The Alphabet Castle

We've been hard at work learning letters around here.  One of my favorite ways to practice letter identification is with a large foam puzzle.  I'm sure you've seen them around--the letter pops out and back in, and you can connect them to make a large mat.  The kids love playing with it.

After we take all of the letters out, I usually throw them all around the room.  I grab up a case and call out the letter.  The little guys run around trying to be the first to find it.  Once all the letters are retrieved, we order them.  Great letter practice!

Owen can easily be included in this activity.  He usually chews on a letter or a case, and we all tell him which letter he has.  Exposure is our big goal with Owen, so it works great!

Jeffrey and Ellie decided to do something different.  They recruited Jayme and had her build them a letter castle.  They could pop out letters to make windows.  It was another fun way to play with the alphabet.

Jayme puts the finishing touches on the door to her castle.

Ellie demonstrates the peep hole.

Sydney, Jeffrey and Ellie in the completed castle. 

Keeping Owen Safe: Dutch Door

Owen is getting tall.  And strong. The gates that have worked wonderfully for years can now be yanked out of the frame by him. 

Opening the wood stove is another accomplishment of Owen's this winter.  It's not an accomplishment we're proud of.  He loves to lay in front of the fire.  If he can't see flames, he pulls the doors open.  I'm sure you can see why this is a problem.

We would simply shut his door.  But, we heat primarily with wood.  With the door closed, the heat doesn't get in that room.  And since the thermostat is in the living room with the stove, it can get really cold in all other rooms before the backup furnace kicks on. Owen doesn't stay under blankets.  And he doesn't regulate his body temperature well.  He would freeze with the door completely shut. 

So with a gate not doing the job of keeping Owen in his room at night, and slow burning fires keeping the house warm but not flaming, it was time for a change. We knew that Owen could accidentally burn himself badly, or even start the house on fire if this kept up. That couldn't happen.

 Bryan ordered a solid door from The Ugly Duck, and had them cut it in half.  We brought it home a couple of weeks ago, and Bryan got it installed.  He had to cut the hinge holes and the doorknob.  He did a great job!  I'm so thankful that he thought of this solution.

Now we have a door that Owen can't climb over.  He can open the doorknob, but Bryan turned it so the lock is facing the living room.  Some heat can get in over the top, keeping the room from being as cold. 

Bryan works on cutting the doorknob hole.  The dutch door is beautiful!

Owen is just tall enough to barely see over.  When he grows a little more, it'll be a better height for him.  But, it should last for years! 

We are going to replace the other gates in our house with this same solution.  It works! 

Christmas Corn

We needed a fun snack yesterday.  I wanted the kids to help make a Christmas treat, but didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  Google helped me! 

I found an easy recipe for cracker jacks, colored for Halloween.  I changed out the colors, and made Christmas corn. The kids helped pick out the old maids and put the popcorn into two separate large bowls.

While they handled the popcorn, I mixed up the syrup.   I don't typically use evaporated milk, so I substituted that with equal parts of heavy cream and milk.  I was a bit nervous, but it worked fine! 

The syrup cooked really quickly, and only had to boil for a minute.  I poured half of it into another pan and added green.  I colored the rest red.  A few drops of food coloring is all it took. 

I poured the green syrup over one bowl, and the red over the other.  A  stir with a wooden spoon ensured that each piece was coated. 

Since it was really sticky, I decided it should be baked, even though the original recipe didn't call for that.  I combined both colors in a large baking pan and stuck it in a cold oven.  I set it to 350 degrees and set the timer for 20 minutes.  That seemed to be perfect! The popcorn was no longer sticky.

The kids were so excited to eat their Christmas corn!  It definitely lightened our moods and gave us energy to head out into the cold and do chores. 

Enhancing Creative Story Telling: The Story Bowl

We've been watching too much TV lately.  With temperatures reaching a high of 10, going outside to play as a family isn't an option.  Brr!  It's bad enough going out to do chores.

So with dark coming early, and cold, cold weather, we've been snuggling on the "couch bed" and watching DVDs.  Which is fun. Except it's been taking a toll on  behavior.  The kids are just wanting too many movies.  They wake up in the morning asking if they can pick a movie.  I'm all for snuggling on the couch and watching a movie this time of year, but not before breakfast and chores and school!

Time for a change.  Something to spark some creative thinking.  Something that used items we already had.  I've been wanting to work on story telling with the younger kids, and creative writing with Jayme.  And then I had one of those lightbulb moments.

I asked Jayme to get the big mixing bowl.  Jeffrey was sent on a mission to round up five Lego people.  Ellie was sent for some toy animals.  Jayme selected five toy blocks.  A few other items were dropped in the bowl, and the kids looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

After getting Sydney and Owen settled with the rest of the blocks, I announced that it was time to play The Story Bowl.  I instructed Jayme to close her eyes, and reach into the bowl.  She was to select five random items.

Once she had her items, I asked her to tell us a story.  Her story had to use all five of the items.  She could include other things as well, but those five HAD to be included.

Jeff and Ellie loved listening to Jayme's story.  Then they asked for turns.  Selecting the items was their favorite part.  On my turn, I got a rubber duck, a cylinder block, an airplane, a boat and a frog.  I told a story about a lonely duck who decided to leave his little pond and go looking for a friend.  He tried the boat and the airplane, but they didn't answer him.  Finally he came to a frog sitting on a rock.  They became friends.

On Ellie's next turn, she asked if she could look at the bowl while picking.  I said yes, and she reached in.  She picked the same five items I had, and proceeded to retell my story.  She added a cool waterfall by using her legs though.  Retelling a story is a great way to practice literacy!

This was such a simple game.  But, so much fun!  It hit many learning goals.  And the kids didn't even realize they were learning.  Creativity, sequencing, organization...all essential writing skills.  Those writing skills are honed through oral stories as well as in the written word.

Here is what was in our bowl:

Rubber bath toy animals

Transportation!

Every fairy tale needs a princess/king crown!

Blocks created wonderful background objects--hills, flagpoles, rocks, etc.

Lego People

If you need a fun way to build literacy on a cold winter night, grab a big bowl.  Gather some random objects and play The Story Bowl!

Linked up with: Raising Arrows

Baby Names

I've had some questions over the years about some of the names we picked for our children.  In this post, we'll take a quick look at all of them.  I'll do my best to explain our reasoning. :)

Jayme Rebekah 

Our oldest.  Bryan and I were seniors in high school while expecting her.  We both made a list of names we liked.  We made boy and girl lists since we didn't peek.  Then we compared.  And talked.  Jayme (or some variation) was about the only name on both lists.  We went with it. Bryan picked the spelling.  The y matches the y in his name.  :)

We knew we wanted a middle name with a meaning.  I have a throw away middle name (Ann....).  Bryan's is his mother's maiden name.  We talked about going that route.  But alas, my maiden name is Pease.  And Pease Tanner is just begging to be teased.  That one got scratched.  Almost immediately.  And has never since been suggested.  Sorry Dad....


A Biblical name was decided on.  We both liked Rebekah.  It flowed well.  We liked it.

Owen Elijah

Our first born son.  His name was going to be Wyatt Joseph.  Until my mom started singing a song that went something like this..."Wyatt Earp urps up" Yeah.  That name had to go.  Bryan was on deployment on the Ronald Reagan, and Jayme and I were in Washington.  We had long distance, email communications about a new name.  I suggested Owen--a couple at the church we were at before we moved had recently used it, and I liked it.  So did Bryan.

But Owen Joseph just didn't flow well. A different middle name was needed.  Bryan suggested Elijah or Elisha.  We went with Elijah since he was first.  Maybe we'll use Elisha someday.

Jeffrey James

James is Bryan's favorite Biblical name.  It also happens to be the name of my Dad (though he has always gone by Jim.)  We liked it.  We just couldn't think of a first name.  

One day at an appointment with the midwife, I suggested naming this child after  both of our dads.  After all, Bryan's dad had done an ultrasound while we were visiting him in Texas and confirmed that we were having a boy.  It would be fitting.  His name is Jeffrey.  

Jeffrey James flowed nicely.  Besides, I really liked the nickname JJ.  Only one problem...Jeffrey has requested us NOT to call him that.  He likes Jeffrey.  Or Jeffrey James.  

Ellie Elisabeth

Our first baby name inspired by a book. I had just finished reading aloud the Love Come Softly series to the family.  Bryan and I really liked the name Ellie, and her character in the books.  We just didn't love Elvira--her given name.  We didn't really like Elizabeth either as a first name.  And we decided to just go with what we liked.  Ellie.  

But, we knew that someday our cute little Ellie might grow up and want a grown up name.  She needed a middle name that was elegant and a contrast to the bubbly first name.  Sticking with our Biblical theme, we selected Elisabeth.  We chose that spelling because it has my name in it--Lisa.  

Sydney Damaris

Sydney Damaris.  Damaris is another name taken from a book.  Another one of Janette Oake's books actually.  A Woman Named Damaris. This name is found in Acts 17.  A rather obscure Biblical name, but one that Bryan and I both really like.  Except that everyone in the extended family seems to think her name is Sydney Damascus.  Oh well.  

Damaris was set to be Sydney's first name.  Until my math minded husband did some figuring.  All of our other kids have a two-syllable first name.  Can't leave this one out of that pattern.  So we moved Damaris to the middle place.  And came to terms with the fact that we had a naming pattern.  Two syllables from here on out folks! :) 

I don't actually remember how we picked Sydney.  But I'm glad we did.  Now.  I had serious naming regrets at first.  It just didn't seem to work.  Now it does.  Our little Sydney is often called  by her nickname--Cinnamon.  And let me tell you.  She adds spice to life alright!  

Simon Andrew

 Bryan picked this name, and I really like it.  In the book of Acts, there is Simon a tanner.  We have the perfect last name!  I, however, did not want our child to have a middle initial instead of a middle  name.  So we started brainstorming Biblical A names.

Andrew seemed to flow the best.  We liked the meaning.  And our kids have a pretty neat uncle named Andrew.  So we went with it.  Altogether, his name means a listening warrior.  Strong, but gentle.  Taking time to listen instead of just barge in.  But able to barge in when needed.  Good character traits.  Now we have to raise him right to get him to that point! :)

I'm also glad that Owen is now not the only child to have a name that doesn't end in the e sound.  It's all good!

Other Contenders

If the Lord blesses us with more babies, we are set.  Here are a few names that remain on our lists: 

Ziva Abigail 

Mia Joanna

Brynna Ruth

Ashlyn Joy

Brennan Samuel

Ethan Malachi 

Carson Isaiah 

Brendan Elisha 

Of course, we might change our minds.  If mom develops yet another strange song (and tells us BEFORE the name is given).  Or if another name just jumps at us.  Or whatever. 

How did you come up with baby names? 

Serious Humor at Grouse Creek

When you work with animals, you never know what is going to happen.  Bryan and I walked out to the barn the other day, and saw this:

 Yup.  That's our holstein (who's going to get butchered Friday!!!) with his hay container on his head.  He's been eating out of it just fine for ages.  But somehow, he managed to get his horns in there just right.  And get stuck. 

After snapping a quick pic, I climbed over the gate and pried one side loose.  He backed up and shook his head.  The trough went flying.  He was free!

It made for a good laugh!  Animals...got to love them!

Large Family Photo Shoot: Christmas Fun

Family pictures.  We love looking at them.  Taking them is stressful!  Thankfully, Bryan is a really good photographer.  And he has some nice equipment.

Several years ago, when we were a two income family, Bryan was able to purchase backdrops, lights, stands and a remote picture taker thingy (like that technical term???)  That means we have a portable photo studio.  It has saved a lot of money on portraits over the years!

It's been a while since we pulled it all out, but with Christmas coming, we knew it was time.  We like to try and send out Christmas cards at least once in a while, and we had some serious picture taking to do.  Instead of pre-made photo cards, we use Photoshop to design and finalize our cards.  Then we get them printed as prints.  It's cheaper this way, since prints typically cost less than cards.  And we get to personalize it more.  Win-win!

We picked a day when we had nothing else major planned. Since Bryan has a four day weekend surrounding Thanksgiving, we knew this was the weekend to shoot for. We put a fun movie (Wreck it Ralph) on for the kids, and set to work.

Getting all of the lights and backgrounds set up took about an hour.  After everything was set up, we moved the stairs out from the boys' bunkbed.  Our first prop.  We also used our dining room bench.  Use what you have instead of paying lots of money for things.

Instead of jumping right into family pictures, we had the kids just play on the set for a while.  Bryan got some awesome shots during this time!  The kids were comfortable, and it worked well.

Once everyone was used to the camera, we began more directed posing and positioning.  Our goal was to take at least one wall quality shot of each of our six kids, take a good group photo of them together, and get a good picture of Bryan and I.  We succeeded!

Here are a few of the keepers...

Jayme Rebekah (age 11)

Owen Elijah (age 7)

Jeffrey James (age 5)

Ellie Elisabeth (age 3)

Sydney Damaris (age 2)

Simon Andrew (age 3 months)--he's in one of the drawers!  A pillow covered with a blanket made this a great positioner for a baby! 

Oldest 5

Our keeper group shot--all 6 of our blessings!

Mom and Dad--still loving each other after all these years! 

I'm so thankful to have a new batch of pictures to work with.  Bryan tackles the majority of the photo editing using Lightroom and/or Photoshop.  He's really good at making the colors  pop and covering up blemishes.  It's nice having a talented hubby!

Now to order prints.  Thankfully Snapfish has a great sale going this weekend!  We are planning on making another photo collage out of all of the pics from this large family photo shoot.  I'll plan on posting the final copy of our Christmas card after I get them mailed.  Don't want any spoilers :)....