OVERHEARD....

A list of a FEW things I have heard said in the last week....

1. "When I get older I am going to have ARMS of tattoos."-Said by Malachi to Gabe while in the backseat of the car. Malachi had put on about 20 tattoos that day an was LOVING THEM!!!!

2. "Have you ever seen WIFE SWAP? If you have then you have seen ME. I was on that show."- said by Zeek to a boy in front of his "cool cousin" Sebastians house. I was LISTENING to see what they were talking about and almost CHOKED...Soooo FUNNY!!!

3. "Mom- There is a picture of someone graduating on top of the TV."-said by Malachi when he saw a new pic of HIMSELF on top of the TV!!!!

Those were a few of the FUNNY ones I heard this week!!!

A "learning" experience....

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Thursday night we came FULL circle.

At the beginning of this schoolyear we THOUGHT it would be beneficial for Malachi to go to the free Pre-K program at the preschool.

WE THOUGHT....

If I am honest I really thought it would give me extra time in the day for Zeek and Shashas lessons....It didn't!

It really just DISRUPTED our schedule and DIDN'T fit into our lives.

He was supposed to be there by 9.

We NORMALLY would have started school BEFORE 9.

BUT-because he had to be dressed and "EMOTIONALLY" ready for school... we rarely started school before 9:30 an then had to STOP our lessons to go get him by 12.

NOT so easy for OUR schedule!

Poor guy rarely wanted to go because he KNEW that the other kids were AT HOME learning.

Another thing that made it hard was our bible study.

I like to do it 1st thing in school...BEFORE we do ANYTHING else.

But with Malachi in school..we couldn't do it 1st thing an it got "put off" till after he got home an then sometimes ..DIDN't get done at all!

BUT we made it and MALACHI "graduated"...I had to bribe him at the end-But he DID it!
,
An so there it was...our "learning" experience in pre-k.

Yet another REASSURANCE that WE ARE HOMESCHOOLERS!!!!!

Talking her DOWN.....

Shashamane is a DRAMATIC little girl.

The other day she came to me with a small rash in her hairline...NO BIG DEAL! Right?

WRONG! LATER that day she came to me with a small "problem".

ACTUALLY...She came to me TOTALLY freaking out.

She had laid back on her head and felt a small LUMP.

She came to me in a panic.

She RAN into my room and said in her little raspy voice..."Mom, Whats wrong with me? I have a BIG BUMP on the back of my head. Is it ok? What if its NOT ok? Mom, What are we going to DO?"

She was BAWLING....the sweet child was BAWLING because she was worried.

AT this point...being a BIT of a HYPOCHONDRIAC myself...I swallowed hard and said "Turn around."

An there it was...a swollen lymph node!

And of course, like every CRAZY parent, my mind immediately goes to all the HORRIBLE things that could be wrong.

In these moments-HER short life flashes before my eyes.(As I read that NOW ..It DOES seem crazy!) LOL

All the while she is feeling the swollen bump on her head an looking at me with her SWEET doe eyes, CRYING, saying-"What if its NOT alright? What if it is SERIOUS?"

I put on my best "I'm the MOM, an I KNOW that it will be OK" face an say..."Calm Down, God always protects us."

She UNCONVINCINGLY looks at me and is having a PANIC ATTACK!!!

My 6 year old was standing there having a PANIC ATTACK!

I convinced her to get in the warm bath and BREATHE.

In, Out, In, Out, In, Out......

We washed her hair and stopped the WORLD for our PRECIOUS GIRL.

It really was an Eye-Opening experience for me.

It made me THINK.

It made me STOP and APPRECIATE her.

It made me want to "put a brick on her head", like my Dad used to say.

What a sweet, neurotic, sissy Bear.

So cute, so worried!!!

I love her more than words could say.

My Mom used to say I would NEVER understand what it is like REALLY LOVE someone LIKE THAT- UNTIL I had a child.

NOW- with 4 of my own....I UNDERSTAND that LOVE for a child.


PS.... I took her to the Doctor and he said he thought it was a bug bite and gave her some medicine and cream.

Secret Summer School AND feeding the Hungry

I am soooo excited!!!!

This site is AMAZING...It feeds the hungry AND makes you SMARTER!!!

Its a site called freerice.com...you play a game an for every RIGHT answer-THEY DONATE 10 grains of rice.

We are going to play all summer and see how much we can "earn".

Secret Summer school...PERFECT!!!!

www.freerice.com

"Fabulous Book" Friday...

This book CHANGED MY LIFE!!!!

It is so well written and from a BIBLICAL point of view.

If your looking for a book to "get into" this summer...I vote on THIS one!!!

My copy is so written in and highlighted that I cant even THINK about buying a new one.

Karol Ladd also writes other books: The power of a POSITIVE wife, friend, etc.

ALL OF THEM ARE GREAT!!!

Ladies, I can't STRESS this enough,
RUN to your Barnes and Noble and BUY IT!!!!

Happy Reading!

Just a "little" wet....

Ok...we get it.
We NEEDED the rain!
But- Enough already!!!!
In the last 4 days weve gotten 24 inches of rain!!!!
Thats right...24inches!
We officially live on a houseboat!!!

E-Pals.....Too Funny!

From Zeek to Emily


Emily talking to Zeke for the first time

A is for ARK

Its been POURING here in "sunny" St. Augustine for 2 WHOLE days now!!

AFTER SCHOOL-We've been on "Rain" walks, collected rain water, jumped in puddles, gone to homeschool PE,and done PLENTY of art!

Our gardens are DROWNING....Or kids are STIR CRAZY!!!

Any ideas for RAINY DAY play????

I think we will need it....Its supposed to rain till SATURDAY.

If your looking for us then...we might ALREADY be on our ARK!!!

I TOLD YOU!!!!

Shes a polka-dot princess....

Sweet polka-dot girl!

MVP....Again!

Last Saturday Zeek was MVP of his flag football team!!!!

AGAIN!!!!

He got 2 touchdowns, 1 safety, and 1 interception TO a touchdown!!!!

I have NEVER seen him try SO HARD at something.

He was amazing!!!!

We LOVE YOU ZEEK!!!!

My heart was SWOLLEN with pride....AMAZING!

Not JUST tiny waterfountains...

As we walked through the crowded halls, Malachi ran his tiny fingers over the big, stark white bricks. His eyes grazed all the "WELCOME" posters as if IN SHOCK.

Only a handful of times had the kids even been IN a public school.

So as we walked, we ALL just held a steady pace taking it all in....the drawings on the walls, the colorful awards photos, the TINY watering fountains, even the black and white checkers on parts of the floor.

We were walking thru Hartley Elementary.

We were on the way to the "Spring Fling".

I say "we"...which means ME and 7 kids.

That right ...7 kids!!LOL

Fortunatly I was meeting my sweet lady friends there.

We walke thru the HUGE school and made our way to the "fling".

We walked into a FESTIVAL.

There were bounce houses, slides, bouncy rock wall things.

I mean THIS is heaven for my kids.

There were games and prizes.

There was MUSIC....LOUD POP MUSIC!!!!

There were snow-cones AND a cake walk(which my kids had never done, so they thought it was SOOOOO cool.)

There were TONS of kids...USUALLY when we go somewhere(well..ANYWHERE)we STICK out.

Maybe its because we have 4 kids, maybe its because we have locks, maybe its because of WIFE SWAP- WHATEVER the reason- we stick out!!!!

And there we were...standing in a playground that looked like an anthill that had been STEPPED ON!!!

I have to admit, a SLIGHT panic came over me...AHHH!!!!

Seldom is there a place we go where there are SO MANY kids that ours could get MIXED UP with the other kids!!!

Anyway...The kids OBVIOUSLY all wanted to go in different directions.

"Can I go to the bounce house?"

"Can I go to the playground?"

"Can we get a snow-cone?"

and OF COURSE..."I have to go to the BATHROOM!"

Luckily -Shainee was there at that moment and took Malachi and Gabe to the bathroom.

We played and did the games and then got snow-cones, AND candy AND cookies.

The girls got their faces painted...AGAIN!

We hung around till as SHEBA put it.."The Bounce houses were melting."

I wasnt about to take 7 kids hyped up on sugar and snow cones and Red Dye #5 home w/ me without doing EVERYTHING I could to "Wear them out".

So we were LITERALLY the last people on the slide an bouncehouse.

So FUN!!!

BUT...If Im being honest-I have to admit that it was intimidating for me as a homeschooling Mom.

It was hard to walk thru the school and see all the BIG ROOMS and "EXTRAS"...Like the big playgroundd, the supplies at the teachers fingertips, the "MUSIC" room.

I have to fight back THAT feeling...The INADEQUATE feeling.

Could I possibly teach what the SCHOOL is teaching???

Without all the resourses at my fingertips and the TINY waterfountains for the kids to drink out of??

Would it really be the same when I give the kids a "Good Behavior" award?

Then we walk out the doors of the school and I KNOW...

YES I CAN!

I can give the kids ALL those things.

I CAN teach them.

I know that those awards mean the same things to MY kids as the awards the kids get at school.

I have an OPPORTUNITY that LOTS of parents dont have.

I dont HAVE to work...outside the home.

And at the SAME TIME...

I LOVE seeing the school and all the wonderful things they are doing with the kids there.

I love seeing my friends and family with their pictures PROUDLY displayed in the school because they show traits of being TRUSTWORTHY, KIND, and all around GREAT KIDS!

Its awesome and ultimatly I come away INSPIRED.

I come away with sooo many ideas that I have to write them down and tuck them away for the future.

What a blessing this "field trip" was....

What a learning experience....FOR ME.

And to top it all off...I got to watch the kids drink out of TINY waterfountains!

What a DAY...What a LOVELY DAY!!!

"Fabulous Book" Friday

This is a new thing I am going to start doing.
Every Friday...I'll pick a book that has "touched" me in some way.
Right now I am reading "Raising Girls".
It is a great, PRACTICAL book.
I love the EASY-read style that addresses ALL ages of princesses.
And who dosent need advice from birth-parenthood????

Let me know if you have read any "Fabulous Books"!!!

A"netter" Reminder....

Lil' ART 101

Yesterday we had an art lesson on Georgia O'Keeffe.
I love her art...all nature , all raw.
So I showed the kids her painting of a shell an we discussed the lines.
I had each of them run their finger over the spiral in the shell.
I had them notice the color scheme, how the colors faded from green to white to grey.
They all tried to paint a replica of her painting...Sooo Fun!
This is what THEY saw....

Summer Fever....

Ive got it....Maybe you do to????

It comes in that part of the year when our normally FUN school day starts to DRAG!!!

We all are tired of repeating the same routine everyday...or TRYING anyway.

We are tired of feeling "pressured" to finish our schoolwork while a perfectly beautiful day passes in front of our eyes.

We are tired of having to TRY and start school by 9....although we RARELY make it!

We are OVER the sunday dread of (dun dun dun da)....LESSON PLANS!!!

It is THIS time of year when its TOO BEAUTIFUL to stay inside.

It is TOO tempting(for a rebel mom like myself) to "skip school".

Its the time of year that in my head I start to hear myself say, "I mean really, its going to be TOO hot to go to the beach at 1:00 when were done w/ school. We should just go now."---NOT GOOD when YOU are the TEACHER!!!! LOL

So come on June!!!!
Bring on the heat, the suntans, the all day beach days, the LATE nights, the "weekday" sleepovers...Woo Hoo! Im sweating just THINKING about it! he he

I am sooo ready....Bring it!!

How ready are you?????

Mothers Day Thoughts.....

On this Day we, as Mothers, will get beautiful flowers, homemade cards, candy, lots of presents.

We will be told that we are loved,appreciated, and thanked.

All of these gifts are sweet and appreciated...WE are loved and appreciated.

I feel blessed to be loved and appreciated..but I also am reflecting on what kind of MOTHER I aspire to be.

I want to be worthy of GODS praise also.

When thinking of this 1 thing came to my mind...Psalm 31!

Happy Mothers Day to all of you AMAZING MOTHERS!!!


Psalm 31:10-31
10 [b]Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong,
a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.

19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
21 She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm[c] clothes.

22 She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24 She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to the merchants.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
27 She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.

28 Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
31 Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
Thank you Mama - Sizzla

Like sand in an hourglass.....

I just watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".
I watched the whole time thinking..."How SAD".
How hard would it be to have to "meet someone in the middle" of life?
How hard would it be to have to watch the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE walk away?
How UNIMAGINABLE would it be to have to watch everyone you love get old and pass?
In life I guess there are always times when we "just need a minute" away.
There is always that moment as a mother when you want some "ALONE" time.
There is always THAT moment when you want your kids out of YOUR bed.
This movie was such a reminder that time slips thru our fingers like sand.
Tommorow is NEVER promised and sometimes we DONT get a second chance.
As I sit hear and listen to the silence of my home, with everyone tucked away in their beds, I cant help but think of sometime in the future when my life wont be LIKE THIS.
As I sit hear with my sleeping children, my loving husband and a FULL DAY of school and fun ahead of me tommorow....I cant help but let the tears run down my face.
A mix of joy and sadness.
A confusion of happiness and pain.
I cry at the thought of a quiet home where my children no longer sleep, because they have THEIR OWN families..
I cant help but reflect on how MY parents must feel as they watch US grow.
To be honest ...I am scared.
It scares me to get to this point in my life.
I am sooo happy, sometimes I look around and think, "This is the BEST time of my life."
I know that with every day that passes, we watch our children grow.
With every day that passes we watch our parents and family age.
Its a HEAVY reminder that LIFE IS SHORT.
Its a reminder that we are SO FAR from being in control....
God is in control.
Life is a heavy load....But we have to carry it.
Life is sooo short...we have to LIVE it.
So..as I walk thru my home and look upon each of my children and husband tonight, I am going to watch each of them until I have painted a permanent picture in my mind.
I want to remember EVERY DETAIL of tonight.
I want to remember THIS LIFE...just how it is.

A fork in the road.....

Sometimes I feel like I am the one in "training".
It is SOOOOO TRUE what "they" say about children- "You never understand until YOU have one of your own."
I never really understood the HEAVINESS of parenthood.
I mean...I knew that it would be hard and trying.
I knew that there would be disappointments and long roads ahead.
I never understood how HARD it would be to raise these children.
Especially in a world FULL of DISRESPECT, DISHONESTY, and HATE.
I guess I just hadnt gotten to THIS part.
The part where little boys start to have smart mouths and talk back.
Im not sure how to handle this part.
I feel anxiety comming on.
I am feeling the pressure..GOD'S PRESSURE.
The past three days of a "smart mouth" boy have left me standing with my mouth dropped open.
Its left me RUNNING to the bible for guidance on what to do.
THIS is SOME of what I found:



22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;

26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him.

29 Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let him be filled with disgrace.

31 For men are not cast off
by the Lord forever.

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.

Last weekend....

Last weekend Jay went into OP on Saturday early morning as a gift to his Mom for Mothers Day.
She had some projects that would have been UN-doable without Jay.
He is sooo amazing.
I can only pray and try and train OUR boys, so that when they are grown, they will have the same SKILLS as their father.


Anyway...we were BUSY all weekend.
We had a great game on Saturday.
Zeek has really gotten to be really amazing at football.
He runs faster, throws better, pulls flags quicker, AND has MORE enthusiasm than he did last year.
Malachi- not so much!!!
Hes one of the "little guys" on the team.
Saturday was his first game AFTER the KNEE INJURY!!
AND Jay wasnt there.
Coach asked him a couple of times if he wanted to play and he said .."Nah."
It was so interesting to see the age differences between all the boys.
Give thanks that Zeek DIDN'T go with the bigger boys- Some of them have mustaches!!!!

That afternoon, Sebastian was performing at the ampitheatre with his school group.
It was AMAZING to see all the kids being creative.
There was music, artwork, dance groups, from different schools and age groups!!
It really inspired me to start more music classes and projects with the kids.
I mean I do heve a TALENTED group of musicians at my fingertips! LOL

Then on Sunday...We ALL went to the beach, Daddy included!
He came home Saturday night with a HUGE bag of CLAY!!!!
Thats right..I said CLAY!
He was digging the fencepost for his Moms fence and HE HOMESCHOOL GOLD!!!
He hit BLUE CLAY!!!
So we brought SOME of it to the beach and let everyone go to town.
You would NEVER think to do at the beach, but what a great opportunity to get your hands dirty and then PLAY!!!!

Thank GOD for this amazing blessing of a life.

Seeing SPOTS!!!

Lately...I've been seeing spots.

Lots and lots of POLKA DOTS.

Sheba loves dots of any size or hue.

She even loves dots on her shoes!

Shes so cute with her LOVE of dots.

I love her so much...I'M seeing spots!

MVP!!!!

Well this is Zeek running the 1 touchdown of the season for his team!!!

Go Zeek!!! We are sooo proud of you!

Go Lil' Jags!!! Malachi comes OFF THE BENCH tommorow!!!

Before and After

So ...In case you didnt know-Sheba has been missing "a few" teeth for about the last couple of months.

In January, she fell and knocked OUT her front tooth and a few days later we realized that ANOTHER tooth was badly cracked!

Sooooo...the sweet child had the 2 teeth pulled!!!!

Of course, I have NEVER been to the dentist with her because of the fact that I would be of ABSOLUTELY no help!

It would be ME they would have to sedate!!!

Well this week after 3 months of what I LOVINGLY call the "Hillbilly" Sheba look...She got a NEW grill!!!!

Were so happy that she won't have to eat carrots with 1 front tooth anymore.

Were sooo happy that we won't have to cut the corn off the cob for her! LOL

Shes beautiful no matter what...WE love you Sheba-Weba!!!

Before:


After: