A Heart Balloon!

I bought a bag of balloons for Anna's birthday. It was just a bag that was hung in one of those random spots near the icecream (an impulse purchase product placement). When we got the bag home and opened them, there were mostly normal balloons, round, a couple different shapes. Then Caleb got quite excited about a balloon he had pulled out. Then I heard Marc saying, "Caleb, I've been around balloons for over thirty years..." When I looked to see what they were all jazzed about, this is what I found they had. There were five or six in the bag. Cool, huh?

A technology fast... or was it a Sabbath

I don't know what compelled me to do it. But yesterday morning I found myself thinking about how Marc will change his voicemail at work or church when he is going to be unavailable for a chunk of time. Then I wondered about doing it myself. So I did it. I turned my phone to "Silent" and changed my voicemail recording to say that I was away from my phone from yesterday morning until this afternoon. Also, as part of the discipline, I did not turn on my computer until just a few minutes ago.

I think I strongly recommend this discipline for everyone. The kids and I had a lovely day with just us...

Picture Day

Anna turns 4 on Sunday, so today we went to get pictures done. Here they are! Three Beautiful Kids!

I'm not so sure about the frog....What a happy girl!
I love this picture!
Sisters, Sisters, There were never two devoted sisters....
The birthday girl herself...
imagine... 4 years old.

Done First Grade

Caleb and I finished first grade this morning. WOW! In this past week, as part of his finishing up, he learned to tie his shoes (I told him I would keep him in first grade until he could tie them), memorized Colossians 3:12-14, and memorized a poem about how umbrellas were invented. We finished reading our stories, doing our spelling, graphing in math, and he and dad finished the first half of the study of world history (the rest of world history comes in second grade).

I think we're all kind of looking forward to the break, but I will miss it too. I love the curriculum and I love watching him learn and grow and push through points of frustration.

We haven't done much to celebrate. It's been a rainy and stressy mommy week. Hopefully we'll paint his room in June as a kind of celebratory gift. When we asked him how he would like to celebrate, he said "m&m's". That's my boy.

Marc and I started Tango lessons last night. This is the sixth session of ballroom dance lessons that we have taken: rumba, salsa, triple-time swing, waltz/swing, waltz, and now tango. We're certainly not headed for any competitions, but we're having a great time dancing. We have the most amazing teacher, Jody, who drives up from Portland to teach on Sunday nights, and her tireless assistant Eva.

I have to recommend to anyone who can make the space to dance together on a regular basis, do it! We laugh, and smile, and play... things that now we are parent's of three with a church plant, day-job, and homeschool, and on and on and on, we often forget to do.

Caleb read his first chapter book this week. We went to the library, and he picked out this book. He said to me, Mom, I want to read a book like you do sometimes... start it one afternoon and finish it the next day.

He did it! He was so proud of himself... and we were, too!

We just spent the weekend with the other Maine Vineyard pastors on a retreat. We each got a gift basket, and one of the things in our basket was this book: nice girls don't change the world, by Lynne Hybels.

Thank You Lynne Hybels for writing your story.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone, but especially the mommy and christian servant type someones.

A well timed word, a well timed book. Let's get 'done watching' and start 'doing'. May God grant the grace.

I had a moment of near panic today. I couldn't find my new Sonlight catalog.

Sonlight is the homeschool curriculum that we have used for three years ... and look forward to using for the next 16 or so. And the Spring Day that we receive the new catalog is seriously one of the happiest days of my year.

I love the catalog. I love the company. I love the curriculum... the focus on the nations and on literature. I am absolutely, positively sold for Sonlight.

And I did end up finding the catalog. It was right where I put it.

I set the goal for myself with weight loss that once I broke that 140's barrier, and hit my preSofia pregnancy weight, that I would get this figure for myself.

It is called Happiness. “FREE to sing, laugh, dance and create!”

I hit my goal this past Friday, and was able to go out and get it that afternoon.

Isn't she beautiful! What a cool 'icon' to have around. I can just feel the Son on my face and daffodils at my feet in a field when I look at her.

"You've achieved success in your field when you don't know whether what you're doing is work or play." Warren Beatty

This was the quote on my google homepage today.

YES LORD! may this be for me with my kids, our homeschool, our church, our life!