Boston kayaking

Boston learned how to kayak today at the lake. He was so quick to learn and was turning and maneuvering the kayak all over. We were all so impressed to be able to do it at such a young age.

Dallas wasn't too sure and only lasted for a few seconds in the boat with daddy....
and a few seconds with "Hess"Roxie wanted in on all the fun!

Sean, "Hess" and Boston took a trip in the kayaks (Boston being tied with a rope to "Hess") He ended up flipping over in the weeds at one point but he still loved it!

Thomas the Train 2008

Thomas is back in Tavares and we got to see him today. Seems like he was just here, boy how time flies. Of course we always visit him since he's the boys favorite and it's a stones through from the mountain house (literally, he passes by and we get to see him several times a day!) Thanks you to Nena for purchasing tickets so we could ride him this time around (don't always do that since it's $18 per person) Enjoyed the hay maze, train tables, Sr Topham Hat, bounce house, tatoos, bubbles and playground. So much fun for free! He is there again this weekend if anyone wants to go see him. http://www.inlandlakesrailway.com/html/index.shtml

Herbie is the boys favorite local train. We almost always see it while at the lake. It was parked while Thomas did all the work today so we snagged a photo next to it. "Hi Herbie!!"

Boston on monkey bars

Yesterday was the first time Boston has actually tried to go any farther than the first bar on the monkey bars without any help. And he did really good! We love the new playground that's about 1/8 mile from our house in the neighborhood next to us! We will be frequenting it very often now. It's a lot easier to walk to this one than loading everyone up in the car!

Asher in the balls

Today Asher got in the balls (our spa turned ball pit on the patio) for the first time. We had put him in once before but he really didn't seem to enjoy it. Today he stayed in for a while and loved it. I stayed in at first with him and then Boston and him had a great time playing together (Dallas was taking a late nap after having fallen asleep on the way home from picking up Boston.)

Press into God

God gave me this passage as comfort this morning:

"I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

John 8:12

Wow, how awesome is that! So many thoughts have filled my head since yesterday afternoon. I found out that one of my friends Tammy's little girl made it into Oakland and my other friend Lisa's son made it into Hope. My heart sunk a little deeper. "Why didn't we get into one of them God?" And as I was expressing to Sean last night how I was envious of the two of them and confessing I wish I didn't feel this why. I was wondering if God does want Boston to go there, why didn't he let us get in the first round? And my wise husband said to me, "Cricket, he might still want him there. Maybe he's testing our faith in Him and his perfect plan." Thank you Sean for those inspiring words. It was just what I needed to hear. And it's so true. God drew me ever so close to him during Asher's pregnancy as I put all my faith in him for a healthy, natural pregnancy and healthy baby (be it a boy or a girl). And my great friend Jessica always had such inspiring and comforting words from God to keep me on His path. And after having Asher I don't always find time for daily time with Him. I've had a very privileged life in the fact that I was raised in a strong Christian home, raised in the church and never strayed away. I always have tried to do what is right and haven't ever experienced any real tragedies. So God uses things that are near and dear to me to draw me into him, to draw me to have a more personal and deep relationship with Him. And I thank Him for these times. Because without them, I would tend to do things "my" way and not always look to Him. He makes things impossible, unmanageable, questionable, so that we HAVE to go to Him for answers, direction and help. And I praise Him for that!! So I trust Him, I have faith in Him. He WILL show me what way to school Boston next year. And for some of your reading this you may be thinking, "why is this such a big deal to her". But it is. And unless you have children, you can't truly understand how deeply, passionately and with your whole heart want the VERY BEST for them! So I press into God, I'll bask in his light and follow HIS perfect path!

(Thank you for all of you who have been praying for us and our decision, it means SO much to me!)

Charter School for next year...

The verdict is in....we didn't make it into either charter schools that I wanted to get Boston in to. I'm sad. My to do list today is so long (especially since I got Dallas and Asher down for a nap at the same time today...Dallas hasn't been napping much the last few weeks.) But I'm struggling to get through it all as I sit here in compete shock that we didn't get in. I can't believe it. I had all the confidence in the world that we would get in. No doubt in my mind. I have been praying so long for this and for God's will to be done, and I don't doubt that His perfect plan will happen. So maybe he isn't suppossed to go there. Ugh. I'm suppossed to call back in June to Oakland and see if he's gotten in...he's #12 on the wait list there. She said there's still a chance he could get in before school starts. Hope Charter sent out letters to everyone that didn't get in with their wait list number on it. I really am so shocked we didn't get into either one. Wow!

Lean on God to get through the day

As I face another day with not a lot of sleep (Asher gettting up in pain from teething again last night...two nights in a row) I found myself asking God, "How am I suppossed to be a good mom with a lack of sleep leading to a lack of patience, quick to anger and be irritated and a bad attitude about all the things that need to get done." And he answered me clear as day, "I'm making things rough for you so that you will lean on me to get it done, not yourself." That's it! It makes so much sense!!! He wants me to trust in Him, to be a faithful servant to Him! And with a lack of sleep how else can I be a good mom but through HIM! How exciting that is. God's not just trying to make things harder for me, He just wants me to draw closer to Him. Almost makes me want to have another rough night....almost!

Blogging, true stories and taxes...OH MY

I love true stories, whether it's watching a movie about one or reading a book, I just love them. So, naturally, blogs appeal to me. They are like watching a true story in real time! You can learn so much from other people and get great ideas to do with your own family. And for me, I feel like I'm documenting our life for the kids to always remember. When I thought to do a blog back in Jan 2007 I didn't know anyone that had one, and had not ever really read one. I happened upon blogger.com by doing a google search. It was free and easy to use so here I am. And so far I've had 10 friends join my in the blogging community! Ya for blogging!!

I'm working on our taxes again today. I'm pretty behind since having Asher last year. I usually keep up to date with the finances on Microsoft Money but since he was born I kind of got out of the habit. So now I'm paying for it! Ugh...data entry. Hopefully I can finish it up this week. Taxes are a little more complicated for us since we file with a w-2 and a 1099 and we expense a lot of stuff. Well...back to work for me...heigh ho heigh ho...off to work I go!!

Traditional vs Homeschool

As I await the lottery results for the charter schools for Boston next year I have mixed emotions regarding traditional school and homeschool. This time last year I felt God calling us to homeschool. I went to the conference, fell in love with homeschooling, only to be abruptly steered in the VPK direction (voluntery pre-kindergarden). I prayed and prayed and I know this was God's best choice for us this year as it has been wonderful for Boston and the whole family. And I've been praying and praying and both Sean and I feel God leading us to charter school next year. But last week I got the Sunlight Curriculim catalogue in the mail (a homeschool program for those of you unfamiliar) and today I got the Florida Homeschool Convention registration and catalog. It reminded me how much I love homeschooling. But I want to make the right decision, God's direction for our future. So I'm not going to make any "emotional" decisions. So I wait....and wait...and wait...and hopefully God will reveal his perfect plan for schooling next year to us this week!

Baby raccoons

When my parents got home from the lakehouse last night they found two baby raccoons in their house and the entire ceiling in their shower caved in on the tile floor. One little baby was in the kitchen and the other asleep in the shower. The mommy was no where to be found. Mom and dad feed them and made a warm bed for them and this morning she brought them by for the boys to see before taking them to a rescue shelter to be cared for and probably re released into the wild. Boston named one Pinocchio and Dallas named the other one Captain Hook. They went crazy over them! And Asher wanted so badly to crawl in the box and hang out with them. He kept pointing and saying, "OHHH!"