Our theme this week was Clothing.
- We continued talking about honesty. Another word for honesty is Sincerity “Free from deceit and hypocrisy.”
- We learned Matthew 6:31 Do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?”
Our book list included:
- Courdory, by Don Freeman – a story about a teddy bear in a department store who longed for a home and a friend and how he finally got both. Travis & Heather asked for this one a lot.
- A Pocket for Courdory, by Don Freeman – the further adventures of a teddy bear who got lost in a Laundromat while looking for a pocket. Another favorite.
- A New Coat for Anna, by Harriet Ziefert – Anna needs a new winter coat, but they don’t have any money to buy one. So, they found a farmer who had some sheep and offered him a gold watch in exchange for some wool, then traded something else for the services of a spinner, then found red berries in the woods and dyed the yarn themselves, then traded something else for the services of a weaver, and finally something else for a tailor who made her a beautiful red coat. Then they invited everyone who had a part in Anna’s new coat to a special Christmas dinner. Based on a true story. Very good.
- Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina – a peddler goes about town with a bunch of caps for sale stacked on his head. When he sits down against a tree to take a nap, some monkeys take all his caps. He tried everything to get them to give them back. Good opportunity to talk about whether asking politely or getting angry would be better for getting someone else to do what you want. Another favorite, especially after our friend Mrs. McKowen said it was one she really liked as a child.
- From Cotton to Pants, by Ali Mitgutsch – Describes the process that takes cotton from cotton plants, to a cotton gin, a spinner, weaver, etc. to a factory that sews pants.
Activities this week:
We had another play date with our friends the Youngs, this time at their house. They have lots of neat toys (mom was a preschool teacher before kids came along). Went to a nearby park to play for a while, then back to their house for lunch. I didn’t take any pictures. Too busy having fun, talking, watching kids. Also forgot my camera.
On Wednesday, I mentioned that one of the things we needed to do that day was vacuum. Before I knew, Travis had picked up all the toys and things off the floor and dragged the vacuum cleaner out of my closet. He ended up vacuuming the entire house by himself – as best as a 4 year old can -- which was better than I could have done it at that point. Mrs. McKowen came to have lunch with us and visit for a while. The kids think that when she comes to visit, that she is coming to see them. I guess that’s a good thing. :-) We did get a chance to get some adult visiting while the kids took their naps.
On Thursday, I took Jeffrey to the doctor for a checkup and some shots. The McAteers (from church) graciously offered to come over and watch Travis and Heather so I wouldn’t have to drag all the kids in to the doctor’s office. It was a real blessing to have a couple of hours of just Jeffrey and Mom time. He is just the sweetest child! And so smart too! And cute!
I tried a new experiment this week…. When I made bread, I turned one loaf into cinnamon rolls (nothing new about that). But after I formed them, I stuck them in the freezer before I let them rise or baked them. Then, on Friday, when we usually have a breakfast supper, I took them out first thing in the morning and let them thaw and rise. Then baked them for supper. I was pleased that it turned out great. We got to have fresh hot cinnamon rolls without a lot of effort right before supper. I’m going to make and freeze some more so that we can have some in the days/weeks after the baby is born.
I finished another pre-baby project … a tissue box cover to match the other items in the kids bathroom.
On Saturday Mrs. (Pony) Peterson invited us over for pizza. Also for a chance to meet the dogs (and other critters) in case the kids spend some time over there when/after baby is born. We had a great time. Got to meet the guinea pig, Benny, three dogs, and saw one or two cats, and some gerbils. She also has a pet snake somewhere. Later, Travis wanted to know why we didn’t get to meet the snake. Surprisingly, it was Jeffrey, rather than Heather, who got scared of the dogs. I think partly from the barking and partly because when they walked up close to him they were right at eye level.
Helping Mrs. Peterson dress the goose (not a real one)…
Travis got the dogs’ supper ready, under the direction of Mrs. Peterson and the supervision of Piper and Buddy….
Piper, the black lab…
Dingo, the Australian Cattle Dog (aka Blue Heeler), waiting patiently for supper. Travis and Heather both enjoyed throwing the frisbee for Dingo.
Buddy the sweet collie…
One other thing that seemed to be new this week…Travis started showing a real interest in playing the piano and making up songs to praise the Lord….
And here are my three little blessings…
And me… at 37 weeks pregnant … counting down the days…
My grandfather's wife wanted to get Rebecca a book for Christmas, but wanted us to pick it out. Brian and I went to Barnes and Noble and found the Courdory book. Apparently it was Brian's favorite when he was little. I had never seen it before. In his Kinder class, the teacher had a little Courdory bear, and whoever was the best student of the day, got to take care of Courdory the next day. It is rapidly becoming one of our favorites!
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