The Scoop on the Cooked Cookies and the One Still in the Oven

My sweet husband is always wanting me to have time to do stuff I enjoy like having time to put photo albums together, write memorable things about our precious 'batch', and enjoy other godly women. So, today he came home and handed me his laptop with a 'blog spot ' of my own on the screen and told me this would satisfy for all those things I enjoy! The tough part for me is getting started and figuring it all out. I decided to start with a family update.
Tessa is our first born. She is our 8 1/2 (going on 13) year old third grader. She is an easy, yet hard child to homeschool. Easy in the sense that she is a quick learner, fast reader, and excellent writer. Hard in the sense that she is more focused on everything else in the entire world more than her school work most of the time. She works at it, however, and this is our best year yet.
She is involved in a choir called Servants and Singers this year. She is learning hymns and has had opportunities to minister to the elderly in an assisted living home through this program. She is a wonderful help to me with the family. She loves her little siblings and is a 'second mom' to them. She also helps me with household chores.
Fern is our second child and all the boys are lined up to marry her. She is a fun loving, gift giving, beautiful, clumsy, random mood first grader. She just turned 7 this December, but is the same height as her 3rd grade sister. She is an excellent student. She focuses well and is wonderful in math. She is a big help with the little ones as well. Her main family job is taking care of our little 3 pound Maltese named Jasmine. The smaller the animal, the smaller the bladder, so this is a full time job for her. She is learning gentleness, patience, and perseverance (on cold days) by having this job.
Robert. Robert. Robert- it's a good thing I had girls first-WOW. He is our self- proclaimed handsome 5 year old Kindergartner/super hero/ firefighter in training/ grown man/ violin virtuoso/ duck hunter/ cave man/ protector of the younger siblings middle child. He can be the sweetest, wildest, most dangerous, gentlest little boy. My prayer is that all this energy in him will be channeled into a godly leader some day. He is the reason I pray Galations 6:1 for myself everyday. He is excellent at school, but is a challenge sometimes to teach. He tests my patience, but warms my heart. Watch out girls.
Jude is our 3 1/2 year old sweetie. He is IN LOVE with his little sister- to the point that she gets mad and pushes him away after the 30th kiss. He is our more gentle boy who never harms anyone. His downfall, however is whining and complaining- which he is working on (with the help of discipline). He loves to sing and listen to music. If you ever see him, ask him about the poor old dirt farmer.
Rose (Rosie-Posie) is our youngest child. Her picture is the one you saw when you first came to this page. She will be 2 on April 1, but she acts like a 3 year old. She loves babies, cooking, snuggling, laughing, kissing, and playing with her siblings. Her best friend is her 'lovie' which is a ragged purple blanket with a hippo face for a head. This, however must always be accompanied by a pacifier. She speaks like a 3 or 4 year old and pronounces her words better than our boys. Everyone loves her and she knows it. Her Paw Paw calls her his little Dixie Bell and she loves it. Pretty soon, however, her limelight will be gone because #6 is cooking in the oven.
On May 3, we are expecting boy number three. I am excited about having a little baby around again, but terrified about bringing him into this world. Pray for me in that area, for I have home births and huge babies (Rose was a 10 pounder). Any suggestions for names would be welcomed.
A few more tidbits that include more than one child. The older three are involved in Awana at our church, which helps them memorize scripture on a regular basis. Its like Boy Scouts, except instead of tying knots, they memorize verses. The older three have also begun violin lesson this year. We are thankful for that opportunity for them.
Well, if you've read this far, your probably a grandparent. Otherwise, you know way more about us than you probably want to know. If, however, you are interested, we would love your prayers for our little family. Pray for our children to grow in wisdom and favor with God and man and pray for Rob and I as we disciple these little ones.