New Glasses and Learning Lessons...

It has been almost a month since I've blogged. I have a lot of catching up to do. Since I've last written Joshua and Ruth both have new glasses.

Joshua does not have to wear his all the time but Ruth does. Of course Joshua has to put them on, when I insist that he gets his glasses instead of guessing at the writing on the white board or the T.V. screen.

Ruth has astigmatism, which the optometrist said she will need to wear her glasses all the time. She doesn't seem to mind though, especially since we made sure she picked a pair of glasses that she likes and look nice on her. She really wanted her glasses to be pink like mine.

Their lessons have actually shown some improvement since we've gotten their glasses. Whenever I see Joshua staring at something funny, I just send him to get his glasses and he seems to not have such a problem. It has helped him with the tired look that he often would get in his eyes.

Of course we "had" to get Hannah a pair of sun glasses as well. She went with us to Ruth's eye appointment. She felt like she needed her eyes checked also. So after Ruth picked out her glasses, we took Hannah over to the sunglasses section of Wal-mart and found her a pair of lightly tinted glasses. They look like sunglasses but they are not as dark as real sunglasses would be. They just have a pink tint to them. She was real proud of them. Jonathan just seems happy that he has so many people to pull glasses off of now. Whenever he gets a hold of Hannah's sunglasses he tries to put them on his head. He loves to copy.

Jonathan is getting big. He is almost walking. He will stand up in the middle of the floor without holding on to anything. We haven't been able to get him to take a first step, but I just know he will soon. I took a wonderful video of him playing with the his older siblings. Hannah was throwing a soft toy around the room and all of us would tell him, "Go get it!" He crawled across the floor grab the toy that she threw and then threw it for her to catch. Whenever he didn't see where she threw it, we would point to it and tell him, "It's over there." He learned a new word. As soon as she would throw it, he pointed and said "Tha" for "There." It's hard to believe that he is growing so fast. He will be a year old soon. It doesn't seem like a year has had time to pass. So much has happened this past year. I guess we've been so busy.

Hannah has been learning lessons as well. Her biggest lesson which I think she has finally begun to learn is to not lie. One of her incidences where we caught her in a lie, involved a chair that she obviously wrote on. I asked her "Hannah did you write on this chair?" She said "No." When I asked her "Who did?" She said, "Them in France did it." Hmmm... Her cousins sure would have

had to travel an awful long way to write on one of our chairs.

That is one of the lessons we try to teach our children at an early age. They get in far worse trouble for lying about a deed than they would have if they had told the truth. Hannah has figured that out and almost always tells the truth instantly now. Of course, now she tells the truth almost as if she were proud of the fact that she did it. But she gets into far less trouble that way.

He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy. There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
(Proverbs 12:17-22)

Tooth Number 3!

Jonathan's 3rd tooth has just come in. It is his top right front incissor. I thought it would come at any time. He had been a bit fussier than usual, and last night he kept whining in his sleep. It was hard for me not worry over him, but since he continued to sleep, I just went back to bed. This morning, he was extra fussy and so I decided to check his teeth. Sure enough it was there peeking through his gums. Ahh!! 3 teeth down and many more to come.

So far I haven't had any trouble nursing him. He has been pretty good about not biting me. Hopefully this will continue now that he has a top tooth. I'm pretty sure his fourth one is real soon to follow. Three teeth with at least 4 more months of nursing to go. I think we can make it.

It's hard to believe he will be a year old in 4 months. This has been a fast year so far. I guess, there has been so much going on that it has just flown by. This will be a busy month as well with Saturdays filling up with activities, Ruth's birthday coming up, and Church Camp. I will try to get in some blogging during it all but if I lag behind this month, I may just be busy. I definitely won't be able to blog during camp. I should be able to blog next week though. So please don't give up on me. :)

Growing Up!

Our firstborn, Joshua, had a birthday about a week ago. He turned 10 years old. It's amazing how time has gone by. On his birthday, I told him stories of his past birthdays. Starting from the day he was born. I remember so many of his milestones. I remember his first laugh, his first tooth. I also remember the first time he road his bike without training wheels. Then this past April, he had driven a four wheeler all by himself.

Today he had another milestone. This was his first time to mow our yard with a powered lawnmower. He had used a reel mower before, but this is his first with the gas powered lawnmower. I had told him in the past, when he begged me to let him mow, that he could mow when he was big enough to crank the mower with the pull string.

Yesterday, I was trying to decide which of the many chores I needed to do while the baby was asleep. Joshua was outside as I was contemplating mowing. He asked me as we were clearing out the large sticks, and toys out of the yard, if he could try to crank the lawnmower again. So I agreed. After making sure there was plenty of gas in the lawnmower, he pulled the cord. After just a couple of pulls it cranked right up.

I explained to him how to start with a straight line. I had him mow a straight line towards the window of our house. I then showed him how when he turned the lawnmower around there was a grass line. A line where the grass is tall verses the grass that is short. I showed him how to put the tire right on the outside of that line. He did a perfect job. I was so impressed by his hard work that I took several pictures.

Looking at the picture above you can see how the lawnmower is as big as he is. So just imagine how much work it was for his small body. However when I asked him about half-way through our yard if he needed a break, he said "No, I can do it." So I went and got him a drink, so that he would not get too hot. He mowed the majority of the grass that day. He came in hot and sweaty with a big grin on his face. My little boy, was able to do a man's job. Where has the time gone?

Today, he told me that he had growing pangs, in his arms, legs, and hands. I explained that it was from all the mowing yesterday. He said, "But it feels like growing pangs." I then told him that it was growing pangs. His muscles were growing from all the hard work they did yesterday.

Later on today, he came back to me, while his sisters were playing upstairs, and asked if he could mow the rest of the yard. I said, "Sure." So out he went and I heard the lawnmower crank and start purring away outside.

I may have mown my last yard. From now on, my son will be taking on that roll. It won't be long and his brother will be begging him to let him mow. I can see him telling Jonathan, "When you're old enough to crank the mower, I'll let you mow." It won't be long!

Psalm 144: 11-12 "Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: