Vacation at the Amana Colonies

About the middle of April we found a groupon for hotel stay at a waterpark in the Amana Colonies. Originally we booked it thinking we may go with some of my siblings or parents. However, as the events unfolded, we were the only ones to purchase this groupon and it appeared we would be going solo. As much as we love my family and would have been happy to have them there, we started to get excited about having our own little family vacation. We were about a month out from my due date, expecting our fifth, so a little time away for some R & R was just what the doctor ordered!

We left on a Saturday morning for Williamsburg, about an hour and a half away. The trip was uneventful. We felt very blessed to be starting off on this little family adventure. Even though it was only a hundred miles away we were about to disconnect for about four days and the thought was very exciting!

We couldn't check into our Hotel until 4pm, so we decided to visit the Amana Colonies first. We bought tickets that let our whole family into four museums for only $14. There are about seven villiages on a 17 mile loop, and we were able to hit all of them on this first day. Spending time in two free Museums, and three of the ones that we paid to get in. It was a long day but we had a great time learning about this unique history in Iowa. We went back for one more day, hitting the rest of the museums and seeing the sights. If you have never been the the Amana Colonies, I do recommend it. It was fun and the kids have already asked to go back!

We stayed in the Wasserbahn Water Park Resort and the kids were impressed. They couldn't get enough of the swimming, except for the fact that the water was freezing! This was pretty much how we spent our vacation. Going to the Amana Colonies and swimming. We were also very close to Iowa City so we took a walk down memory lane seeing Mommy's old college and dorm. We walked around Kinnick. Justice was insistent that Nana and Papa B. were in the stadium, which was pretty funny!

All in all, it was a great vacation and we had a wonderful time!

Expectation: The Greatest Killer of Joy

Sometimes life gets a little out of control. I get that. It has been out of control at my house for several years. Yep, you read that right, several. That means many. Exactly how many, well I am not quite sure- see the part about being out of control. Working pretty much full time for friends and family while at the same time housekeeping and homeschooling really made my life just crazy . If you know anything about me, you know I like to be in control, to have it all together. So yes, I was very stressed and had become a bit of what I like to call "monster mommy". So after eliminating everything except the homeschooling and housekeeping I figured out something interesting... I was still stressed and my life still felt out of control and I was still monster mommy. I actually asked Tim if I could hire a maid. You can about imagine his response. "Really?!?!" Or something to that effect. After I stewed about how insensitive to my needs he was, I realized he was right. There really wasn't anything more I could eliminate. That eliminating things wasn't the solution. It hadn't helped and it wasn't going to help. I could take away everything but until I just surrendered to my situation I was still going to find something to be stressed about.

So in the past few months I have realized that I am stressed mainly because of two things. My kids aren't perfect. I am not perfect. And instead of continuing to expect perfection out of them and me, I realized I just need to change my expectations. Afterall, expectation is the greatest killer of joy! With the changing of my expectations I have realized two things. I am not nearly as stressed and I am no longer monster mommy. My kids are still not perfect, but they aren't monsters either. Just because I don't expect perfection doesn't mean we aren't striving toward being the best people we can possibly be.

It has been refreshing not living life constantly stressed and always a moment away from break down. I am so thankful for friends and family that have helped me through some tough times over the past few years. As we look to embark on a new year, I really don't know what the future will hold. I do know that I will curb my expectations and be thankful for this life God has gifted me. To quote a recent blog post I read- it doesn't get any better than this! You can keep the expectations, I will take the JOY!!!!

Homeschool Tumbling Recital

Every year for the past four years our children have participated in the recital for Homeschool Tumbling. An organization which has been around for the past 20 years in our area. Our kids go once a week, during the school year, to practice their tumbling skills. At the end of the year there is a recital and each class does a routine. This year, Peyton and Ronni were in a class togethr, and Felicity was in her own class. On top of that Peyton was selected to be in another performance of all boys. So our children were in three routines, as well as nieces and close friends who participated as well! It was such a fun recital and each year just promises to be more and more exciting.

This event sure does make for an "exciting" April (read busy), with classes Tuesdays and Thursdays to practice their regular routine, and then an extra practice on Wednesday for Peyton's special. Busy or not, we are so blessed to be able to participate in this program.

This year the theme for the recital was Our Town.

This is our kids the evening after the first performance- they were so nervous they didn't eat before hand so they came home and ate their dinner at 10:30 at night!

Felicity, the youngest redhead, getting her hair fixed before the performance. She is a Chef.

 

Peyton, the only boy, is  Diner in the first pictures, and then his special, Highway Patrol. Yep he got the badge and the hat, not the gun or handcuffs though. While I think this is a smart decision, he was a little bummed.

 

 

 

 

Veronica, the oldest redhead girl, is also in the diner performance with Peyton.

Normally it is so easy to pick my kids out of the routine, the red hair you know. Not so easy this year with the hats!

 

Peyton is the boy in the very front. Rockin his headstand. His dad is so proud.

 

Justice was not to be outdone... Here he is at Nana and Papa Burke's the second night of the show. He got a sleepover with his cousin Jon. We were very thankful for that!

Timothy- the oldest child in our family (totally kidding :) even got in on the fun. He was a Newsie.

Tim impressing the audience with his awesome headstand!

You may notice the bearded man he is holding up in the sugar bowl, that is our very own Uncle Matt!  

Hey! Down in front! Tim is on the left hand side, and Matt is on the right.

 As I mentioned, we had some friends and cousins in the performane as well, here are some pictures of their performances.

The Cousins

 

Group Shot

 

 Bethany in her "special", Ice Cream Shop.

 Bethany winning one of the Student of the year prizes.

Madeleine and Emma in their Hospital routine... Madeleine is the girl doing the splits in the front and emma is on one of the human stretchers.

 

Leah is the lady bug on the far right, look at that air! Great Job, Leah!

All of the cousins with Nana and Papa B! Thanks for coming!

 

Our good friends! Tumbling just wouldn't be the same without them for OH so many reasons!!! So glad to share this night with them!

 

What a great time! Hope you enjoyed the pictures... we sure enjoyed the show!  
 

Blogging

As time has proven, I am not a blogger. That doesn't mean I don't think about this blog every once and a while. While I am sure no one even reads it anymore. I still think it may be fun to post on here every once in a while. So a Recap of our life over the last year and a half... yeah right. There is not much hope of going backward- forward is the direction that suits me best. The important thing is that we are all healthy, lovin life and doing just fine. It wouldn't be the rampage if there wasn't some added excitement here and there, but we are making it just fine! Who knows what the future holds. Hopefully more than one blog post for the next year and half but one just can't promise!

And the winner is...

We have been in our house for a few months now and we have realized we need to improve a few things. One of these things is that it only has one bathroom. Another is the kitchen. There is not nearly enough coutnertop space and there just seems to be a wall in the way. If you have ever been to our old house you know how we feel about walls. We recognized both of these things from the very start but herein lies the dilema. We can only really take on one project at a time, so which one? Over the last few months we have had the privelage of people coming over, some for just a few hours some for a few days! During this time we have been keeping track of what remodel would be the best one to do first, the kitchen or the bathroom. When a kid runs in from outside, in desperate need for a bathroom only to find a "NO VACANCY" sign we would give a point to the bathroom. When I would be in the kitchen cooking for the masses and run out of space for the food we would chalk another point up for the kitchen. Not to mention that I would be missing the terribly interesting conversation going on between the occupants of the living room- add another point! Then that same night someone would be brushing their teeth while another is waiting (albeit patiently) for a shower we would have to dole out another point for the bathroom. And on and on we would go about giving points here or there.
Ultimately, after all is said and done we had to make that really hard decision... I am happy to report that the kitchen won! It was actually pretty easy. My mom called one day and said that it had occured to her that she hadn't informed me of their thanksgiving plans. My aunt sue from Colorado and her husband were going to be in town and so we are going to get together, oh and by the way it is at your house. Was basically how the conversation went! As soon as I heard that news the decision was made... let's knock a wall!
My incredibly talented father came over the beginning of November and designed this awesome new kitchen for us. We had spent some time thinking about what we would do. Cut this wall down, add in a couple of cabinets, in an L shape and of course a bar. Sure it would eat into a lot of our walking space in our kitchen, kind of making it more galley-like, but who cares! The extra cabinet and countertop space would be worth it, right? The bar would protrude well into the dining room, but you can always just squeeze through, right? Well then mom and dad came in and blew our socks off with a completely new idea and I have to say, we are thrilled with the results so far! Of course, a remodel isn't excactly the best time in the world to misplace a camera so we don't have a whole lot of pictures of the process. But what we do have I will post on facebook when it is all said and done.
None of this would be possible without the amazing talents of my father and his incredibly patient wife. So thanks again Mom and Dad!

Ready or Not

Life has resumed, ready or not. The kids have settled into a routine here. Like I mentioned in a previous post, there are a TON of children in this neighborhood. Not a day has gone by that the kids haven't spent time outside playing with the neighbor children. They are all great kids so this new habit is sitting very well with me. I used to have to force my children to play outside! Now I have to beg them to come in. It has proved to be a useful tool to get the basement cleaned each evenig as well!
Work is work for both Tim and I. It will be nice when both of us settle into a routine as far as work goes. Between my three jobs it really feels like I am working full time. This is nice, for obvious reasons, we have some pretty ambitious goals, but figuring out how to keep the house clean and the clothes cleaned and kids cleaned has been a bit of a challenge. We are working on this...

School has started, ready or not. So far we are... surviving. I have a lot of ideas of how to run "my school". I look forward to the day that all of these ideas are put into practice and I can say we are thriving. That day is not today. We are still doing okay. Like I said, we are surviving. The kids have their different strong suits, and it has been really interesting seeing how they differ. They both love it when we do art, nature walks and singing, however Peyton is going to be a little reader where Veronica would much rather do ten math lessons in place of one reading lesson. She is just not motivated in that area. But her penmanship is excellent, where getting peyton to write a straight line is a struggle. Like I said, they are two very different kids, and I am thankful for the opportunity to get to know them this intimately. Now not wanting to bop their heads together when they are challenging me that is another story... (don't worry thus far their heads are bop free!)

Church responsibilities are abounding, ready or not. It never really felt like they took a break so this isn't all that different. The part that is new is that the children have started their classes again. When I told the kids that we were going to be going to "church school" the first day the results were a little unexpected. They literally got up from their chairs, started jumping up and down, hugging each other and screaming. I was ecstatic to see this response, to say the least.
I am teaching again this year, 3 different sessions, which is a bit much. I really enjoy sharing this time with the children though, so whatever hardship three sessions may be it is made up for by the children and joy I receive from them. I am also very involved with the Respect Life Group both at our church and in the diocese. This is definitely where my passion lies and I am excited to be a part of this life saving movement.
Tim is Grand Knight at our parish, and the responsibilities this includes are many. WAY more than when he was just deputy. I am not sure he was expecting this, but I think he is handling his new role admirably. In just a couple of weeks he will be going through his Fourth Degree, the highest level as a Knight of Columbus. He just bought his tux and is very excited for this ceremony. I am delighted for him. Between all of these activities we have meetings or sessions nearly every night. This makes for a busy schedule, but ulitmately we are glad to offer this to our Lord.
Children are growing fast, ready or not. Veronica will be seven in just one short week, Felicity will be three. These girls are getting so big, so fast. Felicity is close to being potty trained, and in light of three other children, a move and working full time, I am pleased with this development. Sure the other ones were done with diapers (even overnight) by the time they were three or there abouts, but life changes and so do our expectations. The fact that she is even a little bit potty trained is a source of happiness for me! Her language has also grown leaps and bounds in the last few weeks. I am sure there are only a precious few that understand what she is saying, but at least she is talking! As for Veronica it seems sometimes that she is a grownup in a seven year old's body. She is so helpful with Justice and around the house. The things she says and the way she acts makes me want to just stop time and keep her like this forever. Other times she acts like a 5 year old in a seven year old's body and I am reminded that she is indeed seven and I look forward to her growing up. Peyton and Justice are doing great right now too. Peyton is a typical five year old. Whatever that means. Justice is a sweet baby, he is teething right now, so it is really important for us to remember he is a sweet baby.

Well ready or not, life goes on. And as you can tell, there is a lot going on right now. We continue to count our blessings and just know that this (craziness) too shall pass. Either that or we will adapt and crazy will become our new normal. Whatever the case may be, right now is our time to thrive, ready or not.

My kids are a bit wild today!

So after one month of being homeless we finally have a home. We closed on our new house on July 29th. Justice's half birthday. When I think of it this way I can do nothing but be amazed at the greatness of God. I had no idea, when Justice was born that our life would go the way it has. We owe a lot to my dad for even making that crazy, hairbrained suggestion that we try to qualify for a mortgage while still having a mortgage! Who knew that we would even qualify for anything let alone enough to purchase this home. Who knew that finding great renters would just fall into place the way it did. Obviously God did, and after all this time I don't know why it still amazes me, but it does.

So what is life like now you ask? Well much the same it has been for the last couple of months. In fact, one day recently, we still lived at my parents house, Veronica was playing mom, her children were Jon (my nephew), Felicity, and Peyton, she was trying to get them to do something and finally she threw herself into a chair, looked at me and said "my kids are a bit wild today." I told her I knew the feeling! In fact it pretty much sums up my life to this point.

So the house: We purchased a split foyer home in North West Ankeny. It has three bedrooms one bathroom upstairs, and one bedroom and one bathroom that needs remodeling downstairs. When I say needs remodeling that includes needing a sink and toilet, shower and a floor because presently there is not any of those things.
There is a fresh coat of paint throughout the house as well as new carpet. We have a fenced in backyard, which has been really nice for the dogs (excluding the times the dogs figured out how to get out!) and a really weird three tier deck that I am starting to get used to. We have a formal dining room and living room. The kitchen is an eat-in kitchen that we will eventually tear a wall down and put in a bar to open it up and add more cabinet/countertop space.
The bedrooms are all pretty good sized. For the first time the kids have room to play in their bedrooms so each of them have a few toys that they get to keep in there. This has worked out pretty nicely. The master bedroom is also huge!! We actually have a rocking chair in our room.
There is a pretty big playroom in the basement which is also nice for the kids. Also in the basement is another living space, where we have a love seat and four chairs, as well as a game table and our desk. It is pretty big!
As for the neighborhood- I feel like we moved to a small town. We have great neighbors, all very friendly. Everyone knows everyone, we have already had a block party and it has become pretty evident that 4 children in a family is by no means a large family on this block. There are sooooo many kids! It was a bit of an adjustment the first week we lived here. Little kids rang the doorbell what felt like constantly asking if the kids could come out and play. Just about the time when our kids were going to bed, the rest of the neighborhood really started hopping. We have worked on boundaries with the kids and I am sure it will all settle down as the school year progresses!

All in all we are pretty excited about the house. We have had to do a few repairs, but nothing too hard for us (Tim) to do, and not too expensive. We have a lot of other projects we want to do but nothing pressing. As each day goes by it starts feeling more and more like home. I can feel the "wild" is starting to subside just a bit. We are getting settled into the house and neighborhood and we are close to starting school again. Whatever normal is is starting to return. Until that day actually arrives you will just have to excuse me because my kids are a bit wild today!