Gracie's books of the Old Testament

Yeah, I know I'm bragging... but one of the best ways to keep weeds from taking over a garden it to fill it with good plants before the weeds start growing. That is what I intend to do, Lord willing. 2 Tim 3:15

They're back!

Grandma and Grandpa Larson are back from their trip to Missouri!
Grandpa Les taught us a new card game that he picked up in MO. I'm sure it is going to be played with avengence for the next week or so around our house. It always seems to work that way...

Grandpa and Noah

Grandma read books to the girls as she was getting them ready for bed. Gracie refused to get her picture taken, but was caught when she popped out from behind Grandma.

Nathan and the Girls.

Welcome back Grandma Connie and Grandpa Les! We missed you.

Go Cubs!!

Seth and Nathan
OK, so it's the middle of winter and we are rooting for the Cubs. True die-hard fans, huh? Actually, Seth REALLY does not like the Cubs. He is quite the Sox fan. I'm not so sure if it's because he actually likes the Sox, or just that his big brother likes the Cubbies. Last time he wore this shirt, he covered the Cubs logo with a white t-shirt.

It's Puzzle Girl!

It seem like all of the kids have gone through this stage, and now the torch has been passed to Gracianna! She lives and breathes puzzles! Every chance she gets, she playing with them. It is an opportune time for her, being that each previous child has had to fend off the puzzle eating, crawling, baby-monsters. Nathan is not yet crawling, so she can actually complete an entire puzzle without chasing after pieces.

I am convinced that this stage of puzzle-mania must be very beneficial for their little noggin's. Their reasoning skills and hand-eye coordination has got to be making some connections up there somewhere. She was a bright little cookie before puzzles, can't wait to see what's to come :)

It's Payday!!

Around here, every Wednesday is payday...for the kids, that is. They earn "points" throughout the week by doing various things around the house. They'll get points for doing their chores without being told, getting caught being kind to their sibling, washing their plate after eating, or a list of other things. We have a simple method of keeping track of the points and every Wednesday, they get to turn them in for a number of different "prizes". Most of the prizes cost Paul or I nothing, or very little, such as "get to sleep on Mom and Dad's floor, 12 points", "watch a movie during naptime, 10 points", "get a small treat, 4 points", or "get to play a game on the computer for 45 minutes, 16 points", ect. A few of the higher point things actually cost us a little money, like "go out with dad for a donut, 25 points", or "get a Jr. Frosty from Wendy's, 25 points". They could also earn a trip to Chuck E. Cheese (with $5.00 to spend) for a whopping 50 points!

The kids absolutely LOVE point day, and it is good incentive for them get their chores done. They all have the potential to get a bunch of points, but usually they end up with somewhere between 15 and 30 points for the week (with a "no roll-over" rule). Caleb worked REALLY hard this week, vaccumming and mopping almost the whole house and doing lots of extra things. He ended up with somewhere around 110 points! He had a blast trading in his points. What he's holding in his hands are all of his "prize coupons" that he "bought" and can redeem whenever he wants.