First Family Road Trip

We took our first ever family road trip to St Louis, MO this August. We have much loved and much missed family that live there.

The trip is 14 hours in drive time. But with three littles it took longer. Plus there was quite a bit of construction and detours. All in all, we had a blast. The kids did great in the car and we stopped at fun places.

Our first stop was Ogallala, Nebraska. They are serious about clean restrooms in this town. THANK YOU Ogallala!

We purchased fun snacks or car treats here and there. Getting to pick something from gas stations and travel plazas is part of road trip fun.

We got Charlotte out at every stop. She needed to stretch her legs and breathe fresh air too.

They were quite packed in in our back seat. But they had such fun together. I am so very thankful that our kiddos love each other as much as they do.

God bless the road atlas. Really. It was a very important part of our trip. There were closed roads, detours and construction all through Nebraska and Iowa. We would have been lost without God blessing us with the atlas and TONS of patience. Plus, Daddy is a great navigator, driver and decision maker.

We also stopped at this sweet little information center. It was staffed with a 93 year old volunteer who was wonderful. She had lots of information, a fun attitude and loved to talk.

We learned quite a bit from her and she made me smile. I highly recommend stopping at places like this.

Next stop Grand Island, Nebraska. This was the highlight of the road trip part of the vacation for me. So you don't want to miss the next post.

Nature Walk At A Favorite Park

We are blessed to live within walking distance of a beautiful park. Every time we take a nature walk there God never ceases to dazzle us.

His colors always seem to pop, whether it is Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter.

There are two ponds, a little and a big. The little is often full of lilly pads, dragon flies, and cattails.

It is so very peaceful. If it were not for the mosquitos this year I would lay a blanket there and read the afternoon away.

The big pond has a rookery that is full to bursting in the Spring with Egrets and Black Crowned Night Herons. And in the Summer with White Pelicans swimming in it's tranquil waters.

The rest of these pictures were taken by my little brother. He is becoming quite the 10 year old photographer.

We like to end our walks there with some time spent on the little playground. Then we head home for a much needed drink and to pour over our photos, nature treasures and sometimes to investigate further and do a little sketching.

Birthday Party Fun

All of our kiddos were born in the Summer. We have 1 June and 2 Augusts. So we throw one big birthday party extravaganza in July and combine them all. Except for the first b day. That you get all by yourself.

This year the kids wanted park, swimming and cookies. No cake, no cupcakes, just cookies.

We ate, played, celebrated, talked and had lots of fun!

Happy Birthday my sweet ones!

Happy Birthday To You.

Painting Crew

Let me first say, I DO NOT LIKE PAINTING!!! I will do just about anything to avoid it. But our hall was dingy, chipped, scrapped, peeling and yuck. And guess what, I still did not want to paint it. That is until I decided it would be the best place for our timeline and wall maps. That was the motivation I needed.

We all chipped in. Yes, even Caleb and Caroline. It was a good learning experience and we enjoy things more when they are done as a family.

I did not really enjoy Caroline walking through the paint and then through my bedroom and the living room.

But our hallway looks great! Now it's ready for that timeline and those wall maps. After we get home from St Louis that is. We leave tomorrow!

Charlotte Mae, 11 Months

Could this child be any cuter? I mean honestly, it would be dangerous if she was.

Cause we would all sit around talking to her and taking pictures of everything she does and telling her how beautiful she is and how much we love her. And then nothing would ever get done cause we would have to spend all of our time ooing and awing over her.

Oh, wait. We already do that. I guess everything else can just get done later. Cause we have a cutie pie to adore!

Questions About God, the World, Truth and more (Caleb's Answers)

As a part of our family worship we have been going through the study, Who Is God? by Apologia Press. Here are some questions we asked Caleb. We will be exploring and diving into the Word about these as the study progresses.
I am so very proud of Caleb's understanding of the truth and God already for an almost 6 year old. Obviously we have much to teach and Caleb has much to learn. But then the same can be said for all of us, adult or child.

1. Does God exist? Yes

2. If yes, what is He like? Holy, Bright, Holy Spirit, God, On earth He was a man - Jesus

3. Can I have a relationship with God? Yes, pray and talk to Him.

4. Do I have a responsibility to God? Take care of His creation and love my sisters and take care of them.

5. Where did the universe come from? God

6. Has the universe always existed? No, it started at the beginning (he is referring to Genesis: in the beginning God created...)

7. Will the universe always exist? Yes

8. Where did Earth come from? God created it

9. Why does the universe have natural disasters? Meteors (and then he went on to explain how meteors break off from big rocks in space and crash into things on earth. Apparently we have some teaching to do here. But the answer was priceless.)

10. Where did we come from? God created us

11. Why are we here? God wanted us to be

12. Why do we die? Because of sin

13. What happens to us after we die? Our spirit goes to Heaven or Hell

14. What is our responsibility and relationship to the earth? Take care of it and God's in charge

15. Is there such a thing as truth? Yes

16. How can I know if something is true or not? Read the Bible and see if it is

17. Are there such things as right and wrong? Yes

18. What is right and what is wrong? Right is Right and Wrong is Wrong (we tried to get him to expand here, but he just kept insisting that right was right and wrong was wrong.)

19. Why is there so much evil in the world? Adam and Eve sinned when the Devil tempted them

20. Are there solutions to all the problems in the world? God will fix them when Jesus comes

Great Reads

So this Summer I have been blessed to find some spectacular reads. Not just okay, not just good. Spectacular I tell you! You want to read them too, I know you do.

Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

I started a blog series on this one. It would be nice if I could finish it one day, but the posts take a long time to write and I have small times to blog. We will see.

Believing God by Beth Moore

I took this one as a Bible study at my church complete with her videos that go with. AMAZING!!! This was life changing for me. If you ever have a chance take this study. Or if you feel led, please facilitate and coordinate this study at your church. You will never regret it and will grow because of it.

Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay Clarkson

This is not all about homeschool. In fact the first half of the book is about Christ centered homes, nurturing, and more. Cale (my husband who does not read, only does audio books) is reading this one. It is powerful!

Growing Up So Fast

My sweet Charlotte Mae no longer seems to be interested in these. In fact she has dropped bottles completely. She wants a cup, just like her brother and sister. Which makes sense because she she will be 1 in August. But my baby is growing up so fast. Thankfully she still wants lots of snuggles. I think I have her convinced that a cup of milk in mama's lap in the morning is the way to go. But she wants to hold it herself. A big girl at almost one. Where did the time go? Love you Charlotte Mae!

Bible Memory Verse Game

I have been reading some great and very encouraging books. One of them (now if I could only remember which one) had a wonderful idea for a Bible Memory Verse game for all ages. Preschool to Adults can do this one. YAY!

1. Write your Bible Memory verses on index cards, some or all, you chose. (have the older kiddos do this for copywork, memory practice, etc). You will need two copies of each verse. I also recommend doing this on a different day than you are going to play the game. Or write the cards in the morning and play the game in the evening. Otherwise attention spans are done with.

2. On each pair of verses make a light colored line or mark. You should not be able to see this colored mark through the index card. So for instance, Psalm 34:14 is a blue mark on both cards, Romans 10:9 is green on both cards, Colossians 3:20 is red on both cards... you get the picture.

3. Mix all of the cards together. Then lay them facing down in rows of 6x6 or 4x4 if you have mainly littles.

4. The first person flips a card over and tries to then find its match. They read the book, chapter and verse number they flip over (ex: psalm 34:13). You can do this together if they cannot read. If you get a match, then you read the entire verse (psalm 34:13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.) and keep the pair. If not turn cards over and next persons turn.

5. For those who cannot read they match the colored mark and mom or dad or older sibling reads book, chapter and verse number with them. If it's a colored match, then everyone reads the entire verse together.

Fun for all ages and best of all you are hiding His word in your heart as well as their's!

Sanibel Beach

Oh, Sanibel Beach, how we miss you.

The smiles you bring.

Our whole crew, together, walking on you.

The fun!

The Joy!

Exploring your offerings.

Almost as if you were letting us be a part of you.

Everywhere we look a reminder of God.

How could we not love you so.

We miss your smell, your sound, your feel.

We are so thankful God let us spend time with you this Summer.

Thank you for all the blessings God bestowed on us through you, Sanibel Beach.

We'll be back to walk your shores again.

Until then, we love you Sanibel!