late night ramblings...

I have had several  posts that I wanted to write, but my computer that has all of my pictures on it won't let me upload for some reason.  

So, tonight I am sitting in my bed with my laptop.  Marc bought me this Dell laptop last fall and it drives me crazy!  The touchscreen is very "touchy"! I am not very techy.  I love when things work and get very frustrated when they don't.

 

I was scrolling through some old e-mails and found this poster that Madeline sent to me shortly after McKenzie got married.  She wrote, "I hope one day we have what you and McKenzie had."  She is such a sweet girl.  As McKenzie got older she did become one of my best friends.  I probably talked to her more than anyone other than Marc.  I am very grateful for that time with her and I think because I know how quickly it goes, I am soaking up the time with my next oldest children.  Madeline has really stepped up to the plate.  There is a lot of responsibility in a large, busy homeschooling family.

 

 

 

McKenzie has been busy doing lots of different things since she got married. She is teaching piano lessons, sewing lessons, helping a busy mama with her little ones, and she has also been helping an older lady with some cleaning/organizing.  The lady commented on how she is the first girl that has really known how to clean.  She said she had hired many girls even older than her from the college and they didn't know how to clean.  That is so foreign to us, but it made me realize how important it is to train our children in practical things.  I thought about that today when I told one of my younger ones to do a task and when I went back it was done halfway.  I sent the child back and told them to finish it completely.  I always expected excellence out of McKenzie and it has paid off.  She is a very capable young woman now and I want that for all of my children!
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I know it is the end of January and most people aren't thinking of their New Year's goals anymore.  Every year Marc challenges us to write down some goals we have for the new year.  I am a perfectionist by nature, and I tend to shy away from making too many goals because I don't want to fail.  I am trying to learn that I can work on things and any improvement is a good thing.
One of my goals for the year is to do more field trips with my children.  I've already signed up for two really cool ones!  I did so much of that kind of stuff with my older kids, I feel like my younger ones don't get to go and see things as much.  I am going to try to change that!  I want to spend more one on one time with my little guys reading to them.  My fondest memories of home schooling over the years is the time spent reading out loud to my children.  Myles loves to be read to. He will sit and listen to book after book.  I want to spend more time reading my Bible.  This is a hard one for me at the stage that my family is at.   Most people read their Bible in the morning or evening.  Both of those times of day are extremely busy.  I end up reading short bits during the day. I don't always feel like I have long meaningful stretches of time to really focus on my reading.  I have to have quiet to focus and my household is anything but quiet!  Another goal that I set was to start doing some different exercises.  I have been a distance runner for years.  It is nothing for me to run 55-60 miles a week.   I love running!  It is as much for my mental health as it is for my physical.  I bought a kettle bell set and I have added a workout that I do three days a week.  Matthew told me this week that he can tell my arms look stronger. Ha-ha..  He may just be trying to make me feel good. :o)  The last goal I made was to try to cut our budget.  Marc and I did the Dave Ramsey course this past fall.  We are hoping to get our house paid off early and to do that we are going to the cash envelope system.  I have never been a big spender and we don't have debt except the house, but I have never given it much thought as to what I spend each month.  Groceries are probably going to be the hardest thing for me!
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Well, I probably should go to bed.  It has been a long day today and we have an early morning tomorrow. Hopefully I will figure out what is wrong with my desktop and I can upload some of my pictures.  Life has been busy!

Goodnight!