Koa love

What a dream this little guy is. Words can't express the way I feel about him. These are his 6 month photos celebrating half a year.

our new pets

I know little boys need to have pets. I'm just at a stage of life where I feel like I can't try to keep anything else alive. Well, I think I found a pet we can handle - hermit crabs! The boys collected probably 20 or 25 small hermit crabs at the beach and after they spent one night in a little bucket I knew we were going to have make them a more suitable home. So we went online and read all about hermit crabs and then made our own habitat. The boys love to "google" things! We used a big rubbermaid tub and filled it with sand from the beach and lots of rocks and things to climb on (hermit crabs love to climb). We gave them salt water and fresh water to swim and drink and some food. They seem very happy and are digging holes and climbing and enjoying themselves. The first thing the boys do when they wake up is go check on their hermit crabs. They each have their favorites that they've named. It's actually really fun, I just hope I can keep them alive!

an easy lunch the kids can make themselves!

My kids love doing this, so I thought I'd share the idea. All you need is bisquick, milk, pizza sauce and cheese. Add milk to the bisquick and it makes a nice dough. Give each child a lump of dough and let them shape their own pizza.

My boys are rolling their dough out with little cups.

These are the shapes they made.

I pour a little sauce on the pizza crusts and they spread it with spoons.

Then sprinkle cheese on.

voila!

Bake for 15-20 minutes and that's it!

Posted in Steady Mom's 30-minute blog challenge.

a great post about sibling rivalry

I really liked this post at Holy Experience. I read it to the boys this morning, summarizing it in ways that they could understand. I couldn't get through it without crying. The pictures are impacting and I think Ezzy and Kai really got the message of it.

I also liked this 10 point manifest for joyful mothering also from Holy Experience and wanted to share it here, too.


1. Today, I will make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. And I will invite oru children to come move into an interior space that lives with God.

2. Today, I will transfigure all things into beauty, and I will refuse to see anything else.

3. Today, I will nto have any emergencies. There are no emergencies! Only amateurs hurry.

4. Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude. My stress management plan will be intervention with verbal thanks. I can only feel one feeling at a time, and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!

5. Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words I breathe are death words.

6. Today, I will pray to be consistently consistent. I will create safe rhythms that our children can find security in. I will create daily ceremonies because everyday we are celebrating the gift of now!

7. Today, the moment when I am most repelled by a child's behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.

8. Today, I will hug each of my children as many times as I serve them meals - because children's hearts feed on touch. I'll look for as many opportunities to touch my children today as possible - the taller they are, the more so.

9. Today, my priorities will be all Things Unseen.

10. Today, I will laugh! And I will let the little children laugh! I will create a culture of JOY!

Wow, what a challenging list! I am especially challenged by number 7. I think that is going to be my specific goal for the next few days. I'm struggling with Ezra again. I've mentioned his behavior before on this blog site. He has such an intensity about him. He's at a really high frustration level right now too. He wants things to be a certain way and if they aren't he gets so upset. I feel like I relate to him, I know how he feels. I was a lot like him as a child. So, I actually feel bad for him because it's hard to feel that way. But then when the crying just continues and continues and won't stop, I start to lose my patience and I don't know what to do anymore. Especially because his crying is usually interrupting something else and interfering with other things we're doing or waking up a baby that I struggled so hard to get to sleep. So, I'm going to keep praying and keep drawing closer to him. Even when I don't know what to do, God does and so I'm going to lean on Him more to show me how to love this little boy beyond my own strength.

so loved

It has been one special week for me - my birthday was on Wednesday and then today is mother's day. That means a double-dose of coffee and pancakes in bed delivered by bright, happy little faces, lots of I love yous and chubby hugs. I feel like one special mama!
Especially when Ezzy looks at me very seriously and says, "Mommy."

"Yes, Ezzy?"

He has to make sure he has my full attention.

"I love you 100 plus 100."

That's a lot of love from one little four year old!

These are the moments I want to hold on to, cherish and remember for always.

peacemakers

I've mentioned quite a bit on this blog some of my thoughts on sibling rivalry. Having 4 boys so close in age, it's a topic of huge importance for me. I need to have peace in this house. When the boys play nicely together, it just warms my heart. But on the other side, nothing irritates me more than my children fighting. In all of parenting, it's probably the thing that I dislike the most. So, all that to say, I am really trying to teach my children the life skills they need to get along - like communication, problem-solving, identifying feelings, and also more spiritual issues about love, compassion, kindness, sharing and preferring others. Little by little, we're making progress! Our theme the past week has been "peacemakers." So, I put together a video by the boys. I already shared it on facebook, but I thought I'd share it here too!



I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject and any ideas you have? What works for your family?

Life goes on...

We've been through a huge transition the past month - settling into a new home, in a new city, a new climate, all new people and friends, new church, new work. So much in our lives right now is different and unfamiliar. One thing has remained constant, though. I never anticipated when I began homeschooling that it would be an anchor in the lives of my boys in the midst of change. It's something that is familiar, something that stays the same. Our homeschooling is one thing the boys don't have to transition to. I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to teach these little ones at home. Here are some snapshots of recent life.

After Kai practiced writing his spelling words with chalk, we decided to draw ourselves, too.

I love Jude's chalk belly.

A sweet little Ezzy smile

Koa watches his brothers color with chalk. Love those chubby cheeks!

I had to include this shot that surprised me when I uploaded the pictures. Scott took this when he came home late one evening and found all the boys had crept one by one into my bed!

Making flan.

It's so much fun to stir things, isn't it?

Kai is really into his science activities and made this notebook on his own to record his experiments.

Potty training! Jude likes his little hippo potty. When we talk about using the regular toilet, he looks at me with a shocked expression and says, "No! I fall!" With a tone like, how could you even suggest that to me?

Lots of swimming! I have to say, my boys seem to be able to focus much better on seat work when they have an opportunity to get their energy out. The pool is GREAT for this. Kai seems to be much more focused and on task when he has a good swim!

Life is crazy, good, busy as ever and my heart is full. I love these little boys and I'm so glad I get to spend each and every day with them.

p.s.

Just in case you wanted to know what Scott's been up to, you can visit our family ministry site: scottandleslie.com

Learning to swim... Jude style

Those who know Jude, know his infectious personality, his win-you-over smile and contagious laugh. When it comes to learning how to swim, as in most things he does, he doesn't hold back. Right now he has us laughing watching him do belly flop after belly flop. He just runs head first into the pool! He's not one to be left behind, so he's doing double-time to keep up with his big brothers!

Our new place... i LOVE it!

a book we're enjoying

A House for Hermit Crab (The World of Eric Carle)

I love Eric Carle books. His art work is so unique and the stories are captivating. You might be familiar with some of his most popular books - Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Very Hungry Caterpillar. I just wanted to share about A House for Hermit Crab, which is not as well known, because it's a book the boys are really enjoying right now in this time of adjustment. It's a great book to help children through transitions and changes. Here's what it's about:

Eric Carle is the creator of many beloved books about animals, birds and insects, but he says that he feels particularly fond of Hermit Crab, the hero of this book. He wrote and illustrated Hermit Crab's story to show young readers that new experiences are not to be dreaded but are really wonderful opportunities.

This post was written in under 30 minutes as part of the Steady mom 30 minute blog challenge.

Homeschool in Jaco

Our first day back to homeschool in our new home...

...with our new neighbors!

Getting there...

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good." Genesis 50:20

Getting to Jaco has not been easy. In fact it was one of the hardest things we've ever gone through as a family.

There was so much confusion, miscommunication and misunderstanding in finding the right home - even to the point of almost damaging important relationships in Jaco.

Then we struggled with our landlord to be released 15 days early from our contract so we wouldn't have to pay rent in two places. The stress of waiting to find out and not knowing what to do was overwhelming. We finally heard from our landlord the night of the 31st that we would have to be out by the morning.

We had to remain in San Jose for another week to finish up the children at risk school, but had no where to stay.

Scott severely injured his knee.

We all got hit - the WHOLE family - with a major stomach bug involving vomitting and diarrhea and sleepless nights going through that with all the children.

"...but God intended it all for good."

Yes, you could say it's been a rough few weeks. But in all these hardships and what feels like a spiritual battle, we have not been defeated. We win. And this is why.

In the midst of the confusion of finding the right home, God gave us peace and showed us clearly the house He has for us. He gave us a price that is unheard of in this area. All relationships are intact.

Even though we found out that we had to move at the last minute, we called friends from YWAM and over 10 people showed up the night of the 31st and packed our whole house up. They stayed til the job was done. A friend had a friend who has a moving truck and it all worked out. While Scott was with the moving truck in Jaco, other friends had the boys over to play. 7 more people showed up to help me scrub and clean the house so we could get our deposit back. We were never alone.

At the same time, a family welcomed us into their home and asked us to stay as long as we needed to. They cared for us when Scott injured his knee so I wasn't on my own taking care of everyone. They cared for us when everyone was sick. They loved us and our children and treated us like their own family.

Two friends volunteered to go with me to Jaco and help me set up the house ahead of time so it would be ready when we arrived with our boys. When I got sick in Jaco and passed out on the bathroom floor, they unpacked for me and when we couldn't finish, they even made the trip with me a second time so we could finish up.

I think the enemy was really trying to discourage us in any way possible, but God, using His body, the body of Christ, showed us love through these friends that were there for us in our time of need. It's humbling to be in such a place of need. But I am left completely amazed and overwhelmed and thankful. God used these trying circumstances to show us His love and power in an amazing way - through the love and care of those around us. We're home now and we're settling in and we're at peace.