It's been a while...

Well, I know I am way behind on posts. It has been a very busy and challenging year so far. We moved in November and sold our in a day. What a blessing. We are all SLOWLY adjusting to the new home. Some more than others. The house is technically bigger than our last one but, it has a very open floor plan so we are always near each other. With hard wood floors everywhere it can get quite loud. Especially with our aspiring singer in the house. By the way, Emma was asked to perform with the National Wizard of Oz show when they were in town in January. It was a great honor and she was so exited. She was one of ten kids selected from the Toledo Area. We were very proud of her. (2nd from the right in the front row)Jamey began homeschooling the older 3 kids right after we moved. Therefore, Jamey and the kids are ALWAYS together. Most days are a challenge but, it seems like they are all starting to settle into a routine. Each of the three are being challenged and are doing well.
Last week we begin building 3 rooms in the garage. One for each of the older girls and a play/craft room in the middle. With help from our Dad's and a friend, we got the framing and rough wiring completed in under a week. Every is eager for the rooms to be finished so that the kids can get a little space of there own.
Hannah just finished her second concert with the Toledo Youth Symphony Orchestra. This session she was moved up to a more advanced group that better fit her abilities. They sounded great and it is so hard to believe they are all HS students. The next concert in March is with the TSO and she can't wait.
Both girls have applied to the Toledo School for the Arts for the Fall. This year there is a lottery just to be interviewed. We are praying that they make it.
Grace is happy to have Caleb home all the time. They play very well together. Nearly every weekend Caleb visits a friend and she always crys when he leaves.

Getting Settled

We have been in our new house for just over 2 weeks. Since then, Jamey has started homeschooling 2 of the 3 kids. There has been many challenges and a whole new set of routines to establish. It has definitely been a struggle and trying all of their patience's. We have also welcomed 2 roosters to our homestead and are planning on picking up a few pullets, young hens, this week. We also discovered we have TOO MUCH STUFF! It is hard to imagine that we will ever get through it all. Luckily we have space in the garage to sort through what we want to keep, sell and donate. Hopefully we can make a successful dent into the piles by Christmas. There are so many projects to start but, so little time. I am lucky if I am home at all during day light this time of year and the weekends are never long enough. I guess we will have to continue to work on little bits at a time.

Hannah at the Peristyle

Today Hannah had her Toledo Youth Symphony Orchestra (TYSO) debut. They play there concerts at the Peristyle at the Toledo Art Museum. It is amazing to hear all the young talent. She has been playing for 5 years with Perrysburg and this is her first time branching out from school. She was also asked to play with the Youth Band at church. We are so blessed to have such talented kids. We have no idea where they get it...

Happy Labor Day

This weekend we were able to get some work done around the house. We also had a nice time a my mom and dad's with Brian, Mary and all the in-laws. It was a lot of fun. We took the kids out in the evening and played 4 holes. We each chose 1 club and played until dark. This morning Hannah, Ampa, Mema and myself went to the Sandusky County Sportsman's Club which I joined this summer. We shot 22s and a few hand guns in the cool, fall like weather. It was fun and we hope to go out again soon. Finally we spent the afternoon laying around, mentally preparing ourselves for the week ahead.

Moving????

For the longest time, Jamey and I have wanted to move out of the city and purchase a home with some property in a more rural setting. We both liked the idea of having the ability to have a large garden, livestock and pool and/or pond. The ultimate goal to be able to have a more self sufficient lifestyle. We wouldn't want to be Amish, the Internet and other electronic niceties are too enticing. Anyway, we spent the last month or so looking in our area for properties that meet our expectations. Last week we had a excepted offer on one that full fills nearly all of them. Did I mention the 9 car, 2500 sqft., heated garage. It also is boardered by the Maumee State Forrest on 2 sides. Venison anyone?

We just had our inspection yesterday and it is all in God's hands now. I just have to keep reminding myself about that.

By the way, anyone need a house in Perrysburg?

New Members of the family

Well as many of you know we have been dogless for over a year and a half. We tried a rabbit and leopard gecko but, neither filled the gap in our hearts for a dog. So in July we added not one but, two Labradooles to our family. Jamey had been talking to a breeder for nearly a year and this summer, on Caleb's birthday, she had litter of two. We originally were only going to get the boy, Oliver (on left), due to having more of the Poodle traits. Our main reason was due to their hypoallergenic qualities. But, when we took one of our MANY trips out to the farm where they lives, we ended up with two in the car. We couldn't resist the playfulness of his sister Elli.

PS. Don't let the cute little puppy photos warm your hearts too much. They doubled their size from 6 to 9 weeks and now at 11 weeks, they are the largest puppies the breeder has ever had.

Catching Up with this...

Again my posts have been very limited this summer. We have been so busy with the kids and family that it has been hard to keep up. I last left you all with Emma's casting in Alice in Wonderland. It was a big commitment, taking up all of July and most of August. She did an amazing job and received a lot of praise from the directors, actors and parents. In addition to singing lessons, she took part in a camp called Broadway Bound. The highlight was working with the singer who played El Woods and Sarpay on Broadway, Bailey Hanks. All of it continued to help her out of her "shell". I know it is hard to believe she has one but, on stage can be intimidating. We were both very proud of her and it is exciting to see her talents grow.

Both studios she work at have used videos of her singing on their websites and if you follow Jamy's FB page you can see postings from time to time.