Posted in Daily life

Here are Mackenzie's official 2nd grade photos.  The watermark is on there because I got them off The Picture People's website.

And Kayleigh's 6 month pictures.  For the first time in history... she did not torment The Picture People.  She actually cooperated.  Praise Jesus!

Don't let this next shot fool you.  Kayleigh CANNOT even remotely do this on her own.  It was staged and lasted about 10 seconds.  She is still pretty much a slug, only cuter.  Her best skills are nursing and sitting.  She's rolled over, maybe, a dozen times and then quit cold turkey.

For my own sanity, I am still not encouraging movement or talking so no need to worry. LOL  Sitting was the only thing I wanted her to master.

Posted in Daily life

I have been tagged to do a meme by Heather.


Okay, so here are the answers to the questions:

Three Things...

...THAT SCARE ME: losing a family member, spiders, snakes

...I LOVE: God, my family, getting our Sonlight order aka. BOX DAY.

...I HATE: VA drivers, hypocrites, fish (except tuna from a can)

...I'M DOING RIGHT NOW: typing, watching Ice Princess, and listening to Kayleigh chatter over the baby monitor when she should be napping.

...I CAN DO: not much, LOL.  I can change diapers, teach my children, and put him with my hubby's craziness.

...I CAN'T DO: beat my bil, Donny, at Monopoly, get my baby to take a bottle or a paci, sing without hurting people's ears

...THAT ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS: milk chocolate, sweet potatoes, spinach artichoke dip.

...SHOWS I WATCHED WHEN I WAS A KID: Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Rainbow Brite.

If you read this you've been tagged.  =o)

Posted in Daily life

We've been busy with life again and I haven't had time to post.  I'm going to play a bit of catch up with the next few posts.

We'll start with Mackenzie's class challenge for gymnastics.  Her last one because we're pulling her from it.  Since moving from Guam her gymnastics ability has gone downhill fast.  Instead of learning new skills she's lost the ability to do many that she had mastered in Guam.  You'd think that the program here would be better then in Guam. LOL

She's going to go back to taking dance again.

I didn't get pictures of bars, beam and tramp because I had to start manning the video camera.  Kayleigh was acting up so daddy had to deal with her.

Kayleigh found the mats comfy

Just being cute

Posted in Daily life

Well another week has come and gone.

Exciting news this week...

1) Mackenzie lost another front tooth.  The same one as her best friend Macayla.

2) We did a full week of school.  All subjects.  How about that?

3) My friend, Teresa, got a good shot of Kayleigh's "poop face"

4) Kayleigh is starting to nap a bit better during the day.  And by better, I mean at all. LOL  She's been sleeping a bit in the swing for me.  Mommy likey.  (Sorry no picture. Yet.)

I can't figure the girl out.  She is wonderful at night.  She'll go down between 8-9 and sleep til 3 or 4.  But during the day...not so much.  I'm wondering if maybe the light during the day bothers here.  It's much brighter upstairs.  Daddy will be putting up some light blocking shades when he gets home. Blinds are useless for that, aren't they?

I had my post-partum check up yesterday and Kayleigh went with me.  It was my hope that she would charm my doctor so thoroughly that she'd want to switch over to pediatrics so she could take care of my precious babies.  Yea, that didn't happen.  Can you say "Screamed bloody murder"? 

Maybe she'll do better job at charming Dr. Adriano next week when I go back?  And yes, I know my dr. really isn't going to switch for me. But she would in my perfect world so I'm going to keep dreaming. LOL  Besides nothing is impossible!

Kayleigh also screamed all the way home. (Nothing surprising there. LOL)  And it was a long drive even without her screaming. You almost couldn't blame her with the INSANE traffic.  I kind of wanted to scream too. 

Get her home and she's all smiles.  That's what allows her to continue living here. LOL

We got our Sonlight box filled with core 2.  My niece Rachel was here to witness our joy.  She thought we were crazy to be so excited over school books.  She says "school is boring." She doesn't know any better. Poor girl hates reading.

I just like this picture

Mackenzie knows that terrible things will happen if you wake the napping baby.  =o)

Posted in Daily life

I know it's been forever since I've blogged.  My excuses are being pregnant and exhausted. 

We've been busy, busy, busy. 

Selling cookies for brownies.  Not my favorite thing to do but she loved it.  She managed to sell 105 boxes despite the fact that  we have no family here to sell to and she couldn't visit mommy or daddy's work and sell like I used to. (Well we do have a bil/sil here but my niece Rachel is also a brownie. LOL)

Mackenzie started cheerleading through the local homeschool league.  This was not a first choice of activities for either Kevin or I.  I had been trying to talk her into basketball but she saw the cheerleading on the website (the curse of having a really good reader) and wanted to do that.

I mentioned that daddy would not like that activity.  Her response, "Daddy says that when you're daddy's in Iraq you can do whatever you want."  And you know what? Daddy does say that all to often.  And that little comment often leads to arguments between me and the munchkin.  So I decided it was time for him to eat his words.  And I signed her up for cheerleading. Ha on him!  LOL

She loves it, naturally.  And it's a Christian league so nothing inappropriate.  The uniforms have been works in progress but eventually they'll have all the pieces. LOL

We also celebrated Mackenzie's bday a few days early, just incase Kayleigh came early.  Her actual birthday isn't until the 4th.  I can't believe my baby is going to be 7.  In fact, I refuse to accept it.

And now that I look at the date, today is the day that I went into labor with her.  Ahhh, how time flies.

Here are some pictures from her gymnastics party.  She had a great time.

Oh and in other big news, little missy lost her 3rd tooth.

What I'm looking like these days...

I also had a baby shower, the same weekend.  A friend of mine at church threw it and did a FABULOUS job. We even had a little communion ceremony.

My throne

Party people's

Crazy kids

The part where my friends say all the nice stuff to make me cry...hence the red face.  They did a very nice devotional and it took all my self control not to bawl. Impressive for a hormonal pregnant lady.

With my little helper

Present time. Mackenzie even let me open a couple myself. LOL

In baby news,

Her head is down, my cervix is soft, a "loose" 1cm dialated, and 50% effaced.  If I haven't had her by the 14th my membranes are going to be stripped.  So I could potentionally have Kayleigh on my fil's birthday, which thrills him to no end.  Mil not so much. LOL  That would be the 3rd valentines birthday in the family.  She'll survive though.

Posted in Daily life

I borrowed this from Lady Mother

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?    Wrapping paper! It's so much fun to tear off.

2. Real tree or artificial?   Fake.  While the real trees smell nice, I have gotten fond of being able to breathe. LOL (Allergies)  And I won't lie, I don't want to clean up after a tree.

3. When do you put up the tree?  The day after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down?  Whenever I get around to it.

5. Do you like egg nog? Uh no...

6. Favorite gift received as a child?   Toss up between the Barbie Dreamhouse and the racecar set.7. Do you have a nativity scene?   I have 2.  A little people one for Mackenzie and a grown up one.  But we all like the little people one best.

8. Hardest person to buy for? All the parents

9. Easiest person to buy for? My daughter

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received?  I can't think of one

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?   Miracle on 34th st.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  Whenever I get around to it.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Can't say that I have.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? sweet potatoes, same as Thanksgiving

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?   Colored --if I wanta to look at white lights I can go outside and look at the stars. Or through my neighbors window  What Ladymother said

17. Favorite Christmas song? Glory to God in the Highest

19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? If pressured

20. Does your tree have an angel on top or a star?  A star

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?  The busyess

Posted in Daily life

I'm doing a happy dance over Tristan's Miracle!!!

God is SOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!  Join me as I praise and rejoice the great news.  And pray that he continues to respond well!

Posted in Daily life

Here's our little Sharpay all dressed up and ready to beg for candy.

With Miranda

And Elizabeth and Jonathon

Mommy Central

Returning with their loot

And, incase you're wondering, that is not our neighborhood.  (I wish LOL)  We went to a friends and their 15 year old daughter generously took Miranda and Mackenzie t-or-ting so I wouldn't have to haul my belly around the streets.  Plus these "rich" people give out better candy.  

Not to mention I had just moved the day before. More about that in the next post.    Good times, good times. LOL

Posted in Daily life

or two...

Most recently I won a smile award by Sister Chick Steph.    (Doesn't she have a GREAT name???

That  was a nice surprise. I am touched.  Now I get to share some.

The award creater said: 

The thing that I love most about blogging is that I learn so much about a person just by reading their blog. I have met MANY wonderful people with wonderful stories to tell and I am grateful every day for each person that I have the pleasure of crossing paths in life with.

I wanted to create something special for the top ten people who have inspired me through their blogging; the stories they tell and the lives that they lead with grace and dignity. I visit their blogs for inspiration and encouragement.

First to Linda, just because she always makes me laugh.  Not only is she funny, she is a great mommy to her two adorable children.  I've known her, online, for a few years now and I'm hoping to get to meet her IRL within the next year or so.  She is so passionate about her children, husband and the Lord.  You can't help but smile to know her.

Next to Onduli,  or Judy, who I feel a bit of connection with. She's got an only child who's the same age as Mackenzie.  After reading her blog for a while and noticed that she was struggling with infertility, as was I.  A few weeks after I found out I was pregnant, I was visiting her blog and found out she was pregnant too.  Now that made me SMILE! 

Lastly to Leigh, who's anecdotes and writing style make me LOL.  She has such a way with words and sounds like she's an incrediably fun mom.  Her kids are certainly blessed to have her for a mommy.

About a month ago, I received this...

from Debbles.  Thanks Debbie.  Sorry it's taking me so long to post about it.  I had a post once but it got eaten by HSB world and since then life has just been crazy.

Posted in Daily life

We took last  week off because Kevin left for his deployment this week.    Any prayers for his safety and well-being are appreciated.  And that things here run smoothly without him.  With buying a house, moving, and giving birth while he's gone, there's lots of potential for stress.  And for Mackenzie, who very much misses her daddy.  TIA

This week has been a bust so far because we havehad a million errands and unexpected stuff pop-up. A walk through for our new house yesterday, running stuff to the broker today for the loan officer who keeps losing stuff, a doctor's appointment Wednesday,  closing on the new house on Thursday, and a field trip on Friday.  I'm hopeful for next week.  

Last week was spot on and I even had a long post written about it.  Unfortunately, as is almost always the case for the last few months, HSB had a hiccup and I lost it.

Missing our hero...

Posted in Daily life

1. All right, here are the rules.
2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight
things and post these rules.
5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged
and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re
tagged, and to read your blog

1. The easiest way for me to lose weight is to get pregnant.  Yet I still get the big belly.  Go figure!

2. I'm going to turn 36 in a few weeks but most people think I'm around 27.  I like that.

3. I have one beautiful, and incrediably smart, dd who is about to be a big sister.  Finally.

4. I lived in Guam for 3 years and didn't really go to the beach very often.

5. I live 2 blocks from the beach here in VA and still rarely go to the beach.  I think it's the sand and the cold water. I'm more of a hot tub kind of gal.

6. My favorite food used to be Italian or Mexican.  Now I hate all food equally.  =o)

7. I have a bachelors degree in Education.  Apparently I got it so I could homeschool my daughter.  Money well spent I say.  Although she's sometimes harder to teach then all those other people's children.

8. At this very moment my dd is listening to Wiggley, Wiggley Christmas in her room.  It's July.

Now I'll tag Danielle, Natasha, Leigh, Linda, Kym, Heather, Jimmie, and Jamin.

Have fun!

Posted in Daily life

I "met" my friend, Dini, about 7 years ago when we were both pregnant February babies.  We have managed to remain friends over the years despite several moves to various message boards.

She's been a great friend over the years.  Helpful when I was seeking Christ, turned me onto homeschooling, and a great prayer warrior.  We've even been hoping that one day Mackenzie and Sam would get married.

Well today we finally got to meet IN REAL LIFE.  It was so exciting.  She is just as wonderful IRL as she is online.  Her family is great and we had lots of fun.

Our other online friend, Jen, joined us.  I've had the pleasure of hanging out with Jen quite a bit since she and I occupy the same city  now.  But we had a great time, the kids got along famously, and Brian  (Dini's wonderful husband) was a champ being the only adult male.

Dini, Jen, and moi

Our 7 children hitting the beach

The water's not exactly warm. LOL

Dini's Katy, 13 yo, was so sweet to Mackenzie

That is Dini's other dd, Victoria (9). Her and Mackenzie were instant friends

Jen's Brady, 5.  He is a bundle of energy and the cutest thing ever.

Jen's Jacob.  He's very sweet.

Trying to get a picture of the Feb babies together. (Okay technically Sam is not a Feb baby cuz he arrived two weeks early.  But we didn't kick him off the board because of that. LOL) Unfortunately Sam was a tad shy because his mom and I have been trying to arrange a marriage between him and Mackenzie for years. LOL

Jacob and Dini's Luke doing their male bonding

Dini and I finally just told them, we're getting the picture. Stand next to each other.

Beach babies

The Littles are melting pieces of hardened sand in a bucket of water.  You wouldn't believe how long this occupied them.

Ha! We knew they liked each other.  We're displaying this one at the wedding.

Dini and Brian. Aren't they sweet?

And if you thought this entry was exciting, wait til tomorrows!  (Can you believe I"m contemplating to entries in the same month? Let alone the same weekend. LOL)

Posted in Daily life

Here's some pictures of what we've been up to, besides school.

At Ocean Breeze Water Park...

"Socializing"

Going on the coconut drop...into 10 feet of water...people thought I was crazy to let her...but they didn't know her swim teacher in Guam. 

My one shot of Brady, who was very quick that day.  I had a hard time catching him. LOL

Look what daddy bought her....

Fun for the whole family

 At the beach with Miranda, the sweetest11 year old ever.  You'd think she was homeschooled. LOL

These next two had funky lighting but I think they look cool anyhow.

Posted in Daily life

Posted in Daily life

I hope everyone had a blessed day this Easter.  We had a wonderful one, dividing up our day between church and dinner with Kevin's brother.  I also managed to get a hold of some Ressurection eggs this year and those were a big hit. She wants to do them everyday.  Not a bad idea...

Here are some pictures of our day...

A good example of what is wrong with our country/planet. LOL

Posted in Daily life

Sorry that I've been MIA.  Lots going on here.

Our "stuff" arrived and that's been a certifiable disaster.  I don't know who I dislike more, the guys who packed us out in Guam (thanks for spilling pepsi all over my dd's toys) or the ones who unpacked our stuff here (shouldn't they be able to put furniture together?).  All I can say is it's been really, really bad.  Lucky Kevin was gone for most of that. 

Now our problem is what to do with all of the stuff (most of what we own) that there is no room for.  Seriously, I unpack boxes and then repack them because there is no room for anything.

Then my mom came for a visit and helped us unpack some.  That was nice.  She hasn't seen Mackenzie in 3 years.

My worst news is that I still haven't received my SL catalog!  How mean is that?  I changed my address with them a MONTH before I moved.  I've requested 3.  Still nothing. LOL

On a good note, we've met some wonderful homeschoolers and have started up a park day every week.  Mackenzie is also involved in a HS bowling league that she's been enjoying.  Church has been wonderful.  We've really missed our church.

Here's some pictures for you to enjoy...

Moon over the Atlantic

Mackenzie is totally loving learning about Ancient Egypt

Holy Snow!  It's the day before Easter... Yikes! My blood is still thin. LOL

You have to be sneaky, and determined, to get a picture of "Cookie." She doesn't cooperate at all.

Posted in Daily life

A look at life on this beach...before furniture.  LOL

Our new digs...We call it "Little House in the Rich Neighborhood"

The backyard (and a good example of what most of the neighbor's houses look like LOL)

The beach Virginia style.  Not quite the WOW factor of Guam beaches but still nice.

Arranging her shells on the deck

Feeding the birds

After living in Guam, this many birds is a tad freaky. LOL

Our new "ghetto-fabulous" lifestyle...

Our computer area

Our living area

The master suite.  Be sure to note the air mattresses on stands. Try not to be haters. =o)

The computer/school room/rat's, I mean hamster's, room

The view

Looking up to Mackenzie's domain

Mackenzie's room.  I'm going to have to paint this one.  Her real comforter is red and pink and those colors are too much for even my low decorating standards. LOL

Her playroom

Kitchen/dining room.  Yes, that's really all the cupboard space.  Where I'm going to stick the food, bread machinge, fryer, griddle, 2 crockpots, food processor, blender, and pots/pans is beyond me. LOL

Posted in Daily life

Our first day in Guam, 3 years ago.

Our last day on Guam, 3 years later.

It's official, we're no longer living the island life.  We are now "enjoying" the cold temperatures of Virginia.  Not to mention the shopping.

Here are some of our lasts in Guam...

Last time hanging at the mall with Paige and Macayla

Last Visit to Underwater World

Last day at Awana

Posted in Daily life

Once the "moving" train starts rolling, it doesn't quit.  We've been busy, busy getting ready for the move.  And we're not even doing the packing. LOL  We've been purging, donating, separating.  Our house looks like a tornado hit it.

Tomorrow the movers come and start boxing up our goods.  We have a large pantry full of stuff we don't want them touching, like school books. 

And you need not fear about this being my last blog entry for a while.  Dh came home last week with a surprise for me, a new laptop.  How's that for sweet?  And how thoughtful of our Heavenly Father to provide for my sanity like that.

Our plane tickets have also been issued. There's nothing stopping us now!!!  Anybody have any really good book recommendations?  I'm looking for something to read on the plane.

We've been doing well on the homeschool front as well.  We are really enjoying core 1.  At the moment, I think Bible is our favorite subject.  Mackenzie is thrilled about having reading assignments from a real Bible. And we're both loving Leading Little Ones to God. 

And Missionary Stories with the Millers has really touched her little heart.  After reading the first story, she approached our Awana commander, on her own, and asked if she knew any missionaries who give Bibles to people who don't have one.  She wants to donate half of her money.  She just melts our hearts. Turns out the head of the local missionary college here is speaking at Awana tonight, so Mackenzie will be able to give her donation to him.

We were going through a rough patch in math.  Memorizing her +2s was a long, long process.  It took weeks for her to master that lesson.  Then we moved on to solving for the unknown, which she's good at when using the blocks. However, in this new level, she has to solve them in her head. Her problem was she wanted to add them.  If the problem was ?+2=5, she'd say 5.  Once she figured out not to add, she was alright.  LOL

We started +9's yesterday and boy was that much more pleasant.  She had them down in about 10 minutes. Go figure! ROFL

We're reading Usborne's Peoples of the World for history.  It's pretty interesting. She was particularly fascinated with the different ways people wore their hair, make-up and jewelery.  She's a girl alright.  We're doing notebooking along with history again.

She's doing great in LA, as always.  The girl can definately read! We're continuing LLATL and A Reason for Spelling from where we left off.   We started back up with handwriting, her favorite...NOT!  But she's plugging away.

We're really enjoying Exploring Creation with Astronomy. I'm sure learning a lot!!  We're both having lots of fun with the projects.

Here's Mackenzie with her balloon solar system.  I have to say, blowing up those tiny balloons is HARD.  Wow!  That took me quite a while. LOL

This week we are studying the sun and we did the "Focusing the Sun's" experiment where you melt a chocolate bar using a magnifying glass.  That didn't work out quite like the book describe. We sat there, in the hot Guam sun, holding that glass forever.  Nothing.  I knew we had the right weather conditions, really hot and sunny. We were both getting annoyed.

Mackenzie finally gave in to her disappointment. But me, and all my stubborn glory, sat there a while longer. Waiting and waiting. Daydreaming.  Suddenly, I'm smelled something like s'mores.  Mmm, I'm a great daydreamer. Wait a minute, I wasn't dreaming about s'mores!  I looked down, and what did I see? Not exactly melted chocolate but I sure did burn it! LOL

I called Mackenzie out and we spent a delightful half hour burning chocolate. Maybe we'll try it again with marshmallows?

Posted in Daily life

I know, I know, I've been a bad blogger.  But boy has life gotten in the way.  And it's only going to get worse I'm afraid.

The good news is that my husband finally got his orders.  There were a lot of issues in getting them but, in the end, we were right and they were wrong. So ha-ha on all the detailers!! 

And praise to God for His hand on this situation. Not only did He give us our desire to go back to Virginia, we've got a house lined up, and a new truck for Kevin.  It's a great relief to know we won't have to deal with finding a house or renting a car. We'll enjoy beach living for a year and then look into buying our own house.

The other good news is that we leave in 28 days!!! Hooray!

The bad news is that they'll be taking my computer really soon.  I'll surely be going through withdrawl.  It could be a long while before I get it back.  And since my husband will be gone by the time our household goods arrive (that's the other bad news, he leaves right away) at our new home, it will take another act of God to get the thing hooked up.   I'm not very good at stuff like that.

But we're very excited! We're going back to Virginia and to our beloved church.  I absolutely cannot wait!!!!  The only people in Virginia who know we are coming is Kevin's brother (because my fil spilled the beans) and one of my on-line (soon to be IRL) friends.  We're not telling anybody else.  We're just showing up.

On the homeschool front, we finally started back up a couple of weeks ago.  I ordered Core 1 and we started that this week.  We are both LOVING the Bible portion. Leading Little Ones to God is a favorite already and I love that they have her reading from a real Bible.

I'm not looking forward to the more rigid homeschool laws in Virgina but I'm sure we'll adapt.  At least I won't have to test her until next year.  I'm sure she'll do well though.

Here's a couple of "Box Day" pictures for you to enjoy!  Box Day is very big in the Sonlight circles.  LOL