No Crafts Here...Just Family & Me-Me Stuff :)

I know I mentioned earlier this week that I would update you on our family happenings.  I actually said in an email to someone recently that I have been doing all these craft posts to avoid dealing with my daily life.  Not that it is awful...not at all. In fact, I am so glad that God has provided for us these past 2 months. But sometimes not digging too deep is a way to escape.  Does that make sense? Yet here is what is amazing...

Did you know that Brandon's part time job as a football official and unemployment equals to our previous income?  I know!  We lived on very little!  Yet we are provided for and we have learned over the last 4 years to do without a lot of things.  So honestly, we can only go up from here!

At the moment I am writing this, my husband is on his second interview this week!  Yippee! They are contract positions but some include benefits and God is working everything out according to his purpose and perfect will.  He will be in front of a panel of people in 4 separate interviews (EEK!)  As many of you know, I used to be a Resume Writer and an Interview Coach.  I helped people prepare for this stuff for a living. But I think this situation can frazzle the most seasoned interviewee. He looked rather pale when he left this morning so I am praying for him all morning.

To this point Brandon, has been out of work for 2 months.  Sometimes, this seems like an eternity and then other days, it seems like it was not that long at all. But here is some GREAT things that have been happening.

Remember when I told you that homeschooling was tough...It has been AMAZING!  I really examined my heart and began making a choice each day to pray, be patient, and give Cati plenty of grace. A dose for me too.  And all of a sudden, something clicked and she is doing so well and we get done so quickly.  I am over the moon excited about it!

Oh and I have to tell you something that happened that was hilarious.  Cati is learning to say the pledge of allegiance at school so I really wanted to include this into our home school day.  But I have yet to get a small flag to hang up where we home school.  So my next door neighbor has one hanging off her house. Totally convenient. I trooped the girls out Wednesday morning to say the pledge of allegiance. In the driveway.  I patiently explain to them that we are to put our right hand on our heart and as we say the pledge, we look at the flag in respect.  I leave it at that and listen to both my daughters say something that SOUNDS like the pledge but the words are all messed up.  It was so cute, I wanted them to say it 5 times over.

As we finished up around Under God and invisible (you know you said it like that too), my neighbor, the owner of the flag, is doing her morning speed walk and walks by as we are standing in a row, facing her house with our hands on our hearts staring at her front door.

She looks at me like she is already adding a call to her realtor to her morning to do list.  So I call out an explanation to her (prefacing it with a disclaimer that I AM NOT CRAZY) and she is just so precious because she said, "I think that is great."  She actually just got her citizenship (so cool) and I think she thought it was extra special.  Phew.  Dodged the crazy neighbor label one more time.

Speaking of neighbors...wow.  We have taken the initiative to wave at every car and passerby. We play outside each day in the front yard with bikes, trikes, balls, chalk and bubbles. And if you play...they will come.  I heard it in the sky.  Really.  I did. Because kids started coming with parents in tow.  It has been awesome to meet neighbors, chit chat for awhile and realize that making the first move may mean doing it over and over.  I have learned that being a neighbor is expecting nothing in return.  And when I realized that,  I saw the blessing in just trying to be kind to others. Just awesome.

And these cute little girls.  I must say they are doing and saying stuff to crack me up. Oh, oh and get this!  Ella learned to ride a tricycle!  She looks so cute!  Here's some pics on one of the three riding contraptions we have lying around...

 And here is my favorite...Cati wants a big girl bike with training wheels so bad she could taste it. So she decided to make one out of her current trike (which is the coolest thing in the world and I wished I had one) and sit higher on a...

Soccer ball! 

I'm still laughing about it. I also think it's genius.

And there are more girly girls...playing bumper trikes.

 I love this picture.

Want to hear some Ellaisms and Catiisms?  'Kay.

Cati and I are doing math the other day with these teddy bear counters.  She has construction paper with 5 little bears sitting on it, pretending the paper is a playground.  So I say 5 are on it, 2 need to go home, how many are left? That type of thing. After we do this for awhile, we make up another scenario and I ask Cati where her teddy bears are and she says,

"A big, black, hole."

Huh.  I'll go with it.

"OK. So what are your teddy bears doing in your big, black hole."

"They are all dead."

Sheesh!  Kinda dark for a four year old, doncha think?  I think her alarming imagination can be linked back to the one day we decided to tell her that the squirrel lying on the road was in fact, NOT sleeping. 

While I debated on stopping home school for Cati to color rainbows and sunshine, Miss Ella was keeping herself busy with Cati's drink on the table. I look over and see her drowning placing several of these teddy bears in the cup along with a little fish.

 "Ella, what are you doing?  That is Cati's drink!"


"Mommy!  Dey are in da swibmin pool! Dey swibmin, Mommy!"

LOVE her.

Then the other night Cati comes out of her room with her pajamas on. The pants are at her shins and the sleeves are just past her elbows.

"Uh, Cati.  We really need to find those jammies a new home.  They are so small on you!  We should put them in a bag for good will or something."

"Will?! Will from my class?  Will he wear them?"


No, honey.  Not Will.  GOOD WILL.  You know.  Like Charity.


"Yeah.  They may fit her."

Is that not just darling?

Love those peanuts.

OK.  That is all for now.  Obviously, it took me an entire 24 hours to write this post.  We went to the beach after Brandon's interview (it went great but we won't know anything until next week) and had lunch, flew kites and the girls swam in freezing water.  Good times.


Have a great weekend!