School is out in the McFarlin house!

We have finally finished our first year of homeschooling. What a year it has been! It has been full of good days, bad days, and ugly days (not too many ugly ones). Over all it has been a great year. I am so glad we made the decision to home school. To be honest, starting out I was scared to death at the thought of my children's education being in my hands. Through alot of prayer and support we made it through this year and now I absolutely love it. Still not totally confident in myself, I have learned that I'm not a total idiot.
Kylee ended the year with straight A's and Payton is coming along great in his reading and math. It is so rewarding to work hard your first grader and then see the light bulb go off when he gets that double digit subtraction or when he can finally read those big words that used to stump him. Those are the small things that I have come to appreciate through this journey. I won't lie, some days I thought to myself how nice it would be to have them away at school for a while, but those days became much less as the year went on. I have come to realize how much it means to me not to miss out on the best part of their day. It has been a great year for our family!

Excuse the underwear in the picture below. We were a little too relaxed that day :-)

A few pictures from this year

My sweet Payton

As we sat around the dinner table tonight after Kylee's game ,Payton said the sweetest thing. He said " Mom, I wish that we could always be together like this, I don't want any of us to get old and die, I want all of us to stay just like we are now". I love that boy! Sometimes we butt heads and I could just pinch his little head off, but Payton is by far my most sensitive child. I treasure the relationship we have. He is the only one of my children who likes to sit by me and cuddle, and begs every night for me to lay with him until he falls asleep. There something unique about the relationship between a mother and her son.





Sometimes I lose sight of the small things that really matter. I get caught up in the act of being a mother instead of the gift that it really is. Hearing those sweet words that Payton said tonight makes me realize that this is what it is all about. And on a lighter note I guess he does really love me! (sometimes I wonder) I love being a mom!

Mollie's first big girl haircut!

My sweet little 2 year old Mollie got her first big girl haircut! I have been trimming her hair when needed, but it was clearly time to let a professional take over. Her hair is finally getting a little thicker and extremely stringy. I always loved having Kylee's hair cut in a little bob, and now I get enjoy it with Mollie. So we went to see the girl that cuts my hair, unfortunately she was not there so another stylist cut it. Mollie sat so still and actually looked like she was going dose off for a minute as her hair was being brushed ( I wish I would had my camera then). She was so good and such a big girl!

As soon as we got home I of course had to put a big bow in and take a look. I love me a bob and a bow! Can I hear an Amen Allison!!

Sisters

I love this picture of my girls. There is nothing like the bond between sisters. I had a great relationship with my sister growing up and still do. It has been such a blessing to have them in my life. Even though there is a ten year age difference between Kylee and Mollie, they share such a love for each other. Kylee has been like a second mother to Mollie. From day one she has helped take care of her from changing diapers, rocking her to sleep, to sometimes being even more protective than me. I could start a totally different blog about how great of a daughter Kylee is, but I'll stop there before I start balling:-)

It is so funny when Mollie gets in trouble. Of course she starts crying and says "kyyee, kyyee", and runs straight into her big sister's arms. It can be a little irritating at times but I love it.

They will spend hours in Kylee's room playing dolls, dress up, and restaurant. These are such precious memories that they will always share.

I hope that they will forever stay as close as they are now. And what better example could I ask for my sweet, but temperamental Mollie, then to have a pure hearted good as gold big sister like Kylee.

A few more pictures...

Take me out to the ballpark.....

Last night Payton's baseball team were the Biscuit Buddies at River Walk Stadium. We had so much fun! Payton said that this was a night that he would never forget. The fun started with the boys hanging out in the dugout getting their baseball signed by a few players. Then each boy was announced by name and position onto the field. (so cool) The best part came when the Biscuit that shared the same position came out and stood with each boy during the national anthem. As you can see in the pictures, Payton was star struck! He talked about Chris Nowak ( the third baseman) the whole night! It was a night of good baseball ( Biscuits won 11-4) and fun with good friends.

Well here we go!

I have officially entered the blog world! I have spent the last year ( maybe longer ) looking at all of the adorable blogs of some of my close friends and some people that I don't even know at all. Each time thinking what a great idea this is to keep up with sweet memories that would soon fade away if not written down. So I am not going to procrastinate any longer and I'm going to let it all hang out. I can't promise that my words will flow as beautifully as Mellissa's or that I will have the cute clever sayings like Allison, but I will do my best to capture the sweet and funny memories of the McFarlin clan.