Snowmen

"Take your hat off so I can get a nice picture of you."

"No. I like my hat and I'm not ashamed of it."

It was another gorgeous day.

The sun was shining.

The snow was perfect for snowmen making.

Tony is not afraid to jump right in and play with the kids, no matter the weather. I have gotten lazy over the years and the cold scares me away. I am perfectly content with my excuse to have to stay with the baby in the house. But this day, I couldn't resist. I didn't get my hands wet, mind you. But I was out there.

He's happy now, because Daddy helped him finish his snowman, but a few minutes earlier, he was crying because it didn't have a head.

"Then make a head."

"I did but Jacob ate it!"

The finished product was pretty impressive.

My boy

Oh, how everybody just adores this boy. He was taking a nap with me when I asked Courtney to grab the camera to capture his precious little sleepy face. But the clicking of the camera woke him up. And this is how he wakes up. He gives a little stretch, focuses on your face and gives you great big, goofy smile.
I don't know what I did to deserve such a content, happy baby.

Jump

Our bike rides have turned into playtime on the gravel pile. Just a few steps down the road they all get sidetracked and dump the bikes to climb up the hill. WE stay here for an hour until I call it's time to home.
"But we didn't go on a bike ride yet!"



Do you like Jacob's outfit?
We were already across the street before I realized he was dressed for bed, bare feet and all.





Now that's the way to take a bike ride.

Building Character

Now that summer is here...

We can begin a few activities that have been floating around in my mind but we just haven't had the time to follow through with.
One of those ideas is our character study. I'm really excited about this one.
Here's the plan...

We begin by making some apples out of card stock and writing the character traits on each. At the beginning of the week (or however long we feel like spending on each one) we put up our apple on the wall, discuss the word, its definition, and read the corresponding verse. And of course, we talk about the different ways to express it.
Every time I see them demonstrating this trait, a star goes up on the apple (each child has a designated color - It wont be discussed who's color is who's, I don't want it to turn into a competition, I want them to focus on their own personal growth.) There will be more to it, activities to go along with, depending on my energy level ;)

It's simple, but I think it will be enjoyable, and hopefully, it will be a wonderful learning experience.



Our list...
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,temperance, ..." Gal 5:22



A few quotes from the Pearls keep coming to mind as I prepare for this that I thought were worth sharing.

"Discontented parents breed discontented children."
"A bitter root cannot produce sweet fruit."
"If "the joy of the Lord is our strength," then surely the joy of the parents is the strength of a child."

Savor those words for a minute.
We easily recognise the weaknesses and areas in need of improvement in our children, but often fail to see the source of their undesirable traits. It is learned from the parents. How can we expect our child to show perfect patience when we so easily loose our temper? How will they learn contentment when they witness our covetousness?
I realised that this is more important for me than it is for the kids. I cannot expect anything from them until I correct myself first.

So now that I've told you, I HAVE to follow through. You can hold me to it. I'll let you know in a week how much "love" we have expressed.

Pathways

We took a spontaneous walk to day with our friend, Julia and her kids. I took MANY pictures, it was hard to narrow it down. Here's just a few.











What do you do when your baby is eating mud?



You take a picture before you wash him off, of course.





Gracie and Gracie



Joe and Joe


(for those who don't know- Grace can't say Jacob so she calls them both Joe)

The Creek

How fortunate we are to have this beautiful spot right across the street from our house. I love it down here. The road to get there is short enough that all the kids can make it and you don't get tired out, but long enough that it feels like we are getting away and you could count it for your daily workout.
It's also a GREAT place to bring the camera. I always come home with wonderful pictures. But when your models are this beautiful...









Our new family portrait



Courtney is so great with Grace. Especially when it has anything to do with water. She loves to bring her in (whether she wants to or not) and dip her feet in and swing her around. Grace is starting to get a little afraid of water so it's good for her. -Although, a little fear is a good thing.







Ok, Court, that's enough.



They played hard! Grace is beat. It's time to go home.

Sunday nap

He's adorable, isn't he?


And the baby's pretty cute, too.

Bobo

An old nickname that came from a book about a monkey named Bobo that was looking for a hug. When he found his mother, he cried "Mama!" and she cried back, "Bobo!". Jacob loved this book, and we read these lines enthusiastically.
He would surprise me throughout the day with a huge hug and a "Mama!" and I would return with a bigger hug and a "Bobo!"

Grace has trouble with Jacob's name. So she just calls him Joe. So the girls started the nickname up again because it's easy for her to say.
And he doesn't seem to mind. It's better than being called Joe.





While working through some math problems the other day, a question was raised.
"How do you make a kiloliter into a liter?"
Jacob answered from across the room, "You just take the K off."
___________________________________________________________
Jacob - "You have 7 kids in this family but you didn't born one of them. Know who it is?" (Holding a stuffed monkey, named Bobo of course, behind his back)
Me - "Um, let me guess, Bobo?"
Joe - "Nobody borned Bobo."
Jacob - "Yeah, somebody borned him. A monkey borned Bobo.
Then somebody shot him.
Then they took the meat out of him.
Then they stuffed him with fluffing.
Then they sewed him back up.
(long pause, in deep thought)
...is that how they make toys?"

If it was, we would have a lot less stuffed animals in this house.

My sweet, sweet girl. I feel for her, I really do. She is having such a hard time adjusting to the new baby.

It's not that she isn't the center of attention anymore. She still is. She is still very often entertaining the entire living room, pretending that she doesn't notice everyone laughing and cooing over her. She still is a big hit.

And it's not that she dislikes the baby. Not at all. The problem is that she loves him just too much.

But she is so clumsy and rough. She asks several times a day to hold him and no one ever lets her. She helps change his diaper by grabbing a wipe and smacking him across the bottom as gentle as she knows how (unfortunately that's not very gentle), and he cries, and then , of course, she cries. She climbs up on the bed every morning to come see "baby! baby! baby!" and always within minutes of being up there, loses her balance and lands on his head. Then he cries, then she cries... see a pattern?

Poor little thing, she's only trying to be helpful. But it's only been a few weeks, and she has been learning quickly how to be more gentle. She's getting there. And in a couple of months, he will be more durable, and in a couple of years, he will be beating up on her.

Doesn't he seem too young to be sucking his thumb?
Apparently, Joe taught him. That's what Jacob told me.



It's too bad this baby doesn't get any affection...

Montazuma

Wet, rainy morning so we took a drive to Montazuma to see a little wildlife. We didn't see a whole lot other than birds and some neat plant life. The kids were pretty thrilled to be able to unbuckle! I think the highlight for the boys was to be roaming free in the backseat.
The veiw was awsome.



We saw teeny tiny ducks and quite a few herons.



And one goose...



Then we found a trail and went for a little hike.
Kathy, these pictures are for you! I know how much you LOVE my bug and flower pictures! Hey, be thankful I didn't see any fungus.













All right, here's some of the kids.
Jacob showing me how sticky the plants were.