a late night (until 12:30) mom's night out spent with my wonderful homeschooling friends to share and encourage and just enjoy each other's company. After days and days spent talking to young children, sometimes we just need some adult interaction to remember who we are and why we are doing what we are doing. It wasn't all without children though, as Stevie and 5 of his little nursing friends were all there with their mommies. They handled the late night well and we got a kick out of the baby wrestling matches!
On the way home, I almost hit 3 deer walking across the road. I slammed on my brakes and was thankful that we all stayed safe. Then I thought about how much my girls would've loved to see those deer! And how Steven is always so good about turning the car around to show them deer or some other kind of wildlife or exciting thing (like Nutria rats!). I'm trying to take after him in that regard and actually did turn the car around a few nights ago so they could get another look at a small group of deer.
I hope I am not missing the opportunities to see the "deer". In fact, that I have my eyes open for them way ahead of time so that I don't come so close to hitting them! There are many moments during the day that I have time to show the children beauty and love, but frequently due to my selfishness, laziness, or just my desire to "get things done" we miss them. My mom's night out, deer interaction, and even my prayer recently are all reminders of how I need to be on the lookout for beauty and allow myself to find joy in the little moments!
Hope you have a fabulous Fall Friday today!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Rainy day
Excuse me while I whine for a few minutes...
It's been raining on and off all day. My mood this week fits in well with the weather. Bummed. Not for any one thing in particular, just a variety of issues that are piling up and I have no desire to take care of them. Lazy. Tired. I have eczema on my fingers that has really flared up at the moment. My fingertips are all scaled over and cracking. Painful to type, to wash hands or dishes, to cook, to diaper, to wash little childrens' hair. I strained my back a couple nights ago. I don't really care for the fall season...I try to make autumn leaves and pumpkins cheerful, but to me they're really not. Orange and brown and green...yuck. I love the colorful flowers of springtime, the beach in summer. The Christmas lights are on the horizon but still a little too far away to feel "soon". Every outing with the kids seems insurmountable. Every lesson takes forever.
I'm sure tomorrow will be better. But as for today, I'm ready for Steven to walk through the door, have our yummy dinner of King Ranch Chicken, maybe a Godfather over to visit, and an early bedtime for all of us.
I found the girls doing this earlier (how-to-draw books from Chick-fil-a). I think it counts as art for today! That and the letter stamps that are all over their bodies and their clothing and the table...
He wants the computer mouse when it's in reach. This is his "I'm getting into something I'm not supposed to" grin.
Smothered in love
A dirty diaper calls. And a hidden phone must be found...
It's been raining on and off all day. My mood this week fits in well with the weather. Bummed. Not for any one thing in particular, just a variety of issues that are piling up and I have no desire to take care of them. Lazy. Tired. I have eczema on my fingers that has really flared up at the moment. My fingertips are all scaled over and cracking. Painful to type, to wash hands or dishes, to cook, to diaper, to wash little childrens' hair. I strained my back a couple nights ago. I don't really care for the fall season...I try to make autumn leaves and pumpkins cheerful, but to me they're really not. Orange and brown and green...yuck. I love the colorful flowers of springtime, the beach in summer. The Christmas lights are on the horizon but still a little too far away to feel "soon". Every outing with the kids seems insurmountable. Every lesson takes forever.
I'm sure tomorrow will be better. But as for today, I'm ready for Steven to walk through the door, have our yummy dinner of King Ranch Chicken, maybe a Godfather over to visit, and an early bedtime for all of us.
I found the girls doing this earlier (how-to-draw books from Chick-fil-a). I think it counts as art for today! That and the letter stamps that are all over their bodies and their clothing and the table...
He wants the computer mouse when it's in reach. This is his "I'm getting into something I'm not supposed to" grin.
Smothered in love
A dirty diaper calls. And a hidden phone must be found...
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Aggie Game!
At the Memorial Student Center
Mary Clare spent most of the game like this...she is terribly frightened of loud noises at big games. By halftime she was brave enough to watch, but then we left!
Ellie had a blast!
Steven Joseph was a trooper!
We spent most of the time at the top of the deck, under shade!
Happy Family Pictures :)
After halftime, right before we left
And in front of the stadium
Then we went to our church home, where we met and were married. They just renovated the sanctuary.
Getting 3 to smile is a hard feat!
Baby tries to steal from the church collection basket, oh my!
What a fun day! It had been about 10 years since we've attended an Aggie football game, so it was a true blessing to be able to go with the whole family!
Mary Clare spent most of the game like this...she is terribly frightened of loud noises at big games. By halftime she was brave enough to watch, but then we left!
Ellie had a blast!
Steven Joseph was a trooper!
We spent most of the time at the top of the deck, under shade!
Happy Family Pictures :)
After halftime, right before we left
And in front of the stadium
Then we went to our church home, where we met and were married. They just renovated the sanctuary.
Getting 3 to smile is a hard feat!
Baby tries to steal from the church collection basket, oh my!
What a fun day! It had been about 10 years since we've attended an Aggie football game, so it was a true blessing to be able to go with the whole family!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Movin and Groovin!
Yesterday the girls got their first hula hoops for their PE class today. They were thrilled! They had a performance with them last night, invitations and all!
Ellie at PE this morning
SJ trying to get to the soccer ball (didn't get a pic of MC with her big girl group)
I've been movin and groovin with the laundry today...better go get that put away!
Painted pumpkins yesterday
And a special surprise for tomorrow...tickets to the Aggie game! We got 2 calls today with different people offering tickets, so we ALL get to go! The kids are so excited! Hope it's not too hot :-)
What my little cherubs look like right now as they rest up for the big day tomorrow. I better go join them! Or should I put laundry away???
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Ellie at PE this morning
SJ trying to get to the soccer ball (didn't get a pic of MC with her big girl group)
I've been movin and groovin with the laundry today...better go get that put away!
Painted pumpkins yesterday
And a special surprise for tomorrow...tickets to the Aggie game! We got 2 calls today with different people offering tickets, so we ALL get to go! The kids are so excited! Hope it's not too hot :-)
What my little cherubs look like right now as they rest up for the big day tomorrow. I better go join them! Or should I put laundry away???
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Mary Clare's New Poem
Here she is a few days ago (stuffy nose) reciting:
Singing
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Of speckled eggs the birdie sings,
And nests among the trees
The sailor sings of ropes and things
And ships upon the seas
The children sing in far Japan
The children sing in Spain
The organ with the organ man
Is singing in the rain.
Homeschooling update:
-Math-U-See--LOVE it!
-100 Easy Lessons--Approaching lesson 40. She's reading fairly well but really hates to read and doesn't care for this book. We tried a "whole language"-type approach the other day when the book went missing; might try that every now and then.
-Bible Narrations--starting to get bored with this. Yesterday I wrote a one-sentence narration and had her copy it to get in some "copywork".
-Journaling--she loves it!
-Poetry--mostly enjoys this
-Group activities--trying to step back a little. We've missed the last 2 nature club meetings. Tomorrow starts PE days so hopefully we'll make that!
-Art/Music--haven't been doing a lot of organized stuff, just listening to good music and letting them paint and cut and play with playdough as much as their little hearts desire! Today they painted pumpkins so I'll post those soon. They LOVE ballet class and we're hoping Mary Clare's knee injury heals up quickly so she can get back to skipping and ballerina runs!
-Civics/Geography/Manners--need to do more of this!
-Behavior--that's a whole 'nother post!!! ;-)
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
National Night Out
Well, this was before the "NNO" but MC found a beautiful green bean in our overgrown garden!
Ready to walk down to the neighborhood park for the National Night Out (I just can't believe how big MC is looking these days...)
Wheeee! (Glad she didn't hurt her leg again...this scared me!) You may notice a blue mouth and blue on her shirt, from a sno-cone!
Whoa!
Checking out the Apache helicopter from Daddy's old Army Reserve Unit. The kids all enjoyed watching it take off later that night
Ellie's turn
The mini-ferris wheel! The girls are in the blue one!
After a quick walk home and back due to a potty accident :-/ we enjoyed the rest of the evening at the park with Daddy arriving after work. Always fun to play at the playground in the dark! We visited with several neighbors and always enjoy our fun city "festibals" as Ellie calls them! Hope your neighborhood had something fun too!
Ready to walk down to the neighborhood park for the National Night Out (I just can't believe how big MC is looking these days...)
Wheeee! (Glad she didn't hurt her leg again...this scared me!) You may notice a blue mouth and blue on her shirt, from a sno-cone!
Whoa!
Checking out the Apache helicopter from Daddy's old Army Reserve Unit. The kids all enjoyed watching it take off later that night
Ellie's turn
The mini-ferris wheel! The girls are in the blue one!
After a quick walk home and back due to a potty accident :-/ we enjoyed the rest of the evening at the park with Daddy arriving after work. Always fun to play at the playground in the dark! We visited with several neighbors and always enjoy our fun city "festibals" as Ellie calls them! Hope your neighborhood had something fun too!
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Weekend fun
Ellie making pinecone bird feeder at First Friday celebrating St. Francis of Assisi
Playing at our new neighborhood teacher store after craft time
Enjoying the park
Stevens :)
How did she get so big?
Loving the monkey bars
Big boy with his Robeez shoes
Strangest looking dog ever--a dalmation crossed with a basset hound...the owner called him an "abomination!"
Don't try the cereal at our house this week; we don't follow the "30 second" rule!
Playing at our new neighborhood teacher store after craft time
Enjoying the park
Stevens :)
How did she get so big?
Loving the monkey bars
Big boy with his Robeez shoes
Strangest looking dog ever--a dalmation crossed with a basset hound...the owner called him an "abomination!"
Don't try the cereal at our house this week; we don't follow the "30 second" rule!
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Three glances
Right now, 3 members of my family are taking a nice afternoon nap after a park visit and early steak dinner. Ellie and I are awake and I'm reading blogs, which is taking me forever because our internet connection is very spotty. She has been dancing around and talking and singing to herself...right now she's singing "we love our mom so much" and "God is so great so strong and so mighty there's nothing my God I can do...boom boom" and "I don't have a mom and dad...because I'm the mom" :)
But I had to post on the blog because the past 3 glances when I've turned around from the computer have been quite interesting.
1. I turn around to see Ellie with no clothing on, a baby doll on her head, and practicing plies standing on the bed.
2. I turn back around to see her tap dancing (still with no clothes, only tap shoes) on the wooden chess board.
3. Finally I turn to see her with tap shoes on her hands doing a headstand hanging off the bed.
I better go clothe my silly girl! What would I do without my Ellie-belly? I hope your Saturday has been just as interesting!
But I had to post on the blog because the past 3 glances when I've turned around from the computer have been quite interesting.
1. I turn around to see Ellie with no clothing on, a baby doll on her head, and practicing plies standing on the bed.
2. I turn back around to see her tap dancing (still with no clothes, only tap shoes) on the wooden chess board.
3. Finally I turn to see her with tap shoes on her hands doing a headstand hanging off the bed.
I better go clothe my silly girl! What would I do without my Ellie-belly? I hope your Saturday has been just as interesting!
Our Austin Getaway
(warning, LOTS of pictures!)
After Roxy's shower the girls got to see Devin and Katie's backyard chickens!
Checking for eggs! So much fun!
Our little "twins", Steven Joseph and Veronica's Fernando Isaac both 9 months old!
Veronica reading "Angel in the Waters" to the kids
Girls getting their schoolwork done!
Bubbles!
IKEA fun!
Even enjoying IKEA in the bathroom ;) Lest I forget how crazy it is to use public restrooms with 3 young children...strollers or shopping carts, diaper changes, tooshie-wiping, nursing, hand-washing, water fountains...it's like an Olympic sport! Today at the park we spent about 20 minutes at the public restroom...4 different restroom visitors!
Somehow the girls scrounged around my wallet to find 50 cents to ride this "airplane" at the outlet mall
The fountain at the outlet mall
The cardboard coloring castle, "De Colores" as Mary Clare named it!
Playing with Math-U-See blocks
SJ finds another friend his age
Backyard fun at the E family home, where we got to send farewell wishes to the H family as they prepared to leave for their new family mission in Nicaragua with their 3 young children and one in-utero. Please pray for them!
The girls on the patio by the restaurant where we had lunch in nearby Georgetown
Baby boys having fun!
Play-dough
The last day we found a big festival in Georgetown, a wagon trail ride adventure. Here are the girls next to a teepee.
Campfire cooking!
Wagon
The San Gabriel River
And the fun park there! My cute kiddos posing for the camera before we head back to pack up and go home!
Thanks again, Roxy, for hosting us for such a long visit. We had a wonderful time and appreciate you opening your house to the big bunch of kiddos! All our love and prayers, especially as you await baby's arrival!
After Roxy's shower the girls got to see Devin and Katie's backyard chickens!
Checking for eggs! So much fun!
Our little "twins", Steven Joseph and Veronica's Fernando Isaac both 9 months old!
Veronica reading "Angel in the Waters" to the kids
Girls getting their schoolwork done!
Bubbles!
IKEA fun!
Even enjoying IKEA in the bathroom ;) Lest I forget how crazy it is to use public restrooms with 3 young children...strollers or shopping carts, diaper changes, tooshie-wiping, nursing, hand-washing, water fountains...it's like an Olympic sport! Today at the park we spent about 20 minutes at the public restroom...4 different restroom visitors!
Somehow the girls scrounged around my wallet to find 50 cents to ride this "airplane" at the outlet mall
The fountain at the outlet mall
The cardboard coloring castle, "De Colores" as Mary Clare named it!
Playing with Math-U-See blocks
SJ finds another friend his age
Backyard fun at the E family home, where we got to send farewell wishes to the H family as they prepared to leave for their new family mission in Nicaragua with their 3 young children and one in-utero. Please pray for them!
The girls on the patio by the restaurant where we had lunch in nearby Georgetown
Baby boys having fun!
Play-dough
The last day we found a big festival in Georgetown, a wagon trail ride adventure. Here are the girls next to a teepee.
Campfire cooking!
Wagon
The San Gabriel River
And the fun park there! My cute kiddos posing for the camera before we head back to pack up and go home!
Thanks again, Roxy, for hosting us for such a long visit. We had a wonderful time and appreciate you opening your house to the big bunch of kiddos! All our love and prayers, especially as you await baby's arrival!
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