The vast majority of these photos were taken by our family photographer, Aunt Janet. Thank you, yet again, Janet!! Baseball season has been time-consuming but joyous this year. Joshua joined a team late in the season that was short on players because after seeing his brothers enjoy playing so much, he wanted in on this action too! That puts Joshua in the “Mustang” league, which is an exciting game to watch. At this level, the players get to pitch, get […]
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Alan and I are such a funny pair. People are always calling us “laid back” and fun, and sometimes, when they say that, I wonder, “Wow. Who else do they know because I think we are crazy high stress.” And that’s just it. It depends on who you’re comparing us to. When we first started out as sports parents, we were just plain dumb about it. We’d over-coach our boys, worry about it when they didn’t want to play, and […]
» Read moreI have a treat for you all today! A Very Veggie Giveaway! I have always liked Veggie Tales, even before I had children. The silly songs are a delight, and each and every episode shares a moral or Biblical principle. There is usually even a Bible verse to go along with the lesson. Love! But they do all this without losing the fun, and that’s what makes VeggieTales so unique. JD loves Veggie Tales so much that he often walks […]
» Read moreLately a few of my buddies have started something. It’s happened a few times over the years. I always get so excited when one of my real life friends starts…. A BLOG!!! I’m telling you, it’s the funnest thing, blogging. You don’t understand. You all are able to keep up with me, but I have the hardest time keeping up with YOU, unless you have a blog or update social media regularly. Katerina was one of my “park mom” friends […]
» Read moreIt was an unusual week of home schooling, mostly because Alan insisted I spend a large part of it teaching standardized test-taking skills. I made a go of it, but you can’t teach someone how to have a type-A go-getter personality. Either you have it or you don’t. My second child does not. “Caleb, you missed every single question about this story. You did not read the story. You absolutely did not.” Caleb replied, “Well, it had a picture, so […]
» Read moreThis week our family is preparing for standardized tests. I can safely tell you one thing that will never ever work at home school. Standardized tests. Oh.my.goodness. Alan downloaded practice tests and Scantron sheets for the boys to practice with. Here’s an example of why this sort of super official testing would never work at home school, at least not at ours: “Mom, I’m done! I’m done! I’m done!” Joshua shouted as he finished his math section. “Yay!! That’s great! […]
» Read moreThese are the kinds of fun things we get to do in Classical Conversations, our home school tutoring service and curriculum. Look closely at his picture to see if you can find the eel coming out of the coral. (Hint: middle-left, It’s a profile with an eye.) Classical Conversations is a rigorous way to approach home schooling, but it is also fun. It has definitely raised the educational bar for us. ******** If you felt like you were reading the […]
» Read moreThere are a few parenting mottos I’ve adopted, for which I do not apologize, not even a little, not even at all: #1. I’m difficult to communicate with/get a hold of. It doesn’t matter whether you email or call. I’m difficult. I’m maybe a little sorry for this one, but what can be done? If JD’s awake, taking care of him is a full-time job in and of itself. When he’s not awake, I must recover from the time that he […]
» Read moreAfter a 19-day vacation to see our folks, it warmed our hearts to find this in our driveway when we returned. What a hug to come home to this sweet driveway art! Our friends did this for us while we were away. Isn’t it funny how it’s the little things like this that make our days bright and cheery? And oh, while vacation was fun, it is always wonderful to be “Home Sweet Home”. Joshua, Caleb, and a buddy of […]
» Read moreAlmost two weeks ago, I set out with my four boys to fly from California to Georgia for Christmas. We managed to arrive in one piece, with all of our luggage, but that was not the miracle. Or maybe that was also a miracle. ha! As I shepherded the four of them, plus myself, our five back-packs, and countless electronic gadgets through the security machines, we followed the rules very nicely, and I counted the heads of my children 300 […]
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