Christmas... in August???

I love the fall as I am sure many of you already know! I supposed my blog background doesn't give that away at all. My other confession...I LOVE the Christmas season too! I am sure most of you think I am crazy, but I can't help it...I love the fall/winter seasons, and I am not afraid to show it! Another nugget of fun is that I have managed to pass my love for these seasons to Abi. This morning when she got dressed, she put on her Mr. Man Show Christmas shirt! Of course we had to make a trip to Hobby Lobby for the perfect photo op!

Before summer does come to a screeching halt, we did manage to get out in the sunshine at least once! Last weekend we washed the cars- not our prettiest moments, but a lot of fun!

One day last week, Mark came home with a sore back. No worries though because Abi took care of the issue! She is a self-proclaimed professional masseuse!!!

Summer Visits

Mark's grandpa, Papa, turned 81 this month and of course there was a Brewer gathering. Normally we all head to his ranch, but this time Mark's dad and Wendy offered their casa up.

I love Papa! He has some of the neatest stories I have ever heard. Just listening to some of his childhood stories are captivating. Also, he and Mark always have some back and forth. Mark picks on him, but Papa turns around and gets him back, and that keeps me laughing!

Papa and his cake!

Papa still gettin' stuff done! I hope I am still up and about when I'm his age!!!

It was so awesome to see everyone. Aaron and Georgiet even drove in from San Angelo. They got here late Wednesday night and left Sunday night. There boys, Zay and Bastian, are getting so big, and are SO cute!!!! Zay is sweet and quiet. Bastian is louder, but very loving (he always gives hugs). Ausitn and Abi had tons of fun playing with the boys. Zay asked Aaron Saturday if they could stay "for just 6 more weeks"!

Two Brew Crews!!!

Zay, Abi, Austin, and Bastian

Aaron, Sluz, and Mark (wearing Papa's 80th birthday t-shirt)

Simple Fun

I have been trying so hard to come up with creative and fun things to do with the kids. I was over thinking it.Today, while cleaning out the fridge, I suggested that the kids and I take some old hamburger buns to a nearby neighborhood lake to feed the ducks. It turned out to be one of the best ideas I think I've ever had!! As we were pulling into the lot, I was a little worried that it was maybe too hot for the ducks to be out. I could only see two or three, so I was wondering where they were. We parked behind some hedges, so we were blind for a minute. I turned the corner and was nearly attacked by as many as thirty very hungry quacking ducks!! Austin and Abi were giggling so sweetly! The bread went very quickly. Austin said that one refused to wait for him to drop a pinch, and jumped to eat it out of his hand. There were also close to twenty red eared sliders, an aquatic turtle. I only know that because we googled them as soon as we got home so we would know what they eat for our next visit. They were huge!! So, a simple visit to a duck pond turned out to be one of the funnest things we have done all summer.

The 4th and Moving on

Our 4th of July was a lot of fun this year! We went to Jewett, Texas to visit my parents and see lots of family. I met my niece, Jacalynn, for the first time, too. Everyone on the roster: Grammy, Papa, Aunt Lulu, Uncle Kieth, James,Ronda, Cheyenne, Justin, Paris, Uncle Rusty, Uncle Chuck, Aunt Debbie, Courtney, Hailey, Bubba, Jimbo, Rita, Jacalynn, and Alisha. It was a full house. We stayed up late, flipped through old photo albums, talked about old stories, and caught up on our lives now. It rained most of the weekend, so most of the time was spent indoors. We did eventually make it out to the lake for a peep at the beautiful scenery!

Hailey, Austin, and Justin

   Me, Courtney, Aunt Debbie, and Cheyenne

Jimbo and Abi

Abi and Paris

Abi and Jacalynn

Austin and the horses

The whole group

I am done with summer. Unfortunately, I live in Houston, Texas. This means that I still have several months of not only hot, but very sticky weather left! We have been pretty lucky this summer, it has been raining A LOT! Even though the hotness hasn't been that bad, I am ready to move on to the fall. The fall is, after all, my most favorite season. So, even though Houston's weather will not catch up with me until much later, I am moving on to the fall. Homeschooling is on my radar, I am getting geared up by getting things organized! There is a homeschooling conference at the end of July, I know what curriculum I am using, and I know what I want to do in the house to make it more HSing friendly.  There is lots to do, and much to look forward to.

Serious sewing!

Some things I've made lately, but forgot to post pics of:

Abi's 4th of July dress

A summer dress for Abi

A skirt/halter combo and pj set for Kelly

Nothing too fancy, but wanted to make sure I had a record!

The Rundown

So, I have been dreaming up ways to incorporate my projects into our one income family...and the results have not been pretty! My latest project that I have wanted to work on is making our backyard usable! As you can tell from the pictures, BORING doesn't do it justice. There is nothing interesting about it, and quite frankly, our family pretty much avoids it at all times. I want to change that. I want it to be another living space. This project is not going to be a cheap or easy fix- I see a lot of manual labor in my future! After visiting one of my favorite websites, I came up with a pretty cool idea. I am going to try to redo our backyard without spending any money! I want to see if I can get everything I need from bartering or through recycling. Two of the websites I will probably use the most is freecycle.com or craigslist.com I am positive that it will be a long process. I will let you know when something new comes along.     

The kids had a great visit with Grammy. They were there for five days total, and swam at least four of them! While they were there, they got to meet their new cousin, Jacalyn, for the very first time. Abi said she thinks Jacalyn is just so cute and just wanted to kiss her all day! Austin said he didn't want to hold her because he didn't want to stop playing. Austin also described how he was much better at shooting his BB gun than Uncle Jimbo. Grammy later informed me that the can they used for target practice had been used before, but Uncle Jimbo just didn't have the heart to tell Austin!!! I was very glad for them to be home, I missed them very much!

This week we have Vacation Bible School. Naomi and I are working in the preschool area again this year. I have to say, I am not match for their energy, but I really love getting to know each kid! If I make another post, then you will know that I survived the week!

Some funny quotes from the kids this month:

While pulling out of a parking lot, another lady tried to pull in the same lot but on the wrong side of my car. I instinctively start yelling, "what are you doing, you crazy driver!" Abi in the backseat says, "that lady is kind of like a bird, she thinks she can just poop where ever she wants to".

While shopping for a shirt for Mark for father's day, I found what I thought to be a very nice short-sleeve button up in the popular colors of blue and chocolate brown. I picked it up and asked the kids, "what about this one?" Austin says, "Yeah, sure, then we can go find him a shirt with hearts all over it!!!"

Those silly kids keep me laughing!!!

What's New?

Today is June 2, 2010. Today is the last day that Austin and Abi will be in public school (at least until High School). I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I am excited to be the one to teach my children, to actually be the one raising them instead of their teachers and school administration. I have been looking at curriculum, researching field trips, trying to think of science projects, gathering information of local co-ops, and deciding how to go about making sure they get proper exposure to physical activity and music. The process has turned out to be a lot of learning for me!

Austin will need to be challenged. He does not need a lot of repetition, and he enjoys trying to figure things out for himself; however, he will be lazy if I allow it. I have a feeling the hardest task for me will be staying one step ahead of him. I do not worry much about Austin, I know his desire to learn will overtake my inefficiencies!

Abi is a very hands-on/kinesthetic learner. In this last grading period at school she went from an on-level 'C' reader (end of Kindergarten) to an 'H' reader (end of first grade). At home we made her read everything from the menu at a restaurant to a set of books that I brought home from the library. The more she does it (especially when it benefits her), the better she understands it. She also recently started asking Mark to do math with her every night before she goes to bed. He writes several problems down for her and she goes through and answers them. Mark focused on bigger numbers, particularly on multiples of 10. She has done so well! I hope that she keeps the want to learn well into our school year. I do worry about Abi though, because she is a firecracker! If she is not interested in something, there is nothing I, or anyone, can do to make her interested in it. That will be my challenge for her.

Our homeschooling year will start officially on September 1, 2010.

Now that I have all of that off my chest, I can put down what's been going on in the Brewer house. For the most part, things are very calm. Mark and I have been working hard on making a budget and sticking to it. It is hardest for me since I am home all day and I am a shop-a-holic! There are a lot of things I want to do, so I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize! 

I have been sewing a lot lately. I made a costume for Becca's Roman day at school, a dress for Kelly's birthday, and I'm in the process of making Kelly a skirt and halter top combo. I have some other ideas in the works for a little boy dinosaur quilt, a little boy baseball outfit, and a couple of other things. I've also been making lots of hair bows lately. I've listed them on my etsy account, but haven't had any luck selling them yet. I haven't really pushed the whole etsy thing because I'm afraid I'll get burnt out of sewing. I really like doing it right now, and I just don't want to lose that 'umf'!

Anyway, I'm so happy to be starting the summer. When the seasons change it gives me new periods of time to look forward to. I look forward to hanging out with Naomi and the girls. I look forward to hearing about the kids' visit  with Grammy and Papa. I look forward to meeting my new niece. I look forward to lounging daily at the swimming pool. When I keep "the looking forward" attitude, I realize how blessed I am. Thank you God, for everything!!!