On it goes. Joshua just finished a week of environmental stuff... how to care for God's creation and how to be good stewards of it. I have to admit, I felt a bit convicted. But I am sure trying, it is just a hard change over for me. I want to see less garbage leaving my house in a garbage bag and more leaving in recycling bins... I will be talking to my good friend Gwen about how best to make these things happen in the near future. Get ready Gwen!
The reading is going more than exceptional. Joshua has already learned all but about 5 of his words and he is able to get them right every time we do the cards. He amazes me! And so, I thought about the things I did with my little man as he was growing in the early years and the things that I wanted so bad for him.
1. I wanted him to love school, what better way to love something than by being good at it. (I really don't hate many things that I am good at doing)
2. I wanted him to have passion for learning that will hopefully carry him through his life.
3. I wanted him to know what it is to be pushed and then to love it, to know it is for his good and to feel that success of stretching himself and succeeding.
4. I wanted him to know that I took the time with him because I really truly care.
5. I wanted, even on a busy day for us to have quality time together.
So, I did puzzles with him, like you wouldn't believe. He was doing 100 piece puzzles by the time he was 2. We wrote together, he got his first library card when he was 3, all he needed was to be able to write his own name so guess what? He pushed himself, no I didn't do any pushing, just encouraging and you should have seen the contentment he had when he borrowed his first books from the public library... pure bliss for a 3 year old! I read to him all the time from 3 months old on. I sang to him, the alphabet, Jesus loves me, Twinkle twinkle, Splish Splash, and so on and so on... for fun you know, just so he would know my voice and that I was very often happy. I did so much with him. Today I was specifically thinking, man, I remember doing alphabet and number flashcards with him all the time.
Now, Annabelle and Joel are a different matter. With them, I read. I definitely wrestle. I snuggle. I chat. I watch movies. I bake with. I take out. But one thing is for sure, I have hardly done the things above. Why? I am busier. I am still working with Joshua, and they have never been so interested like Joshua was.
As Joshua is now in school, guess what it leaves time for... more fellowship with people which I have been thoroughly enjoying but most of all, time with my 2 little monkeys. Now, I have been mostly concerned for getting Annabelle set and ready for school. I am so excited for her. There are 2 big things happening. First, this winter she has a surgery. It is pretty hard for me to even think about right now. It is a day surgery but she is very scared and she will be put completely under for it. So I pray over her and I pray... period, a lot lately about this. The second thing, of course, is my princess will start kindergarten next fall. So, tonight I remembered the flash cards. I put them away about 3 years ago when Joshua knew it all. ha ha. He knew all his letters and most of their sounds. Hauled them out tonight. And we went for it. She knows about 5 letters. That is a great start, and she has a great memory and is extremely smart. She memorizes songs so easy and can say the alphabet and count to at least 20. She can add and subtract some... especially when she is eating Mandarin oranges, you know. I have 5 oranges mom... I'm going to eat 2 and look mom, there are 3 left. That kind of thing. Or, I had 2 cars mom and then Joshua gave me 8 cars and now I have 10! So, I know it really is just that I have not introduced the letters in a way that she could relate the alphabet to actual images. I will fill you all in as she progresses. It is also great that Joel sits along side and wants to learn so hopefully both will learn together as Joel goes in to school in 2009 and it would be great if he is more than ready as well!
Adam and I watched Apocalypto last night. It was horrific to me. Adam watched the whole thing and said it wasn't that great. I had heard it was so good but I just couldn't handle that much and that kind of violence so I would have to say, not the kind of movie I would recommend.
Went to a great little ladies get together at the E free church today where Org Junkie herself was there to talk about organizing our homes. Very informative and enjoyable and on a great side note there was babysitting for the kids there so I was able to really concentrate and get some cool tips. Had no idea she was semi local either so that was great to meet her after checking he blog and loving it for such a long time. Awesome little study on our high calling as woman also in caring for our homes. I loved it. Sometimes I loose touch with the fact that I am doing it all as worship unto the Lord, not just for me and my hubby to be more comfy. I love it and it is a real passion of mine to clean and organize.
I got a few things wrapped up that I needed to do for my bro-in-law, Andrew. I can tell you one thing... that is a HUGE load off. I just needed to get it done. Nothing major, just sending out a document for him.
This is kind of just a quick update about little snippets of life. Sorry if I have bored you all to sleep! I shall hit the hay myself now since it is rounding the bend to an insane hour to be up.
I am not proof reading so, forgive bad grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. and have a great day, or night! May God bless you all!
7 comments:
Once you get into the recycyling thing, it'll be a piece of cake. We've been doing it for a few months and it has become part of our family's way of life. The boys know what needs to be recycled and where it goes. It does become second nature. You don't need much direction. Anything with cans or jars get washed out. Packaging(hard paper) is recyclable as well. Paper of any kind. We throw it into one big plastic bag and we have curbside pickup once a month. You actually don't need to do curbside but we wanted to support a community endeavor. It only takes a few minutes out of your day and every little bit makes a difference!!!
Anyhow enjoy your day.
A-HA!!!!
I actually was quite sheepish myself today, as we drove around town doing errands. My daughter said (and I quote) "Shouldn't we be walking to cut down on energy consumption?" And then my other daughter said, "Yes, every time we drive around in the car it makes a big black smear in the air."
I quickly had to justify myself by saying how far away our different "to do" places were, but I still felt guilty! ;)
As you know, I welcome any new hoppers-on to the green wagon. Talk to me sista!
I forgot to say, I am impressed by your list of goals / visions for Joshua. I read Jenny's top 5 list a couple posts ago and I've been thinking of these things ever since. I can tell you put a lot of thought into these. I'm inspired to make my own list! Thanks!
I am so bummed that I never heard about Org Junkie coming to town!!! I bet I missed out!
Jenny... thanks a lot, I am so glad for the encouragement! And I now know I can talk to you about all the ins and outs of recycling in town, too! Maybe Tuesday you can tell me some details I have been wondering about.
Gwen... That is precisely why I have never really got into the whole "green" thing because I figured it is just easier not to live with the guilt everytime I have to do it the, not-so-smart way. But what a dumb excuse, really! So I will try to do my best in the next while to get on board. You know, for some reason I had missed Jenny's post about top 5. These are all great things to think about and then work towards.
Christy... You missed out a little bit but not a huge amount because if you read her blog, you get the points, it was just nice to ask questions and talk about organizing with someone who really has passion for it!
Just a note- baking with your kids can be very educational as well as fun. I was helping my mom in the kitchen since I was about 2. I learned how to count, add, subtract and do fractions by baking. If it wasn't for double and tripling or halfing a recipe I would never have been able to do fractions!!! Hi by the way!! :)
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