365Project.2016 | Weeks 2-3

Welcome back! :) There's been a lot of l.i.f.e. lived in these last few weeks. Lots of creating, learning, playing, ... and cleaning of the messes associated therewith. I'm thankful for this crew with whom the Lord has blessed us. Motherhood is exhausting, but oh, so worth it.

Day 4. Winter has arrived (finally!), and the big kids are definitely enjoying it. :)

 Day 5. Abby has started coloring! :)

 Day 6. And yes ... she is definitely Daddy's girl. ♥

Everything is better once Daddy gets home. ;)

 Day 7. She has also discovered a new friend in the mirror ... :)

 Day 8. Real life, folks. In all of its beautiful, messy glory.

Day 9. My new clips the kids bought me for Christmas made freezer meal prep so much easier! And for the record, I am so very thankful for freezer meals. Even when I don't feel like doing the prep (which I did NOT this particular morning), it is absolutely, 100% worth the effort. 'Nuff said.

The kids and Chris enjoyed the first round of Dominion, and he and I have been sneaking in a few games here and there after the kids go to bed. Fun times! :) This is the $45 game that I picked up, brand new, for $5 at my favorite thrift store as a Christmas gift for Chris. :)

Day 10. Abby likes salad. :) In particular, she likes green peppers. Of all the random foods for an almost 18-month-old ...

Day 11. Starting the day by saying "bye" to Daddy ... 

 It continues with reading lessons ...

 The supplies for Hannah's weather blanket ...

 And coat hooks in the laundry room ... 

 Day 12. Tuesday was a very fun day as we took a special field trip with our homeschool group. We visited our local news station ... it was so interesting!!!

 

 

 

Day 13. Abby discovered that everything looks different after an overnight dump of about 8" of lake effect snow. :)

 Day 14. So much fun building towers!! :)

And creating Domino trains! 

This one worked the first time and had double rows of Dominoes going in opposite directions ... very. very. cool!!!

 Day 15. Things warmed up a bit and the light fluffy snow turned just right for making the first snowman of the year. :)

 And we finally got to try Maple Snow Cream! :) I read about this last year, and have been looking forward to trying it ever since. :)

 Day 16. We spent Saturday morning learning about home energy use. We even had a blower test done. :)

And then the rest of the day was just a quiet day for conversation and fun projects.

We took a video of the front end loader Peter built so that he could take it apart and use those pieces to put together a large mobile track crane.

Daddy helped Matthew build the beginnings of a skid steer.

 And Mommy and Hannah made a pair of earrings together.

Altogether, a relaxing, enjoyable day. :)

And now, we launch into a new week with more lake effect snow in the works and lots of life to be lived.

365Project.2015 | Week 26

Have you realized that June is nearly over? As in ... just two days left?!? It hardly seems possible, but the calendar tells me it's true! 

Day 173. We explored our new library today! :) It's good to have a fresh stock of books (and videos)! :)

 ♥

 Day 174. Abby-girl, Abby-girl, Abby-girl. You, Missy, are keeping all of us on our toes!! ♥

Day 175. To be quite honest, this was a hard week for me in many ways. It was a lonely week. The Lord has blessed us so very much, and we are so thankful for how He has led us to NY. But we said good bye to some very dear friends in SC. Most of the time you can keep pressing forward, but sometimes you just really, really miss those to whom you said good bye. Anyway. I had multiple of those sometimes this week. :)

Anyway, we're still working on finding new friends with whom to have play dates, so in lieu of that, we packed a picnic lunch and had fun at the park. :) Kinda hard to be lonely for too long when you have a crew of four people around you all day long. ♥

 

 

 

 Day 176. These boys crack me up! We had fun building with Lego's together today. :)

 ♥

Most of the time, Mommy goes grocery shopping by herself in the evening after Daddy gets home, but this week it worked best to get it done a bit earlier ... this is how we roll. :)

Day 177. Another day that seemed good for an outing. :) We signed up for the library reading program on Monday, but the "official" starting day was Friday, and they had balloon animals for the children who signed up for the program. So, we detoured by the library on our way to another park. :)

 Ha. :) Me thinks we have no arms long enough to capture this bunch! :)

Since the first picture was rather less than successful, Hannah-bug got another one. ;)

 Knowing that giraffes are not solid yellow, Matthew decided to remedy the situation by adding ... stripes. :)

Day 178. A couple weeks ago, I began a "Couch to 5K" running program. It's hard, but I'm glad to be doing it! :) However, a stiff knee made it apparent this week that my old yard sneakers were not going to be sufficient for continuing my training ... so the Lord blessed with a new pair of Asics that just "happened" to be on 50% clearance at the running store! So thankful!! :)

And that's where we be. :) Thanks for visiting.
We have a guest room waiting for anyone
who would like to visit in person. ;)
Yes. I mean you. :)

365Project.2015 | Week 17

It was a full week. (What week isn't?!?) We celebrated Peter's 8th birthday, finished up our third year of homeschooling, and took two field trips at the end of the week. :) 

Day 110. Abby-girl is eating so much better!! Very thankful! She shares Mommy's breakfast smoothie every morning. :)

We had quite the storm Monday afternoon, complete with hail and very close lightening strikes.

Day 111. Officially, Peter's birthday was Wednesday, but we celebrated with friends on Tuesday. :) Interestingly, Peter's 2nd birthday was the first birthday we celebrated here at this home, and his 8th will be the last.

 

Day 112. Sometimes you just want to freeze time and remember. Like when your 5-yr-old crawls into your almost 10-yr-old's lap to play a game together. ♥

Day 113. :)

Day 115. Peter spent most every free hour for two days building his Lego crane and he had a blast! (He even shared with his sister and let her build a part of it.) :) Thanks for the special gift, Grandma and Grandpa!

 

It's amazing how this young man has grown. I looked back at a picture from the beginning of the school year this week, and he looked almost 2-3 years younger ... just nine months ago. He's a cheerful, sweet, hard working young man, and I am thankful for him. ♥

On Friday evening, we took a field trip to a local planetarium and observatory. It was particularly fun because the planetarium show lined up exactly with what we just finished studying in science. Yay for reinforcement! :)

Sadly, it was a bit cloudy to see anything, but it was still fun looking.

 

 

Day 116. And then while Mommy had lunch with ladies from her Sunday School class, Daddy took the kids (all four of them!) to the Children's Museum! :) Yay for Daddy!  

 

 

 

 

Day 117. This morning's light was beautiful ... 

And this week I pack while Chris finishes his last week of work.
We load the truck a week from Tuesday. 

Excited for what's coming,
a bit overwhelmed by the packing,
and sad for the good byes. ♥

Thanks much for your prayers. ♥