BEST CVS TRIP EVER!

Yesterday at CVS, I spent $3.15 on $77 worth of stuff. Most of that total was tax. I purchased 2 boxes of Quaker instant oatmeal, 2 Colgate toothpaste, 1 bag of candy corn, 6 Purex 3-in-1 Laundry detergents and 6 Renuzit air fresheners. In addition, I left CVS with $8 in ECB's.

Could it be? A new post!

Several of my friends have razzed me for not having written a new post for so long so, without further delay.....here you go! It is hard to believe that we are already well into the month of March. In just four days Jacob will be turning eight years old! I can hardly believe it!

Juliana and Jacob have begun playing Upward Soccer at our church. This is the first time they have ever participated in an organized sport. Their first game is this Saturday on Jake's birthday and their final day of soccer is in May, on Juliana's birthday. I am having a hard time getting out the door each Monday night at 5 PM to head to soccer practice. I don't know how moms who have one or two baseball practices per week, plus games do it!

Jared is a ref for Upward and has enjoyed his ref whistle very much. It has to be the LOUDEST whistle I have ever heard and he takes great delight in using it to scare me out of my whits, giving it a loud toot when I least expect it! Very funny, I know.

In addition to soccer, we have begun replacing the carpet in our living areas and the linoleum in the kitchen with some beautiful, hardwood flooring. The original plan was to just replace the carpet in our pool room as it smelled like a kennel out there (i know...gross!). However, we were able to purchase enough flooring for all of the living areas and probably one bedroom. The project has taken on a life of it's own and has now also included changing out all of the kitchen base cabinets on one side of the kitchen. We will change out the other ones as money allows. The floor looks great! It is nail down, tongue and groove flooring. Todd had to purchase a compressor and nail gun to lay it. I saw stars in his eyes at the thought of these wonderful new tools! We have completed the pool room, eat-in part of the kitchen and will have the rest of the kitchen completed tonight.

The garden is coming along very well. We should be harvesting the cabbages that have been in since the fall very soon. I am torn between working in the house and being outside in the garden. Then of course, don't forget that ther is school to be done too. I must say though that the square foot method of gardening requires the least amount of weekly work as far as weeding goes. The three youngest are my best garden helpers and I love being out there with them.

I have posted at the top some pictures of a project Juliana and Jacob did a few weeks ago. The assignment was to collect materials that a bird would use for building a cup nest and then build one themselves. They decided that not only are the birds much better equiped at nest building but the kids were amazed at birds ability to build something so intricate with no hands to work with. They did a pretty good job but their nests didn't hold up very well and they each weighed about a pound.

Makeover Birthday Surprise!!!!

Last Thursday I celebrated my 39th birthday. Several months ago I had told Todd that all I wanted for my birthday was a clean bedroom. We have lived in our house for 7 years and our bedroom has always functioned as our bedroom and a storage room. Ugh! There wasn't even one picture hanging on the wall. It was a gloomy place. Todd began working on my "gift" right away going through many of his boxes of electronic stuff, old hobby stuff and cleaning each box out one by one. I re-organized one of our closets. A week before my birthday the room was cleaned out of all the stuff that didn't belong. A few days before my birthday, my good friend Lesa surprised me by telling me that on my birthday she was going to take me away for the day to the IKEA store in Orlando and my mom was coming with us. She had arranged for childcare for the kids and she'd see me bright and early on Thursday. I couldn't believe it! I've wanted to go to IKEA since it opened! Thursday morning came and my mom shows up at my house and announces that Lesa can't go. The repairman was coming to fix her freezer and she had to be there. I suggested canceling the trip but mom insisted we go. It had been a long time since we had enjoyed a day together, just the two of us. I kissed the kids goodbye as well as my dad who was the official care giver for the day and we headed off, stopping for breakfast at Cracker Barrel of course. Now, little did I know that when Todd had left for work that morning he really had gone off to Lowes and that he and friends of mine were waiting in the wings for the go ahead that I was gone so that they could come in and give me a room makeover. All day while mom and I were enjoying our day at IKEA my dear friends and family (Todd,Jared, Dad, Jessie, Lesa, Terri, Jen, Kyle and Curtis) were working like crazy painting and making over my room as well as the bathroom. Jen and Lesa helped the kids make a beautiful, mosaic bed tray for me. You can see it in some of the pics. When I got home around 6:30 that evening I picked up Jordan who is always so glad to see me when I've been gone and he pointed to my closed bedroom door and said, "You have to go in there." I opened my door to a beautiful room, and shouts of "Happy Birthday" from a room full of friends. I could not believe that I was looking at my room! Our friend Curtis who is an excellent photographer had been here all day filming and taking pictures of the whole thing as well as some great pics of the kids which he printed, framed and placed in the room. All day at IKEA I had picked up and then put back things for decorating room because I couldn't seem to make a final decision. I had told my mom, "Maybe when the room is completely painted I'll kind of have a better idea of what I want". I'm so glad I didn't get anything! The choices made by Todd and my friends were perfect! They are far too good to me! Looking back there were many strange little things said and done by my friends which were all part of their sneaky little surprise. My mom also received several calls on her cell phone as we got closer to home where she reported how far away we were. (smile) What a wonderful gift! I'm not referring to the room either, but instead the wonderful, God-given blessing of love and friendship that I have the privilege of sharing with these dear people. Thank you everyone for making my birthday unforgettable. Did I mention that they also had a wonderful dinner prepared for everyone and a birthday cake? You all are AWESOME!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!Friends watch as I get a tour.My beautiful bed tray. Do you see the heart?

Laughing at their stories of all the mishaps that happened during the day and the ways they had tricked me over the last month and a half!

Those beatiful pics of the kids I told you about. Thanks Curtis!Todd's special design in the room. Nice huh?

December Already!

I don't know why it is so hard for me to post regularly. Could it be that I have 5 children ages 2 - 15? That I homeschool? Am involved at church? Have lots of laundry to do all the time? Could be. Although most of the time I just don't think I have much to say that would be of any interest to anyone. I think that's the main thing that keeps me from posting regularly. Life around here is very normal, day-to-day stuff. Kids wanting to be fed, schoolwork, settling arguments, caring for animals, cleaning, and oh, did I mention the laundry?

I can hardly believe that seven months have passed since I started this blog. It was spring time. Everything was green, our garden was in and I had volunteer black-eyed susans coming up all over the place! Now, most everything is brown, except for a few splashes of orange, red and yellow sprinkled throughout the woods. I love each season and the changes that they bring.

Our garden now is only 3 boxes with cabbage, lettuce, brocolli and strawberries.
Even so, I am already looking forward with anticipation to the warming weather of spring and thinking of what we will plant when the time is right.

Juliana, Jacob and I have been doing a creation study about birds. We have so enjoyed seeing all the migratory birds that have been visiting our feeder each day to partake of the peanut butter suet called marvel meal that we make for them. Our conversations often turn towards a discussion of the greatness of God as we marvel at His wondrous feathered creations. Each one so unique and beautiful. I think it has been one of our favorite studies. (In case you are interested, it is Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day from Apologia curriculum.)

We have all had our first cold now. We can usually count on the first congestion to arrive by Thanksgiving and this year it did not disappoint us. I think the only one who was spared was Jacob. (how DID he mangage that?). That's one of the problems of sickness in large families. By the time it runs through everyone in the household you could have spent a month at home and have a desperate case of cabin fever! Thankfully, we are all better now and looking forward to the celebration of Christ's birth.
May the Lord richly bless all of you with the sweetness of knowing Him this season.

A Day at Busch Gardens

Several weeks ago when the weather was so nice I took the kids on a field trip down to Busch Gardens. Jordan had been asking for some time about going wanting to ride the choo-choo train and see the elephants. Juliana and Jacob were looking forward to seeing the birds since we have been doing a bird study together. Jessie was all about riding the roller coasters and Jared was just along for the ride. Some homeschool friends met us there and we enjoyed the day together.

While we were looking at the flamingo's one of them decided to start preening the kids hair. We had just been learing about preening in our bird study so this experience was very fun and interesting. Deven, Jordan's little friend who was with us thought the whole thing was hilarious! He laughed and laughed as the flamingo preened his sister Shaye's hair as well as Jacob and Juliana's.

We got to pet an inguana and ask questions about it. We had never seen a lizzard being walked on a leash before.

In addition to our day being educational, it was just plain fun as you can see from the pictures below.

Is that a Touch of Fall in the Air?

It seems it has become a tradition around here that we have a special dinner on the first day of Fall which gets us in the mood for setting out our fall decorations and looking forward to that first cool, crisp morning which lets you know that summer is officially over and the holidays are just around the bend. Last night we had this "fall dinner" which included roasted turkey breast, stuffing, cranberry sauce, acorn squash, green beans, hot mulled cider and carrot cake for dessert. It was delicious!

The temperature even cooperated yesterday with an overcast sky, a few sprinkling of rain drops and a lovely breeze. I took advantage of the beautiful weather by taking a walk and looking for some of the changes which confirm that fall (in Florida) is on the way. The leaves on our Sycammore trees have begun their turn from green to yellow to rust. A small pile of leaves is beginning to form. I love to hear the fallen leaves blow across the yard and pile up at the bottom of our front porch. I walked to an area of our property where I seldom go only to discover a thicket full of end of summer wildflowers. Butterflies were everywhere and lots of crickets, though unseen, were making their presence known by their constant chatter.

I then made my way out to the chicken coop to check for eggs. Of late, I have had to remind hens that they work for me, not the other way around. Their egg production has been quite inconsistent and I was telling them they needed to kick it up a notch. They seemed unimpressed with my speech. Here is a picture of Rooster Boy and some of the Ladies. Isn't he just "to die for"? These ladies seem to think so.

From there I walked to the part of the yard where I spend most of my time. Todd found this garden pond at a yard sale a little over a year ago and picked it up for $30. It has brought us so much enjoyment. We love to sit out by the pond listening to the waterfall and watching the fish. In the evenings we enjoy watching spiders at work constructing their webs and frogs croaking as if to say, "any other frogs out there?" . There were frog eggs floating on the surface of the pond yesterday, evidence that a little frog romance had been going on out there the night before. :) Jacob especially will enjoy watching the transformation of those eggs into tadpoles and the tadpoles into frogs.

Eventually, the rain came and I reluctantly made my way inside. I had enjoyed my "first-day-of-fall walk" and seeing my Father's handiwork in the beauty of His creation.

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008...
Outside My Window...I finally bought a new bag of sunflower seeds for the birdfeeder. So nice to see the birds back there again. How DID they know that I had refilled the feeder after all this time?
I am thinking... that I really shouldn't be sitting here typing this right now but rather getting to my "to-do" list but....I really want to post SOMETHING!
I am thankful for... words of encouragement. A youth leader yesterday told us some great things he had observed in our oldest son, Jared. (Note: if you work with kids, take time to tell their parents the great things you notice. I assure you, they'll be blessed by your words.)
From the kitchen... a chicken casserole and hopefully a yummy, homemade carrot cake
I am wearing... my bum around the house shorts and shirt
I am creating... boxes filled with stuff to go to the thrift store as I clean out a closet.
I am going... nowhere
I am reading... a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I can't tell you how many books I am half-way through right now.
I am hoping... to get some seeds started by the end of this week for fall planting.
I am hearing... Juliana, Jordan and Jacob are watching The Grinch
Around the house... that closet cleaning that I mentioned before
One of my favorite things... laughing with friends
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: closet cleanout and organization, removal of all items that are being given away (you know how they usually sit in that box by your door for a few weeks once you clean them out :( ), some baking, a meeting to plan some special church social events
Here is picture thought I am sharing…

Juliana is such a "ham", she is always making us laugh. Here she is with her funny teeth in.

I'm so glad to be able to participate with the others in this Notebook entry. You can visit The Simple Woman's blog
HERE!