It's Monday again. I like Mondays: fresh start, order, routine, work to do. Margaret and Samuel are off to the bus stop, and William, Hazel, and John are getting started with their day. We're planning to go help some friends pack for their move this week, but first there's school work to do. We're getting close to being done for the year, which is hard to believe. It's been such a weird year. We started out with such promise. We were doing so many fun things, tackling some challenging subjects, and having such long, full days. That lasted abut two months before the bottom fell out and I couldn't go on. It was just way more than I could handle. The full education I wanted for my kids was beyond me to provide. Then there was a month or two of no school and me going through depression. Then the answer to prayer: Margaret and Samuel being admitted into O. Henry at the time when we needed it most. The second half of the school year hasn't been a walk in the park, but it has been so much better for our family. Margaret and Samuel have thrived at O. Henry this semester and William and John have enjoyed having more attention from me. I'm not certain what we'll do for all the kids next year. Margaret will start high school and Samuel will be a seventh grader at the neighborhood middle school. William really, really wants to start 6th grade at the middle school, even though we've talked about holding him back. He thrives off of competition and challenge so he might do alright. We had talked about keeping John at home, but with his apparent dyslexia and Brian and I feeling at a loss as to how to work with him. I'm thinking it might be best for him to go to the neighborhood school. They have a dyslexia specialist and a very comprehensive program to work with children with the disability. As much as I would love to keep John at home for a couple of more years, I think it might be in his best interest to send him off to school.

Brian's mom came Thursday and stayed the night. She went to Margaret's track meet with us and we shivered together at the Murchison track while waiting for Margaret's events to come up. She finished middle of the pack in the 800, and got second place in the 1600.

I took a run Friday morning, and the spring weather was so delicious I could've eaten it! We went out to the new house later that morning for the inspection. Linda (Brian's mom) loved the house. William, John, and Hazel ran up and down stairs and round the yard making themselves at home at the new place. The inspection went well. There were only minor problems, nothing like the inspection on the Ridgemont house.

The kids ran the Dillo Mile Saturday morning. Margaret won first place in her division with a time of 6:30. Samuel also won first place in his division with a time of 5:49. William dropped out half way through the mile with breathing issues. Poor guy! He so wants to prove that he's as good as Samuel, but he's just such a different person. For one, he has horrible allergies, he's smaller, and he's just made different and has different gifts and abilities that Samuel doesn't have. John ran a 7:37 mile, finishing 7th or 8th in his age group.

The plumbers have been here for the last several days tearing up our house and yard. They tunneled under the slab from the front of the house to the back, and jack hammered the den floor all the way across. Crazy!

Yesterday after church we went out to Commons Ford Ranch and met Thomas and his kids. We took the canoe and the kids paddled up and down some of the fingers off of Lake Austin. We had an appointment to meet our realtor out at the new house to discuss the inspection report, so Margaret and Brian paddled the canoe from Commons Ford up to Steiner Ranch. The kids and I drove out and met them to load the canoe. Oh my goodness, I think we're going to love living out by both lakes and being able to pop the canoe in whenever we want! While we were out at the house we met some of the neighbors. They were super nice! Margaret, John, and I checked out the trail behind our new house. There's a canyon and a little stream at the bottom. We're all very excited about it all! At 3100 square feet, the house is a modest house for Steiner ranch, but to us it feels like a mansion.

Well, that's all the news for today. Off to help my friend Lisal pack up her house. Below are some of the latest pics.

We had such a nice Holy Week. Redeemer had midday services all week. I had intended to go to all of them, but only made it to two since the didn't offer nursery care and Hazel has become such a handful anytime we're somewhere where she's expected to be quiet. There was the usual Maundy Thursday feast as well. The church really goes all out for that one. The deacons a d elders waited the tables, so Brian didn't get to sit with us, a d Margaret was away at a track meet across town. The boys, Hazel, and I sat with some sweet ladies and had a wonderful time.

Roger brought Claire, Thomas, and Patrick over early Friday morning, and my friend Karen and her crew followed us out to my grandmother's place in Blanco. I hadn't been out there is ages. She has a new baby horse, "Prebble", named after her grandmother Prebble Annette. We took lunch and all ten kids, three grown ups, and three dogs crowded onto her porch to dine on sandwiches, Doritos, and generic Oreos.

The Winn kids ended up staying the night with us. We grilled burgers, burned lots of wood in the chiminea, and just enjoyed quality good cousin time. The cousins are more like siblings. When they get together they have such vivid imaginations and create the most amazing games!

William and Samuel helped their Sunday school class host an Easter egg hunt for the neighborhood kids on Saturday morning. After they were done, we took all the kiddos out to Burnet for an Easter celebration with my mom and stepdad and others. Thomas brought his people and the cousin crew was complete. We had lunch, sang, read some scripture, and did an egg hunt. It was rather rushed, but even so, good memories were made.

We got everyone up and out early on Easter morning and went over to mueller for our own little sunrise service. We sang a few songs, read a passage of scripture, and prayed. It's the beginning of a beautiful tradition, I hope.

We went to the the later church service and then met Brian's parents for lunch. After lunch we drove out to my uncle Gene's place at Mustang Ridge for the Evans' Easter. Of our people it was just us, Daddy, and Thomas. I don't know where Leah was, but her kids were with Roger, and Meredith had Thomas' kids. After we got home, Margaret, Samuel, Brian, and I went for a long run. It was a good way to end a busy holiday weekend.

Our buyers option period ended at midnight Saturday, so all weekend Brian and I were on edge waiting to hear of we'd come to agreement on the contract. It ended up going down to the wire, but with three hours left, they signed the contract! We will fix the under slab plumbing leak and contribute half for reroofing the carport. Even so, we'll still make 10k more than our asking price, so we feel pretty good about it all. Closing is in two weeks. In the meantime, we will be waiting to jump on any new listing to pop up in Steiner Ranch. We are going out to look at a place this morning that we both love (from the pics). Yes, it's a new house and doesn't have a lot of charm, but it's big and backs up to the greenbelt, which would be our dream. It's also within walking distance to the elementary and middle school, as well as the park and pool.

Here's the listing.


http://www.ziprealty.com/property/2713-GRIMES-RANCH-RD-AUSTIN-TX-78732/83793966/detail

We're hoping and praying that it works out.

I guess that's all the news to report.

It comes up every month or so that the kids have been in public school: the need to justify our education decisions. Why must I prove to someone else why what I chose is best for MY children? Why must someone else prove that their choice for THEIR is better than mine? This is such a sensitive issue. It is especially touchy in my church full of affluent, highly educated parents who either have the money to send their children to one if the best private schools in the country, or who a capable of homeschooling, especially in the upper grades.
I am just growing weary of all my homeschooling friends constantly trying to prove that their education choice is the best, especially on Facebook where they don't have to look their friends in the face and tell them that what they're doing (in sending their children to public school) lazy, irresponsible, sinful, and is going to cause their children to lose their salvation. They wouldn't dare say this to their friends' faces, but hide behind blog links and newspaper columns. Why must they prove to me and everyone else that their to homeschool their children is best of all? Just because its best for them does not necessarily mean that it's best for all families. Have they been in my home, walked beside me day in and day out? Do they know my capabilities, my weaknesses? My children's capabilities and weaknesses? No. So why do they think they know what's best for my family? Let them prayerfully choose what is best for their family and leave me and my family to do the same.


End of my rant.

I feels like a huge weight has been removed from our shoulders. We've sold our house! Well, almost. We're under contract and the inspector comes Monday. The house went on the MLS around midnight Friday. We had about twenty showings between saturday and Sunday, and five offers. Or realtor came over Sunday night and we hammered out the details of the contract until a out 10:30. We were offered 20K more than our asking price by two different people! We were just blown away by the speed at which everything happened! We are also amazed at God's provision for us. We bought the house for $145K ten years ago and are selling it for $335K!

This house has been Brian and my pet project. We have put so much blood, sweat, and tears (ok, maybe not tears, yet, but those will come when we walk out the door for the last time) into this home. It had been our dream to have an old house we could fix up, and this was the oldest one we could afford in Austin at the time. It has been so much fun! Where were going we won't have the same opportunity. The houses are new, lack character, and won't need major renovating, but I think it will be good for our family. We can spend our weekends playing together instead of working around the house all the time.

Margaret and Samuel went back to school yesterday. I think they enjoyed their spring break even though we didn't do a whole lot. They spent part of it with Brian's parents and part with my mom while Brian and I worked to get the house up for sale. We will owe them some kind if camping trip or some other fun.

Margaret has her first track meet on Thursday. She's running the mile and half mile, I believe, as well as doing the long jump.

Hazel has her fifteen month well check today, although she's really sixteen months old now. When you're not following a vaccination chart you forget to go in for those well checks.

I guess that's all I have time for right now. Happy Tuesday!

We have a listing!

http://www.austinhomesearch.com/homes-for-sale/TX/Austin/78723/1504-Ridgemont-Dr-87381038

Spring Break is here! We aren't asking a trip this year, just hanging around here and working on getting the house ready to list this Friday. The photographer comes Thursday and the house gets listed Friday. Between now and then we have a pretty long list of little jobs that need to be done. We made a lot if progress over the weekend. The boys spent the weekend with my mom and Margaret stayed with us to help with Hazel. We've never really had time with just the two girls. How quiet and peaceful everything seemed!
Yesterday after church we met our realtor in Steiner Ranch to look at three houses. We liked one in particular. We can't put an offer until after we've listed ours, so maybe it'll still be around next weekend. Things in Austin are selling like hotcakes, often with competing offers and offers above the asking price. I sure hope that's the case in the selling of our home!
Margaret and I went for a long run Saturday morning that included a stop in at Central Market for trail mix and a stop at the thrift store. So much fun! She's the best running partner!
I was nodding off to sleep on the couch, streaming an R.C. Sproul broadcast, when the front door opened and I heard several little voices and a couple of big voices. It was the Koplins, the family that Margaret babysits for. They had rented out their house at Mueller for SXSW and in the meantime were house sitting for friends who live a few streets over from us. They stayed and visited a couple of hours. I think it's best when friends drop in unexpectedly. It keeps me from focusing on having everything perfect and instead concentrating on my guests. A d things were far from perfect yesterday, paint cans and drop cloths spread all over the living room, a stinky kitchen trash, dirty dishes in the sink, and me with smeared eye makeup from napping. I love the Koplin family, and they love Margaret. They even want her to come live with them for part of the summer after we move. Not that we will be that far away, just too far for her to walk or ride over for a daily babysitting gig. They are so trusting of her, it's really an honor. They starting hiring her to babysit when she was eleven.
Well, gonna have to cut this short to get my little people moving. Have a blessed Monday!

Brian and I just got home from hearing Sinclair Ferguson at church. He was speaking to Redeemer Seminary on John Calvin and the work of the Holy Spirit. It was good, a message I needed to hear. I've been struggling to understand the Holy Spirit. Ad it was nice to get out with Brian for an hour or so.

We've been plugging away at school. William and John are doing well, especially in math, despite my best efforts to confuse them. Haha. We took a picnic lunch to the park and enjoyed several hours out in the sun today, plus a two mile walk. We've been enjoying a lot of read a loud time lately. That's something I really, really enjoy, reading aloud to the kids.

Hazel is a constant source of entertainment for us. She still doesn't talk, but understand most of the things we tell her or ask her. She is the busiest child and seems to be like Margaret and I in that she loves to clean house. Of course, she also love to make messes, too, but she has really picked up on the cleaning part. She's an old soul, and usually has a serious expression (actually all my kids it john have been that way). She loves to have books read to her, and William is her book buddy. She trusts Margaret and Samuel most of the four, but knows William is a buddy she can go to. Now John, he's a little unpredictable and she has to be on her toes around him, though he does make her laugh. They all think she's wonderful. The other day Samuel said, "I just can't imagine life without Hazel!"

Hazel still nurses several times a day and half the night. She nurses more than she eats solids. I guess that's ok. She seems to be growing alright. I would like for her to start sleeping through the night sooner or later. She goes down in her bed, but wakes up in the night crying every night.
Tomorrow she'll be 16 months! It's hard to believe that William didn't start walking until he was that age! She's been walking since she was 11 months, my earliest walker.

Gonna have to cut this short. It's getting late and 5 am. will be here before I know it.