Ballet Clothes

 

My wonderful and talented sister added some bling to Lilly's boring black ballet outfit.

I love these pictures she took of the final product!!

 

I love these with my little nephew and Henry!!!

5 Fun Things

1.Peter's latest science lesson was about leeches. Yuck!

  He got creative and had us all make leeches out of clay while he talked.

2.Acting out prepositions!

3. The simplicity of boys.  These two have spent hours hammering a metal sword.  Nothing  is           happening but they keep working on it.



4.  All four kids getting a long in this picture. 3.5 seconds later the picture was very different. . .

5.  Being the only girls among 5 boys (brothers & cousins).  Aunt Joy bought a new ballet outfit and Grandma has already bought 3 sparkling pink pairs of flip flops before summer is even here!!

School Update

 

We have started counting down the weeks until we are done with school!

Only 6 to go!!!

Last week we learned about Eli Whitney and the cotton gin.

Here is Henry trying to pick seeds out of cotton, not so easy. . .

 

 

Good thing Ben made a cotton gin replica out of a

cardboard box, a paper towel tube and toothpicks. 

 

We have been working on our timeline for 3 years. 

It starts at Creation and goes through Napoleon (for now).

This semester, Peter has been teaching Science.  He has 2 days to prepare his topic. 

It can be about just about anything!

Last week he taught about the ear.

The week before was about how the blood works in the neck of a giraffe when he bends down.



 

One day he said he was going to talk about Christians and dating.

I was wondering what that had to do with science and what in the world he was going to share about the dating world! 

Turns out he meant "creation dating" and the age of the earth!!  :)

 

And our little Angel is doing ballet.

 

The day after her first class, she woke up saying, "I just can't stop thinking about the steps!" 

 

Backyard

I am so ready for Spring and to see green on the trees!  

I took some pictures of our backyard late last summer and compared them with the 

ever ugly before pictures from when we first bought the house!

Backyard before:

Backyard after:

Back of house before:

Back of house after:



When we bought our house we had a tiny yard. The house next door had a large yard, + house + workshop, so we bought it too. This was how the yard looked in front of the shop!

After awhile, trying to dig out!

The dirt pile was a tremendous eyesore and the boys LOVED it!! 

A huge dirt pile allowed hours and hours of digging to Peter and Ben when they were 2 &3!

Those extra helpers sure made a difference! :)

After A LOT of hard work from Pete!

We have a little fire pit behind that wall.  The kids and I often sit here in the Fall to do our History lessons.  Strawberry plants fill the space in front of the wall. 

 The space isn't exactly finished like I want.  I would like to paint the pergola, cover the roof, get a couch and chairs plus a few other things,

 BUT it has come a long way and we are loving the use of this space!! 

I can't wait for this cold to end so we can get out there and enjoy it again!!!

these past weeks

 This is what it is like to take Henry to Lowes.

 It was 67 one day in March!  

Lilly thought that was appropriate to get out her swimsuit!

 

Since my sister and nephews no longer live across the street, we don't get to see them as much.

It's always a treat when we do!

Ben and baby James.

 And this little cutie!!  Love him!

Lilly was mad and crying about something she wasn't allowed to do.

Big brother Ben to the rescue!

 

My Grandma, whom I love with all my heart, is facing her last days on this Earth.  

She has had a long battle with cancer. 

I was so thankful that I was able to take the kids and visit with her, give her a hug and tell her how much I love her.

 Here is a picture of my Grandma & Lilly. 

Thanksgiving 2008

God is good and has blessed us with many wonderful things in the midst of sad hearts.

Good friends to play with!

Peter joined the Boy Scouts of America!

 

Ben had his last basketball game. :(

(Ben and his friends)

Henry just started the chore of laundry. 

He is still figuring out how to get his wet clothes at the bottom of the washer out! :) 

Family Night - with a twist

We put a little twist on our weekly family night for the big boys.

They now have to plan, shop, cook and lead when it is their family night!

Peter started off!

He did great.  Pete took him shopping. They are welcome to use anything we have in our refrigerator/freezer and cabinets.  I gave them a VERY small budget to shop with. 

It's a whole different ballgame to figure out price per pounds on a math paper than it is standing in Kroger!! :)   

I think this fits with strengths of Peter's, planning and independence.

 

Ben was up the next week.

It didn't go so great.  Ben is the nicest kid you will EVER meet.  He cares for others and has such a tender heart.  He makes wise decisions about friends and is a very hard worker.

Planning ahead though, isn't his strength. :)

This exercise really had two purposes in mind.  The first was to teach the kids how to plan and lead.  The second was for me to learn how to not nag my kids!

(I think this new twist is harder for me than them!!)

So when Ben didn't plan his family night and it was 6:30 and there was no dinner in sight, I was biting my nagging tongue.  Ben pulled out a can of corn and a can of green beans.   He popped them in the microwave and we say down to a bowl of vegetables for dinner. 

 

Everyone was a good sport about it, but went to bed a little hungry. :) 

 I asked Ben what he thought and he said he was going to do better at planning next time. 

I helped him make a list and a timeline for preparations.

He had to wait a few weeks for his family night to come around.  Every Sunday he kept asking me, if his family night was that week and if we should go to the store.  

(As part of me not nagging, I told the kids I would take them to the store on Sunday.  I told them they could come and tell me when they wanted to go BUT it had to be before 7pm.  

After I tell them once, I don't remind them at all.) 

And this week, when his family night came around again, it was AWESOME!!! 

Sub sandwiches and chips. 

Served right on time.

Game time and a movie after!

This may or may not be me pushing my boys out of the way during the basketball game! :)

 Once again, I 'm pretty sure that I learned just as much, if not more than my kids in the family night twist.  I can encourage without nagging! 

REVELATION!!!

  And when they are given the freedom to fail and the gentle (not condemning) guidance on how to do it differently the next time, the result is usually pretty exciting to watch!