Glimpses of May....

The conversation started simply enough. I was in the bathroom when I heard Aiden say: "I'm going to color my knee!" to which I replied "No! Don't color your knee!" Aiden replied "I didn't!" so emphatically that I believed him. I suppose the shin has more coloring than the knee--but yes, I went ahead and sent him off to school looking like this. Why not?



Aiden's birthday presents from Grammy and Grandpa were a hit! (ball, bat, and glove)


Aiden attempted swinging on his own...we'll have to work on that :-)


With a little help from Daddy, Aiden was able to hit the ball. He cracked up every time the ball and bat connected...I guess we're going to have to work on the "running the bases" concept. Otherwise he'll be standing there laughing like a banshee over his success while the first baseman tags him out.



We went to a local farm to pick strawberries and had the priviledge of seeing brand new (only hours old) baby sheep--how do we know this? Momma's afterbirth was still hanging out. Ahhh...life on the farm. It was really symbolic since this was Mother's Day weekend. I think momma sheep and her babies were the highlight of my trip!


Aiden's favorite part was the tractor train. This is the only time we could really get him to look at us, the rest of the time he was intent on steering--and I was surprised to see that he was actually steering the right way and not just willy-nilly. I guess the tractor rides on daddy's lap have really paid off. He'll be driving before I know it...but I mean that hypothetically...hopefully he won't really be driving without me knowing. Yikes!



And of course there was the strawberry picking! Yum!


Aiden and Grammy riding in another tractor. Momma decided to skip this ride so that Aiden's sister wouldn't get shaken baby syndrome in-utero! Notice that he has perfected the Cinderella wave...


And this picture just cracks me up!


Aiden and Daddy's nightly ritual:

And I had to include a picture of him being the ham that he is:

Hope you enjoyed...His 4th birthday is coming this weekend so there should be more pictures coming soon...(unless momma goes into labor early)...

The Bible Junkie

Aiden has many different children's Bibles. I keep searching for just the right one to really explain the faith that we have. I may have finally found what I've been looking for, and I wanted to share it in case anyone else is searching.

It all started a few weeks ago when I contacted someone else in my church who does Classical Christian homeschool. We are beginning to explore our options as we consider what type of schooling God is leading us to for Aiden. We do feel strongly that Classical Education is for us, but we're not sure whether we're being led to a private school or homeschool.

In my search for schooling information, I stumbled across a blog that intrigued me. At first I knew nothing about the writer or the reason for the blog, but as I read more and more I found out that the writer is the wife of one of the singers in Selah and not only that, but she also lost a baby last year--only a few weeks after we lost Chase. Her words resonated with me, and I was hooked.

I've slowly been meandering through her blog in my quiet moments (not that there are many of those these days). But this is how I discovered the Jesus Storybook Bible. Here's an excerpt from the beginning that shows the beauty of this children's Bible:

"Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done. Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you'll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren't heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose). They get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean.

No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne--everything--to rescue the one he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!"

This is from the introduction to the Storybook Bible. The rest of it is full of beautiful stories straight from the Bible, but seasoned with explanations that dive into the theology behind the story in a way that a young child can grasp. I'm a bit jealous of the author's writing ability!

I promise I'm not going commercial with Aiden's blog--I get paid nothing to endorse this book, but I wanted to share--especially since it was 50% off at our Family Christian Store, and I've been searching high and low for a book like this to help me share the Bible with Aiden.

That said, today during our reading time we spent more time talking about what a "bud" is (is it like a bug, mommy?) than about the mysteries of God...But I think over time, these stories will become precious memories engrained on his heart--at least that's my prayer for my son and the daughter to come. After all, God is perfectly capable of speaking truth to my son through a discussion of buds and plants--even if I'm a little baffled by it.