I'm asking for prayers

I'm asking for prayers on behalf of my friend, Shellie, and her unborn baby boy. Feel free to click on over to her blog for the rest of her story. I am asking that you remember to lift Shellie, this unborn baby boy, her husband, Mike, and their four year old son, Adison, up in your prayers. Shellie is about 24 1/2 weeks pregnant and is in the hospital on bedrest while all involved attempt to keep this precious baby in utero for as long as possible! He is attempting to make an early debut. This family does not need any more heartache. Pray, pray, pray for health and peace for everyone. And pray that this baby boy stays in utero for a good while longer.

Thanks for joining us in prayer. May God bless each one of you, too.

(BTW, Shellie did not ask me to post this. I just feel the need to activate any prayer chain available right now. Shellie, I hope that you do not mind me posting this. I simply want as much prayer as possible on your behalf.)

Bragging

This will be a short post as I don't have much time....I'll get back to blogging more this weekend, I hope. :) I'd like to do a post about David's grandpa who passed away this past Wednesday, January 21st at age 92. He had been married to Grandma for 74 years! She is 94 years old and still living at home! Anyways. We spent the weekend making a quick trip to Arkansas....like I said, more to come later about David's grandparents.

For now, I want to brag on Mackenzie. We went to her Little Ram Round Up tonight. We toured the building and met the teachers. As we toured the classrooms, Mackenzie picked up a sample A Beka book that was lying on the table. She began to read, without my help or prompting, a SEVEN word sentence! She actually read it word for word and pronounced every word correctly on the first try! I was stunned. And the Kindergarten teacher standing nearby was impressed, too! :) Yep, I'm a proud Momma. That's my girl!

(She proceeded to pick up another book and read it, too! As long as the words are made up of short vowel sounds, she can read them....long vowel sounds have not yet been introduced. And she's not even 4 1/2 yet!)

History in the making

While I did not vote for Obama, I was a proud American as I sat on the couch with my two kids watching history in the making. I was filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment for our country. The thing that pleases me the most is that my two kids WILL know a world in which color and ethnic background plays a minor role, pun not intended. Generations ago, people were filled with a prejudice that was taught from birth. Not so today. Our new president does indeed represent our melting pot called America. How cool that an average person can grow up to lead a nation?!

From the Civil War to the America of today, we as a people have come a long ways on the issues of race. How incredibly sad that ANY person that God himself created would be treated as any less than equal. I suppose there's much more that I could say, but for now suffice to say that I am proud to be an American.

More Snow

Run, Mackenzie, run! Daddy's home...and some snow's still hanging around.
I just thought this was a sweet pic of Kenzie.

Josiah throwing a snowball! The kid has a good arm.

Hang on Kenzie!

Is there enough snow for a snow angel? Ummm, no. But it made for a cute picture! :)

Josiah and me.

He came down that slick slide so fast that he literally flew off the end and landed with a thud at the bottom. He's tough, though. He got up, laughed, and did it again! :)

Up close of Mackenzie. This is a coat my mom got her for Christmas. She likes it, but she told me today that when people see her with the hat on they would think she has gray hair! Funny girl.

Snow

The kids were thrilled to actually get to sled this morning, though we still didn't have a ton of snow. Shortly after going outside, Mackenzie realized she really did need her coat...like I had said...so we went in to put it on. She was frustrated as her coat did not go on easily. Then she had a meltdown. You know, the kind that's loud enough for all the neighbors to hear... Well. To make a long story short, she ended up playing (ahem, getting two on one attention) from our wonderful neighbors while Josiah and I enjoyed the snow! She was a happy camper at their house. Josiah and I had snow ball fights and I pulled him around our yard on the sled. We all had fun, thanks to the help of my neighbors. ;)
Here's Josiah on the sled!

Up close of my snowy little boy.

Now if I may brag for a moment...Josiah spelled his name this morning! I was playing around and said, "How old are you?" He said, "I'm two and a half." I said, "What is your name?" He said, "J-O-S-I-A-H!" I completely expected him to say, "Josiah," or "Siah," or "Siah Biah" as he so often does, but instead he spelled his name! I was excited. He could have done this a few months ago, but would only say "I-A-H." Today was the first day where he said the whole thing.

And to brag on Mackenzie...she is now reading sentences such as "Fill it up, Cal," and "Mom got gas," and "Sam met Tom," and "Hit it, Pam!" Yes, that's the A Beka curriculum Little Book's! We're both having fun with words these days. :)

I'm proud of my kiddos and enjoying God's creation...both indoors and out! :)

Mackenzie's News

Breaking news from the Watson Family....Mackenzie officially has her own blog! She has been asking for one for awhile. I just finally got it set up tonight. She is a little disappointed because the blogger backgrounds that I usually pick from seem to be out of commission at the moment. Hopefully she'll get to pick a special background soon! In the meantime, I uploaded the pics on one side instead of in the middle, so the words wrapped funny. Oh, well. Also, I summarized what all she wanted to say as it was so close to bedtime! Future posts will be her dictating as I type. :) For now, just wanted you all to know that she has her own little blog site, which also means she has her own email address now! (I just have to figure out how to use it so I can teach her! She can use my email pretty well on her own...just need to learn the new one for her!)

http://www.mackenziesbutterflies.blogspot.com/

Oh. And from my perspective...her breaking news is that I'm filling out Kindergarten enrollment forms this week. Yikes. Where oh where has the time gone?! I'm loving my little girl just the way she is. Sigh. I'm sure there will be PLENTY more about Kindergarten as the times gets closer.

Hope you all have had a blessed day.

Broken Crayons

Josiah proudly holding up his heart shaped crayon.
Josiah drawing with his heart shaped crayon.

Mackenzie with her heart shaped crayon...and her masterpiece. (She calls it scribble scrabble as she was testing out her new crayon and experimenting with the various colors it produces.)

Mackenzie demonstrating how to use her new crayon.

Mackenzie displaying her crayon!

Have you ever wondered what to do with all those tiny pieces of broken crayons? Here's an idea for you! This idea is courtesy of my momma, by the way. I have no idea how many times she did this with me and my brother, Evan, when we were kids. We loved it! Today I decided to try it out with my kids. They really enjoyed it, too.

So. I had the kids help me pick all the broken pieces out of the crayon drawer. Then they helped me take the paper wrapping off the crayons. We made a heart shaped container out of aluminum foil. (I used a cookie cutter to help with the shaping of the foil, then removed the cookie cutter.) The shape of the foil mold for your new crayon is limited only to your creativity and abilities to mold the foil! :) We just stuck with a basic shape, but feel free to experiment! Place the broken pieces into the foil mold. Place the mold on a cookie sheet. Place in oven to bake/melt the crayons. Stay close by as they melt fast! Remove from oven carefully and move minimally so as not to mix the melted liquid colors. Let cool. Unwrap foil mold from bottom of crayon and sides of crayon. Enjoy! ;)

(BTW, we were having pajama day at our house by request of the kids today!) :) :)

Josiah's Cute Comments

As we were preparing to go pick Mackenzie up from school today, Josiah looked at me as serious as could be and said, "Mackenzie lives at school." Oh, boy. What will the fall be like when Mackenzie starts Kindergarten and is in school five days a week instead of just two partial days? Poor little boy! :)

Then later this evening Josiah wanders into the bathroom where I am, looks into the tub, looks at me, and with surprise and delight in his voice, exclaims, "Mom! Are you having a soapy bath like us did?" LOL! A soapy bath! I'd call it a bubble bath...but, yes, I was "having" a soapy bath! His phraseology cracked me up, too. He's usually so proper with his sentences and sentence structures, so the "having" and "us" instead of "we" struck me funny, too. He and Mackenzie did enjoy a Mr. Bubbles Sensitive Skin bath tonight!

And that's more information than you really wanted.... ;)

Things I've Done...Things I'd Like To Do

I copied this from Holly Aytes. Looked like fun!
Things in Bold, I have done.
Things in Italics, I would like to do during my lifetime.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Seen a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Visited the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (will do this again as the kids loved it)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (long, long time ago)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Seen a gondola in Venice (could not afford to ride in one!)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia (if you'll count Ukraine!)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (chickens in Africa)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day
101. Swam with Dolphins in the wild
102. Visited Japan
103. Been hugged by a child
104. Been kissed by a child
105. Fed chickens and gathered their eggs
106. Ice skated on a frozen pond
107. Walked across a stage in Graduation
108. Earned a scholarship
109. Slept till noon
110. Spent a semester overseas
111. Been in a wreck
112. Stood where Paul stood in Ephesus or Corinth
113. Been homesick
114. Been in love
115. Visited all 7 continents

Well, that's my list. Feel free to copy it and do the same on your blog! I added the last 15 to the original list, just for fun.

Pine Sledding

Josiah
Mackenzie

Pine needles on a storm cellar, one cardboard box, two kids and their daddy. Nuff Said.

Who really needs a white Christmas for sledding? During our week long Christmas trek to Arkansas to spend time with relatives, the kids thoroughly enjoyed some time outside at Great Grandma and Grandpa Watson's house...sledding! Ha. :)