Category: brothers

It’s been 7 months since we flew south, but we are always home.

brothers, military life, moving, parenting

Daniel had his first week of tee-ball. Alan didn’t sign up to coach this year, not even to assistant coach, but he went out there today and helped anyway. And you know what happened? Alan came home so refreshed and happy. It was a beautiful thing to see. Alan says that Daniel will actually be one of the oldest, most experienced players on his team this year. Yayyyyy, Daniel!!! Meanwhile, you know what annoys me? Pop culture. Why? Because it […]

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2016 Christmas Gift Guide for Tween Boys, Ages 8-12

brothers, Christmas, giving, parenting

Top Pre-Teen Boy Picks: Ages ~8-12 #1. Popular Video Games this Christmas: Our sons don’t have any of these yet, and all three are on my oldest’s list. His nonna has already claimed the basketball one, and I took care of the Skylanders, thanks to this incredible deal that Amazon is running right now on it. (That’s a link that’ll take you to it. So yes, this whole page is chock full of affiliate links.)             […]

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Let the Summer Shenanigans Begin! (With a Sneak Peek at Our New House)

brothers, California, family, military life, moving, pictures

There’s a word we hear a lot around here: “best friend.” JD says that Daniel is his best friend. That is mostly because I drill that into all of my children’s heads from the moment they are born. “Oh, look, he is being so sweet to you. He is your best friend.” “Your brother will always be your best friend.” Positive reinforcement style of brain washing is a good thing to do. Trust me. JD often asks, “Where my best […]

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“Doesn’t JD make your heart smile?” It’s a quote post!

4 kids, babies, brothers, Daniel, family, funny stories, parenting

Alan, Caleb, and JD were in the kitchen eating cookies. I don’t know what JD said, but Caleb looked up at Alan and said, “Doesn’t JD make your heart smile?” We all definitely smiled. Caleb has also recently taken up saying, “ain’t.” He uses it correctly (if there is such a thing), but it took me by surprise. We don’t say ‘ain’t,’ nor does anyone that he knows in California. My suspicions lie with Granddaddy, but that’s okay. Caleb has […]

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VBS and Art Camp. Ready or not, we are doing this.

attitude, brothers, family, funny stories, little boys, parenting, summer

This is the big week, the BIG BIG week. The boys are going to Vacation Bible School, at our very own church. So yes, that means I am going to help. It’s an embarrassingly minimal amount of helping, really. I basically signed up to help lead around 2nd and 3rd graders and listen to them say Bible verses. I haven’t decorated or contributed in any other way. So why is this a big deal? Because we have the only two […]

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A California Summer is THE BEST kind of summer!

brothers, photography, pictures, sea mammals, summer
A California summer

That’s quite a claim to make isn’t it? THE BEST? Is it really the best? Surely something is better. I said it myself that Destin, Florida looks like this: Well, you know, you gotta love the one you’re with, and Northern California IS 70 degrees. 70. In July. I’ve decided something. “I ain’t leavin’!” No, I’m only kidding, but I do get to live here for a solid year yet. We have been doing the whole ‘lazy days of summer’ […]

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“Of all animals, the boy is the most unmanageable.” Plato

baseball, brothers, parenting

This week I am reading Little House on the Prairie to the boys. It’s the perfect ending to our year in American history. We read Little House in the Big Woods earlier this year. Big Woods was NOT a hit. There was moaning and groaning galore whenever story time arrived. I made them listen to the whole thing anyway. I’m not always as sweet as I look… I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that the boys are actually enjoying […]

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13 Wonderful Things That Are Happening at Our Homeschool

big family life, brothers, Classical Conversations, Easter, education, home school, parenting

I put this list together throughout this past week. Would you believe we only have 5 WEEKS of home schooling left for this year!!?  Have you ever had a new job that just took all you had and then some? Well, that was my first year of teaching, and I cannot wait for summer!!! A lot of good things are happening right now, though. I need to keep that in mind when I’m feeling beat down! I made a little […]

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Daniel thinks that I am April O’Neil.

birthday, blessings, brothers, cakes, Daniel, funny stories

Today Daniel turned four. I asked him what kind of cake he’d like for his birthday. In the very early years of parenting, I always bought the boys grocery store cakes with characters on them. There were a couple of years I even tried to make super pretty cakes–Caleb had a really impressive train cake two years in a row. But decorating cakes is a giant weakness for me. I’m just not good at it, so I resorted to buying […]

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A Sunset Walk in Monterey

beach, brothers, California, family, photography, pictures

Alan and I herded all the boys together and ventured over to Monterey this past weekend. The boys said things like this: “I don’t want to go.” “Can’t we just stay home?” Until we got there. Once we got there, they had a ball and didn’t want to leave. In fact, Joshua developed a sudden interest in film production. He made movie after movie and “News Story” after news story. Sorry, I am under strict gag orders to not share […]

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