Zoo

Tuesday was just a simply beautiful day to spend at the zoo. We have been trying to make a trip there for the last month, but something has always stopped us. Well, not this time. For once, the kids were really in the mood to learn about the animals instead of haphazardly passing by and rushing to the next one. We actually read most of the signs and maybe learned a thing or two! Caleb was wide eyed and took it all in with such excitement. He is fascinated by animals. Ever since we visited Arkansas back in September where there are plenty of cows, he has mooed at every animal he sees. That is exactly what he did at the zoo. So stinking cute! Such a delight to see my children truly enjoy a day at the zoo.

World Vision

We are taking a break this week from our regular home school material to focus on Thanksgiving. We have learned about the origins of Thanksgiving, we have talked about what we have to be thankful for.... you know, all the normal topics this time of year. On Monday as we talked about how God has blessed us with certain things, we began discussing how God would have us help others.

As I discussed how God would have us give to others, I explained how some people live in underdeveloped countries. We talked about all the conveniences we take for granted that other countries do not have at all. As we discussed these things, we began looking through the World Vision catalog. Most of you that read this blog probably get the World Vision Gift Catalog this time of year. We have in the past bought things like "feed a baby for a day" or "buy Bibles for a family" in honor of family members. I read each description for each item needed and encouraged the kids to pick one. The compassion and heart break they felt as they listened to what these people need was very moving. They wanted to buy everything. In the end we decided to pick four things; mosquito nets, medicine, clothes and shoes, and a rabbit. (the rabbit was Julia's pick!) We need to raise a little over $100.


We then talked about ways to raise money for the "jar". We talked about having a garage sale, selling cookies and cocoa, the kids doing extra chores and maybe even offering their help to our neighbors for donations. As we talked, Isaac got quiet and said "I'll be right back". He came back with a hand full of dollar bills and coins. He had cleaned out his piggy bank as a purely selfless act. Then Julia followed his example and did the same. Before we knew it we were already up to $9. We do have a long way to go, but it is a start. God will provide.

Isaac made me giggle a bit when in the middle of our discussion he hit the table with his hand and sternly said, "That's it. I don't want to see any presents under our Christmas tree this year" Julia looked at him like, "Whaaaaaat!" Then she said "Um, I do want a present" It was so funny!

What happened that day was one of those moments I will cherish forever. God was working in the hearts of my children. No doubt about it. May He get ALL the Glory!

Chosen Marathon for Adoption

On October 23rd, I did something I never thought I would do. I ran a Half-Marathon which is 13.1 miles. I have never been a runner. Despised it in high school when we were forced to run track and cross country. I even dropped out of a jogging class in college because it was too early.... 7a.m. HA! Seeing that sleeping in to 7:00 is a luxury now, I laugh at myself.

After Caleb was born, I got a wild hair and a crazy idea to train for a half-marathon. (see my Goals post here) Partly for the exercise and partly to discipline myself to set a goal and follow through without quitting. I knew training for this would be mostly a mental battle for me. I tend to give up on myself and quit long before I should.

Going from postpartum to half-marathon training, kind of threw my body into shock. It was slow going for months until I built up my stamina. I started running and training last March and it wasn't until August that I finally crossed that point where I went from absolutely dreading a run to craving a run. I can honestly say that I now enjoy running. Never thought I would be saying that!

I ran in the Chosen Marathon for Adoption on October 23rd in New Braunfels. I wanted Gabe and the kids to be at the finish line when I came in. In previous long runs, I had run 10.5 miles in 2.5 hours. So I figured it would take me at least 3 hours to finish the half. So I told Gabe to be there at 9:30 (2.5 hours from my start) I came across the finish line at 2 hours 24 minutes! I was so shocked and excited about my time but sad that Gabe and the kids missed it. They drove up about 10 minutes later. Oh well!

We took some pictures when we got back home. Isaac made me a sign with a 3x5 card and a Popsicle stick. He is such a sweet and thoughtful boy!




In a strange, grueling kind of way it was fun running the half-marathon and I will do it again. Anyone want to join me next year?

Pumpkin Patches and Fall Festivals

The kids and I took a short little trip over to Bracken Methodist Pumpkin Patch in early October. Nothing hugely exciting, just some pumpkin pictures and a hay ride. There happened to be a school group there that day so we couldn't do much else. I only got a few good pictures. Caleb was in no mood to sit still (when is he ever) This was his first experience with that many pumpkins and he was in awe. He just walked around pointing at everything.




The last weekend in October we headed out to Love Creek Orchards. This was our 6th trip there. We started going when Isaac was 1 1/2 years old. It was a beautiful day and since it was the last day they were open, the crowds were small. Sadly, Julia was fighting through mono at the time. She did well but got pretty fatigued. We ended up putting her in the stroller and carrying Caleb so Julia could rest. Overall our trip to Love Creek was delightful as always.

Julia was exhausted

All tuckered out from a full day of fun. He fell asleep before we even left the parking lot.

After a full day at Love Creek, we got the kids dressed in their costumes and headed to the Fall Festival at our church. By this point, Julia was not feeling well at all. She was extremely exhausted but insisted she wanted to go. So we did but didn't stay long. Here are Isaac and Julia in their costumes.

Astronaut

Fairy

The next day we continued the fall fun with pumpkin carving and making a pumpkin pie from scratch.






Now we are ready for Thanksgiving!!!

Gabe's Belated Birthday

We were not able to celebrate Gabe's birthday on his actual birthday, so we had belated festivities for him instead. In early October, the kids and I picked a Friday and spent the day baking and decorating. Gabe had no idea we were doing anything for him that day. I let the kids loose with the decorations and they made it their own. They had streamers and balloons stuck to everything.


They even iced and decorated the cake. And if you look close enough you will see that they did a little taste testing as well!

When Gabe got home from work he was genuinely surprised. I let the kids pick out a gift to buy for him and they insisted on getting him a Lego set. I had to remind them that they needed to think about what Papa would like, not them. After listening to their very convincing argument that Papa does in fact really enjoy Legos, I caved. Because truth be known, he does enjoy them as much if not more than the kids. I had been sneaking around for months planning my gift for Gabe. I talked to several of his friends and invited them to join Gabe for a camping trip in Big Bend.... just the guys. So I gave Gabe some cash to start the planning. They should be going sometime next Spring.




We planned to go out for dinner but after finding out the wait times we decided to splurge on some steaks to grill at home instead. YUM!

Happy Belated 38th Birthday My Love!

The Tooth Fairy

Apparently the Tooth Fairy's rates have gone up and nobody told me!

Last year, Isaac lost his first two teeth. We are not big into celebrating tooth fairies and Easter bunnies and all things like that. So when we sneakily slipped the money (I think it was 50 cents or something) under his pillow in exchange for his teeth Isaac was not fooled. He knew it was us, but we jokingly played along.

A few weeks back, one of Isaac's friends came up to us at REACH telling about loosing a tooth and getting $2 from the Tooth Fairy. I was standing behind Isaac grimacing as he looked back at me and said, "Hey wait a minute, I only got a few quarters"

My response...... "Boy you totally got jipped. You need to get a new tooth fairy"

He smiled and said, "Yeah, my tooth fairy needs to get a new job!"

Catch Up

It has been almost two months since I have posted anything. I am coming clean..... I am a SLACKER! I don't know what it is, but I have definitely been in a blog slump lately. This is the place where I record all those funny little things my kids say and memories we make, so I need to get back at it or I will forget everything. So here we go........

HOMESCHOOL:


We started school this year in August with a new curriculum and new attitudes. Last year was a tough school year, so we needed to tweak a few things. So far, it has gone GREAT! We are using My Father's World, Explode the Code, Singapore Math, Handwriting without Tears(Julia), and various other things. The science in MFW is kind of puny so we look to add possibly an Apologia book next semester.

Isaac is working on First/Second grade material. His reading skills have vastly improved in the last 6 months or so. He has always been a good reader, but would only read for "school", not on his own for enjoyment. Lately he has been reading everything. My goal with him this year is to get him to read his first chapter book. He is about halfway through one right now. For math, we switched from Math U See to Singapore. After a year of struggles and battles over math, Isaac has finally regained his confidence in math and actually enjoys it (most of the time!) Overall, Isaac is rocking along this year and I am so proud of him.


Julia is working on Kindergarten grade material. She is the the type of student who asks, or rather begs for more school work to do. Her first pick is always math. She is doing the Singapore Kinder math book and loves it. She is also a wonderful reader and is over half way through the "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" book. She picks up new concepts fairly easily and seems to be enjoying her school year so far.


Our biggest challenge with home school right now is what to do with our lil' monkey. Caleb is a very curious little boy and is into everything. Soon he will drop his morning nap, which is when we do school. That will add a lot of "life" to our school day. Thankfully, Isaac and Julia do well with the interruptions.

RANDOM PICS FROM AUGUST:

Bonding with Papa

Caleb has been saying my name for months. In fact, it was his first official word!!! But I can not take all the glory for that. He also calls Gabe "Mama". It is so funny! He absolutely refuses to say Papa. He even learned to say our dog's name. He says "Oyider" or "Oyyie" pronouncing the "L" as "Y". He can say his own versions of all done, hi there, hello, and night night. He will even say puppy, but he absolutely will not say Papa. Silly little boy!

Climbing the Crepe Myrtles

Miss Photogenic

My Boys

This is what Caleb does.... he climbs! He will climb the bunk bed ladder, the play house ladder. He has recently learned to move chairs and stools to use to help him climb on top of something or get something he shouldn't. It is not odd to walk into a room and see him standing on top of a table.

RANDOM PICS FROM SEPTEMBER:

Isaac is such a GREAT kid! He is imaginative, silly, and tons of energetic fun. I do believe he will be an engineer or CEO someday. He loves to figure out how things are put together and taken apart. We have had several electronic devices that have bit the dust due to his curiosity! He also loves to be in charge, which can be a challenge right now as we parent him but one day it will come in handy! By the way, he already has a business idea. He wants to start a company called Only Organic selling, you guessed it, only organic items. In today's world, I think he would make a buck or two!

Here he is adding his touch to the bathroom sink

Here is Caleb cuddling and brushing at the same time. He would do everything with his blanket if I would let him. He LOVES his blankie. He breaks out in giggles when he sees it. Thanks Grammy!!!

Caleb's first 4-wheeler ride

RANDOM PICS FROM OCTOBER:

Rockin' the Froggie PJs
Caleb literally walks around the house giggling all day long. He is such a happy boy!

Julia is proud to be a Cubbie

Isaac was in NO MOOD to take this picture

Trying to escape his PJs

I love this kid!

Such a Big Boy

Strike a Pose! She still loves to play dress up, especially if she can find a skirt that will twirl.

He takes such pride in the fact that he is strong enough to pick Julia up and carry her

After you get past the cuteness of Caleb's shirt stuck on his head, check out that belly!

Julia is one beautiful, sweet, tender hearted little girl. She absolutely melts my heart with her sweet smile. Julia is all about girlie things, which can be a challenge sometimes with two brothers running around. Julia loves to draw, always has. She enjoys playing with her stuffed animals, especially Baby. What makes my heart so happy is that she loves to just be with me. It doesn't matter what I am doing, she just wants to be with me doing it. I love this little girl more than words can say.

Phew, if you made it through that post and all those pictures you are a Pro Blog Reader. Congratulations! I will be back another day with posts about pumpkin patches, fall festivals, Gabe's belated birthday, my Half-Marathon, and much more. See you soon!