thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving recap! Yes, I realize it is now January. BUT these past couple months were busy. BUSY. I wasn't planning on it being so busy, but I have some wonderful memories from the holidays, and for that I am so thankful. We spent our Thanksgiving with family and were at great Grandma's house (hence the sweet, vintage decor). Aleksandr had started to get better at walking but was still adorably tipsy as he tottered around. I love the photos of him teetering down the hall. We also spent some time catching up with one of Jonah's old buddies from childhood and it was great to hear stories of their past. Overall, we had a nice time eating a lot of food, laughing at the kids antics and enjoying being together.

 

 

Preschool week 12 (letter Hh, number 6 and Gideon)

For this week we covered a lot for our Bible story. We covered the letter Hh, number 6 and the story of Gideon. After reading through the story of Gideon in the Bible I wasn't sure how to go about teaching it to Oliver. Everywhere I looked for resources the only part covered of the story was the very end when he used torches to march around the city. There is SO much more to the story and it's awesome how God worked through this man, and prepared him to lead. So I decided to break up the story through several days and focus on different parts each day. The first day we covered the part where God spoke to Gideon by causing fire to come out of a rock.
I had Oliver find a rock and we tore up orange tissue paper and glued it down to the rock (with only elmers glue too!)

The next day we read about the fleece Gideon put out on two nights asking God for a sign (one night the fleece stayed dry and the ground was wet, the next night the ground was dry and the fleece was wet). I tried to explain this to Oliver as it's something he doesn't quite understand, seeing how I am not able to create a miracle (ha!). To physically show this, I got two pans. One had water in it and Oliver dropped a napkin in it to watch how it got wet. The next pan was dry and I put a napkin in it and let Oliver put water on it. I explained how they both got wet and how God was able to make a miracle by keeping the parts dry that shouldn't be. Oliver may not have understood this, but he enjoyed doing the physical activity. I know once he's older he'll understand :)

Another day we focused on the next part of the story, when God had Gideon separate out his men that would go into battle with him. Gideon had thousands of men for his army, but God wanted him to take them to the river and watch how they drank the water. If the men were down on the ground, drinking water directly out of the stream they would not be chosen. The men that used their hands to cup water up to their mouths would be part of his army. This dwindled the number of men down to merely 300. I'm amazed at how few God required, but it showed how great He was and that it was not on account of men that they defeated the Midianites.
I had Oliver build a stream out of his legos, then showed him how the men were chosen by how they drank from the stream. He liked practicing this one, but only a couple times, then he was done! It was a good visual I think.

Our final part of the story. We read through the final part when Gideon led his men around the camp of the Midianites, blew their trumpets and broke their pitchers to reveal their lanterns. The Midianites were defeated by simple shouting, but by the mighty work of God. I helped Oliver create a torch and trumpet, using some paint, glue, tissue paper and toilet paper rolls. I have to admit we never finished his torch as we were letting the paint dry, but that's okay. Oliver didn't seem to mind as we became busy with other things!

And for our letter Hh I did something recommended from ABCJLM. I took a mirror out and had Oliver  breathe the "h" sound into it until he saw it fog up on the mirror. It was a great way for him to make the sound correctly and he continually says it correctly whenever I ask him what sound "H" makes. A great way to learn it! And he worked on the number 6, with some play doh, a favorite. I helped roll them out, as he's not that good with fine motor skills yet, but he's getting better at it.

Finally this week we started making thankful leaves in honor of the month of November with Thanksgiving. I cut out some leaf shapes in construction paper and strung up some yarn for us to tape them to. We are daily writing new things we are thankful for on our leaves and it's fun to see the string of leaves get longer and longer. We have so very much to be thankful for. God is so good and I am so grateful for all He has allowed us to have, and all He continues to teach us!

thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. God is so good, so loving, so gracious and so giving to me that it's often overwhelming. How much He loves us!
This year was special for several reasons, one was the fact that my parents were able to come visit us over the holiday. This in itself was a direct answer to prayer. I had been asking God to somehow be able to see them soon- for Oliver to meet his grandpa. The answer came through some friends of ours that offered their sky miles to us- so that we could fly my parents in. How amazing it is when you know that God gave you a very clear answer. He provided a way and took care of all the details.
It was very special to see my mom and dad in the airport, and to have Oliver welcome them with a hug. Very special memories that we will always cherish- we even have it on video.
These younger years in our sons life seem to fly by too quickly. It has made me realize how important it is to stop and enjoy the simple moments, and to remember to see things through his eyes. What may not seem all that exciting to me, may be something that completely thrills him! Jonah and I are slowly starting our own traditions that we can share with Oliver (and any future children in our lives).
I loved the time with family though, it went smoothly for the most part, and we all had a great time together. We also welcomed my sister and her daughter into our home for part of the week as well. A full house of family for sure! It was so nice to catch up with everyone and just spend time together.
The Thanksgiving dinner was my first- first time cooking it ALL anyways. I was happy to have my mom there to help me prepare everything, she has many years of experience at this, and I came to appreciate that even more after I finished all the cooking and baking for the day!
Did you know turkeys come with a little flap of skin to tuck over the legs? Gross yes, but also very handy when you are roasting the bird! Our turkey came out golden brown and was moist and delicious!

oliver was hanging out in the kitchen waiting while we prepared the big meal

And even though it took some work and time, I was happy with how everything came out, it was delicious. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and we had a lot of leftovers that carried over into sandwiches, soup and more to come! Pie is always wonderful to have leftover too since I don't make pies that often. A yummy treat.

Our menu: herb roasted turkey, cornbread sausage stuffing, sweet potato casserole, cheesy mashed potatoes, bacon wrapped green beans, whole wheat rolls, cranberry sauce, green and black olives, cran-apple pie and pumpkin pie.
Yum.

I have much to be thankful for as I mentioned earlier, and this bountiful table filled with savory delicious foods is one big thing to give thanks to God for. His provision is so evident. As I looked around that table at those beside me I can see God's hand on us. It is so evident that He will take care of us. I am reminded of this when I think back over this past week. I don't take for granted the food on our table, and the roof over our head. I know that there are so many in the world that go without because they don't have a choice. And I am mindful of this as we head into the next holiday season.
Each year I feel like I am prodded to do more for others, to give more, to love more, to be less selfish...and it seems I fail. I get wrapped up in the spirit of Christmas as forget the very reason we celebrate this upcoming day.
I pray that as we leave Thanksgiving behind we don't forget how much we have in our lives that we are thankful for. Our freedom, both physically and spiritually, our shelter, our food, our family, friends, clothing, salvation, and our relationship with Christ. To whom much is given, much is required. May I not miss what is required of me!

thank you Lord for this special reunion and abundant meal

thank you Lord for black olives!

reason to celebrate, seeing my mom and dad!

Happy Thanksgiving!