The Simple Woman's Daybook Journal # 1

I have decided to link up with this blog and do a weekly Simple Woman's Daybook journal. Here is the link if you would like to join or read more. It is http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2011

Outside my window the sun is shining beautifully!
I am thinking about what all I need to get done while the kids nap
I am thankful for my family's health!
From the kitchen I smell the delicious pot roast cooking in the crockpot
I am wearing jeans and a green short sleeve short
I am creating my first Simple Woman's Daybook Journal entry
I am going to pick out vegetables to plant in our garden later today
I am reading Love and Respect
I am hoping my kids stay healthy! I am tired of colds and sickness!!
I am hearing the dryer upstairs and 19 Kids and Counting on TV
Around the house there are toys scattered
One of my favorite things is searching the internet for new homeschool ideas
A few things for the rest of the week are planting our vegetables and starting to get organized around the house
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing

Friends....and....Sickness

So...I know it has been a while since the last blog. Well things around here have been rough lately. About 3 weeks ago we had some good family friends come to visit. While here one of them came down with a yucky stomach bug and unfortunately my kids both ended up catching it. It was a really violent one. Poor Cameron threw up 10 times in 3 hours. Then a few days later, sweet Savannah started with it just as bad! This happened the day before more friends were due to arrive with their 4 children. Not wanting to spread "the love" to all their kiddos we decided to have them stay with my parents the first few nights so we could clear the germs out of our house. Well...the day after they arrive at our house, Cameron and Savannah both come down with yet another stomach bug. This time horribly coming from the other end! This second bug lasted for over a week! Then, Joel ended up getting it...and the night before Joel and I were to leave for a relaxing, much needed getaway to Savannah, GA....yep, I come down with it : ( So....I am now sitting on the couch praying I will be better this afternoon so we can go enjoy our weekend away! YIKES! That is a lot of sickness, I know!! Going on 3 weeks, tomorrow, that we have been dealing with some kind of stomach bug from someone in our household. I am DONE WITH SICKNESS!!
On another note, we did have a wonderful time with all our friends that visited us! The weather was wonderful and the husbands were even able to take the older kiddos on the lake, while us mamas stayed behind with the babies. We only took a few pictures, but I will try and post them next week! Just wanted everyone to know we ARE still here.....

Day in the Life Of....Part 1

I got the idea to do a "Day in the Life Of" from one of my good friends. She does this as a way to look back years from now and remember what life was like during this stage of her life. I had meant to do this for a while now and decided today would be the day. Well, today was not a "typical" day in our house so I plan on doing another "Day in the life Of" sometime next week. Anyway, here was our day....

I start out each morning waking up at 6:30 for prayer and devotion time. My bible study group is currently using this study. It is wonderful!

This is the the kids devotion and bible that we read from each morning during breakfast (which is usually at 7:00 am, but like I said today was not typical)

7:00 am So today Cameron and I had breakfast alone because Savannah decided to actually sleep in and take her sweet time doing her morning chores, which have to be complete before she comes downstairs (making her bed, cleaning up her room, and getting dressed for the day). Also, Daddy usually leaves around 7:00, just as we are getting breakfast started.

7:45 am Savannah finally decided to come out of her room. I needed to get in the shower by now so she had breakfast in my bedroom and they both watched TV (today it was Strawberry Shortcake)

8:30 am After showering I tossed a load of laundry in the dryer and put a new load in the wash

I then set up the Pack N Play for baby Lillie who would be joining us soon with her mom and sister for a morning activity (she would be napping during this)

Cameron followed me into his room and decided to look through some of his books

9:30 am Emma and her mom and baby sister joined us for a little activity to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. (We normally do homeschool until about 9:00, but like I said this was not a typical day)

We made Green Eggs and Ham after reading the story. The kids loved them and asked for seconds. We then let them explore with a Dr. Seuss felt board (forgot to get a picture). Then, they just played together in the playroom for the rest of the time.

12:00 After Emma left, Savannah got ready for her dance lesson. While she was at dance, Cameron and I ran a few errands.

1:45-3:45 were naps for the children. During this time I read my emails, folded laundry, picked up the house, and emptied the dish washer. I also ordered some fall/winter clothes online for the kids for next year that were on clearance. I got a great bargain! Oh, I also ate my lunch during this time.

4:00pm After naps we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather (and yes, Cameron has a necklace on. He loves getting into Savannah jewelry...haha)

5:15pm I fed the kids dinner (leftovers today). Forgot to take a picture of this also

6:00pm Savannah got ready for Awana's.
After taking her, Cameron and I came home. I ate dinner myself and picked up yet again the mess that had been made.
Joel finally got home about 7:00pm so we visited with daddy for a bit.
7:30pm I put Cameron to bed and headed back to pick up Savannah from Awana's.

I didn't get anymore pictures but the rest of the evening went like this:
8:00 Savannah gets out of Awana's
8:45 pm Put Savannah to bed
9:00 did not feel like doing anything else, so I sat down on the couch, played on the computer and watched TV while Joel finished up some work in the office
10:15 Now getting ready to go to bed

Trying to remember to take my camera around with me all day and take pictures of everything we did was a difficult task. I plan on doing this one day next week so maybe I will be a bit better at it then....

Cameron is Walking!!

I have held out on writing this post because I didn't have a good picture to share to go along with it. Cameron is FINALLY walking! He took his first step the day before he turned 15 months. He still isn't walking a lot, and chooses crawling over walking most of the time. However, within the past few days he has actually been walking a bit more. Very exciting!!
He also just recently had his 15 month appt. (at 16 months). He checked out wonderfully. He is still a little peanut at 23.6 lbs (29%) and 31 inches tall (36%). He is still such a happy baby! He loves to sing and will do the motions to "If your happy and you know it". It is so cute! He also loves to play peek a boo. He says Da, mama, nuh (for savannah), book, and bo-bo (our dog). Although he doesn't have a large vocabulary, he is still excellent at communicating with you. He has really enjoyed being outdoors now that the weather is nicer. He is a little monkey and climbs on EVERYTHING! He pushes the stool around to where he wants and will then stand on it to get into things. He is such a boy!! I love it though! The sweetest thing that he does right now is gives kisses. They aren't the slobbery kind that most kids this age give, but a sweet pucker that actually makes the kissing sound when he kisses you. Completely melts my heart!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Had to post this picture! Hilarious!! I don't remember what he was mad about?

Savannah adorable skirt from Nana and Papaw that plays the "hokey-pokey" when she moves

Group shot before visiting our friends at the Nursing Home

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Myself, my mom, and a few of my friends and our kids went to pass out home-made Valentine's to the seniors living in a local nursing home. I was not sure how Savannah was going to take to all of it, but things went better than I could have ever imagined! Savannah passed out all of her Valentine's and told each senior Happy Valentine's Day with a sweet smile! It was so nice seeing the elder's faces light up when given a Valentine! I am so thankful for this opportunity to get to share with Savannah and teach her about serving! I look forward to many more opportunities like this in the future!

Sickness and Health

So...I never have gotten around to posting those new photos. The kids have had a yucky virus! Savannah started off with it and then gave it to Cameron. This virus was a nasty one. It was like having a stomach bug and a horrible cold all at the same time! It seemed to hit Cameron a bit harder though. We took him back to the Dr again this morning and it seems he now has a sinus infection and a junky sounding chest. We now have antibiotics and a breathing treatment for home so hopefully he will be feeling better very soon!
On another note, I am trying a few things to help us eat healthier. I don't think we eat "bad", but there is definitely room for improvement (especially on my part). I recently bought the books The Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious. They give suggestions and recipes that incorporate pureed fruits and vegetables to help make your meals extra nutritious! I went to the store last night and brought home a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and plan on trying a few of these recipes this week! I will let you know what I think, as well as try to update some pictures and exciting things happening here!

Busy! Busy! Busy!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am still here! Things have been very busy around here! I am LOVING homeschooling Savannah, but had not anticipated how much planning time it was going to take! Anyway, some exciting things are going on here so I plan to blog later this week with recent pictures! Stay tuned....