1st Week of School

This week we started school.  Kristin is officially in Kindergarten (doing 1st grade work). Kade is in pre-k, and Kyler is our busy toddler who wants to do whatever we are doing, so he's in tot-school.  I usually would start after Labor Day, but we are going to take off a couple weeks in the fall, so this kinda makes up for that.  The kids have also been asking to start for a couple weeks now, so I guess we were just ready.  I can very honestly tell you that I loved this week.  I was reminded how we all do much better with a routine.  There were a few melt downs (as expected), but not the kind you would expect doing school.  Kade cried the 1st day, he was upset because he wanted more school work to do.  Kristin's meltdowns had to do with her brothers annoying her.  All things considered, I think we all had a good week, and I was again reminded why we homeschool.  It is such a blessing to be able to teach my own children, and I love it.

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Fun 1st day pictures

This week we played store to help Kristin count money.  It was so much fun.  One more reason homeschooling is so great.

 

Last Week of Summer

Last week we enjoyed our last week of summer break together.  It was full of adventures and great quality time with my kids.  Love this time we have together, we are so blessed.  Here are a couple pictures from last week.

Zoo Fun (click to enlarge)

Firefighter's Museum

We have been enjoying some fun times together this last week.  Here are some hi-lights:

Celebrating National S'mores Day

Baking Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

Watching Daddy Skin a Rattlesnake

Lovin' Technology

Cuddling Time

Visiting our Favorite Splash Park

Kade's Special Outing With Daddy

(Watching Dirt Bike Races)

Jumpin' Fun

This summer has just flown by.  We have enjoyed a great time of adventures and visiting with many friends.  But, it is now definitely time to keep things a bit more low key as another school year quickly approaches.  Not to mention,  we have spent so much time with friends, I feel like I haven't had much time with my kids.  So now we are trying to spend a little more time at home and have fun mommy time.  There are also a few things we wanted to do before the summer was over.  So last week we took a trip to the mountains and enjoyed a hike together.  We have been wanting to do this all summer, but have just been so busy.  It was nice to enjoy some time in the mountains together.

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Adoption Education

Love this blog on the importance of families educating their children, the truth is there are tons of bi-racial families, and not just through adoption.

CLICK HERE TO SEE BLOG

Treasure Hunt

We went on our 1st geocaching adventure.  The kids loved it and Kade was convinced his treasure was left by a pirate.

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Wondering what geocaching is, check out this site: http://www.geocaching.com/

18 Months

Our sweet baby boy is 18 months now.  He's always so happy and energetic.  He loves to make people laugh and he really loves to mimic his siblings.  He is learning new words everyday and his adorable smile just melts my heart.  Words cannot describe the love we have for this little guy.  I'm so blessed to be his mommy!

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4th Of July

Summer Fun

I seems as though June has flown by.  It has been a busy month for us filled with many summer activities. Here are some of the hi-lights:

We took a trip to the southern part of our beautiful state and saw some caves and waterfalls.  We also enjoyed some yummy food,  lots of swimming, a family picnic, and a round of mini-golf.

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Kristin and Kade spent a week at VBS, so Kyler and I got to enjoy time with this sweet little girl. =)  We had lots of fun playing and dancing together.

We enjoyed lots of water time.  We went boating with some friends; we have enjoyed many fun times at our favorite beach (which happens to be a lake); we have gone to a pool and have enjoyed just swimming in our backyard.

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We went up to the mountains and enjoyed some time camping.  It was a bit hot and windy, but still tons of fun.  This was the 1st time we weren't able to have a campfire, so we improvised and make smores on the grill.

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We visited a local farm/petting zoo.  Kristin loved being able to feed the animals, the boys were so sure about it.

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We also went to our local rodeo and enjoyed this Bear Show, the Kids Rodeo, some rides, and yummy junk food.

I know what you are thinking, that is a lot of stuff for one month.  I completely agree, but it was tons of fun.  The rest of the summer should be a little more low key, we just happened to take 2 trips in June which made things a bit crazy.

Weekend Happenings

This past weekend was full of adventure to say the least.  Here are a few hi-lights:

Poor Kade has had a rough start to the summer.  He just finished one round of antibiotics for an ear infection and then by the end of last week he needed more for strep.

Kristin had her 1st dance recital and loved every moment of it.  She keeps asking when she can dance on a stage again.  

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And just because he is absolutely adorable, here is Kyler dancing.  He loves music and we discovered this weekend that he really loves dancing to the show Yo Gaba Gaba.

An Article Worth Reading

Our enemy is very real and I think it's easy to ignore this at times.  I feel like the last couple weeks his attacks have been so real in our lives and too close to home.  Thankfully we have an amazing God who is so much bigger!!!  This article last week was just a reminder of how satan will not stop at anything, even when it comes to helpless children.  Click the link below:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/29/world/africa/africa-child-adoption/index.html

The Proof of Your Love

So many times in life we can go through the motions of helping, but what truly matters is the motives behind our actions.  If we aren't truly reflecting God, His heart, and His love our actions are meaningless!!!  This is currently my favorite song, it says this so well:

Boating Fun

Thanks to a friend and her fabulous blog that I love following, we are taking fun reading adventures this summer.  This month we learned all about boats and had a blast.  June is about bugs and insects, here's the link for those of you who want to join the fun: click here

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Super Hero

Everyone has their own perspective of who they think a hero is.  Today I got a glimpse into the mind of my 4 year old and his idea of hero.  We have some family friends who are getting ready to leave for a missions trip, while dropping something off for them this morning, my son asks me if this person is a super hero.  I was confused for a bit, then asked him what he meant and he said she was a super hero because she is going to help people.  He definitely gave me a lot to think about this morning and I completely agree with him.  Super hero's do exist, all over the world people are making such great sacrifices to help others.

Little Helpers

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This may look like child labor, especially since I hate dusting and vacuuming.  But in my defense, when I asked them if they wanted to help me clean, these are the 2 things they chose to do.  I might actually enjoy cleaning now thanks to my great helpers!!!

What Really Matters

So many parents, friends, and family members get caught up in judging each other.  Well, truth be told, 1st of all it's not our job to judge each other, we weren't placed here for that reason.  2nd, it's not what truly matters in this world.  

There is something so much bigger that matters, read this blog to find out what truly matters: click here

The need for orphans is SO great.  Now this doesn't mean that everyone needs to adopt because that doesn't work out for everyone, but you can always help out an adoptive family.  We have some amazing friends who are following God's call to adopt, click here for more information on how you can help.

All About Kyler

His newest  accomplishment is going down the stairs, and he does it so well I might add.  He loves that he no longer needs to wait for us to carry him down to play with his siblings.  I love that we don't have to worry about constantly keeping the baby gate closed.

This little guy has also been learning words like crazy.  His older siblings enjoy trying to get him to repeat what they say.  He has also started to learn how to climb on bigger things (like our couch).  He gets excited and cheers for himself when he gets up. =)

One more mommy brag, then I will stop for today.  Kyler loves coloring.  This is a daily thing for him and he can sit and color for a long time.  Much longer than the typicaly 1 year old.

Slavery Today

Many people don't realize that slavery is still a huge problem today.  It's probably not the same slavery you think about from the past, but definitely still slavery.  I'm referring to sex trafficking, one of the biggest problems today that many of us are completely unaware of.  Currently the U.S. is the #1 sex trafficking country, yet we are blind to it.  Just to give you a little perspective on the truth behind this problem I would highly recommend watching the movie "The Whistleblower."  I will caution you that it is very intense, but I think people need to know what's going on!!!

Schools Out For The Summer

Last week we finished up school for the year.  Both Kristin and Kade far exceeded my expectations in every way, despite all the transitions this year has brought.  It is such a blessing teaching my kids and watching them grow, but I think we were all ready for a break.  To finish off our last week, we went on one final field trip to the new bakery in town.

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To celebrate the end of the school year daddy took them swimming.

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Little Person, Big Faith

It is pointed out multiple times in the Bible that we should have faith like a child.  This week I saw this in my son.  We have a new neighbor that moved in this week that is paralyzed.  As I tried to explain to Kade what this meant his exact response was that we need to pray and ask God to heal him.  That is exactly what Kade did this morning and then a little later he randomly tells me that God told him this man would be healed at 4 o'clock today.  God really can do anything and I think as adults we forget this often.  I am so blessed to see true faith and service lived out in my children, they are teaching me SO much.