ready or not

That is the question....

Its time to load up the little one and drive across town, get Tibby, and back over here to get Jaiden.

I've enjoyed a simple laundry day, playing with the baby, and gathering my thoughts.

It doesn't happen often.

Jaiden is being quite the handful before and after school.

Of course he is excellent AT school all day!

I am going to do something I've always wanted to do:

make a fun and yummy snack when he gets home and just sit and visit with him.

We always do snack (like grab an apple or something) but i want to put more thought and love into his after school time (Tibby's too)

I'm thinking along the lines of homemade cookies, apples and fresh yogurt dip, veggie plate and ranch etc.

I want it there just waiting for their return.

We'll talk about their day, laugh, and just unwind.....at least it sounds pleasent!

I noticed yesterday, that he really needs time to unwind.

He comes home and gets very overwhelmed with what he "needs" and it all turns into a jumble and ends in a tantrum. Poor little guy. LORD, please show me how to make this transition easier on him AND me =]

realsimple.com

update no.1

Ok, the first thing I want to share is that God has placed on mine and my hubby's heart is to homeschool. Yep. Homeschool. It is something He has been working on us with for YEARS, & I think I was trying to think of every excuse in the book, but in the end, they were all selfish excuses having nothing to do with the real issues and reasons God is wanting this for our boys. He finally made it loud and clear and since then thats where my heart has been. [Maybe thats why it was so hard for me to part with them this year at school] We are going to finish this year of preschool while I use the 3 days Tibby is home during the week to get in the homeschooling mode with him. NOW the big question is with the oldest...Jai, our precious little man with autism. How on earth would I possibly homeschool him? He is doing very well where he is. Since this has burdened my heart, God has opened up a whole new door in HIS own remarkable fashion, that I will share in update no. 2 a little later on. Its exciting, you don't want to miss it!! Sooooo, this year on the few days I am working on homeschoolig Tibby, I will let you in on what we're doing, share books, pictures, and projects. I am LOVING the Charlotte Manson method and will be using it this year and go from there. We are currently doing nature journals, learning scripture, reading, cooking, character qualities, Catechism, and tons of hands on projects. We spend most of our time doing this outside while its still warm, I'm having a hard time coming to terms with the end of summer (even though I do love fall) This month: I'm going right along with his preschool on this. Character Quality: Obedience- obeying the first time every time with a happy heart. Verse: Colossians 3:20 Children obey your parents in eveything, for this pleases the Lord. Devotional we're reading through: Lord Teach me to Pray for kids Kay Arthur

busy.busy.

Wow. this time of year is so busy. We finally got the first week of school over with. It seemed too long. Its the first time I wasn't ready to send my boys back to someone else. They love it though ha! We are still remodeling, and we're adding floors this weekend. I WILL post pictures then. The entry is amazing! On another note, I have been seeking, knocking, and asking God. He is doing some pretty AMAZING things in our lives. (I will be doing some MAJOR updates soon) Today, I feel a little defeated (although I know I'm not) past sin tries to creep up and take over. I'm currently reading a book The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges and am taking notes worth mentioning: *God has called every Christian to a holy life. There are no exceptions to this call. *Your resposability is found in Romans 6:12 Do not allow sin to reign in you so that you obey its eveil desires. He mentions that just because we became Christians the temptation to the same sin is still there, BUT we are no longer slaves to it. We can now stand up to it and say NO to it. When we sin as Christians, we sin as individuals with the freedom of choice. We sin because we choose to. *Pray David's prayer daily: Psalm 139:23-24 Search me O God & know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offinsive way in me and lead me the way of everlasting. You have to stay in the Word to stay guarded. It has to be daily or your guard will come down. Satan will attack the very thing you struggle with. He knows you that well. If you are not being tested and tempted by him, he has you already deceived. ( that has been something I have been thinking about these past few days, and as much as I don't like it, its the truth) I am also learning to not BLAME satan as much and understand that my own heart and my own desires are sinful and selfish (satan just uses that) So all in all, the main pursuit is to holiness. God plays a role in that when Jesus died to sin (so do we) Our role is to not allow the sin to reign in us. I know this seems a little bit deep, but hey, its where my mind and heart are at this moment.

boys bathroom

Its small, but I love it. We also changed the toilet seat (as much as I loved the brown seat =])

The mirror is painted white too and we have a tp holder. This bathroom used to have carpet, a pinkish border, brown cabinets/mirror, and yes, the sea shell sink. The floor was the first thing we did, having 3 BOYS in a bathroom with carpet was unlivable. We got the tile for free (my uncle owns a flooring store, so we got some leftovers)

Before: HUGE medicine cabinet, carpet...ugh, sea shell sink. Yes it was lovely.

Kind of a fuzzy picture, but this bathroom is HARD to photograph. Granite, new mirror, paint and texture, stained cabinets, and stained and stenciled concrete floor. Sorry it took me so long to post this....

flowers

summertime

we have been staying busy around here.

we've planted a garden and have been on several

little outings. we are also planning our summe VACATION!

we're heading to Denver for a few nights, we'll go

to the water park and the aqarium. i'm a sucker for water.

then off to SLC Utah, where my hubby will meet his birth mom!

also, we'll be visiting all of his family for the week, with tons of stuff planned!

here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.