Friday, February 17, 2012

He Got it!


Joshua received some mail today.


You know he's been watching the mailbox, like a hawk, for days now.


 And today was the day. His license came!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A Valentines I Won't Soon Forget

Valentines Day is a great day to give a little extra attention to the ones you love. And there's no better way to say I LOVE YOU than with CHOCOLATE!!!



We discovered a new store (well not really new... just new to us), that sells wonderful German chocolate. I thought these chocolate Hippos were funny. Perfect for Joshua.


These are some kind of chocolate covered cookie cones. They looked really yummy. Since they didn't have nuts in them and were not chewy or sticky they would be just right for Seth. Orthodontist approved! ;o)


And for Noah, chocolate covered sunflower seeds. One of his favorites. We have had these before from Trader Joe's. Another yummy choice!

Mike received some German mint chocolate squares. I also got him some of this coffee that's made  in Italy. He has been eying it for a while now.

What happened next was the scariest thing that has happened to me ever!...


 

Take a close look at the picture above... do you see it? Yep, that's my van leaving my street...

 

And this one was right before that when it was going by my house...



And here its leaving my driveway...


Okay... do you see it now? Someone is in MY van getting ready to drive away!!!!



Can you make them out now?...

Yea, you guessed it, it's Joshua. He got his drivers license on Friday. This is the first time he is going out alone.   


He was not happy about me taking all these pictures. He will get over it soon enough! Not only is he going out without me or his daddy, he is taking his brothers with him. Mike had arranged for the boys to go to a friends house for the evening so we could have some alone time. He stopped at Whole Foods on the way home and grabbed dinner so I wouldn't have to cook. It was great! I didn't have to do a thing. He also gave me a present which was a DVD copy of my favorite movie, Pride and Prejudice. We had a relaxing dinner while watching Mr. Darcy win Lizzie's heart AGAIN! It was most agreeable!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

What We've Been Up To...

Wow! I can't believe its February already. After the hustle and bustle of Christmas we have finally settled back into somewhat of a normal routine again. The past month has been filled with many good things like...

 

Training our new puppy, Phinehas. He has been a great addition to our family. As you can see even our first born (canine), Mordecai, has grown to love him too. Don't let the above photo fool you though... Mordecai is still the top dog around here and he's not about to let some little scrappy puppy come in and steal his place. He reminds Phinehas of this quite often!


In January, Joshua and Seth started attending Civil Air Patrol meetings. (You can check out their website here.)They have decided to join CAP and I am so excited. CAP is like military for kids. They teach leadership skills along with many other important skills. The boys go to a meeting once a week and practice drills, learn new skills, have PT (physical training). They will be entering as cadet airman basic, but have the opportunity to move up the ranks by passing written and PT tests. As they progress ranks they have more and more leadership responsibilities.

CAP is actually affiliated with the Air-force and can in some situations be sent on real life missions. If they so desire they can start learning to fly at age 14. The CAP cadets run the local air-show that comes to town once a year. They plan and run everything! Adults are there to supervise and for safety reasons, but the cadets pretty much do it all.

The boys have already had the opportunity to take a class on first aid and blood born pathogens. They are going to learn soooo much. I wish we had discovered this years ago. The boys have officially joined and are waiting to receive their id numbers. They have purchased their BDU'S (battle dress uniform) and are learning how to wear them and how to press them. This is no joke...the pockets have to be pressed completely flat and the coat and pants should have no wrinkles.




Joshua wouldn't let me get a picture of him ironing... so this is what I got. He was being silly. Along with signing up for CAP Joshua has decided to take some classes at our local community college. They have a program specifically designed for homeschoolers that want to earn some dual enrollment credits before they graduate high school. He has taken the placement test and is looking into the EMS program. We are still waiting to hear when he can actually begin classes. We found out that through CAP he can earn credits also for EMS training. They have an EMS division within CAP. I know the skills and knowledge they obtain through CAP will help them now and in the future.

Sometimes as moms we can worry about our children who seem to have not found their direction, but then it just happens. The Lord brings it all together. One of our favorite verses in the bible is... And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Now that doesn't mean that we wont have bad things happen to us or that we only experience GOOD things. What it does mean is that we can have confidence that whatever IS happening to us is in God's hand and He is working ALL of it for our ultimate good. Our number one goal is to live a life that brings glory to Him no matter what we are going through. So we continue to draw near to Him and trust His plan for our lives.