Promotion Night 2014

At the end of every school year, we have a Promotion Night to honor the kids. It's something we all look forward to. There's usually some sort of skit/video, a presentation of the families, an honoring of the moms, then dessert and fellowship.

My favorite part of the night is during the presentation of the families. Each child has a character trait that is chosen from their parents. It's such a chore to find one for each of the kids, but when you find one, you know it's the right one!  

Here are the kids practicing their songs the day before the big night.

 The only boys in their grade level. It's a good thing they like each other! Looking forward to seeing the shenanigans these two will come up with!

 Odin was super pleased when we put this shirt on for him! At that point everyone was already spruced up except for him, so when we put this on, he felt like he was part of the clan. It's so interesting to see how quickly they pick up on things!

 One of my sweet students! Man, these kids they grow and grow and grow. Here I am wearing 3 inch heels and she is almost as tall as I am. And she is only in 3rd grade!!!!

 A procession line lead by the Kindergarteners. Or in this case, the mature 4 year olds that were a part of the K class.

 Studly son!

 And beautiful Soph!

 One of my other favorite part of the night! The kids come down the aisle carrying flowers to give to their mama. Before we became a part of this group, I went to one of our friend's promotion night. Let me tell you, during this part of the night, I balled my eyes out! It was so sweet and it reaffirmed my desire to join in.

So now that I am on stage waiting for my children to bring me flowers, I don't ball my eyes out. I am too busy praying that they can make it towards me without fighting. That when they come up to me, I don't fall off stage and flash everyone my derriere and then some! So yeah, that's enough to keep the emotions in check!

Contentious Love

Since Soph and Odin are closer in age, they have a contentious complicated relationship. Odin thinks that Soph is going to take his toy. Soph thinks that he will wreak her block house that she worked so hard on. So there's a lot of squeals, not of delight, but a tell tale sign that they need help. Someone needs to show them how to love and communicate. Sometimes, I am thankful for the opportunity to show them other times not so much. Like when it's the 5 millionth time...When is John coming home???

One morning, I came out of my room and found this. Soph had set up a play area for her brother. 

And then the stars must've aligned or something.

Happy little people, sitting together, even if it's for a small while. 

Incognito Learning

When we started on our journey to homeschool, John and I went to a conference and sat in on a workshop. I don't remember what the topic was about, but she mentioned the words "incognito learning". That has stuck with me ever since. Any time I can get this going, there's a fist pump, a stifled giggle, and a swelling of the heart(the healthy kind). Of course, you can't let them see this. After all it is incognito. 

When I make freezer meals, I have Soph label the bags. In the beginning, it helped her practice her letters. Now, she is trying to spell the words. 

Yay, for incognito learning! Thank you Preschoolers and Peace! 

Abundant Blessings

When our friend Shelly shared about a missionary, who works at the orphanage that her daughter came from, needing a new vehicle to transport the kids, I thought why the heck not? We can help and the kids can learn about serving others. I didn't think too much of it. Other than, throw some money into it and maybe the kids will see how much they already have. Well, this project took a life of it's own and blessed many people in epic proportions.

We had a meeting where the kids brainstormed how to raise funds. Some were effective, some were not.

It's neat to see their brains working. And these kids are not even in the double digit age range!

We started by collecting change in mason jars. Slowly, but surely, it added up. We had John take a collection at work and a coworker gave $40!!! What!!! We were so floored with the generosity and it fueled us to our next endeavor.

We had a dine and donate event at Mary's Pizza Shack. It was a delicious fundraiser! We picked up a lunch order for SRPD, had take out for our lunch, and went back for dinner. Yep, we know how to eat!

We had a bake sale. Quite a daunting task for me since I am not known for my baking skills. Hopefully whoever bought these goodies will be content to know that the money went to a good cause...

Selah was rocking the sales table! She was in her element. Sharing her heart about the people she cares for.

We had a Read A Thon hosted at our house. I have to say this was probably one of Magnus' favorite way to raise money. Getting paid to read, what?!

Miss Angie reading to them so their eyes can take a little break. They read for a total of 180 mins with a few breaks in between for potty and snacks. I provided lots of snacks and these little people were quite happy. One had about 7 applesauce squeeze. We won't name any names...

And the finale, an ice cream party to celebrate all their hard work! Great job kids!

As we started out on this project, I didn't realize the impact that this would have on our family. Magnus was able to share about the project at church. His first public speaking venue! (His ears got red as he was speaking and as soon as he was done, his ears went back to a normal color) Another time, he and Soph sang a song each that they had been practicing to elicit donations. And people were so generous with their donations. That, I think touched me more than anything. I just felt so loved by all these people who supported our mission to support Maritza. 

Overall the kids raised a butt load of money, as you can see on the chart. With their hard earned fundraising money and other generous donors throughout the country, we were able to get Maritza a new vehicle.We did this all in about 5 months. God showed up everywhere, growing our faith in him, growing our children, and oozing love all around. Abundant blessings!