The Englerts: Thoughts on homeschool, babies, life, and...a few pictures too;)

Well, life has been busy. But ya'll already know that. Here is a recap of the last three months or so.

Brookelynn and Kaleb have started the My Father's World curriculum for kindergarten. Kaleb likes it for the most part, however, I only make him sit down for about 15 minutes at a time these days. He still has a five year old boy attention span. ;) He likes it, because it is more hands on than anything, but the handwriting definitely gets him. We are working on that, but, other than that, he is excelling and I am so excited to continue with him.

I am praying about what next year will entail as far as school is concerned, and leaning toward the homeschool route. Kaleb is a September baby, so he could really start school next year. It's a hard decision. There are so many (personal) reasons why I'm thinking of keeping him home. We shall see. He is a very smart boy and I know he would do well at home, but I'm not sure how well he would do in a public setting. One on one seems to be a really good thing for him. He is also excelling in Math, and I haven't even worked with him very much on Math at all....My mom came over the other day, and we realized he had actually done some division in his head. Yes. Seriously. He is smart - it's not just this mom bragging - it's true! Okay, maybe I am bragging, but...anyway!

As for Brookelynn, she would rather be drawing, I think, all day long if I let her! I try and let her do more drawing than anything, because I know she's not even kindergarten age yet. She LOVES to sing, and she loves to dance. She and Kaleb go to a program on Wednesdays where she is able to sing, and I'm so glad, because she just sings all day long at home! She will be five next January.

As for Jared, well, he's just begun to crawl over the last few months, and is realizing that he can pull up. Watch.out.world. Lol! He does what I consider baby running - when he crawls, he gets across the room in like two seconds. I am constantly having to keep my eye on him, and we have baby gates and use the playpen a lot. He's started eating more solids, and his favorites are carrots and squash, just like my other babies. :) He loves baby puffs and shredded cheese too. :)

As for Justin and I, we have been leading worship at church on some Sundays, and we also lead at various other locations (church retreats). It's been a dream come true for me (and I think for him!) and I love it. I have just started venturing out with my skills and playing piano while leading, and it's a whole new world. Let me tell you that learning a new hobby while raising three kids under the age of five is not for the faint of heart. Justin can tell you that too. He plays guitar and leads. It.is.work. But...it is fun, even if we are lacking in the sleep department! ;) Right now, we are praying about what we can make priorities and what we can lay aside for the time being, since we both can't do it all, and raise three sweet children up well. In the end, the children are our biggest treasures!

Well friends, I could really write a book. But, I think that sums it up a bit. Now, on to the pics!

Aunt Shelly and Jared!

Sweet siblings

This was our ice cream date after our shots...Kaleb finally got his five year MMR. He did exceptionally well! He didn't even cry, or even flinch, for that matter. The nurse said he was the "best kid she'd seen so far"! (Yes, another mom brag moment...;)

Jared turned 7 months...

Then 8 months...

And 9 months!...;) He's always been mommy's little frog. I used frogs with his theme for blankets and stuff. Just thought it was cute!

Cheese!

Daddy took the two older kiddos to the lake while Mommy went and lead worship on a retreat.

This one's out of order, but just couldn't resist that face!

...or this one. My little tag-along on my retreat, and they put chocolates on our pillows before we went to bed...Didn't realize one had been left on the pillow? The sad part is that he didn't even get to enjoy it!

Trampoline hair!!! We love our trampoline!

Guess who was dedicated at church???

Baby bum. Because...everyone needs at least one shot of theirs.

I could literally take a sleeping pic every night. For the rest of their lives...

Crawling!

This is an attempt to do it all by himself. We are working really hard on it. It is NOT his favorite thing to do. At.all. But, I believe it will come in time. :)

We went to Midland one weekend to visit my parents, and the kids got to ride in this! We don't go to the mall that often, so they thought it was a real treat!

Daddy is working on the paint job. I am so proud. It's hard work!

He loves to build. One of his latest creations.

I just like this one. I think he looks like his grandpa (my dad) in this, and he is named after him. :)

Anniversary date!

This was my salad. YUM!

One of my only attempts to take all three to the store. It was relatively painless, but I still haven't done it again. I am so blessed to have sweet family to take care of my kiddos while I shop (including my hubby).

Fun little selfie. Just because.

Easter! The kids looked for Easter eggs at GG's. It's becoming a tradition!

Kaleb's creation. Did I mention he's smart? ;)

Sweet, sweet cousins. This was Luke's birthday!

Bowties!!!

Easter Resurrection Rolls!

Sweet Abigail comes over almost every Friday or Saturday to help out with the kiddos. She is an amazing babysitter and helper!

First of many tries for a decent Easter photo!

Yep, it just wasn't gonna happen. These days we roll with it.

One of his favorite places!

He loves to build. What can I say? We do chores to earn points these days, and he loves to build with his cups and bottles he gets out of the dishwasher...

And...other things.

Brookelynn...doing what she does. :)

Our favorite place these days.

More cheese.

And...more cheese.

One of our many creations in the bathtub. Don't ask. I'm not sure.

My three favorite men in the world!

We just added sand to the sandbox!

K got a bunk bed!

I didn't get a really decent shot of the before and after, but in this one we were still needing to add the other bed. But...I am sure in the future I will get another after shot of the completion. It's still coming along.

We had three cousins over one day about a week ago, and wow, I got my exercise during dinner! We had a 9-month-old, a 3-year-old, two 4-year-olds, a 5-year-old and a preteen. I told my sister-in-law, who has 6, that I now know how she stays skinny. It's no joke!