Remember this picture, from July 2008?
Now look at her!
Ava got in on the fun, too…
We are L-O-V-I-N-G the beautiful weather around here this week. Thank you, Lord!
Flying High
October 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Happy (belated) 4th birthday, Ava Joy!
October 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
8-day-old Ava Joy (2007)
1-year-old Ava (2008)
2-year-old Ava (2009)
3-year-old Ava (2010)
4-year-old Ava!
My dearest Ava Joy,
As you are turning another year older, we are celebrating what a sweet blessing you are to our family.
I love that we chose a name for you that really fits. AVA means “sings like a bird,” and your uninhibited giggle is musical! And JOY…well, you bring such joy and laughter with your smiles and silliness.
Your carefree spirit is so refreshing to me. Even at 4 years old, you still don’t spend much time worried about what others think. You are caring and sweet, but also spend a lot of time in your own little world.
You’re a smart cookie, too! We’ve done a little bit of pre-school work this year, and you surprised me when you could already recognize numerals. What?! How did you learn that on your own? Smarty-pants!
I’m learning that even though you’re carefree, you are also my middle child. You need to have some extra attention to be sure that we know you’re there. You need extra hugs and snuggles often, and you seem to feel like you get lost in the crowd sometimes. (“Everyone’s talking over me!”) I don’t want you to feel that way, but want you to know that we value you and we love hearing from you.
Don’t ever forget that the reason you are valuable is because God made you in His own image, and He loves you very much! I pray that you will embrace this truth as you grow, and that you will be a girl who loves God with all of her heart.
Happy 4th birthday, Ava Joy! I love you!
Mommy
Rumley Family Homeschool – Back in Business!
August 23, 2011 By 2 Comments
Public schools in Michigan can’t start until after Labor Day, but as homeschoolers, we can set our own schedule! So, yesterday was our first day of learning together for this school year.
We have two in school this year; Grace is in second grade, and Caleb is in kindergarten. Although, to be completely honest, Caleb started kindergarten this past winter. So, he’s already halfway through his math book. 
The dynamics have changed a little bit this year, too. Ava is getting more mature, and is able to sit and do some preschool activities while we work. Jaden, on the other hand (and I mean the OTHER HAND!!!), is more active and crazy than ever. He might be the biggest challenge to our school sanity this year. I REALLY need to work on sit time. Like REALLY REALLY.
And I’d like to make some activities for him to work on as well, like these busy bag ideas. We’ll see. Anyway, on to the pictures!
Here’s our cute little caterpillar that will grow each day that we have school. He’s already another circle longer than yesterday!
Our school room the night before, with Grace and Caleb’s workboxes all ready to go…
The kiddos, working hard…
Grace, our 2nd-grader!
Caleb, our kindergarten-and-a-halfer, with some silly poses!
So, during much of our school time, Ava has been enjoying some activities from a busy bag swap we participated in. SO. WONDERFUL. Basically, I made 30 sets of one activity and sent it to a person. Meanwhile, 29 other people each made 30 sets of different activities. And our coordinator sorted them and sent each person one of each of the activities that everyone made (i.e. 30 different activities). It was SO worth my time and money! It has been great for Ava so far (and yes, I know it’s only the second day of school, but I’m sure these are activities that she can do over and over again). My only regret is that I didn’t participate in the swap for Jaden’s age group. I DEFINITELY will if it comes back around.
But for now, here are a couple of pictures of Ava working on her busy bags…
I’m still so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to teach our kiddos at home. What a huge responsibility and a tremendous blessing!
What are you looking forward to as school begins again?
Sweet Staycation, Day Two
August 23, 2011 By 2 Comments
There is just something so relaxing and wonderful about spending a sunny day at a Lake Michigan beach. We had planned to visit Pier Cove beach near Saugatuck, but it only has about 8 parking spots, and all were full. Bummer! (We were able to visit that beach last year, and it was wonderful!)
So, we went about a mile down the road to a state park. The pro? Restrooms on site. The con? The entire shoreline was rocks and shells. And I mean ALL of it! Even once you got into the water, it was still all rocks. It was insane. Wanna see?
Okay, so it was still awfully beautiful…
Anyway, we had a great couple of hours there, playing in the water and sand.
After a great beach time, and lunch at a picnic area, we headed home. Naps happened in the car. Had a little stop at the store for s’mores ingredients. And then…
The First (and possibly last) Annual Rumley Camp-at-home Extravaganza!
We had a campfire, complete with hot dogs and s’mores.
We put up a tent (thanks to Melissa and Karl for letting us borrow it).
We roughed it, oh yes we did. Well, kind of…Actually, the air mattress Luke and I were sleeping on was probably the least comfortable sleeping situation EVER. By 3am, my hips and legs hurt so bad that I couldn’t sleep another wink. Luke wasn’t feeling much better. So we high-tailed it into our own not-usually-that-comfortable-but-oh-so-luxurious-in-comparison bed and left a baby monitor out there with the kiddies. It was actually kind of funny to hear them wake up five hours later, speculating about where we’d gone.
I’ve never been a huge fan of camping, but now I am going to fully embrace an old mantra of mine: the only “camping” I enjoy involves a Marriott. They have the best beds. I have never had to wake up in the middle of the night to take ibuprofen when I’m staying at the JW. Sorry if all you awesome camping fans out there are disappointed in me. I really admire your pain tolerance.
Anywho, it was a fun way to end the summer and the perfect way to jump back into a school schedule! Bet you can’t wait to hear about our first day of school!!!
Sweet Staycation, Day One
August 23, 2011 By 2 Comments
In anticipation of our school year beginning, Luke took Thursday and Friday (August 18 and 19) off work. We didn’t schedule much for our time together, but just had a really great time relaxing and doing some special things with the kiddos before we get back to the grind.
On Thursday, we slept in and had big ol’ breakfast (pancakes, bacon, sausages, blueberries/whipped cream, cantaloupe, apple juice…YUM). We hung out here, and then after naps, we headed to town. We had dinner at Qdoba (thanks, KDL, for your awesome summer reading program prizes!), and then went to see some friends at the hospital who just had their first baby.
Afterward, we visited East Grand Rapids for their “Taste of East Grand Rapids” event…Really, the kids just enjoyed getting inside a real firetruck and playing in an inflatable.
And then we ALL enjoyed some Jersey Junction ice cream. Double YUM.
Caleb had Birthday Cake ice cream.
Grace had Play Doh ice cream.
Ava and Jaden shared Superman ice cream.
I had Royal Coconut and Chocolate ice cream.
And Luke – who is obviously so thrilled with my picture-taking propensities – had Deer Tracks in a homemade waffle cone.
We all waddled home then, enjoyed a good night’s sleep, and the next day…
