Appointments, Appointments, Appointments!

Doctor's appointments are nothing new in our family.  We have a son who has special needs and another who has had heart problems.  Of course, almost all of their appointments are with specialists who are 1 1/2 hours away.  That makes these appointments a half day or longer away from home.  I am thankful for these doctors~don't get the wrong impression.  I just wish we didn't need them. 

Today we had an appointment for our oldest son with his rheumatologist.  The appointment went well~in fact, he can stop taking some medications.  This was a great relief.  We are hoping that the antibiotic injections that he is getting each month will do the trick.  (We found out in early fall that he has been harboring a strep infection that has been attacking his heart~causing inflamation around his heart and other problems.  He had open heart surgery 2 1/2 years ago due to two holes in his heart and problems with his pulmonary veins.)  He has not had any heart problems since early June.  We are very thankful for that.  We are praying that this will be the end of those problems.  It is always scary when something happens with his heart.  We always go back in our minds to his  surgery~and we don't want to go through that again!

Tomorrow is an appointment for our middle son, Friday is checkups with our family doctor for two of the kids, and Monday is yet another appointment.  Thankfully after that we have a few weeks before any more appointments!

Just another week in our life!  Starting homeschooling with our oldest son is off to a "running" start!  Our life is always interesting~blessed, but interesting!!

I pray you are having a less hectic week!

Blessings,

Project 365~January 2011

One of the goals I wanted to start this year is Project 365.  You take a picture everyday of something that will remind you of what you did that day.  I have some friends who did this last year.  At the end of the year I would like to put all the pictures into an album to remember 2011.  Here's my start for this year.

Day 1

Fun times with Daddy!

Day 2

Playing together

Day 3

Making cookies together

Day 4

Sibling fun!

Day 5

Cleaning a bedroom~can you see why??

Day 6

We love legos!

Day 7

A light snowfall

Day 8

Blurry picture, I know, but it was his first time trying to put his own pants on completely by himself!  Who needs 2 leg holes in pants?

Day 9

Our youngest son with his great grandpa~Almost 90 years between them!

Day 10

painting the tea set she got as a present

Day 11

One of our bushes after a snowfall

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Blessings,

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY~January 11, 2011
Outside my window... sun is trying to come out, but otherwise just dreary and cold!
I am thinking...about our homeschooling schedule
I am thankful for...a nice weekend with family for our last Christmas party
From the kitchen...cheesy potatoes and ham, peas, applesauce
I am wearing...jeans and long sleeved green shirt
I am creating...some burp cloths
I am going...get my new year's goals posted this week (I know that was last weeks goal, too!)
I am reading... Bible~daily!
I am praying...for guidance with some goals
I am hearing...nothing!!  All the kiddo's are involved in quiet play!
Around the house...laundry started, clean bathrooms, vaccum floors
One of my favorite things...peace in the family
A few plans for the rest of the week...music lessons, and a few doctor's appointments this week.  Our daughters piano recital is Saturday~we're excited for it!
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

just a small portion of the bedroom we cleaned last week.  How can one boy have such a mess???

 Thanks for stopping by.  To read more daybooks, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook.  Have a great week!

Blessings,

Frugal Living...Make It Yourself!

Our family loves taco's.  We have them several times a month.  It is easy~our 12 year old loves to make them~and it is a fairly inexpensive meal.  One way we make it more economical is to make our own taco seasoning.  This recipe is one that our family likes the best, and really does taste like the store bought seasoning.  I got it online from a blog, unfortunately I didn't write down where.  So if you are reading this saying..."Hey, that is my recipe!", let me know and I will be happy to give you credit!! (c:

Taco Seasoning
2 Tbsp dried Oregano
2 Tbsp salt (I do use less that this, though)
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion flakes
2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp black pepper

Mix together in a small container.  Add 1-2 Tbsp of mix per pound of ground beef as your family likes it.

Enjoy!!

Blessings,

A New Season in Our Home

There has been a slight change in our household over the Christmas break.  We have decided to homeschool our oldest son.  Some of you may remember that homeschooling has been something I have been thinking and praying about for a very long time.  It is truely my hearts desire to homeschool my children.  My husband was not on board with it.  He was content with how things were.  I have been praying for a long time for God to either change my husbands heart, or take the desire to homeschool out of my heart.

Our oldest son has been struggling in school for some time now.  He struggles academically (while he will get things, he must work extra hard to understand the assignments), but also struggles socially.  It has been a hard couple of years for him.  He has been struggling so much that he was having physical problems.  He came to me and asked if I still wanted to homeschool, because he would really like to be homeschooled.  My husband said yes without hesitation.

So now we are heading down a path that I have been praying about for several years and I find I have fear about it.  I would like to school all of our kids at home, but for now we are just schooling him.  Our oldest daughter is in 8th grade and has absolutely NO desire to be homeschooled.  She is very social and would like to continue at the school where she is at.  We are still praying on that one.  Our middle son is continuing at school for now as well.  He is autistic and is very rigid about his schedules.  He has an awesome teacher right now who is so in touch with his needs that we decided it was best for him to stay at school until I have a better understanding of how homeschooling will go.  Maybe in the fall...we'll see where God leads us.

So if you desire, I would definately appreciate prayers for guidance and wisdom as we set out on this adventure.  I am excited for it all to start (we are waiting for some materials-we ordered from Rod and Staff) and our son is excited to start as well.  I'll keep you posted on how things are going.  In the meantime, if you have any advice, I would love to hear it!  Thanks!

Blessings,