Well, school began again this week and it went pretty well. I am enjoying the curriculum we're using. Harry wasn't too thrilled about starting school at first, but declared 'it wasn't too bad' by the time we finished up today. Kathy was bursting to start. She is so excited to begin reading and has been asking about it throughout the holidays. We've been working on the sounds in her phonics handbook and today she sounded out and read three words all by herself! She was so proud of herself and so was her mom, of course!
Since we have a 9 month old baby in the house we try to do school when she is sleeping. School usually takes 1 1/2-2 hours unless we decide to do a craft. At about 11am we have our morning time. This is when we do all of the subjects that are combined - Bible, history, memory work, hymn, music, art, science/nature study and poetry. During one of Lilly's afternoon naps we do the other subjects - reading, copywork, literature read aloud, maths and geography. This is usually around 2:30/3pm.
It was a challenging first week. We had someone up from another church to help do some work on the building we are renovating to hold church services in. Most of the day Don was over at the building working. Then Lilly is still cutting teeth - her 7th in 7 weeks! It was interesting doing school, making sure the house was tidy and everyone was fed properly! :)
The biggest success of our first week was nature study. I was determined to do it more regularly this year using The Nature Connection. And so far we have done it 3 times this week! Even before starting the book, the kids found a caterpillar and wanted to keep him. So we drew pictures, took pictures and learned about caring for a caterpillar. We also tried to look up the species and see if we could find out what type of butterfly it would turn into. Then we read some in the book the next day about making a daily record of things we notice in nature throughout the day. The third day Kathy kept asking for her nature journal to draw what she had seen during the day (another caterpillar, a bee and cirrus clouds). It's been loads of fun! I never thought they'd get so excited about journaling!
I can't wait to plan next week!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Time for School
I am pretty excited about this coming school year. Harry will be in Primary 4/2nd grade and Kathy will be in Primary 2/ Kindergarden. I have been looking at the curriculum for a long time. Instead of taking a traditional textbook approach we are using the curriculum from Simply Charlotte Mason along with supplements from Ambleside Online. I found out about the CM method when I had begun pre-K work with Harry. Maybe one of these days I'll take the time to go more into why and how I was drawn to this method.
We are starting with the Ancient Greece course since we did ancient Egypt last year with another book. I was drawn to the Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum because they offer their books as ebooks. Living overseas, I did not want to have to pay for those shipping costs! I love my Kindle and the books work really well. Any books that weren't specifically SCM, and would be better to have in print, I was able to order from amazon uk.
For Language Arts we will continue with copywork, poetry from AO Year 2, and literature selections from SCM and AO. Kathy will begin reading this year using the Abeka phonics books and she'll also start learning cursive.
I was able to find a really fun looking maths curriculum for Harry that is Scottish. Kathy will just do printed worksheets.
While I was homeschooled some when I was younger and even helped teach my younger siblings, the CM method is still new to me and it will be fun to see how it works for us.
The plan is to begin next week and maybe I'll share a little about our homeschool day occasionally.
We are starting with the Ancient Greece course since we did ancient Egypt last year with another book. I was drawn to the Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum because they offer their books as ebooks. Living overseas, I did not want to have to pay for those shipping costs! I love my Kindle and the books work really well. Any books that weren't specifically SCM, and would be better to have in print, I was able to order from amazon uk.
For Language Arts we will continue with copywork, poetry from AO Year 2, and literature selections from SCM and AO. Kathy will begin reading this year using the Abeka phonics books and she'll also start learning cursive.
I was able to find a really fun looking maths curriculum for Harry that is Scottish. Kathy will just do printed worksheets.
While I was homeschooled some when I was younger and even helped teach my younger siblings, the CM method is still new to me and it will be fun to see how it works for us.
The plan is to begin next week and maybe I'll share a little about our homeschool day occasionally.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Ask, and it shall be given
"Ask , and it shall be given you;...For everyone that asketh receiveth;.." Matthew 7:7,8
All my life I have been taught to live by faith. I have often seen this put into practice by my parents. Growing up as a missionary kid I saw the financial struggles we went through. In the midst of it all we always prayed and God would work a miracle. I have often seen this happen in my life since I have been married. God has done things for us that often surprise me and sometimes simply blow me away.
I am going to share a huge blessing we received this year.
This is the year we will be reapplying for our visa to remain in the country. Hard to believe it will be three years this fall!
We had kept a reserve available for the fees we knew would be involved. To our surprise,we found out that as of April there was a new fee added, doubling the amount we would have to pay. The only people we mentioned it to was fellow missionaries here as it came up in conversation(they are constantly changing immigration laws over here), family and our church. We began praying about it, knowing God would somehow provide it.
Then, out of the blue, someone we had met and had known only a few weeks, gave us their car. This person was needing to move out of the country and the only thing keeping him here was trying to sell the car. He knew God wanted him to give it to us to sell and use toward our visa application. Don and I could only sit there with our mouths hanging open! God, again, had met our needs in a way we never imagined! We were able to sell the car a few weeks ago. Since then we have also received many love offerings towards our application.
I am reassured again and again that trusting God to meet our needs, instead of trying to figure it out on our own, is so much better. Let Him have control in every area of your life and watch Him take care of you! He knows us and can care/provide for us much better than we can for ourselves!
All my life I have been taught to live by faith. I have often seen this put into practice by my parents. Growing up as a missionary kid I saw the financial struggles we went through. In the midst of it all we always prayed and God would work a miracle. I have often seen this happen in my life since I have been married. God has done things for us that often surprise me and sometimes simply blow me away.
I am going to share a huge blessing we received this year.
This is the year we will be reapplying for our visa to remain in the country. Hard to believe it will be three years this fall!
We had kept a reserve available for the fees we knew would be involved. To our surprise,we found out that as of April there was a new fee added, doubling the amount we would have to pay. The only people we mentioned it to was fellow missionaries here as it came up in conversation(they are constantly changing immigration laws over here), family and our church. We began praying about it, knowing God would somehow provide it.
Then, out of the blue, someone we had met and had known only a few weeks, gave us their car. This person was needing to move out of the country and the only thing keeping him here was trying to sell the car. He knew God wanted him to give it to us to sell and use toward our visa application. Don and I could only sit there with our mouths hanging open! God, again, had met our needs in a way we never imagined! We were able to sell the car a few weeks ago. Since then we have also received many love offerings towards our application.
I am reassured again and again that trusting God to meet our needs, instead of trying to figure it out on our own, is so much better. Let Him have control in every area of your life and watch Him take care of you! He knows us and can care/provide for us much better than we can for ourselves!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
New Ministry Opportunities
Another change came at the beginning of this year. We had been meeting in the town hall every Sunday afternoon for a Bible study time. It seemed that God was beginning to lead us in a different direction.We hadn't seen anyone come to our Bible studies for many months, so we began to pray about what God would have us do. Continue with the Bible study group or rent a building and begin holding traditional services?
Right around the corner from where we live there was a laundrette, or as we know it, a drycleaners. It has sat empty for as long as we've been here. Don inquired about it and found the owners were willing to let us rent it at a very reasonable rate. It was not ready for immediate use though. It's seems that God kept it for us. It had been sitting empty since they had purchased it, some years ago. At one time they had plans to make the rooms into an apartment, but they never got around to it.
We have a sign up, and some work has been done. A carpet still needs to be laid, a wall built, a bathroom installed and two doors need to be put up. Hopefully this work will be done by the end of July.
There has been some waiting with plans needing to be approved, etc. We are getting there and looking forward to beginning holding services at Moray Coast Baptist Church.
Don has also been involved in two one-on-one Bibles studies during the week. It will be exciting and interesting to see what God does with these two men he has been meeting with.
We are also holding Bible studies in Inverness (about an hour away) every two weeks with a few families. This is simply an extension of our ministry here. Our ultimate goal and desire is to see a church established here in Lossiemouth.
Right around the corner from where we live there was a laundrette, or as we know it, a drycleaners. It has sat empty for as long as we've been here. Don inquired about it and found the owners were willing to let us rent it at a very reasonable rate. It was not ready for immediate use though. It's seems that God kept it for us. It had been sitting empty since they had purchased it, some years ago. At one time they had plans to make the rooms into an apartment, but they never got around to it.
We have a sign up, and some work has been done. A carpet still needs to be laid, a wall built, a bathroom installed and two doors need to be put up. Hopefully this work will be done by the end of July.
There has been some waiting with plans needing to be approved, etc. We are getting there and looking forward to beginning holding services at Moray Coast Baptist Church.
Don has also been involved in two one-on-one Bibles studies during the week. It will be exciting and interesting to see what God does with these two men he has been meeting with.
We are also holding Bible studies in Inverness (about an hour away) every two weeks with a few families. This is simply an extension of our ministry here. Our ultimate goal and desire is to see a church established here in Lossiemouth.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Delivery in Unfamiliar Territory
One of the biggest changes this past year was our little family of five growing to be a family of six! I enjoyed an uneventful pregnancy. For the most part I saw a midwife, but since I was going to have a repeat c-section I had to see a consultant at the hospital in Elgin, only 10 minutes away.
The planned c-section was set for November 19, 2014. Due to some concerns the doctor decided it would be best to move it up two weeks. This did not go with the plans we had made! My mom was going to arrive on the 14th and be with us for two weeks. Now she would arrive 8 days after Lilly was born.
Who would watch the kids while Don went with me to the hospital? How would he handle three young children on his own for 3-4 days? Why was this happening?
"Neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord." Is 55:8b God's plans are more perfect than ours. There was a family we had become friends with that were able to watch the kids that day. Don did great with the kids. Everyone was ready to have mom back, but they were okay. Home could function without me for a few days. I think God was letting us know that even when things don't go as we plan, His will is perfect and even being many miles away from family and the familiar, we could depend on Him to care for us and provide for us.
And so, little Lillian Joy joined us on November 5, 2014. She weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long! Delivery went well. My hospital experience was a good one. I was actually very impressed with the care I was given. I was expecting things to be a bit more backward (for whatever reason), but I think it was comparable to my deliveries in the US.
We hadn't found out what we were having, but I had a feeling all along it was a girl. Harry was a little disappointed, but I'd have to say, he is her favorite! She smiles at her sisters, but her face really lights up when Harry is near!
My mom arrived 8 days later and it was a good time for her to come. I was getting to where I wanted to do more. I love my husband, but he's a man and the house needed some extra care. :) I saw things that needed to be done, but I could only do so much. Then my mom arrived and did what moms do. She helped me do some deep cleaning that needed to be done and told me to sit and take it easy.
I loved having her here and showing her around this place we now call home. We really missed having my dad here with her.
Fast forward to today. Lilly turned seven months recently. She is such a big girl. Sleeps about 8-10 hours at night. She's a pretty good girl. Yes, she does have times when she doesn't want to nap and is very crabby. If nothing is bothering her she is content. We love having Lilly as part of our family!
The planned c-section was set for November 19, 2014. Due to some concerns the doctor decided it would be best to move it up two weeks. This did not go with the plans we had made! My mom was going to arrive on the 14th and be with us for two weeks. Now she would arrive 8 days after Lilly was born.
Who would watch the kids while Don went with me to the hospital? How would he handle three young children on his own for 3-4 days? Why was this happening?
"Neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord." Is 55:8b God's plans are more perfect than ours. There was a family we had become friends with that were able to watch the kids that day. Don did great with the kids. Everyone was ready to have mom back, but they were okay. Home could function without me for a few days. I think God was letting us know that even when things don't go as we plan, His will is perfect and even being many miles away from family and the familiar, we could depend on Him to care for us and provide for us.
And so, little Lillian Joy joined us on November 5, 2014. She weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long! Delivery went well. My hospital experience was a good one. I was actually very impressed with the care I was given. I was expecting things to be a bit more backward (for whatever reason), but I think it was comparable to my deliveries in the US.
We hadn't found out what we were having, but I had a feeling all along it was a girl. Harry was a little disappointed, but I'd have to say, he is her favorite! She smiles at her sisters, but her face really lights up when Harry is near!
My mom arrived 8 days later and it was a good time for her to come. I was getting to where I wanted to do more. I love my husband, but he's a man and the house needed some extra care. :) I saw things that needed to be done, but I could only do so much. Then my mom arrived and did what moms do. She helped me do some deep cleaning that needed to be done and told me to sit and take it easy.
I loved having her here and showing her around this place we now call home. We really missed having my dad here with her.
Fast forward to today. Lilly turned seven months recently. She is such a big girl. Sleeps about 8-10 hours at night. She's a pretty good girl. Yes, she does have times when she doesn't want to nap and is very crabby. If nothing is bothering her she is content. We love having Lilly as part of our family!
Thursday, June 11, 2015
It's been a looonnnggg time! :)
I'm back and going to make a huge attempt to blog at least once a week. Things are beginning to happen around here and life is getting busy. Well, it already has been busy, but I feel like now there are many things to blog about. So many things have happened in the last year! Here's a quick run down:
Lilly joined us two weeks early on November 5, 2014. She a little chunker, even now at 7 months. She loves her brother and sisters!! Harry, though a little disappointed at first, loves her completely. They both get along really well and he was the first one who made her laugh.
We stopped meeting at the town hall this March and are currently renovating a small storefront. The building is right around the corner from our house. We're looking forward to finishing the work and beginning services.
Don is involved in two one-on-one Bible studies. We are also meeting two other families in Inverness every other Sunday. Needless to say he is enjoying having these ministry opportunities!
We are about to finish our second year homeschooling. I will share more about what we're doing this next year. I am really excited about the curriculum we will be using! Kathy has really improved in the last 4 months. Her letters and numbers are not perfect, but they are finally recognisable! I am really proud of what she's done. Harry has done really well this year. He's ready to be finished though! :) Throughout the summer I will try keeping them busy. I would like to keep their math, reading and writing skills fresh. It also works much better and makes the day run smoother (less fighting) if they have some sort of structure.
Summer has slowly begun to arrive here in Scotland. We've had 60-65 degrees, and yes, that's pretty much summer for us! It will get up to 70-75, but not much warmer than that.
We've seen God bless so much and I may share some of His blessings in the next couple of weeks!
Lilly joined us two weeks early on November 5, 2014. She a little chunker, even now at 7 months. She loves her brother and sisters!! Harry, though a little disappointed at first, loves her completely. They both get along really well and he was the first one who made her laugh.
We stopped meeting at the town hall this March and are currently renovating a small storefront. The building is right around the corner from our house. We're looking forward to finishing the work and beginning services.
Don is involved in two one-on-one Bible studies. We are also meeting two other families in Inverness every other Sunday. Needless to say he is enjoying having these ministry opportunities!
We are about to finish our second year homeschooling. I will share more about what we're doing this next year. I am really excited about the curriculum we will be using! Kathy has really improved in the last 4 months. Her letters and numbers are not perfect, but they are finally recognisable! I am really proud of what she's done. Harry has done really well this year. He's ready to be finished though! :) Throughout the summer I will try keeping them busy. I would like to keep their math, reading and writing skills fresh. It also works much better and makes the day run smoother (less fighting) if they have some sort of structure.
Summer has slowly begun to arrive here in Scotland. We've had 60-65 degrees, and yes, that's pretty much summer for us! It will get up to 70-75, but not much warmer than that.
We've seen God bless so much and I may share some of His blessings in the next couple of weeks!
Friday, August 15, 2014
Spring and Summer
We really love living here in Lossiemouth! Our spring and summer has been very busy. In May I took a two week trip back to the States to attend my brother's wedding. Audrey went with me and was finally able to really get to know the grandparents. I loved being back with family and we had a great time! The wedding was beautiful! But I quickly came to realize that I didn't quite belong there anymore. I am perfectly happy where God has put me and Scotland has become my home. Audrey and I skyped with Don and the other two every day and often I would call him on the phone later in the day. We really missed being away from them.
Our summer has been full of visits to the beach (in a secluded area!) to let the kids splash in the water. We've had other families come visit us. Lossie is a tourist spot and such a beautiful place to visit, not to mention live! :) We've also had some visitors to our Sunday Bible studies at the town hall.
We are expecting a new addition to the family this November! The kids are very excited about a new sibling.
Because of this, instead of beginning school next week, we started this week. Our first week has gone very well. Harry is in year 2/grade 1. Kathy is in reception/preschool. Kathy has been asking for weeks to start. Audrey just turned two, is still very active and needs more attention than the others. So, we do school in the afternoon, during nap time. We don't take very long. I'm keeping lessons short and we try to have more hands on things to do, especially for science. We're usually done in 1 1/2-2 hours. I may write more about what we're doing and how it's working for us over the next few weeks.
We just had some bad weather the beginning of this week as a result of hurricane Bertha. The sun was out yesterday and today, so I hope our summer isn't over yet....
Our summer has been full of visits to the beach (in a secluded area!) to let the kids splash in the water. We've had other families come visit us. Lossie is a tourist spot and such a beautiful place to visit, not to mention live! :) We've also had some visitors to our Sunday Bible studies at the town hall.
We are expecting a new addition to the family this November! The kids are very excited about a new sibling.
Because of this, instead of beginning school next week, we started this week. Our first week has gone very well. Harry is in year 2/grade 1. Kathy is in reception/preschool. Kathy has been asking for weeks to start. Audrey just turned two, is still very active and needs more attention than the others. So, we do school in the afternoon, during nap time. We don't take very long. I'm keeping lessons short and we try to have more hands on things to do, especially for science. We're usually done in 1 1/2-2 hours. I may write more about what we're doing and how it's working for us over the next few weeks.
We just had some bad weather the beginning of this week as a result of hurricane Bertha. The sun was out yesterday and today, so I hope our summer isn't over yet....
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
We've moved!!
We have now been in Lossie for 3 months. I love this little town we've moved to!! The move went really well. We only ran into a little problem while trying to put the kids bunk bed together. Their room is on the third floor and the ceiling slants. Rob quickly solved the problem by sawing off an inch or so of the legs!
We've explored some of our town. The kids enjoy going to the library and just a few blocks away is the park. There are so many things within walking distance: the post office, the Co-op (a grocery store), the butchers, the fish and chip shop, and, my favorite, the beach!
It's such a wonderful place God has brought us to!! I believe wherever God puts someone, He can give them a love for that place. I'm glad He sent us to a town we had already come to love.
So, this is the beginning. In March we are holding Bible lectures and Lord-willing from there we can move forward to Bible studies or even services! As we begin with Lossie, our desire is to eventually reach the area of Moray county. Please, pray that we will come into contact with people who have a desire to learn about God and are open to hearing truth!
We've explored some of our town. The kids enjoy going to the library and just a few blocks away is the park. There are so many things within walking distance: the post office, the Co-op (a grocery store), the butchers, the fish and chip shop, and, my favorite, the beach!
It's such a wonderful place God has brought us to!! I believe wherever God puts someone, He can give them a love for that place. I'm glad He sent us to a town we had already come to love.
So, this is the beginning. In March we are holding Bible lectures and Lord-willing from there we can move forward to Bible studies or even services! As we begin with Lossie, our desire is to eventually reach the area of Moray county. Please, pray that we will come into contact with people who have a desire to learn about God and are open to hearing truth!
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| Lossiemouth beach from the hill |
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| hall we're renting for the Bible lectures |
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| letterboxing for the lectures |
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Time for School
Last year I worked with Harry on improving his penmanship, phonics and math. We had a very loose schedule and it was simply preparing him for beginning school. This year, just last week, we began school in earnest! In our desire to make Scotland as much of our home as possible, I have come to the conclusion that I want his school learning to be close to what kids in schools here would learn. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to incorporate some Scottish/ UK history. After thinking about it a little more, I thought it would be a good idea to use mainly UK textbooks.
My mom homeschooled us for a little bit before we had to attend the German schools (they do not allow home education). When we returned to the States she was able to teach us at home once again. I thought I would go this route and use a familiar curriculum. Although I would still like to use many textbooks that I am familiar with, I believe I will try to use more UK material.
For Harry this means he is not in Kindergarten, he is in Primary 1. This is similar to Kindergarten and a little of 1st grade. In history he'll be learning about Florence Nightingale, the London fire, Guy Fawkes and many other simple historical happenings/figures in the UK. He'll have a bit of science, geography, art and music. We'll use books and also some online resources. I found a website that shows what children might learn in each school year. This has been really helpful to me.
Kathy only joins us 2 days a week. We do a Bible time together every day. Right now I'm just focusing on her knowing her letters and numbers. She is also working on tracing and perfecting her shapes. Drawing is not one of her strengths!! :) She does love making up stories and singing.
It's been really interesting doing all this with a baby crawling around wanting your undivided attention! Much of the time Audrey plays pretty well on her own. Then the other part she is trying to see what they're doing and trying to grab their books or pencils. I'm trying to move her to one nap in the afternoon. So far I always lay her down at 11:30, but it makes her afternoon nap so late. This means she stays up later instead of going to bed with Harry and Kathy. I tried one nap today and it worked very well! She was a little crabby when lunch time arrived, but she ate quickly and was able to lay down right away.
Here are some of the UK sites that I use, as well as the curriculum plan for Scotland:
http://www.crickweb.co.uk
http://www.everyschool.co.uk/
https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary
Until next time...
My mom homeschooled us for a little bit before we had to attend the German schools (they do not allow home education). When we returned to the States she was able to teach us at home once again. I thought I would go this route and use a familiar curriculum. Although I would still like to use many textbooks that I am familiar with, I believe I will try to use more UK material.
For Harry this means he is not in Kindergarten, he is in Primary 1. This is similar to Kindergarten and a little of 1st grade. In history he'll be learning about Florence Nightingale, the London fire, Guy Fawkes and many other simple historical happenings/figures in the UK. He'll have a bit of science, geography, art and music. We'll use books and also some online resources. I found a website that shows what children might learn in each school year. This has been really helpful to me.
Kathy only joins us 2 days a week. We do a Bible time together every day. Right now I'm just focusing on her knowing her letters and numbers. She is also working on tracing and perfecting her shapes. Drawing is not one of her strengths!! :) She does love making up stories and singing.
It's been really interesting doing all this with a baby crawling around wanting your undivided attention! Much of the time Audrey plays pretty well on her own. Then the other part she is trying to see what they're doing and trying to grab their books or pencils. I'm trying to move her to one nap in the afternoon. So far I always lay her down at 11:30, but it makes her afternoon nap so late. This means she stays up later instead of going to bed with Harry and Kathy. I tried one nap today and it worked very well! She was a little crabby when lunch time arrived, but she ate quickly and was able to lay down right away.
Here are some of the UK sites that I use, as well as the curriculum plan for Scotland:
http://www.crickweb.co.uk
http://www.everyschool.co.uk/
https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary
Until next time...
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Audrey
One year ago on August 3rd we went to Regional Hospital in St. Paul for a scheduled c-section. I had hoped for an attempt at natural birth but this little lady, just like Kathy, was in a transverse position. She was also past her due date.
Three days later we were hoping to be released. A nurse came and informed me that she was having a doctor listen to her and they were going to do an ultrasound. Soon they returned to tell me that she would be transferred to St Mary's NICU in Rochester to be closer to us. Her condition: coarctation of the aorta, and she would need surgery. Two weeks after she was born we were able to take Audrey home.
At 6 weeks old she got to experience a 13 hour trip to Scotland. She did really well on the flight, even better than the older two :)
Audrey is getting better at standing and loves to follow her brother and sister around. She has 5 teeth. Out of everything that she is able to eat she loves peas! She will get very excited and start banging on the tray when she sees me get out the peas!!
Harry and Kathy love having Audrey around. They sometimes have the idea that she can do a lot more than she actually is able to!
I am so glad that we were able to have both grandparents watch her open presents and eat cake. On Saturday we skyped with them (it was 9 am their time!). It was great for them to share this special FIRST birthday with us!!
Three days later we were hoping to be released. A nurse came and informed me that she was having a doctor listen to her and they were going to do an ultrasound. Soon they returned to tell me that she would be transferred to St Mary's NICU in Rochester to be closer to us. Her condition: coarctation of the aorta, and she would need surgery. Two weeks after she was born we were able to take Audrey home.
At 6 weeks old she got to experience a 13 hour trip to Scotland. She did really well on the flight, even better than the older two :)
Audrey is getting better at standing and loves to follow her brother and sister around. She has 5 teeth. Out of everything that she is able to eat she loves peas! She will get very excited and start banging on the tray when she sees me get out the peas!!
Harry and Kathy love having Audrey around. They sometimes have the idea that she can do a lot more than she actually is able to!
I am so glad that we were able to have both grandparents watch her open presents and eat cake. On Saturday we skyped with them (it was 9 am their time!). It was great for them to share this special FIRST birthday with us!!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Our Spring in Pictures
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| Don's parents visited us in May. We enjoyed showing them the sights. This is Dunrobin Castle. |
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| I've been doing some sewing again. One of my projects was this onesie dress for Audrey. |
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| We've had some beautiful days. The kids love being outside. |
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| Don and Harry attended a men's camp out right before Father's Day. |
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| The girl's and I had our own fun! |
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| Audrey started crawling the beginning of June. Now she is pulling herself up and standing with support. |
Thursday, March 28, 2013
A Post Dedicated to All Things Kathy
Well, my big girl is three! She is definitely all girl! She was not late, but a few days early. I was eager to try a vbac and up until a week before she was born I was very hopeful. Then that week before her due date the midwife informed me that she had turned back around. I was scheduled for a repeat c-section on her birth date, but went into labor the Friday before. My biggest so far, she weighed in at 9 lbs 4 oz!!
Kathy has had quite the adventurous life for a 3 year old! When she was 5 months old we began deputation. She was a year old when she took her first trip on a plane across the Atlantic to Scotland. Then at 2 1/2 she took that trip again to live in a, to her, foreign land.
We celebrated with a party on Saturday. She had a tea party with just the girls!! :) Then on her birthday, yesterday, we had cake with just the four of us (Don, me, Harry and Kathy). She, like Harry, opened gifts from the grandparents while skyping with them. Before lunch I took her to get her hair cut and she sat still very well! They put sparkly hairspray in her hair since it was her birthday. I'd have to say, except for having a cold, she had a pretty good birthday! I'll be taking pictures this weekend, weather permitting! Hopefully she'll be feeling better and up to picture-taking then.
Here's her 3rd Birthday Interview:
Kathy has had quite the adventurous life for a 3 year old! When she was 5 months old we began deputation. She was a year old when she took her first trip on a plane across the Atlantic to Scotland. Then at 2 1/2 she took that trip again to live in a, to her, foreign land.
We celebrated with a party on Saturday. She had a tea party with just the girls!! :) Then on her birthday, yesterday, we had cake with just the four of us (Don, me, Harry and Kathy). She, like Harry, opened gifts from the grandparents while skyping with them. Before lunch I took her to get her hair cut and she sat still very well! They put sparkly hairspray in her hair since it was her birthday. I'd have to say, except for having a cold, she had a pretty good birthday! I'll be taking pictures this weekend, weather permitting! Hopefully she'll be feeling better and up to picture-taking then.
Here's her 3rd Birthday Interview:
What's you're name? Kathy
How old are you? 3
Favorite food? Pasta with cheese
Favorite color? Pink and purple
Favorite snack? Cookies/biscuits
Favorite movie? Princess – Cinderella, Rapunzel (Tangled)
Favorite toy? princesses
Favorite animal? monkey
Favorite book? princess
Favorite song? I don’t really know
Favorite thing to take to bed? A monkey
Favorite place to go? A poke (this is how she says ‘park’)
Favorite restaurant? Applebees (we went here many times while on the road
in the states)
What games do you like to play? On my computer (she got a vtech laptop for
her birthday)
What do you want to be when you grow up? Four
Monday, March 4, 2013
Another Post dedicated to all things Harry
Harry had a great time at his party on Saturday. We had quite a full house. I attempted an Angry Bird cake and Piggy cupcakes. They didn't turn out too bad, but I am definitely not a cake decorator! Harry, the awesome son that he is, declared it was the coolest cake ever! The party went great. At the end of the day Don went out to grab some pizza for us...I was tired!
Then since he was all dressed up Sunday, I took some pictures.
He's getting to be so big. Such a handsome guy, just like his dad!!
Then since he was all dressed up Sunday, I took some pictures.
He's getting to be so big. Such a handsome guy, just like his dad!!
Here's a short and fun questionnaire I did with him Saturday. I plan on trying to do one with them every year and see how their answers change.
What's you're name? H-A-R-R-Y
How old are you? 5
What's your favorite food? bananas and pasta
What's your favorite color? red and green and blue and black and grey
What's your favorite snack? bananas
What's your favorite movie? Cars 1 and 2 and my new Thomas movie
What's your favorite toy? red race car I just got today
What's your favorite animal? elephant, hippo and a giraffe and a pig
What's your favorite book? The Monster at the End of this Book (said repeatedly)
What's your favorite song? uh, I'm not sure, I don't like any (not quite true, he likes "Send the Light" and many children's songs)
What's your favorite thing to take to bed? my stuffed animals
What's your favorite place to go? the zoo
What's your favorite restaurant? Applebees
What's your favorite food? bananas and pasta
What's your favorite color? red and green and blue and black and grey
What's your favorite snack? bananas
What's your favorite movie? Cars 1 and 2 and my new Thomas movie
What's your favorite toy? red race car I just got today
What's your favorite animal? elephant, hippo and a giraffe and a pig
What's your favorite book? The Monster at the End of this Book (said repeatedly)
What's your favorite song? uh, I'm not sure, I don't like any (not quite true, he likes "Send the Light" and many children's songs)
What's your favorite thing to take to bed? my stuffed animals
What's your favorite place to go? the zoo
What's your favorite restaurant? Applebees
What games do you like to play? the Batman game, Mario Cart and Mario Brothers
What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know, uh, I just want to be someone who lives at home with mom and goes wild....I just want to be the dad, sitting around the house being wild and sometimes I do things for her. (I'm assuming from his last statement that the "mom" would be his wife he's referring to, otherwise, nope, you are not living at home with ME the rest of your life)
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A Post dedicated to All Things Harry
Harry I consider our miracle baby. The year before I became pregnant with him I had 3 miscarriages. The doctors were able to correct the problem that had been found and 5 months later we were expecting Harry. I waited with trepidation for the first three months to pass and they did without any problems at all. I also experienced the added blessing of NO morning sickness!
Harry was born 8 days late on February 27, 2008. He was a quick learner and was crawling by 6 months and walking by 9 months. He continues to learn things quickly. He loves to think things through and try to do things on his own. He's my affectionate little guy and we love him dearly. We thank God for blessing us with this special guy, our first born.
He's had a fun day today with a gift at breakfast and cake (and more gifts) after lunch. Then he got to Skype with both grandparents and open the gifts from them. Skype is such a great modern technology!! It's so nice that even thousands of miles away we can have them be a part of his special day!
On Saturday we're having an Angry Birds themed birthday party...we'll see how this goes :) I plan on taking some birthday pictures then and doing a fun birthday questionnaire.
So, Happy 5th Birthday to my little man, Harry!!
Harry was born 8 days late on February 27, 2008. He was a quick learner and was crawling by 6 months and walking by 9 months. He continues to learn things quickly. He loves to think things through and try to do things on his own. He's my affectionate little guy and we love him dearly. We thank God for blessing us with this special guy, our first born.
He's had a fun day today with a gift at breakfast and cake (and more gifts) after lunch. Then he got to Skype with both grandparents and open the gifts from them. Skype is such a great modern technology!! It's so nice that even thousands of miles away we can have them be a part of his special day!
On Saturday we're having an Angry Birds themed birthday party...we'll see how this goes :) I plan on taking some birthday pictures then and doing a fun birthday questionnaire.
So, Happy 5th Birthday to my little man, Harry!!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
A Good Week
With my last post I had decided to try and blog every day until the end of February. As you can see that is not happening. Maybe I'll try for March, but I'm not making any promises!
We have had such beautiful weather lately. Every morning is still pretty frigid, but by the afternoon it's a lovely day! Don has been taking the advantage and washing the car often. I think he's washed it twice in the past week! The kids love to help out. They've also enjoyed being able to play outside longer. Harry was given a bike last week and he is so excited about learning to ride! We had to order training wheels/stabilizers so he can get used to the bike first. It would be nice if he learned how to ride without them this summer!
Harry and Kathy are enjoying doing some school work 3 days out of the week. Harry finished his consonants and is almost done with the vowels. He's very good at recognizing the sounds but still gets some of them mixed up. It's my goal to have him reading by the fall. Kathy just works on recognizing the alphabet and her numbers. She can say her alphabet and count to ten, but she can't recognize them very well. Sometimes it can be a lot of fun teaching them and other times...well we won't talk about the other times!
The kids had a check up last Wednesday. It was nice to find out how tall they are and how much they weigh. They're almost a foot apart in height (Harry - 111 cm/3'8" Kathy - 90 cm/2'11"), but only 7 lbs difference in weight (Harry - 18kg/40lbs Kathy - 15kg/33lbs). Audrey has almost doubled her birth weight. I think that's about right for being 6 months old.
Don and Harry made a short trip over to Lossiemouth. This is the town we eventually would like to move to. It's 6 miles from Elgin. Don would like to start a church in this area as God allows. They had a fun day over there and brought back some goodies since it was Valentine's Day. Harry loved the beach and was very tired by the time they got back home.
I'm beginning to venture out a little more into the color shoe area. I pretty much have owned only brown or black shoes. Occasionally I've had white, but I have found that after a while they begin to look dingy and they get dirty quickly. I don't have very many shoes. Travel on the road for a few years and you pretty much keep to basics. But after finding these, I'm looking forward to trying other colors. Shoes can be fun!
We had Friend Day at church this past Sunday. We had 6 first time visitors and some have said they would like to return. The spaghetti supper afterwards was great. It was a fun time of food and fellowship.
One last thing to mention: For all the Jane Austen fans: The Royal Mail is issuing commemorative stamps this year in honor of P&P's 200 year anniversary! I ordered mine a few weeks ago and received it on the day they issued them. This is a big win for me since I love Jane Austen and I collect stamps. You can order 6 illustrated stamps, first day cover, stamp cards, etc. Check it out! https://shop.royalmail.com/issue-by-issue/jane-austen/icat/janeausten/
Harry and Kathy are enjoying doing some school work 3 days out of the week. Harry finished his consonants and is almost done with the vowels. He's very good at recognizing the sounds but still gets some of them mixed up. It's my goal to have him reading by the fall. Kathy just works on recognizing the alphabet and her numbers. She can say her alphabet and count to ten, but she can't recognize them very well. Sometimes it can be a lot of fun teaching them and other times...well we won't talk about the other times!
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| Kathy's first 'person' drawing - Flynn Rider |
The kids had a check up last Wednesday. It was nice to find out how tall they are and how much they weigh. They're almost a foot apart in height (Harry - 111 cm/3'8" Kathy - 90 cm/2'11"), but only 7 lbs difference in weight (Harry - 18kg/40lbs Kathy - 15kg/33lbs). Audrey has almost doubled her birth weight. I think that's about right for being 6 months old.
Don and Harry made a short trip over to Lossiemouth. This is the town we eventually would like to move to. It's 6 miles from Elgin. Don would like to start a church in this area as God allows. They had a fun day over there and brought back some goodies since it was Valentine's Day. Harry loved the beach and was very tired by the time they got back home.
I'm beginning to venture out a little more into the color shoe area. I pretty much have owned only brown or black shoes. Occasionally I've had white, but I have found that after a while they begin to look dingy and they get dirty quickly. I don't have very many shoes. Travel on the road for a few years and you pretty much keep to basics. But after finding these, I'm looking forward to trying other colors. Shoes can be fun!
We had Friend Day at church this past Sunday. We had 6 first time visitors and some have said they would like to return. The spaghetti supper afterwards was great. It was a fun time of food and fellowship.
One last thing to mention: For all the Jane Austen fans: The Royal Mail is issuing commemorative stamps this year in honor of P&P's 200 year anniversary! I ordered mine a few weeks ago and received it on the day they issued them. This is a big win for me since I love Jane Austen and I collect stamps. You can order 6 illustrated stamps, first day cover, stamp cards, etc. Check it out! https://shop.royalmail.com/issue-by-issue/jane-austen/icat/janeausten/
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
A Short Drive
(I wrote this yesterday, but wasn't able to upload the pictures. So this post is a day late.:)
Today has been a pretty full day for us. I took Audrey to the doctor this morning. In another month she'll be 7 months and it'll be time to have her see a cardiologist. This was just a consultation to ask about a referral. We'll have to go down to Inverness for her heart check up. The doctor we saw today informed me that there's a team from Edinburgh that comes up to Inverness every few months. He's going to let me know when they come up net. He did say he noticed she seemed to be a little rattly in her chest, so we have a prescription to help clear that up.
After lunch we decided to take a drive up past Dornoch to Gulspie. It was a nice little drive. We saw a playground in Gulspie and stopped to let the kids play a bit. Dunrobin Castle is in Gulspie. It's closed now, but we hope to go up there during the open season and take a tour.
This coming Sunday we are having friend day at Bethel Baptist. I wanted to invite some of the neighbor ladies in our little area, so after we got back to the house I went out to do that. I visited for about an hour with Dusty, an elderly lady that lives across from us. It was a very pleasant visit.
It has been a very good day for us. The weather was nice. Audrey tried some homemade pear sauce today an loved it! She's now been eating cereal, peas, carrots, bananas and pears. I plan on making some applesauce tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. Don will be gone most of the day, so I may not get it done. :)
Here's some pictures from our little excursion today:
Today has been a pretty full day for us. I took Audrey to the doctor this morning. In another month she'll be 7 months and it'll be time to have her see a cardiologist. This was just a consultation to ask about a referral. We'll have to go down to Inverness for her heart check up. The doctor we saw today informed me that there's a team from Edinburgh that comes up to Inverness every few months. He's going to let me know when they come up net. He did say he noticed she seemed to be a little rattly in her chest, so we have a prescription to help clear that up.
After lunch we decided to take a drive up past Dornoch to Gulspie. It was a nice little drive. We saw a playground in Gulspie and stopped to let the kids play a bit. Dunrobin Castle is in Gulspie. It's closed now, but we hope to go up there during the open season and take a tour.
This coming Sunday we are having friend day at Bethel Baptist. I wanted to invite some of the neighbor ladies in our little area, so after we got back to the house I went out to do that. I visited for about an hour with Dusty, an elderly lady that lives across from us. It was a very pleasant visit.
It has been a very good day for us. The weather was nice. Audrey tried some homemade pear sauce today an loved it! She's now been eating cereal, peas, carrots, bananas and pears. I plan on making some applesauce tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. Don will be gone most of the day, so I may not get it done. :)
Here's some pictures from our little excursion today:
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| a church in Dornoch |
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| A view of Dunrobin Castle |
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| at the playground in Gulspie |
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Sunday
You may ask, "What do you do on Sunday?" Depending upon which country you're in, it can be very different. Since we are helping out the Cashner family we have the privilege of attending services. They have a small group of people that meet on Sunday. There is another church group that meets there in the morning, so Bethel Baptist Church meets in the afternoon. We have a Sunday School/Bible Study hour beginning at 2:10 followed by the main service. Before, in between and even after the service is fellowship time which means we stand around drinking tea/coffee and munching on biscuits (cookies). :) Here are some pictures to give you a little bit of an idea:
We had a small group today. Many were home sick. Most of the time we have a group of about 20 when everyone is there. Next week is Friend Sunday. We're praying we have a lot of visitors.
I am enjoying this time. I know once we move over by Elgin our services will be just us meeting in our living room. In April a group of guys from the church here and a church in Dundee will be going over there for 3 days to letterbox Lossiemouth and most of Elgin. Lossiemouth is a small village of about 7000. It's only 6 miles from Elgin. It's our prayer that we would see some interest in the Bible study offer.
And now I'll leave with a few pictures we took before going to church today.
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| Don teaching during Bible Study hour |
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| Sunday School with Miss Kimmy |
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| Children's corner during the morning service |
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| main service (this one was from our first service in Tain) |
I am enjoying this time. I know once we move over by Elgin our services will be just us meeting in our living room. In April a group of guys from the church here and a church in Dundee will be going over there for 3 days to letterbox Lossiemouth and most of Elgin. Lossiemouth is a small village of about 7000. It's only 6 miles from Elgin. It's our prayer that we would see some interest in the Bible study offer.
And now I'll leave with a few pictures we took before going to church today.
Friday, February 8, 2013
6 months and other things
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| 6 month photo |
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| 6 month photo with tutu, not edited |
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| cereal for the first time |
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| ready to freeze the peas |
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| all ready to go back in the freezer |
A few weeks ago I finally found a good deal on a sewing machine and ordered one! I am so happy to have one and have tons of patterns and ideas that I've pinned to Pinterest! :) So, I have man ideas of recycling some clothes as well as making some new things. Recently I added a button and elastic to the back of one of Kathy's skirts so it would fit her better. That same afternoon I made her a skirt that was so easy. It wound up being a tad long and a tiny bit loose. She'll grow into it though and I thought I did a pretty good job!
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| My sewing machine, yay!! |
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| the skirt I made for Kathy |
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| Kathy in her skirt. |
The kids are being such great helpers around the house. They don't always do everything willingly. One thing they do enjoy doing for me is clearing out the dishwasher. I'm glad their getting bigger and therefore able to help out more!
Time is going by quickly. The end of this month my first born will be 5. He's a pretty special little guy! I'm looking forward to doing a little questionnaire with him. It'll be interesting to see his answers.
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