Shiloh's K5 Art

Kindergarten  is always full of fun art it seems.  

It is also such a growing time!

Shiloh seems to go through times when she is very focused on art and other time where she does not touch it (at least at home) for weeks.

I will say that in her rapid firing making times there are so much that I can't keep it all or keep up!

Beach liked the one below...while she does not often draw sad scenes....this one was of kids outside that were not happy about the smoke they smelled from the chimney next door.

As a mom you know I gotta love anything with handprints!

"I donated food because " This was visiting the local food bank.

In Kindergarten they also begin writing their own books...

This was about Great Woof Lodge.

It is also really hard to "read" them without assistance as they learn to write. Book two...

"I go to Florida."

Book three...

"I go to the pumpkin patch."

Her favorite thing to wrote though is: I love you.

This was her Christmas card to me.

She is so thoughtful!

During one of her arting sessions (as I like to call them) around Christmas time she drew this series...

Birth scene for Jesus and the angel visiting....

Angle appearing to the shepherds...

The wise men visiting Jesus...

And then his death on the cross.  I do think it is pretty amazing that her little mind comes up with this on her own.

House decorated for Christmas...

My goal for 2018 is to read.

"I go to the swings."

"We got on the tire swing."

"I went home."

"Beach"

"First we went to the beach."

"We went in the water with Poppy."

"Finally we went to the car."

A sweet little birthday card for her sister...

"When I grow up I want to be an artist."

My heart map: Mommy, Daddy, cupcake, bushy blanket.

Shiloh's Art book...

"How to draw a balloon. "

"How to draw a flower." 

 "How to draw a banner."

 "How to draw a house."

 "The end"

 "Cats are chased by dogs. You do something bad to the cat they well scratch you."

"If you got cats.  Food that can be happy."

 "If you mess with them they will not like it."

 "Cats are nice to you."

 (The table of contents.)

"My opinion about the Playground."

 "I have a cousin and I can't play with because she is in Ms. Christly's class and I'm sad I can't play with her."

 "I miss my friends."

"I like when there is more people to play with." 

"Veggies and Fruits."

"Fruits are healthy."

"Veggies are healthy, too."

"Fruits come from the trees."

"Veggies come from tress and bushes."

"Veggies are big."

I can heal the world by sending love.

My FAVORITE:

These are always so fun to compare!

A sweet little card amongst the things that she brought home...

I went to the beach and went in the water.

Then we went to the sand to play.

Finally, we went to the car and let the beach.

Shiloh got this little award from her class and I think it is very fitting....she is a great Happy Helper!

My love!

Such an amazing year and such growth!  Can't wait to see how much more next year will bring!

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20!

20 years since Beach and I graduated from High School.  We went to rivalry schools but met at our church youth group.  Beach casually mentioned wanting to go to his reunion for Dutch Fork High School a couple of months ago.  "Really?  Are any of your friends going?"  I didn't say anything further, hoping by my ignoring the subject it would just go away (because that's how things work, right?).  However, the next I heard of it was that he had bought the tickets and we were going.

Sigh.  I tried to hide my insecurities and focus on how this was important to Beach.  My own school's reunion ended up being on the same night close by!  Did I want to go?  They were actually joining in an after party together. That's a negative ghost rider. See I was not a fan of High School.  I barely recovered after some crushing rejection of my close friends my freshman year, fighting years of depression and then just mainly a connection with a boyfriend across town, there was not much to bring me back.

Beach, on the other hand, had some solid friends and just an all around jolly old time with his carefree self and schedule mostly filled with art classes.  See case in point, picture below.

On the way to the venue that night I asked him if he was nervous.  "No," Beach explained, "I'm excited to see some old friends and make new ones if I don't know them." Oh, well that is a great attitude and completely the opposite of the insecurities I was trying to repress of flashbacks to my 15-year-old self.  I was glad my shirt somewhat hide my mommy belly and my platform shoes made me feel like a grown up, make up on and smile would be there to represent...

They actually ended up with a pretty good turn out!  Lots of smiles and hugs all around.  Beach's extroverted side exploded and he was so giddy and genuinely joyful in seeing his classmates. So much so it was hard for him in that he didn't get to talk to everyone (despite us being the last ones to leave and almost the first there).

The only picture Beach managed to ask to take.  

So I just included one that I was in...Surprisingly I knew several people there.  More surprising to me was I had a really good time, too.  I got to "see some old friends and make some new ones" myself and got out of my head. It wasn't a big deal to talk to the "prom queen" (which I didn't know it at the time but totally can see it now) for 15 minutes as if we had been life long friends, or the man who worked on race cars for a living or the one that owned a CrossFit gym. I was just able to listen to other's stories, being present and appreciating each one for who they are, one of my favorite things after all! 

Beach would have wanted to join the after party, as we were having such a good time, but four hours was plenty to get our fill.  Since we didn't actually take a couple picture there, we just snapped a cheesy one when we got home.

I went to bed that night happy, relieved and content from the evening. Honestly,  it was mostly because of how others made a point to tell me how much Beach meant to them or they were proud of him.  His heart is so genuine and caring for others and that is the best!  Only aged for the better my love!

Shoulding all over myself....again

One of my biggest struggles lately is feeling guilty, all the time, with not doing the right thing.  While reading this great book, Dance, Stand, Run, Jess Conley was able to put it into words so well.  (Side note, get this book - it's great!  Or borrow mine!)

"What makes "should" so complicated is that it's always attached to someone else's expectation, someone else's opinion, and if you don't happen to agree or if you fail to meet that expectation, that "should" quickly leads you into shame.  In fact, "should" is too often just another way of saying, "Shame on you."  

While I know I must "should" other people the one that I hit the hardest, by far, is myself.  By the time I go to bed at night, I'm constantly thinking of all the things I should have done that day.  It doesn't seem to make a difference that there is not enough time in the day to do them all, that I may not physically or emotionally be able to do them, or that some of them even contradict each other, they just leave me with a knot in my heart it seems.

You should be more present with your kids!

You should have more fun with your kids and not be so serious!

You should get more "work" done!

You should be a more supportive wife!

You should loose some weight!

You should keep the house cleaner!

You should workout more!

You should have your kids more involved with actives they love!

You should be more intentional with others!

You should plan more play dates!

You should pray more!

You should not care about what other people think!

You should not allow your kids to eat much sugar or junk (you know that it causes inflammation and you don't want them to have to deal with what you are when they get older)!

You should not be so uptight about food!

You should spend more time one on one with your kids!

You should be working on school information during the summer with your children (you know about summer slide)!

You should embrace more no school and let your kids be kids!

You should snuggle more with your kids!

You should not waste so much time!

You should not be anxious but just seek Him more!

You should ...well you get the picture by now....

However, what I find interesting is that recently my mind has wondered to the amazing people that I know, and how they point to the savior (thinking through the Surprise Superlatives), and less about me (which is fantastic)! I love how Jess Conley brings it back to what matters:

"What we must do as sinners in a broken world (because there' no other option), under the authority of God our Father, is keep on needing Him.  We must profess that Jesus Christ is Lord and rearrange our lives to uphold this profession.  That's it.  The million, swirling "shoulds" out there get complicated and make us think we have to get them all right.  We don't- we only need to concern ourselves with the one aim.  He does the rest of the heavy lifting, by grace through faith.  So let's rewrite those original sentences in a gospel-centered light, with the word "should" thrown far away."

Amen and Amen....each day, Lord help me to throw away the "shoulds" and daily DAILY seek your face for what you will have for me!

MI Trip

It had been awhile since Beach had been back to his home state of Michigan to visit his family.  While I would have liked to go with him, this time he was flying solo.  I found a great deal on a ticket out of Augusta and thought, "That's not to far way.  It will be worth it and a little bit of an adventure." (As a side note, this was not my same feeling after making the drive twice in one week, once at midnight.  Live and learn, eh?) So one early morning we all headed out to take daddy to the airport in Augusta and got to see the sun rise together.

Sad to see Beach go, but glad for him for his much needed family time to come.

Last bit of hugs until we see him for a few days.

Since we did leave so early, the kiddos still had on their PJs and all!  I was hoping that we could watch some plains take off while we were there, as I know they would have loved seeing such.  But it was definitely not set up for such.  Also, it smelled so horrible from the near by factories, it was amazing that I could even get them to smile.  I did attempt to break up the ride a bit by going to a swamp walk I saw near by, but the strong smell and my flip flop breaking as soon as I attempted to get out of the van was a sign that we just needed to head home.

I loved seeing theses pictures of Beach and his grandma that he sent.

She is a special lady and in her 90's...a big motivation for Beach to make this trip to make sure he got in another hug and kiss!

Beach got to see his brother Lee, which was a real treat as he lives on the other side of the state and stays very busy.

Together with Glen they got to go to a museum and got a behind the scenes tour.

And even got to get in this bread mobile that had a very special place in Glen's heart.

Lunch with grandma!

Some pictures with his mom and other brother, Donald!

While Beach is not into taking pictures as much as I am, I'm glad he did get to capture some memories.  (He did miss some pictures of other beloved family members but thankful he got to seem them.)  So glad Beach could make the trip and then to come home to me safe and sound!