I Miss My Papa

On December 5, 2012 my Papa went to be with the Lord.  Not until recently can I really talk about it without breaking down in tears.  There are no words that can describe what he meant to me.  All I can do is share what kind of a man he was for everyone to know.  He was the type of person that would help anyone that needed anything.  If we had a friend that had no where to go for Christmas they were always invited to our celebrations.  Then when they left, their car was full presents!  Thanksgiving was always spent playing BINGO or other card games that involved the kids winning money to buy presents for Christmas.  Easters always included Easter egg hunts for money filled eggs.  Summers were always spent at the lake.  4th of July was packed with fireworks for us to shoot off the dock.  Needless to say...we always had Grandma's good cooking and a great time with ALL the family.  I will never forget the memories that he enabled us to have.

The love that I have for him will never fade, but he has inspired me to change my ways.  Insignificant things used to be top priority in my life, but not any more.  Now I read my Bible everyday and try to spend as much quality time with my 5 as I can.  There is no reason why we shouldn't enjoy life the way Papa wanted us to. 

He always had a way of showing his affection by making you laugh.  If you could walk into my grandparents house and not have a good laugh something was wrong.  There were times during my parents divorce that their house was my safe heaven.  Even know when I walk in and he's not there...it still feels good to me!  

He will always be missed and loved dearly.  I know one day down the road I will see him again and hug his neck.  I love you Papa!

Here is Papa's obituary.
thttp://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charlotte/obituary.aspx?n=richard-dale-schill&pid=161551425#fbLoggedOut

Homemade Ketchup

Today, with the help of Sherry and Lola, I made some homemade ketchup.  I have never done this before so it was a learning experience.  It took longer than we thought to cook down the tomates, but eventually we got it to work.  Then we had to blend the mixture again to make it a puree consistency like ketchup.  This has got to be the best ketchup that I have ever eaten!  We will have to make it again!

Lucy getting her hair done for the first time!!

The last time I got my hair cut Lucy decided that she wanted to go get her's cut too.  When we got there I realized that Lucy has never been to the salon to get her hair cut or fixed up fancy.  So we decided it was time!  Thankfully the lovely Paula had some extra time and she went to work.  

 It didn't take Paula long to make my pretty Lucy beautiful!  Paula was wonderful with Lucy.  She talked to her the whole time because Lucy was a little nervous.  All in all Lucy LOVED it!

And after Paula was finished she even gave Lucy a sucker for being and awesome customer!  I am wondering if Lucy liked it a little too much....she thinks she needs to go every week now!

Adam's Lego Birthday!

On July 22nd my baby turned 8 years old.  I guess he is NOT such a baby anymore.  So in honor of Adam turning 8, he wanted a Lego birthday party.  It took me a while and some Pinterest research, and this is what I can up with.

I found a Lego ice cube mold, but instead of ice I used red vanilla waffer melts.  Super easy and the kids were eating them faster than I could make them.  So they were made at night and hidden in the fridge where little people couldn't find them.

For lunch we had some easy Lego pizza.  The kids loved this idea and have asked for it again.

 My mother in law always makes the kids birthday cakes and she amazes me every time she creates a cake.  This one was super cool.  There is nothing better than a Lego brick cake!

 Add some friends, singing and fire...and now its a PARTY!!  Legos are everywhere!!

For over a year Adam has been asking me for the Black Pearl boat from the pirates movies.  He has never seen the movies but has been very interested in getting this boat.  He likes the challenge and I think he just might be an architect some day.  All in all I think he had a fantastic birthday and party.  Happy 8th Birthday Adam!

The Olympics are on my bucket list.

Tonight is the opening cerimonies for the 2012 summer Olympics in London.  As I sit here and watch the opening cerimonies I am thinking that one day I would love to be there.  The Olympics are something that I have always enjoyed, and kinda obsess about.  You would think that I might have competed, but I didn't.  Not even close.  There is just something about watching fellow Americans compete in sporting events against other countries that makes me proud!  This is the greatest country might as well watch and pull for our team.  I can't wait to watch as many events as I can.


                           GO TEAM USA!!

The kids learning stop motion animation.

Recently I purchased the LEGO Jericho movie for Adam.  It is a movie made by using stop motion animation, and the hole thing is composed of LEGOS.  The best part is that's it was made by a bunch of homeschool kids!  The movie is 28 minutes long and is so cool!

http://www.shatterpointentertainment.com/

So this inspired Adam to make his own LEGO movie!  While he was watching Jericho he figured out how they made the LEGOS move.  The talking wasn't so easy for him to figure out.  He asked a couple of questions, found a camera, tri pod and made a "set" out of his LEGO stock.

Within an hour they had a 37 second video!  Paul helped him with the animation and dialog.  I was super impressed with what the kids ended up with.  Check out Jericho and Adam's first movie!

I need a Hobby!!

I am in need of a hobby!! Everyone has one except me. Adam has his legos, Paul plays bluegrass and my mom is a card shark in poker. What hobbies does a mom of 4 home school kids want??? I have no idea! Here are some of the options that I have tried that didn't work or were too expensive.

Scrap booking - It was fun, but I never printed out enough pictures to use. At times it got really expensive.

Couponing - I still do use coupons, but I can cut them, organize them and shop all in about 2 hours.

Reading - I love reading, but if I have a good book I finish it in a couple of days...or if I pick up one I don't like I wont even finish it. Then the search for the next good book to read is dreadful to me.

Cooking - Cooking is fun, but I have gained so much weight since having kids that the things that I like to cook are not good for me. I can not bake to save my soul so that is out also.

Exercising - Paul suggested that I start working out. He was hopeful that I would make him to it with me, but that would require us to get up at 6 am. A morning person I am defiantly not!! I guess I need to quit being lazy and try this as my new hobby!!

I guess this just leaves home schooling the kids. There are always lesson plans to write, crafts to collect and science experiments to test. The library this year is going to be our best friend. The kids are going to learn how to find books using the card catalog, call numbers and all that good stuff.

As always I am open for suggestions if anyone has any.