abigailpod needs a new name

Well, hello there!

2011-06-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

   This little blog has not exactly been a consistent source of news and pictures of our growing family, now has it? Here's your semi-quarterly update on what's been happening in these parts...
   Aaron & I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in June, and were blessed to get away for a couple wonderful days at the Lake of the Ozarks. (Thanks to Grandma Grace for coming to watch the girls for us.)
   We're getting closer to baby's arrival (just 9 weeks to go). Don't think I ever said it here, but the 3 ultrasounds we had were all somewhat inconclusive, but lean toward indicating that this baby will be girl #5.
     We have been having lots of fun this spring/summer. I might do some posts about some of our activities, but for now here's a link to our May & June photo albums.
May 2011
June 2011

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T15:48:00.001-05:00

Jesus is Alive! We have reason to celebrate! I hope that you, dear visitor to our little blog, know the hope that is found in Jesus.

God Himself, come to dwell with men in the flesh, has defeated sin and death and showed us perfectly the character of God. The Servant King, the Holy One, humbled Himself even to the point of willingly submitting to death. He didn't submit just to the idea of death (as in death as a result of the breakdown of the human body over time) but specifically a form of death intended to torture and humiliate (the cross). But He is not defeated. He is Risen! He really died, and he really was resurrected. After defeating death, His physical, resurrected body walked on the earth, among many witnesses. He now dwells in heaven with the Father, and He will come again to the earth to establish His kingdom.

One very real day to come, every knee will bow (including your own) and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. This won't be spiritual knees in some ethereal fantasy land. You, my friend, will have a body on that day, and you will bow before the King of the universe.

He desires that you know Him and worship Him now, in your brief life on the earth. By His very real death and resurrection, He has made the way for you to have True Life. To know God and be transformed into His image. You do not have to be a slave to sin!
This is what we celebrate today.

An egg hunt might seem like a silly way to celebrate, but there is something to be found in the symbols of searching , finding hidden treasure, within eggs (representing new life), and the opening of that egg to find a surprise gift waiting inside (like discovering the open tomb, and the surprise gift of the resurrection of the Messiah).

Find all of our most recent photos in our April 2011 album (including Abigail's science project and our Easter egg hunt).

Science, science, I love science...

2011-04-24T15:45:00.000-05:00

(Any Jelly Telly fans out there? Dr. Schniffenhausen's song is stuck in my head... "Science, science, I love science, everybody do love science, come along and you'll love science too at least I hope so...")

Abigail had her first science fair at school, and wowsers! It was a lot more work than either of us were anticipating! She has loved science for a while, and I hope that the frustrations we encountered in this project have not dampened her enthusiasm. She really enjoyed surveying people as part of her research. And the experiment itself was mostly fun. We've learned some things, and next year we'll know more what we're getting into!

Joelle wrote her name for the first time!

2011-04-14T14:35:00.001-05:00

Joelle has been practicing her name for a while, but before today she's only gotten the "J" and the "o". Today she was drawing on the window with wet erase markers, and she got the whole thing!

Abigail lost her first tooth!

2011-04-14T12:27:00.000-05:00

She has at least two more loose teeth, so more will probably follow soon!

Yep, we're still here :)

2011-04-10T21:49:00.007-05:00

Oh, Hi. I remembered we have a blog, and decided maybe it was time to update :)

Reasons for our blog silence have been varied, but one significant factor is this:

Yes, indeed, that's what's been cooking around here for the last few months. I'm nearly 20 weeks along now. We don't know gender for sure yet, but have an ultrasound scheduled for April 18. We are all looking forward to welcoming another precious baby into our family.

For some photographic snippets from early 2011, check out our Web Albums:

April Photos

March Photos

February Photos

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T13:12:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!
Sorry for the long delays between posts. There are various reasons for the sparse posting (not the least of which is the busy nature of life in this house with four little ones.) For now, there are more pictures posted in the Picasa album, if you care to see what we've been up to this month.

http://picasaweb.google.com/abigailpod/December2010

Lately I've been posting more on Facebook than I have here, so if you are family, friend, know me in real life, you can find me there. (And really, is there even anyone reading this blog that doesn't know me in real life? Probably not.)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our best attempt at a group photo of the girls

Christmas tree, creative styling by Abigail, Eliana, and Joelle

Thanksgiving

2010-12-09T10:33:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving at our house this year didn't include the traditional trappings of the holiday. We had no turkey. No stuffing. No large gathering of extended family or friends. Most of us were unable to eat much at all due to a stomach bug tearing through the household.

But Thanksgiving isn't really just about food, is it? It's about giving thanks - remembering the One from whom all blessings flow, and giving voice to gratitude.

So this year, as we listed blessings and thanked God for all He's given, my heart was so full! We hung up our garland of gratitude, each leaf one thing we're thankful for, as a visual reminder of the goodness and faithfulness of God.

Thank you God for...

Jesus
Aaron

Sarah

Lucia

Joelle

Eliana

Abigail
Family

Steak

Babies

Eggs

Herbs

clothes
Moms group friends
our house
Uncle David
Doctors
diapers
potatoes & cheese
different cultures
our bodies
stars
hair bands
pants
footsie jammies
apple trees
paper
leaves
crayons
cuties
cups
books
scarves
coats
jeans
playdough
love
joyfulness
hearts
salvation
eyes
light
socks
Jesus
Holy Spirit
healing
songs
the Bible
lids
staples
bulls
hair
horses
octopuses
thankfulness
school
friends
people
prayer
heads
ears
eyebrows
trucks that work
conditioner
homonyms
learning
wipes
lotion
smiles
tears
growing
sunshine
Fruits of the Spirit
sisters
baskets
brooms
pans
vacuums
computers
moms & dads
Grandparents
plates
balloons
consequences
rest

Roar!

2010-11-14T16:13:00.000-06:00

Lucia roaring at the T-Rex, at T-Rex Cafe

The Lonely Bear

2010-10-24T15:48:00.001-05:00

We found a lonely bear at the park today. He was lying in the dirt, and I'm certain a child somewhere is missing him just as much as he is missing them. We decided to keep him company to cheer him up while he waits for his owner to come back and find him.

After brushing him off and introducing ourselves, we pushed him in the swing.

He liked gentle pushes the best, but he's a brave little bear and let Abigail swing him super high - up, up in the sky. They both giggled when he flopped over and peeked at her through the leg hole of the seat.

Seeing how brave he was on the swing, we decided to put him up at the tippy-top of the slide. He is a brave little bear, but the slide was quite intimidating. He said the dirt at the bottom of the slide reminded him of lying on the ground before we found him. He enjoyed the view from the top.

Little Bear was feeling happy about meeting new friends, but tired from all the excitement. He rested until we had to go home.

We didn't want little bear to fall from his hammock after we left, so we settled him onto the bench nearest the road, hoping that his owners will see him soon. Bye, bye, lonely little bear!

(If he is your bear, I hope he's still waiting for you at Freedom Park.)

Pics

2010-10-14T23:14:00.000-05:00

Abigail, while eating her toast, exclaimed "Hey, look! It's the United States!"

Lucia watching football with Daddy

A few minutes coloring, singing, and talking with Eliana & Joelle

2010-10-14T23:01:00.001-05:00

Eliana over here Joelle over here

Curly Girls

2010-10-02T16:06:00.001-05:00

(Yellow clip = Joelle; Blue clip = Eliana)

Lucia stacking jars

2010-10-02T16:04:00.001-05:00

It's fall!

2010-10-02T15:38:00.001-05:00

It's finally feeling like fall around here, so after a chilly morning playing in the backyard, we enjoyed some quick & easy apple "cider"

Autumn Apple Juice
(all measurements very approximate - I just eyeballed it)

In large microwaveable container, stir together:

4 cups Apple juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon (or a small piece of stick cinnamon)
1/2 tsp allspice
2 cloves (or 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
1/8 tsp ground cardamom

Microwave for 1 minute, then stir. Keep going in 1-minute increments until hot enough ( I think I only did 2 or 3 minutes, because the kids don't like it too hot.

For our girls, I poured it through a strainer lined with a paper towel, so the spices weren't floating in their cups.

Yummy!

September

2010-10-01T21:04:00.000-05:00

Lucia's birthday

2010-10-01T20:42:00.000-05:00

Lucia turned 1 on Aug 31. We did celebrate with cake, and managed to get a couple pictures.

(Our rechargeable batteries for the camera would only hold enough charge for a handful of pictures, and they would lose all power after about 10 minutes. Sorry for the lack of pictures. It took a month before I finally got some new ones. We should be back in action now :) )

Hello, we're still here

2010-10-01T19:03:00.004-05:00

First Homeschool Lesson

2010-08-19T22:07:00.001-05:00

Abigail is attending school for Reading, Math, and Bible classes, but we will be doing the rest of her learning at home (Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, etc.) Today we did our first lesson, beginning a series on Senses. Many, many thanks to go my mom (Grandma Grace) for helping me with encouragement and inspiration.

Dress-up

2010-08-19T22:03:00.001-05:00

Lucia and Joelle playing dress up together

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-18T08:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Eliana & Joelle!

2010-08-07T15:02:00.000-05:00

Three years ago today, we went from this:

To this:

We are so blessed :) Thanking God today for three years with Eliana and Joelle. Happy Birthday, girls!

Here's a little stroll down memory lane:

Projects

2010-08-06T15:51:00.000-05:00

We've had a piece of paper over our doorbell for a long time, to avoid the interruption of naptime by a loud doorbell. I found a set of mini hanging frames that I haven't used for ages, and I turned one into a cuter version of the quick paper sign we had. It's on a hook, so theoretically I could remove it easily when the kids aren't sleeping. But I never remember, so it's pretty much a permanent fixture at the door.

One night, looking at a paperclip, I was overcome with the urge to transform it into a little hanger for Abigail's doll clothes. Slideshow shows the bends step by step. So easy!

This last project was inspired by frustration. The twins are potty-training, and they *always* pull the hand towel down when they dry their hands (which is many, many times every day.) It either ends up wet in the sink, or on the bathroom floor (ick!) So, I devised this simple plan to curb the problem.

I cut the button hole off of an old unused shirt, and removed the corresponding button. Sewed them onto the towel after determining placment by folding the towel in thirds like I normally do to hang it. Then, I hang the towel like usual, with the added step of buttoning it. Now it doesn't fall off the holder with a slightly overzealous tug. Fortunately, the attachment is still loose enough that it will come off if they pull really hard, so we shouldn't end up with the entire hanger pulled out of the wall.

Have you been hit with the creative bug lately?

cracker face

2010-07-28T16:38:00.001-05:00

Had three minutes to kill while the leftover lasagna warmed up at lunch today. Pictures below the video.
(inspired by this)

Abigail, sewing

2010-07-28T15:48:00.000-05:00

Abigail made a sleeping bag for her dollies, all by herself! (OK, I showed her what to do, and pinned the pieces. But she did the sewing on her own.)

Video for family reunion

2010-07-20T17:46:00.000-05:00

We couldn't make it to Camp Martha (bi-annual family reunion on my mom's side), so we sent our greetings and update via video.

She's bipedal

2010-07-17T15:02:00.003-05:00

Lucia's on the move.

We love the library

2010-07-17T15:01:00.001-05:00

We have gotten so many incredible resources from our local library, Mid-Continent Public Library. One of the things we love are the learning DVD's. We've learned a lot of sign language from the Baby Signing Time videos, and now we are learning some Mandarin Chinese from Follow Jade (link to Amazon product page, but both DVD's are available at MCPL) and After School Chinese (If you follow that link, you'll get an error message on the first screen. Just click "ok", then "search". That should bring up the library catalog page for the series).

Here is Abigail counting to 10 in Chinese, and Lucia clapping when we say "Clap your hands" in Chinese.

The One With the Googly Eyes

2010-07-16T16:25:00.001-05:00

Abigail and I had way too much fun yesterday playing with googly eyes! (Inspired by this post, via Dollar Store Crafts) We started by cutting out pictures from magazines, like the ones above, and this one:

Then, I decided it would be fun to apply the technique to our friends' Christmas cards. (See, there was a reason those have been sitting on the desk for the last 7 months!) Enjoy :)

TeePee

2010-07-12T17:25:00.000-05:00

We turned this pile of sticks:

Into a teepee!

Lucia wants to walk

2010-07-06T23:40:00.000-05:00

Preschool Project: Fly-Swatter Painting

2010-07-01T23:22:00.000-05:00

Today's project was inspired by Teacher Tom.

I took a carboard box, covered it with "flies", and propped it up in the yard.

Next, I handed the girls their flyswatters...

...and paint palettes (aka paper plates)

Then, let them loose!

Abigail is learning to read

2010-07-01T22:42:00.001-05:00

More June Pictures

2010-07-01T22:28:00.000-05:00

More pictures are up in the June web album. A sampling:

Sound & Vibration

2010-06-12T15:52:00.000-05:00

Styrofoam Rocket

2010-06-12T15:45:00.000-05:00

If the video player isn't working, you can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-fTDTGBJZk

June Pictures

2010-06-12T15:34:00.003-05:00

June Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/abigailpod/June2010

A sampling:

See the rest here: http://picasaweb.google.com/abigailpod/June2010

May pictures and video

2010-05-22T22:18:00.002-05:00

Tons of new pictures and some video on the Web Albums. Some have stories to go with them that I'll try to post later, but here are the links for now:
May Pictures
May Videos

Tantrum x3

2010-05-15T09:31:00.002-05:00

Sometimes the best thing to do is just grab the video camera so later I can show them how ridiculous they all were. Then sing sweetly at the top of my lungs until they give up.

Fun with Lucia

2010-04-25T16:52:00.000-05:00

Grabbing the spoon

Climbing the wall

Lucia means Light

2010-04-02T14:25:00.000-05:00

This little girl lives up to her name. She lights up the room and my heart every day. How can so much cuteness and joy be held in such a tiny package?

Lucia Snorting

2010-04-01T16:58:00.000-05:00

Apparently, if you're 7 months old and have the first head cold in your little life, it's very entertaining to snort repeatedly. I suppose the feeling of a snotty nose is interesting when you've never had one before :)

One tangible result of praying together

2010-03-30T16:07:00.001-05:00

Just a few minutes after Abigail sat down to do some activities on pbskids.org, my timer went off to remind us to pray. Abigail prayed first and said “God, please help me to not love the computer more than I’m loving my family, and help me to love you best of all.” {melt my heart}

Later, when it was time to turn off the computer, Abigail was slow to respond to my instruction. Her delayed obedience was not in-your-face rebellion, but despite her subtlety she was clearly wanting her own way.

I asked her, “Abigail, what are you loving most right now? Playing on the computer, or honoring God by obeying Mommy?”

Her countenance changed and she said “Oh. I just prayed that God would help me.” She then turned off the computer and went on her way.

Preschool Project: Goop

2010-03-27T10:45:00.002-05:00

Homemade goop:
1 part water
2 parts cornstarch
few drops food coloring (if desired)

This stuff is crazy! It looks wet in the bowl, but actually is practically solid. When you put your fingers into it, it feels hard. Then when you dig your hands into it to pick it up, it turns to liquid and drips all over. My explanation doesn't do it justice, so just mix up a batch and try it yourself.

Preschool project: Hammer & Nails

2010-03-27T10:39:00.001-05:00

Another fun activity from our Busy Books.We have been using golf tees as nails and practicing hammering. Abigail has been hammering them into cardboard boxes, but those were a little to thick for Eliana (below in green shirt) and Joelle (white shirt). I gave them egg cartons instead and let them go to town. We also didn't have hammers, so they used the handle end of a screwdriver :)

Fun in the mud

2010-03-26T16:47:00.000-05:00

Lest anyone think that raising four girls is all baby dolls and tea parties...this is what happens when Mama leaves the big girls in the backyard to take the baby inside. :)

Peek-a Boo, Daddy & Lucia

2010-03-26T16:21:00.001-05:00

Lucia (6 months) figured out how to play peek-a-boo with Daddy. She even started initiating it by holding stuff over her face :)

Welcome Spring

2010-03-25T16:36:00.000-05:00

This is what it looked like here on the first day of spring. :) Sled hack, aka workout for Mommy

Lucia with a microphone

2010-03-20T17:23:00.002-05:00

2010-03-18T09:57:00.003-05:00

Abigail is growing to be such a good helper. She got her sisters clothes on this morning and served up all cereal for b-fast. She also said unprompted "That chili last night was delicious! Thanks for making it Mom." :) So sweet.

Somebody's sleepy...

2010-03-17T13:26:00.001-05:00

Lucia falling asleep in her jumper

What a difference a few years make

2010-03-16T10:28:00.010-05:00

Abigail and her dollies, July 2007

Abigail and her sisters, March 2010
(L-R Abigail, Lucia, Joelle, Eliana)

Abigail leading worship

2010-03-10T13:10:00.004-06:00

Abigail (4 1/2 yrs) was in her room making up songs, so I put the camera in the corner and we had a spontaneous worship time. This is 3 minutes cut from about a 15 min video. I cut in most of the "good" stuff, and left out the nonsense stuff that only a preschooler can understand, as well as her lengthy discourse on how things were different back in Jesus' day - like they had different houses than we do because they didn't have wood back then, and they sat on the floor or on pillows because they didn't have chairs :)

Videos

2010-03-09T21:34:00.001-06:00

A few pics

2010-03-05T16:41:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the long drought of posting. I uploaded a few new photos to the February album today. I have quite a few videos to post, but they are all too long, so I need to cut down the length. Hope to have some posted soon!

Fun with snow

2010-02-07T23:07:00.001-06:00

We've had a snowy winter this year. As I write this, another storm is rolling in. On Friday, I took the girls out while big flakes were falling, and we enjoyed some fun in the snow.

I don't remember where I heard this idea, but I think it was from a one of our Busy Books. I filled up spray bottles with water and a little food coloring. We tried to "paint" the snow by spraying. It'll probably work better when they are older and can squeeze better.

I brought a bowl of snow in with us, and we made snow slushies for a snack. We mixed about 1/4 cup of grape juice into 1 cup of snow. Yummy. I think Eliana (below in blue) got her first "brain freeze".

Lucia giggling in her jumper

2010-02-07T23:05:00.001-06:00

Lucia in her jumper

2010-02-06T19:32:00.000-06:00

I have lots of pictures and videos to post, but haven't gotten around to it. There are a few in the new February Album. More to come...hopefully soon
Here's a video of peek-a-boo around the corner with Lucia in her jumper while the big girls watch Baby Signing Time.

Hermie: Antonio Meets His Match

2010-01-24T01:21:00.002-06:00

Hermie: Antonio Meets His Match
This DVD is ok, but not great. We’ve seen a handful of DVD’s from the Hermie series, and I generally find them to be entertaining to our girls and carry a good message that I can applaud. One thing I love about the Hermie series is that prayer is always a central key to the plot. I especially appreciate that prayer is shown to be not only submitting requests to God, but listening and receiving guidance and encouragement from Him as well. However, as is the case with most children’s DVD’s, I think at times the take-away message is not as biblically robust as I would like to see.

Antonio Meets His Match was no exception to this assessment. It kept my girls entertained, encouraged treating others with kindness regardless of their actions toward us, and included prayer as an essential element. My only disappointment was the somewhat weak presentation of the requirements of the biblical mandate of Luke 10:27, the scripture the story sets forth as its foundation. The command to “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” is set in the context of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Reducing the message of this scripture to “be nice, even to the annoying guy” seems to be falling short. The way the story plays out, Antonio’s “love” for his neighbor is scarcely evident until his final act of “heroism”. But even that act (saving his annoying neighbor Angus from an unruly frog) comes at no great sacrifice to Antonio. He states clearly that the frog posed no real threat, and at the beginning of the movie we see him subdue the same frog, seemingly for sport. Although Angus was frightened, and is subsequently so grateful that the relationship with Antonio is repaired, this depiction is a long way from demonstrating the humility and self-sacrifice implored in the quoted scripture. Yes, this is “just” a children’s DVD...but theology matters, even for kids.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. As part of their Book Review Blogger program, I have agreed to post brief reviews on my blog in exchange for free books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” To learn more, or to sign up to become a reviewer, click the icon in the sidebar.

Eliana & Joelle loving on Lucia

2010-01-16T11:56:00.000-06:00

Eliana & Joelle LOOOOOVE their baby sister Lucia. Here they are spending a couple minutes just loving, laughing, smiling, and sharing.

Joelle singing Jesus Loves Me

2010-01-15T19:51:00.000-06:00

Joelle loves to sing. Here she is singing Jesus Loves Me:

Eliana practices folding

2010-01-14T14:34:00.002-06:00

Eliana and Joelle like to help with laundry by folding burp cloths, rags, and towels. Here Eliana demonstrates her folding technique, with some toddler silliness thrown in for fun :)

Joelle "reads" Baby Giggles

2010-01-09T17:28:00.003-06:00

Joelle and Eliana love a book we recently checked out from the library called "Baby Giggles" We've read it many times, and they now basically know all the words. Here, Joelle "reads" the book to me (Words from the book are below the video)

Giggle baby, laugh and play
Grumpy baby, had a rough day?
Angel baby, hug your bear
Rebel baby, rock & roll hair
Bouncy baby, reach for your toes
Ballet baby, don't pick your nose!
Bath-time baby, splish splash in bubbles
Pouty baby, forget all your troubles
Hungry baby, eat yummy cake
Sleepy baby, dream 'til you wake
The End

A couple Lucia videos

2010-01-09T00:25:00.002-06:00

Lucia's two new favorite things seem to be rolling over whenever I set her down, and making this noise constantly:

Lucia is always very smiley, but occasionally she's starting to give a little giggle every now and then. This is my attempt to capture that on film:

The NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible

2010-01-07T11:46:00.007-06:00

I love this Bible! The NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible is the first book I’ve reviewed that I can confidently give a 5-star rating. I have been specifically looking for a new Bible appropriate for Abigail right now. She’s ready for something more than her children’s bible, but I wasn’t sure that moving up to a “regular” bible was the best next step. This Bible is not a “children’s bible” and is exactly what she’s ready for.

This is a wonderful resource for families seeking to share the Word together. It would work well for families with children of widely varying ages. Many, many stories are presented. Typical children’s bibles often omit challenging stories like Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac, or Joseph fleeing from the seduction of Potiphar’s wife. Both of those stories are included in the NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible. But, not *every* story is there. For example: this bible does not include the story of Lot’s daughters seducing him, or the destruction of Soddom & Gommorrah. For the purpose of using this as a family bible with young children, I have found this book immensely valuable.

The text of this book is drawn directly from narrative portions of the New King James Version of the Bible, but the format is not in the standard book-chapter-verse presentation. The layout looks more like a novel. Each story is presented as a unit and given a title reflecting the content of the story. The length of each story is great for reading aloud. After the title, references are given for the portion of scripture used. The vast majority of stories simply include the story-specific text and present it as one story (Story #5, “Why we see a rainbow” is Genesis 8:20-9:19). Others take portions of multiple scriptures and combine them into one story (Jesus’ birth includes passages from both Matthew and Luke.)

In all cases, the text is strictly the NKJV of the bible – no additions, no reinterpretations, no oversimplification. There are no pictures. (This seemed perfectly clear to me from the description, but apparently other reviewers were expecting a typical illustrated storybook bible). I highly recommend this book as a great option for families wanting to explore the scripture together.

I have agreed to review books for Thomas Nelson Publishers. As part of their Book Review Blogger program, I have agreed to post brief reviews on my blog in exchange for free books. To learn more, or to sign up to become a reviewer, click the icon in the sidebar.

New Favorite Picture

2010-01-06T13:49:00.003-06:00

This is my newest favorite picture. I absolutely love to watch my girls love each other. They are all so especially tender with Lucia. I took this picture after Abigail rocked her to sleep for the first time.

There are more pictures in the online albums. Click here for December. Click here for January. I have more to post, so I'll get to it when I can.
Also, some videos: Here for December Videos. Here for January Videos.

Links

2009-12-23T00:25:00.002-06:00

I added more pictures to the December album (click here). There are some videos too (click here)

There are a few things I've wanted to give a post of their own, but I haven't gotten to it: Abigail's preschool Christmas program & decorating the Christmas tree are two that come to mind. For now, the albums will have to suffice :)

A note on links:
Ever since I changed the blog layout, I have noticed that when I post a link it doesn't change the font size or color to indicate a hyperlink.

I used to always just put the link in with the text, like this: I added more pictures to the December album
But with the new formatting, you can't see just by looking that in the last sentence "December album" is a link.

I'm going to see if I can fix it, or at least try to remember to specify when I have inserted a link (like I did at the top of this post). If you think something might be hyperlinked, just hover your mouse over the words. They should turn red and show that there is a link to click through.

Preschool Project: melting crayons

2009-12-22T23:09:00.016-06:00

Supplies:

Electric griddle covered with foil

Paper (we used construction paper & coffee filters, but any paper will work)

Broken crayons

Oven mitt
Paper towels

Add one very excited 4 1/2 year old

Process:
1) Heat griddle to "Warm" or the lowest setting.

2) Careful, it's hot! Now draw/scribble/write on the foil with crayons.

3. Using an oven mitt, press paper onto the melted wax.

4. Lift off paper and admire your finished product as it cools.

5. Wipe wax off foil with paper towel, then draw again.

New Pics

2009-12-15T17:34:00.001-06:00

Posting new pics in the December Album. Here are a few:

2009-12-01T22:25:00.002-06:00

Eliana trying to give Lucia a tiny green tomato

December!

2009-12-01T22:19:00.001-06:00

We've been enjoying unseasonably nice weather, so we all played outside today. More pictures in the December album

Yay for Aunties and Uncles!

2009-11-24T20:02:00.002-06:00

Auntie Kendra and Uncle Jeremy visited for a few days. We love all our Aunties and Uncles!

Radical Womanhood

2009-11-24T00:13:00.004-06:00

Can you tell I'm on a reading kick? This isn't one of the books I received from Thomas Nelson as part of the Book Review Bloggers program, but I loved it so much that I wrote a review anyway because I'd love to encourage more people to read it. (Thanks to my friend Elisa who initially recommended the book to me!)

Radical Womanhood, by Carolyn McCulley
I thoroughly appreciated this interesting and thought-provoking book. Radical Womanhood gives a great overview of the history of both Christian and feminist thinking regarding the identity and function of women, and how the various shifts in thought have affected modern thinking.

This is an extremely valuable resource for Christian women seeking a biblical understanding of the value and role of women within the home, the church, and society as a whole. Many books on biblical womanhood approach this subject with a practical-application or devotional approach. This book is different in that the bulk of the text concentrates on an historical overview of how our modern culture came to embrace the views of women that dominate much of our thinking.

Distinguishing between the three historical "waves" of feminism, the author draws from the writings of influential leaders of those movements, as well as the church's response. There is humble acknowledgment of the church's failure to respond biblically to some of the complaints brought by feminists seeking to end abuses against women, but careful delineation noting when the feminist cause veered into serious error and charted a course at odds with scripture.

Biblical principles like male headship in the home and the admonition for women to submit to their husbands make many women bristle – even women who do not consider themselves feminists. This book sheds light on both the reasons for this reaction, as well as explaining what those admonitions actually look like within a framework of biblical context. Clearly, christian women are the target audience of this book, and I heartily recommend it for any christian woman. But men also could find this book a valuable resource on understanding the influence of feminism on our culture. Even secular feminists interested in truly understanding the perspective of Christian women who embrace these ideas would greatly benefit from this book.

Me & God & Depression

2009-11-21T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm not comfortable in front of a camera, but wanted to share a little bit. Video was actually easier than writing for this one (although I had to cover up the computer screen with sticky notes so I didn't have to watch myself while I was recording :P )

Me & Depression & God from Sarah Caprye on Vimeo.

Picture update

2009-11-18T01:04:00.004-06:00

Here are a few pictures from recent activities. A few more posted in the November web album.

Playing with Fuzzle with Grandpa Peter & Grandma Grace

Playing in the leaves, in the dark, with our good friends the Fa'agutu's

Roasting marshmellows and making s'mores (with 6 kids ages 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, & 5)

Sweet Lucia

The [expanded] Bible

2009-11-17T23:51:00.004-06:00

I have agreed to review books for Thomas Nelson Publishers. As part of their Book Review Blogger program, I have agreed to post brief reviews on my blog in exchange for free books. To learn more, or to sign up to become a reviewer, click the icon in the sidebar.

The Expanded Bible: New Testament

“Study the Bible While You Read” is the tagline emblazoned on the front cover, spine, and back of this bible. It is promoted as a study tool that can make in-depth bible study easier and reveal the full richness and dimensions of meaning within the original text. It aims to accomplish this by incorporating study notes in-line with the biblical text, especially when the original language can be translated in multiple ways. It sounds like a great idea.

My current preferred method of bible study is slightly physically cumbersome. I love referencing the Hebrew and Greek meanings of words, but I have no formal training in either language. So, bible study for me usually involves lugging out my well-worn and very large, heavy copy of Strong’s Concordance with the best of Vine’s Dictionary. I wondered, “Could this bible incorporate the best elements of that study experience within one volume?”

Unfortunately, my experience with this bible has shown it to be an insufficient resource for in-depth study, while at the same time being too visually and textually awkward for meditative or devotional reading.

Other reviewers of this book have detailed the various ways that the text tends to result in a choppy, disjointed reading experience. (see other reviews here) so I won’t linger on that point.

For me, the issues with this bible start with the translation from which this bible draws its base text. The base text is a modified version of the New Century Version, which is described by Thomas Nelson Publishers as “maintaining the integrity of the biblical text without complex theological vocabulary” (source). Personally, I find the NCV to be lacking in much of the richness and depth that I find in other translations. (I most frequently use the NKJV and NASB.) Nevertheless, I understand the appeal of contemporary functional-equivalent translations. These translations are seen by many as making the bible accessible for individuals with limited English reading skills, or those who have no familiarity with biblical, theological, or doctrinal language. However, the stated goal of The [expanded] Bible is to give the reader “the full richness and variety of God’s message” and “all the dimensions of meaning in the original languages.” The attempt to achieve those aims on the basis of an interpretation that specifically aims to avoid complex theological language seems contradictory. Why not simply use a more robust translation in the first place?

While the in-line notes do provide some additional nuance to the selected text, they are no comparison to the breadth of information available in an actual concordance and Bible dictionary. Specifically, The [expanded] Bible provides notes for only selected words, phrases, or passages. In Acts 11:5, the notes clarify that the phrase “Peter saw something” could alternately read “Peter saw an object”, but they give no further definition to the phrase “I had a vision while in a trance”.

I can see potential value in this bible for those who are devoted to the New Century Version of the Bible and want a reference that will give more depth to that translation, but for other readers there are many other more fulfilling resources.

Barney's visit

2009-11-04T07:36:00.003-06:00

Abigail's preschool class has a pet dog named Barney, and he's been staying at our house the last couple days. Here's a letter Barney wrote to tell Abigail's classmates all about his stay with us.

Abigail and I had a great couple of days together! I got to sit on Abigail’s lap on the way home after school. (All the other seats in the van were full because Abigail has three sisters.) After a snack we snuggled in bed and looked at books during her quiet reading time. Next we watched Jelly Telly while Abigail’s mommy got dinner ready. I learned about a guy name Anthony who lived a long time ago and gave away lots of money to poor people. After dinner Abigail and her sisters took baths, so I hung out on her bed with some of her stuffed animals. Before bed we read a book about how our bodies work (well, about how people’s bodies work. I’m a dog so mine’s a little different) and a Bible story about Jesus healing some people, then we went to sleep.
The next morning we had Abigail’s favorite breakfast – bread with peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and cranberries! Yummy! We had plans to go to a kids prayer meeting later, but Abigail’s mommy had to get dinner in the crock pot, so we ran out of time. At lunch I got to help Abigail make Mac-n-cheese. Her mom did the part with the boiling water, but we did the rest by ourselves. After lunch we were going to try to visit Abigail’s Daddy at work, but baby Lucia had trouble taking her nap. So we stayed home and played with Abigail’s sisters Eliana and Joelle instead. Abigail likes to act out stories, so we pretended we were taking a trip on a train. Later we played dress up. Abigail was a princess, and I got to wear a crown, too!
Love,
Barney

An impromptu song about Fall

2009-10-28T16:19:00.000-05:00

Jumping into the leaves

2009-10-25T12:14:00.002-05:00

Eliana & Joelle worshipping

2009-10-25T11:56:00.001-05:00

Fall Fun

2009-10-24T17:14:00.001-05:00

There are lots more pictures in the October web album. Enjoy :)

Eliana and Joelle going crazy with strollers

2009-10-22T16:52:00.003-05:00

All the advice books say that you should have a quiet, calming routine with your children to help them "wind down" in the couple hours before bedtime. Well, this is more like what our house usually sounds like before bedtime:

I think they are saying "Round and round", but I'm not sure.

Abigail and Joelle

2009-10-22T16:37:00.003-05:00

Abigail and Joelle working on an animal puzzle together:

Abigail holding Lucia

2009-10-19T12:23:00.002-05:00

Abigail is getting pretty good at holding Lucia. See here:

Joelle singing Kumbaya

2009-10-19T12:15:00.004-05:00

Joelle loves to sing. I don't know where she learned this song, but here she is singing "Kumbaya"

Eliana singing Jesus Loves Me

2009-10-19T11:59:00.003-05:00

Eliana singing Jesus Loves Me.
Her lyrics include "Jesus" "Bible" "I know" & "Lay down" The "lay down" is in there because we usually sing it when I'm putting them to bed, and there are frequent interruptions to the song as I remind them to lie down. :)

Lucia smiling and cooing (full version)

2009-10-15T21:41:00.003-05:00

Cute video of Lucia smiling a lot and cooing a little. Most of the action is in the first 45 seconds, but I put up the whole thing for those of you that just can't get enough.

Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham

2009-10-05T23:47:00.004-05:00

I recently signed up to review books for Thomas Nelson Publishers. As part of their Book Review Blogger program, I have agreed to post brief reviews on my blog in exchange for free books. To learn more, or to sign up to become a reviewer, click the icon in the left sidebar.

Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham

Written by best-selling author and researcher Marcus Buckingham, this book applies Mr. Buckingham’s research and consulting background to women, attempting to “prove women really can ‘have it all’”. In the author’s own words, “If ‘having it all’ means drawing enough strength from life to feel fulfilled, loved, successful, and in control, then that is something every single one of us should aim for and every single one of us can attain.”

To be completely honest, I thought I would strongly dislike this book before I ever read the first page. From the genre (I’d call it self-help), to the title/subtitle (Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently), to the author (Marcus Buckingham, a man, writing this book all about how women can be happier and more successful), I was skeptical that I would find much value within.

As I read, I was surprised to find some passages that strongly resonated with me. I recognized myself in some of the women’s stories. I thought about a very rough period I went through last year and realized that some of his advice may have helped me break out of some unhealthy cycles I was in during that time. The Strong Life Test (StrongLifeTest.com) defined my Life Roles, and seemed to hit the nail right on the head – I’m primarily an Advisor, with Weaver as my secondary role. I was intrigued by his perspective of looking at strengths & weaknesses in respect to an activity’s effect on me, instead of simply in terms of my effectiveness or performance.

But, at the most fundamental level, I think this book gets some things very, very wrong. First of all, I do not think this book is coming from a biblical perspective at all. The author throws in a few uses of the word “God” in the most vague and generic way, but makes no attempt to align his message with biblical truth. Secondly, the inherent message of the book is extraordinarily self-centered, as are the methods proposed for finding happiness and success. I appreciate the author’s intent – to help women identify the things that make them feel happy and successful. But feeling happy and successful is not God’s primary goal for us. Third, the perspective is so heavily skewed toward working women that it seems to nearly disregard full-time motherhood. In fairness, the author never dismisses motherhood outright as a worthy full-time devotion. But this book simply is not written with full-time mothers in mind.

I found the book overall to be relevant in some surprising ways, but ultimately flawed in its philosophy.

Tummy time - family style

2009-10-01T22:48:00.001-05:00

I put Lucia down for some tummy time tonight, and soon everyone else joined in, too!

Family Pics, & album update

2009-10-01T17:55:00.001-05:00

I have added a few more pictures to the September web album. Here are a few family pictures taken while my mom & Aaron's parents were visiting. We are so thankful to everyone who has been such a support to us in these first weeks as a family of SIX! Especially our parents, who helped make the transition so much easier. Thank you Grace, Peter, Peggy, and Mike!!!

More from Lucia's first week

2009-09-08T10:40:00.001-05:00

Here are a few more pics of our new little Lucia.
For more photos, see these photo albums:
August
Lucia's Birthday
September

Introducing Lucia Danielle

2009-08-31T21:29:00.002-05:00

She's here! Our new baby girl, Lucia Danielle, was born at 2:20pm today. (We are using the Italian pronunciation for Lucia: Loo-chee-ah) She weighed 7 lbs exactly, and is 19 inches long. She is beautiful and healthy. We'll give more of an update later, but she's sleeping, so we should be too! You can see our first round of pictures on the Picasa site, or in the slideshow below.

Watching Cicadas molt at the park

2009-08-21T14:33:00.004-05:00

Spent the morning at the park, playing and watching Cicadas molt.

Videos of Eliana & Joelle talking

2009-08-15T16:39:00.001-05:00

August update

2009-08-15T16:24:00.001-05:00

There are a few more pictures in the August album (also video album here).

We had a little excitement on the way home one day when I saw what looked like a tornado forming just ahead of us. I snapped this picture with my cell phone, and it ended up on a local news station's website. (Article here)

A few more pics from recent fun. Reading with Daddy, and coloring on our "Countdown Calendar". We're counting down to many things - Grandma Grace's arrival, Daddy's birthday, Baby sister's due date, First day of preschool, Nana & Grandpa Mike's arrival...

Happy Birthday Eliana & Joelle!

2009-08-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

More pictures

2009-07-27T17:21:00.002-05:00

Whole July album is here

Spraypark!

2009-07-27T17:02:00.006-05:00

Kansas City has some awesome sprayparks for free summer fun. There is one quite close to our house, and we have enjoyed spending some hot days cooling off there and having fun with friends.

Morning fun in the garden

2009-07-08T12:35:00.000-05:00

30 week belly pic

2009-07-04T21:24:00.000-05:00

Here it is...my pregnant belly