Going from crazy to insane. That is how it feels during November around here. Being of a phlegmatic personality (laid back and preferring a slower pace) it gets a little rough, but the nature of the busyness makes it all worth the exhaustion.

The first week of the month may have been my favorite. Caleb (my nephew) graduated from Marine boot camp and got to come home on leave for a few days. The kids and I were able to make the trip up to my sister's to see him. Then he rode home with us and attended youth with Jeff. I'm so proud of him and my niece Alex, who just became an Airman as well. However, I'm still having a hard time with them being so far away. I miss them like crazy! Isn't he a handsome Marine?




Jeff and I were invited to be a part of a couple of youth retreats coming up in February and March. Jeff will be doing a "talk" at the boys retreat in Feb., and I get to do one in March with the girls. We spent a Saturday at training one weekend. The best part is this is taking place in our home town at the church where both of us went when we were younger. Its always fun to go back 'home' and see childhood friends and acquaintances. It may not seem like much, but it is where we grew up and started our lives together.


A week ago, Thursday, my handsome baby boy turned SIX! I'm a little baffled as to how this has happened. Despite his intelligence and large vocabulary, I still tend to think of him as a little guy. I don't have any actual pics of his day. Sadly, I have to admit it was a pretty rough day. Caity was exhausted and we all felt it. Thursdays have turned into our hard days of running too many errands in town. I'm working on getting that fixed. His 'party' turned out great! He chose Shogun's in Fayetteville. When I told him we could only have two friends come, he was cool with that. I was cool with getting sushi and having all their leftovers. Ha! He is really growing into a great boy. He definitely has a love language of physical touch, but I won't complain. I love all his hugs and kisses...even the ones meant to keep him out of trouble. 


The next morning we packed up early and dispersed the kiddos so that Jeff and I could go with the youth to the Arkansas District Youth Convention. I think it was one of the best ones in several years. The speaker was interesting yet challenged the kids to live passionately for God with out being overly emotional. I had some great discussion Friday night with the high school girls. Of course we also had a whole lot of fun. We shopped, ate, shopped, ate, went to service, ate some more, slept a little, ate, went to service, ate, shopped, went to Starbucks and ate again. Seriously, I thought I was going to die from eating. I'm pretty sure that isn't good. Oh well, the weekend was incredible!! I love these teenagers!!

I forgot to mention I was almost carried off by a giant gorilla. It was quite frightening, if you can't tell by the picture. We found some of our Warren crew while we were there. That seriously made our night. Love them so much!!

 

Normally Christina helps with worship, but this years she got to be with us the whole time. I'm going to admit to my selfishness and say, that made this trip that much better. I'm not going to lie though. The worship wasn't quite the same. This girl can SING!

 

This week has been spent enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday. We aren't finished yet. One more meal full of dressing and desserts with our extra "family" tomorrow. Our husbands refer to us as the sisters because so many have mistakenly thought we were. I love these ladies!! Great times will follow.

 

It may be crazy busy. It may be verging on insanity, but when life is this full I am reminded that its a blessing. None of this busyness is a negative stress...well working the football games can be at times. Ha! Notice I didn't talk about those. Yeah, I'm going to try to put them out of my mind until next August. They are a blessing as well. Otherwise there would be a lot of kids, including mine, who would have a hard time coming up with money for Church camp and other important events.

 

Now to bring on the Christmas season....also known around here as Bowl Season..... Yippee!!

A little slow...

What happened to reviving the Blog??? Well, reality, and me being technologically challenged. We have a desk top that isn't hooked up to the wireless we snag from the parents. (why pay for it when theirs works just fine, right? Ha!) Anyway, this has hindered my time for actually blogging. Add to that the fact that my children carried off and misplaced the battery charger for the camera. As much as they love seeing their faces on here, you'd think they'd help me out a little. However, my husband just pointed out a very simple, obvious fact. I can blog from my iPad. Duh!!! Hello, my name is Mandee and I've recently joined the new millenium. Yay! Now blogging will be all kinds of convenient. Be ready. Here is a pic of my knight in shining armor just because he made my night and besides, what's a blog without a pic?

Soccer, Sickness, and Stories

Soccer season is upon us. It only last two months, but it is very time consuming when all four play. I feel like we have a new home away from home, but they sure are cute out there kicking the ball around!

Edana's shot is a bit blurry. Sadly, I haven't seen the boys play yet. Aidan missed his last game due to sickness, and I've had to coach or run kids other places during Declan's. I will get to see a little of his tonight. Pictures will follow! Edana's
is very good! Rileigh's team may need a new coach... I forgot how hard it is to get little girls to play nice with each other. She is doing great though. I'm noticing improvement with each game. I have a few others who are learning and improving as well. That is always fun to watch!





Last week, three out of four kids were sick in a span of two days. We decided that a fun learning trip was needed after being stuck in the house. Where did we head? The NWA mall of course! Edana kept track of the time that elapsed in each store. Aidan measured the distance, in steps, between stores. Declan checked price tags and figured out the change that would be needed, and Rileigh searched for shapes.

After all that learning application, we had a whole lot of fun! The play area at the mall has been a long time favorite...especially in the middle of the day on a week day. We were the only ones there of course.

Despite all the sickness and playing around, we still managed to stay on track with our lessons and earn our first 6 week break. We kicked off our week off last night with a "publishing party."  A friend who taught 5th grade for many years gave me this idea last year when I was having a hard time getting Edana to write. 

Both of the oldest two had narration for their first units, so we put her idea to use. It was great! See how proud they are?

Edana wrote a short story about a brother and sister who enter a world where everything is made of candy. (It was such a great idea that Declan wanted to hear more).

Aidan wrote and illustrated a silly story about two clowns who work at a circus. They both did a wonderful job!

Revival of the Bloggist?

Where on earth have I been?? Oh yes, this is where...

Okay...that may be a little vague.

 

However, its true. Most of my days are spent at home or church. This fall it would be appropriate to the soccer fields, but that will only last a couple of months. Thank you, Jesus!

 

I realized that I've been busy taking care of everything else that I've totally let this go. Some may think that is no big deal. I am taking care of all the good things, and this is just a blog, right? Not really. This blog is important for several reasons. It is an interactive diary of sorts, a record, of my family's growth. It is a place to share all the stuff that won't fit on facebook, and its an opportunity for me to develop my writing. Therefore, I am intent on rekindling my blogging passion.

 

 

Its been two years since I blogged last. As you can imagine the kids have grown a ton! Even the pic on my header is out dated. We'll have to get around to family pictures soon, I hope. Who knows, we may even have them done for Christmas photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edana is at that, "don't blink or you'll end up with a teenager" stage, complete with new hair.

 

Declan had to write three sentences about himself the other day. They were, "I have a good imagination. I am smart. I play a lot!" That is a pretty great summary of himself.

 

 

 My Aidan Jeffery, is so big. He will be 8 in a week and two days. He is already tall enough that he comes just above my shoulder.

 

Miss Thang! AKA Rileigh Cait has grown the most noticeably as she was only two when we moved back to NWA.

 

Jeff and I are long finished growing. I have shrunk quite a bit, but hopefully not in height! All our growing now will be spiritually or muscle growth. I'm planning on both!

 

We've added a few members to the family. Thankfully, I didn't have to give birth to them! Meet Wemmick (anyone know where his name came from). He is Edana's dog, and sometimes mistakenly thinks he has me for a back-up. I will honestly tell you our relationship is one sided. The lounging felines are Luke (on the left) and Cinnamon AKA Cinna (on the right). Luke is Aidan's cat. Thus the name. I voted for Toothless, but he had to have a StarWars name. Cinna is, well, we think he belongs to Bailey. I'm not sure that Shawn knows that, so he lives here. He has picked Rileigh and I as his girls. Until recently we thought he was a she. Then we realized she had boy parts. Surprise! Guess we didn't look closely enough. Ha!

 

  To say life is goo would be an understatement. To say it is full would be likewise. We are thoroughly enjoying this new stage. The kids are somewhat independent, yet they need us in new ways. Its great to be able to really discuss the Bible with them along with many other just day to day things. Its also pretty great to take a nap with Rileigh while the others quietly entertain themselves. This girl loves a good nap!