Just some pictures

Just a happy boy...most of the time;)!

Daddy, Simeon, and Abbi hiding from

mommy in a "cave." (inspired by "The Hobbit")

Prepare the patlpoats

Simeon and Abbi have been acting out scenes from books and movies lately. One of my favorites is a scene between Octavius (Simeon) and Jed (Abbi). Simeon is supposed to yell "prepare the catapults" but what normally comes out is "prepare the patlpoats." Other than Simeon using "th" for his "f's" he normally does a good job on his pronunciation, which is probably why I think it is so funny to hear him say patlpoats. I asked him to repeat what he had just said so I could get it on camera. Not the best but if you listen carefully, you can hear his pronunciation of catapults, and you will also notice that the camera shakes due to an attack on me by "Jed."

Grandparents

This past weekend we took the kids to visit lots and lots of grandparents. The great-grands had not met Abraham yet, so we thought this would be a great time to introduce him before he got much bigger.

Our first stop was Great-Granny P's, which also included Grandma and Grampsie. Great Granny greeted us with a delicious chocolate pie, which Simeon couldn't seem to get enough of.

Next we went to Great-Granny and Great-Pappa J's which included the "J" clan minus 3 (maybe next time?).

Great Granny's house has a great staircase for the kids to go up and down on, plus a "jail" upstairs, as Simeon would say. Actually it was a closet, but a very neat one that kept the kids occupied for a while. They would hunt monsters and bears and lock them up. They also caught a Gramma and a couple of uncles and locked them up. It was a great weekend!

Abbi chillin' with Uncle Sam and Uncle Ben

This is a four generation picture on the "J" side.

for Uncle Jeff

We hope this is an encouragement to my Uncle Jeff, who is currently in the hospital. We love you and are praying for you. Simeon insisted on wearing the hat;)!

"The Lord bless you and keep you,

The Lord make his face shine upon you,

And give you peace,

And give you peace,

And give you peace forever."

Today's Activities

Today we made snowmen for our windows. I know we are little late in the season but it was still fun. I cut snowmen shapes out of brown paper and scarves and hats out of felt. Simeon and Abbi used a pencil sharpener to make crayon shaving. They arranged their shavings on wax paper and helped me iron the paper shut. I know the picture is a little dark but they are very pretty when the sun shines in.

After the above craft we turned into pirates. We drew a treasure map of our house, grabbed our swords and put on our accents. We followed the map through the house to a treasure of gobstoppers. The kids didn't expect to find a real treasure but were very pleased when they did.

I know the drawing is a bit on the bad side - but at least the kids could still read it ;)

An evening of reading

Dragons and trolls and dwarves - oh my! Throw in a great story teller and two children eager to hear and you have made the recipe for our newest family tradition. We have always read to our children - that's not the "new" part, but we are now adding books that will encourage more imagination and reading/listening comprehension. We are using this time to read stories that will broaden their vocabulary and help them to think out of the box. Our first book of the season is The Hobbit by Tolkien. The first couple of days Mark was only able to get through 2 or 3 pages before the kids lost interest. Now Mark reads a chapter and Simeon still wants to hear more! Who can blame him for wanting more when you have a story teller like Daddy! Daddy uses so many voices and captures the mood so well that you feel as though you are part of the story too! Yes he is my husband - but I still have bragging rights and I think that Mark is one of the best story tellers ever! And for those of you who are concerned...we still read the kid books too!

Sweet rewards

Some friends of ours started a sticker chart to encourage good behavior in their children. We thought that was a good idea and started a sprinkle system. It seems as though at times we get so caught up in punishing the bad things that our children do that we forget to also encourage and reward the good. This is a visual reminder to all of us to remember the good. When Mark or I see the kids helping cheerfully or cleaning up without being asked to, they get a spoonful of sprinkles added to their jars. When their jars are full, they will receive a prize...this time a pez dispenser.