January was busy as usual for us! We enjoyed celebrating Mima’s (Derick’s mom’s) birthday early in the month, then Derick started his second semester of law school and Israel started back to school too (preschool/kindergarten work at home). We enjoyed several fun outings with the boys, as well as some firsts for Israel: first time to build a snowman and the first time to go sledding!
What did your January look like?
What are some ways you keep/kept your littles busy during the winter months?
Aunt Josie and Sam having fun at the Amazeum 
Israel and Aunt Jenni at the Amazeum 
Jill and mom (Michelle) 
Jill and Sam mixing stuff 
Henry and Sam picking apples 
Israel and Spurgie making food at in the cabin at the Amazeum 
Sam and “mamaw” (Grandma) 
Josie, Sam and Mamaw 
Jenni, Jill, Sam and Mamaw 
Snack time 
Date night at one of our favorite place, KJ Sushi and Korean BBQ in Fayetteville, AR 
Happy Sam 
Selfie by Israel 
Sam gets cuddles from Mima 
The boys having fun at the park 
Israel trying the monkey bars with Papa helping 
Sam with his serious face 
Manis and pedis for Mima’s (Cathy’s) birthday 
Mima’s cake (Israel helped make it). 
Israel and Mima 
Mima and Bawpaw (Derick’s mom and stepdad) 
Playing “Guess Who?” with Uncle Josiah 
Playing “Life” with Siah and Lauren 
Israel practicing his measuring skills 
New olive lover in the family 
These boys love Paw Patrol…Israel’s favorite is Chase 
The boys playing outside 
Sam loves to eat! lol 
Israel’s first time to play in the snow 
Derick and Israel playing in the snow 
Israel’s first snow angel 
Israel’s first snowman! 
Israel’s first time to sled…and it was only on a cookie sheet. lol Now we have a real sled and are just waiting for it to snow again! 🙂 
Back inside after the snow 
Sam wants to go outside too! 
Israel wanting to hitch a ride to school with Derick 
Letter writing practice in shaving cream (mat from @elroainspired Instagram) 
Snacktime 
Sam tryin’ to sneak a cookie 😉 
Wrestle time with papa! 
Sam helping mommy in the kitchen… 
…making sweet potato fries (recipe in our “recipes” section of our site) 
Israel loved his BBQ Tunafish snack (recipe on our site)… 
…sam did too! 
Israel working on his math (Math-u-see curriculum) 
Sam coloring (mat from @elorainspired on Instagram). We use them for EVERYTHING!! 
…and we need to practice some more before letting sam loose. lol. This is how we ended up! 
Sticker time (@busytoddler on instagram idea) 
Momma love 
A “twin” carrot that Mima (Derick’s mom, Cathy) saved for Israel 
Mima (Cathy) reading to some of her boys 
Israel loves making silly faces 
Israel during math time 
lunch with the boys 
snack time with the boys 
Math time with Israel (mat from @elorainspired on Instagram). We write on them with washable markers and dry erase markers. 
Jill and nephew, Jaxon Dillard 
Israel with his cousin, Jax 
Jax, Dan and Israel 
Jax and Jill 
The boys checking out the snow 
Car-schooling with Israel (Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book).
Please note that any family photos on this site are copyrighted and may not be used without the express written permission of the copyright holder.
Hi Jill thank you for sharing your January adventures. Life with littles ones is such fun! My girls are adults now and we lived in California when they were little. So we lived in Santa Barbara so we of course had no snow but we had rainy days. Those days they would build forts using the table we used for homeschooling. We hung out at the library at lot. If the rain wasn’t too bad, I would have them grab their umbrellas and go outside and jump in puddles or sing “Singing in the Rain”.
So my January was relatively quiet. I caught up on posting book reviews on my blog and actually was able to write regular posts too. I’m wanting to write posts that will be helpful to myself and other ladies who read my blog. I recently wrote a post on “Rest” which was very helpful for me because I get stressed out and tend to take my focus off God instead of trusting Him. Now I’m studying Psalm 23 and I want to get a post about that up before the end of the week. Are you studying anything in scripture that you’d like to share? That would be a great discussion topic.
I also have to turn in paperwork for my youngest daughter’s homeschool graduation which is due this week.( See why I’m stressed?)
I can’t believe she’s graduating! Before you know it Jill your kids will be graduating from school!
Other January happenings include sticking to my goals for 2019 which includes exercise and walking in my neighborhood more. We’ve had bad winter weather so I haven’t been able to walk and we are supposed to get more snow.
Joseph and Kendra should do posts like this on their blog. I can understand not wanting to have Facebook or Instagram, but they already have a blog so why not use it!?! It wouldn’t even have to be monthly, like you do, Jill. It could be just every 3 months or something. Just a way for fans to connect with them. I know they’re under contract with TLC, but it doesn’t stop Jinger and Joy from posting stuff on their Instagram accounts. I don’t see why their contract would prevent Joe and Kendra from posting on their blog!