A New Springtime

Creative Play, Summer with Seven

The kids have been enjoying themselves these past couple of weeks off. I have been working on the end of the year portfolios and they have been enjoying themselves in their creative play!

 

We got a play gym and a Bumbo for baby Malcolm, the girls worked hard putting the gym together whileEliana worked hard at occupying the Bumbo.

 
I always seem to be blessed with finding quality creative toys at GW for such ridiculiously low prices.  I picked up this This cute lil' train for$2 a couple of months ago it's wooden and each car has a different activity on it.

 
The girls were given these play jewels and Abba Do was having a great time with them.

 
She has been playing with them every chance she gets.

 
She is very serious about being a princess and is very refined when she wears her jewels unlike her sister...

 

who dresses to impress.

 
We have Princess Humility and Princess Ham and I bet you know who is who!

 
All of these wonderful rattles and gizmos are for Baby Malcolm but we have all been testing them out. I happened to find them on myThursday thrift store outing along with these other creative play things:

 
I was thrilled to get these lacing cards for a mere $1.75, the girls and even the boys have picked them up a few times. My mother has been bringing her embroidery over and Eliana thinks she is sewing just like grandma.

 
Abbey got this paint by number kit at GW for $1; the paints had never been opened. It was her reward for helping out at the grocery store. We always stop at GW on our weekly grocery shopping day because it is right next door.

 
Of course reading is always on our list of creativity. I like interactive ones like this where the kids have to find certain things on each page. We have all been taking turns reading this one to Eliana.

 

 Here are my two youngest enjoying the basket of treasures. What a good lil'sister she is entertaining herself and her baby brother.  I have a feeling these two are going to be inseparable. She loves her Malcolm Marvin, that is what she calls him.
 

The older boys don't need too much to keep them happy. A basketball, a water bottle and some pedal power and they are off to the local basketball courts where teenager usually meets them after work.

 
As for me lately, I  just enjoy watching all of the activity and drama that goes on around me and because I am nursing I have been trying to drink more water.

 

 Creative play keeps the kids busy and they aren't usually bored around here. They know I like to see them being constructive, It makes Mommy happy !!

 

It's A Pleasure

 
Today is my son Joseph's 18th birthday and is a pleasure to be his mom! He is an exceptional athlete but more than that he is a wonderful person who has helped me over the years.

 
He has assisted with all of the children from infancy on up and rarely complained of doing the many jobs I have given to him.

 
He can definetly be a clown, he dishes out a lot of teasing but he can also handle being razzed as well. so I know he won't mindme sharing this picture (lol).

 
He has grown into a fine young man and I want to wish him a blessed and happy birthday!!

Happy Birthday Joe Joe!

Housewife or Not, That Is the Question

Being a stay at home mom in the year 2011 is a contradiction to the world and looked upon as failure.  Having a career and bringing home a paycheck is the norm these days and I can see why.  Many women are made to feel they are of less value or lazy if they stay home. Over the years I have felt ashamed of myself for not contributing monetarily to my family so I usually always try to keep my home as tidy as possible and keep up with my duties. In the summer I do not home school so I am able to do other things I don't normally get to. The first day off I decided to deep clean the kids rooms starting with the boys.

 

We have really cut down on the toys in theirroom. They mostly have legos, cars and play station games now.

 
The girl's still have quite a bit of toys considering there are three of them and they are still young. I was able to fill up a bag for Goodwill and one for the victims of the tornado with some stuff.

 
Under the bed are some bins with dress up clothes, toys, and the winter clothes. I helped the girls clean out their drawers and behind the beds so the room was nice and refreshed.

 
We were even able to de-clutter the bookcase by separating activity books from reading books. We filled a bin with the activity ones for summer use when the kids get "bored". I plan on going to the library and we will join the summer reading program.

 
In between helping the kiddos I usually sit down on the computer to nurse baby Malcolm, this gives me a brake and the kiddos can have some fun  time in between chores. I gave my space a good dusting and swept the wood floors.

 
I was going to use this table for my sewing machine but it isn't sturdy enough so I'm using it for a folding clothes table.

 

I have been trying to keep dust collectors to a minimum and I would rather look at pictures of the kids anyway.

  I don't know if keeping a house clean and tidy is considered work these days or if nursing a baby has any value but I was pretty tired when I got done. The girls had gone to grandma's and teenager went out to a baseball game so I decided to skimp on supper I talked it over with DH on the phone and he had a left over burger  he could eat and the kids and I would have hot dogs. My thirteen year old graciously agreed to make me one while I nursed baby Malcolm and looked up some curriculum for next year. I don't usually sit on my butt unless it is to nurse baby boy, I haven't figured out how to walk around, clean and nurse all at once yet (lol). I got a lot  done on the first day of summer vacation and I was pretty pleased with the days outcome.

 

 

 

Helpful and Diligent

 

We have officially started our summer vacation but the last few weeks of school were awesome! We concentrated on our living books and child-directed learning. We will definitely be doing more of that in the fall, God willing. Hannah is a diligent student, always willing and excited to learn something new.

 

 
She decided to make a poster of bugs using a book she had gotten out of the library called, "Incredible Insects" . I was so impressed with her drawings and her enthusiasm.

 

 
This is her finished product with the pictures and names of each bug.

 

My favorite drawing is the Monarch Butterfly, she really payed attention to detail on this one.

 
 A fun summer activity would be making these into flash cards, having the kids draw them and guess each others creatures. 
 
We all got a kick out of this one.This guy looks like he is getting ready for a karate match. The kids were all imitating his stance, I think it was actually a scene in " Karate Kid".

 
 Hannah has proven herself this year, not only is she a good student but she is a great helper around the house  as well.  She is incredible with baby boy; I don't even have to ask and she changes him when he wakes up. I am so blessed to have such a special daughter!

 

Capturing A Moment

I just adore capturing moments like this...

 
It was such a darling surprise, I had put him down in the living room in his car seat to get a breather, and the next thing I knew he was sound asleep.

 

 During my pregnancy it was very difficult to motivate myself to do any extra handcrafts with the kiddos. The creativity was all put into the growing baby. Lately, I have been able to do a bit more artsy fartsy projects so I decided to work on making alphabet rocks with the girls.

 

 
So far we have made it up to the letter 'j' and added a couple of lady bugs.

 
We have also read and studied the art in Lon Po Po, a Chinese version of "Little Red Riding Hood"   drawings by Ed Young.

 
These are the drawings the kids did, imitating the illustrator's style.

 
Eliana has been giving art a shot, too. Of course she is much better at drama!

 
Here she is copying her baby brother, it's a play called, " I Want to be the Baby Again".

 
Do you see the resemblance?

 
For this drama called, " I Want to be the Muti-Tasking Mama", she deserves an Academy award!!

 
I think the cat has got the right idea. Forget the crafts, forget the multi-tasking and forget the drama; just stretch out and take a nap. If I could only be so lucky.

 

As the day winds down, I sit and look at my road side find, a simple black and white table.  It excites me because  I can set up my sewing area once again. Summer is coming and school will be out. In the extra time I would like to hear the whirl and rhythm of my sewing machine. I want to make some unique clothes for the babe and the other kiddos.

When life  becomes busy, hectic and  sometimes even chaotic I try to remember there are always some good moments to capture in between!

 

 

 

See with New Eyes

Summer is coming and I am already enjoying the cute, colorful, little summer outfits and the lil'boy who wears them. As you can tell, he is the apple of my eye.

 
I never get tired of looking at him and with his Down Syndrome his uniqueness makes him even more precious. There is an even stronger bonding going on especially during nursing.

 
When I was younger and wasn't walking with the Lord, I had certain thoughts and expectations of how I wanted things to be. I would always worry about having a child with a mental or physical disability. I wanted my children to be perfect in a wordly way.

 
After learning much about my own  illnesses and limitations over time, God showed me the beauty of it all. In time, I came to learn that  Jesus is my stength,  my Divine Physician and  He loves me with all of my imperfections.

 
Baby Malcolm is always losing one of his socks and I just love looking at his piggies. Because of his Down Syndrome he can move his big toe quite far apart from the other toes. The first time I witnessed this I began to laugh and I yelled to the kids, " Come and see what Malcolm can do!" Luckily he did it again and we all began to giggle with joy. Right away the kids began to tell me how they can move their double jointed thumbs, and bend their knees far backwards, etc.  It was a great show and tell!

 
The important thing I am learning is not to see as man sees but as God sees. When God sent Samuel to anoint one of Jesse's sons he was surprised when God chose David to be king, the youngest and seemingly weakest of them all.

It is amazing, the works of God, and I feel so blessed and priveleged to be the mother of all  my children who all have sicknesses, weaknesses, and imperfections but who are all sons and daughters of our  Lord Jesus Christ.

Even The Sea and the Wind Obey Him

The other day we had several tornado watches in our area, the kids and I were at home and we got a warning call from DH and a caring neighbor. We watched the weather reports on our local tv channel but more importantly we prayed a prayer against storms. We made the sign ofthe cross (t) after each sentence in the prayer below. I was at peace putting all I had in the hands of God. The tornado did not hit our town but there was much devastation a few towns and city east of us, about 15 minutes away. We are praying for all of those affected.

 Later, in the evening, as the sun was setting we had another bout of bad weather.

 

The sunset was beautiful but the clouds looked feirce.

 
DH , I and the kids were watching the clouds and it began to get darker and darker...

 

and even darker.

  

The clouds were swirling around each other looking so unsettled and upset. I was glad when the storm finally passed by.

Prayer Against Storms

Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace. +
God became man, + and the Word was made flesh. +
Christ was born of a Virgin.+
Christ suffered.+
Christ was crucified.+
Christ died.+
Christ rose from the dead.+
Christ ascended into Heaven. +
Christ conquers. +
Christ reigns. +
Christ orders. +

May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning.+
Christ went through their midst in Peace, +
and the Word was made flesh. +
Christ is with us with Mary. +
Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the
Generation of Juda, the Root of David, has won. +

Holy God! + Holy Powerful God! + Holy Immortal God! +
Have mercy on us.

Amen.