Happy Leap Day!

It's been a great week in our Tampa home...
On Monday we went to Wordspring Discovery Center in Orlando. We all learned about Wycliffe Bible Translation...amazing! http://www.wycliffe.org/ Their goal is to translate the Bible into each language that speaks to their heart. At this time there are 5912 groups of people that dont have a Bible in their language. How incredible if this field trip was a catalyst to spur one of our kids to become a Bible Translator! We'll see...

On Tuesday, we went to Lakeland to help Mom and Dad unpack a 24 foot uhaul truck into a storage facility (You are welcome, Sis). The kids did great and it was a great calorie burner! (Sammy said to my dad while riding in the Uhaul truck on a bumpy road, "Granddaddy, why did you get a bumpy truck?" AND Sammy said to Grandma in response to her saying..."pretty soon we are going to move here and live here" Sammy's reply "here at the restaurant?" (we were saying goodbyes in the parking lot).

MORE PICS COMING...

On Wednesday, Kirst and I went to Let's Eat and made 16 dinners! Kirst was such a great little cook. She is so excited about tyring all the delicious dinners we made!

On Thursday, Pioneer Clubs hosted a Pajama Party - we all wore our PJ's to church. How fun! Getting home and getting everyone ready for bed was EASY!

Today, Leap Day we are heading to the park with friends for a picnic lunch. Its cool here, but its supposed to get warmer.

Framing - CHECK!

Well, my sister was kind enough to take this picture on her way down to Lake Worth for a visit about a week ago. They are framing the inside of the house. I can't believe how fast the process moves. Today, my mom and dad, with a little help from me, loaded a moving truck with boxes and furniture to take to storage in Lakeland. My new house will be ready to move into around the beginning of May. I will be done with teaching around June 6. Not very long now! Please continue to keep my family in your prayers in regards to our move, the kids coping with the move, and mommy (me) finding a great school to teach at. OH and for our Lake Worth house to sell!

Opposites Under the Same Roof

Today we are having a 'lazy' day. I have a cold, Katy has a sore throat AND we have no place to go (because I cancelled our plans). So, I decided to work with Kirsten on her math. Now Kirsten and I have been working through a 2nd grade math book. She finished book A, but before going on to book B, I decided to work with her on her addition and subtraction facts. She understands the process, but gets so overwhelmed with every problem that she just guesses the answer...COMPLETELY and TOTALLY frustrating to her teacher .... me! We sit together in a big rocking chair and do her work, she reads a problem (18-9=) and tears well up in her eyes. We read it outloud and together decide how she will decipher it...we do this same process...every day...over and over... and still her eyes fill with tears! I know this too will pass, but she is so different Katy's math mind.

Katy on the other hand, is a math whiz...like her teacher...me! She looks at a word problem and writes the answer without doing the "figuring out". She struggled with long division, but once she figured out the steps...no problem!
Today, assuming since she wasnt' feeling good, that she'd take the day off from school. As we were cuddling watching TV, she retreived her math book (part b, exercise 35)... I said, "Kates...you can have a break from school today.." Her reply..I know mom, but I'll do it just for fun!

How can I (really God) created such opposites! I have to work so hard not to lose my patience with Kirsten, I have to work so hard not to just TELL her the answer, I have to work so hard when teaching Kirsten math. I know God is teaching me through this...I hope I am a good student.

I love the girls God gave me (and the boy)...I pray He gives me what I need to teach them all they need to know... especially how to subtract 18-9=...!

Wrestling Gators

What happens when the Florida State Fair is in town AND Steve craves fair food? We take and afternoon off the daily routine and travel 5 minutes down the road to enjoy the FAIR! Tho our trip was short, the kids had fun feeding goats, sheep, chicken and even brushing a HUGE cow. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died so.. no pictures.


We then decided to catch the Alligator Show. Toward the end of the show, Kachunga, the alligator wrestler, asked for volunteers. Katy hesitated and then with my help, raised her hand and was chosen. They asked her typical questions and teased her about being eaten by an alligator.



Katy was positioned behind the alligator wrestler and on the count of 3 he jumped off, still holding the all-important jaws. I think the picture is supposed to be of Katy looking scared to death...but she was so 'into' being photographed that she didn't notice. Too Funny.

Kirsten and Sammy were allowed to hold the 'albino' alligator (only 90 in the world) for a small fee ($5.00 each)!

Steve ate the fair food he'd been craving, the kids experienced farm animals and reptiles and I learned to always bring my back up camera battery!

We ended the day being "POURED ON" when the skies opened! It reminded me of my childhood when my mom twisted activities 'gone bad' by saying..oh, now its an adventure!

WE HAVE A ROOF!

Yay! I have a roof. I just received these pictures from the construction manager. He says that the framing should be done and ready for inspection next week.

You are looking at the house from the garage. And notice, there are windows. I was so excited when I saw this picture. Have not posted much, been busy with packing things and preparing our house to be sold.

Trying to get my resume completed so I can start applying for a job....

Thank you for all of your prayers!!

Lakeland 2 B'er

Dreams Come True

Homemade Cake...with HoT PinK icing from Publix...


Royal Fairy Katy!


Princess Kirsten with home made Fairy Wings.

In early January, my girls (7,9) approached me about having a sleepover with their friends for Valentine's Day. My girls love having sleepovers and love hanging out with their friends. So as we talked (they badgered, I bartered) we set a plan...they would forfeit their allowance, do all the work and the clean up. A date was set 2/8/08 and the count down began. Oh, how my girls planned and prayed and prepared for their Royal Fairy Fuzzy Friends Sleepover. Every free minute was spent discussing every last detail to the evening. At times, I thougth I was going to go CRAZY!

So finally the day came and the energy level was HIGH. We started our morning off with a discussion about food, supplies needed and errands that needed to be run. Katy took notes, Kirsten talked details we were ready to go. Errands were done and we were back home making cake and mixing muffins AND doing our text book work for school.

Before the royal friends arrived, both girls told me..."Mom, thanks for making our dreams come true."

After school, we needed to prepare the house. I said simply asked who is going to do what? Both girls volunteered to take care of necessary chores. Because of the training for the past month, they knew what needed to be done AND knew how to do it AND did it willingly.. Thank You Lord!

The Royal Fairy Fuzzy Friends Sleepover was a GREAT success. It wasn't a success because all the planned activities were completed, it was a success because I saw the 'heart's' of my girls friends. Kind, encouraging, sweet, inviting are a few words to describe them. Thank you Lord for giving my girls friends that have YOU in their hearts. And thank you Lord for helping me make my girls' dreams come true.

Foundation - check!

"The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matthew 7:25!

Congratulations Sis! YOU are the proud owner of a foundation!!

Lordy, Lordy Look Who's Forty!

Happy Birthday Lakelander 2b sis!
Hope you had a great birthday!