She's only 5

To you she may seem little and cute.....

but to me she seems beautiful and big.

This picture was just taken at the beginning of the week.  

It captures everything that Kiera is:

Beautiful, carefree, and simple.

Kevin said it is a glimpse into the future.

Sometimes I forget that she is five.  

She has chores.  Several of them and she is quite good at all of them.  She cares for her brother and sister as if she were their mom.  

She can change a diaper better than half of our babysitters.

It is easy to expect too much of her.

She is a people pleaser.  But she has a breaking point and I saw it last night.

All day she had been speaking horribly to her brother and sister. 

 I had had it!

I asked her to do something in the evening and she shot back mean words at me.

I yelled at her and sent her to her room.

She hates to be yelled at and she despises being separated from her brother and sister at bedtime.

I knew that, but I had had it!

She calmed down and tried to come join us again.  I didn't let her.

Desperate cries filled the hallway.  

After I got the twins down, I went into her room.  I told her I didn't like the way she talks to her family.   I went on and on about everything I was mad about.  She sat on the end of her bed and with quivering lips and said, "I am really trying".  

Right then I scooped her up in my arms and kissed her and told her I knew she was and she needed to try extra hard the next day.  I felt her relax in my embrace as I stroked her head.   I really wanted to just yell at her and go to bed, 

but then I remembered she is only five.

Little Chickies

 Today we got the opportunity to meet some new friends: all 2 legged, but some with feathers.   Although our human friends were very nice, it is very clear which new friends we fell in love with:

These chickens were only a few weeks old and very cute.   They have some larger friends in the backyard in a coop.  We got to take home two eggs, but turns out you can't spin them around in a bag or they will crack...who knew?  
So to the trash they went.   Oh well.  Maybe our non furry friends will invite us over again soon!

She said what?

Every time we go camping, we take a nature walk.   Three of us immesely enjoy this.   One of us (yours truly) is a little indifferent since the only nature we see on these walks is weeds and mud.   The other of us HATES nature walks.

She used to just cry.
We tried to ignore her.

Then she learn to say "Mommy hold you" which translates to "Pick me up now and carry me through this mess"
We tried to ignore her.

When Mommy hold you wouldn't work, she resorted to Daddy hold you.  When that wouldn't work, she tried Eyah (Kiera) hold you.  
When all else failed her, she turned to her twin and said, "Brubber, hold you."
We tried to ignore her but instead we died laughing!

Look who's 2

Gabrielle and Garrett!

2 years old on February 13th!

 

 The plan was to have a park party.   But the weather had other plans.   So, we brought the park to our house!   We brought down the slide from the twins room, the play house from outside, and all our outside toys inside!   Daddy even made an indoor runway:

After a little play, we had a picnic lunch:

 Then we had some cupcakes:

 

The best part of the party was when we sang to Brie:

 Presents followed:

Even though the weather was less than desired, the party was a ton of phone!

To school or not to school?

Homeschool is the answer!

Yes, we have made the decision to begin homeschooling Kiera.   We will begin now 2-3 days a week and in the Fall she will be homeschooled full time.

Why you may ask?

We are not a Monday-Friday type family.   If I were to enroll my children in a public school, they would be gone Monday-Friday from 8-4.  Kevin doesn't work those hours and probably never will.   This would mean he wouldn't be able to see his children very often and we would not be able to travel hardly at all.   We usually travel on Sunday-Tuesday, so if our kids were in traditional school, this would not work.

That is not the only reason.   Kiera is currently reading at a 2nd grade level.  This is not something we taught her, we just encouraged her and spent every night of her life reading with her.   She loves to read and could sound out words before she turned 4.   I just can't imagine a public school being able to challenge her at such a young age due to the demands placed upon the teacher.  Trust me, I know the demands... I was a teacher for 7 years.

Other reasons that helped us make the decision:
*We want to teach our kids about the world and God.
*We would like to move to the country one day and feel we will end up   homeschooling anyway.
*I have the education and heart to teach my children.
*We can't afford private school.
*Too much tests in our district and not near enough field trips

We realize that homeschooling is not for everyone and we also think that public schools are just fine, we just feel that this decision is the best for our children.  I am truly excited to start this new adventure and so is Kiera!

January

Cold, Snowy, Dreary, and Rainy....

 Not in Houston!!!!

Beautiful, Sunny, and Cool!

But, less than 2 weeks ago, we were dressed like this for Snow Day:

 

Welcome to a Winter in Houston!

My Word for 2012

REDUCE

This is the year I will work on Reducing!  Here are 12 ways for 2012:
1.  Reduce my waist size
2.  Reduce my time spend away from God
3.  Reduce my angry words to my husband and kids
4.  Reduce my commitments
5.  Reduce my time on the computer
6.  Reduce the amount of chemicals, sugar, and fat I feed my family
7.  Reduce our fast food intake to one time per pay period
8.  Reduce our debt
9.  Reduce the weeds in my yard
10.  Reduce my caffeine intake
11.  Reduce the clutter in my house
12.  Reduce the dust and dirt in my house

Pray for me...it's going to be a hard year!