New Year, New Stuff!

Ok, so I haven't blogged for awhile. . . but I am going to try to start up again.  I am going to start by posting tons of photos from the last, ehh, year or so (or maybe more).  Anyway, hopefully I will find the time keep up on my family and all the stuff that is going on here in our neck of the woods (currently Catawissa, PA).   The first pictures are from last Christmas (as in 2010), then there are some pics from the summer and then this Christmas. It's not alot, but it's a start!

Emmy in the news!

Emmy's gifted class got to participate in a "living history" day at the Bloomsburg Fair.  Emmy got to pretend she was a child living in the Civil War time.  They played era appropriate games, ate corn muffins for lunch and helped teach visitors about the children of the Civil War era.  She had a great time and even got to learn to knit, that is what she is doing in the picture.  Emmy is wearing the red and white dress with white bloomers. 

Last night some friends of mine from school offered to watch the children while Jaron and I went out to celebrate his birthday a few days late.  His birthday was on Monday, but I had a test on Tuesday which meant we didn't even see each other on Monday.  The kids had a blast and got to make and decorate cupcakes, draw pictures and add tons of stickers, and played hide and seek.  They had so much fun that they begged me to take them back to be babysat again!  Thanks Kelsey and Derek for the evening out!  We have still not heard anything about the scholarship, but I do know that they are at least 2 weeks behind in mailing out the notifications, so there is still hope!

Up Date. . .

Sorry, no pictures to post, but I thought I would at least give an update as to what is happening out here in good old' Catawissa, PA! 

Jaron is enjoying working at Panera and he finally got his CPAP (constant positive air pressure) machine for his sleep apnea last night, so we are really excited for him to start getting some better sleep.  He has been learning to be more of a Mr. Mom during this last month since I have started school again.  He is now in charge of checking the kids homework, signing all their papers and he even took Carter to the doctor for his asthma follow up all by himself! ;0)

Emmy is super excited to be in the gifted program this year.  The school psychologist did about 5 different tests on her over the summer and concluded that she is definitely gifted.  Her lowest score on all of the tests was a 90% in math, which she says she is really bad at, her highest score was a 99.9% on one of the tests for spelling and reading, the rest of her scores were between the 95th-and 98th percentile.  It is always so fun to hear that your child is brilliant!  I can't help but smile=0)  The school makes 4th graders take choir and then band is optional and Emmy has chosen to learn to play the flute.  One of the girls in my P.A. class is letting Emmy borrow her flute and Emmy has already had her first lesson and really enjoyed it.

Carter is loving his new teacher and class.  He is still really into Pokemon and loves to draw new ones of everyone he knows (if you are reading this then I can assure you Carter has made a Pokemon version of you).  For school he made a poster about himself and said that when he grows up he wants to be a stay at home dad.  He is a kind and sensitive boy, he is always willing to help out when he is asked. He is getting excited to get baptized in December and start going to Scouts. 

Ashton LOVES kindergarten.  He is always singing me new songs that he learned about how to draw certain numbers and letters.  He gets to play on the "orange" equipment at school, which from the way he talks is pretty cool, and he gets to ride the bus everyday!  I'm glad he is enjoying it so much.  The other day he told me was so happy because he had to do homework --- write his name 3 times.  He is such a funny kid and he is always cracking us up. 

Lillian is really enjoying her day-care and she is learning alot there too.  She is happy to go there every morning and they tell me that she never cries and she is always really good.  I think she just saves up the crying and fit throwing for when she gets home!  She is extremely independent and is talking very well.  She is  a funny little girl and makes us all smile with her antics.

As for me, I am surviving school.  It is an exrtremely intense program and I am finding it a challenge to balance family, school, and church, but I am managing and so far the only thing that really seems to suffer are the dishes.  I love the program I am in and I have already learned so much!  I have to give a shout out to my mom who is willing to help me study so much.  My time is so limited and I hated to waste the hour commmute I have to and from school, so I am making my flashcards online and my mom reads the terms to me and I tell her everything I know about it, she has even been willing to wake up at 4:30 a.m her time to study with me!  I am still waiting for word on the big scholarshp I am praying to get, hopefully that will be soon and hopefully it will be good news. 

Overall we are doing really well and everyone is happy and flourishing!  Heavenly Father has blessed our famly so much I can't even begin to express how grateful I am, so I will just say I am extremely grateful!

Mermaid Girl!

We have had a kiddie pool in the trunk of our car for weeks now and the kids were thrilled to finally be able to use it. Emmy sewed herself a mermaid tale and has brought it to several of her friends pool parties. She wanted me to take some pictures so everyone else could see it as well.

House Tour Part 3

House tour part 2

Our New House in Catawissa

Finally a new post! I made some videos of our new home now that it is just about finished being put together.