She Really Doesn't Know!!!

As far as Ginger is concerned, she's just one of the kids. She sees no reason why she shouldn't be in her own sleeping bag just like the "other" kids. I think she'll be crushed if she ever figures out that she's a dog :)!

Two Down...One To Go

We finally got around to dissecting our grasshopper this week. We've been focusing so hard on finishing Math and English that I've had a hard time fitting in Science. First they did a journal page on what they remembered about the worm, then we did the grasshopper. I was surprised that the boys had a harder time with it than Madison did. Carter helped me a little with the cutting, but after I had it opened he or Patrick wanted nothing more to do with it. Madison actually studied it more than she did the worm. We had a harder time finding things with the grasshopper. If it was because of our poor dissecting skills, I hope that we have better luck with the frog.
I had planned on this being our last week, but we needed a few more days to finish up a few projects. Wednesday will be our last day!!!

I Love Days Like This!

I knew that Jeff would be gone for most of the day, so I let each one of the kids ask a friend over, plus we had our neighbor, Josh. Madison got up before 5 this morning to go fishing with Jeff. When they got home, Jeff and Carter had ball practice and brought one of Carter's ball friends home with them. Jeff then had to leave for a singing. Patrick invited a homeschool friend that we recently met, and they get along so well. Madison asked a friend of hers that lives right down the road from us. The great thing was that the rain held off until the evening, so they were able to stay outside all day. I love having my house/yard full of kids...it just makes me happy. Patrick's friend is spending the night and will go to church with us in the morning.I helped Madison and her friend, Kaitlyn make pretend driver's license using my new laminating machine that Jeff's mom got me for Christmas. We had so much fun, and they turned out so well!!! They also made one for Madison's cousin, Kinley. It was a fun little project. They wanted them to use when they drive the go-cart and 4-wheeler :).

Finally, when the rain drove us inside around 7:30, we ordered pizza for dinner. Kaitlyn's mom came and got her before we ate because of the weather. After taking Carter's friend home, the rest of them settled down in the living room for a movie. These are the days that make me so ready for summer break!!

Awana End of the Year Celebration!

I can't believe Awanas is ending for the summer again. It has been very strange not having Madison there with us this year....still trying to adjust to thinking of her as a youth. She did, however, ask to help me some in Awanas, and I let her, especially on the Awana store nights and a could of other fun events when I needed a little help. As always, the Awana store was followed by a pizza party then an awards ceremony in the church. It was a fun night.

Next stop...Vacation Bible School!!This year, Madison and I were placed doing preschool recreation. I will miss having a classroom to decorate and rotating with a class. It was my turn to be in Carter's room, but they already had someone there before I could sign up for it. So, we will be doing preschool recreation and getting an entirely new experience. Madison, being youth, is a helper this year and looks forward to coming up with ideas with me. I know it will be a fun week for us all....it always is!!!

Mother's Day Weekend

The kids and I met some homeschooling friends at the park on Friday. We all put our blankets and chairs together and visited while the kids all played. It wasn't as nice out there as it has been since the humidity has kicked in here, but we had a great time together.On Saturday, Patrick went to a birthday party with a friend then to his house to play. The rest of us took the boat out fishing. We stayed until after dark...until the mosquitoes got the best of us. We caught a lot of fish and had a great time! I always love the first fishing trip of the summer.On Sunday, we went to church and then out to eat. In the afternoon, we went fishing again. Patrick stayed at Jeff's parent's house with them. He really doesn't enjoy fishing like the rest of us. I used to make him go so we could all be together, but I just do what makes everyone happy now. It was a perfect day for fishing at first, but we were driven out by the rain after about 1 1/2 hours.We spent the rest of the day playing games and watching The Passion. We've held off letting the kids see it because of the nature of the violence in the movie, but Jeff has felt led to let them see it. Patrick and Madison both left the room when they were scourging Jesus. Madison came back when He started carrying His cross, but Patrick didn't come back until the end. Carter watched the entire thing. I didn't make them watch any of it that they didn't want to. It has even been hard for me to sit through it the two times that I have seen it. So many people just don't realize the amount of torture that Jesus went through before he was ever even nailed to the cross....it's hard to grasp. Every time I see Him look up and ask forgiveness for those torturing Him it humbles me.

I hope all of my "mother" friends had a great day of fun and rest. Thanks to my family for making me feel special on, not only this day, but every day of the year!

They Want Their Pond Back!

When Patrick and Carter went out to swim last night after their run with Jeff, this is what they found in the pool.There were a few frogs in the pool, a few on the deck, and who knows how many under the deck croaking! I knew they had been getting in there at night because I hear them all night and have to get frog eggs out of the pool each morning. No doubt they were breeding in there before we cleaned the pool for the summer, and they still haven't figured out that it isn't their spot anymore! Patrick and our neighbor loves swimming with them, but Patrick insists that we get them out before he will swim. We tried, but they just kept coming back :). I guess they will eventually give up and find another place. Meanwhile, we will continue falling asleep to their croaking and sharing our night swims with them!!!

One Moment

The last time I spent the night at my sister's house, her daughter asked if I would sleep in her room with her. As we lay in her bed that night in "the cave", as I call her room..a cozy closed in carport set apart from the rest of the house...she said something that started a long conversation that was so much of a foreshadowing that it is scary to think about. I don't remember her exact words, but she mentioned how one little moment can change the entire course of a person's life. I love talking to Kaylyn because she sees things so much deeper than most people her age. I think I see myself in her because she feels deeply and puts everything "out there" for others to see. If she feels it, then she says it. Because of this, our conversation was easy, yet deep. Before that visit to my sister's house was over, what Kaylyn and I had discussed two nights before came to light. One tiny moment cascaded into something that changed, not only the entire course of that visit, but the last three months of our lives. Not only that, but it pulled in other people with it. Everyone involved is okay now, but different....all because of one tiny moment.
It has led me to think even more on what Kaylyn and I discussed that night, almost as if speaking of it made it even more true. I think of the decisions that my mother made in her early life that led her to my dad. As quickly as a decision has to be made, any of them could have gone another way.
Sometimes it is the moments that we do not have control of that take hold of us the most. My mom didn't choose cancer, but that moment..standing in the kitchen with my sisters as our daddy told us that she had cancer...changed me forever. Everything I am is in some way a result of the loss of my mother. My life as I know it literally started that day standing in the kitchen...in that one tiny moment.
As each one of my children have been born, I have thought about the circumstances that brought them to me. Every time I look at Jeff and wonder how I could have ever deserved or been fortunate enough to have him, I think about the path that led to him. If my dad hadn't decided that I should work a couple of years before college, I would not have had the classes with Jeff when I did go. If I had chosen another major in college, I may have never even known him. I chose my major because of one time when Vicki mentioned that had she gone to college, she would have majored in Physical Therapy. I started out in Physical Therapy, then changed to Occupational Therapy after the first semester. What if Vicki had not said that one little sentence in that one little moment. Even as she said it she could not have known that it could have set the entire course of my life...just that moment when she casually stated that she might have majored in PT.
I know that God already knows the course of every person's life. He does not carve our paths out of the tangled web of life that we have to weave through, but he knows what decisions we will make...which forks we will take...which branches we will destroy to get through and which ones we will go around.
If I think of the big picture, every day of my life becomes so much more significant. Every word..every deed...every decision...every hug....every phone call....every moment becomes so much more important. Even as I was writing this, I received a phone call about a decision that Jeff and I need to make. It is as if God was preparing me, through this, to understand the significance of our decision. God does have control. He allows us to make our choices and choose our paths but offers small signs along the way for us to follow...like broken branches and trampled grass. I pray that I will watch for them because any one decision can change everything.....for the good or for the bad.

Homeschool Field Day

We had our homeschool field day on Friday, and it was amazing. The kids had so much fun. Carter participated in all of the events. Patrick only did the egg toss because he was too busy talking about video games and movies with some of the other boys. Madison was too old for the games..they stop at age 12...so she helped me with the 10 year old group that I was assigned to.Carter won ribbons in 6 of the 8 events, so he was very happy. Patrick left with an invitation to the movies with one of his friends....he was just as happy :).Madison's friend, Abigail, went to the field day with us. She is still 12, so she was able to compete in the games. At the end of the games, all of the age groups did a tug of war together. It was the boys against the girls, with the boys outnumbering the girls by over 10. It was an unfair advantage for the girls, but they wanted the challenge. They never beat the boys, but they had a fun time trying! Afterwards, we went out to eat, then Carter went to the college football game with Jeff's parents that night. This is the first year that we've participated in the field day. I'm not sure why we haven't done it in the past, but we won't miss it again!!