While My Fella Went to Philly

Scott left this past Thursday for Philadelphia.  He was to present at a conference there this weekend.  It is all done and he did well.  As he has been gone, we have had our own little fun.  We took two days off of school, enjoyed being outside, shopped and had a play date.  An added treat was that my mom and Annette came last night and stayed all day with us today.  Mom usually brings some type of learning stuff with her.  She brought each kid a book of some sort.  Julian's book was about experiments.  I have pictured it and we are sharing a couple clips from his little experiment. 

Scott leaving for Philly.

Annette hanging out with Kalen and one of his favorite things- legos.  

My mom showed Madelyn and I how to knit.  Honestly, I think Maddie caught on a little better than myself.

Maddie working with her special note making book.  Mom helping Brayden with a note as well.

Kalen and my mom put this planet mobil together.  It was part of his space book.

Julian with his volcano.

This next trial we decided to add some red food coloring. 

At Home

Thought I would share a few pictures from life within our home.  

Almost every night, there is at least one chess match.  Julian just recently beat Scott for the first time.  :)

Brady playing my homemade shape recognition and sorting game.

Just a cute picture of Mads.

Julian and Madelyn doing their school work.

Brayden working with Playdoh as I teach the older ones.

Kalen working with numbers.

Brayden taking his tricycle for a spin in the sun.  It still is chilly, but we get out in it.  

Working together on an art project.  I had all the kids contribute to a castle picture.  Brady had just painted the sky and Kalen was adding windows to the castle that Julian and Maddie drew.

Gotta love group work!

This is an awesome bridge that Julian built for his Playmobil guys.

Julian

K & B with new haircuts

Here's Brady at Monkey Joe's being a true monkey.

Celebrating Payton's birthday with him at Monkey Joe's

Ever Feel Like This?

I am pretty sure that when Edvard Munch was creating this very famous picture, he wanted his piece to somehow move us and allow us to relate to it.  The kids and I studied Munch and this piece last week.  Little did I know that I would be relating to the emotion within this picture so soon.  This famous piece is called The Scream and that is just what I wanted to do yesterday.  I was impatient, temperamental, and quick to anger.  I looked around me and felt as though I was going to lose it.  The kids were being kids.  The house was being lived in.  The dishes were being dirtied.  The clothes started mounding.  The voices throughout my home were full of life and loud.  Ahh!  Should I expect anything different though?  

When I finally got to the point I wanted to get out of my funk, I gathered my children and told them I had been thinking about The Scream.  I demonstrated how I could do just as the character in the picture was screaming.  I actually let out a very loud scream.  I told them that I just kind of felt that way all the day long.  They laughed.  Actually, they laughed a lot.  Picture this very serious person and then picture them screaming in such a humorous way.  I felt much better after recognizing the state I was in and expressing it to my kids.  The whole day, they knew I was in a mood, it was appropriate to show them that I was acknowledging it instead of just being the meany.  I have been slow to learn that humor can heal unlike anything else.

The day the kids and I studied Munch, they tried their hands at being expressionist.  You can tell the moods they were in just by seeing their work.

This is Julian's picture.

This was Madelyn's work.

Munch used pastels some.  This is what our kids used to create their pictures.

Speaking about The Scream ~Munch said,  "Suddenly the sky turned blood red  . . . I stood there shaking with fear and felt an endless scream passing through nature."  ~  Usborne Book of Art

Encouragement Tea

I am a part of a homeschooling group here in Durham.  Today, I went to our annual Encouragement Tea for homeschooling moms.  It is a time to gather together and give one another pep talks.  The cheerleader in me likes this sort of thing.  We all need to be cheered on and supported, right?  

This year I was able to host a table for this sweet event.  My friend, Torie, gave me a website with a lot of ideas for decorating a table.  I picked an art theme.  Within our homeschool, art is a source of life.  I thought I would bring that into today's time of encouragement.  My table turned out alright.  I received many compliments on the cuteness of it.  Thanks, Torie.  

Here's a little glimpse at my centerpiece.

Rachel, Kim, Ingrid, Shannon and Nellie all sat at my table.

Here I am with Kim.  She is one of my best buds here in Durham.  She has three children and homeschools them.

I am actually on my tippy toes in this picture.  My friend, Nellie, is tall.  She is a new friend of mine. She has three little ones, as well, and homeschools.  See, homeschoolers can be young, hip and vibrant.  :)

Daddy Date

Scott and his friend Bradley took their little girls out to see Duke's Women's Basketball team play Virginia Tech last night.  Duke won!  

It was so sweet to see Maddie and her Daddy walking out the door together last night, all on their own.  The love between a father and daughter is sacred.  I know Madelyn felt loved and cherished last night.  She came home glowing.  

Madelyn and Lily

Kalen Reading to Brayden

Kalen has all signs of reading readiness. Here is a little clip of him reading (telling the story from the pictures) to Brady.

Kalen's Car

Several weeks ago, Kalen and I were sitting looking through a 1-2-3 Draw book Mom gave us awhile back.  The book has lots of different vehicles in it.  He pointed to this cute little race car and decided to draw it.  

Then, after he draws the car, he asked me if maybe I could put this on a shirt for him.  In other words, he wanted me to cut out these same shapes and stitch them to a t-shirt for him.  I told him I could try.  Well, I finished the little race car last night at Andrea's house.  I think it turned out cute and Kalen loves it.  Tonight, as he was taking it off, he said, "I think this is my most favorite shirt ever, Mommy."  My heart melted.

Graduation Day

Today was graduation day for most of our sprouts.  All seeds sprouted and were getting quite tall.  I bought some cups to give our sprout's roots room to grow.  I hope the transplanting proves successful.  I am so pleased with how this process has gone.

The sun was beating down on the back deck this afternoon.  With my pistachio eating buddy (Brady) by my side, I proceeded to plant 80 sprouts.  I still have several to transplant.

Love

i enjoy love,  

the good times & the bad.

in strength and in weakness,

in joy and in pain.

love is work,

well worth its toil.

it is beautiful and genuine, 

not without sacrifice.

grace,

humility, 

and joy are love's greatest allies.  

may we, those that seek to love, be givers.

may we work hard at putting others before ourselves.

let us enjoy love, 

with all its bumps and bruises.

tell someone today that you love them.  

then, 

show them.  

Potty Praise

Horray for Brayden!  Today I was taking Brady to his room for room time and I told him that he was going be able to have the door open if he needed to scoot out and go potty.  I also took off his pants for a little easier access.  I walked downstairs and called my friend, Judy.  In less than thirty seconds I hear, "Mommy, I did it!!!"  He pooped!  Joy!  Joy! Joy! 

We made special Maple Streusel Muffins to enjoy together as we celebrate this sweet success!  

Birthday Messages For Aunt Shanda

We decided to get candid with the camera today and express our appreciation for Shanda. Today is her birthday and we wanted to send some love her way.
(Sorry about the fuzziness and shaking of the camera~not exactly one of my strengths!)

Sunny Times

This has been our afternoon.  After homeschooling, we had a back deck lunch and then the kids were able to just abandon themselves to the outdoors.  They played here (in the picture above) for so long, imagining they were on a ship or something.  They were totally in their own world, full of imagination.  I watched from the deck.  I sat with the sun shining down on my face.  I took total delight in knowing I wasn't directing what they were experiencing.  

It is another beautiful warm day.  This gives us a true yearning for spring and all its glories.  The gift of sunlight is total bliss for me.
Sunday, we spent the entire afternoon outside.  Scott spread out the horse manure and tilled the garden.  We planted peas and onions.  The kids ran around with bare feet getting dirty, playing and snacking.  What a perfect afternoon.

Here's Maddie watering our newly planted onions and peas.

Kalen helping out with the yard work.

Here's my hard working man tilling up our garden

Barefeet and glamorous