A Little Sewing

I've always loved to sew. I could wander around JoAnn's for hours checking out the new fabrics and patterns. I don't tackle anything too complicated, just some cute dresses for Kristen when she was small and Halloween costumes.

As the years passed and my life changed, it became more challenging to find the time to spend on my little hobby. Then my machine broke and I thought maybe my sewing days were over.

After some time without it, I realized that I missed it! A couple of years ago, I bought a new machine. Nothing fancy, just the basics (remember I said I don't do complicated!). For a while, it sat in the basement; I was still too busy! But last Christmas, I pulled it out. I had seen lots of outfits for little girls that had a matching outfit for their dolls and I decided that I would make a nightgown for Megan and a matching one for her dolls. Easy! Although why I thought I'd have time for this in December (a week before Christmas!) is beyond me! I chose and cut out the fabric and then it sat. There's no time in December for spontaneous sewing projects!

The nightgowns did get made though:

Now I can't wait for my next project! I've chosen some super cute summer dresses for Megan from the latest JoAnn's catalog and then found out all their Simplicity patterns will be on sale this weekend for a buck each!!! I know where I'll be Friday :)

It Works!!!

Last year, I wrote here lamenting over my beautiful tulips. Some animal was eating them!We suspected deer. I complained to spoke with our nature teacher at co-op and she recommended hanging old cd's around as a "scarecrow" of sorts. So I did:

I used hooks I had picked up last year at JoAnn's to hang them from. I also hung a homemade wind chime that Nick had made in art. It's working great! I'm looking forward to beautiful tulips on our table in April :)

A Day Like Today...

makes me look back with longing at the week's beginning.

It was so warm. The kids wanted to be outside all day. I pretty much let them! We schooled in the morning but after lunch they were outside until dinner. They shot baskets, played in their tents (a lot!), watched the birds, played on the swing set. It was a mini-spring break :) We really needed that! Of course, now we're ready for more ;) Hurry spring!

Celebration!

We took a little surprise trip on Saturday! It was Todd's mom's birthday and we decided last minute to hop over to Dayton and take her to lunch! We met the birthday girl and Russ at everyone's favorite pizza place, Marion's, for lunch then headed back to their place for a little visit. It was so nice to spend her special day with her! And, of course, I had to get a picture to commemorate the occassion ;)

 I also had a chance to snag one of Papaw Russ and two of his favorite girl's:

The rest of the time, I was busy visiting ;)

It was a great afternoon! We were so happy to share some of your birthday with you, Judy! Happy Birthday!

The Rest of Friday...

The rest of the day was so much fun!! Todd took the boys fishing and although they didn't catch much, they had a great time together. All the guys in this house look so forward to fishing season so they start getting out there a little early ;) but you know what? They don't care if the fish aren't biting! They just love being out. I love that.

The girls and I had the day to ourselves. I had a really fun little craft set out for us:

I had bought this back in November to do at Megan's birthday party but when I got it home and read the directions, it was a NO! The rings are painted in reverse and they have to dry for about an hour between colors. That alone made it too difficult to fit into an afternoon birthday party. Then I read that the paint may not wash out of clothes and that did it! But it was perfect for our girl's day :)

 While we were waiting for our designs to dry, we painted pictures :)

 Some of our finished rings:

Then we headed to Easton for lunch and window shopping. And ice cream :) And Barnes and Noble ;)

What a great day!

Kristen had to go to work after that, but the good times continued with a bonfire!

 We heard many times, "This is the best day ever!" from all the kids! But it didn't end there!

Camping in the family room! We went out of town Saturday to celebrate Todd's mom's birthday with her so we ended up leaving it up all weekend. You can guess where they wanted to sleep Saturday night as well ;) And we let them! It was such a laid back family weekend and it was so very needed :)

Why We Aren't Doing Any Schoolwork Today

Sometimes other things are more important....

fishing with Dad

crafting with Mom

enjoying the fresh, warm air

It's going to be one of those days :)

Seriously Cute

Megan has now lost both her front teeth! Her toothlessness is killing me!

Anxoiusly Awaiting Spring

I'm interrupting my co-op posts to post what we did yesterday. I've had requests to "get this on the blog" and when I have requests I know it was something someone wants to remember forever. That's important to me. This is our family blog and when someone wants to record something fantastic then I do it! I hope we all share these wonderful memories forever :)

Yesterday was a gorgeous day! It was wonderful to see the sun for a change and feel some warmth. Megan and I had planned a movie/mani/pedi day so the boys in the house decided to make themselves scarce. Strawberry Shortcake does that :)

Todd brought the boat out so the boys could start getting it ready for some spring fishing. They are really getting anxious for some warm weather! While they were outside, they found someone else anxious for warm weather:

We had ourselves a little cold-blooded friend in the yard. Megan named it. Ugh. The boys were so excited to see this early sign of spring! They looked all around for more creepy crawlies :) Kept them busy for a while ;) I'm just looking forward to more warm, sunny days. Come on spring!!

Learning at Co-op

It's been an long week around here. We have two down with strep, Nick and Megan, which means lots of time at home and since co-op had just started back a couple of weeks ago, they were really sad to miss it. I'm grateful, though, to all my friends who covered my classes and watch out for Brandon so I could stay home and just be mommy for the day :) It was so nice to let Brandon go and know he'd be looked after while I was needed here. You guys are the best!

Our co-op has always been an important part of our home school. It is completely optional and mostly for enrichment, but we wouldn't miss it for the world! The kids love their classes and also getting a chance to be with friends learning and having fun. I know that sounds a bit like school, but it really isn't. They still do their "meat and potatoes" at home so really co-op is the fun, extra stuff. That's why they like it :)


 Here's a bit of what Brandon's doing this semester:

First up is Physical Science using the Apologia curriculum. Apologia is the science curriculum we use at home so I was thrilled when a wonderful friend offered to teach it at our co-op! It's up to the parents and kids to do all the reading and tests at home but at co-op, they get to do the experiments. We do science experiments at home, but in a group, you get a more enhanced experience.

He is also taking Human Body. Let me just say that he has opportunities there that he would NOT have at home ;) Like last week when they dissected a cow's eye.

 Brandon and his lab partner, photo by my friend, Jenny.

Thank you, Jenny!

Yeah....we won't be doing that here at home. At the end of the day, the kids were allowed to take home an eye to show their family. Of course Brandon wanted one. We had a cow's dissected eye in the fridge for a couple of days ;) This is the result of that:

At home with his eye showing Megan all the parts he learned. He was forced to throw it away after this :)

Another class is Fine Art where he is learning the finer points of drawing and sketching. That boy loves to draw so I'm pretty excited that he has the chance to pick up some pointers. This is right up his alley!

He decided he wanted to try something a bit different this semester and signed up to participate in a play. He auditioned and got the part he really wanted as Mr. Frank in the Story of Anne Frank! This class has been such a great learning experience so far! They are even planning a movie night where they can view the movie and have a discussion afterward. I love that it's more than learning lines for a couple of scenes from a play, but also including so much history from a very dark time in the world.

His last class of the day is Nature Enrichment. Brandon has taken this class also every semester for several years now. He loves absolutely loves learning about the great outdoors! In this class, they've learned various things about nature: birds, reptiles and amphibians, plants, taking care of nature, but this year they have focused on outdoor skills. They've carved their own spoons, learned how to build a fire without matches, talked about shelters, and learned about tracking animals.

Brandon has learned so much at co-op this year! At the end of every co-op day, I ask the kids as we are driving home what they're favorite part of the day was and Brandon can never pick! He is loving all of his classes!

When I planned this post, I thought I'd do all the kids together; clearly I underestimated how wordy I would be ;) Our co-op rocks! I'll be posting Nick and Megan's classes soon!

We Tried to Talk Them out of It

Today did not start great. After two months of getting the kids to three games of basketball every Saturday, we really didn't want to go back. We wanted a morning of rest! But the Upwards Award ceremony was today. We tried to talk them out of it. They would get their award in the mail if they didn't go so no big deal, right? The main problem we had with it was that they don't do all the age groups at once like some of the other churches do. The basketball program is too big. They can't fit everyone into their sanctuary at the same time so they schedule each age group separately. And we have three out of four of the age groups. Which means we're there all day....again.

But Brandon really wanted to go. And his time was first....9am. UGH

But I'm so glad we went! Even though it was raining and completely yucky outside. It was a great event. They had a guest speaker from the Harlem Globetrotters!! He was such a good speaker! Seth Franco was the first white boy (his words!) on the team in around 60 years. He only played with them for a year then was forced to quit because of an injury. But God has opened so many other doors for him. It was inspiring to hear his story and see him reach out to the kids about his love for Jesus. The kids loved him!

One of the things he said really stuck out to me. We should worship God with our gifts. No matter what those gifts are we should always remember the Giver of all gifts and use them to glorify Him. Inspiring!

 He was so funny. This is what was going on beside me while Megan was with her team:

I know they're a bit blurry. They were laughing so hard all the time!

 After the program, he autographed whatever for the kids. Brandon had him sign his jersey.

Megan decided she wanted to attend in her time slot. I knew that would happen ;) It was all good though. The kids all got duffel bags with Upwards on them. Megan's now has Seth's autograph :)

I've spoke before about how much we love Upwards. It never lets me down :) We tried to talk them out of it today, but I'm so glad we didn't :)