Times, They Are A-Changing

There are so many changes going on right now at our house. First, yesterday was my last day as music secretary at our church. I absolutely love that job and did not want to leave. But, I was having childcare issues for the summer and, while they probably could have been worked out, I am homeschooling this fall. (that would be change #2) I fought this as long as I could. We moved out of the district of the school the kids have been going to and don't want to make Zoe go to a new school for just one year. Plus, I think Sebastian will do better in a one-on-one situation. He is so creative and artistic that the sit-in-your-seat-and-follow-this-routine just does not suit him. I think he will thrive at home with me. So, I will be homeschooling a 5th grader, a 1st grader, a kindergardener and a K4. I'm very excited and nervous at the same time. I have made some curriculum decisions but not all of them. The kids are excited about it too! Adam's mom would be so proud! (I will be working more at Target more nights a week)
And, change #3 right now is that Adam and a friend of his are starting their own firm! This has been coming for a few months, but things came to a head, so to speak, this past Friday. A decision had to be made and after much prayer, Adam decided to go out with his friend. So, Adam's official last day at the old firm will be June 30 and his official first day at Markel & Major will be July 1st. (Of course, he is actually doing work at night and on the weekends for the new firm, but officially the start date is July 1st. We are very excited about it and it has been so very neat to see God's hand in all of it.
So, that's what is going on here at our house. Lots of changes all at one time, but they are all very exciting and completely in God's timing. Adam has wanted to go out for awhile, but never found anyone he trusted to be business partners with. So, we are very excited and God is so good and has worked out even the smallest details. It is so neat.

Shower

On Saturday, we had a shower for my friend, Christine , and we had so much fun. It was a "green" shower, so she asked everyone to bring either homemade, reused or recycled gifts. It was neat. I made the cake with baby blue recycle symbols on it, plus blue little baby booties and then wooden blocks with his initials on them. I could only find "ABC" blocks, so I bought plain blocks and painted them myself. I was pleased with how it turned out.

Then, for her gift, I made her this plaque with a Bible verse on it. This wasn't an original idea either, but I got the idea from another blog I read of a an extremely creative girl. Her mother-in-law and my mother are best friends and her name is also Jennifer. She has a lot of neat crafting ideas and has inspired me to be a little more crafty. Needless to say, I think this really surprised Christine since I never make anything that isn't edible!We had a great time at the shower and I hope that it made Christine feel special and know how excited we all are about Joshua!!

Birthday Party, Grandad and Jacob, Soccer and Children's Musical

Yes, all of this occurred this past weekend! First was Sebastian's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. We had a really good time. Sebastian specifically asked for an American flag cake. He had never seen this cake pan (it's in a storage room) and I offered to do a Bakugan cake or a Power Ranger cake and he stuck to his guns. So he got the flag cake and he loved it! He must have told me ten times that he loved his cake.

This is Sebastian and Jude and their buddy, Caleb. Caleb also spent the night with us after the party! All the boys had so much fun!

Sebastian with Chuck E. Cheese, who completely terrified Annabelle. She screamed and ran away.

Here are the boys with their 14 year old cousin, Jacob, who they adore. He wrestles with them and turns them upside down and they think it is just great. He is also extremely patient for a 14 year old boy. Adam's dad and Jacob got here Friday night around 10:30.

The three oldest all had soccer games on Saturday and they all got trophies for the season. Not sure why Sebastian is making a face.

Then, Sunday night was AWANA awards, Bible Drill Awards, the Kindergarten choir singing and the 1st-5th grade choir program Parablelooza! It was a busy night!

This is Zoe during the Bible Drill presentation. She made it to the State Drill and had fewer than six mistakes! I am so proud of her.

Then, they gave the Cubbies awards. I did not, however, get a good picture of this because my two Cubbies (Annabelle and Jude) were busy fighting on stage. At least it was funny. Then, Sebastian got a Sparks award and Zoe got a Truth N Training award - actually, Zoe finished her book, which is a hard accomplishment. I am very proud of all four of them! They all learned lots of verses of Scripture and worked hard.

Next, the Kindergarten choir sang. Unfortunately for some of my friends, Sebastian just stood up there. He sang some and stood some, but he didn't do anything worthy of America's Funniest Home Videos! And, he had a line to say and he delivered it perfectly! I think you probably could hear Adam and me sigh when he was coming off the stage.

Then, the big kids did Parablelooza, which was so very cute! Zoe did a great job with her three lines and her solo. Again, we were very proud.

It was a crazy, action packed weekend, but everyone had lots of fun and we all survived. This is the last week of school and so we are all looking forward to settling down a little bit!

Sebastian is Six!

Yes, Sebastian turned six years old yesterday! I cannot believe he is so old! He is still my child with the biggest heart and most compassion. He is my best share-er (including the ten year old!) and he loves his family so much. He is so much fun to be with because he seriously just enjoys life no matter what he is doing. Tonight, we are taking him to Chuck E Cheese with a few of his friends and then one of them is coming back to spend the night here with him. He is very excited. Yesterday, he took cupcakes to school and his teacher made him a birthday book. She had each child in his class to draw a picture and write "I like you because ______" and fill in the blank. So he has a book filled with 18 pictures and reasons his classmates like him. It was really cute and made him feel so special.

Books

I once read a good idea to make a list of all the books you read in a year and then critique them at the end of the year. I am a huge reader, so I thought I would do it now since I have read 26 books completely and have three more that I am working on now. All but two of these books are fiction - I love different stories. I mostly read Christian fiction, which works for me because I can read them in 15 or 20 minute intervals and don't have to completely concentrate. Complete concentration is next to impossible in a house with four children. This list is mostly for me and I will condense the list into series where appropriate: I will also not do a review of each and every book...

Redemption Series - Redemption, Remember, Return, Rejoice and Reunion-I can't say enough about these books by Karen Kingsbury. I love all the Baxter family as if I really know them -I laughed with them, cried with them, got angry with them and rejoiced with them!

Family Series - Forgiven, Found, Family, Forever-these are a continuation of the Redemption series, again by Karen Kingsbury. Fabulous!

Sunrise Series - Sunrise, Someday, Sunset-the last of the Baxter family series, again so very good.

Waiting for Morning-this was an amazing story about a woman who loses her husband and one of her daughters in a car accident where they were hit by a drunk driver. It's the story of how she and her other daughter who survived the accident try to cope with the new normal. It was a very moving story. Also by Karen Kingsbury

When Joy Came to Stay-Another by Karen Kingsbury. Sweet story of a woman who, as a teenager, gave her baby up for adoption. The adoptive parents are killed in a car wreck when the little girl is five years old and she enters the foster system. Through a really neat set of events, the little girl is reunited with her birth mother when the little girl is about 10 years old.

Newpointe 911 Series - Shadow of Doubt, Word of Honor, Private Justice, Trial By Fire, Line of Duty- this is a mystery series written by Terri Blackstock. I really like mysteries, so these were good. They are written by a Christian author and really fun to read. They are set in a small southern town, so they talk about going to Jackson, MS and Baton Rouge, LA, which made them fun for me to read.

The Yellow Rose Chronicles - Every Little Thing About You, A Texas Sky, City Girl- These books were by Lori Wick and set in Texas during the 1800's. The series is about three brothers (each book is about one of the brothers) and their journeys to find Christ and eventually true love. They are very easy reads, but still very enjoyable.

Twilight Series - Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse-I have finished the first two and I am working on the third one and will read the fourth one. These books are so good. I've really enjoyed them. Very good character development and vivid word imagery. There is something very almost intoxicating about the balance Edward and Bella are always trying to find between loving each other and him killing her. Very long books, but the way the chapters are divided makes them easy to read in quick chunks of time.

My two lone non-fiction books:

Home Sweet Homeschool
Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling
I also have more books in this same genre but I haven't read them all yet.

I would recommend any of these books to anyone! Also, I would recommend all of Francine Rivers books. The Mark of the Lion books are still some of the best books I have ever read. Redeeming Love and The Atonement Child are also two very compelling stories. And, no matter what any one else says, The Shack was a really good book for me. I thought it was so moving and while I know that there are some things that aren't completely Biblical in there, it still enriched my relationship with God. It wasn't written to be theology, but an allegory.

So there are my book reviews. I absolutely love to read and just hope my kids will love to read as much as I do!

10 Years Ago...

Ten years ago today, God blessed our family with our sweet Zoe. She is always such a bright ray of sunshine. I love you!

A Pethora of Jobs

I was having lunch with a friend the other day and she made a comment about how many different jobs I have had in my life. Which got me thinking about the different jobs I have had and how I have accumulated so much knowledge that is no way marketable! Here's my complete employment history:

Bartlett Florist - I got this job in high school. I took orders, arranged some flowers and got to deliver them (my favorite part). I loved this job and had lots of fun doing it.

Oldies 98 Diner - This was also a high school job at a 50's Diner. It was such a fun job! We wore bowling shirts and jeans and served delicious, greasy food. I was a hostess and a food expo. I loved it. We were always busy so it was fun. The guy who owned it also owned a super nice restaurant in town so he closed the diner to focus on the restaurant that made him the most money.

Pig-N-Whistle - Another high school gig. I was a hostess at a BBQ restaurant. I hated this job. I think I worked there about three months.

Shelby Systems - This was a job during the summers while I was in college. This company (it's where my dad worked) markets and sells computer software to churches. I learned how to make books and lots about different shipping methods. I liked this job too, but mostly because I got taken out to eat almost every day by my dad!

Chili's - I was a hostess at Chili's in Jackson, TN. I hated this job too. We were required to wear skirts with panty hose. At Chili's. Give me a break.

Lemstone Books - I worked at a Christian bookstore in Jackson. I loved this job, but hated the retail hours. I made some great, lifelong friends though. Loved it. Learned how to imprint Bibles.
Madison County Tax Assessor's Office - I can't even remember how I got his job, but I did desk audits for tangible personal property for commercial businesses. I learned how to use a 10-key and I liked this job. We were extremely busy during tax season, but the rest of the year, we watched a lot of soap operas. Someone had to be in the office so we couldn't leave, but we didn't do a whole lot when it wasn't tax season.

Southern Door & Hardware - This job was in Jackson, MS. I was the receptionist at a subcontractor that manufactured door frames and sold doors, frames and hardware for doors. I also helped with collection calls and a little accounts payable. More completely unmarketable skills, but made some good friends.

Cox, Simpson & Bennett - Legal secretary. This is one of the easiest jobs I have ever had. The guy was a difficult personality, but he was rarely there and the other lady in the office and I had lots of fun. We scrapbooked, tatted lace, and hung out. We had fun.

Faith Baptist Church - I was a church secretary and I loved the job. I got to know some of my dearest friends at this job.

Lemstone Books - This one was in Chattanooga. Again, met some great people, but didn't care for the retail hours.

Synthetic Industries - This was a temp job in the research and development department for the fibers that they put in concrete to make it stronger. So totally random. Didn't last long at all.

PlayCore - This job I loved. I started as the receptionist at the corporate office for a commercial playground manufacturer. PlayCore is the parent company for several companies. I transitioned from receptionist to financial assistant where I learned a lot about financial stuff. Then I moved into Order Processing where I made sure the orders we took were correct and compliant with federal standards.

Brainerd Baptist Church - I started this job as the publications assistant and then moved to music secretary. I left in May 07 and came back in Dec 08. Goes without saying that I love this job.

Target - Last, but not least...Human Resources at Target. I like this job (most of the time), but the retail hours still drive me crazy. But, they are perfect for a mother of four who doesn't want to have to pay for daycare! :)

There you have it...a comprehensive list of all my crazy jobs and I really am surprised that I have had that many jobs in my life. I've only been old enough to work for about 16 years!