A Football Party

Our big guy wanted a football party again. He had one two years ago. All the plastic football players off his cake had broken so he wanted the same cake decorations to get another set of "players".

Nine boys had a good time playing football by their own rules then playing some throwing games.

Brock and friends

Siblings of Brock and friends

(football or not, there were girls there:)

The much anticipated birthday cake.

The birthday boy blowing out his 6 candles in his Duke University t-shirt.

(FYI...Duke beat Vandy Saturday!)

It's hard to believe that he's six now. If you consider 18 years in our home, we're one-third of the way there. We've got some work to do with God's guidance! :)

Happy 6th birthday, Brock!

Emma and Daddy and Me

Well, lets see to much this past month, Soccer, Kidstuf, Co-op, Wednesday night church and Duke Football games But all that Stuff dosen't matter, what matters is Emma and me having fun. Emma and I have so much fun that we don't know what to do. Tonight, daddy and I are gonna have fun!

Brock~

And the Winner Is...

Our sweet Hannah!

H painted the snowman (top left) and the orange "Jerry Gourd" (Veggie*tales - bottom right)

Mr. Snowman won 2nd place in the Holiday category!

Jerry Gourd won 3rd place in the Miscellaneous category!

You can't go to the fair without riding some rides. C is beside E. Her head is showing. Trust me...she was smiling! Brock is behind them with the gray hood on his head. He was smiling too!

H saved her tickets for the "big kid" rides. She liked the swings so much she rode it twice. She's in a black jacket with new white tennis shoes.

The gourds must stay on display until the fair ends this Sunday. Monday we will get them and find a place in her room to display them here.

Way to go, Hannah!

We're proud of you!!

Party Time

Sunday was Dad's birthday. We had a cupcake decorating party after lunch.

We invited Ethan and David over for cupcakes and to play after lunch.

Here's the birthday boy.

We had cupcakes again after dinner so Dad could sing with us. The birthday boy is blowing out his candles...again.

Brock had a hard time going to sleep tonight. He didn't want his birthday to end. Sweet boy!

Happy birthday, Brock!

Brock is six years old today!

He is such a sweet boy. He loves to sing, play with cars, ride his bike, swing, play with his Web*kinz, play soccer, play with his sisters and lots of other fun stuff.

When I was 3 months pregnant with Brock, there was about a week where we thought we might lose Brock due to a growth on the back of his neck. God healed him and we are so thankful for the six years he has been in our family.

H meets her new brother for the first time. (A few days later, "Okay, today is when we're suppose to take B back to the hospital!" :)

Pumpkin time

In concert...

Learning to walk...

The Freeland Men

We are celebrating his birthday this Friday. So check back for party photos!

Our Medieval Feast

Our co-op had our first unit celebration for this year this past Friday evening. We enjoyed a Medieval Feast to wrap up our study of that time period. It was an evening the kids will remember for a long time.

Brent served as Master of Ceremonies but I didn't get any photos. (He was standing right beside me.) The entertainment for the feast was provided by the students.

C and E's class sang "I'm Putting on My Armor" to entertain the king and queen.

We ate with our fingers except for the soup. Our "plate" was pita bread. It was collected at the end of the meal to "give to the poor" as was the tradition in those times.
There were close to 70 people at the feast. The food was yummy. (I was chewing in this photo. :)

H and B's class performed a circle dance for entertainment.

These are all the kids in attendance. (A few were not there due to other commitments.) We enjoy seeing our friends and learning with them each Friday.

The knights of the Pre-Grammar class. One of the teachers made the costumes out of milk jugs and pizza boxes. The kids decorated them in class.

The knights and ladies of the Lower Grammar class.

B's buddies. (One of their teachers made the knight costumes. Yeah for teachers who sew.)

H's chums. (One of the grandmas made all these dresses. Thank You, God, for grandmas who sew!)

The Freeland Family...happy and tired!

Prayer for Carter Dunbar

There is a 4-year old friend of my children who is need of prayer. Carter Dunbar is in the hospital at UNC-Chapel Hill. He was complaining of his neck hurting Thursday evening. After a visit to the emergency room at Rex Hospital, he was taken to UNC.

It has been determinded that Carter's C-5 vertebrate of his spine has collapsed. He is tentatively scheduled for surgery Monday to replace that vertebrate. A complete body scan has revealed some other issues that must be addressed first. (I don't include those know as his siblings do not know yet. Just know that it is very serious.)

Carter's mom and dad are with him now. His three older siblings are staying with friends and family members. They are in the middle of showing their animals at the state fair. These friends and family members are doing their best to keep the children in their routine at the fair right now.

Please pray for wisdom for the team of doctors that was called in to examine Carter. There is a risk of paralysis (or worse) from the surgery. We know the Great Physician can do so much more than any team of doctors and that is our prayer. However, if He chooses for Carter to go through the surgery we know He can protect his little body from any negative risks.

Also pray for Carter's parents, Jeff and Sandra Dunbar, and his three siblings, Wesley, Faith and Luke.

Thank you for lifting Carter up to the Father whenever you think of him and his family.

Renaissance Festival

We have been studying Medieval Times since August. We are having our unit celebration this Friday. One of the co-op moms found a fun way to "wrap up" the unit. Some of our co-op families spent Tuesday at a Renaissance Festival just north of Charlotte, NC. Here are a few highlights of the day.

H trying to spin a (very heavy) ball on her finger.

Watching the glassblowing was very interesting.

The king and queen "held court". We were able to hear about life when King Richard reigned.

Lady H with the queen, king and princess.

Once the king and queen arrived, the jousting tournament could begin!

Our side of the arena cheered for the purple knight. He won!

The girls were given a "magic stone" and fairy dust by the fairy.

The girls rode in a swing. Notice the guys pushing the bars...hum...no electricity! The kids thought that was funny. (Yes, that's B's head in the corner of the photo.)

H, C and Mom took a (very short) camel ride.

With souvenirs in hand these are four children tired and ready to go home...but full of things to talk about on the 3 hour drive home.

October Happenings

October has been a busy month. A few of the things we've been doing are...

Carving a pumpkin with Dad. (There is a mouth on it now. Just didn't get a photo after this one.)

Going to co-op every Friday. (C and E on front row.)

Playing soccer every Saturday morning. (H's first time to play goalie.)

Taking H's painted gourds to the NC State Fair for judging next week.

(That's Mr. Snowman and Jerry Gourd smiling with H.)

A close up of Mr. Snowman and Jerry Gourd.

We are enjoying the fall weather. Hopefully, it will last for a while!

47 Years

Pawpaw and Nana have been married 47 years today.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

We love you!!

"Our Wake-Up Times" graph results

I'm sure there's an easy way to add a nice graph to this blog. I just don't know how. Sorry! (If anyone knows and wants to share with me the procedure, I'd welcome the help!)

The results of "Our Wake-Up Times" graph are as follows: (drum roll, please)

4:00am - 1
4:30am - 0
5:00am - 1
5:30am - 1
6:00am - 0
6:30am - 4
7:00am - 3
7:30am - 6
8:00am - 5
8:30am - 0
9:00am - 1 (someone needs to listen to her mother!:)

Thanks to everyone who participated!! We're answering questions every day in math while looking at our graph.

Coming soon..."Our Favorite Apples" graph!