A blessed day....

I often sing "This is the Day the Lord has Made" to Matthew when he wakes up for the day. He grins and bounces up & down in my arms doing his oh-so-cute baby dance! Sometimes I sing it to remind myself on the rougher days, and sometimes I sing it as a praise for such a delightful day. Today was one of those days of delight!

You've heard the expression, "Count your blessings" ... here are mine:

I woke this morning and desperately wanted a shower (you new Mom's out there TOTALLY know what I mean! HA). I noticed Sarah's bedroom light was on (she was reading her novel) and asked her if she'd mind watching Matthew for me while I had a very quick shower. Her reply, "Sure Mom! Take as long as you'd like!" Blessing number ONE.

Everyone was up & in good spirits, Daddy arrived home safely after a long shift, oatmeal was cooking on the stove (We eat oatmeal every week day.... keeps life simple!).

Blessing number TWO and THREE :) Oh... blessed with food to eat... we're up to FOUR!

Matthew had a swell time feeding himself oatmeal! What a mess, but adorable!

Daddy was off to bed and chores were underway. {We start the day with chores.} Last year we did them at the end of the day and they often were forgotten or we were too tuckered. So first thing in our day is our list of chores. No complaining... all chores complete. Blessing number FIVE!

You see where this is going don't you. They add up! Our morning studies hummed along, Matthew napped for 2.5hrs so we got oodles of schoolwork done! We learned about our teeth, Newton's law of Gravity, Jesus' first miracle, and started our new writing program STORY STARTERS. Joshua is somewhat allergic to pencil lead so I was a touch nervous with how this whole "writing" thing was going to go. I read the introduction as enthusiastically as I could and dove into their first story with vigor! I stopped mid-story and off they went... writing like crazy! What? A WHOLE PAGE?! I don't even know what blessing number we're at!

At the end of the day, as we were cleaning up our dinner plates, Joshua says to me, "You know what Mom? I think this Story-Starters is going to be a lot of fun. I like how I can make the story turn out funny."

Best blessing of the day, hands down.

I love to watch them learn, see the wheels ticking inside their growing minds, but most of all, I love it when they love the process!

These boys are 11 years apart and absolutely adore each other. It's the sweetest thing to watch. Joshua is constantly asking me to watch something that Matthew is doing and I often see this expression of awe on Matthew of the wonder of his big brother!

We were learning about Saskatchewan today, also known as the 'bread basket' of Canada.

Taking a brain-break with a mind-bender? :)

Joshua caught a grasshopper that we could all study (and then we let it go).

Kids ran off to the park and left a bowl of popcorn on the couch. This is not something Matthew has eaten before. When I turned and saw him, he couldn't fill his mouth fast enough! Little stinker *grin*. Watch out Grandma V, it looks like you have some competition over the popcorn bowl!

It truly was a blessed day.

May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 115:14-16