It's a New Post! (Part One)

There are so many things going on in our lives right now that I need to get caught up so I can start blogging about it all. I'm going to sift through all of my pictures from November and post a big assortment of things that have been going on. They will be in no particular order, and there will be a Part Two.

I had put a lot of work into a post many months ago, then I didn't save it on my computer; that is the main reason for my absence. When that happened, it was frustrating enough that I didn't have the heart to redo it. I just wasn't interested in blogging for awhile. However, the kids (led mostly by the interest of my 8 year old) have been SOAKING up our scrapbooks and photo albums lately. Looking through them has been their FAVORITE activity. They love the ones I have written bits of information on - which affirms to me that my efforts in recording our family history are worth it to them. So back to blogging!

Homeschooling

just another day at work

and another

We joined some homeschooling friends for a field trip to watch City Mouse, Country Mouse, Christmas House at the Arkansas Arts Center in December. It was followed by the best tour of an art museum I've ever had. I loved walking around with our museum volunteer and thought she did such a a great job engaging the students and exploring the works of art.

Upward Basketball

A new addition to our year was Upward Basketball in Jauary. It was a lot of fun to watch Dash play, and I was proud of how well he did. We were really excited when he scored the first goal of the season during the first game. The Upward program was very impressive to us, as well. Sis is super excited about cheerleading next year.

A New Year

 Our New Year's Eve celebration included Auld Lang Syne, a dance party, and...

4 sparkling juices to toast plus one soymilk (Tornado isn't a fan of carbonation.). 

AWANA

We love our little AWANA program. It's one of the favorite things in our lives. These two really shine in this group, and they've gained a lot with building relationships and wisdom in memorizing scripture.

This pic was taken after they both took home awards at the AWANA Grand Prix. His car won first place in his division for Speed and then went on to win Grand Champion over all of the divisions. Keep in mind that this car started out as a rectangular chunk of wood. The pastor's car was in 2nd place during the final race to find the overall winner. After the race, he came up to Dash and asked to see his car. He turned it over and over, examining it, perhaps to find out the secret to a winning car, ha!

Sis's purple "flowerdy" beauty won First Place for Design. I was happy that they were successful; we had told them we were just doing it for fun and not to expect anything as we did not. 

Baby's Life

This picture was taken when he was about 8 or 9 months old when he first started pulling up. After he graduated from the Bumbo seat, I was able to put him in the laundry basket for a week or so. He then figured out he could rock it over. So I gained another few days putting the basket in the bathtub. That didn't last last, either, as he soon popped up like this. And it's been a crazy life here ever since.

big boy bath

another shot of him (last fall) learning to pull up and get into things 

One day he crawled into this empty puzzle box and proceeded to clap his hands.

He does love to eat.

This is one of his favorite activities. The kids started out putting him in it whenever he was sturdy enough to go for rides without my supervision. NOW, he just gets into it on his own and grunts his signature grunt of communication, "UH-UH!" to let someone know he is ready for a ride.

Homegrown Kids Co-op

Baby did not know if he was amused or not when the kids were using his head during...

their experiments with static electricity.

The boys made earthworm homes with layers of soil and sand. We had some earthworms living with us for a few days before they set them free in our yard.

Home and Family Life

Another puzzle completed by Tornado (with a little help from all of us). 

Two pieces missing at the end. 

It never fails.

One of my worst moments of the past few months was listening to Sissy's screams followed by Ryan's calls for help. I flew down the stairs with my heart racing to see a lot of blood, tears, and panic. We took her to the ER for stitches. She did not move a muscle when the doctor was sewing her up. That's one of her best qualities. She is strong and compliant when she needs to be. I'm always so proud of her whenever we are in important situations. I know that she will be on her best behavior. And even though I had a superficial concern she was going to have a Frankenstein-like scar on her forehead, it has actually already faded to where it is hardly noticeable.

Somehow along the way, a new family tradition started. We have really gotten into playing games as a family. Our favorite game is Outburst Jr. The tradition is that the losing team has to tuck their shirts into their pants, get ice down the backs of their shirt.

Then, they have to run all the way around the house with the ice in their shirts/pants. This went on all winter.

At some point the past few months, Dash started this activity of zipping himself up in a sleeping bag, then inching around the house like a worm. 

He even went down the entire staircase like this a couple of times. Sometimes I don't ask questions.

This was a nice late winter day in Arkansas. We loaded up with a picnic for the park.

Baby hasn't had many visits to the park, so this might have been his first time down the slide? It was definitely his first time as a "big boy."

The kids were actually pretty impressed with my swinging expertise. I taught them to swing like this. And to twist their swing around, winding it up then letting go. And also to jump out of the swing while in the air. Clearly, they have been missing out. I did NOT teach them to push someone then run forward underneath, like I used to do.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the past few months. Sis and Baby fell asleep like this.