A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Family)
Baby by Patricia MacLachlan
Bandit's Moon by Sid Fleischman
Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Family)
Dateline: Troy by Paul Fleischman
Doomed Queen Anne by Carolyn Meyer
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Frindle by Andrew Clements
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Have a Hot Time, Hades! by Kate McMullan
High School Musical series
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Jason and the Argonauts by Bernard Evslin
Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Family)
Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Family)
Little Town on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer
Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart
Old Mother West Wind by Thornton Burgess
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Family)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan
Phone Home, Persephone! by Kate McMullan
Princess Tales
Princess Test by Gail Carson Levine
Return to Howliday Inn by James Howe
Say Cheese, Medusa! by Kate McMullan
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Stop that Bull, Theseus! by Kate McMullan
Tales from the Odyssey series by Mary Pope Osborne
The 39 Clues series by various authors
The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander
The Cupid Chronicles by Coleen Murtagh Paratore
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Golden Fleece by Padraic Colum
The Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Family)
The Princess School series by Jane B. Mason
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
The Wedding Planner's Daughter by Coleen Murtagh Paratore
The Wish by Gail Carson Levine
The Word Eater by Mary Amato
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Two Queens of Heaven by Doris Gates
Various American Girl books
Various Mary-Kate and Ashley books
Various Star Wars books
Way to Go, Atlanta! by Kate McMullan
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Charles can read!
A couple of weeks ago Charles started actually reading. We have been reading Dick and Jane. We started with the "Look, look. Oh, oh. Oh, look" stuff, and have progressed to the "Sally said, 'Come Mother. I see something. See Spot run and jump. Oh, my.'" sort of reading. He is getting really good at sounding out new words and remembering the old ones.
Charles has also been really interested in learning to play the violin like Emma. I decided to teach him what I know and then if he still wants to learn more, we can get him real lessons. He is really good at remembering the details of things I teach him and being very precise. So we'll see, but I think he may end up really playing the violin.
He has also picked up on the pattern for counting, so he jumped from counting to 20 to counting clear up to 100, with some help (like saying 30 instead of twenty-ten).
Charles has been really interested in the Magic Tree House books lately, so I've been reading him one about every other day. We've also been playing a lot of games together lately. It is fun that he has progressed to this level. He seems to have jumped from toddler-who-can't-do-much to kid-who-can all at once.
Emma has also had a lot of exciting things happen since we moved here. First of all, we decided to have her go to school. She has been attending St. Paul's Christian Day School for this last half of 4th grade. St. Paul's is an Evangelical Lutheran parochial school. St. Paul's only goes through 4th grade, and we will be homeschooling her again after this, but she really wanted to try the school experience, and we'd heard so much good about St. Paul's (and really liked it when we toured it), so we decided to give it a whirl. She has loved it. St. Paul's is a great school with lots of good opportunities. For Emma's school play, they put on Seussical (Jr.) the musical (Emma was a citizen of Whoville). It was a full-on Broadway production. At the end of school the 4th graders and their parents are going on a 3-day Texas history field trip. It has also been great for her to be able to see what other churches believe and how they worship. Emma has done well in school. So far on her report card she has had all Satisfactory marks (highest mark) and her scores for the individual subjects were all in the 90's. She also is in 2nd place so far for most AR (accelerated reader) points for the entire school year. Yeah, she likes to read.
We found a great ballet teacher for Emma too. Her name is Libby Lovejoy, and she moved out here to retire, but can't seem to make herself actually quit teaching. She has taught at many universities and at Ballet Austin, and is a great teacher. She and Emma hit it off right away. Emma is taking ballet and musical theater dance from her. She also encouraged Emma to audition for Ballet Austin's junior summer intensive, which she did, and she made it! The summer intensive is two weeks of intense ballet training at Ballet Austin in August. Emma is very excited. She loves to dance, and her current dream is to be a professional ballerina. She would dance every day if she could.
Texas is beautiful. We had a bit of a cold snap in late January/ early February, which would have been okay except our heater wasn't working and our pipes froze, so we had to bunk with Dad and Mom for a few days one week and then a few days the next week. But since then, it has been great weather. We have been mostly hanging out in the 80's lately. Our garden is growing nicely. We planted some box gardens on our porch. There is a sister in our branch who has good dirt (most of the dirt around here is clay), and she let us take whatever we needed. So now we are growing a good little garden with tomatoes, peas, beans, lettuce, garlic, swiss chard, melons, pumpkin, zucchini, cilantro, peppers, spinach, carrots, and cucumbers. Yay!
Charles has also been really interested in learning to play the violin like Emma. I decided to teach him what I know and then if he still wants to learn more, we can get him real lessons. He is really good at remembering the details of things I teach him and being very precise. So we'll see, but I think he may end up really playing the violin.
He has also picked up on the pattern for counting, so he jumped from counting to 20 to counting clear up to 100, with some help (like saying 30 instead of twenty-ten).
Charles has been really interested in the Magic Tree House books lately, so I've been reading him one about every other day. We've also been playing a lot of games together lately. It is fun that he has progressed to this level. He seems to have jumped from toddler-who-can't-do-much to kid-who-can all at once.
Emma has also had a lot of exciting things happen since we moved here. First of all, we decided to have her go to school. She has been attending St. Paul's Christian Day School for this last half of 4th grade. St. Paul's is an Evangelical Lutheran parochial school. St. Paul's only goes through 4th grade, and we will be homeschooling her again after this, but she really wanted to try the school experience, and we'd heard so much good about St. Paul's (and really liked it when we toured it), so we decided to give it a whirl. She has loved it. St. Paul's is a great school with lots of good opportunities. For Emma's school play, they put on Seussical (Jr.) the musical (Emma was a citizen of Whoville). It was a full-on Broadway production. At the end of school the 4th graders and their parents are going on a 3-day Texas history field trip. It has also been great for her to be able to see what other churches believe and how they worship. Emma has done well in school. So far on her report card she has had all Satisfactory marks (highest mark) and her scores for the individual subjects were all in the 90's. She also is in 2nd place so far for most AR (accelerated reader) points for the entire school year. Yeah, she likes to read.
We found a great ballet teacher for Emma too. Her name is Libby Lovejoy, and she moved out here to retire, but can't seem to make herself actually quit teaching. She has taught at many universities and at Ballet Austin, and is a great teacher. She and Emma hit it off right away. Emma is taking ballet and musical theater dance from her. She also encouraged Emma to audition for Ballet Austin's junior summer intensive, which she did, and she made it! The summer intensive is two weeks of intense ballet training at Ballet Austin in August. Emma is very excited. She loves to dance, and her current dream is to be a professional ballerina. She would dance every day if she could.
Texas is beautiful. We had a bit of a cold snap in late January/ early February, which would have been okay except our heater wasn't working and our pipes froze, so we had to bunk with Dad and Mom for a few days one week and then a few days the next week. But since then, it has been great weather. We have been mostly hanging out in the 80's lately. Our garden is growing nicely. We planted some box gardens on our porch. There is a sister in our branch who has good dirt (most of the dirt around here is clay), and she let us take whatever we needed. So now we are growing a good little garden with tomatoes, peas, beans, lettuce, garlic, swiss chard, melons, pumpkin, zucchini, cilantro, peppers, spinach, carrots, and cucumbers. Yay!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
From Texas...
Well, we are here and settling in. We are mostly unpacked. James found us a nice place on some beautiful acreage that we are renting. The weather is WONDERFUL so far. I love the absence of snow. The kids have lots of fun exploring our land. The other day we went on a walk in our "yard" and found a skull...I think it was from a deer. Also saw a deer running through our front yard. We saw a hawk right above our head. There were also some mussel shells by our pond (from our pond?). We even watched a spider capture a fly in our window. Charles was fascinated; Emma was grossed out. I think it is a kid's wonderland.
Cute saying by Charles: As we were driving down here, we were probably about half an hour away from reaching our new home and the sun was setting. Charles commented, "The sun casts a rosy glow." How cute is that?
We were able to have Christmas with my family, which was nice. The biggest bummer was that James started getting sick on Christmas Eve and it was in full force by mid-day on Christmas. He's still not feeling great, but he's doing better than he was last night.
We are loving Texas. It is beautiful, nice to be near family, nice to be back with James again. The only sad thing for us is that Charity isn't with us. They decided to try to reunify her with her dad, so the week before we moved, she went back to him. We are happy for him, but we miss her a ton. We just pray that everything will work out how it is best for her.
Emma was in The Nutcracker over Thanksgiving weekend. She did really well, and had a lot of fun. We hope that we can find a decent ballet school here. There are lots of things she would like to do, but if she could only pick one thing, she would choose ballet.
That's all I can think of. Bye for now, Y'all!
Cute saying by Charles: As we were driving down here, we were probably about half an hour away from reaching our new home and the sun was setting. Charles commented, "The sun casts a rosy glow." How cute is that?
We were able to have Christmas with my family, which was nice. The biggest bummer was that James started getting sick on Christmas Eve and it was in full force by mid-day on Christmas. He's still not feeling great, but he's doing better than he was last night.
We are loving Texas. It is beautiful, nice to be near family, nice to be back with James again. The only sad thing for us is that Charity isn't with us. They decided to try to reunify her with her dad, so the week before we moved, she went back to him. We are happy for him, but we miss her a ton. We just pray that everything will work out how it is best for her.
Emma was in The Nutcracker over Thanksgiving weekend. She did really well, and had a lot of fun. We hope that we can find a decent ballet school here. There are lots of things she would like to do, but if she could only pick one thing, she would choose ballet.
That's all I can think of. Bye for now, Y'all!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Pictures
Emma's haircut
My girls
Charles feeding Charity
Emma's first decorated cake
Charles raking the few leaves we have
Jaqueline imitating Mom
Maya and Jaqueline
Charles and Emma at the Treehouse Museum
Charles and Emma at the Pumpkin Walk
Charity poking her tongue out (probably spitting)
Charity going potty on the toilet
Monday, November 15, 2010
We are moving
James is flying in on December 8. Things are still not settled with baby Charity, so we will have to leave her here and trust that things will work out the way they are supposed to.
In October, Emma was in a play called Giving up the Ghosts. It was a production of the local children's theater. She had a lot of fun in that.
Over Thanksgiving weekend Emma will be in Cache Valley Civic Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. She is a party girl. She has loved going to rehersals, and she is super excited for the production.
Emma also went to our neighbor's home last week and learned how to decorate cakes. She did quite well on her first one.
I still haven't found the cord to connect the camera to the computer (still haven't looked very hard), but since my room will be getting packed soon, I should find it then, and should get some pictures up (we can hope).
In October, Emma was in a play called Giving up the Ghosts. It was a production of the local children's theater. She had a lot of fun in that.
Over Thanksgiving weekend Emma will be in Cache Valley Civic Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. She is a party girl. She has loved going to rehersals, and she is super excited for the production.
Emma also went to our neighbor's home last week and learned how to decorate cakes. She did quite well on her first one.
I still haven't found the cord to connect the camera to the computer (still haven't looked very hard), but since my room will be getting packed soon, I should find it then, and should get some pictures up (we can hope).
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Many changes again...
So I can't currently find the cord to hook my camera up to the computer (not that I've looked too hard), so you all will have to do without pictures for a little longer. Here are the updates:
1. Charles is back. He came back toward the end of last month and the plan is that he will stay here with me until we all move.
2. James has a new job. He is working at Chase bank, and enjoying it quite a bit so far.
3. Jaqueline and Maya went home to their dad for their 90-day trial home visit on July 31. They seem to be doing well so far. I saw them yesterday for the first time since they left. Jaqueline wanted to do almost nothing but sit in my lap, but I think Maya was mad at me for abandoning her so she ignored me most of the time. Sad. We've been doing well since they left - it's been much quieter around here- but we mostly just try not to think about it too much. They both had their birthdays this month, so they were both 2 at the same time for about half a month.
4. Baby Charity is doing well. She is 5 months old and now weighs almost 13 pounds - small, but healthy. Her dad seems to be doing well, and should he continue to do well, she will probably be transitioning to him in October or November, which means that...
5. We're probably going to still be here until November. At least, that is the current understanding. If I am still here and it snows, I may have to pull all of my hair out!
6. We homeschool, and this year decided to try doing K12, which can be (and is, in our case) public school from home. We are trying it for Emma, who is in 4th grade. We have been at it for almost 2 weeks now. It was a lot to figure out at first, but we are finally getting it down. It was tough the first week, but I think that now that Emma and I have started figuring it out, we are enjoying it more. It is more intense than we have done in the past, but I think that is okay.
7. Charles is not doing K12. We are still on low intensity for him since we are mostly focusing on getting Emma started, but once we get her going a little more, I will focus on him more. He just turned 5 in June. He is getting better at recognizing letters and numbers, saying letter sounds, building things, doing puzzles, drawing shapes, tying knots, and spelling his name. He is also getting better at trying to not get frustrated so easily when things are difficult for him.
8. Emma took private swimming lessons this summer, and has gone from being a dog-paddler to a real swimmer. She loves to swim.
9. We also chopped Emma's hair. It is just above her shoulders in an a-line. She likes having it short.
Those are the main updates I can think of right now. I'll try to get around to posting pictures in the not-too-far future.
1. Charles is back. He came back toward the end of last month and the plan is that he will stay here with me until we all move.
2. James has a new job. He is working at Chase bank, and enjoying it quite a bit so far.
3. Jaqueline and Maya went home to their dad for their 90-day trial home visit on July 31. They seem to be doing well so far. I saw them yesterday for the first time since they left. Jaqueline wanted to do almost nothing but sit in my lap, but I think Maya was mad at me for abandoning her so she ignored me most of the time. Sad. We've been doing well since they left - it's been much quieter around here- but we mostly just try not to think about it too much. They both had their birthdays this month, so they were both 2 at the same time for about half a month.
4. Baby Charity is doing well. She is 5 months old and now weighs almost 13 pounds - small, but healthy. Her dad seems to be doing well, and should he continue to do well, she will probably be transitioning to him in October or November, which means that...
5. We're probably going to still be here until November. At least, that is the current understanding. If I am still here and it snows, I may have to pull all of my hair out!
6. We homeschool, and this year decided to try doing K12, which can be (and is, in our case) public school from home. We are trying it for Emma, who is in 4th grade. We have been at it for almost 2 weeks now. It was a lot to figure out at first, but we are finally getting it down. It was tough the first week, but I think that now that Emma and I have started figuring it out, we are enjoying it more. It is more intense than we have done in the past, but I think that is okay.
7. Charles is not doing K12. We are still on low intensity for him since we are mostly focusing on getting Emma started, but once we get her going a little more, I will focus on him more. He just turned 5 in June. He is getting better at recognizing letters and numbers, saying letter sounds, building things, doing puzzles, drawing shapes, tying knots, and spelling his name. He is also getting better at trying to not get frustrated so easily when things are difficult for him.
8. Emma took private swimming lessons this summer, and has gone from being a dog-paddler to a real swimmer. She loves to swim.
9. We also chopped Emma's hair. It is just above her shoulders in an a-line. She likes having it short.
Those are the main updates I can think of right now. I'll try to get around to posting pictures in the not-too-far future.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Our latest news
We have a new foster daughter! She is Jaqueline and Maya's baby sister and she was born on March 18. What a doll!
Here is Emma with a friend from the Firebird ballet. They were Babushka dolls. She did a great job, and totally enjoyed herself. James was here for a week, so I was able to break away from the kids and be a parent helper. That is always a fun job, and a great chance for me to spend quality time with Emma.
While James was here he got a chance to play a lot with the kids. They especially enjoyed playing ball. Charles was hitting the ball fairly consistently. The kids sure love their dad! Charles has been missing him, and we were planning on having him possibly join James in May, but with the new baby here, we decided last minute to have him go with James back to Texas now, so last Tuesday they flew out there. Charles loved flying in a plane and he has been having a blast with all of his cousins.
According to James, Texas is already in full bloom. Yeah. And it SNOWED here! Totally unfair!
Monday, February 22, 2010
My amazing daughter...
So, Emma is a chef as well as a dancer and a seamstress. I just finished eating lunch, which Emma made with supervision but very little help. She made homemade pasta and deviled eggs. It was delicious. She loves to cook, and I have a hard time keeping her out of the kitchen.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Emma is a "real ballerina"!
Emma auditioned for our local ballet company's upcoming production, The Firebird, and made it! This is her first ever "professional" ballet. She is SO excited. She will be a doll that has been enchanted by an ogre (I believe). I don't really know all the details, but her performance will be on March 26 and 27. Congratulations, Emma!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Emma's reading list
I thought I'd post books that Emma read last year. This is not an all-inclusive list, but some of the major books.
Mary-Kate and Ashley books (she recently discovered them and loves to read them)
High School Musical books
The Bunnicula Series by James Howe
Star Wars books
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
The Mysterious Benedict Society Series by Trenton Lee Stewart
The 39 Clues Series
The Magic Tree House Series
The American Girl books
Disney Fairies books
The City of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau
The above books have been read multiple times by Emma. The following books are books she read once.
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
The Borrowers and The Borrowers Afloat by Mary Norton
Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace
The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater
The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Stormy, Misty's Foal by Marguerite Henry
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The 13th Floor by Sid Fleischman
The Bobbsey Twins at the Circus by Laura Lee Hope
The Music of the Dolphins by Karen Hesse
The following are books we read or listened to as a family:
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, Dinotopia: The World Beneath, and Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time by James Gurney (beautifully illustrated books about a hidden land where people and dinosaurs co-exist)
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
The Boy Who Ran for President and The Boy Who Became President by Dan Gutman
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Mary-Kate and Ashley books (she recently discovered them and loves to read them)
High School Musical books
The Bunnicula Series by James Howe
Star Wars books
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
The Mysterious Benedict Society Series by Trenton Lee Stewart
The 39 Clues Series
The Magic Tree House Series
The American Girl books
Disney Fairies books
The City of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau
The above books have been read multiple times by Emma. The following books are books she read once.
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
The Borrowers and The Borrowers Afloat by Mary Norton
Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace
The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater
The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Stormy, Misty's Foal by Marguerite Henry
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The 13th Floor by Sid Fleischman
The Bobbsey Twins at the Circus by Laura Lee Hope
The Music of the Dolphins by Karen Hesse
The following are books we read or listened to as a family:
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, Dinotopia: The World Beneath, and Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time by James Gurney (beautifully illustrated books about a hidden land where people and dinosaurs co-exist)
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
The Boy Who Ran for President and The Boy Who Became President by Dan Gutman
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Christmas through Valentines...
James took Emma and Charles sledding on Christmas Eve. They had a lot of fun.
Charles got these gifts from his Grandma Lisa, who came to visit a week later.
As you can see, the Jedi are still alive and well, and Emma is currently in the process of training some younglings.
We had a family pre-birthday celebration for Emma's 9th birthday before James left. She got a book about the costumes of Star Wars (called Dressing a Galaxy). She loves Star Wars (you'd never guess from these posts, would you?) and loves costumes, sewing, design...she had checked this particular book out from the library at least 5 times. She was very excited to get the book.
Well, James took the digital camera with him (he needs it for his job), so I probably won't be posting too much until we get to Texas (or until I get my own camera), since I won't have any pictures.
Charles got these gifts from his Grandma Lisa, who came to visit a week later.
As you can see, the Jedi are still alive and well, and Emma is currently in the process of training some younglings.
James has been in Texas for 3 weeks now, and I am hangin' here with the kiddos. It hasn't been too tough yet, but I think a lot of that is because Emma is a huge help and James is always available for me to call if I need him. He's so great. The kids and I will be here until things get resolved with Jaqueline and Maya...hope that's sooner rather than later, cause we would love to be in Texas! April would be the absolute earliest that could even possibly happen, but I'm planning on it being later than that.
We had a family pre-birthday celebration for Emma's 9th birthday before James left. She got a book about the costumes of Star Wars (called Dressing a Galaxy). She loves Star Wars (you'd never guess from these posts, would you?) and loves costumes, sewing, design...she had checked this particular book out from the library at least 5 times. She was very excited to get the book.
Well, James took the digital camera with him (he needs it for his job), so I probably won't be posting too much until we get to Texas (or until I get my own camera), since I won't have any pictures.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Charles reading Brown Bear video
I finally figured out how to get the video of Charles "reading" posted. Here it is...
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Emma's ballet recital
Emma's ballet class did the Nutcracker "party girl" dance for their winter recital. Emma's the cute one (the one in the reddish dress). She loves taking ballet.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Monday, December 21, 2009
Kid pictures
Tayla's mom (Jana) wanted to get Tayla and Charles together to take pictures. They have a ton of fun together! Charles was being so goofy.Jana was kind enough to take pictures of my other kids too. Unfortunately we couldn't get one of all four kids together because Maya was crying and Charles was making silly faces.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Thanksgiving weekend
For Thanksgiving we went down to Spanish Fork to Chris and Jamie's house. This was our first Thanksgiving without Dad and Mom...weird! But we had lots of fun; also got to see Janice and Sean and Tori.
As is tradition, we put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We let the kids put on all the ornaments by themselves...
James took Emma on a daddy-daughter date to see The Nutcracker. They had a lot of fun!
As is tradition, we put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We let the kids put on all the ornaments by themselves...
James took Emma on a daddy-daughter date to see The Nutcracker. They had a lot of fun!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Two big happenings...
Two big happenings since my last blog... Back in September we got two new foster daughters, Maya (1) and Jaqueline(2). They are so adorable, and Emma and Charles LOVE having them here. They are little spitfires sometimes, but so fun! Emma is especially good at helping out with them.
James got a new job, and we will be moving to TEXAS! He is planning on going out there in January, and the kids and I will follow when the girls have permanency one way or the other.
Last week Charles decided he could "read" Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and spent about 3 days "reading" it to us every chance he got. He was VERY proud of himself. We got video footage, but it's too big to post! So this will have to do.
Emma got some quilt squares from our friend Juli a while ago, and yesterday decided to make a blanket out of them. She made it with absolutely no help! For an 8 year old, I think she did quite well (maybe better than I could have done...)
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
New at this blogging thing...
Everyone else in my family seems to be up with this technology, so I guess I had better jump on the bandwagon.We've been spending quite a bit of time with my family lately. I'm so glad that my family is close, even though we don't live next to each other. I've come to realize more and more lately how important it is for my kids to really know their extended family and have strong relationships with them. What better way to have our values reinforced?
Just look at my beautiful family!
This was Charles back in April, just learning how to coordinate his feet enough to pedal a tiny bike with training wheels...he usually just sat on the bike and propelled it the same way the Flintstones propelled their car.
Now, by August he has moved up to Emma's old bike, and can ride easily without training wheels! He decided he wanted to ride without them, and it didn't take us more than about 5 minutes of working with him one night, and he was doing fine. He didn't perfect starting on his own until the next day, and using his brakes took a little longer, but all in all, very impressive!
The kids got lightsabers for Christmas, and they love to play with them.
A bunch of the neighborhood kids have lightsabers too, and we've had the occasional war between the Jedi and the Sith.
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