Jude's 4th Birthday Fire Station Pictures

For Jude's 4th birthday (which was back in October...I am just way behind on blogging them.) I took him out to the fire station one day and took a few pictures of him with the truck and Nathan.  He is so proud of the fact that his dad is a fire fighter and loves the fire trucks so much!!! 

I had been meaning to take pictures of him at the station for a loooonnnggg time but I've found that pictures, keeping them organized, photo books, and blogging just kind of fell to the sidelines during the last few years.  Something I'm working on changing.  But I'm glad I finally made the time to get it done because I love how these turned out. 

It's so hard to believe my baby is four already.  I feel like I literally blinked and he went from a newborn to this sweet little man.  He is so snuggly still, loves his blankey, Sprinkles his stuffed dog, the color red, legos, the Narnia stories, and playing outside.  He is like a little tank...a solid 45 pounds.  His voice is still so deep like it was the day he was born and he says the cutest things.  

He's full of so much personality and makes me laugh a lot.  He is a deep thinker, a goof ball, fun, energetic, outgoing, a snuggler, and such a sweet little person. 

He says he wants to be a fire fighter and construction man when he grows up like his daddy.  

I wish I could keep him little forever.  All my kids are growing up so fast and I just wish time would slow down a bit.  

I'm so proud of the person you are Jude David and Daddy and I are so thankful for every moment we've had with you. 

We're Having Twins

Our world was changed forever this past Monday.

Surprise...it's twins!!!...

but...you have an incredibly large subchorionic hemorrhage that will most likely cause you to lose both your babies.

We found out Christmas morning we were pregnant.  We told the kids and close family but decided to hold off on an announcement for a few weeks.  The next two weeks went by with me being nauseous and tired but nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary from how my other pregnancies happened. 

Until..Sunday, January 12th my back started hurting horribly during church.  It came on all of a sudden and was pretty hard to deal with all day.  I was also overly tired that day and had to lay on the couch and nap which is very unusual for me pregnant or not. 

That evening right after we'd gotten the kids tucked into bed, Nathan and I were standing in our room laughing about something funny he'd said when all of a sudden blood started running down my legs.  Panic immediately set in as no one wants to have bleeding during pregnancy. 

I bled very heavily for the next hour and had a difficult time containing the crying.  I was for sure I was losing my baby.  Nathan and I tried to comfort each other but the unknown is just so overwhelming.  The bleeding went down to just light spotting and we finally fell asleep knowing there wasn't anything else we could do. 

I got an appointment the next morning with the midwife center to have an ultrasound done to check on the baby.  Going in for an appointment like that is really scary and overwhelming. 

The ultrasound tech said she wouldn't be able to tell us anything during the ultrasound, that we'd have to wait to hear from the midwife what was going on.  She started doing her thing and then stopped and asked me if I'd had an ultrasound done yet?  I told her no and asked why.

She said "well I'm not supposed to say anything BUT..there's two babies!  You're having twins!"

My first respond was "Are they alive!?" 

She said  yes, they had good heartbeats and were measuring at 7 weeks.

The next few minutes while she completed the ultrasound are slightly hazy.  I normally watch the screen the whole time an ultrasound is being done but I just laid back and had to take it all in.  I went in expecting to hear the words "I'm sorry but there's no heartbeat."  But instead I heard "You're having twins and your babies are healthy and alive!" 

Nathan and I were quite shocked and also very happy.  I was still worried what had caused the bleeding and when we got to the midwife's office we found out why. 

I have a very large Subchorionic Hemorrhage surrounding the babies.  It's at 75% and the midwife said in her 30 years of working in this field it's the largest one she's ever seen.  And she didn't feel they had much chance of surviving the pregnancy. 

The news was all too overwhelming.  First I thought I was losing my baby, then I found out I am carrying twins which is such an incredible thing, then find out that I'm at an extremely high risk for losing them both.  

She advised me not to get to excited or to tell anyone because the chance of miscarriage is so great.  And I have spent this past week in such turmoil...torn between the happiness I feel that there are two sweet babies inside me...something I never imagined would happen to me...and then the intense fear and realization that I may never get to see, to hold, to know these sweet babies.  

I am praying with everything in me that God does a miracle and heals this hemorrhage and protects our twins.  We love them so much already.  We want them so bad.  The kids are so excited and also aware of what's going on.  But we are all hopeful...as we know that the unexpected can and does happen. 

I don't think I have ever felt so afraid in my life.  I have never experienced fear in pregnancy and it is undoubtedly the worst feeling ever.  All I want is for these precious babies to stay safe and healthy.  I am asking for anyone who reads this to please lift up our babies in their prayers. 

I know some people will wonder why we decided to share our news when there is such a risk of miscarriage but whether we have to say good bye to our babies or not...I want to celebrate them, to share our happiness and love for them, and to also ask that you pray for a miracle with us.  

We are going to spend each day thankful for our babies and looking forward to the day we can hold them.  We are aware of what could happen but also want to live in the hope that they will survive and live beautiful healthy wonderful lives with us. 

We go in on Wednesday, the 22nd to check on the babies and see how everything is going. Please please keep us in your prayers. 

Thank you to my best friend Kim Norman for meeting us on such a cold day yesterday and taking these photos for us. 

Our Homeschool Curriculum 2019-2010

Tomorrow we will begin our 2019-2020 homeschool year.  This will be my 8th year homeschooling.  I took a one year break from homeschooling last year, but we are returning back to homeschooling this year.  Ruy will remain in public school while Liam, Alanna, and Jude will be homeschooled. I am SO excited to begin a new homeschool year! 

Taking a year off homeschooling,  having Liam in public school for one year last year,  and Ruy in public school the past two years, was very eye opening for me and allowed me to gain a lot of clarity and vision for what I wanted and what we needed as a family.  But more on that in another post. 

I've had a lot of people asking what curriculum we're using this year so I wanted to share that with you all today. 

Over the years of homeschooling I've used Horizons, Abeka, Bob Jones, and My Father's World but when we decided to homeschool again, I knew I wanted to look for something different. I asked around, did some research, and ultimately fell in love with The Good And The Beautiful.  

I recently joined a homeschool community on Instagram called Wildandfree.co and so many of the mamas I found on there were using The Good And The Beautiful so I looked into it.  I loved the layout, the colors, the pictures, the simplicity of it, and that it was faith based.  There are so many samples on the website as well as videos that go over everything which really helped me be able to decide if I felt this was a good fit for us. 

Liam, Alanna, and Jude will be doing History Year 1 and Science together.  We chose to begin with Space Science since Liam wants to be an astronaut and loves all things related to space.  

Liam will be starting Second Grade.  He will be doing Language 2, Math 2, Handwriting 2 in addition to History and Science. He also got his own Weekly Planner.  I think this will be SO good for him since he thrives off of knowing what's going to happen each day.  

Alanna is starting Kindergarten.  We did about a half a year of K5 last year even though she didn't have to start yet because of how her birthday falls late in the year,  but she wasn't ready for the Math and we took a lot of days off , only completing about half a year.  So we're doing K5 for her this year and I LOVE how this curriculum looks for her.  She's very excited to begin after flipping through all of her books and she can not wait to learn how to read.  This is the Level K Language Set and this is the Level K Math Set.  The math has been out of stock so we haven't been able to order it yet, but am hoping to be able to order it this week. 

I went ahead and purchased the Pre-K pack for Jude.  He's interested in letters, drawing, and learning along side of his siblings so I felt it best to have something special for him.  He was so excited about the little doggy on the front of the book and has been excited to start homeschool like Alanna and Liam.  He wants to be just like them most of the time.  His book includes a daily lesson and then fun games to go with it!  It's all so colorful and cute. 

In addition we purchased the Arts and Crafts book and the Nature Notebook.  We will also be doing daily devotions together, learning bible verses, and have daily read aloud time.  We just started the Narnia series but there are a bunch of wonderful books listed in the curriculum for us to read together that goes along with the History as well as books for Liam to read on his own. 

We do school 4 days a week, leaving one day for a field trip day.  Typically Thursdays are our field trip day.  I'm expecting school to take us about 3-4 hours a day for me to be teaching three children at these ages.  Once we've gotten into a good routine I will do another blog post explaining our schedule and what our daily flow looks like.

I hope that was helpful and please remember if you have any questions or comments to either leave them here on the blog, on the IG or FB post you found this on, or email me!

Homeschooling Again

I mailed in our Intent To Homeschool.

And submitted my resignation from Beachbody coaching.

I had every intention on sending Liam and Alanna to public school together this fall along with Ruy...even though so much of me longed for and missed the connection with my children through homeschooling. I was still going to send them. Even though I didn’t have peace about it.

Then when we decided to move and as school time approached closer and closer...I realized we’d probably be in 3 different school districts before the school year ended and I knew I didn’t want that for Liam and Alanna.

It felt like a very clear sign that homeschooling was the best option for them. Once I made the decision I immediately felt peace about it. I picked a curriculum that was highly recommended and looks so beautiful and fun and what I was looking for.

I knew I could not be a Beachbody coach and homeschool because I’d tried before and it just was way too much on me. Homeschooling is a full time job in itself. So that was one reason for my resigning along with several others...

but on Sunday our pastor spoke of distractions that come into our lives and take God’s peace from us and it just really spoke to me and while at one point in my life...coaching is what I needed...I tried it again and just could not get peace about it. Could not shake the feeling that that season of my life was passing and I needed to fully let it go because it just was no longer in alignment with my needs and goals and my family’s needs and goals.

Then I listened to It Is Well by Caleb and Kelsey last night ...and literally just felt SO at peace about my decision to homeschool, to get refocused on home making and motherhood, and God, and health in a different way...like a wave washing over me almost.

Like I’d come home or something...I’m not sure 100% how to explain it but I guess just that I feel totally and completely where God wants me, so happy, and so at peace with my decisions.

The last 3.5 years have been a huge journey for me...but it feels so good to finally feel right where I’m supposed to be. I haven’t felt that in a long time and I’m just so thankful for where I’m at right now.

Ruy will continue on at public school but the other 3 will be home with me....so excited for this school year! For a fresh start! A new curriculum! New goals! Moving! And everything God's doing in my heart and life🌲

The Puppies First Time In The Water + The Best Day At Our Favorite Park

Saturday, a little over a week ago...we randomly decided to make a little trip out to a lake near our house.  I had no intention of taking the dogs but right before we went to leave, Nathan was like "let's take the dogs!" 

So we loaded up the kids (Ruy wasn't with us that weekend or week) and the dogs and headed to the lake! 

The dogs were so terrified of the water!  

They didn't want to get in at first but Nathan helped them in and once they got in they loved it! 

We stayed about 2 hours and just enjoyed the water and splashing.  We'll definitely be going back!

I'm sure the more we take the dogs to the water, the more used to it they will get and eventually be jumping into it on their own.

I won't be taking them without this man though....two big dogs are way to much for me to handle without his help :)

Then a few days later, I took the kids to one of our favorite parks.  It was overcast and so a little cooler than the 95 degree days we'd been having.

We walked along the water and saw butterflies, threw away plastic that was laying around, and got our feet wet.

We found tons of frogs and toads.

There was one spot where tons of little frogs were everywhere we looked.

Jude found some feathers he loved and said they were" tiger bird feathers" because of the stripes on them.

We found clams, and also a pretend fire pit someone had made.  We pretended we were camping in the woods and made clam soup, rock soup, and pinecone soup.

It was definitely my favorite time at this park we've ever had before and we've been going to this park probably 1-4x a month for about 11 years.   I love being out in nature with my kids and just learning and exploring with them.  

10 Year Anniversary Camping Trip

I remember when Nathan and I got married.  We couldn’t afford a big honey moon because we’d spent $6000 on our wedding and had no money leftover for the dream honey moon to Hawaii that I really wanted.  So we said on our 10 year we’d do something big like that!

Back then at 21, 10 years seemed like F.O.R.E.V.E.R away.  And then you blink and all of a sudden you’re 31, have gray hairs, and a whole ‘lotta kids!  And are looking back like “OMG how did 10 years already pass!?”  But seriously...I can’t believe it’s been 10 years already. 

We’ve gone through so much as a couple the last 10 years and I feel in this past year we’ve grown in our marriage more than any of the other years combined.  Marriage takes work. Lots of love. Lots of communication.  Lots of learning what the other person needs to feel loved.  Lots of patience.  Lots of growing and learning.  We’ve had our share of struggles but overcame them and are more in love now then the day we got married.  We’ve had so many amazing times and are so excited for what the next 10 years has for us. 

When we were trying to decide what to do for our anniversary... we knew we couldn’t do anything huge like Hawaii (one day we will but it wasn’t something we could do this year) and I really didn’t want to do anything fancy.  I’ve been wanting to get into camping and hiking as a family so we decided to go on our first camping trip together. 

I love being  near the water so we picked a spot near VA beach and reserved a tent spot.  Nathan’s parents have a ton of camping stuff so they let us borrow all their stuff and watched the kids for us for two nights.  We went to VA Beach for our little weekend getaway honeymoon.  Here's a picture of us when we were 21 at VA beach.

We had planned on getting to the campsite by 5pm but of course…between taking the dogs to their spot to be watched, packing, and dropping off the kids, then having to pick up a few more things we needed, and get groceries…we didn’t get to the campsite until almost 8pm. 

We ended up having to set up the tent in the dark. (And by WE I mean Nathan  ) ok I helped a little but really had no clue what to do.  I think next time I’ll be more helpful now that I know what to expect.  Thankfully there was a big light behind our tent from the street or it might have been hard to set up the tent at 8:30pm in the dark.  

Our campsite was a cute little spot in the trees and so thankful I found a spot near the bathhouse because I wake up ALL night needing to go so …. We needed to be close to the bathhouse.  

We made our own coffee and breakfast both mornings which was fun.  

I got a morning stretch workout in which was super relaxing...

And then We had some time at the beach which was beautiful! I forgot to take any pictures of it but that's ok :) 

Later that afternoon when a storm was supposed to roll in we went to the aquarium.  

Dinner was at a little restaurant by the bay with a beautiful view.  It was still raining most of the time we were there so we sat inside but were able to get a picture before we left once the rain stopped. 

I wanted to get back pretty bad to check on the tent and make sure it was still standing after the big storm.

It was…but rain had gotten inside.  So instead of taking a walk on the beach after dinner, we ended up at the laundry mat drying out our blankets and having sundae’s from McDonald’s  

I was so tired from not sleeping well the first night so I was struggling internally to go back out to the laundry mat when I really wanted a little walk and then BED but I made it through.  I came from from the laundry mat and crashed out immediately with the lantern still on.  I slept really the second night since it was cooler, which meant I could wrap up in a blanket, and we had more air in the air mattress. 

We got up and watched the sunrise and took a walk on the water.

I missed the kids pretty terribly and I am not sure I talked about anything else but them the entire time we were gone.  We even saw a little boy in Food Lion with buzz lightyear wings on and I was like “omg Liam :(!”  Haha yes, I’m that mom that just LOVES to be with her kiddos.  Some think that’s weird but I really do love being around my kids a lot.  

I’m so glad Nathan and I got the time alone together!  We had so much fun! but I also can’t wait to experience camping with the kids as a family!!!  We’ve already planned out a family vacation with the kids and I am excited for starting new traditions with them! 

Some people were surprised I went camping but honestly guys…I’m not super high maintenance. I love nature and animals and simplicity.  And while yes, sometimes I enjoy dressing up and the fancier things….99% of the time I just crave a simple lifestyle.  

If you’re into camping and hiking I’d LOVE all your tips and favorite places to go!

Happy 10 year anniversary baby!  You’re my forever and always best friend, lover, and soul mate!