Happy 8 years, Sarah!

Eight special years with our firstborn. Sarah is feeling a whole lot like a big kid this year! She is becoming confident and continues to be loving and kind. She is a wonderful companion, growing student, and perfect course setter for our family.

Weight: 63.4 lbs  (72%)
Height: 52 in (76%)
Blood Pressure: 100/68
BMI: 63%
Clothes: 8/10, M/L
Shoe: size 2/3

Likes: playing surgery, growing up, reading series (Fancy Nancy, American Girls, etc), being silly, responsibility (such as watching Anna inside while we walk to the garden, getting Anna dressed, or making sandwiches)

Dislikes: hard work, perseverance, skinks

A day in the life:

7:00am: Sarah is usually up by 7:00 and sleepily comes out for snuggles.

Morning: School time! We make sure to start by 9:00 when Dave leaves for work, but Sarah sometimes gets going earlier since her work takes longer than Josiah's. She also has "morning chores" after breakfast, which include music practice.

Lunch: Sarah loves salad, rice, and dried fruit.

1:00pm: This year Sarah spent nap time in the basement. The first hour she read, listened to an audiobook, or rested. The second hour she played, often Legos or nursing.

Afternoon: Everyone comes together to play. Sometimes our neighbor comes over. Often we try to play outside. Occasionally we need to finish up school work.

Dinner: Sarah's favorites are noodles, salads, fruits. She doesn't love meats, but tolerates them well.

Bedtime: While the other kids go to bed at 7:00, Sarah lingers in the guest room to read and just has to be in bed by 8:00. She is enjoying the freedom and we are crossing our fingers that she is getting hooked on reading.

How we celebrated: Sarah requested homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We then had our first day of VBS at Hawesville and they provided lunch. During nap time we watched Cinderella. When Dave got home we went to Walmart to shop for her big gift- a new bike! (They didn't have just the right thing, but we found it in Owensboro the next day.) We ended the day with dinner at The Patio and a "hospital cake" at home, which included the requested helipad and front door.

Random, but fun:
* She was a snaggle tooth for much of the year. Her front two teeth came out around the same time and she has sustained a constant rotation of wiggly teeth since.
* Sarah got glasses. We noticed a few concerning reading habits and decided to take Sarah for her second visit to the eye doctor. To our surprise, her vision was a little off. Glasses seem to have helped Sarah's headaches tremendously and her reading some.
* She is a great chalk artist.
* We love listening to audiobooks and podcasts together in the car.
* She has become a more confident bike rider, fiddle player, and swimmer (though we didn't manage to fit swim lessons into our summer).

Last summer we met up with the cousins for a TN vacation.

Sarah and all her babies, but not many teeth.

First day of school 2017.

We enjoyed making a big deal of the eclipse.
It was truly very cool!

Community day with our Classical Conversations community.
I think they were acting our a history sentence.

Front yard school.

She was so pleased.
This is an ambulance from Norton Children's Hospital in Louisville where she was born.

School pictures :)

GW came for a visit. I believe Sarah is shooting a gun. 

A beautiful curiosity.

We met friends at the Evansville Zoo!

The library hosted a princesses event.

Front yard reading with our neighbor.

Our nurse found a surgeon on Halloween.

Sarah dressed up as Clara Barton for her presentation at CC.
She really enjoyed researching an influential nurse!

Thanksgiving in TN.

Our often (previously???) scaredy cat was soooo brave.

Decorating cookies at the library.

Playing fiddle at the nursing home.
We are big fans of her instructor and his presence in the community.

Sarah's very first in-the-theatre movie.

Christmas in MS and hugs with our friend Harper.

We love celebrating little milestones.

At the Louisville Science Center.

Target treat with Josiah to celebrate a finished level.

Her MRI was an adventure, but thankfully showed a healthy brain!

They had all their patients names on the board :)

Subsequently, everyone got MRIs at home for weeks.
The remote control car made the banging noise over your head and you had to stay perfectly still. 

The Louisville Zoo.

Drawing the birdhouse in the snow.
Moments like these make me love homeschooling.

Easter 2018

Starbucks school :)

Kitty cat girls. Gigi knows they love to coordinate!

This makes my heart so happy :)

Glasses!

Spelling goals!

I love their relationship.

We love neighbors and beautiful days.

Last day of 2nd and K.
We celebrated with a trip to the local pizza parlor/arcade.

Dave had an impromptu trip to the ER . . . we made the best of it!

Everyone loves Grandma Lynda's motor home.

Typical nap time . . . reading in scrubs :)

ROMP 2018
Intermediate Class

Enjoying a beautiful day at the seminary.