You might recall when I told you about the new devotional book we've started? I mentioned that here. Well, it's already had an impact. Each lesson is about ten minutes and it starts with a short scripture reading and then is followed by some explanation and engaging Q&A. The first couple of lessons begin with creation, which Simon has also recently learned about in a Sunday school class.
You might recall the story of creation in Genesis 1, but basically, it goes through the order in which God commanded things into being. For instance, day one was light (night and day), day two was the heavens and day three was earth and seas. In my Bible's translation (ASV), it says that on day five God created all kinds of birds and water creatures and specifically, it describes vividly in verse 21 that: God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
That small mention of "sea monsters" seemed to make an impression. Heck, I didn't even know if Simon was listening! But tonight, he was overheard flipping through a booklet he had made in class about creation, ad libbing his own narrative:
Simon: On the SCARY day, God made all the monsters and ghosts. (chuckling at his inventiveness)
Hmmm...that must be Simon translation.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
first day of summer break
Today was the first Monday of summer break. It was so wonderful to all sleep in late and not have to do the school rush! Unfortunately, Daddy was in bed sick so he couldn't enjoy it with us.
But, things went surprisingly well! I expected to have to break up lots of fights and minor irritations between the kids since they're not used to being in each other's space as much these days. But it really wasn't bad!
We did the normal stuff to pass the time like color and play with toys, but we also shook things up a little. We took some quiet time to crack open a new devotional book we bought for the kids over the weekend. Ella was super excited to get into it (she just loves being engaged with questions and learning opportunities). Simon was less enthused as it was his tired time of day since we skipped nap. He had the wiggles and kept wanting to change the subject. I believe he broke into a couple of holy moments with some strategically timed toots as well. Pffft. It's a good thing God has a sense of humor! Josie cried the whole time, but all in all, I think it was a successful ten minutes. I'm excited about the book and about sharing a more focused time to talk about God together. It's always interesting to pick the kids' brains.
Other fun things we crammed into the day were refilling the huge bubble wands and making gigantic bubbles outside in the insane heat and playing with sidewalk chalk. We watered the flowers and then came in muddy and chalky so everyone got a bath. Then after dinner, we did a science experiment per Ella's suggestion, where we soaked dirty pennies in vinegar and then sprinkled salt on them and cleaned them till they gleamed. That was a pretty cool trick I never knew about! And I got to explain to the kids what a chemical reaction is. (Ella's guess at the definition was it was "working together" which was pretty darn close!)
We ended the night with reading and prayers and lots of cuddles. I spent a little extra time chatting with Ella since Simon tuckered out pretty quickly. She is all excited about a new venture she has to make some crafts (bookmarks, scented sachet pillows, painted rocks, tissue paper pom poms, animal masks, the list goes on....) and then sell them to raise money for either some homeless mothers and children or for Joplin tornado relief. We stayed up and made lists together of all the things she plans to make and how much she wants to charge for each item. She is so excited to start, she couldn't fall asleep!
It was a good day...now...what to do tomorrow??
But, things went surprisingly well! I expected to have to break up lots of fights and minor irritations between the kids since they're not used to being in each other's space as much these days. But it really wasn't bad!
We did the normal stuff to pass the time like color and play with toys, but we also shook things up a little. We took some quiet time to crack open a new devotional book we bought for the kids over the weekend. Ella was super excited to get into it (she just loves being engaged with questions and learning opportunities). Simon was less enthused as it was his tired time of day since we skipped nap. He had the wiggles and kept wanting to change the subject. I believe he broke into a couple of holy moments with some strategically timed toots as well. Pffft. It's a good thing God has a sense of humor! Josie cried the whole time, but all in all, I think it was a successful ten minutes. I'm excited about the book and about sharing a more focused time to talk about God together. It's always interesting to pick the kids' brains.
Other fun things we crammed into the day were refilling the huge bubble wands and making gigantic bubbles outside in the insane heat and playing with sidewalk chalk. We watered the flowers and then came in muddy and chalky so everyone got a bath. Then after dinner, we did a science experiment per Ella's suggestion, where we soaked dirty pennies in vinegar and then sprinkled salt on them and cleaned them till they gleamed. That was a pretty cool trick I never knew about! And I got to explain to the kids what a chemical reaction is. (Ella's guess at the definition was it was "working together" which was pretty darn close!)
We ended the night with reading and prayers and lots of cuddles. I spent a little extra time chatting with Ella since Simon tuckered out pretty quickly. She is all excited about a new venture she has to make some crafts (bookmarks, scented sachet pillows, painted rocks, tissue paper pom poms, animal masks, the list goes on....) and then sell them to raise money for either some homeless mothers and children or for Joplin tornado relief. We stayed up and made lists together of all the things she plans to make and how much she wants to charge for each item. She is so excited to start, she couldn't fall asleep!
It was a good day...now...what to do tomorrow??
Thursday, June 2, 2011
mommy date
I'm always the behind the scenes arranger of dates for our children. But I rarely actually get a date with any of them one on one. When Bryan took Simon on a camping trip a couple of weeks ago (must post about this trip at a later date), I seized the opportunity for some alone time with our eldest. Josie stayed with Elijah and Anna for a couple of hours and Ella and I went out just the two of us!
Ella requested a trip to get a new pair of earrings since she finished the six week waiting period so I took her to a department store to find a nice pair to switch to. We listened to music in the car on the way there and took some photos of ourselves for fun.
Can I just tell you what this photo means to me? Pure bliss. Daddy dates are important for sure, but I think this girl really needed a mommy date. She is always wanting to connect with me one on one and it's hard to meet that need all the time with many demands on my time and attention just to keep this ship sailing! But you can see it on her face. She is happy. And I relished the time alone with her just having fun.
After she picked out some lovely (half priced) silver butterfly earrings, we went out for gelato and chatted. We held hands everywhere we went and came home with full hearts!
Ella requested a trip to get a new pair of earrings since she finished the six week waiting period so I took her to a department store to find a nice pair to switch to. We listened to music in the car on the way there and took some photos of ourselves for fun.
Can I just tell you what this photo means to me? Pure bliss. Daddy dates are important for sure, but I think this girl really needed a mommy date. She is always wanting to connect with me one on one and it's hard to meet that need all the time with many demands on my time and attention just to keep this ship sailing! But you can see it on her face. She is happy. And I relished the time alone with her just having fun.
After she picked out some lovely (half priced) silver butterfly earrings, we went out for gelato and chatted. We held hands everywhere we went and came home with full hearts!
school's out for summer!
Simon has been finished with preschool for nearly two weeks now. But Ella's kindergarten graduation was yesterday and the final day of school was today. After her graduation and awards ceremony (she received awards for perfect spelling, excellent grades, a citizenship award, whatever that is, a character word of the month award for displaying respect, and an attendance award which was clearly a mistake because she missed ten days of school!) the school allowed kids to leave early with parents to celebrate.
So we took Simon and Ella out for lunch at the Murdoch Perk where Simon ordered a big Belgian waffle and Ella got the hungryman's breakfast! Yowzers...scrambled eggs, bacon, two pieces of toast and potatoes! She shared with Josie. The sweetest thing was that Simon insisted on dressing up. He's still stuck on his new clothes we got him for the wedding. It ended up being great that he did that as I was able to get a picture with them both dressed up!
Check out the huge bruise on Ella's cheek. It's a big one. She ran into the wall somehow in our hotel room while she and Simon were playing. It totally looks like she took a beating. But she still looks pretty in her graduation dress! Isn't Simon sharp in his tie?? He is all about looking handsome these days and is particular about picking out his own clothes.
I'm ready for summer, but we'll miss Mrs. Morton. Ella truly loves this woman! She wants to invite her to her seventh birthday party.
Bring on the summer!!
 |
| Ella's class waiting for their awards |
So we took Simon and Ella out for lunch at the Murdoch Perk where Simon ordered a big Belgian waffle and Ella got the hungryman's breakfast! Yowzers...scrambled eggs, bacon, two pieces of toast and potatoes! She shared with Josie. The sweetest thing was that Simon insisted on dressing up. He's still stuck on his new clothes we got him for the wedding. It ended up being great that he did that as I was able to get a picture with them both dressed up!
Check out the huge bruise on Ella's cheek. It's a big one. She ran into the wall somehow in our hotel room while she and Simon were playing. It totally looks like she took a beating. But she still looks pretty in her graduation dress! Isn't Simon sharp in his tie?? He is all about looking handsome these days and is particular about picking out his own clothes.
I'm ready for summer, but we'll miss Mrs. Morton. Ella truly loves this woman! She wants to invite her to her seventh birthday party.
Bring on the summer!!
promised photos of Josie
I wish I could find words to describe the angel that is Josie. I know she's my kid, but seriously, there is no denying there is something SPECIAL about this one. I've never seen a kid so affectionate and so quick to connect with others. She is not shy about sharing her smiles with people and warms up to new friends quickly.
This may be my favorite picture of her...it really captures the silly smile she doles out on us daily. And her expressive eyes...always raising her eyebrows to let you know she's ready for fun!
This photo is just a bonus. Enjoy!
Love my girl!
This may be my favorite picture of her...it really captures the silly smile she doles out on us daily. And her expressive eyes...always raising her eyebrows to let you know she's ready for fun!
This photo is just a bonus. Enjoy!
Love my girl!
nuts about broccoli
My son is a health nut in the making. He loves vegetables and isn't a big fan of all the "normal" foods kids are supposed to like. He passes on macaroni and cheese every time as well as cheese burgers and other such fare. I have to admit, I make a killer pizza, yet he complains. Tonight's meal was homemade sausage pizza on Naan bread, a real treat. As soon as he saw it, he said, "Awwww....I don't like pizza very much!" But I made a big helping of green leafy salad on the side with broccoli, cucumbers and carrots. Ella dug right into the pizza first as both kids leave their least favorite thing till last and devour their favorite flavors first. I usually have to get involved by asking them to take a couple of bites of the less favored item before filling their stomachs with the stuff they think is yummiest. This ALWAYS happens when there is toast involved, or lemonade or, in Ella's case, macaroni and cheese. But tonight, with Simon, it was broccoli. He devoured all his broccoli (raw, mind you) first, munching and crunching and all the time thanking me for such a yummy salad. When his broccoli was all gone, he worked on some of the lettuce but then asked, "Can I have some more broccoli please Mom?" in his most polite tone. I had to snicker to myself when I replied with, "Eat a few bites of pizza first buddy and then you can have more broccoli." In the end, Ella cringed as she downed her broccoli so I let Simon finish hers.
It just doesn't seem right. But I think it's pretty cool.
It just doesn't seem right. But I think it's pretty cool.
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