The Perfect Gift

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
James 1:16-17

So She Wants to be a Tiger...

Megan is obsessed with tigers. It started when we watch Kung Fu Panda. Right then and there, Tigress completely captivated my sweet little girl. Now, instead of princessy stuff, my girl is very into tigers. We read all sorts of books on wild cats, do tiger crafts, and she even plays at being a tiger or kitty. I have to wash her "fur" (cannot say hair) in the tub at night while she meows at me ;)

While this has been a common thing around here for quite some time now, I was unprepared for the newest attempt to be a tiger:
You can't really see it well in the pictures, but she covered her arms and legs with pink crayon stripes. This is what she was doing last night instead of sleeping... humph ;) Well, at least it's pink and not orange and black :)

Cute Little Project

I get a few newsletters through email from the Family Fun website, some recipes and crafts, and we do quite a few of them. But the other day when this was delivered to my inbox I knew we had to do it! What a perfect companion to our bird feeder! It had all the important components of the perfect project; easy and cheap!

Our materials:
This is the only thing we did different than the instructions:

My kids love to paint things so when there is an opportunity I let them :)
I'm sure the birds won't mind ;)

Kristen's Graduation

My baby in her cap and gown!


It was a lovely ceremony! Here are some pictures!

Here they are before the ceremony for the group picture:

Hanging out with a few friends (and Mom;)) before.
Here's one of Kristen as all the seniors filed in to the ceremony:
I didn't get any of the diploma part as I was on the stage giving it to her ;)

The "turning of the tassels" (her hand is in front of her face lol).
We went out for dinner afterward with some friends, so fun!

Congratulations Kristen! You are such a blessing to your family! We are so proud of you!

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow is the big day! The parents of one of our homeschool co-ops organize a graduation ceremony for the seniors. It's really sweet and personalized just like everything homeschooling :) Since the students are actually graduating from their own homeschools (not the co-op), each diploma is personalized with the school name of our own school and the parents sign the bottom. During the ceremony, the parents will go on stage with their child and present the diploma while a mini-bio is being read. There are also a few senior performances, speakers, a commencement address...and prayer. I'm so thankful for that part.

Kristen went to school for the first four years. In the first grade, she came home one day and said, "Mom, did you know some kids are homeschooled?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Why can't I be homeschooled?"

It was very hard to explain to a six year old that I just didn't think I could do a good enough job. I didn't think I had the patience either :) I stuck to my guns though and she went all through elementary school.

Middle school was different though. After Todd and I attended a meeting for parents of fourth-graders in preparation for going to the middle school, I really started thinking about homeschooling more seriously. I'm so very glad I did. I wish I had prayerfully considered it sooner. Once I let God help with that big decision, there was no doubt in my mind what I was going to do;) Homeschooling these precious, wonderful kids has been the best thing I've ever done! This is truly a blessing.

Tomorrow is a happy and sad day. I'm so excited for Kristen! She's worked so hard! And believe me she is so ready to go on to the next stage of her life ;) But although I'm happy I can't say it won't be a little difficult. This has been a journey and now part of it is over...changed. I'll have a part in her new journey too, but not quite the same part. I'm so, so glad she plans to continue to live at home and go to a local college. I think she would miss us too much ;)

The really strange part is how much of my life will go on just the same. There are still kids to school and all the lovely chores to do! It's really an odd feeling.

Here are some pictures from tonight's rehearsal:

Check out that smile!

The "seniors" section.
She's on the left in the back.

Looking forward to tomorrow :)

Anniversary Fun!

Yesterday, Todd and I celebrated 12 years of marriage and we got to do this OUT and ALONE! It has been a very long time and I can tell you that we both forgot how nice it is to get out, just the two of us, a little. We went to the Ocean Club for dinner and really loved it! Many of my friends have eaten there and have given it a big thumbs up so since we (obviously) love seafood it seemed like a great place to try. And we weren't disappointed!

Afterward we headed to the AMC theater for Star Trek on the IMAX screen! What a great flick! You don't have to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy it (although we are;)).

We really, really enjoyed ourselves last night. Of course we talked a good deal about the kids ;) but that's ok with us as parenting is a huge part of our lives right now, but we were also reminded that we are a couple. ;)

Our Anniversary

"I am my beloved's and his desire is for me."
Song of Solomon 7:10

Happy Anniversary my love!

My Cup (bucket) Runneth Over

I live with fisherman. Close to the end of winter, they start heading to stores like Gander Mountain that carry all manner of outdoorsy things and checking out every catalog we get from Bass Pro Shops (and we get alot!). They truly can't wait to get out on the water whether it be in our boat or heading to Aunt Helen's pond. They always start when it's still too cold for the fish to even be out and about, but they have fun checking out the lake and finding good spots for the near future.

Last week the fishing was finally good! Nicholas had a little cough and since they leave so early in the morning, Todd just took Brandon on Thursday and they came home with a mess of fish! Friday afternoon, he took Brandon, Nicholas, and Megan out for some fishy fun. Nicholas caught a fish and said he was all done, Megan had her pole in the water for a whole 30 seconds and was done, but they stayed on the water for the afternoon and came home happy and loaded with fish again! lol Saturday, just Todd and Brandon went out and again came home with some really nice fish. We had fish Saturday evening and froze the rest.

Brandon loves fishing as much as his dad:

Nicholas loves to watch them jump around while Todd gets them out of the live well:
The one that tried to get away ;) Do you see it in front of the bucket standing on it's nose??
A few of their big ones:
Brandon has always loved fishing. Even when he was a little guy, he would stay out there as long as Todd would. Nicholas and Megan love the idea of going with Dad, but they really don't have the patience just yet ;) Todd still takes them though and has some fun on the boat with them. They'll all have some very sweet memories of their time with dad on the lake I'm sure :)

Megan getting her pink Barbie pole ready on Friday:
Although I do not go fishing nor do I clean them (are you kidding me??) I love eating them :) I'm a very lucky girl to have such good fisherman to spoil me!

Happy Mother's Day!

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10

Spring Dance

I know...you thought I'd call this post "Last Dance", didn't ya? No way will this be that girl's last dance! Last CO-OP dance maybe, but she has many more opportunities for dancing in her future ;) I just want to say that I'm so glad for the friends she met at co-op. A high school dance is usually very different from the ones we've experienced with this group of people. For one thing, there's lots of parents floating around! I know, you'd think that's weird, but the kids are so used to having parents around that they really don't care. I love that. I asked Kristen if she wanted me to go again this year and she said yes! Really, I think her favorite part is I take lots of pictures ;) It's pretty funny to see all the parents walking around taking pictures there lol.

Also, for the most part, I trust these kids. They're a good group. When your graduating class is 34 it's easy to know everyone! I also know alot of their parents too ;)

When I was taking the pictures at home today she said, "Are you going to put this on your blog?" Duh. So here they are:
Kristen's senior class:
Um do we know him?? Yes, yes we do.
Good friends:

Last Showcase

As I posted earlier, tonight was Kristen's last showcase. It's always a great show. There's a couple of theater performances and lots of songs that the sign language classes perform which is the most beautiful thing! It was bittersweet for both of us as I, too, will miss some people. But we had a great time! There's always an "after-party" so, for tonight, one of the co-op parents had arranged for CiCi's pizza to stay open late for us!

The choir is the only thing Kristen does that performs. She's been in it since we started four years ago and has loved every minute! The teacher is magnificent and the choir is huge so getting up in front of people is less intimidating that way ;) Here's my baby:
I cropped it so you all can find her ;) She in a light blue dress with a white sweater:
With some friends waiting:
The natives were restless:
Megan is playing her "air piano". She's REALLY good ;)

After with Grandma Diana:
And with some of the rest of us:
Best friends:

Her BIGGEST fans:
We love you, Kristen!

A Month of "Lasts"

Today is Kristen's last day of co-op and tonight is her last showcase...ever. It's so hard for me to believe we've been home schooling for 8 years! The time has really flown. No tears here...I'm saving that for her graduation ceremony ;)

In the beginning, I was very hands-on with her work. She was only in the fifth grade! That's the grade Brandon is in now! But through her high school years, I've slowly been giving her the reins in preparation for college. She actually just took them lol ;) This year, all I've done is pick her curriculum (with her input), and check in with her from time to time to make sure she's on track. She's all done with school after today except her Latin II which she'll finish up next week. I'm so proud of the way she's handled her time this year! She's very independent and hard working. I know she'll do well in college. Did I just say college? ugh

She has mixed feelings about today. She's so excited about the next phase of her life, but also sad to leave some of it behind. I get that. Completely. Ok there may be a few tears today...

Snakes, Frogs, and Friends

Last Friday we went to the park with some good friends and had a wonderful time! We headed there early since it was supposed to rain that day and we got very lucky! All the critters were out loving the weather and we made it to our cars right before the first rain drop! My kids LOVE Innis Woods which at first surprised me since there isn't a playground. It took a while for me to grasp the idea that the playground isn't their favorite part. They love to explore and see what they can find! Well, there was plenty for them last Friday! Here's a few pictures:

The frog pond:

Colin almost got it! He DID catch one though.


The rock garden:
Guess what they're trying to get a good look at?
mmhmm:
There are actually two snakes there! GAH!

The Secret Garden is always a crowd pleaser. It really is so beautiful.

Some water fun in the Sister's Garden:
Jenny's kids and Brandon and Nicholas loved this bridge! Megan took one look and was like, I'll go around ;)
Jenny, thank you for braving the potentially crappy weather and inviting us along!!