Nathan

Nate turned 6 last August.  Some things I want to remember about him being 6 1/2:

-He's sensitive. If his feelings are hurt his big eyes fill with tears.
-He's an artist. (he decorated his cake) He can often be found drawing.  I've noticed on many occasions when I've asked him to write a word for school that he will start drawing the picture instead of the word. I am on a mission to find ways for him to use his gift of drawing to help him learn.
- He is also an expert Lego building.
-Nate wants to know how things work and is usually pretty good at figuring it out.
-He's in 1st grade.  He's reading well, but not real fast.  The speed seems to have more to do with his mind wondering to other things that his ability to ready.  When he's reading something he's interested in he reads very well.  He still sticks mostly to reading the books that came with his Phonics program.  I'm looking forward to that light bulb moment when he realizes that he can read the Cheerios box.
-He and Isaiah are best friends, though they probably wouldn't admit it.  I love hearing them talk after they've been tucked into bed or hearing one call the other's name in the morning to see if he is awake.  They enjoy playing games together.
-When Isaiah is busy with something else Nathan also enjoys playing with Callie.  He even does fine playing house until she starts calling him Honey. :)
-Of the three oldest, Nate is the one that will spend the longest amounts of time with Zachary.  He is very good at following Zachary around and keeping him out of trouble and entertained.
-I recently asked Nate what he wants to be when he grows up.  He answered "Well, I guess a doctor or a preacher is best, right?"  I was glad I asked him the question.  I'm not sure where he got his answer, but we had a good discussion about it.
-Nate sees things in a different light.  I love the questions he asks because they almost always force me to look at a situation in a way I never have before. There were times when he was younger that he would asked questions that we had a hard time answering because he just couldn't get out the right words to let us know what was going on in his brain, but the older he gets the better he is at picking the right words to explain what he is wants to say, and I love hearing them.
-He's very good at making weird, crazy noises.  Especially, when very bored or tired.
-Favorite color: Red or blue
-Favorite food: Pizza
-My pray for Nate is that he would become exactly who God has called him to, not what he feels he should be based on others giftings or interests.

Some of Nate's artwork:

If Mommy refuses to buy you a castle to put in your fish tank, you draw one to tape on the wall behind it.  The little white piece of paper taped to the tank says "Cowboy", that's his fish's name. 

This is how Nathan counted down the days until his birthday.  The square with the brightly colored dots represents the big day. This hung on our kitchen wall.  He rarely asks where he is allowed to hang his art work.  It just appears. I don't mind.  

Speaking of hanging art, one morning last fall I was ready to start school, but I could not find Nathan anywhere.  Our house is not very big, so it was rather strange.  Then I glanced outside and this is what I found...

...taped to the fort.   The Lion head is a sticker.  And sitting next to the fort was this:

I should have posted a close up picture of Nate.  He's sitting in his lawn chair wearing shorts and a jacket and his favorite crocs and covered up with his blanket.  There is a bag of something beside him, but I can't remember what was in it, possibly black walnuts he collected from our yard, or maybe some stuffed animals, or a flashlight and pocket knife. With Nate, you just never know.  (you can see the picture hanging on the fort next to the red swing)

I love how this kid rolls.  I sometimes like to imagine what God has planned for him.  I think it will be something rather unique.  Something that requires a brain that thinks outside of the box. And a Mom cheering from the sidelines.  I'll be there, Nate. 

Blogging, facebook style

I love facebook.  I strongly dislike facebook.  I'll keep my reasons to myself.  I often think of posting something, but then I figure it would only be interesting to my mom and 3 friends so I decide not to bother the rest of my "friends" with it.  However, this is my blog and I can do what I want.  So, here is a running list of things I could post on facebook, but decided not to.

-Should children be allowed to say hate?  Or should they say "strongly dislike"?

-Isaiah and Nate started swimming lessons yesterday.  Isaiah had a hard time yesterday, but today was much better.  God's does answer prayers!

-Me: "Callie, where did you learn that?" C: From my friend online.  Isaiah: Probably on pinterest.  Me: dumbfounded

-Callie loves watching "baking movies" (full episodes of cooking shows) on foodnetwork.com Proof that she probably watches to many:  While eating a lollipop, "This lollipop gives me texture in my mouth", while choosing which show to watch, "Not the man man one"  I finally figured out that she meant not GUY Fieri.  Guy, man, get it?  The Pioneer Woman is one of her favorites.  Callie calls her "The Pineapple Woman".

-Zachary had his 4 month check up on Friday.  He weighs 17.6 lbs.  We call him chubs. :)

-Why do kids decide they want to learn AFTER school is finished for the year?

-We are finished with school for the year! We were a few days short of the 180 we'll have to have when we start recording days, but we finished the goals I had so I am pleased.  We did a lot of reading.  I figured we read somewhere over 2800 pages and that didn't include any extra books we read that were not related to school.

-My house needs cleaned.  I might go on strike until summer is over.

-I found $20 in a pair of pants that I hadn't worn for awhile.  I of course was very delighted.  Jeremy just shook his head.  I figure we're up $20.  He doesn't understand how I didn't realize we were down $20.  Now to decide if it was grocery money or "my" piano money.

-Quote from somewhere "Organized people are too lazy to look for things"

-Jeremy does not have a lazy wife. See previous post.

-Is it possible to organize and back up digital pictures and still have a sound mind?

-twentytwowords.com is a very interesting web site. They have all kinds of useless information that I find very interesting.  I'm not sure what that says about me.

-I'm very sad to not have a bigger garden this year.  A walnut tree on our neighbors property (bad for tomatoes I'm told) and ground hogs are the reason.

-We just found out that one of our neighbors is FEEDING the groundhogs. :(

-Isaiah is missing his two front teeth.  Someone mentioned that he looks older.  I think he looks younger and I secretly love it.  Sometimes he is way too serious for a 7 year old.  Seeing him with no front teeth helps me to remember that he is just a kid.

-Zachary is one of the most kissed on and loved babies in the world I'm sure.  He brings us so much joy.  He "talks" so much.

I love using " "'s

-Nathan: "Being a lifeguard would be boring.  Not many people drown.  It would be really sweaty".  ?

-And since this is facebook style blogging I end with "What a day!  I'm off to bed".

-Here is a great recipe for bran muffins.  (because no one should ever go to bed without first checking pinterest)

Life

Life just keeps rolling along.  I try to constantly remind myself to hold on to each day, but often I forget.  Pictures are one of the best ways to slap myself in the face and remember to enjoy each moment, craziness and all.  So in celebration of life being lived here in our little house here are some favorites from the last few weeks. Or maybe months, I've lost track

I wonder if there has ever been a baby loved more than this little guy.  I am constantly reminding the kids not to wake him up when he's sleeping.  When he is awake they try to give him toys and play with him and make him laugh.  He loves being held and having people talk to him.  As of Tuesday the 2nd he's two months old!

Painting Easter eggs.

We tried a new recipe this year.  Mix food coloring with 1 T. oil and 1 T. vinegar than fill the cup with enough water to cover the egg.  This gives a lovely marbled look to the egg. 

This month we're celebrating Jeremy's good health.  I'm so thankful to be laughing and enjoying life with him.  One year ago this week we met with the doctor that said "80% chance it's cancer".  Several weeks ago Jeremy spoke with the surgeon from Johns Hopkins about a follow up CT scan he had done.  All is completely clear.  

Isaiah hard at work.  Or something like that.  He's an excellent reader even though he doesn't enjoy phonics.  He loves math, history, geography and history.  

Always a princess.  I was folding laundry the other day and realized Callie's pile of folded laundry was very small.  It's because she lives in her dress up cloths.  She's always pretending something or other.  Often she's getting ready for a wedding, or taking care of "her kids" or talking about "her husband".  I love watching and listening to her.

These beads have provided Callie with hours of fun.  Here they are smoothies and strawberries I think.  She's also been playing a lot with dried beans.  They make a mess to clean up, but it's worth it for the entertainment it gives her.  She also LOVES to play at the sink washing dishes.  So far I've been fairly successful at keeping the beans and water separate.  Sprouting beans all over the house is just what I need! 

Just to prove that he has a mother. :)

Nate's fort.  This is the second fort built.  The first one had the pillows directly on top of Zach's face.  I didn't respond real well when I found it. :(  Nate was very proud of himself for finding a way to build a fort that kept Zach's face free to breath.  I felt a little sorry for Zachary, but I had to take a picture.  I wish I had a picture of all the ways this baby's siblings love on him.  The pretzel up the nose was another moments I didn't respond real well to. :(  On this picture Zachary looks so much like Isaiah did as a baby.

"Look Mom, he's sleeping in his fort!"

Love this face

He loves his daddy and he loves to snuggle. 

We fought through a week of sickness a few weeks ago.  I was about at my wits end by the end of the week.  The kids were feeling better, but weren't well enough to go anywhere and it was too cold to force them outside to play.  I did force them onto the porch for a few minutes though.  Believe me, those smiles were not in place when I sent them out.  For the record, Isaiah is wearing pj's and my crocs.  Nate is wearing his church loafers without socks (I find him at church like this sometimes.  I always feel like I should look to make sure his shirt is fully buttoned and he's not wearing a gold necklace.  sorry) 

Matt and Heather and their girls came to meet Zachary a few weeks ago.  Sadly, most of my pictures weren't very good. :(  However, this one did turn out.  Chloe knitted this hat for Zachary!  I was so impressed.  She does NOT  get her knitting skills from her aunt!  Thank you Chloe!

P.S. Mom, the Easter pictures will be posted soon. :)

Catch Up

I knew it had been awhile since I updated this thing, but I didn't realize how long!

Here's to catching up, because I'm too lazy to do it moment by moment.  In the last months we've..

celebrated Nate's 5th birthday.  I don't think I blogged about it, but it did happen. As you'll see, this cake did me in.  Isaiah and Callie did not get anything this fun.    

did a lot of dreaming

 

we even dreamed in style 

we took some risks

 and we took some pictures

We've done lot of living, laughing and crying, a lot of school, and a lot of talking about the new baby boy on the way -only  about 7 weeks to go! 

Camping

I just realized that I never posted about our camping trip from last month.  Will I ever post about current things again or will I always be a month behind?  :(

We went camping one weekend in October.  We thought: "Who else camps in October?  Surely we will have the place to ourselves".  When we pulled up to the camp office I saw a sign that said "Campground full. Do not enter".  Yeah right.  Someone just forgot to take the sign down the end of August right?  Jeremy went to the office.  He came back out.  Everything is full, but one site and it's surrounded by boy scouts.  We decided to live dangerously and took that last sight.  Yes. were were surrounded by many small boys, but other than a few that ran through our site and the noise, they didn't bother us.  They must have had some good leaders.  They were all quiet before by 10:00. 

We had beautiful, slightly cold weather.  Much better than humid and hot.

Our food was simple and processed.  I know my limits.

Cutting wood.  Wet wood that didn't want to burn, but it kept them busy.  Callie spent much of her time crawling around and exploring.  Keeping an eye on her was a full time job.  

Brothers. 

The little grey speck by the falls is Jeremy with Isaiah and Nate.  Pictures like this (all the people) remind me that I don't link in "the bush" anymore.  It was just slightly crazy.  At one point a small boy asked me to watch his blanket while he played.  I finally went in search of his parent so I could move on to another spot.  Another time I saw a person wearing green skinny jeans.  He was much past slightly older than someone who should wear skinny jeans.  It's been a month and I still remember.  Yes, slightly crazy, but entertaining all the same. 

More hiking.  She loved the backpack, but also enjoyed trying to keep up with the rest of us. 

Fire, fire, let's all play with fire.

We did a lot of hiking.  It was a good 24 hours away.  I think next time we'll try for longer.  It was so nice to be away from  phones and noise and laundry and other things that needed done.  It was good to be together as a family.

In closing, Nate shared these thoughts with me late at night by the fire:

Nate: "I would feel bad if I were walking along and saw a sign that said "you are lost" because that person that made that sign wouldn't know how to get back and I wouldn't know how to get back".  

Nathan is 4!

Last month Nathan turned 4.  I somhow thought he would just always be my toddler.  I don't know why I felt that way, but I realized recently that I did.  He's not a toddler anymore.  He's getting tall and has lost his baby chub for sure.

Nathan is a contented child unless his brother is picking on him or he's tired.  He is very quick to flash a smile and has a great sense of humor. 

Nathan is the one in our family that makes Callie laugh the quickest.  Those two have an interesting relationship and I think they will continue to grow closer.

Nathan is Isaiah's younger brother.  I don't know how else to discribe their relationship.  They often fight, but just as often they play great together.  He likes to do, wear and eat whatever Isaiah is doing, wearing or eating.  Sometimes this is received well and other times not so well. :)

Nathan can often be heard saying "When I grow up I want to do ___ with my Daddy!"

Nathan is full of hugs and kisses.  It's hard not to just squeeze him sometimes.  He just seems to call out for it.

Nathan, you bring much love and laughter to our family.  We love you!

We had just returned home from Thunder Bay 2 days before Nate's birthday.  We scheduled the party for later that week, but we couldn't pass up an oppurtunity to celebrate right on the day as well.  Nuggets, fries, brownies and smoothies.  I'm sure there were some vegetables too, but I can't remember them. :(

Enjoying his new Lego set.

The party cake.  Not a great picture I realize.  It's upposed to be  a pool or a beach.  We couldn't really decide so it's a bit of both.  It's decorated with cool whip, candy (used to make lawn chairs, beach towels, inner tubes, surf boards) and teddy grams.  He seemed to like it and it was a lot easier than decorating with frosting.

Waiting for gifts I think

Uncle Hans, Aunt Angela and cousin Natalie bought Nate a fish.  He was very impressed and loved it!  Sadly it died within 24 hours.  I'm wondering if someone might have fed him a little cake when no one was watching.  These kind of things seem to happen sometimes when Nate is around. :)

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Finally

I started this post on May 6, but never got back to finish it. Instead of ditching what I had already written I just picked up where I had stopped and kept on rambling. These are things that have been going through my mind lately.

Endure, I mean enjoy.

• My mom's Mother's Day card is going to be late. Again. I don't think she'd recognize it as from her daughter if it arrived early.
• The royal wedding. I blogged about that a lot. In my head. I have to admit I loved it. Sadly, I also have to admit that what I love about it is what we see and not what they actually live. I love the beauty, the castles; the idea of someone putting the tooth paste on my tooth brush and cleaning all my toilets for me. The beautiful clothes. The mystery of it all. Being swept away in a helicopter to a secret locatin for a weekend with the man you love. The hats, oh I love the hats. Isaiah and Nate even enjoyed watching it. They were much more excited about the horses and carriages than the bride however. I think what drawls women to this stuff is the femininity of a beautiful bride's heart captured by a handsome prince. Though our society likes to make us think differently, I think that desire is at the core of every women though often it is regarded as weak or old fashioned. Thankfully I don't get fan mail because I'm sure some would disagree with me. Just my thoughts. Congratulations Wills and Kate.
• Did you know that when Diana died 40 "Diana doubles" lost their jobs?
• Why is that I feel I need a vacation after cleaning the bathroom? Do mother's of girls feel the same way?
• Oh the joy I experienced yesterday when I realized I could buy washing soda at Wal-Mart! Now there's something no princess will ever experience!
• Change. Exciting? Scary? Coming.
• Jeremy and I spent Friday at a homeschooling convention. If you think that no body homeschools or that it is going out you should attend this convention. It was PACKED. I am excited about teaching Isaiah this fall. There is a lot of good stuff out there. Now to decide what we want to use.
• Homeschooling is going to be an adjustment and a sacrifice. I believe it is worth it, but I'm a little nervous
• As I was wringing the water out of a wash cloth after Isaiah's bath he, dripping wet asked me "Can you just do that to me?"
• I won't give the details behind this conversation... Me: Nate, let's find a tree for you to pee on". Nate: "Or we could find a tree to hug". I have no idea.
• Callie: "Cheese!" Yes this is a big deal because she doesn't talk much at all. Daddy is a favorite and Mommy when she wants something. She jabbers a lot though. And she communicates in her own way. I'm amazed at how much she understands.
• Trying to make soft pretzel dough in the bread machine. We'll see.
  
• Egg beaters and a 10 min rest period. They are the secret ingredients require for good pancakes.
• Isaiah and Nate are playing something together. Nate keeps calling Isaiah "Man". As in, hey Man, don't forget your weapon. He's been calling him that a lot lately.
• I still have not finished Callie's Easter dress. :( There's always motorcycle Sunday next week. It could happen.
• Jeremy has just one more week, one paper and one final exam to go and then he will be finished with his online class. The whole family is excited.
• That's all.

Happy Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day and because I am very, very far behind on blogging. Here are a bunch of pictures. Callie seems to be the focus of most of them. It must be the age. :) Happy Mother's day, Mom! I love you!

A favorite time of day. (except for the yellow tint)

Nate-Nate. He just makes me smile.

T-Ball player

Glamor Queen with her favorite bear and duck

Isaiah showing Callie the moth he and Nate caught with 2 Lego pieces (see another picture farther down)

Four generations. And a cracker.

Here's a favorite of Mom and Callie

Ok, so this isn't a great picture, but there is a moth in there.