Didn't See This Coming

Who knew? Life is sure strange. We have been so focused on leaving this place and getting back to Vegas, or some place close by, that we totally didn't expect to hear the comment from Shad's grandma in Ohio let alone contemplate on it at all. But we did, and we are. Well, just a little right now.

Basically, every day I ask Shad about the transfer stuff at work.
Has he heard anything?
Does he know anything new?
I get the same answer every day. "No." I'm certain it annoys him but I feel like I should keep it fresh in his mind every day. Why? I have no idea. I think it makes me feel better. Like in some warped kind of way it is progress.

Anyway, yesterday I did again asked the usual questions, and got the usual answer with a "but" on the end of it. But what? Apparently Grandma in Ohio is contemplating moving to the city where she would be closer to the doctors she is frequently visiting. (Not by choice.) That is great! She needs to be some place closer to the hospital instead of being so far away all by her lonesome.
But....she is said to have made the comment of "I wish Shad and Sherry could move into my house and live in it." Or something to that affect.

What? Move to Ohio? That is so not close to Vegas. As a matter of fact, that is pretty damn far from Vegas. What?

My first reply of course was "Um, I don't think so." And then later that day we began to think about it. What would that look like? How would we manage that? Could we even manage that? There would have to be many cosmic things fall into place.

Just the other day I was commenting to one of the girls about how it is important that family takes care of family. That God wants us to take care of each other, especially when we are in need. So many of our family and friends are in need back in Vegas. But we have family in other places too. Grandma Kathy is in Vegas with a ton of family taking care of her. Grandma Ruth is in Ohio with, well, she is pretty much alone.

It has us thinking pretty hard and praying about some things. I didn't see this coming!
I'll keep you posted.

Another sign?

We went to a park in Alameda yesterday so Shad could practice softball with some of the people he works with. They go to a tournament every year in Vegas, but get only one or two practices in. Last year it was one practice, this year they are shooting for at least two.

Hailey's friend Cally came along with us and the girls were having a great time at the park when they suddenly realized they were hungry. They were very verbal about it, so we piled into the truck and left Shad behind while we went on an adventure to get lost in a little island city I have never driven in before. We managed to only get a little lost, and found a cute little park where an art exhibit was going on. Nope, no food there so we moved on. We were on a mission you know. Finally we found a shopping center that had a huge Trader Joe's in it. Thanks Trader Joe's! Crisis averted! We finally managed our way back to where we started by sure luck as I was totally lost.

Oh, the sign? Yes, well on the drive home from the nasty little bar-b-Que place Shad took us to for lunch after his practice was over, he informed me that the word in the office is: three new openings in Vegas. This means he has an even better chance at getting us back.

I am not getting excited though. If it is to happen, then it will be right? Shad will send in his transfer request and life goes on. It sure would be nice if we were to be back before Christmas though. :)

A sign?

I am currently procrastinating yet again as I am struggling to write a paper that is due tomorrow night for my History class. Oh well, at least I am consistent.

So today I went with Shad to his MRI. He has some back issues. Nothing serious that we know of yet, just old age at this point unless we are told different in a couple of weeks. During our ride back home, Shad got a call. It was his boss telling him that there had been some changes done. Major changes. Anyway, the result was that he is going to have to issue a new transfer request.

I am hoping that this is a sign. I have been thinking about how this December would be the perfect time for us to transfer to another place as I will be in between classes and we would be buying at a most opportune time. The fear was that the transfer would go through right away and make things difficult. However, after much thought, it really doesn't matter when it happens. It is just important that it does. So, I will be praying about that.

Anyway, I guess I should get back to that wonderful paper I have to write.

Yippee!

Warning!! Another very small look into my brain...

Traveling is something I love to do by car. I love it because it forces a time of quiet at some point in the journey, and with quiet comes deep thought. And thinking leads to realizations and discovery.

Well, traveling to Monterey this Saturday was one of those times where I found myself in deep thought about life and God and the future. The realization? I am an impatient person when it comes to the big things. Well, possibly all things. For instance, if Shad were to say "Lets take a month off and drive to the East Coast just to say we put our toes in the water," I would be like, "Let me just pack a few things and let's go right now!" I am becoming impulsive and crazy again.

Let me back up, I used to be impulsive and crazy. In my teens and twenties I would do wild and crazy things at the drop of a hat. No planning required, let's just do it! Do it right now! If I wanted something, well if I could, I went and got it because there was no time like the present. No fear, no regrets, and no planning. (Not always smart.)

Then something happened and I got a little lost. I still can't determine how or when it happened exactly, but when it happened I became afraid. Afraid of everything new and different. That fear lasted a very long time.

Now let's move forward. On the drive to Monterey I realized that I am getting impulsive again and the fear is not so strong anymore. But, the real realization that came to me was the reason I was like that in my teens and twenties. The thought of death. I didn't fear death, but I thought about it differently than most of the people I hung out with and I am realizing again that I am starting to remember the lessons I learned from watching the people I loved dye while growing up.

One lesson for me was that we only get so much time on this earth to do the things we are blessed with the opportunity of doing. And that we sometimes only get one opportunity to do them at all so, if you are faced with an opportunity take it.

For example:
Looking back, I can see that when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, I took the opportunity to be a mom. When faced with the opportunity to love someone despite their addiction, I did it and survived. When faced with the opportunity to forgive someone for something heartbreaking that they did to purposely hurt me, I forgave. And the list goes on.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I am some wonderful saint of a person because I am not. No one is. I've done some horrible things in my life. When given the opportunity to help my mom take care of her mom when she needed the help most, I chose not to. When faced with the opportunity to spend time with a dying family member, I chose not to. When faced with the opportunity to support my brother throughout a bitter divorce with his now ex-wife, I chose not to. The list goes on here too. In hind sight, I think these events happened when I was lost and afraid. That is something to ponder on later.

I guess the point I am getting to is that the lessons I learned in the past are all coming back to me now and I am again beginning to understand that fear is still evil and sometimes we all just have to jump in and trust that God will take it from there.

I found a cool quote on someones blog: "leap and the net will appear"

I want to live like that. I want to have that faith. No regrets, just jump in and let go. Let God be in control of the direction you fall and see where you land. Trust that he will catch you.

More later..................

Summer Vacation!?

Well, we have had such a crazy summer vacation time. The kids went to Ohio, Vegas, and the county fair. Tomorrow night we are taking them to a concert, then we are going to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium on Saturday. We hit Vegas again at the end of the month, and end the summer vacationing with a huge party for Hailey's 13th birthday. Throw in movies, park days and other non planned activities and we have been busy!

The crazy part is that there is more travel to come, and more activities and school hasn't even officially started yet. But it is so clear to me how much the girls are still learning during this break. I love home schooling! I love that it can be so flexible and that there is so much learning going on the whole time.

I am coming to realize more and more that home schooling is really just living life. You might think I am just crazy and, well, I have no argument there but I know how I feel and what I see. There is no denying that learning is happening when the kids go out in the corn field and capture fireflies and question how their little butts light up. (The fire fly butts, not the kids). Or when kids try to calculate the distance they have traveled. And when as a parent I am constantly asked questions like why a word is spelled the way it is spelled, why something is called what it is called, or where something came from by my children, I am forced to do a little learning myself. So, I know learning is taking place no matter where we are, or who we are with. It is happening all of the time in so many different ways and I love that we have the freedom to learn this way.

Okay, I am done now. I sometimes get a little carried away I guess. I just love what I do.

So we are off to run an errand or two, then it's laundry time and then I have school tonight. Man we are busy. I am deffinitly looking forward to my little mini vacation in Sacramento.

Now go learn something!

Just Stuff

So we flew to Vegas and I had a great time visiting with some friends I have not seen in a long time. I also had a pretty good time visiting with family. As you can see from this picture, the kids did a lot of swimming, and grandma loved having these little visitors. But if you look at grandma, you can see the stress in her face and eyes. She is having a hard time dealing with her mother being in the hospital. I am speaking of Gram. Gram was in the hospital the entire time we were there and is still there. She has pretty much given up on life which is very sad because her body is healing otherwise. They need a lot of prayer.

Other than that bit of drama, life is going well for our Vegas family. It sure was hot there though. 114 in the shade! I sure don't miss that kind of heat, but it was great to be home for a while. I don't know what it is about Las Vegas. Perhaps it is just because I was born there, but I love that place. Not the casinos, lights, and traffic but the mountains, the desert, and yes, sometimes the heat. Perhaps I am just crazy.

Back here in Northern California things are nice and cool. It managed to get up to 102 before the weekend, but even that felt cool compared to what it was like in Vegas. And in the evenings here it cools down to a nice 65 degrees. It almost makes a person want to stay. I said almost. :)

Tomorrow we start a new week with nothing major planned. I have plenty to do for school, and the girls have piano practice, but other than that we've got nothing. This weekend we are going to an aquarium with the kids. I will share pics when we get them. There are more I could share from Vegas but maybe later.

Have a cool summer night.

Following Through, the story

Follow through. It is a big issue in this house. Thanks dad! Yep, I blame him. Why? Well, I sometimes feel that due to his lack of follow through in his marriage to my mother that it launched an idea in my head that following through is not necessary in life. If you follow through, okay, if not no big deal. I mean, life goes on and we all get through it some how right?

That thought in my head was not practiced by me too often though. Thankfully I had my mother constantly on me about the things she thought were important for me to follow through with. Like school for instance. Had I dropped out, well, in the direction I was headed back in the day, I would probably be dead right now. But thanks to mom for pushing me forward, even if her methods were a little different than most.

Anyway, I had this little melt down last night because my kids are bad with follow through in certain areas. I blame myself of course. Most of them are the same areas I have issues with, like cleaning up my room and doing laundry. Yes, my room still has clothes on the floor and hangers everywhere, and my bed is rarely ever made. We just go sleep in it and mess it up at the end of the day anyway right? wink, wink, winkety- wink!

So, today I had a long talk with my kids (because I am great with lectures thanks to dad again) and spoke with them about why I feel strongly about them learning to follow through on things. The conversation went really great and I think they understood better why I nag them about certain things like cleaning their bathroom and throwing out the trash in their rooms. Anyway, they followed through on a few things this morning and that just made me happy. And I too followed through on a few things I had been putting off. It felt great to get them done. And it showed my kids that we all have things to work on no matter what our age or hair color. :b

Follow through. It is an issue in this house, but we are working on it and one day, it will be history.

Fun at the Fair

We had a great day at the fair on Friday. There were tons of rides and exhibits, as well as creepy carny people. We spent almost seven hours there and still didn't see everything there was to see. Before we left we stopped for funnel cake topped with apples and whipped cream and super yummy fudge which Shad hid when we got home. It was one of the best family days we have had in a while. And because we live so close to where the fair is, we were able to stand outside our house and watch the fireworks! It was an expensive outing, but well worth it.

It's a new day

Well, the family got back safe on Monday. I was happy to have some noise in the house other then me talking to myself and the dog. And some how I managed to get my living rooms clean again before they were home. I also managed to clean up the upstairs without too much distraction. Shocking I know.

I finished another class last night and have a new one starting this Thursday. It is so cool to have them going so fast. The last class was really fun, and I learned a lot which is good since learning something is the point. Next is a history class which I am looking forward to.

So I was thinking about all of the things my girls did this school year that most would consider school and I was wondering if they learned enough. Then I started putting together this photo album of shots from various events we attended and classes the girls took and I realized that they learned a ton this year. So, now I am thinking I should do a photo album for every year so I can be reminded of all of the fun stuff we did and all of the things the girls learned. That way I won't freak out and go buy tons of curriculum we don't need or won't use. As of now I have the planned curriculum stuff for next year up on the shelf and I was thinking it was looking a little thin. And actually that is a good thing. Too much curriculum turns them off to leaning. (Something I have to remind myself of often)

The County Fair starts here today and we are going after Shad gets home from work. I am excited to take pictures of the girls on the rides. We bit the bullet and bought unlimited ride passes for them this year. I am also excited to see the exhibits and find the person in charge so I can get our home school group involved for next year. There are a ton of talented kids out there in the home schooling world you know. I will share pictures when we get home.

So we are about to take off to the art studio so the girls can finish a project they started in a class they took a couple of weeks ago. They made wind chimes out of clay. They are going to be awesome! I can't wait to hang them up. Maybe I will share a picture of that too.

Hope your day is filled with fun and laughter!
Peace people

A look into my head. Scary!

Two days left before the family gets back and I have taken a cleaning spree and turned it into an obsessive compulsive mess. You see, after waiting two days for the carpets to dry, I was finally able to get the living rooms put back together. (Our house has two right next to each other for some reason).

S0 I moved on to the upstairs and was cleaning upstairs when the phone rang. Since we have two cordless phones and can only locate one right now (which we keep down stairs by the kitchen), I had to run down to answer it.

After the conversations was over, I looked at the book cases while passing by and decided that I needed to go through our books and down size a bit. Like right now! So I started taking all of the books down and piled them up on the floor. In the middle of this I decided that I wanted to move a little bit of furniture so I moved the piano over (yes, I moved a piano by myself) and brought in the book case. At this point I decided I would make this book case my school book case for the girls and started arranging books on it when I realized that I needed to go through my school materials and possibly get rid of some stuff. So I went into the den and started dragging out a bunch of school books and such. Now, I have books everywhere, things piles on the floor, furniture moved here and there, and my upstairs cleaning still isn't done!

After starting with this nice clean slate, I have turned it into a total mess by being so easily distracted. Sometimes I wonder what causes my brain to switch channels so easily.

I bet you can guess what I am going to go do right now. Yep, do the dishes, oh and I have to get the bills done! And there is the laundry, but I should go get some lunch...................................

Isn't that just grape juice?

So my week is working out well. Even though I miss my family, I am managing just fine. Yesterday evening I had a meeting that went well but a bit long. Afterwards I took the opportunity with no kids to go shopping for myself. I bought two pair of sandals and two outfits. It was nice to say the least. Later, I had dinner and watched some tele and finally made my way to bed around one. An over all nice and relaxing day.

This morning I woke up to Hailey's alarm going off at around 6:30am. I was sure I had turned that thing off yesterday. Anyway, I got up, cleaned the hallway clear of the clutter, vacuumed the hall and the stairs and then went down to have breakfast. While eating, I sat by the window and watched outside in between journaling. A very quiet and productive morning. At around nine the carpet cleaner guy showed up. He was a pretty pleasant fellow who found a way to mention that he was recently divorce during our conversation. That struck me as kind of weird. He went on to tell me about how he had to move out and find a place in Livermore. He had found a great home for rent that was very reasonable. And eventually he began telling me about how he works hard every day but always takes time to spend time with his son who is spoiled rotten by his mother.

Is anyone else wondering why this total stranger whom I had only just met was telling me his life story? Well I was totally wondering that myself during his visit. Later on, after thinking about it, I had a little realization if you will. This is why I am in school to become a counselor of some sort. It is totally my calling. As long as I can remember people have been coming to me to tell me all about their problems and about their lives. Even total strangers whom I have only just met. And I don't even try to pry into their lives, they just dish it out. It's bizarre really. And I just listen. I don't offer advice in anyway, I just listen and nod and give a "u-huh" or a "Oh, I see" and that's about it. Okay, sometimes I do give some advice, when asked for it. And sometimes I will share a relating story or two if I feel it is right to share. It was just a very real confirming message to me that I am doing the right thing.

So the other day I went to Trader Joe's to find some of my favorite snacks that I get to have to my self this week, and I came upon non-alcoholic wine. Yep, the label says it has been de-alcoholized. They totally made that up right? I mean, isn't non-alcoholic wine just grape juice? But here I sit with a glass of red non-alcoholic wine and it tastes great. I used to drink wine all of the time way back when, and then gave it up. I am so glad I can now have a glass once in a while without all of the nasty effects. Who knew?

Keep the peace people!

This sucks!

My husband and my children are currently in Vegas about to embark on another plane ride that will take them to Indiana where they will rent a car and drive into Ohio. Me? I am here at home in Northern California, with the dog, and the turtles. Yep, I thought this would be a nice break, but this totally SUCKS!!!!!!

I had Mackenzie on the phone overly tired and hysterical last night wanting me there with her. Yep, I had flash backs to when I used to take her to daycare and she would be smooshing her little chubby face on the glass while crying for me, hands stretched out and clawing at the glass. I felt like such a bad parent for leaving her there and I feel like a bad mom for not being with her now.

However, let this be a lesson to those of you out there who spend every waking moment with your kids. One day you too will go through this kind of stress. It will suck, but it will also teach you many things. It will teach your kids many things as well.

So my phone conversation this morning went something like this:

"Hey Mackenzie, how are you today?"

"Good."

"You were pretty tired last night weren't you?"

"Yep."

"So, everything going better today?"

"Yep. Daddy bought me some disposable cameras. Here's Hailey."

And that was that. See, kids get tired and totally out of control some times. But they are quick to forget you when things are fine and they have had their rest. (And daddy just bought them some disposable cameras). It's all good now.

And me? Well, I hate to miss out on things, but I am glad to have some time to myself. As a matter of fact, I think I will take advantage of getting to go to the mall alone. Yep, I have a meeting tonight and the meeting spot is right next door to the mall.
And it just so happens that my favorite store is having a sale. The candle store is my favorite store (since you asked). I will get to brows the candles and not be interrupted or hurried. It's going to be nice. And it will help me prepare for my next round with the tired cranky kids that will certainly call me later tonight.

From Paris to Ohio?

I am so glad to see someone finally put a public figure who broke the law behind bars like they should! Yep, I am totally talking about Paris. Sometimes it takes tuff love to make a much needed, totally over due point! Did you see her face? That shot was priceless. Perhaps this will be a little wake up call to the rest.

Enough about that. I just had to share.

It's Friday and the girls are done with piano and we have started getting them packed for their trip to OHIO! I am also currently making plans for my week without them. I have all kinds of wonderful plans such as going to school, getting the carpets cleaned, and having the piano tuned. I know, I should make plans for a movie or something. Maybe I will, and for a pedicure too. But this seems like the best time to get all of these other things done as well. I also plan on getting the front porch cleaned up so I can sit out there with a book or my journal in the evenings. Right now it is covered in dust and leaves and little spider webs. I'm going to be busy!

I could sit here and write all day, but I think I better get some other things done first.

peace people!

Hailey and Mackenzie make the perfect geeks when they want to. I love these pictures! We were at the art studio and one of the other kids there had these glasses. They were all trying them on and started to behave like crazies as soon as they did. It was so funny. They were magic glasses! :)

From these pics you wouldn't think we were having too bad of a day, but I really fell into a funk later on in the afternoon. A deep and dark funk that I have not seen in a long while. I was headed that way again this morning as I was laying in bed with the covers up over my head desperately trying to fall back to sleep in order to not face the day, until I suddenly jumped up and told myself that I wasn't going to go through this. I would not tick, tick, tick, let my time fly by with me doing nothing so I jumped up and came down stairs and started laundry. It was busy work and I was able to think while folding. I came to the conclusion that I was just not going to go down that dark road today, and that I would just abruptly change direction and flee. Let it pursue me! I will throw down on it later and kick it's ass to the curb!!!!!

So, later I will have to concentrate on getting a paper written that I have due tomorrow night, but for now, I am going to concentrate on other things. Some of my favorites actually; Hailey and Mackenzie.

Peace my friends.

Another lazy day...

for just sitting around and doing nothing. Well, actually we went to art class this morning, and the girls did some free drawing projects. They were really cool. After that we came home for lunch and talked. I did make a trip to the post office with Mackenzie to mail some letters, and well, that is about all I have accomplished in the way of errands today. It is a lazy day.

I'll share a story:

A few moments ago, I went outside to grab some leaves off of the tree and right there on the steps was a huge lizard! And I almost stepped on him! He was just sitting there and had his eyes closed, so I bent down to get a closer look and noticed that he was missing an arm. One of his front arms was just gone! And for a moment I thought he might be dead and started to reach out to touch him.

But then I thought, if he was dead, then why is he only missing an arm you know? If I was a bird and I was going after this lizard and had wounded him, I would go in for the kill and eat him all up, not just run off with his arm. I mean, a bird has got to eat right? So I decided that he must be trying to fake me out. He was probably sitting there with his arm under him and his eyes closed praying I wasn't a giant bird about to eat him for supper. Like I would see him missing his arm and feel sorry for him and just leave him be.

I turned around and went in to get my camera just then because I had this thought that I could take a picture and send it to one of the Carder kids and have him identified, but when I came back he was gone. He was faking me out! Wasn't he? Then I actually sat there and wondered if I truly had even seen this lizard. Perhaps I made the whole thing up. But just then the bush rattled and I knew I wasn't crazy. :) But I never got his picture. And I am still not sure if he really was missing an arm.

Just sitting here in my PJ's with socks on and a sweatshirt too. It is cold in the den. I have had the windows open at night for the last three months to save on our power bill and at night I freeze! But it is worth every penny we save. The house fills with cold air at night, and in the morning we close the windows to trap it all in. We stay cool all day and then we open them in the evening. Last summer we had a bill that was over $400. We were just so used to having the air on all of the time from living in Vegas. That bill brought me to my senses though. I have come to realize that we can live without using the air or the heat. People did it before us. We are just spoiled rotten.

We all went to a water park today. Actually, it is a little park area with a man made lake and some water slides. Mackenzie wasn't sure about going on the water slides, so I told her she could ride with me. I figured it would make us go slower and she would see that they are really a lot of fun. Boy was I wrong! Not only did it make us go faster, we almost had a blow out on one of the walls, and Mackenzie was screaming "I want to stop, I want to stop!" the whole way down. Right before we came to the end, there was this huge drop off and I knew immediately that when we landed in the pool Mackenzie was going to go way under, so I held on to her so I could make sure to pop her up out of the water as quickly as possible. We both went way under and took in a bunch of water up the nose. She was still holding her breath as I held her up out of the water and I had to keep telling her she was alright before she would breath. As you can imagine, that was our only ride on the water slides. But Hailey, Shad, and Hailey's friend had a great time. Mackenzie and I sat and watched them the rest of the time we were there.

Updates on family for those who care:
Gram in Vegas starts her third round of chemo this Tuesday. She is hanging in there, but getting tired. Grandma in Ohio isn't doing well, but is hanging in there as well. Shad and the girls go to see her next week. It's going to be quiet around here. No new news to share on the sister-in-law.

The girls have just gone to bed so I should go say good night.
Keep the peace!

more stuff

Just thought I would share some more photos. Hailey at the park, a picture from the train ride, and one of art class.

I am planning a few trips. One to the beach in Half Moon Bay, one to the zoo in Oakland, and another to China Town in down town San Fran. There are a ton of places on the list that we want to explore, but these are on the top of that list for now. It will be a fun summer. I will share pics as we get them.

Keep the peace people!

We have been busy. The girls are doing an art class and I will post pics of that later. They are making some awesome art pieces.

A few weeks ago we went to the Chabot Space Center and that was cool! The girls wore space suits and set their feet in the footprints of the first astronauts to the moon. We also saw some very cool movies about the earth and space.

Yesterday we went to take a ride on a train at the Niles Canyon Railroad which is connected with the Transcontinental Railroad. It was fun and we learned some history, but most of the old guys on the train were grumpy. And there were so many kids it was super loud for the first half of the ride. Hailey hung out with her friend Haley on the trip, and Mackenzie enjoyed the sun and fresh air.

I will have to write more after school.

Stuff in my head today

It's time to asses the kid's education this year and decide what to use for the next year so I am going to two different home schooling conventions. One in Vegas and one in Sacramento. The one in Vegas will be small and familiar, the one in Sacramento will be huge and unfamiliar. I am looking forward to both.
The one in Sacramento will have tons of activities for the kids as well, but get this, I'm planning on going without them. Momma is taking a little weekend vacation people! I will get three days and two nights alone in a hotel room by the pool. I can go and brows the vendor hall and not feel stressed out. I can sleep in, or get up early, or read a book or journal. I can hog the bed and hog the blanket or........ let's just say that I am very happy to be going. I need a break. It has been a stressful year of new everything, so I am taking a much needed trip to re-energize.

On another note, the grandmas are doing okay, but not great. Shad and the girls are going to Ohio next month to visit and help out for a week. I am going to have a week of school, cleaning and babysitting the dog and turtles. Actually, now that I think about it, I get a whole week to myself! Wooohooooo! A double vacation of sorts. Yet, I wish I could go because I really like Ohio and I would love to get to know grandma a little better. This is going to be a not so fun trip for them I think. :(

Grandma in Vegas is feeling the affects of the second round of chemo which was a little stronger this time. She is loosing her hair too I am told so I am getting ready to send her a beautiful red sun hat that I found. Knowing her, she will wear it once out of self made obligation and then give it away to someone in the family, or to a friend. But I don't care. If she just puts it on her head once that's good enough, She is a fighter! I love that about Gram.

Hope your day is a happy one. Keep the peace!

Life

I was realizing that I get so fired up about certain subjects. Subjects like family and education, art and music. It feels good to feel for a change.

My den is all cleaned up and newly organized. I spent two days going through old papers and boxes of art supplies so I could get things in order. For some reason I am on a serious cleaning and organizing kick this week. Crazy! My next project is the filing cabinet. :) Shredding is good!

We have been looking for a house. Shad went out back to check on the girls the other day and saw them playing in the hose on this super small square of concrete in the backyard and came inside and said "That's it, we have to find a house." It was funny actually. So we have hooked up with a realtor and we have an appointment with him this Saturday to go look at a few places. Part of me is excited, but I am planning on being super picky about what we are willing to buy. The prices here are so fricken crazy. The house across the street, if in Vegas, would go for about 500,000. Here they are trying to sell it for 1.4 mil. Unbelievable! I am ultimately leaving it all in God's hands because I am fine with where we are right now.

I am creating my own home school record book that if any good I will try to make available to the masses. Right now I have a first copy that I am making some changes to, but I should have my first one done by next week. It's been a fun project and has helped me get connected with some of the home schoolers around here. You wouldn't believe some of the responses I got during my research on it. Wild!

Gotta go to the park now. Keep the peace!