Sunset seen from my driveway

It's an uphill battle...

But I am going to win! After 2 days of complete and total freedom, my oldest daughter came back to reality. It seems to have hit hard too, because she's been sullen and falling back into bad habits we had JUST gained victory over. Monday, I expected to go poorly. The bickering, whining, and "MY daddy..." stories were irritating, but we moved on. Tuesday, I planned for life to resume; but the only thing that resumed was the shattering of peace in my home.

So we all had a LONG talk yesterday. I laid the rules back down, and I reminded them of consequences.

Today, they woke up, did their morning routines, worked on some chores, and then quietly sat watching TV. Not a bad start. Yea kids!

We'll see how the rest of the day goes. The school work is off to a rocky start, but I have faith in my children. I KNOW they can do well. Back to helping them FOCUS.




Ahhhh sweet small successes! After 2 hours of false starts, my girls sat down and diligently worked through 4 of their subjects each!! Heather even copied 7 pages out of a Dr. Seuess story, for her own book to illustrate!

Ok but I need to be fair... Heather likes school work, and was working on her stuff happily while Anne-Marie had the false starts...

just playing around

Sitting here, holding a sleeping boy and thanking God for all of His blessings. A lady came by a week ago, and left a bag of hand-me-downs to spruce up my tee shirt wardrobe. Now I am wearing swishy capri's and a pretty blouse I am willing to wear!

Just another day...

Today is just another day. I have laundry to do, and meals to make. My oldest is gone for the weekend, spending time with her father. They will visit his friends and go swimming and play video games. I don't know what we are going to do yet.

I've been working on a lot of things. The girls decided that they all want to share a room, so I put all the beds in one room. They are slowly settling into a new bedtime routine, with lots of giggles and whispers. The other bedrooms became a nursery, full of all the baby's equipment and all our toddler toys, and a playroom. I have furniture in my garage, waiting to be brought in and used while the old couch is falling apart (darn dog!). Through it all, I am also still unpacking and dealing with the boxed items from years of moving. I am so tired of moving.

I dream of living in the country. I want a garden plot that can sucessfully feed my family year round, and animals to give us meat and milk. I want to put up preserves and canned goods all summer long, so that I can enjoy them on cold winter days and remember the heat of the canning kitchen. I want to be able to send my children out to play, and know that every neighbor they talk to shares my values and beliefs.

I dream of a tiny community of families. One where everyone worked towards the same goals. Where instead of finding everyone in my computer, I can step out onto the porch, and wander over to talk to Meg about scriptures, or talk to Robyn about new ideas on plumbing, or wander over to the apaca barn and talk to Angela about those wonderful critters. I can easily imagine big meal time gatherings in the summer, firing up the BBQs and cooking up enough to feed an army of happy children. Can't you see the forts and playground over there under the trees, and the swimming pond just over there? What a wonderful peaceful place...

:D the baby is sleeping. I need to get back to my day... just another day, working towards a dream...

It's depressing really

It's depressing, really. A wonderful message board has been my safe place to learn and grow in christianity. There, I was able to find peace, prayers, and friendships. I was able to talk about day to day life, and learn things about living a more wholesome and biblical life. We laughed together. We cried together. Together, we all mourn the loss of our wonderful place of fellowship.

I sat today off and on, opening my browser, and seeing the error message telling me yet again, that "Yes, it's still gone" *sigh* So then I started peeking in at my friends blogs. I noticed that some haven't blogged in forever. "Gee, I hope they update soon! I wonder how they are doing!" I think.

Then I realize that *I* need to blog too!!! *gasp!*

So here I am. I have little to say. Actually, I have a LOT to say, but it's not my place. I'll say more soon. I plan to blog more.