Spring cleaning has begun...

We've just begun a new season, and I'm excited, aren't you? It's a time when we see new life and enjoy the sunshiny weather...or perhaps something like this:

Did any of you have some snow this past weekend? It was quite the site to see this on the first day of spring! It's mostly gone now as it was warmer outside today. 

I also like the motivation spring gives me to get some much needed projects done around the house. To get started, I made a list for each room on a separate index card then put them all together on a ring. There are some things that are specifically mine to do or for Q to do. The rest are things for us to work on together. The goal is to get one room done a week. Although we've been here for six months, I really want to feel like we're finally settled by finishing the decorating and organizing in each room.

I've already been able to get a few things done, even ones that aren't necessarily on a list--like putting out these bird feeders. We didn't have much success at our other place with these, so we'll see what happens. I may have to place them elsewhere to attract birds if the front porch doesn't do it.

I've also repaired some clothing, gone through my magazine stash, sorted through the freezer and am planning out the garden with Q--all while working on the room for the week! I'm highly motivated so I've got to keep going!;)

What projects do you hope to get done this spring? I would love to hear what you're all up to these days.

Animal Cracker Necklace

I got to watch Kyla one day this week and had a great time with her. Besides the usual routine of reading books and playing, I like to do something different with her every now and then. 

A while ago, I found a neat craft that we could do together. I knew she would love it. The most important thing you need is a bag of these...

I pulled them out and she immediately wanted to eat some. I gave her a few and then told her that we would be painting a few to make a necklace.

I found the idea in this book called Gifts to Make for your favorite grownup, by Kathy Ross. Using every day materials, a child (with some help from an adult) can make unique gifts for the important big people in their life. The book was a fun dollar store find several years ago.

I gathered a few acrylic paints and the two of us painted some animal crackers. The book suggests painting these with permanent markers then coating them with some white glue on the front and back sides. While Kyla napped, I coated them with some glossy acrylic coating that came in a can. I let them dry for over an hour outside because of the strong smell. 

Using a hot glue gun, I glued a paper clip to the back of each one. After Kyla woke up, I showed her how to tie on some yarn to make the necklaces. I explained to her that these were not for eating because the paint would make her sick. She repeated, make me sick, and I said, yes. It's important to let the little ones know this when you make projects with paint and the glossy coating.

We kept them simple, but I think you could also braid some different colored yarn before tying it onto the paper clip. She was really excited to wear this tiger necklace. We put a couple in a bag for her mom and sister. She could not wait to give it to them. I thought they came out pretty cute. The two that I made went into my treasure box for the kids at church. 

Wouldn't it be neat to make these after you teach a lesson on Noah's Ark...or  after a school lesson on a certain type of animal? The girls can make the necklaces and the boys could make magnets by gluing on a small round magnet to the back side.

The possibilities are endless with this craft. Let me know if you make them and what you did differently. I would love to hear your ideas! :)

O is for One and Only Son

We had a wonderful time learning some things about God's only son Jesus, at Kids' Bible Club.

Bible time: I told short stories, highlighting some main events in Jesus' life. I began with his birth, then talked about His ministry, then ended with his death and resurrection. 

The memory verse was John 3:16 which says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We played The Secret Word game to review the verse. This was another idea from CEF. After explaining the verse and reciting the verse a few times, I had Mieka and Skylar write down a couple words from the lesson that they thought was the secret word. I told them before the story to be thinking of this. After they gave me their choices, I opened up the envelope and revealed the word. It was "love." Because God loved us so much, He sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins. The word was repeated in the story and in our verse.

Craft time: The kids made these "Jesus flags" using craft foam, straws and letters cut out from magazines. You can also use construction paper for this project. Before making these, we wrote out a list of the names of God. They both decided to do the same name--Lord. After gluing on each letter, I gave them the opportunity to decorate the rest of the flag with markers. Then, they taped the straws on so that they can wave their flag.

Snack time: The kids enjoyed making "O" necklaces using some yarn and Fruit Loops. I let them eat the broken cereal pieces as they worked, then I filled a snack bag for them to eat later.

Skylar made his necklace using two colors of his favorite football team--the Broncos. Mieka ended making hers into a bracelet. 

Can you guess who "P" stands for? I'll give you a clue: think about a man who praised God in a prison cell. Hmmmm....

Dr. Seuss story time

It was story time again at the local recreation center's day care. Story telling is right up my alley, so each month it has been fun preparing a program for my two groups.

Since it was Dr. Seuss's birthday earlier this month, the day care asked if my story time could revolve around that theme. I found a picture book called, The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew up to become Dr. Seuss, by Kathleen Krull. I read it to get a background on this famous children's author.

I borrowed this Cat in the Hat hat from the library. I walked into the day care wearing it and the kids loved it! 

I began by having the kids sing the opening song with me--"When ducks get up in the morning." Then, I shared three fun facts about Dr. Seuss before reading his first published book, And to think I saw it on Mulberry Street. Because one of the things the boy imagines is a brass band, I had the kids sing "The Finger Band" song with me. It's to the tune of "Here we go 'round the Mulberry Bush" so it's really easy to learn. I had the kids do the motions with me as we sang each verse.

The finger band is coming to town, coming to town, coming to town, 

The finger band is coming to town, so early in the morning. (wiggle fingers as they're pulled out from behind your back)

This is the way they wear their hats.....

This is the way they wave their flags.....

This is the way they beat their drums.....

This is the way they blow their horns.....

The finger band is going away, going away, going away,

The finger band is going away, so early in the morning. (sing quieter and wiggle fingers as they are put behind your back)

After the song, I read one of my favorite kids' books called, Are you my mother? by P.D. Eastman. After this, we did the following fingerplay:

Baby Bird

We are baby robins in a nest.

We are yawning...nodding...stretching.

We have all been fed,

And now we're in bed.

We are yawning...nodding...stretching.

The last book I read was another Dr. Seuss favorite. Perhaps it's one of yours, too. There's a Wocket in my Pocket is a fun story full of rhyming words and silly characters.

After this book, I asked the kids if they had wockets in their pockets. They dug in their pockets as I did mine. Then, one by one, I began pulling things that were not wockets, but they each had a piece of paper with a Dr. Seuss quote attached to them. In three of my pockets I had a toy car, domino, and wooden bead. The last pocket revealed a special guest....

...the Cat in the Hat! I borrowed this finger puppet from the library as well. The kids thought it was neat that he and I had matching hats.

I found some Dr. Seuss quotes from the internet to use for this fun activity. The ones I used were the following:

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere.

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

To go along with the "cat in the hat" theme, I read this poem to them:

One little cat on a sunny day

Put on his hat and went out to play.

Two little cats when it started getting dark

Put on their hats and went to the park.

Three little cats when the sky was blue

Put on their hats and went to the zoo.

Four little cats by the kitchen door

Put on their hats and went to the store.

Five little cats on a sunny day

Put on their hats and they all ran away.

I made these hat finger puppets to use with that poem. I placed them on my fingers one at a time as I read about each cat. They were made with felt and were super easy to make!

Before I left, I shared one more Dr. Seuss quote:

Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

Then, we sang our good-bye song. This story time was a lot of fun! It made me laugh when one of the kids said that when they got home, they were going to check to see if they had any wockets in their pockets.;)

Hope this gives you some ideas on sharing books, songs and poetry with the kids in your life.

It is well with my soul

These past few weeks have been filled with many emotions. I hope that by writing about the recent experience I have had, that I can be an encouragement to others.

In early February, Q and I found out we were expecting a little one. Because I had already lost a baby, I didn't know how excited I should be. The timing seemed just right; for the first time in a long time, I was content with however God would give us a child. But, two weeks later, I found myself in the doctor's office because things just didn't seem right. After a couple tests, he concluded that I had an ectopic pregnancy. The way to remove the baby from my only tube was to have an injection. He was hopeful and said that I could come in after the weekend to double check if I had a baby in my uterus. That night, I began having some pain and bleeding, so the next day, Q and I went to the Emergency Room. Although I wasn't very far along, we didn't want to take any chances with what could happen if the pain or bleeding increased. The doctors there confirmed the same thing, so we went ahead with the injection. I cried off and on with Q at my side. 

Although I was trying to be "cautious" with my excitement when I found out I was pregnant, I really wanted this baby to be okay. I wanted to be a mother this year. But God had another plan for this baby and He has a different plan for us.

Now I have two babies in Heaven. They are rejoicing with God. Some day I will see them, hug them and will not want to let go. 

Physically, I'm doing well. Because having an ectopic pregnancy increases the chances of having another one, I'm not sure what the future holds for me. Emotionally, it's still hard. Some days, I feel just fine, but when the tears come, they last a couple days at a time. It was really hard at first to be motivated to do things around the house, but I'm getting better with that. You may have noticed that I haven't blogged as much or that I haven't done a lot of crafting. This is why. I'm in the midst of redoing my to-do lists and praying about what God wants me to do in the days ahead.

I'm grateful for my family and the friends close by who have reached out to me in different ways. They've all prayed. Some have sent cards and made numerous phone calls when I was in the midst of the doctor's visits.

I received this Willow Tree figurine from a college friend this past weekend. It brought me to tears when I opened it. I am glad that I now have something to look at that gives me hope. If I never get to hold my own child here on earth, this is what Heaven will look like for me and my babies.

Finally, I am thankful to God for many things. Without Him, I couldn't be going through this with so much peace and contentment. Sure, it hasn't been always easy, but knowing that God has been with me through this second loss, has helped me so much. Even though it's hard to think of the future right now, I know that God is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to they power that worketh in us." (Ephesians 3:20) He's got a great plan for me and Q. I can't wait to find out how all this is going to come out for our good and for His glory. I'm also thankful that the Lord took care of me physically because of the danger associated with this type of pregnancy. God is good all the time. 

One of the songs that has meant a lot to me lately is "It is Well." I video taped myself playing it on the piano. It's still a bit hard to sing, but someday I'll be able to again. 

"When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; 

Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul....

Please keep us in your prayers as we look to God with this area in our lives. We appreciate all of you very much!

We're getting ready for planting!

It's that time of year again--planting season! Perhaps some of you have just started your gardening, too. I'll be planting seeds indoors in the next week or so, but in the meantime, this is what Q has been up to....

He has spent several hours already plotting out and digging our new garden area. You may remember that last year we shared a garden with an older couple from church. It was a fun learning experience and now we get to use what we know and do it by ourselves.

This is the what the plot looked like a few days ago. Q got a bit further on it yesterday. We're hoping to get some manure in and then test the soil. Once he's done, I'll measure it and let you know how big our garden's going to be. We have ideas on what we'd like to plant, including roma tomatoes again. We have plans for canning this year, so we have a big job ahead of us. It's exciting, isn't it? It's fun to watch things grow, save money and eat the fruit of your labors.:)

What are you planting this year? Do you have any tips for us as we start this endeavor? We would love to hear your ideas! Happy planting.;)

N is for Noah and the Ark

This week's theme in Kids' Bible Club was "N is for Noah and the Ark." We had a lot of rainbows to talk about, paint and eat! You'll see them as you keep reading... 

Bible Time: The story is found in Genesis chapters 6-9. The Bible account begins with God telling Noah how to build the ark. It ends with Noah and his family giving thanks to God as a rainbow appears in the sky as a promise that He'll never flood the earth again.

The memory verse was Genesis 9:13 which says, "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." I chose to do a treasure hunt with them to learn the verse. The idea for this came from Child Evangelism Fellowship. I wrote out the verse on a couple sheets of paper, using wide spacing between the lines. I cut the lines apart to make the strips. Then, I folded each piece and taped each one to a different spot around the downstairs area of the church. I wrote out a few clues and read them one at a time as they found the strips.

The clues we did were the following: "It's a fine place to sit down for a bite." (table) 

  "Keys that make music" (piano) 

  "Where there's dishes, there is a _____." (sink)

  "You've come to the right place if you're thirsty." 

(drinking fountain)

  "Don't hang up your dreams." (coat rack)

You could also do--"Where there's chalk, there's dust!" (chalkboard) or "God's Word is sharper than a sharpened pencil." (pencil sharpener)

When they were done gathering all the strips of paper, they placed them on the table in the correct order. Mieka and Skyler had a lot of fun with this review game.

Craft time: The kids painted rainbows using watercolor pencils. I showed them how to spread the colors using a paintbrush after adding some color with the pencils. They also painted the rainbows in the correct color order--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

When they were done, they glued on some cotton for the clouds. I cut out the rainbows, punched a hole and added some yarn so that they could be hung up anywhere. They decided to tie them around their necks before they left to go home.

Snack time: Skylar helped me put this rainbow salad together. I chose five fruits, all of a different color. Kiwi, red grapes, pineapple chunks, blueberries and tangerine slices made up our beautiful rainbow. We also made clouds using whipped cream. The kids enjoyed making their own mini rainbows on their plates before eating it up!

Come back next time to find out what the letter "o" is for! You're really going to like this one!:)