August was a big month for our family: we celebrated a milestone birthday; got underway with some new ventures (a Classical Conversations community for the family, and American Heritage Girls for Kali and me); returned to a couple of favorite activities (Trail Life for Charleston and now Sully, and weekly Sports Day for the three big kids); deepened our involvement in the church plant that we are a part of; and continued plugging away at our school year, which is a lot more intense than last year but so far has been going great. In these four weeks, the kids and I have developed a surprising enthusiasm for Renaissance artwork; Nico started cruising along furniture and using words more intentionally; and I’ve met so many people in our various new communities that I’m starting to wish that nametags were mandatory for all Americans. It’s a busy season, and also a wonderful one.
Lest you think that everything has been total sunshine and rainbows over here, I will mention that August also brought some darker moments in the form of a flash storm, a damaged roof, and a water-logged attic. You win some, you lose some I suppose!
|| READING LATELY ||
My reading this month was decent, but not spectacular. I read two books I’d really been looking forward to, and while they were good, neither of them were the 5-star reads I was hoping they’d be: this was cute but not as good as the first in the series, and this didn’t hold a candle to the read-alike that also released this summer. Then there was this book that is incredibly hard to talk about without revealing spoilers; let’s just say it was NOT what I thought I was getting into. The standout novel of the month was this slow-burn literary thriller, that was totally propulsive and deeply thought-provoking.
Our family finished the first two read-alouds of our school year, including this classic that I loved even more on reread and this sad story that might have been a bit much for our crew (oops!). Charleston and I finally finished the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series; it is not my favorite book of the series, but I loved reading it with my boy! We followed up our reading with a viewing of parts one and two of the movie adaptation, which I had never seen. (My low expectations set me up for a pleasant surprise: the films were dark, but more faithful to the novel than many of the other adaptations, which I appreciated.)
In nonfiction, I enjoyed this beautiful memoir, and I had a mini education/literature-themed book flight, the star of which was this awesome guide to children’s literature that I reviewed last week. I had one DNF this month: I was intrigued by the premise but found the author’s antagonism toward Christianity off-putting, and I was so frustrated by the skewed world view that I gave up before reaching the halfway mark.
|| LISTENING LATELY ||
A few podcast episodes that have entertained, inspired, or informed this month.
PARENTS’ CORNER:
Raising Parents with Emily Oster—Episode Feature: How Camp Teaches Kids to Ditch Their Phones
Practice Makes Parent—Raising Culturally Aware Kids
The Read Aloud Revival—#270: The Whys and Hows of Quiet Reading Time
FAITH- AND FAITH-ADJACENT
The Natasha Crain Podcast—55. Is it Unbiblical to Reduce Medicaid and SNAP Benefits?
What Have You—A Couple of Luddites | (Ep. 243)
The Alisa Childers Podcast—#325 Leaving the LGBTQ Life Behind to Follow Jesus, with Brady Cone
|| LOVING LATELY ||
It’s no exaggeration to say that my kids are obsessed with The Tuttle Twins, which teaches kids about economics, history, civics, and government with the mission of helping kids develop critical thinking and personal responsibility. Our kids’ interest in The Tuttle Twins began with the TV show and has segued into love for all of the books: the twins (that is, my twins—Kali and Sully—not Ethan and Emily Tuttle!) are currently into the graphic novels; we’ve enjoyed reading the board books with Nico (with titles like The 123s of the Bill of Rights and The ABCs of Economics, what’s not to love?); and Charleston has really gotten into the nonfiction titles on subjects like famous entrepreneurs, logical fallacies, and true conspiracies.
Something we are all enjoying as a family is the Inflation Monster game, which is kind of like a mashup of Taco vs Burrito and Monopoly. I never thought a game about investing, assets, and inflation would capture their attention, but it totally does! We play the game in our free time, but it could totally qualify as school—but we’re having so much fun that my kids don’t realize how much they’re learning! It’s pretty cool to overhear my kids debating whether or not to invest in bitcoin, or explaining things like the federal reserve and supply & demand to other kids on the playground.
|| MONTHLY KID-ISMS ||
A sampling of some of the hilarious or insightful things my kids have said lately.
CHARLIE-ISMS:
+ “I think God made nectarines, and then He realized He could make them funner, so He made peaches. And God favors peaches.”
+ “Eggs are like God’s design for the perfect meal. The white is the meal and the yolk is its own special sauce.”
+ “Kali, I’m going to give you a challenge. Next time I want you to do your art without having a tantrum. That’s just as important as doing good artwork.” Me: “That’s even MORE important!” Charleston, to me: “Weeeell . . . you’re a mom and I’m an artist. Very different perspectives.”
+ After reviewing his math, when I asked if he knew what he’d done wrong: “Yes. I wrote the wrong answer.”
+ “I feel bad for everyone whose favorite color is grey, because it’s the color of sadness. And air pollution.”
+ “I like writing. Writing is almost like designing the puzzle and then building the puzzle. You’re deciding what pieces to use and putting them together.”
+ “I think it will be good to be a short president. Less likely for assassination.”
SULLY-ISMS:
+ “The oldest one in our family is God.” Charleston: “Not really because God is outside of time.
+ About a Trail Life event: “The other groups got silver and gold, but my group got blond.”
+ Commenting on the cars still in driveways in our neighborhood as we headed to church on a Sunday morning: “Why are all the cars still here? Did their church not start yet?” Me: “Well, not everybody goes to church.” Sully: “How can they worship God but they don’t go to church?”
Not a quote, but a sweet event: Sully was my only kiddo who wanted to do the HEB Summer Reading Challenge this year, and he was super enthusiastic about it. He read the books and filled out the form (with some help), and we mailed away for his prize. Then he counted down the days until it would get here. His Buddy stuffy was three days later than the promised 30-day turnaround, but he came, and Sully was so excited and so proud!
KALI-ISMS:
+ While praying aloud: “Make sure we listen to Mommy and Daddy the first time or zero times, and help us to figure out our problems by ourself, and if Charlie doesn’t do good on his schoolwork help him to do good.”
+ “Why do people go in the water with their arms across them when they become a Christian? Why did Jesus not plug his nose when he did that?” (I realized she was talking about baptism.)
+ “For Christmas I want a phone with the thing you listen to, with that little stretchy thing.” (Referring to an old-fashioned phone with a cord!)
|| HAPPENINGS & HIGHLIGHTS ||
Sully finished up his final lessons of Teach Your Child to Read. . . which in our household is the milestone that marks you as an “official reader.” He was thrilled to cross this milestone and had been eagerly anticipating his completion date, even pushing me to double up on our last few lessons and asking me to video him as he read his final story. It wasn’t the plan to start working through this book so early, but how could I turn down my child who was begging me to teach him how to read?! I’m so proud of this kid and all the effort he’s put into becoming a reader! (Although it does put a wrench in my plans for Kindergarten.) He finished up this book the morning after Charleston finished reading the seventh Harry Potter book aloud to me; both were significant moments in their reading journeys, and it’s so special that as their mom AND teacher I get to witness every step along the road of learning to read, from introduction to picture board books (like we’re doing now with Nico) to becoming confident, fluent readers who love books (almost) as much as me!
I had SO MUCH FUN putting together all the details of a first birthday party for Nico. We went with a Winnie-the-Pooh theme, inspired by the many Pooh-themed items he’d received as a newborn, plus my lifelong love of all things Pooh as well as his nickname of Pooh Bear. It began with a custom invite along with a milestone birthday sign I ordered from Etsy. (We’d had these made for the other three kids on their first birthdays, and they still hang in our hallway. Now Nico’s is joining the others, and the kids have enjoyed comparing their one-year milestone’s with their little brother’s). We displayed Nico’s monthly pictures around the house, with some hanging from Winnie-the-Pooh streamers, some in frames, some tucked into decorative mirrors and along our art display wall, and a set of month-by-month pictures hanging from a Pooh birthday banner. Luke and I watched several YouTube tutorials to assist us in creating our first balloon arch, and we borrowed my sister-in-law’s balloon supplies to make a balloon tower for our entryway. The kids helped me set themed cutouts and signs around the house (Charleston put a LOT of thought into where each of these would go and even made some additional needed signs, like one for the bathroom), and we had Pooh-themed plates, napkins, and tablecloths. The party was mid-morning, so our food consisted of snacks rather than a meal, and I incorporated a number of honey-flavored items (honey-roasted nuts, honey-flavored pretzels, honey Teddy Grahams, honey sticks, and honey candy). As for desserts, I ordered a cake, mini donuts, and cupcakes from Wal-Mart and added our own Pooh-themed toppers and “One” sign; these were displayed on a cute cake stand. At the end of the party, our guests each went home with a “Thank you for BEEing here” bumble bee painting kit.
Of course our birthday boy was looking VERY stylish for his big day, in his dashing suit and party hat (that he actually left on!) and a Pooh bib for cake time (thank goodness for that bib!). I tied a “1” banner to his high chair, and used the party as an excuse to buy myself a Pooh shirt I’d been eyeing. Charleston insisted on coordinating the big siblings’ outfits to our party colors; I was so impressed by his attention to this small detail.
The party itself was a simple one. It was the last weekend before most kids were headed back to school, so a number of our friends couldn’t make it, but we still had more than twenty friends and family members gathered at our house for a morning of play. Luke set up our bounce house and water bouncy, and the kids played while adults hung out and chatted. Nico got to crawl around on the grass and even played toys with his little baby friend Hope. The party’s main event was the quintessential First Birthday Cake. Nico was entranced by his birthday candle and seemed to love having us all sing to him (the boy loves attention). And he was SO CUTE with his cupcake! He first took a few tentative swipes at the frosting, but once he realized he could eat the whole thing, he began smashing it into his mouth and all over his tray. He did have a mini meltdown when I removed the cupcake wrapper and he thought I was taking away his treat. Of course the cupcake was returned to the birthday boy, who polished it off in a matter of minutes!
Nico’s party was on the Saturday before his birthday. His actual birthday was on a Monday, and in typical youngest-child fashion, the day revolved mostly around his older siblings’ activities. But he got to have leftover birthday donuts for breakfast, we got some fun family pictures, the kids made him cards, and we opened presents (the bows and paper were his favorite parts). We read him the First Birthday book that was his gift from Mama and Daddy (we had these made for each of the kids on their first birthdays), had another round of birthday candle and singing, and finally cut into that birthday cake. And how can we forget the way Charleston, Kali, and Sully rushed into our afternoon homeschool co-op meeting at 12:46 (Nico’s birth time) to wish him an OFFICIAL welcome to being one?! Yes it was disruptive, but also incredibly sweet. All in all, I think Nickelson had a pretty good day and we all loved celebrating this special guy whom we all love so much.
As I mentioned in my intro, our troops for Trail Life and American Heritage Girls started meeting this month. This is Sully’s first year joining Trail Life and he is so stinkin’ cute in his uniform. He’s been having a lot of fun at the meetings and is looking forward to his first campout soon. We are excited that my nephew has joined the troop too!
Kali and I are thrilled to be new members of American Heritage Girls! This is something I’ve looked forward to for years, and I’m pinching myself that the days of scouts with my daughter are finally here! We’ve only attended the introductory meetings, and she hasn’t had an opportunity to wear her uniform just yet, but she’s having a blast at these weekly girls-only events. For my girly girl who is surrounded by brothers, this will be a highlight of every week! And I have to say that being surrounded by all the feminine energy every Monday night is quite a welcome change for me as well.
We are only one week into our participation in a Classical Conversations community, but week one was awesome and we’ve had tons of fun with the memory work this week. It was a little tough to navigate the morning with Nico tagging along, but minus that challenge, I think this group will be the answer to a long-held prayer for Christian homeschooling community, and it seems like the curriculum will be a PERFECT fit for our family. We are eager for all that is ahead in the coming year(s)!
We had week one of the kids’ weekly Sports Day this past Thursday. Charleston has attended this program since he was a Kindergartener and it’s a little weird but exciting to be dropping off THREE kids every Thursday afternoon. This was the twins’ first-ever drop off activity and they were nervous, but Charleston was the sweetest big brother and helped them feel welcome on their first day. Of course they had an amazing time (made even better by the ice cream we got on the way home), and they can’t wait to go back next week.
|| ICYMI: AUGUST ON THE BLOG ||
BOOK CORNER
Featured Book Review: The Focused Faith
FAITH & FAMILY
First Response “I want to be a beacon of strength for my kids in the midst of the storm. I want them to feel comfortable coming to me with their mess-ups and their fears, their questions and their sadnesses. Even when my insides are freaking out, I want my outsides to remain calm and welcoming to whatever they bring my way.“
Nickelson Ryan || Twelve Months Old!!! “It was a foretaste of our year to come: humbling, imperfectly glorious, painful, awkward, equal parts mundane and TOTALLY unexpected. . . all wrapped up in a blanket of love and gratitude for the incredible specimen that is you.“
What I Learned This Summer . . . About Faith, Family, Floods, & First Birthdays (plus a few more things). “It’s possible I was reading into things, seeing the signs I wanted to see, but I don’t think so; I asked God for a clear sign, and I do believe that He gave us one. I rarely pray with such specificity, but in this instance I’m glad that I did and that God responded in kind.“
How did your August go? Any highlights to share? What’s ahead for you in September? I’d love to hear about it!
