21 September 2025

Went to the movies for Family Home Minute tonight and watched Howl's Moving Castle in Japanese, with subtitles. It was wonderful on the big screen! It was so fun to go all together and talk about it in the car afterwards. 

15 September 2025

Sometimes mornings are hard, getting back into the swing of school.

We also ended up with a very appropriate scripture to memorize for the beginning of school (totally coincidental - it was just next on the list).

11 September 2025

Because Rosebud is the youngest and we are often focused on the oldest children doing important life things, sometimes I forget that she is still so young and interested in young kid things.  She was delighted to find puppets at the library and spent time having them talk to each other and putting on a show for me.  In all our visits, I never thought to suggest this to her.

Our neighbor across the street, an elderly woman, has taken a shine to Rosebud and has begun to give her stuffed animals that used to belong to her deceased daughter.  Recently it was a puppy that Rosebud named Goldwin and has taken for walks on a leash, and made a bed for (but she will also let him sleep with her), and "discovered" that he likes to look at himself in the mirror.  Sweet to see her joy in imagining a pet for herself.  She really wants a dog, just like her sister.

8 September 2025

D's language arts teacher began the year by assigning them daily writing assignments.  He brought them to me to share, and I was so happy to see the encouragement to write.  There's a lot inside of his brain that I would love for him to be able to record and share, his own practical thoughts and also so many stories.  (So grateful for his teacher's ability to decode his handwriting.)

I wish I had one more week to finish my hobbit house that I began first day of summer.  I spent like 5 minutes on it every day, so that I had time for other things, but I didn't finish in time. The hobbit house is finished now, & then deconstructed. It was highly detailed, and very large, taking up four plates (64 x 64).  (Mom's note: a lego project)

Multifaceted - I had this same assignment in 3rd grade, and I did not know what to put down, so my parents suggested multifaceted. Multifaceted: with multiple faces/skills. I am good at a variety of different things like engineering and video games ML PvP, leaping quickly, pretending to sleep.  I wasn't super good at .... , none fit in one category, so multifaceted was perfect.

Most of them feel pretty chill. Some of them cause me to very nervous, and one of them released 1 min after the bell. We do a lot of semi/group work in all of them. It was chill in ... .

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D is growing up and cleaning out his old treasures.  His beloved third grade teacher had t-shirts made for her class, and they all signed each other's shirts.  Before the shirt moved on to its next home, I took a photo of it to commemorate what a wonderful community the teacher built for her students that year. D felt safe and happy there during his first year in public school, and I am so grateful for her careful work and attention to the class members.

7 September 2025

Yesterday driving home from church, a song came on with the lyrics, "I'm a good God, and I have a good plan". D heard, I'm a good guy, and he said, "He's not a good guy, he's THE good guy. All the goodness comes from him!"

3 September 2025

Our friend Melissa took family pictures for us while Rose Pink was home!  Here we are being cute and fun together.  

2 September 2025

First day of school, although these are second day pictures because I forgot on the first day! 

When D put on his beloved Technoblade hoodie for the first time since school ended in June, he said, "This isn't as big as I remember it."  He's growing a lot right now.

We clicked right back into the schedule and everyone got out the door on time and off to school. Both D and Rosebud came home happy with their assorted teachers and the friends in their classes. Success!

This weekend was the last before some big changes - D and Rosebud going back to school, Nut Brown starting his first job, Rose Pink going back to school, and the annual September closeout for me. The weekend was beautiful. Lovely weather and quiet time spent together enjoying each other's company. It was a gift from God before we launch into the next round of challenges and growth.

31 August 2025

 

31 August 2025

Friday night D was out for mini bro night, and none of Rosebud's friends could come over.  She and Mr. Brown had a video game session together, with her watching and advising and him playing. She and I went out for ice cream together and then went to pick D up.  

She said "See you later, Papa," as we were leaving, and told me that she got to have both mommy daughter and daddy daughter dates this evening. :)

31 August 2025

Went out on the porch after church to sit on my new couch!

Was shortly joined by my favorite people!

Who decided to eat their lunch out there with me...

And then D made lemonade, and we played a few hands of Swap together.  Lovely time together.

28 August 2025

After D walks away from the kitchen sink, leaving the water running, to check out what Nut Brown is doing in his video game:

Mr. Brown: are you just going to leave the water running!?

D (heading back to the kitchen): I earned that water by taking a four minute shower! 

28 August 2025

25 August 2025 (2)

I acquired this patio furniture today from Facebook marketplace, and Mr. Brown and Nut Brown did the heavy lifting to bring it home. It is really heavy, so I really owe them!

We made it part of Family Home Minute. Rosebud shared her thoughts on the Word of Wisdom and read us the promised blessings while we stood in a football huddle over her, and then we went and picked it up, and then went to Sweet Frog for froyo. We played a game that D and Rosebud introduced to us that involved yo, ho, ho and guessing how manuy fingers the group would be showing.  Lovely, lovely evening and a lovely time together. 

25 August 2025

D spent his own money on this model and then spent 3-4 hours assembling it on the living room floor on Saturday.  When he finished, it didn't work like it was supposed to, and he got some valuable experience troubleshooting.  He and I tested a couple of simple hypotheses about where the issue might be, but neither solved it.  D decided to completely rebuild the base, so he detached the arm, disassembled the base and started over.  He had me review and concur with each step as he completed it, and found that he had omitted one piece.  After completing the rebuild, he had added the missing piece and had three other pieces left over, and the model works now!  He is so pleased with it, and with himself for getting it all together.

24 August 2025

Yesterday was school supply shopping day! I love the ritual of taking kids shopping and helping them choose what they're going to use for the year. My favorite was when we shopped at HEB in Texas, and I would turn them loose with their printed lists and help them check things off to make sure they got it all. Now D is in middle school so it's just me and Rosebud, and this was the next to last year with her.  We had a good time together this afternoon, and we wrapped it up with buying gummy candies to celebrate completion. She got sharks and I got peach rings. 

She and I also stopped at the shoe store in the mall to look for Sunday shoes for her. She found a pair that have a bit of a heel and an ankle strap, in black patent leather, that she was very pleased with. She checked to make sure that it wasn't too high a heel by standing on one foot to check the balance! When we got home, she put them on and wore them all afternoon for all her activities, including walking around outside listening to her audio book. I love that she loves them so much. (Also, bonus, they were on sale for nine dollars!)

20 August 2025

Nut Brown opted for volcano for his birthday.  He did the decorating, and Rose Pink made the cake.

Our friend Colin obliged with the latest edition of the rules for the gaming system that he's creating, and which Nut Brown loves.  Definitely his favorite gift.

A few days later we had a graduation party for him!  Taco bar, music and friends in the Bloods' backyard.  And there was a cake with a picture that said, "Max My Million Don't Cry Up", which is what Rose Pink sang to him when he was a fussy baby all those years ago.

 Mr. Brown and I are so proud of him!  So excited for whatever comes next.

19 August 2025

D worked on building this model all summer.  We got it from Hobby Lobby, and it involved glue and paint.  When he would get frustrated and quit, I encouraged him and helped him focus to decode the instructions.  He opted not to paint any of it, and he wasn't pleased with how it came out (it was a first attempt at learning, and there was definitely room for improvement).  I was glad he did finish it, and although he threatened to throw it away, he still has it.  He was interested in starting another model (an AT-AT from Star Wars) and chose one that didn't involve glue!

 

18 August 2025

Here we are playing a game (Doomlings) for Family Home Minute.  D and Rosebud in particular love FHM and are disappointed when we don't have it.  They don't have the opportunities to spend time all together as a family that Rose Pink and Nut Brown did, so they value it much more.