Up We Go

Loft above the trees 

Looking up

Stairs

Lofty view--looking down on kitchen and living room

A peek into the master bedroom

Front porch posts

It's Bluebonnet Time

Surrounded

Front of house--living room window, front door, dining room window and door to garage 

Left side--Master bedroom window, kitchen door, kitchen window, incomplete living room bay window

Right side--kids' bedrooms (there are 4--two with bay windows  in the middle, and one on either side)

Right side--garage bays

Back side--kid bedroom window, office door and window, master shower window

Left side, from back corner--master bath window, MB windows, kitchen door and window, living room window

*The perspective (left/right) is always assuming you are standing on the front porch, facing the front door. Openings are labeled from left to right in the pictures.

State Bound

Ruth had the opportunity to compete in three events in the district PSIA academic meet yesterday: Ready Writing, Music Memory, and Spelling. We are so proud of her for all the hard work she put into preparing for the contests, and we are also proud of her performance in each competition! Ready Writing and Music Memory were new events for her this year, and she got fifth and sixth place, respectively. She won second place in the Spelling contest, which means she gets to advance to State--a position she found herself in last year, as well! Again, we are very proud of our girl and are looking forward to the State competition in May!

I believe you can fly

Dear Ruth,

You and I had a pretty rough day on Tuesday. We butted heads and argued and had a hard time understanding each other. It wasn't fun, and it wasn't pretty--and we both said and did things that weren't that nice.

At one point during the day, I was lecturing you about being lazy and getting your work done. I said to you that I believed you could do anything you put your mind to, but that it was up to you to chose to do it--whatever it might be. With an I'll-show-you gleam in your eye, you turned to me and said, "Oh yeah, what about flying? Do you think I could fly, if I put my mind to it?" It was obvious you thought you had me on that point. And my response clearly surprised you. I immediately replied, "Absolutely! If you want to fly, I think you can do it!" Your whole face changed, and I saw some of the fight come out of you. You wanted to argue with me, but I hadn't said what you expected, and you didn't know how to respond. And later that day, you began asking questions about the mechanics of flying. And the next day, you began reading about and working on building planes.

I wish I could say that we will never have another day like Tuesday, but I'm too much of a realist to really believe that. We will argue and butt heads from time to time, but the thing I need you to know in the very core of your being is that I believe you can fly. Don't ever, ever forget that. I think you are one of the smartest, most talented people I have ever known, and I truly believe you can do anything you put your mind to. I am your biggest fan, and I want the very best for you. And, I love you with all of my heart!

I can't wait to see you soar!

Love,
Mom

Hello, Walls

(hello hello)

“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.” 

~Martin Luther

Something Concrete

The first room of our new house has been erected!! And, since we are Watts, you will not be surprised to know that it is the pantry! Hee hee! This room will actually perform double-duty for us: pantry by day, safe room by dark, stormy night. It kind of looks funny sticking up off the otherwise empty slab, but it should be joined by other walls next week! The concrete for our sport court has also been finished, so we're making progress. (Lovely tangible progress that I can actually see)!

Pantry/Safe Room

Sport Court

Spring has sprung

It's official: Spring is here!! The time changed this morning, and we saw our first big bunch of bluebonnets this afternoon! Let's all do a happy dance! This is absolutely my favorite time of year! Just looking out the window at all the new life cropping up and breathing deeply of the fresh, fragrant air puts a big ol' smile on my face. It's the time of year when I feel like anything is possible.

And this spring is especially exciting, as we prepare to welcome a new little Watts into the family. That fact has only recently clearly dawned on me. We should have a new little bundle of joy in around 6-8 weeks. Wow! We picked up all our baby stuff while we were in Kingwood yesterday, and today I began going through the boxes and washing all the sweet little things that haven't been used in about three years. Yes, spring is definitely a very special time, and new life is such an amazing blessing!

All Ears

We made our way down to Houston yesterday afternoon for Weston's one-year follow up appointment on his tubes/tonsil surgery. The doctor reported that everything looked good and that the tubes have come out of the ear drum, though they are still in the ear canal. He thought they would probably come on out in the next few months, and he released Weston from the burden of having to wear ear plugs for baths and other water-related activities. I requested another hearing test, just to make sure all his former hearing problems were related to this and not some bigger problem. I sat nervously outside the sound-proof booth, remembering the pain in my heart as I watched him fail miserably the last time, while Weston sat inside with his best concentration face on. The audiologist performed several series of tests, and happily, all showed Weston's hearing to be in the normal range! I'll admit to letting a few tears of joy fall! The doctor told me that his ear drums still seem to be having a little trouble equalizing pressure, so some of the hearing is still a little low. But it's nothing concerning--probably just due to the fact that the tubes are so recently out and there is still some healing that needs to occur. It is great that we can finally put all that behind us, and it is wonderful to see what an amazing difference those simple little procedures made in Weston's life.

Kid-free Weekend

After the field trip on Friday, Jeff and I dropped the kids off with my parents and went on a field trip of our own. We had two nights at the adorable and peaceful, one-room Red Barn Hideaway in Salado. We also got to go out to a fancy dinner at The Range and a not-so-fancy, but oh-so-fun dinner in Walburg. We strolled leisurely through antique stores (without worrying about anyone breaking anything) and saw an original production of "Chanteuse" at the local Silver Spur Theater (without having to leave in the middle for potty breaks or noise level). We slept in, watched movies and enjoyed the most fabulous breakfasts in our cozy little room. And we were restored. It was a wonderful weekend, and we can't thank my parents enough for giving us that amazing gift!

Field trip on a Friday

(Please excuse the recent blog silence. We have been experiencing technical difficulties).

On Friday, we joined our CC group for a field trip to the Johnson City Zoo. It's one of those wildlife parks where they put you on a tram and give you a bucket of food with which to feed the animals as you drive through. We saw lots of neat creatures--up close and personal--and the kids absolutely had a blast! After our tram ride, we got to hang out in the petting zoo, play on the playground and enjoy a picnic lunch on the grounds. We discovered that our new house will only be about 15 minutes from the zoo, so I'm sure we will be seeing more of that place in the future.

Report Card

Well, I guess I would get a big, fat "F" if I were being graded on updating about what is going on with our school work. But, the kids would definitely get "As" for being amazing students. I'll just focus this update on this semester, and leave the last two months of last semester in the binders for my own reference.

As a reminder, Ruth's classes this year are:  Math, Writing, Grammar, History, Latin, Spelling, Science and Music. Weston's classes are: Math, Reading and Writing. (And Max, as an unofficial student, is working on ABCs and 123s and some amazing construction and railroad engineering).

Ruth struggled a bit last semester with getting her Math work done (not with the material but with motivation) and has been having to make some of that up this semester. She has also been focusing some of her attention on Algebra, which she really enjoys. She is looking forward to getting to do more of that now that she is caught up with her other stuff.

In Writing, Ruth continues to practice for her upcoming PSIA Ready Writing competition and to write amazing papers for the IEW portion of her Essentials CC class. She wrote a mini research paper last semester and has written a narrative paper and a critique paper this semester. That girl truly has a way with words, and it is a delight to read (and hear her read) the papers she writes.

Ruth continues to move through her Grammar, Latin and Spelling books at a brisk pace. And, she continues to practice Spelling words for PSIA.

A new competition for Ruth in PSIA this year is Music Memory, which she practiced quite a lot last semester. In January, she started taking piano lessons and has been spending more of her music class focusing on the pieces her teacher assigns each week. She loves her piano teacher and remembers a great deal of what she learned in piano lessons last year.

Ruth's Science focus this year is Chemistry, which has allowed us to do lots of really fun hands-on experiments, including making a cake today. Ruth is learning a lot about the Scientific Method and the "why" of a lot of every-day reactions.

Ruth has gotten into American History this year, which she really loves. She has spent some extra time taking in all the details of The American Revolution, the signing of the Declaration of the Independence and the Founding Fathers. She is fascinated by the lives of the presidents and loves to report to us interesting facts about their lives.

Aside from her regular school work, Ruth continues to enjoy reading on her own, and has completed a couple of AR posters (reading for a reward). The book she most recently finished was "Little Women," which she enjoyed immensely.

Weston loves his Math class, and does a great job with his worksheets and facts (which include addition and subtraction facts using zeros and ones,  and doubles addition facts). He was moving a little sluggishly through his fact cards at the beginning of the semester, until Jeff discovered that what motivates him is racing against the clock. His best "race" was probably 19 facts in one minute. He also loves to do worksheets and always asks to do another one when Math class should be over. He also declared the other day that he would really like to learn more about Calculus, after Jeff had given the kids a little Calculus lesson.

Weston is also doing a great job on his reading, and we can tell that he has improved a great deal just since the beginning of the semester. He has completed a couple of reading posters, which have allowed us to have some fun movie/pizza nights. He is currently working on his "16" poster and is a little over half-way done.

This semester, Weston is working on writing sentences in his Writing class. By copying sentences that I write out for him, he is learning how to write declarative sentences and interrogative sentences, as well as how to use commas and how to capitalize words when appropriate. It is amazing how much his writing skills have improved just since the beginning of the semester.

Both kids (and myself) are still loving our CC program, and we're all learning so much. I have even taken on a short stint at teaching the afternoon class (Weston's class) this semester, which has been a fun adventure.

I have recently revamped Ruth's school schedule to be more structured, and we are all finding it to be a great improvement to our school day.

So, that's the short version of what we've been doing with ourselves on the school front. We continue to be thankful for the opportunity to participate in this grand adventure we call homeschooling. And, while I'm not making any promises, I will try to be better about updating, for those of you who are interested.

Ruth's map of Ft. Pitt

American flag and revolutionary paper dolls

Ruth's CC watercolor painting

Weston's CC watercolor painting

first sentences

later sentences

adding doubles

math worksheet

Science Experiment

Best. Day. Ever.

Just ask my kids.

We played hooky from school and work, picked up some doughnuts and headed out to our land for a concrete party this morning. The crew started pouring concrete around 6:00 but were still in full-swing when we arrived around 8:00. The concrete pump truck was truly amazing, and the crew was so fun to watch in action. They used so many interesting tools and pieces of equipment, I thought the boys (all three of them) would pass out from excitement! In fact, at one point, Max was looking straight up at the boom of the pump truck and said, "That is so awesome! I'm going to have to sit down!" When we left for lunch, all the concrete was down, and the crew was busy with the process of smoothing. We came back after lunch to "leave our mark." And then the kids spent some time making a "fort" before we headed home for naps. It was an exciting day, and it's even more exciting to see our house coming together!

Doughnuts and chocolate milk

Truck of all trucks

pouring and spreading

troweling machine

knee sleds

footprints

the kids in their fort

Life made easier

Raise your hand if the question of what to have for dinner baffles you. O.k. now raise 'em if you just flat-out don't want to cook/don't have much time to cook. I've got both groups covered with this super-simple dish that is high on the yum factor and low on the time factor.

What you need:
8 chicken breasts
1 cup of catsup
1 largish can of tomato paste
2 cans of diet soda (I use Diet DP, of course, but you can anything you like, even diet orange)
some chopped onions
seasoned salt
pepper
garlic powder

What you do:
Sprinkle chicken with seasonings. Put it in a pan and brown it on both sides. Mix the other stuff together and pour it on the chicken. Let it simmer for around 45 minutes. To make it even easier, you could just throw everything in the crock pot. Round out the meal with rice, veggies and/or bread.

You can thank me later.

The house report

It's been a while since my last house report, but there continues to be slow, steady, mostly-forward progress. In my last report, I told you the septic had been installed. Well, shortly thereafter, it was uninstalled and reinstalled. Then, the dirt pad was put in place--not exactly perfectly, but with a little tweaking, it has become a nice place for our new house to sit. We also had dirt brought in for our driveway, sport court and front parking area. The electric poles have been set up, and the electricity is operational. This week, the plumber finished installing almost all of the necessary pipes and drains for the gas and water. And, the concrete people have dug all their trenches and laid some of their steel to reinforce the concrete, which should be poured by the end of next week, after a few adjustments have been made. Like last time, the pictures are not all that exciting, but they do show the progress, and they are helpful for us in keeping track of what's going on out there.

whole pad, looking from far corner of garage

looking toward kitchen and living room from garage

pipes and steel, looking from front door