Alaythia at 3 years old

Alaythia turned 3 years old last month!  It seems impossible, but now she is telling me she can't wait to be 4.  haha!  When I say, "Alaythia, you're such a big girl!" She will respond with, "No, I'm not 4 yet, but when I turn 4, I'll be real big!"  Here are some other fun things about my sweet 3 year old that I want to remember... 

First a few funny sayings:

• One time when we were headed to the nature refuge lake to look for alligators, I asked her if she wanted to bring anything along, to which she replied that she wanted to bring some water for the alligators to drink and also a book so she could read to them.  :)
• We typically eat oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast, and one day she was being slow to eat it and just casually moving it around with her spoon.  When I asked her why she wasn't eating, she told me she was looking for a rollie-pollie in her oatmeal.  
• About six months before her birthday, Alaythia tried some gum and ended up swallowing it, so we told her she could try again on her birthday.  This was a big talking point for her - she liked telling everyone that on her birthday she was going to have gum.  Well, about a week away form her birthday, we were discussing taking her to the doctor for her 3 year old check up, and she asked in the most sincere voice possible, "Is that where I'm going to get my gum?"
• Also, while looking forward to her birthday, Hugh asked her how old she was going to be and she replied, "around 45..."  :-D
• When she wants some hand sanitizer, she asks for "hanitizer."  
• Alaythia has really been growing in her understanding of who God is lately.  One of her favorite things to say about God is: God is faithful.  She can pray most of the Lord's prayer by herself now, but one of her favorite prayers (especially if it is after family worship and we've just talked about a character from the Bible) is "Lord I hope you have a good time with Abraham and Isaac and Jesus and...."  :)  
• Sometimes when she tells a story, Alaythia likes to say she is just 'tending (shortened from "pretending").
• And lastly, regarding reasoning through her disobedience, one time when the girls were going to bed, she was hanging her foot out of the crib, and I told her to put her foot back in so that she could go to sleep.  Without missing a beat she said, "But God made little girls' feet to hang out of beds."  

She loves dressing up, especially in dresses!  (Those two dresses are actually ones that my mom saved from my childhood.  :)

Alaythia enjoys being a helper / side-kick to Enoch!  These two are very similar, so they often butt heads, but every once in awhile they will stumble upon a project they can both work together on... this one was raking leaves.  

These have been some of her favorite jammies this year.  :)  When it comes to clothing, she is wearing size 4T in most things, and she can officially get dressed all by herself from her shirt all the way down to her socks.  This past fall when we switched over from shorts to pants, she started saying "I'm so pantsy now!" after she got her pants on.  :)

This is a classic Alaythia moment... eating vegetables!  She loves all things veggies... Here she had requested extra broccoli and cabbage after her regular food was finished.  She would prefer to skip meals like chicken pot pie though (I'm not sure why since it's full of veggies...), and it typically takes her a long time to eat anything that isn't pizza or cookies.  

 Alaythia has been gaining a lot of skills lately.  Here she is practicing using some kid knives.  She hasn't quite mastered these yet, but she enjoys trying!  She can also: unload the dishwasher, sort and fold some laundry (not super neatly yet, but she really tries!), load the washer or dryer, sweep leaves out of the garage, wipe the table, and clean up toys.  Both she and Karis usually work together on each of these projects, and it is neat to see them helping!  

Stickers... One of her favorite pass times.  :)

Pigtails and pottying.  I would say Alaythia is still in the potty training mode.  She doesn't often realize she needs to go to the bathroom before it happens, so she usually goes through a few pull-ups each day.  If we have a super relaxed day at home, I will let her wear underwear, but I mainly stick to pull ups these days because I was finding that I spent a lot of time helping her hang up wet underwear and pants each day when we were exclusively doing underwear.  (And I was doing a lot more laundry too!)  However, one bright spot with her potty training is that she has recently begun pooping on the pottyseat a lot more (maybe 2-4 times per week), so that's great!! 

One of her funny potty sayings is, "My poopy said my peepee is all done."  She usually says this when she doesn't have any poopy or peepee.  haha.

Sibling love...  Alaythia loves her baby Zoe so much!  Sometimes her affection is a bit more rough than Zoe would appreciate, but she does usually appreciate the attention.  Alaythia is always trying to bring Zoe toys, feed her during dinner, sit her down in her lap, and sing her songs.  Alaythia and Karis typically get along pretty well also.  They still share a bedroom, and they often play together in there for brief periods after nap.  They both love reading books, singing songs together, and taking care of their baby dolls.  Like I mentioned earlier, Alaythia and Enoch have a lot in common.  Their voices both sound very similar (especially on the phone!), and she loves to mimic whatever he says or does.  

Alaythia is not very fond of risk taking.  So for this carousel, she had to really think about getting on this tiger... We all sat on a bench while it spun around and AFTER the ride, she asked to get on an animal.  :)  In general she is also more reserved with strangers, as opposed to Karis who would kiss and hug each stranger she met if I let her.  Haha!

Doing school.  Alaythia has begun doing some school work this year.  We aren't doing any intense program but are just focusing on learning the ABCs, talking about what sounds they make, and doing some other fun things like coloring.  :)  She loves this time of the day though, especially because she gets to sit at the same table as Enoch, which makes her feel big.  :)

Here are some videos:

Blowing out her birthday candles (with some help)

Dancing in her birthday dress that Enoch bought for her

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Life Lately

We have had a busy January somehow, but the kids and I have still managed to have lots of fun!  Here are a few photos from my phone from the past few weeks.

 the girls taking care of their twin babies. 

 All of us getting ready to go for a chilly walk before bed.  We really enjoy going for a quick walk, and I find that it helps them go to sleep more easily.  It has also been neat to see the progression for each kid through the years.  Enoch now does great on his bike and I can trust him to be far ahead of me because he has pretty good judgment about cars.  Alaythia is very confident on her balance bike now (except for hills), and she loves to show me how fast she can go.  Karis used to complain a lot when I would ask her to walk (as opposed to sitting in the stroller), but now on most walks she is eager to either push Zoe's stroller or to chase after Enoch... and the girl can run!  She likes to say "one, two, go" and then sprint ahead 20 feet before she stops to repeat the 1, 2, go.  :)  Zoe thinks it is all pretty entertaining, and she typically enjoys going too!

Enoch sewed this fish all by himself (I just cut out the fabric and pinned it together for him.).  We attached a metal washer to it so that it works with his magnetic fishing pole, and he's really enjoyed playing with it.  (More about his sewing soon!)

 Playing in Zoe's room (they made a little tent under the curtains).

On a different night walk, we borrowed a neighbor's hill and looked at the stars.  We ended up being able to find Orion's belt, which was super exciting for Enoch.  He is really interested in planets and space right now, so hopefully we can continue learning more!

Reading has been going really well lately!  Enoch has been able to read quite a number of beginner books aloud to me, and he really enjoys that feeling of accomplishment! 

And lastly here's a video of Zoe crawling.  She thinks Enoch's excavator is really fun because it makes loud noises and even plays music!  

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Snow in the South

All morning long the sky was white with falling snow.  Although we got less than 1 inch, it was still so much fun for the kids!  Sometimes when the wind would blow the snow, Enoch would say, "Mom, maybe we're going to have a blizzard!"  (We just finished up the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and they had a LOT of blizzards!)  To make the day even more special, we had snowman pancakes for breakfast and hot chocolate to warm up after our time outside.  Here are some pictures of our time outside:

 Alaythia mopped the street (to keep the snow off, of course)

 Karis shoveled the snow for a few minutes.

 And Enoch swept the snow.  

He also managed to escape outside pant-less earlier this morning, and he swept all of the snow off of our picnic table so that he could bring it in and show the girls.  I have no idea how he didn't freeze, but his enthusiasm was certainly not dampened by the cold!

My three big kids posed for a picture right before Karis demanded to go inside because she was cold.  :)

 And little Zoe made it outside after her nap.  She thought the snow was fun to hit!

Isn't she a cute little baby bear?  I just love sweet little babies in snow suits!

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Getting Outside in the Cold

It has been rather cold this week down South (I know, I know, it is January, so it is supposed to be cold... but still!), so the kids and I have stayed inside almost everyday except our errand/therapy day.  We've had a lot of fun doing school work together in the mornings, and we've managed to keep the house tidy, but we were all a little stir-crazy, so this morning we went out and played.  After putting Zoe down for a nap, the big kids and I went out to rake and bag leaves, and it was SO good to get outside!  The sunshine was bright and cheery, the wind was busy somewhere else, and it felt great to break a sweat from raking!!  Here are some fun pictures of the kids playing in the leaves:

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Our Favorite Bible Reading Plan (and why)

This is a guest post by the one and only... Hugh!

Looking back at the year 2017, one of the most memorable parts was reading through the Bible. I used the Read Scripture reading plan, which is affiliated with the Bible Project. One of the most helpful parts of this plan was that it includes overview videos for each book of the Bible that help guide ones reading. I also like how the plan organizes the Old Testament books in their original Hebrew arrangement (e.g., 1-2 Chronicles comes last). The plan divides the Bible into 16 “chapters”:

1. Creation and Fall (Genesis 1-11),
2.  Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12-50),
3. The Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 1-18),
4. The Covenant at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19-Leviticus 27),
5. The Wilderness (Numbers and Deuteronomy),
6.  The Promised Lane (Joshua and Judges),
7.  Rise and Fall of Israel’s Kingdom (Ruth – 2 Kings),
8. The Prophets Before the Exile (Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah),
9. The Wisdom of Israel (Job, Psalms 1-2, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon)
10. The Prophets of the Exile (Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel),
11.  Return from Exile (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther),
12.  Prophets After the Exile (Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi),
13.  The Story So Far (1-2 Chronicles),
14.  Jesus and the Kingdom (Matthew, Mark, John, Luke, Acts),
15.  The People of the Kingdom (Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude), and
16.  The Revelation (Revelation)

Having the books organized into these named “chapters” helps me remember that the books of the Bible form one “unified story that leads to Jesus” (Bible Project mission statement).

In addition to each day’s reading, the plan has you also pray through a Psalm or part of a Psalm; I really enjoyed reading a Psalm and praying the words back to God.

I plan to do this plan again in 2018 and I would recommend it to you. To get started with this plan you will need the following:

1.     Access to the plan (Read Scripture app or via a PDF of the plan)

2.     Bible (physical or electronic)

3.     Access to videos (the Bible Project website: OT and NT, Youtube: OT and NT, Vimeo)

During the video, the narrator illustrates a pictorial guide to the book being covered.  Here is an example of the finished product for the book of Genesis.

The plan takes about 15-20 minutes each day for Bible reading and each summary video is about 8-10 minutes. Most books have one summary video, but a few of the longer books such as Genesis or Romans have two. (Towards the end of 2017 I started reading out loud rather than silently, and I found that this practice helps me slow down, focus, and read more meditatively.)

Since it can be hard to stick with a reading plan once life gets back to full speed after the holiday break, here are some tips. First, I recommend doing the plan with someone. Leanna and I both did the plan in 2017 and towards the end both of us benefitted from each other’s encouragement to stick with it. Second, if you get behind you can catch up by listening to the Bible while you drive, do housework, etc. There are a number of ways to listen to the Bible for free, including the Bible.is app.

Here is another example of the Bible Project's helpful pictorial guide, this one for the books of 1 John - 3 John.

Finally, here are some extra tips to make the most out of your reading. First, the Bible is a complex book that can be challenging to read! To help guide you as you read, I recommend using a reading aid such as a study bible (e.g., the ESV Study Bible) or How to Read the Bible Book by Book. These resources will point out what you should be looking for as you read. In addition, before you read each book, it is a good idea to read a short description of the book as can be found in a good study bible or a Bible dictionary (e.g., the New Bible Dictionary). This will help you get “the lay of the land” before you start reading, understanding things such as literary genre, relationship to other books, etc.

May the Lord bless your bible reading in 2018!

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Fall 2017

Here is a little bit of what we've been up to this Fall.  It has been a full and busy season including a few bouts of sickness and quite a few batches of cookies.  

 Enoch has been loosing his teeth, left and right.  He now has 4 gaps.  :)

Karis has been overseeing the kitchen work.  She loves to help stir, throw away the trash, and watch the food rise in the oven.  

 We are still potty training... Obviously my girls have learned the importance of the potty, since they added one to baby Jesus' nativity scene.

 We've gone on a few walks.  Now that the days are shorter, we do most of our walking around lunchtime, and I miss our evening walks!

 Alaythia has begun doing a little "school" alongside Enoch now sometimes, and she really enjoys it!  

 We've tried pig-tails (Alaythia much prefers for her hair to hang down in her face though.  haha)

 Zoe has done a few braids now that her hair is getting longer.  

 Enoch has begun learning how to sew (this is his sewing kit that Granny sent him).  I'll post more pictures soon, but he is doing a great job both hand sewing and machine sewing simple things.

 We put up our nativity calendar and began reading the story of Jesus' birth.

We took quite a few library trips too.  Enoch has his own library card now that he's 6, so we can check out double the books!

 We've had a few fires in the ole fire pit while Hugh grills.

 Zoe has learned how to pick up her food with her fingers and eat independently.

 We've done some park playing on sunny days. 

 And some dirt box digging.  In this one, Enoch dug a hole, filled it with water, and built a bridge.  The girls got thoroughly messy in the process, but it was fun.  

Just about the time it turned cool in MS, we took a week-long trip to Houston, TX.  The kids and I enjoyed the big city life and the beach at Galveston while Hugh went to work meetings.  It was a fun trip, and our kids are always asking to go back!  (They must have forgotten how long the drive was!)

 Enoch, Karis, Alaythia, me, and Zoe in the carrier (that's her head peeking over my shoulder)

Lastly, we did the pumpkin patch (two times).  We love going out to and enjoying a fun morning there, and this year we took 2 sets of grandparents there and bought a handful of pumpkins (one of which made a delicious pie).  

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