Catchin' Up with Us MeYeR's

OK, so it's been almost 2 weeks again...*sigh*...one of these days I'll get a good schedule going with posting regularly. Until then, you'll just have to bear with me : ) We've had a quiet few weeks which is nice! Alec has come and gone this week and we enjoyed his visit. A week or so back, we took a nice nature walk and one day Tracy took the boys to the park and got some nice pictures. I'm gonna share them and then move on, so consider this a record short post...LOL! Hope everyone on the other end of this is healthy and happy. God bless you all!
Blessings,

~K~

David is getting so tall~ 12 years old

Patrick is such an outdoorsy boy~ 11 years oldDerek loves to pose for pictures, as long as you take a silly face picture, too~ 4 years old

It's the Little Things

I've discovered as I make this journey through life that it's not the HUGE things that make or break your day, week, month or LIFE...it's the little things. So in celebration of the little things, list a few things that made your day, week, month or life sweeter or brighter.

• I successfully made a trip to the El Paso Airport without anything exciting happening...LOL!
• Although we did not have a regular school week because of Alec's visit here, we DID do something educational each day, and that's something I'm proud of : )
• I finally got those fun games that I've been trying to get for weeks! Fluxx, Martian Fluxx, and I ordered Nano-Fictionary since they didn't have it in stock.
• It's Dan's birthday...and although as we age, birthdays aren't as important as they used to be, they are still special days to remember how much we love someone.
• Derek learned to pump his own swing this week...it's a bittersweet feeling. So big and still so small. : )
• My parents will be home from Ohio soon and they will be able to start using the computer she got for her birthday...can't WAIT!!

I like the idea of this kind of post. If you do too, then post YOUR little things. I'm making it a goal to be more positive this year, join me!

~K~

Simple Woman's Daybook

For TODAY... February 15, 2010
Outside my window... The sun is shining brightly and fluffy little clouds are floating by lazily. The forecast says that it will get up to 52 today...and that sounds good to me!
I am thinking... that getting up early with Dan (and STAYING UP) is a great plan...now to make it a habit.
I am thankful for... a hubby that not only meets my needs, but fulfills my wants, too. When I mentioned that I needed a few clothes, he didn't just say, "OK, see ya later and don't spend too much money." He offered to come with, picked out some great new pieces and was honest about what looked good and what wasn't quite right. Is he great or what?!?
I am wearing... some of the aforementioned new clothes. Jeans, a new pick graphic tee, socks and tennies.
I am remembering... the chapter or Romans I read this morning in my devotional time. We live by GRACE and not under the law.
I am going... Nowhere today, hurray! Maybe a picnic later this week, a trip to the library soon and all the usual stuff, but nowhere today : )
I am reading... "Learning to Love, When Love Isn't Easy", and Romans
I am hoping... that our homeschooling days will keep up with our new schedule while still allowing us the flexibility that we all enjoy.
On my mind... I need to flip the laundry...I know, really profound, right?
Noticing that... the boys get loud when they play together...my goodness!
Pondering these words... Romans 6:14-15 For sin shall not be your master, because you live not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?? By no means!
From the kitchen... Bread is rising and I've got SEVERAL dozen cookies laying all over the counter. For the rest of the week...

• Monday~ Stuffed peppers and salad
• Tuesday~ Baked chicken, stuffing and peas
• Wednesday~ Tacos with chips and salsa
• Thursday~Fish Fillets, Roasted Potatoes and carrot sticks
• Friday~ Pizza, chips and veggies with dip
• Saturday~ Leftovers/Fend
• Sunday~ Roasted Chicken, Mashed potatoes and Corn

From the learning rooms...the Patience copywork book we are all working on, alphabet lapbooks for Derek, our map is back from being laminated, (hurray) and we are working on tweaking our new schedule. ABeka from 9-11 M-Th mornings and Sat afternoon, My Father's World T and Th afternoons, Community service on Monday afternoons, Friday is craft class and the Library, Wednesday is for extra practice, projects or reading. Phew, that's a busy schedule. If you are interested in our homeschooling adventures and those of several other homeschooling families, come on over and visit us at www.homeschooledhooligans.blogspot.com
Around the house... floors are waiting to be swept, dishes are waiting to be washed, boys are waiting to be taught and letters are waiting to be written...guess I better get started.
One of my favorite things... and From my picture journal... Men in the kitchen : ) I love men that cook, bake or even just hang out in the kitchen...Dan and 'Shua baked cookies yesterday while Lauren worked on schooling and I made pizza.

If you enjoy this post and want to read others like it, head over to Miss Peggy's site and read other daybooks by more women seeking the simple life.

It's the Little Things~Family style

I've discovered as I make this journey through life that it's not the HUGE things that make or break your day, week, month or LIFE, it's the little things. So in celebration of those little things, list a few things that made your day, week, month or life sweeter or brighter.

• Dan says, "I made a cookie recipe" He combined several oatmeal raisin cookie recipes to make the ULTIMATE cookie recipe.
  
• Kristy says, "I enjoyed movie night at home with JUST US MEYER's this week, and it was great!"
  
• 'Shua says, "I got a job!"


• Lauren says, "I got a fancy new haircut." (it's really pretty!!)


• David says, "I enjoyed gymnastics and getting a new rip in my hand that bled.' (BOYS, bleck!)


• Pat says, "I got to spend the night with James." (err, Pat is grounded right now and couldn't think of anything nice to say, so I reminded of the fun he had at James' house...LOL! Writer's prerogative, right??)


• Derek says, "I stayed up late on game night" At least, that's what I think he said...LOL!

I like the idea of this kind of post. If you do too, then post YOUR little things. I'm making it a goal to be more positive this year...join me!

~K~

Catchin' Up with Us MeYeR's

My Oh My, what a crazy, hectic, wild few days we have had!! Life just spirals out of control some days, doesn't it? Life just flies by while we are standing around, scratching our heads, and trying DESPERATELY to figure out what just happened...HA! Among the highlights of the last 10 days or so...

• Dan is still working...we are so grateful. When he got assigned this job in Tularosa, he said he would be surprised if it lasted until the new year. Here it is the middle of February, and God is still providing him with work....AMEN!
• David is doing so well in gymnastics that the coach is starting to pressure him to compete. While this annoys me since we have made it perfectly clear that he does NOT want to compete, this gives D a chance to learn to say no and mean it...a valuable life lesson : )
• Pat is working very hard on his self control and starting to want 'privileges' enough to want to take on 'responsibilities' so that he can have them...and that's HUGE for him! (We are also cutting HFCS and Red Dye #40 completely out of his diet and are seeing some of the benefits of that for him...and he's finally old enough to understand why we are doing it, and not be too annoyed by it, YEAH!!)
• Derek has started recognizing letters well enough that he is starting to ask what things spell, and can consistently spell his name with his refrigerator letters. His coloring is improving by leaps and bounds and I know that soon he will be writing letters on his own...WOW!
• 'Shua and Lauren made it safely to IL and back to have a nice visit with friends and family. Call us all selfish, but we sure are glad to have them back : ) We had an adventure both dropping them off at the airport and on the way to pick them up. I won't bore you with retelling the story but if you want to read about it, it's here. As for on the way to pick them up, ironically it was raining again and I asked Dan to go with us since I didn't want to get stranded on the way to pick them up. He graciously agreed even though he really needed to be in bed and away we went. Along the way, we saw several cars in ditches, since no one knows how to drive in poor weather down here. Before long, the car in front of us started driving erratically and within 5 minutes had managed to do 3 spins crossing all lanes of traffic and smash into the median right in front of us. Surely the Lord protected us form being any closer to him or we would have been hit as well. Then just about the time our adrenaline wore off, we hit a puddle and the serpentine belt came off...AGAIN! Let me repeat, I AM SO GLAD Dan was with us. He pulled off the highway, put it back on and off we went, but there was no entrance ramp back to the highway....grr! So we drove in circles, got lost and then had to backtrack once we stopped for directions. We managed to pull up to the airport exactly at the time they landed which was odd since they were due to land some 40 minutes before then. Thankfully the ride home was uneventful as we listened to them tell us about their adventures from IL. Oh my...what a wild ride! The boys are still talking about it : )
• Me? I got my long awaited kitchen aid mixer this week. Thank you Tax Refund! I am also going to order the grain mill attachment so that I can grind my own flours...I am such a dork, but I'm so excited I feel like clapping and jumping up and down every time I think of it!
• Speaking of the tax refund...we have really enjoyed it this year. All the boys have new games or systems. David bought a PSP and can play games with Dan now, Pat got new headphones and several new gadgets or gizmos for his birthday DSi including a carrying case, an external flash kit and a zoom lens. Derek got a new DSi and a game. The family got a PS3 and several new controllers....so I think we bought all our technology for the year...LOL! Credit cards got paid down or off, everyone got new shoes or clothes...some got both and we filled our nearly empty cupboards to overflowing again! I got 2 new cartridges for my cricut machine, plus several other scrapbooking items, Dan got his long awaited electric razor and I bought several months worth of inks and photo papers for the computer printer. Dan's motorcycle is in the shop for a tune up and we will still have enough money to order next year's curriculum. Is God good to us or what? Not that God isn't good to us when we don't have much money, but I want to give extra praise where it is due. The Lord provides for our needs...and our wants. We even have some money set aside for taking care of others...now THAT feels good!
• Speaking of caring for others, I just want to give a little shout out to my Sister-Girl Karen. Last night she ordered pizza for the WHOLE game night crowd which includes....Karen and Tyler, Charlie and Devin, Kelly and Jared, Robert, Tracy and Little Izzi, 'Shua and Lauren, Jodi, Aaron, James and Titus, plus us 5 MeYeR's....just so I could have a break from kitchen duty. Is she great or what?? Not that she doesn't do wonderful things for me all the time, but this was huge...and so sweet. Sister-Girl, thanks!!
• In that same vein, Tracy has been super about taking the boys a few days here and there so I can get things done, work on Saturday morning, or so I can have a few hours with Dan and that's a wonderful gift to any mother, right?? : ) AND she's the wonderful teacher of the *all new* craft class on Friday mornings.
• The new job at the gym is going really well, as of next week, I am on my own to run the concession stand on Saturday mornings...I'm pretty excited!
• Kohls continues to be a good job and even though I'm pretty tired some days, it's a job that allows us to continue to enjoy our homeschooling lifestyle and I can still bring in some money. I call that, a God thing.

I think that's enough news for one post, don't you?? Oh, one more thing...Alec is coming to visit us next week, and I'm really excited about seeing him again. We didn't have much chance to visit when I was there in Sept, so it's really catch up time!! Spinal Tap, anyone??

Have a great week and thanks for being interested in our lives!

Blessings,

~K~

It's the Little Things

I've discovered as I make this journey through life that it's not the HUGE things that make or break your day, week, month or LIFE, it's the little things. So in celebration of those little things, list a few things that made your day, week, month or life sweeter or brighter.

• It's so great to have Dan home in the evenings these days. While I got 'used' to him being gone in the evening, it's so much better to have him home.


• Dan stayed home from work today so he could catch up on some sleep and so we could spend some time together...all together, Awwwww!


• Our tax refund has helped us to get a few things that we have been putting off for a while. So thank you tax refund for the kitchen aid stand mixer that is on it's way to my house right now...hurray for easier bread and pizza making!


• The boys are really enjoyed the time they got to spend with Dan over the weekend while I was working...hurray for father and son time : )

I like the idea of this kind of post. If you do too, then post YOUR little things. I'm making it a goal to be more positive this year...join me!

~K~

Simple Woman's Daybook~Guest post

GUEST POST! Dan isn't feeling that well and took the day off of work and is sitting right here beside me so I'm going to pick a MAN'S brain for today's post. Hope that's ok...LOL~

For today... February 8, 2010

Outside my window... cold and dark, but it's not that cold, actually not that bad out there.

I am thinking... what? I wish I could get my Skype account to work right.

I am thankful... to be still working.

I am wearing... work clothes

I am remembering... that I'm still tired...I don't know

I am going... nowhere right now

I am currently reading... (Dan does NOT like to read)

I am hoping... that it starts getting warmer

On my mind... still working on the Skype

Noticing that... I'm not getting anywhere...LOL

Pondering these words... *sigh* (I'm officially driving him crazy now...ha ha ha

From the kitchen... nothing??

From the learning rooms... hopefully learning something (thank you for that super specific answer, Mr Meyer)

Around the house... Yawn

One of my favorite things... (rolls eyes) MY WIFE!

From my picture journal... And here he is, the Man of the Hour! My hubby, Dan : )

If you enjoyed this post and want to read others like it, visit Miss Peggy's site over at http://www.thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ Have a wonderful week!

The Lord is so GOOOOOOOD!

Today, I took 'Shua and Lauren to the airport in El Paso so they could fly back to IL and visit with family. It was crazy early, about 5 am...and cold and rainy and SUPER windy. We arrived safely, but as I pulled into the airport, we splashed through a HUGE puddle and the power steering went out...OH NO!! So I got them dropped off, assured that I was alright and headed out. After about 2 blocks the car started to get hot and it occurred to me that the big splash had dislodged the serpentine belt and so along with no power steering, I had no way to cool the engine...oh DEAR! So, I pulled in at the local McDee's and considered my options....I could drive home at 35 miles an hour, and stop every 10 minutes...and HOPE that I wasn't doing irreparable damage to the car, I could wait for a dealership to open up and hope they don't charge 350 dollars for the 5 minute fix, I could call a friend back in Cruces and hope they aren't working, or I could wait ALL day for Dan to get home from work and drive over to fix it up. Hmmm, decisions, decisions...LOL! I called Dan to let him know that I was going to wait for the dealership to open first and then make a plan from there. He called back a few minutes later to say that one of the supervisors was heading back to Cruces at about 9 and he could catch a ride with him and then drive over which would have him there by noon-ish. Better idea since it was 'free' except for the missed hours of work, but I was hoping to not still be sitting in the car 5 hours later. *sigh* David and Derek were playing games together and doing well, so I wasn't to hysterical at the inconvenience, but I knew it was just a matter of time before someone started going stir crazy : ) The phone rang again and I was surprised to hear Dan on the other end, and the glory rolled!! The guy that Dan just 'happened' to be working with today has a brother that lives in El Paso and just 'happens' to be a mechanic. *winks* Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?? Anywho, this kind gentleman came and stood in the rain and wind to fix a complete stranger's car and then wouldn't accept any money...what a treasure! Our round trip took longer than it took for 'Shua and Lauren to arrive in Chicago, but that's OK since we met an angel today...thanks Lord, for the reminder that you are ALWAYS looking out for us!!
~Kristy~

Simple Woman's Daybook...better late than never edition, HA!

For today... Feb 1st...a day late, oops!

Outside my window...it is pitch black and chilly, but since it's the middle of the night, I guess that's OK

I am thinking...that I really should be getting to bed, 4 am comes awfully fast if you don't go to bed until after 1

I am thankful for... a chance to sleep in from time to time, like today : )

I am wearing...my work clothes since I just returned from an evening at Kohls

I am remembering...that getting up at 4 am with the hubbs is my privilege, and not a chore.

I am going... on a nature walk with the boys and some good friends tomorrow...hurray!

I am reading...Lies Women Believe by Nancy DeMoss, and Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Higgs A MUST READ for anyone who thinks the Bible is made up of prissy perfect women...LOL!

I am hoping...that I can keep up with this new schedule, it's a challenge, but in a good way

On my mind...the gracefulness of God who loves us even as we are, filthy wretched sinners.

I am noticing...that I'm not as young as I used to be, not sure I'm happy about that, *sigh*

Pondering these words... "It's no easy thing to open yourself up to the tough world day after day. I would be so much easier to walk away. But what you bring is the love and concern this broken world needs. That's no small thing. In fact, It's everything." ~Quoted from a card sent to me by a sweet, sweet woman whom I love dearly. I feel so unworthy of her admiration and praise. Some days I WANT to just say forget everything and do what I want to do, but the Lord has bigger plans than just what I want to do. It's humbling.

From the kitchen... Many tasty morsels, but since it's late, I won't bore you with the details..LOL!

From the learning rooms...Not much yet this week, but MFW is tomorrow and the boys eagerly anticipate MFW lessons, it's so wonderful!

Around the house...We stayed on top of the house chores this weekend and after a few quick tidies here and there today, the house is looking pretty good, which is great considering we have many plans for the rest of the week.

One of my favorite things... time to blog without interruption, which would explain my writing this at 1 am...LOL!

From my picture journal... Err, I haven't loaded any pictures in a long time, let's see what I can dig up from our past!

LOL, look what I found... picture of our sweet Devin doing his Jug head imitation while wearing the Farkle crown at game night...Ha hahahahah!

If you enjoy the simple things in life and would like to take a peek into other ladies daybooks, visit Miss Peggy's site at www.thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com See you there!

It's the Little Things

I've discovered as I make this journey through life that it's not the huge things that make or break your day, your week, your month or LIFE. It's the little things. So in honor of those little things, list a few things with me that made your day, week, month or life a bit sweeter or brighter.

• A son that thinks my 'green goo' can heal everything....he's right, of course, but by the time most kids are 12, they are 'over' being amazed by mama's bag of tricks...ha ha!
• A hubby that aims to please by going to the grocery store with 3 boys in tow when he would rather watch a movie and put his feet up on a Sunday afternoon.
• Praise music that reminds up to look UP whenever we are down : )
• A washer and dryer that labors day in and day out on our behalf
• Family and friends that know exactly when to send an encouraging note.
• A new pen pal to get to swap letters and thoughts with, hurray!

I like the idea of this kind of post. If you do too, add YOUR little things. I'm making it a goal to be more positive this year...join me!

~K~