Kids...

Kids are so precious. Sometimes you forget just how much they have changed, or grown up. Today I had the privilege of braiding a new friends daughters hair. She did a great job for a 5 year old. It reminded me of when we first got Joyona and how hard it was to get her hair done. All of the emotions we had in the beginning are now just grunts and groans. Joyona has come such a long way and is turning into such a beautiful young woman so fast. She is also starting to really get "into" boys, so we have begun talking about what that means. So not ready for that yet!!!

Tra, well his stitches are out and he is back into being a high speed little boy! We still keep a band aid on it because it is still healing, but he is thrilled to be able to play again and take a bath. He did not like taking showers at all!

Elijah, well he really wants to pee in the potty. His head does anyway. His favorite movie to watch right now other than Thomas the train is Elmo's potty training video. He loves the idea of pulling up and down his pull up, however the rest of his body has not gotten in sink yet. They are all so precious and they are growing up so fast. I thought I would share a brief update on what is going on here in our house right now

Kids...

There is nothing really more to say. They are wonderful, and frustrating all in the same breath. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kids!!!!! They can get my blood boiling sometimes. Here is my latest issue. I have 3 kids, 8, 5, and 3 year old (well he will be 3 on Sunday). The older two play together nicely, then in comes the 3 year old and boom, instant screaming and fighting! I am so tired of it and I just don't know what else to do about it anymore. I have tried so many different things that I don't know what else to try anymore. So, I am reaching out for some help or words of wisdom from anyone who reads this! The only thing is got is "this too shall pass"!

Lesson learned!

My five year old son is growing up so fast, that sometimes I don't realize that he is more aware of what is going on than I realize. Sunday he said to me that he was in love with a little girl in his church class. So I asked him what that meant to be in love with her, and he said "well she smiled at me and it made me feel good so I smiled back at her." Anyway, we talked about what it meant to be in love and how he had plenty of time, but it was good that he smiled back at her and to be nice to her. So, I saw her mom last night at church and shared this story with her. Her mom thought it was so cute too. Well, Tra was not happy with me. He asked me why I shared that with her, so I told him that I thought it was such a great story that I wanted to share it with her mommy. That did not matter, I had already broken his heart. So, I got down on my knees and asked him to forgive me, and he did. Anyway, I think it broke my heart more than it broke his because I realized several things. First, that he is growing up and this was really important to him. Second, that I broke his trust in him, and I never want to do that again. Three, the next time I have a great story to share about one of my kids I need to make sure it is a story I can share. Anyway, I learned many lessons last night, but the best part is, Tra is not upset with me and because he is a 5 year old boy, he moved on pretty quickly. Today he is back in love with his Mom and I that makes it all worth it!

Camping!

Yesterday, my husband and I took our kids camping for the first time. Yes, we have been to cabins before, but this time we stayed in our tent we just got from a friend of ours who did not need it anymore. So, we loaded up both of our vehicles and were on our way. Well, not really. We did load up our vehicles, but only Tim and Joyona went up to the camp site. Me and the boys stayed because Tra had football practice and we just could not tell him we were not going to go. So we met them up after practice, which means we did not get there until 8pm. Oh well, it was fun anyway. Ate lots of food, stayed up late, did not sleep very good, got up when the sun came up... I could go on, but I won't. Anyway, we had a great time. Did not really have any troubles and I think I would go again. We drove around and found a couple of sites that we would like to go to instead of the one we had. Actually, next time we go camping we would like to go with more people because we think that would be more fun. So, if I can figure this out, I have a video of the kids to share. If not, I will post some pictures :)

School Books!

The past two days I have received the bulk of my school curriculum. I am so excited. There is only one part left to come, but I can't wait now to get started schooling my kids. This looked like some fun things when I was reading about them on the computer, but now having them in my hands seems to be even more exciting to me. Even my husband took interest in it and was becoming more excited the more I was talking and getting excited. Wow! I still have much to do to get ready for school to start, but I can't wait now. It makes me want to go out and buy school supplies and stuff just because. I was talking to a friend of my husbands last night on the phone and they have home schooled for many years. She was giving me some pointers and one of them was on the first day of school only do a half load to ease your way into school. The other thing she has started is buying herself a bouquet of flowers and a card. She has all her kids sign the cards and put them on the kitchen table for everyone to enjoy. She said it was hard for her to hear her friends talk about getting together after the kids went to school on the first day so she started treating herself to flowers to brighten her first day of teaching the new school year. So I think this is a tradition I am going to start also. Besides, I love fresh flowers and what a great reason to get some for my kitchen! So, in a couple of weeks my homeschooling adventure will begin, and I can't wait! Thank You Lord for putting this desire on my heart and not letting me turn away from it!

Saturday!

It is very early Saturday morning and I have just had some incredible time with my Lord. I have been up for a while now and I am excited to get my day started. My husband is back and things are getting done in my home. My house is getting organized and it is clean! I love it when the Lord moves in my family. My kids have been so good these past few days that I realized how much fun it is being a mommy again. I guess I needed that gentle reminder just to relax and play with my kids because they are only young once and I don't want to miss these years with my beautiful children. My mind is going in 100 different directions right now so I am sorry if I jump from one topic to the other. Today I am just writing what is on my heart. I ordered the curriculum for my kids this week. I am so excited. My daughter is in 1st grade and my oldest son is 4 and I am going to start him on some kindergarten work a little early and work on it for two years instead of doing preschool and then kindergarten. The really cool part is how every morning they are getting up and asking if school starts today. That just really blesses me. My youngest son is 18 months and he wants to be at the table working too, so who knows what we will start teaching him this year. My husband and I knew before we had kids that we wanted to home school, but then things changed and we felt it was best for them to go to school. We put them in our church's school and really liked it, but God is good and now we are staying home. So, I guess there is lots to do to get ready and I love this time of year. I just love buying school supplies. I always have. Crazy, I know, but I just can't wait to see how the Lord is going to grow our family together and where He is going to take us on this adventure. My daughter really wants to go to Belize, so maybe we will end our school year with a missions trip to Belize. Won't that be fun!

Garage Sale

Our neighborhood is having a huge garage sale tomorrow and I am so excited. We have lots of stuff to sell! That is not the exciting part though. It is what the money is going for. Our kids have been going through their stuff and finding things to sell for our church. They are raising money for the kids in Belize and my kids can't wait to turn their money in on Sunday. Then we have some of the money we make going to our ministry at our church and for curriculum for our homeschooling adventure. So, my kids are making this garage sale exciting for me. Today, besides cleaning my home, I am getting ready for our giant sale tomorrow and I can't wait to see how God is going to bless us and especially our kids!

My big boy!

This morning my oldest son, 4 years old, got dressed in his favorite Cincinnati reds shorts, put on his new shiny tennis shoes and ran down the stairs. His daddy was in the kitchen waiting for him with a ball glove and a reds hat to wear today. Yes, they are headed down to a reds game today. It is my sons first major league baseball game and he is pumped. He has been talking about it all week long. He is such a sports kid and my husband loves baseball so he is excited about taking his son to a game. Tim's dad and brother are going today to make it a guys day. All I know is my son was floating on the clouds this morning when he was walking out the door to go to the game. I can't wait to talk to him tonight when he gets home and listen to all his stories about his reds baseball game. What a blessing! Thank you Lord for the opportunity for them to bond today and please protect them in all their travels.