The Stick

I was doing some reading on the internet this morning, when I saw this post about The Toy Hall of Fame.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as, The Toy Hall of Fame!

Anyway, apparently, one of the newest 'inductees' to The Toy Hall of Fame is, none other than, The Stick. Now, that may sound ridiculous to some, but I think they would have been mistaken not to induct The Stick.

Let me show you why I feel that way...







Jacob found that stick while we were on our camping trip, last month. He took it everywhere with him. Now, here is a picture of Jacob from this morning...



Yep. Same stick. Although, it has been banished to the garage by his Daddy, who thinks 'sticks' don't belong in the house. Where IS his imagination? That stick is one of Jacob's favorite toys. It gets played with outside, taken in the car, and it even gets fought over. Unfortunately, his little sister thinks it's a pretty neat toy, too.

So, I think it was very appropriate for The Stick to be inducted into The Toy Hall of Fame. Now, if we could get them to induct The Pot, The Pan, and The Cardboard Tube.

Or, my personal favorite, The Toilet Training Seat.

Winning, Losing,...and Racing?

The other day, Grace could be heard lamenting the possibility of losing a coloring contest that she had entered, when her little brother gave her some sage advice. In a very compassionate and supportive voice, Jacob looked at her and said, "Grace, there's more to winning than racing."

Yes, it appears he is getting his life lessons from the movie, Cars. And he sometimes gets the words mixed around, but...such a sweet and wise little brother!

A Boy Is...

Scuffed up knees,

a freckled nose

with dimples here and there.

A daring, caring, sharing heart

a mass of tousled hair.

Boundless curiosity

the spirit to explore.

Two twinkling eyes,

a smiling face and energy galore!

A love of life,

a bit of sass

a source of untold joy.

A wonderment,

a dream fulfilled

God's miracle...

...a BOY!

(Author Unknown)

I love being the mother of a boy!

Since I come from a family dominated by girls, Jacob has given me the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a boy. I love to watch him get lost in play, letting his imagination take him to far off worlds. I'm amazed by the variety of sounds that can come from his mouth - cars, trucks, planes, laser guns, light sabers, sirens, bombs...the list goes on and on. I love the way his hair smells when he hugs me: a hint of baby mixed with dirt and sweat.

And I love the opportunity that he gives me to take a picture like this:

Theme Thursday - Sunshine

I'm participating in Theme Thursday at The Land of K.A. The theme this week is...sunshine! I've been majorly busy this week, so I haven't even picked up my camera. However, I do have some photos from a few weeks ago, that have plenty of sunshine in them.

I'm often annoyed by bright sunlight when I'm taking pictures, but sometimes it just adds a special touch to photos. None of these are excellent pictures but I do love the effect that the sun had on each of them.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a different photo from this series of swing photos. I just love the sun in her hair.

My handsome boy with the sun shining on his tousled hair. This photo got really washed out because of the sun, but I think it gives it a neat quality.

The sun was very direct and bright in this photo, but I love her face and hair in this photo.

I'm not crazy about the composition of this photo, but I just love the way the flower looks, as the sun shines through the petals.

A Field Trip

On Wednesday, we had our bookwork finished by noon, so we met my sister and her kids at the zoo.

Spur of the moment activities are just one more thing that I love about homeschooling! With the last few days of nice weather here, we don't have to spend them cooped up inside; we can go out and enjoy the day, whenever we want. Also, there was hardly anyone at the zoo! With most kids in school, we didn't have to wait in any lines or fight the crowds. Bonus!

Grace and Jacob riding the train.

Abby and Jacob watching an ostrich.

Abby trying to get a better look at the animals.

This giraffe would not leave this gazelle alone! The gazelle didn't seem to mind though.

Watching the elephants.

Over the past couple of years, I've learned some things about taking photos at the zoo: One, it's almost impossible to get a front view of the kids. Most of the pictures are from behind, as they look on at the animals. Two, the animals are just like the kids, you can't get them to stand still long enough to get a decent shot!

Unlike children and zoo animals, flowers stand still! So I started taking pictures of flowers for a bit.

I love how this flower looks with the sun shining from behind it! It almost looks like it was painted there with watercolors. What an awesome Creator we have!

More pictures of the kids'...backs! They love the jellyfish!

More jellyfish watching, but from a SIDE view! Yay!

I always feel like a bad mom when we visit this exhibit. "Hey, kids! Let's put our hands in the shark tank and see if we can pet them!" It just doesn't seem right.

The kids in the dolphin dome. Can you see the dolphin?

A dolphin swimming over our heads!

We had a great time at the zoo!

First Week of School

We started school on Tuesday. The week went rather well, even though Grace woke up on our first day with a pretty nasty cold. However, she was a trooper and plowed through her schoolwork with diligence, all week long. I did condense her studies for the week; we focused on the basics of reading, writing, math, spelling, and grammar. We will add in the rest of her curriculum as she gets to feeling better.



With Grace being sick, I was even more thankful that we homeschool. Had she been going to a public/private school, she would have missed the entire week! Being at home, she was able to set her own speed for doing her schoolwork, taking little breaks when she needed to. So not only did she get the comfort of being home while she was sick, but she's not behind in all of her studies.


Jacob was very excited about starting kindergarten. He loves that he has his own books and papers to do for school. I'm starting out with just the basics for him also, so as not to overwhelm him these first couple of weeks. As we get more settled into a routine, I will introduce other subjects for him to explore.


I was a little nervous about what our days were going to look like, now that I have two full-time students. However, it seems as though we have found a pretty good rotation that allows me to be available to each of them, when needed.


Of course, there is Miss Abby to tend to, also. I've been trying my best to keep her involved in her own learning enrichment activities. However, there is only so much a 3 year-old - or atleast my 3 year-old - can do before she is ready to move on to the next thing. Often times the next thing is her sister's pencils or her brother's math manipulatives, while they are trying to use them. So I need to organize some more learning stations or activities to keep her occupied.



I'm looking forward to this year of learning and spiritual growth, not only for our kids, but also for myself. It never ceases to amaze me how much God teaches me, while I am teaching them.

Pizza Night

Last night the kids and I made homemade pizzas. It was actually the first time that I'd ever made a pizza dough from scratch. The kids were excited all day about making the pizzas, so I was praying that it didn't end up being a total flop. I had my coupons for Papa John's sitting by the phone...just in case!

So, I was extremely thankful when the end result was found by the judges to be, "Absolutely delicious!"

The kids with their culinary creation--after we had done a little taste test! I love how Jacob has flour on his face.