Look who's 2

Gabrielle and Garrett!

2 years old on February 13th!

 

 The plan was to have a park party.   But the weather had other plans.   So, we brought the park to our house!   We brought down the slide from the twins room, the play house from outside, and all our outside toys inside!   Daddy even made an indoor runway:

After a little play, we had a picnic lunch:

 Then we had some cupcakes:

 

The best part of the party was when we sang to Brie:

 Presents followed:

Even though the weather was less than desired, the party was a ton of phone!

To school or not to school?

Homeschool is the answer!

Yes, we have made the decision to begin homeschooling Kiera.   We will begin now 2-3 days a week and in the Fall she will be homeschooled full time.

Why you may ask?

We are not a Monday-Friday type family.   If I were to enroll my children in a public school, they would be gone Monday-Friday from 8-4.  Kevin doesn't work those hours and probably never will.   This would mean he wouldn't be able to see his children very often and we would not be able to travel hardly at all.   We usually travel on Sunday-Tuesday, so if our kids were in traditional school, this would not work.

That is not the only reason.   Kiera is currently reading at a 2nd grade level.  This is not something we taught her, we just encouraged her and spent every night of her life reading with her.   She loves to read and could sound out words before she turned 4.   I just can't imagine a public school being able to challenge her at such a young age due to the demands placed upon the teacher.  Trust me, I know the demands... I was a teacher for 7 years.

Other reasons that helped us make the decision:
*We want to teach our kids about the world and God.
*We would like to move to the country one day and feel we will end up   homeschooling anyway.
*I have the education and heart to teach my children.
*We can't afford private school.
*Too much tests in our district and not near enough field trips

We realize that homeschooling is not for everyone and we also think that public schools are just fine, we just feel that this decision is the best for our children.  I am truly excited to start this new adventure and so is Kiera!

January

Cold, Snowy, Dreary, and Rainy....

 Not in Houston!!!!

Beautiful, Sunny, and Cool!

But, less than 2 weeks ago, we were dressed like this for Snow Day:

 

Welcome to a Winter in Houston!

My Word for 2012

REDUCE

This is the year I will work on Reducing!  Here are 12 ways for 2012:
1.  Reduce my waist size
2.  Reduce my time spend away from God
3.  Reduce my angry words to my husband and kids
4.  Reduce my commitments
5.  Reduce my time on the computer
6.  Reduce the amount of chemicals, sugar, and fat I feed my family
7.  Reduce our fast food intake to one time per pay period
8.  Reduce our debt
9.  Reduce the weeds in my yard
10.  Reduce my caffeine intake
11.  Reduce the clutter in my house
12.  Reduce the dust and dirt in my house

Pray for me...it's going to be a hard year!

Merry Christmas Eve

From our family to yours:
May you have a very merry Christmas.   May your holiday be full of love and happiness.  May you be surrounded with the people you love.   May you not forget, but fully celebrate the wonderful gift that was given to us on this day: Jesus.  Happy Birthday to our King and Merry Christmas to you!

 The Party of 5

Christmas Eve 2011

Get this party started...

The holiday is full of parties!  Neighborhood parties, school parties, church parties, and the yearly Ballet party.   

This little party is one of my favorites.  

It's only an hour long which is just the right amount of time for my three little people.  

It's beautifully decorated and what is cuter than little girls showing up in their most beautiful Christmas dresses:

(wearing tights that are too small!)

 They sing a little song for us:

 This song caught Garrett's attention or maybe it was all the pretty girls around him.   He stood dead in his tracks in the middle and just looked at them!

 

Brie was dazzled by the twinkling lights and fancy wrappings:

A little elf came and took a picture with two of my favorite party goers:

I'm so thankful we get to be a part of this fun party each year!

Tea Party Tradition

A tradition has been born in our house
 that started shortly after the babies were born:

Kiera was only three years old when she had her first Family Tea Party.

We have progressed quite a bit in our little parties.  We dress up, we get out the real breakable tea sets and we even cover our ugly (but free!) table.  Even our crumpets have gotten better!   It's quite a treat (pun intended!) to attend our tea parties.

The best tea parties are when we get to share them with others in our family.  Here is Aunt Wanda admiring her Little Princess make her grand entrance!

I love how we started our own little family tradition.  

There's even talk of having tea in England.  

Wouldn't that be fun?