Today's thing to remember

Background:
Thursday Jan 4th, I flew to GA to train my Aunt Sis and bring her on as my newest Premier Designs Jeweler. Her training show was on Sat night. I came home Monday afternoon. Jennifer Geibel had watch my kids Friday and Mon and picked me up and dropped me off at the airport. She needed someone to watch her son Chance today so I offered. This morning, I was trying to get everyone ready for the day and fed and out the door for a 9am piano lesson. I got 4 of them out of the house and went in for the others and my purse and to cage the dog. I come out and there is a snowball fight going on. Did I mention it snowed yesterday? sniff, sniff, I want to go back to GA! Anyways, I tell the kids in a very stern voice to get inside the truck. Then I said something like this, "I am done! I am going to bring the hammer down on your butts when we get back from piano! You will do a full day of home school. You will clean the house. You will be obedient and say Yes M'am or you will suffer the consequences! Do you understand me?"
Then I drove to Tina Stevens house for piano and dropped Zech off for his lesson then drove to Sam's to fill up my truck's ever empty gas tank. I then drove back to piano and sent Gabe on his way. While I waited I did Zech's Grammar with him. When Gabe came out, we headed home. I pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition. Gabriel was saying something to me under his breath. I asked him to speak up, he said it again barely above a whisper, I still couldn't hear him---there were 5 boys and a baby in the car! I asked him to please speak louder and he dissolved into tears. This was the conversation that ensued:

Me: "What's wrong???", I asked my sweet son.
Gabriel: (b/w chokes and sobs) "Remember, (choke) you said (sob) you were going to (sob louder) spank  us (FULL SOB) with a hammer (choke, sob) when we got home? (more crying)"
Me: "What? No Baby! I didn't say I was going to spank you with a hammer!"
Gabe: "Yes you did!" (yelling and sobbing uncontrollably now)  
Me: "No I most certainly did NOT!!!"
Zechariah: "Mom, you said you were going to bring a hammer down on our butts and spank us with it when we got home."
Me: (light bulb and recognition as to what I said and what this must have meant to my little boys) "Oh hunny, NO! It's just an expression used to mean that there is no more playing around! We are going to get to business and not mess around! I would NEVER hit you with a hammer or anything else in this world! I am SOOO sorry I said that and that you thought that!

Well, after hugs, kisses, and drying eyes we went inside and I brought the hammer down! :) just not on their bottoms :)
We did a full day of school, ate lunch, and kinda cleaned the house.

 Moral of this story: Watch what I say. My babies are listening even if I don't think they are and their hearts are softer than I think and they are sweeter than they let on!

Family Photo Session

Christmas was approaching. I was finishing my calendars that I create for both sides of our families and I realized that I did not have any family pics with Emma! I am a terrible Mom!!! I called my good friends, and Premier baby, Kiersten Isom and she did a shoot with us. Here are a few:  Enjoy!

 Ammon is really a drop dead gorgeous little boy but here he has such a goofy grin! I love this little guy but lately I have tried to pawn him off to my FB friends because he gets into EVERYTHING!!! I know he needs more of my time but I feel like I can't give it to him right now! I am hoping I can work through this quickly though.

 Elijah rules the roost (or so he thinks). He was named "The Beast" this summer by his 2nd cousins and it kinda stuck. He wants what he wants when he wants it and doesn't hesitate to use any means to get it. He tests me and tries my patience yet he is an incredibly loving and happy go lucky child! His antics either send me in hysterics or into hysterical laughter!

 I consider little Ms. Emma Lee our gift. She is SUCH an easy baby. You see this face? She cut 2 teeth on this day! She is amazing! She is quiet and patient and I love the stage she is in. As soon as she sees me she gets a huge smile on her face and kicks her little chubby legs. Precious!

 Our family photo attempt. Not bad huh? I like it!

 Gabriel, my angel. That is my name for him for that is the way he has always acted. Lately things have been a little rough though. I don't know if it's a phase or just a change in dynamics in the house (or both) but we are being challenged right now. He has a deep sense of right and wrong. He is trying to choose the right and is very good at apologizing when he doesn't. I am trying to get him out of Zech's shadow and work on his interests and developing his own self esteem. This is an onward struggle. he is sensitive and I am not. So, I have to be aware of his needs and not inflict my view of how/ who he should be on him. (Motherhood is hard!!!)

Gary made me cry when he said, "This is the most beautiful picture I have ever seen. These are my girls!" 

I am so happy, blessed, and flattered to be "his girl" and I know Emma Lee is too! 

This is the best picture I have ever had of Zechariah. I love it! 

Zech: My first born, my blood, sweat, and tears (literally at times) turned 9 yesterday! 

Zechariah, my Jekyll and Hyde. That is what I've always called him. One minute he is the sweetest, most amazing boy and the next he could be raging about something. He has largely grown out of this but there are still some harder days in the mix. He is impulsive. He is hyper focused. Right now he is focused on Harry Potter. He is currently reading the 6th book. He started the 1st one about 5 weeks ago. He is smart! 

 

Yes Zechariah turned 9 yesterday and I wept. Where did the time go? He is so different. He is growing up so much, so fast. He makes his own lunch, he reads to himself, he puts himself to bed, he bathes himself. On one hand, I am very grateful for this as I have my hands full and my time occupied with the other little ones. On the other hand, I am sad. I miss the days that he would join me in bed to snuggle before we started the day. I miss him plopping down in my lap with a book asking me to read to him. As he gets older, more things will change and I will have to adapt. I am beginning to realize how much I have to live in the now and enjoy each moment I have with my kids while they are young. I am sympathetic to my Mom and MIL and their many tears shed for their children who are grown and gone. UGH! I can't think about that right now! But it certainly helps change my mood when I want to wring Ammon and Eli's necks for pouring water out of the tub and it leaks through the drywall ceiling downstairs! :)

 

Wow! How did a simple family photo post turn into that? :) Oh well, that's what blogging is for right? 

Rants, raves, and tangents.

Catching up...again.

NOTE: I originally wrote this on November 28th!!!

 What a whirlwind of activity. I honestly do not know where the time has gone. Let's see:
1. Home school
2. piano
3. gymnastics is finally over

4. Halloween---I'm terrible and didn't take pics. Gary, Emma Lee, and I were Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Sweet Pea. Ammon was Captain America, Eli was Hulk, Zechariah was a Gryffindor student. (He wasn't Harry Potter b/c "I have blonde hair and Harry Potter has brown hair") Gabriel was Obi Wan Kenobi. I personally can't stand Chili Cook Offs but every ward does them. Ours was cute though, the Elder's Quorum did great on the decorations and the prizes for the chili. It was freezing though and we froze our butts off trunk or treating!!!
5. Jewelry shows---I'm doing as many as I can. I need to pay off my credit card and become debt free! again :)

6. New Jewelers---I'm working hard at building my business beyond the jewelry show. So many people are in need of extra income right now and Premier Designs is seriously one the best marketing plan of all home based businesses! I had a goal to have 7 jewelers by Nov 24th. This would make me a designer in Premier and make me eligible for a cruise! I was one lady short :( But that is OK b/c people need to do it when and if it is right for them.
7. Gary's last class---every 2 weeks we shut ourselves in our house and Gary works on his classwork. Children are kicked outside or at their cousins, cousins are not allowed over. There are limited distractions at our house so that Gary can work. I cannot tell you how happy I am at his progress. He is too! You can see that it is not easy for me to run my business and have him in class though. which brings me to

8. Planning for the future---we are now praying on a regular basis for our Performing Arts Studio to become a reality. I am researching and writing a business plan. I am SOOO excited for the future!

9. Mom's 60th surprise party-1st of all my Mom is a total butt and wouldn't stop nosing around for information. She almost made me mad! She suspected but we still pulled off a nice surprise party for her complete with a gorgeous cake that came all the way from PA. (Thanks Kimmy!) Karaoke and games like Minute to Win It! were a huge success! (Thanks Teri!) A nice house (Thanks Chris!) and beautiful decorations (Thanks Cortnie and Scott!) I was glad we were able to make her feel so special.

10. Thanksgiving---I got to spend Thanksgiving with my Aunt Sis and the Johnson side of the family. I saw my Mamaw, Drew, Aaron, Aunt Laura, my dad, his wife Deb, Jason, Teri, Kade, Kayla, and Chris were there. It was lovely.

Jedi training

Everyone knows that Star Wars is beloved in my house (um, not by me!) Ammon turned 4 on September 20th and he let me know about 6 months in advance that he wanted a Jedi training party. This boy had his guest list made and what they were to bring him for his birthday too! He invited 4 other little boys-no girls allowed! and told me that they were all going to bring him a purple lightsaber. We already have spinning light up General Grievous lightsabers, a red Darth Vader, a blue one, and a green one. Unfortunately, I could not find a purple one anywhere but they do have smaller lighter weight ones out now that clip on to the boys' belts so he got a blue one of those instead. I had a fun time planning for this party. I made up special invites which I didn't save :( I bought 2 Star Wars posters from Wal-Mart. One was of Yoda so I put that on the front door with a sign that said, "Welcome to Ammon's party you are!"
When the kids came, I gave them each a light saber, dressed them as padawans (Ammon didn't want to dress up!) and welcomed them to Jedi training school. Then I made them take the oath:

I will use the force to bring balance to the land

I will not use the force to harm one another

If I use the force and hurt someone's hand

I will have to go back and sit with my mother.

It was cute but didn't last long. Four 4 yr olds and then my 2 older boys and their cousin kept jumping in and trying to "train" the young Padawans. Wow! Oh well, it was fun!

Do you see my cute little Eli? Precious!

 I tried to show them how to practice their light saber duel.

 Jedi Master Zechariah was to teach Padawan Chance





  See that? Jace wacked Ammon with the lightsaber. I guess I should've had their training pods further away :(

It's my party, I can cry if I want to. You would cry too if you got wacked in the face :)

 They had to use the force to dodge the ball!

 FYI: 4 yr olds are poor sports and do not like to be "out".

But don't they look cute?

 Agility and strength training

Ammon was a feather weight compared to the rest.

 It was supposed to say "May the 4th be with you" but I am totally lame and thought about it at the last minute-literally. Oh well, Ammon loved it and that's all that mattered!

 The new Jedis' skills were put to the test when Darth Vader stopped in for a visit.

(Poor Gary-he was such a good sport!)

 Ammon got some great toys from his friends but I didn't want to upload them all. Here's what Gary and I got him. The kid loves Power Rangers! 

I'd let him fight the bad guys anyday!

Happy 4th Birthday Ammon! You are my sunshine. You light up my life with your gorgeous smile, funny personality, and love of life. I am so happy to be your Mommy!

Renaissance Festival

I have never been to a renaissance festival. Isn't that sad? I mean, I'm a drama major! But Alablama didn't have a lot of cultural experiences like that. I went to see a lot of plays but never went to a festival. So I was excited to be able to go to the one here in Maryland. It's HUGE!!! We had a blast! We went with my Aunt Nancy b/c she is wonderful and does so much for our family. She's fun to go places with b/c she pretty much likes everything and has done everything at least once. I took loads of pics b/c it was just so much fun. My kids were enamored. nancy is pretty smart and showed up at our house with 4 foam swords and shields she had picked up from Target who knows when. This was the best thing she could've done. Those boys did not put those swords down for a second! Zech even got cast in a little play b/c he already had his own prop and was in "character". :) Yes, I was a little proud...EXTREMELY!!!

Zechariah's 1st stage debut!

Being a pirate and saying, "Arg! Give me all your treasure" to which he adlibbed, "or I'll cut you through". The performer was quite impressed.

New form of time out anyone?

I love that they could do this anywhere and everywhere. Awesome!

A joust! Hazzah for England!

 A picture with Aunt Nancy, a rare treat.

Our clan.

Is he not to die for? This was on our way to the festival. Elijah was ready!

It was a great day. We all had a blast and if we are here next year, we will definately go again! But next year, I will have to dress up in costume :)

Dream Board

I am currently in a "Focus Group" training for Premier Designs. The idea is to keep the business on our minds and work it everyday. Last week they discussed a dream board. It's pretty much where you take pics, slogans, sayings, clips, etc of things that you want to accomplish in your life and put them on a board and post them in your house somewhere. They were saying if you see this everyday, you will reach your goals that are on the board. As you read from the previous post, I have a dream and don't know how to get there. So, I thought I'd create a dream board.

Here you go:

Where to start?

I wait too long to update my blog. It's pretty sad actually. I finally changed my blog title and picture. Even though it's a terrible one of Emma Lee, at least it is somewhat current. :) What do ya'll think?
There's been loads going on. Here's a few little recaps/ summaries:

*Homeschooling is going great!
I am using "The Story of the World" for history and really love that each lesson has mapwork, coloring or activity pages, as well as many hands on crafts or projects. The kids love it too. My SIL lives next door and homeschools her kids too. But, she is ultra sick in her 1st trimester so I bring her kids over for history, grammar, and handwriting. They love this history curriculum too!

Gabe and Hannah's attempt at the  recreating Egypt, the Nile River and the Delta Nile.

Zech and William's attempt

Our mummification of apple slices science/history project.

Hannah's Great Pyramid

 Grammar is "First language lessons" I love it, the kids are ok with it. They don't understand just how good of a program it is. I am a grammar girl. I mean, I lived for diagramming sentences! Guess what? My oldest just started diagramming!!! YAY! (I know, I'm a dork) We have handwriting, spelling, and math. Confession: I just bought Zech's math curriculum. GASP!!! Why? B/c I couldn't decide on which one to use!!! I'm not great at math. I am using Saxon with Gabriel and hate, hate, HATE it! UGH! It is painstaking! Most people love it, I hate it! Did I say that already...I HATE IT!!!
:)
Anyways, I finally decided on Teaching Textbooks for Zechariah. He loves it! He actually does 3-4 lessons a day. Right now it's still reviewing what he learned last yr. So he might slow down when he starts new concepts. I love that he does his lesson on the computer and I just have to check his work. It rocks!

*My schedule is hectic right now:

Mondays we have school then go to gymnastics. I swear, its like taking a alcoholic to a bar for Zechariah. He is "exuberant" as the \teacher says. That is putting it very nicely. My nieces and nephew go too...Oh my GOSH! Together they are all sooo bad! if just Sarah's kids are there, they are good. If just mine are there, they are good. Together=#$%@!
Tuesday is piano 1st thing in the morning. Gabe started this year and really likes it alot! Zechariah is getting so much better! It's fun to watch them learn. We go to the library (well, not to that one anymore!) and then come home and do school.
Wednesday is now Co-Op day. I'm sooo excited for this. It's on Andrews Air Force Base and they use the Children's Center facilities which are amazing! The kids get to take PE and Art and Ammon goes to PreK. I just got an email saying that dance opened up some more slots so Ammon and Eli can start ballet and Zech and Gabe can start tap. Gabriel threw a HUGE fit when I told him. He says it's dumb. (sigh!) Whatever, they are going even if it kills them (and me!) Since I'm already on Andrew's, I try to take in the commissary too-if I am not already spent! :)
Thursday is a regular school day
Friday is either a regular school day or field trip day.
Saturday is clean the house and play day
Sunday-church, choir practice, nap?, and spend time with the family. Lately it has also been help Gary get through his last and FINAL class. He is quite the procrastinator and we usually submit his papers at 11:56pm since they are due at 12am. UGH! All I care about is him finishing his degree.

Git 'er done!!!

*Premier Designs is picking up steam!

I now have 5 jewelers under me. (The 2 blondes on the left hand side are not my jewelers. We just asked them for help since we had no idea what to expect.) My girls are all so great! I am booking parties and vendor shows. One of my jewelers just sponsored someone!!! I just got done with the Army 10 miler Health and Fitness Expo. One of my jewelers and I rented a booth, hence the above picture. The exposure was enormous! I am still trying to follow up with contacts and book shows with them.

*I've met my match.

He's so stinkin' cute!

I felt comfortable with 4 kids. That was until Eli turned 2. He is insane! Oh my gosh! Plus now I have a newborn baby on top of Eli, 2, and Ammon, 4. They are either getting into mischief or knocking the junk out of each other! Plus, sickness has been running through my house and I am exhausted with the constant cleaning, laundry, and sad/whining kids. However, I am so happy to have my kids home. I am thankful for the opportunity to teach them.

*I don't know what the future has in store.
You all know what this does to me. Gary and I have decided that he will not take his next promotion and get out of the Army instead. As we were praying we felt that we are to pursue opening our own performing arts studio. I am SUPER excited about us having our business together. This has been our dream ever since I worked here. I loved working there. I learned so much. Over the last 10 years, I have taught dance, drama, and musical theater every place that we have lived. It's what I love to do. There are just tons of unknowns right now. Where are we supposed to do this? We have an idea, just need confirmation. When are we supposed to do this? Again, I have a plan, just need confirmation from Heavenly Father. What about our house? Will it sell? When should we put it on the market? Should we take a financial loss on it or rent it out?  Questions, questions, questions...

Ok, that's all for this post. Isn't that enough? I still have to blog about the Renaissance festival, Ammon's birthday, and other random thoughts and musings.

This is my sweet, beautiful girl. I am absolutely in love with her. She is perfect in everyway.

If you read this then you love me and I just want you guys to know, I love you too! :)