Girl Weekend!

My beautiful girls and I got to go up to MI for our annual 'Girl's Weekend'! This is the third year we have be able to get together. My sister, Penny, and I and our respective girls head up to MI to join our other sister, Patti, and my mom and our lifelong friend (our 4th sister really!), Heather. We like to make our visit in the fall to see the fall colors on the trees and go to the Cider Mill. It's the best time of the year up there! We also get together with the family and have Thanksgiving dinner while we are up there. (OK, I'm not sure how this section got underlined....)

The cider mill was fun as always! There were alot of things for the kids to play on, animals to pet, and of course cider and doughuts to eat! Sooo yummy! Sigh! I look forward to the cider mill every year. I don't think I will ever tire of it.


This year was the first year we all dressed up in costumes and went to the Zoo Boo at the Detroit Zoo. Most of our group were characters from The Wizard of Oz. In my opinion, my costume was truly the best! And mostly because it was made with love from Heather. :) It was great! Originally, Heather had a Tin Man costume and I was going to borrow it. Well, when the time came to get everything together she couldn't find it! So, she threw something together...literally! I was held together with duct tape! And lots of it! And to top if off, I was pieced together outside of the entrance to the zoo! It was hilarious! But I loved it. My costume was also the best because I was the warmest! :D It was chilly out that night!


Ok, after I added the pictures everything became an absolute mess. I am not sure how to fix it at the moment. But I am going to head to bed now b/c it is too late. :) At least I got something put up here!

My First Time

So, I colored my hair today for the first time. All by myself...well, Anna was crawling around on the bathroom floor while I was doing it. I think she may have gotten her foot colored in the process. I believe I ruined a towel and a shirt in the process. I'm not sure though. It's 'semi-permanent' color. Anyone know if it will come out of fabric? I didn't read that part in the directions. Not detail oriented, you know. :) So, the box said it was a, and I quote, "Light Golden Brown." Well, let me just say that there is no light or golden showing up. In fact I see more brown and even red! How in the world did that happen? It looks nice thankfully! And it will wash out eventually. But I was expecting one color and got something very different. My hair is darker than when I started! I didn't expect that. Oh well, live and learn. Right? :) My goal was to cover up the gray. And I think I covered most of it. There are a few resistant ones, but I got the majority of them. I was trying to be at peace with my gray hair. That didn't happen. I'm 35 now. Aren't I at the beginning of my midlife crisis? 

It's Loud at My House

I am sitting here in my living room listening to the chaos around me. There are 5 adults and 9 children ages 6 and under in my house. And there might be more to come. I am not sure. Becky and Jesse Griffin and kids are here to visit from Arkansas this weekend. And then other friends from in the area have come to hang out with us too. There has been football-watching (not by me), video game playing (also not by me), and soccer playing (again, not by me). The kids have kept themselves busy with legos and a train set. The adults have been doing most tv activities. I took Ethan to his soccer game where they won their first game of the season! Yay! Ethan played well. I had to bribe him with a doughnut, but you know, if it works...I told him that if he kicks the ball at least 4 times then he could have a doughnut when he gets home. And he did! He usually just likes to run alongside the soccer ball during the game. I might use the doughnut trick again next time. :) Then Becky and I went to the homeschool store and bought some books. I found some great books for Ethan to read in the morning. "Why Does It Rain?", "Where Does Electricity Come From?", "What Is In Space?". Books like that. He will love them. Those are exactly the questions he has been asking me lately. Then home to get the kids dinner and have a rest myself. When I next came downstairs all of our guests were gone! They had gone to a church function at a friend's church. But by then Matt was playing Rock Band at an obnoxiously high volume and so I took Anna, Austin and Emma to the park. It was beautiful out this evening. In the 70s I think. It was perfect. After we got home I took Anna upstairs with the intention of putting her right to bed. But after I changed her diaper and put her jammies on she was wide awake again. I missed my window of opportunity! We played and read books and finally she started rubbing her eyes and I put her down. So here I am....listening to another playstation game. Thinking that it's time to escape from the noise again....having a baby is great for that. :) Oh, I think Anna is fussing...better go get her!

Camping

This past weekend was the Scout Family 1171 campout. Ethan and Emma were both given an award at the awards ceremony so of course we had to go! But the question is, did we have to stay the night?? I think the jury is out on that one. I now know that my loving husband would say "NO". I learned this weekend that he is not really interested in going to all the trouble to get the sleeping bags out, get the tent set up, bring a cooler full of food, and all the other stuff that is required to camp out...he does not like to do that for what he says is "One crappy, cramped nights sleep." Ok. Maybe he has a point. I'll admit it was challenging at times. The hardest part was that the kids were so excited to go camping that they did not nap at all, got to bed late, didn't get a good night's sleep, and thus, were somewhat cranky and disobedient. But the good points were that the weather was absolutely beautiful! It was in the 80s during the day and the 60s at night. A gorgeous breeze was blowing. NO BUGS!!! We got to see dinosaur footprints, go on a few nature walks with the kids, and just spend time outdoors. No TV's or computers involved. It was nice to get away and do something completely different for awhile. I still enjoy camping. But I have a feeling we'll just put the tent up in the backyard for a few more years until the kids get a bit older.

So, I'm beginning to think I'm not detail oriented....

I attended the first bible yoga class 2 weeks ago. I stayed for the yoga part, but I did not stay for the bible study afterwards. I did not realize there was a bible study after the yoga and I had not sent enough formula or diapers with Anna into the nursery. As I was walking out of the class I glanced at what book they were using for the study and even asked someone what the name of it was.

Fast forward to this morning, I actually got to class on time (and it's quite an effort to get all the kids and myself ready and then to get them into childcare by 9am, but it's worth it!!!). I was ready! I had my new exercise pants, new exercise shirt (all my 'exercise' clothes were the old ratty shirts that were all worn out and were almost ready to be thrown out but since I used to work out to tapes at home and no one saw me, who cares? I'm sure some can relate.), my yoga mat, kids were dropped off with all the paraphernalia, and my book. The book that I made a few special trips to buy because I didn't find it at the first couple of stores I went to. So, I go through all the yoga poses almost tipping over at times. Rediscovering muscles that have not been used in years, learning how inflexible my body has become, but feeling good and really enjoying it all. Bible yoga is fantastic! It is a class for beginners at my church and the lady who does it reads bible verses and different quotes during the poses. It is a time of focus and meditation. Really nice. Something I need right now. Afterwards we get in a circle to talk and I hold up my book and comment on how I bought it but have not read it. That is when my friend, Jenny, next to me says ever so politely, "You have a different book than me." I thought, "Maybe just a different cover." I look over and nope, a completely different book. I just started laughing and you know, I'm not surprised. With the birth of each of my children I have developed selective hearing and have lost attention to details. I used to be detail oriented, but with each child I have focused less and less on the details b/c I just don't have time for them. So, I kept looking at Jenny's book and just laughed inside. I thought I was so on-the-ball this time!! ha ha ha! But you know what, the book I did get, "The Power of a Praying Woman", the book I thought I heard I was supposed to get, is perfect for me right now. I was excited when I bought it and read the chapter headings. I thought, "This is just perfect!" :) So, now I have to try and find time to read both books.

State of Mind

If you have read my blog you will have noticed how incredibly busy my summer was with guests coming and going. Matt and I constantly had people at our house for about 3 months. The most time we had without guests was about 4 days at one time, I think. You know, I prayed and asked God for help in being more hospitable. And help He did! I got more opportunities than I dreamed! :) Unfortunately, during that process I forgot the one who I had asked for help from. And it showed. I got more and more drained spiritually and emotionally. At the end of it all, after everyone had left, I felt so empty inside. I had absolutely nothing else to give. And yet, my children still expected me to give. It was tough. For awhile I couldn't pinpoint the problem. I thought I was too busy (and I was!) and that if I lightened the load I would feel fabulous. And I did lighten the load and it helped some. I thought if Matt would stop working 80 hour weeks then I would feel better. It did help a lot, but there was still something not right. There were other things I thought were the problem, but they weren't. It finally dawned on me when I was at church (which I hadn't been to consistently since before Anna was born...so at least 9 mos) 2 weeks ago. The sermon was about our "Now Season" and my tears just started flowing and I couldn't stop them. I wasn't crying out loud, but the tears just flowed. I wasn't enjoying my "Now Season". I was burned out. I don't remember being burned out like this before. Utterly tired. And I never saw it coming. Ha ha ha! I'm sure others did as they witnessed my intense summer schedule. :) So the next week I was thinking a lot on that. Then we went to church this past week. I kind of remember what the sermon was about...ok, not really. But that's not why I was there. :) I was there to invite God back into the lead position of my life again. I asked Him to make Himself known to me right then and I finally...finally sensed Him again. I missed Him. I always do when this happens. Because this is a particularly poor habit of mine. I hate the cycle but don't know what to do to stop it. Anyways, I begged Him not to leave, to stay with me and make Himself known even when there is so much else going on and it's so noisy in my house that I can't think. Because that's what happens. Ah, and I sense Him right now as I'm writing this. I miss Him when He's not there. But it's amazing how in the busyness of life I get so distracted that I don't even notice He's quiet until it's too late and I am far from Him and then I struggle to get right with Him and come back. It's a struggle every day to keep my priorities right. To keep my mind quiet so that I can hear Him. But oh, thank you Lord, for not giving up on me and being ever so patient. Maybe one day I will learn my lesson and stop being so cyclical. Maybe not. I have had many other times where You were quiet. I am thinking that it is during those times when You are watching to see which way I turn. And You wait patiently until I finally turn to You. Thank you for always bringing me back.

Not Sure What to Blog About

I'll be honest, there is so much going on, not only in my head but in life itself, that I am not sure where to begin. I don't even know what to blog about! Maybe if I list things out that will help clear my head and give you an update...let's give it a try.

• Anna got another tooth! This time it's one of her top ones. That's a grand total of 3 teeth.


• Anna is also cruising along the furniture and every so often let's go to practice balancing.


• She is now 9 mos old and I still need to get her pictures taken....but her hair is crazy! I don't know what to do with it. It won't stay down! Sticks up all over. Any suggestions??
  


• I am in serious potty-training mode with Austin. I put underwear on him the other day and decided not to go back. Pull-ups only for sleeping. He is doing pretty well...providing I tell him to pee in the potty every 30 minutes. :) Gotta start somewhere!


• Anna needs to be trained to sleep through the night. I am tired and really can't afford to be.


• I got help with leading my unit for American Heritage Girls. Yay! The pressure is off and I can relax a bit with that now.
  

• Linda and I are also going to swap off driving the kids around to their classes again. Every little bit that my schedule lightens up really helps. :) Thank you Linda!! I am looking forward to some quiet time at home with Austin during those days that I am not driving.
  


• Emma is really enjoying American Heritage Girls. All the girls are very good and are easy to please. We are going on a campout in 2 weekends to Dinosaur Valley with the Boy Scouts Troop. Ethan is a Tiger Cub with the Scouts. He is loving it! He of course loves the uniform and earning badges. Ethan is a very concrete boy. If he has something tangible he can earn then he is gung-ho about it! Of course with scouts comes fundraising....popcorn anyone??
  

• My friend, Stephanie, and I co-teach two preschool classes at our co-op, The Cube. We teach a music class and a bible class. There have been a few challenges since we started, but I think we have gotten things worked out. We have rearranged our classes, the snack time, the activities, and I think we've finally got it working well. yay! I am not worried about it at all with Stephanie by my side. I love working with Type A personalities! Especially since I am not one of them. ;) Stephanie is great. She is always thinking of new things to keep the kids busy during class. We've figured out that we have to fill most every minute of the kids's class time. That way they don't have time to get into trouble...or horse around and hurt other children.....

• Matt will be starting his new job next week. He is very excited! Of course he is! It will be a good change of pace for him.

• We painted (I mean, Matt painted) the living room and upstairs bathroom. They look great! I will try and get pictures up soon.

• I have discovered that I am going to need to actually write out a schedule for my life if I want to get things done. There is alot to do. I need to write out a schedule for the kids too so that they know what is expected of them and when, so that I am not always telling them.
  

• I am getting most school work done with the kids...but why is it that it takes all day?? Oh yeah! Because I have a 3 yr old and a 9 mos old that I have to entertain and take care of as well. I can honestly say that I am wondering if I should put the kids in public school instead of school them at home. It's a tough decision.
  

Well, I am not finished writing, but I am falling asleep at my laptop. Oh yeah, I got a laptop. :)
Off I go to bed. I will try and finish my thoughts tomorrow.