Field Day

For the last several years we have had a Field Day as our last field trip of the year.  I love this tradition.  I think the kids really enjoy it too.

We go to a nearby park and set up games on the large open field.  We gather together to start our day with prayer.

I'm thankful for this sweet circle of friends.

I love seeing Eliana with one of her best buddies.  Just cute!

We have the students divided by ages.  The participate in some individual events.  Like the 50 yard dash.

Don't you just love this smile!!!  It blesses my heart to see him joining in and having fun with his friends.

Softball Throw













Broad Jump

We also have team events.  Like the egg and spoon race.

Three legged race.

An interesting variation on the traditional race ... hopping the entire time!

Sack Race.

When it's over, some played volleyball and kickball.  And frisbee.  There is always time for frisbee.

I love this.  I love seeing these two together.  She thinks he is awesome.  I think the feeling is mutual.

We also had a picnic lunch.  Awards were given out and notecards indicated best records in each of the individual events.

 We finished by honoring our seniors.  We wanted to do something special for them - nothing too big or elaborate.  Something to mark their time in the group and also bless them for the future.  This is our groups first graduating class.  Some of them have been with the group from the beginning.  They took some time to share their future plans with all of us.

 Then their families came up around them to pray over them.

 A picture of each graduate with his mom/teacher.

 We also each brought cupcakes to share with the group.  Can you pick out the ones we brought?  Rebecca made them in honor of his new school.

 A fun day.  Sweet memories.  Friends and family.

 This makes a fun ending to our year.  (Only this year we actually had one more field trip that we rescheduled.  Since all of the seniors couldn't be there though, we chose this event.  It was really the best day for it and hopefully makes a easy, memorable new tradition for our up and coming seniors.

 Blessings
Leslie

PS  I'm almost finished with my May wrap-ups!

Forward and Backward

I'm in an interesting place right now.  Backwards and forwards.  Past and future.  Looking back and catching up on my blog while thinking about things we've enjoyed.  Looking forward as I try to plan for the coming school year.  Looking back over the years and remembering.  The precious little boy that made me a mom.  Looking forward to changes.  Big changes.  My little boy has become a man right before my eyes.  Those types of words seemed so silly when I was younger.  I just didn't understand.  I know many of you do.  

So many emotions.  I'm thankful.  Excited.  Nervous.  Happy.  And to be honest a little sad.  This change is good, but its not going to be easy.  One of my boys asked me if I was going to cry when we took Christopher to college.  I told him yes.  He asked if I was sure.  I again told him yes.  I've been tearing up when I talk about it for over a year.  I'm sure I'll cry.  He then asked me if I was going to cry all day long.  Lets hope not.  (I don't think I will if anyone is wondering.)  

I'm not sure that all of my children even really understand what is about to happen.  A couple of them have been talking about the changes for awhile.  I'm not really sure if I should be doing more to prepare them.  Is there really even a way to prepare them?  I'm not sure.  

One week.  That's all that left of Christopher's summer.  It's been a short one it seems.  And full.  In one week, he'll be moved into his college dorm.  One short week.  

God, thank you for these years.  Thank you for the ways that you have blessed me beyond measure.  Thank you for this wonderful young man.  My son.  Give us grace to grow through these changes and to come through stronger.  Give us wisdom to navigate.  Give us love to pour out.  Thank you God for your good gifts.  

On a different note, this past year was our first year participating in Awana.  I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I've had friends that have been in the program who loved it, but I still wondered how it would work for my family.  I wasn't sure it would work at all.  

I liked the structure of the program - scripture memory, games and Bible time.  I liked the practical structure of the Scripture memory books.  It was easy to integrate into our week.  The games are fun too.  Most of the time they did games inside, but a couple times a year, they headed outside.  

While I thought the two older boys would do well, the one I was really unsure about - was my youngest son.  He didn't really like to be in crowds and noise can be a challenge.  Having sensory processing issues can just make things hard sometimes.  We decided to give it a try ... and he loved it!

 I learned that he is great at memorizing verses.  I also learned that he was ready for this experience.  When we began the year, I went with him to every meeting.  I helped where I could in his class, but mostly I was there to make sure he was doing alright.

 As the year went on, I could see that he was becoming more and more comfortable.  He reached a point where it was fine for me to leave.  I know for many this may not sound like much, but it was a huge milestone for this little boy!  I wasn't leaving him in tears either.  He was happy and comfortable.

 One of our last meeting times included water games.  This is something that a year ago, I don't think he could have done.  This year, he did.  They squirted water into cups, passed soaked sponges over their heads, did a balloon toss and more.

 It was fun watching my younger sons enjoy this.  All of them.

 On the last meeting of the year, they were surprised by an ice cream truck.  What a fun way to end the year.

Ice cream and friends.  A great combo.  

This has been more than just having fun.  They have learned a lot of scripture and heard many Bible stories.  They had fabulous Awana leaders!!!  I was very thankful for the ways that they helped my boys personally.  I hope and pray that experiences like this will help give root to God's word in their hearts and lives.  

We are looking forward to the next year!  Looking forward to something good.  Looking back and giving thanks.  Working on looking forward and being thankful too.  I'm thankful that whatever lies ahead of me, I know that God is there.  I'm thankful that He has a plan for my life and for my children's lives.  I'm thankful that I never walk this path alone.  He is there and He is good.  

Blessings

Leslie

Some May happenings

Yes, still playing catch-up, but trying to combine some things into one post.  So many things happen in May - lots of things coming to an end and a lot of celebrations.  Things seemed especially busy this year as we were preparing for a graduation.

In the midst of the busy times, it is always good to stop and remember what is really important.  People.  The most treasured things in my life are people.  Family.  Friends.  My precious Savior Jesus.  It can become so easy to get caught up in things, stuff, schedules and miss out on the important things.  Its something I constantly have to remind myself.

Here are a few glimpses of the celebrations with those special to me.

Our FIAR group had a Mom's outing in May.  Just a little something sweet, but mostly we just enjoy the company.  Time to talk, remember, share and laugh.  I'm thankful for good friends.

We celebrated Mother's Day.  I love being a Mom.  It has been the best thing!!!  God has been so good to bless us with wonderful children and I am so thankful to be their mom.  They did a great job in treating me to a special day.

I love homemade cards!

 All my meals are made for me.  I even got the red plate!

 Fun time playing Wii with my boys.

 Some sweet gifts.

I've been blessed to have a wonderful mom - a beautiful example in so many ways.  I love you Mom and am thankful for you!!!

Making memories together with Five in a Row.  This was our Chinese meal to go along with the book The Story about Ping.  Food is a fun way to make memories!

Laughter.  Shared times.  I love seeing my children enjoying being together.  Yesterday, I was talking with Eliana about something and one of the kids said something about being awesome.  I asked Eliana, "Who is awesome?"  Without hesitating, she gave me an answer, "Bober" awesome.  She is consistent too.  Today when we would ask, she would give the same answer and when other siblings would ask "Am I awesome?", she would reply ... "No.  Bober awesome."  LOL  He is pretty awesome.

 Little Miss Sunshine in a cute outfit that her grandparents gave her.

There are times with friends too that are hard.  Saying good-bye is one of them.  We had a party for one of our friends just before she and her family moved.

 It was a sweet day.  We miss you Jasmine and girls!

My life is full and blessed in so many ways.  I am thankful for so much!

Blessings
Leslie

April & May book club meetings

Well, I'm still catching up on some things and hope this is a fun look back.  As we look ahead to the coming year, we are trying to select books for our book club.  This is a mother-daughter book club and it's been a lot of fun.  We wanted something to challenge the girls to lead discussions, form opinions (and share them) and also just to have a great time!  If anyone has suggestions for book titles, please share them as we haven't come up with too many for the year yet.  

In April, we met to read Prisoner in the Palace by Michaela MacColl.  I really enjoyed the book, though it does have some scenes that are difficult and I would recommend pre-reading it to see if its right for your daughter.  I'm happy to share more specifics if you want more details.  We thought it opened up a lot of good avenues for discussion.  

Rebecca made a delicious spread for us to enjoy!  The foods were like a tea party.  Petit fours, tea sandwiches (cucumber and chicken salad), scones with jam (which were so yummy)!  

Afterwards the girls played some games - one of them pretty silly.  Its fun to hear them laugh and just enjoy being together.

In May, we read the book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.  This is the first book in a three part series.  I enjoyed the book, but it was challenging to read of the harsh treatment of the main character, Isabel, and her sister Ruth.  They were both slaves during the Revolutionary War.  I would recommend this book! 

As always, we enjoyed a delicious spread after our discussion.  This is a sweet part of our time together.

We are looking forward to another fun year together.   

Blessings

Leslie

Lazy days of summer

So many things that need to be done and yet we need some lazy days.  Our summer has been full, especially for Christopher.  Here is a blog post he wrote about one day of his experience at Summit Student conferences.  This has been a great experience for him and one I'm glad he has had the opportunity to do.  If you are interested in learning more about the experience, the student posts are a great way to get a feel for what goes on there.

Its nice to have a week without much planned.  We can sleep in, read books, play legos or just relax.

I've been trying to do some planning for school.  I haven't made as much progress as I would like, but I still have another good week.

I've also been working on cleaning up and decluttering.  It also isn't going as quickly as I would like.  It never does.  I've finished the boys rooms including having them try on all of their fall/winter clothes so I could get things ready for the next consignment sale.

The other room on the list has been the playroom.  If you have been in this room, you know what a job that has been.  We are trying to sort through all of the playmobil and organize what they are playing with.  One of the neat benefits of getting this room more organized has been having Eliana play more with the kitchen.   She is really enjoying playing and pretending.  One day Joshua played kitchen with her and when he told me all of the things they had done, I was so impressed.  He was helping her to learn and work on new skills - just the way we need to play with her!  I love that he did that.

I've also been working (with others) on getting things ready for our homeschool group - setting up field trips, planning the mom's meetings and more.  It is looking like a fun year!

The other huge thing on my mind has been learning about Celiac disease.  I'll post more on that as we work through this process.  I'm reading some books and trying to cook foods that are safe for her.  There is a lot to learn and to think about.  I'm thankful for friends who are helping me navigate this new path.

So, back to the lazy days.  I want to figure out some fun things to do in this last week and half with all of my family home.  Any fun ideas?

Blessings
Leslie