Best of 2012

There was a week last April that Daddy joined us for several outings. Daddy makes everything a little bit more fun. The only problem was that Savannah was at Grandma's taking swimming lessons- but she was having at least as much fun, so it worked out. The week ended with a camping trip with friends. That was a fantastic week.

Kaw point

Deanna Rose Farmstead



Carousel in Leavenworth



Arboretum



2012 was a great year for our family, even though there were some hard times. I love a New Year. I have full expectation that it will be equally or exceedingly fantastic.

May yours be as well!

Best of 2012

I should have started this sooner. I don't know what to pick.

Maybe the hidden treasures of central Kansas.

Rock City

Tall Grass Prairie, Strong City

Best of 2012

Oklahoma spring break trip...

Standing Bear Park, Ponca City. Wonderful history, lots of Braums. Good times.

Best of 2012

In no particular order, I thought I'd post my best days of 2012

Chang Dao tour, Thailand. Oh, yes. Another one tomorrow...

Talking to Bear and Other Fun Things

First of all, I think the smell of lilacs just put me in a good mood.

 Almost all of my flowers right now are purple...not on purpose. But the last of my tulips make me smile. The little tree shoots in the background do not make me smile, but I'll ignore them right now.

 Painting is always fun.

 This pot art courtesy of....

 Ellie. Happy, happy, happy day.

 Frisbee with Max.

 Sidewalk chalk...the entire box used up. And I'm so blessed to have a friend that gets right down with my kiddos. and looses herself in their play.

 Future artist, no doubt. I love watching her work.

 And talking to bear. Bear is my hero. He can change my son's mood almost instantly.

"Let's talk to bear!" It has to be one of the best activities to do, right under eating a sucker.

Bear is very talented. He reads books and can jump into bead. He calms down Max when he is hurt. He is our mediator when I can't get through to Max. Max will tell bear anything.

Bear lets him bite his nose and leave him on the floor.

Bear plays fair.

When Bear is tired, Max will go to bed.

And will accommodate any sleeping position.

But he gets the best kisses from Max.

Talking to Bear is a perfect way to end a great day.

Happy Day.

It started when Max woke me up early this morning. I rocked him, he smiled at me. "Sleep with Daddy?"
I don't argue with that when I'd rather be sleeping. I went to the love seat.

I woke up at 8:30. Yes, 8:30. No one else was awake, so I shut my eyes and wondered how long it would last. Not long after, I hear the opening of a door and running feet. My Brookie. She's always the first up. I hugged her so tight and stared at her smile. This is my favorite time with her.

Next, I heard Max trying to talk to his Daddy. Daddy was completely unresponsive since his work ended just hours before, but Max kept on talking...loudly.  He welcomed me with a huge smile. What a happy sight in the morn.

The other two kept sleeping....and sleeping....and finally our table was surrounded by two cheery little ones and two sleepy heads. My plan was to get these kids out of the house so Daddy has a few more hours of quiet rest. But it never fails. Whenever we are getting ready to leave him alone, we cause so much commotion and he wakes up right before we leave. So he joined us.

There is something sweet about watching a Daddy play with his kids, watching him taking them for a walk, and watching him watching them. I went to the car to get a camera but they all followed me. No pictures today.

I came home, mandated a quiet time, and cuddled up with with Savannah while she did math.

Laundry, washing windows, uploading pictures........Mr. Bean cracked up Max during supper. It's movie night but one episode of Mr. Bean is about all I had the energy for. I was so grateful that my neighbors gave me a few brownies. It was a chocolate kind of night.

Summer pretended to be Mr. Bean with her teddy bear. She made bear turn away when she undressed for her bath.

At bedtime, the girls wanted a slumber party in their room. Max wanted to join them, so every time I tried to take him to bed he'd play opossum.

It was a happy day. A day perfect to soak in the blessings. A day to dream. A day to fill up love tanks. A day to shorten the to-do list. A day to just live.

Sidewalk Chalk

You may look at my children and wonder if I'm their birth mother....

But this one for sure is mine.

 For almost an hour......

 She has this technique with water and blending that she came up with herself.

I had to join her.


I love sidewalk chalk. There is so much you can do with it.

Artwork, number lines, tracing bodies, and even hopscotch.

What is your favorite thing to do with sidewalk chalk?

One Of Our Favorite Things: Munschworks

Grandma has a membership to Exploration Place in Wichita. They recently had a Grossology exhibit. Grandma visited, along with at least one enthusiastic child, 5 or 6 times. It talks about all the gross stuff that your body does. I can't hardly stand to read it, but the kids love it.









There was also an exhibit about other stories by an author, Robert N. Much. Grandma also had a collection of his stories in the book Munschworks.

We love Grossology, but we especially love Munschworks. We quote the characters and act out the stories over and over again. Currently, it is the only book necessary when we are at Grandma's.  Savannah reads it. Ellie Reads it. Summer reads it. Brooke pretends to read it (and gets pretty darn close). All by their choice.




"Clang, clang, rattle bing bang. Gonna make my noise all day."

"Do you need a baby?"
"Does it pee it's pants?"

"That's doesn't sound like my mother. That doesn't sound like my father. That sounds like PIGS!"

"It's all your fault! You told me to stand there and not move, and now people are trying to buy me!"

"I have to pee!"

"Murmul yourself. I'm only 5 years old. I cannot take care of a baby."

Some potty talk. Lots of laughs.

Busy Mom Essential

I've said before how I love water bottles but these are great.  They are from Target, about 8 something a piece and really do keep water cold for 12 hours.

We use them at meals and in between wherever we go. The girls love them and are (most of the time) responsible enough to keep track of them and fill them when needed.

I don't have to get a drink every time someone is thirsty or wash dozens of cups a day- and they have water readily available. Now cold water even when they don't put them in the fridge.

Anything that makes my life easier gets a big thumbs up from me!

A Few More of My Favorite Things

Since I am not very organized and have overbooked myself every single day, I have to use my strength (creativity) to find ways to make it.

Prayer is no. 1. Days where I ask God for directions always go smoother and not to my glory, believe me.

A coffee shop with a play area. 20 minutes to read a devotional and plan the day. It works way better for me if I am out of the house.

Jelly Telly and What's In The Bible with Buck Denver. One of my goals for last year was to lay out a time line of biblical events so we could understand the Bible better. Phil Vischer made my life so much easier by creating these programs.

IXL Math- This works for us. I don't need to print off dozens of worksheets or buy books, we've got it covered here.

Giggle Learn- Love this.

A family membership to children's museums. We have one for Wonderscope. If you get the bigger package, you can also get free admission at other children's museums like Exploration Place, the Magic House, and Science City. This is well worth the money!

Zoo passes are great, too. Again, worth the money and you can visit a less amount of exhibits and just enjoy without feeling guilty.

YMCA family memberships. I find this as a great value, since childcare is not extra. We can go to any YMCA in the KC area and they try to find the best deal for you. I get a break from the kids but they are still right there, and I get a little hit of endorphins. Some also have indoor pools so we will be taking advantage of that this fall!

Get involved in a church! Many opportunities and blessings come from a church family. Again, they have childcare (YAAAAAY!) While I have my spirit refreshed. My church is Grace Christian Fellowship.

It is no secret that there is not a mother out there that does not get overwhelmed, tired, frustrated, mad, and cannot possibly be everything to everyone that needs her so....why not stop trying to be a super mom and take a break when you can? It took one whole year of homeschooling to figure this out. I hope this year will be an improvement!

A Few of My Favorite Things: Plants, Plants, Stickers, Plants

If you read one of my previous posts about friends I mentioned how friends enrich my life. Sheri So is one of those people. We are like two little girls giggling and full of excitement over anything pretty. 

One of our favorite stores is Family Tree Nursery. If you live in the KC area, you must go here! We made a date and went yesterday, Starbucks in hand. I love all plants...and even though I promised I would not buy any more perennials, I lied. My favorite, though? Succulents. I want one of each. I let Brooke and Summer each pick one out because they endured my addiction for way too long, and it meant more succulents in my house.

We made a terrarium. I've been wanting to do this for years and finally had the resources all at the right time. I still want to do more, though.

It had to be pink. One of my tactics to get the girls excited about it. I don't care about the color of the sand, though. I just want the succulents. It will look great in our bright blue play room!

I love the layers.

And if you were a little bug inside, like the one I picked off of my jade, you might see this.....

I know I said that Sook is lacking in romantic gestures, but look what he brought home today!

(the roses)

I can count less than my ten fingers how many times I've gotten flowers from him. He even commented on the color..."pink is good, right?"  What a great day!

Oh! and the Lucky Bamboo is one of my new purchases, too. The little balls in the jar were teeny tiny and grew when I put them in water...Sheri had given me a few and I couldn't wait to use them on a new bamboo.

Please ignore my messy kitchen! Blogging is much more fun than cleaning....

Check out my fun stickers that were gifts to! We know each other so well :)

Flowers and Ladybugs....

I have a burn from planting my flowers now. Oh, so fun. Sharing plants that need to be thinned, finding little seeds to try and plant next year...ooooh! I found some balloon plant seeds! I am exhausted from my favorite things. Good night!

My Favorite Things: Flowers! and Cake!

Powell Gardens, birthday cake, more flowers, good friends.