Building Forts

One of my kids favorite things to do these days is build forts in the park.  We grab the mini rakes, a shovel, (thanks Tim and Kathi) and our buddies and head over the park.  We are so blessed to have a park right in our neighborhood.  It's very shaded and has lot of leaves-so there's plenty of work to be done!  

These cuties, Brooke and Ivy, are both in kindergarten with Emma Grace.   Billy and Jack, when not building forts, are busy playing football, archery, and basketball. So thankful for buddies and a park! Finally having some cooler weather here so it's been really nice to get out and enjoy !

Make a mess

While Judah is still firmly in the "make a mess" stage of life,

 Jack and Emma Grace can actually help clean one.  Sometimes they get in a cleaning mood and decide to go to work.  Today it was the bathroom.  (I'm thankful for the cleaning moods because cleaning isn't always on the top of their list of fun things to do, needless to say!)  Overall they did a pretty good job.  Overall.  In the end we had one mostly clean bathroom, one dirty mirror, two nice washcloths ruined (not meant for cleaning) and one broken light switch.

So I guess Emma Grace and Jack have one foot in the "clean a mess" stage and one foot in the "make a mess" stage!  .

On the mend

At this rate, Jack is averaging a broken bone every two years.  He broke his collar bone when he was two and this time around it was his wrist.  He fell at the SAME EXACT PARK where Brooke's Kaelin broke both her wrists.  Kaelin was with us when it happened and I had just said "no broken wrists this time" when five minutes later Jack came running.  From the way he was crying and the immediate swelling I knew it was probably broken.  We packed up and within a couple hours we had it braced with an official "broken" diagnosis.  He got his blue cast a few days later.  It held up til the last week and then we began taping it to keep it together.  He was hard on his cast!  He got it off yesterday and is doing great...He played his first soccer game today and SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL!!  Judah is over his case of German measles and a double ear infection so it's looks like we're on the mend!

Soccer Time

We found a great little soccer league where Jack and Emma Grace can be on the same team.  They practice for thirty minutes and then play a game.  We're the ThunderStorms!  Last week we played the Ovens.  This week, the Ovens.  You get the idea. Last week the Ovens took us 4-0.  This week we won 5-0 and Emma Grace scored a goal! I am amazed at how competitive she is about this whole thing.  I love the picture below from practice.  How typical that two of the kids we're playing with the cones rather than paying attention.  We've got a ways to go, I guess!  

 

 Jack participated in the practice but sat out during the game because of his cast.  But Ovens, watch out because he'll be burning up the field next week!  He gets his cast off on Friday.

A Retro Blog...Graduation

Emma Grace's half day kindergarten graduation!  What a sweet school and a great fit for our Grapey Girl.  Now we're on to public school!

Sibling Fun

Jack and Grapes spend lots of time together and they really love each other.  There's A LOT of "working it out with words" to go around, but they also are at an age when they come up with plenty of silliness.  Here are a few fun sibling moments from the past few months....

Slide Fun

Rodeo Days at School 

Super Heros??

Jack's Carrot Garden

The "fruit" of his labor!  

Birthday Boy...and Girl

At some point in the past few months, we've had birthdays!   They're noteworthy enough that I thought I'd retro blog them! 

EG chose a princess them and I scored a prom dress for the occasion.  

 Judah didn't really have a theme, or a party, really....just a cupcake.  To be very honest, we were just glad we made it to ONE!!  Judah is one cute guy but he's been a tough baby.  So we're celebrating that we finally made it to solid foods and sleeping through the night.  This mama is tired, but thankful.  Very thankful for these two little gifts.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY LITTLE ONES!

CUTE JUDAH

my little words

I've missed writing them and processing life as I write them, so I'm back....Yipee!!!  Actually the break from my blog was really good for me.  I thought a lot about how we are a people of communication.  We need to "tell" our lives, most of all with those we live in intimate community with.  But we were made to tell our stories  in general,  I think,  because they speak of a greater story going on.  A story you and I are a part of that, as the Bible teaches us, is beyond our wildest hopes and dreams.  All those deep longings in our hearts, they are actually for things that we were made for....just not fully yet.  And in our stories we get glimpses of that. So I am back to tell my little story and hopefully keep pointing to the one who is writing my story in a way I would have never planned

First up:  FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

Sending my Grapey Girl to public school (which by the way is literally a stone's throw from my house) was HARD for me.  Mainly because it had been a long time dream of mine to home school my little ones.  But, as we prayed and asked for wisdom, THIS little school seemed to be the best fit!  My prayer for my little one is that Christ  would have her heart and we would still be able to nuture her  to know and love the Lord even as we give much of her day to others!   So far she's doing well and I am GRATEFUL.  So very grateful! Jack and Judah love walking her (and a gaggle of other girls from our street) to school each day.

I'm looking forward to volunteering and walking out this journey as a mom of public school kiddos!!!