B's 3!

3 years ago we welcomed our first baby boy, B, into our lives.  We didn't really have a lot of sleepless nights with him (he slept through the night the first night home).  Many were jealous at how easy he was.  Looking at him today, we see how independent he is and was then.  He liked to be held but was perfectly content to be laying in his bed.  In fact, he'd lay there for 30 minutes or more by himself without fussing.  He has always been full of energy and goes full-force no matter what he's doing or where he's at.  When I think of "boy," I picture him and his energy! 


I think it's been amazing to look back between 2 and 3 and think about all the changes.  It's a bit mind-boggling.  He talks in full sentences and we have ACTUAL conversations where he responds appropriately, asks questions (many questions) and tries to understand so many things.  He loves to learn, begs to do school, and wakes up with the first question either being "Can I eat" or "One toy at a time?  Huh, Mommy?"  Whispering and tiptoeing are getting better, but they are still quite loud.  He gives hugs freely, loves visiting the nursing home and giving them all hugs before he leaves.  He even has one lady who both of my kids have attached themselves to.  She and her husband (her husband is the one with Alzheimer's) never had kids and as soon as I step foot on her floor, she takes them and plays with them during my session.  She says it's her favorite time of the week! 

He truly repents when he's done something bad (that's another post), he's caring and thoughtful, but can still be rough with his sister.  He has a heart that tries to please and loves to golf, play outside, play on the farm, and sit on EVERY "tractor" (lawn mower) at Lowe's.  He loves the pool and he absolutely loves horses.

For his birthday, we let him open one present before church and one after.  We met my parents in the Pitts at a park for the kids to eat and play.  It was incredibly hot, but it was a cool park.  We were impressed.  After that, we drove to pick up the ice cream cake, dropped off Baby M with Nanny R and hit the lake with Uncle M and Aunt L and the boys.  I wish I had my camera.  He was jumping off the boat with K and D.  The are both teens so they would let him push them off the boat.  They were so good with B and played with him a lot.  They always treat him so nicely and play ball with him and let him chase them or jump on them.  (Side note: B will love going to watch D play football this year!)  He had a blast on the boat.  I think that was the favorite part of his birthday!  After that, we went back to Nanny R and Papa's house and picked up Baby M and let him open a present from them.  She promised to take him to the cowboy store to pick out cowboy boots (also another post).  We finally headed home and had our cake and presents really late that night, but it was a great time for B.  I think he had a great birthday!  Now he's looking forward to his birthday party on Saturday.  He's going to have a blast!!!

Birthday morning before church

Baby M throwing a fit on B's birthday

Cars suitcase from Mama and Pop

Pop and B

B with his maternal grandparents

The kids with their paternal grandparents



B begged to have party hats....so we did.

Has it really been 3 years since I held this boy as a tiny baby?!

Nanny R giving him his M & M plane that dispenses M & M's that she got in Las Vegas.

B loves Curious George!

Book Review: The Colonel's Lady by Laura Frantz

I have just recently started to enjoy books that are set in the Colonial period.  I love the idea of big, fancy dresses (despite the fact I know they are a) hot and b) uncomfortable).  I also like imagining what life was like then since it's so foreign to what we have here.  What would it be like to ride by horse? 

The year of 1779 found spinster Roxanna Rowan at the Kentucky fort that happens to be commanded by Colonel Cassius McLinn.  This is how she finds out that her father, an officer, has died.  Now Roxanna is left on her own with not much at all and is forced to take up the role that her father left behind.  As you might guess, Colonel Casius becomes a tad bit attracted to Roxanna and vice versa.  However, her dad kept a journal, which might reveal a few secrets that are being kept at the fort.  Oh, say, maybe some secrets about a spy.  Since the journal has been tampered with and the last few pages aren't there anymore, she's not for sure who is really capable of being trusted and who isn't.  Is Colonel Casius a spy or is he someone worth winning her heart?  Or....is he both?  Like I'll tell you!  Pick up this book and read it for yourself.  You'll enjoy it!

____________________

I received this book free from Revell publishers in exchange for my honest review.

First Dress

That's right...I made this!  I sewed this all by myself in class.  I can't wait to go pick out some more fabric to make a few more for Baby M to wear next year.  I'm going to do some in plain fabric and have my mom embroider things on it for me.  They were so much fun to make!  If anyone wants me to make one and have my mom embroider on it, let me know.  I loved doing it.  I could have made more last night when I finished this one.  Best of all, it only took 2 hours to make.  Amazing!  Next up are pajama pants.  I want to make Christmas pajama bottoms for the kiddos.  Oh...and a purse.  So many things to make.  I'm also going to take a knitting and crocheting class so I can actually learn to read the patterns instead of making up my own stitches.  I love being crafty!

Oh, my favorite line last night was when I brought my dress home.  I was so excited and showed it to Daddy T.  He said, "It looks like a pillowcase."  I told him it was supposed to, since that was the name of the dress.  I showed it to B and he touched it and looked at me and said, "WOW!"  That was the response I was looking for from Daddy T!

Book Review: Across the Wide River by Stephanie Reed

Have you heard of the Rankin family?  Perhaps you've heard of the Underground Railroad?  The Rankin family's house was the first stop on the Underground Railroad that was north of the Ohio River back in the 1800s.

Lowry Rankin is the son of a preacher.  His family moved from Tennessee to Kentucky to Ohio to get away from slavery.  After Lowry watched one of his own friends, who happened to be a slave, get beaten, he despised slavery.  Lowry's father preached against slavery, which wasn't popular at the time.  With that said, it's no surprise that this family, who believes that you should treat others with respect, would risk their lives to free slaves.  Lowry was used as a runner who would transport the slaves from his house to the next house.  He stood up against slavery even though he was very shy.

This story is a short book that is a quick read.  The pages are packed with history, but it's not the fact-filled history.  The facts are there but they are woven beautifully through the story.  I enjoyed learning about the Rankin family and am now interested in finding out more about them.

I plan to keep this book to use later with school when B is older.  I think it will be a great addition when we start studying history and the Underground Railroad. 

On an author note, I will say that Stephanie Reed is so kind and thoughtful and reaches out to her readers and shows genuine care to them.  I definitely recommend this book for yourself, or for a history lesson for those teens in your life.

________________________

I received this book free from Kregel Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Not Fried Squash

I love fried squash and fried okra.  However, I also know how bad they are for you when they are fried.  Thanks to one of my nutrition friends, she has given me several recipes for "fried" zucchini and okra.  They are all baked but taste just like fried. 

I decided to be creative one day and was trying to use up some squash my mom sent.  I was really craving fried squash, so I tried to figure out a way to get the crunchy taste without the bad factor.  I put olive oil on the squash and then I spread panko (Japanese bread crumbs that are my favorite thing to cook with) all over them.  Then I stuck it in the oven.  The panko didn't stick to it as much, so next time I may try it by sauteing it.  It was really good though and you couldn't tell it didn't stick to the squash because each bite had a crunchy taste.  I'll definitely play around with that some more because it was really good!

School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days

Long title for post but when I think of school days, my mind automatically goes to this golden classic "School Days."  No....I wasn't alive when it was written or recorded!  We sing it a lot at the nursing home in our music therapy session so I know it by heart now.  I think my kids do to!

Moving on.  Now that B is 3, we have started doing preschool here.  He loves school and has begged since he was 2-1/2 to do "school."  That school consisted of Before Five in a Row things when I would get a chance to prepare it.  I kinda fell off the wagon a bit through summer and he has asked nonstop about doing school since then.  Because of his enthusiasm for learning, which I say he got from me because I would still be in school if we could afford it and I could balance life, I decided to start preschool.  We do school for 1-2 hours (some days more and some days less) depending on his level of focus.  I've spent lots of time planning, prepping, laminating, cutting, and printing.  I'm LOVING all that I've found for him to do.  I'm so excited about the themes for this year.

To start off, I'll show you our morning school routine.  It's a fun way to start our morning.  I used several different websites to get calendar ideas, but I mostly got my printables from here.

Here is a look at our foam board calendar.  We also have a laminated calendar beside it where we add our days to the squares.

Every morning, we start with singing our books of the Bible.  I learned my books of the Bible through song, so we're using that song.  The song is actually from the Wee Sing Bible Songs CD.  I like the tune and still sing it to this day!

 I think that it's never too early to start learning character traits.  I know I'll be teaching it to them throughout their entire lives, but I want B to give an idea of them.  For this month, or maybe longer, we are learning about obedience.  I found a workbook that is meant for his age that is full of games, puzzles, and coloring pages based on the Bible.  We spend a few minutes each morning talking about how certain people in the Bible obeyed and then what happened when they chose to disobey God.  We are also learning a Scripture verse that corresponds to the trait.  B has actually had this verse memorized since he was 2, so we're just saying it every morning now.

I used the Days of the Week Songs to start this section of our calendar.  We sing the songs, going through the days.  We then find what today is, label the day for tomorrow, as well as figure out which day was yesterday.

I haven't put the Velcro on this section of the calendar yet, but it has cards to go with it.  They show snow, rain, sun, and clouds.  This will help us be able to look outside and observe what the weather is like at that moment.

To be honest, this is the part of the calendar that I'm the MOST excited about!  We are using the Children's version of Operation World and are spending about a month going through different countries, learning the basics about them for right now.  I started with the U.S. because I thought that would be a good place to start.  We are committing to praying for the people in that country and are going to be writing a missionary to each country, as well...unless there aren't missionaries in the hard-to-reach countries.  I plan to use this throughout our homeschooling time and expand our knowledge on the countries, religions, and learning more about the people groups, and praying specifically for them.  We'll probably start out with the countries of several of our friends that are missionaries and then go to the countries where our Compassion and World Vision kids are located, since they hear from them quite often. (So in the next couple of months we'll be studying Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, Uganda, Philippines, and Rwanda.)

We are learning seasons and have learned we are in summer now, but headed towards fall.  Perhaps it will start raining again in the fall!  We desperately need it!  Our house hasn't gotten rain in over a month.

So, that's a look at our calendar.  I'm excited about our school year and all of the fun learning things we're going to be doing.  We'll be adding lots of things that I'll share as we do them. 

Welcome to Preschool, B!

Etched in my memory

I'll tell you a secret.  I love to watch my kiddos while they are sleeping.  I think that's the favorite part of my nighttime routine, even though it's not because of the reason you'd think.  Not because I'm thrilled it's the end of the day and I can finally crash.  Not because it's been a rough day and now I have time to myself (although that has been a fleeting thought once or twice).  Not because it means I don't have to discipline anymore.  So the reason?  The reason is because when I stare at their sweet sleeping faces, I still see my little babies.  Their faces look like their baby pictures of when they were sleeping.  I'm reminded of how they looked when they were held in my arms BEFORE their feet started to hang off my lap!  I'm reminded of the time when I rocked them, thinking they could do no wrong and I'd never even think of raising my voice with them.  Why, of course, they were perfect!  (I knew they weren't, but at night, they seem like they are.)  Tell me I'm not alone in this nightly ritual.  I mean, those sleeping babies are absolutely precious.  It reminds me of the opportunities I missed during the day to spend time with both of them or moments that I selfishly kept to myself instead of setting my tasks aside.  I love those subtle reminders given to me.

Oh...and did I forget to mention that B is now 3?!!!  That post is for another day, along with pictures.  He had the best day and we loved it because he was so excited about his special day.  I love it now that he asks to spend his special day with certain people.  And...I think he invited his ENTIRE Sunday School class to his birthday party.  I don't even have a clue who all is in there, so it's a good thing that most of them won't remember yet! 

Beach pt. 1

I think these pictures are pretty self-explanatory!  Because we have so many cute ones to share, it'll be a combination of posts.  Enjoy!  (or skip over)

What My Son Hears?

After teaching a piano lesson today, I told B to get his shoes on so we could get ready to go.  He obeyed and we piled into the van.  On our way into the city, B asked me where we were going.  I told him that we were running to a store to pick up a few things, eat lunch, and then go to the nursing home.  Out of those three things, what do you think B heard? 



"We go eat lunch!"



I always suspected that his focus was on food, but now I'm convinced.  From now on, I'll know to leave food out of our rotation so that he'll be sure to hear all of the other instructions I give him.

Book Review: Treasuring Emma by Kathleen Fuller

Girls, here's another wonderfully written book about the Amish. This was another book that I would stay up and read long before I should have been in bed sleeping!  If you like books about the Amish life, then you'll love this book, I think.

Emma is a 25-year-old woman who has experience a lot of loss in her life.  Her mother died from cancer and her first love went to the Englisch world, leaving Emma behind and heartbroken.  Now she is living with her grossmammi.

After Adam received a letter telling him of Emma's mother's death, he returns to Middlefield.  Emma is determined to guard her heart this time and to not let him back in her life as easily.  She's not really sure why he came back, whether it was guilt or love. 

Not long after his return, another man comes into their community, Mark King, and has an interest in Emma.  Adam warns Emma not to let her guard down with him, but will she listen?  Does she fall for Mark or does she give Adam a second chance?  Will Adam stay in the Amish community or return back to the Englisch world?  You'll have to read it to find out!

__________________

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <[...]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."