Joshua's Fifth Birthday!

Joshua is now a five year old! To me (Renee) this is a major milestone. I can hardly believe our little boy is five! Wow!


I remember our first night home from the hospital with him. He was about 3-4 days old and oh, so little (7lbs 7oz at birth). Things went pretty smoothly the first day home. Until it was time for bed. I nursed him one last time and we swaddled him up nice and tight and he fell asleep. Aah. Now we could go to bed.

Just as Joel and I were falling asleep...

"WWAA-WAAHHH!!!"

You got it. Joshua starts crying. (haha, i laugh now, but boy, were we frustrated then!)

Joel gets up (what a great daddy) and goes to Joshua.
"I think he's still hungry, Renee."

"What?! I just fed him! He can't be hungry! Maybe he has a burp..."
20 minutes later... "Maybe his diaper is dirty..."
10 minutes later... "Maybe there's a hair wrapped around his big toe..."
25 minutes later... "Maybe..."

You get the idea. Joel ended up driving Joshua around in the car in hopes of settling him down and lulling him to sleep. It was 2:30 in the morning now and nothing had worked. Joel and I were both exhausted. Then I realized something:

"I wonder if he's hungry?"

Yup we had a lot to learn about babies. The hospital nursery now seems very deceptive to me. I mean, they brought Joshua into my room Once a night during our 3 night stay. So when we got home, shouldn't he continue to eat once in the night?

Well, I guess we did an all right job, thanks to the abundant grace of Jesus and to our family and friends. Joshua is five years old now and is happy and healthy and growing.

We had a small celebration at home with pancakes for supper (Joshua's choice) and vanilla cupcakes with green frosting.




He received a small present from Nana and Grampa (Joel's parents) and a card that belongs to his "birthday book". The birthday book is quite a neat idea. Since we live so far away from Nana and Grampa, Nana makes a little card for each grandchild each birthday. Also included are pictures of Nana with said grandchild during that specific birthday year. The kids love it. It has been fun watching the books grow every year. Below is pictured Joshua listening to Daddy read the note inside the #5 Birthday card.


After reading it, Joel slides the note and pictures into Joshua's birthday card. Listen to their cute conversation about the book Nana made...




Happy Birthday Joshua! We love you so much!!

So Rich A Crown

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near and bless
Your name

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

The sermon this morning (Sunday) actually stuck with me (Renee) today. It was about the cross of Jesus. It was about Pilate (the governor of Jerusalem at that time). And somewhere in the middle of the 20-30 minutes of the sermon, the Holy Spirit pointed out to me that I was kind of like Pilate. I've come face to face with Jesus, but do not make Him the center, the focal point of my life.

I have other things, people, activities, thoughts in my life that suck my time and my love. Yes, Jesus is one of those people, but that's it. He is one of those, rather than The One Person that Is my life. And through That One Person, all else falls into it's proper place and proper importance.

I want to want to (that's not a typo) gaze upon Jesus, and not stop looking or turn my face away-ashamed or disgusted. So this blog post is a little different. Instead of starting out with a whimsical opening or a cute picture- I'm starting out with Jesus. And I'm going to end this post with Jesus. I'm going to end it with not just a picture of a Cross "on a hill far away", but right at the foot. Because that's where we all need to be and need to stay.

Enjoy the "cute" photos of our kids, but remember Jesus. Remember that He is the only way to God, the Creator of this world.

Joshua making "dirt angels"

Of Goofiness and Children

An orange in February:





Madelynn enjoys her "new" jolly jumper:

Education Adventure

I was going to title this post, Homeschooling Adventure. But then, I thought, that's not quite right. It's not just homeschooling, but education as a whole that is the adventure. But then, I guess life in itself is an adventure, so maybe I should change it and call it "Our Life's Adventure Currently", but maybe that's a little too broad. I will be more specific in what I am going to ramble on about so therefore I will not change the title. yes. so there.

Whew, you still with me?

All right, here we go.

So, we enrolled Joshua in Preschool of September of 2009 and disenrolled him in the beginning of February 2010. Why? I will put it bluntly, for I operate better that way: The preschool class was participating in "exercise" in what is commonly known as yoga. Sadly, we were unable to come to any sort of compromise with the teacher, and thus we had to pull Joshua out of his much enjoyed class. In so doing, my (Renee) heart began to blossom and yearn to teach Joshua and Rachel here at home. To homeschool would be the familiar term. My motivation to homeschool was not out of rebellion towards the local school district or a reaction to what happened in February. I believe God used the "yoga" trial in our lives as an eye opener to His will- to homeschool.

And thus, a new chapter in our Education Adventure.

I would never homeschool if I did not have a firm conviction from God. It is overwhelming. It challenges my every organizational skill, my emotional health, my patience level, and my mental well being. And I am just beginning. At a preschool level. 30-45 minutes a day.
So if you've been following this blog, prepare to read about homeschooling and such. For this is what is on my mind and heart right now.

I am thankful to God for giving Joel and I a heart to homeschool. I am thankful for the resources out there. I am thankful for friends who know more about this than I do.
I am also thankful for the upcoming MACHE conference. (pronounced: like paper mache) (Minnesota's Association of Christian Home Educators) It is in April in Rochester, MN. Joel and I are planning on going for a few days, leaving our kids with various friends. This conference is loaded with info, curriculum fairs, free stuff, and workshops. I believe this will be extremely helpful.
I am thankful to a God who knows everything. He knows my heart and my personality. He knows what is best for our kids and their learning styles. After looking at a few different curriculums, I by far feel the most peace about Sonlight Curriculum. I believe this is what we, as a family, will use once Joshua is ready to start Kindergarten.
At present we are using Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven. For which I have been very pleased with.

So that is what is on my heart at the moment. :)

Mid Winter (long)

I'll start off with a little holiday cheer, Happy Valentine's Day!

Holidays are becoming more fun as the kids get older and are able to understand what is going on and are able to participate. This Love Day we talked about love (of course) and how there are different types of love. I don't know if they understood but they enjoyed cutting out paper hearts and coloring with pink and red crayons.

At the moment our family is doing school at home. I purchased a Bible based Preschool curriculum from Heart of Dakota. It's very simple (about 30 min/day) and basic. The kids just love it. Today (Tuesday) is our second day and we are just having a blast with it. I like it because it gives me ideas and confidence on how and what to do. The kids love to play the games, act out the fingerplays, and learn the letter of the week in different activities. Each week is based on a Bible story which coincides with a letter of the week. There are dramas, counting and all kinds of good learning stuff. Anyway, that is what we are doing right now. Joshua is not going to Preschool anymore, sadly, since he enjoyed it so much. There was an issue that could not be settled so as a result, we had to remove Joshua from the class. But Joshua is adjusting, and with doing this curriculum, so far, he has seemed more cheerful.

I have enjoyed watching Rachel blossom over the last year. She is really starting to participate in Sunday School, Wed. night church, and here at home. Potty training is looking more hopeful (about 1 accident/morning, I usually forget to change her diaper after her nap, so the afternoon doesn't count). She is growing taller, able to climb into her car seat by herself, dress herself, and doing more and more things by herself. Hallelujah! Of course there are moments, emotional ones and clumsy ones. But I believe those are becoming less.

Both Joshua and Rachel have chores now. They help Mommy with laundry (They help me with the whole process minus folding and putting away-we'll tackle that one later) and dishes (one puts dishes into dishwater, I wash and then hand rinsed dish to the other to put into the rack). I am starting to see more of a helpful attitude in Rachel since we have started this.
And they both are learning to make their bed (with Mommy's help of course.)

Joshua is learning to read. Yes. I can hardly believe it. I'm not pushing him, but I want him to be challenged as he continues learning his letters and their sounds.
Rachel is also learning her letters. We have been using an online phonics program (it's free!) called Starfall. Wow, it's so great. I started it with Joshua and he loved it. Of course Rachel wanted to participate. I didn't have any real expectations for her, but she just loved it and can now recognize several letters. So we do this together for about 20 minutes/day and I see dramatic improvement in the both of them.

Madelynn is changing. Yes I'm sure you know that. But let me be more specific. Not only is she getting cuter, her hair getting longer- but she is no longer "so easy". With her high pitched squealing and her intense desire to stand and jump it can be quite difficult to get much done. She has her second tooth now (bottom), and still loves to smile and laugh and yes, be held. That's my fault though. I held her quite a bit for the first six months, so now she is trained. Trained to be held, lots.
Since her second tooth popped through, she has been sleeping through the night. Another Hallelujah!




Joel continues to work 40 or so hours/wk. And we are grateful.

Renee continues on with her two Bible Studies (The Faces of Grief and Living Beyond Yourself) along with going to the Truth Project. (This has been so so great. If you have the opportunity to participate in one near you, go for it.) She also finds a few moment here and there to keep up with the blog and crochet.
I am also trying very very hard to keep from thinking about Spring. But so far so good. It is only February and in 2009 we didn't have summer until September. That is a long ways away. So I am taking one day at a time and enjoying each day as it comes, whether it's windy or sunny or snowing.

Our housing situation is still the same. Our lease is up May 1st. Meaning, we should be out by April 30th. We are still seeking God as to where to go, and if we should rent or buy.

So that is what is mostly going on in our house. Thanks for reading this far! God bless you!