Family Football Friday

Going to high school football games is one of our favorite things to do as a family. We will even travel to the away games if they're less than 2 hours drive away. We go until the very last game when it's too cold to stand it. Lily has a few cheers memorized already and Nolan can already shout "Go Big Red!" He also flirts with the cheerleaders. At one point, I actually took all four kids (five actually) to the bathrooms and concession stand with me all at the same time and I didn't loose any of them. I'm at that point in my pregnancy when I can forget that I have food cooking and go do laundry until I smell the food burning. I get so forgetful sometimes that think I might loose a kid somewhere. Especially if I run into someone and start talking.
Next weekend is another family favorite, the Highland Games. It's a Scottish Festival with caber tosses, bagpipe bands, sheepherding dogs and all kinds of neat stuff. You can research your family plaid if you have any scottish in you. Our kids love it, but it's in their blood.

Weirdest Pregnancy Craving Ever!

Paul had these beautiful roses delivered to me a few days ago. Last night I was taking in their aroma when I said, "These smell so good I could eat them." I knew it was weird that I said it, but I was obsessed with them all night after that. I didn't give in, but I did try to figure out how I could get away with it without looking like a total nut-job. Knowing that there is most likely pesticides all over them is what finally held me back. If anyone has had a weirdier craving than that, I'd like to hear it.

Birthday Pictures

Emily's favorite gift is her first scrapbook set from Aunt Beth. She also liked all the money she got for various family members. Lily is showing off the present she got. It is a puzzle that's 25 pieces. She's getting big, too!

Birthday Pictures

Nolan wanted to help blow out the candles. He'll get his chance in a couple of months. We all got together at Great Grandma's house and had dinner and a family party together. I was too tired to cook the dinner Emily wanted after she and I baked her cake together, so Paul picked up pizza for everyone. What a sweet guy!

We got the big news for Emily's Birthday! She was really wanting another sister so this is a double birthday surprise. It's amazing how much the ultrasounds have changed in the last eight years. I have a name picked out already, but I'm not sure if I want to give it out because we have 136 days to change our minds. My first choice name was Audrey, but Paul doesn't care for it as much as I do. My second choice is Magnolia Elizabeth and she would be called Maggie. It could change, though. We are so excited. I think I'm going to save up for a pink car seat and stroller. They didn't have those when the girls were little and I always wished they would have. It's not like we have to buy much else. Well, I have a whole bunch of Nolan's old clothes to yard sale or ebay.

Lily's Schoolwork

Lily just wanted to cut several pieces of paper in no particular shapes. Just cutting and cutting. At least she had the idea to do it over the trash can and construction paper is cheap. I'm sure she's learning some sort of classical three-year-old skill that's good for her. Yesterday it was filling cups and dumping water into the sink while I was making sourdough bread in the kitchen. My kids are really good about occupying themselves.

Work Day

Yesterday was a work day at the shop for the Rollins Family. The kids really love working there. Nolan and Lily almost come to fighting if one thinks the other got to carry more doors than the other.

After naps, we made a big pot of chicken n' dumplings and a peach cobbler and invited some friends over for dinner. Then we all went to their house to watch the Georgia football game because we only get the basic channels. I'm thinking that next time the game is in Alabama we will see if we can drop our kids off to play with their friends in Alabama while Paul and I go to the game. I'll bring dinner.

More good news is that I finally got a new pair of contacts! I broke down and went to the vision center in Wal-Mart and they were able to get me in right away on a Saturday (so Paul watched the kiddos) and I saved about $120. That's great for a mom with several kids and no insurance.

Only a few more days until the ultrasound. We weren't going to find out the gender, but since the appointment is on Emily's birthday and she is just dying to know, we are going to find out. I am hoping that the technician will just point to it and let us see if we can figure out for ourselves what it looks like instead of us being told. I think that would be romantic. I guess I've been married for a while. I'm looking for romance in everything. We are just excited to get to see the baby. I don't think I'll be disappointed in the least if the baby doesn't show what it is. Emily never showed us. The surprise in that moment was amazing. Every time I was pregnant with a girl I had a long list of boy names and no girl names and vice versa. This time I have a list of 3 girl names and 0 boy names, so I was thinking it's a boy. Three days ago I came up with a boy name that we both love, so I have no idea now. Well, I guess we will know on Wednesday morning. I'll keep you posted.

Stress-less Homeschool

Below is a great article to help prevent stress while you are homeschooling. I was already doing some of these things, but it was nice to be reminded and encouraged.

Harmonious Homeschool: Ways We Have De-stressed Our Home
Betsy Chastain

Many things can cause disharmony in our homeschools. I've come up with a few ideas that might be able to lower your "stress meter."

MORNINGS

* Prayer: "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:6). How could we even start a day without giving thanks to God for giving us this day and asking Him to guide us through it?

* First subject: Recess! I know that our children don't want to get up in the morning and get right down to the business of schoolwork. We let them sleep until they are rested, but we make sure they are up at a decent time and that they will have at least one hour before we start lessons. That also gives me at least an hour to read the blogs!

* Laundry/dishes: I start the laundry early, before we begin any schoolwork. I do the dishes and all of the house straightening the night before so that the house is ready for the day when I get up in the morning.

* Meals: I decide what I am going to prepare for all the meals each morning. I thaw out food or start the crock-pot or bake the bread. I find that if I know what meals I am to prepare, I am less stressed when I look at the clock and realize that I have only 15 minutes until suppertime!

DAILY SCHEDULE

* Working: We try to spend two hours in the morning with work, have a lunch break/recess for about two hours, then finish up with two hours in the afternoon.

* Flexibility: It's the children we are doing this for, so enjoy them while they are here. Be flexible. Be spontaneous. Aren't these some of the reasons we do all this?

LESSON PLANS

* Numerically: I write my lesson plans as "Day 1, Day 2" etc. I found that if I had my plans listed as "Monday, Tuesday," etc, and we took a day off, I had to scribble all over my plans to rearrange everything. Too stressful! If you number them 1-to-whatever, then when you take a day off, your schedule is still fine. You just begin the next time you get together for school with the next numbered day.

* Year-round school: Teaching year-round and taking short breaks when you need them is less stressful than trying to get everything done according to the public school calendar. You can take more days off when you want them, and not all during those hot summer months. It is less stressful because you don't have to spend so many weeks re-teaching the things your children forgot over the long summer break!

CURRICULUM

* Buy used: If you didn't spend a lot of money buying it, you don't feel stressed if you didn't use it.

* Don't do all the activities: Do what works for your family. Don't stress out because you haven't done everything listed to do. Those teacher's editions were made for a classroom teacher to find activities to keep 30 children under control for an eight-hour day.

* Free: There are many sites where you can learn for free on the Internet. The library also contains many things available for your use.

* Tickets: We use a system in which I calculate the overall grade for the week. I average all their written work and come up with a percentage. That percentage corresponds to a number of "tickets" on my chart. Our chart has a 6-ticket maximum. Each ticket is good for playing an hour of video games or choosing a video to watch. We call it "electronic time." That's it for the week. When the tickets are gone, then no more video games or movies. Besides motivation, it's also great for limiting the amount of time your children spend sitting at the TV or computer! We use these tickets for motivation to get schoolwork done properly. They are not a punishment for not being a "smart" child, just motivation for them to do "their best" work--not necessarily to be the best.

ACADEMICS

* Grade levels: Grade levels are something the public school devised to give the public classroom a focus. If your children are doing the work and learning, they are at grade level. No college or future employer is going to ask your child, "Did you learn to read by the time you were 6?" or, "Did you learn your multiplication tables in third grade?" Your children will know these skills by then, and that's all that is important.

* Testing: If you want to see how your children are doing "according to the norm" (whatever that is), then you may purchase easy-to-use test booklets at a school supply store or online.

* One on one: Teaching your child yourself is like having a private tutor for him or her. You know what's the best way to learn anyway.

* Do not compare! As 2 Corinthians 10:12 tells us, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves; but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."

SIBLINGS

* Manipulatives: When our children were younger, we had shelves of Montessori items they could choose for themselves to do. The younger ones would pick and choose (and make a mess of) all those neat learning items, while we worked one on one with the older ones.

* Morning/afternoon: Right now our children are at a very independent learning age. I will work with the younger one in the morning while the older one does his independent things. Then in the afternoon we switch "mama time" around.

* Multi-age activities: We do science, geography, reading, and other "all together" time learning. Sometimes we have the older child read to or work with the younger one.

* Frequent breaks: Do take time from work to hug and play with the baby. This helps the older ones learn patience and waiting their turn. Younger ones learn waiting when their needs are not immediately met.

SOCIALIZATION

You know the questions people ask about socialization, but are they saying that the public school children have the best social skills of all the children in the world? I certainly hope they don't believe that.

These questions stem from the misconception that we learn our social skills in classrooms full of peers, run by government institutions. But do the public school children have time during class to socialize? Or is that after school and during after-school activities? Since we, as homeschoolers, spend less time in actual class, then we have 4 or 5 more hours in a day for social activities than those in the traditional classroom!

HOME LIFE

* TV: By limiting or eliminating your TV time, your home life finds more stress-free hours in the day. Because your child is not subject to ads (which exist solely to tell you that you are not content with what you have), you have less-stress shopping. Your children are also more receptive of others' gifts to them. As Urie Bronfenbrenner, a professor at Cornell University puts it: The primary danger of the television screen lies not so much in the behavior it produces as the behavior it prevents. ... Turning on the television set can turn off the process that transforms children into adults.

* Meal Prep: I have an "available meals" list on the refrigerator. It lists all the meals I am able to make with the ingredients on hand. I just glance at this list each morning and choose what I will prepare that day. When I've made that meal, I cross it off the list of available meals and write the ingredients on the grocery list that hangs beside it.

* Menu list: Use a menu list the same way as the "available meals" list, except that it is more specific.

* Grocery shopping: Of course, the meal list makes the grocery list less stressful too, as I have listed all the things I need to make good meals the next week on the grocery list as I used them.

* Bulk items: I cook and chop up chicken breasts, then freeze them in small bags to be ready in an instant for casseroles or stews. Chop and freeze those vegetables from the clearance produce rack. Also, make double meals so that you can freeze half for a quick meal later.

* Housecleaning: I use a list like "Monday, vacuum; Tuesday, dust;" etc. This makes you do a little something each day, and you don't have to spend several hours at once to get your house in shape.

* Chores: Don't forget to make a chore chart for the children to help with daily chores too. They can be a big help even in the smallest task.

I hope you have found something here that will make your homeschool less stressful. Remember, God loves your children even more than you do. You may have days when you feel like you cannot keep up with the task of homeschooling, but there is never a second when God isn't up to

I've Found The Answer!

I realized this weekend why I have felt so extremely overwhelmed. I couldn't figure it out because school is going pretty well and the finances are not stressful like they used to be. I have realized that it all started when I got a call from DFCS asking if we are still going through with adopting children out of the foster care system even though we are expecting our fifth child. I obviously said of course, but I have felt so much anxiety since then even though I wasn't thinking or worrying about it. In case you don't know, we got pregnant unexpectedly 5 days after we started our paperwork to adopt. I have a desperate heart for all the children of the world who need a good home and I don't feel like just because we are having another child it makes an orphan's need any less real. Any time I thought that it would be too much I reminded myself that those kids still need a home and we both felt that we had been called by God to adopt siblings domestically. But I still struggled daily with wondering if I was even a patient enough mom for my own kids, much less new ones that would need special attention because of the circumstances that they have gone through. This only spiraled downward because I never took time to pray about it because I didn't even realize there was a problem. I felt overwhelmed, but I thought I was just pregnant, busy, homeschooling and all that usual stuff. The other night, a friend said she had a vision of me drowning in shallow water. I knew right then that those were the words to put to the feelings I had and I remembered getting that phone call to see if we would still adopt. Still knowing that the need to adopt is still there, I knew I had to start praying about this because I was getting pretty confused. The next day I remembered that when Tonya and Landon were getting ready to start their paperwork to adopt, Tonya felt for sure that she was pregnant. Then when she found out that she wasn't, they made the call to adopt. I realized that maybe for me it was the opposite. Maybe the day we knew for sure was the day to make the call to adopt, it was to prepare me for the pregnancy we were not expecting. Since then I have felt a huge weight lifted from my chest and I can breathe again and enjoy my kids. I still feel that some day we will adopt children out of the foster care system. It may be next year or it may be in ten years, I don't know. I do know that I'm not going to let myself feel guilty anymore about not doing it this week. I'm not giving up just because our biological family is getting bigger. Whatever God has planned for our family, He will supply that need financially and emotionally so when the day comes I know we will be ready. In the meantime, however long that is, I still pray that every orphan could have a home and can come to know Christ to be their healer and savior. I feel better already not having to be stressed about it.

I've Been Bitten By The Bug

The same bug that two years ago at play group jumped out of Tonya's yarn bag and bit me for good. The bug that causes me to crochet like crazy every fall. It's a little cloudy this morning and I saw a few brown leaves rolling across the lawn so it's close enough to fall. I mostly learned on my own from an article on About.com and then interrogated my playgroup friends for any and all pointers and tricks. I guess it's especially bad since I'm pregnant now and I was pregnant then. Once I get into it, I am doing it all the time. I take projects with me in case I have to do any waiting in the car or if Paul is driving. I have even caught myself doing it at red lights while I'm driving. It's so addicting. There was some eyelash yarn on clearance at WalMart last night. It was mostly baby colors so I got some of the multi-colored baby yarn. All of that looks girly to me so I am making a girly blanket. I have 13 more days until the ultrasound (if I decide that we will find out the gender) so if my baby is not a girl, at least I have two friends right now that are pregnant with girls. I was digging through all of my old yarn this morning to find my crochet hooks and I found that I have a lot of unfinished projects. I better get to them now because once the weather gets warm again I will loose the enthusiasm. If anyone wants to come over and chat and crochet, please be my guest. Just bring some Chai Tea and I'll light some cinnamon candles. That will make it seem more like fall

Our Puppy

This is the cute puppy that's always looking up at me.

This is what I look like with glasses

Quick Update

Ok. I just want to say that I am ok. The truth is I am not depressed like I may have sounded before, I am just pregnant and this pregnancy seems to be a lot more hormonal than usual. I have terrible mood swings and when I swing back up, I only get back up to mediocre. I have been down on myself lately because I feel like I don't have a perfectly clean house with perfectly obedient children with a a full load of schoolwork every day like everyone else I know. The reality of it is that my house, although probably not as clean as yours, is cleaner now than it has ever been in my married life, my children aren't that bad and we don't have a tight schedule for doing schoolwork and some days don't even do it. On the positive side of things, I'm starting to be happy with that. I am constantly comparing myself to other people and I need to stop doing that. Or I need to stop having such great people for friends. I have also noticed that I feel better about myself when I look good. As superficial as that sounds, it's true. The problem is that I have had to wear my glasses for two weeks now because my perscription expired and I can't buy any new contacts. I don't feel pretty in my glasses (even though you like them, Tia). I had an appointment for an exam last week, but my optometrist had emergency surgery so they don't know when they will be able to reschedule the appointment. Today I have on extra make-up to compensate.

I did get to go shopping this weekend with my best friend, Karen. We were able to get away WITHOUT ANY KIDS! It was so nice. I found a really great pair of maternity jeans at Goodwill that were made for me. We also got to eat at one of my favorite places, Moe's. We are both pregnant with our fourth child and we are about two weeks apart. It was the first time I have had a chance to spend time with her in a long time, whereas we used to see each other every day.

Well, we are off to the library for story and song time.

Ten Commandments

I thought this email I got today was cute. I wonder if we could put these up in the courthouses since it's worded differently.

The Hillbilly's Ten Commandments (posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Gainesboro , TN. )

(1) Just one God
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa
(3) No tellin' tales or gossipin'
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meetin'
(5) Put nothin' before God
(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal
(7) No killin'
(8) Watch yer mouth
(9) Don't take what ain't yers
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff


Now that's kinda plain an' simple, don't ya think? Y'all have a nice day.

All four kids together

It's been a while since I have remembered to grab my camera when all the kids have been together at the same time. They were just all sitting on Adam's bed watching him play a video game. Nolan has a purple eye because he fell down yesterday and hit a chair with his face on his way to the floor. Paul and Adam went dove hunting Saturday and Sunday, but the doves weren't flying. They ended up using ears of corn for target practice. They had a great time together alone.

I am also displaying my first pretty pie. My pie crusts always taste great, but look really bad. This is the first one that looks really good and I will be surprised if it doesn't taste good. It is a chicken pot pie. One of the family favorites. I have been trying to avoid meals that heat up the house with the oven, but the weather was a little cooler today and they had all been talking about chicken pot pie lately. That's about all that's going on in our world.