Well, Hello There!

I'm probably writing to myself, but I caught a wild hair to post to my blog again. I'm so excited, I can't stand it (not about posting to the blog, but about what we're about to embark on for homeschool). I've decided that we are going to read the Little House book series together and learn whatever we may as we go through it! I didn't really realize until I decided to try this that I have never actually read these books (pause for shock and awe)... I just finished reading the first three chapters of the "Little House in the Big Woods" and I am mesmerized.

Before beginning this endeavor, I read a biography on Laura Ingalls Wilder which made me all the more anxious to begin. Did you know that she didn't actually start writing this series until she was 65 years old? Unbelievable! There is still time for me to have new dreams to fulfill. I also can't believe the history present in this series of books and the ease of reading for both kids and adults. I am eager to start this week, and I do hope to post periodically as we walk through them together. I'll tell you what we learn! Zoe seems to mainly be looking forward to traveling to some of the historic sights I've told her about. I certainly hope we get the opportunity.

Our First Weeks of School?

So, we've been on "school break" since December (when I was great with child), and instead of waiting for the Fall semester of school to start, I decided we should just go ahead and get started! We are currently in our fourth week. Woohoo! School in the summer! Well, I suppose we just want to  continue to prove that we are capable of being "just weird like that."

Zoe is now first grade, and Cameron is pre-K. My ideal was to do most of school with both of them (I'm still doing Five in a Row) and then do the other subjects with just Zoe. I imagined us sitting together, reading together, learning wonderful new things... well, as Cameron would have it, she is not so interested in school right now, so I'm letting her do whatever she wants during school time as long as she doesn't interrupt (easier said than done). Then, there is also Noah. He is a wonderful little man, but he has to eat sometimes right in the middle of school time, or he's just not feeling the school thing and would rather I just hold him while walking around the house. So, we take a break for "recess." How great is that!

Though it may sound like I have it all together and am as cool as a cucumber about it all, that could not be further from the truth. It could be because, as I'm writing this, I'm totally distracted by Cameron using her Tag Junior in the next room which has two volumes: "Loud" and "Louder."

Anyhow, just to tell you how quickly we went from "Yay, school!" to "School again?" (insert whiny voices), let me bring you through our first two days. The first day we started a new book called "Three Names" by Patricia MacLachlan 

A wonderful book about a kid hearing his grandfather tell the story about when he used to go to school when he was a little boy ("about a hundred years ago, he liked to say"). The dog always went with him. The first thing we did was visit an old one-room schoolhouse.

It was super cool, even though we couldn't go inside (but I did get a picture of the inside through the window in the door).

The wood burning stove was still in there! It is now used as a Quaker Church.

We also practiced our letters in sugar (I believe some was eaten, but I'm not telling).

Cameron's "E"

I think Noah even enjoyed school that first day

All in all, we had a great day! Then it was time to get up the next day and do it all over again...

Needless to say, the fun we had the day before was just that... the day before. We struggled through a couple more days, though, and then I figured out that we should start our school mornings praying for one another which really seemed to make all the difference. Now I don't think that it was some sort of magical thing that happened, it was just the grace of God to help me realize that we can't do this apart from God's grace! I can't be patient and flexible day to day (or moment to moment, really), and the kids can't be attentive, obedient and excited to learn all in our own strength.

Now that it's our fourth week, we're in a bit of a rhythm (though, we will march to the beat of a different drummer some days). Every week, I put together a schedule for school:

Thanks to Donna Young, I didn't even have to come up with my own template. So far, it's working pretty well. I'll let you know more as the months go by! Until then, please enjoy these faces...

Where Have I Been?

Well, absorbed in cuteness, of course!

I am very thankful that my girls have loved having a baby brother. And, as far as homeschooling is concerned, I'm thankful that my oldest is only in Kindergarden so that her education is not suffering as we have taken a very long school break since I was in my ninth month of being pregnant. I like to say that we are currently in the "school of life." Mornings spent with PBS has also been instrumental in learning letters, numbers, basic math, science vocabulary and social responsibility... hey, don't judge me. :)

Tonight I will be jumping back on the bandwagon, though, as I attend a homeschool planning session with my group. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. We're actually planning on trying to send Cameron to a private pre-school. There are multiple reasons, but the main ones are, she could use some time away from her sister (though she loves her, she is also tired of being bossed around) and I could use some time to really focus on what it looks like to be "organized" in homeschooling. Since Zoe will be in the first grade, I figure, this is the best time to figure it out as best as I can.

In the meantime, we've been adjusting and having fun being a family of five! Woohoo! Noah is quite the smiley little man, so he's made my adjustment rather simple (it only took 3 times for me to like babies).

Here are some more pictures for you to ooooo and aaaaaahhhhh over...

Valentine's email

In other news, it is the season of Lent. When we get the opportunity, we are reflecting on what God has done for us through Christ. I do find it hard to reflect when young children are in constant need, but I find that the more diligent I am in remembering who I am, the better I am at reminding the children of who they are, both in word and deed. Here's our centerpiece:

The idea is similar to the advent wreath. There are 40 holes instead of 24, counting down the 40 days of Lent (Sundays are not included) until Easter. The tulips were definitely a nice touch, but they have expired since they were a Valentine's gift.

We also celebrated Matthew's birthday (I thought the princess castle candle was a nice touch). He's 36! So old... The girls helped with the sprinkles.

Hopefully, we'll get back into the blogging routine soon! But until then, I hope you are well.

Enjoying some unusually warm spring weather under our
Camellia bush

Photo Card

Whoo's That Blue Baby Announcements

Click here to browse Shutterfly birth announcement designs.

View the entire collection of cards.

Side by Side by Side Comparison

Well, as Noah's face has gone from swollen and purple to normal and adorable, I've been able to see his family resemblance! See what you think...

Welcome to our world!

Noah Vazquez Armstrong made his way into the world on December 30, 2011 at 6:33am. He weighed a whopping 11lbs. 11.5oz and was measured at 22 1/2" long. Needless to say, he is BIG!

We called him "moradito" (little purple boy)
at first due to his bruising

I am recovering now. The girls are adjusting to having a new baby in the house with a momma who is not able to attend to their every need. Zoe loves to hold Noah and give me a play by play on all of the noises and movements he's making. She told Matthew yesterday that she likes her little brother. Whew! I was worried we might have to send him back! ;) Cameron is not really that interested in him as of yet, but she is sweet on him. I think, more than anything, she is missing all of the attention she got from me before. We still find time for her to sit on my lap, though. :)

A little throw-back to when Zoe held
Cameron after she came home from
the hospital

Photo Shoot

Just wanted to share a few beautiful pictures that were taken recently by Adrea Thomas. I thought she did a wonderful job! Check out her portfolio (click her name) if you are interested in getting some pictures done.

Advent, Christmas and Get Ready...

A very Merry Christmas to you and your family from us! (That's an ultrasound of baby Noah on the bottom right)

"Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh..." well, no sleighs to ride in Georgia, but this time of year is a lot of fun for us, and as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the birth of our first son, we have a lot going on! I've discovered that one of the luxuries of having young children in conjunction with homeschooling is we can decide things like, "Hey, let's take the month of December 'off' of our normal school schedule and focus on preparing our hearts for Christmas and what it means to give!" So that is just what we have done. Aside from the normal playing outside in this unusually warm weather, reading some good books and pretending, we baked! I didn't really realize how much energy it takes to bake so many different things, but I did the best I could with the energy I have left being almost 40 weeks pregnant now.

Baking fun!

Enjoying a marshmellow

It's important to feed the bakers!

Decorating time! 

We baked several different goodies, then we gave some to our neighbors and the rest we brought to a retirement home in East Atlanta (Branan Towers) for some of the residents to enjoy! The girls were a bit shy at the home, but they were definitely well received. :)

Christmas preparations have been the most fun. We have started a few new traditions and added a few more decorations.

Zoe's favorite ornament

Cameron loves decorating the tree

Our Christmas Tree

New for this year - Jesse Tree advent reading

Also new - advent wreath

The paper chain is something that I do with the girls in the morning. We have a little kid advent book that after each day we take off a link in the chain so that they can see the days getting closer to Christmas!

Some other things we've done this month...

Pretty Christmas dresses

Mimi brought us to visit Santa

This was our house

This is our house now! We had it painted
and replaced our door (removed shutters, but dad is
going to make some farmhouse shutters for us).

Went to walk the labyrinth at Serenbe on a beautiful day

Painted a peg board which I had planned on turning into a
nativity star with Christmas lights, but I think it may
have to wait until next year. I don't have the energy to finish!