A bit more on our school days...

So, I feel like we are relaxing into our homeschool rhythm a little more lately. For me that means realizing it's not going to always be the organized, 9-11am schedule I was planning on, but more of a fluid day with learning weaved in throughout. With a one year old and a babe on the way (yep!), that's just going to be the way it often is. And that's ok.
We are using a couple of curriculums to help structure the weekly themes we use. One is " My Father's World" and the other is Wee Folk Art's free seasonal curriculum. More on this later.
I just wanted to record our work for this week- to remember what we did while learning about and celebrating leaves!
We went and gathered leaves in the beautiful mountains. Oh my, those changing leaves are just gorgeous!
When we came home Joel helped them dry some of their leaves and the next day we made leaf crowns. Well, Sam did, Amelia was busy with some other project ( typical:). During the rest of the week we made "leaf people", talked about " living and growing in Jesus", read a Read and Find out book about why leaves change and favorite books about Fall ( "Woody, Hazel, Little Pip" and others), went to the farm with friends, colored leaves in patterns for math, worked on writing L's ( though they are SO not into worksheets or writing letters in a row), listened to Sparkle stories about Fall adventures, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather.
Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Sure didn't feel like it, especially not while feeling so very tired during large portions of our days this week. Ah, but that's the value in recording things, isn't it? Helps me realize the beauty that happened during our days when all I can dwell on is the resistance towards learning letters and how tired I was.:) Ah, these homeschooling days. They are challenging and lovely, just like the rest of life.
All for now!
Jen

Truly, our Jubilee.

Dear Jubilee,
What a wonder that you are turning ONE tomorrow! In so many ways it seems like yesterday that we found out you were growing in my tummy- the biggest surprise of our life!! It was with such joy that we received that news, that when we thought of the name Jubilee, it seemed to be a great fit. Your life is indeed celebrated, and I hope that is something you will always know deep in your heart.
Jubilee, at one year old you are:
*Adventurous: you climb everything and explore everywhere! I mean, seriously, it's pretty amazing. And exhausting:)
*Curious: Sam always comments about what a curious baby you are and how interested you are in everything. He's so right!
*A lover of animals: oh my, you get SO excited when you see mama kitty or our guinea pig Murphey. Also, dogs when we are on walks or fish in aquariums- you love them all. One funny ( and great) thing is that usually you get SO excited and get right up to them and act like you are going to touch them, but then don't. They probably lead much happier lives because of that:)
* Busy as a bee. Always on the move. Not a big snuggler. Definitely like taking things out of containers, putting them back in, etc., opening cabinets and drawers, climbing everything possible, finding open baby gates and crawling up and down stairs...
* A people person. You love catching people's eye in stores and giving them your biggest smile, playing peek a boo, etc. You love when little friends your size, like our neighbor Jack, come over and play. You especially love and are very attached to mama, but are starting to be a big fan of Daddy too:)
* Have a pretty darn happy disposition! Despite having lots of irritating pain in your first year ( ear infections,bad eczema, super painful teething, etc.), you usually have a smile on your face that lights up a room. You are such a trooper- doing Amazingly well on two very long road trips in your first year!
* Have a very set rhythm to your days. You like to nap at 9 and 2-3. You like to nap in your bed. Not ours. Not the stroller. Not the sling. This is wildly different from the twins- but, of course, you are your own little person and so I'm following your lead, little Missy!
* Have many nicknames. Jubes, Jubles, Jubers, Boo boo, punkin, punkin bug, boo bear, Dan and Anne. The last two are all Sam.:)
* Are very loved by your siblings. Though they do their own thing most of the time, they love you to pieces and Sam asks me all the time, " Why is Jubilee SO cute?!":)
* Are back to sleeping all night during this break from teething. Basically you slept through the night from birth to 4 months (!!!), then definitely did not from 4months-8 months, then were sporadic until about a month ago. Whew. What a gift for me to be sleeping!
* Are transitioning from your bear crawl ( you rarely crawled with your knees touching the ground) to walking. You took about 10 steps to me this morning!!
* Bring such joy to our life. I mean really, Jubilee Rose, we could just eat you up. That little button nose, big smile, little voice that says " Uh oh", Mamamamama, Meh ( more or give me!), dadada, ohhhh ( when you see your baby doll or cat or something else exciting)....the cutest wave you ever saw, the way you point at everything...you are just precious and what a privilege it is to have you in our family!
All my love on this very special first birthday,
Mama
P.S. Still only have access to phone pics, which is probably good, because how could I choose from pictures from the whole first year?!:)

And still they play, for most of their day...

I am itching to share about our first two weeks of homeschooling! Haven't found the time/energy yet, but soon I hope! For now, I'll just say that it's 8:15pm and the kids are deeply engrossed in play, and though that's a bit late for us, it's so nice to be able to let it go. Let them play. There is no reason they can't sleep a little later in the morning, nothing to rush off to...
They are five. They need lots and lots of time for unstructured, free play. It's one of the main reasons I'm thankful for the opportunity to do our learning at home this year.
More soon,
Jen

Big brother, little sister.

Just want to remember the difference in their size at this age (almost 5 1/2 and 1!) and the way he and Amelia tote her around like this. That's all.:) Jen

Went to the Aviary with Sam and Amelia and friends today. I've really missed getting to spend concentrated time with them, so I've been thankful that Jim and Shari can stay with Jubilee, letting her nap and then playing while the big kids and I go on some adventures together. When we came home today Sam and grandma were off to the park to color and Amelia was helping grandpa Jim with basement construction( she has on her "safety goggles"). Ahhh, I just love it. Everyone here seems ready for Fall, but I feel like I'm just soaking up the sun before the cold moves in. Let's not go there yet:)
Happy summers end, Jen

We love when my big brother passes through town with the band he works with. It's just always so sweet to have him with us in our home, in our everyday. Yesterday was extra fun because some other dear friends, the Huebners, were passing through town too and so we had a full house for the afternoon.
Anyway, need to go get the day started. I'm actually up before baby, which is a very rare occurrence:) Jen

P.S. After I wrote this Amelia and I were talking about how much we love her Uncle Bub and she said, " I think I'll marry him because I just love him so much!" I said, " I know, isn't he the sweetest? The thing is, he's part of your family and so you can't marry him." In her most forlorn voice she replied, " Every time I love someone, it turns out they're in my family and so I can't marry them!!" Hahaha

To celebrate our little harvest...

We picked the last of the corn from the garden today. I'm so glad when Jim and Shari are here during our little "harvest" time because they motivate us to get out there and get it and use it!! So, to celebrate our first time growing corn and the success we had ( it and the zucchini were the big winners this year), I made this yummy dish from (big shocker) Simply in Season to go with our tacos tonight. It was delish, so maybe you can make some and enjoy it too! Here's to the joy of using backyard produce in our meals!! Jen

Fresh Corn Saute

3 TBLS butter
1 cup green pepper (chopped)
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
Melt butter in frypan. Saute green pepper and onion 2 minutes.

4 cups corn
1/4 cup water
1 TBLS honey
1 tsp salt
2 TBLS red sweet pepper
Add and stir well. Cover and cook over medium heat 10-12 min

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
Sprinkle over corn and serve.
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So far we have used zucchini in pasta sauce, zucchini bread, and a summer squash bake. Looking forward to trying a few more new recipes before it is used up. Any favorites?

All for now,
Jen

Story time can be a bit complicated with baby boo and the kids are not at all amused! Thankfully, she's cute enough that all is quickly forgiven.:) However, I think our homeschool hours will fall between 9-11am while Jubilee takes her morning nap! More on our kindergarten plans soon. Hope you all are enjoying this time of summer winding down and fall planning gearing up! All for now, Jen

Tales from the " coast": Day 8

Though we aren't at the coast anymore, our adventure continued today as we started the trek home. We stopped in the Oregon countryside to see our friends Jason and Elizabeth and their sweet little ones. Elizabeth and I met in Hawaii at a women's Bible study and pretty much immediately recognized each other as kindred spirits. Our friendship is one that time and distance really can't touch, and I'm so thankful for that. After both leaving Hawaii, we have spent time together in Texas multiple times, Utah, and now twice in Oregon! Amazing to think that we now have 8 children between us! They had such fun together today, as did all of the grown ups! Though the visit flew by too quickly, I'll treasure it, as I always do our time together. Love you, Lewis family!

Tales from the coast: Day 7

Our last day at the coast. Boo. I have really, really enjoyed this trip. It really has felt like a dream to experience such a different and magical part of the country, to watch our children explore and enjoy the tidepools and the forest and their family, to have that time of solitude yesterday, to have another family adventure and to see dear friends along the way ( more tomorrow!), it has just been good and I'm so very thankful. Oh how I hope we come back here year after year, but if we don't I hope that documenting this time will help me remember. The green, green goodness all around. The bizarre and amazing tidepools. Both the calm and the wild of the ocean. The cousins playing and playing in the yard and in their upstairs room with the secret closet. Family soccer games and walks in the evenings. All of it. Except for the teething issues. We can forget those!:)
Anyway, I'll end by showing some pictures that Joel took this morning when he and his dad took the kids outdoors. He described their time as "magical". Yeah, we've been throwing that word around a lot here. It can't be helped:)
Thanks for reading along! Jen