Adrian is 7

Yesterday, Adrian turned seven years old!

She was born at about 3:42pm in Newberg, Oregon. She weighed 6lbs 6oz.

I found this picture of her first birthday:

Now her seventh birthday picture:



She had a wonderful day yesterday, we picked out her cake, went to gymanstics, went to McDonalds for a happy meal and lunch with Aunt Amber and Aunt Angela, went to the toy store to pick out a toy with some birthday money and picked out some things for her new kitten. Her grandpas and grandmas all stopped by separately to say happy birhtday, that was special!

Today, Adrian had a birthday party with friends where they played pin the tail on the horse, made a horse craft, decorated cupcakes and had a blast.
Then we all went to Gma and Gpa Wicks' house for pancakes, games and cake!
She soaked up and loved every minute of her special days!

Adrian's handmade invitations for each of her friends:


Adrian's new kitten, Chester:

Two horses she got today:




Awesome horse cake Gma Rowland bought for her:

Changes

It has been a two months since my last post and we have made some big decisions within that time.

We started talking about what the future holds for us, mainly with the schedule that we have been maintaining for the last five years while Derek has been pursuing his degree.

Derek mentioned one day that he would love to take a semester off from work and exclusively go to school and just get it done.
We both loved the idea but did not want to go into debt in the process. The thought of it was a little scary as well as very exciting. After some great counsel and encouragement and much prayer, we made the decision to move forward.

About a month ago we sold our van to fund our living expenses over the next 5 months. We are thankful for the ability to step out and really do this and not have to take out a loan.

I am proud of Derek's persistence in school, as well as his courage to step outside the box to pursue his dreams.

Derek's last day of work will be January 7th and he will start classes on January 17th. He has five classes to take this semester and will graduate on May 6th.

There is potential for Derek's work to agree to a 4 month leave of absence, which he requested last month, we are still waiting on that possibility.

Today, Derek just csompleted another semester of school and now only has one more to go! We are excited about the future and excited to be so close to graduation!

Focus and Rest

I have been aware and drawn into the reality lately of keeping my focus on Jesus and resting in Him. Truly keeping my eyes and heart connected to Him is going to sustain me and keep me going and focused on what matters most.

Oftentimes, I forget that one of my main goals with having time at home with my kids, is to teach them about Jesus. How life-changing it is to have a relationship with Him, and to teach them about the Word of God.

The Lord has been speaking to me lately about 'firstfruits'. I have always thought about this in the context of finances, giving God the firstfruits of our gross income.
Lately, I have been convicted about giving Him the firstfruits of my time, spending time with Him first, before I check email or facebook, or think about what I am making for breakfast. I find that if I don't put the time first, it most likely will not happen.

My desire is to set that example and routine for my kids as well. Before we begin our school day, my desire is to set aside time for growing our relationship with Jesus. There is a battle over this time and so often, our mornings just kind of start and I forget to put this time first.

I was reading in James 1:18 - He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

We are firstfruits of God, when I saw this this week, I was in awe. How much more it draws me to give him my firstfruits. My money, my love, my time, my family.

Getting Refocused

The first weekend in October, I got to go away for our ladies advance. It was wonderful! It felt so good to get connected and refocused on the Lord. He really spoke peace over me.
I was feeling overwhelmed with the demands of life and feeling frustrated that I wasn't handling things like I thought I should.

Jesus was able to speak truth to me and gently lead me in giving him control and resting in Him. It is such a better plan:)
When I handed him my frustration and feeling overwhelmed, He gave me a box with a clock and a blanket and told me to spend time with my kids and rest in Him, and we could work on the rest together.

He is so worth my trust, my focus and it so sweet to rest in Him.

The kids

I had a good laugh over this one today.

I was reading with CJ and Adrian, Rowan and Megan were playing together in the other room. Megan comes out and says, "Mom, he looks like and Indian".

Here he is:

She drew designs on his legs and on his arms, complete with different colors and patterns. Yikes! I probably shouldn't have laughed but it was hilarious!

Getting into a Groove

Well, I have started on my journey of getting my days organized and ordered.

The book I mentioned in my last post was really no help at all. But I just ordered two other books that are what I was looking for.
The first book is called, "Bonnie's Household Organizer" by Bonnie McCullough and the other is "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life" by Alan Lakein. They are both from the 1980s and are really good.

I have only completed the first book and already feel encouraged about completing all the demands of my day. I think I was feeling overwhelmed and really couldn't see past my situation to a solution, so that is what this book did for me.

I think if I am honest, I was hoping for some sort of tool that would somehow magically eliminate tasks that need accomplished daily, but the reality is, there are things that need to get done.

What I learned from this book so far, and what will work for me:

*Set a day when I will do certain tasks, like laundry. Finish it by the end of the day.
*Complete a task before I start a new one.
*Have a place for everything and put things back where they belong.
*Be efficient, maybe empty the dishwasher while lunch is cooking.
*Figure out how best to use the time I do have, what is the most important task for that time.
*Get rid of clutter, this is continual. Keep the stuff I use, get rid of the stuff I don't.
*Give myself a 5 min time limit in a main area and pick up, it can instantly feel better and clean.


Bonnie's quote sums up why I want to get a handle on this: "People are more important than things, but the order of things affects people."

Yesterday, I put this into action and spent some time in the girls room, in their dressers and closet. Minimizing the amount of clothes in their dressers, keeping the clothes they actually wear regularly and putting away the rest. Going through bags of hand me downs, etc. It felt good and it feels more organized and easier to stay on top of.

Getting the kids effectively involved is my next thing, I think simplifying things for them is going to be the key. I will probably start with one chore until they have a handle on it. I think I half expected them to look at the chore list I gave them, read it and happily do it, therefore, cutting my responsibilities in half. Well, that is not reality and it is my job to teach them how to go about being responsible and how to actually do certain chores that they haven't been taught yet.
I need to do a better job of following through and keeping them accountable, I am working on it.

I am slowly figuring this out and finding out what works for me and for our family. I am encouraged and excited and for the first time in a long time, my days aren't feeling out of control.

Derek's Family Update

I thought it would be fun to hear from Derek, so here is his update on the family:


We are doing well. Megan's surgery went very well and her speech is improving everyday. It seems like she says something new all the time. It's so fun to see the change in her. I almost cry just thinking about how much better things will be for her now. It wasn't too long ago when this type of surgery wasn't even possible. We are definitely blessed to live in the time that we do!

Other than that we all doing well. The two oldest just started school. They both seem to be doing much better than last year, and are excited about the activities that Janelle has for them.

Rowan is talking so much now. There is no end to his questions and comments. He can say everything. He repeats everything too! He is still all boy! He loves his guitar, cars, and throwing things!

Megan is starting to feel better from her surgery. She is really into Princess stuff and dressing up. Her cousin Geneva just moved here and they play together as much as they can!

Adrian and CJ just found out about Star Wars! It is a whole new concept to them. They watched the three original ones with me last week and now that is all they can think about. CJ carries his light saber around all day! It's quite cute to hear them talk and refer to each other as Luke and Princess Leia!

Janelle is busy with all the kiddos and teaching school again.
I am back to school. It's not fun, but I will get through, hopefully! I'm only taking 2 classes this semester because we are pretty busy with work right now. I will be leaving on Tuesday for two weeks, but then after that I should be home for the rest of the semester, should be!

I am posting this a little later than he actually wrote it, so he has just finished his first of two trips, he comes home tomorrow afternoon from a four day trip to King Salmon and then leaves on Monday for a four day trip to Valdez.

School begins!!!

We started school this last week, official start date: September 13th.

My main plan starting out this year was to be organized. Last year I felt like I just tried to stay afloat while figuring out how to successfully juggle all of life. I never felt as organized as I would have liked to have been and the days seemed to quickly get away from me. I can already tell that this is going to be my biggest struggle. Organization can be my best friend or my worst enemy for having a successful day.

So I spent a few weeks in August trying to make the playroom into more of a school room. I now have a bookshelf big enough to hold all of our curriculum and books, it is nice to have them all in one place.
Although it is getting better, I still feel frustrated about how disorganized the room feels, so it is a work in progress.

CJ and Adrian still have desks, I am hoping to one day purchase a kidney table so we can all sit together and spread out a little.

I can tell this year that Megan is very ready to learn and to be a part of what we are doing. She is trying to sit on the floor or in my lap and Rowan is wanting to color all the time, trying to be like the big kids.
So, last week I ordered a small round table on Amazon, it should be perfect for Rowan and Megan and a good 'in between' table until we get a bigger one in a couple of years.

This year, I have started a daily and weekly schedule for the kids, so they know what it expected each day and what our plans are each day. As well as daily chores so that they can help me out learn some responsibility in the process. They are excited about it right now, we will see how long that lasts. They each have their everyday chores like: brush teeth, clean up room, etc. Then they have potential 'paid' chores, like: set table, feed animals, clean playroom, pick up entryway, etc. CJ gets 20 cents per paid chore, up to three per day and Adrian gets 15 cents a paid chore, up to three per day. They will get paid on Saturday and Sunday is a rest day. So, they have the potential to earn a bit of money if they choose to:) We have yet to do a full week yet so we'll see how this goes.

At this point, with the curriculum we are using, there are not a lot of self- directed assignments for the kids, so I am still sitting down with them for each subject. Once we get into the swing of things, I am hoping they will be able to do some things on their own, to free me up a bit and also to build their confidence and responsibility.

We are using Saxon math and trying a new curriculum for writing and reading called Institute for Excellence in Writing. I still haven't nailed down what we are doing for Science and History.

This year, CJ is attending Farm School every Thursday from 9:30am-2:30pm. It is focused on science and the outdoors, he had his first class last week and loved it! Their main focus this year will be raising Salmon from egg to fish. It will be good for him to have some time away from home and some interaction with his peers.

After only a few days of school, I am encouraged that both CJ and Adrian have really taken it in stride. Although they love their play time, they know what is expected of them because we did this last year. So, no complaining on the first week, a bit on the second, but I'll take it.

So much more I could say, but I'll save it for more posts.

Two things I want to accomplish this fall: have a good and purposeful devotion time every day with the kids, remain calm and not get overwhelmed, take care of myself.

I just got a book from the library today called "Steady Days", the first bit of advice they gave was to start with just one thing you would like to change and make better and start there.
My 'thing' is going to be getting up earlier by myself to spend time with the Lord and get ready for the day before the kids get up. Okay, so, for me it's going to be two 'things':) The other is making breakfast ahead of time so that it is ready in the morning and doesn't take up a lot of time.

Here's to a more organized life and a happier me!


Rowan looks like he's in pain, but that is what he does when he gets his picture taken.

These pictures are on our second day of school. We read the creation story on the first day and then the kids drew what happened on each day of creation:


I love these kids!