365Project.2015 | Week 46

The weeks march on ... rather, it seems they fly by! This week seemed very. full. Multiple late nights for Daddy, one of our last "button down for winter projects," and a special outing this weekend. Add those on top of the normal stuff of life ... you know ... the three meals a day, laundry for six, homeschooling three, chasing one toddler ... that stuff? It makes for full days. ;)

312. Hannah-bug played the piano at church for the first time today! #blessed ♥

313. We have a large shed in the backyard in which we desire to store our camper and some other items. However, the ground is very. mucky. So, we ordered some crush-a-run, and Chris and Peter spent the evening with the John Deere and a rake making a firm foundation ... 

 

 

 

By the time they finished, the shed floor was solid, with a thick layer of plastic between the dirt and about 6" of crush-a-run on the entire right side.

Mommy and Abby occasionally supervised. ;)

314. This crib has served a good, long life. :) Not only did our four kiddos enjoy its comforts, but Daddy and his brother did as well. Thanks for saving it, Grandma and Grandpa! :)

Hannah enjoyed a fun afternoon with her friend Alyssa from homeschool group. :)

315. Awww! Cuddles are the best. ♥

316. Mommy had ten minutes for a game of Chutes and Ladders. I made sure Matthew understood that and we set the timer before starting with the understanding that whoever was farthest when it beeped would be the winner. I needn't have worried. He won in five turns. Gotta love the big ladder! :) (And Mommy wonders why it can't happen that way every. time!!!)

 317. This little lady is on. the. move!! :) She's gaining speed, confidence, and stability every day, with crawling swiftly becoming an outdated mode of travel ...

 Oh, and did I mention we're climbing? For now it's just stairs and chairs and stools ...

318. We enjoyed an absolutely wonderful afternoon visiting with (Great) Grandma and Grandpa this Saturday! I am so thankful that my kiddos have the privilege of knowing and loving their great grandparents. ♥

Abby had fun exploring new buttons ... 

 Ooooh!! Grandpa ... it talks!! Can I do it again? ... And again? ... And again? :)

Matthew enjoyed playing with a new collection of vehicles ... (Peter had fun repairing one that had some loose wires ...)

 And Hannah and Grandma enjoyed sharing current knitting projects ...

 And learning new skills! ♥ #soblessed

Thankfully, this little one was able to sleep rather than cry for the trip home. ♥

 And, in other random tidbits, our faithful van hit 140k. :)

And that be our week. We launched our new one with new adventures ... but that'll be a tale for another day. :)

365Project.2015 | Weeks 44–45

Welcome back! We've enjoyed some beautiful fall weather these last few weeks ... what a blessing! :) We've definitely been able to ease into the NY weather thus far. We're more than happy to keep ignoring the fact that winter really will come. ;)

298. Sometimes it's just hard to go to sleep ... so we play with blocks instead. At 11:00 pm. ;)

299. Chris and the kids did some reorganizing of the Lego's, and Peter decided to use the fresh start to put his crane together once again. With a few modifications and enhancements ... ;)

 300. Oh, just enjoying a few pretzels ...

 301. And a late night snack ... shredded cheddar cheese! Mmmmm!

302. Between the rainbow and the sun touching the trees with a golden glow, it was a simply stunning morning!

 303. Daddy puts ear plugs in my ear if I'm around noisy tools ... so I decided to try it myself. :)

304. We all thoroughly enjoyed a church hayride and bonfire! :)

305. It's so hard to capture even an essence of it in a picture, but this particular afternoon we were SWARMED with black birds. All of the trees were covered in birds and when you stepped outside, it was louder than the cicadas on a southern summer evening. Abby was fascinated! :)

 306. These two love baking together! ♥

 307. So. Much. Sweetness. ♥

 I love her crinkly eyes!

308. And this little guy will. not. be. stopped. He's writing "stories" and sounding out words like crazy! Thrills this Mama's heart!!!

And this little lady's expressions just crack me up! :)

309. Daddy passed his CDL road test with flying colors!!! Go, Daddy!!!

And here's our crew! They sweetly obliged Mommy and stopped their play to come pose for a group picture. ♥

We also got to enjoy a bit of play time with our cousins! :)

 310. Date night!! ♥ Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!!

We found an official coffee shop in our new stomping grounds ... the one tucked inside Target wasn't really the atmosphere we were looking for. ;)

311. And ... when Mommy and Daddy get a few hours of uninterrupted conversation, they might just start  brainstorming. And getting ideas. And they might just decide that the storage room tucked behind their closet ...

Is quite a nice size.

 And they might decide to do a bit of rearranging.

 Or make that a lot of rearranging.

Because that space is just the right size for a little lady who could use her own sleeping area. :)

We had to purchase a "new" (to us) crib because our other one was simply too tall for this area, but we are all very excited for Abby to be able to have her own "bedroom." We shall see if the new arrangements help her to sleep a bit better ...

And that's life in these parts. :) Just two more weeks of school before a week off for Thanksgiving, and then Daddy launches into the December rush. It's gonna be a whirlwind ride to the end of the year! Thanks for joining us! :)

365Project.2015 | Weeks 42-43

Welcome back!  Nothing earth shattering this week ... just the ordinary bits and pieces of life in these parts ... :)

Day 265. Sometimes you're hopeful that a jar of pom-poms will keep the little one occupied ...

And yes ... it does. For a few minutes. Till she decides to taste-test the contents. ;) But she sure is a cutie! :)

Day 266. The fall colors have been absolutely beautiful!! This is just a small bit of the view from our laundry room door ...

Day 267. Cooler temperatures mean we pull out the blankets ... doesn't this look like a comfy way to do school? :)

Day 268. Abby-girl has started consistently signing "please"!! :) Yay! And every. single. diaper change involves a ritual of her asking to "please" hug Hannah's dolls ... all three of them. One at a time. And then when we're done, she cheerfully waves and says "Baaaye! Baaaye!" as we leave the room. #toocute

Day 269. And words are simply exploding for Matthew! Not only is he flying through his reading lessons each day, but he's begging me to stop long enough to let him write sentences. !!! So. exciting!!!

 

Day 270. Guess who discovered the magic of a "walker." :) As of this week, she has been taking a few steps on her own here and there ... but she's not quite walking independently yet.

Day 271. Oh yes. White stuff is coming. And a very little bit arrived just to help us appreciate our remaining days of fall ...

Day 273. Matthew was pretty excited about the space theme he created in his Reading Horizons "club house." :)

Day 274. And, we have "official" school pictures, compliments of our youth pastor who blessed our homeschool group with a photo session. :)

 

 

Day 275. Hannah-bug's school location of choice varies from week to week ... she's claimed the kitchen stool for a little while now ...

Day 276. He's adding periods and lower case letters to his sentences now! :) (Subject-verb agreement will come later ...) ;)

Day 277. Hannah's "Doodle Crate" arrived! :) She chose to order a 3-month subscription with some birthday money, and this is the second one she's received. We've been really impressed with both of them! Each one has been a very creative, interesting project with quality materials. (They also have "Tinker Crates" for the more mechanically inclined.) ;) If you're interested in trying them out, I can send five friends an invitation to receive a free crate. I'd really love to share them, so please message me if you'd like to receive one of them. :)

Day 278. Abby loves Mommy's "laundry jar." She's quite happy to sit on the counter investigating all of the little trinkets that have navigated the terrors of the washing machine while Mommy piles folded laundry all about her. :)

 And sometimes, she looks out the window and sees Indians wandering the yard ...

 Or maybe some fall colors. We have certainly been blessed with a beautiful view. :)

And that's life in these parts ... we're in the thick of homeschooling. Some days, everybody's super diligent and the lessons get done in record time. More often than not ... distractions and what not mean that the lessons drag on longer than any of us would prefer. But, one day, one lesson at a time, we press on. :)