Grace started singing a familiar song the other day and came up with a new part that is just so true and fitting:
"Rain, rain, go away,
come again another day.
If you come another day,
I will whine about you again."
hahaha!! We have giggled about this song for days... and it's exactly how I feel about wintertime right now.
I'd be lying if I said that January and February have flown by and were full of good times. Ha! Not to sound depressing. But they really have draaaaagged on and on and have felt bitterly cold, gloomy, and exhausting. Someone please get me out of the winter already, and let the end of residency come while we're at it!
But as I look through the last month's worth of iPhone photos, there were some fun moments captured. I may whine about the weather and the long days, but I promise I do try to enjoy the moments in between and make it worth-while. :)
Logan and I were trying to catch the thick snowflakes that were falling one day. I love his little hands.
One day we actually had a day near 50 degrees and bright sunshine! Both are rare these days, so we played outside and it was wonderful. The kids were interested in some new moss growing in the cracks of our patio.
I don't remember the story behind this but it sure is cute!
Did I mention that I was called as the primary chorister in my ward?? It has been quite the learning experience! But even though I was sort of bitter about it to begin with, I have grown to really love and enjoy it. Once I decided to "own" it and put my own stamp on things, it became fun and less daunting. It's impossible to tackle something so big when I feel like there are big shoes to fill, so I just needed to relax and search out what things I wanted to bring to the kids while I had this chance. I will be moving before july comes so it's not even a full year. I feel a great sense of purpose when I think of all the many primary songs I want the kids to become familiar with (and hopefully memorize) before I leave! They seemed to be singing the same 10 or 15 over and over and there are just SO many great ones to know. I made a long list of which ones to start incorporating and I'm excited about the several new ones they've already learned since January.
The new song for this year is "I Know That My Savior Loves Me" and I taught the kids sign language to it. They LOVE sign language and really picked it up quickly. It's so fun!
I made up a fun game poster we have pulled out a couple times: Sing or Dare. (thanks to ideas online and on the Facebook group of Primary Choristers!)
For 3 out of 4 weeks I have been trying to prepare a spiritual lesson that involves a song or two to teach or review with the kids. I like it much better when I feel like my 20 minutes of Singing Time is both spiritual AND fun and it has been very successful so far.
I do have to record though that it took a lot... A LOT... of prayer and fasting and doing my homework for about 2 full months before I started to feel remotely on top of things. I knew that the only way to get myself prepared each week and to make a difference in their lives was to do it prayerfully. It's amazing how many times in just 2015 alone I have sat down to type out my Singing Time plan/lesson and have had the ideas pour into my brain. I'm grateful to have the Lord's help. I don't take my job lightly even though it is typically the "fun" part of primary. It's been a great learning experience!
It was 34 degrees and cloudy this day but the kids really needed some outdoor play time. So we bundled up and pulled the bikes out! It lasted only 25 minutes but it was still great.
The kids' Great Grandma-and-Grandpa Matheson sent them some Christmas money so I took the kids to Target. They each picked a toy. Grace and I have been eyeing the lego "friends" sets for awhile and she decided to get the Jasmine set. She loves it!! She is a total natural with legos. I should've known. She doesn't love princess dolls and such but Jasmine has been her favorite disney princess for the last little while. :)
On January 23rd Beckett James Goates was born!! My newest little nephew. He is so adorable and so little. I was so excited to visit him at just 24 hours old in the hospital.
I couldn't help but compare him to Logan's pictures at 24 hours old. They look very much related when you compare the pictures! I have been so bummed the last couple weeks as I've battled a head cold. :( I've wanted to go spend time snuggling Beckett but have had to stay away lately. Bad timing.
The kids finally got to meet Beckett at a week old. They were SO excited and they talk about him all the time!
Logan and Grace both had their final well-checks with their pediatrician here, Dr. Bowser. She has been a good doctor!
The kids and I have played lots of games and they actually do really well! I love the ages they're at and how independent, smart and fun they are. Guess Who, Go Fish, Yahtzee and Memory are our favorite games these days. We especially love playing memory with the Melissa & Doug spinner Logan got for his birthday. It makes memory way more fun!
I got the kids these little snow shovels on clearance and they are actually quite the little helpers when it snows. :)
Ever since the beginning of the year, there hasn't been a lot of ABC school opportunities for these two kiddos. I have no desire to put stuff together although I know Logan LOVES it and asks me about it every few days. :( I need to be better! I did last minute put together a few activities for him and Ava one day during a playdate. We talked about shapes (which they are great at already).
I have been so tired of having our kids' craft supplies all over in different places. Grace comes home with homework every day from preschool and I would get so frustrated when I couldn't remember where we last put the scissors or the crayons. So I FINALLY found an easy solution and organized all of her necessary supplies into these totes. I even cleared the bottom shelf of our kitchen pantry shelf so they Grace could always have access to her stuff whenever she wanted it.
Ever since then she has been coming up with fun and creative new things to make, paint or draw. She came to me and said "Mom, I want to make a mask!" I said "Great! You know where all the stuff is. Have fun!" and she created this. I love watching her creativity blossom now that she has the tools!
Just doing some good ol' lounging.
Oh and I didn't mention that Ryan worked three straight weeks with no days off. Ugh. It was awful for him AND for us at times. I can safely say that residency continues to kick our butts, even with the knowledge that it's coming to an end in a few months. It feels like it may never come! But we are hanging in there. We've made it this far, right?!
I made some Cafe Rio and it hit the spot! Yum.
Speaking of hitting... Logan and Grace hit heads while rough-housing on the stairs and Logan ended up with a nice purple cheek (instantly swelled like that). Then it turned into a black eye for the last week and a half. Boys!
I took him out on a mommy-date to Panera. He is fun to eat lunch with now that he is a total chatter-box. He just eats and talks, and eats and talks. We had a nice time out together while Grace was at school.
Last night at bed time I was laying with him and we sang "Wise Man/Foolish Man". He asked why the house washed away? I told him because it wasn't built strong enough and the sand and water made it fall apart. He said "Ohhh. Was it made with doggie tape?" I said "Hm.. do you mean duct tape?" He said "Oh. Yeah! Duck tape!" haha He makes me smile.
