Family Fun Night - Honoring Our Presidents



Introducing President Obama and his stylish wife Michelle.



Mr. Washington, our first president was the
only president to be elected unanimously.

Victoria and Nicholas spent their morning researching a president to share with the family after dinner. They wrote their notes on index cards and chose lots of fun facts. They decided to do a simple craft, so we found this finger puppet craft idea using coins with the heads of Washington and Lincoln. They started really getting into who their president was and even decided to dress up like him. At dinner, I had a white tablecloth with patriotic placemats and layed copied bills ($1, $5....) all over the table. The best part was seeing all the kids dressed up and watching Victoria and Nicholas do an amazing job on their oral reports with their chosen president.

  




Honest Abe was 6ft 4in.
Only one of his four children lived to be an adult.

 

Obama is out of his suit and his wife Michelle is raiding the pantry.
He has his finger puppet and he says here's mini me.



Lincoln with his finger puppet getting
ready for the presentation.

  

Good Ol' George with his cute little finger puppet that he made all on his own.



  







A Field Trip to the Aquarium

Victoria and Nicholas nervously feeding the Lorikeets.

Lizzie enjoying the freedom to run around.

Benjamin trying to avoid the stream of water
being squirted at him.

On Wednesday we had a field trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. We saw LOTS of fish, but our highlight of the day was feeding the Lorikeet birds. Victoria and Nicholas held cups with nectar inside as the bird flew onto their arms and drank away. They got a little scratched, but it was worth the experience. Lizzie and Benjamin enjoyed running around on the child size boat as water sprayed around them. Thankfully the rain had cleared and we were able to tour the outdoor portion of the aquarium!

A Sweet Valentine Week

Our Valentine's signs and decor

This week has been so much sweeter than last week. Our entire family got sick with a stomach virus that left us feeling terrible and indoors all of last week. We missed many fun events. I am happy to say that we are ALL 100% better and thankful to be healthy again.

For Valentine's Day this year we decided to have a small party for our kids since the kids no longer have a class party where they exchange Valentine's with their classmates. We all made or bought cards for each family member, including Grandma and Grandpa who joined the fun. Allan and I bought the kids small gifts as well. Victoria and Nicholas helped decorate the dining room. We had a yummy chocolate fudge dessert and strawberries dipped in chocolate. Fun and laughter was had by ALL. It was a great evening and much needed after our previous week.

Last night, Allan and I had the opportunity to have a Valentine dinner alone. We went to The Elephant Bar and I had an Ahai Salad which was delicious. Afterwards, we decided to have some fun and had an hour of bowling. I must say I bowl much better on Wii. I had to use a kid bowling ball because of the weight of the ball. Allan beat me and he had to brag about it too. We had a really fun night together!

Benjamin giving Lizzie a hug after looking at her Vday card.

The "Me" Stage

Last month Lizzie turned two years old and she was already outspoken in her wants & desires. The last few weeks she seems to be making her needs or wants more known through lots of crying and small tantrums. I remembered this poem that I read  several years ago about toddlers........



Toddler’s Creed

If I want it, it’s mine.
If I give it to you and change my
mind later, it’s mine.
If I can take it away from you,
it’s mine.
If I had it a little while ago,
it’s mine.
If it’s mine, it will never belong to
anyone else, no matter what.
If we are building something together,
all the pieces are mine.
If it looks just like mine,
it is mine. 



 

Can you see the sneakiness in her eyes?

"You may have caught me but I'm still going to try to get away with it."



 Maybe you have a toddler and can relate or you've already raised one so you've been through the "me" stage. After reading this poem, I thought about Lizzie and how she demonstrates her selfishness through crying, lying on the floor, hitting and biting. Then I started to think about myself and how many adults act selfish in similar ways as toddlers. We might not throw our food at our parents, but we sure are convincing to try get our way. We may not take a toy away, but maybe in our hearts we long for that toy that someone else has. Or do you ever catch yourself saying, "That's mine" to your child and wonder where they learned that phrase? I'm not saying it's wrong to teach our children to respect other people's things. I know we all struggle with selfishness. I sometimes don't like to share my food or my time or my toys. My challenge to myself is to be a better example to my children because they will be looking at my actions. Of course, I still need to discipline my children by teaching them the right ways to act & behave. I know that Allan and I need to be demonstrating unselfishness in our home by being more giving of our time, our gifts, being more hospitable and not coveting what other's have. I pray that God will give us the strength each day to do these things in our home. Lizzie will still go through the "It's mine" and "Me" stage, because that's what toddlers do. And we as humans will still go through the "Me" stage until we learn to that we can't do it alone and we need to fully submit ourselves to God. And Allan and I will need to hold our children accountable for their selfish actions until they learn to submit as well.



Miss Lizzie always into something.



A Lesson in Discipline

Each month my kids come home with a bible verse from church to memorize for the month. We work on it weekly and it is also our monthly verse for school as well. I put up copies of the verse in the dining room, on the kitchen cabinet, on the bathroom window, and in the kids bedroom. Last month's verse was.....

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
                                                                                                Hebrews 12:11

I thought, "Wow, this is a great verse for the kids! They really need discipline in their lives." About a week after it was posted, I stopped and read the verse a couple more times. Hmmm......Maybe this verse is for me. Maybe I'm the one who needs discipline. As I thought about my life I realized there were lots of areas that I wasn't disciplined in.
Do I dust weekly or do I wait until I have guests over to dust?
Do I read my bible daily or do I wait until the day before my bible study or read just when I feel like reading?
Do I get things done consistently in a timely manner or do I procrastinate?
Do I exercise regularly and eat healthy foods or am I just exercising whenever and eating whatever I want?

I'm sure I could name a lot more areas that I needed to look at. I'm sure you can think of your own areas to improve on in your own life. I decided to start with regular exercise and eating healthy. My friend told me about a weight loss challenge and since I'm pretty competitive I said I'm in. The hard part for me was being accountable. We go in once a week to weigh in and we all put money in the pot for someone to win based on the highest percent of weight loss. That's it! No one calls or emails me to motivate me. It's up to me! As I started the challenge it was about winning. Now that I'm at the end of the 4th week, it is more about discipline. If I'm disciplined enough to exercise regularly and eat the right kinds of food that discipline produces a harvest of righteousness and peace (which for this example means losing weight). Discipline is not easy, it is painful. I've been exercising 5-7 days per week and there are days that I get on that treadmill and I'm yawning and ready for bed. Twenty minutes into it, I get my second wind to keep on going. The exercise has become a habit. I want to do it because I know the outcome. Now eating the right foods is probably the most difficult. There are so many temptations out there (parties, fast food, your children, etc). It is hard to say no to friends and family and special events. In the back of my mind, I hear the word discipline and I remember the verse.............
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
                                                                                                         Hebrews 12:11

These five motivate me everyday. Allan encourages me daily and gives me compliments as he notices my weight loss (slow, but hey it's coming off). Victoria supports me by making sure I don't cheat on what I'm eating. She says, "Mom, didn't you already have a sweet this week?" Benjamin, Nicholas, and Elizabeth keep me active by wanting to play outside with them. This picture was after our 3 mile hike at Monrovia Park. I'm so thankful for my family!