Friday, August 31, 2012

School

This week marks the official start of school for us this year. I actually did some with Ben last week, but this is the first week we've had a regular schedule. So far, it's been going pretty well and he seems to be listening and learning. The first two weeks of our curriculum are really a lot of review from things he learned in Pre-K, so we've doubled up some days. So our curriculum is broken up into units and this first unit is a bit longer and covers creation. Today's assignment was to go on a walk and look for things God had made and things man had made. After we kind of ran out of different things to point out, we started talking about different foods, buildings, and other things God made. I mentioned the Grand Canyon and asked if God made it, or if man made it. Ben was adamant that it was made by men. I finally gave up arguing with him and told him we'd just have to go see it some day. He asked if we got to shoot bombs when we went. I thought that was a little odd, but explained that we would probably never be shooting bombs. He said "well that what are we going to do with it if we don't shoot bombs?" Suddenly it became clear to me why he had been so adamant that the Grand Canyon was man made. He thought it was a grand canon.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Benjamin Funnies

It's been a while since I've posted any of these. I wish I was better about recording them because I think I could make a whole book.

-Saturday morning was Ben's first practice for soccer this fall. We were filling water bottles before heading out the door and this was our conversation:
Ben asked: Will there be vampires at soccer?
Me, a bit puzzled by the question: No, there won't be vampires.
Ben: Oh, those are only at football games.
Me: Oh, do you mean umpires?
Ben: Yeah, umpires

So, yeah, we are a bit confused about our sports, but we'll get there. And yes, I did explain that umpires were in baseball.


-Sunday afternoon we went to lunch with my family after church. Ben was, well, lets just say, very spirited throughout the meal. I seem to have suddenly become allergic to being outside and was feeling fuzzy headed and extremely tired. So by the time we left, all I wanted to do was crawl in bed and sleep. Ben was asking question after question on the way home and after answering a few, I finally said "Ben, can you please just not talk right now. Mommy's really tired." To which he replied "But I have to talk, that's how I breathe." Matt and I looked at each other and he said "Wow, that explains so much!" Ha!



-And then there was Sunday night. Ben was in our room with Matt.

Ben: Daddy, your bed looks really comfortable. Maybe someday I'll have a comfortable bed.
Matt: I think your bed is pretty comfortable too.
Ben: It's cold. Your bed is more comfortable because mommy is in it.

So essentially he was saying that someday he'll have a comfortable bed because someday he'll get married and have someone to sleep in bed with. :-)


Friday, August 24, 2012

My Five Year Old

It's hard to believe, but my oldest little man turned FIVE this summer! It really is true that if you blink (and even if you don't) they grow up crazy fast!

This year was Ben's first friend party and it was so much fun! I was super nervous because well, lets just say Pinterest has taken parties to a whole new level and I couldn't compete. But once I decided that kids were still kids and that they would have fun doing simple games and activities, I had fun with it and Ben had a great time with his friends. We've decided that friend parties will not happen every year, just to keep them special, but after this year, I feel much less nervous about future parties.

In addition to his friend party, we also celebrated with Matt's parents and my parents. It's so fun to be able to do that! Ben got some super fun toys and Matt and his dad built Ben an awesome sandbox in the backyard. The house often feels like a beach, but the sandbox has been a huge hit!

So, as a five year old, Ben is constantly amazing us with how much of life he takes in. He loves reading books and being read to. We read all of the Ramona/Henry/Beezus series by Beverly Cleary this summer, and also listened to numerous books on tape. I love that he is getting into chapter books now. I love a good story, so it's fun to introduce him to some of my favorites from growing up.

And by far the most exciting event of the summer was on June 24th when Ben accepted Christ as his Savior. For months before that, Ben had been asking some pretty deep questions about heaven, Jesus, sin, and hell. He had told us a few times that he wanted to be a Christian, but Matt and I questioned whether he was really understanding it, so we waited. But that night, we were reading about Pharaoh and his army being covered by the sea and Ben asked if Pharaoh got to go to heaven. When I told him that no, he didn't, Ben had a ton of questions that finally led to him asking me if he could ask Jesus to forgive him of his sins and commit his life to Him. My prayer for my boys has been that they would come to an understanding of their need for Christ at a young age and that they would have a strong faith for the rest of their lives. What a joy to see the first part of that prayer being answered. 

 Ben requested a monster truck Spiderman party. So we had a monster truck cake and Spiderman cups and then made super hero capes. (which I missed getting in a picture)

 One of the gifts Ben received was a slip and slide. So fun!!

 Ben insisted on everyone wearing their party hat like unicorns for his party with our families. Love this kid!

 Fun presents