Well - Daddy's out of town. He went to Houston, Texas... Big Sigh! I wish I was there! My home town.... no fair! Well - the kids and I decided that a big fun Valentines Welcome home surprise would be fun. It was. The kids had a blast putting their hand prints all over... topped with glitter baby! Even Yoshi got in on the fun!
We set it up outside by the front door so that Daddy would be super surprised right before entering the house. It was a surprise. He LOVED it! We called the big gorilla balloon the Hillbilly Beast.

Well the weather's been great. The kids were starting to go out and play. It's still been cold - around 40 degrees, but still - no snow or rain! And then...

We had a HUGE snow storm. And that means everyone is bound the house. Time for a craft to keep the kids busy and mom sane! I thought tooth pics and marshmallows would be fun to try.

It was a hit! Peter did AWESOME. I had no idea he was so creative! He constructed a big long bridge.

I helped Jacob make a cube, but he was more interested in the tasting....

Needless to say - he was the first to finish all his marshmallows. Still - it kept him busy for a while.

Mary had a good time tasting a few too. But she spent a good time building a big long marshmallow snake. It was super cute. Hey Mary, tell you mom that your hair needs done!

Church Time

Well - Mary got her Spring dress early because I died when I saw the dresses Costco got. I had to grab one before they all got snatched. And when Mary saw it - there was no stopping her. She HAD to wear it on the very next Church day...... She felt so pretty. And Jacob was so handsome too. He wanted to wear a yellow shirt to match her twin sister! CUTE! CUTE! It's times like these that having twins makes all the challenging times worth it!

Augh! What a cute little site! Zach and Elisabeth! They are so sweet to each other. Zach loves going to church to pass the sacrament. And Elisabeth is always so sweet and loving to her big brother, Zach. It's fast Sunday - and I know that Elisabeth will be sharing her testimony. She loves to bear her testimony and share her sweet feelings with the ward. I LOVE it.

Where's Jessica and Peter, you ask? They went to church early to save the family a bench. I'm so grateful for them to be willing to do this for the family. Otherwise we'd never make it in time to get a whole bench for our family....

Well - it's been a busy week. A fun week. I've enjoyed it! I look forward to the weeks ahead. Spring time is right around the corner. And I can't wait. Lots of field trips are in store. And blooming trees and flowers are coming. And the sun is about to start shinning more often. So much to look forward to!

Well I pulled Peter out of Kindergarten and starting on Monday he'll be homeschooling too. He's so excited. Since I started homeschooling at the beginning of the school year every single day Peter would beg me to take him out too. I didn't because amongst all my other kids I really didn't feel confident enough to teach a 5 year old to read...... But when all is said and done - it will still be higher learning with all the one on one w/ me verses what he gets at school.

I love my family. My ways of thinking have come a long way since this whole homeschooling adventure. My horizons have widened. My ideas have grown and blossomed into something great. And instead of just trying to get through the day to day stresses of motherhood and a stay at home mom I have found such a better way of life for myself. I never knew it I could feel so fulfilled as a mom and person.

Anyway - Just thought I'd jot down my feelings. I'm so excited to have Peter home with me. A new beginning even more!

Our First Field Trip

We had our first field trip of the year last week. We went to the LDS History Museum. It was so fun. First we had a picnic on temple grounds. Doug was so sad that he couldn't meet us for lunch - esspecially because he works just across the street from Temple Square.


We let Zach play hookie from school so he could come w/ us. He loved being with us instead of school...


After seeing how the pioneer's lived in their very little log cabins - the kids were very grateful for living in today's time!


Zach gave a very inspirational devotional.


Some of the kids put on a play for me. I loved being the audience.





Jessica was the narater - and Jacob was a little lamb. He really got into his part.



Mary was the angel and Elisabeth was Mary.













There was lots to see, lots to do, and not enough time. We'll definately come back for another trip to this place for some more fun and learning about our church's heritage.

I love the mothering skills in the Animal Kingdom.

Mothers are always there beside there children.

Always loving. Always protecting. Always teaching. Always nurturing. Always watching.

The mothers are never too far away. They are always aware and are always looking out for the protection and safety of their young.

Knowing that the predators are watching. And waiting. And ready for the moment when their children are alone in the world.

Animal mothers know that they can't send their young out in the world until they are fully prepared and ready to account for thier livelihood.
They won't send them out until they know their young are able defend themselves against the dangers that will be theirs.

Does this mean the animal young are immature and not socialized and weird?

NO! It means that when they do go out to start their lives on their own.... they are fully ready in every way. And they will repeat the same skills to their young someday.... the same way they were taught. Creating a perfect order of things.

They have the confidence to be what they were destined to be.

I have a little boy who LOVES pensils. Where once I had about 25 -25 became 2. I don't know where they got to... and I don't know where to look other than the all the places I normally look. Well - personally I loved having an excuse to make more pensils! As long as I don't see the markings on the wall, or the furniture I'm Ok with missing pensils.
Well, so I found yet another cute pot holder I'm using for my new batch of pensils. Pot - filled with rice. And pensils with fall colored flowers! I love it. I love having pensil holder options. And I love ... I love..... I love me! Hut - Susan - that's for you!

I found the cutest thing ever the other day. I found this adorable plant holder... but I'm using it as a pencil holder. It's our center piece at the kitchen table during school hours. It dec's the table out and makes writing fun! I know it's corny, but cute things like this make things like school so much more exciting for me.



It's been a week now since we've started school. I was gonna start on July 13th, but summer was beginning to be too chaotic for me and all my kids... so I wanted to start school early to get a little structure and order back. It's just part time school - about 3 hours a day. Journal time, Piano practice, Math drills, english and reading, Pre-school when the twins aren't napping, and even a little one-on-one special ed for Zach. The kids love ... LOVE it! They love the order, the activities, the work, the writing....
It's been a very nice way for me to just do a couple hours a day to ease into major all-day schooling when it starts in September.

I think I'm gonna LOVE doing school at home!