Sweet lunch eater...

No words for this one!

Baxter's First Day!

Baxter started preschool last week! He went last year, one day a week, for the 2 year old class. This year he will be going two days a week for the 3 year old class. He has the same teacher that Owen did when he was 3! We are excited for him to have a place where he will be loved very well, told more about Jesus, and get some of his wiggles out! He's really enjoyed doing some homeschool time with us, but it would be too much for him to hang in there with us every day. He will be home with us on two mornings a week now which is great all around! Here are some precious pictures of our very intense (wether joy or goofy or sad or mad) middle child. We love you Baxter!!!

Overheard at our house...

A bunch of friends have a part of their blogs called "overheard at our house..." to capture sweet things that their kids say. I think I might start doing this too. We'll see!

Here are a few from today.

Me - Baxter, would you like to read your "God books" today during silent reading time?
B - Sure, I love God!

earlier this morning...

Me - Owen, what is your favorite part about fall?
Owen - Leaves, and homeschool

It's moments like those that make this all worth it!

Not so great are the moments that they are kicking and hitting one another or I am speaking in less than soft words...

God is good to be at work in it all!

Couldn't be sweeter!! 9 Months old!

Our precious Lucy is 9 months old! Can you believe it? I can't! She started crawling last weekend in the midst of Hurricane Irene. She is such a sweet explorer. She is very into figuring things out and tracking things down - especially the boys toys! She is as sweet as ever and so fun to learn more of her personality. She has continued her great napping this week which I am thrilled about since we have started homeschool! If only she could take a 1.5 - 2 hour morning nap through the end of may :) She loves "table food" much better than baby food, but she can't quite master it enough to eat much of it. So we're still shoveling the baby food in for a bit longer. Her brothers adore her - even when she comes crawling toward their sorry game or football endzones.

We love you Lucy Grace!

Day 1 complete!

So when we woke up this morning, Owen awoke as a Kindergarten-er and I awoke a teacher. We had our first day of homeschool Kindergarten (and preschool for Baxter) this morning. I would say overall it was a success. It didn't go exactly as I had envisioned it. In some ways it went better, in some ways anti-climactic and in other ways it brought up fears and wonderings I didn't expect.

I wondered if we were going to limit him by keeping him at home. He won't get to be in a class with other kids. He won't get to go to PE or art or music. Are my plans too simple? Why did it only take 5 minutes to complete something I thought would take 20 minutes? I am not trained for this!

He read THREE books to us during our reading time. He and Baxter worked together on a puzzle without fighting. I was able to remind Owen (and myself) that our learning of spelling and writing and phonics is to equip us to know God and to make Him known to others. Lucy took an awesome nap. We had Lucky Charms for a snack. Baxter discovered that a 6 and a 9 look the same depending on how you hold them.

Those are some of the wanderings of my mind from day 1. I trust that this is where the Lord has led us and He will be faithful. I am thankful that we ended the morning with smiles and joy. That is a blessing to me!

Here are a few pictures. I am sure more thoughts will come as the days and weeks go by...

A silly thing I did at the start of the day where we each wore two hats. Our normal hats (mommy, son) and our new hats (teacher, student). I think they got it. Baxter later asked me if he could call me mommy and not teacher. Sweet B.



Owen reading "Ronald Morgan goes to Bat" to us.



First day of school!



First "free writing/drawing" assignment. Yes, this is a picture of a house with stinky things next to it and it reads "My house is messy." Hmm...I thought it was cleaner than it's ever been in preparation for school starting. So encouraging!



Second page of the "free writing/drawing." A heart and a pin that says "I love my pin." This is in reference to a pin he received at Home Depot on Saturday morning from a daddy and me project. That was more of what I was looking for :)

Saturday Bagel Time

This picture is a little snapshot of one of my favorite times of the week. In our house we simply call it "bagel time." Most weeks, on Saturday morning, we get up, get the kids breakfast, and get me out the door. I am generally gone for about an hour and a half. I head to our favorite bagel shop, Cuppertino's NY Bagel and Deli, with my Bible, notebook, a few books. I find a great corner to sit in, order my everything bagel toasted with plain cream cheese and a small coffee, and I sit down to meet with the Lord.

It is a time of refreshment for me. On one hand it it good to be away from my home for a little while - to have a break from the demands of my kids and my home. But most of all, it is good for me to be in the Word and in books that are instructive to things I am dealing with. God meets me there. I am refreshed. It is good!

I am currently reading through the Bible in a year - I have the ESV Bible in a Year. I pick up on whatever day it is. In reality it's the Bible in 10 years, but that is ok :) I am also reading through a few great books:

Praying Life by Paul Miller

Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

If you are able, I strongly recommend starting something like Saturday morning bagel time!