I wanted to get a second week under my belt before I posted about my new calling (and just in case they decided I wasn't lying and I really can't sing and released me on the spot) because I'm the new Primary Music Leader!!
Four Sundays ago as I was getting ready for church, I got a feeling I would be getting a new calling. I've heard of this happening to Stake Presidencies and Bishopric members but Choristers?! Anyway, when I got to church John told me, with a smirk on his face, that I had to go meet with the Second Counselor of the Bishopric immediately. He pulled me into a room, with a smirk on his face, and because John already new from Bishopric meeting that morning he came too. He started ever so slyly by saying "We're going to release you from nursery but keep you in primary." "Ok," I thought, "I can teach a primary class." But before I finished that thought he continued, "And ask if you would be the Primary Chorister?"
I laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. And so did John. And the Counselor. Because apparently in the Bishopric meeting when they talked about this position for me, John laughed out loud and told them "Go ahead and ask, but she can't sing." He told me this as we all regained composure from laughing and I wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes.
Obviously I said yes and told him that John wasn't just being mean, it was true and I'm the first person to admit that I severely lack the ability to sing on key. Other than that though, I was SO excited about the calling! I love being with kids and being able to teach and prepare fun things, so this really was right up my alley.
Immediately I started preparing by listening to the new song, "If I Listen with my Heart," it is a beautiful song, but a hard one to learn in my opinion. I also found about 10 blogs of experienced choristers or others who serve in primary. Thank goodness for crafty people, their willingness to share their talent, and the ever incredible world wide web! I found a million ideas then headed to Michael's to buy materials. Can I just say I love that place?!
Anyway, I got my craft on and made a "Can of Worms" for junior primary. Inside are wiggle worms with song names on them. Whoever wiggles really well gets to pick a song/worm from the can to sing. We do a few of these when the little ones get restless.
For senior primary I already had a book from Deseret Book called "Super Little Singers" that has "helps" in it that you just cut out and laminate. So I cut out some fish, put paper clips on the mouths, and made a fishing pole. The fish have numbers on back and I have a master list of songs that correlate to the numbers.
I also gathered visual aids for "I Will Follow God's Plan for Me," and printed pictures for "If I Listen with My Heart." There are so many more ideas out there that I can't wait to try, but I figured that was enough to get me started.
So far weeks 1 and 2 have gone well. We have some great kids in our ward and I have no shortage of helpers. They're all very respectful and well behaved (our last ward was somewhat...irreverent) so I'm really impressed.
This will be a fun year as we prepare for the Primary Program! I know we learn and grow in each calling He places us in and I'm so excited for this opportunity!
(Now I just hope when the bishop sets me apart next week he receives divine inspiration to bless me with an amazing singing voice.) ;)
And with that, I'm done knocking my inability to sing. I think I've told anyone in the ward who will listen to me :/ I'm just going to focus on preparing the kids and having fun!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Snowventure
Yesterday we got about 10-12 inches of snow so of course that meant that we had to go play in it today. The boys rolled around in it. Coen almost drowned in it, it was thigh-high for him in some places. We took a walk where there is normally a sidewalk then came home and had hot cocoa. The pictures of the boys in the snow are actually from our snowstorm in January and the hot cocoa ones are from today. 
Coen's first real time out in the snow!
Coen's first real time out in the snow!
Marshall was so excited he just started rolling in it!
Our Winter Wonderland
Coen about to dive in!
Made lots of snow angels!
SOO happy to be playing outside in the snow! We waited a long time for it to snow enough to play in. Marshall kept complaining about not being in Utah where it snows all Winter. We also had to explain that just because it is Winter doesn't necessarily mean it has to snow, too.
He kept walking a few steps then just sitting down.
Sticking his tongue out to catch snowflakes.
Running
"Where's your hot cocoa?"
Aww :)
Licking their cocoa mustaches.Last but not least, I absolutely love the way Coen says "hot cocoa," listen in the video below.
Boys will be boys?
This is what happens when you ask your son to go get dressed for the day and make his bed. He gets halfway dressed then starts play fighting with his brother who has been distracting him by jumping on the bed while he's trying to make it. ((Sigh))
February 9, 2011
Can you hear the sound? My speakers won't play from the web at the moment.
February 9, 2011
Can you hear the sound? My speakers won't play from the web at the moment.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Coen
A friend of mine here in KC does a fabulous job of doing comprehensive monthly updates on her 2 kids. While I am not dedicated enough to do this every month I love the idea and since it's been awhile since I blogged I thought it would be fun to document the different things they've been up to.
A couple months ago Coen decided to start skipping his afternoon nap by climbing over his crib rail. Since naptime is critical to mine and Marshall's school time I decided action had to be taken, this boy was NOT giving up naps! He's not even close to ready because when he misses a nap he is CrANkY all afternoon. So I bought a crib tent. It came in packaging marked "Sent From Heaven." Not really but it could have been!
It took all of 5 minutes for him to realize I meant business the first two days. After that it was a breeze! I read him 2 stories, turn on the music, and let him pick out a book to take to bed to read to his foo-foo.
Nighttime however has not been so easy. He started waking up at 1:00am (could he be reverting to old habits?) and would not go back down in his crib. To keep Marshall from waking up to his crying we started taking him to our bed to sleep. I swore I would never let my kids do this after 3 months old! Even if we were able to get him back to sleep and back in his crib he wakes up again at about 4:00. It's the weirdest thing to me that those are the same hours he would be awake during when he was a baby. It is so hard for me to sleep with him next to me kicking and sleeping upside down with his feet in our faces!
We've come to the conclusion it's because A) he wants his own bed because he wants anything Marshall has and a bed is one of those things and B) he is in love with my duvet, he sighs like a newborn about to nurse when he gets tucked in with it. He loves to fall asleep in Marshall's bed too and has actually spent the night with him a few times. Bunk beds are in our near future!! Let's hope they do the trick.
Coen is putting more and more words together and everyday I understand him a little more. John and I think it is hilarious when he says daddy because it comes out "GUY." We don't know if it's because he can't say daddy or if it's because John is a guy. It's especially funny when we're woken by his 1:00am cries for "guuuuuy! GUUUUUUYYYY!"
Coen loves to sing every time we get in the car. His favorites are Old MacDonald, the Alphabet Song, Popcorn Popping, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Wheels on the Bus. Yet he absolutely refuses to participate in singing time during nursery. There are some roads that he chants "weeeeeeee" while we drive down them because of the resemblance to the hilly road we take John to work on. Other times he just whines and yells.
He has noticed a difference in his car seat versus Marshall's and doesn't like having a 5-point harness when Marshall is just in a shoulder strap and booster seat. His booster seat at the table has also been shunned. He won't sit on it because Marshall doesn't have one. He also insists on moving a chair to whatever side of the table Marshall is sitting on and whines and points "Mahshow" until we move him.
Coen likes it when I tell him what color his things are while we're playing. He'll hold up a block before he stacks it and I have to say the color. He loves counting but doesn't do too well past 3.
He loves to walk Dad to the door each morning on his way to work as he waves and says, "bye, Guy!" a million times. He gets very mad though when Dad takes Marshall anywhere and he gets left behind.
Last week I made a new recipe for dinner. Marshall showed me 2 thumbs up and in an attempt to copy him, Coen gave me 2 pointers up. Marshall then changed his to 10 fingers up. Anyway, now whenever Coen likes something he's eating, he'll hold his 2 pointers up and do a little dance in his seat. It's hilarious!
Coen refuses to eat soup! I've made different soups this winter and he won't even take a bite of any of them. Weird boy.
The boy still loves his stuffed foo-foos and is always carting them around with him. On this day I found him reading a Spot book to all 3 in his rocking chair.
After months of being blamed for acts of vandalism and mischief, Coen has turned the tables and can now stick up for himself with the line, "Marshall did it!"
A couple months ago Coen decided to start skipping his afternoon nap by climbing over his crib rail. Since naptime is critical to mine and Marshall's school time I decided action had to be taken, this boy was NOT giving up naps! He's not even close to ready because when he misses a nap he is CrANkY all afternoon. So I bought a crib tent. It came in packaging marked "Sent From Heaven." Not really but it could have been!
It took all of 5 minutes for him to realize I meant business the first two days. After that it was a breeze! I read him 2 stories, turn on the music, and let him pick out a book to take to bed to read to his foo-foo.Nighttime however has not been so easy. He started waking up at 1:00am (could he be reverting to old habits?) and would not go back down in his crib. To keep Marshall from waking up to his crying we started taking him to our bed to sleep. I swore I would never let my kids do this after 3 months old! Even if we were able to get him back to sleep and back in his crib he wakes up again at about 4:00. It's the weirdest thing to me that those are the same hours he would be awake during when he was a baby. It is so hard for me to sleep with him next to me kicking and sleeping upside down with his feet in our faces!
We've come to the conclusion it's because A) he wants his own bed because he wants anything Marshall has and a bed is one of those things and B) he is in love with my duvet, he sighs like a newborn about to nurse when he gets tucked in with it. He loves to fall asleep in Marshall's bed too and has actually spent the night with him a few times. Bunk beds are in our near future!! Let's hope they do the trick.
Coen is putting more and more words together and everyday I understand him a little more. John and I think it is hilarious when he says daddy because it comes out "GUY." We don't know if it's because he can't say daddy or if it's because John is a guy. It's especially funny when we're woken by his 1:00am cries for "guuuuuy! GUUUUUUYYYY!"
Coen loves to sing every time we get in the car. His favorites are Old MacDonald, the Alphabet Song, Popcorn Popping, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Wheels on the Bus. Yet he absolutely refuses to participate in singing time during nursery. There are some roads that he chants "weeeeeeee" while we drive down them because of the resemblance to the hilly road we take John to work on. Other times he just whines and yells.
He has noticed a difference in his car seat versus Marshall's and doesn't like having a 5-point harness when Marshall is just in a shoulder strap and booster seat. His booster seat at the table has also been shunned. He won't sit on it because Marshall doesn't have one. He also insists on moving a chair to whatever side of the table Marshall is sitting on and whines and points "Mahshow" until we move him.
Coen likes it when I tell him what color his things are while we're playing. He'll hold up a block before he stacks it and I have to say the color. He loves counting but doesn't do too well past 3.
He loves to walk Dad to the door each morning on his way to work as he waves and says, "bye, Guy!" a million times. He gets very mad though when Dad takes Marshall anywhere and he gets left behind.
Last week I made a new recipe for dinner. Marshall showed me 2 thumbs up and in an attempt to copy him, Coen gave me 2 pointers up. Marshall then changed his to 10 fingers up. Anyway, now whenever Coen likes something he's eating, he'll hold his 2 pointers up and do a little dance in his seat. It's hilarious!
Coen refuses to eat soup! I've made different soups this winter and he won't even take a bite of any of them. Weird boy.
The boy still loves his stuffed foo-foos and is always carting them around with him. On this day I found him reading a Spot book to all 3 in his rocking chair.
After months of being blamed for acts of vandalism and mischief, Coen has turned the tables and can now stick up for himself with the line, "Marshall did it!"
Marshall
This 6 year old has matured so much lately. He is a great conversationalist, is very loving and affectionate, and is a wonderful brother to Coen.
The other day Coen slapped my face, thinking it was playful. When I told him not to and he did it again, I took his hands and made him hit himself in the face lightly but firm enough for him to know how it felt. Big brother Marshall came to his rescue and said, "Hey! Don't hit my brother!" What a good protector he is....when he's not the one instigating it.
Marshall is so fun to teach! He picks things up really fast and has an amazing memory.
In math we are working on memorizing single digit addition and subtraction facts. We're in the last chapter of our kindergarten math book, studying fractions, and we'll be moving on to a first grade curriculum already!
Reading is coming along really well! We are on lesson 85 out of 100 in "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, " love this book! He gets frustrated easily however and so reading is not his favorite subject. This book pushes him so to mix it up I let him read Bob books to me, that are easier for him and boost his confidence. I also get him beginning reader books from the library and he gets excited about reading "real books." I've tried uploading a video of him reading on here but both times my attempt has failed.
Last week we had another snow storm and ironically our week's unit study was on snow and winter weather. Coen was sick and took a morning nap, so Marshall and I spent the morning learning how to make paper snowflakes. We also made snow ice cream, a favorite of mine growing up, and pipe cleaner snowflakes soaked in a crystal solution.
We also read just about every book they had on snow and winter at the library. Some people walk out with 1 or 2 books, I walk out with 1 or 2 bags. I'm sure they just love stocking my books on the hold shelves :/
Marshall has an inflated sense of self, to say the least. He hates being told he's wrong, will argue with John over the dumbest things (or should I say John argues with him...), he is not happy when he loses during a family game, and thinks he can do anything better than anyone. I'm hoping humility comes with age.
Marshall had his awards ceremony in karate a few weeks ago. It was so cute how nervous he got beforehand. He was worried about not passing his white belt test. Needless to say he was ecstatic when he received his yellow belt!
Marshall and his Sensei
So proud!
(Blurry camera phone pictures, better than nothing!)
Marshall's jokes are still nonsensical:
Marshall: "What do you get when you buy a dog, a sign, and a hot dog?"
Me: "I don't know, what?"
Marshall, laughing: "A horse, horse."
So it was extra funny when we heard this exchange in the backseat:
Coen was talking to himself in incomprehensible toddler language and then laughing at himself. Marshall says to him, "Coen, your jokes aren't funny because nobody understands you."
Last week during the storm we were watching the snow fall down and Marshall said, "It sure is a blister out there."
He misses his cousins Laine, Eve, Jacob, and Andrew. And is sad that he moved away right as Sam and Simon were moving back to Salt Lake. He still talks about his best friend Asher and all the fun places we used to go with him, Heather, and Oaklie.
Marshall no longer complains about going to church. He had an incredible teacher last year and I credit her for the change. Before we moved here it was torture to get him out the door and to go to his class on Sundays. Now he looks forward to it! He has another great teacher this year too. It is so neat to see him learning about the gospel and seeing his understanding of it grow.
Along those lines, Marshall and I are using a scripture study program in our homeschool. Each day we read, then answer questions, learn a memory verse, practice copywork (handwriting), and do a fun activity like draw a line from the BOM character to what they did in the story you just read, or a word search, etc. It really helps Marshall retain what we have read and gives us something to discuss.
John and Marshall just finished watching all the Lord of the Rings DVDs together. It was cute to hear John explaining the characters and plot to Marshall. Marshall loves spending any time he can with his dad. It was good male bonding.
A couple weeks ago we had the missionaries over for dinner. Marshall and Coen were seated at the little table which has an outlet with an extension cord in it right there on the wall that is slightly loose. Out of the corner of my eye I see Marshall use his fork to try pushing it back in the socket. His fork slipped down onto the metal prongs and POP! sparks flew. Luckily he was okay! I'm thinking it was God's way of blessing us for feeding the missionaries ;-)
We're glad you're safe, Marshall!
The other day Coen slapped my face, thinking it was playful. When I told him not to and he did it again, I took his hands and made him hit himself in the face lightly but firm enough for him to know how it felt. Big brother Marshall came to his rescue and said, "Hey! Don't hit my brother!" What a good protector he is....when he's not the one instigating it.
Marshall is so fun to teach! He picks things up really fast and has an amazing memory.
In math we are working on memorizing single digit addition and subtraction facts. We're in the last chapter of our kindergarten math book, studying fractions, and we'll be moving on to a first grade curriculum already!
Reading is coming along really well! We are on lesson 85 out of 100 in "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, " love this book! He gets frustrated easily however and so reading is not his favorite subject. This book pushes him so to mix it up I let him read Bob books to me, that are easier for him and boost his confidence. I also get him beginning reader books from the library and he gets excited about reading "real books." I've tried uploading a video of him reading on here but both times my attempt has failed.
Last week we had another snow storm and ironically our week's unit study was on snow and winter weather. Coen was sick and took a morning nap, so Marshall and I spent the morning learning how to make paper snowflakes. We also made snow ice cream, a favorite of mine growing up, and pipe cleaner snowflakes soaked in a crystal solution.
We also read just about every book they had on snow and winter at the library. Some people walk out with 1 or 2 books, I walk out with 1 or 2 bags. I'm sure they just love stocking my books on the hold shelves :/
Marshall has an inflated sense of self, to say the least. He hates being told he's wrong, will argue with John over the dumbest things (or should I say John argues with him...), he is not happy when he loses during a family game, and thinks he can do anything better than anyone. I'm hoping humility comes with age.
Marshall had his awards ceremony in karate a few weeks ago. It was so cute how nervous he got beforehand. He was worried about not passing his white belt test. Needless to say he was ecstatic when he received his yellow belt!
Marshall and his Sensei
So proud!(Blurry camera phone pictures, better than nothing!)
Marshall's jokes are still nonsensical:
Marshall: "What do you get when you buy a dog, a sign, and a hot dog?"
Me: "I don't know, what?"
Marshall, laughing: "A horse, horse."
So it was extra funny when we heard this exchange in the backseat:
Coen was talking to himself in incomprehensible toddler language and then laughing at himself. Marshall says to him, "Coen, your jokes aren't funny because nobody understands you."
Last week during the storm we were watching the snow fall down and Marshall said, "It sure is a blister out there."
He misses his cousins Laine, Eve, Jacob, and Andrew. And is sad that he moved away right as Sam and Simon were moving back to Salt Lake. He still talks about his best friend Asher and all the fun places we used to go with him, Heather, and Oaklie.
Marshall no longer complains about going to church. He had an incredible teacher last year and I credit her for the change. Before we moved here it was torture to get him out the door and to go to his class on Sundays. Now he looks forward to it! He has another great teacher this year too. It is so neat to see him learning about the gospel and seeing his understanding of it grow.
Along those lines, Marshall and I are using a scripture study program in our homeschool. Each day we read, then answer questions, learn a memory verse, practice copywork (handwriting), and do a fun activity like draw a line from the BOM character to what they did in the story you just read, or a word search, etc. It really helps Marshall retain what we have read and gives us something to discuss.
John and Marshall just finished watching all the Lord of the Rings DVDs together. It was cute to hear John explaining the characters and plot to Marshall. Marshall loves spending any time he can with his dad. It was good male bonding.
A couple weeks ago we had the missionaries over for dinner. Marshall and Coen were seated at the little table which has an outlet with an extension cord in it right there on the wall that is slightly loose. Out of the corner of my eye I see Marshall use his fork to try pushing it back in the socket. His fork slipped down onto the metal prongs and POP! sparks flew. Luckily he was okay! I'm thinking it was God's way of blessing us for feeding the missionaries ;-)
We're glad you're safe, Marshall!
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