Finished and Unfinished…

Well…I finished make the dolls for the girls (from the Michael Miller panel). However, I haven’t even started the dresses and I don’t intend to this week. They will get the dolls for Christmas and I will make the dresses a little later. I’m sure they will be ok with that. I’m just too tired to sew up 9 little doll dresses before Sunday. Ha!

Liberty’s, Leila’s, Nadia’s… (and please ignore my not so great seamstress abilities…)

this is the blanket I made for my sister-in-law’s baby…she doesn’t know it yet, though, and I’m pretty certain she doesn’t read this blog, haha. The blanket is in the mail, so she’ll soon know.

this is the yarn I’m using to make our baby (a BOY!), Jethro. I’m never good at photographing my yarn and showing the color just right…it’s Knit Pick’s Swish Worsted yarn in “Dublin.”

And I’ll add a few pics of the girls just for fun. I love them so much!

all dressed up for the Christmas play (Leila, Nadia, Liberty)

Libbs & Leila doing some schoolwork

snuggling on the couch to watch a movie before bed (Nadia, Liberty, Leila)

Hope you all of a Merry Christmas! Blessings!

It’s a BOY!

 

Our baby boy!!

Can you tell it’s a boy?

here’s another look…

I am still in shock that this baby is a boy. What an exciting change for our family.

Our son’s name is Jethro Allen. The name has a lot of meaning for us. Jethro means “abundant” and is also a character on our favorite show that my dad got us hooked on (NCIS), and Allen means “little rock” or “precious,” and was my dad’s middle name. Lots of great meaning for us.

A little crafting…

I am making my girls’ Christmas gifts this year. Liberty has been begging me to make her a purple cape with a pink L for at least a year…so, I made one for Christmas. Of course I couldn’t leave out Leila & Nadia, so they are getting pink capes with a purple L and N, respectively.

Next on the list are fabric dolls from a Michael Miller panel. The panel has 3 dolls, perfect for my girls. And I plan to make each doll 3 dresses (oh I hope that goes well…no pattern for the dresses, gotta’ figure it out myself!).

I’m also working on a baby gift for my sister-in-law…she’s just a few weeks ahead of me in pregnancy.

And a few pics of my girlies just for fun…

my precious girlies playing in cowboy boots

snuggles with my Nada (nope not mis-typed…it’s a nickname :)

Libbs giving Daddy a massage…such a sweetie

Nadia & Libbs playing in the snow

Daddy dancing with Leila & Nadia

Oh yeah…ultrasound date is December 20th…any guesses???

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 30

-Ladies Bible study…and the God knows just what I need to hear…

-Prayer

-Hugs

-Chocolate

-Smiles

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 29

-Hubby

-Liberty

-Leila

-Nadia

-Baby

-Jesus

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 28

-Grace

-Listening

-Prayer

-God’s Word

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 27

-prayer

-a hubby who has been helpful around the house when I’m oh so exhausted

-Nadia’s precious little fingers wrapped around an apple tonight…

-Liberty’s story telling abilities (this girl has quite the imagination!)

-Leila’s sweet heart

-Hallmark movies

-Dee Henderson books

-being heard

-Jesus

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 26

-grace

-hugs from my girls and hubby

-playing hide and seek as a family

-being doctored again by Liberty

-Liberty’s fascination with the pregnancy (16 weeks today!)

-feeling baby move every now and then. Libbs is anxious to feel it as well…

-ice cream

-Jesus

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 25

-Naps

-Playing with my girls

-Blankets

-Leftover turkey

-Psalm 119:114

-Holding hands with Leila

-Libbs reading to her sisters

-Having a break from school

-Snuggles from Nadia

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 23 & 24

-A good night’s sleep

-A turkey dinner

-Crafty little girls

-Fresh from the pumpkin pie

-Water

-Sunshine

-Knitting

-Finally getting to hear our baby’s heartbeat long enough to get a heart rate (155, for those wondering)

-Almost 16 weeks of pregnancy

-3 more weeks until our ultrasound

-A hubby who is willing to take over stinky diapers/underwear (it’s just too much for my stomach)

-Thanksgiving dinner with friends (they don’t have family here, either, so it was nice to have them over)

-Deviled eggs…and my sweet friend who made them last minute for me when she found out I was craving them today

-Lots of laughter and screaming and giggling and running and imagining with 7 kiddos in the house (our friends have 4 kids)

-Hugs

-Smiles

-Jesus

-

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 22

-The first feelings of this precious babe moving around inside of me (my fave!)

-Seeing a few friends at Mommy Matters today

-Libbs doing pretty good getting her school work done today

-NCIS

-Water

-Long baths with a good book

-A short nap

-Knitting

-Baby appointment in the morning

-Finding out if we are getting another niece or nephew tomorrow (my sis-in-law is pregnant….just a few weeks ahead of me)

-Sleep

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 21

-homemade brownies…finally a recipe I actually like

-nfl football…it makes my hubby happy

-playing on the floor with my girls and a ball

-milk

-cameras

-Liberty reading to us…I’m still amazed

-Leila’s hugs and “I love you” s

-Nadia’s smiles and silly antics

-interview for hubby

-bedtime (for the kids)

-Thanksgiving plans

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 20

-A lazy day (even if it did mean I was feeling under the weather)

-Little girls who can be so sweet to each other

-Leila’s silliness

-Liberty’s inquisitiveness

-Nadia’s thumb-sucking cuteness

-A hubby who is cooking dinner again

-Dutch Blitz (yes, again…we love this game!)

-Hallmark movies

-30 little fingers and 30 little toes…they’re just so precious

-Extra sleep (naps…and 10 hours last night)

-Fabric

-My sewing machine (extra special because my Gram gave it to me…love her!)

-A hubby who will go out at night to find me a sweet treat :)

-Snuggling with my girls and watching a movie

-Watching football with my hubby (Go Lions!)

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 18 & 19

-The sweet and funny things my girls say

-Liberty “nursing” me (or pretending to be my doctor)

-A hubby home

-Beverly Lewis books

-Hot baths

-Pears

-Words with Friends

-Family

-Quiet

-Dutch Blitz

-Pumpkin Pie ice cream

-Hubby cooking dinner

-Snuggles with each of my girls

-Sort of catching up on laundry ;)

-A warm house on a snowy day

-Mandarin oranges

-Encouraging friends

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 17

-Libbs not taking hours to finish her workbook pages

-The girls’ delight with the new sitter they had last night

-Nadia playing in the corner by the vacuum cleaner so quietly for a long while this morning

-A phone call from my sister

-A day to not go anywhere

-A sweet friend blessing us in a thoughtful, tangible way

-Libbs said to me tonight, “Mom, I made you a special Christmas present. It’s a kiss.” Then she gave me a big kiss. So sweet

-The way my girls love me…unconditionally, all the time, so sweetly…so very undeserved on my part…but treasured…

-Libbs and her “nursing.” She was pretending to take care of the baby and I…doctoring us up…so thoughtful and sweet

-Laying on the extra bed with the girls and tickling them…hearing their loud giggles and how they asked me to do it over and over again…joyful

-Prayer

-Hubby coming home tonight

-Snuggles with Leila after some discipline

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 16

-Washable paint

-Turkey handprints

-A (mostly) clean house

-Sunshine

-Garbage pick up

-A fantastic time making pies with about 13 other ladies

-Baking and eating our pies with a friend when we got home (we didn’t have time to bake them there as I had to relieve the baby sitter

-Prayer

-Getting more needed housework done

-John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 15

-Mommy Matters group and the yummy pumpkin creations we got to try today…can’t wait to make some of my own!

-Waking up

-Surviving the grocery store with a screaming child (yes, Nadia screamed and cried the entire time…)

-Stouffer’s Mac & Cheese (comfort food…)

-Beautiful friends who worked out a baby sitter for my girls so I can go to our ladies Bible study/pie-making party tomorrow night

-Knitting (I’ve been saying this a lot, but it’s helping to keep me sane lately…)

-NCIS…a show my Dad got me hooked on

-My little domestic helper, Leila. Seriously, this girl loves to help me with anything domestic…precious. Today she helped me mop the dining room (on our hands and knees)…takes a little longer, but it’s worth it :)

-Little girls giggling and playing so nicely in the bath

-Having enough energy to get some major house work done…still a lot more to go, but feeling good about what I was able to do…and now I’m wiped out!

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 14

-Jonathan’s safe arrival to this week’s destination

-Reading with my girls on the couch before bed

-The movie “The Magic of Ordinary Days”

-Cleansing tears

-Hugs from my girls

-Knitting

-Naps

-Prayer warrior friends

-Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

-Tonight after I tucked the girls into bed, Liberty came out for some chapstick (poor girl has a split lip, her lips are so dry) and she said to me, “you’re the only Mama I love.” She’s so precious (and at such a tough age/stage right now…I’m thankful for the sweet times).

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 13

-homemade apple pie

-giggling girls playing pillow fight with daddy

-fellowship at church

-hugs

-leila’s help and chatter while I made the apple pie today

-the voices of my precious girls

-having hubby home for the weekend

-hubby doing lots of dishes while he was home and helping with the laundry

-knitting

-warm blankets and heat inside while the wind and snow blows around outside

-the Bible

-prayer

-yesterday while libbs was rubbing my belly, she said to me, “this is magnificent, mom!”  I just love the things that girl comes up with…

-love

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 12

-14 weeks of pregnancy

-A hubby who made me a delicious breakfast this morning (poor guy has to deal with my “I’m starving” whines all day long)

-A day to relax with my family

-10 hours of sleep last night and a 2 hour nap this afternoon

-Chocolate covered pretzels

-The smell of dinner cooking in the crock pot (roast)

-The way Liberty and Nadia ate everything on their plates and then some tonight

-Hallmark movies

-God’s Word

-Shauna Niequist’s book “Cold Tangerines”

-Knitting

-The fabric I ordered to make some Christmas gifts for the girls…can’t wait until it gets here!

-Snuggles with each of my girls today

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 11

-For the Veterans and those currently serving in the military

-Clearer Vision

-Hubby home for the weekend

-Grocery shopping alone

-Frozen lemonade (like Italian Ice…but softer)…my craving for today

-The very stubborn babe growing inside of me. My doula came over today so we could try to hear the heartbeat again…but we only got to hear it for about 4 seconds (baby kept moving and doula said it was almost like my placenta was too loud for the baby’s heart beat to come through)

-The funny looks I keep getting from my girls with my new glasses on…they are not sure what to think

-Quiet

-Grace

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 10

-precious little fingers wrapped around a cup of milk. I can’t get over how precious they are. And I’m extra thankful because shortly after Nadia was born, her doctor thought she had this (weird named) condition in which she would eventually lose her arm (a thought that was possible for a few heartbreaking days)…so thankful she did not have that condition and I can see her precious fingers from BOTH hands wrapped around that cup.

-sunshine

-a hubby who comes home today (or rather, late tonight)

-hearing my girls say “I love you” to each other, unprompted

-leftover taco soup for lunch

-play dates with friends

-homemade cream of broccoli cheese soup…yum!!

-a quiet evening with content kiddos

-Jesus

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 9

-Ultrasound date set up (December 16th)…lets hope baby cooperates!

-How quickly kids make friends. Took the girls to McDonald’s for lunch and to play in the playland (to wear them out), and I just find it so neat that 2 minutes after meeting another kid, my girls tell me they are playing with their friend.

-Hearing Liberty read to me…wow!

-Leila’s sensitive spirit…may it always be so toward the Lord.

-Nadia’s smiles. My Dad always said Nadia had a thousand different beautiful smiles…I agree.

-Sunshine.

-Coupons for free ice cream cones…and the delight of my girls when they got to “pay” for their cones on their own (thanks Memaw!).

-Editing papers (may sound weird, but I really enjoy it…thanks for letting me, Aunt Karen!).

-Quiet time.

-Prayer.

-Psalm 31:7-8 “I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness, Because You have seen my affliction; You have know the troubles of my soul, And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a large place.” (NASB) Not always easy to believe this is true…but it’s right there in God’s Word and it’s such a comforting promise.

-Hubby having a good day.

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 8

-Skype

-birthday parties and friends

-Matthew West’s song More

-hugs

-holding hands with my girls

-the unconditional love of my daughters

-friends who have daughters older than mine who are so loving with my girls and great examples to them

-blankets

-quiet

-reminders

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 7

-Hubby made it to his destination safely

-Took Leila to have her eyes checked…all is well!

-Lunch with friends (the same friend who blessed me by watching Libbs & Nadia so Leila & I could get our eyes checked today)

-pears

-Friends

-The sweet time Leila & I had together going to the eye doc…we don’t often get time alone and it was nice

-Smiles

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 6

-fellowship

-snuggles with Nadia

-chatting with Leila while she drew on her magnadoodle…she’s so precious and loving!

-liberty wanting to take care of me when I’m tired and just need to lie down

-spending the past week/weekend with hubby/daddy before he leaves on his first week of work (new job)…we sure will miss him!

-the way Jonathan can make the girls laugh and laugh and laugh

-salad

-good books

-naps (for mama)

-hugs

-3 little girls giggling in the tub

-the Psalms

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 5

-food

-long baths

-milk

-laughter

-quiet

-family

-friends

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 4

-dinner cooked by my hubby…steak fajitas…yum!

-snuggles with Nadia

-library book sales

-sunshine

-hugs

-kisses from Liberty

-Leila’s smiles

-grace

-yarn

-phone call from my sister

-little girls with glue sticks and craft projects at library story time

-prayer

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 2 & 3

Yikes! I’m already getting behind on this! But for the record, we went out of town yesterday and  again today…busy!

-a 4wd vehicle (which is why we went out of town…to purchase said vehicle)

-the sound of Nadia playing with her dolls…super cute!

-the sweetness of Leila

-watching Liberty learning new things and then make connections in the outside world

-broccoli and veggie dip (yes, this is a current pregnancy craving)

-almost 13 weeks of pregnancy…learning this babe has developed fingerprints…amazing!

-snow covered mountains against a blue sky…there’s just something so peaceful about that

-knowing I will see my Dad again some day…I’m missing him so much lately

-girls who were troopers riding in the car so so much the last two days

-grace

-kisses from precious little girls

-a clean (for the moment) house

-a husband who is less stressed

-cloth diapers…they look so cute on those little bottoms and they save money!

-heat

-music

-watching the girls play in the snow (don’t worry…we were only going out to the van in this pic…I really do bundle them up when they go out to really play, like this morning).

-Jesus

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 1

I’ve seen this going around and thought I’d jump in…

Today I am thankful for…

-a great visit with a sweet friend today

-safety on our drive home on nasty roads

-3 precious girls who keep me laughing

-a husband who kept me calm when my van couldn’t get up any hills to get home tonight

-the beautiful abundance of snow on the ground

-taking a week off of school just for fun (& because this mama is tired and we are ahead)

-raw broccoli with veggie dip

-the precious baby growing inside of me…12 weeks along now!

-girls playing in cowboy boots

-hugs

-old hymns

-Jesus

Psalm 139

Try reading this out loud to yourself and really let the words sink in…I cannot do it without crying…I cannot grasp that kind of amazing love…

Like verse 3…it says the Lord is intimately acquainted with all our ways…

And verse 5… “You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.”

And verse 7…how we can never be away from the Lord’s presence…

And verses 11 & 12…how even when we think the darkness is overwhelming and everything is dark, nothing is dark to the Lord (can you imagine?!)…

And verses 13 & 14…how He formed us in the womb…each one of us…how we are fearfully and wonderfully made…wow!

And verse 16…how the Lord knows the number of our days even before we are born…

And so on…it’s an amazing Psalm to let your heart and mind dwell on…

4

I still can hardly believe baby #4 is rapidly growing in my womb. (Really, this is precious babe #5, as we miscarried a baby between Leila & Nadia). Feeling so blessed. This new baby will be a change for us…the first baby born away from both sides of the family. There is the biggest gap in ages between our children with this baby. Libbs & Leila are 17 months apart, Leila & Nadia 16 months apart…and now this baby will be a whopping 3 years younger than Nadia! I wonder what that will be like : ).

And the biggest change will be the birth plan. We are planning a home birth this time around. I have been wanting to try a water birth ever since I had Liberty…and now I am getting my chance. We are feeling confident about our decision at this point. I am 8 1/2 weeks pregnant right now and we met with our midwives and doula for the first time today. They are great. My doula is a friend of mine here…she’s an OB nurse at the hospital as well and she just had her first baby (at home) in July. One of the midwives is my doula’s mother. Both midwives live about 2 hours from us…but that doesn’t really worry me because my friend & doula lives just minutes from us and she has delivered babies before. I am looking forward to attempting a water birth. And I’m excited about the opportunity to give birth in my own comfortable environment. (Lest you be worried about complications…which so far I haven’t had any complicated pregnancies or deliveries…the hospital is RIGHT behind our house!!). I also have another good friend here who had a home birth in August (a vbac, actually). Anyway…I’m really excited about this opportunity. Another plus…a home birth is wayyyy less expensive than a hospital birth AND our insurance will cover a big part of it. Woo hoo!

So far I am feeling pretty good. I am super super tired…but that’s probably not surprising since I have 3 little ones to care for and we are homeschooling…and there’s a baby growing inside of me. I feel nauseous on and off, but haven’t actually gotten sick yet. I especially feel nauseous after eating. Haven’t had a ton of cravings, but I have been craving salads…but not with lettuce…just fresh spinach. Yum! This is weird for me b/c with the girls I always craved junk, junk and more junk. I hope this keeps up. I have a hard time cooking dinner lately b/c nothing sounds good, haha! I want to try to start putting my dinners together before lunch…b/c after that I am wiped out.

The girls are really excited…especially Liberty. She’s really hoping for a brother. She loves to look at the pregnancy sections of the human body books we have and she tells everyone she can about the baby in mommy’s belly. Official due date from the midwives: May 12, 2012. Weird fact about that…all of my pregnancies have gone 7 or 8 days past my due date. 7 days past my current due date is May 19, 2012…the day my dad passed away in 2010. Mixed feelings there.

Anyway…here are a few pics of the girlies…

Libbs. This girl is growing so much. She is learning to read now and doing well (what?!).

Leila-bear. This cutie is going to be 4 (FOUR?!) on Saturday.

Nonners (Nadia). Full of life and snuggles.

These girls play so well together (most of the time). I love them dearly.

There isn’t a lot of fall color changes out here like there is in the midwest/east. I miss that…

And a verse that has really been sticking with me lately…so much comfort and peace in this…speaking of Christ…

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Colossians 1:17 (NASB)

Visitors

Jonathan’s parents came to visit. They arrived last Tuesday and left this morning. We had a really nice time and the girls were loving all the extra attention. They cooked meals, cleaned the kitchen, and hung out with us. Jonathan and his dad fixed our kitchen sink (hurray for being able to use both sides of the sink!) and took stuff to the dump. We went to Kaycee, WY on Tuesday to see the Chris LeDoux memorial park and sculpture…that was really neat. LeDoux is one of Jonathan’s favorite singers. Then we went to Casper and did some shopping and ate at Applebees. It was sad to see them go, but we’re thankful for the time they were here.

Libbs & Poppy watching Astroboy

Libbs loved that Gree would watch her play her computer games.

Jonathan & dad fixing the sink.

Gree & Libbs

Poppy “scaring” the girls

Gree “scaring” Leila

Poppy all dressed up by the girls. He is such a good sport and so patient!

Gree in the playhouse :)

Nadia & Poppy talking

Leila & Poppy

3 little princesses

Our family at the Chris LeDoux statue

Chris LeDoux Memorial statue

Jonathan and the LeDoux statue…he has been wanting to see this for so long! yea!

Our little cuties…growing so fast.

I think I have some more pictures…but not downloaded yet. We had fun and look forward to another visit next year. Another good thing about the visit…Libbs zipped right through her schoolwork with no issues whatsoever! And of course today she was back to her normal self not wanting to finish her workbook :). She’s really doing quite well with school so far…It’s fun to watch her learn.

That’s about all for now. Thankful for our visit with family and getting back into the swing of things.

It’s true…

we’re expecting!!

due date: May 10, 2012

The First Week

Our first week of homeschooling as gone pretty well, I’d say. The Lesson plans are for 4 days, so Fridays will be for practicing reading, practicing using scissors, and other such things. At least for the first 12 weeks of school…after that we will be adding more subjects. Anyway…this week Liberty learned the 3 different sounds A makes and she practiced writing and some other things. She did pretty good. She is an antsy child, so it’s hard to get her to sit still…plus she isn’t used to having to do school. Today we reviewed the previous lessons and she took a little test. She did great!

This evening we went to our first meeting for the local homeschool group. That went well, too. Each family takes a month to plan a field trip. I got January…so I’ll be thinking about something to plan…ideas anyone? (Keep in mind we live in a small, fairly isolated town).

this is Libbs practicing her big and little A’s with a dry erase marker on a mirror…just to make it a little more fun.

And here’s a verse I read the other morning…

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation.”  ~Psalm 68:19

Reading

Last night Liberty read her first book to me. It was one of those BOB books for beginning readers. She just pulled one out and started sounding out the words on her own. You should have seen the look on her face when she realized she was reading words…like a light when on for her. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. After she read the book to me, she read it to Daddy. Then she had to Skype with Memaw and read it to her. We are so very proud of our girl. Now I wonder…how did that tiny new baby turn into a 5 1/2 year old who is figuring out how to read?!

Here is a pic of her reading the book to Daddy:

We are planning to start school with Libbs on Monday. She and Leila have been begging to be able to start their school work (we got Leila a preschool workbook), so we moved our start date up a week.

And just for fun, I’ll add a couple of pictures of some socks I just knit for a sweet friend’s birthday.

Gosh I love knitting!! I’m also finally starting to pull my sewing machine out again now that I have found a friend here who likes to sew. I had her and her kids over last week and our kids played while we each worked on our own projects. I cut out the squares for a rag quilt for Nadia.

That’s all for now. Blessings to you!

Soon…

…I will be a homeschooling mama! Well, I guess I already am, but we’ll officially be starting on September 5 (yes, I know that is Labor Day, but we aren’t doing anything for the weekend so why not start?). I can hardly believe that my first baby girl will be learning to read soon...wow!

So, why did we choose to homeschool? Several reasons…I will list a few:

1. Because we can incorporate God and Scripture into everything we do, all day long. I think that is so important…to give our kids a strong spiritual foundation…the most important thing, really.

2. So we can choose our own curriculum and choose NOT to do certain topics if we so choose.

3. To keep our girls under our care a majority of the time. (I don’t know about any of you, but I can hardly stand the thought of someone else taking care of my kids for the majority of the day). To be able to monitor the influences around them in a much better way.

4. The schools here haven’t done very well on their state testing in recent years.

5. Most importantly, we have prayed about this and know God has led us in this direction (I know this isn’t for everyone, but it is for us!).

6. We can work at our own pace.

I am actually pretty excited about getting started. And just today Liberty and Leila were both asking if we could start tomorrow! They are excited, too. (I ordered Leila an awesome preschool workbook because I know she will want to do school work when Liberty does).

We are starting out Liberty with ABC’s with ACE and Christi. The first part of the year we will do that and Word Building Paces to work on reading. I found the instructor manuals on ebay for a steal and then ordered the paces from the Christian Book Distributor website. I love how the program and the paces include a Bible story and verse every day. Everything points back to God and you just cannot get that in public school.

For the second half of the year I plan to get the English, Science and Social Studies paces from ACE. I will also do Math with her, but I haven’t yet decided if I will use Saxon or Math Mammoth.

I have some good friends here who also homeschool, and I have gotten lots of great advice from them. And we will also be a part of a local Christian homeschool group that does field trips, holiday parties, science fairs, and even year books. Our first meeting for that is September 1. There is a lot of support here, and for that I am thankful.

For those who are concerned about the socialization of my kids (and really, that isn’t the most important matter, I don’t think), if you know me, you know we are involved in things here and have made a lot of friends. We do story time at the library every week, along with a group called Mommy Matters. We are involved in a local church. And we have play dates with our friends often. I think my kids get plenty of socialization : ).

Anyway…I am so excited about all of this, but I am also really nervous and would so appreciate your prayers as we embark on this endeavor.

And here are a few recent pics of the kiddos just for fun:

Libbs with her new haircut (she decided to cut her own hair, so I had to chop off a bunch to fix it up).

Leila, playing in the rain.

Nadia and Leila with painted nails.

Leila and Libbs. The girls love to play on this window seat!

Blessings to you!