Lions and tigers and a Joy-Bear - oh my!

Goodness, I have blinked and February has simply flown by! The month started out with a successful and fun fundraising breakfast for Boys/Girls Club at church (thank you, Lord, and thank you volunteers)! The month continued to trek along with homeschooling, BraviBit business, BSF and GEMS. Before we knew it, we were celebrating Joy's 1st birthday. Along the way we've been having family adventures in the winter snow and the winter sun (funny how these past few months of weather have panned out). Before February comes to a close, I wanted to get some photos posted.  Here's a sampling of just some animals we enjoyed seeing at the zoo this past weekend.  I was surprised at how many were out, even in the snow.  We all had a great time!

I pointed out to Micah that these fish in the sea anemone looked like the car wash we drive through.  He then dubbed this the "Fish Wash" :-)

A tote is more than meets the eye

Ever since Joy discovered the thrill of "flying" with a tote, the fun hasn't stopped...

Totes work nicely as steps to reach things:

Totes can also be pretend "bathtubs" with corresponding Duplos as "bath toys":

Outdoor School!

So far the groundhog hasn't seen his shadow in MI - quite different from last year!  Yet don't let the sun fool you - it's still cold...but not too cold; Micah and I spent some time bundled up outside while Joy napped one day.  Along with driving his Jeep and bike around, we pulled out the chalk and had an impromptu school session!  You know, it's neat because I've been asking God to help me be a creative, encouraging and patient teacher this year (with homeschooling, Bible Study and Girls' Club).  And though I have a long way to go, I count using chalk academically on a winter's day in my driveway as an idea He planted straight in my brain to make learning fun!

Art (that was definitely both of us, copying the chalk box picture):

Reading:

Arithmetic:

We also wrote out a Spanish word and did some connect-the-dots...and recreation too!

Baby Bump #3 - 16 weeks!

Per my sister-in-law's sister-in-law's request, here's a pregnant photo!  Whew, that was a mouthful. :-)

Joy's First Barrette

Just shy of Joy's first birthday, she finally has enough hair for a barrette. I think the cuteness factor has exponentially increased.

Now the goal is pig-tails by two years old...