L00K at what I made!

I have been teaching HC to read and when she sees the upper case alphabet she quickly identifies each letter. There were a few letters that led her to ask me "What letter is this Mom?" with a few lower case alpha. The fact that b,d, q and p can be tricky when they are seen alone. Don't forget the similarity between u, n, and h to a learning 4 year old mind. So like a good Mommy/Teacher I decided to test what she new. I made a game for HC to play.

She has to match these upper case alphabet to the matching lower case. All of our Alphabet Cards have both the upper and lower case on them. I think HC is focusing on the upper case alone as we use those cards.
Tada!! I am sure there is such a game at a supply store for teachers, but this works just as well. She is really getting better at recognizing her lower case letters now. Not to mention all the fun she has upon making a match!! I was surprised (on our first go at this game), when HC would search for a matching lower case to a few upper case letters, that JB would chime in "There it is stister, wook. Right there." And he was right too!! He's actually played the game (with some coaching) and loves it!!! Home learning is fun when you hit a win!! Times like these make me feel like a competent teacher. I can make learning fun for my kids; I can find my creative side when I need it. :)

Day of the Penguins

I thought I would share a fun little story today. A co-worker gave these two penguins to my husband for the kids, along with two penguin movies. A co-worker did this!! She is too nice to say the least, thinking of my kiddos like that! Anyway, hubby brought home the movies and the penguins but didn't want to give it to them right away. I told him they would find them but he still hid them. As you can see, that was no easy feat. These penguins are HUGE!

So one Sunday afternoon we were getting ready to eat and changing the kids clothes when we hear HC squeal and then the following chant "I found some penguins I found some penguins I found some penguins!!!! Thank you Mommy!! Thank you Daddy!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!" JB then says "I want a penguin too"!!! HC "go see brother, it's in Daddy's closet!! You have a penguin toooooo!!!!!" The celebrations were divine!! They were thrilled, to say the least, and toted these two fellas around the house.

So thank you Mrs. Joyce!! Your precious gift was MUCH appreciated!!!

Finger P@int = Fun

I don't know about your house, but anytime we need to do a little finger p@inting with our Home School work...
(see the fall leaves HC painted?? They are falling on the girl in the picture.)
it always leads to this!! They just cannot get enough of the finger paint!
I guess I have budding artists on my hands. Clearly they are drawn to abstract art!

Wednesday Hero

Cpl. Jordan M. Moehnle
21 years old from Los Angeles, California
Company L, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6 ("Darkhorse" Battalion)


Cpl. Jordan M. Moehnle takes time out of leading his squad in a patrol through Fallujah's Nazaal district to spend some time interacting with local children. Moehnle, who is on his second tour in Iraq, said the changes he has witnessed since he was last here in 2006 have been dramatic. "The city was like the Wild West, we'd put our heads and and drive down (the middle of Fallujah) and hope not to get shot," he said. "Since we've been here (this year), we can stop and shoot the breeze."

You can read more here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

Happy Birthd.ay Daddy!!!!

The day before Daddy's birth.day - he looks just as happy as he does ON his birth.day! My husband sure does make his time with the kids count. Here we are putting up the decorations for Daddy's arrival.
HC had to add some streamers to the brick wall too. She really got into decorating.
She really gives her best in everything she does.
Of course the bathroom door needed a little streamer action too.

JB felt the need to join in on the fun. Dad's recliner was the perfect place to work.
Here is our yummy birth.day cake for Daddy.
He finally made it home!!!! Notice the chalk art work on the door.
He had to break through the ribbons. Such a trooper.

Happy Bir.thday!!!!!!!!!!!
We want cake!!! They were so ready to gobble it up.
The streamers were a hit.

Happy Birth.day Husband! I love you and hope your birth.day celebration was as fun for you as it was for HC and JB.

Then and Now

A look back in time! Here is JB one year ago (notice the hand full of sand - he had a blast throwing sand). Hubby had a business trip at the beach and we went too! This was HC's and JB's first time ever at the beach. We had a lot of fun and I learned I COULD handle two toddlers at a hotel and at the beach alone. We've all grown a little bit! :)

JB now. I caught this photo when he was staring off at something.
HC then. I am amazed that she still had the baby face last year. I forgot that!!! She is so big now.

HC now. So mature and helpful. She understands SOOOO much more this year.

The two kiddos at the beach. It was hard for them to understand what I wanted them to do. Oh well. They were still in the same general area. haha
Here they are the other night. They are much closer in this picture literally and relationally. A year has REALLY made a huge difference in our little family. I can truly say they are friends and siblings!! They really make life more fun too!!

Tribute to our fallen heros

To all the United States Veterans I say "Thank You!!" To those who have lost dear loved ones I say "I grieve your loss and I am eternally grateful for the sacrifice your family made for our country!" You are what makes America great!
Many thanks and blessings to you all!

Enjoying the little things!

Here's what my little HC found while playing outside the other day!!!

She is now a fan of Lady Bugs.
HC wanted to keep it as her pet. We told her this Lady Bug may be sad to leave it's home.
It was crawling up her neck.

And flew away.
And we captured it again so HC could have a little more fun!
It was funny to watch her have such fun with this little creature. This reminded me of an incident that happened when HC was about 11 months old or so. (Way back when Mrs. Christina was her teacher.) Mrs. Christina told me some of the older kids brought in a lady bug they found. The lady bug was a hit but it got away from them for a minute. Before they knew it HC had the lady bug and it was in her mouth. She made the worst face and they all had a big laugh. We have come full circle now. HC enjoys lady bugs now for the pure fact that they are interesting and... cute! :) Like butterflies.

Indescribable