Mother Daughter Tea Party

Yesterday at Allyson's American Heritage Girls meeting, we had a Mother Daughter Tea Party. The girls are working on a Daughter of the King badge and this was one of the requirements along with talking about manners. We also created a craft together, which is something we both love to do. It was a nice and relaxed time with Ally. 

Home Update

I'm not sure if I posted anything about our home on the blog, I don't think so. Well, let me catch you up to speed and get a little personal.

Shawn and I attended a marriage retreat back in September 2016 at Pine Cove with a group of couples from our Married Bible Fellowship class and it was a wonderful time. We actually had adult conversations together without being interrupted or falling asleep! And they were in person and not over text! Woohoo! We spoke about everything from kids to finances to spiritual to goals to daily life. It was simple things, but it was very intentional; we loved it.

During the weekend we kept going back to our budget and we realized that we needed to increase funds or decrease expenses. We have been more than blessed by Shawn's job over the last 10 years, we are not complaining at all, but we have also been hit financially with the downturn in the oil industry over the past year or two. So since that is our reality, we both agreed we needed to make some adjustments.

While cutting cable would help a little, we really needed to do something a little more drastic, like sell our home. We love our home, our neighbors, our little town, so this was not a fun or popular decision for us to make; however, this was the adult thing to do.  We have always wanted a place with a bigger backyard, mature trees. Initially we were thinking out in the country somewhere.

We came home from the retreat, starting looking for houses and getting our house ready to sell. We found a smaller home on 2/3 of an acre about 35 minutes Northwest of where we currently live and before we knew it, we were under contract. This was in October. We also put our home on the market in late October.

We were moving forward with the process and due to unforeseen circumstances, the house fell through. While we were bummed, we definitely did not want to force something that was not meant to be. We prayed and prayed some more for the Lord to guide us on our journey. In the meanwhile our house was having barely any traffic at all.

After the country house fell through we decided that we would not physically look at anymore houses until ours got a contract on it. Fast forward to the beginning of January, we decided to lower our listing price just a little to see if that would help it move any faster. That week we got a couple of showings, then a couple of more the next week and a few more the following week. Then on Monday, January 23, 2017 we received an offer. So, we are currently under contract on our home. We are still in the option period for a few more days, but as far as well know things are moving forward with the sale.

With a contract on our house we decided we better start getting serious on our house hunt since the close date is March 7th and we will need a place to live. We looked 3 different days for homes last week. I'll save you all the LONG details and give you the meat! A house we looked at on Tuesday already had a contract on it unbeknownst to us. We loved the property, but the house needed some work. Once we found out it had a contract on it, we were a little bummed. Then on Friday we received word that that house was back on the market. We went and looked at it again and decided to put an offer on it. Here is a picture of the backyard. Plenty of room for the kids to run and the trees, I love them!

Our offer was accepted and we are currently under contract and are scheduled to close on March 7th. While there are still things to be lined out and cleared up, we are excited and hopeful. And if this house is not the one, we will remain optimistic that something will work out for us. The good Lord has not failed us yet, so we have faith that it will all work out, it just may not be how we have it planned out. And that's ok.

While we originally thought we wanted country living, adding all that time onto Shawn's commute just didn't add up for us, especially at this stage in our life with kids involved in activities. We decided to move 30 minutes Southwest of our current home to Highland Village. This would get Shawn closer to Dallas and Fort Worth and even Frisco, where his office is located. I love the area and Shawn's commute will be a lot better. The home we currently have a contract on is on .44 of an acre, so it has a big yard, which is perfect. And it is a fixer upper, which is also what we wanted. And Shawn confirmed that we can have chickens...another thing we have talked about for years! And this home will benefit us financially. Shawn and I are both excited to make this house our home.

Stay tuned to what the Lord has in store for us.

Making Memories

We've been so busy making memories, that I haven't had time to post lately! I thought I would put a quick post together on what we've been doing since the spelling bee!

01.15.2017: We had a fun time at the Dallas Mavericks basketball game!

01.15.2017: Our little Finn earning a Green Apple patch at his Awana meeting!

 01.17.2017: Finn at our Classical Conversation co-op during art time!

01.17.2017: Allyson at American Heritage Girls. The girls in the Pioneer and Patriots unit taught the girls about making a fire and fire safety. Ally was ready to eat her edible fire!!

01.17.2017: Ally presenting some of her favorite things to her unit to help fulfill a requirement of the "Daughter of the King" badge. She is showing some artwork here; she loves to draw!

 01.18.2017: Listening to Allyson read on the couch! It is sometimes wild and crazy!!

01.19.2017: I was able to give her my undivided attention and listen to her read. I'm so glad that she enjoys reading.

01.19.2017: Working with Jase on his writing assignment.

01.19.2017: Enjoying some ice cream at Chick-Fil-A. Deep in thought!

01.19.2017: Jase is always ready for a picture! You should see all the selfies on my phone from him, he is a mess!

01.19.2017: Little Mae trying a cow hat on for size.

01.20.2017: Watching the Inauguration of President Donald Trump with the kids. This was our history lesson for the day!

01.20.2017: We attended a Missionary Conference at our church. Denton Bible Church is very mission minded, which I love since we are commissioned to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:20). Every two years our church brings home as many of our missionaries as they possibly can for a week and they share what has been going on abroad (or local- we have some missionaries who are state side too). Our church does a great job of loving on them and providing meals all week long and this also acts as a team huddle for our missionaries, as it allows them to connect with other missionaries who are working along side them.

01.23.2017: We gathered together with neighbors to watch the funeral procession for Officer Jerry Walker of Little Elm Police Department. He was killed in the line of duty when he responded to a call. Continuing to pray for his family and our law enforcement as they lay their life on the line for our safety.

01.24.2017: I got the privilege to listen to Jase present about a book he had just finished: Boxcar Children. He received a four book set for Christmas and he loved the first one and is on the second one now.

 01.24.2017: Art time at CC. Jase was drawing things in nature.

01.25.2017: Morning hugs! These two love each other. It is too sweet!

01.25.2017: She loves sticks, flowers, grass, all of nature's goodies! I had to take this picture in order for her to get into the car the and leave the stick on the ground! Ha!

01.27.2017: So funny watching some of the kids in our CC group take a group selfie at the library. Every 3-5 weeks we get together (outside of class time) and meet at the library and the moms of the 4th-6th grades watch a DVD over writing. It gets us a step ahead of what will be taught to our kids during the Essentials portion of our co-op day. While we are watching the DVD and being trained, our Essentials Tutor watches ALL the kids! They bring their work and have Study Hall, review our CC material and then take selfies!

01.28.2017: Mama and Mae at the Harlem Globetrotters in Dallas.

01.28.2017: Group photo minus Finn! I just noticed that. Let me get one with him! Ha!

01.28.2017: Here he is front and center and of course...dabbing! Love my crew!

I've posted quite a few videos on YouTube this past month, so if you want to see us in action, click HERE to check it out! Thanks for reading!

Spelling Bee

Tonight Jase competed in his very first Spelling Bee! The Denton County Homeschool Association set it up through Scripps National Spelling Bee. There were 17 participants that ranged from 1st-7th grade. The majority of them were in the 4th-5th grade, with a handful in 1st-2nd and 6th-7th.

This is Jase right before they got started. He picked seat #8.

Spelling Bee participants.

Jase went 8 rounds and was down to the final 6 people. Here are his spelling words each round: 1) boring, 2) chatter, 3) farewell, 4) contract, 5) massive, 6) indicate, 7) invisible, and 8) inlet.

When he misspelled inlet (enlet) he was so bummed. He was like "I should have asked for the definition, to use in a sentence". We were so proud of him, just for even getting up there. We studied challenging 5th grade words and below, but should have continued through 7th grade words. This was our first go at it and we weren't really sure what to expect, so now we know how it all works and have one under our belt. It was a lot of fun and he said he would do it again, which is a win in my book!

In the middle of the 1st round, Allyson leaned over and said "this is interesting, I like this!" She totally wants to do it next year! And she informed us that she will wear a fancy dress! Oh that girl!

Short clip of Jase walking up to get his medal. Pretty sure they presented the medals in order of age. Even though he appears to be one of the oldest, he was in the bottom half of kids, age wise.

We let our big speller pick dinner and he chose Texas Roadhouse. It has been forever since we have ate here and they all loved it. Here are my boys. Again, Finn with his signs. Not sure if it is U of H or Texas Longhorns or what, but he throws them up All. The. Time.

Jase and Daddy join in on the fun!

Me and my girls. This is what Maebry does now when she says "cheese", she tilts her head to the side. So cute.

When your oldest orders steak with mashed potatoes and gravy instead of chicken tenders or Mac-n-cheese! And finishes it. Gosh he is growing up!

Maebry: Hmmm, that drink looks good!

Maebry: I got it and Ally didn't even notice!

Sweet girls. Another one of Mae's head tilts. Love it!

So big in her little boots and jeans! What a fun night!

Basketball Fun

On Saturday Jase had a double header for basketball. With a little time to kill in between games we headed over to Chick-Fil-A to grab some lunch and we saw half the team there. It was nice relaxing and talking with friends. A handful of the kids are from his baseball team, so Jase loves that! And notice that Finn is at the big boy table! He loves doing every little thing Jase does!

The boys played some close games, but could not pull out a W. Jase did make a few defensive plays and was getting more aggressive, which was fun to watch! He is number 40 below.

First Snow in 2017

On Friday we were leaving the library and it was snowing when we walked out! The kids were super excited!!

The kids were opening their mouths, trying to catch the snow!!

A short video we made when we got to the car for Daddy!

This is a few hours later back at the house; it was still snowing. It was short lived, but it was fun while it lasted!

December for the Frenches

I always look forward to December. We have a few traditions we continue each year and we usually try a few new things too. We lighten the load on school work and put a lot of focus on Advent: time of waiting, a time of anticipation and preparation for the coming of Jesus.

Every year we love going to pick out our tree together. This is the one, Daddy!

We have created a Jesse tree of some sort for 4-5 years and it has been great. "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Isaiah 11:1 The Jesse tree is used to represent the stories of people in Jesus' family tree. Each day you read scripture and the corresponding bible story and you reflect on what the Bible is trying to tell us. It begins with creation and leads up to Jesus' birth. After we read the Bible story each day, we hang a corresponding symbol or ornament on the Jesse tree that the kids create.

Our completed tree!

In addition to the Jesse Tree, we also did an Advent Countdown. We have done this once or twice in the past and the kids really like it. Each day there will be something for the kids to do. Here are some examples of some of the activities we did this year:

• give your brother and sister two compliments today
• write a soldier a letter
• family Christmas movie night
• donate items from your pantry to the local food bank
• make homemade hot cocoa
• bake cookies for the neighbors
• donate 5 of your toys
• leave a nice note for someone to find
• read the M&M Christmas Story

The idea is to take the focus off of yourself and do for others. And for the days we were gone for Disney, I included ideas like: eat lunch with a Princess, ride a roller coaster, take a family Christmas selfie. We opened all these days when we got back home and there was no "catch-up" to do, which was nice.

Dipping pretzels with the kids. Mae LOVED this and she even had her own bowl! Dipping pretzels and making candy {divinity, pralines, peanut butter balls, fudge} is a memory I have as a child, so I love creating these memories with my children as well.

Watch us in action!

Building and decorating our Gingerbread House Village. 

After we got home from the Christmas Eve service, the kids all lined up to open their first gift of the season. Each year they get to open one gift on Christmas Eve.

See what they opened up!

Daddy and the girls spreading out the Reindeer Food in the yard on Christmas Eve. We gave bags of Reindeer Food to each family at our Neighborhood Christmas Party.

The stockings are ready to go for the kiddos.

 The presents are all wrapped and the kids are tucked into bed.

The kids woke up around 7:15 on Christmas morning and were ready to open gifts!

Watch the kids in action!

We have a tradition of having cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. My first memory of doing this is  in Deer Park in 2008 when Jase was still a baby. These past two years we have stepped up our game and made them from scratch. We follow Pioneer Woman's recipe and they turn out delicious. There are quite a few steps involved, but they are so worth it. And it makes so much that we were able to bless a couple of neighbors with a pan of them.

 Christmas Service with the crew!

This year Shawn requested Italian food on Christmas Day. We thought that Chicken Alfredo and garlic bread would be best for our family since they aren't big on red sauce. I have made it before and remember it being more involved, but it was relatively easy this time. Since Ree Drummond is so reliable, I went with Pioneer Woman for the recipe!! Love her!

Happy Birthday to Jesus! We make a cake every year on Christmas Eve to celebrate. We sang Happy Birthday after lunch on Christmas Day. 

Playing the Wii on Christmas afternoon!

We had a fun December and many memories were made. I'm thankful for it and am looking forward to getting into the New Year and back into routine.