Christmas Morning 2009

To our entire family:

Thanks for making Christmas morning so special for our kids!

Ben and Leah Wilson - you guys need to be added to the credits (sorry)

Thanksgiving in Snowshoe, West Virginia!

We had a blast with Nana, Papa, Aunt Marissa and Great Aunt Laura in West Virginia for Thanksgiving. It was beautiful and quiet! We had a big storm on Black Friday (a bit ironic!). Thankful for a fun family weekend!

Sniper

This is just proof to a father-in-law and two brothers-in-law that I can sit in a tree stand and kill things. Can't wait to hear about the small rodents you kill in Wisconsin next week!

Cool Video

Came across one of our church's videos. Our church showed it at Easter. It was really powerful then--and still is! Love how the Lord can speak in the art of video technology. Check it out.

Elevation Church Easter Opener from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

Special Guest

About mid-week, I announced to the boys that we had some special company coming this weekend. They were so excited! Grayson asked, "Is Auntie Shorty coming again?"

It wasn't Auntie Shorty this past weekend, but we did have her visit in early October. Here are some photos from her time in NC. In fact, she held down the fort while Chris and I went to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. She was amazing! And it's no wonder Grayson wanted her to come back--they all got to pick out new toys when she arrived (Grayson--playmobil pirate ship; Tait--legos, of course; and Ellie--shopping cart). And then I heard some stories about Transformers fruit snacks, McD's happy meal, puzzle parties and board game competitions while we were gone.

Hmmm...kinda sounds like the same kind of fun I had when I was little...when Shorty babysat me (and my siblings) while my parents were gone. You're the best, Shorty! (Especially glad you're still not afraid to threaten with a wooden spoon!)

Thanksgiving coming up!

We've been talking about our Thanksgiving plans this week and I came across this cool centerpiece on another blog. I think it would be fun to make for any holiday. For the directions go here. (And by the way, I don't know these kids--just look at the craft!:)

Trick or Treat

Pumpkins

Thanks to some special seeds from grandparents, we grew our first pumpkin in the garden this summer. We only got one pumpkin, but it made it through the end of October, and the boys were quite excited with the size! Spent one evening this week pumpkin carving. Ellie Girl worked diligently in getting her pumpkin cleaned out. Not bad for a first-time carver! :)

Baby Product Info

Was talking about baby/kid products with a friend the other day...thought I'd pass along a helpful guide. I'm going to take it upstairs and just glance over some of my products and see how they compare. Should be interesting! See the guide here.

Everyday School

Still enjoying our time together with homeschooling! Meet our one-year-old, tabletop student, our baby spiders (did you know that the big brothers eat the little brothers within the sac of eggs? fascinating!), and "crayon hand."

CATALYST 2009

Chris and I had the privilege and joy to get away and attend an amazing conference in Atlanta called Catalyst. The Lord used it on so many levels--we laughed, we cried, we worshipped, we learned, we talked, we prayed and we fell more in love with the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ. Not to mention it was refreshing to enjoy some long car rides with my husband in a quiet car:)!

Chris and I obviously both have a love and passion for what the Lord is doing in Africa. The Lord continues to stir our hearts for this region of the world. At the conference, they increased awareness and challenged all of us to have compassion on "the least of these" in our world--specifically the 143 million orphans in our world today.

Check out this video (particularly the story of the Kenyan man, Jimmy, which starts at 3:45 minutes). Certainly the most moving event during our conference! I pray that it will challenge you as well!

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

First Week of Homeschool

The decision, or rather the call, to homeschool Tait this year was quite a process. Combine a background in education and a love for research & information...and what do you get? A cross-examination of every option for my first son's education (from schools we could never afford to schools we'd figure out how to afford to "free" (i.e. public) schools to alternative options).

So as we've started into our first year of homeschooling, I've been overflowing with joy in this first 1.5 weeks. It's been such a blessing! I still have a lot to figure out (like how to balance direct instruction with authentic learning opportunities), and will certainly need to rely on the Lord's wisdom and grace to carry this each day (what we ought to rely on for any situation); nonetheless, i am just so excited for what this year has in store.

Here's a glimpse of one of our class visitors this week. Mr. Eastern Box Turtle showed up in our yard--just as the boys were getting a little feisty. Perfect for our science lesson and nature journal. We studied the turtle, looked him up in our field guide, played with him (Grayson only accidently dropped him once on the brick patio--oops), and wrote/drew a journal entry about him.

Doesn't get much cooler than that--for a teacher or for 2 young boys! So thankful to have the time to examine and admire God's creation!

First Day of School

On Tuesday, Sept 8th school officially started for the Allen crew. Everyone was quite excited! On Chris's orders, we didn't forget to take our "first day of school" photos (good tradition passed down from Papa Paul--and Grandma Sue). Wet hair for the boys (at least they smelled good from a morning shower) and almost a smile from Miss Ellie.

Ellie--18 months

Tait--5.5 years old

Kindergarten at "Ridgeloch Elementary"

(as he fondly named our homeschool)

Grayson--3.5 years old (in his favorite "golf shirt" from Gma Sue)

Carmel Baptist WEE School (2 days a week)

Safe Sunscreen??

Love to do research...and love to try to find the "best" things for our family...

Here's the guide I've referred to when buying sunscreen this summer. EWG (Environmental Working Group) is always so helpful. And they're supposed to come out with the new 2009 list soon.

So far I have purchased the California Baby products. While I feel good about using quality sunscreen, I have 2 complaints about these products: expensive and my kids look like Casper the ghost bc so difficult to rub in!

Anyone have other suggestions?

Easter

Spring Happenings

Everyday Events of Tait and Grayson

Catch Up

Ellie is Walking

Uncle Mark and Jenn's Wedding in Florida