Team Theising

Rebekah Joy - 16 Months

2012-02-12T14:31:00.001-06:00

Rebekah loves babies, which for her is anyone younger than her sister, even if they happen to be older than her. She loves to say baby, touch another "baby" - she just loves babies. She loves holding her baby dolls and especially likes giving Faith's dolly to her. Her other love is shoes! I think it upsets her when I put her shoes on for her without first letting her try! She also LOVES being praised; she lives for it! She is still wearing 12 month clothes and is about to increase to size 3 shoes. She has 4 teeth on the top and 2 still on the bottom. I think there is at least one more coming in on the top.
Eating:
She still loves to eat and now when she knows a meal is about to be served she walks over to her chair and says "Eeeee, Eeeee" She loves using her fork and spoon and it has make meal time more of a challenge in someways (slower) but more fun as well, watching her learn new skills.
Sleeping:
We have completely dropped the first nap during this month and now she goes down at about 1:15 and sleeps until at least 3:30 but sometimes up to an hour longer. This is the cold season so we've been battling several occurrences of the common cold and that does tend to interrupt sleep occasionally but for the most part she does really well here.
Play:
I have switched her to room time and we've had some regression with solo play as far as going back to crying the entire time. I think I am going to have to correct that next month! I have started including her in craft time in preparation for starting my teaching day in our home school pre-school (working with Sabrina). She sits in the high chair that Faith used to occupy and she really enjoys getting to be part of the action. Grandma and Grandpa got the girls a toddler couch for Christmas (given at Frank's welcome home party) and they both love it. Rebekah especially loves having something her size to sit on. When playing with me, she has started brushing my hair off my face (even if it isn't in my face), mimicking when I do it to her as I am training her hair to go to one side of her forehead.
Skills:
She is learning to walk backwards and really enjoys that. She has added the word "blanket" to her vocabulary and "Dada" which technically she said before Frank's arrival but now it is her favorite word! If he leaves the room she asks "Dada??" It is super cute how much she loves him. She has also started signing "thank you" and "potty". She goes potty on the potty usually before bath and if we can catch BMs she'll do her business there as well. She has started helping with some dinner prep and setting the table, both activities she really enjoys. I just love this age because they are so eager to be good helpers.
Our Schedule:
0800 - Wake up, get dressed, have breakfast
0900 - Bible story, craft, worship time
1000 - Outside / Errands
1130 - Sibling play
1200 - Lunch, chore
1315 - Nap time
1600 - Mommy time until Faith wakes up, then snack, dinner prep
1700 - Solo play
1800 - Dinner

Daddy's Homecoming!

2012-01-25T14:19:00.002-06:00

Monday, January 23, 2012 - Preparations for Frank's return. We made a poster to take to the airport to welcome Daddy home. I arranged for a friend of mine to take some pictures of us when he got there. And, I stayed up way too late making a dress for Faith's doll to match her own homecoming dress. Sunday morning I learned he was coming home on Tuesday. Prior to that he wasn't supposed to arrive for another week and I promised Faith that Dolly could have a dress!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - Frank' return home! My friend, Christina went to the airport early to clear with the airline that she could come back to the gate with us and take pictures. She was such a huge help! Frank had been flying for about 24 hours and actually gave up a hotel in Baltimore so he could get home to us earlier. He was one of the last people off the flight which was a little nerve wracking and of course we were all quite the show for the other passengers waiting in the airport. We got a nice ovation from the folks there when Frank finally emerged from the jet way!

Welcome Home!

Faith August - 2 Years and 9 Months

2012-01-23T22:33:00.001-06:00

As I write this I anticipate Frank coming home from his deployment tomorrow! My main purpose in keeping up this blog has been so he can read updates on the girls and see pictures of them as they grow. I have included in my 2012 goals to continue updating the blog at least twice a month for posterity's sake so that one day I can look back and see how my babies grew and what was going on in our lives. We'll see how that goes :) I also just finished a dress for Faith's doll to match the homecoming dress I made for her to wear tomorrow. She is going to love it. She is still very into dolly and being a great little mama in training towards her.
Sleeping:
We traveled back to Arkansas during this month and it was a pretty smooth transition and the girls did really well sleeping in the same room at my sister's house. We've all had a bit of a cold the last week and the coughing is really wreaking havoc with Faith's sleep. It will pass soon though and she is enjoying the kids' tea she gets when she coughs! As I mentioned last month I stopped waking her to take her potty at night before I go to bed. Well this month, she has done extremely well having a dry diaper after 12 hours! We have about one wet diaper a week on average and she cheerfully collects her sticker each morning, not for her chart but for her chest, leg, or Dolly! Pretty soon I am sure we'll get to the day when it is panties only at bed.
Eating:
When we got back to Arkansas I put her back in her high chair which just sits in one of our chairs but found that her legs were too long and it was really uncomfortable for her. So, that chair went to the other side of the table and now she sits in the bumbo with a place mat at the table and does very well. The bumbo is simply for added height. She does really well even when she sits only on a chair. She has to take 2 bites of everything on her plate at a minimum because she is 2 years old. She asked me one day how many bites I have to take, no comment :)
Skills:
Faith knows her birthday is in April (or Ape-A-Ril) and has become very interested in when everyone's birthdays are. We've only just started talking about months in the home school pre-school that I am doing with Sabrina so it doesn't mean anything to her really that her birthday is in April and Rebekah's is in October but someday it will and I love that her vocabulary is increasing. She continues to work on writing her letters. This month she has been working hard on K (straight line down, angle in, angle out). When we color she really would rather work on writing letters so it is obvious she is passionate about it. She loves pointing out letter she sees everywhere, especially F and R.
Play:
This month Faith really started to enjoy the snow, which was good because Utah saw a lot of it while we were finishing up our time there. She really likes to make snow angels and fall down and have me pick her up by the snow suit. 35 pounds of dead weight is no joke :) As we received Christmas cards during this month, Faith loved looking at the family pictures people sent. I usually gave her 2 or 3 while we were in the car and throughout any car ride she constantly asked what the mama, daddy, and children in the pictures names were. She just loved looking at them, especially the kids and babies. So, thanks for all the cards! She continues to concern herself with everyone's owies and making sure they are getting better, it is really sweet. I think she'll make a fantastic nurse if she decides to pursue it! This has been a big transition month for Faith with so much travel (Utah to Vegas to Arkansas to OKC and back to Arkansas) but she did have some time for play; her favorite book (and Rebekah's) was one we got at the library, Moo, Moo Brown Cow and she really loves to play with her Cutting Food Box
Our Schedule (back in AR):
0800 - Wake, get ready, eat breakfast
0900 - Bible story, craft, worship!
0945 - Freeplay
1030 - Baking together, learning time
1130 - Sisterplay with Rebekah
1200 - Lunch
1230 - Chore, Outside time
1415 - Naptime
1600/1630 - Snack, dinner prep, solo play
1800 - Dinner, reading, bath, Bible story, bedtime o/a 1950

Rebekah Joy - 15 Months

2012-01-15T21:25:00.000-06:00

I am so ready for her Daddy to come home and meet Rebekah again. She is so different from the baby he left 6 months ago! At her 15 month appointment she was 21lbs (only 1 pound heavier than at 12 months but still on track).

Eating:
Now that she realizes milk is a necessary part of every meal, I have started allowing Rebekah to drink her milk throughout the meal rather than all at once at the beginning as I had perviously done because if I didn't, she would fill up on food and not eat any milk. She continues to love fruits and veggies and although meat is not her favorite, we've nipped the crying as soon as I put in front of her game that she thought she could get away with there for a while. She really does love to eat and is generally pretty happy when doing so.
Sleeping:

Sleep has been pretty good this month except for some travel disruptions when we went to Vegas, twice, and then flew back to Arkansas but after a day or two of night wakings (and not long wakings either) she is back to normal. She continues to take a morning nap most days but it isn't very long, maybe a half hour. But if we are out and about the nap is skipped and then she goes down for the afternoon nap between 1:15 and 1:30, depending on how she is doing.

Skills:
Rebekah has learned how to climb steps this month and LOVES to do so. I won't let her climb stairs in a house right now so she has to content herself with climbing at the park and onto her sisters footstool. She is saying 9 distinctive words: Mama, Dada, Sister, Granddad (learned before Mama), Duck, Dog, Ball, Baby, and Shoe. Her walking is improving and she is working at going down small steps. She is a champion self feeder and has been for about 3 months but the doctor mentioned it the other day and I realized that I'd never said anything about it here. Additionally, although I have been lax in teaching her any new signs, she is improving in the delivery of the ones she knows. "Help" is looking more like the example than it did previously and she really tries to get "more" a little more finely tuned as well.
Play:
Solo play is going so well. I really think that my playing with her and the toys she has in solo play at the beginning of each week has helped out a ton! It is like it shows her how to play with the toy and then she is happy. There have been a few protests from her but the are short and then she resigns herself to her fate. I think we'll start working on roomtime soon. This Counting and Sorting Farm has become a favorite as well as her laptop; both of these have been good solo playtime and free playtime toys. Faith got her the most adorable snuggle baby doll and she just lights up when she sees it. She continues to love books and they were a primary source of entertainment during all of our recent traveling.

Christmas in Utah

2011-12-25T22:32:00.054-06:00

Last night the girls wore their Christmas dresses to church for the candlelight service and were such a huge hit. They stayed with us throughout the service and did remarkably well, especially considering the service didn't even start until 7pm. We sang a ton of Christmas hymns, including We Three Kings, so of course Faith loved it.

During breakfast this morning we were able to skype with Frank for a half hour. During that time the girls opened their presents from us and from each other. I am so very grateful that the technology exists to allow us to talk with each other so far away and on such a regular basis; it has made this Christmas so much better.

After breakfast we headed to church in more adorable outfits.

We opened gifts from my in-laws after church and the girls really enjoyed talking with them. Both girls went down a little early for naps as they were tired from staying up late the previous night. After naps they opened the remaining gifts under the tree. I actually liked breaking it up in this manner. It allowed everything to get played with and it wasn't so overwhelming. I also really like limiting the number of gifts given at Christmas. The girls got plenty of new toys and I enjoyed it more than a feeding frenzy of toys. Also, it allowed for plenty of reminders of how giving presents shows love.

Both the girls received purses!

Rebekah really enjoyed this block set I think her favorite part was the little dude in the car!

Faith LOVES shoes and these sandals were a huge hit; she wore them the entire rest of the day.

Rebekah's Mega Blocks Table was an instant success and will provide hours of enjoyment for both girls.

Faith received this tea set and both girls really enjoyed having a little tea party together :) I can't wait for them to get back to AR and are able to do this on their little table. I'll have to make some placemats!

Here is me in my new hat! Go Hokies!

These were just the highlights. There were several more gifts that the girls loved and we are so grateful for wonderful family and friends to share such a special time with, even if it was over the computer. But the best gift of all is Jesus. Merry Christmas.

Christmas Crafts

2011-12-25T21:48:00.000-06:00

At the library this season we were able to find several Christmas books, the two most notable were We Three Kings and On Christmas Day in the Morning, both of which are obviously singing books so it is no surprise that they are my girls' favorite books right now.
As for crafts, because We Three Kings was such a hit I decided we had to do crafts based on those gifts given to Jesus in addition to some others. The first one was gold. My mom had some old poker chips which the girls painted gold and put in a clear plastic box and placed under the tree.

I really couldn't think of anything super creative for Frankincense so we just bought some and lit is while we sang We Three Kings together.

We made a homemade spice mixture for our Myrrh and put it in a little organza bag and put it next to the other gifts under the tree. The myrrh verse is Faith's favorite in the hymn.

These are our hand print sheep covered in cotton balls.

I cut out the letters for Jesus and Faith glued Cheerios on to them while we sang J-E-S-U-S (to the tune of Bingo) and it helped her learn the J and the U, both letters were previously really hard for her to identify. We covered a shoe box with paper and then glued Jesus' name on to it, filled it with hay (shredded paper) and placed it under the tree as a manger for baby Jesus.

Our final Christmas craft was making a birthday cake for baby Jesus which we enjoyed after our Christmas dinner tonight. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Faith August - 2 Years and 8 Months

2011-12-24T23:26:00.001-06:00

Faith is such a cute little mama. She still loves her dolly but has taken a new interest in certain stuffed animals and is equally as loving to them. She is always very concerned if the dolly or bunny is crying and wants to make it better. She loves babies and looking at them and talking about them and is very gentle when touching them.
This month has been filled with Faith singing! She has always loved to be sung to and she has always enjoyed singing but this month she has become so much better at remember the words after only hearing a song a few times. She knows all 4 verses to We Three Kings and The Friendly Beasts (a new favorite carol!) She also really enjoys and knows most of the words to Two Steppin' Round the Christmas Tree and Cowboy Christmas both songs my dad has been shamelessly playing for her at every opportunity. As a side note, Rebekah gets incredibly excited when hearing the intro to these two songs as well.

Feeding the ducks in St George

Sleeping:
Nighttime sleep continues to go well, she is not really interested in nighttime potty training and I don't want to push it because I enjoy my sleep too :) I figured once we back to AR I will start a sticker chart with her again and see how it goes. Naps are still good but she has about 2 days every 2 weeks where she just doesn't sleep. She is quiet but she just never falls asleep. It is a reminder for me that eventually naps will turn to rest time and then unfortunately disappear all together, what a sad day that will be but I don't foresee it for several years.
Eating:
I realized I hadn't put this in but for several months now, Faith has really like to eat her food whole, without me cutting it up. She also REALLY enjoys dipping her food in some kind of sauce or condiment. My parents drink a lot of coffee and have a cup with nearly every meal so I have been letting Faith have some (decaf) every once in a while. I usually pour about a tablespoon in her milk and she will drink it that way. Faith was the first to catch a 24 hour stomach bug this month that was passed to both me and my mother the next day. The day she was sick she of course ate very little but about 2 days later her appetite returned and she continues to be a good eater.
Skills:
Faith is really enjoying writing letters on her doodle pro. She does really well, actually, I am continually impressed. I don't know if this is a skill per say but she has become much more confident in pouring water on her own face and head. While wrapping presents for Christmas she learned how to tie a simple knot. She really enjoys cutting paper and fabric which I let her do while I am sewing. Her vocabulary continues to improve and she is a little parrot whenever my parents and I especially are talking. She continues to parrot what I say in my reading.
Playing:
Faith is really doing very well and sharing with Rebekah; I am continually proud of her for playing so nicely with Rebekah. She occasionally has a hard time with the fact that during free play the toys that are in Rebekah's purple bin belong to her and Faith can't get them out by herself. She will insist that she is sharing but I have had to remind her that those toys are Rebekah's to share. That usually seems to do the trick. She is currently in love with the doll house my sister got her for Christmas. She loves playing with it alone and with me. Twice this month we've travelled to Las Vegas to visit my sister and Faith really loves hanging with her cousin, Sophie who is 9 months younger than Faith. It is really sweet the way they enjoy each other. We've visited the Cedar City Aquatic Center several times this month as well and she really enjoys that, although she doesn't really like the water splashing on her head.
Our Schedule: (very fluid except for meal and sleep times!)
0800 - Up, bready for the day, breakfast
0900 - Freeplay or errands
1000 - Outdoor time
1100 - Craft, get lunch ready
1200 - Lunch
1300 - Freeplay
1415 - Nap
1630 - Snack, solo play
1800 - Dinner, reading time, bath, Bible story, bedtime o/a 1950

An Early Christmas

2011-12-22T11:27:00.000-06:00

The weekend before Christmas we motored down to Las Vegas to celebrate the holiday early with my sister and her family. My brother-in-law works for a casino in town and Christmas is becoming a popular time for people to come to Vegas so it is a hard time for casino workers to rest for the holiday! Friday it was a pretty nice day so we drove out to Red Rock Canyon and did a little hiking and rock climbing.

A giant lizard on display at the Red Rock Canyon Visitor's Center

On Sunday morning we opened the gifts to and from the Siquians. We were able to talk with Frank while we opened his gift, St Petersburg, the board game.Hopefully I'll get a chance to break it out and learn how to play before he gets back so I can teach him! Faith received a house for her dolls. Rebekah was given this awesome counting farm which has provided us with some excellent solo play times since then! From my parents Sophie received a sandbox which was a huge hit with all the kids, especially after Mervin added the balls from the ball tent to substitute for the sand. From the Theisings, Sophie got a purse that I made and my mom embroidered her name on plus a toddler couch which was a huge hit with everyone, including Lady.

Rebekah Joy - 14 Months

2011-12-16T07:24:00.000-06:00

Such a big girl! She moved to a forward facing carseat this month and what a difference that has made on our car trips. Riding in the car with her was starting to get really rough but the change in aspect for her has made all the difference in the world. Rebekah is also discovering her love for dancing. She puts the moves on for about every piece of music that comes through the stero, even if it is just a little shake of the head. She doesn't really dance when I sing to her yet but she really enjoys me singing to her. She occasionally tries to join in when Faith and I are singing. It usually sounds like a louder version of the whale noises that she makes when she is excited and imitating us saying "wow!"
Sleeping:
We continue with weaning the morning nap. She probably takes a morning nap about every 3rd day depending on what is going on. Basically if we are home she takes the nap and if we are out and about she doesn't. On days she doesn't take the nap I try to get her down around 1:30 and she sleeps until after 4 but does wake up crying so I am thinking I might need to start putting her down a little earlier, closer to 1pm maybe. Nighttime sleep continues as normal.
Eating:
Rebekah has started to like milk a little more this month and has acutally asked for more milk after her meal is over! She continues to put up protest cries when I put meat on her plate but I have started swating her leg for that reaction to what she is given and that has seemed to help. She quickly learned the sign for bread, as it is one of her favorite foods.
Playing:
We had a few more good solo play days this month even than last month. For about 10 days of solo play she had her Hide and Squeak Eggs in there and she LOVES these eggs. I knew she would as soon as I saw them but I can't really explain why. They are by far her favorite toy. Her sister and cousin also love them! During the time she had the eggs in solo play I never heard a peep out her. Overall, I think once she is able to move to roomtime her solo play will improve (I hope anyway!). We've started full on with blanket time as well although it is harder at my parents house because I don't have a kitchen toy box/cabinet here but she is learning the concept at least.
Skills:
Walking! That is the big skill for the month. She took her first real steps (although they were really just shuffles) on the 25th of November but didn't do much after that until the first week in December and since then has just taken off. She grows in confidence everyday and will certainly be able to walk to Daddy in the airport next year when he arrives home. Additionally she is identifying body parts (head, nose, ear) and she has discovered her belly button which of course she loves. She has also started shaking her head "no" when she doesn't want something.
Our Schedule:
Continues to be fluid while at my parents' house although I do strive for some regularity.
0800 - Up, get ready, breakfast
0900 - Sister play, Freeplay
1000 - Chores
1030 - Nap, if taking one, if not we've usually been out running errands or at the pool or outdoor time and will stay out until lunch
1130 - Blanket time, Freeplay
1200 - Lunch, outdoor time or structured play with Mama
1330/1400 - Nap
1600 - Snack, Structured play
1700 - Solo play, freeplay
1800 - Dinner
1845 - Reading time, bath, bedtime o/a 1950

Zion Heard and Was Glad

2011-12-08T08:20:00.007-06:00

Psalm 97:8 My dad had to get some work done on their car in St George so we all decided to go and take advantage of the slighter warmer weather (in the 50s there) and visit Zion National Park. After a quick drive around part of the park we settled down for lunch and a short hike along the Emerald Pools. The view was great. Faith loved singing about Zion, the whole time! (the Z song from the ABC Bible verse songs) And we talked a lot about her being a bit older and we would all hike to the top of the Great White Throne mountain. I am hoping we get to go back there when Frank returns and we are able to all take another trip out here. Additionally, I test drove the Toyota Sienna while in St George, I am on my way to becoming a mini van Mama.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T08:19:00.036-06:00

Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday. It has everything to do with family and food; it is the one celebration that hasn't been turned into a consumer frenzy and candy gorging free for all; it can't be secularized (although the godless media tries) because it begs the question of "to Whom are we Thankful?" I am so thankful to God that my husband is the man that he is, taking care of his family and sacrificing time with them to protect and secure the freedom of many. I am also thankful that I have wonderful parents to stay with during the holidays while my brave husband is overseas. We celebrated Thanksgiving a week early this year to accomidate work schedules. My uncle and his family drove down from Wyoming with my other aunt who flew in from Florida. My sister and her family came up from Las Vegas and we had a FULL house for the weekend but it was great and I wouldn't have had it any other way. The girls both slept in my room and did great, I even loved hearing the peals of laughter way to early in the morning becase they were making each other laugh. My two cousins, Janna (15) and Johnnie Leigh (13) were so great with the girls, and the girls adored them. Just yesterday Faith announced that she was going to live in Wyoming with them! In addition to a bounty of delicious food, all of the women (and there were a lot of us) went down to the Cedar City Aquatic Center and had a blast playing in the warm (indoor) pool. It was a wonderful celebration and I am thankful that God has blessed me with such a family.

A Quick Trip to Salt Lake City

2011-11-22T23:55:00.000-06:00

Because we were so close, I decided it would be really nice to spend some time with our good friends the Foxes who we knew in both Virginia and Illinois and are now stationed at Hill AFB in Salt Lake. So, I loaded up the girls in the wee hours of the monring and took the 5 hour-ish drive to Salt Lake at the beginning of the month (sorry I am just now getting this on here). Jon and Jenn have a 3 1/2 year old who Faith just adored and a 4 month old who is the spitting image of his dad. It was so nice to hang out with this great couple and I am so glad our kiddos had a great time playing together!

Faith loved pulling her Dolly around in Kathleen's little wagon. By the time I took this picture we'd been outside for a while and I think the cold had zapped away the smiles but they really did enjoy it, I promise!

Faith August - 2 Years, 7 Months

2011-11-22T23:35:00.002-06:00

Faith is very nurturing and loving; she doesn't like anyone crying or having owies. Her goal in life is to make Rebekah laugh and I just love that. We've had some sharing issues and first time obedience is beginning to decline so I need to work on those things.

Eating:

The amount that Faith eats at each meal has certainly diminished; though she still loves food, she just doesn't love as much of it. She continues to eat well and I have started allowing her to take sips of my V8 and coffee at breakfast, both of which she really enjoys.

Sleeping:

We were working on nighttime potty training most of this month and that really wreaked havoc with Faith's nighttime sleep. After she stopped wearing diapers at nap time last month Faith asked if she could wear panties at night as well. So, we started a sticker chart and I began waking her up before I went to bed to take her to the bathroom. It started out really well and the waking her up at 10 or 11pm didn't affect her much at all and she was waking with a dry diaper. About 2 weeks into it though she began waking again a few hours after I would wake her when I went to bed. I would take her potty during the second wake up but she didn't always have to go. Eventually the 2am wake up ended and she started waking at 6am and then not going back to sleep. So, I was interrupting her sleep and she wasn't getting enough of it which led to a cranky kiddo and a tired Mama. So, I decided we were done with nighttime potty training. Her sleep got immediately better and we've still had several days of dry diapers! On a humorous note, one day I was talking with Frank on the phone and Faith walked in to hear me tell him "I am so proud of you." Faith pipped up with "Did Daddy have a dry diaper?" It was hilarious!

Skills:

Faith speaks incredibly well. She has a huge vocabulary and her grammar is nearly flawless. She does say "Rebekah and me" rather than "Rebekah and I" and she uses "got" occasionally when she should use "have" but I have met many adults who don't speak English as well as Faith. She continues to love being read to but now she has started holding her own book and pretending to read while I am reading to her and Rebekah, repeating the last word or phrase that I say on each page.

Play:
Faith's imagination play has really taken off this month. She has played mama to her dolly for a year now but she has started really enjoying solo play because her imagination has just taken off! She really enjoys her wooden doll family and puts them in her shoes which act as cars for the family members. She also spends a lot of time "reading" and I am always amazed by the book she chooses from the library to just love that period, it is always something to do with babies or small animals. It is sweet. I got the girls an early Christmas present, a Little Tikes School Bus Activity Gym. I thought the slide would be the biggest hit in this toy but Faith really enjoys "driving" places as well, armed with her purse, books, and Dolly of course. She drives everywhere, the swimming pool, the commissary, church, St Louise, Salt Lake, the med center, and (thanks to my dad for teaching her this one) the liquor store!

Our Schedule:

0800 - Wake up, get ready, breakfast

0900 - Sister play, free play (or errands and outdoor time), if we aren't running around I try to work in craft and chore here as well

1200 - Lunch, then whatever we didn't do in the morning (i.e., free play or outdoor time)

1415 - Nap (somedays it takes her a long time to fall asleep somedays not)

1630 - She is usually up by this time, although somedays I do let her sleep a few minutes later. Snack, free play, solo play

1800 - Dinner, reading, bath, bedtime o/a 2001

Pottage of Lentiles

2011-11-17T22:14:00.001-06:00

We read through Genesis 25:21-34 over the last week and a half. Faith really loved coloring this story because there were two babies involved. She rarely called them both Esau and Jacob, usually it was Esau and Faith or Jacob and Rebekah but she still learned the names :)

The first craft we did was making Jacob's bowl. We made it from a clay recipe using salt, water, and cornstarch. The craft and recipes came from http://www.dltk-bible.com/crafts/mbowl.htm I let it dry for several days before we filled it with the pottage of lentiles later in the week.

I found all the ingredients for our pottage of lentiles on clip art and printed them out for both girls to tape (with double sided tape) onto a paper plate. We talked about each ingredient and then I let them color on te back.

Finally, we made a pottage of lentiles using this recipe: http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0712M04.htm

It actually turned out pretty good, although the bowl that Faith made earilier in the week didn't really work well for an actual bowl for her so she used it to feed her Dolly.

Rebekah Joy - 13 Months

2011-11-12T08:13:00.000-06:00

My little pumpkin is such a cutie! This has been quite a busy month for Rebekah and she has borne it remarkably well. We temporarily left Arkansas to stay with my parents in southern Utah for the remainder of the year. She has been inundated with new sights, new people, new places, a new bed, and has kept her smile through it all.
Sleep:
Although it was a little rough during the first few days after our arrival in the west, her nighttime sleep continues well. She, her sister, and I all managed to share a room on several occasions at my sister's house in Las Vegas as well as visiting some friends in Salt Lake City and we all slept very well in such close quarters. Although I don't think she is ready to drop her morning nap, she doesn't necessarily need it everyday. Towards the end of this month I have begun experimenting with giving her a morning nap two days out of every three. My goal is for her afternoon nap to be longer than 45 minutes or an hour which is where is started to get to around the middle of the month. We are still in the trial phase right now but it seems to be working.
Eating:
She continues to eat like a little piggy, after I make sure she gets all her milk which is 18oz a day (8 at breakfast, 5 at lunch, and 5 at dinner). We have had a few incidents with fish and chicken in her refusing to eat them. I offer her whatever I think she is going to like the least as the first course in her meal and nothing else until she finishes that. I have also started correcting her for crying when she sees what I put on her tray. Really she only cries when she sees that it is meat. Veggies, fruit, bread, cheese, she does great with all of those.
Skills:
My sister lent us my niece's walker and that has really helped improve Rebekah's walking skills. At the beginning of the month she was straight kneed in walking but now she is cruising everywhere and bending both her knees when you walk with her. She has learnt to roll a ball and I know she is trying to say "sister" when she sees Faith. She is also imitating our speech a great deal and blabbing away all the time. She still has yet to attempt to say "Mama" but we hadn't been her a week and she was already working on "Granddad"! She has also started to dance!
Play:
Her solo play has actually started to improve. I don't know if my playing the Mozart Horn Concertos during her solo play has helped but she is quieter now! She has solo play in her bed here in Utah so I can watch her on the camera and she does a lot of laying down clutching her doll or other stuffed animal that I give her to play with but there is some play that goes on as well. She and Faith are doing very well with Sister play. I actually do it in my room while I am getting ready in the adjoining bathroom and it works well. There are 2 play areas in the house here in Utah and Rebekah enjoys the different toys in both of them and is good about respecting Faith's bin as being off limits until a toy is taken out and left by her sister.
Our Schedule:
This is a lot more fluid now that we are at my parents' house, who are both retired but this is loosely what we do each day:
0800 - Wake, dress, breakfast, sister play
0915 - Freeplay upstairs (if it is a nap skipping day we try to go out to the park, pool, or run errands here)
1030 - Nap; I wake her at 1130 if she isn't already up
1130 - Kitchen play
1200 - Lunch
1245 - Outside time (walk, park, etc.)
1400 - Nap
1600 - Snack, Freeplay with Mommy, Freeplay downstairs, solo play
1800 - Dinner
1845 - Reading time, bath, Bible story, bedtime o/a 2001

Isaac has 2 As

2011-11-06T16:38:00.000-06:00

This was the first Bible story time we did where a name in the Bible was someone Faith knew, namely her sister, Rebekah. Although I think it might have confused her at first but she figured out that her 1 year old sister had never ridden on a camel. It was also great timing because we'd been talking about my ring and how that meant I was a wife, and then we had to point out everyone's rings to show whether they were a husband or a wife and Genesis 24:67 states that Rebekah "became his [Isaac] wife" and she was proud of herself that she knew that the Biblical Rebekah must have worn a ring.
We read Genesis 24:4, 12-26, 58-67. Our first craft was making bracelets like the ones Abraham's servant gave to Rebekah. Ours were not gold however, they were beads!

Our next craft was a water pitcher, like the one that Rebekah carried on her shoulder. I printed out Genesis 24:13-14 and Faith helped me tape it with packing tape onto a water bottle with a pull top, one that she could open on her own. When she is older and we repeat this craft (and we will because she liked it) I'll give her a pitcher with a screw cap. She poured her water into Lady's water bowl since we don't have a camel trough!

Of course we had to make one for Rebekah too! She wasn't intersted in carrying it on her shoulder as her namesake did but she still loved the craft.

Finally, I made a camel out of an egg carton and Faith painted it. Painting is one of her favorite things so of course this was her favorite craft! I didn't have any brown paint so I asked her what color she wanted to paint the camel and her answer "yellow and maybe some pink too." What an awesome looking camel! http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mcamel.htm

Faith August - 30 Months (2 1/2 Years Old)

2011-10-23T19:57:00.002-05:00

"I am two and a half" Faith loves to tell people her age. She has had ample opportunity, especially over the last 2 weeks as we've been traveling from Arkansas to stay with my parents in Utah through the holidays so she is meeting a host of new people who all want to know her name and age. She also delights in telling people Rebekah's name and age and reminding her new acquaintances that she is a big girl and Rebekah is a baby.
Sleeping:
I have started putting her down closer to 2:15 and this has helped her naps run at least until 4 and some days until 4:30. After 2 weeks of dry diapers at nap time, she started taking naps without diapers on October 21st. Now we are moving on to nighttime! About the beginning of this month I decided it was time to start teaching her to sleep under a blanket. I have a child size blanket that has silk along the edges and knew she would like this. Faith likes to thrash around prior to falling asleep and this would twist the blanket around her and she would cry for me to fix it. After one night of this I told her the next night that if she cried even one time I would take warm blankie away. I've only had to take it away one time; she loves that blanket. She only gets it for nighttime sleep, not for naps because she sweats like she is in a banya during her naps. I am continuing to bee firm on the no getting out of bed, no matter what the reason, and I am glad for it because at my parents' house she sleeps in the basement and I am upstairs, I don't want her walking around at night in a strange house and potentially up the stairs to tell me she needs to go potty!
Eating:
The only real food issue we have is with broccoli. On days when we have broccoli, the meal usually degrades into her standing in the corner to finish her 2 bites after the rest of us have finished eating. She also dislikes lettuce but I don't make salads too much for myself so she doesn't encounter lettuce that often. She eats everything else without issue, some days eating like a horse and others like a mouse but in general she loves food. She really enjoyed helping to make Rebekah's birthday cupcakes and she even passed them out to all the guests before feasting on her own!
Play:
With Rebekah's birthday during this month, Faith has had a vast swath of new toys to play with. She really enjoys the coin purse part of the Melissa and Doug purse she got for Rebekah. She helped me wrap it and talked about giving it to her sister for a week, it was very sweet. She also really likes the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Picnic Basket (also Rebekah's) and while we were staying with cousin Sophie, she played a great deal with Sophie's picnic basket, setting out a meal for Dolly and everything. Faith loves the seasons books that I got as a baby shower gift when pregnant with her. She enjoys lining them all up in a row and reading through them. When she shares with her sister, Rebekah is always given the green one. As for sharing, Faith does extremely well. I am glad we work on it so much because it really is paying off. I try to have Sister Play for about 15 minutes a day and will start increasing that soon.
Skills:
She has really started to do well at quantifying (only 1-3). Anything more than 3 is now 5 (a few weeks ago, anything more than 2 was 3). I am impressed every time she tells me how many of a certain color car she sees. In addition to numbering things, she is doing incredibly well at recognizing letters. She knows all her capital letters, we haven't started on lower case yet, and she is very proud of herself when she recognizes them on anything: signs, books, the milk container, anything. She is starting to recognize that letters are everywhere! She is also doing very well at putting on her clothes. She can put on her sandals and a few pairs of other shoes by herself, getting them on the correct feet about 90% of the time. Shirts are still hard for her to get on herself but hey, she still is only 2 1/2!

Our Schedule:
0800 - Up and Ready for the Day, Breakfast, Bible story, Prayers
0900 - Sister play, Free play (Errands if needed)
1000 - Chore, Snack, Craft, finish chore if needed
1130 - Helps Prepare lunch1200 - Lunch
1230 - Outside time
1415 - Nap
1600/30 - Up, Snack, Solo play
1800 - Dinner, After Dinner Activity in AR was Park, Library, etc., now that we are in Utah we use this as Reading time and it has worked well so far.
1915 - Bath, Bible Story, Bedtime o/a 1950

Abraham and Sarah

2011-10-17T17:15:00.001-05:00

We've been reading the story of Abraham and Sarah (Gen 15:1-6, 17:1-8, 15-17, 19). I took advantage of the days getting shorter and one night after church we laid down on the driveway and looked up at the stars. Faith really enjoyed that. Unfortunatly in the city there weren't that many for her to see but it was a great introduction to the story of Abraham for her.

I cut out 4 stars (one for each member of our family) out of white cardstock and Faith covered them with alumnium foil. Then we wrote everyones name on them. These hung on the fridge until we sent them to Daddy and every time we read about God telling Abram to look toward heaven and tell the stars if thou be able to number them, Faith reminded me that we had our own stars and that we saw other stars when we laid down in the driveway!

Another craft I was really excited about was Magic Stars, but for us they weren't so magic. I drew stars with white crayons on white cardstock and the theory on the website was that if you painted the paper in black then the white stars would show through. http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/space/mmagic-stars.htm Well, I didn't dilute the paint with water so we ended up with a black piece of cardstock. I will certainly try this craft again when stars are called for and will follow the directions this time. Faith had a good time, after all, paint was involved!

Rebekah Joy - 1 Year

2011-10-17T16:47:00.001-05:00

Rebekah Joy is 1!

This has been a year filled with heartache and blessings. God taught me a great deal of humility in being Rebekah's mother and through her has allowed me to experience unspeakable joy in the same task.
Sleeping:
We finally went to the doctor and got her on some antibiotics for her lingering caugh that would keep her up in the middle of the night. The amoxicillian has worked wonders on the sinus infection that she apprently had and her nighttime sleep has gone back to being consistant. Her naps have continued to be about 1 1/2 hours, although there are the occasional longer naps and some shorter.
Eating:
Rebekah was fully weened on September 30th, a little early but I had a women's ministry retreat that weekend and I didn't want to mess with pumping during it! I had plenty of frozen milk though so she continued to get some each day until she actually turned 1. She drinks milk from her sippy cup (8oz at breakfast, 5oz at lunch, and 5oz at dinner) before she gets any food because it won't be consumed if it isn't drunk first. After milk I give her meat which is her least favorite food and after she finishes that then she can get all the veggies, fruit, and bread she can stuff into her little mouth! Afternoon snack is given but is subject to whatever we are doing that day. We dropped her bedtime bottle on October 6th, she didn't even notice or care!
Play:
Solo playtime has improved, she isn't in love with that time but she is getting better and eventually she will learn to enjoy her time by herself. Rebekah loves playing in the sandbox; picking up rocks and the rubber tire pieces at the park and she is pretty good about keeping it out of her mouth. She continues to love books and it is nice that ripping them up is not on her agenda and I can leave Faith's books around her without worrying about their destruction. We started doing sisterplay in her room with Faith. 15 minutes with one or 2 toys that are good for both of them to play with; they don't really play together but they'll get there and so far there haven't been any issues.
Skills:
She is crawling on all 4s more consistantly now, although there is still some of the splits action going on occasionally. She LOVES to pull herself up on me as well as other stationary objects but I am her favorite pull post. Rebekah loves giving hugs, which is adorable! She has not started dancing yet but she does clap. At first it was to the tune of "if you're happy and you know it" but it seems more to be all singing. She clapped along to Old Hokie when Faith sang it and All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name as well.

First Birthday Party:
We celebrated her birthday on the 6th of October. Her paternal grandparents and great-grandparents were able to join us at Dupree Park in Jacksonville after naps. We had chicken, mac & cheese, veggies, and fruit. Faith and I made some homemade carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing for Rebekah's first cake. She is not super into sweets so she enjoyed the cake much more than the icing! After the party, the Langehaugs came over to join us in opening presents. A huge thanks to our friends and family who were able to join us in celebration that day.

Our Schedule:
0800 - Up, breakfast, get ready, Bible story
0900 - Sister play, Freeplay
1030 - Nap
1200 - Lunch, Outdoor play
1330 - Reading
1400 - Nap
1600 - Mommy time, snack, solo play
1800 - Dinner, after dinner activity (park, library, freeplay, church)
1915 - Bath, Bedtime o/a 1950

Ba-Ba Babel

2011-10-02T15:58:00.000-05:00

This week we focused on the Tower of Babel, Genesis 11. After wrapping birthday presents for Brock & Rebekah we had a large cardboard roll where we drew bricks and glued cottonballs to the top as the clouds.

We made the tower out of both play-doh and Mega Blocks.

This marshmallow tower was by far Faith's favorite craft. The marshmallows were our stone and glue was the morter. After we were done I let her eat one, that is why this craft was her favorite :)

Faith August - 29 Months

2011-09-24T15:47:00.004-05:00

Faith is 2 1/2 years old now!

Faith went to the dentist this month and did a great job with the hygenist. The denist was another matter but she did eventually open her mouth for him. All her teeth look great. She has 2 of her molars.
Sleeping:
There have been a few naps this month where it has taken her a long time to fall asleep so I've moved her naptime to begin anywhere between 2 and 2:15 depending on how much exercise she's had that morning. For about the last week we've been dealing with her getting out of bed at bedtime and have been dealing with it appropriatly. She is not allowed to get out of bed for any reason, even a legitimate one warrants punishment, because, as I have explained to hear, I can hear any entreaties for assistance when she makes them and then when I am in her room she is allowed to get out of bed. That seems to have fixed the problem but we'll give it a few more days to see for sure. It still takes her a long time at night to fall asleep but she is quiet so I don't care!
Eating:
She is still a great eater. Plain beef in the form of a roast is not that appealing to her but she knows that what is served is what she gets. Thursday nights we've been having dinner at Sabrina's house and I bring dessert so usually when the promise of dessert is set in front of her it is more motivation to finish her meal even if she doesn't like it. Broccoli and brussel sprouts are about the only veggies she doesn't like; apricots aren't her favorite fruit but that is about it on fruits and veggies that she eats reluctantly. Snack time in the afternoon is now more sporadic depending on the time she wakes up and whether we are running errands after dinner which necessitates and early dinner time.
Play:
In addition to getting out of bed at bedtime she has also started coming out of her room during solo play. The hammer came down there as well. There have been legitimate needs (or she thinks so) for her to come out such as needing Dolly or needing Dolly's purse opened. I've told her that she can come out but if it is illigimate reason (determined by me) then punishment will be delivered. Playing with Rebekah has gotten much better. We've been doing sibling play in the living room. If the word "mine" is uttered then she has to sit in the corner until she is ready to share. Sibling play toys are kept in my marron bucket and all other toys are put up when we have sibling play. Next month I might move it into her room. A new toy we got this month that she just loves is the B. Toys Critter Clinic:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YIX23S/ref=ox_ya_os_product
Skills:
"I can do it by myself" is the phrase constantly heard around our house! She has started to speak in the 1st person much more and I love it. Her 2nd person speech has all but disappeared and only every once in a while will she speak in the 3rd person. She loves to try and put her shoes on. She can get her pink sandals on by herself and about 75% of the time she gets them on the correct feet. She is starting to remember our Bible stories more and connect them with craft. The series we did on Noah's ark was the first one where I really saw this. Even today (2 weeks after we finished Noah) she was talking about the olive leaf in the dove's mouth when putting the craft into the box to send to Daddy. There have been a couple of days this month with potty accidents but they are getting fewer.

Our Schedule:
0800- Up, breakfast, ready for the day, Bible story time
0900 - Outdoor time
1000 - Snack, chore
1100 - Craft, get lunch ready
1200 - Lunch, if we have errands to run we do them here. Also, we've had several days of going to the park after lunch with the Langhaugs now that the pool is closed! If we don't go out then we have freeplay and sister play during this time.
1400/1415- Nap until 4 or 4:30
1600/1630 - Snack, Solo Play, Dinner prep
1800- Dinner
1830 - After dinner activites include freeplay, walk, park, library
1915 - Bath, Bible reading, Bedtime o/a 2000

Rebekah Joy - 11 Month Summary

2011-09-17T21:01:00.001-05:00

Rebekah is such a delight. Solo playtime improved this month. I started staggering her and Faith's start time so that Rebekah and I could have our time together before she went into playtime. Then I would try to put her in on the quarter or half hour so that I could just close the door on the room and then 25 or so minutes later I will turn the monitor to her room and wait to hear the timer. Either she is doing better with it that way or I just can't hear the screaming as well through the closed door. I am happier with it though and I figure she will eventually learn to play in there rather than just soothe herself and hold her stuffed animals!
Eating:
We had a battle over meat this month in that she didn't want to eat it but I insisted that she do so. I won. After that 2 day fight she has been an even better eater than she was before. She is on 100% table foods, other than Sunday nights and Wednesday nights when they are in the nursery at church during the dinner hour. Then I provide purees for the workers to feed her but when those are gone I will give them table food to feed her.
Sleeping:
For the last several weeks she has been periodically waking at night coughing. I don't think she has an ear infection as she has no other symptoms but I was blaming the congestion on teeth but none have come in (she still only has the bottom front 2). Her afternoon nap is no longer in her carseat and she is doing well with it.
Skills:
Rebekah has a unique crawl/scoot and she is doing well with it but it looks so painful. I am sure she is destine to be a gymnast with the flexability she is demonstrating! She is mobile but is also content to sit in one place as long as she has toys, especially books. She loves to look through them and I never have to tell her to keep them out of her mouth! We have done blanket time a few times and I haven't had to correct her yet. I am sure that as her mobility increases so too will her curiousity and she won't be quite so content on the blanket. We'll see. She has learned "all done" and "milk" and does them both consistantly. She also comes when she is called, for the most part and we will continue to work on that as her mobility progresses. She is drinking water from her sippy cup and feeding herself her own bottle. Once she is on complete cow's milk I will switch her to the sippy only.
Play:
Like I said, solo play is improving, mildly (but I feel better about it whether she does or not!). She continues to enjoy books and balls as well as a few other toys I've gotten for her like the Melissa and Doug grasping giraffe http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IPGXTC, her Rainmakers (we have a large and a small one) http://www.amazon.com/Battat-68716-Rainmaker/dp/B003CI1DAS/ref=wl_mb_hu_c_3_dp , the Manhattan Toy Put and Peek Birdhouse http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001NEAB6/ref=ox_ya_os_product, and the Plan Toys Roller http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RE6S1E. She loves the swings at the park as she has all summer! She is also learning to "share" in that she enjoyes picking things up (anything including the rubber tire pieces at the park, my shoes, toys, etc.) and giving them to me. That has helped a little in Sister Playtime as I have tried to incorperate that by Rebekah handing Faith the block or whatever and then Faith building something out of it. Sister Play is something that will continue to evolve but I feel like it is important to teach them that there are times when they play together.

Our Schedule:

0800 - Up, breakfast (nurse + 2oz pumped milk), dress, Bible story

0900 - Outside time

1000 - Water in sippy while Faith has snack, start chore

1030 - Nap (somedays she'll only sleep 45 minutes, others she sleeps for an hour and 45)

1200 - Lunch (nurse + 2oz formula)

1230 - Errands if we have any, if not, then blanket time, freeplay, and sister play, followed by reading

1400 - Nap (usually wakes around 1545)

1600 - Snack (nurse)

1615 - Mama time / structured play

1645 - Solo play

1715 - Kitchen time / free play

1800 - Dinner, evening activity, bath, bottle and bedtime o/a 2001

Noah Found Grace

2011-09-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

Faith and I are finishing up our 2 weeks studying Noah and the flood. This has been the first craft series where I've really seen Faith put the story and the crafts together. Several times while reading our Bible story in the evening she would say "remember Mama, remember when we made...." and here she would say whatever craft corresponded to what we just read (the rain, the animals, the dove, the rainbow). It was exciting to she her little mind working. We also sang two songs this week: Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord by the Statler Brothers and The Animals Went Marching Two by Two which is on an album of kids Bible songs that I have on my iPod for the girls.

Using a medicine and a dropper filled with blue colored water, she made it "rain" on Noah's ark. This craft was a huge hit!!

I found this one on a blog called "a little mcd". I cut out blue paper to make the sea and taped it to some white construction paper. Then out of tan paper I cut an ark on the fold. On the inside of the ark she put stickers of land animals and then in the sea she put stickers of sea creatures.

I printed out about 20 different animal picutres (2 of each) and put the pages through my laminator and cut out each animal. Then I spread them on her table and had her find the matching animals and put them over on the floor rug. Perhaps the next time this story comes around I will have her build some kind of ark first and then have the kids put the animals from this matching game "in" the ark.

I found this rainbow rice craft on a blog called Toddler Brain. I took one cup of rice and about a TBSP and a half of vinegar and put them in an old yogurt container. Then we added the food coloring and shook it up! I poured out the rice onto a foil lined cookie sheet and baked the rainbow at 170 for about 15 minutes.

When it was dry and Rebekah was up from her nap we went outside to enjoy the cooler weather and play with the rice. The girls had a BLAST playing with it!

"And lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off." - Gen 8:11. Faith loved saying this verse, I have no idea why but the olive leaf was exciting for her to talk about. The dove hand print template came from dltk-bible.com. I also found the olive leaf there but in a different place. I traced Faith's hands and used them as the dove's wings and her top feathers.

Grandparents Visit

2011-09-05T15:04:00.001-05:00

My parents went canoeing for a week in the Boundry Waters near Ely, Minnesota and then drove down to AR to spend a little time with us. I had procured a construction staple in one of my tires and was so glad my dad was here to convince me to take the car to the auto shop on base rather than just ignore the dash indicator light as I was wanting to do. Dads are so good for that kind of thing. He also helped me mow the lawn; actually he helped me do the edging because I can use the mower just fine but the edger is impossible for someone of my height to use! We spent lots of time at the park and playing and although we didn't do anything super exciting, the girls loved having their grandparents here and I really enjoyed the company. My mom insisted on doing the dishes every night and just that was a huge blessing. They took Lady back to Utah with them and we will join them in October. Incidently, I have taught Faith to sing "London Bridge" and at the end she has added a tag line "my fair Lady, is in Utah!"
Here are some pictures from their visit:

Reading with Granddad; this was a constant activity!

Rebekah getting some dancing lessons from Granddad, the best teacher!

Gran and the girls during out lawn care marathon.

The Fall

2011-09-05T15:04:00.000-05:00

Faith and I spent two weeks on the story of the fall of man, although there was a craft break during our trip to St Louis. We read Genesis 3 as our Bible story in the morning and evening and then during the crafts that related to that story. I am amazed at her memory but I am learning the scripture verbatum as well by reading it so many times per day!

This is the fingerprint painting we made of the tree of knowledge of good and evil - she loved this craft, mostly because it involved paint!

We made two serpent crafts, one in which she threaded the squares of felt onto a ribbon with a button at one end and the other was a paper chain snake with some wiggle eyes at one end. With both snakes she really wanted to put them around her belly but none of the pictures I took turned out well with the snake in that position.

I got to watch the Langehaug children the day we made the forbidden fruit out of a paperbag stuffed with newspaper. The girls enjoyed painting the bags red but I think they were wondering why they only got one color. I guess I am just too conventional!

What craft series would be complete without a play-doh day? Please note Adam and Eve wearing their aprons, as this was after the fall while they were hiding from God. Faith enjoys doing the voice of God saying "Adam, where art thou?"

Faith August - 28 Months

2011-08-26T16:45:00.003-05:00

Let me start by saying I love this age! It is trying and we certainly have our days but overall, I love this age! Faith is learning and doing so much (including challenging my consistancy and determination) and we are having such a great time. She is displaying some oldest child OCD tendencies in lining up stuff but it is cute.
Sleeping:
Faith still sleeps really well. Some nights it she is still singing to herself at 9pm but rarely after that. She usually wakes aroun 7:45 but is quiet until I go get her at 8. Her naps are usually about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Eating:
Faith loves food and is a great eater. We do have some meals where she just won't eat what is being served. On those nights I will tell her when the meal is over and at that time I take her plate away and she eats again at the next meal. She is drinking 1% milk from her cup (which she has been doing for several months but this is the first time I am blogging about her). For the most part she eats everything willingly other than broccoli and any kind of roast. She loves to dip her food: in syrup, ketchup, sour cream, anything, she just likes to dip. I have been careful to only serve condiments with food that normally is served with them and by normally I mean that if I eat that food with a condiment then she get it too! This past week in St Louis we went to Qdoba and I ordered her a mini chicken quesadilla with some sour cream as a side. She ate all the sour cream and Rebekah ate the quesadilla!
Play:
Faith does great with solo play and recently I have ceased to put the baby gate up at her door bur actually shut the door and she does great. She loves her dolls, specifically:
Sally Lynn and Her Camping Adventure Little People http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Little-People-Adventure/dp/B000NW77U6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314392089&sr=8-1,
Wheeee is Cars http://www.amazon.com/B-68621-Wheeee-ls/dp/B002YITFWK/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314392150&sr=1-1
Wooden Dolls http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Wooden-Family-Doll/dp/B0006NUI76/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314392457&sr=1-1
Dress Up Dollies (this is the Langhaugs toy) http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Magnetic-Dress-Up/dp/B0012GV1HM/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314392457&sr=1-2
Also, she LOVES a Bible Story song book that we get from the Langhaugs... unfortunatly I haven't been able to find this awesome book to purchase our own and someday (what a sad day it will be) we will be separated from the Langhaugs and won't have access to this book. This book got her really interested it Bible songs and motivated me to buy a CD of 120 Bible songs on Itunes and she listens to that during solo play and on the long drives we've taken this month, one to Ozark and one to St Louis. Her favorite songs this month have been "Jesus Loves Me" and "The Lord's Army"
Skills:
Faith talks up a storm; learning new words all the time. She speaks in full sentences, knows about half the alphabet on site, and loves to be read to (She and I love Karma Wilson and Audrey Wood books). It amazes me how much she remembers from our Bible stories. She continues to refer to herself in the second person; about 2 months ago she was consistantly referring to herself in the the third person. We are working on her using "I" instead of "you" and she definitly knows "mine"!
She really wants to jump and I am having a hard time teaching her how to do this. She "jumps" into the pool but it really is more like a belly flop but she really enjoys it!
She loves helping me cook and really loves "making the trays" for Rebekah's food, although as Rebekah eats fewer and fewer purees we don't do that as much.
She continues to help me with chores and breaking up vacuuming throughout the day has helped her stay engaged with that chore. She really likes her lawnmower and with Frank gone we've had a few opportunities to "help" me mow the yard. We've also been washing the cars and she enjoys that as well.
Travel:
We've been to Ozark twice since Frank left and Faith has a great time there, not only spending time with her grandparents but also feeding the chickens and cows and picking tomatoes and onions. We also went to St Louis last week and she had a ton of stuff to do there, most of which was heartily enjoyed, except for the late naps and bedtmie.

Our Schedule:

0800 - Wake, eat breakfast, change for the day

0900 - Bible story, outdoor time (walk, playing in the backyard)

1015 - Snack

1030 - Craft

1100 - Chore and Make Lunch

1200 - Lunch

1230 - Dishes or Kitchen Play

1300 - Silent Sustained Reading (or run errands)

1330 - Sister Play and Reading

1400 - Nap

1600 - Snack

1630 - Solo Play

1730 - Help with Dinner Prep if needed

1800 - Dinner

1845 - After Dinner Activity (Park, Freeplay, Waterplay)

1915 - Bath, Bible Story, in Bed o/a 2001

Going to St Louis

2011-08-24T21:18:00.001-05:00

I grabbed the girls (and my Walther PPK) at 0500 on Thursday morning and drove to St Louis. The drive up there was great; we took US 67, stopped in Poplar Bluff, MO at the awesome McDonalds where the girls had a blast playing in the playland and arrived at the Dalrymples house just before naptime. I finished the audiobook version of Truman by David McCoullough on the way so it was even a productive.

Frog slide at the Mascouta Pool

Shopping at TJs

While in town I stayed up late almost every night talking to Danielle, had dinner with the Browns and their girls, spent an entire day with the Morse family, shopped at Trader Joe's, hung out at the Magic House with the Kerfoots who'd driven in from DC, went to a Cardinals game, and even managed to see Frank's grandparents twice. Now that I am back, I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation! It was a wonderful trip and I am so glad that I went. It was so nice to see our friends and family. The girls did great despite missed naps and late bedtimes. We rolled in this morning about 2am and needless to say I am still exhausted but it was still worth it.

Faith got to do so much, I am not sure she could tell you her favorite! The Mascouta pool with Danielle and Piper was definitly a hit. The bounce house at the Morse's was hand clapping excitement; the Magic House was AWESOME; the shopping cart at Trader Joe's is still being talked about, as are the Dalrymples and Great Grandma and Pop. She had an excellent time. Rebekah was a trooper although she was on the losing end of missing naps but she still did great and really improved her crawling skills while we were there. I think for her the best part was Lilly and Lola who were her constant companions at Obie and Danielle's house but of course I never could get it on video becuase the dogs would stop making her laugh as soon as I turned the camera on! The below pictures are at the Lewis and Clark exhibit of the Magic House. Rebekah didn't want to get dressed up but both Claire Kerfoot and Faith dressed as Sacagawea!

Rebekah Joy - 10 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days

2011-08-24T16:59:00.000-05:00

I missed posting this on Monday so I am making up for it a few days later. For a good portion of this week we were in St Louis / Southern IL visiting Frank's grandparents and our friends from our time stationed there 2005-2009. So as a result of travel, which started last Thursday, and visits with friends and family, which consumed all our time, sleep was off, solo play didn't happen, and there were some nights where bedtimes were slipped. I put her in a 9 month onesie today!
Eating:
She is enjoying yogurt a little more. It is still not her favorite but she tolerates it. Her "more" sign has been more and more consistant which has made meal time so much more pleasant! I have continued supplementing with formula at every nursing session.
Sleep:
Travel made for a tired baby as morning naps were missed a few days of our trip but her afternoon naps were good. She started waking around 6am but falling back asleep until close to 8. She is really only up long enough to wake me!
Skills:
Like I said, her "more" is awesome and she is so proud of herself everytime she does it. She is thinking about "all done" as well. She is not crawling in the traditional method but she sure does get around. She gets up on all 4s but then reverts back to the scooting around on her butt and doing the splits, leaning forward to get what she wants and pushing herself back up and sitting up again, still in the splits: it all looks so graceful.
Play:

Still hates solo play. There were no occasions to do it in St Louis but I don't think it is the suspension of it for the last week that is making today difficult, I think she just hates it. She does okay if I leave her alone in a place that she has never done solo play before so I know it is just a mental block. Surely she must get it eventually! Rebekah loves the pool, continues to love balls and books.

Here is Rebekah at the Magic House in St Louis enjoying the bubbles being created when her sister played the piano!

Rebekah Joy - 10 Months, 1 Week Summary

2011-08-15T21:12:00.000-05:00

I am going to try and update Rebekah's summary once a week (or at least twice a month) as she is changing so much at this age!
Sleeping:
Rebekah and I have been sick for the entire week and she has been sleeping in her carseat because of it. I finally got some decongestion drops for her this weekend and that seemed to help quite a bit. Her morning nap is lasting a little over an hour and her afternoon nap is pretty close to 2! She continues to fall asleep quickly and as her health improves so does her sleep.
Eating:
I have been giving her mainly formula this week as I have been on steriods and antibiotics. It has helped me see her milk intake. Today I started nursing her again and supplemented after breakfast and lunch and she took 2oz of formula at each of those. I think we are getting close to the end of purees as she loves to feed herself.
Skills:
When I got her up from her morning nap today, Rebekah was sitting up in her crib! I wasn't watching the monitor but I think this is how it happened... She spreads her legs and leans her body forward, scoots on her belly and then backs herself up with her hands and sits back up. Her other exciting skill was putting toys away! She was so proud of herself, it was really cute.
Play:
She still hates solo play. But, I am persistant and will eventually win this battle.

Here are Brock and Rebekah playing with the new toys I got at Rhea Lana's. Both the large and small rainmakers were a big hit with both kids.

Days of Creation

2011-08-11T21:43:00.002-05:00

For the last 2 1/2 weeks our Bible story and craft has been on Creation. We have read through portions of Genesis 1 and the first few verses of chapter 2 to hit on each day. There were a ton of craft ideas out there for helping to teach the Creation story. We did a few overall crafts to include coloring (of course), a creation mobile, and a creation wheel. For the individual days of creation we colored the 1st day for which I don't have a picture. The Second Day we made a tissue paper Sea and cottonball Heaven:

The Third day we made foam flowers; Faith named them after herself, Rebekah, and Mama.

The Fourth day we painted paper plates with tempura and brushes to represent the sun, moon, and stars.

The Fifth Day we made the fowl of the air (tp rolls and feathers). Snack that afternoon was blue jello with red swedish fish; it was nasty but she loved it!

For the Sixth Day, I printed out pictures of animals which she glued to poster board, to include a picture of our family, which was her favorite part.

As for the story, she loves the "and there was light" verse and repeats it to Rebekah everytime we read it with her. We have been doing this story for 2 1/2 weeks and it is certainly time to move on. This evening during Bible story time, she opened the Bible and started repeating that Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the preist of Midian (Ex 3:1). She had a hard time with the words father-in-law, but she knew what she was saying and that it was there in the Bible. We did the story from Exodus 3 over a month ago, I was very impressed by her memory!

Rebekah Joy - 10 Month Summary

2011-08-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

Rebekah is 10 months old today.
Overall she is a pretty happy baby, with one exception, that being solo play time. She loves the toys, she loves the music, and she is fine being left alone, except during solo play time. She doesn't cry non-stop during it now as she was doing for months 6-8 but it is sporadic right now. The last 2 days actually were done without a sound but today we are back to off and on reminders that she doesn't want to be in there. Because I believe in teaching children to play by themselves, both for their benefit and mine, she will continue to have solo playtime, everyday, until she learns to love it as Faith does. I don't wish to romanticize"the good ol' days" so I am reminded that Faith had issues with solo play as well and she grew out of them, Rebekah will also, but it does force extreme consistancy on my part!
Sleeping:
Rebekah has been sick for the last week, just like me, and for that reason has been sleeping in her carseat at night and for her afternoon nap (I have been sleeping in our recliner). She has been waking to cough several times at night and the carseat has helped a little with congestion. The afternoon nap has been going fine as usual, in her carseat. I am tempted to move her out of her carseat for this nap but I am in no hurry... she sleeps all night in her bed, and takes a decent morning nap in her crib as well so I know she will get there.
Eating:
Rebekah loves to feed herself. Breakfast and lunch we have milk first followed by pureed food and then finger foods. At dinner she knows there is no milk (she is currently getting milk at 4pm snack), and she is less interested in the pureed stuff and more in what we are eating, so dinner has been challenging some nights, especially if she spies an avocado on the table. She is doing better with yogurt; when yogurt is served in the morning I give it to her before milk and make her think there is nothing else offered to her (i.e., I don't put any other foods in her view). I have had the best success with the Trader Joe's European Style whole milk organic yogurt, she will usually take a few tablespoons of this without too much angst. She tried raspberries today - not a fan. Currently b/c I am on this steriod pack for my never ending sinus infection, I can't nurse her so she is on formula and a little bit of frozen breast milk. It has been interesting this week to see about how much milk she is really taking in. For the last few days we've done 6oz at breakfast, 4oz at lunch, 4oz at snack, and 6oz at bedtime. She is not nearly as intersted in the lunch and snack bottles as she is the breakfast and bedtime.
Play:
Solo play remains a challenge but one we tackle everyday. I haven't instuted blanket time yet as she is not crawling but she is on the verge so it something I need to start. She loves balls, books, and anything that can go in her mouth. Additionally she enjoys the Manhattan Toy's Bird House she got for Christmas and the rainmaker toys I got her at the consignment event 2 weeks ago. A ball trumps every other toy though. She also "talks" a great deal to her toys; it is really cute to listen to her.
Skills:
Like I said, she isn't crawling yet but she sure scoots around a great deal on her tummy and goes in circles until she gets where she thinks she wants to be. She is leaning forward a great deal and just can't quite figure out what to do with her right leg but she'll get there. She waves "hello" and "good-bye" constantly. Her first baby sign was "more" and she is improving in using it more regularly. We are continuing to work on "milk", "all done", and "please".
Schedule:
0800 - Wake up and breakfast (Somedays she is up closer to 7 but she is quiet until 8 and being sick has taken its toll on wake up times) If we get to skype with Daddy it is here and she recognizes his voice and waves to him on the computer.
0900 - Bible reading and then outside time where she usually plays with balls if we aren't on a walk
1015 - Nap (usually sleeps until 1130 or 1145)
1200 - Lunch
1245 - Kitchen time
1300 - Tummy / skills practice time / free play
1330 - Sister play and reading
1400 - Nap
1600 - Snack, solo play, Mama time
1800 - Dinner
After dinner, depending on the night we will go to the park, hang out outside, be at church, or do some last minute chores
1915 - Bath, bottle, bed

Weekend on the Farm

2011-07-25T18:04:00.001-05:00

I took both girls to Ozark, AR this weekend to visit Frank's parents on their farm. Although Faith has been there numerous times, she was finally old enough to "help" in the daily chores. I think she really enjoyed all aspects of the farm, except for feeding the cows but really, I can't hold that over her! Rebekah was happy and content as there were people to wave at and plenty of new sites to entertain.

Making the Cut

2011-07-19T15:24:00.000-05:00

The last time I got my haircut the stylist remarked that my hair was so strong and beautiful that people would pay hundreds of dollars for wigs of my hair. Of course that made me feel good but then later it got me thinking about a post I'd seen on the Babywise mom blog about her donating her hair to Locks of Love. After talking with Frank about it, I decided that I should cut my hair off and donate it right after he left on deployment so it would have 6 months to grow before he saw me again. I decided to donate it Pantine Beautiful Lengths as they actually provide wigs for free to women who are going through cancer treatment where as Locks of Love, while a great organization, charges for their wigs. So, today, I made the cut. It was a little bit shocking to see my hair so short as it hasn't been that short in 14 years, not since my freshman year at VT. The average person grows 1/2" of hair per month. I cut off 8" so by the time Frank gets back I should have recovered about half of that. Neither Faith or Rebekah seemed to mind much, although Faith really wanted to get her hair cut too!

The Parting of the Red Sea

2011-07-19T15:16:00.000-05:00

For the last 2 weeks our Bible story in the morning and evening has been from Exodus 14:21-31. We have also done several crafts around the parting of the Red Sea. One was with paper dolls. Faith named all the dolls and although I insisted that a few be Moses, Miriam, and Aaron, the others were those in our family and the Langhaugs. Another one was play-doh; Faith LOVES play-doh and she and Daddy had a pretty set imagination play going on before he left about the play-doh people (i.e., Faith, Mackenzie, and the rest of our nuclear families) and this craft upset the balance of that a little bit when I made Moses out of black play-doh (Brock is normally black but we just made him smaller so that Sabrina could carry him across!). All the play-doh Israelites made it safely across the dry land. When I asked Faith what they were going to do next she replied "go to the park" and lo, there was a see-saw right there in the wilderness!

The Deep Blue Sea

2011-07-15T21:09:00.000-05:00

We have been frequenting the local and on base library about once every 2 weeks and picking up 6-7 new books each time. We read them constantly as Faith loves to read. Currently one of the books is The Deep Blue Sea: A Book of Colors by Audrey Wood. It is a repetative book and while annoying to adults, toddlers love it and they memorize it quickly which is exactly what Faith has done. It is by far her favorite in this batch of books. There is the the sea, the deep blue sea. There is a rock, a red rock in the middle of the deep blue sea. There is a tree, a green tree, on a red rock, in the middle of the deep blue sea. There is a nut, a brown nut, on a green tree, on a red rock, in the middle of the deep blue sea. It goes on like that for about 6 more pages. Well, tonight at dinner while serving the girls avocado, I left the pit in one side and it was sitting on the cutting board waiting for the rest of dinner to be completed. Faith looked at it and said "There is a nut, a brown nut." I replied "In a green avocado!" She loved it and we continued with it being on a white cutting board, on a brown table, in the middle of the dining room. So, repetition does work! After dinner we cleaned off the avocado faces and headed for the park.

Daddy's Softball Game

2011-07-13T07:22:00.000-05:00

Prior to Frank's departure he was able to participate in 2 days of softball games with the 19th CS. Although it was hot, the girls and I decided to go to the games. I took them to the swings first and then had dinner at the game. I was unsure how Faith would like it because she wouldn't understand the game or what was going on really. Well, it was a hit! She loved going for the Tuesday game and talked (and sang) about it almost non-stop until the Thursday game. It has been a week since then and she still mentions it once a day.

Day 180

2011-07-10T15:02:00.000-05:00

Frank left today for his second deployment to Afghanistan. Our good-byes were much easier this time, probably because I had to hold it together for the girls! I met our neighbors across the street this afternoon and look forward to knowing them better. I am going to try and blog regularly so Frank can read the updates about the girls in this format rather than just via email. We'll see how it goes.

Our 2008 English Teaching Team

2008-06-18T10:14:00.005-05:00

We had a large team this year, 17 in all! Such a big team allowed us to expand our ministry much more than previous trips. In addition to our standard classes at the Central Church, four of our teamates were professors from Southwest Baptist University gave lectures at Tomsk State University. As mentioned below, four of us got to teach in the village and orphanage and for the first time we were able to teach classes in the second church, Emmanuel Baptist Church, aswell. I hope you enjoy the pictures and stories posted below (if you are new to blog websites, please note that the most recent posts show up at the top. To read our story from the beginning, sroll to the bottom and click on "Older posts" and you will find our first 2008 posts or you can click on "Back in Russia" in the menu on the right and read the entries one at a time.) There is so much more to tell but hopefully this gives you a glimpse into the ministry and witness we went to perform.

Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia

2008-06-18T10:10:00.003-05:00

After saying tearful goodbyes to our Russian brothers and sisters, we boarded a “Comfort Bus” to take us from Tomsk back to the airport in Novosibirsk. This Comfort Bus was to be equipped with air conditioning and reclining seats, so we were told. In reality, AC meant a third of the tiny windows could be forced open and half the seats were broken! But all was made well when we arrived in Novosibirsk and were greeted by the Boll family and Mike Shepherd, IMB missionaries in the city.

We spent the next day touring and we had a great time with our missionary friends. In the main part of Novosibirsk there are 3 sets of statues. Frank and I are standing in the foreground of the wheat and sickle statue which represent the Russian land. There is also a statue of 3 men defending Russia. By far the most interesting is the statue of Lenin, looking boldly into the future of Communist Russia. It is hard to miss the enormous Nokia sign behind him declaring the triumph of capitalism. It was an ironic and amusing sight to see.

The Tomsk English Ministry Team

2008-06-18T10:02:00.005-05:00

One of the most rewarding aspects of this trip was witnessing how the youth at the church have been so faithful in their follow-up from our classes last year. Although Russians have freedom of religion, Non-Russian Orthodox churchs are viewed as “cults” and as a result most Russians would never consider entering a Baptist, or any Protestant, church. As the Russian Orthodox Church does not emphasize a personal relationship with Christ and preaches in an archaic form of the language, most Russians have never heard the Gospel of Christ, although most would tell you that they are Christians because they are Russian. That background will help you understand why our short term trips are so important. Many Russians really want to learn English and are willing to visit a “cult” church in order to have the opportunity to study with native speakers. Each student receives about 15 hours of conversational English instruction, 14 of those hours are not taught from the Bible or are religious in any way. On the

last day we take about 1 hour to talk with the students about Jesus and what would compel us to travel so far away from our homes to come to Tomsk. That brings the people into the church and gives them an introduction to the saving faith in Christ. The Russians in the church do the follow on work which is the real heavy lifting. Their faith and dedication to their ministry and mission work of reaching the lost in their own community is both inspiring and convicting. Erika got the opportunity to visit both the Basic English Bible study and the Intermediate English Bible study (see picture on right). These Russian believers who are fluent in English use 1 hour to teach English and 1 hour to teach the Bible to believers and unbelievers every week. There are at least 3 unbelievers coming to the Basic class and 5 at the Intermediate class. From this trip we had about 33 say they were interested in joining these Bible/English Study groups! Your prayers for our Russian brothers and sisters on the English Ministry Team are greatly coveted.

Erika speaks Russian and cooks like one too!

2008-06-18T09:58:00.003-05:00

As many of you know we have been taking Russian lessons for the last several months. We always wanted to learn a second language and decided for an extra challenge it might as well be one of the most difficult! On the second day of classes, Erika didn’t have an afternoon class so she used her best Russian to ask the ladies in the kitchen if she could help cook supper. They were delighted! They spoke no English so it was both a cooking and language lesson for Erika. We found that we knew just enough Russian to make the Russians think we knew a lot more. It helped us in a few practical situations like getting clean towels at the hostel and finding the right bus.

The students who came to English class were very impressed with our Russian and we felt better knowing that even native speakers think their grammar is difficult. Anxious for practice we spoke Russian with everyone we could, including the ladies at the front desk of our hostel. This limited communication and our desire to try got us the keys to the private baths on the last day of our trip! There is only one shower room at the hostel with 3 stalls and with the hostel full of university teachers and students the line can get long at peak hours. We were at the back of the line when we were presented with the keys to the manager’s shower and bathroom. What a perk!

Teaching in a Russian Orphanage

2008-06-18T09:47:00.005-05:00

As mentioned earlier, this year’s trip provided us a new opportunity to teach in an orphanage located in the village of Oktyabrsky. Going in to teach for the first time we had no idea what to expect. We didn’t know how many kids there would be or what level of English they knew already. As it turned out, the vast majority (about 20 kids) were rather young 5-7 years old, however there were also five 16-17 year old girls that did have some very basic English skill. Obie and I taught the more advanced students and the 2 girls on our team taught the younger students. Teaching them turned out to be a test of our ability at improvisation. We were both

trained to teach intermediate level students but these girls were still very much beginners. So we did our best to work through the beginner material and managed to have a lot of fun in the process. Like typical teenage girls, they were giggly and always joking with each other. In the end I think they learned a great deal and had a good time with the lessons. While at the orphanage we were interested to discover that "orphan" doesn't necessarily mean no parents. There were many children that lived at the orphange that either had extremely poor or negligent or abusive parents that could not be trusted to care for their children. In fact, we we're shocked at one point during our lesson when they gave the young boys (maybe about 14 years old) a smoke break. Our translator confirmed that it is illegal for children under 18 to smoke but there is no method to enforce that law out in the countryside and often it is the parents themselves that insist that their children smoke because it is a "family tradition".

Teaching at the Malinovka Village School

2008-06-18T09:36:00.005-05:00

Last year, I taught at the village school in the morning and the Tomsk Central Church in the evenings. This year we taught at the school in the morning and afternoon and then headed out to an orphanage to teach in the evening. My students were mostly familiar faces from last year but there were some new additions (From left to right: Tanya, Tanya, Me, Yulia, Alla, Sonya, and Alex). I taught the 10th grade students who have just one year of school left before heading off to university (in Russia there are only 11 grades, not 12 like in the U.S.). I am proud to say that the girls I taught last year had made great strides in their English studies and it made the classes an incredibly enjoyable experience. They are all such talented, funny, and interesting individuals with big dreams for their future. However, like most teenagers, there mind is on earthly future and not their eternal future and they weigh heavy on my heart and in

my prayers. In addition to my class we also had 8 graders that Obie taught, and two elementary level classes taught by the two girls on our team, Brandy and Lacy. Overall we had about 40 students total and it was a great experience. Their warmth and friendship made it difficult to say goodbye. Their offer to give us a permanent teaching position was touching and would be very tempting except for the whole swarm of man-eating mosquitos in the summer and bitterly cold Siberian winters :) While we could not stay our prayer is that the seeds we planted take root and that as they grow into adulthood they recognize their dire need for the Savior.

Living in the Village

2008-06-18T09:23:00.003-05:00

This year, I along with 3 other people from our team, were given the opportunity to spend a couple nights living out in the village. Our village experience started out with a picnic with our students. It was great time of eating and playing games but I will note that Siberia is basically a giant swamp once all the snow melts and as a result the mosquitoes are absolutely horrible. Swarms of mosquitoes were everywhere and left me little option but to wear my long sleeve jacket with hood lest I be eaten alive. There are not words enough to describe how bad the mosquitoes were so I will leave it to your imagination. After the picnic we went to stay with our host Tatiana, one of the local teachers. I was extremely interested to see the inside of the wooden cabins the villagers lived in. Needless to say, the living conditions exceeded my expectations. Tatiana’s house was actually pretty comfortable with gas heating, electricity, and running water for everything but a toilet (a wooden outhouse was connected to her house by a small covered walkway). I asked her if her house was typical and she said it was not. More than half the village did not have running water and her street was the only one with gas heating, all the others used firewood. So my stay in the village was rather comfortable, which was both a relief and a disappointment as I am still curious to see the inside of the “typical” house out in the village.

Erika teaches at Tomsk Central Church

2008-06-18T09:18:00.003-05:00

Over 150 students registered at the Central Church and were placed into one of 5 levels based on their English speaking ability. Classes were also taught at Emmanuel Baptist Church this year and were a great success in bringing unbelievers into the church. Last year Erika helped out with the Super Advanced (highest level) class during a time period when she didn’t have another class. This year, the leaders of our group decided she should teach the class alone. Students in this group speak English fluently and usually want to talk and practice with a native speaker as there aren’t many floating around in Tomsk.

While it is easier to get to know the students in this class, it is also very challenging in keeping them interested enough to continue coming. As students at this level can also be very cocky and bored easily, it stretched Erika’s creativity. Preparation before we left paid off and her classes discussed a love letter from Abigail to John Adams, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, how to make a Hamburger, and even how Russian and American women view themselves. She had a morning and an evening class and the majority of her students were faithful in attending all week. They all listened faithfully on the last day when she shared her testimony and these fluent speakers all received a New Testament in English. We are hopeful that a couple of them will return for Bible study at the church

Pictures of Tomsk

2008-06-18T09:05:00.003-05:00

Upon arriving in Tomsk we had a little free time before our classes began so we took the opportunity to walk around Tomsk and see some of the sights. To the left is a picture of the WWII memorial and park at the southern end of town. If you ever travel to Russia you will quickly learn that WWII is a huge part of their history. As important as WWII was for our country it is significantly more important to the Russian people. In every town and village there are memorials and reminders about the "Great Patriotic War" to defend Mother Russia from the Nazi invaders. The German-Russian theatre of the war was by far the most deadly and it put a lasting mark on the Russian people.

Upon reaching the memorial you are quickly rewarded with an incredible view of the Tom River and the Siberian countryside (Picture Below). Russia is the largest country on earth containing 1/8th the world's land area. On our bus ride from Novosibirsk to Tomsk we drove for hours without seeing anything but forrests and rolling hills. Driving through the midwest can seem sparse but it has nothing on Siberia. The pictures really do not due justice to the vastness and beauty of the Siberian Countryside.

Back in Russia

2008-06-18T08:56:00.009-05:00

Its hard to believe a whole year has passed since we last visited Russia. The time passed quickly and on our return we were accompanied by our good friends Obadiah (Obie) and Danielle Dalrymple from our Sunday School class. After a short ten hour flight from the states, our first stop was a 12 hour layover in Moscow giving us the opportunity to leave the airport and see some of the sights. Of course no visit to Moscow is complete without a stop through Red Square. Danielle took a great panoramic shot of Red Square (below) that should help give you a better idea of how large it is. Straight ahead is St. Basil’s cathedral and on the right you see the Kremlin wall along with Lenin’s tomb. After our brief sightseeing, we caught our flight to Novosibirsk (literally New Siberia), the 3rd largest city in Russia. From there we took a 5 hour bus ride to our final destination, the city of Tomsk.

2008 UPDATE COMING SOON!

2008-06-16T12:24:00.003-05:00

Erika and I are in the process of updating our blog with pictures and stories from our 2008 trip to Tomsk, Russia. Please check back soon.

As I went down to river to pray...

2007-09-05T14:00:00.002-05:00

On our last Sunday in town we were blessed to witness the baptism of some of our newest brothers and sisters in the Lord. We learned some interesting things about Russian Baptists. In my experience, a baptism in an American church, while celebrated, is not taken very seriously and often is scheduled and performed without any testimony by either the believer or witnesses. In Russia, they have a proper understanding of baptism (that it is merely a symbol of our salvation not a part of it), but they treat it with great care. When a sinner professes to have repented and believed, the church watches his life for a year or two to see if it is any different before bringing them forward to be baptized. With so few believers, they can hardly afford to have a professing, baptized member of their church walking around living in sin. So on that Sunday they brought the new believers forward, had them share their testimonies, and then asked them to go into another room so the church as a whole could discuss them and bring forth any objections to their being baptized and becoming a full member of the church based on their observations and interactions over the last year or so. All 16 candidates were approved by the church body and we all caught busses out to the Tom River to witness their baptism. This being Siberia, it was of course a cold and windy day, even in the summer. I was cold and I didn’t even have to get in the water :)

The second picture is of our friend and one of our translators named Alya. She is from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and was the last of the 16 to be baptized. I’ve never met a happier person on this Earth (although our friend Heather Grice might be able to give her a run for her money). In her former life she was miserable and drank often. With the change Christ has worked in her you could never imagine her as anything but joyful. We have an awesome God who is at work in the former Soviet Union, a place that just 16 years ago was closed to the Gospel. Continue to pray for the work that needs to be done in Russia and for the missionaries and Russian Christians there shouldering the load.

Life in the Siberian Countryside

2007-09-05T13:47:00.001-05:00

Before we arrived on the ground in Tomsk, our initial plan was to do the English classes at the church and also do some work in a local orphanage. On our first day in Tomsk, we got bad news that we would not be permitted to visit the orphanage that week. However, the next day, the Lord opened another door for a few of our team members to travel an hour outside Tomsk to the small village of Malenovka to teach in their school. Up until now we had only seen the city life in Russia. Now I got to see what life was like in the country. Country life was very different. Manual labor in the fields during the summer and surviving long Siberian winters in wooden cabins makes life hard. However, many things were the same as in the city.

The factory that was once in this small village had closed down and there was no work. Many of the men were alcoholic and the young boys appeared doomed to follow in those same footsteps, choosing not to go to school and get an education. Conversely, the teachers (all women) and young girls were all motivated to get an education and took our visit very seriously since the ability to speak English could mean the difference between staying in Malenovka and getting a job and moving away from this dying village. You can see in the picture there is not a single male student. We had a good time teaching the classes and I was amazed at how well the older girls could already speak English. Our visit was a blessing as Pastor Sergey later told us that they had been trying for a long time to minister in this village and build a partnership with the school but had continually been turned away. After our visit, the school has opened up to the Church’s ministry.

English = Opportunity

2007-09-05T13:38:00.000-05:00

Erika and I spent most of our time in Tomsk teaching English classes. English is in high demand all over Russia. It is a skill that greatly increases your opportunity of getting a good job in Russia. As such, most of the people that came to our classes were university students from one of the many universities located in Tomsk. While many spoke no English at all, most had some formal English instruction in their university but the opportunity to practice with native English speakers was considered invaluable. All the students were great and we all had a lot of fun getting to know each other over the course of the week.

They all were curious about who we were, why we were there, and about America in general. At the end of the week we had a graduation party and a short Gospel presentation with information available for those who might be interested in continuing to practice their English with some of the younger Baptists church members that were teaching English Bible studies. There was a great deal of interest from many of the Russian students with very open hearts. If the offer was made to a typical American audience I think it would have been received with a cold, “politically correct” attitude so common in our culture. The Russians on the other hand were appreciative of the offer, even if they were not interested. After the graduation and presentation, we all said one last good bye to our students, many of whom brought us gifts to remember them by.

Baptists in Russia

2007-09-05T13:18:00.001-05:00

When you ask about religion, most people will tell you they are Russian Orthodox Christians, even though they do not attend church or know much about their religion. Those that do attend a church go in and bow before icons and paintings to make their prayers, maing the sign of the cross and departing back out into the world with thier lives unchanged and with no knowledge of God. There is a lot of religion in Russia, but few with a saving relationship with the Lord. The first picture is of the Orthodox Church in Tomsk.

Here is a picture of the small Baptist church in Tomsk. Tomsk is a city of almost 600,000 people. Of that 600,000 and all the people in the surrounding villages, I would estimate that the number of Baptists in less than 500. Many of them ancestors of Baptists exiled to Siberia over 80 years ago. There may be some other believers from other denominations out there but if so, they are also few in number. Needless to say, there are very few born-again Christians in the area.

Modern Day Russia

2007-09-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

While many things have improved in Russia since the fall of communism there are still many problems that often seem insurmountable. Unemployment is high and alcoholism is a way of life for many men seeking to temporarily escape their problems. With fewer good men to marry, the women dress extremely provocative to compete for those that are available. The abortion rate in Russia is higher than the birth rate and is one of the major causes of the declining Russian population. While the boom in oil business continues to be big in Siberia, the majority of the people see none of the money that comes in. There is a general sense of hopelessness among most. The need for Christ is great in Russia. This picture shows a typical apartment complex in Tomsk. While there are some newer buildings going up, most of the people still live in these old buildings that are showing there age due to time and the harsh winters.

The Theisings in Russia

2007-09-03T15:29:00.000-05:00

Erika and I have started this blog to make it a little easier to pass on information about our recent mission trip to Siberia. I hope you enjoy the photos and our brave new entry into the world of blogging. First stop, Red Square. AFter our 10 hour flight from Atlanta to Moscow we had a long layover where we got to take in the sights and do the whole tourist experience. Here we are in front of St. Basil's Cathedral.