Let the Heart Fun Begin!

Now that it is February, we are in full Valentine mode! We did all 3 of these activities on about 30 minutes and the boys loved all three! First we took Sweetheart candy and sorted by color. I drew a circle in colored marker to make a sorting mat.
Then we counted the number of hearts in each color. I wrote the number and cut apart the mat. Then we sequenced the cut mat into greatest to least and then least to greatest. We had a great discussion about greater than/less than. It was a little tricky, but hey - they are only four! They totally got "bigger" and "smaller" but I want to start working on their math vocabulary.

Switching gears to language... heart begins with H. I gave each boy a card with an h on it. I said about 15 words. If the word began with H they held us the card, if it did not then the card stayed on the table. They did really good.
Last, we traced the lowercase h with our finger about 5 times then glued hearts on the h.
The boys totally love "learning activities" as they have started calling them...and my teacher side does too! :)

Penguin Sensory Tub

We love, love, love sensory tubs! Sometimes we just dig in them with our fingers, sometimes we use measuring cups to scoop and dump, sometimes we sort and make a graph of the stuff inside...it just depends on our mood! The boys loved digging through the black beans, lima beans and confetti hearts to find the penguins. We used the same numbered penguins from the other game and we ordered the numbers today. It was a cheap and fun activity!

Penguin Numbers

To practice cutting and counting, we did this fun activity! I wrote the numerals 1-9 in bubble numbers on construction paper. Then the boys cut out the numbers. As with most little boys, cutting is a challenge for my boys. They are both improving, but still need lots of practice!Then they put that number of penguin stickers on the number. Jacob really loves playing with stickers, so this was a HUGE hit with him!
Here's the finished product!
I wrote the number word after all the stickers were stuck. We counted orally many times and sequenced them together before hanging on the wall. It was a fun morning to kill 3 birds with one stone!

New Favorite Cookies

If I was a good blogger, then there would be photos of these yummy cookies. But, it's me, and there are no photos! But trust me, these are EASY and so worth the time. Plus there are only 5 ingredients...that you probably already have! It only makes 2 dozen...so we double it.

1 C brown sugar

1 C creamy peanut butter

1 egg

3/4 C chocolate chips

Sugar (enough to roll dough balls in before baking)

In mixer, beat brown sugar and PB. Add egg. Once well blended, stir in chocolate chips by hand. Make into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar. Then use a fork and make the criss-cross on top. Bake 12 minutes at 350. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Then move to wire rack. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

The Emperor's Egg

The boys have really taken to learning about penguins this month! When I taught first grade, I did a three week penguin unit, so this has been especially fun to get out some of those activities and props. This activity comes straight from a GEMS unit that I used in first grade.

We read a several books about how the emperor penguins balance the eggs on their feet in the icy cold. Then each boy got an egg to try and balance on their feet.

After standing still with the eggs, we huddled up to keep warm, braved wind and a snow storm...while keeping the egg off the ice! It was much trickier than the boys thought it would be!

Then all of a sudden there was a crack...and another crack...and another...until a penguin chick popped out of the egg! Oh the squeals!

Then we played and played with the penguin chicks...even throwing up the milk into their mouths!
After the first time we did this together, they must have done it a hundred more times. Such fun dramatic play!

A Day at the Barn

The boys first trip was to the barn! The HS where they go to Pre-school has a really god Ag program and the district animal barn is on campus. So the kids studied about farm animals this week and went to see them in real life! Rylan's favorite animals were the cows. We saw about 25 or so cows. We even got to see one cow get a bath! Did you know they even used what looked and smelled like hair spray???

Jacob's favorite animals were the pig. He could hardly wait to get to them. There were about 25 or so pigs. It was neat to see the variations in their colors and patterns. We saw all pink, all black, pink with black spots, pink with gray stripes. Some even oinked, which was thrilling to the kids!
The funniest part was when we walked into the poultry building. There were chickens and turkeys. When we walked in the odor took your breath away...a mix of poo, hay and nasty. The 2 teenagers, Rylan and I were all gagging. The teens even put their sweatshirts over their noses. What does Jacob say? "Ummmmmmmm - what's that good smell?"
This was a great first field trip...next week we are off to the Aquarium!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom's 64th Birthday was on the 16th! To celebrate, Jason grilled her favorite (citrus chicken) and I made her favorite sides (Grandmama's potato casserole and green beans) and we had a fun family dinner! For dessert we got cheesecake from Saltgrass. The boys were MOST excited about the cheesecake! They even helped her blow out the candles!

I could go on and on about Mom...her selflessness, her love of family, her crafty talents, her ability to organize, her persnickity ways, her laugh...but when I think of Mom, this portion of Proverbs 31 comes to mind first...

"¹⁰ ^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]}A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Happy Birthday Mom!

"

Stinky Weekend

This past weekend was stinky... Yes, that's the barf bucket on the floor. And really, the barf was the easy part! Granny was in ICU for low sodium. It was pretty scary for a few days, but she is much better now and expected to come home. She is very weak and needs MANY prayers...so do my Mom and Dad as they are caring for her and Popa. Other good news...the barfing is over and the boys are back to their happy selves!

An early Valentine's Day

Last weekend, Jason and I celebrated Valentine's Day! This show was in town and neither of us had seen it, so off we went for an afternoon out at the theater with a little Cheesecake afterwards.

This show was a bit disappointing. At least 1/3 of the dialogue was in Spanish, so unless you speak fluent Spanish, you did not know what was happening. There were several sexually aggressive scenes... rape, pleasuring yourself, pre-martial intercourse. It was not necessary and very disturbing. But the dancing was incredible and the songs were good. I've heard that this productions director added the yucky parts and they are not in the original. I wish we had seen the original...

And the other thing that DROVE ME CRAZY, was all the phone usage. From where we were sitting I could have touched 8 people who were on facebook instead of talking to the people they were actually with at the show. It makes me so sad that people chose to feel connected to the outside world and not even appreciate the world right under their noses. So that experience brought me to a relization...am I doing the same thing? Am I typing away on this blog, texting, or reading facebook when my two precious gifts from God are being ignored? Am I missing out on their lives in a feeble attempt to "stay connected?" Don't get me wrong, I don't think blogs, texting or FB are evil or bad, but the times that you chose to do those activities may not be the best time. Do my kids walk away from me and not even ask to read them a book because my nose in the computer? Do I type about my family instead of enjoying my family? I think that there is a time and place for everything. So for me, I made a promise to myself, not to be on the computer when the boys are awake. There is plenty of time when they are asleep to do what needs to me done. I decided that if I only check facebook once a day that the world will keep spinning. I don't want to look back and see 2 18 year olds waving good-bye and my only memories are of this screen...

Stepping off my soapbox now... here's us before the show started! Have you seen WSS? Did you like it?

Find that Penguin!

This game was such a hit!!! In fact, we have played it several times each day the last two weeks! We've been working on number recognition, so I made up this game to practice. I had some penguin figures from my teaching days. I took 10 and wrote the numbers 1-10 on the bottom on each. Then I made a simple board that had punched and numbered ovals.

Then I sent the kids to the kitchen for a few minutes so I could hide the penguins in the den. They were mostly in plain sight, but as we have done it so many times, the hiding places have gotten tricker. Then the mad dash to find the penguins begins!

When they found a penguin, they had to tell me the number on the bottom and then place it on the same number on the mat.
I'm not kidding when I tell you, this free game ROCKS! The boys did good with the numbers too. Jacob kept getting 8 and 9 mixed up at first, but after a few rounds, he had them solid.
Happy penguin hunting!

P is for Penguin

Stamping!

I have been a rubber stamper for about 15 years and my "stash" of supplies is embarassingly big and unfortunately not as used as it was 5 years ago. However, the boys started asking to stamp one day when I was making a gift, so I jumped on their interest. Jacob wanted all my history stamps...which was a hard request to meet! Most of my stamps are flowers or cute girly things...not history. But we did find a cowboy set, some cactus, boots, a Texas flag, Texas state shape and a few others. GPop even joined in the fun! The boys had a GREAT time and made several masterpieces! We have stamped several more times since this first time.

Letterman Already

The other day the boys asked why all their teachers had the same jacket. It was their letter jackets! So when we got home from school, I got out my old letter jacket and Jason's old letter jacket. The boys thought that was TOO COOL!It was so sweet to see them in our jackets. It also gave me a lump in my throat because I know I will blink and they will be wearing one that fits and that they earned. Sniff, sniff. But for today, they drug on the ground and their hands could barely make it out of the long sleeves.

Life in the Fast Lane

Look at us! We are getting better every day at riding our bikes from Santa!

Genesis 11

At the beginning of the month, I changed order of our home Bible lessons. I had been just picking a fun account from Scripture and coming with with some activities to go along with it. I decided that in January we would start in Genesis 1 and work our way through the Bible. I'm not sure how long it will take, and that is fine. This week we spent three concentrated days in Genesis 11 and they boys seemed to really learn the account and see a little deeper meaning to the account.

First we found the verses in both of their Bibles and we read them out loud. After asking basic recall questions, we acted out the Tower of Babel several times. Jacob LOVED being the people talking in all the different languages.
Even though the Bible does not tell us that the Tower fell, after the people spread in different directions, Rylan would come back and knock it down. He said that this was not his favorite part of the Bible because the people made God sad.
Another day we retold the story by reading a story book and then we made this craft. I drew the tower and the boys cut paper to be the blocks of the tower. It was fun!

Castle Time!

All you need is a lawn mower box, markers and a little imagination and you've got yourself a castle! The boys made and played in their castle for about 2 hours on Saturday while Jason and I cleaned out the garage. They had a ball!!!

Scripture Memorization

I wish I was more eloquent and could express my deep convictions on the importance of knowing God's Word. I am so inspired by folks who weave scripture into their conversations and daily life. A mom I deeply respect told me about 4 years ago to use God's Words when disciplining my kids. I'm not perfect, but try my best. However, I must know the Bible, or I cannot quote it to them, whether in a moment of correction or in moments of every day life. I am convicted by 1 Peter when he tells us to be prepared to give m answer in season and out of season for our beliefs.

I want my words to be uplifting, encouraging, truthful, meaningful and kind. I want my words to be pleasing to the Lord and to bring glory to His name. At times I joke about being the "mouth of the South." So this year, my goal is to use that big mouth for good! Sometimes that me mean keeping it shut and other times it may mean praying for a friend over the phone as she is hurting. It may mean teaching a class at church or witnessing to the checker at HEB.

I think one of the most important ways to use my mouth is to teach Rylan and Jacob how to use their mouths...to show respect, not to talk back or have attitude, to have kind tones, to not be a smaet aleck, to answer kindly even when anger is in your mind, to talk all day long about Jesus, to sing of his mercies that are renewed every morning.

While in DFW, we visited Aunt Evelyn. (She is not a blood relative, but was my Granny's sister's BFF and was widowed young and spent every major holiday with us that I can remember - so she is my Aunt, even though not by blood.) Evelyn is 101 years old. In her nursing home room, she had a worn large print Bible on an easel with a pull around magnifying glass. It was so inspiring to see that at 101, she is still seeking God's Word and soaking in His wisdom. During our hour-and-a-half visit, she quoted at least 15 scriptures...woven into her speech. It was beautiful!

So once again, I've renewed my conviction to know God's Word. I am going to join/follow Beth Moore's plan to learn 2 verses a month. You pick on on the 1st and one on the 15th of each month. Record them on a notecard or in a spiral of notecards and carry it everywhere you go. Read it in the car, while washing dishes, while drying your hair, before bed, etc. In 2009, I participated and learned about 20 verses. It really helped me to know God's Word. First you have to read enough to find a verse you want to write on your heart, then you have to commit to learn it. Find someone who you can recite it to each half month and let the blessings flow! I hope that all of you will consider this wonderful Scripture journey...maybe we can share verses with each other and be an encouragement to one another.

So my first verse for 2011 is...

Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in my and lead me in the way everlasting."

A New Year...A Renewed Prespective

That may be the longest title of any of my posts! hahaha

But really, a new year always brings thoughts of renewing convictions and making new goals for the new year. I've been thinking a lot about life and what really matters...how to spend your time...how to shine your Light for Christ in the dark world. I don't think I've come up with any new ideas, just renewed convictions of things I have already been taught. So for the new year, here are some things I want to either renew or start...

*Memorize 2 verses a month from the Bible - I did this in 2009 and it was an amazing experience (BTW, I HATE the word amazing, but it truly fits here)

*Pray more often with Jason

*Read 1 chapter of Proverbs a day - the one that coordinates with the date (ex. today is the 6th, so I read chapter 6)

*Talk more with Jason - turn off the TV and just talk

*Teach my kids more and more about God's Word, His love, His grace and mercy each day through direct opening of the Word, doing things for others and setting a better example

*Help Rylan and Jacob develop deeper prayers

*Pay off debt

*Have people over more often and not think it has be a production

*Find the good in things that annoy me (For example, as I am washing dishes, be thankful that I have a family to feed and dishes to wash, etc)

*Tell other people that I appreciate them.

*Practice what I preach

*Savor each moment with Rylan and Jacob and record those moments!

*Continue Flamingo Bible studies

*Sow seeds of peace

* Send more Good Mail

*Follow FlyLady's plan a little closer

*Write in my prayer journal more often

*Start a 10-year journal

*Savor the time with Granny and Popa

*Let my light shine for God!

Last week a precious 93 year old lady at church went home to Glory. She taught me in Cradle Roll and she also taught my boys. To say that she was dear to me is an understatement. At her service, our preacher read this poem that had been clipped and on her fridge for over 20 years. I think it will be my new theme for 2011. I hope it will be an encouragement to you too.

There's Only One Today!

Author Unknown

I'll never have this day again,

And when today is through

I may not have another chance

For things I ought to do:

The friendship I should offer,

The kindness someone needs,

The thoughtfulness I can express

In loving little deeds,

The helpful words that someone

Might wait to hear me say:

Lord, help me to remember

There's only one today!