Cake

Ben wanted a Captain America shield and an Iron Man cake for his party tomorrow.  

Wish granted!  Thanks Gram.

Birthday...all week long continued

Even though we told him his new swing set was an early birthday present, he did end up with a thing or two to open last night.

One of his presents is a new bike.  Ben got a hand me down from Ty.  Its a great bike, but its so heavy.  For a kid still learning to ride a 2 wheeler, its a disaster.  We told him we would take him out today to pick out a new, lighter bike.

This is what he picked.  Its actually pretty cool.

Jon put the training wheels on and Ben took off.  It was a slow start, but he's getting there.  Jon has challenged him to learn to ride with out training wheels by October.  We'll see how it goes.

Gram is coming up tomorrow to keep the celebration going. Sunday is Bens friend party.  We're keeping it really low key.  We're just having everyone meet us at a park with a picnic and we're bringing 2 cakes.  We actually have so many people coming, we need 2 cakes!  Ben is very excited about that.  Not only is Monday a holiday, which means dad is home an extra day, but Gram will still be here AND aunt Corrie is coming home!!!  We plan to have a cook out and, at least in Bens eyes, celebrate him more.

Birthday...all week long

Benjamin is following in uncle A's footsteps with his birthday.  Its very quickly becoming a week long celebration.  We started Thursday morning at Einsteins for bagels and then headed to a splash park with some friends. We spent most of the morning there, had a picnic and made it home for some naps.  When dad got home, he took Ben to Target to spend some of his birthday money on Skylanders.  Ben requested crepes for his birthday dinner and then had a movie night with pop corn.  It was the perfect birthday.  Jon got today off from work and Ben had his 7 year check up at the doctor.  He can see and hear. He is 43lbs 8oz (12%) and 48" (60%) his BMI is 13%.  Tall and annoyingly skinny!  He is actually the healthiest eater in our house so the doctor isn't worried.  Thats just Ben. Here are some park highlights:

Lucky number 7

2006

My first baby turned 7 today.  Its amazing how fast 7 years go by.  I remember the NICU like it was yesterday.  I remember how the lights were always dimmed.  I can still smell the soap we had to wash our hands with before we could go inside.  Once inside, it had its own distinct smell. It wasn't bad, but its not something I've smelled before or since.  I remember the machines constantly going off for Ben and the tiny baby next to him.  They all had a different sound.  I remember walking in, turning to the right and going to the second "bed" multiple times a day for that week and a half.  It was the longest week and a half ever.  

2013

Now hes 7.  He loves the Avengers and Skylanders.  He is so smart, but usually lacks common sense which always drives me crazy.  He prefers apples to french fries.  He loves potty humor and going to any park with his friends. He loves crepes and crab legs and never passes up a chance to hang out/cuddle with dad.  He is tall and ridiculously skinny.  He thinks Sam is annoying, but is crazy about Zach and Ellie.  He'll play Uno with anyone who will sit down with him and will play for hours as long as he is winning!  Hes crazy sweet and helpful as long as a sense of urgency isn't required!  He is amazing....and he needs to stop having birthdays!  

Wordless Wednesday: Weirdo!

Sand

The boys and I met some friends at the beach last week. They have been wanting to go swimming again, but spent 90% of the time in the sand.  I'm not quite sure what they were doing, but they seemed to be having fun.

Sam managed to get in some swimming practice.

Ben buried his hand and thought it was hilarious!

Don't move

Checking on the boys has almost become a game.  Where will Zach be sleeping?  What will we find when we open the door?  Can we even open the door or has Zach rigged it against us again?  I love finding them like this, but I feel bad for Ben.  One wrong move and he's going over!

Breakfast

We went for a walk to get breakfast this morning.  

Zach refused to hold my hand, but happily held Bens hand as we crossed all the streets.

He loves his brother!

WOW

Cross Point Church had its first Worship Outside the Walls (WOW) service on Sunday.  We met at church for about 15 minutes then we headed out into the community.  We had teams doing a free car wash, cleaning the Winchester and passing out free lunches at some local parks.  It was our time to give back to our community by "showing Gods love in a practical way".  The big kids went out with their parents, but the little ones headed to our back yard.  We were the nursery for the day.  3 of us pushed about 7 toddlers on swings, did chalk drawings, built blocks and avoided flying toys all morning.  

The teams did a great job.  Some were met with a little hesitation and even some resistance, but overall I think the day was a success.

It must have been because when we went to check on the boys, this is how we found them.  Zach loves crawling into bed with Ben and Ben doesn't seem to mind.

Cheese

The boy loves the camera.  All day, every day.  He is always ready to smile.

Reading

"Stop taking pictures.  I reading to baby!"  

This morning I found her wiping her stuffed animals tush. She told me bunny was getting a diaper change.  She definitely loves her "babies."  Zach is not included! 

Missionaries

One of the many things I love about our church is the support we give to many missionaries and organizations around the world.  One of the families we support is the Reynolds family.  Chase, Kelli and their 3 sons live in Indonesia and often travel into the jungle where they do their work.  Their job is to learn the Yetfa language, a currently unwritten language, and develop a written language so they can translate the Bible and teach it to local leaders.
They have a blog where they talk about their family and give updates on their work. In their latest update, Kelli talks about how Chase is recovering from Malaria and Dengue fever.  They were in the states last year and we had the opportunity to meet them and hear, among other things, how their kids have been diagnosed with malaria several times.  What??  I would have been on the first plane home. They stayed, fought and have come out on top each time. Indonesia is where they are meant to be.  That is where God wants them and they are happy to be there serving Him.
Amazing is the first word that comes to mind when I think about them.  They felt a calling, followed it and are making a difference.  While you can make a difference anywhere, it takes a special person/family to move across the world and change their lives the way they have.
I just wanted to put a spotlight on them for a moment. They are wonderful people.  If you can help support them, it would mean a lot.  It doesn't have to be money.  Letters, prayers or maybe a candy bar every now and then mean the world to them.  Its amazing how the smallest things often make the biggest difference.

Buzz

The boys (especially Ben) love getting their hair cut. They'll get it cut and the next week they are asking for another cut.  I don't know if its the actual cut or the lame prize they get at the place we go to for the cuts.  Of course, since Jon cut Zachs hair at home, Ben has been asking to have Jon cut his hair.  Its made me cringe a bit because Zachs hair is really (really) short and I like a little length on the top of their heads.  Also, they were cursed with my "hair grows really, incredibly, painfully slow" gene so we only have to pay for cuts every 4ish months.  It was getting to be about that time so I went with it and Jon buzzed them.  

Its short....

Really, really short.

They however, think they look awesome.  Who can argue with those faces?  Looks like dads in business..in 4 more months.

Wordless Wednesday: Stick em up!

2nd grader

8-12-2013

8-13-2012

Today was the day.  We started second grade today.  I want to build in more breaks for Ben through out the year so we are starting early and will probably go through most of June.  Ben wasn't completely excited to start back to school, but when given the choice to start school at home today or at a regular school in 2 weeks, he went with staying home.  

It wasn't a terrible first day back.  We are doing a lot of the same things we did last year, but a little more heavy on the reading.  Here's how our first term looks:

Math, 4 days a week.  Grammar, 3 days a week.  First Language Lessons, 3 days a week.  This is a book full of poems to memorize, picture studies and some grammar overlap.  

French, 4 days a week.  Nature study, once a week.  We are starting with trees which will tie into apple picking in October.  Bible, 2-3 times a week with a weekly memorization verse.  Picture study and drawing 2 days a week.  We study a famous artist and some of his works. Ben's drawing will be anything from recreations from the artist, to things we see on nature walks to what ever comes out of his imagination. Composer/Folk songs/Hymns, 5 days a week.  We are studying several composers and some of their works and each month we learn a new folk song and hymn.  I don't think that will be the favorite part of Bens day, but he did pretty good with it today.  We do history 2-3 days a week depending on the amount of reading we have for the week.  We are bouncing between a couple books that will continue with our European education and start a US education.  We also have several poetry and literature books that we will go through every day.  On top of that we'll be doing geography, spelling, copy work and map work at least once a week.  

Ben definitely has his hands full.  We're starting slow and we'll see how he handles everything.  I don't think either of us are opposed to delaying or cutting a book or two if necessary.  So far so good though.  1 day down only 179ish more to go!

Block party

We had our second annual block party yesterday.  Its nice to see our neighbors again before we all hide out in our homes for the winter.  We all had a good time, especially Jon who lived at the nacho cheese machine! We also had a first.  Zach pet a dog for the first time.  He's been all talk when it comes to dogs.  He loves to point them out, but the minute they get close to him, he runs away screaming. Theres hope for him!

Ellie loved the fountain in one of the yards.

Unfortunately, Jon did not defend his title of water balloon toss winner, but it was a good effort.

Zach trying desperately to reach the pedals.

My boys, most of them.

Sadly, the night did not end well.  Ben got a balloon and Sam didn't.  Ben had the balloon for about 30 minutes, when the string came loose and it went in a tree.  Other than that, it was a great time with our neighbors.

Wordless Wednesday: No hands needed

Park day

It was a great day and we were in need of getting out of the house.  We headed up to a park this morning and played hard.