Centrikids 2017

 

 

We sent these two off to CentriKids camp again this week. This is Eli's last year! He has put in all 4 of his years and will enter the youth program next year!! They always come home with wonderful memories made and an positive recap for Mom and Dad. We trust this camp organization. They are growing in the Lord and that is what matters to us! I will sure miss them this week!



Clementine:11 months

 

 

 

What an independent personality our little girl has! She knows exactly what she wants and she expects to have things her way. Redirection can be difficult at times! She loves her binkey and has grown so attached that we do not foresee taking it when she turns one. She wants in morning, noon and night. I would prefer to give it only at nap and bedtimes, but her insistency provides long crying spells and we ABSOLUTELY GIVE IN! She loves meal times and we have started giving some milk during meals. She still nurses four times a day and occasionally at night if she wakes upset. We call her T-tine, since that is what Jude calls her. Clementine is a bit of a mouthful. Mostly we call her "T" for short. She had to have a nickname, I suppose. She is cruising on all of the furniture and pushes laundry baskets and other toys around the house. She will be walking in no time.
We love this little miss!!



 

 



Beautiful Lengths

 Eva has begged for a haircut for so long and I have never been able to let her. Her long beautiful curls are one of her most well known attributes. Although, in recent months, the long length and meticulous nature of curls had her overwhelmed (and me too)! So we made a real haircut appointment with our favorite hairstylist, Anna Miller! While I usually trim the girls' hair and cut the boys hair, I did not feel confident enough for such a task. Anna did an excellent job and Eva loves her new cut. Her curls are fuller and much more manageable. No more fuss with tangles! She is so lovely! Anna cut enough (over 8 inches) so that Eva could donate her hair to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. She was excited to know she was helping someone else feel beautiful in a special way with her own hair.

 



Recital 2017

 Our little ladies finished out another year of dance. We made a change this year, attending Valarie Spraggins School of Dance. The girls were interested in trying something new, and we wanted to see how another school would work with our family schedule. This year our girls took three classes each, ballet, tap and jazz. They loved the new variety of classes and all of the beautiful costumes they got to wear at their recital. They met many new friends as well. Mia was asked to perform in the opening number which was considered for "big girls". I enjoy watching how much they have grown in their dance. They had such a great time learning their routines and performing with their classes. Recital is always the highlight of the year for them, and for us parents. Mia has advanced into the age group that no longer offers Parent Watch Week. Her dances are always such a surprise. We still get the peek at Eva's class midway through the year. Mia and Eva loved sharing dressing rooms backstage. I love to see them enjoy this together.

 



 

AWANA awards

We have added another successful AWANA year to the books. Our family loves the AWANA program. It is such an asset to our children's lives. Each child is given a handbook each year, with the goal to complete each section by the end of the year. The sections are heavy in scripture memory, but also includes introspective activities, missionary projects and devotions. I am amazed each year with just how hard our kids work to memorize scripture and complete their books. We have even had some of our kids complete bonus sections for additional honors. They love being with their friends, playing games and growing in their knowledge of the Lord. Because of this program, our children can pull from valuable scripture stored in their minds and hearts when having spiritual discussions and figuring out solutions to problems that they are experiencing. The awards ceremony is always a treat with singing and presentations from each of the 3 clubs, Cubbies, Sparks and Truth and Training (TnT). This is Eli's last year in the AWANA program and will be entering the youth program. He completed his last handbook and received the highest award for his grade, the Timothy Award. Shiloh completed the Cubbie program and moves up to the Sparks rank next year. Abe received his 2nd year award in Sparks. Eva received her Sparkie award plaque and extra credit badge. She is also moving on to the TnT club next year. Mia received the Excellence award, and both silver and gold extra credit pins. She will move into her final year of TnT. We are so proud of these kiddos!

 

Lottie Awards Day

Lottie's PreK program had its annual awards day program. She stood with all of her pod (group of 4 classrooms on the same hall) and sang songs before receiving awards. Lottie was awarded the Happy Helper awards, the Good Lil Napper award and a Good Behavior award. She also received her certificate to advance from the PreK 3 program into the PreK 4 program next year. We plan to allow Lottie to attend full-time next year, since she has adapted so well to her environment and enjoys the program so much. She has grown and excelled. We look forward to seeing her learn and grow even more next year.

 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and mothers-to-be!

Psalm 127:3-5 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."