Our Furry Family Members

Beemer

• Miniature Schnauzer
• 11 years old
• Our first 'baby'
• Official welcomer...a.k.a. Mr. Yapper
• Nicknamed:  Beemer Underfoot...he is ALWAYS right there whenever you take a step.  
• Growls at visitors...no matter whether it's the 1st or the 100th visit (See Official welcomer)
• Smelly - no matter how many baths, or how many teeth brushings.  He.Just.Smells.

Bella

• Newest member of the family, as of June 19th.
• 5 months old
• Sweet as can be
• Has been on the injured list since Sept 2nd due to a fall, which fractured her tibial crest
• Is healing quite nicely and ready to be a puppy again...although she hasn't been cleared to wrestle with her partner in crime, Beemer.

We love our furry little friends!  Our house wouldn't be the same without them!

Brecken

Brecken Matthew

(photo: In Full Bloom Photography)

Age: "almost" 8 years

Favorite activities:
*Building with LEGOs
*Playing football
*Swimming
*Minecraft
*Wrestling with Daddy & Leighton
*Riding his bike
*Jumping on the trampoline
*CLIMBING

Brecken LOVES his LEGO's.  He can be found in his room building for hours and does really well at following the LEGO instructions as well as coming up with his own creations.

Brecken is also known for his mad climbing skills.  This child has been a monkey from the get-go!  He has no fear when it comes to trees...poles...playground equipment...you name it.  He shimmies up poles, monkeys across & slides down the next one.  He has wonderful balance and is strong (although his skinny little arms don't look it), so I don't worry much.

He is an easy going boy and very much a people pleaser (which can be a fault too...his mommy & daddy have this same characteristic).  He soaks up information like a sponge, especially when it involves dinosaurs, snakes, birds & LEGO's.  He is a joy and very fun to have around.  

Leighton

Leighton Asher

(photo: In Full Bloom Photography)

Age:  6 years

Favorite activities:

*Running

*Jumping on the trampoline

*Playing catch

*Riding his bike

*Eating candy

*Wrestling with Brecken and daddy

Leighton is our go-getter child.  This kid asks what we are doing and where are going, as soon as he wakes up.  He always wants to be on the go!  He loves anything sporty, anything outside and loves to be around people.  

Leighton is a very logical child, which is a great gift...but also challenging when trying to reason with him :)  The other kiddos go along with most answers we give them, but Leighton is very persistent and very logical in his arguments - discussions with him are always longer!

He is a very caring little boy.  He is helpful with his sisters, most times and loves playing with our dogs.  We have started kindergarten with him this year and I am finding that he is a very kinesthetic learner.  He needs hands-on type learning and a lot of movement.  This works well for almost everything except for handwriting :-)  If he could figure out how to write and jump at the same time, that would be great!

Zoe

Zoe Lynnae

(photo: In Full Bloom Photography)

Age:  4 years

Favorite activities:

*Singing

*Playing with her babies

*Dancing and twirling

*Riding her Strider bike

Zoe LOVES to sing.  I am amazed at the number of songs this girl knows.  She sings from the moment she wakes up until the moments she falls asleep.  She sings "Maybe" from Annie, as she falls asleep.  She sings "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie, as she cleans.  She sings "Do-Re-Mi" and the "Cuckoo/Goodnight" song from the Sound of Music, as she's playing around the house.  She sings when she bathes, when she jumps on the trampoline, in the car...you name it!  She sings songs from church...some that we haven't heard for months!  I love listening to her little voice!

Zoe is becoming a little girl...growing out of the 2/3 toddler stage.  She is very verbal and holds her own when her brothers are bothering her.  She is very sweet, but will put up a fight if she feels strongly about something (like staying up later...or getting a toy that she wants).  She loves playing with her babies, has names for all of them, and takes them everywhere.  You can see the top of her baby's head in the pic above :)

Sophie

Sophie Maxine

(photo: In Full Bloom Photography)

Age:  2 1/2 years

Favorite sayings:  

*This is my best!  (for anything she loves)

*I love you mommy dog...or daddy dog...or anybody dog.

*Poopoo butt (earns her some soap in her mouth, which will    hopefully make it one of her least favorite sayings)

*I'm a big 'dirl'.

*Happy birthday....to anyone.

Favorite activities:

*Singing and dancing

*Playing with her babies

*Tagging along on all of her siblings adventures

This child is an absolute hoot.  She is happy, spunky, funny and into EVERYTHING that she can find.    She is creative, adventurous and has an opinion on most things.  She loves her siblings and her dogs.  She tells us she is a big girl, unless she wants to be carried...then she says, but I 'yiddle' mommy....so I carry her :)  

She is completely potty trained, day & night  - with an occasional accident if she's busy playing.  She is still very attached to her binky & blankie, especially at bedtime.  She climbs out of her crib and has been for quite some time, so the girls get to upgrade to bunk beds in the near future...which I'm sure will result in a new post (hopefully about how well they are staying in their new beds).

Homeschool Year 2

A little over a year ago, we felt a little nudge to begin homeschooling our kids.  It was a discussion that we had had while Brecken was very young, but not something we seriously looked at.  Last summer, we felt strongly that God was leading us to that decision.  After much research, prayer and many conversations, we decided to jump in with both feet.

Here we are, beginning year number 2 and officially adding Leighton to the line up!

Brecken:  Second Grade
Curriculum:  Bigger Hearts for His Glory

Leighton:  Kindergarten
Curriculum:  Little Hearts for His Glory

Zoe & Sophie:  Preschool
Curriculum:  Little Hands to Heaven





We began this week and although, it has been rough getting back into a schedule & routine, we are moving along and actually accomplishing our work :)

We joined a COOP this year and are really looking forward to networking with other homeschoolers and meeting new people.  Currently, there are 18 families in the COOP, with 59 children.  We will meet once a week for 3 classes and also take a monthly field trip.

 Day 1...

The aftermath...