Money Hunting

My children have been hunting the house for money, in corners, under beds and couch cushions. We have a jar that we are working on for the year to fill and use for Samaritan's purse. Although we and the children are allowed to put our own money in it, which we all have done, it's mostly the answer to my "where do I put all the change I find in the wash" dilemma. I find change annoying which also makes me feel slightly guilty b/c I always remember my dad saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned." And I also think of the woman in Jesus' parable who turned the house upside down looking for change, and the widow with her mite. Well, these are our mites which we are thankful the Lord has provided abundantly for us, unlike the widow. Perhaps He will use them to provide for a widow. Who knows?!

We have also been praying for missionaries. Here's how it goes in our house:

Wally: Today we're going to pray for the Hobsons.
Alden: Who do you want to win? (this is a common question at breakfast time b/c Wally often reads the sports section of the news).
Wally: Jesus
Alden: Well, He will win.

Isn't it good to hear that? I think so!

Homeschooling it, we've been learning a whole range of  things. Insect week was fun but ill timed. However, the weather hit a warm spell and we actually found some insects in February (no roaches!). I was feeling a little bad that I hadn't planned a fun insect project for them when I came outside to excited, "Mommy, look what we made" noises.

Independent school project. It's a "bug house" to keep the bugs safe and dry and cool.

I can never stop being amazed at how homeschooling allows for so much freedom and time for them to do creative things like this on their own. Just when I start feeling guilty that I'm not doing enough, they surprise me by coming up with their own efforts.Yes, I know it looks like a pile of trash to the naked eye, but this took good work and design on their part along with cooperation. It's times like these that God reminds me that the whole outcome of this endeavor is in His hands, not mine, and I almost hear Him say, "So would you please back off and stop worrying?".

Alden found a patent leather beetle to put in the bug house.

I've been reading Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner to the kids during snack time. Rhianwen has both books on cd, which is the best audiobook I think I have ever listened to (and we listen to many of those)! So, she has whole sections practically memorized. Here she is reciting the section about the Expotition (Christopher Robin's spelling) to the North Pole:




She's a funny one. The other day she said, "When I was a baby, this day was a long long time ago." I laughed.

She said, "I don't think you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do," I said.

"I don't even know what I mean," she concluded.

Corwee making Valentines. He loves glitter!

Winter weather in NC. One week it's feeling warm and springlike, the next week we get ice and snow. We have had a ton of rain. Our yard is full of mud and water and now holes and buckets from the kids. I've given up on having anything but a man-kid yard.


And on one of the many rainy days they made a cave. It reminded me of rats the way they pulled all kinds of materials, toys, and furniture and piled it up for their den.

Corwin has been very LOUD recently. When we sit down to read, he either tries to wrestle or sword fight with Alden (think lots of hitting Alden on the head while he tries pretty unsuccessfully to listen) or he comes and sits in my lap, looks at the book I'm reading, latches onto a word, such as bones (for a real life example), and yells and points, "BONES! BONES! BONES!". He gets louder and louder until you acknowledge him, but then he finds a new place to point and starts all over again. I haven't figured out a way to teach over top of this noise without either a lot of yelling to compete for airspace, pulling out a very messy activity like play-doh or lentils, or putting him in his room with a pile of books and shutting the door for 5 minutes. We're all ready for a break at the end of the school day!

But his belly laugh makes up for a lot of it :)

Happy Birthday Dear Corwee!

My littlest is 2! We had the sweetest most fun birthday with him (warning this post is extremely full of photos). He just enjoyed it so so much and took a break from his teething scream days just to savor life focused on him.

Here he is being greeted by all 4 of us singing happy birthday to him as he gets up for his birthday.

Excited about the decorations.

We did the big gift "daddy's way", so instead of wrapping it, we had string leading him all over the place to it. I have to say, Corwin did not understand the process but was very excited about the end result.

Having a birthday in January means that mommy is not up for more shopping and more stuff. So we kept it simple. I let Rhianwen make homemade play-doh for Corwin, which he loves loves. I think she also felt like she had accomplished something very special for him.

Alden regifted his Strider bike. He was so sweet and excited to give it to Corwin.

Daddy reading a new train book to Corwin. He also got the cool engineer's hat for his birthday. He loves wearing hats!

Then we went off to the NCMLS where we found a really fun place with huge foam building blocks. We made a little house to play in, then walked the dinosaur trail and dug for fossils, and followed it all up with Corwin's first "train" ride which he absolutely loved. When we went through the tunnel everyone shouted "happy birthday!" to him. So special.

On the train. Lovely pic, I know.

Exploring the inside of a little red caboose. I just love this picture, so I had to put it in.

Our educational pursuits were not entirely wasted that day since we did spend a good amount of time scrutinizing the reptiles which was the unit of the week. The kids drew some awesome snakes.

Back at home enjoying a wagon ride from big brother.

The kids kept singing happy birthday to him throughout the day and asking him if he was one or two. He'd always say NO! For dinner he had his favorite, hotdogs.

He knew just what to do to those candles albeit a little on the fast side.

We had his "real" party a couple of days later with lots of sweet family to celebrate. We went with the train theme which was really simple and fun to do.

Train cake from mini-loaf pans. SO easy. (Idea was from online, of course. I am not all that inventive..).

Having fun in the box-train. This got decorated and glammed up soon after this photo. We set out his train books for decoration along with any toy trains he had and stuck Thomas and Friends stickers on the wall. Easy-peasy.


Playing with cousin Benjamin and siblings. We don't normally have the train table here, but it had a special place for the day.


Decorating a train. I had intended this to be more like pin the tail on the donkey type of thing, but they had fun without all of that.

Benjamin felt the urge to touch Corwin's nose after that. So cute!

Getting a clue during the treasure hunt.

Corwin felt the need to pass out the plates before diving into the cake.

Who do you think blew out the candles? I am pretty sure it was Corwin :) I love how irresistible cake candles have been  for all kid ages so far.

Uncle Robeson trying to show Corwin how to use the train whistle. He has figured it out!

He and siblings love this sea-plane. Alden wants one for his birthday.

I was so totally excited that our new niece/cousin Mary Ruth (pronounced Maywy Wuf...just kidding...I just can't help saying it that way) joined in the festivities. This was the first time Corwin and Alden have seen her in real life!

Thank you everyone for making the celebration so so special! When I asked Rhianwen what her favorite part of the celebration was, she said, "All of it, but my best single best part was the love part."

"Love part?" I asked.
"Yes, having so many people who love us here," she said.
Oh so sweet!
For those of you who couldn't make it, I'm sure Corwin would give you a "uggy" (huggy).

Thank you for pitching in for the awesome wagon!




As you can see, Corwin is not the only one who enjoys it. And, the only reason why I allow this is because I have fond memories of doing this myself as a child.

Usually I sum up a birthday post with the little things my child is doing now. Corwin is definitely talking more, but it is often hard to decipher what he is saying. This can frustrate him to no end when he is trying SO hard to communicate in real language and we're saying things like: bucky? cuppy? monkey? What are you saying little boy? I can't tell what you are saying! He loves wrestling Alden off of the couch during school hours. He enjoys legos and books. He has started coloring on his own within the past couple of days. Before, he'd demand that I do it for him! He still loves stroller rides especially after waking from nap. He sleeps with 3 owls (mommy owl, daddy owl, and baby owl), a "bucky" (his sock monkey), and "baby" (this Li'l Peanut doll that Uncle Robeson and Aunt Natalie and Benjamin gave). He will sleep without one or more, but he's most satisfied if they are all there with him in bed.

Here you can only see 2, but rest assured, the others are hiding in there somewhere.

He thinks it is hilarious when he farts and when other people burp. He has a happy run that is more like a hoppy trot that we just love. He loves getting peanuts out of their shells, dumping things, playing with sticks, and knocking things over. Our 2 year old boy! We are so thankful for him and pray he will grow in love for Jesus more each day.