Family Fun Night

We decided to have a "Family Fun" night this evening.  It seems like this week we have had some challenges with the girls and dealing with some heart issues on the way they treat each other.  They are sweet, sweet girls with hearts that have Jesus in them, but learning to live together and share things can be tough sometimes when you are 2, 4, and 6 years old.  I was thinking and praying today about the girls and thought that it would be so fun to leave the drama in the past and enjoy an evening together as a family.  Just calling it "Family Fun" night made it exciting and enticing for the girls.  Knowing that we were all going to spend the evening together sure lifted up their spirits.  We started with cooking dinner together.  The girls set the table with paper plates and candle light.  We had to have all the lights off in the house, which made it interesting while eating dinner.  Mya wrote all of our names on sticky notes and put it on our plates so we knew where to sit.  I particularly liked the place setting for "Dod" (instead of "Dad").  Even Chloe had a place setting on her highchair.  We had a lovely dinner together with the typical scene where Mya ate her food speedy fast while talking a lot, Sara was still eating her dinner an hour later with no complaining, and Chloe had her daily bath because she is a messy eater and puts her dirty hands in her hair at every meal.  After dinner we took a family trip to Wal-Mart and Starbucks.  The evening was very nice and definately "fun" for all of us.  The best part was listening to all three girls giggle in the backseat of the car.  I love hearing their belly laughs!

This week I finished my online continuing education class and can finally renew my teaching license.  It will be nice to have that done and have five more years to take 6 credit hours again.  I am still running and lifting weights in the morning and enjoying that time.  I have another 5K race on Saturday.  I am hoping for some warmer weather and a faster pace for this race (except I think it is going to snow).  Saturday afternoon Dan and I are going to Columbus, without the kids, to meet my college roommate and her husband for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  We all had gift certificates from Christmas and decided to do a double date to use them.  Dan and I will finish Easter basket shopping while we are there.  We are also doing a bible study together and the assignment for this week was to go on a date and do something that we used to do together for fun (before kids).  Spending time at Easton shopping was one of our favorite things to do.  Even though we are shopping for the kids, it will still bring back fond memories.

Wishy Washy

I have had an interesting week.  Last week I posted about choosing to home school the girls.  But right after that decision I found myself still questioning.  I am searching for that complete peace about their schooling.  Currently I feel confident about schooling Sara next year.  I am excited to design the year for her where she will have many social experiences in the community and academics at home.  I had a friend randomly drop off curriculum at my house and it was preschool and kindergarten material.  So I have everything to school her and feel very good about it.  Mya is the one I am still not sure about.  She does so well at the christian school and is very happy there.  I am still praying for a peace with her.  The good thing is that I don't have to decide for a while about her.  I have some time to rest on that decision.  I realize I am writing the word "I" when I talk about these decisions, but Dan has been wonderful with helping me through this process too.  It is a family decision, although home schooling would be on my shoulders if I do it.  All I can say is that I have found myself to be wishy washy with these decisions, but that reminds me that things must be getting in the way of hearing God's voice.  There are pressures about what people think and what I should or shouldn't do from what society says and these are clouding the way to hearing God.  The path of being a christian can be a tough one because we have to truly surrender ourselves to let God rise above and fulfill His plan for our lives.  I am so glad He is the one in control and not me because it would be messy if I were in charge.  I know all of this will become clear as I practice surrendering and listening.

Valentine's Day

I love holidays that involve gifts.  I love getting them and receiving them.  So it isn't a surprise that we gave the kids their gifts early.  I was too excited to wait!  Except now the day has arrived and they wonder why they aren't getting any more presents.  Oops!

I asked for some jeans for my present so I went and picked them out myself.  Love them!!  I read an article recently about "mom" jeans and how to make sure you pick the right jean for your body type. So I am working on that....nice embellishment on the jean pockets=)

The jeans were fun, but the best part was going to dinner with Dan last night....all by ourselves....at Olive Garden.  I got my favorite dessert Tiramisu...yum!  And then Dan came home from work today with a dozen roses for me.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Education

Have you ever wondered why families home school?  I have thought about that often over the years.  I have gone back and forth about whether it was right for us.  I have wrestled for quite some time about the kid's education.  I have wondered what would be the best thing for them and for me.  I have researched and prayed and researched and prayed about it.  And I finally came to the decision to try it out next year.  We love the christian school that Mya attends.  But it is a financial sacrifice on one income.  I feel like while our kids are very young that they would really benefit from me being able to teach them all sorts of things at home.....like faith, social skills, responsibility, manners, etc.  Being home with them is quite a gift and I just want to try this out and see how it goes.  I am filled with nervousness, excitement and wonder as I prepare for next year.  It is quite a decision to make and such a responsibility to take on.  But now that I have made the decision, I am enjoying reading about the history of home schooling, choosing curriculum and learning about the law and schooling at home.

While reading on different websites I was reminded today that the most important thing I can do with my children is to love and nurture the relationship I share with them.  So what specifically motivates me to want to try this?  I only see benefits with building a family bond, having flexibility with schedules, allowing my kids to work at their own pace, and exploring community classes to encourage creativity (which I lack). It is a year by year and kid by kid decision.  If it isn't working for our kids, then we will try something else. Dan and I don't look down on the decisions of other families and their child's educational placement.  Public school is right for some kids, christian school is right for some and homeschooling is right for some.  It really is a unique decision that each family gets to make.

So here I am entering into something new for our family.  I am excited about the challenge of it.  I know there is quite a bit of work to come as I gather curriculum and develop lesson plans for each child.  Juggling Chloe will be a challenge, but nap time will become very important to us. I know it will not be easy, but I am so willing to give it a try!

Things I Never Thought I Would Enjoy Doing

I have this picture on the desktop of our computer.  It reminds me of our adventures.  This was an actual road that we saw and drove on and it was amazing.  Looking at this scenery reminds me of all the changes that occurred while we were gone.  God grew us in so many ways.  I think about all the things I am doing now that I never thought I would enjoy doing.

Today I came home to the wonderful aroma of homemade chicken broth in my crock pot.  I never thought I would make something like that.  I have actually learned to love cooking.  I never thought I would like that.  I had so much extra time to myself while we were gone and it allowed me to explore the world of cooking.

I am spending so much more time with my children and enjoying those moments.  While we were gone I was forced to spend 100% of my time with them and I learned so much about them. Today I watched Sara write her name all by herself for the first time.  What an honor to see that happen.

And improving our nutrition and drinking green smoothies????  Who ever thought I would be drinking one of those or that my whole family would drink them...including the husband who doesn't like vegetables.  Chloe begs for the smoothie when I make them each morning.  I love when my kid has a green mustache. And I love that they are learning what healthy foods are for their bodies.

 We are finally very settled back home and I love being home.  I love our house and the comfort of home.  But I am so thankful for the way that our crazy adventures changed me for the better. Would we have done some things differently......you bet!  But God's grace is sufficient no matter what we are experiencing.

Old Friends

We have been busy this past week.  Last weekend we drove to Zanesville to visit my college roommate and her family.  How wonderful to have a friend from the past still remain a close friend!  I remember the day we met very clearly.  We were at a sorority function as freshmen in college.  We didn't know anyone and somehow we ended up sitting beside each other.  We walked home together from the event and I remember blurting out how much I would love to have her as a roommate.  It was like I just knew we were meant to be friends.  It is one of those friendships where you can be apart for years and when you come together it is like time has never passed.  We spent Saturday and Sunday at their house. On Saturday we took the kids roller skating.  That was pretty funny.  I was trying to remember how to roller skate, meanwhile I had Mya and Sara hanging on me trying to figure it out too.  Luckily they had a walker for Sara to skate with.  After skating, we had a wonderful pot roast dinner at home.  Our kids got along beautifully....all 5 girls.  After we put the kids to bed that night, we did something pretty crazy.  We did Wii Dance!  Oh yes, can you picture Dan dancing?  I just about wet my pants watching the dancing.  And the fact that our kids were asleep and four adults decided to dance around for an hour was hysterical to me.  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.  It was wonderful.  We headed home on Sunday and settled back in.  It was a refreshing weekend.  I think we will be buying some Wii games soon.  I would like to secretly work on my dance moves when no one is watching!

Dan had a good week at work last week.  He had a surprise one day at work.  His boss called him to his office to tell him that they have been underpaying him.  So they are going to make up for the difference that they owe him and raise his pay.  That was a very honest thing for the company to do and pleasant for us.  

This coming weekend I will be running at 5K race.  I just signed up today so now I am committed.  I am hoping to break my personal record and get a good time.  I have been trying to increase my speed when I run in the mornings so hopefully that hard work has paid off.  

Last week I had a consultation with the vein surgeon.  Unfortunately our insurance denied the surgery so it will be put off for a bit.  I have to wear compression hose for three months to show that the non conservative approach doesn't work.  So we have another appointment in three months and then hopefully insurance will accept the request.  I have been longing to have my leg fixed for so long now.  I pray that this all goes smoothly for us.  

Well, back to my skittles and movie.  

Playing Catch Up

I thought I would catch everyone up on the past six months of activity with our family.  We got home from California on July 4th and that night experienced our first thunderstorm.  We hadn't heard one in a very long time.  It was marvelous!  The rest of the summer was fun because the kids got to swim often.  In the Fall we celebrated two birthdays.  Chloe turned 2 and Mya turned 6 years old.  Mya desperately wanted a party at Chuck E Cheese so we granted her that wish.  She had so much fun in the overstimulating environment.  It is wild in that place.  Then before Thanksgiving we started with the cold and flu in our house.  We all got chest colds first.  Dan and I had trained to run a half marathon and had to pull out the day before.  We were so sad about that.  It has been a while since we have been able to run a race together.  After we recovered from the colds....we got hit with the flu.  One day I started with a random cough and felt kind of funny.  I was up all night coughing.  Then I started with the fever and body aches.  I was in bed for three days.  Luckily I was sick over the weekend so Dan was able to take care of me and the girls.  After I got the flu, Chloe got it and the next day Sara got it and the next day Mya got it.  It was a long two weeks of being stuck inside.  But finally Christmas came and we were all healthy.  We had a wonderful Christmas together.  Each year it is more fun because the girls understand the holiday and of course enjoy the presents.  We feel so blessed!

Chloe turned 2!

Mya turned 6!

Catching tickets at Chuck E Cheese

Halloween princesses

Halloween ladybug

Christmas 2012 

Modeling dresses made by my dear friend in California