Memorial Day 2005

On this Memorial Day 2005, I'd just like to take a moment and remember all of the people who have served our great country in the various wars throughout the years who have paid the ultimate price for freedom...for our freedom...And also to give you these words to reflect upon...

We dare not forget today that we are heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage ---and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge --- and more.

~John F. Kennedy, from his inaugural address on January 20, 1961

Time Flies...

Jake started on cereal last week...(Check him out in the pic below) I can't believe he's four months old already! Time sure does fly...He liked it, but much to my dismay ~ It makes no difference in whether he will sleep through the night or not ~ I even tried some in his bottle at night - but alas...I guess I am destined to be sleep deprived for a while longer...He's lucky he's such a cutie!!

Enjoying Life...

I haven't had a chance until now to get back to my blog...I guess I have been too busy enjoying life...

Yesterday was one of my daughter's last softball games for the season...Every Saturday for the past few weeks the weatherman has been calling for rain and every Saturday morning we get up and thankfully, it isn't raining, so we head off to her game...But yesterday turned out to be a really gorgeous day ~ We also had my brother & his family come out to see Becky play...My other brother was supposed to come to the game, too - But he was taking advantage of sleeping in on a Saturday morning (he obviously has no kids!) Anyway, after the game we got Slurpees at 7-11(tried the new Darth Dew flavor - Very tasty and a very pretty shade of purple, I must say!) and then headed home to have lunch and hangout time at our house and the cousins got to play with each other for a while ~

Today at church we had special guests visiting from the Teen Challenge program. It was very inspiring to hear their testimonies about how they entered the program, got saved and have been cleansed from their drug addicitions and other circumstances and now are living a life for God...Now I am just catching up on my blog (obviously) and then planning out our week for school to try and finish up and have the summer off from official schoolwork...We have Co-Op tomorrow and the kids are very excited to see their friends...and I am determined to get to do some scrapbooking this week ~ I haven't been able to do any since Jake was born...

Oh well, I am off to enjoy the rest of my afternoon...Hope you are enjoying yours, too!

Everything You Do Is Significant...

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." ~Colossians 3:23

The past week or so has been very challenging in our house ~ Now, I am not talking about life or death issues here, just the usual mundane things of this world...We've had to deal with things like flat tires, babies waking up numerous times in the middle of the night, migraines, busy schedules, and things of this sort...As the mom of the house, I have been growing a little weary with trying to keep it all together for everyone...

But, I was reading a chapter in a book called Minute Meditations for Busy Moms by Emilie Barnes and she was basically saying that instead of focusing on the day-to-day tasks that cause us to burn-out as Moms, we should instead look at the things we do in our home as a place of ministry and to perform our duties to please God. She stated that "If we work to please people, we will never be satisfied because people always expect more from us, and we can never give enough. If we work to please God, then we will hop out of bed each morning to see what the new day brings."

Although I don't think I will be hopping out of bed each morning, her words have encouraged me. As I go through these homeschooling and mothering days, people (ie, my children) will always expect more from me and it is my job to give it to them. I am going to just try to take it one thing at a time and remember that every thing I do unto God is significant...

One of Those Days...

We've all had One of Those Days at one time or another...I just feel like I have them more often than not lately...

The baby woke up at 3am~then again at 6am~After falling asleep rocking him - I put him in his crib, tiptoe out and dive into my bed and under the covers (This is about 7am now) ~ At 8am baby is crying again & Matthew is next to my head with a big smile saying "Mommy, I'm hungry..." So I get up, splash my face with water and try not to be too grumpy ~ It's not Matthew's fault I'm tired...Get him breakfast, feed Jake and sit down for a minute...I repeat A Minute...Then Becky comes in, eyes half opened, "What's for breakfast?"

Got Becky taken care of, cleaned up myself & Jake (since he spit up all over himself and my shoulder three times), and want to attempt to do my exercise tape (It is now 10:15am) ~ Put Jake in exercsaucer ~ He's crying off and on while I am doing my tape (I am determined to try to drop the baby weight sooner than later - I don't want to be depressed all summer over not having anything to wear that I would actually think of wearing out of the house) ~ He must have an upset tummy today bc he's usually a very happy little guy...Anyway, after having to hit pause a few times for the needs of various children (and dogs) - I did it - Finished my exercise!

I managed to get Jake to doze off a little bit, cleaned up the kitchen, and Finally got myself my much wanted/needed cup of coffee and sat down at the computer...Feeling pretty good about what I have accomplished today so far...

Do kids have a radar when mommy sits down to take 2 minutes for herself or what? Anyway, now Jake is crying again...and Becky and Matthew are hungry for lunch - Is it lunchtime already?? I guess it's just gonna be one of those days...

May God Bless Your Soles...

Here's an e-mail I received recently regarding "The Rules" one should follow this season for wearing sandals...Enjoy...

Just a friendly reminder, it's that time of the year again. Please raise your big toes and repeat after me: “I pledge to follow The Rules when I wear sandals and other open-toe shoes”:

I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

I will go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh, intact and chip-free. I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.

I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow. I will shave the hairs off my big toe.

I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend, coworker, mother, sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck it there.

If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back in to place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.

I will not live in corn denial; rather, I will lean on my good friend Dr. Scholl's if my feet need him.

I will take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell and begin to look like Vienna sausages.

I will be brutally honest with my girlfriend/sister/coworker when she asks me if her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes look like they've been dragged behind her car on the way to work and no sandal in the world is going to make her feet look good.

I will promise if I wear flip flops, that I will ensure they actually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

I will promise to go at least once per season and have a real pedicure. They are SO worth it!

I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear...nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals...

May God Bless your Soles as well as your Soul!

Discovering God's World of Plants...

This month for science were are learning about seasons, insects and plants. Here are a few pics from our morning of planting marigold and daisy seeds. First we read from Becky's science book about plants. Then, I let the kids go outside and get a big bucket of dirt and then bring it into the kitchen.

They used spoons (and their hands) to scoop out the dirt from the bucket and put it into the egg carton planter...Then we labeled it and they took turns watering the dirt...They had a lot of fun...Now we just have to wait for the little seedlings to pop out!

Tooth Fairy 101

Yesterday, my daughter Becky lost her third tooth...But let's just flashback a minute to last summer when she lost her first tooth and my story of why I need Tooth Fairy 101...I was just going along my normal life: Two kids, pregnant, having a good day, then BAM! ~ Becky comes to me crying...Mommy, my tooth fell out! Ok, I was happy that it was only her tooth after initially seeing all of the blood coming out of her mouth. We put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy and all is well, for Becky, that is...Danny & I had to now address the big question from Tooth Fairy 101: What IS the going rate for a tooth these days? Anyway, the Tooth Fairy left $1.00 and all was well...Until the next tooth fell out...

This was in early February of this year (we had a three-week old, brand new baby in the house, so needless to say, my brain was not all there due to lack of sleep, etc.) - Becky was over a friends' house when the next tooth fell out - A few tears, under the pillow at night, great, right? Yeah, great, until Becky comes to me when she wakes up in the morning..."Mommy, my tooth is still under my pillow! I guess the Tooth Fairy forgot me!" Okay, I had to think fast..."No, Becky, I bet the Tooth Fairy just got confused because your tooth fell out when you were at Sarah's house. We'll just put it under your pillow again, tonight and see what happens, okay honey." Point # 2 from Tooth Fairy 101: Don't forget to remove the tooth from under the pillow and leave the money!

Yesterday, Becky lost another tooth...now, here's another good point to remember from Tooth Fairy 101: Always keep a few singles tucked away somewhere for when random teeth fall out! This way you won't have to dig through your wallet to come up with random coins to make up a dollar, like I did last night!

Anyway, the Tooth Fairy has redeemed herself and we are off to the library and then the park...

What A Great Weekend...

This weekend was very busy, but fun...We had lots of celebrations...It started Friday when we had my mom over for dinner to celebrate Mother's Day. It was a usual fun time eating, hanging out and then my dad trying to beat Danny on computer trivia games...As usual, Danny won! The evening ended with Matthew going home with Grandee and Grandpa for a special sleep over (just him alone).

Saturday was fun - I took Becky & Jake to Becky's softball game at 10:30am...(Danny was volunteering at the church all day for the annual work day)...Then we were off to a roller skating birthday party for Becky's friend Julia...Then to pick up Matthew from my mom's and back home to prepare for dinner. We had Danny's mom over to celebrate mother's Day with her. Again, another fun evening was had by all!

Sunday was very special ~ Becky and Matthew made me a very special Mother's day breakfast consisting of toast, Fruit Loops, juice and yogurt...they were so cute & so proud! I loved it! Then we went to church and came home...I got to take a very long (& much needed) nap...What a great Mother's Day!

Hope you all mom's out there had a very great Mother's Day as well...

Everybody Has To Start Somewhere...

Well, here I am...Writing my first post to my very own blog...A month ago I didn't even know what a blog was, but thanks to my husband, I have now found something else that I can add to my list of "Things I Do Instead of Doing The Things I Should Be Doing". Anyway, through my blog I am looking forward to sharing the funny (and not-so-funny) things that go on in (and outside) of our home, receiving encouragement and support from other moms and homeschoolers and hopefully, giving encouragement to other mothers of young children.

Okay, now a little bit about me. I am a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom of three cuties: Rebecca, age 6.5 years; Matthew, age 4 years and Jake, age 3 months. This is our first year of homeschooling ~In the beginning, I had to hear Becky say "Mrs. K didn't do it like this"~ but now that we have found the balance between teacher and mommy ~ Things are going well. In the beginning I also tried to "bring school home" and follow a schedule which was was virtually impossible to begin with, and then adding a newborn to the mix in January, well...you can imagine. Now I have implemented a less rigid, although still structured schedule for our days that is working out very nicely. We are able to get in all of the basics each day and still manage to have some fun and I am not in tears by the end of the day when my husband comes home.

We have also recently joined a homeschool support group in our area and have already participated in Co-Op and some field trips. Our most favorite trip so far was a tour of the local Christian radio station! The kids had a blast and so did I (Except for when our whole tour group was squished into the booth while the DJ was On The Air and my baby Jake started to CRY). I had my first "Wow, I have three kids" moment while I was standing outside of the sound-proof booth trying to soothe my little baby and as I looked through the glass into the booth, I notice my four-year-old son Matthew (for those of you who don't know Matthew, he is a very active and funny little guy) inching closer and closer to the DJ~Who by the way, is still ON THE AIR~I was afraid that he might just climb right up into her lap and grab the mic or something ~

Well, I wasn't sure what to do since Jake was still crying (loudly) and the nice tour guide was giving me the look through the window like~Oh, sorry, can you keep your baby quiet because we are on the air ~ So, I do that any mother would do - I start waving my free arm to get Matthew's attention - Of course he doesn't see me - I am now starting to silently mouth his name to get his attention ~ Which, by the way, is just SILLY because not only am I not making any sound, they are in a Sound-Proof room! (Can you just picture this?) Anyway, all's well that ends well - Jake fell asleep in my arms as the On Air light went off - I was able to go back into the booth and be in there with all three of my children at the same time. Whew!

Well, this was just a glimpse into my life and one of my first adventures out in the world with three kids at the same time! Hope you enjoyed it...