The Singleton Family

Shutterfly IS my best friend...

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... when it comes to preserving memories and cherished photos.

Over and over I hear from friends and family, "Do you still scrapbook?" The answer is, "Yes!" The simple truth is, I no longer stock up on paper supplies and schedule parties or pre-register for 'crop night.' Thanks to Shutterfly's beautiful (and easy) digital scrapbooks, I can upload my cherished photos (which they will store for me as a free back up system) and pop them into an album. I generally add a little bit of text and BAM, I'm done in just minutes! It no longer takes me weeks, months, years to finish a memory book. I can now finish it in one sitting (sometimes 2). Not only does this same me time, but it saves me a lot of money! Traditionally paper scrapbooking not only takes a long time but it costs A LOT, per PAGE! I no longer have to print each picture, crop it by hand, tape it down, add all of the borders and creative paper art on each page... nope. I can pick a simple digital template and slip my digital pictures into it, do some 1 or 2 click crops and I'm done. I LOVE IT!

Shutterfly offers far more then scrapbooks! They also offer personalized Christmas Cards, Make-Your-Own Calendars, Return Address Labels, Birth Announcements, Party Invitations and more.

Even BETTER... if you sign up for a free account, they will send you promotional coupon codes! I rarely ever pay full price for my amazing products. In fact, I've been blessed with an average 3 free photo books and hundreds of free prints each year for the past 3 years (if I had to guess). In fact... they are offering me more free stuff just for writing about their wonderful products.

Hugs... and love to you all.
-Angela

VIOLIN ~ Emily's Patient Wait is Drawing Nearer

2010-09-12T11:36:00.004-05:00

I love the look on her face. She's truly in a heaven-like state when holding the violin. She's so eager to learn it. Now we just need to settle on a formal instructor and purchase her violin. ;0

Emily and Luke with Jan, a local violin maker.The kids, at one of their lessons with Ms. Sarah.Luke is focused on playing high tempo rhythms. Clearly Joshua Bell has inspired him. Emily on the other hand is most inspired by the slow, angelic-like pieces from Bell's 'Romance of the Violin'. Here she's practicing 'Twinkle, Twinkle," Suzuki's first violin piece. In the violin workshop, looking through the vault of violins waiting for service by Jan. Anna was so kind in showing us around the workshop.

Tuesday we will attend the local children's symphany orchestra parent's meeting. At the end the kids will play the Suzuki songs in order. I'm sure Emily will be inspired and wishing she could play with them.

Emily chooses her first Bible

2010-09-11T22:27:00.003-05:00

Today was one of those milestones parents cherish... their child receiving their first Bible (full version, not child's story book). For some time Emily has been asking for one, which lead Keith and I to plan for a personalized Bible this coming Christmas as our gift to her. Then she asked to be baptized last spring. Life was such a blur with so many emotional happenings filling our lives that we completely failed to present a Bible to her at that point... still Christmas was on the planner. Well, today she found THE Bible she wanted at a local used bookstore. She begged and pleaded to buy it as her one special purchase for the day. I was a little torn knowing we wanted to select one as a surprise for Christmas, one that would have her name engraved on it. A special gift if you will. But in her heart I could see THIS Bible was the one for her. And yet, selecting it as never used at a fraction of the cost we were willing to invest... how Biblical. It doesn't matter where it comes from or how fancy it looks... it's God's word that will fill her heart, life and soul for the days of her life.

Shortly after leaving the store I realized she is receiving this gift on 9/11/10. This Sept. 11th isn't just any ordinary Sept. 11th post-THE 9/11, but is more. For the past couple of weeks a local pastor threatened/declared to burn the Kuran/Quran which has sparked much controversy. Local churches and people spoke out against it, urging that we must LOVE our neighbor, not show hate toward them. As a result, great threats were placed on Americans, Christians, our town, etc. FBI and CIA agents flooded to our town along with hundreds or thousands of other law enforcement... truly making us a marked target. This pastor eventually changed his mind, but still, on this day she is receiving the book of truth that will sustain her in the hard days ahead and provide joy, hope and a promise to take her to eternity... on the very day that others were planning to burn and crush our Muslim neighbors.

May her heart forever be filled with His love, His truth, His glory. May she hold His truths dear to her heart and show His love and mercy in her words and actions.
Love you Emily!
-Mom

Taking School Outside the Classroom!

2010-09-09T23:47:00.006-05:00

Taking school outside the classroom and giving them opportunities to meet famous, life changing people... a walking history lesson. Not only did we get to hear John Fabian (STS-7 and 51) speak, we asked him questions and were able to meet him. After a day at KSC, why not hit the beach... and observe wild life, the fishing industry, practice printing and much more while creating some art!

The biggest jelly we've seen yet.

Seaweed!

Missing you Keith!

A perfect way to end the evening :)

Kiddie cocktails and a virgin dacquiri... our little night cap to celebrate a great day of learning!

Her final remarks, "I LOVE homeschooling!"

So much to catch up on... Summer 2010 July

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Michigan Pictures... story to follow.

Oh July... such mixed feeling I experienced this July. We started the month on vacation, visiting family in MD/DE. I thoroughly enjoyed my daily morning run and the cooler temps, sunny days, beach, and on and on. I also had a great time with my camera. ;)

Just before heading to MD, my dad was experiencing several odd symptoms that turned out to be cellulitis. In early July I remember calling my grandmother to chat. The last chat was the weekend of July 4th. It turns out this was my last opporunity to talk to her. We had our usual conversation. She wasn't feeling her best, she didn't really understand why she was still around, she shared her enjoyment of watching the birds from her front window, she talked a little bit about the weather or what Clifton was doing, etc. And as usual, when I reminded her we were planning to return next summer to see her, she made sure to remind me she might not be there. And me, as per the usual, played it down and kept the positive tone. I knew though... I knew, just was hoping it would be later versus sooner. Not long after that converstaion I got the call that she was in the hospital.

Still... vacation carried on (while I kept daily updates on my dad and grandmother), as did life upon return to FL. Here are some experiences that I remember:

July 16th - My son has dressed himself for bed... pj shorts and a winter fleece. It gets more fun every day! He's been wearing winter bottoms for the past few days... so shorts is a GOOD change. LOL.

July 17th - In reflection recently, I realized it's a lot easier for someone to forgive another when offended if they are currently heart-focused on Christ. It is much harder to forgive an offense that took place before your heart was focused on Christ.

July 26th - My dear, sweet grandmother, is now in the arms of our precious Father. May she dance once more and sing His glory.

(It turns out she passed while I layed in bed praying for her, praying God's will for her, praying for her to pass peacefully. I was taken out of prayer time to receive a call from my mom with the news. It was 10:30p. I began packing my bags (the kids were already packed) and preparing to leave in the morning. Keith began checking on flights, etc. An hour later I called Irma to share the news... I'll never forget that conversation.)

July 29th - Lord, hear my prayers... sustain me today. Protect us in our travels and help us through the events of today. Amen.

(Grandma's funeral was scheduled for the afternoon of the day we were flying in... just a couple of hours after our flight. I hadn't been able to sleep for days at this point and only managed to rest for one hour before driving the kids and a friend (who graciously tagged along to help us) to the Clearwater airport for our 7a flight. We left just before 3a, arriving to the airport without any problems. I remember dressing the kids in the bathroom after we were checked in and ready. They were amazing! Our flight was amazing too. I was SO tired, but we made it. Then the ride to Coldwater, lunch with my parents and Dan... and then to the funeral home. I was a bit stunned when the minister and family asked me to speak for Grandma. Just stunned. Thoughts of how tired I was... the emotions, I just didn't know if I had it in me. I prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to help. He did... He really did. After briefly talking to the minister (and struggling with the tears of his insistance to describe her as a Proverbs 31 woman), I asked him if I could use Psalm 23. He was a bit taken back with my request but agreed it could be mine to use. The words that I shared and addressed with the family were truly of the Holy Spirit. It was all that had been on my heart for so long, and those that I believed were on Grandma's too. The need for forgiveness. The need to find that place of peace. The minister backed up my words and reinforced them. It was truly beautiful and I trust they were pleasing to our Heavenly Father and to my Grandmother. And... He DID sustain me. He truly did!)

So much to catch up on... Summer 2010 *August

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Aug. 7th - Boys will truly be boys, no matter what. Though Luke has not seen Iron Man (that I'm aware of), he sure has a similar character/imagination (minus the arrogance). I give him a bucket of lego-like toys and he now has laser fighting fingertips!

Aug. 9th - Feeling blessed today because the kids begged me to teach them how to do the dishes. They actually insisted that I stop everything and teach them this new skill so they could bless our home and family.Wow... they are quick learners, hard workers and a great team! :)

Aug. 10th - Emily's officially teaching piano... to her little brother. Word has it he has signed up for daily lessons. How cute!

Aug. 11th - Who would have anticipated having raspberries in our fruit medley dish on the dinner table would prompt Keith to grab the chocolate syrup and whipped cream! I thought bringing ketchup to the tabel for the kids and their roasted potatoes was pushing the sugar limit... guess I was wrong!

- Oh goodness me! I just finished reading Luke's book of choice at bedtime. He then begged me to read it again, but backwards. Seriously? It turns out Emily has introduced him to the art of reading a book backwards. They both find it quite entertaining. Guess I learned something new today. LOL

Aug. 18th - I have to say... I'm quite fond of the 10a-2p school day with a long leisure homemade lunch. :) It's not everyday that we keep this schedule, but it sure was a fabulous day! (Week 5, here we come!!!)

Aug. 19th - The kids are pretty excited about starting violin tomorrow. Their excitement is negatively impacting their concentration with school today. :)

- My favorite time of the day is when the kids are practicing their piano pieces. Beautiful, peaceful, pure serenity... bliss.

Aug. 20th - The school room is done!!! S-O E-X-C-I-T-E-D!!! I feel the urge to move in and attack the rest of the house while I'm at it. LOL. But first, time to take the kids to their violin lesson and then teach tennis.

Aug. 23rd - What a wonderful morning. Just sent hubby off to work... and am about to wake the kids so we can start out day. First full day in our new school room. Love it! Oh... and the house... it looks amazing. We all feel like we're living in a new home. The kids keep getting mixed up as to where things are now placed in the home.

Aug. 25th - Emily, Luke and Keith were in a disagreement tonight over which movie to watch. When Emily realized she wasn't going to get her pick she commented, "Well, I guess the ONLY THING for me to do then is stick my nose in a book!" We couldn't help but be a bit surprised and humored at the same time. Personally I'd vote for her to read... but of course we chose to address the comment (along with the way it was presented) and encourage her to be apart of the family versus a sore loser. Parenting... it keeps us on our toes. :)

So much to catch up on... Summer 2010 June

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Here's a continued portion to the previous June posts... :)

Mid-June everything came together beautifully for the preparation to move the organic buying club frmo Annie's Buying Club over to a ministry via HomeGrown Organics. Truly, God was amazing. Not only did He share His plan for this change, but He faithfully brought every detail to a reality. It was beautiful. Stepping out in faith takes trust in Him, but is so, so beautiful.

June 21st - My little super hero (Luke) has now graduated from leaping off of furniture to scaling the refrigerator with magnets! I think he needs stronger magnets or perhaps we should introduce him to rock/wall climbing. :/

June 23rd - This evening we visited Buddy and Patsy Cook. And of course, the kids were wild and crazy, full of life and fun at their house. I just couldn't get them to settle down for some reason. They are so comfortable around Ms. Patsy and she didn't discourage their lively spirits. LOL. But, like magic, the kids were calm the moment we walked in the door. :)

June 25th - Today I bought Emily some stationary so she could write notes to her friends/family... but she keeps writing letters to Keith and I. How sweet! She truly warms my heart.

June 26th and 27th... Keith and were blessed with a weekend get-away to celebrate our Anniversary. What a true blessing. Friends from church loaned us their beach house and the Haynes' kept the kids. Wow, wow, wow!

Art by Emily 2010

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Click here to view this photo book larger

May/June... in a flash

2010-06-14T23:09:00.007-05:00

Oh... another month has come and gone and this poor blog is reaching the lower half of my to-do list. (Sigh...) Well, you all know what that means, we've been very busy having fun. :)

What'd you miss...? Well... check it out:

Atlantis STS - 132 ~ WE WERE THERE!!!

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Luke Turns 4!!!

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Note... this cake had a chocolate layer on bottom, with confetti cake on top... chocolate whipped topping in the middle and blue frosting with Cars sprinkles on top. Whew! (And yes, it was delish!!!)

What did the little guy want to do on his birthday??? Swim! He also chose to eat at Yamato (a Japanese Restaurant) so he could see the volcano. :)

Hot items on his wish list included:

Astronaut gear
Skateboard

Race track with cars

Snorkle gear

Beach towel

Toy Story bedding

(He did pretty well, he was gifted everything but the skateboard... and was surprised with walkie-talkies too!)

(He dressed himself!)

News for Spring 2010

2010-05-02T21:30:00.003-05:00

As we approach Luke's 4th birthday, our family has been incredibly busy. Doing what, you ask? Well lets see... we've spent 3 days at Kennedy Space Center, celebrated the end of another great year of worship dance at Grace with a Celebration Program, celebrated Luke's birthday with Pop Pop and Nan at Moon Cafe, attended kid workshops at Lowe's, Home Depot and Michael's Crafts... along with all of the normal daily/weekly activities. :) We sure stay busy.

As the school year comes to a close, we're celebrating Emily's accomplishments and Luke's eagerness to learn. Emily has completed her online typing class, another year of art with Ms. Jane, her 2nd year of piano (advancing to level 3 of Bastien), intro to Latin, Saxon Math 2, LA 2 (now placing into advanced 3rd grade LA), cursive handwriting, and so much more. She LOVES to read, and is comfortably reading small chapter books. She's been beautiful to watch this year. My favorite part has been to helping her write and illustrate story books for Luke.

And Luke... he is so eager to read, write, do math, etc. He can nearly fool people with his memorized book of Me Too, Woody! I'll never forget the look on Pop Pop's face, as though he was asking me if there was something I hadn't told him about. Priceless. I'll definitely help develop his desire this coming year and see where it takes us.

So what's ahead this spring? Well, we plan to help my grandmother plant her garden for Mother's Day weekend. It will be a very special treat to spend this holiday with her and my mom. Grandma's in great spirits, eager to see us. And... we will get to hear stories of how our plants are doing, knowing they will bring her great joy and nourishment in the coming months. Then... we'll be starting a worship dance program at our church. I'll have the priviledge of teaching this group for an August performance. The kids and I are truly excited. Later this summer we'll be visiting family at the beach for some rest and relaxation. And all of the inbetween times... we'll be floating around our pool for sure. :)

Lastly... my favorite memory from this spring was Emily's decision to be baptized on Easter. It was a precious time. She was so eager and certain of her decision, beaming with joy and peace. She partook in her first communion following her baptism last night at church. She was truly delighted to fully partake with the rest of the congregation.

That's all for now... so much is happening so fast. I'll try to find more time to post more precious moments.

KSC NASA Spring 2010

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Spring is upon us... and oh how beautiful it is.

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Emily's baptism. Story to come.

February 2010

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Favorite stories include:
Valentine's Day ~ Emily made Luke a story book, complete with two stories ('Curious George' and 'Owl at Work'). He LOVED it.

Bible Study ~ While reading Exodus, Emily asked, "Why did God harden Pharoah's heart? I don't understand why He would do this and not just set his people free." Great, great question... with a long and deep, meaningful answer to come. :)

I'm treasuring a poem Emily gave me for Christmas, personalized for me... "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, My mommy you'll be."

Luke's new trend ~ Dressing up for Dinner
Luke insists on dressing in his Sunday best, complete with tie, before coming to the dinner table. It's such an honor to have this young gentleman at the dinner table. He truly blessing me and I feel honored everytime he does this. (Wouldn't you?)

Using our Imagination ~ For over a month now, Luke has changed his name each day. He's been 'Super Hero,' 'Superman,' 'Prince Echo Island,' and many more. Sometimes he says he's 'Just Luke.' He has his teachers and friends calling him by his new name too. It gets fun and difficult at the same time. Everyone agrees, the best part is seeing him wearing his cape, a hospital receiving blanket. :)

A woofing cat? Yep, only in our house. Emily has adopted a new cat (Luke, pretending to be her pet). His name is 'Woofy' and he cannot meow. Instead, he woofs! Friends who visit find this really funny. He sits next to his master waiting patiently for her to finish her schoolwork. It's really cute.

Homosassa State Park ~ We recently enjoyed a weekend in Crystal River and Homosassa, learning about manatees (and seeing them up close) and Florida's wild life. Our most memorable was the movie star, and honorary Florida citizen, Lou. He has horrible manners though. Everytime he releaves himself, he laughs. He has also been known to fling his feces, and then laugh at the audience. That's just wrong! But... the park was amazing and worth visiting. We definitely need to go again. It sure brings a true appreciation to Florida for something other than the beaches. :)
Feb. 5th - Crisis in the Singleton Home... or is it? Luke informed me he accidentally changed Emily's hair color and she was REALLY mad. With answers to a few more questions it appears he was using a plastic wand (in his words), and after he waved it her hair turned dark brown. She was really upset with him. He said he apologized, but she wouldn't forgive him. He was quite distraught by the whole experience and couldn't believe the wand worked. (I couldn't help be laugh a little.)

Feb. 20th - A cute conversation with Emily

Emily: "What is that bird trying to say?"
Me: "I don't know, I don't speak bird (with a smile)."
Emily: "You're a scientist, shouldn't you know what birds say?"
Me: "Sorry honey, that wasn't part of my education."
Emily: "Don't they teach that at the school you went to?"

Needless to say, her questions and reasoning didn't stop. She finally assumed veterinarians should know, and was disappointed to learn bird language isn't taught there either. :) Clearly the story of Dr. Doolittle made an impression on her, but reality and fiction got mixed up. LOL. We learn something new every day, huh?

The Mommy Realization...
I've recently come to realize a few things, like the fact that I will lose my nouns without any warning, making it merely impossible to finish a sentence when I most need to. What's even more funny is that all of my fellow mommy friends understand and we are able to help finish each other's sentences or thoughts without ever finding our nouns. And... there just seems to be a little auto program in my kids that tells them it's FORT BUILDING TIME! Every day I stress over the transformation of my house from presentable to ONE GIANT CITY with all cushions removed from chairs and couches, all blankets pulled off of the beds and out of closets and yes, sometimes daddy pitching in his adult expertise which includes drum equipment! It's a miracle I ever have the house back to the presentable stage, because it doesn't last long. :)

January 2010

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The kids have been busy using their imagination...

One day I caught them rapidly claiming all of my clear pastic cups and plates... only to learn they were busy catching fairies. It turns out, Emily's special surprise from Daddy (a box full of Tinkerbell and her fairy friends) had magically become real. These fairies were flying around the house, so the kids HAD to catch them. We wouldn't want to lose them, would we? LOL. Needless to say, we have captured fairies throughout the house. Mommy had better not clean them up! :)

Celebrating my birthday was fun. We enjoyed one of the smallest chocolate cakes ever AND we had fun with numbers. Luke felt especially important when he realized he is 3 and I'm 33. Likewise, Emily loved that she's 7 and Daddy is 37 (for a few more weeks). What a great connection. :)

New Years... an amazing celebration with friends

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to come

Christmas - 2009

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Story to come.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

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Julie and I again.

Angela on site, waiting for turn to hull hardy board.

All of the head builders

The head builder, ARK - Strickland family

Julie and I at the Pep Rally

Dance with Grace Team at Passage Family Church

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The group rehearses one last time.

Emily Stretches

Anne and Rachel (our friends)

Ms. Lara and her daughter

Emily turns 7!

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October 2009 in Review

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Click here to view this photo book larger

November in Review

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Our dear and sweet Emily is now 7!! Happy Birthday Princess. (Emily's Birthday Photobook is under the 12/6/09 post.)

More to come.

October in Review

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A visit with our Colombian friends.

A trip to Jax Zoo

A month in review - View our Shutterfly Album (posted 12/5/09)

Our amazing Luke:

Halloween as the cast of Peter Pan

Skateboards and Luke's Misunderstanding

2009-11-09T14:48:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we learned all about skateboards. Today, Luke pestered me all morning to go to the mailbox, convinced the mailman was bringing him a skateboard. When he went with me to the box, he was disappointed and said he needed to talk to our mailman about the skateboard. I've tried all day to help him understand that what we wish for doesn't just show up in the mailbox whenever we wish for it, and that someone has to order it. He simply believes HE WILL get a skateboard in the mailbox, regardless of what I think. The only hope I have for his expectations is for a God-related miracle. ;-) I love sharing in his innocence.

October in a Flash

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Here are our photos!

(coming soon)

Luke - 3.5 Drama

2009-10-18T20:24:00.003-05:00

The Pajama Saga...
Luke asked for winter pajamas (footed fleece pjs) all summer long. Last night he decided his pjs would be a pair of jeans! Tonight he has his footed fleece pjs on with a pair of soccer shorts and a UofD football jersey on top! Bedtime is a lot of fun and laughs around here.

Watermelon...
Don't leave a bowl, plate, container of watermelon in front of Luke without specific direction of how much he is allowed to eat. If you're not careful, he'll eat all of it in minutes... with a great big wet and juicy smile... dripping from elbow to elbow! LOL.

Milestones in temperment...
Today I had a remarkable moment with Luke that left me on the verge of tears. He recently started expressing anger with loud screams and actions of frustration when he would receive correction from me. Today he had one of those moments. He marched himself into his room and slammed the door while yelling. I decided it would be best to let him sort through this on his own since I've coached him several times over the past couple of weeks. (Note, after his door was closed, only silence came from his room.) 20 minutes later he came out and said he loved me, he was sorry, he had prayed and asked God to forgive him and ... he had cleaned his room. I was so taken back by the first part that the latter part seemed shocking. I didn't really believe the last part until he walked me into his room and showed me his work. It was remarkable! He actually cleaned it (for the first time on his own) and everything was where it was supposed to be!!! I wanted to cry, but instead gave him praises and kisses and hugs galore. He was smiling from ear to ear. Not only did he know how to handle himself and channel his frustration, he even took it a step further and did something that he knew would bless me. Oh... I love being home with the kids and walking through each day with them.

August in a flash!

2009-09-27T22:48:00.007-05:00

So... what do you do when a huge rain storm sweeps in just as you finish mowing the grass on a FL summer day??? Take a shower in the rain, of course! (Thankfully there was no lightning!) Only Keith would think of something like this. And yes, Luke was taking notes. I'm sure this will not be the last we see of this behaviour.

Where's the soap!?!

Fun at our community picnic.

Luke, fast asleep... at the dinner table. This happens to be more frequent then one may think. At least he recognizes when he's tired and doesn't fall into a huge downward spiral through tantrums. He just lays down.

Pony rides???

We had fun at the Reading Roundup thanks to Ms. Lena at the homeschool library. Great fun.

Luke and his swords!

Luke, posing as our First Aid model! We had some fun with gauze. :o)

Starting the day on a happy note... making name pancakes plus a heart! We love our mornings.

At the end of the day... isn't this what it's all about??? Knowing your kids heard 'The Good News' each and every time you've shared it. I love finding these little notes when cleaning up.

Cursive, Typing... Oh My!

2009-09-27T22:20:00.002-05:00

Emily has been pushing herself lately, inspite of Mommy's laid back approach to 'not rush anything.' She has insisted on learning cursive writing and now makes sure it is included daily in her schooling and free time. She has also started typing lessons. This past week she talked Mommy into letting her try a lesson. Next thing Mommy realized was that Emily had completed half of all of the lessons. With ease, Mommy was able to convince Emily to save some of the lessons for another day. :-) Sure enough, the next few days were filled with begging to continue the lessons. We've got one eager little girl on our hands.

Luke... oh Luke... he has decided he wants to practice handwriting too. So, Emily began teaching him how to write his letters. With some pure determination he went from pure scribbles to writing A's, B's, and C's in minutes. He is now practicing on scratch paper and a handwriting workbook. Mommy finds this simply incredible and loves how schooling comes naturally with interest AND the older sibling is quick to jump in and instruct the younger one. It's beautiful to watch.

Have a blessed day everyone!

Visit with missionary friend, Dr. Carman

2009-09-15T23:36:00.005-05:00

We were blessed to host a friend for a few days during his US visit. He's currently serving in Bogota, Colombia. Needless to say, the kids LOVED his company and are missing him dearly.

Oh Luke!!!

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Our little guy just keeps finding trouble, or should I say... he's diving into the world of being a boy!

1st up... on Tuesday, he was crawling/climbing on a tipped over chair and just happened to catapalt himself into another chair and slice his head open. Mommy panicked a bit until she realized the bleeding would stop easily. Emily responded well to Mommy's panic to help Luke. She turned to God and began praying for help, healing and all of the good stuff. She's amazing! She felt so terrible that he got hurt, especially because she had just been told to pick the chair up. Sweet girl. Thank goodness the doctor did not feel he needed stitches and we did not have to visit the ER! (Luke slept through the entire doctor visit and still denies he ever went.) Shortly after the doctor visit Mommy had a terrible time keeping Luke in a settled state. He would try to show off his Hand Stands or leap from one couch to another, run sprints around the house or drive way. The kid is all boy! Later that night Luke asked if I could take his boo boo off because didn't want to take it to bed. He was upset to realize it wasn't that easy to fix. Six days later he realized his boo boo was black! He was very upset and concerned until he realized it would go away when it's completely healed. -Mommy's hoping this will never happen again! (She can hope, right?)

2nd in line... Luke got a bit creative during school time on Thursday. He was caught doing a little art project all over his arms and hands! Mommy quickly addressed the situation, informed him of his wrong actions (which he was very aware of) and without giggling, snapped this photo! He then spent at least 20 minutes trying to get it off. Some day he'll understand why Mommy just had to take the photo and hide her inner laughter. Cute kid!!

3rd... This is a sweet one. During a playdate with a neighbor and friends, Luke had his first violin lesson using a 1/16 size violin. He LOVED it! Mommy was impressed with his gentleness and how well he listened to instructions.

Bonding and Funny Moments

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1. First things first... Bonding:

Luke and Keith have this special little world they play in where they both retend they are puppies. It's really, really cute!

The kids are enjoying the virtual world with Daddy by playing Free Realms. They have a character that they created for their adventures and now have a virtual dog too. I guess this is the next best thing to having a real one. ;-)

Luke and Emily are so nurtutring with one another. Its very sweet to watch them comfort each other.

2. Now... for the funny moments:

Just the other day Luke asked Keith, "Daddy, why doesn't mommy toot like us?" Keith had a hard time responding to this question. All he could really say was that mommy is just made different and isn't quite like the two of them. I guess the boys have found more ways to bond!

There's a special part of the day when the kids seem to hear a silent announcement of 'Hey kids... it's fort building time!' Unfortunately, mommy doesn't hear this announcement and has to hold back all frustration and anxiety of the inevitable late night clean up! The kids are so distraught and disappointed about their forts coming down that she waits until they are asleep to put the house back together.

Watch the veggies disappear...

2009-08-24T20:40:00.007-05:00

Well, we sure are enjoying the kids as they sample many new veggies... including Luke. When we decided to switch back to a vegetarian diet (and now leaning toward a vegan, whole plant foods diet), we were a little concerned as to what Luke might actually eat. Deep down I assumed the general rule of 'if they're hungry, they'll eventually eat' and it seems to be working exactly as hoped. Just the other day Luke inhaled a full plate of lo mein and rice... with lots of veggies. He willingly wanted to sample the snow peas and broccoli. After trying them he agreed that they were really good. (Mom and Dad are thrilled to pieces!!) For some time now his main veggie was a whole raw carrot. Now he has ventured into cooked veggies too. And, even better, he's been asking to sample my veggie sandwiches (loaded with fresh veggies). And, like very other veggie, he decides he likes them. Yeah!! This has opened a whole new door for Luke at the dinner table. He loves most soups that are presented, delights in most of our whole grain breads and is sure to thank our Heavenly Father for each and every dish! If he's not sure about something, Emily jumps right in and shows him how much she enjoys it. She's the best!!

More to come.

And... now I've started an organic produce co-op. As the coordinator of this co-op, all orders from friends and neighbors are delivered to our house. The kids and I sort the produce and make everyone's box. They then stop by during pickup time and claim their box. Our benefit in this is a free box of produce which is wonderful since we're primarily eating fruits, veggies, whole grains and fresh home-baked breads. :-) Delish!!

We have a new smile in our home

2009-08-24T20:37:00.004-05:00

Emily lost her 2nd top front tooth on the 16th! She has a whole new smile now.

This poor tooth was holding on for dear life for far too long. She was twisting it around like an owl can spin it's neck. It was so hard to watch, but she was loving every moment. She even tried to get Luke to help her knock it out with various bribes and bargaining tools. (Very clever and cute.) Of course daddy offered to pull it out with pliers, which always sent everyone into a tizzy.

The loss of this tooth was non-dramatic. It simply fell out when she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. We'll post a pix very soon.

Time sure flies...

2009-08-13T06:58:00.001-05:00

So many new NEWS topics... a must read

2009-07-10T19:39:00.005-05:00

1. Luke can swim!!! He's been doing this for about a month now, but I have failed to post it. He jumps in the pool and swims to me approx. 5 - 7 ft.
2. Luke chipped his front tooth, again! 9 months ago he did this with a face plant on a down hill sloped driveway. This time he did it when playing chase and running into the dryer door. I'm a little concerned about this.

3. Emily lost her front left tooth (FINALLY), after it dangled for days. Sadly, she swallowed it with her ice cream. It was quite tramatic and led into an anatomy and digestive tract science lesson. The poor thing. Now her front right tooth is bucked out all by itself and has no defense. It's getting bumped regularly and looser every moment. She's soon to be toothless in the front upper jaw. At least she's mastered the art of eating on the side of her mouth.

4. We have mastered the are of free fun and entertainment! Yesterday we enjoyed a free movie at the theater along with a free lunch. Today we dressed up like cows for a free combo meal at Chick-Fil-A, followed by free bowling!

Mooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! -Will Moo for food!!Gator and Blueberry Themed Cows! Bowling with friends... the Cellucci (Joseph and Jonathan) and Bonham (Gracie and Sydnie) families!
5. Luke is also my little stunt man. I find him jumping off of most anything (especially furniture) or testing the limits of his body and furniture. He likes to play with toys taking the approach of 'How much can it with-stand before it will break!' Then he just likes to play with the broken pieces. I'm trying not to stress out about it.

6. Luke - Our Knight that's here to save the day. Luke simply loves to use his air gun to shoot us or other imaginary bad guys. He seems to have the 'super hero' lifestyle on his brain, a lot! This is so not like my precious and princess-like Emily as a toddler.

7. Luke is constantly asking me questions about stories we've read. He remembers the character names and is begging to hear it again. Right this very minute he's asking about Farmer Bunce and Farmer Beans from 'Fantastic Mr. Fox.' Emily is terrific in handling Luke's many questions. She's so sweet and patient with him (most of the time). She enjoys reading to him now that she can actually read.

8. Learning a new lifestyle, being frugal with everything. The kids now include the idea of using coupons for most every purchase request or idea. It comes up in conversation A LOT. In fact, the kids loved dressing up as cows so much today that they have decided they want to continue to do that at home. They mentioned they would find a coupon to give to mommy along with their costume in full appearance in exchange for mommy's homecooked meals! Too cute. They have also learned to be patient (waiting for a sale) and not make a purchase spontaneously. Also, if there's something in particular that they really want to buy, they instantly think of ways I can help them with my coupons. They have heard me talk about specific things being a money maker, and how much of a profit they generate that they know to ask me for some of those coupons to pair with what they want to buy so that it won't cost them anything. I can't wait to see how this will impact the rest of their lives, on a positive note! What an amazing skill this is to share with the kids!

8. so much more... coming soon.

Summer Trip to the Northern Beaches with Family

2009-07-10T19:39:00.001-05:00

so many pix to come

One More Tooth... Our big news of the day

2009-06-19T18:19:00.003-05:00

Emily lost another tooth! Here's the story:

Emily has had a tooth hanging on for weeks. She insists on letting it fall out naturally, so we have been patiently waiting. During some rough play with Luke in the kids cart at Publix, Luke bumped her mouth and blood was everywhere. Panic set in and mommy was busy down playing it (while not looking, intentionally) and keeping new paper towels on the bleeding area. Within in minutes (just as mommy was saying, 'I'm sure it will fall out sometime today honey') the tooth was officially out and Emily was filled with mixed emotions. Luckily, but the time we were in the car Emily decided to focus on the bright side of things (money... lol) and was no longer mad at her brother for knocking it loose. :-) And... fortunately, her 60 sec scare of losing her tooth in the Publix parking lot was just an oversight. The tooth was not lost. Now she's busy telling everyone, who has been giving her money for each tooth, that she has lost another one.

And... mommy saved the day at dinner time. Emily was upset she couldn't eat her corn on the cob due to her mouth sensitivities. Mommy quickly convinced her that corn off the cob, cut in rows is a special treat. Luke was convinced as well and actually requested corn rows versus his corn on the cob. :-) I suspect Luke will now as for corn in one of three ways (grandparents, take notes): 1) Corn on the cob; 2) Corn off the cob (meaning frozen corn); 3) Corn rows (corn freshly cut off the cob after cooking). :-)

Emily's Ballet Recital - Doxa - 06/05/09

2009-06-03T20:16:00.003-05:00

Emily and her Beginning Ballet II class as Red Riding Hood:

Development

2009-05-26T12:28:00.003-05:00

Luke:

Our little guy absolutely LOVES to count and so his favorite bedtime book is the Goldfish counting book. He loves it so much that he wants to sleep with it. He gets easily board with it only going to 10, that he decides to put the pages together so he can count to 20. What's really funny is that until last night, he would count to 12 and then only say the even numbers to 20. Last night he started trying to say all of the other numbers inbetween, but his pronunciation is only that of a newly 3 year old, so thirteen often times sounds a lot like fourteen... however his fourteen is over pronounced and the FOUR stands out. It's so cute helping him and listening to him rattle his numbers off really fast over and over.

Luke has some new words and phrases in his vocabulary. (****I'm drawing a blank... examples coming...****) He also loves to sing. His favorite songs are Joy to the World, ABCs, and Jingle Bells.

Today Luke decided he was doing school with Emily. We moved the school table out away from the wall so all three of us could sit at it. I retrieved a preschool basics book from our school shelf and gave it to him. I was astonished at his ability to do it... all. I just needed to read the directions and he could do it! Yikes... he just turned three. I think more play time is needed, he doesn't need to be flying through books intended for four year olds. At least we know he's a bright little guy.

Luke enjoys most any activity that involves running or a ball. He loves to pretend he's leaping over hurdles and in a big race. He also loves to throw balls and frisbees, and has a great aim when he throws... it will be interesting to see what God does with that gift. He also LOVES to paint and build wood projects as well.

Emily:

Our precious daughter is on her way to mastering single and double addition and subtraction as well as answering and writing her own story problems. Her penmanship is becoming very pretty and she is eager to learn cursive... so much so that she's teaching herself. She is also a great reader. She loves Pooh Bear's poems, Dr. Seuss and various beginning to read books. We often find her creating her own poetry in her journal, which is a real treat.

Emily is now playing piano with flats. Her current songs are a marching song, a more complicated jingle bells, Indian Song, and Rockin' Tune. She does not look forward to learning new songs, but once she practices them a few times, she delights in playing them with ease.

Her art skills are rapidly developing. She LOVES all forms of art and is eager to start her new art program, Artistic Pursuits. Daily, she is transforming everyday things into a new creation. She has quite the imagination and we are loving it.

Luke Turns 3 in Style at Disney!!!

2009-05-13T08:04:00.003-05:00

Luke's big cake at Hoop Dee Doo Musical RevueSaying hello to Lightening McQueen and MaterJust being Luke...

And... a big hello from his buddies, Buz and Woody!

Spring Pictures

2009-04-30T21:46:00.004-05:00

Just Like Pop Pop...

2009-04-29T23:14:00.001-05:00

... That's what he thinks of himself when he's all dressed up in this suit (from Pop Pop and Nan).

Boy, Have We Been Busy...

2009-04-25T14:08:00.007-05:00

Worship Dance Recital - "Unshackled":

Digging for Bones

Parent Observation Day at Ballet (Doxa)

Farm Trip

Lowe's Kid's Club Build and Grow Workshop

Tea Time

Luke's New Words:

Our little Lukie loves to correct us when we call him anything but Luke. He quickly tells us his name is not _________, it's Luke!!! He is also quite the talker. He talks and talks and talks. He now counts from 1 to 11 by himself and identifies most letters in the alphabet and numbers up to 5. He also sings the ABCs, Jingle Bells, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and a few others. He loves to sing!!! It's amazing just how much he talks and sings now that he can. He LOVES to play with this Thomas the Train Laptop as well. He practices his ABCs every night while I catch up on email. It's really cute.

Emily likes to take credit for Luke learning his ABCs and Numbers. She is often caught teaching him at the school table. She will use a ruler to point to a number on the number chart and will make him repeat after her up to 50! (She has high expectations.)

Art by Emily

2009-04-20T22:36:00.001-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Pre-Easter Fun

2009-04-14T04:57:00.009-05:00

Emily Doodles... Emily puts on a Mexican party, complete with a dance.

The babysitter helped her get the party ready for us one Sunday evening.

Emily's new thing is hand art...

Celebration of Spring and Easter

2009-04-14T04:57:00.008-05:00

Our Resurrection Cookies... (the tomb was empty on Easter morning)
Luke performs with his Sunday School class.
Emily and Luke

Our Easter Eggs
Emily and Addie share their egg finds!
Luke ROCKED the toddler section of the egg hunt. Mommy had to tell him to stop as he was picking them up and giving them a toss into the bag she was holding. (He's got a good aim.)
Emily and the bunny at the egg hunt.

A busy day - full of fun

2009-04-03T23:00:00.004-05:00

The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves today. I was thrilled with many great book finds at a local curriculum sale along with the arrival of our new 'Picturing America' art series and they simply had a blast creating so many new things with the packaging material. Sometimes I wonder why I invest so much time and effort into preparing learning materials when they just want a box!?!

First up, they made a basketball court and hoop. Then they made a pony ride. Third, they created a house and played 'family.' Last, they made a stage and put on musicals and stunt filled performances. It was wonderful.

They also enjoyed a gift from one of the venders, a paper based stained glass replica art book. Luke mostly wanted to paint and Emily created many beautiful pictures. They didn't care about books or lessons, they just wanted to play and use their imagination. Luke kept requesting to paint all afternoon and was delighted with each creation. Oh... the simple things in life.

Tomorrow will be filled with excitement. We plan to attend our neighborhood egg hunt, complete a bird house at Home Depot, attend the Toys R Us Spring Party and lastly, enjoy an afternoon at a friend's birthday party! We will have a busy, yet fun-filled day for sure.

What my kids think of me.

2009-03-10T19:35:00.003-05:00

Copied from Facebook... but only posting for family to read. :-)

What my 6 and 2 year olds thinks of me (Emily is first response, Luke is second):

1. What is something mom always says to you?
-I look pretty.
-Clean up.

2. What makes mom happy?
-When I'm nice to you and when I give you a back rub.
-A sandwich.

3. What makes mom sad?
-When Luke and I sin.
-Crying.

4. How does your mom do to make you laugh?
-She does nothing.
-I act silly.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
-I think you liked ice cream.
-You cleaned up faster.

6. How old is your mom?
-You gotta guess. You're 17 hundred years old... LOL.
-2!

7. How tall is your mom?
-She is hugest to the clouds. She's like a giant.
-Bigger!

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
-Eat ice cream every day and every night.
-Tennis.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
-She just does nothing.
-Walk around and around in circles.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
-For money.
-Tennis.

11. What is your mom really good at?
-You're really good at sewing, right?
-Tennis

12. What is your mom not very good at?
-dancing (then she proceeded to show me what I can't do that she can do)
-Making soup. I don't like you to do that anymore.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
-She saves money, tutors, sports and Silpada.
-Pop Pop and Nan's boat.

14. What's your mom's favorite food?
-You're favorite food is baked ziti.
-Sandwich.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
-Oh brother, that she makes me my Jessie costume!
-Soup!

Luke wants to do more... if you think of more questions, send them along.

videos to share

2009-03-09T20:31:00.001-05:00

Keith and Emily made some fun videos...

www.mymagicalparade.com/20756
www.mymagicalparade.com/20743

Luke has a new thing... he likes us rubbing his back at bed time, while singing twinkle, twinkle little stars AND jingle bells.

Language and Prayer

2009-03-05T08:06:00.004-05:00

Emily loves to speak with different accents while playing. It amazes me how well she does. Does this mean she might be a great actress someday??? Who knows.

Luke, on the other hand, went from a brief studdering (when excited and trying to get his words out), to speaking really fast and with emotion... and with a V every where. Here are some examples:
Mom, VOOK!
Vopcorn, vretty vlease?
I don't vike vat ANYMOOOORE!

And he pronounces Emily's name as MY sometimes and another times as Amy or Emmy. It's mostly Amy now. She says it's okay because it's a great name! When he's in a hurry or really excited, he calls her MY.

Meal time prayers are adorable. Luke thanks God for everything on the table, one item at a time. Sometimes he repeats items. It's just so cute. Keith and I have a hard time not laughing. I was amazed that he could say 'broccoli' last night. He won't eat it, but he was thankful for it. How cute!! When we discuss our 'Daily Thankfulness' topics, he typically mentions 'God, Jesus, God, Jesus' and then might mention a family member or a specific toy. It's just too cute. If I ask him for another item, he usually picks God or Jesus again. :-)

Do you notice something different with Emily???

2009-03-01T15:32:00.005-05:00

A little photo fun at Disney's Color Lab. Digital props were added by Emily!

Art by Emily

2009-03-01T15:30:00.001-05:00

View Project at Shutterfly

Disney Image Works... Fun Photo Creation!

2009-02-27T20:25:00.002-05:00

Emily added the digital props... isn't she clever?!?

~Valentine's Day Smiles~

2009-02-14T22:58:00.004-05:00

Keith surprised Angela with some beautiful roses!

We created our own edible arrangement...It was a yummy arrangement!

Mommy's Valentine from Emily Dearest

Uncle John paid us a visit!
The kids' highlight... the balloons from grandma and grandpa!!! At least their balloon games helped to burn off some of the sugar from the edible arrangement.

HUMONGOUS...

2009-02-06T20:34:00.003-05:00

Luke has a new word... HUMONGOUS! That's right... he describes everything (well, almost everything) by labeling it HUMONGOUS in some form. It's really quite cute. He even spreads his arms out wide to show us.

Some times it's a bowl of chips, or as simple as a piece of fruit. Everything is HUMONGOUS in our little guy's eyes.

(Smile.)

A New Alphabet??? - Reflection of January

2009-01-30T13:00:00.003-05:00

Emily decided to create her own alphabet. She started asking me what A - B would be... and suggested -A. This is so funny, because we haven't addressed negative numbers in math yet.
She also asked what A +, A + A and AA would be in the alphabet. Oh well. I find her little imagination so fun to keep up with.

Emily has been quite the artist this month... here are some of her pieces:

A self portrait...

Luke and Emily... through the eyes of Emily.fancy artwork on a card sent to family...Middle Eastern Tile Design Featuring a Slide, Rotation and Flip Wood Art... using scrap pieces of wood. Depending on your view, it has a different story.

This is a creature... can you see the face.Theater seatingA balance beam connecting two platforms

A monster/alien created by Emily to scare Bob Bob in December. She used the glue peeled off of a shipping box to make her creature. Bob Bob was scared!!!

And... we had a winter blast. We've never walked out the front door in the morning to see this:

Homeschool Fun... Emily makes her own super market using predetermined prices. (She struggled with the lack of reality of these prices.)

New Poems by Emily

2009-01-29T20:00:00.005-05:00

Emily wrote two new poems today (with a little bit of mommy's help).

Here they are:

To Pop Pop - Love Emily

I once knew a place, called Ocean City.
Everytime I visit, I get real gitty.

I get real gitty, when I see my Pop Pop and Nan
and then my little brother, pretends he's Superman.

When he pretends he's Superman, he thinks he can fly.
Sometimes he chases me on Pop Pop's hill, and forgets to comply.

He forgets to comply, and then starts to cry.
So Pop Pop takes us to Dumser's, and ice cream we spy.

Ice cream we spy, like the boardwalk rides.
With smiles on our face, our excitement is so hard to hide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Mom Mom - Love Emily (1st Try)

I like to spend my summer, visiting Bethany Beach.
If we should see a lizard, Mom Mom would let out a screech.

Mom Mom would let out a screech, if we would rock the canoe.
Perhaps one time we'll really tip over, what would we do?

What would we do, if we were suddenly swimming with leeches?
Perhaps we would scream, and find safety on the beaches.

We'll find safety on the beaches, with Bob Bob waiting to help.
Oh he'll be laughing, as we all let out our yelps!

We all let out our yelps, which quickly turn to giggles.
Then we'll all burst out in song, as we boogie down with the Wiggles!

(2nd Try...)

In the summer, I like to visit Bethany Beach
Playing piano, which Mom Mom likes to teach.

Mom Mom likes to teach, and I like her antiques.
We like to giggle, and spend our day on the beach.

Spend our day on the beach, Kayson and I make lots of castles.
Then Daddy and Luke run by with a dolphin, and leave us all baffled.

Emily delights in the little surprises of life

2009-01-27T09:01:00.002-05:00

Emily has now advanced to playing more than one note at a time with her piano music. She still looks at new, difficult pieces of music and get scared... but she's approaching them with more confidence and delights in the result. She's learning new pieces much quicker now and LOVES playing melodic 2nd and 3rds.

Emily has been quite the artist lately. She has made some amazing Middle Eastern Tile Designs and yesterday made an amazing abstract wood sculpture. She likes to have us look at it at different angles so she can describe what image was created on that angle. In all, she has four pieces of work in one sculpture. It's quite amazing.

Peace of Mind...

2009-01-27T08:58:00.003-05:00

1 Timothy 6:8 puts life in perspective.

Peace of mind can only come from reaching contentment. Being content with all of the blessings God has given us (whether they are how you would have picked them or not) and realizing we can completely trust in Him to provide exactly what we need brings great peace to my life.

Luke Declares He Has A Best Friend!!!

2009-01-24T16:15:00.002-05:00

Yesterday evening Luke's Pop Pop called. Keith asked him if he wanted to talk to Pop Pop and he said, "Yes, Pop Pop's my best friend!" He continued to say it all night long. We're not quite sure what brought this on, but it's very cute and endearing. It goes without saying that Pop Pop is thrilled.

Another Tooth!!!

2009-01-21T10:42:00.002-05:00

Emily is beaming with excitement today... she lost her second tooth.

Here's the story:

It was just hanging around for several days now. She tried to pull it out with a paper towel on Saturday but said it hurt when she tried, so she stopped trying. She asked me this morning how many more days I thought it might be before it fell out and my response was a generous 'one day.' Moments later she was eating her breakfast and spit out a mouthfull of food on to a napkin. I asked her what was wrong and she said there was something hard in it. She looked confused and surprised but instantly took a new bite. I thought about it for a minute, still thinking this was quite strange and then realized... her tooth!!! Calmly I asked her if her tooth was still loose or if it had fallen out. She panicked and spit out the new mouthful and asked me to check for her. It was gone... then she panicked again and half crying asked how she would find it while looking at her pile of half-chewed food. She quickly began seaching and found it... and then dropped it... then found it again on the tile floor. I told her she had a hot potato tooth, as it kept escaping. She's determined not to let Daddy take it tonight by means of the tooth fairy and instead wants to start a collection of her baby teeth to auction off later. I'm sure she's not the first child eager to keep their baby teeth. :-) We'll see what Daddy has to say about her idea.

Something Fun... Give it a Try!!

2009-01-21T08:05:00.001-05:00

THIS IS A LESSON IN PHONETICS

To my 'select' group of strange-minded friends:

Only great minds can read this.

This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearer at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Celebrating Angela's Birthday

2009-01-08T08:53:00.010-05:00

Here are some highlights of our Epcot trip. Hope you enjoy the pictures

Kingdom of Morocco

Viva Mexico!

The churro was YUMMY! Norway
wonderful pasteries...

raspberry glaze, chocolate pound cake (Angela's Birthday Cake)Chocolate mousse cake
Beautiful Sights

Luke in Japanese (left) and Moroccan (right)

Luke in Chinese

Emily in Chinese

Japan

Emily was fascinated by their socks (designed for wearing with flip flops), origami and their toys.

Emily's candy unicorn

Japanese candy artist.

Look, we can eat with chop sticks!!! Japanese night lightsGermany The kids have their first encounter with sauerkraut.

FranceFrench pasteries

Canada

Look, we're astronauts!!

Our 2008 Christmas and Luke's Growing Converstaions

2008-12-31T08:34:00.004-05:00

Pictures of Christmas:

Christmas morning...

Opening Gifts... of which we were very blessed and extremely thankful for.Emily is eager to make cupcakes with her cupcake kit... a gift from Pop Pop and Nan.The kids colored the ornaments... a craft from Uncle Mike and Aunt PepperEmily could not wait to use the craft kits given to her by Grandma and Grandpa.And our traditional Birthday cake for Jesus... a reminder of the real reason for Christmas. We lit the candles following readings from Matthew and Luke. (This time the cake was a white cake with chocolate chips.)

~ Luke's Changes ~

Luke is now full of conversation now that he can say nearly every word on his mind. It has taken us off guard a couple of times, but it's fun. Now that he can say what he is thinking, he has a lot to say!!! He loves to play this little game with me. He runs up to me, asks me what I'm doing. Once I'm done responding to his question he says, "Bye momma." waves to me and then takes off, running a lap around the house. He then comes back and does it all over again. It becomes a game during most late evenings. He also loves to dance and sing. Just the other night he started singing "Jingle Bells" only his version just has the one line. It's really cute. Last year he only said, "Hey!" and this year he's trying to sing the whole song. He also enjoys undressing himself. I frequently find him in just a diaper in the morning. I guess he decides he's done with his PJs and just takes them off. He loves to pick out his own clothes as well as his socks and shoes (and is very opinionated). He also requests gum in the morning before breakfast. I only give him the sugar free kind, so no real worries... but it's funny how he just wants to chew gum and delay the breakfast.

Preparing for Christmas

2008-12-23T21:23:00.009-05:00

So much has happened in the past week that I'm going to take a short cut and list the events!!!

1. Our lightshow troubles are finally over. It is up and running, and receiving great reviews. Our cul de sac party (Birthday Party for Jesus) was last night... and our 50+ guests (maybe near 100???) last night thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Some friends from church stopped by with a trailer full of kids on a hay ride near the end of the party, collected us and we were off to carol to neighbors. It was wonderful. 3 hours laters we returned home will bellies full of hot cocoa and goodies.

2. Keith graduated last Saturday!!! His parents flew into town to celebrate his accomplishment with us... as well as Christmas. It was wonderful to spend time with them this close to the holidays! The kids even put on a music show for the grandparents with Emily on piano and Luke on harmonica... later Emily was on guitar.

3. Emily and Luke performed at Grace UMC last weekend as part of their Worship Dance Program. They LOVED it!

4. Emily and Luke are thoroughly enjoying the events just prior to Christmas Day with gifts gathering around the tree with each shipment from family arriving. I think they are enjoying the boxes and packing materials more than the idea of more gifts arriving. Today they transformed two boxes into cars so they could race eachother on the tile floor in the kitchen. Daddy was the main instigator in this craft/game and thus the primary driving force. When we was too tired to push them, they took turns pushing eachother. It was great.

5. Our friends, the Thomas', from church gave us a unique Christmas gift last night... a giant lemon! It smells so wonderful I don't want to cut it open... though they tell me the one lemon is big enough to make an entire container of lemonade!!!

6. Emily played in her first piano recital at her teacher's Christmas party. It was great.

7. The kids find ways to enjoy their 'creative time' and I took lots of pictures. LOL. Can you name this movie???

8. Emily and I are really enjoying our latest books. Our favorite stories from this month are: Mary on Horseback, The Family Under the Bridge, Dolphin Adventure, and The Light at Tern Rock. We have also enjoyed reading about how people of different countries celebrate Christmas. Mostly, how Sinterclaus traditions take place with shoes left by windows on Dec. 5th and are filled by the AM of Dec. 6th. This leaves Dec. 25th just for Jesus!

We hope you enjoy the pictures. Have a great Christmas.

Emily's first piano performance

2008-12-19T08:07:00.002-05:00

We attended our first Christmas Party at Mrs. Burcham's house last night. Each student took turns playing pieces they had been working on for the party. It was really nice. Emily was a bit shy and finally, near the end, walked up to the piano with her book and played 'Jingle Bells' for everyone. She was so shy, and not her normal (at home) bubbling over the top, singing and bouncing, piano player. It was a great experience for her and we're proud of her.

New News - Luke's Vocabulary Explodes; Emily's New Changes

2008-12-17T08:40:00.002-05:00

The New News...

1- Emily is now riding her bike daily and loving it. She doesn't need any help at all! She has been working with Luke as well, helping him with his tricycle. Now Luke is riding it by himself (mostly backwards as he's fascinated with this new discovery).

2- Luke's vocabulary has exploded! He is now using new descriptive words for his sentences and is full of pep with his speech. We're constantly amazed with the new 'news' coming from his little mouth. Emily wants to take some of the credit for this since she has been working with him, sounding out words one syllable at a time, etc. It's great.

3- Our lightshow is up and running again... and we won the award 'Best Overall' once again for our neighborhood. (Good work Keith!)

4- Emily has a piano recital (her first) on Thursday night. She's really excited about it. She has four Christmas songs that she will be playing.

Luke - Our little engineer; Emily - Our young teacher

2008-12-08T22:13:00.002-05:00

Luke surprised Emily and I today when we noticed he was splitting a colored pencil in half by wedging another one into the cap of missing lead. Once it was split open, he removed the lead and observed how it's tube like shape rolls when you hit it with a stick (or half a pencil). He created his own little game right at the table while Emily was working on her math homework.

Emily and Luke have been playing this little game called 'dog trainer.' Emily pretends to be the owner of a sweet and dear little puppy and luke plays the part of a puppy eager to learn new tricks. She teaches him to sit, fetch, jump, etc. by offering him treats (typically crackers). It's absolutely hilarious how the two of them play their role so well. Even visitors are amazed and delighted with giggles when they observe it. Emily is so proud of all of the new things she can teach Luke when he's a dog. :-) His favorite part (aside from the treats I suppose) is when he can climb up to us, pant and then lick our face. He thinks it's cute and does it over and over. Doggie kisses... right? LOL

Thanksgiving at the Singleton Home

2008-11-29T15:42:00.001-05:00

Emily and Luke made lots of Thanksgiving crafts all morning. This was one of them. They thoroughly enjoyed our morning and dinner with daddy as well. We played some games and read some stories... but the crafts were the highlight. I thought it was cute how Luke said he was thankful for money. It's a new word for him.

Emily's 6th Birthday

2008-11-25T20:42:00.001-05:00

Here's a preview of Emily's birthday celebration!!!

A homemade pinata.

A party with friends.

She finally gets her baby carriage.

She's thrilled with her wish come true of her very own Christmas tree.

Big News for Emily!!!

2008-11-25T20:00:00.002-05:00

After patiently waiting for a few weeks, her first tooth has finally fallen out! Many people suggested she pull it out and even offered to pull it out, but she chose to wait patiently. Tonight, after some rough play with Daddy and Luke, she realized that it was laying on her tongue... and was so surprised and excited all at the same time.
The first call she made about the news was to her piano teacher, Mrs. Burcham. Second she requested calling Miss Amy, but mommy advised her to wait. Third was Grandma, then Mom Mom and she insisted Pop Pop could wait until tomorrow.
Emily is now begging mommy to play the tooth fairy role for her, hoping she will be blessed with a big award.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

2008-11-17T09:22:00.008-05:00

Nothing but smiles on the tram...

We stopped at one of Disney's restaurants to celebrate Emily's birthday. Our waitress was over the top and gave Emily a sweet and soft birthday song with a special surprise.

A Tinkerbell glowing light.

Main Street

The Million Dollar Lights on Cinderella's Castle

Holiday Treats!!!

Fireworks Display in Christmas colors

Stage Show

Look... we caught the confetti

Really big smiles!!!

Parade

Our last look as we say goodbye

Family Photos

2008-11-15T20:23:00.003-05:00

Disney Trip - Fort Wilderness and Magic Kingdom

2008-11-15T20:21:00.003-05:00

During our stay at Disney (Fort Wilderness), we spent one day at the Magic Kingdom. Here's our story...
Here are Keith and Luke.

Emily and Luke get their first driving experience... (Watch Out)

Luke had a blast. He also had a hard time. I now know why these steering wheels are padded. The poor guy can't see where he's taking us and so we had a lot of bumps. He would hit his head on the wheel, then the side, then me, then the wheel a couple of times, then the side. I had to stop taking pictures to help him. Shew!!!Luke finally meets Buzz!!!Can you believe they serve Mickey Mouse ears on their ice cream cones?!?

Keith asked us to pose for a pictures... how sweet!

If you can believe this... there are actually two birds here. The one on top was pushing the other one down and poking at it's head!!! Yes, rage at Disney!!!

The Tea Cups!!! Emily had a blast... can you tell?

Ducks and her ducklings hanging out by the docks of Fort Wilderness

A view of the path at Fort Wilderness

We had some morning visitors

The castle, all lit up

A crystal sculpture of the castle... Guess how much it is!!!! (Several thousand dollars)

Luke's one request was for this lollipop! It only looks like he's eating it... he's just posing with a wrapped lollipop! (He never did get to open it... and has long forgotten about it.)

The tree of Pooh!!!

And Pooh Land

Luke gives Pooh a high-five

And Emily gives him a big hug

The Disney Cast all ride in on the train to greet everyone at 9a just before the park opens!!! This is the first time that we got to see this.

Keith treated us to a nice carriage ride around Fort Wilderness

Here's Chip!!!

Some songs with Chip and Dale...

Ahhh... pony rides!!! They each rode four ponies! Daddy just can't say, "no."

Smores?!?!?

Toy Story 2 ... It's Us!!!

2008-10-31T21:53:00.006-05:00

Our 2008 Family Photo!

Buzz and Jesse are ready for the night!Our very own Buzz.

This may be the only time you see Keith dressed as a cowboy! Here he is as Woody. Mommy as Bo PeepIt's Candy Time!Emily found some good stuff in her pumpkin... and purposely picked some of mommy's favorites as well. Luke's big request all night... lollipops!

Laugh Out Louds and Other Points of Interest

2008-10-30T10:12:00.005-05:00

Here's a quick pix of the kids eating their caramel apples. Notice how first they ate the caramel!!! A quick break from playing (a Jesus play to be specific) to pose for a picture requested by Emily.

Luke smiles BIG for a picture after a spaghetti dinner! He went straight to the bath following this pix!

Our babysitter, Danni made this for Luke. We are quite fond of it, so we took a picture and are adding it to our family site of memories.

We recently found a new playground that is surrounded by a farm. The kids like to watch the cows, even talk to them from time to time in the midst of playing. We like to ride our bikes to this park in the afternoons. It makes a great family outing.

We call this playground the World of Spinning.' Everything here has a spinning attribute.

Some of it is just simply beautiful! Like this butterfly garden.

And then Luke decides to sit in the chair of perpetual spinning!!! We had to help him out.

Our friends... the Moo Moos!

Costumes Are Almost Done!!!

2008-10-30T09:42:00.003-05:00

We are almost ready for our debut of 'Toy Story II' tomorrow! Woody's costume just needs some red stripes on his shirt. Jessie's costume just needs some additional ties to the chaps. Buzz Lightyear's needs to be hung up and not worn as it's starting to show signs of over use. And... Bo Peep's costume just needs some leggings and the final touches on the bonnet! This has been a long and tedious process, but thankfully I discovered the beauty of using the iron-on hem, eleviating my need to hand sew everything like previous years!

Tomorrow we will have pictures up for everyone to see! I can't wait!!

-Angela

Bananas!!!

2008-10-22T22:10:00.004-05:00

While reviewing my previous posts I realized that I forgot to journal about BANANAS!!!

1. Luke thinks he's a monkey most of the time. (Well, when he's not Buzz Lightyear or pretending to be Emily's dog, which is quite often.) So, he asks for bananas a lot! In fact, it's rare for him to go to bed at night before inhaling a banana first!

2. The kids (mostly Luke) have figured out how to pretend a banana is a telephone. It's really funny.

3. Last week we went to the produce section of Publix and weighed different items. What we ended up leaving with was the reality that most bananas that day weigh roughly half a pound. (I really had no idea they were that heavy!) We then weighed ourselves and realized that Luke weighs 48 bananas, Emily weighs 96 bananas and well... I didn't calculate mine. LOL. Now the kids like to brag about how many bananas they weigh! Who couldn't have more fun with school and learning then to make this analogy/correlation!

Emily's Progress

2008-10-22T19:37:00.003-05:00

Emily has finished reading 'I Can Read It Book 1' and is now on book 2. She is quite pleased with her accomplishment. She also LOVES math. We spend ~1-1.5 hours a day on math. She just keeps asking for more and then makes up her own story problems (yes, math story problems) for additional fun and application. She also looks forward to changing the calendar on the fridge, filling out her math book calendar and weather graph, and then using the 100 counting chart. Today I gave her a bowl full of change and asked her to use her counting chart to tell me how many pennies were in the bowl. She enjoyed the challenge and ended up on 67 pennies! She seemed to enjoy that more than discovering how many bananas she weighed. :-)

Emily's handwriting is greatly improving as well. Her letters and numbers are very smooth and proportionate compared to two months ago. I'm quite impressed. :-)

Enough for now... more to come.

We've been SMARTIED!!!

2008-10-22T19:12:00.002-05:00

So... have you ever been SMARTIED??? We have! We received 288 packages yesterday and then another 1440 today! I can't believe it. How did we get hooked up??? It turns out someone Keith knows owns Smarties and decided to bless us with a load of candy! Be sure to stop by our house on the 31st for your share! (I'm sure we'll be donating several bags to the church too.)

Buzz Lightyear and His Launch Pads - Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-21T19:04:00.005-05:00

October!!!

So it turns out that Luke LOVES his costume. He MUST wear it whenever it's on his mind. I find myself hiding it in his closet so that it's out of site and out of mind.

Today we had a little photo shoot of Emily (Jesse) and Luke (Buzz Lightyear) at the mall. Luke was on cloud 9 about being able to wear his costume. And yes, he hit meltdown when I made him take it off to eat a late afternoon snack and then take a nap.

Upon arrival home, he insisted on wearing his costume again. He has since tested many launch pads around the living room. Everytime I look over to check on him, he's standing on another new surface. A raised surface... ahhhh! Pretty much anytime I don't hear the plastic rubbings of his costume, I can assume he's either thinking of a new surface to try or he's found it and is on top of it, waiting for my approval. Thankfully he waits for approval before testing it!
We now have 'Mother Approved Launch Pads' through out the house (couch cushions lying on the floor) and several 'Non-Approved Launch Pads.' It's a bit scary!!! I'm still rather new to this little boy, super hero thing and am much more comfortable with the challenges of raising a little princess.

On another note... thankfully his costume had BIG knee pads built in!!! It must have been designed by a mother of boys. :-) (And... there sure is a lot of sweat inside his costume when I take it off of him. It's gonna stink by the 31st!)

~ Non-Approved Launch Pads ~

~Mother Approved Launch Pad~

And... then there was the visit to the pumpkin patch!!! We sure had fun with hay rides and pumpkin pickin'! Enjoy the pix.This is our 'ugly pumpkin pick' for the year.

Emily Writes Her Very First Rhyme

2008-10-15T17:58:00.002-05:00

Here is Emily's first Rhyme

One, two, chase a Whoo
Three, four, chase some more
Five, six, lollipop licks
Seven, eight, pick up Nate
Nine, ten, throw him in a pig pen!

We thought it was pretty cute, and so we're sharing it.

Romans 12:2

2008-10-14T21:59:00.002-05:00

Life is filled with fun and laughter...

2008-10-11T06:07:00.007-05:00

Emily is very proud of her little brother and excited for him in his new costume.

Here are her Super Hero muscles!!! (Just a note... she's still trying to convince me (mommy) to be her horse for Halloween since she will be Toy Story's Jessie. I'm not too thrilled about being a horse... so she keeps offering that maybe she will be the horse (since she's wearing all brown and has the clothing for it already) and I can be Jessie. In the end, she chose to be Jessie and agrees that I can be Lil' Bo Peep. Daddy will be Woody.)

Let it rain...
Luke found a new toy with our paper towels!!!
Luke reads to Georgie just like big sister reads to her pig, dolls, etc.
Luke checks out all of the gadgets on his new Buzz Lightyear Costume.

And then he has to test it out and make sure that it's truly Super Hero Quality!!! (I keep losing my laundry baskets and find them next to this chair.)
Step One: Set the StageStep Two: Ready for Jump Step Three: Go!!! Step Four: Mission Complete
Emily learns how to make a mural.

Luke's favorite pass time while he waits for Emily to finish her school work. (Emily made this little fort for him.) What is he watching you ask??? Well, Toy Story of course. LOL. He has to learn all of his super hero tricks before the 31st!And then one night I was trying to find Luke for bed time... and here he was, laying on a pile of laundry. He thought it was quite comfy and wanted to set up camp.
Luke and Emily read their own bedtime stories.

Emily and Ethan

2008-10-01T21:55:00.005-05:00

The two friends had another play date. It was very sweet to see them together. I still have a hard time with the two of them believing they will get married some day. Ethan's mom and I talk about this from time to time and try to make sure it's guided appropriately. Emily and I have had countless talks about how God has a special person picked to be her husband some day and that she will need to patiently wait and see if Ethan is that person or not. And... that she needs to remember that she has many years ahead before she needs to think about his. It doesn't matter how much I talk to her, she always responds with comments of how nice he is and that he loves Jesus too and that God has told her in her heart that he is 'the one.'
Ahhh... Deep Sigh...
Nevertheless... They send each other letters and talk of the other frequently (though they rarely see each other inspite of living really close to one another). Here's a couple of pix.

So many new things...

2008-10-01T21:44:00.003-05:00

Luke is growing up so quickly.
Here's the cliff note version:

1. He frequently responds to my requests with, "Why momma?" in such a sincere sweet manner.
2. He decided he wanted to wear underwear today and flew around the house pausing occasionally to say, "No pee pees, go in the potty."
3. He tried to use the potty several times but nothing happened. If Emily was around he would pretend to pee pee using sounds while smiling. (He knows he's silly.) If she wasn't around he would let me know he was trying but nothing happened.
4. He LOVES Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
5. He recently decided it's fun to set up camp and ask to have a pile of laundry as a bed.
6. He enjoys talking on the phone and asks for a turn to chat. (He even answered the phone for me tonight upon my request.)
7. He now helps with regular activities including setting the table, throwing things away and doing the laundry.
8. He has an opinion about his clothes and what he wants to wear.
9. He prompts Emily to join us at the dinner table by saying, "Mi, time to eat. Come on Mi, time to eat!" (Yes, he's stilling calling her Mi.)
10. He learned how to say, "I love you mommy/daddy/too" and started adding a kiss afterwards.
11. He is getting better about putting his own shoes on and taking them off. He almost always sits on the rub by the door to take them off when he gets home.
12. He always shouts with delight when he sees the golden arches. (I truly don't know how it is that every child can assume they love this place when they don't see the ads on TV and they rarely visit. Oh well.)

I could keep going but I need to stop for now. Pictures to come...

Our Homeschooling Classroom has Grown and We Visited Cypress Gardens!

2008-09-27T21:30:00.004-05:00

Meet our Homeschool Family ~ A class of four ... Sarah, Emily, Gracie and Luke

Fun at Cypress Gardens ... The beauty of homeschooling is that we can share it with friends and if we get our work for the week completed early, we can hit a theme park for a day of play! (We did do some educational stuff too. :-) Silly girls.
After a HOT day, we had to stop for some Edy's ice cream.
Luke tried is best to lift up this Cypress Knee while the rest of us discussed an earlier science lesson about trees and their roots.
Peek a Boo... who's driving anyways?Here's the silly side of the kids... just had to share it.Just before we left the park for the day, we stopped to read this sign in the rose garden.

Luke meets his buddy Georgie and we have fun at Universal Studios

2008-09-19T20:14:00.002-05:00

End of Summer Getaway and Kim's Wedding

2008-09-05T06:02:00.011-05:00

The kids enjoyed some time running around on Pop-Pop's hill!

Pop-Pop bought Luke a new whistle and he loved showing everyone how well he could blow it!!
A little time at a local beach...

The Bride and Groom - Patrick and Kimberly BarbatoFamily (minus the parents) Reception Decorations

The only photo of me with the kids thanks to a family member. That's the breaks for being behind the camera all of the time time. :-)
Luke enjoys a glass of apple juice.

Luke places his first drink order with Frank!
Emily and Luke enjoy some piano time at Nikki and Frank's home.
Kayson, Emily and Luke... at the wedding.
Bethany Beach Boardwalk... Emily poses with her movie star glasses (compliments of Mango's Restaurant) while Mom-Mom takes the picture.

And here is all of us...
Ahhh... a nice glass of cold water. Frank makes the best drinks!
Aunt Kim wants a kiss... hmmm... not sure about that.
Emily and Kayson

A little time on the dance floor.

Rehobeth Beach Boardwalk Fun Zone...

VBS - Being Silly - Emily Begins Piano

2008-08-09T05:41:00.007-05:00

It's been a wild and crazy summer keeping up with Emily and Luke, but we're loving it. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the pool and all the fun we have there each day. For safety reasons I can't manage pictures and keeping Luke afloat while he thinks he really can swim! Enjoy the stories! -Angela

Can you say Family Band Rehearsal / Rock Concert in the LIVINGROOM??? Yep, we did it. The kids wanted to have a 'church band show' (as they called it) and so we did. Here's Luke sporting the guitar and his very own look a like security band clearance badge (actually a Hershey's Chocolate Factory ID badge).
We have a new SUPER HERO... named Luke the All Mighty!! Today was obviously a dress up day and Luke put on a make shift cape. He then ran around the house saying "Whoo-Hooo" and pretended to save the day! This was an improvement from his desire (and Emily's) to dress him up in a tutu so he could learn ballet from our very own ballerina, Emily. :-) Luke as a Super Hero is an every day occurence in some fashion or another.

And... who would have thought that our very own Luke would discover (or even think of) how to break into his own toy kitchen through the kitchen window?!?!?! He was loving it... and for safety reasons we had to put the kitchen back up against the wall.

Out of the blue one day, Luke showed us he could respond to a stranger's question of, "How old are you?" by holding up his two fingers. We have been working on this, but he never cared to join in... until now!
VBS at Abiding Savior... 'Calling All Heros' The kids had a blast with this VBS and LOVED to dress up as pirates and be God's Super Heros!

They really enjoyed the singing and dancing part too.
Now that they are pirates, they pretend to sail the seas in a laundry basket on our carpet floor... but don't spoil the fun. Sometimes they add blue colored blankets to make it look more like the ocean!VBS at The Family Church... Island Style
Emily (and her friend Ansley) perform in the preschool section of the VBS musical.The kids LOVED the children's building under water ocean experience. Here's just a taste of the fun.
Emily requests a picture in front of her keyboard where she spends 30 minutes a day practicing her new music. She's loving it!

Emily's first days of school!!

2008-07-29T19:41:00.001-05:00

Emily is making new friends and enjoying our schooling at home with Sonlight. She's reading too!!!! She's in the beginning stages, but she's reading ~20 sentences a day or more. I have books with short stories in them that do a lot of rhyming or changing only one letter, etc. She practiced her -at words today along with learning the 'th' sound for The and That. She's even writing sentences through copywork. She's so proud of herself. Her favorite part is science. We tried to make our own rainbow today but the sun didn't cooperate very well for us. She has also decided she's going to build a money machine for daddy. She drew her plans for the machine and says once it's build his employees and visitor will simply put their money in it and then he won't have to go to work anymore! Smart girl, huh? If only life was that simple. Perhaps she will invent something some day and will simply have people investing in it so she doesn't have to work again. :-)

Our Summer Vacation and Visit to MD/DE

2008-07-06T10:53:00.009-05:00

We played a little mini golf in an indoor under the sea course.

We enjoyed some time on the beach too.

Ocean City Boardwalk - Fun on Rides Emily and Kayson

Walking back to our car with Nan
The girls went out for an afternoon of tea...
Rehobeth Beach Boardwalk ~ Fun on the Rides!! A little battle with the straws while we wait for our pizza!

A trip on the kayak at Mom Mom and Bob Bob's house.
Emily and Luke enjoy some time sitting on the SOFT grass at Pop Pop and Nan's house.
Emily plays her first game of chess with daddy during our stay at Mom Mom and Bob Bob's house. Luke enjoys a little piano time (after waiting patiently for Emily to give him a turn).
A little band time at the Hick's home.

Parasailers over the bay.
A couple of sail boats on the bay.
We even did a little crabbing!! That was quite the experience. Flying kites with Pop-Pop.

Enjoying the beach! (Below is Emily and Keith embracing some waves.)

We had a great time!

Happy Father's Day!!!

2008-06-14T23:03:00.002-05:00

Just want to send a little note of appreciation and thanks to our DADDY!!! Happy Father's Day!

Emily's Ballet Recital

2008-06-05T22:46:00.005-05:00

~ June 6, 2008 ~

DOXA Dance Studio presents... "In the Beginning" a story about Creation, based on Genesis.
Emily's class was the Deep Blue River. Emily and some of her classmates sat on stage while they waited for rehearsal to begin.

Emily poses with Miss Sam (her assistant teacher).

Emily poses her own little pose for Mommy to take a picture.
This is the professional photo for the event. Following the recital, Emily was given these roses for her terrific performance. She embraced them with lots of love and a huge smile. She kept asking if she was the "bestest" and "prettiest" one tonight. How could a parent think anything else?

Update

2008-06-04T21:49:00.004-05:00

We made a visit to St. Augustine again and really enjoyed ourselves. Here are pictures of the kids playing mini putt.

Luke got caught in the bushes. It was very funny to Mommy who captured the moment. He was quite worried, however, and asked for help after shaking the bush a few times!
***

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Above... Luke's first typed message.
***
Life sure has been changing. Luke is now singing songs... about wanting more cookies and being told, "no." It's been fun.

Luke's favorite pass time is playing swords, though he doesn't have a sword. He has been creative and uses straws, sticks, pencils, most anything that is thin and long... you will find him swinging at people. He is thrilled to pieces if someone will join him and pretend to sword fight! One little boy joined him at a cafe one afternoon and it was pretty hard to get them interested in anything else. They were upset when the straws were taken away. Who knew these objects has so many purposes!

Luke and Emily LOVE to play chase. They are generally observed giggling the entire time while running in circles around the house.

We've been doing a lot of painting lately, and Luke likes to get in on the action. He pretends to roll the kitchen floor now that Daddy gave him a roller and new pad. It's really cute.

Emily has been making a lot of crafts lately. Her specialty has been cards. She made her dear friend, Ethan, a huge birthday card which contained many hearts on it (because she loves him so much). She also made Mommy and Daddy a heart card which contained multiple layers of cut out hearts. It was very nice (and quite impressive).

Emily has been practicing her recital dance. It's so pleasant to see her dancing around the house. She has grace in her steps!

Happy Birthday Luke ~ Happy Mother's Day Mommy

2008-05-11T06:42:00.007-05:00

Poor Luke is sick today. He's been running a low fever and vomitting. Hopefully he'll feel good enough to enjoy a little bit of his birthday.

I took him to the balloon store to pick up his birthday balloon the other day. All of the way there he said, "Dee Dee Ba-ll-oon!!!" It was so cute. He was so excited about the Thomas party items. Then he saw Curious George items and wanted both. It took him only a few moments to decide on only Thomas. So cute!!!

~~~Happy Birthday Luke!!! ~~~

As the day progressed, he began to feel better. He had his moments of not being 100%, but definitely enjoyed himself. Here are some highlights from him birthday.

Emily and Luke made kites... and then tried to fly them. It was really cute.

His #2 candle. He was pretty excited about holding it.Luke stood in awe over how many presents were waiting for him... and so many had Thomas on them!!!Luke's new train whistle.The Singleton Train Fan TrioLuke's reaction while opening his Dee Dee Duffle Bag. I love being 2!!!

*** ~~~ *** ~~~
Luke and Mommy posed for a picture while helping him warm up to the idea of taking a picture by himself. This was the first picture session without Sissy and he definitely missed her.

Grandma is doing much better

2008-05-08T21:36:00.002-05:00

The kids and I flew up to spend a week with Grandma while she stayed at the Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids, MI. She was discharged and went home to live with Uncle Lyle and Aunt Joyce the day we flew back to FL.

During our visit, we stayed with Mike and Pepper. The kids LOVED playing with Oliva, Jack and all of the kittens.

Prayers for Grandma Otis

2008-04-18T09:33:00.007-05:00

It's been a week since the kids and I were last with Grandma. Upon my arrival to FL I called her to tell her we made it home safely, only to find out she was in the hospital. This past week has been a rough time for me wondering if I should return home to MI to be by her side to comfort her or if I should stay in FL so the kids can have more time with daddy (whom they dearly missed while we were in MI). I've felt the Lord asking me to honor my grandmother's request for me to stay here with my husband and children and to wait to be with the rest of the family.

I've had the privelege of talking to grandma nearly every day. Sometimes she can respond and sometimes family tells me she was nodding her head and trying to say okay through the oxygen mask.

Please pray for Grandma's strength, peace in her moments of rest, for her fevers to seize and for positive thoughts to be with her during this time. Please also pray for family who is with her and those who are not. They need strength, encouragement and peace from day to day.

The following scripture has been on my heart through the past week and I've had the opporunity to paraphrase it to grandma over the phone:

http://www.interviewwithgod.com/psalm23.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBoT_8AmoRM

Psalm 23 - The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I love you Grandma!!!! Hugs and kisses from us! Enjoy the flowers we're sending today.

A friend came to pray with me and comfort me the other night. She gave me Psalms 91 to focus on. It says:

My Refuge and My Fortress
"1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most Highwill abide in the shadow of the Almighty.2 I will say [1] to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowlerand from the deadly pestilence.4 He will cover you with his pinions,and under his wings you will find refuge;his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.5 You will not fear the terror of the night,nor the arrow that flies by day,6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,ten thousand at your right hand,but it will not come near you.8 You will only look with your eyesand see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge [2]—10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning youto guard you in all your ways.12 On their hands they will bear you up,lest you strike your foot against a stone.13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;I will protect him, because he knows my name.15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;I will be with him in trouble;I will rescue him and honor him.16 With long life I will satisfy himand show him my salvation.”

This evening I had a blessed opportunity to talk to grandma without her oxygen mask. She spoke to me and responded to my words. I told her I loved her and that when she closes her eyes I want her to imagine I'm holding her and rocking her and stroking her arm in comfort. I asked her to imagine I'm loving on her with a loving embrace. I wished her a peaceful rest each time she sleeps. I also told her we were flying back on Monday and that the kids have been making her cards and drawing her pictures.

Our Michigan Trip and Grandma Lounds' Passing

2008-04-13T12:13:00.005-05:00

The kids and I had a terrific trip to MI inspite of grandma's passing. We were able to see family we haven't seen in a long time and try some new things like ice skating. Here are some pictures:

Kids pictured with Grandma OtisStory Time with OliviaAunt Gina gave the kids some flowers from Grandma Lounds' arrangement.Emily and Luke attended storytime in my old library while Grandma Otis and I worked on her heritage album. They made these sunflowers during storytime.The kids and I went to Jungle Java to play with Landon and Penda.Ice Skating with Pepper, Olivia, Penda and Landon!!!

Ice Cream at The Parlor in Jackson, MI. I used to visit here after my tennis matches in Jackson. It was great to return!

The Singleton Family

Shutterfly IS my best friend...

VIOLIN ~ Emily's Patient Wait is Drawing Nearer

Emily chooses her first Bible

Taking School Outside the Classroom!

So much to catch up on... Summer 2010 *July*

So much to catch up on... Summer 2010 *August

So much to catch up on... Summer 2010 *June*

Art by Emily 2010

May/June... in a flash

Atlantis STS - 132 ~ WE WERE THERE!!!

Luke Turns 4!!!

News for Spring 2010

KSC NASA Spring 2010

Spring is upon us... and oh how beautiful it is.

February 2010

January 2010

New Years... an amazing celebration with friends

Christmas - 2009

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Dance with Grace Team at Passage Family Church

Emily turns 7!

October 2009 in Review

November in Review

October in Review

Skateboards and Luke's Misunderstanding

October in a Flash

Luke - 3.5 Drama

August in a flash!

Cursive, Typing... Oh My!

Visit with missionary friend, Dr. Carman

Oh Luke!!!

Bonding and Funny Moments

Watch the veggies disappear...

We have a new smile in our home

Time sure flies...

So many new NEWS topics... a must read

Summer Trip to the Northern Beaches with Family

One More Tooth... Our big news of the day

Emily's Ballet Recital - Doxa - 06/05/09

Development

Luke Turns 3 in Style at Disney!!!

Spring Pictures

Just Like Pop Pop...

Boy, Have We Been Busy...

Art by Emily

Pre-Easter Fun

Celebration of Spring and Easter

A busy day - full of fun

What my kids think of me.

videos to share

Language and Prayer

Do you notice something different with Emily???

Art by Emily

Disney Image Works... Fun Photo Creation!

~Valentine's Day Smiles~

HUMONGOUS...

A New Alphabet??? - Reflection of January

New Poems by Emily

Emily delights in the little surprises of life

Peace of Mind...

Luke Declares He Has A Best Friend!!!

Another Tooth!!!

Something Fun... Give it a Try!!

Celebrating Angela's Birthday

Our 2008 Christmas and Luke's Growing Converstaions

Preparing for Christmas

Emily's first piano performance

New News - Luke's Vocabulary Explodes; Emily's New Changes

Luke - Our little engineer; Emily - Our young teacher

Thanksgiving at the Singleton Home

Emily's 6th Birthday

Big News for Emily!!!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Family Photos

Disney Trip - Fort Wilderness and Magic Kingdom

Toy Story 2 ... It's Us!!!

Laugh Out Louds and Other Points of Interest

Costumes Are Almost Done!!!

Bananas!!!

So much to catch up on... Summer 2010 July

So much to catch up on... Summer 2010 June