Pretty Nails to celebrate my b-day

Last nite we did manicures for everyone….Why do girls love getting their nails done ? It was fun...

Who would not have a happy b-day with these faces shining in your life every day…..

 Abraham- 29 

 Joseph- 22 

 Jacob- 21

 Ben- 20

 Isaac- 15

 Caleb- 13

 Josiah- 13

 Luke- 11

 Andrew- 8

 Isaiah- 6

 Judah-2

 Jesse-2

 Olivia- 20

 Cate-19

 Nataly- 19

 Rachel-19

 Leah-19

 Anna-17

 Tia-15

 Lily- 13

 Mya- 10

 Gracie- 9

 Sari-7

 Selah- 7

 Lila-4

 Ava- 5

 Mady- 2

 Kloe- 10 months

 And of course my hubby- Paul, who after 41 yrs of "dating" makes it all worth it.

Now these are the pics of the ones at home ( take out Ava, Mady and Kloe ( Mary Kate and Keith  :) Our son, Jonas who lives in   DC , Molly and Mike, Laura Jeane and Brian and their children- Tyler and Drew,  Jenn and Jeremiah and their children- Ella, Ezra, Eli and Zoe and you have my whole immediate family….. Not to mention my extended family, friends and people I have never met but feel a kindred spirit with ( that just that term friend seems so little to describe the shared love we have for children)----all make me feel blessed. Thank you for not only my birthday happy but every day that is full of a life shared with you. 

Happy Birthday Andrew

Happy Birthday Andrew Happy Birthday Andrew Happy Birthday Andrew

   He turns 8 today and I feel like celebrating …more later.

Happy birthday to Anna was celebrated lots thru her dessert

Mady wanted to help Nana make "dirt dessert" for Anna's b-day. 

Well…sort of help- Really she wanted to lick those beaters :)

Then daddy showed up - " Should I or shouldn't I "

Everyone was happy that Anna chose dirt dessert. Happy 17th b-day . We loved celebrating your life and you are an amazing young lady and the best giver of a massage :)

And sometime there will be 2 more :)

   
Now there are 5 Johnsons but soon there will be 7. This is our adoption news….Our daughter, Mary Kate and her husband, Keith are adopting 2 precious children. These 2 children will make 11 "grand" babies for us. Laura Jeane and Brian - Tyler and Drew, Jenn and Jeremiah- Ella, Eli, Ezra and Zoe ( Eli was our first adopted grand child), and Mary Kate and Keith - Ava, Mady, Kloe and their 2 new ones. I can't share the details yet but when I can I will. We praise the Lord for the blessing of children. It is very special to watch your own children follow in your footsteps towards something you feel very passionate about.

It was a " banana split nite" for the littles here

 Since the older kids went to church tonite we decided to have banana splits for fun. They were yummy.

 

We were asked to be on the show Wipe Out ...not sure that we will...but Jacob bought the Wii game Wipe Out. We also watched the tv show over the wknd...the kids laughed and laughed ( It is not my kind of humor) but it was fun watching the kids laugh...and tonite it was the same watching them play the game. Let's just say we know who would not be participating in the real Wipe Out if we do it ( Cate- the one on the right :)

Ask them about Christopher Columbus

 

I have been able to teach this year using my favorite method- unit studies. I have tried to share some of our ideas . Since yesterday was Columbus Day we just did our hour of math and I tied in the rest of our school to learning about Christopher Columbus. These were some of the worksheets we did as a group and individually. I also found a really good video on Discovery Education ( free) that the kids watched. I joined Enchanted Learning for another year and they had some great resources as well to help. Last nite we all watched one of my favorite movies Master and Commander with Russell Crowe. It shows well the life of sailing and living on a ship besides alot of other great character buidling traits.

Anyone else care to share any educational sites they use for their teaching that would be great. I can spend my whole nite or wknds...planning.