Visit to Santa

They day after Thanksgiving we visited Santa at Bass Pro Shop. The kids loved exploring the store and especially liked their HUGE fish tank with very large fish in it. Everyone was excited about Santa but Zoey was scared to death when she saw him. The only way she would get close to him was if Thayne or I were holding her. Jaed was not going to sit on his lap no matter what and Josie had about 100 things she was ready to tell Santa she wanted.

My first born!

It's time to spotlight my kids. Today I'll spotlight Jaed:






















I don't think I could ask for a better 'first born' child. He would have never made it as a middle child and especially the youngest. He needed to be the first in our family. He protects his four little sisters when someone tries to hurt them but also tries to keep his sisters in line. He's very loving, empathetic, and funny! He and his Dad are the best of friends and Thayne is so excited to have a gamer for a son. They love to play games together, talk about different games, and learn new games. I think they are both in their own little heaven when games are involved.

Some facts about Jaed:

• Jaed is extremely smart and LOVES to read. He has quite a library in his room (thanks to Mom) and I catch him rereading books all the time.

• He's not a guy that has lots of different friends. He has a few very good friends and is extremely loyal to them.

• Jaed loves Legos and Star Wars. When the two things are together he's beside himself.

• Jaed enjoys bike riding, taking things apart and rebuilding them, and teasing his sisters!

I don't think I tell Jaed that I love him enough. Even though there are times I wonder if he'll make it in this world, I know that he will be a strong man with great success. He came into my life when I thought for sure that I wasn't going to have any kids. He truly was a blessing from God!!!

Beer breath!

My baby (ok, she's not a baby but she's my baby!) is a Wino!! My friend's son was having a Birthday party at the bowling alley and invited our whole family, so we went. Well, if you've been to a local Bowling Alley you know that they usually sell beer and you're not allowed to drink it in the bowling area, SOOO the drunkards leave their beer on the tables above the bowling area without even realizing that the area is FULL of kids. Can you guess where I'm going with this??? Well, I turned my head to watch Indi bowl and when I looked back to check on Zoey she had her back to me, and was tipping a cup up and drinking something. I was not too worried cuz I just assumed it was someone's root beer from the party but...nope! When she turned around she had a cup of beer in her hands and was smackin' her lips! I was so shocked that I just yelled her name. Well she spilled some of the beer on her clothes and the owner of the beer cup turned around to see her holding it. Thank goodness I got to her before he did and I grabbed the beer, handed it to him and grabbed Zoey. He mumbled something about his cup being full at one time and now it was only 3/4 th of the way full. I just gave him a dirty look and walked away. I wasn't sure how much she drank but when she breathed on me I about passed out. She certainly had enough to cause wino breathe and her clothes smelled like beer as well.

My first thought was, WHAT HAVE I DONE!! Now my child can't say that she is alcohol free...EVER! But then my friend told me that if she really got a good swig of beer she'll sleep well tonight and I was calm again!!

This isn't her at the birthday party, but it is a frequent thing she does!

























Here's some more cute pics of Zoey:

Parent Teacher thingy`

Last night was parent teacher conferences and I was a little nervous about going in. I think I was basing my kids level of academic skills on how well I homeschooled them.

Jaed's teacher said that he was doing great and had no concerns academically or socially. What??? I know.....it's great!! We know he is super smart but we also were ready to hear about any problems socially he might be having, but we didn't hear any such thing. YIPPPEEE!! His teacher is also going to recommend him for the gifted and talented program as well. WAY TO GO JAED!!

Josie's teacher is very nice young girl (yes, I said she was a girl. She can't be older than 25!). She said that Josie is starting to raise her hand and answer questions and seems to be making friends in class. Academically, she has concerns. We're not surprised because we have concerns as well. She is struggling with retaining things and reading. She does seem to pick up on the math quite quickly, so we're very happy about that. We discussed things we can do to get her the help she needs and I do feel confident that Josie will get the help she needs because I won't accept anything less than that. Thayne and I are determined to make sure she succeeds and is not left behind!

Indiya's teacher couldn't say enough about Indi. She called Indi a "true delight", a "great worker", a "very kind child" and ended it by saying "I love having her in my class!". That is exactly what every parent wants to hear. She also went on to say that Indi is in the top of her class and she will be submitting Indi's name for the Gifted and Talented class. She said that she is more on a second grade level than a first grade level. WOW!! We weren't expecting that but we're happy for her!