January

we kicked off the year with an overnight visit from our Texas friends Cliff and his daughter Amie. They were in town to work with Amie's prosthetic doctor on a new helper.  

in early January we went furniture shopping. Our couch is shot and we could use dining chairs and a few large area rugs as well. We saw a few we liked but didn't make any decisions. Once Cliff told me there was a MASSIVE furntiture store (like mall size) near Dallas I thought perhaps I should hold off. =) Maybe they have free shipping?

I like these chairs but Jeremy hated them. They would look better with wood floors and we are getting those priced but for now a cool rug will have to do.

Blake in one of his favorite spots. . .at Dad's computer. While we are still dealing with much whining and contrariness at home I was pleased to get a personal communication from his substitute teacher, who subbed for a few weeks while his teacher recovered from minor surgery, that he had remained focused and steady throughout the two weeks, dropping what he was doing to help her organize or hand out assignments. I was thrilled that this update indicates there is some maturity beginning in my little boy. His basketball season began this month and he is having a blast.

 I found this wonderful lady is North Carolina that raises whippets. She makes these fleece coats for them and I just HAD to get one for each puppy. Regular dog coats don't always cinch tight enough around their skinny frames. Also I've been working at least a little on Jessie's leash training. We are behind in her socializing and behavior practice. It's a good thing she is such a sweetie I don't really see any big issues that will need correcting.

as I mentioned on Facebook, Trinity has been having fun chalking Isaac's hair when he gets out of the bath. She has had a real upswing of her anxiety this week so school and bedtime have been a real struggle. I am eager for her ADHD testing to give me better direction on how to meet her needs and to help us figure out the chicken/egg problem of anxiety or ADD being the main culprit.
I booked two trips for the spring, one to see my friend Laura in Whitefish, MT and one to see the Donathons in Dallas.

 In CC we have finished pennywhistle and have moved on to art. Last week we made cast molds (see starfish) Isaac really got into that one. The week before we took playdough and made layers then shoved a straw into it to get "core" samples. He loved that too!

Just a playdate. We didn't get very many in in January but we jumped when we had the chance. I take them to a playland and they have more fun with the mega mirror in the bathroom.

Trinity had a fabric belt on her pants that was bugging her so she took it off and tied it rambo style around her head. Wore it that way the rest of the afternoon even at choir. I love her sense of style. lol

You get some awesome rainbows over the valley in the winter/spring. This one was absolutely brilliant, the picture does NOT do it justice.

ahhhhh my blissful view. and my orange bucket. . .

Here is one of Isaac's January presentations
Wow I really can't believe that the first month of the year is already over. I'm realizing that we do better with school on the days that aren't fragmented with other places to be but that seems next to impossible these days. I need to find a better balance of time to get work done and that means more preparation and planning. I have realized that Trinity is capable of more schoolwork than I am giving her but adding things like piano lessons or foreign language seem a little bit much at the same time. So I will need to take some time to pray and think about how I might expand her schoolwork. Honestly, it could be as simple as more reading on the subject matter covered in CC. I think Isaac would like more science experiments.

This is one of Trinity's presentations. I was very proud of her for presenting on her anxiety. The fact she felt comfortable to share about it tells me she is trusting and bonding with the kids in her class. Also some affirmation is that we have been able to gather around a few families in the CC community that are in need and make a real difference for them. This sort of loving support is an extension of the church's duty and to see the giving nature of our group really blessed me.
It's funny I've been working on this post for a few days and I feel like I simply can't remember more specifics from the month. Sheesh. Oh! I did get to Star Wars and on the last day of the month I went to the Matt Maher concert with some friends. I knew about all of his worship stuff but I didn't know he writes all the time with David Crowder (jeally) and he can play some mean southern rock. I wasn't expecting that side of him but I liked it so I might have to download a few of those.
an my Nana fell and broker her ankle mom is flying out in a couple of days to care for her. so that happened. =(