Didn't we just start school?

It seems like we just started school, but we celebrate the end of unit 1 (out of 4 units) in our co-op next week! We are having an end of unit celebration with a medieval feast. I'm trying to put together a slide-show for the party and have been looking at tons of pictures, so I thought I would share some from our first quarter of school this year. The girls have loved being a part of the co-op! It has been a blessing for us...Thank you to all the mom's that have volunteered to make this possible, especially the teachers and nursery workers!

We look forward to starting unit 2!

Daddy Football Night

Craig wanted to go out tonight to watch the Hokie game somewhere. Problem was, he has had a lot of extra work lately. A blessing really, but we haven't seen him much and the girls have been missing him. So he decided we should stay home so he could visit with the girls.

I was trying to think of something we could do to make it special for him. This is an area I am very weak in. There is so much going on each day that requires immediate attention, that I don't think to do things for him to let him know he's special and I am so blessed to have him. So, we decided to throw him a football party!

Well the girls were soooo excited. Not about the football, but about throwing a party for Dad. When he pulled in the driveway wearing his Hokie gear, the girls were chanting "GOOOOOO HOKIES GO". He walked in the door and we greeted him wearing our Hokie gear. The girls even decorated the coffee table with his old jersey and hats.

Our dinner was a tailgating shmorgashboard? Pizza (with pepperoni in the shape of the VT logo - Kiley's idea), his favorite homemade dip and chips, cheese sticks, boneless buffalo wings. We definitely need a few extra greens tomorrow to compensate!!!

It was a success...we had a great time, and best of all, Craig said it was great to come home to a surprise like that.

Insight into Darwin???

I've always wondered what sparked Darwin's imagination....what would make a man go from seeing the beautiful creation the Lord has made, to believing that we evolved from apes??? Well, today, I think I figured it out!!!!

We had another house full of girls today. Kiley's friend, Brittany, is staying with us a couple days and I had the Carballo girls as well. This afternoon they all went outside to play (except me and Bella). After about 20 minutes, I went out to check on them, and this is what I saw. Brittany can climb like a monkey! No really, it's amazing! At first I was stunned, concerned, and had flashes of us sitting in the ER while I call her parents to let them know what had happened. Then I saw how she could just hang on, flip around, and maneuver like spiderman! Now I'm really wondering, are most kids like this? Are my two the only ones that are cautious and carefully take each step on the playground, making sure there is no room for error? (Although Ashlyn is a bit more daring)

Well, Kiley, (thinking it can't be that hard), decided to give it a try. She got up there ok...but it didn't quite come naturally. Then, she really had a hard time coming down..it took step by step instructions from Mom to get her down. While, on the other hand, Britt would start at one end and climb to the top and hang while she swooped to the other, about 5 times while Kiley is trying to get down.

So, I think that's it! Darwin must have had children or neices and nephews with spiderman blood!

Renaissance Festival

Yesterday we went on a field trip to the Renaissance Festival. We've been learning about the middle ages and the renaissance in Kiley's co-op. They meet each week and cover history, geography, art, writing, and science...all pertaining to the time period we are working on. This week, the co-op all went on this field trip. There were too many of us to stay together, so we were able to spend the day with our friends, the Morales' (or as Ashlyn says, the McAliss').

It was lots of fun to see the books come alive! We can't wait to go back next year. We saw a joust, falconry show, glassblowing demonstration and much more. There was more to see, we just ran out of time.

The girls loved it and had to dress the part (well, at least as good as they could do from the dress up box). Kiley was even swept off her feet when a "walking tree" drew a heart in the dirt for her. Ashlyn really enjoyed the joust. After the knights were knocked off their horses, they engaged in a sword fight until only one was left standing. At the end, Ashlyn turned to me and said "Mommy, they have to go to the hospital?" I have to admit, even the older kids behind us were asking if it was for real.

Girls, Girls, and more Girls

Talk about a girly house today. Me and four little ones. I watch the Carballo's two little girls a few times a month and we enjoy them! Today, the older one's all played outside for over an hour. It was beautiful today...nice cool weather...the first since early spring! The girls even had to wear jackets outside (they were in the shade). The girls are always excited when they are coming. Ashlyn gets to play with Emma (and try to take care of Bella), and Kiley loves to help take care of Bella. She's getting pretty good at it. She'll play with her, feed her, and try to entertain her (while keeping her out of trouble).

I've attached a couple pictures of Bella. And a picture of Emma, dressing the dolls. Bella cries when whe is dropped of, AND as soon as she sees them picking her up. So this is it!!! The proof! She really does enjoy herself, and even smile while she is here. Really... the Carballo's are very gracious and appreciative, and we all get a chuckle that she turns on the tears once she sees them here to pick her up.

THANK GOD FOR A/C!

We are roughing it here in the Tweed house. We've been trying to stretch out our AC until the end of summer. There may not be that much really wrong with it, but we've been planning to replace it and move it. We didn't realize until we moved in that they put it right in the middle of our back porch and is really loud when you are trying to have a conversation or relax, and when we had a dog when we first moved into the house he used it as a scratching posts, so the vents are messed up, and we really need a more powerful one because the upstairs and downstairs are always at very different temps. So, instead of having someone come fix it now and then pay again to have it moved and replaced, we were hoping it could last out the last few hot days of "fall" and that we can have it replaced before spring.

Well, the hot days are still here....it seems to not be cooling at all anymore. Since the forecast is calling for cooler weather after tomorrow, we are sticking it out. We borrowed a fan from the Morales and have just been trying to keep cool.

How did our grandparents do it? How did our forefathers do it? How do most people in the world still today do it? It is hard to do anything, much less things like school work and house chores! The girls finished up their chores and schoolwork and have been sitting on the couch in front of a fan (and a movie) eating ice for the last hour.

How easy it is for us to forget how blessed we are! Most people in the world don't have air conditioning and they function every day. I think it's a good lesson for us, a good reminder that we have been blessed beyond measure. Not just a blessing of keeping us cool, but also, keeping us from being tempted much more easily to anger or be snappy to our family (well at least I am) because we are hot. (And I'm not even talking HOT, just hot...like 83 in here, for those of you that may really be sympathizing) So, Thank you Lord for AC!!! and hopefully our summer weather will end soon.....

Oh, the pictures are of Kiley trying to stay cool....

Pumpkin Patch

Now to better days....The girls have been looking forward to picking out pumkins this weekend. I was really hoping to be better so we could go. I WAS! We took a trip to Carringan Farms in Mooresville. It was really nice. We took a hay ride to the pumpkin field, then we each picked our own pumpkin. I didn't think too far ahead though. It would have been nice to have Craig with us to help carry the pumpkins back to the tractor. Next year I think we will go on a day when all of us can be there!

The girls had a great time!

Doctors, ER's, and Disney, all in one....

A little update before we get to the pumpkin patch. When we returned from Disney, we ended up in the ER that night with Ashlyn. She started getting tired and just had a little cough the last day at Disney. Then we noticed she was barely breathing, like Kiley does when she has an asthma attack. We went to the hotel and gave her a breathing treatment, which seemed to help a litte, then another one just before we left for the airport. She was not doing well on the plane, but thankfully, she slept most of the time.

When we got home, she really was struggling to breath, so we took her to the ER. She was given another breathing treatment and a chest xray showed bronchitis. This was Friday the 21st (well actually Saturday the 22nd at 2am).

Monday, both girls were put back on antibiotics for MERSA, again! This time they were put on two types and one for the nose to hopefully cut down on the colonization there. Apparently, for those that don't know, it lives in most peoples noses, typically not causing any problems. But, it can colonize to higher concentrations and then cause infections.

This past Tuesday, Kiley started with cough and we ended up at the Dr.'s on Wednesday. She was having trouble breathing and we tried 4 breathing treatments on Wednesday with no true progress. Then on Thursday the Dr. did one and that helped tremendously. I'm not quite sure why it always works better at the doctor's office though?

Thursday, I started feeling bad and was in bed basically all day on Friday.

All this to say....we are all well now!!!! All these health issues help me to see that I'm not in control of my life! I have to rely on God in ALL times! I am sooooo thankful that we aren't a family dealing with a child or parent with cancer, or a terminal illness! I can't comprehend what it is like to go through that.