It might get Deep! *BeWaRe*

I just have to get this load off my couch! I have always been a pigsty kind of person. Ahhhh, I feel better all ready about admitting my imperfections! It is truly gratifying! My mom and dad chose not to fight that battle with me when I lived at home. My room was a MESS!!!! You could barely walk through the door (if you could open it). Then, I got married to ummm...Mr.OCD. He does not think this of course. I would walk in his room at his house and let's just say perfect describes it best. So, our worlds collided. Mrs.Messy and Mr.Tidy! Our first home was a tiny 2 bedroom 1 bath duplex. It did NOT have much storage and needed to be really organized to stay clean. Ha ha! I tried really hard at first, but you know I just could never keep up. So, we lived with a HUGE pile of  dirty clothes always on the bathroom floor and a HUGE pile of dishes on the counter by the sink. We did not have a working dishwasher to make matters worse! Well, anyways has the years have gone on my sweet patient never saying any harsh words husband has dealt with messes. I really do not know what came over me, but my dad just laughs. He wonders who is this girl who has a house that is usually pretty clean. I would NOT say always picked up, but yes it is clean most of the time. Jason honestly has never, that I can remember, said an ugly word to me about the house. We do joke about the laundry that good grief just keeps appearing on the couch. I do love that I am so open to share a picture of the mountain of laundry on the couch on facebook today and people flocked to empathize with me. SO, all this to say I heard part of a radio talk show today. It sums up what I love about having a clean house. If your house is clean then all these things seem to happen more frequently....you and your husband can sit and talk and NOT worry about all the clutter around you, you feel more apt to have impromptu get togethers, you are not as stressed in general, etc. So, what if you do the same things over and over again. Yes, your going to wipe counters off who knows how many times, there will be a never ending cycle of clothes to be washed,and the floor will need to be swept numerous times a day. Just do it and you will feel better! Let me just say though....that we love having people over even if the floor needs to be swept and there is clutter on the desk. Sometimes you have to get over having a perfect house and have FUN! I have tried all different systems to make things run more smoothly at our house. All I can say is teach your kids YOUNG to help do daily chores. I am not great at many things, but I do appreciate every article of clothing and every towel I do not have to pick up because my kids KNOW where they belong!!!!! They also help with lots of other things around the house too. One day when they get married I want them to be more like their Daddy, Mr. or Mrs. Tidy! Thank you to all my peeps who helped motivate me today and get that huge LOAD off my couch. I am sure even if he did not say a word Mr. Tidy enjoyed seeing the couch again. :)

Q&A from the kids

Q: Why do you like having school at home?

A: Jake- Math and swimming for P.E.

Jaelynn- We get to go on fun field trips every week and I get to spend more time with my Momma.

Q: What is one thing you have learned this year so far?

A: Jake- God gave each star a name.

Jaelynn- If everyone in the world named 50 billion stars we would still NOT COME CLOSE to naming all the stars in space.

( Can you tell what we talked about this week?)

Q: What do you miss about Cain?

A: Jake- Math and my friends

Jaelynn- My friends and my teachers

Q: Would you go back to Cain right now if you could?

A: Jake- No

Jaelynn-No, but I would like to invite all my friends to come do school with us at home. (Momma-HA HA HA HA HA!!!!)

Fair 2010

We enjoyed a beautiful day at the fair! It has been our tradition for years for Mom to walk from her office and meet us for lunch. They added a really neat petting zoo this year. The kids really liked it except Jolie who screamed. :( Grandme took her out of the zoo area and she was great! The weather was fabulous. The food was YUMMY as always. The company was terriffic!

Baby buffalo

Goats





 

This is Zack the Yak!

The HUGE camel.



WoW!

Jaelynn being goofy!



Peace Out Man!



Astro Girl

Astro Boy

Fire Chief Jaelynn

Go Cowboys Go!!!

Today we got to tour the Cowboy Football Stadium. It was HUGE!!!!!! The kids had SO much fun!!!!



Would you like a TV that BIG in your house? Oh Wait, it probably would not fit since it is 7 stories tall!!! 

 

Jaelynn inside one of the suites.

Jolie loves Cloee!

Jaelynn said this was the biggest ice cube she had ever seen. :)

My Lil Cowboy!

My sweet girls!

Jake and Cade wishing they were watching a real game!

Poppa taking Jolie for a spin. You better watch it because he flies on that scooter!

My "STARS" laying on the star in the End zone!

Lots of tackling going on. It was all fun in games until this tackle hurt Cade (who IS on bottom)!

End zone tackle!

 Fun times in the dressing room. They got to dress up as Romo and Austin! The locker rooms were not what I expected. They are nicer than any I have ever seen, and they did NOT stink! :)

Jaelynn really did not want her picture made in the cheerleader dressing room. She felt more comfortable dressed up in the football uniform. Ha ha! That should make her Daddy proud! :)

The tunnel that The "Boys" run out from before the game.

Goodbye Cowboys! Please win the next game! Y'all have a really nice stadium that needs some WINS in it!

Homeschooling



Cheese! We are loving school!



History- Indian houses

Many questions to answer, but not sure I am qualified to answer. So, I will tell you my story and how we came to be known as a homeschooling family. It all started several years ago. I have always really liked the idea of teaching our kids at home, but always had this misconception of who really did that. I thought most homeschoolers were weird, nonsocial, usually one religion, looked down upon, extreme,etc... Well, I was VERY wrong!!! I have met very normal, well adjusted, Baptist,and looked up to moms who have showed me that I can do this too. (Just so no one is offended...you can be ANY religion or no religion at all to home school.) Anyway, when Jaelynn was in Pre-K people would laugh and say, "That girl will be bored in school. You will probably have to teach her at home." They were laughing and saying it as a joke, but I really had that desire. I did not think it was possible financially at that time. Plus, Jason was not on the same page of thinking that was a good idea. So, I was her teacher at Oak Tree where I taught Kindergarten. The next year Jaelynn and Jake went to school at Cain Elementary for 1st and K. I stayed home and had Jolie in October. Everything was fine in public school, but the idea of homeschooling still intrigued me. Jason still not so much! Jaelynn sailed through 1st grade and Jake did really well in Kindergarten (except for counting to 100 which he thought was SO BORING!) The next year rolled around and they were at Cain for 2nd and 1st. Jaelynn still did really well and went to her GT class once a week for 2 hours. Jake did well at first and then started to slide after it was not so much review. He still made A's and B's all year, but I had a conference with his teacher after the 3rd 6 weeks grades came out. He was really struggling with Math. Jason and I were already talking about homeschooling by this point. I was really struggling because I really felt called to home school. Jason still not so much! After the meeting with Jake's teacher I felt even more convicted that was where God was leading me. I came and told Jason, "You will never believe what Mrs. C told me today. I promise I said nothing about homeschooling. She told me Jake does SO MUCH BETTER ONE ON ONE!!!!!" Jason just looked at me like yea right! I asked her why she said that. She explained that when she pulls him up to her desk he seems to understand it better with a little one on one instruction. Well, sometime after Christmas Jaelynn was bored at school and not wanting to get out of bed in the mornings. Anyone who knows Jaelynn knows she LOVES school and is a people person. Jason had really started seeing some of the benefits I was talking about to home school. So, with God's guidance and us on the same page we are now a homeschooling family.

Here is a list of benefits and pros that we have seen in our home so far this year:
1. Bible lessons and prayer start our day!
2. School starts at 9am. So, everyone is well rested.
3. P.j.'s are school attire. (No fits are thrown about what clothes to wear!)
4. We have decreased our stress level at our house by 90%.
5. NO homework.
6. Flexibility.
7. Lots of fun field trips. (We are heading to the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium Thursday for homeschooling day. I will post pictures later.)
8. Can help meet each child's needs differently.
9. The closeness we have witnessed in all the kids.
10. Our school day is usually done by noon!
I hope that LONG post answers some of the questions people have asked me here lately. Thank you for the kind and encouraging words that we have received through this wonderful transition.

Spelling

Field Trips- The Zoo with Poppa

Science- Air Pressure

Home Living- Washing babies

Art- Abstract Painting

Cooking- Baking chocolate chip cookies

This is Our School! H-O-M-E!