Natalie turns 9

Natalie chose an owl cake this year.

This is the geocache they found.

Natlaie turned 9, March 25th. She has grown so much this year. She breezed through 3rd grade and is working on finishing 4th so that she can start 5th grade this fall with J. She started taking clogging this year for the first time. She is really pretty good. She is playing softball again, and is playing catcher. She still has the same sweet and tender heart. She has met several new people through our homeschool group, and although she misses getting to go to school and see friends everyday, I think she likes being able to be home too. She still loves reading and has read the first three Narnia books, and is reading the reading the Allie Finkle series. She is growing into the young lady that God wants her to be. I can't wait to see what God has in store for her.

She decided to have a sleepover. She had 2 girls from her softball team, and one friend from our homeschool group. After the game we went to the park, and had a picnic. They layed at the park for about and hour and then we went home. The played with dolls, and then Randle took the girls on a geocache hunt. It was near Lay Lake. Natalie and L fell in the lake, and they all got eaten up by mosquitos. When they came home we made soap, ate cake, and they danced like maniacs. Denise and my mom came over for the cake, and got to see all the crazy dancing. I put them to bed around 11:30 so that they could be up in time to get ready for church. At 2:30 am they all came in my bedroom, fully dressed, shoes, and hair brushed shaying they were ready for church. I VERY quickly told them it was NOT time to get up and to put their PJs back on and go back to bed. Such silly girls, they thought they were very funny.

Today we started geocaching. We heard about it a few years ago, but just now decided to try. It was a lot of fun. Randle, Harley and I found 4, and then found 2 more with Natalie. It was a lot of fun, and we can't wait to keep finding more. I figured out where the first one was. The second, I just happened to see a strip of paper that ended up being the log. The third (which was really the first one we looked for) Harley found. She was so proud. The fourth Randle and Harley found. While we were looking for this one we found a deer skull and spine. Randle and I were impressed, Harley however, thought it was disgusting. When Natalie got back from shopping with Grandma we went to look for one more, so Natalie wouldn't be left out. They found it pretty quick at Vincent's park. The girls were begging for more. We had only intended doing this one, but the girls kept begging so we tried to call Denise and have her look up the coordinates for another, but got Jared instead. He found them for us and the girls were soooo happy. While we were at this last one the land owner came over and asked what we were doing, and said he had wondered why this land was such a popular spot. It was funny, I'm pretty sure he thinks we are nuts. We have picked out three more to go find on Monday while we are out for a field trip. We can't wait to get some people to join us, it was too much fun.

A Big Month of Firsts for Harley

This past month has been both busy and momentous for Harley. She started her first season of softball, and has done a great job of learning all the rules. She plays left field, and has usually hits off the first couple pitches. She really wants to play circle. She also has just recently learned to ride her bike without training wheels. We went to a playdate with a family who works at the Kings Ranch. They have 2 boys and a girl. They were all riding bikes and we asked Harley if she wanted to try, she said sure, and Randle had her up and riding before the other mom and I could get back with snacks. So now she can zoom around and keep up with Natalie a lot better. She was so proud, and so were we. Today, she lost her first tooth. It has been loose for almost a month. She wouldn't pull it, so this morning I tried. All I did was grab it and it fell out. She was so excited. She has already called Mrs. Denise and can't wait to call Grandma and Papa when they get off work.

Nataliepalooza Continues

Well, Friday was the big day! She is officially 9 years old. She had a birthday cupcake for breakfast. We built birdhouses in the morning with our homeschool group. She made a new friend Rachel. I didnt' think we were going to be able to seperate them to leave. :) Then she and Randle went to be referees for the Youth Convention Dodgeball Tournament. She love getting to ride in Dad's truck and have some alone time with him. She chose Dominoes pizza for dinner. Then she and Harley played Tangled on the Wii. My mom and youngest brother came over to bring her their gifts. Mom gave her sliding shorts and cleats. Jonathan gave her a new softball glove (she lost hers). She was so excited about the shorts, she slept in them.

Saturday she slept over at a friends, and then Gramps, Nana and Aunt Julia took her out to lunch on Sunday. So altogether, Nataliepalooza lasted quite a while, and she was completely spoiled. I am anxious to see what this year will bring for her. She is an amazing girl, and we pray daily that God will guide her steps in life, and help prepare her for the role He has for her.

Nataliepalooza

It is no secret that we have a big family. We usually end up having a party with their friends, a party with my family and a party with Randle's family. Needless to say the birthday ends up lasting about 3 weekends. So when it is close to one of the girl's birthdays we call it Nataliepalooza or Harleypalooza. Well, Nataliepalooza started Monday. My mom made reservations at the Atlanta American Girl Store for us. So Mom, Natalie, Harley, Jordan, and I drove out to Atlanta to dine with their dolls. It was a lot of fun. Natalie and the dolls got crowns to wear, and each of the girls got a doll size birthday shirt, doll size balloon, and a book in their goody bag. It was really cool. So now we are waiting on the softball schedules so we can plan a birthday party. Natalie has decided to make soap, so we are going to buy molds and glycerin. She is excited. I can't believe she will be 9 soon. She is such an amazing little girl.

Field Trip to Botanical Gardens

We have been so blessed with a great group of homeschool families in the area, Highlands Homeschoolers. We have gone to two play days (one at McDonalds in Chelsea and one at the park in Chelsea), a Valentine's Day Party, and now a field trip.

We got to have a guided tour through the Rain forest, and then do a scavenger hunt. The girls had a blast. We also had lunch at a little pharmacy that has a soda shop. There was a group of 5 girls, including mine, all between 5 and 11. They all sat together at a table, and needless to say there was alot of giggling.

Harley gave us a run down of all the things we can get from rain forest plants this afternoon. Both girls are already asking to go back. We are planning on going back once things are blooming and giving them a chance to draw some of the plants. They are also both wanting to take cameras and see what kinds of pictures they can get. I love how creative they both are, and love how we have the opportunity to nurture it through homeschool.

So, I'm not so good at the whole blogging thing :)

Ok, so it has been almost a year since I've added anything. Really sad huh? I am going to try and do a little better. We have had so many changes since I last wrote that it may be impossible to update.

First off, we moved again. The people we rented from decided to sell the house so we had to find a new place. We, well I, panicked a little bit and then realized that God of course would supply, He always has. So we ended up buying a trailer in Harpersville off an online auction. We got a great deal. We repainted all the inside, and replaced the floors in all the rooms except the kitchen and bathrooms. It is small, and still needs some work, but it is ours, and we love it. We have only the two dogs, and a Fire belly Frog, named Percy, now. Although for a little while we dog sat for some friends and had 4 dogs. It was crazy, but fun.

Second off, we are homeschooling. I really never liked the idea of Natalie going to a public school, but we couldn't afford private school. She attended Mount Laurel for 1.5 years. I had thought about homeschooling but talked myself out of it and was miserable. So we started her 3rd grade year and Harley's Kindergarten year this August. This may be the biggest adventure I have ever been on. For a while there, I really didn't think we were going to make it. I love my children with all my heart, but they were driving me crazy trying to get all the housework and school work done. We settled into a nice little rhythm just as Harley finished up Kindergarten. Natalie has now finished 3rd grade, and we are all running in circles again trying to start the next grades. I love having them home, and being involved in everything they learn and would change it for anything. (Even if it means I loose a little hair and sanity)

Randle got a new job. He has worked for Augmentation, a temp agency, since we moved to Alabama.(Minus a month or so) We have been incredibly blessed that it has lasted so long. He started working on Friday and Saturday nights at the King's Ranch on the boy's campus. He liked the interaction with the boys and wanted to get on full time. He just recently got on full time and loves it. He works Sunday thru Thursday night from 10:30 to 6:30. He wakes the boys up in the mornings and gets them ready for school. Over Christmas break we got to have a couple of the boys come with us to our family gatherings and go caroling with us. We really enjoyed having them come along with us.

Natalie and Harley are both taking dance. Natalie is taking clogging, and Harley is doing a combo class. This is Harley's second year at Dance and Tiffeny's and she LOVES dancing. At the end of last year she decided she wanted to be on the competition team. She has worked very hard and got invited this year. She would be on the "mini team." I love that she has worked so hard and accomplished a goal. We, however, are not going to let her join. It is VERY expensive, and while we would try our best to raise the money, don't like all the required time. She is only 6, and it requires ALOT of time. I would love for her to be on a team someday, but think it best for her to wait until she is older. It breaks my heart to tell her no,and I dread the conversation. While I don't want to disappoint her, I have peace and know Randle and I are making the right decision for the time being.

Both girls are also playing softball this spring. Natalie is on her friend Jordan's team and couldn't be more excited. Harley is loving it so far and wants to play circle. Both of them are doing really well so far, and I can't wait for the games to start.

I think that is all the major updates for now. I'm hoping to keep this up better, but who knows.