Re-Hashing Old Experiences

My dear hubby applied for a job at the Police Department.  Everything would be fine and dandy, but they want to know everything about you from the time you were 17 on.  Houses, family members, groups you belong to, convictions (from traffic violations to anything else,) cars, insurance, bank accounts, debts, facebook, etc.  Also there is places for things like we have been through in the hellish times of our life that he will have to include.  I am not so sure this is the job for him anymore.  Having to list all that out and re-hash all those experiences will not be pleasant.  Sigh.  I'm not sure how this is going to go.  I never thought that all that would come up again, and here it is.  All for a job that I thought I wanted him to have.  :-(  I'm not sure I'm all cut out for this. 

What a Couple of Months

Well, we have had quite an interesting couple of months.  We opted to get another dog about 5 weeks ago.  She was a cute little thing and we changed her name to Callie.  (I'd post a picture, but that means I'd have to get them off the camera.) She was a sweet cuddly dog at first, but showed aggression to Wall-E.  It was minor at first, but as the weeks progressed, the aggression seemed to be getting worse and Wall-E was wearing bite marks and scratch marks from her all over his belly.  She then decided that she hated Jeremy one day while he was trying to clean up her poop mess from the den and wouldn't let him near it to clean it up.  She attacked Wall-E, who was just coming in to investigate.  Sigh.  This was the final straw.  We had to give her back.  But that in itself turned out to be a long lengthy matter.  Let's just say for times sake and so I don't have to explain the whole thing, that she is back at the shelter she started from, who said she was always supposed to be an only dog.  Sigh!  The things we find out long after the fact. 

(WARNING FOR MALE READERS---TMI coming up)

I am heading in for surgery on the 5th.  Yes, in two days.  After much pain and deliberation and heartache and sadness, I am having a hysterectomy done.  Pain is the big deciding factor in this decision.  The cycles were causing too much stress, heartache and pain.  They are/were flaring my RA to crazy ridiculous levels of pain.  Heartache and sadness, well, put anyone in my position who wanted a baby and know that this method is now forever out of reach and it is bound to cause some heartache.  Aches at knowing that this will indeed never happen, as well as aches of know that you will never give a family to your loved one like her wants.  It is what it is.  My husband and I decided this together.  Anna was also included in the decision.  This is what is best for me health wise and my family. 

Unfortunately, I will be off work for a few weeks and will likely go crazy at home.  I will also be missing the big sale at work, although I will need to go buy something that day for our homeschool.  It will be that last book we are missing, so that won't be too bad.  (Under $20) 

I guess that's the shortened version for now.  I have better news from our family day trip on June 22nd, but that will come later.  (Again, the pictures are on the camera. LOL) 

Busy/Sick/Busy

Well, sorry for the complete lack of posting. I spent all of February and half of March sick. I went to work, to the Doctors and basically did little else. My house was really showing it after 6 weeks. Thankfully, it finally passed after two rounds of steroids. I love those things and hate them all at the same time. They kicked it though, so I was fine with the side effects. Thank goodness that's all done.

As far as busy, we have been running like crazy. I don't get the luxury that a lot of homeschooling moms get in that I can not be a stay at home mom. I must work. We need my income. Forget need, we have to have my income or we would never eat, or have a place to live or clothes to wear. You know, things like that. It is a vital part of our household. Sigh, but anyways, it is very tiring and I get physically, emotionally and mentally drained. Especially when I have issues to deal with at work. With the cost of things going up, it really scares me as well. We manage, but we will be struggling again very soon with all the cost of living increases.

Homeschool group is going fine. We enjoy going and enjoy the people there. Anna absolutely loves her classes. I absolutely love being with the babies. Its almost therapeutic for me to be with babies. Holding a baby is like good medicine. There is nothing better in the world than a baby cuddling with you and falling asleep in your arms. I love every minute of it. I'm hoping that I can be with the babies again for at least one class period.

Things at home have been busy too. When you are down sick for so long, it takes a while to get the house back in order. And with school, church, work and homeschool group thrown in, it takes a little bit longer.

Anyhow, it just has been a while since I had time to sit down and write, but I'm glad to finally be able to do so. I'm also glad that I'm feeling better. As for school, we will be going through July or August. There will be only a one week break in there for horse camp. With the way we have to do school, there is not time for breaks. We will have to work through them all. I better go, speaking of school, because we need to do school today and run some errands. Chances are we will only get through the reading, spelling and math, but that's ok. We will complete our course eventually. I better go. Take care all. And if you are actually still reading this blog, thanks. I know I hardly ever post. Gotta go. Bye

Things to think about...

If you don't like what I have to say, I don't really care...I have lots going through my brain and I have to figure out how to get all the info out without offending someone, so on my blog it goes.

A. I am trying to figure out what to do about our homeschool group. Anna likes being with other kids, but (and this is a huge but) the group we are currently in is overwhelmingly huge! I mean it has over 300 people there every week. I like a fair sized group, but would rather there be around 100 people at the most. It feels very impersonal to me now. So my thoughts on this are to start a weekly play type group of my own, which is very difficult for me to do considering my current workload of school and homeschool. My other thought is to join another group that already exists or maybe up my participation in another group I am in and see if we can't meet a little more often. Sigh, see, lots of info going through my head. Like I said, Anna likes being there, so I really am not sure where to go with this.

B. We are planning a very simple sweet party for Anna's tenth and I feel like we are letting her down, since we have done a few larger parties already. The thing is, with the house we just got there were some expenses with moving and we have not recovered from that yet. My goal is for her to get to play in the park with her friends and have cupcakes and juice, but that depends on the weather. I REALLY would love to have a simple party at the house, but I just don't know if I can handle everyone in our small house. (I love everyone, I really do, but that is a LOT of people in one small space.) Praying that the weather cooperates so we can do the park thing. LOL!!

C. Since we are on such a tight budget right now, we will not be able to spring for the gift for Anna that we were going to get her for Christmas, so now we must keep our eyes peeled for for something that she will like really well that is reasonably priced. We will see what happens there. Its not that we needed the bigger thing, but it would have been nice to get it. She doesn't need it though. It was more of a luxury than a necessity. We will have to see what becomes of that. We do need to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, so maybe this is a good year to learn that part really well.

D. I no longer have the luxury of an iPhone. My phone bit the dust and again with the budget thing, we can not replace it and of course we had no insurance on it, sooooo. I am using a regular old rinky phone. Maybe we can save some money on the data plan, since I won't be using anything. Who knows. I have grown accustomed to a smart phone and have used it every day since getting it, even on the day of my surgery, when I mostly slept. LOL! Who knows, but maybe it'll help me concentrate more on what is most important.

E. I think that's all for now. Its a lot for me to think on, but it'll be alright. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas for us/me. I might could use the advice right now. Thanks and please don't take offense to anything I said. I just had to express myself.

Settling In

We have now been in our house 3 weeks and we are pretty much settled in. Things are looking like they should and we have everything put away for the most part. (Minus the 6-10 boxes I threw in a closet and shut the door on.) We even have half a routine back. Anna and I are fully into school and working as hard as we can. Jeremy is still working daytime and with the exception of Sunday, when I am off and Monday when I work a 10 hour day, I am back to afternoon/evening work. We have officially broken in the house too. Friday night the dog threw up on the brand new carpet and Friday afternoon I broke a toilet, so yeah, it is officially our house. We have even met some of the new neighbors and Anna has bought ice cream from the ice cream truck once. (Would have been twice, but whoever did it the second time never stopped. He wasn't even looking for kids. Very sad little girl on my hands.) All in all, its not too bad. We are happy and scared still, but we love it. I will still try and get those pictures I promised posted. Especially Anna's room. It's way cute in pink.

Now, we have the holidays to look forward to. My birthday is next week, followed by Anna's two weeks later, then Christmas. I am ready for the holidays to come so we can get our new house initiated for our long Christmas!! Take care all and be sure to check back for updates.

2 days...

We have 2 days, yes count em, 2 days until we close on our new house. To say I am excited is an understatement. I am thrilled to death. We will finally have our OWN house once again. I am so ready for this move. Now, we need some volunteers. Anyone up for a cleaning party Thursday afternoon to evening? How about moving small boxes and putting away as many basics as possible Friday? Not that, well how about moving the big furniture and appliances Saturday morning? If nothing else, just stop by and say hi. Have a look around, before we fill the new house with family love, including carpet stains and dirt. LOL!! So ready for this week to be done. Ready to be in the new house. Ready for the move to be complete. Ready for chaos to be over. Wanna join me?

Change is Brewing

Well, we are at it again. CHANGE! I like some changes and others I do not. Our new change that is coming is...a new house for us. We are not sure when or where we will get one, but we are pre-approved for a mortgage and we are on the hunt. It may take us a while to find something suitable, or it may be quick, but we will begin viewing houses starting Monday. I am very excited about this. We will be getting enough room to have a school area in the new place. It is something that is a must. I want to have a place to do school that isn't all over my living room and kitchen. It will be great though. We are super excited.

As for school, we are getting ready to start the next school year. We will be doing 3rd grade math and 4th grade everything else. This is what we feel is best for Anna and will help her to be more successful. She is on grade level in everything else, so we do not see the need to hold her back. One of the reasons to homeschool is so she can keep going in the areas she is strong, so that is what we are doing.

Guess that's really about it as far as change. We are very excited about this prospect and as soon as we find that special place, we will let you be aware of it. More moving excitement is sure to follow shortly thereafter. LOL! Thank for all for being excited with us. We will keep you updated.

Mother's Day

I had what could be one of the best Mother's Days ever this year. I was under the impression that we were completely unable to have anything this year. (My surgery really ate into our money and we will be paying for it for at least the next year. That's another story though.) Anyhow, so I was a little sad when the day started. That was until I took my shower.

Upon leaving the shower there was a little something on the counter to start my day. I put my glasses on to find a beautiful red rose in a heart shaped balloon from my husband and daughter. I would have been more than happy with that, but underneath that was a beautiful card from my husband and another from my daughter. My husbands card proceeded to make me cry. He told me how much he appreciated and loved me. I needed that. It was perfect. Anna made me out a cute card as well.

I then finished my morning routine and went to find my cell phone. When I unplugged it from the wall, I didn't even notice anything different. I was walking the hallway to the living room when I realized that I also received a new case for my phone. There was a black case with pink that I had been eyeing for a while. I would never have spent that kind of money on one for myself, but as a gift I was shocked. It was the icing on the cake.




I hope all the other Mom's had a VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Newsboys Here We Come!!

Anna is very much into Newsboys. She loves listening to them and watching videos on You Tube. She knows the names of who used to be in the group and who is in the group now. She likes them very much. Anyhow, I made a promise to her last year that if they ever came to Lubbock, I would definitely buy tickets and take her to see them. Well, they are coming in May. May 3rd, our family will be sitting on the front row by the stage and watching Anna's favorite group. To say she is excited is an understatement. She is thrilled. It should be an adventure. I am not really thrilled about the two other bands coming with them, but I am keeping my promise and for the most part I like the Newsboys, so we will go and enjoy it. So as the title says...Newsboys Here We Come!!

Asked Anna...

her opinion on going back to homeschool or staying in regular school and she listed some good points for homeschool.

1. You only gave me spelling tests at homeschool. At school I take a test in everything every week.

2. We did history. (Anna LOVES history, but since it isn't tested in school, they have done none of it.)

3. There was no math tests every week. (I never tested her. I checked her work everyday so I knew how she was doing.)

4. No one made fun of her clothes everyday. (She has a little bully picking on her at school. This girl picks on her outfit everyday. EVERY DAY! How depressing is that for a child.)

Anyhow, we haven't made any permanent decisions yet, but I really am seriously considering pulling her back home for school. Not sure how yet, since I want to remain full-time, but I'm starting to side with yes we will probably go back to it. I know a lot of people are against it, but this is whats right for our family. I'll make a more permanent decision by end of month or so. Please continue to pray. Thank you.

Thinking...

about pulling Anna back home for school at the end of this school year. I have good reason of course, many of which I am not sure I should post, but I don't feel she is getting what she needs in school overall. That's what it all boils down to. I wish I could say more, but for now that's all I think I need to say. Prayers are appreciated to ensure we are making a sound decision for Anna and our family. Thanks all.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!! We had a few people over last night for a littlew while. Here are the pics...

Michelle & Avery:

Michelle & Jeremy:

Michelle & I:


Avery & Anna:

Michelle & Anna:

Anna:

Hope everyone celebrated the New Year in right. I myself slept it in. Anna spent the night with Avery and I'm not feeling 100% myself, so I went to bed at 11:00pm. If its any consolation, I did watch the ball drop in New York before I went to bed, so although not technically the New Year here, it was somewhere. LOL!

Hope you all have a great New Year. God Bless you all. Take care.
(Excuse the centered text at the end. Can't get it to work right.)

Just right...I think

Well, after this huge debate with Christmas being too much, I have decided that it was just right for this year. We had a great time and I even forgot to wrap some things. It might have looked like a lot, but it was pretty small actually. The dollhouse was a big hit!! Here are some pictures from that fun day.

Reading Christmas Eve:
"Santa's" Milk & Cookie:
All set up Christmas Eve:
Opening Presents:
A Horse from Tangled! Thanks Mom & Dad:

Baby Kahn! A Big hit:

(She has a larger horse that looks just like this one that she named Kahn, so it was a perfect match for that one. She was super excited about it.)

Jeremy's Stash:

Nicole's Stash:

Anna's Stash:

Anna's looks like a lot, but it was really all big stuff. She had a good time and I got some great deals. It was a lot of fun. Would have been more fun for her if I had remember where I hid everything and wrapped it, but oh well. I am sure she didn't mind. It was a lot of fun and I am glad we got those items. Now if only I could clean up everything? Ah well. I promised Jeremy I would leave up the tree till after New Year's Day, but you can bet your buttons that January 2nd it'll all be down. I want my house back. Hope everyone else had a good Christmas too and if I don't get back here before then, Happy New Year to you all. May 2011 be good to you all and may you be blessed!! Take care!

My Beautiful Gift from God!

Today I was thinking about how lucky and blessed I am to have a beautiful gift from God. He gave her to us to raise and love and show His ways. She is more than we could ever ask for. She is smart and witty and very funny. She thinks of things in ways like no one else can. She loves unconditionally and she has a smile like no other. She is my special little girl and I love her deeply. She is our little miracle and our pride and joy! She is the light of our lives.

Outside playing in rocks:

Roping a tree (she's a little cowgirl):

See that beautiful smile:

She completes our family picture:

See! BEAUTIFUL!!!

I love this girl with all my heart and feel extremely lucky and blessed to call her mine. God truly knew what he was doing when he gave us this beautiful little girl. She is truly a joy to have in my life. I am proud to call her my daughter!

This and That

Well, school has been in session now for two weeks and today when I asked Anna if she wanted to go back to homeschooling or stay in school, she said school, so I guess that would mean its going well. She is doing great on some things and not so good on others, but she likes it overall. I am very happy with our decision to put her in school. So far it is working out great. We have my mom's help as she picks Anna up nearly every day. It is good for both of them.

Last weekend we had some surprise visitors...my sister and her family came for a visit. I almost cried when they walked into my work. I so was not expecting them to come, but I am so glad they did come. I finally got to meet my new nephew who was 6 weeks old and my mom got to meet her new grandbaby. It was a good visit, even if it was a flying trip. I am so happy for them and I can't wait to visit with them again! Here are some pictures from that visit:

Norman and Micah:

Nanny and Micah:
Graciela hugs Anna:

Anna, Graciela & Micah:

Again, it was a lot of fun and I am so glad they came. We had a great visit.

Today, Anna and I have been a couple of busy bees. We started the morning at Tar*get to get her a new backpack. I found one I liked for her, but she wanted the "pink" one, only because it was pink. Ugh! I didn't like it as well, so I slowly convinced her that the one I found was cute and it has a stuffed animal hanging off it. We ended up with the one I like, because I AM Mom after all. Then headed off the Kohl*s. I love that store. They have such nice clothes and we got some excellent deals. Anna got 3 pairs of capris, 3 pairs of capri leggings, and 2 shirts. I got me 4 shirts. We spent about $50 and saved about $120. LOL!! That tells you how much they were on clearance. All were 70-80% off, except one of my favorite shirts, it was only 50% off. I think we did good and I'm happy with our purchases.

Anna and I then headed home and painted her finger nails and toe nails. ELECTRIC BLUE!!! LOL!! I found it at the local discount store that I dislike shopping at and bought it. It was a fun color. Here are some pictures from that:

We followed that up this afternoon by making a batch of no-bake chocolate cookies. YUMMY!! Now, if they would ever harden, we can eat them all up. LOL! That was all today. I'm off for two more days, whatever will I do with my time. I'm not used to being off, let alone a 3-day weekend. We have had so much fun today. Hope we can keep it up.

Changes!!!

Well, lots has changed in the last few weeks. Not only did I get the key holder position, but I also went full time AND in 23 days, Anna will be starting school. She will NOT go to public school, as I don't think that is a good fit for our family. She will go to a private school. I am praying that this is the right decision for our family. Truthfully, I love being at home with Anna, but I did not like being fully responsible for her learning and frankly, I didn't want to be home anymore. I wanted to be out and about. I'm just not a home body. I love being out. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change being home with Anna for 3 years for anything, but I was starting to not enjoy it. We were homeschooling for all the wrong reasons. Most people have no idea why, and I prefer that they never do, but we were mostly homeschooling out of fear. I am letting go of that fear and letting God take care. He is taking care of everything.

Anna tested into the third grade, which is exactly where she should be. We will work extra hard in math so she can be somewhat on level. I really am trying to make sure she gets down the addition and subtraction facts in the next three weeks. We are drilling flash cards, which is my least favorite way to do it, but time is short for her to learn it and learn it well. I am very happy with the school we have chosen. It was a short test, but I really think the placement will be wonderful. She will wear a uniform one day a week and the rest of the time she will wear regular clothes.

The next few weeks will be trying and hard. We have registration to pay and then tuition all in one month. We even have to buy school supplies and some new school clothes. We also have no child care this summer, so it means finding someone to watch Anna every time I work right now. I also am trying to learn all the things that go into my promotion at work. It is a lot to take in, but we will make it. God has provided the means and we are taking it. It is a life-style change for us. We have gotten used to either Jeremy or I being at home with Anna almost exclusively for the last 6 years. He stayed home with her while she was younger and then I stayed home with her the last 3 years. (She spent only 1 year in day care when we first moved here.)

Anyhow...there are a lot of changes in store. They are scary and exciting all at the same time. I pray that these changes will be good for our family, for our marriage and for Anna. I pray that God will take care of all that needs to be taken care of. I also pray that Anna does good in the next school year. I am trusting God with all the details. It will be good.

Happy 5th Family Day

Here is what your Daddy posted on his Face*book account:

5 years ago today my wife and I completed a journey that changed our lives forever. The change brought an indescribable joy and love to our house that would remain forever. This joy and love came in the form of a very special little 3 year old girl that holds the key and reins to our hearts to this day and will continue to do so until we pass away. We have been through so much as a family but through our trials our love for each other has gotten stronger. The judge may have sounded the gavel to start this family but God's intentions for you were clear since the day you were born. We love and cherish you more and more with each passing day. Happy Family Day, Anna!

Here is what I posted like an hour later:

Today is our Family Day Celebration. Happy Family Day Anna!! We love you very much!! We didn't need a judge to tell us that you were meant to be our daughter!!

Here are the comments left by all the people who love you:

Aunt Natashia said, "We are blessed that God put you in our lives. You are very loved and I could not imagine the family without you!"

***Note....if you all have comments to add, please let me know and I will add them. I plan on printing this post and keeping them for Anna to read. Thanks all.

No More Sundays....

Yes, ALREADY! They stopped doing it after I've only done two because we lost too many people and we need every possible person on the floor right now at all times. SO...there is not any more Sunday night work. UGH!! I was really counting on that for extra hours I need. We really needed the money from it. Oh well. Nothing I can do. It will all work out in the end.

Starting to look for homeschool items for the fall. Glad I bought a bunch early. We already have history, reading and Bible. Still trying to get Math, Science, Cursive handwriting and Spelling. I may use an eclectic mix of workbooks this year from the store that are all going to be 90% off (starting June 7th). Yes, its not ideal, but at this point it is very practical and affordable for us. It won't hurt. We just will work through them like any other curriculum. I think it will work and that we truly can do it. Spelling I will buy what I always have...it works well and she loves it. It is only $20 for the year anyhow.

My mom has had a friend visit from Canada for the past week. She is very quiet and seems almost shy, but she has known me since i was a baby, so I have been trying to make sure to get over to my mom's a few times. I hope they had a good visit.

Alright, I better close for now. Anna just looked over and said this looked very long. I told her it was still short, but its okay. Have a good weekend all. And for those of you who may still read....THANKS!

Pictures

All day I have been cleaning house and working on pictures. Since we went digital, we have been very behind at developing pictures and those that we have developed are way out of order. I spent this afternoon going through three picture boxes of pictures and placing them in order in a couple of albums. I still have big gaps in the albums, but it is better than sitting in boxes. I just wish we were ALL the way caught up on our photo developing. I have big plans to scrapbook eventually, but until I get all the pictures developed and in order, those plans will have to wait. I am proud of the work I accomplished this afternoon though. They are better off in a photo album than in boxes and when I get the pictures to where I want them, then I can scrapbook them all and make them even better. I love to scrapbook and feel like Anna is missing out if I don't scrapbook at least a couple years of her pictures. A big goal for me would be to scrapbook them all, but we take a LOT of pictures...and by a lot, I mean a whole LOT!! Anyhow, I guess that's all for now. Debating if I am heading to church or not. Have a good week. Take care.

Uh....Happy New Year?

Ok, so I am not the world's best blogger. Not too good at Face*book either right now, but there have been other more important things to do. Christmas was great. Pictures are on my Face*book account. Too hard to get them off the disc to post here, so sorry. I didn't get to them fast enough. Will some New Year's pictures do? Yeah, they just might have to. Here are some pictures of Anna playing with her new scooter from Christmas.

Excuse the funny face on the second picture. The "sun was in my eyes." LOL!! She doesn't like the sun directly in her eyes for pictures.

The New Year has brought some changes to our homeschooling as well. We ditched the direct textbook curriculum method of history and science and are doing lapbooks (mini unit studies). So far we haven't finished the first one, but we are liking what we are doing. Horses!! Yes, of course we did horses. That's Anna's favorite thing. She absolutely loves horses!! Now, if I can find someone to show her all the really hard work of taking care of a horse. I think that will at least make it a little more realistic. LOL!! We'll get there. I also have the second one printed and ready on The Great Depression and stuff, but I think it will wait. The winter Olympics are coming up and surely there will be more fun things to do with that for a while. Sports, countries, techniques, etc. What's more fun that learning about something we will surely be watching on TV anyways? I just hope someone puts out some good material for that.

Other than that, things are the same ole, same ole. Lives still revolve around church, work and school. We are having a fun time. Hope you all have a Happy New Year. Yes, I am a lot late with this post, but its okay. Take care.