She made Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal.
She had to chop apples.
Measure ingredients.
Stir it all up.
Clean out the measuring cup.
Spray the pan.
Spoon it into the pan.
And wipe the counter.
It turned out really good and she is one happy little cook!
Cook In Training
2.18.2014
One of the things I have always loved is working with my children in the kitchen. As each of them has gotten old enough they have taken their turns helping and learning how to follow recipes and use kitchen tools. This evening Annika made our supper with very minimal help.
She made Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal.
She had to chop apples.
Measure ingredients.
Stir it all up.
Clean out the measuring cup.
Spray the pan.
Spoon it into the pan.
And wipe the counter.
It turned out really good and she is one happy little cook!
She made Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal.
She had to chop apples.
Measure ingredients.
Stir it all up.
Clean out the measuring cup.
Spray the pan.
Spoon it into the pan.
And wipe the counter.
It turned out really good and she is one happy little cook!
A Homeschool Snow Day
2.13.2014
This morning started with a bunch of excited children. The snow was piling up on top of what we already had on the ground and it was coming down fast! Freeland rushed through his morning jobs so that he could go out for a little bit before we started school. The next thing I knew he had made a big pile of snow beside our little animal shed and was sliding off of the roof into the pile of snow!
Today was a red-letter day for Annika because she completed the Learning to Read curriculum she has been working on since the beginning of the school year! We now move on to a more advanced reader for the remainder of the year. We can officially say we have another reader in the house! Yay Annika!
Poor Casper does not love long division very much, can you tell? Of course the pressure was on because he was in a hurry to get outside to play in the snow!
Freeland finished his work in record time. A little too fast perhaps. Poor boy had to erase and re-write some of his Language Arts answers since they were not neatly written!
And what was Miss Eliana doing while the others were doing school work? Working, of course! Here she is cleaning the chalkboard wall.
They were in and out all day. I have wiped up many a puddle today (mostly with my socks). Of course there were tears because of hands that were too cold, and there were bumps and bruises (no kidding, with sledding off of the shed roof), but it was a fun day. The only thing that would have made it better is if Daddy had gotten snowed in with us! You think we could hope for that tomorrow?
Today was a red-letter day for Annika because she completed the Learning to Read curriculum she has been working on since the beginning of the school year! We now move on to a more advanced reader for the remainder of the year. We can officially say we have another reader in the house! Yay Annika!
Poor Casper does not love long division very much, can you tell? Of course the pressure was on because he was in a hurry to get outside to play in the snow!
Freeland finished his work in record time. A little too fast perhaps. Poor boy had to erase and re-write some of his Language Arts answers since they were not neatly written!
And what was Miss Eliana doing while the others were doing school work? Working, of course! Here she is cleaning the chalkboard wall.
They were in and out all day. I have wiped up many a puddle today (mostly with my socks). Of course there were tears because of hands that were too cold, and there were bumps and bruises (no kidding, with sledding off of the shed roof), but it was a fun day. The only thing that would have made it better is if Daddy had gotten snowed in with us! You think we could hope for that tomorrow?
Evolution
2.11.2014
Life is constantly evolving. Circumstances change. Health changes. Children grow and have new and different needs. New opportunities come up, old challenges resolve themselves or become irrelevant.
Right now we are in such a nice stage of family life. Everybody is pretty independent. They all sleep all night, dress themselves, clean their own rooms (more or less), and basically take care of their own needs. And, while I miss the little baby stage and would go back there in a heartbeat, it is nice. On the other hand, no one is yet old enough to drive, so they can not be too independent yet. It is a time I want to treasure because I know all too well how quickly it changes!
As I'm writing this all three boys are practicing their music. There was a time when I would have groaned at this level of noise and confusion in the house. I LOVE quiet! But I also love my boys and I love to see them grew and develop in this area. When I asked the boys to write down 3 things that make them feel loved one of the things Douglas wrote down was, "That you are willing to pay for music lessons for me." That made me smile.
We are well in to our second year of homeschooling. This is another evolving part of our lives. Some things work. Some things don't. We are learning together what works for each child. We recently moved Annika's little FisherPrice table upstairs. Each morning we put it right beside the sofa where I spend a lot of time. She and Eliana sit there to do their work. It is so perfect for us! I can see everything they are doing and step them through the new parts. It is such a simple little thing that has made school mornings so much easier.
My health issues also continue to evolve. Slowly, slowly I am getting better. I am learning to cope with on going issues and I am wrapping my mind around needing to deal with this. It isn't easy. I would really like to follow a treatment plan and be finished, but that is not where I am and accepting that fact makes it easier to move forward.
My work with Superkids Charity is another evolving part of my life. I never thought that the people I traveled to China with and the children I met would become such a huge part of my everyday life! I am so thankful for this! Each child is very special to me and I hold each one in my heart. To see families excitedly pursuing adopting one of "my babies" is one of the sweetest things I have ever experienced.
So there you have it. Life keeps moving and changing. It reminds me of the constant. My one constant desire to constantly grow closer to God and grow in His likeness. Through all of life's changes I want to keep that one goal front and center.
Right now we are in such a nice stage of family life. Everybody is pretty independent. They all sleep all night, dress themselves, clean their own rooms (more or less), and basically take care of their own needs. And, while I miss the little baby stage and would go back there in a heartbeat, it is nice. On the other hand, no one is yet old enough to drive, so they can not be too independent yet. It is a time I want to treasure because I know all too well how quickly it changes!
As I'm writing this all three boys are practicing their music. There was a time when I would have groaned at this level of noise and confusion in the house. I LOVE quiet! But I also love my boys and I love to see them grew and develop in this area. When I asked the boys to write down 3 things that make them feel loved one of the things Douglas wrote down was, "That you are willing to pay for music lessons for me." That made me smile.
My health issues also continue to evolve. Slowly, slowly I am getting better. I am learning to cope with on going issues and I am wrapping my mind around needing to deal with this. It isn't easy. I would really like to follow a treatment plan and be finished, but that is not where I am and accepting that fact makes it easier to move forward.
My work with Superkids Charity is another evolving part of my life. I never thought that the people I traveled to China with and the children I met would become such a huge part of my everyday life! I am so thankful for this! Each child is very special to me and I hold each one in my heart. To see families excitedly pursuing adopting one of "my babies" is one of the sweetest things I have ever experienced.
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| Eliana with Pat Marcus at a recent Gladney event. |
So there you have it. Life keeps moving and changing. It reminds me of the constant. My one constant desire to constantly grow closer to God and grow in His likeness. Through all of life's changes I want to keep that one goal front and center.
"Through every period of my life Thy goodness I'll pursue
And after death in distant worlds the glorious theme renew..."
In The Past 14 Days...
2.06.2014
In the past 14 days...
I have traveled about 3,380 miles, visited my sick grandfather in the hospital, attended two birthday parties, visited with Pat Marcus at the Gladney offices in Fort Worth, attended a dinner for Gladney families in the China program, visited with my brother from Nebraska, and eaten way more wonderful food than I should have. Wonder why you haven't heard from me here?
I have traveled about 3,380 miles, visited my sick grandfather in the hospital, attended two birthday parties, visited with Pat Marcus at the Gladney offices in Fort Worth, attended a dinner for Gladney families in the China program, visited with my brother from Nebraska, and eaten way more wonderful food than I should have. Wonder why you haven't heard from me here?
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| Safety First! |
 |
| The Gladney grounds are so beautiful! |
 |
| Pat Marcus and myself, Pat is from NY and I'm from PA, and we met in TX for the first time since saying good-bye in China! |
 |
| What children do at a birthday party |
 |
| What adults do at a birthday party |
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| Eating cake and ice cream |
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| The birthday boy (my nephew) |
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| All worn out on our way home. |
12, 2, and 9
1.19.2014
God has blessed our family more in second week of January than in any other week of the year. Three of our five children joined our family in the second week of January.
On Wednesday we celebrated Freeland's 12th birthday. He is such a sweet, funny boy! We had a very special time celebrating with one of his friends who shares a birthday with him.
And on Thursday we celebrated the 2 year anniversary of meeting Eliana. Last year she really had a hard time right over this time. She regressed in a number of areas and was very clingy and fearful. But I have not seen any of that this year. It is so sweet and wonderful to watch the healing taking place in our sweet little girl.
Yesterday was Casper's 9th birthday. He was very eager to point out that it is his last year of single digits. We celebrated once more! He is such a precious little man! I reminded him that he is still my baby boy, but he just wrinkled his nose!
How we thank God for each of these children! They are so different and unique and precious!
P.S. I'll be resuming my photo challenge tomorrow. The internet was down most of the week, so posting was not an option.
On Wednesday we celebrated Freeland's 12th birthday. He is such a sweet, funny boy! We had a very special time celebrating with one of his friends who shares a birthday with him.
And on Thursday we celebrated the 2 year anniversary of meeting Eliana. Last year she really had a hard time right over this time. She regressed in a number of areas and was very clingy and fearful. But I have not seen any of that this year. It is so sweet and wonderful to watch the healing taking place in our sweet little girl.
Yesterday was Casper's 9th birthday. He was very eager to point out that it is his last year of single digits. We celebrated once more! He is such a precious little man! I reminded him that he is still my baby boy, but he just wrinkled his nose!
How we thank God for each of these children! They are so different and unique and precious!
P.S. I'll be resuming my photo challenge tomorrow. The internet was down most of the week, so posting was not an option.
One of My Favorite Things...
1.10.2014
One of my FAVORITE things to do...
on a snowy day when I'm not feeling so well...
is to lie on the sofa...
where this is what I see...
and watch the many little birds...
that visit our feeder in a day's time!
Admittedly, this was a hard day. This was a stay on the sofa and hope tomorrow is better kind of day. I'm slowly moving in a better direction over all. I can function so much better now than I could a month or six weeks ago and I'm so thankful for that, but hard days are still no fun!
P.S. We do have more than just titmice that visit our feeder, it just happened that they were the ones coming this morning while I had my camera out.
on a snowy day when I'm not feeling so well...
is to lie on the sofa...
where this is what I see...
and watch the many little birds...
that visit our feeder in a day's time!
Admittedly, this was a hard day. This was a stay on the sofa and hope tomorrow is better kind of day. I'm slowly moving in a better direction over all. I can function so much better now than I could a month or six weeks ago and I'm so thankful for that, but hard days are still no fun!
P.S. We do have more than just titmice that visit our feeder, it just happened that they were the ones coming this morning while I had my camera out.
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