Tim Hawkins on Homeschool

Just thought I'd share this Tim Hawkins video called, "A Homeschool Family." Love it!!! And by the way, Tim Hawkins' kids are homeschooled.

Click on the link and then click on the video, "A Homeschool Family."

http://timhawkins.net/video.php

Kindergarten/ Preschool Pics

I thought we might start a new tradition in our family. I'm thinking that every new school year, we will take the girls to an old schoolhouse and take a picture of them. There are some around here in Iberia. So those will cover our pictures for a few years. Then, as the girls get older, we can help them search for schoolhouses in other towns. I think its a pretty neat idea, myself. Plus, we managed take a few more pics while we were out. Actually, like 60 pictures. Here are 5 of those 60.

Molly will just not stop growing!

Leah loves to play with Molly.

And I think Molly likes Leah too!

School Days

I said I would post some pics of our trip to the Tuscumbia bridge demolition. So, here they are.

BEFORE THE DYNAMITE...

AFTER THE DYNAMITE ! ! !

Here, Lexie is working on handwriting while Mary Ellen is trying to take a peek. Leah is reading in the background.

We checked out some audio books this week at the library. Needless to say, the girls have really enjoyed them. And it helps me out too! While one is listening to the books, I can work with the other on another subject. Pretty sweet!

I thought I would post some of their art work. I found this book online this year and wanted to get it for the girls. It's titled DRAW WRITE NOW. It teaches how to draw farm animals step-by-step, as you can see the book in the pic. The upper left hand drawing is Leah's and the upper right hand drawing is Lexie's. The girls helped me with the one on the bottom. Every week we learn how to draw a new animal and then at the end of the week, we go back and review the previous animals. So, obviously we are up to 3 animals. Before long, we'll have the whole farm!

Stories of Leah Grace

Leah was pretending that she was the pilot of an airplane.

Our neighbor friends buried Leah in the sand!

We recently went to a Benefit for a local family. They had a carnival and the girls really enjoyed the games. This mask was one of the prizes that Leah won. Too cute!

I took these pics last night of Leah. She is wearing Lexie's ballerina p.j.s. We were so shocked when she walked into the kitchen like this. If you know our Leah, then you know that this is absolutely amazing. She is typically dressed in ball shorts and a t-shirt. She does NOT like the color pink at all! And to top it off, she did some twirls for the camera!

Back 2 Piano Practice 4 Lexie

Lexie starts her piano lessons back today after the summer break. She has been practicing during our school hours and she amazes me. Even though it's been a while since she's really practiced, she just picked it right back up like she never was away from it. She also informed me that when I take her to Mrs. Terri's house today, that I can just drop her off and come back to get her later. Ha! I thought that was pretty funny. Doesn't she think she's all grown up? Only our little Lexie!

A Story @ our Lexie

Last night, while I was getting Molly and Mary Ellen ready for church, Lexie came running into the house, excited about something. She told me that there was a girl outside who needed air in her bicycle tire. Lexie knew that we could help her because Daddy had just bought a new air pump. Plus, she had seen me use it earlier in the day on the double stroller. Anyway, I told her I would be out as soon as I could to help the girl.

When I finally got outside, Lexie called for the girl to come over. I thought it was pretty sweet, she said, "My mom will help you!" And I did. I fixed her tires and we started to talk. Come to find out, the girl had 6 siblings. I asked if they were going to church anywhere. She said they weren't. So... I invited them, and to make this story a bit shorter.... they came to church last night! All 7 of them! They were from ages 6 to 12. And the good news is, they had a great time and want to come back on Sunday! I'm so excited!

So, please pray for us as we endeavor to reach out to this family.

And by the way, I'm pretty proud of my little Lexie for wanting to help a neighbor in need. It is usually Leah who is wanting to help others. But we have been striving as a family to teach the 2nd Greatest Commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself!

Old Tuscumbia Bridge Demolished! And we were there!

On Tuesday of this week, we took a little "field trip" to Tuscumbia, about 20 minutes from Iberia. We watched MODOT demolish the "old Tuscumbia" bridge. This bridge is about 75 years old and we drove on it quite often. A new bridge was recently completed right beside the old one. We are thankful for the new one, especially since it is much wider than the old one!

Below is a link to MODOT's video of the demo. We did not have this kind of a view. I will post pics soon of the view that we had.

http://www.youtube.com/user/modotvideo#p/u/0/O747IY-hPGw

Neighborhood Fun!

The other day, the girls enjoyed being outside with their neighbor friends.

Here they are with their friend, Journi.

Mary Ellen actually pulled Johnny and Molly in the wagon.

She thought she was "real strong."

Sweet Molly Ann!

Big Sister Leah and little Molly in the wagon.

Big Sister Mary Ellen and Molly before their wagon ride.