My Little Preschooler

Just a few months ago, Nathan did not think he could "do school" and he was sure he would NOT like it. Now he is learning more each day & really proud of his accomplishments. It makes my Home School Mom's heart happy! :)

Family Fun

We got to visit with John's brother, Dwight, & his beautiful wife, Alison, & their awesome NINE kids this past weekend. We all met up in two hotels in W. Virginia while they were traveling down our way from their farm in North Dakota.

These are the little boys of the gang.
l-r: Nathan 4, Soren 7, Luke 6, Eli 4, Mark 7

Luke was all snuggled up in bed for his first stay in a hotel.

Little princess, Serena

Luke, baby Elsa, Isabella & Nathan

Nathan, baby Elsa, Isabella
Both Nathan & Luke love babies & all three of my boys have informed me that we "need" two little sisters. It would fine with me! :)

Hanging out at the hotel pool

Tired but happy...
Patty, Magdalena, Alison & Elsa

We rarely get to visit with family so it was a treat to get to hang out with everyone.
Each niece & nephew is so dear to my heart & so cool & unique in their own way.
It was also very awesome to be able to introduce Luke & Nathan.

Another Anti-Perfection Shot

Yes, this is my sink - yuk!
I hope this will help you to feel so much better about your own home/kitchen.
It's my act of "ministry" for the day. :)

Beautiful Bloggers

Wow! I've never won a blogger award - such a nice surprise from my friend, Sarah. She home schools her gorgeous FIVE kids and still manages to keep her great sense of humor & beautiful smile

So, the rules of this award are that I'm supposed to:

*Thank the sweet person who gave it to me & link back to them.

*Send the award on to 15 more deserving friends & let them know they have won.

*Tell 7 random things about myself.

So....the 15 friends are:
The Happy Doodler
Apogean Academy
Grace Changes Everything
Inspired By The Creator
Ekirabo The Gift
Sommer Days
Blaske Broadcast
Precious Jewels
Our Happy Song

... Yes, that is only 9. I guess I don't follow as many blogs as I thought I did.


The random things are:

1. My tummy hurts. Yeah, sometimes it does. I have colitis.

2. I am so scared of sharks, alligators, & drowning.

3. I love video games. I wait until my kids are in bed to play them.

4. I also eat ice cream after the boys are asleep. Mint chocolate chip is my favorite.

5. I hope we are going to be able to adopt more kids. It makes NO sense to me that the world is full of kids with out Mommies & Daddies when there are so many of us with room to spare (I'm sure we could find space for more! We could always build another addition.) & love to give. Money always seems to be the BIG issue & I just don't think that is a big problem for God. So...we'll see....

A New Pantry

John is building me a pantry, which is wonderful.
He & Nathan came up with a new way to test the strength of the shelves. :)

My Valentine for John

Apple pie - his favorite
See the heart in the middle?

Three Of My Dreams Come True

Nathan is making that funny face on purpose!

Me & My Baby

Look Who Lost A Tooth!

Since Mark lost his tooth & received a visit from the tooth fairy, both Luke & Nathan have decided that they have "sore teeth" too. :)

Heartache... & Maybe Some Progress

Oh my... very rough day. Four little boy screaming fits, one screaming-in-my-face scene, one hiding under a desk at the library, seemingly nowhere to be found & scaring me to pieces, one all-out scrap between two brothers complete with hitting & kicking...but, honestly, I've dealt with that kind of "stuff" before (not that it's my idea of a fun day, but still...been there & done that.)

What was really achingly tough though was holding my son today while he sobbed & cried for his birth mom. That was very, very tough.

I told him that I was so, so sorry that he couldn't have her. I told him it was OK to miss her. We got through it...

As heart-breaking as it was, I think/I hope we might have made some progress. Together. Now he knows it's really alright with me for him to miss her, to grieve the past, to get MAD. It tore at my heart in a new way but I think I actually might (?) have done alright (Thank You God!) & I hope that we maybe are another step forward in our journey towards healing & wholeness.

Another Snow Day !?

Dad's boots & a funny face!

This is the view out our front door this morning. Beautiful but brrrrr!

Out the back door

This is a lot of snow for NC!

Oh my goodness - Nathan is so cute!

Another funny face in Dad's boots

Better Days

When I posted yesterday I was nearly "losing my marbles" from being stuck at home because of weather/road conditions. I don't do well staying home for too many days in a row. It turned out that we were able to get out & go to a home schoolers' gym class that my kids all love, and ... before the class began, all the kids were treated to a pizza party courtesy of our local Christian radio station! It was a lot of fun & GREAT timing! Maybe it seems like a little thing but I am thankful.

Oh, the picture is Luke with his latest art project. :)

Snow Day

This is the third snow day in a row! We were supposed to have classes from 9-11:30am, followed by a library visit & then a really fun gym class. I was looking forward to that. Ahhhhhhhhh! We NEED to get out! This is such an extreme winter for NC. Weird.

Apparently the YMCA is open so we are going!

Notes From Luke

One day Mark was feeling really sad & Luke made him this precious note.

This one was for me . It says "Hello Mommy. Head is long."
He was trying to say that I have long hair. :)
I just love all his sweet little notes!