We're Ready for Easter!

Although we don't do Lent and the traditional Holy Week festivities, I did take this week to teach my kids about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ so they know why we celebrate Easter. Eggs and candy are great, but our focus needs to be on Him. 

We started in the Old Testament because He is the fulfillment of it, after all. And it was important to know about what Passover was and why it was celebrated. We've been going through the Bible chronologically so far and are in the prophets, so the Exodus after the last plague was a review for them. I then went to the triumphal entry of Christ to the Passover/ Last Supper, the garden of Gethsemane, Pilate, crucifixion, the empty tomb. I hit the big stuff.

We took a break from our usual Abeka to do some Easter focused work. We did pattern matches, word searches, find the vowel, complete the word, Scripture transcribing, and color sheets. Tony loved having his own work to do instead of just playing all day. I may have to make  small unit studies for him. 

What I liked about the printables I found were that there were different levels of difficulty. Tony could have just a color sheet where Auds' would have Scripture for her to copy. 

We're spending Good Friday preparing a joint youth service with a neighboring youth group and a big service on Sunday. I've got all the ingredients to make resurrection cookies tomorrow night, and will be packing baskets as they sleep. 

Sunday will be packed getting ready for service and attending church. I'll be photographing the service, so it'll be busy for me. The annual church egg hunt happens after and then we'll come home for our own egg hunt, basket goodies, and lunch. 

Monday starts a busy week of editing school spring pictures, cap and gown pictures, a maternity session, and going to the governor's mansion for a special presentation I was invited to about helping fight sex trafficking in America and reaching out to these poor little girls. Makes me cry to even consider something like that happening to my angel. 

Anyway, happy thoughts. I finally got pictures of all the kids to hang in the house. I've never done that before because I'm so busy with work, but I made a special effort this year. It's a miracle. I'm thrilled and feel so fancy. It'll look so much better when we paint over the hideous red. And Auds has loved reading the monthly Scripture on our board this month. Quoting this verse has been almost as fun for her as reciting all of the books of the Bible. 

He is risen! Happy Easter to you and yours! 

Happy Easter!!

I promise I'll write when I actually have a chance. In the meantime, spring portraits! 

http://www.stephanieleblancphotography.com/2014/04/happy-easter/

Outside Time

The good thing about living in the South is that it warms up pretty early in the year. The bad part is that by the end of the summer it feels like Satan's armpit, but there's nothing we can do about that.

We have been, however, enjoying outside as much as we can before it gets too hot. We bought our house because it's smack in the middle of a half acre. It's not a homestead, but it beats suburban lots. Anyway, we've got a nice sized front and backyard on a quiet cul de sac and we pictured taking strolls with kids and dog in tow, drawing over our long driveway, and eating meals on the patio slab outback.

Those dreams are finally coming to fruition. :) we've been eating out as much as our schedule allows in the evenings and have enjoyed watching the kids play and have fun. I hope the kids look back on this time as fondly as we will.

Zoo Trip

Today we had a zoo outing with our homeschooling group. The group just got started and is relatively small, but will provide some outings and activities with other kids that will be fun. It's mostly Baptists from the same church, with one Pentecostal, and one Catholic, so there's no pressure or signed statements of belief agreements, which is nice.

This morning started out in the 30s, so I wasn't sure if we'd go or not. I decided to go when it got in the upper 40s and bundled the kids up. Took me 15 minutes to get everyone dressed and out the door since they had motivation. It was a miracle. Especially when we left half an hour later than we needed to to make the meet up time since I wasn't sure we'd be going. Thankfully, it warmed up into the 60s, so it was a beautiful day.

It was my first time going to the zoo with all three kids sans B, but the other ladies were amazing to help watch a baby while I took bigger kids to the potty or hold a big kid's hand when it got crowded.

We didn't know until we got there, but it was school day, which meant that a lot of the area schools were there for field trips. So, I guess we fit in in a way, taking our kids on a field trip.

The kids were so well behaved and we had a wonderful time! We even all crammed in on a seat on the train and got to ride around and enjoy the sun and breeze.

We even had a visit from a peacock while I nursed Drum, which really excited the kids.

Once B gets his yearly raise we're planning on getting a membership so we can go more often. It'll pay for itself in three visits, so it'll be worth it. Now that I know I can make the trip with all three (thank you, triple stroller!), I anticipate more visits since it's only a half an hour away.

I Can't Believe It

I had been putting off potty learning with T because it was an awful experience with Auds. She decided to want to use the potty right at the same time her preemie brother was born and needed a lot of attention and extra medical help so it became a battle and she felt the need to purposely mess while T was getting tended to. Even if I showered her with affection, the moment it wasn't on her she would do something to change that. Then we moved and got a dog and added fuel to the fire. My sweet, head-strong love.

I probably could have started with T the same time Drum was born, but I didn't want to do that again. Then I started watching my assistant's little girl and didn't want to add another burden. Then I started homeschooling. You can see the pattern.

Wednesday this past week he looked me square in the eye, squatted down and said "I'm pooping on the rug, not the potty." He was in his diaper, but it was the last straw. If he could do that, he could go in the potty. So, Thursday I just up and decided to help him learn. I downloaded a potty training Elmo app on my phone and we did it. Anytime he had an accident, he would have to clean it up. The first day, he had about 3. One was when we first started, one was in the bathroom while trying to get to the potty, and one started in his sister's room and went down the hall to the bathroom as he tried to make it once it started.

Day two he woke up dry, and he had two accidents that ended as successes. He would start to go a little before he recognized the sensation and would freak out, stop, and run to the bathroom to finish.

Day three he woke up dry. Then he had one accident-turned-success and looked at me in horror as I was working and said," Mama, I'm not supposed to poop in your studio!" I whisked him away and he finished on the potty.

Day four he woke up dry, had no accidents, pooped on the potty, and even made it through a funeral.

I think it's safe to say that he knows how to use the potty! It'll be interesting how we handle church and outings, but I'm sure he'll do well.

I can't believe he isn't in diapers anymore. It took less than a week! I'm elated, and proud, and thanking God because I was expecting it to be a very difficult thing and it was a dream it was so easy.

I only have one boy in diapers now! And he looks so cute strutting around in his superhero underpants.

Eeek!

Check it out here: http://www.stephanieleblancphotography.com/2014/02/a-big-day/

Whirlwind

After our snowcapades, we've had quite a busy time over here. And it's still freezing. This is the worst winter we've had in years. Normally a light jacket is all that is needed here (we wear turtlenecks when it hit below 70) but this year it's so cold that no one even wants to be out.

The first week of February brought Tony's third birthday. It's crazy how fast time flies. He's now incredibly active, incredibly talkative, and incredibly mischievous and I love him all the more. He participates in school everyday and has memorized the Pledge of Allegiance. He loves trains - they've taken over the house.

I can't believe this sweet boy was once an itty bitty premie. He has come such a long way! He has even started teeteeing on the potty! Not full time, and I'm not full-on pushing training yet (more for my own sake and sanity than his) but he's doing it on his own when the wind blows and the mood strikes.

He's been benefiting from sitting in on classwork and can even recite Bible stories. He's not quoting yet, but I'm sure he'll get there. He's also a firm leftie, which is neat and will be interesting when it's time to teach handwriting.

This past weekend we had their joint party. The theme was fox because they love that silly song "What Does the Fox Say?" We had a fox cake, fox birthday banners, and fox ear crowns for everyone. I even made fox thank you cards for their guests' favors (play dough, not candy).

We had 11 kids 5 and under with three babies at our house and about half of the guests didn't show. That's what happens when a lot of your friends have multiple babies! It was actually nice and we had a break in the cold - albeit brief - so B took all the kids outside to play. We've got about half an acre and have a large swing set, playhouses, and a patio so it's great for kids.

This week we're throwing a Valentine's banquet at our church. I'm in charge if setting up and decorating, childcare during, and cleanup afterwards. I've been working my tail end off and won't be done until midnight Friday.

Today is my sweet baby girl's fifth birthday. I can't believe I've been a mommy for that long already. It seems like a blink of an eye. She's doing so well with homeschooling. She knows her numbers 1-100, can do simple math, reads beginner sentences, quotes Scripture, and writes in both print and cursive. She has the hardest time in handwriting coz she's a perfectionist and she doesn't have the dexterity skills to write perfectly yet, but she does amazingly well. She just amazes me.

She tolerates tap and loves ballet. Her recital is coming up and I can't wait! Her outfits are so cute (and modest)! Next year I might enroll her in the homeschooling class for ballet. Our school systems are doing so poorly here that homeschooling is becoming very popular and we're getting a lot of support and activities geared just towards homeschooling.

There's a local homeschooling group that is just getting started and we went to their first meeting last week. It's small -only about 5 families so far. There's a good mix of denominations, so there's no pressure to conform. We've got a couple of non-denoms, a Catholic, some Baptists, and me, the token Pentecostal.

The dad of the family who started it is a bus driver and handles field trips for schools (even though they only homeschool) and has a lot of ins for field trips for the group, so that's a plus.

They plan on getting together once a month or so, so we'll keep going and see how it works. The kids enjoyed playing with new friends, so that's a plus.

We're taking the day off as a holiday per Auds request and I've canceled my volunteer obligation for tonight so I can spend time with her.

I'm looking forward to getting some rest sometime soon, but I know that's not gonna happen. Lol