Home from Alabama!

 

Guess who's back?  

We didn't travel to Alabama, but our Flat Stanley's did and they had an AMAZING time!  This was to be the third state visited, but by the time they were done traveling around with the Prater family they had visited a grand total of TEN STATES!  

We got our package a few days ago and I still can't believe what the Prater's put together for us.  Have a look!

The Prater's live near the US Space & Rocket Center and so the package had an outer space theme.  Jackson LOVED that! 

Here they stopped at the Chocolate Crocodile and the oldest hardware store in Alabama.  I loved the little tidbits of information that they included for each stop!

They also visited the Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas.  This is a place that the Duggar family has visited.

Then the Stanley's got to tag along on a road trip to Texas, where they visited a Six Flags and The Alamo!  Jordan was so tickled about the cowboy hat on her Stanley in this picture.

They stopped off in Louisiana to visit the WWII Museum.  Can you even believe how awesome this is?!?

Next stop:  Gulfport, Louisiana, which is along the Gulf of Mexico.  Look at that beautiful beach!

Megan saw this and said that she couldn't believe that her Stanley had traveled all over the world!  Then I told her that this was Paris, Tennessee--not Paris, France.  But it's Paris nonetheless!  A miniature Eiffel Tower still counts, right?

On the way to Ohio they stopped in Kentucky, which was neat because we were just telling the kids about the Kentucky Derby.  It's funny how much of this was in our study this year (The Alamo) and how much will be in our studies next year (WWII and astronomy.)  Yay for extra resources!!!

Finally they made it to the Prater's home state of Ohio.  

Thank you so much, 

Prater Family!

Ladybug Release!

Today the kids released about a bazillion ladybugs into the Powers' garden.  Maddie, of course, took the project to another level by covering herself in the buggies!  My skin was crawling just looking at her! 

Here are a few pictures!

 

Kieryn was wearing ladybugs while releasing ladybugs.  Could this have been any cuter?!?

There isn't much that this girl won't do!

No bugs on me, please!  Jordan spent her time convincing me that these flowers were edible, and then Julie told me that she wasn't so sure about it...after I ate one.  Thanks!  ;)

Megan was content to play with one little ladybug.  And that's SO her style.  She just wants to watch and see how they move.

They probably could have been dispersed a little better, but oh well!

Moving with Kids: Tips and Tricks

 

So I was thinking today...  

We move a lot, and it seems that people are taking notice.  I can't tell you how many comments I've gotten from friends and family this past few weeks!  This weekend we will be embarking on our 10th move in 9 years.  We move so much that it doesn't feel the slightest bit strange to have our house all packed up and to be sleeping in my living room (it saves Jeff from having to move our heavy mattress downstairs on moving day and allowed me to clean the master bed and bath ahead of time.) 

But even being the experts that we are (he he), moving with kids can be stressful!  Just caring for your family's basic needs is a full-time job, so it can be a little tricky when you add in everything that a move requires.  

Some of our past moves have been a little rough, but thankfully we've figured out a sort of system that works for us.  Here are a few tips and tricks!

  

Keep Christ as your center.

For me the most important thing is to keep my focus on the Lord.  I try to not sleep in though I'm especially tired from the extra work.  In those early morning hours, my Lord gives me strength for the day and I am never left without encouragement and instruction.


Keep the kids nearby!

I don't know about you, but sometimes I fight frustration when I'm working on something and my kids are all the way in another part of the house and have a disagreement or a need that requires my presence.  I have learned that it's so much easier to have them close by! 
 

Special moving activities!  

A few of my kids' favorites are:

 

Making box castles! 

Box castles make a big disastrous mess, but they keep kiddos busy for hours, so it's worth it!  I just give them a space that I'm not going to be working in and tell them to not bend the boxes too much.  In the above picture, I was working on the kitchen and they were in the living room. 

Decorate the boxes!

Why not?  What does it hurt?  Give the kid a pen and tell them to go nuts, but ONLY ON THE BOXES!!!  I usually use washable markers for the little ones so I can rest easy and get some packing done while they create masterpieces!  Megan once drew out an entire story on the sides of a box.  It was so neat!

Change it up!

I think it's also fun to change things around during a move.  Don't try to keep life going along as normal because you will be very disappointed when you can't keep up!  Instead, go with the flow and live the adventure!  (Right, Tonya?)

One thing that they LOVED was getting to swap beds, just to see what it was like for everyone else to sleep in this house.  They also had lunches picnic-style on the floor and got to stay up late and play Legos (which made them sleep in the next day--YES!)

Jordan didn't want to sleep in a "boy bed" because "Princesses don't sleep in boy beds."  I'm sure Jeff is very happy with that resolve.

Put 'em to work!

Another thing that is important but can be more challenging is to actually have them do some of the work.  They want to help so badly, so why not take a minute or five and let them have a go at it?  Yes we can do it better and faster, but why is better and faster better?  Did you follow that?  ;)  Jeff is especially good about taking the time to involve the kids.

This week he had two of the kids mow the lawn.  The kids had a blast helping their daddy, and practiced a skill too!  Never mind that it took much longer than usual...

Today Jackson decided that he was daddy's helper.  I love watching my little man work alongside my big man.  How he tries to copy everything his dad does.

I have to admit though, this did not end well.  Jackson grew tired of loading the truck and began to wander a little, so Jeff sent him in the house.  

Jackson came upstairs with teary eyes and said:

"Daddy fired me!"

Stifling laughter, I asked "Well do you know why?"

"Yes," he said reluctantly.

"Why then?"

 (Thoughtful for a moment.)

"I don't think I want to talk about it."

Ha!

Well that's all I've got.  I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures of my ragamuffin children (because that's another tip of mine:  Don't worry about lookin' pretty while you pack!)

We're so excited to head out and begin the next chapter of our journey!

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This will most likely be my last real post until after we are settled on the coast, but I'll try my best to add a few pictures (for the grandparents.)

Lord bless you and 

Bye-bye central Oregon!