Memories...

Well, I figured if I went to chrome I could get my pictures to upload!  I wanted to post some sweet memories from over the holidays.

McKenzie was sad that she was missing out on family birthdays.  She asked me about doing something special for Mariah while she was here for Christmas.  A couple days before Christmas I took Matthew and Mariah out to finish their shopping.  It was a great excuse to get her out of the house so McKenzie and Madeline could set things up.  Mariah loves ALL things sweet (She comes by that naturally!), and McKenzie had the idea to do a snowflake themed hot chocolate bar.  She had every topping imaginable!

 Mariah was very surprised when we walked in.  Everything looked so pretty!

 My heart is happy when I see my children having fun with each other and loving each other!

                                       I sure do love these girls!

After Christmas Madeline went home with McKenzie for a few days.  They had a great time visiting and running around together!  I am so grateful that she is close enough to still get to spend time with her!

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                                                   ~Deer Season~
So, I used to think the whole hunting thing was strange and eating deer was gross!  Then I got tired of the price of grass fed beef! :o)  We were blessed last year with an entire grass fed cow put in our freezer!  It has been wonderful to have, because I sure couldn't afford organic meat at the grocery store!

Several years ago Marc and Matt started deer hunting.  We had some friends that showed them the ropes with processing it themselves.  It is kind of cool that they can now go out and kill a deer and several days later my freezer has meat in it!  (I have NOTHING to do with any part of it except cooking!)

                                               Malachi going on a hunt with daddy!

And.......... they came home with a deer!

This was a funny story.  The back of our property is wooded behind the barn.  Madeline told Matt she would go hunting back there with him.  She walked back there one evening and waited on Matt to come.  He literally walked back there, she whispered,  "Look over there."  He watched it until he had a good shot and he got his first deer of the season!   Easiest hunt ever! :o)

                                                  She is a pretty cute hunter!

Another night Matthew went hunting down the road from us.  He was determined to get another deer so he could give some meat to McKenzie and Daniel.  He came home with another one!  We were definitely blessed this year!

I can't believe that January is gone!  It has been a cold one and I am glad to see it go!  We have had sunny days in the 50's this week.  I am looking forward to spring!

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!

And the winner is....

                      Sandra!!!

We put the names in a hat and Matthew did the drawing! :o)

 If you will send your full name and mailing address to maynor7@windstream.net I will hook you up with Elizabeth so you can pick out your clip!

Congratulations!!!

Giveaway!!!

There have been lots of you on here and only five entries for the flexi-clip give away!  You have nothing to lose.... so enter! :) (And with so few entries a good chance of winning! )

I will draw a winner on Friday and announce it late Friday evening.  So hurry up and enter for your chance to win a FREE flexi clip!

It's A Giveaway!!!

 My friend Elizabeth with Lilla Rose asked me if I would like to do a giveaway on my blog.  I have never done one before, but here we go!

  She has sold Lilla Rose for a couple of years and gives a portion of her proceeds to missions.

 

 

 If you have never tried flexi-clips you should enter the give away!
The clips come in different sizes and styles.  They are a pretty alternative to the big plastic claw clips.  My girls have lots of hair and it is an easy way to get their hair out of the way but still look pretty and feminine.

The best thing about them is that they are easier on their hair than most hair clips we have tried.  

        The up dos are my favorite!

 

So, if you would like to win one of these beautiful clips, all you have to do is leave  a comment and sign your first name to it. If you would like to have more than one entry you can post about this giveaway on your website or blog as well as share about it on Facebook (Just make sure you comment to let me know that you have done so!) You can have up to three entries. If you post about this giveaway be sure to link back to this post and share Elizabeth's business page!

*This giveaway is open to readers who are not currently registered as Lilla Rose Customers since her goal is to spread the Lilla Rose love and give someone the chance to try the flexi-clips who has not yet had the opportunity.

The winner will need to register on Elizabeth's site as a new customer and she will send the free flexi to you.

Offer valid in the US only. Offer is for one free item $16 or less available on the Lilla Rose website. Offer good for new online customers only, one per household. No cash value or exchanges. Must be 16 years of age. Registering on the Lilla Rose website with a valid personal email address is required to take advantage of this offer. 

 

For readers who are not currently a Lilla Rose customer, she is also offering a Buy 3 get 1 free coupon.  All you need to do is register as a customer at www.lillarose.biz/zizzie78 and purchase 3 items. *Offer valid in the US only.  Offer is for one free item $16 or less available on the Lilla Rose website.  Offer good for new online customers only, one per household. No cash value or exchanges.  Must be 16 years of age.  Registering on the Lilla Rose website with a valid personal email address is required to take advantage of this offer.

So... there you have it!  Start entering!

Traditions

One of the many Christmas traditions that I have fond memories of from my childhood is making our Christmas Advent calendar. 

 

I remember each year being so excited as my mom would be drawing the lines on the poster board and I knew it meant a fun evening of making square calendar tags to put on each day.  She always had tons of stuff to use because she was such a crafty gal!  I on the other hand.... we usually have crayons, colored pencils, markers and lots of glitter!  I remember years ago using ribbon, but that was before I had all these little boys! :o)

I remember thinking that my mom and my brother did the most amazing calendar ornaments!  My brother's were always so elaborate! :o)  We don't get into it quite that much around here.  The kids had fun with a huge pack of glitter glue this year.  I think the boys just liked squeezing it all out!

To me the finished calendar is always beautiful!  I always pick one that each child made and tuck it away.  I realize now that I am older and my mother is gone, that you do those things for yourself.  My kids will wonder why I saved them all, but to me they are a memory from the past and a treasure!

LiFe is mEsSy...

when you have boys!

 

 

                            I'm not sure why I buy baskets.  Nice idea....

 

"Look mommy!  I'm just like Bubbie!" :o)

These two are quite the duo.  Why have a bowl of Cheerios when you can have the whole container!?

We have a sign in their room and it says:

Boy:  n-  "a noise with dirt on it"

#truth