Category Archives: Paxton

January 20, 2011 · 8:16 PM

Time for change

Half an hour ago, Paxton’s hair looked like this:

Now it looks like this:

And in between, it looked like this:

And I’m finding myself strangely…. jealous.  I want to cut off all my hair. Or move to another country. Or give away all my possessions. Something about this new year has me all fired up, but in a good way. And I can’t help but feel like it’s God’s way of preparing me for something really big, and really radical.  
Yes, big things are happening. 
I’m reminiscent of a kid on Christmas Eve.  I can’t sit still, I can’t sleep, I’m sort of jumping out of my skin with excitement.  It may not lead to actual head-shaving, but at this point, I’m not ruling anything out.

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Filed under about me, Paxton, random

January 28, 2010 · 1:33 PM

Seasons Change

2010 has brought with it a shift. Things are changing, and I’m thankful that our fluid homeschooling lifestyle allows us to not only ride with the tide, but to embrace it.

While the latter part of 2009 was spent largely and voluntarily on our own, at home, we are now enjoying the call to come out of hibernation. We’re signing up for field trips, making more playdates, and meeting new people.

After 3 seasons, Paxton has decided not to play baseball on a team this spring, instead just continuing to enjoy the sport on his own. He’s happy with his choice, and seems to look forward to just being Paxton for awhile, instead of Paxton-the-ball-player.

Everett is currently taking an opposite track, and wanting to do, see, and try more more MORE. He’s about to start his second season of baseball, and in one week will be taking gymnastics as well. At home he’s been immersing himself into one project after another, from origami to sculpting to baking to studying the human body. He’s the happiest when no two days are alike, when each day brings something new. It’s a feeling I can fully understand at the moment, as I’ve been on my own similar quest.

Last week I enrolled in school, for the first time since Paxton was a baby, and will – God willing – finally finish my certificate in Holistic Nutrition, before moving on to Natural Health. My vocabulary is not large enough to explain how excited I am, both to start the new program, and to see what else the next 11 months are going to bring.

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Filed under Everett, learning, life, Paxton, unschooling

January 18, 2010 · 5:06 PM

Out With the Old


A few posts ago I shared a picture of Tegan’s new stroller. This kitchen is another favorite. I adore this kitchen! Tegan got a few beautiful sets of wooden food, a lovely tea set made from recycled plastic, and some pots, pans, and utensils. Which meant that the kitchen was fully stocked, and we could finally get rid of the big, yucky and cracked plastic bin that was filled to overflowing with old plastic food… food that was lovingly played with for a long time, and that was worn, dirty, and otherwise cast aside. Everett went through it this weekend, picked out the few pieces he wanted to hang onto, and the rest found a new home in our recycle bin, plastic tub and all. Everything they’re left with fits wonderfully in the kitchen, with plenty of room to organize it however they’d like. I love it.

Few things give me such a natural high as getting rid of any sort of clutter! That one simple act has inspired me once again to continue the progress in the rest of the house.

In other current news, I snapped a couple of pictures of Spencer working on one of the cases in his new forensics lab. Very cool. I love the way their heads are bent together here, reading about the suspects.



And this is Paxton holding Leonard…


I am in love with this snake, and can’t believe we didn’t get one sooner.

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Filed under Paxton, simplifying, Spencer, unschooling

August 30, 2009 · 12:30 PM

Birthdays and Baseball



Paxton turned 9 on Friday. One would think that after four kids and 12 years of birthdays, that it wouldn’t catch me so off guard each time. With the speed with which time is passing, it seems like I should fully expect to be waking up tomorrow to find them all grown and married with families of their own. Well he’s not quite grown and he’s not quite married, but Paxton – like the others – is definitely growing up!

We celebrated for two days (three if you include the fact that he’s now playing his new Wii game) On Friday I bought him the computer game, Spore, that he’s been waiting months for. His choice for his birthday dinner was shrimp scampi, and even I enjoyed it, sans the shrimp. How I had three boys who are so enamored with seafood is beyond me! 🙂

Yesterday, we had Mom, Dad, Sandi and Mitch and the kids, and Paxton’s friend over for cake and ice cream, followed by a Diamondbacks game. We took the train in, which made it even more of an event. We ate (and ate and ate and ate), we cheered, we thoroughly enjoyed getting to watch the Diamondbacks WIN this time! 2 home runs, a couple of triples, an all-around exciting game. A very cool game to go to for a birthday celebration.

I don’t know if it was the game, the excitement, or the jumbo sized Icees, but all the kids (minus Tegan, who was passed out cold in Mike’s arms) were in super high gear as we made our way home. They raced each other on the sidewalk, jumped up and down on the curb, and played and laughed their way through the train ride back to the station. It was a good night. And it was a giddy and exhausted 9 year old who happily went to bed at 10, and slept for twelve hours straight.

Happy Birthday Pak!

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Filed under baseball, birthdays, Paxton

March 30, 2009 · 12:17 PM

Homeruns and MVP


Though she’s walking (walking!) in this picture, I have a one-year-old who, as of late, requires being in my arms for 98% of the day, and within touching vicinity the other 2%. Which is fine… admittedly tiring, but fine. If that’s what she needs then I’m happy to give it to her. It just means that things like blogging (and oh, say, peeing) are currently taking a backseat.

Thankfully, I can share some of the excitement of this past weekend in pictures alone.

Second time up at bat:


Coming into home after his amazing HOME RUN! That’s his coach waiting for his high-five


The game ball he won for not only the home run, but also an incredible stop, taking a line drive off the chin, and shaking off an injured finger to finish out the game:


Proud boy.

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Filed under baseball, Paxton, Tegan

March 11, 2009 · 2:32 PM

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack


Last night was Paxton’s first game of the season. He was so excited to be playing again, and got two huge hits – one a pop fly out to center field, and the other a foul ball that may or may not have hit one of the other parent’s cars. We were all disappointed that Mike had to miss the game, as he was stuck in a meeting that ran late.

Paxton has a new coach this season, one who is much tougher than his first, and so highly invested in helping the boys really learn how to play the game. He’s admitted that the practices have been harder (lots more running this time!) but he is enjoying it more than ever. His dreams of becoming a video-game designer have, for the time-being at least, been cleanly replaced by those of becoming a professional ball player. This is the face of a boy who loves baseball.

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Filed under baseball, Paxton

January 26, 2009 · 8:17 PM

Tadpoles, Baseball & Flaming Arrows


The last of the creatures arrived last week – the leopard tadpoles that Paxton has been waiting for with bated breath. They too lived on our kitchen counter for a few days until a space was cleared and a permanent spot was made for them in the boys’ bedroom.

Floating in their bottles so they get could acclimated to the water’s temperature:


All set up and ready to go:


Tonight Mike helped the boys get their cocoons situated in their new habitat, where they will hatch into butterflies. It involved using a safety pin to attach the paper disc to the mesh on the side of the structure. Strangely enough – especially given my fondness for office supplies – but we couldn’t find a single safety pin the house. Thankfully, there is a revolving door when it comes to borrowing from the next door neighbors (which goes both ways), and they came through in the clutch.

Here they are all settled in on Everett’s dresser.


I wish there was sound with this picture, because after they were disturbed during the whole pinning process, a few of them started to shake violently, a natural instinct to protect against predators. It was one of the eeriest things I’ve seen, and heard, in awhile, and it made a rat-tat-tat sound like a spinning roulette wheel on the wall of the habitat. I don’t know how long it continued because I left the room before it stopped (and might not return again until morning!)

In non-creature news, this Saturday was Paxton’s baseball tryouts for the spring season. He did very well, especially at fielding, and he barely resembled the unsure child who just started playing this past fall! We’ll find out who his coach is and what team he’ll be playing on next week, and practices start in earnest the second week of February. Spencer is finishing up his final weeks of being a Cub Scout, and just received his Citizenship and Traveler pins. On February 28th he’ll be getting his Arrow of Light at a fancy dinner banquet and ceremony, where he and the other boys in his den will get to shoot an actual flaming arrow. Cool!

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Filed under Paxton, Spencer, unschooling

January 20, 2009 · 6:47 PM

Wisdom by Paxton

Paxton – age 8 – came up to me today and said “You know what would be cool?”

“What.”

“If money and time were reversed.” I wasn’t sure what he meant at first, but it sounded right coming from him. He loves numbers.

I asked him what he meant, and he explained, “Well, if there were 100 minutes in an hour, and .60 in a dollar.”

I told him that then a dollar would be worth less, and he responded that “everything would still cost the same, so your money would go further. Something that is $5.00 would really cost 300 cents instead of 500 cents. AND, there’d be 100 minutes in an hour, so there’d be more time to play!”

Can’t argue with that.

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Filed under Paxton

December 24, 2004 · 12:44 PM

Santa and goose eggs

The week before Christmas started with a clock building project, and ended with a bump to the forehead! The boys channelled their extra energy – some of it anyway – into one project after another, from making homemade gifts for their relatives, to painting a wooden truck, making the afore-mentioned clock, and starting two bridges in a really cool (and challenging) bridge building kit that Spencer got as a gift last weekend. We also made three batches of cookies, read some new books, and logged a few more hours playing the Rollercoaster game on Playstation. My four year old officially knows more about running a business than I do, as long as that business is a virtual theme park! We’ve been staying up late… watching movies, getting things ready for the holiday, and just hanging out. Last night when the kids were having their last hurrah before they passed out, Spencer decided to jump onto our bed right next to where Mike was laying watching tv, and collided (and collided rather hard) with his elbow. In seconds, a huge blue knot was forming in the middle of his forehead! I ran downstairs for the booboo piggy and a cookie, and after icing it for a few minutes, the swelling came right down. Poor Spencer was so tired at that point, he didn’t even want the cookie! He’s back to true form this morning, and both he and Paxton are wildly excited about Santa coming tonight. The baby is still sleeping – must be worn out from his first haircut last night – and while he couldn’t care less about Santa, is nevertheless enjoying the high energy in the air. I’ve always heard growing up that things are even more exciting when you see them through your kids’ eyes, but I never fully understood it until I had kids of my own. The magic, the excitement, the joy that is Christmas…. as wonderful as that was as a kid, it really is even better as a parent. Merry Christmas!

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Filed under Christmas, Paxton, Spencer