Still here...

The past couple months have been really busy with the holidays and my new job! I'm now working 5-7 hours a week doing children's ministry for our church. This really has been a wonderful opportunity- I feel like I'm using my gifting and my training to bless our church. Most of it can be done from home so I still have the ability to teach and train my little ones! God really put this in my lap unexpectedly and it's been a huge blessing!

This last month I was involved in launching a blog for our children's ministry with resources, activities and articles for parents. (Email me if you want the link). So fun to use my experience blogging to also bless the church!

The kids are doing well and getting big:

Grace is now almost 17 months old. She started walking Nov 19th. We were at a playdate and she just stood up and took 20 steps. Then she did it again and again and again. There's no turning back now!

In the last month her speech has also blossomed. She probably has about 30-40 words and is adding new words each day. Jonathan was a late talker, so this has been very fun to watch! (I swear when he began talking he spoke in sentences!) She tries to sing songs with us and we can often hear her walking around singing the ABC song (not the letters, but the melody).

She loves to snuggle in with a book and really just be into anything her older brother is doing!

Jonathan just turned three years old and is growing up so fast! Three has been presenting its own challenges but we're adjusting. Potty training is still going on-- yesterday he actually initiated, so there's a glimmer of hope! He's for the most part dropped his naptime so we've instituted quiet play/rest time. '

Lately he's been into Cars, Richard Scarry books, picture puzzles (I Spy, 1001 Things to Spot), Clifford books, and being energetic!

Bible-wise, we've moved into the life of Christ. This week we're discussing Jesus Calling the 12 Disciples. I hope to at least get back to posting our Bible lessons. We've also been working on practicing godly choices.

Jonathan has his letters and their sounds down, so I've been wrestling a little with what to do next. He's picked up on beginning letter sounds and rhyming words. He's not ready to write, but he pretends to write. We've been practicing a lot with pencils lately. He got an easel for Christmas and he enjoys writing on the whiteboard a lot. (As does Grace!)

Mathwise, he's counting fairly well. He gets up to 15 and sometimes to 20. His daddy does some basic word problems with him and he follows along well. He loves games! We got him My First Orchard for Christmas and he also received The Snail's Pace Race and Teddy Mix & Match for his birthday. He loves to pull out a game!

 I don't want to push him, but I want to challenge him. In fact, it seems like he acts up a bit more when we don't have at least 15-30 minutes of learning time. So I'm wrestling with what to do with him this year. I just bought the Teacher's Guide for Sonlight P3/4. My hope is to read all the books with him and Grace over this year or so. But I think he's up for a bit more of a challenge... Any suggestions would be welcome!

So that's our lives right now. Hopefully I'll be able to work blogging back in soon-- I do miss it!