Morning Glories

I have begun to teach Malachi some Scripture verses, catechism questions, and songs using a great tool called the Truth and Grace Memory books. I didn't really think he'd be ready this soon, even though the book begins with ages 2 and 3. However, when he began to quote lines from the books we read him (over and over), I realized that he really enjoys learning to quote things he hears.

So, I've embarked on this journey of training my children in the Word of God - and it is a lot of fun!

So the first thing, of course, was Genesis 1:1
Malachi's version: "In the beginning, God created, the heavens and the eluf!"

Then John 1:1 and John 3:16. I simply quote the verses to him throughout the day - and he usually loves it (except when he's in a bad mood and nothing pleases him!). He usually says "Gi-en" (again) at the end so I end up saying the same one over and over. The verses are very helpful in getting him into a better mood and taking his mind off of whatever is bothering him.

Not only are we learning verses, but we are also learning a question and answer style instruction called "catechism". Commonly associated with Catholocism, catechism was used in the early church, went on the way-side during the middle ages, and was revived by Martin Luther in the Reformation.

Here are the questions we've been working on.

#1
Mom: "Malachi, who made you?"
Malachi: "God made Dylan! [his favorite answer]... God made Daniel.... God made Norah... etc., etc..."
(Proper answer: "God made me." He just now is beginning to say, "God made Malachi!" We're getting there!)

#2
Mom: "What else did God make?"
Malachi: "God made all things!"
(He got this one very quickly!)

#3
Mom: "Why did God make you and all things?"
Malachi: "For his morning glories!"
(Proper answer: "For his own glory." Malachi got a bit confused on this one because one of his new favorite books talks about morning glories. I love my job as a mommy!)

Buying a House!

Haven't posted much lately for a few reasons... I simply haven't felt like it, we've been busy buying a house, and I've been surrounded by piles of books that need to be catalogued and gotten OUT OF MY HOUSE and into the church library!

But I wanted to get up some pictures of the new place. We are in escrow right now. This house is in our same town, just on the other side, about 15 minutes from where we live now. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, on one acre. It has 2, 2 car garages, 2 fireplaces, a newly remodeled kitchen (yay for me!), and a lot of work still needs to be done! So, when we officially get the house, let us know if you want to help us clean, put in carpet, paint, and remodel a bathroom or two!A pretty view from the front yard - I LOVE all of those huge junipers!
More junipers! This is the detached garage. There is lots of concrete - I can't wait to go rollerblading!

And...more junipers! The front of the house.

View of the beautiful mountains - you can see a little snow up top. (...and a juniper)

The back of the house. The white French doors open up to the dining room. The sliding door to the right opens to the master bedroom.

The back of the house again.

The hall way. I love the terra cotta tile.

This bedroom is connected to the master bedroom. It will probably be a nursery/office.

We'll mellow out this room a bit and make it the guest room.

This will be Malachi's room, I think.

This is a HUGE master bedroom. I can't wait to fill those shelves with books! The closet and the bathroom are really small, and the bathroom is completely stripped, so we may put a wall up to make them both bigger.

Livingroom fireplace (really gross color on the walls).

I love this kitchen! It's very roomy. I never dreamed I'd have such nice cabinets and granite countertops. It has a walk-pantry, too!

The kitchen again.

We are so excited about this house. What a BIG project! But it is perfect for our growing family. And did I mention we are getting a KILLER deal on it?

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS FAITHFULNESS! "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

We don't praise God only when He gives us things - but He has been so good to us, I just want to make sure and give Him the credit! Our life, our health, our family - we would have none of these things without His grace. Thank Him for what He has given. We aren't promised that any of it will be here tomorrow!

New Year's Cleaning Challenge!

If you are like me, house keeping does not come naturally! I did fine before I had Malachi, and then I eventually got back into a routine after having him. But when I got pregnant again, my energy was totally drained, and my house was a wreck! I got into a habit of just letting things go. Then, I came across an online cleaning plan that gave me some direction on how to tackle this huge task in managable chunks, and my home will never be the same!

Here are a few pointers that have helped me the most:

• do a load of laundry ever day (I thought this was crazy at first for a family of 3, but it has been GREAT!)
• keep your sink clean, dishes done
• clean one room per day (i.e. Mon - kitchen; Tues - livingroom. This is so quick and easy. I can usually get it done in 20 min. or less!)

Here are the links to the web sites:

• The Organized Home: Cleaning Grand Plan
• FlyLady (This is a good place to start for those who are struggling with clutter - it's hard to clean when there's clutter!)

So, here's to all the wives and mothers (and husbands! Travis is a huge help around the house!) who want to make there homes places of refuge in this crazy world! May God greatly bless your efforts and your obedience in being "keepers at home" (Titus 2:3-5)!

Malachi's Busy Day

Malachi had a busy weekend as well with all the commotion going on in his house!Malachi likes to sit in the big boy chair!
( I did turn all these pictures. I have no idea why they are not rotated.)
Malachi helped Mommy take down the cabinets by picking up the screws that got dropped. That was a huge help since Mommy's belly makes it hard for her to get stuff off the floor! :)

Putting the screws in the big "coppy" cup

What a big helper!

Muncle Trent gave Malachi a bath!

Trying to get Malachi to relax enough to fall asleep, Gramma read some books to him.

Gramma holding a TIRED boy - he didn't go down for a nap till 3!

I wanted to throw in this picture of the laundry room, since we painted the cabinets in there, too.

Kitchen Project

Here's some more pictures of everyone at work.

Yikes! That's a bright red! It looks so pink in the can!

My mom had a streak of pink put in her hair for breast cancer awareness month (October) so she matched the paint really well!
Mom and Gramma getting to work. The whole kitchen was taken apart, but we still had that coffee maker ready to go!

The 1st coat getting put on

Malachi had fun putting things in the microwave. Fortunately, we had it unplugged all day.

Trent helping Travis with an outside project

Mom painting the GREEN cabinets.

Trav doing some drawer repairs, and Malachi helping. Malachi loved that all the cabinet doors were off. That opened a whole new world of toys for him to play with.

I pretty much spent all day scrubbing - cabinets, drawers, hinges, knobs, pulls, etc. My hands were pruney all day!

Mom's painting station. Thank goodness for shade!

Our Kitchen Project - Almost Done!

After a hard day's work, we were famished! We decided to treat our hard workers to dinner at a local Italian restaurant.

Yikes, Mom! Watch the road!

After dinner we had to run by Home Depot to pick up a few last minute supplies. Trent had a blast doing 360's with Malachi in the cart (it was very sturdy!)

The next morning all we had to do was put the hardware on the cabinets and drawers and hang them up!

Malachi playing with Elsie and a gord that grows on a vine in our back yard.

Before and After - Kitchen Project

Well, we have taken a big step - we've finally covered up our 1970's avacado green, yellow and orange kitchen walls. I asked my mom and Grandma Vickie to come over for the weekend and help us with our big undertaking - Trent came, too, and he was a big help, especially with Malachi! He really liked using the power drill!

Here are the "before and after pictures." In the before pictures, we had already taken off some of the cabinets. In my next post I'll have more pictures from our fun weekend!

BEFORE

AFTER

(These pictures don't do justice to the green cabinets. They are much prettier! Not so pea green)

Results...

We didn't quite have the expected results with the two large endeavors I wrote about in my last post. BUT I learned a lot!

Malachi wasn't quite ready for the potty chair. He wasn't about to use it to go poo! But he looks really cute in his new underwear! And he asked several times to go potty so we are making progress.

"All done!"

And as far as my sewing project... well just look at the pictures. They speak for themselves. :/

This was the first time I've used a sewing machine since 7th grade! And I think I learned a lot from working on this, and I know I can do much better next time. At least I'm not mean enough to make him wear these in public! Thanks for all your help Grandma Vickie -they would have been REALLY scarry looking without your guidance!

Potty Training and Sewing Projects

Well, I am expecting to receive my camera's battery charger in the mail any day, but until then, I wanted to post a little update.

We've begun to potty train Malachi! I can't wait to go buy those cute little boy underwear! He's peepeed in the potty chair several times the last few days, and today I decided to keep his diaper off (except when we take a quick jaunt to the store!).


We had 2 accidents already this a.m. One was really my fault. He had this very concerned look on his face and he was whimpering and acting really funny. I didn't know what the problem was, until I saw the little pile he'd just dropped on the floor...


So, from this I at least know that he's not comfortable just pooping without a diaper on! As soon as I see that concerned face again, we'll make a run for the bathroom! Live and learn.



Grandma Vickie is coming over to day and will stay all night. I have a few sewing projects that I need help with (I got a sewing machine for my bridal shower, and the only one who has ever used it is Travis!!!). I have to hem some curtains and some maternity pants.

Also, I saw these adorable little boy overalls in a Pottery Barn catalogue - $65 for an outfit a child will wear for 3 months? Yeah, right.


So, we found a similar pattern that will just need a little bit of tweeking, and some cute fabric that was on sale. And I will post the results when they're done (I'm hoping to make 2 pair - one for him now, and one the next size up).