God Church Babtist

When the girls learned that we might not be able to attend church this morning because of the snowy roads, they came up with a plan to have a church service at home. When we arrived at the church (in their bedroom), we were given hand-made bulletins and invited to sit on the floor. After the anoncements, we sang Amasing Grace and Bles Ashore. Chris was able to listen to both adult Sunday Skool and a sermon by Celeste, who took her responsibility very seriously. I had a small but very engaging class of two that met in the closet for Sunday Skool and Children's Church. Best of all, one was added to our number as baby Elizabeth was presented for babtisement.

(Yes, I did have to point out to them that if their church were really Baptist they would not have been able to baptize baby Elizabeth.)

More Snowy Fun

Even Eliana got in on the fun today! With warm sun instead of blowing snow, conditions were just right for playing outside.

Little Boy in Pink Mittens

I did try to Scotchguard Josiah's knit gloves, but it proved to be no match for the power digging he did in the 5 inches of snow that fell last night. Hence the pink (waterproof) mittens that belonged to his sisters. I felt embarassed for him until our neighbor, Cole, who is 8 years old, came out wearing empty bread bags rubber-banded on his hands. When asked if he would rather be wearing Wonder-Bread mittens or pink mittens, he said, "PINK ones!"

There's nothing like coming in from the cold and snuggling in front of the fire with a nice periodic table.

Never Too Early

Fridays are relaxed in terms of school...but I find that even when I'm not structuring the morning, my students are still eager to learn.

Eliana is working on the months of the year. So far, I think she's got "May."

Orderliness

Celeste speaks my love language.
She told me the other day that she had organized my extra hangers into 8(!) categories, then went on to describe them. Plastic, plastic with metal, wire, rubber-coated wire... I wanted to cry, I was just so proud of that child.

Worth the Pain of Labor

Sometimes we just play dress-up with the baby!

She certainly favors her Daddy in that ball cap.

Renée just told me she knew babies wouldn't be born on Sundays because "for six days you shall labor but the seventh is the Sabbath, a day of rest."

Mr. Sensitive

See the resemblance? This little guy is so in touch with his feelings. Many times each day, I hear:

"That makes me cry because..."

"I'm feeling sad because..."

"You hurted my feelings because..."

Truly, he is a very happy and cheerful person. I think the explanation of his less-than-happy feelings, when they do occur, is just how he deals with them. Better than a tantrum, I say.

Yesterday, he said, "Mama, remember that time you made me get out of your kitchen? I was so sad. I was so, SO sad. A little drop came out of my eye and it fell to the ground."

As my friend Paige said, one day he's going to make a GREAT husband. I just hope his girl likes to listen.

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Celeste had her first go at cheerleading this Saturday!

She wore the blue and orange Upward colors proudly (let's just hope she's never wearing them for UF). I enjoyed watching her confidence in performing the cheers and comraderie with the other little girls. Afterwards, we all went out for ice cream. Because it was 27 degrees outside.

Everyday Magic

An enchanting fairy feeds my baby...
Giggles over her messy attempts...
Peels clementines for her little brother...
Learns how to care for a family.

Rollin' Ball

For about a year, Josiah has been keenly interested in bowling. He used to call it "rollin' ball" and had me draw, over and over again, a ball with three holes and the pins stacked up. We're not sure why, since neither Chris nor I have bowled since before we had the children, but bowling has captured his heart. Today was the first time for Josiah, and his sisters, to experience the sport firsthand. (Is it a sport?) The shoes were as ugly as I remembered, but the activity was WAY more fun as seen through the eyes of my kids.

We cheered and yelled and hugged after every turn. Renée won by a narrow margin and she was a very good sport.

Happy New Year!