Read me a story Daddy

Chore Charts

I mentioned the girls Chore Charts a little bit ago and figured I would let you all see what they look like. They are pretty cool magnetic boards with pretty little magnets for their chores and awards. There are even some blank chore magnets so you can make up your own. As you can see on Bresa's chart we added practice violin and Obey. In order to get the Obey space Bresa has to do what we ask her to and she has to do it with a joyful heart and good attitude. So if I tell Bresa she needs to put her shoes away she can't huff and puff and stomp off she has to do it willingly and positively. There is also a Lie space, that doesn't mean we want Bresa to lie but rather the opposite. You see, at the end of the week we count up all the awards magnets in place and each one is worth 10 cents. If Bresa lies on one of the days than the entire day is void and she doesn't get paid for anything she did, even if she filled in each space. So far the charts are working pretty well and it is nice for Bresa to come and ask me how she can help me even if it is so she can get another space filled.

One packed day

This morning Peter and I had to be at church at 9am for a Life Group Leader meeting. These meetings only occur about once every 18 months and they are for all the LG leaders of the church. It is kind of like a workshop and discussion but we have a good time and we get to see people that we don't normally see outside of Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. The meeting lasted until 1:30 but they fed us a very yummy breakfast and lunch so I was happy. Once the meeting was over Peter and I stopped at home quickly and then took the kids over to Tina and Noah's house for some games and dinner. We had a good time at Tina's and the kids enjoyed playing with the big yoga balls they found. We ended up putting Javan to bed in his pack'n play and then the rest of us played Disney's Trivia Pursuit. The girls were really good at it but in the end Peter and I won. I was kind of glad just so neither of the girls could boast about how much greater they played than the other, not that they would do that, oh no never.

Splashing Around

Javan's favorite pastime.

Oscar's MILEStone

When I got to work this morning I noticed the odometer on Oscar. He has been such a good boy to me, always lugging me and the kids around and all our stuff too. He never complains and is very reliable. He has his aches and pains here and there but he carries them with grace and never lets us down.

Story Time

A few weeks ago Peter started reading the girls 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.' He starts each reading by asking the girls what happened when they last left off and then once he finishing reading he asks them to summarize what he just read. The girls are really enjoying the book and you can see them get all excited or tensed up as the suspense builds. I have also enjoyed hearing Peter read, I am usually doing things at the same time but I still listen in.

Violinist

Bresa has been acting up a bit at school and at home. Peter and I have tried everything we could think of to try and straighten her out but everything only works temporarily and then she is back to her attitude. She isn't picking fights or anything just being disobedient and not finishing assignments or other responsibilities. We started chore charts and that seems to help a little bit but Peter and I think it's time for Bresa to pursue her passion, something for her to put all her emotions and expressions into. Since she was 3 Bresa has said she wants to play violin. Peter and I even bought her one for Christmas one year. We had a teacher but he kind of disappeared so Peter asked a friend that works at Stetson University in the music department if he knew of anyone willing to teach a little girl. Within a couple of days Bresa's first lesson was scheduled. Bresa was very excited to have her first official lesson and she did great when the teacher came. Bresa relearned how to hold the bow and violin and she learned the names of each string as well as how to play long and short notes. Her teacher instructed her to practice each day for 10-15 minutes. Peter will be good at making sure that happens, he can tell her what notes to play and how to play them. If it were left to me I don't know that Bresa would progress at all, I don't know the first thing about playing instruments.

My little boy...

Is becoming a big boy.

10 year High School Reunion

Tonight was my high school reunion which was held in Orlando. I never really wanted to go to my reunion but after going to Peter's last year I thought it might be fun. As it got closer I was still undecided so I asked Tina if they were going and she wasn't sure either. We eventually decided we would go just so we didn't regret not going later. The reunion was held at Ember which is downtown Orlando so my mom came over to watch the kids and Peter and I took off. We got there and walked around a little bit and talked to a few people here and there but nothing real exciting. People were impressed with my job and that Peter and I had been married for 10 years and that we have three beautiful children. I had a lot to brag about but I really don't care what those people think so it all seemed pretty petty. Everyone that I really cared about from high school I still speak to regularly so there wasn't really anyone that I was really interested in seeing. We had a few good conversations but overall it was a bust. Peter and I ended up leaving and going over to Tina and Noah's house to hang out after staying for a couple hours. It was much nicer over there and much quieter. It really is amazing how 10 years later some people haven't grown at all. It's amazing how I can look back at the last 10 years and see all my accomplishments; family, career, church, surrogacy, etc. but others seem like they are still in high school. I realized that there is a reason I didn't keep in touch with a lot of people from high school and now I don't have to wonder if there was anything I missed out by not keeping in closer contact with them. I am glad I went to the reunion just so that any curiosity I may have had could be quenched but I don't see myself going to any more down the road.

School Projects

School is back in session and that means the projects have started. Bresa's first big project of the year was to build a linear display of the solar system. She drew out the planets in order and labeled them all and then we went to Michael's to get some fun craft stuff to make it all pretty. We found the perfect kit for making a solar system so we headed home to start the real project. Bresa got out her diagram she made and put all the styrofoam planets in order from the sun. She made labels for each one and covered the inside with black so it looked just like outer-space and added some stars in the background. Daddy and I helped her string up the planets and make them even. Once the labels were put on the solar system was all done. The school's open house is this coming Thursday so I am excited to see how other kids did their solar systems.

Laboring on Labor Day

This weekend has just been full of parties, after Saturday I had a baby shower to go to on Sunday and then this morning we had a big Life Group breakfast since we all had the day off. The breakfast was great, everyone brought something so we had a whole buffet of food. I was absolutely stuffed when we were through and there was still a lot more food left. When we got home I decided to paint one of the walls in our house. Tina and Noah had given me a gallon of paint that they only used a little of and it was just the color I had been thinking about adding to our room. Peter helped me move the furniture (and 5 million guitars) our of the way and then I set to work. The ceiling is vaulted up to the peak in the roof so I had to do some stretching and ladder moving to get the job done. Peter helped a little in the end with some of the trim since he is left handed and it was just easier for him. I wasn't sure as I was painting, I was afraid it was going to be too dark but against the white trim and ceiling the color looks really good and it makes the yellow walls around it pop even more.

All day parties

This morning we headed off to Joshua's 4th birthday party. It was Toy Story theme and his mom, Kelli, did an awesome job of decorating the whole house. Buzz Lightyear is Joshua's favorite so there was lots of Space Ranger stuff and games and the kids had a great time. They started off by swimming and then we ate and opened presents. After cake Peter and I had to get going because we had another party to go to. My friend, Lisa, said she would watch the girls for us so Peter and I could enjoy ourselves with a little less responsibility so we left the girls to go home with her. Peter and I were going over to Tina's house for a board game party for Tina's birthday/ Labor Day fun. I told my mom that Lisa was taking the girls and she offered to take Javan so we were child free. We had a great time playing games with a bunch of our other friends and not having the kids was really relaxing. We didn't get home until late but we only had to pick the girls up. It's a good thing this is a three day weekend because I am getting pretty tired from all this fun. :)

Dinner party

Peter and I invited our worship Pastor, Jason, and his wife over for dinner tonight. We have all been trying to get together for a long time but with everyone's schedules we never had a good night open. Somehow we managed to have tonight available so Jason and Karen brought over their 5 children and we finally got to spend time together. Bresa is the oldest of all 8 of our children so they all had a great time playing in the kids rooms and they played really well together. I made mac and cheese for the kids and once they had eaten I started dinner for the adults. We had Honey Teriyaki Chicken with rice pilaf, grilled pineapple, broccoli, and bread. The food was great but the company was better. We enjoyed just talking and hanging out until it was time for them to go. The kids cleaned up real well in order to have some brownies for dessert and then they were off. In the picture you can see 6 of the kids eating dinner. Baby Javan and Abby were too small to sit at the table with the big group.