Christmas Present Stage 1

Over the Christmas break we did get the boys' rooms started. We began with a deep clean which involved taking a lot of things out of their rooms. Then, for the fun part. PAINT!!!!! The boys had a blast helping while wearing their aprons and hard hats! Super cute!

Jacob has his own room now which is yellow. Every time we pass his room we go to turn out the light but it is not on. The color is just so beautiful and bright! We have a few other things done, but they aren't completely done, so hopefully we can get stage 2 done soon!

Lost Photos

I just downloaded photos from the camera and found some fun pictures that I meant to blog a long time ago. So, here they are!

Jacob wants to be like his big brothers, so he has taken to doing the dishes. He is not the most efficient but if you leave him alone he gets the job done!

This was just too cute. Jacob decided to eat dinner sitting in the chips box.

For Christmas James got a new chef's jacket and wanted to show it off in action. If only I could do cool tricks like that in the kitchen. I also love that you can see Jacob's reflection in the microwave. He is always around when something exciting is going on in the kitchen.

Another favorite is Michael using his new headlamp to read at night. At least this way he will never hurt his eyes reading in the dark! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Math Party

I don't remember when we started this tradition, but about a year ago we decided to have a math party anytime one of the boys finished one of their math books. They have two per year, so we get to have about 6 parties a year now that Jacob is actively participating in school. Today, we were celebrating Jacob's successful completion! Unfortunately, Joshua and daddy had Secret Garden rehearsal, so they missed our party, but we had pizza, watched a Little House on the Prairie and had a super yummy treat! It was a fun party and fun to see Jacob get so excited about finishing his book. Way to go Jacob!

The Crazy Things Boys Do

The last few weeks have been pretty fun and the boys have done some fun things that I just had to share. Joshua has been into making origami and paper airplanes (so any paper folding activity), and last week they realized they could take our huge paper (the big ones I got for art) and turn them into GIANT airplanes. They were pretty awesome! But then, they took those airplanes, attached string and tried to fly them outside like kites. It didn't work as well as one may have liked but still it was awesome!

The very next day it snowed, I think I am realizing now why so many people are getting sick. When the weather forecast looks like a roller coaster, no good thing can come. But the boys disagree with me and headed out to sled. The snow only stayed for a couple of days, so it was good that they wasted no time. So, yes, kite flying one day and sledding the next. . . go figure. But as far as they are concerned it was heaven on earth!

Yesterday we went to an event called 'music mornings' put on by the library and the Galesburg symphony. They usually focus on one instrument but this month they talked about 'found music'—making music with whatever you have on hand. Well, let me put it this way . . . my boys have FOUND it alright without any problem. They came home and made their own marimbas using cups or paper and black beans and pulled out the little kid drum and just made music all day long! It was pretty cute and hopefully one day we'll get all of those black beans picked up!

So, even though the weather has been crazy and we have been a little sick the boys have managed to find some fun and crazy things to do to keep themselves busy and entertained.

2012

Liz and I have been especially impressed, of late, of the role of the family in our Father's plan, and the centrality of it in all our activities in this life. To that end, we changed up our family goal setting system this year, and in stead of getting together to set goals as individuals, with a few family-oriented ideas thrown in, we did everything as a family. We used the following scripture as our template, and although it applies specifically to the temple, we likened to the space in which we'd like to create the holiness of a temple: Our Home.

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God (Doctrine & Covenants 88:119).

We looked at the things we wanted to do, accomplish, learn, and be, and we assigned them categories on a giant colour-coded poster. We ended that family home evening with a list of small and simple things that we, as a family, will use as tools to accomplish the great goals listed in this scripture. Because this is not only a family sharing site, but also our family journal, it seems that our first entry of 2012 should outline our goals for the year. So, here they are:

1. Daily Scripture Study
1. Individuals: 10 minutes each
2. Family: Daily Reading
2. Daily Prayer
1. Individuals: 5 minutes, minimum, twice each day
2. Family: Kneeling as a family, morning & night
3. Read Primary, Sunday School, Priesthood, and Relief Society lessons before church each week.
1. Take appropriate manuals each week.
4. Meaningful Monthly Family Fast
5. NEVER Raise Voices
6. Prayerfully Watch for Opportunities to Serve
7. Weekly Family Home Evening
8. Follow Our Family Budget and Pay Off Consumer Debt
9. Keep Our House Clean