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!

Too much?

Well, it is Christmas again and I always think we get Anna too much. I try to limit it, but its hard, since she is the only one. This year, there are two gifts from Santa and about 5 main ones from us, along with little junk. Is that too much? She has friends who get only two gifts and some that get tons. I feel we are middle of the road in regards to this, but still feel like maybe we over-indulge in the holiday. Not sure yet. Nothing she gets is especially fantastic and this is the most she has gotten in several years, but I still sometimes think that it is too much. UGH!! What a complicated dilemma. I'm not sure. Anyhow, that's what I am thinking right now. Do you think she gets too much, too little or just the right amount? I won't be offended by any answers, just looking for a happy middle ground. Thanks!

Anna's 9th Birthday

Exactly one week ago today my little girl turned 9 year old. She was super excited about her birthday and her party. She just really wanted it. I can't say I blame her. It is the one day that is completely devoted to you. Anyhow, here are some pictures from her party.



Anna wanted to "make jewelry" for her birthday party, so we went and bought some beads and the threading stuff to make necklaces and bracelets. Someone should have warned me to cut them extra long so we had room to tie them. LOL! I had a very hard time tying them closed, and some of them never made it home, but for the most part the kids had a great time.

At one point in Anna's party we had someone come in who needed some help with money, so someone started an impromptu game of musical chairs to occupy the kids. (We had her party at the church, so it isn't an unusual request. We got him taken care of, then promptly locked the doors.)

Opening gifts is always fun. She got some neat stuff. She also got a lot of new clothes, which you don't see here. LOL!!

We also had one amazing cake! A co-worker of mine made it for Anna's birthday and I had no idea what to expect. She went way above the call and made this totally awesome cake that had everyone awe struck!

As you can tell we all had a good time and Anna absolutely loved it. I am so glad that so many of the friends and family came out to help her celebrate her big day. It wasn't this birthday I'm worried about, it'll be next years birthday when she turns 10 and hits the double digits. I may have to cry then. I would have to say that this years party was a huge success. Anna had a great time and that's all that counts.

It's ALL about the PJs

It's ALL about the PJs at our house. Anna is kind of obsessed with "Footy" pajamas. She absolutely loves them and can't wait to wear them. The only problem is that she outgrew them last year and I gave them away without replacing them. Yes, I know that's a problem, especially when they are her "favorite pajamas." Well, every time we passed them in the store all last winter she kept insisting that she NEEDED some new footy pajamas. "Mom, please. You promised." UGH!! That's what I get. Well, last year came and went and I never bought her a new pair. Then, they came out with the winter stuff again this year. "Mom, I just gotta have them. You got rid of my other ones and I loved them so much. PLEASE get me a new pair." Well, I finally gave in. I still don't see the fascination with them as I used to think they were for babies AND I hated getting all undressed to go to the bathroom, but so be it. My daughter loves them and thinks they are the bestest pajamas, so for her birthday I got her some.


Promptly after opening them she asked if she could wear them that night. Uh, nope. It was 70 degrees outside. Too hot for footy pjs. But last night it dipped down into the 20s. Yep, Daddy and I both agreed that she could wear her footy pjs last night. That was plenty cold enough to wear hot jamys. Here are some pictures of her proudly wearing her new pjs.

AND, she insisted that I take one of her pretending to read a book, cause we were of course taking pictures of her in pajamas and the only other time we did that was Christmas in front of the tree in an attempt to get "cute" Christmas pictures. Anyhow, here is that pose too for you viewing enjoyment. (Oh and YES she picked out "The Night Before Christmas.")

As you can tell, my darling daughter was thrilled to death about her new footy PJs and I am glad we got them. She loves them and I can guarantee that they will get lots of use!