Great homeschooling post...

on this blog: That's just me!


It really is a must read!

Have you been....

longing for a wonderful retreat with quiet surroundings? I found just the place...here.

Hope you don't mind the "prison-like" ambiance.

Goings-on...

I have been sick with a bad head cold for the past few days but am feeling much better. Colton is sick now. Poor guy, he slept on the couch today with a good fever going. I love this time of year but dread the illnesses that come with cooler weather.

Jesse sold his guns recently and bought the girls a new video camera. It is a cute little thing, looks like an i-pod. Isn't he a nice daddy?! They have been having a blast with it. Filming movies is practically all that they do in their free time, especially Julia and Alicia.

Carlina and Alicia were baptized on Sunday evening. Our church had a Baptism service at a families house in the country. They have a pool (water is coooold!) and a huge yard. It was a thrilling experience. 5 others were baptized. Jesse got to put them both under and up.

School has started..

thus, I haven't been on my blog too much. It is going okay. Garrett says that he does not like lessons...especially handwriting! The others are plugging along. We went on a field trip today to visit a company that makes trolleys. They deliver them all over the country. Next, we ate lunch at Pizza Hut, then went to the park and then toured the Pizza Hut kitchen. We have about 10 families in our homeschool group. Lots of little kids and not too many older ones.

Oh, about our dog...his name is Jake. I gave him middle name (I always do) and it is Ruffian:)

New Dog...New Car!

Clunk....clunk...

That was the fateful sound we heard while driving down the hill off of the highway, headed toward Target. We were going to meet a family in the Target parking lot to get a free dog. Black smoke began to pour out of the back of the suburban and the clunking got louder. We barely made it into the parking lot. Jesse checked the motor and felt that finally the poor, old beast had bitten the dust (as in the head had cracked). It only had 430,000 miles on it...I mean, they just don't make 'em like they used to! Jesse went in to Target to call his mom, while I waited for doggy to make an appearance. Soooo...

fast forward 2 days and we now have a new (well, new to us!) 1999 Suburban and a new (also, new to us!) 2 year old bulldog/australian shepard mix. Enjoying both!

More fun photos

Katie had a wonderful time with her friend, Sarah. She took most of these photos.

Friends from Florida..

have been visiting for the past several days. We met Karyn and Sarah when we moved to Orlando in 2004. They, along with Karyn's hubby & Sarah's dad, Gary, moved down from Maryland, into a house 2 doors down from ours,about the same time as us. We became great friends and have really missed them. What a treat to find out that they were coming to see us!! Katie and Sarah are exactly 6 months apart and love to play dress-up, make movies, play with their stuffed animals, etc.

Constructive morning...

Thanks to my friend, Denise, I got 3 quarts of plum jam made today. She is the expert and took me through the process. I picked the plums and brought the sugar but she provided everything else. It is so tasty!!!!

Birthday season...

It is just around the corner for us...Sept-Dec are very busy for birthdays. Jesse and Alicia are in Sept, Julia and Anna, in October, myself in November and then Carlina and Garrett are in December....I am already working on gifts as I need to plan ahead. Alicia is getting a nice, cozy fleece jacket from Lands End and I ordered that with free shipping. She also wants a zoo tycoon game, but one thing at a time. I don't know what I will get Jesse, he has already requested "peace". I told him that I would try but that is a hefty order. Sept and Oct are also busy for my sister as her little girl, Sadie, turns 5 in Sept and her son, Brecken turns 9 in Oct. Those kids are growing up so fast and I am sad that I have to miss it all.

Fun evening...

We were invited over to our friends house tonight for a small going away party for their son (he is the 3rd of 13 kids). He is going off to college on Thurs. We had a wonderful time visiting and eating dinner and then I got to go horseback riding! It was great. I think that is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. I was around horses from age 8-17 and then had them for a couple of years when Jesse and I got married. I really miss having one. It was such a treat to be able to go for a ride with a friend on a gorgeous evening. The weather was perfect and the horse (named Hay Burner or HB for short) was nicely agreeable.

More about books...

Well, I am officially an Usborne book consultant. I got into it mainly for myself (to buy books for the kids) and don't plan on the whole party route. Hopefully I can sell them to my friends for a discount, too. They are just the most awesome books, I love them bunches. My kids are nuts about the art and cooking books, not to mention the picture searches, sticker dolls and history stuff. Here is my website (well for 12 weeks and then I will have to pay for it):

Robin's Usborne Store

Books...

When I was a small child, my mother would buy me a Little Golden Book each time we visited the supermarket. I had quite a collection...each inscribed with my name. Here is the neat story of LGB's. The price has gone up from the original .25 cents, but many of the originals are still around. Here are some of my favorites:

Fun things to do in Kmart...

1. Chase man carrying blue light
2. try on multiple Jaclyn Smith outfits, mixing and matching furiously
3. look for shopping cart with a a.seatbelt for baby b.wheels that work c.one without empty slurpee cups stacked inside ....finally give up
4. try to hide from Miley Cyrus and also give up...she is everywhere
5. enjoy a footlong at the snack bar

computer down..

but I am back now...the repair man was examining the ethernet cord and commented "Looks like some animal chewed on this"...yep, that would be March (the bunny). Thankfully he has not been electrocuted yet.

Anna is scooting all over and starting to crawl, it is so fun to watch. She is 10 months today, I can't believe it!

We had a couple of accidents this week. Alicia fell on the road (her friend's brakes went out) after being hit by a bicycle. Her left side was skinned up with a couple of deep wounds. She is doing better. I fell when I stepped in a big puddle of bubbles (Thomas had dumped his container) on the kitchen linoleum. I was holding Anna and she cut her face on the chair as I fell. I have a big bruise but we are both fine. Scary.

We had AWANA training last night. I will be in the nursery again this year but am excited to take the training. We recited the verses of the gospel wheel. Colton and Carlina will be helping out along with participating in youth group.

Colton drove over to Grandma's to help her out for a few days. I still can't believe he is driving by himself now.

I am leading our ladies Bible Study...Kay Arthur's How to Study the Bible in 28 Days. I am so excited about getting into God's Word and really learning new methods of study.

Can we trust God?

That was one of the points of the sermon today...how He takes the bad and turns it into good for us. Even the worst evil He can use for good. As humans we can't see how things are going to turn out, but if we trust Him, He will take care of us. Jesse and I couldn't imagine how things would turn out for us after losing our business, home, vehicles in a bankruptcy. It was scary and stressful. Sometimes I didn't think we would make it through. Here we are now....not unscathed, but here. We have grown through it all and can look back and be thankful for our experiences. We don't have wealth but we have a wealth of learning and hopefully, the humility to keep on growing.

heat wave

105 degree heat index today! It feels like Texas or Florida. I used to work outside in the heat all summer (in Texas) and it didn't bother me a bit. I still don't mind it but am very glad that I have AC. The 4 girls are swimming at the pool. The pool closes on August 22 which kind of seems like right smack in the middle of the heat. Oh. well.

Alarm...

A giant mosquito the size of a crow
was perched this morning upon my big toe
before I could swat him
he took a big bite
Now, I'm filled with a terrible fright

I'm tired and aching, I fear I'm sick
Did I get West Nile from that mosquito stick?
I took a nap and
still don't feel better
I hope I can come out from under the weather.

Colton

There is officially a 3rd licensed driver in our household. Colton got his intermediate license today (can't get a full license until 18). He also picked up some job applications. We are not sure what we are going to do about a vehicle for him yet. He has about $400 saved from mowing jobs, so he might take that and our old plymouth mini-van and trade it for something that has a heater. One kind of needs that for winter driving in Iowa.

Corn..

Regarding the previous post...I am not going through depression right now, but the pain of it is always present with me. It is a disease that I will never be free of, unless healed, but medication helps keep it at bay.

We put away 28 quarts of corn today at our friends' house. They also did 28. In actuality we did it all together and split it. It was a cool day and nice to work outside. We used their turkey cooker to cook the corn, then blanched in a big tub. We had 3 big tables set up to cut and put in bags. They have 7 children and were babysitting 4 others, so it was a pretty active scene.

Colton is playing with Garrett right now. Sometimes they get along so good, but usually not. Garrett loves it when Colton spins him around and wrestles with him. Both Colton and Carlina passed Driver's Ed...we plan on getting Colton's license tomorrow.

Depression...

What is depression to me?

It is a free-fall from God's side to the pit of hell (it only feels that way).

It is tightly clutching Jesus's hands as I drive, go to the store, attempt to function daily.

It is a bloody battle, with me clinging to life.

It makes my favorite foods taste like desert sands.

It shows me what truly matters.

It makes the numbers on my scale plummet.

It makes every little task monumental.

It narrows life down to me and God.

Clouds...

I love this devotion by Oswald Chambers:

"Behold, He cometh with clouds." Revelation 1:7

In the Bible clouds are always connected with God. Clouds are those sorrows or sufferings or providences, within or without our personal lives, which seem to dispute the rule of God. It is by those very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were no clouds, we should have no faith. "The clouds are but the dust of our Father's feet." The clouds are a sign that He is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow and bereavement and suffering are the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near without clouds, He does not come in clear shining.

It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials: through every cloud He brings, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in the cloud is to simplify our belief until our relationship to Him is exactly that of a child - God and my own soul, other people are shadows. Until other people become shadows, clouds and darkness will be mine every now and again. Is the relationship between myself and God getting simpler than ever it has been?

There is a connection between the strange providences of God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Unless we can look the darkest, blackest fact full in the face without damaging God's character, we do not yet know Him.

"They feared as they entered the cloud . . ." - Is there anyone "save Jesus only" in your cloud? If so, it will get darker; you must get to the place where there is "no one any more save Jesus only."

There is only Jesus...all else must fade away.....I suspect that is the reason we are here.

The heat is back..

and I'm not complaining. It will be winter soon enough. We went to church this morning and heard a wonderful message on communion. Communion is so important for followers of Jesus. Read here for a great article about it.

Jesse's sis got a new dog...a very cute Saint/Newfoundland mix. He will get huge! He is 5 months old, black and white and just adorable. I am still missing my Ollie and really not ready for a replacement (if ever). I really would like to be in the country before getting a dog, but don't see that happening any time soon. I think the kids (especially the older 3) were heart broken over Ollie and Julia said that she can't bear to go through that again.

I had a hard time with my oldest this afternoon. He has a ton of legos sitting in the basement and I brought up a few for the little kids. He went ballistic! He did not want them playing with them...I can't explain it. He does not play with them ever or care about them (legos). The little boys just love them. He is 17 and a handfull. My battles with him could be seen by some as minor but they can be consuming.

Waking the Dead..

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It explains life as a story...a fight...good versus evil. It tells us about the enemy's attack on our heart and how to comprehend that our heart is good (through Jesus). You can get it on Amazon right now for a bargain price. If you haven't read it, go get it!