Walking like a pro

W is walking around like a pro!  He is very proud of himself also! and he loves being the center of attention as the girls and A urge him on.  I will try to post a video soon!

Mom's Passing

Mom died last Friday.  She will be missed.
Two things that she taught me stand out in my mind: 1)If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. 2)If you are doing something wrong, you are bound to get hurt.
She loved kids, and Susy Q's.
She leaves behind both of her parents, two daughters, eight grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
She always tried to remember the good, and forget the bad.
Thanks Mom, for the life lessons you taught me.

Mom update

Mom is not doing well.  She took a turn this weekend.  She has not hardly eaten anything since friday, and is too winded to talk on the phone.  She is weak from infection and trying to heal from the broken bones.  They thought last week that she might lose her leg, but now I think it is a moot point. She is not able to remember a visit from Grandma, and when I told her goodbye on the phone she said "Love you, sweet dreams".  At least she still remembers that she loves me.

More and more teeth for W

W is cutting six teeth at a time!  We always knew if he ever got to going he would be hard to stop!
He also has his very first ear infection at 8 months old!! :(
I will be posting some pics of mothers day soon....if I can ever find the time! 
We are having missionaries from Poland to dinner Friday night- our church supports several and I think we kinda got suckered.....It should be really neat though, and the kids are really looking forward to it.  Their accents are hard to understand, but they seem like really nice people trying to raise support. 
More later!

W's new teeth

W has finally been able to work his first tooth through, and the second is close behind!  He has been a pretty unhappy baby for the last few weeks. :(  And yet he is cruising around the furniture like crazy, and trying to let go and stand there UNassisted thank you very much! 

We are so proud of the big girls- the awards ceremony for AWANA was wednesday- and they all did awsome this year!
L finished three books this year! Her Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade books all in ONE year!
M finished hers with plenty of time left to go.  She is on track.
K did her 7th grade book plus half of her 5th grade book. 
A didn't finish his book, but he only went about six times this year.  When he did go he would always say three or four verses instead of just one.  He was always asleep for the first half of the year, he couldn't stay awake on the drive to church!  The rest of the time he would rather stay with Lance and I.  This is not unusual for him; he goes with Lance to sunday school more than he goes to his class- he does just fine for that hour, he just sits and colors or looks at a book.
E is still too little to go, even next year she will miss out.
Our church gave out 13 Citation Awards this year.  That represents ten years of books and four years of service for each award.  Only three percent of clubbers get this award.   Colleges give out scholarships for this!  Thirteen from one church is outstanding!
We are very proud of them!
Karate testing is tomorrow-- everyone is excited about that.
Seems like our year is wrapping up- then it is on to summer school and activities (got to make up for holding Will for four solid months).  Next thing you know it will be fall again.
Gotta go- I need to do lesson plans!

Spring's work

The garden is in, the yard is mowed, the chicken coop is built (mostly), and yet there is still a ton of work to do.  The front beds need attention, the paths need to be built, the back beds need lots of work.............it just never ends! 
There is school planning for summer term and fall, not to mention housework and organizing that needs, well, help. 
And the scrapbooks!  E was crying the other day because she wanted to look at her  baby book and she doens't have one.  :(
I need 36 hours each day just to think about getting it all done.

On another note, mom is getting settled (if you want to call it that); hospice has been out and gotten her a hospital bed and her medications, meals on wheels is coming, and Chuck is taking a walkie-talkie out to the garden with him when he goes. 
He finally allowed us to go and visit her last week.  It has been nearly a year since we were allowed in "his" house. 

Here are some pics that were taken this last month.  Some are of my birthday, some are my attempts at photography.  Keep in mind I did say attempts.

These were some of my attempts to capture W at 7 mos old; now it is time to have his 8 mo pics made!
He is pulling up on everything now, and his greatest desire is to stand unhindered by a helper.  He would climb everything if he could!  He is trying to cruise around the furniture, but hasn't quite mastered the art as of yet.  Diaper changes are an acrobatic event- maybe it will be in the olympics!

Update on Mom

Well, it has been a while now since I was able to sit down and blog a bit.  I have to admit it is quite therapeutic.  My mom is not doing well; she fell this past Tuesday and broke her hip and ankle.  They did a partial hip replacement and put pins in her ankle. She is still in the hospital; she might go home in a few days.  They did another couple of scans (MRI and CAT I think) and they show that her tumors are growing.  The Dr that spoke with her mentioned radiation and chemo again, and he specifically mentioned the cyber knife.  They mentioned that at the very first of her diagnosis, and the radiation Dr had said she was a good candidate- I am not clear on why they didn't do it back then.  When I asked that Dr why they weren't using it she was very evasive.  Most likely it was due to the fact that she had no insurance, and has recieved all of her care up to this point for nothing. The old adage "beggers can't be choosers" stings a bit here.  And don't think that this at all makes me lean towards ObamaCare; on the contrary- we will all be beggers under his plans.

We have been keeping very busy building our chicken coop; Lance has it nearly finished.  We just need to build a door and put up the welded wire and it will be finished.  Painting it will be a blast for the kids!  We also got the garden in these last two weeks- it has been very busy around here!  Plus AWANA is coming to an end--- L finished three books this year (this was her first year in Sparks, and her last- I can't believe she will be in T&T next year!) M is done with her book and K finished hers back in January to be eligeble for the Kansas City trip.  Next year K will attend regionals in Branson, and M & L will go to Stillwater for their competition.  We are already gearing up for next year, with homeschool convention season looming in the next few weeks; planning for next year is exciting and overwhelming, but a nice change of pace anyway.

All the kids are doing well, and W is out of the woods so to speak on his weight gain (or previous lack thereof).  E can still often be heard refusing to be "unbuckied" (unbuckled) by anyone but papa, and frequently walks around saying "papa coming see me" and "papa swing me". 

The kids enjoyed Easter with Mema & Papa Pink, even if they forgot their candy.  A is still talking about riding "his" tractor, and when we go back what he is going to do with "his" tractor.

I will post pictures of the coop and chicks soon, and the garden when it starts coming in good.