Bryant the Guitar Hero

Here is Bry's video. We talked about doing one of him on the trampoline or on his skateboard but ended up doing this one because it was convenient. He is just learning to play this and today was his first time on this game. It's so funny watching him try to dance to the beat and hit the right notes. I'm sure he'll be getting high scores in no time. Still it's fun to watch him practice.

You'll hear Elle in the background because she wanted to keep grabbing the camera and so Caleb took her away from it and she wasn't happy about it at all. Also, you'll notice that DJ can't stand to have the camera on someone else.

I hope to have more videos of the kids soon. Enjoy...

Tea with Elle

Here's a little video of Elle playing. It's not very exciting but I thought the people who haven't seen her in a long time would enjoy it.

I'll post a video of Bry soon.
Enjoy!

DJ's Interpretive Dance

DJ woke up (note the serious bed head) and was in a peculiar mood. She sat on our table and danced to various songs silently. So I video taped one of them. This is not exciting but entertaining nonetheless. Napoleon and the Happy Hands Club would be so proud.
(Our close friend Amber Hunter, from Ajo, who is serving as a missionary in Africa would also be so proud. This is her song that she wrote and is singing. Her cd is my new favorite.)

Pondering Sports

Caleb was watching the College World Series tonight and I noticed a grey haired man in the same uniform as the young players. This seemed funny to me. So I pointed out to Caleb that it's humorous how in baseball the coaches dress like the players. We began to consider this concept a little further in other sports.

Can you image Phil Jackson standing courtside, waving his arms around with a tank top jersey and baggy shorts on? Or Mike Babcock geared up and laced up with a hockey stick and skates. How about Tony Dungy yelling at his Defense in a big bulky football uniform complete with shoulder pads?

Just struck me as funny, that's all.

Random Thoughts on This Blog, My Life and Parenting

I love being a mother. I absolutely love it. Many days I feel like I'm not nearly as good at it as I could be, should be and want to be, but I'm so thankful that I get to be. I'm constantly striving to keep my eyes on God so He can continually transform me into the wife, mother, & woman He designed me to be. I have to say though, parenting is hard. I absolutely don't have it all together. Not even close. Sometimes I mess up more times in a day than I do well. I wonder if I do more damage to my kids than good sometimes.

When I became a mom at the naive age of 23, I had no idea what kind of sacrifice I was getting into. Simple things like the ongoing demands and having to remain completely flexible with my own schedule and my money. I didn't know that my children would be born with their own individual personalities. I didn't understand that they would have likes & dislikes of their own regardless of my strong influence on their lives. I didn't realize that they would often disobey, even though I've told them the right thing to do.

I am absolutely not complaining here. Not for a second. And I know I have really great kids. I guess I'm just keeping it real. I often post cute and fun things about our family but I want people to know, I struggle. We struggle as a family. Our kids disobey and we loose our tempers. We have bad days, weeks, and months. Since I choose to be home, our finances take a big hit for a family of 5. Every bit of it is worth it though. We are just people on this journey of life and we're thankful we get to be a family to grow and learn together in love.

I do post a lot of good highlights so the grandparents can see our children and be proud of them. But just so we're clear, we're just people, completely dependant on God's grace. We will do our best so He can be honored but when (not IF but WHEN) we mess up, we rely completely on Him. It is God's grace alone that sustains us. If there is anything we know to be true, it is that.

I don't know why I felt the urge to post this today. I guess I don't want for a minute people who follow our blog to think this is just a big brag fest about how wonderful we are. Trust me, we know how wonderful we're NOT. (just ask our kids, they'll tell you the truth) If there is anything good about this family, it is not of our own doing. Caleb and I were two wandering and broken people when we met and I for one was cloaked in shame. The fact that God merged our two lives and then added precious children to it is nothing less than a miracle directly from His generous Hand. Truly.

**I'll try to make my next post more light-hearted since most of my readers just want to see the kids. Most are probably thinking, "Okay, Jaime, enough of this heart-sharing, philosophical stuff! Just post pictures of the cute ones in the family and save your thoughts for your personal journal." I know, I make everything deep, even when it doesn't need to be. Oh well! Thanks for reading.

9 Years

Today is mine and Caleb's 9th Anniversary! We got married in Laguna Beach, California and honeymooned in Hawaii for 2 weeks. Rough, hu? I only WISH I could have such luxuries nowadays!

These have been the best years of my life. What an adventure we've shared together and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Caleb is my closest friend and my favorite person. I still fall in love with him regularly and I pinch myself because I don't understand why I have been blessed like I have been. I don't understand it but I know it and I'm thankful.

Caleb, I still do.

Summer Plans

I'm determined to make this summer fun and productive, even though this living in limbo can mentally bog me down. I want to have a little bit of structure to keep us focused and motivated, but still have lot's of fun and flexibility. Here are some of the goals I hope to incorporate into our summer:

Sun time: Get outdoors each morning before it gets too hot out. Even if it's just working in the herb garden, jumping for a little bit on the trampoline or a short walk. I don't want us to feel trapped inside because of the heat. If we get out early, that will help us to get our sunshine and dodge the hot weather.
Learning Time:
Teach Bry cursive and keep him practicing his math facts.
Teach DJ to identify all of her letters and maybe start learning sounds.
Teach Elle shapes, colors, animals & their sounds, and simple songs.
Story Time: Start a series and read about 15 minutes to our kids as a group with some fun chapter books. I remember my mom used to read books to us when I was a kid. I loved it. I remember Ms. Piggle-Wiggle, Amelia Badilia, Frog and Toad, etc.
Silent Reading Time: Have silent reading for Bry, DJ and myself while Elle sleeps. Bry has a reading level of a 5th grader but doesn't necessarily enjoy reading on his own. I want to encourage him to develop a love of reading for himself. DJ can't read yet but she can look at pictures and she can look at books that I've already read to her and recall the details on her own. This hopefully will also give me a chance to get started on some of my own books I've been dying to get my hands on.
Library Day: With all this reading going on, I need to plan on getting to the library once a week.

Those are some of the things I hope to consistently do this summer. I also plan to do craft days with the kids and some various outings. I thought by writing these daily/weekly goals down, it would solidify my plans. And so it begins...