Hooray

We did it! Friday was our last day of school! Yippee! I was seriously limping across the finish line this year and am so thankful God carried us through. BIG sigh of relief.

Thursday night I stayed up way too late full of thought about our year and feeling sentimental. Maybe even just a little bit proud. We have accomplished a lot this year. We have had some HARD days. We have also had some amazing successes! I did some lame celebratory decorating and found this "End of School Wrap Up!" that I printed for each of the kids.

The bottom half of the page (which I did not think to photograph before filling out), had "Thoughts from Mom." It was so good for me to think through what I see as growth for each kid and put it in writing for them to see.  These were the statements for me to respond to:

1) I'm proud of you because:

2) One of my favorite memories of you this year was:

3) It has been fun to watch you:

4) Three things I love about you:

5) An area you grew in was:

6) You strengthened our family by:

I'm not going to lie. It was hard to respond to some of the questions for certain kids, but it was so good for my heart to TRY and be able to come up with something. (And so good for their hearts to read! The light in their eyes as they read through their papers Friday morning was worth remembering.) I enjoyed reading THEIR answers to my questions too.  Win win.

 After a special surprise breakfast, we started our day with our daily morning walk and Bible time. Although today when they asked to ride bikes rather then walk, I said SURE! So we took a quick spin around the neighborhood before we got started on our final tests.

 Tests, tests, tests... these kids worked hard. Luke enjoyed the benefit of his hard work through out the year and worked on a puzzle all morning. However, the other kids had several tests.

Apparently shirts are optional for some boys during test time.

My most squirmy and active boy has really matured in that department this year. I've figured out some good systems to meet his needs so that he can accomplish his work. He sprinted across the finish line and deserves a medal for his hard work. Two years ago, I would never have been able to anticipate his growth academically. All glory be to God! Now I can focus in on praying for other areas that need growth. ;) God's not done with Ethan yet. 

Thanks to a gift card from a generous friend, I surprised the 

kids by taking them to get frozen yogurt after lunch. Yum!

We're jumping in to summer! 

What a fabulous last day of school. 

Great Gift

Last spring, we spent many Sunday family days going on bike rides.  Over the winter, I realized my bike seat was deteriorating. Every time I rode my bike I ended up with black marks on my rear (which were pretty pesky to launder). Darin and the kids surprised me with a new bike seat for Mother's Day and I love it! I love riding bikes with my family and I don't take it for granted.

One of these days I'm going to crash my bike while I'm taking pictures. Why get off my bike when it's so much more fun to keep up with the group? yikes!

Swim Suit Ready

Thanks to Aaron, this little bunny is ready for the pool! Ha!

Aaron was busy during rest time crafting this loom swim suit all on his own. 

I think it is hilarious. He made different color swim suits for different days. 

Funny boy! Funny bunny!

Speaking of swimming... there are four kids in this house trying swim team for the first time! 

Two requested to try it. Two were adamantly opposed. We made the executive decision that they all needed to try it for one year. We're on week two of practices and so far so good. I'm proud of all of them for different reasons and excited to see how it unfolds. 

Ask First Please

I have many memories of my older brother taking apart small appliances and radios when I was growing up. 

I've heard stories about Darin taking apart THE OVEN in his kitchen when he was in junior high. 

(And it was plugged in! He had angels watching over him. Praise the Lord!) 

Is it any wonder that the kids were thrilled when Grammy brought 

four small gadgets for them to take apart as a "craft" a couple weeks ago? 

Ethan took apart a razor. 

Irina had clippers. 

Aaron took apart a clock. In the background you see Luke took apart a hot air brush. 

What a great opportunity for them to figure out how things work. Future engineers?

Since then, I have them chant...

"I will not take apart anything without asking first. 

I will not take apart anything without asking first. 

I will not take apart anything without asking first.

I will not take apart anything without asking first." 

Almost there

We reached our required 180 days of school last Friday! Wohoo! 

Luke took his last test on Monday, but the three other kids are diligently 

plugging along. They are almost finished and I am just slightly excited. :) 

Maybe once school finishes up on Friday I can visit here a little more? 

I miss blogging. Hope to be back soon. 

Team Work

With four helpers, it didn't take long at all to put a huge dent in that mulch pile!

What could be better on a gorgeous, cool,  Friday after school? (Only 1 week of school left!!!!)

Luke and Ethan started as my wheelbarrow fillers. 

They'd rest in the shade between loads. 

Irina and Aaron were eager to get their gloved hands dirty spreading the mulch with me.

This little wheelbarrow snuck into tight spots. 

Watch out for the scary photo bomber in the bottom corner. 

And yes, the roses smelled wonderful while I was mulching around them. 

My helmeted boy was ITCHING to ride his bike over the huge mulch pile. Wouldn't that be awesome??
He built steps in the mulch instead. I didn't take a photo because it would only encourage him. 

In two hours, we got nearly half of the mulching done. Wohoo! Tomorrow 

will be another pretty day for more mulching. Thank you happy helpers!

One More Try

I have been a raised bed, square foot gardener for three years. The first year I had fabulous success! We enjoyed lots of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and cucumbers. I thought I was pretty special. ;) The second year, we were in the throws of adoption expecting to travel all summer long. My garden was not spectacular. I was not diligent in watering. We had minimal results.

There is no excuse for our pitiful success the third year. Click HERE to review our results last year. We may have produced 6 mini grape tomatoes, rosemary, cilantro, and some basil. I suspect that the location of our garden is not ideal. The trees nearby have grown A LOT which means less full sun. We rarely had any weeds, but even with my special soil mix our garden was not plentiful. I had pretty much decided to take a year off and enjoy the farmer's market instead. I love gardening... but maybe only when I'm successful? :)

Then I was suddenly gifted with large quantities of tomato plants, pepper plants, and some cucumber plants. A friend of my mom's had some leftovers and was eager to share. So... here we go again. With the help of my mom, the garden is planted and ready to go. Let's give it one more try.

Since these pictures were taken, I've added a few more plants to fill the empty squares.

Do you see all the lush growing trees nearby? They were much smaller three years ago.

These pots are not pretty, but it's what I had on hand. I'm going to see

if it really is the location or maybe just the gardener herself? 

This Kid

I can hardly believe that this kid turned 11 this weekend. (Don't you love his "11" shirt? -- a gift from our friends. Roman Numerals make this math geek happy!) There is no question that I love all four kids, but I have a unique relationship with each of them. Despite the fact the Irina is officially older then Luke, Luke will always be the kid that made me a mom. 

What better then to celebrate his birthday on Mother's Day! 

We went round and round trying to figure out what to do for his birthday party. His party last year wore us out and introverted Luke wanted something simple. He finally decided he wanted to invite only 2 of our long time family friends, have an ice cream buffet, and play games. So we did last Friday!

Luke planned out the toppings, cleaned to get ready, and set the table. It could not have been easier for me. I was so touched by his helpfulness. (All without being asked... I was busy working on school work with his siblings.)

This is a throw back photo to 2008. These two girls have been in Smith photos for as long as I can remember. The friendships the kids have are precious, kind, and comfortable. There doesn't seem to be an issue with "boys are gross" or "girls are yucky." I would say they are like siblings, but they don't seem to pester each other quite the way siblings can. And now that Irina joined the family, she has two girl friends who love her and show her much kindness and understanding. 

Dutch Blitz - Our new favorite card game! Luke remarked at the end of the day, 

"This was my favorite birthday party ever." He was truly grinning from ear to ear. 

Irina was delighted to see her friend show up in a matching outfit.
Wish I thought to take the group photo before they were disheveled from backyard soccer. ;)

Finally Sunday morning it was Luke's birthday! I enjoy making them a special birthday breakfast and Luke requested cinnamon rolls, sausage, and fruit. He sure was happy to get home from church to open his gifts from me and Darin. 

(He opened his gifts from his siblings before church.)

He asked me to surprise him with a non-cake birthday dessert. 

Fruit pie hit the spot!

When we got to drum lessons on Tuesday, he was so excited to see this sign below! How cool is that?!

Luke's birthday seemed to last for at least 5 days and we still have left over ice cream. 

(I've got to get that out of my house!!!) During these five days it has been so obvious to me the positive character traits that are growing in my dear boy. Thank you Jesus! My heart skipped a beat as he rejoiced over a new devotional and Bible. Nearly as excited about that as he was a new lego set?!?! He has demonstrated such gratitude and maturity surrounding his birthday and I need to soak it in. I know the middle school years are fast approaching and we could be in for some murky waters. Oh don't worry... he's got weak spots like the rest of us, but I must savor the glimpses at this inner JOY and sweetness. So honored to be Luke's mom. What a privilege! Happy birthday Luke!

Some Things Never Change

When we hosted Irina in December of 2012, she was captivated by our family photo albums. 

She spent long periods of time looking through every album she could find. 

Can you even recognize her? 

When we returned home in December 2013, she was very quick to resume her position 

studying the photo albums again. Nearly EVERY DAY she spent at least 30 minutes 

looking through them. 

She doesn't look at them nearly as often, but at least twice a month I find Irina 

looking through the albums again. It's as if she is studying for a test. I think she'll get an A.
The best difference now is that this time there are albums including HER. 

While her love of pictures has not changed, she sure has! Who is that grown up young lady? oh my!

This and That

After two weeks of blogging silence, I finally have the mental energy to try to catch up. Darin has had a lot of traveling. Boo hiss! :(  I went away for the weekend with a group of adoptive mama's. Amazing! :) And we're on day 168 of our school year. Things are winding down in that department. Hooray! We finished our required testing last week and will wait for scores. ack! 

Some fun moments mixed in with our crazy... (and no I didn't take pictures of bad attitudes, 

tantrums, or an impatient mom which is so prevalent. I wonder what would happen if I did?) 

A trip to see a youth symphony to support a dear friend: 

Look at my blazer boys on the left. SO handsome. The kids loved listening. 

Well... as you can see Aaron was not as thrilled as everyone else. ;)

We had some cooking lessons while the older boys 

were at the homeschool academy. Irina loves her new apron. 

Science Fair and Showcase at Westminster Academy. 

Spontaneous trip to the botanical garden

These two were hilarious with their cameras. Running everywhere taking pictures together. 

 I never grow tired of the butterfly exhibit or beautiful flowers. 

 An unexpected rainbow... by the time I got my camera the double rainbow disappeared. 

And lastly, Luke's final project for his history class was a movie about the world wars. He chose to make a movie on music from World War II. The kids and parents voted his finished project 3rd place and he received his first Academy Award. He was beaming.

So much more has happened these last two weeks and I'm not even referring to the serious, thought provoking stuff which you know is swirling in my head. I'm too lazy to go downstairs and get my camera to see if I have any more photos to upload from our fun happenings. ;) 

Then there are the emotions of my biological first born turning 11 this weekend. oh my! I'll be back soon.