Weekend Wrap Up

I've been so busy I really don't know which way is up.  Between the day to day activities with school, chauffeuring the girls between activities, and church commitments - I feel like I'm barely treading water.  Last week we threw a few doctor visits on top of our schedule.  Audrey is having some allergy issues.  She also had her 7 year check up.  She's in the 80th percentile for height and 75th for weight.  I'm also still waiting for my test results.  I had fasting blood work done to check my B12, sugar, and cholesterol.  I also still need to schedule my sleep study.  In the meantime, I'm finishing up my 3rd week on Weight Watchers.  Tomorrow is weigh in day.  I've lost 6.6 pounds so far.  =)

We have a super busy week ahead.  Monday is weight watchers, school, and ballet.  Tuesday is school and cheer.  Wednesday is school and church.  This Thursday Derek & I have to make a quick trip to Knoxville to fill out some paperwork & meet with Derek's PhD professor.  Saturday is a birthday dinner.  And, Sunday is a church celebration and cheer.  

Somewhere in there I'll fit some sleep in.  LOL  

I also want to give a shout out to my amazing husband!  We met on a blind date 9 years ago this week.  Time is flying by!  I'm so proud of the wonderful man he is.  He doesn't just talk the talk, he really walks the walk.  I know that he would never advertise this, but I just have to share what kind of person he is.  He met a family in need last week - they had both lost their jobs, were hungry, and living in a motel (but had been locked out because they had no more money).  Derek filled their car with gas, bought them food, and paid for 2 more nights in their motel.  More importantly than that, he sat and prayed & talked with them.  He encouraged them.  God really used him to minister to this family.  Also, this week, Derek took off a day of work to help me with the girls.  We just had so much extra stuff going on and I really needed the help.  What a great man.  I am truly blessed!  Here's to many, many more wonderful years!

The girls stretching before ballet class.

Derek grinding the pork that went in his home made cannelloni we took to supper club last night.  DELICIOUS!  Seriously, he ground the meat, made the sauce from scratch, and made the pasta from scratch.  He's pretty amazing!

 

Reflections

Hard to believe it has been 11 years since America was forever changed by violent acts of terrorism.  I still remember vividly watching everything unfold on my television at home.  It was a scary time.  Every year I replay it through watching videos and documentaries.  It's incredibly sad, but I never want to forget.  I am so grateful for the amazing men and women that have fought so hard to protect us.

Today I decided I would share with Audrey what happened.  We watched a little bit on TV and a couple of videos online.  We talked about it.  We hugged and cried together.  It was emotional.  I'm sure she doesn't fully understand, but she definitely was effected by the events.  She asked several questions.  My intent was not to scare her, but to inform her.  I believe she handled it very well.

I did watch an interesting documentary today on the History channel on how all of the airplanes in the air were grounded so quickly and efficiently - without a real plan in place.  One of the things pointed out, that I had not realized previously, was the weather.  There were no major storms anywhere across the US where the planes had to land.  That could have been tragic to their efforts in bringing in all the planes.  I see this as one of the "God things".  No one controls the weather, but Him.  Although we may question why He allowed something like this to happen, I have to say that He gives man the freedom to make their own choices.  And, I find comfort in this verse:  Genesis 50:20 -- As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.  We may not even see it until we get to Heaven ourselves, but there is peace in knowing that God can make good from the mistakes men make.  I personally know of salvations that came about because of these tragic events.  People were pulled together that never would have otherwise known each other.  The country, as a whole, joined together in ways that it had not done in decades.  Goodness did come out of a horrible situation.

So, what can we do to honor the heroes and victims of this tragedy?  We've been given another day, in part, to the amazing efforts of the men and women in uniform.  We can enjoy our freedoms and live each day to its fullest. We do what we can to help others and show love and compassion whenever and wherever we can.  Talk is cheap.  We have to "do".  And, that is exactly what we try to do.  What are you doing to live your life to honor theirs?

Weigh In and Dance

I shared with you last week that I joined Weight Watchers again -- with a group of friends this time.    We joined last Tuesday (because of Labor Day) and will be weighing in on Mondays.  So, in my first 6 days, I'm happy to report that I lost 2.8 pounds.  :)  Collectively, our group dropped 16 pounds.  That's a great start!!  I'm already noticing how much more aware I am of what I eat.  I went to the Greenway while Audrey was in class today and walked a 5k.  I'm feeling good!

The girls started their first ballet/jazz class today.  I'm sooo excited to have both girls in dance!!  Audrey took two years off and this is Maddie's first time.  They're both in the same class.  It's at a different studio than where Audrey started.  I loved that studio, but it was really far away from us.  This new studio has been around for awhile, but just moved to a new location over the weekend - 7 minutes from my house.  We have 3 neighbors taking dance there, so we went to the Open House Saturday.  I was very impressed with what I saw.  On a side note, there was a Backstreet Boy there for the ribbon cutting ceremony.  He lives nearby and his son attends the studio.  That speaks volumes!

Week 3 Wrap Up

We're wrapping up our third week of school.  Things are continuing to go pretty well.  We're still working on some "attitude adjustments", but we're way ahead of last year.  Progress, right?!  We did take Labor Day off and spent time with family.  Yay!  I also had a sweet treat last weekend by spending time with a high school friend at the Auburn/Clemson.  Had a great time!

I wanted to share some highlights of homeschooling from our week.  Audrey has a strong interest in Art.  She takes a supplemental class outside of home.  And, we are introducing Art this year at home.  Right now I am using a fabulous set of Usborne Art flashcards.  We're going through them each week and focusing on one at a time to recreate.  As we were at Hobby Lobby over the weekend, Audrey walked by some frames and got soooo excited when she found one of the paintings we've been studying.  Then we had to go through all of the unframed artwork to see which ones she recognized.  Fun times!!  I love that she is learning and the excitement she gets when she does.  =)  Another selfish plus from homeschooling is that Mama is learning, too.  =)  We have so much fun with our art projects.  And, I'm reading books that I never read as a kid. Admittedly, I've never read Charlotte's Web.  (Gasp!) No worries though - Audrey & I are reading it together!

Our oil pastels of "Nafea Faaipoipo" by Gauguin

Ya'll know I'm all for creative discipline and I've had to try some out this week, thanks to a blog post I found on Pinterest.  Occasionally, Audrey shows her anger by stomping her feet.  This time after stomping her feet all the way upstairs when something didn't go her way, she was sent outside on the front porch to stomp her feet for 5 minutes.  The next infraction will result in 10 minutes and will be increased by 5 minutes each time there after.  So far, no more issues!  =)  Now to work on that overly dramatic screaming at her sister.  (Always something, right?)

Here we go again, friends.  I joined Weight Watchers this week.  It worked once before when I went on my own.  Now I have a group for accountability so we're going to go all.the.way!  We had our first weigh in Tuesday (blah).  We'll actually be attending a Monday morning session, so  I'll start posting my weekly weight loss on Mondays.

On a final note, my hubby has FINALLY started his own blog.  Right now he's sharing some tutorials on DIY hammock making (for all of you who loved our school room hammocks).  Check him out here.