Christmas 2013

We had a very merry Christmas season this winter. We stayed home this year until new year's week, so it was quiet but blessed! 

Even so, we stayed plenty busy throughout the month of December. School pretty much went by the wayside as students and teacher were distracted by so many things to do that were fun and more interesting.

We decked the halls, inside and out. We took advantage of some 50 and 60 degree weather at the end of November to put up the outdoor decorations. The next weekend it was down to zero and I seriously doubt I would have felt like dealing with it.

 Then it stayed around zero for the next week and a half or so. Now that does sound miserable but there's an upside to it... the pond in our neighborhood froze solid. Once the temperatures crept up to the high teens and low twenties, I took the boys and one of their friends to play on the ice and they had a blast sliding around and building snow forts.

 

 

One evening we visited a beautiful display of gingerbread houses at the Mormon Trail Center in Omaha, and it inspired the boys to make their own houses out of graham crackers the next day. Jonathan loved the giant gingerbread house that little ones could play in.

 

 

 

 

 

Caleb, who is the master of photo bombs, asked me to take his picture in the house but quickly turned and gave me this pose as I snapped the shot. This is so going up at all his graduation open houses and wedding. He can't say he wasn't warned, either.

 

We spent Christmas Eve going to our church's service where our family gave the final advent reading, then joined some friends at their house for a delightful dinner. I guess we all lost track of time until someone noted on the NORAD Santa tracker that the jolly guy was in Tennessee so we scrambled home to get ready for bed. This involved a massive slumber party in  Ryan's and my room- we pulled mattresses of the boys' bottom bunkbeds and put them on the floor so that we could sleep in our own bed without being kicked all night long. Of course, the mattresses made for a giant trampoline earlier that day, but the boys had energy to spare as you can imagine.

 

 

Most of our presents don't appear until Christmas Eve after everyone has gone to bed (except for Mom and Dad, imagine!), but this one gigantic present showed up several days early.  Caleb found a big piece of bulletin board paper and asked me to wrap him up. It wasn't the first time he'd been found under the tree...

Christmas 2009- 3 weeks old!



Umm, he's gotten a little longer.

Everyone was really happy with their presents. Jonathan got a little castle built out of huge Mega Blocks; Andrew got a new Lego set he'd wanted which Ethan was more than happy to help him build. Caleb spends hours playing with his new fold-out fire truck and Ethan got a 4D frog that's a puzzle you put together; it's like dissecting a frog without having to dissect a frog. The boys also got some new games like Operation and Battleship. Oh, and a pair of roller skates- they've been having an awful lot of fun teaching themselves to skate in the basement.

 

 

  

 

Ryan got a 22 foot ladder and a new Florida State University yard flag which I assured him he would need when the Seminoles won the national championship (which they did, thank you very much). I got some new ear buds for my ipod, an electric tea pot (which is awesome) and some Skeltoes shoes.

We hope you had a blessed Christmas and New Years, too!

Our December Birthday

We had such a nice Christmas season this year, but I feel I really must start with a few snapshots from Caleb's fourth birthday. This year's theme was monster trucks, with Santa hats being worn in lieu of traditional birthday party hats.

I'm always mindful to make a big deal out of Caleb's birthday because it could easily get lost in the shuffle between Thanksgiving and Christmas (his birthday falls in early December). But then, Caleb has a big personality and it's highly unlikely he'd let us forget.

His special birthday trip was to the local children's museum, just like Jonathan's last spring. By this time there was a new traveling exhibit to explore, as well as Santa's Magic Workshop. I guess I don't bring my camera to that museum very often since we go a few times a year, so you'll just have to trust me that a good time was had by all.

Back on the homefront, it was party time after an easy birthday dinner of spaghetti and meatballs- his choice, of course!

 

Nothing says "happy birthday" like two older brothers spreading some holiday joy!

The most important part, of course, is the cake! Caleb bought the monster truck that adorns it with some birthday money he'd received. Seriously, the boy is not hard to please.

 

Here's the birthday boy with his presents- the monster truck, a new Lego Hero (the one on the right), Diesel, and he got an Innotab 3 as well.

Jonathan may have been a bit overwhelmed.

 

Here are some highlights from Caleb's fourth year:

 

Camping trips, some with the whole family and one or two with Daddy and big brothers

Learning to snorkel- he still needs a floaty suit, but he's got the breathing-through-a-tube and putting- your-face-in-the-water thing down.

Learning to put on all his snow gear by himself.

Learning how to swing on his own.

 

As I look back on his year, I see how independent he's gotten. He's mostly outgrown naps, his vocabulary is a mile wide, and he really enjoys listening to a good story. He likes to help others and is maturing enough to actually be a help rather than a hindrance. He's excited to be four, because in one short year he'll be old enough for... real Legos. Help.







 

 

Happy Birthday to Jonathan!

Happy birthday to Jonathan James! Isn't he a cutie pie? His first year went by so very quickly, and once again I am about a month behind blogging about someone's birthday.

From a mom's perspective, I think first birthdays are the best. You get to pick any theme you want, you can recycle gifts from older siblings' early birthdays, and you can have any size party you want to throw or throw no party at all... baby won't care!

The day before his party, though, Jonathan's older brothers and I went through our generously-sized tub of gently-used toddler toys and picked out his presents. Then we put them all together in one big box and wrapped it up. We bought a few balloons and "first birthday" paraphernalia from a local party store and put up our traditional happy birthday sign. The big boys were so excited for Jonathan- you'd have thought it was one of their birthdays instead!

By that evening Jonathan had figured out that SOMETHING BIG was up and that it must be ALL  ABOUT HIM. I tried to snap a few last pictures of my not-quite-turned-one-yet baby, and this is what I got:

 

 

 

 

Silly baby! In following with tradition we canceled school for his birthday. After all, we take school off the day they're born, so by all means we should commemorate the day in the same manner each year. I decorated his cake and got everything ready for his party while the older boys made birthday cards during his morning nap (the cards were precious), then we ate lunch and headed out to the Omaha Children's Museum for the afternoon. We spent two or three hours there and had a great time.

 

 

By the time we got home the weather wasn't too unreasonably cold so we grilled some bratwurst and had a nice cookout, though it was eaten indoors. It wasn't that warm, after all. When it was time for the party, Jonathan seemed to be pleased with his cake.

 

After we'd stuffed ourselves on cake and ice cream we headed to the playroom so Jonathan could open his box of presents. I thought he'd probably be a little overwhelmed by the noise and attention and he was, but as things calmed down he's really enjoyed the toys we selected- I think we made some good choices for him.

Fun Jonathan statistics:

 

Nickname: JJ (what else)

 

Weight: 23 lbs.

 

Height: ???

 

Eye color:  baby blue

 

Hair: Chestnut brown and pretty straight, what there is of it, and so, so soft

 

Favorite foods: Lasagna, bratwurst, tacos, any form of chicken especially if it's nuggets, pancakes, applesauce and butternut squash

 

Favorite hobbies: Playing catch, walking behind push toys, swinging, and exploring what his older brothers have left laying around

 

Disdains: having his teeth brushed

 

Number of teeth: Eight as of his first birthday, twelve currently as his one-year molars have since come in. That might explain the above.

We love our Jonathan so much! It has been a crazy, busy, sometimes stressful, sometimes lonely year but he has been a joy all along the way. In May of 2011, I wrote in my prayer journal: "...We think we want to add another baby to our family. If I could pick, I'd add another boy... that is in God's hands". Just over ten months later Jonathan was born. I've told you the story of how we finally arrived at his name; after we'd gotten home and settled in I finally looked up the meaning of "Jonathan". It means "gift of God".

All About Andrew: Reading, Riding, and Martial Arts

Andrew celebrated his sixth birthday last month, and looking back on the  last year, it was a year of accomplishments for him.

A year ago on his fifth birthday, he came to my bedside in tears to wake me up. I couldn't fathom what would make a little boy wake up crying on his birthday, but he explained that the reason for his duress was that he tried to read a book when he first woke up, and could not do it. It dawned on me: I had told him that he'd learn to read when he was five. He took that to mean it would be an event, not a process.

That very day we embarked on a journey through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Between a new baby who arrived about five weeks later, putting our home on the market and moving half way across the country the day said baby turned four months old, the process took 362 days. He at times feet he would never get through the book and balk at doing a lesson with me, but I did not let him quit and by the last ten lessons he insisted on "two-a-days" to make sure he'd finish before his sixth birthday. And he did, with four days to spare (last year was a leap year, all, I can add)! He sure does look pleased with himself, doesn't he? So I kept my promise: he did, in fact, learn to read when he was five. And now I'm glad I can shelve the book for two years. It's fun and rewarding, but...

Somehow or other shortly after we moved to Nebraska, Andrew developed an interest in Tae Kwon Do, a Korean martial art. By December of 2012 I found a homeschool P.E. program that included a Tae Kwon Do class as an option. It just happened to coincide with a tumbling class that 3 year olds can enroll in, all at the same time and under one roof, so one morning a week I drop off the three oldest boys to pursue their respective interests (Ethan studies TKD with him) while I browse the Hobby Lobby just down the road with only Baby in tow. The day before Andrew's birthday he and Ethan had the opportunity to participate in a TKD demonstration at a local kid's exposition (it was actually in Iowa, but only about 20 minutes from our home). It was fun to watch them perform in public! Weather permitting they will test for their yellow belts Friday night.



Andrew could have taken or left Awana Cubbies, the preschool program, but he loves Sparks. He and Ethan really got into the crazy hair night last fall- the basic idea behind his 'do is that he has a circle of spikes around the top of his head, spray painted gold, to be a crown. Hmmm. He has finished his handbook and book review and is now working on his extra credit. I'm not entirely sure he'll get there, but we are giving it the old college try.

Andrew is very quiet and usually needs a "push" to master any task. Developmental readiness is not the issue here. Needing... encouragement, yes, that's the word I'll use, to get started is. One day in October when we were visiting Ryan's parents in Georgia, I told him it was time for him to learn to ride a bike without training wheels. He wasn't too sure about that, so I told him, "OK, practice for ten minutes and then we'll put your training wheels back on". He thought that sounded like a doable deal. Well, ten minutes later of course, this is what was going on (I was actually a little shocked by the level of proficiency he demonstrated): He hasn't slowed down since!

 

 

Andrew has showed a remarkable resiliency since moving out here. The house we left in Ohio was the third one he'd lived in but the only one he really remembers. He holds his cards close to his chest and I have the hardest time telling what's going on in his mind, but he seems to feel comfortable here and is willing to meet new people and make new friends.

 

We had a fairly low-key party for him. He wanted a G.I. Joe theme so we selected a bunch of camouflage stuff for wrapping paper and decorations, but that left the question of the cake. While wandering through Michael's one day a star-shaped cake pan caught Andrew's eye. So I baked his cake in that, put white icing on it with some red and blue decorations and it did look convincingly like the star in the G.I. Joe logo. At any rate, Andrew was thrilled with it and that is the point!

 

His presents were a Joe motorcycle that I used as a cake decoration too, and a hooded Lego Ninjago T-shirt that I knew he wanted (long story). He got some money from one set of grandparents a cool police helicopter from the other grandma. But best of all, it was a fairly mild day and he got to go the playground with a friend. Happy birthday, Andrew! We are proud of you and love you so much!



A Letter to my Sons

                                                                                                         December 18th, 2012

My dear, precious boys,

I love you all so much.

Last week a very bad man, after killing his own mother, tore into a school building in Connecticut that was  full of little children, many of them some of your ages, and took the lives of twenty of them along with six grownups who cared for and taught these young ones. It was eleven days before Christmas.

I finally had to tell you about that because it's unavoidable. Flags are at half-mast; the radio station we've been tuning into for a steady stream of Christmas carols not infrequently mentions "the tragedy in Connecticut" (though to their credit they've been pretty discreet, as though they know your young ears are tuned in). By next week I'm sure when we make our weekly grocery run the tabloids in all their glory will be displaying sensational headlines and images meant to both terrify and intrigue. So you had to know, eventually you would know anyway, and I wanted you to hear it from me.

When I told you, you were all understandably upset. One of you was spared the shock because you are still so tiny and young. Another of you cried right there at the table. A third brother was speechless for a long time, thinking back to his own days at the local elementary school before we homeschooled, and the fourth among you looked at me in utter disbelief, while at the same time digesting the fact that this could actually happen, and surprising me in your comprehension of the situation at such a young age. "I'm so sad about all the kids who died", you told me later that night.

For the rest of the afternoon none of you said much. I do believe it affected you much the same as it affected Dad and me; it deflated your sails and for the rest of the day you didn't really feel like doing much of anything. And now your eyes are opened and you know what kind of terrible things go on in the world.

You naturally wanted to know "why". Let me tell you, the rest of America wants to know too. I think nobody will ever be able to answer that completely or with full accuracy. People will try; they'll develop theories; I'm sure new laws will be passed and policies instated and all of them will fall short of their intended goal. I think there's an innate human need to make sense of chaos; a need to seek reason and order and understanding among the unreasonable, the reckless, and the unfathomable. In other words, there's a fierce human drive to find the truth.

Here's what I can tell you for sure. It happened because there's evil in the world and there's an Evil One. But if there's an evil one, then there's also a holy God who is good because if there's nothing and noone who is truly good, holy, and righteous, then how can we call anything evil? If there's no good one, no righteous one, anything and everything is relative, a matter of preference, or taste, or genetics, or environment, or "belief system", or who knows what. We call it evil and that it is because it opposes what holy God represents: the right to life, love of others, the value of children, orderliness, obedience to civil authorities/laws, honoring your parents, loving peace.

I cannot fathom the heaviness in the hearts of the families who lost loved ones last week. I can already see that God, in His great love, is not leaving them to suffer alone but has touched the heart of the nation to reach out to them and share their sorrow, send their love, and offer their support. I believe that God was grieved by this and has those little ones with Him right now where there is no more sorrow or fear or pain.

So I will not invade the families' privacy by listing their names here, nor offer more publicity to the killer by mentioning who he was. He has gone to his reward, and that is all I will say about that matter. I will close with this promise from Romans 8:38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." My precious sons, the same God who made that promise is the good one, the righteous one, the one who will establish justice and order in a kingdom that will not end. Be wise. Choose life. Choose to serve Him. No matter what happens in the world around you, no matter what happens to you, nothing can pluck you from his hand when you belong to him.

Caleb's Birthday Trip to the Zoo

We had a  little party for Caleb after Thanksgiving when Ryan's parents were visiting. He had a Thomas the Tank Engine cake and got a new toy fire truck. He was quite happy with both.

But I think everybody likes for their actual birthday to be acknowledged, too.
While I won't cancel school for Halloween I will make exceptions for birthdays, even if you're just turning three and won't be in school for three more school years. Caleb's birthday (early DECEMBER, mind you) dawned sunny and mild so after breakfast I announced to the boys that lessons for the day consisted of a trip to the zoo. Omaha has a zoo, a very nice one, actually. As you can imagine it took about five minutes for them to dress, brush teeth, and get in the car.

And this time, I had HELP!!! Ethan quickly filled up water bottles and graabbed snacks for himself and the two middle boys, so I think for the first time ever since kids arrived that took no effort on my part.

Breakfast was carrot spice muffins with cream cheese "frosting".


Once at the zoo, our first visit was to the okapis, who are, I believe, related to giraffes even though they have zebra-like stripes on their hides.

Our next stop was the insect house, which I really wanted to see because we are taking an in-depth look at insects in science this year. We visited the butterfly room first and saw some beatiful specimens. Because we were participating in the first tour of the day, the boys got to release some newly-hatched adult butterflies into the exhibit. We practically had the zoo to ourselves.

 

The butterfly house was VERY hot and humid (my kind of climate!), and my camera lens totally fogged up so it would have been useless to take pictures. Too bad!

 

The adjacent room housed a wide variety of insects from around the world. This tank contained grasshoppers, which I normally think are disgusting. BUT... one of the boys found a grasshopper outside a few weeks ago and wanted to keep it as a pet to go along with our unit, so we had a pet grasshopper for awhile (he died last week). The pet cricket we caught in October is still going strong. So we have a certain fascination with creatures from order Orthoptera.

The giraffe was being very personable and the boys spent quite awhile watching him.

Meerkats are always good entertainment! 

I think this pretty little bird is a star finch. He was in the desert exhibit.

The zoo is also home to an amazing aquarium that the boys enjoyed so much that we went through it twice.

 

Our little birthday buddy didn't stay awake for the 20 minute ride home. He zonked out somewhere on I-80 and slept on the couch for about 2 hours when we got home. Jonathan napped in his crib and the older two boys collapsed on chairs and looked at books and magazines for an hour or so. You could have heard a pin drop- they were WORN OUT!



Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2012 was a success in our new town! The boys asked to have the day off from school, but I declined. As an aside, each year that I was teaching in a brick-and-mortar classroom my students would ask if they could take the day off school for Halloween (as if I had the authority to grant that). Some things are universal to the field of education, I guess, and schoolwork just seems unbearable when there are costumes to don and candy to be gotten.

This year we had two G.I. Joe characters, a fireman, and a baby farmer. Yes, you've seen the baby farmer before embodied in at least three different Rowe boys. But it's a warm, practical costume.

Below is costume Plan A, in which Caleb was to be a farmer. He looks happy about it at this time.

 

 Here is "Snake Eyes", a G.I. Joe hero (a.k.a. Ethan)

 

Presenting: Storm Shadow, another character from the G.I.Joe series (a.k.a. Andrew).

 

And here's the baby farmer!

 

 

By the time Darth Vader arrived to make the trick-or-treating rounds, we were minus a farmer and up one firefighter. Thank goodness for hand-me-down costumes or Caleb might have gone trick-or-treating as a naked baby!

 

 

Just before it got Dark outSide, Vader posed with the personalities and they were off. Jonathan actually stayed home with me; Caleb hung in there for a street or two and then came back to help me pass out candy. 

 

 

Next year I will find me a tiara and become the princess I am sure I must be.

 

Happy Halloween dreams!

 

And for a real-live creepy crawly, here's what Andrew found in our garage the previous weekend: a wolf spider! They grow 'em big here in Nebraska... he looks "corn-fed"!