A Little Bit of This & That

It is definitely starting to feel like fall around here...well, not the weather, it is Texas after all, and we get about a week of fall right before Christmas!  ;-)  But the atmosphere in our home is changing with the gentle ushering in of the new season.  I've been busy getting things cozy in our home...making lots of yummy candle melts, changing up our decor around the house and enjoying the *feeling* that Autumn is here...if only in theory!  ;-)

We're into our 3rd week of homeschooling, and I have to say it's going great!  I mean, who gets to teach a superhero on a daily basis?!!

This little guy definitely keeps me on my toes, along with his little superhero brother (who was off fighting "bad guys" when this photo was taken!). 

The last several weeks I've really seen these two precious boys becoming closer and closer...they really do enjoy being together, and I am so grateful that I get to spend my days with them. 

They love doing pretty much everything together, and are two peas in a pod.  Gosh I love these 'lil dudes!

Eli is the resident ham of the house and is always cracking us up! :-)

Here is one of Eli's favorite toys...which he insisted I take a picture of! 

Oh, and here he is with another fave...face off!  Who will win?  The king of the jungle, of course! 

So anyways, just a little bit of this and that.  Life is pretty good!  :-)

*Grace*

The Second Worst Day of Our Lives: Losing Daniel

Today marks our sweet Daniel's 8th anniversary of entering Heaven.  Our precious boy is 8 years old, in Heaven years, and it's hard to comprehend what it must be like to spend almost the whole of your existence in the presence of God.  Must be wonderful.  For us down here though, 8 years seems like such a long time to have a part of us missing.  And all the comfort and assurance in the world doesn't take away the heartache, but it does give us hope, and that's enough...most of the time. 

Thinking back to Daniel's delivery day is always hard.  For years I put off completing his "baby book" because it was just so hard to look at all his precious little pictures and to try to find the words to explain how we were feeling in order to write them down in his album.  So his book is mainly photos, with some sweet notes here and there.  Some emotions are just too complex to put words to.  But boy do we love our sweet son, and we miss him like crazy.

Today I'm thankful for all the sweet people in our lives who have loved our precious Heaven babies and who still love them.  As a mother who has lost children it means the world to me when people still remember our children who have passed away.  Of course it's tough to have to go through all the sad emotions that a day like today brings, but I'd rather feel like my very soul is a brick in my chest than to try to forget and stuff the emotions.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:

...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4)

If the laughing and dancing is anything like the weeping and mourning then it's going to be one heck of a party when we get to Heaven and get to embrace our sweet babies again!

We love you so much, sweet Daniel.  And we remember your amazingly precious life.  

Love, 
Your Mommy, Daddy, and little brothers Johnathan & Eli

   

First Day of School!

Well, our first year of homeschooling is off to a good start!  Here are my precious boys, all dressed in their new shirts that they picked out for today, ready to go the park.  We met up with our new playgroup, that also started today, at a really fun park here in town.  It was a beautiful day for several firsts! Here's to a good year full of many blessings and sweet memories!

*Grace*

And I'm Right Back Where I Started: Homeschooling!

Tomorrow begins our first official day of homeschooling!  Talk about coming full circle!  I am pretty sure I am part of the first generation of modern day homeschoolers...the movement started in the mid to late 70's I believe and I joined the pack from the get-go once I turned school age.  (Mom, I'm guessing I started 1986?  I actually don't remember the date, but I would have just turned 5 then...correct me if I'm wrong!). 

Since Johnathan is just now a few months over 4 years old we're going to do a mix of pre-K and Kindergarten this fall/next spring.  Eli will also be getting in on the educational fun with some age appropriate learning too.  I'm going to try to remain flexible and see how to best tailor our school days to the boys' individual needs.  That is one of the beauties of homeschooling, the changing and tweaking of this or that to fit each child's unique learning style. 

Here is what is on the schedule for our first year...

JOHNATHAN:
-Bible Time & Character Development (a mix of Sonlight & A Beka Curriculum)
-The Writing Road to Reading Language Arts: Phonics/Writing/Reading (Spalding Method)
-Science (Sonlight Kindergarten Science Books)
-Math/Numbers (a mixture of my own teaching & A Beka Curriculum)
-Spanish (a mix of several different sources, introductory level Spanish)
-Misc...learning days of the week/months/seasons/etc. (my own teaching)

ELI:
-Bible Time & Character Development (a mix of Sonlight & A Beka Curriculum)
-ABC's (focusing on one letter per week, my own teaching)
-Numbers, Learning to Count to 10 (focusing on one number per week, my own teaching)
-Colors (one new color introduced each week, my own teaching)
-Shapes (one new shape introduced each week, my own teaching)
-Spanish (a mix of several different sources, introductory level Spanish)

We're also going to incorporate lots of fun craftsy type learning activities, fun educational outings, and of course we will include lots of creative play throughout our days.  I am really excited about this new phase of life, and I can't wait to see how our new way of living goes.  Homeschooling really is a way of life, taking everyday happenings and learning all you can about them, finding extraordinary facts in ordinary things, and just getting the most you can out of each day.  It's going to be great!

*Grace* 

God's Timing: "...So Annoying!" :-)

Last night was a bit rough.  Johnathan got up around 3 and was wide awake, making pillow forts, tending to his "sick" stuffed animals and who knows what else.  He kept asking me to kiss his puppy, Popcorn, to feel his puppy's forehead to check if he was sick, etc.  It was sort of cute, but I was tired, so the cuteness only lasted so long.  Around 4ish Eli woke up too and was also as awake as could be.  Both boys are a bit sick and are having to take a couple different meds for their asthma symptoms which causes them to have a ton of crazy energy, so I blame their nighttime alertness on that. 

So to keep from an up and down, in and out of bed seesaw kind of night I grabbed up some bedding and headed to the boys' room to try to calm them down and also sleep a bit myself.  I made a bed on the floor to sleep on and snuggled with the boys a bit there before sending them to their respective beds.  

During our snuggle Johnathan and I were looking up at the stars and the moon that their nightlight projects onto the ceiling.  We found the big dipper and then Johnathan asked me if I wanted to make a wish.  I told him I wished that he could have a baby sister sometime soon...he has been asking and asking and asking for one lately, it's been pretty cute.  He replied to me..."Oh, you wish for a baby sister too!"  Sweet boy.  Then he added..."Why isn't God putting a baby sister in your belly yet.  It. Is. So. Annoying!"   Hahahahaha!  Oh my goodness, somebody isn't happy with God's timing!  I'm just happy that Johnathan wants a sibling, maybe, just maybe he'll get that sister he wants someday soon!

I just need God to put her in my belly!

Hope y'all have a happy Saturday.  I'll be tending to my sickies here...even the hubs has succumbed to whatever it is that's going around.  Hopefully this mama can stay well so at least somebody can care for this crazy crew!

Blessings, 

*Grace*

Summer's Last Hurrah!

Well summer is "officially over" with the closing of our beloved splash park for the season.  The boys and I have gone 2-3 times per week this entire summer, many times with our sweet Princess (aka Aunt Greta) and lots with Daddy on the weekends.  We definitely got our money's worth out of our summer membership...I'm guessing with all the times we went it was well under a dollar per person per visit!  Definitely a low-cost high-fun activity to do for all of us!  

With all the times we've been there you would think that I would have lots of pictures of our fun summer at the splash park...but no!  Chasing my little dudes around a water park doesn't provide many picture taking opportunities, so the other day when we were there I snapped a couple pics...when the boys were sitting down, eating their lunch...I knew once they were up and running I'd have no time for pictures!  So here are my sweet boys, enjoying their last hurrah at the splash park 'til it opens next year.   

We're getting excited for what this fall will bring for our family.  Lots of other fun, new experiences for my precious little dudes!

Happy almost Autumn!

*Grace*