Try, Try Again

Hunter has been really into doing brachiation on his own this spring. Ours has been out of commission for several weeks now, but several times when we have gone to the park he has tried out his hand at doing brachiation, and has actually gone a few rungs on his own.

I got these pictures at the park today. He had already done them a few times and his hands were getting a little tired, but his self-motivated perseverance was shining through!

"For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."

Proverbs 24:16

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old

First Word

Today was the first time Hunter spontaneously read a word that he saw in a public place. Yes, he's read plenty of words before now but ever since I first started teaching him to read, I always thought that as he learned more words, he would see one of them somewhere (say, on a sign, or label, or license plate, etc.) and excitedly shout out, "Mom! That says... (fill in the blank)."

But, it never really happened that way. Oh, I've waited for it, but Hunter is pretty reserved about his reading abilities and doesn't care much to show other people what he knows.

However, today while we were at the park we had to make an emergency stop to the park restroom. He was following me as I started to walk in when all of the sudden he stopped and said, "Wait!"

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"That's the women's bathroom. I need to go in the men's."

To my surprise, there was no lady-in-a-skirt symbol anywhere around, but simply the word "WOMEN" written on the door.

I explained to him that, since he is a little boy, he must go with his mommy in public restrooms because it's not safe for him to go by himself, but that when he is bigger - when he is a "man" - he will go in the men's restroom by himself.

Then I proceeded to congratulate him and make a big deal about how he read the word all on his own, and he was all smiles and very proud of himself. I don't recall ever explicitly teaching him this word, but I have pointed it out and read it for him many times before, as I point out and read many other words we see around the neighborhood. It was an encouragement that, yes, children will learn, if not always at the pace or in the way that we think it "ought" to be, they're still learning, and probably more than we can ever measure or know.

"Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul... And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates..."

Deuteronomy 11:18-20

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old

Mud

Hunter and Anthony had a fun little encounter with nature today - in the mud.

They were playing in the backyard and wandered back by the garden area, and when I went back to check on them they had both been dabbling their fingers in a bucket full of mud!

My first reaction was to say, Hey, get out of there. But, for just a moment I saw life through the eyes of a little kid. I remembered all the many hours my sisters and I used to spend making mud pies near the laundry drain outside the kitchen window. I remembered the feeling of mud between my toes walking down by the creek near by the nursing home, and the same sensation walking through our freshly plowed urban garden every spring. I remembered the mud fight we had in sixth grade, and the muddy pond we waded through at church camp, and...

Well, I think you get the point.

Nonetheless, I looked at them, smiled, and said, "Go on, dig in!" They got the most satisfied smile on their faces and then, cautiously at first, started kneading through a bucket of dirt and water that had been left out last fall.

Let's just say they really enjoyed it.

"He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."

Psalm 40:2

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old
Anthony is 2 years, 5 month old

Perfect Spring Day

"My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck."

Proverbs 3:21-22

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old
Anthony is 2 years, 5 months old
Jordan is 10 months old

Self Esteem

So today I playfully asked Hunter (which I have many times before), "Who loves you the most in the whole world?"

To which Hunter confidently replied, "God!"

"Who else?" I probed, hoping I was up there at the top of his list.

"You!" He said, right on cue.

A moment of silence went by, then he blurted out,

"And I love myself, too!"

"Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name."

Psalm 91:14

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old

Today in the Yard

Hunter was so happy to get to play in the yard today. It wasn't all that warm, but warm enough to be bearable. And as long as it's bearable, there's just no stopping this little boy with spring fever.

He had a really fun time getting some fresh air, running around, and exploring his long-lost toys that have been buried for months in the snow and rain.

This is where we left a dis-assembled slide for a couple weeks.

"The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory."

Psalm 64:10

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old

The Hunter Wink

"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

Psalm 119:18

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old

Listening to a Story

This is the boys (Hunter and my nephews), sitting quietly on the alphabet mat, listening to Danny and the Dinosaur being read aloud.

And I'm wondering to myself, How on earth did they all get so big?

"Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth."

Proverbs 7:24

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old

Passover

Tomorrow is Passover, one of the most significant (yet least celebrated) events in "holy week".

It is going to be Hunter's first Passover, as we have never formally celebrated it since Hunter has been born. We are both very excited and have been preparing for days.

One of the things we did was make a "Pesach" (Hebrew word for passover) place mat, which has the Seder plate (Seder, the Hebrew word for order, is what the Jews call the passover dinner), the four cups (glasses of wine or juice that are drank at various time throughout the meal), pieces of matzah (unleavened bread), and a picture of a lamb and a cross to represent Jesus, our passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). The verse, Exodus 12:26-27, is on the left side:

"And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses..."

Back from the very first passover (the actual one, when all the firstborn of the Egyptians and unbelieving Hebrews were killed), God instructed the Israelites to tell their children the story of their deliverance from Egypt every year at this time. It was on Passover that Jesus had his last supper with his disciples, and told them the famous words, "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me."

The placemat has that verse on one of the pieces of matzah, and on the other piece it has John 6:35,

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

Over the picture of the lamb and the cross are the words John the Baptist spoke to the crowd when he saw Jesus coming,

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

There is so much significance in all of these symbols, and I can't wait to share with you all the many things that I have learned in preparing for this celebration. Our whole family is going to be taking part in the Seder meal, so because of work and school schedules we will not be celebrating until Saturday night. Looking forward to telling you all about it!

"Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD."

Psalm 34:11

Hunter is 4 years, 0 months old

Getting Ready for Passover

"And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever."

Exodus 12:14

Hunter is 4 years, 0 months old

Playing with Letters

Hunter loves this old leap frog toy someone gave him a while ago. It doesn't work all that great but he has a lot of fun, and he really enjoys using all the magnetic letters to form the words.

With it he has been figuring out a lot of phonics, sounding out words and having a great time in general exploring the written language.

"Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king."

2 Chronicles 34:18

Hunter is 4 years, 0 months old