Month: April 2014

Rain

We were warned that we might see tornado activity today, but thankfully that missed us. The weather stayed too cool. We did get lots of rain. All day.

I ran outside tonight to take some pictures because I noticed a small river flowing from our yard onto the street.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-npRQj7T_6uw/U18MGDgWdOI/AAAAAAABduI/evwGOjRXuus/s144-o/IMG_0631.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140428#6007533726095275234″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0631.JPG” ]

 [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-T7JbQaudyI0/U18MFHclrVI/AAAAAAABdt4/-VVS6RROEso/s144-o/IMG_0629.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140428#6007533709973368146″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0629.JPG” ]

 [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-05VRjDklLlA/U18MHrk9ZyI/AAAAAAABduY/ZhvwAABhmhw/s144-o/IMG_0633.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140428#6007533754031892258″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0633.Jpg”]

 Tomorrow sounds like another stormy day. We are safe and dry inside (except for the part where we all went outside to see how much water was on the road).

 

Granparents Visit and Birthday!

Our site was down last week for a little bit. I had posted about the Grandparent visit and birthday, but the post is gone now. Then I didn’t feel like posting anything. I lost my motivation 🙁

The Fritz Granparents WERE here for a bit last week and it was great! Ethan had a birthday and it was fantastic! We have mostly recovered from all the celebrating. Here are some photos:

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ERg3wB8EOa0/U1pWFPhXKsI/AAAAAAABdrg/NTh8cQrgAQU/s144-o/IMG_0615.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006207701117774530″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0615.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-r7ExUikfl1o/U1pWAdBcfdI/AAAAAAABdqs/fhxF_ynCDms/s144-o/IMG_0608.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006207618842656210″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0608.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Z9UE1QiGSoA/U1pVzE-oDII/AAAAAAABdo4/oSGP_hpUzPY/s144-o/IMG_0594.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006207389050080386″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0594.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9wVQsI91Ftg/U1pVxtxEVQI/AAAAAAABdoo/Sfw0TlHdcEM/s144-o/IMG_0592.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006207365639329026″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0592.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-uUVxvH0It7g/U1pVuejbcNI/AAAAAAABdoI/Ou_4h5peB7M/s144-o/IMG_0588.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006207310015983826″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0588.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-47i9GWWPypA/U1pVq_2Tw2I/AAAAAAABdno/XWDnZGS6ztE/s144-o/IMG_0584.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006207250234065762″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0584.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ypLc_Tks4Cc/U1pVj-9N0hI/AAAAAAABdmo/6s9_xIRE8e4/s144-o/IMG_0576.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006207129735516690″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0576.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-s_VpEB2m0rk/U1pVemDH4SI/AAAAAAABdlw/TuRgj05JKug/s144-o/IMG_0569.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006207037150060834″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0569.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DpuG0F53Ujw/U1pVYkEkQfI/AAAAAAABdlA/vu3S5YNkR8E/s144-o/IMG_0563.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006206933540028914″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0563.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-EHJ9z-c6C50/U1pVL9K7-UI/AAAAAAABdjY/yzrsV0cZ81E/s144-o/IMG_0550.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140425#6006206716939336002″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0550.JPG” ]

 Kylene and Justin were here for the birthday celebration as well, but I didn’t get any good photos of them. Justin is very high on Ethan’s list of favorite people! Ethan had a great day. And now I have a 9 year old. That can’t be possible.

Easter Photos 2014

It’s very, very hard to get the kids to all cooperate for a photo. Maybe in about 10 years this will be easier.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UqECqHDRzug/U1PIeuCB4CI/AAAAAAABdhk/CFmkFL5oQW8/s144-o/IMG_0541.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004363158293176354″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0541.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-fQOkeQ8WBkk/U1PIdX8434I/AAAAAAABdhc/39NRmGG21rk/s144-o/IMG_0540.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004363135186165634″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0540.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kbd_ktXPoe8/U1PIcV4LvZI/AAAAAAABdhU/7CXSQ3xC-34/s144-o/IMG_0539.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004363117449690514″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0539.JPG” ]

 Yeah…

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-dL53YCErLeU/U1PIgj162hI/AAAAAAABdh4/iuM2hba9aLs/s144-o/IMG_0543.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004363189917768210″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0543.JPG” ]

 5 families = lots of children at Easter lunch!

kidsThe moms:

easter

Easter Egg Hunt

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-eK4IaW0pr7w/U1K9NyHyzMI/AAAAAAABdeU/8ItMWAhZ5h4/s144-o/IMG_0517.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004069297728703682″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0517.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-9Qj_2pfwYEk/U1K9LTm-PZI/AAAAAAABdeE/Pw7zKtcmYK4/s144-o/IMG_0514.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004069255178239378″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0514.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AY46RlR2oi8/U1K9A4PYzxI/AAAAAAABdco/KST7FrHaJA4/s144-o/IMG_0504.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004069076032868114″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0504.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-dgApLlERgsA/U1K86lXSo4I/AAAAAAABdb4/-xPfOrJj4d8/s144-o/IMG_0498.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004068967886529410″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0498.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-RG1TsX_Sf24/U1K85mo45gI/AAAAAAABdbw/aX6mp2AUJsc/s144-o/IMG_0497.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004068951048906242″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0497.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-6ztyPPRSpmU/U1K8100g8eI/AAAAAAABdbQ/MGVMTOrS9fY/s144-o/IMG_0493.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004068886136287714″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0493.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-KWqbm9CTb1Q/U1K8yyd_EkI/AAAAAAABda8/8WP6XrujVnk/s144-o/IMG_0490.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140419#6004068833965314626″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0490.JPG” ]

 Our church hosted an Easter Egg Hunt today. The weather was gorgeous and we had a fabulous time! I ended up with a little bit of a sunburn. Oops! I think everyone else escaped unburned.

We spent the afternoon napping to recover from our exciting morning. Then we colored eggs. We wrapped up the day by getting their baskets ready for tomorrow! Tomorrow we’re celebrating Easter with 4 other families. By my count, I’m guessing there will be about 25 people there. It will be another fun and exhausting day. No rain in the forecast until Monday.

Spring Flowers

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-87Rkl5077jI/U1ABcaIq0YI/AAAAAAABdaM/Vw5HRs-n7FU/s144-o/IMG_0486.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140417#6003299890848518530″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0486.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-D4hO6LMZ1BE/U1ABbjzqX0I/AAAAAAABdaQ/tGiQt6YBB88/s144-o/IMG_0485.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140417#6003299876264894274″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0485.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LVc1-qGjfqg/U1ABa98SOcI/AAAAAAABdaA/P6T1nNEOWUo/s144-o/IMG_0484.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140417#6003299866100513218″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0484.JPG” ]

Audrey drew these:

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lRqPK8kQfnU/U1ABc2W_8KI/AAAAAAABdaU/U2saYxYgvFI/s144-o/IMG_0487.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/118259776065704938395/20140417#6003299898424815778″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0487.JPG” ]

I Feel Like Blogging Twice Today

Life has been crazy and stressful. I feel like our hands are very full. Right now my mind is a bit distracted by listening to Ethan making super hero sound effects in his room, but I want to talk about homeschooling.

Audrey learned about “silent e” today. A whole new world has been opened up to her 🙂 She actually already knew it, but I officially taught her today. She had learned it in the previous curriculum, but with this new one it was just now introduced. She did very well. She has been reading herself to sleep at night. I love to see her in her bed surrounded by books.

As for Ethan, today I sat with him and taught him about helping verbs. It was something he really wasn’t very excited about, but since he loves to read and does a lot of it, it was not difficult for him to figure out which verb or verb phrase was the right one for each sentence.  He is almost through his math curriculum for the year. Today he worked on writing out long numbers in word form. That is a slow and painful process for a boy who doesn’t love handwriting!

Tomorrow he has piano lessons and he is diligently working on The Medallion Calls for his recital:

Unrelated to homeschooling, Nathan was home today. He has been in a ton of pain in his shoulder and neck. He was able to see a chiropractor/physical therapist today. Please pray that he will be pain free soon. He hasn’t slept much for about a week and he is not himself.

Happy Dance

I just heard from my friend that Ethan has been accepted into a local homeschool tutorial program for next year!

It meets on Thursdays and it will be excellent for all of us. If it goes well, the following year I will add Audrey to that excitement.

He will be studying Tennessee History, Botany, Keyboarding, Music, IEW Student Writing Intensive and I chose Lego Robotics and Physical Fitness Challenge. Those last two things I need to hear back on to find out if we got placed in them. Doesn’t that sound fun?  Ethan is going to love it! We’ll do homework at home in preparation and also do math and language arts on our own to make sure we cover everything.

Sunday Evening Post

Today was a typical Sunday for us:

*9:00 early service at church

*Teach Sunday School class to 2nd graders

*Come home and rest a bit

*Ethan and I go to Bible Bowl practice

*Dinner and Bible Study with our Life Group at 5:30

*Come home and dump the kids in bed

We sang this song today at church. It was pretty much like this minus the fire juggling 🙂

Bible Bowl Round Robin Day

Today was the last quiz/round robin tournament for this year’s Beginner Bible Bowl. Now, they get to keep studying for a competition in KY in June and Nationals in July.

Ethan started out the year unsure that he really wanted to do this. I did my best to tell him that he would LOVE it :-). As it turned out, he really did enjoy it. He did really well too. For the past several months he has won the “core bee” which is a little quiz they do at the beginning for the tournament for all the kids who are studying the core. His team was undefeated today. That means that their record for the year was 40 wins and 1 loss! That’s 1st place overall with no other teams coming anywhere close to that record. I am a proud mom. I worked hard too. I spent many hours sitting with Ethan and quizzing him on his questions. I’ve learned right along with him.

And I’m pretty tired tonight.