Morgan turned 12 in September!!

Only 1 more year and I will officially have a TEENAGER!
That's right, Morgan turned 12 last month.

For her birthday dinner, she decided on chicken nuggets, mac n cheese and green beans. Yum!

She wanted to make her own cake in her own way. We had vanilla cake with strawberry's and whipped cream in the middle and chocolate frosting. She loved it and it was good!

Happy Birthday Morgan! You help keep us all on track and following the rules. Love you girl!

Morgan turned 11

My oldest daughter celebrated her 11th birthday last week. Even though we only have "parties" on milestone birthdays, she had a family celebration that consisted of about 30 people. She is not the easiest kid to buy for those days. Really, the only thing she asked for this year was a bulletin board for her room. So, we handled that and the rest was just guesses :)

She does still get to choose all her birthday meals and be free from doing any school or house cleaning. I mean, if that's not a celebration... I don't know what is. So, we had her birthday breakfast on Saturday morning at grandma and grandpa's - she picked out pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs. Then, we had birthday dinner for lunch on Sunday - chicken pie, green beans, fruit salad and ice cream sundaes for dessert (she's not much of a cake eater just like her mama). Birthday lunch was on Monday (her actual birthday) and she requested sub sandwiches with all the works. So, somehow, she managed to stretch her birthday celebration over 3 days (just like her labor and delivery 11 years ago :)

Even though this year was not an official "milestone" year, it seemed like a big milestone to me. She has been a junior higher for about a month now. So far, it is not as scary as I imagined. The road ahead is still unknown, but I look forward to seeing her grow and mature in her walk with the Lord.

She has been more responsible than I ever thought possible this past year and I am so thankful that God choice to start our line of children with her.

Middle School

Yes, this year Morgan is entering the 6th grade and moving to Middle School. She is so excited about being in the Youth Group at our church. Her mom is a little nervous. After much thought and prayer and talking with my husband, I have decided to move from teaching the 2 year olds at church to being a Youth Sponsor. In some ways it won't even be that big of an adjustment. I know lots of teenagers that act like 2 year olds :)

I am so interested to see what this year brings for Morgan and for me. This is a whole new phase of our life and one that I have been anxious about. Before I know it, I am going to have 4 teenagers at once. Doesn't that sound fun?!

We had our last day at the kids homeschool school last week. They had a little production that gave a synopsis of what they learned during the year. The class I taught was American Girl and my 3 girls all dressed up like one of the girls we studied and gave a couple sentence overview of that girl. The program was fun and the kids loved every minute. Here are a couple pics and videos from the day.

Breathing Room

Our home that has been filled with 10 people for the last 7 months is back down to 6. Our friends found a house around the corner for sale and closed this last Tuesday.

It has been great to be able to co-habitate and help eachother financially, but both families were ready for a little more breathing room. But, not too much... They needed to stay within walking distance :)

So, now the great debate with my girls is who is going to have their own room.

I also am teaching Morgan how to make a few dinners from beginning to end so that she can do the cooking the days that I leave before Cory gets home. She is excited and had her first chance to show her stuff tonight. She made dinner, fed all the kids and was in the process of cleaning by the time her daddy arrived. I just need to remember this the next time she gives me that pre-teen attitude.

My Baby Turned 10!!

No, this does not mean that I am back to blogging, but I couldn't not mention my oldest girl turning 10. She crossed over to double digits on the 13th. Since, we only do non-family parties on milestone years, she has been planning this one for a long time. But, before I get ahead of myself, let me back up.

The weekend before her birthday, I decided to take her on a weekend away with just her and mommy. The purpose of the weekend was 2-fold - to have a rockin' girls weekend and to have "the talk" (yes, that talk) with her. Cory and I have been discussing what age is the right age to have this talk. As much as I would love to wait another couple of years, the last thing I want is for her to hear about it from someone other than her mom. And, I know several of her friends already know. It was only a matter of time. So, we ordered a great kit called Passport2Purity by Dennis Rainey. A great friend told me about it.

So, I got the hook-up from my dad for the hotel. He is part of the Florida Barter network and was able to get me 2 hotel nights at no cost! Sweet. Now, I just got to plan the fun stuff.

We started the weekend by heading to the hair salon and Morgan receiving her first ever professional cut! Take a lookThen, we headed to the mall and got some shoes on a great sale! She has outgrown every pair she owns and we just happened to find exactly what we were looking for at a better price than I expected. Don't you just love it when that happens? After the mall, we headed to the local pizza shop where I had a coupon for a free pizza with the purchase of 2 drinks. Perfect. Dinner for $3.75. Gotta love it. After all that, we headed to the hotel to check in, watch some t.v. and go to bed.

The next morning, we started the day by getting matching pedicures. I let her pick the color and boy did she pick it :)The rest of the day, we spent window shopping, a little actual shopping, swimming and just hangin' together. It was fun.

"The talk" went without a hitch. She was a little grossed out and thought it was weird, but didn't have any questions for me. She also knew NOTHING!! When I first asked her if she had ever heard the word sex before, she answered yes. I asked her if she knew what it meant and she said whether you or a boy or a girl. I asked if she knew the other meaning and she said no. Then, I asked if she knew how a baby gets inside a mommy's tummy and she said, "I have NO idea!". Well, now she does.

One more thing I have to share. The packet I ordered comes with cd's where he does all the talking for you and you just sit together and listen. Well, after he described what exactly happens, he asks her to repeat back to her mom what she thinks it is. With a very confused look on her face, she looks at me and says "When a boy (now the tone in her voice turns to a complete question) pees on a girl?" I almost bust out laughing! Instead, I decided to describe it again to make sure we had the info right. So, that was our birthday weekend away.

On to the actual weekend of her birthday...

She chose 2 friends to have a sleepover on Friday night. We kicked daddy and Jordan out of the house and Morgan and her friends slept in my room while the littler girls slept downstairs. We stayed up till midnight watching a movie and actually got to sleep by 1.

The next morning, Morgan picked waffles for breakfast at Grandma's and wanted to swim most of the day. So, her friends hung out and swam their hearts out. For lunch, she picked homemade pizza and dessert was ice cream sundaes.It was a fun-filled and busy weekend. It is still hard for me to believe that she is already 10. The years have flown by and I know these next 8-10 are going to go even faster. Lord, thank you for blessing me with such a fun, confident, loving girl.

Homeschooling in the Front Yard

Uncle Jarrett asked each of them what they were reading.

Morgan responded with "Nancy Drew."
Avery said "The Dictionary"
You know, the dictionary sure is a good read :)

Morgan's Photo Shoot

Well, Morgan decided to put on her very own photo shoot the other day. From the pictures, I guess the theme was cowboy/girl. I thought these actually came out very cute, so I had to share. All photos were taken by my children with their own poses in mind. I just sat back and smiled :)

Dear Mom and Dad...

When we were in Nebraska, my grandmother decided to go through her (and grandpas) things and start cleaning some stuff out. She is going to be moving in with my aunt and will not be able to bring nearly everything she has. So, she was trying to find out who wanted what and throwing away what nobody wanted.

I spotted this old typewriter/WP in the throw away pile and decided to snag it. I said that my girls would love this and would think it was a great toy! Ever since they saw the Kit Kittredge movie, they've actually known what a typewriter is.

So, I brought it home and boy was I right!! They love this old fashioned thing and they fight over whose turn it is. The other day Morgan was typing something that she didn't want anyone else to see until she was done. Once she completed her work, she came to me and handed it to me quickly before disappearing out of sight. Here is a picture (from my phone) of the letter.
In case you can't read the words easily, they say (misspellings, bad grammar and all :) :

MOM

"Mom you are the best mom ever, and very crazy. You teach me school that sometimes I don't like; you are most of the time fun. Your the best coupon lady that I know. My life would not be the same with out you. You teach me about God, and how to work things out (espeshely with my siblings) and deal with them. Ilove you very much."

DAD

"Dad you are the best dad ever and very funny You are very smart and work very hard. I love when you tell jokes ( only the ones that are funny) you are one of a kind! thers no one like you. That hit in the head game is still funny you can't speak oplinglopish like mom can I love you very much"

Morgan

In case you are wondering, Daddy and Morgan have this game where they surprise each other with a smack on the forehead. For some reason, they both think this is very funny and do it all the time. Also, the language she is talking about is a made up language that my parents used to speak once my siblings and I could spell and they needed another way to talk in front of us without us knowing what they were saying. I tried to carry on this tradition, but my hubby can't speak a word of it :)

Univeral Studios

One of the benefits of living in Central Florida is having friends that work at theme parks. This

is why I don't believe I have EVER paid to go Disney or Universal (we did have annual passes to Sea World for a couple of years). Some friends gave us 2 free passes to Universal that expired on the 31st.
We've had the passes for about 3 months. But, of course, we hadn't used them yet. So, Cory

suggested that Morgan and I take a day and go just the 2 of us (what a sweet hubby!).
We quickly took him up on his idea. I passed out my other kids and Morgan I and were off!

We started off at Islands of Adventure because I was determined to get my girl to ride some good roller coasters.

Here we are on our way in

She thinks she's pretty funny :)She decided she wanted to go on Dr. Doom's Fearfall. It's like a free fall, only it shoots you up as fast as it can to 150 ft. in the air and then pulls you down faster than gravity. She has been on a kiddie free fall ride at Sea World and didn't think this would be much different.
As you can see, she is ready to go with no fear :)This is taken after the ride. I know she is still smiling, but it's the teary eyed look of fear that I see. She decided she really DIDN'T like that ride and DIDN'T want to ride it again!
Yes, she is about to get very wet... (the sign she is standing next to says "splash zone")Getting a picture with some "whos"End of the day and exhausted!!We went to both parks and rode lots of rides...
I never did get her on those roller coasters. Oh well, maybe next time.

The Only Way to Stay Cool in Florida

ICE SKATING!!

We had 5 Free tickets to go ice skating that we have been holding on to for months. So, this last Saturday, daddy went skating with our kids, my brother and his kid and our friend with his kid. It was lots of fun. Although, I believe the dads didn't think they got the best end of that deal.
Apparently, holding a 4 year old all the way around the rink while they put all their weight on you and having 100's of zooming teenagers go by is not what they consider a ton of fun.
I don't know what they are talking about :)

Here is the motley crewAbbie figured out to atleast stand up pretty quickly. She loved it and stayed the whole time!Jordan never did exactly get the hang of it. He only lasted about 20 minutes and then he was ready to go. He said he wanted to do it again when all the ice was gone. He didn't like it being so slippery :)Holden and Morgan are old pros and love it (notice Morgan in a tank top)Sydney is getting really good. This is her 3rd time and she has figured out how to build some speed.Avery will do just about anything for her little brother, even if it means giving up some of her own skating time.

I'm Sorry

It's a humbling experience to apologize to your children. I know, I have to do it a lot!

Today started out stressful. I have a plate full of stuff to accomplish for the day and not enough time to do it.

One of the things on my list is taking my kids to the dollar store so that they can buy Christmas presents with their own money. They have been asking to do this for a while now and I keep putting it off. So, I decided today would be the day.

So, I selflessly started looking for Christmas presents for my kids on ebay because of my recent great sales. While I was searching and searching and searching, I had given my children 1 instruction...
"Get ready for the day and clean your room." So, as my ebay buying came to a close, I heard the girls talking about the dog getting out. In case I haven't said this before, my dog makes me crazy!! If he is ever alone with the kids and has a chance to run away, he WILL! And, so he did.
So, I head down the stairs to chase down the dog (not an easy feat).

I realize as I am heading out the door that not only have my children neglected to obey either of my instructions, they also have made a complete mess of the back porch. And, the stress rises.

After some dancing with the dog, I finally catch him, beat him and head home. The entire 5 miles (hey, that's what it felt like) home, I am brewing over the facts. I am now running late to run the errands I need to run, I am furious at my stupid dog and I cannot believe my children have done nothing they were told. This is what I like to call "The Mom Perfect Storm!". Now, I know I still have the ability to control my emotions and reactions. I'm not saying losing my temper is o.k. or acceptable. I'm just saying, it was sure easy to lose it.

So, I walk in the door, throw the dog in kennel and start speaking in a loud voice. O.k., o.k., I was yelling. I was yelling things like, "Why should I do anything fun for you?" and "Do you know what I've been doing on the computer all day? Looking for presents for you!". I was mad, I was completely stressed out and my kids were crying.

I headed up to my room out of frustration and tried to cool off a little. It wasn't long before Avery was knocking on my door and apologizing through her stream of tears. I wasn't exactly ready for reconciliation, but I sure got ready quick.

I knew I had blown it and needed to ask for my own forgiveness. It really is not easy to ask your kids to forgive you. I don't like being wrong in general. But, especially not to my 9,8 and 6 year olds. So, Avery and I worked our way through everything and not long after, Sydney headed in my room with an apology note. We finished talking right about the time Morgan came in with an "I'm sorry" letter.

They each only had to apologize once. I had the great privilege of saying "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?" 3 times. I could list the many reasons why I shouldn't have to say sorry to my kids and what they did to "make me" so mad. But, if God does nothing else with kids, he sure teaches me so much about my own sinfulness. It's a sobering experience.

Tree... Kids... Concussion

Yep, you read correctly. Yesterday afternoon we were spending the afternoon at my parents house. My kids have discovered a tree in their backyard that is just big enough to be climbed. They have figured out how to hang baskets and such in the tree to make it their very own club house.
I have been waiting for the day when one of them would take the first fall and get hurt. Well, yesterday was the day. I had pictured this first fall from my accident prone child, Avery. And I had pictured this fall coming from a misstep and have a short fall to scare them. Well, that's not exactly how it went down.
They have been playing in this tree long enough to build up some confidence. So, yesterday, Morgan decided to "test out" a branch by swinging on it like a monkey. The branch was over 10 feet off the ground and definitely not large enough in diameter to hold up a 9 year old.
Cory and I were inside sitting on the couch and a friend of ours just happened to be standing by the back sliding doors. He was the eye witness to this branch breaking right off. He saw Morgan hit the ground and started yelling for Cory to come out.
We both hopped off the couch and went running. Cory scooped her up and brought her to the back porch while I told the other 2 kids to get down. Morgan was crying pretty hard and my initial thought was that something was broken. I started looking her over and having her move her arms and legs to check. Then I moved the hair out of her face and noticed the huge bump on her forehead.
At the same time as we were examining Morgan, Avery was inside with my mom and was crying uncontrollably. She also had witnessed the fall and she is the most sensitive of all my children when it comes to physical pain. So, my mom stayed inside to comfort her and calm her down.
We brought Morgan in and put an ice pack on her head and checked her pupils for dilation. Her eyes looked good and she really didn't have any bumps or bruises anywhere but her forehead and nose.
So, we researched concussions online and watched her carefully. She did get nauseous and vomit a couple of times. She also was in some pain and laid on the couch with me most of the day. We called our pediatrician and gave the details. He told me what to watch for and said she would most likely recover at home.
So, she slept in our room last night so that we could wake her up during the night and such. This morning she felt 90% better. In fact, she said she felt great except for a headache. I was expecting that much. We took her to the chiropractor to make sure she didn't suffer any whiplash and she has continued to improve throughout the day.
It was a scary day, but one that could've ended much worse. Thank you, Lord, for watching over my baby!

Bible Club

Morgan and Avery decided a couple of months ago that they wanted to start a "Bible Club". They have planned out 14 weeks of lesson plans and activities to teach "the little kids" (Sydney, Jordan, Abbie and Annalise). They are starting today (as long as mommy gets to the store to buy the supplies they need). Each week is a lesson about a different Bible story and an activity that goes with it. Today they are going to be teaching about Adam and Eve and I think the activity has something to do with fruit.
It has been really fun to hear them plan and prepare and get all excited for their original idea of "Bible Club". They are planning to meet every Saturday (except for Holidays), so I will probably be posting some pictures each week of how things are going.
Some days, I get so frustrated and think that they will never learn what I am trying to teach them. Other days, they turn around and want to start teaching it to someone else. That just does my heart good :)

Room Swap Update

Well, my kids have been in new rooms for over a week now. So far, things are going well. Morgan definitely helps keep Sydney on task when they are cleaning the room. Somehow, that is still the room that gets trashed daily. But, it is staying clean more often with her in there. Avery has actually done a fair job at keeping her room clean as well. She has not been in there long enough to get it really trashed and she hasn't had to clean the bathroom yet. But, I have seen her do much better with a smaller mess that she has to clean on her own.
But, the best part is...
LESS FIGHTING!! Avery and Sydney have been way better around each other. They still are the ones that bicker the most in my home, but it has been so much more tolerable this week.
I wish we would've done this a long time ago. Switching rooms will probably be a more regular occurance in our home from now on.
I am sure that they are all still in the "honeymoon" stage and there will be issues to deal with around the bend. For now, I am enjoying a little more peace and quiet.

Switching Rooms

This weekend, my husband and I made a big change in our home. We decided to have the oldest and 2nd girl switch rooms. There are a number of reasons for this decision:

1) The oldest (Morgan), has had the privilege of having her own room for over 3 years now.
-She has decided that she doesn't want any kids playing in her room because she doesn't want it to get messy.
-She was told when she first got this room that it would double as the guest room anytime someone came to stay with us. At first, she was fine with this. But, recently, I have noticed a rotten attitude everytime I tell her that she has to give up her room.
-She plays in her sister's room all the time. Yet, she never thinks she should have to help with the cleaning because it's not her room.
-She has many things that are "hers" and not many things that are "ours".

2) The 2nd (Avery), has been sharing a room with Sydney for most of her life.
-She has never had the responsibility of cleaning a room all by herself with no help.
-She has been fighting non-stop (and I mean non-stop) with Sydney for the last couple of weeks.
-She takes for granted having someone in the room anytime she gets scared.
-She is used to sharing everything, but doesn't take ownership for anything.

Last week was just the last straw for me. I kept hearing fighting and biting words every 5 minutes overflowing from the shared room. I was an all day conversation monitor and I was exhausted. I also couldn't seem to keep that room clean for the life of me. Neither one of them EVER were the ones who made the mess and neither one of them have the attention span of more than 30 seconds. I felt like I was watching 2 two year olds.
So, right now the lessons are being learned by Morgan and Avery. Soon, Sydney will have a turn in the room alone. I am hoping that this will give both of them a little perspective and a more grateful attitude.
I know this is not going to be the magic wand of happiness waved in my home. But, I sure am hoping for a little assistance in my battle for harmony.

"SPEAK!", The Musical... Starring Morgan

This weekend at church, the kids performed their very first musical. They have been practicing for months and it turned out really great! Morgan was one of the lead parts for the performances on Wednesday night and Sunday morning (first service). She did so great and I was so impressed by her acting skills.
Her sisters and cousin were in the choir also and they all did fabulous. They had so much fun and I could hardly keep from crying as I watched them all up there singing their hearts out about Jesus.
Unfortunately, we couldn't find our video camera this morning. I say unfortunately, but this morning, I was on the verge of tears. I was so disappointed that we missed the opportunity to record this. I did get a couple of short videos on my still camera and I will be hounding some other parents for copies of their video.

The basic storyline to the musical is that Emily (Morgan) just found out her parents are getting a divorce and is really upset. Her friend Hannah (Tori) tries to comfort her and share Jesus with her. In the end, Emily becomes a Christian and sings how Jesus is her King and Best Friend.
Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Morgan (left) and Tori (right)

Group shot

My Sydney girl

My Girls

Morgan's solo

Happy Birthday Morgan!!

My oldest daughter turns 9 today!! I can hardly believe it. She only has 1 more year in the single digits. Before I know it, she will be asking for the keys to the car!!! Oh, that is a scary thought.

Morgan,

9 years ago today, I was screaming my head off!! :0) I was determined to go drug free, but after 30 long hours of labor, I caved. Another 10 hours and you were finally there in my arms. I have to remind that story every year. If I didn't, I just wouldn't be a mom. Sometimes it feels like that was yesterday. Other times, I can hardly remember those days. You have grown to be a little girl with a heart for Jesus. I thoroughly enjoy hearing you learn and grow more every day. One of my favorite pictures of you is sitting on your bed with your Bible and journal in hand. What a sweet habit to start so early.
You love to have 1 on 1 conversations with any adult that will engage you and I'm pretty sure you think you are 14. Your outtake on life is that there is mom, dad, you and... the kids.
You are a born mother and homemaker. You love any opportunity to be "in charge" of other kids (especially babies). Sometimes, you handle this challenge with grace, other times you can be bossy just for the sake of being bossy. You also take great pleasure in cleaning, but only when you are in the mood.
You are very much like your mama. Unfortunately for you, that means I know all your tricks.
This year is going to be a lot of growing up for you. You continue to take on more and more responsibility around the house and you are forming more opinions of your own.
I pray that this year, you will get to know Jesus more intimately. I pray that you seek Him above everything else in your life. He is seeking you. I pray that you choose your friends wisely. I pray that you are shining example to others of Christ.

Happy Birthday baby girl!! I love you!

Mom

Testing - Day 2

Yesterday, Morgan took her very first ever classroom test!! She took the Otis Lennon test. I liked this being her first test because it was only 1 1/2 hours long. She left feeling confident.
Today was the first of 2 days of SAT testing. Today, she had to be there an hour earlier (8:30 a.m.) and stay until 12:45! She is doing the same thing tomorrow.
What I was the most concerned about was the fact that they were not allowed to have any snack or lunch break!! Now, I know my child can survive 4 1/2 hours without food. She's done it many times. At home, we don't have snacks everyday. The concern I have is that by about 11:30, they are going to have a classroom full of hungry kids. It seems to me like this could heavily affect their testing abilities. I know once my child feels the first pang of hunger, her mind cannot think of anything else (she's just like her mama).
The best I could do was make sure she had a heavy breakfast (Sonic Toaster Sandwich on the way there) and bring her lunch in the car when I picked her up.
I asked her how she did and she replied with a very low key, "o.k.". She didn't offer a lot of information (she rarely does to mommy), but she did say that she was done with each section before the time was up and she read an entire chapter of her book while she was waiting.
I am so curious to see the results!! I have no idea how long I have to wait, but I'm sure it's too long!

My Favorite Pic of Morgan