Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Clark's Next Big Adventure

So much for keeping the blog updated this year 😂  The Clark family is embarking on another adventure though and it's too big not to document.

On August 15th, 2019, Bobby and I bought our very first home ... after 18 years of marriage.  We were blessed that my parents gave us our first house as a wedding gift.  We lived there until we moved to Arkansas in 2015.  We've been renting since we moved here.   We know we're definitely here for the long run and decided it was time to get our own --bigger-- place.





We looked at a lot of houses before we settled on the one we loved the most.  It's four bedrooms, four bathroom, 3000 square feet.  Upstairs there are 2 bathrooms (one is a bathroom/laundry room), mini mud room, breakfast nook, kitchen, formal dining, living room, bedroom and the master bedroom with a huge bathroom and a walk in closet.  Downstairs there are 2 more bedrooms, a bathroom, and three bonus rooms that we're using for 1. a homeschool room, 2. second living area and 3. music room/storage room.  We had been slowly packing nonessentials leading up to closing so we've been working on moving those and unpacking as much small stuff as we can before our big move-in day on the 24th.



Our real estate agent is a super sweet girl that we've gotten to know from church.  She was amazing and went above and beyond for our family.  She kept us updated every step of the way, was very clear about what costs we should expect and was so patient with us.  At our closing she gave me a box of cupcakes for the kids and a sweet note with a gift card for our favorite pizza restaurant.  We loved her before we started the house buying process but not we absolutely adore her!!




As we've been working, we've had several friends stop by to visit.  One of my dear, wonderful friends brought the best gifts for us and Rosie!  Kayla and I frequently browse Hobby Lobby, planning the our dream homes we're going to build when we win the lottery that we don't play.  She remembered during one of our trips that I loved the lemon decor.  It nearly made me cry when she walked in with a bed for Rosie too!

** a beautiful apron, 2 dish towels, 2 oven mitts (she remembered I burnt mine the last time she had supper with us 😏), a cute gray basket and a bed for Rosie!**


When we finally get completely moved in and settled I will post pictures of our new abode.  Right now it's in complete chaos!

Friday, March 22, 2019

Update ---> Long Overdue

I really really want to be more diligent about updating our family blog.  As a family we are doing so much and have so many fun adventures that I definitely don't want to forget them!  Plus we always enjoy looking back through the years and looking at how much the children have grown and changed.

So here's a quick update and a prayer that I'll get my life together and start posting on a regular basis:

--Hannah -- 
My sweet girl is now 13 years old!  An official teenager 😭  We surprised her with a party at our church building and invited many influential, Godly women that a part of her life to come and speak to her.  Hannah sat on the stage and we all took turns sitting with her and sharing what we love about her and giving her advice.  It was so sweet and I cried like a baby as those beautiful women spoke to Hannah.  
Hannah is so incredibly smart and helpful (on days that she isn't being an angsty teenager).  She still loves all things arts and crafts related.  We bought her a sewing machine so now she's learning to sew and has made her own dress - which doesn't look too bad for a first attempt.  I am so thankful for my girl and have been trying to make more of an effort for us to spend one on one time without the boys.

...Our sweet friend, Kayla, teaches first grade at the school near our house.  She invited Hannah to be her guest reader.  We loved her class so much we ended up staying for a math lesson and a fun game...

...Praying for and over Hannah at her 13th birthday party...

...Delicious cake...

...Hannah and I at the Forum watching our homeschool friends in Beauty & the Beast...

--Samuel--
Sammy is now 11 years old!!  He's pretty much the same height as me and is going to be tall and athletic like his Daddy.  He still loves basketball and video games.  He did take a year off from basketball this time around since he didn't really enjoy his last coach and he was starting to get a little burnt out.  
He loves Fortnight and has fun playing with his homeschool friends.  He's also into Beyblades right now and was getting creative making his own with Legos before he realized Walmart sells the actual Beys.  
He's still a good big brother -when he's not annoying the daylights out of Amos & Shiloh.  But he's always willing to jump with them on the trampoline or have a Nerf gun fight.  Sammy has also been cooking supper for our family one night a week.  He picks the meal and cooks it all by himself.  He has really been enjoying this and I love the break :-)

...learning to play the keyboard - just like his Daddy...

...Sammy being silly at the orthodontist...

...teaching his little brothers how to make chocolate chip cookies...




--Amos--
This crazy kid is giving me a run for my money (well, he and Shiloh both!)  This past December, he and Bobby were jumping on the trampoline and Bobby threw Amos high in the air.  As Amos came down, he tried to catch himself with his hands and ended up fracturing his humerus in his left arm -which happens to be the same bone on the same arm that I fractured when I was his age.  After the initial shock and pain he was very excited to be the first of his siblings to break a bone and loved every minute of attention he received.  
He also lost his first tooth (December 10th, 2018) and then literally lost it.  Sammy and I hunted for 30 minutes and finally found it in the bottom of the Lego container 😏
Out of all my kids, I think Amos enjoys school the most.  He learned to read last year and loves reading in his little Bible reader and then drawing a picture that relates to the story.  He's also pretty good at math and is now adding and subtracting up to 15.
Amos definitely sings and dances his way through life.

...lost tooth...


...broken arm, before his cast...

...Amos's poor little arm was so swollen when they took off the temporary cast...

...Amos picked black for his cast and we bought silver Sharpes for people to sign it...


...even Rosie is happy to be with Amos!...


 --Shiloh--

My baby boy is now 4 years old.  I can't handle all this growing and changing.  He has a BIG imagination (not unlike his big brother, Amos).  Right now he loves telling us stories that involve "a dark and stormy night" in which some bear or wolf will be attacking a family member but "super Ninja Shiloh came and crane kicked" the bad guy and saves the day.  He is obsessed with ninjas right now.
  He has also been wearing his Halloween costume from three years ago on a daily basis and often times to bed as well.  He named his costume "Giraffe-y Laugh-y" and freaks out if we can't find it.   He will also freak out if we can't find his snuggle bunny that he has to sleep with every night.
Shiloh currently loves watching Teen Titans Go! and reading Creepy CarrotsCreepy Underwear, & Dragons Love Tacos.  He spends his days jumping on the trampoline and trying to keep up with his big brothers.

...reading to Rosie... 



...Shiloh had his first real birthday party when he turned 4.  He chose a Dragons Love Taco theme and we made tacos (of course!) and our sweet friend from church made this cake for him...
 


...wearing Giraffe-y Laugh-y to bed...

...Shiloh decorated his box and was ready for our homeschool Valentines party...


 --Bobby & Me--
We have made many wonderful friends here in Jonesboro that we now trust to watch our kids.  This means more date nights for us!!  Woo hoo!
Bobby was also ordained as a minister but only because he is visiting men in prison and you can't go after normal visiting hours unless you're a preacher.  Still, it was very special as Michael and several men from our fellowship prayed for Bobby.
Bobby also surprised me and the kids with a trip to St. Louis.  We got to visit and go up inside the St. Louis arch and then we spent an entire day at Six Flags.  He is such an amazing husband and I cannot imagine our lives being any different.  I'm beyond blessed!!




 






Thursday, May 24, 2018

Panama City Beach 2018

Well, I realized that my last post was in January.

And a lot has happened since then.

We did spring co-op with our home school group.  Eleven weeks of meeting on Monday afternoons for three hours.  The kids get to take 3 classes each and I let them chose which ones they're interested in so they're not bored and dreading co-op.  The classes are different each semester based on what the parents have decided to teach.  Hannah leans more towards arts & crafts and history but branched out and tried P.E. this time around.  Sammy is more interested in P.E. and STEM classes.   Amos spends the first two hours in the K5 club where they do crafts, read books and have P.E. time.  Then he chose STEM for his third period (he wanted to be like big brother!)  Normally Shiloh is in the nursery or hanging out with me in the teachers lounge but this time there was a Pre-K club and he spent the first two periods making crafts, reading books, singing songs and playing dress up.  He LOVED it!

From March until we left for the beach this May, we watched a sweet little friend from church.  Her Mom moved from a second/third shift job to a day job and her Dad is a teacher.  But her Mom had been out of work for several weeks before starting her new job so they asked if I would watch her until she started getting paid and then they planned to put her in day care.  But when it came time, they asked if I would be willing to continue watching her and they would pay me.   It required me getting up early -and if you know me at all, you know I'm NOT a morning person.  But the thought of this sweet little girl going to day care instead of being with friends she knows and loves broke my heart.  So the kids and I said yes and never regretted it.  She's Shiloh's age and they play together so well.  So while they played, the older kids were able to get their school work done.   Having one extra kid wasn't a big deal either, we still went to co-op, the park, out to eat, wherever.  She loved it!

We finished AWANA at the beginning of May.  I will have to write another post about that because the kids got a ton of awards at the awards ceremony.  And then there was the Grand Prix and the Spring Fling.

So the end of winter and spring were busy.  Throw in a few illnesses and soccer for Amos and we were going non-stop.  So we were ready for our annual vacation to Panama City Beach when it came!

We played on the beach a hand full of times but the kids loved the hotel pools more.  There was an indoor pool with a lazy river beside it.  Two outdoor pools - one with a two story twisty slide with a kiddie pool beside it and one "boring" pool with a hot tub beside it.  The hotel also had an arcade, laundromat and ice cream shop.

Bobby helped me with lunches and supper each day so it was more relaxing for me this year.  When it was time to leave I was actually sad to leave -though I was definitely ready to be back in my own bed and see our Rosie girl!

While looking for shells on the beach, Hannah and I found the top to a blue button jelly fish.  It's so beautiful!  Look up a video on them, they have pretty blue tentacles!


It rained several times while we were there and one evening there was a beautiful rainbow.  I happened to have my phone in my hand (trying to get a good picture of Hannah) when I glanced over and saw Amos & Bobby at the end of the rainbow.  So I was able to snap this picture!

We saw a sea turtle and several sting rays close to the shore.  The minute we saw the sting ray, Sammy promptly exited the water.  Hannah, however, loved it!

The day we left I snapped this picture from out balcony.  The beach is so quiet and peaceful at 7 in the morning.

Bobby and the kids loved the pool with the twisty slide.  They would go down feet first, head first, on their backs, on their bellies.  Meanwhile, Shiloh and I were safely floating around the shallow end.



It kills me that Shiloh is wearing water wings AND laying on a pool noodle.  That kiddie pool was dangerous!!


Pistachio almond ice cream from Tasty Waves.

We always go out to eat one evening to a seafood buffet and another evening we go to Pier Park to the Candy Maker.  The truffles are my favorite!


Monday, January 29, 2018

Samuel @ 10

Whew!  The last of the birthday's until April.  It's a good thing because I honestly can't handle anymore changing and growing.  My kids insist of getting taller and older.

Sammy seems to be getting taller by the day.  He's so athletic and loves basketball.  He's still playing for our homeschool team, the NEACHE Eagles.  He's expressed interest in soccer (after watching Amos' practice) and possibly football.  Another thing he loves is video games.  We've recently acquired an XBOX and he's been enjoying playing games on it as well as his Kindle.  He's also interested in cooking and normally wanders in to help me at supper time.  And he often makes lunch for Shiloh -grilled cheese or quesadillas.

Sam isn't as interested in school as Hannah.  She breezes through her work but Sam drags his feet.  He's incredibly smart and can do the work, he just doesn't want to.  Some days he does great, other days are such a battle!

He's very affectionate and is my child that will randomly come up and hug me.  I love it.  I'll take ALL the extra cuddles.


All About Samuel:

Favorite Food:  calzones
Favorite Drink:  Big Red


Favorite Color:  Blue
Favorite Movie:  Real Steel


Favorite TV show:  Spongebob Squarepants
Favorite Book:  Diary of a Minecraft Zombie




Favorite Song:  God's Not Dead by the Newsboys
Favorite Game:  Werewolf (and Guesstures)




Favorite Person:  Shiloh
Favorite Hobby:  basketball and shooting his BB gun


Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Hannah @ 12

I can't handle all of these babies of mine growing up.  In a matter of two months we celebrate three birthdays.

On January 1st, Hannah girl turned twelve years old.  Twelve.  On the verge of being a teenager 😳  She's at that stage where she's becoming more independent and needs us less and less.  Yet, she still needs guidance in a lot of areas and loves to play with her brothers and friends.  Like play - play doh and American Girl dolls.

She's getting taller and more and more beautiful with each passing day.  Hannah is a blessing to me when it comes to her younger brothers, she's especially helpful with Amos & Shiloh.  Our biggest arguments stem from her lack of motivation in keeping her bedroom clean (she's worse than the boys!)

She's still just as artistic and loves to draw, knit and work on coding.  But her interests have expanded to include herpetology.  She saved all of the money from my parents + her birthday money and bought the aquarium and supplies for a bearded dragon.  So our gift to for her birthday was the actual dragon.  She wants to go to college for herpetology (for the moment) and work at a zoo.  I love how diverse she is with her interests!

All About Hannah:

Favorite Food:  Rice (some things never change!)
Favorite Drink:  Cream Soda

Favorite Color:  Aqua
Favorite Movie:  Despicable Me 3




Favorite TV show:  Spongebob Squarepants
Favorite Book:  The Giver by Lois Lowery


Favorite Song:  ???  blank stare
Favorite Game:  The Game of Life


Favorite Person:  Shiloh
Favorite Hobby:  Coding


She chose to have a Beauty and the Beast birthday party.  A sweet friend from church made her personal cake as well as her Ms. Potts cake pops.  Her decorations were really simple but she loved it so much.






The Clark's Next Big Adventure

So much for keeping the blog updated this year 😂  The Clark family is embarking on another adventure though and it's too big not to doc...