The Pharos

Without me telling you, you'd probably never guess what this is a picture of. Yes, it's our Firstborn, and he's holding the Pharos Lighthouse! Of course, it's our replica of it that we made during school time yesterday. If you don't know, the Pharos is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was in Alexandria, Egypt, and it was huge and well-known and respected for that reason. It's disintegrated now, so there are no ruins to visit, but the memory of it lives on. And now we have our very own copy at our home--made from a Pringles can and some paper! We don't do too many crafts, but I do try to incorporate them once in a while, as the boys love them. It makes school even more fun. But I must say that honestly, school is such a joy. It has its moments of being mundane, but I adore being a homeschool mommy and learning along with my boys as well as just being with them all day long. Who else but a classically-oriented homeschool mama can tell you from memory that the other six Wonders of the Ancient World are The Colossus of Rhodes, The Great Pyramids, The Mausoleum, the Temple of Artemis, The Hanging Gardens, and the Statue of Zeus!  :) Ha! I'm so blessed to have the job I have....

Mama, Pea Read Me Dat Book

This is one of the Littlest's first totally-correct longer sentences to form. (When I say totally correct, I mean that he did not skip any words). He said it to me tonight--at 22 months. We were watching Swiss Family Robinson as a fam, and he came up to me asking for that. He is so preciously adorable to me! And boy is he a talker....as Jim says, he's a yammerer!!!  :)

Little Men

Our boys love to help Daddy bring in wood from the woodpile for a fire. Here they are today being big, strong boys and helpers. What a joy it is to watch them grow up. They make me so proud!

Our Own Olmec Head

We read last week for history about some of the ancient American civilizations. We learned about the Nazca Lines in Peru and about the Olmecs who made huge statues of the heads of their leaders. Well, since our snow wouldn't pack down for us yesterday when we wanted to make a snowman, we just made a snowman head, and it's like we have our own Olmec head now.  :)  Funny thing is how the eyes and mouth were gone today--they were made from Lifesavers and Jolly Ranchers. We don't know if neighborhood kids got to them or the squirrels!

I'm cute

Enough said!

Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer

On Sunday morning at church during communion, one of our ladies sang this song. It was so beautiful and so moving that I wanted to post the lyrics and expose you to Kristyn Getty singing it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. May it strengthen you to endure through the trials of life for the glory of the one true God! (If you have trouble listening to it on here, just go to Youtube and listen to it there).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOVGChMsPsg

Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labor through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I'll follow, though I'm worn.

May this journey bring a blessing,
May I rise on wings of faith;
And at the end of my heart's testing,
With Your likeness let me wake.

Jesus guide me through the tempest;
Keep my spirit staid and sure.
When the midnight meets the morning,
Let me love You even more.

Let the treasures of the trial
Form within me as I go -
And at the end of this long passage,
Let me leave them at Your throne.

A cage for our monkey

I often refer to the three boys as my monkeys. Well, our Littlest Monkey is actually the BIGGEST monkey of all! He is the first to climb out of the crib repeatedly. Our firstborn never once did it that I recall. Our second monkey did it a time or two, but after his heinie was tanned, he decided against it. This guy, however, seems to have a heinie of steel, because in the last week or so, there's been almost no keeping him in that thing! He even surprised us in the middle of the night last night (4:48 am to be precise) by greeting us in the hallway outside our bedroom door after rattling the doorknobs. Well, that was it. Last straw. We have now ensured (Lord-willing!) that the monkey will stay in his cage. We have borrowed a crib tent from some friends, and so far, no problems! Hallelujah!!!!   :)  I'm thankful to live in a day and age where such crazy contraptions exist.

Sledding!

Just returned from sledding! How fun! We have a large hill right by us on the Shelby Campus of U of L. The boys and Jim and I had a marvelous time! I just have to point out that it's 18 degrees here and 75 in Houston. I can't believe that!!!!!  :) Praise God for winter!

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New Year's Day

Okay, so I'm about a week late on this post. But we had a great time! We had gotten our hands on some coupons to Gattiland right by our house, so we ate some yummy pizza and played a bit after lunch. The big boys had the time of their life with their daddy on the bumper cars.  And sweet baby boy had his first carousel ride. We are so blessed!

First Snow 2010

Well, we awoke to snow, and it snowed all day today! We couldn't wait for it to accumulate much before getting into it! We were sledding down the small hills in the neighborhood. What fun times! More may follow tomorrow, if we can make a snowman!!!

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"Daddy, fight!"

This phrase can be heard of late coming out of the mouth of our littlest! What it means is that he wants to fight Daddy with our pool noodle light sabers. (See birthday post to understand the light sabers). Anyway, the latest form of exercise and entertainment in our testosterone-based household originated at Biggest's 6th birthday party a few weeks ago, and is now a staple in our home. In fact, if you come visit, you will likely be invited to Battle. I have to admit--even as a woman--Battle is fun indeed! The enjoyment of this activity, which actually counts nicely as aerobic winter exercise, is greatly enhanced by Battle Music. Battle Music consists of Christian rap music--with the volume cranked up to a pretty obnoxious level! Now, lest you think this music sound incredibly cheesy, you MUST listen for yourself, because the quality of it is actually top notch! Probably our number one song is Don't Waste Your Life by Lecrae (yes he's a John Piper fan). A close second is Jesus is Alive by Shai Linne. Then I also love Go Hard by Lecrae. Check 'em out!!! Here are the links.

Don't Waste Your Life by Lecrae

Jesus is Alive by Shai Linne.

Go Hard by Lecrae