Quiet Morning!

Saturday is a non-electronics day at our house. The kids know this so when they wake up before Michael and I they usually just start playing. Most of the time they are noisy and end up waking us up....occasionally earlier than they wake up to go to school!!! This last Saturday was the first Saturday of summer vacation and Michael and I got to sleep in until almost 8am! At first I thought the kids might still be asleep because of how quiet it was! When I opened our door though I heard the familiar sound of their noisemakers so I knew their doors were open. I quietly walked to the end of the hall and peeked in the upstairs playroom. 

I saw the 3 older ones under....well mostly under the clubhouse quietly reading books. I stood there for quite a bit of time watching them. I love hearing Jack read because even when he reads to himself in his head you can still hear him whispering. 

Ella was just flipping through books looking at the pictures. It's such a change though...she has never really been interested in books before going to school, but now she loves them. I love how all my kids love books! They love a good story and be transported to another world. I actually stopped watching him and then came back a little later and they were still just reading away. I love these quiet moments where they are all getting along and doing something together they enjoy! 

Where was Zeke? Still sleeping...that kid could probably sleep in until 9am everyday! 

Talking About The Birds & The Bees!

A couple months ago one of my friends at MOPS was talking about a lady at her daughters preschool that uses a book series to talk to her kids about sex. Since Owen's 8 years old and that time will be here before I know it I was interested. Kara sent me the list of the books her friend reads and I decided to check it out. The nice thing is they are from a godly perspective and they have age guidelines to help you figure out when it's best to read them to your kids. 

I looked at them online, but I really wanted to buy them from the Family Christian Store in Federal Way, unfortunately they didn't even carry them. I thought that was sad...especially since I'd like to give them my money. Anyways I ended up buying them on Amazon for a really good deal. If you click on the pictures it will take you to the site.

The first book in the series is The Story of Me and it's for ages 3 - 5. I read this one to all the kids..except I think Zeke was wandering around or he was already in bed so he wasn't really listening. Basically it's a little boy asking his parents about his story...how mommy had him in his tummy and how he was born. It talks about how God makes us all special and how there are boys and girls and what makes them different. It's done in a very tactful way so it's not embarrassing. Especially if you've already been very open and honest with our kids about their different parts and the names for those parts. What I liked about it was it talked about babies being pushed out and it also included C-Sections. My kids have always known that Ms. Kim pushes her babies out and the doctor cuts mine out. I love that we can be open and it doesn't feel weird and uncomfortable. I'm hoping it will continue to feel that way. God made our bodies and he made them beautifully and he made them to enjoy sex....within the bounds of marriage. This was definitely a good first step in getting them ready to hear that. 

The second book Before I Was Born is more in-depth in regards to how a baby is conceived. It's for ages 5 - 8 and I haven't read it to the kids yet. I've only read it once and I'm thinking that I might wait a little while and then just read it to Owen and Jackson first. There is a cartoon....looks like the front cover...kind of fuzzy...of a woman pushing the baby out. I want to make sure that they are ready for that and I don't feel they are just yet. The nice thing about both of these books is it's not meant to be the book telling the kids everything they need to know. It opens it up for conversation and the kids will ask questions and that's great. I want my kids to always feel comfortable talking to me about their bodies and the changes they are going through. I was a little bummed in regards to this book as it only references babies being born naturally and not by C-Section. I found that odd since the first book mentioned it and they have both been revised. 

The third book in the series is What's the Big Deal? and it's for 8 - 11 year olds. I ended up being able to check this one out from the library. I didn't want to purchase it as I know we are certainly not ready for this one yet. I have read it and it's done in a conversational way. There is a Mom, a Dad, a son and a daughter and the kids are asking their parents questions. They actually encourage you to read the different parts so I would read the mom part and then pass the book along to whom ever is next. It's very good and I love the discussions they have with their kids about real life issues. It's broken up by chapters such as What's the Big Deal about Sex? Why do people do it? What about sex outside marriage? What does God say about sex? and so on. When my kids are at the age where we need to be discussing this I'm going to be glad I know about this book. 

The last book in the series is Facing the Facts and it's recommended for kids ages 11 - 14. Again I was able to get this one from the library and I just browsed through it quickly. It talks more in-depth about the differences between boys and girls bodies and the changes that are to come during puberty. It also talks about how a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth. It talks about dating and why you should save sex for marriage. Again I think this book is really going to be a great reference when we do need it. Eventually I will buy the last two books...you can click on the pictures and it will take you to the site to purchase them.

There are 4 others books Kara's friend recommends when the kids get older and they are - The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Younger Girls, The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Older Girls - Preparing for Adolescence - 5 Paths to the Love of Your Life: Defining Your Dating Style. 

I found The Care & Keeping of your for Younger Girls at the library, but I haven't read it yet. It's actually an American Girl book. Again this is for older girls so we're not at that stage yet. I did look around for a book that's similar for boys and there are a few. I need to check them out ahead of time so I know which one is good to use. 

Clubhouse!

Michael started on the last big project for the kids playroom a couple weeks ago and I was so excited! Of course I found this idea on Pinterest and thought it would be so cool. At first we were going to build the kids a treehouse outside, but we did some research and in order to build one big enough for Owen to enjoy for a few years and safe enough to be on top of an 8ft tall tree stump it was going to cost over 2000! Yeah not gonna happen! So we decided on an indoor clubhouse instead. 

This is the corner of the playroom where Ella's bed used to be when it was her room. Michael built the base out in the garage and then just carried it upstairs and installed it.

Next came the walls...he built the frames in the garage and then put the pilewood on. He cut the windows and door once they were installed.

Working away!

Next came the supports for the roof.

Peek-A-Boo!

Michael has anchored this thing into the wall so well...I even got up there. It's very strong!

He finished all the work above in one afternoon! 

A couple days later he was able to finish the trim work. 

And the next day he finished the siding and the ladder. You can see I put the papasan cushion under the playhouse....it fits perfectly and now it won't end up scooting out away from the wall.

Climbing up the nice sturdy ladder!

The windows are the perfect height so Zeke Man won't come tumbling out!

Of course to christen the clubhouse the boys had a nerf gun fight and this is Owen shouting VICTORY!!!  

Here's the full view of the clubhouse....almost done!

Michael finished it off by putting on some roofing shingles and then giving it a nice paint job. At first I wanted it to just be yellow and white, but we didn't have two different yellows so we just worked with what we had. 

The playhouse is so big I could even put the kitchen table and a baby bed inside.

A while back now I used my My Memories program and created all these cool colorful signs with Dr. Seuss sayings on them. Now that the clubhouse was in place I decided to put them up.

Of course I found these on Pinterest.

I downloaded the font online for free...it's call Grinched.

I had so much fun finding zany colors and backgrounds.

I had Costco print them out and it only cost me $15 for all 5.

This it the one you see the moment you walk in the playroom door.

And behind the door is the boys target that Ms. Christina gave Owen for his birthday.

Here are all the girls enjoying the clubhouse at Ella's party!

A few days after painting the clubhouse Michael did the last little thing I wanted him to do...on the clubhouse that is!  

He stapled Christmas lights to the underneath side....Clark W. Griswold style!!! It's brighter under the clubhouse than anywhere in the room. Better to see the books...my dear! 

There are only a couple things left to do and then the playroom will be officially finished. I bought two spice racks at IKEA to use as bookshelves so I need Michael to hang those. Also after a few days the cute Dr. Seuss saying pictures fell down. I guess the glue dots weren't really strong enough. So I need to re-hang those and hang up the R-E-A-D sign I made as well. I don't know about you, but it's always those last few things on the list that are the hardest to finish. 

Praise Time!

Our night time routine has changed over the years and most recently we've added something in addition to bible time. We've read through maybe children bibles or devotionals and I did recently get a new Adventures in Odyssey devotional, but the kids just keep wanting me to read The Jesus Storybook Bible. It's their favorite. In face I read one story a night and almost every night when I turn the page to put my bookmark in I hear Owen say..."read it read it!" He just wants me to keep going. The way that Sally Lloyd-Jones writes the stories is amazing. Her words and the illustrations are beautiful! 

 

After Bible time we pray and then comes in the new addition to our night time routine. I've added in Praise Time. See about a month or so ago I started watching 19 Kids and Counting and I'm just amazed by the Duggar family. I love the way they teach their children about life and about God. They are a wonderful example. One of the things that Michelle Duggar said was that we need to praise our kids 10 times more than correcting them. Also public praise has a greater effect that just praising one on one. So I took this to heart and decided to start writing down things that the kids were doing correct. Of course I praise them right then and there, but then I save as least one for each child to talk about at night. I'm telling you this has been such a fantastic addition to our night. It's great for the kids to see that we are taking notice of the good things. Also the kids are now chiming in with their own praises for others. Of course we do have to remind them that praise time is for them to praise others and not themselves! 

Books, Books...Wonderful Books!

 

We love books over here at the Martin residences...Berenstain Bears are our favorite! What books do your kids like??? What are your favorite books for early readers?

No More Diapers For Ella.....Well Someday!

In the last month Ella has asked twice to sit on the potty. This last time she said she needed to go poo poo so I took her in and sat her down.

She's so cute and thoughtful whenever I have to go potty and she comes in with me she always sits on Jack's stool and pulls a magazine out of the basket for her and then she finds one for me.

Reading about Ducky sitting on the potty!

Of course she sat there for the longest time, but nothing happened. Afterwards I let her run around without a diaper on and that was a bad idea since she ended up going behind my recliner and doing her business. Silly girl!

And because she was actually sitting down and captivated I thought I would record her talking.

Reading With Mommy!

Heaven Is For Real!

While I was up all night dealing with my medical issues I was able to finish the book Heaven Is For Real. It was a super quick read and such a wonderful account of a family dealing with their sons illness and then discovering that he knew things he shouldn't and in turn finding out that he actually went to Heaven. It was really beautiful!

After reading the book it really made me reflect on my babies. I don't want to give away part of the story, but it made me think of the two that are there waiting for us. This last month has been hard...I've gone through a roller coaster of emotions. Anger tends to be the main one. I wanted Kyan so badly and then dealing with my depression and getting the meds worked out. The first medication I was on was working okay, but it's not a good medication to be on if you want to get pregnant. I very much want to have a fourth child here on earth so we are hoping that is in our future.

For now my mood has been better and it's been helping me to enjoy the here and now and love on our three beautiful blessings!