A Very Merry Christmas Indeed

Merry Christmas everyone!
I have been trying to be a better steward of my time lately, and in line with that, I have not been on Facebook at all today. I wanted to give this day to myself and my family instead. And because this blog is for my kids, and they are now all in bed. I want to share here the many precious pieces that made today a great Christmas.
I awoke to Emi coming in to see if I was up yet. She and Lexi and I cuddled for a while in bed before coming to the livingroom to begin the celebrations. I let them open their envelopes (gift cards) from their grandparents and then heard Nater, so they invited him to join us.
We went through stockings and then, after Liam joined us, opened a few presents. Later, when Philip is home, we will get to have Christmas again with the remaining goodies.

-Alexis is filled with posed expressions today. I was only able to get one candid shot of her because as soon as she opened anything, she put on a pose and held it until I snapped a picture. She is growing so fast. I love that she still feels the magic of the holidays, even if she is questioning where the magic comes from. Today she asked if I did the presents or if Santa did. I later learned that she had seen some of the stocking stuffers downstairs. I turned the question back to her (as I do all Santa questions) and she decided that we probably worked together on it. Later she was excited that Santa "knew she needed shoes".

-Emily so often reminds me of myself. I still open presents and stack everything in a collection of piles for the day. She did the same thing. First she tried to shove all of her stuff into her stocking, and when it would not fit she began her pile making. She posed genuinely for pictures and was thrilled with her gifts all day. Several days ago, she set aside special outfits for the upcoming days, that have included winter hats that she wears indoors. She was so excited to wear her Christmas outfit today, and later to change into her new pajamas and matching socks.

-Nater, unlike Lexi, was filled with endless candid moments worth capturing today. He was thrilled for the surprise of Christmas and loved every moment of it. He has always had a great sense of quantities and was so excited to find his "sets of two" in his stocking today. It began when he pulled the second of his suckers out. He went on and on about having "two, momma, two!" He also found two playdoughs and two mittens. He laid them out side by side and counted, "two, free. two, free. two, free. TWO momma!" I also chuckled when he talked to my dad on the phone and decided that Grampy's voice "Cares me!" (scares)

-Liam enjoyed his day and fought so hard to open his presents on his own. Though he did not get upset when others helped. He mostly relaxed today, and refused his morning nap for the first time. He is learning to take his diapers off and wanted to be naked most of the day. But, at bedtime, when he put on his new footie pajamas, he was happy as could be to have clothes on. He stuck out his chest and tapped his foot. He gladly showed off how handsome his new pajamas were and it was clear he loved them.

-We got to talk briefly to Philip this morning and more tonight. I talked to all of my sisters and my mom and even got to talk to Philip's dad. It was a great day and I am glad I dedicated it to my family.

-We happen to be reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Tonight we read two chapters. Those of Aslan's death and resurrection. In discussing it with the girls, they knew instantly that another who had died for others and was resurrected was Christ. Emi pointed out that Christ died for everyone. I am glad to have had the chance to talk to my kids about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ today. I am grateful for my testimony of such an amazing man. I am grateful for all that He did, does, and was for us. I love the opportunities we take to truly celebrate Him.

Waves of Change

I wrote this several nights ago in my personal journal and wanted to share it here.

One of my favorite things to do at the beach is to sit near the water and dig a hole. I love the adventure of desperately trying to dig the largest hole I possibly can before a wave comes in and the sand and water rush in and fill my hole and frustrate my efforts.
I feel like that tonight. I feel like I'm striving and struggling to create a world of loveliness for me and my kids and my family. I'm trying to add, or change, or take things away from our lives to create our beautiful ideal world. And the whole time I know that I am racing the clock. I know that inevitably the tides of life will come in and things will change and I'll look on the "hole" I had and how it's filled with new things and again I start to dig and build and prepare for a new crashing wave.
Today I got news from a loved one that hit me in a way I never would have expected. Life changes! And today, I was forced to face just how quickly those changes come.
I've always been a reminiscent being. I often remember, review and evaluate the past. And as my day forced me to acknowledge how much things have changed I realized just how fast my "nows" are slipping into the past.
Today I spent time holding and comforting each of my kids. Their heartbreaks seemed trivial but not only were they real, the opened a way for all the realness of hurt they can't understand to flow through them. So, I held them. Each of them. For as long as they would let me I held them and while they mourned their little (to my perspective) upsets, I mourned how quickly they are leaving me. How quickly they are growing past the need of cuddling in my lap and crying things out.
Today I feel like the sands of time are flowing way too fast. I want desperately to slow them down and hold them back. I want to freeze my family in the ages/stages we're in long enough for me to truly soak them in until I feel I've at last truly appreciated them.
So, today I hugged my kids a little longer, I listened and watched a little more intently, and I tried harder to appreciate all the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and blessings of our lives, as they are RIGHT NOW.

Another Encouraging Day

Today was a good day. It seems I've had quite a few of those lately. A friend invited us to meet up with her at the museum in the afternoon. So I spent the morning cleaning and talking with my mom, and then we went to the museum. William played, away from me and with the other kids. He sometimes came to me and he even nursed once, but mostly he played. Even at home he is just beginning to really be away from me for any length of time. Him playing at the museum made him all of a sudden so grown up in my mind. As Sam said, it's okay, I have another one on the way.

They are all getting so big, and seeing the world in new ways all the time. Today Alexis asked me if the mom of the family we were going to meet was really the kids mom. I said yes and she persisted, "I mean their REAL mom." She eventually asked if she gave birth to her kids. Yes! And when I asked her to explain why she said, "well cause you know there are other people at church that (have the same last name)." Suddenly it made sense. She knew that "Nana" of the family was the oldest female, and assumed that she must, therefore, be the mom of all the kids. She doesn't (and likely wont) have any cousins that share her last name, but I tried to explain it to her as best I could. It was a fun and interesting glimpse into her thoughts.

Emily pretty much took over making dinner for me tonight. I was making eggs and she asked if she could scramble and stir them, and I let her. I came back in after getting something from the other room and told her she was doing well. She replied, matter-of-factly, that she only had to be taught once how to stir eggs and she could do it always. I am grateful that she enjoys cooking and look forward to her skills progressing, since I do not like to cook.

Nater had a lot of fun. He was excited that he was going to get to play with his friends and is beginning to participate more in parallel play and not exclude himself so much. He is so cute, always chiming from the back seat, "eh-coos me mama". He watches everything as we go by and wants me to see it too. He always wants to know, "where going?" and often has opinions about whether or not where we are going is where he wants us to be going.

I am so in love with my family. I am so in love with being pregnant (and happy, not depressed). I am so in love with fulfilling my role as a daughter of God. I love being a part of my kids growth every day and I love learning something new from them all the time. I like these good days, and hope that they keep on coming.

An Encouraging Math Story

I occasionally really start to worry about the kids and what they are and aren't learning. I believe that they will learn at their own pace and that they don't need a specific curriculum. But believing sometimes doesn't feel like quite enough.
The area this is most true is math. We do math, as it applies in our lives. So I worry that we aren't getting enough exposure to it. We definitely don't learn math the way I learned math. Sometimes I think my kids should be answering pages of math facts and practicing so that they can do calculations more rapidly. I often come close to trying to teach them math the way I learned it.

But then, we have days like today...

It was snack time and as Nater saw me getting food ready he went to the dishwasher and got out 5 clean plates. He counted them, "one, tree, nine, ehven, tirteen." Then he brought them over and transferred them to the counter, "Emi, Seshi, Nayer, Wee-um, Mom." It was clear that though his counting was off, he understood a one-to-one correspondence. One plate for each number given, and one plate for each person.

Then as we sat down to eat, my girls had a discussion about their day.
E: Miranda was here for one and a half DAYS! Well one night and one half a day.
L: More like one and one quarter days. Wait, is one quarter bigger than one half? Cause she was here til after lunch. Remember the peanut butter in the car?
Me: One quarter is half of one half.
E: Yeah, one quarter is half of one half.
L: and two quarters is
E: ONE half.
L: and three quarters is
E: One half and one half of one half.

I'm not so worried any more about my girls being able to do math.
They may not be able to write 3/4= 1/2+ 1/2*1/2, but they have a sense of what it really means to divide a day and put sections of it back together.

I love homeschooling so much, and so many things make me happy to do it. It is nice to also have reminders like this that homeschooling is more than just loving it. It's nice to remember that we are capable of learning and understanding so much, when we have a motivation to do so.

I Have The Most Gorgeous Family Ever!

We got family pictures done and made a great friend. Anne from Skye Pheonix Photography auctioned off family pictures for the youth at our church to go to camp. We had such a great time meeting with her and getting our pictures done.

Oh, and I love that my husband wore his kilt. It's part of what makes him the best!

So That's What They Are Talking About

I have heard and read several times when people talk about being overwhelmed by all the great things they are doing. I have always been confused by why they would keep doing so much if it wasn't making them happy. Finally I have lived it and understand. Trying to make up for 9 months of Philip being gone led to overbooking our lives for several months. At one point in time, I went 5 weeks without any days just at home. For, a homebody like me, that was torture. It took quite a while after that, but things are finally getting back to order, back to cleanliness, back on schedule, and back to calm. So I can finally do the things I need too. In, the meantime, I hope my family enjoyed the activities. Here are a few of the things we did this summer that wont fall in with other blog posts.

The girls on the new bunkbed enjoying their suckers.

We caught this fella in the house, observed and let him go.

We went to the drive-in to see Monsters University and Despicable 2.

Emily attended summer camps on post. It was so nice to see her confidence grow. She attended pirate camp, science camp, princess camp, and fairy tea party camp. Lexi attended princess camp with her.

ARRR!

Dancing at Princess Camp

"Holding her bubble" (a way to keep the kids quiet)

Dressing up

She is posing so I can try out my new camera.

Lexi has been doing gymnastics. She loves it and it presents a challenge for her. She has learned that she is in control of her body and is learning to make friends without seeming pushy.



Nater was signed up for Monkeynastics. He only participated 1 1/2 classes though. He did much better AFTER we fixed his nap schedule.

 He has become quite the helper and likes hard work.

And watching them when he can't play along.

William has mostly gone along for the ride. He is learning and growing so much. He is definitely not a baby any more, though I refuse to call him my toddler yet.

And Philip and I stayed busy too.