EKjourney Backup

Sawyer turned 12 on November 27th! Our first look at Sawyer...every baby is so very precious, so fearfully and wonderfully made.   He was our tiniest baby and would curl up his legs up like a little frog. This was our first outing.  We went Christmas Tree hunting with our friends the Kochs.  And just who are all these "big" kids?   Sawyer enjoyed a scavenger hunt that Phil took forever to make.  He had clues all over Silverton and at church that morning.  He got a few new Wii games and some lego sets. He really wanted this lego figure. Playing games...all afternoon, a rarity for sure. Reading Picasso books.   Phil taking a snooze before the guests arrive. My parents and my brother and Tina and cousins came for dinner (taco feed) and dessert (pumpkin pie). Serving the birthday boy Cousins I try and do a little write up each year about the birthday child.  I tell you, this year was more of a struggle as I pondered what I wanted to say.  We had ...

My mom hosted Thanksgiving again this year.  She always does such a nice job serving traditional foods with a twist and the past couple of years, allergy sensitive foods.  Here are a few delicious side dishes: I am slightly in love with Fuju persimmons and I am thinking I will spend my birthday money on a Fuju persimmon tree...if I can find a place to put one! I think this is the look that one gets after they have cooked all day long. The table was beautiful and there were lovely flower arrangements. Girl's table Boy's table Grown up table After dinner twister

I had planned a spur of the moment mushroom unit this week and had hoped to spend a little time each day working on observing, sketching, making prints, doing a collage, and then going on a mushroom hunt.  With tutoring up in Portland (fortunately, Phil was able to take Brighton to this), piano, Awanas, 4-H, a group piano lesson/recital, and regular speech therapy...we just didn't get to it.  I did pack a lunch and we went on a walk at my parent's house to collect mushrooms to bring home and hopefully sketch over the weekend.  It was a chilly day and rather gloomy but I was glad that the children had a chance to run and climb trees even if they weren't as focused on mushroom hunting as I would have hoped. We have been eyeing this big batch of mushrooms that we see when we turn down the road to my parents and I had been meaning to photograph them.   After lunch, it was time to walk and explore. Then run and climb trees. Once I got everyone back in the car, I took just...

My favorite place in the house is in front of the window in the playroom.  It is the largest window in the house and the sun streams in.  Winter sun is a cherished treat (and winter for me is November-February). The ginko tree is one of the last to lose its leaves so when the rest of trees have all dropped their leaves, this one lingers just a little longer.  Phil and I each ran separate errands one day (on my birthday), he took the children up to Portland for Brighton's appointment and I picked up the salmon that we bought.  It is a rare time that I am traveling alone so I stuck my camera in my bag and took this shot off the coral red blueberry bushes. School...oh my....this is so NOT where I thought I would be...  I was fairly decent at fun and creative lessons in my public school classroom though I really had to squeeze them in and I figured when I became a homeschooling mom, I could just truly teach the way I wanted to, unhindered by the expectations and req...

So, we now have the final results of our dyslexia screenings. We have.... *2 severely dyslexic children, both dysgraphic, at least one with dyscalculia. *1 severe-profound dyslexic (profound as a stand alone isn't given without extra steps that we didn't go through, we are confident of the profound label based on the scores given), dysgraphic, and likely with dyscalculia. *1 non-proveable dyslexic according to test scores, but with the discrepancies, as parents and the tester,  can confidently label as mildly dyslexia with great compensation skills (for instance, recognizes letter sounds at a kindergarten level (is in 5th grade) but can read irregular words off the charts (high school). *1 yet to test, but will likely be severely dyslexic (our 5 year old will be tested in the Spring or Fall). And with those official diagnosis, we were also very STRONGLY encouraged to look at ADHD/ADD as screenings and conversations have shown that they are all likely to have this as well, which...

I bring in my wintery wooly items to the White Oak Gallery in Silverton in the Fall so Lori (the owner) can set up the holiday displays.  I was so excited that she took everything I brought in....lots of hats and fingerless mittens, hair clips and brooches, felted bowls, and 4 new felt paintings. I completed these felt paintings this Fall.  They are inspired by the photographs I took while hiking with my family. Sweet Creek Falls 3 Sweet Creek Falls 2 Butte Creek Sweet Creek Falls 1 Someday someday, I would love to do art shows and have my art work displayed in numerous places throughout the Pacific Northwest.  I suppose that will have to wait until I have time to be a part time artist.  In the meantime, I am grateful that a local gallery will take all of my product and that I made enough this year to cover all my material costs LOL!