Craft Fun Galore!

Nothing pleases a house full of princesses more than CRAFTS! We kept all these cute little fingers busy during our tea party with several different craft projects from Creativity for Kids. As the girls were arriving for the tea party, they made these adorable pink zebra-striped tote bags (Maggie was THRILLED that this project included zebra print- she's a zebra fanatic!).

After the bags were complete, we started stuffing them with some more craft goodies for the girls to take home!

After tea and sandwiches, we all headed out to make fancy headbands and pop art necklaces. Both of these projects were definitely a hit with all these fancy little ladies! Maggie's cousin Susan was a big help and showed all the girls how to get started on their pop art necklaces.

And here are the little ladies with their fashion craft creations! Aren't they lovely?!

Happy Birthday, Maggie Mae.

Maggie Mae,

Happy Birthday! You are five years old today. I know this is the kind of thing moms say all the time, but I can hardly believe it's been five years since you made your grand and speedy entrance into the world in Nampa, Idaho. Your dad and 21-month old Max and I had just moved to Idaho a few weeks before you were born. We didn't know a single person in our new town, but the day I brought you home from the hospital I knew I instantly had a wonderfully tiny and precious new friend. I loved those first few months of getting to know you!

Even before you were born, I believed God had a special plan for your life. Now that I really know you– the strong, passionate, artistic, intelligent, loving girl you are– I believe more than ever that God has great things in store for you. I pray every day that God will capture your heart and channel all of your passion and strength and stubbornness toward the things that really matter, toward the very few things in life that will last forever.

I was thinking this week about a time when you were just over a year old. I was playing the piano at Grandpapa and Grandmama's house and you came in the room to listen. When the music came to a quite dramatic and beautiful resolution, you spread your arms out wide and let out a huge sigh. You got it. At one year old. This week you played your first real song on the piano. And I saw another glimpse of the beautiful soul that God formed inside me five years ago. I can hardly wait to see what the next five years will bring and all they will reveal about the woman God is growing you to become. I wouldn't trade this journey with you for anything. Anything.

I love you, sweet girl.

Mommy

Conversations with Maggie

Maggie: Mom, Why did God create Halloween?
Me: Well, God did not make Halloween. A person came up with that idea.
Maggie: Who was it?
Me: I'm not sure what his name was.
Maggie: Maybe it was that Lucas guy who came up with Star Wars?
Me: George Lucas?
Maggie: Yeah, maybe it was him. He's a pretty cool guy...

First Day of School

Maggie's First Day of Kindergarten!

I am so thankful- our first day of homeschool kindergarten could not have gone better with Maggie! Seriously, it was one of the best days we have had together. She is very eager to learn... I sure hope she keeps up her enthusiasm in the weeks and months ahead. Here are a couple glimpses from our day:

 We went on an alphabet hunt

We worked on some shapes.... and a lot of other fun stuff!

Max's first day of first grade!

Settling into his new desk in Mrs. Kennedy's room. 

His sweet class!

He was so happy that Jakin arrived just in time for me to snap a picture before I had to leave. He's so glad to have his best buddy in the same class! 

It's going to be a great year!

On its way to Lego World Headquarters

Alexander's First Year Video

Lucas put together this little video of Alexander's first year to play at his birthday party. We wanted to post it here, especially for all our our out-of-town family. So many people have invested in his life this year- Thank you for helping make his first year of life a great one!

Alexander is One

Today Alexander had his one-year-old check-up with the pediatrician. He weighed 21 lb. 13 oz. (50th percentile), was 30.5 inches tall (75th percentile) and head size of 18.5 cm (75th percentile). The pediatrician was glad to hear that although he's not the least bit interested in walking yet, neither were his big brother and sister at this age. Looks like he's following in the Roebuck tradition of watching his first birthday zoom by without first steps on the horizon. :-) We love our little one-year-old so very much!  Here are some photos to capture this fun stage:

COWS!

We LOVE Chick-Fil-A for so many reasons, not the least of which is that once a year they feed our family (and thousands of others, too) for free! Yesterday was Cow Appreciation Day at CFA, the one day a year that if you dress like a cow, you get a free meal. We got all decked out and enjoyed the fun together. Maggie wanted to be a Princess Cow (thanks, Aunt Suzie, for the nightgown that worked perfectly for her costume!), and I talked Max into being a King Cow to match. I was just a plain 'ol regular cow.... who enjoyed my free meal immensely. :-)

Hey, Great Mama and Great Papa, look what Alexander grew into just in time for Cow Appreciation Day?! Thanks for helping make him the cutest little cow around!

Thoughts from Maggie

"Mom, if an animal only eats wood, would he be called a woodivore? (pause) Hey, wait!! I think I'm a SUGARVORE!!"

Russell is going to Haiti!

For those of you who know and love my brother Russell: we are very excited that he is preparing to go on his first international mission trip to Haiti. He is leaving in two weeks and is trying to finish raising the funds he needs the make this trip possible.

Check out this link, and please consider making a donation toward his trip! 

The Speed of Light

Life just keeps whirring by at what feels like the speed of light around here. I can't believe how much of summer break is already over. Seriously, where is the time going?

I'm going to make an attempt to log some things on the blog for our far-away family to see and for our own family journaling purposes. First up: XANDER CRAWLS!

Our littlest is suddenly super mobile. He's been on the move for a couple weeks now, and Lucas and I still just watch in wonder as he jets across the room to get something he sees and wants. Max and Maggie never crawled like this, both just kind of scooted around and then eventually walked. Not this little guy- he is on the go. Xander's mobility has definitely been a game-changer around here. No more leaving him to play on the blanket for a few minutes while I go to the next room to do something. He's into something off-limits in a blink! We are working on revamping some things in the house to make it safer for him, and also beginning to teach him not to grab wires, etc. He nods and shakes his head when we say "yes" and "no." Yep, it's basically the most. adorable. thing. ever.

Here's a video of the first day he started crawling:

Last Day of Kindergarten

Maximus finished kindergarten! We made it back from our big road trip to California just in time for his last day of school, and I'm so glad he got to be there to celebrate and "close the door" on his kindergarten experience. He's had such a great year, and I am so proud of him and thankful for how he's grown and changed and matured this year.

His wonderful teacher, Mrs. Fox, has been such a big part of that change and growth in his life this year. She has been wonderful. I can't imagine how he could have had a better start to his school experience! My mom counted Brandy as a good friend as well as colleague when they worked together at Northside, and now I know why. After this year, I'm also thankful to call her my friend as well!

Max had a lot of great little buddies in his class this year, and these were two of his favorites: Noah and Jakin. They had so many playground adventures together this year!

For the last day of school, Mrs. Fox read a little Dr. Suess and whipped up a batch of Oobleck. Christine may or may not have enjoyed the Oobleck more than the kindergarteners. 

Max got to share his journal and experience on the set of CAMP at Hume Lake, California. The class asked him when they could see the movie, and he replied, "My Uncle Jake is the boss of the movie. We'll have to ask him." So cute.

To finish off the big day, Max was able to participate in the Kindergarten Circus and Parade with all his fellow foxes. Such a fun end to a fantastic year!

As we were leaving his class at the end of the day, he sighed and said, "Mom, I just feel a little sad. Mostly because I'll never be at Northside Elementary School again."

And when I asked him to tell me his "High, Low and Middle" for the whole year, this is what he reported:

"My high was mostly all the writing, reading.... oh! and math. My middle was field trips, and my low was... leaving."

All in all, it sounds to me like this little guy had just about as good a kindergarten experience as any parent could hope for! I'm so looking forward to what first grade holds in store for my handsome little guy!