Almost six.

I can't believe these two. Almost six! In many ways, their personalities are still so similar to when they were infants (seriously!) and yet, sniff sniff, they are growing up so much. I know I say it a lot, but now more than ever, I'm so glad they have each other. As they start to navigate friendships and the great big world in new ways and with more awareness, I think they are finding lots of comfort in each other. Before I took these pictures they were in each other's rooms for hours playing dragons, Barbies, etc. and Joel and I were marveling at how much they still just " do their thing!"
Ahhh, how we love them. A love that seems to grow deeper with every year.
Jen

Good day, sunshine!

Whew, at long last the sunshine has arrived! We won't be putting our winter clothes away for a while because I know there is sure to be more cold to come, but we sure are enjoying the signs of Spring! Meals out on the front porch, the kids digging in the backyard for worms ( and now the extra bonus of feeding them to the chickens!), sunshine pouring through the windows, frequent walks to the park, kids pouring out of their houses and into yards and sidewalks, and our Spring book basket full of bunny tales and baby animals, Saint Patrick and Easter...ahhh. We were ready! I guess that's all for now..well, a couple other random exciting things:
*I passed my glucose test! Was a little worried since baby is measuring large, but all is well. We are trying for a VBAC again and are at a great hospital to give it a go. We will have a doula with us this time, which I think will be super helpful.
* Sam scored his first goal in soccer tonight- yay! He was SO excited and ran over to the side towards me but since I had jubilee in my lap and am slow getting up these days anyway, his buddy Cole was there to give him a big hug...so sweet!
Ok, all for now!
Jen

Sleepy Sunday.

I'm not sure why we are all so sleepy today, but we sure are! Sam conked out in
church and was snoring loudly, Jubilee was asleep on Joel's shoulder by the time we were walking out of church, and we are all ready for bed and it's not even 7 o'clock!
I mean, being sleepy for me is kind of a constant these days...I'm thirty weeks pregnant, measuring 33weeks and definitely feeling my body s l o w i n g down. Entering the home stretch....whew! This pregnancy has been easier than Jubilee's but definitely still a challenge. Oh little Jubilee, I can't believe she is about to be a big sister!! Wild, man, wild.
Ok, I better go help get little ones out of the bath and into their beds. Hope you had some rest this Sunday! Jen

All tuckered out...

The crux of it, really.

This morning Amelia left for ballet with friends and Sam, Jubilee and I decided to take a walk in the morning sunshine ( and wind!). Sam immediately started talking about what we were seeing in nature, what God made/man made, etc. Then he started asking some really depthy questions about the Bible and God and ended the conversation by saying," Mom, that really makes me want God to talk to my heart about some things." Oh man, what an unexpected, never could plan it, sweet conversation with my almost six year old Sammy.
As we kept walking I thought, " This is why I do it, this homeschooling thing. " There are challenging days to be sure, there are frustrating moments and logistics (toddler!) that are like a puzzle I can't quite figure out...but then we have conversations like that or I hear conversations between siblings and I think, " It's so worth it all." For our family, for this time, it is. To have days that aren't hurried, to have time to walk and talk in the mid morning sunshine, to just live our days together- it's what I want for us and I'm thankful to be given the chance to do it. I'll write more about the specifics of the challenges and "triumphs" another time, but that's the crux of it, really.:)
Here are some of my recent favorites of life at home...Jen