K'lyn's Birthday Pics

Happy, Happy Birthday, K'LYN!!!!!!!

My baby girl turns 19 today.  NINETEEN!  I can't believe the roller coaster.  I'm honored to be her mom and watch her grow into this beautifully awesome young lady.  Here is her acrostic.

K-  KNOWLEDGEABLE  Whether it's the thousands of books she reads or just coming by it honestly being my child, K'lyn is smart.  We see this in her schooling time and time again.  So she has some trouble with the ATM machine and such, but for the most part, she could probably take care of herself if she needed to.  
A-  APOCALYPTIC  She did not get this from me, but her dad.  They watch all these shows that I can't stomach together.  The Walking Dead and such….yuck.  She loves these shows and watches them whenever no one is home.  If dad watches with her, she might venture to watch some before bed.
E-  EXPRESSIVE  K'lyn's art is something to behold.  It's nothing short of amazing.  It's hard to believe that all those arts and crafts she loved doing would turn into this.  Now she hates arts and crafts.  :D  Her best work is sculpture work.  Whether out of clay, wire, rice krispie treats, she excels.  She's thinking art therapy, and we're so excited for her!
L-  LAUGHABLE (HUMOROUS)  There's no "H" in her name, so I had to improvise.  K'lyn is hilarious.  She has my sense of humor too.  Seriously, we both can go on and on about how funny we are.  Our best work is puns.  We are very punny.  
Y-  YAPPY  This girl can talk, and she talks fast.  When you ask her what happened during the day, you get the COMPLETE rundown.  She's a storyteller.  She doesn't want to leave anything out.  She gets that from me too.  I know a lot of you know what I'm talking about.  She takes you on a journey.  She would be an excellent author.  She's already written some short stories.
N-  NATURAL  While K'lyn cares a lot about what people think about her, she also has a good balance of being herself.  She's just like she was when she was little.  It takes her a bit to warm up, but once she does, she's a completely different person.  At that point, she doesn't care what she thinks you think.  She's trusted you with herself.  She's natural like that.  

Happy Birthday, Kaelyn.  I'm so proud of you!  I love you with all my heart.  

Wordless Wednesday

Hooray!

It was a busy weekend with a birthday party for my niece and becoming a Carmelite today.  I have NO pictures from my ceremony.  Not a one!  Marley's behavior was AWFUL less than desirable, and we were just trying to keep her from a full on outbreak in the middle of Mass.  I received my scapular, which looks like a huge pot holder.  :)  I am headed to bed. I have home school reviews tomorrow, and I am not prepared.  *SHOCKER*  Pray for me!

My St. Therese, The Little Flower

on All Saints Day

Wordless Wednesday

Someone's feeling better

A November Daybook

Outside my window…
It's sunny, windy, and fall-ish.

I am thankful…
for another relaxing weekend.  Unfortunately, Marley is really sick, so we can't really go anywhere anyway. Also, Logan's first Reconciliation is today.  He's so excited!

I am thinking about…
Advent.  I need a plan.  I have some ideas, but honing them into a solid plan has never been my strong suit.  

In the Schoolroom…
We are going strong at our Co-op.  The kids and I are still loving it.  We have Logan's first science experiment coming up, speeches for both of them, and the infamous end of the unit projects.  We haven't decided what we're going to do for them yet.  

From the kitchen…
I have a roast in the crockpot as I type.  I don't know how it will turn out because I tried some different things.  We have freshly made zucchini muffins and these Apple Crisp Muffins.  I didn't mind the Apple Crisp Muffins, but no one else liked them.  I think it's a texture thing with the chunks of apple.  Otherwise, we're cooking up some meaty dishes with the meat delivery from my mom last weekend.  It's so nice to have a freezer full of dinners!

I am creating…
liturgical traditions.  I want the kids to have a rhythm to our faith and activities that we do.  I'm not planning anything crazy, just little things.  For example, saying the Novena to St. Therese for her feast day.  We have a few already under our belt, but I want them dispersed throughout the year, not just on major celebration days.

I am working on…
being at a state of rest.  It's hard just being when I know there's a thousand things to do.  I still do them, but I'm practicing having intentional rest time.  Besides getting all my shopping done, my major rest time will come in December while we prepare for Jesus' birthday.

I am reading…
a book!  I can't remember the title and author, and it's in the car, so I'm not getting it.  It has something to do with raising faith filled kids.

I am praying…
for help…forever and always.

I am struggling…
with all things parental.  Marley took a video of me the other day doing school without me knowing it.  I watched it and I do not look happy.  No wonder my kids whine at school time.  If I'm not doing it with a happy heart, neither will they.  I still constantly doubt myself about EVERYTHING.  struggle.struggle.struggle

I am hearing…
Caillou.  It's Marley's sick TV.  There must be something comforting about him for her.  She hasn't watched him in a while.

Around the house…
we had guests last Friday, so we actually went into this weekend with a semi-clean house.  Maybe that's why it's so restful this weekend?  :)  I'm still trying to declutter.  I think a bunch of things are about to find their new homes on our town yard sale Facebook page.

One of my favorite things…
fall Scentsy smells.  I love walking into the door and being enveloped in Pumpkin Roll and Cinnamon Vanilla.

A few plans for next week…
I'm hoping we'll be done with Marley's illness by tomorrow.  There are some doc appts, horseback riding lessons, gymnastics, co-op.  It actually looks a bit open next week. *gasp*

A picture thought for you…

The eye doctor told us that Marley will need new glasses in February.  We went to fix her other ones and looked around while we were there.  These are the ones she has her heart set on.  What do you think?  These would be her first plastic frames.

Quick Takes Friday

1.

We received a Flat Stanley (ours is named Flat Sky) from Canada.  Apparently we're supposed to take him on adventures with us, but he arrived the day after Halloween.  That was our last busy week.  Now all Flat Sky has done is gone to our co-op, the eye doctor, and the dentist.  What fun?!  Poor kids will probably think the states are so boring.  This can only be good because then they won't come here and can be saved from the ruin that is Obama.  Moving on…

2.

I'm am so looking forward to this weekend.  We are going to the gym Saturday morning while Kevin starts off a work call.  Hopefully it will be short and sweet.  Around noon we're heading up to our church for their annual Christmas bazaar.  They have a Secret Santa room for the kids to shop for parents.  My gang is so excited about this.  It should be a great time!  Sunday we have Logan's First Reconciliation.  I think he's pretty excited about it.  That makes my heart happy.

3.

I got my new Scentsy scents and this place is smelling delicious!  I normally try to keep food scents in the kitchen, but I'm addicted to Pumpkin Roll.  I mixed it with Cinnamon and Vanilla, and oh my goodness.  I could be a Scentsy mixer.  When you walk into my house, you get smacked in the face with fall, and that's EXACTLY what I want.  It's comforting, and I'm all about comfort.

4.

This has been doctor week for Miss Mar.  She went to the eye doc yesterday and the dentist today.  Luckily she didn't need any major work at the dentist.  I was really worried.  She had to go without food all morning just in case, and she didn't do that bad.  I was stressing because of what might be and because I was trying to get Rory and Logan's school finished for tomorrow.  I don't really know if we got it all done.  Since she didn't need anything major, she got to go to a birthday party this afternoon.  It wasn't really a party as much as going to a Little Gym with a friend who just had a birthday.  My friend came and picked Marley up and brought her back.  It was the first time Marley has ever done anything like that and it wasn't Nana and Papa.  I was so proud of her.  

5.

So one of my decisions has been to pull back from Thirty-One.  It was getting too stressful to make my numbers in a lead position, so I let it go.  There have been little tests about whether this is what I really want.  For instance, the premiere of our new catalog is on the same day as my Carmelite retreat.  I was supposed to host the premiere, and the retreat isn't mandatory.  No brainer, right?  I really had to think on it.  When I consider what I'm trying to accomplish right now, I decided to cancel the premiere and go to the retreat.  I know I made the right decision because I feel peace about it.  I've felt a lot of peace about pulling back on Thirty-One.

6.

I'm back on the fitness wagon.  I'm such a yo-yo.  For now though, I'm doing well.  Every time it gets really hard and I just want candy, I offer it to something.  I know that sounds cheesy, but it works.  I kept offering it for Marley at the dentist today.  Now that it went well, I'll have to find something else to focus on.  I'll probably just work on my prayer list.  Whatever works!

7.

Our school is going really well.  It's like one big family.  On Tuesday at lunch, Logan told me that he was supposed to eat lunch with one of the high school boys.  I started setting him up to just eat lunch with me and Mars as usual.  I had to take Marley potty, and when I came back up, I saw Logan and this boy heading to a table together.  They sat there and talked and ate, and the high school boy actually looked like he was enjoying himself.  Logan, of course, was BEAMING!  I was so excited for him.  It's not just that high school boy though, it's everyone.  We all look out for each other. That being said, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving/Christmas break.  It will be nice to not be on lunch duty.  

We asked Logan to go to the car and get his cub scout uniform.  He went, playing his DS all the while, with his sister's mismatched shoes on and everything.  This picture is the epitome of Logan.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Halloween in Photos

Just so you know, Kaelyn wasn't on her phone the whole time.  She was advocating for no texting while driving.  ;)