background

This is nothing special, well to you anyway. I'm not a scrapbook type, or a baby book writer, or even a picture printer. I'm terrible at recording memories. This blog is my attempt at holding on to some of my life as a Christian, a wife, and a homeschooling Mom of 5. I am a country girl that lived in a big city for 14 years, and moved to the Deep South for quiet, quaint, small town living.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The plight of every younger boy

I'm certain that if a boy has an older sister, she has dressed him up as a girl, at least once.  
It is a right of passage..... sort of.
A passage to where?
No idea.
I still can't think very deeply on it because I just laugh too hard.
I'm not sure if she is proud, or just laughing at him.
Nor am I sure if he is embarassed or if that look is,
"I look cool no matter what."

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Master of the Pancakes!

Everyone knows Troy is perfect.
Not only because he makes homemade waffles or pancakes, or donuts most Saturday mornings, 
but that does help.


His latest masterpiece was peach cobbler pancakes.

He used my favorite recipe for pancakes, which happens to be my Mom's.
Adding a few chopped peaches (he used frozen) when the batter is spooned on the griddle is step one.

Step two is sprinkling a little crumb topping he threw together with brown sugar, butter, flour 
and who knows what else.

These had a peach cobbler flavor that did not need anything added to it.
It goes right along with my 
"A good pancake or waffle should hold it's own without the aid of syrup"
theory.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

So Proud

The kids made dinner.
They were so excited.
It made me excited,
and proud.
 You know why?
Not because of the lovely spread you see below, 
although it is very balanced and varied.
It is good to have variety.
But what I was completely excited about....
 was the happy, laughter filled play time the kids enjoyed.
No whining, arguing, tattling....
Bliss to a Mother's eyes and ears.

These are the times I want to remember.
These are the times I hope they remember.

Now let's eat!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Easter Weekend

Look at this sweet baby.

Something was making her giddy!
Maybe it was the hundreds of eggs lying around her?
Maybe she knew Troy and I have been so preoccupied with this Cancer mess
that I didn't plan any of the great Easter activities I wanted
and was going to buy their affections via Easter basket gifts the next morning?
Hmmmm?

Whether she knew it or not, those kids scored.
I about cleared out the gift closet this year.
So much stuff, it wouldn't fit.



Spoiled rotten.
Does anyone look grateful?
Does anyone appreciate the material gifts showered upon them?
I believe Maggie is bowing and saying, "I'm not worthy!"
SHE will get a basket next year.
The other brats are out of luck.

(As if I could remember that next year!)

Well, I forgave them and we went to church.
Jesus frowns on grudges, you know.

After church, Ginnie (Troy's mom) pulled together another one of her masterpieces.   
You know the kind.  
It isn't served on silver platters, but there is so much food and lovely little details that you can't figure out how she throws it all together and look like it took no effort.
(I still struggle with just getting my regular dinners on the table at the same time.)
I am always in awe of her.
Plus, silver platters would make me nervous and just get kid prints all over them.
The younger grandkids enjoyed their egghunt.
The older grandkids had goodies made up from their Nana so they weren't left out,










Our kids have some wonderful older cousins.
They let Ginnie boss them around.
"Renee, you can get that egg for me."


And everyone wants to hold this one.
But I think she liked Sean the best.
Maggie sat with Sean a few times.
We all just really enjoyed each other this holiday.

EGGS!





Wear-them-out Presents!

What do you do with 3 kids who have lots of energy?
Surprise them with early Easter presents that require physical work!
We have had 2 scooters in the gift closet for months because of price ($11 and $13 for Razor scooters) so we decided to buy Ginnie a more age appropriate one to avoid the fights and falls.
Even with the off and on rainy weather, it was just the thing to burn off some energy!
Nana and Pop Pop have a perfect riding driveway.  
There is a slight hill and a long straight stretch to go!
So much for avoiding falls!
Actually, the two wheeled scooter was a great buy.  
She got the hang of it pretty fast.


Monday, May 2, 2011

On to the new school year... sort of.

We had our end of the year meeting with our wonderful umbrella director.  
Liv is on the right track and is ready for 2nd grade.  
The only thing is math.  
We are starting a new curriculum and I'm beginning it from page 1.  
It is all the way back to the basics of 1st grade math.  
We are going to work through the summer and (hopefully) solidify the concepts in her brain.  
The great thing about homeschooling (well, one of the many great things) is my ability to work on a concept, or in this case, a subject until the child "gets it."  
Now we just need to work on the "I hate math" attitude.

 We will be reviewing all the letter sounds and get George excited about reading this summer.

But it isn't all academic.  We will be continuing art throughout the summer.  This is a great time to do messy, big projects because they can be done outside! 
 We are starting with some fundamentals.  This day was figure drawing. 
 Even Cat Women was learning how to draw a human form with basic circles and ovals.
 After that day, we learned that chasing math with art was a great attitude booster!
 So the next day was just some free painting time.
 With a little math, a lot of reading, continuing piano lessons, plenty of art, and loads of field trips....
we are gearing up for our summer session schedule!
It is looking pretty fun!