My boy is four! Squinting into the too bright sun, he still manages to look adorable.

He loves "gorilla" bars, they make his heart "beep" faster.

Making My Home a Haven, week 2

Last week went much better. The kids are picking up their chores and the kitchen is clean. And I've been able to keep up with my daily Bible reading and prayer time. Our morning routine is really working even when I have to adjust for nightowl babies.

Last Saturday's plans were changed for me - that happens some times! - so I'll try again this week to have everything done for dinner and for church by Saturday afternoon.

Monica's challenge this week is about planning. My favorite! Stopping to think things through is an absolute necessity. The things that really start to grate on my nerves are usually the same things that I haven't taken the time to plan (or maybe I had them all out but something changed...these kids are always growing and changing on me). Several things around here could stand to have a little thought applied...

• Meals...I do usually plan suppers, but I don't always stick to the plan. And lunches and breakfast need more planning, too.
• Luke's nap...he's been napping in the school room with us, but he's beginning to wake a little too easily for that so we need to find him a new spot.
• School...the basics of school are planned out for the rest of this year, but I do need to make copies, reserve books, and plan projects. The fun stuff. And I want to start thinking about next year and plan a planning day like last year.
• Tea time...Brenna's asked me to have a tea party with her so we're going to make this a regular girls only time on Sunday afternoons (although the boys will still be able to snack on any goodies we might have). I think I'm looking forward to this as much as she is!

That should provide a nice, full week. I don't usually have any free time to sit and think, but since Casey's going to work earlier, I'm planning to use that time. I'll just have to write myself a list of things to plan!

Thanks to Monica for hosting this lovely series!

Making My Home Home a Haven - Week 1

I got off to a slow start on this week's goals. Getting the kids back onto their chore schedule proved tough because of all the late nights I've been having with Luke and Christian. When Mommy sleeps too late mornings get off on the wrong foot! Getting the kitchen clean in the evenings fell prey to the same problem...I was too exhausted after supper most nights to worry about it.

But I got so much more done this week than I would've without the challenge! I read a chapter in my Bible every morning and wrote down my prayers every morning. That's something I've wanted to get back to for a long time so I'm really tickled about it. I did a little more blogging, too, which was nice. And I have this afternoon set aside to settle down with some tea and fill in my Bible - I've been looking forward to it all week.

For next week...

• Continue working with the kids on their morning and afternoon chores. We're getting the toy room and bedrooms completely picked p today - that should help.
• same goes for the kitchen!
• I also need to gt to bed and get up earlier through the week.
• On Saturday, I'm planning to have all my work done...house cleaned, church clothes ironed, dinner started...by three so that I can have a little time "off" and we can all have a relaxing evening together.

Thanks, Monica, for hosting this series. It's such a help!

Raising a young lady

Being the only girl in a houseful of brothers probably has its advantages. I do worry though that I will be so busy with these wild and crazy guys that she and I will miss out on all those wonderful girly things. I'm determined to spend more time this year focusing on raising a young lady...and painting our fingernails.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Making Your Home a Haven

I've always enjoyed this series that Monica hosts every so often, but these lovely hydrangeas just called out to me to join in.

We've been focused on school for the last few weeks so the house has had to make do with a lick and a promise. Hopefully over the next few weeks we can turn our comfy, lived in!, home into a true haven.

Here's what I'll work on this week.

• starting the day with my Bible reading and written prayers. I'm working on reading just one chapter per day from the New Testament.


• getting the kids back on the chore bandwagon. I've been very lax about reminding them lately and we all know how that works:)


• cleaning the kitchen every night before bed. Nothing is more depressing than waking up to dirty dishes!


• making time to blog a bit more often. This blog serves as my only scrapbook for right now and posting about what I've managed to accomplish is a big encouragement.


• filling in my brand new family Bible - a Christmas present from my grandparents. I'm so excited about writing our family history in the front.

That's enough, I think, to keep me busy for one week.

"First" Day of School

Our first day of school for this year was actually back in July. Then we took a long fall break and official school days were all chaotic and twirly (but not in a good way) after that. So after Christmas break I was ready to get back to a regular routine. I commemorated the event by finally taking first day of school pictures for this year.


Levi is a second grader this year. He did not do well with the lack of routine over the last few months - I think school seemed a little too optional and, given the option he'd rather play than work. I can identify. But the last few weeks have seen a total turn around. Once he knew the (challenging) expectations, he's taken right off...most days he does even more than I expected.

Brenna has been the one begging for more school. She's only 5 1/2 but is doing mostly 1st grade work. Math seems to come naturally to her (which makes me scratch my head) and her reading skills are coming along. I haven't managed to teach her to love books yet...I'm beginning to think that isn't something you can teach. But I am planting all the seeds for it...

Jack is my preschooler this year. He loves the Kumon workbooks - working his way through Tracing and Sticker & Paste right now - but I'm also trying to spend time reading just with him every day. He was too young for a lot of the picture books and Bible stories when I was reading them to Brenna and Levi, so I'm rereading them with him now. He still listens in to everything the big kids do, though. Especially science. And we all are studying the catechism together.

I'm really excited about the last half of the school year. Our homeschool group has been a lifesaver! I'm teaching a short class on Medieval Times for the co-op that I'll share more about soon. It's so fun to work with all of these great kids and to see my kids making friends. Just the booster shot we need every now and then:) And I'm so glad I finally took their pictures...look how much they've grown since last year!

Luke's Baptism

We had Luke's Baptism on our anniversary. It was really precious to me - he grinned at the pastor and seemed to enjoy it, too. Just about our whole family was able to be there.

Luke and my dad

Here are Casey and the rest of our little tribe. Brenna had a hard time deciding between gold bows and a gold headband for her hair. That was (miraculously!) the biggest drama of our morning.

Casey, Christian, Levi, Brenna, and Jack

After church everyone came back to our house for an extremely casual meal of make-your-own subs and some yummy desserts. It was so fun to have everyone together to visit and relax. The kids played outside (and got my nephew's brand new rc helicopter stuck in a tree) and the grownups stayed in and talked and snacked and talked. Lovely.

pictures by my sister, btw. I never would've included the mayo jar:)

Happy New Year!

I'm still wrapping up 2009, but in my head I'm making big plans for 2010. More on that later. In the meantime I thought I'd catch everyone up on the last few months of 2009 since posting got lower than usual on my priority list after Luke was born.
Casey's work went back and forth between too few hours and overtime, causing quite a bit of upheaval. It was well worth it though to have him home a little more often.
Our schooling was very slow to pick back up after the fall break we took when Luke was born. We did the bare minimum most days and I postponed a lot of extras, but we kept up with our great co-op group and went on a fun field trip.
The most difficult thing we did this year, by far, was leaving our church. It's a decision we've been praying over for a very long time...God was gracious enough to keep repeating Himself while I hemmed and hawed. But we've settled in a new church and been very blessed by it. The pastor was even kind enough to work Luke's baptism into the holiday schedule so that our family could all be there.
The baptism was a truly happy day. Luke grinned through the whole thing - he's a happy little fella. And then we had friends and family over to the house for a (very relaxed!) lunch.
Casey and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary just after Christmas by going out to dinner while my parents watched *all* of the kids. So nice. I'm so thankful that God brought us together when we were so young and has held us together since then. Sometimes I feel like we're toddlers on His lap and, whether we play happily or push and pull and try to escape, He holds us there, loving arms restraining and protecting us. This past year we've played happily with only a very few minor tantrums:)
And now I'm looking forward to getting 2010 off to a good start. I'm full of ideas for school and home. I can't wait to make a brand new notebook! But first I think I'll get the Christmas tree put away:)

Levi on the steps

We've been so busy in my month-long blogging hiatus, but I have really enjoyed all the busyness:) Now, though, I'm looking forward to settling back down and getting caught up with everything and everyone.
Levi turned 8 this month and I can't help but be a little emotional about how fast he's growing up. I am enjoying having a big kid, though!

Field trip with Grandma Mary

The first is a series of field trips I'm calling "Not everything comes from Walmart" - my grandma took us to visit her cousin and see how cane syrup is made.

Brenna did not care to have her picture made, but Levi didn't mind. He was impressed with the whole process.

Jack was impressed by the fire! Here he is by the wood pile.

We had a wonderful time and got to spend the day with Grandma Mary. The kids went back to her house to decorate gingerbread men over the weekend. They are lucky, lucky kids to have great-grandparents who take up so much time with them. And Casey and I are truly blessed to have such awesome babysitters!

Christmas ideas

It's that time of year again...that time when I realize there are only 7 1/2 weeks until Christmas. And in that time we also have Thanksgiving, 2 birthdays, and a baby dedication. I want to be relaxed and able to enjoy each of those things so...I'd better get busy:) It's time to start planning what to cook, which traditions to focus on (cause they don't all fit every year!), and which presents to shop for. For example, Levi has asked for throwing knives. I need to think about that. For a few years.
My friend Betty and I are brainstorming some Christmas ides so if you have a favorite recipe or gift idea or tradition who'd be willing to share, please do! And head over to Betty's to talk about great gift ideas for the hard-to-shop-for!

edited to add links

• Owlhaven has some fun educational gift ideas here. The comments have some great ideas, too.
• History, character training and paper dolls in one gift:)

Today

I got a full day's worth of lessons done with the kids, cooked a real lunch, took everyone outside to play, did some laundry, doctored some owies and sniffles, and had dinner done on time.

My house looks like Martha Stewart's nightmare.

I can get it all cleaned up tomorrow...if it rains...and the kids don't mind granola bars for lunch.

Thank Heaven for Little Boys

What a sweetheart. I almost don't even mind the (very) late nights. Almost.

A New Season

We are slowly coming out of the beautiful fog that comes with a new baby. I was determined this time to really slow down and just enjoy having a new baby in the house - I've only actually left home a handful of times since we brought him home. But it's time now to start easing back into things...as a family of 7.
There are so many projects that I've put off over the last few months - lots of things I can't wait to get started on. But the first thing I need to concentrate on is getting us (big surprise here) organized. I love organizing. I love containers and sorting and decluttering and schedules and LISTS! But I don't seem to be quite so passionate about keeping things organized. And it's becoming quite obvious that running a household with 5 smallish children will require me to keep things organized or Casey and I will wind up divorcing over a lost shoe and my children will forget that not all foods are served between two pieces of bread. So it's time to get the essential stuff back on track...closets sorted for fall so laundry can be put away and not piled on the loveseat, menus planned in advance (including breakfast and lunch!) so I don't have to hear "I hate sandwiches!" ever again, my desk cleared off so I can find this week's lesson plan. And since we have several days of rain ahead, I should have plenty of inside time to get started.
I am planning some fun, too, though. We're ready to see how a family outing shapes up with 5 instead of 4 so we may venture out to the park for a picnic or to a fall festival or two. And my super sweet mother sent us a holiday in a box this week full of German treats so we'll be having an Oktoberfest family night on Friday or Saturday. I'm so excited to do something a little different and I know the kids will love it. We've...I mean, they've...already almost finished off the German cookies.
This new season is starting to shape up quite nicely.

Christian turned two!

Actually he turned two way back at the end of August. We celebrated with ice cream cake:) But in all the busyness of the new baby I forgot to post his picture on the steps. Isn't he adorable?!

NOW it's time for the new baby!

Luke Kersey

born September 10, 2009

8lbs 4 oz, 21 inches

Time for Baby

Actually, it's not quite time for baby - I'm only 36 weeks along - but, much like his big brothers, he seems interested in getting to the party already. The doctor started me on Bentyl last week which has all but stopped the contractions without most of the side effects from last time. It does cause insomnia though...just when I need my rest!
Admittedly I'm ready to see this little guy. My friend Claire, who was due on the same day as me, is already getting to hold and play with her new little guy. He was 5lbs and 9 oz born at just 35 weeks! I can't wait to see pictures!!!! (Claire, that's a hint!!!)
I am getting a lot done in these last few weeks. I've finished almost everything on my list from cooking for the freezer (now I just need to organize it!) to packing a hospital bag. I still have a few things to pick up or have delivered (the new carseat for example - hope it makes it on time!), but most of the plans are in place so I can sit back and relax a little:) Perfect timing since Casey's work hours have changed and we're trying to get used to a new schedule.
Well, that's the update. We have lots of other things on the back burner - our homeschool group is taking off and I'm planning a Medieval Times class to teach at our co-op this winter. We're finishing up our first school term for this year - it's gone really well so far but it will be nice to have a little break from planned lessons. I'm also trying to plan field trips for the year and wondering just how much I'll be able to juggle! I guess I'll have to wait and see.....

Time for School

It's that time of year again when everyone is getting back to school. We've actually been doing school for a couple of weeks already and it's going really well. It just makes more sense for us (especially this year!) to start a little earlier when it's too hot to do much of anything anyway and then take off some extra time in the fall. This year our fall break will double as my maternity leave and the kids will get to spend time with daddy and visiting grandparents.

Levi is a 2nd grader this year and Brenna is doing 1st grade (she's just five but she just really loves school!). Jack is doing a small amount of preschool stuff and sitting in with us for most of the reading. Christian is learning too - how to make more messes, faster. In that particular area, I clearly have a genius on my hands:)



I started planning what to study way back in the spring. Once I had books in hand, I spend a day at my church having my own little planning retreat, drafting schedules and making copies. Time very well spent! We use The Well Trained Mind as a basic guide, but one of my very favorite things about homeschooling is personalizing the curriculum to fit us just right.



For history, Levi and Brenna are both using Story of the World, vol 2 - The Middle Ages. Brenna listened to most of the reading we did last year on the ancients so I don't think she's missing anything by skipping ahead in time just a bit. I'm also going to teach a class in our co-op on the Middle Ages so we should be able to fit in lots of fun projects.



I'm really enjoying teaching Saxon Math this year - much better than last year! Turns out they don't have to complete every single problem on every single page - Levi will probably finish Math2 by Christmas and Brenna is zipping through Math 1. And this year, they like it!



Language Arts is no longer called Grammar in this house. Levi did not care for grammar at all, but he likes Language Arts just fine:) We switched to First Language Lessons this year from English for the Thoughtful Child. I really enjoyed Thoughtful Child, but Levi was just bored to tears with it. And First Language Lessons works well because Brenna and Levi can both work out of the same book - it covers 1st and 2nd grades.



Levi is also using Spelling Workout again this year. I skipped the B workbook though and went straight to C. He's just really an exceptional speller (which he did not get from me!). I'm probably going to start Brenna on workbook A later on in the year, but for now she's working on phonics and learning to read. We're using the Starfall program and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. She loves Starfall but TYCTR can get kind of dull. It's very good though so we just take little bites:)



For science, we're studying the earth and space this year. I like to use the Usborne First Encyclopedias as a spine, but we do a lot of reading and projects to supplement that. We're planning a lot of stargazing this year with the telescope my parents bought us last year. I'd like to spend a lot more time on nature notebooks this year. I'm just really not a nature girl at all, so I'm hoping to get together with some other homeschoolers for this - I need a little accountability!



For Bible study, we're using Veritas Press The Gospels. It has a good bit of art appreciation built in to the study and lots of optional activities. This is the main part of our "Circle Time" - the only part for right now. "Circle Time" is still in development - it doesn't even have an actual name yet. "Circle Time" is "too babyish" for some of my little students so we're working on something that sounds a little more mature:)



We'll be going to homeschool co-op classes again this year, but those don't start until September so I'll probably post a little more about them later. Brenna is still crazy about the Kumon workbooks so I keep a few of those on hand, too. And Levi is begging for a robotics kit from Lego...until then he keeps busy building everything out of legos. Maybe he'll be an engineer.

Cooking for the freezer

Finally, I feel like I'm getting something done! I really wanted to have the freezer packed with meals before the baby gets here (5 1/2 weeks, tops!), but I just knew that there was no way I'd be able to work in even one big mega cooking day. So I've just been making one or two extra things a day, usually just doubling whatever we're having for supper. Also I went ahead and invested in disposable pans and ziploc bags on our last trek to Sams. The pans worked out to be about 30 cents each. Compared to what we'll save by not having to eat out as often, that's not a bad deal.
Here's what I have in the freezer so far (numbers refer to how many meals worth, not individual servings).

• 1 chili
• 1 hamburgers
• 2 meatballs
• 3 grilled, sliced chicken breasts (for fajitas, chicken salads)
• 3 chopped, grilled chicken (for quesadillas)
• 4 browned, crumbled hamburger (for tacos, sloppy joes, emergency Hamburger Helper!)
• 1 spaghetti sauce
• 1 chicken pot pie
• 2 banana streusel muffins
• 1 twice baked potatoes

Still to make? Some of my favorites...tortellini soup (add the tortellini just before serving), the meat for Marlboro Man sandwiches, lasagna, and cinnamon rolls! Plus granola to take to the hospital with me.

A great cookbook for making food that freezes well and still tastes good - The Best Make Ahead Recipe Cookbook.

A brand new baby picture

Look at that little chubby cheek! At 32 weeks, I'm getting awfully ready to hold this little fella. Seeing him on the ultrasound actually makes my impatience worse. But we have six and a half weeks left - at the most - before the c-section and so much left to do! Hopefully that nesting urge will kick in soon because I do not want to go into labor with a messy house...again.