Stella's piano performance of "Little Playmates"

Stella performed at the Kerrytown Concert House for the first time today. She played "Little Playmates" for the Student Recital of the Ann Arbor Area Piano Teacher's Guild. I was very proud of her performance. She really enjoyed wearing her fancy dress and having her hair curled for the occasion. We were able to get her chair boosted high enough for her at the piano, but I forgot her footstool. At least I remembered the video camera! Rob, Lincoln and Ava were able to attend as well. They quietly left after Isaac and Stella's performance so the big kids and I could enjoy the entire recital. What a treat!

Isaac's piano performance of "Long, Long Ago"

Isaac performed for the first time at the Kerrytown Concert House. He played "Long, Long Ago" for the Student Recital of the Ann Arbor Area Piano Teacher's Guild. I was very proud of him. Unfortunately I started the video a bit late. I was so busy watching him that I forgot to push the record button. Next time I'll remember to bring the footstool as well for him.

Isaac and Ava shoveling snow

Isaac, age 9, with his faithful assistant Ava, age 22 months.
































































































Ava follows Isaac, affectionately known as "I-aaah", around with devotion. She was delighted to help him shovel the snow off the back deck.

Isaac and Stella reciting poem, "Hello, Hello"

Isaac and Stella are reciting a poem by Eve Merriam from her book, "You Be Good and I'll Be Night; Jump-On-The-Bed Poems". This was a favorite poem of Isaac and Stella when they were little and now Lincoln and Ava are delighted by the silliness. Ava walks around the house with a phone up to her ear chanting the opening line.

Isaac and Stella reciting Genesis 1.1

Isaac and Stella are reciting Genesis 1:1 and singing "Está aquí" in Spanish. Part of their Spanish curriculum is to memorize a verse and a song in Spanish for each lesson. Ava and Lincoln are memorizing along with them too! Ava still refers to herself as "Ava" with a Spanish pronunciation.

En el principio creó Dios
los cielos y la tierra.
Genesis 1:1

Está aquí, está aquí,
A-le-lu-ya, mi Señor está aquí.

Translation:
He is here. Hallelujah, my Lord is here.

Isaac and Stella reciting Salmo 23

Isaac's violin recital: November 15, 2009

Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13, 3rd mvt. by F. Seitz

Isaac's violin solo with interpretive dance: "Elves Dance" by Jenkinson

Dancing to "Hark the Heralds" with Isaac's violin

Lincoln's quote on silence

Lincoln, Ava and I (Lisa) were driving in the car quietly without the usually music or book on CD playing. Lincoln says, "Mama, I like it when it is quiet in the car. (Pause) That way I can talk to you. I like to talk..." He then proceeded to talk non-stop for the rest of the car ride.

This is the same child that as off last July only had 15-20 verbal words and preferred to use sign language. I use to have to look in my rear view mirror to see what he was trying to tell me when we were driving in the car! His verbal language exploded in a couple months from August to November of 2008. By the time he turned three years old in November of 2008, his verbal skills were great! His current vocabulary is peppered with all sort of interesting words from Isaac and Stella's history lessons.

Stella's quote about Nancy Drew

I asked Stella to tell me about her first Nancy Drew novel that she had just finished reading in 2 days. Stella says, "Well, it's about Nancy Drew. She was driving her car. She is older, old enough to drive, around 20 years old I think, about middle age..."

About middle age! She must really think I'm old!

Ava is walking! Ava ésta caminando!

Here's a fun video of Ava walking in the house on July 4, 2009. Over the holiday weekend, she progressed from taking a few steps to walking around the house.

Ava signs "more"!

12:38 pm Friday, June 19, 2009
Ava signed "more" today for more corn chips. She had signed "more" earlier for her sitter, but this was the first time I saw her sign. She regularly signs for "milk" and waves bye-bye.

It reminded me of Lincoln, at about the same age, signing "more" for the first time when we were in Peru at the beach. He signed "more" for more water from the ocean.

You can go a long ways with the ability to communicate "more"!

Ava Joy 10 months old

Here is a photo of Ava in February of 2009.

Stella's ballet dress rehearsal

Stella was part of the "Lilac Princesses" dance. She was very pleased with her dress and tiara. She did a fantastic job.











Stella is the 2nd dancer from the right. Towards the end of the dance, she is the second dancer from the left. This video is her dress rehearsal performance for the pre-ballet 4 class.

Ava's first steps

Ava Joy took her first solo steps today.

I actually did not get to see her take the steps. Isaac did. Isaac held her and then she walked to my legs, behind my back. All of the sudden, everyone started cheering and clapping that Ava had taken her first 2 steps. I missed the whole thing! There will be more...

Isaac's 18" Large Mouth Bass

Isaac caught an 18" large mouth bass in Mr. Savage's fishing pond.

Stella's harp performance: Good-bye to Winter

The Detroit Institute of the Arts is a popular destination for field trips. Lincoln's favorite display is the sword case. All 3 kids listen closely to the audio companion as we walk through the museum. I learned very quickly that 2 audio companions were not enough for 3 kids! Ava just likes the stroller to keep moving....

Ava and Lincoln are "helping" with some baking. Ava goes to work immediately to ensure that all the bags of flour are on the flooor.
Lincoln enjoys doing painting school outside on the deck. He is usually quite reflective and quiet during his painting.

We are celebrating our April birthdays. Isaac turned 9 and Ava turned 1.


Lincoln enjoys painting circles. Black is usually his first color of choice for painting. Otherwise, blue is his favorite color for all other activities.
This is replication of Richard the Lion Hearted's shield. This year for history we are studying the Middle Ages and Renaissance. We have had a lot of swords, shields, and sets of armor in our house this year.
This is Isaac's replication of a samuri hat from Japan.
Ava loves spaghetti with sauce. It is one of her favorite meals.
Ava drives her push-cart with passion. She squawks loudly to clear the way in front of her.


Isaac and Stella made scrolls with the words of Jeremiah on them for Bible history.
Ava is ready to travel!
My two pretty girls enjoy playing the piano together.
Here are some happy homeschoolers!
Lincoln's favorite letter is "L" and his favorite word is "Lincoln".

Keva planks keep everyone busy building all sorts of creations. Isaac constructed a ship and Stella built a summer house.

Isaac's violin recital April 2009

Isaac performed Humoresque by Dvorak for his violin recital in April of 2009. I was so excited that I was able to watch and record him from the front row. Unfortunately the battery ran out in the video camera just before he played his last 2 notes. He finished beautifully.