A NINE Year Old in the House

He's been counting down the days. Every single year-no fail he starts the countdown sometime in the summer.

I think every year he tends to get up earlier and earlier too ;)

We love to celebrate him. He loves to feel special, so we try and make sure he knows he is. He brings such joy to our lives. He is so very helpful and is turning into quite a young man. He has worked extremely hard this year and is trying so many new things. I can really tell he is growing up.









I love:

his smile
the way he treats his friends
the way he asks adults how they are doing
how I can hear him in the mornings doing his chores without me asking
the way he is truly enjoying school this year
seeing his art work (he loves to draw, paint, and got to art class)
watching him play soccer
to see him make his brothers laugh
to hear his laugh
when he tells me all about the book he is reading
how excited he still gets over all the things us adults forget to be excited about
that he brings such light in our home

We love you Tibby. Happy Birthday!

Summer Fun

As the summer started to fly past us, I realized I hadn't done much of anything that felt like "summer" with the boys. Everything was moving way too fast and I couldn't keep up.

We don't have a membership to a pool like we used to, so it's a little hard to make myself find something equally as fun. Last week I saw an advertisement for a summer fun card in our area. For $20 a person it will get you into 3 different area pools/water parks. I ordered each of us one immediately and I declared Fridays Family Fun Days!

Dan had the next 3 Fridays off, so we decided to pack them with tons of fun! Yesterday we headed an hour north to a small town to visit their pool. We've been once when Tristin was 2, so this was a new experience for them and they loved it. We stayed for 4 hours. Like a mini vacation :)

You'll have to excuse some of the pictures, the sun was so bright I couldn't tell on my screen what they looked like haha!




The water was very cold so these two were easing into it.



Exploring the pirate ship.



They spent a lot of time sliding down the slides and playing volleyball.



Taking a break.










After we got home, we headed out for a night at the drive in movie theater. We watched Turbo and Despicable Me 2. I fell asleep but the boys stayed up until 1 AM! Oh my.

Loving Our Children

We go back and forth with the things we need to work on. We go from bad attitudes, talking back, and complaining to helpful, obedient, and patient. And I'm not just talking about the children. :)

We called the boys to do bible study one evening. They "paused" their playing as they quietly grumbled to the table. Honestly? It broke my heart. What are we even doing all of this for? They don't want to be here right now. They are full of their own selfish desires. I can assure you though it's not just them.

I got to thinking. It doesn't matter how much of God's word we read to them,  how much I quote, or how much we memorize. We could do all this and God could still say, "I never knew you."  We could read the Word until we are blue in the face, but that won't make them love God. It certainly never made me love God. Not until one understands God's love does he then truly love and know God. It's at that time when you want to open His word and get to know Him even more.

This humbling thought came across me. There is not one thing I can do to make sure my children love God, except them seeing God's love toward them in me. Even that's not me, it's all Him.

“Any obedience that isn’t motivated by his great love is nothing more than penance.” Elyse Fitzpatrick, Because He Loves Me

I've poured over countless books and even scripture trying to figure out how to correct and train our boys.  I I soon realized that if I love them through the eyes of God, only then will their hearts turn to Him.

 I read a post by Ann about Katie that captivated me. Talking about this 24 year old mother of 13 girls she said, "You mother as well as you know your Father. I look at Katie and all I can think: She mothers like she’s memorized the face of her Father. It is a holy witnessing."

Their is no secret to raising children who love the Lord. They see Him and feel Him through us. I don't want to move in any way with these boys unless it has the face of God all over it.

"Jesus did not save us so that we could do motherhood on our own, apart from him; he saved us so that we would be forever connected to him, forever dependent on him– on the sustenance that flows through the cord of his unending love. Jesus was cut off from the Father that we might not be cut off from him." Ruth from Gracelaced

Jaiden's Room

Thinking back to when I was working on the boys' rooms and realized I never posted a "progress" photo of Jaiden's room and I wanted to do so before we start changing things around and adding things to walls.

We haven't painted much of anything (as in walls) but this year, I'm hoping to just get it done. We will see. So for now, this is what we have.

We painted this old antique bed gray, along with his side table, and if you recall the green bench I had at the old house? We painted it navy to match his Ikea bedding.



Pillow I picked up for him at Target.



And, I was absolutely stoked to find this already made burlap bed skirt at a garage sale last year for $10.



I had to add these letters  my mother in law got him when he was little.



We definitely like to keep it simple for him, but I am working on adding things to the walls, after I paint them of course.

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.

Saturday Family Traditions

I have really fallen in love with creating our own little family traditions. I love getting ideas from all over the place, but as I wrote a few months ago, I was getting overwhelmed with "keeping up" with all the fun stuff there is out there. So, I pretty much dropped it. I took my own advice and went with what I knew would really make a difference in our boys' lives.

Remember the everyday things like books before bed, family devotionals, pizza on Fridays, chores on Saturday. Those are the things children will find comfort in. Those are the days they will remember.

Without even thinking about it, I started lingering in bed an hour later on Saturday mornings, slowly getting up to the sounds of boys playing in their rooms. I'd head down stairs for a cup of coffee and open my wonderful southern cookbook and find the most beautiful pictures and recipes. I started craving the biscuits and gravy, the brown sugar and buttermilk waffles, the honey pecan coffee cake. Although I cook breakfast most mornings, I wanted this to be different. So, around 9:00 AM on Saturday mornings, I start what we call our Late Saturday  Morning Breakfasts. The boys make orange juice together and set the table while I whip up waffles, eggs, and bacon, biscuits and gravy, omelets, stuffed french toast, or sometimes just fruit salad and toast. Some other times, we make homemade donuts with our little donut maker.

It's all about enjoying each other, in no rush.







We read our Bible together, talk, and listen to old hymns or classical music. It has quickly become my favorite day of the week!

After we are finished, I go online to Lego Quest Kids and pick a challenge for the boys and their Legos. They spend the remainder of the morning coming up with their creations! They LOVE it! I also saw that Phyllis just started LEGO challenges on her blog too, so we'll add that one to our list.







I'm taking pictures for them and have plans to make a little book for him.

These are the traditions I love. It doesn't take a lot of effort and planning. It's not over the top or elaborate, and by no means an original idea. It is special and simple, and that's what makes it so amazingly wonderful!

Learning to Read

I mentioned last month that we took a break from everyday school to focus on reading in hope that Tristin would become more confident and actually enjoy reading.

I'm proud to say that it worked!

Tristin is one of those kids that learned the sounds of his letters in one week and is wonderful at math, so naturally I decided to teach him to read when he was 4.

I picked up the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and we took off. Only, he was in tears after the first few lessons.

We took a 6 month break, started the book again at 5. Same story.

And at age 6 I tried it again. We made it 70 lessons, and finally realized  it just wasn't clicking.

At the beginning of this school year, I picked up All About Spelling thinking if he learned the rules then it would make sense. It did! We were finally getting somewhere.

After evaluating (in my own head) the first semester, I felt he he needed a boost of confidence in reading. I wanted him comfortable with reading. And you know, not dreading it everyday. I dropped everything else. but reading, writing, and spelling for one month.

We continued with All About Spelling, and I added writing and copy work, sight words, and we added the last half of (yes again!) Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons.

I had this Silly Starters flip book, where he would flip though it and have to write a story, poem, questions, or letter about whatever he flipped to. He loved this! He would make up a short story, and I would write it for him, and then he would copy it in his angry birds notebook.



Then we would work on a lesson of All About Spelling. (He finished level 1!)



I found a list at Jan Brett's website of Dolch Sight Words and we played the bang game with them. This worked like a charm.

*print one word on each index card
*make a few index cards with the word BANG on them
*put them in a box or coffee can
*mix around
*set the timer
*take turns pulling out a card. If he you get it correct keep the card. if not, put it back in. If you get a BANG card, all your cards go back in.

I used words that I thought he needed work on, and added a few new ones as he mastered some of the old ones.

I also used the list of words he was working on and made them his copywork some days, spelling words some days, and our own homemade crossword puzzles some days.



After all of that, we would go back to the Teach You Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (the last 50 lessons) and do 2 a day. I'm happy to report that he loves this as well! Whew!

We went to the library and I let him pick any books he wanted to read to me. I also picked chapter books I thought might interest him and we read, read, read. Turns out he LOVES Henry Huggins and Nate the Great! Those books made him love reading. He has always loved me reading to him, but now, he picks them up on his own and starts reading them.

We still have  a lot of work to go, but I'm so excited to see him interested and enjoying reading!

I will continue most of these things throughout the rest of the year. I'm considering adding the last 100 lessons or so of The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading which I've heard takes reading a bit further than 100 Easy Lessons, or Reading Pathways.

I have also started the 100 Easy Lessons book with Brighton (just turned 5), and it's a whole new story with him. He loves it! Ha ha, you never know.

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!

11 Years

Jaiden turned 11 years old last week. We have had a very rough couple of months, but he knew it was his birthday, and he was as happy as a clam.

He has been doing really well this year in school. He is learning to read on his computer and has started doing more academics than life skills. He's really catching on!

We are so proud of him.

I pray everyday for ways to show him we love him, and ways to help him.

We have a pretty big change coming up that we hope will help him more than anything. I'll let you know when we know for sure.

He's such a wonderful young man!

Brothers lighting the donut cake:







Happy Birthday Jai. We love you!!

Christmas Cards

I can't believe it's this time of year already! I am pretty behind on getting things done as far as Christmas cards, gifts etc. So yesterday we set out to finish buying Christmas gifts, I took pictures of the boys, and I came home and made these cards. The hard part? Choosing which one I like better, ha! Have you gotten all your shopping done and cards finished? We still have a few things (like a scooter) to get for the boys, and my boys are just DYING to buy something for their daddy. Other than that, we are done!

Parenting

If you read my post yesterday, you know that I have been in a bit of a rut. You can imagine the parenting that gets done in seasons like this, but I've been actively trying to stay on top of attitudes (mine included) and build relationships.

I have a hard time with this, and some days are even harder. *grin*

Every single day, I have to get up and get going to create an atmosphere that the boys are used to. I think all of the time. Think about ways to love them more, ways to spend more time with them, then ways to teach them that this life isn't all about them.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs this morning and she spoke exactly what I need to tell myself over and over, every day, fifty times a day.

"But, taking time to make pleasant children for their own benefit and the benefit of others means encouraging at a young age that the world doesn't revolve around them.
Which means I must stay calm, cool, and collected in my heart and attitude so that she knows in her spirit I don't think life is just about me either."

I've become intentional about my reactions or lack there of. Not always good at not reacting, but I do realize that if there is a problem, my attitude in that moment is the most important thing. After all, I wouldn't want to teach my boys that the world doesn't revolve around them, but it does in fact revolve around their mother.

I've also had to step back and look at the whole picture. At the world through their little eyes. Most all of the behaviors we are currently dealing with stem from something I could have done better. Did they get enough to eat, enough sleep, have I been consistent with routines so that when I ask them to do something it isn't like the end of the world? Have I paid attention to the way they treat each other, so I can gently correct them before they get too upset at one another?

This parenting thing is such a huge responsibility. One that most of us chose to take on. It takes consistency, time, and prayer.

Our children need us. They need to know we are not only here for them, but we are here with them. That we are are willing to put the effort it takes every single day. Whether it be a check in with them on their attitude according to scripture, or even letting them know how I'm here with them when life gets frustrating.

I need to set them up for success by checking my attitude, taking care of all their needs including spending time with them, and keep them plenty busy with necessary tasks so they don't have too much free time alone that they get selfish when asked to do something, but enough time to play and be a child.

I have to remember that being the authority does not make me the boss, it makes me a servant. It's important to understand that myself, so my children understand that as well.

A servant is one who attends to the needs of others. It's a selfless job being a mother. It's hard, it's rewarding, and it's a blessing. It's a gift to be in the company of  The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Mathew 18
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

This is how I chose to live my every day. These children are how God has blessed us so. He trusts us with them.

Back to School Schedule & Party

We are in full swing here at our little academy. (need to come up with a name soon)!
We just started our 3rd week, and our routine is working really well, so I wanted to share what our day looks like.

*I wake up at 6:30 (working towards 6:00). I make my bed, read the Bible and get dressed.

*The boys wake at 7:00. They get dressed, make beds, brush teeth, and feed dogs. I assist one child with wiping the boys toilet...they take turns since this has to be done daily!!

*7:15 I make breakfast while they read their Bible; classical music is on in the background. Breakfast usually consists of some combination of waffles, bacon, eggs, toast, oatmeal, breakfast burritos...you get the idea. And, a great big cup of coffee for me.







*We eat, and I read the Bible to them. They "read" the Bible on their own to get used to the idea that they need to every day when they can read well on their own. I read to them so they hear the word and will know it.

*8:05 we take Jaiden to his private theraputic school and we get home around 8:35

*8:35 we do daily chores. Start washing machine, dishes, pick up.

*9:00 we start school
   -we do memory work (scriptures, days of week, months, poetry) and write in gratitude journals
   -I turn on hymns in background
   -I work on My Father's World with Brighton
   -while Tristin does Singapore math or Kahn Academy
   - I let Brighton look at ABC book or do a puzzle while Tristin and I do All About Spelling lesson

*10 or 10:15 we take a 15-30 minute break

*10:30 we read our living History literature or Apologia Swimming Creatures science



*11:00 we do Greek or Grammar

*11:20 we read our Ambleside online reading and poetry or Shakespeare

*12:00 we eat lunch (leftovers, baked potatoes, or chicken salad with fruit)

*12:30 play

*1:00  Trisitn reads aloud to me

*1:30  Everyone goes to their own room to play while I turn on a movie via Netflix and fold laundry

*2:30 boys come put away their own laundry and we go get a snack prepared

*3:00 Jaiden is home, has snack, potty, and they all can watch a movie for 1 hour or play. I clean..or read (grin)

*4:00 movie off. free play (outside) or we can work on a project or take a walk etc.



*5:00 everyone picks up any messes

*5:30 everyone helps with dinner and clean up (chopping salad, stirring, setting table, washing dishes, sweeping)

*7:15 baths, teeth, and devotional

*8:00 bed, where they can read or color...lights out 9:00 ish

That's our school day!

We have really been loving this schedule and enjoying school so much more this year so far.

The night before we started school, I decided to throw and impromptu  back to school dinner.
I love what nienie does with theirs, so I ran with that.

The boys and I made crowns, I made cupcakes and dinner (lime chicken tacos and rice).






It is so sweet how they treasure those crown and display them in their rooms.

Our theme this year is to "Dream Big". I want our boys to learn to do hard things. That's what it takes to reach your dreams. God has such dreams for us, so don't be shy to dream big!



I couldn't believe when I was going through my stash or clearance cupcake liners, that I came across these!!



We had a beautiful night. A perfect way to celebrate this life given to us.










Hope your year blesses your socks off!!