Seven Years

I could never have imagined, seven years ago, how my life would be forever changed by this little boy. Since the moment he came into the world he has completely captivated me, taught me how to truly love and made my life richer, fuller and more purposeful. There's something about your firstborn - the one you make all your mistakes with as you stumblingly find your way as a new parent. But somehow they survive and thrive and grow - love covers a multitude of sins. I could never thank God enough for the gift of this child and my heart celebrates his seven years of life.
How do I describe him? He's shy, yet very social. Once you get to know him, he is a loyal friend. He's sensitive, kind, adventurous, but not reckless. He's cautious and careful and likes things to be in order. He has a low tolerance for pain and completely freaks out at the sight of blood. He's frequently seen reading books, skateboarding, riding his bike, climbing trees, laughing, wrestling, tumbling and recently eating A LOT.

He loves his brothers, even though at times they torment him. When he's mad he can throw a really good fit. But then there are those days when he says, "Mom, I have a surprise." And he's gone and cleaned his room up perfectly just to surprise me and his eyes light up as he grins so wide when he sees how pleased I am. I can't imagine my life without him.
What a whirlwind of a life you've had, Kai. In your short seven years you've lived in California, Africa, Singapore, Costa Rica and travelled to Malaysia, Panama, Nicaragua and Virginia. I know it's been hard for you, and you miss your family and would do so much better with a more stable life. But you're such a trooper and we're so thankful for God's grace to help you through all the hard transitions you've gone through. Happy Birthday, Kai! I love you more than I can say.


Oh, and I have to add this video. It's from his sleepover Birthday party this weekend, which was totally insane, (but so worth it) I'm still recovering from it!



Don't forget to visit Steady Mom for more 30 minute blog challenges. Ok, I'll admit this took me more than 30 minutes - It would have been, but then I got totally carried away on the photos!!!


also check out: Tuesdays Uwrapped

Gratitude

7. Healthy children
8. Fresh coffee to start my day.
9. children quietly playing with leggos.
10. Even though my house is a complete disaster there is hope that today I can tackle the loads of laundry and get things in order.
11. Our portable DVD player broke (we don't have a tv) forcing me to live life without the option of movies to fall back on. This pushes me to be more creative, read more books and engage more with my children.
Here's to a new week! I feel cloudy and foggy from taking Benadryl last night, but this coffee should kick in soon. A new week awaits - another chance to do things well and learn new things. I'm grateful.

For the gratitude community click here: Holy Experience

My Night

Today (in photos)

We started school outside in the morning.

Our reading materials. I have to comment on this Bible. I am not a huge fan of children's Bibles. I really like this one, though. It doesn't dumb-down the stories, it's very accurate and it doesn't add in a moral or a lesson, it just sticks to the text. I'm excited that we will read through the whole Bible this year as part of our curriculum.

His eyes looked so green this morning

Ezzy played with this little worm for quite awhile.

Koa was captivated by the light through the trees.

The sky started clouding over so we moved inside for languge arts. These letter blocks are great because all the kids can participate in their own way. Ezzy finds letters and tells me the letter sounds. Jude plays.

Kai makes words

For writing we used cornmeal (another idea from Tracie at: teaandchopsticks.wordpress.com).

Jude just played and made a mess

Ezzy too

Then I got a little crazy and poured some water into their cornmeal and it made a sticky, doughy substance that was even more fun to play with.

Ok, this may be kind of gross because of the amount of playing they did with the cornmeal, but I actually took their little cornmeal patties and fried them up for lunch! I figured it's their own germs they're eating, so it can't hurt them too much!

topped with cheese - they loved it.

For science we've been studying weather and today we made a weather vane.

a snuggle moment

Friendship

This is a subject I've been pondering lately. Yesterday I found this blog site called "The Happiness Project" (via Tracie - teaandchopsticks). Anyways I found myself intently reading an article called, "8 tips for maintaining friendships." Summarized, the basic 8 tips are:

1. Use Facebook and social media (at the extreme it can be a bad thing, but it's an efficient way to maintain connections).

2. Show up - nothing can replace seeing someone in person - go to a party, wedding, babyshower, make a date for coffee, etc.

3. Join or start a group - good for making and maintaining new friendships and building a social network.

4. Think about what's fun for you. Take charge of shaping your social environment. Think about what level and type of social activity brings you happiness, then make the effort to make it happen.

5. Be wary of false choices. Sometimes people say, “I want to have a few close, real friends, not a bunch of superficial friends.” But that’s a false choice. There are all kinds of friends - intimate friends, casual friends, professional friends, childhood friends who you see once every ten years, and even online friends you've never met. These friendships aren’t all of equal importance, but they all add warmth and color to your life.

6. Make the effort to say, "This made me think of you."

7. Cut people slack. This means basically trying not to take things personally if a friend is late, thoughtless, etc. Their unkind actions are probably not a reflection of their character but more influenced by their situations. As a caution she adds, "Perhaps surprisingly, lonely people tend to be more defensive and judgemental than non-lonely people."

8. Don't expect friendship to happen spontaneously. Sometimes friendships do take work and just because it's not flowing naturally doesn't mean it's not authentic.

Ok. Wait a minute. Do these tips seem obvious to you? Holy Cow! What kind of all-time low have I hit that I'm reading an article about how to have friends?

Is there something wrong with me? I mean I feel like I'm all around a pretty normal person - I'm not that hard to get along with. And sometimes, if you catch me on the right day, I can even be fun! So why is it so hard to make a connection?

But actually I feel like I'm hearing this a lot these days. It seems like other women are feeling the same way - wanting and needing connections with other like-minded women but having trouble finding and maintaining satisfying friendships. One friend said in an email, "Not having a true friend to talk to has made me a bit lonely... i don't know, i just really love a good connection, and would rather be alone than settle for less - does that make sense?"

Yes, it does make sense, I totally understand and relate. Actually, thinking about going out and building friendships sounds completely exhausting to me right now. It makes me want to crawl in bed and pull the covers up. I've become much more introverted over the years and my days are so full and tiring that I feel like I don't have the extra energy to put into relationships. But the truth is, when I don't make the effort loneliness starts to creep in. And I know that's not a good or healthy thing.

I'll close with this last quote from the article to encourage us. The author says,

"Ancient philosophers and scientists agree: strong social ties are a KEY to happiness. You need close, long-term relationships; you need to be able to confide in others; you need to belong; you need to get and give support. Studies show that if you have five or more friends with whom to discuss an important matter you’re far more likely to describe yourself as “very happy.” Not only does having strong relationships make it far more likely that you take joy in life, but studies show that it also lengthens life (incredibly, even more than stopping smoking), boosts immunity, and cuts the risk of depression."

And in the comments section someone said, "I think that friendships are like everything else in life - if you put the energy into them, you will be rewarded with the more of what you are 'spending'."

So here's to more and better friendships in 2010! (Just actually saying that makes me feel tired, but I do mean it, I know I do!)

This post is part of the Mom's 30 minute blog challenge.

I feel productive

This was a good Monday. I feel happy about our school day. We got a lot done, started a new book, Kai did his writing happily (after a major battle - but I won!) We did math, science, language arts and ate Spaghetti and garlic bread for lunch. Jude napped and I even cleaned out our back room and started to get things ready for Kai's birthday on Friday. In the afternoon I got out some watercolor pencils that our aunt Carrie brought for us over Christmas. Have you used watercolor pencils recently? I forgot how much fun they are!


The boys really enjoyed it. But I think I had the most fun!

And Scott even came home at a decent hour and we were able to have a family dinner all together. As I looked around at my happy little family gobbling up their dinner (isn't it wonderful when they eat and enjoy what you cook???) I couldn't ask for more. It feels good to get back into a routine and stay on track with our school. I'm thankful for days like these.

Gratitude

I want to lift my heart in thankfulness and find the gifts - sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden - in each day. So I'm starting my list, I'll see if I make it to 1,000 eventually, I'm not in a rush.

1. The feel of Koa in my arms.

2. The sunlight shining through the trees.

3. Seeing my husband at the end of a long day when my patience is wearing thin and I'm starting to be a really "mean mommy." The relief I feel when I see him coming through the door.

4. Experiencing the heart change that comes with obedience. I recently did something that I felt God wanted me to do. Even though I put it off for months because my heart wasn't in it - the moment I did it I felt an immediate change in my heart and entire disposition! Sometimes feelings follow actions, not vice versa (*sorry for being so vague here - email me if you want the whole story).

5. Clothing. I made a New Year's resolution for 2008 not to purchase any clothing for myself for a full year. I made that resolution again for 2009 and now I'm starting my 3rd year for 2010. This has been so freeing for me and a way to let go and let God take care of me.

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"
Matthew 6:28-30

In the last two years I have been given bags of clothing! It's almost like God knows that desire in me that sometimes wants to wear something different or "new," which seems so silly or selfish. Why would God even care about that? And yet I see His hand of provision and I am blessed.

3. Waking up with Koa snuggled in my arms (and sometimes Jude on the other side).

4. Hearing Jude learn how to speak and saying new words each day - the silliness and laughter that this brings to my heart.

5. All the books I received from my Amazon wish list, which totally, completely surprised me. I never expected to receive them and I love them so much.

6. A new week starting. The feeling of a Monday morning - a week full of promise and challenge and a chance to do things better.

A quick Saturday morning post

Ever try to "fix" your husband? I know I do! This is a great post I wanted to share that encouraged me to pray for my husband, stop trying to persuade or manipulate change and let God do it! Here's the link: The Perfect Marriage

Enjoy your Saturday!

My four boys

Today I'm not feeling well. I'm tired, I'm grumpy. But when I look at these faces my heart is so full. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

A Memory

I had some really cute pictures to post from our hike this weekend. And a few videos, they were going to be so cute. All 3 boys had their walking sticks out. Jude was riding his like a horse and making the cutest little horsie sounds. Koa was awake for almost the whole time and smiling away in his Baby Bjorn. But, I accidently deleted all the pictures in my camera! I almost cried. Seriously! I'm very sad. So anyways, going off on a tangent...





I was going through old photos and just wanted to share one of my favorites. This is Kai in South Africa in 2005 - it's one of my favorite memories. It was such a different life when I only had one child. I had such sweet days with him. This beach was amazing - just full of penguins. Kai and I were the only ones there that morning. He thought the penguins were his friends. We spent the whole morning following these penguins around on the beach. It was like being at the zoo without cages.

Outside Play

I'm having trouble rounding my kids up for school. The weather is absolutely beautiful! Plus it is still summer break for Costa Rican children and all the neighbors are climbing trees, riding bikes and just having fun outside. I'm taking comfort in this quote from Charlotte Mason,

"the claims of the schoolroom should not be allowed to encroach on the child's right to long hours daily for exercise and investigation...Vigorous healthful play is, in its turn, fully as important as lessons, as regards both bodily health and brain-power."

Kai and his friend Luca riding bikes and trikes

Kai lost his first tooth today!!!

This post was written in less than 30 minutes as part of the mom's 30 minute blog challenge. Click here to find out more about that: Steady Mom

Who does Koa look like?

I get this question all the time. And honestly, I don't know! He seems like such a mix of all 3 boys. The other thing is I forget what they all looked like as babies. It's so sad how as they grow those memories start fading. So I dug up some old photos and thought I'd do a little comparison.

Kai


Ezra

Jude

Koa

So what do you think?

A new approach

I never realized how much math you can do through playing with leggo blocks! Math is an area I've been struggling with Kai and myself - just not knowing how to teach it and basically all I've done is have him do a few work book pages each day - which he always resists. So, I picked back up Ruth Beechick's book, "The Three R's" and read the Arithmetic section.

She talks about three modes of thinking - the Manipulative Mode (working problems with real objects), the Mental Image Mode (the child imagines objects in his head and works out problems using those images), and finally Abstraction Mode (children can think about an abstraction such as 'four' without having to picture 4 plates, 4 dots on a domino, etc.) She says on p. 88,

"They must become proficient in [manipulation mode] as a preparation for other modes to follow. This thinking - this actual experience with objects - is the foundation upon which all later arithmetic understandings are build. Thus, we must teach young children in the manipulation mode. Failure to do this is probably the greatest single cause of children's arithmetic difficulties. It is why people grow up with Arithmetic Anxiety."

Wow! So, I'm definitely realizing I need to spend some time working with real objects and real life situations. So on Tuesday for math we got out the blocks and sat on a blanket under a tree. There is so much math you can do with blocks! Kai counted to 100 several times on his own initiative.

Kai counting

Then we started seeing how many blocks he could fit onto certain blocks. It started getting complex - even into multiplication concepts - but Kai was going with it! Then we measured each other.

Measuring each other

Finally we sorted all the blocks into colors. All the kids helped with this and we talked the whole time about which pile was the biggest, smallest, etc. etc.

Sorting

Finally we build a castle with each color. Here's our end result (Kai took the pictures).

Color castles

Meanwhile, school has been on hold the last 3 days due to the weather - the weather is tooo beautiful! Plus the Costa Rican children are still on summer break, so all the neighbors are playing outside and I think it would be cruelty if I kept my kids in. So they are running, playing and enjoying the beautiful sunshine.