Springfield

Good to be here. No, great actually. So low-key. I'm just enjoying the quiet and the easy pace. No dishes, no house keeping, no laundry. Eli's having a blast on Carter and Cameron's Wii. I actually tried it last night - pretty fun stuff! Had to laugh, the boys had me stand still while they made a character of me - so cute. Looked just like Jay's version of me from back in December. Adorable. I have to wonder if I'm that adorable in real life?? :)
We hit Gospel Publishing House Outlet yesterday. Very exciting. I found a great Math Curriculum for Eli - Bob Jones. I just really liked the way it was laid out, and the fact that it was all color. I think he's like me, motivated by style and flair. (tehee, we are a rare breed) So we bought that, and a new One Year bible for Eli. I think he's really going to like it. We also found some great readers for him - science readers and basic theology readers. Sounds advanced, but things like "Jesus is my best friend because..." Oh, and I found a handwriting book there too.
Then we went over to Redeemed. Oh my word. I just happened to be their bi-annual 40% off everything sale. We went nuts. Readers, textbooks, workbooks, you name it, we found it. Plus we bought a bunch of just fun books for the kids too. I think a person can never read too much. All the homeschoolers I have talked to have said you can't read too much!! I think that's the easiest way to learn. The more we look at this the more I see us doing a little more un-schooling than I had originally planned. Eli's got tons of ideas about what he wants to learn.
So my total was $124. But then after the discount it came down to $74. So that added in with the $64 I spent at GPH brings us to a grand total of $138 on books for this year. Not bad at all. I thought I was cutting myself short by having a budget of $200. But nope, we still have room to work with! Cool! The sale really helped.
Anyhoo, we came to Craig and Tricia's then and just crashed here, hanging out, talking. It was awesome. These guys have always been our mentors - they knew us before we were 'us' if you know what I mean. I love checking in with them, they have always been straight shooters with us.
So today we are just chilling, waiting for Cheddar's. Might hit a scrapbook store or two this afternoon, if I can talk the kids into it. Might go find an educational toy store or two. Might just chill for the rest of the day. Our life is usually pretty insane, so it's nice to just relax and let things happen for a change.
Also, I asked Tricia they would want me to photograph their family tomorrow, and she thought that would be awesome. Woohoo! This will be my first family to work with, and they are beautiful people, so it will just be super-fun. I hope the kids will work with, but I bet they will. Can't wait. It's so funny how excited I get to take people's pictures!!

PS - Sarah just handed me the wrapper from her tootsie roll and said "merry christmas!" She's so my kid!

PSS - aren't these some of the most beautiful people you have ever seen??