Sunday, March 6, 2011

School Days

 Our Week
Feb 28-March 4

I have been wanting to blog about our school days this year...mostly so that I can remember and look back on the fun times we've had and see some progress.  :)  But...I haven't actually had time to sit down at the computer and do it - until now.  So, here goes!

Garret
Garret & I were working in Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH) Unit 22 this week.  We're reading about the beginning of Jesus' ministry in the Bible, and we had a lot of fun acting out some of the stories and lessons we learned.
Here he is listening closely to my voice & finding me.  (Just like the people listened carefully when they heard God's voice at Jesus' baptism.)


And, here he is carefully filling 6 "jars" with water, just like Jesus told the servants to do at the wedding that ran out of wine.  I could trick Garret and make the water look like wine, but only Jesus could really change it.  It's a MIRACLE!

Garret's BIG NEWS this week is that he can READ!

We started using The Reading Lesson last week, and he is cruising through it!  (I kinda figured it was time to pull it out when he could read all the words on his candy hearts at Valentines Day...)  We just started lesson 3, and he loves learning phonics with Mom.

Allison
Allison is oh-so-close to finishing Little Hearts for His Glory (LHFHG), and moving on into Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory (Beyond).  We were finishing Unit 32 and starting 33 this past week.
It's fun to watch her do school.  She is so totally opposite of her older brother in the way she approaches things. :)  Despite the obvious 'doing school in a princess dress' difference, she is just so quick to get her work done.  Grant likes to think & think...which has tended to lead to day-dreaming and imagining creative things and the school work not being done... :)  Allison is all business.  I give her work, and BAM, it's done!  It will be fun to see how God uses their different personalities for Him as they grow up!

She's loving math (especially the days that it's "snack math").  We're most of the way through Singapore 1A using the activities in the Beyond guide.  Here she was adding, counting on from the biggest number.


This week we were looking at some important American landmarks in our history.  We read about the Liberty Bell...and experiemnted with pendulums of our own.
We read about the Statue of Liberty.
And, the U.S.S. Constitution in Boston (the Cradle of Liberty).  She loved sailing and dropping anchor.

She even took Asa for a little spin around "Please-Fold-Me" Island.

Grant
Grant completed Unit 26 in Hearts for Him Through Time: Creation to Christ (CTC).  It's definitely fun to watch him grow from being that dawdler to a responsible, much more independent young man.  He has grown A LOT this year!
The highlight of his week was the Roman Meal that he planned and made for us.  We invited Grandma & Grandpa to join us, and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Here he is with the spread (including the Roman Custard he made).
And here is the complete appetizer plate (with the rolls that weren't quite done when we took the 1st one).


He's also really enjoying Write With the Best this year.  I have seen his writing continue to improve so much.  He writes some really good written narrations now (without any guidance from me!).  And he just loves the creative outlet from WWTB.  Here is his fable (that he actually completed last week).

Billy Buck Learns a Lesson


Bobby Coon is a sly, quick-thinking raccoon that has a dishonest past. He can talk anybody into doing anything if he has a chance.
Bobby Coon lives in a beautiful forest in North America. There are trees, bushes, fields, ponds, rivers, mountains, caves, waterfalls, and other animals he lives with.

One day when Bobby Coon was fishing in the river, Crafty Cougar came out of the bushes.
Crafty Cougar is a highly feared cougar that sometimes uses others to bring in his prey. He hides until his prey is near and then pounces on it.
“You had better bring big meat to the alfalfa field tomorrow or you may end up as my appetizer,” growled Crafty Cougar.
Bobby Coon slyly replied, “If I do bring you some big meat, what do I get out of it?”
Crafty Cougar, now furious, yelled, “Your life!”
Bobby Coon quickly said, “I promise I will get it done Crafty Cougar.”

The next day Bobby Coon met Billy Buck near the alfalfa field.
Billy Buck is a prideful deer who believes almost everything he hears. He has neared death many times.
Bobby Coon slyly said, “There is a doe in the alfalfa field today.”
Billy Buck questioned, “How do I know you aren’t trying to trick me?”
“Have I ever done such a thing?” asked Bobby Coon.
“Well there was that one time,” Billy Buck started to say.
But Bobby Coon interrupted, “We both know I would never do such a thing. So go on out.”

As Billy Buck proudly walked into the alfalfa field, he felt something bite his back right leg. In a shock of terror he ran with Crafty Cougar at his white tail. Fortunately he escaped with his leg. Unfortunately the wound was deep.

The moral of the story is to beware of trusting everyone you talk to.

Besides school, the kids also had their violin recital last week.  We're so thankful to have Grandma as our teacher!


Friday, February 18, 2011

Grow, Grow, Grow!

5 months old!!
-Trying out the Super Saucer...that thing's FUN!
-Singing yourself to sleep
-GIGGLING!  Mommy just loves your baby giggles!
-Giving Mommy big, slobbery kisses
-Rolling over
-Continuing to be the absolute easiest baby to take anywhere!  You're happy, quiet, and sleep when you're tired.  What a blessing that is to Mommy!

Asa, we're praying that you not only grow up physically, but also "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ".  You are so special to us!
Love,
Mom & Dad
Here's a line up of my 5 favorite people...

We've had SNOW much fun...

January was sure a snowy month here, so we've had plenty of "snow days".  (In our homeschool, that's where you finish school and then play in the snow because Mom gets spring fever bad in April.)  :)
The kids were SOOO excited when it finally snowed enough that Dad could bring the skid loader over to make a "mountain"!!
They each dug tunnels and connected them inside.  Grant was sure that he could sleep comfortably in his.  Uhhh...not so sure about that one!
Once it finally warmed up enough for the snow to be sticky, a snow man was in the works.  I never got a picture of him with a head.  Allison decided that she'd rather have a "snow baby".
Is that seriously not the cutest thing ever??

And...then we came inside...
Part of me wonders every.single.time. if it is worth the mess.
Then I remember that as a mom, I can grit my teeth and smile enjoy life with my kids while I've got the chance!  Plus, it gives us a whole lot of practice mopping!  And the reward...

Oh BOY!

Yep...we had a lotta boys at our house last week!
Allison is thinking that being outnumbered 3:1 is nothing now.

Quote of the week overheard from the backseat of the van...
"Hey Mom!  ________ has a HUGE booger on his finger and he's waving it around!"
________ answers, "Don't worry Kathleen, I put it back in!"

EWWW!  Boys.  Gotta love 'em.
And I do.  These guys are great!
What a privilege it is to be a parent to 3 of my own little guys, raising them to be godly men to serve the Lord!

It's worth every booger, muddy footprint, wrestling match,
nerf dart, and wiggle.
And, if all else fails...drop & give me 20!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Merry Christmas!

I know Christmas is already past...but since I'm on a blog kick today, I thought I'd share the highlights from Christmas 2010!

Mike & I really want the kids to remember that CHRISTmas is all about Christ (not presents).  2 years ago we got a set of Adornaments from Family Life, and we now LOVE the tradition of using them for family devotions and putting them on the tree.  There are 12 ornaments - each with a different name of Christ on it.  Here Garret is hanging the "Baby in a Manger".
Our favorite family Christmas tradition is...
FINDING OUR TREE!
Scouting starts during deer season.  We pick a day to drive & make our final selection.  Then...soon after Thanksgiving, we go chop 'er down.  This year we were headed out at lunch time when the weather was warm - and were beat by a nasty cold front!
This year's tree came from "The North Place"...you know, south of our farm.  :)  Actually right where Mike found his buck.  It was a good spot!  I loved our tree this year.  Green.  Shaped like a Christmas Tree.  Perfect size.  Not sure we'll top it ever, but the fun of going out in the woods to get our own outweighs any imperfections in what we find!

Christmas Eve we had a beautiful candlelight church service reading scripture & singing Christmas carols.
Here are the boys afterwards.  (You'll have to tip your head to see them until I can figure out why they're posting that way.)  And the girls...
Here are the kids' gifts from us this year.
Grant got a new bow - that he can actually hunt with!  He's excited to get to work so he can USE it next fall!
Allison got a heart shaped locket - with our wedding picture inside.  Do you think she's excited??

And, Garret got some more Geotrax - with an exploding bridge!

Asa was happy to hang out with us and chew on some bows & paper.

Grow, Grow, Grow!

4 MONTHS OLD!! Already!
Asa, you are such a little blessing to our family!
You are...
  • Sharing your smile with anyone who will give you eye contact.
  • Continuing to sleep ALL night!  (Ahhh...)
  • Moving to your big crib - you've got the bassinet FILLED UP.
  • "Talking".  You like to try out a new sound every day - squeaky, growly, loud, soft...  You only seem to like to "talk" at home though.  You're really quiet when we go out.
  • CHEWING on anything you can get your hands on!
  • Nursing 5-6 times a day
  • Loving your cloth diapers! (the Fuzzibunz are Mom's favorites - and Dad is voting for the Happy Heiny's w/velcro.  I think he wants to start changing more diapers! :)
  • Sleeping on your tummy & sucking your thumb
  • Amusing your big brothers & sister!  They all love to hold you, hug you, talk to you, & play with you.  No wonder you're SO HAPPY & CONTENT!
I love you Asa!
Mom

A New Year

I've decided this year that I'm going to try to blog...mostly so that I can remember what we've been up to!  I want to be able to look back and SEE God's faithfulness in our lives and relive all the blessings. 

Now to see if I can figure this out - and not have it take forever...