Not thankful for...

Have to say NOT THANKFUL FOR HEADACHES...the kind that start in your sinuses and move down your neck and all the way down your back and make you nauseous. I guess I shouldn't be surprised... the pollen count is Medium High for Grasses and Ragweed. I remember having my allergy test done in my early twenties and the nurse saying, "You're basically allergic to ALL grasses." Yesterday I skipped taking Claritin because it dries me out so much, I have to put eye drops in to see clearly. I don't know about this Claritin clear thing. Probably need to be drinking more water. But I guess dry eyes are better than ICKY, TERRIBLE, Headaches. No more skipping my Claritin.

But I am thankful for being in my PJ's at 10:40 in the morning and listening to my children play so well together. This is why homeschool families have so many kids. Not that I think 4 is SO MANY but...they socialize among themselves. No need to go to "school" for that. Lady just asked Dimples to marry her and Spunky is the bride's maid. I think Dynamo is officiating the service. So far, I have only gotten dishes done, had coffee, fed my kids and saved the day by preforming an operation on the doll that lost it's arm this morning. Moving a little slow. Got to fold a mountian of clothes and go to the store and drop off about 6 trash bags full of stuff to Goodwill. Woohoo!!! Very productive yesterday working in the girls' room.

The 3degrees golf tournament is tomorrow. I will need be there at around 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. We are praying for great weather and a great turn out. It is always great to introduce people to the ministry of 3degrees and how God is using John to change the lives of young people for eternity. It is a great time of encouragement in seeing how God provides for this ministry. And a bunch of guys and a few gals get to have a blast playing golf and win really cool prizes John has been collecting all year.

Say it with me...Headache, Headache Go away! Never to return another day!!!

Continuing my list . 15-24

It's a very long way until I reach 1,000 things I am grateful for. I have no plan. I won't write a list everyday just every now and then. I just want to remember to be thankful. Today's includes photos. My numbers are backwards because I think one day I will find a way to have all my lists in a row and they will be in date order so if I number them like I am below they will start at one on the bottom and go up the blogs until 1000. Remember they are not any particular order of importance.

24. Digitial Cameras!!!
23. The predictability of Weather these days...Meteorologists...and that we can evacuate for hurricanes now if necessary.
22. Freedom in our country!!!
21. M-n-M's
20.Joy on a child's face...that comes from something as simple as socks on Spunky's hands. She loves wearing them like gloves. They are technically clean socks btw just stained from being worn outside without shoes in their previous life before being worn on hands.

19. When my kids dress themselves and the laughter that sometimes follows!!!
18. Young Christian College girls that inspire me....these two gals are two that do. They seek after God with a passion and are amazing role models for my kids.


17. Discolored old pictures (below...that's me and my mom and my sister sometime before my little brother was born. I must have been about 10 here because I was 8 when she was born)
16. Memories of being kids from those pictures


15. The sound of rain on the metal roof of our home that was built in 1915.

A neverending list.

I know what you are thinking...she is going to list all the things she needs to get done but I am not. My heart has been tugged recently by a blog...http://aholyexperience.com/ . The author is part of a group listing 1,000 items they are thankful for... not collectively but individually. It has inspired me. So often I think of the never-ending to-do lists or the things I want to change list but never often enough... the Things I am THANKFUL for list. So I begin today on a journey...

(MY LIST IS NOT ANY PARTICULAR ORDER JUST THE RANDOMNESS OF MY MIND.)

1. Young love...beginning of a lifetime of growing together...when you sat too close in public, held hands ALWAYS, talked on the phone incessantly, and long good night kisses. (yes that was us)

2. His Smile
3. His laugh
4. His arms around me
5. His promise to always stay with me

8. the feeling of a just swept and mopped floor.
9. hot showers
10. the quiet that falls on my house when all the little bodies are asleep in bed
11. crayons
12. looking up through the trees to see a beautiful blue sky
13. old windows that have imperfections in the glass so that things are slightly blurred as you look out
14. my best friend from college

A woman's perspective...

Okay there are a few things that I know have been designed completely by men. I mean if they hadn't been, they would be at least slightly different. (No, this isn't a political statement.)

First...most sporting events would be at least half as long. I mean who needs that much time to play a game...or sit on the couch watching a game. Though my sweetie has taken to folding clothes while watching those sports recently. Honey you are AMAZING!!!! Seriously!!!
Though I have to admit, I did enjoy EVERY second of the UCF football game on Saturday. Especially the last 5 minutes that really took like an hour. How is that possible? Yeah, I know...clock stops, timeouts, etc. My throat still hurts from yelling so much! We were there until overtime was OVER!! We didn't win but it was AMAZING!!!

Second...All electrical devices that have a digital beeping system to alert you that they are done or have reached a certain temperature would have volume options...my oven and microwave...for instance. Who needs the microwave beeping with three long loud buzzes to let you know the bottle is warm at 3 a.m. Even if I press the off button at 1 second, it still beeps once. Who needs that?

Third...a doorbell that you could somehow turn off or set on a timer so it that the delivery man can't ring it during nap time. No, I don't remember to go put a sign up on the door.

And I think we all know that if God were a woman He would have created women with at least 3 arms, maybe more...no just kidding there. He knew it only took two hands to clasp together and pray to HIM for help. If I would just remember FIRST that is ALL I really NEED!!!

Tired!

Well, I have to admit it. I am tired. The good kind of tired. The kind when you have done just about all you can do in a day that you possibly can. Not just cleaning the house kind of stuff or marking things off your list kind of things. But the spur of the moment fun things along with the dishes and laundry and getting dressed and washing AND drying your hair, even wearing make-up. With a spur of the moment park visit thrown in there along with math, reading, social studies, Bible, sign language, snow covered pancakes and going to eat dinner at the church where my Mom cooks the Wednesday night meals kinds of things. It's been a good day. Deep Breath!!! Thank you God. Looking forward to what you have in store for tomorrow!

Snow Flurries in Florida!!!

It snowed today...

on our pancakes with whipped cream mountains and confectioner's sugar snow.

Too Fun!!!

We are learning about the Seasons. What they are like, when they are, the sign language symbols for them (Thanks to PBS's Signing time and our DVR, woohoo!!!)

Dimples just had to eat little triangles of bananas.
Hey, they were shaped like mountains, right?

We are learning that God has a time for everything! Cold, Hot, Rain, and Snow. He is a God of ORDER!!! He has a plan for our lives and each day. I am seeking to ask God each moment what HIS will is just for that moment. Sometimes He even allows hurricanes into our lives to teach us to trust Him (literally and figuratively). Sometimes my storms come in the form of squalls of sibling squabbles or an avalanche of laundry or waves of illness. But there is a time for each thing that God desires for me to do. I pray that I will have the wisdom and self control to see and do what God wants. I pray this right now for all you MOTHERS out there. You are greatly blessed with children. God has given you EVERYTHING you need to walk through the beautiful weather as well as the storms of life. I pray that God would renew your minds and free you from Satan's lies. God is enough!!! YOU ARE ENOUGH in Christ!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!

Oh the joys of the beginning of school!!!

There are soooo many fun things that you get to do with the beginning of the school year. I wondered if we would miss out on some of those because we home school. Not that it really matters because I think for OUR family, the benefits outweigh missing a few back to school rituals.

Things I love about the beginning of school:

• New classroom decorations... The school teacher in me ad libs by posting Spunky's letter of the week and pictures of things that start with that letter, and the sign language sign for that letter. And of course each week's bible verse. I post these on our dining room window. Windows are great bulletin boards!


• New school supplies: We got new school supplies and new supply boxes and I painted each child's name on them with puff paint. Then they decorated them with stickers. We also labeled every single item down to each crayon with the kids' names on them. The labeled supplies are to take to co-op.


• The excitement of leaving the house to go to school the first time: We had our first day of home school co-op. it meets 2 Tuesdays a months. Everyone from Mommy on down gets to go. There are classes for everyone even the baby. The kids were so excited to go on our first day. Unfortunately, Dimples was sick but Daddy saved the day by working from home for the morning so we didn't have to miss our first day. Spunky was soooo excited that Mommy was one of her teachers. It was fun-filled day of learning for us all. Except for maybe for Dimples, who was so miserable he spent most of his time whimpering in Daddy's arms. Come to find out he has cut a new tooth. The doctor says new teeth don't cause runny noses but I am not soooo sure.


• Little kids with new giant half empty backpacks. Dynamo's is camo and Lady's is pink and black and white. Spunky just carries a little insulated lunch box.

Last Sunday night, the night before we officially started back homeschooling for this 08-09 year, I was nervous and excited just like when I taught school and actually got paid for it.

Funny things about school so far...Spunky wants to do everything her older siblings are doing but always in her own way, of course. Dynamo loves doing school and is a meticulous colorer. Lady says she doesn't want to learn to read. Which is soooo funny because I am not sure what she thinks she is doing when she is reading her short vowel books to us. :)