Also...

I spent an hour and forty five minutes straightening Michaela's hair this morning.

:D Her hair is so thick and curly. Takes forever.

Troy makes me smile!

Just today he has said these things:

• Upon waking and find the boat and Daddy are both gone without him: "Why did my Daddy take that boat and what was he thinking going fishing without me?"
• While I was dressing him: "Will you please be my Mommy forever and always?"
• Aunt Karen came in crying and upset and after she left he told me: "I don't like it when she cries. It makes me angry at what made her cry. I like happy, not crying."
• He was SUPPOSED to be on the porch but instead he decided he would surprise Mommy and wash his muddy shoes with the hose. Well, he got SOAKED to the bone and when I brought him in and changed him he said "Aren't you going to spank my bottom for not obeying?" I told him "No, I  don't have any reason to spank you, just please listen to Mommy." and he said "Yeah, but, I think I need a spanking."

And then yesterday:

• I picked him up from the babysitter and he was being hateful telling me "no" when I told him to do things. I had told him earlier we would get ice cream if he was nice. When he told me no, I reminded him that we don't speak ugly and that ugly little boys did not get rewards. So, 15 minutes into our journey home, he said "Are we going to get ice cream now?". I reminded him of how he told me "no" and how he didn't deserve any ice cream. He was quiet the other 20-30 minutes of the ride home. We pulled into the driveway and he said "Momma, could you forgive me for being ugly to you? I promise I won't tell you 'no' anymore." Of course I forgave him.

These years are going to pass too quickly I love him and cherish every day at home with him so much.

Wordless Wednesday

Woo-hoo! Great trip to the mailbox!

I was on a book ordering spree last week. Today, I received these 5 books:

Family Matters, Why Homeschooling Makes Sense by David Guterson

The Well-Trained Mind, A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise

Weapons of Mass Instruction & Dumbing Us Down  by John Taylor Gatto

The Duggars: 20 and Counting by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar

Now, which one to read first???

I am going to be doing some organizing and packing today. Standing on faith that either Houston will call back, or something will come through. We have decided that we will give Houston another 2 or 3 weeks. If they don't make another move, we are going to take the house across town and Chris will just stay here for now. 

It is a pain to move, but this house is just not big enough. We don't even have a table to eat at and it drives me BONKERS. I think Troy would eat much better if we had our table again. Eating at the bar he gets too distracted and it is not interactive. Don't like it at all.

Anyhow, hope everyone is having an awesome week.

4 years this month...

It is been 4 years this month since my little Brody grew his angel wings and went to be with Jesus. I thought after 4 years this would get easier, and for the most part it is. Not a day goes by I don't think of him, wonder what he'd be like, and miss him with a feeling beyond measure. He should be here with us playing with his brother Troy. Two 3 year olds would be a hand-full, but I'd rather have my hands full that part of my heart missing. 

Most days now I don't cry. Most days I can smile when I think of him. Today is not one of those days and I think it has been building. I can't stop thinking about him and missing him. Every day we get closer to his "birth" day, I feel it so much more. Memorial weekend. The weekend we had to say goodbye before we even got to say hello. I still remember it like it was yesterday. His tiny little feet, his broad shoulders, he's cute little turned up nose (like Daddy's). It's all so fresh and yet so distant. 

So...no one remembers his day. No one mentions him. No one honors his life, even as brief as it was. Well, not "no one", but very few. I do. My husband does. My best friend ALWAYS does and acknowledges it. That is it. I just wish people knew how important it is to us to acknowledge our son. There are certain family members who NEVER have mentioned him. Mostly they are Chris' family, save his Cousin Linda and her crew (praise God for their involvement in our lives).  My family was very much there when we lost him, but even now I think they don't so much remember anymore. They know we lost him, but I don;t know if anyone even remembers *when* anymore. For them, life went on. For me, it will never be the same. The day the doctor said the words "I am so sorry Mrs. Brown, but your baby has died" are burned into my memory. Losing him changed the fabric of my being. Some people may not remember but I will never forget.

Brody, we love you and miss you every day. We look forward to the day we see you again in Heaven little man.

Let off steam

So, what do you do with crazy people? The woman who harrassed my daughter is now calling MY phone trying to apologize. I do not answer blocked numbers, and that is what she does, so I let it go to voice mail. She is saying things like "I am so sorry, I know I was wrong" and in the same breath "You have to have heard rumors about me that aren't true" and then saying "I have heard rumors about you too, but I don't believe them". Okay, I have lived here for 7 months. I know 4 people in this town. Rumors? Really? If there are rumors about e I am HIGHLY amused as there is nothing to base them on. Up at the school I talk to NO ONE. This town is not friendly, no one wants to know you here. Then, she goes on to say "I am a Christian and I must ask for forgiveness. I thought you were a Christian too and Christian's forgive others".

Okay, here; Misty you are forgiven. Please do not call me, my daughter, or anyone else associated with me. I am a Christian, and I won't pass any judgements on you and your relationship with the Lord. What I will do is say that you have exhibited signs of serious issues and I prefer not to involve myself in them. I wish you the best in life. I am so sorry for the losses you have suffered. 

ENOUGH OF THAT

Still no word back from Houston. They keep saying they want him ASAP, but then turn around and wait 3 weeks to call back. So, do we wait another 3 weeks now? Chris says he is about through waiting and that he'll just make the best of things here and ride it out. Ugh. Makes me insane. I want some sort of contentment and stability. I hate feeling like we are sitting on "go". Really I do.

WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program

Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.

This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)
This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://Jeneralities.com and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!