Friday Morning

Since we're not a preschool-free home I can post on Fridays again! I have a bit more time in my days, on the other hand, I haven't left the house since Monday afternoon. Yikes! We'll be going to the pet store today to check out their chinchilla selection. Not because we're getting a chinchilla, but because Chloe's decided they're her new favorite animal and did a writing project yesterday about them so I said we could go look a one in real life.

Here's baby boy while we were in the ATL. Now that he's turned two he seems like such a big boy to me. His favorite phrases are "muggle!!" (smile) and "I duper honry!" (I'm super hungry) and "Bebe bite!!" (Phoebe bite!). It's precious.

Ava's doing well with the whole preschool thing. Hasn't mentioned it at all. I think she's enjoyed being home the last few days. Yesterday she and Silas played house for an hour while Chloe and I worked on school. It was the sweetest thing. She's been doing some schoolwork of her own as she asks for it. She's completely ready to read, but not quite willing yet...she reads simple words on her own and spells easy words to me often, but is hesitant to sit down with me for a phonics lesson. I don't push, when she's ready we'll start. I can't believe come August I will have a second grader and kindergartener!

Here's Chloe and my dad driving his lawnmower. Chloe thought she was some kind of beauty queen and was waving (like a princess) the whole time he was driving. It was quite comical. So as we're wrapping up our second year of homeschooling I've figured something out. I'm just not an all-inclusive curriculum kind of homeschooler. We've used HOD this year and I keep finding myself straying and just using different things for each subject. We've switched from Singapore Math to Math Mammoth, we've started WriteShop for writing (which we LOVE- Chloe calls it the fun writing!), I've made up our own stuff for geography and history because we've gotten tired of reading about Pilgrims. We memorize ABC Bible Verses for Bible and are using our Child Training Bible as well (which I still need to post on!). So next year I'm just going to go with this method. Hopefully combine the girls for science and social studies and Bible, and do their own stuff for everything else. I do LOVE HOD's emerging readers book recommendations though, we've read some great books this year.

I have found that this year, my 29th, has been all about being comfortable in my own skin. It's such a small thing, but I've stopped coloring my hair and have just embraced it's redness. I've been working hard developing my photography skills. I've become more comfortable in my parenting. We've been leading a Bible study in our home which I LOVE! We've found an amazing babysitter and use her regularly, which has been such a tremendous blessing for our marriage. I've become okay with not having family around and am thankful to have such amazing friends who are like family to us. Every Sunday in church I'm choked up in worship. God's love and his grace is absolutely overwhelming to me. Seeing Him show up in my life, daily, through big and small situations is just astounding. His grace has always been something that's just taken my breath away. I'm so unworthy, and he's so faithful to pour it out upon my life. I love Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts and the part where she writes "Can I believe the gospel, that God is patiently transfiguring all the notes of my life into the song of His Son? What in the world, in all this world, is grace? I can say it certain now: All is grace. God is always good and I am always loved. " (p.100) this part seems to sum up my life. All is grace. This may be one of the most powerful things I've learned. I feel like I need to stamp these words all over my body, as a testimony of His goodness.

Have an amazing day!