Our Birthday Boys!

We celebrated two special birthdays this month!  Jonathan turned a big 8 years old this year!  He is our fun-loving, ever quizzical son that makes life an exciting adventure!!   We had a wonderful day complete with dark chocolate cake topped with cream cheese frosting and chocolate strawberries...YUMMY!

Luke turned 14...I can't believe it!!  He has grown several inches during the past year and shows no sign of slowing down!  He has the heart of a true southern gentleman.  We enjoyed his favorite cake...strawberry with cream cheese frosting...Delicious!

We are so thankful for our two birthday boys...it is a blessing and an honor to be your parents!

Wordless Wednesday

A PEEK INSIDE A THOMAS KINKADE WINDOW

I found myself completely spellbound as I lingered in front of the various pieces of art in the Thomas Kinkade gallery.  Each painting was captivating, illuminating, and inviting.  One can close their eyes and feel that they are transported to one of the quaint, little villages where peace and perfection abound.  

I find myself at times looking at another woman and imagining that her life is just as perfect as a Thomas Kinkade painting.  After all...she sure seems to have it all together...she looks great, wears a smile, and don't even ask me about her hair!!  She has a wonderful husband, great kids, and all of her meals are nutritious and served on a beautifully decorated table.  She teaches a Sunday school class and visits the elderly weekly.  She maps out her curriculum a year in advance.  She is the ultimate Proverbs 31 WOMAN!!

Now, turn that last paragraph around...and imagine that someone is watching your life and sees you as all the things mentioned above!!  We do put our best foot forward when interacting with others...especially when outside of our own home.  We usually take the time to fix our hair, dab on a little color, and press our dress...and slip on shoes(my kids know that I am getting ready to go somewhere when I slip on the shoes).We clean up pretty good...as my mama always said!  

 For the LORD seeth not as a man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

But the truth of the matter is...if someone takes a peek inside the window of my life...it isn't going to look like a Thomas Kinkade painting!

I remember reading a homeschooling magazine as a young, new to homeschooling mom, that featured a column that showed a day in the life of a homeschooling family.  I can vividly remember how totally inadequate I felt after spending a day in "their" life!!  Please don't misunderstand me...it was a wonderfully encouraging magazine.  It was a great blessing to our family during those first few years of homeschooling.  I later realized after a few years under my belt, that most of these were veteran homeschoolers...and let's admit it...most of us are going to report about a good day in our life.  But honestly...it probably would have helped me more at that point if the article went more like this....

A day in our life....

I reached over to hit the snooze button one more time on the obnoxious racket that was loud enough to wake the dead!!  At this point, my husband bounded out of bed and shouted, "I have a meeting this morning...did you turn the alarm off?"  The baby woke up screaming at all the commotion that was taking place in our room.  My husband got dressed in record time and puckered his lips in my general direction as he raced for the front door.

I changed the baby and sat down to nurse him as the two year old appeared at the door to let me know that he was wet along with his sheets and teddy bear.  I placed the baby in his bed, to which he responded with shrills of disagreement, as I cleaned his brother up and started the washer full of bedding.  The two year old finally settled in the rocking chair with me, the baby, and a dozen or so picture books.  After much rocking and a half a dozen or so readings of Are You my Mother, I put the baby down for his nap...or really the night since he had only slept for four hours!

By this time the four and six year old were up and having a difference of opinion as to the ownership of a chunky green tractor...I quickly dealt with that issue and we were off to see what our breakfast options were for the morning.  We were out of milk and only had enough bread for two of the children...so I divided the toast and added fruit to each plate...note to self:  Add milk and bread to the list.  At this point the baby could be heard by the four year old who decided to try to gather him up from his bed just as I steeped in the room.  Thankfully she had not had much success on her attempt to "get" the baby.  

The six year old was yelling that there was a man at the front door and I could hear him telling the man that his mommy was probably breast feeding his baby brother but he could come on in!!  I grabbed my rob and ran to the living room to greet the U.P.S. man whose face was the color of the tomatoes in our garden!!  

I bid him good day and sat down to have a talk with our little man of the house about strangers and the rules of the house which stated that he wasn't allowed to open the door.  It was now 9:30 and we were all in our p.j.s and a few of us....had jelly stained lips and sticky fingers.  The baby reminded me that he was still alone in his bed...and once again needed changing.  After clean up, I snuggled him in the swing by my chair in the living room and then gathered the rest of the chicks in hopes of restoring some sort of order!

After some whimpering, mostly mine, we marched to the bathroom and proceeded to scrub hands and faces, brush little teeth, and hopefully begin our day. And of course after a few potty breaks, clean up, and the like,  it was 10:30 when we finally settled into the big fluffy couch to enjoy read aloud.

The phone rang on our second page of Little House so I paused to answer.  It was the doctor's office...as I was explaining the symptoms of the two year old to the nurse, I heard a crash in the general direction of the living room.  I finished up the phone call and sprinted to the living room to see all three angelic children standing in a circle around my great aunt's vase...or should I say what was left of it.  

As I was placing each piece in a box...hoping to glue it back together, I heard my six year old yelling at the back door that he wasn't allowed to open the door because the U.P.S. man didn't really want to hear about breastfeeding and that grandma should come back later when mama was through picking up the broken pieces....to which my mother's laughter assured me that it was indeed grandma at the door!! 

I would fill you in on the rest of our day but it was pretty much down hill from here...so what's going on in your home?


O.K. so I may not have learned much about which language arts program to use or which math program works best for the kinesthetic learner...but it sure would have made me feel better...to know that I wasn't alone... and if that lady could persevere than so could I!!  My kids would grow and lessons would be done and life would still move forward...I would learn and grow too.  Real life, even for a Christian, is seldom a Thomas Kinkade painting...and that's O.K.  My Father sees my heart!!

Outside My Window

We have been snowbound off and on for the past couple of weeks...which has been wonderful for the most part.  The kids have loved playing in the white fluffy stuff and we've enjoyed watching movies, playing games, and chatting as we sip hot tea or cocoa.  I tend to love the cold crisp weather but a few in our home don't share my sentiment and are looking forward to a spring thaw!  I must admit that travel is not something that I care to participate in during these times of snow or ice....especially on our winding, rolling, country roads!! 

We have been disconnected from the world in more ways than just the snow...we haven't had internet service for the last couple of weeks!!  After I recovered from my initial withdrawal...I turned my attention to a few  neglected projects around the house...and  Paul and I began reading a book.  My dear friend, Jane, met the author and sent us an autographed copy!!   



I spotted three sets of cardinals visiting our feeder during the snow storm.  I quickly snapped this photo of one of the males while the female was perched on a limb above.