Her first Picasso, a self portrait.
Chesney Best
6 years old
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
DOUBLE DIGITS!!
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| My wild-haired, freckled, happy boy! |
At 9:
We discovered his greatest schooling strength, memorizing!
Diligence and motivations in school have sky-rocketed!
He began doing yard work, woohoo!!
He really grew closer to the Lord this year, reading and study his bible on his own!
He always looks at the positive side in any situation!
Lastly, we received this incredible letter from his baseball coach:
Keith and Brook,
I just wanted to say how great an experience it has been to coach Britton this season. He is a great little ball player and an even better kid. He always gave 100% in practices and games and had a positive attitude to boot. If I could create my own team, it would be full of little Brittons. His infectious smile and fun spirit made it easy to keep things in perspective and maintain a positive attitude about coaching. I have no doubt he'll do well in All-Stars and will be an awesome asset for his coaches. I know you're proud of him as parents. He has a love for life and a love for Christ that shines through. What more could you ask for in a young boy?
I know this season didn't turn out that great from a W-L standpoint, but I hope the boys had fun and grew as ballplayers and as young men through the process. After all, it should be for the kids, not us.
Again, thanks for allowing me to be a part of his life for this short time. I look forward to seeing you at the party Saturday.
Coach David
I have to say that this was certainly a highlight of my year. Britton, if you never become the best writer, mathematician, scientist, artist, musician or athlete, yet you love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul, then I will be one proud Momma! I love you my son! I couldn't be more proud of you!
Here are a few pics that capture your first spend the night party!!!
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| Britt and his life-long "best-buddy". |
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| football cards and beyblades! |
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Today, she met Jesus.
Today is the day she met Jesus! Her Savior! I often wonder how she felt, when she looked into His eyes. I wonder what it was like to leave earth and arrive at heavens gate. I wonder what she felt when she saw Nanny,her beloved Grandmother. Oh, how I miss her and long to be held in her arms again. Yet, I know she is exactly where she is supposed to be. With Him! That makes me smile, big, and it makes me a little jealous too :) Oh precious Lord Jesus, please squeeze her tight for me today and tell her how very much I love her.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
"What in the World?"
I am a full fledged, paid teacher!!
I am learning to play piano!!
I am learning Latin!
I am teaching ART!
My kids are in a musical drama!
I am a helper in said drama!!
We are going to adopt a child!
All of these things are way outside of my comfort zone. God is stretching me, working on me and moving me. I find myself pondering this often and wondering, who am I? Then I hear my sweet savior whisper to my heart...
you are MINE!
you are made for MY glory!
you can do ALL things through ME!
And then peace washes over my soul as I realize that all of these things (that are outside of my comfort zone) are ...
BUILDING my confidence!
My FAITH is growing.
FEAR is FADING.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
A friend named Sherri
A conversation in the kitchen while making lunch:
The conversation began with a discussion about my parents and how they didn't "know" the Lord until later in life. We discussed how different my parents were before Jesus came into their hearts. Then Chesney had a light bulb moment (I LOVE getting to witness these moments).
She says, " So, Momma your parents didn't know Jesus when you were a little girl? "
Me: "No sweetheart, they did not know Jesus until I was much older."
Chesney; " Well Momma, then how did you come to know Jesus if your parents didn't know Him?"
Me: "Well sweetheart, I know Jesus all because a friend named Sherri invited me to church!"
The conversation lead into my sharing my testimony to my children over lunch. Totally unexpected, totally unplanned. A real life changing moment for my kids in the kitchen. Math, reading and history lessons went out the window.
The lesson for the day: a friend named Sherri took me to church, I got SAVED. My parents got prayed for, for YEARS! My parents got SAVED. A WHOLE FAMILY CHANGED!!! All because a friend named Sherri loved Jesus and told me about Him!
So thank you Sherri, for allowing God to use you to change me!! You were His hands and feet in my life!! My life was forever changed because you were bold in sharing your love for Jesus with me!! God used you to impact multiple generations for now, and prayerfully to begin a legacy of Christianity throughout the McChesney and Best family lines.
The conversation began with a discussion about my parents and how they didn't "know" the Lord until later in life. We discussed how different my parents were before Jesus came into their hearts. Then Chesney had a light bulb moment (I LOVE getting to witness these moments).
She says, " So, Momma your parents didn't know Jesus when you were a little girl? "
Me: "No sweetheart, they did not know Jesus until I was much older."
Chesney; " Well Momma, then how did you come to know Jesus if your parents didn't know Him?"
Me: "Well sweetheart, I know Jesus all because a friend named Sherri invited me to church!"
The conversation lead into my sharing my testimony to my children over lunch. Totally unexpected, totally unplanned. A real life changing moment for my kids in the kitchen. Math, reading and history lessons went out the window.
The lesson for the day: a friend named Sherri took me to church, I got SAVED. My parents got prayed for, for YEARS! My parents got SAVED. A WHOLE FAMILY CHANGED!!! All because a friend named Sherri loved Jesus and told me about Him!
So thank you Sherri, for allowing God to use you to change me!! You were His hands and feet in my life!! My life was forever changed because you were bold in sharing your love for Jesus with me!! God used you to impact multiple generations for now, and prayerfully to begin a legacy of Christianity throughout the McChesney and Best family lines.
"Bonding" with the Japanese
So, my kids are doing some bonding these days, thanks to The Japanese!! Beyblades, a Japanese animation, and toy have entered my home and taken over. I have to say I really don't care for Japanese animation or their toys. However, I've had a change of heart, at least for this one toy.
All 3 kids, LOVE IT. They play TOGETHER for HOURS with this silly spinning top game!
Any toy, in my opinion, that creates sibling harmony, deserves an award. So Im giving this toy the high honor of being officially named: The Best toy ever brought into the Best house.
Weird freaky toy + sibling harmony = blissful Mommy :)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Summer Reading
Since we began homeschooling 4 years ago, summer became the READ, READ, READ time . Sure we read throughout the year, but summers are a bit more laid back on schooling, so we read a lot . Our local library has a great summer reading incentive program complete with cool prizes for my kids and great dining coupons for the family . Therefore, its an incentive for the whole family . This summer has been my favorite reading time, thus far. Mostly because my girl began to have a heart for good literature, and my oldest boy took a leap from reading chapter books to youth adult books. In addition to those wonderful things, I witnessed first hand the value of a good story impacting my children's character for the better. For the past three years I have heard seminar after seminar on the importance of reading aloud to your children and how it would be a great character building tool. However, we have read, and read, and read, and Im just now beginning to see the fruit of the hard labor. My kids actually long to curl up together and read over watching TV and they beg to be read "just one more chapter". Ahhh.....We have finally started putting a dent in our reading goal list . So, this post is a list of books we've read this summer and how much we enjoyed them .
We started out the summer reading this book aloud:
Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis
This book is a 3 volume christian fiction book series. I strategically chose this 400 page book as our family read aloud to peak Britton's curiosity. It worked. He LOVED the silly story about children that turn into dragons and have to fight off the mighty Slayer. The great thing about this book was it's Christian view point that also had teenagers living a life of faith. The book was fast paced and packed with nail-biting adventure! Chesney and Britton hung on to every word and loved every second of the book. That makes this book a winner in my opinion. After finishing book number one, Britton read book number two on his own. A four hundred page book . He didn't tear through it like I hoped he would, but he diligently read a chapter or two a day until he completed the book. In the end he felt so BIG and realized that you CAN read 400 page books at nine years old.
Another book we read aloud this summer was Mcgee and Me by BIll Myers.
The book we checked out at the library actually had three stories in one book . It was very humorous, enjoyable and taught great biblical values . The children learned how to take up for the "different" child and stand up to the bully in a non-violent,creative way . We also learned how to tackle your fears with God and how to trust Him in the storms of life . Again, these books are on the silly side, but greatly impacted my kids and created a deeper love for books .
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray was yet another great book.
This book was a story about a 13 year old boy, Adam, that lost his Dad and dog on the road . Its about his journey to find those he loved most in his life . The beauty of this book is that it took place in the middle ages . It was a great review of the geography and the history we learned about in our studies of the middle ages this past year.
Last week we listened to a radio theater production of The Hedge of Thorns
My favorite book of the summer!!! This book was written in early 1600's and is based on a true story. The book was packed with wisdom and provided great conversation with our kids. They learned that sin has consequences that may scar you for life. That God sets boundaries and guidelines for us to follow as a hedge of protection. I highly recommend this book!!! The audio version by lamplighter is worth every penny.
Chesney and I read an all time favorite of mine, The Secret Garden.
A wonderful book about how love and friendship can transform a hardend heart and feeble body . I cherish every second I spent reading this classic with my little girl . She giggled out loud and smiled throughout this book while reading at bedtime . Then the next day she'd pack up a "special" bag and head outside in hunt of a place that she could call her own secret garden. Her imagination came to life with this book and joy filled my soul as I witnessed it .
Strawberry Girl was another Mommy/daughter read.
I picked this book up at the Trussville library on the newly placed "Award-winning books" shelf. That's right!! They now have a bookshelf designated for Newbery and Caldecot award winning books . I LOVE IT!!! For years I have been trying to make book lists of classics and good read-alouds . One thing I have discovered is that the award winning books never let me down. SO, you can imagine my excitement to find a shelf that I can just walk right up to and find a GOOD book . It makes a Momma happy. All that to say, I found this sweet little book parked right on that shelf . The name caught my eye, because I have a strawberry loving girl, so the book seemed appropriate . This book was a good ole "Little House on the Prairie" kind of book, complete with a revival and redemption . I must warn you, if you read this book, you need to practice your best country slang and southern draw before reading aloud. Just because your from the south does not make reading dialect of the Florida Crackers aloud easy...
We are now reading Carry on, Mr. Bowditch for our first family read aloud biography. I've heard so many great things about this book! I'll let you know how it goes!!
When it takes two days to write a post, the post is probably too long .
I must find time to write, I must find time to write.
Happy reading to you,
Brook
We started out the summer reading this book aloud:
Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis
This book is a 3 volume christian fiction book series. I strategically chose this 400 page book as our family read aloud to peak Britton's curiosity. It worked. He LOVED the silly story about children that turn into dragons and have to fight off the mighty Slayer. The great thing about this book was it's Christian view point that also had teenagers living a life of faith. The book was fast paced and packed with nail-biting adventure! Chesney and Britton hung on to every word and loved every second of the book. That makes this book a winner in my opinion. After finishing book number one, Britton read book number two on his own. A four hundred page book . He didn't tear through it like I hoped he would, but he diligently read a chapter or two a day until he completed the book. In the end he felt so BIG and realized that you CAN read 400 page books at nine years old.
Another book we read aloud this summer was Mcgee and Me by BIll Myers.
The book we checked out at the library actually had three stories in one book . It was very humorous, enjoyable and taught great biblical values . The children learned how to take up for the "different" child and stand up to the bully in a non-violent,creative way . We also learned how to tackle your fears with God and how to trust Him in the storms of life . Again, these books are on the silly side, but greatly impacted my kids and created a deeper love for books .
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray was yet another great book.
This book was a story about a 13 year old boy, Adam, that lost his Dad and dog on the road . Its about his journey to find those he loved most in his life . The beauty of this book is that it took place in the middle ages . It was a great review of the geography and the history we learned about in our studies of the middle ages this past year.
Last week we listened to a radio theater production of The Hedge of Thorns
My favorite book of the summer!!! This book was written in early 1600's and is based on a true story. The book was packed with wisdom and provided great conversation with our kids. They learned that sin has consequences that may scar you for life. That God sets boundaries and guidelines for us to follow as a hedge of protection. I highly recommend this book!!! The audio version by lamplighter is worth every penny.
Chesney and I read an all time favorite of mine, The Secret Garden.
A wonderful book about how love and friendship can transform a hardend heart and feeble body . I cherish every second I spent reading this classic with my little girl . She giggled out loud and smiled throughout this book while reading at bedtime . Then the next day she'd pack up a "special" bag and head outside in hunt of a place that she could call her own secret garden. Her imagination came to life with this book and joy filled my soul as I witnessed it .
Strawberry Girl was another Mommy/daughter read.
I picked this book up at the Trussville library on the newly placed "Award-winning books" shelf. That's right!! They now have a bookshelf designated for Newbery and Caldecot award winning books . I LOVE IT!!! For years I have been trying to make book lists of classics and good read-alouds . One thing I have discovered is that the award winning books never let me down. SO, you can imagine my excitement to find a shelf that I can just walk right up to and find a GOOD book . It makes a Momma happy. All that to say, I found this sweet little book parked right on that shelf . The name caught my eye, because I have a strawberry loving girl, so the book seemed appropriate . This book was a good ole "Little House on the Prairie" kind of book, complete with a revival and redemption . I must warn you, if you read this book, you need to practice your best country slang and southern draw before reading aloud. Just because your from the south does not make reading dialect of the Florida Crackers aloud easy...
We are now reading Carry on, Mr. Bowditch for our first family read aloud biography. I've heard so many great things about this book! I'll let you know how it goes!!
When it takes two days to write a post, the post is probably too long .
I must find time to write, I must find time to write.
Happy reading to you,
Brook
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