I know it's been a while

Well where to begin.....
First off Coy started kindergarten to my dismay. We started homeschooling and I loved it! He only for about the first two or three days then he began begging me to go to school. I guess it was really hard for him since he had been to preschool for the last three years. He wanted to be with other children. Brice and I decided that if we were going to give public school a shot better now than later. Anyway Coy adores school and so far he is flourishing. I still get really sad sometimes though. I do want to give Anna a special thank you for being so kind and generous with your advice. I am still inspired by her creativity, determination and patience.

Last week we went to Disney World! This was a spur of the moment trip. We were suppose to go to Emerald Isle but Hanna ruined that one, so thanks to one of my best buds we went to Florida. A dear friend has a condo there and was so generous to let us stay there. We arrived in Orlando on Thursday, went to SeaWorld Friday and Magic Kingdom on Saturday. It was so much fun! I really enjoyed Sea World but Magic Kingdom was the BEST! The excitement in Coy and Job was truly unforgettable. Coy was so excited to meet Mickey and he even gave him a kiss. When the park was closing, Brice turned the stroller around and let the boys have one last look at Cinderella's Castle. I looked at them and Coy had a tear running down his cheek. He told us that it was a "most special day." I have to admit that I cried a little on the long trek to the car. I just love to see my children happy! Here is a slide show of our trip. Just to warn you there are a lot of pictures. Oh and if you are wondering why Elise isn't in them my Mom went with us. This was such a blessing because it was so hot and I don't think my little princess would have made it. Thanks Mom!

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A Quick One

Tomorrow I will start officially homeschooling. I still have so much to do to prepare. Most likley I will not sleep a wink tonight. I am nervous and excited. The boys are excited too! They just came down stairs with any and every excuse of why they shouldn't sleep in their beds. Job informed me that he has "bed bugs." If he really knew what bed bugs were I seriously doubt he would still have them. Coy says that he can't sleep because the ceiling fan sounds like it is going to fall out. Anyway of course I CAVE everytime since Brice works nights. This house is buzzing with excitement!! I can't wait to learn along with my children. May God bless this life experience as he has so richly many others....

25 Random Things

Okay so I am going to take the plunge with Torie and Anna. Here are 25 random things you may or may not know about me.

1. I love to sleep on a cold pillow. I will turn my pillow often so to accomplish this.

2. I once attended Winston-Salem State University for 6 weeks in the nursing program but withdrew after being asked to leave micro biology lab.

3. I changed my major 6 times before graduating with a degree in human services from Gardner Webb.

4. When I eat M&Ms I have to eat them in a pattern. I always will end with one of each color.

5. I dread waking up in the mornings. I could probably sleep all day if that was allowed.

6. Brice and I met while I was working at Stratford BBQ. I asked him for his number.

7. I have to make myself read.

8. I don't like cordial cherries.

9. I had a tonsillectomy when I was 12.

10. I am always overdue with my pregnancies. Each time they have scheduled me for induction and I go on my own the night before, I think it is subconscious or something.

11. My favorite TV show is Law and Order SVU.

12. I can listen to Dave Matthews Band anytime of day.

13. My biggest pet peeve is when clothes stick out of drawers. No matter where I am I have to push the clothes in and close the drawer.

14. I had a dream to name Job before I even knew I was having a boy.

15. I over analyze everything and will worry myself to death over the hypothetical. Sometimes I will think back on conversations days later and wonder if I should not have said something.

16. I still get really excited about Christmas. I am like a child and will stay up the whole night in anticipation.

17. I don't like to put away laundry. Washing and folding is fine though.

18. I coached the JV soccer team at West Stokes the first year the school was opened.

19. I went to school at some point with all of my closest friends.

20. I eat peanut butter and crackers in my vegetable soup.

21. One day i would like to be a foster parent.

22. I am anxious and nervous about homeschooling which is no news to some of you.

23. I cannot sleep in complete darkness or silence.

24. I often take the long way home to relax and take in the beauty where I live.

25. I pray whenever I hear sirens.

How in the world did Grandma do it??

Our time in GA visiting my dad and Amye was well worth it. Very relaxing. The kids had a great time at the aquarium and we were able to catch up with my long time friend, Monica. Coy and Job love Monca (as Job refers to her.) She is a firefighter/EMT and let the kids come visit her at the station one day. That was a hit but unprepared Mom forgot spare batteries for the camera :( I did get some pictures of our aquarium trip and swimming one day.

Big Fish!!!

Waiting for Papa to park
The dreaded lion fish
Clown Fish in Anemone

Little Whiz Kid
Thanks Mon..I never get to be in the picture.

Joberoo

CoyBoy

Now to the title. Our garden has been plentiful and for that we are truly blessed. However with all the canning, freezing, pickling and preserve making I have to wonder how in the world my Grandma did it. I mean it is such hard work to garden on top of the daily grind. I am learning to cope and some days we all have to let go of our tendency for perfection. I do know that I truly admire and respect my Grandma and Mom for all their diligent work. Without their example I would be lost in this menagerie of green beans, cukes and squash. Here are a few snap shot of our progress.

Our First Watermelon!!

These three pictures I have added of the children just because I love them so dearly and each is a wonderful representation of their present behaviors and dispositions.
Cookie Monster

Cool Cat
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Mama Please

A little time away

The kids and I are spending the week with my dad and stepmom in Georgia. It is nice to get away somtimes. I mean I still have the children with me but it is refreshing not to be solely responsible for cleaning, cooking and washing! Maybe I will get sometime to relax before I come home to the garden. Thursday we will be visiting the Georgia Aquarium. This will be our second trip the the aquarium and the kids are so excited.

No doubt our green beans will be thriving by the time we are back. Before I left I had already harvested enough beans to cook two messes. They were yummy! I also made my first blackberry preserves from wild blackberries growing on the farm. They were also yummy. Another new experience for me was my first pickles. We have plenty of cucumbers so I canned some bread and butter pickles since these are the only kind that the boys like to eat. I hope that they are edible. All of this gardening and canning has brought back such fond memories of my childhood. We helped my grandparents in their garden every summer. Grandma and Grandpa basically raised all of their own food from veggies to meat. In fact when I was much younger my Grandma Rachel was still churning her own butter and making her own lard! Today's society has distanced itself from the agricultural foundation of our country. It is sad that so many American children think that vegetables only come from a can! Anyway when I was little I didn't appreciate the hard work that my grandparents endured nor did I appreciate any part I had to partake. As I grow I understand how important that work was and am so grateful that I was blessed to learn the "how to's" of gardening, harvesting and canning. Hopefully I can pass this along to my children. Brice and I feel that it is important to grow our food and buy as locally as possible with the hopes that we can became a healthier family. Presently I am reading a book entitled Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. If our nation's agricultural demise is of any interest to you then this may be a good read. The book is a journal of sorts. It is about a family that vowed for one year to eat only what they themselves could grow, raise or that which could be bought from local producers. It is very interesting what an impact this can have on our health, environment and economy.

Busy Bees

I have been slack about my blogging recently. We have been so busy around the house here lately. Not to mention that I am trying to get on a new schedule. I am by far the night owl of our family. I will often stay up into the wee hours of the morning and not wake up until around 9 am. This works for my kids because they are late sleepers too. However my new goal is to be in the bed by 11:30 (after the nightly news) and awake by 6 am. I have discovered the beauty of early morning. If I wake up early I can get so much accomplished before my gang awakes. This allows me the rest of the day to focus on what is most important...my duties as wife and mother. Not to mention it is soooooooo much easier to work outside before all three kids wake up and it is cooler :)

I keep saying that I am going to post pics of our garden. I am as soon as I remember to buy batteries for the camera. We now have baby squash on our vines which should be ready to harvest in a couple of days! I will definitely have plenty of beans, okra and tomatoes. That is if the deer don't eat them first. I also have some banana peppers that I have already picked. So if anyone knows a good recipe that has banana peppers in it I would love to try it out.

Well here it is almost my new bedtime. Until later.......

One of THOSE Days

Okay so the last two days have been THOSE days. You Mommies know the kind. The days when your kids just decide to see how far they can go. Well Coy and Job have figured out that the best time to follow through with "planned attacks" is while I am nursing. They know that feeding Elise is a time that I am a little preoccupied to say the least. Yesterday I was locked out of my house while our ninety pound German Shepherd was welcomed inside and strategically attacked with water guns. The cake topper was when the boys decided to move some of their toys from the playroom to the yard. Of course the best way to do this is out the window! While Coy is positioned in the front lawn, Job strategically tosses unwanted items out our second story playroom window. However to do this they made a makeshift ladder from chair to the top of the Bob the Builder workbench and used various "tools" to slit the window screening. When I heard Job say, "Wow the hole is almost big enough that I can get out!" I knew I better check things out. Needless to say I am glad that I infiltrated the plan before one of them became a trajectory! As both of them were sitting in time out and I am trying to hide the grin on my face, I found a positive side. Don't get me wrong I realize the danger related to their actions. It is just that I realized they were only following the direction I had given them which was to clean the playroom and work together. I now know to be more specific in my task management! Oh the lessons my children teach me daily....