The Boys Take The Stage (aka The Front of the Church)

We finally made it to a group piano/violin recital this year!  It is funny how I can hear the boys play the same songs nearly every day, and it is still a thrill for me get to watch them perform.

The church where the recitals are now held is beautiful, however, I do really miss the feel of the theater at Austin Peay.  I loved watching my tiny little Jacob stand on that big stage and way the notes from his itty bitty violin could fill the building (got to love good acoustics).  But the church is probably just the right fit for Jamie right now.  While he didn't feel ready to play at his first recital, he did a great job at his second this past November (if only I hadn't deleted the SIM card before uploading those pictures and videos...Mom FAIL!).  And it was a proud moment, this time, when he didn't even hesitate to grab his violin and join the group to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Song of the Wind.

Boys play Twinkle Twinkle (Mississippi Hot)

We did have to get through nearly two pages of piano duets and trios until it was the boys' turn, but it was totally worth it to watch the boys play.  They both did great!  I cannot believe James is moving through the songs in book 1 so quickly (I guess it helps to have listened to them practically all his life) and having Jacob fill our home with Bach minuets feels a little surreal.

Jake plays Minuet 2

Jake plays Etude

It is a blessing to have our home filled with their music, and I am excited to see how they each of them use the talents they are developing as they grow.  I hope there are many stages and theaters in their future, but if they only use their music to bring beauty and joy to themselves and their families, then it will have all been worth it.

Unsent Christmas Card Photos

Once again, I did not get Christmas cards sent out.  Maybe by the time my kids are teenagers I will have that figured out...although I doubt it.  I think the secret is that I have to start thinking and planning for Christmas starting the first of November.  The problem is that I LOVE Thanksgiving!  But when I give Thanksgiving all of my November focus, I end up treating Christmas like an unexpected surprise.  "Wait...What?!?  Christmas is in 3 weeks?!?" yeah that is me like every year...

So here are this years Christmas pictures!  Taking pictures with an almost two year old actually went better than I expected it.  But she did let some of that Scarlett sass shine through toward the end of our little shoot.  My boys where awesome!  They were both so cooperative and helpful, and I appreciated their willing attitudes more than they know.

Even though these pictures didn't end up on any fancy card stock or on anyone else's fridge, I am so glad that we took them.  Pictures of my kids, especially all together, are such a gift.  I love to see their unique personalities come through, and it always warms my heart to capture the love that they have for one another.

 

Christmas Cookie Party

The best part of living in an Army town are the amazing people you meet.  The worst part about living in an Army town in is saying goodbye to the amazing people you meet.  Even after our move to the more "stable" side of Clarksville, most of the friends we have made are military and sadly, we will have to say "good bye" to many of them this summer.

But in the mean time, we are grateful to get to spend time and make memories with these great families.  I am especially grateful for awesome (organized) women who put together fun activities and playdates because my kids and I enjoy them so much!  Even Jacob has a great time (even though it is getting more and more difficult to get him in a picture).  I was worried that he would start to resist hanging out with younger kids since we don't really have any homeschool kids in the ward.  But instead he just steps up as a such a big help.

These are a couple pictures I took at a Christmas cookie decorating party.  It is obvious the Scarlett and James enjoyed themselves, and if you look closely, you can see that Jake was in fact in attendance.  The cutest part was watching him help Scarlett make her Christmas tree craft.  It hangs on our fridge and every time Scarlett sees it, she excitedly tells me, "That is my Christmas tree!  Jacob helped me!"

Wild, Fast, and Crazy With A Christ Like Heart

My Sweet Baby James turned 5 this month...5!!!  I can hardly believe it!!

Fifth birthdays are little rough for me.  Something about one of my babies becoming "school age" breaks my heart.  It doesn't make very much sense with us being a homeschool family.  It isn't like he is going anywhere.  I guess it is just knowing that if we were little more "normal," James would be joining his peers on the school bus this next fall and that even with homeschool I still have to register my son with the powers that be.  It just makes him feel a little less mine and that is more than this Momma can handle.

Luckily, I could not have dreamed up a sweeter 5 year old!  Sure James is a little wild and crazy.  He climbs up door ways (and then hangs from the top and slides down one side), flies down hills at a million miles an hour on his strider, and has holes in all his shirts and scratches on his ears from intense wrestling matches with our puppy, Dixie.  But it is selflessness and thoughtfulness that amazes me the most.  In the weeks leading up to his 5th Birthday, there were two moments that really stood out that perfectly illustrate the special kind-hearted spirit our James has.

When mom forgets candles you have to just pretend

In this first narrative I give total permission to laugh at my expense:  A couple of weeks ago James, Scarlett and I were hanging out outside, enjoying a gorgeous fall afternoon, while Jake finished his violin lesson.  James and Scarlett were happily playing in the crunchy leaves, while I looked on, having one of those "I am so blessed!  My life it so beautiful" moments.  Well, I was, until I heard a very loud buzzing sound right next to my ear.  I tried not to panic and hoped I could just wait it out for a few seconds and whatever it was would fly away.  Unfortunately, that was not the case and much to my horror, the buzzing insect was now trapped in my hair.  Que Mommy freak out!  "James!!  James!!  There is a bug in my hair!!  Get it out!!!" I squealed (yes, like a little girl).

Without a hesitation, James dropped the rake he had been playing with, and came running to my rescue.  I leaned over so he could assess the situation.  He reached forward, and then jumped back, "It is a WASP!!"  Now I was really freaking out, but, as my mind raced to find the a solution to this mini crisis, James stepped forward and reached up to untangle the wasp from my hair.  He did get the wasp out, but not without getting stung first.

While I'm sure it would have won first place at any American Funniest Home Videos contest had anyone been lucky enough to get it all on tape, it was the way my baby didn't hesitate to put my needs in front of his own that will make this a moment I will never forget.  He knew the wasp would likely sting him, but he helped me anyway.  I get a lump in throat just thinking about it.  James doesn't need to be taught or reminded "what Jesus would do" he already knows and he is probably already doing it.

The second story is as simple as it is sweet.  The night after my sister's wedding, the kids and I stayed across the hall from my parents at their hotel to squeeze in some extra family time.  The following morning, my kids and I were enjoying the yummy buffet breakfast before we headed back home when we heard my mom making her way down the hall.  Before she had even made her way into the lobby, James had leaped from his chair, grabbed a chair for my mom, and was clearing her a space on the little table so she could join us.

I could fill this blog of stories where James goes out of his way to help someone else or sacrifices what he wants to make his brother or sister smile.  He is a bring light in our family and in his sweet five year old ways he continues to teach each of us what Christ like love and service looks like.

James, you are an incredible boy!  You have a natural love for others and selflessness that most adults are still struggling to grasp.  I know that you will grow into an amazing man one day and you will bless the lives of everyone you come in contact with.  Thank you for your endless supply of snuggles and smiles.  You add a warmth to my life that I thank God for everyday.

My Crazy Beautiful Bathtime Girl

I don't grab for my camera like I wish I did.  That smart phone is just so darn convenient...probably too convenient.  Except that I usually don't do anything with those phone photos or movies except upload them on my computer every few months.  So, a few weeks ago, when I looked over at my little hot mess of a girl getting in the tub with the setting sun light streaming in behind her, I knew the phone just wasn't going to cut it.

Plugging along

Remember when school started in September?  These days, I don't think we get past the first week of August before cute "first day of school" pictures fill my facebook new feed and instagram.  As for my little homeschooling clan, we just keep plugging along.  But in honor of school starting for everyone else, I will do a little school update on my students.

Jake will be 7 and a half this month and never ceases to amaze me with the way he both retains and comprehends information!  Another homeschooling mom asked me just the other day, "How is Jake so smart?!?"  I laughed it off when she asked, but as I have said countless times before, he just came that way.  He has been blessed with an incredible mind!

He has fallen in love with reading this past year, and I half jokingly say that my job with him is done.  But really, once you can read, you really can teach yourself anything so I feel like it is an exciting milestone in his life!  Every time I see him nose deep in a book my heart is happy!  I am not exactly sure what his reading level is, but I would guess early middle school.  He flies through books at a rapid rate and has already enjoyed classics by Jake London and Mark Twain (they were adapted versions, so he still has the real ones to look forward to in several years).  He also loved the Shiloh trilogy and we have been reading quite a bit of historical Christian fictions together, but his current favorite is anything related to ancient Greece and their mythology.

As for math, we have stuck with the Saxon program and he is working on the beginning of the 4/5 curriculum.  While most of it is review for him so far, I like that he is able to do nearly all of it independently.  I think he is enjoying taking a break from long division and multiplication using extended form for a little while we brush up on the basics.  The lessons are longer, but I see his conference growing as works through the lessons with little to no assistance from me.  I guess that is what we parents do, work ourselves right out a job, right?  Maybe he will need me again when he gets to algebra.

James started the Hooked on Phonics program this summer and is catching on quite quickly!  We just finished the first half of the kindergarten level where he learned words with short a and i sounds.  He will almost always have a big sigh when I say it is time to read, but with in seconds of snuggling up with our lesson he is all smiles.  He really enjoys when he can "sound them out in my mind," so he can just say them without verbally blending the sounds together.  There are so many times I feel like a crazy person for homeschooling, but moments like this, I remember that there is no other option for us.  I want to be a part of all their childhood first...listening to him read his first words is just as wonderful as it was to watch him take his first steps.

James appears to have a math brain.  He understands numbers and the way they work together.  While one shouldn't compare their children, Jake is my only point of reference.   As Jamie makes his way through the Saxon 1 book, I have been surprised several times when we come to concepts that I remember Jake struggling with that click with James right away.  Just like his older brother, James has been blessed with an incredible mind, but I love that they appear to have unique strengths.

In the "real world" James wouldn't be starting Kindergarten until the following year, but I can't imagine him waiting that long!  He has been doing school along side his big brother since he was a baby.  Not because I expected him to, but because he wanted to.  I think that is one of the great part about this life, the "school" part is just part of life, the same way meals and playing are or catching bugs and getting in trouble for playing ball in the house is.  I hope that my children are learning that learning is not something you do in one place and a certain time in you life, but that it should be a part of our life each and every day even if the "flow" that I dream of looks more like roaring rapids than a gentle stream.

Homeschool is definitely not the easiest thing.  There are many times Jake gets frustrated with me because I am helping too much or not enough (basically he just gets frustrated when he doesn't get it perfect on the first try).  I lose my patience more often than I would like to admit (mostly when I feel like I am not balancing all of my life responsibilities perfectly...I guess those cute dimples aren't the only thing he inherited from me.  James often melts down when he has to put his toys down for scripture study, and Scarlett...well, Scarlett adds an extra set of challenges to any lesson.  But we are all learning, and the longer I do this the more I see the life lessons we are learning between the math, through the reading, and under the forts made of blankets that I always end up cleaning up...

Eighteen Things!

I started this blog the day Scarlett turned 18 months.  I took these pictures just a few days before she turned 19 months...I actually had a mental count down all month, like if I didn't take them before the 27th came around again the pictures wouldn't count or something.  And now, the 2nd of August, I finally have a few minutes to sit and write about my sweet, stubborn, silly, sassy, stunning Scarlett.

Here are 18 fun facts to celebrate 18 months...

1) I decided on the name Scarlett months before our Scarlett was born, and I could never have known how perfectly suited it is for her...or she is for it.  The color scarlet a is beautiful and bright color, but there is nothing subtle about it.  No one has ever said, "Wow, what a soothing calm color scarlet is."  Just like no one, at least no one who can see, has overlooked something scarlet because it wasn't bold or vibrant enough.  When something is scarlet, you notice it.  Well, that pretty much sums up our girl, she is beautiful and bright, and when she is around, you can't help but notice.

2) Shortly after our move this Spring, Scarlett decided she was much to grown up for things like high chairs, sippy cups, or to do downstairs anyway but one giant, spindle gripping, death defying, give your mom a heart attack  step at a time.  Needless to stay it has been a messy and slightly stressful several months.  But what can you do?  She wants to do thing just like her big brothers.

3) That being said, it will be guardian angels and awesome big brothers who get her to her second birthday.

4) I have lost track of how many words she has because she is talking all the time.  However, she does add an short "a" sound to many word: diaper-a, phone-a, loud-a, all done-a, down-a, hand-a, and when she is upset with me I become Mom-meeee-a!!  But then there is the word pizza that ends in an a...Scarlett calls that PIZZEEEEE!

5) Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? is her favorite book...we read it at least 3 times every day.  She also loves James' scavenger hunt book.  She has her favorite things to point out on each page.

6) She loves to sing "A-B-Cs."  However, when she sings it on her own, it usually turns into "A, B, C, D...how I know my..."  I think the hours and hours of her big brother's Suzuki violin practice may have something to do with that.  But when she has someone else singing along to help keep her on track she can pretty much sing it the entire way through.  I usually do a little fill in the blank edition, and she rocks it ever time.

7) Finding belly buttons never gets old.  Despite all the other body parts she has learned, including elbows and knees, the belly button remains the favorite.  There is even a change in the pitch of her voice when she asks "Op!  Where did the belly button go?!"  And then a huge smile spreads over her face as she cries, "Oh, there it is!!!"

8) Cows are Scarlett's favorite animal.  We love to look for them on our drive home through the country.  The babies "mimi-ing" with their mama's always make us smile, and the excitement of seeing more around each corner has prevented, delayed, and sometimes even stopped Scarlett tantrums vocal communication about being "All Done!" in the car.  However, she loves cows so much that we haven't quite been able to convince her that not all farm animals say "moo."

9) Elmo is another life saver!  Without her deep love for that fuzzy red monster,  I don't think I would ever leave the house let alone make the weekly trip to Nashville for violin.  So, while I pride myself in how rare "colored lights" are in our house, I cannot make the same claim about the car.  Jake had Thomas, James had whatever Jake was watching, and now everyone gets Elmo.

10) It is a rare meal that doesn't end with Scarlett on the table.  We jokingly call her Helen Keller.  She may not be blind or deaf, but her efforts trying to snag food off of everyone else's plate or dump some one else's water all down her front take a drink from someone else's glass is quite comparable!  I guess food, even the exact same food, tastes so much better when it is served to someone else.

11) This girl is constantly kicking off the covers when she sleeps.  This would be a non issue if she weren't still on our bed most of the night.  However, I NEED blankets to sleep.  So I feel like some nights we play our own version of tug-a-war...me pulling the covers up and Scarlett frantically kicking them off again.

12) Some recent and favorite phrases are:
a. "I neeeeeed that!"
b. "I am!!"
c. "Where are da boys?!
d."All done!"
e. "Where did Daddy go?!"

13) She loves to sing!!  Some of my favorite moments with her are when she is sitting on my lap singing.  It usually starts with a request for "ABCs" and then we go through my mommy repertoire (many taken from my own mom).  Sometimes she sings along, and other times she watches my mouth intently and I can tell her brain is working hard to learn each word.

14) Scarlett is truly madly deeply in love with her Daddy!!  Nearly every morning she snuggles against his chest until he has to get up for work.  They make the sweetest picture...Scarlett with her crazy blonde curls covering most of her still sleepy little face, sometimes with little showing but her tiny little nose and pouty pink lips, and Arthur, so obviously wrapped around our baby girl's finger that he waits until the last possible second to get up.

15) His daily welcome is just as sweet!  Scarlett's feet can be heard throughout the house, as she runs to greet him.  "Daddy!" she squeals in delight as he bends down to scoop her up.  She then requires that they remain touching for, at least, the next hour.  Arthur may put her down as long as they "hold hans" where ever they go (aka Scarlett maintains a death grip on Arthur's finger and refuses to leave his side for anything...including a shower or trip to the bathroom).

16) Scarlett loves art!  She loves "painting" and "markers" and crayons!  Unfortunately, she doesn't always love to use them for their intended purpose, but what toddler does, right?  Markers make for great body art, paint goes everywhere but the paper, and apparently crayons make a really tasty snack.

17) Scarlett's sweet hugs and kisses are now a vital part of the boys bedtime routine.  Sometimes I think they care more about a "goodnight" from their baby sister than they do from me...

18) I watch Scarlett with her brothers, and I can't help but be a little envious.  They are (almost) always so great with her!  The have developed their own little games like "Pop goes the Weezie" that involves every one of my throw pillow on the floor, "Snuggle Buggle" which is exactly like it sounds: a dog pile of cuddles, and lots of blowing bubbles!  They even included her is all their bug catching adventures. However, upon further investigation I learned that this can include Scarlett as the collector of the "biting bugs" because "she doesn't care."  Needless to say, I have been monitoring that one a little more closely.

I could write for ever about this little girl.  She is at that age where each day she wakes up understanding more, saying more, and with even more of an opinion on almost everything (today she tried to pick out Arthur's shoes for church and wanted to make sure I was wearing a "pretty dress").  She has been the perfect addition to our family and she really is our princess girl.

We love you sweet girl!  I love that you love pink, dresses, and baby dolls, but that you love dirt, bugs, and tractors too!  It is my prayer that our home with be a place where you can learn, grow, and become the beautiful woman, I know, you were sent here to be.