catchin' up

Last week seemed incredibly long for some reason. Maybe because the hustle and bustle of Christmas was gone, or because we went back to our normal routine, for the most part. Whatever - by Friday, I was toast.

Last week we read "Grandfather's Journey" from Five in a Row and we are continuing with it this week. I didn't feel like we accomplished everything I had wanted to. We did talk a lot about Japan and found this neat website that is interactive. The boys enjoyed learning about the inside of a Japanese house. They also learned a little origami. They made a dog fairly easily, but the rest were a bit more complicated. I checked out a book at the library over the weekend and plan to have them try even more shapes.

We talked a lot about where Japan is located and traced the grandfather's route from Japan to California and discussed methods of transportation. We also looked at books that showed kimonos and Japanese foods. This is a fun book that ties in "How My Parents Learned to Eat" about an American man and Japanese woman learning the foods from each other's culture.

I took them on Friday on a field trip of sorts. We visited the Ocean Pacific Marketplace. This is a big Asian marketplace that sells a massive variety of foods. Per the online reviews I read, I bought a couple large sandwiches from the counter for lunch. We weren't 100% sure what was in them, but they were very good. :) All of us except Zane & Declan really liked them. And at least they tried it.

For dinner, we picked out several Japanese foods to try. Then we just ate buffet-style. I want to do more research and try different things next time. They also had a large selection of Indian foods which we all love. May have to do an Indian-themed night soon!

Conner was gone all week at the Passion conference in Atlanta. He went with the college-age group at our church and had an amazing time. He came home on Friday and I loved hearing all about it. I can tell he really was touched by his time there. He has a lot of thinking to do about what he wants next year to look like after he graduates. He has mentioned mission trips, which I think would be incredible, but we'll see where God leads him. It's so amazing to see my little boy becoming an adult -- and one I really like to be around! :)

In other news, we had a rough week emotionally with my nieces. But God has been so faithful to put people in my path who help remind me of the importance of what we're doing and to not give up. Friday was my youngest niece's birthday -- she turned 7. I made her choice for breakfast and she took cookies to school for her class. After school, she opened her presents from us and then went to her dad's for the weekend. I think she had a good birthday, I hope so.

The weekend passed by in a blur and another week is here. I hope to work on some more decluttering and continue the organizing kick I've been on.

Fall begins

I'm so happy fall is here. But unhappy that I didn't find time today to put up my decorations. Hopefully I can do that this weekend. I did buy some pretty flowers for the table and picked up some fall-related books from the library to read with the kids.

This was an interesting week, and I'm glad it's over. Scott had to report for jury duty on Monday morning and ended up being picked to serve. So he was there all week long, but found out today that he was the alternate. He was bummed that after all that, he didn't get to be part of the deliberation. By the end of the day, the jury still hadn't reached a decision, so the judge said he'd call him next week to tell him the verdict. I thought that was pretty neat of him.

Conner was at a leader's retreat for our church last weekend and came home with a cold. He felt pretty crummy all week. Thankfully, he was only scheduled for one day at Chick-fil-A so he was able to rest more than usual. Declan was sick with a stomach bug last week, and now Zane seems to have it. We have been really healthy around here for awhile now, so I guess we were due.

In our preschool studies , we continued with Five in a Row. This week's book was Lentil. We talked about our senses, so we did a taste test and sampled things salty, sweet, sour and bitter. In the book, Lentil learns to play the harmonica so I found some at the dollar store for the three younger boys. They were surprised to find out that it's harder to play one than they thought.

For some reason Aiden talked me into buying a coconut while we were out shopping so Chase spent a long time opening it and then they used all parts of it. They drank the water, made coconut milk, ate the meat and even reused the shell as a cup for smoothies.

Liam is turning 4 months next week and I can hardly believe it. The newborn stage seems to disappear faster with each child. He really prefers being upright, so we brought in his activity jumper. He seems to really like it.

He must have worn himself out playing, because when Brenna took him in her room to play with him, he fell fast asleep on her bed. Right in the middle of her schoolwork, stuffed animals and the cat. Haha

I entered a giveaway on a blog a few weeks back and actually won. Today I received in the mail a "busy mom's gift basket" for the car. It's from bp and had a travel mug, insulated tumbler, first aid kit, air freshener, tire gauge, umbrella, and several other items. There were also 2 gas gift cards that I gave to Conner. It was a nice way to end the week.