The duck pond.....

well, our little trip to the duck pond was quit interesting today.  When I got out of the van to head down the grassy field with the kids I decided to carry my camera on my neck and stick my phone in my pocket. Well, when you leave your purse in the car and carry a big key chain you just gotta carry them I guess (no room in the pockets).  We get down by the water and I decide to sit against a tree with my new 300mm zoon lens and take candid shots of the kids. Without even thinking about it I set my keys next to my leg.  While shooting away... I suddenly see and hear a splash.... and for a split second I realize I heard a jingle! I look up.. and Stetson is at the top of the little bridge with a smile on his face. I knew exactly what had happened. I could have screamed!  Long story short.. my friend Tiffany calls me after seeing my facebook status that said  "Oh my word.... I'm at the duck pond and Stetson just threw my keys in the mucky water!!! Sean is trying to come from work. I saw the splash so I think I know where they are but I don't know how deep it is! Uggghhhhh I could scream!!!"   

She said Todd was on his way home from work and he'd be there in less than five minutes!  Sean was also on his way.. but Tiffany said not to be surprised if he just starts stripping down. Which is exactly what he did.  He just took off his jacket but still soaked everything else. Anyway.. I kind of guided him as to where I thought it went in and lo and behold he found them!!!  Meanwhile, I had all my facebook friends praying!  I have to say that is probably one of the greatest things about facebook. It's got me help in a matter of minutes and it's the fastest prayer chain EVER!  I missed pictures of the whole "key" rescue but here are some other cute shots I captured!

Bonding with Children

 I just have to share that Stetson is completely and finally adjusted to having his daddy home from deployment. It took 6 months!  But he has stopped asking for ME all the time! He cuddles with his daddy and is completely content in his arms not matter what time of day! I am so happy to finally witness the end product of their bonding period. It is truly a blessing to see this after they have had so much separation. When he was 2 years old they had only been together 5 months of his life... now at 2 1/2 I can say they've had 11 months together.. almost a year! WHOO HOO.   If you have kids and a husband, don't take any of your time together for granted!  Bonding is such an important part of life for these little lives! But remember if you don't, that our heavenly father is the Father to the Fatherless! Seek Him first in raising your kids and teach them about HIS love. The Bible says that if we teach them about the Lord, when they are older, they will not depart from him. Pray and ask for guidance in EVERYTHING you do with your children!

Also,  I've made it a habit with my kids to try and talk to them in the car and also at night before bed. Ask them about their day, even if they are only one or two years old. I believe this is one reason my kids have learned to talk and communicate so well at a young age. Of course we talk throughout the day.. these are special times.  Even if you only ask them yes and no questions.  This has been a key thing for my kids bonding as well. It lets them express their feelings and makes them feel confident in knowing that they have your undivided attention! They feel worthy and important when we take this extra time with them. I try to do it one on one.  I don't do it as often as I'd like.  But this is one reason I've let Stetson sleep with Sean and I more then the other two. He didn't have as much bonding time since Sean was gone. I mean he did with me... but he still needed that extra attention with only one parent for so long! I am just so grateful that he's come so far. Carley as well. She went through a period of time when Stetson was born while Sean was gone, where she had the short end of the stick. She didn't like to cuddle with me, She was holding a grudge. She still gets in the those moods. But recently she's been asking for attention in such a better way than she used to. She use to throw more fits. (partly she's just maturing with age) But lately, I'm hearing "I love you" a lot more!  She's been sitting on my lap and cuddling, way more than she used to and she's enjoying combing my hair and just being around me more!  I've also started giving her little jobs like unloading the dishwasher and just letting her help me with things that are kinda fun.  When I fold clothes she enjoys folding wash cloths and matching socks!  This seems to help her feel important too and that boosts her confidence a lot! I think just having her Daddy home now for 6 months and realizing he's not leaving again is HUGE in her life. Colton has been great!  He had really good bonding with Sean before he ever left and has just understood a lot more.

Homeschooling

So, I was going to post a status on facebook about how proud I am of Colton for finishing his Kindergarten book today.  But then realized this is the kind of thoughts that I really need to blog about.

Colton was barely 5 when I started homeschooling him. I've always been excited about starting Kindergarten with my kids.  But until you sit down every day with your child and work on letters, sounds, phonics etc..you don't realize how quickly they learn and how easy it is to teach them. Within the first couple lessons they are putting sounds together and then with in weeks, it's sentences and then a few months go by and they are reading whole 5 paragraph stories.  No he's not reading perfect!  But he's got a great start!  We just finished the book "how to teach  your child to read in 100 easy lessons"  It's a great start to reading and writing. I've already picked up a few little books for him and we will continue to do flash cards.  I'm hoping to find some really good books that actually interest him and are about things that he loves and has passions about. That way, hopefully the stories will hold his attention. I'm pretty sure most 5 year old's have a short attention span.. but all kids are different and I've found that what works best with Colton is to let him do one subject and then take a break and let him play. I usually like to clean and get things done during that time. Then we sit back down at the table and work on a new subject. Each Subject usually only takes 15 to 20 minutes or so. Which is perfect for him. Anyway.. I just want to say, It's really been an enjoyable experience watching him improve every day. I truly enjoy teaching him and look forward to teaching Carley to read. She does some preschool stuff but now that he's done with the reading book I plan to start her on it soon as well. She seems to have a longer attention span than him and is eager to learn. If your child is having trouble reading (even in the public school) I suggest getting this book and helping him/her at home on your own time. It really has been a great book and they seem to progress quickly.

 These two play together so well!  I usually just have to send them

to their bedroom to play while I work with Colton. 

I'm so thankful that I have a husband that likes to teach

our kids as well. He always takes the time to answer Colton's million 

questions about everything in this world. He informed me the other day that 

daddy's truck needs Diesel NOT gas and asked me if the Gas station we drove by

had diesel or not. He's such a little man.  I think he knows more about dad's truck than I do :)

My little lady turns FOUR!!!

 Carley is definitely our little girly girl!  She's growing into such a sweet beautiful little lady, inside and out!  She can be stubborn. But she's very independent.  Which is kind of nice. I've had to learn to just let her do certain things herself. Some things that she is good at doing herself are 1. combing her own hair 2. playing by herself 3. entertaining her little brother 4. cleaning her own room (she can even make her bed) and 5. dressing herself (at least 4 times a day)

She also LOVES going to church! Sunday school and awanas are the highlights of her week. She's never been sad to stay in her class alone.  She loves the interaction with other kids especially since her friend Kylee is in her class! She has a great start at learning her letters and sounds. She loves to play Starfall.com and of course coloring and drawing pictures. She also loves the outdoors and has been begging to go to the zoo again. So, we plan to take her very soon! She loves all animals but horses are her favorite!  It's been so fun to watch her grow and mature!  I just wish I could soak it all in and not forget anything! I'm still working on her baby scrapbook.. it's getting much bigger than I planned!

a couple weeks ago I had planned to have a really cute princess party for Carley. But when I asked her what kind of party she wanted, she quickly blurted out " I want a PIGGY party".... I have no idea where she got the idea but I responded, "OK, that sounds easy" ... so I went to handy dandy pinterest.com and found a couple ideas.

We also decided that even though our house isn't very big or nice (army housing) YES. We would just save some money and have it at our house anyway!  I think we invited about 18 kids but ended up having 13 including my own!

 our cutie....

 Carley and her friend Kylee :)

 The pig I drew for "pin the tail on the pig"

 I let the kids make their own "piggy cup capes" but  

my frosting recipe was not as good as the last :( so it was runny and I ran out

of powder sugar to make it more thick.

 I didn't have time to make a cake so Sean picked one up walmwart and they put two 

little pigs on it!

 the look on her face was because Colton and Stetson helped her

blow out the candles and she of course wanted to do it 

herself. We told her when it's their birthday she gets to 

help them...she was ok with that.

Thank you all who came!  She had such a great time and is still talking about her party :)

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas morning we let the kids open their stocking before going to church. Everything else had to wait until after we worshiped the One who this is all about!   We had such a great Christmas being all together. It brought back memories from the year before when Sean was gone and the kids and I celebrated alone. WHAT a difference! I hope and pray we never have to be apart again, especially for Christmas :)

The children were blessed extra gifts from Grandma's and Aunties :) Thank you to all who sent them.

Stetson pooped out on the way home from church and had to 

open his later!  I was video taping and didn't get pictures of everything.

Daddy, playing crazy 8 with the kids and drinking Hot chocolate :)

Christmas Eve 2011

We spent most of Christmas Eve at home with the children. I sat out some goodies that I had baked ahead of time. Lefse', Samoas, fudge and choc. chip nut cookies.  We watched movies all afternoon and let the kids open their umbrellas, since it was raining out. and then they opened Colton's Caterpillar Train.   After we had a Chicken Alfredo dinner we all dressed up and went to the candle light service at church and all three of my boys wore ties, they were so cute

First off I have a few pictures of the tree and the decorations and of course Stetson posing by the tree.... 

 One night last week our church had a little party for the kids and they all got to make some ornaments. That was really fun cause we really didn't have many home made ones to hang on the tree. So, finally we've begun our collection.

Christmas Eve Morning I drove down the street to this little donut shop that is run by a husband and wife.  They are cheap and oh so yummy, I even got a cappuccino and egg, ham and cheese croissants that were the best I've ever had! Sean Loved them as well. :)  It might be a new tradition for us. It was kind of nice NOT having to make a big breakfast. But maybe I'll switch it to Christmas morning next year.. as we had to wait to open gifts after church because I did make a huge breakfast

We let the kids open Colton's Train set. And they each got an umbrella for the rainy Texas weather we've been having.  We found some of the best toys at the Sports Academy Store here in town.  Actually ALL of the boys stuff came from there. Even the umbrellas.. which were cheaper than the ones at Toys R Us.

 Stetson fell asleep on the way to church, daddy even carried him in and laid him down, he slept through everything :)

 After the wonderful candle light service at church we came home and I gave the kids their homemade pj pants, which they were actually more excited about than I thought they would be :)