***Wordless Wednesday** ---a double birthday surprise trip

 

 

 

 

10 things we love about you...

Our sweet Melody has now officially hit double digits!!  

And you know what that means - we all get to share 10 things that we love about her!!!  

#1- how she is good with babies and is a mini-mom

#2-her cute smile 

#3- how she is so good with Rose

#4- she is my sister and plays with me

#5- how she loves to play similar video games as I 

#6- her willingness and love to help around the house especially when loving and helping with our lil Rose

#7- how she loves to read, read, read

#8- she is such a good little student and works so hard at school 

#9- her personality is "bright"

#10- she is unshakeable in stressful situations

Happy 10th birthday dear Melody!!!  

We love you so much!!!!  

++Thank you, God, for this sweet girl you have blessed and graced us with for the last ten years.  Please continue to live in, around and through her all the days of her life!!++

Wordless Wednesday - laundry soap making

(Recipe can be found here.  

My alterations:   I added a full cup of Borax, 3/4 bar of Fels Naptha and 1/3 of the Zote)

What does a day #2 look like??

I shared on our first day post how the little guys were up and ready to go for the day.  Well, much to my surprise, the four big kids were up and going and working like little busy bees before I was awake and out of the shower.  Guess they realized this year was not going to be "so bad" and that one of the best things about homeschooling is that the harder you work, the sooner you will be done and have more free time for the rest of the day!!

++Thank you, God, for surprise mornings like this and for the good kids you have blessed us with!!++

Back to (home) school - 2014/2015

I never thought I'd homeschool.  With my background in teaching and my sister-in-law being one of those "homeschool hicks", I just knew that homeschooling wasn't for me.  So when our oldest was preschool age, we proudly sent him to the local Catholic school, knowing we were making the right decision.  After a few months in, something didn't feel right.  The Rosary hanging on the wall, the name "Catholic", and the church sharing the same parking lot, didn't seem to make a huge effect on what he was bringing home - Halloween celebrations instead of All Saints and Advent seemed to jump right to Christmas as he learned all the typical secular Christmas songs - "Rudolf", "Frosty", etc....  BIG red flags going up, for sure!!  We were paying for a Catholic education and weren't seeing much faith taught at all.


So, what do we do?  Look that CrAzY "homeschooling hick" sister-in-law of mine and consider the unimaginable!!  What a step of humility!!  Our sweet Fone had a late August birthday, so we decided to make the next year a "trial homeschooling year" - really we couldn't screw up.  If it didn't work, then we'd send him to Kindergarten and he'd be the oldest in his class.  And, after a couple months of homeschooling our new 5 year old, there was a sense of peace, despite the toddler and baby and house I was trying to keep up with as well.  Amidst all these jobs as momma, cook, maid, nurse, and now teacher, there was that sense of peace and God telling us to "stay"!  So, guess what?  We did!!!


And our sweet Fone, once a Kindergartener, is now taller than me and in 8th grade homeschooling at the Young Family Academy!!  For the 2014/2015 school-year, we have six students....

Pookey

Max

Ariel

Melody

Mario

Fone

And, this sweet beauty of ours is too cute to not include, although she is not an "official" student yet.  She's actually more of a distraction at times, but adds so much JOY and fun times to our days!  

Rose

So how did day 1 go??  Here are some snippets and pictures to go along with our fun day....

These two birds were up and going way too early and woke me up all ready to begin their first day in Kindergarten and First Grade.  Such sweet boys...

We did our morning routine (get dressed, brush your teeth, make your bed, eat breakfast).  Oh yeah, gotta share the "breakfast of champions"....               

(or not!  thinking practical - lol!)

But I guess it is truly considered a "breakfast of champions" when you add in Soul Food (daily Mass readings podcast played from our Laudete app)...

Our kids trucked along with all their subjects and I was very happy at the ease of teaching 6 kids when you choose curriculum wisely.  We oped for a no-schedule-type-of-day and just took turns sharing the computers as needed and things went very smooth.  We have tried MANY different types and styles and one thing I have realized after the years go by and babies keep coming is that we need "practical" and "simple" and so far we are happy with the choices we made for this year (much more computer-based learning than in the past).  With our sweet baby coming in October, it gives me much confidence that the kids will be able to continue with most of their subjects for those first few weeks of transition while I snuggle and love and on our little guy and do lots of reading and resting from the couch with our youngest students.  Here are some pics of our sweet kids working their little tails off...

By the time the daddy/"principal" came home from work, all school was completed, graded and put away back in the tubs and on the shelves....

After a wonderfully, successful, blessed day #1, it was a necessity to celebrate with our favorite local ice cream....

++Thank you, God, for the unexpected calling of homeschooling you asked us to take on years ago, and the many blessings and fruits it has shown along the way!++

Wordless Wednesday - and a "Guessing Game" - WHAT is it????

CSJ Boys Camp - "Love one another"

I have three boys, well two boys and one big boy (hubby), who have been recovering the last couple days from an exhausting, spiritually overwhelming and inspiring four night camp with the Community of St. John.  This is THE highlight of their summer and I'm so grateful to have such a loving, generous husband who has taken vacation days the last four years to take part in and help lead this great opportunity for our boys.  Gotta love a daddy that is as involved as he is - I am one blessed gal!!

This year's theme was "Love One Another".  Last year's theme was "Go and Make Disciples".  Here's the t-shirt design that my husband helped create and order for the boys....     (good job, babe!!)

One thing I look forward to every year is watching the camp video, because I get to see all the fun the boys had during the camp-out.  You can see that it involves many fun outdoorsy activities (sports games, swimming, treasure hunt....), but also many great faith-filled opportunities as well (confession, Mass adoration, Marian procession....).

Another added fun element from this year's campout was a couple of the young adult helpers and some boys posed as pirates and snuck up on the larger group of boys while they were out swimming at the lake.  I had tears in my eyes, I was laughing so hard at times!!  With goofey adventures like this, it's no wonder the boys LOVE this camp....

++Thank you, God, for the Community of St. John for leading this wonderful camp every summer for our boys and giving the boys such a beautiful experience on what living their Catholic faith is like. Thank you for your Body of Christ, living and present and shining so brightly on retreats like this!!++