Game Ball!

Tuesday, April 29th

Tonight Caleb had team photos before his game. During his game against the Cougars, Caleb had two at bats. His first at bat, he had an RBI and on a hit to center field and got a single, then stole 2nd. The next batter brought him home. His 2nd at bat he had an RBI with a sacrifice to first. At the end of the game coach David presented him with the game ball.

Smashing Times

Today we visited Smashing Times to learn how to create mosaic art work. Each of the children created rubber duckies for wall art in the 'duck bathroom' using tiles & glass pieces. Once we grout them in two days, I'll put up photos of the completed project. Guess which child put the tiles in straight rows? Who put their name in a squiggly line? Hmm . . . you can see a little of each of their personalities in their art work. Of course, I did a piece as well. Mom doing her own art work is the best way to ensure the kids get to create their own pieces. . . without 'help.'

Calimari a' la Kirkwood

Abigail completed the 2nd grade today! It is officially 'summer-time' for her! To celebrate, we had a special lunch of mac n' cheese with a hot-dog octopus on top. . . Calimari a' la Kirkwood!

Rough Rider Game

Tonight Jon took Caleb out for his Dad Date Night. They took in a Rough Rider game. They enjoyed Sammy Rays Barbecue, nachos, peanuts, ice cream & cotton candy. One of the Rough Riders, Steve Murphy, broke his bat on a single. When he came in, he gave Caleb 1/2 of his broken bat. Caleb also got face time with Deuce, the mascot! What a cool Dad!

The Park

Life went on, while I lay in bed with strep. Jon was great about taking the kids to the park, softball, baseball. I think Abigail had 3 games last week and Caleb had 2. You can see who the biggest kid is . . . Dad!

Bowling, Baby!

Yesterday we worked diligently to complete two days worth of school, so we could spend today enjoying friends. Our day began with Friday Ladies Bible Class, this was our last class for this session. I've really enjoyed the smaller study group setting.

A quick picnic lunch with my favorite dining companions, then we headed to the bowling alley to meet up with friends. The children enjoy the fun and the mom's have fun chit chatting! This is a sweet picture of Abigail and her friend Madison!

Now, we're off to baseball and softball practice!

Kid Culture

Today was one of my favorite field trips, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. They have an amazing program for students that includes three or four performances per school year. Today's performance was 'I Am a Musician'. It was wonderful! They included an 8 year violinist playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.' Later in the program a very talented 14 year old performed with the entire symphony a beautiful piece by French composer and pianist Georges Bizet.

Following the performance at the symphony, we headed over to the Dallas Museum of Art. The docent took us through the Bluebonnets and Beyond exhibit by Jullian Onderdonk. Most of the pieces were on loan by private collectors or other museums. Between this exhibit and the Turner exhibit the kids have seen an amazing collection from the impressionist era. We also viewed the new Young Masters exhibit.

Jon and the kids wrapped up the evening with softball practice for Abigail and a baseball game for Caleb. Caleb had three at bats; with a double, struck out and a fielders choice! I missed the action at the ballpark because of a board meeting for our home school group!

Mother of the Year

Today was definitely one of those good days. There are so many days that we just seem to rush through so we can meet all of our commitments. Today we actually had a day without Bible bowl, LTC, baseball or softball practice. That is so incredibly rare for us. Jon came home to chicken spaghetti, despite my best intentions, dinner is seldom ready when he comes home. After dinner, Jon and I took Padme' for a walk while the kids cleaned up the dishes. Upon returning home from our walk, Jon & I loaded up the kids and headed to the park. The kids and I rode bikes through the trails. Jon walked Padme'. We also stopped for a game of tag. After the sun went down, we headed home and all the kids took their showers and we enjoyed some snuggle time and a little 'Baseball Tonight' on ESPN. These less structured days are so few as the kids are getting older. But I'm pretty sure you can see the new jewels in my crown! Lisab

Sunday Afternoon

Today was a beautiful day in Texas. Caleb & Richard went home with Blake, and Baylor came home with us. The girls played outside most of the afternoon. They did have a little problem with wind!

Typical Saturday

What does the typical weekend look like? It looks like a mad dash from one place to another. We started off with a baseball practice for brother. Then Abs had a double-header, unfortunately, they lost both games. And we finished off with a Teacher's Recognition Dinner for all who have taught in the past year. Somewhere in there, I drug my laptop and Bible along and wrote my lesson for Ladies Bible Class on Friday. Crazy!

Homeschool Co-op

Today was our 2nd co-op meeting for our group of homeschoolers at church. We have 8 families that homeschool and it is such a blessing to have all our families together! Today, I got to teach the kids about insects. We covered bug basics and the kids did age appropriate projects, played games, ate lunch and enjoyed some time on the play ground!

Baseball

Tonight Abigail had a 6:00 softball practice and Caleb had a 7:20 game. When we left at 5:30 it was still warm and muggy, but by the time the sun went down it was sixty-three degrees! The girls were freezing! Caleb played left field, third base and pitched. He had a really good game. It was not a pretty game, but the boys won! It was a blessing for Caleb to do so well tonight, because after missing the opening game last week, he was at the bottom of the line-up. But God blessed him with a good game!

Nationals

ACU's Bible Bowl is designed for Jr. High & Sr. High students. Younger students are permitted to participated but, and I'm quoting their web site, 'because of the difficulty of the tests, students must be encouraged to do their best and not get discouraged.' Our team of four, consisted of three fifth graders, Blake, Caleb & Richard and one sixth grader, Sam. Let's just say none of them walked away discouraged!!!! I'm pretty sure they will be back next year with friends!!!!

In the Elementary Individual Division the boys scored 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th place!!!!! In the Team Division, they played up to the Junior Inexperienced Division and scored 1st place!!!!

Padme'

The kids didn't want Padme' left out, so they took pictures of her too, making sure I knew to upload them to share with everyone. While we are at ACU, Padme' will be visiting the puppy hotel. They know she prefers Fox News or QVC Shopping Channel. Both have friendly voice and upclose face shots talking to you. She went with her blankie and her chew toy. She will staying the atrium suite!! Funny, in Oklahoma it was called a 'run.'

Ladies Bible Class

Before taking off to ACU, we stopped off at Ladies Bible Class. Frankie, Caleb, Blake & Abigail helped with the little kids class while the Mom's had our Bible study. The kids helped teach the lesson, lead songs and do crafts. Usually Frankie moves out of the picture, but this time I told the kids they had to get her in some photos!!

Friday Morning

Last night Blake spent the night with Caleb. The boys are so excited about leaving for Nationals today. I'd love to report that they diligently studied I Samuel, but the truth is they spent most of the time playing on their Nintendo DS's. They can link their games and both play the same game together. Notice the headphones, it makes playing more fun for Mom too!

Thursday

Tonight was Abigail's first game of the season. Her teams name is the Pink Crush, tonight they played against the Blue Crush. They only got in one inning before the game was called due to rain. Abigail batted in the top of the inning, see the little pink speck running to first base. In the bottom of the inning she played catcher. Sissy took the pictures!

April Fools

Last year for April Fool's we had Ostrich Eggs for breakfast (cool whip with 1/2 of a canned peach on top). So this year, I needed something not so obvious. I took the water bottle apart in the school room and put a rubber ducky in it. When the kids noticed the duck, I questioned who had put the duck in the water bottle. We spent time off and on through the day, trying to figure out who did it. Caleb and Abigail even took the water jug off and used salad tongs to remove the duck, and looked for finger prints. At one point they called Roy's house to see if he was the culprit when he came over Sunday. At dinner, I confessed to the hoax!!