puttin' the smack down!

like many american families we own a wii, computer(s), and now the infamous ipad. i tried to keep my kids interests in these sorts of things at bay, but with a daddy who gets giddy at the sight of any new techie toy i knew that it wouldn't be long before i would have to cave. while gracie could live without the wii and/or video games, jack just has this obsession. it's kind of a guy thing, i think. beating levels, finding codes and treasures and such are all beyond my understanding. it's fun for them and something that they do together *mostly* without fighting and arguing. we have always been cautious of time spent on these sorts of things but most recently we have had to put some serious boundaries in place.

we took a break from our daily schooling over the christmas and new years holidays and pretty much gave free reign to all things technological since the ipad was new and a few new wii games appeared under the tree. boy was that a mistake! our first week back to school was hard! getting back into reading and focusing on non-moving things mode was tough... especially for jack.  i also started to notice that the children just assumed because we have these things they think they deserve to play them all the time, no matter what. uh, hello.... i don't think so! 

after having used some nifty chore charts that i found on pinterest, it gave me an idea to create some behavior charts for them. and better yet... they could earn their greatest commodity: techie time!  at the end of everyday we go over the charts and talk about which areas they succeeded and which areas they failed. if they succeeded in being kind that day for example, they get a star on that day- worth 5 minutes of tech time! you get the point. they have an opportunity to earn a pretty big chunk of time to play over the weekend, but we have only gotten up to 35 minutes earned so far. ;)   

our desire for our children is that their behavior would reflect that of Jesus and that their hearts will understand their own sin and will be drawn to repentance without the use of a chart. but for the time being, this has been a good way to turn to God's word when we need a reminder on how to behave and treat others. and while they struggle to 'do the right thing' (don't we all!?) we have had some pretty good days lately! kindness has prevailed (a few times), obedience is sweet, and their tech time is something they don't take for granted!

if you have the same issues as we did feel free to use our chart! i have included the link and you can download it as a .pdf and print one for yourself! 

go HERE for the download!

IOU :: happy birthday jack!

why yes, the fall swallowed us up with the beginning of our school year, (including jack's birthday!), christmas went by in a flash and now here we are almost to the end of january! yikes! so this is my official IOU post for mr. jack avery.
this guy... what can i say? he has my heart wrapped around his little finger. while he frustrates me to the core when it comes to getting stuff done, and seriously grosses me out with his little boy antics, how can i not love him! that face! his sweet heart is so soft to jesus and we pray that he grows to be a mighty man of God! he has the best example and his daddy is training him well..not only in the things of God but holding the door for the ladies and all. heart breaker, that kid. he is becoming quite the soccer player and has most recently taken a liking to skateboarding. he can't get enough of it! so... we look forward to the blessing of another year watching jack grow and i am sure he'll entertain us the whole way through!

happy birthday gracie!

today my sweet girl turns 9. that's almost a decade! the joy and fullness that this young lady has brought to our lives is immeasurable. i am so humbled that God saw fit to bless us with her. She is forever amazing us with her knowledge, making us laugh with her silliness, frustrating us with her stubbornness, and keeping us on top of things. :) i don't know where we would be without little gracie. (who i probably need to stop calling little!) today we praise jesus and celebrate the life of gracie!

a reason to celebrate!

the end of summer vacation for us was marked by all kinds of excitement.  an earthquake, a hurricane and a brand new family member! our sweet niece and cousin mia came into the world born to my brother matt and his dear wife carly. we could not have been more excited! they live deep in the heart of texas, and we weren't sure we were going to be able to make the long trip but the Lord saw fit for us to go! what a blessing!
gracie was a proud cousin and so sweet and gentle with mia. jack wasn't sure what to think. :) we spent precious time together, eating, laughing, getting to know little mia, eating some more, and relaxing together. it was good.  we miss her already!

summer vacation!

a few weeks ago we took a jaunt to the low country... south carolina ya'll! ever since gracie was a wee one my mom and i have tried to make the trip down to visit family.  it had been 3 years since we were last there to spend some quality time with the great-grands and other sweet family members. gracie and jack were so excited to get back to charleston and to aunt debbie's pool! in the south, life moves at a slower pace, the food tastes better and tea is served extra sweet. :)how could a kid not resist that!


highlights of our trip involved staying in charleston with one set of grandparents and meeting all their friends whose faces would light up at the sight of my two kiddos, getting sprayed by water during the 4D planet earth film at the south carolina aquarium, watching jack guzzle down 3 glasses of sweet tea like nobody's business, walking on the beach at isle of palms, butter beans and rice at browns bbq, trying to catch lizards by the pool, eating a big juicy watermelon with my sweet grandpa gordon, watching grace in all her glory riding a horse named jet, catching up with my aunt debbie and savoring all her hospitality.it was a blessing to spend time with those we love but don't get to see very often. memories were made and gracie and jack are ready to become low country bumpkins.

catch up!

they say a picture is worth a thousand words. here is what we have been up to since i last posted...

gracie and i spent an evening out with friends at a secret keeper girl event!

jack fell out of bed and got a black eye. poor kid.

we were slap happy and made a kabillion mustaches on a stick to sell at the salisbury festival!

we finished our geography homeschool co-op class with a 'food from many nations' party! we studied japan and made candy sushi! it was a hit! (and we also cleared peoples nasal passages with wasabi peas!)

we blinked and summer was here! goggles + blow up pool = endless summer fun!

 and most recently, gracie showed us her moves at her dance recital. what a beauty!

 we are glad for a break in our schooling and looking forward to a busy summer. life is good. Jesus is better!

cha-ching!

back in the fall chris brought home this great tall vase/jar thingy and it inspired us to start an everyday change savings for something fun. the kids had been eyeing a big lego set that cost upwards of $100! gasp!! i could never in my right mind plunk down that kind of dough for toys. especially those that more often than not get eaten by the dog. so- we made a deal. all of our change would go in the big jar until we had saved enough for legos.
this time of year it takes a bit more effort to get through our school day.  some of our typical weekly activities with friends are still on break until the spring- so finding something different and interesting to do seems to be the challenge every week. last week i noticed our jar was mighty full and thought that counting all those abe's and george's would make for a fun math lesson! we poured the whole jar out on the coffee table and started sorting. the kids loved it! jack counted piles of ten pennies and grace went hard to work putting all the quarters in stacks of four. once everything was sorted and counted we had saved up $116 dollars!  it was quite a fun afternoon project and much better than multiplication worksheets. :)

the many faces of jack avery

seriously, what is better than a cute kid fresh from a bath? jack is now tall enough to see himself in the bathroom mirror and this is what happens. not just after bath. all. the. time. when left to his own devices, our silly kid entertains himself. he brings much joy to our life. it sure would be boring without him!

the class clown and the book worm.

the christmas season is over and we are back to work. as thankful as i am for a break, this year, the return of our home school routine was welcome. it is so funny and quite interesting to experience being a parent, especially a home school one. these two little people growing up before my eyes are so funny, serious, insightful, smart, weird, innocent, loving, crazy, i could go on and on.  the older they get the more we realize how different they are from eachother! god has given them each individual personalities and it is a blessing to get to know them.  after recieving a new 50mm lens for my camera these were some of the first shots i captured. a true picture of their absolute different personalities. my class clown and my book worm. love.

jack turns 5!

my little guy is growing up. someone tell me how to stop it. i have come to learn that years 5 and 6 are the end of little kid and the beginning of big kid. baby teeth are ready for the tooth fairy, chubby cheeks become less plump, and reading opens up a whole new world of adventure for their little minds. it has been a blessing and joy to be jack's momma and we love watching him grow!

8 is great!

all the woodland creatures came out a few weeks ago to help us celebrate gracie's 8th birthday! we have quite a love of all things owl, gnome and toadstool around here lately.... so the woodland theme was fitting for a fall birthday party. meme and papa were so gracious to let us use their fun fire pit for roasting marshmallows and their backyard woods for a scavenger hunt...fun was had by all!

swim suits for sweaters



last day at the beach

 summer is over and fall days are here.  back to the books for us. as a home school family our days are full of learning, creating and plenty of whining of course. it is a true blessing to watch grace and jack learn and grow in knowledge.  but the older they get, the faster time seems to fly and i am not sure how i feel about that. i try and savor every moment, but truth be told some days are tougher than others. kids will be kids... and who really wants to sit and do addition and subtraction worksheets!? we will miss our lazy days of picnics on the beach and finding giant clam shells for the front stoop. i guess it's time to trade swim suits for sweaters and beach towels for blankets. thanking God for the sweetness of fall which makes the transition not so hard; cool days, big pots of warm soup, crunchy apples, leaving the windows open, and picking out the perfect pumpkin of course.

a final goodbye

we spent the past few days in northern michigan. bidding a final farewell to my beloved grandparents. a bitter sweet time was had by all. it was a joy to be with family members, share stories and spend time celebrating life. the trip to ‘the lake’ was a bit more difficult than I had imagined, as it is a place that i hold close to my heart. the reality that we will not be able to spend the time there that we once had, and my children will not experience the joy there that i did, was a hard one to come to terms with. the distinct scents, the clear green water, the pockets of forest unexplored, will be longed for. through the viewfinder of my camera i captured my children doing the very same things i grew up doing. hunting for petosky stones, riding the paddle board and discovering all sorts of wildlife. it was a surreal and joyful experience. i didn’t want it to end. but something was missing. an empty place in our hearts translated to that physical place and I felt it. the bold, full spirit of my grandpa and the gentle, sweet soul of my grandma were not there. i pray that they are together for eternity sharing the love that we knew them to share on this earth, tenfold.

day trippers

a long cold winter had us itchin' to get out and away! our first taste of spring was an extra sunny, extra warm one and we headed to dc to soak it all up. what a blessing to be so close to such a full and exciting city!

happily ever after.

three months to the day of my grandpa's passing, my dear sweet grandma closed her eyes and went to be with her love. we should have known it wouldn't be long...for they were hardly ever apart.
my grandma nancy holds such a special place in my heart and i have often secretly thought we were kindred spirits. my love for art, creativity, neatness and organization come from my grandma nancy. she always took the time to make things extra special for all of her grandkids. picnic scavenger hunts, painting rocks, baths in the lake, and hours of flipping through her detailed photo scrap books are all fond memories i have of time spent with my grandma.
the last few years grandma suffered from dementia, and when grandpa died i was able to spend some quiet time with her.  she was unaware of the sadness that was around her, but through her confusion still had a spark. i will treasure those moments.
although we all knew this time would come, it doesn't make it any easier. two people, who loved so great, and were loved by many will be sorely missed. a place in our hearts left empty.
i love you grandma and pray that this day you are whole again.

ringing in a new year....

 back to blogging after a busy and fun christmas season.....new years eve 2009 will be one for the books. getting older and having littles has its perks....one of them being our excuse to stay in and eat lots of sweets instead of drinking ourselves silly like back in the "olden days".  we told the kids they could stay up till midnight for a movie marathon consisting of  plenty of cheesy movies.  our menu of gummy bears, m &m's, cracker jacks kept us going and seltzer with a splash of juice was our bubbly! a mean game of SORRY went down at around 9:30, where I proceeded to school everyone in the art of board gaming. jack crashed around 11 and gracie made it until the ball dropped. daddy even slept in the living room with the kids...sleeping bags and all (i snuck up to our comfy bed!). simple joys and lots of love. i am blessed. praying that 2010 brings many more joys, sorrows that make us stronger and the motivation to make a difference!

jack!

my jack. so funny, cuter than words can describe and just plain fun. there have been lots of tears around here lately, and it was a nice change of pace to celebrate 4 years of life with our little guy today. he is just a bit obsessed with all things star wars. uncle chris sent him a real-life- every-man's boy's- dream- light saber. what an extra special surprise! i made him a homemade from scratch bantha- but it didn't get quite the attention that the light saber got! we love our jack and are so blessed we get to watch him grow!

saying goodbye

this weekend we said goodbye to a very special man. my grandpa bob. also affectionately known as "poppie" to some. some traveled, some were already there- but we all came together to celebrate the life of this wonderful, generous and dear man. although his death was unexpected and sooner than we would have liked, my grandpa led a full and blessed life. the weekend was spent remembering, crying, laughing,singing, eating!,celebrating and praying. as a tribute and a way to say goodbye we set off 87 balloons - one for each year of his life. we love him, we miss him and our lives won't be the same without him.

memories of my grandpa, a.k.a. poppie.

the lake.

sweet notes always with x's and o's.

homemade macaroni and cheese-with ketchup!
michigan football-
push that pigskin! 

cocktails at 5.

bebe guns and black squirrels.

picnics on the pontoon.

swims out to the raft.

lunch at dons.

murdicks fudge.

double mint gum.

ray bans.

big bear hugs.

i am sad today but you made me so happy. i will miss you grandpa and hope to see you again someday.

big sister. little brother.

childhood is the most beautiful

of all life's seasons.

{author unknown}