How many song writers can use the word exhumed in their lyrics? Ever since I wrote about Dan Fogelberg (in my 100 things about me), this song has been stuck in my head. See, I told you I remember every lyric to every song!:) The only way to get it unstuck, is to write out the lyrics and sing it as I go! So get ready...

Now that we love
Now that the lonely nights are over
How do we make love stay
Now that we know
The fire can burn bright or merely smolder
How do we keep it from dying away

Elusive as dreams barely remembered in the morning
Love like a phantom flies
But held in the heart it pales like the empty smile adorning
A statue with sightless eyes
Moments fleet taste sweet within the rapture
When precious flesh is greedily consumed
But mystery's a thing not easily captured
And once deceased not easily exhumed

Now that we love
Now that the lonely nights are over
How do we make love stay

Moments fleet taste so sweet within the rapture
When precious flesh is greedily consumed
But mystery is a thing not easily captured
And once deceased not easily exhumed

Now that we love
Look at the moonless night and tell me
How do we make love stay

OK, I feel much better! Thank you.

Grace's ears looked fine today. Josiah started crying as soon as we walked in the doctor's office. Camille ended up sitting in the van with him. They weren't out there too long though. Maybe 10 minutes by themselves. It is COLD here in Georgia. I had to run to the grocery store this evening and BRRR!

Lots of stuff to do tomorrow. I have to run to the PO, Caleb's school, and make cookies for the cookie swap at Bible Study. Whew! I'm tired thinking about it. I know I won't sleep well tonight because of all the things I need to do tomorrow. I'm like that. My brain doesn't turn all the way off. Praise God the work week will be almost through tomorrow...Caleb starts his vacation on Friday. Pray for me. I really want to enjoy this time with him home, but sometimes it's hard. He asks to eat every 5 minutes (and I'm not exagerating!) It can really grate on my last nerve.

Need to get to bed. Once again, I am blogging late. Maybe I can catch up on Friday. Tomorrow I will be too busy to get online at all. Blessings!

This will be short and sweet...OK just short...because it's late and I need to get to bed. I posted my 100 things about me. The link is right under my profile in the sidebar. I'm still begging for people to put a pin in my guestmap. How about it Mary? Tammy? Tony? Penny? I know you're reading this!:)

We watched "The Amazing Race" this evening. That is a fun show but there is a real jerk on it. This guy os SO mean to his wife. I would personally like to strangle him and then hit her for being so stupid for hanging around!:) See, I told you this wouldn't be sweet.

My friend, Charity, had her baby this morning. She had a baby girl and named her Grace Natalie. She had her unassisted at home. Her husband caught the baby. How precious is that? Next time we get pregnant, I think we will go unassisted as well. I have her blog linked to mine, so keep checking it for the birth story.

Nighty night!

Camille did great in her performance. She looked a little nervous, but she sounded fine. There were many "mistakes" in the play which just made it more endearing. A little boy in one of the lamb costumes about fell off the stage but his shepherd saved him by pulling him up by the tail. It was hilarious. I guess when you have about 100 homeschoolers that practice once a week you can't expect perfection:) Their choir director, Karen Moore, does a great job with the children though.

Today is the coldest day of the year so far and it's also riding lesson day. I am not looking forward to it. It's already 7:30 am and we leave at 8:50 am. No one is up yet either. I need to stop and get gasoline too.

Tomorrow Grace has to go back to the pediatrician for a recheck on her ears. I am hoping we don't get sick while we are there. I haven't told her that she has to go back to the doctor. Oh please let the infection be gone! I don't want to put her through a third set of tubes.

~Break~

Kids got up and I'm in a rush to leave! Check out my Weight Loss Blog!

Blessings!

Where did the weekend go?

It has flown by! Yesterday I cleaned the master bath and then went out Christmas shopping for about three hours. We went through the children's presents and Josiah still needed two more presents to open on Christmas Eve. (We open all our presents on Christmas Eve and stockings on Christmas morning) It was fun shopping by myself. I went to Old Navy and TJ Maxx. At Old Navy I bought the little two some pj's and slippers from Grandma. I bought Caleb and Camille slippers there as well. I also bought Cami a pair of gloves for her stocking. I bought Josiah and Grace socks because they needed them. I had the most fun at TJ Maxx. What a fun store to be in without children. There are so many breakables in there I get nervous with the kids. I bought Olaf some German chocolate as well as toys for Josiah. Today we went and exchanged our new TV for another. The red was bleeding. It was really odd. HH Gregg exchanged it for us with no problem. That was a blessing. We stopped by Target and bought Scotch Tape (finally) and some gift bags. We found tube socks there for Tante Babel too! WooHoo! We have looked and looked for tube socks. Do you know how hard they are to find? They were so popular in the late 70's and early 80's. She actually wants the ones with the colored stripes around the top. Remember those? Speaking of the 70's, I watched this great thing on PBS a couple of weeks ago. It was ALL disco. Original artists coming back and singing their hit songs to raise money for PBS. Old fat people (like me) trying to dance all groovy. They were doing the bump and the hustle and the snake. Hey, I can snake with the best of them:) It was hilarious watching them, but I loved the music. KC and the Sunshine Band, songs from Saturday Night Fever, Taste of Honey, Peaches and Herb, Irene Kara... you name it, they were there singing their disco hits. "And for a gift of $500 to your local PBS station...blah blah blah...you can have this CD." No thanks. PBS is such a liberal media outlet, I could never give money to them.

Weigh in is tomorrow and I am hoping I lost weight through thinking positive thoughts! LOL! I know I didn't lose any by what I ate.

Need to sign off, but I'll leave you with the lyrics from a disco hit since they are now swimming in my brain.

If you're thinkin' you're too cool to boogie
Boy oh boy have I got news for you
Everybody here tonight must boogie
Let me tell ya' you are no exception to the rule

Get on up on the floor
Cuz we're gonna boogie oogie oogie
Till you just can't boogie no more (boogie)
Boogie no moreYou can't boogie no more (boogie)
Boogie no more, listen to the music

There's no time to waste, let's get this show on the road
Listen to the music and let your body flow
The sooner we begin the longer we've got to groove
Listen to the music and let your body move

Now get on up on the floor
Cuz we're gonna boogie oogie oogie
Till you just can't boogie no more (boogie)
Boogie no moreYou can't boogie no more (boogie)
Boogie no more, listen to my bass here

Get down, boogie oogie oogie
Get down, boogie oogie oogie
Get down, boogie oogie oogie
Get down

This day has really flown by. Tonight Camille does her choir performance at Christian City. Olaf is going to take her. Gracie will probably end up going as well. I will stay home with the boys.

I still haven't bought any Scotch tape. Which means, I still haven't wrapped any Christmas presents. Wow! I need to get going. I also need to send out Christmas cards to Olaf's shop. Olaf asked me to make some sort of gifts in a jar for all the guys on his team, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen or not. The least expensive thing to make is Cinnamon Pancake Mix, but Olaf didn't seem too hip on that idea. I thought it would be neat to attach a $5 Blockbuster Card to a package of microwave popcorn. All I know is I am going to have to do something because Olaf will never make up his mind.

Josiah is napping in his bed. That is incredible! I usually hold him when he naps. Yes, he's my baby and I'll hold him until he's 22 if he lets me. I would love to have another baby. I need to keep that thought in my mind and lose this weight. Maybe it will motivate me to get it off faster. If I could weigh what I weight right now...when I deliver...would be SO awesome!

A lot of the blogs I read have certain things in common. One of the pages is called "100 things about me" and they are bullet statements about that person. I want to do that, but will have to create another blog and link back here. Watch the sidebar for it. Also, NO ONE has signed my guest map. Will someone PLEASE put a "pin" in my virtual map??? Look for the link in the sidebar. PLEASE!

Done begging for now! Blessings!

Tonight is Bible Study and I haven't completed the questions. I did read the chapter through a couple of times. I don't have my memory verse memorized either. As a matter of fact, I don't even know what it is.

Molly is here today. The day always goes by smoothly when she is here. The children love her and keep very busy playing. That leaves me to actually get some cleaning done. Speaking of which...toilets and tubs are calling.

Aravis is back to her old self. We haven't let her outside again, but she is wanting out. She is in my lap as I type this. She loves me! She makes biscuits constantly and purrs like crazy. She is sweet.

Josiah's nose/eyes are still swollen. Please pray for him. My thoughts run wild and my anxious heart ruminates on the "what if's." It's so hard for me to believe the best about a health situation. For some reason I am always thinking that God is going to give me something to test my faith. I know that He isn't this bully in the sky waiting to beat me over the head with His faith stick. But knowing it and truly believing it is hard for me.

I need to get going on those chores. Blessings!

Today was just another day. Camille got her school done. She had a dress rehersal for choir today and then they took photos afterwards. Olaf picked her up after work. We had baked ziti for supper. It's easy and good. I have been playing with the Works Spreadsheet because I am in charge of the Pizza Kit Fundraiser for Cami's choir this year. I have never done a spreadsheet before in my life, so I need to figure it out. Olaf says he can help me. I'm grateful for that. The Fundraiser isn't until the spring, but I'm so anal about things. I wish I had more computer skills. I took woodshop instead! LOL! Dovetail joint? No problem.

Josiah woke up with a bruised nose bridge and swollen eyes. I am hoping it's just an injury that I don't know about. We are going to watch it for a few days and see how it goes. Grace has to go back for a recheck on her ears Tuesday. We are going to Dr. Osako instead of Dr. H. She doesn't like any doctor, but Dr. H is her all time worse fear. I guess it's because he wears that thing on his head with the big light. It probably scares her.

That's it for today. Fairly mundane...

I gained

I weighed in last night even though I didn't stay for the meeting. I gained a pound. My period is due, so hopefully it's not a "true" gain! LOL! I know better though. I went grocery shopping last night. Olaf hates it when I get home because we don't have enough room in our fridge or freezer to put the food away! I feel guilty even writing that sentence because so many people have nothing and we live in abundance. I spent $150 total and bought a lot of junk food that was on sale. That total includes diapers, wipes, cat litter, cat food, and a host of other things aren't edible. I must say the best thing about coupon shopping is NOT going to WalMart. I don't miss going there in the least. I do not like crowds, but will tolerate them for the sake of my family i.e. Disney World! If I can avoid them, I will. Mostly because people drive me insane. I'm a type A kind of gal. Let's go in, get it done, and do it fast. I have no desire to dawdle and meander. Yep, I'm a perfectionist. That certainly isn't news to any of you who know me.

I have SO much to do before Christmas comes. I haven't even started wrapping presents. I need to send packages to our out of town relatives. I'm out of Scotch Tape. I'm overwhelmed at the thought of it all. Christmas isn't supposed to be this way.

I need to list some more stamps on ebay. I just spent my earnings from the last batch on my WW membership. I buy the 10 weeks for $99. I'll probably need to buy another 10 weeks before I make my goal weight and become lifetime. I know if I don't have the accountability I'll let my self slowly slip into my old habits. That isn't saying much for my self control.

Josiah did not nap today. I hope he doesn't want to take one at 6 pm. We'll be in for a long night if that happens. He pooped on the potty again today. What a big boy! I have never had a child potty train this early. He asks to go on the potty if it's poo, but he could care less about pee. Although, Olaf hasn't showed him the whole "stand up" thing yet either!;)

Oh, I have a funny Gracie story... Olaf was scolding her for trying reach for something breakable and she just wouldn't let up. After a couple times of him saying, "Grace, don't touch that!" he finally sent her to her room. On her way to the bedroom she passed Caleb in the hall. We heard her tell him, "You go touch it." Olaf looks at me in complete disbelief and says to me, "Who is she? John Gotti running the mob from prison?" The way he said it made me laugh so hard. His New York accent came out when he said it and I was rolling. Gracie, needless to say, will be the one to watch as she grows up.

OK, need to get busy. I could blog all day, but alas, motherhood calls!

Blessings!

Deep Sigh...

Camille got a full day of school in today. She is learning about invertebrates, which she is NOT too thrilled about. Her chapter from JMG is all about insects, so she is getting hammered from all sides. In math today she started having 7 as a divisor and story problems that use division and multiplication. Her story problems thus far have all been addition and subtraction. She is working on contractions now in Language Arts which is all review for her. She gets her worksheet done in 5 minutes. We didn't do history because we did Science instead. I gave her a spelling test and she missed two out of 26. Overall we had a good day of school. She is outside right now with the little ones. It's kind of damp and cold out there, but they wanted to go out and play. Needless to say, she did not want Aravis going outside today. Aravis wants out though.

I am going to weigh in this evening but not stay for the meeting. I need to go grocery shopping instead. I may just try the Core plan this week instead of counting points. The only drawback I see is not being able to eat the same things as my family. I can't eat pasta or casseroles on core plan. Its basically a low carb diet except you can eat all the fruits and veggies you want. I just need to get going again. I have taken the last month off and gotten real lazy.

Jeannie stopped by today. Audrey usually wants to stay and play but she was more than ready to go home today. I'm not sure why. She had fun while she was here though. Grace likes to play with her. So does Josiah.
I didn't have many groceries to send home with her today. Just a few bags of Lenders Bagels.

Our chapter in "Calm My Anxious Heart" is about relationships. The chapter starts out with a story almost identical to my story of my internet friend that parted ways with me. I harbor absolutely no bitterness toward my friend and would gladly resume our friendship again if she wanted to. But the chapter was about unforgiveness and bearing with the "weaker brother." To go beyond forgiveness and do special things for the one that has hurt you. Not only in prayer, but in actions. It is hard sometimes to turn the other cheek when everything within you yells out, "I DON'T WANT TO FORGIVE YOU! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE FORGIVEN!" Then I think of Jesus who forgave me before I even knew I needed it. I know I take advantage of His forgiveness a lot of times. I get up and claim the Scripture "Your mercies are new every morning!"

I need to get something tangible done. I better go. Blessings!

This is Aravis. She has since grown into her ears! As you will read below, we almost lost her Friday night.

An eventful weekend

Friday evening Aravis, our cute little calico kitten, was chased by a Great Dane. She climbed 30 feet into a tree, went into shock, and plummeted to the ground. We thought she was dead. Olaf ran her to the Emergency Vet (it was 6:00 pm on Friday) that is located about half hour away. Praise God, she survived. They had to keep her overnight because she has bruising around her lungs due to the fall. It was such an awful experience. Camille was distraught because she thought her kitten was dead. It was so hard to watch her mourn like that. Aravis is home now, but a different kitty. She is very nervous and really doesn't want to be around any people. I am hoping that she will get over that. You can tell she is still in pain which is understandable when you fall 30 feet. I just am so thankful to God that she is alive.

Saturday was busy as well. Camille sang on the court square and did a great job. She stepped right up to that microphone and sang her solo with no hesitation. I was very proud of her. After they got done singing, I pulled back Gracie's hair and noticed her ear canal was full of blood and puss. I hurriedly called Newnan Pediatrics which closes at noon on Saturday. It was 11:55 am. They told me to come on in, praise God! Gracie has a ruptured ear drum due to an infection. She didn't complain that her ear hurt! She doesn't have a cold, or congestion... There was no reason to even think she may have an ear infection. Now she is on oral antibiotics as well as ear drop antibiotics. Once we got home from the doctor...

We went and got our Christmas tree! They had the bunnies again. I think the picture of Josiah is below this post. That was fun for the children. After the children went to bed last night, Olaf started decorating the house for Christmas. He's much better at that than I am. We don't have a lot of "things" but he does a good job with what we have. Christmas was always special for Olaf growing up. His mother made a big deal out of the holiday and Olaf still has that inside him. It's funny because he wants everything to be perfect and always ends up getting super stressed. That makes no sense to me.

Today is the Christmas parade. Camille has to be there at 2:00 pm and the parade starts at 3:00 pm. After the parade we need to run to WalMart for a few things. Tante Babel wants tube socks and we cannot find them anywhere. We are hoping WalMart has some. We also are out of Scotch Tape. I guess my grocery shopping will have to be put off until tomorrow. I really wanted to go back to WW since I didn't get to go last Monday.

OK, I am going to try to post a few more pictures. Blessings!

This is Gracie with a bunny at the Christmas Tree Farm.

This is Josiah holding the bunny at the Christmas Tree Farm.

Buckling Down!

I need to start counting my WW points again. I have been so lax since my birthday. That was a month ago! Today I am counting points. I am already at 12, so I have 12 more to go. Olaf wants pizza for dinner, so I can have 2 slices of veggie pizza. I think they are 6 points each. No snacking today! Well, unless its veggies.

Camille did math, language and spelling today. I think ABeka math can be a little extreme sometimes. I don't think a public school third grader is learning the crazy things she is learning. Converting pecks to bushels??? C'mon! I mean, it's good to know...but in the third grade??

I am so happy it's Friday. My dear husband will be home. Maybe we'll get our out-of-town packages wrapped so we can ship them. We want to get our Christmas tree this weekend too. We cut it down at a local tree farm. It's a family owned farm and they have fun things for the kids to do there. Last year they had baby bunnies that they let the children hold. They had a pit to roast marshmellows and a walking trail around a lake. It was fun for everyone. Camille has to sing downtown tomorrow and then has the Christmas parade on Sunday afternoon. We'll probably get the tree after Cami sings on Saturday.

Did you see my cool new graphic in the sidebar? I LOVE it. If you click it it will take you to a real neat website for women. Make sure to register and check out the bulletin boards.

Arrrggghhh! I'm hungry and I just ate lunch!

Blessings!

Chaos!

My life feels like chaos a lot of time. Does yours?

Camille is currently in her room doing math. I am in my pj's. I am in the process of washing clothes. That is one chore I enjoy. I love doing laundry. I even enjoy ironing Olaf's shirts for work. I love that clean laundry smell. I really need to be more diligent to work with Gracie on her numbers and letters. I haven't even started. I started homeschooling Camille in the first grade so she went to school for pre-k and Kindergarten. I didn't have to teach her the basics!:) I think the little ones have picked up a lot just being around Camille. They count when they play hide and seek and they sing the ABC's together. Gracie certainly doesn't sing the ABC's perfectly, but she gets most of the letters correct. She can count up to about 13 or 14 before she mixes up the rest. I think I'll seriously start homeschooling her next Fall.

Tonight is the ladies Bible study. It's been two weeks since we have met because of Thanksgiving. My memory verse this week is, "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransome for many." Matthew 20:28 The chapter is about being content with our roles. And serving is certainly the biggest thing a mom does. Ms. Mike quoted someone as saying, "The true test of a servant is acting like one when you're treated like one." I know I fail that test. I fail that one BIG TIME.

Can you believe it's ?? I can't!

Blessings!

After much irritation...

I finally got that dern picture to post. I tried and tried last night, but our computer was acting goofy. So, I cleared the cache and it worked. Our computer still cannot run a scandisk without stopping. I told Olaf last night we just need to buy a new one! If we could afford one I'd be on the phone with Dell!:)

I took that picture after the children had been outside playing in the dirt. Actually, Camille had been planting Hosta and the other children were literally playing in the dirt. Caleb and Josiah were sitting in a pile of dirt with buckets and shovels! It was cute watching Josiah and Caleb together. Caleb's mental retardation places him at about Gracie's age, so it's a delight to see him interacting with the younger children. Camille is still his best friend though. He adores her.

Today is choir. Another two hour practice. Olaf will get off early to go pick her up. They will be performing in downtown Newnan this Saturday on the court square. Then Sunday is the Christmas parade. Then next Friday night they perform at Christian City. Then Monday the 13th is their actual performance at the church. Busy. I think we have JMG today too!

I put a GuestMap in the sidebar. Please put a post on the map for me!

Blessings!

This is our Christmas photo this year! Too cute!

It worked out

Caleb did fine at Fantasy in Lights. We rode the Jolley Trolley and he got a little bored toward the end. Other than that, he did great. It was fun to see Grace's face. She was in awe of the lights and had the most fun. When we got back to the starting area, Caleb and Camille shared a caramel apple topped with M&M's, and Grace and Josiah shared a Cotton Candy.

Four of my stamp sets sold on Ebay. I mailed them out yesterday and ran a few errands. We went to the pharmacy to pick up Caleb's prescription, then to Target and then to Kohl's. Target had a women's fleece jacket on sale for $10 so I got one for Camille. It's very cute. I also got Gracie some "tomato" aka Play-Doh for her stocking. This is a typical question with Gracie phonetics: "Mom, aster yurnch can I pay wif tomato?" It is SO cute. I LOVE it when they mispronounce words.

I'm sending my out of town Christmas cards out today. I ordered some prints of the children's photo at www.photoworks.com and got them yesterday. I also ordered my postage stamps online. I ended up getting the ornaments because I never like the "Madonna and Child." I would love a nativity scene on a stamp. Or just baby Jesus with a star. Kind of like the graphic in the sidebar. Maybe I should suggest it.

My calf is still hurting and I can feel a lump under the skin. I think I'll call and make an appointment. Camille is not going riding today because she is being disciplined for last weeks school meltdown. After I worte about it, she melted down again and got another priviledge take away. Now, no Molly AND no riding lesson.

I went grocery shopping last night because I didn't get to go on Sunday. I bought a lot of groceries. I got two more turkeys because they are still .69 lb. That is a lot of meat for less than $9 each. The things I got for free (or less than a dime) were; Publix 16 ct sliced cheese (that was the penny coupon), Rice a Roni, refridgerated Lender's Bagels (I got 6 packs of those and they paid me .15 each to buy them!), and Swiss Miss cocoa (qty 3).
Oh, and I got 2 Aunt Jemimah frozen breakfasts for free as well. It's so fun getting free stuff. Caleb's occupational therapist was checking out in front of me at Publix. Her cart was loaded with groceries and her total was $253.00. My cart was almost as loaded and my total was $59.00. I spent $97.00 at Kroger though. It was at Kroger where I bought 2 chuck roasts ($1.99 lb) as well as the bulk of the other stuff.

Last night Gracie got out of bed crying. She said she needed to go pee. So she cried on the toilet for awhile (she was still sleepy) and finally went potty. She calmed down and I put her back to bed. I covered her up and she looked at me and said, "Mom, I love you!" It was so sweet. I have been SO blessed that God gave me these children.

Need to get school done. Blessings!

Fantasy in Lights

We plan on going to Callaway this evening for Fantasy in Lights. Caleb says he doesn't want to go, so we'll see if he ruins the trip for everyone. We would get him a babysitter, but I don't know anyone that can babysit that doesn't go to church Sunday evenings. It's expensive to go, so I really hope he's fine with it. On the Fourth of July at Callaway he pooped in his pants. I hope we don't have a repeat of that.

My calf is hurting and I am convinced I have DVT. Of course, a blood clot is going to break away and kill me. I was all set to go to the ER this morning but Olaf thinks I'm crazy. So, maybe I'll make an appointment to go to the doctor this week. Maybe not. Good thing our ladies bible study is doing "Calm My Anxious Heart." It's not helping me, is it? LOL!

I have some stamp sets on ebay that end today. Four of the 7 sets have the minimum bid. That means I'll be running to the PO tomorrow to mail them out. Or giving them to Olaf to take to work with him. He passes a PO on the way to work.

November is almost over! It has gone by fast. December is going to busy with Camille's choir schedule too. I hope to get a lot of school done in December.

I need to get in the shower. Blessings!

Shopping...

I went out shopping yesterday and that was the dumbest thing I have ever done! I went to Kohl's and the line was wrapped around the entire store to check out. Then I walked over to Parable Christian Bookstore and looked around. Then I went to Eckerd and bought some chocolate for the kids stockings. Then to Dollar General where I got Caleb a present. Caleb is so hard to buy for. He destroys everything he gets so we really don't weant to spend a lot of money on toys. I am trying to think outside the box and think of things that are not toys that he would like. He loves baseball caps, so maybe that's an idea. The other children have plenty.

I'm not sure what the plan is for today! I know I have eaten like a PIG this week. I am dreading weigh in on Monday. Blessings!

Christmas Season

It's offically the Christmas Season. Well, at least in my book. Tomorrow is the biggest shopping day of the year and I'd like to do my share. If only I had some money!:)

Thanksgiving dinner was great. Olaf did a good job. I took Camille to see "The Polar Express" tonight. She really enjoyed it. I thought it was OK. Just wait for the video if you can.

For some reason I am really hungry right now. I ate popcorn and whoppers at the movie theater. I ate a turkey sandwich when I got home from the movies...why am I so hungry???

Hope you like the new graphics. I am amazed at people's generosity when they give away these graphics for free. All the blinkies came from the first three blinkies that are linked to their webpages. Visit and get some blinkies of your own! For some stupid reason, they're addictive. Blessings!

Thanksgiving Eve

It's the evening before Thanksgiving and my home smells like pumpkin pie. I wonder how many other homes across the United States smell like pumpkin pie right now? I have SO much to be thankful for. Thank you my Heavenly Father for my salvation that You have provided me, my wonderful husband, the children I never thought I would have, my health and the health of my family, and on and on... You have blessed me beyond measure and I am truly grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Struggling today

I'm having a little bit of a "situation" today with Camille regarding homeschooling. I was working with her on her seven times tables with flashcards when she started crying. I asked her why she was crying and she said it was because she didn't want to do the flashcards. I told her that she needed to change her attitude and we were going to work on the flashcards until she made some progress with her seven times tables. I ended up disciplining her for her attitude (when she had several opportunities to change it) by taking away playing privledges with her best friend. You would have thought I shot the girl with a rifle! She was wailing like a professional mourner at a Hebrew funeral. Now I have ammunition!:) I am still not certain that homeschooling is the best thing for either of us at this point. She sure isn't seeing a Godly example at home from me or Olaf for that matter. The only thing she is getting here that she wouldn't be getting in public school is curriculum from a Christian perspective. She is also missing the bullying and bad influence of the other children, but she is being bullied and has the bad influence of her mother. Which is worse? Which one is the lesser of two evils? I want to preserve some relationship with Camille and I feel like I cannot do that while she is home. On the other hand, I know that sending her to school will not solve all the problems. Also, Olaf is adamant that Camille will not go to public school and I have to submit to his decision. I feel so overwhelmed and torn most of the time. It is a huge stress in my life and has been for the three years I have schooled her at home. Again, I throw up my hands in desperation and ask God to help me be the woman He has created me to be, and to accomplish the mission He has given me.

Josiah is going poo on the potty, so I need to go sit with him.

Blessings!

AAARRRGGGHHH!

This is my fourth, yes fourth, time trying to post on my blog. I have typed the same information so many times, I'm sick of doing it!:) In a nutshell:

Fernbank was worth every penny...nothing! Evolution abounds, but some stuff was fun and educational. It's hard going to a museum with little ones and a mentally challenged son. It would have cost $54 for our family to get in. I am so happy it was free.

Today Camille has a two hour choir practice. I am hoping someone else can bring her home. Caleb's bus is unpredictable and I don't want the bus to beat me home. Especially since today he had a sub driver and she was on time this morning. That is rare.

Josiah has slept part of the night in his bed the past two nights. Hallelujah! I have to admit, I do miss cuddling with him. When he cries in the middle of the night I scoop him up and put him in bed with us. I am enjoying every minute of my "baby." I don't know if the Lord will bless us again.

I gained weight this week. It caught up with me! Check my weight loss blog tomorrow to see how much.

Need to get school done before choir. I am hoping this posts...

Busy as a bee...

We went to church this morning then went out to eat at Golden Corral afterwards. Olaf got $15 in Golden Corral "bucks" for coaching Caleb's little league team. When we got home, we did the coupon thing and then I went grocery shopping. Olaf will be making our Thanksgiving meal this year. We would really like to invite someone over that doesn't have anywhere to go, but the Lord hasn't told us who that person/people are yet. If you're reading this and need a place to eat Thanksgiving dinner...let me know. Hey, Charity! What is your family doing for Thanksgiving? Want to spend it with us?

Fernbank was worth every penny; NOTHING! If I had to pay the $54 for our family to go in there, I would have been ticked. Some parts were fun and educational. You just have to look over all the evolution stuff that they teach as fact, not theory. I would like to go to their planetareum someday though.

Josiah actually slept in his own bed part of the night last night. He is in his crib sleeping right now as well. Friday afternoon I put him in his crib awake for his nap. He screamed for about two hours but finally laid down and slept for two. I think him being in the crib, in the daytime, helped ease his fears about being in there at night. Olaf said he slept so good last night not having the baby in bed with us. I actually slept better after the baby woke up and I put him in the bed with us in the middle of the night. I really pray the Lord blesses us with another child. I love babies. Especially newborns. I would like to lose some more weight before I get pregnant though.

Try the Gingerbread Coffeemate. It's even better than the Peppermint Mocha! Yummy! I got mine at Kroger.

Blessings!

Fernbank

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is giving away FREE admission to members of Callaway Gardens. We probably wouldn't go otherwise. I mean, who wants to pay $$ for being indoctrinated in evolutionary theories? It's the perfect day for Fernbank because the weather outside is kind of yucky. I'll post tomorrow and let you know how it was. In the meantime here is a link if you want to visit: http://www.fernbank.edu/museum/

Olaf has made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They smell yummy. I'll probably eat one:) I weighed myself this morning and am up a few pounds. I am hoping it's not a "true" weight. We'll see Monday night.

Our trip to Brusters was fun. The children watched him make ice cream in the big machine. They watched him make a waffle cone. The got to taste the ice cream as it was coming out of the machine. Everyone got a cute baby cone and a coupon for a free scoop. They had fun. The whole tour was probably 30 minutes from start to finish. The manager was very nice. As he was pouring the mix into the measuring cups he told us the reason Brusters ice cream is so good is because they "moo" when pouring it. He made all of us moo real loud. Last night as Grace was telling Olaf about the field trip she said, "And when we all moo'd it made the ice cream taste good."

Off to eat. Blessings!

Brusters

We will be leaving in a few minutes for our field trip to Brusters. We are going with two other families to have a tour of the facility (it's tiny! How long can that take?) and sample some ice cream. If you don't know what Brusters is...it's only the best ice cream place on the planet! I don't really like ice cream too much, but my family loves it. Especially Olaf and Camille. It gives me a tummy ache. The children are excited about going.

Last night at Bible Study the women all laid hands on me and prayed for me. I shared with them (and now you) that I am having some major oppression from the enemy regarding depression. I feel like if I have to do one more thing, or even if one more thing is expected from me, that I am going to collapse under the weight and have a mental breakdown. I feel inches from being admitted into a mental hospital at times. Please pray for me if you feel led from the Lord. It was interesting to hear the way the different gals prayed for me. You could hear their gifts from the Lord come out in their prayers for me. Some showed compassion and empathy, some prayed with spiritual boldness rebuking the enemy, some prayed for me to recognize sin in my life and repent... I was blessed by all of them. I wish I had my internet friend to share my struggles with. It still plays in my mind the words she ended our friendship with. That is something else I have to let God take care of. I'm sure thinking of it is just adding more stress into my already anxious heart. If you are reading this Wendy, I am praying for you and your family. I miss you.

OK, I need to get shoes on Josiah and get going to Brusters. Blessings to all who take the time to read my ramblings.

Blessed Be Your Name

in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

And blessed be Your name
when Im found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing You pour out
Ill turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in
Lord Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
when the suns shining down on me
When the worlds all as it should be
Blessed be Your name

And blessed be Your name
on the road marked with suffering
Though theres pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

What a great song by Tree 63! We sing it in church and I absolutely love this song. I'll post more tomorrow. It was a great night at Bible Study! Blessings!

Busy Wednesday

I have a moment to post before I have to take Camille to JMG. I was very blessed today in the fact that Jeannie took Camille to choir for me. She happened to stop by 15 minutes before we were to leave for choir. She drives right by the church on her way home, so I asked her if she wouldn't mind dropping Camille off. You see, Josiah woke up at 5 am this morning and never went back to sleep. He really needed a nap and I knew that he would fall asleep in the car on the way to choir. Then he would have been really fussy the rest of the day because that 15 minute car ride would have been the ONLY nap he took! It worked out well. Then, come to find out, Camille didn't have to stay after for extra practice. She called me and I went and got her. We leave for JMG in about 45 minutes. Camille did math, language arts and spelling today. JMG will count for science. The seven times table was introduced today and I realized that I can't count by 7's! LOL! I have the times tables memorized, but when I try to skip count I get all messed up. Anyway, she did well. She only missed three problems on her entire math worksheet. The desk in her room is helping us a lot. Tomorrow I need to call the school system to see if I can get Cami evaluated for occupational therapy. I have a feeling that it will be a lot of red tape. If I can't get it done through the school system then I will go up to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Oh, I tried the most wonderful coffee stuff! It's CoffeMate Peppermint Mocha and it's only out for the holidays. If you like mint hot chocolate, then try this in your coffee. It's delicious. I want to try the Gingerbread next. I think I'll go have anothe half cup!

Blessings!

My girls and me! 

Camille and Mama before Thanksgiving Tea!

Running again..

Tuesday morning is riding lessons. We drive over 30 minutes each way for an hour lesson. I'm thinking of going twice a month vs. once a week. Just for MY benefit:) I hope to get some school done today. It's hard with all this running around that we do on Tuesday's and Wednesday's. Tomorrow Camille has to stay after regular choir practice for solo choir practice. I will see if Terri Terrell can bring her home. If not, then Josiah is going to be miserable with no nap.

Check out my weight loss blog to see how I fared last night.

Blessings!

Time to pay the piper

Yes, tonight is weigh in night. After two weeks of celebrating my birthday, I'll see how much damage has been done.

We went to Callaway Gardens yesterday. It was sunny and cool. We rode bikes about an hour again. This time we rode on the trail to the azalea Bowl and got off the bikes and walked around the garden. Josiah was so tired because he had not had his nap. Next time we ride bikes, we need to make sure that little guy isn't so sleepy. The weather was perfect though. I think the high was in the upper 50's which is great if you are riding a bike! Grace and Josiah were bundled up though.

Last night, I went grocery shopping. I saved 49% at Kroger. Our family is buying Thanksgiving dinner for a local family that cannot afford it, so I bought two turkeys at Kroger at .69 lb. I got DelMonte canned veggies for .22 per can, Gold Medal 100% Whole Wheat Bread for .95 loaf (not as great of a deal as last week!), Huggies diapers $7.48, milk .99 half gallon (I bought 3 gallons), 20 pound bag Purina Dog Food $7.49, and a whole lotta other stuff. My total at Kroger was $87.16. At Publix, I got 5 lbs of Dixie Crystal sugar for .90 each, so I bought three. The bulk of my shopping was at Kroger this week though.

Josiah still will not sleep in his bed. He screams like he is terrified. Last night he woke up several times saying "hurt" but I'm not sure where exactly he was hurting. He had a major poo in the toilet last night before going to bed, so maybe it was his tummy. He's cute when he sits on the potty. He has to look at the Readers Digest and he sits on the potty about 1/2 hour before he even starts to poo. He's a man! He's taking his time. He must have learned from Olaf.

OK, girls are up. I need to go! Blessings!

Homeschool Tea

Today I took the girls to Tammy's church (where I go for Bible Study) for a homeschool Thanksgiving Tea. It was very nice. I wore my hat that I got last year for Christmas. It's a black quilted hat with red flowers in the front. Needless to say, I was the only one in a hat, but it was fun for me. Ms. Mike prayed and did a devotional, Katie Frost (age 12) dressed up as a pilgrim and did a little speech on what the Pilgrims endured, there was great food and of course, tea. I would say there were about 35 to 40 people there. Everything looked feminine and lovely. Grace, Camille and Mama had a nice time.

If the weather is nice tomorrow, we plan on going to Callaway Gardens and riding bikes again. I haven't exercised all week, so bike riding will be good for me. I will be weighing in on Monday and I am not sure if I have lost or not. We may go to church first or we may just worship at home. Speaking of worshipping, I need to go over my chapter in "Calm My Anxious Heart" again. It's all about loving ME and accepting myself. God created me, including my personality, and "I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows very well." Psalm 139:14 It's so hard to really accept myself sometimes. But, to know that God created me to accomplish His purposes through me, is humbling. No one else can do it...

Blessings!

He's guilty!

Oh, I am so happy that Scott Peterson was just found guilty. I was afraid that this jury, after all it's troubles and juror dismissals, would hang. I really believe justice has finally been served for Laci and baby Connor. The penalty phase starts on the 22nd I think. No matter what you think about the death penalty, this man will never get out of prison and I am so happy about that.

I am going to start writing our Christmas letter this weekend. For some of you my letter won't contain any new news because you are keeping up with us via this website. I would love to get a photo to send as well. I need to get that taken in the next week or two.

OK, just had to get my excitement out about the verdict!

Quick Week

It's Friday and it feels like it's been a quick week. Praise God!

Grace woke up this morning from a bad dream. The weird thing is, I had the same dream she did although it wasn't last night. Grace dreamed that she got ran over by a car while Papa was holding her hand. The car ran over her head and she said it hurt. A few weeks back I had the same dream. We were in a parking lot and a truck backed out right on top of Grace while Olaf was holding her hand. That is just a little too freaky that we had almost the same dream. If my dreams weren't so whacked ALL THE TIME, I'd probably read more into it than I should. I just need to pray over this situation and hand it over to the Lord. Be anxious for nothing but by everything with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

I called Dr. Osako's office this morning to talk to her about Camille. She won't be in until Tuesday, so I left a message with Charles, her nurse. Camille really needs occupational therapy I believe. She still has trouble buttoning, brushing her hair, brushing her teeth properly, etc. It's almost as if she cannot manipulate her hands correctly. It's hard to describe.

OK, I need to get this morning started. The children are eating right now. I need to eat and get school started with Camille. Blessings!

Boring Day...

Not much in the way of news today. Molly came over and played with the children for a few hours. This evening the ladies from the Bible Study all went out to eat at Golden's and then back to the church to help get ready for the Homeschool Tea this Saturday. I didn't do anything except fold napkins. I love Golden's on Thursday's. I had fried squash, sweet potato casserole and cooked cabbage. It was delicious but now my intestines are twisted with gas.

I am glad tomorrow is Friday. I love the weekends.

Blessings,

We actually had a date!

Well, we actually left the children last night and went out to eat all by ourselves. Josiah didn't even cry. How's that for blessed? Some friends got us a gift certificate for Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse which fully paid for our meal and tip. When we got home, Tanya refused to be paid for the 2 hours she was here. She said she wanted me to use the money on my birthday instead. I tried to give it to her, but she was so sweet and would not accept it. I am just so thankful everything worked out well. The children really like Tanya. Even Grace played with her. Tanya, if you're reading this, THANK YOU!

After the children went to bed last night, Olaf helped me separate the Gooseberry Patch Fundraiser that Cami's choir did. That took a few hours. Josiah was screaming in his crib the entire time. We put him to bed about 8:30 and when I went to bed at 10:30 he was still screaming. I picked him up and he was shaking, well trembling is a more accurate word, and he said "mama, I 'cared." I laid him down next to me in my bed and he rolled over and went to sleep. I'm not sure what to do in this situation. He used to go to bed just fine. We'd put him in the crib awake and he'd just suck his thumb and fall asleep. This "scared" thing is new to us. We would move him out of our room, but there is no place to put him.

Today is crazy day. It's choir and Junior Master Gardener's. Camille was in the paper again with JMG. She even made the Atlanta Journal Constitution in the Coweta section. The AJC is such a liberal paper.

Need to run and get the day started. Blessings!

It's My Birthday

This morning I woke up and Caleb gave me his present. It was a small Yankee Candle, Home Sweet Home scent. He was so excited to give it to me. Then when the girls got up, they gave me their presents. Camille gave me a beautiful Willow Tree angel holding a kitty. Grace gave me a Scripture card holder. It is very lovely and feminine. Josiah presented me with a keychain that has says "God keeps His promises." It was so sweet of them. A man that Olaf works with, Dave Bergen, made me a HUGE bouquet of shaped balloons. He made flowers and bears and all kinds of neat things. That was so nice of him. Olaf's present was wrapped in white paper that had a big flammable sticker on it. When I opened it there were 100 brand new, in sequential order, one dollar bills with a lighter taped on top. It is money to burn!:) He also had a printed piece of paper from www.wheresgeorge.com You register the serial numbers of the dollar bills and you can track them to see where they go. If you know me at all, you know as soon as I opened it I was at the computer registering those bills. I am currently in the process of writing on each bill "to track this bill go to www.wheresgeorge.com" Olaf has the children at Camille's riding lesson, so I am home alone right now. Tonight Olaf and I are supposed to go out to eat. I hope I can leave Josiah even though he is going to be crying. I'm not sure if I will be able to do it. I'll let you know.

Blessings!

Oh what a beautiful morning...

Oh what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feeling,
Everything's going my way...
Oh what a beautiful day!

In case you're not a musical fan, that is from Oklahoma!

The weather is just gorgeous and Camille has the little ones outside. We all went for a walk and they stayed out to play. I need to go out there as well. The Great Dane from next door is playing with them. He is very gentle and sweet. His name is Picasso.

Caleb's bus came this morning! YAY! His driver has had vertigo all last week. She's back now and boy does that make it easier on me. Someone dissect that last sentence and put in the correct punctuation. I know there should be some commas in there:) I guess I'll learn it when Camille does.

Did anyone watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition last night? That was a tear jerker. I think that is the first time I have seen Ty cry. Paul always cries and that's why I like him the best!

OK, off to play with my children. Tomorrow is my birthday. I am pushing 40!

Blessings!

Grocery Shopping

We went to church this morning and then I did the usual grocery shopping. I only spent $80 for the week, so that is terrific. I bought the sale items at Publix and Kroger and we should be set for the week. Our menu this week includes: poppyseed chicken casserole, meatloaf, a new chicken tortilla skillet, spaghetti and meatballs, sloppy joes, and baked ziti. I got some great bargains using the coupons and buying the sale items. Kroger has Gold Medal 100% Whole Wheat Bread on sale for $1.29 and I had a .55 coupon. I paid .74 for a loaf of bread! I got a 3.5 pound bag of Friskies Cat Food for $1.99. I paid .39 for Hunt's Ketchup after coupon. For Purex Laundry Detergent I paid $1.29 for a box that does 44 loads. It was on sale for $1.99 and I had a .35 coupon which was doubled. Hmmm....what else? I got Hunt's Tomato Sauce for free. I just love this coupon shopping. It's fun to see how much I can save. Oh, and I got Aquafresh Toothpaste for .50!

I am not going to Weight Watchers tomorrow and it's NOT because I gained! LOL! When I started I bought this coupon deal. It is 10 weeks for $99. Well, one of the coupons is for a "free" week. If you miss a week, you can give them that free coupon and then a regular coupon for the next time you go. If I don't use the "free" coupon, it's like I am getting ripped off a week! So, I am skipping tomorrow night.

Heidi at church this morning said something about my weight loss. That was very nice. It's nice when people start noticing.

Need to run. The children have stamps and markers at the table and I'm certain that they are a mess.

Beautiful Day at Callaway

It was mahvelous today at Callaway! The weather was perfect. We rode bikes for about an hour. Josiah got tired of sitting in the seat behind me and he kept trying to push me off the bike. He had his little hands on my big rear and kept yelling, "OFF MAMA!" The down side is I think I may have fall allergies. When we got done riding the bikes, I got in the van and my sinuses and throat felt so gross. Just like they were full of something. It's weird. I absolutely love autumn though. It is my favorite season.

Next Tuesday Olaf and I decided to go to Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse. I am getting a filet with a baked potato and a glass of red wine. It will be expensive, but someone has bought us a gift certificate there which will help defray my extravagant taste! LOL! Tanya, from our church, is going to watch the children for us. She is a wonderful Christian woman that we just adore. I'm not sure how Josiah is going to react, but I know he'll live. We will be out about 2 hours so I'm sure he'll survive.

I have noticed since I am losing weight you can really see the wrinkles in my face. I guess my skin is looser now. Time for Botox. I'm joking!!!

Wishing you a great Sunday!

Finally Friday!

My husband is home from work and giving the littles a bath as I write. The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow, so we plan on heading down to Callway Gardens. We may do some biking while we are there. The high is supposed to be 65 degrees and sunny.

Last night at the Bible Study, my friends celebrated my birthday. It was so sweet. Tammy Pitts gave me "Stepping Heavenward" from Lamplighter Publishing. I cannot wait to read it. Charity gave me some flavored coffee. I am going to make some this evening after the children go to bed. Krista and Ms. Mike gave me a lovely ceramic plaque with the Serenity Prayer on it. Krista also gave me some quick bread mix from Williams-Sonoma. Suzanne gave me a prayer journal that is just beautiful. They made some great refreshments which included Tammy Pitts' cookies. Yes, I have eaten WAY too much this week. I just can't resist Tammy's cookies. It's so nice to have such wonderful friends. The things they worte in their cards was so kind and humbling. I am very blessed to have every one of them in my life.

My throat is a bit sore and I'm not sure why. Please, oh please Lord, no more sickness. Olaf has had a sore throat for over a month now.

Notice the tag board! Tag me if you want to. Just type in a message and it'll pop up there. When I see it, I'll tag you back! FUN! Gotta love this blog thing. I changed my graphics too. These are also from Graphic Garden for free. These talented people share their graphics just for a link back to their website. Very nice indeed.

I sure hope Caleb's bus driver is on the route Monday. This has been a crazy week running him to school and back.

Blessings!

Almost the weekend...

I get excited on Thursday's. It's almost the weekend and my husband will be home. He's my best friend and I love having him here. It's also Bible Study night, so I look forward to that.

I am waiting for Caleb's bus to get here. They are doubling the routes because his bus driver is sick. I have no idea what time the bus will come this morning. I just keep looking out the front door. Everyone is up except Josiah.

We bought Camille a cheap desk yesterday at Big Lots. Olaf set it up in her room for her to do her school work in there. She seems to do better and not get as frustrated if she is alone when she is working. Then she can't ask me for every little thing and expect me to help her if she gets stuck. She can figure it out at her own pace and I don't have to watch her cry. I am hoping this cuts down on my frustration level as well.

TIME LAPSE:
I took Caleb to school. The transportation office said the bus wouldn't even get to my house until after 8 am. So, I loaded up the children and drove the 25 minutes one way to Caleb's school. It was raining pretty hard when we left. There was a wreck on the one of the roads that slowed us down. It took me an hour and twenty minutes round trip.

I am going to pick up Molly at 12:30 today so the girls can play with her. All of my children love Molly. She is Camille's best friend. She used to be our next door neighbor but they moved about 4 years ago. I miss them! It was so nice to have them there.

Off to start school with Camille....

I voted!

I voted today. I waited until about 3:30 and didn't have a line at all. I drove by my polling place at 8:10 am and the line was outside and around the corner! I drove by again at 11:00 am and the same thing. At 3:30, I walked right up with no one in front of me.

Tomorrow Caleb has a well visit at the pediatrician. I want him to get the flu shot because of his immune system being weakened. I am hoping that by immunizing him, it will protect our family as well. He goes to public school and is in contact with a lot of children. Olaf took the day off so I only have to take him in without the other children.

I am so tired. The news is on behind me doing a play by play of the election results. I think I'll be in bed before the president is announced.

We went to CiCi's tonight. Oh, I don't like going there. It's so easy to overeat. I ate three pieces of pizza and a salad. I also ate 2 of those cinnamon rolls. I didn't do so good, huh? I really need to make up for it with exercise this week.

Blessings!

Manic Monday

It's just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my funday
My I don't have to runday
It's just another manic Monday

Well, it wasn't too manic. I am about ready to leave here and go weigh in. Then I am going to a ladies fellowship at the church where I go for my Bible Study. They are having a Jewish believer give her testimony. I probably won't post tonight if I lost or not, but look for it tomorrow afternoon sometime. I sure hope I did. My scale says a pound.

Camille did school today. The whole enchilada. Jeannie came over for a visit and ended up taking 6 bags of groceries home. She comes over to "shop." I love being able to help her. She is eating vegetarian right now, so she took a lot of canned vegtables and mac n cheese.

Tomorrow is manic Tuesday! It's riding lesson day not to mention VOTING. Please go out and vote your conscience tomorrow.

Until then....blessings!

Daylight Savings Ends....YUCK!

We really don't like it when we have to "fall behind" with the time change. Most people get an extra hour of sleep, but not us! Caleb wakes up at 5 am every morning, so now he wakes up at 4 am. We actually like the "spring ahead" time change much better.

The toilet in the hall bathroom broke tonight. The handle snapped and the valve isn't working. Olaf is fixing it as I write this. The children are going absolutely nuts behind me. The decible level in this house could compete with a rock concert right now. They are having fun though. The house just shakes as they run through it. I am so grateful that my children play so well together.

We don't participate in Halloween, so we have turned the light off and covered the oval window in our front door. I also hung a sign on the door that says "No Candy" just in case some kids come up to a completely dark house. Our doorbell is disconnected, and so far no one has knocked. Grace doesn't even know there is such a thing as Halloween. I'm grateful for that. Caleb has been doing Halloween things since the beginning of October in public school. I am so glad it's over for this year.

Well, I need to run and get my children into bed. Please sign my guestbook or e-mail me to let me know you've been here! Thanks so much!

Saturday...in the park...

you'd think it was the 4th of July.
People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For Saturday

Did I do it to you again? Is that song stuck in your head? LOL!

Today was productive. Olaf changed the oil in both the vehicles. I cleaned our master bathroom from top to bottom. Then we ate at Chili's. It was very good, but I ate too much. I ordered their No Guilt Pita (which is delicious) but I also ate some blooming onion! I am really full. I did walk this morning, so that's good! Josiah ate ketchup for supper. I think that is the only thing he has eaten today. I am amazed that toddlers can live eating the way they do. He certainly isn't too skinny. I think he is about 30 pounds now. Gracie is about 38 pounds and she is 19 months older.

I was reading my "An Encouraging Word" magazine this evening and was so blessed about an article on friendship. The title of the article was "Sisters: Working Together, Walking Together" There was a paragraph that spoke to me. It says, "If you value the relationship, be ready and willing to admit your error and be humble enough to sincerely ask forgiveness for specific sins you will inevitably commit if you walk together with anyone for any length of time." My Dear Sisters, if I caused offense to any of you, for any reason, please forgive me. A dear sister in the Lord has recently ended a friendship with me for reasons that she feels are important. She has seen sin in my life and felt it was best to part ways. I have never met this woman face to face. Ours was a longtime internet friendship. It's hard to judge motives and thoughts and tone through the written word, and I can understand why that would lend itself to misinterpretation. Nonetheless, she is convinced that I am "more of a strain to deal with than an enjoyment." I am asking you, my dear friends, to never let it get to that point in our friendship. Confront me, rebuke me, and show me grace. I am the chief of all sinners. I am heartbroken about her ending our friendship, escpecially with the words she used to end it. But I know that God is good and His plan for me is good. And that must include the end of this relationship. It's good for her as well. Praise be to God!

Blessings!

The Sound of Silence

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.


Sorry! I just had to sing. Once I get a song trapped in my head, it HAS to come out. Maybe the titles to my blogs will all be songs and then you'll have them stuck in your head as well. The reason I wrote that title is because I am currently home all alone. My husband has so graciously taken all the children to Caleb's last baseball game of the season. I really wanted to stay home and get some things accomplished. Like my Bible Study and prayer. By the way, if you have a prayer request, please leave a comment below and I certainly will add it to my list. I have been praying about homeschooling and my relationship with Camille. Please, if you feel led, pray for me. It's too much to get into here, but God knows what I need. It's so neat how God works because this week's chapter in our Bible Study is all about not being anxious. I need to choose to give my anxieties to God, choose to pray specifically, choose to be thankful, and choose to dwell on the positive. The timing of this chapter is just SO awesome in my life right now. So much is going on in different areas of my life and I desperately need to CHOOSE all of those things above.

Camille did get school done today. We learned about Connecticut, the 5th state admitted to the Union. (We are learning about all 50 states in the order in which they were admitted) She wrote a creative story using good sentences with correct punctuation. She did a math page without getting too upset on the division problems which had 6 as a divisor! Last, but not least, she wrote her spelling words out on a sheet of notebook paper.

As I end this to go soak in a hot tub...
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, WITH THANKSGIVING, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and MINDS through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue or anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things. Phil 4:6-8

Cooking School

The Cooking School last night was a lot of fun. I got there early like I was supposed to. Stood in line with Tammy and Suzanne before the doors even opened. Then Suzanne said something about she was afraid of forgetting her ticket and BAM! It hit me. I FORGOT my ticket. So, I had to drive all the way home and get it and poor Tammy and Suzanne had to save the seats! The reason they wanted me to do it is because I'm the bold one. I don't mind going in with hundreds of other crazed women and tackling them for seats! LOL! My mind has been preoccupied the past couple of days and I just plain ole forgot my ticket. That is not like me.

Olaf worked with Camille on her 6 times tables last night. He said she really had a breakthrough when he told her "You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength." She kept saying that she couldn't do it and he kept telling her she could! Then she found a little metal bookmark with that Scripture on it and it was a confirmation to her that she in fact COULD do it! That was a blessing for Olaf to witness.

I'm not sure what is planned for this weekend. If the weather is nice I'm sure we'll try to go to Callaway Gardens. I really need to scrub the bathtubs. Who wants to do that while your husband is home though??

Blessings!

HOORAY!

I called our local cable company and they couldn't access my webpage either! I guess they fixed the problem. I would try to log on and it would time out. Very annoying.

I took Camille to JMG tonight. They talked about soil and let the children spread lime on the garden at the fairgrounds. They made them figure out the square footage of the garden and then figure out how much lime to use. We were wearing sandals so our feet are white! It was very interesting. I learn so much at her gardening classes. I'm happy I signed her up! We ate at McDonalds afterwards though. I ate a Happy Meal which is 12 points.

Tomorrow is the Taste of Home Cooking School. That should be fun. I went to a free concert at the Performing Arts Center last night and it was terrific. We saw a local adult choir, a junior choir, and a guy that is on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast. He sang 4 songs. I was so impressed with the choir that I e-mailed the director. I may try out in January depending on their practice schedule. I'm not sure if I'll even make it, but it's worth a shot. They did a few songs a capella and it sounded beautiful. There were about 50 members or so. Probably 20 men and thirty women. They sang a few songs that I remember singing in concert chorale in high school.

Camille turned in her fundraiser today for Gooseberry Patch. She has the highest sales so far. She is excited about that.

My memory verse for this week:

Phil 4:6-8 Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things. Amen and amen!

Blessings!

Internet Problems

This is Olaf right now informing all of Misty's readers that she is currently unable to post updates. For some reason our computer is not allowing her to go to her blog. Hopefully we will be able to figure this out soon.
Until then....God bless.

Monday, Monday...La laaa la la la la

You're way too young to be reading my blog if you aren't singing that song right now!:)

Monday morning is here and I plan on getting some school done with Camille. She is reading right now. She just finished breakfast and the little ones are watching The Wiggles. (Which, by the way, are playing to sold out crowds here in Atlanta) I ate a bagel and yummy strawberry spread piled high. Yes, I gained this week. No doubt about it! Check out my Weight Loss Blog this evening to see how much.

I bought Josiah Pull Ups at the grocery store because I had a coupon and they were much cheaper than diapers. ($6.58 for 29 Pull Ups) They have Buzz Lightyear on them and he loves them. I went to put it on him this morning and he didn't want me to because he wanted to hold it. So, I let him hold it and put another one on him. The bad thing about Pull Ups is they don't contain poo like a diaper. I have a ton of Pull Up coupons though.

I went grocery shopping on Sunday after church. (Yes, we actually went to church!) I saved 47 percent at both stores. I spent about $110 total. I also bought the girls the new Barbie movie for Christmas. We rented it once at Blockbuster and they both loved it. It has a lot of singing in it which the other Barbie movies didn't really have. It's called The Princess and the Pauper.

Caleb has his last day at CORRAL today. They are having a little cookout there, so he will probably be there most of the day. He is excited about it. Oh, and I pulled his bottom incisor on Saturday night. It was loose and bothering him. I asked him if he wanted me to pull it and he said yes. He was excited to find 2 quarters under his pillow the next morning.

Time to take the dogs out and start school with my precious third grader. My prayer for today: Lord help me to reflect the Holy Spirit as I school Camille today. May You alone be glorified in my thoughts, words, and actions.

An new TV for us

As a surprise for Olaf, I went and bought a new TV for him last night. He has wanted a bigger TV for awhile now (we currently have a 20 inch). HH Gregg opened up and had fabulous sale prices on everything they stock. So, I went to Circuit City, they matched the sale price plus from HH Gregg AND gave me 110% of the difference. Well, the TV I bought ended up being too big for our living room, so we returned it today to Circuit City and then went to HH Gregg and bought a smaller one. We now have a Toshiba 27 inch flat screen TV. We were going to get a 32 inch, but Olaf preferred the picture on the 27 inch flat screen vs. the 32 inch. We will have to rearrange the furniture because the TV will have to go on the wall opposite the one it's on now.

Camille is able to walk on her sprained foot today. Hallelujah!

Time to set up that TV and see how it looks!

Nothing special

Nothing special today. I just got home from our ladies Bible Study. I was a little out of it tonight for some reason. I couldn't really focus or concentrate. It was like I had ADHD or something. I'm looking forward to chapter 2 though. My friend Charity made these awesome scones for refreshments this evening. I ate two of them! They were so good. When she gives me the recipe, I'll post it here.

How about those Red Sox last night? Olaf stayed up to watch history. I, on the other hand, went to bed at 10:30. I hope they win the World Series this year.

Olaf said Josiah cried several times for me this evening while I was at the Bible Study. He would walk to the front door and cry "mama!" Poor little guy. He was asleep by the time I got home, but I just want to go in there and wake him up so he knows I'm home. Now how stupid would that be??

Camille read a lot today. She loves her Pathway readers. They are stories about Amish kids and she just loves reading them. She must have read for two hours today and finished half of the reader. That was school today. I'm certainly not going to tell her to stop reading to do school. That doesn't make any sense.

Hey, for those who may be reading that like Coldwater Creek...October 24-28th they are offering 50% off EVERYTHING at their website including the outlet stuff. Use offer code WRF4020 at checkout. www.coldwatercreek.com

Blessings!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Olaf drove up to the Cumberland Mall in Atlanta today to apply to be on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. There were only about 35 people ahead of him. I really expected many more. They are accepting applications there today and tomorrow from 4-9 pm. Since Caleb will never live on his own, we are applying for him to have his own space. I know there are many deserving families and I know no matter what, the Lord is the ultimate One who chooses the recipient. He said the producer was really nice and asked for a photo of Caleb to attach to the application. Of course, I have a gazillion photos in my purse and Olaf only had one. It was a cute one though. It's from about 2 years ago where Caleb is holding a football and looks adorable.

I took the children to McDonalds today for supper because I am lazy. I ate half of Josiah's Happy Meal. I have not eaten well the past two days. Way over on points. I am going to walk tonight when Olaf gets home.

Blessings!

Another Day of School!

Camille did spelling with a test, more puncuation and comma review, a math worksheet, and we started learning about Squanto. Then the children went with me to WalMart and she helped me figure out how much the grapes would cost for 2 pounds at $1.36 a pound. I had to go to WalMart for a few things including a new iron. The cord on the old iron was getting so hot it would burn my arm as I tried to iron. So, we went to Consumers Reports, looked at the Best Buys, and bought a Black and Decker digital iron for about $40. The magazine said it was $50, so we even got a better deal than expected. I like to iron and am thinking of seeing if anyone would be willing to pay $2 per shirt to be ironed. What made me think of it was a post on the homeschool e-mail list. A lady offered someone $30 to iron a laundry basket full of clothes. She said she hates ironing. Maybe I'll post on the Eagles Nest e-mail loop and see if I get a response. I'm not sure what it costs to actually have a shirt dry cleaned, so I have to do a little research.

Olaf stayed home today, but he is actually feeling a little better this afternoon. I think he is on the upswing of this virus.

I am excited about a new show on TV tonight. It's called The Biggest Loser and its all about fat people losing weight. I hope it inspires me!:) I'm not sure what network it's on.

Josiah just came up to me and told me he wanted to go poo poo on the potty. So I sat him on the potty and sure enough...he did. I am thankful because it was runny! What a big boy! He's 21 months old.

Please sign my guestbook if you come by! It's the only way I know you've been here.

Blessings!

We did school!

Isn't the above graphic adorable? Click on it and it will take you to the website where I got it from.

Yippee!! Camille got a full day of school in today. We did Spelling, Language Arts (grammar), Math (division, story problems, review), Geography (states in the order that they were admitted to the Union)and now she is watching her siblings outside. There she is learning MORE than she could learn sitting down at a desk all day. She has also emptied the dishwasher so far.

I am nauseated today. I am certain it is from the antibiotic. I started Zithromax on Thursday night and I feel a whole lot better.

I weigh in tonight, so be sure to look at my Weight Loss Journey this evening.

Grocery Shoppping

I had to do my weekly grocery shopping today. I saved 40% at Kroger and 35% at Publix. Wouldn't you know it, I had to buy dog food, cat food, cat litter, and diapers so I still spent more than I wanted to. I spent $77 at Kroger and $100 at Publix. I would like to spend no more than $130/week which would save our budget $280 a month. Olaf has $200 a week budgeted for food, so anything under that is a bonus!:)

Olaf is taking a nap. He feels horrible. All of the children are outside since it is so beautiful. I need to be clipping coupons, but thought I'd write a few sentences first. I am still very tired but coughing less. Praise God!

I hope to get a full week of homeschooling in. We haven't done a lot since I have been sick.

Come back tomorrow for the weigh in results! I'll post them at my Weight Loss Journey site which is the cute little bear link to your right.

Blessings!

Saturday Morning

I slept pretty good last night despite dreaming about html. My brain cannot turn off when it comes to numbers and letters and such. Other than that, I slept good.

Olaf woke up feeling worse. Grace and Caleb woke up with stuffy noses. I am feeling better, Praise God! We were going to go to Callaway Gardens this weekend, but not now. We love Callaway. It is such a beautiful place. www.callawayonline.com The weather is beautiful today. We should have a high of 67 degrees and a lot of sun. Perfect for riding bikes.

This is what I desire to be.
I'm not there yet, but God isn't finished with me either!

I am so tired. I cough all night and when I finally get to sleep it's around 3 am. I get up with Caleb at 6, so I am really spent. I have been doing this the past week and it is starting to take it's toll on me. My head hurts and I feel like I am in a fog. It's hard to take care of the children when I feel this way. Poor Olaf has now officially caught this virus and is feeling horrible. It's not going to be a fun weekend.

Caleb went to the Atlanta Zoo with his school today. He hasn't said too much about it and when we question him, he just smiles. He did say he saw a giraffe and ate at McDonalds.

My friend, Jeannie, came by today and dropped off some chicken and rice soup. I called her and asked her to make it for me. She is one of those friends that you don't mind letting know if you have a need. I called her on the phone and left a message saying, "Jeannie...I need soup!" She was here in about three hours with my soup! Tomorrow is her birthday, so I made her a cake and gave her a pear scented candle.

I am going to type out my memory verse again to help me remember. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Phil 4:11-13

Blessings!

Feeling like poo!

I had to call Olaf home from work because the thought of taking Camille to homeschool choir and Junior Master Gardeners was just too much for me to bear! I just want to lay down (or is it lie down) and go to sleep. I feel like such a wimp for having Olaf come home from work though. Olaf is starting to get this sickness as well which is a big bummer for him.

Camille learned about propagation at JMG today. She came home with a few cuttings and a couple of seeds planted in dixie cups. We are also cutting a pineapple and going to plant the top of that in some soil. It will actually grow another pineapple if you wait a year!:) I didn't know that. Hopefully we can do a full day of school tomorrow.

I have put a link to my Weight Watchers site to you right. It's the cute little bear. I really need to figure our how to do backgrounds and such. Right now I can just copy and paste a graphic into my website. I want to learn how to manipulate the backgrounds and such. If anyone wants to share their knowledge, please e-mail me. I have been to a couple of html basic tutorials. I still can't figure it out. This pink template is from blogspot and I don't know how to change it. HELP!!!

Thanks for stopping by! I will sign off with my Bible memory verse for this week: Phil 4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

Doctor Update

As soon as Dr. H walked into the room, both children start screaming their heads off. Now I feel like I need to explain myself on why I allow that. First of all, we see no one. We have no family near us, no friends that visit, and we rarely get to church. When we do go to church it is just a few families and I do not leave my children in a nursery. Therefore, all they know is a stranger is coming too close for comfort. Anyway, I digress. Both of the children have ear infections. It's weird because you'd never know it by how they act. They don't complain of any ear pain, they sleep through the night etc. They are both on Zithromax and neither one of them like the taste. Good ole amoxil would have been better. He checked out my throat and said it's viral and in a few days I should feel better. Same with Camille. I wish he would have given me something to quiet this hacking. I cough so hard I lose my breath and almost vomit.

I am also going to start another blog and link it to this page specifically for my weight loss journey and my ladies Bible Study. I don't know when I'll find the time to do that, but I'm gonna try. I cannot exercise right now because as soon as I start walking, I'm coughing.

Blessings to anyone who takes the time to read this. My counter is going up little by little. I know someone comes here, even if it's an accident!

Weigh In Report

I think their scale is broken! I am down another 2.6 pounds for a total loss of 12.8 lbs. I usually have these bigger losses when another lady from Stockbridge weighs me in. I am wondering of she brings her own scale from that office, or if they keep one at the church where I meet. I'll take it!

I am taking the children to their doctor's appointment this morning. Grace and Josiah both cry when Dr. Heindel looks in their ears. My poor children. Actually, it's poor Dr. Heindel. He is such a nice fellow too.

I was up all night coughing again. My throat feels a little better this morning, but I think it's because I have a pain reliever constantly in me.

Caleb is already on the bus. He was happy! He goes to the Atlanta Zoo on Friday. That will be fun for him.

I hear Gracie on the monitor, so I best sign off for now.

How Awesome!

I was reading my MOMYS posts, when Tina (the moderator) encouraged us to take the meaning of our children's names and see if they have anything to do with the plan of salvation. She did this because of the lineage from Adam to Noah. When interpreted it goes something like this:

Hebrew English
Adam-Man
Seth-Appointed
Enosh-Mortal
Kenan-Sorrow
Mahalalel-The Blessed God
Jared-Shall come down
Enoch-Teaching
Methuselah-His death shall bring
Lamech-The despairing
Noah-Rest, or comfort

Here is a summary of God's plan of redemption, hidden here within a genealogy in Genesis! Well, my children's names show the plan of salvation in a much simpler way.

Caleb - Faithful, bold
Camille - Virginal, unblemished
Grace - Grace of God
Josiah - God has healed

Because God is "faithful" to mankind, He sent His Son through a "virgin" to show mankind His "grace" in order to "heal" us from all our sins. I am assuming since God is such an AWESOME God, that you can probably see a plan of salvation in your children's names too!

Blessings!

We're sick!

Blech! Our throats are getting worse, not better. I am coughing up a lung as well and that irritates the throat. Praise the Lord that Gracie and Josiah have a regularly scheduled ENT appointment on Tuesday. It's to check up on the tubes in their ears, but he can also look in all of our throats. Camille's eyes have dark circles under them. She looks horrible. Caleb does not have school tomorrow. It's a teacher's work day. He is going to be mad when he can't ride the bus tomorrow morning.

I went grocery shopping today in spite of being sick. People were staring at me as I tried to cover my mouth the best I could. Needless to say, we didn't go to church. I went to Kroger and to Publix. I spent $172 and saved $110. I bought more groceries than usual this week. I will not need to go again for two weeks...well, besides milk and bread etc. I have been averaging $120 week which is a savings of $80 per week for our family. Included in our grocery budget besides edibles are diapers, pet food and supplies (2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 parakeets and outside birdfood!) The bad thing is I now spend much more time shopping than one trip to WalMart.

Yesterday was productive. Olaf and I cleaned up all the piles of junk in our bedroom. Our bedroom has always been the "catch all" for everything. Boy did we stir up some dust. I'm sure that didn't help my sickness as well. Olaf also bathed and shaved Deacon. No easy task.

OK, off to make "fluff." It's a low point goodie that I can eat on WW. I sure hope I lost a little weight this week. I think I hit the dreaded plateau. I'll post tomorrow night and let you know!

My brother's birthday

Today is my brother's birthday. He is 43 years old, lives with my mother, divorced, an alcoholic and drug user, never held a job for more than months at a time, been in jail, has warrants out for his arrest and has three children. Two of them are adults and model their lives after my brother, the other is a precious four year old girl that doesn't have a chance at a normal life. But, to beat that, he claims to be a born again Christian. What do you think? "By their fruits you shall know them." Sorry if I sound cynical, but in my opinion he really needs the Lord. Please pray for him if you read this.

Camille and I are getting a virus. We both have sore throats and feel like a truck hit us. Motrin does wonders, but when it wears off then we feel yucky again. Caleb still says his throat is sore as well. I'm not sure about Gracie and Josiah. They sound a little "chesty." I think what did me in was when I mowed the lawn today. It was just too much physical work for being sick. The lawn looks good though:)

Camille did Language Arts and Math today. I really need to start reading out loud to her on a regular basis again. It's hit or miss right now. We need to finish "Little Women." What a great book!

The presidential debate is playing behind me. I absolutely despise listening to these men demean each other. C'mon fellas! One is a Republican, the other a Democrat. Different views...always have been...always will be! Get on with it without being so darn mean to each other. Tell me what you will do and not what your opponent cannot do! Yes I vote. For the lesser of two evils. I am trying not to complain but I guess I'm not doing a very good job of it!

Blessings to all of you.

This is Gracie and Mama about three years ago.  

Learning HTML

Oh boy...who would have thought that starting a blog would get me hooked on learning html? This has been so fun. I even figured out how to set up a link to Graphic Garden where I downloaded these beautiful graphics for free. I added an e-mail button as well. I have learned a lot in the past two hours. Josiah is currently down for a nap and the girls are playing in their bedroom. At least I fixed them lunch before I started this! LOL! I took the weather pixie off because it just didn't fit with the graphics.

We are going to Ci Ci's tonight for supper. I will have a salad and a slice of pizza. It's hard not to overeat there, but I must stick to my guns this week. Our new ladies Bible Study starts this evening. Ms. Mike (a wonderful and Godly Titus 2 woman) is going to lead us through Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. I am so looking forward to it. She has asked us to bring a special teacup tonight to drink tea from. We will also be celebrating my dear friend Tammy Pitts' birthday this evening. She doesn't have the internet so I can post that without her knowing.

Olaf, are you reading my blog? If you are, you are my best friend and I love you!

Maintaining...

I didn't lose and I didn't gain. I'm maintaining. LOL! I will keep on perservering though because I want to be healthier for my family.

Took Cami to riding lessons this morning. It was a beautiful day. I love it when the temperature doesn't get above 80 degrees. We really don't even wear pants here until sometime in November. Well, you can look at the weather pixie (on your right) and see our weather here. I absolutely love autumn. It's my favorite time of year. We did a little school when we got back. She did spelling and language arts. We need to work on our Junior Master Gardener projects. Tomorrow she has homeschool choir and has to stay over because she has a solo this year. It's only about 6 measures or so, but she is nervous and excited at the same time. Terri Terrell said she would drive her home because I need to be back here to wait for Caleb's bus. This way Josiah can get a nap as well. Thank you Terri!

Weigh In Day

It's Monday and I have to weigh in at Weight Watchers this evening. I know I have gained a bit, but I am not going to let it get me down! No way! I'm in this forever. I am doing good so far, but it's not lunch time yet!

I am doing school with Camille right now. I did lose my temper once when she couldn't use the glue stick without getting it all over herself and everything within a 3 foot radius. Right now she is working on her math worksheet and then we will be almost finished. She still has her devotional for choir to do. We did a Junior Master Gardener project today (which required the glue stick) and made a collage of things that come from plants. This afternoon she will go out and collect leaves so we can see if they are monocot or dicot and then do a leaf rubbing.

Funny story. Last night one of our parakeets escaped and we didn't know it. I went in today to uncover the birds and there was only one in the cage. I looked at the bottom of the cage for a dead bird, but she wasn't there. I turned around and she was sitting on my son's pillow (the birds are in his room). I am thinking she must have gotten out last night when Camille changed the gravel. The door to the gravel dish stays open if its pushed up high enough and Camille just didn't know she was gone when she came back from getting the gravel in the kitchen. Caleb slept last night with a bird flying around his room!

Time to make lunch for the children. We have so much food in the house since I have been coupon clipping and using www.cutouthunger.org I spend so much less and have so much more. It's wonderful! Maybe that's why I didn't lose weight this week.