Winter Holiday

A few weeks ago we headed to Angel Fire NM for our annual ski trip.
The boys and Dan just love to ski. I, sadly, do not love it.
I am a water, beach, warm weather girl.
I used to enjoy skiing, but took about a 10 year break from going, and haven't enjoyed it since. Since my boys and husband do, it is something I want to work on.



We took Brighton to ski school, and he did fantastic!



I think he looks adorable on his little skis just zooming past us.



I loved hearing about his day every afternoon, and he was thrilled about the jello with whipped cream and the hot chocolate they served him!



Dan and Tristin stayed out all day. They had so much fun, and I think Tristin really adores having dad all to himself! (I stayed in with Jaiden and found Waldo, read, watched movies, and went swimming.)



He even worked on his own tricks!



We had a fine time. We went before spring break and it was really easy going there.

Our "baby" is 5

In February our "baby" turned 5.
I don't like that.
Everything in life is just swirling around 100mph, and I can't for the life of me get these kids to stay little!

Brighton is such a happy and precious boy. He is full of energy and always in to something.
He's sweet and cuddly. He loves to sit on your lap. I feel I need to sit long enough to let him stay on my lap.
Sometimes I just don't sit long enough to let him stay.

I am so thankful he is in our lives!

The traditional birthday donut cake:



We love you B!

We're Having A Ball

It's amazing how a simple ball can create

a good hour of non stop fun. Who needs the special

amusement parks? 

Waiting for Spring, And a Texas Blizzard Y'all

I has been a very nice winter here in Texas. A lot of the days have been nice enough to go outside for a walk or just to play,  but I'm always freezing. Always.

I'm very ready for the smell of fresh cut lawns, big thunderstorms rolling in, and eating breakfast, lunch, or even dinner outside.

I was looking at pictures from last April, and man it sure got me excited!





Pots ready to be filled with gorgeous flowers!



That will all have to wait a bit longer though. Outside our window is sunshine, but it's melting the 15 or so inches of snow we just had. What a storm it was! The boys are sure enjoying it though.



They built forts in the front yard the first day, and got creative on the back deck steps yesterday. They stayed out for hours! I cleaned house and had nutella and peanut butter hot chocolate hot and waiting for them to tire.

Outside My Window

It sure is pretty. Especially when we have nowhere to go.



As pretty as it is, I'm loving these touches that let's me know Spring will come.

Everyday Life

Everyone in our house was sick last week. I just wasn't feeling good, but the rest had what I'm guessing was the flu. It really seemed like the longest, quietest week. We didn't go anywhere, no homeschool, the boys weren't even up to playing. I thought Jaiden had escaped the sickness until I got a call from school Thursday morning that he was indeed sick.

This week has felt more like recovery mode. We were all still tired, and I had a migraine for a few days. Today, I'm happy to report everyone is what seems back to "normal"!

 I had a nicely clean and quiet home for a few days and I was so happy to take care of everyone. I didn't need to cook much because we weren't eating much. I honestly had nothing much to do but rub backs, do a lot of laundry, and run warm baths for achy bodies. After a day though I missed the loud, playing boys. I missed everyone doing all sorts of things all over the house. I missed cooking for this little family of mine.

It's funny that it can all seem like so much sometimes, and when you get a tiny break from it all you miss it. It really showed me even more than I already knew, that I need to savor these moments. To stop and enjoy these boys of mine. The quiet can get lonely. Fast.

Enjoying January

I am not one that has always loved January. I used to find it long and dull. I mean what can you expect from a month that follows Christmas?! haha

Over the years I've truly learned to enjoy the newness and opportunities for fresh starts that January always brings. I have to admit, I do not enjoy the cold, but the rest? Yes.

January is a still and quiet month. A month to reflect on goals and plans. I also like to work on projects in January. We wanted to get started on our painting this month, and now halfway into the month, we've yet to start. It just makes me laugh at how I used think this month was SO long. I can't even keep up with it these days!

I have been doing our school work like I mentioned a few posts ago. I can see Tristin improving, but most important, I can see that he is starting to like reading. And that my friends, was the whole point of this! He is having fun with it all. I couldn't be happier about that! Can't wait to update more in the next few weeks.

We have also started giving Jaiden a whole lot of one on one time. After he gets home from school, my husband (if he's home) takes Jaiden up to his room, just to play. Whatever Jaiden wants to do. And I, sit with him at the table before dinner and play games or read with him. His attitude have improved. The real test will be in a few weeks when our schedule changes. Please pray with us on this?

God has shown me that he has big plans for these boys, and one of my desires for them all is to learn and to love reading. My prayer is that they learn to love reading God's word. God is showing me that He wants that for them (all of them!) as well. My time with Jaiden is spent working a lot on reading. I have a bunch of ideas, and will share those as soon as I finish writing it all out.

That leaves us with Brighton. This child is one who has a difficult time listening and paying any kind of attention, yet we've begun teaching him to read and he gets it...like it's no problem! Don't you love how different they all are?

I have also been doing my cooking, cleaning, reading and watching Downton Abbey and Parenthood. Those are the only shows that I just love to watch. I look forward to Sunday and Tuesday nights. A bit disappointed that Parenthood's season finale is next week. That makes no sense to me whatsoever. Really and truly bummed about it ha.

I've been listening to podcasts with Andrew Kern that are renewing my love for homeschooling. I have also renewed my love for having them memorize. I know that Classical and Charlotte Mason use memorization as key in their methods, but we fell off our memorizations when we moved (eh...9 months ago) and never got back into it. Articles like Memorization Should Not be a Lost Art, Edie"s list of what her girls are memorizing, Shawni's post about poetry really struck a chord with me. So I ordered this book and will use it as my guide, as well as scripture.

My last goal is to paint one wall in our family room with chalkboard paint. I know that's not an original idea by any means, but the more we are getting into grammar, writing, multiplication etc, the more I find myself longing for one. Hopefully I can get that done this month too!

I sure am enjoying these boys of ours. I hope you all are having a great start to the new year!

Goals

It's no secret that I like setting goals. I love lists, and I really like checking things off those lists.

I have pretty simple goals this year. Things I had already started working on, and some new things.
Over the past few years I have been setting goals and checking most of them off. That's a big deal for me because I seem to enjoy the planning and list making a whole lot more than the doing part (grin).

Reading:

Read the whole Bible.
I have read more of the Bible than ever the past few years, but this year I want to read the whole thing.
I want to turn to His word more than I do others' words and opinions on His word.

I also want to read a lot more books in general. From the library. I want to read hard books, and to learn more.
I want our home to be a reading home.


Health:

Drink more water, eat less sweets, do Pilates 3 times a week, go on a walk when it's warm.
That's it. It's very doable.

Cleaning:

I love a clean house.I think better and feel better in one.
I have made a schedule, I have been working on it a few months with great results, but still need to organize and stay consistent.
I will continue decluttering, and not adding more.
No more excuses or laziness in this area from me!

Family:

Just simply loving them and spending more time with them. Playing games, going on walks, serving them.
And NO griping. Really.


Do you set goals? What are they? Let's chat.

Bits of Christmas in Our Home

Our first Christmas in our new home has been really fun to decorate. It has all turned out quite lovely. We have this tree in our kitchen that was given to us by my mother in law. I love the way it looks in this corner.



And here is the view from our living room and entry.



This is the live tree in the living room. Very simple.



And the family room. This is our main tree. The one filled with family ornaments, and presents, and of course a train that my parents gave the boys.



Stockings hung on the chimney with care.



I think I printed this print from graphics fairy.





All lit up.

Winter Vacation

We spent last week in New Mexico...skiing!
My husband loves to ski, and it has been a long time, so we packed up and went!
It was the boys' first time, and they loved it! Dan was sure excited about how much they enjoyed it.
I *used* to like skiing, but I think having kids has effected me more than I may know. I could only handle so much...so in the afternoons I took 2 of the boys in for a nap, while Dan and Tibby skied their little hearts out.

It was beautiful there. SO beautiful.















The last day we were there it was snowing. It is incredibly peaceful to watch the snow falling, I just love it.







What a wonderful family vacation! The boys were sad to leave, but it's always nice to be home.

Sunday Morning

We've had a cold, rainy, and foggy weekend. Clean house, fire going, books read, and movies watched.







This morning I made coffee and cinnamon french toast, cooked in coconut oil, topped with fresh blueberries and pecans, drizzled with a bit of honey.



We ate and read our Bible together. I am now in sweats; about to start a pot of chili.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday.

Weekly School Overview

This is what we have in store for the week ahead:

Bible Reading and Copy Scripture: Jesus' Crucification in Mark 15:21, Resurrection John 20, Luke 24, John 21, Ascension of Jesus Acts 1

Reading Lesson and Write New Words: Delightful Reading lessons with Bible Reading and Free Reading.
(learning the words we are reading in the Bible and other books) -
EXAMPLE:the word LIGHT can make other words like right, knight, night, lightning...

Read Alouds:

The Aesop for Children
The Blue Fairy Book
Among the Forest People


History:

Pocahontas
Colonial American Craft- 3D Jamestown Map

Math: Review long addition and subtraction. Review and add to multiplication.
Guess and Group activity from Family Math book.

Grammar: Lessons 5 and 6 From English for the Thoughtful Child Vol. 1

Monthly/Term Fine Arts:
poetry: The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson; Child's Garden of Verses Robert Louis Stevenson
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, Midsummer Nights Dream

folksong: Carrigfergus

hymn: What A Friend We Have in Jesus

Artists: Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) American; Hudson River School

This term's composer: Mendelssohn, Romantic

Art:

Source: artprojectsforkids.org via Jeana on Pinterest

Nature Study:
Birds
Project Garden (a book filled with garden activities for every month)
*this month we are planting Herbs and making plant markers, using lemon in our baking and treats (lemon snow ice cream anyone?!), and seed catalog card for my grandma's birthday.


***********************************************************************

Preschool will be added soon.

Cooking With Kids

I have received quite a few comments on here that appreciate my getting the boys in the kitchen with me, so I thought I would try and share more of what we do (when I remember to grab the camera)!

For Christmas, we bought them a set of the Curious Chef Knives, (I'll let you know what we think of them when we use them) and we got them the Kid's Fun and Healthy Cookbook.

After looking the book over, I can tell it will be a big hit! This morning we had left over Christmas ham, and decided to put our cookbook to the test. I asked Tristin to help me this morning. He quickly jumped in for the chance to cook breakfast for us!

We wanted to make the baked Eggs in Ham.



We lined our muffin tin with slices of ham and broke an egg to put in each one.





He set the timer and in 12 minutes we had breakfast!





The boys claimed this is one of the best breakfasts they've ever had! :) It is definitely a plus to have them help out!

Christmas Joy

I mentioned the other day that we had signed up to deliver presents to kids who wouldn't otherwise be getting any. We woke Saturaday morning and headed out to load our car full of gifts to be hand delivered to these kids. We knocked on the doors and were greeted by children who couldn't contain their smiles! They had NO idea, and boy were they thrilled!

Our boys loved it. They were happy to be spreading joy this Christmas. It was such a blessing.

Boys squished together so we could fit all the gifts in the back of our car.



One shy to have his picture taken.



Then we came home to Chritmas movies and make gingerbread houses. We were so excited to have Uncle Seth stop by and make one too.

(no pictures of the process...I misplaced my camera...) But here are the results!

I also can't get the pictures to turn the other way...but this is Brighton's)


Jaiden's


Mine


Uncle Seth's


Tristin's


And my hubby's ....I think he was trying to show us up!


Merry Christmas!