Second blog in a week! Go Me!

It's been a bit of an overwhelming week so far.  I've been putting together our school plans for the year.  You would think I would be a pro at this considering how long I've been doing this, but it's still a struggle every single year!  Halfway through my oldest daughter's, I hit a snag.  She'd hoped to finish out her senior year early.  By early I had thought she'd meant before May of next year, but she'd hoped to be done by Christmas.  I don't know how our wires got crossed, but it created some drama in the house for about a day.  I have a guideline I want to work from this year to help her get all she requires for college, but she's eager to get the ball rolling on the rest of her life.

I can't help but smile at her sense of urgency. At her age, six months seems like an eternity!  I remember being 17 and feeling the slow ticking away of time.  I thought the day would never come that I would get my license, get a job, or move out.  Now it feels like time moves so quickly, I blink, and another year passes, birthdays, holidays and seasons roll by and I'm left wondering how I missed it all.

We worked out a reasonable compromise.  Her school plan is done and she knows what is required of her.  She can graduate early if she likes, but it's up to her to put in the extra work to make it happen.  It won't be easy and she might miss out on some fun stuff in the process, but she has to decide what is most important for her.

I'm Baaaaack!

I swear I didn't fall off the planet!

I really have no excuse for neglecting my blog for so long, except to say that life gets crazy!  I'm still happily married to Chad, with seven (not so little anymore) kids.  We still homeschool and plug away at life doing the best we can.  

I thought I'd try to pick blogging back up as a way to hold myself accountable and document what we are up to for myself.  Lately I find myself overwhelmed with everything, in an effort to help that I try to unplug from the world.  Not easy to do when you have seven active kids!

My oldest is grown and working now, trying to figure out what he wants to do next.  He is doing very well at his job (they all love him there!) but he is eager to get out into the world supporting himself, so I look for him to start making some big decisions this year!

Next in line is my oldest daughter.  She's got big plans!  She wants to graduate this year and start college next year!  She wants to get her pastry chef certificate and work on business management courses so she can open a small bakery selling specialty treats and coffees.  Later in the year I expect her to start seeking out an internship at a bakery, just to get some experience.  She's made us some amazing cakes this year!  She also has a small side business making beaded jewelry in my Facebook store.  

My two younger daughters are plugging away at school work, but their real passion is horses!  They spent a fun filled summer running back and forth to horse camp, where they learned all about horses from the top to the bottom! Seriously, they came home ecstatic that they were allowed to muck stalls and pick hooves!  We are working on finances to keep the lessons going so we can continue to encourage this!  It's so wonderful to see them getting outdoors into the fresh air, and it's amusing to watch my petite little teen, push a half ton thoroughbred out of the way when he's being stubborn!

The oldest of the three boys is doing great!  A few years ago he had surgery to correct a crossed eye.  Since then his school work has taken off!  He's reading several levels up from where he was and he doesn't get headaches anymore.  He's still delayed, but we definitely see improvement.  I would like to see him in some sort of physical activity this year, but he cant seem to decide what he wants to do yet.

My youngest two....the word "handful"  comes to mind when I think of them!  They are such "busy" boys that it's a struggle to get them to sit still for homework most days, but we work at it.  They are reading at slightly below their age level, so we will be working on that this year, and they HATE to write!  But they both enjoy church and homeschool group.  They are both in tackle football and my husband coaches their team, so he helps to enforce the "no schoolwork/no football" rule in the house.  

Hubby is very busy at work, not much to tell there except he has a job he loves and he's usually swamped with work!  When he's home, he is usually working with the kids on one project or another or doing bible studies.

Life is pretty busy being a "football" mom with seven kids, but I try.  I am now V.P. of the board in our homeschool group, and team mom of the boys' team.  On the days when I have free time, I work on my novel, crochet, or read.  I've been working to supplement our income by couponing, selling crafts, and babysitting.   

I'm hoping to be more active on the blog and keep you all updated on what we are doing.  

Until next time.