Above are some shots of the kids in the snow today and enjoying hot chocolate after. We went to grandma's house to interupt her day for a few hours. The kids had a blast!




Here's a shot of the kids making a welcome home banner for Brandon. He will be home from the March for Life very early tomorrow morning. The kids are VERY excited to see him! Samuel came down this morning and said "where's Brandon?" and "I want to see Brandon". It was very cute.

Too fast and too slow

Well - it's still not February. This baby can't come soon enough. Why must the last weeks of pregnancy drag on? I suppose it's so that you don't care about the pain and work of labor just so the baby is out! It was an eventful week in the womb for baby Mary. She's been sideways, upside down, and is now head down (in the proper position). She had an ultra sound that she didn't particularly care for but it sure eased her mommy's mind. :) Now it's a waiting game. When a few days feels like a few years. It's just too slow!

So what's too fast? Well, Brandon leaves tomorrow morning for a trip to Washington DC. He's attending the March for Life with some friends. Too fast is the fact that 15 years ago right now I was praying he would just be born (his birthday is also in February). And now, he's off on a trip with no parents or grandparents. Why must the time from birth to teen and I imagine to adulthood go so fast? I think they should be born and be little for a lot longer. So off he goes without his mom to remind him of everything. Of course he has a cell phone so I can harass him that way. ;)

Please keep Brandon and all those traveling to DC in your prayers. What wonderful warriors those without a voice have in these young people. God bless them!

The Waltons

A friend of mine suggested that I rent The Walton's for the kids to watch. I never watched it as a kid so I didn't really know what it was about. Just that they had "alot" of kids. When my kids saw the Walton kids they immediately started counting. Here's Katie's commentary:

"1,2,3,4,5,6,7....7 kids! That's alot!!! Look at them all!" a pause for reflection "We're going to have 7 kids too!"

The show starts out with the eldest son, John Boy, reflecting on his childhood. Could there be anything sweeter then when he says his dad always said there's "always room for one more". What an awesome message! Why aren't there more shows like that? Most of the kids didn't have shoes or toys, they shared whatever candy or special things come their way with eachother, they look out for eachother. Hannah said "wow - they're all so good" LOL. Of course it's just a TV show and the kids may or may not have really acted like that but I'd rather watch that with my kids than anything else that's on prime time now.

So a big thanks to my friend Mike that recommended this show. What a great idea! I think there's 9 seasons or something. That will take us through for a long time. The Little House reruns were getting old.....

If you give a kid some juice.....

Just for fun I spent the last hour or so timing to see exactly how long the kids can go without asking for something. I was trying to wash dishes and pick up and here's how it went.

1:39 pm - Jackson asks for juice

1:41 pm - Jackson receives juice and asks to watch TV - I say no

1:43 pm - Jackson sits at the counter watching me wash dishes and cries because he's afraid the dishes are going to drown

1:44 pm - 1:49 pm - Jackson cries non stop each time I put a new dish in the sink to wash.

1:50 pm - Jackson asks to watch TV and I say no

1:55 pm - I finally sit down at the computer and Jackson spills his juice.

Now - the above is just Jackson asking for things. In the midst of this Samuel requests juice, vitamins, a snack, a certain song to be played on the CD player, to watch TV. Katie asks for a snack, to play the computer, tells me Owen is being mean to her. The dog whines to go out and barks to come in. Hannah and Owen ask for a snack, to play the computer, to watch TV. Brandon is hiding in his room peacefully and I'm jealous.

Well -they're coming after me again. I better hide while I can.

When are you due?

Hannah and her friend CiCi


Sammy and Meghan


Owen and his friend Stephen

Katie and her friend Hailey (Meghan's big sister)

It's the big question - "when are you due?" It's almost always followed with "is this your first baby". The answer is always shocking to the person inquireing. I answer "no, this is my seventh". YOUR WHAT? The reactions vary but are almost always that of disbelief. I do get the occasional "you're so blessed" or "lucky you" but usually it's questions about how I keep up with laundry, cooking, dishes, activities, am I sane? Sometimes the conversation gets around to the fact that I homeschool too and then people's jaws just drop to the ground. Of course following those questions is the question "are you done?" I'm often tempted to say "done with what" but usually I just say I don't know. People are funny.

Above are some pictures from the homeschooling roller skating *party* that we went to yesterday.

Sticker Boy

Sammy loves stickers. So here's a shot of him covered in them. He also got a new hat this weekend and there's a shot of him wearing that. Very cute!

What about the prom?

One of my best friends started homeschooling this week. She pulled her children out of school during Christmas break. She's been getting so many of the same comments we received when we started homeschooling 6+ years ago. I had forgotten about many of them. One that always strikes me is the "what about the prom" argument. As if it's realistic at all to leave your child in a bad school situation for many years simply so they can attend the prom! It's just ridiculous! Can someone please tell me the moral value of the prom? Is it equal to the time my older children spend with their younger siblings everyday? Is it equal to the time I spend with my children just hanging out, reading, watching a classic movie on a rainy afternoon. The time I don't spend on homework? The evenings spent playing board games and the ability to stay up late doing so because we don't have to get up for school the next day? What about the fact that I eat nearly every meal with my children? They get healthy, homemade meals that are eaten after properly thanking our God for the blessings we have been given. What about the rosaries that are said several times/week in the mornings when we're fresh. Or the morning offerings that come out of a four year old's mouth. We get to share that together. Even better is when dad comes home for lunch and we're all there. If we have plans that evening at least we get lunch together. So, what about the prom? I don't think they'll miss it.

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