New stuff

OK, as promised, here are some pictures of the new things in our house and yard...

This is our "new" piano that we bought off of Craig's list. It is about 80 to 100 years old. It is called a saloon style-piano because of the mirror across the top. I guess if it was once in a saloon, the piano player would want to know if someone was coming up behind them with a pistol or something...Neal had it tuned for me for my birthday and it sounds great! The tuner said it is a "sawed off piano". Apparently it was originally a player piano that was converted to a saloon-style piano. He was impressed with the good condition on the inside despite its beat up condition on the outside. We have all really enjoyed having a piano in our house!

These are our new dining room chairs. I have been saving money for several months and I used my birthday money to purchase these new off of e-bay. I have been wanting chocolate leather parson chairs for years! Now I don't have to sit on a metal folding chair at dinner time!
I purchased eight, but only six are shown.

This is a freezer that Neal's secretary at work gave us. We are so excited about it! We are spliting a cow with some friends next month, so we were needing one of these!

I picked up another bookshelf for our school room.

Here is the zinnia garden in full bloom as well as the potato ivy growing across the top of the porch.

The girls are so proud of the zinnias they helped plant.

I planted a lantana garden on either side of the driveway. Here is one up close. I still need to add a second layer of stones for the border and they have to fill in, but I think it will add a lot to our entrance once they are established.

This is the driveway showing both gardens.

I mentioned making a path from the driveway to the back gate while I was pregnant with Lillian...well, I finally finished it and put in a garden on that side of the house. I also made a place for the trash can that is out of the mud and convenient and not so ugly now that it has a garden around it. I got the purple jew and the airplane plants from my mom's house when we were there in June...they have filled in nicely with all the rain we have been getting!

Finally, I got a pair of clothesline T-posts! I also got these off of Craig's list. I put up a wanted post offering to take away some old T-posts from anyone who did not want theirs anymore. A guy called up and offered to bring them to us in his truck for $20! We have been using them regularly and have enjoyed the fresh smelling clothes and money/energy savings.

Hanging on the line in this picture are the other new things in our lives...cloth diapers! I am using cloth for Lillian and am saving money there too!

Life Lessons...

Number 1:

I try to sleep in on Saturday mornings (until 8 o'clock) if the kids let me. This Saturday, however, I was woken up by Madeline at 7:15ish exclaiming, "MOM! I heard a bang and another bang and there is a firetruck and an ambulance and all the people in the neighborhood are running around in the street!" I immediately jump out of bed and pull aside the drapes to see the scene Madeline had just described to me. I quickly change clothes, slip on some flip flops and tell Madeline to stay in the house while I join the entire neighborhood in the street. What I couldn't see from my window was the reason all the neighborhood was in chaos. The house one door over was completely engulfed in flames! I walked over to the neighbors' house who were still in their robes standing on their front porch and asked them what happened. They didn't know anything. They didn't hear anything either until the fireman came knocking on their door telling them to get out of their house just in case they couldn't stop the fire from spreading. I did find out however, that the people were out of town - but their 15 cats were not! Shortly after I spoke to them, I hear "Mommy, it's a fire!" I turned around to see my Aidan wide eyed staring at the fire. I picked him up as he said "Mommy, it's alot of water! Mommy it's a firetruck! Mommy, it's a fireman!" in rapid succession. That is a lot of complete sentences for Aidan! Slowly, the rest of my family trickled out Madeline, then Neal, then I went back for Evelyn and Lillian. We could feel the heat from the blaze and soot was coming our way, but we couldn't move. We were captivated by the inferno. The whole neighborhood was. We just stood there helplessly watching the house go up in flames. I talked to the kids about what the firemen were doing. I talked to them about their uniforms and their masks and their oxygen tanks. I wanted them to take note of what they looked like just in case we ever need their help. Once the fire was out, the firemen went through the house ripping apart walls and large pieces of furniture to ensure nothing was left to be rekindled. At one point I saw the top of a grand piano being thrown out of the window. It was sickening. I still don't know what started the fire or what became of the cats. The owners were contacted immediately and have been back along with inspectors and insurance agents. I hope to find out more information soon. We have to be glad that no one was harmed. The kids have had many questions about fire and it has been a good opportunity to talk to them about fire safety. It has also led to thinking about fire escape routes in our house and purchasing a couple of ladders for the kids' rooms and getting a fire box. You never know what could happen.

Number 2:

This summer Madeline went to Vacation Bible school. There, she met a sweet girl named Christina. We got to know the rest of Christina's family and have been friends ever since. Her mother's name is Denise, her father is David. This is the second marriage for both of them. Altogether they have 7 children. Their three younger daughters (which are from their current marriage) are the only ones left at home (Christina 7, Nia 9, Elizabeth 11). This summer we went to their house several times for dinner, we went with them a couple of times to lake Arbunkle, we attended their daughters' violin concert and have had many play dates. Denise is another homeschooler and we have been working on doing some school together. They are a wonderful, generous family and we have been blessed so much by them. On Friday morning Denise called me. She informed me that David had died. He had a brain aneurysm rupture and died on the way to the hospital. He was 61 and very healthy. This was completely unexpected. We are still in shock.

We did our best to explain what happened to Madeline and Evelyn. They had many questions. We attended the wake and the funeral service. There were many tears from my girls. They hurt so much for their friends. We do too. I am glad that we were there for them. Many people came, but very few children. It was good for Christina to have her best friend Madeline there for her. Denise was glad that we brought the kids too. It was good for them to share this experience with their friends. The girls learned a lot through this. They saw a family grieve for the loss of their husband/father. They saw a person they once knew dead and lying in a casket. They saw that casket being put into the ground and covered with dirt. They heard the words of family, friends and priests telling funny stories about David, and assuring us of his salvation and his current state in the presence of God. We will continue to help this family as we can and that too will be a good lesson for our children. We are told by Christ to take care of the widows and orphans. That is what our friends are now. Thankfully, David was quite the entrepreneur and they will be able to maintain the status of living that they already have. However, we can help in other ways. I will be schooling Christina for awhile while Denise ties up loose ends at David's company. We will be bringing over meals and helping in taking the girls to their lessons. Finally, we will be a listening ear and a warm embrace when they need us to be.

Please pray for our friends, the Personette's, during this time.

First Week of School!

We have completed a successful first week of school around here and although it is sad that our "lazy days of summer" have gone, it feels good to get back into the swing of things.

Aidan went to summer school again this year which was every Tuesday and Thursday for two 6 week periods with a two week break in between. He started back on August 20th at a new school this year. Now that he is 6, he has graduated from the Developmental Delay program into a full-time Autism Program. The one at his old school, Roosevelt, was full, so he is going to a school near the University called Monroe. They will be slowly trying to include him into a general ed kindergarten class, so we will see how that goes. Aidan is adjusting well to his new school and teachers. He is going all day this year from 7:50am to 2:40pm. That is very hard for me, especially on the nights that I work because I don't get to see him much on those days. However, we still agree that this is the best thing for him at this time and will see how he does with this new school and program. He no longer gets the one-on-one tutoring with ABA, however he still receives speech therapy and has his own assistant that goes with him to kindergarten.

I started school with the "big girls" on August 25th. Madeline is doing 2nd grade and Evelyn is doing PreK. For Madeline, we are doing the following:
Spelling - ABeka Spelling and Poetry 2
Phonics - The Parents Ordinary Guide to Teaching Reading
Grammar - English for the Thoughtful Child
Math - ABeka Arithmetic 2 and speed drill/tests Arithmetic 2
History - the Story of the World Volume 1
Science - Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 2 (for now)
Madeline will be going to "homeschool PE" in 2 weeks. It will be every Monday from 9:45 to 11 for all the 1st and 2nd grade homeschoolers in Norman. Afterward, she will be going to another homeschooling mom's house for poetry and literature class. In October, I will be teaching a Science class on Fridays and another mom will be doing Geography.

Evelyn is very enthusiastic about her school this year. I took her to the store to pick out her own school supplies. She picked out a binder that she has filled with notebook paper and has covered in letters and numbers all on her own. I have some workbooks for her to practice writing her alphabet, upper and lowercase, and writing numbers and she is flying through them. This year she is more keen on following the directions and is doing a great job. If she continues at this speed, I may begin her on reading this year.

Lillian is content to sit in my lap or rotate from her swing, to her exersaucer, to her quilt on the floor during school. This is helpful and I am cherishing this time while she is not too mobile. It will be a whole new experience in the next couple of months though!

Neal started teaching August 26th. He is teaching two courses this semester, Contemporary Philosophy of Religion and Metaphysics. He has quite a following at the University and has several students taking his classes that have had him before and several who were recommended to take him by other students. He always has great reviews from students. We all know that God has blessed him with the gift of teaching and I am so glad he can use this gift for his career.

Well, more posts to come...next ones with pictures! Our desktop computer got a terrible virus and is still out of commission, so we have been using the laptop. However, it did not like "talking" to the camera. Neal figured out the glitch and now they are "talking", so I will put up a post soon with all the new things around here! But now, I am off to work.

Our trip to San Antonio

Last week we returned home from a great 2 week trip to see family and a few friends in San Antonio.
The kids did beautifully in the car. We left at 6:30 in the morning and arrived at the Judisch household at 2:30 in the afternoon. Lillian only cried for a total of 15 minutes!

Grammie and Grandpa meeting Lillian for the first time

This was our first time meeting Cambria; who is only 5 days younger than Lillian.
They are being called the "twin cousins". (Cambria is the one on the left with all the hair!)

Checking each other out.

We went to the zoo with Mom and Dad J. and the May family.
Big kids on the lions.

Aidan on the big lion.

Flamingos.

Bears?

It was very hot and we did not get to see many animals. So, we went back to the Judisch house for dinner and swimming.

Evelyn and her bangs...that she cut herself...AGAIN!

Madeline jumping in.

We had a nice time just hanging out around the house relaxing and enjoying each other's company.
Grandpa coloring with the girls.

Grammie pushing Aidan and Evelyn on the swing.

All 10 grankids!
Top Left: Grandpa, Carson, Valie, Grammie
Bottom Left: Avery holding Cambria, Ian, Aidan, Moira, Evelyn, Madeline holding Lillian.

We also had the opportunity to go out to the Macaroni Grill with just the adults and the two babies. Grammie and Grandpa holding their two new grand babies at the resturant.

While we were there, Valie turned 3!

We got to go to her party at Inflatable World where the kids had a blast bouncing...

and sliding, for hours!

The second week there we moved over to the Hawthorn house. We started off that week by throwing my mom a surprise retirement party at Mamma's Cafe.
Some of her friends throughout her years of teaching came.

Of course, family was there too!

My mom has had an amazing career as a special education teacher for 31 years. We were thrilled to honor her with this party.

Over with the Hawthorn clan, we had the joy of meeting another cousin for the first time.
This is Melissa and Jonathan's baby Avery (yes another Avery!) with Lillian. She is 3 months older than Lillian.

Head to head.

It was fun to catch up with everyone.
Gran with the girls.

Grandaddy with Lillian and the play gym that every Hawthorn grandchild has played with.

One night Elizabeth and Jonathan stayed over for a slumber party.
Here are the kids watching "Enchanted".

They became inspired by the movie and danced along.
Madeline and Jonathan.

Elizabeth and Evelyn.

Bedtime.

We got to go to Lucia's first birthday party while we were there too!
I think we had more fun than she did...it was a bit much for her...
but Julie did an awesome job on the cake!
We were also able to meet up with our friends the Greens!
We went to their house for a delicious dinner and the next day, Stephanie brought the kids over to swim.
Evelyn, Madeline, and Emma.

Garfield, Stephanie, and Elizabeth.

We did a lot of swimming at the Hawthorn's.
Elizabeth and Madeline.

The group...Lillian did not like the water...

Aidan and Neal.

Lillian decided it was time to impress everyone with her great skills and started supporting her head up very, very well for a 6 week old baby.

She continued to amaze up by rolling over from her tummy to her back...again, at 6 weeks old!
In addition, she won everybody's hearts with her winning, dimply smile.

The trip back home also went very well. We again left at 6:30 in the morning and arrived in Norman at 2:30 in the afternoon. Lillian did not cry once! It was hard to leave our friends and family in San Antonio...in fact we extended our stay an extra day, and would've stayed longer if we could! However, we are thankful for our parents' graciousness in opening up their homes and feeding 6 more people.
We had a blast!

10 Years!

Yesterday, Neal and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! I can't believe it has been so long. We were reminiscing over our marriage last night, the good, the bad, and the ugly times. Through it all, God has preserved us and blessed us more than we ever imagined He would. Most of all, I have been blessed with a man who fears God and who loves me unconditionally.

To celebrate we went to an art exhibit opening, "Tradition in Transition, Russian Icons in the age of the Romanovs" located at the University art museum. It was very interesting and quite fancy with wine and cheese offered in the gallery before entering. Afterwards, we went out for dinner. We had a wonderful time together. For pictures go to Neal's blog.