The end is near!!!

Well, we are FINALLY nearing the end of our school year and getting ready for our vacation. It's the second year in a row we will be spending it with my family. It's the first time though that Dad and Mom will be staying with us, too. Mom has lists and lists and lists. She's been baking up a storm and busily getting everything ready. We were supposed to all work together but I think it's her first time being Mom again to all of us so she is going at it full tilt!! I hope she doesn't wear herself out.

Back to the week at hand. I will tell about our vacation after our vacation. This past week was yet another busy week. I am finding that God has really blessed my perserverence with my sewing, as you will see what we have accomplished this week. Aside from having our President's Fitness day with our homeschool group we ate at Zaxby's, the Bible Club at church had an ice cream social, we are winding up Keepers of the Faith, and looking forward to swimming, the water park, and seeing our friends.

Here is our week in review by way of photos, of course. When I figure out how to get my video off my phone, then we will have video too. Woo hooo.....

Here is Robert's Mother's Day present - a turtle crawling to the ocean. He amde it in his art class.

Here is Maddie's Mother's Day present - a turtle too - can  you see Mom spelled out on its shell?

The boys in Keepers of the Faith made a pathway outside one of the back doors at church to the outdoor sink. Didn't they do great? I'm so proud of them. They, as well as the girls, have worked so hard this year.

You'll have to look at Minnie sideways - for some reason she didn't cooperate tonight. This is Beaker's second quilt square. So I can happily say I am caught up on one child!! Yay.

This is Anderson, otherwise known as Big A. Beatrice was so thrilled to hold him. Don't worry, his Mom and I are on close standby just in case!!

And this is Joshua - he and Big A are two days apart.

Here is our Maddie with one of her good friends. They are serving up ice cream at their ice cream social. Talk about a fun time - and what great decoations!!!

And here are our childrens' oldest friends.  The fella on the right is one week younger than Maddie. And that's his big brother next to him. Aunt Betty Jean, their Mom is Swedish - 100%!!! Cool, huh? She's one of my oldest friends too down here!!

Beaker is sooooo tired. She didnt' take a nap this day - not sure which one but is is VERY unusual for her and Beatrice (see below) not to have some sort of nap!!

Beatrice and her mankie!! :) (translation: blankie)

Here is Maddie in the Fourth of July dress she requested I make her. Size 8 with 9.25 inches added!!! She looks a bit bean polish in the photo but it looks great on her!!

 And here was have a new delicacy: white chooclate chip macadamia nut cookies dipped

 in Ketchup (yep, that's Ketchup, or catsup, if you prefer)

and Ranch dressing. And YES, she ate it!! Blech.....

This is one of my friends and I having fun at our once a month teen meeting where the teens learn how to do things. Like sew, bake, woodwork, change oil in a car, etc. Today was cooking and baking day. Stacie (pictured) showed them how to make a simple chicken and dressing casserole. Here are the ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Can of cream of mushroom soup or chicken soup

Half a small tub of sour cream

Stove tup or generic kind stuffing

Place chicken in pan; mix soup and sour cream together and heat in small pan so they mix together nicely. Pour over chicken. Mix stuffing with water as directed on package. Put over chicken and soup mixture. Bake in 350 oven about 40-45 minutes. Voila!! Simple meal.

I showed the kids how to make biscuits from scratch. I don't have the recipe in front of me so I will have to get it later. We also had macaroni and cheese, banana pudding (blech) and the most delectable yummy fluffy vanilla cake with chocolate frosting I believe I've ever had. OH - and we learned how to make sweet tea. And boil eggs to make deviled eggs.

Again, sideways quilt photos are my friend. This is Maddie's Pink Panther without detailing. I am psyching myself up. She picked a REALLY hard one!!



I mentioned briefly that we did the Presidentital fitness challenge. It was a lot of fun. The children got to see who could smoke a cigarette the fastest, run to the welfare office quickest, and fill out a form for healthcare. Just kidding!!! They did all sorts of fun stuff: running, sit-ups, push-ups, sit and reach, and shuttle run. No worries about our children being Olympians here!!!

I am now at a stage in life where we have no babies in the house. What a strange experience it is. Nearly ten years of babies!!! Beaker is finally getting more and more independent and as each day draws to a close she is becoming less demanding - oh, not in a bad way, but she needs me less and less. The last few months I feel like my eyes have finally opened and I can see all the wonderful milestones my children are reaching!!! I have had to focus so much on the baby milestones, that I've missed so many of the older childrens'. They were there right before my eyes, though, and we have been able to reminisce about them with the children which has been so much fun. And watching them accomplish things and be able to be there hook, line, and sinker? What a great time that has been!!! To sit with Lindsay and have the time to listen to her read something she wants. Or sharing in Beatrice's excitement as she reads for the FIRST TIME!!! WOW!! That was so exciting. I can't even remember Maddie, Robert, and Lindsay reading the first time. Probably someone was screaming at me at the time. And being able to help Maddie with those difficult math problems (I know, I know, y'all guys thought I was just a rocket scientist!! ha ha ) and work with her on her first research paper.(which is on Walt Disney). And sitting with Robert as he tells me all about his fishing lures that he loves to collect and no one crying like crazy. And we talk about when they all first walked and how they ate on their own the first time. And we could not forget my favorite milestones: their first time in church, and their first time at the beach. They love to hear those stories.

Well, Looking forward to what next week will bring!!!