Life and a Thousand Pictures of Lola

I’m having quite the difficult time getting into the swing of January. But…onward, right?

We had our first day back to Classical Conversations on Monday. I wasn’t ready mentally, physically, or emotionally, but that’s one of the big reasons we’re in CC: to keep me accountable for getting our rears in gear.

I’m on day 7 of another Whole30. It has gone rather smoothly this time around. Probably because I’m not giving myself as much leeway as I did last time. I have some pretty big goals for the next three months leading up to my birthday at the end of March.

I haven’t even gotten baby time recently!! You can see darling pictures on my mom’s blog, though.

So many things to do, so little time self-discipline.

I have a plethora of pictures of Lola to share from the other day. They are blurry and unedited, but they are perfectly Lola.

I can’t get her to sit still and look at the camera. I had to bribe her with the ipad (she’s an ipad master). So I managed to get pictures of her sitting still, but not looking at the camera. Whenever she looked at me or smiled, the picture was blurry (blame our dark, gray winters and a house without great natural light—or maybe my poor technical skills). She is always in motion when she’s happy. I have two choices: pensive and in focus or smiling and blurry. She has an awesome range of facial expressions, though. And she’s my third kiddo with incredibly expressive eyebrows.

(This next one is in focus because it is her fake smile. Ha!)

Waving her foot at me:

She has fabulous bed head.

Believe it or not, I have a bunch more, but I won’t torture you with them until tomorrow!

Silly Lola

Just playing around.

And when nothing is quite right (and it is time for a nap…):

Favorite?

I have a million things to be doing today, so I’m on the computer editing pictures. Not just editing, but experimenting, which is even less productive. I can’t stop messing with this picture of Lola even though she isn’t even looking at the camera. I just like the mood of it, I guess. Which edit do you like best?

Just for fun, here are three more edits of a picture I posted yesterday:

Sweet Lola

Lola and I messed around with the camera a bunch yesterday. I have lots of pictures (and even a video!) to share when I get my act together, but here are a couple interesting edits to start with.

Cheers

I was in the mood for something bright, fresh, and cheerful on my mantel. I think this qualifies. (It’s certainly better than the stagnant display that sat there all year last year!)

The Swift Arrow

(Happy birthday to J.R.R. Tolkien!)

What We’re Reading

Levi:

For Christmas I gave Levi The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, starting with On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: Adventure Peril, Lost Jewels, and the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree (how is that for a title?). The books came recommended by a friend of mine, and Levi (who took less than 24 hours to finish all three books) immediately placed them among his favorites. The author is also a Christian recording artist who seems to have storytelling imbedded in his soul. The reviews on Amazon of his music were so interesting to me that I also bought Levi one of his albums (Light for the Lost Boy) for his birthday.

In keeping with the musician-turned-author theme, Levi also received Wildwood as a Christmas gift. It was created by a husband-wife team, the husband being the lead singer of the Decemberists and the wife being the illustrator of the popular The Mysterious Benedict Society series, which I loved. The book takes place in Portland, Oregon’s Forest Park, which is the largest wooded city park in the United States. I think a field trip is in order! (Levi gives the book two thumbs up, but I’ve not read it.)

For his birthday Levi also received the next book in the Terrestria Chronicles. He is on book four, and it is another favorite series that came highly recommended by Rebecca at Renaissance. They are Christian allegorical fantasy.

Luke:

Luke received James: A Letter to the Scattered, the first in a series of graphic novels published by Olive Branch Books (the religious instruction imprint of Peace Hill Press). (You can read more about the book and see samples at this link.) (He is quite enthusiastic about The Action Bible, so I thought he might enjoy another graphic novel. I was right.)

Knowing how much he loved the first book in the series, I also gave him Nicholas and the Gang by Goscinny. Nicholas gets into so much trouble, I think Luke can relate. He says the Nicholas books are his favorites (and he finished this one in less than 24 hours).

Leif:

Finding books for Leif can be a challenge. He reads well, but he is picky and stubborn. I almost bought another Jenny and the Cat Club title (sweetly one of his favorites), but at the last minute I discovered The Imagination Station Books from Adventures in Odyssey by Focus on the Family. They are similar to the Magic Tree House books, which is one of the three series that Leif loves (the other two being Geronimo Stilton and The Magic School Bus Chapter Books). All three of the boys plowed through the four Imagination Station books Leif received, so it looks like I’ll have to purchase more!)

Russ:

Russ reads widely and quickly when he gets the chance, and it took him less than 24 hours to make it through 835 pages of Threat Vector by Tom Clancy. I used to love reading Tom Clancy books. One of these weeks I’m going to declare a “Mom’s on sabbatical, you’ll have to fend for yourselves” sort of reading week and catch up on all the Clancy books I’ve missed.

Me:

I have so many books on my to-read list, it’s ridiculous. Especially considering how I’ve failed to be intentional about my reading time the past year or two. But I’ve had trouble really wanting to read. I needed something just plain fun. Luckily, my sister gave me the last two books in the Squire’s Tales series for Christmas. I now have The Squire's Quest and The Legend of the King to complete my collection. These are perfect. Easy to read and highly entertaining. I originally purchased the others in the series for Levi, but I got hooked. My niece, Ilex, loves them as well. (They do have quite a bit of romantic affairs in them, as Arthurian legends are wont to have, just FYI.) The series is also available through Rainbow Resource.

 

Lola:

Not much, since reading requires sitting still. Her current favorite, though, is Good Night, Gorilla because she thinks it is hilarious when the zoo keeper’s wife finds the animals in her bed. Lola makes an awesome surprised face and then she giggles.

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By the way, I owe a large debt of gratitude to those of you who purchased through my Amazon affiliate links the past two months. Thank you!! It adds up quickly, and I am thrilled to be able to purchase more books for the boys!

It also is somewhat shocking to me how many of you purchase books and items I’ve recommended! I’m not sure I’m up for that kind of pressure. {ha!} I’d love to hear about what you loved (and what you didn’t).

Favorite Posts of 2012 ~ A Year in Review

Blogging is, for me, a multi-faceted, interactive journal. A journal that would never happen otherwise.

Looking over the past (almost) six years of entries, I am astounded. Astounded by how far we’ve come. Astounded by how much we’ve grown. Astounded by the friendships I’ve made. Astounded by the books we’ve read.

The thoughts, the hopes, the experiences. The low moments, and the highs.

I recently reviewed this past year and picked out my favorite posts as I went along. I’m sharing them today in the hopes that you’ll (re)enjoy them, too.

Education:

In general, my monthly education reports are my favorites. Many days it felt as if we weren’t making progress, but keeping track of our book lists and lessons completed made me realize that putting one foot in front of the other each day truly works. I also loved collecting the quotes and links for inspiration and thought-provoking ideas.

Notes from one of my favorite Book Detectives meetings

Memory Master (I did it!)

I poured a lot of time and effort into this post detailing our experience with Classical Conversations.

Mt. Hope Academy ~ The Great Conversation (the first post in a homeschooling series that will be continued this month)

Reading:

18 Essential Books for 18 Years of Childhood

Living Life:

A Day in the Life~ Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 (Was that really a year ago?!)

Snow and Flood

A tour of our house

Thoughts on Life:

On being real

The difference between lovely and reality

Billboards (one of my most-viewed posts of the year)

Lola’s World:

The Many Faces of Lola (20 months)

Lola @ One (a fun collage from her year as a one year old)

Photo Sessions:

My fabulous four

Stephanie’s maternity session

Stephanie’s family session

Danielle’s family session

Shannon’s maternity session

Welcoming Rilla Grey

Adventure:

It’s no surprise that my trip to see Susan Wise Bauer in Virginia, as well as getting to know some fabulous women and hanging out with Tsh Oxenreider, was a high point of my year: Day 1, Day 2~The B&B, Day 2~Touring, Day 3, and Day 4.

Sand In Our Toes

California road trip to see my Grandparents (I had bunches of posts with pictures, but the important thing is that we spend time with my grandparents!)

Air

The first day of school

The Renaissance Faire

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I had a hard time narrowing it down to that long list! I’m surprised by how many lovely moments we had this year—which is the point of this blog. To remember. To speak gratitude.

And now I’m looking forward to a fresh year. A year full of wonderful possibility.

Have you chosen your One Little Word for the year? I hadn’t even been thinking of it when someone else mentioned it. My first reaction was that I had no idea how to go about picking a word. Then it popped into my head and I haven’t been able to get rid of it.

Onward.

Yes, one foot in front of the other and before we know it, we are on a journey. Who knows where it will take us.

Happy Birthday, Levi

Levi came into this world in a flurry of drama and excitement at 12:06 am eleven years ago. I wondered at the time if that might be his 5 minutes of fame, but it was only the beginning for this boy. Drama is his middle name.

Words. If I could use one word to describe him, it would be words! He loves anything to do with words. Reading, talking, debating, singing, thinking, imagining. I often wonder what his future has in store, but I doubt it will be a silent occupation.

For a boy who uses such words as tantalizing, vicinity, astonished, trample, formidable, and grievously in (constant) everyday conversation, I thought a vocabulary quiz would be the perfect way to celebrate Levi’s birthday.

I recently shared the link to the (challenging!!) 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know quiz (and I’m fairly certain most don’t), but the 100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know quiz is just as interesting (and not quite as challenging, whew!!). If you get a chance, take the quiz(zes). Come back and let us know how you fared!

(Speaking of words, have you chosen your one little word for 2013? I think I have. Come back tomorrow, and we’ll chat about it!)