Loss

My grandma passed away this morning. I really can't describe what I'm feeling. I just don't have the energy to. I am saddened that you are no longer with us, but joyful that you are with our Heavenly Father now.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Whew!!!!

Seamus' test is completed! Woohoo!!!

It was much more relaxed than I would have thought. He did really well. Like, "scored 1 & 1/2 years ahead of where he should be", well! I'm surprised. I mean, of course I think my kids are bright, but I just didn't realize he was so ahead. The area he does need work in was a complete surprise. Math. Weird because math is his strong subject. He does very well with pencil to paper. He doesn't do as well when he has to just think about it in his head. We'll need to work on that. His reading comprehension and spelling were through the roof. He went far and beyond words we've done together, or even attempted! Awesome!

I'm so proud of my little guy!

Testing 1,2,3

Tomorrow is Seamus' annual test. He has to take one test a year to determine if he is at grade level, behind, or exceeding requirements. I'm more nervous than he is. He's a little apprehensive about it. He gets so shy and withdrawn around new people. I'm praying for him!

We started a new curriculum last week. The first 3 days were, shall I say...horrendous. It was so hard to get them to focus, to pay attention, to follow directions....I was ready to throw my hands up and walk away! It was harder than I thought it would be to switch curriculum. Not just for them, but for me as well. We're now in our 2nd week and things are going much better. We're all adjusting.

Liam is doing Preschool with me now and he feels so grown up! He is loving it. I just can't believe all of the things he can do. I never realized he knew as much as he did. I guess all of that time sitting at the table with us while I homeschooled the others really paid off! Hmmm....I wonder if he could learn to read by osmosis....lol.

Ryan has a 2 day week this coming week. He has only Tues. and Wed. to work, then gets Christmas Eve through next Tuesday off! We are all looking forward to having Daddy home for awhile. :)

Did I mention that Seamus lost another tooth???

The Murph Monster

About 1 year ago, our little neighborhood friends, Max and Connor came up with a nickname for our son Murphy that just "stuck". Murph Monster. Not only did ALL of the neighborhood kids start to call him Murph Monster, but so did his brothers and sister, and even Mom and Dad! Little did we know just how well that would fit him! He is a scrappy little guy for sure. He's always getting into something, always on the go, always looking for his chance to swoop in and get something that somebody is using. It's a game to him.
Mommy really likes that book she's got.", he thinks to himself.
*Mom puts the book down to pick up the baby.*
In crawls Murphy, quietly and carefully so as not to be noticed. SNATCH!
"GOT IT!" he thinks to himself, "Hehehehe..."

In fact, here he is, in full splendor, having just successfully snatched his sister's prized baby doll!
Yep, that's our Murph Monster. We call him that so often that I'm inclined to think he's going to believe that's his middle name!

Couldn't stop cracking up when I awoke at 3 in the morning to feed Kasey. I heard music so I followed it to the bathroom. I opened the door and there sat my 4 yr. old, sitting on the toilet whilst humming Mozart.

I Have a Dream

This dream keeps popping up almost nightly. We are back in Iowa, at our home, only it's on quite a bit of land. The kids are playing in the grassy backyard and Ryan and I are holding hands as the sun is setting.

*sigh*

Oh, how I miss Iowa. Minnesota isn't all that bad, I just loved living in Iowa. There's a different atmosphere in Iowa. There's a certain calm about it that we just haven't encountered here. It's "rush, rush, rush" here and I feel myself getting sucked back into the rat race. Ugh. It's funny that of all of the places available, Ryan has found a wonderful job in the one state I said I would never move to. Joke's on me.

So all I can think about is what does God want to teach me here? There's a reason why we're here. After all...

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28, NASB

So what is it that He has planned for us? I've written before that even though we moved around a lot in the first 10 years of our marriage, each move played an integral part in our lives. So instead of constantly thinking about how much I miss Iowa, and how much I don't like it here, I've become increasingly excited to learn what God has in store for us here. I'm looking forward to just living life here and accepting whatever God puts in our path. Instead of asking "why", I'm going to ask "what". What do you want to teach me here Lord? What can I do here to grow and serve you?

I know that God will not fail me. He never has. And I know that His plans for me and my family are far out of my limited view. So I shall just put my faith in Him and look forward to whatever He has in store for me. I'm along for the ride!