Rain or Shine

Tonight Simeon and Lieren fell asleep in our bed. I got to sing to them. I got to watch them get still and close their eyes. 

Never mind that the kitchen still had dirty dishes on the counter. Never mind that there was a pile of toys in the office.  Never mind that I had a list sitting on the counter that wasn't all crossed off. 

It was a rare and sweet moment. I don't want to forget it. 

I also don't want to forget the party we had on Saturday. The Lord was gracious to work out the many details. I was so thankful throughout the day. 

Because Silas' birthday is so close to the twins, we had a party for all three this year. We haven't ever done that before and while I don't think it will always be our pattern, it was fun this year. 

Silas and Simeon happily agreed on a cake together...

And Lieren picked this one at first glance...

We partied at a park that has a splash pad, which was wonderful because it was HOT as we all gathered. 

As we came in to sing cut cake and snack, a storm rolled in quick and the rain poured. Like I said, there was so much to be thankful for. I kept thinking how glad I was that we had a shelter just perfect for the amount of people we had. 

It was a bit hard to keep the candles lit with the wind, but we managed. 

Thankfully (again!) I had gotten a piñata so we had something to do after snacking while the rain plummeted in sheets.  The kids LOVED it. It was the kind where you pull the strings to open but what's the fun in that? I let them whack it first...

As you can see, Silas knocked it off its hanger...ha ha ha! It was hilarious. He was so proud. So a friend of ours held it for Lieren to have a go. 

Then we used the strings like you're supposed to...

Sim finally pulled the last string and the candy rained down...

I was thankful to look around at the little friendships in the room. God has certainly been faithful. 

And darling Blaise did so well all day being the only one not being in the center of attention. I got him a little something for when we got home. After the week we had, though, he finally gave in and slept a long long nap with his new scratch book in hand...

Six

Six years have come and gone in a blink. 

My heart is full and weepy and thankful celebrating the gift of these two today. When they were born, I felt that the Lord was repairing and restoring something in me that had broken. Little did I know that He would use them every day to keep sanctifying and healing me. 

Praying for big trust and passion in your lives, Simmy and Sissy. May Jesus be glorified in you. He sure is worthy.

We sang and blew out candles and opened gifts at home then went to eat at Wow That's Fresh (Lieren's choice!).  One of my favorite moments today was listening to Sim and Silas and Lieren recount the story of Paul's life, putting together what they have learned at church. It was a sweet and fairly accurate  telling of a changed life. 

We then made a stop at Chuck E. Cheese...

The birthday celebrating winded down in typical fashion around here, with everyone building something. 

Our boys are always so sweet to share Legos with each other and let others build first sometimes. Makes for a happy crew. 

It is Kidapalooza week here too (VBS at our church, and therefore why they are all in orange) so we are having good, full summer days filled with the pool and today's special stuff during the days and rowdy fun all evening. We have more birthday fun coming up in the next few days, too. Our kids are exhausted but loving it!

Good Proud

I have been keenly aware in recent weeks that Silas is getting older. He will be 8 soon. I can't wrap my mind around that one. But in several ways lately, he has grown and changed and made me so, so proud. It's the good kind of proud; the kind where I really didn't know what to expect but our little man rose to the occasion and met some challenges head on. 

In the last month during karate, Silas has had the opportunity to be in the group with the higher-level belts and even when I could tell it was difficult, he kept going through every class. His hard work paid off and he was invited to belt testing a few weeks ago. He earned his green belt!

Because the public schools (and the twins' preschool) went into June this year, I planned for Silas and I to do the same. With our move and a few lighter weeks with visitors in the spring, we needed time to finish out. It was a long semester for us both and when I realized we actually needed to finish a week earlier than I planned, we were both ready! But the last two weeks of school were packed to finish up. Again, Silas hung in there with me and we completed first grade!

Silas finished out first grade having done all the Classical Conversations memory work and Saxon Math Level 2. We left off in the middle of Spelling Level 2 (to be picked up next year). He is reading any and all things. But this year our absolute favorite this was History. We totally absorbed The Story of the World and made a timeline together to correspond all we were learning to our CC ancient history memory work. We both look forward to the next book in the series.  It was a delight to find the area where Silas excels. This, I keep telling myself, is the joy of homeschooling. I have many plans for next year and other areas we will fold in to the plan. But for now, I have closed the books for a few weeks and am resting settled in a year completed well. 

And then today.  Well, it was big.  

Today this sweet boy passed his swim test and was given the green light by the lifeguards to be independent in the pool!

At our pool, kids have to pass a swim test with the lifeguards to get in without an adult and to go in the deep end. Kids who haven't passed all wear a red wristband. Silas was thrilled to get his green one!

To pass, kids must jump in and tread water for a minute. Then they have to swim the length of the pool without difficulty. I have been working with Si on treading water and he has become much more proficient swimming with confidence. Well today I just asked him if he was ready to try. There were lots of camp kids at the pool doing their swim tests and after watching them, Silas said he wanted to do it. 

This is him treading water down at the deep end with the lifeguard. I didn't get any pictures of the swim because I was videoing it!

I had to stay in the shallow with the 3 little kids so Silas did the whole test on his own. It was like one of those moments...I watched him grow up right in front of my eyes. 

It was a good proud moment. 

The lifeguard wrote his name in the official book...

And gave him the green band...

It was a moment worth celebrating!

We are all so proud of you, Silas. You are a gift of a firstborn and are paving a path worthy for your siblings to follow. I praise God for how He has created you and am praying that I have grace and courage to encourage you to walk toward the plans He has for you. 

Mini-Vaca

Our mini-vacation was a nice little get-away. The kids love staying in a hotel so that was a highlight. We also played mini-golf...

Went to see some fountains...

And spent a day at a water park...