7 things...

In honor of your 7th birthday, I reflect back on the 7 defining moments that has made me proud to be your mommy. These moments are in no order, but they are moments that have truly defined my love for you, and my love in being your mommy.

1. The moment when you decided to follow Christ. I have never felt more proud, more happy, or more blessed to see you walking in the path of Christ.

2. The moment when you were born. I had never been a mommy before. And it was hard labor carrying you in my womb. You were born and you were sick. So often I would be by your NICU crib just reading to you, loving on you, or holding your hand.

3. The moment when you learned how to read. I hadn't taken the decision to homeschool you lightly. It was a decision I prayed and agonized over. But when I made the decision, I trusted God. And then you learned to read. And I watched how you blossomed, how you grew, how you became confident in yourself because you were able to read.

4. The moment when you saved my life, but were so scared to. You know Mommy has been sick for a while, but when Mommy needed you most, you were there for me. You called 911, got them to the house, and told them what was wrong. You did this with clarity, strength, and grace. And Mommy was able to survive.

5. The moment when daddy left us and you held on to me with strength. I went into a depression when he left, and you, you,  held me like I was able to go on. I lost my smile, and you gave it back to me. I was crying, and you healed my heart. You showed with all 2 years of yourself that you and I were/are/and always will be a team.

6. The moment when you showed me that you really are listening to me. This summer at Myrtle Beach lots of people came up to me and told me that my daughter was well behaved, a respectful young lady, and that her heart was pure gold. I've tried to instill respect, love, and helpfulness in you, and you are showing me that you are listening.

7. The moment when you looked at me and reminded me that I am loved by you. You have shown and told me repeatedly that you love me. Your love helps me to live. Your love has shown me that there is always someone watching me, so I better set a good example. So your love helps me to grow, grow more in God, grow more in grace, grow more in peace.

So my baby, on your 7th birthday, you are loved. You are cared for, you are deeply appreciated. And, you, you are mine.

First Day of School

So Monday was our first day of school. As is our tradition, we take first day of school pictures. And this year is no different. So without further aideu, here is our first day of school pictures.

Momma gets in on the pictures. 

Introducing Tater, My 3rd grader. 

Introducing my Jr Bug. My Preschooler/Kindergartner. 

And a group photo of my 2015-2016  students. 

Week 1

  Well, we've officially started back to school. We've started a brand new school year and a brand new way of doing school.
  This week we started by learning about the Fruit of the Spirit, we are starting with love. We are also using the Magic School Bus for science. For the first week we learned about ants. How they work together as a team, and how their bodies are formed. Tater and I are learning/reading/discovering the American Girl series. For this first 6 weeks we are studying Kaya. She is a Native American, Nez Perce girl. So we are getting to experience a brand new culture. In Language Arts, Jr Bug is reviewing his letters for the first few weeks of school. Then we are going to move on to making and reading words. Tater is working on using Rod and Staff curriculum. And in math, both of the kiddos did a review for the first week.
  We have had a busy week and we are moving forward at a fast pace. So, I'll show you some pics from our first week.

Tater's American Girl binder and her recreating the story of the Nez Perce people. 

Jr Bug doing "fishy" math. 

Writing his letter A.

Building her ant. Attaching the legs to the thorax. 

Showing off her ant that she made. 

Working on building his ant. 

Showing off his ant that he made 

Playing with her ant. 

As you can see Jr Bug is learning how to write his numbers. He's doing pretty well. 

Both kids made an ant hill with oats and black beans. 

Letter writing. 

Ant worksheets for both kiddos. 

Letter A sensory worksheet.

Since we are learning about Kaya for our AG series, we made a Kaya paper doll and a teepee for her doll. 

As big sister is working on her lessons, Jr Bug is playing letter factory".

As a part of our Fruit of the Spirit lessons the kids are learning Galatians 5:22-23.

My babies are required to update our calendar, our weather and recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day that we have school. Here's a picture of them doing that. 

Watching the Magic School Bus Gets Ants in its Pants. 

Since we were learning about ants we made our own ant farm. 

Jr Bug working on his numbers. 

Tater working on her math. 

See, I told you a busy week was had last week. And that was the first week of school. It's only going to get busier from here. Keep up and hold on because our first week is done and our second week is on deck. 

Tot School Graduate

  So Jr Bug has graduated from Tot School. He is no longer a baby, but a big boy. He has learned all of his letters and their sounds, he knows his numbers to 100 and he can confidently write his name and spell his first name.
  He will be moving to Pre-K/Kindergarten this Monday. I am very proud of him moving up and ready for him to learn more.
  So with that, here are some pictures of his last day of school.

Myrtle Beach 2015

Every year we have our annual Not Back to School Vacation where we enjoy a week of sun, playing, and having fun. Here's some pictures that show just how much fun we had on our vacation.