Miscellaneous reading material

In the last 24 hours I have read 3 blog posts about children, and siblings, and motherhood.  All of them have resonated deeply in my heart.  I wanted to share them here.  They are beautiful.

The first one I  read was from Kate Connor  This post titled  "There is room".

The next is from my Mom's blog, this titled "Sibling Revelry".

And, finally, this post my friend Michelle shared from Faith Rising titled "I'm (Still) Wasting My Life".

They are all on different topics and at the same time they're the same.  They're about children, and family, and the blessing that children are.  Even when they're all grown up and you're gone, they bless each other. 

I'm pondering these things today.

Week 3

Another week has passed and I am again just getting to a post!  This week is cold.  And my Hubby's truck doesn't like it very much.  So we're staying nice and warm inside, and he's taking the van to work.  We're hanging out in our PJ's for too long and playing, and reading, and putting together puzzles and eating more peanut butter than a family should! 

I caught the kids reading and playing so nicely together in the "red chair" the other morning.

Project 52- Week 2

Well, since I am obviously not a very good blogger, it's the 2nd(ish) week of January and I am already behind.  Sort of. So, pictures.

 She posed all by herself.  I'm not sure where she learned this stance.

Puppy in the mouth.  Typically.

  I love my kids.  They crack me up!

2013 Project 52

Well, I'm off to a great start for 2013.  It's getting increasingly difficult to get a good picture of the kids when they're together.  I can get pretty decent shots separately, but together is a whole-'nother issue!  My guess is that many of this years project 52 posts will have two pictures.  Here are this weeks. Stella working on her reading lesson.

Bruce playing with some blankets at the top of the steps.

2013 - TO DO List

I'm feeling a bit like I should do some goal setting for 2013.  I do believe I'll start out rather small.  So without further ado, my 2013 TO DO List!

1. Read through the Bible.  I have it all printed up in checklist form.  I will be working on that daily, and I will also be making a list of the names of God I find as I go.  I can post the names of God list as I find them, perhaps weekly? And with a list of the chapters where they were found. 
2.  Read 12 non-fiction, non-cooking books.  I'm still working on my list, and I will post it on What We Read as soon as it's made.
3. Continue home-schooling.  I found a new reading program that we will be starting, hopefully with more success than the previous.  We'll be finishing Kindergarten and starting First(!) Grade with Stella, and starting preschool(!) with Bruce.
4. Project 52.  One photo a week made me pay attention to my kids, and my poor, neglected blog. So, I'm hoping back on the wagon with this.  Grandmas, this one's for you guys! 

And, there you have it folks.  Nothing fancy or even special, but I'll be plugging away at it!  What are your goals for the year?

2011 Recap

The year in pictures... and a few words!

2012 recap in photos

In no particular order, 14 of my favorite photos from 2012.

Happy New Year!

Bruce

This is a LONG overdue post!  Yesterday I sat up and realized that I haven't blogged haven't written about all the little things Bruce does and says that I don't want to forget.  I am at serious risk of over-using exclamation points.  That's how much fun this kid is. 
 
He's 2 and a half now.  That went so fast!  He is seriously the sweetest child.  He's laid back, until he isn't!  Then everyone knows he isn't happy, including the neighbors, I think!  See too many ! already.  He is cuddly, loves everyone, checks in with me while he's playing - just for a hug.  He wants to sit on my lap and read, sit on my lap and watch a video, sit on my lap and drink his milk, sit on my lap and snuggle in while he wakes up.  I can't get enough of him!
 
He's starting to talk too.  But he rarely uses the first sound of a word.  He calls himself Uce.  Of course it's entirely dependent on context. Uce also means juice.  He says uuk too.  That one really has many meanings!  Look, book, cook, you get the idea.  My favorite words he uses though, are the ones that make his daddy stop worrying about him when he puts on a tutu to show off for company (like his sister).  Ools - tools, Mer - hammer, at - hat, ball, Lllela - Stella, Ops - PoPs.  They are the cutest! 

He makes me laugh all day.  If I pick him up and say "are you my baby?" He'll say no, if I ask if he's my big boy he says "No, Uce!"  He's Bruce.  Love that kid.  He's a helper too.  He's not particularly obedient if given a command, we're working on that, but if I "ask him to help" he's all in.  And if I've asked him to do something he's fiercely possessive of the task.  If Stella tries to do something he's supposed to do he lets out a blood curdling shriek.  There is no other word for it.  It usually gets my attention pretty quickly! 

That's not the only time we hear The Shriek though.  Oh, no.  He also uses it if she's trying to take a toy, or if she already has one that's a special toy (the toy du jour).  He's still carrying and chewing his puppy.  PoPs calls it a bacteria bomb.  He's got at least two names for that puppy too.  Ruff when he's pretty calm, and Baby when he's worked up.  Sweetness personified.  He likes to walk around with it ear in mouth, the rest draped over his face and head, so he can barely see.  He thinks it's funny, which it is.

He is my most wonderful gift, this baby who is not baby or big boy.  He's Bruce.  My Buck-man.  

To Stella: On her 5th Birthday

Hey Kiddo!   I love you.  You know that right?  I love you for being you.  We've had this conversation alot lately and I just want to make sure you know.  Tonight when I tucked you in, I told you I was proud of you.  And I am.  You asked me why.  These are some of the reasons.  I am proud of you when you are kind, to your brother and to your friends.  I am proud of you when you do right.  I am proud of you when you choose to love God.  I am proud of you because you are compassionate.

I love you, too.  I love you for all the reasons I am proud of you, plus some.  I love you, most of all for being You!  You  are funny and smart.  You try hard, you love hard.  You have high highs and low lows.  You use words that make adults laugh. You say things like "well, as you know..." and "was there bad traffic?" and all sorts of other, very grown-up sounding words and phrases. 

You make me laugh all the time. I can't wait to see what this year holds for you! 

Love you, Girlfriend!

Mommy