Muchas Gracias.....

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Craig Sent the kids presents also...
We loved creative gifts...The kids thought they were soooo cool!!!
They also sent 2 books for the kids.
REALLY AMAZING BOOKS!!!!!
Kinda a EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW GUIDE for the girls and boys.

I couldn't put it down...
Thank you so much!!!!

Many Blessings.....

The kids were soooo excited to get gifts from Uncle Brian and Aunt Shauna.
They All lined up and waited "patiently" while I handed them out.


Malachi and Sheba went 1st...Sheba was so excited about her "Little Mermaid Cup" that I couldnt hardly get her to look at the camera!!!She also LOVED her dress up shoes!!!
Malachi couldnt get enough of the spiderman motorcycle...


I finally snagged one!!!! She LOVES IT!!!!


Zeek also was sooooo excited about the "web Slinger"..So excited he took the batteries out of the remote!!! And if you know Zeek...THATS HUGE!!!! LOL


And Princess Shashamane LOVED her Shoes and her little case of rings...She made me put them way up high..where Sheba couldnt get them!!

Thank you so much for sending the gifts . We appreciate it sooo much.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank You.....

Sometimes I have 1 foot in The LOONEY BIN!!!!

I try to convince myself that I am in control.
I try to say to myself that I dont need a break.
But about 3 days deep, I start to feel it.
I LOVE MY KIDS.
But sometimes a girl needs a break!!!
Anyway...thats why I havent written too much lately.
I've been having a mini-meltdown!!!
Pray for me.

In the meantime.....Read the posts below.
I had a better mind set.
Like I said, Pray for me.

The light.....

I was up last night w/ the kids ...SICK . I turned on the TV and was brought back to real roots real FAST.

BOB MARLEY LIVE was one of the first concerts that I saw of Bob Marley and it touched me to the core.

It touched me at a time in my life when I was so lost and and I was searching for my own soul.

It was 1998...VILANO BEACH...my apartment.

I remember it like it was TODAY...
It was one of theose moments of CLARITY that CHANGED MY LIFE.

It was while watching this show that I realized that my life was in the depths of HELL...

It was while watching this show that I was INFUSED with the love of GOD...

I was while watching this that I realized that my life was soooooo far from where it was supposed to be...

It CHANGED MY LIFE!!!!

Almost from that EXACT MOMENT....I was SAVED.

Rastafari entered my life and I realized that life could be full of LIGHT.

It was in thes moments that I met CHRIST.

It was in these moments that I FINALLY realized that JAH was INSIDE of me...He was the light that was always there, waiting for me to bust thru MY 7 SEALS.

My eyes, ears, nose and mouth ....MY 7 seals..... BUSTED WIDE OPEN.

It was from these moments that my mind worked in a different way than it did before....I was now walking IN THE LIGHT.

I sit here and reflect on my life ...with tears streaming down my face.

Tears of Joy, thankfullness, happiness, love, light......

I thank God for this Journey...

I thank Jah for this LIFE.

The AMAZING, INCREDIBLE EZEKIEL!!!!!

Ezekiel is an amazing child...

He is just as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outside.

Tonight we were watching "Planet Earth" and all the sudden he turned to me and said ,
"Mom, I think when I get older I want to make things and have a store and when people can afford them they can buy them..and when they CAN'T...I'll just GIVE it to them."

I said, "Thats great ..You know that God appreciates those things when they come from your heart. What are you going to invent???"

Zeek said, " I have already thought of it. I am going to make a bus, but longer and fatter, so that families with lots of kids can use it."

At this point..I am TOTALLY FALLING in LOVE with this child who is growing up actually in front of me as we spoke.

He then follows me around the house and tells me all kinds of details about OTHER inventions he has ALREADY thought of!!!

Like...headphones that are somehow connected to a TV that shows your thoughts??????
(PLEASE God....Do NOT grant him the wisdom to make THIS....LOL)Sometimes I would be in trouble....

AMAZING....His Brain is EXPANDING as we speak!!!

Then- as usual I try and "sneak" in a lesson or activity...

I said, "Why don't we get you a poster and we'll write "ZEEKS INVENTIONS" on it and over time you can draw all the inventions you think of???"

I, of course, thought this was BRILLIANT and SNEAKY...

His response..."Uh...No, Maybe when I'm older."

Then he kept talking as if I had said NOTHING.

He saw thru my plan...He KNEW he would have to pick up a PENCIL!!!

What an AMAZING child that, GOD-WILLING, I am SURE will grow up to be an AMAZING MAN...

GOD is ALMIGHTY!!!!!

Life is such a JOURNEY...
If you haven seen EVAN ALMIGHTY....WATCH IT!!!
It is so funny.
And a teaching tool..WATCH IT WITH YOUR KIDS.
I NEVER thought that I would EVER let the kids watch a movie like this because of the fact that it takes GOD a little lightly...
But - I have learned to LIGHTEN UP in the past couple of years.
It is a great movie to watch WITH the kids because of the fact that there are alot of "stop-n-talk" moments..alot of explaining for my age kids age group.
Alot of talk about how this is just a movie....It is taken FROM a story in the bible.
NOT REAL...And there is the issue of GOD actually having a FACE.
Anyway..we laughed all the way thru it!!!!!
Makes you THINK about the ARK.....

GRRRRRRR....................

Ok...some days Im not so nice.
Some days we skip school. (Thank goodness for LEAPSTERS)
I consider it a small price to pay.
We ALL pay our dues one way or another....
Tommorow is a NEW day!!!
I have to just let it go.
I consider it an excercise in patience, LOVE, and listening to GOD.
When he says take a break ...I have learned to LISTEN!!!

What a DAY!!!!!

Well...I have spent alot of time lately saying how much Zeek DOES NOT wat to read.

Then ...Out of NOWHERE...Zeek starting ASKING to read his books!!!

A M A Z I N G!!!!! Let me SPELL it again...A M A Z I N G !!!!!!!!!!

Usually, when he asks to read...WE STOP EVEYTHING ELSE and READ!!!!!

He picks out his book and sits at the table and just reads and reads...

I have been standing by with High-5's ready...

GO ZEEK!!!!!!

The price of a moment of silence.....

This is what happens when Sheba finds 5 minutes of "FREE" time!!!
I was doing some schoolwork with the other kids and suddenly realized that I didnt hear Sheba....
So I stopped and RAN to find her!!!
She was quietly sitting in the bathroom.....
LIKE THIS!!!!!!!
Then,(without even thinking about what would happen in tne next 2 MINUTES) I went to get my camera!!!
She was sooooo proud to be able to show off her "work"....What a MESSY little angel!!!!
Go Sheba-Weba!!!!!

Pow-Wow Festivities!!!

Pow-WOW!!!!!
What a great weekend we had!!
We had a great party and had sooooo many friends and family here.
About 25-30 kids and about 40-50 Adults!!!!!!
So many that at one point our friend Mitch said, "Were 25 minutes from LORD OF THE FLIES!!!"
Soooo True...It did feel like we were on the verge of being taken over by all these LITTLE BRAVES!!!!
But thankfully....It never happened.
We had face paint and crafts for the kids
We had plenty of food to eat and great bonfire...not to mention, all the LOVE that you could take in.
Then....The next morning, we woke up and ate breakfast and made another fire.
The kids PLAYED and PLAYED!!!
At about 1 PM the next day...we saw the last of our friends head home.
I know in my heart that these get-togethers bring us all CLOSER TOGETHER and have a healing effect on all those that come TOGETHER in the yard.
What a great weekend!!!
Memories that will last forever.....

Native American November

This is the chart we have posted in the kitchen that describes different Indian Tribes and their, environment, food, clothing, and crafts.
The kids love filling out what they learned that day..



Shasha LOVES learning all about the indians...
We just learned about Pocahontas...She loves stories about ANY kind of princess!!!
Well keep you posted on the rest of our crafts this November.

Super Shasha!!!

After Shashas last soccer game on Sat...The whole team went to CiCi's Pizza and had a party!!!
Her coaches(Uncle Jeff and Coach Lyons) presented each of them with a GREAT trophy!!!
I guess she could get the award for the most FALLS and time on the sidelines!!!
We love you Shasha...GREAT SEASON!!!

Is ANYTHING to hard for the LORD?????

He's Home....Ahhhhh.

Jay got home from 4 days in North Carolina w/ Scholars Word.
Its funny that after 9 years that I still find myself waiting at the door for him.
Just waiting on the smell of him.
Were soooo Happy he's home safely.

Were growing MOLD!!!!

Well were doing a science experiment on MOLD!!!!
We started by getting some food that would MOLD.


We discussed what food would mold easily.
We chose bread, squash, and bananas.
The kids dipped the food in a cup of water and put them in a jar and sealed it up.


Then we made signs so that no one would touch or move them.
If you know Jay...we have to do this, or we would NEVER actually SEE the mold...He would have already have thrown them away.


The kids really liked doing this...We will keep you updeated with the "MOLD TERRERIUM"
I LOVE these Science Experiments!!!!
Hooray!!!!

Reflection...

Sometimes when Jay is out of town I am tested the most.
I get it.
I understand why.
I guess I should be used to it.
And usually I have to REALLY reach for patience and perspective.
It is just a 24 hour NON-STOP task with 4 all by myself.
But at the end of the day...every night, it seems to fall into place.
Thats when I usually have a chance to lay my burdens down.
Thats when I have a chance to lay and pray about the things that were hard for me that day.
Thats when I can reflect on the day and am usually full of regret about how I handled this or that.
But that is when God speaks to me.....Or thats when I listen.
Thats when He uses the reflection to teach me about tommorow.
Thats when He usually opens my heart to His voice.

Shashamanes' 5th Birthday!!!!!

Today we had a great day!!!
Shashamane was sooo excited when she woke up and it was FINALLY her birthday!!!!
She had been waiting on it for weeks.
We started off the day with Strawberry POP-TARTS!
Then Shasha opened her presents.
We got her a tiara, play shoes, a princess blanket, princess crafts, and her FAVORITE...An easy-bake oven!!!
Then I spent the morning saying, "Not Yet!!!" whenever she asked, "Can we do the easy-bake oven?"
And as soon as Sheba fell asleep for her nap...IT WAS ON!!!!!
We set everything up and decided to cook the oreo cake first..So Cute!
She INSISTED on doing EVERYTHING herself.
Then - for the next 2 1/2 hours we made beautiful cakes with creamy icing decorated with sprinkles.
Then we did all the princess crafts we had available.
She decided she wanted to cook veggie-dogs and "smores" by the fire, so we went to the store to get supplies!
We came home and rode bikes for an hour before Dad got here.
FYI: Shasha brought her bike home and REFUSED to ride it with the training wheels.
So Jay took them off and shes been practicing ever since!!!
Then Daddy got home and we built a fire...We sat by the fire and cooked veggie dogs and made our marshmellow-less "smores".
What a blessing this child is...Last night as we celebrated, we counted our blessings.
What a sweet day we had ...Perfect for the little princess!!!

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!!!!!!

It has been raining for what seems like months.



We have been inside for what seems like YEARS.


So one day we had HAD ENOUGH!!! Dad came home and told them to go PLAY!!!


Soon, these creative kids found a place for some ORIGINAL art!!!


And what BEAUTIFUL art it was!!!!!

Native American November

Well...It is November.
This month we are focusing on the Native Americans.
We are studying the 5 tribes native to America.
We will study what they ate, where and how they lived.
We are having a Pow-Wow on Nov. 17.....with Native American games and crafts.
We will also be making an Indian Longhouse made of graham crackers and other edible stuff...(think gingerbread house).
So...if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, let us know.
We will keep you updated with pics and posts.

A little Perspective......

Its funny how sometimes in life you REALLY learn a lesson or you REALLY come across something that REALLY affects your life.
I am always reading a bunch of books.
Sometimes its a homeschooling book, sometimes a parenting book, maybe a spiritual book....I am the kind of person that goes to the library and my mind goes into overdive and I FORGET that all these great books will be there NEXT TIME!!!!
Right now...One of the books I am reading is called "The Power of a Positive Mom" by Karol Ladd.
This is a GREAT book for anyone who has a hard time being positive in hard situations.
It includes chapters called: the power of incouragement, the power of prayer, the power of good attitude, and the power of a good example.
And all of it is biblically supported thru scripture.
Hallelujah!!!!
Well today I read something that just tweaked my perspective.
I want to believe that I am usaually a positive person that looks for the good in every situation.
Which ...compared to my husband, who is eternally happy and optimistic, is not easy.
And this afternoon, as I faced 5 kids running around, a dinner to cook, baths to give, a house to clean, and still MORE laundy to do...I NEEDED a pick-me-up!!!
It was then that I decided to sit down and read a little of my book.
I am currently on a chapter called : Attitude of Gratitude.
I was reading about a girl named Pollyanna...she was the daughter of missionaries in a foreign country.
She had been waiting on a package from the states which included a doll.
She waited and waited.
When the package finally got there....it had no doll. Instead ..there was a pair of childs crutches.
Pollyannas Father immediately made up a game called the "Glad Game".
The game encouraged his daughter to find somthing positive in EVERY situation.
Pollyanna finally realized that she should be glad that SHE wasnt the one that needed the crutches!!!
What a change of perspective....
I realized that even though I had all those jobs in front of me still before I could rest my feet....I should be thankful for ALL THOSE JOBS.
I remembered in Costa Rica when All I dreamed of was having a place with food in the fridge, a washing machine to wash clothes, and a cozy place to rest with our family.
I realized at that moment ....My Prayers have been ANSWERED, already.
I realized that these jobs ARE my little blessings.
So as I fed, bathed, and cleaned tonight...my perspective shifted.

Bring it on!!!!!

I cannot wait for the winter....I know it SOUNDS crazy.
But, we missed all of last winter here in the ARCTIC area of Florida.
So, needless to say, we are all ready for fall.
Zeek has been wearing his hoodie for the last couple of days because he thinks it is getting "COLD".
Today...I asked Shashamane to get Shebas shoes so that we could go outside, and Shasha brought me the littlw Uggs that used to be hers...So Cute!!!
I cannot wait to start the "fall" lessons for the year...Fun!!!
Maybe well make an Edible Indian Longhouse....Any Ideas?????

L-O-V-E...SIBLING LOVE

These kids all REALLY LOVE one another...It is soooo cute.

Go Auburn!!!!

Thank You Mimi And Grandaddy for the bday presents.
Zeek LOVES them.
Go Auburn!!!
This is Zeek "acting" like hes catching the ball mid-air!!!
so cool!!!
Thank You...It will get lots of use around here.
We love you!

Super Saturday?????

Zeek had a great game on Sat.
He scored a couple of goals.
He loves it!!! Hes a great sport and ALWAYS is there to help a fallen teammate or cheer on the team.
And as you can see ...he has aGREAT time playing!!!!


Then there is Shashamane.
She is a great player, when she will actually STAY ON THE FEILD.
She can run AMAZINGLY FAST.
But she just dosent LIKE TO PLAY.
She is always the first one on the field to get hurt.
She is always the first one to get hungry or thirsty.
And as you can see, shes not really HAPPY running thru the tunnel at the end of the game.(This is most kids FAVORITE part)
And when I ask her, "Do you want to play soccer next season?"
Her typical response is, "Mooommmmm, I want to take DANCE again!"
Such a princess...maybe well just put Malachi in Shashas uniform for the rest of ther season.
Do you think anyone would notice?????

Shes a SUPER cheerleader!!!

This is the Cheerleading uniform she got for an "early" bday present from Daddy!!
As you can see she THOURALLY LOVES TO DO THIS!!!!!!

Our Sweet Children

We have said "our" poem sooooo much that Malachi knows it by heart.
This video MELTS MY HEART!!!!!
Our Sweet, sweet boy!

And Shasha and Sheba HAD to get in the video...
Gotta Love em.
Thought yall would like this little glimpse.

Shashamane..an angel among us.

Its sooo funny when you get something you NEVER expected.
I NEVER expected a little girl that was such a girly-girl.
I always envisioned a little girl that fought me when I wanted to put her in a dress.
What a blessing it is to have a little girl that is sooooo GIRLY.
Her favorite web page is called stardolls.com- a little like cyber-paperdolls.
She loves it..she could play for hours....if we let her.
She loves ANYTHING princess.
She loves to wear a dress, even if she is catching lizards or frogs.
She wants EVERYTHING dyed pink.
EVERYTHING>>>>
She loves to wear her hair in barrettes.
ANd she Loves fashion and painting fingernails.
Sooooo FUN.
Fun, Girly, Fun....
Whata blessing this little princess is to us...An ANGEL.

We Live In A Zoo....

2 Dogs + 1 Turtle + 2 Mice + 16 fish + 1000's of frogs + 4 kids + 1 husband = 1 CRAZY ZOO!!!!!

I Love Homeschooling.....

I love Homeschooling...even though it is one of the HARDEST things Ive ever done, probably because of the stress I put on myself!
I love it because it teaches ME discipline.
It makes me wake up thinking about lesson plans, and makes me go to sleep praying for guidance.
It makes me go to Petco and buy a mouse "to study".
And then "in the name of homeschooling" I go BACK to Petco to get ANOTHER mouse because "Princess Fiona" is lonely!!!
I love it because it makes ME learn.
I love the way we have a Bible Study every morning.
I love staying up till all hours of the night making lesson plans or printing worksheets.
I love the way being with my kids all day drives me crazy some days.
I love the way I can have plans for something but when It isnt working, I can change the plans.
I love homeschooling....

T is for Turtle

Well we found a turtle on the side of the road the other day.
So we brought it home to "study" it.
This week we will start to learn ALL ABOUT TURTLES!!!!
The kids couldnt be more excited.
They names him Michaelangelo....just like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!!!