On a Roll

Wow I'm on a roll, I've posted once a year for two years!
In my defense we had to turn off our home Internet, and getting to the library to blog with four children in tow is completely unrealistic. However I just got the best Valentines/Birthday/Christmas gift from my sweetie, a new iPad. So I'm back up ad running, sort of. I really need to figure this thing out.
Holding down the vocal search button, while the seven year old walks by complaining she can't find any Socks!, the (Siri?) informs her she can get to the Sox stadium easily but it's "pretty far away". Stunned Mae just replied, "uhhhhh, thanks I guess."
Ahhhh, adventures in technology.
I don't think this post will have many pictures if any, I have no idea how to do that and all my best pics are on my phone. I do have lots of wonderful pictures to catch everyone up on the wonderful things we've been doing this year!

I have to say since I've been homeschooling this has been the most fun year! Not only do I get to do all the fun toddler/pre K things with Timmy and Molly, but Mae and Liza's grade school curriculum has been so fun! We have been making leaps and bounds in our educations around here.

Not only that but family life has had a lot of goings on as well.
Tim is starting college again soon.
Mae's about to be baptized.
Liza is getting so beautiful, and prove me wrong day by day. Lol.
Timmy has turned full fledged boy, and is crazy about super heros, particularly batman and Larryboy.
Molly has had her first birthday and I have a TON of things to catch up on about her.


I have one little brother that moved home and I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him until he came back. Now I don't want him to leave again. Lol.
Another little brother come home from his mission and get married! So I have another sister! That's an entire blog post right there, fun stuff!
Another little brother who has left for his mission to Ohio.
Another little brother who is about to get his Eagle.
My sister is now going to college, and taking care of my sweet niece, such a brave gal!

So you see I have quite a bit to write about. I just have to figure out how to use this thing and find the time to do it!
My cup runneth over. What on earth am I going to do when life gets boring?

Little house, Big Love

I just realized that I have not formally announced that I'm pregnant with our fourth baby (due Dec 3rd.) Sorry about that! I guess the way life is if you post it on Facebook then everyone on the planet knows about it. :)

I have to say I was scared ay first, mainly because of the idea of four kids ages 6 and under, SCARY MAN! But Tim was so excited and giddishly happy that it caught on to me. Now here I am planning all the ways this labor and delivery is going to be different, calm, and a wonderful experience.

Tim on the other hand is having reality checks (enter my giggle here :p ). He's realizing we have a very small house full of furniture, and we just dont seem to fit as it is. Adding another person who may be small, but comes with its own line of clothing, bedding, bathing essentials, etc. (Not to mention these small people keep getting bigger.)

Without me even being prepared he starts sending me e-mails from work about bigger (more pricey) houses that we could move too. I was a little taken aback.

For me moving means a month of finding boxes and packing, saving for not only the deposit of the house but also the moving van and other expenses, and explaining to the kids why were moving further from friends, park, and dance class.

TOO MUCH HASSLE!!!!!

No thank you. I'll keep my ever widening preggo hips right here thank you.

Talk about heartburn. ugh.

I decided I could go about this one of two ways:
throw a tantrum and insist I was not going through all that stress. I can get away with tantrums right now, for some odd reason nobody but my mother in law bats an eye at it. I think they all know I'm insane while pregnant.

OR,


I could thank him for taking the incentive to go ahead and start planning for our family and its needs. He such a good provider, and he really was thinking of my sanity through all this, trying to find a house that had a "school room" for me.

I opted for the second choice. (yay me.) :)

I went along with the house hunting, and we prayed about it together. And even though he's still kinda keeping his eye out, I convinced him that I have the feeling were not supposed to move just yet.

I have friends and have read about people who had more children than we do living in just as small houses as we have. If not smaller, on account that they only had one bathroom and we have two.

I think if we can get rid of some furniture, rearrange, and basically simplify some things in our life, we can most assuredly fit another person to love in this little house.

My enthusiasm is still raging, as is Tim's! Were on number four!!! I'm so ready for another tiny around here. Ever since Timmy weaned himself and started doing his own thing, I've been wanting another cuddly one.

My main way of getting organized right now is getting the kids into a chores routine. That way after the baby comes everyone knows what their in charge of. The girls absolutely love it.

All I have to do is say, "Have you taken care of your juristiction today?" and they both jump up and say "Oh Yeah I need to clean the bathroom, today I want to use the cleaner on the mirror please Mommy." Or , "Oh Yeah I need to start a load of laundry!"

Hopefully when I'm having to juggle baby too, they will still be as enthusiastic. That way even though were in a teeny little house it will be a bit more organized, and we'll be able to appreciate all the "Big Love" around us.

Here's Hopin' !!!

Homeschool

I have hesitated to write a post about homeschooling. Just as the choice to homeschool is such a personal one, so is the way you go about doing it. I don't believe there is a best way to home educate. I don't believe that what I do is better than what anyone else does, nor do I compare myself to other homeschoolers wishing I was doing what they are. Every family is so unique.

(Look Mommy it's the world! But in my world the earth part is pink!)

Unfortunately the other day sitting outside of Mae's dance class a discussion arose on the choice of whether to homeschool or not. The mother who didn't look like she wanted to be bothered by the topic anyhow made a point that has been made by many people looking for a reason not to homeschool,

"You have two options, either put your child in a bubble, teach them how to handle hardships, OR let them out to discover how to handle these hardships on their own."


I believe that the hardships presented to children in public schools today should not be ones they should have to learn to handle until they are older, and having been in homeschool they would have learned the most respectful and productive way to handle these situations.

(Concentration!!!)


Now I'm sure that for lack of interest this nice lady has not done the research I have. And does not really know that homeschooled children tend to be able to speak comfortably with children younger, older, and adults because of not being thrust into situations where bulling and taunting would give them cause for self doubt.

I could go on and on as to why we homeschool and what the benefits are, but that would bore people.

(I consider this to be a bit of busy work, she can start and stop when she wants. Fortunately she thinks being able to read her colors is fun.)

I just love to teach my children everything I can, in ways that I find work for me as well as them. I mention myself because if I get frustrated with something then they most likely will too, then I'm setting myself up for failure.
I have found that I love to draw, I loved to illustrate what I'm teaching them, so I bought a dry erase board. But I needed somewhere to put it, so created the "school room". Its where all the books, crayons, paints, play-doh, insanity is stashed.
However when I started this venture I didnt want a school room. I wanted to learn outdoors! Reading on the couch, science in the kitchen!
Surprise for me, WE STILL DO THAT! School is everywhere for us! I just needed a spot to say, "Why yes we do say pledge of allegiance every morning, looking at our flag, and right next to it is a picture of Christ!



"To be honest, I am not sure what kind of homeschooler I am. I guess I can tell you what I am not.
I am not good with adhering to one particular method, and prefer to take what I like from many schools of thought and leave the rest." ~Small Things

( Eliza also loves writing her name, such a sweetie!)

Also taking into consideration that I've only been teaching homeschool for two years, I've got a long way to go. Middle School could throw a whole new curve at me. But I must say that these last two years have been the most fun rewarding experiences I've ever had.



The things I hope for the most for my kids is that;

My children will learn to have respect for their elders, love their siblings as best friends, keep their God foremost in their minds while deciding who they want to represent their country for them.
They will learn to be in control of themselves, recognizing that when we let our emotions get away from us we open the door to let seeds of self-doubt and temptation in side of our hearts.



I love the fact that I know my children's hearts inside and out, they tell me every little thing in and about their worlds. I dont have to pry, they know through homeschool that Momma and Daddy are the teachers, comforters, and supporters all in one package.

Peanut Butter

THE PEANUT SAT ON A RAILROAD TRACK,

HIS HEART WAS ALL A-FLUTTER.
ALONG CAME THE CHOO-CHOO TRAIN,
AHHHHHHHHHH!
PEA-NUT BUTTER!

Angel's Graduation

It's taken her eight years, lots of laughter, determination, tears, and love but she did it! My Mom-in-Law has graduated from college! Her received her B.S. in G.I.S. this January, and Tim and I were extremely privileged to be there!

Here she is with here very proud parents, Tim's Grandma & Pop-Pop.

Here we are with both Tim's parents. Being the spouse of a student is really hard, I know from experience. So this was a proud great day for Tim's dad as well!

Nonnies Birthday!

I think its a pretty big one for her,....the big 05, oh excuse me that's 50. hehe. Tim the kids and I all took her some flowers and chocolate cake and sang to her, I personally think she looks amazing for her age!!! Love you Mom!

When I went to the store for flowers I thought I could get her ones for a vase but those would die quickly, so we got her ones for the garden instead. Of course first thing she said when she saw that was, "yea, flowers I can kill myself!" lol!



Grandpa is my name spoiling is my game.



Uncle Daniel left his cake too close to Timmy, hehehe.

This look just says, "You gonna eat all that?"


Benefits to being 50;

You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room.

You sing along with elevator music.

Your eyes won't get much worse.

Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.

Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

Kidnappers are not very interested in you.

In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.

No one expects you to run anywhere.

People call at 9:00 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?"

People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

There is nothing left to learn the hard way.

Things you buy now won't wear out.

You can eat dinner at 4:00 PM.

You can almost live without sex but not your glasses.

You enjoy hearing about other people's operations.

You get into heated arguments about pension plans.

You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.

You can't remember who told you about this list.

You notice these are all in big print for your convenience.

Little Brother

Little Brother of Mine is in California on a mission, and he needs picture's and news so here's some updates for him to read! Love you David!!!


Tim is in summer school and very worn out, but going to have fun this week-end on a scout camp-out!


I'm good, Ive lost 21 pounds and I'm gonna look good for Philip's wedding in two weeks! (I'm more proud of myself for keeping my goal than losing weight really.)


Mae has grown alot which is a big deal for Miss Shorty. She got real brown cowboy boots and a red cowgirl hat, scarf, and cap guns for her b-day and hasn't taken them off in a week!


Liza is excited because I found her a Super-Girl cape and she's going to wear it to dance camp this summer.


Timmy has started scooting/army crawling and is soon on his way to real crawling. This makes Mommy sad. :( But he's known around town as the Stark HAPPY baby who is always smiling!


We all miss you, and last night for F.H.E. we talked about bearing testimonies, and the girls all agree that they want to come and help you on your mission by bearing their testimonies to everyone!


Hugs and Kisses!!! Love the Stark Family!