Ella's Sunshine Birthday

It took me a little while to think of what Ella's birthday party could be. At first I was going to try to make a pretty cake and that would be it. But then I got to thinking about the times I nursed her and I'd always sing to her the same song: "You are my Sunshine".  I can only count a handful of times she nursed really well. And when she did... I'd sing. It was a really emotional time for me so the song is extremely special. A lot of times I would cry when I sang it. It only seemed fit to have a sunshine birthday.... who knew I'd make it through a year! Forgive me, too; the photos are a bit out of order and I don't have a lot of time to change them around.

Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Cream frosting

Little Mermaid Party { Madelyn's 4th Birthday Post }

Today is Madelyn's fourth birthday. Like every parent says... where does the time go.  :)   I know.  When I look back, it has gone fast. I try to make a point to really enjoy the moment I am in- but sometimes that is extremely hard.  There is always "so much to do".  Why?  I'm struggling with that. Let's make more of an effort to enjoy the gifts God has given us!! Here's to Maddy!

 

Remembering Maddy's third year....

Love you Maddy!

random facts

I haven't blogged in a while, so here are some random things that have been going on for us:

we are half done with beets

i have a clean kitchen (after 3 days of working on it!)

started reading 'unglued' by Lysa TerKeurst

homeschooling is still going good

today is Tuesday which means a very busy day with B. Study and Dance at night

 Still waking up in the middle of the night to pump

praying we don't get sick!

with beets and other activities, there is not much time for anything

Ella is almost 6 months old!
starting to Christmas shop, yep!

it is so much fun to teach Kate 

they've just learned the days of the week and over half of the months of the year

trying to treasure every minute with the girls

it's beautiful out today

finally made a trip to the dry cleaners 

going to organize one cupboard a day this week in the kitchen

wanting some pumpkin spice coffee

tonight I am going to sit and relax!

 started this post at my first pump of the day, and finally finishing at my 4th pump :)

xoxoxo

dance

Today.   Full of joy.   Busy, but full of joy.  This morning I went to bible study with the kids- at first I was skeptical about it, but it's a chance for them to be social and my eyes seem more open for chances to involve them with other kids.  I suppose it's a win-win. :)   We got home, made lunch, put Ella to bed, and started homeschooling.  I let Maddy stay up in hopes that she would behave. After a couple of threats of sending her to nap, she calmed down and even listened in. I have been working on putting summer clothes away and there was a huge mess in their room with clothes neatly folded, but all over the floor and in baskets. I knew it should get cleaned up soon or I would regret it later! I worked on that for a good 20 minutes and before we knew it, we were rushing out the door to dance class. It never fails, we were running late again.  After finally getting to the school and parking on the total opposite side, we were in the room and I watched in excitement and clicked away on my camera, fighting Ella who was very curious. I'm so very excited for them in the upcoming months....what a great experience and opportunity for them!

a calling

Yes.  We started homeschooling.   Why?  People ask that when I tell them.  One said "Interesting".  One person even said, "How do you make time to home school?"   Easy.   Homeschooling is THE priority.  And if you have time to spend with your kids, you have time to home school!

I can think of many reasons why we want to home school, but for now I'll list the main reasons.  Kindergarten.  It's too long.  Five days a week, and every day, all day Kindergarten.  The day before she started I was desperately looking into finding a three day kindergarten for her.  I did find one, but it was also 30 minutes away.  I couldn't commit to two whole hours in the car, especially with a small baby and winters in Minnesota. So, we gave it enough time to make a decision, which happened to be just three or four days.  It helped that Kate (along with probably every kindergartener) was overstimulated and cried about why she had to go every day.

The second reason, which should  be the first reason, was a calling from God. I had been called two years ago only to give in to Satan's lies of inadequacy.   I've learned that every mom has those same thoughts and was encouraged that my love for Kate would drive me to provide the best education for her. Even if it meant stretching me.  How can  you ignore such a calling?

After much, much prayer,( like every hour of the day ) we felt at peace with scripture that jumped out at us, or things we saw/heard.  This is what popped up the Friday we took her out of school:

"Opportunities are always lost when we let fear overrule our faith. When God calls you to a task beyond your abilities, instead of giving in to your feelings, choose to rely on what you know about Him and His promises. By moving forward in faith despite your inadequacy, you will discover the Lord's faithfulness. He always empowers us for the works He assigns."

- Encouraging words this morning from Dr. Charles Stanley

Coincidence?  No. Some people just won't understand. Some will have their opinions. Yet I am trusting in God this season to sustain me and bring me through it.  The teaching part is fun.  I get to read and teach my kids.  What better joy is there than that? What better joy to be able to teach the girls about life and how to live it here at home?  Today they learned about trusting God.  But it also means working long hours on everything else and literally running around the house at times to get things done a little faster! :)  I think honestly one reason why I was unable to breastfeed was that when I'm pumping, at least I get to sit!

And the third reason explains it well in this link under the "1. When & why did you initially decide to home school?" section under all the photos; the very first paragraph.

Though I've only had a week at it, it will take some time to get a good routine down. Obviously the perfect situation is to do it during Ella and Maddy's nap time... but that doesn't always work. I have to work around hours of pumping and feeding, preparing meals, tantrums, tiredness, harvest and giggling and wild girls. I don't know where God will bring us with this.  Maybe it's just kindergarten. Maybe it's first and second grade, too.  I just know that we are taking it one year at a time.

 it is the best thing for our family right now.

Joy

I find myself not having anything in particular to write, yet so much has happened.  Maybe a week in photos will help explain... trying to find joy in the littlest things. And when I make an effort?  Beyond blessed.

lemonade stand

We had our first lemonade stand yesterday. The girls woke up so very excited... who knew having a lemonade stand would be so much work? Getting it all ready by 11am was a little challenging, being i had to pump and feed ella twice. I made a paper gingham banner that morning and had to run home to refill the lemonade. We sold lots of cookies, too that we made the day before. Overall?

  200% success.