Projects,Projects,Projects...

Do you think we have enough helpers?

I decided this weekend that I don't have enough to do (-:! ... I thought it would be great fun to begin a couple of painting projects around our house. We are still working on completing Nolan's room. We have to add the window treatments and wall decor. When the room was originally started,Nolan was into skateboarding, and thus, we were gearing the decorating to skateboards. He has since changed his mind, and he has developed a keen interest in cars(especially Ford Mustangs). He has asked his dad and I to paint pictures of Mustangs on panels that will hang in his room. I for one am glad that there was a delay in finishing and that the paint and general decor is well suited to "boy" things. His room is liveable for the time being,and we will work on the completion of his room alongside the other boys. Garrett and Nate had been promised the next redecorating even before our move to a new house. I got a bit sidetracked on that promise! This weekend we made their room top priority. Painting was a definite necessity. They have requested a sports decor( along with Nolan's Mustangs, mom and dad will have sports player silhouettes to paint). In addition to all the much needed painting, we are also moving Levi down to join the other boys in their dormitory style room. So, this weekend, we moved furniture, painted walls, and began the tasks of reorganizing. I feel a bit disheaveled. As we were moving rooms and reorganizing, we moved and changed many areas of the basement. One area has to be moved out so another area can move in. A big mess has ensued! I tried to stay organized and finish one task before I started another,but, somehow,things got a bit out of control. I feel as if I have lots of things started but not anything finished. In order to keep on track, I have decided to set a deadline and several goals in hopes of completing all these multiple task. Hasn't it been said that moms are "multi-taskers"? My goal: to complete all the started rooms as quickly as possible, and then to move on to paint and redocorate Brad and my room. Brad and I already bought the comforter set and the paint...now to just get everything done.... hum, when?

I will have to share pictures when we are all done...Never a Dull Moment!!

A Drummer in the making...

I caught Mia playing on Garrett's drum set this week. She has taken an avid interest in "watching" Garrett play. Mia loves music in any shape,form or fashion. As everyone knows she loves to dance,but, did you know she loves to sing as well? Now, it looks as if she is expanding her musical training(self taught)to include instruments. Her oldest "bubba" loves music as well...and bet you couldn't tell who loves his baby sister?! He decided to teach her a little of what he knows(keep in mind that his instrument is the Guitar). Our year begins with guitar lessons and hopefully drum lessons(for Garrett) again real soon. Our house is never,never, ever QUIET!!

School's in...

Winter break was over last Monday. We started back to the hustle and bustles of school. Thanks to a great friend,who came to stay with the kids, they were able to continue on while mom and dad were with Levi during his surgery. Check out the photos and just look how hard my kiddos work...

Out of Surgery...

Levi is out of surgery and home resting at the moment. He came through the surgery with flying colors. He went back with the nurses well, and followed us with his eyes as we left him at the door. The doctor felt that along with ear tubes, a tonsilectomy and adenoidectomy were in order. Overall, the surgery was very short, and Levi awakened a short time later. The anesthesia made him a little disoriented, and he was ready to hold onto mama and daddy. He had a bit of an upset stomach but tolerated a popsicle and apple juice. A bit later he was ready to eat! The doctor okayed soft foods, and he enjoyed a small amount of mashed potatoes before we were released to come home. The doctor feels that we will see great improvements in sleep habits, hearing and speech. He will feel a bit yucky at first, but in the long run he will feel lots better. Thank you for all your prayers!

Levi's Procedure...

Levi will be having a surgery tomorrow. It is a fairly simple procedure to put tubes in his ears. The doctor will also check his tonsils and adnoids(sp?) at the same time. Our ENT suspects that maybe his adnoids are enlarged causing him to have sleep apnea type symptoms and a constant clearing of his throat. If she finds this to be the case, she will remove them at the same time as the other procedure. Please keep our "cutie pie" in your prayers for a safe and successful surgery.

Weekend Fun

BFF's

Friends
Shopping...

Dinner with New Friends...

Our weekend started out with lots of fun. On Friday, the girls and I spent a girls day with friends. The day began with a trip to the mall. Mia had a gift certificate(from her b-day)to use at Build a Bear. Her bestest friend was with us, and so both girls had to build a bear. Of course, they chose the same bear with the same outfit. The girls held on to those bears all day. Mandy got an outfit for her princess bear(the one that traveled to China). Most of the remainder of our time at the mall was spent window shopping. There were so many terrific sales that it was hard to resist. I did well,except for the $3 seperates for Mia. We came away from the store with several new outfits for next year with very little expense. Hurray for bargains!! We finished our girls day with an Italian food lunch. We had good food,lots of laughter and great fellowship. What a fun day! The girls and I look forward to having another day soon.

Saturday was spent taking down the Christmas decorations. It is always sad to me when the season is over and the tree and decorations must come down.Everything looks so empty for a while. Brad made quick work of taking down the outside lights, and he and the bigs cleared and burned debris and leaves from the yard. Mom and the littles put away the inside decorations. When all the work was done, we had a dinner invitation to a friends house. We were all excited about getting to know these new friends. This family is a fellow homeschool family,an adoptive family and have recently moved to our town. They have a little boy about Levi's age. Levi and T seemed to have such a great time together. I loved watching them play and hearing their laughter.The big kids disappeared to play video games and resurfaced when food was involved. We all enjoyed scrumptious BBQ and enjoyed visiting. It was a very relaxed and nice evening out.

After church on Sunday, we took the kids to eat Chinese food at our favorite local place. The remainder of the day was for relaxing and enjoying our last day before school started. Mom had to take some time to organize lesson plans and materials, but all in all we just enjoyed the day.

I can hardly believe that today brought us back into our daily school routines. I really would have liked another week to relax,work a little around the house, and to enjoy more fun time with my kiddos and with friends. ...but we were off and running in school today. The kids seemed ready to have the structure and worked hard most of the day. I hope that they keep the same level of interest for the remainder of our school year! That would be such a nice treat for their teacher.

Happy New Year!!

As we ushered in 2009, I took a look around me and saw my beautiful blessings! It makes my heart sing to see my six kiddos and my terrific hubby enjoying just being a family. God has certaimly blessed us with lots of love. We didn't do much this year... we just had a small dinner with friends. The friends were recovering from illness, and left early to get much needed rest. After the friends left, Brad, the kids and I played a board game and watched the celebrations in NY via our television. When the clock struck midnight, we toasted the New Year with sparkling cider and hugs and kisses all around. Then it was off to bed with our very tired crew. Today we spent a leisurely morning sleeping late, playing with toys, and then ventured out to shop. The kids had such a great time using their gift cards(Thanks Uncle Paul & Aunt Heidi, and Uncle Michael &Aunt Mary). Upon returning home, we had to unbox,untie, and untangle all the new toys. Each child has spent hours just playing with their gifts. I am making my traditional New Years dinner complete with "good luck" black eyed peas. Wow, Day 1 of 2009 has just blown by! We are excitedly looking forward to all that God has in store for 2009. Happy New Year,Everyone!!
NOTE:It looks as if we might have sold the old house. Since the housing market has been deteriorating, we feel that we got a pretty good contract(not as much as hoped for, but OK). We are so grateful to everyone who has been keeping this in their prayers, and we ask that you would continue to pray that this contract can/will go through to completion.