Archives for February 2009

Let's Get Dressed…..or not!

One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is the flexibility it allows our family. Some days are scheduled and busy and then other days are relaxed and we take our time with school. Like today, for example. I didn’t sleep that well last night so we got going a little later than usual.

Guitar got rescheduled from 4:30 this afternoon to noon so we were able to run by the local hamburger joint for a few burgers and head out to guitar. A good friend of ours teaches our oldest son so while they were having fun learning new songs I got to hold a 4 week old and play with their 1 year old.

We had a blast. The kids all brought toys and we sat on their tree swing and screamed at the top of our lungs and listened to our voices echo. The baby slept right through all the screaming and we had so much fun being amazed at one of God’s really cool inventions….the echo.

Some days are just that way.
And I love them.
Some days we dress.
Some days we don’t.
Some days we play basketball in our PJ’s at the neighbor’s house.
Yep, the neighbors.

I know one day my kids will have to adhere to life’s schedules and demands but I hope that the relaxed nature of homeschooling transfers into their lives and their family’s lives after they are married with kids of their own.

Life can be very demanding and it’s nice to stop every once and a while to enjoy the sunshine, our PJ’s and a little baby smell!

Have a great weekend!

4 Comments

Posted: February 26, 2009 by Julie |Category: Homeschooling | Tags:

A Full Recovery

Since loosing half my foot meat to the dermatologist (see previous post) on Friday I’ve made a full recovery and have been shooting a little hoops…..

Not really.
Did I get ‘cha?

I’m still hobbling around but without crutches now or crunches as my boys call them or walking sticks as my daughter calls them.

My buddy The Scooper has a wonderful post today on grace. Go check out her wonderful photography.

We watched 24 last night. Boy was it good.
And next week is the last episode of The Bachelor.
Yes, I shamelessly admit I watch it, TVOed, and FF’ed through some parts.
But I watch it.

Have a great Tuesday.
My kids are having trouble concentrating on school today.

1 Comment

Posted: February 24, 2009 by Julie |Category: Other Happenings | Tags:

My view on Saturday

Well, this is how I’ve spent Saturday.

Nice, huh???

Here’s the view without the sock. Just in the event you are interested.

Even nicer, huh??

I had a small (like the size of a speck of dust) mole removed from my foot. It was one of those "not okay" moles. I’m always amazed how they pop up in places that have never seen the light of day. I mean, the bottom of my foot???

The surgery to remove it and all surrounding flesh ended up being about quarter size. And honestly, it wouldn’t be that bad if it wasn’t in the arch of my foot where the skin CAN NOT stretch or I’ll pop the stitches. Therefore, the crutches you see in the background of the first photo.

And baby girl woke up at 1am throwing up. She was sick all night and finally quit throwing up around 7am this morning. She’s slowly taken liquids since then and kept them down. I think she has a low grade fever but nothing too bad!

So I spent the day on the bed with my foot propped up and she spent the day here…beside my bed, beside the trashcan, on the floor.

Thankfully everyone else in the family is okay. Just the girls are down and out.

On a brighter note a very good friend of mine is visiting this weekend. I haven’t seen her in FOREVER and am trying to bribe her back here on my birthday which is next month.

I’ll be 24.

Smile.

I wish.

Oh and I got to babysit a precious 5 week old yesterday. Oh, that baby smell!!!

I miss it.

Going to stir the soup.
Have a good weekend.

4 Comments

Posted: February 21, 2009 by Julie |Category: Other Happenings | Tags:

Doing myself a favor…

Today I did myself a favor. I slept in.
It was sweet! I had planned to go to bible study but when I got out of bed it was rainy and cold. And I thought “Oh, what a good day to crawl back in bed”. So as soon as the sitter arrived I did just that. From 9am until 12pm I slept like a bear.
A friend told me that women are nurturers. I knew that. But she also told me that we forget to nurture ourselves. So this morning I did just that.
Hmmm…..wonder what time they’ll let me get in bed tonight?

And just because posts are better with pictures….

“Learning to shoot one handed”

Have a great night and tomorrow.

2 Comments

Posted: February 18, 2009 by Julie |Category: Parenting | Tags:

Not much to say…

or I guess you could call it Wordless Wednesday but I really don’t participate enough to call it that. But since I’ve not much to say and a ton to do today here’s my big guy shooting hoops. A sport he had sworn off until just this year. Before now it’s been football or bust!

Now off to do a whole week of Bible Study which I haven’t touched since last week. UGH

1 Comment

Posted: February 17, 2009 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

With mouth wide open…

Sheer Concentration!

That’s what it takes sometimes to make right choices. At least that is the way it’s been in my life. Some of you “real life” friends know that we have recently been through a job change. We were so blessed to receive a severance package from our former employers that allowed us to pay off all our debt except our house. Is that a WOW or what???

The remaining money we planned on socking away in savings and supplementing our income for a while until we adjusted to our new yearly income. After a few miscalculations on our part we ended up with a little less than we planned. Still no big deal. We’d get the rest next year at tax time. Instead of saving it ourselves we’d let the government get use it for a while. “Aren’t we kind?”

So with the remaining “sock it away” money we then realized we had not figured in our tithe. YIKES.
“Ahm, excuse me God, but do we have to tithe this money?”

“I mean, I know it’s income and all but we were planning to save it and ended up with a little less than we thought. So……???”

looooong preeeegnant pauuuuuse

“Ok, Lord, I’ll just be honest here. You know my heart anyway. I don’t want to tithe that money.”

There. I said it.

I could call myself all kinds of names but let’s just call me a REAL Christian.
Sometimes I don’t want to do what is best for me.
Sometimes I want my way and not the Father’s way.
Sometimes I’m a little dense like that.

So a few days pass and I allow myself to be in this place knowing good and well I’ll do what my DAD wants because, well, I really love him and I’m his girl. I want to please him. I want him to smile upon me. And I love, did I say LOVE?, his blessings.

“Pst….tell ya a secret…..He think’s I’m really special.”

So a few days of some heart changing and I begin to pray about where God wants the money to go. Hmmm……

“Lord, show me who you want to touch with YOUR money.”

And oh my word!
Here’s where the Mouth Wide Open part comes in.
The blessings I have been able to be a part of!!!
It makes me wonder why I ever question Him. Why do we? Crazy us!

It is more blessed to give than to receive.
It really is.
Really.
I’m not kidding, really!

I have felt so honored just to be a part of God’s work in blessing others that I’m so excited about doing it again.
More often.
With greater fervor.
With greater concentration that I am investing money in eternal things.
That one day when I’m walking the streets of gold He’ll allow me to see what my obedience started, ended or continued. I’ll see people that I touched and never knew I’d touched. I’ll see him smile at me and I’ll remember the secret.

“He really thinks I’m really special!”

Be a blessing to someone today. Try it out.

2 Comments

Posted: February 16, 2009 by Julie |Category: God Breathed | Tags:

Taking time to talk…

Yesterday I got to chat with a friend of mine via telephone who is also a stay-at-home homeschool mom. Her hubbie is out of the house a couple evenings a week and she’s the sole parent for 24×7 some days. When RocketMan traveled I was the sole parent some days too. It’s a hard job and my hat goes off to all the single parents out there. I don’t (and I really don’t) know how you do it.

At one time I could think. And I could complete sentences without the thousands of interruptions I have in a day.

At one time I cared about what happened in other family’s lives and I could do something about that desire to help.

At one time I ministered outside my home.
I cooked meals.
I took bread.
I babysat.

But now is a different time in my life. My ministry and every single ounce of my energy is taken up at home. I still care for others. But not at the level I once did. I still want to help. But have no energy for it. I have four little ones and a husband that take all that I am. My life is poured into them.

It’s a strange thing, this stay-at-home mom thing. It’s wonderful, it’s wonderous, it’s frustrating, it’s confusing and it’s blessed.

In my conversation with my friend the other day I realized how much we need each other. I offered a listening ear if she ever just needs to call and scream, then hang up. Don’t you wish you could do that sometimes? Just know that someone else outside of your four walls knows that it’s a tough day? That someone else can hear you scream?

And as I type I remember God hears. He see’s my “I’m the absolute worst mom in the world” days. He sees my frustration when teaching/loving/caring for my kids.

And though I know beyond a doubt that He hears. It’s nice to have a human ear that hears too. One who doesn’t judge me when I’m beyond myself with frustration. One that can listen to me vent and tell me tomorrow will be a new day.

Thanks, friend.
You know who you are.

4 Comments

Posted: February 12, 2009 by Julie |Category: Homeschooling | Our Family, Our Lives | Tags:

More Fun!

But first rats, rats and double rats.
I just deleted my post.
UGH!
I just HATE IT when that happens.

Sometimes I wonder if what I’d had to say just wasn’t what God wanted you to hear.
Hmmmmm…..

Anywho…..

Saturday was spent exploring while Sunday was spent in the yard. So here are some pictures from Saturday. We ended up at a local park and big fields just lend themselves to football in our family. Before long a pick-up game was in full swing.

Forever the coach…

Wonder what he’s thinking?
Dirty feet, green grass, sunshine on your head…..how does life get any better??

We love fashion in our house (not!). My poor sister and nieces have to dress me.
Here’s a perfect example. Flower flipflops, red velvet and leopard print pants! Yea baby!!

One from Sunday…
Baby girl sharing a swing with her friend who spent the day with us.

And one from my photographer son!…..
Good job buddy.

2 Comments

Posted: February 10, 2009 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

A Wonderful Time of Year

This weekend we were blessed with 70 degree weather. It was so nice to be outside just sitting in my chair watching the kids play. That was, until my husband got these out….

(look those calves!)

Then a round of yard work ensued! And I have the blisters to prove it. Rocket Man kept telling me to put on gloves but they never work for me.

I admit it was fun working beside him as the kids played and enjoyed the day. We got some of the leaves that hide under the bushes all winter long dug out, some bushes trimmed and part of the leaves in the back yard up. We live on a wooded lot so we have more leaves than we know what to do with every fall.

The kids made up all kinds of games on the skateboards. Racing and riding on their rear ends,
Here’s one of my favorites from the day…
See those scabs on #3 son’s face? That’s from flying down the driveway in a wagon this weekend! Our kids are quite the dare devils!

And one of our oldest flying down the driveway…

And another…..

And another….
Here’s another of my favorites……there is something about the flip side of things….

Here’s one from the day the wagon accident happened…

And one of my "model worthy" son…

Or what about this pose??

I’ve got a lot more pictures to post tomorrow so "ta-ta" for now!

1 Comment

Posted: February 9, 2009 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

It's all at the park!

Last week in the cool but brisk 50 degree weather we ventured into Greenville for a field trip to the theater to watch The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It was a great play put on by a group that caters to school children. It lasted about an hour and was fun to watch. Afterwards we visited a local park and had such a blast running around trying to keep warm. Here’s a couple pictures from our day!

The kids had a blast on this thing…..

They would take turns pushing each other and trying to stay on without holding on. Because the "merry go round" was set at an angle it was quite a task.

I love the action I captured in these two shots (the one above and below.)

This thing was another hit. Since everything was angled in some strange way it made for so much more fun. Everything felt wobbly!

Three boys trying to hang on this time!

Baby girl tried her hand at hanging on.

Next was this cool skateboard type thingie…

I wanted to try it but I was chicken!
I think I succeeded in wearing them out though!

Today was almost 70 here and gorgeous! Spring is just around the corner.
Hope you had a great weekend.
IN HIM,