Bruce Man

Bruce is so much fun right now.  He's silly. And  chatty.  And lovey.  And I love every minute of it.  Right now he is sleeping with a J.M. Cremps catalog, open to "the digging page."  He asks for the Lowe's ads in the paper in the morning by asking for the "tool paper."  He can tell you what a hammer, pliers, wrench, flat head and philips head screwdrivers, drill, and shovel, rake, and hoe are and what they do. 

He likes to cuddle when he wakes up, which after nap time is one of the best times of my day. But lately he looks up at me and responds to my I love yous with his own.  But he also will tell me he loves my eyelashes, ears, nose, teeth.  It makes me laugh every time. He also climbs into my lap and says "I not love you, 'member that?"
 
He wants to use tools, and do "man stuff" with Daddy or PoPs.  He can spend hours playing with a shovel outside under the tree or with a board and hammer and nails.  He's a bit of a loner.  He is happy to play by himself even when there are other kids around.  But he's not anti-social.

I love that boy!

  

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!