Spring Baskets 2014

For those of you reading about our tradition of Spring Baskets you may want to read my previous posts about Spring Baskets. We give out Spring Baskets on the first day of Spring instead of giving Easter Baskets on Resurrection Day. I started that tradition on the first day of Spring in 2003, when my oldest child was almost a year old. I'm so glad that I did. It's such a fun tradition!
Other posts about Spring Baskets:
Spring Baskets 2011
Spring Baskets 2012

I can't believe that even my almost 12 year old hasn't tired of this fun Spring tradition!
I'm so thankful for these 4 children. They are such a joy to me!
Happy Spring to all of you! It's been a long winter!

Tea Party Time

The girls in our neighborhood all seem to have one thing in common - the only girl - and lots of brothers. So, I decided to provide some extra girly fun for Rosalie and her sweet friends. This is a picture of Rosalie before her friends arrived - she was so excited!

Not sure what this little pose was all about - but I'm glad I snapped it! 

Hannah and Rosalie have been friends since we moved in over 3 years ago. 

All 3 of the girls together! I'm so thankful for sweet friends and neighbors!

The girls were so sweet pouring their "tea" and spreading frosting on their cookies. They were also super careful with the very fancy tea set! We will definitely have to do this again soon!

Honors Recital

The picture is a bit blurry - but if you look closely you can see Martin playing his trumpet. He's the 4th trumpet player from the left.
We had an Honors Recital earlier this month. The Concert band(the band that Martin is in) played and several solo and ensembles played. The choir sang as well - but since I was directing the choir - I don't have a picture of that. (Martin sings in the choir)
The choir sang an italian madrigal,"Fa Una Canzona" by Orazio Vecchi - a composer of the late Renaissance.
We are still so thankful to be a part of this fantastic homeschool organization!

Bricksburgh

Our boys never tire of legos. They have collected so many  legos over the years that they are now forming new creations out of them and building entire towns.

This town is called Bricksburgh

I'd much rather they build with legos than stare at a screen!

Sweet Friends

After the chocolate factory we met at the park and played and then walked the trails. This is such a candid and sweet moment that I caught on camera.
We are so blessed to be able to spend a lot of time with our friends from church and small group. Our children are friends - and a lot like family.
So thankful for the body of Christ.

Chocolate Counts as a Field Trip!

Last week we went to the Videri Chocolate Factory in downtown Raleigh. It was so much fun!

The children enjoyed watching the entire process starting with the bean all the way to the tasting. This is a sweet picture of Marlee - one of Rosalie's most favorite people - well, it's a toss up between Marlee and Marlee's Mom, Michele. Rosalie is blessed to call them both friends.

We had a pretty large group of children for this field trip. I think their favorite part was tasting!

We were able to go to an amazing place for the 2nd time to celebrate the 11th birthday of our very special friend, Zachary. If you haven't been to Go Play Outside Now yet in Garner, NC. Make a point to go there soon! It's so much fun! They have even started a Friday special for homeschoolers starting Friday the 21st of March. 12:45-3:45 PM every Friday $5 per person. Children under 2 are free!

They have an awesome laser tag area - and yes that is Rich you seen in the picture trying to take down all the young kiddos playing. Even the adults get to have fun!

We are so thankful for our dear friends!
Happy Birthday to our sweet friend, Zachary. My boys love him like a brother. Zachary and his family are blessing to our family!

Rosalie's 5th Birthday

Yes, Rosalie is 5!! She turned 5 in early February. We had a quiet family celebration.  She loves mashed potatoes - so she requested whatever meat (super technical, huh?) with mashed potatoes and gravy. So, I made her chicken and gravy with mashed potatoes. We also had a gluten free marble cake with buttercream frosting - and strawberry ice cream.  Rosalie chose the Olive Garden for her birthday lunch with Daddy. 

It's hard to believe my baby is 5!

Some facts about Rosalie:
Rosalie is super girly. She loves dressing up in princess dresses,  playing tea party, my little pony, and dolls of any sort.
She is super social. She loves playing with other little girls. I'm so thankful for our sweet neighbors. Rosalie would stay outside 24/7 if I let her - especially if the other neighborhood girls are outside!
Rosalie loves going to her class at church. She loves being with her friends and she loves her teachers!
She loves to sing.
She loves to draw.
She brings me several sweet drawings each day.
She is learning how to read and wants to do way more school than I want to do with her at this point!
She can be a huge drama queen - but we are working on settling that down a bit.
She loves going to our church small group. She counts down the days each week until we can go. (all of our children love it)
Rosalie's favorites:
color: purple
food: ice cream
restaurant: mexican
game: Princess Cup Cake
princess: Aurora