My baby turned 11!!

My sweet, funny,artistic,joyful,loving,creative,energetic,adorable,lovable...(that's only a few adjectives to describe her wonderfulness!) baby turned 11!!!  Because our house is small we decided to have her friends only party elsewhere. She chose Laser Tag, and had a blast. Josh and Cassie came over for her family party, which was very nice. I miss my Cassie girl and love it when we are able to spend time together. Cassie brought her bible study binder with her and shared some things that her group is studying. It does my heart good to see her grow in the spirit and have a group of wonderful christian women to learn and share with. Whenever my children have a birthday I am reminded how blessed I truly am. Not that I am not aware of this everyday, it is just a good time for reflection of another year past. It is important not to dwell on all the little annoyances that occur on a daily basis. I thank God every single day for my wonderful family, they make me feel so loved and I cherish each of them equally.

All things can be done through Christ~

For the past two years, I have been unable to participate in one of my very favorite activities: hiking. Since neck surgery in Oct. I feel so much better. Not 100% just yet, but well enough to venture on a 3 mile hike. 1 1/2 of that at an incline to a beautiful overlook. Here are a few pics. I was challenged. I was blessed to have my avid runner friend there to encourage me. I almost gave up at one point. She reminded me that all things can be done through Christ! Woo, how could I quit with that? Amen!

Resurrection Day

Bre at the Easter Egg Hunt

Ty being a good sport watching Bre have fun! He was dressed for work.

I love my kids so much!Being a mom is the most blessed "job" in the world!!

My wonderful hubby and I. Notice how I try to hide behind a tree or something when my pic is taken? Silly, I know. I can not wait to get this weight off. In the mean time, I will try not to hide myself. ;)

Nice Ty! hahaha, he is forever making me laugh.

I am so proud of my manchild. He is growing up so fast! Working, CAP, looking at colleges and oh ya, he now has a "girl friend" yikes!

My loves

Ty with  one of Grandma and Grandpa's cats

Bre with Grandma Mallory. She loves the fact that she is almost taller than Grandma. =)

Dinner at Grandma and Granpa's. *Rare photo of Jim* He is very anti-camera. lol

We had a wonderful day celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. I try to keep the reason for celebrating very clear. We did color eggs, because that has been our family tradition for years, but we also made resurrection rolls, that told the story of the Resurrection. We do not do baskets anymore. Too many trips to the dentist. ;) We do give the kids  small treats and a movie. See, I am not a total meanie. ;) 

We had a very nice visit with my in-laws, dinner was great, then us girls went for a walk while the guys played with the bb guns. I missed spending Easter with my mom, Cass and Josh but my mom hasn't been feeling well and wasn't up for a big dinner.We like to split up the holidays between our families. However, with Cass married we would like to start having holiday dinners here at our home and all would be welcome. I would love to see all of our families celebrating together in one place. I do not have a ton of space, but I will somehow make it work. Families are meant to be united through marriage, so let's unite people! lol. I hope you all had a wonderful ressurection Sunday! Love and Blessings to all!  

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Another Homeschool Perk ( among many)

Today was the nicest day of the year so far. Ty helped Matt with an attena installation, so I had planned on doing school in the afternoon. Well, we played hookey instead. I just could not get Bre to focus, as she stared dreamily outside. She is my nature girl, much like I was at her age. I remember sitting in PS doing the same thing, not listening to the teachr, just day dreaming about what I would rather be doing outside. I thought to myself, "why bother, isn't this supposed to be one of the many advantages of homeschooling anyway?" It's not like we are going to "fall behind" because we want to enjoy the out of doors for a day, right?

 I opened all the windows and  was able to get some needed cleaning done while Bre played out back. She scetched a tree and a bird, drew hopscotch squares on the driveway pavement, made mud pies and branch stew and made a fort out of plywood and garbage bags. She used her imagination. In my book, that is worth more than workbooks and such.

My neighbor is a school teacher, so I always check to see if her car is in the driveway before we go outside during "school hours" WHY, do I feel the need to do this? I mean, I send in all the required documents, teach dilligently, go on fieldtrips ect.., overall, I know our kids are getting a well rounded education in a loving enviroment, so why, oh why, do I still worry about what the neighbors think? I just hate that about myself. I really should not care about what others think of us, as long as we are pleasing to the Lord. So what if they think us strange, I would rather be strange than live in their world, so WHY DO I CARE? ugh. Sorry for the rant, I just don't get it. I am an intelligent (at least I like to think so) woman of God who loves her family and is secure in her life and life choices, this is why it bugs me so much. I know better! I have been praying for peace in this area for years. I have gotten better, just not 100 % there yet. This scripture comes to mind as I type this: Thou will keep perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Isa 26:3 

Ranting aside, it was a beautiful homeschool day, we may not have "hit the books" but it was still a learning day filled with fresh air and beautiful imagination. I pray you all had a wonderful spring day also!

Misplaced Time

I have been noticing more and more that I have many things left on my to-do list and it keeps getting longer. So, I started to log my activities to find out why that is. I really didn't need to do that because I already really knew, the number one culprtit-Facebook. Why is it so alluring? I mean most of what I read is non-essential crapola. Most of which I really do not want or need to know. I just do not understand why I continue to waste time on there. I even did a FB fast for a week. I did have most of my list done that week, but I kept thinking about FB and wondering what everyone was up to. Ugh. I think I may need Dr.Phil or something. lol. Just kidding. Kinda. I do need to reprioritize however. Yes, we are getting school done, yes, my house is "mostly" clean, laundry is sorta done. BUT, I used to take pride in all those things and really enjoy making my house a home and finding joy in the little things.

Now that I have admitted my little problem, (that is the first step right?) I am going to set a timer whenever I get online, for whatever reason. This sounds elementary I am sure, but whatever works right? I need to be accountable and I am hoping that will help. I have also been slacking on my blog *sorry*.

Now that I have found my misplaced time, I am going to cherish it much more. =)

I am also going to start posting our week-at-a-glance again and menu planning. Now, that is time well spent, right?

Daddy Daughter Valentine Dance 2010

Wow! It has been too long...So much has happened!

Happy New Year everyone! So many new and exciting events have occured since I have last blogged. I was lying in bed last night feeling a bit guilty for not updating. I realized that Face Book is my problem. Well, I am the problem. but I have let FB distract me ALOT. I have decide to do a FB fast! A little drastic you may think. However, I am already having withdrawl symptoms, how's that for drastic? lol. Let's see, where to begin? So much to tell...

* My baby girl got married January 1st!! I am still getting used to it and still missing her so much. She lives about 2 hours away and feels so much farther. I miss hearing her in the mornings and our girl nights. We still talk everyday and we are going out to lunch Wed. :) Yes, I am going to post photos. She was the most beautiful bride I ever saw.

* My Sis-in-Law and niece came to stay from CA for three weeks. Brittany was a flower girl in the wedding. So much fun! I miss them lots too!!

* I finally can DRIVE!!! YAY!!! I have a new van to boot! Woo Hoo! Yes, I am feeling very blessed!  <3

* I am going to Physical Therapy and feeling better and stronger every day! Next week I start water aerobics to try to get this weight off before summer!

So, you could say that this is very good start to a new year!! I am going to try to be good and blog every week. hahaha.

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Matt and Cassie. He is a proud papa! :)

Cassie and Bre waiting for the Ceromony to begin

My mom, Tom, Bre and Ty

Daddy and Daughter

Bre, Matt and Tammy Dancing with unseen Brittany :)

I got a hug from my baby girl <3

 

Beautiful Brittany

These are pics that I took. I will post pictures from the Photographer once we get them. :)