September 2014~by Beth

School, sports, and dental appointments have been the theme of this month.  Some of our fun projects for school this month included drawing self portraits after looking in a mirror, drawing the shape of our faces in the mirror with soap, sculpting our faces, and then drawing our faces on a hard boiled egg.  Here is one photo of the last project.

LtoR: Dave, Christiana, Charity, Emma, Johanna, Abigail, Stephen

We also used weights to see how many arm curls we could do in one sitting, and then increase it every day for a week.  The two youngest surprised us by doing as many as 600 arm curls!  Good thing they were only using a 3lb. weight.

Yesterday we traveled all the way to Estero.  Our beloved dentist changed locations and wanted us to move with him.  We agreed when he offered that all 7 could come on one visit for their appointments, and then another visit with them all for their cleanings.  Praise the Lord for favor with this doctor.

Sports also keep us hopping.  Because of the rainy fall we have been having, many of our games have been cancelled due to the weather.  The girls have a few volleyball games that are indoors so they have been able to keep on schedule better, but our boys' football team has had 3 games cancelled in a row.  Last Friday afternoon we traveled to Port Charlotte for a game that also had lightning and we had to cancel.  But, PTL, we were able to reschedule for yesterday (Monday) and got the game in.  It did rain in the 4th quarter, but no lightning so we finished it.  Here are a few photos of the kiddos.

Christiana

Christiana

Charity is ready to serve

David ready for the snap

Did I mention that David is both the quarterback and the kicker?

New addition coming soon!~by Beth

ARRIVING IN FEBRUARY 2015~A NEW BABY

No, it is not ours, but Nathan and Hannah are expecting baby 3.  Here is the photo she posted on Facebook to announce to their friends and extended family, plus another one she sent me.

Audrey paying attention while Lydia explains the ropes.

"Let's go over it again."

First Day of School 2014~by Beth

Here are my students for 2014.  This is the last year I will have 7 in school, besides college.  Next year it will go down to 6 students after David graduates in May of 2015, which is more manageable.  Then, the Spring of 2016, Christiana will graduate and I will decrease to 5 students.  Wow, I won't know what to do with myself by then.  That same fall my oldest grand daughter will begin home school too.  Of course her mama and daddy are already teaching her all kinds of things.  Last year I visited them for Audrey's birth and I had three of my students along.  Stephen was just beginning kindergarten and I didn't want to lose any ground, so he came along.  We had school each morning and Lydia, age 2.5 then, sat with us for our phonics and math drills; at least as long as we kept her attention.  She eventually drifted away, but it was a privilege for me to get to invest into her life.  Caleb is back at the newly renamed Florida Southwestern College (formerly Edison) for his 3rd semester.  He is eventually going to get a PTA certification, and in the future go for his Physical Therapist license.

L to R Emma, class of 2020, Abby, class of 2024, Charity, class of 2018, Johanna, class of 2022, Christiana, class of 2016, Stephen, class of 2026, and David, class of 2015

Beach Day with our friend Keith~by Beth

We had a fellow we met when we lived in Marysville, Washington come visit us in Cape Coral the first weekend of August.  Of course we had to go to the beach.  Here we are playing in the sand and water.  It was our last Summer activity before we began school on the following Monday.

Keith and Jonathan

Abigail

David

Emma

Stephen

The crew

Baseball~by Beth

We enjoyed watching the Miracles play a baseball game last night.  Though they lost, it did not lessen our fun.  The younger children were able to participate in a Summer reading program through our local library and each earned 2 tickets to last night's game.  Since four of them read for these tickets, we all went free.  The bonus was that it was also Ladies' night and all the girls in our party received 2 vouchers for a free drink.  I used one for water for me and the shared the other voucher with Stephen.  The other joy was bumping into friends and reconnecting.  After the game the children could run the bases and then get some candy at home plate.  Some of our last Summer time fun, as Monday we begin school. 

Play ball!

I should have switched to sports setting for this shot.

Stephen gets his candy

We took one last shot down on the field before heading home.  Johanna even got a fly ball during the game as a souvenir!

July 2014~by Beth

July always begins with the Independence Day celebration.  Again the children rode in the bike parade at the Pine Island parade.  This year Stephen joined the troops riding his new (thrift store new) bike that he got for his birthday the week before.

Emma, Johanna, Abby and Stephen

After the parade we had two families over for games and a cook out.  After they left the children decorated the driveway with chalk art while waiting for it to get dark so the boys could set off fireworks.  In our area we don't drive any where for the big stuff.  We can see huge fireworks exploding in the sky around us in at least 5 or 6 different directions.

right side of the driveway

left side of the driveway

  In the evening our a.c. for the back side of the house went out.  Jon watched a bunch of youtube videos and figured that the capacitor had gone bad.  We replaced it on Monday and sure enough, the air worked again.

After the 4th, the children completed their summer golf program with a party.  Here are a few of our players.  David, Christiana, Charity, Emma, Johanna and Abby participated.

Christiana, Emma and Abby

This month could be summarized by the word: PROJECTS.  We fixed several car issues, including Jon fixing the a.c. on the Rodeo with junk yard parts.  With that work being done the driveway got pretty dirty so the girls are using the pressure washer today to clean up, now that the car work is done.  We also did a ton of painting.  It started with some water spots on the ceiling in the entry way that came from driving rain the previous summer and got under the ridge pole.  But, trying to paint the entry demanded that we also cover the living room and kitchen as they are one ceiling.  As long as we were at it we did the kitchen walls as well.  That was a major project with all the prep work, but we had all the children helping, and it looks so clean and nice.  Next we tackled the boys' bedroom.  I have never liked the dark blue in there, and we chose a lighter gray to change to.  Of course, painting in there made "clean up the room" necessary.  We washed down the beds, turned mattresses, washed all the bedding, cleaned up the computer area, closet and shelves.  It looks so nice now.  We also did the baseboards and trim with the eggshell color we use on the trim in the rest of the house.  That same week we also painted the window seat, and the trim below it, and the boy's bathroom.  They never liked the yellow in there, and we got a gallon of mistint paint from Sherwin Williams for $2 in a nice, light blue.  Jon and I did that whole job ourselves.  The next day was cow appreciation day at Chickfila, and we all dressed up for the event.  Here we are.

Before

 

 

The next week the girls all got their hair cut by a friend of ours.  The older three wanted longer hair so even though they got a lot cut off, it does not looks like it in the picture.  But Johanna donated her hair and we cut off over 12 inches of her hair once it was all trimmed up.  She looks so cute.

After

June 2014~by Beth

This month began in Ohio.  Here is the month in photos.

Charity, Emma and Christiana swim in Grandma's pool

Stephen caught a bug and had a temperature.  Here he is "washing away my fever."

Our 30th anniversary

Enjoying the oldest kiddie park in the U.S.

Christiana, David, Abby and Johanna riding the kiddie roller coaster

Back at the Creation Museum on the way home

A sign at the Creation Museum

Father's Day lunch

 For Stephen's 6th birthday we went to Bass Pro
Shop and took advantage of a number of the free classes and activities for kids.  The children learned about archery, camping, hunting and water safety.  The activities they participated in included archery (real for the older ones and nerf for the younger crowd), casting, shooting, and crafts.

Stephen shot a bullseye the very first shot.

Just before the 4th of July celebration we also painted the ceiling in the kitchen, living room and entry to cover some water marks.  We also did the kitchen walls.  It was a family job and we all helped the entire day.  We are having a great Summer.