The Seven Day Experiment

Last night, at church, we finished our Bible study on 1 Thessalonians. It was a great study and I wish I could of gone to all the lessons. Last night we closed with a challenge this week. Every day this week we are to do something special that had to do with the book we were studying. Today's was "Rejoice in God's presence in each place you go."

When I read that, I thought, wow... in each place I go? Do we really do that? I mean do we rejoice in God's presence at the grocery store? At work? While we are doing endless loads of laundry? While we are changing a dirty diper? I think that if we were honest with ourselves we would have to say that we aren't rejoicing most of the time. Do we smile on the outside but are angry at God on the inside?

So, today as I woke up to no snow day, so I was already in a mood. So, I began the day thanking God for the oppertunity to teach His children today. You know... God opened my eyes at the end of the day. Do you know what I saw today? I was hugged for the first time by several children and got a kiss from one. I saw children looking to me for acception, approval, and praise which shows a sign of respect and love. Children were excited to be at school and couldn't wait until the next activity. I came home to a clean house with a husband cooking an AMAZING dinner. My child was asleep and I had nothing to do but sit down and rejoice God for it. I then was able to see my son walk to me on his own and give me a hug and kiss. Later, I was able to talk to a parent that is going to start their child at school next week. Our school was able to bless her and I got to tell her the news... I could tell that she was in tears and touched by the blessing.

Praise God for all that He does... sometimes we don't look at the little things. Aren't the every day blessings just as important?

Playing In The Snow

I made my first snowman today. Ok, it is way harder than it looks. I think the head fell off two times. Ethan just sat and watched. Then I had him come with me to find sticks for the arms. He kept on imitating me saying "sticks." It was so funny. I then called to Dave to get me a carrot (he was inside cooking lunch) for the snowman's nose. I broke off half of the head from putting the nose on too hard. Seriously. After trying my best to fix Mr. Snowman, I got birdseed and put it all around him so that we could enjoy watching the birds from the front window. Dave then came outside to take pictures of Ethan's first snow angel.
I love this picture of him. I know what he is thinking. "My mom has lost it!" I then put him down to make his own...
I am not quite sure what was going through his mind... maybe something like, "My mom has lost it!"

Snow Day

Well, Dave woke me up on his way home from work this morning telling me to look outside. We had about 4 inches of snow and it was still coming down! Dave had a little scare sliding around on the highway. He then came home to put chains on the tires of our car so that we could go to church. Then we celebrated the weekend by going to IKEA with Becca and Josh. It is my new favorite place in the world! (My favorite rooms were the craft rooms - no surprise there - and the kids department!)

Scholastic Winning Idea!

For those who know my teaching style, know that I teach thematically. Well, this month's question on http://www.scholastic.com/ was "What is your favorite thematic unit?" I love so many that I just went with this month's theme of "winter." Guess what? I won! I won $100 of teaching supplies. Here is the full article http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3748778. If you click on "Explore Winter" you can see my original post with more links to more classroom photos. Thanks to Becca and Josh too! They helped out and Josh built the reading center! Love you guys!

No Joke!

So in my last post I mentioned that Dave said Ethan's first real word was "backpack." Well, I just didn't believe him. So on Saturday, I put on Signing Time and when the backpack came on the television Ethan said, "Backpack!" It was so funny.

To add to his vocabulary, on Sunday, (in front of a witness- Auntie Becca) he said "all done" and did the sign. He also said "Josh." So sweet! He is also venturing out and trying to walk a little. It is so sweet. Ethan is growing so fast!

Ethan Talking???

So I came home today from a long day of work... I open the front door and can hear Signing Time on the television. Dave was watching the one about "school." I told my husband how awesome he is that he will watch it with Ethan. Then he told me that when Rachel said the word "backpack" that Ethan repeated her as clear as anything. I am sorry, but it is really hard to believe that a 10 month old is saying "backpack." But Dave swears... whatever...

My Tongue Is So Happy!

Dave and I are trying to learn how to cook. Not just normal meals but gourmet cooking. Today I tried my first recipe from a magazine (that a friend gave us for Christmas). Oh my! It was salmon (our favorite) with a light sauce, steamed vegetables, and garlic bread. For dessert we had mint sorbet! Totally nice. I planned the fancy meal because we were going to have company but it was cancelled. Instead, Dave and I had a romantic dinner to ourselves. It was bliss... my tongue is so happy.

A Handful!

Ethan has kept me on my toes these last few days! He is crawling and getting into everything! When he is in his walker it is even worse! It is fun but I am feeling more tired at the end of the day! Dave was suppose to go back to work this week. But, when he went to see the doctor today he said that Dave needs another week. Dave has been sick and been sneezing over and over. The doctor said that sneezing can cause "sheering of the lung." So the doc doesn't want Dave lifting and sneezing at the same time... Ouch!