Justice

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…and the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing…

December 20, 2010 in Brittany, Christmas, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige by Petra | 4 comments

Trimming the tree…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Everywhere you go…

Take a look at the five and ten, glistening once again…

With candy canes and silver lanes aglow…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Toys in every store…

But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door…

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots is the wish of Barney and Ben…

Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk is the hope of Janice and Jen…

And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Everywhere you go…

There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well…

The sturdy kind that doesn’t mind the snow…

Other photos coming, along with stories and lists and cuteness and fun! I hope everyone is having a wondrous Christmas week!

{these photos were taken when we put our tree up and decorated, the weekend after Thanksgiving}

A gluten-free and kitten-filled Thanksgiving

December 11, 2010 in Animals, Brittany, Celiac, Food, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige, Recipes, Thanksgiving by Petra | 2 comments

I know I’m a little late in getting this post up, but I wanted to share my menu with my gluten-free readers, and photos with all of you…

Jarvis’ cat, Chili, had kittens the day before Thanksgiving. They are so adorable! Kittens = perfection.

This was on my camera when I downloaded the Thanksgiving photos. Jacob told me Jarvis took it and that he is sitting on the ceiling. He thought it was hilarious.

Ah, the beautifully moist stuffed turkey. Yum!

Counter full of food (menu at the end of the photos)…

Mmmmm…

I love Thanksgiving.

An intense (and long) game of chess. lol

Paige the maniac

Tired party-goers. They were up early helping me cook.

It was a great day full of delicious food and wonderful friends and family! More photos of some of the party-goers shall appear on facebook in the near future, but there’s only photos of about half of them. I gave Jarvis the camera and told him to take pictures of everyone, but he missed some people. Oh well, without his efforts there would only have been photos of the food!

The Thanksgiving menu:

Roast turkey (I used a Trader Joe’s kosher turkey… I’ll post how I do the turkey sometime, it turns out flavorful and moist every time)

Stuffing and dressing (I used this recipe, and it was amazingly delicious – at least *I* thought so [for the GF bread, I used Whole Foods brand sandwich bread])

Ham (I love the hams from Trader Joe’s, and my awesome glaze is a trade secret… )

Deviled eggs (I only mix mayo/mustard/onion powder/salt/pepper into my eggs, and they are normally to-die-for, but this turned out to be the worst batch I’ve ever made (it was late the night before and I was being careless with the amounts of salt, apparently)… however, they still got gobbled up, so I guess that goes to show how good they NORMALLY are… lol!)

Mashed potatoes (I went out on a limb and used a new recipe this year. It was really good, but I think it needed a little more butter and salt than what I added. Oh, and I didn’t use leeks. I will definitely use this recipe again though… )

Homemade gravy (from the juices of the turkey, a bit of chicken broth, rice flour, and salt and pepper. So good! And there was not enough of it.)

Two kinds of sweet potatoes (simply sliced and roasted. One with olive oil and salt, one with butter and brown sugar. Pretty good, but I think they needed to cook a bit longer as they weren’t *quite* soft enough.)

Green beans

Steamed carrots with butter and brown sugar

Corn on the cob

Steamed zucchini with butter and salt (Josh made this for me – so good)

Steamed squash with butter and salt (Josh made this too – yum)

Fruit salad (brought by Lisa, and oh-so-delicious!!!)

Pumpkin bread (I adapted a recipe to be gluten-free. I got it from my sister-in-law, Carolyn, several years ago. It was really good! I didn’t try it on Thanksgiving because it didn’t look delicious, but then the next morning Andy was like “that pumpkin bread ROCKS!” and I tried some and oh my goodness – it was so good (especially for being gluten-free)! I’ll be making it again!)

Banana bread (I got the recipe from our friend, Jeff, when they were visiting last year and I’ve made it a million times since – so good! [recipe shared at the end of this post since so many people have requested it])

Gluten-filled yeast rolls (brought by Lisa, and thankfully received by all of the gluten-eating peeps )

Desserts (of which there were no photos – sorry)…

Two apple pies(gluten-free and adapted on the fly from a recipe online that my mom gave me. I used a pre-made crust from Whole Foods. They were good, but I’ll try another recipe next time.)

Snickerdoodle cookies (using a GF sugar cookie mix we get at Lowe’s Foods, Brittany makes these and rolls the cookies in cinnamon and sugar to turn them into snickerdoodles. I love them.)

Chocolate-oatmeal no-bake cookies (I eat way too many of these whenever I make them!)

Cherry cheesecake (brought by Lisa, full of gluten, and LOVED by my gluten-eating men!!!)

Apple pie (brought by Alison, also full of gluten, and it looked SO pretty and I’m sure it tasted a million and four times better than my gluten-free ones. lol.)

Organic whipped topping (bought from Whole Foods and it was DELICIOUS) and Vanilla ice-cream to top the desserts

Recipe share:

Jeff’s banana bread turned gluten-free (just use regular flour to make this gluten-filled)…

Banana Bread
(Approximately 2 medium loaves)
Ingredients:
1 ¼ c. organic cane sugar (I use Domino brand usually)
1 stick real butter
2 lg. cage-free eggs (preferably brown and organic )
3-4 ripe bananas (the riper the better)
1 tsp. vanilla (I use Trader Joe’s organic alcohol-free vanilla)
½ c. organic 2% milk
2 ½ c. all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put sugar in bowl.
3. Melt butter. Add, mix together with spoon.
4. Add eggs. Mix with spoon.
5. Add bananas. Mix with electric mixer.
6. Add vanilla and milk. Mix with mixer.
7. Add flour, slowly fold in with mixer.
8. Add salt and baking soda. Mix again with mixer.
9. Bake for approx 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven, until fork comes out clean.
10. Top of pan should be in middle of oven for even baking.

“Send me, I’ll go…”

November 19, 2010 in Andrew, Brittany, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige by Petra | 5 comments

15 days since my last post?!?! Man – I am failing at this blogging thing. Well, here is a photo-filled update, and then I am going to do a series of posts using this writing prompt site. (Does anyone want to do it with me? I’m going to take a question from the first section on the first day, the second section on the second day, etc.) But for now, our weekend update with, well, me…

Since my last post…

Kendra, her three girls, and Aunt Cherry came for a visit. Good times were had, lots of laughing was done, and we can’t wait to see them again!! On one night, Kendra and I performed a spontaneous concert for Aunt Cherry and some of the kids. They were awed, amazed, and inspired. Our talent for singing along with 80′s videos on youtube is unreachable by any other. Kyra videotaped some of our singing and dancing, but alas, Kendra, the technology guru, accidentally deleted all but two of them. It might be a good thing. :) Aaaaaand, I did not take ONE photo the entire time they were here. Brittany did snap a few photos after her and Justice added some things to our wardrobe (we had been performing in pajamas), but um… I won’t be sharing those.
Jarvis had his soccer tournament. His team only won one of the three games, so they are done for the fall season. The spring season (he’ll be on the same challenge team) starts practices in February.
Darby starts gymnastics in a couple of weeks – I signed her up yesterday. She’s excited. She’s been asking to take gymnastics and/or dance for years, but it has just never worked out. So yay.
I have had appointments, errands or something going on EVERY day for the last two weeks or more. Today? I am not leaving the house (Lord willing). Oh wait – I’m taking the kids to the church tonight and picking them up – they are going to a Lecrae concert with the youth group… that’s no big deal though… and maybe Andrew will take them. But I may have just dashed my own hopes and dreams of staying in my cave for an entire day. *sigh*
Justice finished the driving portion of drivers ed and went to get his permit yesterday. He, uh, didn’t pass. So… we’ll go back Monday and try again.
Andrew has been working lots, getting ready to deploy in several weeks. I’d really rather he was here 24/7. I know some couples talk about how they need their space from one another or they get on each others nerves, etc… but Andrew and I would love to be together all the time. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, though – or rather, it makes us appreciate one another even more – so we’ll make it through and be excited to be reunited next summer!
Paige’s eye teeth finally all came through!!! This is huge, people. She has been so much happier, less fussy, is sleeping better, and her mouth isn’t in pain. I know one of my other kiddos had major trouble with those dreaded eye teeth too, but I can’t remember which kid it was.
Paige has also been saying more and more words. She understands all the basic commands we give her (“give this to Justice”, “throw this in the trash”, etc.), she nods her head for yes, shakes it for no, she does the signs for ‘eat’, ‘baby’, and ‘bird’ – and says all those words, along with lots of others. She loves the word “shoe” and asks all the time for us to put various shoes on her (which is funny because she HATED shoes up until a few months ago). She dances up a storm and has a ton of awesome moves. She is adorable.
When Britta had braces, I spent much of my life at the dentist and orthodontist offices. She got them off a couple of weeks before we moved here to NC, and I just never found a new dentist. Then Jarvis knocked one of his teeth out a couple of weeks ago (he was holding a stick, tripped over a rock, and the stick hit his face), so we called a couple of dentists recommended by friends and went with the one that answered their phone. It turned out to be a baby tooth that Jarvis lost (whew!), and we liked the new dentist so I made appointments for the other kids (Jarvis had to be the guinea pig to test out the new dentist). Darby and Jacob go on Monday for an exam and cleaning, and it will be Jacob’s first dental visit. He’s nervous and excited. Jarvis did have a small cavity on a permanent tooth he had to get filled the next day, and we have to get an orthodontist exam for him. Looks like my days of dental waiting rooms are back. It was a nice year or so though. lol
Britta dyed her hair pink and it looks really cute! Too bad that hair dye doesn’t last very long, but it’s still pretty bright after a week. Oh, and a large family of tiny blonde children stared at her for a long period of time in Qdoba yesterday. It was hilarious. She was scared. There were 7 little kids turned in their seat just STARING at her. I was like “wave at them?” So she did and finally made a couple of them smile/laugh. Then the mom came back to the table (they were all just sitting there being still and quiet while she ordered) and they all finally turned around to eat their food. THEN, we went to Trader Joe’s and two more little blonde children started staring at her. It was so funny. And Britta told me that pale kids with really blonde hair scare her, because they look ghostly or something. Ohhhh, good times.
Okay, look for my first prompted post (see top of post) later today.

“Gee, I’m real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky”

November 2, 2010 in Justice, Random by Petra | 1 comment

Didn’t I used to be witty and funny? Didn’t I used to have a lot to say? I think having this last kid or two has destroyed those parts of my brain. Maybe it’ll come back as they get older? We can only hope. I know you miss the entertaining blog posts. Or maybe you don’t. Whatever. Well, since I mostly keep a blog as sort of an online journal for my kiddos, I’ll just keep posting these boring updates until I have something super interesting to tell you. You’ll just have to bear with me. Or not. Whatever. ;)

Brittany returned from her NYC mission trip on Sunday evening. We’re so glad to have her back and have really enjoyed hearing her stories. She plans to share those on her blog (one day) though, so I won’t spoil it all here.
It’s been SO nice having contacts again. Now my glasses are back to where they belong – only being worn around the house at night and/or on days I don’t feel good!
I bought a new flavor of coconut ice-cream and will be trying it tonight. Exciting, right? I know.
Homeschooling is going well. I really cannot WAIT until we have the basement (where the school room will be) done though. Everything will be easier (and cleaner and more organized!).
I decided to learn how to play the guitar. I got a guitar from Andrew for Christmas many moons ago and started learning then, but being pregnant with Jarvis got in the way, and I never got back to it. Yes, he’s almost 12. I picked my guitar back up in Washington a couple of years ago, and yeah – I accidentally broke it. But then my brother Matt gave Brittany a guitar when we were down there a couple of months ago (and yes, she is already pretty good with it! She’s so talented!), so I figured “hey – I can learn too!”
I know this photo is dark and blurry, but it shows how tall Justice is getting:
I am pretty sure there’s more to report, but I’m boring myself. And I don’t bore easily. I think it might be time to veg out and watch TV.

…where music and passion are always in fashion…

October 12, 2010 in Andrew, answered prayer, Brittany, Darby, Home & Garden, Homeschooling, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Lists, Paige, Parenting by Petra | 5 comments

Quick update…

Paige went to the doctor this morning for her 18 month old checkup, and according to her doctor (who we love, by the way!) Paige is perfect. We already knew that though. She had to get one shot today, but the nurse was fast, so while she did scream for a minute, she was soon fine. She weighs 21 pounds (10th %), and is 29 1/2″ tall (5th %). Her head? It’s still large. It’s 19 or 19 1/2″ (I can’t remember which) and that, my friends, is in the 90th %. Tiny body, huge head. For that big brain, I presume.
Britta Cait started babysitting for a local MOPS group. Today was her first day, and they meet once a month. She had a great time. She loves little kids, and she loves making money = a great combo.
Britta also turned 17 last week. More to come on that (and also I have photos from Justice’s birthday celebration last month. Patience, young padawans, patience).
Have I mentioned how much I love my kids? Yes? Well, I’m saying it again. God has blessed us so much with six amazing kiddos, I just can’t believe it most of the time. They all show me and Andy such love and respect (absolutely no slamming doors or “I hate you”‘s in this house), they all want to serve God, and they all love spending time with us. That may sound ‘normal’ to some of you, but I know a lot of people who struggle with their teenagers (and a lot of people who struggle with their pre-teens and toddlers too), and it just makes me so thankful to have loving, well-behaved kids. They are not perfect, of course (no one is), but they are an enormous blessing to me and I thank God for them all.
Homeschooling is going swimmingly (pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve ever used that word). I’m enjoying it, the kids are enjoying it – so awesome. The kids are all learning (which is more than I can say for their previous public school educations), and our schedule is going great. Total answer to prayer – all of it!!!
Construction is still ongoing. Andrew finished building the walls in the main room of the basement (school room/office/craft area), and just needs to do one more round of mudding and sanding – then we paint and put a new floor in. We decided on a laminate floor for that room and Brittany’s room after looking at cost, where it was in the house, how much wear it would get, etc… but we’ll put a tiled area by the back door since rumor has it that laminate flooring does not do well when it gets wet.
We have gotten more involved in our church and are loving it. The people are wonderful, the kids love it, and we just know it’s exactly where God wants us to be. Awesome.
Britta is going on a missions trip with some people from our church at the end of this month. They are heading to New York City to do some ministering to others. Please be prayingn for them.
Jacob has turned into a social butterfly! He used to be SO shy and just wanted to be with me all the time, but he has changed SO much in the past 6 months or so. He just wants to play with his friends, invite them over, go see them, go to church, and of course… marry Katie, my friend Robyn’s daughter.
Aaaaand since I’ve been interrupted no less than 47 times since the start of this post, I’ll go ahead and close with a couple of photos from my brother Matt’s house…

Paige walking around Uncle Matt's house like she owned the place.

Justice and Tanner in the 'mud pit' at Uncle Matt's house - the boys had a BLAST!

Canyon, Justice, Tanner, and Chance

Poor Jarvis was sick on the mud pit day.

Jacob LOVED the swimming pool and hot tub!

Darby and Taylor

Taking turns on each other's shoulders in the pool

Taylor's turn on Darby's shoulders... so fun to have a cousin so close in age!

Britta apparently beating up Canyon. lol

More mud pit fun (that's Canyon and Britta if you can't tell)

Well I won’t back down, no I won’t back down…

October 7, 2010 in Andrew, Brittany, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige by Petra | 4 comments

Airborne and Special Operations Museum (we went a couple of weeks ago after Andrew’s PSYOP graduation)…

At the museum...

Jarvis' long lost friend?

Darby is a nut!

Imitating the mannequins

I don't even know.

Excuse me mister, can I have your gun?

Jacob's cheese grin is hilarious!

More reenactments from the drama queen...

My sweet Jacob

Britta reading stuff

She's outta control

Hello? Hello!!??

Roger Roger

Paige was SO done after getting up early, going to the graduation, lunch and now the museum. She was like "WHEN IS MY NAP!!?!?"

"Where did you get that scarf? It's so last year."

"This map is so confusing."

I was there too.

"Take me home! Waaaahhhh!"

So deliriously sleepy. lol

Squishy little arms and legs

Doesn't get any spunkier.

Sweet Sassy Spunky mess

Cute Britta. I love her individuality!!

pretty girl

We finally let her run around - little cutie patootie

Really fun family day, but it was time to go home.

Petra is back with my brand new invention…

September 30, 2010 in Brittany, Darby, Homeschooling, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Lists, Paige, Travel by Petra | 6 comments

I know it’s been a while, but diving into new schedules, full-force homeschooling, a road trip, and a stomach bug have kept me away from the blog. I should be around for a while though, so expect more frequent posts. {here is where you jump up and down and cheer}

For today, I have a list update followed by a bunch of party photos (more photos ready to share over the next several days too)… hopefully tomorrow I’ll think of something that will be inspirational and blow your mind. Let’s play that one by ear though, okay? Okay.

We love our new homeschool schedule. We get up in time to have two hours for breakfast, exercising, Bible study, and getting ready for the day before our schoolwork begins. We did a week-long test run, then interrupted for a trip, but will get back to it this coming Monday.
We had a great trip to Atlanta visiting my siblings and nieces and nephews. Wonderful times were had by all. My kids LOVE hanging out with their cousins – we wish we lived closer so they could see them more often.
We stayed with my brother and sister-in-law (Matt & Carolyn). They are so nice and hospitable, and my kids love their kids, their house, their animals, their pool, etc… [Thanks for letting us stay guys!]
Gideon (my great-nephew) is SO adorable. His first birthday party was the reason for the trip, and he just couldn’t be cuter.
Isn’t it funny how traveling makes you appreciate your own bed/pillow/blankets? I have slept like a rock the past two nights!!!
Andrew is finished with school and is at his new job now. My prayer is that he loves it! He’ll be deployed a lot, but that’s part of the downside to being in the military.
The kids (the five oldest) started their Wednesday night programs at church last night. Britta and Jarvis missed it because they weren’t feeling well, but the other three kids had a great time!
We passed around a stomach bug. It was kind of brutal for some of us, but short-lived. I’ll take super painful/gross for a day over less ill for a week though. I prefer just getting it all out of the way at once.
Andrew got a lot of work done in the office/school room while the kids and I were in Atlanta. He rocks!
Now there’s a lot of sanding to do and then we prime. Andrew had to build some walls, and then drywall and he got all that done plus mudding.
I was sick the day I was supposed to shop at the Atlanta IKEA with friends/family, but on the way back home Tuesday, I stopped at the Charlotte IKEA and was able to do about an hour and a half of shopping. It was fabulous. I LOVE that store!! I didn’t spend too much (although if I HAD more to spend, I certainly WOULD have – lol), but I got some much needed items for the kitchen (glasses, kids dishes, mixing bowls, can opener, platter, cute napkins – yes cute napkins were much needed – haha), and I got toilet bowl brushes (hey – they are only 99 cents and are much cuter than the 3 dollar ones at Walmart or Target!) and I got some $20 desks for my three oldest kids to use for their schoolwork. So score!
While at IKEA, it was kind of late (we were there from 7:30 to 9:00 pm), and when I let Paige out of the cart in the kid’s section, she climbed into the toddler beds and took her shoes off, laid down and tried to sleep. She got mad when we wouldn’t let her go to sleep. She was like “hey – I haven’t seen my own bed in weeks” (it was only 5 days, but that’s a long time to a baby)… “I’m tired, and this bed is comfy – why can’t I sleep here?!” She’s so adorable. AND I found the toddler bed I want to get for her – as soon as I have the extra cash, I’m going to head back to IKEA and get it! It will go perfectly in her newly painted room!! AND it stretches out to a twin bed for when she grows, so it’ll be a good investment. :)
I have a few things I want to sell on craigslist or ebay, but it is SUCH a hassle to do that type of thing anymore. Does anyone want to do it for me? I’ll probably just end up giving those items away – so much easier. lol
I really love our house – have I mentioned that? I’m so thankful to have a house of our own (I mean, it belongs to the bank currently – but we are not renting for the first time ever). I love being able to paint it, I love having all this space (we’ve lived in some pretty cramped places in the past), I love our neighborhood for the most part… it’s just nice.
I need to make my meal plan and grocery list for this pay period. Any suggestions for cheap and easy meals that will feed 8 and are gluten-free? Please post them.

Paige wasn't so sure about the ball pit at first, but she liked it later.

Sweet Taylor. Darby had a blast playing with her all weekend!

The uncooperative duo. Marci was trying to get them to re-create their old "fight stance" photos, but they refused. Oh well.

Adam and Andrea.

Gideon and his Grandma.

Paige getting cupcake all over Aunt Marci's shirt.

Canyon, Jarvis, and Nathaniel.

The Van Meters. Some of my favorite people in the wide world.

Me & Andrea dressed alike. Again. Never planned. (because why on earth would be plan to match? that would be weird.)

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Gideon. Happy birthday to you. (whew. so glad to get that out. only Andrea understands.)

Paige and Andrea. Paige was kind of a grumpypants that day.

Me and four of my six siblings.

A lot of Goodling cousins. Missing Tori, Cory, Tim, Matt, Lauren, Olivia, & Alia.

The LaMontagnes and Van Meters.

Matt and Carolyn. My wonderful brother and his sweet wife. I just love them!

My sister, Marci, and one of my best friends in the world.

Paige liked the ball pit with Darby and Taylor in there playing too.

The Joshinator. Looking forward to his Thanksgiving visit!

Jacob. I mean, Wolverine. I didn't get a better photo of the sticks. I mean, claws.

She was absolutely filthy (and SO sweaty) by the time the party was over!

They did not allow me to get a good photo of them together. Next time, next time.

Back at Gideon's house - he's such a rock star, he loved the drum sticks one of his little baby friends gave him for his birthday.

Another attempt at a photo of the two of them, but Paige is just looking at Gideon like "why are you on my mommy?!?!" lol

“Watch your footwork, better learn to bob and weave…”

September 15, 2010 in Darby, Decorating, Home & Garden, Jarvis, Justice, Paige by Petra | 3 comments

Some recent photos…

Jarvis' first soccer game was this past Sunday. His team is awesome!

They won 14 to 0! I'll try to get some better photos next game.

The boys love to go back in the woods behind our house and have airsoft wars. Sometimes it's just the two of them, but sometimes they gather all the boys in the neighborhood for their wars.

Heading out to the woods...

I spent last weekend painting the girls' room. It's just taped off here - I finished the main color, but still need to do the accent colors. I'll post views of the whole room when I'm done. For now a few sneak peeks...

The main color is a stone gray... I love it so far - can't wait to get the room all done and decorated!

Paige's side will have some yellow...

...and some black and white...

...and Paige's dresser is no longer the old hand-me-down ugly wood with gold handles... more photos to come...

I see trees of green, red roses too…

September 3, 2010 in Brittany, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige, Random by Petra | 10 comments

Another random list… cause that’s how I roll…

Justice has a job! He is helping with the filming of the local high school football games. This was his 2nd week, and he loves it!
Speaking of Justice, he’ll be 15 in 5 days. Crazy town!
I finally caught up with my bcf, the Kendster! We chatted for 2 1/2 hours the other day and could have gone on for another 12! That’s what happens when we only talk once every six months. We really need to chat more often, but between my 6 kids and her 10 kids – finding time to chat on the phone is challenging.
I need help. I Timothy 2:15 says “Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.” (NKJV) and I can’t figure out what it means. I’ve read three commentaries, and they all said different things, and they were all pure conjecture. I’ve worn out my concordance. I have a couple of ideas of what it might mean, but I’m not satisfied yet. So please, if you have insight to offer, please do. I need to move on. lol (I won’t share what I think it might mean with you yet, so it doesn’t cloud your opinions on the verse.)
We are on day 2 of a 10 day field exercise wherein the hubster can’t even call. *sad face*
I forgot to get laundry detergent the last two times I went to the store, and now I’m completely out. I’ve been out for two days. Which means I have an ever-growing pile of laundry. Must go to the store tomorrow! (I don’t think I’ve ever actually run out before – it’s so unlike me.)
Paige’s eye teeth need to just hurry up and cut through the gums. She was sleeping so well, but the last couple of nights she’s been up fussing. She usually gets a runny nose and a fever when she’s teething, but this time she has diarrhea which means diaper rash (which we are keeping under control, but still – it’s no fun)… and this has gone on for nearly two weeks. I just don’t function properly on interrupted sleep! Here’s hoping she sleeps all night tonight!! I gave her Tylenol before bed, but she usually wakes up around the time it wears off, and even if I give her more, she is up for a while – last night? from 1 am to after 3 am… *sigh* (eta 9/4/10: Paige slept from 7:30 last night until 9:20 this morning!! Hallelujah!!)
Paige has been talking more – it’s SO cute. I LOVE this age. (aside from the teething – ha!) She’s so playful and giggles when we tickle her or chase her. She gives the sweetest little hugs and kisses (and I can’t get enough of those). Now she says “eat” as she does the sign for it. She’s walking a little bit. She’s still nervous about it though.
Jarvis is loving his soccer team – games start pretty soon.
Jacob went on his first “friend” outing without any of us. He went with a friend’s family to the children’s museum in Raleigh on Wednesday. He left at 8:00 am and came home in the early afternoon. He had a BLAST and has been talking about it ever since.
Brittany has been researching colleges and has a list pretty narrowed down. She wants to major in Anthropology (and possibly minor or double major in Art or Linguistics). She’s all signed up to take her SAT’s in October, and I need to get her signed up for the ACT’s. All the fun ‘senior’ stuff.
Darby doesn’t really have much going on lately – just being busy being 9. I’d like to get her in a gymnastics class or something of the sort so she has an extracurricular activity. I missed the fall sign-ups (no funding was available – lol), but the winter classes start in November, so hopefully she’ll be able to do those.
I think I’m going to start doing crossfit again. I want to get in shape and walking and yoga are great, but I want results FAST! I’ll let you know how it goes.

That’s all I got for now…

the other day, I saw a bear, a great big bear, a way out there…

August 25, 2010 in Breastfeeding, Brittany, Darby, Homeschooling, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Lists, Paige, Random by Petra | 6 comments

Lists are our friends.

Andy’s parents and sister came for a visit this week, and we had a blast. I definitely hit the jackpot when it comes to in-laws. And I’m not just saying that because they read my blog. I really, truly mean it. Love them!

It was more difficult than it should have been to take this photo - lol.

I had to use the flash to get a semi-decent shot. Ideally, I'd have taken this photo during daylight when everyone was all fixed up (note the freshly bathed, pajama'd three in front), but alas, I forgot to even touch my camera during their whole visit until the last possible second).
Darby got baptized on Sunday morning (and Andy’s family was here to see – so cool)! So proud of her that she genuinely wants to follow Jesus.

Darby was too short to see much during the actual baptism, but I managed to take her photo just after.

Getting her baptism certificate (I was using Andy's point&shoot camera and I have no idea how to work that thing - lol)
Jarvis had his first (soccer) scrimmage with another team last night and he did great. Looking forward to his games, which start in about three weeks.
Have I mentioned our school plans on my blog? If not, fyi (and for prosperity’s sake), we are homeschooling all the kids this year. That’ll be 5 kids. Homeschooled. Grades K, 4, 7, 9, and 12. Once we start, if you don’t hear from me for a while, check in and make sure I’m still alive and sane, would you? Seriously though - I’m looking forward to it. We aren’t ‘officially’ starting for a couple more weeks-ish, but are doing some things to prepare such as diagnostic testing (starting today).
I went to Darby and Jarvis’ old schools yesterday to withdraw them (school started today — what? you don’t wait until the last possible minute to do things? whatever.), and my decision was just completely confirmed. Ahhhh… feels good to be doing the right thing for your family.
And please don’t take that last sentence to mean that I think everyone should homeschool. I definitely do not feel that way. But I do know that this is the right thing for OUR family right now.
I caught the Dojo Sensei in Mousehunt a few days ago. Exciting, right?
As you know, my iPhone got wet. So sad. I did manage to get it working again, but the LCD screen is all smeared and ruined. I can only barely see 1/2 the screen, and when I try to turn it on, I can’t slide the bar to get to the main menu. So it’s useless to me. It’s okay, you can cry too.
Since I don’t have a few hundred dollars set aside for replacing phones, Andrew found his 5 year old Motorola Razr L7. We charged it, and lo and behold it works. So, I have a phone now, which is nice. The downside is that I have to pay the iPhone $30 monthly fee until April, when my contract ends, and it’ll probably be April before I can afford another iPhone. Oh well. At least I can check my yahoo mail on the Razr, and set alarms on the calendar. I’m just happy to be able to talk and text again – not that I talk/text often, but it’s nice to have the option.
Note to self: record Brittany playing the piano and post it. She totally rocks.
(disclaimer: this point includes the words ‘breast’ and ‘mastitis’… move on to the next point if you aren’t interested)… A few weeks ago, I cut down on the amount of times per day that Paige nursed, thinking that I’d wean her by 18 months. She got down to nursing 3 or 4 times a day (at bed time, nap time, sometimes in the morning, and sometimes if she woke up in the middle of the night). Well, then she started teething again (and no, those eye teeth haven’t poked through yet), and she wanted to nurse ALL THE TIME. So I accomodated her since it seemed to comfort her, and my milk supply went up again. Then, one day, about a week and a half ago, she refused to nurse. Ever again. She went from getting my milk supply WAY up to absolutely nothing. With no warning whatsoever. It was so weird. Anyway, so that led to mastitis in BOTH breasts (fun for me), which I quickly nipped in the bud with garlic, but because of the process of going cold turkey on the breastfeeding, it was kind of a long week or so. I did pump a few times for relief, but I’ve never had much luck with pumping (and I hate doing it). I’m finally feeling ‘normal’ and my energy is starting to return. Thankfully.
I made some barbecue chicken when Andy’s family was here that turned out really great, if I do say so myself. I’ve been struggling trying to find a barbecue sauce that we all like that is 1. gluten-free, 2. chemical-free, and 3. corn-free. Corn-free is nearly impossible to find. The last barbecue chicken I had made was kind of gross – dry and the sauce not tasty (an organic Annie’s sauce – I do not recommend). And of course, we had company when I made it (so sorry Pastor Josh and Trisha! I’ll make a better main course next time! Not that you read my blog, but just in case… I really can make chicken taste good. lol). Anyway… the homemade barbecue sauce had rave reviews, it cooked well with the chicken, which came out really moist and wonderful, and of course, I have no idea how I made it. I did write down all the ingredients I used, but amounts? Who knows? I just threw stuff in there until it smelled right. If I can replicate it, I’ll share the recipe.
Speaking of corn-free… have you seen King Corn? We watched that the other day. Other food documentaries I’ve watched lately are Food, Inc. and The Beautiful Truth. I recommend them all (and they can all be found on netflix’s instant play list). Watch them, make changes, and stop killing yourself by ingesting poison. When we’re all old and I am clear-headed and healthy (because hopefully I made my changes before it was too late – my health is slowly but surely improving), and when you have Alzheimer’s because you thought I was nuts for eating organic and not using harsh chemicals in my home? I’ll say “I told you so!” and you won’t have a clue what I’m talking about because the dementia will be so bad, but I’ll say it anyway and you’ll say “who are you again?” and the nurse will come wipe your drool and wheel you away and I’ll go for a jog.
Yes, the correct spelling of ‘BBQ’ or ‘barbeque’ is actually ‘barbecue’. In case you are judging my spelling of the word in point number 12. Not that I’m ever very aware of grammar on my blog, but misspelled words is a pet peeve of mine. Fragments and run-on sentences are okay though. Unless I’m writing a book – in that case, I’d be more careful with my grammar. Believe it or not, I do understand proper grammar. I really am qualified to teach it to my children.
That last point was FULL of terrible grammar.
Did I blog about Josh’s visit last week? I think I just posted a few photos from our trip to the capitol (in the things-I-love post). Well, Josh visited last week and we had a great visit. Jacob thinks Uncle Josh hung the moon and gets a little hyper excited when Josh is around. What can you do? He’s four.

Britta and Josh imitating Justice on the bench. lol
Darby and Paige wore matching dresses to church on Sunday – and of course, these were the only two photos that I got. I’ll have to make them wear them again and take some real photos. Darby was the one that picked out their clothes, so don’t be all “why are you forcing your children to match” on me – it was HER idea! (dresses are complements of our good friend Robyn who passes her girls’ clothes down to my girls).

Paige is tugging at her face in the one on the right, which explains why her eye looks all wonky. lol