Just So You Know...

I don't know if you have noticed the new advertisements at the top of my blog now. I don't necessarily endorse any of these. I need to work on the filter so that certain ones don't come up. Anyway, I just thought that I would put that little disclaimer in there. It's like on TV when it pops up and says "The views expressed on this show are not necessarily the views held by this station." which for some odd reason only shows up when there is something "Christian" on. But that is another blog entirely. Anyway, love you all!

Billy

Now that my wonderful husband is reading my blog I thought that I would blog about him.
This is how we met...
I had just signed up in the Army on the delayed enlistment program. I was to go to basic training on June 20, 1993. A few days later my geography teacher gave us an assignment to write a letter to someone in the field that we want to work in and ask them how they use math in their job. Well, I didn't know anyone in the Army but my sister gave me the name and address of one of her friends that worked with her at Walmart. He was currently in basic training. I wrote the letter and turned it in to my teacher. I don't know if she ever sent it and Billy doesn't remember ever getting it. A few weeks later, on November 12, 1992, my sister invited me to her house for dinner and to meet Billy, the guy that I had wrote to. She said he had just gotten back from basic training and she thought that he could tell me more about basic training. So, I showed up at my sister's house. My sister called to say that she couldn't make it. Go figure...
And I had to babysit my neice. So, Billy and I talked for a few hours until he had to go on the night shift at Walmart. He gave me a handbook that he got from basic training. A few days later he called to see if I wanted to go to a Christmas party at Walmart with him. I said that I had to work. The next day I quit my job and called him back. We went out on a date to Arnold's in Mineola. I got a job at Walmart so that I would be closer to him. Two weeks later he asked me how he could keep me from going into the Army. I said "You'll have to marry me." He said "Okay." He bought me a promise ring for Christmas. I got out of the Army contract. We got married February 22, 1993. Yes, that's only 3 months later! We have been married for 16 years.
Billy is so absolutely wonderful. I am the luckiest woman alive. He always picks up after himself. He is so sweet and caring. We are complete opposites. I am crude and he has manners. I am loud and hyper and he is quiet and subdued. I like the blinds open and he likes them shut. I could go on and on but you get the picture. But we love the differences in each other and we balance each other out. If we were both like me we would drive each other crazy and if we were both like him it would be too... quiet.

I love you, Billy! I love you more than anything in this world!

Wow, what a day!

Today was one heck of a day! This morning while eating my bagel I got an overwhelming urge to puke. I had this urge all day today and spent most of the time in bed. If I owned a set of fallopian tubes I would swear I was pregnant. But since I don't I guess it was a bug. Which means everyone in my house is a potential bomb for the next week! AAARRRGGGG!!! I woke up at 4pm this afternoon feeling much better and very hungry. Billy arrived home a short time later with a menu from a new restaurant called "The Mean Weiner". He just had to have one of their 1/2 pound, foot long, Chicago-style hot dogs. So, the whole family had these amazing hot dogs while I ate a "safe" salad. I just had a thought...How many people in my house are going to hurl 1/2pound hot dogs in their beds tonight? Just great!

Go against the flow!

I just read a good friend's blog and she mentioned that people see her as "weird" because she is different. Her suburban is full of kids of many different colors. She has two biological daughters and four foster children. Because they are a single-income family they buy most of what they have from garage sales and thrift stores. They have even started homeschooling their two daughters. People where she lives thinks she is weird.

I can understand this. Freecycle is my favorite place to shop. If I can't find it there I check garage sales and thrift stores. The only time I buy something new is if I need it and can't find it used or if it is on sale. For larger things like appliances and furniture we buy new and good quality. This is the only thing we spend on because it is what we want to last a long time. I admire her devotion to children that need help. And you know I am totally in agreement with homeschooling. People have called me weird. People have asked me why we want to adopt. They wonder why we would want to have to take care of more children instead of spending all we have on our current children. "Kids are expensive" they say. No they aren't. They don't eat enough to affect the grocery bill a whole lot until they are teenagers and I have never had to buy Chloe clothes. We spend less on our four kids than some people spend on one. And my kids are perfectly happy.

There is a show on TV called "What Not To Wear". On this show they take a person in and tell them how badly they dress and how they should dress. Similarly, on decorating shows they don't care what the person wants but what the designers think will be best. What I want to know is who decides what style of clothing is in or out? And who decides how a home should be decorated? It's fine to not like something but to tell someone else they shouldn't like it?

How about we all be who we individually are and let the world go on spending all of their time and money trying to impress the people that look exactly like them? Think on that for a while. In the meantime...."friend who's blog I read" I admire you more than you will ever know. You may envy my organized clean house but I envy everything about you. So flaunt your individuality!

Nutmeg

Megan, my oldest. She is 15 1/2 years old. She will be driving soon. I remember the day she was born, it seems like yesterday. Megan is very sweet and quiet. She is very responsible (most of the time) and is a great big sister (most of the time). She is doing very well in homeschool. She is studying things that I never studied in school. She is probably already smarter than me. Every day she looks more and more like Billy's mom. Megan is very girly but you will never see her in a dress. Her room is always perfectly tidy, her closet, too. But she will have an empty dirty clothes hamper and dirty clothes piled around it. What? Megan loves listening to her ipod, playing on facebook, and hanging out with her youth group. She loves watching House Hunters, Clean House, Jon & Kate plus 8, and 18 and Counting. She is a lot of fun to be around and makes the best chocolate cookies ever!

Lawson

Lawson is the cutest boy in the world! He is very sweet and loves his family. When we go shopping he holds my hand in the parking lot "To keep you safe, Mom." He wants to be a preacher and a soldier. He tells people about God everywhere he goes and even gave a sermon at Chick-fil-A one time. He absolutely adores his Daddy and wants to be just like him. He loves playing Star Wars and playing with his best friends Takumi and Syon. He likes riding his bike, going to the park, fishing, and camping. He is very neat and organized. I never have to clean his room with a garbage bag the way I have to with Grace and Chloe's room. He is doing well in homeschooling. I taught him how to read which is the greatest feeling. He loves math and science. He likes to read but only if it interests him. He can actually make the sounds and movements of several different dinosaurs and he is really good! I remember when he was a newborn he looked so little in his carseat that we were scared to take him anywhere. He has always been aware of safety. Even when Chloe was a baby he would bring me things that were choking hazards. He would tell me if there was an outlet missing a childproof cover. He is still like this. He will point out any safetly concerns that he has. Lawson is a great kid!

Grace

Grace is the one most like me. She thinks the world is full of idiots. She is too smart for her own good. She is bossy and controlling. I just love her! She is going to be good at everything that she does in life. If anyone says any different she will probably kill them. She wants to be big and always has. She and Megan actually had a fight yesterday about who would "get" to put the groceries away. Each of those girls think they are better at organizing the pantry and refrigerator. Since you should know from a previous blog that I don't give a crap what the pantry and refrigerator look like, I let them have this area. I don't care who puts away what as long as it gets done. So while they fought it out, I poured a cup of coffee and went to the couch. They finally worked it out and I am happy with the results. Back to Grace...she has always been a year ahead in school because she refuses to let Lawson be ahead of her in anything. But she has a sweet, sensitive side, too. She cuddles a very worn blankie that she calls her "night-night". She is the first to fall asleep at night, sometimes asking to go to bed early. She loves good food. She loves playing basketball and riding her bike. She seems to like to play with the boys in the neighborhood more than the girls. She loves crafts, scrapbooking, writing books, reading, music. And she loves her mommy and daddy. She is a cuddler. Grace is my supergirl!

Chloe

This is Chloe. Chloe is the most undescribable person I know. She is full of energy and always happy. She can go shopping with me all day long and not ask for anything. She is adaptable to anything and never complains. However, she will jump off anything, isn't scared of anything, and despite her tiny size has the loudest voice I have ever heard. She has a style all her own and isn't afraid to mix but rarely ever matches. She is a nice mixture between girly and tomboy. She likes to wear dresses but no shoes. She likes to have her nails painted but doesn't care if she gets them dirty. She likes Star Wars and My Little Pony. She is super smart and is learning to read though not even five years old yet. She loves everyone and everyone loves her. She is the last one talking at night and the first one talking in the morning. She loves massages and back scratches. Her best friends are animals. Did I say she is undescribable? She is, I can't put the rest into words. But my favorite part about Chloe is that every night long after we have gone to bed, she climbs in bed with us. She is quiet and sweet. She smells like a baby and has smooth soft skin. Her blonde curls smell like baby shampoo. Her hands and feet are so tiny. She is so cuddly and makes it really hard to get out of bed in the morning. I have thought about trying to break this habit of getting into our bed. But I think I will just enjoy every moment that I have of these last few months before she turns five and becomes a big girl.

One Step Closer!

This is a picture of my house. But we have been trying to move to a four-bedroom house. The lady at family housing finally called me back and said that the next four-bedroom that comes available will be ours! This means we are one step closer to adopting. Our next step is to go through hours of training. I am hoping that Billy doesn't have to be there for all of that because he is about to go on a "long business trip". But anyway we will have a much larger house and Lawson will finally have a room with a view. He is currently in the bonus room that doesn't have a window.
I hate that I cannot discuss Billy's "business trip" on here. The whole purpose of this blog was to show what life is like in a military family homeschooling four kids. But I can't discuss anything military on here.
Billy took leave this week and we did many fun things. Yesterday Billy took the kids to Gurnee Mills Mall which is the largest mall I have ever seen. I had several hours in the house by myself which was nice because I am never alone. Of course, I did laundry, dusted, vacuumed, all that and by the time I was finished they were home. But it was a nice, quiet break.
I realized last night while talking to my pastor at small group that everyone might not understand exactly what we do in homeschool. Here it goes... We homeschool all four kids. We wake up every morning at 7am. The kids have thirty minutes to get dressed, brush their teeth, fix their hair, and make their beds. They have to be in the kitchen by 7:30am for breakfast. They have 45 minutes to eat, clean the kitchen and meet me in the classroom. We start school at 8:15 am. We have five subjects: Bible, Language Arts, Math, History & Geography, and Science. Each class is 45 minutes long. We are usually finished at 1:15pm. We use a homeschool curriculum by Alpha Omega Publications called Lifepacs for Megan, Lawson, and Grace. We use Horizons, also by Alpha Omega, for Chloe. I love the Lifepac system because it is student led, they read and do the activities and then take tests. I record the test grades on a sheet provided by Alpha Omega. I only have to give instruction for the younger three children. Chloe doesn't take long. Lawson and Grace are in the same grade (Grace is a grade ahead of where she should be). Megan only needs occasional instruction or help. They are learning a lot and it amazes me at their excitement for learning (especially Megan). They are doing so well. Megan made a perfect score on her Bible test this week. It wasn't a test over who was swallowed by a big fish or who had a coat of many colors. This test was over the Persian empire, Cappadocia, and the Septuagint. Unless you have gone to Bible college I'll bet you don't know what these are! She is going to have a Master of Divinity Degree by the times she graduates high school. It is crazy but she loves it and she is doing well.
Well, I'm off to make pancakes. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

I'm so proud!

Megan participated in a 30 hour famine over the weekend. It is to remember the 30,000 children that die of starvation each day. They are also raising money for World Vision. Last night she asked me how much money she had in her checking account. I told her she had $90. She asked me to write a check to World Vision because she wanted to donate. I asked her how much to write the check for and she said "$90. That will feed a child for three months." She is right $30 a month will provide food, clothing, shelter, and school for one child for one month. And she gave everything.

Mideaval Times or however you spell the stupid word

Yesterday we went to Mideaval Times. It was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed the show and getting to eat with their hands. Megan enjoyed looking at the really cute knights.
Today we did school and I tried once again to get information from the housing lady about moving to a four bedroom house. We are very anxious to move into a four bedroom so we can do the homestudy for adopting. I don't think CPS would let us adopt another kid with four kids already in a three bedroom house. We have Lawson in the "bonus room", which is the size of a bedroom but it doesn't have a window so it can't legally be called a bedroom.
Tomorrow we are taking the kids bowling. Billy is on leave this week so we are trying to do as much family stuff as possible because he is about to be gone for quite a while. I can't discuss on the internet where he is going, why, and for how long because of national security reasons. But if you know what Billy's job is then I'll give you one guess.
I finally learned how to post pictures on here so that should make it a lot more interesting to look at. The picture might not always fit what I am blogging about or even be a recent picture. I'll just put whatever I want to on. It is my blog after all. I will explain what the picture is when needed. The picture I posted today is at Mideaval Times. Well, I will blog at you later!