trick-or-treating 2009

This year, Shelby was a Spanish Princess and Jesse was Darth Vader. I can't believe how much older she looks with a little blush and lipstick. Scary! They had a blast dressing up and trick-or-treating with their friends.



Here is the whole crew minus Preslie and Lock in front of the Andersons. They had the best decorations in Anthem...that we saw, anyway.



Lucy and her lolly. This kept her occupied the whole trip. She enjoyed getting candy, but was just as content to lick her lollipop.



Jesse and Shade are buddies. They are so cute together.





A fire truck came down the street where we were trick-or-treating with its lights on to pass out candy. The kids were ecstatic!



James had stroller duty. He was enjoying it more than he looks. This is just the only pic we got of him all night. : ) We decided to wear our usual Halloween outfits. His vintage shirt and my favorite vintage dress.



"Chuck" and Me. I love this girl! She makes me smile and she gets me.



Our last stop was Noni and Papa's where the kids trick-or-treated and then went with them to their new neighborhood to see some scary decorated houses. They just returned, wiped out with big smiles on their faces.

Entertaining Preslie Poo

Ok, so in this pic she doesn't look very entertained...a little somber perhaps. But, hey, check out her big beautiful blue eyes! So sweet. She is loving the bumbo and exersaucer a good friend loaned us. She feels like a real human being now, and not just a helpless newborn, I can tell. : )


James plays for her a lot. She stares at him and calms right down if she is fussy. All of our kids loved to hear him play guitar when they were babies. In fact, it is still one of their favorite things. Family worship time is a favorite around here and we are so blessed to have a Daddy with mad picking skills!


Pat A Cake, Pat A Cake, Bakers man... Lucy is becoming a pro at entertaining PJ with this and Row Your Boat. We just have to watch her so she doesn't dislocate her tiny shoulders. Lucy Lou is unaware of her own strength!



So rare to catch a smile on camera. I love this one, even if it is just a profile smile.

holy fire and "accepting Jesus"

Every time I hear the song "Empty Me" by Jeremy Camp I am reminded just how little most of us actually mean the words of the song when we sing it. We might think we do, but them when it actually starts to happen we cry out for Him to save us because it hurts and we don't like to be uncomfortable for even a moment.

"Holy fire...burn away...my desire...for anything that is not of you and is of me... I want more of you and less of me...Empty me, Empty me...and Fill, won't you fill me with You, with You."

Is fire hot? Will it not hurt to get burned? Don't we know that it will be a painful process if God actually "burns away our desire for anything that is not of Him?" We want Him to change us from the inside out, but not to feel the pain. Just do it quick and easy. Change me to be more like you, but do it in my sleep so I can wake up with the Mind of Christ in the morning.

We want to "accept Christ" and not have to give up anything that we enjoy or that gives us comfort. We add him to our lives without really giving anything up that might affect our quality of life. Is that not idolatry at the core?

We may not have golden calves or little fat idols sitting on the shelf that we worship, but we do worship comfort, security, pleasure, fashion, media, culture, popularity, acceptance, sex. Unseen idols, but even more powerful in our lives than even those little statues.

This hit me like a ton of bricks while walking and talking to my brother the other day about his experience in India. He was explaining to me why the numbers are often misleading by missionaries in India who say that "hundreds or thousands of Indians accepted Christ at a particular event." In their culture they literally have millions of Gods. Many times they will say they "Accept Jesus" but in all actuality, what they mean is that they accept Him right along with the millions of other Gods they worship. They may "accept" him and even pray to him sometimes, but they don't give up their other gods. There is no real life change.
{{Of course, Praise God, There are Indians who are truly being saved as well, who renounce all other gods and worship the One True God, but many merely "accept" him without giving anything up.}}

As I thought about this more and more, I realized that we Americans and even many of us who consider ourselves to be Christians are NO different. We "accept Jesus," study about Him, pray to Him, go to church, wear Christian shirts and bumper stickers, and listen to Christian music while continuing to live unchanged lives worshipping all of our other idols as well. We "add Jesus" to our myriad of idols and call it good. There is no pain, nothing to give up and nothing for God to burn away. At least we act as if this were the case.

We want the all of the blessing and the good feelings and none of the discomfort that comes from true life change. How can our kids grow up to be people of character, people who make an impact if we never discipline them and they never have to give anything up? Is it not the same for our heavenly Father who wants to shape us into people who are world changers? How many spoiled brats with pampered lives are world changers---for the gospel that is? (Sure Paris Hilton has probably changed the world, but not in the way we'd hope for our children.)

When I say "we" I mean myself included. Just when I think I have reached the next level in my walk with the Lord, I am humbled yet again with how far I have to go. Lately I have been convicted about how much time I spend worrying or thinking about my various idols...security and comfort are probably the biggest in this season of life right after moving across country.

Could it be possible that God knows how much I idolize security and comfort and that He is in the process of burning them away? Did I not ask Him to "Burn away everything that was not of Him and was of me?" Could my loneliness, financial struggles and discomfort in not have a "home of our own" be an answer to this prayer...a refining process in which I will grow closer to God and let go of those other "gods" in my life? Only if I let go and allow it.

I will bring that group through the fire
and make them pure.
I will refine them like silver
and purify them like gold.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘These are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zechariah 13:9
Oh, Let me be one who can say the Lord is my God and I have no others!

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:7
Let me be purified, tested and come forth with genuine faith, more precious than gold.

time for her own room

Here is the sweetie pie all swaddled up in her bassinet with the "hug strap" as we call it keeping her nice and snug with her bonka in and arms at her side. Our last 3 babies have enjoyed sleeping while swaddled and secured with the strap. I know that is a horrible name for it, but that is what James has always called it and it has stuck. A friend of a friend designed it for her son who she seriously, no joke, duct taped her son's swaddle blanket around him to keep it from coming undone. She didn't do it too tight, but she had to admit it looked horrible, so she designed the "hug wrap." It has a hand on it to simulate an arm wrapped around the baby to make it look more pleasant. I have had people think I am a mean mommy for using this, but my kids love it and it makes them feel snug and secure. How is that mean? I have tried to put them on their tummies (another no no these days) but none of them except for Shelby would sleep on their tummies.
Preslie has been our room the longest of all of our babies. She is 4 months old...what? I have been telling everyone she is 3 months old. I just checked the calendar and sho nuf, she is 4 months old. WOW. I am losing it! Anyway, Shelby was the second longest in our room at 8 weeks. Jesse was about a month, I think, and Lucy was only 2 or 3 weeks. Well, anyway, Lucy has recently moved into Shelby's room into a big girl bed (another story), and now Preslie can have her own room. She will be moving tonight or the next. It is so sad for me, knowing that she is our last baby. I want to treasure every moment and make them last just a little longer!


This is the view from my bed. When I wake up in the middle of the night I stumble over to get her out of this bassinet and bring her back to bed with me. Oh, how I will miss that!!! I just wanted to capture it with my camera b/c I never want to forget this precious time!

Grandma Sherri's visit

Grandma Sherri was here for the past week and a half. We had a lot of fun with her here and are sad to see her leave today. At first, I had bronchitis and we were stuck in the house. I felt so bad for her to come all the way to Arizona and be stuck inside. We made up for lost time after that. Over the weekend we had October Birthdays at my mom and dad's joined by Jen, Emmy, Jeka and Matt. The rest of the time, Sherri helped us with school, made Halloween cupcakes with the kids, played lots of Guess Who and Old Maid, taught the kids some Spanish, created some masterpieces, went on lots of walks with us to the park, took us to a pumpkin patch, went to the Heard museum with James and lots more. We are trying to talk her into wintering here every year for a month or so with us. I will post more pics when she sends them to me. The kids are riding with James to take her back to the airport today. It is one of their favorite things to do when we have visitors. : )

a typical day at the lighthouse academy

The Lighthouse Academy is the name of our homeschool. From time to time I like to post what our typical day looks like, b/c it changes from season to season and as we add more children to the family. I typed it up to send to a girl in our homeschool group here in AZ, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it. It will be fun to look back at it when they are all in school at various stages and remember when...
I also like to hear and see how others do it. There are as many methods and schedules as there are homeschoolers. Everyone does it a little (or a lot) different in a way that fits their family's lifestyle, values, personalities and interests. I learn so much from others, but have quickly figured out that trying to use another's method and make our family fit into their mold will NOT work. This is another reason why I homeschool. While teaching kids at an alternative public school I saw firsthand that the public school system cannot meet the needs of every individual student, nor will every student fit into the public school mold. There are definitely kids who excel within the public school system, but there are also quite a few who either slip through the cracks, flounder or fail. With individual attention and lessons catered to their learning styles and personalities I am able to see to it that (truly) no one is left behind. (We used the same methods in our alternative school and watched kids succeed for the first time in their lives with just a little one-on-one attention and extra effort to meet their needs. Many of them were super smart super sweet kids who had just fallen through the cracks.)
I am not perfect, nor was I when I taught in the public school, nor are any of the public school teachers out there. My kids are normal and will fall behind in some areas while excelling in others. I will never claim to have it all figured out or have all the best methods of teaching, but I love my kids, I love teaching them, and what we are doing works...so far at least.

So, here is our typical day:
This is what a typical day in a typical week looks like, but most weeks there are at least 1 or 2 days that are upside down or switched around. The good thing about doing school as early as we do is that appointments, playdates, errands or activities rarely interfere with the bulk of our school work. If I want to take off and do something around 9:30 or 10 am, we have usually completed most of what I wanted the kids to complete for the day.

We are all early risers around here. It was tough at first, getting up early with a newborn, but I have found I have MUCH more energy when I do get up early and go walking than when I get and extra hour of sleep. I try to get my kids to sleep in, but the older two (7 & almost 5) are usually up with the sun b/t 6 and 6:30. I put all of their seatwork out on the table each night before we go to bed. Then, I go walking at 6:30 am. When I get home, while the two younger girls(2 y and 4 mo) are still asleep, the older two are already finished with breakfast (daddy feeds them, or they feed themselves). They have usually already started on their easier independent seat work, such as handwriting, spelling and math. My reader can tell her little brother the instructions on his assignments if needed. I then sit down with them and while I eat my breakfast I instruct them on the remainder of their seatwork. My 2 year-old will wake up around 7:45 or 8, at which time I bring her down and put her in her highchair to eat. After she is finished eating, I keep her contained in the highchair and give her something to color such as the write-on-wipe-off board and markers or paper and crayons. By the time she gets down from the highchair (around 8:30 or so), the older two are usually finishing up their seatwork, so I don’t have to wrestle her away from tearing up their papers or stealing their markers. (the baby will get up to nurse sometime during this time and then lay on the play mat) ( also, if the older two are lagging behind and the 2 year old is bugging them, I will get out a tub of toys she hasn’t seen in a while such as little people or blocks and put her in the other living room with them to play…or I will just pop in a sesame street, wiggles, or barney video)

As soon as the older two are finished with their seatwork, I send them off to do chores. (feeding the cat and dog, dusting the furniture, wiping down bathrooms, and making their beds, in addition to getting dressed and brushing their hair and teeth.)When chores are complete, they can have free play or watch PBS or a video.

An hour or so later we all (all 4 kids and I)get together for circle time where we talk about the calendar, sing songs, pray, stretch and read-aloud. (most days- but this time is flexible)

At nap/rest time, I put the baby and the 2 year old down first and then I spend the first 30 minutes of rest time playing educational games or having individual instruction time with the older two. Then we read-aloud together and they have a 1.5 hour rest time alone where hey either read, play leapsters or watch a movie.

We use drive time to work on lots of skills such as scripture memory, counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, even vs. odd, months of the year, etc…whatever we feel like studying at the time.

We also make the most of bedtime. We always read to them every night and try to use literature related to what we are studying or the bible. We use that 30 minutes or so to really connect with them and make sure they are comprehending what they are reading. I try to immerse the kids in whatever we are studying so that the movies and books we have around the house always relate to what we are studying. For instance, we are studying Creation right now, so I got tons of books and videos from the library. This way, whatever we read or watch is “school.”

I know our schedule will change with each season as our kids grow, but this works for us now. Starting the day with school really early feels right to us because we never have to reel them back in to do school. They just know that nothing else happens until we are finished with seatwork and then whatever school work we do together throughout the rest of the day is interactive and not stationary, so it is fun and feels spontaneous to them…even if Mommy really planned it.

Shelby is 7!!!

Shelby's big 7th birthday gift was tickets to the David Crowder concert. She took her friend Blaze and they had a blast. We also got Matt a ticket for his birthday, so it was Shelby, Blaze, Jesse, Matt, James and me. The biggest hit of the night was "No One Like You." The kids went CRAZY!


She and Blaze danced their little booties off and screamed their little heads off! They are definitely music fans!



Jesse went to sleep a few songs into Crowder's set. He slept on James at first and then moved to the floor. Poor little guy!


This is what we returned home to find in Jesse's room. My Dad, the eternal practical jokester and lover of all things scary stuffed a shirt and set this monster up in Jesse's bed. Jesse LOVED it! He shares Papa's affection for getting scared. This morning he was still smiling about it. I'd ask him what he was grinning about and he would say, "The monster in my bed!" We are probably in for a lot of trouble!

Preslie is 3 1/2 months

Some moments I can't believe how fast Preslie is growing and that she has been here for such a long time already. Other times I feel like she has always been a part of our family. She fits perfectly. She is really starting to interact with us. She laughs, coos, squeals, and almost rolls over. She loves to sleep and isn't on any sort of predictable schedule. After the busyness of the weekend and church she usually sleeps all day Monday. The only time she is fussy is in the evenings because of teething and tummy issues. Her brother and sisters adore her. She is going to be one well-loved little girl!

Sibling Relationships...

These kids are best friends. Sure, they bicker sometimes, but the major majority of the time they are buddies. They love each other, look out for each other, take care of each other, and think of each other when they are apart.


One of the reasons (among many) that we are choosing to homeschool is the quality of sibling relationships we have seen in homeschooled children and adults. There is just something about growing and learning together and spending most of your time together that creates a lasting bond and depth of understanding. When kids are in school all day every day and have homework at night, they slowly start drifting apart. Sometimes they become embarrassed of their siblings and begin to exclude them from things choosing their friends over their siblings. This seems normal and just a part of life until you see the beauty of siblings with a strong bond. So many times in youth group we'd see new siblings join the group only to be met with embarrassment, ridicule or exclusion from their older siblings. They would sometimes even ignore their younger brothers or sisters to be cool around their friends.

We had group of siblings, who we adore, that I noticed were always hanging out with each other, helping each other out and generally having a ball together. I asked the oldest daughter why she thought that was. She said she believed it was because they were homeschooled in the early grades. They were always playing games together and playing with each other's friends who were different ages. They never looked down on each other because of their age. They were taught to accept one another at each stage they were at and they were never exclusively surrounded with only people their own age. She saw that her public school friends seemed to really be affected by the "uncoolness" of having your little brother or sister around. They all went to (or still go to) public school in jr high and highschool, but she is so thankful for the foundation she received by being homeschooled in the beginning.

Since that conversation I have met many homeschool families who have the same depth of love, concern, cooperation and desire to spend time together. I know there are public school families who share this as well, but it doesn't seem as common. It is doable if parents are willing to carve out that all-important family time and teach their kids to value their sibling relationships.
There are so many other reasons I teach my kids at home, but I was just reminded of this as I looked at these sweet kids loving on and enjoying each other.

Wanna see what a teething baby looks like?

Someone can't get enough of her fingers lately.


Today has been a rough day for Miss Preslie. She is happier when she can get her fingers in her mouth, but by this evening she is a mess! Teething tablets help, but mostly being held (while standing only, of course) is the only remedy. How do babies know if you are sitting or standing? Why does it feel better to be held when your holder is standing and walking? How is that any different from rocking? My Mom said I was the same way when I was teething. Strange. We never even knew when Shelby was teething. We'd just randomly discover new teeth. Jesse ran a fever with teething and was fussy, and I can't even remember Lucy's teething experience. How horrible is that? I will have to ask James and my Mom if they remember.


Mom and Dad are 'Bout to Lose Our Minds! As you can see, James nerves are shot...the other kids and I are not happy campers either. We are all hoping for some sleep tonight!

look who is stylin' with bangs!

Shelby decided last week that she wanted to have bangs like me. Sometimes I think she is growing out of wanting to be like Momma and then, she surprises me. Her haircut was one of her birthday gifts along with David Crowder tickets for her and 2 of her friends. She got to go to Dolly Rockers, a super sweet salon here in Anthem. The stylists are called Dollies, but it isn't a kids' salon. I got my hair done there a few weeks ago when I had a hair emergency after my really bad cut and color somewhere else. They did a great job considering the shape my hair was in. Shelby was fascinated with the name and sign and begged me to get her haircut there. I told her it would have to be a gift, b/c it is expensive for a little girl's haircut. She loved it. She wants to decorate our house like the salon. Very glam rock. Lots of fun. Her b-day is this Friday. We can't wait for David Crowder!!

Here are my bangs, that she was wanting to share.