Fall days

The trees are changing colors, the air is getting cooler, the dogs are snuggled in...... And I'm working more in Rileys class. Still trying to find a day to work I'm caelans. I'm thinking on that still..... It's been good for Riley to have me there on Thursday's. Its helped the day go by a bit quicker for her! Caelan loves that I drive them to school those days because she has more time to play and talk to her friends before the bell rings! She's quite the social butterfly! It's crazy actually how Many people she knows!

Quilting on a long arm

I went over to the neighbors to try my neighbors long arm..... I made a king size quilt for Riley and my neighbor is allowing me to quilt it on her long arm. I picked a scroll pattern that looks like waves. I figured it looked good with the scrolling pattern in the fabrics plus Riley has a love for water (the oceans, and lakes)..... It's been so fun quilting it. It's a lot of work and takes a lot of getting used to watching the laser as I'm moving the machine across...... It takes a couple hours to get it all set up and on the long poles. I've quilted five or six rows so far! It's so addicting! I didn't want to stop but the girls got off the bus and eric has administrative duties at the football game tonight ;) I'll go over again on Monday for most of the day, in hopes I finish it!!!! Fingers crossed!!!!!

Dressing things up!

The girls have folders and back packs for their small groups at church..... We took the backpacks and folders and dressed things up a bit to make it fun! We haven't done caelans backpack yet because I gotta figure out how to incorporate the sharpie marker she took and drew all over.... Anyhow here are the folders and Rileys bag ;)

Remember this.

A perfect chair.

Riley needs a lot of help on homework and often times I'm doing dishes and cooking the next meal..... So it's hard to help her when she's at the table or in her room..... So today I was on a mission to find a chair for Riley (and Caelan) to be able to share to sit at to do homework or whatever..... So, it only took one thrift store to find the perfect chair..... It perfect shape, in the era I love, the 60's and 70's were great colors in furniture ;) and you can't beat this gem for the price. I paid 2.65 for it, that was the total price. Sweet deal! Mission accomplished! Yeah, ya know sometimes it's the little things in life that make a hard day better.

Sunday brings a visit!

Marc and his son-in-law Dustin were up for vacation from California. (marc and sue's vacation home is a mile from our house)..... So they came by for a Sunday afternoon visit. It's always such a treat having people come visit! Whether they are stayin in our home or not, it's delightful having visitors from California. ;) it was nice to catch up with marc and Dustin today! Such a good Sunday ;) later on John and lonna and Harland and maralyn are due here! They're coming for a visit for a few days. Love that! Always nice to see people here!

Boat day, last one for the year!

In with fall

Fall has arrived, on the calendar that is..... Weather man says expect 92 today so we'll be going to family yoga then taking the boat out.
Anyhow, my fiesta dishes switch out for fall-winter and spring-summer.... One of my favorite things. A silly thing I know, but it's neat cause the kids get all into it and excited to switch colors of dishes. We've had our dishes some we were married and they will be our dishes Forever and ever. Fiesta is a timeless dish and they last forever by not chipping or breaking. ;) my on laws have had there's for as long as Eric can remember. It's a fun family connection ;)

Thrift store finds

So, our church thrift store always has some great deals and amazing finds.... Last week we got two water skis, each for 4.99! I'd call that a deal! Hopefully these vintage finds will serve it's purpose on the water since we could never afford to buy new ones these days.... Plus how cool are vintage things, we think very cool ;)

Bonfire

Riley wanted to look for bats so we all went out with her and had a nice bonfire and stayed up late talking as a family, some of the most treasured moments in life. Take time to slow down and be a family.

Dentist appts for lil' kids :(

Oh and....

To make the day worse for this poor girl she had to get a filling repaired after school. What a day. Let's look to tomorrow and hope for a better day. :(

Art at home

This weekend we worked on several art projects. Both my girls love that, so that's what we did. A nice weekend doing it. It is so peaceful and relaxing for all of us doing that.

overwhelmed.

The weekend was fast. Hardly enough time in the weekends.

My heart is full but it is also heavy. Transitioning into this school year has been so very hard. and unexpectedly hard. I did not anticipate that it would be as hard as it is....
so to give you an idea of our morning.... we were up and down all night with little sleep, due to thunder and lightening all night, and rain unlike anything i have heard, so we've all had little sleep.... and riley said to me, "i have my big project due today and my math project due, monday." this is at 7 am this morning. she needed to complete an "all about me poster complete with pictures, and a math poster showing patterns using objects glued to a page.... all due today, like this morning, and of course, they want the parent just observing and the kid doing the work. good morning monday morning. BLEH! but, some how, God's grace, we got it done. not as great as it would have been if we has spent all weekend on it, but it worked, and looked ok.... ugh!

so, yeah......Riley is struggling, day after day, to adjust. Most nights she goes to bed at 7:30pm... she has whined every day, most of the day... She is exhausted. Yes, most 1st graders are exhausted transitioning into full days and more expectations, but Riley even more than a typical child in the 1st grade. Eric has already heard from the school secretary that Riley was found crying up and down the hallways one day and she couldn't figure out why, so she just hugged Riley and loved on her and let us know of the incident....

i asked Riley, and basically what i gather, is there is so much going on, all the time at school. so many kids, and a huge amount of OVER STIMULATION. she is sick over it, literally. and is exhausting her, and setting her in such a bad mood day after day!

she is not a typical kid, she never has been. she has had many many struggles, and all this school stuff is too much for her.

so many people say she is just too young for 1st grade, and we shouldn't have started kindergarten when we did, but in the special needs world, having a child in school provides more services... and starting the 1st grade was recommended by her whole team at school through her IEP, so there are no regrets there. we have a great great team working with Riley and her special needs.... and that is a blessing, this is just a bump in the road, another hurdle to cross in getting Riley acquainted with school and routine.... and full days. academically she is doing well, which is HUGE! we are happy with that, but with reading she struggles. we are trying to save money for an iPad 2 for her. i know, i know, all of you are rolling your eyes, saying oh, ya just gotta get an ipad 2, i mean who wouldn't want an ipad??? well. come to find out there are amazing resources on the ipad's for reading, and social anxieties.... i have several friends who have gotten them for their kids and it has helped, in fact, they are using it for children with autism in the schools now.... no, she is off the autistic spectrum now, but there are benefits for Riley as well with the difficulties she faces. so we will see how that goes.... hoping we can do that for her, because it would be a huge help to her, and in turn, for us in helping her with her educational purposes....

anyhow, back to my point, its been a hard go of it. I'm mentally drained, and physically tired and emotionally spent. it is so hard trying to fix everything, because, in all honesty, i can't fix it. all we can do is ride through it... and hope each day brings ease. little by little it gets better.

so, in trying to make the weekend great we focused on staying home a lot... we took the kids to church Friday night... they are going to start small groups next week, and that is something Caelan is thrilled about, and Riley, just another new thing that is worrying her and she's shown no excitement for it.... and last year we didn't sign her up for small groups cause she didn't want to, but this year, we just signed her up and thought it was going to be a good thing.... now, we leave it in God's hands. I think she will adore the small group setting! she just is unsure of it, and trust she'll love it, but just another thing right now on the plate of worry and stress Riley has.....

Caelan is thriving in school and loves it. she loves her class and her teacher, but its going to be a challenging year! her teacher really wants to push her this year, which Eric asked for that, and he gladly agreed and said she is a very gifted girl wanting to learn lots and he's gonna take advantage of that, and allow her to be challenged this year. 1st grade and 2nd grade were easy years for her, too easy. Both teachers said she was far advanced, but supplementing at home was needed, they didn't provide insight on that.... so Eric helped me figure that out and we did what I could, but I'm certain that wasn't enough either. I'm not gifted in the 'homeschooling' dept. and felt lost trying to do more, and find the balance to provide more.

being a stay-at-home mom isn't easy. i remember thinking how lucky i was, but its proven the most challenging thing ever! BUT, likewise, the biggest blessing. It has pushed me, i have grown in ways i never thought i could, and its given me a more tender heart, a more creative mind, and strengthened every depths of my soul. it has given me new found strength, taught me to lean on God more and his mercies....
It has taken me to my knees.... BUT I'm blessed and lucky. Doctors never thought I would bear children, and look, I'm a mom of two.... and I'm so blessed for that. fortunate that God choose me, choose me to be their mom....

but, it is hard. and I'm praying through each day. trying to find the new norm, getting a routine figured out feels like a marathon, but hoping in a couple of weeks we feel more adjusted and regimented.

anyhow, is 1:10.... i haven't eaten lunch and barely swallowed down a cup of coffee at the bus stop. and quite frankly struggled to type correctly because we were up most of the night with that storm i told y'all about....
i just know myself, and this heavy heart of mine would have moved on from sharing any of this, so i wanted to journal my thoughts as they came.... that way, one day we can look back and be thankful for this time, and that we got through it, cause, i trust God will carry us through. He always does. And he provides strength when we need it. So....

Lord,
Give me strength for today, for in my life right now, I need you.
Your mercy in my life.
Help me. and most of all equip me to be a better mom each day.
help me, help my kids best.
Lord, there is so much making my heart heavy,
take those hurts from me.
heal them.
help my identity to remain in you. my life is yours.
give me peace. for each day.
help me serve you.
thank your for my kids and my husband, help me take care of them.

thank you for every blessing.
love you Jesus.
more each day.

amen.

Rileys room.

This weekend Riley begged Eric to make a frame for her room, she wanted the picture of her and her besties in it from her birthday party. So I whipped up a simple design and Eric made it for her, and she painted it ALL by herself!!!!! She had a blast! She then remarked that I would be good if I could finish her quilt...... I'm waiting for the neighbor to have me over to quilt it. She's been on vacation, came home and went on vacation again. ;) so hopefully, I'm crossing my fingers this week that I'll be able to go over there and do it! I'm so eager to finish it, especially now that her room is pretty much done other than that and the pillows to match ;)

Felt flowers for hair clips!

I made felt flowers today for hairclips! I'm super excited to have another creative thing to make for the girls and I. I saw some pictures on pinterest and played with the felt and gluegun and this is what I came up with. Here are the first three of many more to come! Love these! I'm gonna also make a wreath with some felt flowers on it based on four wreaths I've seen I'm gonna combine all the ideas into one! Here's to fun projects for fall that keep me sane and very happy!

Veggie garden provides greatness!

I picked oodles and oodles of tomatoes today along with more lettuce.....We have made so many meals off a few packages of seeds, it's unbelievable! Tonight I added some lean meat and shredded some cheese, fried some tortillas on the stove in olive oil, and there ya have it, tacos! Delicious tacos!!!!!! Something about tomatoes that just came off the vine (and the amount of varieties makes the tacos that much more yummy! I planted five kinds this year!!!!!) now only if I had some avocado. :( I guess I could have gone to the store but it was nice throwing tacos together with stuff from the yard and some meat I had thawed. ;)

Day eight I think.....

I think it's day eight of school. Just loving my girls.... They grow so fast. Each day I'm reminded of this! ( note the jeans, hoodies and rain boots- the weather dropped and it was raining this morning- bring on the fall season)

Soft teeth are a bummer

Riley has my soft teeth. Dentist says there's nothing we can do, just part of the gene pool.... This girl brushes so good and takes such good care and the dentist said she rarely has plaque but just prone to cavities with soft enamel.... Just like me. So here we are in the dentist chair, getting two tiny fillings on the left side, bottom row..... Poor kid. And the filling she got last year has fallen out so she has to get that one fixed next appointment. Poor kid. This kid goes through so much, all the time. I wish I could sit in the dentist chair today for her. I wanna take the pain away, i wanna give her teeth strength to avoid another cavity, I wanna fix it all, all the hurts my children go through. But, I can't fix it all. I can just sit here, cheer her on and comfort her, and reward her strength. She's so patient. All the appts she's had in life, all her struggles, and she just goes with it, it's all she knows..... All she knows is one obstacle after another, one more hurdle to jump. And all I know as her mom, is to endure it, to take a day at a time, and rely on a faithful God who helps me do what I need.... And together we get by. With God by our side. How do people get through life without a God by their side. Everyone needs Jesus, and He needs us. We are all called for our own purposes.....