Over a Year Later??

I can't believe it's been over a year since I've posted. It's been a beyond-crazy-busy-kind-of-year. House, house, house....trying to sell our house in this rotten market. Well....it'll happen when it's supposed to, I guess :)
I think we've finally decided where we want to live when it does sell. McKay's Mill in Franklin is just a beautiful neighborhood full of kids and walking/biking trails, a huge pool, tennis courts and basketball courts. We are very excited about it and hope it works out to bulid there. There is only a small section still for sale in the Broadgate community.

So on to other news....
Sabrina is walking, saying mama, dada, byebye, and hi...she nods, shakes her head, blows kisses, waves, runs everywhere, hugs her sisters and brother, adores her daddy and screams when she doesn't get what she wants! She is a joy :) Her hair is so long it looks like it should belong to a 3 year old! She's our only true dark brunette, like Mommy.

Maggie is 5 now!!! She is still Mommy's cuddle buddy with daddy's sense of humor. She is learning to count to 100 and ride her bike. She can write her name and throw a tantrum like nobody's business! Maggie is working through the Rod and Staff preschool workbooks during our school days. She can't wait for Kindergarten and she wants to learn to read...now! Maggie finally grew an inch and half and is now all of 3ft. 3 in. tall and in the 5th percentile for height. I think there's no denying now that she is built like her Grandma Dee and maybe my Grandma Jeanne who never got past 5'0" :) Maggie loves playing with her baby dolls and being a very girly girl. She began taking preschool dance with Ms. Rachel at Second Story Studio, and she loves it (especially the twirly skirts)!

Patrick is 8 and a half and has joined Lily at BFA and is doing great there thankfully. He has made a quartet of friends there and never hugs me goodbye when I drop him off now (but I still embarrass him and call out "I love you" real loud). He is my boy with the one track mind. He LOVES Lego sets...especially Star Wars. I have seen lots of improvement lately in his spelling (it's actually his favorite subject!) and handwriting. His reading has caught up and he has even read a few books he actually enjoyed (he insists he hates to read but we have informed him that he WILL LEARN TO LIKE IT through being forced to do a lot of it before he leaves home). Patrick delights in illustrating very detailed battle scenes and has started to write little stories to go with them. He is officially a Cub Scout now in a dad-led (thank you God!) troop. He played Soccer in the Fall and will probably do so again. He is involved in JAM (Judson Arts Ministry) at our church. He is learning music there. It is such a great class, especially for us homeschoolers!! And he has made a great little friend there which really makes me happy :)

Lily is 11 (!!) now and in 5th grade. She loves going to BFA every Tuesday. She is taking Ballet, Tap, Tumbling, Jazz Isolations and Dramatic Dance at Second Story Studio in Belle Meade. We love Ms. Marci and Second Story!! She is also helping in Maggie's preschool dance class. Lily played catcher last spring in the Green Hills Girl's Softball league and will do so again this spring. She is also taking classes at JAM. Last fall she took art and music classes, and this spring she is involved in a musical that will be performed in May. She is growing up too fast (for me) and is a big help to me and her dad. Lily is my super creative girl, always singing, writing songs, drawing, painting and dancing. She has just acquired eyeglasses for farsightedness and looks cute with her pink frames :)
She still hates math and all her freckles (which I love to death and hope never go away).

Thomas is still at Logan's Roadhouse coding away. He at times slogs through and at others soars through...just like life in general :) He takes the kids every Saturday to have a special Daddy day while I plan next week's school and shop etc. ALONE :) He and I help out in Soul Summit (children's worship service) at church on Sundays. He just bought a belt sander and along with his miter saw and other slowly acquired tools, we are hoping to be able to build some furniture for our someday-new-house using free plans from ana-white.com.
We have Family Night every Saturday night now. It is our favorite time of the week. Thomas makes dinner and we all watch a movie together.

I am still here too, imperfectly running our household and schooling the kiddos. Having a "big family" has taught me a lot this year. Mostly, I've learned I'm not as in control as I think I am and that God takes care of things just fine without me micro-managing every detail (or worrying about every detail...which makes me feel like I am doing something, but really I'm not). I have learned to embroider and am trying my hand at quilting currently. I am anxious to be settled somewhere soon, but am learning to deal with the waiting :)

My favorite new appliance(second only to my Kitchen Aid mixer) is my new bread machine I got for $15 brand new last summer at a church garage sale in St. Louis. It makes fabulous bread. After lots of experimenting I have perfected my wheat bread recipe:
Carrie's Whole Wheat Bread for Breadmaker

1.5cups + 2 T. Whole Wheat flour
1.5cups + 2 T Bread Flour
2.5 tsps bread machine yeast
3T sugar
1.5 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/3cup yogurt (I use vanilla)
1c. warm water

Dump it all in machine (if you are going to make it immediately...otherwise follow manufacturer directions for ingredient order). Bake on Sweet setting for 1.5 lb. loaf with medium crust setting. Enjoy!

I also experimented with a fabulous panettone recipe that I will share later. It is divine :)

That's all for my update. I hope to post again before next year!!