Adorable Video!!!

Watch this adorable video!

Family Yearbook-(Catching up post #16)

Our Family Pictures. I know you've seen most of these pictures but this is one of the assignments for The Family Yearbook Challenge. I just re-posted the same slide show I have on my myspace. This is my family and the ones I hold dearest to heart. Enjoy!

The catch of the week!

Jon's big catch
It was a bass and it weighed a little over 5 pounds.

Tells From the Front door

Our Family Yearbook Post #16

“A house is made of walls and beams. A home is built with love and dreams.”

Our Old Front Door

Although it has seen better days,

It's always been there to say,

"Welcome Home".

Follow me through my garden

My flowers are blooming!
I love roses!
My Azaleas

The roses in the picture above start out like the picture below.
It starts out red and ends up pink and yellow

I planted two new yellow rose bushes

in memory of my brother Robby

These were planted in memory of my Grandma Wilson

Hydrangeas

Things You May Not Know

My Family Yearbook Post #15

Things You May Not Know

~~~~~

Since the last post was about a family pet, it gave me the idea to share more about other animals our family has taken care of through the years. Did you know that we use to have a wild pig that I bottle fed, two pot bellied pigs, 3 brown squirrel's, 3 baby opossums, 1 raccoon, numerous rabbits, fish, dogs, cats, and one flying squirrel?

Most we saved from the jaws of other animals and most were babies that I hand raised and bottle fed. Almost all were returned to the wild as soon as they were big enough to be set free.

The most memorable was the flying squirrel we named "Rolly" Flying squirrels are unique. The one we had was very gentle and never even tried to harm any of us. They have the softest fur and no they really don't fly. They use the skin (which looks like wings)under their legs to glide down from heights. They are awake at night and sleep all day, so they are not good as pets and their odor is strong. Also, when we had ours we ended up with two more that came up, I guess they smelled ours.

Next, the one that took my heart was "Stinky" my brown squirrel. I had him from 1999-2008. He loved me. A tree service was clearing land and cut down the tree that his nest was in. All his siblings died. My brother-in-law found him and brought him home. He looked like a little rat. We fed him around the clock and took care of him. Once he got old enough, we tried to release him to the wild, but he just kept coming back to his cage. So we ended up keeping him after saving him from dogs. He had no fear of people or animals and that is why we couldn't let him stay out on his own. So we kept him in a huge cage in the backyard for all those years. He would come to me and he let me clean his cage out, etc. He would always pick my hand up with his mouth wanting me to rub his back. He loved to be petted and would stretch out for me to do it. He also loved sweet tea. When he would climb up trees, I'd go outside and shake a glass of sweet tea and he would come down to drink it.

The raccoon we had was also one that really stuck out. Her name was "Lily" she was a mess. A friend of Brent's heard a loud noise outside his home one night and when he went to find out what it was,he found his dogs with a little baby raccoon. He put up the dogs, but no mama came to get her little baby. So He ended up bringing her to us.We bottle fed and hand raised her. She was alot like a child...she got into everything and I mean everything. We kept her for a year and then set her free ,because she was such a handful and because she was tearing everything up in our house...it was time to let her go. She also would take stuff and hide it from you.

The last I'll share about is the wild hog we had. My hubby went on a hunting trip with friends. They were hunting for wild hogs in south GA. While on the hunt several hogs were shot. However, one had babies and they didn't know until it was to late. So feeling guilty some of them brought babies home. We ended up with a little girl one that we named "Porky" . We had Porky for over 11 years. She to was bottle fed and hand raised. The only aggression she ever had, was one time she pushed Jon down with her nose and took his bubble gum:)

However, wild animals belong in the wild. I encourage anyone who has a baby one now to call someone who is licensed to care for wild animals. Also, I don't advice you to try to tame a wild animal ,because most are mean and will bite you.Most can not be tamed. Their nature is not to be friendly with humans. Some animals can bite you and make you very sick or even kill you...even the smallest ones. So be cautious anytime you approach a wild animal of any kind.

Our Family Pet

Our Family Yearbook Post#14
Tell About Your Family Pet

~~~~~

This post is in memory of our family pet

"Sissy"

She passed away a couple of weekends ago.

Let me tell you her story. Sissy is an Alaskan Malamute.

A few summers ago,I think about 5 or so, she wondered up in our yard. She was very poor looking. She had numerous gun shot wounds and was over all in very poor health. We tried to locate an owner ,but no one ever came forth. So we took care of her ourselves. She took right up and turned out to be a beautiful healthy dog. We had no idea what her name was and after calling her several names, Katie decided she wanted her name to be Sissy. Katie called her Sissy and she came. So Sissy became her name. The first thing I noticed about her was her love for children...we had something in common:) She loved kids! She was also very protective of kids. If another dog tried to enter our property while children were playing, she would run them off. She would dart at them and shine her teeth and they always went the other way. However the kids could climb all over her, lay on her, etc and she was gentle.

Her favorite treat (and she would dance for it) was fat free chicken hot dogs. She would greet me every Friday(after I bought groceries) with this little dance she always done. She looked like a show horse how she pranced. She knew if I left the house on Friday that she was gonna get a pack of chicken dogs and she did.

We took Sissy to the vet and they told us that she was well over 10 years old ,because her teeth were worn down, but they couldn't say exactly how old she was.

But within the last two years, she had started slowing down a little. However,if the kids were outside she would follow them up and down the drive way and all over the uard. She just took that on as her job and she watched the children well. I could tell at times she would be so tired of following them ,because she would start dragging and she'd stop every few steps to rest but she would go on anyway, sometimes for hours at a time. Up until the week she passed she kept kids.

The week that she passed her health quickly went down hill. She went from walking to no walking...not even to go to the bathroom. She was snappy which was not like her and she wouldn't let us pick her up ,much less put her in the truck to carry her to the vet. So we called a vet to come out and he diagnosed her with cancer. We decided to have her put to sleep,because she was just to weak to go on. That vet said she was well over 10 years old (just like the other vet said) He thought she could have been 12-15 years old and had lived longer than most dogs of her kind ,that he had seen.

She brought a lot of joy to our lives and was one of the best pets we ever had.

Our Family Motto

My Family Yearbook Post #13
Does Your Family Have a Family Motto?
~~~~~

Our Family Motto is...

"With God All Things Are Possible"

I truly believe this and I've tried hard to instill this in my children's lives. I believe with all my heart that nothing ,and I do mean nothing ,is impossible with God. These words were spoken by Jesus more than one time in the Bible, so He clearly wanted us to know.

One verse that comes to mind (one of my favorite verses) is...

Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Mark 10:27 kjv

My Family Yearbook- (catching up #12)

Tell About How You Met Your Spouse
~~~~~

I met Brent during my high school years. A friend of mine "Kim George" asked me if I would go on a double date with her and she wondered if I would go with Brent.

I was just coming out of a two year relationship and I thought that it might help to take that off my mind...so I agreed. We met up at Kim's house, we went out to eat together ,and then came back to her house and watched some rented movies.

Things were going great. However, Brent crossed the line half way through the date. He tried to hold my hand and I just thought that wasn't right for a first date. I just felt it was to soon for that...I only wanted to be friends and I just felt girl and guy friends shouldn't hold hands,especially on first dates.

I was brought up by a mom that taught me not to hold hands on first dates, she also told me that girls shouldn't call guys on the phone (guys are suppose to call girls and no later then 9 pm ,because that is rude), and mom taught me that guy's should always pay for the date if they really like you...boy has times changed.

For months after that Kim kept trying to get me to go back out with Brent. She would tease me constantly and push us into each other at school, etc She would invite him over and it would always be when I was over at her house. She drove me nuts about him.

Then one Halloween, our community had a haunted house to raise funds for the youth. I played the part of a grieving widow. Another boy that I went to church with played the part of my deceased spouse. Half way through the evening, that boy got tired and gave up his position. It just happened that Brent and this boy were good friends and Brent had stopped by with some of his friends to go through the haunted house. Brent offered to take that boy's place. I don't know what happened that night, I just saw a different side of Brent then what I saw on our first date or maybe he was figuring me out too.

We didn't talk about dating or anything that night. We both just done what we were asked to do. Then we both stayed afterwards and cleaned up together. That next Monday,Kim asked me again if I would go on a double date with her & her boyfriend and she wanted to know If I'd go with Brent. This time I said yes!!!!

After that date, we started going on dates every weekend. Then he came over and met my family on Christmas Eve (and trust me he did not try to hold my hand or anything else for several weeks/months).

April of 1989

He asked me to marry him

And I said, "I Will"

and then I said, "I Do".

Follow Me

Some of you have asked me where I got my status application that updates you with what I'm doing. I got it from Twitter. You can follow me or make your own at www.twitter.com or you can visit mine at...
www.twitter.com/mom2howells If you want to make your own you will need to join twitter ,and then scroll down and click on app link for the codes to add to your blog. I hope this helped!

Trying to catch up

Yes, I've probably overwhelmed you with post today, but I'm trying really hard to catch up with everyone who is participating in The Family Yearbook Challenge. I actually stayed up late lastnight typing all these. Once I'm caught up, I'll probably only post as often as Tara gives us a prompt...I think that will be about once a week.
Have a great day!!!

My Family Yearbook- (Catching up #11)

My writing prompts came from Tara over at The Family Yearbook Challenge

And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Matthew 25:15 Talent in the Family ~~~~~The one thing God blessed my children with is the love of music. From an early age they loved music. As little kids, they sang every Sunday with all the little kids at church, but as they got up a little older, they broke away and formed their own group. "The Howells"They sang gospel songs. I wish I knew how to upload the videos I have of them singing...they were so precious. It was so sweet watching them. Anna the oldest was always the leader. She picked the song and the other three sang along. We eventually started traveling as other Churches invited the kids to come to sing. They continued that on until they hit the early teen years. Anna still sings, but the other three have given it up. Yesterday, we had a request for Katie & Ashley to sing at a service next week and I'm really hoping they will. I'd love to see my children sing together just one more time.Each of my children have been blessed! I'll take one post to tell you about each of them a little later. But for now, I thought I'd share that, because it might be something you didn't know about my kids.

My Family Yearbook- (Catching up #10)

God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him, For our food.
By His hands, we are fed, thank you Lord for our daily bread...Amen

Favorite Meals
~~~~~
When my kids were little we taught them the above prayer.
They would all say it together each time we set down to eat.
We still say the blessing,a little more grown up now,
but some of the sweetest moments were the moments
that we set down to eat together as a family and they all said the blessing together.
Being brought up in the country by parents who seldom ate out, we (Brent & I) from an early age fell in love with good old fashion home cooking! It was all we knew.
When I married Brent it was really hard to get him away from beans, bread, and taters(as he calls them). He grew up with a grandmother that cooked meals everyday and they always consisted of Beans, potatoes, bread, and meat and often times a pie of some kind with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or rice pudding.
I too was blessed with a grandmother and mother who always (and still do) cook good old home cooked meals. I was blessed!!!!!
When I married, I started out with the very same traditions. I cooked big meals everyday. However, through the years, I've added new foods here and there. So my kids have grew up with a variety of foods.
Some of our favorite meals are still the good home cooked meals.
A few weeks ago Anna called and said her and Corey were coming over and she wanted some of mom's fried chicken.
So I started cooking!
We ended up with fried chicken, cream potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans, and baked beans.I enjoyed setting down and eating with them:)
I will admit we still eat tons of potatoes. We bake them, fry them, and cream them.
We still eat meats pretty much every meal.
Our sides usually are beans, veggie mixes, salads, slaw, corn, bread, etc
But,I've tried to bake or grill more than fry due to the fact that heart health is such a big issue in my family. I'm sure some of those good old home cooked meals are to blame for that.
We eat out more than our parent's did.
However, even when we eat out we still try to eat healthy.
I enjoy any kind of salad. I love trying salads from all the different restaurants.
We enjoy Mexican style food as well as Italian.
Some of our favorite restaurants are...
Zaxby's
El Nopal
Stevie B's
Chick fil-a
Taco Bell
Subway
Papa John's
Captain D's
Penny's & Darlene's
Longhorn
Out Back
Carabbas
Texas Roadhouse
Olive Garden
Etc
We pretty much like anything. I tried to bring my children up eating a variety of food so that they would be willing to try new foods,and not be like their daddy and only eat beans, potatoes ,bread, and meat for the first 30 years of life.

My Family Yearbook- (Catching up #9)

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

Let Me Tell You About Our Children's Schooling

~~~~~

We are a homeschooling family. Deciding to homeschool was one of the biggest decisions we made as a family, but in my opinion is was one of the best.
When we decided to homeschool in 1999, it wasn't as popular as it is today. We were met with great criticism and very little support. However, I felt led by God to teach my children at home and I knew that anything God led me to do, that He would help me get through it.
I felt like we were under a microscope and everyone was watching (and hoping) we would fail. After all life has tried to make us believe that it is not cool to be different. We had family and even friends that loved taking our kids to the side to question them on things they thought they should know...I think they got surprised when the kids knew more than they expected. I will honestly say that Brent's relatives gave us the hardest time of all. My family on the other hand were very supportive. I wasn't angered with Brent's family(just frustrated) ,because I knew they were only concerned for the well being (education) of my children. They also weren't sure if I was qualified enough. After all ,I had dropped out of high school right after my 11th grade year to marry Brent. Brent graduated in 1988 and I wanted to be out with him. I regret that and always will, but it happened. However, I did go back to school and got an equivalency diploma. So I understood where they came from. However, what they couldn't see was that It wasn't just me teaching. It was us (Hubby, me,and our kids) learning together. I learned more homeschooling my kids in the first 4 years than I learned all my school years combined. Learning wasn't something I had to make my kids do. I just supplied them with the things that they needed and then set them free to explore and learn on their own pace. Homeschooling is my life. It's not a set Monday-Friday or 8-3 school (like the public school). It is looking at each moment of each day as a good time to learn something you didn't know. We don't have peer pressure problems at home, gang issues, violence, drugs,sex problems, etc And no we don't have socialization problems either. This is one of the silliest excuses people use for not homeschooling. They worry their child won't be able to socialize well. My kids started talking around age one (I didn't send them to school to learn that) and I promise they haven't stopped yet. If anything they are probably some of the most friendly kids you'll ever meet and each one has very high self esteem and I'm happy about that. They talk to all kinds of people. We don't set home that much to most people's surprise. We actually now have more time to get out and spend with other people, because we aren't tied down to a school schedule like the state has. The next thing people worry about is that they won't be able to teach something like algebra, chemistry, biology, etc Don't worry about that... someone has taught these things before you and now there are virtually thousands of programs and people that are willing to assist you in teaching your child. All homeschooling parents want to see each other have success and we are always willing to help each other. In someways it's like a huge family. If you don't know something,this is the time you too can learn right along with your child. I believe you are never to old to learn something new.
Homeschooling has worked for us. It hasn't always been easy. Yes there were times I wanted to throw my hands up and give up,but I kept reminding myself that I'd get through it because
"If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it."
Anna did graduate early. She graduated right before she was 17 years old. She has an accredited high school diploma from PF and transcripts too:) And guess what??? She actually works a job outside of her home.
She knows how to socialize!!! She answers the phone as a secretary at an animal hospital and deals with hundreds of people each week.
She can even do math!!!! She handles their money. She can read and write!!! She handles most of the paper work and book work at her job. But guess what else she learned?!? She learned how to run a house,wash clothes, buy groceries, manage money, take care of kids, etc and she learned that from being home and doing it everyday. When she married I didn't have to tell her how to cook or how to clean or how to do this or that. She left my home knowing how to do everything I do, probably even better. Am I afraid she was scarred for life for being homeschooled??? No way,I think she is one of the most amazing young women I know. The people at her job adore her. She didn't grow up in a school system with people who constantly discouraged her or thrived to bring her down. Instead she was encouraged and taught by someone that loves her probably more than anyone else in this world...me. I'm sure I could have done a few things better, but I done what I felt was most important when it came to the things I taught/teach my children.
Now I have two more that are right behind Anna. They two will be graduating within the next two years. Both plan to follow their dreams and further their education. I believe in them and I'm sure they will do just as well as Anna in life.

My boys are coming up not so far behind the girls.
As some of you know, that know us well, know that our oldest son Jon has had some learning difficulties and has overcome some obstacles in his life. I strongly believe if he had been sent to public school that he would have struggled and most likely would have just been pushed through the system or held back. Homeschooling has met most of his needs. However we have had to have a little outside help, and this past year
has been his year and he has made great improvements. I'm so proud of him!
Little Jacob is in 1st grade and is learning more and more each day.
Homeschooling is not for everybody and that's okay (that's another post by itself).
But homeschooling works...It has for us.

Visit our Homeschool Site. Our family site is down right now,but you can go directly to my homeschool corner.

My Family Yearbook- (Catching up #8)

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit~

Tell About Anything That Has Changed In The Last Year
~~~~~
Each day has brought about many changes. Most were just small changes that were barely even noticed. Some were major life changes. I'll share with you the ones that come to mind at the moment.
The biggest change was our oldest leaving the nest. June 7,2008 our daughter Anna got married to Corey Wesson. Most said we were loosing our daughter...I disagreed. We didn't loose her we gained a son. This was a major event for our family. We are so proud of both of them.
Another big day that sticks out, is the day we gave our baby Bailey back to her birth family. This was a happy time, but also a very sad time for us. We had brought her home from the hospital and had kept her for over a year. Then it was time and she had to go and our hearts were broken. But, we truly didn't loose Bailey...we gained another family.

Next was the news we were gonna be grandparents. We were thrilled about the news. Anna was going to have a baby. Plans were already being made and we longed for June 2009 to come, but sadly in December Anna went in for a check-up and the baby no longer had a heartbeat. As you can imagine we were all heart broken. However, we know we will meet that baby someday in Heaven and that it will always be our first grandchild.

November 2008, Brent went through some major life changes. He had the surgery that he had been needing so long to correct his condition. For the last two years he had been sick constantly. Being sick all the time, not being able to sleep, not being able to eat without chocking had become really tough for him and for us watching him. After nearly loosing him twice from aspiration, I'm thrilled to say he is 100% healed!!!!!! God is good!!!!!!
Other big events are...
Two more of the kids have learned to drive now (They're driving and I'm praying).
We had two new foster kids share our lives (Trinton & Amberly).
I started back to school to be a photographer.
Jon made some major progress in school this year because we found a program that better meets his needs.
Jacob Noah learned to read and tie his shoes.
Katie & Ashley both have started on their last two years of their school program and if all goes well they will both graduate a little early.
This is all that comes to mind right now.
I may think of more,but for now this is it.

My Family Yearbook- (Catching up #7)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.James 1:17
What does your family collect? ~~~~~Hubby- collects metal. He collects anything metal. He uses it to make extra money for vacations and wants. He also collects antiques. He loves anything old. However at times it drives me crazy because he has collected more than our house can hold and has stored way to much stuff in the shop. It is true that one man's junk is another man's treasures...or at least it is with my hubby.
Me-I'm trying hard to stop collecting things. I've collected books for years ,because I homeschool and I'm a book addict. However, I've started trying to pass them on to others. I also collect poems, quotes, and cute sayings. I enjoy collecting web graphics to use on my family site & blog. I guess you can say I collect flowers too. Am I weird? ...Probably so. I have several flowers that started from other gardens. I have several flowers that came up from just one flower I pulled up from my best friend's garden, I have a beautiful yellow flower that came from my Nanny's garden, I have daisies that came from Anna's wedding, I have a gardenia bush that came from my brother's memorial service, I have several flowers that came from my Mom's yard, I have some flowers that came from my old house, and I have tons of roses that I got off the road next to an old friend's house. Each time I walk through my garden I'm reminded of the person who I got each flower from.
I often get accused of collecting kids too. I will say my house is a kid magnet. I do love kids. I am also guilty of collecting toys for kids and my house and yard are covered with proof.
Jacob-collects kids dvds. He loves movies. We have most of the classics and several of the newest movies out.
Jon-collects john deere stuff, and ford mustang things. He also collects knives.
Katie-She collects books. However, I think she collects perfumes (her room sure looks like it). She has tons of bottles of perfume...she loves it!
Ashley-really nothing. She is a clean out/throw away/give away kind of kid just like her sister Anna.

My Family Yearbook- (Catching up #6)

If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
Job 36:11

A few more things our family enjoys
~~~~~
The boys in our family are for sure country boys. They enjoy living in the country. Their hobbies are hunting, fishing, and pretty much anything you do outdoors. They usually do these things together.
However, my girls don't hunt ,but they do love fishing just as much as the boys. I really don't do either. I'm a country girl at heart, but I'm 100% girly. The only dirt I like on my hands comes from planting flowers, pulling weeds, or holding a little kid's hand.

Once my hubby asked me to go hunting with him. I told him that I would go as long as I could scare the deer off if they came up. I told him if he shot a deer, that I'd have to run down there and give it cpr and I'd have to try to save it's life. So it probably wouldn't be a good idea if I went along with him. However, if he did kill a deer, and as long as I didn't have to see it dead, I would cook it for him. I just can't stand to see anything die...sorry. It's just not me.

I try to set aside time to do things with my boys too. I enjoy taking Jacob to the park to play. I enjoy picnics on the grass. I also enjoy taking the boys to fun places like skating, the movies, air jumping places, game places,etc
I'm always looking for fun kids places to take the kids.
My girls also love walking. We love to go walk the track on warm days. We have some of our best talks and laughs while we are walking.
We girls love shopping together too.
I must confess I love shopping for baby things...it's my favorite. Several of my friends have new babies or are expecting, so I've been baby shopping every weekend for the last few weeks...It's so fun!!!
I shop online a good bit too on Amazon and Ebay.
Us girls all love our cameras ...as you can tell. We take tons of pictures. I am in school to be a photographer and my daughter Katie plans to start the same school as soon as she graduates highschool. She plans to be a photographer...maybe we will be a tag team...
who knows????
We also enjoy family vacations!!! We have one coming up next month and we are really excited about it! We are going to Florida this time!!!!! We all love the ocean. The boys fish, the girls layout and swim, and I enjoy reading and taking pictures of the kids...I'm really looking forward to trying my new camera out on the beach this year.
If you keep up with my blog, you've probably read that we have a girl's night out and boy's night out at least once a week. On these nights, us girls ( My daughters & me...plus any other girls that want to go), go out to eat, and we go and do girly things. It may be walking, a movie, shopping, visiting, etc But it's always just for girls.

The boys go out to eat on boy's night out. They also might go fishing, hunting, visiting,or shopping (yes they shop sometimes too). It's a time to just get away and spend together and it's something we always look forward to and enjoy!!!!
These are just a few things that come to mind at the moment.
I've always heard a family that prays together stays together
and I believe that
a family that plays together does the same.

My Family Yearbook- (Catching up #5)

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20 A Few Things We Do As A Family
~~~~~When I tell you this, I hope you will listen. The most important thing we do as a family is attend church together. We don't always get to go together every time the door is open, but we try. Sometimes Brent has to work, sometimes the kids are away or attend church with friends, and sometimes other things come up or get in the way. But the one thing we've always done as a family is attend church. I truly believe a marriage takes three...God, Man,and Woman. Many disagree and they can believe what they want but as for me I believe it takes these three.
My children have gone to church ever since they were 2 weeks old. Some don't take their babies that early, because they are afraid they will get sick. In some cases like with preemies or babies with health problems, this is true. But if your baby is born healthy, take him to church and raise him in the house of God. After all it's God who gives us children. My kids are living proof. All five of my kids have been healthy from day one. All five have always been around people and even other kids and yes they got passed all over the church,because everyone wanted to hold and love on them. My church family cares about us, and they wouldn't do anything to make my children sick. So I didn't have to worry about that.
I can't even begin to tell you how precious our church family is to us. They aren't just people we see 1-3 times every week. They aren't people who we just set by during church services. No...they are so much more than that to us. They are family to us. When one of us is sick they are the first ones that call wanting to fix us dinner or help us out, when we are out of a service or two they notice because they miss us, when we are happy they share our joy, when we needed it they are praying for us or sending us cards to let us know they are thinking of us. They love us and we love them too. They have done so much for just our family that it would take me months to write about it. We are so very blessed. Bringing our children up surrounded by people that really care and love them has been one of the best things, I think we've done for our children. I truly believe that is why my children have turned out the way they have.
In my next post, I'll tell you a few more things we love to do together.

My Family Yearbook- (Catching up #4)

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; I will rejoice and be glad in it."


Psalms 118:24
What is your favorite part of the day?~~~~~
Jacob-When my school work is done and I can go outside and play with all my friends.

Ashley- It would have to be evening. I like when it's just us at home. I like when things get quiet. I like when company leaves. I like having company, but I like it when it's just us in the evenings.
Katie-Evening is best. It's when no one is here, but our own family. It's quiet and I can do the things I want to do without a bunch of people running around.
Jon-I like after school hours. I like being able to go outside and hanging out with my friends.

Brent-I like the early morning before the sun comes up. I like the feeling of a brand new day.
Sandy-I enjoy the evening. When every ones been fed, dishes are washed and put away, baths have been taken, the kids are all doing their own things, all is calm, and I am free to do what I love to do most...READ. I usually slip away to read and pray. I can't tell you just how much I truly enjoy this time of the day. Evenings are very similar to my mornings. I just feel the closest to God at these times. I know He is there throughout my whole day. However, my days can get so busy. At times during all the hustle and bustle it is hard to find a quiet moment just to get alone with God. Although, I find myself talking to Him(sometimes grumbling too) throughout the day. There is just nothing better to me then when it is quiet and everything is still and I can just spend one on one time with God ,without any interruptions. I love it!!!!

Family Yearbook- (Catching up #3)

The one thing that life has taught me is that things change.

A Typical Day For Our Family ~~~~~

A typical day in for our family usually starts early before daylight. On a week day, I'm usually the first one up ,because my hubby can't wake up to an alarm clock. He is a very deep sleeper. I'm a very light sleeper (I told you we are opposites). He can sleep through pretty much anything. I wake up to everything.

So around 4:45, I start the process of trying to get him up. I usually spend the next 15 minutes begging him, shaking him, aggravating him, etc to get up. Most of the time, he is up by 5 am because I've made sleeping impossible for him(I have to do what I can to get him up).

I usually get up too, to make sure he has everything he needs for the day. Sometimes I stay up and sometimes I go back to bed and sleep another hour.

My clock usually goes off around 6:00-6:30 am. I usually spend that time waking up and praying with God about the day ahead. Starting my day off with prayer has helped my days to go so much better. Just try it for yourself. I really enjoy this quiet time of the day. I enjoy being able to talk to God with no interruptions. If I know that my day ahead is going to hold things that are going be tough to accomplish, I take this time to seek God's will for my day. So this is one of my favorite times of the day.

I am always up by 7 am. I usually wake up before my clock goes off. I get up and normally start my day with a shower. Then I spend the next two hours getting ready for my day. I fix breakfast, check emails, maybe post in my blog, prepare for our school day (we homeschool), check my calendar for any appointments, wake up my children, and plan what gets done and when it will be done.

My children are usually doing their school work by 9 am. Three are now online schooling. So that just leaves the youngest. He too is somewhat an online learner, but he also does book work along with computer time. He still requires a good bit of my time and patience. The other three are all self learners. However, sometimes they need my help, but this is becoming more rare as they've grown.

Every day here consists of house work, school work, taking care of kids, chores, family time, hobbies, as well as ups and downs.

By 3pm, they are all usually done with schooling. They then start their chores...yes my kids have chores. After that, they pretty much do the things they love to do.

Jacob and Jon love the great outdoors and spend almost every evening outside. Jon spends a good bit of time at one of the neighbor's houses. He loves to help them out. If anyone needs him, he is always ready... I love this about him.

Jacob has friends that get off the bus here at least a couple of times a week. He will play for hours with them. He loves building huts, playing football, basketball, or just hanging out (as he calls it). He is all boy. He is your typical 7 year old "busy" little boy.

The girls are a lot like their mom, they love being on the web...sometimes to much. They all have their own sites that they work on. They also enjoy walking, reading,or watching movies in the evening. They also spend a good bit of their free time together or with friends. My kids, especially my girls, are all very close to each other. They pretty much do everything together as a team.

We usually all work together to prepare dinner. I did all the cooking for the first 16 years of our marriage. But, these last two years, the kids and hubby have joined in. So we all work together as a family. We seldom get to eat before 6pm, but we've been working hard on that this year and we have been eating earlier than we use to.

Bedtime has changed for us over the years. I'm early to bed most nights ,but my hubby is usually late to bed (I told you we are opposites).

In the early years, I put the kids to bed by 8 pm so that Hubby and I could have a couple of hours without kids around.

However, now I'm usually the first to bed. I go to bed to study and read ,before I go to sleep. Jacob usually joins me after a while for his story time. We are reading through his Children's Illustrated Bible right now. The teens and Hubby are usually in bed around 10 pm.

However, if they are watching a movie or reading they may go to bed a little later.

The one thing I've learned is that things change constantly. As quick as I find something that works, something comes along that changes up our plans and we start the process all over again..

Family Yearbook (Catching up #2)

I read through all the writing prompts that Tara added for month 1 of the Family Yearbook, and most of these I will be writing about ,but some I may skip over because they really don't fit our family or I just really don't have anything worth posting about that topic. So my yearbook may or may not have as much included as other yearbooks you see. But, I plan to pour my heart into every post and share as much as comes to mind (heart). I also plan to go back and add pictures to some of my posts ...so be looking for that:)

Celebrations~~~~~Birthdays are always a fun time!!!!!!
Samantha-Jan 1Katie's-Feb 2Ashley-Aug 4Jonathan-Aug 4Jacob-Aug 13Bailey-Aug 16Sandy-Aug 17Brent-October 18Anna-Dec 2Jesus-Dec 25

We celebrate other birthday's too!We celebrate most Holidays...some more than others. ~~~~~

New Years- We don't really celebrate New Years. We usually celebrate Samantha's birthday instead and it just happens to fall on New Years.

Groundhog Day- We don't really celebrate it. We celebrate Katie's birthday on that day because that is the day her birthday falls on.

Valentine's Day-Is one we do celebrate. Hubby & I usually go out and celebrate it with a dinner the weekend before and we swap gifts like candy and cards. He bought me a gold locket necklace last year...It was sooo sweet:)

I usually always have a little kid's party at my house every year,that way Jacob can swap Valentine's cards and gifts with all his friends(I had one for my older kids too when they were young). Hubby always gives each of our children a gift just from him and I always give them a gift just from me. So it's a sweet day! A day for showing the ones you love just how much you love them.

ST.Patrick's Day-We don't really celebrate it. However, this past year we found Jacob a shirt that said, "Don't Pinch"...he enjoyed wearing it that day.

Good Friday-Is more of a sad day. Us Christian's can't help but think of the sacrifice Jesus made. On this day our minds are on that and even though it is a good day, it is also a sad reminder.

Easter-It falls right in line with the Good Friday. However, we Christians should rejoice on this day because on the Third day Jesus rose. I love Easter. It is one of my favorites. We usually dye eggs, have eggs hunts, go to parties, pretend an Easter bunny came, dress up in new clothes, and we always attend Sunday morning services.

Mother's Day-Is another day I love. We try to spend this day with our moms. We usually pick them up some kind of small gift and card and we take it to them. It's a way to say, "Thank you" for being a wonderful mom.

Father's Day-Brent usually goes to Alabama to see his dad and I go to Mom's to see mine:) I have two dad's but the one that lives with my Mom is my "Dad" because he's been there for me when the bio one hasn't been. I am blessed.

Memorial Day-Is not a holiday that I would say we celebrate. It is more of a holiday set aside to remember all the ones who sacrificed so much for us. It is also a day I remember their families and all they too sacrifise everyday. How can we thank them enough?

Independence Day-Better known to us as the 4th of July. I love this day!!! We always spend it together as a family and we always go to some park to watch their firework show. Our family always dresses up in shirts that are either red, white,blue, or all three. We eat together and play together! It's just a good ,fun family day!

Labor Day-I like this day! Usually everybody is off of work and we hang out, cook out, watch movies, and we usually spend the whole day together as a family.

Halloween-To me is just a fun day for kids. Some people look at this day as an evil Holiday,but I think it's just like any other day...It's what you make it. We've chosen to make it a fun day for kids. We usually have a little party around this time at our church, but we call it a Hallelujah Harvest instead of Halloween. We usually get together with our church family for hay rides, cake walks, trunk-or-treats, etc

On Oct 31, we wait until right at dark and we take our children house to house to collect candy. We only go to the people's houses we know. The kids usually dress up in cute outfits like clowns, cowboys, cats, characters, etc It is just a fun day. Last year, we made our own hay ride and our neighbors joined us on it as we went door to door collecting candy. I also usually have a party with Jacob and his friends the Friday before.

Thanksgiving-Is another all time favorite of mine. It's the day for giving THANKS. We all should celebrate this day because we all have so much to be thankful for. We usually spend half the day of Thanksgiving with Brent's family and the other half of the day with mine. We all cook and bring a couple of dishes and we put them all together for one giant meal. It is always a sweet day and a day I look forward to every year.

Christmas-Is the time we celebrate Jesus' birth. It is a celebration of his life. It is my favorite holiday of all. We pretty much celebrate it through all the month of December. The first or second day of December we decorate a Christmas tree(sometimes more than one tree). We also decorate our home with anything related to Christmas. We spend the whole month watching Christmas movies in the evenings. We also usually build a gingerbread house, bake cookies to cut up in shapes of Christmas tress, snowmen,etc, We set up a nativity in reminder of the true meaning of Christmas,we read Christmas stories, we go to look at light displays, go to Christmas plays, have tons of parties, swap lots of gifts, and take tons of pictures.

Since our families have grown and some have split it has became hard to celebrate them all on Christmas, so we usually do a party every weekend until we've been to see every side of the family tree.

On Christmas eve, we go to my mom's ,eat dinner, swap gifts, and just spend the evening together. After that we normally come home. The kids go to bed and Hubby & I usually spend the evening together listening to some of our favorite Christmas music (we leave it playing all night) and as soon as all the kids are good and asleep we set gifts out around the tree for each of them from us (aka Santa Claus). Christmas eve has always been a sweet time Brent & I have always shared .

Christmas Day- The kids are always up first and we spend this day at home as a family. Brent usually goes and gets us breakfast and we all just lounge around in our PJ's all day and watch the kids play. We usually have tons of leftovers from all the family parties, so we eat on them all day. But the one thing we make sure we do on this day is to Thank God for all He has done for us this year. We also sing "Happy Birthday Jesus". After all, it's His big day and we are just so fortunate to have Him.

My Family Yearbook (catching up- #1)

Every life has a story.
God is writing my life story...One Day At A Time
~~~~~~My Introduction
My name is Sandy ,but around the blog world everyone calls me Mrs Sandy. I am a Christian that loves the Lord with all my heart. I consider Him the very best thing that ever happened to me. Just to think He gave his life for me just because He loved me so much... melts my heart. I don't know anyone else that loves me that much. I don't think a greater love than that exists.That is why I love Him and why He is my number one.Next... God knew I needed a companion.I married my high school sweetheart "Brent" in 1989. He is better known as Hubby here on my blog. He and I will soon be married 20 years. We basically grew up together. Some say we married to young...we probably did, but we've made it! I can't say it's always been easy. We've been through some tough times, but we've always came out stronger and better. We've been blessed with many more good times than bad!In many ways he is exact opposite of me ,except for our strong beliefs and our love for the young...these things we strongly share and they are what matters most to us. So that takes me to the next chapter in my life's story...We have been blessed with a wonderful family!!! Our Birth Annoucments look something like this...~~~Our Children~~~Anna BrookeBorn Dec 2, 1989She was 5 pounds19 inches long~~~~~Katie DanyelleBorn Feb 2,1992She was 6 pounds 19 inches long~~~~~Then God blessed us with a double delivery!!!!!Twins!~~~~~Lea AshleyBorn Aug 4,19936 pounds20 inches~~~~~Jonathan BrentBorn Aug 4, 19935 pounds19 inches~~~~~Eight years later, I got the missing baby blues:)~~~~~Jacob NoahBorn Aug 13, 20016 pounds20 inches~~~~~I stayed home and kept kids (and still do) while Brent worked to provide for our family. We decided it was best for me to stay home ,because we didn't want our kids in daycare ,and we didn't have any family that was able to keep them. I didn't mind being home... I loved it! I was glad I didn't miss any of my kid's "Firsts". When I look back, I wonder how we made it all these years and all I can say is, "IT WAS GOD"! He provided all of our needs and most of our wants too! We've never went without or even struggled to make ends meet. We've made it, but only with God's help! My question is how do people make it that don't have God?In 2004, I felt God was dealing with my heart again. I thought I had done all the things God had laid on my heart to do, up to that point. I had attended church regularly, I had taught Sunday school, I had taught Awanas, I had taught children's church ,I taught VBS every summer, I was active with the youth , I was a youth director, I had witnessed to many He had led me to,I had done my best to pray for everyone who had asked me to, I gave my offering on Sundays, I had helped feed the hungry through a local food bank, I had tried to live for Him daily, but I just felt that He neede more from me. I just kept being reminded of all He had done for me and how little I had done in return. He kept reminding me that my life had a greater purpose then I could see and that my life's purpose was to fulfill His will...not my own. All that I had done was nothing more then filthy rags in His sight. He deserved more. But how Lord? I felt that I was doing all I could possible do at that time. But yet, I felt strongly that He wanted more out of my life. I talked to my Pastor and he reminded me how God had used the least to do the greatest and how God didn't call the equipped... He equips the ones He calls.So what was it that God wanted from me?I felt strongly that He wanted me to help troubled families. I couldn't see how I could possibly help someone's family, when I couldn't even reach the lost or backsliden within my own extended/distant family. However, I knew if God led me to it, somehow He would help me through it. I remember setting in the bath tub and God laying on my heart to be a foster parent. I thought okay Lord I'll do that. I thought,that shouldn't be that hard. It wasn't that hard to convince me, but my hubby was another story. I ran it by my hubby and this was his reply, "Are you crazy?" We have enough kids to worry about. We don't need any more. So I went back to God and I asked Him to open Brent's eyes if this was indeed what He had called me/us to do. I knew only God could change Brent's mind.Within a few weeks He did. A child that we knew well and loved dearly went into foster care. The very day she went into care, Brent said call DFCS and see what we need to do. It took 7 months to do all that DFCS required us to do, but everything fell into place and we went and picked up our oldest child "Samantha". Since then we've had several children come through our home. Some stayed days, some stayed weeks, some months, and others years. However, I must admit that I didn't have the right mind set or even heart set in the beginning,but God quickly changed that too. At first I was selfish and very critical. I wanted to beat these parents over the head and run to the other side of the world and hide their kids, but God kept reminding me that ,that was not what He wanted from me. He wanted me to reach out and love these families. He kept reminding me that I am no different then they are (In His eyes) and that if I had walked in their shoes, I too might be where they are today. He reminded me how He loved me when I didn't deserve to be loved. He opened my eyes and since then I've approached fostering with a different heart attitude. All the families that I've dealt with since my heart change, are still in my life and that has made a huge difference in me. I truly believe "Little is much if God is in it".If we all would just do a little to better someone's life, just imagine the difference it could make in the world.I know Tara that started the family yearbook wanted our posts to be kept short and as simple as possible, but I didn't know how I could do that with this post ,because God has done and is still doing some amazing things in my life. I can't tell you about me without pointing you toward Him.I hope this post helped you to understand a little about who Sandy is. In my future posts, I'll tell you a little more about the individuals that share my life.God is good! He has been so good to me!

About our weekend

I promised I would post about last weekend ,so here it is! I guess better late than never.
It was an awesome weekend...much better than the one before.
I was so happy to get to see two of my past foster kids (Trinton & Amberly) better known here on my blog as Trin & Amber. But since they are no longer our fosters, I can now talk about them and share their pictures. Trin called and asked could he come over and spend some time this weekend with Jacob,but I told him that he would have to wait until Sunday,because we wouldn't be home. We had already made plans for Jacob to go to Alabama to see his paw-paw.
Sunday afternoon, I went and got him. I was so happy to get to see him and little Amberly. I also got to see their new baby brother. It was just really sweet. Just like with Bailey, I'm so thankful that their mom wants us to stay involved in their lives. It means a lot to us foster parents to be able to see that these kids are home and doing well.
Also, this weekend we got our Bailey. As many of you know, she too use to be one of our fosters,but now to us she is family and our baby:) We kept her all weekend and I loved every second of it!!!! She is growing up so fast. Every time we see her, she is using more words, and doing new things. She is starting to seem more like a little girl ,then a little baby. She pretty much tells you what she wants or don't want now. She loves to be loved on and she loves to give love back. For some reason, she started kissing hands. She kept taking my hand and kissing it all weekend...so sweet. Then she says, "I lud ewe so much" (I love you so much). She is a sweetheart. I know people must think we are crazy about how we feel about these kids, but I think it is kinda like we would feel with grandchildren. We cherish every moment we have before they have to go back and we don;t take one second for granted,because we know it could be taken from us in a second.
Sunday night, we went to a singing with the The Old Path Trio . They performed and as always they were wonderful!!!!! If you haven't heard them, then you need to:) They always inspire me!!!!! Jeremy Peace(the keyboard player) gave a testimony that truly touched many hearts, but it especially hit home with me,because he was once a foster child himself. He shared his story and once more God reminded me why He called me to foster children. It was a blessing!!!!!
It was a really good weekend for us!!!!!

Family Yearbook Challenge

As some of you know I have decided to join in on the Family Yearbook Challenge! My first assignments will probably be a repeat of info I've already shared with you on my blog, but I will be sharing it again, because it is part of this project.
If you are new to my blog, then this will help you get to know a little more about our family,if you've been visiting for a while, just skip on to my next post. Maybe, I'll come up with something I haven't shared yet.
This will be a weekly project and a collection of moments that I will be sharing (as they happen) through out the 2009 year. Here is a poem and part of assignment #1
~~~~~~~~
Lingering Joys
The tide recedes, but leaves behind bright seashells on the sand.
The sun goes down, but gentle warmth still lingers in the land,
The music stops, and yet it echoes on in sweet refrains...
For every joy that passes,
something beautiful remains.
~~~~~~~~
Like the poem above says,"For every joy that passes, something beautiful remains."
This is true in life. As time passes by us, we are often left with just memories. Memories of some other time that sticks out in mind. Maybe it was the song that you played at your wedding, a special celebration, the feel of a newborn baby's skin,the smell of a flower, a milestone, a tear over someone who passed, a happy moment you shared with a friend, or a bedtime story that you read over and over again. These may just seem as nothing more than just a day that passed, but these days turn in to precious memories to be shared many generations down the road.
I remember as a child looking through my Grandma Wilson's photo albums and scrapbooks. She saved poems, paper clippings, birth announcements, obituaries, old letters, and pictures of the people that she loved the most. These taught me so much about my grandma and the things that mattered the most to her because these were moments she treasured and wanted to remember.
I can say in many ways ,I'm much like my grandmother. I love creating memories and capturing moments ... I treasure them too. I love sharing stories with my family about the things I did in my past, lessons I've learned, old stories, family traditions, and more.
These have become treasures of the mind.
With the Family Yearbook, I hope to be able to not only share them with my family,
but also with yours.
~~~~~~~~

Family Yearbook Challenge 2009

I'm joining Tara over at http://cherishyourstories.blogspot.com for the Family Yearbook Challenge of 2009. Since this started in January of 2009,I am behind. It is gonna take several posts to catch up, but It should be fun! To learn more about the Family Yearbook, visit Tara's site. Then start looking for my new posts every Monday!

365 of my life in pictures

It's been an awesome weekend!! I'll tell you about it a little later:)I thought you might enjoy some pictures:) I caught these precious moments between Friday-Sunday.
Yes,every day is a play day at our house:)
*It may take a few seconds for slide show to load. It contains over 30 pictures*