I am home!!!

We are home. I am exhausted and tired and I still have a LOT of work to do, but I get to sleep in my own bed tonight!! If I NEVER sleep on another air-matress again, I will be thankful!! We have everything in the apartment for my mother, but it definately needs a LOT of work. Her second bedroom was the main dumping grounds, but at least we can take the U-haul back tomorrow. I will be over at her house trying to fix it up and get things in order for her. We have a lot to unpack and a little to put together. In the total move we lost a bookshelf, that was too old to move, it fell apart, and a lamp, which somehow got destroyed in the truck, but overall, not too bad. I can not WAIT for the next Mother's Night Out!! I need a break in the worst way!! LOL!! Thanks for the prayers all. Take care.

Little more

Doctors appointment for my mom was only about an hour or so, so not too long. The doctor for the state says she is definately disabled and that her neurology doctor, that she uses for her M.S. is one of the best in the state, and that her personal disability insurance is playing games and doesn't want to pay out the money. If the state of Texas says she is defiantely disabled, why the heck is her personal insurance playing games with her and making her worse! AGH! It makes no sense, but if she gets her SSI through, which she will from the sounds of this doctors appointment, then she WILL get her personal insurance through. They will have no choice bu t to pay for what they should have been already. I am glad we got that done.

As for packing the house....still only about 1/2 way done. By the time we went to the doctors, saw people at her old work,went to McDonald's for lunch so Anna could play, went to the DMV, and went to Wal-Mart, the day was about over. I did get a little bit more packed, but not near what I wanted. Today I have no choice. I MUST FINISH PACKING!!! LOL!! We load the U-Haul truck tomorrow. Alright, I better stop procrastinating, and take my shower and get busy for the day. Take care all.

Progress

Well, we are well under way to moving my mom down by us. I have about 1/2 the house packed up and we have already sold some of the items. Anyone need a fridge?? For some strange reason those are the only two things that haven't gotten any bites yet on the sale list. We are trying to sell everything of value. Does anyone know if a pawn shop will take a fridge?? Hey, something is better than nothing and these fridge are really nice. One is two years old and one is three years old. GREAT condition. LOL! Anyhow, I have gotten more boxes and we will take mom to the doctor today for her SSI appointment. Hopefully they don't drag it out and keep us there all day, but you never know. Then, it is back here to packing, packing, packing. Anna is doing really well with it all. She has gotten on JumpsStart Kindergarten here, which gives her some school time. I aslo picked her up some new toys last night to play with as she has done super good with me being so busy and there not really being much to do here. Anyhow, i do miss my bed. The air mattress is just not cutting it anymore. It is killing my back after 3 nights. Only three more nights of sore back. Anyhow, I better get busy as I need to to shower. I went to bed with wet hair last night and boy is that a sight to see on my head. LOL! Have a good day. Take care all.

Change of Plans?

Well, that didn't work! With all the rushing around this week trying to get things set for my mom moving this way, we almost completely messed up our new homeschooling schedule. My husband says to wait till after Labor Day, but I have already started and want to keep going. We were doing so well until yesterday. We did one whole day of everything before something important came up and pretty much all school took a hike out the window. YIKES! I can't believe it was that easy to let it go by the wayside, but this was mega important stuff as I needed to find my mom a place to live in down here.

Anyhow, then today I set the alaram for 7:00am, and I either was so tired I slept through it, or it never went off. I also never heard my husband's alarm, nor did I hear him getting ready for work and that really scares me, because I always wake up before he leaves. I must have been catching up on sleep where as Monday night I didn't sleep but 3 hours, from midnight to 3:00am. Yes I was up at 3:00am yesterday ready for the day. UGH! It was horrible.

Well, now that we have an even later start to our day because I wanted to come on here, I better get Anna and I ready for the day. We have a lot to do. I still do not have an entire trunk of boxes and newspapers yet for the move, but we will get there by Friday, right? I sure hope so, that is less that I will have to get later. Have a good day all and thanks for sticking by me. I will get this schooling thing down and yes, my husband is right, we will probably need to start over and have a good start after Labor Day. I hope he doesn't read ths, it will boost his ego too much. LOL!! I was originally planning on starting then anyhow. Have a good day!

Everything

Today was the first day of homeschooling ALL subjects. It was fun, but we also took a break in between, about half-way through. That seems to be the best way and Anna did okay. She was a little more frustrated with so much material, but she did fine. I think it will be better when we can sit down and do it and then go on with our day. I finally documented in our lesson plan book all the items we are using to teach. The list is long and seems intimidating when you fisrt look at it, but it is not so bad because of the way I use it. Here is what we are using and for what pupose :

*Bob Jones Kindergarten Math (Math)
*Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Reading)
*Five in a Row (Story Time, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts)
*Study Dog Computer (Reading, Language Arts)
*Reader Rabbit Kindergarten (Reading, Language Arts)
*Jump Start Kindergarten (A little bit of everything)
*More Little Visits with God (ciizenship, Bible)
*Library Books (Every subject area and fun)

As you can see, it is quite an extensive list and seems to be a lot, but we usually only use one computer program a day. If we do two, we do Study Dog first and then one of the other two. She loves computer time. We also have a white board for free drawing and writing, but using less paper. We tend to use it at the end for a bit of a reward. Anyhow, one day down with all and how many to go??? LOL!! We will be fine and we are both enjoying it. I couldn't imagine her stuck all day in a regualr class and having to be quiet and stay still. LOL. She is doing so good with what we are doing. Even with everything added in, we are less than two hours of work, so I am happy with that. We do about 45 minutes to and hour, take a break, and then do the rest. She likes the break and so do I. Anyhow, I better go for now. We are starting to get ready for the rest of our day. I must work and Daddy works late, so it is off to her Aunt's house for a few hours. Thanks all and please keep praying that my mom's move goes smoothly. Take care.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

Busy, busy, busy. With one week of schooling down, we are good on that respect, but we have only one week left to find my mom a place to live here. I am glad she is coming, but I wish that we already have a place for her. With us adding in all the other subjects next week, (yes, I said all) we will be shorter on time to go search. I can't have Anna not do school. She likes it too much. I did find an apartment I like and if God wants my mom to be there, it will still be open when we get her money through to hold it. Pray for this to work out. On the plus side, I have seen a few places that will be suitable for us to move into once our lease is up in February on these places. (Note to self...NEVER sign a 14 month lease again!!!) Don't get me wrong, I like our apartment, I just am not happy with the management staff or maintenance. I had to threaten to report them to Texas Apartment Association to get my last work orders done. That was after waiting a good 4 weeks on one and almost 6 months on the other. YES, 6 months. No wonder we want to move. The other thing we are not happy with is paying everyone else's gas bill in winter. I mean, I understand allocating the bill, but I think they are screwing us big time on that one. How can a small two bedroom apartment's gas bill cost more each month than a 5 bedroom house? I mean, not a little more, but over three times as much!! Like I said, we are getting screwed over and there is not a darn blasted thing I can do about it. We signed it when we moved in. If we skip out on our lease, we will never be able to rent here in the city again, because they all us the same basic rental application and our name would be marred forever! We had a hard enough time getting in here. Anyhow, I guess that is enough drama on my life for one day. It felt good to get that out. Please keep praying for the up-coming move and pray for God's favor and that it will all work out for us. Thanks all.

Moving!!

No, no, not us....my mother. It is a good thing and a God send. My mom has multiple sclerosis. It is a neurological disease. Her health has been very bad and we have been fighting to get her short-term and long-term disability through from work to no avail since January of this year. She has had a lot of help from the church Jeremy and I attend and we have helped in any way possible. She is not getting anywhere and about 2 weeks ago she finally agreed to be out here where I was, so I could help her out and get her to Doctor's appointments and such. She said then, within the next year. To me, that was not going to help. She would still be stressed about the condition of her house, and she would still not be able to get anywhere.



All that has changed...She called me today and we have the move set for the last week of August, which gives me about 3 weeks. I will be driving up on the 25th, after work and a family outing. I will be going up with Anna late at night and we will have about 3 days to clear out and pack everything up, then we will load the U-haul or whatever company truck we rent, to move her this way. This gives me approximately 1 week to find her a place to live here and all.



Please pray that God's will be done in this situattion. This is a good move for her and I will feel alot better about having her closer. Pray for things to come through just as HE planned. Pray for peace in this move and strength for my family as we help her get here. Thanks all and God bless!!

We STARTED!!

YEAH! We had our first official day of school today and everythng went great. It didn't take us very long for just two subjects, but to make ourselves sit down and actually do them was great. I even made some copies of other items we needed for the next few weeks. :-) I am so glad we started and so glad she is so eager to learn. I will try and get some pictures up later, but we haven't got that far. The other thing Anna did today was put "mom" on one of her papers without even asking me how to spell it or tell her the letters, she just did it. That made me so proud as we have been working on three-letter words for some time now. Can you tell we had a good day. Anyhow, thanks for the prayers and I will let you know how it goes. Like I said for this week we are just doing two subjects, then adding in as needed. Take care all.

Official Start

Okay, after a lot of hours of hard work, I think we are ready to start school tomorrow. I have two weeks worth of lesson plans ready to go and they are in pencil, so if something doesn't work, it is easily changed. We are starting tomorrow with 2 of our 5 subjects and then we will add two more next week and the final one the 3rd week. I am excited and you should have seen Anna's face when I told her we were starting school tomorrow. She is so excited and jumped around and said "YEAH! I'm starting school tomorrow." It was so cute you should have seen her. Anyhow, I will let you all know how our first actual day was tomorrow afternoon. I think with only two subjects to start, it shouldn't be too overwhelming for either of us. Take care all and pray for a good first day. Thanks for all your support and blessings on this adventure.

Ranching Heritage Field Trip

Alright, we are getting ready to start homeschooling and we went on a field trip with about 30 other homeschooling children and their families. We went to the Ranching Heritage Center. It was HOT, but fun. In an attempt to cool off, several of the kids broke the rules and went on the grass to hit the sprinklers, which at 10 am should probably not have been on (or at least thats what the news always preaches...something about not watering between 10am and 6pm). In any case, the kids were so hot a few of us let them run through them for a few mintues. The following are some pictures of Anna thinking about it. She did eventually get in there all the way and get good and wet.

Here is one of Anna thinking about going in:

This one shows her first initial shock of cold water:

A little more brave, she is actually touching the water:

Cooling off in the shade with some new friends:

As you can see she had fun and also got drenched, but was dry before we left. It was a lot of fun, but my goodness it was HOT! We may need to re-think our field trips in the heat of summer. LOL! Next I will be complaing that it is too cold.

Update on homeschool starting: We have all the books, and I even have some bulletin boards set up and ready. This weekend I will be playing with the schedule and we will hopefully start our first subject on Monday. Praying that it will work. If not, there is nothing indicating we have to start at a certain time, so we may wait till after Labor Day. Time will tell. My planning time today is shot out the door with work, which I love, it just hurts my planning time. Maybe tomorrow with laundry? Who knows, but we will start!

Officially Part-time

Ok, I am officially part-time, but have had other more important things to post about. Now, it hasn't felt like part-time yet, since we have a lot of cleaning and errands to catch up on, but hopefully in a day or two it will feel more like part-time, maybe?? We haven't decided when to start our "school" yet, but we will start sometime in the next two weeks. I need to sit down and make us some sort of schedule to follow and to make sure we have everything we need by the end of the week. I think we have it all, but I need to sit down and make sure. Anyhow, our plans for today, like I said before, are errands. We have to pick up something, do laundry, get Cokes for Jeremy while they are on sale and go to the library, if we have time. I do work again tonight, so I am not sure how much of this we will actually get done, but we can always continue the list tomorrow. :-) Aslo need to add cleaning the house to it. Anyhow, I better go get ready for the day. Take care all.

Locks of Love

Today we did something that Anna has been begging me to do for 3 months straight. I mean everyday, most times 3-4 times a day the same thing. What was this thing you ask??? It was getting a hair cut. This was an easy decision for her, but not for me. I am very partial to little girls with long hair and love doing her hair up in the cute braids and pig tails, but after much debate and asking, I decided she could do it on one condition....that we donate the hair to Locks of Love. She had more than the required minimum length for it to go towards a hairpiece, so today we went for it. She went over to the hair place and we cut her hair. It was an experience and the end result is super cute. Anna looks really good with short hair. Here are the pictures...

Before haircut at church today:

(Look at her pretty bow!)

Before haircut, waiting her turn:

Looking at her freshly cut ponytail:

(the one we donated)

During haircut:

Right after haircut:

The end result:

Now, with an end result like that, who could say no?! I think it turned out super cute and I am really glad we let her cut it. Isn't she adorable?!

Please help my mom...

Please help my mom get started on this businaess venture. Really, it is all about using a special gode at this website and you get discounted name brand clothing for a good price. She eventually gets a portion of the profits, but only if people start buying using this code. With my mom's health the way it has been, this can be a good thing, if it will work. This is about all she can do, as it isn't much for her but sending it out on e-mail and such. Anyway, the following is a letter she sent out and the discount code has been highlighted by me. Go to the website and enjoy. Thanks for all your help.


Hi all my friends;
I would like to introduce you to Magickidsusa. This is my new job, I am a certified distributer for this company and I can truly say this is a great company.They offer quality merchandise at great prices directly to the consumer.I can't sell you on this, it will sell itself. All I ask is that once you see the great deals, that youpass this on to all your friends, co-workers, e-mailbuddies, and anyone else you can think of. Be sure to include my special code MK36148 so they can get the special discounts also. All you have to do is go to this web site. Look at the merchandise offered in sizes newborn to 16/18, and shoes. Decide what you want and how many. Then you place your order directly with the company, pay directly to the company. The company will then ship your order out within 24 to 48 hours of payment receipt. Make sure you put the discount code MK36148 on the order to receive the special discount and so they know that I referred you to the site. Yes it is that easy to save money on all these name brand clothes. That site is: www.magickidsusa.com When you receive your order and see all the great things you received for your money, you will want to order again and again. This site will be one of your favorite sites for years to come as their stock changes all the time. Please take your time and look thoroughly at their website. I am sure you will see something for your children, grandchildren, or that one in church who is struggling so hard to make it. With prices this low, now you can afford to help out. I thank you for allowing me to occupy a few minutes of your time, and please do pass this on and on and on. Allow all who can to share in the savings offered by Magickidsusa.
May God richly Bless every one of you.
Love Marion

Answers to Prayer

Alright, God sure does answer prayer. I was given more than enough money for her at church last night to cover Mom's doctor appointment on Friday, without insurance, plus we have enough to hopefully get her some medication or some food. I know she needs both. Still need some answers in her disability case, but the Lord is meeting her needs one day at a time. The church also covered Mom's water bill and we got her turned back on immediately yesterday. God is so good and faithful. I need to lean more on him in these times. It was amazing. Thank you all for your prayers and keep praying for swift decision on her disability appeals. Thank you all.

3 Days to Go & Family Woes

Ok, 3 days to go till I am part-time. I can not wait till after Saturday, although that means that I will not be making near as much money, but we also will not be paying out near as much in expenses. Anna will go to daycar for 3 more days. Today she will be roller skating, tomorrow is their "Stretch-N-Grow" day, and Friday they will be visiting a nursing home and playing games with the residents. She is really liking this new daycare, so I am really glad that I put her in there for the remaining weeks. She has yet to come home saying she is bored and she goes to bed so easy at night...no naps at the new one for her age group. It has been great. I am so glad she liked it. It was one of the best decisions we ever made.



Now for family woes...I am really worried about my mother. She has been fighting to get her short-term disability payments started since February, and has had no success. We are in the appeal time, but it has until middle of September to be finalized. How can they deny my mother these benefits that she truly needs?! I am appaled at what it is doing to her and have been watching my mother decling healthwise. She has not paid her mortgage since January, has had our churches help in keeping utilities on, the states help keeping utilities on, and everything. She has no medications left to manage her Multiple Sclerosis and we are all feeling the effects of it, not just her. The state will not help out with utilities anymore until she goes to the doctor, she can't go to the doctor because she has no means of paying them as her insurance has been gone for some time, and that means also no medications or financial help. She does not qualify quite yet for Medicaid, or she would go that route. How can I help her? I am so at a loss and so far away from being able to say come stay at my house for a while. I have asked her to move down here where we are so I can get her to appointments and such and she could get a 1 bedroom apartment for next to nothing here, but she is unwilling to leave her house at this point. She bought that house for her and intends to live there until they kick her out I am sure. I just don't know where else to turn to get her help. if anyone is out there reading this, I am asking for your prayers in getting a swift decision from the appeals group. We don't have till the middle of September. She needs her medications now. She can not function without them. We needs prayers for God's favor. We just need a lot of prayers. My mother's health and welfare really depend on it. Thanks.