A Noteworthy November

Ballet
Jenni is enjoying ballet as much as ever. She takes ballet very seriously and practices at home daily. The ballet company had their production of the Nutcracker this month and Jenni wanted to try out for it - but you have to be 8 years old or older. Sweet Jenni J is waiting patiently for that day :)

Soccer

 Coach Roger giving Jenni a hug and her first trophy!

 Jenni's first season of soccer has come to an end. Her team celebrated their fun fall season with a pizza party complete with cake, pictures and trophies! Jenni has been looking forward to getting a trophy even before the season started! She was delighted when she heard that each girl would get a trophy and not just one trophy for the 'winning' team :)

Jenni's favorite thing about soccer was her coach. He was so good with the girls. Jenni wasn't quite sure if she wanted to play another season of soccer (she much prefers ballet) but once Coach Roger said he is coaching in the spring and wants Jenni on his team, she changed her mind and thinks she wants to play again next season :)

Bible Study Fellowship
We are loving the study of Acts. Jenni and I are learning a lot from our study and our prayer for Joshua is that he knows how sweet the name of Jesus is.

BSF for the Children
Bible Reading: Acts 14:8-20. The children's story told how God helped Paul and Barnabas, especially when Paul healed the lame man and was later attacked by angry men.
Bible Truth: God helps people do the work He gives them.
Scripture Verse: "He had faith to be healed." (Acts 14:9)

Bible Reading: Acts 15:1-29.
Scripture Verse: "We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved." (Acts 15:11)

Bible Reading: Hebrews 1.
Bible Truth: There is nothing more important than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture Verse: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory." (Hebrews 1:3)

Bible Reading: Hebrews 2:5-3:2.
Bible Truth: God's Son became a man.
Scripture Verse: Jesus declared, ..."I have come down from heaven...to do the will of Him who sent me." (John 6:38)

Bible Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16 and Matthew 3:17-4:11.
Bible Truth: The Lord Jesus Christ has never sinned.
Scripture Verse: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence." (Hebrews 4:16)

The Nutcracker

 Jenni & I had the privilege of going to see the Nutcracker. She was beyond excited all week to see the ballet, every day asking if it was the day of the performance. She absolutely LOVED it! She loved the dancers, the costumes, the music, the treats at intermission :) and seeing her past and current teachers dancing on stage. It was such a wonderful night!

Thanksgiving

Joshua adores his Grandpa.

Rock star.

Cousin love :)

Gav didn't know that when he woke up he would have two buddies hanging out in bed with him :)

My handsome little man :)

Sweet sleeping Gavin. He's precious. And has kissable cheeks :)

 

We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with my parents and my sister's family.

Sweet Snapshots

 The kiddos got Pillow Pets this month and they LOVE them. Joshua got the puppy and Jenni got the ladybug. Jenni and Joshua bring their Pillow Pets on our road trips and their new favorite way to use their pillows are during Pillow Pet Fights :)

Walking hand-in-hand to the gym :)

Girls Date :)

My little bum :)

 Sweet girl

Sweet littles

Little ones reading in Jenni's bed :)

 Joshua and I were hanging out while Jenni was in ballet class. I was reading a book and Joshua was playing with his cars. He tapped my leg asking me to find his cars. I thought they fell underneath the bench, so I told Joshie to look under our seat. He shook his head no. I said, "Then Joshua, where could your cars be?" And the little man smiled and patted his pants pocket. He stuck his cars inside them :)

 Sweet, sweet boy

 Joshua loves his trains.

 Guy time after work :)

 Joshie making a call to Grandpa John :)

Living an easy life :)

 Pink always makes the day brighter :)

This is how a 4 year old and almost 2 year old play hide-and-seek :)
Jenni counts to twenty. Joshua hums along. Once Jenni says, "Ready or not, here I come!" Joshua screams and runs to hide! :)

Hanging out with Joshua before the Nutcracker :)

 Little loves :)

 Sleepy boy before BSF :)

Little ones shopping after BSF :)

Overheard
Jenni (4 years) explaining to Joshua (21 months) the Holy Spirit:
Jenni: "Joshua, you have to ask the Holy Spirit to come live in you."
Joshua stares at his sister.
Jenni: "Joshie, don't be confused. You don't have a door on your body for the Holy Spirit to go in. The Holy Spirit's in your heart once you say the prayer."

Jenni: "Mommy, you think we can always live in the same town as each other when I'm an adult?"
Me: "Sure."
Jenni: "You know, we'll live in different houses...but let's live close to each other." :)

One Friday morning I was preparing some fun activities for the day and Jenni said, "It's the perfect day for having fun!"

Jenni: "I wish I could be big like you."
Me: "It's fun to be a child." (And then I listed off numerous things children can do...)
Jenni: "I just wish I could do some dishes and cook today." :)

Jenni had been laying in bed for several minutes. I was working on a project and Jenni kept calling out from her room...
Jenni: "Mommy, my head's tired but my eyes aren't tired. I think I'll just stay awake."
Me: "Jenni, you really need to go to sleep."
Jenni: "But how can I do that when I can't stop thinking about Christmas?"
Twenty minutes later...
Jenni: "I guess I'll just count sheep to try to fall asleep." (I have no idea where she heard this idea.)
Moments later...
Jenni: "Mommy, can you help me count? I'm so tired I can't remember all my numbers." :)

Jenni talking to Joshua...
Jenni: "Joshua, I think you are a wonderful boy. God made you just the way you should be! You're a cute little man but what's important is what's on the inside and you are just wonderful!"

Jenni and I went on a lunch date one weekend afternoon and we were talking about J's dreams and Jenni frequently tells me she wants to be a mommy one day and she really wants to be a grandma. During this lunch Jenni said, "I want to see the world." Sweet words for a little girl.

After working out at the Y...
Jenni: "Mommy, my teacher called Joshie a baby. Mommy, Joshie is not a baby. He's a little man."
Me: "I know Jenni, but he is still young so some people might call him a baby."
Jenni: "Well I told my teacher that he isn't a baby. He's a little man."
Me: "What did she say?"
Jenni: "She laughed. I had to explain that he is a toddler little man."

An update on Jenni
Jenni is enjoying life and having fun. She is enjoying everything she is learning in school and she enjoys watching Joshua play and learn while he is working at the table with us.

This month we have been focusing on teaching the children that we were created to glorify God - to bring Him honor through what we say, how we act, and how we think - through faith, love and obedience. "...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)

An update on Joshua
Joshua, our little man loves to pray. For example, he loves to pray for Jenni and he is delighted when Jenni prays for him. It goes something like this: Joshua puts his hands together to pray. I say, "Joshua what do you want to pray for?" He shrugs his shoulders. I say, "Joshua, do you want to pray for someone." He nods his head yes. I say, "Who do you want to pray for?" Joshie smiles and points to Jenni. So we say a prayer thanking Jesus for Jenni being Joshua's big sister - or a similar prayer. Joshua smiles after the prayer and then he gets Jenni's attention, clasps his hands together, and wants her to say a prayer about him. So Jenni will say her typical prayer of, "Thank you, Jesus for the best brother in the world!"

Our little man is really learning in BSF and his newest thing to tell us on the way home is he is learning some new hymns! I asked Joshua if he was learning any new songs during his Bible study and the sweet little guy started singing!

Another thing that delights us about Joshua is that he loves his cars, trains, trucks and dinosaurs. One of my favorite things is to open up my purse and find a dinosaurs hidden inside of it or looking at my bookshelves with dinosaurs standing next to our pictures and books. He's a sweet boy :)

We are looking forward to the month of December and all the joy the Christmas season brings! Our favorite holiday season is Christmas. We will celebrate the birth of Jesus and talk about the true meaning of Christmas. Our two Bible verses for Jenni to memorize and Joshua to hear will be the promise God made in Isaiah 9:6 and the record of the fulfillment of that promise in Luke 2:11, in addition to our daily read of Luke 2:1-20. Jenni and I look forward to putting up the Christmas decorations and baking yummy holiday treats. This month we will enjoy using our fireplace, bundling up in the cold weather, spending Christmas with our family, and ending the year celebrating my birthday! What a special month ahead!