Nothing to do with home school...

Okay, so this has nothing to do with Homeschool, but I am going to a baby shower tonight and for once in my life was organized to make something fun for the gift!  The pictures are not that great since I used Regan's camera to take them, but you get the idea.
I got the idea for the onesie card and bouquet from Lauren Meader's Blog.  I don't know her, but I liked her idea's, so, here is my version!

It was lots of fun to make, I hope that Holly enjoys receiving it as much as I enjoyed making it :)

Trouble in Paradise

Tallulah has not been sleeping well recently and last night, at 1am, she figured out how to climb out of her crib.  I thought it was bad when Regan did it at 22 months, but Lulu is just 18 months.  And one fall was not enough to deter her from future attempts.  She had climbed out of her crib at least 5 times tonight.  Finally, we gave up and put her to bed with Regan.  This is trouble.  Who ever said that boys were harder when they are little has not met our daughters! lol.  

On a brighter note, this week we will be completing the first half of our curriculum!  I can't believe we have made it half way through our first year already!  We finished up The Family Under the Bridge a week or so ago and are currently reading Dr. Doolittle.  I don't remember if I ever read the book when I was little or just heard the stories, anyway, it is a fun read (and I think the kids like it too :). 

We finally made it through the Judges and are onto the Kings now, with David having just been anointed by Samuel.  It is funny, reading through the judges, with every judge it said, "and the people followed God until (fill in judges name) died, and then they forgot what God had done and began worshiping idols again"  and Regan would say "They started worshiping idols again!" She just can't figure out what is wrong with those Israelites!  I guess that would be the time for me to mention that fact that she just did the thing that I told her not to do ten minutes ago, again.  It is nice to think that we are better than the Israelites, always turning back to idols, but a quick inventory of our heart will tell us we are the same.  The same except one thing, we have the fulfillment of the law, Christ, when they had only a promise of Him.

Regan and Micah are both making great progress on their reading.  Regan just completed the 2nd of 3 readers for the year and Micah is reading through book 1 now.  We are a little slower on Math, something I need to pick up the pace on, but Regan seems to have a pretty good handle on it and is doing well with our current curriculum.  First grade math is proving a little too challenging for Micah, mostly in his ability to pay attention and not in his ability to figure it out if he tries.  That is okay though, he does not need to do 1st grade math.  Besides, he enjoys the math workbooks from the Dollar Tree just fine!

We started slow in Science, but are quickly catching up.  Right now we are trying to grow carrots using carrot tops.  So far nothing has happened, but it have been pretty overcast this week and I am having a hard time finding a sunny place to set them.  I should use Regan's new camera and take some pictures for you all, they actually are not too bad as long as no one moves and the light is right.  Next time.

I think that pretty much sums up where we are at.  I will try and get some more pictures on soon.  

Hold on to that picture

Max is sleeping.  I have not been able to get him to nap for at least a week.  Yesterday I almost resorted to Benadryl, but settled for some quiet time alone in his room.   Today, when I was tucking Max in he said, "Do you want to sleep with me Mommy?"  How could I refuse?  These moments are fleeting as he grows more independent everyday.  It only took a few moments before I could hear the even breaths that accompany sleep beside me.  I wish I had a camera with me as I lie there to capture his face in those few moments before sleep.  As soon as I lay down beside him he squeezed his little eyes closed, with a half smile on his face.  It was a picture I will have to hold on to forever in my memory.   

Funny things the kids have said this week...

Micah was supposed to be having a time out in his room the other day when he came walking into the living room.  When I asked him what he was doing out of his room he said "Tallulah said I could come out!"  Although it is quite possible that when Micah was 18 months old he could have said as much, Lulu is not that verbal. She takes after her brother Max with only a handful of words and most of them unintelligible!

The stomach flu has been making it's way through our family this week and Regan was the last to get it.  When I pulled out the Gatorade to give her some Micah said "My stomach just started to hurt again, can I have some Gatorade?"  It is reminiscent of a month after he got his cast off when he saw me giving Tallulah some Motrin and he said "My arm hurts, I need some Motrin!"

The kids say some great things, I really should write them down more often.  I know I have forgotten many already!  Thanks Sherri, for encouraging my to write it all down.

Family Photos

Well, we finally got our new iMac today and are having fun already playing with all the new "toys".  Thought you all might enjoy some family pictures!  

School has been going well the past two weeks, getting a lot done and having fun.  We are moving a little slower today as Lulu and Max had the stomach flu last night and mommy is busy playing with the new computer.  

More to come....

Christmas in Maryland

So, our travels are all over and we are glad to finally be settled in at home for while. It has been a great couple of weeks though, getting to visit with family and being a part of of Paula's wedding on December 15th and also attending the wedding of some good friends the Saturday before Christmas. Here are some pictures of our time at Grammy and Poppy's for Christmas.

Here are the kids in their new PJ's on Christmas Eve in front of Grammy's Christmas Tree. Since we were traveling so much this year we did not get a live tree, but just had a three foot artificial tree instead. So, that in mind, it was nice to have a real tree to put our presents under on Christmas morning.

Tallulah was enamored with the big Christmas Tree (she liked our little one too).

She is just so cute, I can hardly stand it!

Regan, Micah and Max Christmas morning, waiting patiently to open their gifts!

Lulu playing peak-a-boo with her new hooded towel.

Max with his much anticipated Fire truck. He also got a fire fighter costume, a fire truck puzzle and some fire fighter books, are you sensing a theme?

Micah with some of his Veggie Tale pirates. Anything Veggie Tales brings a smile to this boys face.

Lulu loved opening presents. None of the other kids really got it at this age, but Lulu couldn't get enough!

She has not quite figured out how to hold the phone, but she definitely knows what to do with it! "Hiii, Hiii, Hiii"

The pictures of Regan with her gifts did not turn out, but she got a (cheap) digital camera and within two days of getting the camera had already taken over 100 photos! We might have a budding photographer in our midst!

We got home in time for dinner on the 26th and are finally getting back into the swing of things. We officially started back to school today and everyone was excited for home school. Regan tells me often how much she loves home school and asks why I sent her to the public school (last year) where they have to stay all day and they don't learn about God! It is encouraging to know that they are enjoying home school, but even if they were unsure, I know that it is what God has lead us to do. And until I hear otherwise I am going to keep trucking.

Photo Catch-Up

Okay, so this will be a catch up on old photos as well as this weeks update... Lets start with Halloween. We spent the evening at our church doing Truck or Treat. The kids had a great time playing on the moon bounce and eating LOTS of candy. At one point when we did not know where they were, I found them all in the van stuffing their little faces with candy :) LOL

Here is Lulu, my little bumble bee! She didn't fuss once about her costumes and was the hit of the party toddling around. She said "ease" (cheese) for the first time when someone snapped her picture, too cute!

The Thanksgiving Feast at Max's Preschool. Max went as a Pilgrim. There are three boys and six girls in Max's class, both of the other boys were absent this day!

Regan, Max and Micah in the Tee Pee at Max's preschool Thanksgiving feast.

Regan, Micah and Max. Max's Teacher, Mrs. Beaman, was nice enough to make room at the table for Regan and Micah to join the feast too. Lulu ate Lima beans for the first time and LOVED them! Who would of thought?

Micah's Birthday party on December 1st (his Birthday is the 3rd). He's 5 years old now, hard to believe!

So now we are caught up to this past week. I told you last week that we were reading the Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Well, all on their own, the kids decided to act out the Christmas Story. Regan acted as director, costume and set designer and Mary. Lulu was the Angel of the Lord, Micah was Joseph (don't know what happened to his costume) and Max was a Shepherd (You can't tell from these pictures, but Max did have a sheep with him :) The part of Jesus was played by Regan's doll,Lily.

They even had a stable and a manger!They have also been working on puppets for a puppet show of the Nativity Story, but Lulu got into them the other day, so that might not be happening this year!

All the kids have been sick, so Sunday, Phil went to church and the rest of us stayed home and watched the Best Christmas Pageant Ever, movie. It was fun to watch it again, it has been awhile, and I think the kids enjoyed it (although they said they didn't because it was too short)! If you have never read the book or seen the movie, it is a great story of how the birth of Christ can change lives, even for the worst kids in town.

So we have officially ended our Christmas unit and are now getting back into our regular studies. I hope that all of our reading and plays and projects serve to remind the kids what Christmas is really about for years to come. Santa and presents are all fun, but sometimes we get so caught up in the rush of the holiday that we lose sight of the Awesome gift that was given to us some 2000 years ago. The next few weeks will be busy for us, so I cannot guarantee that I will post again before the new year. So, just in case, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to your!