They Won!

In an effort to combat the winter boredom blues, the kids signed up for the winter reading program at the library.  It didn't really change much, because they always read a lot, but it gave them the chance to reap some rewards.  We barely got their sheets turned in on time due to the huge storm this last weekend.  I am so glad we made the trip into town because they won!  All four of the girls won 2 tickets a piece to the Colorado Eagles game on Friday night.  They were so excited.  The younger three were kind enough to invite the rest of the family to come along and Chiggie invited a friend of hers from her youth group.  I am sure it will be a great time and another first for them!

Blue Monday

And blue it was indeed.  It may have been the chilly -17 we woke up to, or the fact that vacation is officially over, or even the frozen water line.  Regardless of the exact reason today was definitely less jolly than the previous few weeks have felt.  Even so, we completed our first full day back to school after break and it was a full one!  Buster will be turning 4 in the next couple of months, so he has joined us and is officially completing seat work.  He enjoyed himself immensely and I am hoping that his enthusiasm maintains.  It is so cute to see how excited he gets.  He feels like such a big boy now, and he easily completed more than 8 pages.  I am sure as the novelty wears off he will slow down, but for now I am keeping up with his pace.  Tomorrow is supposed to warm up and hopefully our spirits will do the same!

Snowed In!

Buried

I never know what to believe after watching the weather segment on the news.  Time and time again, I have braced myself for the blizzard of a lifetime only to wake up to partly cloudy skies and maybe a skiff of snow.  Not this time.  I was completely convinced we would wake up to nothing.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to nearly a foot of white powder and a steady snow storm continuing.  Wow!  I know it is nothing compared to the terrible storm the NE is getting, but for us this is pretty big stuff.  Hopefully it will warm up enough that the kids can actually play in it this time!

Friday?

Today certainly does not feel like a Friday.  Our schedule has been so different with all of the time off for the Holidays that it is hard to know what it really feels like.  The wind is blowing in what is supposed to be a very cold snow storm.  I am trying to have a good attitude about that, but being cramped up inside for the weekend does not sound ideal.  The kids don't seem to mind, being cramped up or the wind for that matter.  They have spent a great deal of today playing at the park and running around while I did laundry and tried to clean up a little.  I am going to make a banana bread this evening and they are excited about that too.  Then again, it is pretty easy to get excited over the small stuff in January!

Normal

Today was a good day!  In a sense we returned to our normal.  The King went back to work, leaving the six of us to fend for ourselves.  We will not be completely back to normal until next week when our homeschool starts back up, but today was close.  We slept in a little.  I am enjoying the last few days of that for sure!  After lunch we went into town and looked around in a few stores we had not yet visited.  It was nice to get some new decorating ideas.  I really want our next home to be decorated very simply.  One of the things that I have enjoyed the most about this lifestyle is its simplicity.  I don't want to give that up just because we move into a house.  It was a fun day out and I am enjoying the kids ages so much.  It is very doable to spend a day out without any meltdowns and we don't have to work around naps! 

Happy New Year!

Ready or not, 2014 has arrived!  Some time ago I sort of gave up on the idea of resolutions. I think I was too stiff in the goals I set.  They were unrealistic and like most people, I ended up giving up a couple of months into the new year.  This year I have some general goals for myself and for our family.  While we will be moving soon, I am still focused on minimizing.  I am easily overwhelmed and therefore I need to keep distractions and responsibilities to a minimum.  Just raising and homeschooling 5 kids is intensive and time consuming enough! 

One thing that I have been wanting to do for some time is learn to sew.  A couple of my girls have expressed interest in this area as well.  I think this would be a great year to add this to our plate.  Regardless of what 2014 holds I want to remember and focus on Philippians 4:11, "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have."  I definitely need improvement in this area!