happy birthday, ava-girl!

We cannot believe this sweet girl is now the big O-N-E!

We had a lovely time celebrating Ava. It was so fun buying pink napkins and plates and making pink frosting. I made her a giant pink cupcake cake and another pink cake with white sprinkles and a beautiful pink pendant made by my friend Tonia {who is not pink, but who most certainly has a rosy disposition}.

Ava LOVED her birthday balloons and wore a cute little pink shirt with the number 1 on it and her favorite pair of jeans. She bounced around from grandparent to grandparent to aunt to aunt and was just the happiest little birthday girl on the planet.

Ava, you are a JOY and a GIFT and we just LOVE you so much! We can't wait for this next year with you -- it is so fun watching you grow and learn and laugh and play! It is hard to believe that you were this sleepy newborn just one year ago....

T is for ENCOURAGEMENT :)

T is for ENCOURAGEMENT.


Before you revoke my teaching license and put Mason on the school bus, allow me to explain:


Kindergarten has been going great. I am thoroughly enjoying teaching and learning alongside our boys. And they are learning and learning and learning and soaking in so much information and truths. It is amazing to watch them unlock door after door in their little brains. I swear I can sometimes SEE the sparks ignite as they put sounds together and make words. I can HEAR their pride as their pencils form real live letters. And I FEEL their joy as their scissors and crayons create I am so thankful to be there for this.


CAN YOU TELL WE JUST FINISHED OUR UNIT ON THE 5 SENSES??


But, let's face it, it isn't all sparks and songs and excitement. There are hard days. And last week had more of those hard days then I thought I could hande. Sickness and busyness and clutter snuck in and began to steal the joy right outta my new role. And this is fertile ground for doubt. Should I have just sent him to kindergarten? Is he learning anything? How can I balance this life as a homeschool mom?


And then I found it: the letter T. There are no words to describe the PEACE that washed over me upon this discovery. You see, I had looked and looked for this letter T on and off for probably a month at the beginning of the school year. I knew I had put it in a good spot. I could visualize it. But I could not put my hands on this letter card. I couldn't let it go. You know how that feels don't you? The soundtrack in my head kept repeating: "You're a mess!" "You can't do anything right!" "Who are you kidding that you'll be able to manage homeschooling!" etc. etc. etc.


And there it was. In the bookshelf where I had looked at least a dozen times. It was noon. I was still in my pjs trying to grab one more thing to wrap up our school day. Frazzled. Frustrated. Close to tears. And then RRRRRRRRRRR----UUUUUUUUU----SSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH: Peace.

Thank you, Lord, for your goodness and mercy. Thank you for knowing me so well that you knew exactly when I needed to encounter this encouragment. You knew how a simple piece of cardboard would soothe my soul.

So, yes, T is for ENCOURAGEMENT [and it really will be when we get to end consonant sounds].

Going Rogue

I had a better post, but blogspot messed up....so this is a test post with picture for your enjoyment:

...on the move...

Just shy of 10 months, our baby girl stood up and walked... She started taking some steps here and there last week and then got more consistent on Friday with 2 or 3 steps. Saturday she was more like 6-8 steps and yesterday included 10-12 steps and turning around and now she.is.non.stop.

The boys announce, "Her's walking!! Her's really walking!?" each and every time.

Side Note: I have been working on the use of SHE instead of HER with my boys...if anyone has any ideas, PLEASE help this momma out! My mom's English grammar gene is kicking in and it is seriously like fingernails on a chalkboard!! I sing "SHE SHE SHE SHE SHE SHE SHE" to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and that isn't even helping.

Oh wait...As I am typing this, Mason just said "SHE'S WALKING!!" Be.still.my.heart! And, OH WAIT!, that walking girl just opened up my kitchen cupboards....YIKES!

NOTE: This is new footage I took tonight as I couldn't get yesterday's to upload! I took just a quick snippet hoping that it would upload without problems...but you get the idea!!

FINAL NOTE: Yes. Mason is asking his Daddy for a lighter at the end of this video. We were building a campfire. Said lighter was not actually used by our 5 1/2 year old....promise!

9 months

Oh Sweet Ava-Girl.




How can you possibly be 9 months old?


I want to change your name to Ava Joy because that is what you do...you bring J-O-Y to your mommy and daddy...and pretty much everyone you meet.

You are cruising the furniture like it is going out of style.

You got your first tooth on Grandma Bella's Birthday, August 13th.

You are starting to eat more foods, but prefer to self-feed. Some of your favorites are: garbanzo beans, cheese, tortillas, oatmeal with some cinnamon, and last night you gobbled up peas like they were chocolate chips!

You sing/squeal your way to sleep during the day.

You are so laid back. You just go with the flow. It is wonderful. It is refreshing.

You still are up once or twice at night, but just for a quick nursing (when will you give momma a b-r-e-a-k??)

Your brothers adore you. They drag you around the house. They make you belly laugh -- loudest, sweetest sound on earth!

Ava Shannon Best -- you have changed our lives. You have added so much J*O*Y to our souls...like, down deep, so far down deep that it hurts. Every day your personality shines more and more...and every day we love you more and more.

You are our precious daughter and we thank God for the gift that is YOU!!

Kindergartening ... at home

It is the question that somehow always gets asked right after Mason says, "I'm 5!"

"Are you going to kindergarten?"
"Are you excited to start kindergarten?"
"Where will you go to kindergarten?"

I get it. I do the same thing. It's what 5-year-olds do. I am just a little unsure of how to answer this question.

"Yes" is what I would like to say. And then just leave it at that.

But my sweet 5 year old responds, "I am kindergartening at home." Oh how I love his honesty.

Most of the time there is an awkward pause in the conversation. Or a weird glance up to me to make sure this is, in fact, what is going to happen. Sometimes the conversation is over altogether.

It has gotten easier with each exchange. I am getting {more} comfortable with the idea. I am much more confidant in our decision. I am not {entirely} terrified at the very mention of kindergarten anymore.

The truth is we will be kindergartening at home. Kindergarten came in a box to our front door. And it is now unpacked from that box and getting itself ready for a year of adventure and learning and fun.

How did we arrive at this decision? Let's just say it was a L-O-N-G road of doubt and uncertainty, of reading and information gathering, of praying and seeking wise counsel, of reflecting on our own educational experiences. And finally...to surrendering to what we believe to be the very best choice for kindergarten for Mason and for our family.

I didn't want to. I fought it. But with each new school supply purchase and with each new conversation about kindergartening at home, I gain excitement and momentum to rock this new role.

Or die trying.

One year at a time.

P.H.E.W.

******NOTE: I GAVE UP ON THIS POST. NEVER AGAIN WILL I UPLOAD SO MANY PICS TO ONE POST--THEY WERE ALL IN THE WRONG ORDER AND IT IS TOO TIME CONSUMING TO GET RIGHT. THEN AVA PUBLISHED IT WHEN THE LAPTOP WAS UNATTENDED. SO, ENJOY THE WHIRLWIND OF PICTURES WHICH ACCURATELY REFLECT THE WHIRLWIND OF ACTIVITY WE'VE HAD!! :)********

Wow! We hit the ground running upon returning from vacation. Ear Tube Surgery, Father's Day, Safety Town, Vacation Bible School, and then lots of family time when Uncle Matt & his new girlfriend Michelle came to visit. Emily & the cousins shacked up with us--and it went so well that they stayed almost a week (instead of the 4 days we had planned for)! And, we topped it all off with some good times with Tim's side of the family over a 4th of July weekend to remember .

Happy Father's Day to the BEST Daddy in the world! Mason told Tim he wanted to celebrate Father's Day for 21 days (or years)...We celebrated with a slow restful morning, a big breakfast, homemade cards, and a cookout over at Tim's dad's house. These 3 kiddos are pretty lucky to have such a patient and plugged-in providing, teaching, discipining, discipling Daddy for their Dad.

Ava first tastes of food. Homemade sweet potato puree. She didn't seem to mind the taste, but she had us all laughing when she kept her mouth open for the next 15 minutes and all of that sweet potato goodness oozed out of her salivating open mouth. She prefers chunked food-bananas, sweet potato cubes, cheerios...but, honestly, she just isn't that interested {much to my dismay}. My brother Matt and his girlfriend Michelle spent a wonderful week with us. They were total troopers since I can only imagine that hanging with 5 kids 5 and under is not what their typical Friday night or Saturday night or Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday nights look like. We had a fabulous visit--saw the new elephant exhibit at the Cleveland zoo. Mom and Mason rocking the color blue....at the zoo: