Internet and kids' room

YAY!!!! We finally have internet!! Sudden Link was a no-go. Hughes Net offers satellite-based internet service, so that's who we ended up going with.

Kailyn and Korbin attended Soul In The City, an Anglican mission event that happens every summer here in Houston. It was an awesome week for both of them! This was Korbin’s third year and Kailyn’s first. We missed them so much and really enjoyed hearing all the stories when they returned. Korbin didn’t get much opportunity to share, as Kailyn gave us day-by-day accounts of all that happened. That’s one cool thing about having a girl, or at least a sanguine girl! She was so energized by this week away that she was ready and willing to spend the entire afternoon out with me at the homeschool convention and shopping afterward.

My favorite part of the THSC convention this year was the talks given by Reb and Bev Bradley. Those talks were all about the same thing, packaged a bit differently. The focus was on how a teen's compliance and obedience can be very far from love and acceptance of the parents. It seems great to have “good” kids on the outside, but so many of those kids grow up to want nothing to do with their parents. This has been something I have had on my mind for some time now and I have been at a loss on exactly what to do about it. I love my kids so much but my relationship with especially one of them has been strained for some time now, although I have been trying to repair the relationship. The seminars I heard last weekend were exactly what I needed to hear. The key points were that as a parent I need to represent love to them and be the safest person in their life. For them to trust me with their hearts, I need to be trustworthy. I am working on this. The good news is that God worked on both of us this week and we are both starting over and believing the best intentions. That is humbling. One thing I will add here is that the number one thing I struggle with is criticizing. I correct grammar, facts, opinions, actions they told me they did, you name it! Today I caught myself constantly with thoughts of correction. I would be so annoyed with me, too!! I share this in hopes that if you are struggling with your relationship with your kids, you would know that there is hope and I would recommend you check out the Bradleys. I even brought home CD's for Jeff to listen to. 

This week Jeff and I finished the second half of the goat fence. I know I’ve heard this, but we learned first hand how easily they get out. They aren’t getting out of the fenced area, but are going under the fence that divides the yard in two so they can be together. So much for separating the intact male so that we could milk the mama. We have a potential plan to remediate the situation, but that will take time, and maybe money. Mae is such a good mama. Here is a video of her following her kids to the new fenced area.

The most common question I get about our living space is how we do this with so many (human) kids. There are many full-timers who have way more children than we do, but it really is a small space for so many. I am loving it. I wonder if it will wear off, but for now I am very happy with the space. The kids share a tiny space, though, so the question is a legitimate one. Their bedroom has a door that closes, and has four beds- three bunks and one “jack knife sofa” that folds out into a full bed. If you have ever stayed in an RV, you would know that the mattresses are not adequate. The bunk pads that came on the bunks are more like a dog bed than a mattress. (My dog’s bed is made with better foam.) This week I bought Kailyn a really comfy 10” dual memory foam mattress. It is too wide for the bunk she chose, so she had to move to the floor bunk. Lacey moved to the upper bunk Kailyn had. Our RV has such small bunks that “bunk mattresses” that can be purchased at the RV stores are too big, so I may need to find an upholsterer to cut them down to fit, as I don’t think I could properly cut 10” foam. For now the mattress is ok where it is, but it is still too wide.

Besides mattresses, storage for the kids is a bit of an issue. Korbin and Kailyn have use of the closet in their room. They each have half of the hanging space, an upper cabinet, and one deep drawer. Maddox and Lacey have a smaller drawer and share hanging space in our bedroom inside the washer/dryer closet. We opted for hanging space instead of the washer/dryer since we have the ability to keep our full-sized washer and dryer in another building on the property. This arrangement allows me to monitor what they are wearing.

One thing the kids have that they have never had before is a TV of their own. This has been a fun extra for them. I have never thought TVs in the bedroom were a good idea, but since there are only 3 main rooms in the entire home, I thought it best to have a TV in each of them, allowing everyone options on rainy days. We definitely make use of them more than that, but it has been a good thing. 

There is also a half-bath connected to the kids’ room. I’m used to having 3 bathrooms, but having 2 in such a small space is really nice. It will be even nicer when the cat decides it is safe enough here for her to use the potty outside again. Fluffy is a great cat, but she was much better when she had a pet door and preferred going out to use the bathroom. She is getting there. Last time I put her out she seemed more at ease, a far cry from her terrified trembling in the beginning. 

I think another reason people are shocked to hear I have 4 kids in one room is that it is very common for siblings to fight with one another. For the most part, they all get along. The littles tend to squabble, but we are working on that now. I highly recommend the book, “Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends," written by the Mally siblings. This book is great for anyone with more than one child; it doesn't matter if they are brothers, sisters, or both. The book is for the kids. It isn’t a book to help mom or dad do things to help the kids get along, but a book for the kids to either read or have read to them. I read the book to Korbin and Kailyn when Maddox and Lacey were babies. It was part of our nap time curriculum. I am currently reading it with Maddox and Lacey. I haven’t even finished the first chapter and they have already started interacting differently with each other. It is the sibling equivalent of what the Bradleys are teaching parents to do. You would think that since I read this book I would be able to interact with my kids well, but that is not the case. A different relationship requires a different message. When people ask the kids about sharing a room they volunteer that they get along well. I am happy for them in this aspect. The relationships you have with your siblings have the potential to be the closest outside of a marriage, and I want that for them.

If you would like a tour of the kids’ room, check out our YouTube channel for a video walk-through. The iPhone memory filled before we could finish. I'll have to brush up on my movie making skills. :)

Farm Life

This past weekend Jeff and I (and my uncle, his friend, and Korbin) worked on and completed a fence so that we could separate the goats. Mae, the mama goat, should not be penned with an intact male if we are planning to milk her, so it was necessary to get him out of her yard. Nemo, the male goat, moved to his new yard Sunday morning. He cried so pitifully that we also moved Asriel, one of Mae's kids. Once Asriel got there, the crying stopped immediately. Goats are very social creatures. They still call out for Mae, which makes me sad, but that is farm life, I suppose.



Our next step is to fix the back half of that yard. Years ago the area used to be a chicken yard. Jeff, Korbin, Maddox, and Lacey worked together yesterday to tear down the dilapidated wall to the old chicken coop. Next, we will fence in that side, assemble the milking stand, and move Mae and her babies to their new yard. My mom is ready to get the goats out of her backyard. :) Once we are milking, we will focus on the chicken coop.

Kailyn asked for goats as a birthday present this year, and has proved to be a great goat herder. She is very good about checking on her goats morning, afternoon, and evening. Lacey and Maddox enjoy playing with the goats and loving on them.

This week Kailyn has been volunteering at HopePointe church as a VBS shepherd. She really loves children and is having a great week. Maddox and Lacey are attending the same VBS- they have looked forward to it all year!! While they are in The Woodlands all morning, Korbin and I have been finding wi-fi hotspots nearby so that I can pay bills and take care of other business. Korbin has been planning his Eagle project, playing games, and watching videos. I've enjoyed our time together.

Since all the kids' birthdays more or less take place in winter, we have a tradition of celebrating "summer birthdays," where we take the kids shopping for something they would love to have. Korbin has been talking about wanting an iPhone for some time now. He has matured so much these past few months, has an awesome small group of boys at church who encourage and support one another when it comes to media content, and then there's Pokemon Go, so we decided it was time for him to have one. That was his summer birthday gift. Kailyn chose an iPod nano, and Maddox and Lacey wanted a Build-A-Bear. Maddox went for a Pikachu, while Lacey made her 3rd bunny. (Their names are Lily, Carmen, and Shimmer, and they all have different fur.)
 
Fifth wheel life is pretty cool. It gets messy in there quickly, but it gets clean just as fast. Showers are an issue. The instant water heater isn't performing as expected. I thought we'd have all this hot water. I have plenty of hot water for the kitchen sink, but the shower is iffy. The plan is to read the manual and see if we're missing something. I'm hoping it's user error, somehow. So, the silly picture above is what happened Sunday when I left Kailyn with my phone while Jeff and I walked through the old house with the new owners to explain stuff about the house. (Things we built in, planted, etc.) I got all kinds of fun pictures and new screen savers for my amusement. :/ (Lacey was in the house with us.) This is an awesome time to be a parent. The kids are so fun at this age. We definitely have problems, but we try to enjoy the time we have. It flies by so fast!

Settling in...

We’re here! A week ago today we closed on our house. The last few days and weeks leading up to the big sale were full of work and apprehension. Getting the house ready to hand over to new owners is a tremendous job which required late nights and thoughts of the unknown about the new place woke us early with the sun. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep much! Receiving the payment for our house was awesome. We were sitting at a restaurant we both grew up eating at and were having lunch with (three of) the kids for their first time there when I checked the account and we found we had received our wire transfer. We paid off half of our debt before we left! The other accounts took time, so those were paid later. At this point our only debt is our home, which is such a great feeling!! I am a bit nervous about it since it happened so fast- I want to keep up good habits and not fall into the same trap as before. Debt is a heavy burden and we never want to be there again. Having a tiny home helps in that when I see things I could purchase I have to ask myself, “Where would that go? Do I really have space for it?” Most often the answer is, of course, “no.”

Three weeks before we closed we decided to go ahead and finance the 5th wheel and begin moving in. Two weeks before the closing, the RV was delivered to our family’s property and we Jeff began digging trenches for septic and fresh water, and a (four foot deep!) hole for the power pole. 

While Jeff worked hard on all of that I spent days packing 3,000 calorie per day backpacking meals for Korbin’s trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in the mountains of New Mexico. When you remove gluten and nuts, it’s quite a challenge to come up with 3,000 calories! On Thursday Korbin left for Philmont. 

On Friday, the power company came and turned on our power. On Saturday we spent the night for the first time! We moved so many boxes of stuff into such a small space- it’s hard to believe it was possible! (Korbin was glad to miss out on the chaos of boxes everywhere!) 

There is really more space in here than I expected. I have some empty drawers and cabinets, although I also have way more boxes to work through. While we got rid of tons of stuff, I knew I was keeping more than I could possibly fit. I wanted to try things out in the space before letting them go. There are some things I thought I needed that I have let go. There are some things I wasn’t sure about that I have kept. It will take us awhile to get it all completed. That’s true with any move, but I hope to not ever move anything I don’t need or use or love again.

Within a week of moving in our lawnmower broke. While we have a tractor on the property, most of the spaces that we walk through require a lawnmower to keep trimmed. The grasses here are tall, so that is a priority. 

Upon testing the water, I found it is not good to drink. There is a bacteria in the water, so we will clean the well very soon and see where that leads. For now we are drinking and brushing our teeth with bottled water. 

The plug for our dryer does not match the outlet, so we are currently hanging our clothes on the line outside. :)

When Jeff called the local internet service provider, he was informed that there are no available pairs (dsl lines) to service our street. There is no internet. I am currently typing on a word processing program to upload when I go visit a wifi hotspot. The other challenges that poses are Netflix streaming, WiiU online gameplay, DS online gameplay, and our other devices we used with a wireless network such as the iPad, iPods, and printer will not function in the same way. We are still searching out options, but have been spoiled as an employee family of AT&T getting a discount on multiple services. We are out of AT&T’s service area now, and their wireless hotspot doesn’t offer the amount of data we “need.” Jeff and I have data plans on our phones, but that is all we have for the moment. Korbin came home Sunday. He took the internet news very well. Before he left I know that everyone was online way too much. Definitely not a problem now.

I feel like we are adjusting very well to the new space. The kids share a room and a bathroom. They get along so well, I couldn’t ask for more. I often hear them laughing and having fun together. When issues come up, we are so close to them we are able to step in and address the situation swiftly. We didn’t notice the purposeful bad behaviors as much because they were further from us physically. Lacey enjoys working in the garden most mornings, while Kailyn has taken on caring for the goats and taking Duchess on walks around the property. What makes the kids’ room more crowded is that the cat, who usually uses the potty outside, is too afraid to venture out still, so uses the litter box in the kids’ tiny bathroom. The dog has always slept with the girls in their room, so we placed her bed in the kids’ room as well. I have always enjoyed small spaces. When we visit hotel rooms, I relish in organizing and keeping tidy during our stay. Messes are quick to remedy in a small space, but I still haven’t found “homes” for everything yet. Little by little, things are finding their forever homes. Last night was our first major issue. Jeff was ladling a bowl of HOT soup at the stove when Lacey swung open the refrigerator door right into his bowl. He had a couple of pretty nasty burns from that. :( 

Yesterday we set up the shed we brought from our house. It was getting dark and I had to leave when we finished, so I’m eager to get out there today and organize what Jeff was able to put in there! I am hoping to do a video tour of the RV and post on our YouTube page very soon. I’d like to tidy up a little bit more, first. ;) I also hope to update more often, now that I have a laptop with a word processing program. We have plenty of projects and new adventures planned this summer!!