handsful

It’s Saturday evening around here, and I’ve gotta get the littles showered, Dylan’s hair cut, we’ve got 2 chapters to read in our Advent book (missed last night!), and we want to watch a Christmas movie before it gets too late.

So.

Rather than do a lengthy post, describing every detail of every picture – ya’ll just enjoy the shots.

We sure did enjoy the time…

One day old…sound asleep

17 years old…and, feeling a little sleepy from last night’s dance!

(If my oldest child is now 17, I can’t exactly claim to be in my 30’s anymore, huh?)

Happy Birthday, Abbey-girl!

Lainey and Dylan, on their own, designed and built this fort.  They used all the blankets they could find, chairs, benches, sleeping bags, lotsa rubber bands, and my chip clips :)  We were all very impressed.

Silly builders.

Today, a week later, Lainey has a fever and is feeling puny.  Both littles are still in their PJ’s and it’s almost noon.

No matter what, you’ve gotta love Saturdays.

I thought I’d speed through our last week here on the blog.  Just for kicks.  Life is never dull.

** Randy spent the early part of the week in NYC.  He and his engineer were working a big vendor fair right in downtown…in fact, his hotel was 1 block from Times Square.  Yes, I was jealous.  I’ve never been to NY, and it’s definitely on my bucket list.  I love visiting big cities (San Fran is a favorite), but I most certainly prefer to live in the country.  As far as scenery goes, cows over cars I always say…

** Like I did last year, I’m participating in our church’s 21 day fast.  It’s a time to put aside the things we view as “necessities” and remember where our blessings come from.  I’m taking a Facebook break for 20 days…gotta sign in one day early for my mom’s birthday wish, I knew she’d be mad if I missed THAT!  I also did what’s called the “Daniel Fast” again, but this time 5 days instead of 3.  I know many people who do this the entire 21 days….No sugar, processed foods, dairy, meat, butter, breads, and only water to drink.  It’s not exactly easy, but that’s not the point.  Yesterday was my last day, so today I enjoyed this…

Hot tea is my friend in the morning.  And, I’ve got a pint of frozen chocolate yogurt for later.  Thank you Jesus for the sweet things in life.

** For the first time, Lainey and Dylan have their very own outside homeschool class.  Our friend Sandi (Hollyn’s mom) told us about it, suggesting it would be an awesome way to get them active AND give them time together on a regular basis.  They are in heaven with this class.  It’s through our town’s parks and rec, and involves one hour learning about a certain sport (so far, they’ve done basketball and volleyball), and then one hour on a health/safety topic (the last two were bus and fire safety).  We’re giving the kids some extra playtime afterwards, too.  Last week at our house, the coming week at Hollyn’s.  I’ll try and get some pics next time they go!

** My northern friends are laughing right now.  It’s okay.  This is the only snow we’ve had so far this year, and the kids loved feeling it on their faces.  It didn’t stick so well, since we’d had rain, rain, and more rain for days before.  But, the dusting was very pretty in the morning.

** One thing about homeschooling that I find interesting is that you’re always making changes.   Early on, I assumed there’d be this time when I would have it ALL figured out.  Ha.  This is our 12th year.  I think I forgot to factor in the changing ages of our kids, along with the increasing difficulty of their classes.  We’re always changing.  This semester, Payton switched to an online math class that, so far, is going very well.  We also tweaked how we manage the kid’s accountability,  as far as getting their work done and turned in.  Last, after having a family meeting with the kids, we agreed on what’s expected of them and gave them the incentive of allowance in return.  Teens love a little spending money in their pocket.

** Payton has always wanted to learn to cook…I tell him to SHOW UP in the kitchen when I’m cooking, but so far he’s not done that.  Enter Abbey’s friend D’Qota who’s been spending some time with us lately.  He LOVES to cook, and yesterday I found him going through my spice cabinet.  That was a first, as far as my kid’s friends go!  Turns out they were inventing a recipe for a spiced-up philly cheesesteak sandwich.  They even named it… the B Shooks Philly.  Not sure how they came up with that.  I tried it…very flavorful, I was impressed.

While they were cooking, they flipped through my Southern L*ving magazine and decided to try the lemon cheesecake today.  This recipe is involved…you have to make lemon curd!  I’ve never even done that.  The curd is chilling in the fridge as I type.  I’ll get back to you on how that worked out.

Here they are making those sandwiches…

** Lainey has been looking forward to today for about a week.  She was invited to her friend Anna’s birthday party!  But, that’s not the best part.  She was invited to spend the night, just her and Anna.  Deliriously happy would describe her response to that last part.

I asked her if she was excited, she said yes.  I asked her if she was nervous, she said no.  I do wonder how she’ll be at bedtime, this is only her 2nd friend sleepover.  I’m sure Anna’s mom will let her call to say goodnight.

We’ll pick Lainey up at church tomorrow.  Marley is at her friend Kylie’s house until Sunday.  D’Qota is here till tonight.  Payton and Ethan are going to their friend Jason’s house tonight, with Payton sleeping over.  Ethan and his friend Trevor are leaving Jason’s early and coming here to spend the night (since they both have to be at church super early for worship team).  Confusing?  This is quite common for weekends around here!

So, that was last week.  Tomorrow is church and two Testify practices, as usual.  Randy leaves for Atlanta for 2 days/1 night on Tuesday.  Life is busy, but great.

Six kids, a dog, 4 duffle bags, backpacks, sleeping bags, and pillows were piled into the van this morning at the lovely hour of 6:15am. Abbey, Marley, Payton, and Ethan are off on their first Testify youth choir tour to Ohio!

After everyone arrived, Susan gathered everyone in the church for some “pumping up” time…devotion and prayer, plus a couple of songs (well, they ARE a choir…)

Even after nagging…I mean reminding them about the main things they needed, someone still forgot her pillow. Here she is happy that her weary momma drove back home to get it for her.

After making sure I got hugs from all, they boarded the bus and we waited to wave goodbye. The littles entertained themselves by lovin’ on their friend, Jackson.

I won’t lie, I got a little choked up and teary after walking back to the van. It’s hard to let your kids go THAT far away without you for 6 days/5 nights. I’ll be praying a lot :) I know they are in good hands, both physically (all the chaperons and counselors are fabulous) and spiritually…God is ALL over this tour, and I can’t wait to hear how He moves in the hearts of these kids and in the people they encounter.

But, I’m cramming it in anyway. As busy as we are, it’s gotta be done.

My dad turned 70 last week! Mom and Dad drove over to our place to celebrate…we hung out, showed them the house (they’d not seen it since moving day…) and garden, opened a few presents, and then went to a local place for a great southern-style lunch. We sent dad home with a slice of pecan sticky bun cheesecake from a nearby bakery. Hope he liked it! Happy Birthday, Dad :) Love you!

I’m keepin’ my eye on you, Granpa…

This has been a BIG week for our Lainey-girl! First, we discovered she had a loose tooth. She spent the next week or so wiggling and twisting, and sure enough yanked that puppy out a few days ago. She was rewarded with 4 quarters from the “daddy-fairy” (no toothfairy here…)

Last weekend, Lainey decided she was done with her training wheels and set out to learn to ride her two-wheeler. It’s not been easy, and she’s had a few frustrated tears for sure. But, she’s doing great and showing herself to be very persistent when she wants something. Marley has been a fabulous big sister-teacher.

Dylan watching the progress…imagine one day when HE rides a bike?!

A hard-working girl. We wrestled with that helmet…it was either too loose or too tight. And, you can see here that the tooth was still hanging on.

While she was learning to ride, Randy was beginning the fence for our garden. We went back and forth on this. Fence, no fence, fence, etc. In the end we decided to go for it and build one…better safe than sorry, I guess. He designed it himself (as is usual when he builds anything), and he’s doing it right. Payton and Ethan have been big helpers! I added another 2 rows of corn last night, while the guys got one side done, began another side, and started the framework for the gate. It’s a big job.

Yesterday, we called our neighbors to see if we could come and visit their donkeys. Yes, we’re in the country now. Mr. and Mrs. Fesperman are both 80 and the sweetest couple around. Just last Sunday, we were out in the backyard…we look up to see Mr. F driving down our yard in his golf cart. He was bringing over a whole bag of homemade mini pecan pies for us. Oh my gracious, they have been so yummy!!

So, Marley, Lainey, Dylan, and I headed across the street to have a little farm experience. Mr. F met us at the barn and drove us over to see his 4 “pet” donkeys.

Tom-Tom is the big white one…then there’s the family of daddy, mommy, and little baby. They came right over for head scratches and apple treats. Well, Tom-Tom stayed behind the fence and made a bunch of noise at us. The roosters crowed a lot (we regularly hear them at our house, they think the sun rises about every few minutes), and the cows pretty much ignored us. Mr. F used to run a very prosperous working farm, but now just keeps his animals for “fun” and for the tax breaks :)

Marley took a lot of the pictures in this post…thanks, girl.

You’re pretty much up to date on us, now…don’t you feel better now?

July 4th around here means more than red, white and blue. More than fireworks, corn on the cob, and watermelon.

It means our blessings from China are having a birthday! Lainey Q is now 5…the age she’s been DYING to turn for so long. And, Dylan Y is a big boy at age 4.

The day began just like last year. A July 4th parade that passes right by our house. We drag the chairs to the end of our driveway and wave :)

Of course, there’s candy to get.

Present time! Prior to this, Randy led everyone in an opera version of Happy Birthday. Yep, that’s my husband.

Birthday boy

Birthday young lady!

Laughing at daddy’s opera

Someone loves her new watch…she’s been asking for one for a while now. She also got an 18″ doll and clothes for her.

Dylan loves this, he’s played with it everyday. Highly recommended if you have a little guy who likes daddy’s tools!
He also got a watch, and a kid sized tape measure.

Next request for their birthday was to go boating. We were happy to oblige.

Dylan is fully on board now, as far as swimming and boating go. He bobs along in the waves, wearing his green monster floatie, happy as can be. We affectionately refer to Lainey as our “fish”.

That night, we made the mistake of asking them where they’d like to go eat for their special day. We had our hopes high. We ended up at Taco B*ll.

Since we have 3 other birthdays this week, I decided against making 5 full birthday cakes. Who needs THAT much cake? Cupcakes worked much better. Especially since they get to decorate their own.

Was the day done then? Nope. Another boat ride, this time at night. We went out about 9pm, and cruised around looking at all the fireworks. We felt like those tornado chasers! Instead, we were chasing fireworks. We got home around 10:30…don’t tell Randy I told you, but, we got LOST. Abbey pointed us in the right direction.

I think Dylan really enjoyed his first birthday with us. It makes me sad to think that he had those first 3 without us – and without anyone to really make it special. We’re taking care of that now. And, Lainey….I can’t believe this is her 4th birthday with us! She’s growing into such a beauty. This year has been difficult for her. Really. But, we’re working on the rough spots and I know God will honor her (and our!) hard work.

Happy Birthday, Lainey and Dylan!