What else we've been up to...

Catching up on some pics for you, Jesse.  This was the boys all watching their first DVD.  (The USO at Jesse's Camp has a program where deployed parents can make DVDs of themselves reading to send to their kiddos & the parent at home can take photos or make a DVD of the kids enjoying it to complete the circle.)

The coveted Daddy Doll.

Fort & accompanying map of the Back Acre.

Wichita Mountains over Spring Break.

Mark loves to entertain Mary with his instruments.  It's so sweet of him & she thinks he's hilarious.

Happy 7th Birthday to our Sweet Boy!

Our boys love cookie cake.  "Ki-ki kak," according to Mark.

Icecream out of retro Rangers helmets from my brother's birthday parties 20+ years ago.

Opening the new Wii game- he could already see it through the tissue here.  The only thing he asked for.

Joy at being given a well-used Percy Jackson collection & note from his big brother.

Mary's chubby knees on Mimi's lap.

Wild man.

These last two were today, his real birthday.  We had his birthday lunch and icecream sundaes.

The boys wanted their sister to have a helmet, too. No ice cream, of course. 

(Although Mark did put his on his head just like hers, while it had some ice cream in it!)

our Winter Term & some mid-year thoughts on homeschooling

We continued our bird watching by setting up a feeding station b/f the cold weather came.

It came.  Their first real snow.



They did not even have winter coats or warm quilts for their beds b/f we lived here. 

Snow suits may be on the horizon- at least for the child who continues to give us new ways to use duct tape.  He went out w/ mittens on but they promptly fell off.  He played until his hands were red & frozen and he was crying but he refused to come in.  Hence, the tape.

It was already melting here but we managed to make a snow man.

We started "feeding" the soil in our little garden of 3 raised beds, kitchen scraps/compost that we turn in the soil every few days.



We read the original Little House series and the Rose Wilder series. We did some related hand crafts including candle making, wood working, and sewing. These are the candles above.

We ate a lot of S'mores while Dad was still here to direct. 

And foods from the Little House Cookbook, including our Christmas Eve dinner of chicken pie.

The actual wood craft had nothing to do w/ pioneers or westward expansion.

Scary.

Then came Daddy Departure Day.  We all went to the airport.

We did not do any math or language arts lessons during our extended Winter Term, mostly b/c I was busy w/ Christmas prep and then deployment prep and then I wanted us to have fun w/ Jesse while he was home for a few weeks b/f leaving the country.  Our summer break may be shorter this year but we will work our new school year around when Jesse gets home in late August (hopefully) anyway.

So, that is one thing I like about homeschooling- the flexibility.  I also love the sibling time, all the outdoor time, the creative time.  I know we are always bonding and making special family memories of books read together, faith shared together.

I don't like- having so much power over their little lives.  Does anyone else feel this?  Maybe I just do alot b/c they have gone to school and I remember the greater freedom within broader limits they had there.  This may be why some parents choose to homeschool but not me, not us.  It was a choice to bring them home for now b/c we believe we can give them more of what they really need right now.  But that does not mean I want to dictate their every daily decision, which sometimes it feels like b/c of the necessity of coordinating everyone's different needs and wants.  So, there are definitely some things I think homeschooling does not give them or my homeschooling does not give them right now...which I will post about another time...

when I am not so tired, which shines light on my real issue: the challenges of homeschooling w/ a toddler & infant, now while being a single parent for 6 months.  This I know, though, no school is perfect.

Also for Dad...

A battle of epic proportions.

For Our Daddy

Taken of all your Valentines over a week ago.  Thank goodness you've seen them on Skype! 

(And that you know I've been more than a little busy.)



Sweet tulips our precious friends brought when they dropped by to invite us to their fun St. V-Day party below. 

The only thing missing was you!

Again, I swear I rotate these pics but they don't stay that way.  Mary Constance in The Hat, which now barely fits her.

My Own 1000 Gifts: 1-100

1. Nursing infant daughter's hungry hands & gulps
2. Toddler son's budding speech
3. 6 yr old sensitivity, esp w/ toddler bro
4. 8 yr old collectivity, incl ideas
5. Husband's hands
6. Winter fire's warmth & glowing embers
7. Blazing pink sun setting on horizon
8. Creativity unfolding
9. Generations gathering & family love uniting differences, even red & blue ones
10. A bro-in-law joyful in life's work
11. A sister pregnant w/ expectation
12. A bro growing in maturity
13. A father trying
14. An always devoted mother
15. Melt-in-your-mouth lobster ravioli
16. Sand dollars!
17. Boy Wii joy
18. Dinner highs & lows
19. Walking off stress
20. Husband's strength
21. Husband's initiative
22. Brother love
23. Dinner w/ friends w/ children
24. Lunch w/ devoted Husband
25. Happy boy chatter
26. Reading glee- young & old
27. Fri nights together relaxing
28. Pink sky @ plains sunset (even when can't see sun!)
29. Toddler hugs
30. Dancing in the kitchen w/ Husband
31. Waking up Precious Babe from a long nap
32. Toddlin' Tornado's table antics
33. Rhythms of quiet
34. A Saturday together working, then relaxing
35. Husband's happiness @ burritos & beer
36. Little familiar faces in a Sunday classroom
37. Eucharist-peace on Sunday afternoon
38. Friends home from travels
39. Warm clothes in cold weather
40. A bird feeding station that actually attracts some birds
41. Thoughtful gifts from friends
42. Cooking a new recipe, even if no one liked it
43. Missions accomplished
44. Old-fashioned girl clothes
45. An unexpected blessing, help, friend
46. A delicious & healthy new recipe
47. Precious Babe's squeals of joy
48. A Daddy loving his youngest w/ patience & his oldest w/ tenderness
49. Excellent medical care
50. Pampering beauty supplies
51. SPY & youth ministers
52. EE
53. JD
54. JB
55. UD
56. MG
57. GW & usccb
58. JH
59. DL
60. TTU Law
61. H & K
62. CB
63. JDG!
64. SJN
65. C Clan
66. NFP work
67. La Familia C
68. My M-I-L
69. Neighbors who became friends so quickly
70. Good east & west windows
71. Wide, open spaces w/ big sky
72. Grasses blowing in the wind
73. Women gathered to celebrate new life
74. Man appreciative of woman's timeless work
75. Citizens supporting one another
76. A priest who really recalls another Christ
77. Fresh sheets
78. Fresh pillowcases even
79. Rest after a busy day
80. Husband who really cares
81. Children who love me & each other
82. My health
83. House w/ space & a high living room ceiling
84. Husband's help & concern @ lunch
85. Little icicles
86. Big hearted helper-brother
87. Snow hats w/ ear flaps & red cheeks peeking out underneath
89. Loose dog found
90. Precious Babe asleep again
91. Toddlin' Tornado's nap time
92. Breathing deeply under the warm sun on a cool, crisp day
93. Beautiful views from mountain heights
94. Wind rustling through dry leaves on trees & rippling prairie grasses
95. Rock climbing Toddler
96. Funky-clothed Husband
97. Big boy who wanted Mom @ the top of Little Baldy
98. Big boy blazing his own trails
99. Precious Babe happy to be toted along anywhere
100. No dinner prep!