I know I should photoshop….

…the booger and the moustache:

But these may be good blackmail photos later in life, no?

Can you guess what all these items have in common?

No, they’re not all toys. They’re not all the same color. They’re all not all the same size.

But - they are all items that we have found while changing Sarah’s jammies. SHe likes to put things down the top of her zippered jammies and then they end up in the feet. She will walk around for hours and not even let us know they are in there. We’re always surprised to see just what we’ll recover!

The golden hour

I love it when the sun blazes through the windows as it starts to set. (Well, except for the fact that my windows are terribly filthy!) This seems to be the time of the day when the kids enjoy each other the most. They help me with dinner and they can often be found sitting next to one another doing art or sitting in one of their rooms listening to music or reading.

Don’t get me wrong. There are lots of chaotic moments here. (More than I care to admit.) But the precious sweet and peaceful ones more than make up for it. I love this life that God has blessed me with.

President’s Day

We spent a snowy Monday celebrating President’s Day.

We talked and read about George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

We read some books about the presidents and about the Constitution.

Sarah also wanted in on the action.

She decided to dig a bit deeper:

We start ‘em early around here!

I know this shouldn’t surprise me.

I know that 3 year old kids write their names. I know that there’s nothing particularly spectacular about the fact that Nathan loves to write all the time and has been not only writing his name (and mine!) but he has also been drawing tons of pictures lately.

It does surprise me, though. (Because, really, wasn’t he just a tiny little baby???)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

These are the modest little gifts that await my sweethearts tomorrow:

Used books from McKay’s, a few little candy treats and lots of love from mama. (Bruce’s gift is on the bottom of the pile by the way - I didn’t want him to see it until the morning!) The kids also made Valentines for their daddy. (Don’t you love the one Nathan drew? It’s of Bruce and I “getting married.”)

I am blessed beyond words with a faithful and true husband who puts me second in his life. (Yes, I am happy to be in second place! He loves God first and that’s what makes our marriage work even in times when things seem tough!)

May your day be full of love and happiness!!!

Olympic Activities

Today while we were watching the Olympic ski jump competition, Abby was noticing that when they showed the names of the skiers on the screen, there was a flag by each of their names with an abbreviation. What could have just been a lazy Saturday in front of the TV was quickly turned into a learning opportunity when I remembered that I had picked up a “Flags of The World” book a few months ago. I got out the book and she tried to find the flags by using the abbreviation and matching the picture in the book to the one on the screen before they showed the scores.

Each flag in the book also showed what part of the world it was in so not only was she looking things up by using “ABC order” skills, she was pronouncing foreign words, learning about geography and enjoying the Olympic games all at the same time!

I love it when school doesn’t feel like “school.”

Getting her canines and felines confused.

No matter. She’s adorable!

As promised…

SLEDDING!

Bruce took the kids out today while I stayed home and did some work. (I had to keep reminding myself that I am thankful for my job although I would have much rather been out playing with them!)

It was quite a hill as you can see:

Nathan was his usual happy jolly self:

Abby had a blast and was serious abot getting back up the hill for another turn:

Sarah could have done without it:

And because pictures just aren’t enough… here are some videos!

Weekly Round-up

What a fun week it’s been!

We celebrated Daddy’s Birthday:

Enjoyed a basketball game:

Sarah kept herself busy coloring, begging for multiple pigtails, and getting herself hung in a diaper bag:

And last but certainly not least, IT SNOWED!!!!!! (Actual snow! More than we got a few weeks ago.)

Bruce got a snow day and has another one again tomorrow! Abby had a fever for the first 2 days and didn’t even really know that there were 4 inches of the beautiful glittery white snow on the ground until today.

We took a trip to Sam’s this afternoon (to get diapers! I did the standard Tennessee run-to-the-store-bread-and-milk but didn’t get DIAPERS!) and when we got home, we took an evening walk. The moon was lighting up the whole neighborhood and making everything sparkly and magical.
(One of my favorite childhood memories is crunching through the snow at night and being amazed at the peaceful beauty of it all.)

I am so glad I got the chance to do that with my kids tonight!

Tomorrow: SLEDDING!