Birthday BASH!!!

This might have been one of my favorite parties ever!! I think our whole family has declared it to be the best weekend of the semester!

Nastya turned 12 on October 10th. Camille and I had this great idea to let Nastya and Galina (her best friend from Ukraine) have a joint birthday party. Then we realized several of Camille's other children were having birthdays in October and November so the party soon became one to celebrate FIVE birthdays. Seems efficient, right?!?

Happy Birthday Nastya, Galina, Clay, Aubrey, and Troupe!!!

And can you get a better setting than this?!? I just love old barns and my parents really did this one up right for parties.

Beautiful girls!

Hay bales never fail to provide great entertainment...

Cutie!

Sadly, two of the birthday kiddos came down with an illness just before the party.

So we ended up celebrating for Nastya, Galina, and Troupe!

The kids enjoying cake in this beautiful old barn...

Love this sweet boy! Happy Birthday Troupe!

We had the party out at our family farm in Seguin and there was so much to do with hay bales to jump, old barns to explore, pecans to pick up, yummy food, and good music (right Christy?!? :))

Best of all were the great friends and family that we had to celebrate with. What a blessing that we LOVE the families of our kids' friends and that they are also some of our favorite people!

Sure works out good that way!

Ethan and Ben loving the glow in the dark sticks! These were a hit!

Love these sweet ladies!

I think this was my favorite part. After it got dark, we tacked up a sheet on the old barn and our youth pastor brought the projector. The kids grabbed some blankets, found a hay bale to lean on and settled in for movie. They watched Spirit - a great movies about horses (of course :))! When there was a huge starry sky on the screen, the kids looked up into the real sky to see tons of stars!! This will be an activity that we will definitely repeat!

Nastya and Galina opening a few birthday presents!
We (plus a few extra kids!) ended up staying all weekend - some even camped out in tents (brrrr....). It was just too much fun to leave... :)

INDIAN Day!!

Jadon's Third Grade Class of Indians :)

This is such a fantastic group of kids - we are so grateful for the friendships that Jadon has in this class!

Another wonderful event that recently took place in Jadon's 3rd grade class! Each student has been learning about a specific parts of one Indian tribe. Jadon researched the Wichita Indians and specifically about their shelters. It was very educational and interesting for all of us. Then they had Indian Day last week. Each 'indian' presented the information that he or she had learned about their tribe to the parents and other students. They also enjoyed lots of fun activities and yummy food.

Footraces were lots of fun and help them expend some of their extra energy! Smart teacher! That ominous sky is misleading - the day turned out beautiful for the most part.

Painting some Indian war signs onto a piece of 'leather'

Jadon giving his report about the Wichitas

This one almost made it on the target!!

It was another one of those days that will not be forgotten. These activities sometimes stress me out because they require a lot of parental work and time, but when they are over I am always so thankful for a school that provides such great memories and opportunities for learning to be so exciting and real.

Pioneer Day!

Every year in Kindergarten, history comes alive for these kids! This is one of my favorites activities that the kids do during their elementary school years!! They experience a day as if they were the pioneers - they rope 'steers', ride horses, wash clothes by hand, make butter, make toys out of wood, pan for gold, sing by the camp fire, and so much more.

It was a perfect day and will always be remembered. Sweet times :)

Here they are reciting the 23rd Psalm.

Indian Clothing Demonstration

Enjoying some biscuits made over a fire

We hosted the event at our house and even Danny the deer joined in the festivities!

A New Year

Yep - if you are checking both blogs I am doing two posts in one day. I won't even say that I am going to start blogging again but here's to a few attempts to catch up. The truth is that I start to panic and think that I can't do a good job catching up on all that we have experienced so then instead I just don't blog. I hate that I think this way, but that is my weird brain...

This year we have three kiddos at The Master's School, which we are so thankful for. This year seems to be extra blessed as far as teachers and friendships go.

Ben is in Kinder!!! I can't believe that my baby boy is going to school. I tried to prevent this for as long as I could but he just went and grew up anyways!!!

And what would Kindergarten be without his bobsey twin Ella. How fun for them they can experience this fun year together!

Do you think Jadon's 3rd grade teacher was ready for this?!? He looks like he is up to some kind of mischief before the year even began! He has a wonderful year and loves his teacher and friends and pretty much everything that he is learning. Jadon is especially blessed with wonderful friendships - that would take a whole separate post to elaborate on what awesome friends he has. We love those boys!!

And Allee obviously didn't listen to her mother either and went ahead and kept on growing and is now in 7th grade!!! Can that be possible really?!? She is loving this year!

End of School Celebrations!

In the spirit of trying to catch up a bit and hopefully start blogging a bit more, I am trying to recount a few of the significant and interesting events of late...

Allee, Jadon and Ben all did so well in school this year and we are so proud of them. It is overwhelming how fast time goes by and how quickly they are growing up!! I keep threatening to stop feeding them or to put bricks on their heads or something, but seriously I just want to treasure this precious time of my children growing up...

Allee~

This girl totally rocked at school this year, despite it being one of the most challenging years she has ever had. Peer issues were difficult and there were many life lessons that she learned through the choices she made this year. She has learned to stand for what she believes in, and has begun to learn that may mean some ridicule/rejection from others. As a mom, I want to just fix things for her but instead I can only walk through it with her and counsel her and praise God that she talks to me about everything and that through it, she has sought the Lord and has grown deeply in her faith. She has, at the same time, been blessed with some precious friendships through it and for that we are very thankful. She is learning to be a leader, to love those different from her (even those who ridicule her for her convictions). I pray that most of all she will continue to draw near to the One who is her strength.

In academics she has worked hard and that has paid off. She was awarded the Cum Maximo Honore Award, which means that she has made straight A's each semester for fourth grade through sixth grade - not an easy task and she was only one of a few students to receive this award. She was also given the Character Award of Courtesy. This fall she will enter 7th grade at the same school but it should be a much easier year for many reasons. We are thankful for all that she learned this year! She has matured into a delightful young lady, is such a joy to be with, and is a blessing to each of us!!

Jadon ~

My sweet boy is growing up way too fast!! I really can't believe that he is 8 years old!! How did my baby get so big. Jadon has a sensitive heart and a determined spirit. He is blessed with a incredibly wonderful group of boys. All of us moms of these boys are in awe of how God has put them together and is growing them up to be men after His heart. They are such a strength to one another. For now, Jadon is in such a protected environment and is growing and learning so much within that environment. His teacher, Mrs. Puddy, helped to develop a strong love of reading in Jadon. He has taken off in reading and often curls up with a book. This is something that we desire for each of our children to develop. Jadon is typically very diligent in his work, coming right home and doing his homework without being asked. His handwriting leaves a bit to be desired though :) He took so many awards at the end of school that is was almost embarrassing - Reading Award, Spelling Award, Music Award, Spanish Award and the Character Award for Joyfulness. We thank God for how He has gifted Jadon and it is our prayer that he will use them all in ways that glorify the One who made him.

Jadon's diligence sometimes also becomes a point of struggle - he will become so focused on what he is doing or on what he wants to do, that he has a hard time moving on to what else might be necessary. But he has such a tender heart and is learning to put other's needs before his own. I love seeing the Lord working in his heart - it is so precious.

Benjamin ~

Oh my baby boy is not so much of a baby anymore!!! I can't believe that he is really six and will start Kinder this Fall!!! Benjamin has the most tender, kind heart. He knows when I am sad and is always quick to give me a hug and tell me how much he loves me. He melts my heart every time!! As much as I would love to keep him little forever, it has been a joy to see him mature so, so much this year. We can look back now and see that it was definitely the right decision to wait a year to start school. He has needed this year to mature and is now very ready for school. He will have a wonderful group in his Kindergarten class, including his bobsey twin Ella. They are still as inseparable as ever - too cute!

Ben continues to love all things electronic and the best days are those when I have a broken clock, phone, dvd player, or anything else that he can take apart and 'figure out'. He also loves the outdoors and catches new creatures (usually with Nastya by his side) on a daily basis. Here is his preschool MDO graduation (with Ella of course! :)

I am about to combine the two blogs, but for now I posted Katya's and Nastya's end of school achievments on the other blog. They did wonderfully this year as well. It was a great year but we were all tired by May and are now LOVING summer!! I guess I'll be ready for school at the end of August but I'm not sure - I really do enjoy this time of slower pace and fun family times without the pressures of school and activities. A season for everything....