the boy who made me a mama

Happy Birthday to my Benjamin, the boy who made me a mama.  It's hard to believe that he is 11 years old today, and yet he shows us more responsibility and consideration every day.  We are so thankful for this boy, and we thank God for him every single day!

If you'd like to read Ben's birth story, click HERE. 

raised to new life

Ben is 8!

My biggest boy turned 8 years old on Saturday! He is such a sweet, sensitive fellow. Such a fun-loving, re-purposing, soccer-playing, wrestling fellow.

Eight years ago, his arrival made me a mother. With Benjamin's birth, my world was changed forever. I will never be the same...and I am so grateful.

I love you, Ben! Happy Birthday!

another first

...And so it was that Benjamin Wayne, firstborn son of a certain Jeff and Mindy, lost his very first tooth on December 12, 2010. The tooth came out a mere six days before his 8th birthday. It was the first tooth lost our offspring, and long anticipated.

And there was much rejoicing!

please forgive me...

...but I just couldn't help but share a few of our soccer pictures from last Saturday. I was so proud of my boys!

Benjamin is #5! He was so excited that (although I don't have a picture of it) he got to play goalie for part of the 2nd game. My boy has always had a heart for defense.

Who knows which way they're supposed to drive the ball? Kyle does!

And he scored the first goal of his game, too!




Owen and Elise did great, too. I was so blessed. Owen even successfully used a port-a-potty! Let's face it, it's hard enough to relax in those things even if you're not a mere two years old...

Thank you so much for your prayers!

bottling it up

(Note: This is Jeff writing. I used to have my own blog, but I wasn't posting much. So I asked Mindy if I could join hers and post every once in a while. I'll never be as consistent or eloquent in my posting, but I'll pop in every once in awhile. Now on to the post.)

It's hard to let go of my kids. I know, I know! Ben's just barely 7, but I am already feeling the tug of giving up control of certain things. Realizing that there are things that he and I will never experience again. My boys will never be this age again. It makes me wish I could bottle those things up, stop time in those sweet moments. But at the same time I don't want to miss all the new joys. If I'd have frozen time in 2003, I wouldn't have gotten to see Ben be a big brother, or if I'd frozen it in 2006, I wouldn't have seen Kyle grow into such a giving boy.

Ben has grown into such a mix of little boy and young man. Watching him at dinner the other night, I saw a young man: passing things, eating all that was served with very little or no complaint, asking politely for more, serving himself deftly and without making a mess (even the honey!)

It feels like just yesterday that we spent a night at the birth center with him trying on the names Mama and Daddy for the first time. He is such a great big brother for Kyle and Owen and I can't wait to see how he grows as a big brother to this new baby. Maybe he'll start changing diapers! ;)

Kyle is all boy and all passion. And he's got a heart big enough to match. Kyle runs at full speed from morning until night and has the bruises and scars to prove it. He's a voracious reader (for a 4 year old) reading everything he can from labels to street signs. He wants to be just like his big brother Ben and he has no lack of energy to run and play with Owen. It's very sweet.

And he loves to share. He gives so much of his stuff away to his mom and I or his brothers. And he's very excited about the new baby. I can't wait to see how he'll love on this little one with his huge heart.

Owen is an adventurer on par with Ferdinand Magellan or Christopher Columbus. A scientist in the vein of Pierre Curie or Isaac Newton. Ok, maybe I'm overstating, but his world is growing by leaps and bounds lately. He washes his hands (looks like playing with soap to us, but you can see his intent.) He wants to tell us all about things in words that are more intelligible every day. He is very diligent about making sure everyone has their stuff. If you set something down, he's quick to grab it and hand it to you and say "Ee Go!" (Here you go!)

He has no idea what's coming as far as the baby goes, but he sure knows what he wants. He's the first one in his chair most nights at dinner, he lets his older brothers know when he wants to play with what they're using... He's been patient long enough! He's taking our world by storm.

And what will this new baby be like? Only God knows. Little Bit has been very entertaining lately with morphing Mama's belly. Seems very assertive that he/she doesn't like it when you push or poke a particular way. Will Little Bit be as loud when they're born as our first 3? Will he/she sleep well like Ben? Eat well like Kyle? I'm so excited to meet this little one.

We've all heard it said: "This too shall pass." Most often as an encouragement in a dark time, but I think as parents it should be a continual reminder. When you're changing a diaper while you fight back the nausea from the stench, don't forget that "This too shall pass." And when your buried under a dogpile of 3 squealing boys during wrestle-time, don't for that "This too shall pass."

I've been reminded lately from various places that I need to focus on being present in the moment. Not to worry about the future or fret about what is past, but just enjoy the moment. Whatever that may be. That's how I can capture those memories in a bottle.

Don't forget... This too shall pass

a Transformers party

This year, Ben requested a Transformers birthday party. Oy.

We decided to go for it. Here is his birthday cake, complete with food coloring galore.

I was pleased to hear one of the older kids at the party positively identify the cake as being Optimus Prime, shortly after he arrived. It's at least identifiable!


Being short on space, we opted to hold Benjamin's party at a local pizza joint. This certainly cuts down on pre- and post-party cleanup. All the same, we're hoping to celebrate at home next year.

Wait, is that truck on fire?



Ben received his first camera for this, his 7th birthday, and he is so excited. I may be sharing some of his (many) photos in the future. He loves to take pictures...we may have a budding photographer on our hands!

Benjamin is 7

It's hard to believe, but my firstborn, my very first baby, is now 7 years old.

He is such a big boy these days. It boggles my mind. He's grown so much and learned so much in the past few years. He is such a great big brother, and such a affectionate and loving son.

Happy birthday time, Ben boy! I'm so glad to be your mama.

If you'd like to read Ben's birth story, click HERE.

homeschooling update

I thought I'd share a little (just a smidge, really) about how our homeschooling is going.

Benjamin, my first grader, and Kyle, my preschooler, are doing great! They've grown used to the fact that yes, we do this Monday through Friday. They're getting into the rhythm that I've set for us. They are both reading really well, in my opinion, and they're rocking their math. They love the other subjects, which is fun for me to see.

For a while I was really feeling the pressure. In the sense of time, that is. Because of moving, the cruise, and various other factors, we did not begin our school year until the beginning of October. I've always feel that was the best choice for us this time, but the new year haunted me. Moving. Settling into a new house (early- and mid-January). Nesting. New baby arriving (probably) in February. I cannot fathom how much time we'll end up taking off. I've planned some break time, but ideally I'd like to get as much work done up until the baby arrives, in order to gain extra flexibility for the postpartum period.

So I'd been very consistent, taking unplanned no days off if we could absolutely help it. I've especially been focusing on reading and math, and although our course of study also includes science, history, and Old Testament. But we had a few hiccups. The flu, for one. And last week Kyle had croup (again). Mondays and Tuesdays are tricky for us, because of standing commitments on those two days. And we had Friday school (with the homeschool CO-OP), too. The fall session ended a few weeks ago. It was wonderful once again, but we would always arrive home around 1pm, completely exhausted. So we never managed to get much done at home on Fridays, while that was going on.

I admit I've been anxious. Homeschoolers always revel in the fact that this kind of education lends itself to flexibility. If you want to take the day off to go to the park, you can. If you want to go on vacation, you can plan around it. If you want to take the kids to Daddy's office to lunch with him, no problem.

But I had those two Events looming ahead. House and Baby. Both wonderful, exciting, very-much-welcome developments. But both bringing uncertainty into my wobbly educational endeavors.

Yet...good news!

Let me back up: when I first chose this particular curriculum, I ordered a special planner. It broke down the goals for year, term, week, etc. I set term dates, as well as breaks. I had carefully counted up lessons and worked out how many we could feasibly get through in a term.

I had been so dreading looking at that planner again. I just knew we were behind. But last week I dug it out, and...miracle of miracles, we're ahead! Way ahead. In terms of what we've accomplished already, we're well into what I had figured for the second term, which is set to begin in mid-January. I couldn't believe it! And I couldn't be more pleased. What a relief to have a little extra grace as we head into January and February.

Owen continues to be a challenge. But I've found that making a small adjustment in our schedule has made a world of difference. We simply wait to do math until after lunch, when Owen goes down for his nap. Math is done at the table, and we use a lot of manipulatives. Owen always wanted to be right in the middle of that, which....really didn't work. Yet moving that one subject to a different time of day has worked wonders. I am so thankful for the idea.

So that's it. We're finding our way, slowly but surely. There are many times that I really enjoy doing this. It definitely has its challenges. But the payoff? Beyond compare.

tell me how you really feel

This afternoon, I was served up some homework.

In the midst of "working" on his reading workbook, Benjamin brought me this paper. He said that I needed to order the words into a sentence that makes sense.

Seems perfectly clear to me.

a gray day at the pumpkin patch

This weekend we enjoyed an annual visit to our favorite pumpkin patch. The weather was gray and soggy, but we were very thankful that it didn't actually rain while we were there. God was gracious to us, no doubt about it!

I'm going to spare you the Pumpkin Patch Extravaganza of last year, and just post all my photos in one fell swoop. Hope it's not too overwhelming!

Here are the boys and I, about to set off on a hay rack ride. Kyle was so tickled to learn that he and our driver/host share the same name. Picture a theatrical gasp, followed by a dropped jaw. The Other Kyle saw it and said "Same name, huh?" He smiled. "Well...I had it first."



Our annual photo:
Benjamin and Kyle were impressed by the tractors. Ben said "Kyle, that wheel is bigger than you are!"

Checking out the animals in their pens~
Time to choose pumpkins! Kyle was determined to be the master of his own wheelbarrow.

So of course, Owen needed to give it a whirl, too.
Some of those suckers are pretty heavy!

Owen, picking a pumpkin. Or not. Ben ended up choosing for him: a small, charming white one.
That's all, folks!

Benjamin's picture

My Ben asked if he could use the chalkboard to draw a picture. I said yes, and he had it turned around while he worked on his masterpiece. When he invited me to see it, this is what I saw:


This kind of thing makes me so happy.

the first day of school

The boys and I started out our school year this week. I decided to take a few photos before we began on Monday morning. Benjamin, 1st grader. Kyle, preschooler. And...


...Owen, interrupter extraordinaire. Yes, that's right. My charming, darling boy has been quite a pill during school time. He's feeling a bit left out, I suppose. I'll be thinking on that one.

I kid you not, I got 3 1/2 words into the very first lesson of the very first day, and Owen fell off of a chair and bonked his head. Three and a half words. And that's not the half of it.

But he was so funny, the way he insisted on standing for the pictures with his brothers and saying "Cheez."


Last spring our school days consisted of a hodge podge of materials...from my makeshifts attempt at Montessori materials, to ending with a few workbooks I'd picked up at local teachers' supply store. But this year we're a bit more organized. I decided to give the Charlotte Mason method a whirl. So far, I'm really liking it.

Here are the big boys working on their science assignment. Our first lesson consisted of reading through the story of Creation, and after each day, they drew a picture to describe what they'd heard.


We've also been working on reading and math so far. I'm really pleased with how it's going. And...tomorrow, we get to get out the abacus!

I can hardly wait.

we may love food, but...

...we don't take ourselves too seriously!

Bella Beach bums

I can't resist posting just a few more pictures from our beach family reunion. These are provided courtesy of Uncle Russell (and used in this blog with his permission).
Thanks, Uncle Russ!

My smiley Kyle, enjoying what turned out to be the only sunny, warm day of our vacation.

Benjamin anticipating his dinner...

Owen "making out" with the glass in the front door (a passing walker got a great deal of amusement out of this, apparently).

Me, Owen, and Jeff by the fire pit behind the house

One of our group photos. We have such a great family ~ each and every one is a blessing. And I hope no one minds that I include this shot! I just love it. Notice Owen trying to escape from Ben's grasp on the bottom step. And Kyle was a bit distracted....