Falling Creek Camp

We asked Porter recently what one thing was that he really wanted to do. He said fishing with Daddy. On Sunday, he finally got to! We went to a BBQ fundraiser with Sean at a wonderful place nearby called Falling Creek camp. The kids got to try several new things and it was such a fun family day. Mimi was able to stay with Sullivan, which allowed Sean and I to do more "big kid" stuff. We fished, canoed, square danced (Porter was a great partner!) and made s'mores. Savannah was a little leery of the canoeing and asked the guys "if sharks were in the water". Girlfriend is much more on the "indoorsy" side of life. We didn't catch any fish, but that hardly mattered! He got to fish and that was all he cared about! 

Sean even got in on the dancing for a while :)

Park with Pals

After nearly a week of passing around a stomach virus through every member of the family, a day at the park with friends was exactly what we needed! We packed a picnic and headed out. While the fresh air was nice, we have had our share of hot weather and are more than ready to see some fall temps! 

I asked Savannah to get her things ready for the park. These were the items she deemed essential: 

These sweet, happy faces were delighted to be outside and spend time with their friends! 

Photo catch-up

Some photos from the last few weeks...

Sean and I had a wonderful (kid free, thanks mom and sisters!) weekend in Atlanta watching the Yankees play 

You "might" be homeschooled if getting dressed for school looks like this...

Steak 'n Shake milkshakes after a hot day at the park 

Her ham sandwich had ham in it (this girl!)

3 sweet babies in the tub

Girlfriend shopping 

Loving Daddy 

Caught this sweetie reading 

It's a good thing she's beautiful! 

I could just squish him! 

"Dressed for the day" (all 3 outfits are entirely typical) 

11 months with Sullivan.

Like most things lately, this post is a little late. But here it is anyways... 

Sweet baby Sullivan is now 11 months old. In his 11th month he hit a major milestone...he started crawling!! He started slow but has gotten much faster! He still loves baby food and that's the only way I can get fruits and veggies in him as of now. With pick up foods, he still prefers bread-like textures. He is doing great with water in a sippy cup. Still napping twice a day. Goes to bed at 8:00 and usually sleeps until around 8:00. He has such a happy disposition and his smile is as big as ever! He is very suited for the baby role around here. Everyone is very eager to help him with things and watch him figure out new things. He is well loved, no doubt about that! 

And just for the sake of comparison, this is all 3 babes at 11 months...

Mills River Day

This was a couple weeks ago, but one of my favorite days. Therefore, it must be recorded! Mills River has always been one of my favorite spots. Just a simple place- picnic tables, grill, creek, lots of places to explore. I loved going here as a kid and now to be able to share it with our kids is amazing! Nonni was so sweet to let Sullivan spend the day with her, so we could enjoy some freedom with the big kids. It was so much fun! They had a blast playing in the creek, throwing rocks, swinging in the hammock, grilling hot dogs and having mommy and daddy all to themselves. This is one of those days I'll remember forever! 

Quiet Time

Ok, so the "quiet" part of the phrase is used loosely. It's always been important to me to instill a love for learning and reading and a desire for the word of God in my children's hearts. In an effort to do so, we do morning quiet time whenever we can. (You didn't read that to say everyday did you? Ok good, because that would be entirely wrong.) I firmly believe that the Lord knows the desires of our hearts and what our intentions are. And if our quiet time is more like 5 minutes where everyone looks through the pictures in their bibles, then that's totally fine! But, most of the time it does lead to some pretty cool teachable moments when the kids want to know more about the pictures they see. This is the verse that resonates with me in trying to set a good example for my little ones... "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Preschool week 1

So, we've been a little MIA from the blogging lately. What can I say? Life is a mess. It's chaotic and crazy and blessed and busy, so very busy. Anyways, among other recent events, we began our first week of homeschooling. Porter is doing preschool and we are using the Memoria Press curriculum. I couldn't be happier with it so far. It's a great fit for us. He has loved the first week and said many times "I'm so glad you're my teacher mommy!" He is my incredibly introverted, tender hearted child and having the opportunity to learn where he feels most comfortable is the best situation for him. 

People's initial reactions to hearing that we have chosen to homeschool vary greatly. Some think it's great and some clearly don't. And I can honestly say I'm ok with all of the above. Because the thing is, we didn't set out to be "that family". I studied hard in college to become a licensed teacher and greatly enjoyed my time teaching in public school before having children. There were stresses and down sides, for sure, but overall it was the perfect fit for me. When Porter was a baby, we made the decision that we did not want to homeschool and hoped to be able to send him to Christian school. I'm fact, Sean was vehemently against homeschooling (yes, he is ok with me sharing that). However, as he got a couple years older and I began to see other friends with similar aged children enrolling their children in preschool. Now hear me out. There is absolutely nothing wrong with preschool. There are lots and lots of great options out there. But for our family and our children, I just didn't have a peace about sending them. I got teary at the mere mention of it, in fact. It was at a parenting workshop that Sean and I took from a beloved pastor and his wife in Charlotte that began to change our way of thinking. As she described the way they raised their children (which included homeschooling) we both feeling the unmistakable call of the Holy Spirit. Yall, I cried. I mean full blown ugly cry, right there in the middle of the crowded room. Sean looked at me and nodded his head and mouthed "I think so too". She shared the way that the thought of putting her children in school brought her to tears and how she, through much prayer, felt the freedom from doing so by homeschooling. I had always known it was an option, my own family even had a wonderful experience doing so. But for us, me being a teacher and both of us being successful products of public school, it felt somewhat forbidden for whatever reasons. So from there, we began the praying, discussions and research about what that would mean and look like for our family. 

And now looking back on my experiences before and during college and while teaching, I know that this is exactly what the Lord was preparing me for. And how thankful I am to live in a country where this is an option and I have so many resources so readily available. However, Sean and I are both in agreement that we will continue to pray about this decision year by year and child by child. In the mean time, this year is off to a great start and I am so so so excited to watch my eldest baby learn and mature right alongside me.