Dr. Seuss week

Last week, June 1-6, we kicked off summer with Dr. Seuss week. TV watching had gotten a little out of control and I wanted to get refocused and start the summer right. So, no TV except The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That in the afternoon (and a couple mornings before we got up). We also read a different Dr. Seuss book every day and had a snack and activity that went along with the book of the day. It was so fun. They looked forward to it every day and by the end of the week didn't seem to mind not watching much TV. So, here's what we did:

Monday

Oh The Thinks You Can Think

Schlopp with a cherry on top (applesauce colored with food coloring with an m&m on top)

"I can think about me" book (a little construction paper book with drawings of their favorite things)

Tuesday

The Cat in the Hat

Cat's hat kabobs (strawberries and bananas sliced and stuck on toothpicks)

Wednesday

Dr. Seuss' ABC book

B is for bubbles

D is for doughnuts

S is for sipping soda pop

Thursday

Green Eggs and Ham

Green pancakes

Rhyming words matching eggs

Friday

One Fish Two Fish

Colored goldfish with a color matching worksheet 

(And a cute baby foot that got in the picture)

Hand cutout fish

Saturday 

There's a Wocket in my Pocket

Scavenger hunt around the house (I copied pages of the book and had them hunt for all the crazy creatures around the house)

Yottle in a bottle 

Butterflies!

So, raising butterflies was awesome. The kids really enjoyed it. I may have enjoyed it even more. It was amazing seeing the chrysalides and getting to hold butterflies. 

Here's May 11 while they were just forming their chrysalides. This was the hardest stage because they weren't doing anything and the kids couldn't stand not messing with them. BTW, one caterpillar didn't make it. No idea what happened. He just never grew. So we had 4 at this stage. 

May 13 we moved them to the habitat. It was still very slow and boring for a while. 

May 18, the first butterfly hatched. We were all so excited. They were ready to take him outside almost immediately but we kept him to watch for a while. 

The other three hatched the next day. We kept them about a week and then let them go. The one laying on the bottom in the above picture didn't ever fly well. One wing dried bent. He was pretty cool though because he was easy to hold. The kids really enjoyed having that one. This was quite an experience. We may do it again one day when I can incorporate it into school. 

Raising caterpillars

For her birthday, Megan got a butterfly garden that comes with a coupon to get live caterpillars to raise into butterflies. So fun! We got the caterpillars in the mail yesterday. The kids are amazed. They love to sit at the table and just stare at them while they crawl around in their cup and eat. It's pretty slow, though. Kind of like watching grass grow. 

Our weekend in pictures

Matt's been working hard leading the constant volunteer groups that have been at the camp since January 1, so when the last group left last week he took today and tomorrow off to invest a little time in our family. We have finished a huge project and had some fun as well. Here's a few highlights. 

Supper Sunday night around the fire pit. Hot dogs and Kiolbasa followed by:

Marshmallows! It was supposed to be s'mores but someone forgot the crackers. 

The shop is painted! It's only been there unpainted for 7 years. 

Supper tonight at Bastrop State Park. 

The park looks so different since the fire 4 years ago. You can see forever from the overlook now. 

They have a great playground!

Caleb's first time in a swing!

Tomorrow's plans include (Lord willing and if it doesn't rain): fishing, blackberry picking, fun at a park, supper out, and a baseball game!

6 Month Chunky Monkey

On February 28, Caleb reached 6 months old! Time really does fly! 

My littlest baby has turned out to be my chunkiest monkey. Here's a little update:

Weight: 17 pounds 8 ounces

Length: 24 inches 

Mobility: loves to get on his knees then flop down and push himself backwards. 

Teeth: none yet but teething and drooling hard. 

Sleeping: not great; still waking me 1-3 times per night; wearing me out and making me depend on God's strength alone!

Talking: we can't understand him yet but when he's in the right mood he tells the best stories!

Favorite people: Daddy, James, and Megan! Of course he loves mommy too. 

Favorite place to hang out: his jumper that hangs between our room and the kitchen. 

He's generally a good natured baby who loves snuggles and Eskimo kisses. He always has his tongue out and if you get close enough you're sure to get some slobber kisses. His eyes are clear blue and his hair is looking mighty red. The verdict is still out on what shade it will be. I'm told red hair and blue eyes is the rarest combination. 

Thankful Project #5: daddy

Our last thankful project was to thank Matt. He works so hard to provide for his family. He adores these kids and they adore him. After a long day of work he loves to get down on the floor and wrestle, take them out for one on one time, or just let them tag along with him wherever he's going. He's a great husband and makes sure I have everything I need to be the best I can be. I could go on and on about this guy. He deserves our thanks every day for all the ways he takes care of us. 

We surprised him with cookies he loves and doesn't get very often and some love notes:

Some cute pictures of Matt and the kids:

Elephant butt!

Thankful Project #4: Servants at church

There are so many people who serve at our church. There are pastors, deacons, nursery workers, volunteers, and Sunday School teachers to name a few. In the preschool area there are so many workers, teachers, and volunteers who sacrifice their time so that my kids are safe and learning about Jesus while I am worshipping. They do such an amazing job that my kids absolutely love going to church. I posted a video on facebook of J and M jumping around and screaming because they were so excited to go to church. Last week we made gingerbread cookies and delivered them on Sunday to some of those who serve. Just a small thank you for the investment they have made into my family's spiritual growth. 

The kids love making cookies!

The finished treats:

Thankful Project #3: Thank a service member

So, this was done a while ago, but things have been going on. Also, it's #3 because I started it first and finished the other one quicker. Project #3 is thanking a service member. Matt's oldest nephew is an active military member in Georgia so we sent him a care package with treats and pictures colored by the kids. It was interesting explaining to the kids what the military is. I didn't do a very good job the first time. 

My silly kids:

James is holding a bag of homemade deer jerky if you were wondering. 

Thankful Project #2: fire fighters

Next up for thanking is the South Lee County Volunteer Fire Department. The kids colored pictures and I wrote a card and included a couple encouraging Bible verses. Just a simple, "Thank you!" Since it is such a small VFD there's usually no one there so we put our notes in an envelope and taped them to the door. 

It was bright. 😃

RACK #1

Another project I have come up with is to do random acts of Christmas kindness (RACKs) all through the month of December. One is coming early though. Each of the kids got a box for Operation Christmas Child to fill and take back to church. They are due this Sunday. We spent about $10 to fill each box. We filled the boxes with toys, toothbrushes, wash cloths, soap, coloring pages, crayons, and stickers. The kids had fun picking out toys for them. Today they colored little notes for them and packed the boxes to take Sunday. 

Coloring pictures

Holding up their favorite things from their boxes. 

Thankful Project #1

Partly inspired by Daniel Tiger's Thankful Day, I decided we are going to do thankful projects leading up to Thanksgiving. I want to teach the kids (and myself) to say thank you. And not just when someone does something nice. We are intentionally going out of our way to thank people who are rarely thanked but greatly deserve it. Here's my initial list of ideas:

Fire Department

Sheriff's Department

Pastors and church staff

Sunday school teachers and volunteers

A military member

Daddy/Matt

Dr Juno 

First up, Lee County Sheriff's Department. A couple days ago we made apple cinnamon muffins. They are so good and I almost always have all the ingredients. I got the recipe off the box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix. This morning we delivered them with a thank you note to the sheriff's department. They kept asking me who we were with and were surprised when I told them it was just from us. As a bonus, the sheriff's name is Rodney. Our James Rodney thought that was pretty cool. 

Waiting for the sheriff to come out

We found out we know some of his neighbors and I worked with his mom in the kitchen at Camp Tejas. 

This was fun! Let's see how many more we can get done in the next couple weeks. 

James is 4!

Just a quick post for now. Stay tuned for a longer post about James' party. He is definitely growing up. He disappeared into his room about 30 minutes ago and has been playing with his new toys alone since then!  There was also a lesson today on tithing and saving before we could go spend his birthday money. I'm proud to say that out of the $25 he got, $5 will go to Jesus and $7 has been put in savings.   And we had fun shopping for a new toy with the rest. 

A preview of the birthday post: Grandpa got the prize for picking out the best gift. They have asked to play play-doh several times each day since Saturday. And, yes, there are tiny balls of play-doh all over my table and floor. Thanks, dad!

Our week in pictures

It's the end of day nine. It's been a fun week. Here's a few of the things we have done since arriving in Virginia. 

Mam'ma has a great backyard! A fence and lots of fun toys. 

Auntie 'Lisa just had to get a picture. (Melissa is #2 of 7)

This is Clayton Newsome. He and his wife Joan play games with Matt's parents frequently and they've known the family a very long time. They even came to Texas for our wedding. 

Meg eats breakfast several times every morning. She eats early then mooches off everyone who sits down to eat. She was loving Pap'pa's Rice Krispies that morning. 

Saturday we went to Chuck E Cheese with Ann's crew and Melissa. That was the kids' first time going and my first time in a long time. We all had a blast. 

Meg and Matt racing. They won three races in a row, of course. 

This was their favorite game. 

This one is so cool. Melissa and I had to pump the pedals so The bike would go up in the air. 

Meg was a little shy at first, but once she warmed up, she went down this slide over and over again. 

This one is cool. Each colored thing is a drum and the speakers are in an arch over their heads so only they can hear it. 

Ours and Ann's. They spent the weekend with us since they won't be here for Thursday. (Ann is #6 of 7) 

We went to church this morning and evening. Tonight was just a Thanksgiving meal plus a few songs and sharing thankful stories. Davy got lots of points with Meg by giving her sweet tea. Yummmm!

And that's our week!  Looking forward to our last 4 days. 

Horses and drums

Today we drove from Davy's in South Carolina to Mart's parents' house in Virginia. Not very eventful except for the pretty trees and stopping for lunch at Deb's house in North Carolina. For those unfamiliar with the Wall clan, Deb and Davy are Matt's siblings numbers 1 and 3 respectively. Deb was about 30 minutes out of the way for us but definitely worth it. She fed us and she has horses and a drum set. The kids were thrilled. 

Their names are Joy and Bella. The kids both loved feeding them. -anyone see anything missing?-

Meg just cried when I put her on Joy's back. She didn't stay up there long. James was not sure about it at first but he did sit on her back. -there's that missing item from the last picture!–

She was supposed to stand still but when James grabbed her mane she started walking. Obviously, James was thrilled. 

And the drum set. He's a natural. But no, he doesn't need a set. There is no room in my house for drums. And they may all wind up with holes in them overnight. There is a video of him playing on Facebook. Meg hit a couple of the drums but they were too loud for her. 

How's that for pictures shared, Gigi?