Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this holiday season finds you all well and happy. We are all doing quite well here in Arkansas. It is just unbelievable to us that we have been here for 9 years now. The years are going by so quickly, and the children are growing quickly, too.

Chyloh is 14 and in 9^th grade. She is starting to become a real young woman, but for now, she’s a teenager that drives Mom crazy with her sass...just like everyone other teen before her. Chyloh is now a couple of inches taller than Mom, too. She still loves to read and listen to all kinds of crazy music. She dyed her hair a dark red/brown for her birthday. Mom doesn’t like it.

Rebekah is 12 and homeschooled. She is in 7^th grade and doing well. She does attend the homeschool academy that Tom and Christa teach at, but only takes a couple of classes. Rebekah likes to play piano and do needlework as well as play outside. She is a big help around the house, especially with the little ones. Rebekah is almost as tall as Mom now, just a couple of inches left to go.

Angelah is now 11 and in 5^th grade. She is still known for her temper which can escalate quickly. We just can’t figure out where she gets it! She is very interested in natural history and enjoys catching bugs and learning about different plants and their uses. She is short for her age and gets ribbed for it quite a bit. She appreciates that it does make crawling under stuff easier, though. She is our only straight “A” student.

Aliannah (Annah) is 9 and in 4^th grade. Annah is our little sunshine most of the time. She can have a temper, but mostly she’s the positive one. She is a very typical student, but she makes friends easily and seems to enjoy school.

Sarah is 7 and in 2^nd grade. She is our glamour girl. She often stays indoors while the others are out playing. When Sarah tells someone off (which happens frequently) she will turn around, flip her hair, and put her nose in the air. We find it funny, but the girls call her “the little snot”.

Faith is 5 and in Kindergarten. She is a kind-hearted girl that is nearly fearless on a scooter or bike. Faith is another that can be friends with just about anyone. She likes school, but in Kindergarten, what’s not to like?

Lindah is 3 and finally talking some. She is still quite stilted, but it’s better. For some reason, people, especially over 50, just dote on Lindah. She is a very gentle spirit and does not enjoy rough-housing, unless it was her idea and Mariah is the victim.

Mariah is 2 and oh, boy is she 2!! She is in everything, all the time, and drives us all NUTS! The girls have to take shifts watching her so that Mom and Dad can get things done. She is so cute, though. We think the curls hide her horns.

Tom is doing well. He has been pain-killer free for about 9 months now, save for a few Tylenol now and again for headaches. He still has some pain, but seems to be managing it well without any outside help. His newest interest is in No-Limit Texas Hold-em Poker. We had no idea how much strategy was involved in playing poker, but he is reading 4 different books on strategy and statistics concerning the game. It is often compared to chess in its complexity, so it’s not a wonder that he likes it. He is still teaching. This year he has biology and geography, and he is tutoring pre-calculus.

I am expecting again in July, and am only having trouble with a hiatal hernia so far. I am enjoying teaching along with Tom. I have 3 classes: life science, advanced math, and algebra 2. I also tutor geometry. I have let my poor garden go to weeds for the most part, but I just can’t find time to go out and weed. I guess it will wait until spring.

Tom’s mother moved in with us just after Christmas last year. We lost Tom’s brother, Tim, and it was decided that his mother would be in a better situation if she was closer to us so that we could help her if she needed anything. We really have a full house now. I think that’s a pretty good poker hand, too.

We all hope that you are all doing well and that you have a wonderful, blessed Christmas and many happy returns for the New Year.

God Bless,

The Bartok Family

Haircuts

Angelah has been bugging me about a haircut, so I finally gave in. While I was at it, I cut Lindah's hair in the hopes that it will stay out of her way, be a little cooler, and make the transition easier as her bangs grow out.

More

That is my new favorite picture of Faith.

Summer in the Park

You know, when you take the kids to the park, you expect that they'll play on the equipment. Just like when you buy that great Christmas present, you expect them to play with it. Well, they play with the box, and at the park, they play in the dirt. Go figure. Here are some pics of the girls at Tilles Park on Grand Ave.

Preschool performance

Here is an old video that I haven't been able to trim until now. Faith and Lindah are both in it, but they don't do much. It's cute, though.

Summertime!

It's been quite some time since I have posted, mostly because my trusty Cannon ELPH bit the dust. I have just replaced it with a Sony DSC H90 that I got at a good price second hand. I am amazed at the difference a few megapixels can make! I also finally remembered to take along the video camera when we went swimming this last time, so I am including a film of the kiddos having fun at the pool.

Tom is taking a couple of classes at the U this summer, so we are very busy going back and forth to Ft. Smith for that. Also, a new group has opened in the area for Catholic homeschoolers, so we are planning activities, too. We have a picnic on Sunday at the spray park.

I have been trying to get the girls more active in learning how to keep a house, and I think that some may be finally catching on. I have been using the famous "No One Leaves the Kitchen Until It's Clean" rule, and that has made a big difference!

This afternoon I plan to pay everyone in ice cream because I have no money. And no, I don't mean that figuratively. Someone in Vietnam was able to crack our PayPal code and get access to our checking account, so we've had to freeze it while new accounts are created and everything is switched. Until then, we have to show up personally at the bank to get any money. So, I remember to get allowance money, and then remember that Aldi doesn't take credit cards, just debit cards, but my debit card is on a frozen account, so there goes the cash... What a lot of trouble one little theft creates! Our parents were right when they taught us the value of honesty. It is like a stone thrown into a pond. The ripples continue to affect others around us.

We are going to homeschool Bekah and Chyloh next year, hopefully through ARVA and the Lincoln ACE programs respectively. These are both K12 curriculum programs. I love the depth of the K12 stuff, and best of all, it's free. If they don't get in, I will have to regroup and try putting something else together.

Well, it's 3:00 and I need to get the kids their treat before it's too close to dinner, so I will try to blog again with some new pics later. Have a great summer!

HEADACHE

I spent some time on the phone today and was rewarded with a roaring migraine. I am trying to move some plants, and the more I worked, the sicker I got. So I've given up. I'll have to work tomorrow in the rain. More rain. We've had over 10" in the past 2 weeks. Maybe everything will just wash away...

I thought I'd share some pics of the house and garden, tho.

Christa Sargeant Bartok's Profile

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Super Cool!

Today was a busy one! I was alone with the MIL and the kiddos today whilst DH went to a concealed handgun class with a couple of his buddies. They had a great time, and we cleaned...how does that happen? I was suffering from an early morning trying to get Mariah back to sleep b/c we couldn't locate a pacifier for her, and then the PMS kicked in. Let's just say that I warned them, but they decided not to heed the warning! Well, actually, we did pretty well, and then MIL decided that she NEEDED to get out.

We drove all the way to Ft. Smith to get a SALAD from the nearest BK by the MALL! Let's just say that 25 miles for a salad is a bit much, but we took the kids to the park while she ate, and I was afforded the opportunity to go get dog food from a reasonably priced location instead of our local feed store. I tried to get a basin for my bird bath, but that was not in the cards.

I still have a couple of loads of laundry to finish this evening, but Chyloh and I got the kitchen all cleaned already. BIG HURDLE THERE! Anyway, I decided NOT to plant potatoes in the back garden b/c we are putting a building in back there, and the bed I was going to use has been taken over by Bermuda grass. So, I put potatoes in pots...I mean buckets. We'll see how that works. I hope I can dump the pots and fish out the potatoes. Maybe I can find a pallet bag to dump them on to make soil reclamation easier. Then I finished the weeding out front so that the dirt would come off the weeds. Once it rains, it will be much harder. Anyway, the rain we're expecting is very welcome. I hope it will get my peas and other early plants up and going.

OK, I have some more photos to share. Bekah was in charge of Mariah this evening, and she always seems to find the funniest ways to keep her occupied. So, here's what she did tonight:



Cool, Daddy-O!

Busy family

I guess I should explain that I call this blog The Lone Ranger because my husband was a Ranger qualified Marine, and now he lives in a house with 10 females. Poor guy. You really feel sorry for him, I know. Anyway, I think he feels all alone sometimes.

I wanted to do a quick post with the last couple of birthdays and Rebekah's band concert. Lots of video here!














Well, that ought to have kept you busy!

I'm off to finish a pot pie for dinner and try to find a few minutes for the garden and laundry.

:)

Hello! Welcome to the blog world!

Well, hi there! Welcome to my little blog. I am a part-time teacher/stay-at-home mom with eight "little" girls. My husband and I are pulling our hair out, er, I mean raising these beauties here in lovely Greenwood, AR. We are a minority Catholic family with traditional values. Our children are currently 13 down to 17 months. We have one daughter with Asperger's syndrome, and lots of screams and giggles.

I hope to Blog occassionally to keep my family abreast of our activities. In fact, here's Angelah's piano recital that I couldn't send via email. I'll also try to post a couple of Bekah's band performances once I get them uploaded and edited.




Let me know what you think!

Oh, here's our new puppy!