This girl rocks my world.
I couldn't love her more.
She celebrated her 9th birthday last week. I am so thankful to have her in my life. I remember Payton being this age when I felt the conviction to homeschool. Now I remember so clearly why. They grow up so dang fast. And when a little girl is Avery's age, they're just downright joy -- easy going, so little sass, no pre-teen hormonal battle. Ahhh...
She's picked out the green damask for an accent wall in her bedroom at the new house.
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Several weeks ago, we'd had a very busy week and had to speak at an adoption fundraiser dinner that Saturday night so we didn't go to church that night like we normally do. We decided that instead of rallying the troops to go to church on Sunday morning, we would do church at home. We've never done this before but know people who do and it sounded wonderful.
Avery was on it.
She wrote out programs the night before. She had the 'service' laid out: we were going to sing songs, read a Bible story, have a discussion and then pray.
The next morning, she must've asked us 10 times when we were going to do church. We just wanted to get through breakfast! She was so excited.
And she wanted to lead it so she set herself up with a 'podium' and went to it. It was so super sweet.
Reading the Bible story of Naomi and Ruth.
Notice the boys: they had to build a fort to sit in. Ha! JD was 'working the sound booth' by playing the songs.
Warm weather = ice cream in our family.
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Remember I mentioned the bond these two have? They're at it again.
That's a spaghetti noodle hanging out of Jackson's mouth. Boys! Actually, the expression on his face reminds me so much of photos of my brother when he was little!
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Avery had her state meet a couple of weeks ago and wrapped up her competition year. She has worked so hard. So much so that she came this close to quitting gymnastics a couple of weeks ago. For several weeks, she said she was done, she was bored, it wasn't fun anymore, etc. But then she rallied and now she's back to her flip-flopping-self.
The reality is that competitive gymnasts is a demanding sport. It requires a ton of practice -- straight through the summer, in fact. :( She'll practice four days a week this summer (for 3.5 hours/day!). It's no wonder kids are weary by the end of the competition year. We'll give this year a whirl and see how she feels at the end.
All this while waiting for the boys at the bus stop! Phew.
The last year has been such a sweet time with her. She has worked so hard in school too and the results are evident. She was tested in April and blew the test away (testing well into the 3rd grade). She's come so far.
When I pulled her and Payton out of public school, I did it more in regard to Payton at the time. I wanted to slow her childhood down by slowing down our pace and having more time with her. Avery had just finished kindergarten. And, just like with Payton, Avery's last two years have flown by. She'll start third grade in the fall. That's crazy!
The crazier thing? I'm finding that the homeschooling has benefited her the most. Sure, Payton's thriving, but she kind of always did with school. Not so much with Avery. Being at home, having a less pressured approach to schooling has reduced the anxiety in Avery 10-fold. She used to be a little of a worrier and she cowered to teachers. Now, she's just a kid who does her school work, goes to gymnastics, plays outside and loves to be all kinds of hilarious! I love, love, love spending my days with her.
Thankful for another one that's getting ready to start... :)
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