Going Marbles

We have moved to a new discipline / reward system here in our house. We have a chore / attitude chart which we came up with to help the boys learn and grow both as little boys and in their relationship with each other and others as well. There are really easy things on their chart that we hope that by rewarding them for, they will become a habit and will also help give them incentive to work on the harder things.

The easy things are the same for both boys: Brushing teeth, making their beds, putting their clothes in the proper place, cleaning off the table after each meal, and cleaning the playroom. The harder things vary between the two. Each one needs to work on different things. One of them has: No complaining, no yelling at brother, respect for others, no back talking. The other has: No complaining, respect for others, no whining, sweet tone. So at the end of the day we sit down with the two of them and we go over the hard things (they get the easy things throughout the day) and we give them the proper amount of marbles. Marbles vary from 1 to 4 depending on the "hardness" of the task at hand.

Since doing this system, I have walked in to find beds made before I ever go to get them up! I have also seen them helping out in different ways without being asked and from time to time they will get an extra reward for that. They began doing this on their own and they didn't expect to get rewarded for it - so we reward them sometimes but not always. We want them to want to help and not just to get something in return. They also sometimes have to give their marbles to their brother when they hit or hurt the other one. They do not like this one at all.

When they get a full jar we give each of them $1. I know, it doesn't seem like much but right now in their world it is a lot. It takes a bout a week for them to fill their jar. When they are given their money we give it in coins and they get to keep 80 cents of it to spend however they want. 10 Cents goes to their tithe and 10 cents goes to a savings jar. Hopefully, by starting them off now on how to take care of their little bit of money, when they are older and have more ... they will not get into financial trouble. At least that is our desire.

Zoe Update

I have gotten several messages asking how Zoe is doing. She is doing wonderful! We brought her home last Sunday afternoon after spending two nights with the vet. They told us that they did not expect for her to make it. And then they told us they expected her to relapse once she got home. She has done neither!

When we first brought her home she was very weak and didn't do much. As the week has gone by she has gotten her strength and playfulness back.

She is blind now, but she seems to be adjusting very well to that. She has even been going up and down our stairs own her own. It freaked me out the first time she did it and we thought about putting up a gate. But after watching her the last couple days, she really doesn't need it. It's amazing how she knows right where they are and exactly how many there are. She's a pro!

It's so good having our baby back. It was heartbreaking seeing her so sick and thinking about the possibility of not having her around anymore was devastating. We are so thankful to have her home! Thanks to all of you who prayed for our 4 legged baby!

Hard days

It has been a hard few days here in our family. Our dog Zoe, got very sick on Thursday and Friday was basically lifeless. We rushed her to the vet and they didn't give us a very good prognosis. The odds were definitely stacked against her. It was oh so sad to see my baby so still and unable to move.

The prognosis is still up in the air and really the odds are still against her. We were able to go see her yesterday and thought we might be able to bring her home but it was better for her to stay where she was rather than coming home. She is now blind due to either a stroke or the high amounts of fluid that they had to pump into her due to the hydration.

She has a condition called hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. It hit her hard and fast and has been overwhelming to us. We just can't imagine loosing a pet.

In the midst of all of this my in-loves are dealing with a battle of their own. Jeremy's grandmothers husband is in bad condition and will probably meet his Savior very soon. So our little troubles with our dog really pale in comparison to what others are dealing with. But we love our 4 legged child and pray that she can come home today and that being blind will be the only thing she has to deal with.

Coming soon

Last night I went to a Kindergarten round table meeting at Ryan's new School. I almost cried during the meeting. Tears welled up when they talked about drop off on the first day ... DROP OFF. There's no walking them in, it's drop them off at the curb! They said on the first day they will host a "Boo Hoo Breafast" for mom's and dad's. Basically on the first day, we walk them to the curb and they line up and collectively say good bye and walk away. Every other day they get out of the car and walk in ... by their selves ... their very little, yet big selves. Thus beginning the beginning of 13 years of real school.

How did we get this far so quickly? How did 5 1/2 years go by so quickly? Seriously? I blinked and my child is going to kindergarten in a month. No more spontaneous trips during the school year, no more afternoon hang out time, no more baby!

Coming soon ... Boo Hoo Breakfast ... Hope they have a lot of tissues ready!

Ryan's Baptism Video

This video still makes me cry ... So proud of my boy!

she doesn't stop ...

She doesn't stop talking! Are all girls like this? I mean this child talks from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed at night. And even after if you count her talking to her baby until she falls asleep! The hard part about her talking is that she gets MAD ... I mean HOT MAD if you do not answer her. God forbid you be in the middle of conversation with someone else. She will just scream "momma, mommy, momma, MOMMY" until you answer her. It is definitely something we are working on with her ... I just had no clue that one child could talk so much. Seriously!

Wordless Wednesday