Sneak Peak

We had family pictures taken on Saturday.  The temperature was in the low 60's and Chloe didn't cooperate much, but I think we still got some good shots out of the day.  We haven't seen all that was taken, but our photographer, Jenny, put some sneak peaks on Facebook for us.

Loose Ends Updates

Just after posting today.....two things started coming together.

I met with Mya's principal this morning and finalized plans for her next year. She will take art and music at the school and can join her first grade class on field trips.  They will also assess her at the end of the year. So I gave them the check to solidify that. I also found out that I can rent textbooks from the school for $10 a book rather then buying all of my own curriculum. That decision saved me a lot of money! I will purchase her reading curriculum, but will rent science, social studies and math. It was so comforting to see all of that come together. I am so excited to have this time with my girls. When I was first deciding to do this and had so much anxiety about answering questions from people who wanted to know why I would home school...I always thought I needed to have some deep, convincing argument to back it up. But you know what? Whether it works out or not, I am going to have this time with my girls, watching them learn and grow and even if it is for a short time...I know I won't regret it.  All I have left to do is actually purchase the curriculum for both girls and we will be ready to go. I already have an itemized list of what I need to buy.

And the vehicle situation is coming together too.  When we started looking at vehicles, I was asking for a van. But then I found an SUV at an used car lot in town and test drove it. I fell in love with it. But I took it to the car mechanic and found out how much work it needed. And the brand of car was questionable for us. So after discussing that with Dan, he and I looked at other models of SUVs and prices. The used car lot owner worked with us too to look at auction prices. The SUVs turned out to be out of our price range and not the brand of car that we felt comfortable with. So then we went back to the van. We are watching the auctions and waiting to find the one that has the right mileage at the right price for us. Dan is going to work with the car dealer on Monday to check out our options and hopefully make a decision. When weighing the pros and cons of the SUV versus the van for a family of five we decided that the van made the most sense. My SUV dream can come true when the kids grow up:)  For now, practicality has to trump a want and I am okay with that. It is a blessing to be able to buy a bigger vehicle to provide comfort for me and the girls. I am so pumped!

Loose Ends

A lot has been going on lately. I feel like I have all of these loose ends to tie up right now.  I feel like I have a ton of projects going on that are not complete and I am trying to juggle them all.  They are all good things, just happening at the same time.

For starters, I am just curious.  If I planted 18 red geraniums and chose one pink one by accident, do you think I should fix it?  Now that they are blooming I just noticed the one pink flower. Should I go buy one red geranium and replace it with the pink one?  I am a little bothered by that. What would you do?  I realize this is very random in this blog entry, but it sort of is a loose end....just not a serious one.....ha ha.

So on to more important things and loose end #1!  We are going through the process of finding an used vehicle.  We will be selling the 1999 Honda (the first car I ever purchased on my own) and upgrading to something that allows the kids to buckle themselves in the car.  I just can't do the three car seats in the back of the Honda Accord anymore.  It is time to move on.  The search for that perfect vehicle is proving to be tedious.  I will be glad when we finally make a decision.  Part of the impatience on my part is that I am super excited to get the vehicle and drive it NOW.  I am having a hard time waiting this process out.  I'll post a picture once we make a decision.  The poor guy at the car lot has seen me the last three days in a row.  I told him to get used to seeing my face for a while.

Loose end #2.....involves our oldest, Mya.  For a long time she has had difficulty going to sleep at night and staying asleep.  When we were in California the family had the stomach flu really bad.  Ever since then she has been terrified of throwing up.  So she says she has a stomach ache every night and wakes up 3 to 4 times a night to check in with me.  It feels like having a newborn in the house.  We are all sleep deprived.  I took her to the doctor yesterday to start the process of identifying how to handle this.  We have tried everything from behavior charts to addressing her fears with compassion to disciplining and nothing works.  The doctor is going to test her thyroid and a few other things to rule out any medical conditions.  We tend to think that she is in such a routine with waking up that she doesn't know how to sleep all night.  So we continue to pray for her and try to find the answer to her difficulties.  There is definately anxiety involved and I want to help her learn how to deal with that too.  We have talked about trying counseling with her too.  Where is the parent's manual when something like this happens?  Hasn't anyone written one yet?

Loose end #3......home schooling the girls next year is official.  I received the letter from the city schools giving me permission to school them next year.  I am very excited, but it is quite a process to choose curriculum and set schedules and fill out paperwork, etc. I will be teaching with Classical Conversations and will get trained in that curriculum this summer, which will be fun.  And we will have Mya take elective classes at the christian school so I have to get all of that set up too.  I know it will all come together, but there are many details to consider.

Loose end #4......my vein surgery has been approved and is scheduled for June 25.  Dan will take me to the surgery, which will be fun to spend the day with him.  I am not nervous about the surgery, but I hope and pray that the majority of the bulging veins will be gone and I will finally wear shorts for the first time in years.  It will be a glorious day!

Loose end #5.....essential oils and learning new things to do at home.  I planted my first batch of cherry tomatoes in pots.  I am very curious to see if I can pull this off.  I do not have a green thumb of any kind.  The only reason my geraniums do so well is because I have really good soil in the spot that I plant them.  And my kids water them for me.  So planting garden vegetables is very new to me.  I continue to learn and experiment with my essential oils.  I love them!  I would very much like to actively sell them....meaning teach classes...and start that business, but it seems like the time isn't right just now.  I have too many other things to think about and do not have the energy to actively sell anything right now.  But I consider it a blessing when people ask about it and I can order the product for them.  It seems like every week I meet someone new, have them over for a play date, and make them a green smoothie with essential oils in it.  And they are hooked!  I have a list of things I want to do with the oils like make my own deodorant, cleaning products and become educated on the business for when I do sell.

Loose end #6.....the kid's behaviors.  It is time to bring out the tomato staking book again and start over.  The kid's have forgotten about obeying the first time, right away, all the way, with a happy heart.  It has become more evident to me that we have fallen into the trap of asking them multiple times to do things.  They think it is okay to do their own thing until we raise our voice and then they know we are serious.  They should know we are serious when we ask them to do something the first time.  Gotta work on that this summer.

There are more little loose ends, but I think that is enough for now.  I think within the next month all of these will culminate....maybe all around the same time.  That will be good.  Just in time for summer and fun with my kids.  We have a great summer planned and I can't wait to enjoy it with them!

Leg Surgery Update

I just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers regarding my vein surgery.  I had my appointment today and it was very encouraging.  They did an ultrasound and will be resubmitting all of that to the insurance company.  I should hear within the next few weeks if it is approved.  My surgeon wants to do the laser surgery first and if that doesn’t take care of everything then he will do a second procedure called a phlebectomy.  They are optimistic about the approval going through.  On a very fun note, my surgeon asked me to be a “vein model” for a conference coming up in June for Cleveland Clinic.  I guess I have an unusually bad vein, broken valve and really bad reflux in the veins.  And it is something he wants to show off at his conference to his colleagues.  So we will wait to have the surgery until late June or July....pending insurance approval.  I am very excited to be chosen to be a model….even if it is to show my ugly leg.  I am cool with that=) But if it helps other surgeons with fixing veins then I am all in.  I am very excited!

"Home"

Yesterday was one of those "perfect" days for me.  I know there really aren't perfect days, but it was pretty close.  I started with the race in the morning, breakfast with my family, spread mulch with Dan, got my hair done and went on a date with three other couples in the evening.  The date night was like no other.  We went square dancing!

When we came back from California we joined up with a new Sunday school class.  We really enjoy the class.  From day one we have felt very comfortable and we enjoy the couples in that class so much.  A few weeks ago one of the girls in class sent an email out inviting us to try square dancing at Malabar Farm.  So we joined up with some couples and ventured into a new experience.  We ate at Malabar Inn for dinner and then promptly arrived for our 7:00 square dancing session.  The barn was full....and luckily it was full of inexperienced dancers.  The lady singing and calling the moves was wonderful with us.  She had a great sense of humor and enjoyed watching all of our mess ups.  As the evening progressed we started to call ourselves experts.  Once we got the promenade and swing move down we were good to go.   Last night we did something new and fun and exciting and it was so good for me and Dan.  It was a time when we laughed for the evening and forgot about all other stresses.  We simply enjoyed each other's company.

But here was the best part....sort of a lesson for the evening. I made an observation that just warmed my heart.  As we did the dances we would start with our spouse as our partner.  But as the dances progress you often switch partners around the circle until you return to your original partner.  One particular dance had one girl swing with each man around the circle and then she would return "home" to her spouse. And then the next girl would do the same thing until we each had a turn. I watched as this was going on.  I watched as the girl would dance with the other men and find her way back to her spouse.  I watched the body movements and facial expressions as she found her way back to her spouse.  And when she finally got "home" and made physical contact with her spouse, you could see her relax and become herself again in his arms.  As couples, they each had a unique way of fitting together.  You could see that she felt like she was finally "home."  It was the neatest thing.  And I experienced that too.  Each time I found my way back to Dan I felt like I was where I was supposed to be.  His smell, his physique and the way he held me told me that I was back in my comfort zone.  It was good to feel that and know that God uniquely designed marriage so we can experience that with our spouse.

Correction

My pace was actually 7:07 for a total time of 22:03!

First PR Ever!

Recently I have been training to run faster for my 5K races and the training has paid off.  I will say that diet plays such a big part in that process.  I have increased my raw vegetables and decreased night time eating and that has made me faster.  I was the top female to win the race today...came in 5th out of 200 people.  But before you get all excited about that I must mention that all my fast running buddies in my age group weren't there today.  I will thank them for that!  There is a half marathon and full marathon in Toledo tomorrow so they are gone for that.  I ran at a 7:18 pace today, which is awesome for me.  My last 5K was 8:00 pace so I certainly knocked some time off.  The weather and temperature were so perfect for running. And after all of that....they forgot to announce me as a winner at the awards ceremony.  Bummer!  But it was all good because Dan surprised me by bringing the girls to the race so they were there at the finish line when I came in.  Pure fun! And then we enjoyed a large breakfast at Bob Evans after the race.