It's been a while

It's been a while since I managed to make a post. So so busy these days with summer activities. Let's start with Sara and Lexie are here for the summer. Four kids in the house and three adults really keeps us all on our toes! Julie, Seth, and Lexie are all doing a track program as well as the boys and girls club this summer. Julie has a week of volleyball (next week), and Julie, Seth, and Lexie have camp for two weeks in July. It has just been so busy always on the go here lately. Paige is doing really well with her dance classes, and has her first recital in August. Planning a camping trip, and the boys are going fishing tomorrow. Can't wait to have some family fun since so far this summer has been some people here some people there no all together type of activities. We are also having a 'no tv summer' so if the kids want television or electronics of any kind they have to earn it with other activities. That has gone surprisingly well considering how much we were in to watching tv before. The summer reading program has been really fun so far, and so much more to come. They have seen a juggler, a magician, and an orphan choir. The kids are all reading for 30 minutes each day which is really difficult some days considering how on the go we are right now. Well I better get back to these kiddo's! See ya on the flip side peeps.

Nothing much

Don't really have anything new going on as of yet. Just the same old things saying in our typical routine. Peter is currently up for a job that we are praying about all the time. Not sure really where God wants us to be/do so we are just going with the flow and doing what feels right. If he gets this job it will mean a rather big move for our family which excites us as much as it scares us! We should know by the end of this month if he gets it or not. If he does get the position it will unfortunately mean we will have to cancel our trip to New Jersey this summer, but will provide a major opportunity for Peter's career to grow. So please pray for this situation for us! Seth is officially finished with his work books for the school year. He has a small reading series that he needs to finish to move on to 2nd grade, but he should be finished in the next couple of weeks with that. Julie has a few assignments left then she will complete her finals for the year. She has a mix of A's and B's for the school year so far. Paige is excited for her new unit studies we are starting this coming school year so she is all geared up and ready to start. I think she will change her mind when she realizes those studies mean actual thinking! OK well that is all for now I suppose. : )

Gearing up

It's been a long time since I have posted so here I am with the updates. We just returned home from our annual visit to Houston. We had the opportunity to visit with all the family on several occasions and had an over all really great time visiting with everyone. Glad to be home now and eager to finish up the school year now. We are planning a big trip to New Jersey to see family in June/July so that has been fun planning. Julie has decided she is interested in cake decorating so we are going to be signing her up for some classes after the summer. She will be 12 on July 4th and will get the chance to spend her birthday in New Jersey this year. She is very excited about that. She wants nothing more than a birthday cake made at Carlos Bakery. She is really growing up, and I am just so proud of her. She still struggles with her memory retention, but all in all school is going really well this year for her. Seth is going to be 7 on May 29th this year. When did that happen!?! He has such a sweet personality, and has really started to calm down. He is reading fairly well now, but still needs some practice to be at the recommended level for his grade. We are hoping that the long car ride to New Jersey this summer will help get him the practice he needs. He is really athletic, and we are planning to get him signed up for some sports this coming school year. Paige is 3, and will be 4 on October 22nd. She is finally out of the baby stage and is a full fledged kiddo now. She packs a serious punch with her attitude. She is a true little sister expecting big brother and sister to do everything for her. We have all been working hard on making her do things for herself so she can learn. She is still working on her pre-k curriculum and we plan to continue that for another school year. She is doing really well with her school work, and loves the fun activities that go along with it. Peter has remained in college working hard towards a degree in criminal justice. He has been training for some time now to go into the police academy so that is a continued prayer for our family. When he has spare time reading is still his favorite pass time. He has become more handy around the house lately and has been enjoying learning more about household repairs, and working with his hands. As for me I am perpetually in mommy mode. Kids school work, running the household, helping Peter with whatever he might need at the time, and trying to keep our family sane is surely a full time job. We had our trip to Houston now planning a camping trip and the trip to New Jersey this summer keeps me busy. I am also learning to sew with the machine I got for Christmas. It has been a slow process trying to find time to practice, but I am getting there. We are all doing really well and continue to thrive here is Wichita Falls.

Here again

Well since my last post we have all been sick (again!!) with strep throat. We have been working on being healthier as a family. We have been working on our financial situation. We have just been working. I will now officially be not babysitting any more after the 24th of this month (so much for May), and Peter is no longer working the second job. That being said we are actually doing pretty good financially for now. I pray it continues to go well so I will not have a need to work after school care again in the future. We are focused on Peter getting a new job and us moving from this area. He is currently training to become a police officer of some form. He has been looking into state trooper positions in Arkansas, and New Mexico. Hopefully we will be led to the right place, and can stay there as a permanent home. Wichita Falls has been a wonderful stepping stone for us, but we have known for a long time now that it was not our final destination. I am ready to make some more positive changes in our life between a generally healthy lifestyle and moving towards career goals for Peter. Life is good!

Oh no not again!

Well Paige has been very very ill the past week, and now it seems Seth and I are getting her bad cold. It's been a rough time for all of us dealing with this illness. Paige has not slept for most of it, and now we are all getting it. AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Between babysitting, home school, Peter's classes, Peter's second job, and Peter's regular job it has been very very busy around here. I hope that we can soon get back on track financially so that we can get back to me not working, and Peter only with one job. I have made the commitment to do after school care through May so I have some time to go still with that (counting down.... 19 wks left). I can not wait to be done with it, and if we are not doing well after the summer I will go back to after school care. We really need the summer for us to just be a family again. I miss my kids even though I am with them ALL THE TIME and I especially miss my husband. : (

Simply fabulous

We had a simply fabulous Christmas season as Sharpay would say. The kids got countless gifts, and we had wonderful family visits! It was a very busy season with Peter working two jobs and me homeschooling and babysitting. It was all worth it this year for sure. I completely forgot to pull my camera out, but I will hold all the memories in my heart for years to come. God really showed us this year that as long as you are faithful he will provide you with what you need most. This year that happened to be family time with our extended family members. We miss our family so much being so far away, but when we do get time with them it is the best! I personally have never felt closer to our extended family as I do right now. They are all such a blessing to me, and my family. Now we are back to the grind Peter working, school back into full swing, and babysitting after school. It was an awesome season, but I am glad to get back to the norm for a while. Hopefully this summer we will get the chance to go see more extended family, and make new memories!

Counting down

It's almost here, it's almost here! Christmas is a few days away, and we are so ready. Presents are so far out from under the tree we can barely walk through the living room, food is ready to be cooked, and visitors plans are made. The kids are going to have such a wonderful Christmas I just can't wait to see them open their gifts. I am also pretty darn sure I am getting what I have been asking for all year! Money has been so tight this year, but God has blessed us with opportunities to make this year just as exciting as ever. I love that I get to celebrate this year knowing that I am living the life I truly want to live. Life is so good and I am so blessed. Thank you God for sending your son here for me!