10 on the 10th

Time for Mer's 10 on the 10th. This month since homeschooling is on my mind, I'm going to tell y'all 10 things that will be new to our homeschooling this year.

First of all let me first say this is our 9th year. Only through God's grace could we all have made it this far without killing one another :) Back in May I decided it was time for a change and BIG TIME change at that. I sold ALL my curricula I have collected over the last 9 years. So, here's what we've got this year.

1. Teaching Textbooks for Math. This is a pretty pricey program, but oh so worth it. The kids do their Math on the computer and the computer grades it!!!! That is the WORST part of homeschooling to me. . . the grading. I'm super-de-dooper excited about this. The computer also teaches the children, so hopefully I'll be very hands off when it comes to Math.

2. Tapestry of Grace. . . wanna talk about getting me organized and keeping me there? This curriculum is going to do all of that and MORE. I'm so very excited about it. My poor printer is probably so tired of ALL the work I've put it through during the last few weeks. There are several other moms who are doing the same curriculum. We're going to get together a couple of times a month and do activities with the children. I'm going to be getting together field trips for all of us. I'm super excited!!!

3. Agendas. I'm not really sure if this is the right word or not. But, on Monday my kiddos will be handed a calender. They will write down what THEY are responsible for doing each day. (this is also part of Tapestry . . . to create independent, self-motivated learners). I know there will be an adjustment period, but right now I am bound and determined not to start school until I have our whole year's worth of lesson plans. Right now I'm on week 18 . . . halfway there!!! I'm like the little engine that could . . ."I think I can, I think I can".

4. Discipleship. This may be the very MOST important thing I'm doing with my children this year. I'm going to disciple them and meet with each one of them individually once a week. Now, we will still have our family devotion at the table during breakfast. We will still do our Bible curriculum of "Firm Foundations". But on Tuesday, I'll meet with Hanna in HER room with no one else. Wednesday the same for Ash. Thursday the same for Alec. If my children are going to be Christ-like, they must know what that looks like. . . how better to teach them than one-on-one discipleship.

5. Tardiness. Yikes that's a pretty scary word for a girl who thinks if you're 15 minutes late, you're still on time. I think it's referred to as fashionably late. Whatever. That won't cut it this school year. The children will have to get themselves up with their own alarm clocks. They will have to be showered, dressed, have already eaten breakfast and cleaned up their mess, and at the kitchen table by 8:00. . . 3 tardies and you get tardy hall. . . which will require a bunch of busy work. I can't take credit for this idea. My friend, Trish, is doing it with her boys this year. I told her I'd be stealin' it.

6. Operation World. Yet another great idea from another great friend, Angela L. I've purchased this book called, "Operation World". In this book there is a country you pray for everyday. You pray for the missionaries. It gives very specific statics . . . like how much a year's salary is worth. We have a big world map in our school room. I bought (well actually Angela bought them for me) some colored push pins. After we pray for our country we will put our pushpin in that country. By the end of the year we will be able to see which countries and how many we prayed for. Feel free to steal. . . I know Angela would love for you to!

7. Grace. I'm a "work before play" kind-of girl. I am pretty disciplined and I think in order to be disciplined you have to somewhat have that attitude. . . otherwise nothing gets done. However, this year, if we're bombarded with school books, screaming at one another (yes, we have those days. . . we don't have the PERFECT homeschool), and we feel like we are going to claw our eyeballs out. . . we're going to take a break and go outside. In fact, I think everyday about mid-morning we will have a small snack and go on a bike ride, take Cookie on a walk, kick around the soccer ball or throw the football. . . just for a little while. . . . that way our day is much.more.enjoyable and our focus is not "let's hurry up and get finished with school".

8. Volunteer work. This has been on my heart for many, many years now. I'm not quite sure what we will be doing, but I want it to be something so my kids see a hurting world out there who desperately needs Jesus.

9. While I've concentrated on memorization every year, this year I'm picking it up a notch. Rather than memorizing scripture or portions of it, my goal is for us to memorize books of the Bible. I'm not fooling myself. I know it is a very high goal. However, I'd rather aim high and shoot low than aim low and shoot lower. . .know what I mean?

10. Less TV. Honestly I really don't like the TV. . . well it is a love/hate relationship. I think it takes away from quality family time. I want us to read more books outloud together, put together more puzzles, take more walks, more bike rides. And, just truly enjoy one another on a much, much deeper level.

10 on the 10th

It's time for Mer's 10 on the 10th. Because I can't spend any extra money right now. . . I'm going to list 10 things I want to spend money on when Jon gets a job.



1. Road Bike. Since Jon did his triathlon, now I really want to do one. Unfortunately my $89 mountain bike isn't going to cut it. I can't be competitive with it. I really need a road bike and they cost big bucks. Jon's researching it though . . . so, hopefully, if he gets a job or sells a house, I can get a bike.



2. A Living Well Health Master. You've probably seen these on TV. Montel Williams promotes them. It is an amazing blender. While I'd really love a Vitamix, the Health Master is a fraction of the cost . . . so . . . I'll settle.



3. Run a 5K. I just really am itching to do one. . . but, I gotta have some dough first.



4. Go to Bone Fish with my friends . . . maybe for lunch one day . . .when the hubbies can keep the kids. . . and maybe, just maybe squeeze in a pedicure.



5. One of these watches. . . well, not a Fossil (too expensive) . . . but a cheaper, more generic version.

6. A new swimsuit. . . just 'cause I always buy a new swimsuit every year. . . and, I have a $25 gift card to Victoria's Secret. BUT, all of their swimsuits are much more than $25.

7. I'd really love for Jon and I to take a small mini-vacay somewhere. . . even if it is SSI. We would want to eat out, so we just need to be frugal and responsible and wait until we aren't struggling so much financially.

8. New accessories. . . man, I want some new accessories. I have PURPOSEFULLY stayed far, far away from Serendipity because I know if I enter their doors, I will not have ANY willpower to resist.

9. As if 8 things weren't enough, I honestly cannot think of anything else right now. Should I be ashamed I have 8 things on my mental list of "things to buy when Jon gets a job" or be excited that I couldn't complete the full 10?

10. Nevermind, one more thing I want to spend $$$ on . . . I want to pay off ALL our stinkin' debt. . . so, I guess if we're going to do that, I'd better scrap the other 8 things I want to spend $$$ on.

21. Kids who have bright enough imaginations they can play by themselves . . . who set up things in the garage to play with.

22. A mama's girl who cried because she thought someone was saying unkind things about me.

23. Sweet baby coos (Emory) I heard over the phone while talking to my little sister this morning.

24. Job interviews.

25. Good morning hugs and kisses.

10 on the 10th

You know when every single room in your house is a mess, and you feel so totally overwhelmed you just don't know where to start? So sometimes you just leave it all a mess for awhile.. . that is until you gear yourself up and talk yourself into tackling it just like a coach would do before a big game? That is how I feel about blogging right now. Since scrapbooking and I are no longer apart of one another's lives, this blog serves as a scrapbook for me. It is very important to me that I document our lives in the pictorial sense. So, in an effort to try and get caught up on blogging, and in honor of Meredith's 10 on the 10th, I've combined 10 blog posts into one.

It will take much dedication and tenacity to make it through this post. Just warning you. So, if you're ready. . . on your mark, get set, GO!!!


1. WHAT PART OF NO DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

As we were helping my parents move this weekend, the girls wanted to spend the night. There was nowhere for them to sleep. Mama was trying to work it out so they'd be happy. I just kept telling them no. Finally, I'd heard enough of their whining. I looked at Hanna and in a frustrated tone said, "I said no. What part of no don't you understand?"

Her response, "The N and the O."

I laughed so hard I could hardly stand it. There went my frustration out the door.


2. SOUTH CAROLINA ZOO

A little over a month ago the kiddos and I took a trip to visit my sister, Melissa. We are all so excited that they've moved to Columbia, SC. It's so much closer than Dallas, TX. We all took a trip to the zoo.

Hanna cracked me up with this mail. You'd think she was "Dora the Explorer." That show hasn't graced our TV in years. Every time we would leave an exhibit, she'd pull out her map and look to see where we should go next.

The gorilla was really cool. Only this piece of thick plexy glass separated us from him. It was really neat to see his fingers, toes, and the kids got a good giggle out of seeing his booty.

The girls wanted to bring their purses with them. We told them THEY had to carry them. Guess who ended up with them?

Sweet cousins!

3. SO EVERYONE WOULD FEEL AT HOME

Last Monday my friend Jennifer called to say she would not be at Bible study. As we were talking I told her I had piles of laundry so high that I wouldn't have time to fold before everyone got there. She told me, "Just leave it. That way everyone would feel at home." I listened to her. Guess what? They did feel at home.

4. SPRING SPRINT

"Faithful Feet's" 2nd 5K together. Along with my family 2 other families were participating. Poor Faith, she was really looking forward to this race. She'd gotten some new shoes that I know made her super fast. Plus, I told her a creme-filled donut would be waiting for her at the finish line. The day before the race her daughter broke her arm. We had her oldest 2 kiddos with us so they could run the race. We missed Faith, Steven, KJ, and "Flash", but Jennifer, Jon, and I and all the kiddos had a GREAT race!

There are 2 kids in this picture that are not in Faithful Feet. They play soccer with us, but we didn't want to exclude them from the picture.

Me and my girls.

Alec had an awesome race. He came in 1st in his age group. I was so proud of him.

Noah did a great job too!

Here are Hanna and I coming up for a strong finish. This was her 1st 5K so I ran with her. She finished in 34:09. Bless her heart, about mile 2, she kept asking me, "Is it almost over?"

Ashley was DYNAMITE!!! She was the first overall lady to cross the finish line and won her age group.

Hanna came in 3rd in her age group

Alec is going to be a close competitor with me. He won his age group and was 4th or 5th overall crossing the finish line.

All these boys did a terrific job.

5. HOMESCHOOL BOOKSALE

It's that time of year again. . . we love the homeschool book sale. This year I sold A LOT of my curriculum. I'm revamping all of my curriculum. In order to pay for the new stuff I needed to sale the old stuff. This year was much more overwhelming for me. I really didn't buy as much as I had planned. There were just SO MANY PEOPLE and SO MANY BOOKS!!!

One cool thing I found those is amongst the thousands of books there I saw this book called, "The Mystery of the Boston Marathon." This fall my friends and I are going to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I took me finding this book as a sign that we'd all qualify. Ha!Ha!

During the used book sale Alec hung out with his buddies Noah and Griffin. I'm so glad these boys have one another! Their families are a big blessing to our family.

6. EASTER

Honestly, Easter was quite a blur this year. The day before we'd run our Ultra Marathon (I promise a post is coming soon). We did make it to church that Sunday. I think we actually did our egg hunt on Monday. I rationalized in my head that hunting eggs was actually a pagan tradition (this is really true) so it was no big deal that we didn't do it on Easter. I didn't even have baskets for the kids. We used plastic sacks. . .

By the looks of everyone's faces I think Hanna and Cookie enjoyed it the most.

Ash always gets mad and pouts if she doesn't get the prize egg. I think there is a pouter in every family, whether or not people chose to admit it or not.

7. DAUSET TRAILS

We headed to Dauset Trails and enjoyed a day with our friends. We looked at the animals. The kids got to hang out with their friends and the parents got to hang out with our friends. We all had a picnic together. It was such a beautiful day.

8. CHILDREN SINGING

I'm so thankful I almost always have my camera with me. One Sunday night the kids were singing, and I didn't even realize it. I always love it when I see my babies up in front of the church singing. Just warms this Mama's heart. Thank goodness they were dressed halfway decent that night.

9. PARENT'S WATCH WEEK

The studio where Hanna takes ballet has a couple of times a year "Parent's Watch Week". It is really a big deal to the ballerinas and their parents. Hanna was so excited and kept asking, "Is Daddy going to make it to Parent's Watch Week?" (he was working out of town a lot at the time)

Splits . . .

10. STONE MOUNTAIN HIKE

Our homeschool group went on a hike to Stone Mountain. For those of us who tend to run late we were told, "We're hiking at 10:00". Unfortunately we weren't told there was more than one parking lot. We got there at 9:38. I was so proud of us for being early. My friend Jennifer G was already there, so we hung out with her crew. Then Jennifer B. drove up. She was there before 10:00 too (I was super proud of her). It got to be almost 10:00, then I received a text from Tiffani letting us know there was a different parking lot.

Thing is, they weren't kidding. They started hiking at 10:00, so we were a little behind. My feathers were a little ruffled that we weren't told there was a separate parking lot and we were left, but I calmed down and no one (other than Jon) knew I was peeved. I was glad to be with the 2 Jennifers. We all eventually got caught up with one another.

Hanna was one serious hiker, and she was cute as a button too!

Alec was a hoot. He packed his ruck sack, making sure it weighed 25 lbs. He's really into Navy Seals right now. So I'm sure all of this had to do with all this Navy Seal stuff in his head.

A hiking we will go. . .

At the top. See how hard they worked. They're all sweaty!

The kid crew. . . minus Hanna. She was being a booger, and I wasn't up for arguing with her not being in the group picture.

Our family

The moms

After our hike we headed to the picnic area and had a picnic. Jon was jealous of Steve. Steve had white bread, non-natural peanut butter, jelly, and a soda. Jon had wheat bread, natural peanut butter, jelly, and vitamin water. It was like he was 8 years old again in the cafeteria at school wanting the other kids' lunch. They kids all played, while the grownups all talked. We had a great day with our friends. I also loved that several of the Dads made it and got to fellowship with one another.

If you made it through the longest blog post in the history of blogging, you deserve a round of applause, a cookie, a donut, and a cup of coffee!!! CONGRATULATIONS

10 on the 10th

Time for Mer's 10 on the 10th. I've missed the last couple of months. . . but here it goes for the month of February. Since February is a month of love and it involves the heart I thought I'd do 10 things that make my heart race. . .

Here's 10 things that have made my heart race this past week.

1. Running always makes my heart race. . . and I'm training for another marathon in March and an Ultra Marathon (this one is 31 miles) for April. I love running with my partner. She started out as someone I could run with. . . she has ended up a dear friend. . . and I love our conversations whether we are running 8 miles or 26.

2. Jon was out of town Monday night. Don't like that at all. However, I decided to work on Monday night instead of Tuesday morning. NEVER AGAIN will I do that!!! As I laid down I heard every single noise my house makes. Normally I'm the type of girl that falls asleep within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. Not this night. It took me over an hour to fall asleep. Grrrr.

3. Tiffani accomplished something really big. I am so very proud of her. I know she will probably be blogging about it, so that it is ALL I'm going to say. Nevertheless, my heart pumped for joy for her.

4. Alec's band is playing at this event this coming on Monday where Mark Richt, the coach of the Georgia Bulldogs will be speaking. This is "Footsteps" biggest event YET!!! I will definitely be the backstage mom, and I hope we get to meet Coach Richt.

5. This past Monday night I had a discipleship group at my house. Our church is really big into discipling. Me and several friends are not apart of a discipleship group, so we thought, "Why not form one ourselves?" My friend Angela came and really blessed all of us. We are going through the books, "Respectable Sins" and "The Mischief of Sin".

6. Seeing my hubby walk through the door after being gone . . . makes my heart race. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband!!!

7. I got new K-cups for my Keurig. I actually had the Keurig put in the cabinet, but since I was having a group of ladies over I decided to splurge and treat them to some great coffee. I'm so loving having it out again. It also forces me to drink more green tea. . .it's full of antioxidants, you know?

8. A clean house. . . very.rarely.happens. Sometimes my heart races because I can no longer stand the mess. Sometimes my heart races because I am giddy with excitement when it is clean.

9. Whenever my children accomplish a goal they sought or when the see God's hand in things concerning everyday life. Just being a Mom period makes my heart race!!!

10. Being with people that are near and dear to my heart, being with old friends, making new friends. . . people period. I am definitely the kind of girl who loves people and is energized by being with people. This week we had a Sunday School Super Bowl party. The Super Bowl certainly didn't make my heart race. . . but the fellowship sure did!!! I got the chance to get to know a new friend of mine better. . . a missionary who is just absolutely precious!!! Her life amazes me! I also got to hang out with old friends and joke aroiund with new friends who seem like old friends. A wonderful night was had by all, and it had nothing to do with the commercials, who won the game, or even the food. . . . okay, maybe the food did play a small part . . .