A team of Joshua's!

This summer a dear friend and I have taken turns watching eachother's children so we could get errands run ALONE, have an extended time with the Lord or lesson plan for the upcoming school year.

My turn for a morning out is coming up and it reminded me of the incredible time we had last week. 

And really what could be more fun than having 6 kids (6,5,4,3,2,1 years old) under one roof! :)

We delved into the account of Joshua and the battle of Jericho.  Being boys and all (except for little lone Abby), they were mesmerized with how God brought the walls down.  So we decided to re-create the story afterwards. 

We made 'trumpets' and meticulously built Jericho's impressive walls.

Then proceeded to march around seven times, singing praise to God and playing our trumpets and watched the walls come down (with some help from several feet)...

Popsicle Fun!

Popsicles make us very happy! Even Mommy's healthy carrot/apple juice combo or the fruit/spinach smoothie yogurt pops! To end the summer, I guess I'll be nice and introduce them to the yummy goodness of a fudgesicle...

Popsicles put us in a sharing mood!

Happy, generous, thankful. What more could you ask for?!?!?

More Hats

As I said before, hats are a huge hit at our house right now. Trey is no exception. He will wear whatever hat he can find - hardhat, cowboy hat (on the rare chance his brother isn't wearing it), Captain Hook hat, etc. But his favorite is a good ol' baseball cap!

Wild Child

The developmental psychology/neurology junkie in me LOVED this movie. It is a French movie (oh the joys of subtitles) that was made in 1970. It is based on a true story about a boy who had grown up in the wilderness and was blind to the ways of man and unable to communicate or express himself. The format is a careful narration by the doctor, that explains the boys progress in embracing humanity. It was inspiring and sad at the same time...

Rich joined me, but warned that if he got bored, he was out of there. Even he enjoyed this thoughtful, gripping account.

I was reading on wiki, that it was through cases like this of "ferel children" that enabled scientists to determine that there are sensitive periods in human development for learning how to interact with other people and for learning to talk, read, write, etc...

I was thinking that some of the doctor's methods seemed so familiar in the movie and it turns out that Dr. Jean Itard had a huge influence on Maria Montessori and is also considered to be on of the founding fathers of special education.

You can read more about the movie here and the real story behind the movie here! Gotta love wiki!

I give it two thumbs up. Apparently it is available on netflix (isn't just about everything) or possibly your local library (where I found it).

Oma Day!

It's been a while since we had an Oma day and boy did we enjoy having one yesterday!

The boys enjoyed pulling out all kinds of games to play with her.

Being read to over and over and over again! (Oma's and Mima's are always up for 'just one more'!)

And some one-on-one lovin'!

During naptime, I enjoyed running picking up stuff for Ev's wedding (oh I love work at home dad's!) and getting some important feedback on a writing project I'm working on! Once a mom, always a mom, right?!?!?! I guess I'll always need her on some level or another! :)

Thirty

Approaching 30, I've been mourning the loss of my "youth"

...mourning the fact that I'm no longer a 'young mom', but just, well, a mom

...looking at face creams from a whole new perspective.

I'm so embarrased to even admit that... Sheesh.

It is sad to see how much I've been affected by the culture. 30 is not the begining of the end, but merely another year of added wisdom and life experience. It is another year that I can watch my kids grow and relish solid, secure love with my hubby.

I've been keeping an article in my Bible that I pull out and read every so often. In it the author mentions, "where you are at age 29 depends mostly on circumstance, where you are at 39 depends mostly on character."

Pause. Reflect.

As I've been going back to this again and again this last year, my prayer is that character would be forged by my current circumstances.

...forgetting what lies behind me, I push forward in the race that He has set before me! I set my course and look ahead to where I will be at in another 10 years.

So a quiet, peaceful day ushered me into a new decade.

...a quiet, day with those I love - my hubby and my boys!

for some reason, it is so much fun to photograph little one's. I'm rather embarassed at the lack of pictures of Rich or myself. But I really do love him, he just doesn't cooperate and give me all kinds of cute expressions.

Five

My X-man is now 5. A big whopping 5 years old. Where, oh where did the time go?

This meticulous, imaginative boy is such a delight. He continues to amaze me with what he is picking up and learning. He is very proud of being in kindergarten!

He is tender - loving his brothers and caring for me.

He loves Jesus. It has been such a joy to watch this child of mine, also become a child of God this last year. His soft heart, desire to seek God and pray for others warms my heart. When I am down, he is always quick to ask if he can pray for me. I admire his faith and reminded afresh that faith like that is what Jesus wants us to have - pure, simple, whole-hearted. Oh the things my kids teach me!

He had a wonderful birthday and is enjoying playing with all of his new treasures. Oma and Opa have encouraged his love of outer-space. His new spacesuit has inspired a whole new round of imaginative play. I love his newest version of a space helmet...


Costumes are "IN" right now. VERY in. Every day, all day.

Arizona Beach!

We love Opa's Arizona Beach! So we decided to share our favorite summer spot with a few friends for the boys birthday! We swam and frolicked in the sand!

We consumed goldfish and ice cream sandwiches!

Presents were opened!

Silly faces and hugs commenced!

Babies were passed around!

Lovebirds were present!

Family time enjoyed!

Three

I have a three year old again. It is delightful! I love this age when the imagination really takes off, they are able to communicate oh so much more and potty training is behind us.

My guy is passionate and fiery. He certainly lives up to his name! While he is we've had our power struggles, he is a little lover at heart. I adore his little impromptu hugs. He just randomly wraps his little arms around me and showers me with kisses.

:sigh:

I wouldn't trade him for the world or wish any of his unique personality traits away!

This kid of mine was so excited about his birthday. Although he now insists that he's ready to be 5. ...always wanting to do whatever big brother is doing.

His birthday crown, that I made for him when he turned one, is almost too small and too well-loved. I guess the older boys will get an upgrade next year! I love this little tradition of ours. They truly enjoy being "king" for the day! He was the cowboy king this year as he's been insisting on wearing his cowboy boots.

Treyton has decided he likes August too! He's loving the cake!