I took an online class this morning about keeping your toddler entertained while homeschooling the other children and boy did I need that! Lately I have felt like I have been neglecting Ella and not giving her her share of me. There were so many fabulous ideas on how to keep them happily occupied, and that sparked some of my own ideas of things that Ella would love to do. She was still sleeping when I took the class and I was so excited to try some things, I could hardly wait for her to get up. Here is a list of some of the great ideas...
A box of special toys used only for school time
blocks
paint (we have an easel on the back porch so this is an easy one for us)
special "school" books (reading, coloring, and drawing) again just for school time
dominoes, cards
online learning sites (we do abcmouse.com love it!)
a game where they get to cut up junk mail as long as they sit in a laundry basket
play with letter magnets and puzzles
string beads or macaroni
bubbles
chores
and her favorite...
a bath!
I have been going at this school stuff all wrong, trying to get us all ready in the morning and house clean before starting school. This morning I had Samantha quickly get ready and start school but had Ella wait for her bath until Samantha and I were working on phonics. Ella will be 4 in just over a month and our bathroom is centrally
located on the main level, so I could hear her without staying right in the bathroom with her. She is always begging to take long baths but we are always rushing to get ready so this was quite a treat for her and we were able to finish phonics! Everyone was happy :-)
She also did her school books and computer preschool program. This is the first day we were able to have school done by lunchtime!
Toddler in toe
Little Prayers
Last night at bedtime we were all knelt beside Samantha's bed so the girls could say their prayers (that's where Ella likes to say hers too). It was Ella's turn to go first and recently she has become quite the little pro at saying her prayers by herself, of coarse you never know what she might pray for...
Last night she got a good start, praying for mommy and daddy, her and sissy, and Andy- "help him he won't pick his nose," at which point Dale laughed aloud, which caused me to start laughing.
She puked a few weeks ago, so now she prays all the time that she will never puke again and has now started praying that sissy will never puke again either. Samantha has thrown up maybe twice in the past 2 years and the last time was well over a year ago. She prayed that God would help us on our trip for weeks after we got back home. Her prayers sound very sincere. She gets a little tiny voice and even has a catch in her voice ever so often like she is crying. If you try to help her at all she says in a stern whisper,"I CAN DO IT!"
Though her prayers sound silly at times, I am glad that she doesn't just say what I tell her, but is trying to develop her own relationship with the Lord!
Word Power
We have started doing school and the girls are loving it. Ella is doing it right along with Samantha, and even though she is two grades behind, she has amazed me. We are learning about the 5 senses and I was quizzing Samantha the other day. She could only remember seeing, feeling, smelling, and tasting, when from half way across the room Ella nonchalantly says, "hearing," and continues with her coloring. It was pretty funny.
We are learning to use all 5 senses to observe and describe things, but I am aware that each individual has a different view than another. I remember when Andy was still homeschooling and we were using Understanding Writing (love it btw!!), they showed 2 descriptions of the same motel. One described a cozy, rustic getaway, and the other a run down, old dump.
When I was in Home Depot lately scoping out the different paint colors I came across one called vintage antique. It reminded me of understanding writing and I had to giggle, but I did bring the paint sample home and I think I might have to use it. I love the color (a dark turquoise), but the name just seals the deal!
A Startling Discovery
The girls did a self portrait the other day. It was a lot of fun. I gave them each a hand mirror and we explored each feature in detail. Their eyes; the pupil, the whites and different colors, eyebrows and lashes, their noses and how they start up by their eyes, their lips, color and shape, teeth, ect. When we got it all done Ella suddenly looked at her whole picture as if seeing it for the first time, and cried out in dismay, "I look like a monster!!" I did try to comfort her, but I agree with her. LOL
I so enjoyed my trip! I had a great time with friends and family. I got to see the beautiful landscape, and God showed me some very thought provoking things about myself. So thankful I was able to go. Here are some pictures of my trip, but I need my friends to share their pictures too because I didn't get any photos of us all together.
I am getting very excited about our trip to Washington. I have gone back and forth about going because I will have to do all of the driving until at least Portland, OR. I am really starting to look forward to the trip though and can't wait to spend some quality time with family. Walks, dress up and tea parties for my girls, not to mention cousin time, beach and just good ole visiting with loved ones. I know God will watch over me and help me. He has given me a peace about it the last few days. Can't wait!
I am so glad for the time I have spent blogging. Today I have enjoyed going back over my old ones and remembering... Life is always changing and it is wonderful to go back and read. One of the things I was giggling over today was back in 2007 when I resolved to do better about getting around in the mornings. Still one of my battles. Another one was when I looked into my future and saw empty, lonely days with Andy grown. God is so good! One of the comments I received on that one was from a sister who stated that she would have kids in the home until at least 2025. Well, now for me it will be at least 2026 and I couldn't be happier about it. It is hard to read comments from Trina, but so glad they are there. Gale I SO miss you! Hope we get some walks soon. Thankful that I have this to look back on with my dear friends adding to it along the way :)
Food for thought
Often children get upset because they don't get what they want. They throw a little fit and fall into a "poor me, life isn't fair" attitude. As a parent, I don't have a lot of patience or compassion for this line of thinking. I might start listing the good things in their life and have them take over the list, letting them know it is ridiculous and unacceptable to have this frame of mind. Lately I have started seeing much the same attitude in myself. Discontent and ungrateful. It wasn't as easy to recognize as it is when my kids want candy or toys, but I'm sure God sees it just the same. My big one has been not living where I want to live. Just the thought of how much heartache this has brought me makes me very ashamed. I know God had a huge purpose in sending us here. The most obvious is our girls. We would have never encountered their situation or been blessed with them if we hadn't been here. God has granted so many blessings since we've been here. We have had several strong families move into our little body of brethren. Last night as we pulled into the filled church parking lot, I remembered many night meetings of just 3 or 4 of us there. Another blessing since we've lived here is Dale's job. He has had it for over 3 years now, in construction and during this recession. Amazing. Ok so I do miss being around family, but in this day and age they are only a phone call away (another blessing!). God has truly blessed me and I want to be more than content but very thankful for all He has given.
I used to think we were busy...
Busy times here at our house. Dale is going back to college so for now that means he's gone from 6am till around 9pm three days a week, not to mention about 30 hours of home work per week and working full time. The girls and I are finding ways to stay busy too: swimming, yard saling, shopping, going to the zoo...lol But really, this means more work on me than I'm used to. I have started filling the big dumpster out front with all of our remodel trash. I now have all the yard work on my list of to do's, I'm trying to get things ready to have a yard sale, helping a neighbor 2 hours a day for 2 weeks, car shopping (3 days this week with 2 toddlers... yuck!), ect. I did find a new car though!! It is a ford focus hatchback and I love, love, love it! I can cross that off my to do list now, but I am still shopping for Dale a different vehicle. He doesn't have air conditioning and that is miserable here. And we used to think we were busy...Ha ha.
I have been searching high and low looking for a small container of paint (1/2 pint) that I started painting my window sill with a few months back. We have been remodeling in the meantime, and the closet that the paint used to be in has been torn out. Our paint supplies were all moved to under the basement stairs, and I have gone through that box several times... Maybe I should start by stating why this paint has so much importance. You see, back in January, when Dennis and Trina were here, we all went to our little ace hardware store and I picked just the right brown for what I wanted. She was very supportive and we came right home with the color and put a dab here and there to make sure it was the color I wanted. I love it, but life got busy and I haven't finished my painting. After I came home from Trina's last month, it was one of the first things I wanted to do in memory of her, but the paint was missing in action. I have searched all three levels of the house plus the garage. I kept going back to the paint box in the basement thinking it MUST be there only to be disappointed again. I have uttered many prayers about it and knew in my heart that it would be found. Well... Yesterday I went looking for our polyurethane and guess what I found? Yes, that's right, my chocolate brown paint, Trina Approved. It was right behind the box and I'm really not sure how I missed it. But God knows. Thank you Lord for hearing my prayers and answering in your time.
