Strawbery Banke Field Trip

Yesterday we took the kids on our third field trip of the year. We took our homeschooling group to Strawbery Banke. Yes, that's spelled correctly. There's a lot to see there, but what our kids saw was Thanksgiving traditions through the centuries. We visited different historical houses and taverns (as in Bed & Breakfasts...not bars) to see what took place during the century the house and the actors were portraying.

Marshall and Shaylen were able to help in the various activities and listen to the actors talk about what transpired during Thanksgiving of that year. I had never been to Strawbery Banke, but it is definitely something I enjoyed and would love to go and see when they have their Christmas actors and decorations all out.

Missionary Guest

Missionary Jolea Jensen was able to come to our church on Sunday night. She is on deputation right now hoping to get over to the Philippines as soon as possible. She was able to give a sacred piano concert and her presentation. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to hear it except through nursery speakers, but fortunately for me, I got to work in the nursery for the first time in about two years! I've missed it!

We were able to host Jolea in our home on Sunday night. She pulled out a fictitious missionary story (based off of real facts) that she had written & it read to Marshall and Shaylen. They were mesmerized by it.

It is always such a blessing to be able to have people over and allow the kids to literally sit at their feet and learn of different countries. How great to be able to know missionaries personally and then pray for them specifically.

Swim Class

Only one more class left in this first session of Marshall and Shaylen's swim class. They have done a great job! I've especially been thankful that the twins have taken to it like...well, a fish takes to water. (Sorry...baaaaad one. I've obviously been hanging around my husband too long.)

We'll try to get them signed up for the next session. I know the kids are excited to continue learning. They "practice" for the class in the bathtub.

Colon Dough

Taigen was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis shortly before the twins were born. The doctors were able to prescribe some medicines and it's been under control until just a few months ago. Who knows why it flared up, but Taigen adjusted his meds, followed dr's orders and its now under control again. However, just as a precaution, and because he was due for it soon anyway, the doctors wanted to do a colonoscopy.

Alas, tonight is the dreaded "prep night." Taigen told one of our families last night that he was going in for this procedure tomorrow. While we think they are a terrific family, one of the best out there, there is somewhat of a risk in telling them. A risk because they are HUGE practical jokesters. When the guys go golfing, there is always lots of smack-talking. You're also always on your guard during April Fool's Day, never knowing when something is going to happen. They're just that kind of family.

Sooooo, we were wary when they called a few minutes ago asking if they could stop by with "something for Pastor." We thought, "Oh boy. What is it going to be? Rid-X? Liquid Plumber?" We were already laughing and they hadn't even showed up yet!

When he walked into the door he had a covered refrigerator dish. Affixed to the top was this lovely poem:

The Pastor went in for a simple test,
Not knowing for sure if he'd later need rest.

They drugged him and prepped him, ready to go,
So when they got started,...what would it show?

The doctors were puzzled with a look on their face,
What could be wrong, everything was in place.

Finally they asked him, "You should be empty; what did you eat",
"We are seeing some food continue feet after feet."

"Oh that," he replied, "I do think I know,
My friends gave me mounds of cookie dough."

"I just could not help it; it was calling my name,
Now I am sorry and do feel...'some'...shame."

The test was then stopped; it could not be done,
Because Pastor had cookie dough, more than a ton.

And here's what was inside the container: Colon Cookie Dough!!!

My Twin

Ever seen those dolls that little girls can order to have made look just like them? They are called My Twinn dolls. It's a cute idea. This past week, I decided that I didn't need to order one, I'd just create one all on my own...kindof.

I was cutting out material for a skirt on Monday. I'd had the material for a while, but not the time to cut it out and sew it. I decided to accomplish the task on Monday. After cutting out the skirt I realized that I just might have enough to make a jumper for Shaylen. Sure enough, I did! It's a cute little pattern and I was hoping it would work on my own little doll-baby...uh, girl, Shaylen.

I cut, sewed, hemmed, buttoned and then ironed. The finished pieces were able to be worn on Sunday. Shaylen and I were looking forward to it. It's the first thing she mentioned to me on Sunday morning when I went in to kiss her good morning. We had so much fun! I'm thankful for the sweet little girl that God gave me.

Sweet Success!!!

Today Marshall decided to make another attempt at riding his bicycle without training wheels. When I arrived home from working at the church he excitedly told me that he had made a big loop of our yard. Of course, I had to see for myself. He got on and made not just one, not two, but three big loops of the yard...all without stopping or falling. Sweet success!

Compositions: Good Friends And Being Thankful

These first two were from yesterday. They were to write about their best friend and what they like about them. (Note: A "papoose ride" is when I carry Shaylen from the front. It's really a backwards piggy back ride. Simple, but she LOVES them.)

This second set is from today. The twins were to write about what they appreciated. Part of their new unit for Phonics and English is focusing on "Special Deeds."

Mustering Up Courage

I mentioned in a post yesterday that Shaylen has attempted riding her bicycle. Since she didn't succeed in mastering it quickly, she got a bit frustrated and teary. It was a hard pill for her to swallow since learning most things comes easily to her. The helmet and knee pads have been gathering dust for a few weeks now. The training wheels were put back on the bike.

When Shaylen was preparing to ride without the training wheels, Marshall was adamant about not wanting to even try. It was a scary thought for him. But something has changed. Maybe he was wanting a helmet for his very own. He knew that if he wanted a helmet, he must be willing to try. Hmmmm....that's a possibility. We don't know what prompted the change and the desire to learn, but we aren't arguing!

Yesterday, Marshall asked Taigen if they could go to Walmart and get a helmet. Taigen had to run there anyway so he decided to say "yes." When they got home, the training wheels came off of Marshall's bike and Marshall eagerly got on and was willing to try.

We think he's got it! It actually came fairly easily to him. Now if we can just convince him to not get so excited at his success that he stops pedaling! It's so cute.

Fun With Leaves

We love where we live because it is very private and surrounded by trees. We can open our bedroom curtains and see such wonderful color when the leaves are at their peak (around Columbus Day). However, all that privacy and all that color comes at a price. That price comes due when the end of October hits. It's no longer "Leaf Peepin'" season, but "Leaf Rakin'" season.

I think Taigen has now raked the lawn three times. That seems simple enough, but if you know our house and property you realize that this is no small task.

Yesterday the kids were able to go out and help after school and lunch. In addition to raking leaves, Taigen decided to pay them a penny for each acorn they found and put in a bucket. They were so excited! Shaylen collected a total of 285 acorns and Marshall collected 262! After all of their work they enjoyed jumping in leaf piles, drinking fresh apple cider and ultimately getting paid! $2.85 or $2.62 might not seem a lot to you, but to two 5 year olds, it's a large amount of money!

Composition - How Do Mommy & Daddy Help?

A bit of clarification is needed with these compositions, I think. Lest you think that we strapped Shaylen onto her bike without her "[sic]traningwheels" and sent her merrily on her way without helping, the Rest Of The Story involves Daddy running laps around the yard while holding on to the back of Shaylen's bike. Unfortunately for her, she didn't get it as quickly as she thought she would. She fell...frequently, and the tears came shortly thereafter. The helmet and knee pads are enjoying a bit of a respite until her courage rises again. (Poor kiddo! Not everything is easy, eh?)
For Marshall's composition (his own description) we have: Daddy (Note: with no goatee...hmmm, wishful thinking perhaps?), Mommy and Shaylen headed up the stairs towards Marshall's room. Marshall is in the tub reaching out to grab a toy that has fallen out.

I have no clue why our tub is brown in this picture. I promise that I do clean. Please take note of the three airplane pictures taped to his bedroom door. That is exactly how it looks. Hilarious. That's my Marshall for ya!

Surprise Package

We were so surprised last week to get a package in the mail from a certain set of special grandparents in Colorado! The kids could hardly wait to open it when they found out that it was addressed to them. Their eyes lit up when they discovered oodles of items inside just screaming "crafts." Apparently Cathy bought a mondo amount of construction paper and didn't quite need it all. That must have been one-big-box because the "leftovers" we got were about 5 inches in width!

Also included in the box were two crafts for the kids to paint. This was so exciting for them. They thoroughly enjoyed the fighter jet and butterfly that someone from church had given them a while back so they were eager to don the aprons and get busy. Shaylen painted the butterfly and Marshall painted the train...but they both painted the newspaper underneath when they were done! What a bunch of fun for two special kiddos.

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Cathy! We love you!

Compositions for the Birds...Literally

See? All that birdseed and bird-watching has come in handy after all.

Compositions

This particular day the kids wrote about looking at birds and their nests. There is a bush near where we park at church that has an old nest in it. We'll often pick up the kids so they may see inside. There's nothing there, but they like looking at it nonetheless.

Pointers & Pointing

This year for the twins' Bible class they have Mrs. Amato. She is really good and the kids love her. When it is time to sing their hymn she gets out a pointer and points to each word as they sing it. This is very helpful for them. Marshall and Shaylen absolutely love this aspect about Bible class. Seriously, I think it is their favorite thing!

One day Marshall came up to me and asked if he could have a pointer. We found a dowel, cut it in half and gave them each one. A week later they painted them and have been pointing at things ever since. Their favorite thing to do (I'm chuckling to myself as I type this) is to get out their books (any book for Shaylen will do, but Marshall must have his "Big Book of Airplanes"), ask for the Herbsters, and then sit and point for the entire length of the CD pretending that they are pointing to the actual words of the song the Herbsters are singing. How many five year olds do this? Is this normal? Should I be worried?

If it weren't so funny, I might be.

Dental Update

It was time again for the kids to head off to the dentist's office. Can you believe that six months have gone by? This year is flying! (Hard to believe that November is at the end of this week.)

Knowing that this appointment was coming, we started talking about it and praying about it with the kids. Marshall had been nervous the last time and ended up on Taigen's lap during the appointment (clearly his fear comes from his father...this writer NEVER feared the dentist's office.). We wanted them to plan on having a happy heart as they marched into the dentist's chair.

And happy they went! Praise the Lord! They both had a great check-up. In fact, they discovered that soon Shaylen will be getting two loose front teeth. She's not far from following in her brother's footsteps (hopefully getting her teeth out won't be quite the fiasco that it was with the Marsh-man). She's excited to use the small "treasure box" for her teeth. I think she's also excited to get money.

Other good news: Marshall's six-year molars are halfway in! We didn't even know it, but sure enough, there they were. He hasn't complained about it or said anything. It's dark back in there so we never even thought to take a closer look.

I didn't take the camera to the dentist's office, but I thought I'd get a picture of the kids in their jammies last night. I love how they snuggle up together when I say "smile!" They truly love each other, and that is a blessing.

Composition Papers

I'd like to begin something that hopefully you'll enjoy. Every day during the kids' Phonics and English class, they do a composition. This usually involves writing a few sentences and then illustrating it. I enjoy these immensely and thought you would enjoy seeing their little personalities come out on paper.

I'll post a few from the past and then try and put new ones on as we go. I won't do one every day, but some that are especially cute. As always, you can click on these photos in order to make them bigger. Just click the Back Browser button to return to this page. I will try to remember to always post Shaylen's first and then Marshall's. Enjoy!

On this particular day, they were asked to write about a time when they washed the car.

This day, they were to write about what they would be if they could be an animal.

And this time, they were to write about what they dress up as, then write which letter or blend starts out that word. (Note: That's not an overly obese princess on Shaylen's...it's her royal regalia that is poofing out! Hilarious!)

Taking Notes

Taigen is so good about printing out sermon notes that we can fill in while he preaches. It's great to have these on hand for future reference, plus we can be sure to get the main points if we're paying attention. For a while now the kids have been begging to take notes in church on Sunday night. We finally decided that they were "mature enough" to do this and it has been wonderful to watch. What's also funny is to see their little personalities come out in the simple form of handwriting. Shaylen is very language oriented and can read just about anything. She blitzes through her writing because she is eager to write more or read more. Can you tell which one is hers? (Note: you can click on the photos and they will enlarge. Just click the back browser button to get back to this page.) Marshall on the other hand is very meticulous. He plays attention to details (ever seen one of his passenger jet drawings?) but might not know exactly what he's reading or writing. I love how they are twins, but so very unique and special in their own little ways.

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center Field Trip

Our second homeschool field trip of the year was scheduled for Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. This is located up in Holderness, NH. It was a beautiful drive up there! We thought that maybe the color of the leaves would be gone, but even though the peak was past, we still had a gorgeous disply of beauty! The weather had been forecasted to be very cold and possibly rainy...not nice for walking trails, eh? We saw a few snowflakes on the way, but thankfully the weather was all clear the whole time we were up there. It was cold, but we had dressed appropriately.

When we got there we split up into two groups: older homeschool kids and younger. The younger group went inside and got to see three different creatures: the red tailed hawk, the peregrine falcon and the beaver. How cool to see these up close! Each of these animals had been hurt in some way and was now being taken care of by the Center.

After being indoors for our "class" we met up with everyone else and ate lunch together. Our group was then able to go and walk around the trail in order to meet other animals that were now being taken care of. We got to see fisher cats, foxes, otters, mountain lions, bob cats, bears, deer, owls, bald eagles, other hawks and a turkey vulture. (There were others, I'm sure, but at present I cannot remember them.)

The Center has so many interactive things for the kids to discover. We didn't have all day for them to look at everything so we literally had to peel them either out or away from some of the displays in order to keep moving. In fact, I think Marshall and Shaylen enjoyed the interactive rooms more than the animals! This is definitely something we should do again!

Time With Auntie Janelle & Dr. Phil

One of the things I was rarely able to do with Janelle in Zambia was go away to an all-day conference. They don't happen often, but when they do, finding a sitter to cover for us can be challenging. Ellen is in school and most of the adult ladies I know are either homeschooling or working. So, when we got the invite to attend a pastor's/wives conference, I emailed Janelle right away to see if she was available to watch the kids. Fortunately for us, she was!

Janelle came down on Sunday afternoon and was able to enjoy lunch with us and a very special guest: Dr. Phil...Phil Hunt, that is! Dr. Phil Hunt is another missionary from Zambia and also the president of Central Africa Baptist College.

Phil was stateside for a couple of weeks and we were able to schedule him for our Sunday morning service. It was a huge blessing to get to know him, hear him preach and then enjoy the extended fellowship afterwards around our kitchen table with him. He was so encouraging.

What a blessing too to have our kids get to know him too. They thought he was funny. You could tell that he has kids! Can you imagine sitting around lunch and having them ask Phil, "Dr. Hunt, what is elephant dung?" (He had discussed the dung beetle in the morning sermon "Don't Waste Your Life" and we had mentioned it to them.) It was hard to reign them in after that! What was more funny was when he said, "Aren't you glad elephants don't fly?" The kids didn't get it but the adults sure did!

The kids had a great time with Auntie Janelle on Monday. They were able to play outside, rake and jump in leaves and get "loved to pieces."

Friends From All Around

I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but with the computer dying it allowed me to procrastinate a bit longer. A couple of weeks ago Joni and the kids came up and Janelle came down for a visit. It was beautiful outside so the kids were able to ride their bikes up and down the driveway, play ball and get out every toy available upstairs.

It was a short visit from both (aren't they always?), but we had a great time.