Sullivan's Academy

• Aug. 28, 2007

I thought it was time to post a few pictures of my little darlings :)

This is Kyndall - 3 months old already! Isn't her smile beautiful?

And these are my big girls showing off their missing teeth -

And this is Graycie, my very fun 3 year old.

We've had such fun this summer. We've been to the lake, swam almost daily, and gone to many playgrounds. I was telling my family this weekend that having seasons make you appreciate each one that much more. Our pools in Florida were taken for granted since you were able to swim almost 10 months out of the year! I'm so very thankful that the Lord saw fit to bless us with the ability to move here! We've even found a family in our neighborhood that is planning on homeschooling their children. They are a wonderful family who tries very hard to walk with the Lord, and we are amazed at God's goodness that he chose to give us friends such as these.

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• Aug. 23, 2007

Tomorrow is my oldest daughter's 8th birthday. It is so hard to believe my baby is that old. The time has gone by so quickly. I am so thankful I still have a baby in the house, or I'd probably be in tears by now remembering her "babydom". She has been a joy these last few weeks helping with her little sisters and just being there. We've started letting her stay up a little later than the others and she usually just wants to spend the time sitting with us. How amazing that is. I pray those moments last through the years. Tonight she is out with her "Meme", my mom, shopping and then we will meet up for dinner. It has turned into a birthday tradition since we've moved up here. The girls feel so grown up riding around in her convertible.

I finally gave in and bought another sewing machine. I needed curtains for one of the kids bedrooms and couldn't find any that fit just right for color or style. I decided that I was going to make them. Astonishly, I did! They turned out just right! I doubt I'd win a blue ribbon at the fair for them, but they look nice to me, and they cover the windows, so therefore, they are perfect! I had some extra fabric so I even made bean bags for a bean bag toss. Isn't that cool?

Happy birthday also to Ryan Daniel. He was born to one of my oldest friends this morning. He is her first baby, so it is going to be fun watching them. I can't wait to share in mommy moments with her!

• Aug. 15, 2007

Today was a big day in our home. I took all my big girls to their first dentist appointment. Yes, even my 7, almost 8 year old had her FIRST appointment. Am I horrible? Can you tell I have issues with dentist offices? I'm not sure why I have such a phobia of it, because I love going to the regular doctor. I think it is the pain quotient. Anyway, Shayla had 1 cavity, and the two younger girls had none. My darling 3 year old didn't even bite anyone! I call that a good day.

This evening we watched some home movies. They brought back so many fond memories. I am definitely going to start using our camcorder more often. The girls grow so quickly. We laughed so much. My mom even watched a few with us. We have more to watch tomorrow, and I am really excited about it. We've had this wonderful contraption for almost 2 years, and we just took the time to hook it up to our tv. If I would of known how much fun it was going to be, we would of done it much earlier.

The public schools started a couple of days ago around here. Our neighborhood is very peaceful these days. I've missed that. I like having kids come over to play in the afternoons, but right after breakfast can get tiresome.

Our school days are going very well. We are doing a bit of activities in the morning before we have lunch, then Shayla and Cassy do school while the littles nap. I do our read alouds with them before bed. It makes for a more relaxed atmosphere around here. The main reason for the switch was that Graycie, my 3 year old, was so bored while the girls did their book work. This way, she gets to be involved in fun crafts while I still have my energy, instead of being herded off to kill time. I love the moments we are getting to share. We put the baby in the bumbo seat in the middle of our table, then the girls do their crafts around her. It's a family affair!

• Jul. 30, 2007

My little baby is officially a big girl. Last night was her first night in her "big girl" crib in her sister, Shayla's room. It was very traumatizing for me, sleeping in my room without her. I would of kept her in there indefinitely had it not been for my husband having to get ready for work at 2:30am. I didn't want to disturb her sleep schedule quite that much by having her up for an hour at that time. She also giggled for the first time today while sitting in her daddy's lap, (of course).

I had a sad encounter at the grocery store this week. I had taken all the girls with me since their daddy was trying to catch up on some sleep. We had a great outing, even going out to lunch with my mom. The store was our last stop on the way home. As we were walking down an aisle, I accidently knocked a pack of bagels to the ground. This was no surprise to me, since we usually make at least one mess between the four of us walking. A lady was walking by about the time it happened and I just smiled and shrugged. She then said to me, "Don't worry, they go back to school in 2 weeks". I, of course, told her they do not since they are homeschooled. She kind of shook her head and walked away. It made me so sad! I then had the blessed opportunity of sharing with my children why someone would make such a comment. My girls then proceeded to tell me all the wonderful things they would be missing out on if they went to school! Isn't that just amazing? I just love my girls! The incident did get me to thinking, did I do something to make her think I didn't want to be near my kids? Or, is it simply so odd to see me at the store with 4 children, alone, and they automatically assume I'm losing my mind? Granted, that does happen at times...

We are studying on Phillipians 4:8, "...whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if aything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." My oldest daughter asked me tonight if I could help her find some verses in the bible that could help with her attitude? I was very happy to oblige, and I was convicted enough to know I should study them as well. We are going to try to dwell on the positive instead of the negative. I'm hoping to use this in my ironing tonight. The good - my hubby will be thankful. :) See how easy that was?!

• Jul. 27, 2007

Alright, this time I have a very legimate excuse for not blogging in so long. My oldest daughter has a severe case of poison ivy as well as chicken pox. Can you believe the misery this poor child is experiencing? We originally thought it was mosquito bites, since all three girls had spots. Then, the other two girls spots were gone. We were keeping them all inside, so we couldn't figure out what was wrong. We starting thinking fleas since we have a furry cat, but again, no one else was bothered. After the blisters started breaking out we knew it was time to see the professional and let them solve the mystery. Unfortunately, she was supposed to start tennis lessons this monday (in just 3 days) with her 6yo sister. She was very upset by the idea of going out in public looking like this, regardless of if it was contagious. So, that had to be postponed for another week. The odd thing about the "pox" is that she was vaccinated. Evidently, she will only get a mild case (which it is), but the poison ivy is simply terrible. It appears to bother her much more than the spots. Thankfully, she is homeschooled, so she doesn't have to miss any school! Aren't we horrible parents? I almost felt sorry for her, until I thought that sitting around idly would be worse than being occupied with work. She would just sit there and scratch. A pencil in their hand does wonders.

On to other news, hubby has started a job working at 3a.m. Needless to say, I won't be up making him breakfast before work. Actually, horrible wife that I am, I never make breakfast. We are a cereal family. As usual, I have strayed from the point... We are all trying to adjust to this new schedule, which means a much earlier bedtime for all involved. This should be interesting for this house, especially since it doesn't get dark until after 9 o'clock. We are going to aim for no later than 8. Yeah, right. I'm praing for an opportunity to work from home to supplement for a while. I'd love one the chance to make money while being with my family.

I'll share with you one of my completely inept moments. I am a fairly technical person. I am proficient on the computer, love to use kitchen gadgets, and can follow manuals to put most toys together. That being said, when we woke up this morning, our cordless phone gave me an error message that said "cannot connect". I checked the cords, all were hooked properly to the modem (we have digital phone service). My regular phone which was plugged into a splitter in the same jack worked fine. The main issue was that the caller id is on my cordless. This made me crazy all day. It really gets on my nerves when i miss a call and they don't leave a message, therefore peaking my curiosity to know who actually called since I can't check the caller id. The worst part is I'm one of those people who usually hangs up before leaving a message, relying on that persons caller id. I fianlly convinced my wonderfully mecanically inclined hubby to take a look at fixing the contraption before I bought a new one. (That will motivate him to fix anything.) He figured it out in seconds, the power was unplugged. I felt so ridiculous. At least my darling got a good laugh out of it. I just checked the actual phone cord, who would of thought of the power. I even blamed a lightning storm for messing it up. Boy, was I ever wrong.

• Jul. 18, 2007

I just had another moment of blessing with living in a small town. I needed a shot record for my 3yo and when I called the dr.'s office, they told me I could pick it up today after lunch. Where we used to live, it took at least a week! I am so thankful to have this pediatrician. The doctor has been wonderful for our family and very supportive of homeschooling. While I'm thinking about it, HSLDA is doing a series of questions with the 2008 presidential candidates that are quite insightful. They are asking each candidate the same questions regarding homeschooling, marriage and a few others (those are the 2 that interest me most).

We went to the fair again before it left and rode the rides the kids had missed before. We also attended a magic show and my oldest was chosen to be a helper. It was pretty cute, she used a "magic" wand to make a bunny. We didn't think she was ever going to stop petting it and get off that stage. She enjoyed the lime light a bit much for this mom to be comfortable. Who knows what we are in for?! She is already the drama queen of the family, so I should of expected it.

We've done some rescheduling of our school day to make my mornings a little less chaotic. The girls now do their reading first, then math and handwriting, then I do our read-alouds. We made prayer journals a couple of days ago to show the girls how faithful God is in answering our prayers. I need to make one for myself as well. I'm hoping to be more accountable in our prayer life (and every other aspect). We've also started letting the older girls do math and typing drills on the computer. Our 3yo is doing alphabet drills on it during her turn. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of free programs available on the internet.

Our big girls will be starting tennis lessons in a couple of weeks. I may be more excited than they are! I remember taking lessons each summer when I was a child. Maybe they'll actually learn something and stick with it, unlike their mother! :) There is a huge playground next to the courts, so I'm sure my 3yo will be adequately entertained as well. I just love our new town! There are so many neat things to do! I've never seen so many wonderful playgrounds. I mean, huge, nice rubber mat playgrounds. Anyone ready for a visit? We need some friends to share it with, and it would be even better!

• Jul. 7, 2007

We attended our county fair last night. Although it was extremely hot, we thoroughly enjoyed it. We went and looked at the animals exhibits first, which is always my favorite part. I just love those huge pigs and adorable little lop eared bunnies. The girls were able to go on 4 rides of their choice. After that we browsed the exhibit halls. It was a neat way to get to know more about our community. There was even an Usborne book display. Unfortunately, it was right next to the Pampered Chef display. Such temptations! I was brave enough to grab a catalog from each booth, I should probably throw them away before I even look at them. There is a local magician that we've spoken to a few times at restaurants who had a booth as well, and he is doing a big show on Wednesday night, so we are going back for that. We'll also let the girls ride some more. They are really looking forward to the ferris wheel and big slide.

We have been so blessed this summer to have lots of company. It seems like every week there has been someone new. I suppose that is one of the bonuses of living away from everyone, you get to have fun visits!

• Jul. 5, 2007

I hope everyone had a wonderful, safe Independence Day. We went to see the fireworks on Tuesday night and had a wonderful, relaxing evening. Until we were stuck in traffic for an hour. It was still worth the effort. The baby slept through the entire show! i expected her to be upset over the loud noises, evidently I worried needlessly (as usual).

Last night we just stayed home and I let the girls have sparklers on our front porch. The neighbors did shoot some fairly large fireworks, but it was raining, so there were very few. We also did a small study on the origins of the "Pledge of Alliegance" as well as our flag. I printed some coloring pages as well, nothing too exciting.

We finally bought rocking chairs for our front porch! I've been wanting some for years, and last night my mom called and said they were on sale for only $27! What joy!

I am going to start "pre-school" with my 3 year old next week. I've been holding off as long as I could, but my hubby mentioned yesterday that it was time. He is right, but I'm somewhat nervous. She tends to be a bit independent, which means I'm going to have to be a bit more creative with her than I was with her older sisters. I'm going to start by doing the letter of the week activities as well as counting.

Our county fair starts on Friday! Our big girls can barely contain themselves. It doesn't help matters that the fairgrounds are less than a mile away and we pass them every time we head to town. I am simply anticipating that delicious funnel cake. I wait all year for it. They never taste quite as good anywhere else.

• Jun. 29, 2007

I finally changed my avatar to show our new little bundle with her sisters. She looks so long! She is getting chubby little thighs too. Funny how we like our babies to be chubby, but the thought of us having chubbiness (is that a real word) anywhere is appalling :)

We've had a ton of rain here the last few days, and what a blessing it has been. When we first returned from our vacation the grass was brown and prickly feeling, now, it has turned to it's beautiful shade of green and is a joy to walk on again. Isn't it amazing how quickly the rain can change the appearance of our landscape. God planned so well for our earth.

We all went to a minor league baseball game last weekend. The girls just loved it. And most surprisingly, I did too. I normally have an attention span of approximately 3 innings. Once we got to the 7th inning stretch I found I was still enjoying it. Shocking! It was almost like hubby and I were on a date again, except we had our 4 kids, 2 friends children, and my mom with us. I guess that is as close as we've been to a date in months, years even.

We've been doing great with keeping on track with our school work. The only complication is when the little girl that lives next knocks every hour wanting to play. What slave drivers to make our children school in the summer! I'm thinking of posting a note saying that they girls cannot have friends over until at least 4pm. That way we get to have some family play time before losing them to their peers. This is the negative of living in a neighborhood. You can't play in your yard without the neighbors coming over. I originally thought this would be a positive, and at times it is. Such as during the public school year when the kids drop by after they finish their homework. Then, we are ready for company! Such changes it brings when moving from the boonies.

Yay, our friendly UPS man just dropped a package! Have a blessed day!

• Jun. 22, 2007
She has arrived!

Hello everyone! Thank you so very much for your thoughts and prayers. They have definitely been answered! We have another healthy baby girl. She is 4 weeks old now, and a joy to have. She weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces, so she is our little runt. Unbelievably, she has already started turning over! I'm going to change my blog image soon to show all four of my darlings. I tried to upload a picture, but just don't have the patience right now to make it work... I apologize that I haven't blogged before, but you know how time can get away from you with a new baby around! :) She is a perfect fit in our home, the big girls are thoroughly enjoying their new role. They are constantly helping me, and they always want to hold her. It is just adorable to see my 3 year old (who seems so huge now!) holding her tiny sister. What blessings.

My wonderful husband even kept the girls up with school while I was in the hospital! I was shocked. He is awesome. The house was immaculate, and they had made me a bouquet of flowers from our yard. It was wonderful to come home to. My mom brought us dinner that first night, so I was feeling very pampered.

As for the last four weeks, they've been a whirlwind. On top of all the usual doctors appointments, my hubby decided to build a playroom in our garage. It is so great! I love having one whole room just for toys. Our school room is now strictly that. Almost a library since we keep all of our books in it, as well as our computer. We found 2 school desks, the real kind from my childhood, at a resale store for $1.99 each! A local school just closed and we are hoping to get a couple of more from it. The girls love them. We also had a few out of town visitors. My cousin was in town for 3 days, so we were able to enjoy some great times with him. Then, some friends came and stayed a weekend with their 3 daughters. We had 7 girls in this house! We made for quite a show when going out and about.

Last week we made a trip to Florida to see the in-laws. We decided to surprise them, so we showed up at a store where my mother in law was shopping and let the girls just walk up to her. The trip was worth it just for that moment. It was very hard to drive for 2 days and not let anyone know what we were up to! We were blessed to be given 2 nights at a resort in Orlando by a close family friend. We felt like real vacationers. We spent one night at the in-laws and saw all the aunts, uncles and cousins. Then we headed to the beach for 2 nights with hubby's family. It was weird to be back there, seeing the cities in a new perspective. It was much more crowded than we remembered. We were so glad to head home!

As for today, we have 2 children over that have been my mom's surrograte grand-children since they were born. They are close in age to my oldest 2, so they are enjoying the playmates. I just enjoy seeing them.

As you can see, we've been kept on our toes for weeks. The county fair is in 2 weeks, and we will be having company then as well. Friends and in-laws will fill our moments again. What fun it is!

Thank you all for being patient with me, and I'll try to post more often.

• May. 18, 2007

We have been having much cooler weather here this week, and wouldn't you know, I got a cold. I never like colds, but when you are a week away from having a new baby, they can be simply miserable. I've been scheduled for induction on my birthday, what better present could there be? I told my hubby he is going to have trouble topping this present in years to come. I'm sure he planned it this way. I didn't even pick the day, the hospital and doctors did. Of course, if this cold gets worse I assume I'll have to wait or something. I'm not sure how that works. I'm just praying fervently for a healthy labor and delivery so we can get home quickly to our family.

My 2nd daughter turns 6 tomorrow. She has been counting down the days. My mom is taking her out on shopping date tonight, then we will meet up at that mouse pizza place to surprise her. The poor little thing has a cold as well. Last year, she had bronchitis on her birthday. She knows how to make her birthday's special. I always let the kids pick what they want to eat for their birthday dinners. We were menu planning last night and she chose hot dogs. Out of every imaginable food on the planet she chooses hot dogs?! So, hot dogs it is. We are going to have a fire and roast marshmallows too. That will be on Saturday night when it is warmer.

Our school has been going wonderfully. It is such a blessing for my girls to enjoy their time of learning. What a difference from the memories I have of my "learning years". I realized this morning, I never learned to "learn" until I started to homeschool. I knew how to use a library (which is completely different these days!), but I didn't really learn how to research. Thank goodness for the internet!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

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• May. 13, 2007
Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mom's out there! I have no idea what we will be doing today, if anything, but I am so thankful that I have these 3 little blessings who call me mom. It still amazes me that I have children, nonetheless this many! I am also extremely blessed to have a mom that has become my best friend. We had our share of childhood issues, and young adult issues, but now, we are truly friends and I enjoy just being with her. That is truly a gift from God.

I went to the doctor last week and they are planning on inducing me in my 39th week if nothing has happened prior to that. I haven't ever had a labor that actually progressed on it's own, so we figured this would happen. I like the convenience of it, although it would be awesome for my body to actually do what God made it to do!

Have a great day everyone!

• May. 5, 2007

Today was a peaceful familly day. We went to a state park near our home and enjoyed God's creation. It was so beautiful, and I cannot wait until the baby is born and I am fit enough to go on the walking trails! There are beautiful mountains and hills with the neatest paths through them. There are also horse trails, but I think I'll pass on those. I've made it a personal goal to go one new place each week to discover our new town (and state!). After our naps we all went for a walk and played outside. The weather is just perfect. You don't even get hot after playing basketball! I just love this time of year.

I was in the process of making dinner and I preheated the casserole dish in the oven. I carefully took it out and placed it on the counter to put in the ingredients. Using my pregnancy brain I then used my bare hands and picked it up to move it to a more accessible location. My poor fingers appear to have blisters forming all over. I think this is going to be one smart baby - she is obviously taking whatever sense I have left from my other girls!

I am still feeling fairly good considering I only have a little over 3 weeks to go. Sleeping is definitely an inconvenience, as is walking... I could probably list quite a few more complaints, but I'll just leave it at that and say that I am so excited for this new little one that it makes those issues so minor. Especially when the Lord has already blessed me with 3 little helpers to pick up things that I can't reach and a hubby who is so good to me!

• Apr. 26, 2007
Rainy day

It is a wonderful rainy day around here. I am amazed at how much the trees turn green after a good soaking here. The change of seasons is something everyone should have the opportunity to see. These past few months have been a huge blessing to see God's hand in nature. "There is a season" has a whole new meaning now! In Florida, it was hot or cold, green or brown. There were no in-betweens, or anitcipation of the changing scenery.

I overheard a heartwarming conversation yesterday between my 7 year old daughter and one of her friends of the same age. They were outside on the tree swing while I sat in the school room putting together a toy kitchen (birthday present). I'm not sure how it started, but they were discussing math. My daughter says that she knows what 2 x 9 is. Her friend tells her, "yeah, but that's because you are homeschooled!" It was the first time I've heard another child act as if homeschoolers are supposed to know more. I guess we have to work harder to meet those expectations! (yeah, right!).

I'm going to snuggle up with a good book and enjoy this weather!

It would be perfect for sleeping if I didn't have 2 big girls that seem to think naps are a waste of precious play time after a hard day of school work. I hope they change their minds about that one day. Thankfully, my little one still takes long naps!

• Apr. 23, 2007

It seems like forever since I've taken the time to sit down and blog! We've had so much going on, so that means so much to share!

First of all, today is my darling youngest daughter's 3rd birthday. She has grown so fast, I have no idea where the time has gone! In honor of her birthday the girls and I went to Chuck E Cheese. They had a blast, and I ate way too much. We also had a cake for her Saturday afternoon so she could spend time with her MeMe (my mom) and enjoy her presents. She is such a joy to our family, the class clown at this point. She definitely keeps us on our toes. Just last weekend I had given her a bath, and as she was walking out of our bathroom she slipped. The poor little thing held her towel on, but her chin caught the fall. I had no idea, I thought she had bit her tongue, so when hubby came in I told him she was fine. He went ahead and picked her up from my lap (I was on the floor with no way to get up). As he set her on the bed he saw her chin and immediately told me we were going to the hospital. I, being the wonderful person I am in emergencies, proceeded to run around being completely useless, then begin to pass out. I am always amazed that God provided so well for me by giving me a hubby that handles crisis so well. Anyway, we took her to the ER, and the wonderful doctors put her in a papoose (read - straight-jacket), and gave her 6 stitches while mommy was out in the hallway crying her eyes out as well. It was awful! My kids are no longer allowed to play, have any sort of reckless fun, or to walk through our home.

I am so thankful to be experiencing spring! We've been watching the huge tractors plowing fields in preparation for planting. This is entirely new and exciting to us. I just love the smell of the fresh grass and dirt.

Over the next month we have tons going on, Mother's Day, my 5 yo is turning 6, I'll be having a birthday, and our new little bundle will be here. I am also hoping to have a weekend away with some dear friends. I am preparing for the baby now so the last couple of weeks I can just relax and impatiently await her arrival. I've been making freezer meals, setting up her half of the bedroom, as well as doing the mountains of laundry. I always forget how much stuff these little ones have.

We are completely settled in our new home. All the un-packing is done, we have now moved on to the things that we want to do to make it ours. We hung a swing in our big tree, and started to fill up the pool. I don't know if it will ever be warm enough for me to use, but I'm sure the girls will jump right in. We even had my in-laws visit! Of course, the girls had the flu the week they arrived, so that put a bit of a damper on the beginning, but thankfully, the bug went away and the girls got to enjoy their time with their Meemaw, Pawpaw and Uncle. We were so happy to be able to see them, as well as show someone our new home town.

I think that sums up the last few weeks. We are continually blessed by the way God has provided our home for us. It is wonderful to have a designated "school (clutter) room"!

• Mar. 21, 2007
we made it

We are finally in our new home! God has been so good to us through this whole process, and I am so thankful to be able to physically touch the fruits of the blessings bestowed on us! We were able to get the biggest portion of our stuff moved in Sunday, and we made a small trip each night since then to get the rest. I am now into the unpacking ordeal. I will say that I treasure unpacking much more than packing! It is almost like Christmas opening up some of these boxes. I haven't seen so much of this stuff in months, and it is all new to me again. I had truly forgotten about half of it!

We had to purchase a refrigerator, washer and dryer for our home. We carefully picked them out, and purposely chose the models that were affordable so long as they had certain features that were important to us. It was extremely hard to say the blue front loader washer and dryer weren't neccessities, but the price made it a bit easier. We picked a refrigerator that was the color we wanted and then found one for a lot less with the same basics, just not as "fancy". We weren't able to actually move in until the day after they were delivered, and that is when we realized they had brought the "fancy" fridge instead of the one we paid for. We were thrilled, especially since we had paid the price we wanted. Two days later I still hadn't told the people we bought it from and guilt was eating me up. It wasn't that I was trying to get away with anything, I just kept telling myself I'd do it later since it wasn't my fault. I prayed about it and spoke with hubby, so we decided to call the people and tell them we had the wrong one. I, of course, was very attached to the fancy one at this point. When I called them and explained what had happened they were very surprised at my honesty. Isn't that scary?! We agreed to have them come out and do the exchange, and we could continue to use the one until that time. A few minutes later they called me back and said we could just keep "fancy". Isn't that amazing? God provides for us so well, and I am so thankful for the holy spirit leading us in the right direction. Conviction is a wonderful thing.

My boxes are calling. We are enjoying our home more each day, even the nuisances that come with an older home. It is a blessing to have a home.

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• Mar. 16, 2007

Today I am supposed to be packing up our temporary home to move into our long term home tomorrow. Notice the word "supposed". It is almost 4 pm and I have only delegated my girls to pack their bookshelf. I did make a wonderful cleaning schedule for our new home. I also found some natural cleaning solution recipes. I am hoping to get rid of all those cleaning products I've come to rely on. The chemicals in most of them are atrocious, and I would love to have the security of knowing my home is free of those harmful fumes and residues. The main goal today was packing, so I would have to say I am sorely lacking in that department. Isn't this how it always goes for me? When the pressure is on I melt. I simply stop productively functioning. I am extremely blessed to be able to be moving. (If I ever get packing).

I had my sonogram yesterday and everything was exactly as it should be, another blessing. This pregnancy is flying by. The nights are going a bit more slowly, I feel like I'm wrestling my bed trying to get to sleep. I am enjoying the strong kicks, it is one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. It is a constant reminder that you are holding this precious life safe for a short time.

On another note, I'm baby sitting my mom's 2 dogs for the afternoon. They are dressed in t-shirts and sweaters to ward off the cold. They are pomeranians who just had their furry coats shaven, so they had to have clothing to keep them warm. Logical, right? Yes, my mom is one of those people who treats her dogs as humans. They are my siblings.

I think the girls are finishing their room packing duties, maybe they could go ahead and pack the rest of the house?

• Mar. 13, 2007
Glorious weather!

We are having simply glorious weather lately. I've been taking the girls on bike rides to the park and today we are going to have a picnic lunch at the big park. What better way to spend our day? We can enjoy God's creation while eating!

I am going to try to get some shopping done for our new house today as well. At the latest we should be moving in by next Monday. I should find out sometime today the exact date, but I am going to get prepared so I can just pack up and clean this house for the rest of the week.

We have been attending a wonderful church the last couple of weeks. It is only 4 minutes from our house now, and about 10 from our new one. This is a huge blessing in itself since we didn't have one less than 20 minutes from our old home. The one we really wanted to attend was almost 45 minutes away. It was very hard to be actively involved when you had to drive so far. Anyway, the church has a very active kids ministry that our girls just love. My shy 2 year old has shocked me by her willingness to participate in everything. She hasn't even hesitated when we leave her. What joy - although at first it was a bit of sadness of my part. I couldn't believe she would leave us so willingly!

I go in for yet another sonogram on Thursday. I am praying that everything is still wonderful and I am not at risk for pre-term labor. The idea of bed rest frightens me. Especially with moving into our new home. I have been praying for at least a few more weeks of normal activity, but I will rest in the Lord's plan for this time. I would hope more for a healthy baby than physical activity.

We were searching all day Saturday for a truck for my hubby. We did not find a suitable one, so we came home 6 hours later a bit dejected. An hour later my mom called and said that her cousin was selling his vehicle and did we want it? We had talked about buying it before, but the price was just right for us. It is a really nice suv, but the catch is that it needs some work. We are taking it tomorrow to see how much the repairs will cost. We are praying for them to be affordable, because this vehicle is a definite blessing for our family. I cannot believe how much cars cost!

As you can see, God is so good to our family. I am so thankful for the blessings he is bestowing on us. I just pray we can bless others through these gifts as well.

• Mar. 5, 2007

We are officially homeowners again! What a blessing this is! We will move in 2 weeks. That gives me time to prepare, not that I have anything to pack since we never really unpacked here. I need to buy a few things for the house that we didn't bring when we moved. I'm trying to stay on track with school work. I don't want to miss any days now, because I know once we start the ordeal of moving we'll probably miss a couple of days. The girls are still doing fantastic with their work. It will be wonderful to have a designated "school" area! We will be using our family room as a comfy school place. The computer will be in there, as well as a huge comfortable couch for reading. We'll also keep all our school books in the corner. Ahh, organization!

The baby appears to be growing wonderfully. I am still amazed at all the kicks. You would think by your 4th you'd be a bit used to it, and it would be "routine". I go in for a sonogram in another week. I will love to see her little face. I purchased a few necessities for her last week. I found an adorable car seat with a matching stroller and play crib. The crib has a little bassinet in the top, and it is a "travel lite" size, so it will fit in our room with us. My mom also bought me one of those "bumbo" seats. I am excited to see how it works. It really looks neat for the little ones to be a part of the action.

We are having gorgeous spring-like weather. It is going to be in the 50's this week. I remember in Florida I wouldn't even go outside if it was less than 60. How things change! I am so blessed by the prospect of seeing seasons.