Something to Blog about!

Okay- I finally have something worth blogging about! Guess what I just killed? (How's that for an "opener"?)
Well, I've been happily discovering all the beautiful flower beds around our new home. Mostly, just raking out the leaves and cleaning up... It's been beautiful weather here. The original owner was a Master Gardner - but the house was empty for awhile and everything is a bit "wild" now.

So, back to the story... I'm scooping up piles of leaves - with my hands, Luke calls for my attention and I look up and stop for a minute.. when I look back down and begin to reach for the next pile - I spy a HUGE - GOLD and BLACK - FOR SURE - POISONOUS SNAKE!!! Arghhhh!
So, I calmly went to the garage - hunted down a shovel and cut it's head off, and chopped it into several more pieces just to make sure it was dead! Luke told me to be careful - since he learned that snakes can still bite, even after their head is seperated from their body... Homeschooled kids are so useful to have around! I'm very sure I saved our family from grave danger - it must have been a Copperhead! (Well, I do confess that I did a little "internet research" and maybe I was mistaken and it was only a harmless brown snake... but - one can never be sure!) Anyway, Luke is calling me a "Redwall Warrior" - very high praise indeed! He even told me he would have chopped it to pieces with his bare hands - if it had bit me - isn't he awesome?!)

I left what was left of it on the driveway - partly to show it to Matt and partly to let others of it's kind know what I will do to them if I see them!

Today, I decided to return to finish the job with the leaves... after lying in bed thinking about how all the leaves attack the critters, and how scared I am to reach into a pile of leaves, but if I don't get rid of the leaves, there'll be more critters... round and round. I began wildly batting every leaf pile before approaching it - just to be sure. I was wearing my "snake armor" - boots, gloves, chain mail...

Ok, so far so good - no snakes, leaves almost gone in this "danger area"... Then I spotted something even more gross... a dead "something" with fur! I guess the rat saw what I did to the snake yesterday, and dropped dead out of shear fear of me!

That's it - I'm turning into an "indoor gardener"...

Upward and Onward

The kiddos (upper 4) just

finished their first season playing Basketball and Cheerleading with Upward. What an awesome program! It's a Christian program with a focus on Scripture memory, and they use basketball and cheerleading as the vehicle to do it. The boys were excited to play a sport, and did very well (especially when you know that they are not "natural" basketball players - I think if they stood on each others shoulders -they might be of an "average" height!) Selah was most certainly one of the cutest cheerleaders I've ever seen.

If you have anUpward program nearby - do it.

Now... on to soccer season!

Just a plain update

I've been getting requests for an "update".... For all of you who are "wondering" - I am not pregnant... to my knowledge anyway. Given our past history, and Esther's current age (9 months) - you're entitled to "wonder". I'll let you know.

So, here's our update - We are still unpacking. I actually have taken a break from my goal of "a box a day". Truthfully, I am just sick of cardboard! I'm considering having a garage sale and selling everything still in a box "as is" - a surprise for everyone! One problem, there are dozens of objects that I remember having in a past life, but haven't found yet...

The kiddos are starting to settle in here. We are now just as busy as we were in MN. Piano, Violin, Ballet, Basketball, AWANA, Couples Group, Art/Music/Writing Classes, CHEF Homeschool group activies... No wonder I'm tired. But, God is so good - and a new family with 12 and 10 year old sons just moved in next door!

We are recovering from "The Great Bentz Plague of 2009" - Part II (see my after Christmas post...)

Being the curriculum junkie that I am, I am trying out for an unpaid job .(Matt is so happy for me to be "working" - I haven't told him the salary = $0.00) - I am reviewing curriculum for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. The kiddos are right now "testing" out a study about Australia - look for my "review"coming soon. Actually, we're having fun learning new words - our favorite - "Essie has a nasty nappy - who wants it?" Essie says da-da-da - so we know she wants his help!

I have also volunteered to Coordinate the Local Bible Bee contest. This is a very exciting nationwide event. Childern compete at a local level in Scripture memorization and Bible knowledge, then the top 100 competitors in each age group advance to a National Bee in Washington DC. Last year (the first year it was held) Conway had 2 children qualify for the National contest! Best of all, everyone wins - the "worst" you can do is put alot of God's Word into your heart and mind! But, the winners can win some serious cash! (can we say -Scholarship fund!!!)

That's about it for an update... I'd love to hear from all of you!

Snow Day in ARKANSAS!

It does snow in Arkansas! We woke up feeling like we were "home"! After an extensive search - I was able to find coats, boots, mittens, hats, scarves all times 7 (thankfully Esther didn't want to go out!)

It gave me a moment of relief that I don't have to do this every day!

The kiddos had a great time out in the snow, and the best part for me - the snow will be gone by Monday!!

Just a couple more...

Sorry to Joshua for including him in the "after" picture, but since he was in the throws of potty-training while I was attempting to get a few pictures, he made the blog! Hey, anyone who's been through the potty training thing - knows that he spent more time here than anywhere else!

Anyway - back to the house...

The before had lovely wallpaper (several layers thick and peeling in places) and lovely pink painted drawers... this was not something the boys were excited about!

The after is our very own tribute to the Vikings! Please no comments about the end of the season and the toilet... we are still recovering from the disappointment and yes - Josh's "pants on the ground"!

Here's another One

Here's another one of the dramatic redos... The master bathroom. The before featured two interesting wallpaper choices - one on top of the other... actually papered in opposite directions? Did someone either run out of paper, or inspiration to continue?

Our after is a textured wall with "Svelte Sage" paint - I'm hoping the paint name helps me look "svelte" - what do you think?

Before and After

I promised some before and after pictures of the house....

This is a before picture of the girls bathroom. Yes, that is several layer of different wallpaper - with sheet music individually pasted on. And - as a final touch, there are lovely (if you like that type of thing) Fish stamped randomly around the room... including on light switches. The vanity drawer faces were painted in a white-wash, antiqued lavendar. Not quite the effect we would have gone for.

And - the after picture! Isn't it cute!! We painted it a light green that matches the ceilings in the girls rooms (it's a Jack and Jill bathroom that connect them), added a striped shower curtain and rugs, a couple of cute Dollar store cups and Wall decals that match their bedspreads (from Target) All in all - not too bad for someone like me that is "decorating challenged".