Kid pictures...and birthday ramblings...

Strawberries are good...



Around the popcorn bowl...


Drawing fun...



We're doing good. Just been crazy busy! Allison goes for her driving test on Monday. (We're all pulling for her.LOL) Other than that, it's been the same old thing. Run, run, run and hope the baby doesn't melt down somewhere.lol Evie's doing great in her school work. Loves her P.E. program and of course gymnastics. It's hard to keep her busy enough, really. She's the kind of person that needs to be going all the time and I'm not.lol I am trying though.

Tomorrow is Evie's 6th birthday party. I can't believe she's THAT OLD!!! She's really a great girl though. Very independant, helpful, and not shy one bit. Her P.E. coach loves her and we do too.

Happy Birthday Genevieve! I hope your party is everything you are dreaming of right now.

Blessings,

My Week in Pictures...

Here are some photos from this past week. It's been busy but a good one.

Sophia tackling her brother. Nothing stops her, not even one arm missing...


A box is a toddlers best friend...


Or maybe it's the sister on the other side?


Let's see. We took Allison to Lifeguard class on Tuesday and Thursday. Had P.E. on those days as well. Took Evie to her gymnastics on Wednesday and scouts for Jon on Monday. Today, we all went to the park. It was HOT. Who'd of guessed?lol Then I had my veggie co-op and also did some grocery shopping. Tomorrow, Allison has class all day. She'll be learning CPR. I'm guessing she'll really enjoy the class. She's really taken to Lifeguarding and I can see her being successful. Jon will be catching up on some work that he neglected, instead of skating. The rest of us will be having a nice relaxing day off.lol I think Sophia was telling me today that if she had to ride in the car one more time and then not even be able to get out at the end, she'd mutiny. I don't blame her.LOL

Well, that's it. We will be "rinsing and repeating" next week. I'm blessed that my kids are growing into such great young adults and I'm thankful that in August, Allison will be able to drive herself. :snort:

Blessings,

My Daily Ramblings...

I think this little one makes it too easy to get a good photo.LOL Makes me take far too many of her.



Here is a spiffy new dress I picked up for Genevieve at the new Wally world that opened this past weekend. It's just so summerific!



We all got the suds this past weekend. Bummer.lol I took everyone to my favorite Dr. and got prescriptions for 3 out of 4 of us but never got a chance to fill them. I ended up with the nasty vomit bug less than an hour after I got home from the Dr's. YUCK. Well, no one died without the meds, so I may hold off on them until I feel well enough to actually go somewhere. Maybe they'll all be well by then and I won't need to get them.LOL

Our nighttime study of world history and the Old Testament is going well. We've been doing it together as a family and I'm very glad. Our first book to read aloud was Mere Christianity by C.S.Lewis and it contained things that I never imagined and was glad that I could skip certain chapters without having the kids read them. Good book, just read first and perhaps read aloud and skip what you feel is inappropriate for your kids to be learning about. Next up is The Cat of Bubastes by Hente. I've heard he's a tough read but I'm prepared.LOL I am really enjoying reading aloud again to the older kids! Years of Sonlight gave me a true love for reading with my kids. I've been reading to the littles but they just don't have the attention span of this first bunch.lol I find myself reading aloud to no one at times. I know that someone handed me a book but that someone long wandered off.lol

So other than being sick as dogs, we've been keeping pretty busy. Jon's gotten big into Scouts. Camping, camping and even more camping.lol The littles and I have spent far too much time and money at A Day of Play or at the park. Allison has been knee deep into her next semester of school work. Evie is a natural at her gymnastics, just loves her coach and the sport. Jon finished up his engineering course and is looking forward the next course. Sophia is running, climbing, and getting into a million times worth of trouble than the first 4 kids. She still has only 5 teeth. Sure would be nice if she'd get on with getting the rest. She loves to EAT and I can't make soup everyday or the other family members will revolt.lol As a growing young lady of 26 pounds!!! It'd be nice if we could reduce the nursing and increase the real food. I'm worn out.lol

Guess that's it for now. I'm recovering but still weak and praying that no one else gets this. That'd be BAD.LOL

Blessings,

My Daily Ramblings...

On Tuesday the kids played mailman...

They each got their own mailbox with address and then began writing and delivering letters. It was so cute.lol

Here's Allison working with Evie on her mailbox...


Here's Isaac writing his first letter...


Here's Isaac's box...


They had such a good time and have been playing with them everyday since. I've been putting all junk mail into their boxes whenever I get some and they love getting their own mail.lol

I've been working on our new schedule the past two weeks. Our next semester starts March 3rd and it's going to be a hum dinger for Allison. I'm revamping our Preschool rotations to include a Kindergarten rotation for Evie and I'm also going to add some different routines for each of us, hopefully to make the day go smoother. My days are going to begin at 7am sharp from now on, unless Sophia gets me up earlier.lol We're also going to be including Sophia in some of our activities now that she's getting older. It's taken me all this time to bang out a schedule that will work for US, instead of us working for IT.lol

We're going to incorporate circle time in the mornings for prayers, devotions, and getting our hearts ready for the day. I'm also going to be using general themes throughout each month to center our learning on. Our first theme of the year will be "Gardens."

I found this book called Making the Most of the Preschool Years by Bendt at the new homeschool store and I'll be using some of the ideas to incorporate new and fun activities in our day. I think things have been getting a little stale lately.lol

Well, I better get! These kids are busy today.lol

A day in town...

We've had a busy week! I'm thankful that we got everything done and that I was able to get everyone where they belonged.lol

Wednesday is Jon's engineering class and it's a fun drive. The classes are held in Historic Orange Park. Most of the homes are over 100 years old. This building used to be where I bought my reeds for my clarinet while I was in middle school. Now it's a fancy knick-knack shop.lol


Here is where Jon has his lessons. It's an old home turned into a Homeschool store.



He had another great class!

Later in the day, Evie has gymnastics. She has really found something that she loves! Her coach is wonderful with her and I have a feeling we're going to be doing this for a while.lol

The kids also played outside.

It was a beautiful day and I'm glad that they took advantage of it because Thursday was yucky.lol

Thursday, we went on a field trip to the skating rink.lol My mom went with me to help wrangle the littles and we had a great time. No photos since I was lucky to remember all the skates and all the kids.lol I skated and Allison was shocked that I was good. She forgot that I lived at the same rink she does when I was her age.lol I ended up in the middle of the rink teaching the young homeschoolers how to skate for an hour and had a good time.lol I had a few parents too. I was happy to help and it was fun being on skates again. Maybe when the littles are older, I'll get to go more often.

When we got home, I made my grocery list and took off for the stores. I did really good at Walgreens and so-so at Publix. I only spent 2.36 at Walgreens and bought 6 bars of Irish Spring soap, a Softsoap Bodywash, a bottle of Garnier Frutis shampoo, a Speedstick 24/7 and two toys. I'll also get over 12.50 in rebates back. Not too shabby.lol At Publix, I spent $171.00. Yuck.lol I'm trying to keep my bill below $200 each week. I'll be a little over after co-op today but I'll be close and that's good for me.lol

I'm hoping to do something fun with the littles today but it's looking pretty wet this morning. My mom's birthday is tomorrow and Sophia's is Tuesday, so I'll probaby do a little shopping. I already bought all of Sophia's presents and the makings of her birthday cake. I'm trying to stay on top of all the birthdays but it's getting harder with all these little ones! It seems like there is ALWAYS a birthday.lol Advice from those with lots of littles would be appreciated!

Well, that's it for now. It's been a good week and I'm so thankful that we have so much for the kids to do. It's a blessing to see them all grow and find where they belong.

My Daily Ramblings...

Yesterday was an awesome day! My mom and I took the littles to a place called A Day of Play. I had a coupon that got us a whole day there for $12 total and we could come and go as we pleased for the whole day. Pretty neat! Everyone had a great time and here are some photos...

They had a stage with a million puppets to choose from...


They also had costumes that Evie tried on...


Isaac spent most of his time at the two train tables...


And at the GIGANTIC race track...


I will not share...


Evie loved the indoor playground...


It was HUGE...


Even Sophia had a great time...


They also had a play store with groceries, carts, and a cash register/check out lane. Two salt water fish tanks, a baby area with changing station, a huge movie screen room with bean bag chairs, an arts and craft area, a story area, foose ball tables, air hockey tables, a "vet clinic" and many other things to choose from. We ended up stay for about an hour and a half, then we ducked out for lunch and came back for another hour and a half. By then Sophia was in need of a major nap and so was I.LOL My mom took the older ones to Walmart and back to her house for a while and I took Sophia home to rest. Both Allison and the littles got home at the same time and we ate dinner, took a walk, gave baths, read stories and put them to bed. They all slept soundly.LOL

This morning, my mom asked if she could take Isaac and Evie to her church and I was happy to let them go. I dropped them off early so that I could take Allison to our church in time for Bible study. I decided to stay and sit in with the adult study and Sophia was very good. It was really nice to actually study with other people.lol After that, we stayed for the service and Sophia was pretty good. She was a bit distracting for others, being that she was making goo-goo eyes at people and making them smile but I only had to leave the service twice. Not too bad.lol After the service, we took her home and she was asleep before we even got there. Mom invited us over for dinner and we headed over there once Sophia woke up. It was really nice not to cook and of course mom's cooking was great! After dinner, Sophia was done. You know, the kind of done that says, we did way too much in too little of a time span? Well, we had to make a quick exit and head home. Everyone was very tired but we did our routine of walk, bath, stories, and bed. I never saw a peep out of them after I shut their door.LOL

I'm so thankful for such great kids! I'm glad that we got this time together and that everyone was so good. I'm also thankful for all the help I received from my mom, dad, and Allison. It was a good weekend!

Blessings,

My Daily Ramblings...

What a blessing yesterday was! We were all feeling pretty good, so we decided to run off to the park. It was a little cooler than the rest of the week was, but still nice. This is our nice time of the year and I try to take advantage of it as much as possible.

Allison and Isaac work on an art piece...


TaDa!...


Sophia is impressed...


Boy on a park bench...


I'll catch you Sophia...


Just don't expect me to use my thumb...



After the park, we went to Chick Fila and enjoyed some nuggets and fries.

When we got home, I had a message from a friend from the YMCA about a new fruit and veggie co-op that just started up. Yea!!! This is an answer to prayer! I've bought two shares and got in just in time to get my order last night. I got a huge amount of farm fresh veggies and fruit. What a blessing! I shared some with my parents and am setting the cooking apples aside for my MIL.

Today, my mom came over and sheared the sheep. Jon had really wanted to grow his hair out but I just couldn't take it any longer.lol Jon, Isaac and Genevieve all got a trim and they all look so much better...

Mom and Jon...


The finished products...







Well, I'd write more but Sophia is in a BAD mood right now and needs me...lol

Blessings,

Lisa

My Daily Ramblings...

Well, I'm not sure that I can call this good but we made it through.LOL Last weekend I fell and hurt my knees. I hit one of our gates at full speed thinking it was open but found that it had locked on the bottom causing me to break it in half and land on top of it. I'm still limping but feeling better. I think once I go to my next dr's appt for an adjustment I'll feel better.



Jon took a vacation last weekend and went with his grandma to Ohio. He had a GREAT time! He got to play in the snow and visit with his great grandparents. What a blessing for him to spend this time with them!



Meanwhile, the littles all have the crud. Nothing serious, just runny noses, coughs, and the like. Makes me not have much time for blogging and other things since everyone feels that I should be holding them.LOL



On Thursday, Jon broke his arm. (Yes, I'm just trying to insert this nonchalantly in the middle of this post.) Not a little bone either. He was doing some sort of fancy move on his roller skates and broke the right arm bone between the elbow and shoulder. He has a temp cast until sometime this next week when we can get him an appt for that. He's fine though. That boy has the highest pain tolerance I've ever seen. In fact he was sure it was just sprained.LOL I'm glad we decided to get it checked out anyway.



Sophia keeps standing up in the middle of the room. We think she'll be walking any day now. What a blessing this little baby is! She's so sweet and keeps us laughing at all her antics.



Allison is fine.LOL At least SHE'S healthy and doing well. Of course, she's off skating right now, so I'll just say a silent prayer that she stays that way.LOL



I've been trimming our food budget. Not sure if I can, I mean, we keep GROWING and that makes food costs increase but since that's the income that we can most control, I'm doing my best, with God's help, to lower it as much as possible. I've spent $114 so far this week and hope to only add $50 more for the whole week. Our usual budget is $250.

Well, I guess that's it.LOL Rough week but we're hanging in there. I even managed to keep up with photos.lol

Blessings,

What in the world have I been doing?

LOL. I know I haven't been writing much lately. I, at least, have been taking pictures.LOL

Super Isaac...



Well, I've been shopping alot. Isaac's third birthday is on the 15th and I've been busy running around getting gifts for him. Sophia's birthday is the very next month and I've been looking for things for her also. One thing I've resolved to do this year, is NOT wait until the very last minute to get things for holidays, birthdays, and such. I've always been one to run out and buy something on the way to the party and that just doesn't cut it with 5 kids any longer.LOL So I started shopping the day after Christmas. I thought I was done but then Target decided to have a 75% off sale and it just so happened to be things that Isaac actually asked for. Then I saw at the same sale some cute things for Sophia and well, 75% off is hard to resist. I mean, it's not like they are hurting for toys or anything.LOL I may even save some of this for next Christmas. It's not like they will go bad.LOL

I've also been working on the older kids next semester courses. They finish this semester on February 29th and I need to have books ordered, classes selected, and schedules made before then. We've been bouncing different ideas around for next year's courses and that makes this semester's courses important. I think I've found a good Chemistry course. The kids did not like Apologia Biology and I just can't force them to do two more years of it. It's called Friendly Chemistry!

http://friendlychemistry.com/introduction.htm

It looks hands on and rigorous for both kids. I'm still working it out, but this may be the program we're looking for.

I've also been out shopping for the bathroom, but I haven't found what I'm looking for yet. I sure hope I find it before the end of the month.LOL

Isaac had another laser surgery on Wednesday. He is AMAZING!!! I don't think I'd be able to handle all these surgeries, but he just takes it in stride. He is such a great little guy. He went 20 hours without food and never asked for any. Truly amazing. God is so good to give us this little boy!

Oh, I bought the Financial Freedom dvd's from Vision Forum during their sale. I'm hoping that it will help us find ways to save money and stick to a budget. I'm trying to make a do-able budget for this year. I've been working on our grocery bill, since that's where most money disappears, but it's hard work.lol I'm finding that everything takes time or money and I'm not sure which I have more of.LOL

I've also been spending more time with the kids. The littles have been so riled up since Christmas that it takes a lot of time to get them settled by bedtime each day. LOTS of outside play, park time, and inside stuff but it's been fun.

Oh, here's a cute saying from Evie... she likes "Farmer Jon" on her spaghetti.LOL Instead of Parmesian.lolol This has started the older kids into making a music video on a song where the singer says, "It's too late to apologize. It's too late." The kids have been singing, It's too late for Parmesian. It's too late." All. Day. Long.LOL It's pretty funny though.

Well, now I'm rambling.lol


blessings,

My Daily Ramblings...

Well, tomorrow we will begin our schooling again. It's been a nice break. I think we all needed it. I'm sort of looking forward to it. I have to admit that for the past year or so we've been more circus than homeschool. With a new baby added last February, along with two young ones, it's been a tough job keeping up with everything. But I'm ever the optimist.lol I can see the good that has happened this past year and I can finally see the progress that has been slow to make an appearance. God has been good and faithful to us. I've worked this past week going through the curriculum, setting up schedules, and even working a schedule for the littles so that tomorrow will go smoothly. We won't be able to get everything done tomorrow but I'm praying that God will help us focus and enjoy our first day back to school.

Allison will be going in for an MRI tomorrow morning for her knee. If you all could pray. She'd be so grateful. Her knee really bothers her and we're hoping that it's nothing too serious.

Thanks so much,

My Daily Ramblings...

We're having a pretty good week.

Monday Evie and Isaac had dr's appts at their old dr's office. Yuck. I'll be so glad when we don't have to go there again. Both of them got two shots and a finger prick. Neither were pleased.LOL Eric said that it's probably best to only remember shots and stuff at the old place, that way they'll always love the new dr. We do shots very slowly and have them slated to be finished before they are of school age. Evie is almost done and Isaac has a ways to go. Better safe than sorry though.

Tuesday was a great day at PE! The kids had so much fun and I stayed for the first hour. The littles have made some great friends and Sophia loves to crawl all over the gym floor. Ack! It's making this germ-phobic mom crazy, but she has such a good time. Isaac is even :gasp: sharing! Phew! He must really like having buddies to share like that. He doesn't even do that at home.LOL After PE, we stopped by my moms and she fed us. Yay! That was a nice bonus and we've decided to stop by during dinner time more often.LOL We actually stopped by so that we could go to the Train display that their church hosts each year. Isaac loves this and we'll need to go a couple more times before it's over. It's free and Isaac LOVES trains! We were there an hour and he still didn't want to leave.LOL

Wed was a easy day. I caught up on some chores, built Isaac's Christmas presents (I'm still nursing some sore fingers from it.), and I wrapped every single gift. Whew! I'm glad that's over and that I won't be trying to get that all done on Christmas Eve. After dinner, I ran to the Dollar Store and bought some cellopane gift bags and we filled them with candy for the kids' Christmas party at PE today. They turned out nice and I used all the clearance candy that I bought after Halloween, so it wasn't even too bad on the pocketbook! We made 60. I was pretty tired last night but we still did our Advent study and Jotham. I read two chapters on Wed since Thursday night the kids are gone skating. Allison usually has Bible study and of course we could have gone to church for the last Advent service but we were all tired and chose home.

Today is the Christmas party! It's from 9-12 and then I'm supposed to go shopping with my mom. We'll see how I hold up.LOL I'm so thankful for how healthy I've been this season! I don't think I've ever had a year where I felt this o.k. It's been a true gift and I've been praising God for this time. Eric will be off later today and he's also taking tomorrow off. It will be so nice to have him home. Well, I better get a move on! I've managed to use up all my extra time and need to get those kids out of bed. Merry Christmas everyone!



Blessings,

My Daily Ramblings...

Yikes! I don't think I've gone this long without a post in a year!





God has been calling me away from the computer for this season in my life. I can't say that I've been giving up my time easily, but it has had so many rewards! I'm thankful to have this time with my children.

We've done quite well keeping up with our Advent studies. I would even say we're thriving on our evenings together. We are planning to continue with this, doing different studies throughout this next year. Our first study will be Heart of Wisdom's A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays. I think we'll enjoy this. We're also doing well with Jotham's Journey! It's been a long time since I've been able to read something outloud! The littles are really growing up for us to be able to do this each night.lol





Allison got a haircut today. I can't believe how grown up it makes her. I'm going to have to talk to her about that. LOL

My Allison

I'm very excited about Christmas! It will be so much fun to watch all these kids opening their gifts this year. I will try to take lots of pictures.LOL I've even toyed with the idea of each child opening a gift and then actually taking that gift out and letting them play with it before they open another gift. It just seems a little overwhelming to have the free for all that we usually get each year. We'll see. I'm sure I'll be out voted anyway.lol

Well, all the gifts are bought, all the cookies have been made and given away, and the house doesn't look too bad.LOL I think that's the best I've been able to do for a few years now. I've got a few more things I'd like to do around here before Christmas day but I'm pretty happy.

I've got Big Plans for the New Year! I'm going to be choosing a room each month in the house to overhaul. I will ruthlessly go through that room and throughout that month I'll look for something to make that room look nicer. Maybe paint some rooms, maybe some nice pictures for another. The plan is to make this house my home this next year. I'll be praying through each room hoping to make each area a blessing to our lives. I'm already dreaming about different rooms.LOL I'd LOVE to put a bottle glass back splash behind my oven and wall and then paint the rest of the kitchen a real pretty blue. I'd love to repaint the dining room, maybe something a little darker than the kitchen, but of the same color palette. Eric and I have decided to start saving up for dark wood floors throughout the house and a nice tile floor for the kitchen. That will have to wait though.LOL Of course I'll be taking photos.LOL

I've got plans for our school time too. Evie needs more time with me and Isaac is itching to do more too. We'll be stepping things up a bit in January. I'd like to get back to my roots and follow Charlotte Mason more. I love short lessons. I love teaching nature study, drawing, poetry, and music. No more just the basics for us! That's just not fun.LOL

The bigger kids are plugging along and will be needing more subjects soon. I've been bringing the older kids back down to the table to work. It's nice to have us back together! It also helps me to know where the kids are each day instead of having to catch up on the weekends.

Well, I guess I'm all talked out now.LOL It's going to be a good year next year. I'm Choosing Joy!

Blessings,

My Daily Ramblings...

So it's been another crazy week. I need to find time to update more often! Saturday we spent the day going to the dump. We were doing a clean up of the backyard. It was pretty embarrassing how bad it had gotten over the past year. We still need to go back another day but the yard is looking much better.

Once the yard was finished, I made black beans and rice for the church and Eric ran Jon to the church for practice. Then Jon had a Christmas recital at our church. It went well and we had a nice time fellowshipping afterwards at the potluck dinner. We left Allison behind to watch over the sleeping little ones and of course they all woke up while we were gone.LOL She handled things nicely though.

Sunday was church again. I really like our church! They love having the littles in the service and don't mind when they get a little noisey. It's a real blessing to have a place to worship. Eric took the littles and Jon to the park afterwards and they had a great time. I stayed home with Sophia and spent some time talking with Allison about her school work and her plans after graduation. It was nice to have that time together!

Today, we've been busy baking again. We've made 4 more banana breads, some oatmeal cookies, sandies, and last night we made chocolate chip again.

Then I ran Allison to her Dr's appt. I was thinking it would be a quick 10 minute thing and I'm so thankful that my MIL offered to watch all the other kids. It was an hour appt! First off, I must say that I LOVE our new dr! He is a wonderful, Christian DO who is amazing with my kids. We found him when Isaac and Sophia woke with ear infections a few Mondays ago. I tried to get appts with their peditrician but they were booked. I was going to run them to the urgent care center and was passing by this new office that just opened up and decided to stop in and see if they could fit us in. The receptionist is his wife and they homeschool their kids! Pretty cool. I felt at home immediately and Dr. Baglino has a wonderful personality and is amazing with the kids. I am switching everyone over to him and will see him myself in January. Well, back to Allison, (lol) I think he adjusted every bone in her body. She said that she felt great afterwards. She will need an MRI of her knee because she's got some issues going on there but he helped her with the pain and she's feeling better than she has in a long while. What a blessing this Dr is!

Well, here are some photos...

Allison and Isaac: Two peas in a pod.


Are you comfy Jon?


You caught me Mom!


Here are five of the chickens I made...gotta love my roaster!


Here are those fancy cookies...


Here is the current condition of our Christmas tree. Notice the lack of ornaments on the bottom half and all the candy canes on the very top.LOL


Blessings,