Videos From This Past Month

Because sometimes, it's good to capture those "real life" moments. :)



Isaac and I have been working together to learn Psalm 100 with hand motions.  One day, I decided to video him quoting the passage so he could practice saying it for others.  He didn't do all the motions, and the last verse was a little more rocky for him than usual, but I was very pleased with his ability to sit still and quote the verses as well as he did.  Be encouraged by God's Word!  And enjoy the cute toddler at the ending saying his verse too! :)

Isaac Quotables

I absolutely love watching my children grow and develop in so many areas of life, from the physical to the verbal to the cognitive, and so much more!  Back in January, in an effort to capture some of the hilarious and insightful things Isaac would say, I started trying to write them down in a special journal.  I knew I wanted to remember these adorable quotes for years to come as well as make him feel important; that what he had to say mattered to me.  I've been planning to share these little "quotables" on the blog for some time, but am only now getting around to it.  Maybe these glimpses into my son's mind and the things that make me laugh will only be meaningful to me, but just in case they bring a smile to your face too, here are some Isaac Quotables. :)

January 10, 2016
"I'm just warming up for da team to pway basketball!"

"I was just talking about my favorite fings!"
        - Oh, really?  Like what?
"Like balls and soccer balls and puzzles and my tricycle and pwaying wiff da cushions and warming up for da team! And going night-night and getting ready for church!
       - Wow!  You like everything!
"Yep - dat's right!  I do!"


January 26, 2016
(Upon re-reading the above section to him, he added: "I like refrigerators too!")

At nap time:
"Mommy!"
    - Yes? Do you need something?
"Dere's just a jelly fish sticking off da roof."
    - Okaaay...


January 14, 2016
    - Do you want more sandwich, or are you done?
"No, my tummy is full now. All my udder (other) food is down in my footsies.
    - That's good.  That will help them grow big and strong.
"Then I will dump my socks out of my sock basket and share dem wiff JoJo.  And when I get bigger, I will wear Daddy's.  And den, I'll get bigger and touch da ceiling."

"I'm waffing (laughing) to see what sport it is!"

"I want to build a bridge outside and a tree house.  And I'll live in da tree house so it won't rain on me.  And I'll share my tree house with JoJo and Adoniah."


Another day:
"I'm going to bang da house down!
    - If you do that, then where will we live?
"We'll go back to our old house in Mexico and Dr. White and Shelley will go out."


January 19, 2016
After observing Mommy and Daddy go out to play racquetball on a date:
"I just need a racquetball so I can go out on a date."
     - Who are you going on a date with?
"Wiff JoJo."


January 29, 2016
"My blankie smells like my head." (said with a serious expression on his face)


February 6, 2016
"Adoniah is my precious baby!"

While looking at the Bible verse reference inscribed on our family paddle:
"Verse 7: God loves you! Verse 8: God loves us!"

"Adoniah is my sweet baby!"

"I put my sweatshirt on so I wouldn't get dizzy."


February 28, 2016
While looking at a new Bible picture book:
"Dere's Eve.  And dere's Mr. Eve."


March 2, 2016
"Zaccheus was a wee wittle man, he played knick-knack on my hand!"


April 19, 2016
A story told over a pancake dinner:

"Humpty Dumpty had a pancake.  It fell onto da gwound.  Den, Humpty Dumpty fell and bwoke into wittle pieces.  Da people couldn't put him back togedder.  Den, da soldiers came and took da pieces of pancake away and ate them."


April 20, 2016
    - Isaac, what makes you happy?
"Pwaying golf and baseball and basketball and football and soccer ball."
    - What else makes you happy?
"Pwaying at da beach. (which he has yet to do...but we're heading there this summer!)
    - What else makes you happy?
"When I watch movies.
    - What are you favorite movies?
"Peppa Pig and Curious George."

April 27, 2016
    - Isaac, if you could be any animal, what would you be?
"A dolphin."
   - Oh, that's a good one!  Why would you be a dolphin?
"Cuz dat's what people turn into."
   - Well, people don't really turn into dolphins, but we can use our imaginations and pretend.  What would you do as a dolphin?
"Swim."
    - Oh, is that why you want to be a dolphin?  Because you like to swim?
(nods his head 'yes')
    - What else would you do?
"Eat fish.  And drink milk."
(Can you tell we've been reading about animals, and he remember that dolphin babies drink milk from their mother?) :)

Last Week's Great Library Finds

This was a board book I checked out with Josiah in mind, and it turned out to be a big hit with him!  He is our snuggle bug, so I think he could relate to the story and liked the happy pictures.  The book chronicles a day in the life of a little rabbit and its mother, showing the various activities they engage in and all the times they stop for a hug.  It's a sweet and simple story that any toddler will enjoy.

This was a big favorite with both my boys mainly because of all the flaps they could lift to look for missing chicks!  It provided great counting practice and lots of fun!  We read it more times than I can remember. :)

This book was rather lengthy and had more text per picture than I usually gravitate toward for my little guys, but the story and illustrations made it too hard to pass up!  We ended up reading one or two "chapters" at a time, which made such a long book much more doable.  The story is based on Phillip Keller's well known book, Lessons from a Sheep Dog, which I had read and enjoyed in high school, so I was familiar with the overall tale.  The children's version was also very well done, detailing the story of Mr. Keller's experience in winning the loyalty of a mean and fearful dog and then training her to be an obedient sheepdog.  At the end of each chapter, a spiritual application is drawn between Lass' lessons on the farm and our need to be obedient to the Lord.  Isaac seemed to enjoy the story and Josiah loved seeing pictures of the "dogee" (which were incredibly beautiful!), but I think I enjoyed the book the most!  I will probably check it out again when the boys are a bit older and better able to grasp the spiritual analogies that abound in this story.

This was another excellent Christian book with gorgeous illustrations that I stumbled upon in the non-fiction "religion" section of children's books at the library.  Interestingly, the book is a fictitious story about a wheel-chair-bound little boy who is very close to his grandfather.  The grandfather is always sharing with young Nathan about the new heaven and new earth that God will make one day, and how the resurrection will bring glorified bodies that won't be bound in wheelchairs or wracked with cancer.  Nathan comes face to face with faith in this reality when his grandfather passes away.  The whole story is a sweet and gentle way to share about death with children while providing accurate Biblical descriptions of the hope Christians have for eternity because of Jesus' death and resurrection.  Isaac seemed very drawn to this book and asked to read it several times.  I know his interest was piqued by all the baseball discussion between the grandfather and his grandson, but Isaac was also very attentive to the part of the story that dealt with the grandfather's passing and had many good questions about it.  I was very pleased with the content in this book and the discussions it provoked.  And the pictures were just beautiful!

Videos From Around Here Lately

Today was one of those days.  You know...the kind where you find red crayon scribbled all over your wall, the baby is discovered to be eating a pile of wipes, and the toddlers seem to have forgotten everything they've ever learned about obedience!  Some days are just plain hard.  On days like today, when my patience is sorely tried and it seems like I spend all day divvying out discipline, I am glad for reminders like these about all the cute and precious moments that my children also provide:


(This video was taken several weeks ago, just as Adoniah was learning to sit up by himself. Now, he is a pro!)


Like Father, Like Son  :)


I apologize if this video gives you trouble when trying to view it.  I haven't been able to view it all night.  I'm not sure if it's a defective file on You Tube or just my computer, or what!

And one more for good measure of our new little flock of chicks!

A March of Pictures

March was a busy month of picture taking!  I had grand intentions of getting these posted long before now...but life happened and blogging got a bit delayed. :)  Better late than never!

Here is Isaac "fixing" his tricycle the way he sees his daddy fix the van!

Big ears!

Look what my wonderful husband got for me!  After 5 1/2 years of beloved use, my other Mac was running so slooooowly as to make just about any process an exercise in frustration.  Behold the replacement laptop!  It runs beautifully and allows me to post these pictures for you in a fraction of the time it used to take. :)

A recent peek into the living room revealed this adorable view.

I love, loved having my sister and her youngest baby come for a visit in March!  Since she lives overseas with her missionary husband and only comes back to the States every couple of years, visits like this are truly cherished times.  We saw my grandparents in Cincinnati while she was here along with almost all of our aunts, uncles, and cousins on my dad's side of the family.  It had been around 7 or 8 years since we had connected with everyone, so it was great fun to reunite!

Aunt Katelin was a celebrity with my children during the days she was here. :)

Adoniah and Briana chumming it up on the floor.

Briana is such a precious and sweet baby!

Adoniah's happy face.

Josiah the Mess Pot.  I'm pretty sure if there was ever a contest featuring the messiest eaters, Josiah would win the prize!  He somehow always manages to wear half of what he is eating.  This picture also reveals how desperately our shaggy boy needed a hair cut at the time!

Baby chicks were added to our clan in March! One dozen, to be exact.  We are hoping they end up being hens, like they were labeled at the feed store, so we can have lots of farm fresh eggs!

They were so tiny when we first got them and lots of fun to watch as they ran around the box my husband made for them, cheeping up a storm!

Such soft, downy feathers.

Hungry little critters.

The boys have been enthralled by the chicks!

My kitchen helpers unloading the dishwasher.

A hair cut at last!!!  Now our little boy looks so grown up!

This picture is a little blurry, but Adoniah's expression was so cute, I had to share!

He loves it when Mommy talks to him.

The little outfit he is wearing was a gift from a blog reader when Isaac was born and has been passed down through the boys.  It was made by the Amish. Very appropriate, considering we now live in Amish country. :)

"Take my picture, Mommy!  Cheese!"

Playing with his stacking rings.

Figuring it all out...

Sometimes, he's just too tired to finish lunch.

Spring is here, and I'm so thankful!

It's really fun to see what has begun to bloom all around our yard that we had no idea was there.

These purple flowers are such beauties; it's too bad they are connected to the pesky wild onions overtaking our property and flower beds that we are trying to weed out.

Daffodils in profusion!

The chicks have been growing so fast!  This picture was taken several weeks ago when their wing feathers were starting to come in.

Now they are twice this size with very little down left!

Happy spring everyone!