Spring Time

I think it is spring...it is hard to tell sometimes. I saw a quote the other day that would describe our weather very well, "What a nice winter we are having this spring." That about covers it. Earlier this week we had lovely weather even rising above freezing for a couple hours! But then yesterday a blizzard blew in and today is no different. STRONG winds and some snow. It is so cold outside! But, it can't stay cold forever can it? I just keep thinking one day we will go outside to play in the warm sunshine! One day! But all in all I can't complain. Things are going very well here and my children are growing and learning so fast. 

I haven't put up any photos for a while. Here are two photos that were taken a couple weeks ago at the Muskrat Jamboree.

An Encouraging Afternoon

I just wanted to share these encouraging verses. It is not always easy to wait on the Lord but it is always worth it :-)

Proverbs 13:12- Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Lamentations 3:24-26- The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

Psalm 27:14- Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Proverbs 1:4-5---To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear , and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

Subtilty means "explanation". If I am going to be able to give explanation to my children I need to proceed to verse 5: hear, increase learning, attain unto wise counsels.
                 1. Hear the whole story before disciplining
                 2. Hear the truth, not just what I want to hear
                 3. Increase learning through: personal devotions and Bible studies, preaching, reading books    about the Bible and about teaching
                 4. Attain unto wise counsels: my husband, my preacher, godly mothers and women

My study started out with instruction to me. If I plan on doing it right, doing it God's way, I have to follow this guideline. Hear, increase learning, and attain unto wise counsels. The Lord doesn't want us to take our children and just "wing it" as we try to raise them. He has given us help through His Word and other Christians to do it the right way. Praise the Lord!

Child Training from Proverbs

While my mom was here last month I was bombarding her with questions about handling situations with William. I was trying to get as much "been there, done that" advice that I could. Before she left she told me that I should take a look through Proverbs and the notes she had put in her Bible over the years about child training. (She gave me her Bible when I moved to the North in 2009). Anyway, the day after she left I got a pen and a notebook and started reading through Proverbs and writing down anything that I should be teaching William. I couldn't believe how much stuff I could be, should be teaching him. Things about lying, stealing, temper control, attitude, working hard, obeying...basically every thing and situation he will ever face in life the Lord teaches how to handle it in Proverbs. I am only in chapter 13 and I already have over 60 things I should be teaching William! I will share some of my study as the weeks go on, but for now I challenge you (especially you mothers) to go to the Bible and see for yourself what the Lord expects us to teach our children. You know how a coach gives his team a good pep talk before a game? Well, that's sort of how I feel every morning after reading from Proverbs. It's a "here, this is what you need to do- now go do it!" sort of thing. And it's a great reminder and challenge for myself because for me to teach William those things he HAS to see it in my life. Things like working hard, giving to others, holding my tongue...how will he learn these things if I am not doing it myself?

Ok, go get into Proverbs!

Spring is near! Well, almost. Today it is only -24 (C)! I am planning on bringing the kids out to play this afternoon. It will be the first time since December I think. I really really miss being outside. Now that we moved I have been enjoying walking to church each Sunday and Wednesday but that's not quite the same as going outside and letting the kids run around and throw snow and make snow angels. It's so nice the sun has been starting to show around 9:30 or so and not going down until after 7! In just another month or so we will have the sun until after 9! The Lord sure is good. He knew the dark winter would be hard so he gives us the long summer days to look forward to :-)

I have been having a lot of fun learning how to take pictures and edit them myself. I thought I would share a couple of them here.

This was supposed to be an Easter photo but William insisted on wearing his football shirt and my Easterish props aren't very visible lol. Oh well.

William and his best friend, Jolena, wearing their parkas. I made William's and Jolena's mom made hers.

What a busy month!

A lot has happened since I last posted! On January 29th my parents flew in for a visit. That night we moved to a new home. My parents were able to be here for the move (which was just a coincidence) and help with watching the kids. The Lord sure is good to do that for us! My parents stayed for 2 weeks and just left on Monday. I am so thankful that they got to be here for as long as they were here. It was such a blessing and an encouragement. I can't wait until I see them again. Hopefully it will be me visiting them next time!

Here are a couple of pictures from my parents' visit:

Me and Will on the ice road

My parents and Will at our church

Will and Jenna with both sets of grandparents

Better get your pen and paper out if you want the recipe to caribou head soup. Well, it might be easy to remember: caribou head and water. Cook @350 for 3-4 hours. Add rice.

 I am glad I didn't try to do this myself! 

Soup's ready!

Me and my parents at Tuk Baptist Church

William's Fish Pond

Here is a game I made back in October for William and his friend Jolena. It is a fun game that teaches them colors, taking turns, sorting, and coordination. There are all sorts of things you could do with these little fishies, but here is what we do:

I made a lot of these little fishies (7 of each color). A friend let me borrow her laminator so I laminated them all so they will last for a while.

                                         

I dump them all on the floor, we call this the fish pond. I tell them which color to find and they take turns finding one at a time of that color. They put them into the "fish tank" (a plastic container) as they find them.

                                          













They just love this game. Over the past couple months they have discovered all sorts of ways to play this game. I have hid them around the room for them to find them. They really liked that.



Anyways, I just wanted to share this fun game with anyone who might be searching for something to do with their toddler :-)