Year-End Reflections

This year we fully jumped into the Charlotte Mason method of education. I have found a philosophy of education that really synthesizes with our lives and this has made all the difference. We have really clung to her 20 principles and it has changed our days. It is not about what we achieve, instead it is about who we are. I have been reading through Charlotte Mason's original 6 volume set. She puts into words a lot of what I have been trying to provide for our children. We have latched onto something that we already believe in.

Seeing our children connect with the Bible, nature, literature, music, art, hymns, handicrafts and their relationships with one another has left me with the thought of "yes, this is how our days should be."

Our kids have been provided with a rich feast and it has been so fun to see what things they connect with on deep levels. Our girls have been bubbling over about the books we read, enjoying their days, and feeling more refreshed. We have lingered longer over our school books and really digested and discussed the ideas. I love how things come up days later because the ideas have been on their minds. It has felt like sitting around a delicious meal, slowly enjoying it, and not wanting to get up from the table afterwards.

The main aim of our homeschool and of our parenting is the same. We pray that our children will become fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. This weaves through everything we do in our days. There is no separating this from anything.

We celebrated the end of our year by going to Crescent Beach and having dinner at "Hooked". 

Although our year is over, our learning continues. I have been blessed to see our kids continue to do a lot of what we do as part of school during their summer break. They have continued to nature journal, sing folk songs, read books and poetry. The other day as we went to the park our girls were singing "Belle of Belfast City" which is one of the songs we learned this year. We then stopped to observe a new wildflower that we could not name. We identified it with our field guide and then stopped to watch the ducklings. When we came home we had tea and continued our read aloud, "Mary Poppins." What we do in school has really become a way of life. Our summer is just less structured. The first days of summer break have been such a gift to me as a teacher because I have truly seen how much they care and how much they love to learn.

Karis is 5!

Dear Karis,

Happy 5th Birthday. You are such an incredibly special part of my life. Your smile adds joy to every day. Your determination and tenacity are a gift. Here is a story that encapsulates you:

The other day we were going for a bike ride. Ella was riding her new bike and Juju had moved up to Ella's old one. This left Juliette's bike free for you. We tried you on it but it was too big for you. Your toes didn't quite touch the ground. In true Karis fashion, you wanted to ride it anyways. I got your little bike out for you because I didn't think it would be safe and didn't think you could get on the big bike on your own. We were all waiting at the end of the driveway for you to get your helmet on so that we could ride to the park (with you on your little bike). You emerged from the backyard riding the too big bike at full speed down the driveway. I asked "are you sure that one's ok?" You darted me that look of yours as you rode down the driveway and said "right or left?"

I love you little girl. I love that you read, you ride a bike, you write, you play the piano (even though you haven't had lessons yet), you swim, you stand on tiptoe when they are measuring your height at playland, and you do almost all things that your sisters do. And you never know, if you keep wiggling those teeth every night one just may fall out at a young age and you can be included in losing teeth as well.

Love,

Momma xoxo

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day over bacon and eggs last Saturday morning. The girls were very excited to give Dadda his own nature journal.

I am so grateful that Spencer is the dadda to our kids. I could not ask for a better man to be the one raising our kids. He is the most honest, humble, servant-hearted man I have ever met. I fully agree with Ella when she tells me that I "married the best Dadda." We are blessed.

Then on Sunday evening we met Grandpa Rob for a picnic dinner.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads and grandpas in our lives. We love you. Your job is incredibly important and we are so thankful for you.

Happy 8th Birthday!

Dear Ella,

Happy 8th birthday. You are a gift and a treasure. Thank you for all you do around our house to help me out and to help your younger siblings. You have stepped into the role of "oldest of 5 kids" beautifully. You have always been thankful for each new baby we have welcomed into our home and have made special bonds with each of your siblings.

Your heart is beautiful. What is it like to want to give away everything you own? You have always been a giver. I pray that God gives me the wisdom to nurture your giving spirit while still finding a way to keep some of your belongings in our house. I pray that your dream will come true Ella and that one day you will run a restaurant out of your home with homeless people living in the extra rooms for you to feed.

Thank you for sharing your struggles with me. Thank you for always being willing to apologize, even if it is hours after the fact. I love it when you come to me with "I am so sorry for my bad attitude this morning Momma. I don't know why I act like that sometimes can you please pray for me?" Thank you for being patient with my struggles too and for being so quick to forgive. You have given me a true glimpse of what Jesus meant when he said that we are to become like little children. You never hold a grudge.  I pray to become like a child in this way.

I love you little girl. I pray that this year you grow closer to Christ and that you thrive in who He created you to be. I am so thankful that I get to be your momma.

Love,
Mom

I took Ella on a special birthday date. We got her ears pierced and had some frozen yogurt. She picked out some pretty pearl earrings.

Ella's birthday gift from mom and dad was a mountain bike.

I took the 5 kids to the park. 4 out of 5 rode their bikes. Ella zipped around on her bike, figuring out how to switch the gears and had a blast... until she went down a big hill way too fast and split her chin. I took a picture, but won't post it because it is too gruesome. Last time she split her chin (which was 4 years ago), our doctor told us that we should use super glue instead of waiting for hours at the ER. So, since Friday was also the evening of Ella and Karis' party we decided to follow our doctor's orders and super glue her chin closed instead of canceling the party due to being at the ER.

All glued up and ready to go :)

We had a wonderful time celebrating Ella and Karis with a few friends. I always give our kids the option of doing a bigger family event or having a party. This year Ella and Karis chose to go to play land to celebrate their birthdays. So we had a very small party for them.

The girls felt celebrated and loved.

 

And I enjoyed spending time visiting with some of my lovely momma friends.

Here is a picture from last weekend's trip to playland. We had a great time, and Ella even rode the large wooden roller coaster twice - once with me and once with Spencer. That ride is scary!! A highlight for all the kids was the log ride.

Sweet Days

We have been having some sweet days around here. The beauty of our time together is not lost on me. I cherish these moments and know that they are going by too fast already. It has been a gift to see our kids playing together, learning together, going on adventures, and forming close bonds as we go through our years. We are all learning and growing, praying and forgiving, making mistakes and getting back up again. 

As promised, there are some more pictures of sweet Silas in this post.

 Ella loves to make apple sauce.

And she also loves getting Peter geared up to go outside. Sometimes he ends up wearing her coat.

I hope Peter's future wife will thank me one day for training him early ;)

 Last week we went on a nature scavenger hunt with some friends.

And all 3 girls passed their swimming lessons. Wahoo!! They worked so hard this set and they all improved drastically - especially Juliette. Swim kids 3, here we come!

Karis left me this note in the back of my Bible the other day.

She is reading up a storm. Karis is so determined to do everything that her sisters do. I love her tenacity.

We often walk to the mail box before lunch to deliver a letter the girls have written to a friend / family member. The view from our mailbox is beautiful. It looks over the Fraser River. Peter loves watching the tugboats haul crates of sawdust down the river.

Juliette is enjoying reading the Milly Molly Mandy storybook series. The front of the book has a map of the little town that Milly Molly Mandy lives in. Juliette loves to read a chapter and then narrate the chapter to me by using the map.

3 little moms.

Our friend the beaver. There are several beavers living in our local pond. This guy is smaller than the one we met a few weeks ago.

The highlight for Peter lately has been seeing Mrs. Mallard with her 9 ducklings. He is thrilled. "Momma, can we go see the ducklings?" This is his daily request. This has also upped the amount of times he wants me to read "Make Way for Ducklings" to him. I love this little boy.

Reading the Bible with Dadda.

A friend from our community group, James, got baptized last Sunday. We are so proud of him for taking this step and it is amazing to see how God is working in his life.

Our butterflies have emerged! We now have 6 butterflies. They emerged over several days, which was very exciting to see. Last year they all emerged overnight. It has been fun to look in their habitat and sometimes see that another chrysalis was empty. This process is so much fun for the kids.

Sometimes Peter puts his shorts on backwards :)

He loves to zoom up to the bridge and be the first to spot the ducklings.

After seeing the ducks at the park, Ella was curious about their lifespan. 

Soaking up the sun.

 Juliette lost her 4th tooth. This is the first top tooth that she has lost. It makes her look so much older. In other news, Juliette had another hearing test today. We were told to not make another appointment because her hearing has improved drastically and she is now hearing in the "normal" range out of both ears!! Thank you to all who have been praying for her. We were so grateful to hear this today. Yahoo!

 

One of our chrysalides had fallen from the filter during the chrysalis stage. So, instead of hanging, it was lying at the bottom of the cage. This resulted in a butterfly with crumpled wings. The girls have been trying to care for the butterfly but it does not appear that this little one will fly. This process has sparked so many great conversations in our family.

And Ella has decided to write a newspaper for our neighborhood. I love her creativity. These will be delivered tomorrow.

Thanks for reading our blog :)