Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Happy 6th Birthday Grace!

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I can’t believe our sweet girl is six years old today.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were opening jars of baby food and lugging around a diaper bag?  What a joy these years have been.  What a joy Grace is to us!

We celebrated today with a simple dinner at home with friends and family.  Dad grilled burgers and hot dogs while mom and I fixed some baked beans and chips and dips.  We had a Hello Kitty strawberry cake for dessert!  The Towns’ joined us….Will and Grace played together the whole time.

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For months, Grace has been asking for an hourglass.  Weird, I know, but she was SO excited to receive one of her very own tonight.  She sits and just stares at it!

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She was also excited about getting a Crayon Maker.  Kudos to Crayola’s marketing campaign for making every kid who watches PBS Kids want one for Christmas.  Todd found the last one in Fort Worth!

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Grace, your daddy and I love you for so many reasons.  We love your sweet and gentle spirit.  We love your eagerness to learn new things.  We love what a good helper you are around the house and to others.  We love to watch you dance and sing.  We love to hear you talk about Jesus.  We love playing games with you.  We love that God gave you to us after so many years of asking for a child of our own.  How thankful we are for you, dear daughter!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Night On The Town

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This weekend we had an awesome family outing in downtown Fort Worth. We ate an early dinner at Uno Chicago Grill. It was delicious and the first time for me to taste Chicago-style pizza.

Next we walked around downtown and enjoyed the huge Christmas tree and all the beautiful lights. There was a band playing Christmas tunes in the square, and we let Grace visit with Santa.

We wandered around a huge Barnes and Noble bookstore and finished our holiday shopping, then we headed to Bass Hall for the annual production of The Nutcracker. Due to a generous gift, we scored box seats on the first tier! We felt very high class with a private waiting room and beverage service. Grace had a clear, close, unobstructed view of the stage. She loved every minute of it! The production was AMAZING, and the ballet dancers were incredible. It was so fun to watch her face as she gazed in awe at the show. During intermission she entertained the other couple who shared our box by trying to imitate some of the ballet moves she had observed. So precious.

After the show, we capped off the evening at Starbucks and went home happy. It was an amazing night, and we are so thankful that we were able to have such a fun holiday outing. We hope to make The Nutcracker ballet an annual family tradition!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Homeschool Update

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I have updated this blog!  Check out my Cakes By Joanna blog to see why I’ve been so busy!

My days are very full, and I love it.  Our mornings are spent in school, and our afternoons are spent doing household chores, baking cakes, visiting with friends, and field trips. 

Homeschool is going great!  We love it so much.  I thought by now the newness would wear off, and Grace would start to get bored or frustrated.  Just the opposite has happened…she begs me to do school on Saturdays, Sundays, and any day I decide to take off! 

The kindergarten curriculum I’m using moves fairly quickly, and I’m pleased that Grace is keeping up!  We are working on phonic blends and basic grammar rules.  She is slowly learning to read on her own!  I love to see her take an interest in all the words around her…on road signs, billboards, books, etc.  She is so proud of herself when she sounds out new words she has never read before! 

She is also making good progress on her scripture memorization and catechism.  I love that she does not consider this a burden, but she enjoys showing others what she has learned.  My prayer is that the words she learns will be hidden in her heart for her whole life.

Naturally, there have been moments of drama in our school days…especially when we learn a new concept.  But I will say that she is learning to calm her emotions and simply try again when she becomes frustrated.  What I DON’T want her to do is give up.  In my opinion, it’s a more valuable lesson than what she is learning!

Slowly, she is gaining confidence and growing.  We are so proud of her!  I am so thankful to be able to teach her, and I do not take it for granted.