Preschool Day 5 – Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Day 5 – Wednesday, August 18, 2010 – 1:30-3:30

Pray together.

BIBLE
Read Gen 2:1-3 (rest) from a Bible. This passage covers Day 7. Create Day 7 page. For Day 7: Leave the page blank. (My Father’s World)

LANGUAGE
Using the ABC Chart, sing the ABCs at least 2 times. Introduce W, X, Y, Z. Feel free to play any games with the ABC Chart and button, as you have done the previous four days. This is also a great time to begin discussing uppercase and lowercase letters. We sometimes call them “Momma” letters and “baby” letters. Remember this is only an introductory time and no part of the lesson is done for mastery. (My Father’s World)

CALENDAR TIME/MATH – Linking Cubes
Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, “What month is it?” “What year is it?” Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “It is ____________________.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What is today’s date?” “Today is (day), August (date), (year). Write the date in the correct box. Color today’s square, remembering to alternate colors (green, blue). (Saxon K Math)

“Today you will learn about a new math material called linking cubes. What do you think we will do with linking cubes?” Allow 3-5 minutes of free play with the cubes. Give a one minute warning and have the child stop working. Ask, “What did you find out about linking cubes?” “Now let’s try snapping five cubes together. When I say a number, you pick up a cube and snap it on. Watch me.” Demonstrate and then do it together. “Now we both have towers of 5 cubes. Are the towers the same size?” Have the child take apart the towers and put them away.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY – Animal Moves continued
Continue discussing how animals move. Remind the child of yesterday’s animals (snake and frog). Ask how a bird is different from a snake. Tell them a bird has two legs, two wings, two eyes, two ears and its body is covered with feathers. Birds eat mostly insects, worms and small plant seeds. Their mouths are made to help them get their food. They fly or hop to move forward.

Share the following rhyme:
                       Once I saw a little bird come hop, hop, hop,
                       So I said, “Little bird, will you stop, stop, stop?”
                       And I was going to the window to say, “How do you do?”
                       When he flipped his little tail and far away he flew.

Pretend to be a bird and follow the “directions” in the rhyme (hop, stop, fly away). If the child is enjoying animal pretend, extend the activity further to include other animals (fish, lions, etc…). (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready p 180)

THEME – Mrs. Wishy Washy continued
We didn’t have enough time to do all of our Mrs. Wishy Washy activities yesterday. For this lesson we will complete our lapbook activities found at Homeschool Share.

Reread Mrs. Wishy Washy and possibly read other Mrs. Wishy Washy books, if you have them available.

Use a light colored piece of construction paper and allow the child to “finger paint” with chocolate pudding. This will create a page of mud. When it dries (make sure to wipe of excess), paste on animals from the story.

With cutouts or puppets/stuffed animals have the child act out the story, with him/her playing the role of Mrs. Wishy Washy. Preschoolers enjoy pretend play and will do very well with this style learning.

Sweet Friends

Although there are days I wish I had a basement or a neighborhood with flat roads to walk or well you know anything else I could think of at that moment when the grass is looking greener somewhere else.  But moving would mean not being neighbors with such sweet friends.....

This is only moments after she informed him that H is her boyfriend, but he is her "real" friend.....

Preschool Day 4 – Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Day 4 – Tuesday, August 17, 2010 – 1:30-3:30

Pray together.

BIBLE

Read Gen 1:20-31 (sea animals, other animals, & people ) from a Bible and use The Jesus Bible Storybook to show pictures to the children. This passage covers Day 5 & Day 6. (My Father's World)

 

Create Day 5 & 6 pages. For Day 5: Draw and color sea animals in the ocean. You could easily use pre-cut animals or stickers for this activity. We may use our thumbprint & ink to make different animals. Day 6: This page will have 2 people and other kinds of animals. For the people we will use a precut man and woman (I am going to trace a gingerbread man/woman cookie cutter). For the animals we are going to follow the great but very simple animal drawing instructions in The Usborne Big Book of Playtime Activities! (I LOVE this book for all ages!)

LANGUAGE

Using the ABC Chart, sing the ABCs at least 2 times. Make sure to pause to avoid the usual slurring of L-M-N-O-P. Have the students point to each letter as they sing it. Introduce W, X, Y & Z. Then using a button & the ABC Chart, review those letters, as well as any previously taught letters. For example, you could say, "Put your button on letter B." Print the letter on another piece of paper and allow the child to correct his own mistake if necessary. You can also turn the cards over and let a child choose a letter. Then have the child put his button on the chart. We have tried to "play" several versions of the ABC Chart game this week. (My Father's World)

 

CALENDAR TIME/MATH

Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, "What month is it?" "What year is it?" Say "Yesterday was ________." "What day of the week is today?" "It is ____________________." "Yesterday's date was the ____th." "What is today's date?" "Today is (day), August (date), (year). Write the date in the correct box. Color today's square, remembering to alternate colors (green, blue). (Saxon K Math)

"Today you will learn how to count using teddy bears and pattern blocks." Give the child a piece of construction paper to place in front of them. Have 15-20 teddy bears in a pile close by the paper mat. "As I count, take a teddy bear from the pile and put it on the edge of your mat." Demonstrate as you count. Put the bears at one side of the mat. "One, two, three…" "Line up your bears and watch how I count my teddy bears." Demonstrate sliding the teddy bears across the mat as you count. "Let's slide and count our teddy bears together." Then say, "Our teddy bears are tired. Each bear will need a chair to sit on. Let's pretend our pattern blocks are chairs. How many chairs will we need?" Put out pattern blocks in a pile close by. Take enough chairs for each bear to have his own chair. Put your bears on the chairs." "How many bears on chairs do you have? Let's slide the bears and chairs as we count." After a few minutes of free play with the bears and chairs, have the child separate the bears and patterns blocks and then put them away on their own.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY – Animal Moves

If necessary, you may want to forgo a new activity, and repeat the developmental activity from Day 3, based on the child's skill level. Although skipping was definitely not "mastered" at our house, we are moving on.

Show the child a picture of a snake and discuss that it has no arms or legs. Talk about what you know about snakes (dry scales, sheds, two eyes but no outside ears, hears/feels vibrations, doesn't eat often, etc..) and then encourage the child to wiggles like a snake by lying on the floor on his stomach and moving his body forward with body muscles.

Repeat this activity focusing on frogs. Tell what you know about frogs (four legs, two eyes, smooth skin, tongue to catch insects, no external ears, moves forward by jumping, etc..) Pretend to be a frog and even find a few things to jump over (pillow, book, etc..). This activity will be very entertaining if you join in too! Think of it as easy exercise! (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready p179)

THEME – Mrs. Wishy-Washy

Today we will make another lapbook. They are a lot of work (printing, cutting, etc…) but the children love them so much and they can be pulled out later in the year for independent activities. We will use all our most of the activities at the Homeschool Share site for the Mrs. Wishy-Washy lapbook. There are so many great ideas here. I hope we have time to do them ALL! J

 

Note- Once we get into studying a different letter each week through the My Father's World curriculum (which will be soon now that we have "introduced" all the letters), there will not be time to do many lapbooks, so I am trying to get some in now while I have a chance!

 

Our FIRST lapbook - Goodnight Moon

Today was a success! Jack and C are already anticipating some of our daily activities - calendar, ABC chart game, etc.. Here are a few pictures.....

Day 4 - Bible

Saxon Math - Pictograph Lesson

Here are my favorites!  Jack & C had a lot of fun with their lapbooks!

As soon as I put in a load of laundry, figure out dinner, love my children, monogram something for a friend, and doing a little editing....then I will post tomorrow's lesson plans!

Preschool Day 3 Monday, August 16, 2010

Sorry this post is so late.....my Sunday got away from me! Have a wonderful week!  Look for the rest of this week's lessons to be posted tonight, if my pretzel M&Ms don't run out!  Would love to hear any feedback about last week, if anyone tried any of the ideas! 

Day 3 – Monday, August 16, 2010 – 1:30-3:30

Pray together.

BIBLE
Read Gen 1:14-19 (sun, moon, stars). Also read pages 22-23 in The Jesus Bible Storybook or any other children’s Bible. This passage covers Day 4 of the Creation account. (My Father’s World)

Create Day 4 page. For Day 4: Fold paper in half (hamburger style, not hot dog style). Paste a cut-out sun on one side of the paper. Paste a piece of black paper on the other side. Either draw the moon and stars with white crayons or paste on pre-cut stars & moon.

(Although I didn’t mention this last week, we are doing some scripture memory work too. We learned Genesis 1:1 already and will be working on Genesis 1:27 this week. – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”)

LANGUAGE
Using the ABC Chart, sing the ABCs at least 2 times. Make sure to pause to avoid the usual slurring of L-M-N-O-P. Have the students point to each letter as they sing it. Introduce M, N, O, P, Q. We use flashcards with pictures to introduce each letter. Then using a button & the ABC Chart, review the new letters, as well as any previously taught letters. For example, you could say, “Put your button on letter B.” If a child missed one, print the letter on another piece of paper and allow the child to correct his own mistake if necessary. (My Father’s World)

CALENDAR TIME/MATH - Pictograph
BEFORE the lesson: Cut one 3” light colored construction paper circle for each family member. Tape two pieces of construction paper together and create a grid.

Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, “What month is it?” “What year is it?” Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “It is ____________________.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What is today’s date?” “Today is (day), August (date), (year). “ “Let’s say that together.”

Point to the date squares. Ask, “What do you notice about these squares?” “What colors are they?” “Let’s read the colors of the squares together.” “This is called a green, blue pattern.” ‘What color do you think we will use to color today’s square?”  Color today’s square using the appropriate color. (Saxon K Math Lesson 5)

“Today you will learn how to make a graph to show how many boys and how many girls are in your family.” “You will use a picture of each person’s face to make the graph.” Give the child a construction paper circle (cut to fit your pre-made graph). “Draw your face on this circle.” “Who else is in your family?” “Draw ______’s face on this circle.” Repeat until all faces of family members are drawn. Point to the words “Boys” and “Girls” on the grid. “What do you think these words are?” ‘When you graph the faces, you will put one face in each box. You will start at this end.” “Where do you think you will put your face?” “Will it go in the girls’ or boys’ row?” Ask this same question before the child places the remaining faces. Occasionally ask “Which row has more?.....less?....the same? How do you know?” When all the pictures are graphed, ask “How can we find out how many boys are in your family?” Count the boys’ faces. Do the same procedure for the girls. After this portion of the lesson, glue the faces to the actual graph. Save the graph for Lesson 6.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY
Skip around a room or outside as slowly as you possibly can to show the child how to skip. Skip very slowly and say, ‘Step, hop. Step, hop.” Encourage the child to follow you. Demonstrate how it can be enjoyable to skip fast. (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready p177)

THEME – Goodnight Moon
Read Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown . Talk about different pages in the book, pointing out the idea of rhyming words. This is an early age to be learning about rhyming but remember”exposure” is the idea here.

We will be doing many of the lapbook activities from Homeschool Share. If you choose to do these, you will want to get them ready a few days or the night before. They require some prepwork, especially if you want to be able to reuse the resources later. Also if you’ve never made a lapbook, the short 4 minute video on Homeschool Share is helpful.

Each child will have a folder (with 5 or 6 blank construction paper pages in the brads) as their “lapbook” for this story. I have added pages in the folders to display their work. This can be arranged in anyway you would prefer or even use the items as individual activities with no intention of preserving them for future use. I would like my child to be able to go back and look through the lapbook at a later date, so we will attempt to keep them all in the designated folder.

Complete the What Color was the Balloon? Have children fold the book and then color each balloon. We will be cutting each color section and pasting them in our lapbook. Color words will be learned this year.

We will choose at least two other of the lapbook activities to complete during our time together.

ALTERNATE ACTIVITIES
We chose to focus on the moon, during our theme time, but one could easily do something else with the Sun or stars.

Read Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, by Ira Trapani. There are many star theme-related activities at Homeschool Share for children who are a little older than the ones I am working with right now.

This is a fun and easy star activity. - Twinkling Stars

Preschool Day 2 - Thursday, August 12, 2010

Day 2 – Thursday, August 12, 2010 – 1:30-3:30

Pray together.

BIBLE
Read Gen 1:9-13 (dry land, trees, sea, plants) from a Bible and use The Jesus Bible Storybook to show pictures to the children. This passage covers Day 3. (My Father’s World)

Create Day 3 page. For Day 3: Cut out pieces of construction paper for ocean, hill, grass, trees, and flowers. Allow students to paste there on to a blank piece of white paper. Add red and orange stickers or glue more construction paper pieces to create fruit on the trees.

LANGUAGE
Using the ABC Chart, sing the ABCs at least 2 times. Make sure to pause to avoid the usual slurring of L-M-N-O-P. Have the students point to each letter as they sing it. Introduce G, H, I, J, K, L and then using a button & the ABC Chart review those letters, as well as any previously taught letters. For example, you could say, “Put your button on letter B.” Print the letter on another piece of paper and allow the child to correct his own mistake if necessary. (My Father’s World)

CALENDAR TIME/MATH
Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, “What month is it?” “What year is it?” Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “It is ____________________.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What is today’s date?” “Today is (day), August (date), (year). Write the date in the correct box. Color today’s square, remembering to alternate colors (green, blue). (Saxon K Math)

‘Yesterday you used pattern blocks. Today we will use a new math material.” Show the students a handful of teddy bear counters. “What are these?” “What can you tell me about them?” Give the students a few minutes to play with the counters. “What could you do with the teddy bears?” “Line up the teddy bears to take a walk.” Put the teddy bear counters away to be used again in future lessons.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY
Repeat yesterday’s activity, emphasizing counting/numerical skills. Choose a ball that bounces well and can be easily grasped by child’s hands. Show the child how to drop the ball from the hands and catch it when it bounces up. Teach the child to anticipate the ball’s position in order that the child can catch it at the precise time. Encourage the child to catch the ball with the hands without touching the body. You can also add counting how many times the child can bounce and catch without missing. (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready)

THEME
Go on a nature walk near your home. Using the Nature Wheel you pre-printed, find parts of God’s creation. When you return have students color the pictures on the Nature Wheel and assemble the wheel.

Using playdoh and premade name cards (write students names on card stock paper), have students practice forming the letters of their names. If necessary, finish any pages from yesterday that students were unable to complete.

Links to Resources for Preschool Day 1 & Day 2

So I may have figured this linking pdf thing out.  Maybe. Don't get your hopes up.

Day 1 Lesson Plans

Day 2 Lesson Plans

ABC Chart

Calendar

I still can't get the "All About Me" pages to work. Sorry!  I need to move some fonts from one computer to another but I don't know how to do that....yet! Someone let me know if these links actually take you somewhere.....

Preschool Day 1 - Wed, August 11, 2010

Day 1 – Wednesday, August 11, 2010 – 1:30-3:30

Begin our time praying for our afternoon together.

BIBLE
Read Genesis 1:1-8 (sky, earth, light, dark, water, air) from the Bible and show pictures (or read and show pics) from The Jesus Bible Storybook. This passage covers Day 1 & Day 2. (My Father’s World)

Create Day 1 and Day 2 pages. For Day 1: Glue black paper on one half of a 8.5x11 sheet of paper (landscape orientation). Leave the other half white. For Day 2: Draw a wavy line on blue paper, cut it and glue onto paper. Color the sky light blue. Add pulled-apart cotton balls for clouds. (My Father’s World)

LANGUAGE
Using the ABC Chart, sing the ABCs at least 2 times. Make sure to pause to avoid the usual slurring of L-M-N-O-P. Have the students point to each letter as he sings it. Introduce A,B,C,D,E,F and then using a button & the ABC Chart review those letters. For example, you could say, “Put your button on letter B.” Print the letter on another piece of paper and allow the child to correct his own mistake if necessary.

CALENDAR/MATH
Explain that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Point out the month – August and the year – 2010. Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “It is ____________________.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What do you think today’s date is?” “Today’s date is _____.” Write the date in the correct box. Color the squares from the first days of the month, alternating colors (green, blue) through the current day. “Today is (day), August (date), (year). (Saxon K Math)

Explore Pattern Blocks together. Say: “Today you will learn about a math material called pattern blocks.” “What can you tell me about pattern blocks?” “What do you think we could do with them?” “Use the pattern blocks to make something.” Let them use the blocks for 5-10 minutes and then put them away. This is just an opportunity to introduce the blocks. They will be used in future lessons. (Saxon K Math)

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY
Choose a ball that bounces well and can be easily grasped by child’s hands. Show the child how to drop the ball from the hands and catch it when it bounces up. Teach the child to anticipate the ball’s position in order that the child can catch it at the precise time. Encourage the child to catch the ball with the hands without touching the body. You can also add counting how many times the child can bounce and catch without missing. . (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready)

THEME
Complete “All About Me” pages together and keep in 3-ring binders. They will keep all their work in these binders, so we can look back at the end of the year to see what we have accomplished. (I have these pages "set up" already and I would add them as pdfs but....well I just don't know how yet. So I trust you can just take some white paper and write a few things - "My name is___________" and leave space for a current photograph. Next page space for student to draw a picture of self then write "I am ___ years old," etc...)

Page 1 – Place picture of student on the page. Have the student write his/her name under the picture.
Page 2 – Fill in the information about self – age, height, weight
Page 3 – Fill in information and draw simple pictures of favorite things – Favorite color, food, toy/activity
Page 4 – Handprint & Footprint

Preschool Time!

There are definitely more summer pictures and events to blog about, but August has basically snuck up on me!  Last year we sent Jack to a local church for a two day per week preschool.  The program was wonderful but it wasn't the right fit for Jack and he stopped going not too far into the school year. 

We are hoping to start off on a better foot this year and do some "preschool" at home.  We haven't made our "schooling" decisions yet, but for this time in our lives working with Jack at home is where the Lord has led us. 

Four days a week our sweet friend and neighbor C is going to come down and do "school" with us while Henry naps from 1:30-3:30.  Jack is so excited about his "homework with C" and has asked multiple times about when it starts.

Although I would love to start on a Monday (the teacher in me operates on a 5 day plan!), we are accommodating C's schedule and starting on Wed.  Don't you just love the flexibility of schooling at home?

So just in case someone wants to come along on this journey with us, I am going to post our lesson plans each Sunday for the week ahead.  If I get ahead of schedule I may even post earlier.  No promises!  So all you non-parents (Is that a word?) or those that just don't care, ignore any posts that say "Preschool Day 1 or Day 2 or etc...."  Bear with me on links and pdfs....I'm still learning!!

Just a little teacher info - I am using My Father's World from A to Z, Saxon K Math, Slow and Steady Get Me Ready and any other resource that might catch my eye. I LOVE lapbooks, so I am sure they will find their way in the lesson plans throughout the year!  

Salt Lake City Discovery Gateway

Salt Lake City has a great asset - the UTA Trax system - that you can ride to places through the city.  There is even an area of town that is free to get on and off during the day!  We rode it to the Gateway area that has lots of shopping, restaurants, a large water play area, and our favorite part- Discovery Gateway Museum!

Jack LOVED shopping in the "real" grocery store.  He was quite a shopper!  At the "deli" in the back, Jack made sandwiches for other "customers." His menu offered some interesting sandwich combinations - ham/apples, steak/peas, fish/cheese....His time here gave me some great birthday ideas!!

Henry liked all of it, but he enjoyed operating the crane in the construction area.  He thought it was great to hoist "bricks/blocks" for the workers to make buildings. 

Every area was well-equipped with dress up clothes, pretend play items, etc..  On the roof we played in the air traffic control tower and on the helicopter!

We liked this place so much we went twice in one day!  The pass enabled us to go ALL day so we met Uncle Daniel there after work.  Of course Zoe enjoyed her time at the museum too!

Salt Lake City

[Ugh! I knew this was bound to happen, but I spent a LONG time on three posts about SLC and I DELETED them instead of "publishing" them....ahhhh!  Here goes again....]

After a very short plane ride to SLC (Thanks AGAIN Uncle Nate!!) we were thrilled to finally get to meet Baby Zoe Evelyn in person!  We had "talked" with her on Skype but there is nothing like holding a newborn in real life!  The boys weren't quite sure what to do with her, especially Henry.

We tried to take lots of pictures of Zoe while we were in SLC so we would have them to look at when we returned home.  She almost always cooperated!

Leaving on a jet plane....

Our much anticipated cousin Zoe Evelyn made her appearance June 4th and we could hardly wait to get to Salt Lake City to see her.  Jack was so excited to go on an airplane, see Uncle Danie & Aunt Juliel, hold Baby Zoe, etc... Even though he couldn't figure out what it really meant to have a "cousin," he was thrilled about going on a trip!  We made the mistake of telling him about the trip way a little too early.  For weeks he asked if we were leaving, packing, going to the airport, getting on a plane,.....oh the questions! Lesson learned - never tell a young child about an upcoming event until it actually occurs.  Surprises are so much more exciting anyway!

Since we were already flying out to Salt Lake City (Thanks for the tickets and getting us to the airport, Uncle Nate!!!) we thought we would make a stop in Denver to visit my Buck family cousins.  I can't put into words how much fun we had!  The constant laughing, chaos at times, crazy driving, late night talks, games, and so much more made me feel like we were kids at my grandparents enjoying the summer days together! Much thanks to Dave & Meghan for opening their home to us and putting up with a few days of craziness.  I was so thankful Jack & Henry were able to experience just a glimpse of that life! Just wish I hadn't been so busy talking, and had gotten my camera out more!

My dad and his wife Linda also took a road trip West to visit the new granddaughter and met us in Denver.  We were able to go to the great Salt Lake together.  This was my 2nd experience and totally worth the heat and biting bugs.  Floating like that is such an odd but cool experience! (No pictures - hands were busy swatting bugs constantly!)

One of the days we went to the Denver Zoo and had a blast.  There were 5 adults and 8 kids, which doesn't seem like that many but it was a lot to keep up with at a busy zoo!

Henry liked being able to see all the animals, so Grandpa Jeff spent a lot of time picking him up.

Henry and David had the best ride!

Jack's favorite playmates, Grace and Lily

The last evening we had a family cookout, which really made me think of old times with my grandparents.  My cousin Emily's son, Jake, was fantastic entertainment for all the little ones.  I've rarely seen Jack let loose and play like he did that night.  It was such a blessing to see him having so much fun with his cousins.  We are already looking forward to future trips together!

Jake, Grace, Ella, David, Lily and Jack

Those big brown eyes are precious! Such a sweet boy!

You will see this precious Ella in the pages of magazines one day.....

Henry's playmate, Adele

Vinson's Boat

Jake's boss, Ryan and his sweet wife, Carrie, purchased a boat this summer and have been so gracious to let us join them on it a few times.

Jack wasn't super gungho about the whole experience but he talked about it a lot afterwards. He did enjoy sitting with Ryan and looking at the water. 

Ryan & Carrie's little girl Abby is a fish!  She loves the water and is already a pro at getting up and down the ladder.  So cute!

The guys from work were even able to have a "meeting" on the boat one afternoon this summer.  It sure does look like they got a lot accomplished!

We are looking forward to some more boat/lake time before the Vinson's welcome Baby Boy in 6 weeks! 

Girl's Trip

Right before Henry's birthday, my amazing husband and fantastic mother-in-law made it possible for me to go with two college friends to Destin for a few days!  The original plan was to get to spend some quality time with our dear friend Kristen, who is a missionary on furlough from Papua New Guinea.  Kristen was due with baby # 3 at the time and was much closer to her due date than she knew, so she stayed home and we were forced to go to the beach anyway! We missed you Kiks & Becky!

We spent the week shopping and watching Jenny try on clothes. We didn't convince her to buy this Marc Jacobs dress, even though it looked fabulous!  

There was lots of laughter  - this will be us in 30 years - and good times together.

These are sweet friendships that stand the test of time. I'm so thankful that the Lord led me to Bryan College and that I have had the privilege to get to share life with these women. 

Definitely ready for the next Friend Retreat - September 2010!

Henry's Birthday

We began our summer celebrating Henry's first birthday.  Uncle Russell & Aunt Susan have recently purchased a new home and were so kind to invite everyone to celebrate at their house.

Uncle Nathan's birthday is the day after Henry's so we did a super fun joint gathering!   Unfortunately I forgot to tell the girl that did the cake, so it was totally decorated for a one year old!  Sorry Nate!

Long overdue....

Can't believe that August is here! In the month of July, we enjoyed a visit from Aunt Hannah, made a long visit out West, spent time with cousin Amanda, celebrated birthdays and random other events of life. Look for some new picture posts soon.......maybe even during naptime today....and then for some fun fall blogging to begin! 

Haircut Time!

My dear friend Heather taught me the ways of boy hair.  Early on I learned that long-hair on a little boy is absolutely one of the cutest things ever!

So Jack has always had longish hair, which helps his sweet large head seem a little smaller. :) 

The flipping out on the side and being unable to see his beautiful eyes prompted.......a cut!!

The picture is a little blurry, maybe because his mama was a little sad to see him "grow up" in a matter of minutes. Even though it is so much cooler under his bike helmet, much easier to wash & dry, and it lets everyone see his eyes......his mama is still hoping it grows quickly!

Jake's cousin Amanda came for a visit for a few days in early May!  We rode bikes, spent some time in Chattanooga's fabulous downtown area, and just enjoyed having company.  Jake and Amanda even had a chance to go down to the gun range near our house for a few hours. 

Grandpa Ken & Grandma Libby's driveway is the perfect racing strip!

Henry LOVES Amanda and squeals with delight when he sees her. 

Amanda, thanks for loving our family the way you do.  We love you and can't wait for your next visit! 

The weather has been so nice and we have enjoyed being outside almost every day.  Grandpa Ken & Grandma Libby got Jack a bike recently and he has taken to it very quickly.

It was difficult to get any good pictures because he peddles so fast.  We've ventured out to the road and even to the park to ride.  We are looking forward to riding more this summer!

Last week my brother Nathan came over to help Jake cut down a dead tree at the back of our property. He also brought me an AMAZING gift that I am using right now - a NEW laptop!

Jack loved sharing in the tree cutting experience but he isn't big on loud noises. Jake had him geared up with ear and eye protection! He is super excited about the new stage...I mean stump!

Excuse the pajamas! It was bedtime but Jack just couldn't stand to miss the excitement!