counting my blessings - november 5, 2013

number five


i am thankful for a god who gives rest.

i am thankful i was able to take a quick nap today.

and i am thankful i am able to crawl into my warm, cozy bed tonight at 8:30 and sleep peacefully.

i am so very blessed.

counting my blessings - november 4, 2013

number four

i am thankful for a god who cares about families.

i am thankful for my family. jeremy, harrison and graham make my daily life so rich.

i am thankful for my parents.

i am thankful for their long, faithful marriage.

i am thankful we get to go visit them next week!

i am thankful for my brother. he's influenced me more than he knows.

i am thankful he chose an amazing wife who is a joy to be around.

i am thankful my boys have two cousins whom they love very much.

i am thankful for jeremy's parents.

i am thankful for their legacy of long, faithful marriage too.

i am thankful they live nearby and are always willing to help with the boys.

i am thankful for jeremy's brother. 

i am thankful my boys have an uncle zach and aunt val who love them dearly and who are dearly loved.


i am thankful, too, for my grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins (those still here and those passed on) who hold such a special place in my heart and who have filled my life with many fun moments. i am smiling just thinking of them.

i am so very blessed.

counting my blessings - november 3, 2013

number three


i am thankful for a god who is relational. relate-able. who relates to us and reveals himself through our relationships with each other.

i am thankful for true friendships with women older and younger, near and far. with women smarter and funnier and prettier and braver. with women i talk to every day or catch up with once each decade (but it feels as if no time has passed). with women who are unafraid to relate, to reveal their authentic selves, to share their triumphs and trials. with women who allow me to do the same. i have some amazing friendships!

i am so very blessed.

counting my blessings - november 2, 2013

number two

i am thankful for a god who chose to make me a mom and who continually teaches me how to be a mom.

i am thankful for my two incredible, hilarious, fun-to-be-around, drive-me-crazy-sometimes, love-them-so-much-my-heart-might-burst sons.

i am so very blessed.

counting my blessings - november 1, 2013

number one

i am thankful for a god who always provides for our needs - especially so this past year, miraculously providing for very costly therapies.

i am thankful for a husband who works hard to provide for his family and who wisely stewards the money he earns so we can afford to live on one income.

i am so very blessed.

the wishbone and brain development

when we were young my brother and i loved breaking the wishbone. it was an annual tradition, typically occurring a few days after our thanksgiving feast. my mom left the bone out on the counter to dry which gave me a few days to contemplate what my wish would be.

i'm learning more and more about brain development as we've been walking through different therapies over the past year. graham happens to be in the magical stage of thinking. i've been so discouraged lately because i've noticed him getting so angry and blame-oriented when he gets hurt. he'll accidentally trip over a shoe that's lying in the middle of the hallway (yes, the very shoe i told him to put away) and he will pick up that shoe and throw it across the room, just furious that the shoe tripped him. i thought my son was crazy. turns out he's normal. he's just in the stage where he truly believes that shoe reached out, grabbed his foot and caused him to stumble. this fairytale stage of thinking, now that i know what it is, sure is fun!

harrison is entering a different stage of brain development - logical thinking. he reasons now in a more sequential, rules-based way. he's less magical and more matter-of-fact. i like this stage, too, because if i make a rule, he will follow it. rules are my new best friend!

last week i cooked up a whole chicken and saved the wishbone so my boys could experience the fun of breaking it. i left the bone out on the counter for a few days to dry. the boys had time to think long and hard about their wishes.

logical harrison wished that they could get bunk beds.

magical graham wished that a knight would come to our house.


doesn't that just make you smile?


harrison ended up with the larger half, making him the winner, but really i'm the one who lucked out! i love these kiddos!

sensory bin - halloween monster themed

take a bin

add some large black pom poms

 add some small gold fuzzy pom poms

the black and gold is for my brother and sister-in-law who are the biggest iowa hawkeye fans ever. 

go hawks!

 

 add some purple and green rubber porcupine balls

sorry i ruined the hawkeye concept.

 

 add some large silver dish scrubbers

 add some smaller rainbow dish scrubbers

add some foam circles

pop em into a bucket

add some googly eyes

pop em into a bucket too

now we have a bin full of circles and spheres of all different textures, sizes and colors. 

let's get crazy and add some pipe cleaners and straws

toss em into the bin

lastly add in some silly monster poppers

don't they look lonely in that big old bin?

let's create some friends for them!

oh, they're so much happier now!

it's a build-a-monster sensory bin.

build-a-monster play ideas:

use senses of sight, touch and hearing to see, feel and listen to differences in each object within the bin. discuss those differences.

use proprioceptive sense to push down the monster poppers.

make predictions as to how far they'll pop into the air.

use proprioceptive sense to try jumping as high/far as the popper did.

after designing your monsters discuss one thing you like about your own monster and one thing you like about another person's monster.

make up a story about your monsters.

use straws to blow over the poppers or to blow apart the monsters you build.

i hope you have lots of fun imagining more ways to play with your new monster friends!