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.

Checking In - August

Checking in!  The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind.  That and my computer's battery charger DIED.  I was without my computer 3 days.  I thought I was going to have a break down.  LOL  Seriously... how does anybody function without technology these days?  I felt so disconnected.

Anyhoo... here's the 411 on our happenings.  First of all, I had a fantastic trip with Chosen to Mississippi.  It was truly awesome!  I tell ya, if you do not have a relationship with Jesus, you are missing out!  There was some praising going on.  We spent a lot of time on the road and I enjoyed every  minute of it.  I know I may annoy you sometimes saying things over and over, but really - I'm so grateful for this group of ladies.  They are the best friends a gal could ask for.  They're fun to be with.  And, I'm just so blessed to sing with them.  It's fun "going on the road" with them.  =) I will never forget these times.

We're now finishing up our second week of homeschool for 2nd grade.  Audrey is doing really well.  We haven't had a lot of blow ups (yet).  She is catching on very quickly and getting work done (shew!). This child is so smart.  Really.  I know children are like sponges, but her level of comprehension sometimes amazes me.  What a joy it is to be able to share in her education and see all the "ah ha" moments.  Today before we started school, we had breakfast together and then walked a couple of miles on the Greenway.  I love spending one on one time with her and just talking to her.  She really is a great kid!

Maddie started Pre-K yesterday.  No, we do not homeschool Maddie - yet.  We do send her to a private Christian preschool 4 mornings a week because we feel that is the best thing for her right now (she goes from 9-1:00).  We will, more than likely, start her at home for kindergarten next year.  She is enjoying it - though is a little sad that none of her friends from last year are in her class.  :(  But, she said she did get to see some of them on the playground and that helps.  She feels like such a big girl because she's now in the "carpool" lane.  =)

My sweet girl on her first day of PreK!

Cheerleading is going very well.  It is the hardest thing I've ever done, but one of the most rewarding.  I love those little girls!  They are so darn cute.  And, what is being asked of them is huge.  The expectations are very high.  But, I have no doubt they'll come through.  I'm so honored to be part of such a high quality program.  It can be quite intimidating, but God would not have put me in this position if He didn't think we could do it!  On a sidenote, I'm incredibly thankful for the other moms He has put in place to help guide these girls.  They are amazing!  They are so knowledgeable and fantastic with the girls.  They're also becoming great friends of mine.  A gal can't have too many friends! 

The girls at the end of a very hard choreography week with our fantastic choreographer from Florida.  

I went to the doctor this week for a check up.  I accidentally let my prescription run out - which was not cool!  I'm almost back on track now.  (Note to self: Do NOT let that happen again!)  The doctor wants me to do another fasting blood work next month.  My sugar was too high and good cholesterol too low (which I knew).  Apparently my blood pressure was high yesterday, too.  She says I have to have a Sleep Study done.  I'm pretty sure the Apnea is back.  She looked in my throat and said that something (don't remember the term) was too big and the air wasn't getting through properly which is probably why I'm not sleeping well and snoring.  Blah!  Can I just whine and tell you how much I do NOT want to do a sleep study or have to wear a CPAP?!  :(  I know... lose the weight, stop complaining.  Anyway, I also had my foot checked out.  It has bothered me for months (actually since I trained for the 3-Day a couple of years ago).  Every time I walk for extended amounts of time or start working out, my foot bothers me for days.  She's afraid I have some torn tendons.  :(  It is possible there's an old stress fracture so she took an x-ray - but I haven't received results yet.  She gave me an inflammatory, told me to ice twice a day, and giving me physical therapy.  She wants to try this first because she's pretty sure if she sends me to the Orthopedist, they'll put me straight in a boot.  I do not have time for that!  LOL

All of the other activities start back next week.  I'll be teaching 2nd Grade choir again at church.  Both of my girls will be in choir, as well as a Awana.  We also start back our weekly Chosen rehearsals.  The following week we'll start our weekly Bible Studies back up.  It's a busy time of year!

So, that's our update.  I'll keep checking in!  Thanks for sticking around.  

First Day of 2nd Grade

This week on the Not Back to School Blog Hop is Student Photos/First Day of School.  Thanks for joining our family on this exciting day!!  If you missed our previous posts in the hop, check out our classroom here and our curriculum here.

Today was our first official day of 2nd Grade.  She has been to two weeks of her Science & Art classes she takes at a local homeschool supplemental class.  This was our first day of class at home.  (Do I seriously have a second grader already?!)  Here she is... Audrey!

8/22/12 - First day at home.

8/13/12 - First day going to her supplemental classes -
Science & Art at NGHE.

If every day of school goes as smoothly as today did, I will be a very happy Mama!  We started out our day with breakfast with everyone.  (We LOVE having Daddy working from home.  What a blessing!)  She was too excited to wait until we started class to open the Little Passports package that came in the mail.  It sat on the steps for a week before she realized it had her name on it.  LOL  We opened at the breakfast table and went through all the cute contents.  Then we headed down to our new classroom to start on our Bible readings.  We cuddled on the couch and started Charlotte's Web. Afterwards it was time for the dreaded copywork.  (My child despises handwriting.)  We had to take a break early on to help a friend out with her doggies.  After lunch we were back to it!  She had to rewrite her copywork - and actually did so without too much complaint.  Then it was off to work on compound words, math, Latin, and art.  Here are a few highlights from our day:

Working on her Accelerated Math program

Enjoying some reading time in the the hammock.

Audrey & Mommy's water color interpretations of  Scream

Helping little sister with her artist smock while she paints.

Maddie had some of her own "homework".

WARNING: Busy Week Ahead

I'll be participating in an Usborne event this weekend.  If you're local, be sure to come out to First Redeemer Church THIS Saturday from 9-4:00 for the Big Creek Arts & Crafts Festival.  (More info here.)  Admission is free.  There are over 100 vendors (and door prizes).  Lots of silent auction items & raffles.  I love to share my love of books with others.  It's A LOT of work, but I sooo enjoy these festivals.  I get to see friends that I love and meet tons of new people.  So much fun!!  (Did I mention, A LOT of work?!  LOL)  I also have to put myself on a budget because I want to do a little too much shopping at others' booths.  Guess it's a great time to get started on Christmas!  I'll try to get some pictures of my booth to share this weekend.

Then Sunday after church & cheer practice, I'll be traveling with Chosen to Mississippi for a singing event.  We'll be driving through the wee hours of the morning since we can't leave until 7pm.  Yikes!  We'll sing Monday night and leave out again very early Tuesday morning.  It will be awesome though.  I LOVE traveling with these ladies!!  God has blessed me beyond measure with these friends and sharing the gift of music.

Wednesday we start our new home school year!!  The room has been ready for awhile.  All of the materials and curriculum are in.  Today I am working on lesson plans.  I'm ready to jump in and get this year started!!  Woot!  Woot!

So, that's it!  Those are the plans and I'm sticking to 'em!  Have a great weekend!  OH, if you do come to the festival, my booth is suppose to be located through the glass doors on the left when you enter the student center (not the gym doors).  HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!