Merry Christmas!

It's unfortunate that I have fallen sick on Christmas Eve...I had to be quarantine from the kids and rest of the family during this whole time.  It wasn't a big deal..I thought to myself, I could get some "me" time...until every time I see my adorable kiddos, I want to HUG them!  That really shows how much I love to hug and kiss my kids...and the one day I couldn't do that, it was torturous!

I want to thank God that we are able to spend Christmas with families and friends.  This Monday we had our co-op Christmas Party at our house (pictures will follow later).  There were only 4 families this time, but we had an intimate time and the kids had loads of fun, even before they had ANY sugar.  We sang Christmas carols, read Christmas story, made a snowman ornament, had hot coco with marshmallows and cookies, and the funnest of all - grab bag!  It was definitely a memorable time.

Tonight my brother came to visit us.  He hasn't seen the kids in over a year, so it was truly special.  He dropped off their Christmas gifts, had dinner with us and played air hockey with the boys.  For someone like my brother who isn't used to being around kids, it was a blessing to see him roughhousing with them and being the cool uncle.  Thank you Lord, for bringing him here!

Lastly, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

St. Agnes nursing home visit

On Tuesday we visited St. Agnes nursing home in Chicago with all the co-op families.  This is probably the 3rd year we've done this.  Ours kids sang Christmas songs, played piano and violin.  We also had some new friends that had joined us and their daughters played xylophone!

We also made cross necklaces to give out as gifts to the elderly and workers there.  This was a great experience for us, starting from making the necklaces with Ethan and Noah.  Ethan was very committed and excited to make the necklaces for the "grandpa's" and "grandma's".  He helped me make like 10 out of 25 of them.  I also saw the growth in him being able to sing and do hand motions in front of an audience, which wasn't the case last year.  Noah, however, was really good at practice, but had stage fright once he had to sing for real.  However, this same thing happened to Ethan too a couple years ago, so I'm sure Noah will get over it soon enough.

A bad day turned out nice at the end

Today we learned Proverbs 12:18 - Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.  Ethan and Noah didn't realize that words can hurt more than physical wounds.  Foolish words can be meaningless and yet hurt others.  

There's an application for the verse from the lesson - I gave each boys 2 band-aids, each labeled "healing words".  When they see someone who's hurt, sad, angry, or discouraged, they can bring out the band-aid, say some words of encouragement, and put the band-aid on their heart. 

Throughout the day, I'd say they had many opportunities to use those band-aids - on mommy.  They were pretty bad throughout the morning, very disobedient and chaotic.  At one point, I had to scream on top of my lungs to keep them quiet.  I was being an angry mom.  Later on, I had to apologize to the kids for screaming at them.  It wasn't the right thing to do even when they weren't good.  The boys were very forgiving.  

Tonight , Ethan made Noah angry by turning off the bathroom light while Noah was still inside brushing his teeth.  I was surprised to hear Noah saying to Ethan, "it wasn't very nice to do that, I didn't like that".  He didn't say it in an angry tone, and after Ethan apologized to Noah, I praised Noah for using his words and not fighting.  Noah then ran to his room and grabbed his healing words band-aid to give to Ethan!  Ethan said he didn't need it and put it back.  Even though Ethan should be the one to give the band-aid, I was glad Noah remembered the lesson and tried to apply it.  It was a sweet ending to a bitter day!

Ethan's first LEGO Stop Motion Movie!

Ethan had the coolest project assignment from his Language Arts co-op (the Eagles) ever!  He was asked to create a LEGO stop motion movie.  He had to create a story outline based on a bible verse (Proverbs 16:24) which was also the theme.  Then he created his characters: Alvin the Chipmunk and Mr. Cheese the Mouse.  I was worried having to create animal characters out of LEGO but it turned out great!  

The most challenging part was probably coming up with the script with him.  I had to ask a lot of leading questions for him to write.  He was getting frustrated with not knowing what to write, so I had animate some things (pencils, crayons) to get him to think!  

Noah and daddy also took party in this whole project.  Noah wanted to make Alvin so I let him.  I made Mr. Cheese and boy...it was challenging!  Ethan and I made the playground together, and then daddy followed the script to take pictures for the movie.  Then we each took part in recording the voices for each character.  The final step was putting the pictures and audio clips into Windows Movie Maker to create the movie.  It was fun and challenging to use this program, I was able to set different duration for each picture, as well as adding sound clips for series of pictures.  Then after all that.....voila!  

Enjoy!

Am I neglecting her?

It's amazing to see our little 2 year old girl grow up so fast!  She's been copying everything her brothers say like a little parrot, good and bad things, unfortunately.  It's also been more challenging to do lessons with the boys with her around.  I tend to neglect and just shoo her off to either watch PBS on my ipad, drawing, or playing with playdough.  Sometimes I feel that I'm neglecting her and not doing much to grow and train her. However, I have to keep in mind that she's learning a lot from her everyday interactions with her older brothers, and that she's learning to play independently.  

As for the boys, it's been a little better today, less rowdy.  I was just sharing with my mom friends how wonderful it would be if they all progress steadily...however, it's always going to be 1 step forward then 2 steps backward.  We just need to take a big picture in mind - God is faithful, even when we're not.  

Grocery store

I had wanted to post this earlier but got distracted by all the craziness with the kids.  We did this on Monday and had so much fun.  This is another Math practice, playing grocery store.  I just took out food from our pantry and put a price label on them.  Then I asked the boys to set up the store shelves with chairs and placed the food in their own categories (more or less).  We grabbed Handy Manny toy laptop as cashier machine, and a toy tool as our scanner.  Each boy took turns to be customer and cashier.  Ethan had to add up the total of the receipt.  At one time, he was able to add 3 numbers together.

Happy thoughts....

After a disastrous day yesterday, we thought the boys must have learned their lesson.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the case.  I am sad and disappointed to say that Ethan didn't learn his lesson.  He was still out of control.  Because of his disobedience, he lost his chance to play in the snow with Noah and daddy.  He was so sad and frustrated, but it had to be done.  He was only allowed to watch Noah and daddy play out in the yard from the window.

Noah, on the other hand, was not as bad.  In fact, he actually ate really well through all the meals.  I usually get really frustrated with his eating behavior, (playing, distracted, super-slow) but today with the incentive of playing with snow after lunch, he quickly finished his big bowl of noodles.  I was also surprised that he finished his whole bowl of spaghetti without having to set the timer (we usually do).  He got to enjoy dessert - yummy grapes!

Before going to bed, I told Ethan to go ask daddy if he can play with snow tomorrow if he's good.  Daddy told him it's a new day tomorrow, and we don't keep his record of wrongs.  I prayed with both of them for God to guard their hearts, mouths, hands, and feet, for them to choose to be good.

Dear God, it's been so frustrating this last few days.  I confessed that I have been yelling again and not showing the best example to be gentle myself.  Lord, I ask that you would work in my heart, to cleanse me and change my own attitude first.  Tomorrow is a new day, may your spirit remind all of us to be gentle, to choose to be good.  Even when things get tough, help me to run to you first instead of my own ways.  Quiet me and calm me down when the boys show attitude, help me to use your word to encourage and discipline. Help all of us to turn to you for wisdom, empower us with your love and grace.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Got kicked out!

It's been a tough few days for us.  Both Ethan and Noah got really rowdy and kept acting up.  Although I kept reminding them about the Obedience Chart, it wasn't as effective as before.  We even got them this ginormous M & M covered taffy apple from Mariano's as their next reward, encouraging them to help each other to be good.  However, the longing for the treat wasn't enough.

Today was especially bad for the boys.  First Ethan was disobedient during co-op time (throwing a book!!!) then both boys got timed-out twice at Karate, then acted up during their time-outs, and finally got dismissed from the class.  I was so mad and embarrassed.  That was the last straw for the day.  I didn't even want to speak to them.

Daddy had a long talk with them, explaining to them that what they did today dishonored us and God.  When they acted like clowns, people will think their parents aren't disciplining them, and that's how we are dishonored.  We then decided to take their beloved Bey Blade away indefinitely as their punishment, and sent them off to bed early.

When the kids act up like this, it's very easy for me to fear the worst, thinking all the bad what if's.  However, my husband reminded me that God is faithful, even when the kids seem to be really bad at this moment, we are to believe in His promises.  Tomorrow is another day.

Restaurant Math

After almost a semester of learning addition, it's about time to put it into practice!  One way to practice is by playing Restaurant.  Following the curriculum, I asked the boys to make their own menus (they draw and I write out the price).  I was expecting a menu full of desserts but they drew all fruits and vegetables...so cool! Then we went to the basement to begin our fun!

Ethan's menu

Noah's menu 

Then the boys each took turn to serve their customer - mommy.  Unfortunately the food items they drew on the menu didn't match the food toys we actually own, so they had to use other items to substitute...which was all in good...strawberry became strawberry pie (a red round piece of plastic).  It got their creative juices flowing!  At the end, the boys need to add up the tab for mommy to pay (with real pennies).  

Thanksgiving 2013

This is our first year celebrating Thanksgiving at our new house in the burbs!  It felt really nice preparing the food, not feeling stress about not having enough counter space to work with.  We had a very intimate dinner with just our in-laws and one family over.  It felt warm and fuzzy, even when the boys decided to bang their spoons against their empty bowls...singing loudly in their made-up songs.

There's so much to be thankful for this year.  I thank God for providing such a sweet home for our family, it's not a fancy house, but it had so far fulfilled the vision we had for it.  We had a purpose for every room of the house, and so far every room has been used quite often to create nice memories.  

I thank God for seeing the growth in each kid this year.  Ethan has grown to be a mature boy who can really take care of his brother and sister.  Of course there are challenging moments, especially with his attitude this last few days, but I see that he has overcome some heart issues he had just last year.

Noah is becoming such an incredibly talented artist who's been making some awesome drawings.  He's able to color very meticulously at the age of 4.  The coolest thing has been seeing him sitting there for an hour just making paper puppets ranging from animals to superheroes.  Praise God for blessing him with such talent! May he use this to bless others!

Our little Bethany has been growing tremendously with her language skills.  She's like a little parrot repeating every little things her brothers talk about.  The most amazing thing has been seeing her adoration for her brothers grow each day, and that her brothers appreciate and honor their sisters in the sweetest ways.

Lastly, I want to thank God for my husband who has been a great support in my homeschooling journey this year.  He has committed to teach Science to the boys and doing experiments with them on Saturdays.  The boys just love having daddy being their teacher!  My husband has also been able to work from home more so that he can help out.  I understand that this is a luxury and I am learning to appreciate it!

Thank you, Lord!