Feeding the park animals

I took Aulora, Joshua, and cousin Natalia to the park to use up the stale bread. We fed squirrels, birds, ducks, fish, turtles, and nutrias (river rats). There were so many! I finally told the kids to throw out all their bread so we could run. The animals are not shy! One of the nutrias even nibbled at my toe when I was busy watching the kids. Ewww! We worked up an appetite so a trip to Bullritos came next. 

We've Found a Bit of Heaven

This place, not too far from our house, is wonderful. Beautiful grass, lots of shade, and so quiet. Ahhhhh....

School Time is Here Again

Julia is hard at work on her first IEW paper. She's my little perfectionist.

This is Joshua on our first day of CC for the year. He has made incredible improvements since last year. He was very attentive and participated in everything. Last year he mostly just wanted to lay on the floor or hide under the table!

This is our All About Reading and Spelling board at home. Julia had just finished writing a grammar chart.

Joshua likes math!

A closer look at the board shows a special message from Julia. Haha! Mommy agrees! :) (Click the picture if you can't see the whole sentence.)

I've yet to capture a picture of Aulora doing work, but she did take this picture of her crayons. That girl is all about the artwork! 

This is one of my favorites (again, you have to click the picture):

Another message from Julia! My sweet girl!

And if you're wondering about John David, I will have a post about what he's up to next week!

Saturday Morning Snuggles on the Couch

Aulora Steps Up

I went out for a few hours today and left the kids home with John. Julia is out of town so it was just John David, Aulora, and Joshua.

Now, John had work to do so he was on our bed reading and writing.

John David is his own man so he was doing his thing, studying and playing on the computer.

Aulora and Joshua were buddies. They built a Mario Kart track and played with dolls. (Yes, Joshua helps with the dolls. Hush.) They colored and watched Arthur on Netflix. They fed the dog and made some other random messes. And apparently they worked up an appetite.

Aulora decided they shouldn't tell Daddy they were hungry since he was working. So she made their own lunch.

For Joshua, she made a popcorn sandwich, an apple, and a nutrigrain bar.

For herself she found her leftover box of spaghetti and put it on a plate.

She was one proud little girl when she told me all about it. I guess next time I'll leave her in charge instead of Daddy. =)

I found this in my son's drawer...

It's a Rubbermaid box with holes punched in it and soil, leaves, and a water cup inside. Should I be concerned? Should I OPEN it?! 

On the Couch This Morning

Oh no! That's not good!!

"It's chocolate *satan* pie!" You're hilarious, Julia!

Joshua's Weekend at the Farm Begins

This is the first time little guy will have some alone time with my parents. I'm not sure who is the most excited. We met up at a little seafood place to make the handoff. By now he has probably helped feed all the animals and is snuggled up in his sleeping bag. Have fun, Buddy!! 

Aulora's Ballet Recital - Spring 2013

He Did It!

We are extremely proud of John David! A few weeks ago he finished memorizing the entire book of Matthew! He came and stood by me as he memorized the final verse (which was in chapter 27 since he had already done 28 earlier on). It was an amazing feeling. He has worked incredibly hard this year (and let's be honest - so have we!) and has invested hours upon hours of time. It's not only the time it takes to memorize the verses (that's actually the easy part), but the time spent quoting the chapters so he doesn't forget them. We try to quote through everything twice each week. 

There are many times we can hear friends playing outside while he is diligently working. No, he hasn't always wanted to do this, but he has been obedient and followed through. I know God's blessings are on him because of this. 

I can't imagine the things God will have him do in his lifetime. I know he is my own kid, but I am blown away! We don't go around bragging freely about his achievement, but since this is my blog I took the liberty. =)

Bible Quiz Regionals

Last weekend was regionals in Dallas. The team ended up in a playoff for second and third place. After a bummer of a match, we ended up third. BUT, they qualified for nationals in Chicago this July! Yea!!! We are so proud of these guys! 

My Secret Keeper Girl

This past Tuesday evening I took Julia to Secret Keeper Girls Live! It was a great night for the just the two of us. Have you ever heard of Secret Keeper Girls? 

Here's the definition from their website: 

"Well, she’s a lot of things. And she’s NOT a lot of things. She’s NOT a mean girl. She’s a girl whose friendships are full of kindness. She’s NOT boy crazy. Moms, can I get an Amen? She a girl who knows she can share all of her heart-secrets with her mom at any time. She’s also a girl who embraces modesty. Why? Because she knows that she is a masterpiece created by God. She strives to keep the deepest secrets of her authentic beauty a secret!" 

I highly recommend all of the resources available from Dannah Gresh and SKG. Their website has tour information as well as a lot of other great stuff.