Our Home and School

Uploading headaches

2009-03-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been quite a while. I have to confess, I haven't made time to update my blog. My bad! Part of the reason is that it seems to take forever to load a couple of pictures. I don't have much patience to wait and then to have failed uploads and having to keep starting over. I must be picking bad times to load photos. I don't know. But I just tried to upload a bunch and tried again and still it's not working. So I will try again another time. It is late and I am off to bed. You may find some photos on my facebook, so try that if you want to see recent pics.

Field Trip To Fort Toulouse

2008-11-09T05:40:00.000-08:00

Last week we went to Fort Toulouse for Frontier Days. It was so much fun! There were many stands and at each one there were people dressed in costume educating us on Frontier Life. Here are a few pictures of us on the frontier!

This is Sara posing at our first stop. This is a yearly happening and our first year attending.

Luther, chomping down on a big old turkey leg.

Nicolas and me posing in front of a frontier home.

Fun Family Fotos

2008-10-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we are bad about getting family photos at a studio. So when we saw an opportunity to get some photos done at the local Sam's Club, we took advantage. LOL! Here is a sneak preview.

Family photos will be sent in the mail soon.

Coke Museum

2008-10-01T17:58:00.000-07:00

We went to the Coke Museum this summer. It was part of our day trip to Atlanta. It was a real neat place to go. We enjoyed tasting soft drinks from around the world. They also had a theatre where they played vintage and modern Coca Cola commercials.

The boys had fun jumping off steps.

Atlanta Aquarium

2008-10-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

We went in June to celebrate Anthony's birthday. Here are just a few pics for you to enjoy.

Yummy Peach!

2008-10-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

As you can see Peter loves fruit!

Luther Reaches First Class

2008-10-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

Luther is now a First Class Boy Scout. He's got a way to go to become Eagle, but he is working hard and enjoying the steps.
He went on two week long campouts this summer and a few weekend ones. He has more fun weekend campouts coming up this fall as well. He will get to enjoy canoeing and white water rafting. It makes me nervous, but we have to let go sometime and trust God with our precious children.

Nanny's visit

2008-10-01T17:10:00.001-07:00

My dear mother in law(from my first marriage) came to visit us this summer. It was a short but sweet visit and we were so happy she could make the trip down. She was recovering from a brown recluse spider bite, which made her not feel well. But she was a trooper and even took a dip in the pool!As you can see, Peter has a hard time adjusting to new people.

Peter's Surgery

2008-10-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

Since about the age of six months, Peter has had recurrent ear infections. Unfortunately, this summer the pattern continued and after a consultation with an Ear,Nose, and Throat specialist, we decided to go ahead with Ear Tube surgery.
Peter looked so cute in his little hospital gown. He was very good and was actually in a good mood until the nurse carried him away for his sugery. Thankfully it was all over within 25 minutes and he did great. He was cranky for a couple of hours, but with a little Tylenol and alot of loving, he was feeling better by lunchtime.
We feel that the surgery has been a success. Peter has not had an ear infection since his sugery over 2 months ago and he even had a cold which usually triggers them. We are thankful to the Lord for a great outcome all around.

We are back!

2008-09-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hello there! Yes we are finally back. It was a great summer and a rough summer. I went through some medical problems that unfortunately kept me from my blog for some time. I am feeling so much better, and I want to thank all of you, that knew what I was going through, for your prayers and phone calls. Mom thanks for coming down and helping me out!!! You're the best!!

Well, alot of stuff has happened. Where to begin. Sara turned 19 and Anthony turned 7. We decided to go away for Anthony's birthday. We went to the Atlanta Aquarium and the Coke Factory. Both were a blast. We had high expectations of the aquarium so we were a bit disappointed. But we had no expectations of the Coke factory so we were pleasantly suprised. Isn't that how it goes?

We had some fun times with friends and had them over for swim parties. We have recently had many problems with our pool chemicals. We have poured hundreds of dollars of chemicals and still have had problems with algae. We get our pool water tested and do what the pool professionals tell us to do, but to no avail, GREEN!!! AGH!! So we are debating whether it would be more financially wise to switch to salt water system or hire a pool guy next year. There are pros and cons. So we must do our research. Anyway, we hope to get it in good shape again soon so we can enjoy the last few weeks of hot weather outdoors in the pool.

We didn't get hit with any bad weather from the recent hurricanes, yeah! But we did have a few tornado warnings when my mom was here. So we spent some time hiding in the bathroom :)

But for the most part it has been a good summer, all things considered.

We started homeschooling 5 weeks ago and are progressing fairly well. (So long as mom can stay patient with her distracted students.) For the most part, we are keeping up with our schedule and still making time for outdoor activities and homeschool field trips.

Peter is an adorable 17 month old now. He is about 30 pounds and struts about the house looking for something to get into. He is learning some words and is just a bundle of cuteness and fun.

Nicolas and Anthony are playing soccer this fall. They are having alot of fun and doing alot of running! Luther is up to first class in Boy Scouts and working on other requirements to get him to Eagle. Sara has been better with her fibromyalgia pain these days (thanks to God). She is a big help with Peter and she keeps the boys in line. She has daily challenges from her condition but she tries not to let that stop her from doing what she can to help the family. Please keep her in your prayers for further health improvement. She wants to do so much more. Tom is loving his job and doing very well on his current projects.

The Domestic Monastery

2008-06-25T17:18:00.000-07:00

By Ron Rolheiser OMI January 7, 2001

Carlo Carretto, one of the leading spiritual writers of the past half-century, lived for more than a dozen years as a hermit in the Sahara desert. Alone, with only the Blessed Sacrament for company milking a goat for his food, and translating the bible into the local Bedouin language, he prayed for long hours by himself. Returning to Italy one day to visit his mother, he came to a startling realization: His mother, who for more than thirty years of her life had been so busy raising a family that she scarcely ever had a private minute for herself, was more contemplative than he was.
Carretto, though, was careful to draw the right lesson from this. What this taught was not that there was anything wrong with what he had been doing in living as a hermit. The lesson was rather that there was something wonderfully right about what his mother had been doing all these years as she lived the interrupted life amidst the noise and incessant demands of small children. He had been in a monastery, but so had she.
What is a monastery? A monastery is not so much a place set apart for monks and nuns as it is a place set apart (period). It is also a place to learn the value of powerlessness and a place to learn that time is not ours, but God's.
Our home and our duties can, just like a monastery, teach us those things. John of the Cross once described the inner essence of monasticism in these words: "But they, O my God and my life, will see and experience your mild touch, who withdraw from the world and become mild, bringing the mild into harmony with the mild, thus enabling themselves to experience and enjoy you." What John suggests here is that two elements make for a monastery: withdrawal from the world and bringing oneself into harmony with the mild.
Although he was speaking about the vocation of monastic monks and nuns, who physically withdraw from the world, the principle is equally valid for those of us who cannot go off to monasteries and become monks and nuns. Certain vocations offer the same kind of opportunity for contemplation. They too provide a desert for reflection.
For example, the mother who stays home with small children experiences a very real withdrawal from the world. Her existence is definitely monastic. Her tasks and preoccupations remove her from the centres of power and social importance. And she feels it. Moreover her sustained contact with young children (the mildest of the mild) gives her a privileged opportunity to be in harmony with the mild, that is, to attune herself to the powerlessness rather than to the powerful.
Moreover, the demands of young children also provide her with what St. Bernard, one of the great architects of monasticism, called the "monastic bell". All monasteries have a bell. Bernard, in writing his rules for monasticism, told his monks that whenever the monastic bell rang, they were to drop whatever they were doing and go immediately to the particular activity (prayer, meals, work, study, sleep) to which the bell was summoning them. He was adamant that they respond immediately, stating that if they were writing a letter they were to stop in mid-sentence when the bell rang. The idea in his mind was that when the bell called, it called you to the next task and you were to respond immediately, not because you want to, but because it's time for that task and time isn't your time, it's God's time. For him, the monastic bell was intended as a discipline to stretch the heart by always taking you beyond your own agenda to God's agenda.
Hence, a mother raising children, perhaps in a more privileged way even than a professional contemplative, is forced, almost against her will, to constantly stretch her heart. For years, while raising children, her time is never her own, her own needs have to be kept in second place, and every time she turns around a hand is reaching out and demanding something. She hears the monastic bell many times during the day and she has to drop things in mid-sentence and respond, not because she wants to, but because it's time for that activity and time isn't her time, but God's time. The rest of us experience the monastic bell each morning when our alarm clock rings and we get out of bed and ready ourselves for the day, not because we want to, but because it's time.
The principles of monasticism are time-tested, saint-sanctioned, and altogether-trustworthy. But there are different kinds of monasteries, different ways of putting ourselves into harmony with the mild, and different kinds of monastic bells. Response to duty can monastic prayer, a needy hand can be a monastic bell, and working without status and power can constitute a withdrawal into a monastery where God can meet us. The domestic can be the monastic.

My Parents Visit

2008-06-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad came to visit us two weeks ago. I know, it's been a long time since I really blogged. But we had an awesome visit. We hung out by the pool, did odd jobs around the house, shopped, saw some sights or just hung out and played dominoes. I hadn't seen my parents in about a year so it was wonderful to spend about 9 days together. We were so sad to see them go, but will cherish the memories of this visit. Love you mom and dad! And miss you already!

A Child's First Liberty

2008-05-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

A Child's First Liberty

The liberty of the person who can make himself do what he ought is the first of the rights
that children claim as persons. (Charlotte Mason)

We are all either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. (Paul of Tarsus)

Ask the typical American child, “What is it like to be an adult?” And, the great majority will respond, “You get to do what you want.” Undoubtedly, such a statement fails to describe the lives of the vast majority of adults who must submit to the dictates of their employment, consider the needs of spouse and children, labor to cut the grass and clean the house, in summary, who must live a life structured more by needful responsibility than by whimsical desire. Yet, if this be the case, how is it that so many children have an image of adulthood which is so patently false. And, what are the consequences for children who possess such a conception. Are we not setting them up for lives of irresponsibility, frustration and unhappiness?

Perhaps our children are picking up on our own adolescent fantasy, the dream that doing whatever one wants whenever one wants is both a realistic possibility and the secret to happiness. Despite all the advertisements to the contrary, it is simply not possible to always “have it your way,” nor is it even desirable. After all, so many of our desires are merely reflections of well marketed, passing fads. And, so many more of our desires are nothing but momentary cravings. How often do we find ourselves wanting that which does not fulfill? The third piece of chocolate cake is more likely to make us sick than to satisfy. Yet still we want it. Do not life’s truest and deepest satisfactions (deepening knowledge, loving relationship, and fruitful labor) often require us to forego the indulgence of momentary desire? And isn't it true that whimsical, self-indulgent desire is much more the tyrant than the liberator.

If indeed living by chance desire rather than higher principal is a form of bondage, how do parents and teachers foster the higher life? Consider that no child is born knowing how to orient to the world, knowing what to think and what not to think, what to do and what not to do. Children possess a generalized sense that there is a right and wrong but little knowledge of what is right and wrong. They look to primary care-givers to inform them as to the basic rules of life. And, their primary care-givers will convince them of one of the following:
· Life is about doing what I want.
· Life is about doing what is right and good.
As in most of life’s endeavors, there are errors to be made on the right and on the left. From time to time, we encounter the adult with an authoritarian bent, who seeks excessive, arbitrary control over children. Such a stance is indeed destructive. The “because I want you to” or “because I said so” of an adult is a poor substitute for the peaceful, patient, and principled pursuit of that which is right and good. Children can never joyfully accept a parenting strategy based upon the premise that adults get to do what “they want” but children must conform and obey. Children raised in such an environment almost always respond in either fearful dependency or angry rebellion. A recognition of the equal dignity of both children and adults but the relative ignorance and moral weakness of children (as compared to the mature adult) implies the following responsibilities for each:
· Neither adult nor child is free to orient life around the principle of “I want”
· Both adult and child are constrained by the “must” of pursuing what is right and good.
· It is the responsibility of parents and teachers to inform children as to what is right and good and then to hold them accountable to it.
· It is the responsibility of children to trust and obey their parents and teachers.
· It is the responsibility of parents and teachers to be worthy of such trust and obedience.
· Parents and teachers are worthy of such trust and obedience when they submit their own lives to that which is right and good. Parents and teachers become unworthy of trust and obedience when they orient their lives around the principle of “I want”.
We must not use the sins of the few as a means to obfuscate and justify the sins of the many. The majority parenting style tends to change with the day’s fashion. And, authoritarianism is certainly not fashionable. Rather, our contemporary culture endorses a kind of parental libertarianism. Consider the following true stories:
· Arriving at their new home, a couple invited their five year old son to look over the house and choose his room. The boy promptly chose the master suite, leaving his parents to a much smaller bedroom. The parents moved their things into the smaller room.
· A mother was in the habit of allowing her eight year old daughter to choose, without limitation, her own clothes. One cold December day, the little girl decided she wanted to wear her bikini swimsuit. Scantily clad, the girl pranced around all day, both inside and out.
· A father spent in excess of two hours trying to reason with his four year old daughter as to why it was good to put on shoes and socks before going outside. In the end, he gave up in exasperation and simply carried his shoeless daughter to the car.
· A teacher rewards her students with a piece of candy every time a student does that which he ought.
Arguably, none of these adults are wicked. All possess a sincere, good will for their children. But all behaved quite foolishly, potentially undermining the well being of the very children they love. Intentional or not, adults are constantly providing children with life lessons. In each of these stories, a child was instructed with the following lesson: “What a little boy or little girl wants is what matters most.” A little boy should have the room he wants regardless of parents’ greater need for space and privacy. A little girl should be able to wear whatever she wants regardless of considerations of its appropriateness. A little girl should be able to do what she wants unless convinced otherwise. There is no need to trust and obey. Students need not do what they ought unless adequately bribed. Children learn such lessons well.
Many adults have rightly rejected the stance that life for children is about what I, the adult, want. Unfortunately, many have made the new focus to be what the child wants. Pity the thirty year old who desperately holds onto the illusion that life is about doing only that which self “wants”, unless suitably convinced or suitably bribed. And remember that “the boy is author to the man”.
At Ambleside schools, we are very intentional in our efforts to ensure a consistent message.
· Life is not about what teachers “want”.
· Life is not about what students “want”.
· Life is about what is “right and good”.
We encourage all parents and teachers to do the same. Consider the following excerpt from Charlotte Mason’s essay, Concerning Children as Persons:
The child who has learned that, by persistent demands, he can get leave to do what he will, and have what he likes, whether he do so by means of stormy outcries or by his bewitching, wheedling ways, becomes the most pitiable of all slaves, the slave to chance desires; he will live to say with the poet:
“Me this unchartered freedom tires’
I feel the weight of chance desires.”

Indeed, he already feels this weight, and that is why he is fretful and discontented and finds so little that is delightful in his life. Let him learn that “do as you’re bid” is a child’s first duty; that the life of his home is organized on a few such injunctions as “be true,” “be kind,” “be courteous,” “be punctual,” and that to fail in any of these respects is unworthy and unbecoming; more, let him be assured that such failures are of the nature of sin and are displeasing to God, and he will grow up to find pleasure in obedience, and will gradually gather the principles which should guide his life.
Education as formation not mere information
www.amblesideschools.com
A monthly publication of Ambleside Schools International
For the purposes of advancing a renewal in education
in accord with the principles of Charlotte Mason

Peter Is Walking!

2008-05-15T20:04:00.001-07:00

Peter has been taking some steps for the past couple of weeks or so. But this week he is the brave little guy and has been pretty much walking as much as possible. He is so cute. We are thrilled to have a toddling little toddler in our home. He is just such a treasure of a baby and adorable of course. We are just enjoying every moment of his life, growth, and development. We will soon post a video clip of him walking but we wanted all of you to know the great news!

The Story of Stuff

2008-05-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

You really must see The Story of Stuff with your children. It is very eye opening and informative about how we can stop the waste that we contribute to and how our very lives can improve and the lives of others can also improve. We learned that 99% of consumed products are disposed of!!
But it's more than just recylcing, it's changing the way we see things. Many people work so they can buy more stuff or pay for the stuff they've already purchased and then the cycle begins all over again.
Trust me, this video is very educational and the whole family should watch it!!

Peter's First Birthday!!!

2008-04-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today Peter turned one year old. It is hard to believe that a year has gone by all ready. We have enjoyed watching Peter grow and learn. We are blessed to have a healthy baby boy and we give thanks to God for our precious blessing, for all our blessings. Thank you to all of you who helped us celebrate with cards, gifts, and phone calls for Peter. That was so sweet and Peter is enjoying everything!

A Little Flu Humor

2008-04-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

We recently got over the Flu and it was not fun. See my previous blog on that. Anyway, I thought I would add a little Flu Humor with a sarcastic You Tube video that gives one of the reasons why we don't get the Flu shot.

Pasta Time

2008-04-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

I love to make fresh pasta. It's delicious and everyone likes it. But it is work. Well I was blessed recently, for our 2nd Anniversary, with a connector for my Kitchen Aid. I make the pasta then I run it through the kitchen aid mixer to flatten the dough then cut it into shapes like fettucinni and spaghetti, or angel hair or even ravioli.

Confirmation

2008-04-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

Luther was Confirmed last night. It was a very long beautiful Mass. The bishop gave a lovely homily that was serious and made us all consider our faith and how it affects our lives, yet he was funny and engaging. Luther brought up the gifts. The bishop read the letters that each of the children wrote to him about why they wanted to recieve the Sacrament of Confirmation. All the letters were very though out.

Unfortunately, we forgot our camera with all the hubbub of getting ready and rushing out. But we should be getting a picture from our Priest who always arranges a photograph session when we have Communions and Confirmations.

We stayed after the mass for a gathering. Food was served for us and we had a lovely time of fellowship. We got two invitations to visit at people's homes but it was getting late, Sara was in pain, and Peter was getting fussy, Nicolas fell and scraped his elbow and was miserable about it, so we just went home afterwards.

The only thing that could have made the night better would be having all of you, dear family and friends from up north, be able to be here. We miss you all!

Family Game Night

2008-04-19T06:14:00.000-07:00

There are several games that our family plays regularly, they are: Monopoly, Scrabble, Pay Day, Clue, Upwords, Blokus, and several card games.

We don't have a specific family game night, although I think we should. We just play whenever we are bored and need something to do.

Some of you have not heard of Blokus or Upwords. Blokus is a very easy game for ages 5 and up. Here is the link to the site http://www.blokus.com/.

This next game, Upwords, is a cool word game similar to Scrabble only a bit easier for children to play. You make a word and then you can change a letter or two to make a new word and collect the points. Just make sure that when you change the word it doesn't mess up the other word connected to it, or that it works with the other word. Have fun and have a family game night! Turn off the t.v. pop some popcorn and have some laughs!!

A Blessed Easter

2008-03-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Easter celebration here at home with my family from Pa. They drove so far to visit and we are so grateful for their sacrifice. We had about 4 days to visit, so we tried to squeeze in as many good times together in that time. We went to the park, the museum, and took a bus tour through Montgomery. We also took them to our parish to attend some of the masses of Holy Week. We attended the traditional Easter Vigil Mass where a family of five joined the Catholic Church that night. It was a lovely Mass.

We spent Easter Sunday coloring eggs, had an egg hunt, and enjoyed our last day to visit. There were so many things we wanted to do, but not enough time. But the most important thing we did do was to spend time together: talking, laughing, eating, and playing. What more do you need?

The weather was great and we look forward to the next time we can all be together again.

Flu, flu, go away!

2008-03-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

We are finally over the flu. It was horrible. Poor Peter is on his third ear infection. Hopefully his last for a while. Today Nicolas has an earache, but no one has flu or cold symptoms. It was a rough couple of weeks. This flu caused our fevers to shoot up to as high as 103.8 and higher for the little ones. Thankfully Tom stayed healthy throughout the ordeal.

Hopefully we will stay healthy for the rest of Spring. Speaking of which, spring is definitely here. It was 78 degrees yesterday and has stayed in the 70's for a few days now. We hope the weather continues to stay lovely for my sister's visit next week! We can't wait to see them. We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving 06'. They will finally get to meet Peter, who is now ten and a half months old.

It's fun to be at the YMCA

2008-02-21T12:05:00.001-08:00

(not actual YMCA facility)

On Monday we all joined the YMCA. Don't sing the song, Tom hates it! LOL. Anyway, we are enjoying it immensely. It is only $57 a month for all of us. We have access to all the work out classes, the weight room, the bikes and elypticals, stair masters, etc.. The kids love to swim most of all. And believe it or not, we have worked out everyday this week so far! We shall see how long the enthusiasm lasts!!

Frenchy Bag and More!

2008-02-05T22:22:00.001-08:00

As I am able to find time, make time, or steal time, I allow myself the pleasure and treat of making something with fabric and my sewing machine. This past week I purchased the Amy Butler Frenchy Bag pattern. I couldn't wait to get started on it and I got it done in one afternoon and evening with lots of interruptions. I started it after mass on Superbowl Sunday and got it done before midnight. It was "SEW EASY" and it is roomy without being too large or bulky. Below is a picture of the inside and pockets. I forgot to buy a magnetic snap so I need to add that. I think velcro would work too.

Below is my very first baby quilt. I finished it a couple of weeks ago but took far too long to finally mail it. My first attempt at mailing it, I ran other errands came home and completely forgot to go to the post office. I planned to go again the next day, but it was so rainy and ugly out that I decided not to go out at all that day. The next day was Saturday and I missed the deadline for the Post Office. On Monday I got so caught up with cleaning and school and then got sucked into sewing, that I didn't go out at all again. Then finally today, Sara had a doctor appointment and I had to go to the post office to get stamps to mail some bills so, FINALLY, I mailed it out. Thank goodness my nephew isn't due for a few more weeks!! I hope you like it Steph!

I was looking to buy some fabric checkbook covers to got with my Frenchy Bag or future bags I will make, so I went on ebay and bid on a couple. I lost the bids because I was too cheap to bid higher than $5, so I decided to research how to make my own. I found a free pattern online for the checkbook cover and made one. I used my Chocolate Lollipop fabric (which doesn't match with my bag, but will match with the next bag I make). It turned out nice but I made a few changes to the pattern to make it work better with my checks. Here is what it looks like. The colors are nice, pink and chocolate! YUM!

I am thinking of making a few and selling them on ebay. But first I will start by making them for family and friends as gifts.

My next new project will be making another smaller bag also by Amy Butler called Stash and Dash Bags. These little bags are great when you don't feel like carrying a purse or tote but have more than a handful to carry. I am expecting my pattern in the mail any day now. I bought a stash of fabric at Walmart for $1 or $2 a yard. But I want to invest in a few yards of designer fabric too, which can run about $9-$14 a yard, but are very pretty and unique.

Peter is Nine Months Old!

2008-01-31T22:39:00.000-08:00

Here is Anthony our early bird.

Peter is now 9 months old and growing so quickly. He is cuddly and chubby and oh so sweet. I look forward to his smile in the morning, and so does Anthony. Anthony comes to our bedroom every single morning to see if Peter is awake. It's so adorable when Peter is awake and sees Anthony come in. Peter gives his big brother and big smile and reaches out for him. If Peter is still asleep, Anthony just joins us in bed until we all get up for the morning. Anthony is an early riser and often is up at 6 a.m.

Court of Honor

2008-01-31T22:28:00.000-08:00

Scout Oath (or Promise)
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.
Luther was advanced to Second Class! He is working hard to reach Eagle by the end of his senior year.
Unfortunately Pop couldn't be there. He was watching baby Peter who was very sick with an ear infection. Peter is doing much better now.
Here we are congratulating him and clapping. Am I getting shorter or is my son getting taller?

Our Kitchen is Done!

2008-01-31T21:51:00.000-08:00

We are excited about the kitchen being done so soon. It took a little less than 4 weeks. We are pleased with the results and are looking forward to adding some nice touches like curtains, wall hangings and some homemade hot pads and trivets. The kitchen feels twice as large now and is larger since we moved the sink out of the way.

Tom keeps asking "Do you think it really does look nice?" I keep saying "Yes, it's wonderful!"

I think he just wants to make sure I like it and I do like it alot. It's lovely!

We both look forward to entertaining and making lots of yummy meals for all who come to visit. So come on down your northerners!

I am looking at fabric for the kitchen valances. Any ideas? Please email me some fabric ideas and colors. I think I could throw some red in there with the curtains to give a pop of color, what do you think?
Yes, the countertops are granite!! Thankfully they were on sale and could fit our budget!

This is our tile backsplash with one inch glass tiles as accents. The colors of our kitchen are also the colors we had at our wedding which were sage green and ivory. I think of our wedding day often when I look at the tile work!

SNOW?!!!!!!!

2008-01-19T06:28:00.000-08:00

We are supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow today starting at around 11a.m. PST. I will definitely post pictures of this unusual happening if it happens. The last time Montgomery had snow was Jan. 2, 2002, when 1.8 inches fell, NWS records show.

Right now it is raining and 36 degrees and the temperature is dropping.

Getting Crafty

2008-01-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the latest projects I have worked on since Nov.07. I am currently working on a baby quilt for my newest nephew due in April.

18 inch quilt pillow made with beautiful Heather Bailey fabric.

Reversable baby blanket with ribbon edge. I made two of these. One for Peter and one for youngest nephew Giovanni.

Patchwork purse I made for Sara for Christmas.

Purl frogs I made for the boys.

Kitchen Renovation

2008-01-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

Here is our kitchen before the remodel began. Notice that the sink area divides the kitchen almost in half and added no real usable counters or cabinets. (1st picture). It had a sort of bar area behind the sink that was useless to us. The tile in the backsplash was poorly installed and we had a strange cabinet that stuck out of the wall. (see second picture). Also, the vinyl tile floor was installed very poorly and would wiggle.

Our kitchen has been getting renovated for the last two weeks and all is going well. We have no kitchen use, no laundry use, but we are surviving. I plan on going to the laundromat tomorrow to catch up. Hence very little blogging lately.
The guys working on our kitchen are super friendly, hard workers, and they seem to be working fast. They don't bother me and I don't bother them :)

Here are some photos of our kitchen down to it's bare bones.

Here is a close up of the tiles that have been put in. They will be grouted later.

Below you can get an idea of what it will look like. They installed the cabinets yesterday and today and are reworking some of the outlets. Above the sink area there will be a tile design with one inch glass accents. The glass is green and will match the walls. Anthony is posing :)

Now we just can't wait to get the finished product in a few more weeks! We just hope it's done before Nanny and Aunt Lori come for a visit in Feb.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2007-12-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

Like Thanksgiving day, it was quiet around our house. We had an enjoyable Christmas day listening to Christmas music, opening presents, eating and making merry. Well, as merry as you can when you are so far away from all your dear family and friends up north. The children seemed to really enjoy their Christmas gifts and didn't seem to mind it too much that there was no snow.

This year was also touched with some concern and sadness for our nephew Chris. Please say a prayer for Chris and his family, as he was hit by a car and is in stable yet critical condition. For his privacy I will not say too much but he really needs your prayers for a full recovery. We are grateful that he is still with us, and pray that he will continue to strengthen and improve.

I am ending the year with a lovely full blown cold. UGH! It's the kind of cold that knocks you down and drags you out. So I had to take a nap today. Naps for me are like 20 minutes, lol!

But they are helpful and refreshing.

It's 70 degrees out today and cloudy. I really must say I like the winter weather here in the south. It is so nice and mild. We have a possibility of tornadoes from now until the spring. We had watches all day, but nothing came, thankfully. Anthony gets very excited about tornado watches and warnings. He keeps us posted everytime he hears something on the radio or t.v.

One of my favorite gifts was this lovely craft book. I have enjoyed getting back into sewing and making a few things. My first project from the book was this cute pin cusion made out of scrap material. It was "sew" easy. This book is great because it separates the projects by the estimated amount of time it will take, such 2-4 hour gifts, 4-8 hour, etc... If I start now, I should be able to make everyone a little something for Christmas 2008!

More Snapshots

2007-12-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

Now that's what I call a Jaw Breaker!
"I wanna play Wii!"
"A box makes the bestest toy!"
Getting back to sewing. Criss Cross coasters in Anna Maria's Chocolate Lollipop fabric.

Italian Potato Casserole and Cream Cheese Brownies

2007-12-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

This was one of our regular side dishes years ago, and I haven't made it in over a year or longer. Does that ever happen to you, where you stop making something for a long time because you just didn't think to make it?
Well tonight's menu is roast chicken, sweet corn, and italian potato casserole.

Easy Italian Potato CasseroleSide Dish

4 to 6 potatoes
1 onion sliced thin
2-3 tomatoes sliced
mozarella cheese
parmesan cheese
dried oregano
dried basil
salt and pepper

Peel potatoes and slice thin, I use the Cuisenart to make this dish super fast! Slice onions. In a deep dish pan that has been sprayed or buttered, layer (one half of ingredients) potatoes, onions, oregano, basil, salt, pepper,parmesan cheese, tomatoes, and then mozarella, then repeat the layers. Cover with aluminum foil that has been sprayed. Bake at 400 degrees F. until tender. About 40-45 minutes. Uncover to brown.

I will also make some cream cheese brownies for dessert. They are super easy!

CREAM CHEESE BROWNIES

1 pkg. brownie mix
6 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. butter
1/3 c. sugar5 eggs
2 tbsp. flour
3/4 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. water
Cream cheese mix: soften cream cheese, butter, sugar, 2 eggs, flour, vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Brownie mix: mix according to direction on package using 3 eggs.
Spoon half of mix in pan. Top with cream cheese, add other half and swirl through with spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Snapshots

2007-12-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

A Day at the Museum

2007-12-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

We had a fun time at the museum. Yesterday we had the homeschool group over for lessons on Picasso and Margritte. We did some fun art projects reflecting "Cubism" and "Surrealism". The next morning we all woke up with art on the brain. So after lessons we went to the Montgomery Art Museum. We were able to see paintings and other art work that reflected cubism and surrealism.

Here is Luther with the view of the lake behind him. Those sculptures at the center actually turn and the birds like to sit on them. It was a gorgeous 75 degree day in Nov.

This is a tile wall that Peter is enjoying looking at.

The boys are actually in the art. There is a painting of this in the museum.

Here is Sara posing in front of the museum.

Long time no write...

2007-11-26T06:37:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Peter preparing for thier Thanksgiving Feast.

Hello everybody! Sorry it's been so long since I updated. We have been busy as you can imagine. With doctor/dentist appointments, homeschool activities, home-schooling, baby care, pet and house care, laundry etc.... You know what I mean!

Our Thanksgiving was very nice and quiet. We enjoyed a lovely meal here at home together, just the seven of us and of course Kia catching all the droppings and leftovers that she could. We decided we wanted a quiet simple day of thanks giving. We went around the table and we each gave thanks for something.

Today is a very rainy day, which we need. So we will probably do a lot of extra reading, and laundry, and eat homemade turkey soup that I made with what was left of our turkey. I just boiled the bones in water with whatever meat was left on the bones. I added celery, onion, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. I simmered for an hour or so. Then I removed the bones, and picked the meat off the turkey. I added a bag of bow tie pasta with veggies from Schwan's and two diced potatoes. Simmered till tender and add the picked turkey. Yummy! Good with sour dough or crusty bread.

Peter is sitting all by himself now and is still teething so he gets fussy. But we have so many extra sets of arms that he doesn't have to fuss for very long before someone comes to his rescue. He is sleeping much better these nights. He was getting up almost every two hours, when the teething was painful, to nurse but is back to sleeping from about 9 p.m. till about 5 or almost 6 a.m. NICE!!

Speaking of teeth, Anthony just lost his third tooth. He all ready lost the bottom two and now has lost his top tooth. He was trying to whistle with the hole left, but it isn't working. Anthony also informed me this morning that elephants are afraid of mice. I wonder where he got that idea :) Kids say the funniest things.

Homeschool happenings

2007-11-13T06:12:00.000-08:00

Well we are currently finishing up some science and history books we are reading. Our trimester is almost over. One of the favorite books is "Galen and the Gateway to Medicine".

This is an interesting book about how doctors started out learning their field, particularly Galen, who was a doctor that practiced over 2,000 years ago. I highly recommend this book for ages 8 and up. Luther will be reading The History of Medicine, which will get a little more in depth and takes a look at medical practices from the ancient past to the present, including biographical sketches of famous persons of medicine.

We will also be purchasing and boxing up Christmas gifts for the students at St.Joseph's Indian School in SD. This is a project through our homescool group. I am not sure but I think these boys are either orphans or displaced. I will have to learn more and let you know later.

We go roller skating once a month and have book club once a month. We meet with another local group for sports and art in the park every Friday if we can. I will be starting a monthly art and music class right here in my home as well.

We will be baking lots of mini quick breads for the troops and my brother who are overseas and will not be home for the holidays. I hope they make it!

Bee Movie

2007-11-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

Well we went to see Bee Movie on Saturday afternoon, with much hesitation on my part. I had read some critics reviews on a particular site that I thought I trusted, and they weren't extremely positive on the movie. That site gave it a C+. Compared to Ratatouille which got an A-.

If we were to grade those same movies, we would switch the grades around. Bee Movie was great! We really enjoyed it! And we didn't care that it wasn't accurate to the way real bees are. We didn't go there to be educated on bees, we went to be entertained and to have some laughs. If we wanted to learn about bees, we could have rented a National Geographic video on the life of bees.

I hope that those of you that go to see Bee Movie will enjoy it as much as we did. It was perfect for the whole family.

The Good Ol' Days

2007-11-09T05:20:00.000-08:00

The children and I have been going to a park on Fridays for sports day and art. Some bring baseballs and bats, others bring a kick ball or football, and we just play. It is neat to see the children playing at the park because their main goal is to have fun, and enjoy their friends.
There was a time when sports were played in the neighborhood just for the fun or love of the game. Picture this, the kids take two trash cans and set them up across from each other, those were the goal (nets), the kids would get some sticks or brooms and use a tennis ball or small ball to play-- Yes, you guessed it, street hockey! No expensive equipment needed!
Nowadays sports have become so competitive, expensive, and all about making it big. The goal seems to be to become famous and make millions, oh and yes, it's a bonus if you love the sport that you play.
I remember as a child playing hide and seek, kick the can, dodgeball, freeze tag, tag, jump rope, double-dutch, chineses jump rope, ride skateboard, bike, or tricycle. It was great to climb trees, run through the pineapple fields in PR, pick mangoes off the tree for a quick snack, build sand castles at the beach, or build a house with sheets on your bunk bed. On rainy days board games were a blast. Playing monopoly or parchesi for hours. Playing card games like war, matching, hearts, rummi, or gin-rummi. And I hate to admit, but hey I was a girl, I played with dolls or barbies. I wasn't as impacted in those days (way back in the 70's) with feminism as some women are now. We weren't afraid to become mothers, and our mothers weren't concerned about us getting an eating disorder because of playing with barbie dolls. We were just having fun without the distraction of television or video games. Obesity was rare, even being overweight was uncommon.
Wouldn't it be nice to go back to the simple days of working and playing together, spending true quality time together, not in front of the television, but with each other. Listening to each other and really hearing each other as we do the dishes or fold laundry together. Our children will surprise us with what they are able to do and learn and what they all ready know. We are so busy in our lives that we hardly have time to talk to our children.
Yes we have work to do, but can't we spare one night a week, order a pizza or make a simple meal, turn off the t.v. and video games, and really spend time together. Teach your children to play together even if they aren't in the same age group. Our older children will learn patience and the younger ones will learn to respect their older siblings and look up to them. We will learn more about each other and appreciate each others gifts and limitations.
Movie night is fun too, don't get me wrong! But it's more fun if you watch sparingly and watch together.

Bella

2007-10-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

This movie was moving and Tom and I really enjoyed it. Stephen McEveety, who also produced movies as "Braveheart", and "The Passion of Jesus Christ", signed on after the movie was finished to help market and distribute the film.

I don't want to give too much away so I will just refer you to the website www.bellathemovie.com. I hope that you will go and see it if it comes to your town. It isn't going to be showing everywhere, unless it becomes a big hit. You know Hollywood. There's got to be big money in it for them. Oh well. Go and be moved and inspired to love more deeply and live more fully. I do have to say that I found the Puerto Rican/Mexican family delightful and real.

Farm City Festival

2007-10-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

This is a Eurasian Owl.

On Monday night, I took the boys to a Farm City Festival. It took place on Bartlett Ranch here in Montgomery. The children had so much fun. There was face painting, free treat bags, Birds of Prey Show, pony and horse rides, hay stack jumping (a favorite for the boys), free hot dogs, chips, and drinks, hay ride, and a whole lot more.

Here is the picture that was put into the newspaper:

Movie suggestion

2007-10-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Someone from my Catholic Homeschool list wrote and asked for support on a movie. Her name is Kerry Wall and the movie is called Noelle. It comes out in December. They are a Charlotte Mason Catholic Homeschooling Family and her husband wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the movie. Kerry starred opposite her husband and three of their 4 children also acted in it. Check it out and please try and support Catholics that are making films (if they are decent movies of course!!). I saw the preview and it actually looked like it might be good.

Thyroid issues and a Silly Face

2007-10-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

In the last couple of months, I (Chris) have been under the supervision of my doctor for hypertension, which came back as soon as I gave birth to Peter. We got that under control with medication. I do think that a healthy diet and weight loss will contribute to my improvement, but that takes time to achieve, so it was important to get treatment as my bp was 190/109 and sometimes higher :( Now it is holding steady at 120/70 :)

So now onto the thyroid issue. My doctor also did some blood tests and found that I had hyperthyroid. That meant that my thyroid was overactive and producing too much hormone. That would explain the palpitations I was having soon after Peter's birth. I was also experiencing irregular cycles which I attributed to breast-feeding. My doctor ordered a more extensive test for thyroid levels, and based on those results ordered an ultrasound scan of my thyroid. All this was between August and September. Meanwhile I read some stuff online and I was guessing that I have post-partum thyroiditis. My reason for thinking that was that I didn't have any family history of thyroid disfunction, and the information online made sense to me. I didn't have that many, or severe symptoms.

I was then referred to an endocrinologist based on my enlarged thyroid and disfunction. The endocrinologist examined me and looked over my records. My symptoms of palpitations had abated, yet my cycles were still irregular which even the doctor said that it could be due to breastfeeding(bf).

She left the room and came back with a diagnosis of Grave's Disease. I was shocked. I had read extensively on Grave's and didn't think that was what I had because I didn't exhibit many of the symptoms associated with Grave's except for enlarged thyroid, some palpitions and irregular cycles. I truly was shocked. I asked her couldn't it be postpartum thyroiditis, but she said no based on my enlarged thyroid. So she prescribed some anti-thyroid drugs and said to come back for blood tests. She also had me do a blood test that very day to see if anything had changed since August and Sept.

I went immediately and got my blood drawn, got the prescription filled and took the meds. By the second dose (the next morning) I was feeling ill and so down. I wondered why this was happening and wished it wan't me. I asked God to protect my liver from the drug, as it can tax it, and to protect Peter from it getting into his body through the milk. The doctor had asured me that very little leaked into the milk and should not affect him, but that I should let his doctor know I was on the drug and bf.

The next day, after my appointment with my endocrinologist, we had a light school day and we got ready to go to play ball with other homeschoolers at a local park. It was a hard day for me as I had Grave's Disease on my mind alot and I was trying to figure out what I could do diet wise to improve my health. I was all ready drinking carrot-apple juice and green juices. Plus had added lots of fiber, fruit and veggies to my diet. I read online that too much iodine in the diet can worsen hyperthyroid. So I made a list of foods to avoid and posted them on the fridge.

The children got their sneakers on and we prepared to leave. The phone rang and I saw that it was my doctor. I knew immediately that she was calling about my bloodwork. Instinctively I prayed that it was better not worse. She told me that the thyroid levels were no longer hyper. That I should stop the medication immediately. In fact I currently am the opposite hypothyroid and not producing enough hormone. That sounded just like postpartum thyroiditis to me! She still thinks I have Grave's but that it is going into "remission". She will be re-checking my blood in mid-November as originally planned. Then we shall see how it is. Chances are that I will still be hyothyroid and may need to be given meds to up the levels. At least that is what happens in post partum thyroiditis. So we shall see.

I am relieved that my body is trying to repair itself and Lord willing it will get better. Please say a little prayer to St.Blaise to intercede for the healing of my thyroid as it is located in the throat.

Unexpected Trip

2007-10-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of September we made a last minute trip to NY to visit Tom's parents and family. Tom's dad had surgery to remove cancerous tumors. He did very well with the surgery. Tom's brother's and mom were great at keeping us updated on dad's condition. There was bad news the next day and dad had to have another surgery. He did fine with the second surgery, but suffered a terrible blood infection. He was in critical condition and we really didn't know for sure whether he was going to survive. They called it sepsis.

We then decided that we should go and see dad. Thankfully he got better from the infection and unfortunately got another mysterious infection. By God's grace he recovered from the second infection and began to slowly recover.

It was an emotional "roller coaster" as Tom's mom would say. One minute he appeared to be doing better then a set-back. But thanks to God, our supplication through prayer, and dad's fighting spirit, he has pulled through and is now off his ventilator and eating and moving. Our God is always good, but He was especially good this time to all. He spared dad. Now dad is cancer free and should, Lord willing, recover fully and go home. We pray for him daily that he continue to improve and that there be no more set-backs to his recovery.

So the trip to NY was sudden and a bit stressful and sad, but was also full of joy in seeing dad recover, and reconnecting with family members we hadn't seen in over a year or since Christmas.

We will certainly miss everyone while we are away again!

Family Room

2007-09-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Before:

As I mentioned on older posts, we are gradually working on some minor remodeling jobs around the house.

We recently got the family room painted. As you can see in the pictures it was a brown paneling before. Now it is brighter and lighter. The paint went right onto the paneling.

The walls are indian white and the fireplace is a few shades darker on the same color palette. In other words, I don't remember the name of the color, LOL! We still need to hang some stuff up on the walls. Any suggestions?

Anyway, let me know what you think!

Montgomery

2007-08-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

Montgomery City
(pop., 2000: 201,568), capital of Alabama, U.S. The site was inhabited by Indian mound builders in prehistoric times. About 1717 the French built Fort Toulouse on the river above the present site of Montgomery. The city was founded in 1819 and named for Gen. Richard Montgomery; it became the state capital in 1846. In 1861, during the American Civil War, it served briefly as the capital of the Confederacy; it was captured by Union troops in 1865. It was a centre of the civil rights movement, notably the protests organized by Martin Luther King, Jr. Located southeast of Birmingham, it serves as the commercial centre of an agricultural region, trading in cotton and livestock and producing fertilizer. It is the seat of Alabama State University and several other institutions of higher education.

Me and my sister on the trolley when she came to visit.

This is the Capital.

This is Dexter Ave. Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached at.

This is a monument to the legendary Hank Williams.This is the Tucker Pecan Company where we purchased some yummy chocolate covered pecans and other goodies. The children loved the old fashioned Coke machine and paid $1 for small glass bottles of Coke. Go figure!This is the trolley that we rode through the city.
The trolley was air-conditioned and only costs a quarter to ride. There is a narrator that told us about the sites we were seeing.

Peter and Cloth Diapers

2007-08-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Peter is now four months old and is showing off his personality. He makes all kinds of noises, now that he figured out he has a voice. He ohhh's and ahhh's and occasionally growls. It is so adorable.

Nicolas and Anthony are really enjoying him too. They wake up in the mornings and check to see if Peter is awake yet so they can say hello.

I had to graduate Peter to larger cloth diapers now that he has pretty much outgrown all his smaller diapers.

I had also made Peter some cute homemade diapers and saved money. The ones I just bought are called Motherease and they are super easy to use and wash and dry. These diapers should fit until he is potty trained. In fact they can be used from about 8lbs. to 35 lbs. Check out http://www.motherease.com/ or http://www.babycottonbottoms.com/cloth_vs_disposable.htm for more information on them. You will spend about $10 a diaper on this kind, but in the end you will save alot of money in comparison to what you will spend for disposables in 2-3 yrs.

Let's figure that for 2 dozen diapers it would be about $240 and about 8 covers in different sizes another $60-$80. You wash a load every other day and they are fresh to reuse. Or you can purchase less expensive cloth diapers, like the ones your mother or grandmother used, that you pin on, for as little as $30 a dozen! Disposables will run you about $2,000-$4,000 depending on brand and how long the child takes to potty train. You add more garbage to the landfills, hence you are throwing your money away :) Baby is also exposed to dangerous, rash causing chemicals. Disposables were created for convenience, like paper plates and disposable cups, so I do use them when we are going on a trip or will be gone for the day. The cloth that is sold in department stores is not as absorbent as what you will buy from a company that specializes in diapering products. And you will be turned off to cloth with that kind. Another good brand that Walmart sells online is Kushies. These are very similar to disposables and are washable and re-usable. You can view them at http://www.kushies.com/.

I keep the diapers in a diaper pail until wash day. To wash all you do is throw the diapers in for a rinse then do a heavy duty wash with hot water and a mild detergent, I use All Free and Clear. Then do an extra rinse. Dry for an hour or hang in sun to dry. Then you are ready to reuse them!

All you new and experienced moms out there who want to try this, don't be afraid. It's super easy and your baby will love the soft feel of cotton against his skin!

Homeschooling

2007-08-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

We are two weeks into another homeschooling year. It is going very well considering we have baby Peter now who needs mommy's attention and food frequently.

Tom is happily back to teaching at the Catholic High School and he is loving it. I am so glad he loves his job.

Everyone is very busy with reading, writing, math, grammar, latin, history, art, music and nature study, just to name a few! We will be having a group of children join us monthly for a special musical composer and artist class in our home. That should be fun! Luther is a boys scout working hard to reach his merit badge goals and hopes to reach Eagle by his Senior year. He is currently a high school freshman. Our graduate is enjoying her time off from school. But she has been very busy helping mom with the home and the baby. She also keeps herself busy with reading, painting, making movies out of digital pictures and helping with some of the school lessons. She truly is a blessing!

We will be attending weekly mass on Fridays. Luther will be in training to be an altar boy! I know he is older but he is new to the Catholic faith and embracing it. Sara was recieved last year. We are blessed that our older children joined us in our return to the Church. For those of you who were raised Catholic but left the faith or are protestant and curious about the Catholic Church, I highly recommend the books "Not By Scripture Alone", "Not By Faith Alone", and "Not by Bread Alone", all written by Robert Sungenis. Also the "Roots of the Reformation" by Karl Adam.

We love nature walks but it's been too hot to do any walking outdoors lately. We had a thunderstorm today and we are hopeful that this will be the beginning of cooler weather, perhaps in the mid 80's to 90's. It's too soon to expect or hope for anything cooler than that.

Here is our littlest blessing Peter at two and a half months old. He turned 4 months on the 21st of August. Yes those are cloth diapers!

Trip to Callaway Gardens

2007-08-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

We went on a little trip last week to GA. It was only about an hour and a half away. We went to Callaway Gardens. It was so much fun. The only difficulty about the trip was the heat. It was well over a hundred degrees each day. But we saw some really neat things.

We went to a butterfly garden and here is what we saw.

We also saw a flying circus. They have students from Fl. come every summer and perform. It was so hot that we poured bottled water on our heads to stay cool. I don't know how the performers could handle the heat but they did great.

Here are some of the beautiful flowers we saw. We also saw some turtles, snakes and many fish in the ponds and lakes at Callaway.

Dining room looks better

2007-08-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

The first of many of our projects is done. My dear husband Tom painted the dining room with a little help from Sara and Luther. I wasn't allowed in the room because I tend to nitpick about how to paint without leaving brush strokes. It turned out great! Here are the before and after pictures:

Before:

After:

Peter's Baptism

2007-08-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

On May 13, we had Peter baptised. Sara was the godmother and Ken was the godfather. My sister Marisol flew in for the special occasion. Here are some pictures of the blessed event.

Peter has been washed away of all "Original Sin".

Back from vacation

2007-08-06T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the view from the deck of our beach house.

Here is Tom with his father. We had a wonderful time visiting our families up north. First we drove about 20 hours(due to traffic and rain) to see Tom's family in NY. After a few days of visiting we drove down to the beach, which took about 6 hours to get to. Thankfully Tom's parents and two of his brother's were able to come and visit for a couple of days. We had a wonderful time, although it ended much too soon. We did manage to go to the beach. Richie came along and enjoyed getting some sun. Tom and Ken got in the water and fought the waves! The kids also swam and made sand castles. I watched and fed the baby. And Mom and Dad took naps :)

Here is grandma, loving up her grandbaby. Peter just loves all those hugs and kisses. It was so hard to say goodbye.

After Tom's family left, we spent the next day at the beach. Then in the afternoon we went to visit Lynn at their place and she made us a feast for lunch. We also saw my sister in law Lori, her family, and Aunt Sara. The children played together and then went swimming and the next day we went to the beach again. That evening Lynn and the family came over to our place and we had dinner there. It was a lovely time and it went by much too quickly.

The next day my sister, her husband and children came to meet us at the beach.(I'll have pictures of them when she emails me some). The children collected sand crabs, built sand forts and castles, they caught waves with their boogie boards, and got some much needed sunshine. The grown ups enjoyed watching the children play on the beach and occasionally joined in the water and got knocked down by some waves. It was much cooler at the beach than in the south and we loved that break from the heat and humidity. Tom and Brian took the younger children crabbing one day and they caught a few crabs. Unfortunately, only one of the crabs was big enough to keep and eat. Anthony had a crying fit at the thought of killing the crab. So we all waited until he was distracted playing upstairs and then the crab was cooked quickly. When Anthony came downstairs he saw some of the children eating crab and he just joined right in and had a taste!
We walked on the Board Walk one evening and had some delicious fresh hot fries, enjoyed the sites and did some shopping. We ate chocolate and caramels from the Candy Kitchen. Before we knew it, it was our last night there. We had a last short visit with Lynn and Lori, and the rest of the family and our day was sadly over.
The last day there we had a big pancake breakfast and began our 15 hour trip back home. The day we left it was very sunny and beautiful. We stopped in N.C. for some rest and started back on the road the next morning. We were home by 4 p.m. and were able to make it to Sunday evening Mass. It was a great and exhausting time. The children and baby did very well with all the travel. And we couldn't ask for better weather on our way home.
The only downside to our trip was that we weren't able to see all our loved ones up north, and we were unable to take many pictures because our batteries died and we kept forgetting to buy some.

We sure miss you all and hope to see you soon!

Going To The Beach

2007-07-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

We are packing for a two week vacation. We are going to visit Tom's family in NY. We have a 17 hour drive ahead of us, with an 11 week old. We shall see how that works out :) We are hoping for the best but know that it may take a lot longer than we hope. We are looking forward to our visit to NY. Tom's parents and some of his siblings have not met baby Peter yet. After a few days in NY we are going south to the beach in Ocean City. We haven't been there in quite a while. My sisters, parents, and my in-laws from Pa will also be there. It will be like a mini-reunion. I will be sure to post pictures when we get back.

We bought a Thule storage back for the top of the Suburban. That should add some needed storage space. We rented a nice condo with a kitchen and plenty of sleeping space, within walking distance to the beach, so we are looking forward to relaxing after much travel.

Here is a recent picture of baby Peter with his big sister Sara who just turned 18.

Our House- Part 1

2007-07-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

We recently purchased a house and we have had several requests to post some pictures of our home. Our home has 4 bedrooms, living room, dining room, eat in kitchen, family room, screened in patio, 2 car garage, carport, pool and a decent yard. We hope to plant a garden in the spring.

Here is the patio and view of one side of the yard. See all the trees that provide lovely shade for us during these hot and humid summer days. Our yard is very long but not wide. There is a shed at the one end, you can see it in the back of this picture. It is actually located to the far right of our yard. The back of the house is located to the right in this picture.

Here we are in the back patio. We recently had it screened in. This is how it looks now.

This is the view as soon as you enter and look to the right. This is the formal living room and to the back is the formal dining room. I plan on painting this room a light bluish-gray color. We got this lovely set of living room furniture at "Rooms To Go". It was so easy to put together because it was all right there put together for you. My kind of decorating!

This is our formal dining room. It is very comfortable and plenty of seating. I plan on changing the wall color. It's a bit too pink for me. I'd like to give it a warmer color like a terra cotta or something like that. It's one of those many things on our "To Do" list.

Here is the kitchen. It has a little breakfast nook with three windows that lets in more light. It's not a sunny room since it is towards the back of the house where all the trees are. But it is nice and cozy.

We hope you all have a fun and explosive "Fourth of July". We sure will miss going to Long's Park for the fireworks show and having a cookout with our dear family and friends. We plan on grilling a marinated pork butt and making some Spanish rice and beans. Not your traditional holiday food, but yummy nonetheless.

At this time we would like to remember my dear cousing Julio E. Negron, who was born on the 4th of July, but died serving his country in Iraq two years ago on February 28th. Thank you Julio for your sacrifice and may you rest in peace with our Lord in heaven.

And thank you my baby brother, for currently serving in the military. We appreciate your sacrifice and we love you dearly! May the Lord protect you and take care of your family while you work to protect us and our Country!

Our Newest Addition

2007-06-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

This is our sweety Peter. He was born on April 21st and weighed in at 9 lbs. 7oz. He is such a good little baby and we are enjoying every growing moment of his life. The Lord has truly blessed us.

Pool Party

2007-06-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today I had a few friends over for a pool party. We recently bought a house with a pool. This southern summer heat called for it. All the moms have sons, so there were no girls. Well except for my oldest daughter and the moms :-) Let's see, we had 14 boys ages, 16 and under in the pool and 1 young lady helping to supervise.

Anyway, we had a fun time. I grilled some hot dogs and served watermelon, pink lemonade and chocolate chip cookies. Everyone else brought something to share and there was plenty to eat. We had a lovely time and talked about where we are from and what we are going to be doing this summer. Since we are all homeschooling moms we also talked about home education and how we want it to be more fun for us and the children. We talked about the books we are reading and the children swam and ate then swam some more.

It started to rain but was still very sunny out so we let the children stay in the pool. Then about half an hour later there was a huge loud rumble of thunder and they all ran out of the pool! It was a funny site to see. We sent them back to take the toys out of the pool and then it was about time to go. It was a fun afternoon and I am glad we decided to buy a house with a pool. It is a great way to entertain and fellowship.

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of our day. But here is a picture of our pool. We are planning another get together next week before I leave to go to the beach with my family.

Welcome!

2007-06-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

Hi. My name is Chris and I am finally joining the blogging world. We moved well over 900 miles away from our family and friends, up north, a few months ago, and I needed a way to stay connected.

I also wanted a way to encourage other moms in their endeavor to home educate. There are many ways to homeschool. Those of you that are new to homeschooling will probably have to go through a trial and error to figure out what will work for you. I have been there done that. My oldest child graduated just this year. I have 4 more to educate. Unfortunately the oldest was my guinea pig, so to speak, and we went through some difficulties figuring out learning styles and what works best for her. But she made it and and so did I :)

Here are my four current students. My youngest wasn't born at the time of this photo, but he is now 9 weeks old.

Over the years I tried many different things. But once I learned about a wonderful educator from the 1800's named Charlotte Mason(www.amblesideonline.com), and her ideas and philosophy for educating our little people, I could not go back to my old ways of educating. I slowly started implementing her ideas into our homeschool. My eldest child was reluctant since she was accustomed to our traditional homeschool, but she did enjoy the reading and some other aspects of my new found way to educate. The other children will start a full time CM homeschool this upcoming year and I am excited to share our experiences with you. I know that over the yearsI have gained a lot of insight from other moms and their experiences, so I hope that I am able to share something that might help other homeschooling mothers.

We are a Catholic homeschooling family so I will also be sharing what we are learning as we grow in our faith in Christ and the teachings of the Church.

Thanks for joining me!