Daily Activities

Cailyn wakes up each morning and wants to know what "activity" are we going to do after breakfast!! Her breakfast is cheerios almost every morning and Corban will pretty much eat anything you give him (strawberries, blueberries, banana, apple sauce, toast, yogurt)!! We head out to the library on Tues. mornings and she loves the read along time even though she only sits or stands on her colored square instead of participating in all of the movements. She is very much into obversing and not performing. She picks out some books and does some of the puzzles and we are on our way. In the meantime we start out encouraging Corban to listen to the stories and end up giving him a "nack" as he says it so he will sit still. We have enjoyed many different activities.

Cooking chocolate pudding ~ even Corban got in on this activity!!


We have moved on to lower case "a", working through the letters in her name. We read this book and she did a great job of making an apple. She would sit and let you read to her almost every minute of the day!!

Daddy O has lots of practice with tea time with little girls. Cailyn thinks it is so funny that Daniel wants to do "her activity"

Before the night ends we have learned to play dominoes and of course our singing time with Daddy O. Yes, she wanted to wear her glasses and Baby Lima wanted to sit and enjoy our singing time. She sang full voice that night ~ her favorite song, Our God is an Awesome God!!

CHANGES

As i ran today the word "changes" came to me. My mind was flooded with changes!

a new house being built since I was last on this street

our house is lived in now, not as it was when it was first built

the girls have both married

I have starting running

grandchildren are here in the states

there are friends I don't talk to as often anymore

there are other friends who I keep up with more these days

These were some of the first that popped into my mind. The constant I most enjoy is that God walks with us, He is always on this journey with me, actually me with Him. I take comfort in this idea. I have been going back through the Experiencing God study and I'm on the chapters about God speaking to us. I love the process of listening and then realizing I have read scripture that I've read many times but now a new thought is there. I love to just think on those new thoughts and wonder what am I suppose to learn. I try to journal my thoughts so I don't lose them.

October 22nd was my mom's b-day. Many memories flashed in my mind. I had a friend ask me if I remembered my time with mom after I was married and even after I had children. Good question. I remember much, it was a great exercise as I am now the "momma" with adult married children and married children with their own children. Relationships with your married children is precious. I love to watch Alison still giggle as Justin teases her or listen to her jokes toward him. Watching Alison and Justin parent has made me very proud of their selflessness that is required. Daniel and I recently were able to be hosted by Hannah and Jason in their first home. They were so gracious as they shared their home and let us in on some prayer requests as they begin this season. I loved to watch them as they walked hand in hand on the water front they live near. Our relationship with our parents is such a process. I could only thank God a million times over as He took my mom to be with Him in 2000. So if she were here I would still want her advice on how to handle these ever growing relationships with the girls as they have married and grow into adulthood. She was a great example and God helped me work through her weak areas in order to show me she was human. So helpful!!

So changes, I don't want to be afraid of what God has around the corner. I want to be content with today and excited about tomorrow!! Changes, what changes are happening in your life??

We are having TOO MUCH FUN!!

Probably my favorite activity with the girls when they were little was going to the library and getting specific books to talk about whatever subject we were into at the time!! I have found a great site that gives ideas for art work and books reviews about certain subjects. Cailyn and I did the Upper Case "C" last week. We enjoyed the cutest book entitled Bob and Otto - about a caterpillar and a worm!! We have carried that book in the car all week. Baking cupcakes was also part of our time of talking about "C".

Cailyn doesn't like carrots and so we made up a song about "i don't like carrots..." (much laughter!!) We are going to talk about leaves this week. Can't wait to do some leaf rubbings and read some books about leaves!! Cupcakes on the front porch were enjoyed by ALL!!

Another activity we have enjoyed is a couple of trips to the children's museum. This is the museum Hannah and Jason got married in and so every time we go we have sweet memories. There is a tot spot activity on the first Friday of the month and it is a time for 3-5 year olds to visit the museum and to participate in an art project. It was all about doing art with metals last week. Cailyn was proud of her artwork!!
Fun on the pretend ambulance,and Corban is running the lights for a Broadway Show while Cailyn is saying, "Honey, you go, I'm getting dressed up!!




The ACU Homecoming Carnival was fun this year in a whole new way for Daniel and I since we were able to share it with Corban and Cailyn. As you can see the FULL FACE PAINTING was the first thing Cailyn wanted to do. Of course immediately her nose itched but she did a great job of leaving it on until bath time later. There were lots of joy jumps, joy slides, a great petting zoo!

Cool weather, Relaxing, Games, Laughter,and Eating!!!

As soon as I got on the airplane to come home from DC, I began to journal -- I didn't want to forget my reflections of our trip to see Hannah and Jason. Since then I have tried to think of words that would describe the time. We totally enjoyed a hug and just being in Hannah and Jason's presence. Our love for them made them the main attraction and not the sites in DC. If the Lord wills, there will be other trips to DC, but we wanted to relax and enjoy our kids!!

We took two games -- Bocce Ball, I got a set for them at Target on sale for 15.00. It was a great set, the brand and weight of balls I was looking for. So, yes, we took it in our suitcase which made it very heavy. The second game, you know, our favorite right now -- Settlers of Catan. They liked it so much we played two different nights.

We also went to a great pizza place -- Vapiano, located in Chinatown. This was an upscale, somewhat eclectic place. No servers/waiters, just cooks behind a counter. Each client receives a plastic card that is scanned by the cooks as you order. The seating was a mixture of family style, long tables and another section more along the lines of a sports bar. It was really loud and colorful and full of energy. Of course we raised the median age by a few years! The food was good and we had a great time. Our picture kinda wraps up the night at Vapianos!

I made "Thanksgiving" dinner since we will not see them at Thanksgiving. Complete with dressing, turkey from the deli, green bean casserole, rolls, and pie for dessert -- apple, Hannah's favorite, and pumpkin, Jason's favorite. We actually all loved it!!

One of the fun things was that we were able to get our eyes on Hannah's school. She is a speech pathologist working with mostly 18-22 yr. olds. The architecture of the building is quite unique. Each section of the building has different ages and activities. They even had a really neat garden that the students work with. All of the students are disabled in some way.


We also were able to attend the church they are part of. Daniel and I are reading a book that their preacher, Mark Batterson, has written entitle In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day. It is challenging us to ask ourselves whether we are a people who run from our fears or are we a "lion chaser" -- people who face our fears, as hard as it may be. Are we praying bold prayers or do we just want life to be easy?

So, our trip felt wonderful as we were able to know where they are and what it looks like.

Thank you, Father for the time with our kids.


As Daniel and I leave on the metro -- Our last glimpse