Thursday, March 27, 2014

Some random thinking



As I was washing dishes and getting dinner started this morning, I was going thinking through what needed to be done today. I just started thinking of how great God has been to this family of mine. Yesterday I traded in my van and purchased a newer van. I was thinking how that mini van that I had purchased a year and a half ago was my first big purchase on my own after the divorce. I was so thankful of that accomplishment. It was an oldie but served us very well. I had little trouble with it. We worked hard to keep it clean and wash it weekly. It paid off in that I actually made a little money when I sold it. I was able to purchase a newer car with many new exciting features. Including my favorite - the radio controls on the steering wheel and the boys favorite - a tv and dvd player as well as wireless headphones and a remote control. I love that I was able to pay cash and provide us with a nicer vehicle. Another step in this single life journey. Ok so back to my thinking of how God has blessed us and taken care of us and I realized I don't just want to be thankful. I want to be a good steward of what God has given us. I want the boys to realize my wanting them to help out and keep things clean is not just so we have a clean and organized home but also to show our thanks to God who has given us all things. I know I will still fail, I can not possibly keep my home clean at all times (hello I have 5 boys) but it  was just a great way of thinking and encouraging myself to keep up in training the boys as well as being grateful for all we have. It seems I have grown so much in learning to be thankful for things. I have come to appreciate Gods blessings in my life in a deeper way then I use to. I thank God for working in my life in that way.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Spring break 2014

I was so super excited for spring break. I love having my boys home. I actually was suppose to finish my quarter after spring break but I wanted to enjoy my guys so I worked extra hard and finished up my quarter on Saturday. I was beyond ready for this quarter to end. It was a rough quarter. Some family issues had happened lately that kept me occupied and running in different directions. I took on an couple of extra part time day care children plus often had my nephews and niece. I feel like I could not have done this quarter without some help. So thank you to my friends that let me use your children in my observations and assessments. Thank you to my boys for being understanding on the nights they had to put themselves to bed on their own while I studied and for the extra help around here. Thanks to my dad whom helped with computer scanning on many assignments. Thanks to my friend's daughter who helped majorly with submitting and making my assignment "pretty" when I had no idea how (got an A+ on the assignment, you rock AW). I do not plan to take on as much at school as I did this quarter. I have signed up for 3 classes next quarter. Thankfully they only have 1 text book per class so hopefully not as much reading.

Here is our spring break recap:
Day 1: Hike at pioneers park with 7 boys. Our morning started with me beginning spring cleaning. (how come cleaning is so much more fun when you call it spring cleaning?) After lunch we hit the grocery store for some snacks and went to pioneers park. It was a beautiful day.


Don't even ask. There really are no words for this picture other then to say oh how I love this guy. He was a trooper hanging with a bunch of kids all week.




Love, love, love this picture. They are a great group of guys and I feel so blessed to have spent the day with them.

    Day 2: We all went and worked at church in the am. Then we went to kids eat free at Valentino's. We then went to the movies. They had $5.00 movies with a popcorn. The younger boys and I went to Mr. Peabody and Sherman and the older boys went to a different movie.
 




Day 3: we went to Morrill Hall. They have a new display so we went to check it out. Sadly I had taken meds for a headache without taking food and got a stomach ache so we ended up leaving before everyone was ready but we did enjoy the couple hours we were there.
 That evening we enjoyed the skate night for Awanas. Sadly my phone was dead and my camera was left at home so no pictures. But is was a fun night for mom and kids alike.




 Day 4: Try a pinterest recipe for breakfast. Pancakes on bacon. Pretty easy and pretty good. I used turkey bacon. (I love turkey bacon) I was ready for a day at home so our big adventure of the day was going to toys r us for the Disney infinity sale and got the boys the new one they had been wanting but we could not find. We then fired up the grill for dinner and had family over. We then decided on a late night park time. We ended up at Mahoney park until after 9:30. The younger boys and I then went to bed and the older boys did movie night.

Day 5: Friends day. The boys had three extra friends over. (I don't feel comfortable adding friends kids pictures here without permission) we did frozen pizzas for lunch and then walked to the local snow cone store for a snack. The boys will be going to their dads tonight so that ends our spring break week. Dalton will be having friends over Saturday night and then leaving for Colorado Sunday morning. I love that the kids want to come hang out here before they head out at 5 am. They plan to stay up so that they can sleep on the way. Wonder if I will get any sleep?
I have a friend coming this weekend to help me make a t-shirt quilt for Daltons graduation. I figure I better get going on graduation stuff because it is quickly approaching.
We also have- the much looked forward to- derby races at church Saturday. The boys and I had some help from our friends at church and we have 6 cars ready to race. I love this day and can not wait.