3 year old class

I teach these precious 3 year olds on Sunday mornings. The other lady in the room is a "buddy" to an autistic boy who is in class with us. We have a wonderful program at church called Access Junction which finds a "buddy" for any special needs children we have, and they stay with them throughout whatever class they are in at church. Every other week another lady teaches and I help and sometimes we have a teenager to help. (nice!) And if one of the kids gets wild or is having a fit, I just have to throw out a red bandana into the hall and a ministry leader will come take the child out of the class and help them calm down. I like it!

Love those kids!

Quiet, calm, sitting next to each other without fighting. Aaawwww.... I can cook lunch without interruptions!


Elizabeth made "hair".



Phillip has been sick with the flu. I hope we don't get it. The kids have not been very sick this year. No hospital or doctor visits ~ no high fevers ~ no laying on the couch all day ~ no throwing up ~ no missing church.... It's been kind of nice.

I'm listening to Alison Krauss right now: She has a sweet clear voice. Her songs are wholesome. She sings in a country/ blue grass style. I like it.

Elizabeth had another teary day with math yesterday. She took until 4:30 in the afternoon to finish a worksheet. That was with lots of breaks, of course. I feel sorry for her, but it will build her character. I'm still only doing half a lesson a day, so we're going slow. She just doesn't like to do it. But like I said.... character.

Jonathan can't wait to go to heaven to see Grandma Phoebe's mom. He asks, "Whose tummy was Mimi in?" and I say, "Grandma Phoebe's." He asks, "Whose tummy was Grandma Phoebe in?" and I say, "I don't know; I haven't met her because she died." "Is she in heaven?" I say, "I'm sure she is." "Well, I can't wait to go to heaven to meet her one day."

Phoebe is so darn cute!!!! She's beautiful!!! I love to watch her sleep. I want to pinch her cheeks and kiss her all over. She's got attitude, but, boy, can she be a charmer when she wants to be. She'll be a force to be reckoned with! Hopefully for good.

Horse Riding Lessons

Elizabeth has been taking Horse riding lessons this month. She's gotten interested in horses from different books she's read (Laura Ingalls series and now the American Girl series).

The lady who is teaching her does half an hour of "groundwork". Brushing the horse and learning how to control it from the ground. I'm not exactly sure what all it is, but I'm glad she's learning about horses and not just how to ride them.

She's trotting. The teacher is holding a rope attached to the horse, so Elizabeth's not on her own yet, but she's getting a feel for what the horse can do.

This was the first day we met the horses and the teacher. Elizabeth was tentative at first, but I think she touched the horse once.

One of the places she had lessons was a farm. There are 5 dogs hanging around. They mostly just lay in the dirt and sleep, but Jonathan and Phoebe are deathly afraid of them. I don't think Phoebe would be so afraid if Jonathan didn't scream so loudly at the sight of them. If one of them starts coming towards us, they'll both scream and cry and try to crawl up my legs. It would be humorous if it wasn't so embarrassing. Elizabeth used to be scared of our neighbor dogs and cats too and now she's riding horses, so I'm hoping these two will get over it also.

Because of the dogs, these two end up in the car.

Living Proof Live (Beth Moore) Conference

Five of us ministers' wives from church were blessed to go to a conference this weekend. It was the first time I'd seen Beth Moore in person (though I could barely see her since we sat in the back). The worship team was phenomenal. They all have powerful voices. And they would often let the women sing without their instruments, so it was really neat to hear all of us singing together.

Here we are waiting for it to start!



Our plane flew in early, so we had some time to go to Opryland. It's an enclosed place with a glass roof, so there are all kinds of beautiful plants and waterfalls and little shops and restaurants. It's was really neat to see.


We saw Steven Curtis Chapman in the airport in Nashville. I didn't recognize him because I don't think I've ever seen a picture of him, but I hear his music on the radio and enjoy it.

These boots were made for walkin'.....

My new cowboy boots!

Zoo I

The Jacksonville Zoo has a new Komodo Dragon exhibit, so we took our afternoon yesterday to go spend some time in the sunshine and animals. A neighbor friend who also homeschools and whom Elizabeth plays with every day if she can, also came with us.
She told him while we were walking along, "I'm glad you're my friend."
"Why? Because you want a BOYFRIEND?"
"No-o! I'm not old enough to have a boyfriend!"
"Because I have money?" (he had money with him from his mom so he could buy a souvenir.)
"No! I'm just glad you're my friend!"
Phillip think she likes him, but I think they truly are just friends. They'll spend hours swinging and talking. I think it's sweet.

Phoebe is very possessive of this stroller. We don't use it anymore except when we go to the zoo and that's mostly so I'll have something to carry my purse and bag of stuff. But she decided to ride in it for most of the day. Anytime Jonathan tried to sit in it, she would yell at him, "No, Jonafun! That's MY stroller! That's for Bebe Ruf! (Phoebe Ruth, if you're wondering.) You git out!" and she would hit at him without actually touching him since she knew I was watching. Kind of cute, but also shows her temper and shows that we have work to do in training her to control herself.

I don't know if you can get past the glare of the window, but one of the komodo dragons is here in the picture. He came up to the window and flicked his tongue at the kids. They screamed in fake fear.

Zoo II

This is one of the most hilarious things I've seen! In one of the bathrooms at the zoo, they have different displays of animal poop lining the wall!! Here are three of them. I just think it's so funny....

Zoo III

The kids at the "Magic Fountain". So named by them because of the way the water parts when you put your finger or hand in the stream.

The zoo has this little clearing where you can take dried Palmetto branches and cover your hut.


Jonathan built a fire and is throwing dirt on it to get it to "smoke".

Tablecloths for church

Phillip needed two tablecloths for two odd shaped tables at church (small, but tall). So he and I made them. I can't believe how much material costs! It was over $100 for the material (well, I did make one mistake that took another trip to Joann Fabrics for another yard). But we got two of them done. The first one (pictured) is much nicer than the second, in my opinion, but they both look nice standing in the hall next to the Growth Group rooms at church.






While I was sewing Elizabeth would ask "Can I have some material to make something?"

Jonathan would ask, "How does the needle move? Why do you have to do that? What does this knob do?"

Phoebe would grab my measuring tape and run around the house pretending it was a fishing pole or belt.

Playing with Dad

Jonathan just loves his dad. He told me the other day that he didn't want to die because he's Daddy's good son. (we were talking about storms and death. I know ~ a little morbid.) The girls often have tea parties and play with their dolls, and Jonathan will come tell me that he doesn't have a friend to play with because Daddy has to go to work. They're a good pair.

Awetsome!

Phoebe finished watching a cartoon Bible story and came to see us.

"Do you like watching Bible stories?" asked Dad.

"Ye-es.... Jesus put mud on the eyes."

"Oh, Jesus healed a man who was blind, didn't he?" asks Dad.

"That's pretty cool," says Mom.

"Yea, it's awetsome," says the cute Phoebe.




By the way, this dress is sized for a 5 year old! Phoebe is wearing Elizabeth's old clothes now. But if she has seen Elizabeth wear it, she doesn't want to wear it. "That's for Elizabeth!" she says. If she hasn't seen Elizabeth wear it, she says, "Oh, did you buy that for me?" And I try not to lie but also not tell her that it was her sisters.