Thursday, May 28, 2009

Pretty Butterfly

Prite Budrfli

Budrfli
Fli
Prite Budrfli
In the Ski
Way up hi
Like the star up in the ski
Prite Budrfli

By: Emma Zickafoose
Age 4

Translated by Mommy:

Butterfly
Fly
Pretty Butterfly
In the Sky
Way up High
Like the Stars up in the Sky
Pretty Butterfly

Emma's first poem. She wrote it and sounded the words out to spell all by herself!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Catching Up

Once again, it seems that life has gotten in the way, and I have not taken the time to post. Like many bloggers, I feel as though I am in a writing funk. Often, I find myself thinking, That would make a great post, or I need to remember to blog about that, but I never seem to take the time to do it. Sometimes, I contemplate deleting this entire blog, but I am too in love with the books that my sister-in-law makes for me each Christmas. I imagine that one day my daughters will love to sit down and read all about their childhood memories I have recorded here. So I will press on.

Easter. Did I really not blog about Easter? Seriously? We had a great time. We made Easter cookies, dyed eggs, and went Easter dress shopping with Grammy and Da. We had Easter dinner and a cousin egg hunt at Grandma and Papaw Z's house. And last, but certainly not least, we spent Easter Sunday at Ms. Faye's, for her annual Easter party. Once again, Emma found the golden egg! She was so proud, and I fear she will be disappointed next year when she has to move up an age category and the hunt is harder. A good Easter was had by all.

Field Trips. As the school year is winding down, Emma's preschool has been going on a lot of field trips. Lately we have been to the zoo and Jump Zone, and we had a great time at both!

Homeschool planning for next year. I have finally chosen all of the curriculum that we will be using! I am going to use Weaver Interlock by Alpha Omega for Emma's Kindergarten next year. A friend recommended it to me, and after looking at some of the sample lessons, I believe that Kate will be able to participate too, and both girls will love it. We will be using Leading Little Ones to God for our morning devotions, and Hermie and Friends Scripture Memory Songs to help us with our memory verses. Emma will be using A Reason For Writing for her handwriting, and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for reading. For math we will use the Brighter Child workbook. I am hoping to do lots of hands on activities. This year my main goals are to strengthen Emma's reading skills (she can already read short books at age four) and to set the stage for our later years of learning. I want the girls to think homeschooling is fun! We will also be working on discipline and setting more of a routine for our days.

Playing with friends. Lately, our backyard has been a happening place. With the warming up of the weather, the kids have come out in droves, and my girls are loving it. At any given time, I can look out the back door and count up to fourteen kids ages ten and under in the backyard. It reminds me of the old days when kids would play in the neighborhoods before mamas started working and day cares were where all of the children went in the afternoons. My girls have literally played outside for six or seven hours a day, and we are still dragging them in at bedtime.

Building a golf coarse. That's right. Boss talked our boss into letting him put a golf hole on the property. He calls it the Mid Western Municipal and you can bet my hubby is stinkin' proud! I told him it was definitely blog worthy material.

Sleeping in our own rooms and sleeping through the night. That's right! While Boss and I have been successful at these two things for many years, Emma and Kate have just started learning the drill over the last couple of months. Evenings are a much happier place here in our home. I was so tired of falling asleep to the sound of Spongebob.

Some things we are looking forward to in the coming weeks.

Emma's pre school graduation! What a great learning year this has been for her!

Emma's dance recital. This year's routine is more complicated than last year, and she looks so grown up. I love that girl. Kate cannot wait until she can take ballet lessons next year, too!

Summer! I think Boss is more excited than all of us. It's funny. Three months ago, we were all devastated over the school closing and Boss having to change jobs. Now, we are more than thankful to have this new job with the Therapeutic Education Service Center. I think it is going to be a great job for Boss, and a great fit for our family.

Our six year wedding anniversary. I love being married to my best friend. He is too good to me and I do not deserve him, but I am so very thankful for him.

Disney World! We leave in sixteen days! It is our first time, and we are thrilled.

Birthdays. I can't believe my girls are turning three and five this summer. That is hard to believe. We are having the celebration at Jump Zone this year, although Kate keeps requesting a bubble party? Unless she gets more specific with the details, Jump Zone it is.

Rest and relaxation. This one is for me. I am a bit burned out in the house parenting department. I have gotten some challenging new girls, and I believe that a break is just what I need.

We feel so blessed in this life we have been given. Thanks for sharing in the journey with us.

Some pictures in no particular order: