new pjs!

I made the girls new pjs! They are simple camisoles with little appliques and flannel shorts. They had too much fun modeling! Btw, Jo*nns has their kids flannels 50% off!!

Mama's bed and strange bedfellows

I have no idea what magic excudes from me as I sleep. It DRAWS children of all sizes and ages. Dad leaves for work early in summer and as soon as he is gone, the bed fills up like it is the last life raft on a sinking ship. Not to mention the tiny tot that comes every night about 2 am. I am all for attachment parenting. I am just all for getting a space bigger than 12 inches for my much larger body. I have noticed that when they come, they bring things with them. Moriah brings her blankie,and a pillow. She clambers up and has this soft sleepy eyed smile as she snuggles, I mean pushes in between us. Then she drifts quickly back to sleep. One morning this last week I woke up to find a mini cinderella doll, and 2 stuffed kittens, a blankie, a pillow. . . and the girl was GONE. She got up to play with the real kittens. Then I looked around and saw Rescue Heroes hanging all over my metal scrolled footboard. Then there was the flock of stuffed sheep Isaiah sleeps with-- the night nights. There were a few socks at the bottom too. All from one night of crazy sleep.

Homestudy and cleaning. . .

Ok, Now I realize that since we have the home study update sort of planned for mid July. . . we need to do some MORE decluttering, and MORE deep cleaning. Please understand. . . we aren't total pigs. We just have 7 people living in this house(give or take a cat or two), and most of them are under 12. So, it makes for piles, messes, and STUFF everywhere. Yesterday I was finally feeling better after dealing with a sickness over the weekend, so I got it in gear, put on music, and tightened my running shoes. I cleaned with a vengence. I reorganized our school shelf which has bugged me for WEEKS. I cleared and cleaned the entry. I was amazed that somehow, these spiders up in the far reaches of my entry had passed my notice! I am really observant, but these guys totally flew under the radar.(or crawled! ewww) I swept a few cobwebs from the corners. . . and a spider fell on me!! Ok it was tiny but I HATE SPIDERS! I washed walls, baseboards(BY the WAY, a plug here-- the dishcloths are awesome cleaning rags too. They are like small string mops and get everything)I freshened the whole place with my new lavendar cleaner. It was one room DOWN! Conquered. I sipped tea and emailed. Then, my littlest said, mommy, there are ants in here.(livingroom) So we made that our next spot. WHY would there be ants??? Well, after moving the sofa, I saw. There was a half a poptart they were thoroughly enjoying. I JUST cleaned this out 4 days ago! I promise!! I move the furniture in there and mop weekly. lol But it looked like it hadn't been done in a year. There was popcorn. . . a patch of sticky kool aid dried. Ok, so someone has been breaking our rule of no drinking and eating anywhere but at the table. I waged all out war on that mess. I cleaned and scrubbed and conquered THAT room.(and eliminated the ants!) Then I went to the kitchen. I hate to even tell you what I saw there. Well, apparently,(even though I didn't clean behind my fridge) a giant wolf spider has been living behind my fridge and we scared him out. My 5 yo son killed that one and it was so big he said he needed DADS shoe.(lol it wasn't THAT big, Dad wears sz 14s lol) So, the kitchen was conquered also, but after that scenario, I gave up for the night. I was a little scared to continue and it was getting late anyway. After yesterdays "finds" I want to hide under the covers and not dig out anymore scary things. I know we live in the woods and all. . . but sheesh!! The wildlife is invading! Last month we found 3 snakes. One was on our fenceline and the neighbor found it. It was 3 ft long!!!!!(btw that one was a harmless one too) Oh, and there was a small lizard in my hubby's bathtub. We think our hunter kitty brought it. She frequently brings us gifts like that. Just usually on the front porch. I am worried I will have to tell our sweet social worker, wear tall rubber boots, and bring a fly swatter. . . oh, and wear a little Off, but please, for the love of all that is holy, let us bring two more sweet children into our home?

dish cloth update!

Hey! We have had 50 dishcloths ordered since that first post! Thank you SO much ladies! I have a buy now button on my blog in the top left, it(so far) will only allow you to buy 1. I am working on that. But if you would like to try one donate to our adoption at the same time, one is a good trial. I have had several people say they are hooked(pun intended!) on these and have thrown out all their other ones. Now I have solid Ecru,varigated mauve, sage and ecru, and solid red and solid white. All the blue and yellow are sold out at the moment. But I am making more!! We have added over 100.00 to our fund in three days! Thank you!

New baby

HAH! Did you think for ME?? Nope, for my brother. I should introduce you to my brother. His name is Joe. He is a not yet thirty, baby brother. He is probably the best brother in the world. Seriously. I hate stupid lines like "you were always there for me" so I won't use that. But he is an awesome guy. He is deep thinking and deep feeling and so smart it blows me away. His loyalty is as deep as the ocean. He is a journalist and his writing is incredible..He is one of my closest friends. He is a husband. He is a daddy. (a daddy to a sweet, smiley blonde who acts JUST like him. lol) So, this daddy and his bride are having a new baby. Yesterday they went to see the pre birth pics of their newest little darling. And it is a BOY!! But here is the fun thing. We are kind of different in some ways. My Joe plans everything. I list everything, but my plans go astray because of kids or hubby. He sets up a kennel THEN gets a dog. I fall in love with a mutt then build a kennel(um, while keeping the dog inside.) He plans to have a baby,when and all. lol Audrey did not follow her daddys plan completely. I adopt kids I didn't even birth. We are different. But we are similar too. Our kids are a CRACK up and we are fun enough to enjoy it. They decided to tell Audrey the news, so they bought a book and told her the news. (I really begged him to video this but I have not been told whether he did it or not.) I called him later, and he said they explained and she said she wants a sister. . . and a sandwich. I am surprised she did not say, do fries come with that? Combo #3, a baby brother, a small drink, small burger and a new toy please.
When MY firstborn was informed of his impending new sibling, he said thoughtfully "I don't know if I want a sister or brother. How about we get a big red dog named Clifford?"

Childrens Theater

Here are a few pictures of my two theater kids. Riley played King Stephan, and Olivia played a singing bluebird. These were dress rehearsal. . . which means we aren't actually DONE yet. We have 5 shows in two days.(by the way, my Olivia is the bluebird on the left)

The three winners!!!

April, Misty and Angie are the winners of the free cloths! So ladies pick a color, and email me your mailing addresses. I will ship those out this weekend. I will get orders boxed up Monday. Thanks so far for the orders. Working on my paypal acct.More info coming I promise.

Mama's handy helpers

LOOK!! I can do pictures again! Ok, please take a look at these. (by the way, the blue one in the second photo is the truer blue. For some reason the first picture shows the blue as an aqua color)I am crocheting dishcloths to sell, to help add to our adoption account. We have two little girls, Joana (13) and Guadalupe(8) in El S*alvador waiting for us. They have been in orphanages since 2003! This is all I know of them. I have no pictures to share (YET!), but I do have God's promise that HE will move mountains on their behalf. He has asked us to "enlarge our tent, and spread wide our dwelling". I am spreading wide my arms and rearranging our home.(I almost have their room READY!!!) My heart is full and bursting with anticipation to meet them. our children pray everyday for their new sisters to get home quickly. Once Olivia knew we were working on the money. . . she immediately began praying, "thank you Lord for the money to come so our sisters can come home faster." Well, I am wildly working on home study stuff and paperwork. In the meantime. . . to pray and calm myself, I crochet. These dishcloths may appear humble. But as I was working on one this week, God was sharing with me a little encouragement. These are like moms. We are soft, but strong. We work hard for our families. We sometimes feel unappreciated(ok, so I don't know how my dishcloths feel, but I am sad to say they end up sort of piled in a heap at the end of a hard day. hmm. . . sounds like me.) Anyway, the widow woman was asked to give the last of what she had the "widows mite" was a small thing. But God takes the humble things to confound the wise. I have humble little dishcloths to sell, and they may seem like a small every day item. But everytime I use mine now, I thank God that he gives grace to the humble. HE will take my loaves and fishes and multiply them. He cares for Joana and Guadalupe even more than I do. I know when it is all said and done, HE will be glorified, and we will have obeyed, and the fatherless will be set in a loving home. Please consider helping our family by buying a dishcloth? (They make great gifts also!) They are 100% cotton yarn. They are economical because they last a long time and they cause you to use less cleaner or soap. They are SO effective, you really will clean faster and easier. And in the end. . . they are biodegradable. I am selling them for 2.00 each(plus a little extra for shipping) Right now I have these colors:
Poppy Red
Spring Blue
Snowy White
Sunny Yellow
I will be giving away three to the first three people to email me! If you are interested in an order, email me at : hezra_at_home@yahoo.com Thanks so much!!

New Computer, baby!

It is about to be Father's day, and my hubby wants to buy ME a new laptop. My current one has been a huge frustration. I haven't been able to use it for pictures,emailing, or blogging for over a month. Even when he reinstalled windows and added some anti virus stuff and "tweaked" it. So, this morning he wants to go get one. They are holding one! They only have 2!  It is a DELL. I said, oh, would you please ask them all the specs for me in computer geek lingo(he is the chief IT guy at our local univ.) then after it is all done. . . please? do this? it would bring me so much joy if me and the kids could see this. . . ask them this one question. . . "ok, so, um I gotta know. . . is there a farmer in the DELL?"  and look serious. Can you do that for me?

Mixed nuts

I have always known that I come from a long line of completely insane individuals. All individual in their insanity too. Yet, my brother and I have gained a sense of humor (and we joke that we are actually, secretly adopted because we act nothing like our parents-mom says we are Frasier and Niles ahh well there are worst things to be) Lately though, I realize there are a bunch of mini- nuts surrounding me.  And the giant nut known as Daddy here. I did a completely stupid but necessary thing. I took three kids (while two were in their summer theater class) to a store. I had a few very specific items. It really should be a short trip. It was not. We enter. Moriah decides she is going to beg for walking privileges(AKA not sitting in cart). I see big brown eyes looking *almost* tearfully cute. I cave. "okay but stay close to me and OBEY."(that may have sounded a little like a hiss but I can't be certain.)  Isaiah decides as soon as we enter to head to the toys. Which has us all running like thoroughbreds at a starting gate already schreeching "Isaiah!" We collect him, give the speech, give the  "if it happens again. . ." Then begin our modern day  hunting and gathering. swimsuits for girls: check check. school stuff:check check. kid shampoo:check check. No honey we don't need toilet paper. To which she screeches YES WE DO NEED TOILET PAPER. to which I hiss, there is extra in the hall cabinet at home! I promise. SHHHHHHHH!  where was I? um, bread. . .check check. oh dear, Lord in heaven, the bread is by the cookies and doughnuts and all other gooey delights and why the heck are they at KID HEIGHT!? Why can't they store that stuff on the top shelf? So I become like an octopus and a soccer goalie all in one. Fielding the sweets and stuff from our cart and fending off whines at the same time. When I feel we have made it, I run with the cart and say HURRY we have to go get the others from class!!! We check out. The boys decide while I check out, they are going to check out stuff. Medicine? Why does that have to be by the check out?? Seriously.  They are touching so much stuff. . . handling the toys. . . I feel like the security cameras are probably zooming in on what they assume to be two mini cleptos(spelling?) . My patience is thinner than paper. I feel anxiety welling. . . I pay and herd my herd of turtles to the van.(by the way, when IN a store-- they move so fast in 5 different directions all screaming HEY MOM LOOK AT THIS! all the freaking time! But then get them out of the store where you want them to kind of hurry to the car-- they drag their feet and moooove sooo sloooowly. What is up?Anyway, we get to the car. I throw in stuff. Buckle those who can't do it for themselves. And we are off. We pick up the other two and head for home. I sigh with relief, then realize we have a baseball game in an hr! That one gets his gear together and I start unpacking our goods. There were TONS of unauthorized purchases! Three kinds of cookies, and a bag of giant orange circus peanuts for starters.  Sheesh. Well, make the best of it. We had milk and cookies for snack. HEY! I sound like June Cleaver for a minute there. Ok, so I feed them and get them to the game. I sink in my folding chair and watch the littles play with their friends in the dirt, and the big kid starts warming up. Dad arrives later. I was so relieved to see him, I leaned over and started telling him(quietly) about my awful trip around town and the store.  I said, then the kids even threw in what appears to be a 2lb bag of circus peanuts!!! We move on. The kids lose their game royally. We gather our dirty offspring and load them into the two vehicles. When I finally manage to get all of them bathed or showered(I swear Isaiah needed one of each!), and read to. etc etc. . . I sit to check email. Dan, though, was opening cabinets and banging them shut. He looked more and more frustrated. I said "honey what are you looking for?" He said, the peanuts. I said what?? He said "the nuts you bought today?"   "I did NOT buy nuts today!" He said, "YOU said you accidentally bought party nuts"  I said, "um, are you drunk?"  He laughed and said, "NO! Maybe you said the kids threw them in."   ahhhh, realization hits.  hee hee. I said, "um, NOT party nuts, CIRCUS Peanuts-- you know the big orange sugary things?" Big Man looks all dejected. Oddly the same sad brown eyes Moriah gave me earlier that day.  "oh, you mean they aren't really nuts at all?"(seriously, was that a whine??)  "um,nope, but YOU, my dear ARE a nut!"  I am living in a great big can of mixed nuts. and most of the time it does kind of feel like a party. And no I did NOT let them eat the whole bag today. But if I did, I should clarify that between 5 kids they don't , or wouldn't get that many anyhow.  probably.

Power rangers and ninjas. . .

AHH My batteries are dead in my camera. But I will work diligently to get pictures of them in these costumes. I have two ninjas, an elephant and a spiderman. . . and they are going nutsy! Why oh why did I allow root beers at the ballgame? And Laffy Taffy. . . oh, and there were cookies earlier today. shoot. I lost the healthy mom award. But they are having SO much fun.
On another note--our 5 yo got new power rangers undies today too. He is way to proud of these things. When Daddy walked in, he turned around and bent over in "full moon fashion" and said "look Daddy! Power rangers!" My stunned hubby stood there in shock. This kid never ceases to surprise us. You can never stay just one step ahead of him. I hated that when he was two because we could never keep up with him and never figure out what he was doing next.(he never planned he just DID!) Now though, I find myself laughing at his thought processes and the AWESOME thing is. . . he giggles about them too! He gets the funny stuff now. He has a sprouting sense of humor and screams "I MADE A JOKE ON YOU!!!" and I love it. Now, if only I could find his darned volume button and turn it down. . . .

thankful for:

I am soooooo loving my new comforter for my bed! (oh and my amazing softy pillows.) I went to overstock(I HIGHLY recommend btw) and found a plain white feather comforter, king sized, for 29.00! And two pillows for 24(I think). I got it all for 55, and 2.95 shipping!! It was like sleeping on clouds as Elijah says. My comforter is funny though. It came with 5 star reviews but everyone says, don't worry, it does fluff up. lol I wish I had taken pictures of how it came. It was packed so tiny and flat for a king sz comforter. Then over the last two days it gets progessively puffier. Isaiah (who dilikes touching people, LOVES touching softy things), keeps patting the squares just to hear the sound and watch it magically puff back up. So, not only is it comfortable-- it is amazingly entertaining! Who would have known that a 29.00 COMFORTER could bring so much joy?

The elephant in the room

Today, my 5 yo son who has some autistic sort of qualities. . . dislikes physical touch, can't do imaginary play very well(at least that we SEE), doesn't get humor very well, and he doesn't play all that great with other kids. . . had a big moment. He came in the kitchen while I was cooking and had on the elephant costume. He said, (hiding his face in the hood and waving the trunk around), I am an elephant -- pet me mommy!!! He was playing with his sister(who was dressed as a dinosaur.) They had a crazy big animal chase through the livingroom. And he pretended TONS of stuff! I was so excited. I can't get the dumb computer to post pics right now but when I do I will show off my cute little "elephante"(that is the spanish word-- see? We ARE learning Spanish. Today, I see Dios es Bueno. God is so very good. Just when I feel overwhelmed and at the end of my rope, (esp with this boy!) and feeling there is no fruit, He shows me a little. And I have to smile. Mommy, pet me. NEVER thought I would hear those words from him.

Dancing Diva

The Combo 2 class recital Spring 2009

(performing Mickey Mouse's birthday party)

Olivia is 4th from left

Olivia shows me their final pose!

After much wetting, spraying and some serious combing,
we got those wild curls into a smooth bun!
(adding a net and some MORE spray of course)



So pretty!
Another year of dance is over. Our Olivia is really enjoying ballet and tap. She LOVES to dance. Her smile is so big onstage you can tell she is having so much fun. We are looking forward to next year. . . Moriah will be in it too!

I believe

God has had me listening to "I believe" over and over today. (Barlow Girl) "I'm feeling doubt and losing faith, but giving up would cost me everything. . . . I believe in the sun even when it's not shining. I believe in love even when I don't feel it. I believe in God, even when he is silent. I believe" "I stand in the pain and the silence and I'll speak to the dark night. . . . . I believe!"
I am feeling like the sun is not shining. I am feeling like every time I try to love I feel so vulnerable. And I feel like God is silent for the moment. But I do believe the sun still is there- showing HIS faithfulness. I believe that love is not an easy choice, and it does make us vulnerable, but without it we are not even living.And certainly not knowing God(for God is love!) I have chosen to follow God and love two little girls I have not even SEEN. I have missed their 8th and 13th birthdays! My heart breaks for them not knowing a mother's love or a fathers protection. I have opened my heart to be broken. But I know in my weakness HE is made strong, and HE will be glorified. And "though hope deferred makes the heart sick, when the desire comes it is a tree of life". So my heart is sick at the moment, but He will heal it. And even thoughI feel He is silent, I know He has led me and will continue to light my path one step at a time. My trust in Him is nt easy, but I know His love will cast out all my fear, and He will bring the desires of my heart to pass. We are not forgotten. I believe!

Hit and Run, or WET and run!

I have been the unsuspecting victim of a wet and run, What is that? Well that, is when you wake up in the middle of the night and realize yor pajamas are wet. You groggily wonder if YOU wet the bed. When you fully come awake, you realize your jammies are soaked on the side and it is your top. So you discover it was not yourself(with some relief I might add). But there is no little body next to you. So you mutter and get up to change. The little one in question has happily changed and gone back to bed. Husband snores loudly on his dry side. So, you realize you have been a victim of a Wet and run and NOBODY cares. lol So you mutter something again, and go to the sofa for the rest of the night. (which by the way is pretty darn cozy.) But I did think there goes that last shred of dignity. I wondered when it would be eliminated.

superwoman

OK, so remember when we were kids and had underoos?? I was thinking, I remember in my wonderwoman unders, I felt invincible. I remember them so well because I wore them for like 3 years straight. lol Until the blue undies were no longer royal blue and the stars were hard to see. I am thinking, everyone always says we moms are trying to be supermom. We try to do to much. I agree. Shoot, half of it never gets SEEN anyway! So, I propose we STOP trying so hard. We do less work, but we wear adult sized super woman and wonder woman underwear. Then we go around with smug smiles knowing we are super heroes, incognito. . . Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive. . . . and really hot. lol Sorry there are no pictures to accompany this Lori, as these lovely unmentionables have not been made in adult sizes yet. But if the demand were great enough. . . we might just be able to get them to market them again. AND since we wore them as kids, they would be RETRO! so thus trendy. lol

called to worship

I am reminded this week, that one of my callings is to worship. It is interesting how that has been so different at various times of my life. As a teen, I was involved in youth worship(I sing). Then I got married(and married a drummer!!), and we BOTH got involved in youth group worship. Even after our first son was born, we carted him along to youth ralleys and suff with the band we were involved in. The second baby brought some changes. lol He was colicky and needy and well, hard to keep happy unless he was in the sling. So, I sang some but started to slow down. In all this though, I felt so fulfilled helping teens see worship is fun and powerful. Then baby #3 came. After her birth, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I was bedridden for weeks, weak for MONTHS. Of course I was not in any worship team stuff. The hubby even had to be home alot. So we both felt so out of place for a while. But in THAT season, God began showing me about intimate worship as opposed to coorporate worship(which I was so used to!). I began to know Him in a totally different way. Not to say I had not been worshipping in spirit and truth, or that there is anything wrong with worshipping with the brothers and sisters in Christ! I think we all HAVE to have that at times, obviously. But this was new, and revelating and inner focused. In the midst of this, he gave me a revelating healing experience., and a vision of the power of the cross that left me breathless . My heart aching to know the heartbeat of God and be the worshipper HE wanted me to be. In that sickness, I was so scared for my kids sake that I really was so close to death. But God gave me a verse-- I have been saved from death that I might praise you in the public places. I knew HE was going to heal me and show HIS glory through my praise. I got back involved right before we adopted out #4 --a son), and he was a stage baby. lol He lived in the sling, then as he grew, he was se in a stationar walker behind the drums(usually with his own pair of sticks!). When he was 6 mos old, we found out his birthmom was expecting another one. We wanted them together so, when he was 13 mos ld, his baby sister arrived. I still sang. She lived in the sling for MONTHS. Then he got mobile and she got restless and, um, hated drums. lol SO mommy took a singing sabatical. Well, now, after 4 years, I am finding myself re-evaluating my worship life again. I am not a person who really enjoys being in front of others. It is MY cmfort zone to be invisible. Ha ha, then the preacher told us we need to get out of our comfort zones in worship and be willing to grow and change. We are teaching our kids music, each has a talent for one instrument, and some are great singers and both girls have a talent for dancing. I watched the boys Easter Sunday in a drumline and felt like my heart would explode with pride with every drumbeat. I saw my daughter swinging the banner and dancing for the Lord and was so touched. I have spent the last 4 years, some would say, not involved in worship. It may look like that. God knows I have spent a TONS of time in the changing staton or the nursery. But God showed me a revelation that I thought was so awesome. He reminded me of the annointing on the head of the home. And that it runs dow the beard and so forth. God said, he had annointed our family as worshippers. What is so amazing to me. . . 2 of these worshippers have NO biological connection to us.(nurtue vs nature the scientists say) But they know how to worship and have great gifts even at 4 and 5! I was realizing my arms are emptied of babies at church, but the odd thing was-- I was not SAD! I was excited, because when I looked down, my little one was eyes closed and hands up, worshipping and singing to God. SoI am refining my heart, and feeling the worship rising up so much I get overwhelmed. There was a song Sunday, "I am filled to be emptied again." God has said he will pour out from the windows of heaven for my family-- not just for US to have what we need . But for us to spill over Gods blessings on others. As I wait for Him to lead me, I am so excited, because I FEEL change stirring in the body of Christ and our knowledge and relationship with the Father as a body and as individuals. Just as so many are feeling the stirring and thinking bad economy, or not enough jobs. . . etc. Our GOD is bigger than all of those things. HE iswhat it is about, not us, or our gifts or callings or even annointings. We are going to get to a place where it doesnt matter if the harmony is right in the vocals or the sound is mixed right, or the drums are too loud. . . or if the style isnt what WE like. It will come to a refined praise. A true spiritual connection of thanksgiving and love for our Lord. And the warfare that will be fought as we lift up holy hands to Him and tell of HIS amazing grace. . . . ahhhhh. That is the place I wanna be. Surrounded by love, enveloped in His presence and unashamed to be undignified for His sake.

Stinky soccer mom

I am not gonna lie. I stink at being a soccer mom. (ok, honestly it was ballet and baseball, but I mean the running mom) I am a STAY AT HOME MOM! I HOME school. I am a keeper at HOME. . . Home executive etc. . . I am NO stinking good at keeping calm and keeping up with kids in public. I have one kid in particular(and I won't name names) who seriously tests every boundary known to man and mom when we step out the door! I keep giving him all the normal scriptures. You know, "even a child is known by his doings(actions)", "a friend loveth at all times", "honor your father and mother and things will go well with you(and you wil live long on the earth). . ." and then it boils down to " the rod and reproof.. ." I keep telling myself, " a child left to himself brings his mother to shame." Because I WANT to have a few minutes when I am not thinking about what he is doing. I sometimes want to just assume, ahh he's okay just sit here and sip tea. HAH! I hate feeling like this but, sheesh itwould be nice to see some fruits of my labor here. Getting a little "weary in the well-doing" Ok, I have put that one to bed and am going to read and snuggle with my girls. Really hating business conferences right now. I called hubby. . . hoping to get a word of encouragement. He said, oh, just sitting here waiting for the banquet to start. Ahhh. . . really. Well, that is AMAZING because I have not "sat" in like two days! Silly boy, doesn't he know not to say that to a wife on the frontlines?

some kid named "Not ME"

I really want to know WHO is this kid named Not Me. He lives here apparently. And when I find him, he is gonna get a serious time out! When ask, "who drew on the wall with permanent marker?" Five kids yell, "Not Me" "who smeared make up on my quilt?" "Not Me" "Who drew with crayon onthe window sill I JUST painted?" you guessed it, Not me. He (in the last week) Has been responsible for drawing on Moriahs arm, her shoes, her wall, her brothers floor, and her nightstand and lamp. hmmm, he must hang out with her. . . . I will be watching that girl to catch the little not me character and send him home! ;-)

Birth mom pics!!

We had a great day with our birthmom M. (btw, Isaiah was giving Moriah a talk before we got there."Now Moriah, she is our birth mom, that means we got in her belly button, but then MOM was our mommy. You'll like her, she's nice" lol Like she has never met her, and she needed a grown up chat about the existence of birthmom. Hah!

visit with friends

Olivia and Esther the horse. You can't see it, but the 3 girls gave Esther a makeover with a tiny flower for her hair.

The three girls. A.E and Olivia, and J. All born very close together(still get blown away when I think K and I had babies the SAME day!!). Providing their mamas with countless photo opps for 7 years now. Now they are tall thin beautiful girls. I remember when they were two fat 5 week olds and one teensey 3 week old. *sigh* time flies when you're havin' fun.

The little girls-- L and Moriah. My baby is finally big enough to play with her friend. I got to hear adorable conversations!!A mama with a camera is a fly on the wall.

And these guys-- when did they turn into little men??? pre teens?? Voice changes. . . YIKES!

And here is Isaiah. He actually played this time. Ok, he did a LOT of running on the 4 acres too. But he played!! WITH people!! Very big for us.

We went to visit friends. Yay I drove 4 kids four hrs!(2 there 2 back) My 5 yo says n the way there "Yo mom, you are GUTSY" hee hee- that my friends is why we keep kids around. (btw what is he like 15 in a 5 yo body??) Anyway here are some pics. We visited the farm. There were 5 grown ups, 8 kids, and who knows how many animals. And I may have to sue-- their harmless looking bunny turned into NINJA RABBIT. lol I somehow missed getting a good pic of HIM.

praise God!

Well, The whole family went to Dallas for a trip to my Dr. Thursday. Due to abdominal pain she wanted to do an upper scope. SO, we stayed at a hotel, and I had a upper GI Endoscopy. yay.lol NOT. Ok so I was knocked out and all, but still, I am not good with this stuff. I found out my home scales are about 15 lbs off(!?!) Which started the anxiety ball rollin'. But the news was, everything looked good. Slight inflamation. She says no soda.:-( and lay off the spicey foods(!?) And that I need more anti anxiety meds. They took some biopsy samples to be safe and thorough. And also are testing for Celiac disease. It was a long 48 hrs and we are all exhausted. I am pretty good, but sore throat from the tube, and tummy feels a little nauseated. Also, I am still sleepy. I am mourning my Dr Pepper, but grateful for goodreport so far. I will be having the um, lower scope in a couple of months. Not really looking forward to it. But I feel empowered by DOING this step instead of letting myself worry about the what ifs.

News on El Salvador

Our Dear Ms M from our agency emailed me today to let me know the hold up in our girls' country. They have had a presidential election. (we are praying this president makes the adoption plans swifter and better!) They are trying to get social workers to go to the orphanages where they have children who already have families referred(like our girls) to get pictures. I am praying this will be soon. We want to SEE Joana and Guadalupe's sweet faces finally. I am finally finishing up the boys new room. (still praising God for the new bunk bed blessing) and will begin the new girls room as soon as possible! I can hardly wait. BUT making myself finish one project(room) before beginning on another. I will post pictures of the boys' room(drums included) in the next post. OH speaking of drums!!!! MY big boys are playig with Dan at the easter service. They are playing auxillary percussion. And they have a natural knack(plus a pretty great teacher) so at 9 and 11 this is a pretty awesome opportunity to join in the worship team. Even if just for one service right now. And Olivia gets to join in the dance part. I am so proud of them. I can't wait to see it. lol ok, to be honest hearing the three guys practise here in the house at top volume on all those drums. . . I have to have earplugs. But Dan assures me that when it is with the rest of the worship team it is awesome. :-) If you haven't checked my post "FDA" you can see the youngest drummer in our family. Pretty cute. She has a knack too. God is so good. We are priviledged to get to train the next generation of worshippers and it is awesome and inspiring.

Moore Homeschooling Photos

Audrey "reading" one of her favorite books from the Sonlight preschool list.

Elijah working on his Handwriting Without Tears Cursive.

The girls all putting up the March calender -- they LOVE this job.

Olivia takes planting these flowers very seriously.

And so does Moriah!!

I am loving our current curriculum! We have Sonlight for awesome books, and for History and Geography. Artistic Pursuits for art. Rod and Staff for Math(3 different levels there), and Rod and Staff science(all together read aloud lessons). Rod and Staff Spelling. Alphabet Island Phonics(3 different levels!).First Language Lessons for the Well Trained mind for 1-3rd grade. Primary Language Lessons for 3-6th grade. McGuffey Readers for all(but each in a different reader) Handwriting Without Tears for all(so 4different levels!) Speedy Spanish is from Rod and Staff also. We are having fun with that to. I bought us a Spanish Bible too. Really neat. So that is what we use for schooling the kids. Our Bible time is devotions where I think we need them daily, but the little kids are hearing 101 Bible stories(Sonlight, but Rod and Staff has it too in several languages!) I love watching them learn, read and have fun with this stuff(and learn diligence when doing their not so fav subjects!)

Homeschooling

This week we took three days "off" from bookwork. I was feeling a little guilty, because they were sick days for me. Then I went back through our pictures for the last few days and had to share. lol I was kind of amazed at how much we did and learned. These were real caught shots. . . no poses. My favs are of the kids reading.

the house makeover begins

After MUCH thought and mental rearranging and considering furniture we have need or need to buy/build, I think I have the rooms figured out. So now we just begin making the transformation happen. We are prepping for homestudy so this demolition can't last too long. My dear friend Teri has so graciously stepped in and gotten bossy to help me get moving because I feel so ovewhelmed I feel paralyzed! I have been trying to figure out the cheapest way possible to get beds. Target had a sae on some bunk beds and bedding. . . it was super cheap. I had them in the cart, THREE times, but God wouldn't let me get them. I just kept saying, Lord t hat is so CHEAP! And even had Dan's approval. My sister thought it was an awesome deal, my friend Lesley said, I can't believe you passed it UP! lol I told her, well God always gives me something better than what he says no about. ALWAYS! I said, just wait, I will show you! heh heh. So Teri says, hey, um we have a bunk bed set that has a loft, a desk, and shelves then a twin bed underneath that is low and on wheels. If you could trade us that queen sz bed we could call it a fair trade! WHOOHOO! So we are giving them the queen, and we get beds for two boys. Then for the girls, I found an online set of directions(free) to build a set of simple bunk beds that look sturdier than what we BOUGHT before. So Dan wants to build them for the little girls, then the new girls use the twin beds we already have. BUT I need to buy the 49.00 headboards I saw at the used furniture shop and paint them crisp white. I am REALLY excited now, because I can see it all in my head. I have a vision. The Bible says, people perish for lack of vision. Now I have it, I can move forward and DO it. The great thing is, it will all be really affordable. I will do a room by room makeover picture session too. ASAP. So that is my praise report for today. God has provided two beds I needed!

My home

My home is my sanctuary. My haven. my place of rest and the place where my kids and I are FREE to be. I like the quuote from "yours mine and ours"(new version) where she says "home is for freedom of expression, NOT first impressions". Whle I like the freedom in that, I feel like we need balance. My home is finally getting to be a place where I feel I can have guests. About three years ago, we began the decluttering process. I am so ashamed at how bad it really was. But I had made the bedooms and main rooms somewhat functional(but not great!) and the big family room was a complete pit. EVERYTHING went there. So, we began with giant construction grade bags. One for trash, one for Goodwill, one for putting other places(went to the garage for a while), then one for stray dirty clothes. It was awful how MUCH we had that was just not needed or beautiful. Yes, shameful. But I am guessing there are so many of us busy families that feel like that. Overwhelmed, not knowing WHERE to start and just feeling paralyzed. I read a few great books, Don Aslett's Clutters Last Stand, and How to lose 250 lbs this weekend were both good. Peter Walsh's It's all too much was AWESOME! Hannah Keeleys Hannah's Art of Home is great too. But really, when you are so swamped , it is hard to even READ, much less apply that knowledge to your own home! Add to that, my husband and I had very different ideas and standards.

So, I think a step-by-step of "getting your home how you want it" guide is needed. One for the real life people with real budgets, and with very little outside help(* big pet peeve here! I HATE when books say budget decorating, but they spent 15,000 on a single room! I need serious change for 100.00!!)

Step 1: begin with your bedroom!!! use trash bags or laundry baskets(I can never spare baskets for other things lol) for our room, we had reg sz black garbage bags.

1. trash

2.dirty clothes

3.goodwill donations

4.toys

5. books

After a few months of whittling this down, now my different categories fit into bank boxes which I reuse over and over(and they stack neatly so if you get interrupted they look decent in a corner) Set the kids up with an activity or movie and take off! Bag all those things. Tie them and take the toys to the garage for a while or the kids can put them in their rooms if you want . You are NOT to do this!!!! Goodwill stuff gets taken right to the car!! I MEAN it!!! dirty clothes, take to the laundry room and sort into loose piles of darks, lighs and whites so nothing wet gets seriously ruined by being in a plastic bag too long. trash take out immediately. Books, can be put back on the shelf. Bed needs to be stripped.(if you only have 1 set of sheets, put thse in the wash NOW)Then you take a break because that should have cleared a HUGE amount of space in your new sanctuary.

drink tea, read to kids, check email, eat. . . whatever. Then get back to it. This time, you look at the furniture. Do you really need all the stuff you have in your room? Are there things you DO need? Think outside the box when filling needs. We needed nightstands(have you priced those bad boys lately??) I know my husband is a piler, lol so knowing this, I don't WANT him having a large flat surface next to the bed, NOR do I want him to have another drawer to fill. So, I bought two wooden barstools at Goodwill and painted them barn red. Then topped each with a lamp. His has enough room for his clock, mine has enough room for my glasses and current book. They were 20.00. We have been using them for two years. Another thing-- dressers! another personal pet peeve. I HATE them. They are huge, dangerous, take up tons of space and really only provide a LARGE flat surface for my hubby to fill.(also they are expensive!!) We all use plasti cwhite stacking drawers in our closets. Kids can access them better and (hallelujah!) put their stuff away by age 2! They are cheaper and safer by far. So, my room got whittled down to my bed, my chair, my "nightstands", and hubby's computer table.(ok, that I hate but we are compromising and it may change) So, think a few minutes about your needs. Everyone's master bedroom needs to be a place for sleep, intimate time, and relaxing.(maybe reading) THAT IS IT! Your closet should be able to hold your dressing requirements. Your bathroom should hold your personal things. . . deoderant,make up. . .etc. Those things spread out on a dresser only kill moods and you may not even realize it. I painted my stark white room a nice green that I LOVE. It is muted and it makes me feel rested. If you want a tutorial on painting with kids email me! If you don't want to deal with paint, I understand. Just go with me on the other stuff. Needs:

1. bed(strong, and pretty are good qualities) as big as you have room for!

2. good mattress set

3. night stands

4. light blocking curtains

5. as high a thread ct sheets as you can afford

6. good mattress protector in case kids get in your bed

7. A comfy comforter

8. pretty quilt or coverlet blanket

9. good pillows (only however many you sleep with! throw pillows are high maintenance)

10. a cozy place to sit and reax(if you have room, GET A LOVESEAT!!! it makes a great place to talk to your spouse and sit close, but also as a kid's "sick bed")

11. a couple of things to hang up art or quotes that make you feel good. NO pictures of kids here! Just you and the honey are allowed here picture- wise.

12 a lock on your door!!

* think of what you would like if you could decorate your own room at a bed and breakfast retreat. Then do that in your room! Fountains, soft cozy rugs, pretty bedding. . . . etc

After you have declutteredand organized your room-- then have a little fun with getting new curtains and bedding. check http://www.overstock.com/ I have had AWESOME experiences. my quilt came from there it was 65.00 I think and is Antique Chic. My bed was 184 from there(KING SIZE!) My curtains were wal mart and 14.00 for two panels. Curtain rods came from Big lots. My chair came fom the local antique shop, and was the best 35.00 ever spent. "Night- stands" from Goodwill were 20.00 Paint and texture for my walls and ceiling were about 50.00. All of that was done over time. Because we work within a REAL budget. But having these plans keep me knowing exactly what I need, and what I should spend, and when something is a good buy. My mattress set was our most expensive part-- king sz and several years ago, was 500.00. Beginning with your room gives you a haven, a santuary to come to while you work on the rest of the house later.

So, make your bed with new smooth sheets, fresh comforter and quilt. Light a candle,spray your perfume on the pillows, and enjoy the view. FEEL the peace and quiet. The night we did this, I slept so deeply. The next morning, I woke up and looked around and actually FELT like I had been moved to a quiet cottage bedroom in some antique old B and B. It was glorious. It was after this first transformation, that My hubby began to see and feel differently about the house. This is the beginning of peace in the home. I promise. It offers destressing, intimate time, and real, sound sleep.

White socks

I also have lots of white with just lace and no bows.

Sweet feet

Hello Again! I have some socks ready! I have sz 6-12 mos, 2T-3T, and 4T-5T. Plus I have small(4T-5T ) camisoles. I am making these and selling them for our adoption fund. Socks are $5/pr, and camis are $6.00 each. email me if you are interested!

call to pray

Today I am weepy. No, it is't hormones! It is a profound deep move to pray. I am feeling this rumbling in my spirit so large it overwhelms me. I shudder at the uncertainty of it. But my God is bigger. I am ready to hide under the shadow of His wing and just pray. He is in control no matter what the economy is, the job we have or don't have, or the many needs we have. I am humbled by my prayers for our girls. I still have not even seen a picture of them. I pray for them like I do the children that already live here. I wonder if they know they have a praying mama? I am desperately trying to sort my thoughts and it seems my spirit just can't. I better go clean house and pray. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Baby Ballerina

Audrey(my niece) age 2 1/2 in her "dance suit" (um, minus a top) Lookin' pretty cute eh? Almost cute enough to forget the bubble bath in the potty trick. ;-)

FDA

Gotcha! You thought this would be about the Food and drug Administration eh? Nope, it is about a special part of our homeschooling I jokingly call FDA. Future drummers of America. My dear hubby, Dan was formerly in the ARMY band, and currently plays for our worship team. I have two kids who really love it. Moriah and Riley --and they both show serious gifting in this area. Olivia is our piano princess, Elijah is the guitar guy. Riley calls himself a drummer dude. MY girls both love to sing and dance. Isaiah is learning the 1-2 on drums, but he seems to like guitar(like uncle Joe) better. lol when he was a year old he broke Daddy's heart by holding the drum-stick like a GUITAR! here are a few drumming shots in our new music corner of the family room.

Moriah reading the Bible

Little miss Moriah decided to read the Bible. There was absolute chaos all around. Boys playing rowdy and all. But there in the middle, was my baby girl calm as ever, and looking so intent it almost looked like she was really reading. She was there for about 20 minutes! Pretty cute.

a day in the life of the Moore house

Today is Thursday. Not a special day as far as even the average human goes. But for a mama of a "big family"(I quote that because I feel Ihave *only* 5. lol), Thursdays are days that are coasting days. Mondays I hit the ground running with lots of hope for the week. Tuesday I figure we can hold that momentum at least. By Wednesday, I feel we are either doing well, or are OFF TRACK! Thursday, sadly, most of the time I just think we are waiting for Friday. This week. my dad is in the critical care unit having had his major surgery. It has been an emotional and exhasting week. My lesson plan book is empty. Mon says, "Papa in hospital" Tuesday "Captiol day", Weds "Papa still in hospital", Thursday, "Moriah sick, Dr at 2:15". My baby has horrible poison sumac again. All over her face. And she has what I assume to be bronchitis.(which means no more visits for me at Papa's room!) I have decided to borrow a friends idea(thank you Linn) and call it "Thankful Thursday" Today I am so very thankful my dad is alive. I am thanful God saw my family through the literal storm Tuesday. I am thankful for friends to talk with about scary subjects and have them be real. I LOVED havingthe kids who acted like kids at the state capitol.( ok, they could have been a smidge calmer!) They were real and funny, and I am happy to report the hall of busts is still standing even after the Moore family came through! I had internal images of them falling domino style after the first one being knocked over by one of my boys. I am so thankful for the blogging and twitter buddies God has sent my way. He knew what I needed! I am thankful He has seen fit to bless me with more children. I am moved to tears today, wondering what my girls down south are thinking, feeling and doing today. I have finished our adoption training video (btw, Heart of the Matter Seminars are AWESOME!) and made a 96% on that last online test. lol They only gave me partial credit on one because I rambled I think. lol
So now we are prepping for the homestudy which we are aiming for over Spring Break! This means reaorganization in every room! Ok, I am thankful for my kids. But theones here need me so I better go. Happy Tthursday to all!

A day of thankfulness

Today I am so groggy We went to the capitol yesterday, for homeschool day. It was awesome and more on that later. But I just wanted to share how God took care of us. Some people would say that these were a lot of little coincidences. I believe it was God leading us to make the right choices. We left the capital to go take kids to get food somewhere they could be a little louder and it would be ok. We decided on Incredible Pizza. Dan was supposed to stay at the capitol because it was also higher ed day there. His colleagues were told there was so much going on with the homeschooling families, that there was no room for the higher ed people at the luncheon. So he said, well, Im just going with my family anyway. (HE was WITH us!! I would have been even more terrified without him) So, we ate and let the kids play. Dads watched them while we girls got to talk -- adoption and homeschooling. It was wonderful. So after a while, we said, you know, we really need to think about getting home. But we ended up talking more and then going to find the guys. About ten minutes after that, the guys were gathering kids and we were lining them up against a brick interior wall! (I have to mention, that tornados are my big fear. I have nightmares about it often. I am always in some strange place trying to gather my kids and figure out the safest spot. It was horrible having that played out in real life!!) So we had three mammas, 12 kids, and three dads. Girls were crying, boys were trying NOT to. Mammas were trying to reassure but at the same time not feeling so safe. We prayed and huddled and watched the giant screen they had projected the weather on. THAT was awful! You see the horrible images of the tornado, and then we have people who live there in the city with us, plus a friend who grew up there. So they are saying in whispers, thats two miles from here. hmm, thats building power, F2 now. Ok that part is coming this way. It is 1 mile away. The devastation played out on screen was NOT good for the kids or ME! I wanted to see the radar thingy again where you get the general idea!! Anyway, I had prayed, that this would pass us and we would be safe. Within a few moments it had. All the kids screamed woohoo and the moms sighed with relief. Kids even went back to play. But another one was coming!! We did the whole routine again. After that, the guys had decided that though there was another storm cell we should leave for home, and by taking an alternate route, we would pass the bad weather. So we said quick goodbyes and hugged kids( my baby girl was sad because she was asleep and missed the hugs-- so Les, we gotta get together soon!)*side note, how DID my three year old fall asleep in my lap in the middle of all that. lol?
So we had heavy winds and tired kids all the way home. But really we actually saw the sun on that route and missed the bad weather! With many stops and a food break, we didn't get home until 7:30. We had kids in bed by 8. I think I was asleep shortly thereafter, but not before thanking God for saving us and our special friends. It was a big day. I picture us in the palm of His hand though. Poor Sara(from Equador) was so terrified, and Les and I were too scared to think of the right words to explain and comfort. It was very frustrating. So I sang a hymn we had learned in our Spanish(thank you Rod and Staff!!) Esta Aqui, esta aqui, aleluya Mi Senor esta aqui. Basically just My Lord is here. but Sara sat in her mamas lap and held my hand and wasn't sobbing. I found out later, Olivia and Rachel had tied their dresses together by the back ties, so they would be together no matter what! lol The boys were so sweet to bring endless slushies to keep their sisters occupied. Sweet Austin kept checking to make sure his Olivia was safe. Another sweet moment, Ri was asking WHERE is STEPHANIE!? When she went to talk to her daddy for comfort. He looked at me like, where did you let her GO!? So, later I will publish some pics of our fun day earlier. But for now, I am sobered by the headlines of lives lost and buildings destroyed not far from where we were. Thank you God for keeping us safe in the midst of the storm.

update

Please pray? My dads Dr says his left lung has collapsed. They will have to insert a tube and re-inflate it. I am sorry to say, I am home with 6 kids and feeling a little more than out of the loop. I will try to stay updated here as I can though. Please pray for him, and also for my mom to have peace. Tank you my friends.~

My dad

My dad went in for a surgery yesterday. He had the top portion of his lung removed because of a cancerous mass they found there. It was a long surgery, and they said a very painful recovery process. We have been praying for quick healing and easy recovery and that the cancer would be gone. Well, the Drs report after surgery was this is a contained mass as it seems so far(they will do microscopic tests on the lymph nodes to see if there was any more anywhere else),and they feel confident they removed it all. He also was amazed it was caught at this early of a stage. (praise God!) He says the surgery was good, effective, and dad was off the breathing machine in record time.(another thank you God!) Poor dad was in a LOT of pain right after surgery. They have to make sure the patient is awake, breathing and all before they begin giving large doses of meds. So, this was hard-- to know he was in such pain. But , thank God, he was quickly able to be given a few different things. He had a rough night of pain. By this morning though, they were able to get a handle on the pain for him. He was requesting coffee by 6, and starting to get comfortable, and at one point said he felt the pain was at a "0" when it had been "off the charts". I was so concerned about the "getting him up" part. I knew how hard it was for him earlier to just BREATHE without excruciating pain. Well, the nurse had two guys to help him up, but Dad just said, you want me in the chair, ok, and GOT UP himself!! Praise God! She said she has never ever seen a patient do that! He was requesting his favorite drink, (Pepsi), and chatting and even making jokes. When I last saw him, he was tired, but seemed remarkably alert and somewhat stable as far as pain goes. He will be out of ICU tomorrow(YIPPEE), and Mom has been staying in a nearby hotel that was very comfortable. (and close to Sonic for her "happy hr Dr Pepper!") I am so excited that things are going so well. God is taking such good care of them both. Mom is amazingly calm. My brother was remarkably clear headed, my sister was her usual organized, helpful self, and Dad is showing humor and strength, and amazing courage. This was a hard surgery to agree to.(in case you wondered, for some reason, I was the emotional basket case who felt rather useless. lol) It looks like he may be out in 4-7 days(if this continues, maybe closer to the 4!) Please keep them in your prayers? Thank you to all those who have been praying already! I will keep you posted on his recovery and results of tests.

YAY!

OK! I have the plan for the wall storage. Thank you to Alicia and Edna. The neat thing is, alot of it we already have! I just need to paint it all to match and attach it to walls. I am doing black semi gloss for the shelves and table. The chairs will be red satin. Then I got red plastic dishpans at Walmart for 2.00 each. I think it will look really cool. I will post a bunch of pics as soon as I can. I can see it in my head though and it looks REALLY cool and also very neat. lol The boys new beds have black metal -- I think it will all look good together. And it will all be pretty cheap.(YAY!!)

Favorite Websites for families

We have some favorite websites, that I thought some may not know about. Here is the BEST doll site for girls of all colors. http://www.sleepysoft.com/ It can be really hard to find a baby doll for little ones with skin color other than white. It can be very frustrating at the lack of choices available. I think it is really important when you have little children to show them an array of babies-- even if you have not adopted. But esp let them have one special baby that looks like them.I have seen it work wonders for Moriah. Hers is the "Bailey" hispanic dolly. It was her best Christmas present ever, and her special lovey. They have a WIDE variety of types of babies too, soft lovey styles for tiny ones, and then all the way up to collectibles, with affordable play ones in the middle. They have Asian babies that are SO beautiful. Take a look, you will love this family- run website!
http://www.visionforum.com/ is a great one. We ordered most of our Christmas stuff there. They have "Beautiful Girlhood" and "Boyhood adventure" plus "Grandpas classic toys" It is awesome. Helps give the boys REAL active things to do. We ordered the zipline for Elijah this year, and Isaiah got a rubberband gun. You will loove this one too if you are looking for stuff to keep your active boys entertained without video games. lol Or to remind your girls God made them feminine and that it's awesome! ALL the girly stuff made my girls swoon and squeal.
http://www.lillianvernon.com/ All around great stuff at great prices.
http://www.lakeside.com/ another like that.
http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/ GREAT homeschool curriculum. We have loved the Spanish, the Math, the Science. . . we are REALLY liking the service and the prices. :-) With a big family and more on the way, you have to think of those prices and be smart.
http://www.sonlight.com/ best book lists and REAL books ever! I love them. The kids are soaking them up. We just use the history books, and the readers and read alouds, and that gets expensive, but it is worth it to surround us with great literature. I have three avid readers and my 5 yo is working through his phonics and GETTING IT!! I think he will be reading this year too. So reading good books and getting them excited about it is worth that once a year price.
http://www.mfwbooks.com/ I love the two Language books here. Primary language lessons and Intermediate Language lessons. Riley is still in the Primary one. It lasts three years. He is in the final part of that one.
http://www.hwtears.com/ the most wonderful handwriting program for all types of learners!! Awesome. It took the frustration and tears (of me AND my kids lol) away. It is easy to teach, easy to learn and WORKS.(oh, and affordable!)
http://www.artisticpursuits.com/ art we love. 42.00 for the book but it will last us a while. We do art once a week.
http://www.orientaltrading.com/ they have an active kids catalogue with toys and stuff, then also a hobbies one w ith scrapbooking stuff. Few people know they sell other stuff than the usual party supplies or VBS type activities and crafts. They sell furniture, teaching supplies, art supplies at the BEST prices. Check them out with a cup of coffee in hand, you could be there a while. oh, they have metal buckets that we use for color coding bathroom supplies. Each kid has their own bucket/color and we fill them occasionally with travel sz deoderant, toothpaste, body spray, toothbrush, comb and hair gel. It keeps everyones stuff separated and organized. one of our favorite purchases has been our giant pocket calendar. Ok -- you all have a great day

Boy's room mission

Well, the boys' bed is together. I will spare you all the before pics, because I was actually too ashamed to take them. Those boys can mess up a room so darned fast. But I see the reason is we need better STORAGE! I need to get homes for things. So I am in the process of planning a storage system. My mission impossible: easy, cheap, effective storage shelving along the entire north wall of their room. hmmm. . .. I better think this out some more. Right this moment there are Bionicles, Legos, Rescue Heroes, clothes, towels. . . etc etc all over the floor. So my mission better get figured out fast before my nerves are frayed. I thrive on order. And feel at peace when things are simplified and orderly.(or can be that way within 20 minutes or less!) Any ideas on affordable storage solutions are way appreciated!!!