Thursday, March 15, 2012

30 Week 3D Ultrasound

Yesterday I to the doctors for a 30 week ultrasound for baby Juliet.  This time Charles got to come with me and since we had someone watching the kids we got to go alone. How different and fun!


I told the doctor that baby Juliet is so mellow I was hoping it's just because she's such a mellow baby and not because there was any distress.  They measured her and at 30 weeks she is breech and her legs folded up towards her face.  That's why in the picture you see her foot right in her face.  :D  By 36 weeks if she doesn't turn they are going to have me go to the hospital to try and turn her. (See video at bottom of post on how they turn a breech baby).


Juliet is 3 1/2 lbs already and we saw her smacking her lips and making sucking motions with her mouth.  Was soooo cute!  

They think either she is mellow because:
a) I'm just lucky, 
b) she's breech and how she is laying 
c) I'm such a busy mamma that doesn't sit down much and so the rocking motion puts her to sleep.  Yeah, you don't do a lot of sitting down with 6 kids.  


I told her that I have a lot of acid problems and it keeps me up at night.  Sometimes it makes me wake up to throwing up and choking several times a night.  It's not fun trying to cough up acid out of your lungs the next day.  She recommended Prilosec instead of Tums and said its way more effective.  Also, that'll help with the nausea.  

My dad holding me
We had such a fun time and afterwards Charles I ate at Red Lobster for a date.  It was fun but we were actually happy to sit there quietly and eat rather than chat away.  The waiter probably thought we were mad at each other but we were happy to just share bits and pieces here and there.  It's really nice getting away every now and then but we always miss the kids when we are gone.


Anyway, I'm hoping Juliet turns on her own before 36 weeks but in case she doesn't I will have to go to the hospital and have her turned.  I found a neat video that shows how they do it. It doesn't work all the time because the doctors tried it on me with my 3rd child and it didn't work.  However, at the LAST minute before I was to have a c-section, Kyle turned and BOY did I feel it.  He was my biggest kid.


Monday, March 12, 2012

Housewife Dilemmas: When Kids are Away


Today my boys are at an all day birthday party at a game place so there are only my two girls and baby Caleb at home.  So many ideas run through my head of what to do to fill in that time.

Should I clean?  As much as I've decluttered the kids just seem to have messy as their middle name.  So many remind me that I have little ones and I will have to still constantly train.  However, I expect my 10 and 11 year old to start showing me what they've learned.  Have they?  Noooo, they've just gotten really good at doing their chores when it's chore time.  Well, that leaves a lot of time before next chore time they can make a mess.  Is this normal?  I don't know.  I will not and refuse to act like a perfectionist mom because that's not who I am and I've come to the realization that I don't ever want to be like that.  However, I don't want to raise my kids up as pigs lest their future spouses hunt me down.

Should I nap?  I haven't been sleeping well AT ALL and now that baby Juliet in my tummy is reaching inside my rib cage, I'm always feeling uncomfortable.  At least most of the time.  Sitting in church is the most uncomfortable because I have to sit for so long and I feel bruised by the time it's over.  Juliet is so gentle in my tummy so it's not like she bruises me with kicking or anything.  It's just she's discovered her new found space that's much higher and she's loving the extra room.  I'm only 30 weeks along so I'm wondering how much more painful it's gonna get.  Also, at night I've been throwing up acid and then inhaling it in my sleep.  I'll wake up and have to run for the TUMS.  I wake up about once every 1-2 hours so sleep is something I'm longing for.  However, and I'm not joking when I say this, I feel like it's great training for having to get up in the middle of the night to feed a newborn.

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Should I read and feed my soul?  Right now I am washing clothes and have been reading several books on my iPad Kindle.  <--- This has been my favorite right now because it's really nourishing to my wounded self esteem.  I haven't felt like the best housewife in the world lately but that's mostly because I've gotten behind greatly on laundry and on my chores.  I truly, truly put my focus on educating my kids and sometimes I don't get everything done around the house.  There is not a lot of support for stay at home or homeschooling moms so often we have to go online or read books to receive encouragement.  I have so many friends that are against blogging and Facebook.  I say, "Are you serious?  That IS where I get 98% of encouragement for homeschooling and being a homemaker."  Kinda sad but true. We mommies need to stick together.

Once we are done schooling and with chores we usually allow neighbor kids to flood into our house.  Kids LOVE coming to my house because we have 5 computers they can game on, trampoline out back, about 75 costumes to dress up in, lots of toys, bikes, skateboards, skates, and they looove playing on my iPad.  There are kids of every age up to age 11 here so there is always someone to play with.  As long as they are around my kids age and they are respectful they are welcome here.  I only have six kids of my own but often I have an average of 10 kids running around.  I even got them set up on Skype so their moms can get a hold of them and see what they are up to anytime with video chat.  Also, they use Skype at their house to send me a video chat asking if they can come over.  :)

I settled on reading and feeding my soul.  I rarely have time to read so I'm gonna take it.   Of course I always HAVE to be doing something productive so I'm washing clothes also.  I can never get myself to waste time on fiction books unless it's Janette Oke otherwise it's usually books that encourage like Lies Homeschooling Moms BelieveSimply Homeschool: Having Less Clutter and More Joy in Your Homeschool, or from other blogging mammas. :)  

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Taking a Real Break Since Spring Break is Here

So this is the start of spring break for most kids and we decided to use the break too.  My husband has the week off also since he works for a school district.  Well, we want to explore!  How much exploring will we be able to do with our van not working?  Well, we'll find out.  :)   We started off by swimming at Nana's on Saturday.

Chaz 11
It's the first time we've swam since last summer so the kids were excited.  They had a pool that is heated and so it wasn't painful getting in the water.  However, as time went on it wasn't as hot outside and so getting out was hard.  The little bit of breeze made drying off seriously freezing.  :)  We had fun though!  My dad swam with us.  I really love my babies.  


This is the first time Caleb wanted to be in the water.  Caleb is 2 1/2 and he had soooo much fun splashing everyone and laughing.  That means it's time to get him a vest like we did the other kids.  Chaz, Ryan, and Kyle know how to swim so they don't wear theirs anymore.  Thankfully, it get passed on to the younger kids.  Ivy knows how to swim but I make her wear hers since there are so many of us in the pool and she's only 6.  Caleb needs one for his size so I'm gonna have to purchase it.  We only get the ones that are US Coastguard approved and they are very comfortable to wear.  It's even helped all my kids learn how to swim.

My dad is such a hard worker but truly a kid at heart and the kids love swimming with him.  The kids played chicken fighting in the pool. We matched up the kids according to weight.  My dad had one and Charles had one on their shoulders and you had to see who could wrestle each other off and make fall into the water. LOL.  



When we first showed up at the pool there were four people there drinking beer but respectful.  It was so nice, quiet, and peaceful for them.  Ahhhhh...... till we showed up. I showed up first with my dad and three kids.  They were totally cool with it till I warned them that this was just half my family. When the rest of everyone got there the people cleared out within five minutes and we had the pool to ourselves. I think for fun I'm gonna make some daycare shirts for the kids.  

Friday, March 09, 2012

When it Rains it Pours

  
Just another one of those days.  Our transmission in our van is not an easy one to replace so we are still not able to use the family van.  Today I waited for Charles to get home from work in the morning so I could take the kids to their Friday school day.  On the way there while driving on the freeway I lost the tread from one of my tires.  I pulled over to see the damage and figured since I was so close to the school I would drop them off.  I picked up new materials that were needed and then called my husband to give him the bad news that he wouldn't be able to go back to work today.  H recently got over the flu and hated that he had to call in from work yet again.  I drove home with my hazard lights on really slow hoping I would make it without getting a flat.  My husband is getting a new tire right now.  Argh.  This is his work car but it's been our secondary car since our van can't be used.  However, we are not able to go anywhere as a family since we don't all fit.  I'm so wishing we just had two small cars right now to get around so we'd not only save in gas but we wouldn't have to worry about such costly repairs.   I know life happens.  It's just frustrating when things happen all at once.  When it rains it pours, huh?  At least his car just needed a new tire and it's an easy fix. 



On a sweet note I've been dealing with some really cute girly stuff.  Girls can be so emotional and cry about what I think are the silliest thing but it's not to them.  Ivy has really been soaking up compliments on character.  I've learned that although it's nice to compliment a child's looks, it's better to point out beauty in character.  Last night I was tired, finishing up cleaning the kitchen, and washing clothes real late, Ivy walked up to me and had big alligator tears rolling down her face.  She said that Ashley complained about her princess pillow she got for Christmas and Ivy thought that wasn't grateful. I told her that it was a gratefulness issues but maybe Ashley was just upset about something else and she could talk to her about it.  Ivy went in to talk to her 4 year old sister about it and I guess they worked it out because Ashley came out holding her princess pillow and hugging it.  

Thursday, March 08, 2012

How to Train for Less Sleep with Newborn

Yesterday I took Kyle and Ivy in to see if they needed glasses.  After waiting in the waiting area for an hour (whyyyyy?) they finally get called back.  Turns out they both need glasses.  Both have a hard time seeing their schoolwork in front of them.  However, Ivy's is much worse and she also has stigmatism.  What???  I asked, "are you serious?  Do you think that's why she's struggled so much focusing on her schoolwork?"  She said a BIG yes.  Well, Ivy went a full year of kindergarten not learning much of anything.  She just seemed to be in lala land most of the time.  She'll get her glasses next week and I'm SO CURIOUS to see if it's gonna help her to concentrate.  I really, really hope that has been the issue all this time.  

How to train for less sleep with newborn baby? Here is how.  I could hardly function most of yesterday because I haven't been sleeping well.  The night before I could sense the dog wanted to be let out to potty which means I might as well check on the kids.  I like to see if anyone looks cold, put them back in bed if they rolled off, get myself a drink, take those vitamins I forgot to take, use the restroom, let the dog back in, notice he has no water in his bowl, remember to turn down phone so it doesn't wake up kids in the morning, pick up a couple of things off the counter and put away on my way back to bed, check that the doors are all locked, remember that I forgot to transfer clothes from washer to drier before I laid down earlier, take some TUMS because of heartburn or acid is killing me, then finally make my way back to the bed.  By that time it'll take me some time to fall back asleep.  Then, I woke up every half hour because I was worried I wouldn't hear the alarm clock for the appointment the kids had. I sleep right through alarms or sometimes they don't go off.  Argh!  My sleeping is just crazy and this routine can happen at least a few times in one night.  Although, on a positive note, it is training for having a newborn wake up all night.  (Grin)  Okay, then it's worth it.

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The good news is my friend and I signed up for the homeschooling convention that's happening in the summer!  WHEW!  We are so excited and can't wait.  My favorite people of all time will be there.  The Boyers have 14 children and were some of the first to homeschool their kids in their area.  Talk about pioneers of homeschooling! They didn't have all the whistles and bells you can buy now.  I really admire what they have done and how they've stayed true to their faith, family, and raising their kids up in Christ. They didn't just talk about Godly values, they lived it.  Well, they are coming to the convention this summer and they are the first people I'm gonna look for.  I read this book back when I had maybe 3 kids.  They definitely were a big influence on helping to change our thinking about children and having a large family.  I read about this family before I knew anything about the Duggars.

Ashley playing ballerina
Here spring break is coming and my van is out of commission.  Whyyy?  My husband doesn't work all week and we've come up with all kinds of great ideas.  Swim at Nana's heated pool?  Visit the zoo and have a picnic since we have a membership?  Go to the mall during the day while all the teens at home are all sleeping in?  Visit a really neat museum?  Go the airstrip to watch planes land and take off?  Go to Christian skate night at the nearby skating rink?  We have tons of fun ideas.  Wellll, I guess we'll have to get creative and hang around at home.  Phooey.  :)

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

My Journey into Homeschooling

In my journey to what some call is "true homeschooling" I am trying to figure out how to incorporate different subjects with events on the calendar.  Next week we'll be learning the story of St. Patrick, doing some artwork, learning Geography, etc.  Well, some of this stuff may come easy to people but for me I like to follow.  I like things set out for me so I don't make mistakes.  I do want to learn how to make my own lesson plans and so I really gave it a try today.  However, I have no problem at all using boxed lessons for Language Arts and Math.  I love it a lot actually and the kids are loving it too.  The whole point of my kids "homeschooling" is to school at home with me.  That's what matters in my eyes.

I found a video about Michelangelo Buonarroti that is kid friendly and easy to follow for History.  When I was reading about him I got to thinking about the sculpture of David he made and how I could take that into an Art lesson and also a Bible lesson.  With that I could introduce our Character Quality of the week which is:
Boldness vs. Fearfulness
Confidence that what I have to say or do is true and right and just in the sight of
God.

Acts 4:29
“And now, Lord, listen to what they are saying. They are trying to make us afraid! Lord, we are your servants. Help us to speak your Word without fear.”

a non-naked photo of
the sculpture
I put together this bible lesson plan about David and Goliath and history about Michelangelo and printed it out.  Then I had them draw a picture of the story as I read about David and Goliath.  We had so much fun and learned sooo much.  


I feel like homeschooling is a journey and I'm one lucky lady to be able to embark on it with my kids.  It's exciting learning about forgotten things that was crammed way back when.  How much do we retain of that stuff when we are little?  I love learning it now even more! The great thing about it is I feel like I can cross out the garbage I don't want and filter what is presented to my kids.  Man, I got bullied big time taking my science teacher on about evolution when I was in 8th grade.  People threw papers at me, boo'd me loudly, and tried to trip me going up the aisle.  Was so worth it though.
Click on picture to enlarge
The other day I went to buy some supplies for art because my kids would do all this wonderful artwork and I really had no where to put it.  I moved some unnecessary furniture in the kitchen (whatever) and put up an art display instead above the computers:



I got a piece of heavy duty string, some construction paper, and some of those clips you hang up laundry with (small ones).  I just clip their newest artwork up on it.  The kids were so happy and so was I because it shows we care.  What kid doesn't want their artwork displayed?

www.Danspulpit.com
I'm sure there are plenty of people who could pick on me and tell me I should do it this way or that way but this is our journey.  This is how we can learn and take steps forward.  I may not do everything right but I'm certainly gonna give my 100% to make sure these kids are successful.  I want us to enjoy it more than anything and we truly are.  I'll never regret the day I left K12 at the bus stop and said "I quit".  I guess you could call me a K12 quitter and I don't mind.  It squashed all joy of learning out of both the kids and I and we hated waking up every day to it.  This way we feel free and learning is actually fun again.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Sick Kids, Broken Carts, and Facebook Backlash

Caleb and Kyle playing soldiers
There is definitely some sicknesses going around and my son caught the bug a couple of nights ago.  Agh... I'm fighting with my morning sickness just to talk about it right now.  Kyle was up all night long Sunday night into the morning getting sick and once I finally went to bed making sure he was okay, he did a lot of getting sick in the room.  I didn't know till the next morning when my husband's friend came over.  They were talking in the living room and I walked down the hallway to get something.  I smelled something funny and tried to make a run for it but threw up my coffee right on the floor. Lovely.  So now the bedroom was giving off fumes and wifey is throwing up on the floor.  Whew.... it was just one of those mornings!  It's seems Kyle's sickness was only 24 hours but he was pretty weak and tired for the rest of the day.  I had him homeschool a little bit but he was just not into it.  I felt really bad for him and had him just go rest for the the day.  He's the kid the never complains about much of anything when it comes to work so I knew he really did feel cruddy.





Last  night I went to Walmart with a friend and bought some homeschool supplies. We were being goofy the whole time and were just laughing like crazy.  It takes us forever to do anything when we are together.  She just had surgery so she was riding in an electric cart that kept stalling.  We'd just be walking along and all of a sudden my friend would be gone.  I'd look back and she would be stuck for a few seconds before the cart would work again.  There were no other carts so we were stuck with it. When we're together we tend to buy more because we talk each other into it.  I'm sure our husbands fear that when we say we are going shopping together.  LOL.  I bought a bulletin board to tack up our bible study we're doing each week and then some dry erase markers for the white board.  I got a jumbo pack of construction paper and some other supplies.  It really is encouraging to have a close friend that homeschools and we can give each other ideas.  We are both in the same boat with being fairly new to schooling our kids at home and really trying to find our way.  That is why we use something to help us along.  As time goes on I've slowly begun pulling away and doing our own stuff. So far I only do that with History and Science.  I use a program for Math, Language Arts, and Bible and I'm really happy with it.  



My husband lectured me this morning about working myself too hard and I need to at least stop working by 9pm.  I told him I enjoy being busy and I don't realize I'm doing that.  He said 9pm I'm done so that's that.  My man has spoken.  :)  Hey, at least he doesn't think I sit on my butt all day and eat bon bons.


Last night I dreamt that God took me to view the world from a distance.  Have you ever been in a plane and when you look out the window the houses seem so tiny?  It always gets me in a deep thought about how we get so caught up in day to day life and forget some important things. When going up in a plane the worries of this world seem to get tiny along with all the buildings.  Well, in my dream God took me out of the world to look at it from a distance.  He said the world is so caught up in the rush of things they don't realize what is coming. We needed to remember what mattered and to keep our hearts right with Him. It was a pretty neat dream but I woke up right after it wondering why I dreamt it and decided to just accept it.  It's true.  We take care of our day to day but one day we will stand before God and need to be ready for that.  Relationships are more important than things.  Working, working, working just so we can have more "stuff" is different than working to make a living and support our family.  The other day on Facebook I made the "mistake" (not really) of saying I appreciated my mom being a homemaker and taking care of us.  If I ever post anything like that I definitely get a verbal whipping from some.  Working moms always feel that I'm trying to send a message to them and each thinks I was secretly throwing a dagger.  I'm not.  It was just a thought that popped in my head and I wanted to send a thanks to my mom.  :)

If you get a chance head on over to my other friend's blog.  Her post today is called "Homeschool Chemistry: A Bunch of Advice From Kerrie"  A good read!


Monday, March 05, 2012

When the World Shakes Their Fist

Agh!  Sunday was my blogoversary and I spent it in church. It was a great day! :)  This will be my 1,656th post.  Holy cow, that's a lot of posts.  That's how you know you enjoy writing.  I must've only took weekends off from blogging.


I have sooo much to be grateful for in blogging land.  Seriously, it's been a positive thing in my life and I've met some amazing blogging moms.  I love down to earth mamma's that tell it like it is rather than always sugar coat things.  I've met some amazingly smart ones that make me feel pretty "duh" in comparison.  I've met some that amaze me how many kids they have and they have the joy and stand up for what they believe in.  Children are a blessing no matter what the world says.  The world will mock you, spit at you, tell you that you're flat out nuts.  But remember, Jesus was mocked at and called crazy. He was crucified.  However, even His last words were of forgiveness.  So what if I feel "persecuted" by words for what I believe in? Every time I get down for how someone talks to me about my large family I have to remember that the world ISN'T going to agree and THAT'S THAT.  Even when we had to sell everything, move into a tiny apartment, just so I could stay home, the people shook their heads thinking it was nuts.  Why wouldn't I just get a job?  I had only $100 at the best for groceries every month.  No car.  It was a tough time but some of our very BEST memories.  Did the world agree?  Of course not.  But I had my babies and I knew they'd grow up fast.  Can everyone do that and stay home?  Of course not.  


Today I was  thinking about how grateful I am for my own mom that stayed home with us.  I know not everyone can do that.  Some, no matter how hard they try, have to work to make it.  I will never, ever take it for granted though that I was one of the lucky ones.  Every single one of us in this world can find something to be negative about in our pasts, make excuses because of them, find reasons to never trust again, but that's not a great way to live.  Who wants to live like that?  Sadly, a lot.  Bitterness, sadness, hurt, anger is what makes pharmaceutical companies so rich.  I choose to be grateful for the positives, learn from the negatives, and live for the here and now and of course the future.  The world hates a successful story, at least one lived for Christ.  Hollywood is praised but missionaries, working dads supporting their family, firemen, doctors, soldiers seem to be forgotten.  The real heroes.



Blogging has helped me pull out the positives by sharing my stories.  It's helped me to find the humor in tough day. It's been even better to receive encouragement and even reproof from other blogging friends.  Was a fun 6 years of blogging!

Friday, March 02, 2012

Missing Our Family Van & Adventures

at a museum with kids a couple of years ago
Today my kids are normally at a school but since our family van is still not working we are home.  However, once my husband comes home from work this evening I'll be taking 3 of the kids in his car to the Children's Museum downtown since it's a free night.  :D  We have the money for a transmission but there is not one available yet to buy and my father-in-law is waiting for one to come up.  He's amazing at fixing cars and finding good deals.  Soooo, there sits our big van just lonely and sad.  I like to get out a lot with the kids so I miss it really bad too.  Not driving it though has at least saved me almost $200 in gas.  If it was working we would all be going to the event tonight.  Charles is bummed when we have to split up like this and go to stuff separately.  Me too!  He is such a fun daddy.

I have more work that I can possibly even get done in one day but it makes me happy!  I experience a long, boring weekend last time with very little to do and it was poo-pooey.  I don't want to go through that again.  Then again, if our van had been working we would have just gotten out together.  

I thought the morning sickness was beginning to subside but this morning it gave me a reminder that it's still there and was only taking a break.  The kids are so used to it they've stopped talking about it.  I'll hear them say "baby is making mom sick again."  My kids have been such light sleepers lately because of Caleb.  He's in this habit of waking up in the middle of the night, waking up all his brothers, and trying to wander the house.  Last night was tough because he woke up four kids and all the lights were on in the house.  He treats them like his personal servants and gets them to get him a drink or anything else he wants.  He's even tells them to turn on or turn off the fan. He's only two, that little stinker.  Last night I got up to get him settled back down and the other kids back in bed.  Then I made rounds to turn all the lights back off.  My concern I'm having is him escaping the house in the middle of the night.  He's learned how to unlock everything and my worst fear is him opening doors while we are all asleep.  We are gonna go buy those chains locks to put at the top of all the doors to prevent that from happening.  The same thing happened to my friend. Her boy would escape in the middle of the night while they are totally passed out and wouldn't even know it. Well, he did it a couple more times and even after they bought those locks.  The last time he did it the cops found the boy playing naked in a fountain a mile away.  Crazy, huh?  They finally got an alarm that would go off if the door was opened.

Ideas for Bible Lessons with Kids & Child Training Bible

Funny yesterday's blog was kind of on this topic but this weeks bible study in the morning with the kids has been on Anger.  I found a lesson on anger for the kids and had them draw a picture for me.  I used this lesson on anger called "Anger Scars" and was really wishing I had thought ahead because I would have done the actual demonstration with them.  So instead they each drew it.  I had them draw a piece of wood.  Then told them to pretend they were making holes in it. Imagine every time you lost your temper and say mean things you were hammering a nail into the piece of wood.  After that I explained that when when we go back and say sorry to someone, it's like taking the nail out but what is left behind in the piece of wood?  It leaves a hole. That scar will forever be there.


Then we looked up the definition of anger and the definition of meekness and wrote them down.  The kids really, really enjoyed having our morning bible study be more interactive.


Each of the kids had some really cute drawings of the piece of wood, stick figures looking angry and making others cry. 


Since this whole week we are looking at Meekness vs. Anger, we'll be using this story tomorrow called "Don't Be Angry" and draw pictures of a beautiful scenery with a volcano in the background.  Well, since volcanoes can erupt, it causes major damage and even death.  :(  

I'm always looking for tools that can help with bible study and stumbled on this site called "The Child Training Bible". You just have to see for yourself how it helps to quickly find scriptures for kids when dealing with certain issues.  



Make the truths of God’s Word foremost in your parenting by taking your child directly to the pages of Scripture with this colorfully tabbed Bible with highlighted verses.  You will be ready with The Holy Word of God at your fingertips in the moment you need it!



I'm definitely ordering it and can't wait to use it.  :D


Thursday, March 01, 2012

Solving Sunday School Dilemmas with Grace

Do you remember when I had a Sunday School dilemma and wasn't sure what to do about it?  Ivy does not read yet so they were going to move her from the first grade class back to the Kindergarten class.  Other than the always-angry anonymous lady I got some really good thoughts on it.  I had been keeping Ivy out of Sunday School because she was too embarrassed to go back to the younger class.  I didn't want to be one of those overprotective mamas that gets offended easy but I also didn't want to force Ivy into the class. Remember when I said I wanted to give them grace because the couple just took over the Sunday School program and were new to it?  After about 2 weeks of her sitting upstairs with the adults the leaders of Sunday School asked if they could talk to me.  I was so nervous thinking the worst that they were gonna be upset with me.  The husband and wife apologize to me and told me it was a wrong decision on their part and they should've gotten my input first.  They said that I was the parent and knows what's best for Ivy.  They felt really bad that Ivy didn't feel welcome into the class with her peers and they asked Ivy (who was standing next to me) if she wanted to go back.  Ivy was so happy and they led her back to the first grade class where her best friend also was.  They truly, truly felt bad that they had forced the issue and said they were so new to leading the program and hoped I would understand.  Of course!  That's a big ministry to take a hold of and I know is not easy.  I'm sooooo happy I handled it with grace rather than being angry towards them in my heart.  I did have that thought in the back of my head that they are new and maybe will change their mind.  I'm so grateful that is resolved and with grace.  :)

On a funny note, yesterday while getting ready in the bathroom, I looked up and saw this.....

I was wondering where our toilet paper roll went AND why the light was out.  Now I know why but the question of "who" is still unresolved.  Ohhhh, kids cause there to be so many mysteries.