Random things

Just a few words for those of you who check in regularly. I have been unacceptably late in posting blogs lately. I am trying to get into a routine with my new schedule, and have not quite gotten there. This semester is going to be a challenge! Unfortunately, I don't see that I'll have a lot of time for posting, but I will do my best...and I'll try to get some pictures of the kids since it's been a while with that.

The kids: Both are well, although Kathryn is going to the doctor today (actually in just a few minutes). She has had a cold, and really started coughing yesterday - almost constantly. And this morning she had a fever, so no school for her. After Aunt Courtney's bout of pneumonia, I'm too scared to not get her checked out! Other than that, she's well :) She has really taken off with reading and is doing great in Awana. She earned another red jewel last night. Unfortunately, I've given over responsibility for Awana preparation to Jason. I hate to give it up, but I just can't seem to remember to make time to do it during the week.

Julian is also doing great. He was grounded for a week for some school issues, but I think it may have had an impact. He has had some great days at school since being un-grounded. It turns out some of the issues he is having have to do with his work being hard. He has always had such an easy time with his schoolwork, and did not have to put much effort into it. Well, not so for 3rd grade! The math especially has become challenging, and we talked about that. It doesn't mean he is less smart than he was; it just means he has to practice more. It made me sad that he apparently thought it meant he was less smart. Poor baby. Anyway, he's doing great, and I have hope that he'll finish out his year well.

Jason and Robert were finally able (after some weather delays) to get rid of the tree that had fallen across our fence. It was an undertaking, and both were sore when they were done. Going up and down our embankment can be a brutal workout! Our next big improvement project is replacing our shower, which is in pretty bad shape. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks we'll be able to pick out our new shower and get all of the supplies for the project. It's gonna be a doozy! Since I have class Wednesday nights, Jason has started taking the kids to Awana alone. He stays with them for opening assembly and then comes home until it's time to pick them up.

I am 3 weeks into the new semester, and so far so good. I have 2 online classes, which has been an adjustment, especially since one of my online professors is not a fan of the internet and seems to be a bit stubborn about certain things. Oh well, I can relate to stubbornness! There is a lot of writing involved in both - Sociology and World Literature, which makes blogging go a little lower on my list of writing priorities :)

I love my Environmental Science class, although at this point we are only talking about the introductory things - biomes, ecosystems, habitats....We started a semester long experiment to see what the affects of motor oil are on growing things (pea plants and marigolds). Should be interesting. I am looking forward to the sections on climate change and global warming. I've done some research on my own, but you can never tell who put what kind of spin on what you're reading, so I'm anxious to see what an ecologist that I know and trust thinks about it. She did say in one of our first classes that 94% of climatologists agree that global warming is real and that man is making it worse....the further out you go from that specific science, the percentage goes down, but climatologists are people who got their masters or doctorate in the specific science of the climate, so I guess they know what they're talking about. I actually watched a documentary this week on Netflix called Heat (it was on PBS originally, and you can find it on their page if you're interested). It was pretty convincing.

And finally, my first education class has been ... interesting. The professor is unique - I really like her. She tells a lot of stories though, which can be a little frustrating. She has been an educator for almost 30 years, has been a principal in elementary, middle and high schools and is now the assistant superintendent. She actually worked in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, which is where I graduated from. I have already learned a lot about what teaching really is, and some things were not what I expected....I'm thankful for her honesty!

So, that's our life recently in a (quite large and a little rambling) nutshell. I will try to get some good kid pictures this week and post them. I hope no one is going through Julian and Kathryn withdrawal out there!

Snow day ...

Finally we got a bit of snow. It was less than an inch, but it was enough to cancel school for all of us. We went out first thing, before it had the chance to melt away (and before the kids had a chance to whine about going out to play). Our neighbor friend, Jada, came over to play too and was even able to join us for some hot chocolate after playing.

Julian lucked out - he is grounded this week, but I let him go out to play in the snow (since we never know if we'll get more!), and he'll get to watch TV today since I told him he could watch the inauguration...lucky, indeed!

A cold day...

Today, I am so thankful for being warm. I've been thinking all day about all of the people that have no warm place to retreat to when the temperatures drop. Where do they go? How do they survive? I have never seen a homeless person here in my town, but I know there are so many here and further away. I don't know what to do for them, but I am thinking of them and have prayed for them on this cold day (and if it's cold here - it's COLD further north!). I am just so blessed.

Lucy

Lucy lays in the strangest positions. She heard my camera, looked at me and then put her nose right back behind the pillow.

Our Kitchen

I have been hard at work repainting our kitchen this week. As always, I forgot to get good before pictures, but I did include a couple of the kids in the kitchen just to give an idea of the before....I love the result, but it was a lot of work!

I had to take all of the doors off the cabinets and sand the finish off. Then I primed and then painted them. I had some issues with finding the right place to paint the cabinet doors - a tough job in a small house, and I ended up having to re-do it because it just didn't look good with drips and dog fur. We borrowed Jason's Dad's sander, and that made the job a lot easier, but it couldn't be used everywhere, so I had to do a lot by hand.

These are the best "before" pictures I could gather. I really need to work on taking those before pictures BEFORE I start. :)

Anyway, this was my last "me-time" project before school starts again (tomorrow). I suspect I'll have little free time after reading through the syllabuses (syllabi??) for Sociology and World Literature, which I am taking as online classes (no actual class time!). I will go to "Environmental Biology" and "Foundations in Education" tomorrow, and we'll see what those classes will be like. It's 14 hours total, so it will definitely keep me busy.

Christmas break

The kids have been out of school for a week now, with one week left before they go back. We've had our moments, but for the most part things have been tolerable. Here is one of those rare moments when the kids were enjoying each other's company and having fun playing Connect 4. (Unfortunately, it didn't take long before Julian was screaming at Kathryn for doing something wrong, and the game ended). Kathryn loves spending time with her big brother, especially those times when he is nice to her, but I think Julian is ready to get back to his school friends....

Christmas pictures

Some pictures from our travels this week past:


Christmas eve....

Christmas morning at home ...

Christmas dinner at Grandma Knight's house ...

And finally, Christmas with the Finks in Charlotte ....

Making gifts

This year, we made some of the gifts we gave for Christmas. It was pretty messy, which made it that much more fun. Here are a few pictures of the process....

A new day ...

Julian must have had a hard day Wednesday. He does not normally take naps after school, but he must have just been too tired to remind me that he is too old for naps. I wanted to post these pictures yesterday:

but Jason and I came down with a stomach bug Wednesday night, and I just wasn't able to. Jason did not get hit with the stomach bug as hard as I was, but he had a headache, which put him out of commission. We were quite the pair. Jason's mom actually had to come over to bring dinner for the kids because we were not able to get up and prepare a meal. She was SO nice to bring them happy meals and Jason and I some foods for upset stomachs. She is an amazing mom (in-law) and grandma! She even sat with the kids while they ate, which is an exercise in patience with Kathryn.

I can't speak for Jason, but I felt terrible. All is well today, though. Jason was feeling back to normal, and I can get up and move around - I even got the kitchen cleaned up - Julian made their breakfast and part of their lunches yesterday morning. He was so sweet to do it, but I didn't get to clean up after him until this morning. He did a great job taking care of me while I was sick. I'm not 100%, but who cares as long as I can get off the couch!

Julian singing

Julian has been grounded from TV for a while, and the other day Kathryn wanted to watch a movie, so he had to find something else to do. He got his T&T book with song lyrics, our Awana song CD, and he started singing. He had a little bit of a stomach bug over the weekend, hence the couch - he didn't feel good and wanted to lay down in the kitchen while I made dinner. Isn't he cute?

Poor baby Katie

Kathryn started running a fever and was up in the night a couple of times Sunday night with a headache and ear pain. Poor baby. I took her to the doctor yesterday, and she has a really bad ear infection - bad enough that her doctor said "you have to look at this". Her ear is really bothering her - this is the most painful infection I remember her having. So she was out of school yesterday and today. Hopefully she'll be able to go back in time for her class Christmas party Thursday...

(She is watching a Barbie movie that has 3D effects in it)

Princess party

On Saturday, Kathryn got to go to a princess party with Grandma. From what I understand, she got to dress up, put on make up, paint her nails, and have a tea party. She had a lot of fun. You can't see in this picture, but she was very sparkly - eye shadow and blush, sparkly hair and nails. Very cute.

Poor Lucy

I know, it's pitiful, but I couldn't help myself....

Santa

An interesting article I found on Google news today on the evolution of the idea of a Santa

Wood on Words: Ho ho ho! Santa Claus has saintly origins

Trees are beautiful - but not on top of my fence!

As I was braiding Kathryn's hair this morning for school, Jason came in to tell me I might want to call the insurance man today; a tree fell onto our fence in the backyard last night. We have had a lot of rain the last few days, and I guess this pine lost its footing.

This fence is for decoration mostly at this point. We put it up for the kids and to keep Lucy safe outside, but the kids know their boundaries (although choosing to follow them is another matter) and Lucy is too (lazy) content to try to leave, so there is really no rush to fix it, although it is an eyesore.

It made for an interesting morning for the kids, anyway. They were amazed that a tree could do that. We're thankful it fell at that angle, or it may have hit our storage building or possibly the house. All in all, if it had to happen, it happened in a convenient way.

I'm done

Monday was my last day of classes this semester, and on Wednesday, I took my last final. I actually only had 2 finals to take out of my 4 classes. I will know my final grades no later than next Tuesday. I know I did well, but I am not sure if got an A or B in Spanish, so I'll just have to wait to see. I picked up the application for the teaching program I'll be starting in the fall, so I will begin working on that at some point over my Christmas break. I have also registered for the last of my classes at the community college in the Spring. I will have 14 hours again, including an environmental biology class I am really excited about! I will also be taking my first education class, a sociology class and a literature class. As always, I am nervous about the workload, but I will just do my best. I have proven to myself that I can do well if I really put the effort into it and stay focused, so I will just count on God to help me stay that way for one more semester. Once the teaching program starts, I will have only 1 (maybe 2) classes per semester, so I am hopeful it will be less stressful at that time. Maybe I'm naive to think that way, since the 1 or 2 classes I'll be taking will be my "major" classes. They will probably be much more time intensive than the ones I've taken to this point. No use worrying about it now though...

Our family is all feeling better now, too. Jason had a cold Thanksgiving weekend, and the kids were not completely well the week following, and then I got sick the following weekend. We are all well now, though. Thankfully, the cold did not move to my chest, although I did have to use my inhaler more than I'd like. No adverse effects, it seems, so thanks be to God!

Jason's back and neck have been bothering quite a bit lately, but I guess that is just going to be the norm for him now. He never seems to feel really good, but has some better days than others. Please keep him in your prayers. I know he wants to feel good even more than I want him too.

I have gotten a very late start with preparing for Christmas this year. We put our tree up last week, but as far as shopping, until yesterday, I had only gotten one little thing for my baby nephew and niece. I did some online shopping yesterday and got some clothes for the kids. I will have to hurry to get their toys and stocking stuffers done next week since they are out of school after that. Their Christmas break begins the 19th (it is an early release day). I have 2 or 3 more days with a heavy workload at work, and then I will be able to take it easy through the end of the month, which I am super excited about. This is a much needed vacation; I have been running on empty for most of the last month.....

Jason and the kids

This was taken 2 Sundays ago after the kids got up from their nap time. I believe they are singing "Hey there, Delilah" by the Plain White Tees, which we all really like and Jason plays really well. I love to hear the kids singing along with Jason.

Thanksgiving

We had a very good Thanksgiving this year. We visited with Jason's family on Thursday evening. Unfortunately, we forgot our cameras, so no photos of that night. The food was good, and it was good to visit with everyone. We don't do that very often anymore.

On Saturday, we went to Charlotte to visit with my family. I forgot my camera that day as well, but Jason took his, and of course Vivy was the star of our slideshow...

I am so thankful for my families. They bless our lives in so many ways. I am especially thankful that our kids will have the godly influence of grandparents and aunts and uncles. I couldn't have asked for better people to surround ourselves with.

Trimming the tree

We put our tree up yesterday, as is our tradition. Here are some of my favorites from yesterday:

Unfortunately, after getting the tree done, I started feeling pretty yucky. I didn't finish cleaning up from getting everything out to do the tree, and today I don't feel better. It seems I'm coming down with a cold, which is not great timing since I have 2 finals this week. So I decided to take the day off, rest and study. My real plan is to lay on the couch, study and look at our tree :)

I'm hoping this cold doesn't get much worse because I don't seem to be able to get over colds very well lately.....

A glimpse...

I haven't posted anything in a while, so I wanted to give this tidbit to those of you who yearn for Julian and Kathryn pictures - the two of them doing homework together this afternoon. (By the way, this didn't last long - within minutes they were fighting over elbows and touching papers).

Hopefully things will be slowing down in the next couple of weeks - this is my last week of classes, so there is not much school work left to do at this point. I have one regular test and 2 final exams and then - one whole month off!!!!

Beading

Kathryn finally got to use the beading kit she got for her birthday... here she is, hard at work

Do you think?

Do you think Jason could tell the difference in what I put on the grocery list and what Julian put on it?

Lipstick...

"Mommy, why won't you let me keep my lipstick in my room?"

Sunday dress

I thought Kathryn looked especially cute on Sunday:

The circle of life ...

Julian has been learning to play the recorder at school the last several weeks. He has told me how much fun he has had learning to play, but I have not gotten to hear him...until Monday.

Julian has learned one song - "Hot Cross Buns" - B-A-G. His music teacher told him that when he brings it home he should practice for 10 minutes each day, but my over-achiever decided he would play for 30 minutes each day instead (and remember, he has learned just one song so far!).

It's a joy to hear him and to see how much he enjoys it. I remember learning to play recorder and my brief time on flute before starting clarinet. I feel connected to my Dad now and understand what a joy it must have been for him to hear not just me, but my brother on sax for a bit and my sister on piano. All the practicing time must have had him just so full of joy that he couldn't stand himself!

I can't wait for Kathryn to start (she is now asking for a recorder too, since Julian got one).