The Ambitious Life

The best laid plans right?  I labored over lesson planning for WEEKS for the girls for next school year.  I finally had a system I wanted to commit to and wrote out four weeks of plans - what lessons, what days, what schedule we were going to keep.  Then they decided they wanted to start school early.  But not all school, just math and typing.  Seriously. And in that moment when I said yes instead of clutching desperately to my plans, I learned how to let go.  I am not a super great go-with-the-flow-er.  I like structure.  I like to know what is coming.  I like to feel in control of my days and my moments.  But I said yes anyway.  And you know what?  It won't matter.  I know that our 180 school days should be a certain amount of math for them.  I know that by the end of the year we should have finished our history and science lessons.  I know that they will read and write better then and improve from where th...

So I am thinking all things homeschool lately...mainly because my husband gave me an awesome budget for next year that is allowing me to think outside the box a little bit.  We just purchased two Chromebooks for the girls to use with their school work...then I threw out the internet based curriculum I was using.  Right?  Ha!  Fortunately I got a great deal on them and one only works when it is sitting right next to the router so they are going to send me a third one for FREE!  Anyway, enough about that.  This year has been frustrating with History and Science.  The curriculum we are using is good, but it isn't capturing Grace's attention and she is young enough that I want her to really enjoy it, not just get through it.  When she has classes she HAS to take for high school credits she can worry about doing them because she has to.  Right now, we're going to enjoy it.  The curriculum we've been using is pretty dry next year as well fo...

I recently decided I should scrap the blog and create a YouTube channel and do a Vlog instead...but ya'll KNOW my house isn't quiet enough that I could ever make that work.  Really, my problem has been that I write these blog posts in my head that are perfectly executed but never type them up instead of just using this as a journal to remember what my crazy life is like RIGHT NOW. Currently - my life is crazy.  Let's recap.  The kids are 7, 5, 3, 3, 2 and 8 months.  That's a little nuts right?  My 8 month old doesn't like to sleep and is currently a huge grump (he is teething so I don't blame him).  It's just loud and crazy and delightful and sleep deprived and all sorts of good and a little bit of hard.  Ok, sometimes a lot of hard but the good kind of hard you know?   And as another blogger often reminds me, hard is not the same as bad. Right Now: We are still doing Harvest House - in our fourth year! We are still homeschoolin...

Isaac, Kiddo - you are a delight!  You are the happiest, most calm kid I've ever hard.  You are only upset when you have ear infections (which you had pretty frequently in the past year, sorry bud) but otherwise you almost always are smiling.  Right now you really like to bite - you're playing but it hurts!  :)  Fortunately your cute and are usually giggling at the same time.  Your words are developing fast.  It is amazing how much more you say now than just a few months ago.  Your big brothers can't decide if they're going to push you around or let you push them around.  It's pretty funny.  You love Timothy and call him "Baby".  You give him kisses a lot too.  You, my dear boy, are such a sweet kid and I am thankful that you're mine!! Love, Momma For your birthday dinner we are having: Lemon ricotta pancakes that daddy is making with bacon and eggs.  Grandma and Papa will be here for dinner too!  For you...

Everyday. I'm sitting here with a baby perched on my shoulder and the keyboard perched on my knees.  My feet are up on the desk giving me enough space to comfortably type but not so much space he can arch backwards and go flying.  It is a balancing act, just like so many things in life.  And six babies into this mom thing I'm getting pretty good at tensing the right muscles in my arms and shoulders to manuever him back into position without breaking my though process. Everyday I get up in the morning, usually to a baby just starting to fuss.  He is a good kiddo and quiet usually so it's a more gentle wake-up than some of my other kids have been.  Every morning I take a quick shower, hoping the water is piping hot - I'm mastering the running of the dishwasher at just the right time so that the water is reheated and waiting for me.  Then I gather bottles that are scattered in my room from all our middle of the night feedings.  I generally try to pra...

Timothy Richard Kilby  Born September 6, 2016  1:21 PM  9 lbs. 1 oz., 21 inches Timothy finally arrive safe and sound. His due date was August 30, so exactly one week overdue. For a little history lesson, my body has never gone into full-blown labor on its own. I went into the hospital with Grace having minor and irregular contractions . I think they just kept me out of pity since she was five days late. With Isaac and Abi my water broke and with the twins I was induced. I was pretty convinced that we would have to schedule this week to be induced even though I had been having some irregular contractions. Monday, September 5 I went to bed feeling very sore and had some signs that labor was maybe coming up. It was all very early labor stuff so I did not think too much of it although I was hoping - and it was all stuff I hadn't really experienced before with my other pregnancies. Around 2:30 I woke up with contractions that were fairly regular and fairly inte...

My dear Abi Ann, I am writing this without reading what I've said to you in past years.  I may say the same things.  You are my little ginger girl, a delight to all and an absolute sweetie.  Recently you will come over and tell me you love me, unprompted and that I'm beautiful.  Sweetie, you're beautiful.  You spend HOURS in the coloring room creating and thinking and dreaming.  You make all kinds of creations and all kinds of mess but I love to see how your brain is working.  You are talented in ways your momma is not and I pray you never lose that creativity.  You are also incredibly stubborn and set in your ways.  Right now that can be really hard and leads us to some tense moments, but kiddo I pray that God continues to refine that quality in you so that it is used for His glory as you get bigger.  Knowing right from wrong and stubbornly refusing to bend is a beautiful thing and I pray that for your life, even when it feels har...