I think I am close though because my big expandable file is bulging with our first semester coming to a close.
How do other "born organized" types do it? We are in such a cramped space that I feel like I am constantly fighting piles of stuff even after a whole year of moving things around and trying to make the space work for us!
I am thinking maybe we need a curriculum change. I like the IDEA of Konos... but in reality, by the time the afternoon hits, I am just too tired of being the teacher to actually have to begin a whole new big activity... so we wind up not doing anything which means all my kids are getting right now is the three R's. I would like something complete... but dont want to spend a billion dollars on the satelite BJU and stuff like that. Any tips?
Its been a while since I posted... not that I am not actually reading whats going on with other people, but I never seem to have time to post. Sometimes I have time to post, but what I WOULD post may not be inspiring or uplifting or positive or anything... so I refrain.
There are not too many things to update... we are still in the apartment and we put off our plans to purchase a home here in PA at least for another 10 months or so. There is a couple from our church who owns a townhouse that is coming available the end of January, so we are considering moving in there. Its newer, has a fireplace ( I ADORE fireplaces!), 3 bedrooms all on one level, a living room, dining room, eat in kitchen, and a bonus room in the basement with (drumroll please...) the LAUNDRY ROOM!! (Do you also hear the angel chorus?) The rent is the same as what we are paying now, except that we will be able to get a lot of our things out of storage - so perhaps we will be able to cut costs by getting a smaller storage unit or at the very least, organize our storage building so we can find what we want when we want it! Its piled up floor to ceiling, front to back right now and we couldn't get something out of there if our lives depended on it! Its not my dream house and I probably didnt picture us moving into another apartment type place after our adventure here in this apartment... but if it will buy us some time to pay off all our debt and make a good decision on where to buy... its worth it. The biggest negative for me is the teenie tiny yard. I mean SMALL. Like if we decided to have a picnic... the blanket would take up the whole yard. It looks like a nice neighborhood though. Nothing scary going on that I could see.
So.... we are going to go buy a fake tree today. Let me start by saying I am adamantly against fake trees. I can not stand the idea of a fake tree... I think go real or go home. However, we are going to go be with my family this year in TN over Christmas and since we will be gone for 11 days of the month, it does not make sense to pay $$ for a real tree to only enjoy it for a few days, then have to clean up dried needles from all over when I get back in town. I like the smell of real trees and the "clean" of fake trees. I guess I may be becoming a fake tree convert. I might buy a can of Christmas tree smell to go along with the fake tree. Fake tree/fake smell... makes sense! ;)
I accidentally ate a wheat-coffee cake thing at my inlaws house the day before Thanksgiving and got REALLY sick. I mean sick. Like you-dont-want-to-know-details sick. The funny thing is... they almost BLAMED me for being sick! It was like they were upset with me! My MIL said that its "dumb" that I get so sick from eating something with wheat but dont have anything wrong with me. Hmmm. Obviously there is something WRONG if I get that sick from eating wheat... we just dont know exactly what it is!! Sheesh.
I guess those are the only updates.... kids are doing fine... the girls are off making "secret" crafts today with their Sparkles group from church and the boys are watching Polar Express. I have to go read The Case for Faith for my online discussion board for Philosophy 240.... and I am crocheting fluffy scarfes for my sisters for Christmas!
There are a few blogs that I log in and read, even if I don't have time to reply. I just feel like I need to keep up with some folks and what is going on in their lives! Other than Bethanyrae, there are:
Trying not to take situations too seriously, living each day for the Lord, trying to figure out how to do this homeschool mom thing!
If you have trouble reading my page, try expanding this screen to "full screen". Sorry for the inconvenience... I am working on figuring out how to fix it!
You and dogs definitely have a lot in common.
You're both goofy, happy, and content with the small things in life.
However, you're definitely not as needy as the average dog. You need your down time occasionally.
At your darkest moments, you feel guilty.
At work and school, you do best when you're researching.
When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often.
In friendship, you are considerate and compromising.
Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking.
You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.
Instead, I think I will try to focus on those things that are really important to me and my family and once THOSE things are habitual... add something else.
Happy New Year!
I was given this award by my friend Bethanyrae!
