Moms of Boys Blog Hop!

The MOB Society (short for "Moms of Boys") is having their first annual Boy Mom Blog Hop!  Seeing that I probably qualify as a mom of boys, I thought I'd jump in for some fun!

If you are new to my blog or joining me from the Blog Hop, let me introduce myself and my kiddos!  I am Erin, married to my wonderful husband Michael for almost 13 years.  We are blessed with 5 boys, and were recently surprised with our first girl in February! (I say surprised because, after 5 boys... I just figured a girl wasn't possible!  It was the shock of a lifetime! A joyous one, of course!) My blog is mostly about every day life, homeschooling, and my faith in Christ.  I also do reviews for the TOS Homeschool Crew.

Well, that's enough about me - now to introduce the boys (and girl, I have to include her - she's the cutest one of the bunch!  Although there are some close runners up!):

Isaac is 10.5, and such a helper!  He is my second set of hands and eyes, and loves being the biggest brother. He's also getting way too big for my liking!

Ezra is going to be 9 years old soon, and he is our class clown!  He loves to have fun and make others laugh, and he is also a wonderful encourager.

Joel is 6.5 and always in motion!  He's a chatterer, too, so there is rarely a dull (or quiet) moment with him around.  He has a tender, gentle heart, is very artistic, and is growing up so fast!

Next up is Nathan, who is 4.5.  He's our quiet one, and is often found off by himself playing somewhere - who knew there could be an introvert in a big family?   But once he comes out of his shell, he's got a fun, quirky sense of humor and it's fun to see what goes on inside that quiet self of his!

Judah is 2, and second star of the "cuteness" show - and he knows it!  He's our resident musician (he takes after my husband) and always keeps us laughing.  He's still in the cuddlebug phase, which makes this mama's heart happy!  The first six months of his official status upgrade to "big brother" has gone wonderfully as he adores his little sister, and I am excited to see how close they grow over the years.

And while she doesn't fit into the "boy" category, here's the little miss of the household, Rachel - she's already stolen Daddy's heart and has the rest of us well wrapped around her finger, as well!

One of the topics suggested in the Blog Hop was a list of my boys' favorite books.  I'll try to keep it brief, although we tend to read a LOT around here!

Isaac loves all sorts of books (he's a bookworm).  He has read the Lord of the Rings trilogy a few times, he loves missionary stories (such as the Christian Heroes series) and stories about martyrs (such as the Jesus Freaks collections).  His top favorite series, however, are The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins (which I also really enjoyed!), and The Terrestria Chronicles by Ed Dunlop.  There are many others, and he has a list over on his own blog, A Full Family, if you want to see more!

Ezra loves books about Indians.  For school this year we studied early American History, which included reading several books detailing the lives of Native Americans, and he devoured them.  He's not really into reading as much as his brother, so it really says a lot when he sits down to read a chapter book non-stop!  He especially enjoyed Om-Kas-Toe and Naya Nuki.  He also read and enjoyed the Underland Chronicles, as well.

Joel is a beginning independent reader, (for which I recommend Bob Books!) so he still enjoys being read-aloud to.  His latest favorite stories are from Make Way for McCloskey - the number one choice being "The Doughnuts" from Homer Price.   Another top-read-aloud among the little guys is anything and everything from the Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics - this collection I consider a must-have for little ones!  Nathan's top pick is always something from A Family Treasury of Little Golden Books - he adores these stories.  Judah enjoys listening in on anything - he doesn't have a favorite book right now!

Life with a bunch of boys is pretty wild!  I only had a sister growing up, so I am learning quite a bit about snips and snails and puppy dog tails - and I love it!  While I am glad to have a little bit of pink in the house now, I thank God every day for the blessing and privilege of raising up men for His glory!  My prayer for them is that they grow to be men who follow hard after God, stand strong amidst adversity, and humbly serve and love those around them.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'd love it if you'd leave a comment to say hello, and please be sure to drop in on the other moms participating in the MOB Blog Hop!