A little catching up...

I haven't been the best at blogging regularly for awhile now. I am hoping to do better in the coming months. Until then, here's a quick little photo update from the last few months. 

While we were waiting for our house to finish being built, we checked on it every Sunday after church. This time the kids played king of the gravel pit! 

The girls and I went exploring in downtown Franklin one Sunday afternoon... only to find out that in small town in the south nearly every shop was closed. So we took pictures instead. 

A Trader Joe's impulse buy turned into a wonderful, and beautiful, horticulture experiment while we were living in temporary housing in Franklin, TN.

Exploring a new nature park on a cold and rainy day. The different mosses and lichen that were growing in the dampness of new rain was spectacular.

Salamander egg sack. SO COOL!!!!

Everyone together for a trip to our new science museum. 

Our newest family members, our adopted kitties... Aslan is on the left, and Apricot is on the right.

Sleepy kitties...

Some Mother's Day silliness... at least they bought me Paleo donuts from Five Daughters Bakery first.

More donuts... this time for National Donut Day.

The kids and I traveled to Virginia and spent a week with friends doing science experiments. They videoed nearly everything, but thanks to Hannah, I have this awesome photo of an experiment they did burning different salt compounds.

Fourth of July, downtown Franklin style.

We had the opportunity to go watch fireworks in downtown Nashville, from the 21st floor of the "Batman Building". I've never been that close to a fireworks display before, nor have I ever been eye-level. It was an incredible experience.

Some fun, new artwork. Come over and see it in person! :)

A view of the sunset from my bedroom window last night. There is so much beauty here.

A clean kitchen counter... a rare sighting around my house. But a beautiful one when it happens.

Would I read it again...

When I look at my bookshelves, despite their quite chaotic state, I smile. Amidst the chaos of books not put away properly, or the stacks precariously teetering, are some of my dearest friends.

I am about to go through my bookshelves. Obviously, organizing them is of high priority, but I am also going to be thinning out some of the selections. Over the years my kids' interests have changed, as have mine. And the reality that I live so near a library helps ease the catch in my heart at the thought of letting some of my friends move on to new adventures.

How will I decide what to keep and what to share away? The answer is quite simple, "Would I read it again?" That is the question I will ask myself over and over as I touch each book (and catalogue the keepers). I need to decide how to tackle organization, especially for books that I will be keeping for the kids' next reading stage (books that I otherwise might not retain).

It is an exciting summer project. And in the process of it, I plan to share some of my favorites with you. We're also reestablishing our family Read Aloud and handicrafts time as well, so I will keep you posted on what we are reading and how we are keeping our hands busy.

If you have any family favorites you would like to share with me, please do! I love suggestions! Many of our favorite books started out with and introduction from a friend.

Olympic fever...

Maybe it's because I was an athlete once, and dreamed of going to the Olympics as a child. Maybe it's because I'm proud of the achievements of the people of our great nation. Maybe it's because I have kids who have dreams of reaching the Olympic stage one day. Whatever it is, every four years, as the summer begins, I find myself glued to the TV in a way I never am at any other time. (In fact, many times I have petitioned to go TV-free, but I keep being overruled.) The Olympics is my Superbowl, NBA Finals, and World Series all wrapped into one glorious 16-day journey.

I love the stories of sacrifice and family support and overcoming hardship. I love that our country, and the world, comes together to celebrate hard work and determination and incredible talent and unquestionable skill. I love that athletes who love Jesus Christ have a platform to proclaim the Gospel and be bold on a global stage (did you see Steele Johnson and David Boudia praying before the 10m Syncronized Diving, and then after giving thanks to God for their talent and safety, and then boldly sharing their faith in the post-qualifying interview?!?!)

But I also realize that sitting around on my haunches for over two weeks, glued to the TV, is not a good option physically. So, while we were watching the Olympic Trials for Diving and Men's Gymnastics this evening, Elliott started doing squats during a commercial break, and that spurred on a great idea... If you want to stay in the living room and watch the selection of the TEAM USA athletes, you have to work out during commercials.

We began haphazardly with doing whatever the first person shouted out, whether it be burpees, sit-ups, lunges, push-ups or something else. Then, because we have children, they began bickering over whose turn it was to choose the exercise. So, we decided to go youngest to oldest in naming the workout. The boys seemed to lean towards arm exercises calling for burpees and push-ups and Supermans, while the girls chose squat lunges, butt kicks, and crunches. Since we watched Diving and Gymnastics back to back, we ended up with over two hours of some pretty intense stretches (why did the longest commercial breaks always seem to hit during burpees?!?!).

More than anything, we had fun together. We cheered on some great folks competing to represent TEAM USA in Rio, we broke a sweat and laughed at each other, moaning when another commercial came on instead of return to the event giving us a break.

I imagine everyone here will remember this Road to Rio trip. What will you and your family be doing to make this summer and these Summer Olympics a memorable one?

Fun times ahead...

Our first full summer in North Texas is upon us, and my house is still not fully unpacked and organized. My biggest temptation is to do nothing except piddle around the house until everything is just right. However, no sooner does that thought come into my mind, than the reality of six active, fun-loving, adventure-seeking, busy kids comes crashing down on me. And in an effort to make our summer more fun than doldrum, and after being inspired by a dear friend, I made a little chart that we can check off as the summer progresses. I'm hoping it will act as motivation to get out and do some fun stuff. And I love checking things off!

Now, for those of you who think I'm being a tad too optimistic... I did cheat just a little when I made this list. We decided not to take a traveling summer vacation this year. Instead, we have planned a "stay-cation" and a good handful of the things on our list come from those 8 days, as we explore our city and the surrounding area.

If you'd like to join us for any of these fun activities, we'd love to have you! The more the merrier! :)

Playing in the dirt...

Spring has sprung, Summer has come.
Bright eyed boys digging up wiggly friends.
Giggling girls chasing leaping playmates.

Rain coming down, mud in the making.
The landscape is glowing emerald.
New life erupting silently from between my toes.

Toads and turtles, lizards and snakes.
Everyone needs a glass container so they can "watch".
Tears stream down cheeks when new friends leave.

These last few weeks I had big plans for us to log some good "Summer School" time. Instead, the kids have been filling our days with making new friends of the reptile and amphibian kind. Not wanting to be neglectful or hurtful of our adoptees, I have spent a good amount of time googling about the proper care of our adopted mates.

Meet Toad...

Years and years ago, we adopted a little toad from my mother's backyard because Hannah fell in love with it. We watched that little toad grow from the size of a quarter to the size of the palm of your hand in about two years. We finally released the toad when we had to buy crickets the size of your pinky finger that chirped all night long. So, it only seemed right to allow the younger boys the same experience when they fell in love with a hoppy little friend in my front garden bed. Here was the first toad the kids caught, already pretty good sized, Caleb and Micah called him Tim Duncan because he was a good jumper.

Then, I found him a friend when I was pulling weeds. This one was much smaller, more reminiscent of Hannah's first toad. I was inspired to improve on the flat look of the tank, using some flagstone from our pool decking and some succulent plants I had in small pots. You can see the small toad in the upper right corner on the "mountain" and the larger toad in the bottom center.

The kids have been finding smaller toads all over the last few days. I don't have a picture yet, but there are currently four smaller toads in a 20 gallon terrarium (the one I found weeding, one the kids found swimming in the pool, another I found in the flowerbeds, and the latest one was gathered during an afternoon visit to a friend's farm). We decided to let the larger toad go back in the front flower beds. Micah was sad about that, but seemed better after collecting the last one this afternoon.

Meet Miracle, the Red-Eared Slider...

Photo credits: Hannah

I found Miracle on a road in a shopping center. Not long ago we watched a research video about how a high percentage of folks will go out of their way to drive over turtles. I found the information saddening but had no idea that Micah had been so affected by it until we saw a turtle crossing the road in Kentucky on our family road trip. We had no way of picking that turtle up at the time, and Micah was crying, so we promised that the next one we found on the road we could take home. (I googled whether or not this was legal after the promise was made, and it is, thankfully. And the law about it is a bit comical, in case you are interested.) Well, we made it home from our trip and I went out for coffee with a friend. As we went back to my car, low and behold, a full-grown female Red-eared Slider was crossing the road into a large parking lot. When I made it home with our newest "pet", Micah said he had been praying for a turtle, and it was a Miracle that God answered his prayers, so that became her name. (The turtle's size gave away its gender, she was a full 12" across, and boys only make it up to 10", thank you Google.)

We kept Miracle for around two weeks. The kids would walk with her around the yard, we made sure she had fresh water and food. She really was sweet and friendly, not easily spooked. When the kids picked her up, she wouldn't even put her head or legs in, she'd sit on their feet (which the kids said was her way of hugging them). But she wasn't eating well. And we didn't have a way to provide her with moving water, which was important because mosquitoes were beginning to take a liking to her baby pool. We decided that she needed to be released. We loaded up our Miracle and headed to a local park with a river. Miracle was thrilled to be back in the river and we watched her explore her new surrounding for at least an hour. Dragonflies were also caught, skipping stones flung, and feet sunk into the bank. Micah cried and cried and cried about releasing his best little turtle friend. I think the little man is going to be a vet or a zoo keeper.

This afternoon our reptile adventures continued, and I wish I had a picture, or a video, but I don't. I was pleasantly surprised that no one suggested acquiring the anoles we discovered on my Red Yucca in the front yard because I'm not sure where we would have put them! But we did enjoy about twenty minutes with our neighbors watching a male anole doing his best to woo a female, bobbing his head up and down and expanding out his red bulging neck. The kids started looking for the female and we ended up spotting three green anoles in and amongst the Yucca leaves.

So, while we are squeezing in a little school work here and there, we are spending far more time playing in the dirt, observing nature, and soaking up the rain and sun. Oh, and every other day we stand around to watch the toads slurp up crickets. If you ever want to watch, just come by, I'll make coffee and we can "oooh" and "aaah" and cheer the toads on. :)

Want to join me...

Ok, so I am not a runner. In days long past I was an athlete, but running was never a part of the sports I chose. Swimmers don't run. Volleyball players laugh at the Basketball players who are running, because Volleyball players don't run. I just never saw any point to running. Honestly, I have probably not run on purpose since elementary school field day. I am not joking. I have always thought of running as a cruel form of torture.

But, I am really wanting to get back into shape. The baby phase is past, the busy kids being taken here and there phase has arrived, and I am struggling to have the stamina to keep up. Not to mention, I really want to set an example and teach my kids some good physical fitness habits outside of their chosen sports. Oh, and I need to lose over 40 pounds, but who's counting?!?! I began with some core/isometric workouts, but quickly aggravated the abdominal scar tissue I have from 8 abdominal surgeries in the last 13 years. Not cool. Really discouraging.

Thankfully, a week of rest and doing nothing even close to athletic, and the pain from the scar tissue subsided. During that time of rest, I began to wonder if walking would be all I would be able to do. I don't particularly care for walking as an exercise regimen, it takes a long time and I can do it without getting tired. But a friend mentioned to me that she and her daughter were going to train for a 5k race. I asked if the kids and I could join her. She said yes. And I was surprised to find I was happy about it.

I have downloaded a  "Zero to 5k (and 10k)" training app, ordered my iPhone 6 Plus arm band, downloaded the GPS/pacing app, and asked a few friends if they want to join me. I am somewhat competitive by nature, and I don't like skipping out on commitments, so if I get enough friends to run with me, I won't have a choice but to do it! Or at least that is the plan. (Assuming success in November, we will train for the 10k in the spring... I am not even thinking of a half marathon she wants to do in fall 2015 yet... must survive this 5k first).

The kids and I did the first day of training this evening. We ended our run with stretching, some planks and wall push-ups. I feel great, though now I can't go to sleep because I am WIRED. We may have to run in the mornings if this is the effect running has on me. 

So, the question is... do you want to join me? We can cheer each other on. We can rejoice in our successes, and encourage each other in our set-backs. We can get together for a coffee in two months and celebrate reaching goals we never in our lives thought we would set!

Getting derailed and laughing...

Yesterday we had a delightful, relaxed day of learning. Everyone actually woke up around the same time and one of the twins made oatmeal for everyone. After it was devoured, kids ran off to make beds and do schoolwork.

I worked on some sewing projects for Hannah's theatre class, put a new patch on Noah's Tae Kwon Do uniform (the Grand Master is in town), brushed the pool, and other various chores. We did some group lessons, and then I made lunch. The fact that a friend's daughter has stayed with us all week while her parents are celebrating their 20th anniversary in Puerto Rico is not even mentionable because she blends in so well I forget she doesn't live here all the time. Except for her laughing at my sarcastic and terribly fake British accent from time to time. 

It is somewhat comical how often I have no idea what lunch is going to be until it is upon us. Thursday was no different. But I did want to try a new recipe and I wanted to bake something. I scrolled through my "Recipes: Paleo Inspiration" Pinterest board and stumbled upon a Paleo Lemon Blueberry Scone. I had all the ingredients. I decided that a Paleo Scone and Protein Smoothie sounded like a wonderful lunch. It was. All the kids agreed, evidenced by not a scrap of food or smoothie being left over. 

During our afternoon readings about famous men from the 16th and 17th centuries, we came across the name of a disease no one knew about, scurvy. And, since I tell the children continually to look up words they do not understand, we looked up scurvy. On Wikipedia. Of course. We were marveling at the history of the first reports, attempted treatments, modern day occurances, etc. After derailing from our biographical sketch, we returned to find out about what happened after the settlers recovered from their Vitamin C deficiency.

For the last two weeks, we have been studying about Shakespeare during our history readings. Noah loves all things Shakespeare. We were reading about the Globe Theatre on Tuesday when Noah said he wanted to see photos of the New Globe Theatre (yes, so he could rebuild it in Legos). Derailed again, we went a-googling, and Wikipedia saved the day. In our searching, we found out that the plays that the new (1997) Shakespeare Globe Theatre puts on during the summer have been recorded. So we ordered a few on DVD and they arrived on Thursday. So, the plan for school today was to finish up all work for the week and then sit down for a viewing of Much Ado About Nothing performed in the rebuilt Globe Theatre by world-class actors. Oh, the laughing, and shrieks of joy, followed by gasps of shock (this is Shakespeare, and he had to make the groundlings happy). Applause and laughing ended the 3 hour field trip to London in my living room. Seriously, anyone who thinks Shakespeare is boring needs to see it performed.

These are the days that remind me why we are on this crazy homeschooling journey. I don't remember many days of school growing up, but I can already hear my children telling of the day they curled up on the couch and were researching scurvy and being thankful a local grocery store (so as to avoid the same fate as those French colonists), or how they rushed to finish their school assignments so they could indulge in an afternoon with the Bard of Avon guessing which characters were good and which were villains, and beckoning "that was for the groundlings!"

Just another day at the park...

Earlier this week we woke up early and headed out to meet some friends at the park. We suggested meeting at Fredrich Wilderness Park, known for some great hiking trails as well as some unique birds. 

Our kids hadn't seen each other for around six weeks. I should have known better than to expect a quiet bird walk. The kids meandered off, but even when we couldn't see them, we could hear them! We finally made it to the windmill, but instead of rare birds, we found goofy kids...

Moving on, and losing sight of the kids again (but never out of ear shot), they found a spot with a small drop-off and decided to stage a dangerous scene...

Can't wait to see what future adventures will bring. :) 

A cozy read...

In the last three days, the harried summer schedule we have been following has slowed down. Instead of rush, rush, rushing from one commitment to the next or preparing for a big trip, we have spent our afternoons cuddled on the couch, drawing at the table, or playing with blocks and cars while I read aloud to the children.

Monday we read Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. Yes, I cried. It was a delightful read, and completely written in poetry. But totally easy to follow and funny, as it is written like a poetry journal between the main character, Jack, and his teacher, Miss Stretchberry. Jack is probably in the 4th or 5th grade. I have already lent it out and am looking forward to reading it again.

Tuesday we read Hate That Cat also by Sharon Creech. Yes, it is a sequel. Even more endearing and precious than the first. Jack is a year older, and he is happy to have Miss Stretchberry again. Yes, I teared up. Again. A sweet, touching book.

Today we began The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg. I didn't want to put it down, but I promised the kids they could go swimming at 3:30pm. Even with swimming promised, there were gasps of distress when I laid aside the book. Something tells me I know what we will spend the afternoon doing tomorrow. 

How are you spending your lovely summer afternoons?

A change of schedule...

After years of me not wanting to have the kids involved in team sports, for a myriad of reasons, the time came for us to tip-toe into the world of athletics. We began in the fall with allowing the children to take one recreational class a week. Four of the six children chose gymnastics, two decided on martial arts. I found one gym in a neighboring town that held both sports at the same time. Score for me! Yay for scheduling simplicity!

A few months into our new endeavors, three of the children were invited to try out for different levels of team gymnastics. A little voice inside my head was screaming "NO WAY! Our family time will be torn apart!" But then, I looked at the schedule. While, the team practices would lengthen the amount of time we spent at the gym, the team practices fell on days we were already there. We did add a Saturday morning practice for two of the children, but besides a birding commitment from time to time, our Saturday mornings have generally always been pretty clear.

Elliott and I prayed. We crunched the numbers to make sure we could afford it. I figured out a plan to minimize gym waiting time for the kids who weren't on team. When we told the children that we were going to give it a shot, they were giddy. We have survived the first month of our new schedule. It has actually been quite fun to spend 1-on-2 and 1-on-3 time with kids, when we are so used to 1-on-6 for every endeavor. The kids are taking their commitments very seriously, it is neat to see them take ownership of staying fit and growing in their skills.

This week, though, we needed to make a new adjustment to our daily school schedule. The twins' coach sent home a conditioning sheet with a workout for them to do at home every day between their Monday practice and Saturday practice. I have been wanting to work out, but not been able to motivate myself to squeeze it in. For the last two days, we have broken up school with the following workout:

Chicken Walks (15) - This is where you do a handstand with your feet against the wall and you lift one hand at a time off the floor. You have completed one of these after you pick up each hand once. I tried one. I have decided to only supervise this exercise in the best interest of protecting myself from a massive head injury.

Regular Push Ups (10) - These are a childhood favorite of mine. I don't remember them being so difficult, but considering the last time I regularly did push-ups I weighted about 25% less than I do now, I am trying to give myself some grace. I do have a good push-up posture thanks to the 1000's of push-ups I did as a child. My children, however, obviously need to do more push-ups as their form is a work in progress.

Push Up Hold (15 seconds) - Here you go down like you are going to do a push-up but you don't come up for 15 seconds. 15 seconds doesn't sound very long. And it isn't in the grand scheme of things, but when you are holding your push-up, you never think the 15 seconds will end. I do think I probably started counting faster near the end, tomorrow I will need to employ the stopwatch for all fairness. 

Diamond Push Ups (10) - These we do on the wall, with our hands in front of our chest and with our index fingers and thumbs in a diamond shape. They are surprisingly effective at making my arms ache.

Dips (15) - I am thankful for our dining room table benches, as two of us can do these at the same time on each bench. You place your hands with fingers facing your bottom and you dip yourself down until you form a right angle with your elbow and then you push yourself back up. Besides my arms feeling numb at this point, this exercise also starts to send a burning sensation across the top of my thigh. I am reminded of my age and out-of-shapeness by the near constant popping noise coming from my right knee. It is ridiculously humbling and I stay strangely quite as the children ask one another, "do you hear a strange cracking noise?"

Crunches (20) - Laying flat with toes pointed, and looking straight up at the ceiling, slowly crunch up until all abdominal muscles are engaged and then go back down. These seem easy until about number 13, then I think I might die or start cheating and count by 2's, but the kids are watching. Today, Micah began commenting on how red my face was at this point, he said it was scaring him.

Ab Rollers (20) - Laying down, keeping legs perfectly straight and toes pointed, you pull your legs up from the floor to a pike position, rolling up into a crunch to as if you plan to meet your nose to your knees while your feet point to the ceiling. Then, you let your legs down as you release from your crunch, but you do not allow your feet to touch the ground. I love how many different core muscles are engaged during this one exercise. Somewhere around the 10th one I thought I was going to throw up and I transitioned into a supervisory role and critiqued and corrected the children's form. Thankfully the muscle spasm that had taken hold of my abdomen lessened so I could be ready for the next exercise.

Sit Ups (10) - Here we pair off to sit on each others feet so that a full sit-up can be accomplished with no "cheating" of lifting of feet from the ground. Sit-ups were another childhood favorite (yes, I had an unusual childhood), and my doctors are all surprised that after nine major abdominal surgeries that I can still do a sit-up. Tonight I cheerfully, albeit slowly, did all 10. I was eternally grateful there was no need for an 11th.

Plank (2 x 30 seconds) - Thanks to the stop watch on my phone, no one has to count aloud during this exercise where you get in your best push-up form and hold it through all the quaking and shaking of your biceps, back and abdominal muscles that begins around 19 seconds. I have begun wondering if I will be able to lift the covers to go to sleep tonight.

Over Splits (2 minutes) - The twins make doing the splits look as easy as putting on Toms. I have chosen, mostly due to the full body ache and need to be able to walk and care for my family after the work out is complete, to simply time the children as they do their splits. Besides, none of the children are currently strong enough to lift me up and off the ground if something were to go wrong during my doing a split, so for their safety, I just cheer them on.

If I work out with the kids the rest of this week, I think I will have done more exercises this week than in most single months in the last 10 years. Following the inaugural workout yesterday, I was surprised with a few aches but happily was not hindered from being able to do my normal daily activities today.

The Lord has humbled me numerous times as we have traveled down this new road, the simplicity of fitting the commitment into our lives, the daily work outs I have avoided for so long, as well as answering prayers long forgotten. So many times I have lamented that I don't have a lot of contacts from outside my church or homeschool mom friends. Now I do. I am forming relationships with the moms of other kids, even a few grandmothers. God is so good. He gives us so many gifts, even ones we didn't know we needed.

Crafting fun...

Some scrapbook paper pumpkins...

Some cute water colored leaves...

A line of kids waiting to make some melted crayon art...

And then cutting out leaf shapes to make fall sun catchers...

There was also a cute fall "snow globe" I made for each of the moms who came, but that escaped photographic documentation. Since I was the crafting "cruise director", all the above pictures were taken by my kids. And I found all the crafts on Pinterest. Seriously, I think that site is my new best friend (even though I did totally make fun of it when it first came out...). 

My favorite thing about our Pumpkin Patch and Play day is that in just a few hours we have created enough things to decorate our house to feel all nice and cozy and festive. And I get to fellowship with other Moms while my kids play happily with friends. 

In the end, we all had fun. Some of us may have had too much fun...

Fall is in the air...

I can't remember a whole year of weather that I have enjoyed more than this year. The summer was incredibly mild, by Texas standards that is. And fall has come in right on schedule. Windows are open most every morning, the birds have begun migrating, Monarch butterflies can be see wafting by overhead. It is pure joy for my heart, and I wake each morning yearning to spend the day out of doors.

An annual tradition around here is something I have deemed Pumpkin Patch and Play day. It is when I set a deadline for myself to get the kids dressed in coordinating outfits and we head over to the local Methodist Church Pumpkin Patch for our yearly Mommy-taken kid photos. We invite friends to join us at the pumpkin patch and then back to our house for a brown bag lunch and fall inspired crafts. It was another fun event!

I imagine we will attempt to make another trek out to the patch this coming week as I did not seem to capture a group shot, and I want to try to conquer the lighting, but when friends arrived, all focus on Mom was understandably lost. If a return trip doesn't happen, here are the kids' photos for the year... they are somewhat becoming our "school photos". :)

 

 

Another post will contain some snapshots of our crafting fun! 

A little weekend...

It's a long story, but our family was spoiled and pampered this weekend by the amazing folks at the Omni Colonade Hotel. All in all, my floors didn't get mopped, dishes weren't washed and I got behind in laundry, but it was totally worth it. :)

A little fall harvest theme to the dinner Friday evening...

Waiting to get started on our Sea World adventures...

We found Shamu!

I love my iPhone camera...

Front row seats...

Probably my favorite show of the day, Azul, with diving and synchronized swimming and beautiful animals from God's Creation. It should be called the 5th day show with birds above and water creatures below...

I love sharks!

I think they liked it...