Fantastic January

My heart is glad and full. This January has been fantastic. I feel like we've just coasted through some glorious days and I am so thankful.

The baby is doing well and kicking and rumbling. We'll be thirty three weeks, tomorrow!

J is growing leaps and bounds in his ability to help (he knows how to put his clothes away!), dress himself, keep dry pants and his coloring skills have jumped through the roof! We've also transitioned from "nap time" in the afternoon to "room time." This means he conks out at bed time and we're no longer fighting the "stay in your room"/"stay in your bed" battle.

A is in her own room for the first time! Since she still takes a nap, she stays "up" in her bed for a while after bedtime. Her bed is full of amusements and she feeds her babies, cooks, reads, and sings songs until she goes to sleep. Her two favorite songs right now are "Jingle Bells" and "Life is a Highway." A's voice is a bit hoarse and hearing her sing cracks us up. Only a video or in-person performance would do it justice. Her verbal skills are constantly improving and she passed that portion of her two-year old check up swimmingly.

Some time in the fall, we finally figured out the best time to do devotions with the kids. After pajamas and tooth brushing, they pile on the bed for Bible studies. Tuan is doing such a good job with this and the kids love their Bible stories. We are using The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes. This was mine as a child and it is illustrated very differently from the current edition. All the stories are accompanied by a very realistic painting. I really like it better than the new one. Anyway, the kids were on a David and Goliath kick for a while and J knew the words so well he'd say the story along with Tuan. When they got to the part where it says, "David threw a stone at the giant. It hit him on the head and the great Goliath fell over dead . . . " A would begin hitting herself on the head and promptly fall over.

We've since adopted other favorites. A's is the "Sheep Drop." This is the story of the man who had a hundred sheep and one wandered away and fell down the cliff. He left the ninety nine and went to retrieve the lost sheep. J's favorite is the "Snakes are Biting the People." This is the one where God sends the snakes to bit the people because they have been rebellious and when they repent Moses puts a brass snake on the pole and if they look at the snake, they are healed. Eclectic choices, no? Fortunately, Tuan also picks a story which is keeping us from only learning part of the Bible!

Tuan is now recovered from Peru and working feverishly to get the summer camp website up and running so he can work feverishly on camp! Our life has no normal and is rarely slow and we love it! The summer's theme is Daniel--I am really looking forward to seeing how they pull of the Fiery Furnace and Lion's Den!

I am nesting a bit--okay, a lot! I'm getting plenty of rest and have been indulging in a new obsession--video games. Tuan got me hooked on The Legend of Zelda and although I always vowed I'd have nothing to do with such foolishness, I confess I've nearly beaten the game and am so sad it's over! I've also been cooking and taking more "nourishing steps." We made soaked pizza dough this week and I'm so excited to have breached this intimidating wall!

This is an abrupt way to end a post, but my children have abruptly informed me of their need for intervention. Buenos Dias!