Just Loving....

...my kiddos! ...my husband! ... my life! God is so wonderful and has blessed our family beyond measure.

I am at a loss for words...so I will let the pictures do the talking today.

Look What I Did...

I had such a fun time this weekend preparing for and helping host a baby "adoption" shower. A young couple at our church are awaiting the news that they can travel to Taiwan to welcome their daughter home. This will be their first child, and she will be about 9months old when she comes home. The couple are part of our sunday school class, and we have found the common interest and passion of adoption.

I spent Friday and Saturday shopping and making the cake...yes, I made the cake... I surprised myself with how well it turned out. The only problem... I made too much (my kids loved the fact that I brought almost a whole cake home for them to eat)! The shower was a church shower, and you just can never guess how many will attend. We had a terrific time visiting and sharing the joy of these parents-to-be, and oh...the pink, the sweet, the girly things!!!

Life in the Fast Lane

Double Trouble....
The silliness abounds....virtual twins
Time to Trim the Tree Limbs... "I am going to move this limb all by myself"

"I think I can, I think I can...."How much work is really getting done here?
Life in the fast lane has taken on an entirely new meaning as parents of six children. A day can go by faster than a lightning bolt, and those days turn into weeks, months and years before you can blink. I am trying to treasure every single moment spent teaching, laughing and loving my kiddos. Sometimes I wish I could turn back the clock at least for a few hours more....

I am still searching for last week. It went by so quickly that I feel like I missed it. Brad made a trip to be with his dad(who had eye surgery and is doing well). He was supposed to make a side trip to Dallas for a business meeting, but due to the hurricane in Texas(and mixed up travel plans for others),the meeting got canceled. Brad surprised us with his homecoming Wednesday evening. We weren't expecting him until Friday. Everyone was very excited when he walked in the door. The kids were doing well while he was gone, but they are always slightly out of sorts when daddy has to leave for any length of time. How do families with traveling parents manage? With Brad working from home several days a week, the kids(and mom too) are not used to him being away from us.

It turned into a slightly crazy week when Garrett had not one but two Asthma attacks. We got those under control, and then Nate came down with the stomach bug. He was in lots of pain and scared momma a little(his medical history). Brad took him to the doctor and, after a stomach Xray(as a precaution), it was determined that all was well...except that he had the "bug". With medicine and a few days of limited eating, we are happy to report that he is much better. We are now praying that the others can avoid it. Only time will tell...

Making Ocean Boxes... a semester long project displaying Ocean Creatures from our Science Curriculum.
Hard at Work...

We spent Friday catching up on school assignments and projects. It turned into a good day to do so... we had lots of clouds and sporadic rain showers both Friday and Saturday. We got lots more rain which we really didn't need. As quickly as this week went by, it was certainly filled with lots of love and laughter. I am posting several pictures of different projects, silly antics, and of happenings this week in the crazy,spicy life of our now six chili peppers... enjoying life to its fullest!

The makings of a pyramid...Is it a pyramid or an ice cream Sunday?... we need to work on our technique a bit more...Everyone joins in to help...Nolan's is looking more like a pyramid...but it is hard to get the top just right.Salt Maps of Upper and Lower Egypt... They were still working hard at 4pm.

Biker Babe

Well...went outside the other day and saw that my sweet princess had transformed before my eyes. She was riding on her brother's four wheeler and....... just when did she get big enough to ride it all by herself?!!

Note: It is a" kiddie" four wheeler that is battery operated... and her brothers were very near.

Just Hanging Out...

Do You think they will catch anything? So Far, no luck ... but they keep trying...

Things are semi normal(what is normal anyway?) around here. We are completing our school assignments,enjoying being a family of eight, and living life to its fullest. The kids are finding all kinds of things to create,explore and do on our property. The boys last week sighted a ground hog and 2 rabbits,thus they decided to build their own "traps". So far they haven't captured anything, but they keep trying and redesigning/ resetting their contraptions. Mom continues to fold the mounds of laundry, plan school activities and love on my kiddos.

We haven't had any recent updates on the old house. It is still for sale, and the real estates agents are still showing it a few times a week. So, we continue to pray for the right buyer to come along. On the adoption front, we had our homestudy last week. It went fairly well, and it wasn't much different from our previous 2 homestudies. A few funny(and not so funny) things happened while the social worker was here. The kids were supposed to be doing independent school work, but of course, they had to ask a million questions (even though we had gone over all instruction before). We had a small argument that required parental intervention, and Levi took a small tumble on the stairs. He fell on the last few steps down. He wasn't hurt except for a small carpet burn on the side of his face. It wasn't funny (at all) that he fell, but it struck us as funny that all of this took place while she was in our home. The children usually have no problem navigating the stairs multiple times each day,and they can most certainly handle independent work. Brad or I took turns handling situations while the other answered her questions. We took a short pause in our interview to help and comfort Levi(a boo boo ice pack always works wonders), and then she went right back to asking questions without hesitation. With six kids, you never know what a day will bring... never a dull moment in this house!

The making of a Mummy....

What is it they are doing to me,mommy? "I am a mummy, Nolan?"..."not just yet,Mia"
"I want my ...mummy!"

"Can I tell them who it is?...Not yet..." "Hold on one more minute,Mia""It's MIA!!"Boy what a mess this mummy made...

The kids are studying Ancient Egypt this week. They are so excited about all the fun activities that accompany this study. Throughout the week, we will create mummies, create pyramids, and make a map of Upper and Lower Egypt. The older boys are fascinated by mummies and by that time in history. So, today we read about the mummification of King Cheops(also known as Khufu), and the boys "made a mummy". The little sister was the volunteer. It was fun watching them work, fun watching her reaction to it all, and fun seeing the other siblings reaction (of course, they all thought they needed a turn at being the mummy... we tried reusing the TP but it was kind of demolished, and we didn't want to be wasteful. We might try again but use strips of scrap cloth instead.). I hope you enjoy the pictures of our"little mummy", and I will try to post pictures of their pyramids when they are finished.