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.

Snow Flurries and Lady Bugs

Today was a good day. It was one of the few in my brief career as a homeschooling mom where I have reached the end of the day with a song of joy in my heart - and the sense that my dreams for this journey are actually being fulfilled. I have enjoyed every day with my girls -- but so often there are battles, and messes, and chaos, and whining.... and I reach the end of the day with a tired sigh instead of a triumphant smile. :) Now, today was not perfect. We didn't cross every 't' or dot every 'i', and Elisa's spelling words were sloppy and Raina still dumped out every container of "educational" toys available to her, and the laundry still mounted and the dishes piled high, and the pencil shavings spilled.... but we learned. In the moment, with joy and excitement!

Today happened to be our first snow day. Yup, I know. It's October. But, there were were, mid-morning, with snow falling outside, and Elisa quickly rushed to change the rainy symbol on our weather graph to the snowflake one. :) We finished spelling, worked on some addition using cutouts of apples, read a beautiful story about a scarecrow, and then tucked the books away and left the mess on the floor to go dance in the snow. My kids were so excited. Our science lesson about fall seemed less than appropriate, somehow, so, off we danced, happy hearts and giant grins.

Grandma showed up with lunch from the grocery store deli (mid-errands on her day off from work). We had a green tea party with her and read Allan Say's book "Tea with Milk." We're studying Japan this week. Grandma headed home.

Raina settled quickly for nap, but the big girls were too happy about the snow. They kept jumping on the beds and singing, "It's our dream come true!" I only made Sadie try to sleep an hour before I let them get back up for more snow play. Angels, snow balls floating in the pond, cold toes and hands....

Back inside I got everyone dried off and seated for a snack. At the kitchen windowsill, I checked on Elisa's bug collection. For two days, her ladybug larvae had been still against one side of the jar. I had thought he was dead, but wondered whether it might be a stage of metamorphosis for him to be so motionless, too, so I didn't move him. Lo and behold -- the little larvae was now a blob of yellow with dark head. Gooey-looking. Quickly, I grabbed the jar and hurried to the computer to research the life stages of a ladybug. The images of pupa matched our ladybug perfectly. I called the girls upstairs and we read about how our baby bug would soon emerge as a spotted adult! Elisa was exultant. We printed off some ladybug coloring pages from the website and the girls happily colored as I prepared a Japanese dinner. Elisa asked if I knew any poems about ladybugs for her to write in her nature notebook. Remember this one? "Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children all gone!"

I ate (imitation) sushi. The girls nibbled rice. :) Afterward, Elisa and Sadie played a game with the squash-headed fall figurines from the table. They found the dreidel Emily and Ryan had given them for Christmas last year and invented a game that involved lots of spinning and jumping and falling splat to see which side the dreidel had landed on.

All the kids were sleeping by 7:45.

Yup. It was a good day.

Four Years Ago

... my daddy went to be with Jesus. I remember that day so clearly. I miss him. My heart still aches with missing him. I wish my girls could have known his big belly laugh and dancing, his hugs and his wisdom.

I have learned much in four years. That God is good. And sovereign. And wise. That He loves us, and that we can trust Him even when our hearts break and it is hard to believe that so much hurt some how glorifies Him.

And I have learned that suffering and tragedy are not unique. They are commonplace in this broken world.

There have been many beautiful, poignant songs that touch my heart as I remember.

This morning, eating syrupy pancakes, we listened to this one.

"My heart, makes me wonder how much longer til you're coming back to take me away. My heart, longs for you to fly right through the sky and take me to the place where I'll never feel my heart break down again..." (Third Day).

Don't you long for that day? No more tears, or pain, just the face of the One who loves us! Come, Jesus!