Disney Day 1 - Legoland

Yeah! Finally Brandon realized his life long dream by going to Legoland! We had a great time together.

Headed to Disney

Yeah for today!  I was up til 2:39 am on Friday night just so I could work on packing and get everything ready for our trip.  Today made it worth it! We got up at 4:30am to get to the airport.  The kids had mixed feelings about the flight but at least they are all willing to get back on the plane next week.  I loved the mini pretzels!

At the airport we rode the monorail (Analiese dropped her wolf on the monorail and we had to go back and wait for it to come back...she was happy to have it back!), waited for our rental car, then met Mima and Papa Cheech at Downtown Disny.  Had lunch at Pizzera Uno (one of Jeff's favorites), and then came back and swam at the house.  So fun!

Happt 42nd to Me!

The day was not all I wanted but hey, when life is life with mistaken Lego movie show times, self- focused Tweens, heartbroken, hormonal mama, it is hard to get the day just right.  There were highlights, though.  EO Burger lunch brought right to me by my thoughtful, despite his massive busyness, husband.  And a fun Cru night with a trip to Graeters to follow...such fabulous college students!  More packing and preparing for Disney tomorrow.  Wish me luck...Jeff is off to class!

Lots of Fun!

St. Patrick's Day, A review of conduct, decorating for Easter, A little girl and her mama shoes.

Cru gets its folk worship on! It is amazing to see my 10-year-old so enthralled with books. Not too long ago she couldn't find anything that she was interested in and forget about trying to read with ease. She is starting her last bit of vision therapy and hopefully she will be well on her way to join books all the more.

Fun weekend celebrating Beth's birthday.  We went to The Cobblestone Café in Waynesville, and even got a free piece a cake to share along with three delicious vanilla chai lattes, FREE! Yum! Had Cru college students over for lunch after church. Analiese pretty much blended in with the crowd and acted like she was one of them. Such foreshadowing of the future. Hilarious. It was so fun to see many cars and trucks at the shed as they got the mowers ready for the spring season. Come on spring, join us in this cold tundra land.

Saturday Sweetness

As I stepped outside while Colin was playing ball, I heard him say, "At-bat, Colin Doeringer." then he hits the ball and says, "it's a home run!"  And cheers for himself.  Love those moments in my boys' lives. We measured Alexa and she grew quite a bit.  She will be able to go on most rides at Walt Disney World.   But, we will not be trying to meet Anna and Elsa as the wait is a minimum of one and a half hours and up to five hours!  Jeff is gone yet again this weekend at the break free retreat… Great things happening there, and we had a good day knowing he will be back soon. I suppose with catching up on Downton Abbey, he may be glad he wasn't here this weekend. We took a break from eating at home and had dinner at Steak and Shake. Kids eat free on weekends!

The Last Few Days

Monday...Colin made bread for his science project; it was his further study on yeast. Analiese had fun making measurements for what it would be like to throw, jump, and she figured out how much she would weigh on the moon. Analiese found out today she did not make the team at gymnastics : (  and it was time to register for baseball for the boys.

Tuesday... A beautiful day, we had to go to the park before gymnastics. The girls were delighted to find bars that they could actually use for gymnastics!

Wednesday & Thursday.... I got a job today. In the fall, I will be teaching figure skating!   I am really excited about this. I will be doing group lessons and really can't wait!  Also got the sweetest surprise in secret...don't know who left the note and pinwheel from " Spring", but it made my day!

Friday...had to get to the library as soon as I could today to get Season 4 of Downton Abbey!  Watched 5 episodes throughout the day....especially tonight as I ironed and waited up for Brandon to come home from a youth group event.  I got 2 much needed hours to myself as Analiese had her Vision Therapy assessment.  Headed to Peet's....it was lovely.  When we came home from gymnastics we found our deer family in the immediate backyard AND enjoyed watching a couple of them licking peanut butter off of the pinecone birdfeeder. So cute! Then Brandon ran after them and scared them away.

Home all day

Not always a good thing. It had it's advantages, but overall it was time to get out of the house. I have been on duty for about three straight weeks with just a few little respites. I finally was able to leave my post, so in the evening headed to Target I was! Where else do suffocating, overworked, walls are closing in mom's go? I was able to get a few things we need for our trip.

In other news, Colin continued rollerblading today, more yeast experiments (which he is really into), Alexa got some time on ABCmouse.com, and she also set up a nail and hair salon.  I got a lovely manicure and you can see how wonderful my new hairstyle was.   These are the perks to being home all day today.

Making our way through the day

Colin had some real doozies today.  Sometimes he is just too much. We were talking about Satan, he referred to him as the bad dude. I told him he has power on the earth, but God can overcome it. I said that he wants to do bad things on the earth. And Colin said, "Yeah and because of what Adam and Eve did we have sin. If it weren't for them sinning, there wouldn't be hitting, or farting on each other, or yelling."  Then, before bed, we were talking about how much he liked the Bible mini series and what Goliath looked like, and what happened him.  Then I told him that I have a movie about Jesus and what he did here on earth and what that was like. I told him it was a movie with real people. He said "Oh and it shows what he looks like?"  As I started to tell him yes, he held up his hand and said "Stop! Don't tell me, I want it to be a surprise when I get to heaven."  So cute. I hope he can get through his whole life, without really seen a picture of him! LOL!  He also said today that he is going to be in suspense his whole life until he meets our baby that didn't live.  He was saying it like he was going to get the best present he could ever hope for. 

Brandon went to the STEM school to visit today. He really liked it. We are really praying that he will get in for next fall. Took a trip to the eye doctor today and are getting back to Analiese's final treatment for vision therapy. Alexa wanted to try and Analiese's glasses. She looks so much older!  We had a nice day at school today too. Colin enjoyed discovering new things about yeast.

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Church Snow Day & Getting Back to Normal

Jeff got his first Sunday back off. Too much ice on the roads, making it unsafe to have church.  So we had a nice brunch, "practiced " with the stroller that were going to use at Walt Disney World, and lounged around. I couldn't resist the opportunity to work on some ironing that has piled up (the real reason I enjoyed it so much is I watched Downton Abbey episodes while I did it!).  Monday and Tuesday brought much contemplation about things I will and won't do in the coming months. It is always a challenge to wade through the things that are best, good, not so good, and really bad. I definitely have hope that the Lord will direct me to put the right things into my life and the family's life. I was encouraged by the song "Always" knowing that He is our help.   Analiese learned about mass at school and Alexa started spelling words.   The girls were excited to find out that Frozen won Oscars for best animated feature and best original song for "Let It Go".

I got back to a regular exercise routine since Jeff returned from Gabon. I absolutely love Blogilates with all the videos, work out schedules, recipes, meal plans, and motivation that is on the website. The instructor does an awesome job with variety, it is definitely challenging, and it's free!  Love it!

Changes and Challenges

Today we visited the Dayton Regional STEM School.  Next year may be the year Brandon heads to school if God keeps confirming this direction. I liked what we learned and saw today...definitely a big step for all of us.  There are so many things that are done there that I cannot duplicate at home and in this case could benefit Brandon in so many ways. Analiese tried out for the Rec Team for gymnastics today as well.  If she makes it, that could be a game changer...time, money, working, etc...

Yesterday everyone got new sneakers. As is usually the case, my "summer bday clan" all have growth spurts in February.  This year is no different and since we have a lot of walking ahead of us at Walt Disney World in a month, it was time!  I got an early bday gift from my parents...a 3-pot Crock-Pot server! I love it! Perfect for all the entertaining we do!  Thank you to my endlessly giving parents!  We had a nice dinner....steamed artichokes are one of Colin's favorites. He practically eats the whole thing! Once the kids went to bed, the day rounded out w. amazing cake that Jeff brought home and watched The Proposal on the projector.  Fun time!