Life

I fear that I have moved to a season of blogging which is all about the pictures. I do love to have a handful of our pictures sucked out from among the 1000's to document our life adventures. Yet, I do want to take time to write. This season is incredibly sweet.

Lucy is blossoming in all sorts of ways. Perhaps the most obvious to this homeschooling momma is her reading. She's suddenly hungry for reading whatever she can. She'll aim to trudge through one of Noelle's Billie B. Brown books. It takes her a long time to get through the first page. It is written on a higher reading level. But then she'll put in her bookmark and make plans for coming back for the second page. Last night as Isaiah and I were cooking, she was standing on her little chair, Wild Places spread on the counter, reading all sorts of little tidbits about various animals and habitats. Her eyes are bright and excited with this growing skill, which she really put to the test last night when we played Apples to Apples. She played on her own and just had a few things to ask me. Amazing!

She would also been keen to say that she's growing in her gymnastics abilities. She's in her first gymnastics class and pretty sure her cartwheels are praiseworthy. She gets momentum then smacks down on her knees most of the time. I think she'll enjoy them more when she lands on her feet!

Her favorite thing these days is Violet. Oh, if only that dog knew how much that 5 year old adored her! Violet gets Lucy's first attentions of the day, more pets and giggles than she can take, and plenty of "oops" goodies fallen from Lucy's plate. I found Lucy reading to Violet the other day. Sweet.

Noelle is all 3rd grade these days! She's been growing in her reading, too, conquering her longest book yet - Little House in the Big Woods. This has inspired in her in all sorts of ways, including her plans to be Laura for Halloween and her sneaking in a few pages to read the next book whenever she can. This is a big deal since reading hasn't been the top choice of activities for her over the last few years. Of course she could listen to all sorts of read alouds for hours a day, but she hasn't been as eager to pick up a book and read on her own. But it's delightful to see her delight in coming into a new season! Along with that comes new confidence and steady ground in math, cursive, and spelling. She is pretty amazing!

She's also loving gymnastics and is spending more time these days flip flopping around the house. The den and the couches have become her gym. Back bends, cartwheels, headstands off the couch. It's her zone.

She and I got to have a special time together recently as our church hosted Secret Keeper Girl. It was an event for 7-12 year old girls and their moms, focused on God's love, modesty, and mother-daughter connectedness. Oh this sweet girl was excited for weeks!! We really had a special time together, and I was reminded that, even though she is growing up quickly and maturing in all sorts of ways, she's still little. There was one book there for tweens called, "Understanding Boys". She asked me why in the world would anyone need or want a book about understanding boys?!?  "Mom, I've got Isaiah and Dad, and I understand them really well already." We sat in the front row and sang, listened, snuggled up, prayed, and enjoyed! With a sister 3 years younger who shares your room and your friends, and 8 year old sometime needs some solo time with Mom! And Mom sometimes needs some solo time with her, too.

Isaiah is growing up into a young man that I admire in so many ways. It's so neat to see his response to various situation. This kid has such a humble, easy-going, positive attitude, almost ALL the time. It has been his mode for his whole life, and it's delightful to see the same Isaiah growing into older, more mature versions. He's really patient and respectful with different personalities, from baseball coaches that yell, to awkward kids that are especially silly, to friends who break things in his room. We have one family from church with 3 boys. All 3 are as different as can be, and they ALL love Isaiah and feel connected to him. He's just an easy guy to have around and can connect with people whether they are into video games or sports or books or funny youtube videos because he is into everything and finds all things interesting! He is totally content not being the best one on the basketball court, yet he wants to do his best. He's quick to smile and laugh. His sense of humor is growing. He is growing tall and strong, outgrowing shoes quickly, and he still finds his way to his momma's lap a few times a day.

His current sport is Flag Football. The day at practice that he got his new jersey and flags was the evening he came right home and put it all on, touring around the house with eagerness in his eyes, and wanting to make sure it all fit ok. (Is this how it's supposed to be, Mom? Should I trim the belt a little bit?) He gets to play with William, Jack, and Micah. So much fun to have buddies on his team! I am so, so thrilled with the boys and families that Isaiah gets to school with. I couldn't ask for better peers for him, and he just loves them all. It is a blessing. He is also taking piano more seriously. Before we started back up this August, he said he wanted to be challenged more this year in piano. He wanted to improve, and with Mrs. Horner's help and suggestions, he's playing through some really neat pieces.

Luke has been doing a great job balancing work, exercise, new projects at LeTourneau, and family. He is daily burdened by how much he would like more time for research and writing, house projects, and hiking alone in the woods for a half-day here and there. But, he's thriving and doing such good work. We got to go hear him speak at Chapel a few weeks ago. What a good message, encouraging LeTourneau students to be people to love and invest in their neighborhood. He initiated LeTourneau LeTaco LeTournament, which rewards students with a chance to win a raffle if they eat out on the south side (rather than always going to the Loop).

I'm keeping my head above water, enjoying homeschooling and CC especially. Trudging along in our church job, but thankful for it. I spent the last 2 days painting out bedroom. Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay seems to suit our room quite well and I'm already making plans to repaint the kids' bathroom and our guest bath, whenever that comes together (see previous paragraph). I am making many loaves of pumpkin bread and totally delighting in the sweetness of fall, trying so hard not to be angry over the fact that the air conditioning is still running 24/7 and the temps have been reaching mid-90's. We are camping this upcoming weekend with 12 other families from church, and the thought of it nearly brings tears to my eyes. Hot weather camping is NOT fun for me, but I'm digging deep and committing to being a fun, happy mom and wife during the trip!