This and That

Yo. I got a message fuh ya.

You know. Happy Valentine's and all that stuff. Have a good one, ya know?

What's so funny is that the mafia girl is the same person who made that sweet little Valentine's greeting above, with all those meticulously cut out letters.

I have no idea what sparked a dive into the dress up clothes, but it made me happy, and is yet one more little step away from fear and dysfunction and is movement toward normal and health. Playing, pretending, creating = good!

One element we've added to most days ever since the Christmas holiday is a rest time. A siesta, literally. Even on some of the busiest days, I've been requiring down time for us all. The kids aren't allowed to do work or homework and I either nap or rest my brain. While it seems counterintuitive when the to-do list is longer than both your arms, this break has really helped me to feel less frantic and muddled mentally. It's a reset, if you will, after a busy morning.

Thursday, I took pictures of everyone as we went through our homeschool day. I've not picked up the camera too much of late. I miss my camera. I think it misses me, too. But Mercifully, Thursday was a pretty quiet, simple homeschool day, so I thought to snap some photos, mostly with my phone.

Here's H, hard at work growing. Love it that he'll still fall asleep in my arms.

CA busy at handwriting. Not her favorite. Not her strong suit. But she's a good student and a super-fast learner. It's fun to watch her soak up new things. She's also obsessed with her Playmobil toys right now, and spends long chunks of time setting up little scenes and such.

CJ does school, too, you know. She thinks she does, anyway. We have a tub of things she may only use during the big girls' school-time, and only if she sits in the high chair. She's a tad on the precocious side, so a little confinement whilst playing is never a bad thing.

H has blessed us lately with his return to sleeping through the night. I think adding food to his diet has helped. However, we'd enjoy a shift in his hours. Right now, he's sleeping about 730pm to 4am. And CJ's been getting up at 5am like clockwork. That big girl bed and its accompanying freedom!

EG works really hard at her schoolwork. Sixth grade is a big transition year at our UMS. She and AH (both in 6th) do almost all their work independently. They are amazing. Both girls are learning things I never did, much less in sixth grade, such as Latin and good writing skills.

Bravery awards: EG subbed in our school's basketball game last night. The kid has never practiced with the team and has never played in a game. Hello! I'm so proud of her!

MK is such a great student. She makes it all seem really easy! She has made her own brave leaps over the past month and we are praising Jesus for that!

LC is growing more independent in her schoolwork. It's encouraging to see how she's learning to organize her assignments and do work on her own.

She asked recently if she could get her ears pierced. Saturday, we were able to take care of that at Walmart. I was really expecting some tears or drama. No such thing! She didn't bat an eye and now  has a couple of sweet little zirconias in her 8 year old ears. I'm proud of her and glad it worked out to honor her wish.

AH gets a bravery award too, in my book, because she has now subbed in one volleyball game and three basketball games, also without having been able to practice with the team. I'm amazed at her fearlessness! She's working very hard in school and has come so far academically!!

We've got a little Valentine's decoration going on. It's a fun, sweet holiday!

And this one, just because it was such a cute picture of our little man! Who could resist such a yummy thing? I'd put him in my cart, too! (Daddy put him in the cart and was overseeing the cuteness.)

Thanks for stopping by! Today, it was really just photo-album-catchup day. The past few weeks have been kind of a blur because of sickness and allergies, but we're emerging from that fog now, thankfully. We also continue to make little steps out of survival mode and are so encouraged by that, and grateful to the Lord. He is ever teaching me. The biggest thing lately has been learning the innerworkings of the (almost) teenage mind. What a shift in parenting and thinking this requires! Oh, for grace!

BB and I have talked lately about how hard it is to shift gears between the different kids and their developmental and disciplinary needs. It doesn't work too well to parent precocious 2.5 year old CJ the way she needs, then turn around and try to correct a 10 or 12 year old the same way. But it's tough to switch up so quickly! Again, praying for grace and learning, learning, learning.

Okay, one more: