So, um, yeah...it's been awhile since I've posted our daily photos. It might take me all night to do it, but since I've just started baking a double batch of sugar cookies, I might as well get going on it...
Tuesday, Sept. 24th: A few weeks ago, at Dad and Vicki's garage sale, I found this adorable little colander on one of the tables. Vicki told me to take it home. At first, I wasn't sure what to do with it, but I've decided it looks pretty cute on my scrapbook desk holding little miscellaneous supplies.
Friday, Sept. 25th: Happy Birthday, Dad (and PaPa)!! We all gathered at his house for cake and ice cream. He's the big 6-0...and such a blessing in all of our lives.
Saturday, Sept. 26th: Our baby girl is 6 today! She is so amazing in so many ways. Here's just six of them...1. She has the cutest giggle in the world. 2. She is so creative...drawing, singing, acting, dancing. 3. She is strong-willed and very independent (I think this is a good thing...most of the time) 4. She's so very observant and notices everything. 5. She is very tenderhearted, sensitive, and caring. 6. She makes us smile and laugh every day with the things she says and does. We love you, Katie-bug!
Sunday, Sept. 27th: Today was Kaitlin's party...lots of friends and family...celebrating here at home. She received so many wonderful and thoughtful gifts! She loved her girlie-girl cupcake cake and had a wonderful day all around.
Monday, Sept. 28th: Every week, Austin has homework called "Lexicon Words". I'm not sure where the name came from...but basically, it's learning to use the dictionary and thesaurus. He has to write the phonetic spelling, definition, us it in a sentence, synonyms, antonyms, part of speech, etc. It's neat to see how much he's learning about the words each week.
Tuesday, Sept. 29th: Kaitlin received a spa giftset from her best friend, Natalie, for her birthday. The girls have been playing with it almost constantly since then...washing and styling each other's hair, giving neck massages and pedicures. It's so fun to see them being such girlie-girls.
Wednesday, Sept. 30th: Troy surprised the kids and I tonight. He got out of his C.M.A. class early and got home right before the kids headed off to bed. They were so excited to have Daddy tuck them in. Afterwards, he got started on a little homework while I did some daycare paperwork.
Thursday, Oct. 1st: Kaitlin and Austin decided to play this pirate math game tonight. Austin was explaining to Kaitlin how to add and subtract. He was being so patient with her and she was really grasping the concepts behind it. It's so neat to see them learning from one another.
Friday, Oct. 2nd: Tonight, Troy and I had a 'triple-date' with Erin and Andy and some friends, George and Teri. Erin asked me to take a picture of them before we left, and I had hoped to get a picture of Troy and I as well. He was working on Andy's lawnmower though, so the best I could do was a self-portrait of myself. We had a fabulous time at dinner and laughed so much! We can't wait to do it again!
Saturday, Oct. 3rd: So we've been thinking...and talking...and praying...and we've made the decision to homeschool the kids. It's something I've always wanted to do, but I've always used the daycare as an excuse not to. We feel like it's the right time...for a lot of different reasons. So I'm reading a lot of books...browsing a lot of websites...and soaking up a lot of wisdom about it. We're excited! (of couse, not all of these are homeschool books...some are for life group and some others just because). :)
Sunday, Oct. 4th: Friday, Austn had an assembly at school and brought home this light bulb cut-out from OG&E. It simply sat on the art desk all weekend...until today. He came into the kitchen, with it over his head, and declared, "Hey Mom! Look, I have an idea!" hee hee. I guess he had a lightbulb moment, huh?
Monday, Oct. 5th: Today in school, Kaitlin made this brown bear puppet. Tonight, she wanted to put on a puppet show for the family. It was so funny! The bear talked (in a surprisingly high and squeaky voice) about how he lived in the forest, but decided to go to the store to get some fish because he LOVED fish. He asked us what kind of food we liked and most of us answered pizza. Well, Brown bear does NOT like pizza...not even with fish (anchovies) on top. So cute! She had all of us rolling on the floor laughing.
Tuesday, Oct. 6th: We done a lot off looking into different curriculums for home schooling in the past week or so and have decided on one. Austin and Meghan have been working on their diagnostic tests so we know what grade level they'll be at. It's so surprising to me how little I know about what they learn (or don't learn) in public schools.
Wednesday, Oct. 7th: It's book club night. Our small group gathered at our house to talk about Mom's Novel, Peace of the Heart. The s'mores cupcakes were yummy and the fellowship was refreshing. They are such dear friends! I'm so thankful for them.
Thursday, Oct. 8th: Kaitlin's Daisy troop went to the fire department tonight for their meeting. We delivered some girl scout cookies and hand-made thank you cards to them. They gave the girls a tour of the station, as well as a balloon and bag full of goodies. It was a lot of fun for them!
Friday, Oct. 9th: I had a rare night out alone tonight. Walmart, Payless, and then grocery shopping. Very exciting. Very peaceful and refreshing.
Saturday, Oct. 10th: This evening, we had a wedding to attend...a long-awaited wedding. Thankfully, it was moved inside because it was quite chilly out by 6 pm. We're so very happy for their new family! My camera battery wasn't charged, so I had to wait and simply take a picture of the little treats the girls brought home instead.
Sunday, Oct. 11th: *sigh* Today was a rough day...the day our dog, Shelby, goes to her new home. For the past month, Shelby has been escaping from our yard...climbing the tree and jumping over out 6 ft fence or digging under the fence. There's even been a few days that animal control has found her blocks away from home before I even realized she was gone. She's been lonely and bored, and we've had to keep her tied up or in her kennel all day. But now she has a big farm to run and a black lab named Ace to play with. We'll all miss her, but know that this is for the best.
Monday, Oct. 12th: Troy has been a busy bee, building a wall to divide the office from the daycare room. We're planning a trip to Ikea for some new desks, so the kids can have one of their own when we start homeschooling. I'm so thankful to have such a handy hubby.
Tuesday, Oct. 13th: In an effort to avoid all the germs floating around the schools, I kept all 3 kids home this week. It was a short week because of fall break and we needed them healthy because Grandpa and Grandma Freas are coming for a visit! Meghan spent a lot of time today painting. Days like today are making me anxious for having them home all the time with me.
Wednesday, Oct. 14th: Grandma called when they were in Tulsa to let us know when they'd arrived after their long 12 hour drive. Meghan raised the mini blinds and sat down by the front windows when the time was getting close. She kept asking me every 20 seconds, "What time is it now?" I think she's excited to see them.
Thursday, Oct. 15th: This afternoon, after a lazy morning around the house with Grandpa and Grandma, we decided to do a little shopping and go out for dinner together. Kaitlin had a Target gift card from her birthday and Meghan had a little allowance money to spend. They're looked like such big girls paying for their goodies on their own.
Friday, Oct. 16th: Today we all went bowling! Most of us didn't even break 100...but we still had so much fun! Afterwards, we browsed a few antique stores and then went to Walmart to buy some supplies we need for homeschooling.
Saturday, Oct. 17th: This morning we had to say good bye to Grandpa and Grandma. We all enjoyed having them here, even if the visit felt way too short. We truly treasure every minute of our time together. Troy and I did some yard work, then we headed to church...but not before taking a picture of Kaitlin with her new friend, Tina the Prima Ballerina. She bought this puppet yesterday with the last of her birthday money. She's so funny with it!
Sunday, Oct. 18th: More yard work was on the agenda for today. Austin and I cut down some low branches while the girls weeded the flower bed (and looked for snails) while Troy mowed the yard. The fresh air wore us all out! We were exhausted by the end of the day.
Monday, Oct. 19th: This is just one of many piles of stuff laying around. Homeschooling. Daycare. Books. Filing. Catalogs. I'm hoping to make some progress this week.
Tuesday, Oct. 20th: Austin has been learning about the musical "West Side Story" in music class at school. He looked up some of the songs on youtube.com tonight so the girls and I could listen to them too.
Wednesday, Oct. 21st: Today, our curriculum was delivered!! The kids were so excited and helped me after dinner to unapck it, check the packing slip to make sure we had it all, then organize it by kid. Kaitlin curled up in one of the boxes with one of her math workbooks for quite some time. I hope their enthusiasum continues when we have to actually do the work, not just look at them. :)
Thursday, Oct. 22nd: On Thursdays, since Troy's gone back to school, I have to pick up the kids. It's so difficult to get to 3 different schools at the same time to pick up all 3 kids. The drive lines are horrendous and the daycare kids get pretty impatient. I'm so thankful though, that I don't have to do this on a daily basis.
And now...I've completely overwhelmed most of you, I'm sure. Thanks to those few who actually read through all of that. :) But at least I'm caught up...even if it is really late.
Hope ya'll have a great weekend...I know we're going to!! :)
