First Week of School

Lauren started school on Monday morning at Aldersgate Christian Academy. She is in 4th grade, but 3rd and 4th share a room together. Both grades share Mrs. Beth Avery for their teacher. Lauren LOVES school and loves her teacher! 4th grade is a class of 9 girls and 1 boy. So LOTS of socializing for Little Miss Social, and lots of drama! Fun fun!
The boys are home schooling...well Michael is at least! Caleb sits quietly at his desk and does puzzles, coloring and other quiet play. Michael is in the 2nd grade this year. He is a good reader and enjoys learning (most days!) I thoroughly enjoy teaching them.
Keep checking back for more postings. I will update as I have time. With Lauren in school I have a few more free moments in my day. I realized, as my kids enjoy reading through older posts, that this blog was a way to keep track of highlights in our lives. I've never been good at keeping diaries or journals. So this is my online pictoral journal. Enjoy!

Goodbye Blogspot, Hello Facebook!

Since the new year of 2009 is just around the corner, I am re-thinking my web presence. As a busy home-schooling mother, blogging on Blogspot just takes too much time. As you can tell, my blogging has started to slip. After posting 105 times in 2007, I have only posted 33 times in 2008 and have not posted in over a month. Therefore, I am saying goodbye temporarily or permanently to

and saying hello to

I am moving over to Facebook. It takes a lot less time and is easier to use and post items. I can still upload albums and notes. As Chris likes to say, Blogspot is so 2007. You will be able to find me on Facebook very easily-just search for Nancy Hamer or Nancy Lambeth and ask to be my friend. Joining Facebook is free and only takes a minute or two.

And yes! We got enough money to buy a goat, five ducks, a chicken and a set of school supplies for a classroom. Not bad for two kids. They did lots of extra jobs for Mommy and others to earn extra $$. Thanks to everyone that donated to their little project. It is something that will probably turn into a Christmas tradition!

Buying A Goat

Yes. We are officially buying a goat. No. It's not that Chris is tired of mowing. Actually, this is our home school project. Recently, we received a Christmas Catalog from World Vision. How refreshing amidst all the toy and clothing catalogs.....it's seems like we are on EVERYBODY'S list. As I thumbed through, I decided this was a MUST for our kids....giving to someone in need. We looked through the catalog in class the other day, and after reviewing all the options, we have decided on a goat for $75. A goat can provide milk for a family plus the family can sell surplus milk, cheese, and other things at the market. Our kids are raising money, (with a little help from the teacher and principal) by doing extra chores around the house or by offering to do chores for others. They have also decided they would like us to take some of the "Christmas Present Budget" and put that towards the goat. As I'm typing this, the kids are screaming and jumping for joy....the mother of the boys I babysit, just added $20. So....we are well on our way!! I think our greatest gift this year will be the joy of helping others!

Fun Fall Days

What we've been up to lately:

The kids enjoyed their Civic Education Class. j/k We did take them to vote, and then I covered the basics in school once we got home. We also went down to the cafeteria later in the evening and watched the votes come in. I think the kids mostly enjoyed all the noise, pizza and drinks. Although Lauren was really involved in watching the results.....which states were going for which candidate, etc.

Sometimes we pay a visit to Daddy at the office.

Two weekends ago, Kendall & Leanna came for the weekend. They stayed with us and visited the IKEA store. Leanna's first time, and judging by the way she piled up that cart, it surely won't be the last. LOL! (especially when you need that "Fruits of the Spirit" hat, Leanna) inside joke :)

Sunday was a time for pictures:

visits with a darling little boy (Clayton)

good food (if I do say so myself!) and lots of laughs.

The end of last week, we visited the park on our way home from lunch. It was one of those warm, irresistable days that you just HAVE to spend outdoors.

While the boys played,

Lauren enjoyed a book. That's SO typical. It seems we have an AVID reader!

Every Monday, Lauren joins Caroline to homeschool , and I take the boys to Storytime at the library. Although Michael feels like he's too old for such things, he LOVES to join in at craft time. He was rather proud of all the Gingerbread boys he made.

A couple weeks ago, we enjoyed a "day in the country". I have family that lives in Xenia. The kids call it "the Countryside". At any rate, we thoroughly enjoy the quiet and the scenery. My aunts raked dome leaves for the kids....MUCH to their delight.

The purpose of the raking was to throw the leaves at my cousin Darrell. He was attacked nearly as soon as he drove up!

Here they are nearly buried.

They soon realized a leaf bag was the most efficient form of attack!






The boys got haircuts this morning, so when they got out of the tub they wanted me to comb their hair "all spikey". So here they are in the "spikey" hair!

WOW! It's bright out here!!!

I have officially crawled out of my little hole!! I've got Caleb in bed, the laundry and ironing done, so I will give you an update from the past few weeks.

A couple weeks ago, was my yearly echocardiogram. An echo is basically an ultrasound of the heart. They can watch the function, measure it for size and get the Ejection fraction. The EF # basically tells them how much blood is pumped through the heart with each beat. I'm always hopeful AND nervous. Although I have a cardiologist who is not concerned with numbers, but rather how I feel, I still always hope for a "closer to normal" EF. (Normal range is 55% to 70%.) Well, at my latest echo, it was 20%. I was slightly disappointed, but I guess I can always be thankful for the fact that I'm still here and that it has not gotten any worse! The frustration in all of this, is the fact that I can't DO anything to improve the condition of my heart. Eating right(low sodium), getting adequate rest and exercise only help me to feel better, but they will not actually change anything. Medicine is helping, but they have to be careful to raise my dosage slowly, or else my BP drops too low. We are always working to increase the dosage, but have to go really slowly. I am thankful that, most of the time I feel fine. I'm still learning how to pace myself better so that I don't get overtired. I am able to get done most of what I need to throughout the day. The Dr. is not so much concerned with the EF as much as how I feel. He continues to be amazed at what all I am able to do. I have come a long way in 2 years, and for that I am VERY grateful!

If you would like more information on PPCM, you can find it here.

I continue to be busy with all the usual stuff.....household chores and teaching the kids. However, we manage to squeeze in some fun outings as well.

Visiting the Museum Center, we were privileged to meet this "Ohio Black Snake". Actually, Lauren was the only one even willing to touch it. YUCK! The funny thing was, we had just learned about vertebrae, invertebrate, herbivore, carnivores,etc,etc, that morning in Science. So when the Museum employee began asking various questions, Lauren knew all the answers. Although I was definitely proud of her for retaining all I had just taught her, I was hoping we had cast a positive light on homeschooling for a change. :)

Caleb loved the magnifying glasses they had in the Nature's Trading Post. I'm not sure if any other parents are aware of this, but kids can find rocks, leaves, cobwebs, shells, you name it and then trade them in for anything else from nature at the Nature's Trading Post in the Museum. It was the first time we had gone in there, but the kids are very thrilled and looking VERY hard for neat things to take in and trade.

We got lucky and had the Children's Museum nearly to ourselves. Sometimes, when it's busy, this ball pit area can get a little dangerous :)

Caleb's favorite....playing in the ball area.

Meet veterinarian, Dr. Michael.

Lauren enjoyed running the grill with some other very sweet girls that were there.

The weekend of the sale, my parents came for a visit. my Mom loves to help with the sale....Dad was on babysitting duty! Plus, he was left with a list of odd jobs that I needed to have done...pictures hung, shelves fixed, you name it! Thanks DAD! In addition, I even made him cook breakfast! Seriously! He worked his "pancake magic". Caleb had asked for Speed Racer #6....that's exactly what he got. i still don't know how he does that! But the kids love it and think he's the greatest at making pancakes!

Lauren wanted a house, of course!

We have been visiting the zoo. When we renewed our pass, we upgraded to the free train and carousel rides. Sometimes we go and just ride the train several times. For a certain 2 year old, life just doesn't get much better!

Caleb is still scared of the carousel....suits me fine....I get dizzy as well!

We were invited to come and celebrate Elliot's 2nd birthday. We had good food and lots of fun.

Lisa made him a CUTE cake...a truck cake...with little donuts for wheels.



He sure was happy with the Tonka trucks he got!

Last week, I had to bid a sad goodbye to a wonderful friend...Jenn Eckert. We got together one last time at the zoo and then said goodbye one last time at church Wed. night. We were having trouble with the camera, so the picture didn't turn out too great but I think Kalle looked cute enough for all of us! LOL! However, I am happy that she and Paul and their family are taking a church....that's their calling. I just wish it weren't quite so far away!

Here are some pictures from about a month ago that I never got posted. I thought I remembered taking some of Chris and the kids too, but apparently not. Sorry!

Lauren "had" to take some time out from pictures to chat with Caroline. I love this picture....I love that sweet "little girl" innocence.

Well, that's most of the news from Lake Wobegon, so I better run....the boys I babysit are here. Have a great weekend! (I know it's still only Thursday, but hey....it's ALMOST here! )

Goodbye Ike and Good Riddance!!!

It will be two weeks tomorrow that the strong winds of Hurricane Ike barreled through Cincinnati....leaving the campus without power and LOTS of clean-up.For more than two hours, we endured sustained winds of 40 mph and blasts up to 80 mph. We lost power around 2:30 Sun and finally got it back Friday sometime in the afternoon. One of the more noticeable damages, was the 3 large trees that are now missing from our neighbor's yard. This picture was taken about 45 min into the storm. So far they had only lost one tree.

The Cravens' Gold's Gym membership has certainly paid off!!

The Farmer's also lost a large tree. It actually took part of their fence and smashed the back window of a car parked on the street. Pres. Avery was one of the first on the job with a chain saw. The storm was still blasting away mind you!

The Crater's back yard.

Another tree down. They eventually lost all three trees and the fence is now gone as well. It looks so BARE!

Some siding missing on Young St.

The guys trying to get all the trailers safely into the Maintenance building.

We had already invited some couples from our church for an after-church snack. When the power went out I was determined to go ahead with my plans. I wasn't sure if I would have a way of keeping my refrigerated food, so I decided we should try to eat up what we could. We had a "Mexican" snack by candle light. It was LOTS of fun! Thanks to everyone that pitched in!

The refrigerated/freezer truck where I kept all my food. Although it was a pain to walk over there and dig out all the things I needed for a meal, I was thankful we at least had not lost any food. I have a gas stove, so I could manually light the burners and cook. And of course, we used the grill a good bit. The kids thought it was SO fun. I thought it was BORING when it got dark. Once I get the kids tucked in bed for the night, I usually stay up and tidy the house, fold laundry etc. But last week I couldn't get a thing done after dark....not even read. UGH! I hate wasting time!

Anyone want to buy a pet monkey??? He can live on bananas and be kept quite happy as long as he has a poster bed, or bunk beds, or trees to swing from!

Last week while shopping at Once Upon A Child, I was looking through all the Halloween dress up and found a really pretty dress for Lauren, who LOVES to play dress-up. I felt kind of sorry for Michael because I wanted him to have something fun and new too. Well, I found it! A Curious George Costume. He loves it way more than I thought he would. In fact, I'm sure we've gotten our money's worth out of it already. He begs for bananas...which is funny because he's never been real crazy about them before. We've gotten good laughs out of all the monkey business!

Our late Summer vacation

Thank goodness for homeschooling....we were able to take our summer vacation a little later and enjoy nearly deserted beaches. We also got a good deal on renting a house! As you already know, we went to Topsail Island, NC. We were gone a week exactly. We left around 2:30 AM Sat. Aug. 30th and arrived back home around 2:30 Sat. morning Sept. 6th. Other than the "grueling" trip, it was a vacation that I would LOVE to do all over again! I took MANY pictures of the waves, but the experiencing of the roar and spray makes the pictures seem pretty disappointing. I can sit for hours and just watch the waves....it's so incredibly relaxing. It was our kids' first time to see the ocean. Lauren immediately got in the water and loved it. It took Michael a few days to get over his fear and by Wed. Caleb would go in as long as Chris or I were holding his hand. To tell you the truth, I was thankful they were cautious. Since I don't swim, I find it a little scary to go out very deep myself.

This is the house we rented for the duration. It was LOVELY. 1st floor was parking, 2nd floor had the master suite, two bedrooms and two bathrooms and laundry. The top floor had a full kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. We only had to cross the street, walk down a little path and we were at the beach. In 6 days, we went 11 times! Our stays ranged anywhere from 1 -5 hours. I was VERY thankful for the washer and dryer! It's probably still recovering!

The path to the beach.

A neat little sand castle Chris and I made for the kids to smash.

Sunday night, we were thrilled to have "Uncle Kendall and Aunt Leanna" come and join us until Wednesday afternoon. The kids were SO excited. We thoroughly enjoyed their stay with us. Chris and Kendall were brave enough to ride the waves on inter tubes and surf boards! Most of the time riding the waves was fun and was a really great idea. But sometimes, an extra big wave would slam one of them to shore. It provided Leanna and I with MANY a laugh. I even got up my courage to try it....twice. I crashed both times, so my wave riding career ended rather quickly!

One night I made one of my favorite suppers...Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli and garlic toast. So yummy! I loved the hand painted stone wear serving bowls they had there. Although you can't see it in the pictures, each bowl had a "Italian" food on it...like Eggplant, peppers, etc. These are high on my Christmas list. This is a supper I make quite often and the dishes made it look extra special....(not that you care!)

Behind our house was "the Sound". It is also called the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It was beautiful. If we just had a boat, I guess we could have made our way to Hobe Sound :)

The bridge on the path that crosses the Dunes. There's quite a fine if they catch you on the dunes at all.

Our family........

Kendall and Leanna...........

Of course, we had to visit the "Shark Attack"...a souvenir store from which we happily emerged nearly an hour later with chintzy t-shirts, key chains, postcards, and even a 3 million old shark tooth. Seriously. We only had to pay $1.99 for it. Michael was devastated when he realized it got left behind on a windowsill at the house.

Our happiest McDonald's smiles shortly after we enjoyed a yummy treat you can only find at the southern McDonald's....hot caramel sundaes. I think there are a couple locations around Dayton that sell them, but none around here that I'm aware of.

One of the bedrooms....

The kids room. They all wanted to share a room which resulted in many giggles and some nights not enough sleep.

One night I came in the room to find Caleb just hugging and hugging Michael.

I can only imagine!!!

The living room.....

Leaving the house as Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna makes its way to the island.

We were planning on leaving the island Friday evening, but when we realized there was a curfew to be enforced that evening, we left in the late afternoon instead. There were a couple of rain showers while we were packing up to come home and leaving, but that's all we saw of the hurricane. Other than that, we enjoyed temps in the 80's every day and sunny skies.

One of our happy travellers.....

All the happy travellers. The kids were all ready to come home....I was not! I could have stayed a month I think without getting homesick. However, it is nice to be back and we are thankful for all the miles we travelled safely. It was a 12 hour drive. Lauren said she would like to live at the beach, but wanted Caroline and her cat to be there too! This morning while crossing the Ohio River from going to story hour at the Newport Library, Caleb happily shrieked, "the BEACH!!!" Yeah...I wish! By the way, Chris and I DID NOT make the sand castle you saw pictured near the top. Another family did and it took them HOURS! It mostly washed out to sea in the middle of the night!

A big thanks to Chris who worked GBS weekend security in the summer in addition to his other two jobs....just so we could all enjoy a really nice vacation together. We have a week full of memories that will last a lifetime! Thanks....I Love You!

Before We Head HERE.....

I will leave you all with an update! I should be finishing the packing, but I decided to go ahead and update the blog since I've neglected it so badly in the last couple weeks!
We are heading to Topsail Island, NC sometime this evening and driving through the night. It should be about a 12 hour trip....so I'm anxious to get it behind us. We have rented a house just one block from the beach and will be staying for exactly a week. I'm SO looking forward to spending some time together as a family!

Now back to the past....I have been busy with babysitting. I was babysitting full time until school started, but now it's just after school care and piano lessons.. But still....that's enough for me! (No...I don't babysit Caroline....she just comes over so Lauren won't feel so out-numbered!LOL!)

We started back to school two weeks ago. I must confess, this year I didn't feel a lot of excitement. It was more a gritting of the teeth and will power! The kids were pretty excited about it though. As the days have gone by, it has gotten easier and I'm beginning to enjoy it again. I do love teaching....especially when it's your own kids. I love to see them learn!! We are pretty busy with our outside activities as well. Lauren and Michael are each in Music Class with the Academy, Lauren has piano lessons, Michael will be starting piano soon, and I will be starting Caleb in a library Storytime when we get home.

This week alone, we have had a lot of "lessons in Nature"...as Lauren put it. Earlier in the week, Lauren found LOTS of snails...22 to be exact....and the kids played endlessly with them. I almost pitied the poor things. They got everything from water dumped on them, to rides on the swings out back.

They are so cute, aren't they!

Last night, my neighbor Martha, came over and invited the kids to watch some puppies being born. What an offer.....we couldn't resist another "lesson in Nature"! The mother dog had already had three, and after MUCH patient waiting, #4 made it's appearance! They were SO cute!


Look how tiny they were in comparison to Caleb's hand!

Well, I better run. Until next time, I will enjoy the sun and sand for you all! LOL!