Happy 1st Birthday Party, Lincoln Jude

I hadn't planned on throwing Linc a big birthday party.  Party an energy thing, partly the sad fact that most of our friends who attended our parties all moved away when seminary finished.  But, when we decided to head up to Ohio, I thought it would be a really fun way to make sure much of Mike's extended family got to meet our sweet new addition (even if it was a year after his entrance).  We decided to go with a super hero theme because it just seemed to fit with what our boys enjoy right now.

Hulk Punch:

Spiderman and Batman cookies that my MOPS co-coordinator and I made together:

Captain America fruit and cheese platter:

Dining table:

Panoramic view of the set up:

And the cake.  Oh my word, this cake.  I searched so many different cake places in that area looking for someone reasonably priced who could do a fun cake and this girl WAY exceeded my expectations, AND did it even though she had several other orders that week.  She was amazing!

And it was good.

Don't take my word for it.  But, you may want to take his.

Then we went out to the lake and got some sweet shots of our new one year old (who wasn't quite one yet).

I got this awesome sign to display at his party giving all of his stats and likes at the party.  It was a cheap and easy decoration that was so perfect!

It was such a fun day.  We all had fun catching up with family we hadn't seen in a few years and celebrating a full year with our little one.

He even took a couple of steps for everyone.

And then posed for some more obligatory photos... :)

We loved that Aunt Susan got to come!  

And that we got to celebrate with cousins.

It was a "smashing" good time!

2014-15 School Year

We started our first "on the books" year of homeschool in August.  The kids were excited to get going as soon as they heard their friends buzzing about starting school.  Logan is doing first grade this year, though she is aged to be in kindergarten.  I'm thankful to have the opportunity to teach her on her level and allow her to go at this pace.  

We had to join in on the picture taking fun:

We thought it would be fun to include what the kiddos want to be when they grow up yearly and see how it changes.  This year, Logan wants to be a ballerina and Brody wants to be a Ninja Turtle.

Brody is doing K-3 this year.  We are working on letter sounds now that he's got most of the letter recognition done.  We are leaning heavily on the explode the code books (before explode the code is the series).  We love it!  He asks if he can do school almost every morning.  It's fantastic.

This year we did another hodge podge of curriculum for Logan.  

Reading: All About Reading Level 2

Math: Math U See Alpha

Science: Exploring Creation (still working through space)

Spelling: All About Spelling Level 2

Handwriting: A Reason For Handwriting

We've also started character education this year and are using the Konos curriculum to implement.  

I get a lot of inquiries about what the boys do when Logan is doing school.  We've gotten into a really nice rhythm and they play really well together (or independently next to each other).  For the most part, they don't need distractions provided by mom, they entertain each other.  We really only are doing school an hour and a half, sometimes two hours if we can just sit and get it all done.  By the time 11am hits, we're usually calling it a day.  So it's not too long for them to have to be independent.

Brody and I work on his school books typically in the beginning of the day while Logan is journaling or doing handwriting and then he heads off to do his own thing.  

Lincoln likes to hang out under the table while we all work.

It's really fun to have everyone home and be able to hang out in our PJ's some days or scrap school and just play when we want to!

I can't let this post end giving people the impression that homeschooling is roses.  We choose to homeschool because we feel it's where the Lord is leading our family.  It is hard.  It's the hardest thing I've ever done.  This coming from someone who studied to be a teacher for four years, worked inner city schools and then taught in a new school that was working through many kinks during my first two years as a teacher.  This is harder.  I love my kids, I love the benefits of homeschooling and I love that we all get to learn together.  But homeschooling is a sanctifying experience.  The days are long sometimes.  There's no break.  You are mommy and teacher and it's hard for little ones to differentiate.  It's 100% worth it, but I never want to paint the picture that we do this because it's easier.  God has shown me so much about Himself through this whole process and I'm so thankful that He's teaching me while I teach them.  

Beach Day

We couldn't leave Miami without making a quick trip to the beach for some pictures!  It was a gorgeous day, a little overcast so not crazy hot.  The kids had fun playing in the water and the sand and I had a great time capturing Lincoln's first beach experience.   

I just love pictures like this that show how small we are in God's creation and how big and powerful He is.

This boy.  He is crazy, and fast, and rambunctious....but he holds my heart.

So does this one.

And this girl is stubborn and strong willed, but I am so glad that the Lord has placed her in my life.  He is refining me through her and teaching me so much about myself.  She shows me God's blessings daily.

Miami

While Mike was away at Chaplain training this year, the kids and I took a road trip down to Miami!  12 hour trip in the car with just me and the kids?  No problem! (ha!!)  

We actually had a really easy day 1 from NC to Jacksonville where we visited with friends.  The second day was mis. er. a. ble.  Brody is not one for lengthy car trips and when he realized we still had 5-6 hours to go he made it clear that he was not pleased.  We had to stop about every hour to avoid meltdowns.  But, we made it!  And immediately hopped in the pool.

The kids don't need a whole lot of toys down there because they spend 90% of their time in the water!

Or by the water.

We got LOTS of snuggles from Tita who got to meet great grandchild #5.  What an amazing thing to be able to say!

I enjoyed spending many afternoons in the water with the kids.  The sun was brutal, but the memories and playtime together made it so worth it.

Logan went from needing floaties when we arrived to swimming like a fish in a matter of days!  It was so fun to watch her blossom into a swimmer.

It took Brody a good minute, but he really enjoyed himself once he was convinced he wasn't going to sink by stepping off of the stairs.

A trip to Miami isn't complete without a visit to the American Girl Store for lunch.  We walked the store over and over again looking for Christmas ideas and just enjoying the pink.

We also enjoyed looking at every single Isabelle item in the store (2 or 3 times over).

The kids enjoyed some time at Tita's house.  It was fun to hang out with them there knowing that I spent so many a summer in that very house doing many of the things that they did!

It was like they had seen Mickey Mouse when the fruit and vegetable truck pulled up to the house.  Everyone had to go see and pick something out!

We rounded off the trip with a visit to a local market where we had coconut milk straight out of the coconut!  

We are so thankful for such a fun place to visit and for grandparents who are so helpful when daddy is away and allow for me to come and get some relief from single parenting!  It's always an adventure and we look forward to many more visits in the future.