Catching Up-- Halloween and Fall with my Kiddos

I realized recently that I feel less incentive to blog during warm, pleasant weather when I'm afforded plenty of opportunities to socialize in real time. Lame explanation, but I have none other to offer for why my last posts have been so sparsely placed. I know that puts my blog readers at a significant disadvantage because so very few of you actually live where I live. As chilly weather descends and I see the loneliness of winter looming, I find myself face palming for not cultivating these online relationships more intentionally. I am sorry for being so exclusive and leaving ya'll  out... can I make amends with an amazingly lengthy catchall post? Because nothing says "I value our friendship" better than a plethora of photos, right? ha ha! Here they come!

 Gwen was a mermaid for Halloween and Caroline was a fish. They both helped with the making of their costumes, but Gwen's help was ACTUALLY helpful. :) She did the shells on her top and her barrette while Caroline helped glue her eyeballs onto barrettes. 

 Emmett was a shark! Well, sort of. Actually, he napped during the trunk or treat at church, refused to wear it for actual trick or treating, and barely managed to smile for this photo when we wanted to show Grandma his cuteness. So he was a shark for all of 3 minutes. :) Not a big deal since he was wearing a recycled costume of Gwen's from a couple years ago. At least I didn't spend lots of time on a costume for him this year!

 Caroline loves to pose... when I say "smile like a fish" this is what I get! lol

 This wasn't our trunk, but if we were more awesome it should have been! We were parked right next door to them, so their awesomeness sort of rubbed off on our trunk lameness (read: complete and total absence of decoration unless you count the stroller). The ocean theme was awesome and the girls thought is basically was meant for them!

 Carving pumpkins was interesting. Gwen was excited at first, but there were many tears (literally, agony and weeping) when she realized she was going to have to touch more than one handful of slimy seeds before we'd help her do the actual carving. Life is tough. But she LOVED that spider barrette we made together and wore it to school every day for 2 weeks!

 Emmett was very interested in the pumpkins. He was all over everything and every slime he could find!

 The finished products!

 There was a narrow window when the leaves were gorgeous on the trees AND on the ground (still colorful rather than drab brown) and it wasn't raining and I desperately wanted to capture it... Not sure these pics are exactly what I had in mind, but it was a fun outing anyway. :)

Emmett just wanted to play with this cute little pumpkin.

  See, isn't it gorgeous? I love fall around here!

Gwen was happy too, can you tell?

 The pictures sure got silly... but do you see how their heads are cut off? Here's the story. Our camera broke a few weeks ago (thank you, Emmett) and I have been taking pics with the itouch since my old school phone takes grainy pics. Well, this was my first time to take the itouch pics OUTSIDE and I didn't realize that I wouldn't be able to see the screen in the sunlight! I had NO idea what I was taking pics of (hence the terrible compositions and chopped off heads, lol! In fact, there were about 30 pics where I had the screen shot reversed and was taking selfies instead of pics of the kids!

 Accidental selfie with the porta-potty. Glamorous. :) But that is the scarf I made and the jacket I got at Volunteers of America for a dollar. Sigh of contentment. :)

 At the time of these pics (the last couple days of October) Emmett was getting closer and closer to walking! Most of the time he wanted a hand to hold...

 But occasionally he'd take 4 or 5 steps...

Or just plop down on the ground and beg to be picked up! :)

More pics and stories coming soon!

Butt.

Some boys never grow up. My husband is one of them. 

Eric is attending a big-deal-professional Radiation Oncology Conference in San Antonio to present his research. I have gotten the photo-documentation I anticipated of him at the podium for his verbal presentation, him beside his poster, and him out to dinner with his fellow docs. 

This, gem, however, was a complete surprise. 

Butt.

Snicker. 

A THIRD of a Century...almost?

Today I turn 33. I know that technically I won't be a third of a century until four months from now---and believe me, we are indeed considering having a small celebration in January JUST to commemorate that significant time!---but I can't help but think it strange. A century sounds forever long, and associating myself with a century, even in a 1/3 fraction, makes me feel...like I am pushing towards ancient. Which is NOT how I feel! I am young and energetic, full of zest for life! So TAKE THAT, you ancient century! Keep your oldness to yourself, why don'cha!

To celebrate the proliferation of threes, here are the top 3 reasons I'm grateful to have been born 33 years ago:

1. my family. I have wonderfully forgiving parents, amazing siblings, the cutest nieces and nephews, and incredibly supportive in-laws! Eric, when I was young and imagining what marriage would be like, I could not possibly have conjured up for myself a more idyllic spouse, best friend, partner-in-everything that you are to me. I absolutely cannot imagine being this happy with anyone else. And our beautiful, precocious children! Man, sometimes I'm overwhelmed with their amazing spirits and ever so humbled to be entrusted with raising them. I love, love, LOVE my little ones! How grateful I am for an eternal family!

2. learning. I love to grow, to progress. I know that is part of Heavenly Father's eternal plan for us, and I'm so grateful for that eternal truth which has and will continue to shape my life. I LOVE learning new things, all KINDS of things, and I am so incredibly grateful to have been born NOW when the gospel is available in its fullness AND when women are afforded so much priceless freedom to learn and grow. I am grateful for a mind that can expand, to think and ponder and to synthesize and create new ideas. Learning for me is definitely tied to scripture, books, and education, but it expands beyond that too. I see sewing, culinary experiments, and painting as extensions of the mind's capacity to grow and create. How grateful I am for education.

  

3. beauty. Oh what a beautiful world. In July I enjoyed the ocean for the 2nd time in my life. It was a splendid day. A day of wonder and contentment surrounded by God's creation. Truly so much beauty in His handiwork. Colors in my garden, an oil painting, or the eyes of my little ones. Music from the throats of birds, evening crickets, piano and orchestra, wind, or clear voices (Josh Groban, Sissel, Hayley Westenra. If you know those names, you know their voices touch something in the soul). Textures and patterns in fabrics or dishes from around the world. Feelings of strength and litheness when I dance--- even though I'd never win a contest for my dancing--- it is the FEELING that is beautiful, which is why I LOVE to dance. How truly grateful I am for beauty, for this beautiful life I am blessed to live. 

Do I feel 1/3 of a century OLD? Absolutely not. I believe that being full of learning, life, and love cultivates beauty IN ME. And therefore, I must not be aging at all. Forever young. :)

Been Livin it Up!!!

"Where have you BEEN all summer?" you ask... my answer is, "LIVING!"

I can't believe we've only got a week of summer left. This time has truly sped by! Perhaps it is because we have seen so much growth, learning, completed projects, and a healthy dose of fun?

Emmett went from scooting in an army crawl...to full on crawl...to pulling himself up and toddling his first steps with a walker! He's in the "troublemaker" phase of life and we LOVE it!

Caroline went from crazy athletic bundle of energy to a crazy athletic bundle of energy who is pretty much ready for preschool (she has been working on her letter recognition and early reading) and she is looking so grown up in her FIRST haircut ever!

Gwen went from being scared to put her face in the water to swimming like a fish (actually, she insists she swims like a mermaid) and trying to see how long she can stay underwater. She also went from a toddler bike (her gangly legs were WAY to long for it) to getting a big 20 inch bike that she can balance on up and down hills without training wheels! (We haven't put the pedals on yet, so can't officially say she rides a bike... yet). She's really excited to start 1st grade and show off her reading and math skills that she's been honing with daddy all summer! 

Both girls also learned a few sewing skills this summer. From small hand-stitched pillows to mini quilts...but the crowning achievement was definitely Gwen's completed cute little bag! Yes, she sewed that herself! (I helped with the cutting, ironing, and turning it right side out. whew getting the whole bag through that tube was a chore, I tell ya!)

As a family, we took a trip to Virginia for a Hart family reunion---  we experienced the Atlantic Ocean for the first time!

  So here's to a great summer, as it begins its departure. The Ohio Allans have definitely enjoyed it! 

Scripture Study for Kids-- Developing Independent Habits While Keeping it Fun

I love the word of God because it guides me closer to the WORD of God, my Savior Jesus Christ. Want to know something amazing? My little 6 1/2 year old girl LOVES her Savior too! She tries so hard to follow Him-- her relationship with her sister being her thorn in the flesh, I'd say-- and is eagerly anticipating her baptism in a year and a half (in our faith, children are not baptized until they turn 8-- an age of accountability and conscious choice). I wanted to do something for her to strengthen her developing relationship with Christ. Knowing how pivotal the scriptures have been in my continuing conversion, I thought it appropriate to encourage her in the same direction.

Our plan is to give her a nice, leather-bound copy of the scriptures when she turns 8 as a baptism present. And I thought, 'wouldn't it be wonderful if she already knows how to mark verses properly and is familiar with where each 'book' can be located and maybe even knows where her favorite scripture stories can be found?'...and then I stumbled upon Latter-Day Homeschooling and Dana's post about a scripture study plan for young children... and I was so very inspired and excited to do something like this, tailored just for Gwen!

(image from Latter-Day Homeschooling blog)

I hit the jackpot with Prepared LDS Family and Valerie's post with accompanying printable study guide (she was coincidentally ALSO inspired by Latter-Day Homeschooling!). Don't you love it when someone has already done the work for you? But I wanted to find a scripture study guide that utilized BOTH the illustrated scripture stories AND the actual scriptures, so I knew I'd need to tweak her program to Gwen's needs. Valerie kindly provided me with an Exell version of her study chart (and updated her site with the editable version--- go check it out following the link above if you want to customize one of your own!) so I could edit out the videos (which we don't have) and add in more scripture mastery verses (I only did ones I thought my almost 7-yr-old could understand and I added a page number to help her find it), and omitted a Sunday assigned reading for each week. I figured she can 'browse' once a week. I added lots of thought-provoking questions and I hope it encourages her to ponder rather than just skim.

This way Gwen gets a) the stories from the illustrated scriptures in a comprehensible format, b) learning where the stories can be located in the actual scriptures, c) becoming familiar with the language of scriptures, d) learning how to find verses in the scriptures, and e) practice marking verses.
We have been doing her study guide for over 3 weeks now and Gwen is loving it! She asks "mom, can I study my scriptures now?" all the time!

Some things we do to keep it fun:

• colorful tabs to help her find the book she needs (a diy project of my own invention: you just use Post-It tabs, stick down on one side of the page, fold it over, and tape it down on the other side)
  
• a personalized scripture journal with a picture of Christ 
  
• colored pencils for marking AND for drawing a picture about what she read each day. 
• stickers for scripture stories (I found these transparent ones that go IN the scriptures and are familiar Gospel Art Kit (GAK) images--free printable ones here at MeekMom, 
  
• or these opaque ones from Latter-Day Homeschooler that go in the scripture journal. New Testament free here and Book of Mormon free here)
• a pretty little bag I sewed for her using this adorable pattern (designed by a friend of mine--- so happy to say I know Ashley of Mommy by Day Crafter by Night personally!) so Gwen can take her scriptures to church. The bag is not huge: it fits her scriptures, her journal, and some colored pencils with room to spare, but this is not a 'take-all-your-toys-and-chapstick-to-primary-and-be-distracting' kind of a bag. I think it is perfect!!!
  

And, just in case anyone is curious, Caroline (age 4) also does scripture time. But she cannot read yet, so there are no journal prompts. She gets to have me read to her and then color pictures in a scripture stories binder we are building little by little. 

And the exciting part is that I can tweak the study guide each year to add in things as she is ready for them: adding in my favorite verses, topical or seasonal study, attribute study, Articles of Faith, missionary study, etc. Another thing I'd like to add in the future would be 'definition' stickers that she can put in her scriptures to define new vocabulary she might not be familiar with. Another great resource (not free) that I'm considering investing in are scripture timelines that go on the wall with attachable figures (sounds like a great way to 'advent' the study of the text and keep it interactive for the kids, right?) available here.

I would also like to do a scripture treasure hunt journey together as a family, using this awesome idea

AND Trina's awesome reading charts:

 I am excited to incorporate the AMAZING scripture journaling resources (not free, but still awesome!) over at Red-Headed Hostess . I think that will be part of her "scripture gift package" when she turns 8! There are great things there for teens too and I can hardly wait til she is ready for those!

(image from Red-Headed Hostess)

I just LOVE studying the scriptures!!!  In fact, I've kind of got things tentatively planned out on when I will introduce each new element so that scripture study stays fun and fresh throughout the years! I get so excited about these kinds of teaching things!

Gwen is eager to share what she is learning and reminds me often, "I love reading my scriptures because then I feel closer to Jesus". What a good girl. What a good example to me too. Hope something here inspires you to get your little ones excited about reading the word of God!