To All of You

I am just finishing my usual routine of getting on the computer for "just a minute" to check emails before bed...which turns into reading a blog or two...and eventually all of them in my favorites tab! Because it is already much later than I should have gone to bed(I'll figure that out one of these days), I often end up just reading and not leaving any comments.

So, for all the times I do so...I just wanted to say how much I love reading about your lives, seeing your adorable pictures, learning from your life-moments and almost always gaining a larger appreciation and satisfaction with life! You are all fantastic and I feel so very blessed!

Thank you~

Things I learned while packing...

Things I learned while packing...



Kiely has 3x's the clothes...and shoes I do. Now what is wrong with this picture???


I wish we had a LOT less stuff


The sun starts to come up around 4:30 these days. Oy!

Coffee can be useful (and maybe a little yummy), but I prefer sleep

My children can be happily entertained with only ONE toy set...for a whole week (perhaps my opportunity to get rid of some stuff)

Sometimes things fit better out of windows than trying to move them down narrow stairways (he-he)

RJ's raspberry licorice will suffice in place of a cough drop...even when stale. Evidently, I like them more than I thought. hmmm

I wish I owned less stuff!!!

Sharpie pens are unaccustomed to staying in ones pocket...yet are CRUCIAL when packing!

Again. I WISH I OWNED LESS STUFF!!!

Phew! It's over, (until September that is). For now I am thoroughly enjoying living with Kiely's parents. They are pretty fantastic in-laws and grandparents!!! Thank you.

Things I'd like to do...

Do you ever think of things you'd like to do.............um, someday! Well, I do, and here are a few of them...

skydiving (it's becoming a fad in our family...and I might be catching it)
having a garden
building or remodeling a craftsman style house ( I LOVE the character)
getting a tattoo ( I know, so cliche', but I may have finally decided of what!!!)
take ballet again (I was about 6/7 last time I took it....somedays, okay, alot of days, I wish I was a ballerina)
"deliver" a baby
get back in shape (he-he)
travel everywhere!!! Paris, Australia, South-south America, China...the east coast : )
paint
memorize the bible (maybe not in order, but to know where anything is and always have scriptures on my mind and in my thoughts)
do a mini-triathalon
row again
bake homemade chocolate brownies from scratch or gooie chocolate cake (Lindsey, I hear you have a recipe!)
know my herbs and home remedies to use them confidently and effectively (from scratch)
mentor the younger generation of young-ladies
get rid of my acne (highschool was waayy to long ago!)
play the violin (I even have one...perhaps a good place to start)
go on a cruise
hang my laundry outside to dry
start a mini business selling cloth diapers & altering reg. bras into nursing bras
kiss my kids too much!!! ; )

Sooo, what are some things you think about doing????

First Home-learning Adventure

I mentioned in my last post that I'm considering homeschooling. If I do, I really want to make it as "natural" as possible. Yes, I will use a base curriculum and make sure he can read and do appropriate math, etc. However, I don't want "schooling" to be all about doing bookwork, instead I want it to be about life and the way we naturally learn about things (i.e. as we're curious about them, or as they are happening in front of us).

After pondering the forementioned thoughts I had my first opportunity. Justus was helping me make tortillas yesterday and one of the steps is to dissolve salt in warm milk. Not knowing what that meant, Justus asked, "What is dissolve?" (Aha-opportunity!)

I explained it and then grabbed a glass of warm water so we could watch it happen(the recipe used milk, so that wasn't visible). Then I grabbed some sugar to dissolve on our tongues and added that to the water as well. Catching on quickly, he saw the next available "compound", baking powder, and gave that a try. It was great to see his curious mind work. After about 3-4 heaping spoonfuls of baking powder (he like that one), we grabbed the pepper and gave that a try. Ahhh, not everything dissolves. "Hmmm, Why?" He asked.

He loved it. I loved it...and we were learning! Such fun!

Random thoughts...inspired by Lindsey

Why do I let myself get overwhellmed so often? Am I going to raise my children right? I'm really deeply considering homeschooling... will it turn out good or bad?.....I absolutely love that Gabriel always had "bed-head", I even wet it down and styled it today before going out (new thing for me) and on our way home he fell asleep in the car, took a nap and woke up with it again!!!....How on earth did my little Benjamin get sooo sweet, he loves all my buttons to pieces....should I finish the cloth diapers I started sewing, ummmm, about 3yrs ago, with changed fabrics and designs? Or just buy some and be done with it?...I really enjoy hanging out with my friend Stephanie and little Augustine, she has been such a blessing to me since we've been in Astoria. I'm also sad to be moving away from her : ( ....How did I get such a fantastic husband???Honestly, he was not a Christian, had a very different background than me, odd hair and pretty easy-going (quite the contrast to my "tornado" personality). He's perfect!!!...Justus is such a great brother and all-around kid. He is soo smart (yes, everyone says that) and has been such a cuddler lately. He usually wakes up from his nap first and comes and sits with me on the couch or my bed. It's great!....We are moving in 1month and I really want to get rid of half of our belongings, but I can't quite think of what...when I look through stuff I think, "hmmm, we need everything in here", Yikes!!! ...what should I get/do for Father's day?...maybe I should go to bed...I really hope we find our camera so I can take pictures for the blog so I don't have to talk soo much....
Blessings,

A few oldies...

Here are a few pics we had taken over the Christmas holiday. I love them!!!

Closet Clean-Up

Things are moving along...Kiely is getting laid off on the 25th of June, and his summer class starts that very same evening. We are giving our notice on our house and will be living with his parents for 2 1/2 months until school starts in the fall. As things would have it (or rather God), Kiely's company is still going to need him after they lay him off and so they are going to re-hire him as an independent contractor part time and be paying him almost 3x's what he make now!!! It really couldn't work out any more perfectly. Now, he'll have time for school, but still be making money...and for less time. Hip-hip hooray!!!

In the mean time I'm trying to totally downsize our "stuff" in as many ways as possible....and as much as I've tried to keep it that way, we have a LOT of stuff. And for some reason, when I get slightly overwhellmed, instead of cleaning the dining room (usually where my projects or odds-n-ends accumulate) or something else obviously disastrous, I will find myself deep in a closet reorganizing and cleaning that out instead! Truly, this has happened more than once or twice. Just last week I sorted through our whole upstairs closet that has baby clothes and such equipment in it. I boxed up more than half of it to pass on to my sister-in-law and made phone calls to arrange new homes for a few other items...all this while, not ten feet away from me sat a huge pile of the boys laundry that was 3 days overdue to be folded and put away. I sure felt better when I was done though and every so often when I'm walking by I open the closet door and sigh a VERY contented "sigh"!!!

There is just something about knowing the deep, unseen things are in order, even when the surface may not be : )

p.s. thanks to everyone for the info on switching my background...isn't it cute??