Fun Family Day

After 3 hours of preparing and packing we left for a day of bike riding and fun at Shiloh National Park. We took Jimmy's truck and my van packed full with a picnic basket, cooler,blanket, 6 bicycles, 1 bicycle cart (to pull behind Jimmy's bike for Leah and Sam to ride in), 7 bicycle helmets, Sam's ride-on toy four wheeler, the potty, and the camera. We arrived around noon, and our first activity was a picnic.


After the picnic we went on a 10 mile bike ride around the park. Jimmy pulled Leah and Sam in a "wagon" as they called it.


We stopped a few times to enjoy the sites.

Next we visited the gift shop and toured the U.S. National Cemetery where thousands of soldiers are buried. Since we were all hungry again, we loaded up everything and went a few miles away to the Catfish Hotel restaurant for an early supper. Yummy!
On our way home we rode over the Pickwick Dam, and then we let the children play briefly on a playground at the park at Pickwick.

It had been a long day so we drove the tired, but happy children home. We arrived about 8:00p.m.

Major Move

Yesterday I began the daunting task of moving Clay and Sam into a bedroom together. Clay has had his own room upstairs, and Sam has lived in our room since he was born--first in a crib, and now in a twin mattress and box springs that sits in the corner of our bedroom. Sam's bed is actually a formality however, because he ends up in our bed with his face in my hair every night. I know I will be fetching him from upstairs in the middle of the night, every night, but it's OK. He may even decide to climb into bed with Clay!

We have spacious playroom upstairs that I am converting to the boys' bedroom. Before doing anything else, I had to clean out the playroom closet and bookshelves. I spent hours in there, putting each little lego, tinker toy, Barbie shoe, train track etc. back into its box. I keep most of our toys in labeled plastic boxes on shelves. I took out all of the "girl" boxes and divided them among the girls' rooms. I chose many items to give away, and I had 2 trash bags. Then I moved all of the dress up items (a whole closet full), board games, and videos into Clay's old room which is becoming the new "playroom". It really will be more of an upstairs den. I will be placing the couch, coffee table, chair, ottoman, keyboard and TV from the old playroom in there. We did move Clay's bed into the new bedroom yesterday. Clay actually took off the headboard so we could move it and then reattached it all by himself. I didn't hear a crash last night, so I guess he did an adequate job.

I plan to finish the task tonight and tomorrow. I have to clean out 6, yes 6 junk drawers of Clay's plus find a home for all of the junk I found on his closet floor and on his bookshelves.

We have a FUN FAMILY DAY planned for today. I'll post pictures and comments soon.

Brothers

Here are Clay and Sam walking down our newly paved driveway.


Sam riding Clay on the four wheeler.

A Big Surprise

When we got home from visiting my parents, Jimmy had a big surprise for the children--a new sand box! He worked on it all weekend when he wasn't at the hospital. It looks so nice, and the children just love it. This should provide hours of entertainment!

Memorial Day Weekend

Our last day of school was Friday, May 23rd! Hooray! We finished a few days early. We are off for 10 weeks! We left to go visit my parents as soon as our schoolwork was done. We stayed with them until Monday. Jimmy had to work all weekend, so he wasn't able to join us. The children and I had a wonderful time with my parents. Olivia and Julie sewed cute reversible purses, Clay built all kinds of things with legos, Leah made lots of "books" (paper stapled together with the cover decorated with markers or fabric), and Sam chased their dog and looked for bugs in the backyard. Sam also got to ride in Pops' truck! Monday night after we got home, we had Jimmy's parents over for supper. It was a fun weekend! The children love all of their grandparents and look forward to spending time with them.

Keeping the Home--Laundry

I plan to share homemaking and homeschooling tips from time to time. I know that one day my daughters will ask me, "Mama, how did you cook meals, do laundry, clean house, homeschool, breastfeed, potty train, run errands, and a host of other things, all at the same time?" If my memory continues as it is now, I'm afraid my answer will be, "Honey, I just don't remember!" So, I will record my ways of doing things now, as it is happening.

Laundry
The children and I bring our dirty clothes to the laundry room each morning where they are sorted into 3 tall baskets that are labeled--"whites", "colors", and "towels". I follow a routine of washing certain loads on certain days. Monday--colors, Tuesday--whites and towels, Wednesday--sheets (not all the sheets in the house, just a couple of beds each week), Thursday--colors, Friday--whites and towels. Each day's laundry is 2-4 loads. I have small laundry baskets labeled with each person's name where I sort the clothes as they come out of the dryer. Then, as I fold the clothes in the late afternoon, I put each child's folded clothes into a small dishpan type box, labeled with their names. They put away their laundry each afternoon as part of their afternoon chores. I put away mine, Sam's, and Jimmy's. If I am not too busy during the day, I will fold the clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer and skip the step of sorting them into the baskets to be folded. I put the unfolded clothes into each person's basket because I get behind about once a week and one of two things must happen. 1. We have a "clothes folding party" where we all gather in the den and watch something fun on TV while each person folds his own basket of clothes. 2. My weekly babysitter folds the clothes for me. She has no idea which clothes belongs to who so if they are already sorted into baskets she can put them in the right box for the children to put away.

The Wrong Name

I call my children by the wrong name almost every time I call them. I don't know why it is so hard for me to just say the name of who I am talking to! Whenever I call Leah "Olivia" or "Julie", Leah will say, "You called me the wrong girl!" Well, my wrong name calling can't get any worse---When you ask Sam, "What is your name?" his reply is, "Clay Sam!"

Rollerblading

I did it! And I didn't fall down!
I finally tried out my new rollerblades today. I didn't realize how hilly our driveway was until I was coasting down it, almost out of control. The children were very reassuring....."Don't worry Mama. If you fall down, we'll call 911!" I was distracted by Sam going 90 mph on his battery powered four wheeler. I didn't know that thing could go so fast!! Thank goodness he is learning to steer! He took the curves on two wheels! He had a blast pulling his siblings on their roller blades.
I really need to get some protective gear before rollerblading again. All I have right now is a helmet. I need hand guards, elbow pads and knee pads. Jimmy didn't buy me any when he purchased the roller blades and helmet because the store only had black, and he knew that I would prefer pink. Ok, I am going to forget being fashionable and settle for black protection! Black matches everything anyway.

Homeschool Conference Part 2

I came home from the homeschool conference refreshed and ready to start our new school year! But first we have to end THIS school year. I have moved our ending date to May 23! Then we are going to spend Memorial Day weekend with my parents. Jimmy has to work all weekend.

I really enjoyed hearing Jeannie Fulbright, author of the Apologia elementary science curriculum. She was a delightful speaker, full of wisdom. She stressed the importance of identifying each child's "bent" and focusing on that as you choose their education path. She also stressed the importance of our children becoming independent learners. My older girls are about 99% independent learners, and I was feeling a little guilty about that...but now I feel great! I plan to work with Clay becoming more independent next year.

I also attended a workshop on occupying preschoolers while homeschooling. I must admit that I thought there was nothing new I could learn in this department! I have always had preschoolers and/or babies since I began homeschooling. But, I was pleasantly surprised! I learned some new creative, low cost activities to prepare for my preschoolers, and I was really convicted by his remarks about treating each of your preschoolers like you did your first-born when he was a preschooler. Preschoolers desire the same kinds of school supplies that you give your "school age" children. They like to be included in group lessons and read alouds. They also like to have their own special school time with Mama. I bought some new Lauri products to use in our preschool next year, but I am so excited about them, I plan to use one of them this morning in during our preschool time--the stacking pegs with number boards.

I purchased most of our curriculum for next year. The rest I plan to order online in the next week or two. We take off June and July for summer break, but I spend a good portion of that time preparing for the next school year. Planning is fun for me.

Homeschool Conference

Yesterday a friend and I went to Starkville for the state homeschool conference. I left Leah and Clay with her husband and her three children. Olivia, Julie, and Sam went with us. We made it in time for one workshop titled "How to Homeschool Multiple Children". I thought I might learn something there!! We are leaving at 7:00 a.m. this morning to go back for a full day. Jimmy is keeping all of the children today. I am looking forward to shopping at the curriculum fair. I like to buy my books for the next year at the conference--it is nice to actually see the books before you buy them, and it saves so much on shipping.

Funny Leah

Recently in Leah's Sunday school class they were discussing Jesus and his earthly father, Joseph. They talked about how Joseph was a carpenter. The teacher asked the students what their daddies did for a living. When it was Leah's turn to respond, she said, "My daddy screws in light bulbs!"
(actually he is a cardiologist)

Just a Few Pictures

Jimmy and Sam
This was taken a couple of months ago, and I have ALREADY FORGOTTEN what happened to Sam's face! (That's why I am blogging!)



Julie, Olivia, Jimmy and Clay before the Coke 10K.
I guess Clay didn't know I was taking his picture. Or maybe he is focusing on the race!



Sam and Leah eating popsicles on the back porch.
Why the life jacket on the back porch??? Well, we have a pool, and I am petrified that one of my little children will drown. The pool has an automatic pool cover. It opens and closes with the touch of a button (after entering the security code) up high in the laundry room inside the house. My policy is that I don't open the pool until Sam has on his life jacket, and I don't take his jacket off until the pool is closed. We did the same when Leah was 2 and 3. I don't take any chances!

Olivia, Jimmy and Julie before the Gum Tree 10K



Jimmy and Roan
The wind was blowing pretty hard in this picture, but pictures of Mama and Daddy are few and far between, so this was the best one I could find. Jimmy is our main family photographer (thank you Jimmy!), so we don't have many pictures of him!

Driveway Pictures

This is the BEFORE picture of our driveway. The gravel had been scraped off and the road graded.

Clay and Sam playing in the dirt pile. This is our last load of dirt. No more dump trucks now that we have a nicely paved driveway. Jimmy plans to build something to contain this dirt....a "dirt box".
Here are the men busy at work. Like I said earlier, this was major entertainment for Sam as well as all of us!
This is after one coat of asphalt. My next pictures will be of the final product.

Keepers and Contenders

Monday night was the annual Keepers of the Faith Awards Banquet. Olivia and Julie are in Keepers at Home, and Clay is in Contenders for the Faith. Both organizations involve monthly meetings (Mamas attend with daughters and Daddies with sons) and an opportunity to earn a variety of badges by completing a list of requirements. There are over 200 badges to earn including such things as Bible reading, Bible memory, character traits, homemaking skills, home care skills, academics, outdoors, athletics, arts, crafts, service projects and many others. My children love Keepers and Contenders! Each meeting is a great night of fellowship and fun, plus they learn something too.
Here are the badges the children earned this year.

Olivia
Bible reading (entire New Testament), Bible memory (1 Cor. 13), Bible memory (The Beatitudes), Bible memory (The Lord's Prayer), gratefulness, drawing, ironing, latch hooking, tea party, piano, and athletics (for running).

Julie
Bible reading (entire New Testament), Bible memory (1 Cor. 13), Bible memory (The Beatitudes), Bible memory (The Lord's Prayer), compassion, cooking, ironing, tea party, typing, trees, personal journal, piano, and athletics (running)

Clay
Bible memory (Psalm 23), compassion, watercolors, and athletics (running)

They pin the badges on banners which hang in their rooms.

Mother's Day and Our New Driveway

I had a fabulous Mother's Day! The children presented me with two beautiful painted canvases (by Olivia and Julie), lovely handmade cards, and ROLLER BLADES and a helmet. Since I am in week 2 of no running for 6 weeks, they thought roller blading could be cross training for me! I hope I don't have to visit the dr. with a broken bone! I tried them in the house, and I didn't fall down. I haven't skated since college, and I have never roller bladed. My outside debut will be Saturday.......which leads me to our next family excitement.....our newly paved driveway! The work was completed today. We can drive on it and ride bikes on it, but no scootering or roller blading until Saturday.

Sam was beyond excited about all the heavy equipment at our house for the last several days.....a paver, roller, grader, scraper, plus a utility type truck. He watched them most of the day. Whenever the men would disappear from his view he would ask, "Where's the man?" over and over again until he could see a worker again.

I thought I would miss the gravel and the sound it made as we turned into our driveway. But the pavement looks great, and it will be so functional. Now the children can ride their bikes, play basketball, and most importantly.....roller blade. We can also run on our driveway too. From the garage to the front of our property and back is .28 miles. 12 laps will be a little over 3 miles. Fun! The drive has hills and curves, so it will be a good workout.

I'll attach a before and after picture of the driveway soon. The pictures are still in the camera.

The Children

Julie--10

Sweet Julie always has a smile on her face. She is so happy and kind! Julie is a writer--she writes plays, poems, short stories and chapter books, and she also keeps various journals and planning notebooks. Julie has been known to plan her birthday party for 6 months! She has also written 3 editions of a family newspaper. Julie enjoys playing with her American Girl dolls, sewing, running, roller blading, riding her bike, reading, cooking (she often cooks our meals) and playing outside. Julie is very thoughtful. I treasure the little notes she writes me.

Clay--9

Laid back Clay is a joy to be around. For him, life is all about having "free time"! Clay usually does most of his schoolwork at night before bedtime. Then he sets his alarm for 6:00 a.m. and finishes all that he can without help. He often asks me to sit down with him and help him finish as soon as I get up! He tries to complete all of his chores before his sisters even awaken. It brings him great pleasure to inform them that he has finished all school and chores before 8:00 a.m. Then......free time! What is Clay in such a hurry to do? Play outside! He rides his four-wheeler on trails in our woods, sharpens sticks with his pocket knife, climbs and plays in our dirt pile, rides his bike, roller blades, swings, swims and plays with Sam. Inside he enjoys legos, drawing and setting up the train for Sam. Clay is a sweet little boy!

Leah--4

Leah----what can I say? She is cut from a different cloth than the other children. She is a free spirit! She chooses ridiculous ways for me to fix her hair (3 ponytails--one front and center with one on each side is her favorite), and she selects shoes that are "most likely NOT to match the outfit" when we are going out in public. Her favorite church attire is a beautiful smocked dress accompanied by old, dirty green crocs. Leah refers to her older siblings as "the children". She will ask me, "Where are the children?" She loves stickers and flowers. Leah is also an artist. She is constantly drawing. Her favorite subjects are flowers, rainbows, lollipops (called lillipops by her) and hearts. Lately she has been drawing mountains. Leah enjoys riding her new bike, swinging and playing with baby dolls. She has a bitty baby named Sarah and the bitty twins which she named Leah and Sam. When she asks me, "where is Sam?" I am not sure if she means the doll or her brother. One more thing--Leah has an aversion to soap on her hands!

Sam--2

When Sam finally gets down from my lap, he has several interests....his main one is construction equipment. He knows many large machines by name (backhoe, grader, digger, paver, roller, tractor) and excitedly points them out to us as we travel. The BACKHOE is by far his favorite. Jimmy has a backhoe, and Sam's favorite thing to do is ride the backhoe with his daddy. He hears it being cranked and runs! Sam also enjoys playing with legos and his train. He would listen to me read to him for hours (the same 20 books!), and he likes to ride his four-wheelers (he calls it a four-four), one is battery powered, the other is a riding toy. His favorite four-wheeler is his daddy's. Sam loves popsicles, my hair and his pacifier which he calls a ba-ba.

Olivia--13 with Ribsy

Olivia is our animal lover. She takes such good care of our 4 dogs and 1 cat. She really has a special way with animals. She is always gentle and kind (with people too!). Olivia is an excellent artist. She creates drawings, paintings, crafts and jewelry. She also enjoys crocheting, reading, running, bike riding, and roller blading. Olivia frequently creates all kinds of things for her American Girl dolls, which she loves playing with. I can always depend on Olivia to help me with the little children--they love playing with her. Olivia has such a kind and grateful heart.

Our Homeschool Schedule

We are finishing up school May 28th. This is our current school schedule. We begin our day at different times on different days, depending on the day's activities. That is why there are no times on the schedule. We just do things in the same order each day.

Mama	Olivia	Julie	Clay	Leah	Sam
read aloud	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen
chores, breakfast	chores, breakfast	chores, breakfast	chores, breakfast	chores, breakfast	chores, breakfast
Bible lesson	Bible lesson	Bible lesson	Bible lesson	Bible lesson	Bible lesson
Preschool	School alone	School alone	computer, read	Preschool	Preschool
school with Clay	School alone	play with Leah & Sam	with Mama	play with Julie	play with Julie
school with Julie	play with Leah & Sam	with Mama	School alone	play with Olivia	play with Olivia
school with Olivia	with Mama	School alone	play with Leah & Sam	play with Clay	play with Clay
Read to Leah & Sam	finish school, computer	finish school, computer	finish school	with Mama	with Mama
chores	free	free	free	free	free
lunch	lunch	lunch	lunch	lunch	lunch

Computer time alternates between typing and Spanish.

The older children are given lists of activities to do with Leah and Sam. They can choose from the list or play whatever they like. They play outside, in the schoolroom, in the playroom, or in Leah's

Running

We are now a family of runners. Jimmy has run off and on since he was young. Olivia, Julie and Clay began running over 2 years ago, and I finally joined them in March 2007. We chose running as our family sport because we can all do it together. Yes, it requires some juggling and planning, especially when I first began. I was still nursing the baby. I had not exercised regularly in 3 years. In the beginning it took as much time to pack the diaper bag with snacks and sippee cups, pack water bottles, get everyone dressed in running clothes, load up the jogging stroller, and drive somewhere to run, than it did to actually run! But we hung in there. Sometimes we ran at 7a.m., sometimes at 7p.m. We planned it day by day based on Jimmy's work schedule. As I got stronger, I began pushing the jogging stroller (with the 1yo and 3yo), and we no longer had to wait for Jimmy to go run. We ran more days each week. We ran more miles each week. And before you knew it......we were a family of runners!

We participate in 10-12 5K and 10K races each year. The children are improving their personal times almost every time they race. They love the goodie bags they get at each race, and we have a lot of cute t shirts!

Sadly, I injured my knee/leg in early March of this year. I ran for a while anyway, hobbling at times, but finally got to the point where it was too painful to run, and my leg and knee hurt all the time. After visiting a physical therapist for a few weeks and seeing an ortho dr., I am following their recommendation of no running or walking (as a form of exercise) for 6 weeks. I have just begun week 2. I missed running a 10K race last Saturday, and I am missing a 10K this morning! It was fun though being a spectator last week. I took pictures of Jimmy and the children as they crossed the finish line, and I plan to do the same in a little while.

I'll let you know how they all did later today.

Sam and my Hair

My 2yo Sam has a unique security blanket--MY HAIR!! He likes to grab a handful and brush his face with it, smell it, taste it, twist it. He falls asleep with my hair in his hands, and reaches for it throughout the night. Sam often stops by for a sniff of my hair, then he's off again to play. I hardly think about it, but I get strange looks in public---Sam on my hip, sniffing, twisting, tasting my hair. Frequently when I am at the computer, Sam is there too, climbing on my back and smelling my hair.
That explains any typos!

Preserving Memories

My older children frequently ask me about things they said or did when they were younger, and my answer is usually, "I just can't remember!". When you are caught up in the daily living of your life with its pleasures, trials, and chaos, it is easy to fool yourself into thinking, "I will never forget this!" But we do. So I am entering the world of blogging in order to record these precious events as they happen. When my children who are the current "younger ones" ask me one day about funny things they said or did, I can direct them to the blog.