Happy, Happy Birthday EG!!

She is officially 3! Where has the time gone! It seems like just yesterday hubby and I were in the delivery room with a baby ready to be born and no midwife or nurse! Thankfully a nurse showed up before hubby had to put on rubber gloves! And the midwife showed up right after that!

A remarkable story we will never forget. A remarkable daughter that I know touches all of our hearts in a very special way!

Many more details to come about her fabulous Pretty in Pink and Sweets for the Sweet birthday party put on by my sister's new company m&m event design. Every little girl, at some point in their little life, should have such a wonderful celebration of birth . . .

Some Mondays, Thursdays or Fridays

Some days when hubby is home, I try like the dickens to have some type of school day. It can be difficult though. He is usually running in and out. Working on some, way more fun project than math.

Last Friday I just threw up my hands. Our morning consisted of this:

What's a homeschooling mom to do . . .

Random Thoughts

With regard to my baby turning three in a week:

The fertility doctor that told me I couldn't have kids unless I harvested my then 13 year old sister's eggs had no idea what he was talking about. Glad God had a much different plan for me and the whole family.

Sleep is overrated.

The threes are WAY harder then the twos.

Life would be oh so boring without her.

She definitely has the I'm the baby of a passel of kids syndrome.

She is way too smart for her own good. And for my own good.

The neighbor man says "I have never seen such a little girl so tough."

Everything about her from her delivery to her personality is unique to our family.

Shoes are still optional.

I am sure I will be contemplating more about her in the next few days. Those were just a few of my random thoughts today . . .

Silent Sunday

K-Love

The kids and I listen to a local contemporary Christian radio station. It has positive, encouraging songs. And no commercials.

Because they are totally listener supported, about twice a year they have a pledge drive. When we first started listening to the station, I didn't like the pledge drive. To be honest, it kind of annoyed me.

But, as time went on and I listened to one or two more pledge drives, I started to kind of understand why people would send money in or want to support the radio station on a regular basis. I can't tell you how many times, when we have been in the car, that K-Love has "saved" the day. There are some songs I really like and speak directly to my heart (I love music.) There are times when the kids aren't getting along and one of their favorite songs comes on and they all stop and sing along.

The other day, hubby had EG in the car going somewhere. When he got home he said that she knew almost all the words to every song that was played. To me, it is special to hear my kids sing about Biblical truths. And, a lot of the songs are quite catchy. Very up beat and modern for lack of a better word.

Anyway, last month during Meals on Wheels, we had K-Love on. And it happened to be during their pledge drive. Earlier during the pledge drive week, the kids had mentioned supporting K-Love. They wanted to donate. Well, they wanted me to donate.

After tossing the idea around and talking to hubby about it, we came up with this idea. Considering the kids don't make "serious" money, I wanted to figure out a way that they could support K-Love monthly and it be a little bit of a sacrifice to them and not be an extra expense to us.

Once every two weeks, on Wednesday we get fast food between EG's tumbling class and church. They love Taco Bell or Chick-fil-A. It is a treat. So, I asked was it worth it to them to give up a trip to a fast food joint once a month to support K-Love. I figure it costs about $20 to feed the whole family and that is what they wanted to donate monthly.

Little Mama and Boop were pretty sure right away. Although they asked if they would ever get to eat out again. I said of course, that we were just giving up one of our "scheduled" fast food dinners. Nature Girl took a little more time deciding what she wanted to do. But, eventually by the time we got home from MOWs she had made up her mind to forgo a fast food meal and donate as well.

They were after me for the rest of the day to call. I know hubby and I could have contributedwithout making them choose. And honestly I wanted to support K-Love as well. But, I was hoping to teach them that sometimes helping others or supporting others is a sacrifice and a choice.

I am thankful that we are in a position to do it. Because I know that the songs that K-Love plays have been a blessing to me, many times over . . .

Halloween 2011

Monday night we had our annual Fall Festival. Hubby made his wonderful chili and we invited a bunch of friends, with a bunch of kids!

Cleopatra.

Gangster.

Pirate.

The kids. (EG wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get her picture alone. She was a dinosaur and she was ready to go, go, go.)

The whole trick or treating gang . . .

On Wisconsin

Last week was our homeschool geography fair. I love that our little group of homeschoolers does fun things like that. I let the kids decide if they want to participate and how much or how little they want to do.

This year, because all three were participating, I picked the state for them, to do as a family. I picked Wisconsin for a couple of reasons. First, we are planning a trip there in January. And second, because I am originally from there. I thought I could help a little more and learn a thing or two.

Honestly, I was so amazed at what I learned about Wisconsin. Here are just a few things: cranberries are grown there, Green Bay is the toilet paper capital of the world, Green Bay is the oldest city, the Republican party was started there and a bunch of really interesting people were born there. Our research could have gone on forever. It was hard to narrow down our focus.

We decided on Wisconsin: Not just America's Dairyland. We focused out all the different kinds of things that Wisconsin grows and produces and manufactures. We decided to serve cheese (a given), cranberries (an unexpected) and brats (a treat). Every last bite was eaten.

We included a little bit about the Packers and the weather. Little Mama had put together 8 pieces of paper and colored snowflakes on it. It represented the 100 inches of snowfall that Northern Wisconsin receives almost every year. A lot of people commented on that.

I learned a lot of history (which I am sure I was taught at some point before.) And, I hope the kids learned a thing or two also . . .