Matisse

{Matisse amazes me.  I love the fact that he had never shown interest in art until he was older.  One day he got sick.  Super sick.  His mom gave him art supplies to keep him busy and he fell in love.  Reminds me of our story.  We would've never slowed down enough to listen that it was time for us to make a major life change without Nate getting sick.  I believe with all my heart that sometimes God slows you down so that you can hear his voice.  And thank goodness.  I am so grateful for where we are in our lives.}

Nate said we couldn't draw on the ceiling like Matisse.  Boo.
The sidewalk became our only option.
And since none of us in our home have grandchildren (we are still waiting for the birth of CJ's six babies that are growing inside of his tummy) we drew pictures of our family.

 kara and coray family

 sadie fam

 shelley and jess fam

 kyle and sochi

 

Jesus

Preston and Becca.

Preston is gonna be a dentist so his picture needed teeth.

You can thank CJ.

 
Lacy the dog.

 Great-grandma and Great-grandpa

Have I mentioned that CJ is convinced that great-grandma is is REAL mom?

And that his dad has died and gone to Heaven?

 

 Spencer and T-Bird Teresa

 

and that?

that would be our family.

I need to be happier.

CJ drew me with a big frowny face that Caleb immediately fixed.

Good boy Caleb.

After CJ asked to be drawn as Darth Vadar, Conner asked to be drawn as a Zombie.

Don't judge.

I think art history is one of my favorite subjects to study with my kids.
We spent an entire two weeks studying Matisse and I LOVED IT.

when the boys find the camera...

I find all sorts of pictures. Any guesses as to who these chubby cheeks belong to?

Abraham Lincoln and the Benefits of Homeschooling...

Thanks to the Lego movie, there has been an interest in Abraham Lincoln at our house.
A mysterious $3 find at Target and BOOM! Lego Abraham Lincoln belongs to CJ.

After a billion history questions, we made a trip to the library.  Found a cute book written by Rosemary Wells and began reading.  Did you know Abraham Lincoln had two boys?  And did you know that his wife had to send the boys to fetch dad and "bring him home" every night? 

Yeah... I didn't either. 

CJ is thrilled.
But...
The Abraham Lincoln obsession has gone a little anatomical.

All afternoon CJ has very loudly proclaimed that:

"My dad taught Abraham Lincoln how to fart." 

Clearly, Nate is the dad to be envied.  The cutter of cheese.  The "woofer" of all time.  With supreme rectal powers that have surpassed the sands of time to instruct the renowned (and very much deceased) Abraham Lincoln how to relieve pressure.


I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.  Go homeschool.

Oh... and that homeschool anti-social thing?
Yeah.

The whole bully-my-self thing has become pretty big.
We aren't missing out on much...

gratitude ice cream

It isn't a secret that Nate has been trying to complete his PhD in record time.
What takes some people 4-6 years to complete, he is determined to finish in three.

He is a stud.

When a chance to interview for a full-time position at the local university appeared, we snatched it.  Gratitude pumped in our veins during the two day interview process, date-night-dinner/interviews, and even a trip to meet with a high ranking leader of our church.

We fasted and prayed and fasted and prayed some more.

The job description (in our opinion) fit Nate perfectly.  It allowed him to utilize his chiropractic doctorate in addition to his almost completed PhD in neuroscience.

Mentally, I started planning a celebration party that included our neighbors and way too much ice cream.
Maybe even fireworks and pot-n-pan banging.

After a two-month-intensive-wait-period we learned that Nate was not selected as their final candidate.

At first, I was kinda mad and sad and feeling very bad.
(Can you tell that we are celebrating Dr. Suess this week?)

And then...
I felt relieved.
And grateful.
And happy.

I am beyond grateful for my Heavenly Father and the love He has for me.  I am grateful for His willingness to tell me "no, that isn't right for you" despite my blinded belief that I know what is best.

Because even though we love where we are at, we have questioned if "right here" is best for us long term.


I pulled the vanilla ice cream from the fridge with the candles, chocolate chips, and peanut butter.  Quietly, we enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate the gratitude we have for God.  I don't know where our life is headed and what God has in store for us, but I am super grateful that the answers rest in His all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving hands.

Because even when life is rough, there is always something to be grateful for.  Like Darth Vadar, Lego's, left butt cheeks, toilets, and friends - according to the boys - and there is always love to be shared.

Thomas S. Monson said it best when he said, "to ever live with gratitude in our hearts is to touch heaven."

*  *  *  *  *

And as a side note, Colton has developed a little "crush" on our neighbors.  His favorite "game" to play is letter drawing, bouncy ball wrapping, and gift delivering to the ladies that live on our block.

After an unexpected kiss from our next door neighbor, Colton has taken to door bell ditching.  

A skill in which he has quickly mastered.    

There should really be a bumper sticker that says the following:

My child doorbell ditches faster than your child.

I'd buy it.

habitats

Out of all the habitats in the world, I love mine the very best.

XOXO

facial name tags

In the beginning, I drew little "facial" pictures of each boy next to their name to help them identify what belonged to whom.

The pictures are simple.
Silly really.


First we have Conner.

Caleb.

And Colton.

But one day, the little spiky hair boy wasn't good enough for Colton.

"When I close my eyes I turn into Darth Vadar, Mom."  He reminded me over and over and over and over again.

Something had to be done about that.  Spiky haired Colton transformed into a helmet wearing man with a Light Saber in hand.

< Insert Darth Vadar theme song here.>

And Carlee?

Well, she looks something like this:

Her image always makes the boys (and Nate) laugh.

I don't get it....




Purrr...

Carlee is too busy eating Conner's math worksheets to notice or even care.






And as an end note, this is how I draw myself.

And like Colton Vadar, I have my own theme song too.
Think Kelly Clarkson's What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger.

When the kids are crying and the dishes are piled high in the sink and when every single toilet in the house is clogged and no one can find a single pair of clean underwear... Kelly Clarkson makes everything all right.

Some days, I am "freakishly" strong.