My Magnus Opus

Fun Day at the Lake

2010-06-23T20:08:00.001-04:00

We enjoyed a day celebrating one of Ari’s friends birthdays at the lake. Ari and Ryan rode the tube behind the boat. Ari loved it! Ryan only rode for a moment and then he wanted back in the boat. '

Mr. Sonny helping Ryan

Guess who also danced?

2010-06-23T19:47:00.001-04:00

My sweet cute boy made a guest appearance on stage as a little green Martian! The boys were adorable in their dance!!!!!!

Ari’s Dance Recital

2010-06-23T19:44:00.001-04:00

Arianna did so great in her recital! She tried really hard not to look at the teacher on the side! She and the other 3 girls in her class had so much fun together!

Daddy Daughter Dance

2010-06-23T18:58:00.001-04:00

One of my most favorite things about Step Ahead Dance Studio, is their Daddy Daughter Dance! Each year they have one dance where the dads dance with their girls. This year the recital theme was space and the dance was Star Wars. For several Saturdays prior to the recital, the Dads and girls meet together to learn the dance and practice. Arianna loves doing this with Chris.

It is so encouraging to see all of these grown men who most wouldn’t dare get on stage but for their little girl, they sacrifice!

Chris and Ari did a great job dancing together in the recital!!!!!

NC Homeschool Conference

2010-06-23T18:51:00.001-04:00

A quick word about the homeschool conference…It is in Winston Salem every year the last week in May. I highly recommend you go…whether you homeschool, are considering homeschooling, wonder why us crazy people homeschool or you just want to improve your parenting skills. It is jam packed with practical advice for all parents!

We had a great time learning, re-affirming our decision, growing spiritually, spending time with our families and just enjoying being together! I always leave the conference feeling inspired and desiring to be a better Christian, Mommy and Wife!

Happy Birthday Honey

2010-06-23T18:45:00.001-04:00

We went to the homeschool conference and the kids stayed with Nana. Arianna and Ryan planned a surprise party for Chris while we were gone.

They picked out the presents, wrapped them and decorated for the party. They were excited about encouraging Daddy!

Ari settled the presents down nice and cozy.

It is hard to light 35 candles without burning yourself:)

Ryan is so happy to have Daddy back!

They are excited to share their presents with Chris

Ryan picked out a Mario shirt for Chris:) Ari got him tools.

When we got home, we had our own family party on his actual birthday. Our family tradition is to go and do whatever the birthday person wants to do on their birthday. Chris chose to go to McAlister's to eat.

Each holiday, the kids pick out a dachshund to give to Chris for the special occasion. This year Ari picked out the Birthday Dachshund and Ryan picked out the taxi dachshund.

Bridging Over to Brownies

2010-06-23T18:17:00.001-04:00

Here is Arianna in my going to her last Daisy meet with my old Brownie uniform.

She had her end of year picnic (ended up being indoors due to rain) and her bridging over ceremony. I am so proud of my new brownie!!

Above is Nana and Ryan

Saying the pledge together

Singing a song together

Arianna getting ready to cross over the bridge

Playing games together later

They gave their troop leaders daisies to say thank you for a fun year!!

Metamorphosis

2010-06-23T17:57:00.001-04:00

Ari and Ryan caught two caterpillars and the next morning one was missing. We thought they had gotten out until we found a cocoon in the bottom under a picture Ari had drawn for them. In the upcoming weeks they all turned to cocoons. One hatched into this little larvae looking thing then died…we had just about given up on these little guys since supposedly they stayed in their cocoons for only around a week. After about a month we heard fluttering in the cage. We were excited to see a little moth flying around…

Mom Daughter Science Night

2010-06-23T17:47:00.001-04:00

Yet again, I am behind on my blog…with all this posting pictures to facebook, I don’t tend to post them here. Well I am going to try to get caught up in the next few nights.

In May we had a fun event with the girl scouts.

making mad scientist pins

Enjoying food together

Learning about the power of air…trying to keep the ping pong in the air

Riding the hover thingy

Our fearless troop leader riding the hover thingy with a migraine:)

Watching cotton candy being made and best off enjoying it

Our crazy troop leader…many uses of cotton candy look alikes

Making bouncy balls

The very crazy Mad Scientist Lady

our own hot air balloon

Watching power of air

Held up by dixie cups

It was a fun night!

Crazy Pandora

2010-05-18T13:39:00.001-04:00

Pandora has always liked to sleep on her back. I can remember when she was 2 days old sleeping with her litter mates on her back.

Archeologists

2010-05-18T13:36:00.001-04:00

We read a book about an archeologist. Arianna drew a grid of the dig sight from the book. They both enjoyed digging for their own dinosaur bones.

My Little Singer

2010-05-18T09:51:00.001-04:00

My sweet girl sang a song at church on Mother’s Day. She was so excited that she got to do one of the group solo parts. She loves to sing on stage!!!! I told her just before going on stage to remember why she was singing which was to glorify God and she replied “and it is for you too Mom!”

I am trying to post a video that a friend took of the whole song. Unfortunately I don’t know how/not taking the time to edit it so it is the song in full. Chris also did a short video of Ari when she was singing. If it doesn’t make it on this post, I will try to figure out how to post separately.

Most of my pictures are from rehearsal since my camera battery died right before she got up to the mic at rehearsal. Bummer. Thankfully we had our Droid camera.

It works for me!

2010-05-17T22:52:00.001-04:00

I wanted to share how I plan each week.I bought this blank calendar from Staples.

First, I put all of my appointments/plans for the week at the top. This gives me an idea of how each day will go.

Next, I pile up the curriculum books for each child and pick my first one. Then I start laying out post-its that are the color for that subject. I usually do 2 weeks at a time. I then figure out what we are going to study each day and write it on the post-it. Lastly, I put the post its on the calendar. I use one row of squares on the calendar for my daughter, one row of squares for my son and one row that they do together. I color code the post-its depending on the subject to make it easier when putting in the workbox (I keep a cheat sheet on the side of my desk with the colors).

Each day, I put the post-its in the workboxes and we are ready for the day.

When I do unit studies, this helps plan out what I want to cover and when. It also helps to teach to my varying ages. It helps me to be prepared for what we are going to cover and gives my children an idea of what is expected of them for the day.

My Calendar

These are the post-its for Math this week

This is my cheat sheet with the color of post-its for each subject

Here is the Math book with the post-it for tomorrow.

I use a very loose form of Sue Patrick’s Workbox system. I love the organization but don’t like the stringent part of it.

Birthday Buddies

2010-05-17T22:51:00.001-04:00

Ryan’s best friend recently had a birthday! Ryan had a hard time sharing Aaron with all of the other kids:) He didn’t quite understand why Aaron played with others too since usually it is the two of them.

I have noticed lately that Ryan really needs a close friend in a crowd. He gets lost if there is a group and he doesn’t have one buddy to navigate with. I think it is because he has never really had to go it alone; he has always had Arianna or someone else in any large crowd. He is a loyal friend!

Jedi Ryan

New Wheels

2010-05-08T22:53:00.001-04:00

Ryan was excited to get a new bike today! He had outgrown his smaller bike. Also, he couldn’t keep up with Ari on his smaller bike which was a big deal to him! Well he now has the same size wheels as her and he is off to the race!

Cute Cousins

2010-05-08T22:44:00.001-04:00

We went to the park with cousins yesterday. I wish we could do this more often! I was visiting my Mom and got the opportunity to hang out one last time with my sister before I headed home.

We saw these cute ducklings.

Graceson loves Ryan. He follows in his footsteps. Ryan is encouraged by this.

Ryan is all boy…From top speed running down a hill to climbing the highest thing he can find.

Ryan loves to have his picture taken IF he wants his picture taken. Note IF…this day he was posing everywhere for the camera.

It is difficult to get a picture of all 4 children smiling…at the same time

This would be a very cute picture of Arianna if her brother wasn’t climbing over her:)

I love this picture of the Ari and Ryan!

My cutie!

Graceson wanted to walk Apollo

My kids scared my sister because they were climbing this rock. Ryan was frustrated because he couldn’t get all the way up like Ari.

What is it that makes a kid want to put their shoe in their mouth? Both of my kids have done it and now my beautiful niece does it…

Apollo has loved being an only spoiled dog during this trip. He enjoyed jumping in the water and chasing the ducks.

Our kids were throwing rocks in the water. I thought Graceson would be the first to fall in and I turn to the side and my daughter has fallen in. Ryan thought this gave him a green light to jump in!

After the park, we went and got lunch. Then Aunt Leigh bought the kids ice cream.

Apollo wasn’t sure why she didn’t buy him one too. However the kids made sure he got plenty!

Look at those blue eyes.

Visiting Yaya

2010-05-08T22:10:00.001-04:00

I remember a day in the not too long ago when my Mom wanted so bad to have Grandchildren. Well I had Arianna and they just kept coming! She now has 6 grandchildren under the age of 6. They adore each other!

Enjoying a breakfast picnic.

Playing in the backyard. Ryan my stunt man is teaching the others to ride on top of the cars.

Ari riding her bike around

Graceson loves following his older cousin…unfortunately it isn’t always the safest things…like when Graceson walked around the outer edge of the stairs yesterday following Ryan.

Arianna loving Apollo

Katie enjoying a popsicle

Layla enjoying a popsicle

Papa shows Ryan the crickets that they are going to take fishing.

Ari with her fish

Ryan driving the boat with Papa

Apollo laying with his toy. He sure likes being the spoiled only dog this week.

My adorable niece; isn’t she the cutest!!!

My sweet nephew…he has won my heart and I am finally winning his!!

Ari said last night…we sure do have a lot of blue eyed blonde haired kids in our family! At times she feels different since she is the only brown eyed brown haired kid in our family. I tell her she is special because she has our old genes of Cherokee!!

I love how all of our kids get along so well!

Precious Times

2010-05-07T09:03:00.001-04:00

I am so grateful that my Grandmother is still alive! I love spending time with her. I have so many things to learn from my Mema. Quilting, Farming, Canning, Cooking, to name a few. I had the privilege on Monday of learning how to make Strawberry Jam from her. Unfortunately she doesn’t slow down enough to get a picture of her.

Picking strawberries with Mema

Or should I say eating strawberries??

Silly kids!

Washing Strawberries

Ari taking the scraps to the chickens

Ryan bringing the bowl back from the chickens

Girl Scout Trip to Joel Lane Museum

2010-05-06T23:12:00.001-04:00

Arianna’s Daisy Troop went to visit the oldest house in Raleigh…

They learned about writing

They got to try out how to carry water

Ms. Stephanie (troop leader)

They learned that Ms. Crystall always wants to take a picture

They learned the Virginia Reel

They learned some common games from the colonial period

They learned how to make a toy spin by saying Yee-haw

They made rag dolls

They toured the oldest house in Raleigh
They enjoyed a picnic together

They are silly together!

I really like how well the girls in our troop get along together!

Medieval Times

2010-05-06T22:44:00.001-04:00

We went to Medieval Times on Saturday Night. The kids really enjoyed this! We were the yellow knights court. I have a really cute group picture but I need to scan it in.

Arianna at our royal table

Our Knight

The bad Green Knight

Afterwards the kids were very motivated to sword fight!

They were excited to get the different knights to sign their swords and shields.

Abigail and Arianna with the princess (above) and the falcon trainer (below)

Alligator Adventures

2010-05-06T22:29:00.001-04:00

This place was much better and bigger than I thought it would be! We enjoyed some up close encounters with various reptiles (and some other animals too!)

This giant tortoise wanted out but his shell was too big to fit through the fence posts. He was very gentle with the kids.

Our wild crew!!

We enjoyed watching the males jump for their food.

The females laid on the beach in hopes of some.

We got to see 2 tigers…they are so beautiful.

The serpentarium is neat! Ryan was sticking his tongue out like the snake.

Buck Family Reunion

2010-05-06T22:16:00.001-04:00

We recently had our annual family reunion with my Mom’s side of the family. We rent a beach house each year. There are 11 kids under 9 years old. Arianna is the 2nd oldest (6 years old). The kids love to be with each other and I love watching them together!!!!!

They enjoyed playing in the hammock.

Ryan chasing birds

Our attempts at a picture of the kids at the beach

Graceson and Ryan jumping waves

Ryan running from the waves

The kids put on a performance for us one night

Ari being the wicked witch

Jason set off fireworks for us on the beach

This was taken from our balcony while the kids fed bread to the birds.

Things I missed in pictures that I got last year…a picture of most of our family hot tub and a group picture of us all…see them here and here.

The next two posts are things we did while at the beach…

Suitcase Baby

2010-05-06T21:47:00.001-04:00

Ari is very proud of her suitcase. She has been working on being more loving to others and thinking of others before herself. We took Aaron to Chuck-E-Cheese for his birthday and she did such a great job thinking of others first. She got rewarded the special lunch box. The next day she came downstairs ready to leave the house with this…the suitcase dressed up in a dress. Silly girl! I am so proud of her!

Wicked

2010-05-06T21:43:00.001-04:00

Arianna and I went to see Wicked several weeks back! We had so much fun! It was an AMAZING musical! I highly recommend both the musical and the CD! Both kids love the music! Ari dressed up as a witch for the show. We forgot to take pictures until after the show which was late!

Cinderella

2010-05-05T11:38:00.001-04:00

We went to see a Cinderella Play with Girl Scouts recently. We had lunch with friends and then headed to the show. We enjoyed our time together!

Farm Days

2010-05-05T11:25:00.001-04:00

We were excited that NCSU was offering Farm Days again this year! I love that we get to see all of the baby animals with their Mommies! We also get to pet many of the animals!

Afterwards, we get to enjoy yummy ice cream!

Look Who’s Riding on 2 Wheels!!

2010-05-05T11:21:00.001-04:00

Last month, we took Ari out out to Lake Benson because she wanted to learn to ride her bike without training wheels.

Chris ran behind her at first.

Then he let go without her knowing

He ran by her and she realized she was doing it all by herself!

The rest is history! She loves riding her bike everywhere now!

All By Himself

2010-05-05T11:10:00.001-04:00

Ryan made this all by himself! He loves Legos!

Easter 2010

2010-05-05T11:07:00.001-04:00

We enjoyed coloring easter eggs!

Ryan enjoyed eating eggs.

We had an Easter Egg Hunt with friends.

We had the flu.

(no picture)

We continued our family tradition of a scavenger hunt (Chris was sick in bed so I don’t really have pictures since I was helping the kids.

Here are the kids Easter Baskets.

Here are Katelyn, Graceson and Layla’s Easter Baskets and the other 2 gifts for Ari and Ryan from Yaya.

Ryan is excited about his legos!

We went over to Ms. Doris’s house for lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt.

My adorable niece and nephew!

Our attempt at a Grandkid picture.

My sister and her little family

Enjoying the candy!

Technology

2010-05-05T10:54:00.001-04:00

My husband is a techno geek. I guess in some ways I am too but I haven’t moved into the new technology of webcams. However my kids have and they enjoy it. Chris set one up on our computer and one on Nana’s computer. The kids enjoy having face to face chats with Nana. Sometimes Nana reads a book sometimes Ari reads a book. Always it is full of excitement!

She’s Got Talent

2010-05-05T10:49:00.001-04:00

On a recent visit to Nana’s, she gave the kids something she made for them…finger puppets. They are amazing!!

Nana reading a book to Ari and Ryan.

After the visit the kids made a request….Ryan wanted some Star Wars puppets and Ari wanted some Wizard of Oz puppets. They were excited when a package arrived from Nana.

Ari’s wizard of oz puppets

Ryan’s Star Wars puppets. I don’t know how Nana made these. She had me print of the pictures of the people he wanted and she made them by the picture but they are nothing short of amazing how she made them look just like the characters.

Yoda and Count Dooku

Darth Vader

Ryan showing Apollo the puppets

Thanks Nana for such a heartfelt gift of yourself!

Daddy Daughter Dance

2010-05-05T10:39:00.001-04:00

Chris and Arianna had a Daddy Daughter dance with the girl scouts last month. Chris got out an did line dancing with her! Oh to be a fly on the wall through all of that!!!!!

Hard Lessons

2010-05-05T10:35:00.001-04:00

Ari recently had to make a difficult decision. She has been taking drama all semester with CYT (Christian Youth Theatre). They were putting on a performance of Charlotte’s Web which Arianna was very excited about doing. However it just so happens that the performance dates fell on the same dates as our annual family reunion. I gave her the choice of which to do and she chose the family reunion but was very sad that she would have to miss the performances. It broke my heart seeing her sadness at having to choose but I was proud of her for choosing family first. We are hoping to take drama again in the fall in which case we will be looking forward to having the opportunity to be in the performance.

It was a drop off class so I don’t have any good pictures but these are a few I took in one of the classes with my phone.

End of Year Choir Concert

2010-05-05T10:21:00.001-04:00

We are sad to see this class come to an end. Arianna has really enjoyed the choir class at Campbell! Unfortunately they only offer it every 4 semesters so we will have to figure something out for the fall. She loves to sing!

They each had an instrument to play during the re-telling of the story of creation. Arianna was the animals.

Blogged Down

2010-05-02T22:41:00.001-04:00

I am so blogged down with things to blog about. I keep a folder on my computer that is entitled “To Blog”. It is way full! I just haven’t had the time lately! I am going to try to get things updated in the days to come.

Most of my blog viewers are family that are wanting to keep up with Team Dalton’s comings and goings. Lately, I have began to post photos to facebook soon after downloading from my camera. The reason is two-fold…1)it is fast and 2)it is easy to share with others. I used to keep a folder “to burn to disk for others” on my computer but now I am just posting them to facebook to avoid the extra step of burning a CD. If you are on facebook, look me up and you can see many of the pictures before they make it to the blog. If you are not on facebook, come join the crowd!

Otherwise prepared to be blogged down with my blog posts in the next few days:) (I am hopeful anyway that I will get to it!)

More lost teeth

2010-03-09T20:33:00.001-05:00

I think Ari is trying to lose all of her teeth at once. She lost her right top front tooth on the day before her birthday and then the left top front tooth on the day after her birthday. She looks so cute with her top two teeth missing! She now has 3 more teeth loose. Thus far she has lost 5 teeth!

Above is when she lost her 4th tooth. Below is after she lost the 5th tooth.

I love this picture of Chris and Arianna!

Birthday Goal #1 Completed

2010-03-09T20:26:00.001-05:00

Well Arianna wanted to do 2 things during her 6th year, go to Monkey Joes and Chuck-E-Cheese. She achieved one of those on her birthday. We went to Monkey Joes and then to her favorite restaurant, Sweet Tomatoes. She is such a dare devil. It is not enough to just slide down these big slides, she has to go head first.

Chris was excited to get into the fun. The rule is that an adult can be on the slides to assist any child 4 and under. Chris enjoyed “assisting” our 4 year old!

We had a fun day as a family celebrating our 6 year old.

Finishing what I start

2010-03-09T20:19:00.001-05:00

One of my new years resolutions/goals is to finish what I start. I want to do everything and tend to try to. I am realizing that I have to be more picky about what I choose to do. Which I started out the new year thinking hard about what I decide to do.

But now I am trying to decide what to do about those things that I thought would be great but turn out to not be so great. I feel bad about stopping doing something that I planned to do but realized that it is not as good as I hoped. Do I keep doing it because that is my goal or do I decide to stop??

Hmmm!! I wish that God would put a big check mark on those things that myself and my family needs to do and a big red X on those things that are not what is best. That would make my decisions so much easier.

Truth be told, I am grateful to have to make the choice of good, better and best. Sure beats sitting around being bored with nothing to do:)

Another Lost Tooth

2010-02-22T22:54:00.001-05:00

Ari lost her 4th tooth today. She just popped it out. She is so brave. It hurt me but she just rolled with it. She then began to try to work the one next to it out. She pulled and asked us to pull. She tried to eat an apple. She had blood everywhere. It hasn’t fallen out yet but it is on the verge. I won’t be surprised if she wakes up and it is gone. She looks so cute with her missing front tooth!

Birthday Tea Party

2010-02-22T22:46:00.001-05:00

We had many cousins staying the night after Ari’s birthday party. We decided to have a tea party with the new tea set from Nana. We also pulled out the tea set that Aunt Allie gave Ari for her birthday several years back. We read one of the Fancy Nancy books and then had tea and cookies.

Ryan stirring in sugar.

They all wanted more cookies but we only had this small piece left. We talked about how to split this half a cookie between seven children. They all had a great time having a tea party!

Arianna’s birthday party

2010-02-22T22:33:00.001-05:00

Arianna wanted to have a Musketeer party so we decided to do it at the gymnastics place. She had a great time with friends!

playing games

Yaya and Katie playing

Arianna and Katelyn

Abigail

Aaron and Alana

Arianna swinging into the foam pit

Leigh and Graceson playing in foam pit

Ryan swinging into foam pit

Ari swinging into foam pit

Malia, Zach and Ryan waiting to jump on the trampoline

Daniella

Mom trying to drag Aunt Barbara out of the foam pit. This was hilarious.

Arianna handing out favors in her princess dress.

Arianna opening presents

2010-02-22T22:12:00.001-05:00

Arianna celebrates her 6th birthday tomorrow. Today is the last day she will be 5. I told her tonight at bedtime that I will see her when she is 6.

We celebrated her birthday with friends and family this past weekend. Here are the pics of her opening presents. She was so excited!

We are going to Williamsburg next week for a homeschooling field trip. Yaya got her a dress to wear in Williamsburg and Aunt Leigh got a matching dress for Chrissa (formerly Sara, her American Girl Doll)

Nana got her this beautiful gown.

Yaya got her some dragonfly earings with her birthstone.

Arianna is laughing at the card from Chris and I. It played the Chicken Dance song.

Here is the dresses that Chris and I got her for Williamsburg.

Her cousins Abigail and Robin got her this princess piggy bank.

Nana got her some Fancy Nancy books.

She was very excited to get a DS from Mommy and Daddy!

She got this Fancy Nancy game from Nana.

Pirate Daddy watching the gift opening.

Ari in the gown that Nana bought.

Thanks for all of the presents everyone!

My Five Year Old

2010-02-22T22:05:00.001-05:00

While laying in bed with Arianna tonight, I was sharing with her what I loved about my five year old. I will list what I told her in no particular order.

The way she is willing to give her toys to her friends. She has taught me so many lessons about giving.

How brave she is. She is not afraid to try new things. She loves danger.

How she helps me day to day.

How smart she is. I love homeschooling her.

Her hugs. Today at gymnastics she came over and just gave me a hug for no reason. I told her that I love those hugs. Arianna doesn’t give many hugs to many people. I am honored that I am one of her few people that she is affectionate with.

Her giggles.

These are just to name a few. I cannot believe my baby is turning 6 tomorrow!

I asked her what she wanted to do during her 6th year. She said go to Monkey Joes and Chuck-E-Cheese. She has her priorities straight!

Hanging with Family

2010-02-22T21:56:00.001-05:00

I was trying to get a good picture of this crew hanging out on the steps. It is hard to get four kids under 4 to smile AND look at the camera all at the same time!

From left to right….Katelyn, Layla, Graceson and Ryan

From left to right…Graceson, Layla, Robin and Ryan

Graceson liked my stair baskets, he pretended they were choo-choo trains.

Robin loved Pandora, she kept saying she was going to take her home. This upset Ryan because he didn’t want her to take his dog:)

A Cherished Memory

2010-02-22T21:48:00.001-05:00

We went to visit my Dad for Valentines Day. I was in for a major surprise when I arrived at my Mema’s house. Daddy wanted to take me and the kids out for lunch (without Mema). This is the first time since the stroke in Sept. 2008 that I have been out with my Dad. He has only been to doctors and hospital visits since his stroke. It was a bit scary getting out at first. His skill level changes each time I visit and so I have to adjust to where he is at. It is a difficult balance to make sure I allow him the autonomy and pride of doing things for himself but making sure I am there to help when it is needed. We did not take a wheel chair with us. Nope, he used his walker to get everywhere we went. Wow!!!!!

We went to my Uncle Andy’s restaurant which I haven’t been to since I was young. My Grandaddy and I used to always go there together when I was little! I got to make some new special memories with my Dad.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a very good picture, but it will live forever in my memory and hopefully in my kids memory as well!

Valentines Day Festivities

2010-02-22T21:34:00.001-05:00

Ari made valentines with Pixie Sticks in them. Ryan’s valentines were fun dip.

The dogs even joined in on the festivities. Goliath came in the kitchen with a heart stuck to his nose. He probably thought he was sniffing out some candy and got the heart stuck there.

We went to a Valentines Party with some of our homeschooling friends.

We talked about characteristics of love and learned some history about St. Valentine.

We played a game where we split up into two teams. Then you had to move hearts out of a bowl with tweezers. The one with the most got a point for their team.

Ari and Carden played against each other.

Ryan and David played against each other.

Sweet Eden and Ms. Jennifer watching the games.

Lots of energy from all of the candy and cookies:)

These were Ari and Ryan’s valentines. Ari decorated her box. Ryan didn’t want to.

They played a game where you had to get the hula hoop all the way around the circle without letting go of each other’s hands.

The kids enjoyed getting letters, lollipops and gifts in the mail from their family. Below Ari is playing with a knitting loom that Nana sent for her.

Chris and I traded babysitting with friends for Valentines Day. We went out one night and then they went out the next. We went to Bahama Breeze and enjoyed some of their yummy Paella!! Then we went to the bookstore and hung out and talked.

How did you celebrate Valentines Day?

Homeschooling Moms

2010-02-22T20:21:00.001-05:00

On the nights that the men have midweek, us homeschooling Moms get together for a playdate. I cherish these times. It is a time of inspiration and encouragement. Our kids enjoy spending time together too!

After last month’s playdate, some of us went out to eat at IHOP with all of our kids. The waiter asked us if all of these kids were ours, we had 3 adults and 8 kids. Funny thing is that half of them were Wendy’s:) Ryan loves Wendy’s boys, Gabe and Ethan. He really looks up to Gabe! Gabe is so good with him.

Girls Night Out

2010-02-22T20:16:00.001-05:00

When Chris was out of town, my friend kept Ryan while I took Ari and 2 of her friends out for pizza. The girls had so much fun! They ate more pizza than I did. I think each ate at least 8 slices.

More Snow

2010-02-22T20:02:00.001-05:00

We have seen more snow than usual this year. The kids have enjoyed playing in it. Arianna will stay outside until she is an ice cube literally. Ryan gets cold pretty quickly and wants to come in to get warm. I am looking forward to Spring and warm weather…especially nature studies, gardening and enjoying the great outdoors with friends.

Cutie

2010-02-22T19:45:00.000-05:00

I love Ari’s hair in braids. She rarely wants to put her hair up. But this day was an exception…

She shares her Language Arts assignment for the day from Language Smarts by The Critical Thinking Company.

Homeschooling First Hand Lessons

2010-02-04T19:28:00.000-05:00

There is talk of closing our library. We use the library very frequently!!!

We went out yesterday to exercise our first amendment rights with other homeschoolers. We discussed with Ari about what these rights mean. The kids made signs and we went out to try to show our support. We made it on the news (sort of). We were at one end of the group and didn't make it on most of the video. My friend took some pics but I haven't gotten them yet. I will post the pics once I get them.

10 Happy Years

2010-02-01T22:22:00.001-05:00

We recently celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Funny thing is that we had tons of snow the year we got married (26”) and this year we also got lots of snow! We went up to Banner Elk to enjoy some time together. We beat the snow storm by just hours. We had a great time relaxing by the fire together!

I have the best husband! I am grateful to have such a loving, serving and humble man to lead me and our family!

These are views from our cabin…Above is when the snow began, and below is the next day.

Our kids stayed with Yaya and Papa. They enjoyed building a snow man and playing in the snow with their cousins.

When we got ready to come home, we had to take the snowman’s hat since it was Ari’s and Chris left behind a new style.

Life Lessons with Legos

2010-02-01T22:13:00.001-05:00

Ari and Ryan have been wanting this Lego pirate ship that cost $99.99. We made a chart with how much was needed to buy it. Whenever they got money, they filled in a space. Recently, they were able to save enough money and off we went to Borders. The Lego store was sold out and I get an educators discount at Borders. They ended up being able to get the pirate ship and 2 accessories to go along for the same amount at Borders thanks to the discount.

I love it that they both love legos! They work as a team to save their money to buy different lego sets. They also spend many, many hours together playing with the legos (yes I do realize the proper name is Lego Bricks but they will always be just legos to me).

Homeschooling Rocks

2010-02-01T22:06:00.001-05:00

One of the many things I love about homeschooling…spontaneous field trips. It was a cold January mostly except for 2 beautiful warm high 60s days. On the first of those days, my friend asked that morning if we wanted to go to the zoo since it was such a nice day. So we packed a lunch and headed to the zoo which is about 1.5 hours away. The kids were so excited! They had a blast with their friends. They ended up spending most of their time enjoying being together in the warm weather. We were all tired of being cooped up inside for so long.

a couple attempts at group pictures

Mommy is that real…he isn’t moving. This is Arianna’s favorite animal…an alligator. We were amazed at how completely still it was. We eventually saw one of them blink.

Ryan was talking to the turtle that was greeting him at the glass.

Ari was so proud that she climbed up this rock. She had trouble at first but persevered.

She taught Ryan how to do it. Boy I have 2 dare devils. Don’t you usually only get one???

We watched the sea lions being fed.

We spent a long time on the playground. Below Ryan was calling “Mommy I’m Stuck” of course I had to snap a picture. It went something like “Hold on just a minute and let me get a picture. Then I will help you down”.

The next day we spent most of the day at the park with friends. Then the cold weather returned and we are back to only short stints outside before we get too cold.

Girl Scout Cookie Rally

2010-02-01T21:46:00.001-05:00

These are Ari’s Daisy Buddies after the Cookie Rally at Monkey Joes! These girls have a blast together! Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera so these are taken with my phone which isn’t the best quality.

Happy 4th Birthday Ryan

2010-02-01T21:41:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Ryan's 4th Birthday on December 28 (yes I am behind on blogging). My sweet sweet boy turned 4 not a moment too soon. He has been anxiously awaiting the day when he would finally be four. We spent the morning with Yaya, Papa, Aunt Leigh, Uncle Jeremy, Katelyn and Graceson. In the afternoon, we went to Monkey Joes with Katelyn and Graceson. After Monkey Joes, we went to Fat Daddy's for dinner. It just happened to be kids' night. The clown made a light saber and hat for Ryan and Ari. Then of course we went to the Lego store and Ryan got a minifig of Darth Sidious. Ryan's big birthday party with friends is in June which is when we celebrate his 1/2 birthday.

I am so proud of Ryan. He is an amazing boy! His heart amazes me daily. He is such a caring and compassionate little guy! He melts my heart with his beautiful full faced smile! I love his hugs!

His favorite things right now are Star Wars and Legos.

Enjoy the slideshow

More Christmas Day

2010-01-12T20:21:00.001-05:00

Ari making one of our mosaics.

The pups love Christmas too. Below Sara is hanging out with the pups!

Above Daddy is putting together a Star Wars vehicle. Below Ari is taking a break with a pup.

Papa and Arianna coloring.

Ryan got the Star Wars movies for Christmas. Here he is watching one of them.

He crashed during the movie. yes he is really asleep here. This is what the family Christmas tradition does to little ones:)

My sister joined us Christmas night. Here Graceson is playing video games the next morning with Ari and Ryan.

Everyone watching another Star Wars movie. We watched all 6 during the few days everyone was visiting.

Christmas Day

2010-01-12T20:14:00.001-05:00

Wanna know what we did all day Christmas Day…

…put together legos, legos and more legos!

Christmas Morning Part 2

2010-01-12T20:09:00.001-05:00

The kids were so excited to open their presents!

Above Ryan shows off one of his new star wars figures. Below he is excited about his new slingshot.

Arianna is excited about new clothes and shoes for Sara.

Above Chris shows off the gift from Ryan. Below Chris has his new mug…Everything tastes better with dog hair

Above,Ryan is dressed up as a Ninja. Below Arianna is already building with legos.

We were glad to have Yaya and Papa with us for the festivities. They were the beginning of this goofy family tradition many, many years ago!

Christmas Morning Part 1

2010-01-12T20:01:00.001-05:00

Our family tradition is that you can get up anytime after midnight for Christmas. Well Arianna was up at 12:01am. I guess she stayed up and watched the clock. So we were opening gifts while you were probably visions of sugar plums were still dancing in your head. This year we changed things up a little bit in that we didn’t leave special gifts under the tree. Instead there was a Star hanging on our tree for Ari and Ryan to follow to try to find the presents similar to the three wise men and how they found Baby Jesus. My husband is really good at making up clues. The kids enjoy following the clues! Ari keeps saying can we do this every Easter and Christmas?

Christmas Eve

2010-01-12T19:58:00.001-05:00

This was the first Christmas Eve (that I can remember) that I spent with my Daddy. We enjoyed the time with family!

Above is my Mema…she is one of the strongest women I know. I love spending time with her. I always learn so much from her!

We all shared a meal together.

The kids were excited to open presents together.

My Dad wasn’t feeling very well…he has been fighting Shingles in his face and eye. I didn’t even get a picture with him but thankfully there will be many more times together unlike what we thought this time last year!

More Christmas Happenings

2010-01-12T19:21:00.001-05:00

This is our countdown to Christmas “thingy”. Each day they gave me a kiss on the cheek and they got to eat a Hershey’s Kiss.

Ari making snowflake ornaments

The gingerbread house that Ari made

Goliath and Arianna were helping fill the puppies’ stockings.

First Snow

2010-01-12T16:22:00.001-05:00

The kids were so excited that it was snowing back in December. Unfortunately what you see is what we got. The kids were hoping to make snowmen. It has been cold enough as of late to snow but we haven’t seen a drop since that day.

American Girl

2010-01-12T16:13:00.001-05:00

My American Girl got her very own look alike American Girl from Yaya for Christmas (Thanks Yaya). This was Arianna’s favorite present. After she opened the present, she said…”I didn’t think I would ever have an American Girl doll.” This was her big wish for Christmas and I told her that it was very expensive and I wasn’t sure anyone would spend that much on a doll. When Yaya asked Ari what she wanted for Christmas and an American Girl doll was one of the three things Ari wanted…guess what…the rest is history. We have a new family member. Arianna named her doll Sara (meaning princess). Most days Ari and Sara can be seen sporting the same outfits:) Ari takes Sara with her most places.

Denying a Child Wisely

2010-01-07T09:07:00.000-05:00

During my quiet time this morning, I had an epiphany...it is a disservice to my children that they are given so much. I am poorly preparing them for when they are older.

I am reading Hints on Child Training by H. Clay Trumbull. Here are some quotes from my current chapter...

" A hard thing in training our loved children is to deny him that which he longs for and which we could give him but which he would better not have."--wow, it is frequent that my kids get little gifts and indulgences.

"Wise withholding is quite as important as generous giving". Chew on that one for a while.

"Few grown persons can have everything they want, everything that love can give, everything that money can buy. Most of them have many reasonable wishes ungratified, many moderate desires unfilled. They have to get along without a great many things which others have, and which they would like. It is largely the early education which gives one proper control over himself and his desires. If in childhood one is taught to deny himself, to yield gracefully much that he longs for, to enjoy the little that he can have in spite of the lack of a great deal which he would like to have, his lot will be an easier and happier one, when he comes to the realities of maturer life, than would be possible to him if, as a child, he had only to express a reasonable wish, to have it promptly gratified."

"For this reason it is that men who were the children of the rich are so often at a disadvantage, in the battle of life, in comparison with those who have risen from comparative poverty."

I grew up wanting often. We didn't have very much and honestly I probably received the same amount of Christmas gifts in all of my childhood as my children receive in any given year. I tend to over-compensate with them. I love giving gifts, it is one of my love languages. I give my children way to much stuff out of love. But boy do I hope that changes now that I have come to this new realization.

My children enjoy their toys. But they do not treasure any of their toys. I can remember treasuring my doll that was rags and ratty hair because it is all I had. I can rememeber treasuring my one wrapped Christmas gift. I want my children to have that experience despite their wealth. (I wouldn't consider ourselves wealthy but our children definitely live in wealth between ourselves and the grandparents.)

"It is not possible that he should think as highly of any one new thing, out of a hundred coming to him in rapid succession, as he would of the only gift of an entire year."

I want my children to be grateful for all they have but even more I want them to be happy and content in adulthood despite not having all they desire. I hope that I can undo what has been done in the last 5 years and truly teach them to be content with a little and to better prepare them for adulthood.

I went through their rooms and the playroom to prepare for Christmas but now I plan to go through it again in light of this new teaching.

This new teaching will be a challenge for me but I hope to be able to look back next January and see a difference. I haven't unloaded my camera from Christmas yet so I haven't blogged about it. When I get around to blogging about that, you will see why changes are necessary. Arianna has a birthday coming up, it will be our first challenge.

Christmas is about…

2009-12-19T10:50:00.001-05:00

unconditional love…

And boy do these guys have lots to teach me about unconditional love!

This is our pooch that has been sick. Her ultrasound results are back. Now our next step is a blood test to prove it is what it seems to be…Cushings Disease. Athena has most of the symptoms and once we have the definitive, then comes the hard decisions. I don’t want to even have to think of that yet.

The most common symptoms of Cushings include (Athena’s symptoms are underlined):
      • increased/excessive water consumption (polydipsia)
      • increased/excessive urination (polyuria)
      • urinary accidents in previously housetrained dogs
      • increased/excessive appetite (polyphagia)
      • appearance of food stealing/guarding, begging, trash dumping, etc.
     • sagging, bloated, pot-bellied appearance
    • weight gain or its appearance, due to fat redistribution
      • loss of muscle mass, giving the appearance of weight loss
      • bony, skull-like appearance of head
      • exercise intolerance, lethargy, general or hind-leg weakness
      • new reluctance to jump on furniture or people
     • excess panting, seeking cool surfaces to rest on
      • symmetrically thinning hair or baldness (alopecia) on torso
      • other coat changes like dullness, dryness
      • slow regrowth of hair after clipping
      • thin, wrinkled, fragile, and/or darkly pigmented skin
      • easily damaged/bruised skin that heals slowly
      • hard, calcified lumps in the skin (calcinosis cutis)
      • susceptibility to infections (especially skin and urinary)
      • diabetes, pancreatitis, seizures

symptoms taken from this article

Christmas is about…

2009-12-19T10:18:00.001-05:00

time with friends….

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

Nutcracker

2009-12-18T11:28:00.001-05:00

We went to a reading of the Nutcracker recently. They read the book and then dancers came out and danced different parts of the book.

After the performance, we got to learn some of the dance moves.

We then got to meet the dancers.

Ari is intrigued by the nutcracker!!

We really enjoyed this!

Thanksgiving Party

2009-12-18T11:20:00.001-05:00

This is a delayed post as I forgot my camera for this party. My friend Beth hosted this fun party! There were different stations that each parent setup with activities centered around Thanksgiving.

Indian painting

Blessing Mix

Face painting

Indian Dance

Indian Game

Nature Walk

Sharing what we are thankful for

A yummy feast

A Thanksgiving Play of the First Thanksgiving (they are in the Mayflower)

Gingerbread Cookies

2009-12-15T21:17:00.001-05:00

We made and decorated Gingerbread Cookies today with our dear friends.

Skating on Ice

2009-12-15T21:09:00.001-05:00

We went ice skating today for the first time. Boy am I tired. Today was the Homeschool Christmas Party at the Ice Skating Rink. Chris took a half day and went with us. I am glad he did because I don’t know how I would have done it alone! I can barely skate on my own(note emphasis) . I have to hold the wall to stay upright. I thought we would go this first time and then next month, I could take the kids on my own. Ha, Ha, Ha! I now know how crazy that is!!!! The kids did really well especially for their first time on ice!

The kids enjoyed the gift exchange at the rink. Ryan got an art set and Ari got a tub of cotton candy and lollipop. Look at that face.

Cooking

2009-12-14T20:14:00.001-05:00

The best part about cooking is eating!!!

Arianna and I made snowmen pretzels together on Saturday. We thought they turned out to look more like wise men:) They were for our Grinch Party.

Today we went to a cookie making party with some of our homeschool friends. We made tons of cookies and had a great time hanging out with each other.

Above Ari is helping make pretzels…below Ari is helping make Lemon Bars.

Grinch Christmas Party

2009-12-14T19:55:00.001-05:00

We had our Christmas Party last night. We did a Grinch/White Elephant Theme. We enjoyed dinner together. Afterwards, the kids made up a play about Jesus and we enjoyed watching them perform:)

We then exchanged gifts. If you have never done a Grinch Christmas, it is fun! First you bring a wrapped gift of something that you want to re-gift. You draw numbers and the highest number goes first and picks a present from the pile and opens it. The second number can pick a present from the pile or take the first present (the first then can choose a new present). The third number can pick either of the first two opened presents or pick a new one from the pile.

The kids also exchanged gifts.

After all of the gift exchanges, we played Rock Band. This was hilarious! I think Jim was a Rock star in his former life! It took quite a few tries for the band to not get booed off the stage but eventually they got a “You Rock” by finishing the song.

Enjoying dinner with friends.

The kids put together a play for us to watch.

Jim’s ready for the gift opening!

Esther has the much wanted gift of the evening. It got taken the most.

The laughter made my little comedian even goofier

Joe ended with the beautiful photo album:)

The kids opened their gifts.

Joe singing to Rock Band

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Sing! Sing!

2009-12-14T19:54:00.001-05:00

Arianna sang at church again on Sunday. She loves it when she gets to get on stage and sing! She loves rehearsal with Ms. Lynn. I love getting to see my sweet little girl sing about Jesus!

I am excited that she starts a choir/music class at Campbell University in January. Hopefully she will love those rehearsals as much as she loves the ones at church.

Why do dogs have to get old?

2009-12-11T20:59:00.001-05:00

We have five dogs that were our kids before kids and now probably more like brothers and sisters to the kids than dogs. But my pups are getting old…two are 9 years old and three are 8 years old.

Well today we had our first bought with what is to come. And I can honestly say that I am not ready for it!

Athena has been having accidents in the house. I took her to the vet today since she also seemed majorly bloated and has been excessively thirsty . Usually when a potty trained dog begins to have accidents, it is a UTI. But Athena’s urine test came back mostly normal. Which meant more tests to figure out what is wrong. She had blood work and an abdominal x-ray. Her liver is grossly enlarged and her blood work shows some high numbers in relation to the liver and adrenal glands. So now we have to have an ultrasound to determine if it is liver disease, Crohn’s disease or (huge sigh)…cancer-lymphoma. We have her ultrasound next Wednesday to try to determine how to proceed. I hope hope hope that it is not cancer…did I mention hope?? I pray that it ends up somehow being nothing at all and she is miraculously better come next Wednesday.

This picture is Athena being fed at on the table when she was having tummy problems last month (due to dog food allergies). She is eating steamed white rice.

Thought I would include a picture taken yesterday of one of our other dogs wrapped up in our daughter’s favorite blanket.

These are some spoiled pooches that live in this house! I hope they will LIVE here much, much longer!