New Blog!

I decided a while back that I needed a new blog name. Our family is no longer just Elisa and Sadie! So - come visit our growing family at Messes and Miracles! (messes-and-miracles.blogspot.com)a See you there!

Little Ranchers

Our back pasture is adjacent to an old-time cattle ranch. It happens to be owned and run by a gentle-spirited cowboy named Bob - who attends our church. Erik has gotten to know him fairly well in the last two years, as they have sat together in the same table group at men's Bible Study. He called last week to see if he could "hire" our little ones - along with another family's little ones - to help pick rock to form a passage over a bog. We could see come new spring calves, drive a tractor and put in a few hours of work. Of course, we said "yes!"
Sadie - farm-girl in braids and overalls, riding the fancy blue tractor.


The kids had a blast riding (and driving) the little four-wheeler and giant tractor as they explored the ranch and saw a calf that had born that very morning. As they were driving around, Bob noticed another heifer who was preparing to give birth to her calf. She was very uncomfortable, pacing in her little area with tail high, grunting. He was confident she would deliver while we were there. So we stayed close as we loaded rocks into the tractor. Our friend Dan watched with binoculars and let us know when he could see little white calf feet emerging. We drove close, all piled in a pick-up bed, and found a place to watch - without upsetting the laboring mama. It didn't take long! We witnessed the amazing delivery of a healthy calf - watched mama lick her baby clean and nudge him to stand - within minutes! It was so cool! So neat for the kids to see! And me, too!


Calf - fresh from his mama
Standing on wobbly legs, a few minutes later.

Afterwards, we left baby to find his mama's milk and returned to pick more rock. After two loads, the kids were rewarded with four dollars each. Two were to keep, and two went into an envelope to "give to the Lord." It was really sweet.

We love living in Wyoming!


Our hard-working crew. Even baby Jonathan helped pick rock!

(I should give credit -- the pictures came from Dan's camera, and since he is actually a professional photographer on the side, you should probably know that! Credit to Living Water Photography. :))

Grace for the Good Girl

Recently, I won a giveaway for a book. It was so exciting to receive the book in the mail. I don't really get excited about new "things." New babies, yes. The new car in our garage (well, old car, new to us) - not so much. New books, now, that is really exciting!

The book is called "Grace for the Good Girl," by Emily Freeman. I was reading the description to my hubby, and he said, "Yeah, you need to read that one." I do.

I have always been a good girl. I never rebelled. I never drank. I made straight As. I wore white on my wedding day. I work hard and keep my word. And sometimes I forget that my worth to the One who made me is not defined by my "disciplined life," or my "hard work with a sweet disposition." When you're a perfectionist people-pleaser, you feel "good" when you have it all together, and you feel worthless when you don't. Sometimes you wear yourself trying to be "good enough."

This season of life has been a bit undoing. Four months of nausea, followed closely on the heels by a month-long respiratory bug, and then, more recently, a bout of pleurisy (painful inflammation in my lungs) that knocked me off my feet for a few days.... I don't feel like I have been able to keep up with anything! Not the house, not my quiet times.... our homeschool is down to bare-bones without any creativity, I haven't baked anything but cookies in months, and my little monkeys have spent more than their fair share of time quarantined indoors. I do NOT feel like a good mom. Or a good wife. Or a good Christian. The Lord has been so gracious to meet our needs and I really have managed just fine. But in my heart - fine is just not good enough.

Do you know what I mean? Are you that way, too?

Erik and I had a good chuckle last night when I read him this portion of the book.

Good Mom makes breakfast and smiles a lot. Good Mom always remembers to notice, compliment and encourage. She is fun and funny. She plays dolls with pleasure, and even makes up pretend scenarios to make the play go longer. Her patience is limitless and she never raises her voice. She wakes up early every morning and spends time with Jesus. She is consistent and kind. She makes cookies from scratch. She plays outside even when it's really hot. She builds forts with blankets in the living room. Her house is always clean, her produce is always fresh, and she has a garden with flowers and vegetables. She can sing. She makes puppets out of socks. Her kids never watch TV because they are totally satisfied to listen to the riveting, captivating stories their Good Mom makes up. Every night. (p. 31)

What really made us laugh is that my response at first was to go, "Oh... I need to do that! I need to play more dolls. And I need to build forts. And I've never made a sock puppet! And, oohhh.... I totally yelled today!" And then I remembered -- the point of the book was that I was supposed to stop striving all the time (in my own human effort) to be GOOD. And, oops, I wasn't supposed to try to emulate her description of the Good Mom. I needed to keep reading. :)

I haven't finished the book. In fact, I'm only on chapter three. But I totally identify with that straining to be good and then feeling like I don't measure up every time I hit snooze, or react impatiently, or pour bottled spaghetti sauce on noodles and call it dinner.

I get the concept of grace. I teach it to my kids. But I still forget. So, I am looking forward to the book. Because I know I'm not good enough. But Jesus is!

Turning 2!

A long list of chores is calling me... but I have been remiss in sharing a bit about Raina turning 2 (a week and a half ago).

I love that little peanut. She is a sweet little firecracker who alternately runs laughing when given a command (uh-oh!) and oh-so-tenderly shows compassion and love to her family. "Sissy get ouie? I sorry, sissy. I kiss. I kiss."

She is very verbal -- but not always understandable to the outside world. She'll rattle off a perfect sentence, and Grampa will look at me wonderingly. He didn't catch a word. She says "I love you, Mama," unprompted all the time, which melts my heart.

She loves stories. Is that any surprise? :) Recently she discovered the Brownie and Pearl series by Cynthia Rylant and requests them every time we go to the library. But sometimes she wants the names changed to "Raina and Hopie." Hopie is her soft little dolly.

She is a cheerful helper - and a giant mess maker.

She still goes to sleep for naps and bedtime very easily - though the list of story requests gets longer every night and always includes "Goodnight Gorilla."

She likes to show the girls their respective flashcards and say "What is that?" "Oh, good job!" She repeats letter sounds with Sadie and anything she scribbles is dubbed "A."

She is pretty much day-time potty trained. She still struggles some days with poop placement :), but she is doing very well!

She likes to climb. It is not unusual to spot her on the highest counter while I am deeply absorbed in a lesson with Elisa or Sadie. All the interruptions she provides are beneficial for training the others in patience, right?

She is fun and giggly and expressive. She is independent and maybe a wee bit stubborn. :)

We are so grateful for this little growing girl!

All of A Kind Family

I love being surprised by the gender of our babies at birth! That moment is so exhilarating and exciting.... I absolutely love the surprise. This time, though, it was my turn to lovingly submit to my hubby and let him find out the gender of our unborn baby.

And..... It's another girl!

We are thankful and excited to add a fourth princess to our very frilly family. I know that our girls will hunt, and run, and ski and rough-house, and their daddy will raise them to be tough! But, they are also our little ladies, and they love tea parties and lacy dresses and wearing mama's lip gloss. And I pray they will be tender, nurturing, and God-honoring ladies who fulfill their roles with feminine grace and strong beauty.

Praise God for little girls!

Options..... Or Lack of Them! :)

Before I found out that I was pregnant with our fourth baby, I had begun to sense the Lord leading me (us) to pursue a birth at home. I felt a strong desire to give birth to our next (and likely last) baby in the quiet comfort of our home.

Erik was skeptical - but he agreed to begin the process of pursuing a homebirth. He was willing to talk with the midwives (the nearest midwives practice in Rigby, ID, about 2 hours away, and have delivered many babies in Jackson) and make a decision after consulting with them. At sixteen weeks pregnant, we made the drive and met with the midwives. Erik was impressed with their competence and their caring, and so was I. Both of us felt very comfortable proceeding with their care. There was only one problem.

In the last two years, both Idaho and Wyoming have adopted a new medical and legal status for midwives. This is great! It allows midwives to carry emergency medications, oxygen and IVs -- lifelines in the case of an emergency. The only problem is that certification is a process. The Idaho midwives are working on their Wyoming certification, but they don't have it yet... and until they do, they don't want to jeopardize the process by performing home births in our state. They have a nice birthing center, but we don't want to be the ones driving during labor.

I was deeply disappointed. I fretted and researched for a week, trying to uncover any other midwives within a safe distance from our home. There are none. I finally realized that there are just very few options. We can deliver the baby ourselves, we can drive 2 hours, or we can resign ourselves to traditional medical care and a hospital birth. Please know that I think hospital births are wonderful. Doctors are a blessing - obviously! And the interventions they offer are truly sometimes necessary. We had just felt led to have this birth outside of the hospital. But, while we have had friends follow the Lord's leading and have unassisted home births, we don't sense a similar leading for our family.

After a night of tears (I know, silly, but I'm pregnant, and occasional tears are allowed), we decided to use the practice where Erik's mom works as a nurse. They have a CNM there (a midwife who does traditional hospital births) and we decided that a midwifery style of care was still our preference, even if it is still a hospital birth. We'll have our first visit next week.

During that intermittent week, I stewed over our lack of options, and then knew I had to release my heart's desire and trust that the Lord is still leading and guiding us - even though it isn't what we had originally thought He was doing in our lives. We are so thankful for this precious life, and in the end, what matters is holding and cherishing our baby. So, we receive this gift with grateful hearts, and we'll drive 15 minutes to the hospital. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Many of our holiday traditions center around breakfast and the morning routine. On birthdays, there are homemade cinnamon rolls, a decorated chair, a construction paper crown, and gifts at the breakfast plate. On Christmas, the morning starts with the Christmas story, stockings, and Poteca bread with scrambled eggs. Easter includes candy trails to follow around the house before church. Valentines Day means heart shaped pancakes and handmade Valentines at the table.

This morning, the pancakes were pink and topped with strawberries. Erik dyed the scrambled eggs, too, and served strawberry milk. The girls were delighted, and there was laughing banter about whether we might turn completely pink like Pinkalicious. I don't love the story of Pinkalicious, because she is pretty disrespectful to her parents, but I have to admit, there is definitely little girl appeal to the idea of turning yourself pink by eating too many pink cupcakes (or pancakes!) :)




Don't worry. This was Erik's heaping plate, and he didn't finish it. The girls and I had slightly smaller portions. :)

Counting Gifts

Months ago, I shared about the book 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It has been on the New York Times bestseller list often, so I am guessing many of you have also read it, and been so blessed by her call to radical thankfulness. I am rereading it right now. I am forgetful; I need reminders often!

In the months since reading the book, I have been challenged to constantly seek joy and thankfulness in ALL things -- no matter what I am doing or what the circumstances are. I am not faithful to record gifts daily, but I do write in my journal several times a week -- counting God's graces in the form of all the daily "messes and miracles."

It is amazing how the constant posture of thankfulness changes your outlook on the "grind" of motherhood. I am finding myself filled with simple, overwhelming pleasure in the beauty of small tasks... in things like warm laundry to fold, and dishes to scour in sudsy water, in rubbing the small of Raina's back as she tries to relax and go pee-pee in the potty, in measuring out Robitussin to soothe a little one's nighttime cough, in stirring cookie dough and setting out fancy dishes for mid-morning tea, in helping small hands make beds, or reminding a child that the fork goes on the left side of the plate.

Dishes washed and laid to dry
Chore charts to help little ones remember to take joy in their daily tasks, too!
Learning together - even when it's messy!
A washer and dryer constantly in motion
Fresh chocolate chip cookies. Actually Erik made these. :)


The other night the house was quiet. Erik was working on taxes upstairs, and I found myself cleaning the kitchen in nighttime stillness. Hands immersed in soapy water, a broom swept across a crumb-strewn floor, the hum of the dryer tossing its last load. And I just reveled in that! And then to remember moments from a busy day -- listening to my daughter read, doing a joyous "potty-dance," dancing with little girls to loud music...

The act of counting God's gifts really does make thankfulness your first response. I struggle. Of course. I get impatient, or annoyed, and I forget to be thankful for a smoothie that tumbled to the carpet, or a child squabbling - again - over something that so doesn't matter, or the girls destroying their bedroom for the third time in a day, or the pee-pee that didn't go in the potty, or the child that won't go to sleep, or, or, or....

but I am so thankful for the reminder to be thankful and how that is changing my work into worship. If you haven't read the book --- read it! :)

Potty Training Take 3

I have been told that potty training should get easier with each child because they watch and observe the older ones. You know what? It's not true. For our family, each child's initial training has been much more challenging than the last... simply because Mommy is not un-distracted. And neither is the child. :) With Elisa, Sadie was only two months old, and she was angel during the first intense days of training. Elisa, on the other hand, was keenly interested and involved in Sadie's training... until she got bored and decided she needed Mom's attention elsewhere. :) With Raina, this pregnant mama has been juggling morning school, discipline, cleaning, chores, and a four-week long respiratory virus along with potty training. Days 1 and 2 were virtually failures. : ) The older kids were frustrated with her lack of progress, and annoyed because we couldn't leave the house for two days! They started out so excited, but their patience waned quickly. We started late last week, and Raina is now going potty about 1/2 to 2/3 of the time without a dribble in her undies first. God is giving me grace to be patient with the slowness of it, to lower my expectations a bit, to be thankful for a dozen pairs of little undies and a wonderful sanitizing washing machine, and to cheer for all the little victories while handing out the requisite M&Ms.

I think she'll get the hang of it. :)

Growth in Grace

The other night, I wrote about Elisa's sixth birthday and tried to share a bit about who our oldest daughter is...
I want to always speak kindly of my little ones and be careful not to present them negatively. But I also want to be honest, to show you who they are -- successes and sweetness, struggles and sin. And I want anyone who reads my blog to know that our family is not perfect. :) I don't want you to feel the way I do after I read a stack of Christmas letters... that our family is lacking, that we are the only ones with sinful children, that we are under-achievers in every way. :) So hopefully, you get my uncensored but loving portrayal of our family's life and learning.

One of the things I have prayed through often in the last year is that both our older daughters have "asked Jesus into their hearts." Erik and I have been cautious about this -- not assuming their salvation because of that. We know that saving faith requires genuine repentance, and that true faith manifests itself in a desire to please God. To be honest, we haven't seen that heart change in our sweet little girls. So they take communion as believers, and we speak to them about the Holy Spirit living in their hearts. But, we are careful to also teach them the Gospel over and over and to wait for fruit in their lives.

I feel like lately I am seeing fruit in the heart of my oldest. Last night, we ice skated together as a family, and Elisa grinned happily, twirling around with an old skating dress of mama's OVER the top of her bulging snow pants and coat. She had a terrific attitude. She dropped something on the way inside the house and called over her shoulder, "Mom, can you get that?" Seeing my hands were full, she said, "Oh, I'll get it. Your hands are already too full!" She then hung up all her snow clothes unprompted, and went to change clothes. This morning, Raina-bean was snuggling in our bed (all three girls were) when Raina gagged on snot and threw up all over Erik. (I know, gross!) Elisa went to get her clean jammies, a doll, and a blanket. She entertained her in the steam shower I gave her to help with the mucous, and then made a nest for her on the floor so that Raina could lay comfortably while Elisa made a brown bag puppet for her to play with.

Little things, but I am beginning to see kindness, mercy, and compassion more often. A willingness to serve and help without reward or nagging. Sometimes we see the opposite, too... stomping around while emptying the dishwasher, or complaining about a small task. Yesterday I made her copy Ephesians 6:1 twice in her copybook. She needed the reminder. :)

But I am thankful to see growth in grace in my little ones. That's precious!

And Six!

I realized the "six" on my previous post could also have been the title for this one. :)
Our family of five is soon to become a family of six, as we welcome a new little one at the end of July. We are thrilled.

The girls found out on Christmas morning when Elisa unwrapped a note that read, "New baby brother or sister coming in July!" The announcement got a bit lost in the shuffle of gifts, but once it sank in, they were so excited. Someone is always hugging my belly, kissing the barely notice-able 14-week bump, or talking about "when the new baby comes." I am only worried that they won't share with me once he or she arrives -- and I like holding my own babies. :)

Six!

Last week, Elisa turned six! As cliche as it is, it is certainly true that "they grow up fast!"

We celebrated by playing hooky from school (you can do that when you homeschool) and spending the morning playing in new-fallen snow, eating apple fritters for breakfast, skiing with Grandma, getting her very own library card, and eating ice cream sundaes. On Friday, the day after her "real" birthday, we had a small tea party. She loved being princess for the day and reminding her younger guests to use their proper manners and not slurp or snort like dragons. :)

I love Elisa. She is my wild child, my shy child, my tender and compassionate child, and my sometimes mean child. She is a mix of bright leadership and zest for life combined with her mama's reserve and and hints of quiet thoughtfulness. She is insightful and smart and she can be stubborn and selfish. (I think all children have those traits to some degree, don't they?)

She can be so very grown up at times in her mannerisms and speech that it boggles my mind. She can also run around yelling her head off with her sisters and jabber nonsense, or occasionally throw a tantrum that leaves me wondering if she ever grew out of the twos?

Elisa is physically very strong and capable. She skis so well, and we are trying to make sure that it is still fun and invigorating for her, not just hard exercise and work. :) It's easy for Erik and I to pull the other two behind us and let Elisa just keep up - because she CAN.

She is doing well in school. I think every homeschool mom will tell you that school times magnify all of the behavior challenges and discipline issues you encounter in daily life. There are definite challenges, and I am so thankful to be at home, shepherding her through challenges we might not face if I sent her off to school every day. That said, she really is learning! She can read nearly anything now; we are learning some of the more complicated phonics
rules (like all the many sounds of ough!) and multi-syllable words can be hard, but there is a confident fluency to much of her reading now and it so wonderful! She finished K-level math and spelling, so I had to adjust the budget and purchase the next level up. Thanks, Wachob grandparents, for helping with some of those purchases!

Elisa loves playing dolls, doing craft projects (today she made a centerpiece for the table with flowers from construction paper), reading together, dancing, playing games (as long as Raina is far away! :)) and having elegant tea parties with real black tea (decaf. only). She likes helping make cookies, and she likes planning the next day... she always wants to know what is on the agenda for tomorrow before she falls asleep.

She loves AWANA - especially the games, and she takes pride in memorizing verses and earning her jewels. Last week she memorized the 27 books of the NT. It was not easy -- but she did it!

Happy Birthday little girl!
Ice cream sundae!


The snow fall on her birthday.


Skiing with a smile.
The Princess at her party. She decorated the crown cake with half a bottle of princess sprinkles.

Two Quilts

Both Erik's mother and mine recently gifted us with a beautiful quilt.
My mom sewed a beautiful memory quilt for each Forbes child this Christmas, cutting my dad's shirts into quilt pieces and creating one-of-a-kind, priceless works of heart-warming art. I bawled when I opened it on Christmas morning and it is a treasure to wrap myself in sweet memories of my daddy.




Becky's quilt is sure to be an award winner next summer when we strip it off the bed and enter it in the county fair. She worked on it for about a year, and the pieces that make up the design were so tiny! It was definitely a long labor of love and it is beautiful!

Thank you, Moms!

Clutter

If you know me very well... or even a little bit... you know that I don't do well with clutter. :) I like things tidy. Neat. Simple. I always have. As a little girl, I dreamed of having a house that looked a bit like Marilla Cuthbert's or maybe the Ingalls family. You know, plain and bare with maybe just a few knick-knacks on a shelf and a pitcher of water in a bowl on a side table for washing up in. A trunk in the corner and blankets neatly folded on the bed. I can be ruthless about throwing or giving away things around the house. Clothes that haven't been worn recently, toys that haven't been played with (or that are plastic, and use batteries :)), little bits of junk. I have one manila envelope filled with favorite drawings the kids have made, but I usually toss their projects, too, after a week or so. This is a horrible thing to admit, but I have even thought at times that it wouldn't be so bad if all our belongings burned in a fire. I mean, we would have no clutter! And I would buy everyone three nice sturdy outfits, and a stack of good books, and a cast iron skillet, and we would be fine!

Now, that is not to say that there aren't pockets of clutter in our big old house. We have a closet filled with things I don't know what to do with, and drawers in the kitchen that have all kinds of unidentifiable junk. And I am horrible at keeping dresser drawers tidy, so my clothes are in a wrinkled mess within my neatly shut drawers. (The same is true for the kitchen cabinets. Just can't keep them straightened!) Under the sinks isn't terribly organized, either. But -- I always have a plan for when I am going to declutter the next thing.

I was thinking about that today -- about my passion for simplicity and organization in my home. And it made me wonder if I have that same passion for decluttering the hidden messes of my heart. Or if maybe I should. Messes in my house are tangible - and I can be driven to eradicate them. But what pockets of hidden sin clutter are lurking in my heart? Am I driven to clear those? Do I deal with sin like I deal with clutter, or do I stuff it further into the "junk drawer?" There are so many areas where I know I need to allow the Lord to work in me. Kindness. Patience. Forebearance. Fearing Him, instead of fearing man. Loving. Not judging. Being centered on bringing Him glory instead of being self-centered in my motives. Being slow to anger - especially with my kids. And you know what? Especially when it comes to my kids' messes! :) Hungering for God's Word. Longing to share His Gospel with others (that is so hard for me!). Caring about people the way He does.

It was a good reminder to me today as I surveyed one physical pocket of clutter. Some "cleaning out" is more important than others.

Sadie

The week of Thanksgiving Sadie Pearl turned 4. We were in Oregon to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with the Forbes clan, and Sadie was thrilled that her birthday celebration was included in the trip.

We were able to tour the Tillamook Cheese Factory and enjoy some samples - as well as sandwiches and ice cream from the restaurant, and then drive to the beach in a sort of wild and windy rainstorm. The Oregonians weren't keen on exploring the beach in the cold storm, but those of us from Wyoming decided we had to seize our shell-collecting and ocean-touching opportunity. We don't get to the coast very often. :) We were soaked - but happy! Sadie chose pizza for her birthday dinner, and I made gingerbread cupcakes -- which were Ephraim approved (no dairy) and quite tasty! Sadie had a wonderful fourth birthday and we enjoyed celebrating her precious life with our extended family.

What can I tell you about Sadie?

She is a personality. She is fun and flamboyant and flighty. She is bright and sweet and generous. She is brave and outgoing and talkative. She loves stories. She is (usually) patient. She is a snuggler. She talks with wide hand gestures and full expressions.

Sadie abruptly dropped her nap right around her birthday. She still takes 2 or so a week, but is generally just "resting" in bed with books for an hour or so now. She has been such an easy napper up until now that I decided not to fight the transition at all -- just let her go to bed early. I have sad memories of naptime battles with her big sister, and I didn't want to go there this time around.

"School" is beginning to click for Sadie. She has always been more interested in dancing and stories and imaginative play than in busywork or memorizing, and that is still the case. She knows many letters by sight and sound -- but not all. And it took her forever to learn shapes! :) She has impressed me lately with her "phonemic awareness," her ability to take apart the sounds that make up a word - even if she doesn't know what letter makes each sound. And she continues to make up stories that sound like adult (and somewhat poetic) narrative.

She is my little ballerina. She has natural grace, poise and rhythm. Didn't come from her mama! :)

She has a sweet tooth - but she will tell you that "this isn't good for you. It's not healthy. Beans are good for you." She will eat everything, for the most part. Current favorites are fried eggs (with squishy yolks), quesadillas with apples, and vegetable stir-fries.

She loves dressing up and being a princess. Most days she wears dresses.

She will follow along with Elisa's games, but she is also beginning to assert her own opinions and invent her own games, too. And she refuses to play Laura and Mary if there is a panther involved. Elisa scared the living daylights out of her one day convincing her the panther was in the downstairs bathroom.

She has a keen memory for songs and lines of poetry. She can belt out any number of Christmas carols with perfect pitch and timing.

She is a big four year old. I'm not sure how tall she is, but she towers over her little friends. :) And she is also solid. She weighs 39 pounds - just a few pounds less than her slender big sister (although only a couple of pounds more than Elisa at 4, so she might slow down and even out).

Sadie is precious. This morning she sat on my lap for a two-hour ballet performance of Snow White - nestling her head in my shoulder whenever the scary queen came on stage. She doesn't like bad guys. :) I loved having her sit with me - even though she's "big" now.

Happy Birthday, my little princess!

Little Miss Raina

It is hard to believe that the baby of our little family is nearing her second birthday (still four months away -- but it goes so quick!). Everyday I am alternately in awe of her growth and her adorable personality - and a bit overwhelmed at the bursts of sometimes sinful determination that she exhibits! Time passes so quickly these days. Our weeks are a flurry of homeschooling, chores, outdoor play and activities. I want to grasp the fleeting moments and hold onto them -- but there also plenty of times when I think eagerly about what the future holds. But - I don't want to forgot all the funny and sweet Raina-isms that delight my mama's heart.

Like - the way she grabs my hand, and says "Come," when she wants my help, or is hoping for a fresh cookie off the baking tray. :)

The way she gives kisses and hugs and says in a way only Erik and I can decipher, "I wuv you!"

The way she will grab my lips and turn my head to ask me to "Ding a dong!"

The way she sits diligently on her little school chair to color (for at least five minutes!).

The way she follows big sisters everywhere and asks for them upon awakening. "Sissy! Sissy!"

The way she sings the ABCs (sort of) while pointing emphatically at the alphabet chart.

The way she says "Running!" and commences to race in circles around the kitchen table.

The way she jumps.

The way she grabs Ziggy the Zebra from the shelf the moment I pull out Sadie's yellow alphabet book.

The way she says 'Here you go," and gives you things.

The way she says "No stink," when I go to check her diaper. Or "Stinky. Change." (Yeah, she wants to be potty trained. Mommy's not ready for that intense endeavor.)

The way she says "Scared," so plaintively and pathetically. (Like when she saw the full body of a dead deer hanging in the garage.)

The way she yells 'Dinna! Weady!" when the older girls and I start setting the table. Or when the oven timer beeps. She likes to eat.

The way she likes to have all three baby dolls in her crib, and they have to have a blanket (a blamie!). And she has to have at least four blankets covering her, too. She's quite demanding about it. Luckily, once everything is properly in place, she goes to sleep within minutes of me closing the door.

The way she loves, loves, loves her Gramma, Grampa and Nana.

The way she always tells her sisters (and even Daddy) that the clothes they have on are "pretty."

The way she will often say "No-no Raina. Spank," and swat her own little hand when I correct her behavior. It makes actual discipline difficult - when your toddler gives her own spankings. :)

I love this stage and all the uprising challenges and gaining of independence. All the new-found vocabulary... all the brave exploration and the wanting to be a part of EVERYTHING.

This third arrow in our quiver of little girls is a charming one, and I love her!

My New Running Partner

Back in early September, our family participated in our town's HUGE charity fun run. We decided to have Elisa run beside us as we pushed the other two in our double stroller. We figured we would walk, run, rest, and follow her little girl pace. I never expected her to run a 5K. But - she shocked us! She ran the WHOLE way. She never complained of being tired. She never stopped, or whined, or slowed. She did have two mandatory water breaks, but she just pressed on with her determined face set forward. 3.1 miles of pure, gutsy grit. Sadie ran about a quarter mile or so at the end, not quite matching big sister's leggy strides. It was such a fun day!

Since then, my little girl has been asking to go on a mother/daughter run. We haven't been able to because of Erik's hunting "schedule." This Saturday we finally did, dressed in warm clothes to brave a November dusting of snow. We only went about 1.5 miles, but it was a fun, sweet memory. I hope we can spend the rest of our lives running together as a family! :)

Books

Every year I make a Book List. And every year I have to completely revise my book list multiple times because I get completely sidetracked!

I have read so many wonderful books this year, and I am thankful for all those authors who smarter and more eloquent and more faithful than I am so I can learn from them! I wanted to share a few favorites with you in case you're adapting your book list too!

Parenting:

My favorite this year has been "Give them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus." Written by mother/daughter team Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson, this meaty gem of a book focuses on sharing the Gospel with your children in everyday moments, and centering your parenting goals, thoughts, and reactions around your personal understanding of God's amazing grace. It is practical, but also very thought-provoking. It helped me to think through how our family can glorify God in the mundane, the difficult, and the messy - and even how we can glorify God through the open rebellion of wayward children, if God's plan for our family doesn't include our children always walking faithfully with Him. If you want a book that fleshes out a Gospel-centered approach to parenting, this book is wonderful!

Home Schooling:

I have to admit I have been devouring books on this topic lately - trying to sort through how we want to "run" our school and what methods we want to follow. I have read a few general books, and the "Well-Trained Mind," which is about classical education, and am now reading books about Charlotte Mason techniques (she was an educator a long time ago in England).

I know that I want to follow some of the classical timelines, but I also am loving Charlotte Mason's thoughts. My favorite book (actually my favorite for the year from any category) was "Pocketful of Pinecones" by Karen Andreola. This book reads like a story because it is written as the fictional diary of a homeschooling mom in the 1930s. But it is totally chock full of inspiring ideas, and I just reveled in reading it! Our focus on nature study definitely derived from this wonderful book.

Other:
I enjoyed reading a couple of Dave Ramsey's books on finances, and have been encouraged to maintain our budget carefully so that we are able to both save a little and give generously.

I was able to hear a woman named Martha Peace speak in September and have since enjoyed a couple of her books. I'm in the middle of "The Faithful Parent," and finished "Attitudes of a Transformed Heart." That was incredibly convicting. I read it more quickly than I should have (probably because I just wanted to get back to "Pocketful of Pinecones"), so I need to reread it with a bit more attention and prayer. :)

Erik spent much of late summer and fall traveling for work, so I have had extra time to read in the evenings. I'll probably have to slow down a bit now that my sweet hubby is home and (imagine!) would like my attention on occasion!

Nature Studies

A new aspect of our little home school is “nature study.” My children love exploring nature, even if it is only a walk around our backyard, so we are trying to incorporate simple nature activities several times each week. Little black composition notebooks are growing fat with drawings we have pasted in, and Elisa gains handwriting practice by copying verses from nature poems next to her colorful pictures.

W We also enjoy reading books with nature themes. We are wading through Bambi right now. I hadn't realized quite how adult it is - but Ellie wants to press on. It's slow-going. :)

We have not seen Lindsay Barrett George's name on any nature book lists, but we discovered her at the library a year ago, and love her books! There is a series of books about life on Long Pond, and several nature discovery books where the kids have a chance to guess for themselves "Who's Been Here?" before turning the page and viewing the answer. The pictures are wonderful and the text is charming and informative.

So So, here is my plug. If your little ones enjoy reading about nature - check these out!

Pumpkin Seed Counting

I know it is Saturday, but Erik is hunting, it's cold out, and this activity was completely kid initiated. We have enjoyed this book, called, "How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin," and the girls have been begging to recreate the story in our kitchen. Here are our educational results by video!


I have to comment that truly the best part is Elisa snatching the book from Sadie to put it back in its proper place. My Type A oldest subduing her dreamy sis.