It's that time again

It's time to start school around our house. Everyone of my children has asked me when we are going to start school- they are actually looking forward to it. (I will have to remind them of this in a few months when their question will become "Do we have to do school today?)

This is our eleventh year of homeschooling, and we will be graduating our first graduate in the Spring. Wow. We will have students in 12th, 10th, 6th and 3rd grades this year (and one in early pre-k). I am looking forward to doing a few things differently this year and using a few new things with the children. We pray God will bless our home, and we will have our greatest year of homeschooling yet.

We're back to cleaning out the basement. Ugh. I say we, but I haven't done anything down there. Last time I was down there I saw a mouse and that was it for me. I don't know how we have accumulated so much stuff/junk. We have been trying to get the basement cleaned out and useable since we moved into this house seven years ago. We do good for a while, then get busy and it gets trashed again. Hopefully this will be the one that will stick.

Paul has decided to get rid of our two tv's. We turned off the tv and cancelled cable about 4 years ago. But it has slowly creeped back into our home in the form of movies for the kids and tv at night for Paul and I. So he made the decision to take them out of the house, at least for now, maybe forever. So far the one who has suffered the most from this is Sam. He had gotten used to watching his videos and does not understand why he can't anymore. But he will adjust.

I saw the baby yesterday on ultrasound. I went in for my check up and being only 13 weeks, they couldn't hear the heartbeat with the doppler, so they sent me for a quick u/s. I get a little panicky when I go into the u/s room. It was in that room in Nov. of 2003 that the doc told me the baby's heart wasn't beating anymore. But this baby is fine. He/she was bouncing around, and at one point brought his/her hand to his/her mouth. I thought, "Oh no! Another thumb sucker!". It was so cute, but too early to tell whether a boy or girl. So that will have to wait for another month or two.

Have a great day.

The Bible....according to Sam

Yesterday during Bible time, Sam shared with us some of his most favorite Bible verses:

"God made doggies."

"Bible says no swiping."

"God made (something we couldn't understand)."

It was so cute. He sat in his chair and read his verse during his turn.

Saturday

It's the weekend already. Where do the days go so quickly? The men are gone again this weekend. They left yesterday for an entreprenuer (not sure if that's spelled correctly) conference until tomorrow evening. Paul said there were about three hundred people there with lots of different speakers, some of which were great, and some were so-so. He's trying to inspire the boys (and himself) and open their minds to the possiblities that exist to make money.

So, the girls, Sam and I have been taking it easy. We got the house clean yesterday, and then just bummed around, actually watching a movie in the middle of the day. Today we went to a church yard sale, and were very disappointed in the quality of the items offered for sale. Can you say junk????

We also had to go back to the doctor for Ellie. She and Anna returned from Kansas with an ear infection, so I took them both to the doctor on Wednesday. Anna had a double ear infection, and Ellie's wasn't quite healed, so the doctor put her on a stronger medicine. Her ear hasn't gotten any better since then and she's been in constant pain. The doctor this morning said she may have ruptured her ear drum, but he couldn't tell because of all the fluid in there. She also had an infection in her outer ear (swimmer's ear), so he gave her ear drops to go along with the anti biotic. Hopefully this will knock it out.

I've been feeling so-so. Still naseaous (again, probably not spelled right and I'm too lazy to get up and check it) and so, so tired. I could sleep 12 hours a night and take a 3 hour nap the next day. At the doctor's office this morning, a mom came in with her newborn baby boy. Looking at that baby made me so anxious for February, I could hardly stand it! Only 27 more weeks!

Have a great weekend.

Another big surprise......

Our family is growing.....by 2 feet!!

Yes, you are right, we are expecting baby number 6 the end of Februrary- February 29th to be exact!!

The entire family is thrilled, and anxiously awaiting the new member. We are about half and half about wanting a boy or girl- my preference is a boy, so Samuel will have someone close to his age to play with. But, I will be thrilled with a girl also.

I am 13 weeks along, and hoping to be over the morning sickness time very soon. I haven't had it too bad, but this is a long time to be feeling like you are going to throw up all the time. I'm not complaining, mind you. Every bit of pukiness reminds me of the new baby inside. I'll gladly take it.

We told the church last night, and they were thrilled for us. Several people came up to me afterward and told me how jealous they were! Quite a bit different from when we announced previous babies- it seems the most favored comment then was, Don't you know how that happens?? It's a nice change.

So, if you think about it, keep me in your prayers. I have chronic hypertension, and it seems to get worse towards the end of my pregnancies. The doctor has already told me I will have to have a c-section because I've had two previous c-sections. Part of me was disappointed, part of me was relieved. I'm also 41, and being pregnant at 41 is alot different than being pregnant at 25!

Stay tuned for further updates!

More pics from "the big surprise"

The Big Surprise

It's so nice to have Anna and Ellie home again. I didn't realize how much I missed them and their chatter until they got home. Samuel was so happy to see them, running right up to them and hugging and kissing them and telling them how much he loved them. Our house is full again!

Well anyway, on to the big surprise. We remodeled their room while they were gone. It had been a while since their room had been painted, and it needed a new paint job badly. But, if you all know my husband, you know that just painting a room is not enough! They got a new floor and each got an "office". Anna had a loft bed, and Ellie's bed slid into the space under the loft bed. However, Paul made them both into loft beds, so underneath the beds was created a space for their office. They already had one desk and one bookcase, so Paul made another desk and another bookcase. I must say, I was impressed that he was able to do that!

Friday

The men left this morning. Paul, Paul Jr., and Zack packed up the van and left this morning for a white-water rafting/camping trip for 2 days. A bunch of men and sons from the church were going about 3 hours north to camp and raft. We're not sure how the trip will go as we've not had alot of rain this year. Hopefully the river will be high enough to make the trip down it in a raft fun.

The girls return on Monday. I'm ready for them! Them being away has been good for me- it has shown me how much they contribute around here, especially Anna. We have a big surprise for them when they return- I tell you all about it and post pictures on Monday or Tuesday.

So now it's just Sam and I for the next two days. I have alot of little projects planned for myself, but we'll see how many of them I actually get to while keeping up with him. It's been a long time since I've had a 2 year old to keep up with!