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.

Fall at Last!

Enjoying one of the first few truly cool mornings of fall. Got the pumpkin spice latte and the flannel pjs and really just revelling in the quiet stillness. Where I live there is a HUGE transition in the weather between summer and fall. If you blink you will miss it as mother nature does her magic seemingly overnight.

This is the time of year where my domestic instincts take over. Comfort food bubbles on the stove and I dig out the yarn and needles and settle down by the fire. I also venture out in the yard to do some much needed work. I know I am SO SQUARE! But I love this time of year, how it rolls naturally into the holiday season, where, in spite of whatever problems there are in my life, a feeling of peace, joy and hope wash over everything, making it feel sparkly and new.

Hubby is the opposite, he's prone to stress and it really gets to him over the fall and winter season. I always feel bad that he can't just give in to all the good things and overlook the bad :(

Sundays with the kiddos and what I am reading...

Over the last two months I have made a date of Sundays with one of the kids.  After church we come home, change out of our church clothes and have lunch.  I then pick one of the kids (we rotate according to age) to take to the library and run any errands that need to need be done for the week.  It give me a chance to do any shopping that needs to be done for the week, study up on the homeschool lessons and get any books that we need, and spend some time with one of the kids one on one. 

The kids and I all look forward to Sundays!  It's nice to go to the library and be focused on helping the little ones find a book that they are REALLY going to love or discovering a new series for the older kids that we can all read together and talk about afterward.  It also gives me more insight into their interests.  The kids choose  differently when they aren't being influenced by a sibling.  Then they bring home their books and it's interesting to see them share what they like with the other kids.  I think it opens doors that might not be discovered, otherwise.

Picked this up at the library on Sunday and could not put it down! Kurt and Brenda are awesome and I am inspired by the way they put their family first in spite of their unique circumstances.  If you are ever wondering what life is like from a christian perspective with seven kids, I highly recommend this book!

Grandma

My father was one of thirteen children.  Growing up, I never thought about how hard things must have been for my grandmother.  Times were hard and just surviving was a constant struggle.  She was an expert at making things stretch, organizing, and multitasking and she often did all of this with at least one baby on her hip.

In the last year I have thought about her quite a bit.  Faced with my own trials, I have had to push forward in faith more than ever before.  I have had to put on a smile and keep a positive attitude while one bad thing after another came flying at us at the speed of light.  I learned to think outside the box, scrimp, save and make old things new again.  Above all I learned how important sacrifice and compromise are. 

Grandma mastered all of these skills and without the added benefit of the technology and medical adavances we have today.  She was amazing!

My family on Mother's Day 2010

Grandma and just a few of her kids.

So I draw from her strength through these troubled times.  I feel her over my shoulder, nodding in approval at the choices I make.  I hope I make her proud.

The Baby Bug

I've got it bad! Lately it seems like A LOT of women I know are about to or have recently given birth.  I am ecstatic for them (really I am), but each time I say congratulations, there's a little voice in my heart that reminds me, that will never be me again.  I know a lot of people would say that I am crazy for feeling that way, and seven years ago when I agreed to shutting down the baby factory I probably would have agreed with them.  But I had no idea that I would ache to hold another newborn. I beat myself up for this, because I know there are women out there who would give their right arm for one child, let alone the seven beautiful, healthy babies that I have been blessed with. 

Dh reminds me that someday I have grandchildren to look forward to (please GOD let that be a loooong way off!) so until they come along I am just gonna baby my kids, whether they like it or not!

I Am Empowered!

I remember as a child I truly thought I could change the world. Of course, back then, I romaticized being an adult and assumed that adults could control everything more effectively than a child could. It didn't take me long to realize how wrong I was. Over the years I learned that you can't control your circumstances at all. Things happen! Jobs get lost, money gets tight, people get sick, couples break up. Theses are the times when we feel most helpless.

It's easy to huff and puff and blame the world for how it wronged you. But if you do that you never grow. True power is facing difficult situations with a positive attitude! This is when you truly grow. I have been witnessing some "growth" going on around me lately and it has caused me to take a step back and realize that, though I can't control what happens to me, I can control how I respond to it.

I am going to put this into practice. My hope is that by approaching tough situations with a positive outlook, I can help at least one person do that same, and it will have a ripple effect down the line.

In other words, I am still trying to change the world!