One Day

It seems there are a few magical ages for a child. I always thought 5 was pretty big, because it seems most programs, sports and otherwise, don't let kids participate until they're 5. And, it would seem being 7 is pretty great too! Not only is Cora in 2nd grade, but she got to participate in church camp this summer! The church we attend owns/operates its own camp. It's a beautiful place that was built with the blood, sweat and tears of the people in this church. There is a lot of love and pride in this place and rightly so. The camp hosts an overnight camp for campers ages 5-7 and their parents. Cora and I made our way through the foothills of the Poconos and landed in a beautiful spot on earth. For the next 24 hours the kids are introduced to what camp life is like. We played games, sang songs, did crafts, ate in the dining hall, did a slip-n-slide, saw horses, and did the zip-line. The counselors did everything, and the parents were there more for moral support for the ...

At the beginning of summer David and I wrote down a bucket list of things to do/see this summer. We didn't want to waste the summer doing nothing. Plus, the kids have all hit a great age in which we don't need a stroller any longer, we almost don't need diapers/pull-ups, and they're all (mostly) old enough to remember and appreciate what we're doing! AND, we're in a new state with LOTS of places to explore. We were told about a cave not far from us and so embarked on our journey! It was a HOT and HUMID day the day we went. We almost didn't go because it was so hot, but we figured we'd be underground so it wouldn't be as bad, plus we really needed to get out of the house. I'm so glad we chose to go. The kids LOVED it!!!!! Ben especially thought it was so much fun and still talks about it! We went, paid an arm and a leg (ahem) and went below earth for a fun adventure. Our guide was a young college student who did a great job talking about the ...

Tuesday we had another big day at our house! Ben started Kindergarten and Bekah started preschool! Our church runs a nursery school for ages 2-5. We had enrolled Ben in one of the 4s classes to finish up last year. He loved it, we loved it, it's just great!!! Plus, having David at church during the day helps with transportation. Ben is enrolled in the 5s program. He goes 4 days a week. When he gets home we do lunch and then do our own schoolwork. We opted to keep him out of a traditional K class so that we can focus more on his speech therapy. This seems to be a good combination. We feel the program at the nursery school and then what we do at home will compliment each other, at least that's the idea! He LOVES it, of course! There are 4 kids from his class last year also with him this year so that's been great. I love watching him grow and mature. Also, as we've been working together at home I'm realizing that teaching him will be WAY different than it was with Co...

Today I'm going to give a shout-out to my husband. I am thankful for him . We have been through a lot (haven't we all?). Our marriage hasn't always been sunshine and roses (is anybody's?). We've had our fair share of fights, disagreements and arguments (yes, I think those are all different). But, we're still together. It's been over 10 years of married life together. I have not always been a peach to live with or do life with. I can be cutting in my words, lazy, selfish and just not nice. I haven't always put his needs before mine, and there have been times I've just not wanted to put the sometimes HARD work into it. I'm thankful for David for not giving up on me. Through all 3 of my pregnancies I was a mess physically. He took up the slack and not only did his job but did mine as well. He goes to work, works hard and provides for our physical needs as a family. He prays for us, for our children, for our family, for our future. He leads us spir...

Tuesday was Cora's first day of 2nd grade! I honestly don't know how we have a 2nd grader, kindergartener and preschooler. David and I looked at each other the other day and both said, "we must have blinked!" It's true--they grow up so fast. When we lived in Ohio we homeschooled Cora. When we moved we finished out the year homeschooling but knew we would be doing something different for 2nd grade. We looked at 3 private schools close to us. I think we were fully believing God was wanting us to do the private school thing, and we were surprised after looking at these 3 we had ZERO peace about any of them. We went to visit the grade school which is closest to our house and the moment we walked in David and I felt washed over with peace. To top it off, Cora's face lit up, and you could see how excited she was. After applying for open enrollment (yes, it's closest to our house, but since it's not our home school we had to be accepted into open enrollment...

Fridays are going to be dubbed "Fun on Friday!" I plan to have more photos here, talk about family stuff etc. ************************** I love the beach. It has to be about one of my most favorite places on earth. I've been to beaches in the DRC, Kenya, Cameroon, California, Florida and now New Jersey! I've swum in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. I love them all. And, we are finally able to introduce our kids to the ocean! There's just something about the ocean. The waves are mesmerizing to me. I am so easily lulled to sleep with the waves. The sand...well, it's not my favorite part (how does it get EVERYWHERE????), but it IS a part of it, so I'll take it! We are blessed to live 2-3 hours from the ocean. We can go on a day trip, or a weekend trip. We've done both this summer and I think it's already one of our favorite family things to do. I look forward to making a lot of beach memories with David and the kids! Here are some of my fa...

Part of raising kids is getting them to set goals and accomplish them. I don't know if I've mentioned it in my blog, but I have talked about it a lot how reading was a struggle for Cora over 1st grade. Not so much a struggle in her knowing HOW to read, but rather a struggle in getting her TO read for me. She would read for anyone else, but when she and I sat down to do school she often acted like she was reading Chinese, or something. It was so frustrating, and David and I weren't sure what to do to get her over the hump. Then, Cora kept asking if she could get her ears pierced! DING! The light bulb went off and we saw we had our "thing" to get her over the hump. We told her that if she wanted to get her ears pierced she need to read 10 books. We encouraged her to try to do this before school started, making it a summer activity/goal. We picked out books for her and she got to it. We were impressed with her sudden ability to read (sigh...) and wouldn't you kno...