"Will you read me a book?"

Anderson asks me to read him books a lot. He really doesn't like the ones with lots of words, though. If the pages take too long he loses focus (gets that from his daddy, haha). So picture books are his favorite, especially ones with tractors, cars, construction equipment...basically anything with wheels! Here is a video of us reading about "diggers":

And now I can ask Anagrace to read me books! I love hearing her read! I can almost see her rolling her eyes or hear her let out a little sigh when I ask her because I do it so frequently. It is such a joy to see her learning. As she reads and sounds out words, you can just see her brain working. And as they say on Reading Rainbow, "but you don't have to take my word for it"...

Quick Update...

The bank accepted our offer, and we expect to close by the 1st of April!

I'll definitely give more information about our new house and how it came to be later, but now I better get to packing!

Waiting...

We are still waiting to hear from the bank about purchasing the foreclosure house. We both have a good feeling about it. But, the waiting just sucks.

Today at church, one of the worship pastors, Wade Joye, spoke about his struggles with waiting on God to fulfill His promise to heal his daughter. She and her twin sister were born 3 months premature. At one point the doctors suggested taking her off of life support. They said that she would never be "normal" in the sense that she would probably have multiple disabilities. Almost 2 years later they have seen so many miracles in the life of their baby girl, she truly is a walking talking miracle. She just recently started to walk with braces. Wade and his wife, Ferris, believe that one day she will be completely healed. They just have to wait to see the final result...which could take years. But they have faith and they believe that God has promised this to them. That is the kind of faith you can admire. (You can check out more about the girls' story here)

I was reminded at church of something Pastor Steven once said....not his exact words, but something like this:

In between the PROMISE and the PAYOFF is the PROCESS. And the process is the POINT!

It is in the process of waiting that God grows your faith.

I contemplated whether or not to put it in writing, out there for all of bloggy-world to read, that Justin and I are believing in faith that we will get that house. Nowit is not as monemental an act of faith as the Joyes believing in the physical healing of their child. But, it is a big change in our life and a step towards the future of our family. My hesitation in posting our "promise" was the thought of "what if we don't get the house, then I'll look like a fool". But, I said earlier that Justin and I have a good feeling...we think it's the feeling that we will get the house, but if not we have peace in knowing that God has a plan for us. And His plan is the best plan.

"For I know the plans I have for you," say the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

A Valentine's Day to Remember...

...and, no, it is not because of some super romantic scheme or gift that Justin thought up. He is not that guy. Reliable, hardworking, supportive, caring, funny, charming, but not romantic. Remember this post from Valentine's Day 2 years ago?
Well, it looks like once again we may be making a major purchase around V-day. This time it isn't a vehicle...it's a house. The Prevette family may be moving! We have talked about the desire of having a larger house. The kids outnumber us now and they seem to be taking over every inch of this house. We had a plan in mind to move in the next 2 years or so. The kids are still small enough that we aren't too cramped, but with time that will become an issue. But, one day I was surfing the web and came across a house in our area, just a few miles away, that was in foreclosure and would soon be sold at a public auction. It all happened so fast....We went to the open house last weekend. The house met all the criteria we were wanting in a new house, including a fenced in yard, playroom, garage, and plenty of space. We went through the process of filling out paperwork and getting pre-approved, and then today we bid on it and won! The bidding process was pretty intense. The only thing between us and a new house is the fact that our bid did not meet the bank's reserve price. The bank could (hopefully) decide to take the loss and accept our offer, they could decline or they could counter-offer. Only time will tell.

Big Guy...Funny Guy

Anderson is a funny guy, just naturally, without even trying to be. He makes me laugh daily, usually several times. Here are a just a few examples:

He insists on being called "Big Guy". Justin gave him that nickname and it seems to just fill him with pride to be called by it. Well, we visited the store last week and the greeter said hello to the boys who were both seated in the shopping cart. "What are your names?" she asked. "I'm Big Guy and this is Little Guy" Anderson introduced himself and Ashton.

Another one of his favorite phrases is "I heard that!" which he shouts randomly.

We are trying to teach him to say "Yes sir" and "Yes ma'am". His "yes sir" sounds more like "yeh sure". Makes me laugh everytime.

As I was changing shirts, he asked "What are those?" I answered that they were to feed babies. He replied "I can do that?". I am not sure what exactly he was asking...Did I used to nurse from you, Can I nurse babies oneday or Can I nurse you now...but no matter which one he really meant the answer was "NO".

And his response to almost every "NO" answer is "Aw Maaaaan".

Here is a picture of our Big Guy, Funny Guy...sometimes just looking at him makes me laugh.

Pictures and Lessons Learned on our Field Trip

We recently went on a "field trip" with some of our homeschooling friends. We had a great time riding the Lightrail or as the boys called it, the choo-choo train, to Uptown to visit the library and have lunch. They were excited and rambunctous until more people started filing in and they found themselves sitting next to strangers. My friend Erin sat up front with the "big kids" and Mandy and I sat with the little ones in their strollers on the platform below. Here are some pictures of our excursion and a few lessons (inadvertantly) learned:

Social Studies-students made observations of public transportation (as overheard by Ms. Erin):

"There are more brown-skinned people on here than light-skinned people"

"That sign says "NO SMOKING" but that guy has a cigarette in his mouth, see that guy, I think he's gonna smoke, but it says "NO SMOKING" on that sign, see it?"

Health -dental hygiene (a discussion between 2 students):

1st student: That guy has a gold tooth

2nd student: What?

1st student: (a little louder) I said that guy over there has a gold tooth.

2nd student: Huh?

1st student: (louder)See that guy over there, he doesn't have many teeth, but he's got a gold one.

Teacher: SHHH!

Math -the value of money:

After the train ride, the children had a quick snack at the Burger King in the Transit Center (a.k.a Bus Station) with Erin and Mandy, while I went to get my change for the lightrail tickets from the ticket counter. The automated ticket station I bought my tickets from prior to departure was apparently out of change. Of course, that minor setback gave another opportunity for learning. After their snack the children needed to go to the restroom. We realized that there was a lock on the door that required a quarter to use the facilities. Indeed a quarter is worth 25 cents, but it is worth so much more to a little girl at the bus station who really needs to potty!

Art:

There is so much beautiful architecture to admire downtown, as well as lovely pictures and paintings. This was my favorite, though:

Physical Education: Teachers and students got there fair share of physical exercise by walking around downtown. (A few lessons on traffic safety were required.)

And this little guy, gave me some extra exercise chasing him around the library. He ran off about 3 times.

WHAT A TRIP!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I turned 31 this past Tuesday. It really is hard for me to believe. So much has changed so fast.

10 years ago on my birthday, still in college, recently engaged, I celebrated turning 21...a milestone. I'm sure I stayed up way too late and didn't feel so great the next day, but honestly I don't remember.

So many real milestones have occured since then. I got married. I gave birth to 3 precious children. I have found purpose. I have lived and loved and learned so much!

I celebrated my birthday with a group of wonderful friends on the night of my birthday. We shared laughter, tears, inside jokes, and insights into the Bible. I stayed up way too late, and was so tired the next day. But it will be a night I remember.

Wordless Wednesday

A Tour of Anagrace's New/Old Room

Anagrace is so happy about her "new" room. She has thanked me several times for giving it a makeover. I don't really have a before picture. This is the best I could find:

Her walls were pale pink above the chair rail and lavendar below, which stayed the same except we painted polka dots on the top half. We also hung a pink gingham ribbon board to display pictures (but right now she has fabric swatches on it for some reason?) ,daisy flower hooks, and a white shelf to display her tea set on the wall.
We painted her name on the front of her bed with polka dots

and hung an eyelet mirror with yellow gingham ribbon and letters to spell out "dream" above her bed.

Under her bed, we took out the cooking set {she has kind of outgrown it:-( } and put a denim recliner there instead. She has enjoyed lounging in the chair and watching the TV that Daddy finally fixed! We put pictures of her as a baby and books on the shelf.Probably my favorite part of the makeover was the new light fixture. We replaced the ceiling fan with this super cute chandelier

I have a few more things I'd like to do...update the curtains, maybe get a rug, and hang up the pictures that she and I will paint someday soon. Here is Anagrace with the blank canvas ( with "paint me" written on the plastic wrap) that she opened on Christmas.

Giving her room a makeover was so much fun for me! In fact, I was so excited to show her on Christmas morning that I woke up before everyone else in the house! I'm so glad that she is as happy about it as I was.

Happy New Year!!!

2010? Wow!

Decided to change the look of the blog with the change of the year....and decade!

Got some new blog posts in the works, but soaking up all the family time during the "break".

The Highlight Reels

I intended to do a Christmas post much earlier. It seems so long ago now. Even though we did celebrate for 6 days straight! Instead of a play-by-play post of our weeklong festivities with family, I'll just give you the highlight reels of Christmas morning:

We had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Savior. We had a little "birthday party" for Jesus. Cupcakes for breakfast?! Yum...

Anagrace "camped out"under the tree Christmas Eve. Christmas morning she discovered her room makeover...

Anderson had a blast opening the presents...some that weren't even his! He was really excited to get "Mack" from Disney's Cars to hold the matchbox Disney Cars.

They were all super excited to get the John Deere Gator, although I think the video portrays more shock than anything.

I hope you and yours had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The Prevette Family is definitely excited about the possibilities of 2010....

Wordless Wednesday

SWEET

Spent some one-on-one time with my SWEET girl.

Baked, decorated and ate some SWEET treats together.

Then, went to see some SWEET works of art. We had a great time just the two of us. Picking out our favorite gingerbread houses. Talking about Christmas...

Laughing. (Nice "dragon face")
SWEET memories!

Christmas Traditions

I just thought I'd share some of our Prevette family traditions. Some began the year Justin and I got married and others we've started somewhere along the past 8 years...

We always put up our nativity after reading the Christmas story. My dad got this one for us our first Christmas as "The Prevette Family". Anagrace and I did it this year along with her schoolwork.

I think that the "Countdown Calendar Tree" is probably Anagrace's favorite decoration. Shortly after she wakes up she has to move the stocking and count down the days left 'til Christmas.And a close second in the running for her favorite Christmas decoration, is the pink tree in Anagrace's room. She has had a small tree in her room since she was born (I'm pretty sure). But this pink one is new this year.

Our newest tradition is making a gingerbread house. This is actually the first year we've attempted it; I thought that it was the first time Anagrace could really "help" and enjoy it. And we did have a great time with it. We took it easy being our first year...we bought the premade house. It was already assembled, with roof and walls attached, all we had to do was mix the icing and decorate. I know that is kind of like cheating, but we'll increase the difficulty as the years go by!

So, those are just a few of our traditions. What traditions do you have? I'm always looking for fun and creative ways to make memories!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot (well, a little) Like Christmas....

I've "decorated" my blog.

And I've decorated my tree.

But that's the extent of my decorating so far. I've still got to put up the nativity scene and decorations on the mantle. We sold our computer armoire, which is where we usually display our Christmas village. So, I'm not sure if we'll have the village out this year. The absence of the computer armoire has also affected our tree. Two years ago we bought an artificial "pencil" tree to save money and floorspace. I love the look of the tree, but without the furniture around it the tree does look pretty skinny.

I thought I'd give a little tour of our tree and some of my favorite ornaments. Most of our ornaments have a story or special meaning attached to them. It's like a really tall and beautiful scrapbook!

Ornaments representing our first Christmas as a married couple(from 2001) :

One of Anagrace's first Christmas ornaments (from 2003), a gift from my grandmother, whom she is named after. It's kind of hard to see,but there is a cherub on it:

A few ornaments from my childhood:

One of the ornaments that my great Granny West made:

Although the orange doesn't "match" my tree, I couldn't leave it off...an ornament from our church commemorating our first year there(2007):An ornament made by one of the special education students in my class from my very first "real"job:So, those are just a few of my favorite ornaments. Here is the tree in its entirety:I can't really do an angel or a star because you can view our tree from 2 angles, from the front door and from the living room. I wouldn't know which way to face the angel or star! So, a bow, berries, flowers and pinecones work nicely around the top of the tree, I think. The tree topper:

I'm hoping to do some more decorating this weekend!

I am Thankful!!

I am thankful for friends and family.

Thanksgiving was spent with some of my family at lunch and with some of Justin's family for dinner.

We spent the day before Thanksgiving with our good friends, the Helms. Here are the little pilgrims and indians just before enjoying their feast. They made their own hats...so cute.
They also made butter (with heavy cream, marbles and mason jars...shake,shake, shake) There's always an opprotunity to learn, which leads me to....

I am thankful to have the opprotunity and priviledge to be at home with my kids and homeschool Anagrace. Truly a blessing!

After the Thanksgiving festivities, my in-laws kept all of the kids to decorate her tree the next morning.

I am so thankful for a restful night's sleep (no Black Friday shopping for me). We didn't get out of the bed until after 10 a.m.! I can't remember the last time that happened!

Then, off for a quick brunch date with my hubby before picking up the kiddos.

I am so thankful for Justin, for the moments we can share just the two of us, for our relationship that continues to deepen and sweeten with time!

Wordless (and Toothless) Wednesday

Cupcakes!!!!

Anagrace and I made some cupcakes a few nights ago. Here is a cute video of all the kids enjoying the yumminess...

Homeschool Journey

It's funny how when mommies start friendships eventually we share our "birth stories" (or at least that's been the case with me). Well I have met a group of some new friends and we not only share the commonality of motherhood, but also the commonality of homeschooling. So, when 3 of us were hanging out a few weeks ago we shared our "homeschool stories" with eachother. I shared our homeschool story here in case you missed it.

So, we're about 3 months into our homeschool journey now. I get the question often "How's homeschooling?". I usually give a pretty short answer, especially if the person asking isn't a homeschooler too. I guess I still fear that I am being judged or possibly that the person asking thinks they are being judged by me. But I know in my heart that we made the best decision for our family, and I know that is all that truly matters. Anagrace is doing great! Most days she really enjoys the schoolwork. Honestly, I think she loves the focused attention on her that schooling requires. After Ashton was born, most of my attention was focused on caring for the 2 boys. I knowingly or unknowingly expected Anagrace, being the oldest, to be as independent as possible. Homeschooling has given me and Anagrace the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time together and it has done wonders for our relationship. I think that is what I am the most excited about with our journey so far.

Overall, homeschooling is going great and I am so grateful for the opportunity. Sometimes I still can't believe that this is the path we've taken. Definitely an unplanned trip. But, usually those are the best ones!

I just had to share this picture...aren't they so cute, so focused doing their "work"?!

Christmas Lists Already?!

I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner. It is officially this close! It seems that all of the marketing and media people just skip right over Thanksgiving. (What a shame! Thanksgiving is my personal favorite as far as holidays go.) There's even Christmas music on some radio stations already! The excitement has already begun in my daughter. She has asked when we get to make our Christmas lists. Last year we went to Target and created a wishlist using their gift registry system. It was really simple and she loved using the scanner gun. It was great when grandparents asked "What do the kids want?"; I didn't have to rack my brain or worry about returning duplicate gifts. Well, this year there seems to be only one thing Anagrace is hoping for....