My super-neato-keen announcement.

I was honored and excited a few weeks ago when I found out I had been chosen to be a part of The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Crew. For the next 9 months I will be receiving various homeschooling products from vendors to utilize and try out in my own home. What does this mean for you?

You will get to see reviews of some great products and will get the sneak-peak previews of others. Truly, this is exciting all the way around. I love trying out new things and I love sharing them with others. Who knows? I may even have a contest or two during this time. And which homeschooler among us does not like to win super cool products?

During this time, I will be blogging about my kooky life as usual. Just in case you were wondering.

Please feel free to share with me any comments, questions, etc., about the products you see reviewed here. I will more than likely get to share some of these comments with the actual vendors themselves as I communicate with them about their product(s). How neat is that?

"See" y'all later!

Growing up is so delicious

I admit it. There are times when this mama dreams of the days when her littles are . . . well, grown up. Instead of taking hold of these precious times when they are just so cute and small, I really desire helpers.

Because I lost the manual to my kiddos and cannot figure out how to instantly program them to do what I need them to - joke, people - I must roll up those proverbial sleeves and start in on training. Any parent will agree with me that training is probably one of the hardest things to do while they are young. It is difficult to look past the mistakes and spills and messes they make and realize that this stuff is necessary for them to learn.

My latest training focus with my 5 year old is baking bread. Lest you think I have her tiny arms kneading mounds of dough, I am starting by having her use the bread machine. Yesterday we started in on measuring out flour, water, dried milk, yeast, etc., into the bread machine pan. She did very well for a five year old whose siblings were "helping."

After having her set the pan into the machine and showing her which buttons to press, she eagerly waited for her bread to be done. "Daddy, I'm baking bread!" she gleefully told my husband when he came home for lunch. She did not realize that 3 1/2 hours is a really long time and she would periodically check the timer on the machine and report to me with seemingly random numbers. "Two-four-eight. How much time is that, Mommy?" "One-three-two. Is that soon, Mommy?"

These are the beginnings, the tender years of learning. Our mama hearts are putting in immense amount of muscle in molding these young lives. And it seems tough to see that light at the end of the tunnel when you are up to your elbows in screaming, messy, pint-sized tyrants.

But God truly is good in all things. He does not let our hard work go to waste. The rewards are indescribably sweet. My daughter learned this yesterday as she saw the fruit of her labor. Eventually, her sweet little heart was satisfied and out popped one cute little loaf of whole wheat bread. I sure hope I remember these years of hard work and training. The end result is so delicious.

Hurricanes, newborns, and love bugs . . . oh my!

Life has been very . . . interesting, and stressful, and just plain wonderful. We have been blessed with our fourth child and I just cannot begin to tell you what a wonderful birth experience that was. I will be working on that birth story though I am not sure if I will share it on the blog. I know a few of you will want to read it, so I will be more than happy to email it your way. Let me tell you, transition during labor is just plain painful. But the end result? It is just so worth it!




You may have heard of this little, itty-bitty storm that passed through my area. I have to tell you it was one of the wildest rides I have ever had. The Lord blessed my family. Truly. Many in our city still have no water or electricity and will probably be without for another 4 weeks. We had our water and power turned back on in sixteen hours!! If you know me pretty well you know that I cannot begin my day without a shower. I am a big baby when it comes to those modern conveniences. Add to that no air conditioner and that nasty humidity and I'm a walking ball of miserablness. Is that a word?

Please do pray for those in my area who have sustained damage to their homes and property. While I may make light of my desire for water and electricity, it really isn't all that funny who are having to deal with the actuality of it. It is hard to remember God's blessings when we are in the midst of them, but when they are taken away you realize how well you truly do have it.

On a lighter note . . . what in the world is up with love bugs? I lived in Florida for 10 years so I know all about these things. They are invading two rooms in my home. I do not know how they are getting in but these little critters sure know how to accomplish the Mission: Impossible. Between these pesky creatures and ants that know no boundaries - really, they have the whole yard; why is it necessary to invade my home? - I am considering visiting that underwater hotel in Florida.

I realize I am rambling but my brain is in recovery mode. Eventually I will make posts that are worth reading. I promise. Until then I trust y'all will bear with my nonsense.

Baby girl

Little girl and I are doing fine! I sure am enjoying the newborn stage. I love how cuddly and soft and just plain beautiful she is. I was reminded by my sweet husband how short this stage truly is so I am trying to enjoy it to the full.

I will not be sharing her name on the blog due to privacy and safety concerns. However, I will be happy to email it to you all who I know pretty well. I forgot to add her "birth stats" in my original announcement post, so here they are. She was 7 lbs, 11 oz, 20 inches long at birth. She is pretty laid back and you only hear her cry if she is hungry or needs to burp. She loves to people gaze and this morning she watched my face while reclining in my lap for a full half-hour. It was really just too precious!

I will be sharing more pictures as soon as I can upload them on to this here 'puter. Right now we are trying to decide if we need to leave or not due to the hurricane, so putting up pictures is not top priority yet. Take my word for it: she is a beautiful little lady.

Thank you for all of the congratulations and lovely comments! It is such a blessing to share one's joy with wonderful friends. I look forward to posting more in a bit. In His grace,

The best gifts . . .

come early in the morning. 5:24 AM, September 4, to be exact.

Daddy and his baby girl

Oh, how I love my modern conveniences!

Yesterday I was busy doing this:



Just in case you cannot figure out what that pile of, well, stuff, is, it is the cut-out fabric pieces for two dresses. That I spent 4 hours doing. On my feet. While full-term pregnant. My back and abdomen muscles were killing me afterward, I'm telling you.

Seriously? I love sewing. I absolutely, positively adore it. But the whole laying out the fabric just right, pinning all those pieces, and then using my rotary cutter - which I love/hate - to cut out all of those pieces? Nah. Not so much.

During the whole ironing, pinning, cutting and eating graham crackers process, I was consoling myself with the thought of a nice, hot shower after the kiddos went down for nap. My body was aching and I was tired. A shower would be the perfect end to my determination.

Alas! It was not meant to be. As I went to wash my hands at the sink I found that the water just not there. And when you are having to get ready to make sandwiches for your family for lunch, you want clean hands, people! It really was just so not cool.

When I am inconvenienced in this way my body tends to exaggerate. As the day wore on the temperature grew to about 500 degrees. Okay. Maybe it was only 97 outside. But 500 degrees felt more accurate. I wanted that shower badly.

By dinner time the water still was not on. My husband called and finally talked to a real, live person and found out that there was a water-main break. It involved a big hole and lots of men standing around shaking their heads. Not good.

After dinner I was seated at the table pondering how possible it would be to get out our shovels and dig a well. My almost-two-year-old son is pretty good with a shovel. I bet we could have had one dug in a week.

Then I heard a wonderful sound in the walls right behind me. The pipes were coming alive! I jumped up as fast as a full-term pregnant woman with swollen ankles can and ran to the kitchen sink. There was water.

Life was good again.