Starting "School"

People often ask me if I plan on homeschooling Asher (and any other children that the Lord plans to send us.) I usually say something like, "Yeah, that's the plan." But I got to thinking about it and I realized that I already am homeschooling Asher. As it turns out, we've already begun.

You see, I believe that education is not something that begins when you are 5 and walk through the doors of kindergarten. It's not even something that begins when you are 3 and roll into Pre-K. The way I see it, education begins the day you take your first breath and it continues until you take your last. And since Asher will probably never enter either of those traditional schooling environments, it doesn't make sense to wait until an arbitrary age to begin "school."

After giving it some thought, I realized that I have already begun the homeschooling process. He is learning, I am teaching him, we are at home. There you have it.

Granted, I don't strap him in his high chair and pull out a chalkboard and begin working math problems in front of him. But I am constantly explaining this world to him (as much as I have grasped anyway.) We talk about things like where we are going, what we are doing, what color things are, and what sounds animals make. We read books and sing songs. We explore the world of physics by pushing and pulling and rolling and stacking his toys. We have great conversations in which we practice the cadence and rhythm of language. I try as hard as I can to make sure that I am helping him to interpret this new world he has entered so that he can become fluent in all that he encounters.

So my new answer to the "Do you plan on homeschooling?" question: Class is already in session. Of course, as he grows, so will our idea of what his education should look like. We will continue to homeschool (for various, even numerous reasons, which I'll save for another post) as he gets older and that will mean a little more structure and focus on curriculum and content, but it will be merely a continuation of what has been going on around our house for as a long as he can remember.

He's not buying it

I told him he is almost 8 months old, but he thinks there is no way that could be true. I assured him I was having trouble believing it myself.


He is trying to crawl. You gotta give him that.



Here are a few more of my recent favorite pictures:

Asher Keeps a Command

Psalm 47:1
Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!

We'll work on loving his neighbor next week.



Asher has started clapping this week! It is so fun to watch him get relly excited and have a way to express his joy! He has also been saying "dada" a lot when he sees Kris or if I do something with him that Kris usually does. So now when Kris comes home from work, he is greated by a round of applause and hearing "dada" shrieked a couple of times. It is very sweet!


A few weeks ago, we went to Steven's cowboy birthday party and got this very cool cowboy attire. So today we took a few pictures of Cowboy Asher.


Update: It has just been brought to my attention that the way in which Asher is holding his badge in the picture above might be construed as inappropriate. Please know that Asher did not intend to be tacky in this picture and regrets the unfortunate grasp he has on the badge. Dexterity is not his strongest attribute as of yet.



And finally, here is our attempt at a family portrait. I think it turned out really good, don't you?

Please pray

I don't know these people personally, but Pastor John Piper has posted here about his granddaughter, who was delivered stillborn.

Pastor Piper, whether in joy of grief, is constantly encouraging us to trust in God's goodness, even when His goodness is hard to recognize.

He writes, "Noel and I lay in bed at about 3 AM after coming home from the delivery thinking: This seems so preventable. By God and by man. Yes. So easy. But neither man nor God prevented this. Man, because he did not know it was happening. God, because he has his wise and loving reasons that we wait to learn with tears and trust."

I post this not because I think there are any shortage of believers to uphold the Pipers in prayer now, but because through praying for them, I was reminded that sometimes God gives and sometimes he takes and He is completely right and good in it all. We trust Him.

My Guys

Here a few shots of my cute guys after church today.




And here is one of Asher in his new swimsuit. In Texas, you can buy a swimsuit in September and be confident that you will still get plenty of use out of it.



He's bringing sexy back.

Old Blue Eyes

Hasta la vista amigos!

Our friends, the DeLeons, moved to Peru this week. We are very excited at this opportunity for them, but we will miss them while they are gone. Asher and Lilly will have to have a long-distance relationship, but I think they are going to try to make it work.

He's trying to be strong for Lilly.



Dios te bendiga!

"Do y'all want our old..."

We cut off the person asking this question about here. Our answer immediately: Yes! Then we ask, "what is it?"

That is how we have acquired the vast majority of our furniture. The only thing we have ever purchased from a store is our couches. Everything else has either been given to us or sold to us by friends. We have saved a ton of money and gotten some great stuff in the process! Here are a few examples:

Exhibit A: These cute bar stools were given to us by Kris' brother and his wife. Thanks, Marc and Sue!



Exhibits B and C: This table was given to Kris by a couple when he lived in Abilene. I don't remember their names but I really like the table. Thanks, couple in Abilene. The chairs are from Kris' mom and dad. Thanks, Tommy and Janan!



Exhibits D and E and F: The table on the right was also a gift from Abilene friends--I think the Riddlespurgers. Thanks, Dave and Jan! The desk on the left was first Bethany's, then Kris had it at for a while in The Woodlands, then the Leatherman's took it back, then they gave it to us again. Thanks, Russ and Bethany! The filing cabinet if from Kris' dad's office. Thanks again, Tommy!




Exhibit G: This table and chairs set is from Charlton and Laura. I think the story is that this was Charlton's sister's set in college, then they got it, now we have it. Thanks, Charlton and Laura!



Exhibit H: This is our bed. I bought the mattress before Kris and I were married, but the frame I have had since I was 11. Kinda weird, I know. This is actually my great-grandmother's bed. Not sure who to thank here.



Exhibit I: This isn't furniture, but still, these curtains were given to us by the Goldmans when they moved. I love the way they look in our room. Thanks, Rebecca and Justin!


There are many more examples, but I'll stop here. And remember...if you are ever getting rid of anything, be sure to let us know!

And before you think I've lost my mind, here's a picture of Asher.

(Guess whose 2 bottom teeth have poked through!!!)

Give Peas a Chance

Kinda makes you wish you got to eat pureed peas for lunch, too, huh?

I Heart Toile

I made some valences for the breakfast room. I have a slight obsession with toile. I have it pretty much under control--just little hints here and there. From far away, the valences look fine, but I'm kind of a hack on the sewing machine, so it's better not to get to close to examine my handiwork. Nevertheless, here they are. I like them.




Martha would be proud.

Cupcake Update

After a very long and frustrating night, I am pleased to report that the Lord was willing that there be cupcakes at the shower. I finished these at around 1:30am on Sunday morning. And my amazingly wonderful husband told me to go to bed and he cleaned up the horrendous mess that I made throughout the course of the night. He is the best!

The shower was really nice and I think the cupckes tasted OK, too. Rachel's little girl seemed to think so.

Cupcake Trouble

Tomorrow I am hosting a baby shower for a friend at my house. We are decorating with the colors pink and brown so I thought it would be terribly cute to make some chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting.

So tonight, I began the process of preparing them. Since I am using a mix, I assume this will be a fairly quick little project. But this is me we're taking about. In a kitchen. The place where what should be and what is never seem to meet.

I preheat, I gather ingredients, I begin to mix with my sweet red KitchenAid. I add the mix, the butter, the water and the eggs. The batter seems really runny, but it's been a while since I've made a cake, so I just figure this is how it is supposed to be. I pour the batter into the cupcake liners, a little troubled by the lack of viscosity, but I proceed. They baked, but they never really expanded. And they looked really weird. I tasted one after they came out and something was just not right.





In my kitchenly wisdom, I surmise that it must have been the attachment I was using on the mixer. I used the white, paddle-with-holes looking thing and I should have used the whisk looking thing. So I'm on to the second box. Round 2. Ding ding.

I begin mixing the second batch. In goes the mix, eggs, and butter. Yes...this looks better--much thicker! Wait! Too thick. Oops! Forgot the water.

So as I'm filling the measuring cup with water, it hits me. I put in waaaaayyyy more last time. I realize that instead of 3/4 c. I put in 1 3/4 c. It seems these directions accompanied by the "for-morons-who-can't-or-won't-read" pictures just weren't specific enough.




So now I have cake batter that is the consistency of mousse because I've been beating the heck out of it with my wire whisk rotating at the speed of light. But it tasted better. So I fill the liners again, careful not to put in too much.

Do you know what happend to cake mix that has been whisked for 5 minutes on medium speed after it has baked?


This. That's not a cookie sheet, my friend. That's a muffin tin. There is so much air in these things that I can literally hear the bubbles popping. So I try to carefully remove them, hoping against hope that I can salvage a few.


Not so much. So an hour later, this is what I have to show for all of my effort.





So now, I am waiting for my sweet husband to bring me more mix and eggs, because what I lack in skill, I make up for in tenacity. I WILL have pink and brown cupcakes for tomorrow, Lord willing, which He may very well not be judging by what has occurred.

Oh, yeah...and I burnt my finger on the oven on the same hand that I have nearly severed a finger and gashed the knuckle. Guess my hand modeling career is over.


Thankfully, my little sack of sugar loves me anyway.

I will post about something other than Asher...

...but not today. He's 7 months old today! Can you believe it! Here are some pics of my big boy:

Asher enjoying his front row seat



He loves watching Daddy play!



Another cute outfit (I may post a tutorial on how to turn onesies into t-shirts--it's a little complicated, but it makes a very bold statement.)



Catching up on a little reading.



I'd tell you where the green sheep is, but I'd hate to ruin it for you. It's a page turner--I'll just leave it at that.

And here is Asher having some fun in the Johnny Jump-Up. He loves it! Thanks for letting him borrow it, Lilly!

Clean AND Cute! (please see clarification below)

Asher had his first bath in the big bath tub. My friend Hilary gave me a seat for the bath, but I haven't been able to get it yet, so we just used the bath mat and the little foam thing you use when they are newborns. He really liked splashing around. I definitely think we have a little waterbug on our hands.







We took these yesterday after church. He looks like such a big boy! I love this outfit on him but I don't think I'm going to get away with dressing him like this too much longer. Kris feels that clothes like this ensure getting beaten up. I think there is nothing cuter than a flat front pant and a cute little oxford. Clarification: After reading some of the comments, I feel the need to clarify, lest anyone think that Kris has a problem with flat front pants and/or oxfords. I was referring more to the color of the pants than the style when I made my "get beaten up" statement. Both my boys are flat front, button-up kind of guys. (I like to think I rescued Kris from the terrible world of pleats.) In fact, that's pretty much all there is if you're a guy :) I just meant that light blue Ralph Lauren chinos will probably not be a staple in his wardbrobe in the years to come. But nice masculine flat front khakis will.

Silver and Gold

Did you ever sing that little song, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."

Well, we have had some major fun with friends lately...old and new (as old of frineds as a 7 month old can have!)


Josiah, Tye, and Asher hung out yesterday. There may come a day when we don't take their pictures each time they get together, but I don't think that will be anytime soon. It's just so fun to see them growing up!







Josiah's mom got some great video of the photo session that you can view here.


Also. a few days ago, we went swimming with two of my friends from school, Mandy and Becca. Asher got to meet Mandy's little boy, Carson. They had big fun splashing in the water and checking out eachother's hats that their moms made them wear. Becca's little girl, Kendall, is due in October so she will be swimming with the boys next summer!