Jack's birthday party: Lake fun!!

For Jack's 11th birthday party, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and our neighbor came to the lake house. There was lots of food, swimming, riding the boat and the new jet ski, skiing, and tubing. I think fun was had by all!



These two little girl cousins are peas in a pod. They stick together at all times!

This was the easiest party ever for me. Andy grilled burgers and hot dogs. Mom and Mimi brought chips and fruit. Drinks were outside in the cooler. All I had to do was make the cake and whip up some home made ice cream. Fun!

Andy and I always enjoy making the birthday cakes for the kids! This lake themed cake was fun!

So fun and exciting. Will he be too cool for this in a few years??

I hope not!

Nice, hon.

Jack and family had a great day. Now the countdown begins until Josh's birthday party...17 days to go!

Another culture

I try not to post specifics of our daily experiences with rural living. I think it would be awful to offend someone. But I assure you, I could write an entire blog about it! I decided to share just a couple of our recent interesting experiences just to remember a snippet of how different rural Alabama is from suburban Atlanta.

The other night Andy and I were about to turn in for the night. It was probably ten o'clock. When the phone rang we were startled. I was thinking it was probably a family member, one of our brothers. As it turns out it was a neighbor with a strange request. Andy said he was very excited, like a kid on Christmas morning. He had just gotten two new puppies that day and was calling to ask permission to "coon hunt" on our property. He promised "to not run through the corn or mess nothing up." Andy obliged and we fell asleep laughing and whispering to one another our buzz word, "China". The coon hunting was a first. But something I really love about this "culture" is that no one is afraid to ask for help. And on the flip side, all of our neighbors are very generous and helpful towards us. Community is important here. But what the heck is the purpose of raccoon hunting?? :)

Here's another interesting scenario. Andy has hired one of our teen neighbors to help him this summer. He is a precious boy, entering his senior year of high school, very kind and considerate. But his family has struggled financially, as do most families who live here. His parents both have health problems that have disabled them from working. Needless to say, his living conditions are a little strained and his sphere of influence is small. But still, Andy and I were both completely shocked when Andy took him to the farmer's market in Auburn and he whispered, "Mr. Andy, this is the first time I've seen a Chinese man in person." This is one of the things we are most uncomfortable with about this area- there are ONLY Caucasians. It is strange, so STRANGE, for us. Praying we can experience many new things with our new friend and his eyes can be opened to so much more of what God has created. And looking forward to all this boy will teach us as well. Meeting him, his Mom, and so many of our other kind neighbors has been the biggest highlight of living here. Praying that God will use us for his glory here!

Curriulum Choices for 2011-2012

I am excited for the school year. The beginning of the school year always feels so full of hope and adventure. This year is no different. SO, so thrilled with our choice to use the hybrid school for 2 days of learning, and homeschool the other three!! Here's what we will be learning together:

Jackson, 5th grade

History/Literature/Geography/Bible- Sonlight, Core E (American History, part 2)
Science- Christian Kids Explore Chemistry & nature journaling
Math- Horizons 5, Kumon multiplication and division drill books
Grammar/Writing- BJU Press English 5 & Institute for Excellence in Writing & journals
Spelling- Abeka 5
Memory work- Bible verses through Sonlight, Poetry from here, hymns and songs with Sonlight
Foreign Language- English from the Roots Up, Vol. 1
Art- art class at school (the basics of art and famous artists), weekly art projects at home
Music- Music Ace and guitar lessons
Logic- Mind Benders A2
Drawing- Draw and Write Through History, vol. 5 & 6
Devotion- ?

Joshua, 3rd grade

Same as Jackson except Math, Spelling, and Grammar will be grade level 3

Lydie, kindergarten

Math- Horizons K
Read alouds- nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and list from Honey for a Child's Heart
Phonics/Reading- Horizons K and Bob books
Bible- Big Truths for Little Hearts/My ABC Bible Verses/Child's Story Bible
Science and Art- my home-made units (weather, flowers, pilgrims, space, etc.)
Fine Motor- Hand warm-ups w/beads, lacing, tweezers, blocks, tying shoes, etc.
Gross Motor- gymnastics, ballet, bike riding, playing
Music- Wee Sing Bible and Nursery Rhyme songs
Art- art projects with boys, art projects with unit studies
Extra- Bake and read activity from Five in a Row

All the books are ordered and on the way or here. The school room is almost ready. Can't wait!!
Linking this post to the "Not" Back to School Blog Hop at Heart of the Matter!

Excerpts from Psalm 145

vs 3 "God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough. There are no boundaries to his greatness.

vs 4 "Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts."

vs 9 "God is good to one and all; everything he does is suffused with grace."

vs 17 "Everything God does is right- the trademark on all his works is love."

vs. 19 "He does what's best for those who fear him- hears them call out, and saves them."

I am enjoying the rich graces of knowing Jesus today! My heart agrees with all David had to say in Psalm 145. Beautiful words!

School room peek

The "multi-purpose" room is getting a new look. Before, it was a arts/crafts room for Lydie and me, a laundry room, an office for the farm, and a playroom for Lydie. NOW, it is a laundry room, an office for the farm, and a homeschool room. It's a tight squeeze, but we're making it work. I had one goal for this room: no schooly look. I wanted to still enjoy the aesthetics of the room and not have to cover the walls with charts and number lines. Because after all, this is a place for learning, but it's still our home. And this room is in the middle of the house, so I wanted it to blend as much as possible. On Monday the room will be complete because the carpenter is coming that day to insert built-in bookshelves on each side of the fireplace. That will give us exactly one week until school starts, close call! Until then, here are a couple of peeks:

BEFORE: Former dining room chairsAFTER: Chairs for our school table
Curtains

More to come on Monday...

Getting the focus off of myself

"It may be someone's heart and actions of self-centeredness that hurt you, but it's your own self-absorption that keep that hurt alive."

I read about this idea on another blog. It really made me think and feel conviction. I was just speaking with my husband this morning about someone who has hurt me and my most recent tendency to want to stay away from her. My words and actions seem to get misunderstood and twisted around. And even though I am always encouraged to be honest and open, it seems to backfire. I think in this relationship it is wise to distance myself a little. But I am beginning to understand that I might still be hurt because I am focused too much on myself. This attitude is so harmful and unattractive. It clutters up my heart and mind and blinds me from discerning God's will. And, it can lead to bitterness and anger.

I am a little shocked at how easy it is to just let it go and surrender this situation to God. I will probably get hurt again, and I know I will need to be careful with how much of my heart and time I share in this relationship. But Jesus brings freedom and peace. And once I am focused on Him, I am free to love boldly- which might mean putting myself out there or being guarded, depending on the time and place. If I make my goal glorifying Him and not myself, I can take the risk.

Eleven

My sweet oldest son is eleven today. He is pure delight. We did the usual out to dinner celebration with just our family of five. We went around and each described all the things we love about him. Words like, "unique, funny, kind, good brother, good, honest, smart" were used.
My son is such a joy. He is tender-hearted, quick to serve, and just fun to listen to. He has such insight on all things intellectual and spiritual. He is also a good judge of character. He is a lot of fun to talk to because he has the innocence of a child, but the intellectual and moral insight of a young man. It's really sweet. He is a natural at writing, so it is especially fun to listen to him tell a story.

This year will hold many new adventures for Jackson. He will begin to learn to play the guitar, learn how to play golf, watch his siblings for short periods of time without me, learn to drive the golf cart (better), and he will learn all that fifth grade has to offer. (He is especially excited about reading good books and blowing things up in chemistry!) This will be his last year of elementary school! I remember fifth and sixth grade being very pivotal years for me. We will have to take great care to show him how to guard his heart, while also giving him the freedom to learn responsibility and leadership. Our greatest parenting challenges will not be about learning to share or having good table manners any more. The road of parenting will be getting a little trickier, but it's all good.

He sure is a precious child. I am so thrilled to have him as my friend and son. I am so glad that as the oldest child in our home, he sets a good tone for the younger two. Happy birthday, Jackson! May God bless you and keep you, sweet boy.

Fun in the ATL

We loved our time away. I took every morning of VBS to do some things alone or with friends while the kids were having fun. Can you say SPOILED? I felt that way all week. I had coffee with several friends, visited one, shopped for birthday gifts and party items for Jackson, along with browsing all the clothes, books, jewelry, and craft supplies a girl could want while I walked through stores from my old stomping grounds. I am a little mad at myself for not visiting my two favorite flea markets. But then again, there is always next time! I had hours of conversation while the kids swam in the afternoons, had a very fun night out with my friends, and watched the entire BBC version of Pride and Prejudice- all 6 episodes- with my best friend. It was so fun and relaxing!On Friday, the last day of VBS, I dropped off the kids and went with a friend to the Georgia home school convention and bought or ordered all of our books for this fall. Wow, am I excited! It is SO good to be home. Now we are full of love and good memories for our Atlanta friends and so excited about the friendships we hope to make this year! And I honestly couldn't have gone one more day without my husband. Time to STAY HOME and focus on getting ready for school!Lydie doing the "I'm-at-Krispy-Kreme" dance!
Sweet Marie was Lydie's crew leader! Can't wait to have her down the road at Auburn this fall!!
The blow-up mattress didn't do so well. When I went in to check on the boys and found them like this I did the ugly, cry laugh. Lizzie thought I was so cruel. Wouldn't you laugh, though?

Praise God I'm not in a tailspin

I'm in Atlanta for a week. I had planned for a long time to come so the kids could be a part of our former church's VBS. It's the perfect way to visit and see ALL of their friends! But I almost reconsidered. I questioned whether I was really ready to come back. Would it send me into a tailspin? Would I white knuckle my friends and not want to go back to the farm? Would I get angry at my husband all over again for asking me to move? Basically, I expected all of these things (and more) to happen. But I came anyway because I had made a promise to my sweet kids.

So here I am. My friends and church are still the same. I will hold fast to a handful of friendships and the others will eventually fade. Life goes on. Everyone has new blessings and trials. And I am okay with being a visitor! This attitude is evidence that God never forsakes me. This peace is proof that He is working in my life. I am okay with having to start over with friendships. I am okay that my ministry now is not with suburban dwellers. I am okay that I am not part of this support group, my kids are not involved in these activities, they will not be in this youth group. They are all good. But I am on the outside looking in. These things here are not mine any more.

It is wonderful to visit. Our life was full of love and good things. This church and these friends were a saving grace for our family and marriage. We will eternally be indebted. But God has placed me somewhere else. And slowly, slowly he is giving me a heart for my new communities. He is changing me, and I am encouraged. He is worthy of a willing, joyful heart and I am going to try my best to surrender and trust in His unfailing love (and consequently share it with others!).

For Women Only: Hormone questions answered

Okay, several of you ladies have sent personal emails regarding this post about my hormone wackiness. I DID get the treatments. All of the hormones in my body were extremely off kilter. None of the numbers were within a normal range. Besides basic hormones, they also test vitamin B12 and thyroid levels.

They use all-natural (from yam and other vegetables extracts!?) hormone shots. They actually inject small (grain of sand size) pellets under the skin, in the hip area. Using pellets as opposed to pills or patches are supposed to keep the hormone levels up and not dipping up and down. (The hormones are released more slowly and gradually.) There first two injections were 1 month apart. From then on, I get the injection every 3 months. They check my hormones by drawing blood once a month. I take a B12 vitamin, calcium, Vitamin D, and a regular vitamin every day. And for some reason, I can't remember the explanation, I have to take progesterone as a pill as well. I'm not sure why it isn't in the injection.

Here are my personal results:
About 5-7 days after the first shot I felt a lot better. By 10 days in I was full of energy, less moody, and able to handle stress with a clear head. I just felt wonderful in general. The very first night I had trouble sleeping. I think it was due to the B12 injection they gave me. My body had almost NO B12 in it. They said I needed injections once a week, along with daily pills! (They said I shouldn't have had the energy to get out of bed every day. But strangely, I have never felt low-energy!)

About three weeks in I had a couple of nights that I was really hot. I think it was the first time I had PMS since starting the hormones. My skin also broke out! But it got better in about five days. I had NO emotional symptoms of PMS and "the monthly visitor" came and left very fast. It was the first time in maybe a year that I wasn't FULL OF ANGER during this time of the month. This is not the only positive mood change I have had! Enough said??

Overall, I am SO, SO pleased. Life has been pretty stressful since we moved. I am very thankful I have been able to deal with it feeling healthy and with plenty of energy! My husband, of course, RAVES about this treatment as well. As you can imagine, all of this is a very pleasant gift for him, too! Any more questions?

Lake Martin Lakehouse project *finally*

Growing up with my Dad, I had to learn how to think quickly on my feet. He is a dreamer, BIG TIME. And, he changes his mind a lot. Did I mention that he is impulsive? So it didn't come as a big shock to me when he called a couple of months ago and said he was buying a lake house. (By the way, I inherited it all...dreamer, mind changer, impulsive decision maker! :) )

What did come as a shock, however, is when he closed on it a couple of weeks ago, brought me a set of keys, and gave me 2 weeks to decorate it from top to bottom. He likes to assign me these types of big projects, often times forgetting that I am not an employee. But I agreed (okay, maybe even squealed out loud) when he asked, because I am a sucker for a fun project. And this task of decorating was really quite small in comparison to what he shares with us!

Here are the rooms to date. So far the house is a little sterile, with very few personal touches. I am sure in no time that will be resolved! But the basic furniture and decorative elements are all in place. Oh, and these photos are awful. I was really pooped the day I took them. Oh well. Looking forward to many days soaking up the lake!

Family Room

The tv console above is painted red, which is hard to tell! And this picture was taken before the flat screen tv was delivered. Looks so bare! Also, to the left of the tv console is the clock that I failed to photograph. It was one of my favorite finds!**I am surprising my Dad with sepia-toned photos of he and my Grandad at the lake when Dad was a boy. There will be three, hung vertically, on each side of the table above. Can't wait!

Dining room FoyerMom and Dad's bedroom

Our bathroom (Didn't photograph the others!)

Our bedroom

My brother and sister-in-law's bedroom