Blueberries, Wheat, and Books

We have been reading a couple of books this last week. Climbing Kansas Mountains by George Shannon and Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle. They are great books!

Climbing Kansas Mountain is about a boy, Sam, whose father takes him to climb a kansas mountain. The boy's response is "sure, when pigs fly" (not in a mean way but a funny way as he had heard his father say before). They go off together to where his father works at the grain elevators because, as his father says, a mountain is just a high, quiet view. They see the Kansas landscape and notice that it is as flat as their table at home and the roads among the fields are like their checkered tablecloth. Its a cute story with lots to talk about. Along with idioms, similes, metaphors, geography, and the artwork, we talked about the process of harvesting wheat and turning it into flour. Daddy brought home some stalks of wheat cut from a friends farm.

Pancakes, Pancakes! is a fun book. Here is the summary taken from amazon: The barnyard rooster crows and Jack wakes up -- hungry, of course! What does he want for breakfast? A big pancake! But first, Jack's mother needs flour from the mill, an egg from the black hen, milk from the spotted cow, butter churned from fresh cream, and firewood for the stove. Jack's mother get strawberry preserves from their cellar to put on the pancakes.

On Saturday morning, we went to pick blueberries. We went to Watt's farm in Belew's Creek. Its a family farm that has been growing blueberries for 30 years. Picking blueberries is easy, fun for all of us, and yummy. The blueberries were at the perfect height for Gabe all the way up to Jeremy. Of course, Gabe pretty much ate everything that he picked. But he would first pick them and put them in his cup before he then ate them. Olivia indulged too. Before we left she drew a picture of herself picking the blueberries and then asked if we could eat some for lunch when we got home. :)

* don't you love Gabe's face! :)

On the way home, we stopped by the Old Mill of Guilford. It is a restored, fully operational 18th century grist mill. It is picturesque with a big water wheel and all.  Unfortunately, the lady was done running the grinding equipment for the morning when we got there but we got to see it and talk about how it works. This is just like she saw in Pancakes, Pancakes. We bought some of their buckwheat pancake mix to make at home. Olivia and daddy made the pancakes for dinner that night along with some of our fresh blueberries made into a sauce for the top. YUMMY!

Another book we read not too long ago and went perfectly with this adventure, was Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. Also The Little Red Hen i remember from my childhood.

Play Time

Playing with the cardboard bricks. Its a daily favorite!

Gabe running around playing.

He still has a bit of a potbelly. He used to run with his arms swinging behind him all the way but I think that we were too late trying to catch that on video. He runs with such gusto. :)

Ezra playing too

Ezra, 2 months old

This has been a month of smiles and the beginnings of coos. He is interacting with us. His eyes are so expressive. When awake he likes to lay under his mobile or floor gym. He is really stimulated by the black and white toys/images hanging there. He wiggles and kicks and "punches" with his little fists so much. He will put his feet down in my lap and straighten out his body putting his weight down on his legs. I am amazed at how strong he seems. Below is a little video of his activities:

Recent Homeschool Adventures

I have to say that Olivia is doing fabulous with her reading skills. She is enjoying reading books to Ezra whenever she gets a chance and we often find her in her bedroom, sitting in her little rocking chair reading books. I love hearing her read. Often if the book is a bit above her level, we will read it together. She reads all the words she can and I just pitch in with the words she doesn't know.


She has a early readers NIV Bible that she is able to read from each day too. If I didn't plan for her to read from the Bible on a given day, she will now ask. :) Isn't it amazing when God uses your kids to help keep you accountable. We are continuing to memorize scripture. I am amazed at how easily she can memorize as well as how good it is for me to teach her cause I am finally able to put more scripture to memory. When its set in our minds and hearts through memory, we can bring it up easily and apply it to situations throughout our day.


In addition to reading and math, I am using My Father's World for our curriculum. I love it! We are using the Adventures level. It is an exploration/overview of American history and patriotic symbols from a Christian perspective. It includes bible and science. The curriculum is very bible centered. We talked about Jesus being the Light of the World and our science involved space and stars. We have also done some really fun experiments involving air. Just like air, we can't see God but there is evidence that he is all around us. There are a handful of scripture passages for her to read herself out of her Bible and for us to discuss. Of course there are tons of fun crafts. I am having Olivia draw the experiments we do and label some of the words she knows how to write. We keep those in a notebook along with the bible verses she copies.


Our history study so far has us looking at the founding of America. We have studied the Vikings, Christopher Columbus, Jamestown, Indians, and the Pilgrims so far. We are creating a timeline and notebook. We study these through several texts. One is the style of a straight textbook, we include lots of library books, and many are stories told through the eyes of children. I read her Squanto and now we are reading Sarah's New World. It is a great book for character discussions in addition to learning about history. We have also learned some about the American flag and listen to some patriotic music. Here are some pictures of our fun adventures.

Sailing the Niña, the Pinta, Santa Maria

Indian wigwam and teepees

Indian Costume

Pilgrim Costume and poppet (a doll played with by British children in the 1600s made from scraps; ours is made from an old sock with stuffing and wrapped in a piece of felt)

making a compass

Grandpa's look-a-like

Chick-fil-a Cow Appreciation Day

Yes, we went out in public looking kind of silly but we got free lunch at Chick-fil-a so it was worth it. :) Olivia was also wearing a cow bell but had taken it off when we got this picture.

Jeremy's look-a-like

Our New Name

Hey all,

You may have noticed that our blog name has changed. We decided that just having our names and continuing to add children's names to it might become somewhat long-winded and really wasn't very imaginative. As we debated changing it, Rebecca asked a friend of her for some ideas and her friend suggested the "thoroughly" part. So then it was "Thoroughly" What? We went through "Thoroughly Sarine" and "Throughly Family" and maybe one or two others, but nothing really described us in terms that everyone can relate to. I kept thinking back to what the blog is about, which is our children and how much we are blessed by them and it came to me: Thoroughly Blessed. It's as complete a name as there every can be for us. We are blessed with wonderful children, loving families and great friends.

We hope that by sharing our blessings, all who read about them will be blessed as well.

Ezra's Birth Announcement

Back when Ezra was born, we debated about sending out a traditional birth announcement, like we did with Olivia and Gabriel. Well, I argued that we technically already did when I "live" blogged the delivery and posted all the pertinent info within 10 minutes of his birth. Rebecca still wanted to do a nice picture to show everyone, so we took this one:

(notice the #3 on his arm :)

For anyone who may have missed it, here's Ezra's birth stats

Ezra Joel Sarine

May 22nd, 2010 4:11pm EST

Weight: 7lbs 9oz

Length: 20 3/4 inches

Ezra at (a little over) One Month

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Ezra is more alert, starting to interact more and holding up his head. My mother in law pulled out a baby picture of Jeremy the other evening and they look almost identical. :)

VBS fun

Olivia went to VBS at a local church last week. She had a great time! The theme was Saddle Ridge Ranch and Got Questions? Ask God! It included lots of crafts, fun and games, and lots of good scripture messages and songs. here are some of the song clips if you are interested in hearing them: http://http//www2.lifeway.com/vbs2010/yourvbs/index.php/multimedia/

Cloth Diaper Brothers

Aren't they cute?!

Gabe and Ezra are wearing the same cloth diapers. I just love the way those fluffy bottoms look! :) We switched to primarily using cloth diapers around Gabe's first birthday. With Ezra, I used disposable newborn diapers for about 3 weeks. I just bought two boxes and used those up. Now he too is in cloth diapers. I really enjoy them. They seem far more comfortable for the boys. I enjoy not throwing away all the used diapers. And I really don't find them too hard to take care of. We got one size diapers with snaps and inserts that self agitate out in the wash. Yes, there is definitely more laundry as we have to wash diapers about every 2 to 3 days. I am stuck on my Smartipants. We wanted to keep it all the same if we could.

Touch-A-Truck Day in Summerfield

The Town of Summerfield had a "Touch-A-Truck Day" today and so I brought the kids while mommy sold a bunch of stuff at a yard sale.

There were firetrucks, a semi, a dump truck, a motorcycle (sort of...2 wheels in front...), an Army Humvee, a garbage truck, a tractor, a police car and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement SUV. 

"How do we turn it on, daddy?"

The kids all wanted to know why you had to turn a handle to get the windows on this antique firetruck to go up...

The garbage truck was one of Olivia's favorites: "This is where they stand to ride!"

In the semi: "Daddy, there's a bed and a fridge and a tv in here! It's like a whole house!"

Thanks, Uncle Greg!

A few weeks ago, Uncle Greg taught Gabe to eat without hands.

Thanks, Uncle Greg. Thanks a lot.

Sleepy Baby to Awake Baby

Ezra has gone from sleeping most of the time to being more awake and alert. He seems to like evenings and nights best, of course. :)

3 days

8 days (or so)

19 days old

Baldwin Family Visit

On Memorial Day, I took the kids to my grandmother's house. My parents, aunts, and cousin met us there. It was a fun visit. Aunt B and Aunt Kelly, I am sorry I didn't catch you in any of my pictures. Hopefully Mallory has a few I can add. :)

A Surprise Trip

Jeremy's cousin got married in DC on May 29th. Due to Ezra's due date being the 28th, we didn't think we would make it. Since Ezra chose the 22nd instead, we decided to make a surprise trip to DC. We wanted to see Jeremy's siblings that live in other states and we don't often see as well as many of his other family members. It turned into a great surprise when we showed up at dinner on Thursday night. Thanks to facebook messages, we knew right where dinner would be that night. :) We got to spend all of Friday with family exploring DC and celebrating with the bride and groom at the rehersal dinner before heading back home.

At the Air and Space Museum

Carousel on The Mall

Cousins

Olivia's choice for a place to sleep at the hotel. Yes, thats a luggage cart. :) It was right near Gabe's pack n play. She told me she wanted to be near him.

Gabe at the rehersal dinner

At the zoo

What's in a Name?

A friend of mine did this post recently and it inspired me to look up the meanings to all of our names and share how our children received their names.

JEREMY: His name means "God will raise up; God will set free". Jeremy is an amazing husband and has been raised up as the leader of our household. I have been so blessed to see Jeremy seek after God for himself and our family. JR's middle name is Richard which is a family name.

REBECCA: Well, my name means "to tie or to bind". hmm, I am open to what that could really mean for me, although I don't want any smart remarks. ;) Actually, I pray that I am bound to my father God. I desire to know him more intimately each and every day. May I never unbind myself from the firm foundation that God offers me. "In Him I live and move and have my being" (Acts 17:28a) My middle name is Marie and it is a family name.

OLIVIA HOPE: Jeremy chose the name Olivia and I chose Hope. Olivia means "peace" and we desire that she be filled with a peace from God that will never go away and will sustain her through all of life. I chose Hope because I desired that she know the hope (confident expectation) that God gives and that she may keep her eyes on the things of God and not the things of this world. We also desire that she share that peace and hope with those around her. Olivia's hope flows out of her easily to those around her. She always sees God's hand in the world around her and tells others often. And she is definitely a little girl that has a peaceful heart. Olivia's bible verse is Psalm 33:22, "Let your unfailing love surround us Lord, for our hope is in you alone."

GABRIEL JOSIAH: Jeremy chose Gabriel and I chose Josiah. Gabriel means "God's able-bodied one; hero of God". It was the name of the angel in the bible who delievered God's message to Mary (about Jesus). Josiah mean "Jehovah helps" and in the bible Josiah was a boy king that turned his people back to God and pulled out the scriptures that had been forgotten and had them read to the people. We pray that he would serve God and that he would always lean on him for help. This is interesting because Gabe desires to do everything on his own and can become very upset when that doesn't work out for him. Little One, we desire that you learn to lean on God. Gabriel's bible verse is 1 Chronicles 16:11, " Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always."

EZRA JOEL: Well, this time around we picked the names together. Ezra means "helper" and was a scribe in the bible. Joel means "Jehovah is Lord". Both are books in the bible. Ezra covers the time in when the Israelites returned from captivity and rebuilt the temple to worship God. Joel is a prophetic book that calls the people to repentance and speaks of the future blessing of God as he will pour out his Spirit on his people. We pray that God's word would be inscribed on your heart in a special way and that you would always worship Him and never turn away. May your ears be tuned to God's voice. We also pray that the Spirit of God would be powerful in your life and may you always remember that He is coming back. At this point, we have noticed that Ezra keeps a thoughtful expression most of the time and is quick to hear things around him. Ezra's bible verse is Ezra 7:28b, "I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the Lord my God was on me."

Mom, Dad, MIL and FIL, feel free to comment on how/why Jeremy and I received our names if you will. I'd love to know. I know that my dad prayed for my future husband and our family starting many years ago before our paths even crossed. I am thankful for the amazing family heritage that has been left to us on both sides.