A Very Special Day

My sweet, precious little Benjamin got baptized today. Mark got the privilege of baptizing him. We had several family members come to visit and share this special day with us.

Before the big event


Getting ready


Mark trying to hold it together


Praying


The after-baptism hug



All finished!!!

BIG news x2

Big news #1:Last night as I tucked in Benjamin he said he needed to whisper something in my ear. He had an expression on his face like he was trying to not to cry. I thought "Oh no, what has he done this time???" He whispered, "I think I need to be saved." Oh, my heart was about to burst!! I asked him a few questions to make sure he understood everything. (he did) We talked for a little while and I was very impressed to hear his answers to my questions. Mark had to work night shift last night so he did not get to be there, but I called him and told him. He was as happy as I was. Benjamin wants to go ahead and be baptized this weekend, but we are most likely going to wait because of Big News #2.
Big news #2: My niece is finally here! I do not have any pictures yet that I can post, but I promise to post some soon. Amanda went to the hospital about 4:00 am Wednesday morning, but they sent her home. She was not progressed enough. But she went again last night around 7:00. And little Miss Anna Claire Chambers was born at 4:00 am this morning. I have not been able to go see her yet. The boys have had a bit of a virus causing them to have snotty noses and sore throats, so I have to stay away until we are sure that none of us are contagious. I thought we were over it, but Benjamin has been sneezing again today and saying that he does not feel good. Anyhoo, she is here, she is healthy and her mommy and daddy are very happy.

ps- We have been doing some really cool things in homeschool.I promise to post something again soon.

Sir Benj and the Dragon

Oh my! There is a dragon among us!!! Whatever shall we do? Hmm....


let's have a party!!!


I can not remember him EVER getting so excited about a birthday present. It would have to be a gun, wouldn't it????


At least he won't shoot his eye out!


Poor, unsuspecting dragon. He has no idea what is about to happen to him.


Gunshot to head the usually does the trick.


On second thought he will do the knightly thing and use a "sword" to cut off his head. (he got a knight costume for the sole purpose of wearing it to his party, then come party day.... no, I'll just wear my Auburn shirt and jeans)


Dad got the first shot with the new gun so he could see how it worked. (I think Dad was quite jealous; he wants one of these for himself now)


Like father, like son


Benjamin's first shot

Lots of male bonding going on, all gun related.....



Can you believe my sweet little Samuel even got in on it??


My lovely niece, Chelsea. She is growing up too fast. It seems like she ought to still be the sweet, curly haired, angel faced little girl in frilly dresses.

Shockingly, Benjamin still has all his teeth in tact. This is the first birthday in a while where he has not had a lost tooth. (although-his ACTUAL birthday is on Wednesday-AND he does have a couple loose ones, so who knows????)

A Gross But Funny Entry

Benjamin had to make an entry in his journal today for English.

It says" My nose runs in the Fall. It also bleeds. And I had to do that sinus rinse thingy." How funny. Gross, but funny. He is the only person I have seen who thinks using a sinus rinse is cool.

So How Old Are You, Mom?

We are learning about presidents. Right now we are working on Millard Fillmore. He was not a very well-liked president. When Abraham Lincoln died, people gathered around Fillmore's house and draped it in black fabric. Which led Benjamin to start talking about Abraham Lincoln. We started talking about how if we had lived here in Alabama when he was president he would probably not have been one of our favorites. Benjamin then asked, "Hey Mom, were you alive when Abraham Lincoln was president?"
Oh, if he weren't so innocent and cute I'd want to smack him!!

Benjamin's Tooth and Other News

Last night after going to bed, Benjamin got up said, "Look Dad." In his hand was a tooth. You have to understand something: This is the same kid who only last month had to be threatened with "You better let me get that tooth out or you are going to be in HUGE trouble!!" Wow, he is growing up.He made two funny observations about his toothlessness.
1. If he keeps losing teeth he is going to look like George Washington. (we are studying presidents)
2. The holes in his mouth look like a gun.

As far as other news goes: Homeschool is going fairly smooth. As far as getting our schedule down, it is not down to the point where I can say we do this from 8:00-8:25 and this from 8:26-9:14, but it is working out. We cut our day a bit short Monday on account of Mark having to go to the doctor. We skipped PE, but we made up for it yesterday.
I have been very appreciative of little things since we are not public schoolers any more. The day that would have been the first day of school Benjamin saw three hummingbirds outside of his window. We have since noticed that they really seem to like the bush outside of that window. We tried a recipe for potato gnocchi that was in Family Fun Magazine. We tried it for lunch on a day that they would have been at school. It was good, but the really good thing was just being in the kitchen together making a mess and having a good time. Yesterday the big boys did school in pajama pants and cut off sweats. Very comfy. Samuel wore his Dash costume. He wore his robe part of the time so he could open it up to reveal the Incredibles symbol. They could not be doing all that if they were in public school. As a matter of fact, I really could not imagine putting Samuel in public school. It is not just because he is the youngest and oh my little baby is not ready. He is bold, fearless and ready for anything. I do not think public school is quite ready for Mr. Samuel Joseph Gilliland. He is a very opinionated nonconformist. Definitely marches to the beat of his own drum. Sings to the beat of said drum, too. I think he would stay in trouble all the time, just for being himself. That would most likely lead to him hating school. I am so glad we have started this journey where learning is an adventure, not a chore. I could kick myself for not starting this sooner.

Precious

Yesterday we had to go to Wal-Mart. While walking through the parking lot Benjamin was holding my hand. We were on the left side of where the cars drive so I told him to get on my left, so he would not be the one facing traffic. He said,"But Mom, I am the son of your RIGHT hand."

And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni(Son of my sorrows); but his father called him Benjamin(Son of my right hand). Genesis 35:18

On a completely different note, we also went to Staples to take advantage of the back to school sale. We got ten packs of paper, three folders, two notebooks, and four bottles of glue for almost $3.00. WOW!