Vote For Harrison!!

I just entered Harrison in a contest at Gap!  Log on to www.gap.com/castingcall and enter jodiandsons to vote for Harrison!  He could be the next baby boy Gap model and win a huge shopping spree!  Of course, I think he's the cutest kid in the contest already!

You can vote DAILY and the poor little boys aren't getting voted on like the girls are, of course.  So, from now until the end of October, put that site on your bookmarks and vote, vote, vote!!  Who couldn't love this face?!

Happy 2nd Birthday Harrison!

Harrison at the park on his birthday

Saturday, the 5th, was Harrison's 2nd birthday.  I can't believe he's already 2.  Time goes by so quickly!  I'm so glad that I'm able to be home now with all the boys so that I can soak up their childhoods before they are gone.

Around noon on Saturday, Harrison's Nana (my mom) and Papa Jim (her husband) came over from their camping spot in Branson to spend the afternoon with us.  We loaded up our bikes and the trailer and headed to Nathaniel Greene/Close Memorial Park, which isn't far from our house.  It's a great park that has paved paths for walking or riding, a small playground and several beautiful gardens to explore.  There is a small lake with ducks to feed as well as a small creek that the boys love to "skip" rocks in.  We spent about three hours riding and playing before we headed home.  I took the camera, hoping to get some good pictures of the boys.  They weren't extremely cooperative.

Park Pictures

On Sunday, we had Nana and Papa Jim along with Aunt Katie (my sister) and AnnaJo (my niece), Papa Rod (my dad) and Uncle Terry (my younger brother).  We had a birthday lunch Sunday afternoon before we had birthday cake and opened presents.

I made his train cake and we blew up a few balloons for the kids to play with.   He loved his gifts which were a new scooter, a car hauler with cars to haul, a couple new shirts, his first "Build A Bear" monkey, and a bike trailer to ride in.  He had a great day with all his family here to spoil him and his favorite girl, "Jo", to play with.

Party Pics

Homeschool and Silver Dollar City

A few pics from SDC. I thought Harrison was looking at where the water came up out of the ground. Upon closer investigation, I found he was getting a drink!!

We took a trip to Silver Dollar City again with some friends this week and had a GREAT time! This is the perfect time of year to go, since everyone else has gone back to school. We rode almost all the rides and never had to wait. The weather was beautiful, too. It couldn't have been better.

We are enjoying homeschool and one of the biggest benefits to is that we are no longer tied down to someone else's schedule. We are enjoying a slower pace in life. We are able to do the extra things we want without being rushed in the evenings and on weekends trying to cram it all in.

It's also really neat to see how the little ones are already anxious to do what their big brother is doing. They both usually choose to sit at the table with Jackson and color or do their own "school work". If they aren't sitting up at the table, they are just below us in the floor playing with puzzles, blocks, K'Nex, looking at books, etc. They participate in activities that are appropriate, such as free reading and read aloud time. It's nothing much different than differentiated teaching in a classroom.

Jackson is doing a great job with his schoolwork. He is usually finished with language arts, math and reading long before lunch time. This gives us the rest of the day to do whatever we want. We haven't officially started science or social studies yet, but I'm positive we'll still be finished before noon even with those subjects added.

Because we have our afternoons free, we have plenty of time to get together with other kids for lots of activities and play time. Here is what a typical day looks like.

7:30 - 8:00 - Morning Jobs

Everyone wakes up and kids begin their Morning Jobs. Jackson and Carter have checklists under a wipe-off sleeve. They check off their jobs as they are finished with a dry erase marker. This includes eating breakfast and loading their dishes into the dishwasher.

8:30ish - Language Arts & Math

Breakfast is finished. Jackson stays at the table and begins writing in his journal. He also completes his handwriting practice and takes a spelling test (Sequential Spelling) each day. He completes a math lesson and a Shurley Grammar lesson.

10:00ish -Free time

He has several choices of activities he can do during this time. He has to do each of the activities once before he can repeat any activity. I actually have a chart that has the entire day scheduled into 30-minute blocks. He has several blocks of free time in the afternoon. Forcing him to use all his choices before doing one a second time keeps him from positioning himself in front of the TV or Wii all afternoon. He is allowed to watch PBS cartoons and play Wii, but must incorporate the other choices into the schedule as well.

10:30ish - Reading

He has one book each week that he practices for fluency. We are also reading a chapter book together called How To Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell. He is a great decoder, so we are focusing on comprehension and fluency. If we have something else to do, we put reading off until the afternoon or early evening. As we get into science and social studies, we'll be incorporating lots on non-fiction, content related reading as well.

11:15ish - FINISHED!!

Our extra activities include:

• Book Club at the Library Center, which meets every other Monday afternoon
• CMA music class each Friday afternoon
• Art class each Wednesday at the Springfield Art Museum
• Classical Conversations from 9 - 3 every Tuesday
• Royal Rangers on Wednesday evenings at Parkcrest Assembly of God
• Children's Church on Sunday mornings and evenings
• Junior Bible Quiz on Sunday afternoons
• Regular trips to the YMCA to play
• Anything else that comes up we want to do!

We are so blessed to have this opportunity! I'm so thankful.

Grandparents

Harrison and his great-grandma, Treva Hammond, when he was just home from the hospital.

Papa Rod with Carter and Harrison. Carter was 2 1/2 and Harrison was just a few months old. Carter had used a permanent marker and put "make-up" on.

Nana and Carter "camping" in her bedroom - and Sadee, too, of course. Carter has his favorite, the firetruck blankey. They're laying on a quilt that my great-grandma, Anne Tannehill, made.

Jackson and Doug's dad, Papa Lee.

I just read an article on another blog (here) about grandparents. It made me think of my own grandparents and my parents, who are now grandparenting my own sons. My sons and I are all very blessed.

I've been so blessed with wonderful grandparents of my own, that I adore and miss very much. They are such an important part of my life and who I have become. If I had a wish or two to be granted, one would definately be to have them back so they could see me now and meet their great- and great-great grandsons. I am fortunate to have one grandmother with me still, which I am so thankful for. I have great childhood memories of all of them. I can't imagine growing up without them.

Now, my sons are enjoying those same types of things with my parents. Because we live in different towns now, they have opportunities to spend days at a time with them, which is such a grand adventure for the boys. I know they are making memories they will treasure forever.

This past week, Jackson and Carter spent four nights with my mom and her husband, Jim. Nana and Papa Jim took them camping in St. James two nights. Some of the highlights were Carter falling off a merry-go-round, which he deemed "awesome". Jackson rode his bike into the river, where it got a good washing. Oh.. and at the end of one day, when Carter's legs were hurting (which they often do...that's another story), he came to Nana crying and said, "They hurt so bad that if you don't do something, I'm going to have to hop on one leg tomorrow." Well, I'm not sure Carter will remember that, but I don't think Nana is going to forget anytime soon.

Toward the end of last month, we spent a week in West Plains. The kids had a great time at Papa Rod's house riding four-wheelers and doing things that they can only do with Papa. Great-Grandma Hammond played catch with them in the shade under the walnut tree behind her store. They rode Uncle Homer's tractor and played in the loft of his barn.

We are so blessed. I can't imagine not having this family. I didn't ask for my place in this family and this time. I didn't earn them. God put me here, and I am so thankful. It's unfathomable to me, that there are people in this nation and all over the world who have no one. James 1:27 (NIV) says this:

²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I hope that one day, God will look at my life and deem that my religion was pure. I am so blessed.

Baby Faces

Harrison - 22 months

With nothing but his BGs on! "Cheese!"

With nothin' on at all! In the tub with cousin, AnnaJo Hill.

(Ebony and ivory?? LOL)

Harrison is such a blessing! He's healthy and happy, most of the time anyway. He's definately the baby of the family and he knows how to get things done! He LOVES his older brothers and wants to do everything they do. Aunt Kate nicknamed him "Dozer" for a good reason! We love him so much and can't imagine life without him.