Monday, February 22, 2010

Monster Trucks

On Sunday the boys went to see Monster Trucks! Jacob was SO excited!
It was loud, crazy, and evidently wonderfully fun!
Okay, in case you can't see, that guy is all the way off his bike. Jacob has described this multiple times (with hand motions) so now Bethany can tell the story as well.
These drivers are married!
Yay! For Monster Trucks!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Six Word Saturday #2

Struggling With My Six Year Old
This doesn't really DEFINE my life right now (I could still use the 6 words from 2 weeks ago to do that) but it does describe a substantial part of my day-to-day.
We homeschool and I didn't have any illusions that it would be easy but...
(may I whine a bit?)
it is REALLY hard sometimes.
The thing is, I really love to teach her
but she seems to think that she should already know everything.
So whenever she comes upon something that takes a little work,
she throws up her hand and pitches a fit.
There now, I feel better.
We do a lot of fun things with our homeschooling and there is a lot of social interaction and extras.
Like choir and PE at the Y and ballet.
And we have lots of creative time,
and lots of time for free-reading
(she loves to read!).
If anyone has any easy fixes I'd love to hear them.
(Definitely said with my tongue in my cheek.)
Otherwise, life is very good, and I am thankful!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Funny Friday

After bath one night Bethany found pair of Jacob's underwear (dirty or clean, I can't remember!) and decided to try it on.
And what, you may ask, is that? That is a dead squirrel IN my house! This guy has been floating around the yard for quite a while, and since it's been so cold, he's pretty well preserved. When Jacob came in with it, I said, "I KNOW you didn't just bring a dead animal into my house!"
And no pic for Naomi, but this was a conversation at the breakfast table:
Momma: What color vitamin do you want, Naomi?
Naomi: Nothing
Momma: Okay, I'll just give you a pink lion.
Naomi: That is what NOTHING means, Momma.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Couldn't Resist Posting This Again

I love you, dear husband!
(the little pic is 10 years ago when we got engaged and the big pic is from this past summer)

Valentines Day Fun

Happy Valentines Day!
"Milk I am your father!"
Heart Shaped Pancakes
A Very Romantic Dyson Ball!
Thank you, Nate!!
Snow on Valentines
and matching dresses
Small Group Buddies
playing the sleep game

More Artwork from Jacob

This one was done at school and came home with no Bethany. When I mentioned that he took it and immediately added a (very cute) Bethany.
I think this one was inspired by the black curly wig that Nate bought for Halloween. It's been floating around being played with lately.
That's Jacob inside the house and he told me that Daddy helped him plant that garden just for me. : )
This one has the piano, couch, and fireplace from our living room inside the house. And there's Jacob standing under the apple tree.
I am eating this artwork up! When Jacob gets out the markers and paper, there's a little spark of magic. Something about the way he holds the markers, the way he looks at the paper from different angles, and the way he gets totally absorbed in the work makes the end result seem like a priceless masterpiece. Keep up the good work, Jacob!

Lincoln Logs

Lincoln logs are one of Jacob's favorite passtimes
Look at these beautiful girls!
Notice that Naomi has her backpack on. She went to spend the night with Granna for Thursday through Saturday of last week. She had a blast!! Head over to Of Such is the Kingdom to see the very sweet gift she made me for Valentines Day while she was there. She also went to the Natural History Museum, made pink heart-shaped biscuits, and made a picture book of her time there. Good work, Naomi, and THANK YOU, Granna!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

House on a Hill

House on a Hill
More Jacob Art
Notice the door and the person inside the house. The house itself is less than an inch tall!

Penni's Dedication

My niece, Penni, had a dedication ceremony at her church on Sunday.
Isn't she adorable?
Aaron, Fish, and Jorja standing with Penni and their pastor.
Penni is always ready with a smile when she notices you're holding a camera!
Bethany LOVED the punch bowl cake that Penni's Grammy made.
Our fam: Fish, Penni, Aaron, Jorja, Grandad, Bethany, Granna, Nate, Jacob, Olivia, Naomi, and Grandmomma

Suzie's Birthday

It's funny what impresses your kids! Naomi wanted to throw a birthday party for Suzie (her doll) so I suggested she make her a play dough cake. When I said that they could really light the candles, you would have thought I had said they could go to Disney World!
They were SO excited to light and blow out the candles. And once was enough. I think it made their day. : )

Visit with Ella, Anna and Chloe

Our good friends from Sand Mountain came to visit on Saturday. We LOVED having them!
Chloe and Bethany enjoyed getting to know each other. They were pretty funny playing this stacker game because one would put a block in a different place and then they would giggle at each other. They have their own brand of baby humor!
Yeah for girl time!
And I don't think Jacob minds being the only boy at all!

Naomi Reading to Jacob and Bethany

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Visit from Bjorn and Meghan

Visit from Meghan and Bjorn
Beautiful Megs
Look at those buddies!
biker girl
Naomi's new trick: climbing trees!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Update on Naomi

Naomi has been doing very well in school lately. She is slowly conquering each math concept (not without struggle at times) and she is gobbling up books by the stack-full.
Every week she has a verse that she copies once a day for her handwriting. Last week her spelling words were different fruits, so we used the fruits of the Spirit as her verse. At the end of the week she prints out the verse nicely and we frame it somehow.
Naomi loves to play momma with all her dolls. Here she is with some of her favorites: Lily, Hannah, and Jack. Suzie is also always around, she just didn't make this pic!
Last night I was away teaching a class and Naomi wrote me some sweet notes that were waiting for me when I got home. (I miss you very much. You make my heart fill with joy. With Love, Naomi)

Yesterday we struggled mightily through number families. Today, Naomi conquered them! She was so proud that she wrote her journal about it! (Today is February 2nd, 2010. I like number families. Because yesterday I was disobedient because I got them wrong. I got a spanking. Today I got every problem right.) Just so you know: I didn't spank Naomi for getting the number family problems wrong! But she did get an bad attitude spanking. : )