Keeping It Simple

Lots of baby care around here as the boys' big sister (our second daughter, Jessica) was having her fifth baby. It was a week full of sword fighting, cuddles, disney movies, books, and coloring. It's also been a week full of colds. The 2 year old twins had a cold, which I assume James caught from them (although every one in the world seems to have it, so not necessarily). The problem is that no matter how many times I caution the boys, who can resist cuddling with a sweet little toddler who does not feel well? I guess germs are meant to be shared. In the way of school, we have been in "keep up" mode. Paul's strongest focus is on his Dave Ramsey finance class (which I highly recommend), his Spanish class, and his economics course. http://www.daveramsey.com/store/search.ep?keyWords=homeschool http://www.livinglanguage.com/languagelab/spanish  (I cannot recommend this highly enough. The books and cds make it easy to open and go. Additionally, the...

A friend of mine passed away on Tuesday. She was a homeschool mama of 5 who homeschooled through chronic illness. She was very well educated (but not at all pretentious), kind, fun, funny, and a bit blunt. We connected a little more when we discovered "hey, you have a blog!". Tricia would have become a blogger of considerable force, but things like taking care of her kids, taking care of herself (no easy task), and being a wife took priority. I have to admit that the first thing I wanted to do when I heard of Tricia's passing was to crawl into bed, pull the covers up, and not get up for a very long time. But, one thing Tricia did was keep on going. Through so much. She complained only in the sense that she was frustrated, she wanted to do more. To be more for her family. I have to honor that. So, I got up (I let myself have one morning to wallow for just a few hours) and I got going. I love this post that Tricia wrote. It is very honest. - http://adobecreekacademy...

In no particular order, this sort sums up the last year or so. Lots of blessings, lots of busyness, and lots of fun. :) 1- In case I have not mentioned it a thousand times, we welcomed 4 grandchildren in to our family (in addition to the 4 that were already here!). Just wow! That's kind of blurry, but you get the idea.  Can you tell my husband does not take the pictures in the family?  2- Paul took his first classes out of the home as a high schooler and he did amazingly well. With scores of over 90% on most of his work, he really stepped up to the plate. Paul has several learning struggles and he struggled right through them! 3- James was in his first ever play with a few small rolls in a children's production of Willy Wonka and LOVED it! I have my sister to thank for helping me through this obligation as item #1 on this list was taking up a bit of time. That's James second from the left as one of his characters, Mr. Salt.  4- James loved hi...

Somewhere, a while back, there used to be some sort of a kitchen sink link-up. I don't take my kitchen sink that seriously, but having mine clean and clear (in spite of the rest of the house being trashed) can bring me peace of mind.  Have you have ever read Sink Reflections ? If you are domestically challenged, do! If you are one of those that cleaning and organizing comes easy to you, you might still enjoy it. :)  Speaking of domestically challenged- every year I throw thousands (no exaggeration) of figs away. People say they want them. They say to just let them know and they will come pick them. But they don't. I don't like figs- to you fig lovers out there, I am sorry. I tried. It is just... well... bleck. I can't get passed how they look (or taste for that matter!). And I am just not that adventurous in the kitchen.  But I tried a recipe for fig jam from this cookbook . And, I don't hate it! It's really just honey, fresh lemon juice, l...

This makes my heart go pitter-patter! Oh my goodness! The photographer for our daughter's wedding, Amanda,  has grown to be someone very dear to our family over the years- she has shot all 4 of our daughter's weddings as well as other occasions for our family. Slideshow of selected pictures: http://amandalockphotography.myshowit.com/erinandnickwedding She catches all the magic! If you actually watch the slideshow (it's not too long), an explanation- there is a point where the alter boy in kneeling next to the couple. The church was very hot and he almost went down (the bride's little brother). She had him come over next to them to check on him. I thought it was very sweet! Just adding an extra dose of cuteness. I don't think this one is in the slideshow. 

And A Little Of That We had our first turn with our little visitor. I'm going to need to come up with a blog name for him- I think I'm going to have the boys work on that. That is Mark's hand in the picture. As of right now, everyone is very anxious for "their turn" to help out. I hope that sticks! :)  Getting out and walking the dog and the new remote control truck. That's normal- right?  Doing some cooking. I'm trying to find some good quick breakfast ideas. Jen @ Forever, For Always, No Matter What has some recipes posted.  The bread was such a hit that we have made it twice already. My boys, who are still retraining their tastebuds that were too used to added sugar, are not as sure about the cookies (even though I sprinkled in a few chocolate chips!). I suspect the cookies would be a hit with little ones.   Trains are the new thing with the nephews around here.  And James discovered silly putty. Poor deprived boy!...