Breakaway to the Arctic Freeze

We are very privileged to belong to a wonderful church.  Bayside Church of Granite Bay was actually the very first church Glen and I came to when we arrived in the USA.  It completely intimidated us!!  But culture shock was still overwhelming.  Since then we have belonged to 2 churches.  At the beginning of 2009 we eventually were led back to Bayside.  Our lives have been so blessed by this church.

It is large.  They have an outstanding musician as their worship leader.  It is in a wealthy neighborhood.  And yet in spite of that there is a sense of togetherness and connection on a more down-to-earth level.  The church has values of giving, servanthood, community outreach, connection and support, love for others.  It is a happy place, and I think people that walk in there notice that as soon as they arrive.  Best of all for Glen and me... the Children's Ministry is unbelievable.  From day one, the kids LOVED it.  And each week they run to their classrooms, and come home with their verses, their stories, their artwork, and songs of praise in their heads and heart.  WOW!!!

Since Children's Ministry is my passion, I have volunteered in leadership since 1997, and have worked with kids in many capacities continuously since then.  At Bayside it has been no different.  Glen and I are both on the rosters for the kids' classrooms and volunteer once a month there.

Every summer there is Bayside's version of VBS (Vacation Bible School).  It is known as Breakaway.  This year there were around 3000 kids and 1750 volunteers involved.  I was THRILLED to be one of them.  Oliver and Hannah were there for their first time, and it was an amazing week.  I led a small group of 8 8-yr olds.  (3rd graders).  We had so much fun and learned so much.  A week of impact. 

Romans 8:28 was the theme verse... "And we know that in all things Gd works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  What a joy it was to impress on these kids that God loves them, and God chose each and every one of them just how they are for a purpose, and they need to trust him in times of trouble because there is always hope and a future in Jesus. 

We got a CD and the kids and I have all the actions down.  Oliver knows the words and actions to his favorite songs, and it is the only CD they let me listen to in the car.  It might start out as fun, but the words and deeds will sink in.  Praise God!

Bye-bye diapers!

I dreaded it.  I'd heard it was difficult and took forever.  I read books, blogs, webpages, you name it... all in search of the Perfect Plan.

In the end I took the advice of friends ahead of things I'd read (probably should have started there in the first place!).  So the official agreement was:
Do not start potty training a boy before he is 3.

Considering that Hannah decided to potty train herself while I was still pregnant with Oliver (she was about 22months old and one day refused to put on her diaper and that was that!) I thought 3 just seemed sooo old.  And maybe it is.  But talking to friends with more than one boy, I was told that they had tried pre-3 and post-3 and had very different results... those that were potty trained before 3 took longer, had accidents that lasted longer, and in a few cases needed pull-ups at night for longer.  Those that they waited longer with, trained easily and had less set-backs.  So I decided that was the route for me!!

I also decided that Lock-Down would work best for me.  Since running around with the kids, and Hannah's school schedule and so on made lock-down impossible, I decided to wait until school was out for the summer.  Making Oliver 3yrs and 2.5months.  I put aside a week... the first week of summer.  We had Breakaway starting on June 21 and I wanted him potty trained by then.  I dreaded the week but was determined....

AND...

He was potty trained in about 4 days!!  I know it is different for each child and their personality and so on, but I was so excited and so proud of him (and, for some reason, myself!)  It was boring boring boring.  For the first 3 days we didn't leave the playroom.  Movies, TV, games.  Cold turkey with the diapers, just got rid of them and brought out the Spiderman underpants.  And every 15mins bathroom break.  And I did 2 loads of laundry the first day.  I thought he'd never get it.  But he did.  Started Monday June 14 and by the Thursday he was going by himself when he needed to, celebrating, asking for rewards (ha!), and feeling like a Big Boy.  And no diapers since then.  He has been a pro when we are out, and all through Breakaway, and even at night... no pull-ups needed (I make him wear them just in case, but so far they've been dry every morning). 

Way to go, Oliver!!  So proud of you!!

Facts

I love to find different places to take the kids.  One of the things that definitely came out of the long stay in Canada with no school and friends to play with was that I have become an expert in finding stuff for us to do.  This past weekend was Father's Day, and Glen had to work a bit over the weekend.  But when we had time we wanted to do something more interesting than potter at home.

Hannah's favorite thing (takes after mommy) is reading encyclopedias and books full of information.  At night after I read her a bedtime story she tells me to call Daddy to "read me some facts".

In the spirit of all things fact, I found something fun for us to do, and Hannah LOVED it.  Unknown to many, there is a Discovery Museum Science and Space Center right here in Sacramento.  Sure, it's not Science World or the Exploratorium, but it was perfect for young kids.  $4 for Hannah, $6 for the adults, and Oliver was free.  What a great find.  Plus the grounds are beautiful and it is in a redwood and oak forest, so LOTS of great shade with picnic tables... I think we might go back a few times this summer.

Puzzles:

Adding wool to the wooly mammoth:

Turtle or tortoise?

Tarantula!!!

Hannah ended her exploring with a planetarium show.  Unfortunately no under-4s, so Oliver and I enjoyed the great outdoors.  After the show all four of us wandered the grounds on a fun nature trail... we all learned something new about trees and rocks!

Memorial Day Weekend Camping

This year Glen has been sooooo busy with work.  Can't complain, because work is hard to come by and yet he is busier than ever.  But it means not a lot of down time.

Needless to say when he DOES get time off work we like to make the most of it.  Memorial Day is a big deal holiday here because it is the unofficial start of summer.  For most schools it is the last week of school until the new school year starts in August/ September.  It's a happy weekend!!  A LOT of people go away, and traditionally it is a big camping weekend.  Late in April, we decided that we wanted to go camping with some friends.

Most people book their Memorial Day camping adventures well in advance.  Some a full year if they have a favorite spot.  So when we called places we were mostly laughed at and told they were all booked up.  In the end Jen found a place on Folsom Lake.  I wasn't too excited about the place, because what I know of Folsom Lake is the busy lake in the midst of big suburbs.  But WOW!!

The campground was called Peninsula Campground in the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.  It was on the northern side of the lake... directly opposite from any of the parts of the lake I'd ever been to.  Totally out of the way, quiet, undeveloped.  What a treat!

We went with another family of close friends and there were 4 adults and 4 kiddos.  We had such a great time and definitely will return to that campground again.  Such a great discovery.  And although we worried it would be crowded with newly graduated hooligans, we were so pleasantly surprised at the wonderful atmosphere and family-friendly fellow campers!

Setting up camp:

Sunset over the lake:

Mia, Hannah, Oliver and Tanner enjoy making s'mores:

A beautiful trail:

Fun in the water:

All the ingredients for fun:  Beautiful weather, beautiful surroundings, beautiful friendships.

2010 Soccer World Cup

Kicked off today with a very exciting game South Africa v. Mexico.  It was a 1-1 draw, but lots of exciting moments and jumping up and screaming at the TV.  I am not a big soccer fan during the general year, although as a sports fan I couldn't really escape watching some games.  But I love watching during the Olympics.  And now in the World Cup I plan to watch as many matches as I can.  Every stadium is so beautiful, and is built on ground I know sooo well.  They have done an amazing job getting ready for this tournament and I am so so proud.  I am sure I will shed a tear every time I sing the anthem.  It's amazing to see my fellow South Africans so filled with excitement and unity, and it is wonderful that they are show-casing the wonderful parts of South Africa.  It's going to be an emotional month ahead!  We love you, South Africa!!

Learning our ABCs

Most kids learn the ABC song before they start to actually read the letters.  Oliver can identify an O and an H for now and that's it.  But he knows his song.  I love how he says it all, though, because it shows how he doesn't really know that there are all those letters... he just likes the song!!
A B C D eeyef... G, H I J K ellemello P, koo R eSsss, T ooo B, dubba-oo X Y-an Zee.

One thing that he does do, which is adorable, is he will say "I'm thinking of something... something beginning with S".  No matter what it starts with.  He hears us playing that with Hannah and so I guess he's picked a letter.  One of the reasons that he picks S is that I'll say to Hannah.... "Are you thinking what I am thinking?  I'm thinking about something beginning with S"  And my something is......... STARBUCKS!  So now when he wants me to drive through for coffee (for me) and a scone or milk (for him) that's what he says.  But he'll apply it to anything he's thinking about... S or no S.

Preschool graduation

She's done with preschool.  I cried a little while watching her get her certificate.  Mrs Baker had some sweet words to say and Hannah looked shy, but proud of herself too.  I was so proud that I thought I would burst.  And this was preschool.  Yikes!!