Way behind...

I've been counting my way to 1,000 gifts, taking time to give thanks each Monday. I got waaaay behind on my list in the last month or two, but I've been doing some in my journal and thought I'd get back to gratitude on my blog. What a difference it makes to give thanks!

56. Whirring of fans.
57. Freshly cut grass.
58. Spontaneous scissor projects.
59. Sandbags ready for the next big rain.
60. Tax Return!
61. More bike riding and less driving.
62. Homemade get well cards when I'm sick.
63. Chubby baby legs.
64. The way the afternoon rain cools things off.
65. A wrist roll tan line.
66. Geckos in the house.
67. The thrill of a hermit crab changing shells.
68. Kai's soft, high singing voice that is amazingly on key.
69. Leggos - what a great toy.
70. A cool shower after a long, hot day.

71.  Trusting my husband.

72.  Extended baby days with this one.

73.  The way an iguana can captivate their attention so fully.

74.  This face.

75.  The incredible kid he's becoming.  Those moments when I look at him and I'm just amazed.

76.  Older brothers loving and caring for their baby brother.
77.  Fitting into non-maternity clothes - finally!

My mom sent me this article, which lead me to this blog, and this post (watch the video - it had me in tears!) - all with some great thoughts on gratitude with our children and science of the amazing difference this can make in the lives of parents and children.  The Bible exhorts us many times to "give thanks" at all times, in all circumstances.  How amazing to find science that backs this up.  God in his goodness doesn't command us to do things with no reason, but because of His great love for us and because He wants good things for us.  And so it is with giving thanks. 

proud mommy moment!

So, I've been feeling a little, no I should say a lot overwhelmed lately.  I got kind of sick and I've had some trouble shaking it off.  It just kind of seems like things that were relatively easy for me (i.e. making dinner, laundry, basic tasks) are really hard.  My homeschooling has been falling waaaay behind.  I just feel like I can't get things together.   For instance, by the time breakfast is made, served, cleaned up, baby fed, showered, clothed, back to bed for morning nap, it's already 10:00 a.m. and half the morning is already gone.  It just goes on from there, the day slipping through my fingers.  Throw a two year old with a painful ear infection into the mix and you can just imagine.

In the midst of all this I've been observing Kai.  He goes busily about his day doing things that technically would qualify as "school."  He reads books, he makes his own little projects, he does his handwriting.  I'm pretty amazed actually.  Without direction from me, he continues to learn, create and grow in his own way.  Is this "unschooling???" I have no idea, I need to read more about that.

Anyways, yesterday I took some time to just get things organized for him a little bit.  Recognizing the way my days are going, I thought if I can get Kai set up to accomplish some of the things in our curriculum independently it would be great.  So I made the above chart and went over with Kai what he could do for each subject on his own and check off on his own with a dry erase marker.  Later, when I can get the other kids settled, he can show me what he's accomplished in each subject.    

Today was the first day with the new chart.  I cannot tell you the relief I felt to see those little check marks and the completed work he did all on his own.  Not to mention how proud he felt of himself.  Isn't there just a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when you can check things off a list?  By 9:30 a.m. I was able to sit with him and do some math together.  How amazing to know he had already accomplished 4 subjects by that time! Now this is not ideal, I do hope and strive to do the subjects with him.  But I think this is a great thing to have in place for those mornings when things are spiraling out of control - at least one family member can stay on track!

Manuel Antonio

Just had to share one photo the amazing weekend we had!  My mom came to visit and we went to Manuel Antonio which was absolutely incredible!! This is Jude watching a monkey up close. 

A few changes...

So you may notice a few changes on my blogsite!  It's amazing how much my boys have grown since I started this site last October.  Then I only had three boys, was just starting this journey of homeschool and getting ready to welcome one more boy into the family.  Now, months later, I still feel like I'm finding my way in homeschool, and still figuring out how to juggle four boys and homelife!  I wanted to update the photos here, and I really wanted to switch to the "stretch" template to be able to do larger photos and use more of the screen.  I had lots of fun using Picasa for the first time and making my own header!  So much fun!  I hope you enjoy!

my life

Sometimes my life seems so normal, almost tedious. Day after day of being at home with the boys, playing, creating, learning. It's great, but sometimes the days blur together. Then a night like last night happens and I think my life is completely crazy.

At 6:30 pm we were just finishing dinner and getting ready to go to 7:00 pm church when the power went out and a lightning storm started. The house gets really hot without fans running, so we gathered on the front porch and just sat watching the street, the lightning, the neighbors, the fireflies. Finally we decided to just jump in the car and drive around and see what the town was like without power and maybe check if anyone was at church - it was too hot to go back inside anyways.

We got to church and decided to go in - and both Jude and Ezzy had fallen asleep! We decided to go in anyways. There weren't seats together so we split up and midway through worship Scott came over to tell me Kai had a fever. So after worship our friend Isaac carried him out and we took the kids home. Jude was crying so hard because he didn't get to go play at the children's church.

As soon as we got home my neighbor came over with some arroz con leche to share. I told her Kai was sick and she said she would go to the clinic with me. This is a great help, because she is a native Spanish speaker and it's so helpful to have her with me! So we gathered Kai up and headed to the clinic and the rain was just getting started. It was really sweet at the clinic because Jisena held Kai the whole time. She has a boy very close to his age at home in Nicaragua. She misses him so much and was enjoying holding Kai while he was sick. The clinic process went pretty fast and we found out the poor guy has ear infections, throat infection and chest infection. Pobrecito!!! So we got all the medicines and headed out the door.

By this time the rain was pouring so I ran to get the car and pull it up. I parked it in front of the door and jumped out with the umbrella to help Jisena get Kai in the car. Well, at this moment our non-functioning car alarm all of a sudden decided to function. The doors locked with the key in the ignition, car running and my purse inside. I stood there with my umbrella in the pouring rain and realized we would not be able to get inside the car!!!! There were other people waiting outside too and they all wanted to help. Everyone tried the doors and the security guard was laughing at me, but helpful. He called a taxi for me. I hopped in the taxi with Kai to get him home and grab another key. I couldn't even call Scott to tell him what was going on, because I don't know my home phone number and the cell phone was locked in the car!

So we went home in the taxi, I dropped Kai off, grabbed money for the taxi driver and headed back to the clinic in the taxi. A short ways down the road I shouted for the taxi driver to stop and go back. I FORGOT TO GET THE CAR KEY!! Oh my. Talk about losing my mind! So I ran back in the house (by this time I am completely soaked, it is a downpour and I left the umbrella with Jisena!) grabbed the key and headed back to the clinic again.

I arrived at the clinic with the extra key and Jisena and I were able to get in the car and go home. We were cracking up in the car on the way home! Just couldn't believe what a silly, crazy night it was.

All this craziness reminded me a little bit of another crazy adventure I had recently with Amanda. I never got a chance to blog about it, but she did, so for more crazy adventures in my life you can read about it here.

Inspiration

I love blog sites. I think sometimes in the midst of parenting we all need a little inspiration. A fresh idea, an encouragement, even a push to do better, to make the most of the moments we have, to live life to the fullest. This post inspired me to get outside and do some messy, fun painting!

Paint in Costa Rica is actually pretty expensive, so I decided to make my own.

I didn't have a lot of ingredients on hand so we just mixed flour and water (in equal proportions) and food coloring - so easy!


I spread a big sheet of paper out in the yard and the rest was up to them! Freedom!

They really liked mixing colors up on plastic plates.

Can you tell we had fun?

This was such a simple, but enjoyable activity for all ages. I will definitely do this again!

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?