Me and My Boys

Mayflower Lessons - Revisited

2010-11-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

I'm still blogging away over at Cultivated Lives.

And gearing up for Thanksgiving!

New Port

2010-01-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well, after hemming and hawing for well over a year, I'm finally setting sail to a new 'port'!

I'm moving and making a name change.

You can find me at Cultivated Lives.

Happy New Year!

Memories

2009-12-31T10:00:00.001-07:00

Do you have any favorite memories of holiday time spent with your grandparents?

Some of mine include going out to eat with Oma and Opa. It was always such a special treat because we were allowed to order BOTH a soda and a dessert.

When it comes to food, I'm a total scrooge. My kids only get drinks other than milk/water/juice on VERY special occasions.

But grandparent's aren't scroogey...

And as you can see, they LIKED it!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-30T22:22:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning with little kids is so much fun!

Especially when they delight in Christmas presents for the dog...

Yes, this is the dog's new Christmas sweater.

Meet Me In St. Louis...

2009-12-30T21:44:00.001-07:00

Who knew that I'd be spending Christmas in St. Louis every other year all those years ago when I was obsessed with the Judy Garland movie, Meet Me In St. Louis...

In keeping with tradition, we made our usual stop at Steak N Shake on the way home from the airport!

While that is an ongoing tradition, this trip had a lot of 'firsts' for us.

Our first time seeing a Marrionette show.

The puppets were amazing.

The two guys who own the place also make their own marrionettes. I love how they came out for some of the songs so we could see them work their magic with the strings!

First happy meal

First slipper socks.

First white Christmas -for me and the little boys at least.

We were giddy with excitement!

Recorded

2009-12-21T20:11:00.001-07:00

Today was a fun day. Xander, who has always had a flair for the dramatic and adored being in a recent play, had the opportunity to lend his voice to the fight to protect religious freedoms in our country!

The Alliance Defense Fund, needed a child's voice for a project they are working on. He had so much fun going into a mini 'recording room' and following prompts to try out different ways to say the lines that needed to be recorded.

The man overseeing his recording was none other than Chuck Bolte, of Adventures in Odyssey fame! Of course, I hadn't made the connection and didn't think to take a picture until later and he had already left for lunch. Thankfully, the boys didn't really care. They were just thrilled to see Oma's office, get chocolate and adoration from coworkers and talk into the cool mike!

Mr. Bolte was thrilled with how Xander did and mentioned that he could have used someone like that back when he was the executive producer (and voice of Mr. Barclay) for Adventures in Odyssey.

So that does it. We're packing up and moving to Colorado Springs! hahaha, I wish.

making lemonade...

2009-12-20T20:59:00.003-07:00

My sister and I have been talking about perspective and encouraging one another to seek God's perspective in whatever situations come our way. Everything is for our greater good and His glory. He's preparing His bride to spend eternity with Him!

It is amazing to see the difference when there is a change of perspective...
It reminds me of something my mom used to always remind us of:

"When life throws you lemons, make lemonade."

With this way of thinking I can really and truly be thankful for just about everything!

So here goes this weeks list of little things that I'm grateful for:

19. promises like this one: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matt4:4) Feasting on His words provides sustenance, even in lean (economicly speaking) times...

20. worshiping God with my husband, children and fellow believers, even if I don't know very many of them. There is such joy in knowing that we have the common bond of a transformed heart!

21. watching my kids have special time with Oma, decorating gingerbread houses, especially since I've discovered that I'm not too fond of doing that kind of thing...

22. enjoying fleeting time with family!

23. watching my boys delight in gifts

24. watching coonskin capped boys enthralled with bubblewrap

25. competitive gaming, even if I don't always get to participate each time

26. little boys who are watching, learning and wanting to play too!!! Oh, I see many game nights in our future!

27. anticipating time spent with family in the midwest

28. grateful for kids who (in general) travel well

29. boys that keep me on my toes from the minute they are up to when they go to bed at night

30. sleep in a warm, soft bed, cuddled up next to my hubby

She Scores Again...

2009-12-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

Boys are R.O.U.G.H on clothes. I'm amazed at how quickly they go thru jeans.

Due to my obsession with re-using stuff whenever possible, but also having a penchant for asthetics, I am always on the look-out for a "cute" alternative to the boring plastic-y blue patches... Last year, due to Xander's obsession with football, I fashioned a football patch out of some brown corduroy. It was a HUGE success. Keegan fits those jeans this year and wants to wear them every single day. So I decided to make another round of football patches. Even Treyton, at 22 months, is obsessed. He's been running around all day pointing to his football patch! (But then again, for the boy who said 'football' before 'daddy' I guess it really isn't a huge surprise.)

I'm now ready to branch out and try some alternative shapes... hopefully non-sports related.

In the meantime, football season is still in high gear and these boys of mine could not be happier with their patched-up jeans!

Handmade Christmas!

2009-12-18T21:42:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow is 'Christmas' with my family as we'll be leaving for St. Louis on Tuesday and I can't wait to present our gifts to my little niece and nephew as well as our boys!

It's a 'mostly' handmade year for gifts.

Because our boys are such car fanatics, I made each of them a "car cozy". I found a fabulous tutorial here. She graciously provided a tutorial even though she also sells them all made up in her etsy shop. Jona over at Fabritopia is selling some great car fabric.

I am so incredibly excited to give this to them on Monday so they can load it up with a few cars for our plane trip. I have visions of peaceful and happy boys tooling around with their car cozy on the airplane trays... Yup, I'm an optimist! Heck, I had so much fun playing with cars while I snapped a few pictures, I'm sure my car-crazed littles will fall in love with them!

The boys actually spotted the fabric while I had it out to iron, so I let the older boys pick out their favorite fabric, but aside from that was able to construct them during naptime and away from curious eyes!

All rolled up and ready to be wrapped!

No child should miss out on the experience of bean bags. They are a staple in our house - especially in the hot homebound summer months... My little niece and nephew will receive these tomorrow:

And finally, after a year of trying to construct a pattern and putting it away in disgust, I was able to figure out how to recreate a gripper ball from one a friend lent me that her kids had played with 25 some odd years ago... My little nephew, at 6.5 months, is definitely in the grabby stage, so I'm excited about seeing him play with this little thing!

I love that both of these projects required only small fabric scraps! It's a great way to use up remnants!
And I have the crafting bug again... I'm already mapping out my next project. Of course, I've told myself that I can't try that until I complete the half-finished apron that I started last year. I'm so pattern-impaired. But I resolve to finish it!

Not Who Anymore...

2009-12-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

Phases: Kids go through them at a rapid rate.

Although sometimes it doesn't feel like it, kids really do go in and out of phases rather quickly. A while ago, Xander went through a 'getting married' phase and had picked out his future spouse. The result was him 'proposing' to several girls. He scared off one and had one acceptance. But it appears that this stage is behind him. He's gotten together with girls lately and has not made one mention of marriage to any of them, including the one who had previously accepted his offer... phew.

But that doesn't mean marriage and weddings aren't on his mind from time to time. They were enthralled with Auntie's wedding and still re-enact parts from time to time...

No wedding can take place without the proposal, right?

And of course there is dancing...

This last picture cracks me up because growing up in a family of all girls, we all took turns being the 'boy'. (I mean, someone had to be Mikhail Baryshnikov.) Now we are dealing with the reverse in my home!

gratitude

2009-12-14T22:10:00.003-07:00

gratitude.

It makes such a difference when we realize how richly God has blessed us. It has been a joy to keep my gratitude journal this last year. I've found that I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be, so my goal is to post each Monday, along with others, what I am grateful for...

It is an old tradition. I remembered keeping a gratitude journal about 20 years ago and managed to dig it up in my box of childhood memories. Poor spelling aside, it was a joy to reread after all those years.

6. enjoying Christmas traditions with my family.

7. wonderful Arizona winter weather

8. soft baby/toddler cheeks - both kinds ;)

9. early morning quiet.

10. conversations with God and soaking up His Words by candle and tree light in the early mornings...

11. reminders from others that I am ardently pursued by God. I am His beloved.

12. morning baking with my early riser.

13. singing Christmas carols off-key with my kids (thankfully they join right in and don't seem to mind)

14. the smell of stew simmering on the stove

15. reconciliation after a sibling argument

16. the craziness that is my life right now

17. but hearing that Still Small Voice amidst the noise of life

18. savoring the season and the 'reason for the season'

"Getting the bad guys"

2009-12-12T15:20:00.001-07:00

Recently, we were reading one of Xander's current favorite books, Sam the Minuteman. It is about a boy who helps his dad when the redcoats were marching on Lexington and Concord.

When they heard the second call to arms, Sam's mother didn't want Sam to go out and fight again after a friend of his had been wounded the day before. When I asked him why the mother might not want him to go out to fight, he responded:

"Because she wanted to shoot the bad guys herself."

:shakes head:

He has a long way to go to emphathize with or understand a mother's heart. Although I don't know if I really understood until I had children of my own, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

As an aside: There is a cool companion book from a British boy's point of view: George the Drummer, that we also enjoy. We will be utilizing this pair of books when we formally study the American War for Independence as it is helpful to see that we are human no matter what side we are on.

loving...

2009-12-07T22:47:00.002-07:00

A few things I'm loving right now:

1. walks in the rain

2 enjoying creosote - the source of our wonderful 'desert rain' smell

3 talking about the crown of thorns while checking out a thorny desert tree

4 drinking warm tea with my boys

5 I love rainy days. It always puts me in a thoughtful, meditative mood...

Handy Boy!

2009-12-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

We made a discovery today. Home Depot Kids workshops are so much fun.

Xander was inspired and empowered to try something he had never done before.

And we didn't need to find the idea, gather the supplies, prepare a work area or clean up afterwards!

Yup, he wants to go back!

Slowing Down...

2009-12-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

Enjoying calm days at home this week doing a little of this:

Homemade playdough with green coloring, peppermint extract and glitter in honor of the holidays! Easy on the eyes and smells like Christmas!

Still pondering how to make it work with 3 wannabe helpers... Any tips? There was quite a few shed tears and shoving as all four of us attempted to make playdough together. This collection of playdough recipes/variations is a great place to start if you want to try something new!

Thankfully, playing with it went a lot smoother.

We've also been enjoying our beautiful weather. The busyness of going mostly homemade this year for Christmas gifts has not deterred me from snatching some outdoor time myself. I just take my work with me!

Christmas Reading

2009-12-02T13:55:00.002-07:00

Last year we did a Christmas countdown by having books for them to unwrap each night leading up to Christmas. This year, they have been clamoring to do it again, so we are doing a countdown until we leave to visit Mima and Pa on the 22nd. In order to break things up a bit, I'm also adding in a certificate for hot cocoa (and letting them pick out a previously read Christmas book), a Christmas movie and an impromptu Christmas lights walk around the neighborhood.

There are so many wonderful Christmas books out there. Here is a list of some of our favorites:

The First Christmas ~ This was Xander's first Christmas book. His Aunt B gave it to me when after we announced we were pregnant. My family loves Tomie dePaola and this pop-up book is beautiful and entertaining. This book is fragile, so it is a very special read with mom (or dad) kind of book and we enjoy it immensely every year! I put this in the "must own" category since even if the library did have it, it would most likely be destroyed.

The Christmas Story ~ If you have never read a book illustrated by Gennady Spirin, you are missing out! This gloriously illustrated version utilizes text straight from the Bible and is just stunning. The book is rich in symbolism and imagery. One of these days, I'm going to own a Gennady Spirin book. The library carries many of his books! We enjoyed his Easter book this last year too!

A Child is Born ~ this is a faithful adaptation of the biblical nativity account. There is something so beautiful and haunting about the illustrations. There is something very dejavu' about this, so maybe I read these when I was young.

An Angel Came to Nazareth ~ this creative take on the nativity story centers around giving 4 animals their choice of rider. The illustrations are beautiful. I love the gold filigree and the textured art is just asking to be stroked and explored by tiny fingers!

The Christmas Story: Told through Paintings ~ I love this book put out by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Xander and I spent so much time pouring over the paintings last year. I'm looking forward to seeing what he notices this year. The explanations of the symbolism in the artwork is fantastic.

The Clown of God ~ This tear-jerker is a favorite of mine from childhood. It always inspires me to love Jesus with all that is within me.

The Tale of Three Trees ~ This is one of my favorite Christmas books because of it's unique approach to the birth of Christ and because it ties the birth of Jesus in nicely with his life and death. This makes it perfect for both Christmas and Easter reading. And really, the birth of Jesus wouldn't mean much if not for his death and ressurection!

The Legend of the Poinsettia ~ Tomie de Paola is just awesome and this unique story is fun to read. It provides a very relatable way of explaining Christmas customs in other parts of the world.

Santa, Are You for Real? ~ For me, the 1970's illustrations are a must with this book. It's all about nostalgia. We read this book when we were kids and I went to ebay to find a copy with the classic 70's style artwork. I talked about it last year. It is a great book that relates who St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) really was - a man who loved Jesus and other people.

This is the Stable ~ This is a clever rhyming book based on the "This is the House that Jack Built". The way it builds and rhymes makes it easy for the little's to remember what they are reading about!

We Three Kings ~ Gennady Spirin's luxurious paintings are a perfect fit to accompany the words of the carol We Three Kings. It is a pure delight to the eyes and as long as your kids enjoy the pictures, they probably won't mind your singing... ;) At least that's how it works in our house!

The First Noel ~ Another book with unique illustrations bringing the words to a Christmas carol to life.

The Mitten ~ Although more of a 'winter' book than a Christmas book, I enjoy adding it to mix things up. It is a beautiful story adaption of a Ukranian folktale.

What's on your "must read" list for Christmas books?

Tradition Driven...

2009-11-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Just a year or two I remember agonizing about creating traditions for my kids. I wanted to find just the right things that my kids would remember and do them in just a way so that they would want to do them the following year.

What I'm now finding is that traditions just happen. Kids must be hard-wired to seek traditions. As we approach Christmas time this year it is amazing to see what they remember and what they want to do.

I think this is the first year we have had our decorations up before December. Rich and I are both procrastinators, but it looks like our kids will be helping us move past that. They were begging for the tree, lights outside, their Little People Nativity set and the Christmas book countdown.

When we put the kids to bed Thanksgiving night Xander asked if we could start getting ready for Christmas now that Thanksgiving is past.

So this weekend we set up our tree and hung our lights!

Even Treyton got into it and thankfully in the best kind of way and hasn't been demolishing the tree!

Of course, his super fat lip (complements of Keegan) may have had something to do with his subdued manner. (I'm adjusting to the fact that blood-spilling is going to be a regular part of my life with boys.)

I'd love to hear about some of your Christmas traditions, current or from your childhood.

For Grown-up's

2009-11-28T12:13:00.002-07:00

I love picture books. There is something about beautiful or creative illustrations and a fanciful story that just has me hooked.

Today we read one that was a hoot. It mostly went over Xander's head, but he enjoyed it as well. I couldn't help but think of my mom and her love of art when I read it!

When Pigasso Met Mootisse is a parody of the relationship between the great modern artists Picasso and Matisse. The puns were hilarious and Nina Laden's artistic interpretations of some of their famous paintings were hilarious. It proved to be a great lesson in appreciating differences in personality and taste when it comes to artistic expression.

From one of our favorite pages:

Mootisse called Pigasso an "Art Hog." Then Pigasso called Mootisse a "Mad Cow."

Mootisse quipped, "You paint like a two year old." Pigasso retorted, "You paint like a wild beast."

Mootisse raged, "Your colors look like mud." Pigasso spat, "Your paintings look like color-by-numbers!"

Then things got really out of hand...

Xander liked it because paint was flying everywhere in the illustration!

So thankful for what I find in my random library catalog searches! We will definitely be checking this out again when we study art history! I can totally see the boys wanting to do their own Picasso or Matisse renditions in a few years after reading this book...

Makes me curious to try another book of hers: Romeow and Drooliet.

Breakfast Bliss

2009-11-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

100% enjoyment and interaction with breakfast

Pilgrim Learning, Part 2

2009-11-22T13:14:00.003-07:00

This last Wednesday we had our monthly co-op get together and the theme was Thanksgiving, naturally.

After reading, Pilgrim Cat, one of the boys favorite Thanksgiving related books, we did some corn planting of our own, Squanto style. A few goldfish, popcorn kernals, sand and globs of glue later, they proudly showed off their neat rows of newly planted corn!

Next we went on a hunt for game. Each child took an imaginary bow or musket outside for the hunt. Turkeys, deer and rabbits were found and brought in!

Next we talked talked about how thankful the pilgrim settlers were for God's provision throughout their first tough year in the new land. To help them start thinking about things they could be thankful to God for, we played a fun game. The boys have been clamoring to play this again, so I'm guessing we'll have several family rounds of this in the next week!

Materials needed: a hankerchief of some kind.

Everyone sits in a circle and passes the hankerchief around while chanting:

Thankerchief, thankerchief, around you go --

Where you'll stop, nobody knows.

But when you do, someone must say,

What they are thankful for this day.

The player holding the "thankerchief" when the poem ends, must say aloud, one thing for which they are thankful. This continues until everyone has had their turn.

Once we had ideas flowing on how many things we have to be thankful for, we revisited our Turkey Countdown from last year!

The boys have had fun filling in something they are thankful for each evening as we count down the days until Thanksgiving!

Part 1 found here.

Boys at Play

2009-11-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

For some reason, watching little kids lost in imaginative play fascinates me. I could sit and watch my kids play all day long. Well, if it weren't for the fact that I actually need to get boring but necessary things like cleaning done...

Recently, Keegan re-created Noah's Ark with the blocks the other day and was having the animals board and re-board the boat.

Xander has been spending his private play time with these cowboy and indian dollar store gems! Sometimes they are who they appear to be and other times they double as opposing football teams playing each other. Any guesses which side usually wins?

Treyton does not sit still for any reason... At these times, he is usually running laps around the backyard. He sleeps well at night!

Live History!

2009-11-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

The bigger boys and I went to the annual American Heritate Festival this last weekend! It was a celebration of our heritage and the sacrifice required so that we can be free today!

The boys LOVED getting to see the soldiers from so many different era's. For all of Keegan's bravado and obsession with the guns, he did not enjoy the Revolutionary war re-enactment. Being only 10 feet away from about 8 soldiers firing muskets scared him just a bit. He sat there desperately clinging to my hands and holding them over his ears!

We enjoyed trying on civil war hat replica's in the 'costume tent'.

Checking out a teepee!

Checking out the 'wares' from a trapper. He had quite the collection, coyote, mink, fox, beaver, ermine, bear. I learned that beaver pelts were in such high demand because they used the underhair to make felt for hats. I've only thought of felt as being made out of wool or synthetic materials...

The boys were also quite enamoured with the blacksmith. This is a real-live 3rd generation blacksmith that works out of Mesa, AZ. We watched him make a spoon out of a rod of metal. ok, ok, I was pretty enamoured too.

We'll definitely be visiting this again in the future. It will be fun to see what they take out of it as we begin to study American history more!

Mayflower Living for Wee Folks

2009-11-13T22:23:00.006-07:00

We've MOVED. Check out all of our Thanksgiving related posts at our new blog home: Cultivated Lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite our rocky start, our Mayflower day was still fun. My goal was to give the kids a small, prek/k friendly, taste of life aboard a boat...

Families tacked up blankets to give themselves a little privacy aboard the Mayflower. Although we couldn't mimic the crowded conditions aboard, we did decide to set up some "living quarters".

Our quarters were a bit fragile (playing football in and around quarters, as well as a 20 month old on the loose has a way of doing that).

After some finagling we were set for our day. To get in the mood, the boys decided to dress the part!

As I mentioned before, I ended up putting together our meal all by myself. Did little pilgrim boys not cook? They seemed to think so...

Due to 'severe' (imaginary) storms, we had dinner in our living quarters below deck.

We dined on stale biscuits, dried meat and cheese. In a departure from historical accuracy, we didn't go for worm-infested food... No one really complained, except daddy. But I don't think any of us would be thrilled with a diet of this and very little else.

Later that night we bedded down for the night in our tight quarters. They had a blast and think living on the Mayflower would be lots of fun. Mommy, on the other hand, is so thankful for modern day comforts like a dry home, soft mattress and SPACE! One night of my feet sticking out of our living quarters and little limbs smacking me was enough.

Maybe in the future, they will grasp how hard life was on the Mayflower and how incredibly easy we have it nowadays... For now they enjoyed stepping into another life for a while.

Part 2 of our Pilgrim learning adventure found here.
Favorite Thanksgiving/Pilgrim/Mayflower Books of ours:
The Story of Thanksgiving ~ This charming board book is the perfect introduction to Thanksgiving for the 1-4 year old. We loved reading it last year, but were unable to get it from the library in time, this year...
Pilgrim Cat ~ This is one of their favorite pilgrim books. It follows a pilgrim girl and her cat during their Mayflower trip as well as first year in Plymouth. Keegan had me read this to him 5 or 6 times the first day we had it. It introduces several key Thanksgiving story themes in a very relatable way. The boys were running around taking turns being Samoset and Squanto.
On the Mayflower: Voyage of the Ship's Apprentice and a Passanger Girl ~ This charming book includes photographs from a reinactment aboard the Mayflower II. The boys found the photographs mesmerizing and loved the perspective being from the young boy and girl.
You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Mayflower! A Trip that Took Entirely too Long ~ Interesting tidbits about the trials of life aboard the Mayflower. For kids a bit older, but easily adaptable down to this age.
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620
Off to Plymoth Rock! ~ This lyrical, rhyming book is the first book Xander ever received. When my mom gave it to me at the Thanksgiving of 2003, none of us knew that Xander was growing inside of me! The hopeful grandma had signed it - 'from Mom/MIL/sometime Oma.' Subtle mom, real subtle. ;)
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving ~ A beautiful telling of Squanto's story and how God brought him to the aid of the Pilgrims.
Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy ~ The photographs in this book are captivating for my boys. The text is a bit advanced for a 3 and 5 year old, although there are times that Xander enjoys it. We will definitely get this and the girl companion book as the kids get older.
Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl
Tapenum's Day : A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times

Expectations...

2009-11-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

I am a visionary. I love to plan, dream and throw myself into making those dreams and plans a reality. But there is something that keeps getting in my way...
...other people.

In this case, little people! Have any of you guys ever had in your mind how a day would turn out, only to find it takes a different turn?

I had planned for today to be our "Mayflower" day. But the kids just aren't as in to it as I had envisioned. I just have to laugh. I had visions of little boys excited to help make 'hardtack' for our meal, help with building our Mayflower living quarters/fort, etc.

Instead, they are more interested in playing outside...

So I'm adjusting my expectations and we'll just roll with what the day brings.

Thankfully, they are coming around, now that they have all of their wiggles out and are thouroughly dirty. The dirt is fitting, since I doubt they had many baths during the 6 weeks on the Mayflower!

Of Measuring and Comparing...

2009-11-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

Now that the craziness of the last month has died down, we are picking back up with normal life!

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching the boys and I are spending time studying about the first Thanksgiving. It seems like every year I pick up something new. That's the fun part about learning. It never ends. I'm thankful for the excuse to dive in and discover more with the kids!

This week we have been reading about what life was like on the Mayflower. The boys have also both been learning about Noah's Ark. So today we grabbed our trusty tape measure (and what boy does not like one of those?) and set out to get an idea of the length and width of these two ships. (Mayflower 95ft x 27ft, Ark 450ft x 50ft)

Xander and Keegan both had fun making markings every 100 ft.

We set up cones to mark the dimentions of both ships.

And of course pretended that the cones were guns and shot at minivans driving by... (they did not get this from me, they did not get this from me. :sigh:)
At dinner that night, Xander excitedly told his dad about what we did. He now has an idea of just how small the Mayflower was for the number of people and supplies aboard and how BIG the ark was. It is not the cutesy little boat with animals spilling over that is often depicted in children's illustrations.

Next up: Mayflower day. We will be spending time getting a small taste of what life on the Mayflower was like. Stay tuned for an update and a list of some of our favorite books on the pilgrims!

It could have been ugly...

2009-11-06T16:00:00.003-07:00

Whew. Treyton woke up early from his nap today. I was trying to let him stay up there in hopes that he would go back to sleep, but he kept calling me. m(low gutteral sound)ommmmmmmmmmm. m(low gutteral sound)ommmmmmmmmmmmm. So I gave up on him going back to sleep and went to get him.

I walk in to the nursery to discover that he is naked from the waist down and the room reeks. In his hand is a neatly folded diaper that he is holding out for me. I'm soooooooooooo thankful that he didn't play in it, do an art project or sit down. His little hiney was covered in poop, but there was none on the sheets.

A miracle.

I'll thank God for that and will dress him in onesies, super glued together from now on! ;)

...and we all lived happily ever after.

Maybe this is a sign that he'll potty train earlier than the other two!

Hopeful. So hopeful.

Hooked!

2009-11-05T21:27:00.002-07:00

Xander auditioned and landed a part as the youngest (on-stage) child in a recent production of Cheaper by the Dozen. He and I had so much fun spending every Monday afternoon 'practicing'.

Finally, he found a healthy use for his 'lack of an inside voice'. His voice is loud, even when he is trying to whisper. While that can be challenging in many environments, it is a definite asset on the stage.

He loved all of his co-stars and they were all so kind to him! He loves hanging out with the big kids and being doted on - basically being the 'baby' of the family!

He was thrilled that it was socially acceptable to wear make-up!

He had one scene where he had a good deal of lines and loved every minute of it! During his last performance he kept running back stage and proclaiming that he had "stole it", the show that is...

He even had a few friends who came to watch him! He loves Mr. Paz and was super excited when Paz presented him with congratulatory bubbles!

Yup, he has the acting bug, or at least loves the social interaction, applause and encouragement to be dramatic and loud! I'm sure more acting will be somewhere in his future!

If At First You Don't Succeed

2009-11-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

I'm so thankful for the age of the digital camera...

Getting a quality family picture where EVERYONE is looking at the camera can be quite the challenge.

ok, I guess we'll use this one...

Joy

2009-11-02T21:18:00.003-07:00

The family Evie married into has a lovely tradition of having the wedding party share during the ceremony. As brides-maids, we were to share with Joe what a gift he was getting in Evie. I chose to focus on her Joy. Lest I forget what I shared, I wanted to write it down somewhere "permenant." So bear with me while I share what a gift my sister has been to me and now is to Joe...

To Joe,
What a treasure you are getting in Evie. Her life swells with joy - sweet, exuberant. Why? Because her joy is from the Lord, through the Lord and a gift back to the Lord. It is a joy that fills her so that she breaks herself open and pours out - giving, giving, giving. She is a woman who enjoys the presence of the Lord. And in His presence is fullness of joy.

This joy of hers spills out to those she loves in countless ways. She cheerfully serves others, even in the mundane.

I still can’t get over how Bethany convinced Evie to do her laundry all those years. But Evie joyfully did so, never complaining once, even when I tried to convince her to make her sister do what she should have been doing or at least work out a fair trade. The thought of only giving if she received something equal in return was foreign to her.

It is also impossible for Evie to remain mad at someone she loves. And this is something you will appreciate and in good old Heller fashion be able to take advantage of… Whenever she would be mad at one of us, it would never take long before she would crack. A funny face, a simple joke or even a tickling hug would usually result in her joy bubbling back to the surface and forgiveness being generously doled out!

Our parents feel that names in a sense are prophetic. This is clearly evident in Evie’s life. Her middle name, Joy, is a reality in her life and now you will be the daily beneficiary of this! You once wrestled with the question of whether the “joy of today is worth the pain of tomorrow” when you didn’t know if you would ever have Evie’s love. Well now you can bask in the happy thought of knowing that you will get to revel in the joy she brings you for the rest of your life.

Love you Ev!

Love

2009-10-30T20:43:00.001-07:00

It's been a season of LOVE in our neck of the woods. My baby sister got married this last month. Nothing like witnessing new love to remind one of the blessings of marriage!

We were busy, busy, busy getting everything ready for her wedding! Rich was a trooper, taking care of the boys, so I could help w/ wedding prep. The boys LOVED their role as "ring bear" and "cubbie bear". Keegan was insistent that he wasn't a ring bearer, but cubbie bear instead. (Can you tell what is a highlight in his life right now???)

We all loved helping Evie get ready!

Posing for pictures!

Celebrating with Evie and Joe afterwards!

Exploring the beautiful grounds...

enjoying a little cousin rivalry...

(They have the cutest little love/hate relationship right now!)

Explore, Discover, Collapse.

2009-09-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

We rediscovered a state treasure this week! The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a fabulous place to stop for a day trip! The boys and I drove for an hour and landed in an oasis in the middle of the high desert!

We met a group of lovely ladies there...

...and set off to explore

hidden paths

an old Austrailian shepherds shanty in the "outback"

an old rock house

...and discover!

While admiring some roses, we discovered a baby grasshopper. The kids had fun admiring the little guy and passing him around before Keegan accidentally (dropped) released him back to the wild! :)

Whew. It was a tiring, but beautiful day. I can't think of a better way to jump into our study of Creation than by going out and enjoying it!

Toothless

2009-09-29T13:16:00.002-07:00

Xander had quite the adventure last week. The tooth that he had chipped 3 years ago started to flake apart. (You can thank Rich for not having to view the scary "before" picture that I took.)

The poor guy. He could feel it coming apart and would actually pick at it with his fingers, so we quickly booked an appointment to see the dentist. It was so bad that the exposed tooth just continued to come out in pieces and they were forced to dig out the very long root out.

Xander was a trooper and now only remembers the "prizes" from the dentist and his first visit from the tooth fairy!

He also loves showing off his new "look!"

Sorting and Sequencing!

2009-09-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

Ahh the joys of sorting and sequencing. This is the kind of "work" that has been engaged with relish in our house of late. We love our doller store find of these bright rocks. We've had fun sorting by color in trays as pictured and making patterned paths across the table and back!

It's amazing how such simple things like playing with rocks can build a strong foundation for later math skills!

An interesting article on the importance of sorting and how to implement it in everyday life puts it this way:

Parents may think counting and recognizing numbers are the nuts and bolts of preschool math. While these are important skills for young mathematicians to master, building a foundation for complex mathematical thinking begins in the early childhood years. Sorting and classifying objects helps children begin to notice how items are alike and different, and creates an awareness that is vital for math learning.

It's so amazing that such simple "games" can play such an important role! Check out the article to find a variety of easy ways to bring this in to everyday life!

Happy sorting...

The Way of Gentleness

2009-09-19T22:12:00.001-07:00

I've been struck of late with how the Lord interacts with us -in gentleness. As I think about how God deals with me when I make mistakes or even outright rebel, I'm reminded to extend patience and grace to my children.

I've discovered that my demeaner and my heart attitudes are so important when interacting with my children.

I'm inspired to imitate my heavenly Father in being "slow to anger, but abounding in love."

Last week, I was trying to hurry through getting Keegan down for a nap. We were at my parents home to celebrate a birthday and I wanted to quickly get back down to fellowship. As Keegan began to whine and and make a comment about being lonely, my patience snapped. On the tip of my tongue were harsh words and a threat of discipline if he didn't quickly obey, be quiet and let me get downstairs. But something made me stop before those selfish words left my mouth.

Mercifully, my eyes were opened. My harsh words turned to words of comfort. My hands gently caressed his hair. A minute of cuddling and loving words, calmed his fears and I was soon on my way back downstairs.

I am so thankful that God's spirit is at work in me. Changing me -daily.

I'm thankful for forgiveness, fresh grace, for new days and fresh beginnings.

Motherhood involves a lot of training. Over and over and over again. I have to remind myself that training is a process. What I did today, I need patience to gently train them on again tomorrow. Ann Voskamp has inspired me, yet again, as I found this old post where she discusses gently guiding our children. She reminded us of the following fable where the wind and sun argued over which was stronger:

“The Wind began to blow cold blasts, but the man only drew his cloak closer, tighter about him to keep out the cold. Then the Sun took his turn, shining warm and full. Under the sun’s rays, the man released his grip on his coat, then threw it back, and, at last took it off! The Sun’s gentleness accomplished what the Wind’s force could not.”

So after a day, when I lacked gentleness and patience, I go to the Source and pray that I would hear His nudging and follow His leading tomorrow. That instead of mighty blowing, I might be a reflection of the Son to my children and watch Him do a mighty work in their lives.

Selah

2009-09-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

From my study this morning I read:

"A healthy fear of God bows to His holiness and obeys His precepts, but all the while is compelled like a magnet to the source of its fascination. It seeks Him like hidden treasure. It stretches and strains to peer into His perfections. It yearns to be captivated by His beauty from so near a place that it becomes beautiful too. It longs to approach the One who dwells in unapproachable light. To know the unknowable till faith turns to sight. To be ruined for every other contesting love."

Puzzled

2009-09-14T22:39:00.002-07:00

When it's really hot outside, we take hints from those that are homebound because of the cold...

And put puzzles together!

Football

2009-09-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

So here we are at the start of another football season. I'm once again playing fantasy football in my women's league and looking forward to relaxed Sundays watching football with my boys. ALL of my boys are now obsessed with football.

In fact, a little while ago, Xander stopped me before I left his room one night and told me that he knows all of the Cowboys players. Amused, I paused so he could tell me what he knows.

"Bonner (his name for all pretend characters of his at the moment) and Jesus."

Nice. And all of this "God's team" stuff would be why I had such a revulsion for the Cowboys all these years. God is at work though and I can still say that I'm rooting for them alongside all of my boys this year. Talk about a miracle...

Composting

2009-09-12T14:00:00.001-07:00

I am fascinated with the 'idea' of gardening and I think an important part of growing up is learning where our food comes from. (Am I the only one that is like this? There are things that I 'theoretically' like, but usually don't have the desire to put the blood, sweat and tears into making it work...)

So I am taking the plunge and will be trying to garden again this year.

To start with, we are finally getting our compost bin set up and running. I've only had it for 2 years now. Thanks to a friend who works at a grocery store, we've obtained several boxes of rotten produce to give it a little jump start.

The boys have had fun dumping stuff in and giving a good stir.

Now if I could just get over the smell and the flies that apparently are only temporary... With this heat, we are sure to have some compost ready for use within a few weeks!

Next up - getting more dirt for our newly finished raised garden bed.

Cuteness!

2009-09-11T12:22:00.002-07:00

I just love little boys in cute diapers...

And this time of year, little boys love being in only diapers.

Just savoring beautiful moments that come with each tiny season in life!

Almost 2 years of part-time cloth diapering and still going strong. Although some days I don't care for the extra work, I've become accustomed to the savings. That and I feel like I can just let him run around in only a diaper without feeling trashy! ;)

Umbrella Play

2009-09-10T13:00:00.001-07:00

Since there hasn't been much "real" opportunity to need these, the boys have come up with creative exuses for pulling out the umbrella.

Pretending it's raining:

twirled umbrella = "Helihocker"

Shooting or utilizing a shield (or anything else battle related)

Going around the sun.

And then finally, he tried to step into it as if it was a boat. I drew the line there.

Umbrella's: a perfect open-ended play toy that occasionally can also be used to keep one dry here in Arizona.

Any other ideas on what we could do with our mostly useless umbrellas?

Rain Play

2009-09-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

Wishing for more of this:

Pretty please?!?!?

Like the desert needs the rain...

2009-09-09T14:15:00.001-07:00

Being at the end of a long, hot, fairly dry summer, makes this song even more relatable...

Like the desert needs the rain, I need You.
Like the ocean needs the streams, I need You.
Like the morning needs the sun, I need You.

:sigh:

Fellowship is sweet. This is the lesson we had for today!

I LOVE THIS SONG!

TO DIE FOR GIVEAWAYS

2009-09-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

I'm in LOVE. Not that my boys need a new backpack, but this vintage-esque backpack is to.die.for.

Grossgrain is hosting a giveaway for this beauty!

And since hope springs eternal that I might someday have a girl (or at least have another niece that I could bless with this in hopes of being able to borrow it if a miracle were to occur) I am also entering in a giveaway for this beautiful combo.

Space Sledding

2009-09-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

So the wonderful break in the weather today has us looking forward to cooler things...

The boys spontaneously decided to have their astronauts go sledding today! It looks like a trip up north this winter or some more 'desert snow' will be added to the docket for this winter!

A Time to Turn Around...

2009-09-05T15:33:00.001-07:00

I know I've been writing a lot about Bible study of late. I've been needing it so much that it consumes a lot of my thoughts and time lately. I'm so hungry for God. I don't even know how to explain it. Spending time reading His words to me has been amazing and getting to talk to other ladies about what God is showing them is amazing too.

It is no surprise then, that my children are picking up on that...

Last week, they were so cute when they insisted on taking their Bibles when we left for Bible study. Although they have a lesson in their classes, due to their age and all, they don't actually "study" their Bibles. It was adorable and I indulged their desire to be like mommy.

Encouraging this is not always easy though.

Take yesterday.

I had finally pulled everything together and packed them in the car to head out for week two of my study. They didn't realize that they had forgotten their Bibles until we were pulling out of our neighborhood. For those that know me well, you know that I DESPISE being late. Already I was pushing it to get there in time. Getting 3 kids into and out of the car and checked into separate classes is no easy task.

I'm so sad to admit that my immediate gut reaction was annoyance. But as I was preparing to explain to them that they didn't really NEED their Bibles and bracing for tears, I felt a tug at my heart. I knew that I was supposed to turn around and nurture this desire of theirs.

That evening, as we gathered with friends for the Truth Project, this verse came up: "This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

Whether or not I'm on time for things is not important. Fostering my children's desire to KNOW God is more important than anything. I pray I always listen to those nudges from the Holy Spirit and give up my agenda for His. (ETA: And I pray that my agenda would become the same as His!!!)

Amaranth Cookies

2009-09-04T20:10:00.003-07:00

This is one of my absolute favorite cookie recipes. I love the slightly nutty flavor that the popped amaranth gives! And well, I'm a sucker for the dried cranberry/chocolate chip combo. So in case you are wanting to try a cookie recipe that is a bit out of the box...

Cranberry/Chocolate Chip Amaranth Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
* 1 c brown sugar
* 1 c granulated sugar
* 1 c butter
Cream together.

Add
* 2 eggs
* 2 Tbs vanilla
Combine and beat until smooth.

Sift together and add to the above ingredients:
*2 cups and 2 Tbs white flour
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp salt

Once beaten smooth, add:
* 3 cups popped Amaranth **
* 1 cup dried cranberries
* 1 generous cup chocolate chips
Beat the mixture well. Drop cookies 2 inches apart on well-greased cookie sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes.
(if cookies spread out too much, add 1-2 Tbs addl flour)

These cookies also freeze well. I form into balls and then freeze. That way I can pop a couple of cookies in the oven for a quick fix, or just indulge in a frozen cookie dough ball. Yum.

** Directions for popping Amaranth: (general rule is 1/4 c unpopped amaranth produces 1 cup popped.)
Heat pan (that has a corresponding lid). Once hot, test 2-4 amaranth seeds and see if they pop quickly. If so proceed by adding 1-2 Tbs of amaranth to the pot. It should pop quickly. Don't leave unattended in the pan, it will burn. Check out this video for a visual on how to pop amaranth. It is well worth the little bit of extra work for these cookies!

If you try it, let me know! I'd be especially interested to hear if the guys out there like it. Rich likes everything about the cookie except the cranberries. People who aren't familiar with amaranth can be scared to the appearance...

Bear-ing It!

2009-09-02T22:21:00.001-07:00

On a recent trip to the zoo with a good friend and his daughter, Treyton decided to embrace some freedom...

After removing a super soggy diaper, he ran back for more fun in the water before I could get something else on him...

Little Bereans!

2009-09-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

Do any of you just watch your kids play? I love quietly observing them while they play. Their ingenuity is amazing.

I enjoy planning creative activities for my kids, but there are many days when I just don't have the energy for it. This week has been one of those times...

But if I had planned some activity earlier this week, I would have missed this:

Their friend had brought his Bible that matched Xanders. While I was straightening up the kitchen, I heard the chairs moving around in the front room.

They were coming together to have a "Bible study". It was such a treat to hear them find favorite stories and share them with the others.

Then they proceeded into the other room to try and find the same stories in each of their Bibles.

As my friend and I study the Bible with other women, we are not only strengthened in our faith and love for the Word, but our children are also witnessing the need and joy of being in the Word as well!

:sigh:

Life at the feet of Jesus is sweet indeed.

I'm so thankful for the days when I'm disorganized and leave the kids on their own. Watching them this last week was a treat!

A team of Joshua's!

2009-08-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

This summer a dear friend and I have taken turns watching eachother's children so we could get errands run ALONE, have an extended time with the Lord or lesson plan for the upcoming school year.

My turn for a morning out is coming up and it reminded me of the incredible time we had last week.

And really what could be more fun than having 6 kids (6,5,4,3,2,1 years old) under one roof! :)

We delved into the account of Joshua and the battle of Jericho. Being boys and all (except for little lone Abby), they were mesmerized with how God brought the walls down. So we decided to re-create the story afterwards.

We made 'trumpets' and meticulously built Jericho's impressive walls.

Then proceeded to march around seven times, singing praise to God and playing our trumpets and watched the walls come down (with some help from several feet)...

Popsicle Fun!

2009-08-18T22:02:00.004-07:00

Popsicles make us very happy! Even Mommy's healthy carrot/apple juice combo or the fruit/spinach smoothie yogurt pops! To end the summer, I guess I'll be nice and introduce them to the yummy goodness of a fudgesicle...

Popsicles put us in a sharing mood!

Happy, generous, thankful. What more could you ask for?!?!?

More Hats

2009-08-16T14:43:00.002-07:00

As I said before, hats are a huge hit at our house right now. Trey is no exception. He will wear whatever hat he can find - hardhat, cowboy hat (on the rare chance his brother isn't wearing it), Captain Hook hat, etc. But his favorite is a good ol' baseball cap!

Wild Child

2009-08-14T21:00:00.001-07:00

The developmental psychology/neurology junkie in me LOVED this movie. It is a French movie (oh the joys of subtitles) that was made in 1970. It is based on a true story about a boy who had grown up in the wilderness and was blind to the ways of man and unable to communicate or express himself. The format is a careful narration by the doctor, that explains the boys progress in embracing humanity. It was inspiring and sad at the same time...

Rich joined me, but warned that if he got bored, he was out of there. Even he enjoyed this thoughtful, gripping account.

I was reading on wiki, that it was through cases like this of "ferel children" that enabled scientists to determine that there are sensitive periods in human development for learning how to interact with other people and for learning to talk, read, write, etc...

I was thinking that some of the doctor's methods seemed so familiar in the movie and it turns out that Dr. Jean Itard had a huge influence on Maria Montessori and is also considered to be on of the founding fathers of special education.

You can read more about the movie here and the real story behind the movie here! Gotta love wiki!

I give it two thumbs up. Apparently it is available on netflix (isn't just about everything) or possibly your local library (where I found it).

Oma Day!

2009-08-13T10:18:00.002-07:00

It's been a while since we had an Oma day and boy did we enjoy having one yesterday!

The boys enjoyed pulling out all kinds of games to play with her.

Being read to over and over and over again! (Oma's and Mima's are always up for 'just one more'!)

And some one-on-one lovin'!

During naptime, I enjoyed running picking up stuff for Ev's wedding (oh I love work at home dad's!) and getting some important feedback on a writing project I'm working on! Once a mom, always a mom, right?!?!?! I guess I'll always need her on some level or another! :)

30

2009-08-13T00:01:00.005-07:00

Approaching 30, I've been mourning the loss of my "youth"

...mourning the fact that I'm no longer a 'young mom', but just, well, a mom

...looking at face creams from a whole new perspective.

I'm so embarrased to even admit that... Sheesh.

It is sad to see how much I've been affected by the culture. 30 is not the begining of the end, but merely another year of added wisdom and life experience. It is another year that I can watch my kids grow and relish solid, secure love with my hubby.

I've been keeping an article in my Bible that I pull out and read every so often. In it the author mentions, "where you are at age 29 depends mostly on circumstance, where you are at 39 depends mostly on character."

Pause. Reflect.

As I've been going back to this again and again this last year, my prayer is that character would be forged by my current circumstances.

...forgetting what lies behind me, I push forward in the race that He has set before me! I set my course and look ahead to where I will be at in another 10 years.

So a quiet, peaceful day ushered me into a new decade.

...a quiet, day with those I love - my hubby and my boys!

for some reason, it is so much fun to photograph little one's. I'm rather embarassed at the lack of pictures of Rich or myself. But I really do love him, he just doesn't cooperate and give me all kinds of cute expressions.

Xander

2009-08-11T11:04:00.003-07:00

My X-man is now 5. A big whopping 5 years old. Where, oh where did the time go?

This meticulous, imaginative boy is such a delight. He continues to amaze me with what he is picking up and learning. He is very proud of being in kindergarten!

He is tender - loving his brothers and caring for me.

He loves Jesus. It has been such a joy to watch this child of mine, also become a child of God this last year. His soft heart, desire to seek God and pray for others warms my heart. When I am down, he is always quick to ask if he can pray for me. I admire his faith and reminded afresh that faith like that is what Jesus wants us to have - pure, simple, whole-hearted. Oh the things my kids teach me!

He had a wonderful birthday and is enjoying playing with all of his new treasures. Oma and Opa have encouraged his love of outer-space. His new spacesuit has inspired a whole new round of imaginative play. I love his newest version of a space helmet...

Costumes are "IN" right now. VERY in. Every day, all day.

Arizona Beach!

2009-08-08T21:47:00.005-07:00

We love Opa's Arizona Beach! So we decided to share our favorite summer spot with a few friends for the boys birthday! We swam and frolicked in the sand!

We consumed goldfish and ice cream sandwiches!

Presents were opened!

Silly faces and hugs commenced!

Babies were passed around!

Lovebirds were present!

Family time enjoyed!

Three

2009-08-07T21:35:00.004-07:00

I have a three year old again. It is delightful! I love this age when the imagination really takes off, they are able to communicate oh so much more and potty training is behind us.

My guy is passionate and fiery. He certainly lives up to his name! While he is we've had our power struggles, he is a little lover at heart. I adore his little impromptu hugs. He just randomly wraps his little arms around me and showers me with kisses.

:sigh:

I wouldn't trade him for the world or wish any of his unique personality traits away!

This kid of mine was so excited about his birthday. Although he now insists that he's ready to be 5. ...always wanting to do whatever big brother is doing.

His birthday crown, that I made for him when he turned one, is almost too small and too well-loved. I guess the older boys will get an upgrade next year! I love this little tradition of ours. They truly enjoy being "king" for the day! He was the cowboy king this year as he's been insisting on wearing his cowboy boots.

Treyton has decided he likes August too! He's loving the cake!

Color-Crazy

2009-07-30T21:33:00.006-07:00

With birthday money from Mima and Pa, the boys received our new coloring utensils in the mail the other day and I just couldn't wait to see how the boys liked them. I'm not sure who was more mesmerized - me or them...

We love our Stockmar blocks and crayons! I've read reviews on these for years. People have raved about the brilliant color, smooth application, lack of waxy film on the paper and the fact that they last so long and are break resistant. As a mom with a bucket full of broken crayons, I was itching to try them. Keegan loves stacking the blocks and all of the boys have been experimenting with how to color with the blocks and enjoying the bright color of the crayons. I'm thinking leaf rubbings are in the near future.

I'm also loving our new Lyra Ferby pencils. These chubby pencils sport a triangular shape which is helpful for little hands! Not only does it help them hold the pencil correctly, but the larger size also prevents their hands from tiring out as quickly. The colors are so vibrant and beautiful. Xander loves how exact he can get with his drawings. We were super happy with the service and pricing at My Little Ducks. We ordered them Friday night and they arrived in the mail on Monday!

And yes, we are still obsessed with anything outer space related!

Juice Bliss

2009-07-22T22:08:00.001-07:00

Discovering the joys of undiluted juice!

Nesting, Stacking and Rhyming, Oh My!

2009-07-20T12:59:00.007-07:00

After the home school convention this last weekend, I am freshly inspired to interact with and teach my little one's! I was reminded of the importance of spending individual time with EACH child, EVERY day.

So today, I pulled out our stacking/nesting block set that Mima bought for Trey! He had so much fun stacking it up and pushing over his tower creation. He loved having my undivided attention as I cheered him on in his play! He did "fairly" well at stacking in descending order of size.

Each boy then proceeded to have private time in the play-yard with the blocks. What was so fascinating about this amazing toy was seeing how each child played with it in a way that was developmentally relevant for him. Trey simply stacked and knocked over. Keegan, was obsessed with sorting them from largest to smallest, counting them and making sure they were stacked "just right". He was then equally interested in nesting them. It took him several tries, but he kept at it until he figured out how to do it. Xander stacked them up, but then studied each side - the 1,2, Buckle My Shoe rhyme on one side, the alphabet on another side and then a picture of a Mother Goose nursery rhyme. He's quite the story teller and enjoyed relaying the story to me.

One toy, so many ways to play with it!

This really is a wonderful toy - and beautiful too! All of the blocks made by this company are beautiful. My mom has another set from the Metropolitan Museum of Art that is also stunning.

I'm in the process of putting together a "Learning Box" for Keegan (and Trey too) that will store my educational toys that I can pull out and spend one-on-one time with him. This will definitely be going in there!

Soaring Dreams

2009-07-13T21:02:00.003-07:00

I just love seeing little imaginations at work.

Xander has been getting into everything "space" related. Yesterday, he ran up to me, to show me his latest costume.

"Houston, do you copy"

He told me the other day that he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. He then asked me:

"Mom, when you grow up, do you want to be an astronaut too?"

Nesting

2009-07-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

What are we doing?

Nesting, of course!

During recent trips to the zoo, the boys developed an interest in eagles.

Naturally, one thing led to another, and we started reading up on them. This reminded me of an idea a creative friend of mine found -making an eagles next using rolled up newspapers. We were supposed to paint them, but for some reason the boys lost interest in slapping copious amounts of brown tempora paint, so we quit half-way thru.

The boys still enjoyed 'pretending' to be eagles and collect 'sticks' for their nest. They proceeded to then go and find food to bring back to the baby birds.

...and showing off their impressive talons!

Trey, is in a "must be near mommy" phase and not at all interested in birds nests yet

Color-Coded

2009-07-03T16:54:00.005-07:00

I'm terribly unorganized, but every once in a while I stumble on a good idea that makes my life just a little more sane.

Color-coded cups (and toothbrushes) have been a life saver here!

No fighting, no confusion.

And well, they are so pretty to look at!

We love our Klean Kanteen water bottles! They even come with a sippy top for Treyton!

Mr Incredible

2009-06-24T21:30:00.005-07:00

Meet my wedding date! This cute little guy accompanied me to the wedding of one of my oldest friends! He was a trooper and loved the creative ceremony and party afterwards.

In keeping with his Irish heritage, Kelly sported a kilt.

When Xander first saw him, he pointed and shouted, "That's Mr. Incredible!"

I love this age.

No Fear

2009-06-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

I'm scared.

This youngest child of mine is D*A*N*G*E*R*O*U*S around water. He would be a great candidate for baby swim lessons because he needs them - badly.

Xander and even Keegan both had a healthy fear of the water and were quite cautious. But this kid runs towards water and doesn't look back. We've been going to the "lagoon" at my Opa's neighborhood club. The gradual entry pool is perfect for the two bigger boys who love to splash around and 'pretend' to swim around the edge.

Trey, on the other hand, just runs in and keeps making his way until he can't stand up any longer and goes under. When I retrieve him, he is all smiles as he coughs up the water he just swallowed... In the back of my mind, I've been somewhat skeptical of the need for baby swim lessons and wondered if it caused more harm than good by creating a false sense of security. A two year old can frantically back float for only so long after jumping in. But now I'm wondering if these kids that seemed dangerous around water, thus making me think swim lessons were a bad idea may have just had personalities similar to Treyton's.

So, I will trying to remember everything that we learned in Xander's swim lessons as a 22 month old and implementing them with Trey. Thankfully, I have several friends who are baby/toddler swim instructors, so I can hopefully ask some questions to fill in what I've forgotten...

Birth-day!

2009-06-08T21:57:00.006-07:00

Today I got to witness my very first birth! It was amazing!

It was a beautiful thing to behold. I am in awe of how God creates new life and enables new life to be born into this world. I'm thankful for the opportunity to help in small ways and capture pictures of this precious time!

This evening, we went over to celebrate little Keith Zebedee's birth-day. The boys are quite entranced with their newest little cousin.

In step with tradition, the boys helped make a birthday cake. And of course helped blow out the candles since the baby slept through the celebrations and Evangeline was busy running around.

Ev and Peaches (Rich's contribution to this post) made it back from vacation just in time to join the festivities! :)

Breakthrough

2009-06-05T20:30:00.005-07:00

It has been a rough couple of weeks for Treyton. But he finally popped his first tooth - just shy of 15 months.

A molar.

I've never heard of getting molars first. Another molar is just about ready to pop through and I can see his eye teeth getting ready too. There is no sign of any teeth on his lower jaw. (I thought those were supposed to be the first to pop.

So we are feeding my poor miserable little boy lots of frozen peas and cold carrots. He's addicted to teething tablets. I'm addicted to him having teething tablets too. Whew. I'll be glad when the worst of the teeth eruptions is over...

Benched

2009-06-04T13:42:00.003-07:00

So I told you with excitement about our newly refinished table and bench! I had such idealistic dreams of bantering, playful boys scrunched close together on this bench eating baked goodies and lavishing praise on their hard-working mama... :sigh:

Then reality hit. At this point in time, the boys cannot seem to get along on my dreamy bench. In fact, they would fight over the bench even when it wasn't meal time.

For example, I overheard the following conversation a week ago...

X: It's a bench
K: NO. it's a chair.
X: A bench.
K: :high pitched scream: It's a chair!
X: :leaning forward: BENCH, cuz I'm taller than you and I :pauses to think: ...talk a lot.

...and so thanks to some wonderful advice from a fellow bench owning mommy, they now take turns; one day the bench, the next day a chair.

Color Blending

2009-06-01T20:15:00.004-07:00

Oh the joys of playdough...

Keegan is especially entranced with the stuff right now! He loves exploring what happens when you mix colors!

I have a love-hate relationship with playdough. I love how it captivates their attention, I hate how it clings to my carpet.

Despite this, making more playdough is on the docket for upcoming events at our home.

Humming Boys

2009-05-19T18:17:00.005-07:00

We're obsessed with hummingbirds! What started simply with Keegan picking a library book about hummingbirds has snowballed. They now want to pretend that they are baby hummingbirds when getting their morning vitamins and Xander regularly tries to fly as fast as a hummingbird for Dad!

I love seeing what things interest them! Indulging obsessions like this is so much fun!

New Territory

2009-05-16T20:30:00.006-07:00

Growing up, I was a bit of a tomboy. Because of this (despite having no brothers), I felt VERY well prepared for marriage and hoped I'd be blessed with some little boys!

I caught snakes, bugs, gutted fish, played sports, enjoyed getting dirty, blah, blah, blah. Oh and I can out eat many boys, so I understood the priority of FOOD!! I understood being tough and food. Yup, I was ready.

What I didn't realize was that even though I did these tomboyish type things, boys are still VERY different from girls, at least my man certainly was! A good friend of mine, lent me the book, Bringing Up Boys, when I was talking to her about this perplexing person I had married. It was an eye opener.

Boys are different.

This is proved to me daily...

I'm not a big fan of killing bugs. I'll do it and you would never find me acting scared to kill a bug, but it's not high on my list of enjoyable activities. (Playing with live bugs or already dead bugs is one thing, but I'm not into the killing aspect.)

For my boys, though, it's all about the kill. Killing bugs is big entertainment in these parts - especially if you can manage to do it with your bare hands!

Their combined skills netted two dead flies.

...which they proudly brought to show mommy!

What a Gift!

2009-05-13T21:27:00.008-07:00

As a gift to me, my wonderful hubby released me early this morning to a mini-retreat! I woke up and made my way to the Riparian Park and arrived in time watch the sun make its debut for the day.

I definitely needed the time away. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. Every couple of hours I would awaken and check the time and ended up bounding out of bed at 4:50, excited to make my getaway!

With my Bible, journal and camera, I embarked.

There is something so powerful about getting out in nature. I always have my most intimate conversations with God when I'm outside. There's just something about the quiet, fresh air and space, especially at the opening or close of a day...

Although spring definitely feels like it's gone, there were still quite a few blooms out there.

Reading about God's creative power takes on a whole new meaning, when I'm outside enjoying his beautiful creation.

I'm reminded of what Billy Graham once said:

"Mothers should cultivate their souls, that in turn they may cultivate the souls of their children."

I came back refreshed. The rest of my day certainly didn't go perfectly, but God gave me the strength and grace to navigate thru it. Perspective changes everything!

What a gift! Thanks Rich! (can i go again next week?)

On to Sparks

2009-05-11T21:02:00.001-07:00

My little Cubbie is a Cubbie no more... This last Sunday marked the end of Cubbies for the year. Xander loved his year and it has been such a blessing to see the fruit in his life. His sweet surrender to Jesus has been beautiful to behold. It just blows me away!

Celebrating with a feast of hotdogs and snowcones afterwards!

Next year it's on to Sparkies!

As I look back at my own childhood, I'm so thankful for the strong foundation this program provided for me. I'm still reaping the benefits daily! I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to help my children in the same way! I'm the type of person who needs accountability, otherwise good intentions remain just that. Awana's equips me to teach, train and intentionally point their attention to the One who provides hope and unconditional love!

New Mercies

2009-05-07T21:18:00.005-07:00

Thankful, so very thankful that:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is his faithfulness.

(Lamentations 3:22-23)

As I stumble along, God is so gracious to remind me that even when I feel completely empty, his mercies never end.

Tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start.

I don't know why I worry that I won't have the energy or grace for tomorrow. I forget that I am not to "worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself." But instead to "seek first the kingdom of God and his rightousness and all these things will be added to you."

Isn't God so amazing? I am unbelievable blessed.

...off to bed, so I can get up early in order to snatch some quiet moments with God before the beautiful craziness of a a new day gets into full swing.

Cooking with Kids!

2009-05-02T16:10:00.010-07:00

It's no secret, that this family loves to eat. I'm already realizing that we are going to have to set aside some serious budget money as these boys of ours grow.

Since a fair bit of my time is spent in the kitchen preparing the food we love to eat, it has been fun to include the kids in the preparation! They have fun and learn so much too. Counting, adding, subtracting, fractions (not yet for us, but eventually...), chemistry and of course a healthy appreciation, hopefully, for what kind of work it takes to get food on the table and into hungry tummies.

Here are some tips that I've found helpful when including the kids as I bake:

Allow more time for preparation. If I'm short on time, having helpers just isn't, well, helpful. Allowing for longer prep time helps keep the atmosphere relaxed and goes a long way to increasing mommy's patience! What goes along with this is realizing when I am short on time and/or patience and redirecting the boys attention elsewhere...

Letting them pour pre-measured ingredients into the bowls. Since I don't want to waste ingredients, I typically measure out and then allow them the opportunity to take turns pouring. If you are feeling brave, you can give them a little more leeway with this.

Let them 'man' the mixer. This is the most prized privilege. I'm not quite sure if it is a boy thing, but they LOVE to take turns lifting the bowl and turning the mixer on and off.

Anything related to rolling out dough or brushing on stuff is a good 'kid' job!

Avoid giving them the 'hot' jobs. I'm just not comfortable with them near the open oven or in this case with dropping pretzels into boiling water... Those are "take a step back and just watch" parts.

Of course, most of this goes for baking. I haven't really included them much with general cooking, except for letting them stir sauces and such. The thought of them at my side while I'm wielding a big knife scares me... Any ideas on this or other fun kid-friendly baking ideas would be much appreciated.

Our latest project was pretzels! I love a good soft pretzel, but certainly not the price that goes with it. There are more steps than the average recipe, which intimidated me at first. But really, if you take it one step at a time, it wasn't too bad. The boys really loved helping out with this one. Although there is room for improvement, the first try was a hit! The only change I made was to add 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I think I'll experiment with upping the whole wheat content and see if I can still get the light chewy texture!

Xander loved painting the pretzels with egg yolk wash! My precise little painter enjoyed getting egg into every little nook and cranny. (I ended up helping him out because he was getting a little too methodical and I was HUNGRY!)

Our finished product!

YUM!

My Favorite

2009-05-01T22:45:00.006-07:00

"My favorite" has been a favorite phrase around these parts lately. Xander randomly announced a couple of months ago, "Frank is my favorite." We were a bit confused as we have a friend, Frank, whom Xander is supposed to be calling by his last name... But no, he meant FRANK.

Today he was announcing that Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang was his favorite and then it was watermelon... When we asked which he liked the best of the two, he announced that they were both his favorites.

Well, I have a new favorite! Favorite place, that is. It is this grove of cottonwoods. Due to it's secluded nature, there are very few people here and the only thing you here is the wind rustling thru the tree's. It's hard to believe that we are in the middle of the city.

We met friends there yesterday for an enchanting morning!

The boys explored and got muddy.

Rode noble steeds.

Fought fierce dragons

Enjoyed their freedom.

And napped very well that afternoon!

Oh yes, we'll be back to our new favorite place!

Face-lift

2009-04-29T22:24:00.006-07:00

As our family has grown, so has our need for a new-to-us, bigger table. (Our appartment sized table just wasn't cutting it.) So last summer, we found a black table with a bench seat on Craigslist. When we went to go look at it, the house wasn't very well lit and we didn't realize what a horrible job they had done of painting it. I mean, who uses flat black paint on a kitchen table?!?!?!?

It looked bad and was impossible to keep clean. So Rich gallantly took on the challenge of stripping the table and then giving this baby of ours a much needed facelift!

BEFORE

DURING

stripped and ready for stain

RESULT

Ahhhhhhhhh, much better. We happened to find this table and our beautiful highchair during the same week. The highchair is what inspired us to go for a wood stained top with black legs.

A beautiful table, gorgeous highchair and a bench to squeeze little boy bodies atop!

Survivor!

2009-04-27T19:49:00.005-07:00

Whew!

Well, I survived my week (ok, 5 days) unplugged. Five whole days w/out the internet was not easy and I have to say that way to much communication happens online for me to realistically make that a habit...

It worked out to be a blessing though since I was able to rest my swollen ankle instead of giving into the temptation to climb the stairs to check my email - over and over again. It was fun to curl up in bed with a good book (Dracula) and fall asleep early every night! (Amazing how reading Dracula produced more restful sleep than staring at my beloved screen...)

While I'm not tempted to try this challenge again, I am inspired. For the month of May, I will be keeping my computer off on Tuesdays and spending the evening curled up with one of my many books that I've been meaning to read. If anyone see's me lurking around on here on Tuesday's, hold me accountable!

This week probably could not have come at a better time for Xander. Since he was so sick a couple of weeks ago, he was still going thru TV detox (i.e. asking for a movie ever 10 minutes or so...). Although we didn't get to go out as much as I would have liked (silly swollen ankle), we were able to find some creative alternatives around the house to occupy us. After the first day or two the requests for movies subsided and we immersed ourselves in the business of play!

Rich didn't participate with us last week, but his poor x-box bit the dust and he will get the opportunity to 'go dark' in his own way for the next several weeks while it is being repaired. So it looks like all of us will be getting some 'unplugged' time.

Unplugging

2009-04-19T16:20:00.008-07:00

I've been meaning to observe the Unplugged Week (sometimes known as TV Turn-off week) for a couple of years. Now that I don't have an internet business, it is actually more of a possibility this year. I was convicted this last year when I read that this week was not just about turning the TV off, but limiting ALL screen time.

Ouch.

We don't watch much TV/movies and the kids watch very little. We make exceptions when they are sick, we are flying and now for an occasional special treat.

So naturally, since we already limit TV/movie time, I've always been an advocate of weeks like this. Well, now they are talking about the importance of limiting computer screen-time too. This is where it hurts. I LOVE my internet!

It's so much easier to limit stuff for the boys, but putting a limit on myself????? Yikes.

I felt led to give up computer time on Thursdays and Sundays during the weeks leading up to Easter. It was not easy, but so good for me. The undistracted time with the kids during the day and my hubby or a good book at night were delightful.

This showed me that I could indeed unplug. So here we go.

My Goals:

Baby steps, but steps none the less.

No internet, email or computer time Monday thru Friday afternoon. I'll break my "fast" on Friday night!

Instead I plan on using this time to read more to my kids, get chores done that I've neglected, jump into my pile of great books that I've been 'meaning' to read and spend more time with Rich!

So whether or not you take a drastic plunge or just dip your toes into limiting screen time this next week, give it a shot. I know we have benefited from limiting our TV time and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes to stop staring at this delightfully hypnotizing computer screen of mine.

Some helpful and interesting links:

Center for Screen Time Awareness ~ info on unplugged week

Unplug your Kids ~ awesome blog hosting the blog challenge and chock full of delightful resources to do with your kids instead of turning on the TV.

Recent Research on the effects of screen-time on young children

The Green Hour ~ Ideas on how to interact with your kids out in nature!

Local TV Turn-off Week activities ~ fun, FREE local activities to get your kids out and doing something else! Did I mention FREE?!?!?!?

~UNTIL NEXT WEEK...

Take-Off

2009-04-16T22:37:00.007-07:00

I love watching their little imaginations soar.

Today we had some impromptu flying fun! The boys were struggling with sharing the 'baby' that I had out for a pouch sling demo. So I helped them out by letting them take turns piloting the plane so they could take the baby to the beach. (Notice the excellent care 'baby' is receiving from his 'daddy' on the plane.)

Trey enjoyed his role as co-pilot...

...until I pulled the camera out.

pshhhhhhhhhhhhhh pshhhhhhhhhhh

"This is Pilot Xander, requesting permission for take-off. Over."

pshhhhhhhhhh pshhhhhhhhhhh

Up, up, up and away!

Banking to the right before flying off into the sunset...

Flying planes is serious work.

:sigh:

Poetical Tuesday

2009-04-14T22:00:00.002-07:00

So Stephanie over at Little Stuff of Life convinced me to try writing a limerick. I warned her that I DO NOT write poetry. After talking about it, she made the wonderful suggestion that I involve Xander and let him write my limerick for me.

I took the bait.

I should have known that Xander would not make this easy... He was insistent that the limerick should use his name and somehow be about football. Finding words and context that rhymes with Xander is not easy, but here is our attempt.

There once was a boy named Xander
Who loved to roam and meander
He played football and such
Although never too much
For he still had to gather some coriander.

Don't try to find any deeper meaning in all of this. Just appreciate that it is about Xander and football.

phew.

ok, If we can do this, anybody can. Branch out and explore a new side of yourself. Next week is a Dr. Seuss theme.

Don't Like It!

2009-04-13T13:27:00.004-07:00

Our plans for this weekend changed. Funny how easily that can happen...

Xander woke up in the at 1am Sat morning, sick. He was sick every 30 minutes for the next 8 hours. He calls it "spitting." The rest of the day was spent lying listless on the sofa. No food, just water and juice. Poor guy.

We didn't get to color eggs or go to church on Easter. We figured it wasn't a good idea to potentially infect 3 separate classrooms and dozens of families with the little bug that visited our home.

We did however still make it up to my parents for the afternoon. They all had the nasty stomach bug the week before, so we figured it was pretty safe. Pictures on that to come.

But I just had to share this little song that Xander made up. I found him on Sunday morning singing it to himself. Of course, being my son, he promptly grabbed the mic when I pulled out the camera.

Ah yes, it's good to see him back to his old self! :)

Road to Calvary

2009-04-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

What a day of remembering...

Keegan enjoyed the Hot Cross Buns. I had no idea that these were a traditional Good Friday treat. In his 2 year old way, he is trying to understand what is happening. He kept saying,

"Cross, hurt."

Over and over again. Baby steps...

Today, we read from The Picture Bible of the events leading up to the crucifixion: weeping as I read, in awe of God's love for us...

I find that I am moved, even with the children's books that cover what Christ did for us at Calvary.

We talked about the significance of today and put up another of the symbols on our Road to Calvary banner.

My mom had saved directions for making this banner and accompanying devotional. It is designed to start on Ash Wednesday and carry thru to Resurrection Sunday! Simply reading about church traditions during this season has been so faith building. It came from the book, Family Celebrations: Meeting Christ in Your Holidays.

I look forward to watching the boys growing understanding of the rich symbolism God laid out in the Bible pointing towards what Jesus would accomplish at the cross and the victory found in His resurrection!

Lastly, if any of you haven't checked out Holy Experience, I highly recommend it. God has given her a way with words... I'm always freshly inspired to sit at the feet of Jesus, to receive His love and then love Him in return after spending time on her blog.

She has two ideas that I wouldn't mind trying in the years to come for Easter. The Easter garden is beautiful and totally something that a young child would understand. Her Easter tree is gorgeous. I love the use of art to depict the Easter story. Sometime when my boys are much older, we might revisit this.

May you all have a wonderful Easter weekend, enjoying the presence of the One who suffered much so that we could be children of God!

Not Here

2009-04-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

He is not here, He is risen!

As we've mulled over the events leading up to Christs death and subsequent ressurection, this has been a favorite line that Xander has enjoyed repeating!

A few days ago, friends joined us in making paper-mache Easter eggs.

The process was a bit messy...

But the results were beautiful!

Before I even placed the angel inside, Xander knew.

He pointed at the empty egg and exclaimed:

He is not here, He is risen!

Flannel-board fun!

2009-04-08T21:24:00.004-07:00

A couple of months ago, I fell in love with the idea of making my boys a flannel board. So I bought a cork board at the store and glued/tacked a piece of blue flannel down. I love how simple it looks and the kids have enjoyed putting different shapes up and playing with the felt!

It has been so sweet to see them take to the Resurrection scene that I hastily cut out for our Easter learning day earlier this week. Even Treyton was mesmerized today.

I think I'll cut out some little stick people and crosses and let them tell me the story!

Growing up, we had a Resurrection set, similar to a Nativity set. It was made out of of 3-d paper dolls. I remember spending hours in front of that set moving the players in the the biggest event in history. I remember my heart being so moved as I physically moved these "dolls" through the steps leading to the crucifixion and than re-living the glories of His Resurrection!

My greatest hope in this life is that God would call my boys to a deep and wonderful relationship with Him. What a privilege it is to be their mother and watch this unfold.

My prayer this week has been for this revelation to shake my family to the very core. That we might stand in awe at what Jesus went through on our behalf. I am thankful that because of HIM, I am a child of God, both now and forevermore!

Living the Story

2009-04-07T21:50:00.013-07:00

Yesterday we had a fabulous day with friends learning and experiencing the joys of the Easter account! Seeing little one's comprehend great truths is so precious. I am delighted to also see that teaching these truths is getting easier as they get older! There is a huge difference between two year olds and four year olds...

We started out our morning with a book. The kids loved putting up felt symbols as the account progressed! Their excitement was contagious!

And it only escalated into joyful shouts when they were told that they could dress up and act out the Resurrection scene!

:Heart Melting:

Two angels, three weeping women, two soldiers and an earthquake maker told us the story again, again and again! It's amazing what a few simple Bible costumes and a bunch of playsilks can do!

The kids concluded their portion of the morning with a ridiculously easy Easter craft. We simply put down making tape on watercolor paper in the form of a cross and let the kids water color all over.

Once dry, you gently pull the tape up and you have the crisp outline of the cross.

Lastly, as the children played - in costume, Noel brought Ressurrection Eggs so that our families could continue to explain what Easter is really about.

I'm so glad that we are not left to parent by ourselves. Having community is so helpful and encouraging!

Holy Week

2009-04-06T21:44:00.005-07:00

With branches waving, Xander recited a recent Cubbies verse:

“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

A perk of living in Arizona is ready access to palm branches!!!!

Our plan is to chronicle our adventures this week leading up to Easter Sunday! I would love to hear about any memorable Easter celebrations or memories you all might have.

To start things off, here are some of our favorite books:

The Tale of the Three Trees ~ This beautiful tale is perfect any time of year, but we especially enjoy reading it at Easter and Christmas. It ties both in beautifully!

The Legend of the Easter Egg ~ We discovered this one at the local library this year. Xander is mesmerized with the story of this little boy. I think we’ve read it at least a dozen times in the last week! It is one I would love to add to our permanent collection!

Easter Eggs for Anya; A Ukranian Celebration of New life in Christ ~ I love how this beautiful story depicts such this girls simple, honest faith in Jesus. I probably am most drawn to it personally because the girl in the story has a special “praying place” where she goes to talk to God. It brought back wonderful memories of a couple of my “praying places” that I had growing up. My favorite was up on our roof, leaning against the chimney. (Shhhhhhhhhhh. Don’t tell my mom or my kids for that matter - yikes…) This one will be making it's way to my permanent collections as well!

What is Easter ~ A recommendation from my friend that would be perfect for one incorporating all of the secular and religious aspects of Easter. Although we didn't do the Easter bunny growing up and have no plans to do so now, this delightful little book does a great job at showing the primacy of Christ's Resurrection during this season without putting down the more secular traditions.

The Easter Cave ~ This story is told in the format of "This is the House that Jack Built." We love the repetition and rhyming. Even Keegan starts memorizing portions of books written in this engaging style.

The Easter Story ~ I love Gennady Spirin’s illustrations. His Christmas Story is so lusciously illustrated, that I checked out ALL of this books from the library. This one is beautiful in a symbolic way. Christ is always the focal point of each picture and depicted as the light coming to a world darkened by sin.

Easter ~ I love Fiona French's Christmas and Easter books. The illustrations all look like stained glass windows. The text is straight from the good ol' KJV.

He Is Risen ~ This beautifully and realistically illustrated book gives a very thorough account of the Easter story.

The Easter Story ~ A simple, yet accurate retelling of the Easter story that is very appropriate for the very young (2-4yo’s). Thanks Christine for the recommendation!

Budding Fans

2009-04-04T21:54:00.005-07:00

My little boys are sports fanatics! They were thrilled to have the opportunity to go cheer on their Auntie last night at her soccer game!!! I enjoyed seeing Ev's expression when she saw her enthusiastic cheering section!

I think it helped! She scored a goal and helped lead her team to victory!
While Keegan enjoyed watching the 'hocker' game, he was equally mesmerized by the bleachers and nachos... I'm pretty sure this is a typical 2 year old thing!

A Toss Up

2009-04-03T22:36:00.003-07:00

Keegan was running around with these two figurines the other day. As he passed me, he stopped briefly and pointed out that 'little rain-gear girl' was daddy and 'cave-boy' was mommy. It was a toss-up on who should be insulted most...

Culture for Free!

2009-04-01T14:40:00.003-07:00

We had a blast this morning playing at the 'Playseum' to help them promote the "Culture Pass" program now available to those in the Phoenix area!

Channel 3 did a piece on this new program that allows free access to many valley museums and in the middle of the segment, you'll get a peak at Xander. For the most part, they are NOT like their mother and didn't gravitate to the camera. Instead they were just hard at work at their play. We enjoyed getting in an hour early and having the museum practically to ourselves!!!! :)

If you live in the Phoenix area and want to pick up a pass to one of 13 local museums, check out this link.

Popsicle Stick Pics

2009-03-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring! Our tree is in bloom and the love birds, which appeared in early February have built a nest. Three little eggs can be seen. The boys are so excited. It's a little hard to explain seasons to them as it is not always obvious, but our tree sure does help illustrate what isn't always visable outside our windows...

For Pa's birthday we made him a frame and sent him a picture of his almost birthday buddy. We had so much fun, Xander and I decided to make three more for my precious mini-men. They now perch beneath my tree.

Xander loved that he could help me and I liked that the results of our craft looked pretty good!

St. Patrick

2009-03-17T14:03:00.005-07:00

Today we've had some St. Patrick's Day fun. Of course, I forgot my camera when we had friends over for activities, but here are as few with the finished products!

If you haven't fallen under the spell of Tomie dePaola, I highly encourage this book of his:

But don't just take my word for it. Stephanie over at The Little Stuff of Life gave it rave reviews today as well.

We followed it up with talking about the legend of St. Patrick using the shamrock to illustrate the trinity to the people of Ireland. We then went and made some shamrocks of our own.
And then imitated St. Patrick in taking the good news of God's love for us with a relay race and passing on the 'message'! The little ones just sort of ran around, but the older one's actually enjoyed racing and telling each other of God's love!

Xander wanted to show off the "Good News" baton.
We finished off our morning with some shamrock cookies. (Sorry no pictures. Too yummy!)

Our boys have also enjoyed reading the following books about leprechauns! It's so cute to see them looking about for 'little people'!

Clever Tom and the Leprechaun : an Old Irish Story
The Leprechaun's Gold
Tim O'Toole and the Wee Folk : an Irish Tale
Seal Maiden: A Celtic Musical - Ahhhhhhhh... a good Irish fairytale. The boys especially like the song about the seal maiden biting the heads off of the wriggly, wriggle eels (You can catch a bit of the song on the Amazon link). As a girl, I would have been mesmerized with the 'love' part of the tale. Boys and girls are VERY different.

For me: How the Irish Saved Civilization

Next year, if I'm up for feeling more crafty, I might try one of these creative ideas:

Super cool sensory tub idea for preschoolers. I'm not ruling this out for anytime of year - especially our long hot summers when there is not much opportunity to go outside.
Paper Leprechaun beard. Sure to be a hit in these parts...
Adorable felt shamrocks. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these!
Shamrock crayons. I love this creative take on re-using crayon bits.
Yogurt Pretzel Shamrocks. YUM!
Green Smoothie Popsicles. If my kids will eat pureed spinach pops, I won't just reserve these for St. Patty's day...

All that's left of our fun green day is to head on over to my parents for some Corned Beef and Cabbage. She didn't receive the name "Colene" for nothing. Gotta love my roots! (My Irish grandfather loved the name Keegan -"little fiery one". He knew several Keegan's in his Irish Catholic school growing up...)

My Baby

2009-03-14T19:44:00.006-07:00

This past Monday, my baby turned 1. Has it already been a year????? (Is my life just going to start whizzing by faster and faster?!?!?)

My little guy is a lover. He loves to come up and give cuddly hugs and lean forward for kisses. Thankfully, he's started closing his mouth for these! It is adorable to see him try and kiss his little cousin, Evangeline or one of his brothers...

He is quite the social bug. He's always running after whomever is around him. He loves to wave, clap, tackle his brothers, grab the dog, stare unabashadly at people in the grocery store, participate in our 'bumpy bridge' ritual and is my first child to sign anything before his first birthday. Of course, he eagerly signs for MORE food while loudly grunting at the same time. There is also no sign of any teeth although he doesn't let it slow him down at all. He thinks he's done with puree's and only wants to feed himself big people food.

Have I mentioend that he runs? As I was signing him in to see the Dr for his 1-year appt, he had made his way to the back and was hanging with the office staff. This son of mine arrived in a hurry and hasn't stopped since.

Dump the Baby

2009-03-13T09:49:00.003-07:00

We are having some wonderful old college friends over tonight for dinner. Since my boys are so exuberant and passionate in their 'love' for babies, I started working with them last night on being "gentle" with baby Audrey.

Xander understood.

When Keegan was asked if he would be quiet and gentle with baby Audrey, he responded with:

"Play dump the baaaaaaaaaaaby."

ah, yes... Looks like I'll have to be extra vigilant tonight.

Prophetic

2009-03-06T21:08:00.005-07:00

Intiuitive, perceptive, prophetic.

Any of these words could be used to describe Xander when it comes to his take on Evie and Joe.

It all started last November. Mom and Evie took Xander to the ASU Homecoming parade. While on the way home, Mom asked Evie if she had heard from Joe recently. Xander piped up from the back of the car and the following conversation took place:

X: "Is Joe your friend?"

E: "Yes, he is."

X: "Are you going to marry Joe?"

E and M shocked at this point...

E: "No, we're just friends."

At dinner, a couple of weeks later Rich mentioned hearing from his old college bud, Joe. Xander immediately interjected:

"Joe, he really loves Auntie."

We were speechless, but hopeful! ;)

After getting teased that these pictures looked an awful lot like engagement pictures, I doctored one up, so that it had a certain 'sparkle' to it... Little did we know that there would be some actual sparkle there just a few weeks later!

LOVE

2009-03-03T22:00:00.001-07:00

A wedding is being planned and a marriage being formed! I like to think of their story as a mix of Pride and Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables.

But better - of course.

Biased, I know, but getting to see it unfold in person is just so much better than the mythical book/movie character...

He challenges her, makes her laugh, persistently pursued her and ultimately he finally woo-ed her! She is pretty fierce in her love and devotion to family. Now that he's "on the in", he'll have her heart for good!

My baby sister is getting married!

:sigh:

I had fun taking pictures of them about a month ago. If I had any doubts about their feelings, they were quickly laid to rest. EYES. ONLY. FOR. EACHOTHER.

Picky-Eater Tricks...

2009-03-02T22:04:00.006-07:00

The job of a parent is a complex one. I always assumed that as long as I didn't offer junk food and then exposed my kids to a variety of healthy foods that they would eat 'almost' anything I put in front of them.

That was before my first child started eating solids...

Although far more difficult than I ever imagined, I'm stubborn and continue to work at this.

Here are a few tricks that have worked for me lately:

Giving an ordinary meal, a cool name.

We call quesadilla's "cheesy triangles". Xander was obsessed with shapes at the time.

Snowball soup. We made a delicious ham and navy bean soup this winter. Xander has never been a bean eater and Keegan is iffy. But the idea of eating "snowballs" completely won them over and they devoured my experimental soup!

When we are out and about, I've had great success with getting my kids to eat their veggies. When we are at the zoo or botanical gardens the first thing I pull out for them to snack on is red pepper strips, carrot sticks or peas. Even if they are not currently into those veggies at home, I've found that if that disappear quickly when that is the only option on the road.

Of course, creative planning can backfire. My grandpa told my dad and uncle that lima beans would make them fly. A broken collar bone after a flying attempt from their roof was the proof that this was not true...

Any tips out there. I'd love to hear what has worked for you or on you. I know my mom pulled all kinds of tricks on us. But it's late and I can't remember any of them right now...

Playseum

2009-02-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

The Children's Museum of Phoenix, otherwise known as the "Playseum" in our home is truly a magical place! Thanks to Trey's lack of a social security card (lovely government bureaucracy functioning at it's best), we made two trips to the Playseum while trying to procure the card.

The new musical station in the '3 and under' room was a huge hit this time.

And of course, playing store is always fun. Seeing their little minds hard at work while they play never ceases to amaze me.

For some reason, the boys just do not like the art and craft area. But they LOVE every other aspect of the museum.

His Plan...

2009-02-18T22:35:00.004-07:00

Xander loves people, especially babies and other kids.

A couple of months ago we had this strange conversation.

Xander: "Mom, we need to have lots of kids."

Me: "Why?"

Xander: "So we can play Duck, Duck, Goose."

Me: "Oh, (long pause) how many kids do we need to have?"

Xander: "I don't know, 10 or 12."

Me: "Friends?"

Xander: "No, all ours!"

Me: "Well, you are going to need to talk to God about that one. I don't know if Mommy has faith for that."

Lately, he's taken to praying for sisters. Last night he asked God to send 3 sisters, so there would be a little sister for each of them.

Gotta love his faith and love for little people, right?

Happy Hunting!

2009-02-16T21:35:00.005-07:00

This last week we had the opportunity to explore God's glorious creation thru a photo scavenger hunt that my friend put together!

Middle-bit (aka: Keegan) was feeling the need to stay close to mommy. With Little-bit on my back, sleeping, Keegan had to settle with the stroller. It's strange to see the little seasons my children go through. Keegan, my adventurous, no-fear child is in a mommy/daddy phase.

We enjoyed inspecting old Burrowing Owl homes, long since abandoned as more people have frequented the preserve.

Ever curious and exploring...
We had so much fun running around, looking for clues and enjoying our wonderful 'winter' weather. Towards the end, our friends caught up and walked with us a bit.