Cody turns 5

Banana Bread

Special privileges come to those who assist the baker.

Parks and Pawn Shops!

Today has been an interesting day full of planned activity and alot of "go with the flow."  Well ok, that would be most days around here actually.  :)
This morning I had an appointment to drop off a couple of bags at a local consignment store to sell and even did a little shopping myself.  Apparently my kids have been doing some serious growing in the past few months and with this unseasonably warm weather they have been in desperate need for clothing! 
I have a girl who loves to shop and pick out her own stuff.  She's been developing her own taste and style for some time and she loves that independent feel of picking out her own clothing.  With mom's approval of course. ;) 

Then it was off to the park to enjoy a little sun and fresh air.

This kid cracks me up the way he climbs all the way up to the top and then sits there.  No amount of coaxing can convince him to slide down.  And yes, he has before and I guess that was enough for him. 

And there he sits up there all by himself.  Makes me laugh!

His dare devil big brother thought it high time he go down though and this is how it ended up.  The one on the bottom didn't care much for it!

A little flying hopscotch.

So this past Christmas we bought a piece of junk bike for Cody.  I kind of had that feeling when I saw that it was the last box on the shelf but I was running out of time with my last minute shopping so I got it anyways.  Well can you guess where I'm going with this?  Cory spent Christmas Eve putting it together only to find out that the tire was wack.  Messed up.  Thankfully the store took it back. 

ANYWAYS, we just never replaced it and just last week Cody started asking about a bike again.  Well, on our way home from the park we passed a pawn shop and there just happened to be two brand new Huffy bikes sitting out on the sidewalk with the plastic still on them and one was just the right size for my little man.  So I pulled on over. 

I let Cody try it out and it was perfect.  But then I had to go IN the pawn shop to pay for it. 

Well that was a first for me.  I'll admit that it made me just a little uneasy.  But I'm a pistol packin' mama. 

Don't mess with me. ;)

Here he is. :)  He rode that bike ALL afternoon.  I loved just sitting outside and watching him.  Emma and I got a lot of reading done while we sat out there with him!

After dinner he couldn't wait to get back outside to show his daddy his new bike.

So proud.

Then there were....

Icecream cones.

Baths.

And

Bedtime.

And it was a good day. 

Do you know how often I hear this little boy tell me he loves me? 

More than I can count!

He is WILD at heart.  He is tender and full of love. 

He is God's creation and gift to us.

I love all of my kids the same but I just had some one on one time with Cody this afternoon and he is so precious....and photogenic if I can brag a little. :)

Here is a quote that I read somewhere a little while back (also under my quotes section). 

“The season of young children is a time to refrain. Refrain from most outside activities, even some church activities. Now is a time to be faithful in discipline…it’s the springtime of mothering. Redeem the time, don’t waste it.” Sono Harris

This resonated with me and I have come back to it many times since.  It has also convicted me and encouraged me at the same time.  It's ok.  It's ok to not do it all. 

"Parents! The work entrusted to us is holier than we know.  The precious instrument, so delicate, so wonderfully made, so marred by sin already and so exposed to its power, is of such inconceivable worth.  To take charge of an immortal soul, to train a will for God and eternity, surely we ought to shrink from it.  But we cannot.  If we are parents, the duty is laid upon us.  But, thank God!  Sufficient grace is prepared and promised, too.  If we do but give up our home and our life to God for Him to come in and rule, He will Himself take possession, and by the gentle influence of His Holy Spirit bow their will to Himself."  Rev. Andrew Murray,  The Children for Christ, 1887

And for that sufficient grace I'm thankful because I don't always feel up to the task of this parenting stuff but pray that God will fill in the gaps where I lack the energy, strength, knowledge or wisdom.

So I leave with this.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matt. 6:19-21

Blessings

Do you ever look at your growing children and remember when they were babies?  I do that all of the time. 

Sometimes I look at Emma and I remember seeing her scrunched up face for the first time. 
My first baby. 
That little girl that I had wanted.  There she was!  Now she is one month from being 8. 
Everyone says she looks like me. 
Anyone who knows her knows that she loves books.  At just the age of 2 she would sit and flip through a magazine page by page.  She would read a phone book.  Any catalogs or flyers that come in the mail do not escape her. 
She has an amazing memory! 
She loves going to Co-op on Mondays.  She hates Math even though it seems to come quite easy to her.  She loves to learn. 
She's into horses much to Cory's dismay.  All things Princess, ballet, and pink have passed.  She prefers blue. 
She will be taller than I.  I think 5'7 was the last prediction from the pediatrician...possibly taller.  I'm happy for her. :) 
She likes to go anywhere I go. 
She likes I Love Lucy reruns. 
She can't wait until we build our house so she can have her own room. 
Her husband will have to be understanding of her love of books.  He will probably need to be somewhat intelligent and have a love of learning like she does but not too stuffy.  He has to get along with her father and brothers.  A knowledge of guns and hunting is highly recommended. 

And I look at Cody and remember that fat little face he had.  He was the biggest baby I've had weighing 8 pounds 3 oz.  My first boy. 
He looks like Cory. 
He's rough. 
He's tender and sweet and always the first to give kisses and say he loves us.  He climbs into bed with us in the morning to snuggle and occasionally a wayward knee or elbow to the face.  :/
He's not too shy. 
If he gets a boo boo you hear about it until it's gone. 
He has learned the alphabet song and when I call out each of the 50 US Capitals he can recite back to me all corresponding 50 States.  He still sees a speech therapist every week so they (the States) aren't always recognizable by just anyone but I know what he's saying. :)
He's our picky eater.  He lives on Ritz crackers, cheese sticks, chocolate milk, yogurt, and pb on a spoon.  I just give him his vitamins and fruit smoothies (he likes those thankfully!!) and I don't worry about it.
I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes a rodeo cowboy.  Whatever he does it will not be boring and always full steam ahead.  His wife will probably need to be the calm type who doesn't frighten easily and who also loves a little adventure herself.   

Last but not least, my little Beau.  His baby days are easier to remember being they were just last year!  He was my smallest baby at an even 7 pounds.  And what a good baby he was. 
He was a good sleeper and still is. 
I never tire of kissing his face. 
I'm not sure who he looks like but he's a good mix of all of us.
He likes to eat. 
He likes to be outside. 
His personality is still developing so I have so much more to study about him. 
He is cautious.  He likes to wrestle with the "big boys" but don't throw him in the air!  He freaks out and stiffens his body like a board. 
He seems to gravitate toward being musical.  At least he enjoys it anyways.  He likes to dance.  He's not a music snob either.  He likes it all. 
He is being toughened by his big brother and loved on by his big sister.
His wife will probably be spontaneous and bubbly.  :)

Well this post went in a different direction than I had planned but that's ok.  I do that often and when it happens I just go with it.  :)  Until next time!

This is the best, most recent picture I could find of me with all three.  Beau is being squeezed by Cody but hey, what's new?  ;)

Homeschooling (how creative is that title?)

Phew!  It's been a busy week.  You know I've been busy if I haven't blogged in 5 days. :) 

We have taken a more laid back approach to our schooling this year.  Actually, I've just decided that this week.  Yeah, I tend to be kind of last minute like that sometimes.   I guess adding "school" time with Cody has made me realize this.  Not that I have to do a lot with him at just 4 years of age but I can tell that he is much more ready for "learning" than he was last year.  

My plan for him this year is to read a lot of books.  Simple, I know, but so so beneficial.  I picked up the story of Peter Pan this week just because I happened to notice it on their bookshelf.  It's actually Emma's book but I thought that he might just be interested with it being about Pirates and a boy who is adventurous and flys through the air and everything.  It's bigger than any book I've read to him before so I wasn't sure if it would keep his attention.  I was pleasantly surprised however when not only did he like it, but he kept wanting to read more and more!  So now I need some new ideas of what to read to him when we're done with that one! 

Something else surprised me this week about Cody.  On Tuesday during my CC review with them both  I was completely taken by surprise by what he DID actually remember!  I got so excited with him and for him! 

Besides working on letters, numbers, shapes, etc., that's really all I have planned for him this year.  Pretty laid back I think.  I've learned that little boys need lots of playtime and I'm still studying Cody to see where his strengths and weaknesses lie. 

As part of Cody's "preschool" I decided to pull out our box of blocks.  Pretty simple right?  Well, I was amazed at how focused he became at building.  At first I thought it would be good for all of us to sit down together and build and that went pretty well, but even after I was done playing and Emma and Beau had moved on to other things Cody was still there building "house" after "house". 

Another thing I discovered about Cody?  The boy needs more positive encouragement and praise.  He's a rambunctious little stinker sometimes who gets more than his share of scoldings and discipline but I noticed that the more I praised him for his "buildings" and his memory work, and just anything that I saw him do well this week that he just soaked it up.  It was GOOD for him.  I loved seeing that. 

Wednesday was a middle of the week break from school work with a trip to the pool to swim.  The rest of the week was spent reading, doing a little math with Emma, and working on presentations for CC and reviews.  That's it.  And lots of play.  And reading.  I love reading to them.  It's by far my favorite part of homeschooling. 

Well, I had intended to write about Emma and Beau too but I think I'll save that for another time or else this post is going to get too long. :)

Oh and one more thing I was surprised by this week?  Just how much I enjoyed my children.  I'm not kidding.  I truly enjoyed spending the quality time with them.  I know there will be hard days.  I can't really escape those days but I really want this to be a great year and so far I think we are off to a great start. 

My advice to ME this year

1. Don't overdo it.
2. Be patient on those uncooperative days.
3. Give lots of praise and encouragement.
4. Be flexible.
5. Have fun with it!  Learning should be fun.
6. Read
7. Read
8. Read some more. 
9. Play ouside alot.
10. And read a little more.