two, or as Penny says, "tee-ewww"

- T W O Y E A R S O L D-

Happy Happy Birthday, Pip!

We love you and all the crazy you add to our family!
And to celebrate you, we had a simple breakfast party at the park,
complete with your favorite fruit, coffee cake, and Nana's cinnamon rolls!
You blew out your own candles, first try,
and smiled proudly while everyone cheered!
You tore into your presents, received the greatest group hug,
and climbed all over the playground.

Penelope Lee, 
you are a bright,
fun, spunky girl.
You're a complete mama's girl,
but incredibly friendly with others.
You keep us laughing with your clumsy tendencies,
like that one time you slid off the couch while reading with Dada.
You're a fast learner,
and its fun to see 
the excitement in your eyes
as you learn something new.
We are proud of you little one.

Sometimes, Pip, you can wear me out,
but while you play hard, and fight hard,
you also love hard.
You are quick to say you are sorry,
and quick to hug and kiss.
You look up to your sisters,
and always want to do what they are doing,
even if it drives them crazy.
Sometimes I call you 
"Persistent Pippy"
And I think that is a great quality to possess.

Penny, your dada and I are so thankful to know you,
and to watch you learn and grow.
We love your laugh, the way you growl like a bear,
and the way you tell us stories and jokes.
You are a beautiful child made by God,
given to us, and we are blessed by your little life every day!
So, happiest of birthdays littlest love! 
Here's to many more!

xoxox
Mama

focused on my cake and not my girl, rookie move, yeesh.

ready for birthday nap time

School at Home

Hello Friends!

We have just finished our first full week of school at home,

and so we are celebrating with a Barbie Mermaid movie, 

(yup, I let them choose their movie to rent from the library today)

and I get to blog!

After many talks, going back and forth on a decision for homeschool vs. public school,

we felt that in light of the many transitions in our life right now,

(we now live in Nana's basement!)

we were going to take a shot at home education.

Little did I know, through my research and meeting other homeschooling moms,

that a passion for teaching my children would be awakened.

I have been reading many books on the matter:

For the Children's Sake

When Children Love to Learn

Books Children Love

Honey for a Child's Heart

Other resources I have used are www.amblesideonline.org
and simplycharlottemason.com

I was anxious to begin, and we had prepared Nora for the first day of school.

We wanted her to get some of the fun things that go along with 

attending school, so we picked up a first day of school outfit,

let her pick out her own backpack,

and celebrated with ice cream at Sweet Caroline's the night before.

She was excited, I was pumped.

We woke up early and talked through a morning routine,

and stepped outside in the shady morning and took some pictures.

And of course, Cordie needed preschool pictures and a backpack as well!

This week has gone by well,

we have established a good morning routine, 

things we do before we start our day.

We then would work on letters, reading and writing,

followed with stretching time, math and extra study.

I found though that I was saving outdoor explore time for the hottest point of the day,

and this week in Missouri was especially steamy.

So yesterday we mixed up our school day,

and spent the morning at some local waterfalls,

drawing algae and dragonflies,

climbing rocks and throwing rocks in the water.

The girls loved it, and didn't want to leave, they didn't even ask for a playground!

We then spent the afternoon doing our lessons,

and it ended up working out better for Pip too.

I was struggling with giving her attention and trying not to get too frustrated,

while teaching her sisters.

Having lesson time during her nap has been a great change in our schedule.

There are still a few things I will be tweaking as the semester goes on,

 but there having been so many high points this week.

A quick list of things I want to remember:

Nora's face as she sounded out and read the word "little"

Pip's contentment sitting in rocks by the stream

Cordie's laugh when we read fun stories.

Their steady breathing as I read chapters to them.

Nora asking to work on her "sums"

Watercolors as a family

Hope y'all have a splendid weekend!!

summer senses

seeing :: hummingbirds and bunnies in the backyard. Girls in little bright swimsuits sometimes sunbathing, mostly running and leaping into the little pool. 

smelling :: dirt and sweat, little girls play hard.

tasting :: Chocolate Cake, I made my first ever rosette cake for a garden party thrown by my mother in law, and I thought it looked pretty and rustic, and it tasted very rich, but by far my favorite part was baking and decorating it. I can't wait to try out some new cakes and I am already planning Pip's 2nd birthday cake!

hearing :: Cicada songs. The other night we were having dinner with all of our family, and we stepped outside to search for lightning bugs after dusk, and our ears will filled with cicadas humming all around us. The girls were so excited by the new noise, they couldn't stop smiling. It was a picturesque evening of childhood summer.

feeling :: cold?!  This summer has had some wonderful cooler nights and mornings, and at times I get to wear my new sweatpants, and snuggle into a blanket. 

The other morning, I got so giddy about upcoming fall, (it's my favorite!) because it felt and smelled fall-ish in the middle of July!!

planning :: home school for my girls. In light of all of the transitions and unknowns in our life, we have decided that we will try teaching the girls at home. I am feeling both nervous and excited for the upcoming year of kindergarten and preschool for my little ones.

reading :: When Children Love to Learn general editor, Elaine Cooper, which has been confirming and encouraging. Also, I should be receiving my copy of For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaffer McCauly soon. Both of these books dive into the Charlotte Mason method of educating and I am anxious to begin exercising what I am reading in our every day life.

listening :: The Civil Wars pandora station. 
I love this song.

talking :: when our family from Osaka, Japan was here, we talked late into the nights when our kids were finally in bed. It was wonderful having uninterrupted time with them. We love and support them in carrying out the Great Commission to the people of Japan.

laughing :: Jokes, Penny's babbling and now funny sentences.

We got a library card yesterday to the library in our new town, and of course the girls found a joke book and just had to check it out. Bonus: We found one of Levi's jokes in it! Also, Levi brought Penny into our room upon her waking this morning. She wiggled off of the bed and said, "I mwan foo" which I returned with "You want food?" And she got excited and started jumping. She's communicating!

crying :: over many things silly and not. about newness and uncertainty, getting a new library card (I miss our old library community!) and missing friends, hard lessons learned and grace in abundance. 

Which leads me to ENJOYING :: Him, meeting me here, revealing himself to me continually, a time of new adventures and passions, knowing that someday I will look back on this time and it will all make sense and see I am growing because of it!

photo taken at George Washington Carver National Monument

snapshots: a little behind

So I have fallen a little behind in my portrait resolution,

and just keeping up here on the blog.

I have always told myself that this blog wouldn't get in the way of

being a mom, but would be a nice creative outlet for me in my free time.

And lately my free time has been spent doing other things I love,

playing, reading, sitting outside in the beautiful weather,

going on family dates, napping, and spring cleaning.

We have been well.

We celebrated our favorite guy's birthday early in the month of April,

had a wonderful Easter feast with friends, and spent a week loving on and being 

loved by my brother, sister in law and their new puppy.

1. birthday tradition, I make a cookie cake for him and he decorates it :: 2. their favorite eggs :: 3. I just love her face here in our easter outtakes :: 4. Easter clothes from Grandma :: 
5. Waiting for Bracken, Grace and Mugsy :: 6. quiet afternoon book time :: 
7. Our favorite Engineer and Ballerina before they headed home.

:: :: ::

Follow me on Instagram @edendaygreer, 
for more day to day quips about our life.

1 3 / 5 2

+a portrait of each of my girls every week for 2014+

NG: sweetness
Cord: I love her chipmunk smile
Pip: my littlest explorer

9 / 5 2

+a portrait of each of my children every week for 2014+

NoraGirl: loves to play Candyland, but watch out, this little stinker has already mastered the "double spin while mom is distracted" cheat. 

Cord: our daredevil.

Pip: always trying to find me behind the camera.

This icy weather kept us inside all weekend, but it was so nice to be together, relaxing and pretty much doing nothing. We have had some low key weekends lately and I am thankful. Thankful for the time spent just watching the girls grow and play in our home, enjoying every stage of these little ones.

Nora Girl and the Cord :: on boogers

No kidding, a conversation I had with these two today.

N: Mom, look at this booger! What's on it?

Me: That's a little bit of blood, 

sometimes when it is really cold and dry,

our nose gets tiny sores in it that bleed a little.

N: Ha! Okay well I almost ate it but then I saw the blood,

so I am glad I didn't eat it.

Me: You eat your boogers?

C: I eat my boogers but 

I don't eat my boogers if there is blood on them,

just my own boogers.

Me: (throws up a little in my mouth) 

That's disgusting.

Someday, girls you will read this and probably say,

"Gross Mom! I can't believe you told everyone we did this!"

Sighs of disgust and eye rolls all over.

But you did say it, and I want to remember it.

You girls crack me up,

and I love you both dearly.

Hello November!

It's November!!!

Yesssss!

Last year I shared a picture everyday
on Instagram/facebook/twitter of things I was thankful for,
and it was wonderful how my 
perception changed.
So this past year, I told myself,
I needed to make more of an effort to 
share my "thank yous" all year long,
and I feel, while looking back,
that I appreciate so much more
about our life,
even when it can be ridiculous,
frustrating, and rough.
So in effort to maintain this outlook,
let Thankful November begin!

---

Right now,
I am thankful for the relationship 
I get to see grow
between Nora Girl and the Cord.

goofy faces

spunky attitudes

their unicorn pumpkin

 They love being superheroes together.
They will play/wrestle/sing/dance/chase
all day together,
and moments of just talking to each other are rare,
so as soon as I saw this I took like 30 photos in a 3 minute window,
here are my three favorite.

Happy November!!

who's who?

Levi just recently added all of our pictures from the last 7 years 

onto our new computer,

and it has been a blast going through them all.

I love remembering the different stages of each girl,

and cracking up at the numerous homes we have lived in during the last 7 years.

So here is a fun pretty easy game,

these three pictures are over those years of each girl around the same age.

So, who's who?!

1 :: 

2 ::

3::

not too hard, but pretty fun to compare my babies,

well, I am having fun doing it!

love names

The other day at supper,

Nora girl started asking us questions.

I LOVE four year old questions.

---

"Mom, what is my love name?"

After asking her about what she meant, she told us she had 

a beautiful name, and a nickname.

 Next, she asked,

"Is Nora girl my love name? The name you say when you love me very much."

Yes.

She went on to note her sisters' love names,

"The Cord" and "Pip".

Yes.

She even gave us love names,

"Mama-love" and "Daddy-love".

Thank you so much.

because, 
"Everyone has a love name."

True that double true, Nora girl.

---

We sat there completely humbled, feeling overwhelmed with our blessings, 
Nora girl, the Cord, and Pip.
I hope our three girls will always know that they are loved,
not just by us, but by the One who created them.
I also pray for them to love well.
I think its amazing the things that our kids will figure out on their own.

with my loves in Great Smokey Mountains

Do you know your love name?
Do you have love names for your kids?
What are things that amaze you about your Creator and his love?

snapshots

Cord's first movie Despicable Me 2 // Playing in the rocks // Pip in her happy place (1 year old next month!) // late summertime at the greers // sister love // they completed their summer reading charts and got a scooter // playing at the mall

We're dominating the last bits of summer!

We hope you are too!