Russell Roundup

Homeschooling Report

2012-01-16T15:48:00.001-06:00

I think a light bulb finally went off last week in the dim attic region of my brain, regarding homeschooling.

I was inspired by a request from my kids to check out again an audio version of a story we had listened to last fall (when I was too sick during my first trimester to read out loud without throwing up).

They wanted to listen to “The Penguin Who Wanted to Find Out” by Jill Tomlinson. A VERY interesting story about an emperor penguin chick named Otto and all that he learns as he grows up in Antarctica, and very well read on the CD version our library has.

So, while I was at the library, I browsed through their DVD collection and found a National Geographic video about Emperor penguins. I previewed it and decided it was ok for the kids to watch.

Well, I says to myself, why don’t we just spend the whole week learning about penguins? I found some activities, crafts, and more fun facts about penguins on the web. I gave them penguin-related handwriting assignments, and found some math worksheets and puzzles for Travis that had penguins on them. And, ironically, when we went to the doctor’s office on Friday, what movie were they playing on the TV in the waiting room? An animated penguin movie!

I could tell the kids were engaged and learning because the dinner table conversation most of the week was about penguins. They were eagerly telling Daddy about all the stuff they learned and saw on the videos. They told the doctor stuff that they learned. And one night, Heather and Jeffrey were getting out the hats and mittens and playing “Antarctica”.

So, here is where the light bulb went off (or is that “on”?) I did a similar thing at the end of July and beginning of August – I took two weeks to teach the days of creation account from the Bible. We talked about each day of creation, read books relating to what God created that day, sang a song, and did a craft or snack or some kind of activity incorporating that topic. The kids really seemed to have a lot of fun, learned a lot, and STILL REMEMBER what they learned!

This seems sort of like what I read about unit studies – at least having a single theme for the week to tie in with book to read, handwriting, crafts, etc. It seems to capture the kids (and my!) interest and attention better, though it is a lot of preparation work for me. (Partly because I get all these “great” ideas at the last minute when there isn’t really time to get things together or find the books that I want/need to go along with my ideas.)

The outline for the curriculum I’m using this year seems to show some kind of grouping by themes, but somehow I’ve missed it in the weekly schedule for our reading and activities. Granted, the handwriting, language arts (reading instruction, creative writing instruction) are separate packages from the core history/geography/etc. because you pick those based on whatever level your child is supposed to be at.

I’m not sure I really want to go the full-blown “unit study” route, But…this experience gave me some direction for at least the rest of this school year. I went through the schedule for the rest of the year and regrouped it according to topics/themes that made sense to me and came up with some ideas of how to incorporate crafts and other activities to relate to them, and handwriting assignments to reinforce what we are learning as well as giving them practice on their penmanship.

And on another aspect of homeschooling… I love the role Ronnie plays in educating the kids. He’s not able to be involved in the day-to-day basics (other than hearing them tell about what they’ve learned and been doing). But on weekends and holidays (especially if I leave the house for a few hours), he does things with them that I NEVER would or could do with them.

Such as taking apart the old TV to see how it works… they watched a YouTube video about how to do (safely!) and what to expect, and then did it. Travis couldn’t stop talking about it and asking questions about electricity, etc. at supper time.

And, we’ve been listening to a CD recording of A.A Milne’s Winne-the-Pooh stories. So, I found a Winnie-the-Pooh Treasury book at the library and look what happened that afternoon/evening:

They watched another YouTube video about painting and mixing colors. The lady showed how to paint some flowers. So, later that day, I gave Travis some paints and paper and this is what he did (it looks very much like the painting the lady on YouTube did, and he wasn’t looking at that picture while he was painting this.)

And why do things taste better from Mom’s cutting board than they do from your plate?

On dating, courtship, and marriage

2012-01-05T20:29:00.001-06:00

A friend recently posted a link on Facebook to an article containing advice to women about dating (and presumably marriage). I thought the author had some wise advice, but there were some red flags for me too --- some advice that was not wise, and maybe not even Biblical. I commented to this effect, and my friend asked me to elaborate on what I saw in the article.

So, this is my response. It seemed too long to post as a Facebook comment, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to “publish” my thoughts. For lack of any better ideas, this is where I’m putting it for now.

Before I start, I will acknowledge that I realize this article was not necessarily written to Christian women, nor from a Christian perspective. But my comments are directed more to Christian young women and my hope/prayer/goal is to come from a Biblical perspective.

I also want to say that I really have a burden for the young women in the church to have pure, godly relationships with people of the opposite gender. One of my greatest desires is for young women to enter into their marriages with the greatest purity and the fewest regrets and broken hearts as possible. I desire that they can enter into and find in their marriages the happiness and freedom that I have experienced in mine (minus the regrets of wasting my single years in discontentment instead of whole-hearted devotion and service to the Lord).

You can find the original article by clicking on the title below.

Quotes from the article are in black. My comments are in red. My husband’s comments are in green. Your comments, thoughts, questions, discussion are welcome – either by leaving a comment, or private email, or in person. this is an exhaustive treatment of this subject (though it may be exhausting! ). There is much more that I could say, but it would take a book. And I don’t have the time for that (I’m too busy caring for the most wonderful man in the world and chasing/teaching 4 young children and growing a fifth!) :-)

If a Man Wants You

By: Salma Rumman (View Profile)

This advice was passed along to me from a counselor; it was great to hear so I wanted to share it.

I intend to comment line-by-line on this article, but I want to preface my comments with this comment: I agree that it is wise to be very careful, cautious, and even downright “picky” when it comes to choosing a marriage partner. And, by the way, “dating” or “courting” or whatever you want to call it IS preparation for marriage, whether you think it is or not. It can be either good preparation or bad preparation, depending on how you do it, but it is preparation nonetheless, and the attitudes and habits of relating that you take into or develop during a dating/courting relationship will affect your relationship after marriage.

Ronnie: I agree and would add that preparation for marriage begins much earlier in life as we watch marriage examples like our parents, grandparents, pastor’s family, Sunday school teachers, etc. We should also learn by examples and teaching from the Bible from an early age. Hopefully, we have many good examples to follow, but we can also learn from any bad examples what we should avoid. By the time one is ready to look for a marriage partner, they should already know what is important and what is simply preference.

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.

If he doesn’t want you, nothing can make him stay.

Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.

Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.

Stop trying to change yourselves for a relationship that’s not meant to be.

Slower is better.
Yes, I agree. I’ve seen this play out in the lives of friends. I would add, “Listen to the advice of wise (i.e. godly/Biblical) counselors, friends, and yes, your parents and allow them to save you from heartache.”

Ronnie: True for the most part. For example, after Ruth followed through with Naomi’s advice in Ruth 3:3, nothing would stop Boaz as seen in verse 18. But, what may Ruth have thought about Boaz prior to that meeting experience? Perhaps she thought “Boaz has spoken very kindly and given to us, but has not pursued any interest toward marriage to me.” Here’s an example where Ruth had a godly counselor.

Ruth 2:5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 The servant in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”(NASB)

Ruth 3:3 Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. (NASB)

Ruth 3:18 Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.” (NASB)

Some reasons why a guy may not pursue a girl very quickly: Not financially stable (not finished college or have a solid job to provide for family). Has not communicated enough to know if she meets all of what he considers most important (otherwise not grown up enough to know what is important).

Reasons a guys may pursue dating or marriage relationship too quickly: May have non-Christian low standards and be less committed to a solid, lasting relationship.

The main standard I see is choosing to marry someone who has committed to obeying God’s commandments and has shown by their life that they can be trusted in doing that, just as Ruth and Boaz had. How fast marriage is pursued and who first verbally gives an indication that they are interested in considering the other toward marriage seems less important. The main thing is that they communicate (with each other and others) until they are sure they both are committed to following God before they agree to marriage, engagement. Before engagement (and marriage), both should be careful not to get their hopes up too high that marriage will follow (hope deferred increases “heartache” Proverbs 13:12).

Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can’t "be friends."

A friend wouldn’t mistreat a friend.

Two words that give me caution are “happy” and “deserve”.

I’ve seen marriages break up because they thought the goal was to be “happy” (ever after?) and believe that “God wants them happy; I’m not happy; therefore, I want/deserve out.” God wants us holy; happiness is a by-product.

I’m concerned that the attitude behind these two statements (“find what makes you truly happy” and “treating you as you deserve”) might be a self-centered focus, rather than a God-centered focus. A better way to say it might be, “Never live your life for a man before you know that he is God’s choice for you. If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you according to God’s standards (1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 5:25-33, Philippians 2:1-5, among others), then, no, you can’t ‘be friends’.”

Don’t settle. If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.

Agree. I would also add, don’t settle for less than God’s best. Don’t think, “I’ve got to take this one because there may not be another one who will be interested.” Make sure he matches up to God’s standards.

Don’t stay because you think "it will get better." You’ll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.

In a dating relationship, yes. In a marriage, absolutely not! If you are married, you have made serious, life-long vows to God and in the presence of witnesses. Barring the threat of real, physical danger, you had better stay and pray that God will change both of your hearts to make it get better – even if it takes longer than a year.

The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

True. Not only that, but God expects you to control yourself (with his help) and God holds you responsible for your attitudes, words, responses, reactions, etc.

Avoid men who’ve got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.

He didn’t marry them when he got them pregnant,

Why would he treat you any differently?

Absolutely true. Also, if he’s leaving and/or cheating on his wife to be with you, why do you think he won’t do the same to you?

Always have your own set of friends separate from his.

Be cautious about using the words “always” and “never”.

Some couples prefer to have mutual friends.

A man does need to understand that a woman may need to have some close women friends and some “girl time”. And a woman needs to understand that a man may need some close guy friends and some “guy” time. Neither one should try to isolate the other from their friends or family. If they do try, then that should set off a huge red flag and warning bells for you. But be cautious also if you (or he) try to keep you away from your (or his) friends/family. What are you/he trying to hide and why?

It is important to cultivate a (good) relationship with each other’s families – if you get married, they will be your in-laws, and therefore part of your family too. Your marriage will be much happier and smoother if you can be friends with your in-laws. (Yes, it can be done!) If you get married, you and he will no longer be under your parents’ authority, but it is wise to be close and to ask (and give) counsel to one another and just to be good friends.

Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you.

Yes. Make sure the boundaries are based on Biblical standards, not cultural standards.

If something bothers you, speak up.

Yes, but do it gently and respectfully, and prayerfully. And probably, sooner rather than later (before it build up and you are angry/irritated/frustrated).

Never let a man know everything. He will use it against you later.

Again, be cautious about using the words “never” and “always”. Don’t assume that all men “will use it against you later.”

It may be wise in a dating relationship to be cautious about how much you tell, and how soon. But, especially in marriage, deliberately withholding information can lead to a lack of trust – which can eventually build up to a dangerous level that will destroy the marriage.

You cannot change a man’s behavior. Change comes from within.

True. You cannot change a man’s behavior OR his heart. Change comes from GOD.

Ronnie: True. Change comes from God to those who present themselves to serve Him.

Romans 6:16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?(NASB)

Don’t EVER make him feel he is more important than you are...even if he has more education or in a better job. Do not make him into a quasi-god.

He is a man, nothing more nothing less.

I would rephrase this as, “Don’t ever let him make you feel that you are less important (inferior) to him.” But God calls all of us (at least those who claim to be Christians) to “do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4). And, as unpopular as the idea is to our feminist saturated culture, God did make the woman to be the man’s helper, not the other way around.

Never let a man define who you are.

God should define who you are. If you are not content without a man, you will not be content with a man. If you have not found peace and contentment in your relationship with God (alone), then you will not find it in a man.

Never borrow someone else’s man.

If he cheated with you, he’ll cheat on you.

Absolutely.

A man will only treat you the way you allow him to treat you.

All men are not dogs.

Technically true. The grammatically correct way to say it would be “Not all men are dogs.” So look for one who doesn’t just call himself a Christian, but shows by his life and actions that he truly is seeking to follow Christ, loving God with all of his heart and all of his soul and all of his mind and all of his strength.

You should not be the one doing all the bending...compromise is a two-way street.
Yes and no. Compromise is a two-way street, but see above that you cannot control his behavior. You can only control (and are only responsible for) your behavior. But marriage is not a 50-50 proposition. It is a 100-100 proposition. You both need to give 100%. You should not have the attitude that, “I gave 50%, now he needs to do the rest.”

You need time to heal between relationships...There is nothing cute about baggage. Deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.

You should never look for someone to complete you. A relationship consists of two whole individuals. Look for someone complimentary, not supplementary.

Dating is fun; even if he doesn’t turn out to be Mr. Right.

Dating and breaking up is not “fun”; it is preparing you for marriage and divorce (talk about baggage!). Rather than dating (especially if you are a teenager), how about waiting until you are both old enough and in a life situation where you are prepared to get married (and prepared for the possibility of children)? I.e. finished with school, man established in a career, etc. And then, how about involving both families in getting to know each other and offering advice about whether this is a good match (i.e. “Mr. Right”)? Your relationship and marriage (and relationship with in-laws) will be much better than if you date “on your own” and meet the family only after you are engaged. Yes, I know this is all very counter to our culture, but give it some thought, if you haven’t already.

Make him miss you sometimes. When a man always know where you are, and you’re always readily available to him—he takes it for granted.

It may be wise in a dating relationship to not be “too easy” to get. But be careful about whether your motive is control and manipulation.

Don’t fully commit to a man who doesn’t give you everything that you need.

No man can give you “everything that you need.” Only God can do that. Again, I say, if you are not content with God alone (without a man), you will never be content with a man.

Keep him in your radar but get to know others.

Ronnie: As long as two are considering each other toward being potentially married, other friends should be considered just friends, and it’s ok to have friends with Godly reputation. But until there is a committed engagement or marriage, keep in mind, God may have someone else in mind for you to marry.

My husband has an excellent point. Be careful, though, that you are not just “playing the field”, or “comparison shopping”, looking for what you think is the best deal. Be careful to be seeking God’s guidance and direction.

Share this with other ladies.

You’ll make someone smile, another rethink her choices, and another woman prepare.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, and an entire lifetime to forget them.

I don’t know if it only takes a “day” to love them. I think it is more a of a lifetime of learning to love. And in Titus 2, older women are told to teach the younger women to love their husbands and children. I have been immensely blessed by some Godly older women in my life who helped me start learning how to love my husband and children. Though I still think of myself as a “younger woman” in need of teaching and mentoring, I realize that I am now an “older woman” to many, and my prayer and aim is to pass on the Biblical teaching that has been given to me. And that is my heart and motivation in all that I’ve written above. I hope and pray that those who read this will take it that way.

On Being Spontaneous

2011-12-24T19:39:00.002-06:00

Some years ago, I heard someone say, “I can be spontaneous. Just give me a week or two’s notice.” I totally identified with that sentiment.
But, in the past 24 hours, I’ve been quite spontaneous (for me) – and had fun doing it.
Last night, Ronnie and I had an impromptu at-home movie night after the kids were asleep. I figured I was going to be up coughing anyway (like I have been all week), so I might as well ask him to join me and watch a movie while we cuddled on the couch. I didn’t have to twist his arm to get him to agree. :-) And, amazingly, when we did go to bed, I went to sleep pretty quickly and got more sleep than I have all week.
Then today, after Travis remarked that our recycling containers were getting very full, we decided on the spur of the moment to go for a drive to the recycling center to drop the stuff off. Then we drove on to a park that Ronnie had taken the kids to earlier in the week. It was too cold and rainy to play there, but I got to see the neat place in Katy that he found (Mary Jo Peckham Park). Ducks, a pond with goldfish, and a place where people were allowed to let their dogs run off leash. Even from a distance, I enjoyed watching the dogs run and run and run for all they were worth, never seeming to tire. It looked like they were having a blast!
We headed home, stopping for a leisurely lunch at Golden Corral (spent almost 2 hours there!) The kids were fascinated by the chocolate waterfall/fountain. After we got home, we enjoyed watching a “family picture movie” – a video I put together with all the pictures and videos from the month of April. Now I have to get the other months of the year done, since they were begging for more …
All in all, it was an enjoyable, spontaneous Christmas Eve! I’m grateful that God allowed me to set aside me usual concern for plans, schedule, what-time-is-it. and just enjoy the day as events unfolded. And even though I'm still coughing, it was really nice to get out of the house after being stuck home all month with being sick and having sick kids.

Who do we worship at Christmas time?

2011-12-17T12:21:00.000-06:00

We went driving around last night looking at Christmas lights. The kids had a blast, and it was interesting to see the different displays -- some simple, some extravagant.

After a while, I began to notice quite a few houses that had Jesus/nativity related displays, right alongside Santa Claus, etc. It reminded me of visiting a cathedral in Vienna years ago. At the back of the church, on one side was a statue of Mary. On the other side, there was a statue of Jesus. My friend, who was our guide that day, said that there are always more worshippers on Mary's side than on Jesus' side. She said she always felt sorry for poor Jesus.

So, I wonder what Jesus thinks about being put alongside Santa? When he was born, he was the object of worship and adoration. As he should be, since he is God and he is our Savior!! But now... who attracts more worshippers -- Jesus? or Santa?

Just as food for thought... compare the words of "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" ...

You better watch out

You better not cry

Better not pout

I'm telling you why

Santa Claus is coming to town

He's making a list,

And checking it twice;

Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice.

Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping

He knows when you're awake

He knows if you've been bad or good

So be good for goodness sake!

to the words of Psalm 139...

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,"

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them

At the risk of offending someone who feels Santa is an innocent, childish, fairy tale, may I ask whether he is not really an imposter, even a "false god"?

Think about "He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake, he knows if you've been bad or good." Who really knows that but God alone?

And "He's gonna find out who's naughty and nice?"... Check out Romans 3:9-18... God has already figured out who is naughty (all of us) and who is nice (not one of us!).

But thanks be to God that we don't have to be "good for goodness sake", because we can't be good enough!!! We don't have to "be good" in order to receive the gift of salvation from God. For Romans 3:21-26 says:

²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

I pray that all of you may know that gift of God's grace!

Pressing the “Reset” button

2011-12-09T11:56:00.001-06:00

I’m thankful God provides opportunities to press the “reset” button when things are going all wrong with the day.

One day this week, I skipped my morning Bible reading time (ignoring the prompting that I really should go ahead and do it). I argued that I really wouldn’t have time and wouldn’t be able to concentrate in the short time I had before I needed to get up and go deal with the kids. Besides, I would do it while they were still quiet during nap time, and also I needed to print some things for a science activity we were going to do that day.

Well, I got my stuff printed, but by 10 am the day had spun wildly out of control. Disobedient children, refusing to respond to reproof and correction. A stressed, frustrated (I believe the Biblical word would be “angry”) mom tempted to just give up on the whole idea of school for the day (but knowing I really couldn’t afford to).

So, I gathered everyone to the couch. I told them things weren’t going well so far today and we needed to ask God to help us change our attitudes. I started by confessing my anger and praying for God to forgive me and help me. Then we read our Bible story for the day (about God letting the Israelites have their way when it really wasn’t His best plan for them) and practiced our memory verses.

Then, we read a book called “The Story About Ping”. This was such a God-incidence! In the early morning hours that day, I had been thinking about the read-aloud book I had planned to read to them this week, but decided it really needed to wait till later. The kids just weren’t ready for it yet ( I could tell by their lack of attention while trying to read the first chapter). So, I decided on a couple of other books, including the Ping story.

This is a story about a duck who learned that receiving (unpleasant at the time) correction was better than running away from it and facing many dangers – including almost getting cooked for someone’s dinner!

This gave us a teachable moment to talk about what had been going on so far that day (indeed, the whole week or last 2 weeks).

Ironically, the child who was needing the most correction that day is the one who has asked to read this story every day since then!

After reading, we went on with some of the planned school activities for the day, such as…

Making posters for the different types of animals we’ve been learning about in science…

Examining a rose : observing how the petals and leaves and stem feel, counting the petals (40, by the way), and observing the stamen and pistils with a magnifying glass…

And taking care of the tomato plants in our fall garden. They had been covered with towels, blankets, sheets and tarps to protect them from the near-freezing nights. It was the perfect opportunity to observe what we read about earlier this year – how plants give off water through their leaves, which normally evaporates into the air. But when covered, the water condenses on the covering (in this case the towels and sheets), making them wet. Then we observed how quickly condensation formed when we covered them with clear plastic bags (to allow them to get some sun while still protecting them from the cold). There are about 30 green tomatoes on these 3 plants, and I’m determined to do everything I can to get some return on my investment of time, effort, and water on these things! :-)

A few projects of late

2011-12-02T19:30:00.001-06:00

Here are a few projects I’ve been working on lately… in my spare time (Ha!)

A bride and groom doll for a friend’s wedding. I had a pattern for the girl doll which I’ve made many times before. I made up the groom on my own.

Jeffrey’s big boy blanket… more than 700 granny squares and about a year in the making…

Ronnie’s costume for “Journey to Bethlehem Night” at Awana..also made up out of my head…Thanks, mom, for teaching me how to sew and giving me a sewing machine. And, thanks, Ronnie for having smart ideas about how to sew the yarn on to make hay.

I took an old pair of jeans (probably at least 10 years old!), cut the front out, and sewed in a stretchy maternity panel. I figured this was a more cost effective way to get some comfortable maternity jeans which I’ll only need for a few months. Then, when I get back to normal clothes, I can invest in some new “normal” jeans.

Daddy’s new guitar fascinates Brian…

And, no picture of it, but Travis has taken to the piano lately, even picking out songs by ear that we haven’t taught him how to play! Maybe he inherited some of his daddy’s musical abilities?

Tabernacle Model

2011-10-05T09:35:00.001-05:00

Last week we were reading in our Bible story book about the tabernacle that God told the Israelites to make. I remembered when I was a kid that I had a booklet that had punch-out pieces with which to build a model tabernacle. I thought that would be fun to do with the kids – to help them visualize what it looked like rather than just reading about it.

So, I searched on-line and actually found this really neat FREE printable tabernacle model.

We printed it on card-stock paper and cut it out. (This was a great nap-time keep-him-out-of-trouble activity for Travis.) Then, in less than 30 minutes we assembled it.

Birthday Party

2011-09-17T20:45:00.001-05:00

Heather asked for a “sheep” cake for her 5th birthday party. We ended up having a an entire “sheep” theme party.

The invitation…(created with Stampin’ Up’s My Digital Studio)…

The decorations (sheep balloons) …

The game…

The centerpiece (the “simple” craft project that nearly ruined my week) and the meal : “Shepherdess Pie” and Fruit Salad….

And, the masterpiece, the sheep cake (pictured in various stages of assembly)…

It looks like Jeffrey is trying to help Heather blow out the candles, but she did it all by herself, with one breath!

And a few of the guests (I forgot to take more pictures). No we didn’t require sheep costumes :-)

Cousin Napolean brought his parents and his smile…

I didn’t get a picture yet of this gift, a toy horse, wagon, and 2 sheep (from the Petersons). Brian knew it was a “neigh”.

And her first real big girl Bible (from mom and dad), with the cover made by Granny…

Russell Roundup

2011-09-02T19:23:00.001-05:00

1. Brian’s hair continually cracks me up. It just won’t lay flat! I cut it this week, and his head feels like a stiff bristle brush.

2. To Run or Not to Run. That is the question I ask myself many evenings after the kids are in bed. I like to run. But there are so many other things I want to get done before bed. But, I sleep so much better when I do run. So, I run. Not very far or very fast (last night I did a mile in 15 minutes), but it gets my blood moving and my sweat glands working. Ha! And I either get to run around (the lake) with my handsome hunk of a husband, or I get to listen to the Bible on my mp3 player. And watch the ducks. And the sunset. And the moon.

3. Plans seem to be made to be changed. I love making plans. I love sticking to plans. But it seems like God often decides to change them for me. That’s OK. He’s God, and I’m not. :-)

4. Teeth, Teeth, Teeth. Brian’s is getting lots of them. I think that may be why he didn’t sleep so well a couple of weeks ago. meanwhile, Travis is losing them. He had one that was very loose late last week, but he wasn’t quite ready for anybody to pull it out for him. On Sunday he lost it. Literally. I noticed at lunch time that he had a big gap in his mouth. And it wasn’t still bleeding, so it hadn’t just come out. But he has no idea when or where. (We don’t do the tooth fairy thing, so it’s no big loss (pun intended) to him.)

5. “I Saw a Twuck.” It is on his official record. Brian’s first sentence. We were at the doctor’s office last week for his 18 month checkup. While the doctor was asking me if he was speaking 5-7 words, he was looking out the window at the freeway below and pointing excitedly. I asked him if he saw a truck. He immediately replied, “I saw a twuck".” Ok, so it wasn’t exactly that clear, but the inflection of his voice was exactly the same. And even the doctor recognized what he said (and she wrote it down on his chart : “spoke 4 word sentence.” It’s even more amazing the more I thought about it later. He didn’t just repeat a sentence. He answered a question with the proper pronouns and verb tense. Is that cool or what?

6. Popcorn. I had forgotten how good popcorn tastes. I haven’t had any since I was pregnant with Travis because of its high-glycemic properties and my blood sugar problems. The kids asked this week if we could try to make popcorn. So, we watched some videos on YouTube (since I’ve never done it in a pot on the stove before), and then tried it. It was SOOOO good!! I think the kids thought daddy had never had popcorn before (since they’ve never had it at our house), so they were very excited to find out what he would think.

7. Weeds. They just don’t seem to be affected by drought, do they? It took me 2.5 hours just to weed the small front flower beds. And Ronnie was finally able to find out what kind of weed has completely taken over our back yard and its now working on the front yard. Virginia Buttonweed. We already knew it was very drought tolerant. Ronnie says it acts like a cactus and sucks up all the water into its leaves, which then clog up the mower. He has to stop once or twice while mowing our very small back yard to clean the gunk out of the mower. Apparently, there are no chemicals that will kill it. The only way to get rid of it is to pull it up by its roots by hand. Nice.

Russell Roundup

2011-08-25T20:13:00.001-05:00

1 School -- We started school (officially) last week (though we’ve never stopped completely during the summer). I did a 2-week study on the 7 days of creation before that (I hope to post pictures and more details about that…when I get some “spare time” Ha!). The kids really enjoyed that, and I found that it worked very well when I had detailed plans all written out, taped on the refrigerator. that way I had no “dead time”, wondering what are we going to do next or gathering supplies while the kids wander off and get distracted (and therefore in trouble!) So, I’ve tried to take that method into our regular school year…my intention was to plan and teach for 4 weeks, then take a week off (to plan the next 4 weeks), and carry that on through the year. It’s turned more into just planning for the next week. But overall, things seem to be going well. And one thing I’ve observed: even on weeks (like this one) when we have several other things going on and things may get done at the times we would normally do them, it is possible to adjust, be flexible, and end up getting (almost) everything accomplished anyway. By the way, Travis is in first grade, Heather is in kindergarten, and Jeffrey is doing some preschool. All are doing well so far and very quickly figured out the schedule and routine.

2 Chores -- On the second or third day of school last week, Travis told me that he really liked school this year. I was mentally getting ready to pat myself on the back for all the hard work I had done planning and making the school days more interactive (and active) and reducing the “seat-work” and workbook time that seemed to be a drag last year. I was immediately jerked back into a 6 year old’s perspective as Travis added, “because of the prizes you got for us!” Call it a bribe if you wish, but I set up a chore chart system for them to encourage them to cheerfully help out more around the house. Frankly, I was just tired of doing all the work and knew that they could do many things on their own, and needed to learn practical life skills (such as making their beds, emptying the dishwasher, setting and clearing the table, taking their own baths, folding and putting away their own clothes, etc.) It makes it more fun, though, when they have a motivation or prize to work toward. So… they get a sticker for each time they do one of their chores cheerfully without being told more than once. Every five stickers earns a ticket, which they collect and can redeem later for a toy out of either the 10-ticket toy box or the 20-ticket toy box. This way, they are also practicing counting (by ones and fives), learning the days of the week, and possibly, learning delayed gratification – if they can really have the patience to wait long enough to earn 20 tickets to get one of the really cool prizes.

3 Grocery shopping -- Several months ago, I began experimenting with a new grocery shopping system. The goal was to reduce the amount of time weekly shopping takes, so that I don’t have to use up an entire morning (and thus most of a school day) every week. So, I’ve been doing a mega-shopping trip once a month (with menus already planned out) and then just get the perishable things (dairy and produce) on a weekly basis. So far, it has been working out the way I had hoped. Ronnie has often gone with me on the mega-trip days (Saturday) where he helps by pushing an extra cart and keeping the kids pre-occupied so they are not constantly asking me questions and distracting me from thinking. The 3 “in-between” shopping trips have gone well too, usually taking me less than an hour to go and come back, allowing us to get home in time for Brian’s morning nap and some school work.

4 Mentors – I am grateful for the goldy, older women who have invested so much in my life before I got married. I feel like I have received so much wise counsel that has truly helped me love and respect Ronnie and made the transition to marriage and motherhood so much smoother. And now, I’m finding opportunities to pass on that counsel that I’ve heard and tried to put into practice. Some people have said they admire me and think I’m wise, but it’s not me! Thank you Gail, Cheryl, Karla, and mom!

5 Good friends – It was a real delight this week to get to visit with 2 friends from Austria. My sister and I went to see them 11 years ago. A lot has changed since then (a husband and 4 kids!), but it felt so easy to visit and catch up (a little!)

6 Time -- there never seems to be enough of it to do everything that I feel like I need to so, much less the things I just want to do. But I’ve been trying this week to take the advice of the ladies in my church Bible study… leave some things undone and just go ahead and go to bed, or do whatever is really more important. I get tired, though, of constantly evaluating what absolutely must get done, what can wait, and what doesn’t really have to be done at all.

7 Bible in 90 Days – I have not kept up the pace of reading through the Bible in 90 days, but I have continued listening to Max McLean read it on my mp3 player. It was interesting to note while reading through Kings and Chronicles that some of the kings who the most evil and whom we generally think of only as evil, actually humbled themselves before God later in life. And some who initially followed the Lord, and of whom it is written, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”, ended up getting proud and turning away from the Lord.

The Bible in 90 Days

2011-07-13T20:39:00.001-05:00

I was inspired by a friend who signed up to read through the Bible in 90 days. I wanted to read along with her, but I knew there was no way I could find an hour to an hour and half per day to sit down and read. Then, I remembered that have the Bible on CD (actually mp3) as read by Max McLean. So, I started on Sunday while I was ironing and doing other mindless tasks to listen to Genesis. I listened to some more Monday morning as I was waking up, then again while I spent 2 hours driving on Tuesday. And this afternoon, I even skipped my nap (GASP!!) so I could listen while I pulled weeds in the flower beds. I was totally shocked when I came inside (after finishing with the weeds) to find that it had been almost 1 1/2 hours!! The time had just flown by while I was in the land of Canaan and Egypt with Joseph and his family.

It has been so neat to hear all of the familiar stories in Genesis read in such a short space of time. And hearing the inflection and dramatic emphasis that Max McLean puts into the verbal dialogues. Both have opened my eyes to see new things in the old familiar stories.

For instance, in the story about Lot, Abraham’s nephew, I was struck with how reluctant he was to leave Sodom and how many times he had to be urged and prodded to leave, even in the face of impending disaster. And I wonder… is there anything that I am clinging to so much that I would be reluctant to give it up, if God asks me to, even if He shows me how dangerous and harmful it is to me?

And the whole saga of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Esau, Laban, Rachel, Leah, Joseph and all his brothers… wow! So much trouble caused by favoritism, deceit, envy, jealousy, and “taking matters into your own hands” (yikes! how many times do I do that???) And yet, God still chose that family to bring about his chosen people, and eventually, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What mercy! What amazing grace!

Vacation (Part 2)

2011-06-30T11:18:00.001-05:00

On Monday, May 23, we left Nashville and headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas. On the way, we stopped at the Tennessee Welcome Center in Memphis (remember we had stopped at the Arkansas Welcome Center and the nice lady gave the kids coloring books?). Well, Travis was brave enough to go ask the lady if they had coloring books, but was sorely disappointed that they didn’t.

On Tuesday, May 24 we drove up to the Hot Spring Mountain Tower (after driving up and down the “mountain” twice to let Brian take his morning nap). This is a 21 story observation tower, with both an outside upper deck, and an indoor lower deck. They have a glass elevator so you can see out as you are going up.

It was much cooler and very windy up on top…

You can see Brian straining on his tippy-toes to see over the railing… don’t worry, there was a plexi-glass shield where it looks clear under the wires…

One of the famous landmarks of Hot Springs, the Arlington Hotel. I was fascinated by reading the history of the Hot Springs area. The kids… not so much.

By the time we were done at the mountain tower, I wasn’t feeling very well, so Ronnie took me back to the hotel (where I took a 3 hour nap and didn’t even miss lunch). He took the kids to lunch, and then found a playground (with a lake nearby, of course) where they played for a long time. After supper, we finally got to go swimming in the indoor hotel pool. I was pleasantly surprised that all the kids were brave and cheerful when they got in the water (since we hadn’t been swimming since last summer). Well, Brian, not so much at first. But Daddy was able to cheer him up.

On Wednesday, May 25, our first stop was the laundromat to do a mountain of laundry. Four loads at once…this just goes to show that mom and kids have very different ideas about what is fun…

When watching the dryer gets boring, get daddy to give you a ride in the basket…

And when mom is folding clothes… there’s so much fun to be had… I have to admit that I was getting irritated at first when they were being so silly, ‘cause I was just trying to get finished so we could go do something “fun.” Then it suddenly dawned on me that they were having fun. Then I couldn’t help laughing at how utterly ridiculous they looked… and that encouraged them all the more….I still laugh every time I look at these pictures…

After the laundry was done, we went in search of some “hot springs.” Most of them are “capped” by big green boxes to protect them from pollution and contamination, but they have a few open for public viewing.

First we walked along the Grand Promenade (accompanied by lots of “when are we going to see some hot springs?” and “I’m tired” and “it’s hot”)…

Aha! Finally we found one! It really was hot (we all took turns testing it out). And you really could see the steam rising from it.

Now, we are all happy campers, right?

Next, we toured (for free) the Fordyce Bath House Museum. Apparently, before the advent of antibiotics and other modern medicines, people thought the hot spring water had healing properties and would come here for treatments. The Fordyce Bath House has been restored as free Museum to show what it looked like back then.

Very large tubs…

A sitz bath (ok, so at first we thought it was a place to wash your feet!) and a steam cabinet (you get in the the cabinet, with only your head sticking out of that hole at the top.

A “needle shower”…

A gymnasium…

In the basement was the Fordyce Spring itself…

After this, we went out for a late lunch (pizza!), then swimming again, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for supper! While Ronnie was reading bedtime stories to the older kids, I took Brian with me to get some ice from the ice machine. He was so cute walking all the way down the hall in his pajamas, carrying the empty ice bucket.

On Thursday, May 26 we took a “duck tour”. This was an amphibious vehicle used in World War II, now converted for use as a tourist trap, er, I mean vehicle. They took us on a tour of Hot Springs, telling us some of the history (and a lot of useless information I was interested in). And for a ride on Lake Hamilton. After an hour of sitting on a hard bench and breathing fumes from the engine, I was ready to get off. Brian found it very relaxing, however, and took a long nap. Fortunately, we didn’t learn until later that a few years ago, one of these boats sank in 30 seconds, killing 13 people, including several children (there was no time to put life jackets on, and the canopy on top trapped people from being able to swim away. Hmmm. Maybe we wouldn’t ride it again….But God protected us!

After the duck tour, Ronnie took us out to eat at a Mexican restaurant for my birthday. Then we went to the Mid-America Science Museum. If you are ever in Hot Springs, plan to make a day of it at this museum!!! It is well worth the price and we really could have spent all day there instead of only the 2.5 hours we had until they closed.

Some of the cool machines they had in the lobby….

The heat camera let you experiment with objects of different materials to see which were warmer and which were cooler. We found out that our noses are cooler than the rest of our faces!

I found this cute little guy… can I take him home with me?

An experiment to make water stand on a wire mesh screen… the trick is to spin it and stop it fast enough in an exact vertical position that there is higher air pressure in the bottom chamber that holds the water up…

I really liked the building section. They had signs to tell you how different building structures (arches, bridges, etc.) are made, and wooden blocks with which to experiment…

The Bernoulli Blower blows a stream of air that can keep the beach ball floating in the air (like a tornado does)…

And you can experiment with tipping the blower at different angles to see how far you can go before the ball drops. And when it drops, something else will happen to the ball, as seen in the three pictures below…

Ronnie enjoyed the bicycle wheel gyro…

The three older kids spent quite a long time at the spinning sand wheels, experimenting with what happens to the sand when you do various things to it while the platform is spinning…

The Tesla Coil or "caged lightning. The neon sign was not plugged in to anything. It lit up when the "lightning" started. It was very loud.
http://www.midamericamuseum.org/content.php?id=71

After the museum closed, we drove around a little while (to let some people get a bit of a nap), then got some hamburgers and headed to the park where Ronnie had taken the kids a few days before. It’s always so hard to guess how much food to order to have enough without having too much leftover and wasting the money!! In this case, the kids were more interested in getting to the playground than in eating…so, after eating a quarter of a hamburger each, we sent them off to play…

I love how my Ronnie loves to play with the kids and just be a kid himself! And I love how all my kids can now play independently on a playground… well, almost all. The one who can’t completely, thinks he can…

We stopped at an ice cream shop to celebrate my birthday This was the picture in the bathroom…

When we got back to the hotel, this was how the housekeeping ladies had made up the kids’ bed…

And this is what I worked on during the long hours of driving (Ronnie did all the driving)… This is Jeffrey’s big boy blanket. In case you can’t tell, it will have a picture of a beagle worked in granny squares. I had already done the top part before we left, and had crocheted the squares for maybe 1 or 2 more rows. But the rest of the bottom part and sewing them all together was done on the trip. A very profitable time!

We had a great time, but it sure felt good to be back home again, in our own rooms and beds and food and routines!

One last thought… did you know that Texas does not have “welcome centers”? They have “tourist information centers.” What’s the deal with that? I thought we were supposed to be a friendly state?

Vacation (Part 1)

2011-06-22T23:19:00.002-05:00

In May, we took a vacation to Nashville, Tennessee and Hot Springs, Arkansas.   This was only our second family vacation. (The first was to Colorado, when Heather was a baby and Jeffrey was on the way.)
We left on Wednesday, May 18, (only half an hour after our target departure time!) and drove up US 59 – the highway of many small towns, stop lights, and constantly changing speed limits.
We packed a picnic lunch and found a nice park in Carthage, Texas. The kids were more interested in the playground than in eating lunch. We all wore our tie-dye shirts so it would be easy to find everyone. The tie-dye shirts were Travis’ idea, after seeing a onesie that Brian had. We had a lot of fun making them and wearing them. And we got a lot of smiles and comments from people who saw us.

Just after we crossed the Arkansas state line, we stopped for a break at the Arkansas Welcome Center. They had nice restrooms, the kids got to run around and work off some energy, and the nice lady at the desk gave all the kids coloring books which kept them busy for most of the rest of the trip.
We spent the first night in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the kids were fascinated with the dry magnolia leaves they found on the ground…

On Thursday, we continued on toward Nashville. Before we started our vacation, we had been talking about the fact that we would have to cross the Mississippi River and that it had been flooding. A couple of weeks before, the road we were planning to take was under water. So, the oft-repeated question on Day 2 (every time we crossed a river) was “Is this the Mississippi?” No, not yet. But the rivers we crossed in Arkansas and Tennessee were WAY bigger than the ones I’m used to seeing in our part of Texas.
Finally, we reached THE river. You could tell in the miles leading up to the bridge in Memphis that there was water where there probably isn’t usually, but there was none on the road.

One night, while reading a story by Beatrix Potter, we learned a new word: “soporific”—causing or inducing sleepiness. Riding in the van in the afternoon is soporific for my children. :-)

The kids did really well on the trip. We brought books, coloring pages, toy computers, stuffed animals, quilts, and a number of music CDs and DVDs (some that I made using the video software that Ronnie gave me for Christmas – family pictures with classical music as the background). The kids seemed to get a kick out of seeing pictures and videos of themselves.
In Nashville, we had a two-room suite. Jeffrey was about to get sad about not getting to sleep on the “couch bed” until we pushed two arm chairs together to make him his very own “couch bed”. Just the perfect size! And with arms to keep him from falling out!

On Friday, May 20, we headed out to explore Nashville a little bit. We went to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Art Museum. Our main attraction was a model train exhibit with nearly two dozen replicas of Tennessee most famous landmarks. (http://www.cheekwood.org/Gardens/TRAINS_Tennessee_in_G.aspx)
It was a bit pricey just to see the trains, but the kids really had a great time watching the trains go around and around, so it was worth it to see their smiles and fascination. We did also take a brief walk through some of the gardens and got excited watching the tadpoles in a shallow pond.
And yes, we all wore matching shirts again. This time from our Vacation Bible School last year. We got lots of comments on those too.

That’s Jeffrey under that hat…

Thomas the Tank Engine…

and the Ladybug train…

After the trains, we had lunch at a nice burger shop called Back Yard Burgers…dare I say it, even better than Whataburger?

After naps at the hotel, we spent 30 minutes getting everybody ready to go swimming… only to find out that the pool was closed. Another 30 minutes to get everybody dressed in play clothes again, then headed out to find a park to play in . The kids took the disappointment pretty well – better than mom, who was mainly frustrated that she didn’t check first to make sure the pool was open before spending all that time and effort getting everybody dressed.

Story time before bed… we kept up our usual routine including a chapter from the Bible, a storybook, and a song from the hymnal…

Brian doesn’t yet have the attention span to sit for stories with the others, but he found a place of his own to enjoy….

On Saturday morning, we went to Lane Motor Museum, featuring many European cars and motorcycles.
http://lanemotormuseum.org/

Lots of tiny cars…

The only car you were allowed to actually touch…

The children’s area pacified those of our party who were not impressed with all the other cars…

The driving simulator was harder than it looked…

Ronnie gave Travis his first driving lesson (Ronnie operated the gas pedal since Travis couldn’t reach it). I decided that Ronnie should be the one to give the driving lessons when the time comes!

An old timey fire engine…

A replica of one of Henry Ford’s first creations…. apparently, he got so involved in building it that he didn’t think about how he was going to get it out of his workshop. He ended up having to break down the doorway and frame.

I loved this license plate map!

An airplane car…

A “ski car” built in World War II (I think)… with skis to go over the snow….

Ronnie’s favorite car.. an amphibious car than can go on land and water. You can see the propellers in the second picture.

The main reason for our vacation… Ronnie’s nephew’s wedding. We have been to LOTS of weddings in the time that Ronnie and I have known each other. I always enjoy going to each one and praying for the new couple as they start this wonderful journey called marriage. I pray that they will find the happiness and deep friendship that Ronnie and I have found together.

The happy couple, Josh and Tayla…

The bride with the groom’s parents (Ronnie’s sister Janet and her husband Adam)…

The groom with his grandparents (Ronnie’s parents)…

Cutting the cake….

Lots of good food and fellowship at the reception…

Cousin Jorge with Emily, Napolean (his son), and Abigail…

Ronnie’s niece Hannah, with her cousin’s daughter Emily…

Cousin Tim entertaining the younger set, including his daughter Emily, Napolean and Abigail, Heather, Travis, and Jeffrey…

Three handsome guys…. Ronnie with his dad and Brian…I love how Grandpa Russell is always willing to hold the grandkids…

Travis and his cousin Abigail picking up (or throwing?) flowers as the bride and groom leave….

Silly Uncle Jon….

With Ronnie’s mom….

Cousins Deborah and Hannah…

Have I mentioned that my girl likes pretty things? Heather LOVED her new dress…

After the wedding, we stopped at a nearby grocery store to get some snacks (cereal, fruit, yogurt) and went back to the hotel to have a light supper and sleep after a long day!

On Sunday, after church, Adam and Janet took us out to eat at Cracker Barrel. We had quite the crowd. The weather was nice enough to sit and visit out on the porch for a long time after lunch.

The younger set of cousins playing checkers… or something of their own invention….

NO, that’s NOT a Texas Longhorn orange chair. We were in TENNESSEE!! Although, if Ronnie had seen it, he might not have let Heather sit in it. :-)

Ronnie is a “water magnet”, so he’s always looking for some type of water to see… On Sunday evening, we stopped for a few minutes at the J. Percy Priest Dam to see the water and smell the cigarette smoke from the fishermen. We didn’t stay long.

Then we went to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel/Resort/Convention Center. Cousin Josh recommended and it was worth it! And free! If you are ever in Nashville, this is a must see.
The spitting fountains were a hit with the kids…
You can see the balconies of some of the rooms overlooking the “Cascades” area…

Waterfalls!!

Behind the waterfall…

Beautiful place to take pictures… and to just relax….

Real fish in the water…

Three kiddos growing up fast…and having a blast!

And another one who decided to pick some leaves, since they were in reach…

One last thing before we leave Nashville… just before we arrived millions (?) of cicadas hatched out of the ground. They were EVERYWHERE! And their shells were EVERYWHERE! And they were loud. I had heard about the phenomenon of these critters hatching every 17 or 18 years. I think we got to witness it! After we got home, we followed up with several books from the library about cicadas to learn more about them. Here is a video, showing just a glimpse (mainly for the sound).

The Month of March

2011-03-30T20:23:00.001-05:00

Wow! It’s hard to believe more than a month has passed since I last blogged. Looking through my pictures for the month, I’m amazed at how much as happened!

First, my dear sweet husband bought me a new washer and dryer. They are so cool! Or as one friend would say, “WAY COOL BEANS!!” They both have glass doors, so you can see what’s going on in there. The kids absolutely love it! They will spend 30 minutes or more watching the washing machine (if I let them). And they fall all over themselves asking to be the one to help turn them on or put the soap in or get the lint out or put the clothes in or take the clothes out. Even Brian was helping today, taking clothes out of the dryer one piece at a time and handing them to me with a smile as I folded them. Both machines have a timer that shows how many minutes are left before they are done. The kids love to watch it and wait for the nifty little tune that plays when the load is done. Much nicer than a loud BUZZZZZ!

Now, if I could just them them that excited to FOLD the clothes and put them away…Or since Travis is always talking about inventing things, I should tell him to invent a machine that automatically folds clothes and puts them away. And while he’s at it, he could invent something to empty the dishwasher for me too. :-)

Oh, and an unexpected benefit of getting a new washer and dryer…I got the opportunity to rearrange my laundry room to make it more convenient and to eliminate the constant irritation of having no place to put laundry baskets as various loads are awaiting attention. Don’t have a picture of it, but I was able to scoot the dryer closer to the washer and put in a set of nice white metal shelves between the dryer and the wall with the door. That was a God-thing! I found the shelves at Lowe’s and they were a good price, fit perfectly in the space I have, they look nice, and my baskets fit perfectly on them!

Actually, Travis has been quite helpful of late. Often, he will cheerfully help set the table for a meal (and now the others often come running asking, “What can I do?”) And he does a better job than me at putting the silverware away…

And yesterday after lunch, I was wondering what he was doing in the bathroom. (He was supposed to be brushing his teeth.) Turned out he had taken everything off the counter and was busily cleaning the mirror, counter and sink! It had not even entered my mind to ask him to do that! I made sure to thank him profusely and express my amazement… and to tell Daddy at supper time what a great thing he did. I could just see him beaming and grinning!

We went with some friend to the Houston Livestock Show. It was so neat how God provided! We had to changed dates because of a conflict in Ronnie’s schedule, but it turned out that the day we went was a “value Wednesday”, meaning that all the kids got in free and the adults were only $5 each. Pretty cool deal to do all that for only $10!

The kids got to practice milking a (fake) cow…

… and sit on a real tractor…

Who are those cute farmers?

Just clowning around…

Ok, I know we’re an Aggie family, but surely Ronnie won’t mind a picture of a REAL Texas Longhorn?

Everyone but Heather enjoyed the petting zoo..

Ronnie introducing Brian to the goats…

That’s Ronnie under that hat. The baby deer were pretty aggressive… trying to eat anything and everything … coats, shirts, shoelaces, zippers, cameras…

The wild-eyed wallaby. This fella got loose and was zipping around the pen like everything. Kind of scared some of the kids.

We have been enjoying watching God renew the earth with the miracle of spring! It truly is amazing to watch the yard change from totally brown to mostly green in less than a month’s time.

It has been amazing to see the snapdragons in our flower beds go from this…

to this…

And my precious, brave little blueberry plants showing hope for the future..

We can never get enough blueberries, so I added some more, for a total of 11 plants now…

Thanks to my friend Pony, we are making another attempt at the garden. At the end of February, she planted some tomato and strawberry and green bell pepper transplants, as well as cucumber and bush bean seeds. In just a couple of weeks, we had this…

Last week we found this…

Last night we found these (strawberry blooms)…

And these…

I’ve been enjoying quiet Sunday evenings with just my two youngest boys while Ronnie has taken the older two to Awana. A couple of times, I took them for a ride in the stroller (and me on my roller blades). One night, we went up to the elementary school’s playground and enjoyed a fun two-year old directed playtime.

He’s so adorable! How did I get so blessed?!?!?

We had a break from Awana one Sunday night (for Spring Break), so we took a picnic supper up to the park and had a pleasant evening in beautiful weather. An added bonus: I got to get my beagle “fix” by petting a super cute beagle who reminded me so much of my old dear Marley.

All my little (and big) monkeys climbing on the ropes…

(In case you are wondering, they are wearing helmets because they had just been riding bikes. In Jeffrey’s case, it’s probably a good idea to wear a helmet ALL the time. Not joking.)

Story time after we got home…

Fun with food… one night, I realized at 4 o’clock that I did not have the main ingredient for what I had planned to cook (macaroni for mac & cheese). There wasn’t time to go to the store, but I wasn’t sure what in the world I could do. But while Ronnie took the kids for a bike ride, I came up with this: “lid potatoes” (got the idea from a story from “The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook” we had read the week before), with a salad, and turkey lunch meat and cheese “ka-bobs”. It was surprisingly well-received, even by the kids.

Another day, we read in a Highlights for Kids magazine about making “two-tone sandwiches.” You were supposed to cut a shape out of a piece of brown bread and the same shape out of a piece of white bread, then insert the opposite color shape into the other piece of bread. Travis wanted to do this, but I didn’t have any white bread. So, I thought, maybe I could do it with gelatin. I mixed up one pan of gelatin with grape juice and pureed blueberries, and another pan with white grape raspberry juice and pureed strawberries. Ronnie said it was the best gelatin I’ve ever made. (My other attempts have not been so good…)

Brian enjoys oatmeal and cottage cheese… inside and outside.

It’s very curious, the last two weeks I have combined two weeks worth of work from our curriculum into one week. And we’ve gotten it almost all done! Why did we always struggle just to get one week’s worth of work done before? Maybe I’ve been a bit more focused and motivated to try to get finished before the middle of May.

It has been an interesting year of getting to know my kids and how they learn and what they like and don’t like, what works and what doesn’t, and what motivates them (and me).

Travis loves math and is really good at it, but doesn’t like to write. So, it just finally dawned on me the other night that I could do the math lessons orally with him, instead of making him write all the answers. Wow! it really speeds things up, and makes him (and me) a much happier student!

He did a puzzle in his Highlights for Kids magazine where he had to help a bee find it’s way out of the hive by doing some addition problems. The next day, he created this “bee hive” with pattern blocks…

Travis has always been interested in building things. He’s been playing with screwdrivers since he was probably 6 months old! So, the other day I remembered that I had a toy when I was a kid called “Mecanno” with all kinds of pieces to screw and bolt, pulleys, etc. I got it out Sunday afternoon for him to play with during nap time. Boy, his eyes lit up and he immediately knew this would be a FUN toy. And he’s played with it every day since.

Suction cup toothbrushes are a great invention! They even stick on mirrors if you want to keep your baby brother from licking them.

The baby brother is not quite walking on his own, but he is going everywhere… around and around and around… if he has something to push….

The specifications for a girl’s bike are much different than those for a boy’s bike. A boy’s bike need to be fast, cool-looking, and have gadgets. A girl’s bike need to be pretty. That’s my girly-girl. She didn’t get it from me.

I finally cut her back hair for the first time ever, to even it up. I like it. I think it looks much better when she won’t let me put a ponytail in…

And we got our family portraits done…

As for me, I’ve been enjoying learning the photo/video editing software that Ronnie got me for Christmas. I’m working on a video for our end-of-the-year Awana awards ceremony to show pictures and highlights from the past year. I’m really excited about it!

God has been giving me opportunity to practice James 1:2:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of various kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

This song by Jon Mohr, sung by Steve Green, sums it up for me, as I have gone through a second miscarriage in the past 4 months:

You are good always

And in all ways

You are working all things

Together for our good.

You are good always

In big and small ways

I know I can trust You

In everything You do

With the hard winds of life

Blowing out of control

It can feel like I'm all on my own

But You've given me Your word

And I know You'll never leave

And I've never faced a single storm alone.

I can't says it's always

Been a smooth open road

Or turned out the way I'd prefer

But one thing I'm sure of

You've been faithful to me

And I live to give You all that You deserve.

Praire View Trail Ride

2011-02-23T14:23:00.000-06:00

Every February, several groups of trail ride come in to Houston for the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The Prairie View Trail Ride comes down through our area. I knew it was supposed to go through some time today, but of course had no idea exactly when. So, we went for an adventure to go look for it. I found some places where they had been (the tell-tale trail of horse poop), but then it stopped. I turned around and back tracked. I was praying that we would find them so that my kids would not be too disappointed, but I was about to give up. Then Travis called out, "I see them!" They were on the opposite side of the road from what I was expecting, taking a break at a gas station. The kids were super excited to see them. And we got to pass on them on the road a little later and waved to them all.

Jeffrey sings the Awana Theme song

2011-02-04T13:25:00.000-06:00

January 2011

2011-02-01T20:47:00.001-06:00

I always have a struggle with how much time to spend on the computer, corresponding with people via email, facebook, or blog versus just doing what has to be done to keep the household running (laundry, cleaning, teaching, sleeping, disciplining).

Most of the time, updating the blog just doesn’t make it onto the priority list. But it’s been so long, I thought it was time to share a few pictures and stories…

Since Christmas, we have tried out several new games, such as “Chutes and Ladders” and “Go Fish”. It is fun to see how Travis and Heather are actually able to understand and play games now. And it is fun to get to play with them.

With some cold and/or wet weather, we have devised some ways to work off energy indoors (I wish I could get an energy transfusion from them!)

Hopscotch is good for counting forwards and backwards, hopping, and balancing. Even Jeffrey was learning to count, and amusing us all with his “hops”. (We used blue painter tape to make the hopscotch grid on the carpet.) I knew this game was a hit when they continued playing on their own, even after I stopped. We left it up for a couple of weeks, and several times every day I would hear “One. Two, Three. Four. Five. Six, Seven. Eight. Nine, Ten. HOME!”

Sack races with old pillowcases…amazingly, nobody got hurt!

Indoor obstacle course, designed by Travis and Mommy. There were things to climb over, circle around, crawl under, jump over, pick up, crawl through, toss, and weave around.

We’ve also tried to do some creative/artsy things, such as making “sun bread” on a cloudy day…

Everyone got to make swirls for the “corona”. Travis was very insistent that they had to be pointy on the ends.

The finished product…eaten immediately for lunch!

And some finger painting… focusing on the “process” of creating rather than the “product”. We experimented with what patterns we could make with different tools – small plastic animals, sponges, crumpled paper or plastic wrap, brushes, fingers, dog biscuits, etc.

And building things with blocks. A friend from church gave us some really neat wooden blocks which have the books of the Bible etched onto them. What a neat tool to not only build towers and cities, but to practice learning the books of the Bible.

We’ve also had some nice weather and had several trips to the park, and bike rides around the neighborhood several times a week.

Travis is 5 and 3/4 (though he insists he’s 5 and a half!). He is ALWAYS thinking about something he is going to build or make. Even as a young baby, he seemed interested in trying to figure out how things worked. Even more so lately. You rarely have to wonder what he is thinking, because he is constantly telling you. This past year has been a big year for him. He’s learned to ride a bike without training wheels, he’s learning to read and do math, he got his very own “real” Bible (complete with a cover with a handle!), and he has lost 4 baby teeth! He is very brave and even let Daddy pull two of them out. Travis loves to help (most of the time) and often offers to set the table, help me cook, or help people at church staple things or put away chairs and tables. He even helps Heather make her bed sometimes and helps button Jeffrey’s pants.

Heather is my girly-girl. She loves pretty things. When she wants to, she can be very artistic, coloring things very neatly. I recently have realized that she really seems to like to have “all her ducks in a row.” For example, all the cards in her memory game have to be lined up straight, her bunny cookies have to be lined up in a neat line, and the toilet paper has to be coming off the top of the roll or I’ll hear, “Mommy, will you please turn the toilet paper the RIGHT way?” She also has made great improvements in being able to make her bed neatly. And she loves to mother her dolls or her little brothers. I enjoy watching her and Jeffrey play by themselves sometimes (usually “house” or “picnic” or “tea party”).

Jeffrey is 2 and 2/3 and getting to be a very big boy. Just ask him. This past year he has started going to Sunday School (instead of nursery) and sitting in big church with Mommy and Daddy. He loves cars and other motorized vehicles (see his beloved motorcycle below). He also seems to have a talent for memorizing and singing. As I’ve been helping Travis and Heather with their memory verses, sometimes he will blurt them out – and sometimes he knows them better than they do! Also, on his own, he has been learning the Awana theme song and the Awana Cubbies song – and he can carry a tune pretty good. He even tries to sing the hymns in church sometimes. He has very quickly picked up the songs on our newest Steve Green “Hide ‘Em In Your Heart” DVD.

Jeffrey loves his little brother. They share a room, and I often hear them talking and laughing together in the morning before I get them up.

Of course, Brian is just the cutest baby on the block! Now 11 months old, he is crawling, standing, and “cruising” everywhere. The poor fellow always has bad hair days…

Even when I try to flatten it down after a bath, it still sticks up…

And he’s discovered the cabinet with all the plastic containers. I finally got tired of tripping over things and having to put them all back in the cabinet, so I moved most of them up out of reach and just left a few in there for him to play with.

Ronnie is enjoying being the Awana commander at church this year. He recently challenged the Awana clubbers to memorize the entire chapter of Exodus 20 (containing the 10 commandments) for extra credit. Then, since our pastor is preaching through Exodus and about to reach that chapter, he challenged the whole church to memorize it.

During the Christmas holidays, Ronnie enjoyed spending lots of time with the kids. They bought rubber band powered airplanes, put them together, and went up to the local elementary school playground to try to fly them.

I’ve been playing around with my camera…I’m never in any of the pictures because I’m always the one taking them. So, either I need longer arms if I’m going to do self-portraits…

… or a good place to set up the automatic timer on the camera.

I’ve been helping Ronnie with his Awana Commander duties, and I’ve found that I really enjoy doing things such as the weekly newsletter…especially after I discovered Microsoft Publisher (much easier than Word!). I also put together a booklet to help the Awana kids memorize Exodus 20; then I made some more for the adults.

This past Sunday, it was Heather’s turn to bring snacks to her Awana Cubbies class, so we made cookies. Everyone wanted to help cut them out… and taste them (before and after they were baked).

At the beginning of the year, I was challenged from several sources (my pastor, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and another mom friend) to put a priority on spending time with the Lord, reading the Bible and praying. I’ve found that I get the most out of my time with the Lord when I journal and when I listen to worship music – two things I’ve neglected lately because it seemed like I just didn’t have time with trying to manage a household of four young children. But I was starving spiritually and realized that if I don’t make that time to be alone with God, I will not be much good to my kids and my husband, no matter how much I clean, cook, etc. That stuff just never gets finished anyhow. And when I get to the end of my life, will it really matter if the house was never dusted, the floor rarely mopped, the bathrooms sometimes cleaned? No. Will it matter to me (and to my children) if I never cultivated my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who loved me so much he died to pay for my sins so that I could be with him? Yes! So, I spend some time (never seems like enough) before I get up reading, praying, journaling, worshipping – even if I have to ignore the racket my two oldest ones might be making (the two youngest stay in bed until I get them up, the two older ones get up to keep Daddy warm while he eats breakfast and say goodbye to him when he leaves for work.)

And I leave you with one of my favorite pictures of the month…all four kids quietly looking at books after lunch one day – on their own initiative! This was reassurance to me that at least I am accomplishing one of my goals in raising/homeschooling my kids – instilling in them a love of reading!

A moment in time

2010-10-07T15:43:00.001-05:00

I received this clock as a wedding present. I thought it was beautiful.

Only one problem with it. It hasn’t kept very good time. (At least not since it fell off the wall a few times.) Sometimes, even with a fresh battery, it would suddenly lag behind for a few minutes or even hours!

I hated to get rid of it, because it was a really nice clock. Except for not keeping time.

But what good is a clock that doesn’t keep time?

Reminds me of some Bible passages, such as Proverbs 26:6-8:

⁶ Like cutting off one's feet or drinking violence
is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.

⁷ Like a lame man's legs that hang limp
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

⁸ Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.

And Matthew 5:13:

¹³"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

So, I decided to throw it out and get a new clock.

I found one just like it at Wal-mart.

Except with darker wood (which I thought would work well with the dark wood in my living room).

And with Roman numerals (well,the kids need to learn Roman numerals sometime, right?)

And made in China.

And after I got home with it, realized it was not anywhere near as good quality workmanship.

Sigh. I suppose I could live with it. But…if only I could just make my pretty clock work right again.

Hmmm. What is really the only thing wrong with it?

Hmmm. The part that makes the hands move.

Hmmm. Let’s turn it over and take a look…

Hmmm. People make clocks out of plates and other things. They put in their own hands and the thingie that moves the hands (it’s called a “quartz movement”, I found out).

Hmmm. What if I could replace that thingie? Would it work again?

Long story shorter… I had fun learning how the clock was put together, how to take it apart, and put it back together again. And lo, and behold, after a “heart transplant” … it seems to work again!

Of course, time will tell (pun intended) if the new “heart” keeps better time than the old one.

And that reminds me of two other Bible verses…

In Ezekiel 36:25-27, God promises:

²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

And in Matthew 7:15-23, Jesus said

¹⁵"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Has God given you a new heart? If so, are you bearing fruit that can be recognized?

Thank you, Father, for removing from my heart of stone and giving me a heart of flesh. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for my sins on the cross and rising again the third day so that my sins could be forgiven. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for convicting me of sin and righteousness and judgment. Thank you for giving me the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord!

Kindergarten Week 4

2010-09-03T21:01:00.001-05:00

In school this week…

We learned the letter/sound of “T”
We stuck labels on things around the house that start with “T”. We found table, TV, tick tock clock, telephone, Travis, toes, toilet, tub. And Travis stuck one on me … for “Teacher”
We learned a new memory verse, Colossians 3:15. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called, and be thankful.
We continued learning our address and practiced writing it. I took a new tactic with Heather for this kind of copywork. She seemed to be having trouble writing that much (letters really sloppy, missing some letters), so I just let her trace the example I wrote out for her. She did much better. And we were both less stressed.
We marked on our calendar the first day of summer, July 4th, and all our family’s September birthdays.
We did “bathtub" school. (The kids didn’t know it was school time while I was bathing them.) We did experiments to see which things would float and which would sink. We practiced pouring water from one container to another and tried to figure out which cup had more water – the short fat one, or the tall skinny one (they both had the same amount). We tried to figure out how to carry water in a sieve. We had read a story about a girl who put moss and leaves in a sieve to stop up the holes so it would hold water. We tried a wash rag (didn’t work). Then, two rags (slowed the water down a bit). Then two rags doubled over (slowed it down a little more, but not enough to hold for even a few seconds).
We tried a new tactic for handwriting and math lessons. I had each child have “individual play time” in separate rooms. Then, I took 10-20 minutes with each one – playing with Jeffrey with blocks or colored pegs and teaching Travis and Heather their handwriting and math lessons. It seemed to work really well. I was less stressed about trying to keep an eye on everybody at one time while making sure they were doing the lessons right. And they each got time with Mommy alone. And I got time with each of them alone. Jeffrey could handle one time period of play alone, then I sent another child to play with him so he wouldn’t be alone so long.
Travis and I played Battleship. He won. But that was because he mistakenly told me one of my guesses was a miss when it was really a hit.

Another exercise we did was to write a story about a visitor who came to our house. The kids made up their stories , I just wrote them down. Ok, I prompted them with questions such as, “Who came to visit?” and “What did you do with them?” and “What did you like?” If you click on the pictures below, it should enlarge the picture so you can read their stories.

The kids played a lot of Starfall (www.starfall.com) which gave them lots of letter and sound practice. They found some new stories or “movies” about alphabetical order, reading from left to right, vowels, and how to “chunk words”. On Friday, Jeffrey got left at the computer by himself when I told the others to go wash up for lunch. Then I was hearing sounds from the computer and realized that Jeffrey was operating the mouse and “doing Starfall” by himself!

Brian turned 27 weeks…

… and doesn’t stay where I put him anymore….

After church on Sunday, Heather took Brian’s shoes and socks off and put them by the front door, lined up with all the other shoes.

Brian can sit up briefly now….this shot caught him tipping over.

Heather loves holding Brian…

Travis lost his second tooth…

We have been reading a book called “Uncle Wiggly’s Storybook” about a bunny rabbit gentlemen who is always finding ways to help the “real boys and girls” in their various predicaments. This week, we read about Uncle Wiggly’s Picnic where he had carrot bread, nuts, apples, etc. So, I made carrot muffins, apple slices, nuts, plums, grapes, etc. and the kids made rabbit ears. I also made a pear gelatin salad that we saw in a book called “Eating Fractions.” It was too hot for a picnic outside, so I let them eat at the little table that is usually in the play room.

A duck from the neighborhood lake came visiting on our front porch and flower bed. He ate a few bites of bread that the kids fed him. Either he wasn’t very hungry or he didn’t care much for whole wheat bread. :-)

Thanks to some friends from church, Ronnie and I got to go on a rare date – dinner and a walk around the park.

We also went bike riding/rollerblading. I got to try out the new wheels Ronnie put on my roller blades. Wow! So much smoother and quieter! I took pictures, but they disappeared somewhere between the camera and the computer.

Heather had some unauthorized handwriting practice at nap time --- on the wall! We had a discussion about that. I took pictures of that too, but they also disappeared.

Brian can get around where he wants to by rolling. It is fun to watch him looking around, pivoting (aiming) and then rolling. For most of the week (and last week), he did not sleep well during afternoon naptime and had an uncanny knack for waking up screaming the instant I picked up my Bible to try to have a little Bible study time. But on Thursday he took a 3 hour nap and on Friday he took both a good morning nap and afternoon nap and I got some refreshing time with the Lord.

Ronnie’s company has been cutting costs drastically lately and this week there were a number of layoff, including several people that Ronnie knows and at least one with whom he has worked closely. So, we are very grateful that he still has a job.

Romance

2010-09-03T15:51:00.001-05:00

I thought I would share a quote from a book I just started re-reading, called “Falling in Love with Jesus” by Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli. My aunt and uncle gave me this book in 2002 when I was still single (and thought there was no hope of ever getting married) and it really blessed me then.

Now, I am very happily married. And very busy with four young children who make constant demands on my time and energy every waking moment. At times, I long to sit quietly at Jesus’ feet, taking in his every word. But is is hard to get even a few minutes of hurried Bible reading before someone needs me. And sometimes, I find it hard to just enjoy God (or my adorable children or my wonderful husband) because I am so consumed with my list of things to do.

So, here’s the quote I just read today…

Romance is so much bigger than just a love story. Romance has to do with making things lovely because of love. Romance means absorbing the beauty of life: conversation, atmosphere, places, and surroundings. It means increasing our awareness of the fragrance of pine trees, freshly ground coffee [or freshly baked bread!], and sheets drying on the line; hearing the music of waves, children’s laughter, and the rain drumming on the roof; seeing the signature of God on His creation. It means drinking the gift of life to the dregs. All to be enjoyed, all to be taken in.

Kindergarten Week 3

2010-08-28T20:27:00.001-05:00

We started out the week with our first night of Awana at church. Awana is a kids’ club whose purpose is to reach boys and girls with the gospel of Christ and train them to serve him. The kids spend time memorizing Bible verses, playing games, and listening to Bible lessons (“council time”). This year, Ronnie is serving as the Awana Commander (i.e. the one in charge of planning and directing everything). He’s put a lot of hard work, time and thought into it so far.

Mrs. Judy and Mrs. Sandy at the registration table, checking kids in and taking care of all the paperwork.

Ronnie talks to the leaders before the night begins. We were blessed to have lots of volunteers ready to help anywhere they were needed. We actually had more leaders than kids this time!

Travis is in Sparks, the group for kindergarteners through second grade. No, he’s not really picking his nose, just concentrating.

I serve as the Commander’s assistant (sending emails to leaders, and other tasks at home). On Awana nights (Sunday), I get to hang out in the nursery with my two little boys and two other boys (children of other leaders). This is Jeffrey’s one chance to be the oldest in the group.

Brian continued sampling the applesauce, trying out his high chair, and adding some oatmeal to his diet. I also discovered that he can sit up on his own – leaning forward and supporting himself on his arms.

Lots of willing helpers…

Jeffrey being silly, putting blocks on his feet…

We invited Mrs. Peterson to come shopping with us. An extra pair of hands to help and a refreshing time to visit. The kids think she is lots of fun!

Jeffrey tries out Mrs. Peterson’s sunglasses….

And Brian finds the whole experience quite relaxing….

Swimming at Mrs. Judy’s house with church family … more than 20 people in the pool at one time! I was amazed at my kids this time. They were totally enjoying themselves – even jumping in and getting dunked. Heather and Jeffrey both kept climbing out, jumping in, climbing out, jumping in…

Brian enjoyed it too…

In school this week we

looked and listened for the letter/sound “M”
worked on “left” and “right” by singing “Father Abraham” (there is definite improvement in their ability to discern right and left)
continued working on handwriting (started lowercase letters), learning our address, and counting
played with the “Barrel of Monkeys” game
practiced making up a story to go along with a picture
practiced thinking skills by figuring out what things we needed to take to swimming, and what information we needed to put in an invitation to Heather and Ronnie’s birthday party next month.
enjoyed a bike/trike/rollerblade ride – there was actually a hint of coolness in the air in the early mornings this week!
talked about eating different colors of vegetables and fruits to get a healthy variety of vitamins. Our grocery store (HEB) has a promotion where kids eat at least one serving a day from each of 5 different colors (blue/purple, white, green, orange/yellow, red) for a week. After they fill in a chart, they get to send it in for a free HEBuddy Memory Game. Travis has been excited about this. We had a very colorful meal one night of trout, broccoli, squash, carrots, and (not pictured) blueberries and strawberries with the last of the gingerbread cookies.

Saturday was a fairly relaxing family day. Ronnie and the kids replaced the wheels on my rollerblades, while I did some kitchen and computer work. Then we went out to do some errands and eat out at Luby’s (kids eat free on Saturdays!) Brian and Jeffrey fell asleep on the way home. This is Jeffrey when I went to wake him up at 5. (This is how Ronnie sleeps too!)

Kindergarten Week 2

2010-08-23T20:07:00.001-05:00

Our memory verse this week was a little harder than last week, but I think they all learned it. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

We played with the letter “B” this week and thought of all kinds of things that start with B or have B in it. Such as “Baby Brian banged his bottom on the boppy” And he drank from a bottle for the first time (mommy’s milk, but a big step so mommy might be able to leave him for an evening to go on a date with daddy!!)

Wednesday was spent traveling and visiting friends, like Bethany…

Mrs. Meagen’s new puppy….

And the Petersons’ for a yummy supper of calzones and pineapple….

At Travis’ request, we made gingerbread cookies…they wanted to taste the ingredients as we put them in the bowl. Heather discovered she doesn’t like vinegar. She didn’t say a word, but she jumped up and ran to the fridge to get her juice cup to wash the taste out her mouth!

We ate them warm, fresh out of the oven. Then discovered we had a cookie monster in the house … Jeffrey reached up on the counter and grabbed another one!

Butterflies, bunnies, B’s, rainBows ….

Another activity that spanned several days … Building! First, it was a car, then a train, then something else I couldn’t figure out.

Brian learned to really Bounce!!

Painting rainbows after reading about Noah and the ark and God’s rainbow promise to never destroy the earth by a flood again.

Science lab …. Travis has been fixated on reading the page about fireworks in our “How Things Work” book. He talks and dreams non-stop about making fireworks. So, Ronnie showed them how to burn some magnesium powder and cardboard.

Can you believe Brian is 6 months old?!? He moved out of mommy and daddy’s room and is now sharing a room with big brother Jeffrey.

Got his first taste of applesauce …

Think he’s ready? Yup, I think so. But mom forgot to put a bib on him first!

Laughter is good medicine

2010-08-22T16:02:00.000-05:00

Travis figured out how to turn Brian's giggle box on ... jump off the couch. Brian was really tickled ... and it isn't easy to get him to laugh like this.

Kindergarten – Week One

2010-08-16T21:44:00.001-05:00

On Monday, we started kindergarten for Travis and Heather.

Our memory verse this week is Proverbs 4:20 .. about paying attention. Hmmm…seems like we started with this idea last year too. Still needs work!

Last year, I posted the verses on the freezer, which is in the kitchen where I thought we would see it all the time and remember to practice the verses. But after the first couple of months that idea really fizzled. This year, I’m trying something new to help us learn our verses. I wrote out all the verses a spiral bound index card set (see picture below). The verse is on both sides and we keep it on the table. It is staring at us every time we sit down for a meal, so we practice often (also at naptime and bedtime, and any other time I think of it). We have been using this idea for a couple of months with the pictures from our church directory to remind us to pray for our church family every day, and that has been working.

By the second day, two-year old Jeffrey had the verse memorized already! I explained to them all what “incline your ear” means. So every time we say the verse, Jeffrey says, “That means listen!” And once, Heather was talking, but I was distracted by someone or something else and wasn’t really listening. She stopped and said, “Mommy, are you inclining your ear to me?”

For reading/phonics, we started with the letter “F”. We had lots of fun finding things around the house that start with the /f/ sound and talking about things you can do that start with /f/ – flip, flop, flap, and don’t forget to flush! As we read stories and talked throughout the week, we tried to be attentive and listen for the /f/ sound and look for the letter “F”.

The highlight of the first day (and maybe the week) was “F” sandwiches for lunch. We had fish for supper, but that didn’t go over quite so well.

We are also doing math, science, handwriting, and various story books with associated activities. We’re trying to strike a balance between schedule/routine and flexibility. So far, every day has been different. Still trying to figure out what works best to grab and keep their attention before they get caught up playing and/or squabbling. And also leaving me time to do things in the kitchen, etc. while they play independently (i.e. without constantly asking for my help or expecting me to play with them all the time … or playing referee!).

God blessed me with some amazing creativity (for me) for fun activities that the kids enjoyed this week. I took the ideas presented in the instructor’s guides for my curriculum and took off from there…

For example, we read poem called “Simple Simon” about a boy who went fishing for a whale in his mother’s pail. So we went fishing (for magnetic fish) in mommy’s empty grain bucket…

We practiced counting by letting Jeffrey pick out number flash cards from 0 to 10 and having Travis and heather count out that number of items. Then we did the same thing with dominoes. Count the dots on the dominoes, then count out the same number of “coins” and put them in a slit in a lidded container (aka “piggy bank”). Great for fine motor skills too!

Travis took off with that idea and invented “Candyland Dominoes”. Instead of using the color cards to tell you how many spaces to move on the Candyland board, we counted dots on dominoes. LOTS of counting practice that day!!

Our math book at a picture of hopscotch, so one morning after Ronnie went to work, we drew hopscotch on the driveway.

And for P.E. (physical education)… we went swimming at Mrs. Judy’s pool….even Brian (thanks to Mrs. Sandy!)

Brian stayed busy during the week being cute, turning over (and over and over and over), being mothered by big sister (or is that “smothered"?), and putting anything and everything in his mouth.

And to top it all off, we had cousins for the weekend!

First week of August

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The first week of August was a scorcher. Heat advisories every day, I think, with heat index well above 100F. I tried to stay inside most of the time!

We started out the week trying to apply some of the things we’ve been learning in the video series we’ve been watching at church called “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” by Ted Tripp. We realized that we needed to be more consistent about requiring the children to obey the *first* time we tell them to do (or not do) something. And to be more purposeful about teaching them the importance of learning to become people under authority now when they are very young. God promises in Ephesians 6:1-3 that it will go well with those who obey and honor their parents. I recreated Ted Tripp’s picture of the “circle of blessing” (shown below) on the refrigerator and talked about it often as we had need to discipline and correct this week. The visual seemed to help the kids understand better.

We also worked on learning Ephesians 6:1. I wrote each word on a card and taped it up on the wall. Then we practiced saying it with hand motions. We then played some games with, most notably, “hide-and-seek”. I hid the cards all around the living room, kitchen and play room, then had the kids go try to find them and put them back on the wall. They absolutely LOVED this game. Especially Travis. Every day, he wanted to do it again. He even made up his own cards and we played hide-and-seek with those. When we would get stuck on finding the last one or two, we played “hot or cold” (telling each other you’re getting warmer or hotter, depending on how close they were to the hidden card). On Friday, Travis hid the cards so well, we didn’t find them all. :-) Even 2-year old Jeffrey can say the entire verse!

We worked a little on household chores (or “home economics”), such as dusting blinds, making beds, emptying the dishwasher (Travis does great with the silverware!), and setting the table.

We learned a new game “Candyland.” I played it with Heather on Sunday when she had to stay home from church because of a cold. Then we taught Travis and Daddy.
In an attempt to curb the pestering and fighting which seemed to stem from a bit too much freedom to choose what to do, I tried to keep them busy with various activities: building with various toys, puzzles, play dough, etc. Below they tried building towers with plastic cups and books.

Heather played with her dolls a lot, including nursing them. When she put the doll down, Jeffrey sat down with it and the boppy pillow an proceeded to lift up his shirt to nurse the baby doll.

Travis got to spend a day all by himself with Mrs. Peterson’s (since Heather got to go last week by herself). I think he talked her ears off, but they both seemed to enjoy it (see more at http://ponyandpetey.blogspot.com/ ) While he was gone, it was amazing how quiet it was here…and how much I was able to get done while Heather and Jeffrey played nicely together!

Tuesday was Whataburger’s 60th birthday. They offered free Whataburgers to anybody who wore orange (their colors are orange and white). We couldn’t pass up a free meal, so we braved the heat and the crowd and even convinced Ronnie to wear his orange rag shirt (Aggies don’t like orange!).

Travis looks like he doesn’t want to be seen with that man with a UT shirt…

Brian wasn’t interested in the whole affair… he slept through it.

I didn’t have an orange shirt, so Heather and Jeffrey put orange stickers on my shirt…

Travis ate one and a half big burgers. And he’s only 5! How much will he eat when he’s 15?!! Forget about saving for college…I think we better start saving for groceries when we have 3 teenage boys!

In spite of the heat, we managed to get out three nights this week for a family exercise night. Travis rode his bike, Ronnie rode his bike with Jeffrey on the back, Heather rode her trike (one night), and I pushed the stroller with Brian (and Heather two nights) while rollerblading! It was HOT, but a lot of fun. I think I slept better on the nights we exercised. Sorry, didn’t get any pictures.
Brian turned 24 weeks old (5 1/2 months)…

We got to go to a banquet honoring Ronnie’s high school band director, Mr. Don Owens, who was recently inducted into the Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame.

And, I think we are ready to start kindergarten on Monday…gonna try teaching Travis and Heather together and see how it goes. If it proves too much for Heather, I won’t push her to keep up, but just let her pick up what she can while listening on Travis’ lessons.

July

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Some highlights of the past month….

Travis and Heather have been learning to write! They were writing their names and other things so much on their own, that I decided to go ahead and start the handwriting program that goes with our kindergarten curriculum (“Handwriting Without Tears”). We usually do it after they have had breakfast and while Jeffrey and Brian are having their breakfast. (It’s also a way to keep them occupied constructively and out of trouble while I’m supervising Jeffrey’s breakfast and nursing Brian.)

Travis is very good and copying and creating patterns. He saw a drawing of a man made with these wooden pieces and immediately went off and created it himself.

Our church had Vacation Bible School in July. The theme was “Wisdom Calls Aloud” from Proverbs. The kids from kindergarten age through 6th grade had 5 verses to learn over the course of the week. Travis learned all 5. Heather and Jeffrey only had to learn the first half of Proverbs 9:10, but they ended up learning all of Travis’ verses too.

Heather has finally gotten the hang of potty training!! I sent her off to a dear friend’s house for two days to get some undivided attention and unbridled enthusiasm for the task. She came back with lots of stars in her potty chart!

Jeffrey climbs everything! And seems to have a knack for finding snacks and fire ants. He got bit about 18 times one night. He is enjoying his Sunday School class and most everything else in life… except loud noises like thunder and car alarms that go off in the garage.

All three of the older ones are learning to sing and enjoy it. Heather even sang loud at the parents’ program at VBS. Last year, she was too shy to do it at church even though she did it at home. Jeffrey also sings a lot a home.

Brian is now almost 5 and a half months old. He has been practicing his latest trick … rolling over from back to tummy. The only problem is that he doesn’t like to be on his tummy very long and he hasn’t figured out how to roll back the other way. He is regularly sleeping through the night, though not as well at nap times lately.

In July, we took a trip to Ardmore, Oklahoma for a wedding. On the way home, we stopped at Lake Murray State Park and the Tucker Tower (where these pictures were taken).

I am staying busy with cooking, laundry, discipline, and preparing for starting kindergarten soon with Travis and Heather.

Ronnie is staying busy with work and preparing to lead the AWANA program at our church this year. He also taught our adult Sunday School at church one week. I’m proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and trying out some new areas of ministry.

It’s been a while…

2010-05-31T20:01:00.001-05:00

I haven’t had time to write up a weekly report on our preschool activities in a long time. And now it has been so long, it is too overwhelming to try to catch up.

But… I’ll share a few pictures from today… my sweet Jeffrey’s 2nd birthday!

Since it was Memorial Day, Ronnie had the day off. We went to Office Depot to buy a new digital camera. Then we went to eat at Fuddrucker’s for lunch. After a big meal of hamburgers, I just made a simple cold supper to go with our birthday cake.

Waiting for supper…

Fresh fruit, bread, crackers. cottage cheese, peanut butter, guacamole…

It took several tries to get the candles lit. Jeffrey blew them out once before we got a chance to sing. Then I blew them out while trying to blow out the match before it burned my fingers.

Finally, “My OWN BIRTHday CA-KE!!”

Jeffrey got one blown out…

and Travis helped with the second.

Whole wheat spice cake with cream cheese frosting.

Preschool Week 24b (March 29 – April 4)

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Our theme this week was Passover and Resurrection Day.

We talked about the Biblical word Joy “A fruit of the Holy Spirit; great delight and happiness, no matter what my circumstances.”
We learned Romans 15:13a “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.”
We talked about how God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, the ten plagues, and the first Passover. We learned about how the Jewish people still celebrate Passover today and how Jesus fulfilled the role of the Passover lamb, taking our sins away when he died on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day.

Activities this week:
We read “What is Passover?” by Harriet Ziefert and other stories about the 10 plagues and God’s rescue of the Israelites from Egypt. We also read stories about Jesus’ death and resurrection.
We celebrated a Passover Seder with a family from Ronnie’s sister’s church, plus all of Ronnie’s family. Travis’ and Jeffrey’s favorite part was the jumping frogs that jumped into the grape juice and the soup. Heather liked that too – at first. But then she got anxious and didn’t want the frogs to jump into her glass anymore.

On Saturday night we made resurrection cookies. First, we beat the nuts like the soldiers beat Jesus…

Then we added vinegar (for the vinegar or sour wine Jesus drank on the cross), salt (for the tears Jesus’ friends cried), egg whites (symbolizing spring and new life), and sugar (the sweet part of the story – God forgives us because Jesus paid the price for our sins). Then we whipped it up and watched it turn pure white and shiny – just as God is pure and holy.

We put spoonfuls on a pan and sealed it up in the oven – as Jesus was sealed in the tomb…

The next morning we unsealed the “tomb” and tasted the hollow (“empty”) cookies….

This week, Ronnie also started working on taxes…

And Brian turned 6 weeks old...

Preschool Week 24 (March 22-27)

2010-04-16T14:30:00.001-05:00

Our theme this week was Creepy Crawly Creatures.

We continued talking about Happiness, and the companion trait Generosity “Giving freely of my time and possessions to bless other people.”
We learned Proverbs 11:25 “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

Our book list included:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle – a classic book about a caterpillar who eats a lot of different things but is still hungry. A good book for counting and also learning days of the week, and colors too.
The Very Busy Spider, by Eric Carle – each animal on the farm asks a spider if she wants to do what they like to do…but she doesn’t answer because she is very busy spinning her web. A fly appears on each page …until the very end when it gets caught in the spider’s web.
The Icky Bug Alphabet, by Jerry Pallotta -- another great alphabet book with all kinds of insects. This one helped us determine that the bug I found in the washing machine was a katydid and not a grasshopper.
The Lady and the Spider, by Faith McNulty – A spider makes her home in a head of lettuce in a lady’s garden, little knowing that one day she was going to eat that lettuce=e for lunch. Fortunately for the spider, she saw it and rescued it before she ate it or threw it away.
Where Does the Butterfly Go When it Rains, by May Garelick – talks about where different animals go when it rains, with the repeated refrain “but where does the butterfly go when it rains?”

Activities this week:

We did more finger painting and water color painting, played with pattern blocks, and cut things with scissors.

We went to the grocery store together for the first time since Brian was born. Travis and Heather each had a small cart to push and fill with groceries. Jeffrey and Brian rode in the big cart pushed by mommy. The big kids were actually good helpers, but mommy got a bit stressed trying to make sure everybody stayed together and didn’t run into too many people.

Some friends gave us a used playset, so we spent a lot of time washing it and putting it together.

“Look at me mommy! I’m up here!”

We were studying insects this week, and God graciously provided a katydid for us to watch. Katy did survive a trip through the washing machine, but was obviously not normal (very very slow). She died a day or two later, but it was fascinating to get to examine one of God’s marvelous creations up close.

I tried out a new pizza dough recipe, but made calzones with it. They were a hit!

Jeffrey watching his baby while drinking “white milk”

Heather swinging her baby…

My baby is already 5 weeks old!!

Preschool Week 23 (March 15-20)

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Our theme this week was Reptiles and Fish.

We continued talking about Happiness, and the companion trait Peacemaking “Doing all that I can to live in peace with others; Not provoking others to anger by what I do or say.”
We learned Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

Our book list included:

The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash, by Trinka Hakes -- a girl comes home and gives her mom a report of their class field trip to a farm which was boring, except for all the exciting things that happened.
The Yucky Reptile Alphabet Book, by Jerry Pallotta – an alphabet book featuring all kinds of reptiles.
Swimmy, by Leo Lionni – a little fish teaches a school of fish how to swim together to keep from being eaten by the bigger fish.
Fish is Fish, by Leo Lionni – a minnow and a tadpole grow up together in a pond. When the tadpole becomes a frog and goes onto land, the fish wants to see all the interesting things on land too. But he learns the hard way that it is better to stay in the water where he was meant to be.
Crictor, by Tomie Ungerer – A lady raises a boa constrictor as a pet. He then saves her from a burglar. A favorite!

Activities this week:

Fun things this week: watercolor paints, walking, playing outside, picnics, visiting with the Petersons, floor puzzles, coloring and sticker crafts during Jeffrey’s breakfast, drawing with chalk on the driveway, playing with mommy’s craft stamps, going to Olive Garden and Marble Slab, shopping for softball equipment at Academy.

“Educational” things this week: helping to sort laundry, load washing machine, carry hangers, examining music boxes to see how they work, watching Mrs. Phipps & Snoothy phonics/reading videos, watching video of Mr. Dutton (astronaut and friend), Starfall

Not so fun things this week: scraped knees (Heather), bubbles in eyes (Jeffrey), cleaning up after playing with mommy’s stamps.

Travis’ amazing painting: rainbow, river, rocks (Fishing jetty)

Heather models her “princess” outfit from cousin Abigail…

and puts the woodman in boots.

Brian at 4 weeks.

Preschool Week 22 (March 8-13)

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Our theme this week was Spring.

We began talking about Happiness, and the companion trait Cheerfulness “Doing things with a happy attitude and a happy face.” I really like this one about a princess who thought clothes and toys would make hr happy and that other people were responsible for making her happy. She had to learn that happiness is a choice and comes by doing things for other people.
We learned Proverbs 15:13 “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”

Our book list included:

“Spring” from Frog and Toad are Friends, by Arnold Lobel – Frog tries to wake up his friend Toad to go for a walk in the April sunshine. But Toad has been sleeping since November and says a little more sleep won’t hurt him. He tells Frog to wake him up at “half past May.” Then Frog sees Toad’s calendar and pulls off the pages until May is on top. He wakes Toad up again and shows him the calendar. So Toad gets up and they go out to see how the world looks in spring.
Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney – a story about a girl who wants to do three things in life: travel to faraway places, live by the sea when she gets old, and do something to make the world a more beautiful place.
My Spring Robin, by Anne Rockwell – a girl sees all kinds of signs of spring while looking for the robin she with whom she had made friends the summer before.
Springtime for Jeanne-Marie, by Francoise – a French girl goes for a walk every day with her duck and sheep. But one day the duck swims away down the river and doesn’t come back. So the girl and her sheep search far and wide until they find her.

Activities this week:

We went for a springtime walk, looking for signs of spring: new leaves on the trees (and our blueberry plants!), baby birds, flowers blooming, pine pollen. A friend came over and took the big kids on a walk around the lake to feed the ducks and go on a scavenger hunt. Heather found a big bed of fire ants, but God was merciful to her that she only got 3 or 4 bites even though she was covered from feet to chest with ants.

We did another sort of scavenger hunt at home – looking for a lost LeapPad cartridge that belongs to the library. Ronnie turned the couches upside down (literally!) and found all sorts of other things, but no cartridge. Still looking…

We took advantage of the nice weather to pull weeds in the backyard and the front flowerbeds. We turned over the mulch in the front and spread weed preventer to keep weed seeds from sprouting. We also put out some pine bark mulch around the blueberry plants. And, of course, we enjoyed eating lunch outside at our picnic table.

Ronnie went back to work, so we began figuring out a new routine for life with four children. Travis & Heather get up to have breakfast with Daddy, but Jeffrey still sleeps for a while. One thing they seemed to enjoy was to do some type of craft while Jeffrey eats his breakfast. They practiced “scissor skills” with some workbooks I had bought at Wal-mart, and also coloring and other “pre-reading” skills. This craft time would keep them happily occupied for a good 30-45 minutes. Travis is getting really good at coloring – in the lines, and picking appropriate colors. Even Heather is showing improvement at staying a little bit more in the lines. Later in the mornings, they enjoyed watching some phonics/reading videos or some Bible songs DVDs.

Some time ago, Ronnie and Travis started making a wooden man. This week they got a chance to work on it some more, fixing his broken feet and gluing on his arms.

They also cut apart one of the struts that Ronnie had replaced on the car several weeks ago – just to see what was inside.

Ronnie’s sister and family came to visit one evening and brought us a wonderful BBQ meal. It was lots of fun visiting with them.

On Saturday, we made a trip down south to see Ronnie’s parents – first time they got to see Brian.

We also got to see Gail DeGray who shared her birthday with Brian.

Brian turned three weeks old…

Preschool Week 21 (March 1-6)

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Our theme this week was Wind and Weather.

Our book list included:

The Storm Book, by Charlotte Zolotow – describes the approach of a thunderstorm and all the sights, sounds, and smells before, during and after a thunderstorm.
Feel the Wind, by Arthur Dorros – a “read and find out science book” about wind.
The Cloud Book, by Tomie DePaola – describes the different types of clouds.
Catch the Wind: All About Kites, by Gail Gibbons -- a book about kites. We thought about trying to make a kite, but didn’t do it. March is usually a very windy month, so maybe we will try to fly a kite some day when it is windy enough.

Activities this week:
Ronnie was off again this week and Granny was here part of the week. So, we had fun with baby Brian and doing things with Granny. Ronnie took the kids to the park one day, and they came back almost all in one piece. J Jeffrey took a tumble and bit his tongue really bad, but he healed quickly. They had fun exploring by the creek at the park and also on walks around our neighborhood.
On Saturday, Ronnie and I celebrated our 6^th anniversary with a very typical Ronne-and-Amy date : hamburgers at Whataburger, ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, a walk in the park, some talking, and some just being quiet together. Mrs. Peterson blessed us by coming to play with the 3 big kids while we went out.
Jeffrey playing with “Baby Brian”. “His eyes are OPEN!!”

Brian asleep after a car ride…

The kids saw me with Brian in a baby carrier…

… so they made their own….

Jeffrey turned 21 months old… still as cute as can be!

Brian at one week old…

Preschool Week 20 (February 22-27)

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We continued talking about love, including the aspect of Protectiveness “Watching out for the safety of myself and others”
We were supposed to learn Psalm 32:7 “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” But, we were a little preoccupied with new baby. J

Our book list included:

Blaze and the Forest Fire, by C.W. Anderson -- a boy rides his horse through the woods to a nearby farm to warn the people of a forest fire that was starting. Nice story and black & white drawings.
The Fire Cat, by Esther Averill – a cat named Pickles has big paws and wants to do big things, but doesn’t have a home. He chases the little cats until one day he gets stuck in a tree. A firefighter rescues him and takes him to live at the fire station. He learns to be a good “fire cat” and eventually does a “big thing” by rescuing a kitten stuck in the very same tree he got stuck in. The kids asked for this one several times.
Adam Raccoon at Forever Falls, by Glen Keane – by the son of Bil Keane (of Family Circus fame). A parable about salvation. Adam Raccoon is tempted to disobey the “No Swimming” sign and almost goes over Forever Falls. He is rescued at the last possible moment by King Aren (the lion) who goes over the falls instead. Very clear parallels with Jesus’ sacrifice for our disobedience and sin.

· Fire! Fire!, by Gail Gibbons -- all about fire, fire trucks, etc.

Activities this week:

We began life as a family of six. Ronnie got to be off work all week, so the kids enjoyed having him home to play with.

An often repeated event: reading stories…

Jeffrey enjoys playing with Travis and Heather’s toy computer. He is already learning some of his letters! And he’s always got to have his “white milk” with him.

Travis wanted to make a cross to put in our front yard to tell people about Jesus. He got to learn/watch how to use a saw, a drill, a dremel tool, etc. to put it together. Then Daddy and Heather painted it. Jeffrey is there too, but you can’t see him behind Heather.

On a beautiful sunny Saturday, Ronnie and the kids spent a long time outside pulling weeds and playing. Here, Ronnie is showing Jeffrey and Heather how to play golf.

Preschool Week 19 (February 15-20)

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Our theme this week was Manners.

We continued talking about love, including the aspect of Honor “Showing other people that I respect them; giving preference to them.”
We were supposed to learn Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” But I never got around to putting up the verse and working on it.

Our book list included:

Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book, by Richard Scarry – a great book! Has several short “chapters” discussing what good manners look like in various situations.
Manners Can Be Fun, by Munro Leaf – kind of long. I don’t think I really read this one; Ronnie did most of the reading this week.
How To Behave and Why, by Munro Leaf -- another kind of long one, but easy to break up into shorter sections. Talks about being honest, fair, etc and behaving in ways that make other people like us.

Activities this week:

We waited for baby to come. When we went to the grocery store, Travis found a small cart that was just his size. He was a big help to push it and put groceries in it!

On President’s Day, Ronnie had a holiday from work. Ronnie took boys with him to get the tires balanced on the van. While they waited, they went to a nearby pet store to look at all the fish, etc. Then they went to Chick-fil-A for lunch and to play. Heather had a bad runny nose, so she stayed home and had a day with mom. We did starfall.com, had an indoor picnic with Russell Stover chocolates, and played a sorting game with the stuffed animals (mommy’s trick to get their room picked up and neat again).

I had the bright idea (after seeing a friend’s toy) to put color coded stickers on the piano keys, and then “write” some music for the kids to play. I coded “Jesus Loves Me” and “Higher Ground”. Travis especially enjoyed playing real songs on the piano. (And I enjoyed listening to real songs instead of just banging noise!)

We also got to go to cousin Hannah’s wedding on Friday. We got short naps, then got dressed in our wedding clothes and left right on time to pick up Daddy from work. We used the HOV lane to make it through Friday afternoon rush hour traffic with no major slowdowns. We got to the church in plenty of time to eat a “picnic” supper in the van before attending the wedding. The wedding was nice and we got compliments on the good behavior (manners!) of all three kids during the ceremony. We decided not to stay for the reception, but got the kids in pajamas and headed home to bed. It’s a good thing we did, because I woke up the next morning (after a good night’s sleep) in early labor. As mentioned in a previous post, Brian Joseph was born at 3:30 that afternoon.

Baby Brian arrives 2/20/2010

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Brian Joseph Russell was born at home on his due date, February 20 at 3:30pm. He weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 22 inches long.

Amy at T-3 days….

Getting checked out by the midwives after birth…

Diana weighs Brian in the baby scale…

Diana measures while Nanci records the stats…

Granny gives the traditional first hair wash….

Our midwives, Nanci Stanley & Diana Nash….

Just a few hours old…

Snuggling with mom….

Snuggling with Dad…

Five hours old…

Meeting big brothers and sister…

Cute little foot!

Heather holding Brian….

Travis holding Brian…

Pony Peterson has a new little Russell to love. Pony kept the older kids during the day while Brian was being born. They enjoyed playing will all her animals and helping her plant flowers. She even got them all to take naps at her house!

Day 2: with Grandpa Shinpaugh and Travis

Day 2: on the blanket Mommy made.

Day 3: getting a bath.

An Aggie family: Ronnie with Jeffrey, Heather, Travis, Amy with Brian.

Preschool Week 18 (February 8-13)

2010-02-15T19:30:00.001-06:00

Our theme this week was Friends.

We continued talking about love, including the aspect of Friendliness “Being Kind and polite to other people.”
We learned Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Our book list included:

Ira Sleeps Over, by Bernard Waber – Ira is planning to spend the night with his neighbor Reggie, but gets worried when Ira’s sister starts asking him whether he is going to take his teddy bear and won’t Reggie laugh at him that he sleeps with his teddy bear that has a funny name. Ira wavers back and forth about whether to take the bear or not, finally choosing not to. But as they go to bed, he finds out that Reggie also sleeps with his teddy bear, so he goes back home to get his own bear.
Thy Friend Obadiah, by Brinton Turkle – Obadiah is followed by a seagull and is rather annoyed by it. He wishes it would go away. But when it does disappear for several days, he starts looking for it and wishing it would come back. Finally he sees it on the wharf with a fish hook wrapped around its beak. Obadiah rescues the bird, but the bird then flies away. Obadiah is sad that night, but then discovers that the seagull is back in its usual place outside his window for the night. Obadiah is glad that the bird is his friend and that he is the bird’s friend.
Twist and Ernest, by Laura T. Barnes -- the first in a series about a miniature donkey named Ernest. In this story, Ernest was lonely and wanted a friend. When a fancy show horse named Twist arrived at the farm, Ernest was overjoyed to finally have a friend. But Twist didn’t really want to be friends with a scruffy little donkey. But when Ernest was able to reach an itch that Twist couldn’t scratch, he learned to enjoy the donkey’s company and they became inseparable friends. We read this one from the library last year. It was so good that I thought it was worth buying our own copy … and the other books in the series as well. All of them are big favorites!
Teeny Tiny Ernest, by Laura T. Barnes – Ernest is discontent about his size and keeps trying to do something to make himself taller. When his friends, find out what is bothering him, they assure him that they never even noticed that he was so short. They loved him just for who he was inside, not how big (or small he was outside).
Ernest and the Big Itch, by Laura T. Barnes – Ernest has a big itch and finds the pole of the birdhouse to be a great place to scratch it. The birds don’t think so and try to figure out another place to scratch his itch. An excellent story about how to deal with problems in a friendly, polite way. I love the fact that the bird never talks angrily with Ernest about him shaking their nest all to pieces. We’ve had some good discussions about how to follow this example in resolving disputes and annoying situations. Also, there’s a lady bug hidden on each page and all the kids (especially Jeffrey) had fun finding it.

Activities this week:

We stayed around the house mostly this week. It was cold and rainy a lot of the week. I didn’t take any pictures. We did go out to Wal-mart and Kroger on Thursday – in the cold rain –shows you how desperate I was to get out of the house and have some kind of diversion.

We worked on “fine motor skills” this week. Translated, that means :

Jeffrey put Duplo Lego blocks together (it takes some effort, but he can finally get the blocks together).
Travis worked on making a “stable” and “manger” out of cardboard, using scissors to cut the cardboard. He spent many of his nap times working on that. He also worked on coloring – he’s getting really good at staying in the lines and picking appropriate colors for different parts of the picture.
Heather worked on coloring (she’s getting better at staying somewhat near the lines) and cutting pieces of paper into tiny little bits. Since she likes to do that so much, I got a workbook that has things to cut out to develop scissor skills so that she would have something productive (in my mind) to do while having fun cutting.

Preschool Week 17 (February 1-6)

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Our theme this week was Families.

We began talking about love “Putting another person’s needs and wants ahead of my own.”
We listened to the CD from www.BriteMusic.com on this topic. It was OK, but I was just a little bit uncomfortable with a couple of things in it. In the story, the kids drew pictures of something that showed love. One drew a picture of the earth. Then they talked about loving the earth and taking care of it. And I think that is good – God created the earth and gave man dominion over it to care for it and we should be good stewards of it. But we should also be cautious not to worship the earth or elevate it to the same level (or above) its Creator. Another conversation and song on the CD was about several kids who said they didn’t live with their dad. I am well aware that that is a reality for many kids today. And a sad reality, at that. But I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to introduce that idea to my children at this age. In our family, marriage is a lifelong covenant before God and divorce is not an option.
We learned 1 John 4:7a “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.”
We began learning the song “A Christian Home” (same tune as “Be Still My Soul.” One time, while singing it to Jeffrey before bedtime, he was talking. When I listened closely, I realized that he was repeating the words after me!

Our book list included:

Big Sister and Little Sister, by Charlotte Zolotow – Big sister watches out for little sister wherever they go and whatever they do. But one day, little sister decides she doesn’t want to be told what to do anymore, so she slips away and hides in a field. Big sister looks everywhere, to no avail. Finally she sits down, crying, and little sister feels sorry for the trouble she has caused. After that, big sister and little sister take care of each other.
Rachel and Obadiah, by Brinton Turkle – Set in Nantucket Island in a Quaker community, two siblings compete for the chance to run with the news that a ship is coming in. Obadiah is older, but like the cocky hare, thinks he has plenty of time to beat his little sister Rachel. But he dawdles too long, and Rachel wins the race. This was a favorite. And served as an object lesson about dawdling too.
Ten, Nine, Eight, by Molly Bang – A counting backwards book about a little girl getting ready for bed.
When I was Young in the Mountains, by Cynthia Rylant – A girl reflects on what it was like growing up in the mountains. Another favorite.
Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs, by Tomie dePaola—a little boy has a grandmother (Nana Downstairs) and a bed-ridden great-grandmother (Nana Upstairs whom he goes to see every Sunday. A good book about the love between a young boy and his grandmothers. Almost a tear-jerker, though, as Nana Upstairs dies and the little boy deals with death.

Activities this week:

On Friday, when we usually have a breakfast supper, we made biscuits. Since we were talking about love, I got out the heart shaped cookie cutter to make heart biscuits. Then I also made cross-shaped cookies – because the cross is another symbol of love : the love that Jesus has for us, so much that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

On Saturday, Ronnie replaced the front brakes on the car. It turned into an all day job, but the weather was sunny and mild, so the kids got to play outside for a long time and watch Daddy work (while Mommy had a chance to work on digital scrapbooking for the month of January). After lunch, Travis and Heather went to the parts store with Daddy and also got to go play at the park for a long time too.

After a while, they lost interest in the brake job and went off to play….

At lunch on Saturday, Travis wanted a “whole” banana. Ronnie started playing around with words and asked if he wanted a “hole” in his banana. One thing led to another and the next thing you know…. the banana has a face!

Then on Sunday night when we were eating hard-boiled eggs, Ronnie peeled one and found a face on his egg! (No, he didn’t make this one, it was already there when he opened it up!)

A few weeks ago, I found some matching warm, fuzzy, footed pajamas for Travis and Jeffrey. On clearance for only $5 each! I love a good deal!!

Preschool Week 16 (January 25-30)

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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…