Magic Moments

Tom just sent this video. I think they're having fun. :) 31354.mp4 from Jenny on Vimeo .

I'm thankful that homeschooling allows us to stay home in the dead of winter. And when the weeks get long and we need a change of pace, homeschooling affords us a day to take a break, see a play, and grab some ice cream at Sebastian Joe's on the way home. We saw "Bear Snores On" at Stages Theater today. Sage loved it. Both boys fell in love with salted caramel ice cream Cade slept through the play and didn't have ice cream but he was happy to be along for the ride.

For Christmas my parents bought the boys a membership to the Christian Resource Library. If you only knew how hard it is to keep Aiden stocked with books you'd know this gift was invaluable! He devours books! If I don't get to the library in time I end up buying several a week on the kindle. And thus "books" has become a category all it's own in our budget....which I'd prefer not since we go through them so, so fast. Plus, it's become challenging to find books that meet Aiden's reading level, interest, and are age appropriate. Anyway, now we have a whole new place to explore and thankfully it's well stocked with Juvenile Fiction to keep Aiden entertained for awhile. Sage was really excited too because they have lots of story books, a whole section of preschool learning about God books, tons of easy readers, and lots of books on CD and movies too. We'll be there often! Aiden (and Sage) had their friend Henry over to play today. Fun was ha...

I had Cade's 3 month pictures taken to replicate what I did with Aiden and Sage. Although the photographer didn't quite match the other two photos exactly, they are pretty close and they are certainly adorable. Cade used the session to show off his smiles, that's for sure! I still don't really know who Cade looks like...I think he's a mix of both sides of his family. Either way he's ours and we love him so very much! Aiden Thomas Sage Jorgen Cade Luther

I always expect a deep freeze come January. This year I was silly enough to think that with El Nino maybe it wouldn't happen. Up until now the winter had been mild and that was totally fine by me. But alas, the mornings have been -25 with wind chill and we haven't left the house. It's really ok not leaving the house with a baby so I don't mind it, however the older two are going stir crazy. When it's this cold they can't even go outside. The weather report said it well when it said, "We are Minnesotans. We know the drill." The drill when it's this cold is to just snuggle in and make it through. I decided that winter is also known as "couch season" because honestly January brings with it a tiredness that is felt by us all. Even though I have a to do list a mile long each day I really just want to lay on the couch. No amount of Vitamin D seems to be working. Now, don't get me wrong, I have actually spent very little time sitting on my c...

I was asleep when the year turned 2016 which was in part thanks to the yummy lemon drops Tom made. We celebrated New Year's Day in style by fonduing with Tom's family. I'll be honest, fondue isn't  my favorite and I didn't eat much but it's a long standing tradition and I think Tom was at the table for at least 2 hours...a decision he regretted slightly when his fondue made a reappearance at 3 AM😷. Mostly it was a wondeful time with family and a new experience for Aiden,  Teagan, and Maddie who fondued for the first time. Sage had mac and cheese and Aiden ate his weight in steak.😊 Our church has a fabulous sleďding hill and so right after church and lunch that's where Tom and the boys went. I stayed home with the littlest which was fine because I'm soaking in all of my last baby. I didn't think I'd be sad to have my baby grow up since I have found out that older kids are easier and tons of fun. But the truth is I do get sad that Cade is gro...