Our 10th Anniversary

This month we also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  We had talked about doing a couple different things for this year, like taking a weekend trip with just the two of us (but Quinn wouldn't have let us) or renewing our vows with our children present (but we didn't try to make any arrangements soon enough for that).  When our anniversary arrived I hadn't had a chance to get anything for Jeff, not even a card, I was a little bummed, but thought maybe I'd come up with something.  I had an idea for a gift, but I didn't get a chance to go out to get it.

Jeff made coffee in the morning for me.  When I went to get a cup from the cupboard I found a new mug with a special note in it.  When I got the to the coffee pot I found another note and a Mr. and Mrs. Coupon book.  I found a card and a package of bright hair ties on the bathroom counter, a note and some duct tape on the corner of my desk, a note and package of children phrases stickers in my diaper bag, a note and a wind chime on the piano, a note and project idea on the bathroom wall, a card and book on my night stand, a note and movie on the entertainment center and a note and special paper to frame on Jeff's desk.  My husband was so thoughtful and gave me 10 reminders of his love throughout the day, besides a few text messages.

We thought about going out for dinner, but we decided that the next day would be better, so the day after our anniversary we had a nice leisurely dinner out at Texas Land & Cattle Steakhouse (Thanks, Dad and Mom for the babysitting services).  Then we stopped at Walmart and I let Jeff pick out the windspinner he liked best as his present from me (aluminum or tin for our 10th anniversary).

My Mother's Day

I finally got the pictures downloaded from my camera from May, so I thought I'd share about Mother's Day.

When I came to the kitchen in the morning, Jeff and the kids were already up.  I found my place set like this.  Jeff even cooked my breakfast!

Mother's Day 2013

On the way home from church Jeff stopped by the side of the road and 

picked a bouquet of wild Flowers for me.

Mother's Day Bouquet 2013

Jeff fixed all the meals of the day and the kids gave me handmade cards and 

the special things they had made in Sunday School.   I felt very special.

Mother's Day 2013

At the end of the day I insisted on a Mother's Day picture with all my children.

A Few Other Highlights from April and Early May

Felicity made Gingerbread men after reading The Gingerbread Man

Jeff's Birthday

Box House

Clark and Lissie playing

Dance Party on Daddy

Quinn 3 1/2 months

We're Going Around the World

From Bits and Pieces From My Life I found out about Around the World in 60 Days.

This looks like a quick and fun Geography/Bible Lesson for each day.  I asked Jeff if he wanted to do it in the evenings with the kids and he thought that would be fun.  So we he is going to try it and I will do it with the kids on any evenings that he is working late.

I printed one map for each of us and laminated them so we can use them as placemats and have them easy to see when it is time to look at the map.

We Remember

On this Memorial Day we remember and thank each of you who have provided service to keep our country free.  Thank you to all our family members, friends, acquaintances, those we've never met, and those who have given their lives so that we can live in America.

In School This Week...

Monday:  We spent much of the day at Grammy's house.  Kent completed math, piano practice, and studied the 28 prepositions he has been learning for a test tomorrow.  Kaomi did handwriting and we finished reading The Adventures of Buster Bear.  Katy completed math, cursive, and English.

Tuesday:  Katy gave me a very short oral report on a book she read.  She also practiced the piano and did cursive, dictation, math, English, and some corrections.  Kaomi did math, handwriting, and thinking skills.  Kent had a preposition test, grammar, math, piano practice, dictation and a preposition game.  Altogether we prayed for some friends with needs and for the families involved in the recent tornadoes.  We had storytime.

Wednesday:  We volunteered in the classrooms at church.  Kent did grammar, math, and piano practice.  Katy did English, math, and cursive.  Kaomi did handwriting, thinking skills and a color by number.

Thursday:  Anticipation of tomorrow being the last day of school is high.  We read a missionary story together.  Kent complete his piano practice, math, grammar, and dictation.  Katy completed her English, piano practice, math, dictation, and cursive.  Kaomi completed reading, math, thinking skills, handwriting, and we began reading Uncle Wiggly's Bedtime Stories.

Friday:  We read a missionary story.  Kent finished math, and did grammar and piano practice.  Katy finished English, and did math, cursive and piano practice.  Kaomi worked on reading, math, thinking skills, handwriting and we read more of Uncle Wiggly's Bedtime Stories. 

School is officially finished!  They will have corrections to make.  Kent has a day or two of grammar to finish.  Katy has a couple days of math and cursive to finish.  Kaomi has about 4 weeks worth of math to keep working on and we will keep practicing reading.

We are all ready for a break.

Trip to the Log Cabin Village - Part Two

In part one I shared pictures from the hand on cabin at the Log Cabin Village.  Here I will show some of the other places we visited at the village.

The woodworker showing some toy oxen.

The woodworker demonstrating the lathe.

Pa and Mimi walking with Felicity.

The blacksmith

The blacksmith playing his concertina in his down time.

The sawmill.

Katy ringing the school bell.

One room school house.

 On our way out of the village we went back by the hands on cabin and the kids all wanted to check out the chicken coop, which they hadn't checked out when we were there earlier.

Trip to the Log Cabin Village - Part One

When my dad and mom were visiting we took a trip to see the Log Cabin Village in Fort Worth.  We enjoyed visit there and it tied in very nicely with the end of our pioneer science study.  Our first stop was the hands on cabin.  This was so much fun, because we could touch everything at this cabin and really get an idea what things were like during pioneer times.

Spinning Wheel

Kent grinding corn

Coonskin cap

Felicity using the mortar and pestle

Grinding coffee

Clark playing with pioneer toys

Pumping water

Kaomi grinding coffee.

This chair is my size.

Katy grinding corn.

Felicity making chicken.

Check out the next post to see several of the other places we visited while we were at the Log Cabin Village.

In School This Week...

We are starting to wrap up our school for this session.  I didn't write down the things we did each day this week so here's a quick recap.  We finished history and science for the year.  Kent and Katy did an end of year reading project on the last book they read for reading.  They made a timeline for their book.  I graded them and gave them back.  Kent learned a lesson in disappointment when he received a 59% on his project.  He didn't follow the directions to summarize each section of his book.  He only wrote a phrase for each section.  Next time he has a project I think he will work hard to make sure he follows the directions.  Katy on the other hand did follow the directions and she got a 93% on her timeline project.  She had one section of 18 that she only used phrases for the summary.  Kaomi was learning about time in math this week.  She had fun playing with a foam clock I found in the dollar section last summer.  We started reading The Ordinary Princess for storytime.  Katy has several English lessons left.  Kent has some grammar left.  Everyone still has math to complete.  Next week is our last official week of school lessons.

Pictures with Pa and Mimi

Mimi with Quinn

Pa with Quinn

Mimi at Playground

Making Daggers on Kent's Birthday

Pa with Clark

Gunfight

Mimi reading a story to Kaomi and Katy.

Pa with Clark and Quinn

Mimi with Felicity

Sleepy Pa and Clark

Pa and Mimi

Motherhood

     God chose me to mother six children.  I am blessed beyond measure.  It was fun to watch my babies smile for the first time.  I love seeing them learn to do something, like jump or read or walk downstairs without assistance or falling.  I enjoy the wonder in their eyes as they watch the birds fly, look at the moon at night or see the animals at the zoo.  I like to watch them enjoying the playground or making s'mores in our backyard.  My children are special and I love each one of them.
     Motherhood isn't always easy.  There are days when the whining and crying is constant, no matter how cheerful and joyful I try to be.  There are days that I pray my way through, just to get to bedtime.  Some days I seem to spend disciplining and training every moment.  There are days when children don't feel good and I have have to figure out the best way to care for each one throughout the day.  There are days when I feel like I am at the end of whatever I have left and wonder how I can manage for another hour or even how I can manage the next day.  Many times by the end of the day I feel like I have nothing left.  The job is hard, but God chose me for it and I will struggle to do my best and depend on God to do the rest.
     Through all the trials, I find joy.  I can't imagine my life without my children.  I enjoy seeing when they get the idea of what I am trying to train them to do.  It is fun to listen to them tell me about something they enjoyed.  It is an honor to serve my children daily, though I may not always remember that at the time.  It is a pleasure to work together and have the satisfaction of a job well done.  I am their mother and I want them to grow up to be the best children anyone could want.  Therefore, I will strive to enjoy each and everyday.  I will train them so they will one day be able to leave home and have an idea of what they are supposed to do.  I will spend time smiling at them and listening to them.  I will try not to get angry and if when I do I will try to handle my emotions in a God honoring way, so my children will see the love of God in my life.  There may be moments when I wish I could drop everything to leave and get away from the stress of the day, but I can't imagine ever staying away.  I love my children and I want to be the best mother that God has enabled me to be.

My Dad and Mom with all 6 kids.  April 24, 2013

Linked with:

                        

Hi!

I've been pretty quiet around my blog lately.  We had an irrigation system installed.  My parents (Pa and Mimi) came to visit in April.  Kent and Jeff have had birthdays.  The kids have been playing outside more.  I've been spending much of my computer time getting some stuff ready for next year's school.  Quinn is growing and Clark is busy like normal.  I finally downloaded the pictures on my camera from the last month, so now all the blog posts in my head to go with some of the pictures can be written or forgotten.  Clark got hand, foot and mouth disease and shared it with Felicity and Kaomi.  I think the older kids were spared the disease, unless they show signs of it in the next day or two.  Hopefully, you'll get to see some of the activities we've done over the past month.

In School This Week...

Monday:  We had a complete day of school lessons.  In science we added food coloring to hot and cold water to see that heat make water particles move faster.  Kent dropped Katy's piano book behind the piano so she couldn't have a piano lesson.  Kaomi was having a bad day and was coming down with hand, foot, and mouth disease, so she didn't do any school.

Tuesday:  We had a complete day of school lessons.  We finished reading The Wright Brothers and Their Sister for history.

Wednesday:  By 10:30 am Kent finished reading workbook corrections, piano practice, math corrections and grammar.  He was ready to do reading with me, but I was working with Kaomi.  Kaomi read an e-mail from Mimi for reading.  Then she worked on subtraction in math and did some thinking skills with synonyms.  Katy first thing this morning helped me make sloppy joe meat to put in the crockpot.  We will have them for lunch rather than supper today.  Then Katy went to work on English, cursive, math and piano practice.  I read a couple books to Felicity and Clark and gave them a coloring paper to go along with the stories.  After lunch, we did health all together.  Then Felicity and Clark went for naptime.  Our other together work was history and science.  Then I did reading with Kent and Katy each individually.  Then they completed their individual work for science and reading.

Thursday:  Kent had a math review, piano practice, grammar, and corrections from yesterday's work.  He completed them all by 10:15, so he took his preposition test a day early and got 93%.  He had to write the first column of prepositions which was 14 total from memory.  Katy did math with me, before completing her workbook pages on fractions.  Then she did cursive, piano practice, English, and corrections from yesterday.  Kaomi did a reading review and 2 self initiated math lessons.  I did reading together with Kent and Katy and gave them their reading project assignment.  They will be making a timeline of the book they read for realistic fiction.  We also did health, history, and storytime all together.

Friday:  Everyone worked diligently on their lessons today.  In science we did an experiment with making gases.  We used vinegar and baking soda.  The kids were pretty impressed and Clark sat in his chair with big eyes watching the cup foam and overflow.  Then he grunted something unintelligible.  He probably was wondering why Mommy was making a mess.

In School This Week...

Monday:  Kent and Katy began with their individual work right on time.  I worked with Kaomi on reading and math.  Then I read books with Felicity and Clark.  Kent finished his individual work and reading by 11:00 am and he took Clark outside to play.  Katy finished her individual work around 11:30.  After lunch we finished our study on pioneer science and read history.  Then I did reading with Katy.  Kent and Katy did a science notebooking page.  I read The Adventures of Buster Bear to Kaomi.  Kent put the finishing touches on his English paper.

Tuesday:  We started our morning with several rounds of one-on-one kick ball.  We set up a two areas so 4 people can be playing at the same time.  This works well so I can play, because Felicity tires quickly and Clark is too busy playing to try joining our game.  Kent and Katy completed their piano practice and individual work.  Katy wasn't doing her best and didn't get much done before lunch.  Kaomi struggled following directions to complete her color by number.  She read me a section from a book that she found on our bookshelf and was excited that she could read it by herself.  After lunch we read history, talked more about courtesy in health, read from our storytime book and began to learn about Albert Einstein in science.  We also did an experiment with an egg to see how strong the shell was.  Kent and Katy finished working on their individual work and I did English with Kent.  Katy didn't do her copywork, so she'll be doing it tomorrow.

Wednesday:  We volunteered in the Children's Learning Center at church.  After lunch we did science, health and storytime together.  We put water in the freezer and observed it as it froze.  Then Kent and Katy worked on their lessons for the day and Kaomi completed two more math pages.

Thursday:  Today for individual work Kent did: piano practice, math corrections and new lesson, grammar, and history notebooking.  Katy's individual work included: piano practice, cursive corrections and new page, math corrections, copywork corrections, English, and history notebooking.
Kaomi's individual work was handwriting.  I worked on reading with Kent and Kaomi on their own levels.  I worked with Kent and Katy together on their next reading lesson.  With everyone we read science, finished learning about courtesy for health, and read more of our storytime book.  The things we didn't get completed from our plans were Katy's next math lesson with me, Kaomi's next math lesson, and Kaomi's storytime.  The day ended with a "dance party" with Daddy.

Friday:  Kent completed these all by 11:15 am, piano practice, grammar, reading workbook corrections, math corrections, history and copywork corrections and a math lesson where I timed him doing different things to see how many seconds it took him to complete them.  Kaomi was having an off day, but she decided to do reading this morning on her second try with a good attitude.  Katy completed her piano practice, math corrections, English corrections and new lesson, and cursive this morning.  She was having trouble with cursive capital "z", but figured it out.  After lunch I gave Kent a piano lesson.  He was excited to have some new songs to work on.  Then we did history and reading together.  I also did reading together with Kent and Katy.

Kent's Camping Trip English Paper

First Draft:

                                                              My Camp out

Fri:  We rode with Carlos and his dad to the Camp out.  When we got there we set up our tents and then we played with the other boys that were there.  Then the air horn blew for supper, so we had go get our soup.
Fri.ni.  I read my Bible and Dangerous Book for Boy’s for ten minutes.  Then I slept
sat. morn.  We woke up and got for the day.  I drank some hot chocolate before Breakfast.  Then the air horn blew for breakfast, so we had our pankakes.  After breakfast we played capture the flag in the ravine.  After that we shot Guns.  I shot a Bolt action, single-shot rifle.  I have a bullet shell as a souvenire for shooting The gun.  after that I went to the waterfalls and built a dam.
    sat. noon. the air horn blew for hot dogs so we had our hot dogs
    sat.afteRn. we went to the waterfalls to work on the dam some more.  Then we came back to camp  Then to the ravine to play captud the feag.
Sat. eveni.  The air horn blew for our Briscket Joe’s.  Then we went to play in the sandpit for a while until the bonfire, and roasted marshmallows.  Then we played wolf.
    Sun. Morn.  We had beeakfast tacos around the leftovers of our bonfire.  Then we played a round of Capture the flag before the Bible time we had a Bible story.  Then we went to see the water falls, when we came back it was time to go home

Following Discussion with Mommy and editing by Kent and a 2nd draft, which was edited by Kent the first draft became the...


Final Draft:


                                                                 Our Camp Out

    On Friday we rode with Carlos and his dad to the camp out.  When we got there we set up our two tents and then we played with the other boys that were there.  Then the air horn blew for supper, so we had to go get our soup.
    Friday night I read my Bible and Dangerous Book for Boy’s for ten minutes.  Then I slept.
    Saturday morning, We woke up and got ready for the day.  I drank some hot chocolate before breakfast.  Then the air horn blew for breakfast, so we had our pancakes.  After breakfast we played capture the flag in the ravine.  After that we shot guns.  I shot a bolt action, single-shot rifle.  I have a bullet shell as a souvenir for shooting the gun.  After that we went to the waterfalls and built a dam.
    Saturday noon, the air horn blew for hot dogs, so we had our hot dogs.  Saturday afternoon, we went to the waterfalls to work on the dam some more.  Then we came back to camp  Then we went to the ravine to play capture the flag.
    Saturday evening, the air horn blew for our Brisket Joe’s.  Then we went to play in the sandpit for a while until the bonfire.  We had the bonfire and roasted marshmallows.  Then we played Wolf.
    Sunday morning, we had breakfast tacos around what was left of our bonfire.  Then we played a round of Capture the flag before Bible time; we had a Bible story.  Then we went to see the waterfalls.  When we came back it was time to go home.

by Kent Sears
Grade 3, age 9
April 29, 2013


Grading to the techniques and grammar learned this year Kent received a 94%  on this paper.