Funny face cuties...

Happy 13th Alicia!

Happy Birthday to a sweet, happy girl who blesses our lives daily. Alicia is a blessing to be around. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is always positive. I am in shock that now I have 4 teens in the house!! Where did the days go? When Alicia was born I had 4 ages 5& under. Now they are all grown!

We are moved!!

It is exciting to be in our new house! What a blessing it is to us. More room, big basement, nice neighborhood..we are so thankful. This is Jesse & I's 6th house since being married. I remember when I moved into our 2nd house right after Alicia was born, back in 1997. If someone had told me that I would be moving 4 more times, I don't think I could have stood it. It is good to take each day as it comes and not worry about the future. We hope to use our new house for the Lord's purposes: as a springboard for hospitality, wonderful haven for our family and place where He is served daily.

Smile!!!

Happy Birthday!

to my wonderful hubby, Jesse!!!!

He is an amazing dad...

terrific provider....

handy-man who can fix anything....

awesome cook.....

spontaneous and fun....

a student of the Bible who loves the Lord....

MINE!

Addition..

I just figured...my sis will have a 13 year old when she is 41, too!!! Her second born, Brecken, will be 13 when she turns 41 in 2014!!!! WOWZERS!

41 & 13??

My mind is always full of numbers...I love numbers and am always counting. Last night I was thinking of turning 41 (which I will in November) and how old my kids will be and then also how old I was when my mom turned 41 and further back, how old my Grandma's kids were when she turned 41:

My Grandma lived in Evans City, PA when she was 41. She turned 41 in 1958. At that time she had a 15 year old (my Aunt Pat), a 13 year old (my mom) and an 8 year old (my Uncle Tom).

My Mom turned 41 in 1986-she lived in Gladewater, Texas. When she turned 41, I was 16 and my sister was 13.

I will turn 41 in 2010 and live in Iowa. My kids will be 18, 16, 15, 13 (Alicia turns 13 this month), 9, 6, 4 & 2.

We all had 13 year olds at the age of 41!!!!

Miss Katie Grace...

was baptized this evening! I am so proud of my little girl. She was very excited to openly profess her commitment to Jesus as her Lord and personal Savior in front of family and friends and the coooold water did not bother her a bit:) I love her face in the second picture...so thrilled!!

Home School days...

Well, we have been schooling for 2 weeks now and everything has gone so perfectly. Anna always sits and plays quietly with her toys while I am helping the other kids. Thomas is so polite and never pulls Anna's hair while she is sitting quietly with her toys. Colton is very helpful. He actually has a tutoring desk where his sisters flock to be helped with their schoolwork, especially math. I have all my meals wonderfully planned out and they practically make themselves. I have also trained my laundry to get done on its own! Can you imagine? No??!! Well, neither can I, but it's a fun thought anyway.

Instead, we have dealt with the usual challenges, but I am so thankful that the challenges are nothing that He cannot handle. The Lord is giving us strength and grace every day and it is an amazing journey. I love having the kids home (our 6th year) and am so thankful and blessed to be a homeschool mom.

Top 5 Reasons why Homeschooling WON'T Work

This is a great article:

Top 5 Reasons