It has been very busy around here lately. Let me start with Joshua. Joshua is now 13 and hopefully has stopped growing for a little while. He stands at 5' 10" tall and has a size 11 man's shoe. He is in middle school and his favorite subject is Science. This is his last year in dance and his recital will be in June. Joshua is a member of youth groups at two different churches. Last weekend, Joshua participated in a fundraiser with our home church. It was titled "30 hour famine". The money raised was donated to World Vision for world hunger. The childrens' last dinner was at 8pm Friday evening. Their next meal was not until 3am on Sunday morning! During their fasting, they held a car wash to raise money and went bowling for fun. The car wash raised $500.00!! He said he had alot of fun and made close friendships during the fasting.
Brianna is 6 years old now. She is officially my life's assistant. She helps all the time in so many ways. She is a natural with her sister. Mia adores her. She is doing well with her studies. She is learning all about the sun. To make understanding the sun more interesting, we are in the process of making a sundial and sun oven. We can't wait until they are finished. I'll post those pictures when they become available. She is learning about money and numbers into the hundreds. She loves being read to. Her favorite stories so far have been the Chronicles of Narnia and Meet Samantha (American Girl story). We love to take walks behind our house to the cranberry bogs. She recently caught a large tadpole with a makeshift net that we made. She is watching and caring for it diligently, waiting for transformation. This is also Brianna's last year of dance. In the fall, she thinks she might like to try out soccer or Girl Scouts.
Mia is currently 9 months old. She is crawling like a pro, and standing on her own. She has mastered getting from a crawling position, to squatting, then standing on her own. She has had her first four teeth come in all at the same time; in a matter of 10 days. She has tried some "real" foods, although not many. She likes Cream of Wheat a little, and also likes pureed carrots and sweet potatoes that I make for her. She is getting quite a personality at this point. Smiling, laughing, observing. Honestly, she is such a well adjusted baby.
Brian has been busy transforming the yard. We had a large area of overgrown land behind our lawn. We figured, why not make it useable? So we have been getting our hands dirty for weeks trying to use every free moment to clear it out. So far, Brian and Joshua have made a fire pit out of large rocks, and I have made a pathway made of flat rocks I found in the woods. It is coming together quite nicely. There are also two trees that are perfectly spaced to fit a hammock! I'll post pictures of our accomplishments soon.
Having two dogs sometimes makes me feel crazy! We have had Wanda for 6 years. Rosie, however, is a new addition. We have only had her since March and she is currently 3 months old. The two have grown to love each other. They share the same pillow for resting and play all the time. We have had our challenges though. It will get much better as Rosie gets older.
Last minute addition: Mia has just taught herself how to clap! She is quite enthused about it.
