Spring Break!

We were SO excited for Spring Break!!  I had a list of daily adventures, and we were going to have the most packed out fun week ever.  However, life happened.... and I'm learning that's just how it goes.


Normally we go to Galveston and do a week at the beach.  This was never my "official" plan, but every year it's ended up being our Spring Break the last several years.  This year, however, we are in the process of selling our house, and packing, and craziness, so we decided to stay local.  Plan was for a fun day in Dallas, then do local adventures all week long.

Good news is we DID get that fun day in Dallas, and the boys got to go fishing at our new pond, and we did a lot of packing and cleaning... the bad news was we all got a stomach bug for three days which kept us home bound and we missed out on a lot.  I'm very tired of health crashes this year, but I'm learning to accept and work around it.  Instead of being down about missing out three fun planned days, I'm accepting we got to rest as a family, and at least we didn't miss any school from our illness!!






Even though Spring Break didn't go as planned, we had a fun day (right before the sickness) doing Legoland, Aquarium, and the kids right before that got to find a new fishing pond on our future property.  The kids thought it was amazing we got to catch fish, and knowing they have a pond within a five minute walk of our new house location is great!  They are going to grow up with many memories at their new fishing hole.  Spending a day building legos, going on rides, seeing amazing aquarium fish was also fun!  New adventures, including carousel rides, days with grandparents, and more.  I'm very thankful for these great memories we make with our kids.  I get down as a mom that I can't do "everything" I had planned, but kids don't need "everything", they just need the love and good memories that we can do as a family.  I get frustrated with my health, but our kids don't know that.  A gentle reminder that even when we, as parents, don't feel like enough, our kids think we are super stars!  Enjoy the fun times, and don't get down those week we all get sick and house bound.

Another good news is we got an offer on our house and contracted!!  This put us into some hard core packing, planning, and preparing for our transition the next few months, while we wait for our house to finish building.  This next few months is going to be an interesting journey through our next chapter, as we say goodbye to our amazing home, and work on building a better one! 

Lots of changes with health, life, and everything!  I can't wait to see where this next step takes us.

Our February ups and downs

This last month has been filled with challenges and fun!!

Some of the fun was we had a much needed break visiting family in Mississippi :). The kids enjoyed the weekend with Granny and Pawpaw.  I’m very thankful that our children  are able to grow up close to grandparents and visit there other set of grandparents as well. They had the opportunity to help their pop pop plant trees and work on the land as well as get some good quality time with granny. Even though the baby got sick we still had a relaxing weekend snuggling and getting good quality family time. We were also very thankful to visit our old church and see how God is able to work and blessed that church with their new pastor. 

At school we have been having lots of fun with Valentines day, Presidents’ Day and lots of  hands on activity. It’s so much fun to watch the kids grow their own gardens, observe their own ant hills, and do magnet experiments as they learn and try new things and science !!  We also had our "100 day of school" celebration so all the boys got to dress up like they were 100 years old.  It made for a fun boost to our rainy February!

I've been very excited to start taking on new piano students again, as well as watch my boys learn and improve!  I'm forever thankful my parents took the time and money for me to learn music so that I am able to use it to serve in ministry, school, and help others learn as well!  I was never a great musician, but I love teaching the next generation and am forever thankful that God allows me to still play.  :)

February has always been a rough month for us physically and mentally, but this last week I got the official diagnosis of fibromyalgia. This is something they told me years ago I was borderline on and I have been struggling with pain management and balancing life for a while.   Although I’m very thankful for how much I have learned with nutrition exercise and energy balancing it has been difficult learning to manage my pain. I am very thankful for a Doctor who is finally listening to me and able to help me as I do the next few steps of the process.  I’m also very thankful that it wasn’t anything worse which was a concern.  

 Although I am thankful for the answers finally in for a specialist I can work with, it’s still a lot to take on.  I am very thankful for all of our friends and family to help us and support us.   It’s going to be a great journey as I learn to keep my health on track even more so. Overall between school and traveling and all the grand adventures we have I just have to remember to keep my own health in mind and keep myself from getting too overdone.  :).

It can be very difficult when you feel sick, but don't look sick.  Oftentimes I have to remember to NOT overshare or explain, because most people will not understand.  Take my rest days seriously, and pace myself well is critical for my physical and mental well being.   I also have to not guilt myself for not being able to do as much as I would like to.  It's a tricky thing learning to accept limitations on life, but not letting those limitations define or take away from quality of life.  I take victory in the small things, and embrace those happy moments of life.  Purpose to not dwell on the bad days or negative is also a must!!  It's difficult, but with prayer, Bible, and good support, I'm thankful that I'm able to balance that all out more.

With the last couple weeks of rain, even though it has been a struggle on my health, I’ve been really enjoying my new learning process with make up with lip sense, as well as getting a lot of great time with my kids!! It is been a joy to watch our children grow and learn and become each other’s best friends. I’m very thankful for a close knit family and cannot wait to see how these kids continue!

Having a GREAT February... fight off winter blues!!

Hey everyone and Happy February!!

I looked back and was realizing all my "this time last year" posts are all the same.  Flu, sickness, depression, blahs.... overall "yuck" time of year!

This year is no different with feeling this way, the difference is not letting those feeling take control!

I get it.  Working full time, four kids, busy schedules, and this COLD wet yucky weather makes everything gloomy, BUT that doesn't change the "us" inside.

Every single day I wake up in pain and depression, and kids get fussy and sleep deprived, but don't focus on that.. instead shift to the AMAZING things I get to do every day. 

I get to watch children learn, grow, and love their life.  I get to snuggle four sweet adorable kids with unique personalities at home.  I get to have a great husband who provides a beautiful home and life for us!

The days get long, but just remember these few things:

1) SELF CARE!

 For me that includes Bible reading (even more in these tough months).  Encourage another person.  It's hard to be down about yourself if you're encouraging someone else.  Go out for a "coffee" time with someone, or even alone if needed.  Take time to rest!  Not lazy, but true rest and refreshment when you need it.
For me, that also means putting on some makeup, and doing my hair!
It can be so easy as a mom to just go into "lazy" mode... but when you feel down MAKE yourself get up and do what you need to feel pretty. :)

2) NO more Stinkin' Thinkin!

My Pastor's wife used to tell me "quit stinkin thinkin."  Guess what??  If you focus on the good stuff, it shows and it truly helps your attitude overall.
Go find something fun, exciting and new to do! 

3) Eat right!

  Yes, I do love my weekly pizza and coffee from Starbucks days, BUT make sure most of what you eat is healthy!  With less sun shine we also tend to eat not as well.  These are the months you need LOTS of extra nutrition, veggies, good proteins, etc.  I like to do packed out smoothies, good quality (high grain) bread, eggs, avocados, etc.  Every person has different dietary needs so do what you need to stay healthy. :)

4) Don't forget LOTS of water and exercise!

It's easy to get those winter blues and mope around.  Get up and even if you can't go walking outside, do some basic exercises in your own home!  It's FREE to do push ups, sit ups, lunges, running in place... download apps that can show you what you need as well!  Just get yourself moving!

This pretty much sums up some "winter blues" issues, but I like to remember that these painful and long weeks are only a short time.  Do what you must to push through it and keep a good attitude!  Remember, SUMMER is coming soon!!

  Throwback to last year's Valentine Baby!

A random week of pictures in the life of our adventures.

So basically this week was a very off kilter week!

First we had a Holiday Monday off (for MLK day) and then Tuesday we had a storm day due to severe ice and possible snow, turning our school week into a fun schedule :)

Wednesday, we had a busy day but we also had kids start to get sick, and then Thursday we finished off our school week with three sick kids, and a very long weekend.

ON the good note:  I had a lot of sweet baby snuggle time.  I had a super long week to catch up on all my college homework!!  I also upsized my baby girl in to big girl clothes, and decorated my classroom, and overall had a lot of quiet fun, in spite of all the illness going around.

I'm also thankful for my great Bible study (Mom Strong) that has been helping me to stay encouraged!

Kids enjoyed the warm weather after the cold front.

Sweet girl at the Dr office

Boosting up so I don't get sick!

Sweet princess girl in her princess dress!

Fun new Makeup from Lipsense I'm hooked on!

Classroom science class ready

Added our new Ocean Theme

Sweet reading stories with daddy.

Got to meet the Ninja Turtles at the museum!

Husband got me a Instapot to replace my broken Crockpot

Coffee date with my Sam!

Makeup selfies practicing with help always.

This weekend has been quiet, laid back with lots of resting and recovering.  Enjoy our random week of pictures.

New Year's 2018!

Happy New Years!

As most people know, I do not do New Years Resolutions, but a couple years ago I started something that has greatly helped me personally.  Making a goal "word" for the year that I am constantly working towards, which gives me a long term area I need to grow in and improve!

My first time it was "Rooted" and making sure I was grounded firmly in my life, family, and Bible.  Last year was "Balance," and even though I have struggled towards the end of this year with that, overall it is a goal for me to maintain a healthy life balance.  This year I am working towards "Strong."  Not physically strong, but mentally, and emotionally strong.  Strong as a Christian, strong as a mom, strong in my career, etc. 

This last year had SO many changes to our family!  We started off homeschooling, and ended up starting at a small private school.  John's health went from much improved, to crashing.  My mental and physical health has been struggling with new challenges, that I am working to improve upon.  Our children, especially Elijah, had some health challenges that we are learning to work through. 

BUT, even though life changed drastically, and at times I felt a little bit like falling apart I was reminded of some great things:

1) I stayed faithful in my Bible reading this year!!  (for the first time EVER without slacking).  I know to some this is nothing, but for me it was huge, and I'm so thankful for Heidi St. John scripture encouragement plan.

2) My little girl is healthy and growing!  We celebrated Mira's 1st birthday this year, and it reminded me of how much of a Miracle she really is, and I try hard not to take for granted that I have my sweet rainbow baby girl.

3) Ministry grew!  As a family we were able to plug into our Christian school and see it be amazing!!  We struggled as a family to keep our balance, but we are learning to follow God and let Him show us how to balance and improve our family.

4) Friends strengthened!  At the beginning of this year I struggled with maintaining some friendships (which is a life long struggle for me), but God allowed my good Christian friends to be there to encourage me and help me.  I am so very thankful for my church family and my friends I have got from there.

5) Family trip!  To end the year, and celebrate me turning 30, we were able to spend time as a family and go to the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum!  We had a lot of good memories made and had fun adventures caving and exploring before and after.

We ended the New Year's Eve by having a full day in church and spending it with family and friends.

I am very thankful for all the good and bad that God has brought to us this year and looking forward to how much more he has plans for us this New Year in 2018.

Stepping out on faith

As a homeschool mom, I feel like I have learned a whole new level of stepping out on faith.  Between praying about what curriculum to use, finding the right friends and family for support, and praying most of all that as the mom I'm not completely messing up my children.

We learned a LOT from homeschooling.  It has brought our family closer, it has allowed us to deal with our health issues from a more controlled environments, and it has allowed us to have complete oversight of our children day to day.

Homeschooling has taught me lots of things.

1) Greatly improved planning and organizing.

The first couple years, we did "preschool" fun, and nothing too intense.  This last year teaching 2nd grade down to preschool made me learn quickly the need for planned out, and organized papers.  Also, I learned how to meal plan MUCH better (after the fourth night of Little Ceasers Pizza), and it also helped me to establish a firm budget (to help from all those shiny new curriculum and toys!).

2) Learned to be flexible.

I am OCD, and struggle a lot with not following the lesson plan, or not getting it all done that day!  With homeschooling it helped me to learn the balance of what did my child need that day.  There were days we all needed a fun trip out of the house, and there were days we were needed to buckle down and get our work done.  Some days, were just to help mommy clean and reorganize so she didn't go crazy over clutter!  As a family we learned to balance what we needed without overdoing it.

3) Explore and learn to love learning.

I have never been a big fan of classrooms and testing.  As a homeschool mom it helped me to see things from a new perspective and how to engage my children to LOVE learning!!  Even if it was a "boring" story or a hard math problem, we found many creative ways to make it fun!!  Museums the kids thought might be boring, we would find the stories and adventure behind it.  Over the last couple years, my children learned to take the most mundane thing and turn it into an exciting adventure.

4) Keep the focus on God

For me this has been the most eye opening part of homeschooling.  Before I would do devotions, and learn at church, but as a homeschool mom I have had to learn DAILY the intense need for God's guidance and grace in my life.  On day 579348234 of being home with small children, it can be overwhelming, on the days my husband was too sick to function, it can be a lot, and on the days my illness shut me down, I learned very quickly just HOW much I needed God's grace.  Homeschooling allowed me the time to dig in, study, pray, and learn just how much I depend daily on God and his Word for encouragement.  Friends are good, but will sometimes fail.  Family is helpful, but not always there.  Everything else around us can fail, crush, and overwhelm us, but God is always there.  I am forever thankful at the chance to step out of the "real world" for a few years and learn the importance of daily and personal close walk with God to help me deal with the many trials we have had to learn.



Though ALL of this, it also has helped when life needs to change.  It is easy to make an excuse to say our health is bad, our friends are upset, and our kids need us home 24/7, but when God opens up an opportunity to serve him and creates the grace and opportunity to do it, then DO IT!  I cannot always see how things will work, and I definitely do not know how things will turn out, but I do know that God opens the doors, and allows the grace to get me through.

Our family made a choice to step out on faith and change up how we are schooling our family this year, and so far God has FULLY provided the money we invested, the questions we had, and the help we needed.  Do I still have worries some days??  Definitely!!  But, I also know this is a new opportunity to step out on pure faith that God will provide and take care of our family like he always has.  Through thick and thin, sickness and health, God has a plan and he knows much better than we do how to get through it.

It's hard to let go of the "planner" part of me, and the OCD need to have a 100% outlook on every area, but it's another new lesson on trusting God and following him in faith.

Are there still concerns some days?  Yes!  Are there still hard days?  Yes!  Are there still days I doubt the choices I"m making? Yes!  The point is, not to worry about what "I can do", but give it to God, and trust the next step.  It's not easy, but it's what is needed!

I am forever thankful for the opportunity we have had in our homeschool journey, and cannot wait to see where the next step takes us!

here's a few "flashbacks" of a few fun days!  (from the many hundreds to choose from)

Our 4th of July weekend

This year for the 4th of July, we decided to go back to Mississippi and visit my husband's family.  We haven't been back in a few years (during the summer) and it was a fun adventure!

The boys thoroughly enjoyed the hot air balloon show, boating with Pawpaw, and visiting all the friends and family around.  They though the fireworks were great, and had a good weekend of eating way too much food, and lots of fun. :)

We made it back just in time to go to our church's Annual 4th of July bluegrass and BBQ event!!  Full of fun times with horse competition, fast draw shooting, kid games, great music, good preaching, and of course AMAZING food!!!  Being part of the pie competitions, and other events make for great memories with our family.

I am forever thankful for the soldiers and others that fight to keep our country free and I'm also thankful for a great church community and family to spend these memorable times with!

Here are a few photos of our fun Independence weekend: