Year Seven - Year End Review

Happy whole-hand-plus-two-fingers-on-your-other-hand birthday, my favorite little be-dimpled Bear!

Are you ready for your Top 10 lists? Well are you? ARE YOU?

Good.

Top 10 Things You Love:

1. Natalie
2. Soccer
3. Pizza, noodles, rice, cheeseburgers, and any and all things sweet and dessert-y
4. Babies
5. Legos
6. Sonic Dash on the Kindle
7. Your school
8. Dude Perfect YouTube videos
9. Things. Quality things, cheap things, free things - you like things.
10. Your suit. (Ladies love a sharp-dressed fella).

Top 10 Things You Don't Love:

1. Anything that doesn't fall into the Pizza, noodles, rice, cheeseburgers, and any and all things sweet and dessert-y category. The same boy who can take 40 minutes to eat a cup of broccoli can inhale a cup of ice cream in mere seconds.
2. The dark
3. Being alone upstairs when it's dark
4. Bugs and spiders (The Great Yellowjacket Infestation of 2014 has convinced you that every living thing smaller than your thumb has a killer agenda)
5. Dogs (The Scary Dog Encounter of 2015 has convinced you that all dogs are terrifying)
6. Coloring (anytime I give you a worksheet that requires you to color, you immediately melt down in your chair until you're a giant boy-sized puddle under the table)
7. A harsh tone. (Your sensitivity is one of your best qualities)
8. Unfairness. (if Natalie get a few minutes on the Kindle while you were playing Legos, you immediately complain that you didn't get the same Kindle time. If I've said it once, I've said it a trillion times - IN THIS HOUSE, FAIR DOES NOT MEAN EQUAL)
9. Hot weather
10. Doing your laundry (too bad for you; clean clothes are delightful)

Top 10 Things You're Good At:

1. Encouragement (More than once, I've seen you help up a fellow soccer player, regardless of what team he/she is on. And more than once, you've come over to me and patted my back when I've had a migraine. You're a natural, kid.)
2. Getting sweaty regardless of the temperature (your poor pillow has a permanent sweat/salt halo around your head while you sleep ...)
3. Math (Again, you're a natural)
4. Handwriting (even though you complain about writing so much, you have really nice handwriting. You're welcome, by the way.)
5. Putting an outfit together (you put the rest of us to shame on Sundays ... we wear regular clothes and you come downstairs in a three-piece suit. Like, literally. You're stylish to the point where you've asked for suspenders, a top hat, and a pocket silk for Christmas. I've even seen you check yourself out in the bathroom mirror and declare, "Man! I look GOOD!")
6. Driving your poor sister crazy
7. Praying (your prayers always include safe travels for Daddy, if we end up eating dinner before he gets home - and prayers for kids without any mommies or daddies.)
8. Winning games you have no business winning (you've bankrupted the three of us on more than one occasion in Monopoly ... what makes it worse is that your business strategy is deciding to buy properties based on if you like the property's color or like the way the name sounds, not if it makes good financial sense ... and you land on Free Parking a freakishly high number of times)
9. Hoarding your treasures. (Your bedside table is full of rocks, old phones, a few leaves, a broken action figure, the top of a plastic water bottle, some string, a battery or two, a hotel room key. And if I suggest that maybe you clean out your drawer, you're all, "No! This is my good stuff!")
10. Making people laugh (you = big ol' ham)

Top 10 Things You're Not Good At:

1. Hanging up your shirts neatly. (it's one of those things that I don't feel is a battle worth fighting. Your shirts are on a hanger; they're just not evenly spread out over the entire hanger.)
2. Problem solving (because it's more fun to come to me and announce that you can't reach the potato chips instead of just dragging the stool over to the pantry so you can reach the shelf with the potato chips.)
3. Losing (Oh, the pouting! And the whining! And the tears!)
4. Staying focused on any task that's not building Legos or eating anything that doesn't fall into the Pizza, noodles, rice, cheeseburgers, and any and all things sweet and dessert-y category.
5. Nuclear Physics. I really thought you'd have nailed this by age seven.
6. Keeping your tongue in your mouth when you do anything athletic.
7. Not sounding like a high-pitched fire alarm when you get tickled. (For the love of our ears, please lower the decibel level.)
8. Taking the time to look for a specific Lego piece. (I hear everything from "I lost it" to "I must have sold it" to "I think I left it at church")
9. RECOGNIZING THAT THE FOOD I COOK IS DELICIOUS, DARN IT.
10. Slam-dunking on a regulation hoop

Oh my boy, how I love any excuse to celebrate you. You exude joy, silliness, and kindness. You love both people and solitude.  You seem just as content to play with your friends as you do to play Legos by yourself. Speaking of Legos, you're remarkably able to think of an idea and, within mere minutes, produce the Lego-fied version of that idea. Your creations always have stories associated with them - the minifigures all have names and back stories; the houses are always thoughtfully designed to appeal to its children occupants; the vehicles are usually on an important mission.

You come up with some of the best, most random questions I've ever heard. I've compiled a list of some of my favorites that you've asked throughout the year. 

• What if there was a restaurant that just served pickle skin?
• Is there a bathroom in heaven?
• What if someone built a bridge that could hold 100,050 cars at once?
• Do fish have tongues?
• How many kilograms are in a second?
• What if there were bathrooms in elevators?
• What if a crocodile played Pie Face?

You're growing like a weed, and if I were a bettin' lady, I bet you'd surpass your sister in height before you're nine. This obviously displeases your sister greatly, though SHE WILL ALWAYS BE OLDER (anytime she says that, she hollers it, hence the all caps). I'm often asked if the two of you are twins or if you're the older one, and this infuriates Natalie to no end. She can't fathom how people could think she's the younger one. You're both blessed/cursed with my baby face, so you both should get ready for an incorrect estimation of your age for the rest of your life. 

I often pray that this ol' world wouldn't harden your sweet spirit. Based on my unprofessional opinion, being a boy in 2018 comes with some unique obstacles. BE TOUGH, some say. Or, TOUGHNESS MAKES YOU A NEANDERTHAL; BE SENSITIVE. Or, ONLY MEN KNOW ANYTHING; GIRLS ARE HELPLESS, SO TREAT THEM AS SUCH. Or, GIRLS RULE THE WORLD; BOYS ARE THE SOURCE OF EVERYTHING WRONG WITH THE WORLD.

Oh, how I pray these skewed messages don't seep into your heart and mind.

Manliness is not simply being tough and athletic, nor does the presence of sensitivity mean there's an absence of manliness. Manliness also looks like comforting someone when they're hurting or sad. It looks like holding the door for your momma and sister. It looks like helping when you see a need. It looks like working hard. It looks like being courageous. It looks like being protective of the females in your life. It looks like feeling the big, sad feelings without feeling ashamed, and it looks like acknowledging that not every little hurt requires a giant response. It looks like humility. It looks like love.

It looks a lot like you, my darling boy.

Joshua 1:9  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you, and how He'll use your unique combination of qualities to be a light in this world.

I love you tremendously, my seven-year-old Bear.

Hugs and smooches,

Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for November 9, 2018:

• Ginsburg 'up and working' after fall, says nephew 
• Ty Pennington opens up about home improvement craze: ‘I’ve been told I’m an OG’ 
• Florida governor's race could be heading to recount 
• California bar shooting victims include police officer, aspiring Army service member 
• Southern California wildfire threatens 30,000 homes, forces evacuations

Summer 2018 - Recap

My dear Peach,

You are almost a month into fourth grade and I feel like this year might just be the best one yet. I changed practically everything in our curriculum and so far, the changes seem to all be for the good. 

We switched from Singapore Math to Math Mammoth. We've used Singapore since kindergarten but I never really loved it. I used it because I heard it was one of the best - and I'm sure it is - but I never felt it was a great fit for us, and I was too overwhelmed with choices to look for something different. A dear friend uses MM with her kiddos and they love it. I perused one of the workbooks and I thought it would be something you would like. Again, we're only a month into it, but you seem to like math waaaaay more this year than last year and we've had waaaaay fewer tears than this time last year. So thumbs up for MM.

We using Apologia Astronomy for science. I'm not very science-savvy (that's KK's department) but I think I'll really like this curriculum. You're building a lapbook with the information you're learning, and anything that involves coloring and crafting is A+ in your book.

History is not my jam. Like, not at all. I want to like it but, gracious, it usually just bores me to tears. And I've had quite the knack of choosing history curricula that just fed my dislike of all things history. But this year I chose Mystery of History - and I'm really liking it (cue the Hallelujah Chorus). This curriculum is broken up into four books and we're starting with the first one (duh), which begins at creation and ends at Jesus' resurrection. But it also talks about what else was happening in the world at the same time as Biblical events. This curriculum also includes various crafts and activities so this clearly gets the Natalie Seal of Approval.

Reading comprehension has often been a struggle for me. I distinctly remember taking tests with questions such as "What was the author trying to say when he wrote the following ..." And I was all, "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? IF THE AUTHOR WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING, THEN HE SHOULD HAVE JUST SAID IT. I'M NOT A DANG MIND READER." So this prompted me to introduce you to literature reviews this year. Before school began, I assumed we'd read one book a month. In reality, however, we'll probably get through two books each semester. Quality over quantity is the name of our game. We're starting with From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and using a literature review I bought from Teachers Pay Teachers. It's been a lot of fun - and it's really comprehensive. It includes vocabulary, creative writing, and recalling what you read. 

You're also in your homeschool group's Fall musical. You got the part of Gretl in The Sound of Music. I can't WAIT to see you perform. You're a natural ham (shock!) so you're really fun to watch you on stage.

You are now a bespectacled Peach. I read to you and Charlie during breakfast every day (we just finished the last Little House on the Prairie book!) and you always come around to my seat when I show you two the pictures. I thought you were just being dramatic when you said you couldn't see the pictures very well. But a doctor's checkup proved that your vision is, in fact, quite terrible. The nurse asked you to read what you could from the eye chart and out of 15 letters, you got two correct. I thought you were just joking and purposefully saying the wrong letter. Even the nurse was all, "You can't see this letter right here? This big letter?" Fast-forward a week and the optometrist confirmed that you definitely needed glasses. The next two weeks were spent trying on frames and finding something wrong with every single one of them. Too pink-ish, too purple-ish, too small, too big, too square, too round, too thick, too thin, too ugly, too old lady-ish. I finally took you to the optical department at Walmart as a last-ditch effort to find something you wouldn't hate. We hit the jackpot - we found some frames that fit your face perfectly, were the right shape (square-but-not-too-square), the right color (tortoise-shell brown), and - my personal favorite - the right price. Nine dollars. Seriously. Nine. Dollars. The first time you put them on, you squealed, "Whoa! These signs have WORDS?!? And these trees have LEAVES!? Momma, the world is so beautiful!"

And they look so natural on you that I'm not used to your face without glasses - and it's only been 10 days. And you love them, too. I could be mistaken, but I think your smile is even bigger now, now that you have your glasses.

And the world is even more beautiful when you're smiling. 

Hugs and smooches,

Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for September 1, 2018:

• John McCain remembered as father, friend, statesman who 'called on us to be better'
• USA Gymnastics coach fired 3 days after hiring
• As school year starts, FBI urges parents to use ID app in case a child goes missing
• Gladys Knight reveals that she had stage 1 breast cancer but is now 'cancer-free and grateful'
• This life-size Lego sports car is fantastic plastic

July 2018 - Recap

Man. This is NOT the house in which to forget to write a recap.

"Mommy, have you written my recap yet?"
"Mommy, will you please write my recap?"
"Mommy, how come you haven't written it yet?"
"Mommy, any progress?"
"Mommy, can I just read previous recaps?"

In your defense, I'm six months late in writing them. In my defense, teaching and grocery shopping and scrubbing the occasional toilet takes time. 

So here I sit, wracking my brain, trying to remember what happened for the first half of 2018. 

You learned some math.

You fussed over the learning the aforementioned math.

You cheered up once you understood the aforementioned math.

You were in a musical.

You want to do all the musicals now.

You handled the first time getting your blood drawn like a BOSS.

You finished the 3rd grade.

You joined a homeschool enrichment.

You want the aforementioned homeschool enrichment to start ASAP.

You went to VBS.

You went to Art Camp.

You aggravated your brother.

You played with your brother.

You aggravated him some more.

A pretty solid six months, if I do say so myself. Which I do.

You hate not being awesome at things. I get it, I really do. One of my prayers for you is that you find beauty in the struggle - not just a math struggle, but in all kinds of struggles. There is much to learn while you're in the thick of a valley. You learn tenacity, you learn patience, you learn humility. And one of the gifts of homeschooling you is that I get to watch you learn these things (and see the light bulb go off!). And, simultaneously, I also learn these things myself. The learnin' don't stop when you graduate, my darling. The learnin' keeps on a'comin' even when you're old like me.

Valleys are OK. Valleys aren't to be feared or avoided at all costs. Valleys keep us scrappy. Valleys force us to look up. Valleys are where some of the sweetest life lessons are formed. Valleys makes us appreciate the hills that much more.

Performing in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was definitely a hill moment for you. You loved every bit of the 10 weeks of rehearsals and you knocked your parts out of the park. You played the reporter (who spoke to each of the kids as he/she found a Golden Ticket), a kid in the candy store during the Candy Man song, and the Head Oompa Loompa (Charlie played one of the other Oompa Loompas). During one of your reporter monologues, the audience laughed (because you're my daughter so obviously you're a hoot). The look on your face was priceless. You looked all Wait, they're laughing! They think I'm funny! THIS IS THE BEST! You ad-libbed some of your mannerisms while you were an Oompa Loompa (which, again, was met with some laughs). Your expressions were hysterical. You did so well.

After the show, you realized just who was in the audience. Your nurse came. Your Sunday School teachers came (Charlie's teachers did, too!). Three darling friends from church came - seeing them made you burst into tears. You were floored that so many people came to see you and Charlie perform. You are very loved, my theatrical peach.

Daddy and I signed you and Charlie up for a homeschool enrichment for the fall. So one day a week you both will go to 'school' all day. You'll have core classes in addition to some fun electives, like art and a home ec-type class. You're so excited about starting, especially because you know almost all the girls in your grade. It's a precious group of girls and I'm so glad you're going to be with them. Another reason you're excited to start is that you'll need a lunchbox. There are so many positives to homeschooling, but certainly one of the negatives is not needing a lunchbox. Apparently.

You just finished up a week of Art Camp. I think you assumed that it would be five days of drawing and painting and you were a little nervous when I told you that you'd learn how to use grout, how to print t-shirts, and how to make a gazing ball/cube. But in true Natalie Form, you realized that just because something was unfamiliar, it didn't mean it wasn't worth trying. (Please know this advice does NOT apply to drugs or going seatbelt-less or stealing or anything else bad) You had the best time at camp and were so excited to show us your projects at the art show after camp was over. God has absolutely blessed an artistic talent within you and I love getting to see how you use your gift. 

WHEW. There. Now you'll stop mentioning to me how I've failed at writing your recaps.

Hopefully your next one will come sooner than your 10th birthday. But I make no promises.

Hugs and smooches,

Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for July 1, 2018:

• Newspaper where 5 gunned down thanks public, affirms mission: 'We are journalists'
• Idaho apartment stabbing suspect attacked child's birthday party seeking 'vengeance' after being asked to leave, cops say
• Trump has expanded Supreme Court shortlist amid pressure from pro-choice advocates, GOP senator claims
• Notorious French criminal escapes from prison using helicopter, sparks massive manhunt around Paris
• Russia stuns Spain on penalties to reach World Cup quarterfinals
• 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' takes No 1. at the box office for the 2nd time 

2017 - Year End Review

Oh, my sweet girl,

I'm so happy you were born. I'm so happy you're in our family. I'm so happy the world gets to experience the gift of you. So with all that happiness, I give to you your Top 10 Lists.

Top 10 Things You Love:

1. Drawing
2. Singing (the soundtrack to our lives is lovingly provided by you)
3. One-on-one time (quality time is totally your love language)
4. Being tickled
5. Charlie
6. Reading (every time we go to the library, you leave with no fewer than 20 books for yourself)
7. Being read to
8. ArtForKidsHub and SuperCarlinBrothers YouTube channels
9. Baby animals and baby humans (you're a fan of all things cute)
10. John Crist, Tim Hawkins, and Brian Regan

Top 10 Things You Don't Love:

1. A semi-short but very specific list of foods: cumin; beans; casseroles; applesauce; Saltines; anything spicy
2. Humid weather
3. Emptying the dishwasher (but you like eating on clean dishes, sooooo ...)
4. Seeing kids argue; it makes you so upset to see people not getting along and not resolving their differences
5. Struggling with a hard problem (I know there's probably not anyone who really loves struggling, but it seems to be an especially repellent notion to you - one of my many prayers for you is that you'd learn to find beauty in the struggle)
6. Realizing there's a conversation going on and you not being involved
7. When plans change without your prior approval (but you're not the parent, sooooo ...)
8. Naps, unless you have a fever (Sunday afternoon naps are the BEST! How can you not like them?!)
9. Watching sports on TV (but your daddy loves sports, sooooo ...)
10. Being told that you're wrong (but you're human, sooooo ...)

Top 10 Things You're Good At:

1. Drawing
2. Singing
3. Saving money (you're not a stuff kid, so there's very little in terms of toys that you're dying to have)
4. Math
5. Helping me in the kitchen
6. Calligraphy
7. Making toast, macaroni and cheese, and PB&J sandwiches
8. Drawing and decorating birthday cards for people (handmade cards are also your love language)
9. Doing handstands and the almost-splits
10. Wall climbing 

Top 10 Things You're Not Good At:

1. Facing challenges with a go get 'em attitude (you so want to succeed the first time you try something new and when you don't, you're very hard on yourself ... my little apple sure didn't have far to fall ...)
2. Trying to fool me (it brings such joy to my heart that you're a terrible liar and a horrible actress - I pray you'll always be unable to tell a lie without it being plainly displayed all over your face)
3. Responding and not reacting (though you have improved by leaps and bounds over this past year)
4. Doing a backbend without assistance
5. Speaking a foreign language (but that doesn't keep you from trying)
6. Letting other people talk
7. Curling your tongue (you're the only one in our family who can't ... this doesn't go over very well with you)
8. Whistling
9. Watching a movie  quietly (Who's that guy? Why is he crying? Where is that family going? What's going to happen when the friend finds out? Why is she in a cast?) A common theme in our house is, "If you'll watch the movie, I'm 99% sure your question will be answered." Because if you just want answers to these questions, we'll turn off the movie and just read the movie's Wikipedia page.
10. Raising one eyebrow (if you ever figure this out, please tell me how you did it. I want to do this too)

My peach. My doll. My precious girl who made me a momma. You, my love, are in a class by yourself. You are an extroverted introvert who knows exactly when she's hit her max capacity for people-ing and needs to hide out for a bit to recharge. You're a wickedly sharp girl who has a penchant for sass and sarcasm. You're a people-pleaser and a talented artist. You crave quality time and are equally delighted by the spotlight a quiet reading nook. You are sensitive, emotional, strong, clever, artistic, kind, and smart. Your brother idolizes you and your parents adore you. God sure gave a gift to the world when He gave it you.

You're nine. Your last single-digit age. Halfway to eighteen (don't tell this to Daddy; it makes him sad). Assuming you go off to college when you're 18, we're at the halfway point of having you at home. THAT is mind-blowing. 

My mind is filled with Bible verses that I pray over you. Verses about being honest and kind, verses about being humble and thankful, and verses about working hard. But what comes to mind most often with you, my angel girl, is this verse:

Ephesians 3:17-19

"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses the knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

My heart practically is bursting with my desire for you to wholly rest in the perfect love that God has for you. His love is amazing, complete, and beyond what our little human brains can process. There's nothing you can do to make God love you any more; He's already your Number 1 Fan.

I pray that He would reveal His love to you in wonderfully unique ways - ways that speak directly to your heart. God is so amazing, my girl. He calls each of us to Himself individually and specifically, and I pray that He'll make you sensitive to how He shows His love for you.

There is sweet rest that comes from knowing that you're fully and completely loved by the Creator of the universe. Having this knowledge can prevent you from looking for validation and approval from the wrong things - temporary things, flawed things, . 

I love you more than I can possibly express. And even with that, God loves you infinitely more. So He wins.

But I win, too, because I get to be your mom.

Happy birthday, my sweet peach.

Hugs and smooches,

Mommy & Daddy