23rd Psalm

As per my February Post and saying that I had plans to incorporate more scripture into our days of learning, here's the update I promised.

We started with memory verses and that took off very well. Now, we're getting into memorizing larger chunks of scriptures, like whole Psalms. Logan is LOVING this... he is just such a good little student with how he takes to learning something new.



For the individual scriptures, here are pics of our little "program"

I bought the pockets and the index cards at the teacher store, Lakeshore, the same time I got the 100 square chart and got our reading plan organized. At first, I was introducing a new scripture every Sunday night... then he was learning some of them faster, so we just went to adding a new one each time he had the newest one down well. Some of them took longer than others, due to their length and wordiness, but some were learned within just a few days.

Some of my scripture choices were made for discipline teaching, helping me drill in the correct behaviors that are accepted in our home


Some of them are just classics that he'll hear throughout life, in hymns and stories


And this one, in particular, was requested by Papa

We would repeat ALL of them EVERY night... so he wasn't forgetting what he learned. Now, he has these 12 down so well that he can say them when we are traveling, not even needing the pockets in front of him. He's got quite a little memory, a photographic one at that!

 These were added on the spur of the moment, to the side of his dresser, because we were having some trouble with how we were/are treating our friends and our brothers. Now we can turn to these when our unkind, impatient and unloving tendencies rear their pretty little heads! Realizing that his actions are displeasing to God is much more effective than making him think it's just the way mommy and daddy want him to act!

Reading update: We are on lesson 80, and I'm really trying to get us done with this program by the end of the month. That will take some major effort, but it's not impossible. He loves doing it, it's just the making time because the daily stories are getting longer and longer... and then there is the questions and the writing. We've changed the time to our "storytime" before nap, so hopefully that helps us keep the daily commitment better now that summer is here!

I look forward to seeing how God is going to use this little brain to His glory one day... praying that Logan will love our Savior with a passion that allows this love of learning to be a useful tool in His kingdom!

Friday Funnies

L: I spy something brown
M: The table
L: No
M: The floor
L: No

This went on and on

L: Mom, it's brown baby
M: Baby J?

Yes, it was! My little J Baby made the I spy game!
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L: Dear God. Please keep us safe on our trip to Disneyland next year.

There are no plans of said trip, but a child can dream, right? If you read the post on the Mets game, you'll know this is obviously something very heavy on his little mind!

A Little Restoration Project

Warning to grandparents: 

This post is not about the kids AT ALL!

I have always wanted to restore a piece of furniture and it's my dream to have a house filled with these kinds of things without having to pay for the work someone else has done to make a piece look good. Time is not readily available to me these days, so I never wanted to make the effort... until now!

I found this dirty thing at a garage sale ($20)

(It does have a door too!)

Hubby did the initial paint stripping and sanding, 

random nail removals and wood filler

The original color wasn't something awful, but I have green walls in the house and wanted something light that would brighten things up. This is before the distressing:

After the distressing

In the house, being put to use as our dvd holder, diapers and wipes for downstairs, and some extra outfits for the kiddos when we are down and don't want to go back up to get something! 

This may just be the start of something... a new hobby maybe?!?!
This could be dangerous because I'm starting to see all of my furniture as things that can be given new life! 

Cheering for the Away Team

I know... I get it every year! I have nothing against the Astros, but when the Mets come to town, it's all blue and orange folks! And lucky for us, the game we got tickets to the Mets came back from behind to take the W! This was my first game with Logan as Daddy has joined the grandparents in times past (I was VERY pregnant in '09 and in NY last summer, only men went!)

It's quite incredible watching my son love my dad the way he does... words cannot describe!

Three generations of Mets fans!

He was explaining to them his plans to go on a trip to Disneyland next summer... inviting them along. I have no plans for this trip so when my dad questioned me after I was at a loss. The kid has dreams!!!

We were very blessed to sit around nice Astros fans that were more entertained by Logan instead of caring that we kept saying, "Let's Go Mets!" I don't think anyone knew how he was fitting all that food... one "treat" after another... into his little body!!!

Grandpa's Mini-Me!

His face says it all here! Oh I love him so!

So the last couple of innings (it was a 7:05 start time!) he was ready for it to be over! Apparently no more snacks=bored!

Game over- waiting for fireworks show

This is how it started

And this is how it went on... and on... and on! Longer than I thought and it was great!

Wired... we're talking 10:30pm and full of said "treats"

Gotta love making these memories with this boy!

He's so fun... a lot of work and constant conversation, but a pure joy! 

LOVE IT!!!

Mother's Day 2011

Home

Not traveling

No big plans

Sunshine and poolside

Healthy Kiddos

My dream mother's day

Oh how I love these boys!

Tired enough to sit completely still while watching tv!

This day was perfect! Logan woke me up in the morning for church telling me Happy Mother's Day and how much he loved me and thanked God for me. After church we went to swim at my parents house and then we ordered in Pei Wei for dinner so no work was involved. Seriously... what more could I have wanted?!?! Did I forget to mention that my dad made pina coladas served poolside all day long! Oh, and my gift (as if getting to be the mother to these 3 precious boys isn't enough!) was a 1hr body massage at my new favorite spa! Totally spoiled I am... and not complaining!

Lake Days

 We spent Easter in Graham this year

I know, I'm a little late

The weather when we were there was wonderful and the boys did LOTS of fishing and John Deere riding. We were all healthy and about 90% of each day's wake-time was spent outside!

This is mostly a photo post... so many good ones!

Gotta appreciate how incredibly dirty a kid's hands can get!

 The Todds brought Lucas to join in on the BOY FUN!

"Check out my worm, mom!"

Val reading to the boys

Ryan quite often has this effect on people!

He could do this all day!

The Easter Egg Hunt!

Working together

Love this face... "oooh... look at all this yummy stuff!"

Sorting the loot

I feel like I need to document one special thing about egg hunting this year. Logan is such a tender and loving big brother. We started egg hunting the previous weekend at my parents house and he was very insistent on making sure that each time he found an egg and put it in his basket, the next egg he found would go into Ryan's basket. He would run through the house or across the whole yard to catch up with Ryan and make sure they were "taking turns" while all along, Ryan was finding his own eggs and collecting just fine. One day this may change, but it was so special to witness his tender and generous heart towards his little brother.

Just like every visit to Graham, we ate well, enjoyed great fellowship with family and made a TON of memories with these sweet boys! Baby J had a great time out in the fresh air too, and again, there were so many pictures I am sad not to be able to share yet! This place is just so special and we love our lake days.

This is what happens on the trip home from such a fun-filled week: