HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Alright, I know I never updated from Christmas, but I have been working like crazy and we have my brother, his fiancee and kids in town, so as you can see I have been extremely busy. I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and I hope you enjoy your great 2008. I will update in the new year, when things slow down. God bless!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Well, seeing as I work all day tomorrow and today is laundry day, I thought I would wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you all enjoy your day filled with fun, excitement and laughter. Please do remember the TRUE reason for the season though...JESUS' BIRTH! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Science Spectrum

Anna and I had the chance to go to the Science Spectrum free of charge on Monday, so we went. We would have been crazy not to. They are featuring a classic toy exhibit right now, so Anna got to see a alot of classic toys and even get to play with some of them. She enjoyed that, then we were allowed to go to the regular part of the museum. She had a blast bouncing from one place to another. It was very difficult for me to keep up. She absolutely loved this place and loved that she was allowed to touch almost anything she wanted to and explore how it worked. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from the day:

Playing with Colorforms:

Anna's Magnetic Potato Head Creation:

Electricity Hand:

Large Circular Xylophone:

Anna's Favorite, the floor piano:

This was a great field trip for our day. We did go with a homeschool group, so we were technically in school, weren't we? LOL! There was a school there as well, so I think we are safe.

Santa Land

Ok, so we spent Sunday night freezing our bottoms off at Santa Land. Why on earth would anyone else stand in line for an hour and a half, in sub freezing temperatures, to see Santa? To keep their children happy and to get that picture to remember for years to come. We stood in line outside with a bunch of other crazy lunatics like myself to get a picture with Santa. Our visit lasted all of 2 minutes, and by then I didn't really want to go and look anything else. I was cold! Thats it, just downright cold!! Here are a few pictures of the evening. Like I said, it was COLD!!

Here is Anna waiting patiently:

That coveted picture, my version(not to bad if I do say so myself):

Pictures with Clifford (I was too cold to do much else by then):

Five minutes after getting in the car, she was like this:

Laws of Children

Here is a law of children that I never thought of before...

When it is 34 degrees outside and cold, wet, and very drizzly, with a wind chill of 28, that is when your six year old will inevitably ask to go to the park. UGH!!

Alright, I know it is icy and colder elsewhere, but it down right cold for us being in Texas and my darling daughter is begging me to go to the park. I have side-tracked her with wrapping Daddy's gifts, (No dear, you will NOT find out for 10 more days what you are getting...and NO bugging Anna to find out.) watched the Barbie Nutcracker movie, read a book, finished school, washed dishes, cleaned the stove, etc, etc. She STILL insists on going to the park. Sorry kiddo, but not in this lifetime. I love you very, very much. But I am not going to freeze my behind off in freezing temperatures to watch you play at the park. Sorry!

Any other hints to side-track her will be greatly appreciated.

The Nutcracker

Well, I prayed hard yesterday. Anna was looking forward to the ballet, and I was determined to take her. By the time it came to leave, I was showered and dressed and had not thrown up for about 9 hours, so even if I was still achey, I was taking my daughter to the ballet. We went and she had a GREAT time. It was very nicely done and she really liked watching the ballerina's dance. We even got some souvenirs to bring home, although only the small ones as they were rather expensive. Anyhow, here are some pictures from last night.

Waiting for the show to start:

Intermission Time:

Picture with a very tall nutcracker:

As you can see we had a good time. Sorry, no pictures of me. it was a very crowded place and I didn't feel well, remember! LOL! I am very glad I took her though as it is an experience she will never forget.

Flu?

I am sick. No doubt about it, but did it have to be today? Anna and I had plans to go see the Nutcracker ballet tonight. So far I have thrown up twice, with a 5 hour break in between. It stinks. I hate being sick. I had Jeremy call his mom this morning to come take Anna, so hopefully she will not get it. Thanks so much for her being available. Jeremy can't be off, unless he gets a doctors note, due to it being finals week. I am about to try eating some soup or crackers in a little bit. Prayerfully I can keep it down. I want to feel better. UGH! Oh and obviously there is NO SCHOOL today for us.

Monkeys?!

What does this railing:

On this bed:

And these two little girls (I know old picture, but it was handy):


Have to do with my sweet little girl ending up like this:

Here is a song that might jog your memory:

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and hit her head,
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Alright, you get the picture! My darling daughter and niece have been told over and over and over again to not jump on the bed. Well, since they are only 5 and 6, and jumping on the bed is soooo much fun, one of them was bound to get hurt eventually. Anna fell on the piled up blankets and smacked her eye into the railing. (No, they are not in the picture. We had the extra bed from underneath rolled out over the weekend for niece to sleep over.) This was on Sunday and today, her eye still looks like this. It is really bad to look at, and the stares of people when we go out...ugh! She is just fine and you would think she learned a lesson, but nope. Today she was still playing on the bed. LOL! She rolled off ours today. I guess some of us have to learn the hard way. Does she have to take after me SO much?! LOL!

Great Opportunity

Well, last night at work I was offered a GREAT opportunity, but I am afraid I will be turning it down. My boss at work offered me a department head position, if I will go back to full-time (we had toyed with this idea some already). After some thought and much debate, we have determined that it is not in the best interest of our family at this current moment. With Anna being homeschooled, (and that is not something we are willing to give up) and our current family status, we decided it is not something we can do at the moment. Yes, I would absolutely LOVE to be department head, but I can not guarantee that I will have the childcare arrangements necessary for Anna, especially not with homeschooling. Anna really enjoys the homeschool and so do I. Maybe at another time. We figured in the costs of childcare of some sort, and then with the bit more I would be making, it would all be gone to childcare. I think the best thing for our family is for me to say thanks for the offer, but at this time I can not guarantee a commitment (which he wanted) and it is not in our families best interest at the current moment. As much as I wanted to go full-time, that is not a schedule that will work for us right now.

Happy December

Alright, so we are now 3 days inot December and I have no clue what to type, but there are only 22 days till Christmas. Anna did her last gymnastics class of the season today and we have the last ballet class on Wednesday. She likes those two classes, but I think she will like them better in January, when she is with bigger kids.

Nothing new here, just work and work and clean. I am sure every working, or even stay at home mom knows that. I am trying to finish off my Christmas shopping and then just keep sane. I hope everyone is doing okay. Take care and God bless. I promise to try and do a better post later.

Future Praise Leader?

Anna absolutely loves to listen to Twila Paris. She knows a lot of her songs on the "He is Exalted" CD. Anna also loves to sing. Put that with the guitar she got for her third birthday and what do you have? A praise leader, of course! Here is the video of Anna singing her heart out:



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6 Year Old Hair Cut

Alright, I admit it, I trusted my daughter to have access to scissors, until today. She decided it was time for her own hair cut. She took about 5 inches off one side of her head in a 2 inch section or so. Thank goodness for her, her hair is long and it is mostly covered. Good grief. I guess there are no more scissors down for a while in our house.

A Girl and Her Horse

I went in to check on Anna before I went to bed last night and this is what I found:

Anna had fallen asleep with her belove horse from her birthday and was half using it as her blanket for her top half. Here is the close-up:

After I covered her correctly with a blanket, I of course immediately downloaded the cute pictures. I couldn't resist posting them here for all to see. They were super cute. Hope you all enjoyed them.

Back to School

Well, its back to the same ole, same ole stuff. Back to work, (for some, I was never really off) back to school, back to ballet and gymnastics. Its back to reality for most of us. I told Anna we had to start back to school today and her response was "YYYEEEESSSS!!" My girl looooves school. I couldn't believe how excited she got. This of course was followed by some dancing and jumping. She was so excited to get back to our routine. I sort of am too, but I want my day off. LOL! The only day off I got last week was Thanksgiving. I have worked all kinds of extra hours all the way around it and so I just want a break. I am betting my next one will be Christmas Day? What do you think?

Anyhow, as for things done over the past week, (since my last post) I will make a list:

1. Family Thanksgiving
2. Work
3. Pick up Anna's Christmas pictures (which turned out great by the way)
4. Have a family picture done (at my 6 year olds request)
5. Work
6. Clean out Anna's room (boxed up all the toys she doesn't need or play with anymore)
7. Wash laundry
8. Start Addressing Christmas Cards (They will go out late this year for us, in about 3 weeks)
9. Work
10. Shop for Anna's gifts (I had to buy some online, as the stores here didn't carry what she wanted any longer. I didn't want to do that, because that adds on shipping. Oh well, she will be one happy girl Christmas morning.)

Alright, I know I did more, but it is time to get ready for the day. We have gymnastics at 10am and we need to have school pretty much done before we leave. Have a great day all and God bless.

Happy Thanksgiving All!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time with family and friends. God bless.

Goal Semi-Complete

The goal of cleaning kitchen is semi-complete. We keep finding more kitchen boxes. I have two counters just overflowing with the dishes I washed today and I will have to go back tomorrow and wash the rest of them. We found two more boxes today. There are pictures to hang and about 10 boxes left to sort through. Not too bad for two days. Anyhow, I think I am about done with what I can do. The boxes that are left are mostly a bunch of papers and things that my mom needs to go through. I would end up trashing over half of them, and probably get in trouble, so I am done after tomorrow's dishes.

As an update to her disability cases, we still have nothing through yet. She has a lawyer for her SSI Disability, and that should help move that right along, but it will be after the holidays and such. Her work disability we are also getting ready to appeal for the second time. Thanks for all the prayers and keep praying.

Anyhow, I better go, because my "this house is soooo boooring" daughter is not impressed with me typing away on the computer. Have a great day all and welcome to town Tiffany and Steven and crew. Can't wait to get over and see you all.

Today's Goal

Goal for today: Clear my moms kitchen floor of ALL boxes. She has lived there since August 30th, but she still isn't all the way unpacked, which is my job. I was down to two boxes there yesterday, but we made great progress yesterday and found two more boxes in the spare room.(This is where most of the boxes ended up.) We still need to get through it all though. I hope I can do that much at least, but there are 4 boxes on the floor and I am washing dishes by hand. We will see. I have two day to get it all done. I think I can do it.

School: We are out for the week. Anna will have homework for each day, which is one sheet from each subject, but no actual schooling. There is a lot of family in town and we need to have time to visit with them. The public school kids are in though. LOL!! I told her it was her lucky week. We are taking it easy for a few more minutes, then it is time to get up and start back to my mom's to finish. I think we can do it, or at least I hope we can.

Alright, time to get busy. I need to strip her bed and take it to wash today and want to get as much done this morning as I can at mom's. Take care all.

Homeschool vs. The Alternative

I got this off a message board I read and thought it was very cute.

Two women meet at a playground, where their children are swinging and playing ball. The women are sitting on a bench watching. Eventually, they begin to talk.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Hi. My name is Maggie. My kids are the three in red shirts — helps me keep track of them.

OTHER MOTHER: (Smiles) I’m Terri. Mine are in the pink and yellow shirts. Do you come here a lot?

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Usually two or three times a week, after we go to the library.

OTHER MOTHER: Wow! Where do you find the time?

HOMESCHOOL MOM: We home school, so we do it during the day most of the time.

OTHER MOTHER: Some of my neighbors home school, but I send my kids to public school.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: How do you do it?

OTHER MOTHER: It’s not easy. I go to all the PTA meetings and work with the kids every day after school and stay real involved.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: But what about socialization? Aren’t you worried about them being cooped up all day with kids their own ages, never getting the opportunity for natural relationships?

OTHER MOTHER: Well, yes. But I work hard to balance that. They have some friends who’re home schooled, and we visit their grandparents almost every month.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Sounds like you’re a very dedicated mom. But don’t you worry about all the opportunities they’re missing? I mean they’re so isolated from real life — how will they know what the world is like — what people do to make a living — how to get along with all different kinds of people?

OTHER MOTHER: Oh, we discussed that at PTA, and we started a fund to bring real people into the classrooms. Last month, we had a policeman and a doctor come in to talk to every class. And next month, we’re having a woman from Japan and a man from Kenya come to speak.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Oh, we met a man from Japan in the grocery store the other week, and he got to talking about his childhood in Tokyo. My kids were absolutely fascinated. We invited him to dinner and got to meet his wife and their three children.

OTHER MOTHER: That’s nice. Hmm. Maybe we should plan some Japanese food for the lunchroom on Multicultural Day.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Maybe your Japanese guest could eat with the children.

OTHER MOTHER: Oh, no. She’s on a very tight schedule. She has two other schools to visit that day. It’s a system-wide thing we’re doing.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Oh, I’m sorry. Well, maybe you’ll meet someone interesting in the grocery store sometime and you’ll end up having them over for dinner.

OTHER MOTHER: I don’t think so. I never talk to people in the store — certainly not people who might not even speak my language. What if that Japanese man hadn’t spoken English?

HOMESCHOOL MOM: To tell you the truth, I never had time to think about it. Before I even saw him, my six-year-old had asked him what he was going to do with all the oranges he was buying.

OTHER MOTHER: Your child talks to strangers?

HOMESCHOOL MOM: I was right there with him. He knows that as long as he’s with me, he can talk to anyone he wishes.

OTHER MOTHER: But you’re developing dangerous habits in him. My children never talk to strangers.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Not even when they’re with you?

OTHER MOTHER: They’re never with me, except at home after school. So you see why it’s so important for them to understand that talking to strangers is a big no-no.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Yes, I do. But if they were with you, they could get to meet interesting people and still be safe. They’d get a taste of the real world, in real settings. They’d also get a real feel for how to tell when a situation is dangerous or suspicious.

OTHER MOTHER: They’ll get that in the third and fifth grades in their health courses.

HOMESCHOOL MOM: Well, I can tell you’re a very caring mom. Let me give you my number—if you ever want to talk, give me call. It was good to meet you.

Homework and Pictures

Homework started at our house yesterday. Anna was so excited this morning to tell me her and Daddy had done the homework last night. I implemented it as a way to make Daddy more involved with our schooling, since he is at work while we school. I also implemented it because Anna insists that all school kids get homework and she REALLY want to have some. In any case it has started and she will have homework Monday through Thursday. I figure with the weekend, Friday is a freebie day with none. She earns an extra sticker on the chart for every homework page she completes and as always, when she fills a chart, for good school days and now for homework (it will have a different sticker) she gets to pick out the book of her choice. Thankfully she usually picks out one that is less than $10, but she is unlimited on her choices. We love Barnes and Noble.

As for pictures, my mom bought Anna a beautiful Christmas dress yesterday and we HAVE to get her picture taken today. LOL! I can't wait to see what we can get this time. She takes pictures so well and I love having Anna's beautiful pictures over the entire house. We usually take them about 2-3 times a year, even if only for the base package. Anyways, I called Penneys yesterday to see what was open this week and they said today at 11:30, so today it is. I can't wait!! We will do family pictures in a week or so, so we can get our Christmas cards in the mail. (That could be a whole day in decision as well. I have 4 full sets to choose from. LOL!)

Anyhow, time for breakfast and school. Have a good day all and I will try to upload the pictures to here later. I am using the part of my card that gives me free web access for her pictures, so hopefully they are good so that we can use that and share. Take care and thanks for reading.

Meeting Today; New Slide Show

Meeting Today: I am taking my mom to meet with an attorney today to get the help that she needs with getting her disability through. She is not doing good health wise, and we have been fighting disability for the better part of the year. It is time for extra outside help. Please pray that this is the right attorney and we feel God's peace with who we picked out. She comes highly recommended and is supposed to be one of the areas best. Thanks to everyone who has stood by us as we fight this battle. (I will update tonight after the appointment and work.)

Slide Show: Jeremy has a few new slideshows on his website that we would like you all to view if you can. They are of Anna's birthday party this past Sunday and there is another one, but for the life of me, I can't remember right now. Anyhow, click on the Dad's Highway link on the right hand side and it will take you there.

Update: We saw the lawyer and she is filing the appeal today. She is very nice and even told my mother how she could get some extra outside help and where to go. She will be a good lawyer and I am glad we have her. Thanks for the prayers on our meeting and please keep praying for a swift outcome. Thanks all.

Happy Birthday Anna!

Today is my little girls birthday. She is getting so big! We had a birthday party on Sunday and she loved it.


Here is the picture of her sleeping this morning:





How does she sleep like that? I know she must be comfortable, because the pictures I took didn't faze her in the least. She loves those pajamas by the way. Not sure why, but she begs me to wear them. It has got to be cold at night for me to let her wear them though.



Today she got a bigger gift from us and we let her have the gift from her Grammy. She was so excited. Actually I think she was more excited about Grammy's gift than ours. Here she is:




I have a strong feeling she is NOT letting that horse go for a while. If you don't know my daughter well, she looooves horses. We have all different types and sizes of horses (real looking ones.) Anyhow, she was thrilled to death with this horse as it is almost as big as she is.



We got her a camera. It losts its luster really quick and is not near as good as everyone claimed it to be. We may take it back and get something else that works a bit better, but this thing is NOT, I repeat not very good at all. This is even after reading the best online reviews to the darn thing. I will have Wyld look at it when he gets home and see what he says, but it would be better for us to get her a cheaper 35 mm and lots of film for the price. It just is not turning out the way I want, but I am not the camera expert, so we will see. (Added later: It does better with a memory card and Mommy forgot that it Is for a 6 year old. She loves it. LOL. It will stay after all.)


In any case, it is my girls birthday. She is now 6 years old. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She is so smart and so beautiful. She is growing up to be such a sweet caring girl. Horses, of course are her favorite thing, followed closely by Mulan and her horse Khan. (You think its the horse? LOL!) Anyways, Happy birthday baby girl. Mommy and Daddy love you very much!

Tree is up!!

Anna's tree is up! Yes, her pink one that Santa dropped off early last year so he could put something under it in Anna's room. (Actually its the one that Anna fell in love with at Kohl's and really, really wanted it, so we got it for her right before Christmas when it was half off.) She still loves this tree and it is up. Here is a picture:

AND.................Our tree is also up! LOL!! I know, I know!! It is early for us even. We usually wait till the week of Thanksgiving, but we had all the stuff just sitting there in boxes in the middle of the living room, so in order to clear them out and not have to dig them back out, we set up the tree. We still don't have our place decorated all the way yet, all that we did was put up the tree. We still have lights and garland for somewhere and all the fun stuff to go. We love Christmas though and so I thought this was the perfect time to put it up. Anyhow, here is a picture of it. We don't have much room, so it is stuck in a corner very closely followed by our couch on one side and television on the other. We are now very cramped in here, but our tree is up and that was important to us.

Anna's big concern now is, "How is Santa going to get in to the apartment?" We have no chimney and we are downstairs, so she is VERY worried that he will have no way in. I told her we could leave the door unlocked for him , but then she asks if the "bad guys" will get in. (We keep our door locked at all times when we are home.) I don't know what else to say. I have half a mind to "mail Santa a key" with her so that he can get in that night. Do you think she will buy it? LOL! I will try it because anything is worth a shot at this point.

Anyhow, I better go. Two more days till Anna's birthday. We had her party yesterday, but I am waiting on pictures till Wednseday. Have a good week and take care everyone.

Fall Pictures

Here are some various fall pictures I have been meaning to post:

Pumpkin Patch (weird face is due to wet bottom, the ground was very wet):

Cotton Field (it was right beside the pumpkin patch):

Isaac (Anna's Pumpkin Contest Picture):

Ready for some fun (Anna as Mulan):

Avery's Costume (Little Mermaid):

The Two cousins together last night (it was cold):

I know some people don't understand why I took the girls out trick or treating, but to them it is just the fun of getting dressed up in a costume and going to get candy. At this age, they really don't understand all the "bad" stuff and when Anna is old enough to start understanding that and starts realizing that, we will probably find a church carnival to attend that night so it is Christian related. In any case the girls both had a great time.

Today's Plan:

I am hoping to accomplish a few things today, so here is my list. We had a few changes over the weekend on a few things, so the phone calls for that are in here.

1. Do school
2. Call the dentist for Anna. At her last appointment, I was told that she wouldn't get her big teeth in until she was at least 7. Guess what?! They were wrong. She has one on the bottom already, but it came in behind her other teeth. We need the baby teeth removed now.
3. Call the name of the good attorney that was given to me to help my mom fight her disability stuff. she can't handle the head stress it is causing her and she finally said we can call, so I am doing that today.
4. Get all laundry done. (I hope to accomplish this, as my husband needs his uniforms for work. They have new ones and he has to turn in the old ones tomorrow. It could be a long night after work.)
5. Take Anna to gymnastics.
6. Work. Oh yeah, that will take about 4-5 hours out of the day.

That is all the stuff that HAS to be done today. I really hope to get it all done. Like I said with the laundry...it could be a long night. I also can't wait to hear what the dentist has to say. I want to get Anna a new dentist, but the old one needs to see that he was WRONG first. Anyhow, I better go. Take care all.

Edited 11/1/07:

Got most of it finished, if I can just get the attorney to call me back, we will be in good shape.

Thank you!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who made my birthday special. Just so you all know, my husband was off for the day and he surprised me with a special lunch and cake. He actually had pretended he was not off and left for work at normal time, but he showed up around 10:00am to cook me a nice lunch and wish me a Happy Birthday. It was a nice surpirse. My mom joined us as did a lot of his family. Thank you everyone for coming and for my birthday gifts. I really appreciate it all and you made my day very special. It was all very nice.

Good Morning?!?

Here is what I woke up to this morning on both bathroom mirrors:

I also woke up to the following mesage in my email, followed by a sound file of my dear husband singing Happy Birthday to me.

"Gm!!!!! What a wonderful day!!

Why? Because you were born!! Making the
world a wonderful place!!!"

Wasn't that sweet? I thought so. I wasn't planning on doing anything for my birthday as we have school and I work tonight, as well as the fact that I have worked or will work every day around my birthday, including my birthday.

Anyhow, I just wanted to say thank-you honey for the nice little mesaages. I really appreciate it. Anna loved the singing too. :-)

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Now, since when have you known me to be wordless!! LOL!!

Can you tell what we did today?!?

Smiling Pretty:

Sitting like a Ballerina:

Ready to Go Home(Love the pants under the tutu!)

Like I said ALMOST Wordless Wednesday!

Book Review, Daily Life, School

Book Review:

Alright, I know you want to hear about another great book from me, but I can't help it. we have checked out some really good books from the library lately that are great for any collection. Today's great book is Dancing with Katya by Dori Chaconas. This book shows the importance for getting your children their immunizations by showing the effects of Polio on a little girl who only had dreams to dance. The polio made her legs crippled and she had to wear braces, causing her to not be able to dance. It makes her sad, but her sister comes to the rescue and to find out how, you will need to read the book. It was so good. Anna really enjoyed it last night and truly understands the reason for the immunizations. They are to keep her from getting VERY sick and ending up in the hospital or losing her life. That is all she really needs to know at her age.

Daily Life:

I have another sinus infection or ear infection, or whatever. I had some medicine to take to clear it up, but it made me feel worse. It made me completely and utterly nauseous. I felt almost fluish. All I have wanted to do for the last two days is lay in bed. I determined it was the medicine last night and so I will head out and get something else that won't make me feel that way and hopefully will let me breathe.
The job situation is also okay, it is not what I want, but who says we always get what we want. God had been telling me those words for a reason and I need to live with it.
My birthday is coming up, but we might as well just skip it. I work every day around it, including my birthday. We might do something next Sunday, but i don't count on it, because the following Sunday, the 4th is when we are celebrating Anna's. It is a few days before her actual birthday, but that is her party. Hers is more important at this point anyhow.
Christmas Tree! Yes, we are already wanting to set up the Christmas Tree and get in the Christmas spirit. This will be our smallest Christmas ever, but one we will be most thankful for. We are on our own and will have a Christmas with just our family before we head out and see all the grandparents and such. It will be the first time ever that we have had just us.

School:

School is going good. Anna IS learning how to read, but she doesn't like to show it off. She has read several paragraphs already in her Language Arts book and she can sight read lots of cards (we made them together). I put them into a sentence order at least four times a day and she can read that too.
She is picking up math and counting better. We were really struggling with that for a while and I think she will be ready to move on in the book finally. We stopped doing her math text book this week, just to concentrate on the counting to ten, because her book is moving on to counting to 20 already and she didn't have to 10 down. I will determine that at the end of this week.
Anna is going to be in a State History Fair. We are working on her display board and learning a ton of facts that she can recite for the fair. What state? What state? Arizona!! She is doing Arizona. I probably should have had her do Texas, but I figured that a bunch of the other littles would be doing Texas, so we picked Arizona. Actually I limited her to California or Arizona and she picked it. It is going well and I will pick up her display board today so we can get that started.

Ooops. This wasn't supposed to be such a long post, but it is. Hope you all have a good week and check in later as I get to take pictures at this weeks ballet and gymnastics classes. Thanks all for reading and God Bless.

Answer Found?

Alright, I think I answered my own question in yesterdays post. As much as I don't like where I am at, God has been telling me that he gave me this job and I need to serve to the best of my ability, soooooo, I am trying my best. This was not a move I have planned, nor was it a move that I like, but I had my answer even before I posted here. In any case, it still was not professional the way I was moved, and it still should have been done different, but it wasn't and thats that. So, I am sure my found answer is what God has been telling me all along, "I gave you that job and you need to serve to the best of your ability." I am sure someone else is hearing that besides me, but that is my message for the day. Thanks for all the prayers. Love and God bless.

Confused

Alright, now I am confused. I showed up at work all prepared to place my order yesterday and was told that my book was done and to go to another section of the store that was where I was being moved?!?!?! What in the world are they trying to do to me? I am about two handshakes away from walking out the door and quitting. This is completely insane. I was put where I was due to my education background and the ideas I have for teachers and all of a sudden, with no warning, I am not there. I am devastated. I don't even know where to begin. I liked being able to help teachers and homeschool parents the best that I could. I had no idea this move was coming. It would have been nice to at least have the common courtesy to say "we need to move you over to here due to_____." (Fill in the blank for yourself.) But to just show up to work and not even a manager told me I was moved, someone else told me. I am so heart broken and so upset. I thought it was clear to me a few days ago that God gave me this job and I am to serve to the best of my ability (That is what he has told me several times over the last week and a half), but this is not professional. I do not understand. Usually when they start moving people its because they are trying to get rid of them. Jeremy says to keep working and be happy about it and not give them the satisfaction that they want, and part of me wants to do that, but the other part of me wants out of this crazy harried job. I need a stable environment or at least somewhat stable. I was heading out today to pick up applications, but I just don't know where to go or what to do. Anyhow, if you stayed with me through all this, then thank-you. I need everyone who reads my blog to pray that the right decision will come about and I will do what is right for our family and for God. Thanks so much.

Family Fun Day

Alright, today was family fun day after church. We had a picnic lunch in the park and went bowling for a total of 18 games between the three of us. (We had a free games gift certificate thingy we got for last Christmas and it was set to expire at the end of the month, so we used them all up.) It was fun and tiring at the same time. We needed a day for just some fun, so we did it. It was great. Pictures will be coming on that soon. We had so much fun.

On the schooling front, out of nowhere, Anna is learning how to read. She is putting it together pretty much on her own. Its really weird. She is also finally understanding how to count. She has been able to say the numbers, but she did not have the one-to-one correspondence down. She is getting there on her own, with lots of practice. We have been to the pumpkin patch as well. Anna liked it better than I did. We drove an hour and it wasn't any better to me than the one here in town. Anyhow, at least we can say we have been there, done that.

Two good books of interest:

*Lighthouse by Robert Munsch
*The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills

These books were spectacular. I really enjoyed both of them. They had such GREAT story lines and the pictures were terrific. I highly recommend these to anyone.

That about covers it and we are on to a new week of fun and learning. Hope you all have a great week. Take care.

That was Quick

Alright, that was really quick. I want to know what kind of neurological exam you can give someone in less than 15 minutes and get accurate results?! Thats right folks, my mom was in there less than 15 minutes. That was pathetic. How on earth can you make an accurate diagnosis in 15 minutes? UGH! I sure hope they understand how bad it really is for her. Please keep praying that God will be working with these people and see that she really does need the disability income. How much more can they put us through. I am so aggravated with these people. I do not think they can have an accurate diagnosis in 15 minutes, but we soon shall see.

On another side note, Anna went to the doctor today too and she has seasonal allergies. Surprise, surprise. (note sarcasm in voice) LOL! I took her in for some other medication so that she wasn't always drowsy from the Benadryl, which was working, but made her VERY drowsy, and she was prescribed a prescription allergy medicine. I sure hope it doesn't make her drowsy too, but it seems to be already.

Anyhow, as I asked, please keep praying. I really want to help my mom more, but we are not able to financially. Thanks so much.

Please Pray

Please pray for our family. My mom goes for another neurological exam for the SSI Disability today. She is getting through with them much quicker than work and we soon need to have her with money coming in as she needs to start paying rent again. She has been through them before and there are differing types of exams, so there is no telling how long we will have to wait for her today. We just need to get this done as the next step of getting her help. I wished these people would hurry up.

Prayer two. I need some medications and quick, but we do not have health insurance for me and I can not afford to pay an arm and a leg to go to the doctor. My allergies are so bad right now that it is affecting my breathing and my joints are all achy and swollen every morning (from my arthritis), as well as at various points throughout the day. I love West Texas, REALLY, but my body don't like it, LOL. In any case, I need some relief that is not there. Prayers will work just fine. Thanks so much.

I need to go get ready for the day. Anna has ballet today and we have church and I think those are the highlights of her day. Past that, I don't think she cares what we do. She is so easy and so understanding. I love her to pieces. Have a good day and thanks for the prayers.

Same Ol' Same Ol'

Same ol', same ol'. There is nothing new going on here at all. We are schooling, cleaning, having field trips, going to the library, etc, etc. Nothing new at all. On the up side, I am thrilled about Mom's Night Out tonight. I LOVE getting out and sitting with other mom's. I may not talk much, but it is fun to just be out and not worry about work or school or home. I really need to find some time to really get to know someone and find a goo friend in the group. I really only talk or see them on Mom's Night Out, or our Friday field trips, but I don't really talk to anyone. Anna loves the Friday filed trips though and she wants some of them to come to her birthday party next month. Anyhow, as you can see, nothing new. Today we will go to the library and hopefully have someone pick up the freecycle items I have here, and finish some more laundry at my mom's. I may even get adventurous and put together her new shelves so we can get the movies out of boxes and then go from there in that spare, at this point still storage room. Have a good day all.

Disgusting Thing 2 Update

Ok, it was not as bad as I thought. The rug is working, although I have it pulled right now, I will be putting it back under the table tomorrow. I just hope it doesn't make the carpet look too used around it when we move out. I am glad it is working for the most par though.

Gross Things & A Funny Thing

Alright, I have discovered two REALLY gross things in our dining room area. I was SO completely disgusted, that I am fixing it ASAP.

Disgusting Thing 1: We had curdled, old, dried on milk on our kitchen table. No, no, no! Not on the top. We have a table that we can make bigger or, it will tuck down inside to go smaller. Anyhow, we have had it smaller and apparently, the milk, juice, or whatever my darling daughter managed to spill for the last month was on the extended part that was tucked underneath. It was SO darn nasty, that I immediately cleaned out the entire section, cleaned everything with a disinfectant spray and our table will be big forever more. I will NOT be cleaning up that mess again!

Disgusting Thing 2: We have an area rug under our kitchen table because we paid an arm and a leg for cleaning the carpet at our last apartment in the dining area. (Who puts carpet in the dining room anyways.) Anyhow, the purpose of it was to protect the regular carpet underneath it and keep us from paying an arm and a leg again. I discovered tonight, while cleaning up yet another spill, that it is doing nothing! The spill is soaking all the way through the rug and is apparently sitting on our carpet and still soaking into it. So, the $20 rug we bought to prevent this, did NOT work. Tomorrow, after Anna is awake, I will be removing the carpet, vacuuming it, and taking it to be cleaned or posting it as is. NASTY! I am scared to remove the carpet due to the things I know have been spilled on it.

And now for the funny thing: I was talking to Anna today. Well, of course I was talking to her. It is just her and I at home all the time. In any case, she said something today that made me bust out laughing, which of course she wasn't happy about. "I don't like tuna sandwiches, because I don't want to get seasick." I love the logic of a 5 year old. It is so darn hilarious! She takes everything literally. She wants nothing to do with fish of almost any kind for the same reason. She must be watching too many cartoons. LOL. She also said that if "I were to get seasick, then I would get a green face and I don't like green." This child is too funny.

Anyhow, that is my gross things and my funny, funny girl. I am glad she keeps me on my toes. Hope you all have a good night. Take care and "see" you all soon.

Nothing New

We really have nothing new to report. We are going about with our daily lives, including school, laundry, dishes, work, church, gymnastics, ballet and just plain old everyday life. We still haven't unpacked all the boxes in my mom's house. I have been so busy with the regular stuff that it is hard to get over there and unpack everything. We have several boxes that need to be gone through before we decide where to put them. We have also been trying to decide what to use and where to get the items for Anna's birthday in a month. I haven't even decided what to get her yet, but we know what kind of cake she wants and I am looking into having it made. It is not something I can just go pick up at Wal-mart this year. Sorry, no hints! LOL! You must wait and see with everyone else.

Here are some things to think about though:

*There are 36 days till Anna's birthday
*There are 84 days till Christmas
*There are 23 days till my birthday
*There are 111 days till Jeremy's birthday
*There are 150 days till the lease is over in this apartment
*We have been married for 7 years, 9 months, and 15 days
*Jeremy has been at his current job for 1 year and 21 days
*I have been at my current job for 11 months and 15 days

Just some thoughts to ponder. No I am not incredibly bored and sat and figured it out. We have this really cool countdown, and count up thingy on our computer. All we have to do is enter the date and time and it will tell us how long since, or how long to the next. Pretty cool huh?! The one that gets me is the 84 days till Christmas. Is it really that close? UGH! I am not even close to ready.

Anyhow, I better go for now. Have a great day and have fun pondering these thoughts.

Cuter than Ever

As promised, here are the pictures showing my daughter being cuter than ever. She is also in ballet starting today. (Gymanstics is on Mondays.) See, she does get to do some things! Anyhow, she absolutely loves, loves, loves to dress up in costumes and her ballet clothes were no different. Anyhow, as I promised, here are the pictures from todays ballet class.

Posing before class:

Learning to Walk like a ballerina:

Hopping on one foot:

Supposed to be listening to the teacher, but posing for mommy:

Practicing first position:

As you can see, I was right. She was cuter than ever. I said it was possible AND she gets to look all dressied up every week now, twice a week. Who am I kidding?! She is darn cute all the time! Thanks for looking and stay tuned!

Learning Experience

Alright, I often wondered how you parents of multiple children, especially those with little ones, could get your schooling in for you children. I figured it our today! Naptimes are sacred. I had my niece and nephew for a while today and wasn't sure how well it was going to work, but we finished everything during naptime and I even got lunch started, so when the little one woke up, we were done and having fun playing already. I believe I can do it now. Now that we have done it once, I know we can do it again. Call me anytime if you need me to watch the kiddos Michelle. LOL! We did great and had fun too.

Gymnastics Pictures

Well, today was a successful gymnastics day. Anna did excellent and had a great time. She also looked super cute in her outfit. She wouldn't take it off, so she has worn it all day. Oh well, she does look cute in it. Here are the pictures. Enjoy!

Posing at home before we left:

Walking the balance beam:

Front Roll (aka somersault):

Waiting her turn (couldn't resist the photo):

Crab Walking (its dark, but she did great at this skill):

Cinderella Cookie:

I know, I know, what does the Cinderella cookie have to do with anything?! Anna got this from my mom today and I thought it looked so cute and real, that I snapped a picture of it. She will eat it tomorrow with her lunch, or as an afternoon snack. Now, did my beautiful girl look cute or what?! Just wait till Wednesday! I bet she will look even cuter! Not possible you say? Just you wait and see. LOL! Tune in Wednesday for more details!! :-)

Gymnastics

Well, today is Anna's first day of gymnastics. I am super excited for her as I think she will enjoy it. She has absolutely no idea what gymnastics really is, since we have no cable and the television is almost never on, except for our movies, but we have her enrolled anyhow a the community center. She loves that she got to get a new outfit for it too. I will update this with how she did and pictures after the class today. I can't wait to see her in there!

Hard Day

Those that know us well, know what a hard time we have been through over the past year and a bit. I am having a hard time with emotions today and keeping them in check. I know everything happens for a reason, but why did this particular thing happen to us. I have been questioning God all morning and know that there will never be an answer to it, I will just have to learn with the consequences of some peoples actions, but it is hard on the human side of me to have to deal with it. This change meant so much and has hurt me and the family so much that some days you don't want to move on, just sit and cry, but you can't do that as there is nothing you can do about it now, but today is one of those days. I just feel like sitting down and crying all day and questioning God. It is nopt my place to question him, but I want to. I don't think we will ever be done thinking about this horrible thing. It will be in the back of my mind always. I will never understand and will always be trying to figure it out. Most days I do good. Today is not one of those days.

Appeal Denied

Well, my mother's disability appeal for her own private disability insurance was denied. I don't know what the heck they are thinking. My mother can not do nothing near to what she could do. There is something seriously messed up in their heads! How can they sleep at night knowing the misery they are putting her through. My mother can not even open a water bottle anymore, or take out trash. She moved down by me just a few short weeks ago after her doctor told her she needed to live with someone or live by someone who could help take care of her. This isn't enough for those people to give her the disability money she deserves? I guess not. I hate that they are putting her and us through this. This is so freaking stupid. Even the state of Texas SSI doctor says she is disabled. She has no grip and loses her balance at the drop of a hat. She can not do anything quickly at all. This is all from a woman who used to chase her kids around the house with a garden hose, go camping, bake homemade goods from scratch, keep a garden and flowers, mow the grass and pretty much anything you can think of. I hate seeing my mother and knowing that she can't do all that, but I am darn lucky that we still have her and she can still be here with us. She truly needs this disability money, and the appeals take so darn long. It is upsetting to me. My mother had to cash out her 401K retirement to live off of and I know that isn't going to last forever. What then? She has already willingly given us grocery money, but I don't like to take it because I know she has nothing coming in and she is running out. Please, if nothing else, keep my mother in your prayers. She is a loving and caring woman and she doesn't deserve the mess that they are putting her through. It is only the devil trying to get us down and it is very upsetting to me. Please pray that the disability people see that she really needs this help. My mother would work in a heartbeat, if they would let her. Thanks so much. I love you mom and so does Anna. God bless you and we will pray our way through yet another appeal.

Anna and My mom:

Eyes

I am still upset about what you can use food stamps for, but I guess that will never change.

On to other news, Anna is going to the eye doctor this morning. no, this is not the first time she has been to the eye doctor, but it is the first time I get to take her. Daddy took her last time and I got the second hand reports. This time I get to be right there while they check my little girls eyes. She really, I mean REALLY wants glasses, but we have already told her she will only be getting them if she needs them. I think she just likes them because Mommy and Daddy both wear glasses. I can't see a thing without mine, I have been wearing them since the third grade. I will let you all know what happens later. Have a good day.

Update: She does not need glasses yet. She is slightly far-sighted, but she is correcting that herself, so as of right now, no glasses. They did dilate her eyes for part of her exam and said she should clear up later today, but as of bed-time, she still had really dilated pupils. She was tired of seeing fuzzy, or however it was. I know it wasn't clearly, because she wouldn't look at a book. Anyhow, she is fine and needs no glasses.

I have a problem!!

The problem is that I am annoyed by people who can check out in front of me and buy ALL their children a $2 candy and not have to pay a darn cent for it! Yes, I am talking about people on Food Stamps! When the heck was candy a necessity? Here we are struggling to buy the basic of the cheap (no name brand) food, and they are checking out with almost $10 in candy for their children. Yes, they had $10 worth of candy, and it was paid for with my tax dollars! Are you kidding me?! I see that as a large problem! I think that is one thing that needs to be changed. Milk, meat, bread, they are all necessities, but candy? GIVE ME A BREAK!

Korral Night

We went to the K. Korral with our church last night and kids and adults alike all had a great time. There were sheep, buffalo, horses, deer and even camels. There were swings, sand, and little rides. Anna was in heaven. She got to feed animals and touch them and play in sand. It was so much fun and so exhausting at the same time to try and keep up, but it was well worth the experience. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Initial Horse sighting and not sure what to do:

Playing in the sand, but she would never really sit down:

Two ducks we followed to the pond:

Feeding camels (they have fuzzy lips):

Feeding deer (some of the little ones called one Bambi, it was too cute):

Swinging in the sunset (too cute):

Sorry, thats all the pictures for now. We have a WHOLE lot more, but I don't want to overload you. Hope you enjoy and have a great day.