Together Again

Jerry, Jan and Shanda came for a visit today.  We had been anxiously awaiting this day.  Five weeks ago today, Jerry (Grandpa) had a serious surgery.  The whole ordeal shook our family up quite a bit.  We were so thankful to be reunited with him.  For all of you St. Louis family members, friends and other family, thanks for your prayers.  Doesn't he look great?  A song comes to mind when I think of our day today and the pictures below . . . So Happy Together, by The Turtles.  I got you humming it now, didn't I?

Brayden and Grandpa

Kalen with Aunt Shanda 

Madelyn playing CandyLand with Shanda

Kalen playing Jr. Boggle with Nana

Jerry and Kalen 

Brayden enjoying some of Aunt Shanda's famous chocolate chip muffins, his favorite thing in the world (beside Elley).  He had quite a few.  Actually . . . he is still awake.  He is chattering himself silly.  

Aprons

I made Maddie and I matching aprons.  Sewing something like this is a thrill for me.  

More from Mother Teresa

"Love has no meaning if it isn't shared.  Love has to be put into action.  You have to love without expectation, to do something for love itself, not for what you may receive.  If you expect something in return, then it isn't love, because true love is loving without conditions and expectations."

I am reading one of Mother Teresa's books entitled A Simple Path.  It is full of nuggets of wisdom like the one above.  Most of these rich thoughts are simple to read, but so deep and meaningful when you can take the time to truly let it sink into your heart.  

The Invasion

I had noticed for some time now that we had some little moths that liked to visit our pantry.  They kept multiplying and I became aware that we had a problem.  Knowing that I needed to get them out of the closet, I removed all food from within and started swatting at them.  As I removed the food and such from within, I started seeing little caterpillars and eggs.  Yes, I freaked out.  Luckily, I had started this process at the beginning of Brayden's nap and the others were in the midst of rest time.  I had a huge project ahead of me.  I went through all the food and containers.  My stomach was turning this way and that as I removed these critters from our home.  I will spare you the details, but it was gross.  We weren't left with much.  

I got online and googled our problem and found a bunch of info.  Indeed, I did have to get rid of all we had.  Scott bought me some mason jars and we went and got a little food to store in those.  Thankfully, it has encouraged me to eat more produce and store things in the fridge or in the garage on our shelves. 

This is all that was left.  

A Child's Paradise

Today was a gorgeous day here in Durham. After the children finished their table work, I decided to enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling and take my kids to Duke Gardens. We took lunch and headed down those beautiful paths that took us to roses, ducks, lily pads, magnolia trees to climb and much much more. Our time was as sweet as the smell of those gorgeous roses. Marveling at nature with my children is so enjoyable. I must do this more!

A Day with the Girls

Well, we made it!  We are all thirty and loving it.  Torie, Gari Leigh, and Laurie met me in Greensboro today for some good food, shopping and constant conversation.  These are some of my oldest and dearest friends.  We get together every six months and catch up.  It is so meaningful to have these girls in my life.  

Torie, Gari Leigh, and Laurie

Laurie brought one of her little girls with her.  This is Riley.  She is four months old.

Enjoyed a little PF Changs

So glad to know that I was missed.  Scott took care of our crew today.  He did a fabulous job.  

Determined

Today, I watched as my daughter put all of her energy and concentration into something.  With drive and confidence she attempted to get from one side of the monkey bars to the other.  I tell you, this was a huge deal to her and I was thankful to be a witness.  As I watched her swing from one bar to the next, she had her eyes focused and nothing was going to come in the way of her succeeding.  Her determination was beautiful.  I loved seeing that side of Maddie.  I am so thankful that she wasn't scared, she just went for it.  She didn't ask for help.  She didn't draw a crowd to watch.  She just did it.  

She totally made it across!  She gazed down at me with an amazing light in her eyes.  Her face was full of confidence and delight.  She jumped down and ran to me for a high five and a hug.  I praised her efforts and I was so thankful I was present.  

Being present in our kid's lives can be intense.  Riding the roller coaster of emotions, ups and downs, can be quite a challenge.  However, when our children know that we delight in them and their accomplishments and want to share moments like Maddie and I shared today . . . there is comfort and joy.  I saw that in Maddie's eyes today.  So often I feel guilty.  I feel like I am spread so thin and I don't know what the quality of my love (expressed) is for my children.  Does that make sense?  I want to have my children's hearts and be aware of their desires, passions and goals.  I want to be there to watch them have these amazing moments like Maddie had today.  I want to be the first to give them a hug or a "Way to go!"  I want to be present.  I want to embrace parenting daily.  It can be so hard sometimes, but I am determined.

Stitching

A Little of the Everyday

Maddie reads a new book to Brayden.  

The hurricanes have sent us a lot of rain.  One day after the rain, Scott went out to check the garden and lost his flip flop.  Hilarious!

Kalen plays a game with his letters and letter sounds.

Brady being silly.

I let the kids play in the rain the other night.  Here's Kalen proud to be wet.

Madelyn has started learning about history.  She is working on her own cave painting.  

Julian started up with soccer.  He is enjoying it.  He hasn't had his first game yet.  But, the Hurricanes are ready!  Julian was able to name his team.  His idea received the most votes.  :)

This is Kalen's spider.  It has eight legs!

Here are two beautiful peppers from our garden.  

Julian was studying monks and monasteries last week.  He made a monk necklace. 

Brayden caught.  I was getting him from room time, I discovered he had fun with his water bottle.

A Dream Worth Having

"The only dream worth having ... is to dream that you will live while you’re alive and die only when you’re dead ... To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or to complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget."

- Arundhati Roy
From her book, The Algebra of Infinite Justice

Caterpillars and Other Friends

This weekend Kalen found these caterpillars out on our parsley.  We think they are Black Swallowtail caterpillars.  Julian got out our butterfly house and we all helped put these six little critters in.  We have been watching them and feeding them.  So, you all know what we'll be studying in  Science this week.  :)

We have had a lot of neighbors come over and play daily.  The kids love it and it can be so refreshing.  We really enjoy living in a neighborhood.  We are experiencing a true sense of community with these children and their parents.

Our friend Bradley brought over his two girls to play today.  Lily is three and Juliet is one.  Madelyn was sweet with Juliet.  She wanted to hold her and play with her continually.  

The boys were trying to identify the caterpillars

Our neighbor, Desmond playing with Maddie

Madelyn, Lily and Kalen having a tea party

This is Juliet

Mads, JJ and Karina, another neighbor

Madelyn Recites Poetry

Fancy Flowers

We enjoyed a science experiment today that we thought we would share.  We wanted to see what would happen to our white carnation flowers if the water that was feeding them was a different color.  As you can see, we had a huge success.  The Kid's Science Book is full of fun hands on activities for children.  I had geared this experiment more towards my eight and six year old, then realized that it is suited for little ones as well.  

This one's stem was actually split to see what would happen if one side was in red and the other side of the stem was in the blue.  The flower turned both red and blue, on their appropriate sides.