Hello, My name is Jessica....

I am the owner of this blog. I am alive and well. Not that you would know from my blogging hiatus. But I am. :) Boy, life has been a crazy whirlwind lately. It hasn't left very much time for blogging. That's life, I guess. We have been going through a very new season in our lives, not a bad one but a good one. In the past two months, we have gone from ordinary, everyday(for the past 7 years) life to something new. A new beginning. A new everyday routine. We have been sent to a new church, ended an old job and started a new one, started a new work schedule that includes a mix of days and nights, ended Kindergarten(my baby!), got rid of one vehicle just in time for the other one to die, got a new car, lost a very special person, gained a new family member(that's you Chuck!) started living a new life. And loving every minute of it. Looking back on the past two months, I can honestly say I wasn't sure how things would end up, but I KNEW God would handle it. And he has. We have been in a transition period with life and when I look forward, I can see an amazing future. My wonderful, amazing husband is no longer so stressed because of work that he can't enjoy life. We are adjusting to him switching out day shift and night shift. It's different and it is taking some getting use to. Since, we home school it's not a big deal if he works nights...we can be very flexible.  We actually see him more now than we ever did at his other job. It was truly a God send that he is working at this current company. Honestly, there is no other way to put it.  We are at an amazing church, that is in our community, that has a community outreach like none I have ever been a part of. It truly has a heart for people and loving those people, just like the bible says we should. One word- Amazing. We are exactly where God wants us to be and we are so excited to be a part of the church.
My Sweet Pea "graduated" Kindergarten. We didn't actually have a graduating ceremony but I did take her picture in a little cap and gown. That way I would have one of her in Kindergarten and when she actually graduates high school.  GASP. High School. Quick...someone hold me, I can't breathe. High School. deep breaths...breath...

My Sweet Pea, growing up way to fast. We are so blessed to have this  toothless little smile to look at everyday!

We start first grade at the end of August. We will be home schooling again. I really love it and so do they. It fits in perfectly with our life right now. 

We also lost an amazing man of God- my husbands' granddaddy. Granddaddy, was one of the most faithful men I have ever known. He helped to raise my husband and I will always be eternally grateful to him for what an amazing job he did. He holds a very special place in my heart. 

Even in the midst of new things, some things never change. Like, for instant, my son's ability to constantly gross me out. He is 3 and 1/2 for crying out loud! I thought I would have a few more years before this happened....I was wrong. Also, the fact that getting my kids to clean their rooms is like giving a shark a bubble bath....it's going to be painful and possibly deadly. They can destroy a room in 10 seconds flat. Can someone please endorse us for the Olympics? Anyone? Tide? Subway?....No? This has to be some kind of record! I am trying to get them to pick up their rooms every night before bath/bed time. Some nights it works, some it doesn't. Like Friday night, when Sweetie Pie dumped out a 5 gallon tub full of books, in the door way of her room. Right before bedtime. Sometimes, it's just better to go to bed and deal with the mess in the morning. Sigh. Of course, in the morning turned into Monday afternoon...but whatever. I am determined to make this pick up every night before bed thing work. It may take me all summer long but that's OK. These thing take time. I just hope all summer long doesn't turn into 17 years later....

So I think that has brought us up to speed. Old way of living turning into a new way of living while some things remain the same. I think that covers it. I hope to see you tomorrow. 

Meanwhile....Enjoy life, love while you can, and it never hurts to do a little laundry in between it all....

                                                   

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January 2012 in Review....

I can not believe January is gone. Months, days, and weeks go by so fast. I guess it's true what they say, when your young, days are so slow and when your older, they go by, often times, too fast. But, I have enjoyed the growing and the stretching that I've done in my relationship with Christ. At a moment or two, I most certainly did not. Looking back, however, it was worth it. So this is what we've done the first month of 2012!

• Home school started back in full force. Well, as forceful as starting school at 10:00am daily can be. ;) My sweet girl is learning so much. She is finished with 2 of her kindergarten books. We have started 2 new books(math and English) that are kind of like a preparing for 1st grade book. She loves it. I love that she loves it. My other sweet girl, has learned to spell her name. I'm so proud of her. She must be proud also, because her name is literally written on many walls. And one closet door. sigh. Here is a short video of my sweet girl reading. Love it! P.S. ignore the mess behind her. Kay? 
• Yeah, we also home school in our PJ's. And we usually don't brush our hair until...well...let's be honest, after lunch. Do we care? Nope! Not at all! Do you notice she has what looks to be, zero teeth? Don't worry she does have teeth, just not in the front. ;)
• I took only 20 pictures and only 1 video the entire month of January. Wait, that can't be right. Oh never mind, I forgot I took some and already down loaded them to the desktop. Whew! I was going to call myself a slacker. Good thing I didn't speak too soon. ;)
• I started a cooking/recipe blog. It's called Aprons and Hardhats. I'm super excited about it. I love to cook and my husband loves to cook. I am 90% sure my kids will love it too. You know, since they immediately flock to the kitchen when one of us starts to grab pots and pans. Love it!
• My sister in law and brother had a wedding shower. I made her a cute "kitchen utensil cake". I found it on Pinterest. I was rather proud of it and thought it was adorable. It was really easy to make. You could really do anything with it. Baby shower, teacher's gift...the list is almost endless. Here's a picture of the finished product with the rest of the gift. 

I made her a baking tray full of things you need to make cookies!(besides butter,eggs,etc.)

• My son decided to pee in his room and then rub his head in it. That was not a good day. He also attacked me with kisses and hugs. It turned out to be a better day. 
• My office has been a disaster for probably most of the month. I cleaned it on Monday. So it will be clean at least 2 days in January! 
• Sweet Pea went to the dentist last week and had zero cavities! Woo-Hoo! She also lost her 5th baby tooth. Adorable. I also made an appointment for me at the dentist. 
• I cried a little when I thought about it. I hate the dentist. Thankfully, the kids haven't picked up on that. Sweet Pea loves the dentist. Every time she goes, she walks away wanting to be a dentist one day. Every time I go, I want to cry and never return. Let's face it, that's usually what happens. Don't tell her. 
• We need to file taxes. I hope we get money back. I need to go to the beach with that money. Oh, you too? Ok, lets go together. :) It'll be fun!
• Sweetie Pie, to be such a comedian, can ask some deep questions for a 4 year old. "Does God make all the stormadoes (aka tornadoes) that come around?" Deep question. 4 year old. I will need guidance on the answers when the bigger questions come, that's for sure. 
• Had a few date nights. Watched the movie Courageous . It was a great movie. I suggest you watch it with a box of tissue. If this movie doesn't choke you up, nothing will. 
• Our cute little Corndog, our weeny dog, decided to eat my blinds. Eat them. Why do dogs like to eat stupid stuff? I just don't understand. It couldn't be a back yard facing window, could it? Nope, it had to be the one facing the front, the one closest to the front door. Grrrrr. I'm still a little angry about it. I'm sure I'll get over. 
• I have a tendency to be cheap. So, it will probably be a while until I get over it, because now I have to buy blinds. I don't want to buy blinds. I want to buy....well anything buy blinds! Actually, I'm perfectly ok, with buying nothing. Sigh. Oh well...moving on. 
• We repainted both bathrooms. They look great. I'll post all about that later. 
• My sweet nephew Baby E, turned one. I can't believe it's been a year. It was so cute at his party. He looked like wasn't quite sure about other kids playing with his toys. He dug into his cake and looked like he rather enjoyed it. I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any pictures. :( 

I think that pretty much wraps up the month of January.  It was a month of blessings. I really enjoyed most of it. Even the parts that where taunting, there is still no other place I'd rather be! :)





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Update #....Um, Yeah I lost count

Whew....Life is what happens in between blogs. And boy, oh boy life has been busy. Here's a short, medium, long update, since it's been almost a month since I last updated. Reason number one million I haven't updated: Home school. Home school has been going great. We have our "bad" days which really aren't that bad. They just consist of Sweetie Pie chasing The Boy and The Boy chasing Sweetie Pie all while Sweet Pea is trying to guess what sound a letter makes. Guess what sound a letter makes. She has known what every letter says for a gazillion years! At these times, I think why did I want to home school again? Then, there are the rest of the days. The days when, by the grace of God, the two younger ones are being quiet. ( Doing color pages or building blocks, etc.) When Sweet Pea started reading. All by herself. It was the best feeling in the entire world. My baby is reading and I taught her. It really makes me proud of her. She is so smart and loves to read and learn. She is a whiz at math. Loves it! It's days like that, that make me so incredibly happy to be home schooling. Not to mention, the freedom we have. We can home school morning, noon, and/or night. And it's OK! I love it!
Reason number one million and one: Laundry. I loathe laundry. I love for it to be clean. I love for it to be put away. Number of times that actually happens in a month: maybe 3, if, it's a "Super Mom" week. It doesn't happen a lot, but when it does...I really feel like a "Super Mom". But let me tell ya, if I were "Super Mom", Laundry would be my kryptonite! I see dirty laundry in a basket and immediately want to cry. So, instead of wasting tears on such a vicious cycle, I close my eyes and eat a hidden Reese cup and all is back to normal! :) Reason number one million and two:  Shopping! Well, not real shopping, grocery shopping. Which really takes some time. Family of 5 + Budget = lots of stores with sales and coupons. :) And no, I'm not an Extreme Couponing maniac. Most of the time! I don't take 40 hours a week to put together my coupon trips because well I have a life. See reasons one million and one through two. I do like to save money and shop the sales. On a side note: I bought candy for 50% off at Wal-Mart yesterday! Woo-hoo! I put the chocolate in the freezer ( with instructions to the hubs: do not eat!) and into the stockings they go at Christmas! The kids: none the wiser with a sugar high on Christmas morning! :)
PINTEREST. If you haven't tried it. You should. Like yesterday. It is so awesome. They have crafts, food. house stuff, cleaning secrets, you name it, they have it! I found a recipe for Homemade Butterfingers. And Oh. My. Goodness. They are so good and taste just like the real thing. Sigh. I have found so many gift ideas for Christmas. I can't wait to try them out! If you want visit my boards and follow me at http://pinterest.com/fowlerlady/ You will have so much fun! Trust me!
Well I guess that's really the only reasons I have. They are good reasons. Oh, and Netflix added the Vampire Diaries to the instant viewing list! We had never watched it and now we are hooked. It's a really great story. Not for kids, obviously, but very good. Anyway, I just cleaned 1/2 my house and my kids have just re-destroyed the half I cleaned. Sigh. Why? As Sweet Pea said last week when I asked her are you trying to make me crazy? Yes, Yes we are.  :) And so goes life! Have a great day!




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