Bird Feeders & Toothless

We made some bird feeders last week. They were very easy and a lot of fun for the kids to do. We eat soy nut butter around here, since we have one child with a throat-closing allergic reaction to peanut butter. We mistakenly picked up some sugar-free soy nut butter a while back and let's just say the sugar is a key ingredient to it being edible. But the birds don't seem to mind:). 

We cut out some cardboard and smeared it with sugar free soy nut butter. {Only the most natural and nutritious for our birds!} Then the kids dipped the cardboard in birdseed, strung a piece of yarn through a hole punched in the top, and I tied them in the trees. Happy winter eating birds!

I don't know if you've seen the movie, How to Train your Dragon, but we have {several times} and we love it.  The main dragon's name is "Toothless" and that's become our nickname for Elle these days. We know when the top ones come out, it will be that much more appropriate! Here's your requested picture Tam:

Steven and I had the opportunity to speak before our church congregation during Sunday morning's worship service to promote our upcoming missions' conference. About five minutes before we were to go up, I was certain I was having a heart attack. But because I trust God and know that "the one who calls you is faithful and He will do it" {1Thes 5:24}, I went on up to the pulpit and not to the ER. And in about 4 minutes, it was all over and my heart resumed normal pumping. My husband was ever the encourager, before speaking, even as part of his "address", and afterwards. I'm not sure if what I said made a difference to anyone else, but the Lord used the experience to increase my faith and dependence on Him and for that, it was worth it.

Gymnastics & another tooth

Elle started taking gymnastics last week. She's been asking to take a class for quite some time now. She did ballet and tap for half of her kindergarten year in Calera, and then we moved to Dothan. And she has not had any "extracurricular" activity in a year. In lieu of a lot of presents, my mom gave Elle gymnastics lessons for Christmas. She had her second lesson today. She loves it.

I did have a small panic attack when she got on the parallel bars for the first time today. I had a flash back to when I broke my wrist playing on them. Thankfully, all she came home with were four blue ribbons for completing new skills. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did! {But if she doesn't, I'm OK with that too:).}

Then tonight, she and Grady were playing in his room pretty roughly. She came running in to the den, "My tooth! My tooth!". Her other front bottom tooth was bleeding and dangling by a thread. I grabbed a tissue to put pressure on her gum and out the tooth came! Steven just took her to California Yogurt last Friday, so I'm not sure what the Tooth Fairy is going to come up with for tonight...

I know there's been a lot on Elle over the last few weeks, but the boys are still here and they are great! They have been busy 1) learning to wear pants without a big diaper, 2) using the force, and 3) setting up story time for Sentinel Prime:

Finally

We've been wiggling this guy for a week now. Her permanent tooth has already broken through behind, so the dentist encouraged us to help him on his way. Tonight, we were in her bed and I asked her to let me give it one or two more tugs. Out it came with the first tug! Steven nor I have any cash on hand, so I'm going to make a little gift certificate for a trip to California Yogurt Craze {her favorite!} tomorrow. You were very brave Elle!

First Grade update

It's been awhile since I've written about anything school-related, but we've still been hard at first grade. Grady is doing more and more with us on Monday and Friday mornings, practicing his handwriting, a little math, doing calendar activities and listening to our Bible stories.

Elle has just about read the entire Magic Tree House series, as well as all the Amelia Bedelia books and Cam Jansen. Mom gave her a Boxcar children book for Christmas, so I think she'll be reading through that series next. We have covered quite a few books in our daily read aloud time too:

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Pollyanna

Charlotte's Web

Little House in the Big Woods

Little House on the Prairie

On the Banks of Plum Creek

By the Shores of Silver Lake

And our current selection, The Long Winter. We have 3 more books in the Little House series!

She's learning the books of the Bible and a Proverb a week. It really is amazing how much Scripture she has memorized. We're working through the Old Testament, as she reads in a Bible Reader, summarizes the story and draws an illustration to go with it in her Bible notebook. She also has a Bible time line that covers an entire wall in her room:).

We're finishing up with phonics, improving her handwriting by copying poems and verses, with some music, art appreciation and drawing practice thrown in here and there.

We've cycled through our math topics once, and are looking forward to going back through and challenging her a bit more with each topic: Patterns, Classifying, Addition/Subtraction, Comparing, Geometry, Measurement, Place Value, Fractions, Time, Money, and Graphing.

We haven't done as much science as we did last year, but we have a few huge remnants around the house to show our projects and experiments:



A paper model of the solar system, drawn to scale, hung below the time line. Is anyone else a little disappointed that Pluto is missing? I mean, what is "my very excellent mother" going to serve us now?

A salt dough Bible lands map

It's been a fun year so far and we have enjoyed being able to be home together and to learn together. It's hard to believe it's already that time of year to begin thinking and praying about next school year and what it will look like for our family. And just to keep it honest here, don't think for a second that every day is wonderful and she's a model student. There are days when we butt heads and she's frustrated and so am I. But for the most part, she works hard and does a great job with her assignments and she's learning... and I stay patient:). Homeschooling works for our family and we enjoy it. At least for now.

"Maw Maw"

Steven's grandmother (his dad's mother) passed away yesterday. She lived a full life and certainly helped multiply the Salter family with 10 children, 23 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great-grandchildren! We'll be in Greenville tomorrow to remember her life with his family. One of Steven's cousins wrote this about their grandmother:

SARAH NELL SALTER, 92, went home to be with her Savior on January 5th, 2012. Funeral Services will be held 1/7/2012 a Mt. Pleasant with Reverend Mark Lovett officiating. The family will receive friends an hour before the service. Sarah Nell is preceded in death by her parents Montie Evans Martin Sr and Mary Alice Owen Martin, her husband James Edward Salter, a brother, Dalton Martin, one son, Phillip Salter and one daughter Hilda Salter Kent. She is survived by 8 children. Joe Ed and Diane Salter, Buddy and Glenda (Salter) Burke, Diane and Paul Salter, David and Sherry Salter, Edwin and Genese (Salter) Mitchell, Perry Salter, Bill and Debbie (Salter) Coker, and Pete and Suzy (Salter) Reeder, 23 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.

Sarah Nell, or Maw Maw as most knew her, leaves a vast legacy. A legacy that revolves around her passion for Christ. Maw Maw was always a great witness for her family and longed for each member to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Despite enduring some hard times during her life, Maw Maw never faltered nor complained. As one child said “She could take a little flour and meat and make us a feast.” She always gratefully accepted her circumstances and made the best of each moment.

She devoted her entire being to her family. From traveling across the country to doctor’s visits with her cancer stricken daughter in the 90’s to being the first at the hospital to celebrate the arrival of a new birth, even beating the expectant mother to the hospital at times. According to Maw Maw, each new grand baby was cuter than the last. As recently as a couple of years ago she would drop what she was doing to go take care of a sick child, even if sitting on the couch and offering a foot rub was all she could do.

Maw Maw loved to “go”. She enjoyed taking trips and most summers could be found vacationing with some of her children and grandchildren; video camera always by her side. She recorded hours of family videos and even made each of her children a video that details important family history.

From her attire to her personalized gifts, Maw Maw always displayed her colorful creativity. She always added her special touch to things and loved to paint as well as arrange flowers. Joy followed Maw Maw. No matter the circumstances, there was always a laugh, always a hug and always Joy. Maw Maw is now experiencing supreme Joy. She is with her Lord and as one uncle said “We just about have more at Home than we do here.” Maw Maw is at Home and one day soon we will join her, at Home.

Christmas gifts gone bad

The new year has come. The Christmas decorations are all boxed up, the tree is gone and some are having a hard time with that:



He asked me to help him write a note and this was his dictation.



We had a bit of A Christmas Story "you'll shoot your eye out!" New Year's Eve. Elle has been asking for a pocket knife for six months now, and we decided we'd try her out with a little Swiss Army knife as a Christmas gift. The rule for the knife was that she could not have it out unless Steven or I knew, and we put in safely in a drawer. I was inside cleaning and taking down decorations on Saturday and the kids were outside playing.

She and Grady were up in the tree and I heard her start screaming, "I'm bleeeeeeedddinnngg!" I run out there, see the arm of her shirt soaked in blood, and get her out of the tree. We get inside and I find out where the cut is and I notice it is not a cut that a tree limb would do. It's a perfect slice on the outer side of her wrist, close to the bottom of her palm. She's hysterical because of all the blood and I'm trying to calm her down. As I'm putting pressure on it to stop the bleeding, she passes out in a seizure sort of way. Legs stiff. Eyes still partly open. She wakes up in a few seconds and regains the hysteria. And I am almost crying because I'm so mad and disappointed in her {why did you get the knife without me knowing?} and scared at what could have happened {why did you have it up in a tree?} and thankful it is only a cut on her wrist {thank you Lord for taking care of her!}. She admits she had the knife and is now sobbing, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't want to DIIIIIIIE."

I reassured her she was not going to die, called Steven to come home and got the bleeding stopped and her wrist bandaged. Long story short, we ended up going to the ER {which I might not ever do again!}, waited for 5 1/2 hours before they put some steri-strips and a big bandage on it. :)

Needless to say, she proved she was not quite responsible enough for a knife. Maybe we can give it to her again next Christmas....

On a positive note, one of her other gifts was an Easy Bake oven. She was thrilled! She made some sugar cookies last week. Hopefully, she won't burn her fingers off.