The Davis Kids' Haiku

Today in history, we were learning about the Yamato dynasty of Japan. The activity that went along with our reading was to create a haiku, a poetic form that originated in Japan over 700 years ago. If you don't know, a haiku is short, non-rhyming, usually made of 3 lines, and describes something in nature. The form is: Line 1- 5 syllables, Line 2- 7 syllables, Line 3- 5 syllables. I'm pretty proud of what we came up with together!

First we picked a season: Spring.
Then we thought of nature-related words to describe Spring. From our list we chose, birds.
Then we brainstormed words that described birds.

Birds in Spring

Soaring, flying, hop

laying eggs in their brown nests

eating worms, tweet tweet! 

by The Davis Kids, April 8, 2020

Coloring pictures to send to some of our favorite nurses! 

To life... full of poetry!

March Update!

Well here I thought I'd have more time to write, and it's been about 6 weeks since my last post! Pictures help me remember, so I'm going to upload a few so you can see what we've been up to since Valentine's Day :)

Monday, February 24: Levi completed his first Bully Battle against Mr. BJ (his jiu jitsu instructor) and passed! He earned his first belt {shown below}. He had to use all of the moves he'd been working on for the past year to "wear down" a bully for 3 minutes. It was so awesome to see him use his moves instinctively. I was so proud of him!

 Afterwards, we went to Chick-Fil-A to celebrate!

 Wednesday, March 4: We took a hike at Happy Rock park with our Wild+Free friends. The girls had fun climbing the ropes! We listened to birds, explored the stream, saw a snake, and had fun with friends.

 Thursday, March 5: The first week of March was a week break from school. So the boys got to go up to Mimi's for an overnight trip! They visited great-grandma Lila, went bowling, and rode their new ATV. They had a great time!

 While they were gone, the girls and I got to have some special, more quiet time together :) We had a chocolate milk tea party and played games.

 Tuesday, March 10: I decided to braid the girls' hair after bath time. Naomi looks so grown up doesn't she? I love their sister picture too.

This big girl is officially potty trained! I haven't changed diapers since the end of February! Woohoo! 

 Thursday, March 12: Our new handicraft -- Finger Knitting! I thought Zeke might enjoy learning how and indeed he has! The first day we practiced one finger knitting, and now he is working on 4-finger knitting. We have a couple of books from the library that are full of projects, so you may have a hint as to a gift you'll be receiving from Zeke in the coming year ;)

 Tuesday, March 17: Happy St. Patrick's Day! I picked up Lucky Charms for breakfast {ha!} and we made some green sugar cookie bars for dessert. And that was our celebration. In addition, to reading several books about St. Patrick. With the coronavirus scaring everyone, the kids had their first Kick class at home through the computer. The girls had fun joining in on some of the workout!

 Friday, March 20: It was Levi's month for special time with me. Since we weren't allowed to go anywhere to eat, we ran through Caribou Coffee's drive-thru and shared a large hot chocolate with coconut milk and caramel. It was delicious! Then we went to the park for some sunshine and social distancing and played tag and listened to birds and enjoyed our drink.

 Later at home, Pop-Pop helped Zeke fire up his steam engine from Uncle Rob. They put in the fuel and water and let it heat up, then we saw all the pieces moving and the little whistle blew and it was pretty neat! Especially since we'd been reading "The Long Winter" and they used a steam engine for the train at that time in Laura's life.

 Saturday, March 21: Family dinner at Aunt Teresa's house; listening to Uncle Paul read us the letter from the KC mayor telling us to "stay home" and what essential activities are allowed. Life is a little weird these days. But I'm staying hopeful that this will all be over soon! Summer's coming :)

 Sunday, March 22: Pop-Pop spent time with us most of Sunday and drew a little farm picture for Naomi.

 I will always love pictures of my kids sleeping.

 Wednesday, March 25: A beautiful day for a bike ride! We all went outside and rode up to Prairie Point school. We met Aunt Teresa and Miriam there so the kids could see each other and burn off some energy. It was a beautiful day and we ended up spending 4 hours outside! Naomi is enjoying getting some rides in the bike trailer and I'm thankful that I'm in shape enough to pull her around with all the hills we have in town! This might be our favorite mode of transportation for the next 27 days, but maybe even all spring, summer, and fall! 

To life... full of dealing with curveballs and being thankful for technology to stay connected! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Or as the kids keep calling it, "Valentime's Day" :) It's been a bit since I've updated you with some pictures, so I thought I'd share a few today while I'm thinking about it. And the kids are quiet.

Zoë and I made it out for a special date after lunch at Parkville Coffee. She had hot cocoa and a protein ball, I tried a coffee drink called "The Cupid", we colored, read a book, watched the view out of the window, and listened to "girl music" which is always her request when we ride around in the van together. It's surprisingly difficult to find girls singing. Have you ever noticed this? Maybe we're just listening to the wrong stations, but often, out of our 12 presets, we can only find 1 (if we're lucky!) lady singing. Interesting! ... 

Levi and I's annual picture together on February 13. 7 years running now! I love doing these small remembrances with my middle kids. You can look back at previous February posts to see how he's grown! <3

We always take a few silly ones! 

This sweet girl is getting big and looking so cute! She's starting to choose what she wants to wear some days and this is one of her favorite sweaters. She also likes hamming it up for the camera! Which is darling! 

It was a cold day, but we managed to head outside with our Wild+Free group on February 4. After reading *some* of the book, "There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather" I realized that I wanted to keep trying to make it to our group's hikes, even when it takes extra effort to dress warmly and prepare. Personally, I don't mind getting out in the cold; the fresh air is invigorating and if you keep moving, it's not bad.

I don't think the kids minded either :) They lasted almost 2 hours out there! It was a fun time out at one of our favorite trails, Line Creek. We hiked, rescued a ball from the water, learned how to persevere when you fall flat on your face and hurt your nose, and made some new friends.

This year's Super Bowl was pretty exciting getting to watch the Chiefs play and WIN!. Although we weren't able to watch the ending (dang! the best part!) we had a fun time at Aunt Teresa's house with some friends, playing games, watching football and eating delicious food! The kids helped me decorate some brownie bites with red and yellow sprinkles. At the end of the night, when everyone across town was shooting off fireworks and yelling, we watched from our front door/porch. The kids thought it was great fun -- free fireworks show! And it was funny to hear Zoë yelling, "Go Chiefs! Go Chiefs!" The city was definitely excited.

It was a surprisingly warm day, hence, the tank top! Ha! 

My new Chiefs gear 

James and Naomi :) 

Heather made us a delicious Valentine lunch of tomato soup and grilled cheese.

On February 1st, we headed over to Kansas for a little early Valentine party with our Hurla cousins. The kids had a scavenger hunt with prizes, played Valentine bingo, and exchanged homemade Valentines. It was a sweet and fun time together!

Loving the rocking horse! 

Lunch time smiles!

February has been off to a great start! Sweet memories, good food, and lots of together time. The boys have begun to really enjoy playing board games and we've been getting new recommendations from Levi's jiu jitsu instructor. The boys' current favorite is Colt Express! They've played it 3 or 4 days in a row now. I'm very thankful they're finding things they love to do that doesn't always include a screen. I look forward to more days and years of playing games together :)

To life... full of lovely moments! <3

Zeke is 8!!

Happy Birthday my wonderful Ezekiel! You are 8 years old today. Let's start off with a birthday interview to remember a slice of who you are at this time in life :)

Birthday Interview: 1/27/2020
What is your favorite food? Jello and pears
Favorite Song? Smoke on the Water remix
Movie? Charlie and The Chocolate Factory  
Subject to learn in school? Science
Thing to do every day? Play with toys
Instrument? The electric guitar
What do you want to be when you grow up? A hydraulic engineer
What is your favorite thing about Daddy? That we have special time together.
Mommy? Having time together.
Levi? That he's my brother.
Zoë? That she's my sister.
Naomi? That she is fun.
What are you most excited about being 8? That I'm the oldest in the family.

- This year we celebrated your birthday on Saturday, January 25. You invited your Kid City leaders, Mr. Eric and Ms. Amy, Zelda and her family, Mr. TJ and Mrs. Tiffany and their kids, Pop-Pop, Mimi, Aunt Teresa and her family and us. I made you this huge confetti cake and it was a big hit! We had hot dogs, pasta, green beans, bbq chips, fruit salad, blue jello, orange fanta, cake and ice cream. On Sunday, Daddy and I took you to Red Robin for lunch after church and then we went to see Frozen II. In the morning, we're making you blueberry donuts and taking you to LegoLand as your birthday present! I think you're going to have a wonderful time! 

- Look at this adorable group of kids! I love that you all love playing outside in the snow. We've had a couple good snows so far this winter. You enjoy sledding, making snowmen, trying to make snow houses, and, really, trying to make all sorts of contraptions to use in the snow. 

- You received some great gifts this year; some of them, you have been waiting on for quite some time! You love your new Gratvitrax set, your snap circuits, and your glow in the dark track. You continue to love building with your Q-Ba-Maze set and even received a motor to build from scratch! Recently, you disassembled our old vacuum because you wanted to figure out how it works. We are working through a chemistry set for school this term and you can't wait to make the rocket. 

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- You earned your high yellow belt in Taekwondo just before Christmas. Next up is the leadership class if you choose to keep advancing at Kick! You have a couple of months to decide. You have made so much progress in your strength, self-control, and listening since you began taking Taekwondo 2 years ago! 

- You seem to enjoy helping in the kitchen! You like trying new recipes with me and recently asked if you could do some experimenting! In January, we have made a giant cinnamon roll, egg salad, and chocolate cookies. I'm hoping that by the time you leave the house you'll have a whole arsenal of recipes/meals that you are great at making! 

- You seem to have a great mind for puzzles/puzzle type games. It seems like you inherently know how to put things together. We received a new game, Qwirkle, for Christmas which you are quite good at already. And just today, I let you play a game of BlokuDoku on my phone. I let you complete one of the daily challenges I had been struggling with (I tried probably 8 or 9 times to complete it) and you finished it on your first try. I believe that means you have some pretty awesome spatial skills! Additionally, in math, you are able to add together 3-digit numbers side by side. I check your work by stacking the numbers and adding them. But somehow, you are able to visualize these numbers and answers in your mind. It's quite amazing to me! You also have an excellent sense of rhythm and have make huge strides in your piano playing this past year. You like to sit down and practice and play for fun which I love very much! You have been working on your 5-finger scales and asking how to put the different keys together to make the major and minor sounds. Your favorite song to play right now is 'Forest Drums' and Daddy and I cannot wait until you choose a new favorite! Other subjects/areas we are studying in school currently include The Middle Ages in History, memorizing 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, learning all the verses to the hymn "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus", focusing on the habit of Kindness, continuing to increase your reading skills (you received an Audible subscription for Christmas so you can listen to stories and I think you're really enjoying this; as you seem to enjoy when I read aloud each afternoon as well and always ask for me to read a little bit longer!). I've noticed you cluing in and picking up more on words as we're out and about. On Sunday morning at church, you walked by one of the door greeters and as we walked past you said, "Hi Russell!" because you had read his name tag. These little bursts and moments make me so proud at the progress you've made in the past year. Reading doesn't come naturally to you like math and science, but I'm proud of you for being diligent and not giving up even though it is hard. We are still working on learning Spanish, we read poetry a few days a week, and we're working on increasing our narration skills. We have been participating in the Northland Wild+Free group and it has been fun to be in a slightly smaller group so you're able to get more familiar with the other kids. I'm hoping we can go consistently and make some friendships with kids who have similar interests. 

- Your current desire is to grow your hair down to your shoulders. I'm not super excited about this venture, but I've also decided to give you some autonomy and let you decide. So we'll see what happens in the months to come. 

Misty of Chincoteague W+F book club down at a horse stable in KC 

Parkville Days shooting range prize 

Exploring out at the Parkville Nature Sanctuary 

The start of your 2nd grade school year! 

One of your handicrafts has been hand sewing

Ezekiel, I am so proud to be your Mom. You are thoughtful and care about others' feelings even more than your own (mostly!). When one of your siblings' gets hurt, you'll stop what you're doing to make sure they are ok or help them up. You are sensitive and often have your feelings hurt as well; I hope to help you embrace this side of you instead of trying to make it go away and make you "tough". I definitely want to foster a sense of resilience and diligence in your spirit, but being sensitive to your emotions is never wrong and I hope you'll always believe that. You like to ask questions about the way things work and figure out ways to solve problems creatively. You still love Arthur Geisert books and received your favorite one, "Hogwash" for your birthday this year! We wrote him a letter last year, but the letter was returned, so maybe we can try to send an email next. You are quiet, always observing the world around you. You are slow to get angry and can put up with a lot (thanks to being the oldest of four!). You are becoming a better helper to me, cleaning the bathroom sinks every day, helping with the dishes after meals, feeding the dog, putting things away when asked. I appreciate you and the calm way you go about your business. You help me remember to be calm! I cannot wait to see what lies ahead for you in the coming year! I pray we will continue to grow our relationship together, that you will grow in confidence in the skills you possess, that you will learn to be diligent when things get difficult, that you will continue to ask questions about God, and that you will feel loved, protected, and cared for in our family! Love, Mommy

January Chills

We're having freezing rain here today, so it seemed a good day to stay inside and write down a short remembrance of our week. It was pretty typical for us --- school, martial arts, piano lessons, eating, and chores. We spent less time outside than usual as it was pretty cold, but I still pushed them out the door for at least a few minutes each day until today.

Lots of lego time. 

Working on letters and all those important scribbles. White boards are the best! 

Sister Selfie 

This weekend we're hoping to see some friends we haven't seen since we moved away from Ft. Worth back in 2012! I'm playing keyboard at church on Sunday morning and hoping the sore throat that started this morning will be over by then :(  Off to have some tea! 

To life... full of icy, wintry days.

January Fun

We're enjoying a snow day today, Saturday! We ate waffles and played outside this morning and watched "Frozen" during lunch.

The Fab 4 shouting "Snow Day!" 

Marshall is growing up too! 

Yesterday (1/10) I took Naomi out for her first official special time. We ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A, picked up some piano books from Meyer Music for one of my piano students, and then finished off with hot cocoa at Starbucks. I forget how quiet those first few years of special dates are because I'm so used to the every day noise from living in a house with 5 others. She was quiet, observant, and a bit overwhelmed by all the people at Chick-Fil-A. At Meyer Music, she wanted to check out all the ukuleles in the corner, but when I asked her to stop and just look, she restrained herself and stared at them. The cashier asked her how she was doing, and she held up her 2 fingers to let her know how old she was :) At Starbucks, we saw some friends from church. Landon asked her how she was doing, and she quietly replied, "good". It was so sweet. It's fun to hear her voice slowly coming through, especially in new situations. 

It was a rainy and cold day, so hot cocoa was just what she needed! We read her new book {on table} that she received in her kid's meal at CFA. 

She ate some of her ketchup with a fork :) So lady-like. 

These special dates are so important to me because I tend to get swept up in the daily grind and can group all the kids together and forget to see them as individuals. I want them to feel seen and heard by me as they grow up. We've been doing these dates since Zoë was born, but I didn't feel like I had a good consistent schedule. Now I've put them in rotation on my phone so I can remember which child's turn it is each month. So they each get 3 dates with me each year, plus a date with both Jeremiah and I right around their birthday. Sometimes it doesn't feel like near enough, but I remind myself it's the consistency over the long haul that will add up to make a difference in their lives. 

To life... full of snowy days and special dates.