April Home Preschool

We've done a few fun activities this month. We made sailboats from ice cube trays and attached foil for the sales. Then we floated them in the sand and water table in the backyard (thank you Guinness family for the loan of the table!) Enoch had fun playing with the foil while Abby sailed the boats. Another day she enjoyed using a medicine dropper to move colored water from one bowl to another. This was a great activity to do while I was making dinner.

We have a nice little sidewalk close to our house that is covered with trees. We brought our little people there. Abby made a wonderful little house and garden for them out of the twigs, berries, leaves, etc. that she found nearby. Enoch was so good to just sit in the wagon and play while she made her creation. I love to see her playing pretend and using nature to build things instead of being reliant on toys. I remember making houses for my Glamor Gals (anyone remember those?) when I was little. I used moss for the carpet in the houses I built for them outside. We're looking forward to spending more time outside now that the weather is nice.

I Can Read!

Abby was in the bathroom the other night getting ready for bed when I heard her say "mmmmmmmmmmmmm ooooooooooo mmmmmmmmmmmmmm" She kepts saying that over and over. I went in there to see what she was doing. There was a magazine open that had the word "Mom" written in large letters. I asked her what she was doing. She said she was trying to read that word. I said, "oh, okay," and I walked out of the room. She kept working on it until she figured it out on her own. She ran all over the house saying, "I can read, I can read, I can read!" Since then, she has really been interested in learning to read. We have started using a book called, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." She's on lesson 24 and is doing very well. She likes to "read" her Bible and "read" to her friend, Mary. What a wonderful gift to be able to give a child, the gift of reading!

Camp Pops and Nana II

My sister, Alissa and her boys joined us for "Camp Pops and Nana." We spent several days at my parents house, it was so great for the cousins to be able to play together. Alissa and her family live in Maryland, so we don't get to see them very often. This was Abby's first time to dye Easter eggs. We made a scavenger hunt for them and the end prize was their Easter baskets. I loved seeing Nana and all the kids piled on the bed for bedtime stories. Later during the week, we spent some time in Nashville at the zoo. We hardly looked at the animals, the boys declared the zoo playground as the best playground in the world. We're sad that my other sister, Anna and her family were not able to join us this year. We look forward to next year!

Neighborhood Easter

Our neighborhood hosts an Easter egg hunt party each year. They had a magician, an egg hunt, cotton candy and popcorn. My sister, Alissa and her family were here for a visit and were able to attend the party with us. Moni and Pawi walked down to join in the fun, too.

Enoch @ 9 Months

Enoch is finally sleeping through the night consistently! He's also started crawling. He does his own unique version of crawling. He looks like an inchworm and sometimes it looks like he's swimming or something. He uses total upper body strength to move. He's already begun to find the things that are off limits for babies, like the fireplace and our Roomba vacuum cleaner.

Apples of Gold

A few years ago while living in Arkansas, I tried to start a mentoring program for women called, "Apples of Gold" at the church we attended. Unfortunately, the older women never seemed to have enough time to participate. We were recently going through our bookshelves to sell some back to a used bookstore. I saw the book and thought, this study will never happen, so we sold it. A few weeks later, it was announced that our church was going to have an "Apples of Gold" class. I knew I had to sign up for it. We met for 3 hours during the evening for 8 weeks. Each night we were greeted at the door with hugs from the mentors. We enjoyed appetizers as we watched a cooking and homemaking demonstration. We were led in a Bible study and then enjoyed discussion over dinner that was prepared for us. These women invested so much time and energy into our lives. It was evident that each of the women were passionate about mentoring, not one of them was pressured or guilted into being there. Our class of mentees enjoyed each other and have been keeping in touch since the end of the class. I'm so thankful to have been a part of the "Apples of Gold" program and hope to be able to serve in another class.

Papa and Memaw's visit

Memaw and Papa, Elijah's parents, came for a visit. We went to visit the Cheekwood Botanical gardens. It was beautiful! I brought pictures of springtime flowers so we went on a scavenger hunt for the flowers. We also met Elijah's Uncle John and Aunt Sue at Cracker Barrel.

Daddy & Daughter Dance

Abby and I have started to have special Daddy and Daughter dates, but this is our first dance together :)

Fellowship Bible Church organized an event just for Fathers and their daughters. Abby got to dress up in one of her pretty dresses, I dressed up in a suit (which is a rarity), I bought her a rose, and then we headed to the dance.

I think Abby's favorite part of the whole night was the chocolate fountain that they had with strawberries, marshmallows, and pretzel sticks. She also was very fond of going to the ice cream store afterwords.

Two of Abby's close friends were there as well, Bethany Guinness and Grace Talley. Us fathers and girls danced the the hokey poky, joined in the conga line, motioned to the makarana, and participated in other such dances.

We both had a great time and made some very good memories that I think we will both remember for a long time. I hope to make this a yearly tradition.

Monkey's Tree House

There's a great place to play in town called, The Monkey's Tree house. It's perfect for a rainy or hot day. They have a section for little ones to crawl around in, an indoor tree house, a sandbox, dress up clothes, an art section, a pretend grocery store and more. We met the Guinness family there this time.

Ugly Bug Ball

The Ugle Bug Ball is an opportunity for the children at Mustard Seed Preschool to come dressed up as “ugly bugs.” Abby dressed as a bumble bee. They've been discussing creeping animals in creation at school. Several stations were set up to play as and talk about what insects and creeping animals can do. The children also participated in an “Ugly Bug Parade” down the hallways of the preschool.

Enoch @ 8 Months

Enoch cut his first two teeth this month. He's usually such a happy baby, but cutting teeth is rough stuff. He's also had several ear infections that never seem to clear up after the first antibiotic. He loves to swing on the back porch

Down by the River

The community we live in has a paved trail that runs by the river. There's one place we're able to get down the river. We love to throw rocks in the river. This was Enoch's first time to join us, he loved riding in the back pack!

FPU Game Night

Our community group has been going through Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace" course. We took a break one night to have a taco and game night. We played Apple's to Apple's and Catch Phrase. The kids played a Disney Bingo game. Fun times.

Pawi's 90th Birthday

We were honored to attend my grandfather's surprise birthday party. Pawi was celebrating his 90th birthday and he was definitely surprised. My Aunt, Carole, and my Dad did a great job planning the party. Many of his friends were able to come and those who weren't sent cards and letters. We are so blessed to have Moni and Pawi and have learned so much from the wisdom they have shared with us over the years.

Dr. Seues Birthday

They celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday at Abby's preschool. The children dressed up as characters from Dr. Seuss books. Abby dressed up as Horton the Elephant, from the book, "Horton Hears a Who." It was fun to see all the creative costumes.

Brotherly Love

Enoch is getting big enough for Abby to start including him in her play. She invited him to come to her tea party along with her other animal friends. He sat right there with her and listened closely to what she was telling him. He also played the part of baby Moses while she was Miriam. We've re-enacted this story before, but always had to use a baby doll for Moses. It was fun to use a real baby this time! He didn't want to stay in the basket for too long, though. I've also overheard Abby making the two of them a "secret hideout." I love to see them playing together!

Feburary Home Preschool

I haven't been keeping up with doing our "home preschool" activities as much as I had planned, but every now and then we do some pretty fun things at home. I've found a great website with some great simple activities to do at home. Abby enjoyed cutting beads from a Mardi Gras necklace and gluing them onto her name. Enoch won't be able to be that close when he starts crawling! She also practiced her cutting skills using small strips of cardstock, which is less flimsy than printer paper and the narrow strips are easier to handle.

Expanded Snowmen Family

We only had one snow day this winter and there was hardly any snow. Enoch and I watched from the window as Abby and Elijah made a miniature snowman family like last year, only this year, there was one extra snow baby!

A Mommy in the Works

I'm amazed at the maternal instinct that God gives to little girls. It's so precious to see Abby care for her baby doll and her brother Enoch. I've carried Enoch around in a sling and Elijah came up with the idea to make Abby her own sling for her baby doll which she calls Enoch. We used a towel and a chip clip to hold it together. There are also days that she really enjoys helping with housework. I've been encouraging her to learn how to do the laundry, wash dishes, etc. because someday God might give her a family and home of her own. She'll need to know how to take care of them. I pray that she is learning how to care tenderly for babies and children and that some day God will bless her with her own family to care for.

Enoch @ 7 Months

Enoch's doing well eating baby food. Abby really enjoys feeding him, which has been very helpful. I've also given him huge pieces of vegetables to chew on that he couldn't choke on. He gets the flavor of the vegetables and it feels good on his gums.