kid bits

Here are a few fun moments we've enjoyed with our kids recently.... oh we love them so!

Marian's card game
We've been playing Go Fish lately with the kids and Matt and I have found ourselves surprised at how super fun a time it is. Who would have thought? It's just so great to see Isaiah really tracking with how the game works and to.... well, just play it with May and enjoy a snuggle with John on the lap, for as long as he'll sit for it.

Yesterday, Marian created her own card game. She gave a few character cards (Xi Yang Yang, the local lamb cartoon character) to Isaiah and I and instructed us to ask her, "Foo wins?". (Isaiah and I share a secret giggle over Marian's sweet and constant mispronunciation of the word.) She replies "I DO!" and then gives us a card that we would then give right back to her. The next person asks again, "who wins?".... It was a grand game and it lasted all of 1.5 minutes. She was very proud of herself.

Here's the princess with her cool cowgirl skirt (home-made for her by a dear friend here) as her own hat creation...

Isaiah

Our big guy is writing letters, numbers and words! It is so exciting- way more than I thought when I just heard other parents talk about this step up. So great to see the world opening up before his discovering, learning mind. We praise the Lord for the ways God is growing our big boy. He's always fun and is becoming more and more of a reliable helper around the house too... what a blessing!

Grass

My husband is kind-of a grass freak. He loves North Dakota lawns and critiques lawns in every other city I've ever been in with him. But here, what's the point? If there is grass anywhere... it's all got signs on it to make clearly known that no feet should ever touch it. We've found a few patches around town that seem a bit more friendly, but usually those spots are covered with teems of people. It's honestly been something we've both seriously missed- places to be outside and feel quiet, alone to enjoy nature.

But this weekend, some neighbors of ours explained on the phone that one boy's dad's company had something special.... I really wasn't understanding all that was said... but sure we would go. I had expectations of thousands of people and bright lights and busyness abounding. But I was very pleasantly wrong.

After a drive across town, we arrived to a small private company whose grounds had a wonderful grass field and a nice garden area (I've never seen anything like this company's grounds in this country). We- just us- simply played there. Sweet Medicine for my Soul. Oh so sweet....

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PE

Earlier this week, Matt decided, as bedtime approached, it might be helpful to try to work off some of the overflowing energy in our girl. And so he launched a short exercise program that any PE teacher would be proud of. Marian kept up quite well with the sit-ups, jumping jacks, and pushups.... of course, adapted for her goofiness very well.

John is coming into his next fun stage... not only is he responding to fun, he's definitely initiating it too now. It's so fun seeing the big kids really enjoy playing with him more. He loves to come and sit on my tummy (or daddy's) or hold onto my legs when I'm doing exercises. He loves to throw balls, take baths, get his teeth brushed and unpack the kids dresser. He's very into his mama right now but occassionally he also does a really good job at playing by himself for a few minutes at a time.

And.... he's going to make a great big brother, come next March.  We praise the Lord for this surprise, completely-delighted in gift!