Summer School Days

by Steph // Saturday, July 17, 2021 // Comments off

Our summer days have always had a bit of “school” days in them – but honestly I am not sure the word “school” describes what I mean!

Maybe saying our days have purpose and structure to them is a better way to say it.

We do many ‘school’ like things to make sure we are using wisely the gift of time that we have been given!

Instead of waiting until fall to start up some new things with my trio, we just jumped in and got started on some things that I have been wanting to start.

One of those things are piano lessons for Tate and Eliza.

We signed up with Practice Monkeys – which is an online piano lesson – and have LOVED it so much!

As Tate and Eliza’s Mom, I am very involved in their piano learning, but I have the support of their online teacher.

We log into a zoom lesson on Monday – Thursday afternoon for 15 minutes, but if we are not available we can watch the lesson on our own time because it is recorded!

It is perfect for this season of life.

I love hearing that piano being played again!!

I had some homework as we got ready to start piano lessons with Practice Monkeys.

I had to read two books about the Suzuki method – both of these books were good!

Another thing that we have started is an Art class!

I have been wanting to break away from the days of finding a craft on Pinterest, showing it to the kids and then making it with them into something more structured and informative – so that they really could learn about all aspects of art.

The Lord blessed the desires of my heart!!

Our librarian (I LOVE her!) told us about a website called Creative Bug.

You just need a library card to gain access to it!

I signed up right away and then started looking around the website – OH MY!!

There are SO many things on there!!

I quickly realized the gold mine I had just found and searched for an art class.

I loved the first one I previewed, we ordered the supplies, and we got started!

It has been SO FUN!

For our art class we watch a video and then do what the teacher teaches!

Yes, I even ordered supplies for me!

We do have some days where we do the basics – like Math, Language and Spelling.

Tate and Eliza love book work and workbooks!

It is so cute to see how enthusiastic they are about something so simple.

We still always start our days with Bible, worship, devotional, and scripture memory.

It definitely is our favorite time of the day!

And then there is read aloud.

I have been reading aloud to my children for 28 years now!!!

And it is still one of my favorite things to do.

I have so many board books memorized from reading them so much – ha, ha!

We have read some fantastic books this summer!

One of my favorites was The Year of Miss Agnes.

We loved it so much we had to order the sequel off of Amazon because the library did not have it!

My trio usually finds something to do with their hands while I read to them.

It is just the sweetest part of our days here!

That wonderful Creative Bug website has given us lots of ideas for other projects.

We also bring home craft kits from the library that the kiddos love to do!

Lane is our visionary – he is always creating!

He is building a remote control airplane from scratch right now, and also has been making stop motion movies!

I also use summer to teach the children new chores so that when fall comes around they are not needing me at their side to do the things that they have learned.

Tate and Eliza have started doing dishes from start to finish – and at nine years old, ahem, they do a better job than some others here – just saying!!

Eliza also keeps track of all of our library books and returns!

Lane earned some extra money by detailing our van.

When I inspected it I said, “Well, now you are in trouble.”

Lane said, “Oh no, what did I miss?”

And I replied, “You didn’t miss a thing! But now I know what you are capable of, mister!”

THAT VAN WAS SPOTLESS.

For about two weeks after he cleaned it he didn’t want anyone to drive it or ride in it, ha, ha!!

Have I ever mentioned that our school room/office is my favorite room in our little nest we call Twin Oaks?

Well, it is.

There is a lot of fun stuff that happens in that little room.

It will always hold so many of my favorite memories!

Of us learning so many cool things together!!

Here’s to many more years of learning cool things together, Lord willing!!

They teach me as much as I teach them!!

Rejoice With Us!!

by Steph // Saturday, July 10, 2021 // Comments off

GUESS WHAT??!!

Tate is S T A B L E!!

We still have one more day of appointments with urology coming up, including a sedated CMG, but we are rejoicing over this and smiling ear to ear!

SO, so thankful for Tate’s team of doctors who take care of him – they are one in a million!!

We constantly praise the Lord that we live where such top notch medical care is so close by!

We will be working on getting Tate set up for physical therapy to help strengthen him in hopes that it will help with the pain he is dealing with.

We celebrated Tate’s amazing appointments with Chipotle (of course!!) before we headed back home!!

Tate is fearfully and wonderfully made!!!

In his surgeon’s words, as we looked at Tate’s new imaging, Tate is one SPECIAL guy!!

Rejoice with us!!!!

We LOVE that word STABLE!!!

Team Tate On The Road

by Steph // Thursday, July 8, 2021 // Comments off

Calling all prayer warriors!

This morning we head to UW-Madison with this cutie to see two of his surgeons – neurosurgery and orthopedics.

There are concerns about Tate’s stability currently, but these appointments were already scheduled for Tate’s yearly checkups. Praise the Lord for His timing!

If you could join us in prayer for Tate, these appointments, and the outcome of them – we would appreciate it!

While you are at it, please praise the Lord that Tate has never had a tethered cord release, or a VP shunt revision since his initial surgeries when he was flown from Baotou to Beijing at 3 months old in China.

INCREDIBLE, and SO praise worthy!!

We are full of peace, and going in faith with open minds and prayerful hearts, hopeful to hear our favorite word…S T A B L E.

The Lord will be with us!!

The Month of May

by Steph // Tuesday, July 6, 2021 // Comments off

As I thought about posting on our blog again now that my hand is healing, I questioned whether to catch-up with the time that had lapsed, or just to start where we were!

I’m glad I decided to catch-up!

Just going through and editing these photos has brought me so much joy as I remember the days they were taken!

We enjoy looking back at our scrapbook here!

So let’s catch-up with some May photos – and then I will catch-up with photos of our school days and of our sweet grand babies!!

Even though I was not sleeping hardly at all before my surgery at the end of May, and I was also so limited in what my hand would allow me to do, we still had a very nice month!!

I tried to find projects that I could actually do to fill some time so I would not lose my mind!

I cleaned all of our files one afternoon, the storage room one afternoon, and cleaned and purged a bookshelf another afternoon.

I also still managed to fold laundry, and to clean and vacuum with my left hand.

The kiddos would switch the laundry in the machines for me and then dump the finished laundry on the bed.

Don’t you love how the dumped laundry in the photo below is still in the shape of the laundry basket?

They make me smile!

We also had many fun things going on in May – like a wedding shower one Saturday that Eliza and I attended.

It was so lovely!

Our early summer brought LOTS of outside time!

We could not keep ourselves inside on those beautiful days!

We wait a long time for warm weather here in Wisconsin!

We would spend time on the deck, on long walks, on our bikes, in the garden – anything to be outside.

The kiddos were in the pool on May 1st.

You read that right!!

May FIRST.

Crazy kiddos!!

But the pool was left up over winter, which worked out AMAZINGLY by the way, and so it was ready for swimmers if they were crazy enough to swim!

Even with the heater running they did not last very long.

Washing the van was a better idea!

There were cold and rainy days in May too.

No worries – we know what to do on cold and rainy days!

I cannot make a post anytime, but certainly not about the month of May, without mentioning my team of helpers.

This trio of ours had to carry quite a load while their Mama was out of commission!

I know you already know this – but they did it all willingly, cheerfully, and diligently!

They helped pull off some delicious meals and kept up with so much around our little nest Twin Oaks!

I have also needed help with grocery shopping.

I do NOT like to shop for grocery.

Never have.

Yuck. Blah.

BUT – I never knew how fun it could be if you just take helpers!!

Blake has been the chauffeur for some kiddos and me now – and it is FUN.

We have been shopping only every two weeks and just filling two carts overflowing each time.

This is the BEST grocery shopping plan and we can never go back to when I did it by myself!!

I do not drink coffee at home anymore, and I do not drink caffeine, but I love a decaf iced Americano from Starbucks!

We just happen to have a new Starbucks on the south side of town now that is not really out of the way if you have a craving for a decaf iced Americano!

It still feels like a treat every time!

I never ever want to forget how this miracle that we call Tate can do ALL the things.

And he even sits like this all the time to make himself “straight” so he can reach the counter better!

Our dynamic duo are still always together!

They are better together!!

I just realized so many of the photos in this post are of them together!

Did you notice how much these children have grown?

I know, I know.

Tate needed new shoes. And clothes.

He is getting bigger!

Eliza still wants to cuddle.

How much longer do you think Blake can pick her up and hold her?

Ok, I’m crying now!

We are also raising some giants here.

One of them is 17 and we spent a whole morning in town looking for work boots to fit giant feet.

I enjoyed having Chad off work and with us though!

And please notice the cute photo bomber in this photo.

I don’t know how he did that so perfectly!

I will add this photo again of our second giant in the making – who is posing with his first plate of food at dinner time.

Emphasis on “first” plate of food.

Here he is again.

Almost taller than me.

The weekend of my surgery, Eliza stayed home with me while everyone else went to church.

We are thankful we have live stream now!

I got to see some of my favorites helping lead worship, and listen to the sermon right along with the rest of the fam – even though we were in different locations!