Forgiveness

 . That mug used to have a handle.  That is, until Ryker's little hands got a hold of it this morning, and it slipped out of them.  As it happened I felt a tad angry inside. . .the smoothness of my fav mug with that yummy yellow color, was now destined for the garbage.  There were times when I had 3 small children and was overwhelmed and im sure lost my temper in these situations. . .thus, needing to go back and ask THEM for forgiveness. But this morning, I was able to look at Ryker's sweet face and sweet little hands and tell how very sorry he felt.  I was able to tell him I forgive him, just as my Heavenly Father forgives me.  This is a small thing to forgive, and I know many deal with much larger, but I am so thankful for God's mercy.  Kelly Minter touched on God's kindness leading to our repentance (Romans 2:4) this week. . . and how personal repentance frees us from focusing on the sin of others.  So very true.

Heavenly Father, may I take time today to bask in your love for me, and your kindness that leads to the repentance of my sins. . .freeing me from focusing on the sins of others.  Thank you for your great mercy. 

 

 

Homeschool Update

I get asked a lot about homeschooling, and one misconception I've gotten a lot lately is that to homeschool you have to be super structured and ambitious.  Not so.  Some of my mama friends like to get up and "do school" right away.  If that works for them that's great. But I've realized it's not us.  We live our life, trying to put God first and then family.  School is a part of our life.  We get some reading, writing, math, science and social studies done each week (yes, I like to use a curriculum to help me know we're on track. . still figuring out curriculums I like since what worked with Ainsley isn't always the best fit for Porter), but if we feel like having a read aloud day, we do.  If we feel like going on a field trip, we do.  If we feel like having friends over, we do.  I like to keep things flexible. . it works for us. . and really, someone once said that the goal is not Harvard, but Heaven.  Am praying that God can help us mold these little hearts first and foremost.  Of course I want them to learn what they need to academically and enjoy learning, but I have become a pretty laid back, flexible homeschooler this year.  If God puts it on your heart, I encourage you to pray about it.  God puts different things on each of our hearts, as I'm learning in Nehemiah, and I am thankful God has put homeschooling on our hearts. 

(on a side note, I totally set the books up to look cute :)  But seriously if you ever have the opportunity to do a Kelly Minter study, I highly recommend!  I may even get to hear her and Jen Hatmaker speak this spring!!)

Totally Two

Ryker is such a little ham and I keep thinking how totally two he is. . .he hasn't been the earliest of talkers, but since he's started talking, the things he says are so sweet. . .From "Toby Mac Eye On It!" to "are you?" for where are you.  From "really missed you mommy" to "i love you so muchy muchy" as he grabs me around the neck.  His words aren't the only thing we find totally two. . his actions make us smile also. . .like coming over to pat me on the back when I sneeze to make sure im ok.  He drew all over the table the other day, stood back to admire his work, raised his arms, and said, "Ta Da!!" He is quick to call all his siblings to "uppertime!" and he is very polite. . ."Some popcorn please too mommy. Thank you mommy." He is often at my heels asking to be lifted up. I act like he's very heavy and he finds that oh so fun. Whenever Ryker's siblings say something and laugh, he is quick to say the same thing and start giggling at himself too. . . he seriously has the best laugh! He loves to "nuggle," and I sure love to snuggle him too.

He wouldn't be two without some trouble though. . .the other day we took care of one of his little friends, and both two year old boys wanted the same pink barbie vacuum the entire day. Ryker had never played with the vacuum before and he hasn't played with it since, but if it was the item his friend wanted, he sure wanted it too. I heard a lot of "mine" that day from both boys. Totally two.

He also wouldn't be two without some messes, and he proudly declares, "I made a big messy!"  He loves to go potty like the big boys but it doesn't always make it in the toilet. Enough said. And the other night Ryan woke me up saying urgently, "our two year old just puked in our bed." I replied so very kindly (or not) with, "That's Gross!!"                               (Ryker bein like his big bros)

I feel like I've just gotten to completely enjoy this totally 2 yr old. . and his siblings feel the same. . Trey often hugs him saying, "I just love babies."  Porter sets him up to some trouble that they both find hilarious.  And Ainsley is just such a huge help with him.  Ryker, you brighten our days. . .even if you insist on sleeping on the floor with no blankie and a monster truck in your hand.

Porter helped Ryker through this whole bounce house, lifting him up, so they could slide down together at the end.  That's what brothers are for :)                    (my lego duplo builders)

 Did I mention he's a huge fan of cars, but not a huge fan of pants?  I suppose if you look that cute in a diaper its ok :)

we love you Ryker!

Girls Night and other ramblings

GooF took the boys to the monster truck show tonight, so Ainsley and I had a girls night (I think I got the easier end of that deal :) ).  We painted pottery, did some shopping (we were looking for some supplies for an AG book club we're excited to start), went to B&N, and came home to snuggle up and read.  Too bad we were at the scariest part in our Mandie book and didn't have our men home!
  


As for other ramblings, we got groceries today and I can take no credit for it, but this boy loves his fruit!  Fruit smoothies are on the menu for tomorrow per Trey's request.

And lastly, just because it made me laugh today, I have been noticing that most homeschool events have a maximum amount that they charge per family.  Like 5 dollars per kid for the event but not to exceed 25 dollars per family.  We don't fit quite a few of the stereotypes of homeschoolers, but stereotypically they do have a lot of kids, and I'd gladly fit that one.  I love it. 

Skyforce

We took the kids to their first Skyforce game thanks to GooFs work.  The kids were pretty excited about getting to order any food they wanted from our seats and having it delivered to them for free :)  Nachos, pretzels and cheese, chicken strips and fries, gatorade, pop, ice cream, cotton candy galore.  They sat really well and did great. . .

 until when we were getting ready to go and this huge inflatable Skyforce mascot came to see us. . they treated it like most lil boys full of sugar would treat an inflatable object. . .by pounding on it.  The mascot turned around and walked right back down the steps it had just walked up :) GooFs coworkers got a kick out of them ;)

Valentines Cooking Class

We recently joined a homeschool group that'd we'd been a part of when we first started homeschooling, but it always seemed like the field trips were during naptime, or were for older kids and I had a whole crew of lil ones.  Anyway, we are able to go to more now, and they have a ton of field trips!  Today Ainsley and Trey got to go to Plums Cooking Co (if they were making meat and potatoes Porter would have gone ;) 

They made Cupids Arrow Fruit Skewers, Strawberry Fruit Dip, and Cupid's Arrow Tomatoes. . .

 

 They also made Love Potion to drink (Trey thought the SodaStream was pretty neat)

Lastly, they made Valentines Push up Pops with cake, frosting and sprinkles!  We did bring pushup pop containers home for the other boys :)

 

 

It's such a fun store, and they did a great job leading the field trip!

What do you see under your kitchen table?

I moved our bench seat away to sweep under the table and I had to stop and take a pic of what I found.  Seriously, all of this under our table?  What a mess!  And then I began to think about what each of those things under the table symbolizes. . .a pencil means this mama has the privilege of homeschooling (never mind I believe that's the same pencil our toddler used to write on our wall with), the applesuce container (and lid) means a toddler had a healthy snack, the straw wrapper could mean we ate BK for lunch. . .oh wait we did. . hmm, the straw wrapper means I didn't have to rush around and make lunch after MOPS.  The colorful toys. . they mean we have a healthy toddler with a loving Grammy who gives fun toys. 
I was chatting with a dear fellow mom this morning, about the way we see things.  When we see a mom snap at her kids at the grocery store, we feel for that mom. . .who knows what she is going through.  Might I dare say, who knows what things are hiding under her table?  As an outsider, we may see a mess at first glance. . .both at things in our life and things in others lives, but when we dig a little deeper, there are often blessings there.  Thank you God for helping us find blessings admist the messes. 

Carrot Dipping Date

 We had friends over this morning, and Ryker and Grier didn't let the leftover apple dipping peanut butter go to waste. . .pretty resourceful!

 "Is it ok that we are dipping carrots in peanut butter?"  Well, atleast that's what they'd say if these 4th children talked more ;) 

It's ok to go pantless on a date when you're only 2. . .Ryker had successfully used the potty chair earlier in the morning and didn't want pants back on. . .the shirt came off shortly after because it got wet ;)

 

Trey was pretty fond of their 5th little one also :)

So, I can say I've blogged every day so far this year!

Long Time No Blog

So, I see I haven't blogged since Sept.  What better time to blog than Jan 1?  Right?  There's no way I'm going to catch up, so we'll just start with New Years Eve.  Here I am playing Cranium, but let's just say you don't want to play me in Apples to Apples Junior. . .I rock that game. 

Thanks to "Ammy" and  "Ampa" for having a New Years Eve bash for the kids so we could have a game night with friends!  Going to their house is Ryker's fav place to go. . .

We had a nice Christmas vacation, celebrating Jesus' birtday and spending time with family and friends!  We were able to do some ice skating. . notice all the children who know how to skate behind the old lady and her walker :)

We also took advantage of the fresh snow and did some sledding. . .

I got an old wooden doll bunkbed from a friend. . .added some white paint, and sewed bedding!  It was a super fun surprise for Ainsley for Christmas!  She sleeps with a bed full of her babies (like mother, like daughter I spose ;) ), so I thought it'd give her a little more room in her own bed :)

 

Ainsley was also very excited about dancing in our churches Hawaiian themed Christmas program!

These boys crack me up. . .here they are with their "snowcones" made with real snow and carmel :)

  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family!