Prayers

Hey Y'all, I need to ask for prayer for my mom. She is leaving today from California and she is on her way out here to Texas. She will be stopping to visit my Grandparents (her mom and dad who live about 3 hours from us) on her way.

She will be driving by herself. I know she is capable of driving it but it is such a long way, ya know!

On top of this, her sweet basset hound, Clover, just had to go into the hospital. This caused her time of departure to be delayed and has made leaving more difficult. She is not sure what the result of Clovers' blood test will be. It has also cut her money back that she would have used for the trip.

Pray for angels to surround her her entire trip and for Clovers recovery from whatever is causing her sickness. That God would give her peace and comfort on her journey. And for her finances.

Our whole family is looking forward to her arrival on the 6th of April (and my dad coming the following week for a few days).

We have not seen my family in a year and are anxious for their safe arrival.

Thank you!!

Wordless Wednesday

A little bragging

This is a bragging post. I realize I have not spoke much about my son. He just turned 7. And he has three lovely sisters surrounding him in age, helping to mold him into a well rounded young man. Well, his sister who is two years older than him has been taking ballet lessons for just about 5 years. When we were living as missionaries in Mexico is when she first started. The picture here is of one of those recitals. Now that we have been stateside, she has been taking a combanation class of ballet/jazz/tapp. Ever since she started, he has wanted to learn to dance as well. She had even tried to teach him a little herself. But back in Mexico it is really not the 'macho' thing to do. So when she signed up for classes here, he followed suit. Their spring recital is coming up. And I just received an e-mail from his teacher. This is what she had to say about him."...By the way, he is doing incredibly well in class - and I love having him there. He is a natural dancer and you should be very proud...."

So can you tell? I am very proud! I am also very proud of his older sister who has inspired him to dance. She is a beautiful dancer. I am very proud of both of them!

Weekend Reflection

Well considering this has been Spring Break and I work for the school district, I was off for the whole week! As you may already know. I must stop and actually ponder my week.

--Hubby worked on garden out front with kids. Eldest daughter (Miss A) planted seeds she bought with her own money.

--My son (Mr. C) had his 7th Birthday on Thursday. I had different plans I was thought about doing but time and money said otherwise and we ended up having it at the park with a bunch of moms and kids from church....it was great!

--My daughter (Miss A) bought my son a Bionicle (Lego made toy) for his birthday with her own money. I just love that my kids learn to save their own money and buy their siblings gifts!

--I aspired to do a lot of cleaning...but got only some done. I will have to be happy with what I accomplished. I did get the kids rooms cleaned and vacuumed. That was no minor feat! I did not do the cleaning...I only guided. There are only two rooms.

--I started walking more and taking the kids on walks more (this includes going to the park). I intend to keep this up for two reasons. 1..because I work full time and some overtime...so it is good for me and the kids and gives hubby a chance to be at home alone (although he may be cooking dinner at the time) and 2..because at the school district where I work they are having a "Biggest Loser" contest that I joined! Yeah, I can lose weight and win money...I'm not sure which is better? So the extra walking is a needed routine!

--My hubby and I have been spending more quality time together. This has been very good. At the same time it brings things to the surface which is good but can sometimes be painful. But the end result is good.

--Went kite flying for the first time with my kids. Like I said..we are going to make the park a bigger part of our routine.

--I may have finally gotten smell of cat pee (male) out of Mr. C's room! This is a very big thing and my elder female dog has leaking problems when she sleeps too! So these are serious issues, you can understand I'm sure, for those of you with pets. I would keep them out all the time if weather permited. But we let the cat stay in because he is not fixed yet. And let the small dog stay inside because he is old and the biggest dog stay inside at night because we feel safer.

All in all the week has been good. I honestly did plan and want to get more done. But I need to learn to bite things off in small bites. So I will have to pick an evening when the kids are asleep (cause that is when I can be most productive) and pray for energy and tackle one of my projects.

Spring Break

I am so happy for me that spring break is here! But my poor kiddos still have school such is the life of a homeschooler. Oh the cruelty! Yeah well, when your kids are 'graduating' 6th grade mine will be graduating high school. Right? Ok, Maybe not.
The real reason they are still schooling on vacation is...
1.They need the routine for the sanity of the family
2.My mom is coming out for Easter break from California and we will cancel school for a week to enjoy her visit. We are really looking forward to it since we haven't seen my family in almost a year. My dad might even decide to join her, last minute!

So I am trying to make the most of my week by doing some faux 'spring cleaning' AND do my son's 7th birthday AND enjoy time home with my kids!
Has anyone figured out yet how to get more hours in a day?
I've tried just about everything and staying up late at night doesn't work!

PARTY TIME!!

These are are three of our past parties and it is my decoration for this party! I am also trying to gather my thoughts and creativity to celebrate my son's b-day next week..he'll be 7!









I have been intending to invite you to this party!



And I will inroduce myself too and I hope to get to know you more as well.

I have been married for almost 10 years and have 4 children. I had been in Mexico for 12 years as a missionary to the deaf. Which is where I meet my husband (who is hard of hearing himself) We have been off the mission field for about a year now and I have been working full time as an interpreter for the deaf in TX. Looking back over my life I have done so many things that I thought I would never have done or accomlished. Like going to a foreign country without knowing the language or any of the people I'd be working with. Or like now, I never thought that once I had kids that I would be a working mom. As in a 9-5 job and sometimes overtime and my husband staying home and doing the homeschooling, cooking and etc.. But alas it is the season of life we are in. I believe children truly are a blessing from God and I love mine dearly! My blog is usually and mostly about my family and personal experiences and the funny things my kids say and do ... and then some!

Who needs normal!?

You Are 35% Normal

You sure do march to your own beat... But you're so weird, people wonder if it's a beat at all You think on a totally different wavelength And it's often a chore to get people to understand you

How Normal Are You?

The good, the bad ......

Life here in our household has been in a bit of a 'upheaval'...we have had everyone sick on and off for over a week now. I am the only one not to go down before the 'porcelain throne'. I pray that I stay healthy too, because I need to be able to keep working.
I have been very blessed though. A friend sponsored me to go to a womans retreat with my church this past weekend and it was a much needed break and a wonderful weekend. There were so many highlights that I cannot share them all right now.
Yeah...just need to get myself to bed cause I need to wake up and go to work in the morning. Thank you Lord for my job. And that my family is getting healthier everyday.

Time well spent

I don't really do New Year's resolutions. And besides the new year has passed, sorta. But in the light of making improvements, I have been working on one thing. Well on a few maybe but this one is the most important and lasting.
I have been trying to make a point to spend more quality time with my kids. Not just time...but the kind of time that they will remember. You know it is easier to remember the negative things and more difficult to remember all the positive. So I am making an effort to be, on the whole, spending more quality-positive time with my kids. I think this has stemmed from the fact that I am working full time now. I had gone from being a missionary mom who was sometimes not home. To a full time stay at home mom then to a full time at work mom. We have all gone through a lot of changes over the past almost year. I am trying not to raise my voice so much and praise good behavior. It is not any easy job, nobody said it would be easy. But it is so worthy and worth it. My children are so worth it.

Word of explination on the pic's...ok so that is my husband reading our 2 older kids a story, not me. But it is a picture of spending quality time. Just in case you needed an example!

My sweet little felon

Tonight as we left Walmart, the alarm went off. I realize this is nothing new because it goes off for about every other person. The catch was, we had not bought anything. I was only doing a return. I had been in the jewelry section placing an order for a wedding ring (my dear husband had lost his a few months ago). So back to the embarrassing moment...
I happened to have all 4 kids with me and when the alarm went off I turned to them and said "ok, empty you pockets!"
It turns out Little Miss A, the 3 year old had put a ring (big fake one) in the front pocket of her sweater! I asked her what happened and she said it was an accident.
Well, I had let them look at the jewelry while I was busy and I expected her older siblings to keep an 'eye' on her. I guess I was asking for it.
Sheesh, but it was still embarrassing. I did explain to her that that is called stealing. Even if she didn't realize what she had done.

No school--for some

Working for the school district+school cancelled = No work!!

Yeah I stay home today with the kids! So the only bummer is I woke up at 6:15...oh well.

But we did make a funky little leaf filled snowman the size of my 3 year old. Can you see the brown hat and the carrot? Hey, I'm from California and have been in Mexico for many years so this little snow is a big deal for us! You better not be laughing at us! The backyard looks even more white.

And 'our' school was not cancelled. Meaning, because we homeschool and becacause my husband is a diehard (I say that in a loving, endearing and affecionate way) my kids are still being schooled. Which is why I am doing my 'thing' and catching up on housework...oops..and blogging! But it sure does look pretty outside!

Honesty of a 3 year old

I don't know what it is about my 3 year old but she is always saying the darndest things.
She has a nack for being uncommonly and comicaly honest.

Little Miss A. tends to be the louddest of the bunch and I have to ask her frequently to 'bring it down a notch', to calm down and so one time I asked her to "turn her volume down"
Well she so matter of factly told me, "my volume is broken."
Well, yeah...I guess that goes without saying...never mind.

And today after she was done using the bathroom I told her to remember to wash her hands and that I could turn off the light for her. This is because the light is in a strange place in our bathroom, it is by the sink and nowhere near the door. Many times she has just climbed on the sink herself and turned it off. Well obviously I am trying to break her of that, but she informed me, "I can climb up there and turn it off mommy, I'm a monkey."
Yes my dear you are, but monkeys can still fall and bust their cute little monkey heads. No I did not say that to her, but man she can be so very honest that it cracks me up.

Family Time!

I am so very grateful that I have a job, really I am. But I am also grateful for a 4 day weekend. Martin Luther King day is on Monday. Well since we home school, we'll do a short day. My husband is the one who stays at home and does the schooling, cooking and cleaning. Yes, he is a rare breed.
But we will have a lesson about who Martin Luther King is and how he affected history. That will be the extent of our school on Monday. Sounds fair to me. If they are not going to have a full day of school and Mommy is off of work (I work for the local school district) and gets to spend time with them, then it makes sense to learn why.
I am looking forward to the extra day with the kids and hubby, of course!

On that note, we had some bad weather here and the power went out temporarily. So we all sat down and played a game together. We do have game nights sometimes, but why is it that when the power goes out we actually spend quality time together as a family? Do you find this to be true?

Thank You!

Ladies..I cannot say enough thank you's for praying for my family!! We are up to date with the car now! There are other utilities that are outstanding but we are believing that the rest will come in.

I was talking with a friend, who has been going through even more difficult trials than I, that it is at times like this that we must choose peace. There can be so much stress and trials taking place in your life and you really don't know how to respond, or you respond purely from emotion that makes it difficult to funcion. This also affects those around you and it is a challenge when you have little onnes that depend on your care. I have to chose peace and to be at peace. I do not always do that...I am human. But I have been doing better.

I really do appreciate your prayers, please do continue to pray for us when you think of us.

Thank You!!

Prayer

I do not know how many actually read my blog daily, weekly or even at all. But I need to put a prayer request out. It is one I am sure we have all experienced at one time or another.

We have been going through a difficult time financially for a while, but things started to get a little better after I got my job. We had a recent setback and now we are back to square one. Or shall I say negative square one.

It is no fun to blog about these kind of situations but it is life and it is where we are at. A while back we were too close to being evicted and now we are too close to our car being taken (repo). There are other things as well but it is the whole financial can of worms.

I humbly ask for your prayers.
Thank you

Christmas break is over...WAaaah!

I think I have enjoyed my Christmas break too much. Being at home with my Hubby and kids has been so very nice. I work for the school district so I got about 2 weeks off from work! Wonderful!
But now I groan....uuugh.....I go to two staff develpment days and then to work again on Monday. I think I am pretty well developed, must I go?
'Sigh'... it is like the kid having to wake up and go to school and he groans...."just 5 more minutes ma!"

Yeah...I just want a few more days!!! Please!

Anguish Languish

This is something I just had to share!! We went to the library today and picked up the Children's Almanac of Words at Play by Willard R. Espy
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Lettuce Pray
When you hear the word anguish, you aren't likely to think it's English. And if you hear the word languish you aren't likely to think it is language. But if you hear someone saying "anguish language" you might think he or she is saying "English language." A man named Howard Chase discovered you can tell whole stories, and have them understood, by replacing most of the words with words that sound a little bit like them but mean something entirely different. Anguish languish was the name he gave to this kind of wordplay. Here is the Lord's Prayer in Anguish languish:

Hour Fodder wart unleavened,
Hottub beehive mane.
Tyke idiom crumb, Tie wilt bean numb,
Inert acid dizzy emblem.
Goofy dismay ordeal Libra head,
Ant reefer keeper dentist.
Leaners snot undo ten patients,
Buddy liverwurt frumpy fill,
Four thigh next seeking dumb,
Deep powwow, auntie chlorine
Fur river. Almond

-Mark Burstein

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P.S. You'll probably have to read it a few times and you actually sound like you are reading it with a transilvanian accent!

Christmas Joy

This Christmas went well, in spite of it being the first Christmas that we have not been with my family in California. It has been the most difficult on the kids. It has been almost a year since we moved to Texas and the change has been a challenge for us all. The kids still ask about going back to Mexico and see our friends and see Grandma and Grandpa in CA. Sigh...Lord willing we will see them soon. Grandpa and Grandma may be coming in the spring.

One of the most precious treasures I had this Christmas, I received Christmas night.....
We took a drive around town that night to look at all the pretty lights that were up in the neighborhood. In between the ooh and aahs, we had a very meaningful conversation with our two eldest children. It went something like this....

As we looked at the big beautiful homes with their elaborate light decorations, I thought out loud..."I wouldn't mind living there, what a beautiful home".

Well my daughter responded with, "Yeah, when I grow up I'd like to have a home like that, but, I probably will never be able to afford it".

This launched us into a conversation about education, jobs and life in general.
I realize as I share this with the blog community that some of you have children and understand that wonderfulness of a opportunity like this. We got to talking about 'what I want to be when I grow up' and 'what I enjoy doing now and how that can become my future job'. You see, what struck me the most are the ages of my two eldest. My daughter is eight and my son is six. Yet he tells me that when he is a teenager he wants to go to college and learn about math and when he gets 'taller', he wants to be a math teacher. It is true...he has a head for math, just like his Daddy. My daughter says she wants to be a designer, either clothes or interior decorating. Hmm..., when I was younger...so did I. She has an eye and nack for detail. We both do, sometimes to a fault...but thats beside the point.

As we drove around I just basked in the wonderfulness of our conversation as we talked about ambitions and being able to do anything you want to do. As long as you set your mind and heart to it. As long as it is something you love and enjoy. And yet it will still take perseverance. There will be extremely hard times and lean times. But if you keep on, keeping on then you will arrive at the goal you aimed for. As I think about it. It is something that my husband and I and our family are working on even at this time. That evening ended with a sense of purpose for the future, for them and for me.

What I love is that we home school and they can do more if they would like or learn about something that interests them whenever they like (not to say that if you don't home school you can't do that). It is a freedom that my husband took advantage of as he asked them on Christmas morning and again the day after Christmas...."Hey, after we have breakfast we'll get ready for school, ok?"....
Without blinking or looking up from what they were doing, they both responded..."Ok".
Well, they do get a break and they are excited about it. But they did confess that they miss school, are my kids abnormal?...nah!

Answers to Holiday Song Quiz

I thought it would be good to give the answers to the Holiday songs before the end of the Holiday Season and beginning of the new year.

starting with number 2....

2...Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

3...Let it Snow

4...Joy to the World

5...Oh, Christmas Tree

6...I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

7...Silver Bells

8...I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

9.Little Drummer Boy

10...Walking in a Winter Wonderland

11...Oh Come All Ye Faithful

12...All I Want for Christmas (Is my Two Front Teeth)

Holiday Song Quiz

I thought these would be fun to try in leu of the Christmas Season. I'll do the first one and let you try at the others. I did not think them up myself, but can any of you think of any others? I have a total of 32..but I think I'll only post some of them....have fun!

What is the real name for the Christmas Song?

1. Colorless Yuletide
-White Christmas

2. Castanea seed Vesticated in a Confligration

3. Frozen Precipitation Commence

4. Delight for this Planet

5. Oh Yuletide Tall Woody Plant

6. I Witnessed Maternal Parent Osculating Bewhiskered Male in Carmine Ensemble

7. Metallic Element AG Cup-Shaped Musical Instruments

8. Hallucinating About an Ivory Yuletide in the First Person Narrative

9. Lilliputian Male Percussionist.

10. Perambulating in a Terrain of Stupefaction From 12/21 to 3/19

11. Loyal Followers Advance

12. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior-Incisors