Here we are at the end of January, the month of the year I typically dread, with all its long days, coldness and post-Christmas blahs. This January has been a bit different, due to a warmer snap with some gorgeous snow for making snowmen and forts, the appreciation of days stretching out, and the treadmill of busyness that having three kids has put me on. I actually kind of like that part. For me, boredom is the enemy so having 3 kids is right up my alley. I've even managed to get a bit of sewing in and have a few more projects on the horizon, so even though I have no idea when I'll get to all these things, as my office is a disaster and I'm behind on many other things, I really enjoy having a project on the brain. So here's our month, all mixed-up due to my inability to move pictures around.
Here are the ANNA taggy blocks I made. I got the idea from an Amy Butler book I got from my secret prayer sister at church from our first session of our MOMs group. It is such eye candy (the book). Amy Butler is an amazing fabric designer, just google her for fabric yumminess.
This fabric is the same stuff that is in her room for her quilt, etc. The blocks have found a cozy home on one of her shelves too, but for now we like tossing them at each other in the living room.
The destruction and eating of our gingerbread house. How our kids can love dried out gingerbread and sugary gross candy is beyond me.
Ahhh...candy stuck in the molars.
A picture of my sweet Luke. I just love his expression here, with the hint o' dimples.
Anna, hanging out on her play mat which is one of her favorite places, mostly due to frequent visits by her oldest brother. Luke always thinks of cool things to "do" with her. The other day he said, "Okay Anna, you wait here and count and I'll go hide!" He is completely smitten with her and is always reminding me to be gentle or telling me that she's hungry if she cries. How did I ever parent without him before?
Birthday rainbow gluten-free cupcakes for my 32nd birthday. We had the Krymusas over for some fun and cupcakes the day before my birthday which was grand, and then went to Terrace 55 (the old Tavern in the Park) with Anna for supper the next day, and she was the ideal baby, cooing during the appetizer, sleeping during the main course, and eating during dessert. Julio and I always love dinners out and it did not disappoint! He also got me another sewing book for my birthday called "One Yard Wonders: 101 projects to do with a yard of fabric". It came in the mail a couple of days ago and now I can't stop thinking about all the things I "need" to make. Once again, this book is total eye candy with its fabulous fabrics.
Sheri-Lee, or simply "Krymusa" as Sam calls her, with our little Annatoli. Speaking of Sammy and names, the other day Nannie was over to babysit and Sammy was trying to get her attention by saying, "Nannie...Nannie...MARLENE!!" I didn't even know he knew her first name! Too funny.
Sporting her cloth diapers. We are kicking ourselves for not doing cloth with the boys, it's a sinch!
Inspired by yet another Krymusa, our friend and artist Kirsten does inspiring artistic things with her two girls and I finally mustered the courage to let Sammy paint. He giggled the whole time, worth ever mess.
Anna, 5 weeks! This is the quilt that my mom and I made for her.
And now for a few more boy stories, before I forget. The other day we had put the boys to bed when all of a sudden Luke appears in the living room. He's smiling in a guilty sort of way, and when I asked him why he came out of his bed he thinks, taps his finger on his chin and says, "hmmm...there WAS a good reason...". Somehow that made me smile.
Sammy continues to make us laugh daily, which is a good thing because he can also draw out other emotions in us. The other day I took the kids to visit my dad's office. Sammy walks in the door of the busy office building, with the two receptionists looking on, takes off his coat, mitts, hat, etc and calls out quite loudly, "I have to POOP!" To which I quickly find a restroom, sit him down, and as he's sitting there he starts singing, "We've got to poop just to make it today!"
The other major part of our January that is completely new for us, is the contemplating of school for Luke in the fall. To me, every option has its pros and cons and I'm having trouble settling on one thing. I find this decision looks so much different after having kids than it did beforehand. I was always convinced, before having kids, that I would of course send my kids to the local public school so that we could get to know others in the community and be able to have more local friends with a variety of different backgrounds, cultural experiences, spiritual beliefs, etc. I believe in what the bible teaches about being "in the world but not of the world" and thought that public school was that verse in action. And then we had this beautiful, sensitive, shy boy and suddenly all my philosophies and ideas have come under intense scrutiny. I am realizing what an individual choice schooling needs to be, taking into account your child, your family, your location, your abilities as parents and children...the question looks a lot different to me now. We are now seriously considering homeschooling as an option, or potentially sending him to the christian school where I worked in spring. Homeschooling holds a lot of appeal in a few ways: going at a comfortable pace, with room in the day for play, adventure and much outdoor time; doing things like swimming lessons and piano lessons during the day to free up evenings for family time and sports involvement; teaching beyond the academics to things like character building, bible and philosophy, meal planning and prepping, to name a few; nurturing our family unit and letting our children grow up having each other as closest companions; getting to know other homeschooling families and getting involved in coops which would allow for interesting field trips, etc. I'm reading a book right now called, "Hold on to your kids: why parents matter" by Gordon Neufeld, and it's really challenging my view on "socialization" and what that really means. Is peer orientation really as important as our current society thinks? Is nurturing the parent/child bond more important for developing the whole person? If you are of the praying persuasion and think of us in the next while, we would appreciate your prayers as we move forward and make this huge decision! An email that I received from a cousin of mine, who homeschools, really resonated with me and I'll share part of it with you: (it's kind of long, only read it if this is of interest to you)
I do also really believe that each family has to evaluate their specific children, needs and what their vision as a family is. You and I both attended public school and I think we both turned out pretty good! :) The two biggest arguments I hear against homeschooling is socialization and sending our kids as missionaries to the public schools.
I understand. We have all seen the jumpsuit wearing awkward kids. But the reality is, your kids are going to be like the culture that is most impressed on them. If you send them to public school or private school, your kids are going to be most like that culture - how intentional you are to train and build into them the hours you have them at home counter act that. (You and I are examples of that). In the same way, if you are building a culture at home and homeschooling, your kids are going to be like that culture. If you are weird and awkward, your kids will be weird and awkward, if you have a high value for music and listen to, teach and talk about Bach and Vivaldi, so will your kids, if you listen to rap music and like to skateboard and use those things to train and they see you value those thing, that is going to have an impact on how your kids act and what they value. Now even in a socially normal (if you will) home that's not to say that they won't ever do weird or socially not acceptable things....that's where we as parents step in. We have the chance to see those things and correct them, and I think that's an easier way for the kids to develop, instead of through often brutal peer relationships and "training".
How you homeschool affects your kids in these areas too. If you live out in the sticks and they never see or interact with others, or are super sheltered, that will affect them too.
We are not trying to shelter our kids. We are trying to insulate their exposure. Let's go see that movie, and then let's talk about it, let's read that book and talk about what they believe and how that's different from the bible and what we believe, go hang out with those kids, and when a kid acts a certain way or whatever, lets have a conversation about it. I don't want my kids to not see the world, I want them to have a biblical world view about all they see. Does that make sense? Again, I think it is possible to do these things in public or private school, I just think it's tougher and you have to be super intentional. I don't think we live in the same world we lived in when we were kids.
In regards to kids standing up for their faith....I think that is great and their ability to do that depends on how intentional parents are and how solid their culture and community is outside of "secular" peer relationships, if you will.
We are involved in a strong community with lots of children in addition to a weekly coop, skating lessons and we live on a street with lots of kids (46). So they are at no shortage for social development opportunities as well as having opportunities to play with friends and kids, many who are from different faith backgrounds. So they are definitely exposed and we have conversations about those things, but the largest chunk of their day is with us and we are using that time to lay a foundation. I don't know that we will homeschool forever. We have said we will evaluate each child each year. Right now, we feel like this continues to be the best option available for us. And we live in one of the top 100 school districts in the country. So that decision isn't based on academics, but more on our children, how we've seen them influenced, our ability to build into them and the flexibility we desire. It's a what's best for our family as well as what's best for our kids decision.
I hope that helps and doesn't muddy the waters. I am certainly not against public school! I would support and encourage whatever you guys choose! I am sure that was questionable from my post and I am sorry, I just wanted to offer a different opinion and respond to the socialization statement! I just think it's really important to think through all the aspects and really dig into some of these things. In my opinion building disciples of our children (I mean this holistically -biblical training, education, socialization) and building a culture for a strong family needs to be first, and so you should choose an education system that fits into your families needs and vision. Most people think about which system will they best fit into, instead of how they can use the systems and resources available that would best fit into your families vision.
So, that's us...this January.
I just like this picture of her. She's a nice baby.
Luke sporting his new cast at the top of our swing set. He's been going harder than ever these days. He just wants to make sure he can, in his words, "still do all his stuff".
My lovely friend Jaimee with her two kids. One is still in utero, due today. Come out little one!
Anna's first time eating mush. She likes it, despite her rather unimpressed look here.
Silly boys, hanging out on a wood pile.
Anna's baby dedication at church. I just noticed Sam's picking his nose. Classy.
Trip to Elkhorn and a walk at Clear Lake.
He looks way too grown-up here.
A hike we went on, which ended poorly, in a sense. We ended up taking a wrong turn somewhere and trudged through a marsh, which had just barely thawed. Trudging through iciness does not bring out the best in anyone, but the boys stuck with it as Julio would run back to get Luke after pushing Anna through in her stroller and I carried Sam through the really deep stuff, but we all were cold and wet by the end. And somehow the end of the trail seemed elusive, I kept thinking it was right around the corner and tried to stay cheery but it was much longer than my positive attitude. Anna slept through the whole thing and was all grins at the end.
On the boardwalk part of the hike, before the marsh trudge. This is me, pretending to know something about nature.
This is Julio, actually knowing stuff.
We did a lot of this at Elkhorn. It was cold and a bit rainy most of the week so we went for a daily swim. Luke had had one swimming lesson before we left and was pretty keen to swim. When we got back he kept telling his teacher that he went to Elkhorn and can now swim. I'm not sure she was as impressed as he was hoping. Nor was the substitute the week after.
A rainy walk, from the chalet to the main lodge. Note the snow on the ground...it felt like we changed climates driving those three hours, it was that much colder there.
Eating marshmallows inside.
Super roaster.
Cutie face. She's an old pro at this now and is nearly crawling. (Insert video "Anna rolls" here). She backed up from our bathroom to our living room the other day. Somehow all my kids have mastered going backwards before going forwards. 
Proof that we started the week at Elkhorn off with my parents, and that we love ice cream.
Oh look. Another three kids pic. This was at Easter.
My biking boys. We have done a ton of biking this year, mostly up and down our sidewalk.
Easter cookies! We made them with my sisters and their kids.
I like pictures of brothers too.
Easter egg dyeing with Nannie. She had a lot of cool supplies and it was really fun. We're thinking of making this our Good Friday tradition.
