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My baby boy turned 1 today! He got his 3rd haircut yesterday. He started toddling around with our walking toy. He's walking along the furniture more and has discovered cabinets. He is my 2nd heaviest baby at 1, even after all that fuss about him not gaining weight fast enough. We are transitioning to milk, which he loves much better than the formula he had for about 1-2 weeks. He is in the screaming stage right now, so he screams a VERY high pitched scream a LOT! He doesn't have to be mad/cranky, he just shrieks, and I will be glad to get him out of this phase.
Julia will be 3 in 2 weeks. I still tell everyone she's 2, but if someone asks my kids' ages I would say 1, 2, 5 and 6, but really it's basically 1, 3, 5, 6. It's just so weird to say she's 3. I can't wait to see how tall she is when we go to the doctor in a few weeks. She talks ALL THE TIME!!! We decided to get her a preschool program so she has something specific to do while the girls are doing their work. She will start Cubbies when school starts. She is mostly potty trained (has an occasional accident, takes naps with no diaper, will some days stay dry overnight.
Bekah has been very vocal about her thoughts lately, usually in a rather rude manner, so she's been doing lots of thinking about her tone of voice and her words. She is looking forward to kindergarten and being old enough to do kids choir this fall and playing soccer with her sister again this year. She was learning to ride her bike, but forgot and is now scared and difficult to convince to continuously pedal so she doesn't fall over. She gives up and heads straight for the nearest exit off the road.
Rachel is changing a lot. She has lost several teeth and her front 2 are finally coming in. We all made it to the dentist and they didn't say anything about her mouth, so I guess we"re ok. I'm hoping Rachel still enjoys school this year and I'm praying that I have the diligence to do the things I have scheduled for us to do and to have patience with her when she gets frustrated and wants to quit or not try. She is determined to try out for a speaking part this fall with kids choir. I'm not sure how that's going to go, but I will try to stay positive.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Throwback Thursday and Hashtags
I love that Jeff is a teacher and has summers off. When he was a new teacher, we got questions all the time about whether he was going to get a summer job to add income to his salary and give us a little wiggle room in our budget. He has never officially gotten a summer job, but he works extra days some years, volunteers to administers tests (for pay), coaches soccer camp, and a few other odd jobs. It doesn't take away from our summer, but gives him something to do and adds income that we are thankful for.
That being said, and since I titled this post Throwback Thursday I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos of past summers.
Brief side note: I know what a hashtag is. I know it somehow relates to twitter. I have no idea it's purpose, why people put 3 or 4 of them at the end of Facebook posts, or why anyone would ever give their child the name hashtag. I just don't understand. I'm probably uninformed, behind the times, or maybe I'm just old.
That being said, and since I titled this post Throwback Thursday I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos of past summers.
Brief side note: I know what a hashtag is. I know it somehow relates to twitter. I have no idea it's purpose, why people put 3 or 4 of them at the end of Facebook posts, or why anyone would ever give their child the name hashtag. I just don't understand. I'm probably uninformed, behind the times, or maybe I'm just old.
Bekah 2009
Houston 2009
Wisconsin 2010
Wisconsin 2010
Illinois 2010
San Antonio 2010
Mamaw's 2010
Guam 2012
Summer 2013
Summer 2013
July 2013
Philippines 2012
Colorado 2012
Colorado 2011
Thursday, July 24, 2014
DIsney Vacation
I mentioned in an earlier post here that we went to Disney and I was hoping to impart some wisdom onto those who are thinking of going. Some is based on mistakes we made, things we learned while there, and some is based on different blogs we read before going.
1) Disney is currently transitioning into using Fast Pass+ bands instead of the credit card looking passes. I'm not sure how the fast pass system works with those, but the new system only allows 3 fast passes. The only way to get more is to book the fast passes early for what you really want to ride that has the most wait time and book them early in the day. Once you have used all 3 fast passes, you have unlimited numbers of fast passes that you can book, but you have to book them 1 at a time. It took us half of our week before we figured it out.
a) While we enjoyed the FastPass+ system, we weren't able to use it to it's maximum potential. We booked a fast pass for some rides that usually have short wait times. For rides with short wait times, a fast pass isn't necessarily needed. For instance, at Magic Kingdom, Peter Pan's Flight will have a wait time over 1 hour most of the day, but if you go early, there's very little wait time.
b) Book early. We didn't book our fast passes very early, but if you have kids that want to ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or see Anna and Elsa without a 2-3 hour wait, you will want to get a fast pass early or there won't be any left.
2) When planning out what you want to ride, you have to consider the weather. Some of the rides shut down while it's raining and will remain closed for a while after the rain. In the summer there is almost always an afternoon rain around 2:00. Some of the indoor rides will be available during the rain, or it might be a good time to pop in to one of the many shows available, we did our shopping for souvenirs during one of the rains.
3) We had heard that the portions were large and thought we would be saving some money by not having to buy a meal for everyone. The portions weren't as big as we thought, but I'm sure it was still cheaper than getting a dining plan. If you are going in September or October, I would plan on getting a Dining plan and making reservations early, but assume they will offer free dining plans for those staying onsite.
a) You can start booking reservations 180 days before your arrival date. Take advantage of it.
4) Character dining- we ate at 1 character dining restaurant and our kids loved it. I would guess it's cheaper to eat at a character restaurant for breakfast instead of lunch or dinner. We ate at Akershus in the World Showcase at Epcot. This is great for girls. We saw at least 5 or 6 princesses all during breakfast, it was interactive, and the girls got signatures for all of them. The price you pay is not having to wait in line for each princess. One meal you read about that is very popular is The Crystal Palace. We wanted to eat there, but had some communication problems and didn't get a reservation. We had a group of 8 eating, so it's a little harder to get reservations for larger groups, so that's why you book EARLY.
a) One of the new restaurants in the Magic Kingdom is Be Our Guest. A few characters come out during dinner if you book it for dinner reservations, but if you want to save a few bucks, go during lunch. It's a quick service restaurant during lunch and it's very pretty inside. We saw a blog that said go at 10:45 to get in line because it opens at 11:00. This couldn't be more true. We got there at 10:45, they were handing out menus so we would know what we wanted to eat when we got to the front to order and we were the last ones to be allowed in line until the line got shorter. There were people who were turned away. We were told that it could be up to a 2 hour wait from where we got in line. As the line progressed, more people came behind us to get in line. We ended up waiting less than an hour.
There's oh so much more, but it will have to wait for a later date.
1) Disney is currently transitioning into using Fast Pass+ bands instead of the credit card looking passes. I'm not sure how the fast pass system works with those, but the new system only allows 3 fast passes. The only way to get more is to book the fast passes early for what you really want to ride that has the most wait time and book them early in the day. Once you have used all 3 fast passes, you have unlimited numbers of fast passes that you can book, but you have to book them 1 at a time. It took us half of our week before we figured it out.
a) While we enjoyed the FastPass+ system, we weren't able to use it to it's maximum potential. We booked a fast pass for some rides that usually have short wait times. For rides with short wait times, a fast pass isn't necessarily needed. For instance, at Magic Kingdom, Peter Pan's Flight will have a wait time over 1 hour most of the day, but if you go early, there's very little wait time.
b) Book early. We didn't book our fast passes very early, but if you have kids that want to ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or see Anna and Elsa without a 2-3 hour wait, you will want to get a fast pass early or there won't be any left.
2) When planning out what you want to ride, you have to consider the weather. Some of the rides shut down while it's raining and will remain closed for a while after the rain. In the summer there is almost always an afternoon rain around 2:00. Some of the indoor rides will be available during the rain, or it might be a good time to pop in to one of the many shows available, we did our shopping for souvenirs during one of the rains.
3) We had heard that the portions were large and thought we would be saving some money by not having to buy a meal for everyone. The portions weren't as big as we thought, but I'm sure it was still cheaper than getting a dining plan. If you are going in September or October, I would plan on getting a Dining plan and making reservations early, but assume they will offer free dining plans for those staying onsite.
a) You can start booking reservations 180 days before your arrival date. Take advantage of it.
4) Character dining- we ate at 1 character dining restaurant and our kids loved it. I would guess it's cheaper to eat at a character restaurant for breakfast instead of lunch or dinner. We ate at Akershus in the World Showcase at Epcot. This is great for girls. We saw at least 5 or 6 princesses all during breakfast, it was interactive, and the girls got signatures for all of them. The price you pay is not having to wait in line for each princess. One meal you read about that is very popular is The Crystal Palace. We wanted to eat there, but had some communication problems and didn't get a reservation. We had a group of 8 eating, so it's a little harder to get reservations for larger groups, so that's why you book EARLY.
a) One of the new restaurants in the Magic Kingdom is Be Our Guest. A few characters come out during dinner if you book it for dinner reservations, but if you want to save a few bucks, go during lunch. It's a quick service restaurant during lunch and it's very pretty inside. We saw a blog that said go at 10:45 to get in line because it opens at 11:00. This couldn't be more true. We got there at 10:45, they were handing out menus so we would know what we wanted to eat when we got to the front to order and we were the last ones to be allowed in line until the line got shorter. There were people who were turned away. We were told that it could be up to a 2 hour wait from where we got in line. As the line progressed, more people came behind us to get in line. We ended up waiting less than an hour.
There's oh so much more, but it will have to wait for a later date.
Friday, July 18, 2014
August is Coming
Wow!
Summer is flying by. We have had a fairly calm week at our house. Nathan got a fever that turned out to be an ear infection, Bekah threw up our first night home, Julia had nightmares all night one night so she slept by our bed, Jeff has been rebuilding our fence that blew down in the spring, the girls went to the dentist, and now we are packing for our next adventure.
Yesterday Mardel had their annual 20% off education and curriculum sale, so Jeff and I went and bought almost all of our school books for the coming school year. I had already started making out our schedule for the semester with some of our books, and now we have our math, science and phonics ready to go. When I get the books for the school year, I spend days pouring over them, figuring out what I like, don't like, whether I think the girls will understand or not, and this year, I have teacher's manuals, so it gives me extra activities we can do without me having to come up with the idea! I am almost completely ready for this semester. We are waiting for a few books we had to order at the store, and when they come in, hopefully I will be ready to get moving. Julia wants to do school this year, so I got her some papers to do while the girls are busy with their school.
On a side note...it has been under 75 degrees the past 2 days here in TEXAS, in JULY! Who would have known we would ever get the chance to open our windows to cool off the house in the middle of summer.
Summer is flying by. We have had a fairly calm week at our house. Nathan got a fever that turned out to be an ear infection, Bekah threw up our first night home, Julia had nightmares all night one night so she slept by our bed, Jeff has been rebuilding our fence that blew down in the spring, the girls went to the dentist, and now we are packing for our next adventure.
Yesterday Mardel had their annual 20% off education and curriculum sale, so Jeff and I went and bought almost all of our school books for the coming school year. I had already started making out our schedule for the semester with some of our books, and now we have our math, science and phonics ready to go. When I get the books for the school year, I spend days pouring over them, figuring out what I like, don't like, whether I think the girls will understand or not, and this year, I have teacher's manuals, so it gives me extra activities we can do without me having to come up with the idea! I am almost completely ready for this semester. We are waiting for a few books we had to order at the store, and when they come in, hopefully I will be ready to get moving. Julia wants to do school this year, so I got her some papers to do while the girls are busy with their school.
On a side note...it has been under 75 degrees the past 2 days here in TEXAS, in JULY! Who would have known we would ever get the chance to open our windows to cool off the house in the middle of summer.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Laziness
I saw a post on Facebook recently that included a link to a friend's blog. Granted, it was my friend's wife who write's the blog, but the blog is about their life together. My friend is currently in seminary and has been a youth pastor for the past several years. They are currently foster parents with the intention of adopting. Some of the stories they tell make me very blessed to have 4 healthy children. We had a small glimpse of what it might be like for us to have a child with medical needs. Our needs were small and wouldn't require monetary commitments long term. God could have chosen to give us a child with heavy medical needs, but hasn't. I'm not sure my emotional state could handle it.
On with it you say? Well, on their blog they made a huge list of things they needed to do to their home to be ready for fostering kids. They did lots of work, they both have jobs, and now they have kids to take care of and both have jobs. In order to make their house run, they don't seem to have much time to relax. I, on the other hand, choose to ignore my household responsibilities and have dirty dishes, a pile of laundry to fold and another large pile of clothes that need washing. Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, toilets, showers, the yard, garden, school, cooking. Who has time for it all?
The one thing I do know is that my spiritual gift is NOT service. On the days that I am active and get several chores done I am exhausted! I don't know if it's because I have 4 young children and trying to raise them is exhausting and adding in household chores is just more on top of that or if I'm just not cut out for serving others day and night. I feel really lazy some days and flat out tired other days. Maybe I should get a check up to make sure my iron isn't low or maybe that my thyroid is working properly. If all is well, then I need to dig deeper into relying more on God's strength and mercy than my own. I probably should rely on Him more as it is. I'm hoping that since this is on the internet that I will be more inclined to follow through and not just put if off like our house projects.
Please pray for our family as summer winds down and get back into the grind of having Jeff gone during the day and parenting 4 kids and homeschooling.
Proverbs 15:19 "The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway."
On with it you say? Well, on their blog they made a huge list of things they needed to do to their home to be ready for fostering kids. They did lots of work, they both have jobs, and now they have kids to take care of and both have jobs. In order to make their house run, they don't seem to have much time to relax. I, on the other hand, choose to ignore my household responsibilities and have dirty dishes, a pile of laundry to fold and another large pile of clothes that need washing. Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, toilets, showers, the yard, garden, school, cooking. Who has time for it all?
The one thing I do know is that my spiritual gift is NOT service. On the days that I am active and get several chores done I am exhausted! I don't know if it's because I have 4 young children and trying to raise them is exhausting and adding in household chores is just more on top of that or if I'm just not cut out for serving others day and night. I feel really lazy some days and flat out tired other days. Maybe I should get a check up to make sure my iron isn't low or maybe that my thyroid is working properly. If all is well, then I need to dig deeper into relying more on God's strength and mercy than my own. I probably should rely on Him more as it is. I'm hoping that since this is on the internet that I will be more inclined to follow through and not just put if off like our house projects.
Please pray for our family as summer winds down and get back into the grind of having Jeff gone during the day and parenting 4 kids and homeschooling.
Proverbs 15:19 "The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway."
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Vacation!
We had an amazing time on vacation! It was the BEST! I'm not sure if I can say all I want to say about it, but I will get to that. First, some things that have been on my mind.
1. We don't have cable. The major networks have sub-channels that we get to watch and I'm obsessed (in a fun, not creepy sort of way) with their shows. It's almost like having HGTV and the Food Network in 1 channel. Anyway, so my favorite show is Knock It Off. These 2 amazing Christian ladies from the northeast have a blog and it got made into a show. It's a little like Trading Spaces, only with whatever budget you give them. Their blog has lots of DIY ideas, and it got me thinking that I want to maybe tell people some of my ideas/things that I accomplished. Only problem is, I don't do anything very exciting often enough to blog about it.
2. I have neglected my parental duties to send out a birth announcement for Nathan. Am I going to regret this one day, probably. I may have to go make a birth announcement and send it with this year's Christmas card, which hopefully gets out before last year's card that didn't go out until May! Yes, I said May. They were (mostly) ready in December, but we didn't make it to the post office. To make matters worse, I had written a note to a family friend who is very sweet and had been battling MS as long as I've known her and she died at the end of April, before the letters went out.
3. When I plan something, or look to buy things online, I usually research it to death. I probably read the same websites several times through. We just got back from Walt Disney World and I feel like I have plenty of wisdom to give, but not nearly like those who have been several times and know all of the short cuts. I may write other posts about our experience, even if it's with the hope that we may return in a few years when our kids are a bit older. It will still be difficult to do Disney with 4 kids and only 2 adults, but nothing like toting an infant most of the day, a toddler who is always talking, whining, or crying about something, and 2 others who could ride most rides, but probably wouldn't. \
4. Have I mentioned that it's summer? It's already 1/2 over and going by WAY too fast. We volunteered to teach in July at church because our schedule was fairly empty, but knowing us, our July has filled up. Jeff has 3 days of work, a 3 day marriage conference, a 3-4 day coaching school/vacation, Nathan's birthday, and freshman camp. It may not seem like much, but when you have a long list of projects to do at home, it would be nice to have full days to tackle some of these projects, so you can take a break.
Disney was amazing! We didn't have enough time to see everything, but hopefully we can make it back someday and see the things we missed and make new memories. There are hundreds of pictures, but my parents have most of them. We also spent a week at the beach. It was very nice to relax and enjoy a slower pace while still on vacation and not at the upbeat pace of trying to see everything at Disney. We ate a couple of meals in Seaside even though we were staying in Seacrest. It was all very nice, and it wasn't super busy. I've never been to Destin, but I hear there are lots of people around this time of year. I will post more of our Disney experience later with some tips/advice that go along with it.
1. We don't have cable. The major networks have sub-channels that we get to watch and I'm obsessed (in a fun, not creepy sort of way) with their shows. It's almost like having HGTV and the Food Network in 1 channel. Anyway, so my favorite show is Knock It Off. These 2 amazing Christian ladies from the northeast have a blog and it got made into a show. It's a little like Trading Spaces, only with whatever budget you give them. Their blog has lots of DIY ideas, and it got me thinking that I want to maybe tell people some of my ideas/things that I accomplished. Only problem is, I don't do anything very exciting often enough to blog about it.
2. I have neglected my parental duties to send out a birth announcement for Nathan. Am I going to regret this one day, probably. I may have to go make a birth announcement and send it with this year's Christmas card, which hopefully gets out before last year's card that didn't go out until May! Yes, I said May. They were (mostly) ready in December, but we didn't make it to the post office. To make matters worse, I had written a note to a family friend who is very sweet and had been battling MS as long as I've known her and she died at the end of April, before the letters went out.
3. When I plan something, or look to buy things online, I usually research it to death. I probably read the same websites several times through. We just got back from Walt Disney World and I feel like I have plenty of wisdom to give, but not nearly like those who have been several times and know all of the short cuts. I may write other posts about our experience, even if it's with the hope that we may return in a few years when our kids are a bit older. It will still be difficult to do Disney with 4 kids and only 2 adults, but nothing like toting an infant most of the day, a toddler who is always talking, whining, or crying about something, and 2 others who could ride most rides, but probably wouldn't. \
4. Have I mentioned that it's summer? It's already 1/2 over and going by WAY too fast. We volunteered to teach in July at church because our schedule was fairly empty, but knowing us, our July has filled up. Jeff has 3 days of work, a 3 day marriage conference, a 3-4 day coaching school/vacation, Nathan's birthday, and freshman camp. It may not seem like much, but when you have a long list of projects to do at home, it would be nice to have full days to tackle some of these projects, so you can take a break.
Disney was amazing! We didn't have enough time to see everything, but hopefully we can make it back someday and see the things we missed and make new memories. There are hundreds of pictures, but my parents have most of them. We also spent a week at the beach. It was very nice to relax and enjoy a slower pace while still on vacation and not at the upbeat pace of trying to see everything at Disney. We ate a couple of meals in Seaside even though we were staying in Seacrest. It was all very nice, and it wasn't super busy. I've never been to Destin, but I hear there are lots of people around this time of year. I will post more of our Disney experience later with some tips/advice that go along with it.
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