Birthdays, Surgery, and the Start of Summer

Well this week's end is already here and its nearly June. I can not believe how fast time is flying by. I normally like to post on Friday but this week is a little different. Tomorrow Cameron is having knee surgery at noon central time and it will be Taylor's ( our 3rd child and daughter) 15th birthday. Today is Jodee's ( our first born) 17th birthday. So while I had a moment I decided to post. Next week Ill include some pictures of our birthday celebrations and of Cameron's recovery, plus I'll have pictures of our new little one, Sarah, from our 32 week u/s that we will get next Friday. 
Birthdays are a special day around our house because normally everyone shares the work load and we all have our specific jobs, even me. But on your birthday, you have a free pass to "no chores" and a pretty  relaxing day if you choose that. We always have the dinner selection of the birthday guy or gal, and a yummy homemade cake and some ice cream and usually chips and dip. The only exception is the Sweet 16 for our girls. I plan a pretty big get together with a theme picked by the daughter, and a professional cake with a venue that is decorated especially to their liking. Last year I didn't spare any expense on it  for Jodee, who happened to be our first child to turn 16. Savannah turns 16 this year, but since she is living outside our home, we won't be throwing her a sweet 16, but would be if she was here. We are already thinking of ideas for Taylor's sweet 16, which will oddly enough be held on Jodee's 18th birthday! Ahhhh.... The joys of having children exactly 2 years and 1 day apart. :-) Tonights menu will include:


                                     Chili Cheese Hotdogs and Chili Cheese Fries
                                     Homemade Birthday Cake
                                     Ice Cream
                                     Sweet Tea

Tomorrow is Cameron's surgery, but we still plan on enjoying Taylor's birthday cake when we return home from the surgery center :-) She is so understanding and doesn't mind that she may have to do some extra things on her birthday that normally she doesn't. Thank the Lord for these understanding girls I have been blessed with! Jodee and Taylor are truly sent from God and I always thank him for them and all they do ( and them too) every. single. day.  Tomorrow's menu for Taylor's birthday will include:


                                    Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza
                                    Cheesy Bread
                                    Homemade Birthday Cake
                                    Ice Cream
                                    Sweet Tea

We usually celebrate just as a family. My cousin and his girlfriend ( who live in our neighborhood and is more like a brother to me) sometimes come, as do my husband's sister and our brother in law ( who also live in our neighborhood), and my in-laws. We may have a larger get together for a 1st birthday but other than 16, its just us! We like it that way and feel that we would rather do that, than some big get together every year, which actually ends up being more stressful than enjoyable. 

Since tomorrow is Cameron's surgery, I would like to ask for some specific prayer request:
                              1) Peace for Cameron about his surgery
                              2) Successful surgery and a good, easy, recovery
                              3) For Cameron to be able to receive his short term disability asap
                              4) For he and I to be able to enjoy his "vacation"
                              5) For our children as they adjust to him being home

We are also closing on the refinance on our home next week Lord willing. Please pray that all that goes well and quickly and  that we can be signed and closed on it by this time next week. We are so excited for this opportunity to get out of debt and have a small payment for such a short amount of time. Thats another story I'll share later.

Well Jodee's cake is about to ding in the oven and its time to fix lunch, then this momma is taking a nap! Im exhausted and ready for bed. Pregnancy at 34 is much different than at 24! But praise the Lord for this sweet baby blessing He is allowing us to have <3 We are blessed way beyond measure!
Praying for God's blessings in your lives! Have a great weekend and upcoming week.

Love~
Maudie

                                              Me and Jodee in our backyard last week

                                            Jodee and my 80 year old mother on Easter 2015

Whats Happening on the Homestead~ May 22, 2015~

We've had a pretty normal week here around the house. The big kids and I have been going about our normal routines and keeping our chores done. With a family as large as ours, cleanliness and organization is a MUST! So a chore list that is reasonable and clearly posted is a huge part of that. We try to divide everything that needs to be done, equally among myself and the 3 older children. Since we've got on top of all of it, the list has become fairly easy to get done every day. Of course Sundays are our day of rest and we only do the bare minimum on that day. I've also tried to get really purposeful on our meals and menu planning. That helps a lot. Can I just say I LOVE my crockpot?!
Next Friday my sweet husband, Cameron, will be having a minor knee surgery. Since he will be out of work quiet a few weeks, Im trying my best to get an "emergency plan" in place and make sure we keep the homestead going as usual without to much variation. As Im sitting here typing this, my sweet little Sarah Elizabeth is steadily kicking my Macbook. This is a reminder that our summer will have a lot of events that will change the course of our schedule. Again, thats why an emergency plan is going to be SO important. Especially for me. I thrive on order and routine.My children do too! The super relaxed, zero type of plan days, do not work for us. Once I have my "emergency plan" laid out, I'll share it here, in case any one is interested. 
I want to try and share a few photos of what we've been up to lately!

            Here I am last night at 30 weeks pregnant with our newest little addition, Sarah Elizabeth

     Emily and Jackson in the back yard today, enjoying some outdoor time, and having big sister          snap their photos!

               James~ I have to say I may be partial, but I have a really handsome young man here!

                                                                  ~Little Miss Emily~

                             Our red-headed wood pecker who loves to eat from our bird feeder

                                                            ~My precious little Jonas~

Welcome to Our Homeschooling Blog

Welcome to our homeschooling blog. The purpose in starting this blog is to keep our family members and friends from afar, updated on our adventures in homeschooling. If you don't know us, and just stumbled upon our homeschooling blog, let me take a second to introduce ourselves:

Cameron and Maudie

We're the very blessed Daddy and Momma of 7,

soon to be 8, children.

From Left to Right:

The young ladies at the homestead are:

Jodee (17), Taylor (15), and Emily (5)

Not pictured is our 16 year old daughter Savannah, 

and our newest addition to the family, due to 

arrive July 2015~ Sarah Elizabeth

From largest to smallest:

The young men on the homestead are:

James(11), Jackson (4), and Jonas (2)                                                               

As of September 2015, I will be homeschooling 6 of our 7 children and our family will be a sweet soul larger, as our little Sarah Elizabeth joins our family. I have high hopes posting at least once a week, probably Fridays, to keep everyone informed about whats going on here in our schooling and at home. We look forward to sharing our adventures with you all and I hope that I can be an encouragement to someone else who is also in the trenches with littles and bigs! Its quiet the adventure, but a rewarding task none the less. I thank God daily that this is where He has me and that I have the opportunity and privilege of raising these children to hopefully one day serve Him in all they do. So stay tuned and look for updates through the summer as well. Ill try to post often!