Goat Envy

Living in a neighborhood has been an adjustment for all of us.

We all long for country living again - even the Fish Sticks who thought neighborhood living was awesome at first.

We drop by the property often, checking on house progress and working on building a chicken coop.

Last Saturday we spotted these adorable baby goats across the street and My Man pulled over so I could coerce them to the fence in hopes to get to pet them.

This little runt was my favorite.  It was tempting not to swipe him up and take him home.

That's A Wrap

Ruth and Leah joined their big sis, AB, in piano lessons about 1 year ago.

Every few months I talked with the girls to make sure that they love piano and want to continue pursuing lessons.  This past month, Ruth decided that piano wasn't something she was passionate about and decided she was ready to call it a wrap.

Their sweet piano teacher, whom we love, sent me these precious photos (and even a great video of Ruth singing and playing a worship song) on her last lesson.

Her teacher was so sweet, telling Ruth what a joy she had been to teach and reinforcing that she is welcome to come back for more lessons anytime.

So thankful for a year of learning to play the piano and read notes.

Don't worry, Mrs. Kandi, you still have 2 more Fish Sticks to teach!

Native American Freckle Face

For World Impact Week, the 1st graders gathered supplies to send care packages to a Native American Indian reservation.  They got to dress up like Native Americans for school that day as they heard a presentation by local Indians involved in this ministry.  I had to snag a photo as she walked out the door.  I'm sure there are no blue eyed, blond headed, freckle faced Native Americans, but this one sure is a cutie!

Knighting Ceremony

Josiah's class had been studying the Medieval Period and his teacher had this ingenious idea to have the kids go from page to squire to knight by serving their families in various ways daily in order to reach each level.  Josiah was required to make his bed (already a Fish Stick requirement in this house), help with laundry, help with supper dishes, lead family in prayer and do special acts of service (Glad he offered back rubs for his Mama on this requirement....SCORE!!)

At the end of the month, they presented their papers on their quest in life (what they wanted to be when they grew up), their personal crest, symbolized by colors and animals that represented their character and they were knighted in a ceremony by the "king" and "queen." 

Josiah said he wanted to be an NFL player and be strong and courageous and an encouragement to his teammates.

Josiah, the first to be knighted

Getting in line with his crest

Loved watching this honor!  He's a sweet kiddo, turned knight!

Another King Bee

It was time for the King/Queen Bee honor to be bestowed on the Pre-K students again.

This time Jedidiah was King Bee on his birthday week but since the snow days shortened his week, he got the next full week of school.  

I loved his poster responses:

Top 10 Things you Need to Know About me:

10.  I love Legos and got some for my birthday (Thanks, Aunt Sara)

9.  I love to play with my big brother, Caleb

8.  I play Halo Xbox with my 3 brothers

7.  I have been to Holiday World and it was awesome!

6.  My favorite movie is Minions

5.  I love bubblegum (he got 2 packs for his birthday from Leah)

4.  I can ride a 2 wheel bike, a scooter and roller blades

3.  I can drive Daddy's tractor

2.  I know how to water ski on the duck ski

1.  My favorite song is "Soul on Fire"

Love this spunky, silly, loud and funny King Bee!!!

Scripture Valentines

We want to be different at our school.

For Valentine's we discourage sending the "Be Mine" cards, and instead show Jesus' love to others  through our cards.  Some teachers have the students write personal letters to one another admiring Godly character traits.  Each class does service projects as World Impact Week falls on the week of Valentine's.

I found artwork on the internet with Bible verses and brought candy to correspond the the verse to staple onto each card.

So thankful for a school who desires to go against the flow of modern culture and be intentional by using our holidays to share Jesus with others.

Dusting Means Day Off

The day after the twins turned 5, we got snow....1-2 inches, so school was cancelled.

That certainly didn't keep my kiddos from playing basketball.

Birthday Boys Turning 5

My twins love school so much and initially were a little bummed that they weren't going to school on their birthday but I think in the end, they were happy to get to stay home.

We woke them up so they could open presents before their siblings headed off to school.

Always have good helpers to assist in opening presents in this house!

roller blades for both

Lego sets from the Campbell cousins

And despite the cold weather and snow flurries later that day, they enjoyed shooting hoops on their new goal.

They picked an ice cream sandwich cake off of Pinterest for me to make.

This is their 2nd birthday home and I can't help but think each birthday about the year we celebrated with cakes and gifts while they were still in DRC.  They even said to me this year, "Don't eat my birthday cake without me this time!"  I assured them that that would NEVER happen again because they are HOME FOREVER!

Happy 5th Birthday, Jeshua and Jedidiah!

Early Surprise

Jeshua and Jedidiah turned 5 on Feb. 8 and boy, were they excited about their birthday.

We had to show them their present a day early because My Man and Caleb had to put it together and there was no way around it.

So on Super Bowl Sunday, we shut them in the bathroom, brought in the box that had been hid outside in the back yard, brought them in the family room and let them open their eyes!

A basketball goal!!

Sock Hop

Our school had a high school sock hop hosted by student government.

AB spent the afternoon with her friends, getting ready together and then all the moms showed up for a photo shoot.

I volunteered to transport all of the freshmen to the dance, seeing as I have a 12 passenger "bus" to haul them in.

AB has been blessed with a really sweet group of friends who hang out together almost every weekend, playing games, having bonfires and having lots of fun.  

 Caleb went in style, driving his Daddy's chevy that they just restored.

I told these guys to give me a good "Fonz" pose and they all said, "WHAT'S THAT?".  Thankfully, MY son knew what that meant.  Geez, am I that old?

Fun times!

Donut Date

It was time for my twins to have a Mommy Date. I offered to take them individually out for breakfast but they said they wanted to go together.

No one sits and eats donuts in our local donut shop but the line to buy donuts wraps around the little store and out the door most Saturday mornings.

We broke the trend and sat at a table to eat.

Why would customers be watching us from the counter (pictured below)?  Because Fish Sticks are so stinkin' LOUD!!!  We can't help being a "spicy" family, I guess.  Stare away, folks!

A Bit Nostalgic

13 1/2 years ago our little family of 4 moved to this area after living in Singapore for 2 years.  We were in a fully-furnished apartment in Franklin for 3 months and then moved to this rental house pictured below.  I had a 1 year old and a 3 year old at the time with another one on the way.

We lived similarly to what we are living now.  Most of our possessions were packed to the ceiling in boxes in the garage and only the necessities were used for daily living.  I assure you that there was a lot less in this little house for a family of 4 than there is now with our family of 10, but the situations were similar.

Grandma and Grandaddy just sold their house - the house that My Man built next door to us 12 years ago.  They are joining us on our adventure to build on a 45 acre lot deeper into this beautiful county.

Rental houses are very hard to snag in this area so what a surprise it was to us to hear that the very rental that our little family lived in while we built our first house was up for grabs when the grandparents needed it.

So now for the month of February, we are helping the grands move into their rental.  It's been a bit nostalgic for me.

Caleb, my spunky 3 year old, had loved playing with his Bob the Builder toys in this front yard with our black lab, Amos.

In this very kitchen, a mouse jumped out of our dog food bag while I went to feed the dog and Caleb, dressed head to toe with his plastic Armor of the Lord, chased that mouse around the walls screaming that he would protect Anna Blair and me and kill that little varmint.

In this long, skinny family room, my grandparents, Mimi and Papa Blair, came to live with us soon after my Mimi was diagnosed with Alzhiemers.  We sat around the table shelling pecans, doing crossword puzzles and talking about memories.