January Wrap-Up

It is so wonderful to have enough precipitation to produce green, growing things (even weeds!) and rainbows!

When we were playing Apples to Apples Freestyle, Grace had to write down what she would wish for if she met a genie.  This says, "a lab on a house boat in the ocean so I could study sea animals when I have graduated from college."  That's my girl!  Make your plans...and make them happen...but college first!!!

This is Benjamin's countdown page...as he was counting down the days until he could purchase Clayface.

And this is the schedule he wrote for himself on the back:  school, Lego, Perplexus, bed.  (Look on Amazon for Perplexus if you're not familiar with them.  Awesome toy.  Thanks, Jen, for introducing us to them!)

Three colors of sweet potato, some butternut squash, and some bacon.  Jeff wanted to take the picture.  And yes, I used my Christmas dishes until the end of January.

This isn't exactly what we had in mind when we said Love Grows Here!

The kids are getting so big!  Here's a rare treat of Thrifty ice cream.

We celebrated ten years of living in this state on January 7.

She reads every chance she gets.

So do we.  Sorry for the crazy outfit.  Jonathan gets to read a lot more than the rest of us.

She decided she needed to sleep cross-ways.

Umbrella fort by Benjamin!

This should have been in Benjamin's reading post.

My mom made this awesome cape for Benjamin's birthday, and for the 100th day of school, he needed to decorate a cape of some kind.  We decided to pin 100 jingle bells to it!  Watch for it later in this post.

Jonathan's teacher persuaded him and a buddy to audition for the school talent show!

Calvin and Susie are back together and very snuggly.  And cute.

Speaking of cute...she just needed a picture.

And, we wanted to show Grandma how cute last year's birthday dress looks as a jumper with rain boots.

The boys are pretty cute, too!

Here is our decorating job (he counted out the 100 bells and handed each one to me.  I fastened the safety pins) and his class below.  It took me awhile to get a picture with nobody's face showing!

Jonathan ran across this image and thought it was hilarious.

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Benjamin Reading and Lego-ing in January

These photos are in no particular order, but I wanted to group them together.  Benjamin has really blossomed in his love for Lego building as well as in his creativity.  I so enjoy seeing what comes out of his imagination!

And, I have worked so hard with him (and continue to work hard with him) on his reading skills and his enjoyment of reading independently.  Each baby step is well-earned, and is gratifying for me to see, so I probably take pictures of him reading more often than I do of the other kids.  They took to reading like fish to water, but with Benjamin I have been very purposeful.  I don't want to miss out on this crucial and enjoyable part of life...and I'm so proud of how far he has come.

Anyway, here are the pictures of Legos and books and Benjamin!

I forget what this is called, but I'll try to edit it later when I ask him.

This was a lab.  Who it was for changed each day, but it was always full of "potions."

One day, a rock wall climber...

the next day, a zip liner.

The Things Girls Do for Hair

One request for wavy hair and one request for curly hair...and you can see the results!

An Oldie but a Goodie

I recently reread a book that is probably technically my mom's.  She gave it to me to read when I was in 6th grade ( I know this because my name and school were written on it so I could take it to 6th grade camp) and I hadn't read it in many years.  This is obviously a very 70s-version, and I'm sure there are updated versions in print now.  Anyway, I think that this book influenced me deeply when I was young, and again now, in the way I view disabilities, but especially in the way I have come to understand adversity and suffering.  If you've never read it, put it at the top of your list!

The Day Jeff Took Grace Skiing

Viewing and photographing the area when it receives enough precipitation is a treat!

While Jeff and Grace gave skiing a try, I took the boys to the Lego store to spend some gift money and then to my mom's.  Jonathan's set that he had planned to buy was not available, and he was a very good sport.

Mom and I played Domain with Jonathan to try to cheer him up.

Benjamin was thrilled that he could finally buy Clayface, which he had been planning to do for quite awhile!

And my amazing mom even makes hats for special little friends.