Happy Birthday Banana!!

12 years ago you changed our world. Our sweet surprise, our Christmas baby, our beautiful dancer, with your funny sense of humor, and your grace, always balanced by just the right amount of silliness. We love you!

Tell the Camera Where You're Going

Merry Christmas 2008!

Observation

This week was observation at Banana's dance school. Why, you may be asking, would I wish to sit through 3 hours of ballet instruction after I just spent a week watching ballet at the Nutcracker? (I assure you, Kat asked me that very question more than once, as she had to sit with me.) Well, for a couple of reasons. One, because I'm a mom and this is what mom's do. They watch their children. I adore mine, and love to watch them do anything. In my humble opinion, which is not biased at all, Banana is a beautiful dancer and I enjoy watching her. Secondly, watching a class take place, observing instruction, is quite different from watching a performance. I learn a lot during that observation time. I learn how Banana is doing in her "learning"...how she relates to and responds to her teacher, how she behaves in a class setting, and how she has progressed in her skill.

I only observed two classes this week, both ballet. I didn't get to see Jazz, I'll do that in the spring. The first ballet class I watched was with Miss J., the ballet director, and owner of the school. This is a younger class, and Banana is the oldest and one of the most advanced. It was interesting to see the difference in that class and the Thursday class with girls her age/level. The second class, today, was with "Miss Andrea", Andrea of "Living a Legacy". Andrea and I became blog friends, but now we are "real life friends" too. And she is a wonderful teacher...Banana really loves her.

So, here are a few pictures from Ballet class. There is one of Miss J. giving corrections, one of Miss Andrea teaching, and one of her with Banana. She was concerned that Banana was almost taller than her. But I think they look beautiful together!

Banana is the tall one in brown. The other girls in this picture are in green...color denotes level.

I thought this one was awesome...I got her in the air!

Today was also Christmas party day. The girls played dirty Santa at the end of class.

Banana and her awesome teacher!

All Things Christmas

Lots to Update: #2 Nutcracker

We survived another year of Nutcracker. Every year it gets a little more intense. As Banana progresses through the Company levels, she gets more and more "stage time". Translated that means more practice time, more rehearsal time, more everything, later nights, longer "notes and corrections", and more work for mom and dad. Last year, we were still "newbies" and got away with "not knowing how to do things". No such luck this year. Kearsdad and I are full-fledged dancer parents now, with jobs and everything. You may remember that Kearsdad was on tech crew last year. Well, this year he got to the technical rehearsal to learn that he was "in charge" of stage right! He wore the headset and everything. Fun times. I leaned that I like decorating, and that I don't like taking tickets. Don't ask, just trust me!


Banana did a beautiful job and had tons of fun. She is almost fully independent, changing costumes, doing makeup, and even getting her face paint taken care of. Yes, I said face paint. She changed from a mouse nose and whiskers to a doll's red circle cheeks more times than I can count. It is nice to know that she can take care of herself. And it was fun to watch her dance.

Kat was a great help. She was named, by one of Banana's friends, "the backstage-helper-girl". She did a little of everything...tying bows, zipping zippers, running errands, playing Nintendo DS, filling tea party cups of ice, selling raffle tickets...you name it. I was very proud of how she pitched in and had such a great attitude about the whole thing.

It was very good. It was a lot of fun. We were exhausted, and we are glad to be done for another year. Sweet dreams, Clara!

Here are Banana the Mouse and LouLou the best friend. LouLou and Aunt Junebug came to watch dress rehearsal and take pictures.

Mice and Soldiers...Banana is the tall mouse.

LouLou, Banana the Polichinelle, and Kat the backstage-helper-girl

Lots to Update: #1 Thanksgiving

It's been awhile...yes, I know. I've been a tad busy. Trying to catch up now.

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Lots of driving, although not as much as last year. We spent the first couple of days with Kearsdad's folks. Kearsdad got to go hunting with his dad and brother, something he hasn't done in about 20 years, and he really enjoyed himself. Sadly, he didn't shoot anything. The girls had fun playing with their two younger cousins (all the older ones were gone here and there).

Here they are playing games in Mema's dining room.




On Thanksgiving day, we drove to Macon to my brother's house. There we had a big ole family dinner. My mom and dad, my aunt and uncle, my sister-in-law's mom, step-dad and grandma, and all six kids. In spite of the potential for disaster, we had a really nice day. Really. Then we did something we have never done. We spent the night at my brother's house. All the kids slept downstairs (the boys in their room, the girls out in the playroom). The adults all slept upstairs (s-i-l's family and my aunt and uncle, as well as my dad had gone home). We enjoyed just hanging out with J and T, something we haven't done in years and years.

Thanksgiving day, we were treated to a play by all the kids. I can't tell you what it was about. I have no idea, but we all cheered and clapped anyway. Here they are taking a bow. Yes, one of the boys, W, wore his Batman costume for the play.

Actually, I never got a picture of both boys out of costume. But here is a really cute one of them all.

Growth Spurt

Anyone remember this picture? This was taken last January. January 5th to be exact. I posted all about it here. Banana wanted to go hunting with Daddy, and we had gone out and bought her some appropriate hunting fashion apparel. It was a fun day for them. A day she wanted to repeat.

We are leaving tomorrow for Georgia for Thanksgiving. (Note...we will not do this again next year. That will be another post.) Kearsdad is planning to go hunting with his dad on Wednesday. (Note 2...if he shoots something, getting it home may be interesting. That will also be another post.) Banana heard about this hunting expedition and, of course, wanted to go. I wasn't sure if this would work out, but I thought we might prepare just in case. I went to her closet and pulled out her hunting-wear/camo. I looked at it closely, and realized it looked much smaller than the new jeans I have been buying her recently. So I called her in to try everything on. She did. I collapsed in laughter. See those baggy pants in that picture up there. Miss Banana could hardly button them. And they are now capris. Yes, fashionable camo capris. At least 4 inches too short! For good measure, we had her stand next to Kearsdad to compare now to then. In the picture up there she comes to his shoulder. Now the top of her head hits at about nose level on him.

We begged her to let us take a picture. She refused. Seems that preteen embarrassment factor has kicked in. So you will have to use your imagination. And I will have to use my debit card soon and go buy the girl some new camos that fit!

Confession, Part 2

Well, I didn't go to the horse show. But not because it was cold (although that was taken into consideration). I was up most of Thursday night not feeling so well. Friday I kind of dragged around all day, and by Friday night I was pretty much wiped out. So Kearsdad generously told me he would take horse show duty. I did, however go to choir practice. At least I didn't have to be there until 9. I still had to stand around for 3 hours, but it was inside, on stage, singing, instead of outside holding horses.

I also didn't completely get out of "horse holding duty". I spent the afternoon out at the B's farm alternately holding onto a big horse and helping hold up a bridal gown. JB is getting married in just a few weeks. Yesterday she had her bridal photos made at home, some of them with her "baby", her show horse Tootie. It was interesting, to say the least. Tootie wasn't exactly excited to have her photo made. She didn't like her "bridal wear"-a new show saddle and bit and bridle. Didn't like them at all. She didn't like the fact that J looked "funny" all dressed up in that big white fluffy thing and white whispy thing that kept blowing around her face. She didn't like all the people standing around her, especially the strange one with the weird contraption that kept flashing. She didn't want to point her ears forward or hold her head up. However, in spite of all that, J ended up with what are going to be some of the most unusual and beautiful bridal photos ever. I have a couple of samples on my phone, but I can't post them. J's fiance, (also J) might cheat and look. Can't have that! So you will just have to wait till the wedding.

A Not-So-Motherly Confession...

Kat has her last horse show of the season on Saturday. Have you looked at the weather forecast for Saturday? It is supposed to be COLD. The last thing in the world I want to do is get up at dark-thirty in the morning and dress in layers and drive for an hour and stand in the dirt with a bunch of horses for three hours in the COLD. I....don't....want....to.

Not to mention, we have a bazillion other things to do. We will be missing a "mandatory" choir rehearsal. Music guy is probably going to be pretty peeved with us. And Banana has dance on Saturday. All day of course. She is now dancing something like 29 hours on Saturdays from now until Nutcrapper...I mean Nutcracker. Ooops, did I say that? Yeah, I did.

This is one of those times when I just really don't want to do the motherly thing. I want to be one of those moms who sends her kid off with a wave and a smile and a "Have fun!" while I go off and do my own grand thing without a care in the world. Trouble is....I really DON'T want to do that. I really don't want to be one of those moms. I could have made that choice thousands of times over the last 13 years. I never have. And I won't this time. I'll go. I'll be freezing cold. I'll be a little stressed over all the other stuff I should be doing. But I'll be there, taking pictures like crazy and cheering her on. And I'll love it....well, most of it.

But for now....I think I'll whine a little more. Thanks for listening.

for the record....I used the word bazillion in this post and the little spell checker thing didn't even notice. It tells me that didn't and ooops are not words, but it accepts bazillion. I just thought that was interesting.

also, in case you didn't notice...I used a lot of hyperbole in this post. I mean tons and tons.

On a Lighter Note...a Fun Song...And a Reminder that God is Bigger!

Sung to the tune of "God is Bigger than the Boogie Man", as sung by Junior Asparagus:

God is bigger than the Democrats.
He's bigger than Obama or even Hillary
Oh God is bigger than the Democrats.
And he's watching out for you and me.

So are you frightened? No not really.
Are you worried? Not a bit!
I know whatever's gonna happen, that God can handle it!
I'm sorry Oprah scared you when you saw her on tv.
Why, that's okay, cause now I know that God is watching out for me!!

Oh God is bigger than the Democrats!
He's bigger than Obama or even Hillary
Oh God is bigger than the Democrats
And he's watching out for you and me!!

Thanks to JMatt for reminding me of this last night and making me smile. You were my hero of the day! I love you! -Aunt Kearsmom

Election Year Blahs!

I have to say it. I will be so glad when tomorrow (Election Day) is over. I am so tired of it. I am a political junkie, and usually I am all hyped up about the elections. Usually I have bumper stickers and buttons and signs. Usually I care. This year, I have to confess, I just want it to be over.

I fully recognize what is at stake tomorrow. I completely understand the seriousness. The problem is that while I am adamantly opposed to one of tickets, I am just not very hyped over the other. I like Sarah Palin, and I really think she would do a pretty good job. But seriously, how much influence does a vice president really have? Seriously? Has anyone even seen Dick Cheney in the last six months?? And as for McCain...I am just not overly excited. I'm really disappointed in this year's choices. And I'm just tired of it.

Don't get me wrong. I will definitely be voting tomorrow. No matter what. I believe that I have an obligation. Too many men and women have fought and died for that right for me to shirk my duty. And I will vote for what I believe in. Maybe a little of it will be a vote against what I don't believe in. But I still can't shake the feeling that I am just voting for the lesser of two evils.

One thing I know. God is sovereign. I am blessed to know that no matter who is running this country, He is running the universe. My future belongs to him, and no one can change that.

Trick or Treat!

The BIG Surprise!!!!

We did it! We managed to pull off one incredible Surprise Birthday Party last night! After weeks of planning, much whispering and plotting, a little bit of stress, and a lot of work, we managed to completely surprise Kat! She hasn't stopped talking about it. Our goal was to make her 13th birthday special, memorable, and fun. I think we succeeded. She really did feel special. Just look at that face!



A big thank you to Suzanne who did a beautiful job on the cake! It was perfect and Kat loved it! If anyone would like to see more like this one, click CAKES! They taste as good as they look!

Here's a picture of Kat and Aunt Junebug. Don't they look pretty?

Dad, Kat and Mom!

The girls.

Whew...so now I have to start planning Banana's 13...at least I have a year. For now, I need to rest.

Happy Birthday Teenager!

It is the end of this very exciting, very busy day. But I couldn't let it pass without wishing my sweet Sunshine a Happy 13th Birthday. Here are a couple of pictures of her doing one of her favorite things today...


And a couple of birthday present pictures.

A newly decked out room, appropriate for a teenager.

And a heart shaped opal ring...opal for October, and heart shaped to remind her how much she is loved! We love you sweet girl! Happy Birthday!

At Last

The good, the bad, and the ugly. Yes, it was all there. I'm finally getting around to recording the events of the weekend. I'm not sure I can squeeze it all into one post. I know I'm going to have to just hit the highlights. Maybe I'll even do two posts...we'll see.

Before I begin, I need to say thanks to the people who made this weekend possible. Cliche, yes, but very true. We were able to leave Sammy at home, well taken care of, the house well taken care of, and most importantly, Kat was well taken care of. Kat didn't go on the trip because of a responsibility she had at church. Junebug went above and beyond, and I thank her, as well as the other friends who welcomed her into their home for Friday and Saturday night. I was reminded this weekend of how incredibly blessed I am in the friend department.

The trip over was uneventful. For those of you who follow this blog, I know that is shocking. But it's true. We still haven't made many trips post-little-furry-dog, so the opportunity to stop and go into a restaurant to eat lunch is still a novelty. Also new is the ability to arrive at our destination fairly fresh, unwrinkled, and without dog fur all over us.

The primary reason for our trip, the real reason we took a day away from school and work, inconvenienced friends, and drove a total of 17 hours was for the 50th Anniversary Celebration for Kearsdad's parents on Sunday. But prior to that was The Wedding. It just so happened that Kearsdad's nephew got married on Saturday. So, of course, we attended the wedding...otherwise known as Redneck Heaven. I am not sure I can put into words what an experience it was. We had already been warned by younger brother and his wife that we were in for a treat, based on their experience at the rehearsal. (Mercifully, we arrived too late on Friday to attend the rehearsal.) But I don't think any of us were really prepared for The Wedding.

The groomsmen's brown tuxes were...well...interesting. Different. But in and of themselves they would have been fine. Everyone has their own taste, and since the bridesmaids' dresses were taupe, the brown was...reasonable. Unfortunately, the brown was just the beginning.

The ceremony began after we sat in the church for about half an hour wondering if the ushers/groomsmen were actually going to usher anyone in. Apparently they didn't get that memo. Most of us seated ourselves. The preservice music was traditional. We wondered if they were going to remember to light the candles. Finally two groomsmen entered and pulled out their handy pocket bic lighters and lit them. Nice touch. The grandparents and the mothers were ushered in. Sister-in-law/mother of the groom was wearing a hot pink fru-fru number. Sister-in-law is not a small lady, so there was lots of pink fru-fru. Mother-of-the-bride entered wearing a clashing red prom dress number. Stepmother-of-the-bride entered wearing a skin tight black number and sat between the other two mothers. Mother-of-the-groom reached for something...her video camera. She sat there on the front row and videos the entire stinking ceremony. There were a photographer and a videographer conspicuously present. But she videoed anyway. The whole time.
This is the camera, left lying on the front pew after the ceremony.

Piano....hymns...nice. The bridesmaids and wedding party entered to "Canon in D Major". Traditional. Normal. Then it got wierd. The piano began playing something no one recognized right away. We all just sat there confused until the minister asked us to stand. The bride entered and walked down the aisle to "At Last". Here is a version of it, if you don't know what it is...At Last. Yes, she walked in to that song.

Traditional wedding ceremony followed. Traditional vows. Traditional cell phone ringing in the middle of the service. Yes. Sister-in-law's father, sitting there on the second row, with his phone ringing loudly. He couldn't figure out how to stop it. After the ringing, we were treated to the sound of his voicemail alert. Traditional unity candle...sort of...the bride and groom lit the unity candle, and then we heard a song start to play. It seems the bride decided to sing her own song for this portion of the ceremony. But not live. She recorded it and had it played. Probably was worried she'd be too nervous. The song? "To Make You Feel My Love" by Garth Brooks. Nice. Yeah. Kearsdad says it sounded like she recorded it while in the shower.

End of ceremony. Introduction. Kiss. More kissing...then the Recessional. Kearsdad has another nephew (belonging to another brother) who is a very good musician. He had been asked to play his guitar and sing. He did as he was asked. THIS is what he sang. Keep in mind, THIS was the Recessional....what everyone exited to. Yeah. Nice.

Here's a photo of the wedding party, brown tuxes and all. It all looks so normal and innocent, doesn't it?

This lovely event was followed by the reception at none other than the Moose Lodge. Uh huh. Yes. It was. I won't even bother to describe it. But I did get a picture to prove that it was at the Moose Lodge.


This post is entirely too long. I can't describe the Main Event (aka Anniversary Reception). It will require its own post. Later. I'm too tired for any more description right now. Let the Redneck Event soak in for now.

Happy Birthday Kearsdad!

I love you very much! I hope you have a great day!

Stay Tuned...

We are going to Georgia this weekend for a nephew's wedding and my inlaws' 50th wedding anniversary. Those of you who are longtime, faithful readers of Kearsmom's blog will know that trips such as these are fodder for much blogging material. So stay tuned. I'll be back. With stories.

The Value of a Calendar

Speaking of calendars...I am aware that the calendar now says October. And my last post was in September. I have been seriously lax on this blog. I apologize. Life has been jam packed lately. Some days I feel like I'm on a treadmill and someone keeps turning the speed up.

Anyway....Calendars. I have several. Four to be exact. There is the pretty Thomas Kinkade one hanging on the wall in the laundry room. It's my annual Christmas present from Kearsdad and the girls. Every year I ask for a new one. The pictures in it are so pretty. Really, it's just a substitute for the Thomas Kinkade print I would like to have hanging in my house. But the prints run around $250 for a little one, and upwards of $1000 for the really big ones I'd like. So I have the calendar. It just hangs there. Sometimes I remember to write stuff on it, but usually I forget. I have even been known (although this is terribly embarrassing to admit) to write stuff on it AFTER the fact. I have no idea why I do that. So there it hangs.

Secondly, I have the little "pocket calendar" in my purse. It's the free one I get from the Orthodontist office. This is key. See, I forget orthodontist appointments ALL the time. Really. I can't count how many appointments we have missed. Every time we go, I faithfully pull out that little calendar and write in the next appointment. Then I put the calendar back in my purse. There it stays. There are other things written on that calendar too. But I don't know what they are.

Third is my pretty Colorado planner calendar. I bought it last year while we were in Colorado Springs, at the gift shop in the Garden of the Gods Welcome Center. It is beautiful. It's a weekly planner, so it has 52 pages and 52 beautiful pictures of Colorado scenery. See, I bought it for the pictures. The other reason I bought it was to have something to use in staff meetings to keep up with student events. I take it to staff meeting every week. Sometimes I write stuff in it. Mostly, I just admire the pretty pictures.

Finally, I have the calendar on my computer. The one in my Outlook folder, attached to my email. This is the one Kearsdad wants me to use. He is always telling me how this calendar would make my life so much easier. He is probably right. This little electronic calendar has little windows that pop up everytime I open my email and remind me of what I am to do that day. Or, at least, the reminder window would pop up IF I put information into the calendar. As it is, nothing happens when I open my email except that my email downloads. Nothing happens because I never put anything in the calendar. Thing is...I use my email every day. Several times a day. Just think, I could have little reminder windows popping up throughout the day telling me what to do next. Where to go. What time to get there. It would be amazing. If I used it.

Prime example...Today, I hurried the girls through the morning...piano lesson, school work, lunch...hurrying because we had to leave by 12:30 to be at the church at 1:00 for the girl's art class. This class, through our homeschool group, meets twice a month. 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. We arrived at the church and the girls walked up to the door of the portable in which their class meets. Door was locked. Lights were off. Hmm....I started wondering...but we didn't have art class LAST week. I checked. I even looked in my lesson plan book (where I DO actually write things down). No class last week so it must be this week, right? Wrong.

We walked into the "office" where Junebug, SUG and BB were working (at least I think they were working). "What is today's date?" I asked. October 7 was the answer from the people who were looking at the calendars in front of them. Yeah, that's what happens when you look at the calendar, you know the date. "So, today isn't the 2nd Tuesday, is it?" Nope...it's the FIRST Tuesday. "But I don't understand. We didn't have class last week either!" Umm...that would be because September had 5, yes FIVE Tuesdays. That tidbit of information came from SUG, who was, again, looking at the calendar on the wall by her desk.

So, we are back home. With some extra free time today. That's why I have time to update my blog. I could use the extra time to enter information into the calendar on my Outlook. Maybe. Maybe later. Maybe tomorrow...

Wedding Bells!

We went to a wedding on Saturday. A sweet friend got married, and we were so excited to be able to participate. Kristy and her family moved here when she was in the 9th grade, and our families quickly became friends. Over the years, we have enjoyed lots of happy times together. Kristy babysat when the girls were much younger, as did her sister, Alli. Kristy was also the girls' first piano teacher. One of my favorite memories of those days happened one day during Banana's lesson. Kristy's mom and I were sitting in the dining room having our weekly "chat and coffee session" (oh how I miss those!), and listening to the piano "playing" coming from the other room. Suddenly, it got quiet. We listened for a few minutes, but no piano. Finally, we heard Kristy call out, "Banana, you need to come back downstairs. We aren't finished yet." Apparently, Banana had decided she had had enough piano lesson for one day and went upstairs to find Kat and the other kids. Sweet Kristy...she was so patient!

I remember her learning to drive, getting her first real job, playing "Rock Star Queen" with Kat and Anna and her siblings...and the infamous dog bed experience. Long story, you had to be there, but fun memories nonetheless.

So Saturday, she crossed a new milestone. Her wedding was beautiful and sweet. Kat and Anna got to take part, handing out programs to the guests as they entered. They were so happy to share in her special day. Congratulations Kristy and Jonathan! We love you!

Labor Day Labors

Labor Day was, by all accounts, a wash out thanks to Gustav. But that didn't stop us from being productive around here. Thankfully, we were spared any of the bad stuff! So we made the best of it, and got to work. At the top of the priority list was Banana's closet. Only a chosen few of you (actually, maybe only one of you) have ever seen said closet. It was a sight to behold. Banana doesn't believe in wasting any of her precious, abundant energy on housekeeping. The floor is a perfectly acceptable place on which to store one's belongings. There is no need to fully open a drawer to put an item inside. Slightly opening it and stuffing whatever it is inside works just as well...and it doesn't matter if the drawer is the correct drawer for that particular belonging. And beds are for sleeping in. Why bother making it if you are just going to get back in it later? So...you get the picture. Banana's closet was dangerous territory. It was the kind of place that gave me the shakes. It had become a nightly ritual for me to go into her room at bedtime and launch into a high pitched litany of despair.


Many years ago, when the girls were little, we installed a lower clothing rack and shelf in their closets so that they could reach things. In Banana's closet (I suppose because it is slightly longer) we also installed shelves up one side. At the time, I intended for the shelves to be for toys. The last few years, they have been used for shoes. But in reality, they have never worked well. They just encouraged clutter. Shoes, piled on shoes, falling off shelves, mixed up and hopelessly messy. To find a pair of shoes, Banana would dig through all three shelves, then crawl around on the floor looking for the shoe she wanted, then go through the same routine looking for it's mate. Not to mention all of the Barbie stuff and purses and hats and belts that were mixed in. Oh it was just awful...
This picture doesn't really do it justice. I didn't think to go get the camera until she had started.


Yesterday, Banana got to work. She pulled out all of the shoes, purses, hats and other clutter. The shoes got placed side by side, in pairs, so that she could sort them. All those that were too small got moved out. (I, by the way, inherited three really cute pairs of shoes this way.) Here is a picture of the shoes...just call her Imelda...

She worked really hard. She rearranged things, and moved some things, and (shock!) got rid of some things! After Kearsdad did the "dad" job of taking the shelves down, Banana did the rest. I supervised, but she really did all the work. I was quite proud of her. Here is the result.

I wonder how long it will last.

Perfect

That's not how I usually see myself. That's not how most of us usually see ourselves. But I was reminded recently that perfect is exactly how God sees me. How humbling.

I have a devotion book by Charles Swindoll that I love. It was actually a gift to Kearsdad from one of our pastors. It's called Wisdom for the Way and it is truly chock full of wisdom. The devotion I read the other day said this:

Our past is like an art gallery. Walking down those corridors of our memory is like walking through an art gallery. On the walls are all of yesterday's pictures: our childhood, our parents, our rearing, the heartaches, the difficulties, the joys and triumphs as well as the abuses and the inequities of our life. Since Jesus Christ our Lord is the same yesterday and today and forever, then we can take the Christ of today and walk with Him into our yesterday and ask Him to remove the pictures that bring bad or defeating memories. In other words, the Christian can let Jesus invade yesterday and deal with those years of affliction...and remove those scenes from the corridors of our lives.

I was reminded that God doesn't want me to live in a state of self-recrimination. He wants me to live in victory. This isn't a new idea for me...I know it. I've learned it over and over, but it never seems to stick. But oh how I want it to. I want to live in victory. I want to live in the security that I am perfect in His sight. He doesn't want me to walk around defeated, beating myself up over this or that failure, this or that memory. Can I do it? You can be sure I am going to try.

18 Years Ago Today

Ummm....yes, those children are actually Kearsdad and me. 18 years ago today. I can't believe I am actually posting this picture. But in honor of the anniversary of the best day of my life (just behind the day of my salvation, and just ahead of the birth of my two sweet girls) I am sharing this memory with you. Look how young (and skinny) we look!

The last 18 years have been incredible. Not always easy. But always good. God has blessed us beyond anything I could have imagined. I have a wonderful husband and I love him very much!

Happy Anniversary!

Creative Writing

Banana style. Banana had a list of spelling words this week. All her words have endings that mean "small". Words such as rivulet, ringlet, floweret, statuette, gosling, fledgling, and darling. Today, her assignment was to write sentences with said spelling words. Bear in mind, earlier assignments this week involved word meanings. Here is a sampling of Anna's sentences. Spelling words are in bold. Notice her use of girls' names in her sentences.

The dead man got put in a casket. ewww....

"Lou Lou" saw a fledgling.

"Kat" and I saw an eaglet at the zoo.

Brittany saw a darling come out of the bush. Huh? I had to ask about this one. She informed me that her spelling book said that darling is "a little dear". It had not occurred to me that she would misinterpret "dear" for "deer".

"Banana's" spelling word is ringlet. Um, yeah, that's real creative don't you think?

There were more, but these are just a few. In case you are wondering, she had to redo those last two. Those just didn't cut it. Dad said she would have to come up with something more creative. I thought she was pretty creative already. For what it's worth, I quizzed her tonight and she spelled them all correctly.

End of Summer...sigh...

Like it or not...it's that time again. The end of summer-as-we-know-it. Unfortunately, the Mississippi weather won't get that memo for at least 6 more weeks. (Although, I must admit, I have really enjoyed these last couple of rainy, coolER, days.) Most kids have gone back to school, regular activities are gearing back up. Banana goes back to dance this week, so there goes my free time! (Yea, Andrea! Here we come!)

I've been slowly making my way through the school books and new lesson plans, and I'm actually beginning to get excited. See, I have nothing against starting school...it's just the ending of summer I hate. But I love school...love the books and all the supplies and the anticipation of what will be learned this year. Adding to my excitement is the shipment of new books that is on its way. It should be here later this week.

Just for fun, I thought I'd list some of what the girls will be studying this year. People often ask me where I get my school stuff from, if I use a "curriculum" per se. Actually, I use a hodge podge of things...

Banana:
6th grade math-Alpha Omega publishers, LifePac
Grammar-Daily Grams 6 plus supplements from Easy Grammar
Spelling-Christian Liberty Press, Building Spelling Skills
Reading-various books accompanied by study guides from Progeny Press
History-Heritage Studies from Bob Jones University Press
Science-Bob Jones University Press

Kat:
PreAlgebra-Alpha Omega, LifePac
Grammar-Daily Grams 8 plus supplements form Easy Grammar
Vocabulary/Pre-Latin-Vocabulary From Classical Roots
Literature-various books, poetry, classics accompanied by study guides from PP
History-World Studies from Bob Jones University Press
Civics/Government-The Land of Fair Play from Christian Liberty Press
Science-Life Science-Bob Jones University Press

Those are just the basics...but it gives you an idea of what a homeschool study schedule might look like...We start Monday the 18th. I'm going to enjoy these last few days of summer.

The End of An Era-Part Two

It's a sad day for baseball. A few months ago, I posted this: The End of an Era. Today is the end of another era. Skip Carey died late yesterday. Skip was the voice of the Braves. Watching the Braves in the 80's and 90's meant listening to Skip and Pete and Ernie. Half the fun of watching the game was laughing at their antics. He was an icon, like his father before him. Harry and Skip...

Farewell Skip. We will miss you.

Rainy Day Thoughts

I woke this morning to the sound of rain outside my window, and the sound of distant thunder. Once I was awake enough to put two coherent thoughts together, I got up to let the dog out while the rain was still light. I was just in time. Shortly after he came back in, the light rain became heavier and the thunder got closer and closer. It was obvious we were in for a rainy day.

Had my day started like this any other time in recent weeks, I would have been quite unhappy. But today, I welcomed the rain and the excuse to hibernate in my house with my kids. I had nothing pressing to do, and nowhere to go. No one was expecting me. The girls didn't have anywhere to go. The girls stayed in their pj's till almost noon. I washed my hair and took my time getting dressed. Sammy stayed happily in his "room" (aka in his open kennel in the laundry room). I Swiffered the floors and dusted the den and my bedroom.

At some point in my cleaning, I was thinking about how an occasional rainy day is so good for me. A built in excuse to get off the merry-go-round of life and take care of business closer to home. If it had been a bright, sunny day, I would have felt pressured to go, to do. Somewhere. Something. But in the heavy rain and thunder, I felt perfectly content and relaxed with staying in. And as a result, I got some much needed work done.

It was at that point that God tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me of something. Sometimes we need spiritual rainy days. Sometimes God brings the unexpected into our lives that causes us to stop in our routine and be still. It is in those times He is able to accomplish much needed cleaning in our lives. I have had a couple of spiritual rainy days lately as well. I needed those days to reevaluate how I relate to God and to others. I needed to remember that my trust is in HIM.

So I am thankful today for rainy days. And as I look out my window and see the sun peeking though I am thankful that God washes me clean and then shines into my life.

$$$ Thanks MPB's Mama!! $$$

A few weeks ago, my friend Suzanne, aka MPB's Mama, published this post about her big savings. She had been introduced by another friend to something called The Grocery Game. The Grocery Game is an online coupon shopping helper (that's the best way I can think of to describe it). MPBM was all excited about how much money she had saved. It was a lot of money.

Well, I got curious. I haven't been in the habit of using coupons. I tried a long time ago, but I just ended up with a lot of loose pieces of paper lying around, or scattered in my purse. I never had the ones I needed when I needed them, etc. Then there was the whole issue of obtaining the coupons. Most of them show up in the Sunday paper. We stopped taking the paper several years ago. I would sit on Sunday and read it cover to cover, complaining the whole time. I would just end up mad at the ineptness of the writers and publishers of the local paper (Oops...I hope no one reading this works for said paper.) Anyway, Kearsdad got tired of listening to me complain and made me stop reading. We canceled our subscription. For the last couple of years, any paper that made its way into our house was used strictly for BBQ fire starter. Anyway...

I talked to MPBM about how this coupon thing worked. I was really curious to see if I could save money like she did. Since we were getting ready to leave for camp, she advised that I wait until we returned to join the "game". So, last week, I signed up. Then I took the next step. I purchased a Sunday paper! I bought it on Monday, and as a result, I only paid 50 cents for it. I had already saved $1 !! This just might work...

So on Monday, I shopped. Overall, I saved $26.41 at Kroger and Walgreens. I was excited! Today marked week two. I actually bought a Sunday paper on Sunday and paid full price for it. I scoured it for all the coupons. Kat and Banana had to be at church early for a meeting, and Kearsdad had some computer work to do there, so I took off to Walgreens with my coupons and my list. Are you ready???

I spent $33.97

I saved $24.77!!!!

Yes, I saved almost as much as I spent! WooHoo!!!

Here is a picture of my purchases. All of it was useful stuff...stuff we will use...stuff we need. I didn't buy anything "just because it was on sale" or "just because I had a coupon".


Tomorrow, I'm going to Kroger.

Unpacked!

The suitcases are unpacked! They are in the attic. I have had suitcases in various stages of use out and open in my house since the first week of June. We haven't even bothered moving them...just stepped around/over/through them. However, they are now completely put away, and I am even almost through with all the laundry. Life is almost normal again!

Camp was mostly good. There were a few "issues", but overall it was a good experience and I am very glad we went. I don't think I could have said that a few days ago...it took me a while to process the week. Maybe I'm just weird. But that is how it was. I wouldn't give anything for the chance to be there as a family...to be there with Kat. And the added bonus was being there with our other "kids". I will say I learned a lot about worship. I learned that worship is an attitude, not a feeling. I learned that sometimes worship is uncomfortable, and sometimes it is work. But in the end, worship is the greatest thing we can do.

Last night, I got to sit next to my best friend as she got ready to send her oldest into Student Ministry. I can't believe it has been a whole year since it was me. JMatt and Kat will be together again. All will be right with the world.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks:



"One big happy family" as DWitt said!


We sure are going to miss this girl...


Banana and Mel...Banana is almost as tall!




So glad she went with us!


Did I mention we were on top of a mountain? Everything was UPhill.


A couple from the Transition Banquet...welcome new 7th graders!!

JMatt...my favorite new 7th grader!