Enter to win a Smart Charger! (and help kids get involved with charities)

Energizer launched a new campaign this year to help raise money for charity, and kids are the ones helping to raise the funds! This campaign, Kids Take Charge, is a video campaign where kids can let others know what happens when their favorite toys/games don't have the "power" (a.k.a. battery juice) in them anymore.
Kids(with their parent’s help) can submit a video of them explaining what happens – what mischief they get into - when their toys run out of power. Creativity is very important with these videos, and the top ten finalists will be asked to pick a charity. Then Energizer will post their video at Energizer.com/recharge along with their charity name and the more “likes” their video gets the bigger portion of a $10,000 donation their charity receives. The parents, of course, will have to submit the videos – it’s the rules – but the first 250 will get a free Smart Charger!
So film them explaining the monkey business that can ensue……and why the Smart Charger is the smart solution. If it’s as funny or as cute as the clips you can view here, you could be one of 10 that will win a cash donation for your favorite charity.
HOW TO ENTER
Film a video – 60 seconds or less – of your child explaining what happens when their toy runs out of battery power (have fun with it!)
Include why the Smart Charger is a good way to keep batteries charged and toys working, or show a “Take Charge or Else” sign like the one in the video (download it here or get creative and make one yourself)
Upload your video to www.youtube.com and include #recharge in the title
Click on the ENTER HERE and enter the required information
***Win It!!***
PLUS, If you leave a comment on this posting, You could enter to win a Smart Charger here as well! Energizer has offered to sponsor a giveaway for my readers!
To enter:
1. Leave a comment about which video at www.energizer.com/recharge is your favorite within the YouTube Comment section and comment here about what you commented on.
And/Or…
2. Tweet the following: First 250 to submit a video in the Kids Take Charge contest get a free @Energizer #Recharge Smart Charger: www.energizer.com/recharge
For five extra entries:
1. Submit a video to the Energizer Kids Take Charge contest and post your link within my comment section!
This contest will end on May 5th, 2010...and this contest is open to bloggers/non-bloggers of the United States.

I was contacted directly by Energizer, who asked me for my participation in posting this information. I was sent a Smart Charger for in exchange for posting a review, and offered this giveaway for my readers as mentioned above. I was not compensated for my time or written review.

Fun pictures of the kiddos, updates...what is NEW!!

It has been way too long since I have posted a "personal" blog post. I am sorry about that, but really...life has been busy around our house. I have been really enjoying my children, and time on the computer has been less these days. I know that I need to blog about my life, my kids, our experiences we go through, and I am going to really try to do that more. I know that I have friends and family that check my blog for updates, and I have been slacking. My kids change constantly, and I want to journal their lives on my site. So, here are some recent photos of my adorable children.

Caleb sometimes gets creative with his food. This is a picture of a spinach leaf dressed in black olives. Caleb is really growing lately, and I can't seem to feed him enough. He must be going through a growth spurt...or something. I will feed him (lots) and less than a hour later he is asking me about a snack. So, I just assume he is in a growing stage. Caleb has been talking a lot about God, Jesus, and Heaven lately. I love his curiosity and awe. He is so inquisitive and bright. Caleb's conversations are enlightening and he is really fun to converse with. He has some great thoughts and ideas, and he has an impressive memory! If we need to remember something, we tell Caleb because he will remind us.

He always keeps us laughing with the things he says, still. His favorite things to do currently is playdoh, reading books, doing arts, playing his Leapster and watching Shaun the Sheep videos.

Madelyn is almost two, and loves to follow Caleb around. She loves to copy him and keep up with what he is doing. She is a princess, girly-girl and is really enjoying her dolls, make-up (pretend), her purse, kitchen/dishes set and fingernail polish. She is really learning a lot and her vocabulary is daily expanding. She can count to twenty easily, and knows most of her colors and shapes. She amazes me with what she knows. Madelyn loves to be cuddled, held, and really craves to have her love tank filled with closeness. I could never get too many hugs, so I am totally loving that she craves that. Madelyn is a petite little girl. She currently weighs #25 pounds. She will have her 3 year check up next month.

Madelyn currently loves to play with her dolls, reading, coloring, playdoh, doodle pad, and anything Caleb is doing. She is consistently making comments on how she wants to be in gymnastics and be an ice skater. I really think that she would be good at those two sports because she is very flexible, small frame, and loves to dance. We shall see...

Nathaniel is currently back in the public school as a fifth grader. He LOVES his teacher, and she is amazing. She is a big believer in children learning, not just getting a good grade. If her students get problems wrong, she gives them a chance to correct their work for credit. I think that is a great teacher! She has said to me that Nathaniel is a delight to have in class. She loves how he is so polite and has such great conversational skills. She says that he brightens his day and makes it special. That makes me so proud as a Mom. I think Nathaniel is very thoughtful and has such a big heart. Nathaniel is at the point that his friends are really important to him, and he would love to spend a great portion of his time with his friends. I think Nathaniel is entering the puberty stage, because he is growing lots, has the "growing pains," and goes through spurts of eating/not eating much. He excels in his studies and he is doing super in school.

Currently Nathaniel loves to read (the bigger/challenging book, the better), trading pokemon cards, playing video games, and building with his Bionicles/Legos. Terry and him really enjoy double video gaming on the computers, too...playing Age of Empire.
Cole is a very happy, and very funny 1 year old. I am seeing so much similarities between Cole and Nathaniel, when Nathaniel was little. Cole loves to smile, and if he is crying...it is because he is really hurt (feelings or physically). Cole is practically running and he loves to climb up on EVERYTHING! I haven't had a climber yet until Cole, so he keeps me on my toes. One time I was in the bedroom putting the kid's clothes away and Cole was talking away. Soon I heard Cole yell out something and I look to see where he is. He was at the top of the ladder to the top bunk! It freaked me out! He loves to climb. So, if you come to our house and see all the dining room chairs away from the table, it is our defense to keep Cole off the table. :) Cole loves music and dancing. If there is music, Cole tries to sing, bobs his head and dances around. He finishes our phrases, like when I sing, "Happy Birthday," he says, "to YOU!" It is adorable. He can wave bye-bye, blows and gives kisses (mouth open), points to everything, says quite a few phrases, and loves to greet Dad when he gets home from work. He tries to keep up with Caleb and Madelyn, so I feel like my baby is growing up too quickly. I am wrapping up with nursing, so that is a change for him and I.

Caleb loves to pose and then he says, "Take a picture of me doing this!"

Caleb and Madelyn posing. Are they trying to be spiderman poses? Too bad Cole wasn't turned around for the picture.

Madelyn in her pose to mimic Caleb's. They are two peas in a pod.

Caleb just relaxing...

I really like this picture of Nathaniel. He is really changing lately...growing into manhood. He will be getting braces this year, sometime. At his last Orthodontist appointment he was told to get three teeth out. The Doctor said, "Be one with the wiggle." Nathaniel and I thought that was funny and clever. He achieved the goal, and now he is ready for the work to be done. (we aren't ready for the bill yet, though).
Cole consistently has a smile on his face. He can be a little shy when he meets someone for the first time, and he is more of a mama's boy right now. But with a little warming up, he loves to be with people...especially other kids.

I love this picture of my wonderful children. It is a challenge to get a picture of all the kids looking and smiling. I love that I am their mom, and that God specifically chose me to be their mom. I am so thankful for them!

Updates around our house:
I have been really behind with "milestones" for my sweet little guy. I missed his 9 month check up...it was 10 1/2 months. I missed his 12 month check up, it was 13 months (he is #22) and I didn't have an actual birthday party for him...plus I have yet to post a ONE YEAR blog post for him. It is my priority this week. I tell you...I don't love him less or think he is less important, I just have been so busy with life. We did celebrate his birthday with my mother-in-law and our family up North, but timing around his birthday was crazy busy. We are planning on celebrating Madelyn and Cole's birthday together next month, though.

We have our house on the market and we are planning (hoping) on moving. We don't have concrete plans for when we move, but we would like to implement a camp ground business.

We have been going to a different church and we are totally loving it and growing in our relationship with God. God is totally at work in our lives and he is using this church in HUGE ways! Today, Terry and I renewed our vows, along with 100+ other couples. Our church did a wedding after one of the talks this weekend, and then the renewing of vows took place! It was awesome!! I will have to write more about it soon. I just want to say Thank You God!

Well, since it is after midnight I should get to bed. I am trying to get to bed on a decent time because I know it is healthier to get my rest.

Build-A-Bear Workshop and the Huggable Heroes Program (Contest)!

Each year for the past seven years, Build-A-Bear Workshop, through its Huggable Heroes program, has searched for and recognized young leaders who make positive contributions in their communities or around the world. This year, ten Huggable Heroes, between the ages of 8 and 18, from the United States and Canada, will be selected and honored for their good deeds. Each of the ten Huggable Heroes will receive a prize worth $10,000 ($7,500 in the form of an educational scholarship and $2,500 from the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation to be donated to the 501(c)(3) charity of each Huggable Hero’s choice). In addition, the Huggable Heroes will win a trip for themselves and a parent to St. Louis, the home of Build-A-Bear Workshop World Bearquarters! During their visit, the 2010 Huggable Heroes will meet each other, be honored for their good deeds and participate in a photo shoot for the 2011 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Heroes Calendar.

Projects have ranged from helping children in underdeveloped countries to supporting cancer and diabetes research, organizing toy drives and sending care packages to our troops overseas. Past Huggable Heroes have included such inspiring young people as:
Patrick Pedraja, 13, of Palm Harbor, Fla., who helped add 15,000 new donors to the National Marrow registry and raised $160,000 to support the effort. Patrick demonstrated uncommon creativity and entrepreneurship by selling ads on his bald head and by speaking to groups and businesses to encourage others to get involved.
Mimi Ausland, 12, of Bend, Ore., who created two Web sites to help collect donations to feed homeless dogs and cats in animal shelters across the country.
And Katie Stagliano, 10, of Summerville, S.C., who started “Launch Katie’s Dream” to help see to it that no child goes hungry. She plants vegetable gardens and donates the harvests to soup kitchens and organizations that help feed those in need.

Entries are being accepted through February 26, 2010 at Build-A-Bear Huggable Heroes or by picking up an entry form at a participating Build-A-Bear Workshop store in the United States and Canada.

About Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is the leading and only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. Founded in 1997, the Company and its franchisees currently operate more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. In 2007, the interactive experience was enhanced - all the way to CyBEAR™ space - with the launch of buildabearville.com®, the company’s virtual world stuffed with fun. The company was named to the 2009 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $468 million in fiscal 2008. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company’s award-winning Web site at buildabear.com ®.

Halloween around here...

We didn't really know what to do this year with Halloween. It really depends on the weather here in MN, but this year wasn't too bad for temperature. We spent the morning at home doing different things that needed to be done. Here are a few photos that I took a few days before Halloween. My kids love dressing up, and it is (almost) a daily fun activity for them.

Madelyn is in her purple unicorn outfit. She got this costume from my friend, Lisa, from a garage sale special find. It is so warm and cozy, and Madelyn loves it!
Here is Nathaniel in the pirate hat, and one of his new favorite shirts from Terry. (hand-me-down)
Cole is wearing the Jo-Jo hat. I know it is a girl's hat in the show, but it looks cute on him!

After that, we helped some friends move to their new home. We got home about 5:30, and our kids were tired. However, they still wanted to go treat-hunting. We had considered bringing them to a local church party (games, outdoor petting zoo, outdoor blow up jumpy-thingy...etc.) but we had come home too late for that. We got the kids in their costumes, and went to a local neighborhood.
Cole was super happy that night, and he was in a warm costume as Pooh Bear. I have to say that I was excited about this find...$1.25 at Savers! That was a great deal, and he can now play "dress-up" with the kids.
Isn't he a cute little Pooh Bear? Caleb and Madelyn had a lot of fun, too. They picked out their duds.
Caleb was a jester/clown and Madelyn was the "itsy, bitsy spider." Maddie's costume was a little too small, but she insisted that she wore that one. We did hand-me-down costume attire this year.

The owner of this home was all dressed up as Princess Leia, from Star Wars. I thought her costume was superb!

It was a fun night out with the little ones. Nathaniel was with his dad this year. I am not sure how it worked out, but he has only been at his dad's one other Halloween in his life. Nathaniel had wanted to be with us this year because his best friend was going to have his birthday party/celebration. But, his dad said no, because he wanted to have him for trick-or-treating after all these years. I really had no clue that it was that important to his dad, or I would have offered to make it work out for him to be able to have that time with Nathaniel. Nothing I can do about that now. At least he had a good time.

The kids had so much fun, and enjoyed walking around in their costume. It was fun to hear them saying the 'ol phrase, and then thanking the home owner. After about 15 homes, the kids were getting tired and cold. So, we packed them up and headed home. In the car, I had smelt something...so I asked Terry, "Did you give the kids candy?" He said he didn't, and then he asked the kids...

Terry: "Are you guys eating candy?"
Caleb: "I'm not eating any."
Madelyn: "I am!" (Have to love her honesty there!) ~LOL

We get home and Madelyn had about 4 wrappers/candy around her. It was pretty funny.We started to undress the kids from their costumes and get them in their jammies when the doorbell rings and knocks come on the front door. I had turned our outside light off, and it was evident we were not participating in the giveaway. Still the middle-school age kids lingered, so I hollered that we weren't handing any candy out. They left. Terry told me to just stay out of sight while he put the kids to bed. So, our house was completely black. I was in the basement talking to my aunt. About 10 minutes go by, and we get another banging on the door. I wait. Then, more banging. Seriously? I couldn't believe that they knocked the first time, but 2 times? So, I head up stairs, and call for Terry. I hear the kids laughing and talking loud. So, not only did they rudely go to a dark home, knock 2 TIMES!~ they hang out waiting...loitering! So, Terry opened the door and told them to go. I was furious to say the least. I can't believe how rude their behavior was. Anyway, the kids had fun, and I wanted to share the photos.

Sleepy Bear from Sleepy Wrap

I love the Sleepy Wrap for "wearing" my babies! I have found it to be the most comfortable wrap for me and my babies while I carry them around! Baby wearing is such a great way to not only provide comfort and protection to your babies and children, it is a great way to free up your hands for other tasks. I fully agree that babies are a lot happier when they are close to their parents after birth, so when you carry them in a wrap/sling/pouch, they are way more content. Sleepy Wrap carries one of the best wraps, in my opinion. Their fabric is stretchy, and fits most all body shapes. The colors that they offer for their wraps are multi-colored, so moms and dads can both feel comfortable wearing them. I love that I can wear my babies in the Sleepy Wrap, have a happy/content baby, and "save" my back from pains with the distribution of weight with the wrap. Well, Sleepy Wrap /NAP, Inc. recently introduced The Sleepy Bear, their very first stuffed toy to help promote baby wearing. I love this new little addition, and so do my children:
Madelyn loves the little Sleepy Bear. This adorable, cream-colored and 100% organic-filled bear is so soft and cuddly. The bear is wearing an Organic Khaki Sleepy Wrap and is baby wearing the baby bear. You can get the same Organic Khaki Sleepy Wrap from the Sleepy Wrap website for your baby wearing, too. It is an adorable stuffed animal, and I love that it promotes baby wearing. The Sleepy Bear is the first stuffed toy to promote babywearing! Plus, I love that this bear is safe with material it is made and filled with. I don't have to worry about my youngest getting his hands on a choking hazard while playing with the Sleepy Bear either, because it isn't made with any buttons or snaps. The Sleepy Bear's eyes, nose, and mouth are all stitched on so that my baby's little hands won’t have anything to pull off. That is reassuring!

Madelyn gives lots of kisses and hugs to her new bear. She loves the little baby inside the wrap, too. I wore Madelyn in many pouches/wraps/slings and loved "wearing" her! The Sleepy Wrap is our favorite wrap, especially for a long day at the zoo. She loves being held, cuddled and carried, so she is a big-time promoter of baby wearing, too!

The Sleepy Bear has found a good home here. I highly recommend this adorable and cuddly bear! Our children can see the baby wearing idea, and know that it is a great thing! Plus, they can see that their Sleepy Bear loves to wear it's baby, too!

These adorable, baby wearing, stuffed animals are only available from these retailers for a SRP of $29.95:

Tadpoles & Butterflies

Sherwood Park, Alberta CANADA

info@tadpoles.cahttp://www.tadpoles.ca/

1.888.312.6554 S

Supermommy’s Superstore

2411 Ring Road, Suite 105

Elizabethtown, KY

accounts@supermommyssuperstore.comhttp://www.supermommyssuperstore.com/ 270.769.6693

Sweet Infant

1007 S. Country Club Rd.

Lovington, NM

support@sweetinfant.comhttp://www.sweetinfant.com/

575.441.3005

Nurtured Family

8525 Jackrabbit Rd., Suite B

Houston, TX

support@nurturedfamily.comhttp://www.nurturedfamily.com/

832.239.5140

Heavenly Hold

510 Briarfield Crossing

Marietta, GA

amber@heavenlyhold.comhttp://www.heavenlyhold.com/

404.849.5394

Baby Carriers-n-More

265 W Cimmarron Way

Erda, UT

robyn@babycarriersnmore.comhttp://www.babycarriersnmore.com/

801.671.5740

Attached to Baby

Seattle, WA

sara@attachedtobaby.comhttp://www.attachedtobaby.com/

800.887.1461

Thanks to Parent Reviewers, I was given a Sleepy Bear to review for my article.

My kids!!! I love 'em SO much!!

I wanted to share some random photos that I took about a month ago... I think they are so cute~ of coarse they are of my four kids...THE CUTEST kids in the world!

Cole~ he is so happy and good-natured! He is currently crawling (and fast), and pulling himself up on things. He is pretty proud of himself. He "grew out" of the Amby Baby hammock and he is almost out-grown from the swing (sniff, sniff). He has officially graduated out of the bassinet, and is now in the crib (when not in our bed). He is eating baby cereal, and we grind up a lot of food with our Food Mill, too. We aren't too concerned with giving him lots of variety with his foods. He started clapping about a month ago, but now he can make the clapping sounds~ TOO CUTE! He also can go from crawling, laying on his stomach, to sitting up. It is so amazing how fast he is going these days! Cole just turned 7 months old. My baby is getting so big!

Caleb loves to dress up in the super hero ninja outfit. He is so funny, and keeps us laughing. He loves to draw people ~himself~ with crayons and chalk. He loves to play outside, and ride his bike. We really should take off those training wheels and let him go. He is my "ping-pong" ball, as I call him, because he is always on the go and loves to be doing something. He loves to learn new things, and can't wait for home school to start. He will be a pre-schooler this year. Caleb just finished Soccer with Community Ed. He really enjoyed the sport, and learned some great aspects/skills for the game. He is a sports nut, and we are going to let him try different ones to see which ones he likes best. It is good for him to put some energy into his sporting likes.

Future Fire fighter? If he has anything to say about it, Yes...he will! He wants to be like Dad!

So excited and full of expression!

Want a cowboy hat on? Ummm...not so much!

How about Dr. Seuss? This one is so cute on you!

Nathaniel has been really enjoying his summers. He is really getting into the "social years" with his friends. I think he has spent more time hanging out with his friends then he has at home. That is OK. I know that those friendships are so important! Nathaniel really enjoys being outside catching frogs, toads, salamanders, worms...you name it. He has always enjoyed the outside creatures that God has made. He has a pet Salamander~ "Sally" that he has had in an aquarium for 4 years. Nathaniel also enjoys his Pokemon cards, game boy, and his other video games. We also really enjoy our family game nights. Mostly it is Nathaniel, Terry and I playing the games after the little ones go to sleep. this is great one on one time that we get with Nathaniel. I will be homeschooling Nathaniel again this year, and we are looking forward to a good year, and the may Lord be with us! :)

Need a court jester? Caleb fits the position excellently!

I love this photo of Madelyn and Caleb.

She is all girl, through and through! She can run in heels! She loves her dress up clothes and shoes! Thanks to my friend, Anna, she has put many hours into this basket of fun! Madelyn is 2 1/2 and she is such a sweet little girl. She is so loving and sweet. Her love language is very much : Touch. She loves being held, cuddled, hugged, kissed, and she is our nightly co-sleeper. She is getting the last of her baby teeth (finally) and she is growing everyday. She is very petite but she holds her place in this family. She loves playing with Caleb, and doing art projects. She is my little organizer (I think). When she is playing with her toys or dolls, she lines them up all in a row. I always know if she was playing with something...especially crayons or blocks. Madelyn just finished gymnastics. She loved it so much! I think she was meant to do gymnastics. Funny story: We were finishing up the class one night, and I asked the instructor if she could do the splits and show Maddie. (Obviously I can't do them...LOL). Anyway, the instructor was showing her and started to go down to the mat. So, Madelyn copies her, but instead Madelyn goes all the way down into a Chinese Splits! We couldn't believe it! She is a peanut, flexible, and spunky. She is my princess~

Speaking of...

Caleb was cracking me up today, and good thing because when he wasn't saying something funny, he was getting himself into T.R.O.U.B.L.E with a capitol "T."

This morning while we were eating breakfast, Nathaniel made a comment about the very un-nutritious cereal they were eating.

Nathaniel: "They say that cereal has Vitamin D and Vitamin C in it, but if you eat too much you get a stomach ache." I told him it was misguided information and not correct. The company likes to put that on the box so it can look good to the consumer.

Then Caleb says, "Hey Mom, speaking of vitamin C, could I have a vitamin, please?"

Later on this morning, we were down stairs and Caleb said he was a candy eater. (I am not sure how that came up). Anyway, he pipes up, "Speaking of candy, can I have some candy, please?"

Then, we went over to Candace's house to babysit Claudia, and we were playing with the kid kitchen "play food." Madelyn handed me a cloth "pretend" piece of cheese. I said, "This is cheese. Can you do the sign for cheese?"

Caleb says, "Speaking of cheese, I think it is time to have some supper."

It was so funny! I am not sure where he got it from, but I am loving it! I told Terry about it when he got home, and he said that Caleb did that one other time, too, and it was pretty funny.

OH, Speaking of funny (ha ha), well...kind of weird. Yesterday, we had a flying visitor in our three season porch yesterday. Caleb and Maddie called me into the living room to see what was in there. We had a bird in our porch. Our screen door is currently broken (kind of). So, with it being cracked open slightly, and the wind blowing....the bird rose to the occasion to pay us a visit. It was pretty freaked out. I finally got it to go over to the door to make bail, but the poor little thing probably had mild heart attacks.

Here are some fun new things.... and some fun facts of my darling children!

Madelyn loves playing dress-up, and this is one of her favorite costumes. Thanks goes out to my dear friend, Anna, for the clothes she gave us!
I have the Tupperwear ball with all the shapes (love this toy!!) and Madelyn is really enjoying the challenges right now. I am impressed with her skills at putting the shapes into the correct spot. She even knows when the shape isn't quite in the correct angle, she needs to move it one way or the other to make it fit. I think that is impressive for being just "newly" two years old. She also likes to line up her crayons in a row, nicely and organized. I am not sure what the "experts" would classify this as, but I think it is adorable that she likes to line up the crayons.
Caleb makes a great head, body, legs and arms when drawing a person. He even draws the eyes, nose and mouth. I scheduled him for his pre-school screening in a few weeks, and I know that a person is something that they need to try drawing. So, when we had his birthday party (which I still need to blog, ahem....) I was drawing a person on the sidewalk in chalk. So, I called Caleb over and just showed him what a person needs. He was all excited and started drawing people. Now, when we are coloring or drawing, he is making people. He made a great looking person today over at Candace's house. He wanted Candace to have it, so it had to stay there. Caleb loves climbing trees so much, too! He also loves to "pee" outside on the trees, too. There is something about going outside that is so much fun!
Cole tries to sit up now. He will sit for a few minutes before he starts leaning over to one side. He loves to laugh at his brother, Caleb, who thoroughly loves getting him to giggle. It is so precious. Cole is drooling like crazy, and has been more spit-upy (I know it isn't a word, but it works). So, I am thinking he may be working on teeth. I could be totally wrong, though, because I think that with every kid, and I am usually calling that one too early. Cole loves his Jumperoo from Fisher-Price (totally the best jumper) and his exersauser ~which he can walk around in circles (another totally cool baby item). I had Cole in for his 4 month check up a couple of weeks ago, now. (told you I am behind a bit with blogging). He was 4 months and two weeks for his visit. He was just over #13 pounds and ranking the 88% percentile for his height. I don't have all the calculations here at my desk, but I was impressed with his growth and where he fit in the national percentiles....not that I weigh too much on the stats. He is a happy and healthy (big) boy.

Nathaniel came back from visiting his dad this weekend, and he creatively made a bow and arrow~ BY HAND! He carved a stick, removing all the bark, and formed it into a bow. Then, he shaved another stick down into an arrow. He said he had a fun time working on it. His Dad helped with the arrow, he said. It is pretty impressive, and of coarse, I had to take pictures of him with it. I think he was pretty proud of it, and he should be. I think home school has been a great start to his educational road to learning. :)
Isn't he handsome? He is getting so tall and growing so much! I can tell he is nearing the puberty stages. They already watched "THE MOVIE," as he calls it. It is a movie where they talk about the changes boys/girls go through when they reach puberty. I know they show this because many don't get the information from their parents, but I do think that parents should be the source of teaching these life lessons. So, we had some talks about all that.
Nathaniel only has 2 more days of school for the end of the school year for 4th grade. He has a field trip tomorrow (all day) and an all-school picnic with games, relays and food on Friday. He is really looking forward to summer vacation. I am really proud of him with his grades! He has done a great job bringing up his grades this year. He is challenged with spelling and essay writing, but we will work on that more in home school. I am thinking we will be homeschooling him next year. (more prayers....please pray for our direction on this). Nathaniel has scored phenomenally on his NCWA testing and MCA testing. He is in the high 90's for percentiles in Math and Reading. I am really proud of his scores, and what he has learned. I firmly believe that his 3 years of home school have greatly impacted his education and learning.

So, that is some updates. I promise to write up the blog post on Caleb's birthday (SOOOO....belated). But, I really want it to be a great post. I will also put up a contest or two tomorrow, too! Stay tuned!

I'm totally in love

My kids are so precious, and I am so thankful that God picked me to be their Mom! What a blessing! I am so blessed!
Silly Times!

My three sons.