Wordless Wednesday - Pool Prep, Little Brother Style

TTT: An 8 yr old's text

We had a field trip last week and I didn't have a pocket for my cell.... I know not a good idea for momma not have a cell pocket:/ My trustworthy first-born agreed to help me out... she definitely enjoyed the privilege:)

We had a laugh though when Brian came home from work. More concerned than usual, he asked how my day had gone. When I quickly said that it had been a good day he looked less worried. I asked about his releif.

He relayed to me that he had received a text stating "Chris is driveing me crazy!" earlier in the day. And how he had worried all day that Chris and I were have an off-day.

LOL!!! Too funny that my 8 yr old is texting secret messages to her Daddy:)
We made a plan for her to use an "A" at the end of her texts from now on so we don't worry Daddy all day:) LOL!!

It's your turn:)

Breakfast with Brother

The boys are in the other room eating breakfast together. The last few mornings they have woken up about the same time. Wrestled in their room for a bit and then come downstairs together. It's precious.

Nate grabs his little blue bowl. Chris gets an adult glass bowl and says to Nate,"You can't have this kind of bowl because you are too little!"

Nate does his protest fuss.

Chris rephrases his first statement, "Nate you can use your blue bowl since you are just learning how to eat cereal. [momma chuckling] But Nate when you get big like me, you can eat cereal with a big bowl like me. What do you think about that?"

Nate responds, "Ok-ta!"

Minutes later they are smacking down on their cereal together until Nate tips his over spilling some milk onto the table. Very normal around here :/

As Chris finishes up his cereal, leaving nothing in the bowl, he shows Nate. "This is how a big boy finishes his cereal, Nate!"

It's sweet to me to see the boys beginning to connect "as brothers" and Chris showing Nate how to be a "big boy"! I am thankful because the girls have a growing sister relationship (making "clubs" together, sharing clothes) and now I get to see the boys starting to connect too:)

Just something funny I heard on the radio this week that applies to the boys' cereal choice. The radio personality said that a bowl full of Lucky Charms where all the charms have been picked out is a bowl full of UnLucky Charms.

LOL!! Couldn't help remembering it as I saw the box sitting in front of the boys;)


It's your turn!! Just leave a comment or link up:)

Tiny Talk

I was sitting with Nate as he was trying to fall asleep (our normal routine... still!!) and he heard a sound. He was insisted about what he heard...

"Mow? Daddy Mow?"

It took me a little while to figure out what he was hearing.

Chris snoring;) LOL!! I had never heard Chris snore before.... it's now documented:) And it sounds like Daddy's mower... at least to Nate!!

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A repeat for FB friends, but too funny NOT to share!

"MOM!!! You would be soo proud of Jack. He just pooped in your bathroom!! He knows where to go:)"

Grrrr!! LOL!! Not like I walked him almost 30 minutes to produce that poop OUTSIDE!! Smart 'ole Jack!!!

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 Chris has been asking us to challenge him by "giving him 100 problems"... basically it's any number added to 100. 

So we'll begin verbally asking him problems like "100 + 10"  and he'll quickly shout out "110!" or "100 + 72" ... "172!"

Well after the tenth problem he told me, "I think I'm ready for high school!!" 

It's your turn!! Just leave a comment or link up:)

Nate Saying Lydia

It's soo cute to hear the younger kids as they begin to say their siblings' names.

We all laugh when we remember Anna (18+ months) calling Christopher "Dee":) Nate also has a funny name for Chris, he calls him "Tiss". It's funny because it's very hard to decipher whether Nate is saying Chris or kiss:)

But he just started to say another sibling. And I think it's the hardest of all the names:) But he says it;)

Link up what your kids are saying!! Record and remember these sweet memories;)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

During "play school" I heard Anna assigning grades on the others' assignments.

One student received a "Z-" !

Yikes! A tough teacher! :)

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The children love it when Brian gives them a piggy back to bed;)

Chris tried to talk him into it one night (it usually doesn't take much)!

He said,"Carry me to bed Daddy, you need the exercise!"

LOL.. from the mouths of babes!

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Chris had a minor accident last week, slamming his foot down on a pointy little toy. Since it was minor I gave him a few minutes to "recover" and then we went into his room to measure it for a math activity.

Nate was still concerned about his brother, though. He repeated over and over, "Boo-boo, ice? Boo-boo, ice?"

Finally he grabbed Anna's hand and they went into the kitchen to get what Nate thought Chris needed.

Loved his compassion for his brother!

Popsicle Weather in Winter & Wandering Kitty

The weather has been amazing the last few days... just beautiful!

We've been outside in shorts and T-shirts and Popsicles;) It's technically still Winter and we're eating Popsicle;) Right now we'll take it, but I'm a little concerned that might mean a HOT summer... yikes the 80 degree weather here today seemed warm enough:)

And having all the kids eating Popsicles together has to mean...  Popsicle Pictures!!

{pretty}

This was my favorite of the bunch.

{happy}

This is what happens when I say "Look at me and smile!!"

{funny}

Blue Teeth


Green Teeth

{real}

Just so you know my kids are real! Just minutes after the cute, loving together pictures...

Nate is off the bench looking for the kitten, Anna is checking out where her Popsicle has dripped and Lydia & Chris.... what do you say about Lydia & Chris? I'm not sure what Chris did, but the picture captures the "after" Lydia hit him in the back and his reaction.

Siblings! :/

If you have been keeping us with us the last few weeks you would have already met Coller and Daisy, our new pet stray kittens. We actually had been "loving" on them for months now...

but they wandered into our yard and needed a home;) These kittens have been great for our kids! They have loved having them and taken such great care of them.... being sure they have clean, fresh water and plenty of food. Lots of pets and snuggles.

But earlier this week, Coller wandered off. She's been more of the wandering of the two kittens. But none of our neighbors have seen her since SUnday evening :(

I even called Animal Control to see if they had picked her up this week :/

It's definitely "real" that stray cats wander...

and that I have a little girl constantly at the window checking to see if her kitty has made it home, yet!

I'm left with the memory of her seeing Coller this weekend and running outside to pet her kitty. The kitten saw her from across the yard and just ran to her:) It was precious and I WISH I had it as a video;)

For now Daisy is getting all the attention... and is loving most of  it;)

Updated! This morning as Lydia and I were feeding Daisy we called out for Coller. We still had hope!


Strangely enough we heard a "meow". It sounded close to us but we didn't see the kitten making the noise. It was then we thought that maybe she had gotten stuck in the loft of the back storage shed. We had been in the shed this weekend getting out the Gator.


So Momma on a ladder at 8:15am "saving" the curious little kitty that in fact DID get stuck in the loft of the storage shed.... that is real... and thankfully there are NO pictures;)


Our stray (and curious) kitty is back after being MIA for almost 3 days and we have a little girl who is ecstatic to have her kitty back in her arms;)

The whole incident reminded me of Ann's family and their little wandering goat! A sweet story!

Participating in...

Submitting the 1st picture to
 Shoot.Edit.Submit., Photo Friday, Give Me Your Best Shot, and Fabulous Friday!

Tiny Talk Tuesday : Yesss, the real Nate & Siblings

I think I mentioned on Nate's last "update" that he has been saying "yes" and "no" very clearly! Honestly, it's been very nice to be able to ask him something and have him communicate back versus just guessing at what he wants all the time!

Example:

Nate is fussing at the table and we're not sure what he wants... it happens a lot, probably because he's the first one at the table to eat and also has the smallest plate;)

Me: Nate do you want more chicken?
Nate: No.
Me: Do you want more broccoli?
Nate: Yesss.

But the conversations are also sweet and funny:)

One morning Nate woke in our bed (another night of wandering into our room)and I was snuggling him as he woke up.

I asked him, "Did you come into my bed last night?"
Nate: Yessss.

Me: Why did you come into my bed?
Nate: Da-da.

Me: You came into my bed to snuggle with Da-da?
Nate: [cheesy grin] Yessss.

I quickly relayed the story to Brian; it made the foot in the back worth it, right;)

And I have to get a video of the "yesss"... he sticks that little tongue in his paci-front teeth... just adorable!

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The older kids have been looking through older blog pictures recently... a favorite past time around here;)

This week they found a picture of Nate... not so long ago:(

Lydia(5yrs): Hey, look, here is a picture of Nate with long hair.
Chris(6 yrs): Awww, he looks soo different with long hair.
Lydia: I miss his long hair.
Chris: Yeah, I want the real Nate back. The Nate with long hair!

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Lydia has a new phrase....

One afternoon the kids were giggling like crazy around the lunch table!! The silly giggles that just keep coming...  the " no matter what the others say, everything is absolutely hilarious" giggles!

Lydia comes stumbling into the kitchen and says, "You should hear us in there, we are acting like sisters and brothers!"

LOL... adorable and sweet! And I'm glad they have the opportunity to have plenty of giggle time together around the lunch table as sisters and brothers;)

A Sister's Help

Chris is not a fan of his daily math fact sheets... so far there is little that will motivate his to do them quickly:/

Add a sister, who will try to shout out the answer BEFORE he writes it...

Chris stays focused...

and the fact sheet is completed with giggles and smiles:)

Not the way to do it everyday... but fine for late Friday morning after a productive week:)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

After finishing a reading lesson with Chris (6 yrs old) last week...

Chris: Mom! I read that in a zip! I've never done that before!

Yay:) So thankful he's catching onto reading... now if he'd be interested in reading books on his own instead of only looking at the pictures:) In time.... I know;)

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In the van, driving home after a quick grocery shop with two very hyper kids and they are still at it!!

I holler back to them," You all need to stop before one of you gets hurt!"

Lydia (5 yrs) responds back, "I know we're both going to get hurt because we are both hitting each other!"

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Sunday morning we went on a road trip to visit my dad. In the car I wanted to read the Bible to the kids for a bit. I started in John which is what I was working through last week for my class. Funny enough though I had forgotten that the first chapter or two contained the story of Nathanael (our little Nate's namesake).

So we had a discussion about the kids names... what they mean and who the characters were in the Bible.

Sometime in the conversation it all started to make sense to Chris:) He says, "So I am Christ and Nate has to follow me!"

And there is humility;) LOL!!

Obviously we reminded him that his name means "Christ bearer" and that we were praying for him to be a Christ follower as he grew into a young man!!

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And now it's your turn:

The button code should be working this week!! Thanks for your patience:)

Moments to Remember : Hanging with the Big Sisters;)

Soo thankful for the moments that Little Nate can hang out with his Big Sisters...

reading books or

building a hide-out in the living room;)

A quote with much meaning to me this week:

"You only have one chance to be with your own children. 
After they have grown you can do what you want."  

  from Things We Wished We'd Known by Bill & Diana Warring

I just needed to hear these wise words. As I want to try to get involved with "more". It's nice to get that swift "kick in the tail" that shows me where my priorities should be.

Moments to Remember

Just a quick move around activity working on "left" and "right",

turns into a group activity...

and then a sweet, sweet moment:)

LOL!! Can't you hear the giggles?

Such a great Moment to Remember during those momentary tough moments... yes, we have those, too!

Linking up to Homeschool Creations this week;)

Cuddle Time With Nate

Definitely one of the best perks of homeschooling is the moments that the children get to be with each other!! It breaks my heart to think that if I had my older kids in school this year that Nate would be by himself all day...

Instead we find plenty of these moments during the day:)

Homeschooling Mornings Just Got Busier

Nate started escaping from his crib and resisting morning naps this week;)

Looks like there is another kid to school (or at least keep busy).....

Nate spooning beans while Anna works on the couch behind him

Giraffe #4

I"m not big about Halloween costumes. The kids and I usually talk about what they want to be and we find stuff to "make it work". And unfortunately this year I never got a decent shot of all of them dressed up :(

This was as close as I got....blurry, fussy babe wrapped in his blanket by his older brother trying to comfort him... not sure it's working, but Chris tried;)

The girls wanted to be cowgirls (yes, Lydia "dressed up"!!) probably because of our visit to the Rodeo the week before last. We were very fortunate on Tuesday before Halloween to find some cowgirl boots Anna adores at Once Upon a Child... oh, and her top, too!!

Chris wanted to be a soccer player.... LOL!! So he put on his soccer uniform... ta-da! A costume;)

Nate had his chance to wear the giraffe outfit this Halloween....

Giraffe #4 enjoying a pack of stolen Smarties;)

Cowgirl Lydia walking Nate to a fall festival.

it's been a bit of a "tradition" for the kids to all have worn it for their 1st Halloween costume.

This is reposted from Oct 2008:)

The costume I hoped Lydia would wear this year was a giraffe costume... Grammie picked the costume up on a clearance rack only weeks after telling her I was pregnant with Anna (our 1st born). She figured a little boy or girl could wear the costume:)


We've gotten our use out of the costume!! 
Anna has worn it once, Christopher was worn it twice and ....


now I'm sticking it on my third kiddo, and she was NOT happy about it!!

Lydia did warm up to it a little bit... although it looked a little too small for her....so who knows if we'll actually leave the house with it on her this year:)

Here's Christopher wearing the giraffe in 2006! He was just a crawler then... soo cute!!

And Anna downtown trick-or-treating in 2005!!

So it's sweet that Nate got to wear it! And easy for this Momma, who had some pretty simple costumes this year!!! But I have to admit that I'm really digging Sarah's Lego costume... I think we'll have plenty of boxes next year... LOL!! We could make a Lego family:) LOL!!

Sharing our cool pumpkins again for You Capture this week;)

The 8th pic (or 1st pumpkin pic) is for little somethings;)

More Wordless Wednesday at

NapTime MomTog,

5 Minutes for Mom,

Go Graham Go,

To Be Thode,
Mama to 4 Blessings, 

and any other linkys I find !!!

Don't Take Candy from the Baby!!

Whoever said ,"It's simple just like taking candy from a baby"



hasn't taken candy from Nate!!!



It's not easy....


or pretty


or easy on the ears!

This was taken after Lydia stole a piece from "his" bag ... 

just so you don't think that I pinched him for the pic..LOL!!

Desiring to Parent Joyfully

There are many days when the "joy" of being a parent slips away.... extra tasks on my "to do" list, an attitude that needs correction, laundry mounting, dinner needing fixing, another referee-ing moment, the roller coaster of house hunting weighing me down.

Its those times that the mother I want to be is replaced with a hurried, stressed out mom... and then that leads to snappy words, harsh tones, pushing away of "distractions", too many kiddos in "time out" and a focus on what needs to be done in the moment.

Earlier this week we enjoyed some gorgeous (and dare I say "warm") weather. With storms on the forecast for later in the week, we spent the better part of the afternoon between lunch and rest time OUTSIDE. It was nice NOT to have an agenda.... just sit back and watch:)

Enjoy the moments that I usually hurry along or miss while I'm in the kitchen! Like ...

inspecting the treasures found,  

not blow them away worrying about germs

{pretty}

trying to capture the bubbles flowing from the wand,  

not just worry if the solution gets spilled in the process

{funny}

giggling how a brother can torment a sister with BUBBLES!!, 

letting the squeals happen

{real}

and seeing a radiant smile... true joy, 

behind a dirty little face:)

{happy}

I LOVE the 10 Points of Joyful Parenting by Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience.... read it!! You'll be glad you did:)

When we settle into a new house, a new routine, this printable will be on my Mommy encouragement wall...

yes I need a WALL to encourage me to be the mom that I desperate want to be in the midst of any crazy, attitude-filled, busy, normal day!! I have the choice to live joyfully in all the moments... when I am willing to be stretched... to serve endlessly with a grateful heart overflowing with love and compassion!!

The last picture is for here...







and here;)