Avery State Competition

Avery competed in her first State Meet this past weekend. She did FABULOUS!! She placed 1st in her division on the bars and 2nd on floor which helped her to place 2nd in overall! We are so proud and just love to watch her do what she loves.



Morgan came along for the 3 hour drive there and back and the 2 hours sitting at the meet just to support her sister and keep her company. Awww, how sweet! However, she refused to let me take any pictures of her. That's ok, I am just posting this one anyway!



Here is a video of her on the bars!

And, here she is on floor!

Avery's 11th Birthday!

Yes, I am catching up on these birthday posts :)
September and October are crazy birthday months around here. But, last week, Avery celebrated her 11th birthday. The day of her birthday (Friday), we were in NC (see last pic). So, to celebrate with the Orlando crew, we waited until Sunday for lunch.
She asked for a cookie cake with icing on top. And, that is exactly what she got with her name written in chocolate chips!





We had a fun day celebrated her life and the difference it has made in ours! Avery, you have the most serving and sensitive spirit I know. I love you and Happy Birthday!

Roller Skating Party!

It's a milestone birthday and everybody knows what that means! A REAL party!! Avery choose the roller skating rink. We spent 3 hours there learning and remembering how to work all those muscles. Everyone seemed to have a good time and no one got frustrated or gave up. I guess we have a determined bunch of kids :) Here are some pics of the evening. Tomorrow, my girl officially turns 10. The party may be over, but the celebrations just keep going. She has birthday meals all planned out. On Friday, we are keeping the celebrations going by Cory and the kids heading to Georgia. She is gonna think her birthday goes on forever :) I guess you only hit double digits one time in your life.

Mommy/Avery Weekend Away

Last weekend, Avery and I went away for 2 nights (thanks to an awesome hook-up) for a mother/daughter weekend away. Last year, Morgan and I did the same thing for her tenth birthday and now it is a tradition. Sydney is already planning what she will do with me on our trip :)

Anyway, the purpose of this trip (besides having a fun and bonding weekend together was to explain to Avery all about the birds and the bees. I have a CD set by Dennis Rainey that is designed for a weekend and has a journal for the daughter as you listen. I love this set because it starts off by talking about relationships in general, moves to puberty and eventually covers all the details of sex. It makes it so much easier to listen to someone else explain and prompt discussion and questions then for me to go for it on my own.

My big goal is to be able to be the first person to explain and talk this subject over with my girls before a classmate or friends spills the beans. So far, that has been a success. Avery had no idea about ANYTHING! As hard as it was to take away a little of that innocence, I am so glad that she was able to hear everything first from her mom. We had some good discussions, but mostly she decided the whole thing is "odd and disgusting!". She also could not understand what teenager would want to do THAT!

She had a few questions but not too many. I expect that my deep-thinking little girl might come up with a few more in the next few weeks or months. She likes to process things and come back to me at some random time and bring it back up. I hope I'm ready :)

All in all, we had a GREAT weekend and lots of fun! We spent 5 hours at the mall on Saturday! I could hardly believe it. But, everytime I asked her if she wanted to go somewhere else or to another store in the mall... She would choose the mall. We also rented a movie for our hotel room and even ordered room service (with a restaurant.com certificate) the first night. She was so much fun to hang out with and was impressed by everything! She thought the hotel was amazing! She commented on the carpet, the bathroom, our view, etc... several time throughout the weekend. She also thought it was awesome when I actually would buy her something at the mall. And, like the little girl she is, she still loved going up and down the escalators. I just love that girl!

Her actual birthday is coming up next week and we are having a roller skating party. She is looking forward to it and I think we will have a great time!
We got all dressed up for a night out!
This is my sassy little girl
She fell in love with these sparkly clips at the mall. I still can't believe I actually bought them at $5/each!! She is lucky it is her 10th birthday :)
Attitude :)
Mommy's attitude
The awesome flip-flop extravaganza at Payless. They were all on clearance and BOGO 1/2 off!
Is she cute or what?
Love this girl!!

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.

Avery's 9th Birthday

About a month ago, Avery turned 9 years old. We had a great day. We started the morning with breakfast sandwiches. After much debate between herself and herself, Avery decided she wanted to stay home and watch a movie and play outside. She is so my home-body.I know this isn't the greatest pic... but this is all the kids enjoying the movie and eating in the living room (big treat around here).

We had some frozen pizza for lunch and then headed to grandma and grandpa's for chicken pie dinner with the whole family.

The week before, Cory took the kids to Georgia for 4 days and she celebrated with Mimi and Papa. She was so excited to get a brand new bike!! Actually, I think that is the first new bike my kids have ever gotten. Until now, we have been fortunate to get bikes handed down.

Back to Orlando, she also asked that she be the one to decorate her cake. So, we got a cake mix, frosting and different colors of icing and sprinkles. Below is the result. What a creative little girl! She is one of a kind.

Happy Birthday, my little love bug!! And yes, she is already planning her 10th birthday party :)

Super-Star!!

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 :)

Avery's Back Handspring

Avery has been working with her Aunt Jaime for a while now and a back handspring. She has had the ability for a long time and just lacked the courage. Well, yesterday she found it. She decided to put some pillows on the floor in her room and try it on her own without telling anyone. Guess what?! She nailed it! Now, she is doing them completely on her own anywhere and everywhere. She has even learned how to go from a round-off to a back handspring. She is such a flexible little thing and I am so proud of her! Thanks Jaime for all your help!

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.

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 :)

My Abstract Thinking 8 Year Old

Avery is definitely my artsy-fartsy kid. I rarely can relate to her train of thought. Today was no exception. She has been writing songs for a couple of weeks now. Her cousin and her wrote a song last week and sang it for the camera. This week, she came up with a new one and I was so surprised at how abstract her words were. Here are the lyrics:

"The rain is falling low and dripping in the lava.
And even though I keep trying, I keep falling.
But, you are my God and You are in control.
You are my God and you are in control of everything.
I can fly through my dreams and make them come true."

I don't exactly know what this means, but it just tickled me to hear her sing these words that she came up with all on her own. She said she isn't finished with it yet, so I may be posting the finished product in a couple of weeks.
Right now, all her songs are still praise and worship songs. I certainly do love that! She is going to stretch me more and more as she grows. I pray God gives me the wisdom in how to encourage her creativity and the way he created her instead of squelching it. Don't you just love the way God has made each one of us so different? How boring would life be if all my children were just like me? (Amanda/Andrea, don't answer that, it's supposed to rhetorical)

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.

Gymnastics Class

Friday was Avery's 1st class doing gymnastics. I cannot even tell you how excited she was. She was giddy and loved every moment. It really is hard to get pictures as she is practicing because I am not allowed in the gym. I could watch from upstairs through a glass wall. So, these are the best pictures I could come up with then.
Here is Avery stretching (on top of someone else by the way) and her cousin is right next to her)

Afterward, I asked if I could get some better pictures with the coach and she posed below.Avery did great! In fact, she started at Level II and she was the best one in her group on floor exercises (thanks to aunt Jaime!!). Her coach said she will probably move to Level III in a couple of weeks (depending on how she does with the bars and beam).
I was so proud of her! It was so fun to see my little girl with so much confidence and doing so well. With her being the "middle child", she struggles to find something that she can call her own and do better than either of her sisters. Well, she has definitely found her niche.
I look forward to seeing how this experience strengthens her and teaches her discipline and teamwork.