Super Friends

Our good buddies came over for lunch one Sunday after church. Right about the time the parents were trying to get them out the door to make nap time, the kids drug out the dress up clothes. They really are such great friends. They get along so well, as do all the parents. It is one of those easy relationships...I just love those!
I just noticed that Tristan neatly has his color over his costume whereas Streed is sporting his Upward soccer uniform, Chronicles of Narnia mask, Power Ranger vest. You will probably notice the Narnia mask in about the next 100 posts. It is kind of attached to Nate these days. Wherever we go, it goes.

fall fun: family and friends

Fall is by far my most favorite season. Christmas is probably my favorite time of the year but fall is my favorite season. Spring is nice but it too quickly fades into summer. And summer, well, there are no nice words to describe summer in the south. This weekend was so pretty. The weather was dry and therefore not so hot. Sunday afternoon we planned to go to a park after naps. On the way there we called one of our friends and his son to come and meet us. The kids were very accommodating and allowed me to take multiple pictures. These are some of my favorites.






There are 52 state parks in Arkansas. About 8 of those are within an hours drive of our house. I am feeling like there are some weekend camping trips in our future. We will start with camping in the back yard once we move. I guess first we should start with buying a tent. Or better yet, closing on our house. :)

this morning

My kids like to stay home. I do too usually. Today I mentioned needing to run some errands. Streed said, "No, we don't want to go anywhere." So I let them play a little bit longer. They just love each other. Even when they get upset with each other, it is pretty short lived.

needs met

My God shall supply all your NEEDS according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Isn't it funny how we think we know what we need. I guess it's because we so often confuse wants and needs. But really, God knows our every need and will meet them according to Himself, not according to anything having to do with us. All we bring the situation are the needs. We are not the ones to meet the needs or even offer suggestions as to the best way to have our needs met.

My point is that this move to Arkansas is what we needed. If only for Streed, it was what we needed. Yes I was going to homeschool in Baton Rouge. But, the co-op in BR was full. I would have been on my own. This co-op here has been my lifeblood. Apart from the co-op though, homeschool has been what Streed needed. I noticed very quickly that his developmental speech delay from a few years ago is still an issue. I had not noticed it because he speaks great. But, the first few days of school he was having a hard time with his phonics lessons. I quickly realized it was related to his delay. I mentioned it to a few friends who are speech therapists and they confirmed what I thought. All language is connected. Streed's issue is with the way he received information, his receptive speech. They told me this when he was in speech therapy but I guess it did not compute. Maybe I have a delay too ;)

Anyway, I got teared up because I was so thankful God had led me to homeschool. I knew it was what he needed. I could imagine that even an excellent teacher would not have the time to devote to him. He would have learned to read but could quite possibly always be a little behind. I could imagine him being in a classroom having trouble sounding out words while others around him, like his sister, were getting it really easily. I could imagine a spirit of low self-esteem and lack of confidence in the area of school developing. Oh it made me so sad but it also made me so grateful.

As I was sharing my fears of him getting behind my friend made a statement--in Kindergarten and 1st grade they learn to read, after that they are reading to learn! She sent me a whole packet of information to do with Streed to help with his delay. I am actually working on developing parts of his brain--it is so cool!

I do a lot of memory work. I say a series of words or numbers and he has to repeat them back to me. He really has a difficult time with the numbers. So, we will keep working. One thing we do is I ask questions and he has to give a yes or no answer. This works on his auditory reception which will eventually help him with meaningful verbal expression.
One funny example.
Me: Can you buy meat by the pound?
Streed: No. You buy dogs at the pound.
He was supposed to just give a yes/no answer. I am so glad he decided to explain his answer. I absolutely cracked up. Hilarious.

baby girl is 4

Ella had a birthday yesterday. We had a small family party for her. She was super excited about it. All it entailed was ice cream with toppings. The girl is easy to please. She is maturing daily. God is truly softening her heart. About a year ago when she was being disciplined, I started really praying with her for God to change her heart. I would sometimes leave her in her room for a little while only to find her praying when I would walk by. She often comes out of her room after being disciplined telling me that "she prayed to God". I am sure sometimes it is a ploy to rejoin her siblings in whatever they are doing, but nonetheless He is answering our prayers. I had she and Nate in the car with me today and they were both singing along to praise music. It is just so sweet to see them enjoying the Lord. I want the truths of who God is and who we are to go deep while they are young. May I train them in the way they are to go so that when they are older (teenagers and college students) they will not depart from it.

After Ella's party the kids seriously needed naps. Nate and Streed were in one room. I was going to lay with her. She just sweetly asked if we could lay and talk rather than sleep. After a brief pause I said "sure". I want her to enjoy chatting with me and doing fun things together. She had gotten some makeup for her birthday. She had already put a significant amount of blue eyeshadow on. She wanted me to do some more. I did the best with what I had. Here we are having fun taking pictures.

2 happy boys

Guess who got signed up for machine-pitch baseball?
Guess who signed up to be the coach?
Guess who is more excited?
Yep. You got it! You know how you have some favorite pictures? This is one of mine. Guessing from the house we lived in at this time, Streed is probably 2 1/2 or 3.

who needs an office?

progressing quickly

So, here are our cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling and our new microwave and GAS stove. I am really loving our new house. With every new thing that goes in, I love it even more. The only things left to do are: put knobs on all the cabinets, install a few more light fixtures, finish tiling the shower, lay carpet & wood and clean up. Oh yea, and MOVE! That's the worst part for sure. I started going through the playroom today and cleaning out again. How can i need to do that again after we just moved 4 1/2 months ago? Truth be known it probably needs to be done every few months.

new favorite

I hope you can enlarge this and get the recipe because it is fabulous. I invited our single neighbor over for dinner tonight because Chip was out of town. Her daughter lives on the east coast and I usually see her coming home from work late with take-out. I have been meaning to have her over for a while but usually make some excuse about the apt being messy, not having a meal planned etc. But, I invited and she accepted. Then I broke the cardinal rule about not trying out a new recipe on company. But it was a "Southern Living" recipe so I figured it would be good. I have had it in my recipe binder for YEARS and finally decided to try it. I think because it was meatloaf and had spinach and carrots are ingredients I should try it while Chip was away. However, how can you go wrong with sauteed onion and garlic. Try it, you'll like it!
**Oh yeah, I omitted the sausage (only because I forgot to thaw it) so instead I used 2lbs of ground beef. And, before I put the sauce on top, I mixed Parmesan cheese with it in my food processor.**

one perspective

we were working on coloring pictures to coordinate with the greek and latin root words streed is learning. one he colored today was pyro=fire. i suspected he would draw something resembling a bonfire. i mean, that's what i would have done.

not so much--more like a fire truck shooting water on a fire. but of course. what child of a firetruck salesman would not think of this!