Those Heart-Melting Moments

Sometimes, you just have one of those moments that melts a mom's heart. This morning, Nicholas climbed into the rocking chair in Daniel's room and asked if Daniel could sit with him there. When I put Daniel beside him, Nicholas proceeded to pick up a book and started "reading" as D-Bear listened with rapt attention. Afterwards, they rubbed heads affectionately. It was such a sweet moment, and I'm so thankful that God uses those special times to remind us of what a blessing it is to be a parent. In the midst of all the chaos, it's easy to be focused on the disobedience, messy house, and all that needs to be done. What a loving Father we have to let us delight in our own children! And, how much more He must love us- more than we can even imagine.

It's gotten pretty chilly this week. A couple of days ago, we went out to play, and the boys looked so cute in their winter caps that I couldn't resist snapping a couple of pictures:

Momma is the sweetest name.

This week, Nicholas started calling me Momma. (It used to be "Mom.") For some reason, there is something about that that just melts my heart. I'm finding I have more patience when he prefaces a question with "Momma..." (even if it's the same question he's been asking over and over for fifteen minutes).

Daniel is walking all over. I have a feeling I will soon be chasing after him in the stores, park, and house. Nicholas only just stopped running away from us about 3-4 months ago, so it's been a short break. At least I've taken up running this year, so I can keep up with him! Here are some recent pics from our (second) trip to the pumpkin patch:

Something about the half-birthday

Okay, so I need to know: Has anyone else experienced a change in their child(ren) around the half-brithday? I was so relieved that Nicholas was obeying more frequently and seemed to be maturing since he turned three. Well, all of a sudden, we're back to the tantrums and disobedience! I was baffled until I read an article in Parents magazine that said that kids usually alternate between contentment and struggles every six months. Then it occurred to me that Nicholas just had his half-bd last weekend! Is this for real?

A Busy Weekend

Whew! This past weekend was so busy. This time of year is just bursting with activities. I took the boys to the pumpkin patch on Thursday. (But we'll go back with Chris again soon.) On Friday, we all went to the zoo, and Saturday was a Junior League event called "Touch-a-Truck." This was awesome! About 30 giant trucks were parked in a lot, and the kids were able to climb in, on, and all around them. Of course, Nicholas had a blast, and I think Daniel enjoyed all the goings-on as well. Here are some pics:

The Worst Dinner (and other stories from the week)

Ever fixed a simply disastrous dinner? Well, I have several times, but before the other night, it had been a while. On Wednesday, I decided to make something "fun"- fried chicken fingers. My mom has a recipe using panko bread crumbs, and it's pretty tasty, and since I'd been fixing boring things like asparagus and salmon prior to this, I thought it might be a crowd-pleaser... Well, I'll give you a tip: Make sure the chicken is completely defrosted before breading and frying. In my case, the outside was practically burnt, but my dear (and incredibly patient) husband bit into a raw chicken finger. Not only that, but the shells I'd made as a side tasted funny for some reason. So, that left us with salad. In the old days, we probably would have just laughed and ordered a pizza, not minding the 45 minute wait, but with two hungry little fellows at the table, I was forced to pull out some leftover lasagna. (Yes, Erin, I was talking on the phone to you while this dinner diaster occurred, and I learned my lesson about multi-tasking!)

Updates on the boys from the week:

• Daniel's favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. (This is pretty funny considering it's about a caterpillar who eats and eats, but is always hungry- like Daniel!) When I was reading it to him, I paused on, "On Monday, the caterpillar ate through one..." and he said, "Apple!"
• Apparently, my child is in no hurry to walk. He has taken steps, and can walk, but drops down to crawl when he wants to get around.
  
• Nicholas was giving Chris a very sweet hug following his nap today. He said, "I really like hugging you. I could hug you ALL day, Dad!" Then, a moment later, "I could hug you twice a day!"
• We made a scarecrow and hung it up in our kitchen this week. I didn't know how much Nicholas enjoyed this project until he said, "I just love my scarecrow, Dad. Don't you?"(By the way, this was a shape review. I cut out squares, rectangles, a triangle and circle for N. to glue together.)

My sister-in-law, Erin, told me about a very cute blog of a mom who uses Bible verses to teach her child the letters of the alphabet. This week, we did the letter I (I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalms 139:14) Here's the blog for other ideas: http://impressyourkids.wordpress.com.
If you've found/thought of any other great ways to teach your kids scriptures, please send them my way!

Finally better!

A week ago, Daniel spiked a high fever (104.8), and I had to take him to the ER! He continued to run a fever for four days. Turns out, it was a virus, which, thankfully, cleared up on Wednesday.

Daniel's added a couple of words to his vocabulary recently: apple, nana (banana), mah (more), and tck (truck). Very fun to hear that sweet little voice actually speaking words!

Nicholas surprised me last week by showing me his drawing of a caterpillar. It really looked like one (and I didn't think the child had any artistic inclinations)!

Here are some recent pics of the boys in their new matching outfits. So, maybe it's a little cheesy, but I'm going to dress them alike as long as I can get away with it!

A Case for Homeschooling

I officially started homeschooling Nicholas last week. We're keeping it pretty simple this year, since much of a formal preschool would involve socialization and sensory activities. It's been a blast so far! We're doing learning games, crafts, and cooking, and I get to put my teacher hat back on when I plan. I'm enjoying this time of fun activities. My goal is to always keep it fun, but this is a special age, when everything is new and exciting.

Many of you already know that we are planning to homeschool. The reactions we've gotten have ranged from, "That's wonderful!" to "Why on earth would you do that?" Homeschooling is pretty popular around here, but I still get asked when Nicholas is going to preschool regularly. I don't think there's anything wrong with preschool (or public/private schooling); we've just decided that this is what's best for us and our boys.

Chris and I are both products of the public school system. One of us loved school so much, she made teaching her profession. The other, well, hated it, but still excelled upon entering college. Despite our differing experiences, we agree that school can take the most enthusiastic of learners and squelch the excitement. It was something I saw over and over again in the classroom- kids entering kindergarten were beyond excited, and couldn't wait to start school. But, by the age of seven or eight, many had lost all interest. I think this is especially common with boys. Boys are innately active, and expecting them to sit in a desk and do worksheets much of the day is just unreasonable. Even in my room, where I tried to incorporate as much active learning as possible, there was still boredom. The brighter kids already knew much of what I was teaching, and the struggling students were often left behind. I mean, how could any teacher meet the individual needs of every single student? Is there any way that teaching one-on-one could compare with a ratio of 20:1? 25:1?

The biggest concern on everyone's mind seems to be the social aspect, and I agree that being in a classroom/large group settting is important. Nicholas is attending church about twice a week, soccer class once a week, and has several playdates mixed in as well. For those of you who still think of homeschooled kids as "freaks," I have two words for you: Tim Tebow.

Hopefully this post has answered some of the questions you didn't want to voice about why we're doing it. We have no doubts that it will be challenging at times, and I'm sure there will be ups and downs, but I guess the bottom line is that God's given me an opportunity to teach my children at home, and has certainly given me the desire to do it. What better reason could there be?