Toddler Activities: Leaf Rubbing!

Zion and I try to do something fun and creative together every day even if it is only for a few minutes since I am working. These fun things are usually spontaneous. Today we went outside to blow bubbles and we found some cool leaves that had been blown about by the storms we have been having. Zion brought them in and we made a leaf rubbing. She was quite surprised when the leaf appeared!

Social Experiment

Zion has become very demanding in her requests to watch TV lately. To be honest it is challenging because it is very easy to let her watch TV because it allows me to concentrate on work without having to entertain her and she enjoys watching it. All she has ever watched is PBS and not all that much of it but I decided since she was so insistant on watching it...(in fact a few mornings after she requested juice that was the next thing she said was "TV, watch") that I decided she needed a break. We made it through the whole week with no PBS or kids TV of any kind. The first day she repeatedly said Mommy, TV, or Mommy George (curious george) by the third day I think she only mentioned it once and yesterday I dont think she mentioned it at all. I also noticed that as the week went along she got more creative at entertaing herself instead of constantly needing to be entertained. Above you might think she fell asleep on the floor out of boredom but really she was pretending to go "night night" she said and giggling at the rubber band ball in her hand.
On her own she took a lot of time looking at her books and reading them. Here she is reading her Bible while I was working.
She got these new flashcards which are shapes and colors and she somehow realized she could stick them between the wall and window and put them on display. She was very proud of this and then started telling me what they were.
She loves music and dancing....I could watch her dance all day. She gets very serious. Here she is playing the zither which my family gave to us and singing a song. She makes up the funniest little songs about daddy, ducks and other things to go with her music.
Painting! This kept her busy for a long time while I did work and she did not want to get down when I finally decided she was done. She made quite a few pieces of art! She also made an art project with hearts that spelled out Daddy and today we drew the outline of her body on a big piece of paper and she colored it. I am realizing that she can entertain herself without the TV so I can get work done. I just have to be a little more creative but its worth it to see her have fun and learn so much more experiencing and doing things on her own rather than passively watching TV. I have not decided if and when we will watch PBS again... I really love Mr. Rogers and Zion really does love Curious George and Sesame street but it seems that if I let her watch it at all she wants to keep watching it so I have to think on it some more.

A night of good deals

Tonight we got 7 bottoms, 3 tops, a watering can full of beach toys, a bubble gun, a ribbon to dance with, and a wooden animal puzzle for $30.00! Also, we got free starbucks! The clothes were from JC Penny, they had a super sale and we even got to pick up a couple super cute things for Zions friend and it was great because now Zion is really a 2T and a lot of her clothes no longer fit. The toys we got at Target, they had a special sale of 75% off some of their toys. We had fun shopping since we do not get to much and I was very excited today because we paid off a nice chunk of our last credit card with money we have been working very hard to save this month.

Another Sewing Project

I recently made these fun coasters for a belated birthday present for Doug. They are also from the bend the rules book.

Fun with Zions Hair

Boot Camp

This week was the first Praise In Motion Boot camp. I don't remember when or why the idea came to me to have boot camp for our dancers at church but it was evident throughout the week that it was all planned by God. Tammie who is now our Praise In Motion director and I worked hard together to plan this camp. Each evening we met together and brought in different guest teachers to teach Bible study and some type of dance. We started out each night with Bible study then the dance class, then worked on choreography and ended the night with some time for personal meditation where everyone wrote about what they were learning in journals that we gave to them. Tammie also had the awesome idea of ending the week with a ropes course experience. The week flew by and I had a blast and learned a lot so hopefully the girls did too. I think we have come out of the week stronger in our faith, as a team and as dancers. We were really blessed to have some terrific learning experiences. We were exposed to liturgical dance, step, pilates, ballet, and we even went and took a class at the Miami City Ballet on Firday. The girls did a great job and I was really proud of each of them at different moments.

I had never done a ropes course before and it was a really cool experience. I was one of the last people to go along with one of the other adults Vena. I thought it was not that big of a deal and I had no problem getting up the pole but that wire walking was serious and I kept looking down at the young very small (especially from up high) teenagers that were protecting me from falling by holding my rope. We all worked really hard today helping each other out and let me tell you it was hot and we were out there from 9-3. I think we have started a new tradition and we have a lot to live up to if we do this next year. It was so amazing how each day God orchastrated things like only he can. The guests that did Bible study seemed to build on each other day by day even though they did not know what the other one was talking about and every time we had a problem it was worked out so that everything could continue. What a fun exciting week. I know there is a lot of pictures but I could not chose which ones I liked the best.
View from below of two brave ladies on the wire.
This is our dear Jenny who did log walking and climbed all the way up there. And this is her team that was linked to her rope at the waist.

Thats me on the wire. Watching from the bottom you have no idea how much that thing wiggles when you step on it.
We had to meet our partner in the middle of the wire and high five before we went down. Vena and I made it!

Coming down. To me that was the best part.

At the Miami City Ballet following our class. The teacher was very nice and patient with us. She trained at the School of American Ballet and has danced at several different ballet companies around the country. The girls and GUYS learned pirouettes, sautes, pas de chats, and grand jetes! It was challenging but most of them hung in there and did great.
My dear sweet husband Travis brought us all ice cream after the Miami City Ballet class and Zion got in on the fun.
Team building games at the ropes course.
This was our " boat" we had to all get on without it tipping. Tammie, Vena and I tried not to say anything and let the youth figure out how to get everyone on and they did a great job.
Once we were on the boat we all had to move out to the sides without tipping which was not so easy but they designated leaders who did a great job of directing everyone and we did it all successfully!

Step class. I was not to sure how well I would be at step...it has always seemed so fast like something that I would not be good at but I am proud to say I tried and I did not do to bad I think?
With Tiya our step teacher.
Bible study.
Prayer.
Also, one of my favorite parts of the week was that my friend from middle and high school youth group Amanda came and taught a class on Thursday. We grew up together in church and she moved down here not too long ago because her husband got a job in Fort Lauderdale. We had a great time hanging out with them recently and she agreed to come and teach the girls. They loved her and she did a great job of teaching them very valuble tecnique and they have been reminding each other about her posture checklist ever since. It was so neat to have here there! Thats pretty much it. I am looking forward to spending time with Travis and Zion tomorrow but it was a great week.

Good ol Bean Bags

I had the idea to make some bean bags for Zion because she really loves to catch things but quite honestly she stinks at it. So I made these up and it only took me a few minutes and she is really enjoying them. Now I just want Travis to make something out of wood with holes in it so we can use it as a target to throw them in. I used black beans for these bean bags because that is what I had in the pantry but I suppose any kind of bean would work. I think eveyone could use some bean bags even if you are all grown.

Zion Dresses Up

Zion has had a love of my things for quite some time. She is always getting into all of my stuff and brushing or hair or trying to put on my lotion or lip gloss or trying on my shoes. She is a girl for sure. I think she is going to be more girly than me. The other day I decided to get some things out for her to play with. She got really into it and soon was fully dressed up. It was fun to watch. Most of my accessories are from the dollar store or are from when I was a kid so they are great for playing with. In this picture above she is holding one of my favorite gifts ever which was a disney charm bracelet that my brother Tim got me when we were little for my birthday. He was such a sweet little brother and the best part was that he was so excited to give it to me. It is so fun to watch Zion enjoy things!

More Free Stuff from CVS

We had not gotten many good CVS stuff in a few weeks but this week we got all this for free including this kickboard for Zion to practice her swimming!

Happy 4th!

We had a very fun few days enjoying having a long weekend despite the fact that it rained most of the time. On the 4th we went to flamingo gardens and had fun as always seeing the animals.
Zion especially loves the big turtles. This one came over to talk to her.
Here she is all ready for fun. She loves to wear her new bike helmet and wanted to wear it to the pool. This weekend she had her first swim class in her new class. She graduated to the next class and had a great time doing some new things and using a kickboard for the first time. We also had a BBQ with some friends on Saturday and the food was good!
Thanks to her Grandma she had a really cute dress to wear and she loved finding things to put in the ladybug pockets. Hope you had a fun and restful weekend!

Visit From Friends

A Book Review

The Hidden Art of Homemaking

Edith Schaeffer

When I first looked at this book it did not draw me in. Written in 1971 in a very informal style it was not quite what I thought it would be when I read the description of it on Amazon so I shelved it for awhile. When I finally picked it up and got through the first chapter I felt like I knew Ms. Schaeffer and I was sitting in her living room having a cup of tea while she told me about how she cared for her family and her home.

I came to really enjoy the way she wrote because it was like she is having a conversation with the reader. She offers many practical ideas for purposeful, creative home life all fueled by God's principals. What she has to say in the book matches a lot of what I have been thinking about and learning about lately. She focuses on the importance of being creative and how our creativity points to our creator. She also illustrates how important beauty is but that true beauty is not about buying expensive things for your family and home but rather creating them and creating an environment that matches your families values, passions and lifestyle. She shares projects that she has done essentially making something out of nothing and doing more with less which is not only biblical but also good for the environment. What she is illustrating is living a FULL family life, full of creativity, joy, beauty, art, passion, and purpose. She elevates the home life to a place of great importance and illustrates how even something simple such as fresh flowers in your home can have a widespread impact.

We all have creative abilities but creativity does not just happen it is intentional. She says " the Hidden Art takes time and energy- and the balance of the use of time is a constant individual problem for all of us: what to do, and what to leave undone. One is always having to neglect one thing in order to give precedence to something else. The question is one of priorities.... But- and this needs emphasis- a Christian, above all people, should live artistically, aesthetically, and creatively." We are supposed to be representing and recognizing the creator.

"This is the day of the TV frozen dinner, stuck in an oven, served on a tray in front of the TV set, no conversation, no blessing being said, no person being thanked, because there is no-one in the universe to thank. It is the day of grabbing a bite and going on to the next engagement. The art of living together, of being a family, is being lost, just as the wealth of the earth is being lost by man's carelessness in his ignoring the need for conservation of forests, lakes and seas."

She discusses how creativity and fullness of life in the home can be expressed through music, decorations, painting, sculpting, drawing, gardening, flower arranging, food, writing, drama, recreation, clothing, integration, and environment. It is so easy to miss out on the fullness of life that we can experience in our relationships with God and with our family because we are so busy just surviving and going from one thing to the next. There is so much more, our creator made us to be creative and to enjoy our relationships with one another. This endeavor takes, commitment, effort, and focused priorities to prevent the sucking in of the routine and mundane survival mode but is so much more enjoyable, rewarding and honoring. Represent!

Updates

The "helper" In our effort to save moneys we save coupons for things to do and foods that we buy and we keep all of those and our gift cards in here. Zion kindly decided that she would unsort it for me.
Zion loves to build lately and especially likes to make towers. She also loves to color and do anything artistic. In fact she is sitting here next to me coloring right now. She is talking so much and can say pretty much anything when prompted. She loves to point to things and tell us what they are. She is starting to say little sentences like "see you later" and our favorite "love you" or "sshhhh daddys sleeping". AND she is using the potty! This was not our idea but she kept telling us when she had to go so we figured we should start taking her to the potty. The other day she made it to the potty three times! She is very proud of herself and we are proud of her too. We were not quite prepared for this whole potty training thing as we did not expect it yet and did not know what to do. But she seems to be educating us. I always forget to ask her if she needs to go potty and we have had our share of accidents. Like yesterday she woke up from her nap and I was working so I was trying to finish something before I got her despite her calling "mommy mommy" and then I hear her say "mommy pee pee" and I knew I should have gotten up at the first mommy.
On other fronts we are already in the midst of planning for this years Night of Praise that our church dance ministry puts on every year. I am very excited about how God is already pulling everything together. We plan to have it in September this year. We also have a week long dance camp coming up in July with all different guest teachers one of whom is a friend of mine from middle and high school that moved into the area which I am very excited about. The girls are going to be tired at the end of the week! The last day of the camp we are also going to get to experience a ropes course together. Above is some of my youth ladies at the churches 90th anniversary.

For the month of June we did pretty well with our financial goals even despite the fact that we traveled to Pittsburgh and Texas. We went about $70.00 over our grocery budget of $300.00 and the best part we stayed below our gas budget!

We decided to exercise together and Travis somehow got me out there running yesterday. I hate running, I always have and I am not optimistic about ever liking it but hey it can't kill me right. I greatly prefer pilates, or yoga but I guess those are not the greatest cardio work outs. Zion loved being in the jogging stroller and afterwards she did situps and push ups with us.