Marco! Polo!

Sunday was a really cool family day! We started with church. I got to sit in Pastor Dan's sunday school class. He was on vacation and Aaron was teaching. I had never heard him teach before. All this time we have just been in different classes, so I sat in to listen this time. It was really great and I'm glad God has and is blessing his service and passion.

After that we all enjoyed our "brown enchilladas". This dish is usually on Sundays when everyone can be there to have them. We straightened up the house and headed out for our adventure.

We drove out to Hondo to the Corn Maize. Aaron's badge got us in free!! The kids got to jump on a massive moonbounce, play on hay bales (not new to them, play with water pumps and run around. We got to take a picture in a spot set up for that sort of thing. -one of the best of the five of us! The maize this year was in the shape of a picture of George Straight. We headed out together to see if we could figure it out. We did NOT get a map. There are numbered spots to at least tell you your going the right way. JD had a blast hiding around corners in the cornstalks and jumping out to scare us. I jumped everytime! What a stinker!! Georgia was enjoying being in charge of direction. She also likes to hide and see if anyone can find her. Derek walked around kissing the corn to make it whistle. JD called him a corn kisser and we just couldn't stop laughing- guess you had to be there. Anyway, after the 8th stop out of 10, Georgia wanted me to go with her to hid. She kept running and I ran with her. Then we waited for them to look for us. We waited, and waited, and waited. They didn't come.:/ So we decided to find our way back to them but then we got lost...lol. She did navigate us back to #6 but obviously that was backwards! Meanwhile Aaron and the boys got out. They heard us but we all couldn't see each other so we played Marco/polo to find each other. I could hear them but we couldn't figure it out. Georgia suggested we just run through the corn and I explained that is cheating. ( I was tempted)

Eventually we found our way out. We all agreed it was time to go home. We had a cool scenic route home! It was a great day. We love this time of year!

Marshall Homecoming 2010!

This week was homecoming for Marshall Highschool. Derek planned a couple of weeks ago and asked a friend of his from church to go. Rose accepted his invitation! He and Rose have been friends for a couple of years.

I went a few weeks ago and picked up the materials for making the mums. I learned last year that if you wait till the week of homecoming you lose out on all the stuff. School colors and ribbons and mascots are gone! SO...this year I bought it in advance. I, of course, waited till Thursday(the day of Derek's JV game) to make the mums. Derek and Rose didn't need them till Friday. JD and Georgia wanted to wear them to Derek's game. So we got busy- the neat thing was that Georgia and JD insisted on making their own! Part of me wanted the mums to be perfect(my way) but I enjoyed their excitement and the ideas they had. I made them last year so they knew what they looked like. They were so proud of them. It was fun! Georgia wanted to hot glue everything she could get her hands on! JD suprised me by wanted extra ribbon! I did not get pictures of this..boo. I was too busy working away on Derek and Rose's. I was really proud of them. Derek loved it! Rose enjoyed hers to but to be fair she is from the school we were playing against for the homecoming game! She was great! And she had plenty of Maroon on;)

MARSHALL WON!!!! 16-9!!

Fast forward to tonight>>> We spent the day running all kinds of errands, because my day doesn't slow down. But we were home by 4:30 and that gave Derek plenty of time to put his "swag" on. I had previously swapped babysitting with Angie and Dan, so JD and Georgia were hanging out with them. Derek was ready to go in perfect timing to pick Rose up on time. When we got there her mom and I took lots of pictures! I think they loved all the attention;) They looked awesome! Then we took off for dinner. We enjoyed dinner with his friends and their parents.

DEREK was the only one to successfully have a date for the event! I don't think those guys were turned down. I think they were too chicken to ask...ha. Oh well, they will all have plenty of fun! This explains why the picture is all boys and one Rose!heehee.

...and now I'm ready for the dance to be over, so I can go to bed....zzzzz...oh, right. I have to pick them up and take her home. I'm sure her mother would apprieciate that...lol.

Happy Birthday Nana!!

Today is birthday of the best mother-in-law/nana ever!!! Happy birthday from all of us!

Last night we were blessed to have dinner for the September birthdays on the Tilt side of the family. We all went to Chris and Tim's house for a wonderful dinner and dessert. We enjoyed visiting and of course presents! Aaron made a new friend out of Justin. Not only is he a great talker but has a really funny sense of humor for his age! Mikey got toys, a shirt, and books. He was excited about his new alarm clock. Good thinking, Nana! Derek got an alarm clock as well. The cool feature on that one is he can hook it up to his Ipod! I got a scrapbooking kit- there were some AWESOME treasures in there! I also recieved a camping kettle and outside lights! Thank you! Nana got some new kitchen toys to go in her newly updated kitchen.

We closed the night by finally loading up the hutch Aaron and the kids gave me for my birthday. (Tim did a beautiful job making it!) With lots of hugs and kisses we said good-nite. Love you guys!!

I'm finally able to sit with a clear mind as I write today. My mind as been completely been taken over by every aspect of our daily life. Because of this I have felt overloaded yet, life goes on. So much that each day before dinner time I have just had to take a small nap. My poor body just can't do it all sometimes. Today I finally feel refreshed. Not really sure why except we all need time to get caught up.

I started today differently. I made cinnamon rolls and we had breakfast out on the porch. It felt wonderful. We went to the grocery store and got a couple nuts and bolts that hold our meals together. Then around 9:00 we started our school day. Usually we start with Bible and move onto Math. Today we started with Science and Bible together. They are using their lapbooks. Lapbooks are an interactive way to answer review questions as I read the chapter to them. We are studying the planets and more specifically today, the sun.

After Science the kids did Spelling and then we moved on to Language/English. Math was next. JD is converting fractions and Georgia has just begun the basics of long division. It went really smoothly and I was thankful that the kids got along today.

I was able to get a lot done today after school. I graded papers, caught up on laundry, cleaned my bathroom and dresser, got ready for a meeting at church tonight and so on.

I am thankful that I was able to take advantage of a good productive day. I try really hard to take advantage of them because sometimes we have bad days. It does me no good to wallow about how far behind I am.

This last week went by with in a blurr. Wednesday was exciting due to Derek's permit and we also have an estimated date to get the braces off!! Hooray!! Dr. says they should be off before the holidays. What a great gift!

Thursday was a marked day of school. I don't usually tell the kids about field trips until the week of the trip. This prevents the constent questions and also prevents major upsets when a field trip doesn't work out. We reserved that day for the Homeschool Day at Sea World! The kids were looking forward to it all week. We read all about the whales and dolphins and all kinds of other sea animals. So that day was all about seeing it in person! I was so excited and quite proud of myself. I was super prepared. I printed out all the confirmation email forms and activities, packed our lunches and snacks, packed umbrellas because it was supposed to rain, packed the camera AND extra batteries to be really prepared. With everyone properly dressed for the occasion and good breakfast what could go wrong?! Well......The first animals we set out to see were the dolphins. The kids could purchase fish to feed them and pet them-I remembered cash for that:)!- so, as Georgia is leaning in to feed them, a beautiful dolphin came right up to her. I aimed perfectly to take the picture and click. My camera gave me very bad news...no memory card. I left it in the computer after putting Derek's permit picture in it. Major Boo! JD and Georgia were completely occupied by those cute creatures. They didn't see the slight panic attack I was having as I texted Aaron. He encouraged me to calm down and take the pictures with my blackberry and he would help me get them on the computer. So, I took pictures that day with my phone. They are not the same but it wasn't the end of the world. Sea World was amazing and I felt so blessed to enjoy it with them.

BUT my day was not over. I had a much needed meeting at church at 3:30, then Derek's game at 5:00, then bell choir at 6:00, 7:00 I picked Derek up and dropped him off at his bible study.- His youth leader was wonderful to bring him home so I could be sure JD and Georgia got to bed on time.

Saturday we all went with the youth and volunteered at the San Antonio Food Bank. We helped pack up 1,000 lbs. of food. That was from 8-1, I got about an hour nap, and then did parking lot driving lessons with Derek for an hour and a half, and then did concessions at a varsity game from 6-I came home at 11ish.

WHEW!!!!!

I relied on the Lord for strength and energy, and good timing to get it all done. I fell in Aaron's arms for comfort for my heart and my feet( I got a wonderful foot rub). And I still feel blessed to be a part of all of this for my kids, my husband and most of all, my Lord.

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!