Homeschool Christmas Party

I know this is very late. I do have an excuse! I lost my camera...such is my life. I can lose about anything, including my children. ;) I noticed I lost my camera on Christmas Eve when we were leaving to celebrate Christmas with my family so I got NO Christmas pictures of my own this year...which makes me sad. I am depending on my family to get me copies. I finally found my camera right where I left it.....church! So now I have it and am sharing the only Christmas pictures I have....our Homeschool Christmas party that was way back in the middle of December! We had a great time! Enjoy!

This is the only picture you will see of the boys....because they opted to stay outside most of the time and be boys instead of coming inside for crafts. We did see them every once in a while when they snuck inside for a snack!

This is my friend Laura who brought the crafts for the kids to do. She is amazing at all things artsy.



As you can see in this picture and the following, the girls really enjoyed it.



Camryn showing her snowman

My friend Kipplyn brought a craft for our little ones to have fun with. Here they are making Christmas cards.

After all the crafting and eating, I taught the older girls how to knit. They did an AWESOME job and as I hear, are still knitting and ready to learn some more stitches.

Last, but not least is this adorable little snowman dude. My friend Laura made a whole lot of these that she whipped up just that morning with her four kids. They were so yummy and cute and looked easy enough for me so I decided to make them for my family for Christmas. Big mistake. They did not turn out well. I ended up scrapping the snowman thing and just put sprinkles on it. I told Laura that I would leave the cutesy food stuff to her. ;)

Hope on her birthday!

Happy Birthday Hope!

We celebrated Hope's 3rd birthday on Tuesday and had a fun day at home together. I tried to upload the photos just now and my batteries died and we are out of them. I decided to go ahead and post before January comes! :)

I cannot believe she is already three....from the day she was born and the months following she drew out emotions in me I have never felt before when she was diagnosed with VSD. (Ventricular Septal Defect...aka hole in the heart or in her case 3 holes) I remember getting the news that it wasn't just one hole as suspected but three and that we had to watch her for symptoms and there was talk of surgery, etc.. We then went to Mardel's afterward to shop and all I remember is the incredible pain, hurt and fear and wanting to enjoy and savor every moment with her and my other children. I began missing my five year old son whom we had put in pre-k that year. That day solidified homeschooling for us (something that was always on our hearts) and even though I definitely need my breaks from my children, (or I would go crazy!) I am thankful for what baby Hope has brought to our family. She still has one hole in her heart and we are thankful the other two closed on their own. She has no symptoms and her Cardiologist says she can play quarterback when we gets older if she wants to. ;) She brings so much life to our home...she is loud, rambunctious, playful, , demonstrative and hilarious! Everything she says is either said in loud excitement or in sad despair. We can't wait to see what plans God holds for her future!

We love you Hopey Bope!

This is what happens by the time you get to #4!

Do you forsee therapy in this little guys future??

For the Frugal mom

Coming off of my last blog where I mentioned that there are more areas of homemaking skills that I would like to acquire....becoming more frugal is one of them. I have a husband who is very frugal (and that is an understatement) and after thinking for many years that he was just hoarding all of our money and just didn't want us to enjoy it, ;) I have come around to see how it has benefited us greatly.



Now, It seems my grocery bill keeps getting higher and my own spending on miscellaneous items such as clothing, household goods and decorating, etc. can sometimes get a little (okay, a lot) out of control. I want to be a better steward of our money especially during these economic times. I found these great sites that I am getting some great ideas from and thought I would pass them along to you. Hope you enjoy.

www.moneysavingmom.com
www.grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com
www.thehappyhousewife.com
www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com
www.free2befrugal.blogspot.com

and these last two just amaze me. You will find tips on EVERYTHING!
www.pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com
www.kellishouse.blogspot.com

I was tagged by my friend Crazy Daisy to tell 7 random things about myself…..

1) When I was single, I made a list of qualities that I wanted in a Christian husband and made a copy for my friend Cheryl for her to keep me accountable when I was dating. On my Wedding day, she gave it back to me and congratulated me for finding the mate who met them all. Now almost ten years later and I am learning he is so much more! (Mark still has the copy and keeps it in a special place).

2) I am obsessed with researching. Whatever issue I am concerned with or want to know more about, I tend to over research it….usually stressing myself out!

3) I have a lot of friends who say that since they were little girls, all they wanted to be was a mommy. That was the last thing on my mind when I was young or in my early twenties. When I got saved at twenty-four I had a great mentor, Laura Sartin, who poured into my life and shared a lot with me about being a wife and mother. Needless to say, I was “hooked” with my first experience of motherhood and now LOVING my role as “mommy”….four babies later.

4) I was offered a really good softball scholarship to OU that I turned down. This is something I have regretted for many years but realizing how different my circumstances would have been if I had taken that opportunity not yet being a Christian. I have now rested in the fact that I am where I was supposed to be.

5) I have a huge fear of planes (and elevators too) and that’s not good when your husbands favorite hobby is flying. :)

6) When I first got married, I knew NOTHING about managing a home. I couldn’t cook, clean or even grocery shop right….and you can forget about sewing, gardening, and those other domestic duties… I was pitiful! With the help of close friends and my husband (My mother-n-law raised her son well….thank you Vernell) and my own research ;), I have come into my own. I was a good student and after a few years, I have become a more confident domestic goddess. There are still some things on my list I want to learn, but I am proud of how far I have come.

7) I get my batteries charged by being around others. I love people. I love to watch and study them, trying to figure them out. I should have been a counselor.

Now I am tagging my friends Eyes Wide Open, Serene Chaos, The Robertson Crew and The Call of the Wild to tell 7 random things about themselves. Can’t wait to “figure you out”. ;)

My four little Pumpkins!

Our trip to the Pumpkin Patch

For Halloween we went to my family's for pictures and candy and then we went to a friends house to Trick or Treat on their street.

Tonight, we are all inside and cozy without a care in the world because the garage has been fixed!! My husband is awesome...along with my step-dad. They got it done in a day and now we can get the house painted on schedule. Needless to say, my bad week turned out not to be so bad afterall. Hopefully I will be able to say the same this next week come Tuesday. ;) I might still want to go into hibernation for the next four years.