September 19th, Afternoon

We went on a drive to Big Sur!! SOOO Beautiful! The kids got to ride in Grandpa and Grandma's rental car that had a sun roof! They thought that was pretty neat!!

Ross's 3rd Birthday Party!-September 19th, 2009

Grandpa and Grandma J were here for Ross's birthday which he was very happy about! Ross got this Indiana Jones hat which for a while hardly every left his head! Gabriel assembled the lego bull dozer on Ross's cake. Aunti Flo and Auntie Grace were also here so it was one big party!! Ross really enjoyed it!

September 19th, Morning

Grandpa and Grandma J came the night before Ross' 3rd birthday. Grandpa spent a good bit of his morning outside taking the kids on a nature walk and teaching them about the plants and then journaling what they would find. The kids loved it especially since it was with Grandpa! Gabriel doesn't look happy in the picture because he had just gotten hurt otherwise he was loving it!!

A Boys Book List

I want this down somewhere where I won't lose it:

No Carrots for Harry-Jean Langerman (age 2 and up)

The Fire Engine Book-Golden Book (age 1 and up)

Smokey the Bear-Golden Book (age 2 and up)

The Biggest Bear-Lynd Ward (age 2 and up)

Ask Mr. Bear-Marjorie Flack (age 1 and up)

Obadiah the Bold-Brinton Turkle (age 3 and up)

The Boy with the Drum-David L. Harrison (age 1 and up)

The Midnight Farm-Reeve Lindbergh (age 1 and up)

Owl Moon-Jane Yolen (age 2 and up)

Peter and the Wolf-Sergei Prokofiev (age 2 and up)

The Biggest Bear-Adam Relf (age 1 and up)

Curious George-Margret and H.A. Rey (age 2 and up)

The Squire and the Scroll-Jennie Bishop (age 4 and up)

Make Way for Ducklings-Robert McCloskey (age 2 and up)

The Tale of Three Trees-Angela Hunt (age 2 and up)

Who's Making that Noise?-Philip Hawthorn and Jenny Tyler (age 1 and up)

The Steadfast Tin Soldier-Hans Christian Anderson, Illus. Fred Marcellino (age 2 to 3 and up)

Caps for Sale-Esphyr Slobodkina (age 1 and up)

The Tale of Peter Rabbit-Beatrix Potter (age 1 and up)

Lentil-Robert McCloskey (age 2 and up)

A Fish Out of Water-Helen Palmer (age 2 and up)

The Little Engine That Could-Watty Piper (age 1 and up)

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree-Milne (age 1 and up)

Theodore Mouse goes to Sea-Michaela Muntean (Golden Book) (age 2 and up)

The Little Red Caboose-Marion Potter (age 1 and up)

The Gingerbread Man-Golden Book (age 1 and up)

Doctor Dan the Bandage Man-Golden Book (age 1 and up)

Seven Little Postmen-Margaret Wise Brown and Edith Hurd (age 2 and up)

Mop Top-Don Freeman (age 2 and up)

The Runaway Bunny-Margaret Wise Brown (age 1 and up)

Squanto and The Miracle of Thanksgiving-Eric Metaxas (THIS IS A MUST READ FOR EVERY KID!)

Boys of comfortable reading chapter books: (well, some of these I marked and are just beginning readers)

The Chronicles of Naria (series)-C.S. Lewis

The Matchlock Gun-Walter Edmonds

Runaway Ralf-Beverly Cleary

The Boxcar Children (The series)-Gertrude Warner

Swiss Family Robinson-Johann Wyss

Black Stallion-Walter Farley

Alfred- Janice Udry (not a chapter book but a fun story!)

Blaze Finds a Trail-C.W. Anderson

The Bravest Dog Ever (True Story/Beginning Reader)-Natalie Standiford

Soccer Sam (Beginning Reader)-Jean Marzollo

Wagon Wheels (Early Reader)-Barbara Brenner

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain-Dalgliesh

Treasure Island (Revised for Beginner Reader)-Robert L. Stevenson but adapted by Lisa Norby

The Sign of the Beaver-Elizabeth George Speare

Kidnapped-Robert Louise Stevenson

Abe Lincoln Frontier Boy-Augusta Stevenson (old book but a goodie!)

Wilbur and Orville Wright Young Fliers-Augusta Stevenson

Stormy Misty's Foal-Marguerite Henry (series of good books about horses)

Augustus Helps the Navy-LeGrand

Noah Webster A Man Who Loved Words-Elaine Cunningham (A Beka book)

Farmer Boy-Laura Ingalls Wilder

More to Come!!

My Little Don Quixote

"he was spurred on by the conviction that the world needed his immediate presence."--Cervantes in Don Quixote

That quote fits my little Ross!! He believes the world needs his immediate presence and we do!! Lately, when I am vacuuming the house Ross gets out his sword and enthusiastically attacks the vacuum THE WHOLE time I am vacuuming. The first time he did it when I stopped vacuuming he kept attacking it even with it turned off . . . when it fell over and I picked it back up he said "IT CAME BACK ALIVE!" and continued in his attack. I thought as I was vacuuming what will it be like when the kids are grown up and there is no little one to make even the mundane exciting!

Today, he did this attacking the vacuum again and I ran away from him in a teasing way so he would chase the vacuum little did I know the amusement I was giving the water repairmen that could watch us outside the door but I couldn't hear their knocks at first!!

So Ross doesn't attack windmills but vacuums.

"I sometimes think that all you tell me of knighthood, kingdoms, empires and islands is all windy blather and lies"---Sancho in Don Quixote

Yep, I probably follow after Sancho in my realist world but it is fun to hear the fairy tales my children have up in those young minds!!

First Instinct

A few weeks back Carson had to be rushed to the Emergency Room. When I first saw the situation he was in I immediately got very worried and anxious. Yes, I did start working to help the situation BUT my reaction was not to pray and call upon my Heavenly Father for help as I was working to help. Gabriel and Annalina (without Babe and I saying anything to them) went into a room and started praying.

I want them to live their whole lives with that sensativity to take burdens to the Lord. When I returned home from the hospital and they found out Carsons' sight was was going to be ok. They said "we prayed he wouldn't go blind".

Bearing Burdens

This morning Gabriel called me to ask a question as he was working on school. He has to memorize a verse (or portion of a verse) for each subject. He called me and said in one it said "bear ye one another's burdens" and another verse he had to memorize said "let every man bear his own burdens"!! and he said "so which one is it?!! I could have talked to him about it but Babe is much better at explaining things clearly than I am. Anyway, he found out the greek word was different the one that says bear each other's burden meant "human frailities" and own burdens basically came down to personal responsibility. I am glad Gabriel is thinking about what he is studying.

I am so happy with the ACE curriculum in that it FOCUSES on Christian Character. I have never seen a curriculum like it. Annalina in her studies really picks up on it and I am THRILLED. She analyzes the stories to pick up on what is being taught. She and I have had good discussions because of the curriculum!! Also, in Gabriel's grade he does not read Bible stories put in children's words instead he is reading through the book of John and then doing worksheets as he works his way through it!! I think that is GREAT!!