5 Years Old

Five years ago, we were blessed to become the parents of our sweet Jack. I'll admit that this birthday makes me scratch my head and wonder where on earth time has gone. It doesn't seem possible that he should be five! 

He's goofy, and silly. But he's also incredibly sweet, and has a heart full of love. He genuinely loves being around other people! Doesn't have a shy bone in his body..

He's a great big brother, and Anna, Lily, and Max all adore him(even if a certain two year old enjoys getting a rise out of him.)

He's learning to be a gentleman by holding doors open for the ladies, and helps carry in the groceries. He asks us often when he's going to be old enough to get married, and right now he's pretty sure Anna or Mommy will be his future wife. He loves all things musical, and loves fixing things. Erik has started teaching him how to use different tools, and Jack takes that job very seriously!

Happy birthday, Jack!! We love you so much, and pray every day that you will grow up to love Jesus. 

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word." Psalm 119:9

Candy Soup

My poor children. Up until about a year ago, I'd say we ate a pretty typical diet. You know, white pasta, white bread, hamburger helper. Any veggies that were consumed in our house typically came from a can, and really they were probably just set on the table for decoration, because no one in this house was going to eat them.


Then I got all weird, and "natural". My dad says I've become a hippie. Regardless of whether or not that's a fair name for me, my point is we've been eating significantly healthier around here. However, we still struggle with eating vegetables. It's tough trying to find ways to prepare them so that they still taste good, but don't lose all of their nutrients.

To their credit, though, my kids have actually done pretty well with learning to eat more veggies. There is only one vegetable they absolutely do not like. Broccoli. Oh my word, the battles we have had over broccoli(which is probably another reason why they hate it so much!) But Erik and I like broccoli, and we really like broccoli cheese soup. So this past winter I decided to make some, using this recipe, and it was a huge hit for my husband and I.

My children, who had seen me chop up the broccoli, wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

My natural reaction when my kids refuse to eat something is to tell them they have to at least try one bite before they can get down. But before I could say anything,I hear Erik telling the kids in a really cheerful voice,"But it's candy soup, guys! Mmmm candy soup is so yummy!"

And would you believe it if I told you, that they actually believed him?

They devoured it, and were soon asking for second helpings, and even third helpings.

To this day they still refer to broccoli cheese soup, as "candy soup." Jack even wants it for his birthday dinner.

You know, I've always been really big on not lying to my kids. But I guess I can make an exception if it gets them to eat more vegetables.

 

Fourth of July

We had a really nice fourth of July! It seems the older I get(yes the ripe old age of twenty- six), and the more kids I have, the more I enjoy these "low" key holidays. Holidays like the Fourth, New Years Day, and Labor day, just seem so easy compared to Christmas and Thanksgiving. Granted since I'm a stay at home mom, I don't really get a "break" from my job, but usually my husband is home and we just have laid back days. There's no guilt. There's no rush. We all take a nap in the afternoon, and just relax.

Anyways, where was I? Oh yes, I was talking about yesterdays festivities. As I was saying we had a really nice day. It didn't start out that way though. Erik wasn't feeling well, and some other stressful situations were going on, so I didn't exactly wake up with the best of attitudes fourth of July morning. Thankfully, the Lord changed my heart and by mid morning I was able to enjoy my family, and try to make the day special.

I saw an idea over at money saving mom about making fireworks in a jar, so we spent quite awhile yesterday morning making those. The kids really enjoyed it, and it was a craft I was actually able to do(I'm not very crafty!)

After a dinner of steak, cheesy potatoes, zucchini, and red white and blue cupcakes, we headed to Erik's office to watch the fire works. The kids were so excited, and they all enjoyed watching them(at least for a little bit.) It was 2 hours past bed time by the time the show actually started, and that was a little rough on them, especially Max. 

How was everyone elses Fourth of July?

Reading List July-December

I decided to link up with Sarah Mae's blog and write out my reading list for the rest of the year. This was really fun for me, because it actually made me stop and think about what I wanted to read this year, and what I could realistically get through each month.

July:

The Core

The Mission of Motherhood

Charlotte Mason Companion

August:

Kings Cross

Educating the Whole Hearted Child

September:

Real Food: What to eat and Why

The Meaning of Marriage

Kisses from Katie

October:

Jesus+Nothing= Everything

Shaping of a Christian Family

November:

Erasing Hell

Future Men

December:

Grace and Truth Paradox

Discipline of Spiritual Discernment

What are you all wanting to read this year?

The Weekend

We had such a nice weekend, this past week. We got to go back to our home town and visit with family and close friends. Even though we've lived in our "new" town for close to a year, our old town still feels like our home.

On Friday, I got to hang out with my best friend, whose name is also Jessica, and we had such a great time hanging out. In fact, it was 2 o'clock in the morning before we finally made ourselves stop talking! Her older sister owns a little bed and breakfast/ Inn, and very sweetly offered to let us spend the night there Friday night, so that's what we did. After about five hours of sleep we dragged ourselves out of bed, still talking mind you, and went and got breakfast. It was so much fun.

Most of Saturday was spent helping my sister in law and her family move. For me helping meant trying to keep the kids out of the way! The kids did a pretty good job at their grandparents house, but there was some definite sleep issues while we were there. Oh well it all works out though, because the past two days all four kids have slept until 9. See? There's a bright side to everything! I also got to go out for a little girls night after my kids(finally) fell asleep. It was so much fun hanging out and catching up with everyone again.

Sunday we went back to our old church, and had a great time worshipping with other believers. Jack, who hadn't gone to bed until ten o'clock the night before and was up before six in the morning, had a little bit of a rough time sitting through church, but that wasn't that big of a deal. In the afternoon we took Anna, and our niece and nephew to the theatre to see Brave. It was Anna's first time in a movie theatre, and she did excellent. She started out on my lap, but as soon as she saw the bear come on screen she quickly decided that daddy might be able to protect her better than mommy and moved to his lap.

We got home Sunday night around 8. We let them burn off some energy before putting them to bed, and then Erik and I curled up on the couch and watched the gymnastics Olympic trials(yes my husband loves me a lot to sit and watch that with me!)

It was a great, but very busy weekend. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but here's one I took Friday before we left:

Anna and Lily are very into being princesses right now, Jack was doing something else so he wasn't available to be Prince Charming, so they decided they could just dance together. :)

This is the Bible verse I've been repeating to myself a lot throughout the day; "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, in which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:15-16

Sorry this post is so boring! Did the rest of you have a nice weekend?

Day in the Life- Tuesday

6:00- My alarm goes off, and I wonder why my alarm is going off in the middle of the night. I am very sad to discover that it is in fact six in the morning, and this is the time I should be getting up at. BUT, I'm tired. So I turn off my alarm and go back to sleep, hoping to stay that way until Erik wakes up for work.

However, Max has other plans, and wakes up around 6:30. I try to get him before he wakes up Jack, but it's to no avail. Thankfully, I tell Jack he needs to go back to sleep for awhile longer and he does.

Max and I eat some baked oatmeal for breakfast, and I sit down with my Bible. Some friends and I are working on memorizing the Sermon on the Mount, but my brain is not working this morning, so I just read Psalm 34, and Matthew 6.

8:00- Erik is off to work, and Jack, Anna, and Lily are up and ready to start the day. It's then that I realize Max and I finished off the oatmeal, and I need to make something for breakfast. So I have them watch an episode of What's In the Bible and make some blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We do our catechism, and read the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den. Then we clean up and I let them finish their video while I try to steal away to take a shower. :)

9:00-11:00- We go outside and the kids (minus Max who is taking his morning nap) spend the morning swimming in their little pool. There are many, many "teachable" moments, reminders about how we are suppose to obey and how we say please and thank you. It is a really nice morning though, and I definitely enjoyed watching them play.

11:00- Max is up, and we all eat a little snack before lunch. The kids have pretty well emptied out their pool by this point, and are happily pouring water all over the tree in our back yard. Jack keeps telling me he's going to turn the tree into a hot dog(hey, at least they're all playing nice together!) So I take Max and Lily inside with me and try to get some house work done, while Anna and Jack play.

12:00- Erik comes home for lunch, and we eat left over lemon garlic chicken. The kids have peanut butter and honey, and tell Erik all about their day. After lunch I stick dinner in the crock pot(which saves my sanity most days!) and read a few books to the kids.

1:30- Everyone goes down for "naps." I use the quote marks because I have to go into each child's room and remind certain children that it's nap time, not play time. 

2:30- Everyone's quiet, and I'm hit by how tired I am, so I lay down for a little while and try to take a nap- which I do(yay!!)

3:00- I do some laundry, clean up the living room and kitchen, and make myself a smoothie. I would much rather have coffee, but we are all out. :)

4:00- Every one is awake. I get them set up at the table with crayons and paper, while I try to finish dinner and make myself look presentable.:) At one point I discover that Lily has gotten a hold of a maker and has tried to eat it. This is the point where I start anxiously waiting for Erik to come home and help me regain my sanity. 

5:15- Erik is home! We eat chicken curry, and do our family Bible time. 

6:00- Erik plays with kiddos, while I clean up dinner. We all sit down and read some more books, and Jack practices reading by himself. 

7:30- Bed time. Kids go to bed fairly easily tonight, which is definitely a blessing.

8:30- Erik goes to meet some men from the church for their accountability time. I hang out and watch an episode of cake boss and get on the internet. 

9:30- I am SO tired. I don't usually go to bed this early but decide I probably should. I fall asleep thankful for being able to spend a nice day with my family.

In Which I Panic

The other day it finally hit me.

Next month, my oldest child Jack will be turning five.

And do you know what that means?

School. And that my baby's growing up! But school is the point I'm getting at.

For the last couple of years my husband and I have been pretty sold on the idea of home schooling. This is not a new concept for me, I've been planning on doing this for awhile now. However, even though I've known for quite some time that I'm going to be home schooling, it finally sunk in last week. I'm going to be solely responsible for my child's education.

Me, who was just an average student.

Me, who just has an associates degree.

Me, who struggles terribly with being organized.

Me, who is already crazy busy keeping up with house work and caring for my little ones, I'm going to home school?! What on earth were we thinking?

Thankfully, though, I've had some encouraging talks with my husband, who has graciously reminded me why we're wanting to do this to ourselves(and our children) in the first place. I've also got plugged in with a Classical Conversations group close by that I'm super excited about.

I'm still a little overwhelmed at the idea of what this new season in my life is going to look like. I'm definitely concerned about what I'm going to do with my younger children while trying to teach Jack. But I'm also getting really excited about it. It will definitely be an adventure!