John David's Bible Quiz Tournament

John David is quizzing this year for the first time with a middle school team from Elkhart. He's memorizing Hebrews which is neat because that's the first book John and I both memorized too. So far he can quote the first nine chapters! We're so proud of him!!

This past weekend his team traveled to a tournament here in Indiana. John and I couldn't go, but my parents made the drive and watched him all day and then brought him home. His team won first place and he placed 6th individually. His teammates placed 2nd and 4th!

Here he is holding the first place team trophy.

John David, Lauren, and Jonathon.

This picture cracks me up. These are the kids who placed individually. First through fourth place earned trophies and fifth through eighth got ribbons. That was bad enough for this poor guy who wanted a trophy so badly, but insult was added to injury when he was given the PINK sixth place ribbon. Hahahaha!

He was longing for one of those trophies. Maybe next time, buddy!

Here's the team with their coach, Miss Barbara. She's an amazing lady and loves these kids a lot. We will always be so grateful for all she's investing in our boy!

We LOVE you, John David! You make us so proud!

Playing Around

I put a slip and slide out this summer in Tulsa. I nearly died of heat stroke putting the stupid thing out and then they only wanted to play for about 10 minutes. I made them do it longer. I'm awesome. The first picture depicts their reluctance to go along with my demands.

Watching a cartoon together.

Julia hitched a ride on Joshua's tricycle.

Aulora was wearing a new fairy costume.

The Girls Visit Chicago

In honor of their birthdays, both of the girls got to go to Chicago and spend a couple of days with my parents about a month ago. They went shopping for new dolls at the American Girl Doll Store, ate at The Grand Luxe, and took a HUGE bubble bath. Can you say spoiled??

(Can you tell which one is which?)

Pictures with Gran

John's parents and his brother, Matthew, came for a short visit a few weeks ago. Before they left, I took some pictures of the kids with Gran on the front porch. If I had been thinking clearly at all, I would have taken pictures with D and Matthew too! Oops!

Brothers

These two may be more than seven years apart, but they really love each other! Joshua has a trundle bed in his room and every single night he asks if "Dohn David" can sleep with him. And recently John David began giving Joshua Lego lessons. Joshua gets SO excited over the little creations they make together. This past weekend John David went on a Bible Quiz trip. When he came back he gave Joshua a Hot Wheels car he bought for him with his own money. I can't wait to see what they'll be like as teenagers and young adults!

John David's 11th Birthday

John David turned 11 on October 28th and we celebrated with a small Angry Birds party. He was especially excited about his ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.

He got a big Lego book that had them entertained for quite a while.

There was a lot of Club Penguin Wii going on in the basement.

Happy Birthday, John David!!

We love you SO much!

(And of course we have to add the traditional birthday spanking video!)

What 10 Year Olds Do Best (Besides Eating)

(pictures are of John David and his best friend across the street)

180

Zebus

Do you know what a zebus is? I didn't either until teaching my son his 5th grade math lesson the other day. A herd of zebu were mentioned in a word problem and after looking it up on the computer we both learned that a zebus is a type of domesticated ox.

I, uh, my kids are learning so much through this thing called homeschooling and, although it has taken over my life, I love it.

I can not believe what kind of house I keep these days and the things that I let slide by because there's just not enough time in the day. (Well, technically I guess there's time to do it but I don't want to do housecleaning at 10:00 pm!) I told John that the saving grace of all of this is that we live so far away from everyone that no one ever comes to our house so it doesn't really matter. And then he told me his parents were coming in a couple of weeks. [Panic!!] And of course I will be thrilled to see them when they come but it does beg the question - when will this house be taken care of and when will yard work be done?

My porch that is usually decorated for fall in early September hasn't seen a single change. Not even one lonely mum. I had flower boxes built and installed for our upstairs windows and I've yet to plant in them all year long. The garage is a mess, the outgrown clothes (the kids not mine!) are sitting in piles in the basement waiting to be dealt with, the wood floors need a good scrubbing, and my van hasn't been washed in......a really long time.

I could go on and on about the undone things around here, but that's not the point of this post. The point is zebu! Well, not really zebu but what the zebus represents. All the learning we're doing together! (And fortunately most of it is much more useful than knowing about a domesticated ox.)

I also love that my kids are friends. They play together so much and there is a lot of laughing (and whining and squealing too if we're being honest!). We are not perfect (by far!), but getting to spend our days together while we are loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, MIND, and strength is so precious.

A few nights ago they decided to play war and they pretended they were on an ice planet. They got out most ALL of the winter scarves, gloves, and hats. (It was a mess!) The next night they had another war but, this time it took place in the desert. That's why there are some shirtless kids in these pictures. Joshua was confused though and still thought they were on the ice planet.

I'm sure this game will be a favorite when we are cooped up for the winter!

edited to add: Since the writing of this post my porch has been decorated for fall, my flower boxes have been filled, the yard work is done (for now), and a few things were cleaned. My parents were here for Columbus day and while I did school with the older two my mom was making beds and cleaning the kitchen. How nice!