A Good Day

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Abbie

Today was a good day. Scratch that. It was a remarkable day. One of those days that is so rare but so worth remembering.

We started the day off with me being able to check everyone’s school before lunch. Around 11 Mark texted me reminding me that I need d to pick up something at the mall, so I made a quick plan to brave the mall and the mall food court (with all eight kids…alone…Mark was still at work) and then grab some groceries.

My kids ya’ll. Oh my. They were amazing. And that’s no easy feat with the holiday crowd bustling everywhere at the mall While I got food they sat and chatted and played. I think I saw halos over all their heads. We window shopped and grabbed what we needed and headed out. Easy peasy.

We made it through Costco with no casualties too. The food samplers even survived. Okay, by then Mark was with us.

We rushed back home and made it back out the door to a Christmas program at a local church. Lights, hayride and food. My family was all smiles. We even roasted hot dogs without so much as an eye poked with the stick. Bryant said this was his best day ever.

We are just soaking in our normal for the next month. January 8th is our big date. The day we are planning for surgery and have no clue what life will be like in the coming months.

And today was one of those days that just oozed with awesomeness. I’m trying to take in every smile and giggle.. Every “mama” and “daddy.” Her squeals of delight over “tees” and popcorn. Her hugs and kisses. Today was just the day to do it too.

It’s true we have no clue what God has in store for us this next year. But we know He knows. So, for now, we are enjoying each day for what it is.

October Randoms

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Abbie

All the happenings in October that were just a part of every day life. Tracy, our amazing photographer, put together a picture fundraiser with local homeschoolers. As a bonus, I got to watch her kids for several sessions. J, was so sweet and has gotten so big. I wrote up J’s birth story. A night I won’t soon forget. G and M at the playground. Emmie with her big buddy, Josiah. Josiah has been trying to teach Emmie to call him Bubba (even though the rest of us are only allowed to call him Josiah. Not ‘Siah or Bubba). She has been working hard, but no matter how hard she works. He’s “Bubble.” That was the first “B” word she said. So, Bubble knows when he is being paged and always comes running with that smile. At the library. They both requested I take their picture. More time with the amazing C kids. That’s twelve kids there. And everyone was alive at the end too. M with Jimmy. I don’t know who Jimmy is or who put him there, but I got a picture of Jimmy and M. Drinking and driving.

Super Ems being Super Cute. Malachi was working hard on putting together the perfect English muffin pizza.Emmie’s “Day-dee.” She was insistent that she put her in the stroller by herself.
Turtles. On a log. Dragon fly. On Minnie mouse’s head. Every so slowly, Emmie is becoming more interested in playing that having mommy right there beside her. A major feat…putting a hat on without help. Babies (Day-dees if you are certain cute toddler) are the thing around our house right now. Not the all fabric kind. Not the dolls that look like little girls. Nope. They must be baby dolls. She loves to feed them, walk with them, give them their paci. You name it. She just loves babies.

Toys aren’t allowed at mealtimes. But, one day Emmie had baby at the table, and we all agreed that “Day-dee” was not a toy anymore.

Down Under

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Abbie

Emmie. The older she gets the more of her fun personality we get to see. She’s a pretty determined girl. She also works so hard to be as independent as possible. Talking with a nurse at her surgery several weeks ago, she mentioned that there is so much out of her control that she probably feels better when she can control just one thing. I suppose most toddlers are like that but when you are having to deal with medical issues, that can be amplified.

So, when your almost 18 month old grabs a pair of your 5 year olds’ undies and successfully gets them on one leg and makes it very clear that she meant to wear them, you go with it.

And when she grabs one of her diapers and tries to put it on herself and realizes she can’t so she grabs her pillow and sits down and starts yelling for you. You put it on her. Even if she is all ready for bed and has a disposable diaper.

And she wears it the whole entire night. Some times you just need to be a little different to be you.

We did it!

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Abbie

Since August, Zoe and I have gotten out one to three times a week to cycle our neighborhood. She is in American Heritage Girls and decided to work on her cycling badge. To complete the badge, she has to do a 10 mile ride and a 20 mile ride. So, we’ve been “training” with a goal of cycling the 10 miles by the end of October.

And we did it!

We actually got almost 13 miles in. We had a wonderful time. There are a few walking/bike trails in our area. The one we chose to do was between the river and a canal. It was the original tow path for the canal (the boats would go down the canal and donkeys would tow them back up).
Our before! To say that this trail is gorgeous is putting it mildly. I’m afraid my cell phone pictures are not doing it justice either.

Our after!

Zoe kept saying she wants to bike it every Saturday. We had such a wonderful time and the scenery kept it from feeling like we were actually working!

Our plan is to try the 20 mile (well about 23) in April when there is a big charity ride.

Large Family Lesson Planning

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Abbie

It only took seven years and six kids to get in to a groove in lesson planning.

Before I tell about how we do things, I will say several things. I know full well that this planning is not for everyone. With Emmie’s trips to the doctor and our adoption, it has become absolutely necessary for me to plan out a good amount of school. Yes, it is a lot of work. Six kids. All different grade levels. All different abilities and learning styles.

But this is how we make it work.
I start by planning nine weeks at a time. That way I can get in our full 180 days of instruction (that our state requires for homeschoolers even though other kids are only required to attend 170 days). The best way for me to do this is to take a couple of days when Mark is off and run. Run, far away. Okay, not really. I go to Panera and sit and work.

I can only imagine what I look like with books spread all around me and buried deep in one book or my laptop. The thoughts in those employees heads when I walked in trying to carry all of my books, laptop, and purse because the handle on the book bag just plumb broke from the weight of knowledge.

Anyway, I like to use Google docs spreadsheets because I can access it anywhere. Each week gets it’s own sheet. Each kid has his/her own section with our group lessons on top. Each kid section has subjects listed out and I go from there. After I plan everything out on the computer, it’s time to get the hard copies in order. Each week is a stack of papers and I use color tabs to separate each kids’ work and then clip them all together with binder clips.

This usually is a week long process since our school table is also our dining table and is usually occupied by a kid or two at any given moment of the day.

And then, the glorious end. When I can sit back and stare at our great accomplishment. Another nine weeks ready to be consumed by eager minds ready to learn (that sounds so much better than reality).

Yes, time consuming upfront, as I said earlier. But it has saved us a ton of time week to week and has helped us stay on track.

Look to the Skies

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Abbie

October brought the annual air show to a local airport. We thought we were going to have plans the weekend of the show but those plans were canceled. Once we realized that this was the last year all eight kids were free and we only had to pay for Mark and I, we jumped on it.

The kids all had a wonderful time and the vintage planes were one of the most exciting things.

Fancy Schmancy

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Abbie

We recently purchased the new Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook and also re-vamped our supper meals. We’re doing themes for each night. It makes planning a bit easier and it keeps us from having tacos one night and enchiladas the next and fajitas the night after. Flipping through the cookbook, Zoe found a recipe for crepes and then all the other kids saw it too. That was the number one request for Breakfast Night.

Sure, I think. I can do this. I made crepes in high school. And then I remembered. I didn’t make crepes in high school. Our French class did and there were a ton of kids who got it right. But not our group. Our group had some issues.

This all came to light as I went through five or more crepes that ended their miserable life in the trash. It was so bad, a neighbor heard my pleas and attempted to help. She too threw in the white flag.

Just when I was about to quit, I found my groove.

And my springform pan. And voila! Success!

We’ll definitely try this again and not wait over 20 years either!

Of Bricks and Such

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Abbie

The firs of October brought a neurology visit with Dr. W. She was doing great and we are all waiting to do an MRI just before surgery. As we were leaving, we mentioned we were heading to a local mall for a Lego display. He told us we needed to check out the hospital lobby. And this is what we saw: Pretty impressive!

Then we drove about 30 minutes away (which was around 5 miles in Atlanta) and saw this:
The Lego Americana Roadshow was just amazing. We loved seeing America’s monuments and were so impressed with the skill of real life master builders.
Old North Church This was simply amazing. The Capital Building. Future Master Builders showcased their work. And Emmie and I worked at building something so she could take it a part. Destroying things are her favorite thing to do. The gang’s all here.

We enjoyed seeing the little scenes that were set up and this one, by far, was our favorite. It had so much to look at and laugh at.

The most awesome part of the roadshow…it was free! Free ya’ll! If it is coming to a mall near you, I would highly recommend it for a fun afternoon trip.

Zoo Life

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Abbie

In September, we took our last trip to the zoo. We had to let our membership expire until we finish up adoption expenses. So, we enjoyed what we could until later.
Can you tell I let the kids take pictures with my camera? It’s a rare find. A construction vehicle. We actually got to see the tiger out and about. In case you didn’t know what a giraffe’s tongue looks like. The gorillas were out and really close. So was a snake. He was a cutie! Our traditional picture in front of the lion.

Zoe almost at the top of the rock wall.

Camp Out

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Abbie

Okay, not really a camp out. The first part of September, we were blessed to spend a long weekend with our church family. Mosquitoes, bumpy lumpy beds, camp food and lots of faith and fellowship. It was such a blessing! The speaker was a minister who we knew from another church and was a huge part of guiding us Biblically in our parenting.

Bryant looks goofy here but I wasn’t trying to get him in the shot. It’s Ceili Rain with one of the other girls from church, walking hand in hand. We were a bit concerned with how Emmie would handle things. Aside from a fall the first night, she did amazingly well!Family Olympics. One of the many highlights.
The boat race. There was only one flipped over boat, surprisingly! Emmie showing off her family colors…atop her head. Malachi was super serious about running this race.

When the littles went to bed, Mark and I took turns trekking to the common area with Zoe and Ace to play games and visit. I love this. This is our youth all crowded around checking out pictures and laughing. They are a great group who do such an amazing job including everyone. Since Zoe is now technically a “youth,” she was all smiles the whole weekend.

Mark led the children’s time one morning.

This was our first experience with family camp and can’t wait to do it again. It was a blessing to be out with our church worshiping, laughing, crying and enjoying the nature…even with the mosquitoes.

Just a Bunch of Characters

Musings of everyday life in a house full of Characters.

Category Archives: Kids 2015