Friday, April 30, 2010
Using "soft words"
If your kids (or you!) are having trouble putting into practice the verse "A soft answer turns away wrath" (Prov. 15:1), then you might want to try this idea along with me!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
We love us some spring!
We had a glorious spring day a few weeks ago (it was April 3rd...love it when nice days fall on a Saturday)!
Theology of three-year-olds
Okay, so Anna's not quite three, but we're rounding up these days, simply because she's sure acting like she's three. Or thirteen. But whatever.
This morning the boys were both coming to tattle on each other. One was retaliating against the other, and Jacob piped up, in the midst of the whining and blame-passing, "But mom, doesn't Jesus say that if someone does something mean to us that we should still be kind?" (Hmmm...wonder how many times he's heard that one before)?
At this point Anna marches into the room, one hand on her hip, and says sternly in her little Bostonian accent (read: she can't say her "r's"), "Jesus is in ah hahts, brothers, so you settle down!"
This morning the boys were both coming to tattle on each other. One was retaliating against the other, and Jacob piped up, in the midst of the whining and blame-passing, "But mom, doesn't Jesus say that if someone does something mean to us that we should still be kind?" (Hmmm...wonder how many times he's heard that one before)?
At this point Anna marches into the room, one hand on her hip, and says sternly in her little Bostonian accent (read: she can't say her "r's"), "Jesus is in ah hahts, brothers, so you settle down!"
Monday, April 26, 2010
Springtime Swinging
How many tries do you take to get the perfect picture? There were actually more attempts than these six...
But good things come to those who wait...captured the picture I was after!
But good things come to those who wait...captured the picture I was after!
Who let the goats in?
In case you didn't know, no good birthday party is complete without bringing in the baby goats for entertainment.
Mykenna was delighted to finally meet some of our goat kids!
Rebecca wants to adopt Snap as her own, unless her good friend Amanda decides she's ready to jump into the world of dairy goats...in which case Snap will accompany Butterscotch to her place this summer!
Mykenna was delighted to finally meet some of our goat kids!
Rebecca wants to adopt Snap as her own, unless her good friend Amanda decides she's ready to jump into the world of dairy goats...in which case Snap will accompany Butterscotch to her place this summer!
Happy Birthday, Tricia!!!
Today my oldest seester celebrates her ____ birthday!
We had a delightful time surprising her the weekend before they left back for the slope...she and Jerry were headed over to our place anyway, so I just invited the rest of the family over to hide out in the basement till she found them!
Rebecca made a beautiful cake, and it was a team effort to get all the candles lit at about the same time!
That's a lot of flame...and a lot of smoke!
Tricia had brought back some pink flowered material from Hawaii for a dress for Anna, which she asked mom to make. Mom hurried to have it done for T's birthday, and it's so cute! Anna and Jacob were the very willing and over-eager helpers with present-opening, and Anna was delighted that one of them was actually for her!
Happy birthday, dearest! I'm so glad we were able to celebrateyour day before you headed to work!
We had a delightful time surprising her the weekend before they left back for the slope...she and Jerry were headed over to our place anyway, so I just invited the rest of the family over to hide out in the basement till she found them!
Rebecca made a beautiful cake, and it was a team effort to get all the candles lit at about the same time!
That's a lot of flame...and a lot of smoke!
Tricia had brought back some pink flowered material from Hawaii for a dress for Anna, which she asked mom to make. Mom hurried to have it done for T's birthday, and it's so cute! Anna and Jacob were the very willing and over-eager helpers with present-opening, and Anna was delighted that one of them was actually for her!
Happy birthday, dearest! I'm so glad we were able to celebrateyour day before you headed to work!
Checklists
For our morning routine around here, I copied Eric and April's checklist system for getting the kids through their morning responsibilities. It works pretty well-I don't have to keep on top of each little thing they're supposed to be doing...it's all there on the fridge for them.
One of the few wrinkles in the system is the Bible reading/prayer time to do and check off. Not that it's a wrinkle for everyone...just Jacob, or for me, actually. See, the point of the checklist is to move them through the morning efficiently and in a timely manner. But with Jacob, I simply cannot bring myself to say to him, "Stop reading your Bible and go do the rest of your checklist!" So his takes a bit longer than the other kids. It's a good problem to have. :)
Anna is a bit of wrinkle herself...she wants to do her checklist when she wants to do it, not when I want her to do it. Go figure. So this morning, I reiterated with her that EVERYONE has their checklist to do in the morning, that even mommy has a checklist.
"You don't have a checklist, mommy."
"Yes I do...I have to milk the goat, exercise, make breakfast, take a shower, and do my devotions."
"Where's your checklist?"
"In my head."
"You don't have a checklist on your head!"
We all laughed pretty hard!
One of the few wrinkles in the system is the Bible reading/prayer time to do and check off. Not that it's a wrinkle for everyone...just Jacob, or for me, actually. See, the point of the checklist is to move them through the morning efficiently and in a timely manner. But with Jacob, I simply cannot bring myself to say to him, "Stop reading your Bible and go do the rest of your checklist!" So his takes a bit longer than the other kids. It's a good problem to have. :)
Anna is a bit of wrinkle herself...she wants to do her checklist when she wants to do it, not when I want her to do it. Go figure. So this morning, I reiterated with her that EVERYONE has their checklist to do in the morning, that even mommy has a checklist.
"You don't have a checklist, mommy."
"Yes I do...I have to milk the goat, exercise, make breakfast, take a shower, and do my devotions."
"Where's your checklist?"
"In my head."
"You don't have a checklist on your head!"
We all laughed pretty hard!
Springtime Soccer
We're loving the longer days and warmer weather-though these pictures were actually taken in late March.
Nothing like a pick-up game of soccer in the driveway with your star player...
...Sophie! She loves playing soccer.
If we ever took her down to a soccer field with a bunch of little kids playing, it would be a bad scene! Talk about an intimidating opponent!
Nothing like a pick-up game of soccer in the driveway with your star player...
...Sophie! She loves playing soccer.
If we ever took her down to a soccer field with a bunch of little kids playing, it would be a bad scene! Talk about an intimidating opponent!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
WWF, Jacob and Daddy style
Sunday afternoon here on the home front...a Jacob and Daddy wrestling match!
Over the past few months, we've gone through a tough time with Jacob really beating up his brother. Jacob may be littler, but he's feisty. We've tried many different strategies of trying to curb his roughness with his brother, and praying with and for him to be able to handle his frustrations appropriately. From his perspective, part of the problem is that he wants to be stronger than Andrew, and his logic follows that if he can beat Andrew up, he must be stronger than he is.
So, we came up with a solution. When we thought of it, we thought it was simply another strategy. But, a few months later, we realize it was a great solution, because the "Jacob is beating me up" episodes have all but disappeared.
The solution? Jacob isn't allowed to try and wrestle with Andrew. He's only allowed to try and get stronger muscles by wrestling with Daddy. It's good for both of them...and actually pretty good for Andrew, too!
Now I know that downloading videos take a few extra minutes. But this one, we think, is hysterical. Jacob at his hysterical finest. (Hope that's not just us being biased or something). Enjoy!
Over the past few months, we've gone through a tough time with Jacob really beating up his brother. Jacob may be littler, but he's feisty. We've tried many different strategies of trying to curb his roughness with his brother, and praying with and for him to be able to handle his frustrations appropriately. From his perspective, part of the problem is that he wants to be stronger than Andrew, and his logic follows that if he can beat Andrew up, he must be stronger than he is.
So, we came up with a solution. When we thought of it, we thought it was simply another strategy. But, a few months later, we realize it was a great solution, because the "Jacob is beating me up" episodes have all but disappeared.
The solution? Jacob isn't allowed to try and wrestle with Andrew. He's only allowed to try and get stronger muscles by wrestling with Daddy. It's good for both of them...and actually pretty good for Andrew, too!
Now I know that downloading videos take a few extra minutes. But this one, we think, is hysterical. Jacob at his hysterical finest. (Hope that's not just us being biased or something). Enjoy!
Skiing
I'm not sure why, but we did precious little skiing this winter...quite a bit of snowshoeing, but that's it. I regret not getting out more often on skis for several reasons, but the first one being that this was Anna's first year of skiing, and it would have been great to give her mroe practice! As it was, she did really well (at least, as well as a 2 year-old on skis can do).
Jacob has a love/hate relationship with skiing. We're fine as long as the pendulum is swinging in the "love" zone...but too many falls, and he's done for. This was early in the game!
Andrew, on the other hand, simply loves skiing, and it was his begging to go out that finally got us to get skis on all of them, before our snow was completely gone. He grew out of the phase that Jacob is in in regards to skiing when he was 3 years old, and has loved it since.
After taking off his skis, he still had more energy left to try "knee skiing!"
Jacob has a love/hate relationship with skiing. We're fine as long as the pendulum is swinging in the "love" zone...but too many falls, and he's done for. This was early in the game!
Andrew, on the other hand, simply loves skiing, and it was his begging to go out that finally got us to get skis on all of them, before our snow was completely gone. He grew out of the phase that Jacob is in in regards to skiing when he was 3 years old, and has loved it since.
After taking off his skis, he still had more energy left to try "knee skiing!"
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Guess what?
Know what this picture is about? I'll give you a hint: Jacob is, believe it or not, pretending to be something.
The answer is in the feet. Have it figured out?
Why, he's an ostrich, of course!
(How this boy manages to look at my work gloves and think "Hmm...if I put these on my feet it will make them look like ostrich feet" is completely beyond me).
The answer is in the feet. Have it figured out?
Why, he's an ostrich, of course!
(How this boy manages to look at my work gloves and think "Hmm...if I put these on my feet it will make them look like ostrich feet" is completely beyond me).
Anna's "Crowning" Achievement!
Anna has grown up so much in the past six months. She's been completely potty-trained (except at night), since January.
In February, she started sleeping in her toddler bed instead of her crib. (She was trying to climb out of her crib. A girl could break her arm doing something like that)!
A few weeks ago I rearranged her dresser drawers...she's full-swing into the "do-it-myself" stage, and was always trying to choose her socks and undies out of the top drawer. So, she now can reach all of her clothes, and gets herself mostly dressed in the morning!
But her crowning achievement? She has finally quit her habit of nearly three full years...sucking her thumb!!! She was a hard-core thumb-sucker from the time she was three days old, refusing every type of pacifier we tried to give her. So when April came to visit last summer and brought her a crown and jewelry set, we decided to use it as her incentive to stop sucking her thumb, and started a sticker chart to track her progress. Well, either Anna wasn't ready enough to give it up or I wasn't ready enough to be consistent with it, but the "Pitty (pretty) Crown" has sat on top of our fridge ever since then!
Well, several weeks ago Anna mentioned Miss April and wanting to get her crown...so we began! We set up her sticker charts on the fridge, and she could earn several stickers a day for time frames in which she didn't suck her thumb. This past week, she finally met her goal! We're so proud of her!
In February, she started sleeping in her toddler bed instead of her crib. (She was trying to climb out of her crib. A girl could break her arm doing something like that)!
A few weeks ago I rearranged her dresser drawers...she's full-swing into the "do-it-myself" stage, and was always trying to choose her socks and undies out of the top drawer. So, she now can reach all of her clothes, and gets herself mostly dressed in the morning!
But her crowning achievement? She has finally quit her habit of nearly three full years...sucking her thumb!!! She was a hard-core thumb-sucker from the time she was three days old, refusing every type of pacifier we tried to give her. So when April came to visit last summer and brought her a crown and jewelry set, we decided to use it as her incentive to stop sucking her thumb, and started a sticker chart to track her progress. Well, either Anna wasn't ready enough to give it up or I wasn't ready enough to be consistent with it, but the "Pitty (pretty) Crown" has sat on top of our fridge ever since then!
Well, several weeks ago Anna mentioned Miss April and wanting to get her crown...so we began! We set up her sticker charts on the fridge, and she could earn several stickers a day for time frames in which she didn't suck her thumb. This past week, she finally met her goal! We're so proud of her!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Kodiak Island Drummers!
Before I get too far into this topic, I wanted to let you know that Andrew has his own post on this topic here. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has left him comments...he's becoming quite adept at checking in for comments, and you all have been so encouraging and have given him some great topic ideas! This mama's heart is touched, I tell you!
The week before last, the kids and I had an incredible opportunity to work with the leader of the Kodiak Island Drummers (search them out on YouTube...good stuff). The neighboring school had gotten a grant for an "artist in residence," and we had workshops all week long with Mr. D (whose native last name is impossible to pronounce or spell)! That school is MUCH more welcome to home schoolers than the one in our own community, and invited us to tag along for the week.
Each day, there was an hour-long session for kids PK-2nd grade. Jacob was reluctant to even try anything the first day, but warmed up some after that. In his defense, he did have a terrible cold all week, and we had to be up and out of the house by 8:30 a.m. every day. NOT usual for us. Lack of sleep gets along worse with Jacob than it does with most people!
Anna loved it, and would beat along on her drum and sing with the best of them! As it is, all four of us are still singing the songs and drumming the beat on anything around us!
Andrew, as you can well imagine, was in his glory, soaking up every minute of it!
I had no idea how incredibly fun it was to sit around with friends banging on a drum! But seriously, we were sounding pretty good by the time we had our performance Friday night. Andrew's group went first, and I was among the moms who helped keep them going on their rounds with "Are you Sleeping?" The older elementary kids performed after that, and they were amazing...and to think that he had only been working with them for a week!
It made for an absolutely crazy week, the week after which I refused to leave the house if it weren't absolutely necessary, but it was well worth it! There are already plans in the works for Mr. D to come back next year, and Andrew is already excited that he will be in the 'Older kids' group!
Tricia also posted some adorable pics of Andrew drumming (they came over for the performance), as well as tons of posts about tons of stuff we've been up to!
The week before last, the kids and I had an incredible opportunity to work with the leader of the Kodiak Island Drummers (search them out on YouTube...good stuff). The neighboring school had gotten a grant for an "artist in residence," and we had workshops all week long with Mr. D (whose native last name is impossible to pronounce or spell)! That school is MUCH more welcome to home schoolers than the one in our own community, and invited us to tag along for the week.
Each day, there was an hour-long session for kids PK-2nd grade. Jacob was reluctant to even try anything the first day, but warmed up some after that. In his defense, he did have a terrible cold all week, and we had to be up and out of the house by 8:30 a.m. every day. NOT usual for us. Lack of sleep gets along worse with Jacob than it does with most people!
Anna loved it, and would beat along on her drum and sing with the best of them! As it is, all four of us are still singing the songs and drumming the beat on anything around us!
Andrew, as you can well imagine, was in his glory, soaking up every minute of it!
I had no idea how incredibly fun it was to sit around with friends banging on a drum! But seriously, we were sounding pretty good by the time we had our performance Friday night. Andrew's group went first, and I was among the moms who helped keep them going on their rounds with "Are you Sleeping?" The older elementary kids performed after that, and they were amazing...and to think that he had only been working with them for a week!
It made for an absolutely crazy week, the week after which I refused to leave the house if it weren't absolutely necessary, but it was well worth it! There are already plans in the works for Mr. D to come back next year, and Andrew is already excited that he will be in the 'Older kids' group!
Tricia also posted some adorable pics of Andrew drumming (they came over for the performance), as well as tons of posts about tons of stuff we've been up to!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Taste test
So, part of our goat saga is that we sold (rather, traded for a fishing charter) our buck Stinky Pete. His services are just no longer needed for the time being, and certainly not worth paying to feed him until his services would be needed. Adios, Stinky Pete. We are not sad to see you go.
So, with no buck around that needs companionship, we certainly don't need a companion. Unfortunately, we hadn't yet heard back from the guy interested in buying our wether Jingles. We had only a Saturday in March available to "dispatch" him...so, our first taste of goat meat. Andrew liked it. Anna liked it. Jacob liked it. Mark liked it. Wendy did not like it. Hmmm...maybe a younger animal would taste better. We'll see another time, perhaps.
So, with no buck around that needs companionship, we certainly don't need a companion. Unfortunately, we hadn't yet heard back from the guy interested in buying our wether Jingles. We had only a Saturday in March available to "dispatch" him...so, our first taste of goat meat. Andrew liked it. Anna liked it. Jacob liked it. Mark liked it. Wendy did not like it. Hmmm...maybe a younger animal would taste better. We'll see another time, perhaps.
New friend!
The kids' friend Brooke has a new baby sister, and we were glad to finally meet her in person! Anna was enamored with her...I think she's going to be a fantastic big sister!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Green pears, green zucchini muffins, dressed in our green clothes made for a great start to the day!
(yes, I know we're a bit late posting this)!
(yes, I know we're a bit late posting this)!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Swimming Lessons
In March, both boys took two weeks of swimming lessons.
It's always a bit challening to work in the extra drive three days a week, but it's only for two weeks at a time. And the lesson time works out conveniently that Mark is just getting out of work then and can meet us at the pool.
Andrew has taken swimming lessons a few times before, and did really well this round. Still not independently swimming for great lengths, but much improved over before!
Jacob was thrilled to be in swimming lessons, and I think it may have been his first round of lessons. He kept his teacher in stitches with his constant chatter as he was being towed around the pool. His confidence level in the water has just soared!
We've continued to get to the pool once a week...we meet Mark on his lunch hour on Tuesdays. It gives me a change of pace in working out, as I take some of the time to swim laps, and we spend concentrated effort working with the boys on their skills. Physical education credit, anyone?
It's always a bit challening to work in the extra drive three days a week, but it's only for two weeks at a time. And the lesson time works out conveniently that Mark is just getting out of work then and can meet us at the pool.
Andrew has taken swimming lessons a few times before, and did really well this round. Still not independently swimming for great lengths, but much improved over before!
Jacob was thrilled to be in swimming lessons, and I think it may have been his first round of lessons. He kept his teacher in stitches with his constant chatter as he was being towed around the pool. His confidence level in the water has just soared!
We've continued to get to the pool once a week...we meet Mark on his lunch hour on Tuesdays. It gives me a change of pace in working out, as I take some of the time to swim laps, and we spend concentrated effort working with the boys on their skills. Physical education credit, anyone?
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