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Luke says I am a roller coaster of emotions.  Today is one of those days I guess.  After the the peak of the roller coaster which was my folks brief stay in Kansas, they left before 8:00 this morning to go back to their home in Alabama, they roller coaster decends.  They haven't been able to come out since Audrey's birth 20 months ago.  So obviously it was nice to see them. I've been out there a few times, but they weren't able to come here.  I am still a little sad about them leaving.  We had such a nice visit.  I had the flu last weekend and my kids have been passing it around ever since.  Temperatures rise and fall.  No gross stuff is happening though, so that is good.  It is exhausting  to get up in the night even if it is just to administer Tylenol and Ibuprofen.  The roller coaster begins to climb.  Tonight is the first meeting of my new book club!!!  I am very excited and have a lot of work to do in the house after having company.  I want it to be nice and shiny for tonight (and germ free.)  So up and down, excited and sad.  Errands to run but I just want to crawl back in bed.  Luke has been working like crazy lately.  If I am a roller coaster, he is a rock.  Never changes emotionally.  He is stable and strong.  I am glad he is busy working, but I miss him.
up down up down up

Not chickens...honestly that weirds me out for some reason.
Kids, that is right Free Range Kids.  If you haven't read  it, you should.  Author: Lenore Skenazy.  She is amazing.  Spot on with what is, or should I say, should be going on with our kids.  Since reading the book, my kids play outside for hours with out me once sitting in the drive way to watch them.  My neighbor girl, who is 11, has taken my 20 month old to her house to play with her while I cleaned my floors.  I left my 10 year old alone in a hotel room with the baby.  Exactly...my kids are safe.  The boogy man doesn't live in my neighborhood.  Nor is he going to be driving by next Tuesday or any day for that matter.  So there....read it and think for your self.  Don't just believe what every one has always told you about how safe you really are.

It has been one week and two days since a moving company pick up the boxes and furniture from our old house and brought them here, the new house.  I love this house.  There is still a pile of broken down boxes in my formal dining room waiting for recycling day, some things in the garage that aren't put away, but for the most part we're moved in.  I can tell this is really home because toys litter my living room floor.  I told my girls when we left the other house that it didn't matter where we lived, the walls, the structure doesn't make a home.  It is us.  Our sweet family.  As long as we are together here, now, this is our home.  

.....but I just read some really good books. 

First I will talk about the last book I read.  It is titled Happens Every Day  by Isabel Gillies.  Wow, I actually cried real tears.  It is this heart breaking true story about this woman's divorce.  Or yet the events leading up to and eventual divorce.  It is terrible, draining and thought provoking.  I couldn't put it down.  Luke asked me a great question.  "Why would you want to read such a sad book?"  No different than wanting to watch a drama I suppose, but I am sure he wouldn't ever want to do that either, not with out my influence any way.  So what did I get from it?  What was the point?  I got that one never knows what is going to happen in life.  You don't know what cards you will be dealt.  The author does point out several red flags, that had she'd been looking would have seen.  Also what I get out of it is to hold on to my husband, hold on to the moment.  At least for now, because it may not be a divorce, but any thing can happen.  Anything can happen any time.  So for this moment I will hold my family close to me.  Hold them in my arms and breath them in.  Feel their tiny hands in mine as we walk into the grocery store.  Let my husband but his arm around my waist in bed, though I am sure I won't be able to breath because he is suffocating me.  (I'm a little dramatic and start to feel trapped when snuggled too close)  I will watch another action movie even when I've seen enough.  I will eat at restaurants I haven't been to before and smile as I order something new, just because it makes him happy.  I love him, and because I don't know what tomorrow holds, I will hold on to today and let my God take care of the rest.

I have to go now.  But later I will write about the other two books I read.

My second daughter is so HALARIOUS.  She is always cracking us up.

Recently she gave us this little gem.

"Why do boys always get all the cool jobs, like president......and God?"

The girls had a lemonade stand on Monday!!  They made $13.40.  They were so excited.  It is actually kind of funny how it got started.  We had no intention on having a lemonade stand.  I was doing a lesson with Madelyn and The two middle girls were playing in Gloria's room.  Then they announced they were going outside.  That was fine by me as I was going to put the baby down for a nap.  Much better if they are outside.  So, what they were actually doing was trying to sell paper fans and worms they had made!!!  Some one actually bought one for 50 cents.  I think he thought he was getting a cup of lemonade because they were using a cooler as a chair.  So, when I saw that happen I asked them if they would like to have a lemonade stand.  (I didn't want to hurt their feelings, I thought their paper fans were beautiful and had actually purchased one myself the day before.  But those are things mommies think are wonderful, not passer byers.)  So thus, we had a lemonade stand.  Which was very successful.  One neighbor paid $3.00 for two cups of the stuff. 

I am trying something new.  It is really hard to skip the kids from subject to subject.  So we are trying an all Math morning.  All Math all the time!!!  It is really going great.  I think they are getting the concepts more than when we just quit.  Actually we are going to do language arts this afternoon, but nothing else.  We did 2 maths for Madelyn and one for Emma.  I'd like to get in another for her and 1 for Gloria before the day is over.  Madelyn did great on hers and she didn't even know she had done 2 lessons till I told her.  Sneaky ha?

I used to post out here almost every day.  My time is so limited now.  It seems like when I have a minute to sit down in the evening I am spending a little one on one time with my sweet little angle baby.  During the day we are hard at work doing school ALL day!  We have lots of activities now too.  My husband asked me if I had taken  on his dad's theory on life which is "I'll rest when I'm dead."  No, that isn't it.  I just want to do every thing I can for the girls.
There is another thing I want to post about.  I have a sweet new project Madelyn and I are working on.  We are sharing a journal.  I write in it one day and she writes in it the next.  We ask each other questions and answer them back to each other all in writing.  I am really excited about it.  I think it will give me insight into her little life and I think that it will help our communication as well as improve her writing skills. 
Well, those are my random thoughts for today.  I'm still here, just busier than ever. 

Audrey was saying momma for a long time.  That has changed.  Now when she wants to nurse she says "nigh" over and over when she wants to nursey.  When ever I pick her up to nurse I say "do you want nursey."  So she will sit on the floor, or crawl to me or bang on her high chair tray and say "NIGH NIGH NIGH"  It is really sweet.