He can't even walk yet, but he can get ANYWHERE!!!

Stinky Face's One Year Pics

Would you like to earn more income and have fun doing it?

If you answered yes, I would like to share with you what I do. I sell Scentsy Wickless Candles. They are candles that run off of light bulbs. There are over 50 beautiful designs. We have over 80 amazing scents available in candle bars, room sprays and car candles. The product pretty much sells itself. Scentsy is a party plan company, so you and your friends can host parties and earn free products, while you get paid off of every sale you make! If you would like to learn more, please contact me today. This month only, I am offering a free plug-in with your starter kit. Now is the perfect time to join because so many people are looking for unique gifts like Scentsy for Christmas. Check out my website at www.candleky.com or e-mail me today! kyscents@gmail.com

Need more time in the day? Put God FIRST and see what happens!

Yesterday was a very productive day for me. I went to Gatti Town to support other like minded people who don't want our children brainwashed by a president who has done nothing but take "hope" away from us. Then I stopped by a friend's workplace to show her the new Scentsy catalog. She ordered 2 warmers and a bar, so I was VERY happy with that visit! Then we went to Hamburg to search for some tiered plant stands for my event displays and for small cases to have more basket parties going at the same time. Good news: I found the perfect basket tester cases. Bad news: No such luck with the plant stands. I also stopped by a couple of places about putting my warmers in their business for a display for a week or two. I was exhausted when we got home, but continued to be productive. I wrote out invitations for my cousin's party coming up next weekend, made rice crispie treats, made some business calls, spent a little bit of time with my family (not much, I'll sadly admit) and then got on my team training call at 9 (while trying to catch some of America's Got Talent Semi-finals). Caught up on my e-mails (kind of) and forced myself to lay down at 11:30. It was close to 1 again when I finally fell asleep.

After ALL that I did yesterday, there is still SO much left undone. And then I think about the Bible verse about seeking God FIRST and all these things will be added to you. MAN, I didn't get it right at all yesterday did I? How many days do I get it right? Not enough! It's SO hard to put God first when there is so much here that you think needs done. Can you agree with that? Maybe if we really start putting God FIRST, then everything else will somehow fall into place. It's amazing how things change when you start following the principles in the Bible. It's just like tithing. God says to test him and see if the windows of Heaven will not open up and pour out more blessing than you can imagine. It's true. God has never failed us. There are times when we have felt that way, but when the situation changed (after we thought it was too late, but God was right on time), we could see that he had a plan all along. He was making us stronger. He really tested our faith in Him. I'm asking you to join me and start putting God FIRST. Read your Bible in the morning while you are eating breakfast. Pray more! Have you ever fasted to pray for a great need? Maybe you should give it a try. Go to church! You don't have to, but it's great to be surrounded by loving people and getting fed the Word of God by a highly anointed person. If you don't have a church home, I would love to have you join me at ours. That's enough for now. Hopefully my next blog will be about all the breakthroughs we are having because I'm trying harder to put God first! Let me know your stories too!

Yay for Friday

I am so glad that Friday is finally here. It's been a more challenging week than last week. I've had my fair share of sleepless nights and cranky mornings, but it's Friday and we've made it through another week of homeschool! So what's new? Gavin started karate on Monday. He loves it. He loves his uniform and he's now a white belt. This week we studied 2 Kings 6:5. His Bible verse was "Bus as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, 'Alas Master! For it was borrowed'." We learned that God is not only concerned about big miracles, but small miracles as well. He finished his story about what his life would be like if he were a pirate. He takes his spelling test today and he got a 100% on his math test that he took yesterday which reviewed all of the skills he's learned so far. In Social studies he is continuing to learn the state capitals. He knows them all from Alabama to New Mexico. In Science he is learning about clouds and a little more on the water cycle. He learned that evaporation leaves pollutants behind by freezing blocks of ice with food coloring. When the cubes melt and the water evaporates, the color is left behind on the paper. In reading he read "An Oregon Trail Diary" and learned about compound words, drawing conclusions, categorizing words and interpreting graphic information. He continues to do great with cursive writing. Next week we will be spending some time updating his blog, so be sure and check that later in the week next week. www.worldofgavin.blogspot.com


White Belt Gavin

Gavin and his karate instructor

Gavin's science experiment

Gavin with his science experiement

2 great websites

I just found 2 great websites today to help with homeschool. One is just for spelling, which I was in desperate need of. It is www.spellingcity.com. You can enter the spelling list and it will teach them the spelling and sound, play games with them and even let them take spelling tests. It's great! The other one is for various types of worksheets and help. It is www.superteacherworksheets.com. I hope someone reading this will find it as handy as I did!

Second Week of Homeschool

This is our second week of homeschool and overall, it's going great. I love having Aaron here to help me with Grisham. It's really helping Gavin and I focus more on schoolwork. I am doing all that I can to make this year the best one yet and keep things interesting for him. One thing that he really loves is "The Wheel of Destiny". I took the spinner out of the Twister game that never gets played and I put all of his subjects on a circle and added a couple extra things like re-spin, student's choice and teacher's choice. He spins before each subject to see what subject we'll do next. He is working on his own blog. You can check it out at www.worldofgavin.blogspot.com. We began homeschool last week. He had 3 full days of school and a field trip to the Frankfort History Museum. In math, he is learning a variety of new skills like coordinate graphing and calculating area. Spelling is his weakness. I am trying hard to keep that fun so he doesn't get too discouraged. In Science he is studying the water cycle. Social Studies, he's still working on his state capitals and he's doing an excellent job! In reading he read the story, "The Lion and the Mouse". He learned about irregular verbs, onomatopoetic words and also did some pages on sequencing, synonyms, categorizing words that describe character traits and recalling details and relating to personal experiences. He's sharpening his cursive handwriting skills, and I must say that his handwriting is the best handwriting I've ever seen from any child! Last, but certainly not least in our book is Bible Study. We began last week with the verse, "Work at everything you do with all your heart as if you were working for the Lord, not for human masters" Colossians 3:23. He had this verse memorized by the first day! We made mac and cheese the lazy way, by pouring everything in before the water boiled and not letting it cook as long. We didn't really read the directions well, so it wasn't very good. The next day we made brownies and followed the directions exactly. Gavin learned the lesson that we are greater rewarded when we do everything with our WHOLE heart!

THE WHEEL OF DESTINY

People

As my 30th birthday has passed and Grisham just celebrated his first year of life, I am beginning to realize who the important people in our lives are. They are the people who are there for us. The ones that always have been. They are not the people who make excuses at every corner. They are not the ones who have filled my heart with brokeness so many times. As I realize this, I feel good and bad. It's great that I know without a doubt that I have a few good friends and a handful of family members who would drop everything to be here for us in a moment of true need. But at the same time, it hurts. It hurts to realize that the only thing I can do about those who don't care about us like we care for them, is to let them go. I will continue to uplift them in my prayers and pray that they will have a change of heart and realize how much hurt they've brought to my life. I pray that they will feel so bad about it that they will have a change of heart and want to be a bigger part of our lives. But I can't change other people, only God can do that. So from this day forward, I am going to try really hard to just let them go! I know it will be a daily challenge, but I'm sick of getting my heart broke. May the next tears I cry be tears of joy, when these people open their arms to me and my family and treat us the way God treats all of His children!

The Big Day

Today was Grisham's 1st birthday party. Tomorrow is his actual birthday, but we celebrated today to make it easier on our friends and family who came from out of town. Thank you all for coming on his very special day. I can't believe that it's been a year since I was taking long walks, trying so hard to start my labor. It seems like just yesterday. And now we have a special little boy who brings so much joy into so many lives. He's smart, sweet, funny and SO handsome. He has started his life adventure and he doesn't hold anything back. He loves to learn all he can about the world around him. He loves his family and friends and already has a special place in his heart for God. I believe that he has a special annointing on his life and that even as a child, he will help lead others to Christ. I thank God all the time for our special little guy. One year ago, I couldn't imagine how life would be when he got here, and now, I can't imagine our lives any other way. He's such a special blessing to us. I thank God all the time for giving us our healthy, loving baby boy. Happy First Birthday Grisham, Love Mommy

Grisham's First Haircut...

Below are the pictures. We went to Kiddie Kutters. While waiting his turn, he climbed stairs on his own for the very first time, trying to get to the slide. During the haircut he sat in a toy airplane and watched 102 Dalmations. For the most part, he was pretty still and he didn't cry at all. When he was done he got a certificate with his picture on it and a lock of hair in a tiny ziplock. He also got a balloon and a sucker...which he didn't eat of course. He does look a little more grown up, but we are all very happy with the cut. Our baby is growing up way too fast!

One of my new favorite pictures of him!

Climbing stairs for the first time all by himself. He's going to love to climb!

The airplane he sat in.

A look from the back.

He's SO cute!!!!

During the haircut...

Final Result ~ One Handsome little baby!

Sleeping Baby

This is how baby Grisham loves to sleep: One paci in his mouth and one in each hand!

TO MY DAD

I sit here tonight, just like many other nights and just try to remember what my life was like many years ago. I think about my life, growing up on a farm and how few children have that responsibility these days. It was hard work, yet it was so rewarding. Planting seeds in the garden, weeding the garden, watering the garden...day after day. And then finally getting to eat fresh fruits and vegetables that I planted. Yum. Feeding my baby cows with a bottle. Running in the field with my dogs. How big I felt when I was finally heavy enough to keep the lawn mower going (for most of my life, my dad had to put a block under the seat to hold the button down). Feeding my ducks on the front porch. Riding my cows...yes, cows. They were so friendly...we'll just forget about the part where they became my dinner. :0( You know, things seemed so hard when I was growing up, but I wish that my sons could just experience a taste of what it was like to be me growing up. I think they would have so much more respect for life and for their elders. I never realized just how hard my dad worked until I was all grown up and living on my own. I think back to how hard it must have been to take care of all the animals on that farm, all the land and his family. I complained a lot, but looking back, it was one of the greatest times of my life, and I miss it.

So this is to you Dad. You may not have always been there for me as a little girl, but I was always your little girl and I always will be, I am SO proud of you for providing for me, for ALWAYS loving me and for teaching me how important hard work is. You have worked so hard all of your life and I am so happy for you that you will finally get to enjoy some time to yourself. Just promise me that you'll relax a little bit. Take this time to enjoy life!

VACATION

We just got back from a 7 day vacation. It was wonderful. It was our first vacation as a family. We went to Pigeon Forge, TN. One of my favorite things about it is that it was a complete surprise to Gavin. We packed his things while he was outside or asleep. We told him that for family day we were going to do something really special...go on a bear hunt. But we had to drive for a few hours to get there. He had to use the restroom at the perfect time (a few minutes before arrival). We told him that we would pull over at a hotel so he could use the restroom. We go in and Aaron says, "Reservation for Rosen". The lady says to him, "You are staying for 7 days". So Gavin says, "SEVEN DAYS????" LOL It was the best. I can't believe we pulled that off. If you are ever in that area, Comedy Barn is THE BEST! We were laughing so hard that our cheeks hurt. It was the first time on our trip that Gavin had gotten extremely excited too. We did a lot of hiking and walking...but still gained weight from all the junk we ate. I just HAD to have my fudge...and buckeyes...and taffy...and burgers and on and on and on. :0) We hiked 2.7 miles up the mountain (Aaron had Grisham on his back) to see Rainbow falls. We also hiked 1.5 miles up another spot to see Laurel Falls. We went to Ripley's Believe it or Not, Ripley's Aquarium, and Ripley's Mirror Maze (Gavin and Aaron found their way out in one minute after going through a couple of times).

One of Gavin's highlights is that he got to DRIVE a go-kart all by himself for the first time. I can't believe my son is that big already. He also got to ride the blaster boats by himself (like bumper boats but you can spray people). We had a pool at our hotel, so it was Grishams first time in a pool. He looked SO cute in his swimwear. It was also Grisham's first time on a carousel and baby swings. We played putt-putt 3 times and visited a lot of shops. We ate out a lot, but our favorite places ended up being Fudruckers and IHOP. Imagine that! lol Below are some pics from our trip!