"Rooster" and "Monkey"

"Rooster" by: Trinity

 

 

"Monkey" by: Anna

Green Grass...

We found A LOT of green grass today while Anna was at tumbling! It's a sight we don't see

very often. When we do see it, we jump out and enjoy it!

Just real quick...

Here is some of this weeks fun!

 

Anna learned calligraphy as part of her study of China.

She LOVED it!  I was impressed with the little kit that included all the items she needed.  It had several brushes, a porcelain brush holder, and ink bowl.  She got to "make" her own ink from the ink stone, and it came with a stone to "seal" her artwork with. She wants to frame it, and that's exactly what we are going to do! 

 

Trin went back to her gymnastics class this week, and thought she needed to dress up a bit.  She put her pretend make up on to make her look even more beautiful! ;)

 



 

 Yes! Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, is this FUN!

 

 

Anna made the year round swim team. I was so proud watching her tryout.  This is one sport that Anna does well in.  She glides in the water, and she's so pretty to watch.

 

 

Noah's Ark was one of Trinity's Bible stories this week, and today we saw a rainbow!

 

God keeps his promises, and his promises are beautiful!

 

Gotta run...

 

As Bub said this afternoon...

All of us, in different directions, survived the first week of school!  We are learning, adjusting, changing, and growing. And, it feels good!

Bub is taking the bus to school this year.  He is just newly 15, and we are in no hurry for him to drive.  The school commute is not an easy one, and the drivers here are CRAZY! It also scares me that most everyone I drive past is texting on their phones. So so scary!

It's been nice this week to see the sun rising!  I normally can't see it peeking out until I get out of our neighborhood, but each day it takes me by surprise.  It's like....Hello Sunshine every single time.  Soon those warm rays will fade and I will be so sad.

I still can't believe that Bub is in the tenth grade!?? When did that happen?  I still remember that brave, scared little boy on the first day of Kindergarten who gave me the strongest hug and told me, "I willwe wuv you mom!"  I thought he was going to cry that day, but he never did. I was the one who left in tears. Bub has told me every school day since, that he loves me.  People think he's a great kid, and say that I'm a wonderful mom, but you know what I think?

  He made me that way!  He is gold, and I'm so glad that he is mine!

He is a MESS!!! A cute mess...No other words!!

Yes, we can school anywhere, even in the bathroom it seems.  I needed to shower, and really get ready one day this week while Mason was napping.  The girls followed and did their lesson in the bathroom. ;)

I have to share a really cute funny story from this week!

In one of Anna's school books it suggests that we take a city from the 10/40 window and pray for them each day.  Anna chose a city who's name sounded out sounds like wan-gah-doo-goo that is in Africa.  We have been praying for these people daily. 

Well, yesterday Trin decided to lead the morning prayer, and she prayed:  "Dear God, please help all the people who live in camel doo doo.  They need your help."  It was so funny, but no way could I correct her, or let her see me giggle. 

 When she talks to God she is serious, and gives it all she has.  She was proud that she remembered all of  those people in camel doo doo who have never heard of Jesus.  I was proud of her too!

First Day of Homeschool



We started school today, and I think it went really well!  It was a learning process, and there are several things that I will do differently tomorrow.

1. get Anna started on her work before I start with Trin. Trin finished all of her work way before Anna, and was upset that I did not have more for her to do.  She insisted on doing school work until Anna was finished with all of hers.  That meant she got to work on the ipad for a long time.  That made her happy.

2.  Tomorrow, Mason will not be confined to the same room that we are in.  I'm putting a gate on the stairs, and closing all the doors so that he has free roam.  He had the whole room torn apart, and the door to the play kitchen broke off in about 10 minutes.  (My girls never broke anything, and it seems my boys break/broke everything.  Why is that?)

3.  I will not decide that the game of Memory will be a good idea to break up the work schedule.  The game took forever, and we ended up not even finishing.  Trinity won, so she was just fine stopping the game. :)

4. I will pre read Anna's spelling book, so that I don't look silly when I don't understand the book at all. That way, I can make sure we finish start the lesson. ;)

Here are a few pictures from the day.  These were taken on my phone, so they are not the best quality.  The lighting in the school room doesn't photograph well.  The pink curtains throw it off.



One of my favorite moments from today:

Trinity: Miss Teacher?

Me: yes, Neen?

Anna: You don't have to call her that.  You can still call her Mom, you know.

Trinity: Well, right now she is teaching us, so I will call her Mom.

Anna: Well, she's been teaching us our whole life.  She's always been our teacher.

TRUTH...right there folks.  The kind that makes you cry!

We also all had a good laugh at lunch today when Mason tried on Anna's glasses.  Doesn't he look just like Chicken Little! Hilarious!

I hope all of your kiddos have a blessed first day of school!

This makes me smile!

Trin had her first real play date this week!  Anna has a good friend, and this is her little sister.  The girls have known each other for a couple of years, but Trin just recently decided she would be brave enough to actually talk to her, and invite her over to our house for a play date!

It was so nice to see her smiling and having fun! It was incredible watching these two little girls build a friendship!  They both enjoy dinosaurs and all things rescue very much! They will even be taking additional swim classes, and participating in a Dino class later

 this fall together. I love watching her grow in this way!

Trin drew this picture this week, and I turned it into this little collage.  I can't stop staring at it! It just makes me smile!!



I LOVE Summer the BEST!!

I am a Summer girl through and through.  In fact, I love Summer sooo much that I wouldn't mind if that was my name! ;)  Yes, it is hot! Extremely hot some days, but I love it!! I just love when that warm sun is shining!

What I love most, is the extra time I have with my family! We become closer, share extra hugs, and smiles. We enjoy each other, and love that the days are longer.  Don't get me wrong...not always is it ice cream, and lollipops, but life is good! God is good, and I am ever so grateful!

Here's another picture recap of our summer! :)

Baseball games! I'm not a huge baseball fan, but there is something about being at the games that makes my heart smile.  The sounds, the smells, the lights, the food... all of it! We had a blast at this game, and it was so much fun to watch Trin.  She kept yelling to the players telling them to "crank it", and kept saying go "yowllo" (yow like cow).  She gets that from my mom I think because she says yellow the exact same way! To be honest, out of all of us, I think Trin has the strongest Texas accent even though she lived there the shortest amount of time!

Can you believe that this "cool" guy in this set of pictures is My teenager?  He looks so old, like a grown man. :( He's such a special boy, and he's growing up too fast. 

The girls thought the stadium food was the best they had ever had.  The best hot dogs, the best dip n dots, the best cotton candy, the best everything!  It was fun to everyone enjoy themselves!

from left to right

1. Mason is a hoot.  When I go to get him out of bed he will just sit there and look at me.  If I go to pick him up, he lays down.  He waits for me to sit down and then he will stand up and play a bit,  but not until I come into the room.

2.  Mason loves his NiNi.  These two are so sweet, and love each other so much!

3.  Anna had crazy hair and sock day at cheer.  She came in third place. And in case your wondering, no, I didn't teach Anna that pose.  Her aunt Amanda taught her that when she was about 3. I have a ton of pictures of her like that. ;)

4. I woke up one morning, and Trin was in Anna's bed.  When Trin woke up she told me all about her bad dream, and how Anna made her feel safe during the night.

Swim lessons have been so much fun, and Trin is now swimming short distances by herself.  She's also talking to her teacher and the kids in her class! Such an accomplishment for her!  Anna's taking lessons too, but mainly just to practice her strokes.

Ice cream and lollipops (hee hee).  Mason has been enjoying dum dums while the girls swim.  We also had an ice cream truck come to our neighborhood.  You should have seen these frantic kids when they heard the music box melody.  They were running everywhere looking for money. ;)  I was surprised when I saw they only served soft serve, sundaes, and milkshakes.  I was really hoping for my favorite, a fudge bomb.

Just a few more pictures of my "littles".  They are my early risers, so they have a couple of hours of alone time each morning before the other kids wake up. Mason just loves putting his head to others. It's like it's his own way of showing affection.  It takes my breath away.

SUMMER ROCKS!