Well, I have two days of homeschooling, complete days, that is, under my belt.
I did it!
It wasn't too bad.
Although I worry, are they learning enough? In some ways it seems too easy, but then again I am really only responsible for 3 grades... 3rd, K and 1st. That's easy, I guess. Not sure about the Math. We have A+ Math, they can do it on the computer. While I like just sending someone off to "do math" I am not sure they are learning as well that way. Time will tell, I guess.
Another thing is writing, I hope I can teach them to write well. I just don't want to fail at this.
So, that's my update.
I am cautiously optimistic.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Mundane Monday: Not so mundane, a new journey
I am honestly shocked that it has been SEVEN months since I last blogged! That is awful, actually! It really is a testament to how busy and crazy life was over this last year. So much has changed.
One year ago I began my teaching journey. I was the elementary Science teacher at The Study, the homeschool co-op the kids attended. I got the privilege because Jeanne knew of my plan to homeschool the following year. This year.
Let's back up some more.
A couple years back, I was the Mom that said, "I will never homeschool", "I would not be able to homeschool", "I don't have the patience", and "my kids would drive me crazy!"
Slowly it transformed because I did feel God tugging at my heart.. I knew it was in our future at some point. At that point, if you asked me, you'd most likely hear the words, "well, I'd love to be able to homeschool, but I just don't know how to start", "but I LOVE the church school", "I wish (or I feel guilty) that I just don't have ANY desire to homeschool", "I do think homeschool is the best option for children, but I am just so afraid to fail"..
Skip to May 2012. Steven had been asking me to consider homeschooling because of his workload. His taking on extra jobs was really taking a toll on him, and our family. The tuition for the church school went up, and it seemed that we were adding kids every year! They were very gracious with us and were willing to work with us to help keep costs manageable, but reality is, we have A LOT of kids and there is only so much we can do to keep it low cost.
SO.. I started contacting my friends and family that homeschool.. I got nothing but encouraging words and my confidence really started to build. We didn't really tell a lot of people our plans, but somehow word got out (it wasn't really a secret either) and Jeanne challenged me with the job of Science teacher (and teacher aid for a couple other classes). To be honest, I was terrified at first. Lesson planning? It was foreign. Jeanne walked me through it and by the first day of school in Aug 2012, I was cautiously ready. So, with a 4 year old Matthew, 2 year old Elise and 2 month old Joshua in tow, my teaching experience began.
In the beginning I was there M, T, W from 9-12, but over the year it did get less.
I won't go into my experience a whole lot, just want to cover the basics here, but I will say that it was a very positive experience overall. I LOVE those girls in that elementary classroom, spending so much time with them is irreplaceable. Danielle and Johanna were two that were in there, so of course that in itself was rewarding, but the other girls were wonderful as well.
I gained experience, confidence, I learned what it was like to juggle teaching with babies, and teaching multiple grade levels.
It was exhausting. Joshua, in the beginning, would nap at the church school, but as time went on the only naps he got were in the car on the way home from school at noon and the way to school to pick up the girls at 3:30. I had to cram in everything that needed to be done in the 12:30-3 time frame, it was very challenging to drag the kids out so much.
Half way through the year, my desire to just homeschool already really started to grow. Friends that homeschool large families would tell me that what I was doing sounded harder than actually homeschooling. I was actually told that by more than one family, so it must be true. I probably heard it from about 4 or 5 different homeschool families.
We kept on going though. By the end of the year, although, fully rewarding, I was burned out. My cranky level had reached all time highs and my depression was getting more intense. I was also sleep derived due to Joshua not sleeping well at night.
This summer began and as the reality of homeschooling set in, I grew more and more terrified that I wouldn't have the ability to do this. I wasn't getting the rest I had hoped to get over the summer. Thanks to the furlough, Steven had to work a lot, and just due to his not being around over the last 3 years the behavior of the children had really started to go downhill. When we started realizing that we had many heart and character issues to work on with our kids (sometime last school year), we knew that homeschooling had become more about getting their hearts, training them, and just generally getting closer to them, then about the money it cost to send them to the church school. We knew that even if they could go for free, that homeschooling was still what we were being called to do. We also were seeing more and more that Katie was spending her entire day working on school (between the regular school day and homework) and that I was unable to spend any time working with her and training her to do the basics around the house. She just didn't have the time and got pretty burned out. We knew homeschooling would take maybe 6 hours a day, tops, but mostly likely less.
Over the summer I felt, everyday, that I wanted to homeschool less and less, because I was just plain worn out. I do attribute this to my level of participation at the church school WITH so many little ones in tow. Not that it was bad, it was just challenging. I was overwhelmed. The four oldest girls went to CO for 3 weeks and during that time, only having 3 little ones at home I was able to be refreshed. I re-focused.
So, here I am. They've been home for about a month and I am a different Mommy.
Today, we start homeschooling. For real. We did do a few practice days, already. :)
So, today, I try and fit in our new schedule of getting all the housework done as well as all the school. I didn't sleep well last night and we are all up earlier today than usual so we shall see!
Katie is making cinnamon rolls for "first day of school" breakfast and I am getting ready to get the kids going with the morning chores which consist of cleaning bedrooms and making beds, mostly. A couple of them have bathrooms to do as well.
Here we go!
One year ago I began my teaching journey. I was the elementary Science teacher at The Study, the homeschool co-op the kids attended. I got the privilege because Jeanne knew of my plan to homeschool the following year. This year.
Let's back up some more.
A couple years back, I was the Mom that said, "I will never homeschool", "I would not be able to homeschool", "I don't have the patience", and "my kids would drive me crazy!"
Slowly it transformed because I did feel God tugging at my heart.. I knew it was in our future at some point. At that point, if you asked me, you'd most likely hear the words, "well, I'd love to be able to homeschool, but I just don't know how to start", "but I LOVE the church school", "I wish (or I feel guilty) that I just don't have ANY desire to homeschool", "I do think homeschool is the best option for children, but I am just so afraid to fail"..
Skip to May 2012. Steven had been asking me to consider homeschooling because of his workload. His taking on extra jobs was really taking a toll on him, and our family. The tuition for the church school went up, and it seemed that we were adding kids every year! They were very gracious with us and were willing to work with us to help keep costs manageable, but reality is, we have A LOT of kids and there is only so much we can do to keep it low cost.
SO.. I started contacting my friends and family that homeschool.. I got nothing but encouraging words and my confidence really started to build. We didn't really tell a lot of people our plans, but somehow word got out (it wasn't really a secret either) and Jeanne challenged me with the job of Science teacher (and teacher aid for a couple other classes). To be honest, I was terrified at first. Lesson planning? It was foreign. Jeanne walked me through it and by the first day of school in Aug 2012, I was cautiously ready. So, with a 4 year old Matthew, 2 year old Elise and 2 month old Joshua in tow, my teaching experience began.
In the beginning I was there M, T, W from 9-12, but over the year it did get less.
I won't go into my experience a whole lot, just want to cover the basics here, but I will say that it was a very positive experience overall. I LOVE those girls in that elementary classroom, spending so much time with them is irreplaceable. Danielle and Johanna were two that were in there, so of course that in itself was rewarding, but the other girls were wonderful as well.
I gained experience, confidence, I learned what it was like to juggle teaching with babies, and teaching multiple grade levels.
It was exhausting. Joshua, in the beginning, would nap at the church school, but as time went on the only naps he got were in the car on the way home from school at noon and the way to school to pick up the girls at 3:30. I had to cram in everything that needed to be done in the 12:30-3 time frame, it was very challenging to drag the kids out so much.
Half way through the year, my desire to just homeschool already really started to grow. Friends that homeschool large families would tell me that what I was doing sounded harder than actually homeschooling. I was actually told that by more than one family, so it must be true. I probably heard it from about 4 or 5 different homeschool families.
We kept on going though. By the end of the year, although, fully rewarding, I was burned out. My cranky level had reached all time highs and my depression was getting more intense. I was also sleep derived due to Joshua not sleeping well at night.
This summer began and as the reality of homeschooling set in, I grew more and more terrified that I wouldn't have the ability to do this. I wasn't getting the rest I had hoped to get over the summer. Thanks to the furlough, Steven had to work a lot, and just due to his not being around over the last 3 years the behavior of the children had really started to go downhill. When we started realizing that we had many heart and character issues to work on with our kids (sometime last school year), we knew that homeschooling had become more about getting their hearts, training them, and just generally getting closer to them, then about the money it cost to send them to the church school. We knew that even if they could go for free, that homeschooling was still what we were being called to do. We also were seeing more and more that Katie was spending her entire day working on school (between the regular school day and homework) and that I was unable to spend any time working with her and training her to do the basics around the house. She just didn't have the time and got pretty burned out. We knew homeschooling would take maybe 6 hours a day, tops, but mostly likely less.
Over the summer I felt, everyday, that I wanted to homeschool less and less, because I was just plain worn out. I do attribute this to my level of participation at the church school WITH so many little ones in tow. Not that it was bad, it was just challenging. I was overwhelmed. The four oldest girls went to CO for 3 weeks and during that time, only having 3 little ones at home I was able to be refreshed. I re-focused.
So, here I am. They've been home for about a month and I am a different Mommy.
Today, we start homeschooling. For real. We did do a few practice days, already. :)
So, today, I try and fit in our new schedule of getting all the housework done as well as all the school. I didn't sleep well last night and we are all up earlier today than usual so we shall see!
Katie is making cinnamon rolls for "first day of school" breakfast and I am getting ready to get the kids going with the morning chores which consist of cleaning bedrooms and making beds, mostly. A couple of them have bathrooms to do as well.
Here we go!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Words on Wednesday: A sick day
Today I kept Alaina home from school... right now she, Matthew and Elise are sick. Well, Lisey is getting better. They have fevers, bad coughs, sore throats.
It started with Steven. He was watching those three for me while I took the other 4 to see Becca and meet Ezekiel. (he's soooo sweet!) Anyway, Steven got really sick the Friday I left and didn't start getting better until today (Wed.) I got back on Monday. Poor guy. It's really awful to take care of kids feeling that way. Thankfully he's doing better now and the kids will be soon. The silver lining? I got to stay home today! Take a much needed sick day. Because Alaina is sick I didn't have to leave in the middle of the day to pick her up. Steven was so nice and brought the kids to school this morning for me. I am supposed to be getting things done.. but it's hard to do when I just want to rest!!! I did get some laundry done and shirts ironed though.
On the other hand, I had a GREAT birthday... the day I left, Friday, was my birthday. I traveled most of the day, but that was okay, it was relaxing. No screaming kids! Then I got to see Becca... and Ezekiel! He's 2 months now. It's crazy, one year ago I was writing about her losing her first baby, that was so sad. Today I am writing about meeting her new one. What a difference a year brings.
That night we went and got Mexican food, I got my meal for free. :)
The next day we took the girls swimming and just sat and talked for 3 hours. Sooo nice! We had homemade pizza that day. Yum! The next day was Sunday, we ended up not going to church because of how cold it was outside. We just hung out and later in the day Adrielle came over. She and her new husband Clay live near Becca. That was fun. I got to also briefly see Ezra.. .he's sooo cute!!! Monday morning we just took our time getting ready to go and left about 12:30. We got home and took off running when we got here, it hasn't slowed down since. So... I am thankful for this sick day, but sad that my little kiddos have to be sick.
Time to get back to cleaning. I still have ironing, the living room needs to be cleaned, dishes need to be done.
It started with Steven. He was watching those three for me while I took the other 4 to see Becca and meet Ezekiel. (he's soooo sweet!) Anyway, Steven got really sick the Friday I left and didn't start getting better until today (Wed.) I got back on Monday. Poor guy. It's really awful to take care of kids feeling that way. Thankfully he's doing better now and the kids will be soon. The silver lining? I got to stay home today! Take a much needed sick day. Because Alaina is sick I didn't have to leave in the middle of the day to pick her up. Steven was so nice and brought the kids to school this morning for me. I am supposed to be getting things done.. but it's hard to do when I just want to rest!!! I did get some laundry done and shirts ironed though.
On the other hand, I had a GREAT birthday... the day I left, Friday, was my birthday. I traveled most of the day, but that was okay, it was relaxing. No screaming kids! Then I got to see Becca... and Ezekiel! He's 2 months now. It's crazy, one year ago I was writing about her losing her first baby, that was so sad. Today I am writing about meeting her new one. What a difference a year brings.
That night we went and got Mexican food, I got my meal for free. :)
The next day we took the girls swimming and just sat and talked for 3 hours. Sooo nice! We had homemade pizza that day. Yum! The next day was Sunday, we ended up not going to church because of how cold it was outside. We just hung out and later in the day Adrielle came over. She and her new husband Clay live near Becca. That was fun. I got to also briefly see Ezra.. .he's sooo cute!!! Monday morning we just took our time getting ready to go and left about 12:30. We got home and took off running when we got here, it hasn't slowed down since. So... I am thankful for this sick day, but sad that my little kiddos have to be sick.
Time to get back to cleaning. I still have ironing, the living room needs to be cleaned, dishes need to be done.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Mundane Monday: A New Year
Here I am, already two weeks into the new year and this is my first blog post. :) Realistically, I'd be happy if I made just ONE post a month, but one a week would be even better.
School is back in session, which means I am busy again. Running back and forth to the school and doing my other motherly and wifely duties.
I really should be doing laundry, or supervising Alaina (6) and Matthew (4) with their chores, but I am not. I am here. I just put Lisey (2) down for a nap, and I can hear her singing Frosty the Snowman to herself. I love it. She has the CUTEST little voice! She's almost done taking naps even though she's just a little over 2 1/2. It's just at that point, all my kids do this, where if they nap they won't sleep at night. So, I am trying to just lie her down a few times a week and for only an hour even though she'd sleep longer if I let her.
Anyway to get to the point. I don't really do New Years resolutions because I am a perfectionist and it's VERY discouraging to not keep them, but just like everyone else, there are things I'd like to change. Blogging more, keeping up with laundry, not getting so cranky. Patience. You know, all those things. Being more nice to Steven. My one word for the year is Patience. It's something our church is doing. You just pick one word and try and focus on that. This is the jist of it:
"One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. One word that you can focus on every day, all year long.
It will take intentionality and commitment, but if you let it, your word will shape you and your year. It will guide your decisions and help you grow."
So, I am giving that a try.
I am doing something different with laundry, too. I split our families into 3 groups of 3... Katie, Danielle and Elise (because they share a room), Steven, Joshua, and me (because I usually change his clothes in our room even if they are actually kept in the boys' room) and finally, Johanna, Alaina and Matthew (J and A share a room, but M is in the same area)... anyway, I am just doing loads of one of the groups at a time and then instead of having piles and piles and piles of clothes on the couch, I just have to take out that group's clothes out of the dryer and hand them the laundry basket... or Danielle, because she is the official-laundry-put-awayer....
On that note.. I better go start my load... Joshie (6mos) is screaming and Matthew and Alaina are obviously not cleaning up their areas... the phone just rang and I realize that we still need to change our answering machine message... it's the kids singing, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"...
...Okay, off I go!
See ya next month!
School is back in session, which means I am busy again. Running back and forth to the school and doing my other motherly and wifely duties.
I really should be doing laundry, or supervising Alaina (6) and Matthew (4) with their chores, but I am not. I am here. I just put Lisey (2) down for a nap, and I can hear her singing Frosty the Snowman to herself. I love it. She has the CUTEST little voice! She's almost done taking naps even though she's just a little over 2 1/2. It's just at that point, all my kids do this, where if they nap they won't sleep at night. So, I am trying to just lie her down a few times a week and for only an hour even though she'd sleep longer if I let her.
Anyway to get to the point. I don't really do New Years resolutions because I am a perfectionist and it's VERY discouraging to not keep them, but just like everyone else, there are things I'd like to change. Blogging more, keeping up with laundry, not getting so cranky. Patience. You know, all those things. Being more nice to Steven. My one word for the year is Patience. It's something our church is doing. You just pick one word and try and focus on that. This is the jist of it:
"One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. One word that you can focus on every day, all year long.
It will take intentionality and commitment, but if you let it, your word will shape you and your year. It will guide your decisions and help you grow."
So, I am giving that a try.
I am doing something different with laundry, too. I split our families into 3 groups of 3... Katie, Danielle and Elise (because they share a room), Steven, Joshua, and me (because I usually change his clothes in our room even if they are actually kept in the boys' room) and finally, Johanna, Alaina and Matthew (J and A share a room, but M is in the same area)... anyway, I am just doing loads of one of the groups at a time and then instead of having piles and piles and piles of clothes on the couch, I just have to take out that group's clothes out of the dryer and hand them the laundry basket... or Danielle, because she is the official-laundry-put-awayer....
On that note.. I better go start my load... Joshie (6mos) is screaming and Matthew and Alaina are obviously not cleaning up their areas... the phone just rang and I realize that we still need to change our answering machine message... it's the kids singing, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"...
...Okay, off I go!
See ya next month!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Take on Tuesday: 2012 Memories
Wow... Where to begin. It's been a good year, busy, but good.
In January we found out we were having another boy... that was sooo wonderful and a great way to start off the year and celebrate my birthday. In July, we welcomed Joshua into the world. He's about to turn six months already. Joshua Mark is sooo wonderful! I love him! He is so very loved by all of us. He is such a happy baby. He will smile at anyone that will look his way or talk to him, which is all the time because he's so cute that people just can't resist! He sleeps pretty well, overall. He sleeps through the night about every other night, lol. For some reason he just does that. Even when he has a rough night it's still not all that bad. He'll sleep from like 11-3am instead of his big stretch of 10pm - 5 or 6am. We haven't started him on any solids, except for the little bit of applesauce he got in the car on our long trip to CO a couple weeks ago. He liked it. :) Here's a picture of him, he's seems to be more fair skinned than Matthew, and his hair is lighter as well. :)
Knitting. Let's see... I've been doing a lot of it. Especially since fall. Even before that, though, I made a bunch of little hats for Joshua's newborn photo shoot. I am hoping to get through my orders (which are slowing down now that Christmas is over) to make him a bunch of new ones and also do another photo shoot with him. Not only that, but he actually needs some hats since it's cold outside.
I've learned some new things. I am getting better at following a pattern and I learned to make bobbles and how to make a curve by knitting short rows. This is the hat, a Viking, that forced me to step outside of my comfort zone...
I also just learned to knit booties last night... very simple ones... but I did it nonetheless!
I got a new camera! A Nikon D5100. I took pictures for Adrielle's wedding. Yep.. my baby sister got married on 12-12-12, which was also our 14th wedding anniversary. That was a lot of fun, to see everyone again. Adrielle's new husband, Clay, seems nice, although I haven't gotten to know him at all yet. Hopefully I will more in the future.
Okay, so let's talk about the other six kids!!! Starting with Katie. My Katheryn Rebekah Laurel. She turned 13 this year. THIRTEEN. I have a teenager. And a freshman in highschool. I am not old enough for that!!! Well, I am, but it doesn't feel like it. Katie has grown a lot this year in responsibility. She has started babysitting, we've left her a number of times alone with our kids and she does an awesome job... the house is clean and the kids are in bed and well taken care of when we get home. She also recently babysat at a friends house with Danielle. That was her first time being away from home, alone. She did very well!!! :)She also has gotten really good at writing poems and her piano playing has improved tremendously! She is also taking an art class again this year and is doing really well, I am very impressed with the work she brings home. :) I've also noticed leadership qualities coming out in her, she put together and led a small vacation Bible school at the church and then the Fall festival for Halloween. I was proud to see her standing in front of so many people, showing such boldness and confidence when she talked.
Then there's Danielle Elizabethe Marie, my 11 year old. She has also grown a lot this year. She has improved a ton with the amount of housework she has been doing. She helps clean the kitchen every night, with out hardly a complaint! She has recently taken over the "job" of putting away everyone's laundry. That is a big job, let me tell you! She's doing great at it. Her artwork is amazing, she is just a natural at it. She is constantly drawing cartoon characters that look just like the original with hardly any effort, it seems. Her piano playing has also improved this year, my favorite song she learned was "Here I Come to Worship" It made my heart melt to hear her play and sing along with it. She's got a pretty voice, maybe it will become like Grandma Laurel's one day. I've noticed an improvement in her diligence with practicing. Danielle is so funny, she is always coming up with the wittiest things. I really enjoy spending time with her. :)
Johanna Alexandra Lynn turned 8 this year. She is so good with babies, Joshua can hardly make a fuss with out her running to him. :) She almost always has him in her arms, and if we are anywhere else where there is another baby, she is wanting to hold them too! :) Johanna is good at cleaning, when she wants to be.. ;) She is our bathroom cleaner... she is very detailed in the way she cleans and she doesn't mind getting messy... haha. Her artwork is showing great potential too, it seems she has a bit of natural talent too... I am usually very surprised when she shows me something she drew. She loves to create... we find "Johanna creations" all over the house. These are usually a combination of yarn, tape, cardboard and hot glue. And anything else she can find around the house. Mostly she is just funloving and full of energy! :)
Then there's Alaina Julianna Grace! She is 6 and started kindergarten this year. She loves Ms. Lollie, her teacher. She also really enjoys her buddy, Luke. She says she is going to marry him one day. haha! Alaina has shown a ton of responsibility with her job this year. Every day, Monday - Thursday, after lunch she cleans the kitchen and dining room with the exception of the dishes. There are days she goes above and beyond and even sweeps and takes out the trash without being asked. She is doing very well at school, picking up on reading very fast. Mostly what I notice about her is how affectionate she is. She very regularly comes up to me and kisses my hand or my face and says, "I love you mommy". That is so sweet and I love it!
baby brother! I can't wait to see their relationship grow and develop over the years. He is such a protector but at the same time shows such gentleness with Joshua. He is very happy to have his brother move in the room with him. He always wants to be just like Daddy and do whatever Daddy is doing! Like in the picture, his sleeves are rolled up, because Daddy does that. We even had to shave his head this year to be like Daddy. :) He loves trains and legos. Most of the fun is building the tracks and building with legos. He got a battery operated train engine for christmas and loves to watch it go around the tracks. Matthew does a good job cleaning the living room, especially organizing the shoes. He's also very responsible with making sure that his train tracks and legos get put away and does an excellent job cleaning his room when told. :)
Then there's our sweet, spunky, Elise Josephine Claire aka: Lisey. She's 2... and full of life! She talks endlessly, has a huge vocabulary and loves Dora! She's a bit stubborn and knows what she wants out of life! She brings so much joy to our family... we just laugh and laugh at her. She recently started sleeping in a big girl bed and shares a room with Katie and Danielle. She may be small but she's certain she's one of the big kids. Her personality is much much bigger than she is, and quirky as can be! We have been trying to get her potty trained, but she has other ideas and apparently is more stubborn than I am, at least with that. So, we are waiting. :)
This year hasn't been all joyful, but we still have so much to be thankful for. Last month I got some pretty bad news. Grandma Marie had a stroke. She's okay, but losing her has been one of my worst fears so you can imagine how terrifying that was. She is very much still with us, but a part of her is gone and it breaks my heart. I went to visit her just days after her stroke and it was very very hard. I miss my Grandma. Her short term memory isn't doing well. She doesn't recognize her house as her home and just simply isn't able to care for herself, at all. :( She just moved in with my Mom a couple days ago and she will stay there for the rest of her life, or until she gets better, which is my prayer. Her personality was still there in a lot of ways, she could joke with us.. and she did remember the people closest to her. Some things were gone though, like her need to clean. Maybe that's a good thing, but it was hard to see that part gone. She LOVED Joshua though and still to this day talks about "THAT BABY" :) I miss her.
In January we found out we were having another boy... that was sooo wonderful and a great way to start off the year and celebrate my birthday. In July, we welcomed Joshua into the world. He's about to turn six months already. Joshua Mark is sooo wonderful! I love him! He is so very loved by all of us. He is such a happy baby. He will smile at anyone that will look his way or talk to him, which is all the time because he's so cute that people just can't resist! He sleeps pretty well, overall. He sleeps through the night about every other night, lol. For some reason he just does that. Even when he has a rough night it's still not all that bad. He'll sleep from like 11-3am instead of his big stretch of 10pm - 5 or 6am. We haven't started him on any solids, except for the little bit of applesauce he got in the car on our long trip to CO a couple weeks ago. He liked it. :) Here's a picture of him, he's seems to be more fair skinned than Matthew, and his hair is lighter as well. :)
Knitting. Let's see... I've been doing a lot of it. Especially since fall. Even before that, though, I made a bunch of little hats for Joshua's newborn photo shoot. I am hoping to get through my orders (which are slowing down now that Christmas is over) to make him a bunch of new ones and also do another photo shoot with him. Not only that, but he actually needs some hats since it's cold outside.I've learned some new things. I am getting better at following a pattern and I learned to make bobbles and how to make a curve by knitting short rows. This is the hat, a Viking, that forced me to step outside of my comfort zone...
I also just learned to knit booties last night... very simple ones... but I did it nonetheless!
I got a new camera! A Nikon D5100. I took pictures for Adrielle's wedding. Yep.. my baby sister got married on 12-12-12, which was also our 14th wedding anniversary. That was a lot of fun, to see everyone again. Adrielle's new husband, Clay, seems nice, although I haven't gotten to know him at all yet. Hopefully I will more in the future.
I also got to see Amariah, which is rare.. here is a picture of us five kids together :)
Okay, so let's talk about the other six kids!!! Starting with Katie. My Katheryn Rebekah Laurel. She turned 13 this year. THIRTEEN. I have a teenager. And a freshman in highschool. I am not old enough for that!!! Well, I am, but it doesn't feel like it. Katie has grown a lot this year in responsibility. She has started babysitting, we've left her a number of times alone with our kids and she does an awesome job... the house is clean and the kids are in bed and well taken care of when we get home. She also recently babysat at a friends house with Danielle. That was her first time being away from home, alone. She did very well!!! :)She also has gotten really good at writing poems and her piano playing has improved tremendously! She is also taking an art class again this year and is doing really well, I am very impressed with the work she brings home. :) I've also noticed leadership qualities coming out in her, she put together and led a small vacation Bible school at the church and then the Fall festival for Halloween. I was proud to see her standing in front of so many people, showing such boldness and confidence when she talked.
Then there's Danielle Elizabethe Marie, my 11 year old. She has also grown a lot this year. She has improved a ton with the amount of housework she has been doing. She helps clean the kitchen every night, with out hardly a complaint! She has recently taken over the "job" of putting away everyone's laundry. That is a big job, let me tell you! She's doing great at it. Her artwork is amazing, she is just a natural at it. She is constantly drawing cartoon characters that look just like the original with hardly any effort, it seems. Her piano playing has also improved this year, my favorite song she learned was "Here I Come to Worship" It made my heart melt to hear her play and sing along with it. She's got a pretty voice, maybe it will become like Grandma Laurel's one day. I've noticed an improvement in her diligence with practicing. Danielle is so funny, she is always coming up with the wittiest things. I really enjoy spending time with her. :)
Johanna Alexandra Lynn turned 8 this year. She is so good with babies, Joshua can hardly make a fuss with out her running to him. :) She almost always has him in her arms, and if we are anywhere else where there is another baby, she is wanting to hold them too! :) Johanna is good at cleaning, when she wants to be.. ;) She is our bathroom cleaner... she is very detailed in the way she cleans and she doesn't mind getting messy... haha. Her artwork is showing great potential too, it seems she has a bit of natural talent too... I am usually very surprised when she shows me something she drew. She loves to create... we find "Johanna creations" all over the house. These are usually a combination of yarn, tape, cardboard and hot glue. And anything else she can find around the house. Mostly she is just funloving and full of energy! :)
Then there's Alaina Julianna Grace! She is 6 and started kindergarten this year. She loves Ms. Lollie, her teacher. She also really enjoys her buddy, Luke. She says she is going to marry him one day. haha! Alaina has shown a ton of responsibility with her job this year. Every day, Monday - Thursday, after lunch she cleans the kitchen and dining room with the exception of the dishes. There are days she goes above and beyond and even sweeps and takes out the trash without being asked. She is doing very well at school, picking up on reading very fast. Mostly what I notice about her is how affectionate she is. She very regularly comes up to me and kisses my hand or my face and says, "I love you mommy". That is so sweet and I love it!
Matthew Scott... he's so fun. :) He turned 4 this year. He loves his
baby brother! I can't wait to see their relationship grow and develop over the years. He is such a protector but at the same time shows such gentleness with Joshua. He is very happy to have his brother move in the room with him. He always wants to be just like Daddy and do whatever Daddy is doing! Like in the picture, his sleeves are rolled up, because Daddy does that. We even had to shave his head this year to be like Daddy. :) He loves trains and legos. Most of the fun is building the tracks and building with legos. He got a battery operated train engine for christmas and loves to watch it go around the tracks. Matthew does a good job cleaning the living room, especially organizing the shoes. He's also very responsible with making sure that his train tracks and legos get put away and does an excellent job cleaning his room when told. :)
Then there's our sweet, spunky, Elise Josephine Claire aka: Lisey. She's 2... and full of life! She talks endlessly, has a huge vocabulary and loves Dora! She's a bit stubborn and knows what she wants out of life! She brings so much joy to our family... we just laugh and laugh at her. She recently started sleeping in a big girl bed and shares a room with Katie and Danielle. She may be small but she's certain she's one of the big kids. Her personality is much much bigger than she is, and quirky as can be! We have been trying to get her potty trained, but she has other ideas and apparently is more stubborn than I am, at least with that. So, we are waiting. :)
This year hasn't been all joyful, but we still have so much to be thankful for. Last month I got some pretty bad news. Grandma Marie had a stroke. She's okay, but losing her has been one of my worst fears so you can imagine how terrifying that was. She is very much still with us, but a part of her is gone and it breaks my heart. I went to visit her just days after her stroke and it was very very hard. I miss my Grandma. Her short term memory isn't doing well. She doesn't recognize her house as her home and just simply isn't able to care for herself, at all. :( She just moved in with my Mom a couple days ago and she will stay there for the rest of her life, or until she gets better, which is my prayer. Her personality was still there in a lot of ways, she could joke with us.. and she did remember the people closest to her. Some things were gone though, like her need to clean. Maybe that's a good thing, but it was hard to see that part gone. She LOVED Joshua though and still to this day talks about "THAT BABY" :) I miss her.
In other "bad news", this month the kids' guinea pig, Oliver died. That was very hard. Our first pet funeral... there were many tears. They did get two new piggies though, Chewbacca (Chewby) and Simba. We decided to let Danielle get one too. Katie was 11 when she got Oliver so it just made sense. So far they have been so responsible. Both guinea pigs got sick and since they were within the two week period since we bought them they got to see the vet for free. Both are on medication and Katie and Danielle have been doing great giving it them, every day.
Can't forget, Steven and me... well not much to say... we are just busy. All the time busy. Steven works 3 jobs, goes to school... takes care of us. I am with the kids, work at the church school, and managing my little knitting business. Busy busy busy!!! :)
Oh. And Benny. He isn't forgotten, we love him very much... he's our fat sweet boy. Turned seven years old this month! He's been a stinker though... ran away not too long ago. We left the door open all night and sure enough, there he was in our kitchen, limping and muddy. Naughty boy. Since then he's been trying to get out more and more... and actually did get out again, but we realized it soon enough and Katie found him by the side of our house.
That pretty much concludes our year. I am sure I am leaving out a ton of stuff, but the important stuff is covered. :)
Goals for next year.... help our family draw nearer to God. I feel that is the biggest disappointment over the last year. Somehow Bible studies stopped happening, we haven't done character qualities like we should, or at all. That needs to change....
See ya next year... in 2013!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Words on Wednesday: homeschooling...
It's been forever since I have been consistant about writing in here, and that makes me sad.
However, there are many wonderful reasons that I have been too busy to get on here. I can name seven of them right of the top of my head.. hehe... but besides the children, there has been teaching.
Let me just say one thing... I love teaching. The girls I have in my class, 2nd - 5th grade, are so awesome. Although I feel like I am crazy busy, I wouldn't want to do anything else right now. I feel so blessed to get to be apart of all of their little lives.
The experience I am gaining from lesson planning (even if it's only one class) has helped build some confidence for future homeschooling.
The way I see it is, homeschooling will be easier, and harder than what I am doing now. At least I think so. Can't say from experience. The part I'd imagine that would be harder would be lesson planning for every class... and managing many grade levels... and doing it with my own kids might be a tad more difficult than someone elses. Being "stuck in the house" will be a bit challenging, because I seem to fall in that rut when we are all home, I don't get us out like I should. I will have to be organized and have a schedule... eek... and follow it! That will be hard.
The good thing, is the hard part isn't impossible and I feel that through the experience I will gain character, I'll have to! We'll grow as a family. Excited about that.
Now for the easier part.... there's a small little thing called "getting seven children out the door, fully dressed, fed, hair fixed, lunches packed, behavior sheets signed, hats-gloves-scarves (in the winter), shoes, backpacks, jackets... with out tears and earlier in the morning than I want to be rushing out the door" that I don't particularly enjoy. Not having to do that... well, that'd be easier. Before anyone says, you can get most of that stuff ready the night before... I do. It's still stressful. Worth it, but stressful.
Another easier thing. Since I do have smaller children, it would be nice to schedule school around nap and quiet times, or just during parts of the day that would make more sense. We will school year around, so if we don't get everything done in a day (although I will always try) it's ok. And *if* I have another baby, although that is not the plan at this point... then I won't be having to do (see above) with eight children, one being a newborn every morning.. haha... we could take a break for a bit. Also, having them in the classroom with me while I teach can be a tad overwhelming at times. I love having them with me, but the hard part would be that we are on a rigid schedule, I can't just stop teaching to deal with a kid and resume at a better time. I could do that at home.
My children will get a chance to learn about taking care of a home... right now with the hectic schedule there is not much time for them to do chores. Surprisingly, Katie is actually looking forward to that part. Although she does not like chores, she sees the significance of them and wants to make that part of life a habit. Right now it's hard.
The best best best part... family unity. I just feel we need this. As a family. With Steven working so much and I doing a lot of the taking care of the kids by myself it's caused some behavior issues to come up. Sometimes I feel it's the influence of friends, and other things, not just Steven being gone, just a lot of things... but I feel we have a very small window of time to shape their little lives. I can't wait to focus on that 100%.
The icing on the cake is Steven won't have to work so much!!! He can be around more.
We'll miss the church school soooo much and I know I'll miss teaching there, but we'll be around a lot. Who knows, we may only homeschool a couple years. We just know it's right for us right now.
I really do see God's hand in this. A few years ago if you asked me about homeschooling I'd look at you and say "NO WAY! I need a break from my kids, i couldn't handle it!!" Things started transforming in me a couple years ago. It started after I read I book called Family Driven Faith. It totally changed how I thought and did things. We started having family Bible studies together (I need to start doing that again!!!!) and praying together as a family.
My next thought on homeschooling was, that I felt it was one of the best options for our kids, but had no desire whatsoever. I was terrified of the possibility. Then the kids started asking to homeschool. We didn't feel that their reasons for wanting to homeschool were the right reasons and didn't feel it was time to pull them out yet. Steven started feeling the weight of working extra to pay for the school and asked me if I'd ever consider homeschooling. I still didn't want to even though I thought it might be best. I felt really guilty about that. In fact I thought about blogging about how guilty I felt that I didn't want to homeschool... I wanted to want to so bad. I didn't blog about it, though, because I was so ashamed that I couldn't say it.
It was May, this year. Something switched in me. I just said... Okay. We're going to do it. Steven got super excited. He really wants to be a big part of it. Having a high schooler, I'll need him to be a big part! I was still scared, but thought I'd start talking to people that are doing it successfully WITH a large family. I have many friends that are doing it and loving it at this very moment. Friends with 5, 6, and 7 children. If they can do it, and do it well... I can too! That's where it took off. I am now SO excited! I do have some healthy fear though.. haha... it will be a new experience and I know it won't be all sunshine and rainbows. The first year will be the hardest. We'll make mistakes with curriculum... some days things iwll just not work out. Overall though, from what I've heard, it will be very rewarding. Not only that, but a number of my homeschooling friends say they'd never want to (see above) every morning, haha!
It was just like God gave me what I needed when the time was right to be able to make this decision. It is well thought out, we've literally been discussing it for a few years and are not even rushing into it this year. With having Joshua being born in the summer and Steven still having to go to school a ton this year we just didn't feel it was the right time. Luckily the church school is an awesome place for our kids. :)
On a side note.... hat business is going great! It's like the first year, again! Last year was slow. I hardly have time to knit, but I am plugging away, slowly.
I started taking piano lessons with Wendy... I LOVE piano lessons. I really look forward to Fridays. :)
Oh and one more thing... instead of Thoughts on Thursday I am going to do Thankful Thursday, I got the idea from Bri, Shelby's daughter... it's such an awesome thing to do and I am totally doing it! It'll probably only happen like once every couple months, but so worth it!
Well, I better sign off for now... hoping I can get on here more often!
However, there are many wonderful reasons that I have been too busy to get on here. I can name seven of them right of the top of my head.. hehe... but besides the children, there has been teaching.
Let me just say one thing... I love teaching. The girls I have in my class, 2nd - 5th grade, are so awesome. Although I feel like I am crazy busy, I wouldn't want to do anything else right now. I feel so blessed to get to be apart of all of their little lives.
The experience I am gaining from lesson planning (even if it's only one class) has helped build some confidence for future homeschooling.
The way I see it is, homeschooling will be easier, and harder than what I am doing now. At least I think so. Can't say from experience. The part I'd imagine that would be harder would be lesson planning for every class... and managing many grade levels... and doing it with my own kids might be a tad more difficult than someone elses. Being "stuck in the house" will be a bit challenging, because I seem to fall in that rut when we are all home, I don't get us out like I should. I will have to be organized and have a schedule... eek... and follow it! That will be hard.
The good thing, is the hard part isn't impossible and I feel that through the experience I will gain character, I'll have to! We'll grow as a family. Excited about that.
Now for the easier part.... there's a small little thing called "getting seven children out the door, fully dressed, fed, hair fixed, lunches packed, behavior sheets signed, hats-gloves-scarves (in the winter), shoes, backpacks, jackets... with out tears and earlier in the morning than I want to be rushing out the door" that I don't particularly enjoy. Not having to do that... well, that'd be easier. Before anyone says, you can get most of that stuff ready the night before... I do. It's still stressful. Worth it, but stressful.
Another easier thing. Since I do have smaller children, it would be nice to schedule school around nap and quiet times, or just during parts of the day that would make more sense. We will school year around, so if we don't get everything done in a day (although I will always try) it's ok. And *if* I have another baby, although that is not the plan at this point... then I won't be having to do (see above) with eight children, one being a newborn every morning.. haha... we could take a break for a bit. Also, having them in the classroom with me while I teach can be a tad overwhelming at times. I love having them with me, but the hard part would be that we are on a rigid schedule, I can't just stop teaching to deal with a kid and resume at a better time. I could do that at home.
My children will get a chance to learn about taking care of a home... right now with the hectic schedule there is not much time for them to do chores. Surprisingly, Katie is actually looking forward to that part. Although she does not like chores, she sees the significance of them and wants to make that part of life a habit. Right now it's hard.
The best best best part... family unity. I just feel we need this. As a family. With Steven working so much and I doing a lot of the taking care of the kids by myself it's caused some behavior issues to come up. Sometimes I feel it's the influence of friends, and other things, not just Steven being gone, just a lot of things... but I feel we have a very small window of time to shape their little lives. I can't wait to focus on that 100%.
The icing on the cake is Steven won't have to work so much!!! He can be around more.
We'll miss the church school soooo much and I know I'll miss teaching there, but we'll be around a lot. Who knows, we may only homeschool a couple years. We just know it's right for us right now.
I really do see God's hand in this. A few years ago if you asked me about homeschooling I'd look at you and say "NO WAY! I need a break from my kids, i couldn't handle it!!" Things started transforming in me a couple years ago. It started after I read I book called Family Driven Faith. It totally changed how I thought and did things. We started having family Bible studies together (I need to start doing that again!!!!) and praying together as a family.
My next thought on homeschooling was, that I felt it was one of the best options for our kids, but had no desire whatsoever. I was terrified of the possibility. Then the kids started asking to homeschool. We didn't feel that their reasons for wanting to homeschool were the right reasons and didn't feel it was time to pull them out yet. Steven started feeling the weight of working extra to pay for the school and asked me if I'd ever consider homeschooling. I still didn't want to even though I thought it might be best. I felt really guilty about that. In fact I thought about blogging about how guilty I felt that I didn't want to homeschool... I wanted to want to so bad. I didn't blog about it, though, because I was so ashamed that I couldn't say it.
It was May, this year. Something switched in me. I just said... Okay. We're going to do it. Steven got super excited. He really wants to be a big part of it. Having a high schooler, I'll need him to be a big part! I was still scared, but thought I'd start talking to people that are doing it successfully WITH a large family. I have many friends that are doing it and loving it at this very moment. Friends with 5, 6, and 7 children. If they can do it, and do it well... I can too! That's where it took off. I am now SO excited! I do have some healthy fear though.. haha... it will be a new experience and I know it won't be all sunshine and rainbows. The first year will be the hardest. We'll make mistakes with curriculum... some days things iwll just not work out. Overall though, from what I've heard, it will be very rewarding. Not only that, but a number of my homeschooling friends say they'd never want to (see above) every morning, haha!
It was just like God gave me what I needed when the time was right to be able to make this decision. It is well thought out, we've literally been discussing it for a few years and are not even rushing into it this year. With having Joshua being born in the summer and Steven still having to go to school a ton this year we just didn't feel it was the right time. Luckily the church school is an awesome place for our kids. :)
On a side note.... hat business is going great! It's like the first year, again! Last year was slow. I hardly have time to knit, but I am plugging away, slowly.
I started taking piano lessons with Wendy... I LOVE piano lessons. I really look forward to Fridays. :)
Oh and one more thing... instead of Thoughts on Thursday I am going to do Thankful Thursday, I got the idea from Bri, Shelby's daughter... it's such an awesome thing to do and I am totally doing it! It'll probably only happen like once every couple months, but so worth it!
Well, I better sign off for now... hoping I can get on here more often!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Joshua's Birth Story
This has taken me forever to write... but here's the best I can do!
Anyway, So.... on July 5, we went into the hospital for the induction.
I was dilated to 4cm when we got to the hospital. I might have been in early labor already, I was cramping and contracting all day on the 4th it just wasn't too regular. When I got to the hospital I was having some contractions but they weren't real consistant. They were just stronger than before.
The nurse asked me about my birth plan and I told her about the cord clamping thing (I wanted to not clamp the cord for 3 minutes so he could get as much of his cord blood as possible) and that I want the pitocin set real low. She set it on a 2.
It didn't really seem to affect my contractions a whole lot, they were not really more frequent but a little more regular. I probably sat that way for about 2 hours.
Next the anestesiologist (sp?) showed up for my epidural... I so wanted to try it natural, but I was SO worried about doing with pitocin AND I could tell with the little contractions i was having that it was back labor. They weren't real painful at all... just crampy, but my back was hurting pretty bad.
The epi went fine, at first, but then when I laid down my heartrate shot up to 120 and my bp dropped to 80 over something... um scary... and AWFUL. So they had to give me meds to make my bp go up... how ironic. It was awful. Steven and the kids said I lost all the color from my face, I felt nautious... and dizzy.. ick.
Then I felt GUILTY! Like such a wimp for needing the epi that I just put myself and poor Joshua through that! I have never had a reaction like that before.
At the same time my Dr showed up to break my water.. he said I was 5-6cm (with no pain up until that point!). After that the contractions sped up and were on top of each other. Then I was thankful for the epi. I don't know if I could have done it! I mean I know I could have, but they were constant! So they lowered my pit down to a 1 and that slowed them down. They were still pretty close together though... I think it was probably 3 hours before I was a 10... but right about that time Joshua's heartrate dropped down to a 60 which was scary. My Dr wasn't there yet, but I told the nurse that if things didn't change fast I was pushing the baby out!! Luckily she was a nurse experienced with delivering babies. Also, his heartrate went back to normal pretty fast. It just freaked me out for a second there. I felt so helpless!
Then the Dr got there and I pushed through 2 contractions and Joshua came out sunny side up! Little stinker... but it wasn't as hard as pushing Elise out so I was glad. I bet that is why my back was hurting.
The Dr put him on my chest... that was my first experience with that and it's SO wonderful! I can't believe I had 6 babies whisked away from me right after birth and didn't even know what I was missing! :(
He was slimy and gooey, but I didn't care. He screamed and screamed and screamed. He was NOT happy! LOL
He waited over 3 minutes and asked me if I was ready for him to clamp the cord... I felt happy with that (I don't think it was done pulsating at that point though) so I told him it was okay. Then I just held him for the longest time. He SCREAMED! Eventually the nurses took him from me to get him somewhat cleaned up and weighed and then gave him right back! He weighed 7lbs 5oz... same as his bday 7-5! :)
It was overall such a great experience and I felt a lot more in control of it... they asked ME what i wanted before they did everything compared to the past where they just ran the show. All it took was just speaking up and telling them what I wanted.
Also Katie and Danielle were in there the whole time... this is the 3rd sibling they have seen delivered. They did great. Katie had a moment of not feeling very well, but after some rest and food in her tummy she felt better. She was the photographer. Danielle was hilarious, had all kinds of funny stuff to say. Stinker. :)
My regrets of course were having to use the pitocin (probably breaking my water would have been enough) and of course the epi. Don't know what I'll do in the future if there's any more babies.... At this point I still think I'd get the epidural, but who knows, if I actually went into labor on my own mabye I coudl do it.
I really enjoyed the time in hospital, the food -- YUMMY!, the nurses... I just love them.... the time alone with baby, sleeping... It was all great. I miss it, haha!
I think that's it, in a nutshell!
Anyway, So.... on July 5, we went into the hospital for the induction.
I was dilated to 4cm when we got to the hospital. I might have been in early labor already, I was cramping and contracting all day on the 4th it just wasn't too regular. When I got to the hospital I was having some contractions but they weren't real consistant. They were just stronger than before.
The nurse asked me about my birth plan and I told her about the cord clamping thing (I wanted to not clamp the cord for 3 minutes so he could get as much of his cord blood as possible) and that I want the pitocin set real low. She set it on a 2.
It didn't really seem to affect my contractions a whole lot, they were not really more frequent but a little more regular. I probably sat that way for about 2 hours.
Next the anestesiologist (sp?) showed up for my epidural... I so wanted to try it natural, but I was SO worried about doing with pitocin AND I could tell with the little contractions i was having that it was back labor. They weren't real painful at all... just crampy, but my back was hurting pretty bad.
The epi went fine, at first, but then when I laid down my heartrate shot up to 120 and my bp dropped to 80 over something... um scary... and AWFUL. So they had to give me meds to make my bp go up... how ironic. It was awful. Steven and the kids said I lost all the color from my face, I felt nautious... and dizzy.. ick.
Then I felt GUILTY! Like such a wimp for needing the epi that I just put myself and poor Joshua through that! I have never had a reaction like that before.
At the same time my Dr showed up to break my water.. he said I was 5-6cm (with no pain up until that point!). After that the contractions sped up and were on top of each other. Then I was thankful for the epi. I don't know if I could have done it! I mean I know I could have, but they were constant! So they lowered my pit down to a 1 and that slowed them down. They were still pretty close together though... I think it was probably 3 hours before I was a 10... but right about that time Joshua's heartrate dropped down to a 60 which was scary. My Dr wasn't there yet, but I told the nurse that if things didn't change fast I was pushing the baby out!! Luckily she was a nurse experienced with delivering babies. Also, his heartrate went back to normal pretty fast. It just freaked me out for a second there. I felt so helpless!
Then the Dr got there and I pushed through 2 contractions and Joshua came out sunny side up! Little stinker... but it wasn't as hard as pushing Elise out so I was glad. I bet that is why my back was hurting.
The Dr put him on my chest... that was my first experience with that and it's SO wonderful! I can't believe I had 6 babies whisked away from me right after birth and didn't even know what I was missing! :(
He was slimy and gooey, but I didn't care. He screamed and screamed and screamed. He was NOT happy! LOL
He waited over 3 minutes and asked me if I was ready for him to clamp the cord... I felt happy with that (I don't think it was done pulsating at that point though) so I told him it was okay. Then I just held him for the longest time. He SCREAMED! Eventually the nurses took him from me to get him somewhat cleaned up and weighed and then gave him right back! He weighed 7lbs 5oz... same as his bday 7-5! :)
It was overall such a great experience and I felt a lot more in control of it... they asked ME what i wanted before they did everything compared to the past where they just ran the show. All it took was just speaking up and telling them what I wanted.
Also Katie and Danielle were in there the whole time... this is the 3rd sibling they have seen delivered. They did great. Katie had a moment of not feeling very well, but after some rest and food in her tummy she felt better. She was the photographer. Danielle was hilarious, had all kinds of funny stuff to say. Stinker. :)
My regrets of course were having to use the pitocin (probably breaking my water would have been enough) and of course the epi. Don't know what I'll do in the future if there's any more babies.... At this point I still think I'd get the epidural, but who knows, if I actually went into labor on my own mabye I coudl do it.
I really enjoyed the time in hospital, the food -- YUMMY!, the nurses... I just love them.... the time alone with baby, sleeping... It was all great. I miss it, haha!
I think that's it, in a nutshell!
Beautiful Baby!
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