Whew!

Crazy Week.

 

Jackson had yet another dentist appointment on Monday morning.  Only one more left!  Andrew had yet another orthodontist appointment on Monday morning...... and for the FOURTH time we unable to do the scheduled procedure because the appliance had not arrived....really???  What a waste of time!  Sorry I'm a bit frustrated! I hate having appointments on Monday mornings.  I need to stop scheduling them! It feels like I start the week behind. 

 

Then Monday-Randy lost his car keys....which is a whole other story......and the girls started complaining about not feeling well.  I figured they had the cold I had just gotten over and they needed to toughen up and get busy with school.  We were already behind for the week!  So you can just imagine how great I felt when I finally took them to the doctor on Wednesday and found out that they all three had strep throat!  Uhmmmm......yep......I guess I won't be getting Mother of the Year this year either!  Ahh....What a week!  And I just told you about my stuff.  Some good friends and a dear family member have had much more go on.  So I'm thankful my issues are so small.  Yet my heart has hurt for them a lot this week too.

 

It has just been a full, and draining, and unproductive week!

 

Randy did take off work and stay home with the girls on Thursday so I could go to co-op.  THANK YOU!  Thursday night we did get to go out and celebrate my sister in law Rhonda's birthday!  The BIG 4-0!!!!!  That was fun!

 

It looked like everyone was doing well.  The girls had gotten in 4 does of medicine and I had big plans for playing catch up on school Friday.............

 

Then Friday Lydia woke up polka-dotted and I-T-C-H-Y! 

What a trooper!

 

 Looked just like chicken pox and it was ALL OVER HER!  So back to the doctor we went!  I'm racing to the appointment....and I do mean racing....when Lydia announces.....that she forgot a very important under garment.....so we went back home-finished dressing and started out again......the WHOLE way there Lydia is having a NON-STOP monologue.....focusing on what do I think she has "Charlotte fever or chicken pops".  Love that girl!  I never even got to make my prediction because she talked NON-STOP!  Well I'm very happy to announce....neither.....It was hand, foot, mouth.....and it's highly contagious....YEAH!  So far no one else has spots (thank you Lord!).....but I'm keeping my eyes peeled!

 

So me and the 4 youngest have been hunkered down for the weekend.  Changing out closets and watching movies. 

 

 

First we sorted......

 

Then we boxed

 

 

Then we organized the closets

 

 

It was nice to accomplish something!  It was also fun as I hung up clothes and boxed up clothes and sorted clothes to think of all the people who have blessed us with clothes.  My children's closets are all full and I bought VERY few of the items there. 

 

Sophie's Closet

 

 

Jackson's Closet

 

 

Lydia's Closet

 

Audrey's Closet

 

 

 

Most of the clothes are sweet blessings from precious friends! 

So thankful for the blessing of gently used clothes

AND

Friends who are willing to share them!

 

ANYWAY......

 

This week has felt like I've been running really fast and getting nowhere! 

 

It wasn't a bad week. 

It was just one of THOSE weeks. 

Ready to try again! 

Come on Monday!

September to Remember

Whew!  What a month September has been....and there is still a week left!

 

 

It's been a month of getting older....I'm 37!!!! 

What???? 

I seriously don't even know how that is possible. 

 It's been a month of celebrations

Birthdays....Weddings.....More Birthdays....Passing Tests....Go Randy!!!

It has been a month of dentistry.......Jackson has had EXTENSIVE work.  2 root canals.  3 fillings....yes.....REALLY!  Praise the Lord for dental insurance....seriously!  Andrew has had several orthodontic appointments this month too.  We have had a lot of schooling in dentists offices this year. 

 

It has been a month of traveling....To the lake.  To the beach.  To Charlotte.  To the Dentist....next week the boys are headed off for a retreat.  

 

It's been a month of newness. 

New books for school. 

 

New classes at co-op. 

New friends. 

New haircuts....

It's also been a month of sameness. 

Old friends <3 them. 

Dance classes. 

 

Guitar lessons. 

Exercise. 

School. 

 

Routines that don't yet feel routine. 

 

 I love the freshness of everything this time of year. 

 

 

It was a month of connection.  We had lunch with friends from our church.  I got to know several ladies at a women's fellowship.  We started attending a home fellowship.  LOVE!  I'm looking forward to another ladies event this week at the church and Randy and Andrew will be away this weekend at a youth retreat.  The kids started The Truth Project on Wednesday nights and are involved with the choir.  So good.  We are beginning to feel real a sense of connection.  We've also had meals with old friends.  Trips with family and friends.  Joyous Co-op Reunions. 

 

 Lots of relationship building and real life "face time" this month.

 

 

What a great time of year. 

 The summer heat is fading. 

 

 

The fall's snap is just starting to emerge.  Leaves are on the cusp of changing.....Eager to see their brilliant hues.  Sad to see the summer go, but anxious for the fall's majestic arrival.  September has been kind of like this season of our life.  Filled with good things. A time of growth. A bit painful.  Different.  Yet wonderful.  The same and yet different.  I am so grateful for family, for true friends, but mostly for Christ and for his word......that has made all the new and different bearable and even beautiful.  So thankful to have so many new and wonderful people being woven into our lives and equally as grateful for the faithful friends whose hearts are already part of the fabric of our lives. 

 

Can't believe September is almost gone......it went fast!

 

 

The Most Beautiful Place in the World!

If you know anything about me you know that this girl LOVES the Beach!

LOVE IT! 

 

My favorite Beach.....without a doubt.....Emerald Isle!

 

Not many people know this.....but my Grandma discovered Emerald Isle!

 

Hee...hee....hee

 

Well....not really....that's just what my sister Stacy told her first grade teacher after our Grandma first visited Emerald Isle.  My grandma may not have discovered it....but she introduced our family to Emerald Isle.  My grandparents and parents built a beach house here MANY (I would guess 32) years ago and I spent my childhood, teen years, and young adulthood years summers in that precious house!

 

We drove by it tonight and the new owners have done a fantastic job with it!

So cute!

 

 

We made great friends here.  Have so many great memories.  My parents sold the house about 15 years ago....but we still often vacation at Emerald Isle. 

 

 

 

We arrived VERY late last night and woke up early this morning and headed straight for the beach.  It started out a bit overcast.....

 

 

But that didn't dampen our fun!

 

 

The kids are water bugs!

 

 

The water was VERY rough today!

 

 

Sophie bit the dust hard....and decided to stick closer to shore!

 

Several kids have battle scars.

 

 

 

The sun came out and the day turned out to be BEAUTIFUL!

 

 

The kids had a blast

 

 

They tried to dig a hole to China....

 

But decided to bury Daddy instead!

 

Audrey told Daddy he looked like a powdered donut after being buried in sand!

 

Around 1 we headed in for lunch and got a little cleaned up.

 

Then Daddy, Pa and the big kids went over to the sound to jet ski!

They had a blast.

Mom and I stayed at the beach house with Audrey. 

I read a little and then Audrey and I took a nap.

Mom knitted.

 

It was a nice afternoon.

 

Then we had dinner at the house and went out for ice cream at Diva Queen (that is what Sophie calls it) aka Dairy Queen

 

 

YUMMY treats!

 

Thanks Nanny and Pa!

 

Fun Day at the Beach.

 

We came back to the house.  It was bath time for the little ones and then a little TV and bedtime.

 

Sophie, Mom, and I played cards while the guys watched football.

 

What a fun and restful day!

 

 

 

 

 

Update on Me

Randy and I are still plugging away.  It has been hard.  It has taken sacrifice and work but like I tell my kids most things worth anything of real and lasting value do require sacrifice and hard work.  I am still getting up at 5:30 and heading straight to the elliptical five days a week. If I don't head straight to the elliptical then I will think of ANY reason not too!  I've worked up to 20 minutes now.  I burn just over 200 calories. I haven't missed once.  Praise the Lord!  Randy is still getting up at 4:45 and heading straight to the elliptical  He does it 6 days a week.  He works out for 28 minutes and burns just over 500 calories.  I still HATE to exercise.  However I see such benefits that it's worth doing what I hate for 20 minutes a day......I think.  If you think about it you can pray that I will keep doing it.....because I really do hate it. 

So far I have lost exactly 30 pounds.  Today marked week number 12.  Randy is on week 11 and has lost 38 pounds.  Together that is 68 pounds!  That's more than a whole Jackson........we're getting close to a Sophie!!!  Our bed must be very happy!  We sure are!

I've asked myself often, "why is it working this time?"....I've tried so many times before.  I think the main reason is because I am convinced that food was my idol.  I turned to food for fulfillment, pleasure, emotional reasons, comfort.....when I should have turned to God.  I was a glutton.  God's word has a lot of really bad things to say about gluttony.  I did a personal study on it and was very convicting.  I decided this was an idol that needed to be destroyed.  It is so easy to set up idols and convince yourself it is not a sin.  I had for years.  Yet just because I convinced myself and others that it wasn't wrong.....doesn't mean it isn't wrong. 

Wrong is wrong.  It doesn't matter if everyone is okay with it.  It doesn't matter if it feels good.  It doesn't matter if it is socially acceptable.  It doesn't matter if everyone else is doing it.  It doesn't matter if we vote and decide it is okay.....what matters is the truth.  Wrong is ALWAYS wrong.  God says gluttony is a sin.  So it is.  I do not want to live in sin even if I like it.  I don't want to water down my sin.  Like I tell my kids there is no little sin and no big sin.  Every sin killed Jesus.  So my goal is not just to be a hot Mama....my goal is to put to death the sin in my life. 

For the record I don't think every overweight person is living in sin.  I think there are genetic reasons.  There are other contributors.  HOWEVER.....food has been an idol in my life.  Therefore it is a sin for me.  I am not judging anyone else.....Just myself!

So that is whats happening in my corner of the world. 

I'll post again in October.  Hopefully I'll be doing some toning by then.....still not there yet!

Love,
Kim

The Class Clown

We have a new kindergartner at our house!

 

 

She is working hard and doing a great job.

She has fabulous penmanship.

So far she has found it to be very easy.

She's good in math.  She is doing a good job reading.  She has taken off in writing.

Thank you Lord!

 

And yes she still has her fashion sense and her spunk.

Never too much sparkle....

 

We have also decided she is without a doubt our class clown!

 

So.....let me tell you a few of Miss. Funny Bones latest antics....

 

Randy and I have both been working out a lot lately. 

So after one of Randy's latest workouts Audrey turned to him with a straight face and said,

"Did you beef up in prison?" 

Needless to say we rolled.  She is a funny bunny!

I have NO IDEA where that came from!

 

Then last night as she was trimming a few long hairs on the back of Randy's head.....I have no idea why he let her do this.......she said the words you never want to here your hairstylist say....

"Uh-oh.....I see your skeleton now...(long pause for some pondering)........Okay I'm done!"

 

What a sweet, funny, precious little blessing!

Love my Audrey!

She makes life sweet!

 

She is growing up toooooooo fast!

 

 

 

OUCH!..............the update

UPDATE:
I just want to update this blog post and say the person who wrote that comment came to me and VERY humbly and VERY sincerely apologized.  They did not mean for their words to wound.  They were flippant.  They were not directed at me or my kids.  They were truly grieved at causing me pain.  I must say that takes a very big person to do that.  This person is a wonderful person who loves the Lord and messed up.  They asked for forgiveness.  I have forgiven them.  Words hurt but they also have the power to heal. 



WOW! 
Words can hurt. 
I recently read a twitter from someone who HAS met me and my children that said, "every time I meet a homeschooler I remember why I will never homeschool my child." 
WOW!
Thanks.....NOT!
HURTFUL!
Really??? 
Are my kids that bad? That strange?  That repulsive?  That unacceptable?  That dumb?

I spent a while just wondering......wounded. 
 Why? 
Why did they say this? 
Why did they have such a bad reaction to all homeschoolers?

Then I remembered words from my Mama...."consider the source."

 I realized it doesn't matter what this person or any other person or even what I think.  It maters ONLY what God thinks.  People will judge me.  People will judge my children.  Thats the one that really hurts!  It doesn't make them right. 

I think if they said, "every time I meet a homeschool mom I realize why I will never let my wife homeschool."  I could have handled that easier.  But when you talk about a Mama's kids.....that hurts!

The person that said this is young.  They probably just made a rash statement or reacted because they were hurt or angry.  I have certainly done that!  They may really feel that way.  That may truly be their experience. 

Then I remembered how I have met many homeschoolers over the years.
YES....some are what the world would call strange.  Yes....most don't act like their peers.  Yes....homeschooling is different.
However.....I'm okay with that. 

I may not have the coolest kids (although I think they are super cool!)  I may not have the most popular kids.  But that is okay.  That is not my goal.  My goal is to raise godly kids.  My goal is to build family relationships.  I DO NOT THINK that homeschooling is the only way to do that.  However, I do think homeschooling provides a unique forum for having lots of time and lots of influence, which can help make these goals easier. I DO NOT think there is a right/wrong way to school your children. I am not against public school or private school.  However I do know that God has called US to homeschool.  So it is the way we are going to do it.  My goal is not to raise children like "everybody else".  If that was my goal then I would agree that yes....I may have failed.  I do not think my kids are better then anyone else's kids.  I spend all day with my kids.  I am VERY aware that they are sinners.  However, I have devoted my life and my time to homeschooling and raising my children.  I have given up opportunities to make money teaching other peoples kids to stay home and teach my own.  I KNOW the world does not understand this.  I KNOW people think I should do more with my life.  Make more of a difference in the world.  I am aware!  However  being their mom and teacher has been the pleasure of my life.  So yes this persons words hurt.....A LOT.  They confirmed the lies I often whisper to myself.   But you know what.  The opinion that matters is not one person with limited knowledge and experience who wants to judge a whole category of people.  What matters is the creator of the universe and what he wants for my family.  What matters is what he thinks.  What matters is if I obey him.  I am not called to please others.  I am not called to be cool.  My identity should not be wrapped up in what others think of me and my precious, overly exuberant, slightly strange, homeschooled kids.  My identity is in Christ alone.  I am called to obey. 

I am also reminded again of the power of my words and my prayer is that I will be ever mindful of my words.  Words have the power to wound and judge and divide or they have the power to encourage, unify, and build up others.  I pray I will use my words for the later.  It hurts to be judged. 

Love,
Kim

Labor Day Weekend

I vowed to myself I would do a really good job taking pictures this weekend because I have gotten really lax lately.....well I started out doing a good job.....but ended up not so good!

 

We have had a super fun....super full...... family and friends weekend, minus Andrew.  Andrew is busy having fun with his buddy at the lake.  We missed him...but happy he's had some time with friends too!

 

It started with dinner Friday night with some of our "besties". 

 

 

Randy and Chris trying to get a discount by volunteering as door holders!

 

Sweet Friends!

 

 

 

LOVE them!

 

 

You can't take these two anywhere!

 

It really was that funny!

 

Time to head home!

Good Times!

 

YUM!  YUM!  It was fun to go out talk, laugh, and goof off after a long week back at school.

 

Then.....we spent Saturday at the lake with Bob and Ruth.  We had so much fun....eating, boating, jet skiing, tubing, playing in the sand, chilling, talking, eating some more.....and I only got one picture....and it wasn't even at the lake....it was in the car on the way to the lake!

 

We came home with exhausted children.  So it was off to bed for them!

 

We went to church this morning and then we were supposed to go to the lake with a family from church but because the weather forecast was so iffy they invited us over for lunch at their house instead.  We had a great time.  The kids played and the adults ate....and talked!  What a sweet time of fellowship and I didn't even take one picture!

 

Then we came home and took a nap and chilled.  Looking forward to having tomorrow off school and Randy home for work.  We are going to a cookout a friends house and then if the weather holds out heading to the pool for one final splash!  My goal tomorrow.....to take lots and lots of pictures!!!

 

Happy Labor Day!!!