Eden's 5th Birthday List

My sweet baby girl is no longer a baby. She is growing so fast. I looked at her the other day and caught a glimpse of the young lady she is becoming.

Recently, I found a list of questions that you ask your children each year on their birthdays. You can see how your child grows and changes during the years, yet some thing might always stay the same.

Here is the list and Eden's answers :)

1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite toy? My Baby dolls
3. What is your favorite fruit? Bananas, Blueberries and Apples

4. What is your favorite TV show? Doc McStuffins
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut Butter and Jelly
6. What is your favorite outfit? Dresses
7. What is your favorite game? Tag
8. What is your favorite snack? Ham and Cheese Sandwich

9. What is your favorite animal? A cat and a puppy
10. What is your favorite song? I'm a little Acorn
11. What is your favorite book? Princesses Books

12. Who is your best friend? Karley, Brielle, and  Meredith
13. What is your favorite cereal? Mini Wheets with the fruit
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing on the swing set, jump on the trampoline, and play basketball
15. What is your favorite drink? Pink Lemonade

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My new baby doll
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal, and oatmeal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Hot dogs,  and Cheetos
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A hair cutter cardiologist

Why did the ducks cross the road?

To come play with our kids!

 One of the best aspects of country living is our furry and fluffy neighbors. Last week, the kids and I were playing in water in our front yard. Our neighbor's baby ducks heard us and decided to come over to join in the fun. 

I was more than a little concerned as they crossed the road, but they made it! I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more; the kids or the ducks. We spent a few minutes wandering around the yard and having them follow us while our neighbor made her way over to help collect them.  When she arrived, we helped them cross back over and return to their pond. Now the kids want them to come over and play daily. 

I love county life  :)

And just as an FYI, It's hard to take pictures and herd ducks and wet kids :)

Eden's 5th Birthday Wish

Eden has been asking to have her ears pierced for a few months. We decided that her 5th birthday would be a good time to celebrate by this small step into womanhood.

She woke up excited because we were going to Greenville to have it done. She wanted to dress up in a pretty dress and shoes. She was on her best behavior all morning.

 Excited as we first arrived.

 A little worried how much it would hurt.

 Keeping brother busy with a snack.

First ear done.

 One down, one to go. Not so happy.

But no tears. :)

All Finished. 

 First look

Happy with the result :)

 A sucker for being such a big girl.

 Josiah got a sucker for being a great big brother and

waiting (almost patiently.)

 I was so proud of how Eden behaved herself. She knew it would hurt; I had warned her it would. She became a little fearful before it started.  But her desire to have her ears pierced was stronger than her fear. She took endured the pain, never cried, and was so happy when it was finished. She is so proud of being a big girl. She has shown her new ear rings to everyone we've seen since then. It is her way of growing up.  She is joining the women in our family through this small act; growing faster than my heart would like. 

An update :)

I looked back at my last post and realized it’s been over a month since I blogged.Thankfully the world still turned and life continued with this lapse in my Internet input. :) As busy as we’ve been, it’s no surprise that I haven’t had time to blog. It seems this will be one of my hobbies that might become a little neglected in the next few months.

On the bright side, we have been able to travel a lot lately. I’ve made three trips across the state in the past month. It was wonderful to see our family. We had Spring break with Larry’s family, Mothers Day with my Mom and family, a mini Homecoming at Southeastern, and I was able to attend the NC Home School Conference in Winston- Salem. Now do you see why I haven’t had time to blog? : )

Larry started his Doctorate program. I’m so proud of him! He made an A- on his first big paper and presentation. Life will be a lot harder on him as he tries to maintain his full time ministry, being a full time student again, and being a full time husband and father.  Knowing God has called him to this and has prepared the way for us to be able to accomplish this task, helps us draw strength when the pressure has gotten difficult.  

Larry has enjoyed the program and his “cohorts” That’s what they call the men in this program. He will take classes with all of them for the next two years. They will build a camaraderie similar to what Larry experiences while attending the Citadel. I still think “cohorts” has a mischievous ring to it. Kindda like naughty boys with sling shots and bare feet. But have no fear, these are all godly men, and they all wear shoes.  

My plan to start a photography business is still in the hopeful stage. There is A LOT that goes into starting a business. It’s not like one day you say, hey I’m going to be a photographer and poof, and you’re a photographer. Well maybe you can, but if you want to start a business AND get paid for it AND have some money left after Uncle Sam takes his cut, you’ve got to start it right.

So I’ve spent a lot of time watching YouTube tutorials, learning editing skills, reading photography articles, planning to revamp my blog, started the branding process, finding out about getting registered as a LLC. Heck, just trying to figure out what to name my business has been tough. BUT I am still preserving. Realizing the business start will take a lot more time to get it up and running has been a little bit of a downer. But I still have hope. I also have a new camera and lens that softens the sting a little.

The other biggie in our life is our decision to home school our children. Like I said, I was able to attend the NC Home School Conference in Winston-Salem. It was amazing! It was such a blessing to be able to attend. And I was also able to visit with two of my mentors while visiting in Wake Forest, both of whom are Home Schooling veterans.

Larry and I have been interested in home schooling since Eden was born. Now that she is turning 5 and will be starting Kindergarten in the fall our conversations became much more focused. We began asking ourselves: Can we do this? Should we do this? How do we do this? Between the visit with my mentors and the conference we’re convinced we want to Home School our children. We have the answers to our questions: Yes we can, yes we should, and with a pencil written plan and a prayer.

We’re ready to join the other 45,000 home schooling families in North Carolina. I have a blog post running around my head with our ideas about home schooling. I hope to post it soon. Maybe it won’t take a month.