Thankful Thursday

We are so thankful for homeschooling. We've known for awhile that it was something we wanted to try, but this year has sealed the deal for us that it is definitely a good fit for our family. We are loving learning and growing together. I say 'we' because Andy and I are learning right along side of the boys! Our curriculum is awesome and these two treasures are a blessing to teach.

Hiding God's Word in Our Hearts

Each week of School Bus School we've learned a Bible verse. Here are the boys reciting their verses from the first 5 weeks:

I highly recommend this book to use for teaching kids Scripture.

Psalm 119:9-11

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Thankful Thursday

I get to spend my days watching this:

In the Kitchen

The boys and I adore cooking and baking together. So one aspect of School Bus School this year is that we are going to try and make one new thing a week. It's amazing how many subjects you can involve while in the kitchen.

We've made doughnuts:

English muffins, with our special guest chef, Miss Maddy:

And some yogurt:

What shall we try next week?

My 28th Birthday

It was a super fun weekend with lots of family, friends and food.

Andy took me out for dinner Friday night. On Saturday, the boys got us bagels at my favorite bagel shop, cookies from my favorite bakery, we went apple picking with friends and then out for ice cream. We relaxed together, drove on the Blue Ridge Mountains and simply had a beautiful day.











I am blessed beyond words. It's going to be a GREAT year.

Thankful Thursday

One of the only justifiable times to blog is when Annabelle is nursing. But, now that she isn't nursing so frequently my blogging times have been decreased. I try to keep up with it all because I enjoy it for one, but also since it's the only way I'm journaling or documenting anything at all. But, obviously life is busy and I'm way behind. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up soon.

Most days are pretty adventurous around here, but today was worth noting.

Both boys stepped outside by themselves just for the purpose of peeing today. Interesting in and of itself, but BOTH of them went pee right on the sidewalk. I should note, that both of them were naked from going in the river and being covered from head to toe in mud.

Life with two little boys. I love the adventures!

I am so thankful for the little men they are becoming and their sweet hearts. They are so precious and such a joy to raise...

Even if people call them the Lord of Flies children. (I'm really not sure how to take that)!*These photos are not from this afternoon, but I couldn't pass up not sharing them.

My Love Language

Recently I have had two friends give me some fabric and you would have thought they had told me they were paying off our mortgage. I was ecstatic. I never really would have said my love language is gifts, but now I'm realizing that's not entirely true. I have always been an acts of service kinda girl with words of affirmation a close second, but things are changing...

A dear friend just gave me a charm pack from Moda fabrics for my birthday. It's the newest line by American Jane: Punctuation



And awhile ago another dear friend gave me these fabrics:

This one in brown:



Thanks sweet friends for your thoughtfulness and encouraging me to pursue a great love of mine. It's been too long since I've sat down at the machine. I cannot wait to make something and now I have some great motivation.

What's your love language?

Thankful Thursday

We have not done a 'Thankful Thursday' post in a very long time. It wasn't on purpose. Our days have just been flying by with no real sense of time. I guess that's what you get with 3 small kiddos during the summer :)

But, back by popular demand is a Thankful Thursday post:

~ Andy got an AWESOME new job in Charlottesville! It's been our biggest source of excitement as of late. He starts the 13th and has been home for the past 2 weeks with us. It's been amazing. He has been the School Bus School teacher for that time so I could tackle some projects that I've been wanting to get done but just never have the time. He has done an incredible job being their teacher. More on that later.

~ I had a great birthday! I love birthdays.

~ Annabelle is seriously stealing our hearts and it doesn't look like she's giving them back for quite some time. It's out of control how adorable she is. She is such a sweet girl.
~ We are so thankful for our health! We have been so healthy and have been spared from so many illnesses.

~ Even though they are wild men, the boys are growing up to be such nice gentlemen. It's amazing how much older Samuel acts even from just a couple of months ago. They both show us glimpses of what they will be like when they are older and it's hard to believe how quickly the future seems to be creeping up on us. They are growing too quickly.

~ Our Summer has been filled with family! Even though our families don't live very close, we have had many opportunities to get together with them this summer, it has been wonderful. Annabelle's birth encouraged a lot of visitors, and then there were just several other occasions to see one another. Being together with family is always so precious. Especially, our little couch dweller, Aunt Juju. She's our fav!

~ Our church recently shut down and it's been a really hard season for all of us. The Lord has shown us many things during this season, but the biggest take away for me has been how important people are. 'Stuff' comes and goes. Things break down, food only lasts for so long, houses need repair, kids ruin stuff, etc. But, what has been our foundation is the relationships we have through Jesus Christ. Those relationships have proven to be priceless. Such an awesome feeling to know we are investing not only in temporary things, but in eternity. Keeping an eternal perspective has been the theme of our summer.
~ Wow, looking over that list overwhelms me. God is so faithful. Letting him into our lives, letting him search our hearts and show us how we are unfaithful to Him and then walking along beside us as we try and become more like Christ, is simply amazing.

Have you ever just sat and thought about the fact that the creator of the universe wants to have a relationship with YOU!? That if you were the only person on this earth that he would have died for your sins alone. How could we keep from singing His praise? How amazing is his love! There is absolutely nothing on this earth more worthy of our time than living a life for Christ.
What about YOU? What are you thankful for today?

Joseph Turns 2 1/2

We are big on birthdays around here. We like to celebrate half birthdays too. For little kids (and even for myself), it's hard to wait 12 whole months before you get to celebrate your birthday again.

August 27th, Joseph turned 2 1/2. We didn't do much but we did get to celebrate by having cherry ice cream for the first time. Samuel was thrilled. He loved it just as much as he thought he would :)

Joseph is such a joy to have in our lives. He is undoubtedly the wildest kid I know, has a heart of gold and absolutely adores his family, especially his Annabelle Jane.

First Day of School

School Bus School has started this year. The boys couldn't be more thrilled.

You're Welcome

We are doing very well just very busy.

I know (for some of you) it's been too long since I last posted. The boys have not changed much, but Miss Annabelle is getting cuter by the second. Here's the proof:



Lots to report so hopefully I'll get some time soon to post.