My Joyful Noise

September

2011-10-05T22:24:00.001-05:00

This Summer...

2011-08-26T18:15:00.000-05:00

Landon and Jason were able to go to their first Cowboys game!

Liam learned to smile.

Keaton turned 5.

We all made it into 1 picture!

We tried to stay cool.

Lee Boy got a nick name.

Liam turned 17 weeks.

Keaton lost her first tooth.

Kellly lost all of her teeth.

Keaton proved that she has beautiful eyes.

Some bandits took over our house.

Little guys got cuter.

...and slept a lot.

Liam met Susan.

and Eliana,

and Tom and Leah,

and Aunt Lauren.

Keaton hung out with Fred!

Gloria squished on Liam.

Pop and Grandma took Liam for his first Jose Peppers experience!

Cailin played dress-up.

The kids got i-phones, Lego style.

Liam had a ball with Nina and PawPaw.

Kelly turned 7.

Landon helped Pawpaw direct a telivision service at FBC Dallas.

Jason and the kids fell asleep. Where's my spot?

Liam stole my heart.

The kids love playing with their brother.

We went to a bunch of Rough Rider games!

The bug club found some critters.

And Cailin played mommy.

We miss you Wyatt

2011-05-22T07:44:00.000-05:00

We tried to recite Kaddish for Wyatt's Yardsite yesterday at BHS but for some reason they must have forgotten to do Kaddish during the service. I recited it when I got home instead. We still miss Wyatt. We have all grieved this past year in different ways at different times this past year. Landon and Kelly miss their cousin. They talk of him often. Jason and I are reminded of Wyatt as we see him in our own kids through Keaton's smile, through Landon's adventuresome spirit and the love of Orange. His picture will pop up on our computer and we are able to remember Wyatt once again.

This is on of my favorite pictures. It is from Kelly's birthday party and Wyatt and Cassidy were able to be there, and Zeke was there too. We are continuing to lift up the T-Blakes up to the L-rd. We love you all and continue to miss the boys.

Love always- Aunt Shannon

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T13:40:00.000-05:00

First Family Picture!

It's a Brother!

2011-04-20T22:20:00.000-05:00

Liam Anson arrived on April 20th in speedy fashion. It was a 2 and a half hour labor. He is 8 lb. 9 oz. 22 in. long. We are all soooooo excited to have him. Landon teared up when he met his little brother. He gave him his own blanket that he had when he was a baby that Nina made for him. Jason was bouncing off the wall and both of us are shocked that he is a boy. The girls were so excited to hold him. They all screamed when we told them they had a brother. Kelly was the proud big sister, Keaton fell on the floor in excitement, and Cailin kept saying my baby. I just love holding him and loving on him. Thank you all for your prayers.

Liam means strong protector in Irish similar to Landon's middle name Aiden which means wise protector.

In Hebrew Liam means My People.

Anson means divine, partaker in glory.

Landon and Liam both have the same initials, LAB.

We are counting down the days.

2011-04-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

Lauren requested a belly shot so her it is.

Passover 2011

2011-04-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

We had a great Seder as always with the Adams. We were missing a few families this year but it was still a great night and very active with 9 kids 9 and under. Good thing we had 2 sets of grandparents. This was the first time that the dad's lead the Seder and Homer did a great job leading the way.

Spring Time Update

2011-04-04T22:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Paw Paw

Keaton and the Daddy Daughter Dance

Cailin with daddy.

Kelly and the Daddy Daughter Dance.

Bluebonnets - a Texas tradition. The Blakes and the Johnsons

And finally... Keaton doing laundry.

Go Lando!

2011-02-25T21:54:00.000-06:00

Landon is playing in the Texas State Home School basketball tournament this weekend. They are in the 10 and under category which means that they are playing some 11 year olds that were 10 before a certain date. Almost their entire team is 8 or 9 so they are much younger and smaller than the other teams but they never quit. These little guys have huge hearts. Landon has learned so much this year playing with this team. He even scored a basket tonight and has been playing great. This team is great and has such a great attitude. Their coach is very positive and encouraging and a great coach as well. Landon has been really stepping it up. We are so proud of you buddy!

Good bye dear friends.

2011-02-19T18:05:00.000-06:00

This week we said good bye to some of our dearest friends. I met Alison when I was 8 months pregnant with our first born a little over 9 years ago. We were both due the same week. Landon and Jenna have been friends ever since and so have our 2 families. Alison and I have enjoyed playing soccer together, (she's an awesome forward. We have been home schooling together for the past 7 years along with our other crazy home school buds. I have enjoyed getting to grow together through reading the entire Bible with her and discussing it every week for a year. She is always ready to do something spontaneous and will always be the last to leave any party (which I love about her). She is totally unpredictable and that really makes me laugh. She is very transparent and real and is so much fun to be around. Her husband Ethan has spurred on great conversation and thought for the men in our fellowship and has truly been a Godly influence to challenge the way his friends lead and raise their families. They have 5 adorable kids which we will all miss. Instead of saying goodbye, I have decided to say see you later. I know that they are lifetime friends and it will be fun to keep in touch with them and visit them on their farm. We love you guys and know God has great plans for your future. Here are some pics from our week.

Kelly with the basket!

2011-02-19T15:44:00.000-06:00

Can we just pop it out with one of those suction thingys?

2010-11-07T18:55:00.001-06:00

Jason went to the Men's Retreat last night and while playing soccer he and another player collided. The result was a broken face. When he got home he showed me the picture of his face on his phone. "Oh, by the way honey I spent 4 hours in the ER last night and broke my face and will need surgery. I didn't want you to worry." It doesn't look dented now because of the swelling. Yuck. He says it doesn't hurt much but he can't chew anything very tough.

Cailin's Turn

2010-10-12T05:23:00.000-05:00

All summer I have been wanting to take Cailin's pictures since she has never had a single professional picture taken of her. She is growing up so quickly and I didn't want to miss capturing her at this age. The summer was so miserably hot that we were not able to make it out to the park until last weekend. Here are the results of me taking matters into my own camera, (it only took 2 hours to get them all ready and 435 pictures).

For the Grandma's

2010-09-12T19:05:00.000-05:00

Captain of the Armies

2010-08-24T18:13:00.000-05:00

A year ago today my nephew Zeke went to be with the L-rd. It is amazing how a little guy that I have never had the privilege to meet or hold has had such an impact on my life. The testimony of his life has been shared with thousands of people all over the world. My life will never be the same. I have learned to appreciate my children even more, even when their behavior is not so lovely. I have learned to be thankful instead of complaining. I have learned to trust in G-d even when it does not make sense. It has been so hard to see those you love suffer so much. Not knowing what to do, we pray continually for healing and for joy to enter in again some day.
I have wrestled with G-d over the question, "Why did you take Zeke and Wyatt?" This year the L-rd has been speaking to me about his name "The God of Heaven's Armies" Adonai Eloheinu Tzavot. The L-rd told me to write him a song from Revelation 15:3-4. It is the song they will sing in heaven at the time that the beast is defeated. Rev. 15 says it they were singing the song of Moshe, the song of the Lamb. It is taken almost totally from the scripture.

The Song of Moshe, The Song of the Lamb
You are the God of Heaven's Armies
Adonai Eloheinu Tzavot
Just and true are your ways
Adonai Eloheinu Tzavot
Great and wonderful are the things that you have done.
Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name?
Chorus:
Because You alone are Holy,
You alone are Holy
King of the Nations
Adonai Eloheinu Tzavot

All nations will bow and worship before you.
Adonai Eloheinu Tzavot
For your righteous deeds have been revealed.
Adonai Eloheinu Tzavot
Great and wonderful are the things that you have done.
Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name?
Chorus:

A little over a week after writing this song, Wyatt went to be with the L-rd. There are two more warriors that have been added to the heavenly army. Revelation 19:14 says. "The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses." I can totally see Wyatt and Zeke following Yeshua on his white horse to defeat the forces of the beast. Some day Wyatt will introduce me to his little brother Zeke. We have a lot of catching up to do. Until then, we miss you. Blessed be the name of the L-rd.

Camping and Creativity

2010-04-30T22:50:00.000-05:00

We went camping last weekend with the home school group. It was a fun night. We were able to fit all 6 of us in the tent together, and we actually slept pretty well.

Kelly and Landon, both made their very first pillow case a few weeks ago. Kelly picked out yellow and purple flowers and Landon made a cowboy pillow case. They were very excited about sleeping that night.

Spring Time in Texas

2010-04-18T10:22:00.000-05:00

We have been playing in the back yard a lot lately. Cailin has discovered the swing and everyone loves to get to swing with her. She is really growing up fast. My baby is quickly becoming a toddler, walking, toting her purse and even a cell. She has learned to sign, eat, drink, please, and can say "thank you". Her nick name is Baby Cakes. She is truly living up to her middle name, Joy. She is very playful and always make everything a game.

If you live in Texas it is a must to take bluebonnet pictures. We take them every year with the Johnsons and each year for the last 7 years we add a new little person to the quilt. Landon and Murphy started the tradition, and Barrett was next followed by Kelly, Keaton, Dane, Cailin and this year we should welcome Harper.

Big brothers Rock!

Claire is home!

2010-02-26T01:20:00.001-06:00

Claire, my sister's baby, came home today! She is still not susposed to be due for another month. Thanks for all of your prayers.

Building a Sukkah with friends and family.

2009-10-10T01:14:00.002-05:00

Sabra and Shaul invited us over to help them build their Sukkah this year. We had a great time bonding with the Katsav's, Aime, and the Miller Family along with their 3 amazing teenage daughters.

Sabra and Shaul inspired us so we built our own makeshift Sukkah in our back yard with the help of PawPaw.

Landon built one our of Lego's, and yes that is a banana hanging from the roof.

Kelly also built one out of the bristle blocks.

It has been so great to remember how the Israelites lived for 40 years in the wilderness. We are so thankful that the Lord chooses to dwell among us today through his Holy Spirit, and are reminded that he also dwelt among the Israelites back then in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. What a blessing and privilege to be in the presence of the Lord.

Is it futbol or football?

2009-09-29T01:21:00.002-05:00

OK Please don't go into hysterics. No, we have not turned in our boots for cleats, but yes, it is true, we are letting Landon play football. Now, before you stop breathing let me explain. It is flag football, and yes, he did tear up when we told him that he was going to get to play on the same team with one of his best buds in the whole world, Mason. This is probably the only time they will ever get to play on the same team since they play different sports and are in different grades. Who's Mason? Well, he's the best flag puller on the team. He had more tackles than any other kid on the team in the game last Saturday. He's the one a head taller than the other kids, and a grade younger than them too.

Well, Landon had missed the first 2 practices so the coach only gave him the ball 2 times the entire game. The first was an incomplete pass. The last play of the game the coach asks Landon if he could run fast? Landon said yes, so the coach had Landon get the handoff for the final play of the game. He ran to the right, did a little juke, and beat the last man, "HE COULD GO ALL THE WAY!" TOUCHDOWN!!! He scored the 2nd TD of the game. Way to go Lando!

Landon and Mason after the game. They only had 5 players because the rest of the team had the swine flu. Yikes. They played a man down for half of the game. Way to go you 2. You did great. They had a blast.

Generations

2009-09-22T20:35:00.003-05:00

My grandmother is 96 years old. She still lives by herself in a senior apartment and can read without glasses. She can also touch her toes, and will show you if prompted to do so. She has 4 great grandchildren and one more on the way. I was blessed to know 4 out of my 8 great grandparents. My kids love their great grandma. Well, this summer my mom found an old blouse of my grandma's that she couldn't wear anymore and thought it would make a cute outfit for the girls. We took parts of her blouse and made 3 matching blouses for the girls out of the material. We even re-cycled the buttons. Then my mom was hemming my grandmother's sheets and she had some extra material. She took the extra material and together, she and I made matching pants to go with the girls matching outfits. In a way, these outfits are generational, made out of their great-grandmothers blouse and sheets, by their Nina (grandmother) and their mother, and worn by the 3 Blake girls. Pretty special. In order to preserve the memory of the girls wearing these generational outfits, I decided that we should all take a pictures to remember the outfits. Here is how it all turned out.

Schroeder

2009-09-07T21:11:00.003-05:00

Each morning to start our school day we all get our instruments and attempt to play a melody while praising the Lord. Kelly, Landon and I are trying to play the guitar, Keaton does some kind of shaker instrument, or sings with our fake microphone, and Kelly sometimes uses the microphone. Sometimes Landon plays his toy flute. Well it is a fun way to start our school day. One day, Kelly put Cailin in front of the toy piano and she totally started playing. So... now this is her instrument. She actually plays it. It is so cute and she really enjoys it. We are now calling her Schroeder.

Christmas in August - Happy Birthday Keaton

2009-09-05T08:26:00.004-05:00

Around here at the Blake house, Birthday's start pretty early in the morning. The first event of the day begins with a special one on one birthday donut run with Dad. It is amazing how the birthday person is almost always the first to wake up on that particular day. Keaton and Dad on a Birthday Donut Run.
We had a small cupcake birthday party with all the school friends during one of our summer swim Tuesdays. Notice how all the friends are helping Keaton blow out her candles.

Yumm.

It's good to be 3.

Keaton with a silly face

Keaton with another silly face. What's new?

Choo, Choo. Disney's A Christmas Carol Train Tour passed through Dallas on Keaton's birthday so we decided to make it a train birthday party with the family and enjoy the Free entertainment.

A quartet dressed up like characters from the movie sang Happy Birthday to Keaton.

The Tain from the outside.

1st edition of A Christmas Carol by Dickens.

Costumes from the movie.

Handwritten manuscript of Nicholas Nickleby by Dickens.

Another silly face.

The train also had cars with the making of the movie, technology, and an interactive portion where you could take your picture and it would turn you into one of the characters. Maybe I will post these later. Jason and my dad look pretty funny as Scrooge.

We finished off the night at the Gaylord Texan. We walked around the atrium and looked at all of the miniature trains and then enjoyed more cupcakes. It was a fun night and we loved getting to celebrate with Keaton. She is such a fun member of our family. Someday I really want to post what it is like to raise her, but I don't have time right now because she keeps me so busy cleaning up all of her messes. Happy Birthday Keaton!

Butterfly Birthday

2009-08-31T00:13:00.012-05:00

Happy Birthday Kelly!
Kelly and Reece flying like butterflies.

Paul and Noah as Butterflies.

We celebrated Kelly's birthday with the cousins in Kansas and with Reece, Nicholas, and Blake. Reece has been a sweet friend to Kelly every time she is in Kansas. Last visit, Kelly was scared to go to children's church, but Reece held her hand the entire way down the isle to children's church, and sat by her the entire time. Reece's little bro is Blake named after the Blakes, and her big brother is Nicholas who is Landon's birthday bud, born 3 days before him.

Kelly wanted a butterfly birthday mainly because she has seen pictures of her 1st birthday which was a butterfly birthday because it matched the napkins, and the pinata. Well, I think she thinks she missed out since she didn't get to smash the pinata, so she wanted to try this butterfly thing again. We read the very hungry caterpillar in Hebrew since that was the only version we could find. Then we did a butterfly relay race.

1st leg -Leaf eating contest (lettuce)

2nd leg - wrap your friend in a cocoon

3rd leg - bust out of your cocoon and fly like a butterfly

Final leg - enjoy some nectar from a flower or a grandmother.

See pictures below.

Cassie in her little cocoon.

Noah wondering when this would be over.

Wyatt enjoying some nectar. (apple juice)

Finally, we all had a great time smashing the pinata. It was a great day with family and friends.

Keaton enjoying getting to smash something.

WE Love you sweet Kelly!

Happy Birthday Kelly Grace!

P.S. Thank You Lauren Blake for taking all of these wonderful pictures. You are really doing a great job as a photographer!

Pillowcase's and Cookie Cakes

2009-07-07T22:26:00.007-05:00

The girls and their Pillowcase Dresses.

Landon, Kelly and Keaton decorate a sugar cookie cake with cream cheese icing, and strawberries and blueberries in honor of Old Glory.

I became inspired last week to sew. It only happens in the summer, mainly because my mom is off work and can come over and help me. She is the best seamstress that I know. She can do almost anything with a needle and thread. Well, we made 6 outfits (2 for each of the girls) and 4 nursing blankets for my friends. I will explain the other outfit on another day because it has a great story attached to it. These are Pillowcase Dresses. You can google it and get great instructions on how to make them yourselves so I won't bore you with the details but it sure was fun to make and easy. I just used material instead of a pillowcase but you get the idea. Well, no doubt the girls will get great use out of these play dresses and the best part of all, besides all 3 girls matching, is that they won't show ketchup stains! Hope you had a great 4th.

Baby Girl

2009-06-18T17:39:00.001-05:00

Cailin - sweet baby!
Speed Uno with Aunt Lauren.

ET and Baby

2009-06-12T14:39:00.006-05:00

Do you remember the scene from ET where they hide ET in Drew Barrymore's stuffed animals? Well, when Landon was 17 weeks old I sat him down in the corner of his bed and piled every stuffed animal I could find around him until all you could see was his cute little face. It has become a Blake family tradition that I have continued with all the other's, and Cailin just recently had her turn. I thought you might enjoy seeing them all, and taking the "Who's Who?" quiz.
Enjoy. I will post the answers in a few weeks.

Welcome Cailin Joy!

2009-02-01T11:12:00.009-06:00

Keaton loves to make Cailin laugh by making silly faces and trying to tickle her.

Kelly loves to hold her and is already a good little mama.

Landon is the best big brother ever. These girls are so blessed to have him as their big brother. His middle name has proven to be perfect- "Aiden-The Wise Protector".

Shannon on her due date 17 hours befor Cailin arrived.

We spent the beautiful day outside playing in the backyard when I noticed my shadow. WOW!

Keaton, Landon, Kelly and Cailin.

Cailin a few hours old.

Our first family photo.

Welcome Cailin Joy. She weighed 8lb 6oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. We were at the hospital only 30 minutes before she was born. Most of that time waiting for the Dr to arrive, who was driving 100 mph. down the highway trying to get there. She came out pretty purple but after suctioning the fluid out of her lungs she pinked up and has done great ever since. She is well loved. Spending most of the time in the arms of her siblings and grandparents.

This is the kids singing Cailin her first song.

Send us to Egypt

2009-01-04T12:43:00.008-06:00

So, this fall we have been studying the history of the Ancients through a Messianic Jewish perspective. We started with Creation then traveled to ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt and now we are in Ancient Israel. It just so happened that the Dallas Art Museum was also hosting the King Tut exhibit at the same time we were studying Ancient Egypt. Bonni and I (my fearless home school bud) decided that we wanted to take the kids to the exhibit, but there was just one problem. It wasn't cheep, ($27.50 for adults, and $16.50 for kids) and who knew if my 6 year old and 4 year old would even remember what we saw an hour later. Basically, I didn't want to spend a lot of $ on this gig. So, I had to come up with a creative way to "Send us to Egypt".

Two words, Bake Sale. We made rice crispy treats, carmel popcorn and sold lemon aid at Bonni's neighborhood party, but this is not the end of our adventure. My husband, being the entrepreneur that he is could not let it go at just a bake sale. No, he needed to turn this into a lesson on profit and capitalism. He sat the kids down at the kitchen table and set up a mock-store with all the ingredients that they would need to purchase for their baked goods. Then they had to buy the goods upfront with their own money. After the sale at the neighborhood party, they counted up all of the $ and then they were paid back for all of their expenses. Landon only made $1 in profit. However, this was not the end. We were also having a neighborhood garage sale a week later and we still had plenty of inventory to push. After it was all finished Landon ended up with $27 profit and a lady at Bonni's neighborhood party gave us 2 free adult tickets. Then we found out that if we went to the exhibit between 8-9 in the morning, we would save $10 off of each ticket. So... Bonni and I loaded up all 6 kids early one morning and fought through the crazy Dallas traffic to get down town before 9 so Landon could save $10 off of his ticket. We made it with 10 minutes to spare. Landon paid for his ticket ($7 with tax) all by himself with the $ he earned and was able to keep the rest of the $20 as his profit. Boy was he excited.

Oh, and the Tut exhibit was good, but definitely not worth $44. Overall it was a great experience, but I would say that Jason's profit lesson is the one they will always remember.

Dennis meets Mr. Wilson

2008-09-28T04:47:00.006-05:00

Have you ever been in the right place at the right time? I'm not talking about talking about walking past a $20 or catching a fly ball at a Rangers game, although that would be cool. No, I mean relationally have you ever had those interactions with your fellow humans that you know were just meant to be? Some people call them "God Moments". I am going to call them pogo sticking when your pregnant moments.
Like the time I was in Wal-mart over Christmas, 8 months pregnant, and eyed that pogo stick. It was calling my name. Without thinking about what my stomach looked like, (like there were 3 basketballs stuck inside) and how that may effect my balance, I jumped on. First jump 80 degrees, second jump 45 degrees, then there was that moment when Paul my brother-in-law "had my back Mississippi" and slid right under me for the most amazing prego catch Wal-mart has ever seen. There it is, the pogo stick while your pregnant moment. OK, so maybe not as much a relational story, but a fantastic salvation message.

Anyway, there are times when our souls cross with another person's souls, and we know we are right where we are supposed to be. For instance, this week the kids and I went to the library. This lady comes right up to me and asks me if I home schooled. I guess Landon looked pretty out of place at 1:00 in the afternoon. She had really been thinking about homeschooling and really needed someone to talk to about the thought of doing it next year. It turns out her son has many of the same needs that Landon did last year. It was pretty obvious the exact person that she needed to talk to about both of these issues was me. "I knew I was suposed to talk to you," was her reply. That is not a coincidence. There are no coincidences. Just God.

Then the next day, at the last minute, our plans to babysit for friends were changed and we found ourselves outside our front yard. It wasn't hard to spot my 80+ year old neighbor on a ladder trimming his hedges. His wife sitting on a bench under the tree watching. We don't see them much and have not had many opportunities to get to know them. It has sort of been a Dennis the Mennace / Mr. Wilson relationship up until this point. Toe headed Landon climbs the fence and peeks his head over every time he hears John in his back yard. Then screams at the top of his lungs "HI NEIGHBOR!" John grunts and keeps on working. Well, this meeting was different. I walk over to say hi and Betty scooches over on the bench to let me sit by her. John is obviously tired and struggling from the 90 something degree weather he is working in, and I being almost 5 months pregnant and starting to have contractions am not exactly in a position to be of much assistance. I try to convince him that, if he could wait a few minutes, Jason could finish trimming the tall part, so that he didn't have to get up on the ladder, but John used to have a farm up in East Texas and there is no convincing him to slow down. He would work for about 3 minutes and then rest for 5. The sun was setting and there were cut leaves everywhere. Meanwhile, Keaton is running around in her training pants and a t-shirt making both of them laugh and smile while the other kids Landon, Kelly, and our other neighbor Lauren, are all riding bikes providing entertainment for us bench warmers. I asked John if he could get some of those grass clipping paper sacks out, then we could get the kids to pick up all of the leaves and cuttings. Finally, after insisting 3 times, he goes and gets some bags. The kids run into the house and get their winter gloves on (work gloves) to protect their hands from the prickly leaves. Landon uses some for his feet too, providing more entertainment and then Keaton gets into the action with her winter hat. I guess she was trying to make a connection with the other kids and the gloves, but did I mention that it was 90 something degrees? John and Betty had the best time watching the kids and before too long those kids picked up 3 huge bags of leaves for their neighbor without any fussing or complaining. It was like they knew their neighbor needed help and he probably wouldn't have accepted it from anyone but them. John was obviously touched by them and their hard work and ran inside to pay them each .50 cents. That is more than most of their allowance for a week. They were so thankful, but didn't do it for the reward. Later on I told them how proud I was of them for "loving their neighbor as their self." It was a great concrete example of loving their neighbor since John actually is their neighbor. You know how literal kids take things. Keaton stole their heart by climbing up on the bench in between the 2 of them to eat her snack and getting everybody water. We had a great time enjoying each other's company and watching the kids finish their bike ride across the street in the cul-de-sac. Keaton joined the others in the cul-de-sac and then stripped down naked after a potty accident providing more comic relief. While I was trying to clothe her again, Lauren crashed big on her bike and John jumped up and ran across the street to help her. We had broken through the barrier and into their hearts. It was a pogo stick while you are pregnant moment, and I was elated with God's timing. We had a bunch of these moments while Jason and I were in Europe last April, but those stories are for another time.

Friday Fun Day

2008-09-28T04:29:00.007-05:00

We visited the Heard Science Museum this Friday and they happened to have the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit. The Dinosaurs move and growl. Landon was ecstatic but Kelly was not very happy, she hates loud noises. Landon allowed me to take his picture next to his favorite dino, the T-Rex. We also walked through the butterfly sanctuary and this made me think of Leah.

Kelly and Keaton warmed up to the Dinos after I told them that they are not growling but burping. This worked for all of the Dinosaurs except the T-Rex.

Summer of '08

2008-09-17T22:08:00.015-05:00

Some Summer Highlights...

Jason visiting Israel for the first time with Rabbi and the Siblings.

Landon loosing his first tooth and pulling it out by himself at night when he should have been sleeping.

Going to the Creation Museum in Glenrose, TX and meeting a Dr Baugh a real paleontologist. Seeing Dinosaur Land in the 100+ weather with Nina and Pawpaw.

Going to the Cave with Steve and Lauren on our Austin trip and seeing the bats.

Keaton's 2nd birthday fiesta style. We ate Mexican food and then danced to her favorite Spanish music,

The Gypsy Kings.

Family Pear Picking Day at daddy's rental house.

Kelly's 4th b-day. All she wanted was a pink guitar and girl Legos!!!

Girls only/Boys Only days - sponsored by the Brothers without Brothers Club

Landon learning to ride a bike.

Keaton potty training herself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keaton stepping in fire ant pile resulting in 400 ant bites. I will spare you the pictures.

What did I do? Well, besides growing a baby, it looks like I took a lot of pictures.

The Backyard Olympics

2008-09-17T22:08:00.014-05:00

School is going great this year. It is like night and day from last year. Not that last year was bad but it was difficult. Landon started having trouble with reading, and writing. Yes, 2 out of 4 of our subjects. We took him to an OT (Occupational Therapist) and they were really able to help him. Not only did they help him but he is doing amazing now. We are doing 5 times the learning that we were able to do last year. It was all worth it. He was in therapy for 11 months. He got glasses which have really helped in the reading category, he had his tonsils and adenoids taken out which has taken care of the drooling/snoring/can't breath category, and the therapy has dramatically helped his handwriting. He can now write with both hands and loves to color and write me notes. Here are some of my favorites. "I an a good reden cid. Mi nam iz Landon." Translation "I am a good reading kid. My name is Landon." My other favorite... "We hav 6 pepl in r feulmi" We have 6 people in our family.

Some fun things we have done so far this year in school...

Make Play dough and pretend to write in Cuneiform (Ancient Mesopotamian writing)

Tuesday Creek days (We meet some friends at a park every Tuesday with a creek. The the kids get to play with their buddies in the creek. It might not sound educational but... they have learned about irrigation, crawdads or as the kids called it "a lobster", and bridges.)

Making maps of Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia and charting the routs of Abraham, Jonah, the Captivity into Babylon, Daniel and his 3 amigos, and Queen Ester.

Group school day at the Blake house. We learned about the Olympics. (Jason and Landon came up with this one evening when he was watching the kids) Outside the kids were able to compete different events that you could do in your own back yard. Set up boards in an oval with a starting line. They can compete in the 400m, 800 m (2 laps) 1600 (4 laps). You can also do a relay with it with a stick. They love this. Who doesn't love running in circles over boards. OK. Next they can do the pole vault. Set up a 2 buckets with a plastic tube. Get a blanket and lay it down and then put on top of it a couch cushion. You can cover it with a sheet to protect it. Finally you need a PVC pipe or some long stick. The kids would run with the pipe down the runway, stick it into the ground, leap over the plastic tube onto the couch cushion while throwing the stick behind them so as not to fault. What fun they had.

We threw the shot put with a heavy ball, the javelin with the plastic tube, and the discus with a Frisbee.

Finally for the girls we cut pieces of ribbon and played classical music while they danced with hula hoops to the rhythmic gymnastics. It was hilarious.

Then inside they all made up their own country name and designed their own flag. Landon's was Dino with a great dinosaur picture. Kelly's was American stars. Next they cut out and colored their own Olympic medals.

The Bible lesson was on 1 Cor. 9-24-27. Encouraging them to "run in such a way as to get the prize." We also talked about wanting to earn a heavenly prize that will last for eternity.

Finally we had the closing ceremony where each kid was announced with there name, their country's name, (Flag flying proudly) and were presented with a medal. You would have thought it was a real gold medal with the amount of pride that they wore them. It was a fun school day to say the least. I hope you try it. It would make a fun summer birthday party too.

We are also doing 2 curriculums simultaneously and are really enjoying them both. The first is Heart of Wisdom which is similar to a classical learning style but it is taught with a Hebrew/Christian mindset instead of a Greek mindset. The second is the online Charlotte Mason curriculum from amblesideonline.org. This has provided some of our most favorite reading selections. We are all enjoying these stories which are rich in character, morals, creativity and vocabulary. Well, that is how school is going for now. It has been a long time since my last post but things have been busy.

2007-09-29T07:53:00.001-05:00

Birthdays -

Summer is big for the Blake girls. Kelly started us off with a Yellow Hello Kitty Tea Party Birthday. Try saying that 10 times fast. She loves yellow, Hello Kitty and Tea pronounced "tee-ah" according t0 her. We had several of her little friends over, and it was the most peaceful quiet birthday party I have ever been to. All girls. They colored Hello Kitty pictures, had a tea party and played with their babies. Then we ate cake and pizza. Boy was that easy. Jason gave Kelly flowers and took her for donuts on her actual birthday. This has become a tradition and it sure does make her feel special. "Just you and me, Dad. Just you and me." She would say to him. Then she would sing him songs in the car and talk his ear off. He loves it.

Next was Keaton's 1 year Birthday. I decided to keep it low key since this is her first birthday and she is still getting the hang of these birthday things. We made cupcakes with help from big brother, and big sister (someone has to lick the bowl). Then we all went to Central Park in Frisco, (no we didn't fly to NY, we are not that weird) and took some cute birthday pictures. She ate cupcakes, yes 2 of them and we finished with some playtime at the park and a good swing under the moonlight. What a joy my 2 girls are to me. Kelly Grace and Keaton Faith. I love em'.

moose ears and foam crosses

2007-08-22T00:25:00.000-05:00

Day 4 rolled around mostly the same as day 3 except we used the wipe board instead of the chalk board. Is it called the wipe board or the white board? It really makes sense for it to be called both in my opinion. Do you know any of those people who make up their own lyrics to songs that they hear on the radio, that sound like the original lyrics? I am one of those people. You know what I am talking about. "We're moving on up, to pizza hut, to that deluxe pizza in the sky." Oh well, let's move on to day 5 before I loose anyone.

So, it is Friday and that usually means a field trip. This Friday Jodi (our field trip expert) had found a Children's home sponsored by a Presbyterian church in Denton, TX. The plan was for us to take our kids to the Children's home and hang out with the teens that were staying at this home. Some were orphans and most were custody of the state. We were all a little nervous about what type of situations we were going to expose our kids to (the oldest kid in our group just turned 6). We knew these kids had been through a lot and might be a ruff crowd. The night before our field trip, I was praying for wisdom to know what to say to my kids and to prepare them for how they should behave. I wanted to head off any uncomfortable questions that might arise during our stay. As I was praying it dawned on me that we are supposed to bless the fatherless and the widows. "Lord, what do I have that I can give them? What do teens like?" I walked straight over to my school cabinet and as I opened the door the first thing I saw was a bag of left over foam crosses with decorative stickers from our VBS. I grabbed that and then I saw some clay magnets with a paint kit that someone had given to us. I stuck those in the bag along with a huge bag of beads and lanyards. Finally I saw these silly blow-up moose ears that were leftover from VBS and I threw those in the bag too. I was so excited but yet a little nervous about my new findings as they seemed more appropriate for elementary age kids and not really high school entertainment. However, that was all that I could think of to give, so it would have to do.

As we arrived at the home the next morning you could tell that all three of us mothers were quite apprehensive about our adventure for the day. We all confessed that we had spent most of the 45 minute drive over there praying for the field trip to go well and for the children to behave appropriately. We all prayed together before we went in and a peaceful spirit fell upon our shoulders. As we walked into the building we met our contact person who guided us through the facility to meet up with the teens. We walked through a beautiful library where the kids would do homework, receive tutoring, and have Internet access. Next we walked outside through a courtyard where we saw 3 little cabins. We were told that each cabin held 8 kids with one "house mom" or "house dad". There were 2 girls cabins and 1 boys cabins. Next we passed by a pool and playground and then we entered the gym where the girls were waiting for us. It turns out the boys had been take on a field trip and around 14 girls ranging from13-17 were there to greet with 3 "house moms". As soon as we walked in, the girls beamed with excitement. "They brought little guys! Babies. Look how cute." 4-5 girls immediately came to each of us and offered to hold our babies, introduced themselves to us and to our kids and immediately began engaging with us and our children. I was so impressed at their initiative and politeness. Most teens would take the safe stance and wait a while before interacting, but these girls were very mature in handling this situation. The director of the facility had each of us introduce ourselves and then asked us if we had any plans for our time with the girls. We figured we could play at the playground and possibly feed the donkeys and we mentioned that we had some art activities. Awkward. Basically we were not sure what to do. We decided to go to the playground first while it was still cool and that would give the kids something to do. Each girl took a child by the hand and walked them to the playground. While the kids were playing the girls took turns pushing then on the swings, chasing then up and down the slide, and holding the babies. We were able to talk with the girls and get to know them in such a natural setting as we all played with the kids. We asked the girls what they die with their days throughout the summer. They told us they swam sometimes when the life guard was around, that they ate breakfast and watched TV. Sometimes they would get to go on outings but that was basically it. We were beginning to see a tiny glimpse of what their life was like.

We all moved into the gym for some water and some romp around time when the girl I was with asked me if we could do some of the art activities. "Sure." I said, and Kelly, Keaton and I began to make the foam crosses with our new friend. After a few minutes everybody was in the room with us making necklaces, crosses, and painting the magnets. Our kids were giving their necklaces to the girls and the girls were giving their crosses to our kids. Everybody was laughing and talking and Keaton even got a Jesus sticker tattooed to her arm. We pulled the moose ears out and everyone from the house moms to the babies got a chuckle as our pictures were taken with the crazy looking antlers. The walls were coming down and we were all starting to share with each other. I connected with one girl who played soccer for a rival club team I used to coach against. She said she couldn't afford to play anymore living there but hoped to play high school soccer. She announced to the group that she was going home next week and one of the house moms gave her a confused look as if to say "your not moving back in." She quickly replied "it is just a visit." They told us they all attended church every Sunday together at the Presbyterian Church. Another girl invited us to the fall festival that the Home puts on each fall for the community. That is right, these kids serve their community by working the fall festival put on by the home and the sponsoring church. I don't know why it should surprise me, these girls had served the 3 of us moms the entire morning by playing with and interacting with our kids. They sat by us at lunch time and helped us feed and watch over our kids. When it was time for us to go we thanked the "house moms" and they confessed that they were not sure how this event was going to play out. "When you called and asked us if you could come we said yes but we have not ever had any one ask us to do this and we didn't really know what to expect." We told them we had been so blessed by our visit and asked if we could come again. They said they would be thrilled if we came again and asked us if we would please come again. As we said our goodbyes the girls didn't want to let our kids go. One girl told me this had made her day and I told her she had made my week. They hugged and squished Keaton a hundred times before we walked out the door and then they all stood outside waving as we walked back across the courtyard to our cars. What an amazing opportunity and what a blessing it had been to visit with these girls. What an incredible experience to minister to the teens alongside my children. It was the perfect ending to my first week of homeschooling and the beginning of wonderful journey of education.

Handwriting Without Tears

2007-08-21T07:38:00.000-05:00

Day 3 of my first week of homeschooling posed some challenges that I didn't quite expect. We started off our day as usual with our Bible reading, memory verse and hymn. No problems, everything was running smoothly. I was thinking, Wow this is pretty easy. I pulled out the handwriting book and Landon tells me that he doesn't want to do it. "Let's just do one page and then we can move on to something else." Nope. "Just one page. It will be quick." I don't want to. "Well, you don't get go choose what you want to do, you need to obey." I don't like writing. Oh great, it was day 3 of homeschooling and he already hates handwriting. I could see him shutting down completely. I could sence some resistance to the workbood yesterday but I had tried to ignore it. This workbook is called Handwriting Without Tears, but I think I was about to be in tears. My brain was thinking hard. What could I do. (Lord please help!) "We don't have to write in the book we can write on the chalk board." Yea! That sounds great Mom!!!! Let's go. (Thank you God) So, we went to our chalkboard and began practicing the letter Q. He wrote more Q's on the chalk board than the workbook would have required him to write. Did I mention that he was jumping up and down and spinning with excitement? Then he said let's write the whole alphabet. "Great!" He didn't t even realize that he was doing school work. He wrote the entire alphabet and then said. Mom teach me how to write my numbers. "OK." I figured we would do 1-10 and he would be done. Nope. He wanted to go all the way to 25 but we stopped at 22 because of space. "That was great Landon." More jumping up and down with a few spins. "Wait, lets count the numbers." So we counted the numbers and practiced number recognition. "Hold on. Let me get the calendar." I introduced the calendar to him and showed him the numbers on the calendar and how they are the same numbers he had just written. I showed him how each number represents a date and each date is a day of the week. We counted the numbers on the calendar and I pointed out the month. There was our math lesson for the day. It was amazing. One thing lead into the other so naturally and he was so engaged in everything we were doing. We were both so excited about our day of learning. Later we did some reading and day 3 had come to a close with yet another lesson. I was going to have to get creative in my teaching approach. Landon was not into workbooks and would require some variety in teaching style. I also learned that I was going to need to go to the Creator for advice on how to be creative in my teaching style. The Lord had already given me some great ideas on moving outside the box. I would have missed out on the explosion of learning that had taken place that day had I not asked God for help in my time of crisis. What a joyful moment Landon and I experienced on that day.

a little hiccup

2007-08-06T10:50:00.000-05:00

The morning of homeschooling day 2 started off with a sweet little "hello" coming down the hall. (Kelly's way of finding me in the morning) I gave her a hug and noticed she was having difficulty breathing. I gave her a few puffs of the inhaler and she was still not breathing so well. By 9 o'clock nothing had changed and I called the Dr. It is day 2 of homeschooling and I might as well throw the schedule away.

Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

We spent most of the morning getting to and from the Dr and pharmacist. We rushed home, ate, and then headed over to my mom's house in order to get there before Keaton's nap. Truthfully I was a little disappointed that I had not accomplished any school, but I quickly laid down my agenda and accepted God's. I got the girls down for their naps and found that Landon and I had some spare time. He did his handwriting and then read some more of the "Bob" books to me and Nina. I realized that even though the day was totally crazy and completely out of my control God still allowed me time to get some school in. We all know He will provide for us, but do we realize that He will also provide time for us to do the things we need to get done. I have learned my second lesson in this adventure I am on and it is that I don't need to stress over the schedule because God is going to provide time for me to teach my children throughout the day. I just need to rely on Him to show me those teachable moments and to capitalize on them when they come.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed!

The Marathon Begins

2007-08-06T07:47:00.001-05:00

Day 1
July 30, 1907

It’s 5:25 in the morning my first day of home schooling, and my day has begun. I have a great run with Julie, extra long (6+ miles) and so I am a bit sore and a little tired. We have a good time of prayer and I spend the rest of the drive home praying about my day to come. My plan for the day is to have breakfast and morning chores finished by 9:20 and then start school. I read a little in Job, pray and then…
7:15 and Kelly is awake. 1 up 2 to go. I fix her breakfast and go take a shower. I am so anxious for Landon to get up so we can start the first day of Kindergarten.
7:45 Keaton wakes up. I get her started on a bottle while I begin doing the things that usually fill my morning, getting breakfast ready and cleaned up, putting away dishes, organizing the kitchen, quick check of my e-mail and calendar to schedule my day, diaper changes, and the list of daily tasks goes on and on and on and on and on. You get the point.
9:15 Finally Landon wakes up! I give him a big hug as I greet him on the stairs every morning. I am so excited and ready to get this thing going. He eats breakfast and I send them (Landon and Kelly) upstairs for their morning chores (brush teeth, get dressed, make bed). I want to establish good habits for our daily schedule and have them get their morning chores finished before school starts however, truth be told I am such a morning person that I would rather chunk the chores and start our school day. Nevertheless, I take a breath and send them on their way.
10:00 Finally it is time to start our school day. It works out well because Keaton goes down for a nap at this time.
We go to the couch and read from the Bible together. Landon loves for me to read him the Bible. He always asks me to read more. I am amazed that his attention is so great but I am thrilled because this is what I would hope for. I am thrilled because since he is the oldest he is setting the standard for our Bible time and the other kids will follow suit. We read about Abraham, we talk a little about what they learned and then Kelly brings me the hymnal. She has a difficult time paying attention to the Bible time but she loves the singing time and she loves to sing from the Hymnal. Last week we all went to the piano as I plucked out the notes. They loved it. We all sing a hymn together or actually I sing the hymn and they repeat after me. They are learning. Next we read through the Attributes of God book that we made at our home school group last spring. We turned to the God is Eternal page and learn Jeremiah 10:10 to a little song I made up. “But the Lord is the true God, He is the Living God, the Eternal King. Jeremiah 10:10” Kelly loves this part of school too.
10:30 we start writing. I get Kelly started on a coloring project while Landon works on his Writing book. This will be his most difficult subject this year so I am starting with it 2nd in the day while he is still fresh. We are training him to be right handed although at the present he is ambidextrous and leans more to the left hand. This is a long subject but after much council and debate with Doctors and chiropractors (thanks Brooks) we truly feel this is the best decision. He has not practiced much with his right hand this summer and it has gotten weak.
10:55 we move back to the couch for reading. (we didn’t’ spend the entire 25 min on writing but life happened in the midst of the lesson i.e. Attending to Kelly) I get the activity bags out for Kelly to entertain her while I do the reading lesson with Landon. We go over the vowels and the consonant sounds and I can sense Landon getting anxious. We stop and he does an activity bag with Kelly. I take a spare moment to get some of my chores in the works. (marinate the tenderloin for me and 1 for a friend in need, get a load of laundry started, etc.)
11:30 I look at the math book for a minute and realize I don’t have all of the manipulatives to start math. I am bummed but go to the computer and make a calendar page for future lessons.
11:50 I decide they need to go outside and get some of their energy out. They ride bikes in the front for a few minutes, but a storm is coming, and the rumble is close, so we are quickly forced back inside.
12:10 Keaton wakes up and it is lunch time with all that that entails. Enough said.
Kids have free play after lunch and I work to stay a step ahead of them.
1:30 we do Landon’s training time to help him with his right brain/left brain stuff.
I have 1 on 1 time will Kelly and read her several books.
2:00 I get the girls down for a nap.
I read to Landon and he reads to me 2 “Bob books” to finish our reading lesson.
2:20 I send him to his room for some “down time” and I plop on my bed. I have been up for 9 hours so far and it is only 2:30. I have finished my first day of home schooling! What an exciting/rewarding/full morning I have had. Now I know why April’s advice to me last night was, make sure you get a good night sleep.