Anyone Hungry?

So, the other day, I was planning to take Peter on a lunch date.  Brad was out of town, so that left Leigh (my helper) here with Alex and Savannah.  Since it was just the three of them eating at home, she decided not to cook lunch, but let the kids pick some leftovers to eat.  I guess leftovers didn't sound too appealing to Alex because when I walked in the kitchen to say goodbye, Leigh was fixing him a honey and mayo sandwich.  Yes, honey on one side and mayo on the other.... nothing in the middle.  I don't know who came up with that idea, but I promptly overruled it and told Alex he could have a ham and cheese sandwich.  Oh my!  

Feelin' the Love -- Again!

My kids are just precious!  Last week Savannah said she wanted to plan a birthday party for one of her stuffed animals, but she couldn't decide which animal Peter and Alex would be most excited about.  After suggesting one or another, she continually shot down all my ideas.  So, I joking suggested she celebrate my birthday instead. Well, she took that idea and ran with it!  I tried to emphasis that my birthday is in December, not March, and I was only joking.  But, she couldn't be deterred!  


So, this last Saturday, my sweet daughter planned a birthday party for her mama!  The night before she prayed the Lord would help her to be a good hostess.  He definitely answered that prayer!  It was a great party!  We had special snacks consisting on caramel popcorn, marshmallows, strawberries with whipped topping, and (iced) tea served in my real tea set.  Brad was even on hand to participate in the snack portion of the party!  How thoughtful of him!  ;)  

(Aren't their outfits cute?  They all picked special clothes to wear for the party.  Savannah's a bride; Peter's Spiderman; and Alex is Batman!  -  Oh, I love those kids!) 

Then, my kids each agreed to read a story with me.  It has been especially fun for my kids to read to me the picture books I used to love to read to them.  So, after the snacks, Peter read Kiss Good Night to me.  Oh, it was so cute to hear him read it to me with the same intonations I always use reading it to him.   And, of course, he kissed me "once, twice and twice more!"  I had a huge smile on my face the whole time he read!  

After Peter read to me, we played Pin the Tale on the Donkey.  Savannah made a lovely donkey and 5 tails.  Oh, the fun!  And yes, the daddy was recruited once again.  

I love Savannah's expression in the pic!

This is typical in our home...Alex entertaining and Peter cracking up!

Clearly, Brad didn't win! 

Then, it was Alex's turn to read to me.  He read Guess How Much I Love You.  That too was absolutely precious!  He reached up high just as Little Nutbrown Hare reached up high; He yawned as Little Nutbrown Hare got tired; , and he leaned over and kissed me just as Big Nutbrown Hare kissed Little Nutbrown Hare.  So fun!  

Our final game on the agenda was 7up.  Savannah just learned how to play this in Thailand, so she was eager to teach her brothers.  With only five of us playing (yes, Wonder-Dad came back for another game), we decided to have 2 people with heads down and three people walking around to touch thumbs.  It wasn't quite like I remembered from my elementary days, but Savannah was thrilled, and therefore, so was I.  


Next we read Savannah's book, Love You Forever.  She asked me to read to her instead reading it herself.  I love that book!  We have a special way that the we "sing" the song together.  And, once again, I got choked up at the ending.  It's amazing how quickly time flies!  My little girl used to be so tiny, and now she's almost 9 years old!  Thankfully, I don't feel like "selling her to the zoo!" 


(Insert: Pic of Savannah....oops, I forgot to take one!)


Finally, all three kids presented me with fun homemade cards declaring their love for me!  I could not imagine a better birthday party, and I'll gladly volunteer to be the recipient of one of Savannah's fun ideas in the future!  I'm so feelin' the love around here!     

Simon Says

So, sometimes when my boys need to get a little energy out during homeschooling, I have them put down their pencils and get up for some activity.  This tends to especially happen on Tuesdays, since my kids don't go to local school on Tuesday.  At local school they have a 10 min recess every hour.  We're going to have to figure something out when they don't go to local school while we're in America.  Any tips?


Today*, my activity of choice was Simon Says.  Simon says, touch your toes.  Simon says, stand up tall.  Simon says doing jumping jacks.  And, today, Simon said to jump up and down on one foot.  I told Alex that if he had any issues doing this particular activity, he could just ask his brother for help -- since he plans on teaching a whole class on this topic.  Peter promptly replied, while jumping very well, I might add, "I cannot do this for a whole hour!  I will only be able to do that when I'm an adult!  Then, I'll teach classes!"  Well....at least he has a goal....  I guess that's a good thing.  


*Yes, I realize that today is actually Monday, not Tuesday.  My boys' teacher called me early this morning telling me something was going on at the school, so if Peter and Alex arrived for second period (as usual) their class wouldn't be in the room.  I didn't exactly catch what was going on, but I did understand when she recommended they stay home for the day.  Woo-Hoo!  We finished school by 2pm and went to the park to ride bikes!  There were no attack trees this time!           

Movin' Up

Before our trip to Thailand (that I plan on blogging about someday), my kids all finished their homeschool curriculum for the year.  So, when we got home we started a new school year.  (I love the flexibility of homeschooling!)  At the beginning of the month, Savannah started homeschool 3^rd grade and Alex and Peter started 1^st grade.  I can hardly believe how fast my kiddos are growing up!  Savannah’s favorite subject is definitely English!  She still loves to read and is becoming quite a writer.  She does great in math, but does not really like it.  Alex also enjoys reading, but his favorite subjects are math and science.  Peter is my math-stud!  He just figures things out – like how many pieces of candy everyone should get if we have 15 pieces.  He hasn’t learned multiplication, much less division.  It’s fun to see his little mind work.  He claims his favorite subject is science (we’re studying Astronomy), but I think it’s really math!      

So, at this point in their lives, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, these are the answers I get:

Alex 6 ½ years old:

“I have 3 options: 1. Fireman 2. Rock Star 3. Policeman.  I don’t know which is my favorite.  Fireman is my ‘worst favorite.’”

Peter 6 ½ years old:

“Maybe an artist or a teacher.  I want to have a family and be a daddy, and go to school, like my daddy does.  I want to teach people how to jump on one foot for an hour.”  -- is that what he thinks his daddy does?  =) 

Savannah, 8 ½ years old:

“A mom, an artist, a book writer, and an engineer.”  I asked, “all at the same time?”  “No, I’d be a mom, and do the other things one at a time, while being a mom.” 


Wow!  It's a good thing they don't have to choose their college major for a few more years!

Phonics Fun

by Amy

So, I was doing a phonics lesson with the boys the other day....  I asked them to think of a word that has a short 'i' sound in it.  Peter was quick to say the word 'it.'  Then, I asked Alex to tell me one.  "Is it OK if I say a word I'm not allowed to say?" he asked so innocently.  "Uh, no....think of another one."  I quickly respond. So, while he's thinking and thinking, I'm thinking too....  and I can only come up with one word that sounds like 'it' that he's not allowed to say.  Now, I'm wondering where in the world he heard that word!  So, finally, I tell him he can say the word he's thinking of.  Idiot.  (We had just watched Night at the Museum and Larry Daley calls himself an idiot after making a silly mistake.) He was thinking of the word idiot.  Whew!  He's not allowed to say that word either!

My American Girl

by Amy

Some friends of ours are renting a new apartment and needed us to take a few measurements for them.  So, Brad busted out the measuring tape.  Savannah went to help him.  This is the conversation I overheard:

Savannah:  Daddy, it's 39 3/4 inches tall.
Brad: Oh, thanks, sweetie, but I need it in centimeters.
Savannah:  I like inches better.  Why do you need centimeters?
Brad:  Most people all around the world use centimeters; only Americans use inches.  Annoying huh?
Savannah:  Yeah, everyone should change and use inches.  They're better.

I guess you can take the girl our of America, but you can't the American out of the girl!  

Feelin' the Love!

By Amy

On Sunday, our kids (instigated by Savannah) decided to give Brad and me a “Home Date.”  They insisted that we eat dinner alone at the kitchen table while they ate dinner at the school table.  Savannah even wanted to fix dinner for us, but since we had eaten mac’n cheese the night before, (that she made), I decided to whip up some quesadillas with leftovers.  (They were super yummy!!)  Savannah made us a love tea-light candle holder, so we had quite a romantic candlelight dinner! 

But, that’s not all! 

The next day, Brad came home from dropping the kids off at school and gave me over 2 dozen beautiful roses!  The florist said they had just arrived by plane that morning.  They are so full and red and lovely!!   I tell ya…. This mama is definitely feelin’ the love these days!  

What a sweet blessing my precious family is!

Wipe Out!

So, the other day, it was beautiful here. We finished our home school lessons early so we could go ride bikes at the park.  Alex and Peter were riding on some paved paths through the trees and one tree jumped out and grabbed Peter, scraped up his face, and broke his bike! Oh MY!!!  Alex came racing back to get me!  It took us about half an hour to get home, but we made it!  Savannah walked Peter’s broken bike while I put Peter on Savannah’s bike and walked it; Alex rode his bike slowly next to us.  Peter's leg was a little sore, and obviously his face was scraped up, but we praise the Lord it wasn’t worse!  A broken leg would not be fun – especially on this side of the world! 

Next time we go to the park, we’ll be on the lookout for attack trees!