9.22.2010

Fingerprint Art


Okay, I'm SURE the teacher had as much
fun as the students on this fun project! 






















































Love to see those creative juices flowin'!

9.16.2010

Last November, We Asked God to Bless Our Home...



...and look what He has done! 




We were so excited to see the African Children's Choir perform last night and open our home to a few of its members as a host family!  I fell asleep contemplating the population of our house - 3 African countries and 8 people in total.  I whispered to Danny, "No one here has the same set of parents"...a bunch of "orphans" resting on the same soft spot. 

It was beautiful. 













































After the concert began, it quickly became apparent that my choice for a 3rd row seat may not have been the best one, but rather I should be stuffed in a dark corner somewhere to blubber and sob like a rediculous woman because that's exactly what I want to do every time I see the choir perform.  There's just something about hearing them say their names and proclam their dreams for a future they might not have lived to see. 

They've traded ashes for unfathomable beauty.


I trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross.  
-Kathryn Scott-


9.13.2010

Perfect Fall Weekend


Signs of Fall are in the air!  It's our favorite season...cool, crisp temps, caramel apples, turning leaves and endless opportunities for family fun! 

We christened the season with our first caramel apples this weekend!  It was a super fun day with our good friends...a magician and kids lunch at their church and then a beautiful drive to the orchard...doesn't get much better than that! 




My nephew Tucker has been playing peewee football and played his final game at the high school half-time game.  It was so fun to see him play under the big lights and see his excitement after the game.  Here's the little studalicious man in his uniform. 




Here's his momma lacing him up in all his gear...I'm still not sure he should be playing anything that requires a a "kidney guard," but there was no stopping that train!  He did great and left the game feeling like a superstar! 




We logged 3 good days of school last week, so as you can imagine by Friday we were plumb worn out and ready for a field trip!  (haha)  Actually, there was a "free day" at one of the indoor amusement parks, so we worked ahead and spent a fun day with some homeschool friends.  Later we all met up again for the football game! 

Bren and her BFFs, Olivia and Naomi 




And finally, Fall brings Brenin back to soccer!  She had her first practice Thursday and her first game Saturday.  They ended up losing but had a fantastic time! 

It was also picture day, so I made sure to pick her clothes out the night before to be sure everything was set and we wouldn't have to rush around in the morning (a girl can dream).  When we got to the pictures site, of course we were late (*sigh*)...I gave Brenin a once over and noticed her pants looked bunchy.  She said Daddy told her to put shorts on underneath her pants in case she gets hot during the game.  Okay, I said, why don't you just take the pants off and wear the shorts for the picture (assuming they were the SOCCER shorts I had purchased that week and laid on TOP of her stack of shorts to be easily seen).  She took her picture and I ran out to the car to get my order form which I had forgotten. 

I returned, and to my utter dismay (read in high drama voice), her precious daddio had chosen a pair of legging shorts (you know, the tight ones you wear UNDER a dress), which coincidentally look like knee length biker spandex shorts circa 1984.  Sooo....as you can imagine, I'm really really really looking forward to getting the professional photos back, complete with the personalized sports cards I ordered.  Because I think they're going to be really really neato.  Or if we're sticking with the '80s theme....totally rad! 

I blame the father. 

:-) 



Team Huddle




Go girl....they're closing in on ya!









SO close! 


















Happy Fall Y'all! 

9.09.2010

Ringing the 'ol School Bell!


First day of School this week! 

Brenin - 2nd grade




Luca - Kindergarten




We're leaping into learning in our frogalicious classroom!
























They're even hanging from the ceiling! 




I splurged on some nice maps to hang this year.  They've been surprisingly fun to explore and have opened up an array of conversations and state/country finding! 




They're large print and super easy to read, shiny and appealing to the eye!









The girls learned about continents this week, and we found some fun continent songs to sing and point to as we sang their names.  I taught both the girls the same content, but at different levels.  For example, it was a big deal for Luca to learn the word continent and grasp the concept of what it is on the world map, while Brenin was able to memorize the names of all 7 continents in the same lesson. 




I also set up a bookshelf with a bunch of learning toys/tools on it to be readily available for play.  I couldn't believe how interested they were in pulling the shelves apart and playing with their contents as soon as I set it up, just simply because they were in eye-shot!  I got this idea from the library because they always highlight books by standing them on top of the shelves, and for some reason I always want to check those books out!  I think they're on to something!  :-) 














Story cubes for reading comprehension.




I even found a few of MY old favorites to use this year too...anyone remember playing this??  It's gotten a lot fancier than what I used to play, and Brenin is LOVING it! 
 



Learning to manage TWO pupils this year has been a challenge.  I'm finding as always that organization is my friend.  I've planned ahead more than before and have a lot more hands-on learning ideas and tools to keep the juices flowing! 




A few school supplies. 




 Luca doesn't really need the chunkiness of these "first"
pencils, but I couldn't stand how cute they were! 















I'm encouraged by our first week and excited to
explore the world with my 2 beauties this year!