One More...

 Today was the big day.  First off, the most important thing is baby looked absolutely perfect.  Measuring about 6 days or so ahead as his/ her brothers did at this stage.  I will never ceased to be amazed at watching my baby on that screen.

Without further delay...

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Another beautiful little boy to add into the mix.  He will be a perfect bookend to our family!

And because some people have asked... here is my 19 week belly shot.  I changed shirts because that blue one is "slenderizing" (thanks Sandee, love the blue shirt).  This tank gives you a better idea of what the belly really looks like.

I have always wanted four kids and I am so happy that God chose to me to mother 4 boys.  EEEEKKKK!!! I am so excited!

Ashton to K4

After much thought and prayer, we decided to go ahead and send Ashton to K4 at our church.  Though I am homeschooling Hunter, I felt that Ashton still really needed the outlet that "school" provides.  He loves and needs to be on the go or else fights and drama will follow.

My big 4 1/2 year old heading off to preschool.

Today was his first day and he had a great time!  He has 12 kids in his class and 2 amazing teachers.  I could not have handpicked better teachers for him. Ms Janie was Hunter's K4 teacher and she great to the kids without over coddling them.  Ms Amy is our children director's wife and she is so kind. 

Posing with his bros

Me and Smash (Shep snuck in)

Ready for school to start

I had forgotten how quiet the house is without Ashton in it.  I warned Hunter yesterday that it gets pretty quiet when Ashton is gone but I was not prepared for how quiet it really was. Both Hunter and I noticed it within the first hour that it was eerily quiet.  There also have been zero tears or fights today...even since my Smash has come home.

I am sure he will have a great year and I am so blessed that he is going to be loved on and taught by these wonderful ladies!

Homeschooling Units 3 and 4

Sorry for the lack of posting... once I have a free minute, I dont feel like being creative and thinking through a post. 
Homeschooling continues to be 'da bomb. ;)

Here is a quick recap of the last two units.
Unit 3
Memory verse  I John 4:15-16a
History- continuing with religious persecution in England and introduction Pilgrims.
Reading- going well.  never go the easier Bible so we are just sticking with the harder one and he is doing better. 
Spelling- Missed his first spelling word on a test and was insisted that was angry with him.  He did chip twice instead of trip.

spelling list

Math- addition from Singapore.  We also added in a Math Drops Bucket in worksheet for each day (thanks Aunt Joan).  I love these little worksheets because he can do them by himself!

Making a "pizza" using the nine addition family for number sentences.

Example of Math Drops in the Bucket worksheet and Singapore WB.

Poetry

oops, forgot to put this vertical... here is the poem for the unit, "Uphill"

Art

Art projects goes along with History lesson from Day 1 about the rose garden in England.

 Science

Fun little experiment about how bees pollinate a flower.  Hunter's finger is the bee and two plates are different flowers.  The crumbs are the pollen. 

End result

We also talked about light in science and came across this phrase.  I underlined it but in case you cant see it, "Jesus came to giver spiritual light and wisdom to His chosen or elect children."  Love it! 

Unit 4
Memory Verse: Matthew 6:19-21
History:  Pilgrims made it out of England and into Holland after much persecution and jail time.
Reading: We will finish with the Old Testament next week. Hunter is LOVING this Bible now.  He always wants to do his reading first
Spelling: Aced his spelling test.
Math:  By the end of this unit, I decided to incorporate a new math book in addition to Singapore.  Joan gave me her old math books and we are going to start working through that.  The 1st grade book was missing a ton of pages so we are started in the 2nd grade book.  It starts with place values which I think he can handle. If it gets too hard, we will back off.  I might actually pull out the 1st grade math book she gave me as I think the back half is still pretty much together.

Cute math activity from Singapore.  Drawing different objects then making number sentences.  Example: on the bottom, draw 4 ladybugs, then add 1.  Right a number sentence.

 History Activity: We are talking a lot about Holland right now in History b/c our Pilgrims have made it out of England.  We have described how Holland was right at or below water level so they had to built dikes of playdough to illustrate what happens when a dike leaks.

 Poetry:  Daybreak.

The Others! I must admit that I am having a hard time getting Ashton and Shep's lesson in.  I am just beginning Unit 3 with them.

 This was a cute activity A, S, and I did.  Unit 2 we learned about Noah.  We picked objects to test to see if they float or sink.  Here are our results. 

Add caption

Our objects

 Just a funny picture of Ashton.  He drew a picture  of me.  hahaha
 

Ashton's pictures of me.

Just a Bit about GrandpaGordie

GrandpaG's celebration of life service was today and let me just say it was amazing.  So many wonderful stories confirmed what we already know and that is GrandpaGordie was just awesome!

The arrangements were really cool in that we didnt do a funeral.  Family and close friends met at the church for a a celebration of life ceremony.  All his grandkids (there are 5 of us) spoke and then others spoke when fell led.  My mom sang, Soon, by Hillsong United and it was beautiful.

After this ceremony, we drove to the graveside where GrandpaGordie was honored as a Navy veteran with a 21 gun salute, TAPS was played, and GrandmaDean received the triangled American flag.  It was, to the say least, quite a moving 30 minutes.  I brought my camera but it felt tacky to whip it out of the 2nd row of seats, so I only have mental pictures... that will last me a lifetime.

The church then hosted the family for a delicious lunch.

GrandpaGordie would have loved it all.  He will be so missed!

Below is my "speech" for the Celebration of Life ceremony.  I just couldnt do a sad one... this is my grandpa.
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GrandpaGordie’s Life Lessons

1- Sing loud
2- Harmonize when you sing even when it is a little off
3- Have some stainglass, better yet, make your own
4- Speaking of making your own, if you find something you like… before you buy it, brainstorm to see if you can make it yourself.
5-  You must always have a project going on and one waiting to be started.
6- Don’t sit still, find something to do.
7-  Talk even when you think noone is listening b/c odds are they are listening.
8- Have a garden and share with everyone
9- Wear bright colors
10- Go back for seconds or thirds.
11- Sneak in some sweets even when the doctors tell you not to
12- Even when you know someone doesn’t like a particular food, offer it over and over and over again. 
13- Think your spouse is the best person in the world
14- Be patriotic, love your country.
15- But more importantly, love God above all else.
16- Power wash your house once a year and be stubborn and do it yourself regardless of age or health (this one is for GrandmaDean as well)
17- Stoop low to help others
18- Go on a bear hunt (my one regret is that I never asked GrandpaGordie to take my kids on a bear hunt- without a doubt he did the best bear hunts- mine just don’t compare)
19- Always greet with a hug and say goodbye with one as well
20- Praying for others is the best gift you can give
21- When in someone else’ car, keep your feet off of the dash board. (this was the biggest argument that I ever had with my GrandpaGordie)

That Spencer gene is strong.  I will always carry a piece of him with me… seriously, God saw fit to give you a mini-Gordon in my 2nd child.  From his looks to his firey personality, I live with a 4 year old
version of my grandpa everyday.  We have always joked about it, but it is in this moment, that I have never been more thankful to see pieces of my grandpa in my kids.


As Hunter said, "mommy, dont cry, this is not even his home... he is in his home now."  Ashton chimed in from the background, "yeah, this isnt his town."

How I Said Good Bye

Last Saturday he looks a bit out of it.  The past two weeks had definitely taken its toll... cancer sucks.

GrandpaGordie- I think this picture is about 4 years old.

The boys, my parents, and I actually went up to NC to visit with some of my dad's family that had come down from VA last weekend.  And it just so happened that GrandpaGordie (mom's dad) had taken a big turn for the worse.  We spent the afternoon with them.

Though he didnt really remember our visit, he did talk to us... had has rolling on floor with one his stories.  I will not go in detail as it is potty humor.  But, something was definitely not right with him... his bright eyes not as bright, his smile nonexistent, his appetite gone.

I think I left GrandmaDean and GrandpaGordie's house that day knowing that it is probably the last time I would ever see him alive. 

I am so thankful that my last living memory of him is him sitting in the recliner, with a blanket pulled up around his neck.  I leaned down to say good bye, put my hands on his shoulders and leaned in close.  I kiss him on the cheek and he kisses me back and says "I love you."  I choke back the, "I love you too GrandpaGordie... bye."

And that's it.  A perfect good bye for an amazing grandpa, a fellow brother in Christ.

GrandpaGordie is chillin' with Jesus this morning.  He hopped into heaven last night and I am sure he is singing his lungs out this morning.

More to come... I must gather my thoughts.

New Year's Plans