I greatly appreciate the sunshine we have seen around here lately. I love being able to leave the jacket at home and let the kids go outside to play. I am thankful for mud boots. I love the smell of the blankets that were hung on the line- mmm... sunshine. I am at risk (self-diagnosed) for that sunlight deprivation depression every year, so I am extremely happy to get outdoors again. I am already thinking about when we will get an opportunity to go camping and when to fit in bike rides. I had a hard time remembering that it was time to feed the children and get them to bed tonight when we were out enjoying all that a fore mentioned sunshine. It was close to 7:00 before I made them pack up the bikes and head for home. They were in definite need of baths after rolling down hills at the school and riding around the parking lot. So it was into the tub, time for supper and straight to bed tonight. I was amazed that Hannah didn't say her newest, nightly comment, "But it's not dark outside." I see the later summer bedtimes in the near future. The hardest thing to accept though is that these days are just teasers. According to what I have been told about the Farmer's Almanac, we could still get a big snow at the end of the month. AHH!! I will try my hardest not to complain. I will use these days to their fullest potential and use them to remind me what is around the corner.

The kids are doing great. I enjoy each day watching them interact with each other. They are so imaginative and readily join in on each others' daydream to act out the latest scenario. Hannah is quite the actress, able to start and stop the tears at a drop of a hat while being "in character". She is also quite the director, assigning characters and lines and even voices. I hear multiple times a day, "Okay, Momma, you are Sally and I am Nana. You say....; No, talk like Sally." I am finding that my biggest schooling struggle is going to be stopping them from playing so nicely together so we can practice reading, or math or what have you. One of my biggest desires has been that my children will truly be friends and enjoy each other, so I hate stopping that when they are building those relationships. So more often than not, reading and math has gone by the way side and I have just joined in on their play. We still have a little while before "formal schooling" has to butt in :)

Caleb's reasoning skills have blown us out of the water lately. He is becoming quite skilled in how he makes requests, having thought out each possible scenario and reaction. I am also getting glimpses that math may be his strong subject. His Lego creations more often than not are entirely symmetrical. (Anyone who knows his father will not be very surprised by that) He is quickly recalling addition facts and constantly asking questions. We spent some time yesterday going over inches and feet. He was trying to express that he was going to build really huge Lego rocket that was going to be "four feet wide and TEN INCHES high!" He was rather set back when I illustrated how high that was. So I had to arm him with the proper dimensions to fully match his enthusiasm and vision :) I love watching his young mind grow and grasp. So blessed to be home to see his daily discoveries.

Well, I need some ideas. I am getting the rare and wonderful pleasure of a girl's night out with two amazing friends this Friday. A night out without curfew :) and without children. What should we do? We will be in the Dayton area but may be open to ideas in surrounding areas. Any thoughts? It's like when I get a gift certificate to a store and then can't figure out what is worthy to spend that money on. I have this great opportunity and don't know what will make the most of our time together. Help!

It is becoming a Thursday night tradition at our house for our children to "spend the night at each others' house. " They take turns each week at who "hosts" the sleepover. Caleb has bunk beds and Hannah has a full-size bed. On the appointed night they are allowed to share a room and to talk for at least ten minutes before time to sleep. I am a little lax on the time and tend to let them talk for as long as they can (they usually don't last long). When they are at Hannah's house :) they sleep at opposite ends, reminiscent of the old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, in which both sets of grandparents share the same bed. They love it! They look forward all week to sleepover night and get so excited when I announce that it is Thursday. I confess that I have been putting the monitor in the room so I can share in their conversations. It is so fun to hear them interact and tell stories to each other. On any other night they have a hard time letting me leave the room. On Thursdays it's as if I can't leave fast enough for them; they're ready to get to their conversations. They also really enjoy waking up in the same room together and Friday mornings usually offer me about half an hour more sleep. I think we will be keeping this tradition for awhile, even if it eventually changes to only in the bunk beds.

We have begun to expand it too. Thursday evenings have been filled with a fun dinner (picnic in the living room, pizza, or popcorn, or kid's choice) and a fun activity (board games, movie, bake cookies together or a special book). I find that I too have really started to look forward to Thursday evenings. It is such a joy to reward children that try hard every day to please us and to learn all that we throw at their little minds to grasp. These nights can also serve as a bargaining chip, although I try to hold out on doing that much.

The holidays served as an extra treat for them since Hannah's room doubles as the guest room and we were blessed with a guest for over a week. I was afraid the kids would get tired of sharing a room and nighttime routines, but they were begging for more when it was time to return to normal. We have considered just putting them in the same room, but as long as space allows, I see great benefit to them having their own space. And I also appreciate the novelty that Thursday nights hold. I love how much our children truly enjoy each other and the bond they are forming. I pray fervently that this will last. I had to wait until adulthood for this sort of relationship with my siblings, but firmly believe that it doesn't have to be that way, even if that tends to be the norm. I welcome any advice on how to strengthen that sibling bond, if you have it to pass on.

Well, they have been given much more than ten minutes and they are still going strong. Time to issue the gentle reminder that it is time to sleep :) I love my job!

Well, it's almost here: my favorite holiday of the year. It's just such a purely motivated holiday and as Hannah says, "Thanksgiving is not about greedy stuff." So what are you doing for this fine holiday? Who will you be with and what are you thankful for? Are you thankful for the ones you'll be with? :) Hope so. Hope tomorrow finds you with all of those loved ones you rarely get to see and those you see every day. Have a wonderful day of thanksgiving.

And secondary question, are you going shopping on Friday, braving the crazy crowds?

We are studying parables in our Bible class and the next one is the Unjust steward in Luke 16. I am so baffled by this parable and would love any insight that anyone would like to pass on. Vs. 9 is especially odd to me. So fire away!