As it turns out...

Something DID happen today! We added a new member to our family...introducing Wall-E. Hubby went to Target and bought a Roomba robotic vacuum! We've kidded about how neat they are but I never expected to own one. I guess we're officially a gadget-oriented family, huh? We charged Wall-E up and he's industriously working on the living room as we speak. Not only do we get a "maid" but also family entertainment! I'm afraid this will lead to even more laziness :o).

M. has been spending a lot of time in the bathroom today--he's had several toileting "successes" that we applaud loudly. While I am grateful that he's finally interested in toilet-training, it seems he has a new fascination for going through the cabinets. You can see the lovely result of him finding my makeup.

Later Days!
Kelly

Did anything happen today?

Yesterday, I listed several "happenings" that kept us busy. We very much enjoyed visiting with my parents & welcoming Baby Molly to our church family.

Today...I have nothing to report. And that's great! Much of my day was spent in my flannel pjs--a perfect way to spend a Saturday.

Unfortunately, my parents had to leave this afternoon to get back home and prepare for the Lord's Day. Mimi worked hard to get my laundry caught up :o) (not that I asked her to, by the way). I appreciate that so much; I also appreciate that she and Papa always have time to play with the kids when they're visiting. And thanks, Papa, for letting me access my FB account on your computer when mine wouldn't cooperate.

I hope everyone has a blessed Lord's Day. Now, I must start the round of Saturday night baths with my children.

Later Days!
Kelly

Today's Happenings

Big news for our church family! Our Student Minister's family just increased by one--Molly Joy was born this evening! She weighs 7lb.6oz., has dark hair, and is absolutely beautiful. Praise the Lord for the blessing of new life and congratulations to B, M, big brother W, and big sister A!

In other news, we've been enjoying Mimi and Papa's visit. Yesterday, we bought a new sleeper sofa (and a loveseat and recliner to go with it) and they got to try it out last night. In fact, they had a little red-haired visitor that insisted on sleeping with them. I took a picture this morning just to prove that we occasionally let him sleep in a bed!

Mimi and Papa then watched the kiddos during lunch while Hubby and I ate at an Indian restaurant with the Director of Missions Mobilization for the SC Baptist Convention. We're praying about taking a mission trip to India in the Spring. That's right--I might get to go, too :o).

Let's see, E. had an eye exam today and got new contacts, our whole crew went out to a great BBQ place for dinner, and then Hubby, E. and I got to go see the new baby. Wonder what's going to happen tomorrow?

Later Days!
Kelly

P.S. To clarify, M. DOES sleep in a bed, even though most photos of him on the blog show him on the floor.

Harvest Hope field trip

Today we took a homeschool field trip to the main location of the Harvest Hope food bank. My daughter E regularly works at our church's branch of this organization and it was time for re-stocking. We were amazed at the work this organization does to feed the hungry! Miss Pat's daughter, Kristy, works in the administrative office and took us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility.

This particular facility services 20 counties in SC. The amount of food that the staff and volunteers collect, process, and distribute is astounding. The photos show Kristy and 3 of my kids in the warehouse--and that photo does NOT do justice to the amount of food we saw today! Also shown are the kids helping unload a pickup truck of food at the church.

If you want to learn more about Harvest Hope and how you can help feed the hungry in SC (or how you can have their mascot, Cool Can Sam, come to an event) please check out their website at: www.HarvestHope.org.

Thank you to Kristy for the tour and for all you do for Harvest Hope!

Later Days!
Kelly

p.s. Due to circumstances, Nana and Gdad weren't able to come visit us at this time. We're very sorry that they couldn't come and we hope that they will be able to soon; we're praying for y'all back home. Thankfully, Mimi and Papa decided on the spur of the moment to join us so we will be able to visit with grandparents after all!

I'm still here...

Hi friends and family! It's been a few days since I've updated (as I've been reminded by several people). Unfortunately, we've had several funerals these last few days. Fortunately, we've also had several visits from friends!

In fact, we just got to see our friend Mark from back home. He's close by for some firefighter training and came to our church service tonight & went to eat Mexican with us afterward. ****Here's a shout-out to his family--Hello S, T, and O; we miss you!****

Moving on to a totally unrelated topic...I had to go to the dr. today to get some bloodwork done. I'm hoping my cholesterol numbers are down sufficiently that I can control it with diet and exercise. Of course, that's probably not done by eating Mexican food, is it? I've been trying to do better with the exercise lately; I've been sore for days because I "hula-hooped" too much with the Wii Fit :o). Working out with the Wii Fit provides not only physical activity for the individual playing, but a good dose of laughter for those who are watching!

Tomorrow, we're going to have more visitors (we hope)...Nana and Gdad are coming to stay for a few days! Maybe I can post some photos of fun stuff (or of Micah sleeping).

Later Days!
Kelly

P.S. The photo is of Micah at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant last week. I just included it so Mimi would forgive me for not updating my blog sooner :o).

Happy National Hugging Day!

I haven't been updating you as to what "holidays" are being celebrated daily with our devotion book, have I? Well, according to 365 Days of Celebration & Praise, today is National Hugging Day. The kids and I have thoroughly celebrated amongst ourselves (with N. being a reluctant recipient as always) and we're waiting for Hubby to get home from the office so we can initiate him. I hope you all celebrate appropriately with your family and friends :o).

As for today's photos, you can observe my two boys playing with Lincoln Logs, as well as K. doing her math at the table. Disclaimer: N. had already finished his math and was helping occupy M. I am NOT a mean old bat who would let the boys play while making K. slave over her work.

Tonight, we're hoping to go out to eat as a family (payday, you know). We haven't seen very much of Dad/Hubby this week so it will be fun to get out together.

Later Days!
Kelly

Snow Day!

Well, we got some snow! Not much, but some. The ground had a dusting of white when we got up this morning so the family bundled up to go for a walk around the neighborhood. We met neighbors out walking, too, since the local school district made the decision to close the schools today. By the time we got back, the little bit of snow in the yard was melted! It is still flurry-ing so we're enjoying the view.

Note about the photos: These are from our walk around the neighborhood--you can see our house (no longer with any snow in the yard, but some falling), our neighbor's tiny snowman, a palm tree with snow on it (a rare sight), the pile of clothes, coats, and shoes inside the front door (every mom's delight; please excuse the messy bookcase), and a little stinker showing his "paw" mittens.

For those concerned that the planets may be knocked out of orbit...yes, we ARE planning to go to the library like we usually do on Tuesdays (as long as it's open). That reminds me...I need to call and see if they are operating on their regular schedule. You know, in SC, even this much snow creates quite a bit of excitement!

Later Days!
Kelly

Hoping for Snow!

Well, here in SC there's a feeling of excitement in the air. The weatherman is predicting a little bit of snow for tomorrow! I know, I know...I've lived in SC all my life and these predictions usually come to nothing...but a girl can hope, can't she? As a homeschooler, it won't even mean a day off of school, but my crew will sure be excited to see some white stuff coming down instead of rain.

K. had her first Girl Scout meeting today. Anybody want to buy some Girl Scout cookies? I was a Girl Scout many years ago and loved it, so I hope K. enjoys it as much as I did. Even selling (and eating) cookies is fun. We've got to get her Brownie vest soon because she's already working on her first badge (one about animals).

For your viewing pleasure, yet another sleeping M. photo! I can't help myself; when he falls asleep on the floor I run for the camera now. Here, he's clutching his "Bob the Builder" toy laptop computer.

Later Days!
Kelly

The Lord's Day

In some ways, today was much like every other Sunday at our house. We struggle to get everyone awake, dressed, and out the door to church. In other ways, every Sunday is a new experience worshipping in God's House with God's people. It is always exciting to see what God is going to do. This morning, we accepted a new member into our fellowship! We also got to pray for and with a man and his family who are experiencing very hard times. Oh, and the preaching was good, too (and I'm not just saying that because I'm married to the preacher). Hubby is preaching a series of messages about the final days before Christ's return. We should all feel an urgency to pray for unbelievers and share the Gospel with them.

On a "worldly" level, it was a cold, rainy day in our neck of the woods. After coming home from church, it was nice to change into some comfy clothes, eat lunch, and take a nap before venturing out for evening services.

K. is excited because she will attend her first Girl Scout meeting tomorrow! The troop is a small one, comprised of homeschooled girls, so we feel that it will be a good "fit" for her (and everyone knows that homeschooled kids need socialization). That comment about socialization is one that brings a chuckle to most homeschoolers--our kids get plenty of socialization. In fact, like most families, we're busy and sometimes we have to guard against too much socialization!

I hope everyone has a terrific week!
Later Days!
Kelly

It's Me Again....

We're back from my niece's big birthday celebration back home. Now there's another teenager in the family! These whirlwind trips leave us breathless--we try to cram as much time with our families in as we can, and we leave feeling like we didn't see anybody enough! Still, we do what we can and very much enjoy our visits.

Back home means back to work. Much laundry to be done if we're to wear clothes tomorrow--and we ARE going to wear clothes tomorrow, I promise. Pizza delivery provided dinner tonight but I'm going to have to think of something for tomorrow. Kids have to have their "Saturday Night Baths." Menus and lesson plans and grocery lists all have to be planned out. You know, this career as a mother never lacks variety, does it?

I hope everyone has a terrific Lord's Day tomorrow! Drop me a line and brag about what God did!

Later Days!
Kelly

Guest Poster: N (age 12)

How do you do? N. here. Just like K. I have never done this before so bear with me here things could get ugly . There's not much going on today besides the picture-taking but K. has already done that so ... Oh well live and learn . As K. has already told you I hate to have my picture taken . It is a waste of my free time . In fact ... My mom says she dislikes it too . Maybe that's why ... But I will tell you something I do like : puppetry . Yes sir I do like puppets . I would rather have them take a picture of one of my puppets . It would save me a lot of trouble . I recently got a video camera for my birthday . I have been filming puppet shows with it ever since . Me and K. are even starting to do a regular show with our puppets and toys ... Don't ask ... later days .

Guest Poster: K (age 7)

Hi I'm K and I haven't done this before so don't be surprised if I don't have a very good topic. today at the church i go to[ Green hill Baptist] we are having our pictures taken for our "church directory". My brother N doesn't like pictures and he just said "pictures are evil". [silly isn't he?] My father is the preacher and he has been busy all week! No time for hooking up the Wii and playing Mario kart too... most days he can't Even eat dinner with us! bummer huh?. Well got to get off mom's laptop sometime. Bye! or as mom would say .......
Later days!
k

It's not what you think...

Yes, it looks like my son has his head stuck inside a vending machine, but I promise he's not really stuck. Tonight, we went out to dinner with our youth minister and his family at a local restaurant that has a selection of arcade games. After eating, the kids (our 4 and their 2)all occupied themselves by pretending to play the games while the grownups talked. M was fascinated with one of those "grab-a-toy" type machines and wanted to see what was behind that little flap where the toys come out. A. (youth pastor's youngest)was trying to be a little mommy and drag him out of it, but I assure you, there was never a time when he couldn't have gotten his head out if he'd wanted to. No need to call Child Protective Services, Okay?

Later Days!
Kelly

Monday

Monday always means back to the school routine for my crowd. We do our devotions together, read aloud from good literature, and then each child does assignments in science, history, math, and writing. Mix a bit of keeping-M-out-of-trouble and mom-doing-housework in there and you pretty much have our average school day. Now that E is in high school, there's usually something to be checked over with her in the evenings (i.e. Algebra!). She is also involved in our church's food pantry so some days she's at the church for a few hours, working on school assignments during lulls. Maybe someday, I'll do a play-by-play account of our day for the blog :o). We homeschoolers like to see that everyone else's days are as crazy as our own!

We had wonderful services yesterday at church--God is doing great things! Though we are seeing many blessings, there are situations that need to be bathed in prayer. It seems that Satan is attacking on so many fronts. I'm sure every believer reading this could say the same thing. Let's be faithful to lift our Christian brothers and sisters up in prayer.

Later Days!
Kelly

In Today's News...

I know...it's been a few days since I posted, but I've got an excuse...really I do. Today I finished up another course for my Master's Degree (yay!). It was a counseling course, so if you are in need of counseling, I'm now fully qualified to meet all of your counseling needs--NOT! Next up...a childhood education course. Should be interesting, as I'm trying to educate a few children of my own.

We had such beautiful weather today that we ate out...outside, that is! Little M was having such a good time in the backyard that he didn't want to come in for lunch so we all trooped out with our plates and ate sitting on the porch swing and the deck. Maybe not such a big thing, but a fun thing to do with the kids.

Lastly, E. and I attended a baby shower for our youth pastor's wife this afternoon. She's expecting a little girl in a few weeks (their 3rd child) and she got so many cute, pink things. Big sister A helped her mom open gifts and I think she'll be a good helper for her mom once baby arrives. The above photos are from the shower and I think you'll be able to tell that we had quite a spread of food! I was particularly impressed with the little "diaper-folded" napkins full of mints--so cute.

I hope that everyone has a terrific Lord's Day tomorrow!

Later Days!
Kelly

Wed.

How nice it was to go to church tonight!  After missing services on Sunday because of M's illness, we were both excited to get to go tonight.  The prayer list was quite long--it seems there are many dealing with various viruses and such.  My cousin, "Living Out Loud" is sick right now, in fact.
***Hey S!  Get well soon***

I'm sorry to admit that I have no photo for today's post.  To make up for that, I've asked E (my eldest--14 yo) to do a "guest post":

Hey, everyone!I thought Mom knew better than to ask me to do this, but I'll try not to scare you too badly.Mom wanted me to talk about the church's food pantry which I participated in today. A typical food pantry day for me begins with Dad saying "E, get up." Then comes me staggering down the stairs for a shower. The food pantry opens at 9:00 am, and closes at 1:00 pm. Inbetween those times my day consists of unpacking boxes of food, packing the shelves, and then bagging food for people who come in. Sometimes though, things slow down, and there isn't much to do. During those times I do schoolwork or talk with Mrs Pat, the Ministry Assistant. Many pleasant hours have been spent talking with her.

Well, there you go, there's my Wednesdays for you.

Adios, everyone!E.

Sick Day pt.3

Well, we had another bad night with little M. He awoke with a fever again so off we went to the doctor. During the long wait, the Motrin kicked in, the fever came down, and M began to charm everyone in the waiting room. He jumped off of chairs, told strangers about our cat, and generally made me feel silly about taking him to the doctor! I'm happy to report that he has a cold--well...not happy, exactly...but happy it's not anything worse. So, I'll keep administering Motrin and cough syrup, squirting saline up his nose and keeping those fluids flowing.

Thought I'd provide a couple of photos--including the obligatory "M asleep on the floor" photo and one of K showing M her dolls.

Later Days!
Kelly

Sick Day pt. 2

I'm sorry to report that M's cough has steadily gotten worse this afternoon. He is an unhappy, tired boy and I'm a tired mom. I just gave him some cough medicine and we're praying for a better night tonight. We'll be finding him a dr. soon if this yucky stuff keeps up. The good news...nobody else is showing signs of it!

Sick Day

Unfortunately, we're revisiting M's fever. During the night, he was uncomfortable because of the fever and the cough, so I spent the latter part of the night/early morning in the recliner, holding him. He slept well upright; me...not so much.

As a result, he and I are home from church, waiting for naptime (2-4 p.m., if anyone's interested). He's in fine spirits and hasn't let this cold(?) get him down, though he did cry a bit when everyone else left for services this morning. A side effect of being home on Sunday is that I have to smell the roast cooking in the crockpot and it's driving me crazy!

I'll try to update later on any changes in the patient's condition :o).

Later Days!
Kelly

12*3*09

Ah, Saturday...A day when you can be unmotivated and not feel guilty about it. Nope, haven't found that motivation yet. I'm making plans to be motivated, though :o). We're starting school back on Monday and hopefully, that structure and discipline will get me back on track.

Little M has been a little bit under the weather the last couple of days, but hasn't let it get him down too much. He ran a fever and had a cough yesterday; doesn't have the fever today. The cough, though infrequent, sounds horrible so it remains to be seen whether he (and I) will get to go to church tomorrow. If he still has the cough and it still sounds like it does today, I don't want to take him into the nursery and make the other parents scared of the plague. We both will be terribly disappointed if we don't get to go, though, because going to church is one of the highlights of our week.

I hope everyone reading this will enjoy worshipping with fellow believers tomorrow--have a blessed Lord's Day!

Later Days!
Kelly

Where's My Mo?

Is anyone else having problems finding their motivation? Since the hustle and bustle of Christmas, I have turned into a vegetable (and a lazy one, at that). I had an email today asking (jokingly) if I had died :o). Nope, just too sluggardly to even check email and post on my blog.

We had a good time during my parents' visit with us, though we didn't "entertain" them at all. We just spent time talking, playing with kids, eating, etc. They've been home a couple of days now and are wondering what happened to my blog now that I don't have the excuse of spending time with them :o). In today's photos, you'll see some of what's gone on the last few days--playing with M's train figures prominently. In other news, K had to see another specialist, who has recommended more tests, and has also outlined 2 possible courses of treatment. We're praying about these tests, their outcomes, and what treatment to pursue.

I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year's Eve and Day and will enjoy a Blessed 2009! My goals, as ever, include: more Bible study, healthier eating, more exercise, finish my Master's Degree, better organization, and to be the best wife and mom ever! Well, a girl's got to have goals, right? Actually, before re-typing the word "goals," it was "goats," which I have had in the past and no longer want to have. Anyone else have goals (or goats) for 2009?

Later Days!
Kelly