Smiling in the DPS office:)

Last night I made the last double check of all the bazillion forms the state requires for a learner's permit. This morning was nice and pleasant. This was definitely a morning that Derek was sweet as pie! Today was the BIG day!!!

Going to the DPS office is something I dread. It drives me crazy! I was excited but wanted to be as prepared as possible. I packed up plenty of school work for JD and Georgia to stay busy. The office is always so busy and crowded. Long lines and very interesting people, and germs are the first thing to greet you. Thankfully we got there just as they opened. We were number 45. I prayed that God would allow things to go very smoothly and we wouldn't have any problems with paperwork AND that he would do well on the test. He had lots of reports that the test was easy and he did practice however, he also had a couple of kids tell him what they failed on too. In the end, after much worrying on my part, he did great! He passed the test missing 4 out of 30. After he completed the test he had to get back in line to complete the whole thing. You should have seen him trying to hid how good he felt. HELLO! He still had to look cool. So with a muffled smile, he strutted out of the office after his first personal experience with the DPS!

Of course when we walked out he looked at me and asked if he could drive. I said, "No way!". Lessons start in the parking lot! One thing at a time Buddy! I love this part of being a parent. I get to watch him grow and learn right in front of my very eyes! This was a happy day indeed!

Happy Birthday to Derek!

My oldest son turned 15 yesterday! Crazy! It feels older than last year- yes I know that is because he is older..ha. But, really I feel like it is a jump up. He started his weekend at a friend's house on Friday night and had a great time! Sunday we went to church as usual. That is the best day for your birthday to fall on. To begin the day praising the Father who made you, who knew you before you were born. Perfect.

Then we went to lunch at a restraunt of Derek's choice. Sam's Burger Joint has amazing burgers! We filled our tummies and watched the first half of the Cowboys game- which they later lost. Then we went home.

When the Cowboys game was over Aaron and I left to buy Derek's gift. If you read my earlier blogs or saw my facebook you would see we had NO time to get it sooner. Aaron and Derek had gone looking for guitars a few weeks ago and they had one picked out. It was just a matter of going and getting it. When we got home with it Derek was super excited!!

BUT, no time to hang around with it. Youth group/ CLASH was starting set up at 4:30. I don't exactly remember what CLASH stands for but it is a youth event once a month. It is brand new and that was the kick off night. The new praise band was to play. Derek played the drums. It was fun and instead of having a huge party at our house we compromised and I brought pizza to share at CLASH. It was alot of fun!

Soon he will have his permit and next year it will be his license. Only 3 years till he his 18 and gone for college. :( i'm already sad....everyone knows I don't have time to be sad. I need to pull myself together! HeeHee. I'm very proud of the son God has given me and I am continually blessed by him all the time.

Happy Birthday Derek!

Happy 80th Birthday, Grandma!

Last Wednesday was my grandma's 80th birthday! She had no idea at that time what was planned for the weekend! Secretly for months her children have been planning a great surprise. They arranged for some relatives to come in for the occasion. The first surprise was a visit from my aunt Elaine. She flew in from Indiana and just showed up on Grandma's porch. Grandma had no idea she was coming! The next surprise came from her niece Karen and her nephew and his wife Bill and Yolanda who came in town. They were revealed at a special dinner held at my aunt Cathy's house. Saturday was full of visiting with family. Tons of fun. We went to dinner at Salsalito's. That was alot of fun. To just hang out and be goofy with family is the best! The final surprise was actually a friendly joke. She has mentioned before that she doesn't not enjoy bagpipes. Of course, that was an invitation for Aaron. So when we all got back to the house after supper, he got out the pipes and surprised her on the front porch! She was shocked! BUT, she took the joke well and laughed. She did however, wonder why he didn't wear his kilt. We told her he would when she turned 90...lol.
We all ended the evening with cake and ice cream. Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

More Poteet Fun!

We went to Poteet this weekend to celebrate Daniel's 30th birthday. Jenna organized a wonderful surprise party! Good food and Daniel got some funny presents. It's hard to believe we are all growing up. It was great to hear stories.

It was opening day for dove season. With our bags packed, we headed out. It poured rain on the way out there and was still raining when we arrived. The party was fun and the kids had a blast! All the kids really have a good time when we are all together. They have all known each other since they were in diapers. Now they play in the hay, run around, pretend to be bird dogs, ride on the 4 wheeler, and play video games. The bonus this time was that Jenna and Cliff had a go cart! Staying the night is an extra treat. So a kid sleepover was definitely in order.

Jenna is the cake expert. She made Daniel's birthday cake. It was camo and had little hunters on it. She even made tiny little birds in the grass next to the hunters feet. The part of the cake that blew everyone away was the hunting belt. It was made completely out of fondant icing. It looked like a leather belt loaded with shotgun shells. That is just one of the amazing cakes that she has done. I really think she needs to run a cake business.

We stayed the night. The guys got up nice and early to hunt. I woke up to hear shots fired outside. They were a safe distance from the house but it is still loud and clear. At least I knew they were nearby! Once everyone was awake Daniel made his homemade pancakes for everyone. They are pretty yummy!

We always have a great time when we go out to Poteet! Great friends! Great fun! Great memories!

No Place Like Home

I started homeschooling 2 years ago, this is my third year. Everything seems to be falling in place. I'm familiar with our schedule. The kids know what to expect of me and I know what I can expect from them. I know the field trips and clubs and groups enough to pick and choose what is best for my kids and our schedule. I went to a kick of meeting for Haven home school support group. This group has supported me for now going on 3 years. It was so good to see so many people I knew and depend on for support and socialization. I'm so happy to be involved with them! My year is pretty much planned out. I feel well prepared. That is definitely a goal of mine this year to run my home smoother and to be more prepared and purposeful with our schooling with the children. After all, they are the reason we home school. To raise our children as God would have us to do in a godly environment equipping them with the tools to face the world around them.

Derek came home today recharged with confidence that he could accomplish the goals he set for himself. He was overwhelmed at first with the load of football and AP classes. The load of homework and practice was almost too much. His desire for being more involved with church ministry was more of a priority to him. He got his progress report showing good grades and encouraged him that he could do it and is doing it well. Go Derek!!! He has recently taken up another organization at school to reach students with the love of Christ. They have asked him to be on the leadership committee already. What a praise. Pray that he will be able to handle it and that if a door needs to be closed that we will recognize it and submit to God's will.

Amy

My Very Early Morning Just Started Under Nancy's Pancakes!

This year we are studying Astronomy from a christian perspective. We are participating in a co-op for this subject. The kids will put together a science lap book. These are cut out pages that they put together. These pages have questions that the children need to answer. The answers are found in the textbook. This is a great way for them to keep their hands busy and learn alot by listening to me read and finding the answers. Activities help them to take the lesson further.

So, this week they started by learning what a universe was, and who made it, and what NASA is and so forth. The activity called for stuff we didn't have so I changed it a bit. The main idea was to name the planets in order. I boiled eggs (they could be eaten later) and had the kids decorate them as planets. They could use egg dye or markers but they had to have the name of the planet on the egg. - we have learned the planets individually yet so there were no real expectations on what they looked like. But I requested that Saturn at least have a ring of some sort..lol. Then they played speed games to see who could put them in order the fastest. It was fun and they learned the order of the planets.

Yes they learned the sentence but it is different than what we learned.....

Hand-me-downs and clean up

Today was actually a Saturday with nothing on the calander! That hardly ever happens. I'm sure Derek saw it coming! We have been working on his room, cleaning and painting. My mom got him a new bed set and we got a dresser to replace the old one. So it is coming together nicely, but we still have a lot to do.

My mission was to get his old dresser cleaned out and put the new one in, and clean out the closet. Ick! We filled up 3 trash bags to take out. Not all was gross trash some was old papers and posters and stuff. We got all his paintball stuff organized and put away. We found old things that recalled cool memories and even some old pictures that make him look like an ANGEL!Well, now we can see his floor and his closet is all clean organized and vacuumed. We decided he doesn't use the tiny desk in his room anymore, so JD claimed it. JD got all kinds of neat treasures that Derek didn't want anymore. Hey, one man's trash is another man's treasure! Clothes were sorted and put out or away. JD of course has his fair share of hand-me-downs.

As all that was going on JD was on his own side mission. Once he saw that the hand-me-downs were plentiful, he knew he had to make room for them. He cleaned out his old dest and the rest of his room to make room for his big kid desk. I vacuumed really good(making sure I didn't vacuum those really valuable legos..lol).

All this time, Georgia was having the time of her life with a friend that spent the night. She had all that girl time!! That's a rare event in this house of boys. She and her friend made pudding, built forts, dress up and all the fun stuff that they wanted. That sounds messy but soooo worth it.

Days like this are tiring but a win/win day. Rooms are cleaned, kids are helping and/or occupied, and everyone is busy. Everyone will soon need showers and now I have a lot of laundry to do. All of that is okay with me considering the progress we made!