Magic Moments

It's summer vacation at our house and no one is happier than I am. Last week was an adjustment as the kids had to get used to a new routine and having more time on their hands to entertain themselves. Last week they fought a lot and it made me think about sending them to camp. But this week is better. This week the routines feel more normal and everyone has breathed a breath of fresh air. FRESH AIR. The kind of air you breath when your daily to do list isn't 100 things. Fresh air is what you breath in when the tension is gone and you have time to think about YOURSELF. I LOVE homeschooling. Right now it's my life calling and I'm already planning next year. But, like I've said a million times, homeschooling+Cade  was hard. So summer feels extra sweet this year. So far this summer Tom and I have been going to the gym. I don't love working out but I have to, so it is nice to drop the kids off at childcare and have 1 hour where no one needs me. Aiden says Cade sits o...

Sage graduated from Kindergarten last Friday night. I don't even know what to say about Sage finishing Kindergarten. On one hand, this year has flown by because of the chaos of having three littles at home. On the other hand this year has dragged on and on because of the chaos of having three littles at home. I think it's possible that I learned more than Sage this year. It's been a year where I've had to let go of ideals and expectations as I've just tried to get the bare minimum done mostly because homeschooling with Cade was just the most difficult thing I've ever done. Add the chaos of Cade and trying to teach the other two with the fact this was our first year in West Virginia and just know that I'm kind of burnt out and overwhelmed and if I didn't know homeschooling could and would get better I'd probably be going back to work and shipping my kids off to the Catholic School. But, I know come September Cade will be older, I'll have a new pla...

The boys love it when summer time comes because that means I buy popsicles. And soon I'm going to try to make my own because even the "healthy" popsicles in the store aren't that healthy and the popsicles could really have a budget category all their own. But, they are YUMMY in the Summer and so I let Cade try one for the first time. He and I both liked the strawberry yogurt bars....as you can tell from the pictures. m ,

We celebrated Aiden's 9th birthday last weekend and he was lucky enough to have Pappy and Marme here to celebrate. It was a simple birthday celebration this year with dinner at Texas Road House, Cherry Pie at home, and presents. Mostly I just can't believe this boy is nine. I always tell Aiden there is a reason he is our first born. He is a leader and he watches over his brothers and we ALL depend on him for so much. He's my helper when Tom is gone and he's at an age where he is honestly and truly helpful and dependable. He's forgiving because goodness knows Tom and I make mistakes and are sometimes short on patience. Aiden has completed an entire year of Chess instruction and he's getting better all the time. He's always looking for a strategy in the game and that skill shows in soccer as well. For the first time we're letting him try football. He's only getting to play because it's flag football and he really doesn't have anyone else like n...

Sometimes I feel bad for Cade. Cade's baby years are certainly different than when Aiden was a baby. I used to spend hours each day on the floor with Aiden playing with him and Sage too. With three kids and homeschooling I don't have hours on the floor with Cade each day. At times he has to play by himself. I have to remind myself to sit down with him to make sure he is learning the things he should know. I feel guilty about all these things. But at the same time, Cade has two older brothers who adore him and spend quite a bit of time playing with him each day. Cade's baby years are different than Aiden's, there is really no way they could be the same. However, I've decided that different doesn't mean bad. Cade is loved and adored. He's growing up with siblings and he knows sooo much because of his older brothers.  He's a smart little baby, he makes sure he isn't left out of anything and he is so adorable. Although maybe I wish I had hours on the flo...

Last night we laid out our Easter baskets. We talked about our sins, wrote them down on heavy rocks, put them in our baskets and covered them with a red cloth. We talked about how sins make our hearts heavy and ugly when we carry them around and our need for forgiveness. We went to bed KNOWING when we woke we'd celebrate a risen Savior, but the disciples didn't know that yet at this time 2000 years ago. So, the bunny came. He left a messy trail of foot prints and Jelly Beans. He took away the rocks representing our sin and put them in the "Jesus Basket." Then he filled the basket with good things! The Bunny wants us to know Jesus takes away our sins and fills our life with good things. They funny part of this story is that at two o'clock this morning the boys were awake and had realized the bunny had come. They were beside themselves because the bunny had visited their room leaving tracks and jelly beans even in their bed. So, at 2 AM I was literally arguing wit...

This week has been busy, but filled with good things. I always try to keep our other commitments to a minimum during Holy Week so we're free to soak in this special time and give time to reflecting on the events of this historic week. We've done some school, we've gone to baseball practice and soccer practice and we've gone swimming and we had co-op. The boys participated in a egg drop challenge at co-op this week. They had to design something to prevent an egg from cracking when dropped from the balcony onto the gym floor. The boys watched a few youtube videos for inspiration and then got to work designing their egg contraption. They were pretty happy when their egg made it safely to the floor without cracking. Last night we had our sedar dinner/Passover feast. I'll be honest, this dinner involves quite a bit of work. We strayed from a more traditional feast menu because I was gone at co-op all day and wasn't home to roast any meat and had to make everything ...