Help for the three year old who has everything!

Bethany's birthday is coming up end of November. While she may not have "everything", she really is not lacking in essentials. And as we are going to be doing a deep purging of toys and other misc., we certainly are not wanting to just add to the garbage pile!

What she really could use is something to keep her busy during Lydia's school time. The poor girl has colored until she can color no more and I'm afraid she simply has tired of it! Here were a few of my ideas...
Mighty Mind Puzzles~

Pros~ Much variety so as not to get easily bored. Excellent for developing thinking skills. I actually used it growing up so I know it's fun!

Cons~ 62 pieces. Take my word for it, that just does not work in our house!!!

Lace-up Cards~

Pros~ Promotes good hand/eye coordination. Getting to "sew" like a big girl ( Mommy has yet to put a real needle in her hands even though Lydia gets to sew occasionally).

Cons~ 10 pieces. As pathetic as this may sound, that still doesn't do very well at our house! I'm also concerned that maybe it wouldn't hold her attention for very long.

I have been interested in the "Signing Time" videos for a long time. They are supposedly really great at teaching children sign language in a fun a creative way. While I think Bethany would really enjoy this, I'm afraid it might be more of a gift for Mommy to use with future little ones!

So here we are. Not fully loving any of our ideas and yet feeling slightly stuck. So please, PLEASE, if you have any experience that would be helpful with any of these products, or any fresh inspiration ( no puzzles! My husband has a hate relationship with puzzles right now!), please share!!!

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Yesterday I had the privilege of going in for a free 4-D ultrasound. Like I told the technician, I would do that everyday if I could. Being able to watch my precious little one, all safely tucked away and so perfectly formed was a sweet gift.

My grandma was able to come with us this time ( along with my mom, Lydia and Bethany) and having never been to any kind of ultrasound before, she was amazed at how clearly you could see the baby and how well formed they were.

My little one really didn't want to put it's arms down, so it wasn't the easiest time to get good pictures, but I think it made it all the more endearing to me. I always sleep with my arms up by my face!

Some who have seen these pictures say that they remind them of Bethany. I can't say that I see that strongly, but all I know is it looks like my baby!

The boy/girl debate is still waging strong at our house. Daddy and Lydia voting boy, Mommy and Bethany voting girl. We all like to claim Havilah's vote at one time or another. David said the sweetest thing the other day though. He said, " As much as I would like a boy, the sad thing would be that we wouldn't get a girl!".

I absolutely love this picture! Hopefully you can make out the forehead, feet and the hand resting on them. I am desperately in love!

A little of this and that

I'm not sure what has been plaguing me lately and making me incredibly negligent towards my poor blog! My mind seems to go completely blank as I stare at my page and everything brilliant, humorous or thought provoking vanishes. I think a major hindrance for me is that I haven't picked up my camera in ages! Somehow a post without pictures just doesn't feel like a post! So here I am, resolved to do better and determined to take pictures no matter how mundane they may seem!

In the middle of September we had our youth council retreat. This is our sixth year working on the leadership team for our youth group, but my eleventh year being involved with the retreat ( as I was a part of the youth council before becoming leadership). The youth council is a small group of youth who want to push themselves to become leaders and examples to their peers. They help lead the small groups and run much of our youth group meetings.

Once again, the Lord has blessed us with an amazing group of kids to work with this year.

Our girls absolutely LOVE the retreat and especially the kids. They always make fast friends and I am constantly amazed to see the patience the youth have for playing the same little games over and over ( and over...).

The week after the youth council retreat was our annual "King Family Camp out". Two brothers were away at Bible college this year, but we still have a fabulous time together. We were especially blessed to have David's brother Jonathan and his wife, Laura, there. They are expecting their first child and it was so much fun to have someone to be preggy with!

Last week we babysat our little neighbor baby for two days. It was so much fun to watch Havilah interact closely with a little person. She absolutely adored her and could hardly be held back from showering her with every toy, blanket, book, binkie or food item in the entire house. I can't wait to watch her as a big sister. Don't worry, I do mean literally watch her!

We had the treat of having Jonathan and Laura come and stay with us for four days last week. They are such a blessing and I am overwhelmingly thankful for family that love the Lord and are such an encouragement to us in that way.

Here we are at 27 and 37 weeks. Giving the cousins a little chat time!

Please pray for Laura as she is having some blood pressure issues. This baby could come any day!

99 Days!!!

Only 99 days until my due date!!! I am soooooo excited about meeting this little one. My thoughts have been consumed with it lately. My poor husband graciously sits and listens to me go on and on about " When this baby comes..." or " I wonder if this one...". When I was expecting Havilah, while I was incredibly excited, it really didn't seem real that we were having a new baby. Not this time! I am anxiously looking forward to every little detail. Only 99 days ( or so)! I can't decide if that's soon or far away!

The conclusion of our "30" Days of Surprises

As some of you may remember, I set out on a challenge this summer to do "30 Days of Surprises". I must shamefully return to say that we only made it as far as Day 16. While I am quite embarrassed to admit that, it was a wonderful time to refocus and add some extra fun to our days. Canning season blew in like a storm and stayed for quite awhile ( actually, I still have apples on my porch!) along with a progressing pregnancy which equalled a very busy, tired at every spare moment mommy.


Here's what we did though!

Day 5~ Hot chocolate with marshmallows after a football game.

Day 6~ Breakfast date at Grandma's house.

Day 7~ Reading time in Mommy and Daddy's room before bed.

Day 8~ Tea party, complete with fancy dresses and shortbread cookies.



Day 9~ We laid out on blanket in the yard before bed where we saw deer, listened to crickets and watched the bats fly around.

Day 10~ The girls and I watched YouTube favorites together because Daddy was on patrol. Lydia and Bethany's top picks: laughing babies and Christian the lion.

Day 11~ Peaches and cream!





Day 12~ Lydia got to go with Daddy to the dump ( pretty exciting stuff!) and Bethany and Mommy went to our little store for a treat.

Day 13~ We built a fort in the living room with the couches, pillows and sheets.

Day 14~ An ice cream picnic in the sunshine.

Day 15~ The girls prepared a breakfast casserole for Daddy almost entirely by themselves.

Day 16~ Made a bed on the floor for a "slumber party".

As you can see, some were more or less exciting or last minute. It was a wonderful time for me as a mommy to seek for ways to bless my children and also for my girls to learn some lessons in being thankful and looking for ways to encourage those around them. It was tons of fun, and I hope some day to successfully do it again!

It's hard to say Good-bye!

Today was a sad day for the King family. Miss Mary moved away! Since last December we have had a wonderful young woman renting a room from us. She is the CEF area director. I still don't know what possessed us to offer the room to her, but I am so thankful that God allowed her to live with us during these past few months. She is the sweetest, most patient and most encouraging person! Every day with her has been a delight. We are so thankful that she is only moving to Salem ( closer to work) so we will still be able to see her often.

The girls adore her and I think the reality of her not being here has not fully sunken in yet, although there have been many tears! Thank you Father, for such a blessed season of life with her!

King Family Update~ Part 5

Well, I said in my last post that Havilah has been going through the most life changes of the family. I think that I will have to retract that statement though as I consider all that our littlest one is going through during these past weeks and months.

We are both growing quite nicely. As I write this my ticker says it is 111 days until we meet this little one. Our official due date is January 21, 2010. Baby #4 is now almost a full foot long! That is so hard for me to believe! This one is a wiggler!!! Oh my goodness! And I thought I had active ones before! I can wake up almost at any hour of the night and they are doing a little dance. My midwives haven't been able to give me a heart rate average at either of my appointments because this one wouldn't hold still long enough for them to keep track of it! The ultrasound was almost as bad. We were able to see baby trying to suck it's thumb. It was so cute!

( My sister-in-law, Laura, and I at 23 weeks and 33 weeks)

After seeing it on the ultrasound, Lydia is convinced that we are having a boy. I'm still just as convinced that we have another daughter on the way though. This pregnancy seems to be speeding by, but my excitement about meeting this new one grows steadily each day. I can't wait!

King Family Update~ Part 4

Okay, here we go again! Our computer has been partially out of commission, but is finally feeling better. I'm very excited about catching up on everything that's been going on around here!



Out of everyone in our family, Havilah has been going through the most life changes. She is now just over seventeen months and she FINALLY started walking a few weeks ago! It was never really a concern to us as it was obvious that it was a problem of will and not ability. As soon as she finally decided that she wanted to walk it took her about a day and a half to become quite proficient at it.



While she still is demonstrating very strongly her God given personality of being determined, strong-willed and persevering, ( hence the six times since starting this post that I have had to discipline or correct her,) she is getting past much of her frustration and grumpiness in general and we are enjoying a much more affectionate, loving and joyful little girl these days.

Talking is in the near future I'm pretty sure. Aside from sign language, she says, "Up", "Dog" (used for any animal), "Boppa", "Anna" , "Da-Da" and "Mama" but only if she's crying.

It still cracks me up when I think about how I thought this third little girl of ours would be our mellow and laid back one, ( make that now eight interruptions for Havi!) but I am so thankful for this precious little one. She truly is our little "joy bug" and every moment spent with her is a treasure.