School Time!

After several weeks of pulling out school materials and tearing this house apart, we have finally gotten our school room ready for action! The girls have been so excited to see all the stuff and they continue to ask me when Mommy school will start. I am thinking about Monday getting going, since it is way too hot to even go to the pool now. I even got to go to my friend Lauren's Kindergarten classroom last week and get some great stuff from her files. Lauren went to UNCC with me. So here is to our first year homeschooling - wish me luck!

I got this dry erase board from the neighbors. They had it in the pile for the Kidney Foundation, so I made the kids run across the street and snag it. I bought some black paint and it is like new! And in the other corner is their classroom library. They are all from my classroom when I taught so they are organized and easy for them to get to.
Here is their table and chairs. They have little drawers to house their pencils/crayons/markers/glue sticks, etc. Then they have 2 boxes each - 1 for books they can read alone and one for a notebook and folder and to put their papers in. We turned the play kitchen into a little nook in the classroom since we have no more rooms to put it. Harper likes going in the little spot to cook, so it will be good for him to keep busy in. I got these chairs from IKEA for $15 and then I bought some fabric for $2 and covered the seat bottom. So they look so cute now and it was only a little fabric that did the trick.

Here is our calendar stuff. It works out perfectly on the back of the play kitchen. I also got this filing cabinet off of Craig's List for $40. Pretty good deal when the cheapest 2 drawer one I found was $60! I just need to purchase a cabinet thing to house some bigger stuff, but for the most part, we are ready for action.

Pretty girl

Here is Finley all dressed up for church. We gave them baths in the morning, so I made Matt hold her down while I blew dried her hair nicely. She looked absolutely cute in her dress (that Grandma made her last year for a wedding and it fits her so good now)! Just wanted to post a pic of our sweet girl.

Sleepy Kids

Our absolute favorite thing to do each night before we go to bed is to kiss our kids goodnight and make sure they are all tucked in. Here are some recent pics that made us laugh.

Harper has to put any lingering toys that are in his room in the hallway before going to bed. Well, this night he had put his hat in the hallway, but he came out at some point and put it back on and then slept with it on. Our little Thomas!
Poor Fifi!! We were out late one night (came remember what we were doing), but I gave her a bath and put her to bed. I went in there maybe 10 minutes later and this girl was sprawled out! She was beat. I love how one hand and one foot are hanging out!

Movie Night

Last Tuesday, the 27th of July, we had our first ever family movie night. The kids have never seen a full length movie before! I am not a big TV fan, therefore, the kids watch slim to none. So we decided to have a movie night. I rented the movie Earth. It is basically a documentary of animals. It was actually a perfect movie for them. Kind of boring, but the excitement was staying up late and eating in the living room, so we enjoyed our boring movie of a polar bear, whale, elephant, and other animals. We had the kids get ready for bed in our room while we set up the movie room. We put their little table in there to hold their drinks and popcorn. Lit some candles, turned all the lights off, slid the ottoman close to the couch so we could all be comfy and then they were allowed in. They were so excited. As you can see from the first pic, that eating in the living room was something they really weren't prepared for. They all ended up getting a chair and eating at the table despite us telling them that it was ok for their special night. Hey, I am not complaining - there weren't any spills!! They also wanted Oreos and ice cream. They were spoiled on movie night and they can't wait for the next one. Now I just have to find another full length movie I approve of! Preferably a cartoon - Chloe said she wanted the polar bears to sing and dance on the movie - sorry girl!!

All of us snuggled up on the couch! The flash was so bright, that is why we look blind! Oh, and Finley did not participate in the festivities - way past her bed time! And they do have their popcorn on the couch, but they were almost done and they ended giving them all to us. But they were proud that they ventured away from the little table!

The Proof

Here is our little nugget! He/she is due March 3rd. I went to have the ultrasound and I told Matt to meet me at the Dr.'s. I just wanted him to sit in the car with the kids while I ran into the office. Dragging 4 kids to the Dr. is not my idea of any fun! Once we got to the hospital, I was getting out of the car and the girls about broke down into tears because they wanted to go see the baby! This of course broke my heart and I couldn't let them down, so we unloaded as Daddy was getting there. So the girls and I went into the Dr.'s with Matt and the little 2 and when they called my name Matt took the little 2 for a walk. So Carly and Chloe were the first to see this bundle little bundle of joy (and yes, it is only 1 bundle of joy)! It was neat to hear the heart beating so fast! This little blob is beating already - CRAZY! Just wanted to update the status of the baby! Here is to the next 30 weeks and 2 days!

Change is Happening!

You know how God gives you the desires of your heart? Well, He sure does! As most of you know, we have had our house on the market for well over a year now. Our contract is about to go up with our agent. Our contingent contract went up on the house we really liked, and we desperately needed to know what direction we should go in. We prayed about it, talked it over just about every other night. Should we refinance, keep it on the market, take it off until the market gets better, etc. We just had no answer for this home and what we should do. Then that also posed another question. What to do with Carly and Chloe and school? I did not want to keep the house on the market during the school year, because I didn't want to get them started in one school and then have to take them out mid year. We also were toying with the idea of homeschooling them. I am a certified teacher letting my license get dusty! But with that, you get all these other feelings pulling at your heart. Will they miss out on life by not going to school? Will it be too much for me? Should I just take the easy way out and put them in school? Will I have enough time for Harper and Finley? Do I trust myself to give them everything they need to succeed? These thoughts run through my head daily. Still praying daily for direction in this area as well. But low and behold, God answered this prayer in a way I NEVER thought!! On our 9 year wedding anniversary, I took a little life changing test - POSITIVE!! OH MY!!! ANOTHER BABY?!?!!? 5 kids 5 and under!! As this was a shocking surprise, wonderful, but still shocking, it seems that everything that has been questionable, became quite clear!! The day before we found out we decided to lower the price of the house again. And this just confirmed that we need to get out!! No ifs ands or buts about it. Home school??? Well, why in the world would I want to totally disrupt everything in one year? So yes, home school it is. I think moving (hopefully) and a new baby means I need to spend every second with my babies! Is this going to be hard? You bet. Am I nervous? More than you know. But what gives me peace and strength is that I know God had this in His plans from the get go and my secret desires would soon all pan out. Matt is all on board with homeschooling too. And everyone asks what his reaction to this surprise was - he laughed. He laughed alot and was very excited. I will confess, my initial reaction was I cried. I did not want a van that beeped when I backed up!! It took alot for me to mentally prepare myself that Finley was our last - the Finale!! But now I have to get myself all geared up for this journey again. But as the week has gone by, I have seen the pieces of our life puzzle coming together so nicely and I am rather excited now! What a great way to answer prayers, with the birth of another special baby. Now I did go into the van with a booster and tried shoving it in lots of ways, and I think it should work - phew!! Carly and Chloe are just going to have to learn some Mary Lou Retton skills by hurtling themselves into the way back, but I think they are perfectly capable. 5 car/booster seats - WOW!! Let the journey begin!!

Luke 6:40 - "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher." Hmmm - what kind of teacher do I want my children being like? Some woman I don't know and don't know her heart, or their own Mother?

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 - "Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." How could I do this if I didn't have them daily? Every situation is a learning experience. Just the other day I was getting all the kids in the car and this man from CVS came and unloaded my buggy and brought all my goods to my car. I thanked him from the bottom of my heart for coming to help me in this awful heat and he took my buggy and went into the store. Carly was watching and asked, "Mom, why did that man help you?" I told him that he saw that I was busy putting them all in the car and he wanted to help Mommy. "You mean he was serving you right Mommy?" Exactly!!! She is getting what it means to have a servant's heart. She did this the other day too when I sliced my thumb with a knife. She ran and got a bandaid and told me she was serving me. That is just enough to make my heart want to burst open!

Is homeschooling permant? NO! I am fully commited to this first year and will see how each year after that goes. I am confident until 2nd grade, and then they start getting bigger and I am just not sure what will happen. I highly doubt I would do middle and high school - that is just plain scary!! But for now, I want to build them up to be strong little women so they can go and be Jesus to others!

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good . . . to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 (TLB)

Funny Fifi

Finley and our bed - she absolutely loves it!! I love her laugh!