because i want to remember

this quote:

found on instagram, not sure who wrote it, or even who posted it (if you are reading this and you know,

please tell me) not taking credit for it at ALL. but it totally applies to my life, as I am sure it does to

everyone who reads it.

 

 

another one that fits quite well:

 

love it. it's just so true for me right now.....

and a little of what we have been up to, insta style. that's all I seem to take lately is instagram pictures....my poor 5d has gotten left to "mostly" collect dust. but ava gets mad at me and makes me take it out somedays...

 

 

1. savie and ava have been "SMASHING" with their Smash journals while I do my Project Life book....

 

2. catching any bit of light that we can.

 

3. taking pictures of her dolls outdoors.

 

4. being cute in yellow...

 

5. getting in some snuggles with her daddy, she's SUCH a daddy's girl.

 

6. reading ANOTHER new book: this girl has read 18 books since school started and that doesn't include her daily assigned Literature book or her Reading Spectrum Workbook OR the read alouds that I do with her.....

 

7. Barnes & Noble time....

 

8. posing for mommy.

 

9. ava making shadows. the pictures she takes are SO creative.

 

10. and cute, ava took this one too.

 

11. I went on a scrapbooking retreat in Frankfort IL with a GREAT group of women. there were 8 of us in the big crop area and it was so much fun. full of laughs, LOTS of creativity and good positive fun! Ava snapped this photo when her and michael dropped me off and she sent it to me.

12. we stopped for a mocha frappe and smoothie before he dropped me off at the crop, ava snapped this!

 

13. reading Cutting for Stone, it's taking me forever to read because I really don't have that much time to read anymore and by the time I read to the girls at night (we read aloud every night, well most nights) I don't have the energy to read for myself! I need to make more time somehow. I cut out facebook for 6 weeks, so we will see how much time I was actually on it and see if I have any free time, so far NO!

14. anyone else have stacks of jeans they can't fit into? I refuse to give up though, I WILL fit in these! they are only a size too small so 15 pounds ought to do it.

 

15. and this is how she looks every single day when I pick her up from school = happy! and it makes my heart smile and hurt at the same time. we've been through a lot with this girl, especially in this past year and anytime I get a glimpse of her happy, it makes my heart burst.

 

16. another shot by ava, her dolls in her bedroom. it's American Girl Doll heaven in her room.

17. another shot by ava, see her? she's good!

 

okay, that about wraps up some of feb. I have about 40 more photos to post, but am too tired from sitting here right now!

hope you enjoyed! be back soon!

 

12 on the 12th (but it was really the 14th) day in the life:

savannah coming down in the morning, happy to be going to school!

 

ava came down the stairs with her dolly, not wanting to wake up.

 

me on the phone with ellen, we talk at least a few mornings a week, until her phone kicks us off after 90 minutes. ha ha.

 

ava reading, she reads every morning for an hour to start her day, still in her jammies & with her coat on after taking savannah to school.

 

savannah's Valentine gift: the book Catching Fire, some gum and oreos, she's a SWEETS girl.

 

michael doing some work on the computer.

 

avey and daddy, such a daddy's girl that one.

 

reading The Hunger Games, she's obsessed and can't wait for the movie to come out.

 

computer time: and what was the dog doing? I don't know!

 

homework ugh. still doesn't like homework, but LOVES school. don't you love that face?

 

ava playing "gymnastics" with her AG Doll Mckenna. she set up a whole gymnastics center in our guest room UGH!

 

and to end our day, reading The Mandie Collection in bed. we will be readin these probably for the next year! there are 11 Collections and they each have at least 3-5 books inside! LOVE them!

and that wraps up our day in the life.

 

where have i been?

too busy living life to be making blog posts I guess.

1. I love how these two love each other. I know Ava misses Savannah so much, even though she doesn't say it often, I know her little heart breaks every morning when we have to say goodbye for the day.

 

2. I love this little series of ava with her teddy bear, she got from build a bear when she turned 6.

 

3. ava doing Science: she HATES doing Science, but she perseveres and has been getting 99-100's on every. single. test & quiz.

 

4. I love how she is always curled up near the vent with her books for her Reading Hour, which she does every morning right after breakfast. she is more of a read during the day type person, not at night, she's always too tired.

 

5. and more of her reading, just because I love to see her with a book in her hands.

 

we got this awesome drawing book (a recommendation we saw online from a home-schooling mama of 12 children, hi amy!) it's awesome! Ava was able to draw from it first try and  not frustrated. we got it on Amazon: Let's draw cute Animals  go get it! there are more in the series too: we are going to get the Let's Draw Happy People and Let's draw small creatures and plants!

 

and here are all 31 photos, one photo a day for the month of January! I am going to do it for the whole year, with my iphone and have them all printed into a book!

 

iphone pakosta style:

I don't know WHERE the last couple of weeks of Jan went, but maybe the photos will show:

 

 

writing out prayer cards for the girls to have under their pillows, they are supposed to read it each night.

 

 

reading: Ava finished The Land that I Lost, Harriet the Spy and an American Girl Book. She started a book called: A Room with a Zoo today.

 

Ava has been drawing a LOT: this is a drawing of her Kit doll....

 

(see kit and kit?)

 

 

savannah got on the All A's High Honor Roll & was pleased as punch with herself! I'm so very proud of her, to see her struggles and what she has had to overcome with going back to public school, she's amazing!

I've been reading A LOT lately: finished A Soldier's Wife and have about 6 other books on my shelves, ready to start a new one tonight!

 

doing mini photo shoots with my iphone.

 

a note from grams & gramps for her awesome report card! along with a 20.00 check that each grandchild gets when they first make the honor roll in jr. high.

 

a lunch date with our avey girl. portillos salad for her, mexican for mom and daddy.

 

playing the wii on a saturday morning (they seem to only play the wii on new year's eve and when our friend's little boy comes over) and so I said, "hey girls, play that wii or I'm selling it" ha ha!

noticing beautiful sky/sunset/trees....God's world is so beautiful.

 

exercising on and off for all of us. savannah puts on her PE uniform to go on our elliptical...I did 50 miles for the month of Jan! I tried to get to 85, but didnt' accomplish my goal.

 

and don't you just LOVE what ava wore to workout in? striped shirt, flowered jammies, heart socks and plaid shoes? she's a colorful girl, what can I say?!

more to come. this post is taking forever and I have to go pick up savannah from school!

 

 

Ditto:

I LOVE the new Ditto stuff from Hampton Arts that is coming out!

I am using a Ditto book for my Project Life book this year!

Mine is one I bought last year and I just LOVE IT!

 

this is my cover. I just used Kraft paper and rounded edges, AC foam thickers and butterfly punch w/ pp.

I had so much fun! I am going to find time this weekend to actually work on the inside and will post

when I am done!

to go Facebook and "like" Hampton ARts page and they are having a give away for DITTO!

You will LOVE this product!

hampton arts

happy scrapping!

reading machine:

Ava has been a reading machine this year, here is the list she has finished so far:

 

1. Henry Reed Inc.
2. Arby Jenkins by Sharon Hambrick
3. Stuart's Run to Faith
4. Trouble At Silver Pines Inn
5. Island of the Blue Dolphins
6. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
7. Just so Stories By Rudyard Kipling
8. Louis Braille
9. Call it Courage (didn't quite finish the last chapter yet)
10. Kite Fights by Linda Sue Parks (LOVED IT)
11. Mandie Collection( I read this to them, finished Volume 3 & 4)
12. The Rat Catchers Son
13. Meet Marie Grace--AG book
14. Star of LIght by Patricia St. John
15. Beat the STory Drum Pum Pum
16. Marie Grace and the orphans
17. The Land that I lost
18. Journey to Jo'burg by Beverly Naidoo
19. Harriet the Spy (in progress now)
20. there were also a bunch we started for school (Sonlight) that we haven't finished in the Read Alouds, so we need to go back to those. This is all since August and they are all pretty long chapter books.

 

I am so HAPPY that Ava loves to read so much! I hope she keeps this up! We have about 75 books sitting on the living room school table waiting for her!

what sisters do:

sisters have tea parties:

 

 

sisters snuggle on the couch:

 

 

sisters eat cookies at the counter:

 

sisters leave a snowy outfit mess when they come inside after playing in the snow:

 

but most importantly, sisters have DANCE PARTIES!

 

I love that these two spend so much time together, yet still get along. I know Ava misses Savannah when

she is at public school & just can't wait for her to get home. I think the separation is good for them

to find themselves a little bit more. It's just VERY hard because they are so very close. Most people

that see them together say that they are a bit like TWINS, that they are really bonded & connected

in that special way....I love that. I love that they are so bonded and it's noticeable to others how

much they love & care for each other. I pray this is always the case....

 

life in instagram:

 ava taking some pictures of the snow, in her jammies & slippers.

 

 

math time for ava....she's doing pretty well.

 

a photo shoot of her doll in the snow. she was DYING for it to snow so she could get out there and do a photo shoot. she truly is my clone.

 

showing me the picture she took!

reading time: we are reading Arby Jenkins, Mighty Mustang. she already read it, but we are reading it and doing a vocabulary packet with it for fluency.

 

sitting at her desk, having hot cocoa while she works. in her jammies. she has quite the good life.

 

doing her dolls hair while I read....

 

a typical day in the life of ava, age 10.

organizing around here:

so far I have done:

 

laundry room, back hall closet and started on the basement.

 

 

we are anticipating on moving in the next couple of years (if it all pans out the way we would like) and

I do not want to leave this clutter for when we move!

I joined my friend becky & a bunch of her friends in the 30 bags in 30 days clean out.

I have not done it every day, but I did at least 6 bags of clutter out, so that's progress. I am super

super good at getting rid of clothes, books and things we don't use at the time, so I don't have all that

much to get rid of, it's more of an organization. especially the basement. that could take me 2 months!

12 on the 12th.

 

 

 

every month on the 12th, I will be taking photos all day long from when we wake up until we go to

bed, to document a full day in our life. at the end of the year, they will all be scrapbooked into one

scrapbook! so excited about this project! I have seen others taking the pictures on the 12th, but

never have heard of anyone scrapbooking them. I figured what is the sense  in taking them, if they

aren't going to be scrapped or explained. Here are the ones I took at exact times of day:

 

7am--hate to even wake her up.

 

 

8am--breakfast, waffles.

 

9am--Spanish Rosetta Stone on the computer

 

 

10am--math

 

 

11am--photoshoot of her doll, while I make lunch

 

 

 

12 noon--teacher store, we had to get Ava a vocabulary book, her Spelling book was too easy and she just wasn't learning enough vocabulary this year!

 

 

1pm hot cocoa while she works on some school stuff.

 

2pm--Ava already read this book, but we are  now reading aloud & asking questions, going over vocabulary together and doing projects that go with it. I got the Arby Jenkins Booklink from BJU Press and it's amazing!

 

 

3pm--picking up savannah. we were getting a little snowstorm, 4-5 inches.

 

 

4pm--snow play, the girls could not WAIT to get outside!

 

 

5pm--dinner. savannah made mac n' cheese & chicken patties...not a normal dinner around here, but she is practicing her cooking skills that she learned in her class at school!

 

 

6pm--the dreaded homework time..always has math. ugh. for the most part, savannah is on her own with her work and does very well.  I am so proud of her with how she has adjusted and seemed to have grown up overnight and takes responsibility!

 

 

7pm--dance party, don't mind me. we are a bunch of dorks, having a good time.

 

 

8pm snuggle time with my girl. I love that she often will just climb into my lap and want me to hold her. I hope that never stops, but I imagine one day soon it will..and I will miss it.

 

 

eight fifty four: this one is thrown in because how could I not put it in here? michael took a bite of our dog's chicken strip (I know gross right) and the girls asked, "how was it?" instead of answering them, he got down on the floor and barked, like it had turned him into a dog. I love when he's fun and playful and so do they. Ava got down and pretended to be a dog with him and piper was going CRAZY!

 

9pm--after getting everyone riled up, we went straight upstairs and climbed into bed to read our Mandie Collection Series, we LOVE this series. I will be so sad when it's over!

 

I'm so happy that I am doing this project. I love my life and I love documenting it!