November 10

Today I opened our history curriculum schedule, and when I saw that the next few lessons were about the first Thanksgiving, I almost postponed it until next week. But then I decided that since we've had some whining, thanklessness, and obsession over the Christmas toy catalogs, perhaps it would be good to get focused on THANKSgiving starting "now".

So we read the story of the first Thanksgiving.

We learned that the Pilgrims arrived in America on November 10, 1620*.

We learned that on November 10, 2009.

Isn't that a strange coincidence?

Also, November 10, 1775 is when the United States Marine Corps was born (they were called the Continental Marines at the time).  I wonder if there is a connection.

(The kids and I wished Chris a "Happy Birthday". I think he is surprised every year when I remember...)

*This is the date our book gave. The internet has many conflicting dates.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

A while back, I found The Jesus Storybook Bible.  We have no less than five children's Bibles in our home, but this one is THE ONE.  We've already read through it once and we all love it so much we're reading through it again.

I have yet to read one of the stories without having to swallow the lump in my throat.

The stories are deep enough to move me yet simple enough for young ones to understand.

The illustrations are whimsical and beautiful.

And each and every story points to Jesus, which is the reason I love it the most.

For me the Bible has so many purposes. It is full of encouraging and empowering words. It is God's living Word, guiding me in how to live my life. It's the Instruction Manual for Life. But more than all of that, it is the greatest story of all time.  The story of our Creator, His creation, the fall of man, and the rise of a Savior. The story of Redemption and Victory. And it's all true.

I wanted a children's Bible that brought to life the fact that my kids are a part of the greatest story of all time, and the Jesus Storybook Bible does just that.

Having a Bible that reinforces what I'm already trying to teach my children - that God placed them (and all of us!) on this earth to be a part of His story - works for me.

my two-inch butt

I had the yardstick out because I was measuring the stairs to figure out exactly how much carpet we would need for them. As I was staring at the stairs, thinking about ideas, Emmersyn grabbed the yardstick and started measuring me.

She started with my leg: "Your leg has twoooo inches."

Then my butt: "Your butt has twoooo inches."

Sweet!

knock knock

I was concentrating on something I was doing on the computer, and Emmersyn kept jabbering. I wasn't responding, so she knocked on my arm and said, "Knock knock. Who's there?"

That got my attention.

relationship

Emmersyn has recently become obsessed with people's relationships to one another. She's always saying things like, "You are my mom, and I am your daughter, and Pierce is my brother..." et cetera et cetera.

Yesterday she said this: "I am yuh daw-ta, and you aw my mom, and gwumma is yuh mom, and gwumma is my gwumma, and gwumpa is my gwumpa, and gwumma ida* is my gwumma ida."

And I laughed.

*Grandma Ida is my mom's mom, and since our kids are blessed with sooo many great-grandparents, we tried to simplify it by calling them "Grandma Ida", "Grandpa Mo", etc.