40 & 12

40 & 12. Those are the most recent milestones at our house over the past two days.
12 sounds pretty fun. 40 just sounds old.
But it's a good old. I'm happy. How could I not be? Just look at this crew!

They are so much fun and make me so happy.

As will this zero-gravity chair when I need to catch my breath!


Jacob's birthday is the day after mine. (Yes, I was in labor on my birthday 12 years ago!)
He started his day with a favorite...cinnamon roll!
Anything "food" is good.


That night, he wanted to eat at Joe's Cr@b Sh@ck.
Food. It's all good.

He was appalled at the idea of having to wear a chicken hat, and stand up to do the chicken dance with the waitresses. He said, "No, thank you," and just let them sing Happy Birthday.
Can't say I blame the kid.

Finally...he got to open presents. So hard waiting all day!
Laura & Jenna gave him animal crackers. Jenna was actually jumping and dancing when he opened them. I think she thought he was going to share right then. Bummer.

Grandma sent him a new homemade blanket. Can you tell he loved it?
The younger kids thought she actually drew the pictures!

Amarin & Char got him a car book. He's into cars right now...sports cars, antiques, classics...

He was surprised to get the Wii game he has been wanting.
Of course it's St@r W@rs!

The most fun gift to give was his new William Wallace sword. He has been drooling over this thing for the longest time. He was way, way excited!

12 years old...my, oh, my.
He wanted an icecream cake, too. Amarin and Char made it, while Miss Jenna "supervised."

But the best gift???? Surprising him with a visit from his best buddy and family. They were supposed to arrive the afternoon of his birthday, but circumstances delayed them until almost midnight. They called from about 5 minutes away. I woke up Jacob and told him that I had forgotten a present and he needed to come downstairs to get it. He stared blankly and I wasn't sure if he would get up or not! But he did, and a few minutes later his friend pulled in the driveway. His smile was from ear to ear when he finally realized who it was. Even after staying up until almost 2AM, I could still hear them chattering and laughing downstairs in their sleeping bags. Friends. So thankful.

"This is the best birthday ever, Mom." Yeah...I think so, too.

Basketball

So I have Amarin and Charlie at the dentist this morning.
The hygienist is very sweet, and making small talk with Char while prepping her tools.
Hygienist: Do you play soccer, Charlie?
Char: (shakes his head no)
H: T-ball?
Char: (again, shakes his head no)
Then he says (keep in mind that he's a whopping 38 inches tall)...
"I play basketball. Well, at home."
I can almost picture him dashing in and out of players' legs...
And he is wearing a "varsity basketball" shirt...

He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Cowboy Salsa

I can't for the life of me remember where I got this recipe. But it's really easy, delicious, and fun! Amarin made it for us this AM, and we ate it for lunch. Served with some chips...yum, yum, yum!

Cowboy Salsa
1 can each: pinto, black-eyed peas, black beans, northern beans, white corn (we omit this)
Drain all and rinse.
4 ounces diced chilis
2 bell peppers, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar (we used a dash of honey)
1/2 cup olive oil
Combine it all, cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours.
Enjoy!

He Plays Again

Over one year ago, I couldn't believe that Jacob wanted to play the tuba in band.
Seriously? Could he pick a bigger instrument?
I told him to pray about it for a few weeks to be sure.
'Cause I was thinking drum sticks would be so much cheaper...er...easier to carry.
Yep. He was sure. And it was a wonderful choice for him. He loved playing the tuba, and he had free instruments from the school where he played.

But then we moved. No more tuba.
So we started looking a little here and there. Made a few calls.
Have you ever tried to rent a tuba? Not an easy find. And they're not readily available to purchase, either, unless you want to spend thousands of dollars. Yeah...we've seen them over $10,000.00.
No. Way.

We knew that it would take a true miracle to find one, and we were told that same thing by various others in the industry as well. Usually kids use the schools' instruments. But that wasn't an option here.
I decided to send out an email to our homeschool group here.
Guess what?
Someone just happened to be selling a tuba...for a crazy good price.
Someone else was looking at it first, but decided not to buy it.
Guess who has his own tuba now?

It is beautiful, shiny, great sounding, has a sturdy, rolling case, and he starts lessons in two weeks.
And...
our new homeschool co-op has added band for next year!
YEAH!!!!!

In the fall, Amarin will start band, too. I wonder if he's interested in some drum sticks?

New Earrings!

Finally...Jenna can change her earrings!
Daddy took her to Cl@ires today to get, of course, Hello Kitty.
Is there anything else?

She showed every possible neighbor her new earrings that she could find,
and then paired up with the teenager next door to get a manicure, pedicure, and new hairdo.
She is such a girly-girl!

Birthday!

It's birthday time around here . Within the next two weeks, three of us will celebrate our special day. Jamie's birthday is today, and since he was in Asia for 2 weeks (I'm so envious right now!), we had an easy time getting ready for it.

The two oldest boys made his cake...a mint chocolate chip icecream cake...with oreos, nuts, hot fudge, and icecream. Yummmm!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE having the kids work in the kitchen!

And they were more than willing to clean up their mess. They're so thoughtful.

So, jet lagged and all, he hung in there for his celebration.
Each of the kids picked out a $5.00 gift card to a favorite snack/restaurant place so they can go by themselves with Daddy.

As they sat with him to open the card, Jamie noticed how big they were getting.
(notice how Jamie is fighting Laura for the envelope? She thought it was great fun to keep snatching it from him).

They're getting bigger...

and bigger...


and bigger...


and bigger...


and..."hurry up and get off" bigger!
I think I resent that!

Cake time! It was delicious!
Jamie is "directing" our Happy Birthday song!

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Surprise!

What's the hardest part of moving for us? Leaving those we love.

So when we get a chance to get together, we grab it!
One of my best friends and I were emailing back and forth about homeschool curriculum. I finally told her that it would be so much easier to just discuss it in person!
So we set it up and she drove with her kiddos to visit us!
And...
not only are we great friends, but her son and Amarin are best buddies. Honestly, they could be twins, and we call them that. They are so much alike it's not even funny. How could two boys, born on opposite sides of the world, be so much alike and so close?
And Jenna is good friends with the girls, so we knew this would be a blast!

Best part...I kept it a surprise. The kids had no idea until the friends arrived. And they arrived during rest time. So I had them sneak upstairs and surprise Amarin first. After the initial shock, they all took off and played outside like no time had ever passed.

You should have heard the joyful noise when I told my kids that there was no school until Thursday! We made it to the zoo the first morning they were here. It was chilly, but we had fun.

Of course, there had to be a pizza/movie night, and a popcorn/movie night...way past bedtimes!

There were also dramatic performances by a couple talented young ladies.

French braids for Jenna.

"Rest time" with three boys in the bunk bed.

And how did we spend our last full day together?
Digging for toys that got buried by a bulldozer!
At first it was just us with one neighbor friend.

Then the kids started coming to help when they heard that a DQ Blizzard was the reward for finding the toys! Unfortunately, no one won the prize.


This may be the record for the number of kids in the yard at one time!

They just left, and us gals were in tears, and sweet Amarin was blinking back tears as he waved goodbye to his best buddy. "Mom, can you surprise us again?" he asked.

Her Eyes

Her eyes are just so pretty. They absolutely disappear when she smiles.
Well, those little eyes did not pass a vision screening a few weeks back.
And she kept telling us that "this eye no see anymore."
So, off we went this morning to the eye doctor to gain some insight.
Miss Jenna has amblyopia in the right eye...otherwise known as "lazy eye."
Basically, her right eye has become "lazy" and is making the left eye do all the work.
Her right eye sees minimally.
The treatment? Glasses for now, maybe some patching later, but the outcome is usually very good and she shouldn't need glasses long term...just long enough to strengthen that eye.

She loved going to the dr., and even the eye drops. She was actually disappointed when the dr. told her she wouldn't need drops at the next visit. "But I like drops," she said in a pitiful voice. "Well, that's a first," his tech commented.

These cool glasses were fun, too.

She was so excited to get glasses, and knew they should be pink or purple. We narrowed it down to two frames, and she picked pink Dora glasses. When she heard that she could get them this very day, she threw her arms up in the air and yelled, "Yes!"
We ordered her glasses, and within one hour, they were ready.
Aren't they just adorable?

I asked her if she could see better. She replied, "Ummm...no."
Alrighty, then. At least we've helped the dr. pay for his new, fancy car.

Something Unexpected

Well, we weren't expecting a lesson in home building when we moved here. The kids were actually enjoying their own soccer and baseball field. But...
flags went up last week marking the utility lines, and we knew what was coming.
At first the kids were bummed. But we decided we can either be bummed, or embrace the blessing of watching a house being built...something we've never experienced before. We all chose the latter.

They were excited when the excavator arrived this AM. We had to stop lessons and go outside to watch them unload it, and start digging the basement. Char ran back inside the house to get his "tractor" book to find the excavator.

Further down the street, we noticed a huge crane working. We took a walk to see what was going on...more home building.

By mid-afternoon, the basement was finished. This huge hole was beckoning some boys.

I compromised and let them play in their new sandbox.

Swimming!

Swim classes have begun, and all five kiddos swim at the same time! We found a homeschool swim class in the early afternoon which works beautifully!

Here they are, waiting for class to begin.


Jenna was a little nervous, but did just fine.
There were only 4 little girls in her class.

Laura was in class with Jenna, and she had her own aide. There is an organization here that provides one-on-one aides for children with special needs, free of charge. What a blessing that is for Laura to be able to join in the fun! We have to pull her out of school 1/2 hour early, but I don't think our little fish minds at all!

Charlie had only two other girls in his class. He loves the water and had so much fun. He thought is was pretty cool to be in a non-beginner class.

Jacob and Amarin were in the same class this week, and (yeah!) there was one other boy!
They worked hard in the lap pool.

After a 45 minute lesson, they were able to play for 45 more minutes in this play area.

Amarin couldn't resist dumping water on Jenna's head!

Nothing like...

coming home from being gone all afternoon to a pot of hot chili that has been simmering all day in the crockpot. That is, unless you forget to plug it in. Take-out, anyone?

What have we been doing?

So glad you asked! Jenna started kindergarten. She was beside herself excited to get her "elephant book" in the mail. She thinks letter sounds are funny, loves doing school, and is "reading" all by herself. (wink, wink)

Missy Laura is practicing for her first grade musical performance at school. I had to take this fast because she thought it was funny to throw her shaker on the floor as I tried to take the picture! Little sassafrass!

The kids have really been learning a lot about the Titanic. This April is the 100th anniversary of its maiden voyage...and sinking. After visiting the museum in Branson, they checked out lots of books and we watched the older movie, A Night To Remember. Much better than the newer movie, and family friendly. We found these historical fiction books, too. Great books!

Charlie is getting ready for our speech class. It's an informal meeting at a local pizza restaurant. Any student that does a report or presentation gets a free pizza buffet. My kids are all over that! So Char is doing a presentation on CAT tractors.

Amarin is getting ready for speech, too, and is presenting about the Titanic. He put this model together in less than a week...all 178 teenie, tiny pieces.

Our Backyard

Our new backyard may be a lot smaller, but it's more full of kids on a regular basis. Where we lived before, we had to call and set up playdates. It worked well, too, but there was nothing impromtu about it. And I'm still getting used to it...kids ringing the doorbell every afternoon, kids running in and out of the house, and always...always...looking for snacks.
But I'm so thankful that they choose to come here to play. I like knowing what's going on, and what's being discussed. And I'm not too proud to bribe with food! :)
PS. to Aunt Julie...the popscicle maker is a HUGE hit!

I went out on the town today with the sweetest young man. Of course, I may be biased. But he's been asking for weeks to take me out "on a date." Meaning...mom...I need some time for just the two of us. I told him, as the young man, he needs to check with Daddy, and then organize the day. And he did. He scheduled us to leave the house at 10AM, and visit a variety of spots around town.

First was the used bookstore. Oh my goodness...I don't think Jacob would have been happier with a pot of gold than he was with the aisles and aisles of books. We spent two hours...yes, two hours... browsing the shelves and choosing favorite books. The owner knew immediately that we were homeschoolers because I asked him for G. A. Henty books...and apparently only homeschoolers ever ask him for those. But the best part was when we were getting ready to check out, another couple was bartering with the owner over a collection of old, old books. Jacob was beside himself excited to see these old books. He started asking questions, and the owner pulled out a Bible that was written on parchment paper. And then Jacob saw a copy of Pilgrim's Progress dated in the 1700s. He was very disappointed to know that it was WAY out of his price range.

Next stop...B@rnes and Noble. Do you detect a pattern here? We bought a coffee and headed to the display desk to try out the Nook. He's deciding between buying a Nook or a Kindle. Any suggestions out there?

T@rget was right next door, so off we went to peruse the St@r Wars selection of toys. We also found a couple odds and ends for the other kiddos, and Jacob was thrilled to come away with a double light saber. I must say, I got the biggest, jumpiest hug ever when I told him he could have it!

Already mid-afternoon, we thought we'd better grab lunch at our favorite place...Ste@k & Sh@ke. LOVE their burgers and shakes! One more stop at the sporting goods store to look at shoes, dropped Daddy's shirts off at the dry cleaners, and then headed home.

What a fun day and precious memories with my oldest...who is just growing up way too fast!