February has been busy! Honestly, I'm not sad to see it go. This winter weather is for the birds. The last few days have been in the 60's-70's though. Today was 78 and sunny so the hope of Spring for middle Tennessee seems to be here.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
The kids' school closed for a long weekend to try to stomp out the nasty flu bug that was going around. Adjusting to the colder temps and gloomier days has been hard for us so on this last minute long weekend, we decided to cash in some SW, Hertz and Marriott points and take a trip to Ft. Lauderdale. We decided this Thursday night and left Friday morning at 6am. The temperatures were warm, the beach was gorgeous and the kids pretty much swam all weekend. It was just what needed to push through the last weeks (months?) of winter.
World Impact Month
February is called World Impact Month at school. Each class takes on a charity and does various things to raise money to help others.
Cora's class collected money for Room in the Inn- Nashville, which is a homeless ministry. They were encouraged to collect change through doing extra chores at home. Cora worked really hard. Being the smallest in the family, she's never really taken on huge chores on her own but she cleaned the entire playroom by herself on several occasions (voluntarily), unloaded the dishwasher, took over some of the boys' chores and basically did anything that was asked of her. I was so proud of her sweet heart.
Cora's best little friend Claire has a second grade sibling as well.
Cruz's class collected money for Jesus Kids. Jesus Kids is a ministry in Nigeria that helps children with disabilities have access to medical care, schooling and a place to live. Cruz's class asked for pledges and had a Bike-a-thon. His class raised over $1,000 for Nigeria.
Rowan's class learned about Somalia and the struggles and persecution that people face there. They learned that it is very dangerous to share about Jesus in Somalia. His class sold little folder booklets they called "flipper flappers." These tell the story of the Gospel by unfolding them one side at a time. His class sent their money to a missionary in Somalia.
Valentine's Day:
The kids all had parties at school, which I loved being able to be a part of. They also got sweet Valentine's treats from us and their grandparents.
School Projects:
Cruz's class learned about Knights. They spent several weeks earning the right to first be a Page, then a Squire and then finally a Knight. They made a shield with their crest on it and had a knighting ceremony. Cruz chose the traits of compassion and forgiveness for his crest.
Rowan has a really fun State Float project. He was thrilled to be able to do his about Arizona. He got to share some pictures of his time living in Arizona and he and Roger designed a fabulous Grand Canyon.
I have been sick the past few days and these sweet babies were so good at fending for themselves, doing their homework and helping each other out so that I could rest. Roger was unfortunately on a work trip. They checked on me though, offered to bring me things and were just as sweet as could be. I am so thankful for them.
