Week in review

Last week was a busy week, getting ready to be off for Spring Break.  We are behind in our schooling with our move but I have it worked out where we will finish school on June 17th and be off for 2 months, restarting a new year on August 17th. Our days aren't dictated by a schedule but more of a relaxed routine.  Cade has his schedule for the week and if we want to do something fun, he simply doubles up before or after.  Jenna's schooling is fitted in throughout the day.  Sometimes she's in the mood to do alot at once and then go play or sometimes she does a little and then wants to go do something else.  I'm okay with that.  Sometimes we even do school on the weekends.  Whatever works for her.

We can tell Spring is here.  This is what I saw on my walk/jog last week.

Aren't they the cutest things EVER???  We like to walk over and feed them.  They're so cute the way the chirp and run around to grab the bread.

We also head to different parks on Fridays to play with friends.

 

Sometimes we take breaks and play in front of our house.  It's just been too beautiful to stay indoors.

Cade is so good to play with them most of the time and of course, they love it!

Some of the Friday playdates include a round of HORSE or something with Mr. Brian.

 

Jenna has been asking to get her hair cut.  On a mom and Jenna outing we decided spur of the moment to do just that.

She's so beautiful, don't you think??

and then the final.  She loves it and so do I. It's still long enough to make a ponytail and braid. And she can brush it herself now.  She had problems when it was so long. 

One day we had a very very spur of the moment decision to go to the park in lieu of naps (we won't do that again!!)

And one snapshot of our sweet Maggie.

Her walks around the lake wear her out. :-)

I caught pink eye last week. How?  Who knows, but it's so contagious it could have been at a store.  The doctor said it was one of the worst cases she has ever seen, if not ever.  My eyes were so swollen-top and bottom. They are still not completely healed, but now they look like I have allergies, so not so bad.

 

Anniversary trip

Jeff took me to San Antonio for the weekend to celebrate our 14 year anniversary. We stayed at The Contessa on the Riverwalk and it was simply amazing. Jeff surprised me with this and we had a view of the river and at night it was absolutely beautiful with all of the lights. It was so peaceful to walk, shop and talk, uninterrupted. You know what I mean! :-) We walked the river and of course, bought presents for the kids, because that's what we do. We had dinner at Fogo de Chao and I'm sure I messed up the spelling on the name. It's a brazillian restaurant that rated 5 stars in my opinion. However, I do not believe it is a place for kids so don't take them expecting they will like it unless they're really into that kind of thing. We walked around for a bit but by that time the drunks were coming out and that was not very enjoyable so we headed back to the hotel. I love being able to reconnect with Jeff when we can. We talk about things other than the kids but we do talk about them. I really enjoyed the quick get-away! But I also loved when the kids came home and knocked me over with their hugs. I love my life.

14 years

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband, Jeff! I love you so very much! 14 years ago today, how could I have ever predicted we'd have 4 kids, live in Houston, I'd be a stay at home AND homeschooling mom (and love it)? You make me a better person. Thank you for the Godly man you have become and for leading our family in love. I'm looking forward to forever with you babe! XOXOXO

We've Moved!

The last few months have brought about some major changes-the biggest being our move to Houston. Jeff accepted a much better position at a different company. We actually thought we were moving to Austin. Sometimes it is soooo funny how God works things out. Jeff interviewed in Austin, Houston wasn't really on our radar. The day they called with the offer, it was an amazing one....in Houston. We have never looked back. It was very hard to leave all of our friends and my mom in Whitehouse. I was terribly worried about our 12 year old son, Cade, who did not want to move. I was nervous about leaving my mom-we've never lived more than an hour from each other. :) But God has worked it all out. Cade immediately made friends in our new neighborhood and has been very happy. We are visiting a Church that our kids LOVE. Especially Cade. It's a small church with an even smaller youth group. Apparently this is right up Cade's alley. Our Wednesday nights at our old church were too big for him. This is a much more intimate setting and he is thriving. Who knew!! We've beeing going on regular playdates on Fridays and the little kids really look forward to that. Luke gets to hang with other little boys which I love. His sisters can be a bit overwhelming at times. :) I've been trying to get Cade into track but that's not working out like I wanted so far, so he may have to play soccer. He suggested it and as long as he's active, we don't really care. We'll be putting Jenna back in gymnastics soon, that's where her heart lies. Homeschooling is going great and even better for me since we have our dedicated classroom. I much more organized this way. We turned the formal dining area into a classroom. Jenna will finish Kindergarten this year and Cade will be heading to Jr. High. Time continues to march on.

Hello Again

Our life has been really busy this school year. We started another year and now Jenna is in Kindergarten. So I am officially homeschooling two kids this year and I started babysitting my neighbor's (and friend) baby. So far, so good! Cade is finishing up his first season of tackle football-last game this Friday. He has enjoyed it but not getting tackled. Ha! Jenna also started gymnastics and absolutely loves it. Cloee and Luke just like playing. Our homeschool week is typically Monday-Thursday. Fridays are reserved for possbile cleaning, fun at the park, etc. Jeff is currently not working on Fridays-the company has had to let a lot of people go, so we're thankful for just a cut in hours. Although I can't see us being able to do that long term. We'll just keep praying! However, it has really been nice having him home on Fridays!! We usually get up slowly and I first do school with Jenna while Cade entertains Cloee and Luke. At this point, Kindergarten does not take very long. Typically about an hour each day unless there is art or a craft to do. Jenna loves it but does not like handwriting! I think it gets boring for her. Cade starts his school after I finish with Jenna. Most of his work he does independently now. I have finally discovered audiobooks and that has helped him tremendously. Cade HATES to read. He has Dyslexia and an Auditory processing disorder that goes along with it. Reading is not fun for him. He is currently reading Johnny Tremain. I found an audiobook on iTunes and bought it for him as well. So while he listens to it on his iPod he follows along in his book. He says it's so much better this way. So from now on, I will try to find audiobooks of the books I have already purchased for him to read this year. Cade's curriculum for this year: ~Horizons Math. I absolutely love this curriculum and hope they will continue to go through high school. They currently only go to 9th grade I believe. ~LifePac Bible. ~Apologia Science ~Rod and Staff English. This is our first year with Rod and Staff and I LOVE, LOVE it! ~ A Beka American History. ~ Wordly Wise Vocabulary-Love this program ~ January we will start a writing program but I forget which one and don't have it handy. ~Missions. Cade will be going on a mission trip in November to Rio Bravo and also for Spring Break. He will also be going with Jeff and I to work on a lady's home who fosters children and needs some sprucing up in the home. That will be the first Saturday in November. So several missional opportunities coming up! Jenna's curriculum this year: ~Heart of Dakota curriculum: this covers everything except handwriting, phonics and math. ~ Math~ Saxon. We are enjoying this curriculum. Each day is calendar work and then some type of manipulative work. ~Explode the Code (for phonics). I really like this program and Jenna is sailing right through it. ~A Reason for Handwriting. I like it and it's easy. She just doesn't like to focus on it for very long so some times we do half at one time and the other half later. It's only one sheet per day. Her curriculum includes many read alouds. Currently we are reading Reddy Fox. The kids are doing great. We seem to be busy! Taking care of Mattie is super easy. The kids absolutely adore her. She's about to be 5 months now and fits right into our crazy family!

6 months

Luke has been with me for 6 months and at home for 5 months. It seems like he has been with us forever and yet it's hard to believe 6 months have already passed.

Our life is a lot busier with 4 kids! Jeff's work schedule changed and it was not for the better because it took him out of town for days and days at a time. But we are still so thankful that he has a job and one that allows me to stay at home and raise our children.

Back to Luke:

He is now is 2t clothes-where as he was in 12 months in February when we were in Congo together. He is growing! And boy can he put the food away.

He is now in size 6 shoes-he was in size 3 in February.

He weighed around 21 lbs I think in February. Maybe less. He is now 27 lbs. Not sure about inches.

His vocabulary is really improving! I can understand so much of what he says. This is from a child who in February had never uttered a word-did not talk at all nor babble.

His smile lights up a room and he adds so much happiness to our lives and completes our family.

He is a joy. He fits into our family perfectly.

He sleeps in his own bed in his room he shares with his brother. He only sometimes ends up in bed with us, which is fine with me.

He is adventurous, He loves his siblings, He gives the biggest and best hugs.

He loves us to sing to him before bed.

He tells me, "I uv oo, mama" and my heart melts.

Thank you God for my newest son!

The picture above is in Congo.
The pictures below are from this summer.

Track and Field-Temple

Cade has joined the HEAT. Home Educated Athletes of Tyler. He just finished his first year of track. The following pics are of the big track meet in Temple. I met so many nice families. What Jeff and I both noticed is that the kids congratulated EVERYONE after each race. They patted the winners and losers on their backs. They talked to them. They encouraged each other and others on different teams. We have NEVER seen this before and were more than a little shocked. This is the way sports should be. The kids all made new friends, played in the sand, picked flowers, had a picnic on the sidewalk. One other major thing we have noticed is that age doesn't matter in friendship. The older kids (boys AND girls) talked to Cade, included him, everything! It was so nice to see. It was great actually. These are Christian kids that Cade can really look up to and we love that they include him.