kate is 5

we enjoyed a week of celebrating Kate, as she turned 5 years old! there's something about your baby turning 5....no more toddlerhood....she's growing up.

the week started with a weekend visit from pappy & gammie, and aunt rachael even came too!

Kate chose to celebrate this year by having cake and ice cream with her closest friends (which she picked over a visit to the pumpkin patch, as is the tradition). so on tuesday, her friends joined us for some cake and ice cream, and Hello Kitty overdose. :)

then on Kate's birthday day we started with saying goodbye to gammie (gammie stayed a couple extra days to help out and we loved having her here!), opening presents, donuts and preschool with Kate's friend, Ana, then off to the mall for a free birthday ride on the carousel! she talked about this for weeks, there much deliberation about which animal she would ride on, and when we finally got there she got stage fright, so we ended up riding the bench :) Kate chose Chipotle for lunch (2 years in a row! i love this girl!).

the day after her birthday we were invited to join our friends for Disney on Ice as an extra birthday treat. what a fun night that was for the girls!

after all the birthday celebration was over, we had quite a "hangover". it took us several days to come down from the birthday mountain, but now she's settled into being 5 quite well. :)


this was Kate this morning, as we sent her brother off on the bus.
she's unique :) and we love every part of her

six

we celebrated jacob's 6th birthday this weekend. kinda hard to believe. a little bit surreal, but not so much as the day he was born. we love this boy. we are so thankful for the blessing of being his parents. as with most kids, he doesn't always make it easy for us- but the moments when we see him make a right decision, or say something unexpectedly sweet, or create something that amazes us, fill us with joy and thankfulness for this sweet boy.

his birthday gift, a new bike, came a week early. we spent the weekend hanging out as a family and were joined for birthday dinner by some friends. the highlight of his birthday, and he might say of his life :), was a tractor ride given to him by one of our neighbors.

thankful

2 months ago, our landlords put the farm and house up for sale. it was unexpected, but not really a surprise to us. we're sticking it out and praying God's will to be done, whether that means the house sells and we get to start in a new home or if it doesn't sell we get to create more memories here. whatever the outcome, we have taken this time to reflect on the 5 years we have been here and what a blessing this home and this property have been to our family. 

here are a few snapshots of the beauty we get to enjoy while we are still here. we have so much to be thankful for!

it was a good friday

we celebrated the easter holiday weekend at home this year. it was nice to slow down from our routine and daily busyness to reflect on the death of Christ and his raising from the dead.

on friday we resolved to stay home and not have the distractions of our regular days. we read from Luke's account of the last supper, crucifixion, and resurrection. we took a family hike, enjoying creation, hunting for fossils, and trying not to fall in the creek
(trying to get some hikes in before it gets too hot, muggy, and weed-infested) :)

it was a nice restful family day!

let's see, where did i leave off?

i think i stopped some time just before thanksgiving... so let me catch up.

kindergarten happenings

jacob has been enjoying his kindergarten year. although, if you ask him if he likes school, he will quickly tell you "no" (the not-liking-school attitude started way too soon, if you ask me).

he has learned lots of things, and so quickly. he started out the school year barely being able to count to 20 (....13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20...missing a few!) and now he can count past 100, count by 10's, 5's, 2's, odds, and evens. he is starting to learn simple math and is up to +3's in his homework. his favorite part of school is art class and music.

he can now read most level 1 reading books, and can sound out most words. his latest thing he thinks is pretty cool is writing sentences. i'll find him after rest time with a page of sentences he has written (not all spelled correctly, mind you) and it goes a little something like this...

Jacob is 5.
I like tractors.
I like tractor books.
I like cars.
I like old fashioned cars.
I like dogs because they are cute.
I like my room.
I love Dad and he is 33 and mom is 32. (lovely)

over the months of january and february he participated in an instructional basketball program at his school. it was every saturday for 6 weeks. he didn't seem to care for it until his friends would show up. then they would run and chase each other around the gym, half-dribbling the ball. it was quite entertaining. :)

jesse and i thought this was perfect timing with the camera :)

in january he was one of the 4 in his class that was selected to receive the "Treating Others Respectfully" award. proud parent moment. kate and i were able to go to the special assembly to watch him receive his award.

presidents day

a day off of work and school, and looking for something different to do...we found ourselves heading to the city of Dayton to visit the National Museum of the US Air Force. it was a fun to get out as a family, and we all enjoyed the planes. well, except for maybe kate. she wasn't that impressed :)

jacob was thrilled that there were tractors :)

jesse enjoyed seeing some of the planes that he has done paintings of in the past.

especially the A-10, which he did a painting of for an A-10 pilot that we kind of know.

the kids enjoyed the 1 opportunity they got to actually get into one of the planes, and it was the cockpit which made it even more exciting! i think this one was an f-16?