Magic Moments

It seems as if I'm always seeing developmental milestones around here, and I always mean to write them down, yet I seldom do because keeping up with my two boys feels like I'm trying to keep up in boot camp. :) My sweet baby Sage is growing up much too quickly and before I forget all of these small, yet important details, I wanted to preserve them for the day when I need a reminder of the baby days of my precious littles. Sage's development has exploded recently and I'm amazed! He has really and truly fallen in love with books. While he's always liked to be read to, he's always had his limit when it came to reading. But just in these past two weeks he has begun to drink in books. He asks to be read to all the time and has so many ideas about what he sees in pictures. He has also developed lots of ideas when it comes to pretend play. He has begun to have conversations between the the toys he's playing with whether it be guys or cars or boats. And he has rec...

We are settling into more of a routine and while I'm still just trying to keep us afloat in these early weeks of Fall, I know that soon our schedule and commitments will become a familiar rhythm that is more easy to sustain. So, to quickly recap, we've been to the nature center to go bird watching and today we were on a field trip to the Gibbs Farm. I had heard fabulous things about the Gibbs farm tour, however our guide today won the award for being the most boring person ever. EVER!!! I can hardly blame my kids for running around and not listening because I was having a difficult time. The historical information about the Dakota Tribe was incredibly interesting if you could follow what he was saying. The high point was that along with our guide was a full blood Dakota woman working at the farm and attending the U of M. Her knowledge of her tribe was amazing and she spoke their language. I would have rather listened to her as she had so many rich things to contribute. I'm ...

The boys go to school on Thursdays and they were both really excited for their first day today! I was excited because it means I get three hours with other moms (and no kids) and also because as a homeschooling mom I am eternally grateful when someone else teaches something to my child. It's just one thing that I don't have to make sure I cover. Aiden is extremely excited about first grade and will take three different classes this year: Science, Art, and Gym. Sage is excited because preschool means shapes, colors, letters, God's love, and snacks. :)

Things aren't always sunshine and roses around here...believe it or not. This post is honest...that you can believe. This first Monday of school was difficult. I keep reminding myself that this too shall pass, but as we were all in tears today it was a little hard to believe. Today I had to remind myself why I chose to homeschool. Amidst the battle that was today there was a time (or two or three) that I honestly couldn't think of one reason that supported what I was trying to do. I don't know how we all recovered, but we did. Actually, I do know how we recovered. Sometimes a phone call to Tom at work is all it takes. We all ended up apologizing and the phrase, "let's just start today over" was heard from everyone's lips multiple times. I think we all needed to say it more than once to believe that something like that was possible. Isn't that how it is with God? He lets us start our days over. He lets us wipe our slates clean. When things are ugly he g...

I fell a week behind on Project Life but I'm burning the midnight oil catching up (on all things...not just picture taking). All things school related begin this week and I'll just be trying to keep a float as we transition into our new schedule. The boys, who have run wild all Summer doing as they please, are in for a bit of a surprise this week. I hope they love all the things we'll be learning at home and elsewhere. I have lots of meaningful posts swimming in my head that I want to put here to preserve memories. Be patient with me....I'll get to it. Week 35: Close- Aiden and his cousins, Maddy and Teagan, are close. They ran wild every weekend together at the cabin. I know someday they'll grow up and their relationship will change somewhat, but I know they'll hold these memories of their childhood spent together in their hearts. Close for Sage means up close and personal with one of the many toads that he catches and keeps for a pet (aka: victim) up a...

Week 36: Time Flies We went to one of my favorite places today...Apple Jacks Orchard! It is a little early in the season but the Zestars! were ripe and we wanted to go with Tom's parents who are here for the week. Plus, if you go early you can go more than once. :) Tom and I have been going to this orchard every year since before we had kids. I have a picture of the boys in front of this sign for each year of their life including when they were in the womb. So, this place is pretty special to me. I'm always amazed at how time flies when I look back at all the pictures I have of them and I see how much they've grown in just a year's time. Plus, how is it possible that Summer is coming to an end and it's apple time again?? Sept 2014 Sept 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 Sept 2013 Sept 2014 Sept 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

This is how we started out our First Day of School. Who could possibly leave the cabin when the lake looks like glass? The lake was calling our name this morning and Sage talked Grandpa into taking us on one last speed boat ride of the Summer. I've decided that this will be our tradition....one last speed boat ride before we start school. Eventually we did go home and complete our first day of school. It'll be a good year, but seriously, who wants to Summer to end? Not me. I'm thankful that Homeschooling allows for mornings like these.