Hannah came home 2007

Reading list

With the kids a little older, I have a little more time to do things since I'm not changing diapers and constantly having to be physically present in order to care for all the needs that come with the littler years.  That being said, their emotional needs have increased ten-fold, and I cannot imagine the needs they will have when they go into their teen and young adult years.

This month--and next probably--maybe even March...we'll see...My book list goes a little something like this:

1. My moms' group is reading Desperate:Hope for the Mom who Needs to Breathe by Sally Clarkson and Sarah Mae.  I'm quickly rereading the first nine chapters since we're reading/discussing chapter ten this month.  I have thoroughly enjoyed discussing this book with friends and encouraging one another in our mothering journey.

2. I'm finishing up The UnWired Mom: Choosing to Live Free in an Internet Addicted World also by Sarah Mae.  I'm doing the challenges and journal activities.  I'm not quite finished but I'm trying to go slowly and to be brutally, painfully honest with myself.  It is certainly eye-opening.

3. In continuing this theme, I'm planning to read Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters by Rachel Macy Stafford.  As a type-A, recovering perfectionist, I have placed too high of value on the things I do and what I accomplish when what I really need to do is be available for the ones I hold most dear.  I need to remember to put my precious people ahead of all the stuff that seems to call my name and all the things that need doing.

4. and 5. We've made some adjustments to our financial goals for this year, and I'm rereading Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisited  and More than Enough to get inspired again.  I'm playing on the investment calculators and praying our house in FL will sell this year.  

6. I'm planning to read Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine.  It's all about stressing less and being more intentional, I think.  It doesn't come out until the 21st of January.

7. I'm beginning The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell.  I just like these types of how-to books.  It's nice to get new ideas and a different perspective on the way we do things in our homeschool.  It seems like the kids' needs are changing and I need ideas for a new way to light a spark under them.

8. For a fictional quick read, I'm reading The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks. I'm a sucker for his stories. 

Hannah

Hannah was born at 3:12 a.m.  She was in such a hurry to get here.  My water broke around 8 or 8:30 p.m. So I never missed a meal...

Christmas 2006...SEVEN years ago!

Good grief...my babies aren't babies anymore...  I love the one where all my boys have Superman shirts.  I was days away from Hannah grand appearance.

Every day math...

We are meeting with our financial adviser today.  He's fantastic.  He asks great questions and helps us get excited about our goals.

I love math.  I always have.  I was always math/science oriented, and that hasn't changed a bit.

I can still see my amazing middle/high school math teacher's face. Her name was Mrs. Wallace. She was a phenomenal teacher who adored math.  I'd say she was bubbling with excitement except she wasn't exactly a bubbly kind of person. But she helped to lay a foundation that I can build on, even now and understand our situation some how many years later? And I am certain she did the same for countless other students.

I do wish I'd been taught consumer math application. Math that was going to help me in a every day real life kind of way.  Mortgages, credit, interest, savings, retirement...so on and so forth.  So I am learning...mostly through necessity, but I'm enjoying it.  I am fired up and ready to put some pedal to the metal.

This calculator can give your dreams wings. http://www.daveramsey.com/article/investing-calculator/lifeandmoney_investing/#/entry_form  Think the power of compound interest...

I read a Dave Ramsey financial devotional on my YouVersion app recently.  And you know what story was referenced?  The tortoise and the hare... who wins every time?  Lord, help us be good stewards of our financial blessings.  Some years, it has seemed like our baskets have had holes in them, and it's very discouraging to look back and see such poor choices.  However, we have learned a LOT!

Here's to new, more precise goals, better advise, and steady, hard work.

Girls making cards last week...

October 2006: Continued...

Gingerbread Houses and such...

I am NOT a Pinterest kind of mom.  I don't do Pinterest.  I have friends who love it and get great ideas from it, and I like the idea of it.  But I know me and my own limitations.  It would suck me in with all its creative splendor, and it would spit me out leaving only wasted time and feelings of inadequacy behind.  Which leads me to our activity...

We decorated gingerbread houses yesterday. We were supposed to enjoy the experience with friends, but it seems the bug is spreading all over town.  Our friends are sick and we all needed to stay home and keep our germs to ourselves.  However, my kids were finally beginning to feel better and we all needed some help getting into the Christmas spirit. So I pulled out our kits and candy and let them loose.

The OCD in me wanted to decorate one that looked like it popped off the Food Network, but that's not me.  It's not them, so we had a blast with all the mess and gooey-ness that came with it. Then, they took pics of all the houses with my phone.

Grace

Combo

Hannah

Daniel

After wiping the table...for the most part...  Ethan's is the A-frame on the right...