a bowl of thanks

We have been collecting birch bark on each of our walks the past few weeks. My original intent was to write every day during November about what we are thankful for and hang them up in a banner style. Well November got away from me and we did not do that. Instead today, we took all the pieces we had and wrote what we were thankful for and something that each of our family members did that made us thankful for them. We put them all in this big glass bowl. Our plan is during dinner tomorrow to pull them out and read them aloud. We wrote the notes secretly so it will be fun to see what everyone has to say. The boys really got into it and I was surprised at how many and how long William wrote for.  I am glad there is an abundance to be thankful for around here.

packages in the mail

Yesterday was an exciting day. The mail lady brought us 4 packages.
Grammy and Grampy sent two.
Jaxson got his very own. A set of two new balls which he is loving very much.
The boys got books. One was making small paper airplanes which we spent the afternoon doing.

Then both of my sisters sent a box.

One with baby stuff, which was from her children. Mind you her youngest is 14. How can she have things and not I? This is her theory. If you keep a few baby items in your house you will not get pregnant. If you get rid of everything you just may. I got rid of everything and I am having a baby- she is not. Maybe she is onto something. Of course I wanted to get pregnant and she is past that stage of her life.

My other sister sent a box of craft items. The boys were so excited to get right to it and start making things. They went downstairs and painted for a bit. Again I ask where did she get all this stuff. She had it from when her daughter, who is now 24, was 10.

I often wonder if we are all from the same lineage. I am always getting rid of things, cleaning out and am not too sentimental at times. They obvioulsly hold onto things. I am glad because then their baby sister benefits:).

Thanks for the stuff. It was a fun day going through it all. And  boy, do we love to get mail around here.

so sweet he is

I began freaking out recently at how very little baby clothes we had. I gave pretty much all of ours away, thinking we were done with having babies.  About two weeks afterwards was when I found out I was pregnant. So going through my one little box that I saved I realized I only had about 5 things for him to wear right away. Being the sweet man that my husband is, he took it upon himself to order a huge lot of newborn clothes off of ebay. I believe we are set for the first month or so and I have stopped freaking out.

But isn't he such a darling of a husband???

windowsill displays

The windowsills in this place are awesome. They are nice and deep. Our collections are actually able to be put out for display finally. Here are just a few to share.

Sunday Smiles

creating with beeswax

We played with beeswax for the first time this week. It was easy and fun. Watching it melt was rather mesmerizing. A quick little craft for some family members. Very satisfying.

the sparkle in his eye

Landon and I have been reading The Wise Enchanter. It is a wonderful story that leads 4 children on a quest to rescue the alphabet. Each chapter focuses on a letter. I did not say much about it but after a few chapters he picked up on it and then began figuring out what letter came next. We started discussing what words in the chapter began with that particular letter. 

I haven't pushed him into reading, but knowing that the letters were clicking I asked him if he wanted to learn how to read. He already tells us that he reads in his head, but was excited about the thought of reading the words aloud.

I wanted something that was simple and basic. I know I could have just done it on my own or helped him along as he went but I felt I needed a little something to help me. Something with a systematic way. This way I won't feel like I missed anything. I let William really learn on his own and he is a terrific reader( a post coming soon), but there are gaps here and there.

I found the Reading Lesson. It's short easy lessons without a lot of rules. Just easy reading. We have done the first lesson and can I just tell you- the way his sweet eyes lit up when he read the first words and then the short little story. It was the BEST reason to homeschool.  To be the one to watch him learn and share in his excitement. He ran to William to share the news that he could read.  Loving the fact that his brother is the first one he wants to share things with.  He read the word "cot" and immediately thought of Grampy when he was here visiting. (Grampy brought his own cot with him).

It has been lots of fun working with him. He is just so excited. The days that we miss it he is very upset. I have taken the little stories out of the book and made them into a folder for him and he loves practicing reading -especially to Daddy.

I wish I could have captured that first moment on film when he realized he was reading, but it will always be in my heart and mind.