Happy Canada Day!

We squeezed in a little Canadian festivity today in celebration of Canada Day. The kids are loving their new shirts and pinwheels from Grandma and seem to have a good affection toward Canada, as it should be.

The boy on the right cracks me up! He really does live life in a "full speed ahead" mode.
Happy Canada Day!

Already 3!

I can't believe our baby has already turned 3! The years just keep getting faster and faster it seems. We love this boy to pieces and are so thankful for his own unique personality. Smiley lives life fully and holds nothing back, seems to have no fear, shows lots of love and affection, is ready with a smile most of the time (and sometimes to save himself from a bad situation he has gotten himself into), laughs a lot, loves to sing songs at bedtime, holds his own with his big brother and sister, and is really a pleasant and happy child! We thank God for him and celebrate his 3 full years of life!

We had a party with friends the week before heading out on a big trip. It turned out to be a smaller group than we had planned for, but we enjoyed having time to really catch up with the parents while the kids played in the backyard. We had a lunch of hot dogs and sloppy joes and fixings to match. We sort of had a farm/John Deere theme so I had some green gingham, toy tractors, blue enamelware and fresh flowers to decorate and John Deere fruit snacks to send home with guests. For dessert we had green frosted cupcakes and dirt and worms, the latter being a huge hit, at least with our kids. Who can go wrong with a mixture of candy, cookies, pudding and cool whip? For entertainment, the kids played in the yard with bubbles, on the trampoline and with some outdoor toys. It was a low-key, but fun party.

Year-End School Events

Our family really benefited from the combination of homeschooling and sending Sportster to a charter academy homeschool program a couple times a week this past year. He loved the interaction with his class and his teacher and the fun things that I may neglect or not find feasible in a one-on-one setting here at home.

With the end of the school year, there was a flurry of activity which was great fun. But I also felt relief when the school year was over. Here is a little recap of things that were squeezed into about 2 weeks in May.

Field Trip to a nature center in town
My dear husband took a morning off so I could be one of the drivers and go along with Sportster's class which I really enjoyed.

Field Day with lots of fun activities for the kids

Keeping this young one out of the action was a challenge!

Patriotic Program
Sportster's teacher did a great job of putting this all together and I'm glad he is now familiar with many patriotic songs and parts of speeches and written documents. At the end of the program, his teacher also showed a DVD of photos from the year set to music. I don't think there was a dry eye left by the time that presentation had ended. Next up: a summer of fun and First Grade in the fall.

Where to begin again?

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, but life has been really busy and I haven't been juggling it all well enough to do even basic posts to keep the grandmas up to date on the kiddos. And now that it has been so long, I don't know where to begin....just leave a huge activity gap and go from the present or work at catching up. It likely doesn't matter to you all, so I do the latter, for the sake of far-off family.

My blogging, or lack thereof, is just a reflection of the state of my life right now. I really need to get it together. But I also don't want to fall into the trap of equating who I am with what I produce. Ah, such a balance!

I hope you have all been well. More to come later!

Celebrating My Girl

Last month our little girl turned 5. It is at this age when I realize just how fast they grow from tiny babes to active toddlers to young children who think they are ready to take on the world. The years have flown by and I thank God for the privilege of having a little girl to share all things feminine. She is the one in our household that always notices when I fix my hair differently, paint my nails, or set a pretty dinner table. She is the one that is aware of the emotions of others in the home, the one who points out what flowers are blooming in our yard, and the one who is always up for more snuggling. I pray we will raise her well in the fear and admonition of the Lord and that I will raise her well to delight in her femininity and to be a gracious young woman. It is a big task and one I don't take lightly. But I dream of the day when she is grown and excels in her womanly roles and the calling God has given her that we will see unfold in due time. She is a work in process. (And so is her mama!).

To celebrate her birthday this year we had a family dinner with her favorite food, rice, and she was able to open gifts that evening and enjoy cake no. 1. A few days later, we enjoyed a tea party with a few friends and their moms. The the moms had time to catch up while the girls played dress-up and did beading. It was a simple and elegant with fine china, fresh flowers, and a table set especially for the girls. And the girls were all dressed up in pretty dresses and using their best manners.
Some days the challenges of raising this girl overwhelm and exhaust me as I do my best to instruct her how to control her emotions, behave in a ladylike manner and think more of others, but I pray God gives me wisdom and endurance for the journey and a lifelong friendship with this one He has given me the joy of calling "my daughter."

Wondering on Wednesday

I've been wondering about lots of things lately. Like....

... Should I take a chance and get our vegetable seedlings planted outdoors (protected) before the end of May? I'm getting antsy to get them in the ground because I know the fall frost comes too quickly and they need as many days for the growing season as possible.

How do parents decide, how do WE decide which activities and what activities or educational opportunities are truly beneficial to our kids and manageable for our whole family?
T-ball, American Heritage Girls and Cub Scouts, fall soccer, church children's choir, Pioneer Club, swimming lessons, music lessons, Classical Conversations ... and the list of options goes on and on. At the ages of 5 and 6, how do you know things your child has a natural inclination toward? And with multiple children, how do you maintain the importance of home when you are out of the home more evenings than you are at home together as a family? It seems it is a process of choosing the best over the good...I feel clueless.

Why can't I get my act together to keep my house reasonably clean and orderly? The feeling of peace that comes from a clean and tidy house for me is one of the most refreshing things I experience...though I don't experience it too often. And I'm wishing we had our house had active storage space.

How do moms on a budget find times of refreshment? A day at the spa or a wardrobe or personal makeover ain't gonna happen here. And even on evenings when I am able to get out alone, I don't know what to do with myself, and I still need to cook dinner for my family, which detracts from the notion of a break.

Why do I like junky food? But I am finding that on mornings when I start with a spinach/fruit/protein shake, I crave junk far less. And I am drinking half as much soda as I was last year, so progress is happening, ever so slowly.

And why am I not losing any weight even though I have worked out 105 times this year so far? Oh, non-cooperative metabolism! Yes, my heart is healthier and I am stronger, but the scale is not budging.

How can I simplify shopping so I can spend more time doing things I enjoy or things that need more attention in my home? And without increasing our grocery budget?

How can we free up money in our budget for ordinary things like kids' activities, day trips out and about in this great state, more gardening supplies and the like. Not extravagances, just the costs that come with living a rich family life.

Am I good mom to my kids? What are my primary purposes and priorities in mothering and in the rest of life so that I do the important things well and let the less important things get less time and attention?

So far, none of these questions are really resolved. Hopefully in time many of them will be.

Restoring Order: The Laundry Room

When I saw that Rebecca and Monica were hosting Restoring Order I thought this was a great time to get to work on my laundry room. It has been out of control for weeks and negatively affecting my motivation to actually do the necessary work in there. When I started on it today I found laundry in all stages, a bunch of clothes which needed to be ironed, cleaning supplies, gifts in hiding (waiting to be wrapped or delivered), outgrown clothes, worn-out clothes, craft supplies, cloth tote bags and curtains, among other things. I really needed to pare down to what is essential to have in the laundry room and purge or put away that which had been dumped there in recent months for one reason or another. Here are the before shots....humbling.

To restore order to this space I did all the laundry and put it away, ironed the pile of things which needed ironing, discarded or stored the unsuitable clothing, wrapped all the gifts for upcoming events and stored them elsewhere, emptied the trash, washed the floor, baseboards and door and washed the adjoining hall and bathroom. I know that tomorrow we will have an abundance of laundry again, but for today I just really needed to hit the reset button so that tomorrow I won't be overwhelmed at the thought of doing a normal task like laundry. Here are the after shots....aaaahhh!

What areas are you working to restore to order today? See what others are doing here.