Hanging in Colorado

It's not often that I get away without kids, but it's happened twice this year...both times to see Rachel in Colorado! This was a really pretty time of year with the leaves changing and the temperatures cool and refreshing...it really felt like fall!

But the purpose of the trip was difficult. After years of struggling, Rachel and Kirk are separating and getting a divorce. This trip involved laughter and bring together as well as tears and prayers. It is a blessing that Hid gives us family to walk through the ups and downs of life, and even more, I am  thankful for God who is a friend who sticks closer than a sister (brother). 

Last day of Horseback Riding

Play time on daddy stay home days

Saturday and Sunday have been affectionally nicknamed "Daddy stay home days" because, as the title suggests, Jeff stays home. When Jeff stays home everyone has fun!!

First haircut!

Rachel Lee has her first haircut...it was mostly off the back to straighten her hair, but I just can't believe she's growing so fast!!!

Here's the before:

And the after: 

Just skatin'

I was on the phone for no more than 4 minutes when Rachel Lee came in around the corner...I asked what she was going and she said, "just skatin!" And yes, she is using dry board erasers as her skates!

Beauty

While Hannah was at soccer practice I couldn't help but notice how beautiful my girls are...I find them just gorgeous!!

Chabot Science Center

We just took a field trip to the Chabot science center where we saw Jupiter through a huge telescope, learned about the sun and saw the sun through a safe sun viewing tool, and had fun pretending to be scientist. Hannah told me she might want to go to space...whether she does become an astronaut or not, her desire was clearly the response of an interesting and fun day at the museum. 

Rachel Lee, star student in mommy preschool

This little gal is amazing. Whenever anyone asks how homeschool is going, she interjects that she is in Mommy Preschool too. What is mommy preschool? It's play dough and paints, numbers and letters, books and songs. Puzzles and beads are often mixed in as well, and coloring is a go to. Mommy preschool is purposeful play, and Rachel Lee is loving and doing great. Most of all, she is getting to be a three year old just enjoying life. 

One more thing...she did her own hair!!! 

Morning time with friends

Every school day we get to watch two sweet neighbor kids...Riley (4th grade) and Lucas (3 years). The girls love this time and when we walk Riley up to school Hannah and Kate run and play at recess with their old classmates. After the morning recess bell rings we walk home, drop off Lucas at his preschool, come home and begin our school day. It's great starting our day with these morning buddies!

Break time!

The girls have been working really hard lately and doing some impressive work. For a fun and special snack time together (and because we had NO food in the house) we took a break to grab some treats from Peet's coffee. We room two games, Pretty Pretty Princess and Hi Ho Cherry-o, and just laughed and enjoyed our time together. The girls and I were quite a sight all decked out with our princess gear, and I couldn't resist treasuring and remembering this time together with my princesses.

...my silly princesses that is!!!

Sewing

Hannah has been begging me to teach her to sew...the problem is that a. I have no idea where the plug to my sewing machine is since I have yet to use it since we've moved and b. I fear she will see right through her finger. But Grandma Sue is more confident that a young kid can sew (with proper instruction and supervision) so together they sewed a doll blanket...here is Hannah's first project: 

Her next (anticipated) project is a lap quilt...I better find my plug soon so she can continue to practice and learn! Thanks Grandma Sue for your courage and instruction!!! 

More Hannah Conversations

H: Let's pretend we are all triplets and you're the mom!
Ella (a friend): What's triplets anyway?
H: Three kids born at the same time. And fourthlets are four kids born at the same time.

So logical and yet wrong...but so absolutely precious. These days sure are sweet!

Hannah Conversations

We're at the science center and just looked through a telescope to see Jupiter. As we sat down to eat I decided to talk about the meaning of telescope. I asked if they could think of any other word with "tele" in it...nothing came to them, so after some silence and blank stares that communicated, 'Mom, all I want to do is eat,' I said, "Television!" They looked at me and I started, "Teleph..." And Kate finished "Telephone!" Ah, they're getting it I thought! The Hannah adds, "Mutele!"...huh?!? "What is that?" I asked her. "You know...the chocolate? The put stuff on sticks and dip it in the chocolate stuff...you love Mutele!" I had to think about what she was saying and then it clicked NUTELLA!! I had a good laugh and appreciated once again that I am in the presence of 7, 6, and 3 year olds and I'm grateful for the times I am tele-ported into their simple and enjoyable lives.

Kate Conversations

Kate has been asking for a playdate with one of her closest friends for about a week. It doesn't sound like a long time, but when she is asking multiple times a day for a week it tells me that she has felt like a week is a long time, and having to answer her each time makes me feel like it has been a long time. The problem is that her parents have been traveling in Europe for three weeks (hard life!) and the Norwegian grandma is watching them who does not speak English, making it hard to set up playdates.

Well the parents finally returned, I sent a text and we arranged something for today. I was so excited to tell Kate this morning thinking that she will smile and bound around all day. Well, when I told her she sat quietly. I asked her, "Are you happy that you will see Ella?" this is how the rest of the conversation went:

K: Well, is today a free day?
S: Are you asking if we have school?
K: No, it's Thursday so I know we have school. I am asking if it's a free day.
S: What is a free day.
K: A day that is free.
S: Free for what?
K: Free to play.
S: Are you asking if we have plans this afternoon?
K: Yes, or is it a free day?
S: We have no plans, except to get Ella at 2:30 and have a playdate.
(silence...)
K: So, we will have school, clean up a little then get Ella at 2:30 and then we can bake (the first smile comes across her face) and dress up...oh mom, can we have some fun music really loud? She loves loud music (an even larger smile) and when we bake can we make chocolate chips muffins with a banana? She loves those too.

I am just amazed at Kate. I thought she would jump around and show how excited she was, but she needed to understand all the factors before she got excited. She needed to know what other plans we had, and plan what they could do together. But the most amazing detail is that Kate was thinking of things that Ella likes to do. See she is happy to be with her friend that it makes it easy to do what her friend wants...they enjoy the same thing, but mostly they enjoy being together. Kate truly is thoughtful and kind, and she continues to amaze me with her sweetness.

Jeff's 36th birthday!!

Man, he's old. But more importantly  he's a guy worth celebrating! Lately I've been blessed to talk to the girls about true love (after an encounter with two high schoolers showing a little too much PDA at a park...awkward!). To frame the talk with the kids all I had to do was talk about the true love  that Jeff shows us, all his girls, on a daily basis. It's the day in and day out events that make living together as a family both sweet and tough. It's in the years spent together, the dedication to God, his desire to love and serve others and his humility to admit and make adjustments when things get off course. He's the type of guy you want to celebrate each and every day. Thanks for the true love you show...you're truly a man among men!!

To help celebrate Jeff on his 36th birthday, Cindy and Roger made the long drive to spend the weekend with up. The girls had a blast playing with their grandparents, and the grandparents had fun watching Hannah play soccer, reading books and playing game after game of Candyland. They also took us out for a special birthday dinner...fun times for everyone!

Frozen, a Play by the Murry Girls

The girls have enjoyed making and acting out plays. Here is the latest rendition of "Frozen" by the Murry girls. Hannah is the videographer, while Kate and Rachel Lee have various roles, and a guest appearance with Mo, the guinea pig. Enjoy!