Monday Funday!

Monday hit me like a ton of bricks.  

I was so not ready for it.

Especially after a beautiful Sunday that included a lunch date with James.

(Thanks for the time away and the pretty flowers Mimi and Papa)

So, I declared today a Monday Funday

(We called up some new friends for a play date at the park.  How beautiful to be out enjoying a walk in the middle of November.)

At home we played some math games with our jumbo dice.

And we wrote about our weekend nature walk up at the Santa Rosa Plateau.

(Seriously, we held snakes...eww!!!) 

(Ava is the one who takes care of bugs around our house I wasn't surprised that she jumped right in.) 

 (But sweet Judson is not so brave when it comes to things like this.  What a champ!)

(Petting a falcon) 

(Along the trail we met a volunteer ranger who was sketching pictures of the trail.  Ava stopped to watch. He gave her and Jud a sketch book and pencil as we went on our way.)

(And while Sissy wrote about our nature walk, Judson created his very own comic book.  It looks a lot like blue scribbles on a page but he could tell you all the exciting details if you asked.)

And what would be a Monday Funday without a teething baby.  

BOOKS!

We love books.

My little Ava would be happy to be read to all day long.  

And the boys are watching and developing a love for reading as well.

Judson walks into the library and knows just where to find his super hero books.

Thatcher flips through his board books.

And Ava creates a stack of books to take home within minutes.

(She looks so old curled up on the couch with a book.  And she's READING it.  She is such a good reader.  Something I praise God for.  With her special needs comes difficultly in some areas of learning, but reading has never been a problem.)

(Some books we've enjoyed together lately are, Little House in the Big Woods, Charlotte's Web, and Little Pilgrims Progress...other classics like Nancy Clancy and Frankly Frannie, too)  

  

(These graphic novels are a nightmare to read but Judson loves them and so we check one out each time.)

We also found a chapter book on CD for Ava and her life has been changed :-)  

I don't think we'll be listening to music in the car for quite some time.

Time

 No one knows better than parents how fast time flies.

It is amazing to watch these little ones grow so fast.  

Wasn't this little man just born?  

Now he walks, talks, and has an opinion on just about everything...

 Where does the time go?

 I was worried, with this homeschooling gig, that we would just have too much time on our hands.

Wrong.

Our time has been a true gift and one of my favorite things about doing school this way.

Some days we get stir crazy but we have the freedom now to go exploring with our days.

Libraries, parks, museums, the possibilities are endless...

We took an impromptu field trip to Pennypickles Workshop in Temecula last week.

It was so educational, hands on, and FUN!  

Disneyland remains one of our favorite places to explore and be together.

 I'm thankful for how the Lord is teaching me to treasure TIME.

Everyday and every moment is a gift...  

(Big Brother and Sister have been very excited about the learning to walk process.  Great helpers!) 

 (We kept the pumpkin carving pretty simple this year.  Just carved one silly face pumpkin and called it a day. And baked the delicious seeds of course!)  

(So much fun dressing up!  At least for some.)

(Ava's in a club through our homeschool support group called, Keepers of the Faith.  They made these rag dolls last meeting.  Such a cool craft.)

(I seriously can't think of a better use of time.  S'MORES in the backyard!!!)

(Ava and Papa spent about two hours playing Just Dance.  aka P.E.)  

 Speaking of time.  WAY too much of it went into this fireplace project.  

But it's done and it's beautiful and it makes this room a cozy place for family time.

James, you are amazing!

"But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in your hand..."

Psalm 31:14

Hello Fall

The nights are cooling off.

The days are too (and by that, I mean it's not triple digits) 

We picked pumpkins and the kids rode on ponies.

Yep, it's fall.

(The corn maze was a definite highlight)

(We did not bring home this pumpkin)  

It's hard, when you move, to leave behind those special places.

  Like the pumpkin patch that we visited every year in orange county.  

But we found an equally adorable one by our new home.  

It will hold new special memories for us throughout the years, I'm sure.  

The Move

We did it!

When we bought our home back in the Spring, I thought our September move date would never come.

But here we are, three weeks in our new home.

Of course the pictures and stories to share are rarely of things, but of the people that I love and the joy that God's given us in this time of transition.

While change is always hard, we've been amazed at how God's provided friends for us and for our kids...at how he's granted us peace in the midst of homesickness.

One of my favorite memories so far was getting the house in decent enough shape to have a game night, in a FINISHED playroom.  This play space was one reason we bought this home and seeing us PLAY in it was a dream fulfilled :-)

Buddy lasts about 10 minutes before he starts changing the game to something involving his super heroes.  

All kids handle chance differently.  Judson decided to change his identity to Spider-man for about 4 days :-)

Thatcher was so close to walking at our old place but I don't think he likes the hard wood floor here.

He doesn't like how it feels on his feet or his knees so Mama ends up carrying him a lot.

He'll adjust.

Daddy and his projects.

We are thankful for our handy man, making our house beautiful.

We do sacrifice some naps and some of our sanity however.

 The school situation we have going for Ava is wonderful.
She is thriving, academically, spiritually, emotionally.
One day a week she takes classes at a home school support campus.
The kids have been so kind to her and she's making friends easily.
At home her and I are bonding and loving our days together.

The boys love hanging at the home school campus.  

Here, they are enjoying their "pizza" and "milkshake"

The backyard is getting started tomorrow!  WOOT.

For now it's a pile of dirt and rocks and someone usually falls and scrapes their elbow or knee when we try to play out there.  

Soon enough.  

We are thankful for this place!  As we make memories, it's feeling like home.  

Thanks to everyone who has encouraged us, prayed for us, or visited us.  

 

Homeschool, and birthdays, and first words, OH MY!

So much wonderful, beautiful change in our lives right now.

All of our children have birthdays within 30 days of one another so we have been busy celebrating the little sweeties in our life.

Judson was up first and he turned 3.
He loves ninja turtles, super heroes, the park, his friends, and his binki (still)

(Thank you Lord for Judson)

Ava is starting third grade and I am honored to be her teacher this year.
We are entering adventures in homeschooling
So far it's HARD but so very very good!

(Here we go third grade!  Expecting great things)

Our baby is less and less of a baby every day.
He is saying his first words...
Mama, go, no, and yea.
He simply makes my Mama heart melt into a puddle on the floor.

(He eats everything!  These sticks were in his mouth three seconds later)

Focus

Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

- Colossians 3:2

It doesn't get much clearer but it is HARD to live out when all my senses are flooded with things of the world.  

And when my focus is on my "to do" list, or getting organized for homeschool, it seems very daunting.

Pintrest and Facebook are full of articles and advice on how to be a better Mother, Wife, Human.  

I buy it WAY too often.

But when my focus is on the things above, everything else falls into place so beautifully.

So as fall is right around the corner, it's time to get focused on the One who renews me from within and strengthens me with his love.

My babies deserve a Mama whose heart is right. 

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

{Judson learning to use scissors.}  

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

 {Ava getting ready to rock the water slide at VBS}

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

{Special milkshake treat after a long VBS day}

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

{Baby boy is just a dream. It's so not fair that he's almost ONE}

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

{We had a great aquarium day with our sweet Mimi}

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

{Singing and dancin the rain}