Showing posts with label family life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family life. Show all posts

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Complementing
a
Compromise.

I am not sure I have explained our exact living situation as of yet. I have been a bit vague due to waiting for the details ourselves.

Here are the facts:
All 6 of our children are living at home for a very special season. I will enjoy every.minute.of.it cuz soon enough two of my man-child's will be moving on... the oldest is taking a hiatus while preparing for bigger life plans, and son #2 is still in the throws of which way to head in life's many options after recently graduating.



Gramma "M" is moving in with us also. This would be my dear husbands mother. This is where the title of this post comes in. I downsized much when I packed out belongings 2 yrs ago. I do admit to probably an overabundance of books, but hey, I still have another 15 yrs of homeschooling to go. Gramma M has had a life time of treasures to collect over her blessed years. I knew downsizing was going to be more difficult for her. Every item she owns reflects a memory, or a quality, which makes it hard to let go. Can I say that she has been quite the trooper?! My husband (bless his heart) is a facts-n-logic man, so "things" in general have no purpose to him. He sees over 1/2 our belongings as non-essential (which is about right), thus not necessary... I, on the other hand, encourage that some "things" make our hearts smile, encourages a cozy home environment, and reflects a little about our personalities.
So dear Gramma M & I have been compromising our belongings.

We use
my dishes (hers are not children friendly, lol)
her pots & pans,
our furniture,
her TV's,
my tupperware,
her baking dishes...
(you get the idea).



So when it came to decorations, we once again compromised.

I love clocks *grin*
Here is just a simple lot unpacked.

She adores Hummels;
figurines, wall photos, music box.

I think when all is said & done,
these "things" will complement each other.

Just as being a family,
with different personalities,
quirks, interests, & gifts
complement the true meaning of our
HOME.




So how big is our new home?


Well, after sharing living space in a small home with my parents (bless their hearts!), this house feels rather large, but really is of modest size.

Technically, it is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath home. but... it also has a huge bonus room, an office, and a "salon" aka formal dining room.

This is plenty abundant for us!

The big boys get the bonus room (man cave),
Katie has her own room,
Gramma M has her own room,
Fred & I share a room ;^D,
and the littles are floating a bit as of yet.
(See how honest I am *hee*)

We are using the formal dining room as a school room,
the downstairs closest stores all the busy toys,
and the littles use the little landing pad at the top of the stairs by our room as a mini-play area.

As for sleeping, the youngest 2 are in our room for now, quite frankly because they would be anyways, regardless of us choosing a room for them. There will be a futon available in sissy's room for them to sleep in, and also a bunkbed in the man cave... I really wasn't joking when I said that they were floating, eh? ;^)

Will share pictures of our home once we are completely unpacked...
our office is full, but effecient;
the family room is simple and spacious;
the garage, once cleared out from the sorting, will give us a work-out area;
and if I, personally, keep our individual items down to neccessity,
I will be able to use our rather large walk-in closet as a prayer room.
You know, a place set aside to spend with the Lord before each day begins.
I figure as busy as I am going to be, this will be a must to keep my priorities and sanity in check. *smile*


Sunday, June 19, 2011

Treasure Hunts....

lead to a box...


filled with candy.

Daddy's favorites:

gobb-stoppers
whoppers,
Nerds,
Junior Mints,
Sprees,
Mike & Ikes,
Reeses Pieces,
& Hubba Bubba Gum!





Needless to say,
the kids were all over daddy in the hopes that he would share. =) **note that Bryson's mouth is already full of candy, he's quick like that.

This daddy style dessert was followed by a fantastic steak supper for us all.



I am grateful to have such a fabulous dad for our children!

Dear Fred,

Thank-you for your incredible patience,
your thoughtful guidance,
your wise opinions,
your energetic fun,
and your endless love to us all.




Happy Father's Day
We love you!!!



Tuesday, April 12, 2011

...and the Happiness 101 continues...




(#35) A husband that loves all things- "manly"- but still treats his only daughter like a princess.

(#36) finding a new friend (via blogging), where ideas can be pondered; where similarities and differences are shared. Personally, I don't know a large, homeschooling family. I know a (as in 1) large family, and I know several folks whom homeschool, but not both. =) So I am pleased to "meet" some lovely ladies who write about their days, knowing how very much I can relate to what they are sharing.

(#37) I *love* unconditional friendship... ya know... where you haven't seen someone in ages, and you can just pick up where you left off... I find it rare, but I am blessed by a few of them.

(#38) fresh-smelling little children after a much needed bath... anyone else sniff their children's hair after bathtime?

(#39) to blush simply because my husband is flirting with me... yeah, that makes me smile. ;^)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Happiness 101... (#29) Spring! ok..so really, it is very much still very wet here in the Pacific Northwest... but just for today it was dry. The tulip farm we went to was pretty, but definitely was not in "full" bloom! Katie-girl ended up being a tourist attractions for some folks from India. Katie almost blended in with a few rows of tulips.

(#30) A Sunday visit with my dear mother-in-law and sister-in-law. They brought our camera back to us... yay!
(#31) We have a plan in the works for us moving at the end of summer... I am very much a planner... this makes me happy.

(#32) I woke up to the smell of bacon & eggs frying... Yumm!!! My wonderful husband made us breakfast *smile*


(#33) I find it humorous when my husband (or the older kids) finish doggy-doo duty only to have a dog "go" again... and the 2 yr old is very adamant to let them know.


(#34) I love it when I pretend to cook a meal, and it actually turns out well. =)

Roast Beef, Southern Fried Potatoes, & fresh baked bread
(I forgot to set out the salad-oops)


As we head into this fresh new week, may we all find things around us that make us SMILE...

Thursday, April 7, 2011

continuing... my happiness....

(#25) Daffodils are blooming... yay! Ok, so if we had our camera back, Nick could actually take pictures of ours, but this lovely lil bunch looks much like our own. ;^)


(#26) Reading time with Andrew is (finally) becoming consistent. He actually asks now... and admittedly, it is a bit of an unconventional style. The "signal" is when Andrew asks me if I want to lay down with him. This is usually after lunch, and has landed in our quiet time... but it is priceless, quality time with him. He "practices" his word ladders (ba, be, bi, bo, bu, etc), then we lay down as I read out of an old-fashioned stories & rhymes book. Then he reads to me some Abeka phonic beginner books. This is all spread out amongst our king-sized bed, complete with the comfort of many surrounding pillows!


(#27) I went for a walk...all.by.my.self. =)

(#28) During these long never ending rainy days I decided to make some playdough for the kids- and added glitter to it. It added some fun to our afternoons this week! I layed out spring like cutters (flowers, egg, bunny, etc) for a theme, but mostly they made a lot of snowmen, pepperoni pizza, and worms! That's boys for ya, don'tcha think?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Happiness 101 What makes me smile...

This is our oldest son Joe and his girlfriend Amber. They make me smile.... We were out of town this week end; in our hometown to be exact.
(#15) Joe & Amber went out of their way to find out where we were, as to hang out with family & friends on a Saturday night. (#16) These two also showed up out-of-town on Sunday (after church) to join us for Nick's 2nd game of the day. The photo is of them waiting for us to get back from lunch.

(#17) Nick was asked to play soccer with his old hometown team since he was already in town. =) Great kids to hang out with, and I adore the parents too!

(#18) I was able to spend some down time with a good friend (Thanks Anna).
(#19) Our toddlers had a blast playing together. Her Dustin and my Bryson are about a week apart in age. Dustin REALLY likes us... that makes me smile! Enough so, that he broke out of his child-safety-locked house to join us in their RV (our hotel for the night). I guess he also ran after us when we left...like up the secluded driveway and down a country road...before his poor mama could finally catch him (Did I mention how fast he is? ;^)

(#20) Anna & her husband have a modestly LARGE home. Come to find out that they are renovating the lower level into a separate living quarters. Convenient enough, it will be finished around the time we should be moving back down in the area *cheesy grin* A win-win situation for us all.


Home Again...another school week...and some more rain....

(#21) Katie likes math again, and had a blast with learning the simple way to multiply double digits by 11. =)

(#22) Andrew is now my backseat driver... "Mom! That light turned red" (really it wasn't til I was through the intersection)...the very next light turns on me, and I bustle through another yellow light... "Mom! Yellow mean s-l-o-w down" ok Andrew, ok.

(#23) TJ always does the tedious chores around here. You know, the ones that everyone should be doing...like feeding the dog, taking out the trash, starting lunch... yesterday, when I said "whose gonna water the dog?" and everyone sat around like they didn't hear me... then TJ pops up off the couch extra-energetic like, and says "oo-oo- I'll do it!" (insert sarcasm) I found it funny.

(#24) Bryson has been sleeping in his own bed all night! woo hoo! (need I say more?)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Happiness 101... continued....



What makes me SMILE...



(#12) Fixing a middle child a personalized breakfast while the older siblings are gone. Now that was a hug worth earning. =)

(#13) STOMP A unique musical of sorts... we must have watched 2 hours of it. We, the parents, added to the fun by jammin' to our own beats w/ the Littles... that previous mentioned 'middle' child just looked at us strange. hehe. and yes, now I am clickin' a beat on anything in site, and I am going to drive that 13 year old son of mine crazy.



(#14) We are headed down to our little hometown in No Where, OR tomorrow. We get to visit friends, see family, go to our favorite lil pizza joint, and shop tax free. =) Nick gets to play soccer with his buddies in not one, but 2 games for their season opener on Sunday, which is a great way to end our week end.


Hope you all have a beautiful week end... I will be back Monday to continue to share my happiness...


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

THIS made me SMILE...

at least the last statement of the article did, hehe, as I have pondered that idea before

. *Note: Learning "how to test" , in my opinion, does not offer a quality education.

One of my kids/student bounces all over the place at testing time. One year he will be above grade level 3 years in a subject, the next 2 years behind; One year he excels at Math, bombs at Reading comprehension, the next year it switches...VERY inconsistent...

brilliant child in facts, common sense, & researching things that matter,
which has nothing to do with state mandated test results.


(#11) The FamilymanTodd Wilson, Familyman Ministries So the question at hand is whether to test or not to test.
DON'T DO IT!*
Tests don't measure actual learning and will either leave you and your child feeling like failures or give you a false sense of achievement. You homeschool, and your child is progressing just as he should. If your son is 10 and just now starting to read . . . great! If your daughter can't solve an algebra problem to save her life . . . that's fine. Some kids can, and some kids can't.
Standardized tests do nothing but identify those who do well taking standardized tests and those who don't. Besides, "they" came up with the standard, just a group of people who needed a standard because they were teaching millions of children. It is arbitrary and based on what "they" think children need to know (or what paid teachers need to teach in order to get paid).
Their standard shouldn't be your standard. It certainly isn't God's standard. Mom and Dad, God made you smart enough to get your child ready for adulthood. Don't use anyone else's educational standards, because every child's educational standard is different.
Be diligent, keep plugging, and teach your children while you enjoy them, and everything will turn out hunky dory.
I'm not kidding on this one . . . don't test.
Be real, Todd
P.S. Don't write me mean letters telling me I don't have a clue. Instead, write Nancy Carter and rebuke her for letting a shmoe like me on staff.
P.P.S. I'll be in Cincinnati at the Great Mid-West Homeschool Convention. First mom to my booth who likes my stance on testing (or doesn't) gets a free book of her choice.
*(unless the law requires it . . . and then move to a different state.)

hehe, keep keeping it real Todd! =)

*article from Old School House Magazine via Homeschool Minute

Tuesday, March 29, 2011


HAPPINESS 101


continued.... Things that make me smile....


(#8) I finished up Nick's high school transcript. YAY! I am so relieved to get that finished up... I just know graduation is gonna be here before we know it!


(#9) I took a nap with Bryson this afternoon. Warm, snuggly, relaxing... gotta love it!


(#10) Dear husband cooked up steak for dinner, and ofcourse all the boys were happy! Bryson eats a whole steak himself! A house full of well fed men makes me happy!

KEEPING IT REAL...

OK, so I stayed up waaayyyy to late with the teenage boys last night. They had plugged in a movie (at 1 am- my normal bedtime, lol), and I got sucked into watching it. It was a suspenseful movie, so at the end I kept asking a million questions, pulling my blanket up to my eyeballs, etc...when I realize that they are all asleep! I am the only crazy person up watching this thing... so I went to bed around 3. Needless to say, I was a bit off, and not feeling very organized today, thus the nap was fabulous!

Monday, March 28, 2011

HAPPINESS 101 ok..first of all, we had a fabulous day out. We went to SKY HIGH (an awesome trampoline place), went to Campfire, & had dinner and french lessons w/ Aunt Chanelle. Dear m.i.l. Michele made us blackberry cobbler for dessert... so technically, this whole day made me smile...cept we left "the camera" when we went home. So now you get blurry cell phone pictures for a week! Things that make me SMILE... (#5) Playtime hour with Grandpa before he leaves for work every day. The littles LOVE this! (#6) The way my kids work together and help each other out when we go to new places (ie SKY HIGH) (#7) When friends' of my children come to visit. We are 2.5 hours away from most of our friends. Lately we've seen a few. Bryson (2) was able to see Dustin (2) and his big brother Ryan. Katie & Andrew were able to see their bestest friends Monique & Aria. Today we have Corbin, who drove up to see Nick, but we all love to visit with him. =) Nick & Corbin were in the same class at school *K thru 3rd grade, and it has been fun to see them grow up, especially cuz they are both graduating this year! (*Nick began to homeschool in 4th grade) ...to be continued.... and why is my postings all clumped together??? I do not type it this way...good grief =)

Friday, March 25, 2011

FATHER & FUN

Our oldest son, Joe, has been up here working again. It's kinda nice, cuz he works for the company my husband helps run, thus when he needs extra hands on his job site, we get Joe!

They have been working pretty hard, so it was fun to see them with their feet up when we got home from French lessons this past Monday. =)



Part of home
schooling is your children get to help with home improve-
ment projects, and it counts towards schooling. Home Maintenance 101. Nick actually did most the work replacing Grandma's (my mom) garbage disposal.


Personally, I think they had too much fun throwing 1/2 apples down the drain to make sure the super powered disposal was gonna do its job!






Not bad for a first try.


and while we are at it...
notice the white tubes on the right.

That would be the water purifier...

that...


Katie helped with! =)

ahhh,

the benefits of having many kids.


I also enjoy when the grocery man comes to our door!
Every Friday!
and the kids help bring in the groceries AND put things away.

Soon I will be training them to do the menu planning,

followed by how to order what we need each week.

*cheesy grin*

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Learning with the Littles

I *heart* this simple book.




~Our Home Kindergarten
(no profits for me)


Yes, we are still doing Andrew's reading lessons
from his Primary McGuffey Reader. His reading lessons only take but a few minutes per day at this point.

Andrew learns best from a simple hands on approach; talking & sharing in a casual conversation. If a lesson seems like instructions, he will not pay attention.

The lessons in Our Home Kindergarten are easy hands-on interaction.
Somewhat advanced (in my opinion) in what is taught from the very beginning. Is it not usual to learn shapes, colors, letters, & numbers first?





~Here is what we have learned in the first 3 lessons:


A sphere, red (specific stones are called rubies).
A cube, yellow (jewels & gems are called topazes)
A cylinder, blue (sapphires)
A basic geometrical concept that a sphere can roll, cubes stack, & cylinders can do both. (in the next few lessons, the square will be introduced from the cube, as will lines of horizontal & vertical usage to make a square).

Andrew is thriving at the knowledge to explore these concepts, all without instructional directions. Even Katie is enjoying these straight forward lessons.

So, beyond a reading lesson, and a kindergarten lesson, I am laying out Learning Trays (montessori style). I only lay out one per day, cept on Fridays, in which many are displayed. We have a lot of people living in a itty bitty living space (sounds like the Genie, lol), so available space is limited. I cannot just leave out the learning areas like I would prefer to, thus I rotate our activities. We adjust as we can, and this seems to be working...


Andrew copied patterns here, and Katie made her own creations. Bryson first stacked the pieces, then thought it would be fun to start throwing them (ninja star style- I do believe). Not exactly what I had envisioned, hehe.




Got SPRING?

not quite yet....
but since our time changed from Daylights Savings,
we can play outside now when Dad gets home.




Follow-the-leader has been popular.



Jump-roping!






...and cold, wet sand...

What more do kids need?






Wednesday, January 12, 2011

How to build a snowman...

flatten the top of the first ball



~
have the little ones roll another ball to Dad







~
then add a head and accessories.




Be sure to become buddies w/ Jack Frost

We decided snowmen are kind like clowns, a bit creepy in stature, especially when they slowly deteriorate...is it just us?



We completed our winterland adventure w/ warm oatmeal cookies...








and plenty of hot cocoa to warm cold hands...
'cept our Andrew,
who requested soda instead. =)






Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thankful for....

my kids!
Nick,
TJ,
Andrew,
Katie-girl,
Joe, &
Bryson.


The in-laws family-
this would be Fred's stepmoms' family. Cindy is sitting by the beautiful Husky. They are all lovely to visit with!



The Turkey Bowl?
My dear husband & the older boys play football with the hometown folks every year...and every year "something" is dramatic. This year? Fred's face met up with someones head...knocked out, dislocated jaw...no worries, some guy on the field popped it back in place...and he was good for eating the Turkey Dinner!


Xbox 360
A few games of spongebob & teenage mutant ninja turtles kept Bryson busy while we were setting the table.





Jenna!
This is Fred's little sister. We all love spending time with her. She is the same age as our Nick; and yes, she is loved on and picked on as much as with our own kids. =)



Dad (aka Grandpa)
Fred's dad is always a hand-on Grandpa. From marbles to rough housing to croquet to playing golf at the local golf course, he always finds ways to spend time with the kids.



I am so very thankful for family, to be able to spend a relaxing time with them, and to continue to make wonderful memories...

Thank you God for each simple gift that lays within our days, and may our everyday moments continue to be filled with your Grace...Amen.




Thursday, September 16, 2010

MARTYR MOM
VS
MEMORY-MAKING MOM



This is about me...






...the battle of parenting within me...

Daddy is gone during the week. This has been for some time now. This will continue for some time now...

~OK, I admit it, this mama misses the tag-team techniques of a 2 parent household!
*smile...count to ten...exhale...hug the child* and repeat and repeat and...
Martyr mom wants to keep the house tidy... it helps her brain think clearer
Memory-makin' mom dumps the pile of toys in the middle of the room, sits down and plays with her child(ren).

Martyr mom wants to cry over spilled juice.
Memory-makin' mom sprays soapy water down and has kids "ice-skate" in their socks.

Martyr mom wants to stay on the computer all day "talking to adults"
Memory-makin' mom digs up a craft or experiment idea, and seizes the moment.

Martyr mom wants to scream at her screaming littles.
Memory-makin' mom embraces the child and his meltdown.

Martyr mom wants to sleep in after staying up half the night with rambunctious children.
Memory-makin' mom gets up early to pray, then prepare breakfast for sleepy faces.

Martyr mom wants to finish her blog post =)
Memory-makin' mom helps with homework, changes a diaper, reads a story, fills a sippy cup, play referee, and answer multiple questions from an inquisitive child... and finish her post in tiny tidbits of moments with pondering thoughts mingling in her head.

Martyr mom wants to boo-hoo at dear hubby about her woe-is-me's
Memory-makin' mom will
have the kids
help tidy the house
on Friday
(as many hands make light work)
and
have ALL the kids
play outside
(gotta love those older kids ;^)
so that mama can finally take a decent shower for the week...
so that when DADDY gets home that night,
we can have
FAMILY FUN NIGHT.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Funny Way Things Go 'Round!

Bestest friends are always great to see!







We love these girls from our hometown! Their mom & dad are pretty awesome too! =)















It
is
also
fun
to
have
our
bestest friends
come see us!









We
had
a
great
park hoppin'
day!








Funny thing is...
not
so
funny...








Daddy gets to spend some weeks with our best friends...

Daddy should be home with us...
or
WE should be seeing our bestest friends...

or better would be to live back at our hometown WITH Daddy, seeing our bestest friends.

*sigh*
It is best if I pray about these many weeks/months Daddy may be away from us; and to learn to be content with God's plan....


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I
N
D
E
P
E
N
D
E
N
C
E

DAY....


FREE to eat,
FREE to play,
FREE to do many things,
most importantly, FREE to pray.



RED, WHITE, & BLUE cupcakes...

and a tasty steak...

Yep, these are the days....




Katie-girl being funny;
Grandpa being funnier...







SMOKE BOMBS- Um, yeah, not sure how healthy inhaling all that smoke really is, but the littles thought it was super cool.
SPARKS
are not my thing...
I was sent in the house...
they had fun with out me...
it was probably a good thing.




DAD was not probably the best example of safety...go figure.


Must be why
the boys
like the fireworks
so much....
















~FREEDOM isn't FREE~
So don't forget to thank those who serve our country or have served our country, & respectfully remember those whose lives were lost so that we may live with the freedoms we have.
~GOD BLESS AMERICA