Thankful Thursday

I am participating in Thankful Thursday today! So here are the top five things we are thankful for today.

1.) Mommy - A beautiful day and picnic at the park with the kiddos and my mom today.

2.) Mikaela - "Having a mommy that loves me."

3.) Eli - "Going to the park today."

4.) Mercie - "My stroller." (baby doll stroller)

5.) Silas - Well, if he could talk, I'm sure he's most thankful for his big brother and sisters who entertain him on a daily, hourly basis, and his mommy who totes him around all day long.

I always like reading my mom's thankful Thursday post, here.  It's a reminder to thank God for the little things He allows us to enjoy every day.

And now...for a recipe that is DEE-LICIOUS.

Boil a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts AND a package of pasta, any type.
Shred the chicken.
Add a jar of Ragu, Roasted Garlic Parmesean sauce to the chicken.
Add a can of Italian diced tomatoes to that.
Pour noodles into a casserole pan.
Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese over the noodles.
Pour the chicken mixture over that.
Bake until bubbly!
Enjoy.

The Family Bed

The older I get, the more and more my views change. I can remember not too long ago when I couldn't even imagine sharing MY bed with babies.  And last night, as I lay next to my sweet Silas, and glanced over at Mercie on his other side, and my hubby squished against the wall on the other side of me, I felt joy!

Joy at knowing my youngest daughter felt comfort in our bed. She doesn't always sleep with us; she starts out in her toddler bed in the room she shares with Mikaela. But there are some nights she just needs that security, that comfort of being next to us.

Joy at knowing my sweet baby can roll over and nurse whenever he wakes up hungry, or just the comfort of nursing for a few minutes to get himself back to sleep. Joy at knowing he feels safe and warm next to Mommy.

It's not always comfortable when you have 4 (sometimes 5 and sometimes even 6) bodies in a bed, even if it a king size bed. I wouldn't have it any other way. One day, they will be too old to even want to climb in our bed. One day, they will have their own bed with their own blessings crawling in it with them!

I have learned to cherish the moments when I am rocking Silas to sleep. Yes, rocking him to sleep each time he needs a nap, each night before bedtime. A few years ago, that would be unheard of to me! "He needs to learn to put himself to sleep." "He is too spoiled." A few phrases you might have heard me to say.  Now? Now I realize that you can't spoil a baby. You can't hold a baby too much. You can't give a baby enough comfort and love. So what if he needs to be rocked? I love to rock him! It's the time I can sit and enjoy the smell of his hair, the way his fist grabs my shirt, the way he'll look at me with his sleepy grin, and the way he looks as he's sleeping. So peaceful. So content.

I am just treasuring the moments because they are quickly slipping through my fingers. Each day that goes by, I just want to bottle it and save it. My children are growing so fast. Mikaela will be 8 years old the 23 of this month! Eli is 5. Mercie will be 3 in February. Silas is 4.5 months.

Picture Day

I took the kids to get their pictures taken yesterday, and on the way home we stopped at the park to get a few more. They turned out cute!! Here are a few:

Is it me or do I have the most beautiful kids in the world??



By the way...Mercie wouldn't crack a smile for the photographer! She just stared at him. Wouldn't grin, wouldn't change her facial expression. All of the pictures with her in them, well, everyone else smiled beautifully and did whatever was asked of them, but Mercie? She is just Mercie.

Quiet Time Today

Got these adorable fleece zipups from Walmart today for Eli and Silas for.....$5!!

Christian Liberty Nature Readers...

are so awesome! We have the Kindergarten, 1 and 2 grade levels. Currently we are reading through the Kindergarten one. It's supposed to be read by them, but it's pretty tough. Mikaela can read it, but we are using it as a read aloud. It's an alphabetical animal book.Each letter has 2 pages that are dedicated to an animal that starts with that letter. A for alligator, B for beetle, C for camel and so on. The  kids love it and it's what we are using for science right now. Just reading and learning.

Scripture Memory Cards

I have been slacking on making my children memorize scripture since Silas has been born. It seems like all we can do just to fit everything into a day! But scripture memory is so important and I feel convicted to keep it up and make it a priority. I searched and searched and found what we are going to use at hubbardscupboard.org. That site has tons of verses, memory cards, coloring, puzzles and handwriting sheets for many many verses. We are starting this week with Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other as in Christ, God forgave you." It seemed fitting for this time in our life! I printed out the memory verse on 4 x 6 index cards and laminated them for each of the kids. We are going to keep them in an index card binder and add to it each week. So far they are learning it! Even Mercie, who says "Be kind and passionate to another".

I am also trying to get more regular with family devotions. It's so hard to do the things that are the most important. Why is that??? We started reading My ABC Memory Verses by Susan Hunt. We went through it last year, once a week, but it is a really great devotional. We don't memorize the scriptures, but just read the stories and it opens a dialogue. We are going backwards, though, from Z to A!! We are only on Y, but in a few weeks we'll be through and I'll have to find something else.

We also started our Louisiana 2 week unit study yesterday. We have a big outline of LA on a piece of posterboard and they have individual outlines in their ongoing lapbooks. We are adding to them each day, the capital and our city yesterday, the flag, seal and motto today, and tomorrow the state symbols. It's pretty fun and interesting to learn all the facts that I didn't even know! Like, Baton Rouge means red stick. I asked Eli what the capital of LA was and he shouted, "Red Stick!!" LOL.

I'll post pictures later this week of our memory cards and LA outline.

Fall Carnival Fun

Saturday night we had our church fall carnival. Or "tarn-a-bull" as Mercie calls it! The kids dressed up and had a blast. Mikaela was Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz; Eli was a policeman; Mercie was Little Red Riding Hood; and Silas was supposed to be a dalmation puppy, but he hated his costume as you can see in the picture below!

                                            Pumpkin Painting!

                    Screaming Silas didn't wear a costume to the carnival.

The carnival was fun. We had hot dogs and played games and won prizes and cakes. Eli is already asking when the next carnival is!