Thankfulness #249-261

I am thankful:

249. This is the most wonderful time of the year!
250. The pool is open...

251. The kids smell like sunscreen...
252. Lightening bugs light up the sky...
253. Popsicles on the front porch...
254. Watermelon in the fridge...
255. Tomato sandwiches for lunch...
256. Fun in the Sun!

257. Listening to my kids sing "The Judges Song" during family worship
258. Taking just "the boys" to Walmart to buy pool toys with their own money.
259. Receiving 4 cases of blueberries to feed my kiddos
260. A good 2 mile run.
261. It is Summertime in Brighton, TN!

Whatcha Doing?

Here is just a quick update of our life the past couple of weeks:

Jake is reading all.the.time! He has started reading Beverly Clearly books-Henry Huggins and Ribsy.

Anna Kate taking a nap is very rare in our home these days!

Sadie enjoyed eating butter beans tonight! Yummy!

All smiles!

Judd learned to blow bubbles with gum. He is so excited!

Sisters playing in a box is always lots of fun!

This is a picture of Sadie taking her first bath without her "baby" tub.

So long Kindergarten…

So long Kindergarten…

We have finished our first full year of school. We used A Beka First Grade curriculum this year. I like the reinforcement of everything that is learned, and the heavy emphasis on phonics and handwriting. Jake’s reading is amazing, and I attribute that to A Beka. He is learning to write better and has written several stories.

This is just a small sampling of the subjects. Jake learned excellent phonics skills which has him reading wonderfully, three-digit addition and subtraction, multiplication, telling time, Roman numerals, graphs, temperature, writing sentences, punctuation, Bible (thanks to AWANA) to name a few. It was a big year, and he has learned a lot.

I am pleased with our first official year of homeschooling. I think home education is a constant tweaking process, seeing what works and what doesn't. I know what works for Jake and I like that I can adjust what we do to suit him and eventually Judd, Anna Kate and Sadie.

Next year, Judd will be starting preschool and Jake will be in First Grade (while working through Second grade curriculum), so I will have a classroom of two. We will see if that's easier or harder!

Hello, First Grade! But I'm glad it will be a few months still before we see you. This Mama needs a break! We have a pool, hot weather, and popsicles to enjoy!

Dear Sassy Kate:

II just love you so much, Anna Kate. You are the most spirited, lively, confident, sassy, stubborn, exuberant, busy, loud, expressive, vibrant, mischievous little girl I've ever known. I want to remember you, right now-- who you are right now. You are a girl who knows what she wants, and you are not afraid to express it-- and loudly.

You love to sing, and do so constantly. You love to watch movies. Your favorite movie and book is The Three Little Pigs. But you'll watch anything, and happily.

You love anything "pretty" bracelets, ribbons, fancy shoes, and any type of sticker. 

You don't sit still for longer than 3 seconds. I am not exaggerating that fact. Unless, you are getting your nails polished.  You will also sit for a book, but you are constantly moving, talking and turning the pages back to talk about something you just saw or to ask me a question.

You are a sweet big sister to Sadie. Oh, how you adore that girl! :) You are so sweet with her~ your words to her are gentle and kind, and you share so well with her. I love your friendship with your sister.  The boys love you and enjoy playing with you quite often, especially hide-n-go seek. You and Judd are great at playing pretend and imagining fun scenarios to act out inside and outside, right now you are playing zoo keeper in the garage. However, you can be trouble-maker.  At times, you move from one spot to another, all day long, doing whatever you should NOT do in that particular area of the house. If you happen to walk into the boys' room and you see that Jake has carefully built any sort of creation (Legos or otherwise), you take it upon yourself to destruct it, and quickly- before anyone should stop you. If someone has colored a pretty picture, you must color on top of it, or rip it up, and quickly- so that you can get the deed done before you get found out.

One of your favorite games to play is "you can't see me." Any time Daddy or Mommy walk in a room after you have called one of us, you are covering your eyes saying "you can't see me, I am hiding." It is really fun and a great memory. I find it ironic that I played to same game with my parents when I was a little girl just about your age. 

You LOVE to go shopping and when I mention the word it causes you to scream with pure enthusiasm. You also enjoy playing dress up and changing clothes multiple times a day to increase my laundry. 

I can’t believe you’re three already, and remember the day I met you like it was yesterday.  You are a beaming ray of sunshine in our lives and we are so very blessed to have you.

I love you, Anna Kate Perdue!

A Family of Six

These are our most recent family pictures.

Jake at 6 years old

Judd at 4 years old

Anna Kate at 3 years

Sadie at 6 months

Thankfulness #228-248

228. Mother’s day presents

229. Cards from my kids

230. Judd asking Jim for money to go in all of my cards.

231. The 50 million hugs that I received from Judd this morning.

232. Putting band-aids on a little girl’s hands to stop the screaming.

233. My remarkable mom

234. Having the opportunity to dedicate Sadie to the Lord on Mother’s Day

235. My first watermelon of the season

236. My second watermelon of the season, actually I will be thankful for every single watermelon this season.

237. A two hour nap on Mother's Day

238. A gift card to enjoy dinner Mother's Day evening.

240. Jim washing and folding two loads of clothes.

241. Two hours of uninterrupted shopping ALONE

242. Getting to be Jake, Judd, Anna Kate, and Sadie's mother

243. The numerous ways that they Lord has blessed me

244. Oh the blood that Jesus washes me

245. Oh the blood of Jesus that was shed for me.

246. The sacrifice that saved my life

247. Yes, the blood is my victory

248. That in my sin, Yes, even then He shed His blood for me

Being 6 months...

Little Bit,  you are six months old! ...Half of a year!... I’ll be honest and say that these months have felt like the longest and yet the shortest six months of my life.

My sweet, dainty little girl,  I cannot express the joy that you bring to your father and me. I have watched you sprout from a tiny little newborn into a long and lean baby girl.  Seeing you get excited by new sounds, sights and touches has been one of my favorite things to see.  You have gotten pretty stable with sitting up, we’ve started solid foods, you are crawling and trying to standing.   We have moved you to your room upstairs. You are still waking up at least once a night.

Girl you love to eat! You are eating food once or twice a day. You have such a spark in you.  It’s as if you have too much going on in that head of yours to just sit still.  Personally, I think you are wise beyond your months.  But of course I do… I’m your mama.  I’m so happy to say that I’m your mama.  

Pretty girl at Southern Eastern Seminary

 Yummy Food!

You are amazing at Ta Daa!

Mother's Day Monkey Business

Here are a few pictures from our Mother's Day photo opt:

He looks good in that new suit, doesn't he!

Sadie Grace Dedicated

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Earlier today, Jim and I had the honor of standing before our church congregation and dedicating our precious fourth born, Sadie Grace, to the Lord. Today we not only dedicated her, we willingly submitted Sadie to the will of God, while at the same time acknowledged the command of God upon our lives to raise her to love, honor, and obey Christ above all things. This is nothing less than a command to teach her the Gospel, show her the Gospel, and love her with the Gospel each and every day. Jim and I are so thankful to have been entrusted with the care of this precious little girl, and we take our responsibility to bring her up to love and serve the Lord seriously.

Sadie,
We are absolutely in awe of the gift that God gave our family in you. You bring your daddy, mommy, big brothers and sister such joy each and every day. It is hard to comprehend that as great as our love is, God's love for you is infinitely greater! We have so many hopes and dreams for you, Sadie, most importantly that you would come to understand His amazing love and know Jesus as your Lord and Savior at a young age and live for Him your whole life. We pray that God would help us as your parents to model that love and guide you always toward Him. We can't wait to see what wonderful things He has in store for your life. We love you so, so much, Precious Girl!

To My Mom:

My Mom is a remarkable woman and an amazing Mom! 

Mom, 

It was 32 years ago that you were celebrating your first Mother's Day. You were only 20 years old and I was only 2 months old. I am sure that I was sleeping through the night with a belly full of formula and rice cereal, no doubt. This is my Mother's Day present to you this year. 32 years later:

You are an incredible woman and an amazing MOM! You exhaust yourself taking care of those around you and you truly only want what is best for those you love. You give of yourself tirelessly without expecting anything in return and you find true joy in the happiness of your children. 

You have always been a great source of strength for Colt and me. While growing up we knew we could always count on you and now as adults, we still turn to you for advice, support and encouragement.

Mom, you always place our needs above your own and make sure that we are well provided for and that we always have what we need. Thank you for always striving to make us feel important and showing us how much we are loved. I cannot think of an instance when I have ever doubted your love for me. 

Thank you for always giving of your time, your energy.  Thank you for always knowing what I need, even when I don’t know it myself.  Thank you for being such a blessing in my life.  Thank you for being you.

I count myself blessed because it is a honor to have you as my Mom. I am so thankful God created me and allows me to be your daughter. I count it a great joy to spend the rest of our lives not only as mother and daughter, but as friends.

Happy Mother's Day!

We love you!

Jim, Stephanie, Jake, Judd, Anna Kate, and Sadie!

p.s. I chose the picture above and not the one from the blizzard at our house! You know that you love me!