Where's Our Big Brother???

It's an exciting time when Josiah comes home from school...he gets a heroes welcome everyday!

The Letter "L"

This week for the letter "L," we took Ephesians 4:29 from the LHT version of the Bible. That is the Loose Holder's Translation.

"Let no bad words come out of your mouths but only what is helpful for others."

After our dancing and verse memorization, we got out the mega blocks. We went around the circle saying nice things to each other trying to make the other towers taller. So, when Josiah said something nice to Alayna, then Alayna got a block on her tower and so on. We went around the circle a couple times so that each person had about 6 blocks in their tower. Then we told the kids we were going to play some basketball on the hoop in the basement. As we played, we listened carefully to what the kids said. When Josiah said to Alayna, "That shot is sooooo simple," he lost a block because he was not being helpful to her. He did not like that. When Alayna said, "Daddy's losing!" She lost a block and did not like that. After a few minutes of gaining a block for each "good job!" and losing a block for bad words, they began searching for chances to say "Good Job!" It didn't take long for encouraging words to fly around the room. After this went on for awhile we all huddled together and talked about how much better it was to say and hear good words. To end our time, Josiah prayed.

A Powerful Song...

This has become one of my new favorite songs, it's so powerful. Just today I watched the video created with the song...even though the video portrays the sin of adultery, the "Slow Fade" in your/my life can be so many other things that you/I allow into your/my home or life that causes a "Slow Fade" away from a passionate relationship with Jesus. I've been asking the Lord to show me what things in my life could cause a "Slow Fade"....I challenge you to ask the same question...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-8SYA6rfbs

What a Rascal!

You know it's your 3rd child when you take a picture before getting them off of the tall stool. He has realized that the stools and chairs are great tools in helping him get things he can't reach...the fridge, the sink, things on the counter...so far the sink is his favorite (just like the other 2 kids), but there are great treasures in the fridge and so this may soon change. He keeps me on my toes!

**a little side note about my favorite rascal...no biting incidents at MOPS or in nursery this past week...it has gotten MUCH better...I LOVE vinegar!! (thankfully Seth doesn't!!)

Friday Funnies!

Dear friends came to visit on Friday afternoon. The day before we had a few inches of snow ...again! Anyway, my dear hubby cleared the driveway the night before...however, on Friday, there was some snow at the end of the driveway that you needed to 'gun it' to get through due to the wonderful snow plows. Anyway, Heather made it through with no problems and she and I were chatting while the kids played...then I got a phone call from Amy..."Michelle, I'm stuck at the end of your driveway"...thankfully Heather and I are strong :) and we were ready to come to her rescue. We got bundled up and out we went, ready to rescue her. We got in position to give her a good push...she put it in reverse...1, 2, 3.... PUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHH...nothing happened...not even an inch (although we were laughing quite hard!)...try again 1, 2, 3.... PUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHH...nothing (laughing even harder now!)...we tried to shovel out her tire...we laid out sand because her tire was on snow (I'm sure we were quite the sight!!), we were feeling quite smart, but having NO success moving the van even a tiny inch. We realized...we needed man power...thankfully, my neighbor was there to rescue us. He came ready to help...got down on his belly, shoveled out all the snow from under her bumper with his arm/hand and then he alone gave it a push when Amy put it in reverse...she backed right out...no problems! Good laughs were had by all...and when we went into the house all 6 kids were still in one piece and doing well!

We were able to celebrate Gavin's 5th Birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Gav!
Only 363 sleeps until you turn 6! :)Pretty girls all dressed up!

AsK, SeeK, and KnocK

Family Time this week focused on the letter K. The verse was:

Matthew 7:7. "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find,
Knock and the door will be opened to you." (the last part was the actual verse)

After our dance and verse memorization we played a version of hot & cold. In this version, one person has a blind-fold on and needs to perform a simple task that is unknown to them at the beginning. (Kind of like God's plan for our life that we only have limited knowledge of right now.) As the blind-folded person slowly feels their way around they can "ask" yes or no questions. (Kind of like prayer, how God affirms or convicts us as we proceed in life.) Each person who was blind-folded eventually decided to ask about which direction he/she should proceed. Once movement in that direction had begun it was time to "seek" the task. Finally, the object was found that the person must use to perform the task. (Kind of like the door in the verse.) I find it interesting that after the door is open in the verse Jesus does not say, "the door will be opened and I will shove you through it." God always leaves an opportunity for our choice. In the game, the object found was all that the blind-folded person needed to understand the next step. Josiah found the rocking zebra and knew right away that he needed to climb on and rock. Michelle found the basketball and knew she needed to make a basket. Alayna found a hat and knew right away that she needed to put it on her head. I found the teeny teeter-totter and...well...thanks to my wife you can see what happened next. How many times have I "asked" which way to go, "sought" the place where God had a task for me, only to shy away from the obvious conclusion that required some initiative on my part? Too many. I pray that my children will, by God's grace, step in through the doors where I retreated in fear.

Did I mention Seth makes us laugh??

I will blog all about Family Time a little later, but I wanted to share a funny moment that happened last night. It was one of those moments when you REALLY wish you would have had the video camera rolling. We were in the basement talking about our activity for Family Time. It involved a blind fold (more details later), anyway, Seth saw the blindfold and REALLY wanted to wear it. Dan put it on him and we figured he'd pull it right off...nope...not being able to see at all, he ran like a crazy chicken laughing and then ran smack into the wall and fell on his butt. The poor child, we were all rolling, it was hilarious! Josiah shouted, "We should have had that on video and sent it to Funniest Home Videos"...I think he's right, we would have been at least finalists! :) Anyway, funny family moment...gotta love 'em!