Victory in Jesus... :-)

Tonight at church, we sang Victory in Jesus. I enjoyed singing it...it seemed like it had been a while. Todd and I were mingled between the kids-keeping them all separate. Sarah Beth was between us-after we finished singing she says, "I like that song".....(then she starts to almost sing again-"he punched me to victory"....I got so tickled I started laughing. (I'm not too good at holding laughter in...especially in church or settings where it is not appropriate to laugh out loud-Desirae, I know you can vouch for this!!) It just struck me so funny. :-)

Teaching phonics here in Kentucky has proved to be somewhat of a challenge. All of the kids have struggled a little bit at the beginning, which I'm sure is normal....it is difficult to distinguish the vowel sound you are hearing in a word. Especially when we do not pronounce things that way. The most troublesome vowel is short e. We just don't say it like that....we should just teach kids the i sound and go on with it. For instance, on one of Spencer's phonics papers today he had to fill in the blank w/the correct vowel-the picture was of a hen. Of course, he filled in the blank w/an i, to make hin. It did surprise me a little because he does pretty good most of the time, but I understand why he did it!!! I know this would be a shock to my brother-in-law, who is from North Carolina and considers us yankees.....ha ha! :-) I couldn't imagine teaching phonics down there....they probably don't.... (just kidding, Tad!).

Another week of school....

We have been busy the last couple of days...Monday and Tuesday are Todd's full days of class. He met one of his teachers for the first time today-that class didn't meet last week. It sounds like his instructors are pretty laid back and it seems like there is a lot of "hands on"...not just textbook stuff....for that I am SO THANKFUL!! I know that will help Todd a lot. He does still have book work to do, but it just seems different than anything he has been used to.

Sarah has been practicing her i in cursive...she's getting better. She started her u yesterday...she fell to pieces at first, but then she did okay. I was so proud of her today-I could see an improvement....and no breakdowns!! I know cursive writing is frustrating for her-unfortunately she's a little "high strung", like her mother....I think.

I'll back things up a few days....on Saturday night I was ironing all of our church clothes. I had ironed Spencer a shirt already, but when he saw the clothes I was bringing up, he asked if he could wear his suit. I told him yes and I ironed him a dress shirt to wear with it. He was so impressed with how he looked after he got dressed on Sunday morning....it was so cute. Todd saw him and asked what he was preaching on....of course the girls had to keep that going. When we got to church, Spencer told my dad, "just call me Bro. Spencer". He's so silly. That night at church, the kids were playing in the gym. Spencer was riding on this scooter that's basically a plastic seat w/wheels...somehow he fell off and hit his head on the concrete floor of the gym. He's had a black eye since Mon. How ironic, on Sunday he's dressed like "the preacher"....has a black eye on Monday. I looked at his eye when he woke up Monday morning (since I figured it was going to be black and blue)...he immediately goes to check it out in the bathroom mirror. He comes out and says, "do I look tough, Mommy?" I said yes, Spencer, you look tough! Bless his heart....I know it hurt.

The kids had a good evening, playing in the back yard. It always makes me a little sad to see summer come to an end. I like the long days, warm nights, lightning bugs....of course, I know we still have some warm days ahead....I just hate to see it start getting dark early! I go through this every year! :-)

My ultrasound..... :-)

So, today was the day I got to go and see the baby!! I was so excited! Everything looked fine with the baby....it still amazes me every time I see an ultrasound. You never get tired of it! I was so tempted to find out what the baby was....I tried to catch a glimpse of anything that might give me clues, but like I told Todd, at one point I thought I saw "girl stuff" and then another time I thought I saw "boy stuff". So, I honestly have no idea! I do have a repeat scan in 4 weeks, just because the little stinker changed position and they couldn't get a good view of the 4 chambers of the heart! :-) So, once again I'll be faced with the temptation to know.... Here's a couple of pictures from today...The one on top reminds me of a frog....long legs like "its" Daddy! It was so funny to watch when she was dong the ultrasound....the baby just stretched right out on the screen! The other one of the face is sweet....I know it looks a little weird (kind of "alien-ish" according to Todd). :-)

The first days of school....

I was dreading getting back into the routine of school....it has been so nice doing whatever we wanted and not worrying about a routine!! I almost convinced myself on Sunday night to wait until next week to start school, but I'm thankful now we went ahead and started! The kids have done well....and so I have I. I was so overwhelmed, worrying about how I would handle 3...so far, so good. Sarah did cry on the first day...but just for a minute and then she was fine. That night at bedtime she said, "I can't wait for school tomorrow!" That's Sarah, unpredictable! Shelby has had a lot more work and more subjects-but she has done a good job. Spencer will have seatwork/reading starting here soon....I anticipate some belly aching over that....who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised by him, too. (I doubt it) :-)

Todd started his classes on Monday, too. His class for Tuesday was cancelled because the instructor wasn't going to be there....he was a little disappointed (supposedly). :-) I think he has enjoyed his first week of classes-he did have 2 chapters to read about electricity and had some questions to answer-at least he will have a week to do his homework assignments!

The other night we were all outside and some geese flew over. I saw the geese, but Spencer wanted to make sure I knew. He said, "Mommy we just saw a V in the sky-made out of geese."

So much going on....

We have been looking into options as far as training goes for Todd....it seemed like everything was not going to come together...then, he registered for classes yesterday!! He has a meeting today to pick up the vouchers to PAY FOR HIS CLASSES!!! It is still unbelievable to us that he will be able to attend classes and it will be paid for!! We are so thankful.

He is going to take heating and air. I think it will be a good opportunity for him-that's something he will be good at! (and our unit in our house is probably about on its last leg, so if it can just hold on for about 4 semesters Todd will be able to fix it! :-) I am excited for him....now we just have to figure out the rest of the details of work etc. I know the Lord will work it out....He's already moved this mountain! :-) He is getting to use some of the credits he earned before-I know that makes him feel good that all that time wasn't just wasted! He starts classes on MONDAY!

In other news....this was something silly from the other day. We had gone down to the property for a bonfire and Seth was walking around all over in the field. It is so uneven and he was staggering around everywhere. He was getting down closer to the fire and I was telling him to come back by me before he fell into the fire. Sarah Beth says, "come here, Seth...do you want to turn yourself into a meafloat?" She, of course, was meaning meatloaf....she is so crazy.

I guess we will start school next week. I need to get busy getting the classroom ready....I'm still being lazy!

I go back to the doctor next week and have my ultrasound....I'm anxious to see the baby. :-)

The Video

If anyone wants to see the video of the pie in my face, go to my facebook. I don't know how to link it all together, so you'll have to go there and look me up-Jennifer Grasch Williams. :-)

Happy birthday, Sarah Beth!!

Today is Sarah's birthday. She's five. We haven't done much....I've baked her 2 cakes (to be sure there is enough for everyone)...Todd has been working w/a man from our church.

I'll never forget when I found out I was pregnant with Sarah and the fear that came over me (Spencer was only about 6 mths old). I was so overwhelmed...Todd was so happy. The Lord knows what's best-and I'm glad He gave us Sarah. She definitely has added so much to our lives...there's not a day that goes by that she doesn't do something to bring a smile to my face. She is so funny.

Happy birthday, Sarah Beth. I love you.

The Moment of truth....

Well, last night was the final night of Bible school. I will not keep you in suspense....the girls ended up losing and I got the pie in the face. It was so funny. I wish I would've had a camera w/me. I know a girl took a video on her phone-I watched it after I had cleaned up some...it was hilarious!!! Todd said he feels bad because now all of the ladies at our church are going to think he's a jerk...I told him don't worry about it-I volunteered for it!

This is it....who will it be?

So, last night at Bible school the girl's came back on the offering....we ended up with a lead of about $22. That made me feel better, but I'm not too confident....I know how kids are. Spencer is loving the thought of me getting a pie in the face! I guess we'll see what happens tonight! One of us will end up getting it-and I look for Todd to try and get it on me, too, if I put it in his face....

I got to lead another girl to the Lord last night. Her name was Brittany...I think she was a friend to one of the other little girls that got saved Mon. night. Bro. Decker had more neat illustrations last night. He had one with a jar full of water that he would put drops in and the water would turn colors. At first, the water turned like a yellow-to represent sin. Then he showed how God sees sin, added more drops and the water turned black. Then, he talked about forgiveness and how Jesus died on the cross for us, added more drops and the water went back to clear. It is so funny watching the amazement on the kids' faces...especially because that's how I feel on the inside, too. :-)

I'll keep you posted on the offering and who gets the pie!

The first night of bible school...

We had a good time @ Bible school last night. Bro. Decker used several illustrations-it was a good lesson. The kids enjoyed his songs...the girls were down in the offering by about $6.00...I hope we can make up for it tonight!! I don't want a pie to the face.... :-)

The best part, for me, was that I got to lead a little girl to the Lord. It always makes me nervous, dealing with kids, I want to be sure they understand. This little girl was 7, she seemed to understand and didn't have any questions. Another little girl and a little boy got saved as well.

The only other news here is that we have been looking into getting assistance for training, so Todd may be going back to school. The program he is looking at is a two year program and he would have a diploma when he finishes-it's heating and air. I think he would enjoy that and be good at it. We'll see what happens. Just pray for us, if you think about it that the Lord will close the door, if that isn't His will.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

These are the days of our lives....

Just let me start out by saying, I don't watch that stuff...I just always struggle w/coming up with a title for my blog entries. :-)

Friday was Todd's birthday. It was a pretty low key day...I made breakfast-biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs-the rest of the day, we were home- the little boys took a nap and that night we had cake at my parent's house. He and the kids had gone to visit his parent's the day before (while I was working) and they had cake w/them. He is 35.

On Saturday we were sitting around, trying to decide what to do. My mom said she would keep the kids while Todd and I went to get something to eat-that was SO NICE!! It was good to go on a date and be alone! I don't think we really talked about anything important, but it's nice to have the chance...w/out interruption!! :-)

Yesterday, we had an evangelist at church-I have always enjoyed hearing him preach. His name is Bro. Joe Decker-he is going to do our Bible school (Mon-Wed)-the kids are so excited!! He is one of those people who always uses object lessons or some kind of visual aide...one time he preached on the widow woman and the cruise of oil...he had this pot that would keep filling up...he would "empty" it, and then he would pick it back up and pour out some more. It was so neat and really drove the point home.

Todd is at the church seeing if there is anything he can do to help get ready for bible school. There will be a boys vs. girls offering taken up...they have a man/woman volunteer to take a pie in the face (whoever loses). The man will be Todd and the woman will either be me or my mother. Last year it was my mom and Todd-she got to put a chocolate pie in his face...I know she thoroughly enjoyed that. The theme this year is God's pioneers so Bro. Decker said it would be a cow pie...that's the only bad thing...if it looks too realistic, I'm liable to throw up. I have a weak stomach when I'm pregnant! :-)

I guess I better go. There's not a lot of news here...I'm not sure when we are starting school. I'm trying to cope w/the fact that it's August and our vacation is quickly coming to an end! It has been such a nice summer break-we haven't done much, but it's been nice to be out of school.
Hope everyone has a good week!