Merry Christmas!!

The boys woke us up at 5 am :) They were a little excited. They had a lot of fun opening their gifts. We had a lot of fun watching them :) It was wonderful to watch our daughter experience her first Christmas morning. Christmas really is 100 times better when your the parent.

Elliana was in the kitchen with me while I was making our big Christmas lunch. I looked at her and it dawned on me that someday she will be helping make Christmas dinner, and now I am handing her a teething ring. The thought and action brought tears to my eyes :)

Before I get any gender comments the boys will also be helping me make dinner (in fact, they already do). I plan on teaching all of my children to cook before they leave the house. Not just mac-n-cheese and other convenience foods. They are going to know how to cook ham, turkey, homemade bread and anything else I can think of :)

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!

White Christmas?

A day before Christmas Eve and it is snowing :)

We are all excited about the next few days. Tomorrow we get to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Tucker :)

Hope you all have a great Christmas!!!

Day 2

We took yesterday off from school (the sickies are going around our house). But today Joshua was asking "When are we going to do school?" and "What are we learning to do today?". So we did some more "school"...

This is Joshua vacuuming (he is VERY good!)


Asher cleaned the windows...

And Joshua polished the furniture...

Asher is afraid of the vacuum, but he decided he wanted to learn how to vacuum too...

This is so much fun :)

Day 1

We started Home Ec. week with laundry and making beds :) Joshua has already told me he likes this kind of school.

What is my objective for the laundry lesson?? Do I expect them to do their own laundry?? No way! But they can sort and help put away. And it is good for them to see how their clothes get clean. Mom dosen't shake her magic wand :)

It has suprised me how Joshua has put other school topics into what we are doing. For example, while folding a dish cloth he told me that we were folding them into fourths! He also cracked me up when he laughed and said "I'm folding my own socks!".

Thi is a picture of Joshua sorting laundry...

Here he is moving laundry from the washer to the dryer (such a cutey!)

Even Asher helped with the laundry!

Here is cutey patootey Asher learning how to make his bed (he is a natural!)

Home Ec. Week!!

Aaron and I talked and we have decided to do something different this week with school. The boys worked really hard last week and finished all of their book work. But the great part of homeschooling is that they can learn things here at home that you can't learn at school. For example how to sort, fold and put away clothes and polish the furniture, just to name a few.

So this week the boys will be spending some time learning home economics. Joshua especially will be helping with laundry, meal preparation, cleaning, and anything else that comes up. I will most likely get some GREAT pictures of my guys hard at work. So I will be sure to post them :)

YEAH for homeschooling :)

Update on Our Family

It has been snowing a lot the last few days. I think we have about 6-8 inches so far. The boys are having fun playing in the snow with dad. Elliana and I are enjoying the warmth of the indoors :) It is wonderful to watch her change everyday. She is such a sweet little girl.


Joshua and Asher have been working hard at school the last week. As a result they finished all their work for the rest of the year (2007). So they are now on Christmas break. They are more than a little excited about this :) Although mom might sneak in a little bit here and there during the next two weeks.


Asher has been surprising us with his vocabulary. He has started using words like "certainly". He is definitely a daddies boy these days. When Aaron comes home from work Asher tells him "I am glad your here". That definitely makes Aaron's day :)


Joshua made my year the other night. I was getting ready to go to the gym and I was wearing my "Moms Rock" shirt. He walked by me and said "Moms really do rock". That's my boy :)


Elliana is so close to crawling. She should be on the move soon. We are looking forward to watching her experience her first Christmas (out of the womb, last year she was just listening:). We are certain that her favorite gift will be the wrapping paper. Here she is playing peek-a-boo..


I have been working on a big quilt for Asher. He decided he wanted an "army" quilt. So we went to the store and he helped me pick out the fabric. Here he is with the finished product...

Just us girls hanging out together (one of my favorite past times!)...

My adorable husband (my greatest blessing!)...

Time For School!!!!!

Many people have asked how I homeschool when I have three children ranging in age from 8 months to 6 years....here is a glimpse into our lives..

Asher cutting and pasting...

Joshua working on his math... he likes to relax while he works...

We have a lot of fun :) We try to keep things laid back and just enjoy our time together.

Update...

Aaron is coming home!!! He has been in Florida all week and we have missed him terribly. But my knight will be back in his castle in a few short hours :)

We are working on a big school project. Yesterday Joshua decided he wanted to have his own restaurant. So I said, why not. We are putting together a menu, making signs and even getting hats for us to wear (he has great ideas!).

We will be having the Rhodes over to Joshua's restaurant on Sunday evening for dinner. Joshua's restaurant is named "The Best Restaurant in the Universe". The customers will receive an envelope of play money when they arrive. Joshua will be dressed in a suit and will be the waiter (Asher will help too). He will be in charge of seating the customers, taking their orders and collecting their money. This way he will get to practice counting money :) I also want him to realize that he can do anything he dreams.

I have been promising pictures so here are a bunch...

This Asher in our backyard

Trimming the tree...

My silly little girl..

Little Miss Christmas..

O.K. that was a lot of pictures...sorry if it took forever to load. Hope you all have a great weekend!

An assignment...

Joshua wrote a newspaper article about Jesus today. He learned about the 5 W's and the H. Below is the article he created.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He is God's son. He performs miracles, He is very special and He heals people. On Christmas we celebrate His birthday. I love Christmas because I like to get toys.

Crazy Week Ahead

It is a little busy around here this week. Joshua finishes his study of animals and moves on to space (he is very excited). We are working on subtraction in math. Math is Joshua's favorite subject in school. We are also reading the book entitled "Understood Betsy".

At this very moment the boys are dressed up as Captain Pickard and Captain Kirk. Yesterday for lunch Joshua wanted more water. He asked me for some "scotch". He and dad watch too much Star Trek (he was pretending to be Scottie).

Other than a week packed with school I am also making Asher a quilt. He picked out what he calls "army" colors (brown and camo). It should be done soon, he is pretty excited.

Elliana is working on some more teeth. She is also starting to get mobile (scooting on her belly).

WoooHooo!

I tested Joshua this morning and he knows at least 92 Spanish words!! I am so proud of him. I have not tested Asher (because he is only 3). But just from talking to him I can tell he knows about 50 -60 words. I am so proud of him too!!

Joshua completed an experiment with magnets this morning. He picked out a bunch of cars and tested to see which ones were attracted to the magnet.

Asher is in superman mode lately. He is always wearing a superman shirt (luckily we have a bunch!). He told me that he wants to be superman when he grows up :) This is another reason why we love homeschooling. If we sent the boys away to school we wouldn't get to hear these wonderful comments.

Elliana is growing so fast. We can't believe how tall she is getting! We are excited to spend our very first Christmas with a little girl in the house :)

Below is a picture of Aaron making jack-o-lanterns with the boys. Joshua is being "scary" and Asher is being superman. Aaron is being awesome (as usual).

Looking Forward to Christmas!

Well the turkey has been eaten and the Christmas tree is up :)

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We ate about 11 on Thursday. We discovered that Asher really does not like turkey and Joshua LOVES it. He had a huge drumstick all to himself. Everyone enjoyed eating all their favorites. After lunch we promptly put up the Christmas tree (the boys could not wait another minute). Then in the evening we had homemade shakes and watched The Incredibles. I just LOVE serving my family! It was a great day. I even snuck in a long cuddle with a sleepy 7 month old :)

This week we will be doing school in the living room by the light of the Christmas tree. It should be a normal school week (which means it will be busy and fun). Joshua is studying insects in science and we are reading Henry Huggins in Language Arts. Joshua is going to start subtraction soon in math. He took a math test and recieved 100%. He is such a smarty :)

A Poultry Poem by Joshua

This week in Language Arts Joshua had to write a poem about chickens. This is what he wrote...

Chickens are short,

this little chicken is going to the port.

This little chicken was stubby,

she liked to play with cubby.

This chicken is fat,

she gets chased by the cat.

Chickens are good to eat,

but take out the feet.

Chickens lay eggs,

they have short legs.

They have beaks,

but no cheeks.

A Time of Thanksgiving :)

This is going to be a GREAT week! But before I update you all on my amazing kids and what our family is doing for the holiday, I will back track and let you know the big things that have happened in the past week.

First of all Elliana is just AWESOME!! Last Monday Aaron looked at her and said "I love you". Elliana responded by saying" da da I love you". Aaron and I were in shock. Since then she has said "I love you" a few more times. So she is a genius :)

The boys had a blast this past weekend with the Reginald cousins. We met at the discovery museum in Galesburg to play and say good-bye. The Reginald's are on their way to New Hampshire to start a new chapter in their lives. It is amazing where you will end up when you follow Gods lead :) We are very excited for them!!!

Now for the holiday week ahead! The boys will be doing 5 days worth of school in 3 days. As a result they will enjoy Thanksgiving break on Thursday and Friday. We are having Thanksgiving at our house on Thursday :) I am making all my families favorite dishes. We will be having turkey, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, Grandma Sandy's famous rolls, shells and cheese, stuffing, Grandma Netta's famous carrots, and homemade chocolate shakes for dessert :) We are all really looking forward to a lazy day spent with family.

Then on Sat. we will go to Aaron's parents for another Thanksgiving meal. Joshua and Asher are excited to see their cousins.

And the best part of the week... my awesome husband has Thursday and Friday off!! WoooHoooo!!!

I will try and get some new pictures up soon. We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!!

The week ahead...

Well it is a quiet week here in the Nelson house :)

The boys are pushing forward in school. Joshua starts to study reptiles in science. He is also learning how to add three numbers together in math. He has been using the Rosetta Stone Spanish program and is doing very well. We are also doing Spanish together (the three of us). Asher LOVES writing his name. He is such a smart guy :)

Elliana is doing great. She is so beautiful. Aaron and I both have a hard time walking away from her. We just want to see what she is going to do next.

Hope you all have a great week!!

Remember when...

Joshua was a newborn... And we were coping with newborn life...

Asher was a newborn...

And we were again coping with newborn life...
We knew from the start that they would be best friends...

Wedding at the VFW

There is nothing quite like eating fried chicken at the VFW. It's gooood. Wish I had gotten a picture of the chicken to post. But oh yeah, and Amy's family was there for a reception. So I got some pictures of some of that commotion. We were told it was just a reception but Amy's uncle Mike came up to us and said something was a foot. Amy said that guy that no one knows sure looks pastor like. Sure enough then it happened. Hanging out at the VFW and a wedding breaks out.


The first dance of Ron and Linda Tucker was sweet while it lasted:


But it quickly expanded to include those who had the time. (Some appeared to be to busy):


Grandpa took some time to hold his new grandaughter:


And then all the grandkids plus a misplaced vagabond (Amy's brother Randy):


It was nice to have all the kids together for a picture. It has been a long time. A good time was had by all.

Smarties and Crunch Bars

Halloween was a huge success. The boys are enjoying their candy (in moderation). Joshua loves Smarties and Asher wants Crunch.

It has been a relaxing weekend at home. I just adore my family! It was wonderful to hear the boys playing outside in the leaves yesterday. Especially since I was listening to them while I was napping with my beauty :)

This week will be busy but fun for the boys. We have been studying Egypt in history. On Friday we took a field trip to the ISU library to find really good pictures of the pyramids and tombs. We found some great books. This week we will continue our study of Egypt. We are also going to start a book called Mountain Born. Add in a couple of play dates and swimming lessons and our days are filled :)

With the passing of Halloween we are looking forward to Thanksgiving (Joshua wants me to make Grandma Sandy's Thanksgiving rolls!). We are also a little sad about Aunt Robins move to New Hampshire. We will miss you guys!! :) But we are excited for what God has in store for you.
Here are a couple pictures of my baby's... (yes I still call them my baby's..)

Elliana being beautiful...
Joshua touching a live turkey
The boys with their cousins at the park (this is them being normal...)

And here they are making goofy faces!

Hope you all have a great week!

Happy Halloween!!

I have two Nascar drivers who can't wait to go trick or treating tonight. Elliana will be dressed as.. Elliana. Joshua informed me that since she looks like a princess that will be her costume :) I couldn't agree more.

I need to get back to my kiddos. Joshua has made a submarine museum in his room and I am going to be the first visitor, see ya!

Some Pics

The kids at the pumpkin patch!

Playing in the hay at the pumpkin patch. Joshua was General Washington and Asher was fighting the redcoats. Aaron was very proud.

Evidence that they do get tired, but not often :)

We are so blessed!

My baby girl :)