Boy Story...and Beyond

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T08:07:00.001-05:00

One empty chair
can take up a lot of space.

One missing voice
can be so loud.

One absent smile
can leave a big hole.

Sometimes being thankful
isn't about things you have.

It's about time you had.

Four years later...

2011-05-18T19:21:00.000-04:00

Sadie and her cousin were born 4 days apart 4 years ago...

Sometimes, all you can do is take a picture.

2011-03-30T14:06:00.000-04:00

Jonah's bird feeder.

2011-03-26T18:43:00.000-04:00

Jonah made a bird feeder last week during enrichment day. Sadie made one too, but Mary Jane got to it before we could hang it up. So we hung this up on our back deck. Jonah stared out the window for the longest time waiting for birds to come. After awhile he asked if the birds were stopping at all the other kid's houses first. Finally, the birds found it. Now they are eating from it so often, he doesn't even bother looking when I tell him a bird is out there.

Not a very good picture, but it was the best I could do without scaring the bird.

9

2011-01-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

Elijah turned 9 today. We just had a laugh earlier when he said "This was the birth bestday ever!"

I love this picture, it is 100% Elijah:

Elijah and his Super Mario Bros. cake:

Santa

2010-12-19T14:09:00.002-05:00

We went to visit Santa at the mall a couple days ago. Sadie especially wanted to. She really really wants a pink bucket of legos and I think she wanted to make sure she had all her bases covered by telling Santa that. The boys just went for the candy cane. They were good sports though, and told Santa what they wanted.

11

2010-12-12T13:48:00.003-05:00

Isaac is eleven today! He wanted a solar system birthday cake. I tried to put the planets on correctly, I was even looking at a chart, but they weren't labeled so I ended up getting a bunch wrong. We gave him his birthday present (a video camera) a few days early so we could record his concert.

A song from his concert (it's only 30 seconds long):

Trumpet Player

2010-12-10T17:35:00.001-05:00

Isaac had his first band concert last night. It went really well. He played with the beginning band (there are 10 members). There was also an intermediate band as well as elementary,beginning and advanced choirs. It was a really nice concert. Isaac really enjoys playing the trumpet, and is playing very good for a beginner.

Thanksgiving Poem 2010

2010-11-25T12:22:00.000-05:00

I had some help on this year's poem. While we were in the U.P, I had Issac, Elijah, Sam, and my niece Riley sit down and help me write this poem.

Why I Like Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a thankful day.
We gather around the table and pray.

We give thanks for blessings, family, and food.
Thanksgiving puts us in a happy mood.

We look around and share a smile.
On our plates, mashed potatoes we pile.

We lift our drinks and toast our glasses.
We're really happy we don't have classes.

We feast on turkey, stuffing, and pie.
Our bellies are full, in contentment we sigh.

We wipe our mouths with our napkins,
then go to the computer and log on to Webkinz.

We say good-bye to our guests,
for shopping tomorrow we need plenty of rest!

Sam

2010-11-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been reading a book about musicians to the boys. We read a chapter about a certain musician then we listen to some of their music. Today we learned about Tchaikovsky. I played a song from the Swan Lake ballet called Lake in the Moonlight.

As we were listening I asked Sammy "does it make you think of a lake in the moonlight?"

"Yeah," he says "I hear a swamp."

Five Things

2010-11-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

Five Things to do Before Christmas:
1. Make Sadie's dress.
2. Order Christmas cards.
3. Buy cloves from GFS.
4. Find a Christmas book to read to the kids in December (or maybe read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever again?)
5. Plan some Christmas-themed school lessons.

Five Things to Sew:
1. Dress that somebody ordered.
2. Hats that somebody ordered.
3. Sadie's Christmas dress.
4. New bag.
5. Something Christmasy for a blog giveaway.

Five Books to Read Soon:
1. Oliver Twist by David Copperfield
2. None But You by Susan Kaye
3. For you Alone by Susan Kaye (these two books tell Persuasion through Captain Wentworth's point of view.
4. Immanuel's Veins by Ted DeKker.
5. Learning to See by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman.

Five Things to do This Month:
1. Find some new gym games.
2. Get Isaac black shoes and pants for his concert.
3. Write my Thanksgiving poem.
4. Go to the U.P!
5. Think of a dish to bring to a party.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-09T19:43:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it's been over three weeks since I posted! I was on such a roll too...
Anyway, today we went to the pumpkin patch. The weather was super warm for October, over 70 degrees! It was such a different experience compared to the last few years when it was either raining, or we needed winter coats.

Jonah and Sadie went on a little pony ride.

Then we went to the gun range to try out a new gun. I did pretty good too, if I do say so!

Sam's Poetry

2010-09-17T19:05:00.002-04:00

We have been reading a lot of poetry here lately. Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Pizza the Size of the Sun. The other day Sammy decided he was going to write his own poetry. I detect some anxiety in his poems. He did tell me I can share them here on my blog, understanding that others will read them.

Going Upstairs
Going up up stairs
I am still on stairs
and still
and never stop
and I am still on the stairs
I want to stop and sit
and then go up and up as I go

Flying (Sammy tells me this poem is about gravity turned off)
Flying in the house indoors
I am flying Wee!! Wee!!
This is Fun
I'm flying indoors!!
I'm in a house
when will I stop
I need to stop.
My feet are not on the ground.

My Brother

My brother brings my house everywhere he goes
my brother has his house still
when will he stop
he went to Meijer
he still has it
and he went to the doctors
he still has it
if he stops I will be glad

Students

2010-09-10T20:31:00.001-04:00

     This Fall, for our homeschool Enrichment Day, I am teaching a Creative Writing class for 6th-12th graders and a Story Writing class for 3rd-5th graders. I'm also teaching gym for 1st and 2nd grade. Since I taught gym last Spring, that is easy and fun.
     What surprised me is that in the Creative Writing class, only one student (out of 14) was willing to share what she wrote during the classroom exercise! One! Obviously, I can't use grades, but I would love to think of something that would work as an incentive for them to share their work.
     That brings me back to the 3rd to 5th graders. They were clamoring to share their work. I had a hard time ending class on time because they all wanted to read (or have me read) what they wrote. What a difference! Kids obviously change a lot in those couple years. It makes me a little sad to think that in a few years, those same kids probably won't want to share either.
Also, during the Story Writing class, one of the girls (who was probably 10) said that sometimes in her stories Harry Potter is her husband. I tried so hard to keep a straight face, but I just couldn't. How cute is that. I really loved that class and I look forward to the next five weeks. I'm sure the Creative Writing will be fine too, now that I will adjust my expectations.

First Day

2010-09-07T15:12:00.000-04:00

We started school today along with all the other kids in Michigan. Jonah was so excited to start his kindergarten that he actually did some of his work already last week. Sadie has some preschool things because I know she would want to be working alongside Jonah.

We will be using a really great Science curriculum this year. It is very hands-on and outdoorsy which is exactly what science should be for children. Today we read a library book about trees and then headed to the woods to be "tree detectives".

Happenings

2010-09-04T13:14:00.000-04:00

I had so much fun running the last 5k that I told Jeremiah he should run one. We did something even better though, we hired a sitter and ran one together! What? Not your idea of a romantic date? :) It was a brutal run! It was a trail run, and there were so many hills including an extremely steep one that I couldn't quite run all the way up. I have to admit, in the middle of this run I was wondering why exactly I dragged myself out of bed on a rainy morning and paid money to be tortured like this?

Isaac will be playing trumpet in band this year. He doesn't start band class until next week, but he has been practicing and making some good noise already. I mean music.

We took a mini-vacation to Mackinaw City and Sault Ste. Marie a few days ago. We got a great deal on a hotel with an indoor water park. Of course we wanted to visit our old campus in the Soo!

August

2010-08-22T12:10:00.001-04:00

We have been having a lot of fun this August. The U.P, the fair, an Old Engine Show (which is a lot cooler than it sounds), more swimming ect. I kept meaning to post some pictures, but now there are too many pictures to choose from so I will just post from this past weekend. There is a small town festival nearby that I only know about because my friend lives there. This is our third year going, they put on a great festival and we always have so much fun.

Sadie and Sam with some goofy balloon hats:

Elijah entered the bike-decorating contest...:

...and got second place:

Jonah won a pie-eating contest:

He won this tee-shirt:

I ran the 5k race at 27:25 (my personal best). I even won a medal for being the fastest female in my age bracket (not that there were many in my age bracket).

Beach

2010-08-11T13:27:00.000-04:00

If there is one place we can be found during the summer, it is the beach! It's great to have so many beaches within minutes. The three older boys are really getting to be good swimmers,especially Isaac.

I love this picture, I think it is one for the wall.

Jeremiah and Isaac.

Dive!

Me and Sam out in the deep deep. Jeremiah is jealous of my mad water-treading skillz.

The little ones.

Family Pictures

2010-08-07T18:11:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple family pictures.

Camping. I love this picture, because Mary Jane is in it, and also we happened to be standing in front of our tent so it looks like an official "camping" picture.

Sleeping Bear Dunes. This place is awesome! If you are looking for a way to tire out your kids, this is it!

Birthday Boys

2010-08-06T23:26:00.000-04:00

We had a couple birthdays this week. Sammy turned 7 on the 2nd, and Jonah turned 5 today. We were in the U.P this past week, so we were able to have a party for them with family. I even found a cake mix for Sammy! It was actually pretty good, but it turns out that he doesn't really like cake anyway. They had a good time.

A Trip to the Library

2010-07-23T17:44:00.000-04:00

This afternoon, as we were heading to the library, I happened to see the camera as we were walking out the door and I grabbed it. The boys were going to give their weekly book reports for the summer reading program.

This year's theme is "make a splash".

Sadie really loved the "My Little Pony" display. Okay, okay...I did too. They even had the original "Butterscotch" in there, which was one of my very first ponies.

The boys had some coupons for free cookies at a cafe next to the library, so we walked over and enjoyed those.

Finally, we hung out in the library garden, which is a very cool place.

And that is why I need to remember to grab the camera more often!

Purple Toes

2010-07-20T16:30:00.000-04:00

Sadie adores the color purple. I've been promising her some purple nail polish, and today I finally delivered on it.

Notice that she did not inherit my practically translucent skin.

U.P

2010-07-16T14:47:00.000-04:00

We made a weekend trip to the U.P so Jeremiah could see his dad who recently had surgery. On Sunday we ventured out on the breakwater in Marquette. Jeremiah and the three older boys climbed the rocks all the way to the lighthouse.

Then on Monday, my mom and I took the kids to the Munising Falls waterfall and Miner's Castle (a rock formation on the Pictured Rocks national lakeshore). Even though my parents have lived there for over seven years, that is the first time I have seen those sites.

Summer

2010-07-10T17:34:00.000-04:00

It's possible that we have spent more hours at the beach this past week than at home.

Bowling.

Sadie didn't bowl, but she did find this hand drier to keep her entertained.

Mary Jane dressed up for the pet show. Olympic Beagle.

Blue Angels

2010-07-04T16:03:00.000-04:00

Every other year is a "Blue Angels" year around here, when they perform during the Cherry Festival. We tried to watch the show yesterday, but didn't really feel like battling the crowds and ended up in a bad spot where we couldn't really see. Today we parked the car early this morning to save us a spot. It was very cool to watch the Blue Angels on the 4th of July.

Multiply this by a couple miles and you get an idea of the crowds during Cherry Festival.

Sadie was not a fan of the noise...

...Elijah loved it.

See you in a couple years!

Family

2010-06-26T17:41:00.000-04:00

This past week, my sister (who I hadn't seen in almost 4 years!) and her family were staying at my Aunt's cottage which is only 1.5 hours from us. We spent one day there with just her and her family, and then went back and spent another day when my parents along with two of my other sisters came down with their families. Sounds like a lot of people, but I was still missing a sister, two brothers and two nephews.

They were both very enjoyable days, but the highlight was definitely meeting my nephew (3yrs) and niece (1yr) for the first time! When I was little we used to spend a few weeks at this particular cottage each summer, so it was a lot of fun to bring the kids there and see them enjoy the same things I used to. Sadie even caught a fish in the fishing pond! Just a small one, which she actually touched to throw back.

9 of the 11 grandsons. The oldest and youngest were missing. Do they look like cousins or what? It was so hard keeping track of who was who!

The 3 year olds. These guys were all born in May/June 2007.

The Girls. If Bekah would of been here, we would of had all the girls in the family.

Swimming. I spent countless hours swimming in this pool when I was younger. My boys loved it just as much.

13 Years

2010-06-21T18:14:00.000-04:00

Today is our 13th anniversary. Good thing we're not superstitious! Although, I guess even if we were the 13th year would actually be over now...

Anyway, I love Jeremiah and I love being married to him. Marrying him was the best decision I ever made.

Second Chance

2010-06-17T12:54:00.000-04:00

Last month I bought this hanging flower basket from a young lady in our homeschool group who was raising money for a horse rescue. It lasted two days in our home before it died. I forgot to bring it in one night when there was a frost. I don't really know much about plants so I had no idea if new flowers would grow. I have been watching it closely for the last few weeks, cheering the new little buds on. I even had a dream one night that there was a new flower growing on it. Finally, yesterday morning two flowers appeared!

Track & Field Day

2010-06-11T15:11:00.000-04:00

This past Tuesday was Track & Field Day. The boys had a lot of fun competing in various events. I helped with the 50 yard dash, which was fun because when you help run an event you get a chance to see all the kids. I just have to say that I ♥ our homeschool group, but that is a post in itself.

Sammy getting a ribbon during the ceremony.

Rain

2010-06-04T15:35:00.000-04:00

In the midst of today's downpour, Jonah and Sadie wanted to go play on the deck. At first I said "no", but then I figured what the heck, it's not like they are going to melt or something.

Last Day of School...Sort of

2010-05-29T10:54:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was our last day of M-F school. Through the summer we will be doing school on Tu/Th with reading everyday. However, this is still enough of a break for us that we wanted to celebrate! We decided that, just like last year, a cake was a perfect way to do that (Subway for Sammy). I will do a re-cap of our school year soon.

Three

2010-05-16T15:29:00.000-04:00

It's hard for me to believe, but my baby is three! I love it though. She is talking up a storm and has been potty trained for a month now. She is very independent, and after four not-so-independent boys, I am constantly surprised at the things she wants to do for herself. She was so excited to have us sing to her and blow out her candles, something she has been waiting weeks for.

Pics

2010-05-11T17:15:00.001-04:00

Just uploaded some pictures from the camera and I thought I would share a couple.

Sadie with her Minnie Mouse balloon from the dentist.

Silly faces.

Kramer

2010-04-30T14:59:00.002-04:00

I told Sammy he was wearing a Kramer shirt. Needless to say he didn't get it.

Jonah

2010-04-23T13:00:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, we saw a teenage boy with the same color hair as me, same length, even the same curl. Jonah seemed a little disturbed by this, like nobody is supposed to have the same hair has his mommy. As we could only see the back of his head, Jonah insisted on going over to "see if it's another you". He genuinely seemed worried that there might be another me floating around. He goes over and studies this guy for about 30 seconds (I wish I would of had a camera). Finally, he comes back quite relieved and tells me "he doesn't have your voice when he talks."

I don't know how to feel about that since the guy had 80 pounds on me and looked like, well, a man! One would hope that a single glance would of convinced him.

Allergies

2010-04-03T21:48:00.003-04:00

Until we had a child with food allergies, I rarely gave it much thought. When one of our children did develop some rather severe allergies (milk, eggs, nuts), I figured the hardest part would be learning the ropes, avoiding what he can't eat and finding a decent variety of foods he can. The first year or so was rough, but I think the hardest part has been lately. Sammy has been struggling with his allergies lately. Why him, he wants to know. He has asked me several times lately why he had to be born with allergies, and he even asked once if we could pray that Jesus would take the allergies away. I try to explain that there are a lot of worse things a person can be born with, but he is only six, and six year olds are a bit limited on their philosophical scope. I think the main problem is that he feels singled out.

So, anyway, you can see why this is a difficult thing for him and us. Today, after a particularly rough morning and some tears about his allergies, it occurred to me that what he needs is a support group! To know that he is (by far) not alone. While there isn't exactly one around here, we did find this video on youtube and it seemed to really help. I even heard him telling his brothers later that he is one of the millions of kids with allergies.

Jane Austen Rankings

2010-03-20T18:44:00.008-04:00

Okay,if your a Jane Austen fan, please chime in! If your not a Jane Austen fan, then you probably want to stop reading now.

My final ranking of her books:
1. Persuasion. I really liked all her books, but this is the only one that I immediately wanted to just flip back to the front and start reading all over again.
2. Pride & Prejudice
3. Sense and Sensibility
4. Emma
5. Mansfield Park
6. Northanger Abbey
7. Lady Susan

The Movies (There are several old versions I haven't watched)
1. Pride and Prejudice (1995)
2. Persuasion (2007)
3. Northanger Abbey (2007)
4. Sense and Sensibility (2008)
5. Emma (1996 w/ Gwenyth Paltrow)
6. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
7. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
8 Persuasion (1995)
9. Emma (2009)
10. Emma (1996 with Kate Beckinsale)
11. Persuasion (1971)
12. Mansfield Park (2007)
13. Mansfield Park (1999)

Blog drawing - Congrats Andria!

2010-03-12T12:59:00.003-05:00

I put the numbers in a random generator and it spit out number six! That would be you Andria! Let me know if you want a name on it.

Blog Giveaway - Chef Hat

2010-03-03T12:30:00.001-05:00

If you have, or know, a little one who likes to help in the kitchen then be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win this chef hat! I will be happy to personalize it with a name if you want.

Drawing will be in a week.

Last Day!

2010-02-28T20:34:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been fun but I have to say I'm glad February is over! There are a lot of things I'm looking forward to in March.

If you missed pictures, you can see them all by clicking February 2010 on my sidebar. I also plan on doing a blog giveaway soon.

Big Girl

2010-02-27T21:12:00.001-05:00

I actually took this picture a couple nights ago. Sadie has been sleeping in her "big girl" bed for a couple weeks now and loves it.

Just a Regular Day

2010-02-26T19:10:00.001-05:00

Retainer

2010-02-25T13:33:00.005-05:00

Today Isaac got a retainer to expand his palate. He has a molar on each side that won't come down correctly unless there is some extra room. Here is my suggestion for those of you who are about to venture into the world of orthodontics. Make sure to get those second or even third opinions. We went to two consultations, and even though they recommended the same thing (for roughly the same cost), their personality and office environments were quite different. That is important since you generally have so go there often. Quite frankly, it feels much better to empty your bank account to somebody you actually like.

Storytime

2010-02-24T11:18:00.001-05:00

Elijah reading Sadie's favorite Elmo book to her. It's nice to have some extra readers in the house, because she would listen to that book all day long if she could.

Us

2010-02-23T22:15:00.000-05:00

Invasion

2010-02-22T20:47:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure what the boys were doing earlier, but apparently it involved lots of stuffed animals.

Back to the Photo Vault...

2010-02-21T21:48:00.003-05:00

I noticed Elijah hasn't showed up much in my pictures so here is Elijah a couple weeks ago...

I have to say that I am glad I picked a short month to do this! Who would of guessed it would be so hard to remember a picture everyday??

Fantastic Five

2010-02-20T21:02:00.001-05:00

Thinking Spring

2010-02-19T21:10:00.002-05:00

Once again, it's after nine and I forgot to take a picture today! The kids are all in bed, so here I am scrambling for something to take a picture of. Here is a peek at Sadie's Easter dress (probably, I could change my mind). It's not quite finished yet. Nothing says Spring like gingham and eyelet.

A Quiet Moment

2010-02-18T21:30:00.000-05:00

Quilt

2010-02-17T18:43:00.005-05:00

I have been saving scraps to make this quilt since Sadie was born. It was something I really wanted to do, but I wasn't looking forward to the actual doing part. I have put so many hours into this quilt already, and still have half of the hand-tying to do! Sadie loves it though, and it looks great on her canopy bed. She has been sleeping all by herself in her bed now, which is why I decided it was a good time to finally make it.

Now you know what I have been doing this month, besides posting pictures. One night I was actually piecing together a quilt in my dreams!

Pondering (or Looking for Squirrels)

2010-02-16T23:11:00.001-05:00

Happily Ever After

2010-02-15T20:45:00.001-05:00

I found Sadie on the steps today playing with spider-man and a princess.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T21:32:00.002-05:00

Three Valentine dresses already:

Nuncheon

2010-02-13T19:35:00.001-05:00

Nuncheon is one of my favorite Jane Austen words. It means afternoon snack.

Reaching into the Photo Vault...

2010-02-12T21:13:00.002-05:00

I intended to take new pictures each day to post, but today has been one of those days that seem to be missing hours! By the time I even remembered my blog, all the kids were tucked in for the night. So, here is a recent favorite of ours:

Dino

2010-02-11T19:09:00.000-05:00

Finding a dinosaur sitting at the table is par for the course here.

A Boy and His Dog

2010-02-10T18:19:00.002-05:00

Isaac made this list of "Rules for the Dog" today. He assured me it wasn't because they want another dog (something they are always asking for) but because they love Mary Jane.

1. Do not pet the dog when she is sleeping.
2. Do not trap the dog.
3. Feed her everyday.
4. Play with her.
5. Rub her belly when she wants to.
6. Bring her outside and inside every day.

Picture Frames

2010-02-09T19:35:00.002-05:00

Today, I brought the boys to Michaels (the craft store). For $1 each they got to decorate a wooden picture frame for Valentine's Day.

Good Times

2010-02-08T14:58:00.002-05:00

Last night we went to our friend's house for some really good food. The ladies sat and visited while the guys watched something on TV, I can't remember what.

Enter Jonah

2010-02-07T15:45:00.002-05:00

I realized that Jonah hasn't made an appearance yet in my month of pictures. I asked him what he would like to be doing in the picture and, of course, he said "jumping". That is Jonah. This picture is extra cool because he is partly transparent, which makes him look like a ghost.

Ramona

2010-02-06T19:05:00.002-05:00

I don't imagine my boys will ever care much for Anne Shirley, Emily Starr, Elizabeth Bennett ect...But Ramona! Ramona is a character that even boys can love.

Cupboards

2010-02-05T17:51:00.004-05:00

For some reason, the boy's favorite place to play with their action figures is in the cupboards. I guess all the boxes, cans, and jars make good props for the little people.

Valentines

2010-02-04T19:09:00.002-05:00

Just remember, I said A picture every day...not a GOOD picture everyday...

Today we spent the afternoon at a friend's house making Valentines that we will give away next week when we visit an assisted living home. Elijah's cards were so cute, he wrote "I love you very much" in each one.

Isaac checking out some of them:

Outside

2010-02-03T15:22:00.001-05:00

Today was a perfect day to be outside. Decent temps and sunshine.

Reading

2010-02-02T11:12:00.002-05:00

Here is Sammy, working on his phonics:

Of all our school books, this one has gotten the most use:

Let the Month of Pictures Begin

2010-02-01T10:24:00.002-05:00

I thought February, being a nice short month, would be a good time to do a "daily" something. I chose to do a daily picture. Here is our first picture. Sadie and her babies, Betsy (in blue) and Anna (in white).

Bullets

2010-01-26T16:57:00.003-05:00

You can probably guess that my New Year's resolution wasn't to blog more often.
However, I am going to liven it up a bit. In February, I'm going to post a picture every day. Also, I got a new sewing calendar with over 100 cool sewing projects, and I would like to do a few give aways this year.
Things have been pretty normal around her. We had a great Christmas. School is rolling along pretty smoothly. My baby is not a baby anymore but a little girl who talks and bosses her brothers around.
Today, Moonlight Sonata came on, and I asked the boys if they knew who wrote it. Without missing a beat Elijah said "Beethoven". I guess he is learning something from the classical music book I bought for the Leap Pad. Actually, I even learned a lot from that book!
Teaching Sammy to read has been incredibly easy. He just gets it.
I'm going to be teaching 3rd-5th grade gym this spring for Enrichment Day. If anybody has any cool suggestions for games or activities for that age group, I would love to hear them.
For any Pride & Prejudice fans, I have to recommend Pamela Aiden's Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy. They were so good! Thank you to Melissa for recommending them to me.

Happy Birthday Elijah

2010-01-05T20:44:00.006-05:00

Elijah turned 8 today. For the next four months, my kids will be 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Very easy to remember, so I hope I get asked a lot.

He wanted to decorate his own cake again, I'm not quite sure what he put on it.

Happy Birthday Elijah!

Christmas Angels

2009-12-16T17:56:00.001-05:00

Today we went caroling at an assisted living facility. I decided to dress the kids up in their Christmas outfits, figuring that the residents would love to see them all dressed up (and they did).

Wow

2009-12-12T21:10:00.002-05:00

Isaac is 10 today! 10!! I can't believe it, he is closer to being an adult than a baby. I remember how excited I was to turn 10 and now here I am, a whole decade of parenting under my belt.

He wanted a pug on his cake. I know, my pug is less than stellar, but he was quite happy with it. He drew the smaller one.

A Bookworm's Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

This is a little something different from my usual Thanksgiving poems, but it was so fun to write!

I had a dream that the Thanksgiving Fairy came a knockin'
She came in for tea and we got to talkin'

She told me that on Thanksgiving, the bounds of reality she would lift,
Ten fictional characters at my table would be my gift.

Just ten? How would I choose?
Hurry, she said, I haven't time to lose.

First choice would be a mind reader from a rainy town out West.
As for entertaining stories, Anne Shirley would tell the best.

Father Tim could offer up an inspiring grace.
At the table, Ramona Quimby wouldn't take up much space.

To the conversation, Lizzie Bennet would add such spice.
To the singles, Emma Woodhouse could offer up advice.

Mr. Darcy, I'm sure, would want to accompany his wife.
Moshe Sachar could tell about his dangerous and rewarding life.

Rebecca Bloomwood could join us from across the pond.
After dinner Harry could clean up the mess with his wand!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Drawing

2009-11-16T10:02:00.004-05:00

My boys draw. A lot. This year, instead of art projects, I have been checking out "how to draw" books from the library.

Isaac went through a waterfowl phase over the summer, now he is in a dog phase. Here are some of his dog pictures. He didn't trace at all (I thought he did at first).

Christmas Pug:

Airedale Terrier:

Jack Russel Terrier:

I Sure Feel Safe

2009-10-30T16:35:00.002-04:00

I did not have the time to sew costumes this year. I don't think I would of saved much money anyway, for what I paid for these. $50.00 for all of them!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-17T22:18:00.002-04:00

I took the kids to a pumpkin patch today. It was supposed to be an activity with our homeschool group, but apparently I wrote the day or time wrong on my calendar because nobody else from the group was there. Oh well, it actually ended up costing less money this way. We had a lot of fun picking pumpkins and doing the corn maze.

The Way Home

2009-09-30T15:11:00.003-04:00

We took a much more scenic, relaxed route on our way home from Connecticut. We drove down the coast of Connecticut and drove through some little Gilmore Girl-like towns. They even had town squares and posters for upcoming festivals! We stopped and checked out Yale University.

Then we took a beautiful drive down through the Poconos. We stayed the night just outside of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. That area was not nearly as rural as I pictured from all the books I read. We visited a little town called Bird-in-hand, which is where several of Beverly Lewis' stories take place. We toured an Amish house and farm (not owned by Amish, but the people who bought it kept it the same). It was neat to see some Amish clothes up close. I've always wondered how the whole straight-pins-instead-of-buttons thing worked. The boys got to milk a fake cow and see some goats.

From there we went to Hershey, Pennsylvania and took the "Great American Chocolate Tour". It was a ride that brought you through the whole process of chocolate-making. It smelled HEAVENLY! After the tour, a man literally filled my purse with chocolate kisses. Seriously. Then the boys got to do a little mini factory thing. It was fun! I did mention the purse filled with chocolate kisses, right?

And from there, we went home.

It was a good trip.

Connecticut

2009-09-16T10:11:00.004-04:00

I don't think I've mentioned here (not that I've mentioned anything lately) that we were heading to Connecticut for my brother-in-law's wedding. We left very early Friday morning and drove straight there. 20 hours including stops. Yes, we might very well be crazy. However, it actually went pretty good and the kids behaved wonderfuly. The wedding was a lot of fun.

Here are a couple pics from the wedding. I'll post pics of the rest of the trip in another post.

The bride, groom and Jeremiah's dad (who was also the best man). And, yes, another redhead in the family!

A picture that Elijah took:

Sadie and her uncle:

Sadie and Jonah on the dance floor. For a little girl who won't talk to people, she was sure comfortable cutting it up on the dance floor in the middle of everybody.

Still Alive

2009-09-15T14:44:00.001-04:00

I am still alive! I will update about our trip East when I have some time.

Trouble With a Capital "T"

2009-09-01T12:56:00.000-04:00

Summer Pictures

2009-08-24T16:52:00.002-04:00

We have been having such a fun summer, I can't believe it's coming to an end! Here are a few pics of what we have been up to the last couple weeks.

Elijah at the beach. One of my favorite things about this area is the number of beaches!

Hiking on the keystone trails.

Elijah in the pie-eating contest at the Coho Festival.

The boys overlooking the Jordan River Valley.

All of us overlooking the Jordan River Valley.

Playing at a park.

Fair

2009-08-13T17:57:00.002-04:00

I brought the boys to the fair today. We go to see the animals and the exhibitions, but today two different people stopped and gave us their extra ride tickets as they were leaving so the boys got to go on couple rides too.

Isaac is in this big "loon" phase this summer. He has read about six books about them. Fortunately, the girl doing face-painting knew how to make one (and a good one too).

4!

2009-08-06T18:04:00.001-04:00

Jonah turned four today! He is my first "blog" baby, and some of you might even remember the waiting he put us through! Needless to say, he was worth the wait.

6!

2009-08-02T21:53:00.001-04:00

Sam is 6 today! His new nickname is "crash", due to a little incident involving a golf cart and a tree last week. We love our Sams.

Pictures

2009-07-30T12:16:00.003-04:00

The last couple weeks have been so packed with activities (including two trips to the U.P) that I didn't even attempt to keep my blog updated. Here are a few highlights:

My dad's 65th birthday party. My sister had the incredible idea of renting one of those huge inflatable bouncy houses. It kept the kids occupied all day long!

My little nephew that I got to meet for the first time:

My parents with 11 of their 15 grandchildren:

My parents with 5 of their 7 children:

Sadie at Lake Superior:

Family pic (with an extra little guy trying to sneak in):

Jonah, Sam and Elijah enjoying the beach at a friend's house:

Summer Reading

2009-07-21T22:13:00.002-04:00

The boys are already in the sixth week of the library summer reading program! Where is the summer going?? They both read enough to receive their certificates a couple weeks ago (they give them after the fifth book report). Isaac has read books about dogs or birds. Elijah is a bit more eclectic.

Guess What Was On Sale This Week...

2009-07-15T17:05:00.003-04:00

Cheerios were 2 bucks a box this week so I bought 4 boxes. At checkout, I got a coupon for 1.50 off three boxes of General Mills cereal, and a coupon for a free box of Cheerios! So, I went back today to get my free box, and three more boxes of Cheerios (1.50 each with the coupon). I was quite surprised at checkout to get not one, but two, more coupons for free boxes of Cheerios!

More Cherry Festival...

2009-07-07T14:53:00.003-04:00

We started this morning off with the pet show where Mary Jane competed in her Harry "Paw"ter costume:

Later on, Isaac competed in a nail pounding competition:

and Isaac and Elijah made cherry pies:

Bowling

2009-07-06T15:31:00.002-04:00

Cherry Festival time already! Today we took advantage of the $1 bowling, pizza and pop!

Isaac got the lone strike today.

Artwork

2009-06-30T14:23:00.003-04:00

This past year I haven't really posted much of the boys artwork. We didn't do as many crafts at home because they did plenty of them during Enrichment Days. Which I have to say was very nice for me, all of the fun for them and none of the mess for me! At home, though, they do a lot of drawing. Here are are two recent portraits of Mary Jane.

Elijah's:

and Isaac's:

What a Difference a Year Makes...

2009-06-24T12:21:00.002-04:00

One thing I love about having a blog is being about to look back. For instance, going through my archives I noticed that Sadie wore pigtails for the first time last June.

Remember those cute little things that Elijah thought looked like dog ears?

Just look at the difference a year can make:

Double Special

2009-06-21T19:47:00.003-04:00

Not only did we celebrate Father's Day today...

but our 12th anniversary too.

eta

I was going through pictures tonight and happened to come across this. In 1995 Jeremiah and I were counselors for 6th grade camp. Wood burning was one of the activities and his aunt who was a teacher burned this onto a piece of wood for me. We didn't know at the time that little more than two years later we would be married.

I actually remember wood burning when I was a sixth grader and I enjoyed it so much that I got a wood burning kit for Christmas that year.

Library People

2009-06-17T15:59:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, we did something we have been talking about for awhile. I brought Isaac and Elijah to the library where they turned in some paperwork and received their very own library cards. The lady at the counter told them they were now "library people" and they thought that was really funny.

They also signed up for the summer reading program while we were there.

Track and Field Day

2009-06-02T15:52:00.004-04:00

Wow, it feels like I was just posting about last year's Track and Field day! This year I was helping with preschool so I only got to see the boys participate in the few events that were held close to where I was. The boys had a really great time. Sammy got to participate this year for the first time and won a ribbon. There are some super athletic families in our homeschool group, so winning a ribbon is not as easy as it sounds.

Here are the boys in their gunny sack races:

Sammy was our sole ribbon winner. He won 3rd in the softball throw.

Sammy and the other fives getting their awards (he's in there somewhere):

Elijah and the other sevens getting their awards:

Isaac and the nines:

End-of-School-Year Party

2009-05-29T14:57:00.002-04:00

Today we had a little party to celebrate the end of our school year. For us, "end of the school year" means going from 5 day weeks to 2 day weeks. That may not sound like much of a break compared to a whole summer without school, however, it feels like a huge break to us! We will do a Tues/Thurs schedule, so that means a four day weekend every week and a break in the middle.

We had a good school year. I learned so much myself this past year, and I'm sure every year from now on I will be learning more and more along with the kids. We were so much more involved with our homeschool group this past year too, which was great.

Viva Homeschooling!

Winding Down...

2009-05-22T09:06:00.003-04:00

One more week of school, then we will start doing school two days a week like we did last summer. We had our last Enrichment Day yesterday, and the boys have only one more Spanish class.

Feels like Summer is on the way!

Birthday Girls

2009-05-16T14:27:00.005-04:00

I don't remember if I ever mentioned here that Sadie and Mary-Jane share a birthday.

I can hardly believe that it's been two years since Sadie was born! Feels like just yesterday that my mom and I were watching Gilmore Girls everyday to pass the time during my bedrest. It's been a wonderful two years. It's so fun to see her change from baby girl to little girl. She is such a mix of girly girl and tomb boy.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

I have to add that a wonderful thing about a 2 year old girl is that you can get her pink sandals with cupcakes on them for her birthday gift and she will be thrilled!

Birthdays and Pictures

2009-05-15T14:21:00.003-04:00

Today, I reinstated my old tradition of getting the kids pictures taken on my birthday. I started doing that when Isaac was 5 months old and did it every year until I was pregnant with Sadie. They went pretty well, the boys were excellent but Sadie didn't want to cooperate. Here they are all dressed up for their pictures:

Then I bought a cake for me and Sadie. I figured we can eat the cupcakes for my birthday, and the ladybug cake for hers.

Conversation with Elijah

2009-05-11T21:24:00.001-04:00

Elijah: Does Grandpa Larry have a wife?
Me: No, why?
Elijah: When I grow up, I want to be like him.
Me: Why?
Elijah: Because, if I have a wife, then she will have babies, and they will turn into kids and make messes.
Me: Well, yeah...that's true, they probably would.

Dirt

2009-05-07T21:04:00.002-04:00

As tiring as snow gets, at least it's clean.

I can dress her up as much as I want, but something tells me I won't be able to keep her out of the dirt!

Fashion

2009-04-30T14:02:00.004-04:00

This is what can happen when dads choose their daughter's clothes. Note that the "shorts" are actually boy's newborn pants.