Cheese and Pickles

Hi

2018-06-24T20:23:00.001-05:00

Blogs used to be *the* way to connect and see into the lives of friends and total strangers. Now there's Instagram (@ojillo, that's me), Facebook and a lot of other social media apps/sites. I literally never look at blogs just to look at blogs anymore. I google for recipes and might stumble across a blog post with an incredible recipe, but scroll straight to it, read the ingredients and steps, then either print or move on. The stories and clever write-ups preceding the recipe drive me CRAZY! Everyone is a writer first. That's blogging though, right? Somewhere along the way I grew out of it- stopped blogging and stopped reading. And probably no one follows this blog anymore and will never read it, but this blog served as a sort of journal for me for so long, that I decided to post an update.

It's 2018. Johnny and I have been married for 19 years. In 2016, we welcomed our 3rd son, 7th child, Charlie Ivan, named after both his grandfathers. He's precious and darling and adorable and sweet and smart and still sleeps with us. None of our kids ever got to sleep with us. Truthfully, we have a crib, but I'm soaking up every ounce of his babyhood I can, so I never want to put him down. Johnny and I are loving this stage and not at all complaining. And, that means we outgrew our Expedition, so we bought a 12-passenger Transit. It's the best!

Katherine will be 18 this fall, and a senior in high school. Every parent says, "it's hard to believe she's almost grown!" and they mean it. She's in cosmetology and will, hopefully, graduate with her license. She's taking ASL and loves it! Since she was about 12 or 13 she began having some health problems that eventually became unbearable and needed medical attention. She saw our family doctor, an orthopedic surgeon, a neurologist and a rheumatologist for severe pain in both wrists, pain in her back and other joints. After lots of tests, she was diagnosed with axial spondylarthritis and was prescribed a prescription anti-inflammatory. She was also fitted for wrist braces, which she wears almost 24/7. The medicine is helping a lot- her pain level has gone down from 7-9 at worst to 5, and from 3-5 at best to 0-2. It's also making a difference not being in school and having to use her hands so much. We're hopeful that this summer will give her wrists time to heal and that she can start occupational therapy before school starts and that eventually she won't need medication. But this is a relatively new diagnosis in medicine and not a lot is known about it. Her rheumatologist said she is the youngest he's ever seen with carpel tunnel, and since her wrists aren't swollen and she's right-handed but it's only slightly worse in her right-hand, and mostly bilateral, this diagnosis makes the most sense. Surgery wouldn't make things better and might make it worse, so that's out of the question right now. With her carpel tunnel, driver's ed hasn't happened. She took the online class and has a permit, but can't do the driving yet. She's not anxious to learn, but wishes she could do more with her hands. The pain has gotten so severe that she can't play her instruments or draw or write like she wants to and used to. She has a beautiful voice, and can still sing, so we're encouraging her to hold onto that. She's gotten priesthood blessings that she will be healed, so we're being patient- as much as we can. Cosmetology and ASL are hard on her. She wants to serve a mission when she's old enough, and use her cosmetology license during college. She, Travis and Olivia will be going to EFY in July- it's the first time for each of them. We're excited for them. Katherine is excited, Travis and Olivia are more nervous.

Travis just turned 16. He's about 5'10.5", 6' in boots. He works about 10 hours a week for a man in our ward, has a savings and a checking account and a learner's permit. He drives every chance he gets and is pretty good at it. He got a dog for his birthday- she's an outside dog and is full-grown. She loves to play and chase squirrels. Her name is Spec and she's a curr mix. He's good about buying her food and making sure she has water. The other kids are better about bathing her and playing with her. Since the start of Travis's sophomore year, he's been struggling with anxiety and some depression. He was diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, but it escalated into clinical depression. He's on medication, and we're hoping he can wean off soon. He gets really down on himself and gets worked up before social events. I'm worried about him going to EFY, but really think it could be SO good for him! I'm praying so hard that he'll have faith and put forth the effort to participate and think outside of himself and come home with a new perspective. He's such a good kid and we are so thankful for all the good he does/is, but we can't seem to help him believe it. He's staying morally clean and is a hard worker. When there are opportunities to help someone, he's all in. He and Katherine have a friend from school that comes over a lot and they hang out. Recently he started meeting with the missionaries and Travis lights up when he participates in the conversation! He doesn't even know that, but it's true. He gives incredible input and knows what to say to put his friend at ease and makes comments that give clarity. Afterwards though, he might shrink and tell himself he didn't say everything right or something. He was seeing a counselor, but after several visits he seemed to not need to continue. Most days he is okay, but he doesn't have to go anywhere. Once school starts, that might change. We're praying and hopeful that EFY will make a big difference for him in how he feels about himself and that he'll be ready for the school year. Oh, and he's a cowboy through and through. Johnny and I smile and are proud because he only likes country music- he has a Spotify playlist that continues to grow with all the best songs/singers. He wears Wranglers and boots everyday. He has 2 cowboy hats- a George Strait Resistol for nice occasions and a cheaper one for working. For Christmas he got a pair of gray elephant Black Jacks. He bought a pair of Dan Post caimans a couple weeks ago and they look really nice! He has another pair of Ariats that he wears for working. His uncle Travis would be proud.

Olivia just turned 14 and is NOT excited for Stake Dances. She loves to read and write- she asked for an accordion folder for all the books she's writing to keep them organized. I think she's writing 5 books right now. She'll be in 8th grade next year, which is exciting but scary because she's really quiet and shy, which makes having friends hard, and it means high school is next. Tomorrow morning, she and Katherine are going with some of our friends to Florida to Universal and DisneyWorld for the week. I'm glad they'll have each other and get to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity. Johnny and I have never been, but it seems like it'll be more fun at this age for them. Harry Potter World is what they're most excited about. Oh, and Olivia will be rooming with Lia at EFY, so she'll feel more comfortable with her there. And since Katherine and Olivia will be in Florida this week, they'll miss Youth Conference, which means EFY will be her first dances. That should fun.

Ella is 12 now and got contacts and braces last summer. She just finished 6th grade. We were really proud of her for joining the Student Council and going to all the meetings. She's happy to be in Young Women now and with her sisters. Ella is in that stage where she's still into playing but her attention span doesn't last long. She isn't as much of a reader as the older kids. She has a great sense of humor and is more talkative than the other kids- she liked to tell us the funny things that happened at school when we picked her up. She's really good at including everyone in her class at church and notices when some feel left out. She's friendly and can be helpful- sometimes she is concerned about what everyone else is doing and gets distracted- we all do!

Bryn is 10, and still tiny. She'll be in 5th grade (the last year of elementary school here). Her best friend is Audrey McDermott- they are a lot alike and such sweet girls! She's also really good friends with Callie Reinen and Madie Pratt. Bryn is a good friend to everyone and will really miss them when we have to move. She is also in that weird stage of playing, but not for long. She likes to read sometimes, but it depends on the book. She's really sweet with Charlie and very helpful. She's active and energetic- she can ride a Ripstick, roller skate, cartwheel and a really good swimmer.

Samuel will be 8 this year, and will be baptized on his birthday! He is an energetic boy- sometimes enough for all of us. He likes to make people laugh and is learning what's funny/appropriate. He's excited to be in 2nd grade next year, but misses kindergarten a little. He's a good reader, but doesn't always like to read. With the big age gap between him and Charlie, he's really the youngest child. Since the girls are not as into playing anymore, he gets sad when they stop. He's learning how to play with Charlie. He's very curious and sometimes asks really deep questions out of the blue. He's giggly, runs more than walks, loves jumping off the diving board, acting goofy and making people laugh.

Charlie is 22 months. I don't say what year he's about to be, because I don't want that to come. It's summer, there's no school and since his birthday is close to the new year starting, it needs to be far away. He's talking a lot! He can say all the kids names, but the funniest is Muel (Samuel). He is getting good at telling us when he doesn't like something. He always wants to go fishing with his daddy. He has a good sense of humor and likes to make us laugh, just like Samuel. He loves to dance and asks for music. He loves running, and with the long hallway here, he gets to do a lot of it. His favorite treat is marbles (M&Ms). We were at a friend's for supper and they had actual marbles Charlie played with. Somehow he thought they resembled M&Ms and started calling them marbles from then on. He doesn't want to go to nursery. Guess how I feel about that! Yep, it's okay with me. Haha! He's good during church, so it's great with me. He doesn't love swimming yet, but yesterday was pretty good. He has to stay in the "boat" (his floaty) but doesn't always like to.

Johnny is working ICU, day shift. He's been a nurse for 9 years now. He also works part-time for a hospice group. It's not regular, just whenever he's able to sign up for a weekend usually. He's applying to 6 CRNA programs in 6 different states, this summer- which means we could be moving within the year or in a year. He has to take the GRE next month (2 schools require it). We're anxious but hopeful and excited. It'll be a big change for us, but one we've planned for and anticipated for a long time. It's the end goal and it's been a long time coming. With all the applications and his new calling as Young Men's president, and with work, life has been really busy. We're hoping to finish one application, and start 2 applications tomorrow and Tuesday before he goes back to work and then to Youth Conference. He's such a good and devoted husband and father. We're so proud of him and grateful that he's willing/able to dedicate himself to his education and his/our future. He wants to get back into biking- especially for his health, so he put his bike in the shop to get it adjusted to fit him better. Hopefully he'll get it this week.

I am diligently helping Johnny with his applications and devoting each afternoon this summer to swimming. It's really my happiest form of exercise and I wish I could do it year-round. At the beginning of the year, we worked tirelessly on taking down wallpaper and texturing/painting rooms in Denton Abbey for our landlord. This house needed to be updated and we were glad to be able to help with it. The difference is remarkable and we love it! I am the 1st counselor in RS right now. I have an account on Instagram for one of my goals this year- to read the standard works in a year. It's called @standardworks365. I post the scripture reading for the day with an uplifting quote from an LDS leader. I found the reading schedule online from a man that posted several options for scripture reading. I'm excited about it. I'm in Daniel right now. I'm not sure how many are actually reading along, but it doesn't matter. Also, from all the years of swimming and being outside, plus pregnancy, I developed hyperpigmentation (melasma) on my forehead and cheeks. I've tried skin lighteners with hydroquinone, which helped some I think. I wore a hat most of last summer in the pool and have worn one everyday this summer. I've been diligent about applying the skin cream since last fall. The other day I bought a vitamin c serum and a moisturizer and some face masks that I'm hoping will help more. I struggle with wanting a tan, and not wanting to age my skin. I know I could not swim or wear a long-sleeved swim shirt, or even use sunless tanner. I did use sunless tanner for probably 14 years, but that got tedious- plus I tan quickly and can keep a tan since I'm swimming often. That sounds vain. Mostly I swim for the exercise, but I do plan my swim time around when it's best to not burn and still tan. Haha!

Well, that's all for now I guess. We have to get up early to see our girls off tomorrow, then we'll get started on the applications. We're really hoping this is our year!

Try

2015-05-23T14:18:00.000-05:00

Every day is like a blank canvas waiting to painted, or in my case, a blog post waiting to be written. I rarely write though. Why don't I write? Hmm... a number of reasons: because when I wrote often I spent too much time at the computer; I find I have less to say- or maybe I feel like what I have to say isn't important... Can you tell I'm blah today?

Blogging used to be therapeutic for me and I had goals to network with my blogs. I became discouraged, and stopped. I have a journal I write in about as often as I blog, maybe more.

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave?" -You've Got Mail

Most of my days are predictable. And while I like predictability, I know I need variety. Comfort zones aren't necessarily comfortable. Yesterday I visited with some friends about the trouble of being introverted and how it often takes someone else to pull me out- they could relate which made me feel less like a freak. On the way home, Bryn wanted to ride with the top down and listen to the radio. The song "Try" by Colbie Caillat came on. It touched me. I'll share the link to the video- it's worth watching.

Speaking of predictability, I made bread today. It smells delicious. I worked out this morning with Katherine- before eating or drinking anything. I won't do that again. I did drink water during the workout, but my energy stores were depleted too quickly for me to keep up like I normally do. Tomorrow is the last day of week 7 of Piyo. Next week is the last week. I created a calendar for my workouts for the next 16 weeks- alternating Turbo Fire and Piyo (even though Turbo Fire is supposed to be a 12 week program). I'll end on my sister, Rachel's birthday.

Johnny is gone with Katherine and Travis on our ward's Youth Temple Trip to Dallas. Olivia, Ella, Bryn and Samuel are watching cartoons. Our friend, James Talbot, was here playing, while his family also went to Dallas, but he just left to go play at another friend's house. I'm waiting on laundry to finish so I can change it out. The sun is finally out- we've had rain nearly every day for over a month. And when it hasn't rained it's been overcast. There is rain in the forecast for this evening and the next 10 days. It's kept the temperatures down, but it's been terribly gloomy.

Johnny's dad went into the hospital last night. He had shoulder surgery May 1st, and the incision site seems to have developed an infection, which went into his bloodstream. He's not in ICU, and has a good doctor, so he'll go home on Monday I think.

Maybe I'll blog more often. I'll try. Here's the video:

♥

Something...festive

2014-12-04T19:08:00.000-06:00

I rarely blog. Obviously. But I did today. Twice now. :)

The holidays bring out my creative side.

See these?

They're for this.

Here's the link of how we're making the most of this holiday season...

Advent Activities for my Advent Calendar.

My Daddy

2013-05-31T00:56:00.001-05:00

It's late and I should be sleeping. But I can't sleep. I am lost somewhere between a fog of disbelief and a nightmare of reality. I think most girls see their daddy as a superhuman- indestructible, invincible and immortal. My daddy is a superhero. Tonight my mind is flooding with thoughts, memories and sounds while he lays in a hospital bed in Beaumont Texas. My mom took him to the ER this afternoon because he has had chest pains, presumably since Saturday. He was quickly admitted to the ICU because it was indeed a heart attack. Several, actually. Tests show that only one artery is pumping blood to his heart and he is not a candidate for surgery. The doctors are giving him medications to keep him comfortable and he will stay there for a few days. Then...we'll see. Johnny is scheduled to work all weekend. The girls aren't out of school for the summer until next Thursday. But, they'll all miss tomorrow so we can go be with my family. Johnny may have to come home to work Saturday...who knows what will happen? My sisters and brother are coming in too.

When Johnny explained what was happening to Paw-paw to our kids, they all cried. It wasn't two weeks ago that he was here with my mom and Marianne and Ethan. They came to pick up some furniture they bought from the SFA dorms to put in the Davilla house. Their dream house. My dad built it back in 1992. Samuel and Bryn loved playing with Paw-paw Ivan that day.

I feel like part of me is dying. It's a dark cloud hanging over me and no matter what I do or where I go, it's lingering in the back of my mind, like there's no escape. I felt this way when my brother Travis died. I dreamed about it that night. I saw people in my dream and I felt like I had to tell them about Travis- like they needed to know. That dream made it seem even more real, so when I woke up I felt sick. There's nothing worse than waking up to find your nightmare is actually reality. I guess that's why I don't want to go to sleep tonight. I'm afraid of what I'll dream and what I'll wake up to.

Someday, probably in the near future, I will re-read this post and roll my eyes because of how dramatic I'm making everything. But these are my thoughts and feelings tonight and this is like my journal. So...it is what it is.

We'll leave in the morning. I'm praying we'll get lots of visiting time with daddy before Johnny has to get back for work, and that our kids will too.

Thankfully we still have time with my dad. I'd like to share some of my favorite memories of him and things you may not know about him.

When I was around 3 or 4 I had eczema behind my knees. My skin hurt so bad there I would cry. I remember one Saturday (I assume it was Saturday because everyone was home, but it could've just been summertime). My dad put medicine on my cracked skin and dried my tears. He held me in his lap for a long time. My mom brought him his sandwich- white bread, mayonnaise, ham and cheese- and he ate while he rocked me.

When we were little, and his eyesight was still good, we loved to wrestle with him on the floor. He tickled us until we threatened to wet our pants. Wevwould all clobber him in a pile, it was called Dogpile on Daddy.

I have frozen memories of just watching him. In Davilla we had an above-ground pool. We spent summer afternoons there and my dad would be out working with the cows, chickens, goat, dogs, etc. On many occasions he would come over to the pool, lean over the side, and dunk his head in to cool off. I'm not sure why that stuck with me but I remember watching him in awe.

He was our seminary teacher. We had early morning seminary in our living room. I remember watching him prepare the night before. He had a big marker board and large print scriptures. He knew his stuff too. (Still does know his stuff!)

He LOVES the song Small Town Saturday Night by Hal Ketchum. He had one of my sisters make a cassette tape with that song recorded back to back on both sides of the tape so he wouldn't have to rewind it and he could play it as much as he wanted. He would put it on and dance with my mom, or any of us, in the living room. His way of dancing- since he couldn't see well (and I think to be funny)- was to stand in one spot and shuffle his feet a little and move your hand really fast up and down while he held it and had his arm around you. (I hope I described that ok.)

He used to have all us kids help him work in the yard or barn or garage. Then he'd take us to Hetzel's, a little convenient store, to each pick out our very own soda. I usually got a Sunkist. (Gross. I wouldn't touch the stuff now, thanks to the glucose tests.) Oh! On the way to Hetzel's, he let us ride down the highway in the back of the pickup.

In Davilla he wore a cowboy hat and boots. One year we had someone come bail the hay into square bails. I drove the truck around the pasture while he road on the trailer and hopped off to load each bail. He was so hot and sweaty and we needed to beat the rain that was coming and it was getting dark. I drove the truck into the barn and helped him unload it all. I felt needed and proud of myself- I was a girl and I helped my dad do something hard- manual labor! Something I'm sure even my brothers would've been impressed with! (Can you tell I'm still proud of that?!) I loved that time with my dad, even then I knew it was a memory I would cherish.

He LOVES blackberry cobbler and Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. He loves almost any Blue Bell. He loves Cheetos like no one else! And his all-time favorite candy bar is Snickers. He loves John Wayne movies, classic cars, Corvettes, Davilla, his kids, his grand kids, and, most importantly and especially, my mom. He gets giddy when it's Mother's Day, her birthday and Christmas. He always, ALWAYS makes Christmas big. He gets over-the-top excited to surprise my mom with a gift, or several.

There are too many special moments/memories to share. But I want my kids to know these for sure, so I'm glad I've recorded them here. I love my daddy and always will. I look forward to seeing him tomorrow, er, today, now that it's almost 1 o'clock in the morning. That means today is Marianne's birthday! Happy birthday sweet, beautiful Marianne! Love you so much! Xoxo

Phi Kappa Phi

2013-05-20T17:21:00.001-05:00

This came in the mail today.

What a brainiac! We're so proud of Johnny!

Check-ups

2013-05-15T12:28:00.001-05:00

We're sitting in the waiting room at our family doctor's office. Livy & Ella have appointments today for check-ups. Livy's been having trouble hearing and we think her ears may be stopped up with wax (gross I know- but who can help it?) and poor Ella has a wart on the end of her nose. It's been there awhile but has gotten much worse recently. (Shame on me for procrastinating this!)

It's raining outside and poor Johnny is walking here to meet us. 😕 It all started with Facebook. I saw a post from a group about SFA selling dorm furniture. We were curious, so we went down and saw a sea of chest-of-drawers and twin beds! My mom & dad would love to get some of these for their ranch house! I made a quick call, purchased the items and we headed to the truck rental place. Knowing the girls had this appointment, I dropped Johnny off and headed to pick them up.

The truck rental was going to cost an astronomical amount of money. We opted to borrow a trailer instead.

So here we sit while he walks in the rain.

New and Improved!

2013-05-14T13:41:00.000-05:00

Catching up is going to be difficult...but I'll do my best ;) Let's start with highlights.

Since my last post, we have sold our house {yay!} and moved across town. Our new place is a 2-story 3 bed w/ an office {gym}, 2 1/2 bath, 2 car duplex located within walking/biking distance to the hospital where Johnny works. We can't say enough good things about living here and all the perks! It's really been a huge blessing!

One of the perks of moving is getting to clean out everything we own. {I'm choosing to see this as a good thing.} It's so hard for me because I'm sentimental. I admire minimalists, but can you be both? Is it possible to be a minimalist and sentimental? There are so many things my kids have made or done that I cherish too much to simply take a picture of it and throw it away.

~~But I digress~~. {I hate that word. I hate that sentence- it's entirely over-used.} Back to what I was saying. We moved. Johnny is still in school and working. In fact, the bulk of the moving I did by myself, with lots of blood, sweat and tears. {Makes me question my sentimentality.} We had help from friends in the ward {huge thanks to the Priesthood Quorums and my friends here!} with babysitting and moving the big stuff. Knowing we'll have to move again in a year or so makes me want to sell everything and go with inflatable furniture. Where would one buy inflatable furniture? Ooh- better yet, maybe we'll just sit on pillows.

I almost forgot... Good news! We got a dog! We're totally in the burbs now. He is a Chiweenie and his name is Jim {as in Halpert}. The kids are in heaven! He's completely housebroken and sleeps with Katherine every night. He loves to ride with us to take the kids to school, or to go anywhere. He's quickly become a member of the family.

The school year is almost out and we can't wait! Johnny will finish up this week- hopefully tomorrow. Travis gets out next Friday and the girls finish up June 6. {Yeah, June. ?!!? Crazy.} Johnny will have certifications to study for and take over the summer, but it'll still feel like a break.

Ella had a field trip to the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler on Friday. I got to go with her and ride the bus and everything! How many years has it been since I've ridden a bus? That's not important. ;)

The four of us got to explore on our own and we saw it all!

We had a great time! It's a beautiful zoo.

Slowly we're getting more organized and unpacked. Saturday we finally hung a few things in the living room. There are so many more walls to decorate here than the other house. I know I won't ever be able to fill them...mostly because I don't want to. {Trying to be more of a minimalist. ;)} Once Johnny is done with the semester we'll organize the garage, have a garage sale and finish decorating. More pics to come! {Do you LOVE the rug?! So in love.}

In other news, Travis will be 11 on Friday! What?! I'm trying to think of what to do for his birthday, which Johnny will miss because he has to work all weekend. Hmmm... :/ Prolly should've already planned it. He's easy to please and usually doesn't want much, but it seems like a party would make any birthday better. I'm about to call my party planner {aka Sarah} for some ideas.

Mother's Day was awesome! Before we left for church, Johnny had me come in the living room for a surprise. Take a look:

I laugh so hard every time I watch! This was actually the second take. The first one I just watched and cried, so I made them do it again so I could record it. It was way funnier the second time!

The Primary kids sang during Sacrament meeting and Johnny helped the boys sing their part- {gush} I love his voice! The kids did a beautiful job. All the moms got little boxes with chocolates ♥. After church, Johnny grilled drumsticks on the pit and made a delicious salad to go with it. The weather was beautiful so we ate out on the front porch. Katherine, Travis and Olivia made my mother-in-law's No-Bake cookies and cookie dough bites {sans eggs}. Chocolate overdose! :)

I'm so thankful to be a mom. The other day Ella asked me about when I was her age and what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her a mom. THIS is what I've always wanted to do and I'm so fortunate to be able to.

Here are a few more pics, just because ;)

Looking Forward

2013-01-17T10:34:00.001-06:00

As I thought about this new year and all the changes that come with it, I realized we have a lot to look forward to and enjoy!

• First, Johnny just started a new semester of school. He's taking two 5-week courses right now: Health Assessment and Health Promotion. Starting at the end of March, he'll start two 8-week courses: Elementary Statistical Analysis and American Literature. Over the summer he will take 2 tests to get 2 certifications that will look good for grad school and count toward 2 electives for his BSN. That leaves three courses for fall: two nursing courses and State and Local Government. And then GRADUATION and grad school applications!!!! We are definitely throwing a graduation party and inviting everyone!

• This spring or summer Samuel will be potty-trained! I always wait until my kids are 2 1/2 to potty train- it seems to be the perfect age for them to communicate and not regress. Couple of days to a week and we're done with diapers forever! (Hope I didn't just jinx myself! Haha!) He'll be 2 1/2 in March, so maybe Spring Break if it feels right. Kind of exciting and scary!

• In August, we will have 2 in middle school and 3 in elementary! Yes-that means 5 in school and only 1 at home. Bryn will start kindergarten!! I've never had only 1 at home before! It's going to be very interesting to see how Samuel and I get along and entertain one another ;)

• Samuel will turn 3 this year! :( That is really close to NOT being a baby anymore. This is his last year in Nursery (at church). THAT is sad. And shortly after his birthday...

• Katherine will be a teenager!!!! Officially. So exciting!

• And finally, Ella will turn 8 after all this and that means BAPTISM! What a way to end the year!

I didn't talk about selling the house as one of the things that will happen this year. While the house is still on the market, I'm not anxious to sell it. :/ We've been here almost 2 years now and I'm really liking my house more and more- so that probably means that once Spring gets here, it'll sell. I know it would be a blessing, but it will be very bittersweet. *sigh*

The view ahead is looking pretty bright!

Bullseye and other Funnies

2012-12-03T10:52:00.001-06:00

I should have posted this before Bullseye Rides Again. This is another email I sent family and friends, dated April 25, 2005.

Hey everybody,

I thought I'd send a mass email to update you all on our family. This past week has been especially entertaining for us, hopefully you'll enjoy it too!

First of all, our son, Travis, is almost 3. He has a new horse, it is brownish and it's name is Bullseye. It's make believe of course. Anyway, he holds onto the reins with his fists clinched tightly and gallops around the house on a regular basis. Sometimes he tells us to be quiet because his horse is asleep or he opens the front door to let Bullseye out to go eat. He's informed us that he now has 4 horses. Whenever we find him playing with other toys we ask, "Where's your horse?" He'll say, "Oh, he's tied up in his trailer." We like to encourage his imagination. So, this past Thursday, we had gone out with Johnny to one of his appointments (AFLAC at the time). Travis brought two horses with him, and left the other two at home. After the appointment, we stopped by Wal-Mart and, of course, Travis galloped through the store. On a side note- we found black felt cowboy hats clearanced for $3. They're real cowboy hats, not the toy kind. So Katherine and Travis are now a cowboy and cowgirl. Anyway, we got home and Travis had gotten a birthday invitation that he was so excited about. He carried it around, even when Johnny took him to the bathroom. I was busy putting things away when I had a funny idea. I said, "Travis!" (He's finishing up in the bathroom) "While we were gone, you're horse pooped on the floor in my room!" "Can you believe that?!" Johnny started laughing, but Travis just got frustrated with his horse. He walks to our room with a frown on his face saying, "Ughhh!" He reaches down to the floor with his birthday card and sweeps it. Katherine is catching on to all of this and says, with a gasp, "Ohhh! Travis's card has poop on it!" Now Travis is really frustrated and heads back to the bathroom to wash off his card. This whole time Johnny is cracking up. I help Travis wipe his card off with a dry washcloth and just say, "Man! Travis, can you believe that?!" He quickly took his horse outside! Everyday, he rides his imaginary horses and takes them "out to pasture" and helps them take naps. Too cute!

Now for Katherine. I was sitting here at the computer typing something and Katherine was on a beanbag next to me. I looked over at her staring at the floor and asked what was wrong. She replied, "I'm just thinking." "About what?" I asked. "My life." "Really, tell me about it." "I'm just thinking about my life and the Spirit." "The Spirit? The Holy Ghost?" "Yeah." "What do you mean?" "I'm just thinking about stuff." She didn't really want to talk about it. So later I told Johnny about it and when he got a chance he asked her about it. He said, "Mommy tells me you were thinking about the Holy Ghost, do you want to tell me about it?" She said, "Yeah, I was thinking about the Holy Ghost and he wants us to be nice to people, and love them." We were so proud of her and grateful that she's actually getting it, already!

Then, on Saturday, I went for a walk with the kids, Olivia was in the stroller, Katherine was beside me helping push and Travis was galloping ahead of us on his trusty steed, Bullseye. He was motioning with one hand and holding the reins with the other, saying, "Come on! Follow me!" Katherine quickly replied, "No Travis! We're not going to follow you! We follow Jesus!" He was a little confused and said it again, "Follow me!" She was frustrated and said, "No Travis! We will follow Jesus, not you!" I explained to her that Travis means, Come on, this way!, not for us to actually follow him. She said, "Oh."

Ok, now for Olivia. I fixed her hair in a whale spout two days in a row. When Sunday came, yesterday, I decided to put pigtails on top of her head. That's really the only hair long enough to fix. So, she either had horns or antennas- however you want to look at it. It was cute, nonetheless. Yesterday night we were taking pictures of her cute hair. Lately she's been pulling up to things and letting go. So last night she took her first 2 steps!! Very exciting! She is quickly catching up to her very funny siblings!

(Just now, Travis was running through the house with a toy screwdriver, pretending it's a sword, yelling, "It's payback time!" I love to watch him!)

All our love,

Johnny, Jill, Katherine, Travis, and Olivia

Such fun memories! The story of Samuel cleaning up his mess of yucky candy is what prompted this post- it's a lot like Travis wiping the floor with his birthday invitation. Haha!

Imagination

2012-12-03T10:42:00.001-06:00

Samuel takes after his brother- his imagination is taking off! Here are some recent examples:

Friday night, the kids and I were watching cheesy Hallmark movies (cause we're cool like that) and Johnny was still at work.

As I sat on the couch, Samuel played on my lap, sliding down my legs and laughing hysterically! After a while, he climbed up next to me. He poked my cheek with his little finger saying, "Ding-dong!" repeatedly. I would mimic him, hoping he would stop. It got rather annoying after a few minutes, so I poked his cheek and said, "Ding-dong!" He responded, "Hello, nice to meet you!" as he extended his right hand, ready to shake mine. I laughed, shook his hand and said, Nice to meet you! What's your name?"
"I Dad."
"Hi Dad! I'm Mom."
"Hi Mom. (incoherent gibberish, sounds like 'uh-uh-nuh') Kids."
"You have kids?"
"Yep. Kids!" (more uh-uh-nuh, as he looks to the side, as if they're misbehaving.) Then he says, " Kids." and shakes his head.

This went on for about 5 minutes. The conversation was pretty repetitive with little variance, but so funny!

Sunday night:
Samuel often offers us pretend candy by holding his pointer finger and thumb together saying, "Mmm! Good! Good!" Johnny got home from work and the kids and I were watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Johnny sat down next to me and Samuel was his usual, playful self. He offered a "piece of candy" to Johnny. When Johnny took it and put it in his mouth, Samuel made a face and said, "Ew! Yucky!" and laughed. He said, "Spit it out!" pointing to the floor and spit his own out. He then offered me a piece; I took it and put it in my mouth. Again, he said, "Ew! Yucky! Spit it out!" pointing to the floor. So I did and he yelled, "Uh-un napkin!" and ran to the kitchen. When he realized he couldn't reach the napkins, he ran back and noticed Bryn's blanket on the floor. He grabbed it and preceded to clean up the mess of gross candy I had spit onto the rug.

Funny boy!

Bullseye Rides Again

2012-12-03T10:12:00.001-06:00

I was thinking about this story and realized I hadn't included it on our blog.

This is an email I sent to family and friends April 30, 2005, when Katherine was 4 1/2, Olivia was 10 months and Travis was almost 3.

Travis finished his supper before everyone else tonight. He jumped down from the table and started playing with a magnet on the refrigerator. Katherine wanted to join in on the fun and tried to take the magnet from him. He ran off teasing, "I've got the magnet! I've got the magnet!" Johnny tried to help the situation by suggesting Katherine find something Travis wants to trade. "Like what?" she asked. Johnny said, "Maybe a Rescue Hero or his toy hatchet he was just playing with." She politely declined.

Just about that time Bullseye wandered into the kitchen, almost unnoticed. He was fully saddled and ready to ride. Since I notice everything, I said, "Hey Katherine, why don't you ride his horse?!" She thought that was a great idea so she jumped on and galloped around the house.

Travis started chasing her, whining, "Give me back my horse!" He noticed how much Katherine's pace had quickened once she mounted his trusty steed; she was going much faster than she ever could have on her own two feet. He didn't give up. He ran after them for a few laps and suddenly remembered what started this whole mess. He was still holding the little orange magnet.

There was only one way to settle this... He called out, "Hey Katherine! Want a magnet?" Katherine smiled, taking the magnet and handed Travis the reins.

It was a good trade. The proud little cowboy rode off into the sunset, or, at least, west into the living room.

Samuel is sick.

2012-11-04T11:15:00.001-06:00

6:15 AM, Friday
Samuel woke up happy, as usual. After dropping the kids off at school, Bryn and Samuel went with me to Walmart. The entire time I held him or he rode in the buggy.

11 a.m., I noticed a raised circle by his nose- like a mosquito bite. He and Bryn sat down to watch a movie.

2:15 p.m., I went to turn the tv and DVD player off and saw his cheeks were red and swollen with hives. I called Johnny at work and he said to give him Benadryl. The rash was on his arms and legs, but not his feet or torso. Within 30 minutes, he was asleep in his carseat and the rash was gone. I thought it might be a milk allergy because he had no other symptoms and he had just had yogurt and chocolate milk. We picked up the kids from school and I took Samuel to the hospital to show Johnny. We decided to keep him away from dairy and keep the Benadryl handy.

5:36 PM, Samuel has a fever, 99.8.

6:43 PM, hives are back.

7:30 PM, Johnny comes home, listens to Samuel's breathing- its clear. Samuel's temperature is 102.9. We give Samuel Benadryl and Tylenol, put him to bed.

1:30 AM Saturday, Johnny gets up to give more medicine. Samuel has a higher fever Not sure about the rash, but his breathing has changed. He's very congested.

3:50 AM, Samuel wakes up crying and coughing, gets in bed with us.

4:15 AM, Johnny has his stethoscope and is listening to Samuel. His lungs are congested really bad. He calls into work and says he wants to be put on call (he was supposed to be anyway, so he confirmed it.) We get dressed to go to the ER.

5:00 AM, Samuel gets triaged. His fever is 103. He gets lab work. Doctor gives prescriptions for antibiotic and breathing treatments.

7:30 AM, Samuel feels better and wants breakfast, so we eat in the cafeteria while waiting for Walmart's pharmacy to open.

8:00 AM, naps in the parking lot.

9:00 AM, Johnny goes in to get the meds.

9:08 AM, temperature 101.1.

9:45 AM, We get home and give Samuel his antibiotic and ibuprofen, which he promptly throws up, along with his breakfast.

10:00 AM, After a bath to lower his temperature, he gets his antibiotic and Johnny gets called into work. Thank goodness for the nap in the car.

10:42 AM, Albuterol breathing treatment while Samuel naps. Rash is back and changes every 15-20 minutes.

11:15 AM, gave 1 acetaminophen suppository.

1:50 PM, Johnny has me count his breaths per minute, it's 39.

2:07 PM, After talking to a pediatrician, he tells me to bring him back to the ER.

2:29 PM, I'm in the ER, the rash is gone, still has fever, give him ibuprofen.

4:15 PM, they will admit him. He gets chest X-rays. Rash is back and changing quickly, but never itches.

Okay, so you get the idea. They said its pneumonia, but it's more like a viral bronchitis and we don't know what the rash is.

Last night was rough because of the frequent visits from the super friendly staff. No, I'm not being sarcastic, I really like the staff here, it just wasn't easy to sleep. Samuel tossed and turned a lot. His rash came and went yesterday and into the night. They gave him Benadryl at bedtime and it didn't come back until this morning, and then it was only small areas that didn't last long. He had a fever of 100.6 early this morning. The doctor said he has to be fever free 24 hrs before he can go home, so we'll be here another night. Tomorrow a dermatologist is supposed to come check out the rash, and if it's not there, he can look at these lovely pictures.

Johnny was supposed to work today, but couldn't because of me being here with Samuel and Olivia started running a fever yesterday. Hers is not related though- it's upper respiratory. He'll have to take the kids to school in the morning. Also tomorrow, Johnny starts a new online 5-week nursing course. Maybe he can bring the laptop up here and work on it.

Samuel is going to be fine. They've changed his breathing treatments from every 4 hrs, to every 6, which means he sounds clearer. His fever is gone now and he hasn't had much of a rash today.

What makes this extra hard and sad is that tomorrow is Bryn's 5th birthday! Hopefully Samuel and I will home in time for a party!

Worth Doing Well

2012-09-30T18:56:00.003-05:00

Today is not quite like most Sundays. It's very quiet and relaxing. I admit, most Sundays are less than relaxing. We usually hurry home from church, hungry and exhausted. We scrounge for food and crash on the couch for a nap while the kids play loudly in the den and/or bedrooms. So I'm thankful for today. Today we are trying harder to keep it holy...and I'm happy to say, it's working!

It's been raining pretty constantly since Friday night. Someone at church today said she measured ten inches! Thankfully we are on a hill and haven't had any flooding. Some haven't fared so well though. The temperatures have dropped quite a bit, our high today was 66°, and that was this morning. Now it's 64°, overcast and windy. It's a welcomed change. Since today is the last day of September, and with this weather, I feel especially festive. I love the Fall. It makes me want to embroider Christmas ornaments and get the kids winter clothes out. Hey! That's a good idea- I think I'll start that tomorrow.

Samuel has been 2 years old officially, for one week now. He has always had a sense of humor. When he was a baby, something about his smile and how his eyes lit up made it apparent he was a funny guy! He is talking a LOT and even tells jokes! He likes this one the best: "Knock knock!" (Who's there?) "Letter" (Letter who?) "Been knocking!" Then he wittily snickers. It's so cute! It's supposed to be 'Letter in, she's been knocking!' That's a tribute to Blue's Clues.

He got a Toy Story birthday card that sings.
He helped pick it out at the store.

He loves his new Cars 2 shades.
He says, "I cool!"

He got new "burpies". He lifted his shades
to check them out. They didn't pass the
smell test until I washed them. Haha!

Isn't he precious?!

I made the same cupcakes as last year, since he doesn't even remember. We decided to make them a tradition, until he objects. We opted to forego the icing this time- they really didn't need them. They were scrumptious~ there are Oreos inside!

The kids are enjoying their new schools. Katherine is in middle school, sixth grade. She signed up for band and is learning to play the clarinet. She is super excited about that, and is eagerly looking forward to turning 12 in a week and a half! She is reading a lot and recently told me that she has been reading her scriptures every night. I'm so proud of her. She is in the Advanced Language Arts and Math classes at school- the only two Advanced courses they offer. So far she hasn't been overloaded and seems to be enjoying it.

Travis loves LOVES loves school. Did I say he loves it? If there were a stronger word, I would use it. His whole countenance, attitude, and demeanor have changed. He has become soft-spoken and never complains. I have to ask him to repeat himself sometimes, because he speaks so quietly. His new school is such a blessing! We're SO grateful he is able to go there and we know it was an answer to prayer. He loves to read. He does take some pride in carrying around a really thick book, most kids he knows are intimidated by that volume. At his new school he has been able to play soccer most days on the playground. It's his new favorite sport and he is teaching his sisters to play at home. Soccer and reading are his favorite past times.

Olivia and Ella love their new school too. Olivia is in second grade and has a wonderful teacher. She comes home everyday telling us how much she loves school. I believe a lot of it has to do with her teacher and how much she cares about Olivia and her progress. At first, I was worried about Olivia and thought she may be dyslexic. After a couple of weeks though, she really has taken off! Her reading and spelling abilities have improved and she is gaining confidence every day. We're so proud of her. A few weeks ago, Olivia was chosen by her teacher to be the first Clap Out recipient in her class. She invited us to come and help surprise Olivia. It was a Friday and Johnny was off work, so we went. Each teacher in the school chose a student they wanted to spotlight. They introduced the student in front of the whole school and told why they were proud of them and why they chose them. Olivia's teacher talked about Olivia's hard work with reading and how much she had grown. After all the teachers in the school spoke, the other kids lined up in the hallways outside the classrooms with the other teachers, coaches, etc. Then the "Clap Out" award winners walked in a line, like a parade, down the halls while everyone clapped and cheered for them. It brought tears to my eyes! Olivia looked a little embarrassed, but I know she was excited.

Ella is in first grade and loves it. School seems to come easy for her. Each night, she and Olivia have spelling words to practice. By Tuesday night, Ella just about has her main words memorized (what they are and how to spell them). She'll tell me what the next one is before I can say it! Although their homework takes a long time each night, I'm grateful for what they're learning and the time I get to spend with them. Bryn likes to bring a paper and pencil to the table too and asks what word she needs to right. She still has another year at home, since she doesn't turn five until November. Ella got glasses, as you can see. She is farsighted and her right eye is quite a bit weaker. She never complained about her eyesight, but I took the school kids to get checked, mostly because we have insurance. Travis has had glasses for a little over a year, and Katherine has 20/25 nearsightedness. When we discovered how poor Ella's eyesight was, we were shocked! She has an excellent doctor, who is working hard to correct her vision. It's getting much better already! Since her right eye is so weak, she may have to wear a patch later. She sure looks cute in her glasses though!

Bryn seems to enjoy being the oldest at home during the day and playing with Samuel. She loves watching movies the most. AND, she nearly refuses to wear pants. Ever. She wears a dress everyday and knows how to fix her hair in a ponytail. She also loves to snack. We will eat breakfast around 6-6:30ish. After we're home a little while, she wants to eat again. Thankfully she makes healthy choices- grapes, apples, popcorn, cheese sticks, etc. She's pretty good about sharing with Samuel too. On days that Johnny is at work, she likes to help me cook. I make our bread for sandwiches and toast a couple of times a week. She climbs up on the counter and helps me dump the ingredients in. Sometimes we make cookies together for the kids to have when they get home. Bryn is a very determined little girl and there isn't much she doesn't think she can do. In fact, the only times she says she can't do something is when it's time to clean up. That's when she says she needs help and it's too hard. Haha! If she is thirsty, she can climb to get a cup. If she wants her hair fixed, she can put it in a ponytail. And for the most part, she can get her own snacks. Clearly, she is very capable and I have to remind her.

Johnny started a new semester, and is already on his second course. He should graduate next December. He's taking a few nursing courses this semester, but still has some basics to go too. Hopefully he can knock them out next semester. They may be heavier loads though- he's got to take Statistics (ugh), State Gov't and a literature course (probably LOTS of reading). Since being back in school he has made one B and the rest A's. As long as he keeps that up, he should have no problem getting into CRNA school.

Katherine and I have been working out together, most every morning before school. We actually started back in the summer, in July. We just "celebrated" our 90th day! We didn't workout EVERY morning; we took rest days when we really needed it. But it was still an accomplishment. We've started Round 2. Something about "90 Days" seems achievable. To say, "I'm going to workout everyday for the rest of my life" is admittedly overwhelming. Sometimes I still have to remind myself why I'm doing it and how I'm committed. It helps that Katherine is relying on me to be there every morning. We have a set routine of weight-lifting using an app on my phone, and cardio using Turbo Jam videos. At least, that was our Round 1 workout routine. I've mixed it up now. I combined my weight routine (back/biceps/forearms for example) with doing intervals for 10 minutes on my roadbike, on the bike trainer. That should cover 5 days a week and I can either rest on weekends or do cardio on Saturdays. It just started, so I haven't played around with it much. My days go so much better when I workout. It's like when you read your scriptures first. What you do for your body, you do for your spirit. I love it!

Our house is for sale. We listed it the middle of June. We know houses don't sell right away since the market is somewhat saturated, so we thought we should try now in order to time it right. When it sells we want to rent closer to Johnny's work and the kids' schools. We spend so much time driving, it's like we live in another town! Seriously, it takes me an hour to pick the kids up in the afternoons. We could save a lot of gas and time if we lived closer. It's sad though because we LOVE this house. It's perfect for us; we just wish it was in another neighborhood. Don't get me wrong, we love our neighborhood, it's just too far. We knew we'd have to sell eventually, so Johnny could go to graduate school. So when the time is right, it'll sell and we'll stay here in Nac until then. We've had several showings, one yesterday even. If they choose to make an offer, we probably won't hear about it until tomorrow at the soonest. So...we wait, in a beautiful, clean house. ;)

Firsts

2012-05-04T08:17:00.001-05:00

Samuel woke up this morning a little more clingy than usual. Actually, most mornings he jumps out of bed and is ready to go go go! Today, not so much. I enjoyed holding him and cuddling, until he began to dry heave. And then it came out. Yep- a stomach virus. Thankfully it was just water- the little bit he had to drink this morning, which means he digested the chicken stir-fry he devoured last night.

Katherine ran bath water for him. He cried as I bathed him. He's never been sick before. He has had a fever and runny nose- so maybe he's had a cold, but never a stomach virus.

He threw up again just before I left to take the kids to school. Now he's just lying on the couch, surrounded by his burp rags and blanket. Bryn is whisper-singing to him and making sure he's comfortable.

Today we'll be doing a lot of cuddling and holding. Hopefully, Samuel will be doing a lot of resting.

Laundry

2012-04-30T14:10:00.000-05:00

As I sit here typing, I hear my washing machine and dryer spin the second and third loads of laundry around and around. The clothes tumble and fall with interruptions of water filling the washer. The movement is almost choreographed- a synchronized dance so to speak. With eight people living in this house, this sound is frequently heard.

I saw this on Pinterest recently. It's by President Thomas S. Monson.

It really made me think about how quickly time passes and how the arduous chores that seem never-ending really don't last long. Yesterday I thought about this quote and, for a second, wondered if after my kids are grown and gone, would I go visit them and do their laundry? I laugh about it now, but I really do wonder if I will miss those monotonous chores enough to want to relive them, even momentarily.

I realize I'm probably more sentimental than most; I can hear you laughing at my comments already. I mean, really? Who gets sentimental over laundry? In all honesty, it's one of the more enjoyable chores. I can sit on the couch and take my time folding eight loads in an afternoon (no, I do not usually have that many- that's only if I procrastinate) while watching a favorite show on the DVR, a movie or HGTV. Then it's up to the kids to help put it all away. We've got it pretty good compared to our ancestors, right? I can't complain.

And did you notice how cute Bryn is with a vacuum cleaner? She begged to vacuum for me that day. She's 4 yrs old and weighs less than 30 lbs (yes she does eat and the Dr. says she's fine). It's pretty cute watching her use all her weight to push and pull the vacuum cleaner across the rug. She is an excellent helper and reminds me everyday that I am her best friend and that she is mine. Who wouldn't want this to last forever?

Life here

2012-04-08T20:04:00.002-05:00

It is Easter Sunday and I haven't blogged in several months now. I could apologize and say I've been too busy or sick or something, but I won't because I haven't. What matters is that I'm blogging TODAY! Obviously these several months haven't gone by without changes in our family. I'll try to remember the highlights. First, this past weekend was super fun visiting my family. The Lunts came for a visit and Roman adores Travis, which was so cute to watch. They played well together. Allie and Kate kept Katherine and Olivia entertained and happy the whole time. Bryn kept up with all of them as well. Samuel and Scarlett didn't play much together but it was fun to see how much they've each grown. Today is my mom's birthday (Happy birthday mama! We're so glad you were born and that your my mother!). We surprised her with a party Friday night and thanks to the Oldbury's we danced the night away while feeding the mosquitoes. Hehe The little red bites on my arms and legs were so worth it. The food was great, the company was even better and a fun time was had by all. The Easter Bunny even came to bring treats to the kids while we were there- so nice of him.

Johnny started a new semester in college. He is currently taking his last class for this semester and has already completed 2 courses. I love the fast-pace of these online classes! He took a 5-week English class called Technical Writing and made an "A". He also took a 10-week Professional Nursing course and also made an "A". (Yay!) What did he learn? Well, in the writing class he learned a lot about "plain language"- important for professionals in any career. Actually, plain language has been enforced by the government so we can better understand legal agreements and other important things that we need to know (government stuff for example). Anyway, good to know and glad it only lasted 5 weeks. He spent less than a day per week to complete each week's worth of assignments, etc. I can't imagine what a 15-week course would've been like. Bor-ing. AND in his nursing class he learned that accepting money, gifts or having inappropriate relations with his patients was illegal and inappropriate, among other things, but it cracks me up that that was one week's topic. Professional Nursing is pretty much an easy class to help professional nurses behave professionally. There actually were some important things he learned. Like, did you know that a nurse that works in labor & delivery (for example) and is asked to "float" (go work in another department) to the cardiac unit (for instance) can either refuse to take a patient completely or take the patient but only after signing a paper that says she doesn't feel qualified to care for the patient and that it is dangerous for both her and the patient? This protects her (for the most part) from repercussions if the patient is injured or dies. I think I explained that right- anyway, you get the idea. Right now Johnny is taking Federal Government, which is an 8-week course. It's an interesting class and he thinks every voter should have to take it in order to vote. I don't know if that's constitutional. Hmmm.... Anyway, so far he's made all "A's" in all of his courses! He will take some classes over the summer and if all goes well, he will graduate next summer. Hooray!

Bryn and Samuel are growing so much! Bryn is 4 now and tells me I'm her best friend, at least once a day. She loves to watch movies while the kids are at school. Even though she is a little bitty thing, she has a lot of energy and personality. Samuel is 18 months now and is learning to talk. He says "Mommy!" a lot. Other words he can say, Daddy, car, Rio (his all-time favorite movie), shoes, please, thank you, hi, hey, mama, Gaga (as in Grandma, not the other one. Ugh, as if!), Papa, Bryn (comes out "Beeyn"), outside, cup, eat!, bath, Travis (I think), whoa, wow, bye... there may be more, but I can't think of them. He LOVES his burp rags and must have at least one if we leave the house or he's tired. He grabs the side of it and carefully adjusts it and brings it to his nose and puckers his little lips and snuggles. It is the cutest thing ever. I almost hope he never outgrows it, but I realize it would be disturbing to see him leaving for his mission and packing his burp rag in his carry-on. Haha! He still takes 2 naps a day, as long as we're at home. If we run errands or are gone to visit someone or something, he misses a nap and it's noticeable. Luckily when we are back to normal, he gets back on schedule. He goes down for a nap around 8:30-9:30 and sleeps the rest of the morning. Then he gets his second nap at 1:00. I usually have to wake him up to pick the kids up from school. By bedtime, he is ready to sleep again. I really appreciate his schedule! Bryn doesn't usually take a nap and can get pretty bored if she doesn't get to watch a movie. She is always excited for the kids to come home in the afternoons.

The kids are doing well in school. But they frequently tell me how much they don't like it. I think they like the teachers, for the most part, it's the other students they detest. Their school has too many students with behavior problems and the principal seems to be M.I.A. on the issue. I haven't talked to her personally, but Johnny and I have talked to the assistant principal. Those problems seem to be his responsibility and it's an overwhelming job. There are more students in that elementary than in any of the others in our town (I'm pretty sure- though there may be one with more). I've noticed that my kids are more mature for their age and the kids in their grades like to act up in class, which makes it difficult for them to pay attention (Katherine). But they are making good grades and we're proud of them for trying and being good examples. The teachers appreciate them too. Olivia and Ella are learning to read and Olivia is doing so well with spelling. She hasn't caught on to everything as quickly as other kids her age, but she is progressing well. Every night she has spelling words to practice and a book to read. Ella did have spelling words, but hasn't since before Spring Break I think. I read to her and ask her to read certain words. She does really well with it all. Katherine is looking forward to being in band next year, in middle school. Travis has been accepted to SFA's Charter School for 5th grade next year. We're excited for him, but not as much as he is for himself because he won't have to be at this school! I've applied for a transfer for Olivia and Ella to go to a better elementary school next year, but we won't know until August if they will be able to. Other than school, they are loving living here! They ride their Ripsticks in our driveway and play on the swingset they got for Christmas. If the weather's bad, they love watching movies, playing Legos/toys, building forts out of blankets and furniture (who didn't do that as a child?) and playing the Wii. It's been a dream to live here for the past year.

Which reminds me- we've lived here for a year now! Even though we haven't done much to change it, we've made this house our home and feel so blessed to be here. Johnny and I discuss our life frequently and how much things have changed. We've been together for 13 years now and have been so blessed with so much. Any problems we have had, any hardships we've faced, have all been worth it. I know we have more to come, but today I feel capable and that my faith is stronger. I know from experience that the Lord answers our prayers and that we can have faith in the midst of trials, that we are not alone and that the trials are for our good. If I hadn't experienced postpartum depression, for instance, I wouldn't be able to relate to so many people or have the testimony I have; we probably wouldn't live here, and I may not appreciate and love that precious little boy as much as I do. Some trials are harder than others, but when things get better we find out how strong we really are. Remember Hurricane Rita? (Katrina too, but Rita affected me more.) I was talking to one of my sisters the other night and she was saying how she has lived her whole life trying to not be sentimental. When Hurricane Rita hit, she knew it was going to be a bad storm and thought that her house would be wiped out. She was prepared for that and had accepted it. She decided beforehand to be okay if she lost her house. Fortunately, her house still stands. I don't think she even lost a shingle. Unfortunately for her, she didn't even lose any trees (she thinks there are too many on their property). But her faith in that trial was a strength to me. I was pregnant with Ella at that time and lived down the street from her. Our families evacuated to the same place and I lost it. At first I thought it was no biggie, hurricanes had come before and cause little damage. I was certain that after Katrina, the Lord would not repeat such a catastrophe in such a short amount of time and so close to the same location. After reports that the storm had strengthened and was headed to our county, I couldn't stop crying. I had everything that was valuable to me with me, but to lose my routine and not know what would happen next was unbearable. We did lose our house- it had enough damage to make it unlivable, so we had to find another place to rent, along with everyone else in the area. The stress of that time caused my body to develop gestational diabetes. That was another difficult thing to experience, but I'm grateful for what I learned from it. Anyway, babbling. I'm not sure why I went off on this, but I guess it's what is on my mind. Recently I told Johnny that I was nervous because we had been blessed so much and everything was going so well that I was afraid something really bad was coming or that things would be taken away. He assured me that wasn't the way the Lord worked. He doesn't bless us with things so he can take them away. (By things I don't mean only material possessions.) So far nothing big or bad has happened, but I'm trying to stay humble and show gratitude so if it does, it won't be because I caused it, if that's even possible.

With that said, I'll share a little about what I've been up to lately. I haven't been working out all the time like I wanted, but health has been on my mind alot, as usual. One week I was feeling irritable and tired and just not well. As I was getting ready for bed and was about to pray, I felt an impression that I needed to get off sugar and that that was my answer. It was a Friday night and Johnny was working the next day. I shared with him my thoughts and came up with a plan to buy a cookbook the next day that would help our family be healthier. I found Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism at Sam's Club. I grabbed it and began studying that night. I also bought the cookbook that goes along with it and a couple of other books about eating clean and avoiding sugar. It was very fascinating to me and I felt that I was following the prompting. It's been a couple of months now and I'm surprised I have been able to follow so much of what is in the book. To be honest, I haven't double-checked any research or experimented too much, I've just followed what seems to be common sense. I've always tried to buy healthy foods for my family, but some things seemed too expensive. Now I realize, I could buy a big bag of animal crackers for $2 for a snack, and some sweetened cereal for those mornings I can't cook\, for $5, OR I could buy some steel cut oats, apples and agave nectar that will last a long time and be way more satisfying. (Seriously my new favorite way to eat oatmeal- Steel Cut Oats, toasted pecans, cinnamon, maple syrup and diced apples, softened- heaven!) I think my family will agree, healthy food makes you feel better! That and a good night's sleep can really change the mood in the house. So I've been buying lots of produce and I've been making homemade bread since the beginning of March. Since we've been eating a lot of food that are seemingly new to us, the recipes anyway, the kids will announce "Do over!" as they eat. Sometimes they don't say it, and it takes the fun out of cooking. But when they do, it's so rewarding! I've been making things that I didn't think I could and I feel like a real, fake chef. Haha! I mean, I'm not going to try out for the Next Food Network Star or anything, but I can say that I'm getting better and better at following recipes! ;)

No Excuses

2012-01-09T23:10:00.001-06:00

It's no secret that I am a loyal fan of The Biggest Loser. I watch every episode, every season. It's so fascinating to see people transform right before your eyes. Who will the contestants pick & why? I always imagine myself getting to choose my trainer. When Jillian was there- she was my first choice every time. No offense to Bob- he was great too. I just knew Jillian had a great track record & her people won the most. I didn't mind the yelling/in-your-face approach either. And, I admit, I like that our names are similar. (For the record, my name is just Jill, not short for Jillian, or Jilleth as my husband & brother-in-law like to call me. Doesn't that remind you of Lilleth from Cheers/Frasier? Not a compliment, is it? Johnny says that's not what he thinks of. Anyway, babbling.)

Now that Jillian is gone, I have to say I really REALLY like Dolvett! And I'm not gonna be one of those gross mom's with an inappropriate crush. Haha! I like his story (abandoned/adopted/successful), his approach & results. He has the right amount of nice and the right amount of push. If I were on the Biggest Loser, I would choose to train with Dolvett. Who would you train with?

Last week we tuned in to the first episode of this season. I was super excited about it and we decided to "participate", which means workout consistently for the duration of the show. I was so bummed though because we both had colds. I felt horrible- chills, aches, pounding head and stuffy nose. It just wasn't possible to workout. The show was super-motivating! Each time they talked about the reasons we all have for not working out made me think about us and reflect on how we spend our time. I definitely wanted to do better. Then... I went to sleep. After about three days/nights of not sleeping well and feeling tired, I wondered if I really "needed" to workout. Maybe it was okay to just be like I am and continue doing what I do. I know I don't have a weight problem and I'm not as likely to have serious health problems, so maybe it's not necessary. I've gone back and forth in my mind as to why working out is a good thing for me, but hadn't had enough motivation to try it.

I've become so complacent and it's really affecting my perspective. I feel myself reverting to postpartum depression and not caring quite as much, feeling blah and getting easily frustrated. Most days I do what has to be done, but not really pushing myself too much. I rarely talk to anyone besides my kids and Johnny. (I know the door swings both ways & I should reach out to people- I'm not complaining, just stating the truth, as unpleasant as it is.) My point is, I haven't been doing as well as I could.

Today, I changed. (It IS Monday after-all!) I turned on the DVR, so I could listen to The Office while I did the dishes. Only, the episode was mislabeled and had recorded an infomercial instead. It was for Chalene Johnson's TurboFire. It looked really fun actually. Before I knew it, I had watched probably 15 minutes of it. It woke me up- I remembered when I consistently did TurboJam for 90 days and how good I felt and how much fun it was! At that time, I admit I did it for the results. But looking back I got so much more out of it- I felt good about myself, not because of how I looked, but because I was accomplishing something and sticking to something. I realized I did something that was hard and pushed myself and got better at it. I wasn't wasting my time or being selfish. Watching that infomercial today was the personal revelation I needed and had been fasting and praying for. To workout, I needed to do it for the right reason for me. "The results" weren't motivating for me. I couldn't make myself get off the couch and away from the movie to workout by telling myself I want to tone and look like whatever. My epiphany came when I realized I need to workout because I need to do something hard. I need to push myself every day. I need to feel good about myself because I'm doing something good for myself. I need the endorphins! My family needs this. Working out every day will give me that sense of accomplishment and hopefully, I'll be better.

I didn't even watch the whole infomercial, but what I watched was enough to trigger my thoughts and change my way of thinking. So, tonight, after I put the kids to bed, I turned on TurboJam Cardio Party Mix 1 and pushed myself for the entire 43 minutes. It felt great.

Tomorrow night, I'll be ready for The Biggest Loser, without any excuses.

Holiday Fun

2011-12-30T20:03:00.001-06:00

Do you remember that Christmas song? I forget who sings it, but it says "If we make it through December, everything's gonna be alright I know..." It's not a very holiday-ish happy song, but I couldn't help but relate to it for a couple of weeks there. Johnny's courses have taken so much of our time and energy that it really was a struggle just to decorate for Christmas, not to mention shop for gifts. But, I am happy to report that his efforts paid off. He earned "A's" in BOTH 8 week courses!! Cue applause- no wait- I think this calls for a standing ovation! Seriously- the hardest earned "A" in one of the classes, which made for the worst 8 weeks ever.

The semester (for Johnny and the kids) ended December 16 and we have been partying ever since. I can't say enough about how nice it is to have this brea.

Here's a little timeline of what we've been up to:

Sunday, December 18- Johnny was scheduled to work, but because of a low census & nice coworkers, he was put on call. After church, his family drove all the way up here & we celebrated Christmas with them. We had such a good time. After the party, Johnny's brother & sister-in-law were gracious (or crazy) enough to drive our car and all of our kids 1 1/2 hours to their house for 2 nights. Oh- and did I mention they have 5 kids of their own? Yeah- you did the math right- that makes 11 kids! (Ages 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 5, 4, 14 months and 13 months.) Why would they do this? Because Johnny had PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) training in Houston the next 2 days & I was going with him. AND our kids love their cousins! It was a win-win!
Monday, December 19- Wake up at 4:30 AM, get dressed, packed and leave for Houston. We find the location of the class early, so we do a little shopping. Finally its time for Johnny to go to his class, so I drop him off, finish shopping for Christmas and check-in to the hotel (which we booked on Priceline and saved 55%, thank you very much! The hospital will be reimbursing us, but still! Crazy good deal.) Johnny finishes his class, I pick him up, we eat and head back to the hotel to study PALS. Fun.
Tuesday, December 20- Johnny gets to his class and I go by myself (first time) to the temple. It was really nice & I got to see several friends/family members there. I picked Johnny up & after lunch, went back to the temple together. It was a lovely day and we were happy to pick our kids up on our way home. They had a blast!
Friday, December 23- Christmas Eve Eve. We drove down to be with my family. We got there early so we could visit and it was lots of fun. We loved the company, the food and the gifts. In that order.
Saturday, December 24- Christmas Eve! It was cold and rainy but we made the most of every minute. I finished up some shopping, the kids & Johnny had a mini Harry Potter marathon. ?? We cooked 2 chickens (to freeze for meals & to use in our dressing) and smoked a turkey. We enjoyed a Christmas dinner that night- smoked turkey, our favorite dressing (mother-in-law's recipe. Mmm!), and cranberry sauce. Then, the moment the kids waited all day/year for- opening presents! After reading the birth of the Savior in Luke, we sang Christmas songs and, one at a time, opened our gifts. I wanted it to last as long as possible. Then, of course, we read The Night Before Christmas, or rather, Bryn's bear read it to us while I turned the pages. Tucking them in was so sweet. This was our first Christmas in the new house.
Sunday, December 25- Christmas Day and Johnny had to work. (Not that I'm counting, but this was the 3rd year in a row that he had to work on Christmas Day. At least it's a day shift now.) We woke the kids up extra early do they could see what Santa brought before Johnny left for work. Even if you're sleep deprived, that is the most magical moment and really is priceless! The kids got to play a while before we rushed out the door for Sacrament meeting. After church, I dressed back into my pajamas, put Samuel to bed and accidentally slipped into a coma. The kids were oblivious for the most part. Once I came to my senses, Katherine & I made a few pies and reheated our Christmas dinner. It was fun and relaxing. Oh! And Santa was so nice and brought the kids a swingset!!
Monday, December 26- Johnny was put on-call. Yay!
Tuesday, December 27- Johnny on-call AGAIN & HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY to Ella! We celebrated her and worked in the yard. The kids loved playing on the swingset in the beautiful weather. That evening, we had dinner with our friends & watched 17 Miracles. Have you seen it? So amazing!!
Wednesday, December 28- relaxed at home!
Thursday, December 29- Johnny borrowed the neighbors lawn mower - we hasn't mowed since this summer & the grass needed it! Then we took down the tree & put our house back together. It was kind of sad, but it was the only day we had to do it. Then, our friends came over (same ones from Tuesday) and watched The Count of Monte Cristo. Good movie and great company.
Today- We happened to have the same plans as our friends and met up at the zoo. It was so fun to see them and enjoy the amazing animals. We took lots of pictures. Then we had lunch and took the kids to the mall. It was rather boring because everything was so expensive, but we liked looking. We promised to take the kids to Toys R Us, since most of them had never been. They knew they weren't getting anything, unless they had money to spend, but they couldn't wait to see it! Almost immediately, it was a let-down. Yes it's a huge toy store, but they have all of the same toys as Walmart and Target, with a few exceptions. Pretty disappointing.

It's been a great month and we've enjoyed spending time together. Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year.

We have so much to look forward to this coming year. Johnny starts classes again January 17- we'll be more prepared this time. We plan on paying off our car, possibly both cars- that's gonna feel so good! I love having solid/productive plans. It gives me a lot to look forward to and makes me feel like I'm on the right track.

Lessons Learned

2011-12-02T09:08:00.001-06:00

Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." I think that's how it goes.

It's no secret that I have struggled with how to teach my kids. Over the last six weeks, it has become especially burdensome. With Johnny working full-time and taking two 8-week online courses, our schedule has been brutal. One of his courses has been particularly difficult to keep up with and I have been helping Johnny complete his reading and assignments. Some of you know the extent of the work we have put into it. And we still have two weeks until it's over. So far, he has an "A" in the less time-consuming course, and a weak "B" (maybe even a "C") in the "this class is your life and it will kill you before you're done, and it doesn't matter that you spend over 20 hours a week on the assignments, your critical thinking skills are not up to par because I will always ask you vague questions because I know everything and you know nothing and by proving your incompetency, I show my strengths and feel better about myself, AND I will not provide any feedback on your grades or give you any help so that you will need to retake my course and I can do this all over again because it's favorite!" Um...sorry. I might've gotten carried away, but probably not, especially considering that I refrained from calling her a Nazi or using less desirable language, that I may or may not have used within the walls of my own home. :/ It seems like this class brings out the worst in me. I asked Johnny the other day if he would rather do these 8 week courses, or go through my postpartum depression again? "Hands down, these courses!" he said. "Really? Hmmm... I don't know. I guess." I answered. These have been the longest 8 weeks of my life- I realize they're not over yet. Seriously though, all of my pregnancies combined- that would be a total of 8 pregnancies, 2 miscarriages and 1 pregnancy with gestational diabetes- were WAY less stressful than these courses.

Anyway, ahem, where was I? Oh yes, the kids. So just before Thanksgiving, I was especially stressed out. In tears, I expressed my concerns for the kids with Johnny. It's been on my mind for...weeks if not months. I worried that I wasted time, made mistakes and failed miserably. It was difficult to know where the kids should be and how to get there effectively. It has never, NEVER, been my desire to have a "full-time job". You may laugh and say, "Then why do you have 6 kids?" For me, having the kids and raising them comes naturally (not that I always know what to do or how to do it). But structured teaching (lessons, curriculum, etc.), NOT my thing. We agreed it would be better for the kids to attend public school.

Yeah. Don't take it as such a shock. This decision was not made lightly. I've beat myself up pretty badly- thoughts of ridicule from friends and family, school faculty and the repercussions my children would face... This is a sensitive subject for me. Should anyone feel the need to say, "I told you so" or "I never thought homeschooling was a good idea" or "I didn't think you would stick with it" or "You should never have homeschooled" or anything similar... that's fine. That's totally ok, I realize people have opinions- just don't say it to me, or let me hear about it from anyone else. On the other hand, if you have words of encouragement or anything positive to say, I'm all ears. ;)

In order for the kids to go to school, Ella had to get immunizations. I was able to take her (and poor Samuel who was way behind on his) and get shots Tuesday morning. She had to have 5 shots and didn't cry once! Samuel needed 7, but got 4, and, of course, cried. By the time we got to the school and I filled out a boat-load of paperwork, there were about 2-2 1/2 hours left of the school day. Oh well. The kids were SO excited about going, which made it infinitely easier on me. As I walked with the school counselor to each of the kid's classrooms and met their teachers and dropped them off, I almost cried. My emotions were on the edge the whole day.

Picking them up from school the first day wasn't great. Poor Katherine did not have as good of a day as she had anticipated. Her tears could have filled a bucket. By getting there so close to the end of the day, it was a bit of a disruption and the kids were distracted, so the teachers were "stern-fully corrective", and to make matters worse, the boys thought Katherine was pretty! She vowed never to go back. I explained to her that it doesn't work that way and that 2 hours of school was not enough to judge what it is like. The next day, Johnny and I walked the kids into the building and talked to the counselor. She was so helpful and offered to take Katherine to class and make sure she got a "buddy" for the day. She even told Katherine she would visit one of her classes. When I picked them up that afternoon (yesterday), she smiled and said it was fun. She, along with some classmates, got to eat lunch with one of their teachers in the classroom. She is making friends, but still has to deal with the pesky boys that say they are her boyfriends. One of them tried to kick a soccer ball at her, but she dodged it. I explained to her that boys that age show girls they like them by hurting them. Haha! Oh- fifth grade...

Travis, Olivia and Ella are loving school. Ella has especially surprised us, since she has never gone to public school. She says everyone in her class is her friend- she is so confident! Next week, the kindergarten class is going to see the Nutcracker. She is so excited! We are blown away at Olivia's progress, after only a couple of days! She is reading better and has a spelling test today. I worked with her a lot last night, and this morning. I hope she does well! Travis couldn't wait to get to school today. His science class is building circuit boards.

My stress level has gone done exponentially! The other day I made cookies with Bryn. When does that ever happen?! And Johnny was home working on college! Knowing my kids are learning, have good teachers and are having fun makes me feel like I'm being a better mom. Did I mention how nice the school and teachers are? Oh my gosh! The building is like brand new and you can tell how much the teachers/faculty really care. The majority of the students are Hispanic, then Black, then White, etc, so everything is written in English and Spanish. I think there must be a lot of parents that don't speak English. Katherine and Travis have spiral planners that use Stephen R. Covey's 7 Habits! They are teaching the kids how to be successful and effective. You can't help but be impressed!

One of the lessons I've learned by moving here and not enrolling my kids, is that it is important to learn things for yourself and not go by what other people tell you. The things I "knew" about the school were not necessarily false, but they weren't based on personal experience. Now that my kids are there and I have seen it for myself, I am able to judge and make decisions.

I know for sure that the Lord isn't disappointed in me and that homeschooling was not a mistake or waste of time. I know for sure that my kids are okay and learning what they need to learn just like I am. I know FOR SURE, these 8 week courses WILL END, and that regardless of the final grades, graduate school will happen.

Sharing time

2011-11-09T11:14:00.002-06:00

Because every post needs a picture.

I know, I know, enough already. Why don't I just admit defeat and stick my kids on the bus? Well, first-of-all, I am NOT (not even in the least bit) a professional educator. BUT I am a MOM and, as such, have the intuition of knowing the needs of my kids and myself. So when I see a need for improvement, I make adjustments.

Have you ever bought a product that worked okay and then someone told of a similar product that worked even better? For example, I used to clean the bathtub with a soap scum spray and washcloth. It did okay, but took a lot of elbow grease and time. Then, a friend told me about Lysol Bathroom cleaner and Magic Erasers. I decided to give them a try. Oh. My. Gosh. Crazy difference! The bathtub was clean in a matter of minutes and my fingers still had feeling left in them! Now, I'll admit, I've made a few adjustments to the product choices- I now buy the Great Value Bathroom Cleaner because it's cheaper and works just as well, and I found a reusable scrub brush with a long handle that does a great job.

You can relate, right?

So goes my choices in home-school curriculum. I honestly can't remember what we were using a month ago, I'm embarrassed to say. The last couple of weeks we used Lesson Pathways. I liked how the lessons were divided up by weeks and subjects, but I didn't like that the links took you all over the web and some didn't work. While it is a good website, I decided to not use it so exclusively.

I researched online public schools and even began the enrollment process. It didn't take long for me to realize that submitting reports to the state about how long my kids were "in school" and taking them to Tyler for testing was going to be more rigorous than I could handle. So I dropped it.

I'm sure you're curious about what has caught my attention... it's called Education Place from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Although we do not have the textbooks, the kids are able to learn concepts based on subjects and units within the subjects, and practice what they learn. The subjects are Reading/English, Spelling/Vocabulary, Math, Science and Social Studies.

The website is interactive and has excellent lessons. We don't have a lot of the books they suggest for reading, but I've found some of them on YouTube. I signed up for the Book It! Program and received the certificates for the kids to go to Pizza Hut after reading so many books. Within the Reading subject, there is a link to Book Adventure. I've created accounts for the kids so they can take quizzes on the books they read. I like that I am able to control the settings for the quizzes. For example, I can adjust the number of chances they get to pass the quiz, how long they have to complete it, and the percentage they must have correct in order to pass. I've set the older ones to get 2 chances and make at least an 80%, but no timer. The younger girls get 3 chances and have to make 80% as well.

This is another website we love: Storyline Online, from the Screen Actors Guild Foundation (SAG). "A Bad Case of the Stripes" is read by Sean Astin and is especially enjoyable! In case you couldn't tell or haven't noticed, we are big fans of Lord of the Rings and both Sean Astin and Elijah Wood read stories on this site and we love them!

October 14, 2011

Johnny's education is a different story altogether. He is enrolled in online classes for his Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, or BSN, at the University of Texas at Arlington. He's taking 2 8-week courses: English and History. So far he is doing excellent! I'm so proud of him. I've been able to help him with the heavy workload of reading and assignments and have seen how articulate he has become! He really is a good writer! He is better at English than I am, and I thought I was pretty good. Haha! It turns out, I'm good at reading and spelling and he is better with grammar and punctuation. So we make a good team.

Oh- that reminds me. I'm supposed to be in the other room helping him right now. We're trying to finish his History assignments today so we can participate in the Veteran's Day festivities this weekend for our ward. Gotta run!

Kid History Ep. 6

2011-10-29T12:59:00.000-05:00

Since it is possible that some of you have not heard of or seen this video, I'll give a brief introduction ~

It's HILARIOUS!

Watch it. Laugh.

Watch it again. Laugh some more.

Once you regain your composure, show it to someone else!

It's our favorite (besides our own Variety Show videos of course).

New sites

2011-10-13T08:30:00.001-05:00

It shouldn't be surprising that I'm changing up our homeschool...again. As much as I like the concept behind FreeWorldU.org, it just wasn't keeping the kids' interest.

Yesterday morning I did a quick search for math websites and found an incredible, new website.

It's called Internet4classrooms.com. It's free! {otherwise I wouldn't be interested}

Anyone can benefit from this- not just teachers/homeschoolers. There is Grade Level Help for Pre-K through 8th grade as well as Links for Pre-K through 12th. Each subject has links for Current Course Standards and Skill Builders. All of the links take you to other websites that provide the kids

activities/games to teach the concepts.

I bookmarked it and this site: AAAmath.com- this site also has links for AAAspell.com, alphabet practice, vocabulary, spelling, states, nations, and even Sudoku. The math is what I'm mostly interested it- since they have links for subtopics, like place value, measurement, patterns, properties, practical math and mental math. Oh! AND it has SAT/ACT Preps!

My kids LOVE. it! Last night as we put the kids to bed, Travis hugged me and said, "Thanks for finding that new website Mom! I can't wait for school tomorrow!"

It's nice to be the hero every once in a while.

11 on the 11th

2011-10-11T19:08:00.001-05:00

Today Katherine is eleven! We're still celebrating. Right now we're headed to Lufkin to take her to the mall & possibly Best Buy. She loves Taylor Swift and we gave her Taylor's Fearless cd. Best Buy has a DVD of Taylor Swift that was released today- she really wants it!

Today we made her birthday cupcakes- gourmet of course! We found the recipe on Picky-palate.com. It has a chocolate chip cookie inside each cupcake. We can't wait to get home & try them.

This Friday night she wants to campout in our yard. And Saturday she's invited some of her friends over for a birthday party. We'll be partying all week!

Katherine is such a joy to have in our family! (That's actually her middle name.) She is beautiful inside & out. We're very blessed to have her in our family and to call her a friend.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

2011-10-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

"I just like smiling. Smiling's my favorite!"

By far, one of the best movie lines- and a great mantra.

Today I'm smiling because of these people:

Quick update: Johnny supposedly has lupus. "Early, mild" to be exact. I say supposedly because he has been working the night-shift for so long that his circadian rhythm is practically non-existent. That messes you up big time. Good news: He's switched jobs and now works in the ICU at Medical Center (same town, different hospital) on the DAY SHIFT! Our lives have changed dramatically. He loves his job. He loves his coworkers. He even loves his boss! Yeah- that's pretty amazing. And now that he has switched, he is becoming a normal person. He's getting used to sleeping through the night (that is, if Samuel does- no I do not make Johnny get up with the baby, but if the baby gets up, it's inevitable that he'll hear him.). He doesn't have the aches/pains anymore and his entire attitude/temperament is positive. He can't wait to start online classes later this month for his RN-BSN. In 2 years, we'll be moving away for CRNA school.- Johnny's ultimate dream job. We hope to come back here after it's all said and done.

Anyway- back to the health concern. Since switching jobs we are without insurance for 30 days. Our hope/plan is for Johnny to live a normal life- sleep 8 hours each night, eat healthy, exercise for a month or so, then go back and have lab work done to check his ANA level. His Dr. told him this morning, in passing, that he thinks Johnny should go back in 6 mos and that stress/sleep deprivation could be what raised his ANA levels to start with. Nice!

It's amazing what a difference it's made in him switching jobs. We have discussed why the timing has been what it's been- remember when we prayed and were told not to switch jobs? For whatever reason, the timing has been good for us now and we feel that it has a lot to do with him starting school. Before, when we prayed about it, it was a job change for money and school wasn't a priority. Now it is and we're making it happen.

It feels good to know that we are where we should be, doing what we should be doing with the people we should be with. That's enough to make anyone smile.

Chew on this!

2011-08-26T20:54:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, it's Friday... the end of the school week- the FIRST school week of the FIRST home-school year. I bet you're anxious to see how it went. I guess I might as well fess up. It turns out, I don't exactly know what I'm doing. Shocking, huh? (As if my last couple of related posts didn't give it away.)

Here's a play by play:

Tuesday morning, I was ready to go! The kids had breakfast and things were on track for starting by 9 a.m. (That's not too late, is it?) Johnny didn't have to go to bed until lunchtime, so he was up working on an application (job related). He needed a little help, so we worked on it together and school started late. No biggie- it's the first day and I don't want to burn out, so I don't stress about it. By late afternoon (3ish I think), the kids' lessons were winding down and I was mentally exhausted. But I did manage to make meatloaf for supper and everyone liked it! (Score!)

Wednesday: School started around 9:30. It was hard to pace the kids lessons- they did too many Language Arts lessons on Tuesday and were now behind on other subjects, so we tried to catch up with those. I told myself, "It's okay, we're just getting started and we have to find our rhythm." Really, I was losing my confidence and motivation, but chocked it up to fatigue. (Are you having trouble going to bed early?)

Thursday: School started late again. (Can't help it- Johnny gets home from work in the mornings, so that's our time to catch up on things.) I sat the kids down and explained how school needed to change and we made a board outlining the lessons for each day:

While Olivia, Travis & Katherine worked on the computers, I folded laundry in the den. (A week's worth at least. *sigh*) I watched them do their lessons and after I finished, I checked to see how they did. Poor Olivia didn't understand and did the best she could, but had to do her lessons all over again- with my help. She was frustrated, I was frustrated and I couldn't help but wonder if it was going to ever come together? I began to mourn the time I would be spending with Bryn and Samuel and worried I was robbing from them somehow. Second guessing everything all over again and finding no answers, I took a nap. A much needed nap. I decided it was too early to quit and too late to change my mind.

After a few hours, I was ready to hit it again. I jumped online and began to reorganize and prepared to print lots more pages of lesson plans- to work as a check-off system. I still felt like we were just checking boxes though and wondered if the kids were "mastering" anything. Anyway, I thought I might find some support through Time4Learning's forum- to see if there were other's in my area using that curriculum. There weren't, but I did find something better! Someone had posted a link to a free online curriculum (there were actually several, but this one far surpasses them all!). I followed the link and was amazed!

The site is called FreeWorldU.org. It's an accredited pre-K through 12 online curriculum. It is free, unless you want to track your child's/student's progress with reports and get a high school diploma, then it's $90/mo. You can change to the pay option at any time and they have support for everyone. They have researched every aspect of education! Did you know that there are approximately 2 million homeschoolers in the K-12 range and that this number is growing at the rate of 30% annually? (direct quote) That's amazing to me! The biggest problem I have with public school is that they are only teaching kids how to pass a test- there's no retention of knowledge. FreeWorldU addresses this, they call it "teach to the test". There are so many aspects that really caught my attention- "Superlearning", the kids can work at their own pace- and different grade levels (like 6th grade Social Studies and 3rd grade math, if needed). There are classes like "Character Development", "Manners", "Study Skills" and "Social Issues" in elementary school! :) Sounds like a winner, huh?

Needless to say, I promptly cancelled my membership with Time4Learning (no offense to them or anyone who uses them) and signed up ALL of my kids (except Samuel of course) with Free World U. It felt right- I don't feel so worried about how I'm going to make sure they're mastering everything and having time for fun. Since we can go at our own pace, I feel like we might do year-round school and take breaks as needed. (A friend at church does that and says it's great for them- there's no "first day of school/last day of school"- they just go with the flow and her kids learn at a good pace.)

This probably makes me sound wishy-washy, but I can't help it. I wasn't "sold" on Time4Learning, but I didn't know where else to start. Hopefully I won't come back and tell you that I changed my mind again. Haha! ;) Keep checking in... you never know!

BUT- that's still not as impressive as Ella losing her first tooth! She announced this morning that it was loose. When I checked, it was VERY loose- I don't know how we missed it all this time (even through the brushing and flossing)? All day she asked questions like, "Mom, can I eat this Ravioli? I don't want it to hurt my loose tooth." & "I can't drink out of a cup, I need a sipper cup or a straw because I have a loose tooth." I explained to her that she had a loose tooth, not a broken arm, and she would be able to do everything like normal. Silly girl!

Katherine offered to pull it for her tonight.

Ella excitedly accepted and said it didn't even hurt!

Katherine is a great photographer.

See the little pearly white in the bag?

She's all ready for the Tooth Fairy! (I hope she doesn't forget.)