my life.

May 22, 2013

Wow. It's been over a month since I've written here.
I've thought about writing MANY MANY times, but life has had other plans.
I miss it. Writing. Sharing my heart.
But, sometimes, other things take precedence.

It's been a year full of activity so far.
And I LOVE it.
Every second of it.
It's like I always say, "If I didn't have everything to do, then I'd have nothing to do."
I'd rather be busy than bored any old day.

We've celebrated several birthdays so far this year.
This guy turned "41".

He was the "Ghost of CHRISTmas Past" for our Tacky CHRISTmas Party.

This guy turned "12".

Love those snuggly moments I have with him. They are entirely too few and far between.

This girl turned "14".

She's just as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside.

This guy is about to turn "10" in a couple of weeks.

He's undergone a "makeover" recently.

I had the best Mother's Day a couple weeks ago. It was all about ME and I spent a very nice RELAXING day with my favorite people!

My girls have been hard at work practicing for their dance revue, which will be on Father's Day. I cannot tell you how proud I am of them. Karli has improved SO much this year. Her efforts have really paid off and it shows not only in her skill, but in her confidence as well.

And, I am proud to announce that we officially have a HIGH SCHOOLER in the house!
Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday I was dropping her off at Kindergarten.

Drake is finishing up the last of his school as I type this.
By this afternoon, he will officially be a 7th grader!

Brant will be starting 4th grade in the fall.
But that is not what I am most impressed with about him.
I could have cried when I saw this:

Brant has dyslexia and has struggled to learn to read efficiently.

Yes. You are seeing correctly. He is actually reading a book independently! We have worked SO hard this year and I tell ya, I could not be more proud of him.

Aubree will join the ranks of the full time home schoolers in this house this fall as well. I've not decided if she will be considered a Kindergartener {because we worked through the Kindergarten book this past year} or a 1st grader. By age she would be going to grade K, but I think she may be ready for bigger things. I plan to complete the Reading Lesson with her this summer. I will use Singapore Math and Learn at Home Grade 1 for the rest of her curriculum in the fall.

The older kids will all continue {Brant will use it for the first time} to use Switched on Schoolhouse. We love it. It works very well for our family.

We will also be taking our first FAMILY vacation in four long years!!! You cannot possibly imagine how incredibly excited I am about this. We toyed with several different options. In the end, based on everyone's age height {Disney got ruled out on this criteria}, and ridiculous aversion to flying {okay, only ONE of us suffers from this and Freddie he will remain nameless} and the fact that I just could not imagine my family on a cruise ship, together, at the same time, we are going to go somewhere that I have actually never been to {which my kids are amazed by because, in their minds, I have been everywhere}. We are going to Panama City Beach, FL. I found a resort with tons of activities for the kids. I cannot wait!

Karli will be taking her very first plane ride this summer. We are going to Mike Beaty's Model & Talent EXPO. We've been raising money all year doing things like this:

And this:

She's been working hard and praying for God's will in preparation for this incredible opportunity.

In addition to all of that, this year has also seen things like this:

And this:

A little appendicitis scare.

And this:

Oooh, and this:

I'm FINALLY remodeling my bedroom! It's girly and rustic at  the same time. A perfect blend of Freddie & I.

As you can see, we've been squeezing every drop we can out of this life. I am so blessed to be able to share it with some of the most amazing people on the planet. I am so excited about summer. We're working on getting the pool ready and looking forward to NO SCHOOL! Hopefully, I'll have a little more time to sit down and share my life and heart with you here more often.

"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 2Corinthians 9:6