Halloween 2010

We went theme this year. Well, except Caleb who only went theme part of the day. The first half he was a clone trooper and the last, a scarecrow. We don't have any pictures that turned out great but here are a few that we took.

Clone Caleb guarding puking pumpkins

Wicked Witch of the West
defying gravity

NO FIRE

Flying Monkey #2

Flying Monkey #1

The Crew

Notice, the lion was too cowardly to take pictures. Thanks to Dum Dum suckers, I got him into the suit minus the mane. He finally caught on to the trick or treating thing once he realized that people were giving him candy. Then he was happy as can be.

Finally, Bart and I decided to take the two older kids to a haunted corn maze. Bart stayed home with the younger three, while I took Caleb and Cayanna along with Caleb's friend and his mom. It was more startling than scary, but it had us all screaming before we were done. Caleb never wants to go again, Cayanna wants to go back, only because Caleb doesn't want to, and I.... well... I think it was a good experience that they can remember me by. Happy Halloween!

Who Says da Vinci is Dead?

So maybe I've just lucked out. I have managed to avoid a well known childhood pleasure..... writing on the walls. That is until today.

Five kids! Count them, one...two...three...four... five. Honestly four of the five NEVER have written, drawn, or colored on a wall. Maybe it wasn't luck. Before now, we have lived in small houses. I could stand in one room and see what the kids were doing in the other. Or perhaps, I just never really cared enough about it in our other homes that they just didn't care either and never tried out their artistic abilities. Whatever the reason our perfect track record has been blemished.

As I was upstairs in the kitchen teaching math, little Elias happened to be downstairs dreaming of the MET. When I came downstairs to make some copies, Elias had put those dreams into reality. New walls meet red, yellow, and blue crayon.

My mouth dropped open. Not with animated pleasure of his budding ability, but with sheer horror, wondering how I was going to remove this master piece. (Let me tell you now that soap and water, baking soda, and Mr. Clean Magic eraser all failed to clean without removing our (tongue in cheek) high quality rental paint. WD40 championed over all!)

After an hour of labor induced stress, I was wondering how with this little glitch in my day, I was ever going to finish all the other kids' school schedules. Then I found, while I was otherwise occupied, little Picasso had entered into his mournful period by expressing himself in black all over the kitchen door, walls, and tile floor. I was seeing red.

I had had enough art lessons for the day! Rembrandt was headed to bed!

Elias in fields of green

First Day of School

Elias

Homeschooling does have it's advantages. I don't have to tape all the kid's names on the table. Nor do I worry about them getting their lunch boxes swapped. School clothes aren't a necessity either. We do have to worry about an occasional bully.

Like today, Elias thought he would take after Enoch with a wooden sword while I was in the middle of teaching Cayanna, Isaac and Enoch phonics. The little imp, has learned some charismatic sword play from his older brothers. Enoch was on the other end of a "mighty blow" to the head. Of course Elias thought it was hilarious.

Cayanna's Baptism

Saturday was Cayanna's baptism. I'm very proud of her for making the choice to be baptized. It is hard to think that it's been eight years since she was born. I still remember that cute, little, screaming baby. It is a bitter sweet feeling watching all the kids grow up. Of course their mother isn't getting any older at all. :)

The baptism was a great experience for us all. Cayanna was so excited. Thank you to all that were there and made it a special day for her. Also thanks to those who wanted to be there for supporting her in her decision. We love you!

A Child's Prayer

Last night, Enoch was asked to say the nighttime family prayer. He said all the usual stuff and then tacked on the end;

" Please bless that no monsters are under my bed. And no aliens under my bed. And no mushrooms under my bed. Please bless the missionaries and please bless no one will say "hell". "

Then he ended the prayer.

Enoch

Can you tell that we had a swearing discussion yesterday?