The Package Has Arrived

We received our very special package in the mail on Monday.

Twenty beautifully brown Buff Orpington chicken eggs sent straight from the farm.

They are now resting comfortably in Colton's birthday present from Grandma and Papa.

Now we turn them three times a day for three weeks and wait patiently for their big arrival just in time for Easter!

Colton thinks we should sell our house and move on a farm so we can keep our little peeps. I know we'd never have a short supply of fresh eggs to eat. Might not be such a bad idea.

Mr. Fletch's Wild Ride

This story is totally not funny when considering how it could have ended so differently but it will definitely go down in Fletcher's book of tricks.

We had the kids loaded up in the RV on Friday afternoon as Josh and I were inside gathering a few last minute items. We were heading to Jonathon Dickinson State Park for a campout. When Colton came running in the door shouting "Dad come quick!" we knew that there was trouble to be found. Turns out that our little Fletcher is much smarter than we give him credit for.

What we saw when we headed out the garage door was a sight that we certainly weren't expecting.

Our little "Dennis the Menace" had decided to drive the RV himself. By the time we ran outside, the kids were all walking back from the neighbors house across the street where our RV was now resting in their front yard after having plowed over their mailbox, ripping off part of the RV's bumper and finally coming to a halt. The engine wasn't turned on but somehow he figured out how to put it in gear when it then took off giving the kids a wild ride.

To say we thanked God for protecting them in so many ways is an understatement.

After I brought them all inside to have a little talk while Josh reversed the RV back onto our driveway where it belongs, he came inside where we all burst out into uncontrollable laughter. It certainly wasn't funny when thinking of how things could have ended so differently but I think we all needed to laugh it off so we could start our fun weekend that we had planned.

Fletch kept putting his hands out to the side and shaking his head saying "I sorry! I didn't mean to!". He told us that he drove the RV and he turned it and ran into Kenny's mailbox. And thank God he did! If he hadn't he would have either plowed into the two vehicles parked in the driveway straight in front of ours or possibly the house. Yes things could have turned out very, very bad. And amazingly the mailbox survived too after Josh put it back into the ground.

Ahhh... life with Fletch is certainly never a dull one.

Enough is Enough

There is nothing more that can get in the way of my life like a cold can. And it certainly has gotten in my way this week. The sneezes have been constant and the itchy nose has been enough to drive me c.r.a.z.y!!! Enough is truly enough! I am ready to move on.
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Thankfully I am feeling much better today and it's a good thing. I have a LOT of catching up to do!

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Working around my cold, we managed to have a pretty productive week. My cousin Andy was down for his spring break and helped out tremendously. He took Colton to the movies, the kids to their tennis lesson, and just played with them and kept them busy while I acted like a sloth.

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Josh and I even managed to sneak out for a date night which was a rare and special treat for us. After eating at one of our favorite Thai restaurants, we went to the movies to see Slumdog Millionaire. It was extremely intense (something that I'm not used to these days in movies) but really, really good!

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Yesterday I took the kids on a field trip to the Environmental Studies Center and although I was feeling awfully sick, we managed to have a really great time. The kids got to dig for bloodworms and later feed them to the fish at the center. They met a sea turtle named Boomerang, a shark, an alligator and lots and lots of other sea creatures and fish. This was their first time allowing homeschoolers to come into the center for a field trip as they are run by the public school district who are not overly supportive of homeschoolers. So this was a huge deal for us! I was especially excited because this was a field trip that I enjoyed going on when I was a child. Although I've brought them to the center myself to go on a little self guided tour, I just assumed we would never be able to go on an official educational field trip led by their teachers. Just another example of how homeschooling is becoming more and more excepted and encouraged. It's truly awesome!

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I was reminded how blessed us homeschoolers are these days after attending a homeschool conference in Vero a few weeks ago and hearing this couple speak. They are truly pioneers of homeschooling considering they began teaching the first of their 14 children at home back in 1980 before it was even legal to homeschool in their state. They used to have their children hide under their beds whenever the doorbell would ring during school hours. They were even prosecuted once by the school board superintendent for homeschooling. Now one of their oldest son's job is to set this same superintendent's yearly salary. How ironic and rewarding that must be?

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Anyhow, I am looking forward to getting back on track after this awful cold that I am slowly defeating, and I know that my future holds lots of laundry and cleaning for the weekend. How does yours look?

{I had to wonder if these jared specimens were the same ones that were there when I was a child}

{their teacher Mrs. Fowler is one of Aunt Kelly's friends}

{the older kids in the distance were getting ready to go seining while the younger ones collected bloodworms}

{can you see it? we had a whole bucketful by the time we finished}

{looking at the shark and other fish}

{I couldn't help but think, this is how I feel many days ;D}

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Hope you have an awesome weekend! We have an extra special package that we can't wait to be delivered so stay tuned! We are just so very excited about this!

Tessa and Ruby

These girls who have been with us for two weeks today, have become such a highlight to our lives. We are rarely seen without one of them in our arms, on our laps or snuggled up beside us. They bring us pure love.

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As I type, Ruby the gray one is snuggled up sleeping on my lap. There is something about a purring cat that seems to soothe the bones.

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And I have been pleasantly surprised at how frequently reading time has been occurring around our home too. I made a deal with the kids that whenever they want to take a break from school to read to the kitties they could. This has helped get Colton more interested in reading as it is not his favorite subject for sure. It makes me so happy to see him taking advantage of our deal and he's spending much more time reading than he has in the past. Another great reason to have a cat (or cats) I say.

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Everything was as happy as a clementine, but then our little stinker Fletch, gave us quite a scare yesterday. He headed out front and left the door open as I was preparing dinner. I quickly went after him and brought him inside not even giving a thought about the cats.

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Within 15 minutes I noticed I hadn't seen the girls in quite some time and began to search for them. After realizing that they were nowhere to be found, it dawned on me. They snuck out when Fletch left the door open!

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I asked him if the kittens went outside with him and of course he said yes and proceeded to take me on a tour of our yard to show me exactly where they went off to.

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So a search began which continued all through the evening and into the night and involved a lot of tears being shed, yes even from me.

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It consisted of hanging up lost kitten signs, sending out a neighborhood wide email, searching the woods with flashlights, and making a trip to Publix for some canned cat food. We figured the strong scent that it puts off might lead them back to our door.

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After heading out front for one last look before going to bed, I turned around and something told me to look in the buffet hutch in our dining room.

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To my surprise, out popped two happy kitties who were very hungry and relieved to finally be let out of the trap that this little rascal put them in.

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Oh these sweet girls have no idea what they're in for.

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Colton said how relieved he was that God had answered his prayers. He said he told God that if He would lead us to our kittens, then he would do anything God wanted him to. When I asked him what God was putting on his heart to do, he answered "to work harder at being better behaved". I said that works for me and then we said our prayers giving God the Glory for not having our girls be out in the cold all alone. Oh how we would miss them!

8 Years

8 AMAZING years it has been.

Today, March 1st marks eight years since I first became a mama. With Colton's birth came a whole new life that I was about to experience and I don't think I could ever truly put into words the complete joy that this little boy of mine brings me.

I have been so completely blessed to have been chosen to be his mom and I know that each day I am able to spend time with him, to love him, to teach him, to guide him is a gift that I will never take for granted.

We celebrated yesterday with some of our family and friends and had a nice relaxing evening being in awe that our little guy is now eight.




We are so excited to have reached this milestone that Josh and I used to dream about 8 1/2 years ago while thinking of our unborn son who was growing inside me. We often used to try and visualize what our lives would look like with an 8 year old son. I can say that never did I imagine our lives to look quite like this. I guess I didn't have too high of expectations at the time. Boy is our God glorious! He has blessed us MORE than we could have ever asked for and we are so humbled that His blessings keep on flowing.

Colton is such a gentle, mild mannered and sometimes a bit sensitive 8 year old who loves to snuggle with anyone who's willing. He loves nature, specifically identifying birds and other animals, loves catching lizards, and is just now getting interested in catching snakes. Yippee! I'm sure you know how excited I must be feeling about that one. I guess it comes with the package of raising a boy. He also enjoys drawing, sports (his new found love is tennis), riding his scooter and bike, jumping on our trampoline and especially loves running.

And have I ever mentioned that he is the best big brother that Gracie and Fletcher could have ever asked for? Even though sometimes it's hard to be a big brother, he handles it like a champ. He comforts them, loves on them, and praises them for their accomplishments along the way.

We are so proud and in love with our boy and so very excited to see the plans that God has made for him. It's an exciting journey that we are anxious to continue!

Here are some more miscellaneous pictures from his special evening.


{aunt kelly's more than delicious appetizer that she creatively made into an "8"}


{colton and his friends Cole and Wyatt who live across the street}


{uncle b. lovin' on fletch}


{our sweet friend aurora and gracie}


{the kiddos enjoying uncle b.'s jam session}


{our drummer in training}


{and lastly, two of our sweet girls, gracie and tessa. the kitties got lots of attention with all the extra kids being here.}



Happy Birthday son! Mama and Daddy Love you tons, and tons and tons!!! To the moon, to outer space and to infinity and beyond!