Smilebox for a Mouse

This is actually for Josiah, my little animal-loving boy. When we all got mice, he chose a tiny black one that turned out to be the tamest, cutest mouse I have ever seen.
The relationship they had was special and so I want to remember all of those happy times with this Smile Box.

Free picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Jump Back to June

We opened the pool in June and enjoyed some jumping and diving. I worked on teaching Tboy how to swim and float.

Then, while he was at camp, we bought a City Pass and visited . . .

 

                                            CNN Center

 

                              Georgia Aquarium

                               World of Coke

                                   Zoo Atlanta

                                   and

                                      Fernbank Science Museum.

Whew! Theron had taken the week off so we could spend some time together as a family. I did get sick with a bad cold before we made it to Fernbank. We ended up going the following week and taking a family friend.

Also in June, we had our FCFE End of Year Celebration.
It was also our last month with Tboy. After his return from camp, he moved back to his previous foster family who wish to adopt him.



My Memories of May

This is our lonely homeschool room. Where are the kids? Hannah often goes up to her room to work on some of her assignments in piece and quiet. Josiah is probably outside chasing a bug. Tboy might still be at public school. We're not stuck to this table all day. Thank goodness! We do our reading on the couch or I read to them at the table while they eat. Even spelling and math and English are often done on the couch or even outside. Yay for home school.

Hannah and I were in the Spring Handbell Concert. Josiah did not participate this session, but Hannah is still very much into it. It really is a lot of fun.

The guys went bowling with some friends. They seem to have had a good time. I wasn't there. I'm glad Theron took them for some special time, though.

April's Reappearing

 Ah Yes, the flowers of April! Everything was really in bloom.
The money plant




Tulips

Iris

 

Dogwood

 

Groundcover



 

Azaleas

White and Pink Petunias

And the kale I planted too late last year had grown and bloomed. We harvested and used it this year.


This was the month for planting a new garden with the kids and going to the park.

Remembering March

In March, we took a memorable trip to Explorations in Antiquity. We "went back in time" and learned about life in a tent during Abraham's day, sheep keeping, burials, oil pressing, and mill stones. In was a chilly day, but the kids enjoyed walking through a piece of Jerusalem as it was during Jesus' time and sitting in a slice of a Roman coliseum.

Also in March, we had another important birthday. Josiah turned 9. He woke to pancakes and turkey bacon. We celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese and at Grandfather's.

 He enjoyed putting animal cookies on his cake and trekking through the Paulding County wilderness.

































Our home group joined us for a Welcome Party for our foster boy. He enjoyed helping to make the decorations.

Toward the end of the month, I took Hannah and Josiah to a program at the library about birds of prey. With Hannah's interest in owls, it was a must see. I believe the owl in the picture is a European Eagle Owl and the bird on the bottom is a falcon (it has a mask on to keep it calm). They are part of the Medieval Times Show. The ladies who brought them did a great job and it was very educational.

February Not Forgotten

I've got a bit of catching up to do, since I haven't posted since January.

Why have I not posted in six months?

Well, I have two very good reasons.

1. I was having technical difficulty with downloading pictures.

(I could not bear to post without pics. It would just be so boring.)

2. We took in a foster boy, who kept us very, very busy.

(That alone would have been reason enough, I know.)

Reading and Cooking

It can be hard to find good books for our children to enjoy - ones that they like and we want them to read. Some of the same ones Hannah was fond of are not Josiah's "cup of tea". Enter Mr. Putter and Tabby, a hit with Josiah.

 

What fun books! They are by Cynthia Rylant. Josiah is pretty picky about the books he reads (i.e.- if he doesn't find it interesting, it's not worth his effort), but he gets into these and so do I. I find myself laughing at the antics of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. If you have a youngster who is ready for easy chapter books. Let me recommend Mr. Putter and Tabby.

 

Another thing I would recommend is teaching your children to cook. It worked for me today. Josiah offered to cook supper. I asked him what he would fix. He said tomato soup and grilled cheese, because I had taught him how.

Once he had the "go ahead" from me, he proceeded to get out the ingredients and with some supervision, was able to do everything except turn on the gas stove (which I have not taught him to do yet ;) ).

 

 

 

That's one very proud 8 year old!

 

 

 

Cooking up his favorite grub!

 

 

Flippin' it to perfection!