It's September Baby!

Life with four is an amazing thing.  It's crazy and wonderful all at the same time.  Some days I feel as though I'm super mom, but there are many where I find myself wondering if I really accomplished anything.  Seriously though, have you ever cleaned a house and then twenty-four hours later it looks worse than it did when you cleaned it.  And don't get me started on laundry!  The piles, they never end!  But that's all part of being a mom of four and I wouldn't trade that for anything!

Tomorrow is a big day here.  Sarah will start middle school.  Do you remember how it was when you started?  I was so excited and nervous.  I remember one of my first bus rides there.  One of the guys that bullied my older sister came up to me and said something stupid.  But when it came to a war of words, I could hold my own.  I came right back at him and he backed down.  That was so empowering. Then there were many drama filled moments. Middle schooler's are so emotional.  Hormones start coming into play and the world can erupt on any given day.  I don't miss that part at all!

But now my baby girl will enter it.  She'll face the whims of emotions.  She'll barrel through her fears and find new dimensions to herself.  She'll become confident about her ability to navigate a strange new school.  Lord willing she will find life-long friends on her way.  This year she'll learn to play the violin and experience the rigors of gym class.  I'm so excited for her and proud that I get to walk beside her as she starts her new adventure.

Daniel is also entering the fray.  He was tapped to teach a new style of class for special-ed students at the high school.  He spent a good deal of this summer making lesson plans and figuring out how to teach 4 different grade levels in one room.  On top of that challenge, they've doubled the number of students that were meant to be in his program.  He's not even certain that his class at the new school will hold them all!  Daniel also signed up to do another play and is running for city council.  This fall is going to be packed.

Ashton will begin K4 homeschooling this week. We did a small start last week, but I decided not to push things too much.  It's pretty easy in the beginning. He's excellent at auditory learning. His biggest challenge will be to slow down to do his coloring and writing assignments.  And did I mention he turns four this month!  I'm seeing a Yo Gabba Gabba cake in his future!

Brenna will have a new "first" as well.  This week she'll be seeing the dentist for the first time!  My little princess was playing in her room with her brother and somehow chipped her front tooth. It's a sizable chip and I'm surprised that it's not causing her any pain.  But, the edges are very sharp and I'm afraid that she'll fall and cut her lip or tongue before we can get it fixed! So far we've avoided that. I haven't mentioned this before, but she is a little dancing diva as well!  One day I'll have to video her and post it here!

And my little Ian.  He's really not that little, but who cares. He reminds me so much of his older sister as a baby!  He's good natured and quick to smile.  He's started talking (baby talk) and if he could figure out the balance thing, he would be standing up on his own!  I have to go out and get some six month pants for him because he's too big for his 3-6 month clothes.  (He'll be 3 months old on the 7th.)  He shared a check-up visit with Brenna last month and weighed 14.6 pounds.  I have a feeling that he's already over 15 pounds now.  The funny part is that his sister is only 29 pounds!  He'll outweigh her by the time he's one!

As for me, I'm working on getting the state law for home bakers changed.  I want to run a little cake and pastry shop from the house to help provide for our family.  I've not had a lot of time to put into the effort this week, but hopefully will get to it soon.  In order to legally sell food from home, I would have to install a separate kitchen or rent a kitchen.  I can't afford either of those options.  Lately many states have passed cottage food laws to allow cooks/bakers to use their home kitchens and I hope that we can mirror that here.

I also found out a few weeks ago that my mom's colon cancer has moved to her liver.  She's going through chemo now. After watching my mother-in-law go through a relapse with her ovarian cancer, I know just how hard it is for my mom.  So if you have a  moment, lift her up in prayer.  I pray that if it's God's will that he will remove all traces of cancer from her or allow the chemo to keep it under control indefinitely.  Cancer is such an ugly beast.

This week, Daniel started leading a small group at church. Our first night went great and we got to meet some new folks and get to know some better. I'm so excited about our group and can't wait for our next meeting!  I enjoy spending time with God on my own, but he knew something when he called us to fellowship with other believers.  And I got to meet another stay-at-home mom!  Her son hit it of with Ashton right away!

We also were invited by another friend to go apple picking.  I don't have the pictures downloaded, but when I do I'll post a few. Ashton is still asking if we are going to "Apple Mountain"!  It cracks me up!  I fear that he's a bit like I am though. I don't like cooked apples unless it's applesauce.  I made German Apple Pancakes and Romanian Apple Cake this weekend.  Each had larger chunks of apples in it and he picked them out.  I can't wait for the Granny Smith Apples to come in season.  They are my favorite!  By then I hope that Daniel's grandmother is out of the hospital and able to teach me some about canning.  And if I'm lucky she may lend me all her canning gear!  I would love to have homemade applesauce all year long!

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