Can you tell me how to get...

how to get? how to get to Sesame Street?

we planned to go to Philadelphia during James' leave time. We ended up having a super trip but not what we planned.  We didn't make hotel reservations until two nights before and the hotel we were planning on staying no longer had rooms available which turned out to be a good thing! We found a room for less money (a super military discount) which was right by Sesame Place. We'd never been but I knew that it was free for active duty plus 3 dependents. Our kids are perfect ages for sesame place so we decided to go. We drove up Wednesday morning and were able to check in to the hotel at 9:30 am. By 10 we'd settled into the hotel, walked a couple minutes to the park, and were walking in the gate!

 The longest lines were for the characters- with 2 or 3 families in front of us.

 The parade was really cute.

 The rides were fun- James and I took turns riding and hanging out with Baby C.

 this was one of the kids' favorite rides. Baby C loved it too- so fun to watch.

 The water slides were a blast! and we had perfect weather.

 Baby C did nice napping in the stroller, in the swing, and on my lap. We even got chairs in the shade by the Count's Castle to watch the fun.

 The kids loved when the count's bucket dumped water on them.

 We were all worn out at the end of the day

 We enjoyed the playroom at the hotel too- well baby C was napping but the rest of us did.

 A great day of fun- we got to the park when it opened and left when it closed so we had some worn out kids.

We had a short but good day in Philly. There were a lot of school groups there so we couldn't get tickets to Liberty Hall. but we got to see the Liberty Bell. There's not much I would have changed about our trip but next time I think I'll pay the $1.50 per ticket to have a guaranteed ticket to Liberty Hall. We did get to go in a few historical buildings and the kids really enjoyed seeing printing in the printmaking shop. Their other favorite thing was doing the Junior Ranger Program- they passed out a good sized booklet with questions/ activities for the kids to do. The Park Ranger who gave them their badges made it such fun.
One of James' favorite things in Philly was the Philly Cheesesteak. It was good- even without the cheese! We had a super trip! And confirmed some good reasons for homeschooling: 192 we can go on trips when most kids are still in school so places aren't crowded.  193 we can spend time together as a family when James has time off from work. 194 we can enjoy a day in Philly and count it as school!     (I made up those numbers but we do have lots of good reasons!)

Eating...

is such a big part of our life, our days. I know everyone eats but when you're home most days with 5 hungry kids it really seems like a big part of our day. the kids and I sit down together at least 3 times a day. James usually joins us for at least a meal or two. And besides all her nursing, baby C has started eating food with us too. I really wanted to wait longer but she was sure she's ready. So far she's eaten sweet potato, bananas, rice cereal, and avocado.  And really likes it! 

The kids (especially C) really love making breakfast- especially breakfast in bed. We have had some interesting meals- I think this is scrambled eggs with a side of marshmallows and apricots, topped with Christmas sprinkles.

Here's our most enthusiastic chef

Our creative meals haven't always included marshmallows- here my sweet boy knew that we were eating lots of salad during our whole 30- so eggs with salad

what a blessing to wake up to 4 kids serving this beautiful fruit salad, eggs with salad, and cereal with marshmallows

C and T made this breakfast surprise (eggs, hotdogs, and cheetos) as a special send-off meal before K went with James to the Royal Rangers Pow-wow.

We missed the photo baby C was in the baby bjorn while KG was making chex mix so Baby C had her first turn stirring.

Spring

I love spring. I think it's my favorite season. Well, until we go swimming in the summer, hike and play in the leaves in fall, and play in the snow in winter. :) But really I do love spring. Everything is fresh and new. Beautiful flowers, trees budding. Weather's perfect for walks and days at the park.

This year I think I've really appreciated the days leading up to spring more than usual. I loved seeing James plant seeds with the kids. (A good reminder of how it can take a while from when we plant seeds to when we see the fruit)

On our walks, we've watched the trees' and tulip's little beginnings of buds 

grow and grow. Sometimes it seemed very slow

 sometimes we were so busy having fun we didn't really notice the growth

but then seemingly overnight beautiful flowers.  

Now I find myself wishing the flowers wouldn't fall down. I sometimes wish it wouldn't the wind wouldn't blow and rain wouldn't fall because it's making the flowers fall soon. Then I remind myself to enjoy the flowers while they're here. This season isn't forever but I don't want to miss the beauty by worrying about it fading. And another season will be beautiful too- in its own way. And to enjoy the moment- not worry that everything isn't posed quite like I would choose. 

Maybe this spring has spoken to me more because I'm listening more. Maybe because I have a sweet little baby who's changing so fast. And 3 boys and a girl who are growing fast too. I don't know why but I do know I want to appreciate the moments now because they do change so fast! 

See how fast our sweet baby's changing- she's already reaching for Daddy's ice cream!

CBS Children's Program

Thoughts/ Prayers

As I was writing thank you notes for Baby C's baptism, I looked up the United Methodist church website and found this wonderful  writing. 

"We no more wait for our children to decide about being in the family of God than we wait for them to decide if they would like to be a part of our human family. As parents, we make many decisions - in matters of health, safety, education, for example - for our children. Of course, they may later reject what we have done for them. But, this possibility does not relieve us of the responsibility to do all that we can for them spiritually, as we do in other aspects of their lives."

I thought this was really good reminder of the importance and responsibility to bring up your children in the family of God. 

This is a verse I love to pray over James, my children, and other loved ones:
Col 1:9-14
"And so, ... we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins."

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter. We didn't talk much about lent but we did focus on Holy Week.  We used some ideas from here more for the audio Bible links. We did a few crafts but I just wasn't feeling crafty. We did read Holy Week stories lots of places- the Bible, the Illustrated Bible, the Jesus Storybook Bible.

We watched a cartoon Easter movie which was pretty accurate Friday night and then James and I watched The Passion of the Christ.

Easter morning we did make Resurrection Rolls which turned out good. Every year for a long time I've attempted to make Easter cookies- the kind that the recipe tells the story and overnight they're supposed to rise. But ours never did so I'm happy with crescent rolls and marshmallows!

K and C sang with KWAM in church. They sang one song and then did a human video for Carmen's Sunday's on the Way. It was really good.  We stayed at Trinity's Easter Eggstravaganza and then home for French Toast. About 3 we started getting ready for a Christian Passover Meal  I was way tired that night because we made everything in just a couple hours (not my best idea) but it turned out really nice.

We used our good china- roasted lamb, asparagus, new potatoes, unleavened bread, "new life" cake, and wine. We sat on the ground in the living room for the ceremony. It was wonderful. I definitely want to keep this as an Easter tradition.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

WFMW Part II

Don't try to make everyone happy- because you can't. Yes, there will lots of fun times and there are times that kids get to decide but it doesn't happen in real life and it doesn't always happen for kids. I find when I stop trying to make everyone happy, everyone is usually happier. It's so good when you can get the focus off of self and satisfying your own wants.

Consistency- some of this ties into above. I would sometimes try to mix things up so everyone got a first turn, or everyone did some of each of the chores, but that doesn't help. Once the kids learn that this is the way it's going to be than they deal with it better than always thinking that maybe Mommy will change her mind. I put this on WFM but it could also very well be on DWFMW (that's doesn't work for me Wednesday). I think the key is it only works if you do it. It's so easy to let things slide thinking that it's easier and it may be at the moment. But in the long run, much harder.

Super hero squad- one of the hardest things in our marriage (probably most marriages) is good communication. James and I were blessed to be able to attend a Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat in Kansas. During the retreat, we practiced the "speaker-listener" technique. It's a great method for ensuring both partners are listening to each other- the tendency is often to hear what you want to hear and use listening time to think of what you want to say next. Last summer I heard Janelle using that with her kids and thought what a great idea. No, it doesn't go great all the time- often the kids need help doing that but isn't that what we're here for? And we're all learning!