I DID get a lot of reorganization work done around the house since not having the computer. Somehow, though, it doesn't stay any cleaner! Go figure.
We had dance pictures and though it was tiring being there so long, it was fun. I use picture day as a "dry run" for getting the two of them ready for recital. After picture day, I know what I need for each costume and can plan better.
Brooke started back with track. The team seems to be growing and that's great. Dylan has started his private instruction for wrestling and so far seems to enjoy that.
Jeff's grandfather has been in and out of the hospital and don't even ask me to explain what the problem is. Something to do with his platelets and now his heart. All I know is that he is in his mid-80's and very healthy for a man his age. But he is having a rough time of it so if you are a praying person, please pray for him. I know he has been a tremendous influence in Jeff's life--one of the few people he has true respect, honor and admiration for.
We went camping for a few days over Spring Break and had a fabulous time, although we nearly froze to death the first night! It was a cold one! But we made it and really enjoyed spending some quality time together, regrouping as a family. These days, even though we homeschool, it seems like we are always going in 20 different directions. It's nice to slow things down a bit sometimes. We relaxed around the campfire, walked, the girls rode their bikes, the boys fished and I read. The girls and I rode horses and waded in the lake and played in the sand. We taught the kids how to play hearts with cards and cooked over an open flame and made yummy yummy s'mores!
We came home Saturday before Easter Sunday and so we had a lot to do but the first thing we did was nap!
Later that evening after dinner, the kids dyed their eggs, we made a cake and some food to share with family the next day and Resurrection Cookies! They are the best!
On Easter morning, we awoke the find the Easter bunny had went bezerk this year and not only hid the eggs but hid the Easter baskets as well! Fortunately for us, though, he'd tied a piece of yarn to the basket and then wound it back through the house creating a "yarn maze" for everyone to have to navigate through to find their baskets.
After Easter breakfast, the kids and I attended services at Clearview where it was so packed out, they had to bring in chairs and we sat in the back. But we were actually quite comfortable leaning against the wall! What a great problem to have--no room in the church!
After church, we went over to my cousin's for Easter dinner. The kids had an egg hunt and the adults (most of them) had a beer hunt. I have never cared for beer but I do get a kick out of watching those grownups co crazy looking for something. Especially Jeff, who usually can't find what he's looking for in the kitchen cabinets but he can surely sniff out a beer in the bushes! I just don't get it! LOL
Tuesday, I kept my mom's daycare kids for her and gave her the day off. I think it would stink to have a job that you could never call in sick to when you needed a break! And I have baby fever lately, so I enjoyed taking care of the little ones.
Yes, I said it out loud. I have baby fever. Usually I get over it but not this time and I really need to because we absolutely can't have anymore children. I have been spayed! And adoption, well I know quite a few families who've adopted lately and although I'd love to (it's always been something I'd wanted to do--since high school before I had kids of my own, I wanted to adopt a bunch) but our financial situation won't currently permit it and Jeff is less than enthusiastic anyway. He loves his kids but he's happy with the three he has. He's looking forward to getting a break someday even though I've tried to explain to him parents never get a break. We are ALWAYS parents no matter how big they get. Still, he says he just doesn't want to "start over". It saddens me to think that he has thought of the last 15 1/2 years as a "chore" so to speak. I'll be the first to admit, there have been days when I've been ready to pull my hair out but I have really really enjoyed being a mom. I can't picture my life any other way. I've done a lot of things in my life--traveled the world, went to college, partied, had a career, accomplished this and that and yet honestly speaking, THE best thing there is is having kids. It's truly the most fun I've ever had! And though it will be exciting to see what God has planned for me when my babies no longer need me so much, I'm in no hurry to get to that point. I'm having fun now.
We did get back to our homeschooling routine this week and that was a little challenging after Spring Break and slacking the week prior to it! We had a meeting last week and an open house for CORE and we are trying to decide if that's something Kayti should do next year or not. It looks exciting and fun but also hard and I'm worried about it being TOO hard for her and hard on me as well, since I will still have Brooke at home. But I know God will show me what to do.
Another thing I need God to show me is what He wants me to do now. I really really need to earn an income. We have scaled back as far as we possibly can for now and though we are keeping our heads above water (barely), we are not making any headway getting our debt paid off or getting some money in the bank. We need more living space and are ready to move (even though Dylan has a few more years of high school) and we've even finally found what we like and approximately where we'd like to be given what we can afford. I'm debating going to work part-time like at a store somewhere, maybe doing child care in my home or possibly going full-time on 3rd shift. Whatever it is, it has to be something that I can do and still homeschool as I am completely committed to it. Just pray that God will light up my path for me because it's so hard weighing all the pros and cons of each option.
Another thing I am happy to report on is that Brooke has finally learned a lesson about saving money! Dylan and Kayti are born savers. Brooke is not. She is a spender like I used to be! She gets a dollar and she's off to the dollar store!
Well, she has been wanting to do horseback riding lessons since last year when I took her Camp Fire group trail riding. She is also a huge fan of the Saddle Club! LOL But lessons are expensive--$80 for the first 3. I told her she would have to save her own money for that, Daddy and I were already doing all we could just to pay for dance lessons right now. She got a $150 VISA gift card from her UAB study thing and originally, the plan was to use that to pay for the lessons. But it was quickly spent on other items as usual. I told her almost three weeks ago that I was NOT going to pay for it, that she would have to do extra chores and make some choices about her spending habits in order to save the money. To encourage her, I told her that if she could even save half the money $40, I would give her the other half. Honestly, I didn't think she would do it. A day or two later, she had $3 and we were at Walmart and she wanted to buy some candy. I reminded her again that her money was hers to do with as she pleased but that if she was going to do horseback riding, I needed to send the money off in a few weeks and she needed to decide whether she wanted instant gratification or delayed gratification! She was not happy about not getting the candy but surprisingly, she decided not to purchase it. I was blown away then so you can imagine how I feel now that she has actually worked and saved the $40! I am SO proud of her! If I accomplish nothing else with my kids (besides them becoming Christians and on that, we're three for three! Check!) I want to teach them to be responsible with their money and not create for themselves the same messes that Jeff and I have. They even watch Dave Ramsey with me! LOL
But anyway, Brooke will start riding next week and even though it's only three lessons, I imagine it's a little more involved than trail riding and she'll get a good idea of whether or not it's something she wants to switch her focus to next year. Everything just comes so naturally for my youngest child. She is good at everything she tries to do (except learning her multiplication tables! lol) and makes it look so easy. Whether she's playing the piano and picking out tunes by ear, dancing her little booty off, running or taking to a horse like she was born on one, she just makes it all look so effortless! If she weren't my daughter, I'd hate her! LOL
Hopefully, that catches everyone up on the big things and now that the modem problem is fixed, I'll be able to keep more up-to-date on the small stuff.
Blessings!
