May I just take a mommy moment to celebrate my two oldest??? We took “The Well-Trained Mind” advice and aimed to complete most of “The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading” BEFORE starting “First Language Lessons“…SO–we began “First Language Lessons” this week with my precious little kindergardener and 1st grader.
Our first lesson consisted of memorizing the poem “The Caterpillar” by Christina G. Rossetti. We added to that by role-playing a bit and extended it in an art activity. THEN we took it to Mama Reid (their GREAT-GRANDMOTHER) on her 90th birthday!!! Frank, our 3 year old, REALLY wanted and tried to memorize it–but he opted to take an extra’s role and acted as the bird:)
Brown and furry
Caterpillar in a hurry,
Take your walk
To the shady leaf, or stalk,
Or what not,
Which may be the chosen spot.
No toad spy you,
Hovering bird of prey pass by you;
Spin and die,
To live again a butterfly.
Here is their rendition…
Soooo…that was our Monday! OF WHICH–I also fit in going to my new doctor and did some kind of treatment where they take blood, put something in it and then put it back in. Starting this different Lyme’s treatment and we’ll see how it goes. I’ve been SOOOOO tired lately so I’m hoping to turn a corner soon:)
Today–we celebrated Valentine’s AND Parker’s half birthday a few days early:). I figure if you are going to celebrate your half birthday–it’s alright to do it a few days early! Can you tell we LOOK for days to celebrate over here???!!! But isn’t that a fun thing about LIFE and about being a MOMMY!!! Teaching our children to look for reasons to celebrate life!
I have to tell you–it was partly an excuse to party with the McBrayers–a family we do A LOT of life with. Our Valentine’s were also out of town on business–so it was a great excuse to party together. Our girls made too cute Valentine’s tees, our boys played and we laughed! THEN I came home–and my sweet 7.5 year old;) came and grabbed me–and said, “MOM! Today was the best birthday I’ve ever had! We got to eat candy for Valentine’s. I got to give a bunch of glow sticks. We ate with the McBrayers. THEN we had birthday cake. Really!!! It was THE best birthday I’ve ever had!”
And to think…I just decided this year I’d be fun and start celebrating half birthdays;). I’m totally IN now. That was totally stress free and REALLY fun!
Oh and I ALMOST forgot to tell you what we did on FRIDAY. We went with the McBrayer’s to see an exhibit at the High Museum of Art. It was the Picasso to Warhol exhibit–and it was amazing…and the kids LOVED it. I mean LOVED it. They had their little head phones on–and they would go to each piece, type in the number of the piece and STAND there–taking it in. FRANK especially loved it!!! And adults around us would just stand back and look at FRANK instead of the ART because of how into he was!!! The funniest part was when he spotted Pollock’s piece and said loudly, “THIS ONE’S MY FAVORITE!”
Now…let me tell you WHY this is his favorite;). Cause Frank’s baby brother LOVES Olivia–and we have to read this book almost every night:)
How fun is that?! Parker says he can totally paint just like Pollock if he wants too;)
Alright–a disclaimer from this post–PLEASE do NOT let this blog post fool you that I’m on top of it and have it all together. Because I don’t. And it’s okay for you not to have it all together too:). More and more, I learn that it’s really just DAY by DAY by DAY. Because each day has enough trouble of it’s own (Matthew 6:34). We really have to just LOOK to the LORD–and not compare ourselves to anyone else—to simply put one foot in front of the other each day and just do the best we can for HIS glory (and NOT our own). That means…undone laundry, a sink full of dishes and remembering at 10:30pm you need to make your kids Valentine’s with glow sticks that say “You make me glow!” (yes–I know…my kids should do it for themselves…but we were doing other things–and that’s okay!) Keep your eyes on Jesus–pray to Him throughout the day–trust Him to walk with you through it–LOOK for Him as you walk…trusting and believing He is with you…and at the end of the day…REST. It’s really amazing that when you decided to JUST start living for THAT DAY–you really fill it with SO MUCH more than if you wasted time worrying or even planning too much for tomorrow. JUST TODAY–one at a time–trusting Him to be with you through it!!!
Blessings to each of you.
Andrea
by admin
We celebrate half birthdays here, too – and they are so simple and fun! No presents, just happiness – and half a cake. 🙂 Thanks for this fun and real post.
My H loves that Caterpillar poem. She had to use it for speech meet tryouts and totally rocked it after saying it since the school year started! 🙂 So fun! And love the half birthday celebration too!