well, hello there.....

shall I re-introduce myself? (wink)

My name is Katie, I am a mother of now 4 daughters and I assure you it has rocked my world. 

This is the current state (for real, as I type) of this precious bundle.....

oh, precious right?!?!? 

yes, yes, she is :)

Obviously blogging has taken a back seat. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, I am sure you have your fill of updates. But I do apologize to you in the blog world. My fingertips rarely hit the keyboard these days. 

I am embracing the change, and soaking up every minute I can of these days with this little joy and her sisters. I really thought it was just the fact we had a 4th child, a baby no less, with out any planning, that shook my world upside down and all around, but after today I realize it was much more, as the words "sleep deprived" is something I categorized myself in lately.....it has been 10 years ya know since those sleepless nights for us. Lump that into the fact that my work survives off of creativity. And when your brain hurts it's so tired, it makes things difficult... 

but today I feel like a new woman. I feel like I could conquer the world......

wait for it.....wait for it....

that sleeping angel, slept through the night last night.....

Like, ALL the way through the night with NO peep! No, popping the paci in, cuddling/consoling her back to sleep, feeding, nothing.....

we held off as long as we could and decided to.......ADD RICE CEREAL TO HER BOTTLE at night.....I know some of you are gasping at the thought, probably the mom's whose babies are sleeping through the night with out such help. Our little teeny tiny Hope, just made it to 10lbs so, her little 10th percentile healthy self  just needed some help :) But alas.... baby, daddy and mommy are doing awesome today, so I count it a blessing. And would you believe my 4:20am "your only chance to go to the gym" alarm clock woke her up.....damn clock.

 as you can see, we are working on the nursery.....aka, Lizzy and Hope's room.....

the (not yet assembled) headboard to Elizabeth's bed is currently in the entrance of our home........

 and above that pic (the used to be green and white) floor needs some more touching up.... along with dusting off the ol' sewing machine; because that was the deal. Lizzy wanted to make sure she could "close up" her bed for privacy since she is sharing her room with a sister 10 years younger.


The days are full and I'm determined to enjoy them the most I can. I remember having the girls on top of each other and those crazy toddler years. Sometimes I lived for nap time and bed time; not to mention, I was a baby myself.....survival mode was in full swing. Different stage of life, a new season for us. That is why I have decided that this garland I strung at Christmas time, can just stay up.....

because Hope loves to stare at it when we feed her in that room.... besides, our small group agrees that since it has yellow in it, I'm good.....or at least they are saying that to make me feel better.

Homeschooling is going....that is about all I can say about that ;) we can make it through the day, but don't ask mama to be creative right now. That will come back sometime.....we currently ditched the ridiculous 4th grade online math Elizabeth was using....

I had heard it was a night mare from some of my School teacher friends, but add that to a child that has dyslexia and processing disorders and BAM, we both would rather DIE!


So, we went old school.....

ohhhhh,  A Beka Curriculum,  how I remember you. Now, our little chick gets it...... HALLELUJAH!!

I'm just thankful for the hubs when it comes to the older girls. When they have good ol' Algebra probs, I can can send them his way.

I just can't believe we are on the count down to sending these girls to highschool this fall....... crazy.


speaking of Highschool.......




I never finished..... and the above is something I have always wanted to do. But like I said.... I was a baby when I had my babies and time was filled. I never took the time, and honestly was scared to death I wouldn't pass this test. Crazy I know, but it was a fear I held on to.

So I signed up to take my GED about a week before we adopted Hope and they gave me a random date. Hope was two weeks old when my test date was scheduled. The exhaustion of the adoption process and sleepless nights tempted me GREATLY to not go through with that 8 hour test. But God used the ongoing love and support from the hubs, our precious small group and my Circle City CrossFit class members to push me to go after this goal, because I wanted it, and I wanted it badly. When I signed up for the test, I started telling the girls and Elizabeth piped in before I could share what I was taking and said "is this a test to see how good of a mom you are? Because I can just tell them you are.".... it reminded me even more why I wanted to get my GED....I wanted our girls to know I think their education is important, and no matter how much I could say it, I felt I needed to back it with my own perseverance. So, I share this with you to say..... It's never too late to set goals and go after your desires.


well, that sums up some of the happenings around here! If the sleeping through the night holds up, you just may see me around here more often.

I'll leave you with this.....



she woke up.... Happy Monday!

#TBT

for those of you not quite there yet.... #TBT means Throw Back Thursday.... it's where we revisit the past through photos.

This was just a couple years ago, but photos of that day are some of my favorite. It's amazing how much our girls have grown in such a short time.

This home school year is almost kicking my butt. Seriously, it is challenging me, in a good way, but still a challenge. My days are consumed at the moment with unanswered emails, phone calls, FB messages and texts (sorry peeps!). Because these three in the pic need my full attention. I move from one school station to the next, then to the kitchen, laundry room and occasionally the bathroom :)


It's time to start another day. My perspective is better today. I am ready for the challenge, I just had to get over myself this week. Design work and decorating is about take a back burner.....a very back burner.

That Chick on the left, has made GREAT strides over the last 2 years. She has gone from a kindergarten grade level to almost fully into her expected grade level. Her world has been rocked this week, as she finally tackles what all the other children her age do in school. She is one tough cookie. When we both feel like crying, sometimes we do, but we don't quit.

Teaching a child with multiple learning disorders is an absolute challenge,but also a tremendous blessing, because we get to see first hand, great rewards. We get to see and experience God's goodness to us through our struggles. I feel like crying sometimes every day, and flash backs of preschool flood my mind on the days she couldn't remember the letter "s" or the color "red" and all I wanted to do was scream. For two years, we have dug deep to find out how this chick learns. We haven't mastered it yet, but we are VERY close.

Elizabeth age 6

 One day, I hope to blog about it. One day, I hope to share our struggles I noticed by her age of two. I hope to share with you strategies and encouragement.....like, it's okay for your child to lay on her stomach on her exercise ball to do spelling...or spin on her stool while doing math, or let her go through 5 peppermints while I, or she reads so she can comprehend the story. And even let her answer a few questions like- Question: What did the story tell you people do on Labor Day? her answer: Plant a tree....... because that's what she would do. Was that in the story...no. Did she get that answer wrong...yes, according to the computer and curriculum ...yes. But if she wanted to plant a tree on Labor Day, I don't see anything wrong with that. She's one of my hero's. She knows how to keep perspective. She fights hard. She loves life and people.....and the word hard work is beside a huge smiley face in her dictionary.

The Big girls are rocking 8th grade like a pro. So thankful for the K12 program we are using for all three of them. It helps this mama BIG time. If it wasn't for it, I don't think we would be Home Schooling them this year. They've grown up so much over the last year. So glad to have them home with me another year before they head off to High School. They keep me on my toes and I'm thankful for them.


Happy Thursday y'all :)

a little (very little) catch up.....

I keep thinking I will get a chance to sit down and update you guys, but my time on the computer is faaaaarrrrr fetched. I can't seem to find any time to sit down and blog. Most of my time on the screen is spent grading papers and doing research.

The girls use the computer for schooling, so the main computer and the laptop is used 6-7 hours a day. And then my afternoons are usually playing chauffeur, chef or rushing off to an appt.


I have picked up (or should I say, the Lord dropped them in my lap) a few design jobs. It has been great fun, and I'll have to tell you the details about them and how I got started on another post :)


In the meantime, I received a few of these happy samples yesterday and it was like Christmas morning for me.....




















We have been soaking up this gorgeous spring weather we've been having. I find myself telling the girls to take as much work outside as possible.

This gal is reading the Magic Tree House books, and decided it needed to be read in a tree...



I'm surprised, (since it's about Dolphins) she didn't insist on laying on the beach instead! Her imagination fuels me most of the time.

I've discovered that I like to doodle. I have always been a TERRIBLE drawer, but the design world has forced me on beautiful days like this to doodle my design. And I have discovered that my love for color pencils didn't have to stay in the 2nd grade :)....

Oh, and have y'all discovered the new knob section at Hobby Lobby?????

before.....

after......

LOVE.....I could spend all day on that aisle.

Looks like my time is up.....time to put on the ol' chauffeur hat!


oh, and since it's Thursday..... I'll participate in the #TBT (throw back Thursday)....... This is Elizabeth when she was 3 yrs old eating a slice of Cantaloupe on the beach :) ......




Happy Thursday Y'all!

soaking it up.....

It happens. You bring them home from the hospital.....you blink; and next thing you know, you are planning their first birthday. You blink twice; their 13th, and a third; High School graduation.

I could see it flashing before my eyes, and my heart raced a little; okay, maybe a lot.

How many of you remember Middle School?

As our girls were approaching the double digits, we had parents of teens say to us daily, "just wait.". They would say it about anything and everything. When the girls would ask for money for this or that, they would say "just wait"; if they would talk back, just wait; if they were still eating portions off the kid's menu, just wait; how about their disgust for boys....JUST WAIT.

It was always so negative sounding, I almost started to dread it myself. But what about the kids? What do they go through?

How many of you remember the day you grew independent? Maybe it wasn't Middle school, but I can promise you, those were the years I was finding out who I was and what I thought about life. It was when I chose friends, or they chose me. I agreed with my parents or disagreed. I loved, I hated. They were trying times, no doubt, but also some of the most fun had.

I started really pondering our girl's next couple years. Homeschooling our girls was NEVER an option in my mind. I didn't want to....period. I knew what it would take. I knew what I wanted for them and it wasn't that. Until.......the middle school years approached, and I could see it...

They were going to be gone before we knew it. Every year, school work got harder, extra curricular activities filled up our only free time, drama amongst the peers made for late nights, and it made me want to rush them through. Yes....... I just said that.

Kind of like when you can't wait for your baby to hold her own bottle, then walk, talk, use the potty, etc. We all want to rush the more trying times in life, don't we? To hurry up and make it through to greener pastures. Then.... you wish you could go back in time, at least for a few minutes and soak up just a little bit more time with them as you cuddled and fed them, and even changed that diaper.


It wasn't worth it; I rushed it for what??

What lesson are we teaching our girls if we just rush them through. If we just tell them to "grin and bear it". Will they know what that even means? What will happen to them during those times? The hardest lessons for me, even now, is to not just rush through the tough times, but embrace them. God allowed them in my life, for a reason. For good. Some how, some way. What would I miss, if I just rushed through and didn't embrace the trial in search for what He wanted to show me? Would I miss the work of the Holy Spirit in my life? Would I miss seeing His provisions and faithfulness to me? I can dance in greener pastures, but can I not in the desert?

The girl's begged me for years to Home School them. I knew they would be glad too. Tim was supportive either way. Something in my heart just kept pressing me shortly after closing the store. I just wanted to enjoy these Middle School years. Do they have to be dreaded? I refused to believe that they couldn't be enjoyed. I'm not saying that they couldn't be if we were in public or private schooling. And I'm not saying it's all roses here in the corner of our little school room. It's just our time was so filled, even when we were so careful in planning, it still was so much, that at times I just wanted to go back in time; at least for a few minutes and just be able to soak up just a little more.

Some Mama's cry the whole Senior Year because it's "their last", but I was seeing 9th grade as the pistol start of a race that would finish before we knew it. And we say..."this is life", and your right, but we have a choice how we live it.

So we chose Homeschooling 7th and 8th grade. Why? Because we don't want to fall into the dreaded Middle School years, but instead, soak up every last second with our girls before we blink, and their gone.

As I type, I realize, our plans are not always God's plan. And if they change, I am just thankful I have had this time to soak up more then I would have the last couple months.  There are moments, I still feel as though I will go crazy. And moments, they walk in the room while I'm reading or blogging and I give them a "talk to the hand". Even times, I feel like giving up,or totally inept, because it is just plain hard.

And then I remember why we are doing this...... I trust that this is His plan for us, for right now; and I can rest in that. Our girls are worth all the work. They are worth me toting grammar and science books around town for me to study as I have any length of "free" time anywhere. They are worth fighting to pronounce a word, I haven't even heard of, or falling asleep with an Algebra book on my chest. They are even worth the 4:25am alarm clock. I thank God that our conversations are good, even the hard ones. I'm thankful they have enjoyed each day of this new adventure so far, and hope that our big girls will look back at these middle school years with memories that will make them smile, because I know it will us.

Brain overload....

**pics in the post are some I pulled from my camera, most that I didn't even know about, because the girls took them**

I am in overload people! I feel like I need a good 4 hours on this blog, or on the couch, bathtub, the gym; you know, where ever you just dump your thoughts.....

School is getting smoother and smoother, although when I talked to Tim today and mentioned the girls were taking a math test at the moment, I got a, "y'all are still doing school at 2pm??". Smooth, doesn't always mean our usual 12:30pm finish line, but almost always still feels like a race to finish.

We have soaked up these beautiful "fallish" days and taken multiple break/snack times to enjoy the beauty outdoors. Our southern heat, can sneak up on us in a hurry, so we make it a point to make it a big deal when the temps hang out around the 70's. And hey, if it starts out in the 60's, we don't even care if it reaches 90 degrees that day, the boots will probably be on our feet.

I'm starting to feel the pressure to come up with some funky fun crafts from my girls. Don't get me wrong, they have an imagination of their own, it's just me fueling it that takes time. If you want, send me some fun fall food and decorating ideas at kcpilcher@gmail.com. If we like it, and try it, we'll blog about it!

On another note. We are only in week 4 of school and I have managed to go through an entire cartridge of ink for my printer. I am thinking that I am going to have to add a line to my budget or start getting the Sunday paper in search of some $$ saving coupons........ or both!

Our girls have fallen in love with blogging and so it seems we fight over the computer and camera sometimes. If you have never blogged before, let me just tell you; when you start out, it can take hours to make a post happen. Downloading pictures, editing pictures, tending to you interruptions, gathering your thoughts after the interruptions, editing your post, etc.

I ditched the picture editing over a year ago, and try to save my long inspired posts for when I am in the house alone (which is why I haven't had one of those in awhile). All to say, that our girls are getting a little taste of what a writer goes through, and I'm glad they are.

I have recipes galore, boo coodles of thoughtful posts in my head, decorating ideas, but to think they will make it to the blog anytime soon, I feel it not. I'm getting there, and a lot faster then I thought. It's just I keep having these moments every now and then; and what I mean by moments, is sometimes they're border line panic attacks, like "I am their only teacher! They had four teachers teaching seven subjects last year. They have had ten teachers in their life they can compare me too!" kind of moments. Not to mention, that budget....yeah, the never thought about paper plates have joined our family after realizing that the three meals a day is causing our dish washer to run sometimes three cycles a day, and the toilet paper....oh, the amount of toilet paper.....

Homeschooling has been life changing. Not easy, not terribly hard, not bad, but not always good. But we know this is what we're supposed to do for right now; and we know the "right now" can change at any moment. One day I hope to post about why we decided to Home school. I was Home Schooled myself and swore I would NEVER Home school my own children. Homeschooling our girls was a terribly hard, but yet extremely easy decision to make.....and with that confusing remark, I'll leave y'all hanging for another post at another time.


Happy Tuesday Y'all!.......only THREE more days 'til Friday (amen!).