The Down Low (2013 Week 7)

The past few days have been a lot less busy. We've even had time to stop and appreciate the beauty of God's creation...

We have had several game nights...

Adventures in painting (I love that Wyatt thought he NEEDED to wear a beret to paint, and I love that his sister let him borrow hers, ahahahahaha!!!)...

We loved hanging with the fam at Family Dinner Night...

We are focusing on all things missions/missionaries in Awana this month (I had a proud mommy-moment this week when a stranger, but fellow Christian, had come up to me at the park and told me that my son had asked her if she knew Jesus to be her Savior...YAY!!!)...

Beatrice did my hair...OUCH!...

I had a belated birthday celebration with my Grandma over tea. This was my first time going and having tea. She has been trying to get me to go to tea with her for years, but I always select a different adventure with her because I HATE the taste of tea. But this year I relented. I.WAS.DETERMINED.TO.MAKE.IT.THROUGH.TEA.

Oh my word, I wish I hadn't held out all of these years. We had an AMAZING time together! The food was DELICIOUS! The tea was INCREDIBLE! I literally drank 1-1/2 pots of tea!!!

 

 

And finally, this week, we celebrated LOVE...Valentine's Day! Rick and I don't usually exchange gifts on this holiday, but this year I told him that I actually would like a little "something". He delivered. :0) He came home from work with flowers and the movie, Sixteen Candles, for me...

...and a DVD for each of the kids too. He bought his Beatle, Charlotte's Web, since our VHS copy got destroyed the last time the 2 of them watched the movie together. And he got Wyatt some classic episodes of The Looney Tunes...one of their favorite things to watch together.

I took out the trash for my hubby, and then I cooked up a big breakfast for everyone...

We also got to celebrate the holiday with some of our favorite friends. Such an occasion deserved a FUN heart-shaped hair-do!...

 

 

 

 

And that my friends, is the down-low on our up-and-up! Until next week... :0)

The Down Low (2013 Weeks 4, 5, 6)

So in the newer busyness of life, not only have I eliminated much time for blogging, but I also haven't been as diligent in taking pictures of our various adventures on the daily/weekly. This new lifestyle seems foreign to me...or reminiscent of another time in the past, but certainly nothing like in our most recent years. I'm still praying for balance...and comfortability in our new home dynamic.

I haven't given up on blogging altogether though. Without the desire/time to scrapbook anymore, I definitely want to keep up my blogging as a way to document our life memories and such. Realistically, I just know I won't be able to write as frequently as I used to.

So with that being said, here is a recap of our last few weeks.

We of course had lots of school work. Even though I have been teaching Beatrice phonics for the last several months, only in the last few days have I felt like things are finally starting to "click." She could remember the sounds that each letter made, but she had a hard time blending the sounds, and then blending the sounds in the correct order. But again, in the last few days, I am seeing a radical improvement in her ability to read. It's such an exciting/rewarding process to teach your children how to read!!

I don't have a picture of Wyatt doing his school work in the last few weeks, but he is rockin' out the 3rd grade like nobodies business! He is on track to be done with English, Science, and Social Studies by the end of February, and then he will have just Spelling and Math which should take him through the month of April. I'm really proud of his diligence...he is a determined and motivated student.

In the last few weeks, we have also enjoyed many-a-family-game-night...honorable mention goes to "Pictionary Night"...

We had the hardest time guessing Rick's drawing...The Brady Bunch...but I should have known, sigh....

We loaded into a rented 12-passenger van, and drove up to L.A. to watch our cousins/nephews perform as "Lost Boys" on stage in the theater production of Peter Pan...SUCH FUN!

Afterwards, we enjoyed (a loud) dinner together...

With these boys, there was lots of Lego talk...

And of course, so much silliness about only-who-knows-what???...

There were many, many baking orders...

And "walking the dog"...

We had the privilege to attend Charlotte's 1st Birthday Party!...

While it was raining outside, we were getting excited for Summer on the inside...

We all enjoyed ice cream at the Souplantation...

And FREE pancakes at IHOP!

And finally, in other exciting (adult) news, after 11 years of marriage, we replaced the only mattress we have ever slept on together, and we got rid of the only couch we have had as a family..."Goodbye Kid Couch!"...

"Hello Mommy & Daddy Couch!"

So that's the down-low on our up-and-up the last few weeks! Until next time... :0)