The Phenomenon of Sleep

For the past few months now, I've noticed this amazing thing that happens overnight... my baby is transformed into more and more of a little boy.  You know that phrase "babies grow overnight"?  Yeah, well it's definitely true in this household!  

It seems like every night I carry my plump little infant to his crib to fall asleep, and every morning this long, lean little boy wakes up in his place.  When I pick him up out of the crib he feels like he's been doing crunches all night, resulting in a hard, flat tummy and a 3" slim up around his waist; he also feels like he has grown at least 2" in height.  (Hugh has also noticed this phenomenon, so it's not just me, okay?)

But don't worry, I don't let him stay too lean for long.  Immediately after waking up he nurses for 20-30 minutes (that's double or triple a normal nursing session), and his pudgy little tummy balloons back out.  Usually I can get a snuggle or two out of him after nursing too, and then I reassure myself that he's not a full-on little boy quite yet... for at least one more day he'll still be my little infant.  :)

Read more >>

Challenge

Well, I have a challenge for all of you blog readers out there...  As you may have realized over the extended weekend, the beginning of June is upon us!  This blows me away, mainly because we are moving sometime before July comes.. eek!!

Anyway, to celebrate the beginning of June, I wanted to challenge each of you (who are not already doing so) to commit to reading through the Bible in a year.  So far I have been keeping up with my reading plan (even though I have been a little slack in posting each book's theme), and it has really been beneficial for me.  In my opinion, reading the Old Testament gives so much more depth and insight into the New Testament.  I think that this says it all:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.   (2 Timothy 3:16-17) 

Now, I know that many of you have excuses for why you can't do a reading plan.  Believe me, I had my own excuses too!!  So let me offer you a few ways to overcome some of the most common excuses:

1. I don't have the time.  Try picking an accommodating reading plan then.  The plan that I use, the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan, requires less than 20 minutes per day.  It is also very forgiving of busy schedules because there are only 25 daily readings per month.  I also appreciate the way that it splits up the Old Testament and the New Testament so that you have 2 readings per day from the OT and 2 readings per day from the NT.  It's VERY doable.  The other option for those who are crunched for time would be to do 1/2 of the daily reading each day so that the year-long plan extends to cover 2 years.  The point is not how fast you can read through the Bible but is more so being regularly engaged with all of Scripture.  

2.  I don't like/am not good at reading.  Try listening to an audio Bible then.  There are several good ones that you can buy, but there are also many free options too.  Bible Gateway has great audio recordings by Max McLean (I know this is true for the ESV translation, anyway).  If you go to their website and search for the passage you should read (ex. 1 Kings 1-3), just scroll down and under the translation/page options heading, you'll see a grey bar with options for moving forward or backward.  To the right of that bar is a red volume button, which if clicked will bring a pop-up window (pop-ups must be allowed) with the audio recording of exactly what you searched for, even if it's more than one chapter.  

3.  I'm not organized enough/can't keep up with where I am in the reading.  This was a huge one for me because I'm such a perfectionist..  But trust me, you don't have to make this into a huge perfect project.  Keep it simple.  Try using some kind of page marker (see my example in the image to the right) to keep up with exactly what chapter you are on (this is just a cut up sticky note) that way you can use the reading plan as a guide (not a perfectionistic rule).  For example, even if I'm only supposed to read two chapters of 1 Kings, sometimes I lose track of the chapters because the story is so good, and the next thing I know, I'm three chapters past where I should have stopped.  No problem, just mark it!  In that case, I might skip the 1 Kings part of my reading plan during the next day's reading (since I'm already ahead on it) and just resume it on the following day.  See, no need for perfectionistic tendencies to keep you from enjoying reading through the Bible.  :)

4.  The Bible is just too hard to understand. But it really isn't...  I agree that you probably won't have the same level of understanding as someone with a seminary degree the first or second time that you read through it, but the Bible really was written to regular people, like you and me.  My advice is twofold: read thoughtfully and try to understand the way that each passage fits into the greater redemptive story that God has given us perfect insight into, and then reference a good study bible (like the ESV Study Bible) from time to time when you really get hung up.


Welp, there you have it.  Those are the main reasons that have kept me from being faithful in reading through the entire Word of God for so long.  And believe me, they are overcome-able (if that's even a word..), so don't let silly excuses keep you from committing!!   Give it a go and stick with it!
You will not regret it.

Read more >>

God is Mighty in Battle - Joshua

Well, the book of Joshua depicts a huge pinnacle for Israel -- God finally brings them into the promised land, the land that he had promised Abraham so long ago (Gen. 12:1-3).  There are many amazing details to this story, and there are many themes that come out, such as God's faithfulness, his covenant, his justice and wrath, etc.


The theme that I was most struck by, however, is that of God being mighty in battle.  Yeah, you heard me right, God being mighty in battle.  Yes, of course, he also empowered the Israelites to fight well, but there are so many examples in Johsua of God, himself, being the sole cause of a victory.   Please, allow me give you a handful of examples...

God's Might in Battle

1.  The Lord parts the waters of the Jordan so that the people (again) cross over on dry land.  Although this may not seem like a "battle", it is one of the ways that God chooses to show his might to confirm to the Israelites that he will give them the land.. check out the underlined part:

And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”   (Joshua 3:9-13, emphasis mine)

2.  When five kings attempt to attack one of Israel's allies, the Lord again displays his might by actually killing more than the mighty men of Israel did...

So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you”… And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel… And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.  (Joshua 10:7-8, 10a, 11)

3.  This summarizes a few other battles that the people fought:

And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.   (Joshua 10:42)

4.  And one last one at the end of Joshua:

And you have seen all that the Lord you God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you.   (Joshua 23:3)

Now, there is one other thing I should point out relating to God's might in battle, and that is that God didn't always give the people victory.  There are examples in Joshua when the people blatantly disobey God, which results in our holy, just God separating himself from them because of their sin.  You would think that after having seen the amazing acts of God in giving them the promised land, that no one would disobey, but no, that's not how the story goes... The times when Israel disobeys ultimately show the innate rebellion inside the hearts of men, and even now our own hearts live in the same rebellion.

In my humble opinion therefore, the most mighty act of God in battle was not accomplished in Joshua's time.  It was when Jesus died on a cross, taking our sin upon himself to mightily battle the power of sin & death, which as a result of our own rebellion separates us from God.  And rising from the dead three days later proved his ultimate victory in battle - bringing us back into right standing with God.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By his wounds you have been healed.  (1 Peter 2:24)

God was most certainly mighty in leading Israel into the promised land, and thus fulfilling his promise to Abraham.  But oh the depths of God's might and grace in fulfilling the other part of that promise in blessing the nations through the redemptive death of Jesus, and thus winning the battle that we ourselves could never win.

Read more >>

FFF: The Many Tongues of Enoch

Any of you who've been around Enoch in the past few weeks can surely testify that his tongue is constantly going... and not as in talking, but more so as in pointing.. or just sticking out in general.    ;)  I wanted to remember this cute, hilarious season of his childhood, so I thought that'd be a good post for FFF this week.  Below are a few of the many tongue (faces) of Enoch at this point.  It seems that right now he sticks his tongue out when he's smiling, thinking, concentrating, and/or trying to taste of something.  Little Man is especially charming with his tongue at Wal-Mart and other places where he sees friendly people who talk to him, he is particularly partial to the older women.  (They generally think it's the "cutest thing ever", but some give him a short sermon about being disrespectful, haha!)

 

 

Another thing he has just recently learned (within the past 1 or 2 weeks) is how to roll his tongue.. to the side.  It's incredibly hard to describe with words, but even harder to get a photo of, so I tried to get some good video footage (see below).  My theory is that he is getting much closer to having his next few teeth come in, and he is using his tongue to feel of his gums where one tooth in particular may be about to erupt.  :)  Sometimes he also rolls his tongue into a "u" shape while he rolls it to the side.  Here's a somewhat good shot of that:

Read more >>

God and Marriage

There was a really good post over at the Desiring God Blog a few days ago by Jonathan Parnell.  He wrote: Four Reasons Why Marriage is God's Doing based on part of John Piper's book, This Momentary Marriage. 

I read Piper's book shortly after we were married and found it rather enjoyable and enlightening.  It's a nice short read that is packed full of worldview changing thoughts.  I think that this blog post, which highlights only a fraction of the book, is especially relevant now, considering all that is going on in our day and time regarding marriage.  In it, Parnell pulls out a few jewels from Piper's book that are sure to make you think more deeply about God and marriage and challenge what your worldview says about how the two relate (and possibly a few other issues).

If you haven't ever read the book, then one more reason to check out the blog post is that there's a link to a free pdf copy of This Momentary Marriage in it (it's a free resource from the Desiring God website).  As a sneak peek, here are Parnell's four main points:

1. Marriage was GOD'S DESIGN
2. God gave away the first bride
3. God spoke the design of marriage into existence
4. God preforms the one-flesh union

The fourth point is my favorite- God, himself, is the one who makes two into one.  Check it out for yourself and see if you have a favorite too.

Read more >>

Spanish for this week (more face words)

Here are our Spanish words for this week.  I thought it might be good to do one more week of face words since there are so many parts to faces (which I think shows amazing insight into our Creator's attention to detail and creativity)!!

lips     ->   los labios
cheek     ->   la mejilla
forehead     ->   la frente
face     ->   la cara
teeth     ->   los dientes
tongue     ->   la lengua


One thing I've noticed about trying to learn/review these Spanish words is that practice really does make perfect!  Since most of the words I've been adding each week are commonly used words around our house (usually used at least once per day), I've noticed that if I am intentional about speaking each week's words in Spanish everytime I want to say them through my normal conversation with Enoch (or others), that it makes the words stick much better!  In fact, it's helped me avoid having to use notecards this time around.  (I used endless notecards when I was actually in Spanish class.)  Maybe the words are also sticking better because this time around my motivation for learning is bigger than myself and/or a grade... I'm learning for my son.  :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy this week's graphic.   haha!  That was Enoch's first picture showing his teeth. :)

Here's a pronunciation video:

Read more >>

A good lookin' cowboy for your Monday

Enoch and I went to visit my mom and stepdad (Granny Sandy & Granddad Craig) this weekend... only not at their house.  They regularly compete in Cowboy Mounted Shooting (CMSA) events at a ranch in Oklahoma (ZOC Ranch), where Craig keeps up with the day-to-day operations.  So we went out to see the ranch, watch the competition, pet some horses, and get some grandparent loving.  I'd say that we accomplished all of those tasks, only I wish we could've toured more of the ranch - there just weren't enough hours in the busy day.  

While we were visiting, Enoch traded in his ball cap for a real cowboy hat.  :)

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.  But there was a professional photographer there, so we might get some good photos from her once she's done editing them.  

Read more >>

FFF: Hugh's Graduation

Welp, Hugh graduated this past Saturday with his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the UA!!   :)  Technically, he hasn't fulfilled all of his degree requirements yet, but they still let him walk.  All he has left to do now is turn in his full dissertation (a compilation of 3 articles he's researched and written), then defend it in early June, and after that make any necessary corrections before we move in mid June.  He is SO close!!  (I think we'll both breathe a huge sigh of relief after the defense!)

And of course, we had lots of family come into town to see him walk. Well, really they mainly came to celebrate and visit, but we did all go to the 2 hour long (shorter-than-normal, or so they said) graduation to watch him have his 10 seconds of fame as he walked across the stage.   Well-worth it for these sweet pictures though:

Presenting Dr. and Mrs. Hugh Medal along with their handsome son, Enoch  (hehe!)

Here's a good group shot to show off all of our troop that came to visit.  

For those who don't know everyone, let me introduce from left to right:

Susie (L's stepmom), Steve (L's dad), Hugh holding Enoch, Don (H's dad), Sandy (L's mom), Patti (H's stepmom), Mary (H's mom), Craig (L's stepdad)

So, as you can see, Enoch had seven grandparents visiting all on the same day!  As you can imagine, he didn't get any attention or love during the whole day, the poor little guy.  (haha, just kidding!  ;)  We really enjoyed seeing our family, and I think they all really enjoyed getting to see each other (Hugh's family lives in the North Dakota/Minnesota area, which is quite far away from Arkansas, where Leanna's family lives).  

Hugh's family actually got to stay for the whole weekend, so that was also quite exciting!  We went to a handful of fun places, but I forgot to take any pictures!!   :(   Oh well, the memories were made and shall not be forgotten.  :)  Enoch really took to each of his grandparents, and he gave each plenty of smiles, laughs, and wet kisses.  

I've been slightly busy this week trying to get things going back to normal again.  To be honest, Enoch didn't have that hard of a time re-adjusting to life without visitors, but I did let the laundry pile up, the fridge empty out, and the to-do list lengthen a bit too much while I enjoyed our guests, so that is the main reason why I've been absent from the blog world for a few days.  Sorry!  I think I'm caught back up now though, and I have plenty of blog posts to catch up on posting, so watch out blog world!!

One last graduation pic:   

Aren't they cute?!?!

Read more >>

Happy Mother's Day!

First of all, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all you moms, grand-moms, and great grand-moms!!  I am so thankful for each of the mothers (mothers of all types and ages and relationships) that God has put in my life!!!  I hope each of you have a blessed day and that you each feel loved by the special people in your lives.  :)

Enoch and I went out to take some cute pictures for Mother's Day earlier this week.  I found that it was hard to get good backgrounds in the flower beds at the square during our last photo shoot, so this time I wanted to try something a little different.  There's a fun train bank (a bank that sits in an old train car) in our town, and I'd seen some good photos taken there before, so we went to give it a try.  (Thanks Bank of Fayetteville, for letting me!)

Isn't this train bank cool?  I mean, how much more "little boy" can you get??  

This is the picture I ended up using as our mother's day gifts.  

I also learned a great lesson during this shoot.  About half way through, all of the sitting up got to Enoch, and he started spitting up his big boy food - carrots.  Yuck!  Since he wasn't wearing a bib, he got carrots all over his little shirt.  By the time we got home, his shirt could've passed for an orange tie-dye!  So, next time I can't leave a bib on him and I need him to stay clean for a long period of time, I plan to save the real food until after the photos.  :)

Here are some of the other photos that I liked:

sweet smile

(and yes, he was sitting on a step, but I was sitting the next step down, holding onto his little leg with my other hand..)

car watching

(this is the other end of the train (the red end) and it faces a busy street, so it was hard to get any smiles because Enoch was pretty serious about all of the cars and trucks passing by)

cutie patootie!

our little man

(btw, Hugh calls this Enoch's golf shirt. haha! :)

Read more >>

FFF: Enoch Talking

Well, I FINALLY caught Enoch talking on video!  He does it quite often these days, but it's not usually for long lengths of time.   To make matters more complicated, he usually gets quiet as soon as he sees the phone come out (I use my iphone to record most of these videos), so capturing it on video has been more challenging than I originally anticipated.


Anyway, without further ado, here's the long-awaited video.  It is quite lengthy, but this post is mainly for our family anyway, so no apologies.  :)

Read more >>

Pondering Parenting

Hugh and I are reading through an excellent book on parenting called Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp.  He also has another one that Hugh is enjoying called Instructing a Child's Heart. (I'm a little behind him on the reading.)

Since I haven't finished the book, I can't actually give a complete review of it yet, but I can confidently say, however, that Tripp does an amazing job encouraging parents to address their children's heart issues as well as their complete obedience to God.  He stands behind numerous Scriptures in his teaching, and he is both theoretical and practical.  I would highly recommend his books to anyone who is pondering how to parent.  Additionally, I would say that many of his thoughts have shaped how Hugh and I plan to raise our children, and we are so thankful to have good resources like this one at our fingertips.

Speaking of resources, here's some FREE audio resources that are closely tied to his shepherding book... Back in 2008 he did a parenting seminar, and you can listen to the audio from it thanks to the Resurgence (he's actually done quite a few of these seminars over the years, but so far this is the only audio I've been able to find).  You can check it out here or by searching "Tedd Tripp" on the Resurgence website. Hugh and I both enjoyed these audios!  Tripp is a phenomenal speaker in that he is easy to listen to, but he is also INCREDIBLY challenging.  I hope you check out the audio and benefit from it as much as we have!

Read more >>

Spanish for this week (parst of the face)

Here's our weekly Spanish post for this week.  I thought that it would be helpful to have one whole week dedicated to the face, since there are so many important parts.  :)

head  ->   la cabeza
face  ->   la cara  [not in the video, but it sounds like the word "car" in English]
eye  ->   el ojo

nose  ->   la nariz

ear  ->   la oreja

mouth  ->   la boca

Here's a pretty good video that I found.  It even reviews some of the vocabulary from last week. (just keepin' you on your toes!!)

Read more >>

3 Years (and counting)!!

Today is me and my hubby's 3rd anniversary!  I can NOT believe that I've already spent t.h.r.e.e wonderful years with this sweet man!!!!   (or should I say that I can't believe my amazing husband has bore with me for three whole years...  he is truly such a patient, forgiving man!)

Check out those excited newly-weds!!

I think it's amazing how much closer we are now than when we first got married!  I would definitely agree with those who claim that in a good marriage, things only get better as they marinate.

I'm also amazed at how God has truly used our marriage to sanctify me.  It's hard to believe how much I've grown in the Lord as a result of my husband's influence and leading.

This was my "YES" high five right after our wedding ceremony.  

What's funny though, is that today I feel even more confident and certain and thankful.  It's humbling to look back on our three years together and be able to assert: YES, the Lord was SO much more than abundantly good in giving me Hugh.  There are innumerable details which God divinely orchestrated in bringing us together and preparing us for each other.  And there are similarly innumerable stories of God's provision and faithfulness in sustaining us as we live out this humbling/sanctifying thing called marriage.  We are trusting in His grace to continue sustaining for the years to come.

And it is my prayer that our love will abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that we may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless on the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.  (adapted from Phil. 1:9-11)

Read more >>

Vows

This is a post mainly for those of you who are married or planning to enter into matrimony soon.

I've always liked the idea of hanging our wedding vows on the wall next to one of our wedding pictures.  Many artsy-crafty types do this in their home, and it usually looks quite nice.  Once we move,  I may make it a project.  For now though, I wanted to share another idea of what you can do with your vows.

Before I was married, a wise woman (to be honest, I don't remember who she was, but I think she must've been wise for recommending this to me) suggested that I read my wedding vows daily.  I think she had a few good reasons, but somehow I wasn't compelled to take her advice.

Not until now, that is...

You see, I recently found the wedding vows that I wrote to Hugh when I was sorting through my desk trying to pack the disheveled mess into boxes for our upcoming move.  They were still on the original yellow notecards, and when I glanced back through them, the words were so rich.  Not in the sense of -wow, I was such a good writer-  no, not in that way at all.  Rather though, as I read back through them I realized how much I had used the Word of God in writing my vows, and I was reminded of what the Word says about wives.  It was like I was re-reading how I had envisioned  applying what the Scriptures say about marriage to myself as a wife.  Well, let's just say that that was so convicting to me since now I can see where I often fall short.

So I have stuck those little jewels into my memorization box (more on that later) so that I can review them everyday and set my mind on how to be a godly wife and the promises that I made to Hugh before my friends, family, and God.  I most definitely have not become a perfect wife through this, but it has been such a help to me in many ways.

I should point out that Hugh and I took quite a bit of time to write our vows so that they would be meaningful.  That time was definitely well spent in pondering marriage and roles and God's design.  If you have vows that are similarly special/meaningful, I'd encourage you to begin reviewing them daily along with me.  I'm pretty sure it's only going to bless your marriage, if they're good vows.  :)  And it only takes a few minutes to read them and be mindful of areas that you need to sharpen yourself in for the upcoming day.  That's what I mean by good vows, they should be promises that stretch you, help your spouse, and work toward making you both more Christ-like.

If you didn't write your own vows when you got married (or if you want to give your old ones some freshening up), now's the time.  Why not give it a try?  I recommend picking a few key passages about marriage to study and vision-cast from.  I also included part of Philippians 2 in mine because God has really used that passage in my life to show me Christ's humility and servant-heart (and thus my call to be the same, especially in marriage).  Another good idea would be to add personal details about you or your spouse (for example, Hugh promised me that he would never yell at me because he knew that was one thing to which I was extremely sensitive).

I hope to eventually have my vows to Hugh memorized, but even then I plan to continue reviewing them daily and trying to apply them in my role as a godly wife.  For me, this is just one more way that I can work toward making our marriage last... and thrive.  :)

Read more >>

FFF: Coordination

Here's our For the Fam Friday post.  Sorry it was so late in the day before I could post it!  I had to collect a little bit more footage to complete it (the last video).

This week, Hugh and I have both really noticed that Enoch has become much more coordinated (in a few ways).

First, he's grabbing objects with much more ease and agility.  It's clear now when he knows what he wants, and he is usually able to grab it precisely.  He's started reaching farther and farther toward distant objects though he falls over less.  I've also begun practicing a little hand-eye coordination with him (mainly because I lack so much hand-eye coordination that he's probably already disadvantaged. ;)





Another way that he stepped up in coordination this week is in learning how to use his mouth & tongue to blow spit...  To be honest, I'm really not sure about how to describe it, so I tried to capture a video of it below.



He normally does this when's he's excited or talking (or both).  I'm in the process of trying to train him NOT to do this when he eats though because it gets green beans everywhere, including all over me!  (don't worry, it's okay to laugh.. just not in front of Enoch (because it's not good to laugh at him when you are training him not to do something).  :)



And one last way that we've noticed Enoch becoming more coordinated is that he is getting better at standing up!  Hugh has started letting him "stand" (lean) against the couch.  He started out on the couch because the soft cushion made it easier for him to stand.  He's now graduated to standing on the floor (he still leans against the couch some).  One funny aspect of Enoch learning to stand is that Coach Hugh wants the trainer (aka: me) to let him practice everyday.  ;)  Here's a quick video to demonstrate his standing skills (from today):




Hope you enjoyed!  :D

Read more >>

What to do about immigrants...

Have you been thinking lately about what to do about immigrants?  I read an encouraging and edifying post today from The Gospel Coalition about immigration.  You should check it out: here.

Although it's written to pastors, it was an enjoyable read for me because the authors offer sound Scriptural thoughts on how born again believers in Christ should view and interact with immigrants.   I appreciate the authors' bold stance on such a politically sensitive issue.

I would stand firmly behind the authors' main points, and we hope to base our family's ministry around the notion that we should have the same heart as the Lord in our relationships with immigrants.  I mean, that is what sanctification is all about - becoming more and more like the Lord- right??



So, here is my answer about what to do with immigrants: befriend them.  love them.  understand them.  help meet their physical and/or spiritual needs.

If you still haven't read the actual blog post that I referenced above, you need to read it!

Read more >>

Spanish for this week

I thought that this week it might be good to learn some body parts because I'm constantly saying them in English.  :)

arm   ->  el brazo
hand   ->  la mano
finger   ->  el dedo
leg   ->  la pierna
foot   ->  el pie
toe   ->   el dedo del pie  (literally: "the finger of the foot"  del = de + el (of +the))
stomach    ->   el estómago

As a side note, hopefully you've been noticing the "el" and "la" in front of the nouns.  Those are the masculine (el) and feminine (la) articles ("the" in english).  It's always good to memorize those with the word.  The general rule is that nouns which end in "a" are feminine (thus "la pierna") and nouns that end in "o" are masculine (thus "el brazo").  However, this week "la mano" breaks that general rule because it is a feminine noun ending in "o".  I'm not sure how many exceptions like "la mano" there are, but you should always trust the article, not the ending.  Many Spanish words do not end with "o" or "a" (for example, "los pantalones"), so for those it is also important to memorize the article.  (This becomes especially imporant when you start adding modifiers because their endings change to match the noun they modify.  A good example of this is "pantalones cortos" (shorts or literally "short pants").  "Corto" means "short" and the "-s" gets added to match "pantalones" because it is masculine, plural.  If you said "short shirt" in Spanish, it would be "camisa corta" because "corto" drops the "-o" and adds an "-a" to make it feminine, singular.  Can you guess how to translate "short shirts"?  The answer will be below the video.  :)

Here's the pronounciation video:





Answer to the above question:
short shirts   ->  (las) camisas cortas

Read more >>