Kindergarten!

Andrew is very proud of the fact that he is a Kindergartner!  When we talked to him about being home schooled he was a little less than impressed.  Upon questioning him, we discovered the only reason he was upset was because he wanted to ride the school bus.  I informed him that even if he was going to "regular school" he wouldn't be riding a bus.  He was then completely and totally fine with staying home! 
Almost every school day goes well....Of course I am typing this on day number two of a really rough week.  It's not all roses, but I certainly wouldn't change our decision. Andrew is progressing very well with reading. Our goal for Kindergarten was to learn to read independently and build a desire to learn more about Jesus.  So far, I think we are successful. 
Many people have asked us why we choose homeschooling when we live in a decent school district. My short answer is "I cannot imagine sending my son to school for 8 hours five days a week." That is true...but only half of the truth.  Both Paul and I feel that our children are God's gift to us.  We have a deep burden to instill in them a love for Jesus and his Word. We have taken very seriously the command to train up our children and feel the best way for that to be done is to have them at home with us instead of in public school.  There are many more reasons I can give but that sums it up pretty good. I don't often give the full explanation though for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I don't always think people want the full answer.  Secondly, I certainly don't want to come across as judgemental. In no way do I feel that if you choose to send your kids to public school or even private school that you are wrong.  I completely believe that God gives us all our own peace as to the best way to educate our children.  As "home education" and "public education" is not a "Deal Breaker" for my faith, I am so thankful that we can all make the choice that is best for our own families. 
This has been a wonderful journey for our family as we have searched for fun and functional curriculum, developed a schedule that works for us, and chosen subjects in which to dig deeper.  We look forward to what God has in store on this path for us!

And for your enjoyment, perhaps we will revert to old English around the Bush house...

Failure

This is kinda like that 12 step program.
My name is Marcie and I am a blogging failure.
Ok, there I said it so you don't have to.  So it's been seven months since our last update...don't worry, I won't cram it all into one big long ridiculous update, I will just right a few different posts and schedule them over the next few days.  I will give you a quick run down though....enjoy.

1. We took our annual summer trip to Montana.
2. Andrew started Kindergarten.
3. I had foot surgery.
4. It was officially solidified that I have the best friends known to man.
5. Marianne turned 4.
6. My Dad is the greatest!
7. Andrew turned 6!
8. I lost my best friend to a nasty battle of cancer.
9. Christmas with my family.
10. Its a new year.

There you have it, seven months in a nut shell.  To say the least, we were very busy.  I love my family, I love my life as a stay at home Mom, I love being busy.....BUT I am soooooo ready for a little slower pace!

SO....I was going to add a picture or two to this post, but apparently blogspot has changed over the past 7 months also...so until Paul comes to my rescue, this is the best it gets.  Hope you have a lovely day.

One?!?

Sweet Izabelle is One!!  I cannot even believe this.  It really seems like this year has flown by!  I know everyone says that, but really....how is this possible?  It is hard to believe that a year ago my sweet baby was born nearly 5 weeks early.  A few days at DeVos Children's hospital on C-Pap and learning to eat and here we are!  Amazing. 

 Izabelle LOVES...we are talking big puffy heart here, folks....birds.  She says birdie, she signs birdie she adores birdies.  So what better than a birdie party, right?  Bird house goodie boxes, a bird in a cage...that my wonderful hubby fashioned out of an ice cream bucket lid and telephone wire...and stuffed birdies I made from my fabric scraps.  This party was CHEAP!  (cheep cheep?) I even had the perfect fabric for table coverings in my hoard...I mean bountiful tub of flannel.  Such a fun day celebrating our girl!

 From this:

 To this:  I am sooo in love with this sweet sweet baby girl!  So thankful to God everyday for our little miracle!  We love you Izabelle Lynn!

Happiness--A kiddo update

 Sweet Izabelle!  She LOVES to stand at the window and watch the birds.  She adores birds.  Listens for them when outside, watches their every move, even signs and says bird.  I am in the process of planning her FIRST (I cannot believe this) birthday party. It will have the theme...you guessed it...birds!  She is such a joy to our hearts!  She makes me want 15 kids!  We are so blessed by her happy spirit and joyfulness.  She is always good for a smile and gives the greatest hugs.  Nothing makes you smile like her blown kisses either!

 The boy!  All boy! He loves everything superhero, guns, dragons, and his new found love is soccer.  He is very proud of his soccer shoes and declares they are the fastest shoes ever!  He is learning to read.  Andrew loves nature.  He is becoming more like Daddy every day in every way. Right down to his sense of humor.  This boy is funny!  He makes us laugh all the time. We recently discovered that Andrew cannot tolerate food coloring.  In his own words "it makes me grumpy." We arent' sure exactly what that means, but we do know that when he has dye, he is out of control and his behavior is atrocious! Since figuring this all out, life with Andrew has become very pleasant!  He is a well mannered boy who ADORES his baby sister!

Then there is Miss Marianne.  Marianne prefers to be called Annie most of the time.  The name truly fits her.  She is a bundle of laughs!  She likes to laugh, likes to giggle, and likes to make others laugh too! She has a very sensitive spirit which is usually a good thing. Annie lives to color!  She will color anything...literally!  She also likes to cook with Mommy in the kitchen.  She is getting to be quite helpful!  She also loves her TaeKwonDo lessons each week.  She is getting stronger and faster!  Her coordination will come along eventually. (ha ha!) Annie is our little cuddler.  She is often found on a lap or as close to you as she can get. 

So there it is...an update...finally.  With pictures.  You are welcome (and you know who you are.) I quite facebook recently...so maybe I will begin to have more time for the blog.  I would love to start posting recipes and creative, inexpensive, healthy meals.  We'll see.  Life does happen at the Bush house.

Thankfulness

I know...a bit late! But, well, life happened.  These are the adorable turkey buckeyes that my kiddos made.  So fun and quite yummy! But, that is not what this post is about.  It's about a tree.  A tree that is becoming a piece of our family. It is our Prayer and Thankfulness tree.  It is really my attempt at helping my kids (and myself) to think past themselves.  Past what we are doing this moment and past our own circumstances. We are rotating each month between things we are thankful for, and things we are praying for.  Each day, we add to our tree (which is a beautiful giant sticker on our wall...that I will take a picture of at the end of December).  November what Thankfulness.  We had lots of paper leaves to add to our tree this month.  I thought I would write the list to give you all a glimpse of how my wonderful children think.  These are all things that they chose to add to our tree...no prompting, just encouraging to be thankful. Total randomness shall follow as I just pulled the leaves off and threw them on my desk last week to write this post.

Cousins, Lunch with Daddy, Our House, Pictures, Papa and Nana, Izabelle, Princesses, Daddy's Work, Discover (our Dog), Books, Crayons, Cherries, Drinks, Playing with Daddy, Butterflies, Smiles, Books (again!) Uncle and Aunt Lisa's New House, Cheese, the World, Niceness, Computer, Taekwondo, Jesus, Snow Flakes, Oranges, Nature School, Aunt Suz and Uncle Brad, Marker, Andrew, Birthdays, Daddy, Pumpkins, Wrestling with Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, Food, Books (again!) Food, Marianne, Friends, Mommy, Medicine

This list blesses my heart!  I love the honesty, simpleness, and open heartedness that it involves.  Pretty sure my favorites are Jesus, Cheese, and all the time spent with Daddy.  It is very obvious what is important to my kiddos!  Love it!

Good Grief!

Ok, so I know I said I would try to post more....I guess I didn't try hard enough.
October FLEW by us! And here it is November is almost over, too.  Recap? Sure!
Marianne is now 3.
Andrew is doing GREAT in TaeKwonDo.
Marianne enjoys dance...usually.
Kiddos were successfully spoiled by the Nana!
*My Mom came for a week to care for the kiddos while I was recovering from a hysterectomy.  Surgery went well. Basically to sum it all up...our 3 kids are walking miracles. Ask me about it sometime, I will be happy to share.*
Paul is now 35.
Jon and Lisa moved into a fabulous new to them house just 2 1/2 miles from us!
Izabelle is sitting.

There ya go!  If I tried to do a photo update, I would have way to many pictures to sort through...so I will start over from here and do my very bestest to blog more often.
I have started a new blog for recipes and cooking fun.  If that interests you, please join me over at
http://www.expandingthetastebuds.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Little Update

Annie loving on Izabelle. They are so sweet together. Izabelle is really starting to pay attention to her siblings and ADORES them! They are often rewarded with the smile they seek!

Family vacation in Montana was fabulous as always! We spent almost enough time in the mountains. All three kiddos (and their parents) love being outside. We enjoyed a trip to Yellowstone Park, a drive over the Gravely Mountains, hiking in Lake Canyon, time at the park, and a few other adventures in between.

This is my sweet boy! I am in LOVE!!! Andrew really enjoyed being outside. He went on a 3 mile hike with Daddy and Papa, and got to eat fresh wild raspberries. He also enjoyed throwing rocks off a cliff that we found near the head of the Ruby river.

Paul and I were able to get away for about 24 hours unattended! We enjoyed a hike, a drive to...NOWHERE!, and a quiet night alone at Jackson Hot Springs. We will be celebrating 10 years of wedded bliss here in just a few weeks and took the opportunity to celebrate early. Thanks to Nana and Papa for making it possible!

In other news...

Andrew has started TaeKwonDo and is really enjoying it. We look forward to his twice a week lessons at a great Christian school. Marianne has started a dance class. She dances once a week, ballet and tap. She is way too funny about it, but it promises to be a good time for here. Both the bigger kids are involved in Wednesday night ministries at our church. Andrew is very proud of his book with lessons to do at home, and Annie is excited to go on Wednesdays because one of her favorite people is one of the teachers! What a blessing as this girl usually fights being left at church. I am in full swing with the Youth on Wednesday nights and am excited to see what God does this year in our small group.

Praying all are well!