Different personalities

This video highlights our girls' differing personalities. Ella is very into her book and serious about reading to her sisters. Juliette is in her own world, clowning around, and dumping water on her head.

Karis Counting

Juju's story

The girls love telling progressive stories after dinner. I wanted to get Juju's storytelling on video. We love how often she says "aannd". I also thought this story was very cute because the pig ends up in jail (just like Mr Toad from Wind in the Willows). 

More things they say...

The other day Ella pulled on our dining room curtains and the screw on the hook finally came off. We have been telling the girls to not pull on the curtains but it has been a hard habit to break.

I told Spencer what happened to the curtains when he got home from school. As we were all sitting around for dinner that night, this was our conversation:

Juliette - Dadda, do you notice the curtains are broken?

Dadda - yes, I heard what happened

J - do you want me to tell you who did it?

D - no thanks Juju, I already know who did it

J - ok, I won't tell you ... but ... it wasn't me, and it wasn't Momma, and it wasn't Karis, and it wasn't Dadda.

silence for about 30 seconds as Spencer and I tried to keep our laughter in. Juju was staring intently on Spencer to see if he had cracked this case. And then - 

J - it was Ella.

The girls played "band" the other day when their friend Moriah was over.

"We're all ready to go". The girls love getting ready all on their own in the morning. Hawaiian necklaces, gold clip-on earrings, and outfits picked to suit their tastes. It's always a hard choice for Juju between her zebra pants and her leopard pants.

We bought the girls some harmonicas and a wooden flute. Karis is quite good on the harmonica.

We got some use out of our balcony last week.

Karis loves the adorable bags Grandma Jo-Ann bought the girls. If you look closely they actually say the girls' names on them.

Grandpa Rob came over for dinner last Saturday and he and Juju blew out the candles together.

Yesterday was parent observation day at ballet. It's really cute to see the girls in their class. Video coming soon!

Videos

Here are some cute videos of the girls...

Ella and Juju made me a quilt while I was out for the day on Saturday. It is really cute!

A compilation of Karis cuteness.

Psalm 150

Books We Love

Around our house we love to read. Here are some of our favorite books that we've read in the past year.

Dadda's Picks

Just Walk Across the Room - Bill Hybels

Encouraging stories about taking simple steps to share faith.

Radical - David Platt

Inspired a Holy discontent with chasing after the Canadian Dream.

 Family Driven Faith - Voddie Baucham

Meeting our family's need for cultivating a multigenerational Biblical worldview. This book was passed on to us by our close friends.

Discipling our Nation - Murray Moerman

Evaluating Canada's current faith landscape and successful evangelism approaches.

Momma's Picks

Kisses from Katie - Katie Davis

This is the best book I read this year. It challenged me to the core and made me want to change the way I live my comfortable life. It's the autobiography of a girl that leaves everything and moves to Uganda to serve God. Highly recommended!

             

Anything - Jennie Allen

Another challenging read. Jennie and her husband started to pray about what God wanted them to do with their lives. They prayed a prayer of surrender that led them to leave the safe, comfortable and happy and enter the surrendered, reckless and courageous.

Educating the WholeHearted Child - Clay and Sally Clarkson

Best homeschooling book ever. I love the Clarkson's style of homeschooling. This book changed the way we want to educate our littles. All about discipleship, whole books, and real life. Spencer and I both read it and it gave us many ideas for the adventure that lies before us.

Honey for a Child's Heart - Gladys Hunt

CS Lewis said that no book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally worth reading at the age of fifty. Honey for a Child's Heart changed the way we buy books for our kids. This book is full of great book suggestions. We no longer spend time on the not so great books. Reading has changed in our house thanks to this book.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons - Seigfreid Engelmann

Teaching Ella to read over the past year has been precious time. I love hearing her sound out words and getting excited when she can read a new book. We've bonded over learning and we've bonded over books. Teach Your Child to Read is an amazing resource and it works! It is a phonics-based book with no flash cards, games, rules, or gimmicks. Ella loved it and was off and reading before we even finished the lessons.

Ella's picks

Miss Hunnicutt's Hat - Jeff Brumbeau

This book is a celebration of self-expression. Miss Hunnicutt loves to wear her new hat from Paris. The hat has a chicken on it and nobody else in town likes it. But when the Queen comes for a visit, everything changes! This book is perfect for our little girl who loves to wear her bathing suit over her pants and sweater. "This way I am still warm in the winter."

Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales

These tales are absolutely classic. The girls even have a Beatrix Potter picture in their bedroom that was mine when I was a little girl. 

Ella is convinced that one of our neighbors is Mr McGregor. She came up with this idea after our neighbor vented his strong dislike for rabbits who are digging up his garden (oh yah, and "don't call them bunnies - they are rabbits!"). 

We Are in a Book - Mo Willems

Ella loves to read anything from the Elephant & Piggie series. They are at a perfect reading level for her, and her very cool friends Sophie and Penny like them - an automatic win. 

In this particular book Gerald and Piggie realize they are in a book and  that a reader is reading them. So, they get the reader to say all kinds of words. Ella thinks this is hilarious and often wants to read this book to guests that come over. Apparently nobody should live without this kind of humor in their lives.

Juliette's Picks

The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne

Juliette loves it when we read her these tales (and let's be honest - we love to read them too!) This book is a perfect example of a book that can be enjoyed at any age. Juju loves to quote this book. Oh bother.

 The Complete Adventures of Curious George - Margret and HA Rey

This book is a good time. "Another one please, another one please. And, Momma, why is George always so curious?"

Corduroy - Don Freeman

Classic book about a bear that nobody wants to buy from the department store because he has a missing button. Juliette loves books with animals in them - and she snuggles really close when you read to her.

I Like to be Little - Charlotte Zolotow

A conversation between a mother and a little girl. The little girl is explaining to her mom why she likes to be little. "I can skip when I'm glad. Grown-ups don't skip when they're glad." 

This book is really precious. Mothers beware, the last couple of pages may make you cry. Spencer, however, didn't see what all the fuss was about.

Karis' Picks

  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? - Bill Martin

Karis is serious about this book. She approaches one of us hourly and says "Brown Bear, read it Momma, read it Brown Bear." And if you don't respond right away, she will continue with "what do you see Momma, what do you see, purple cat, Momma, purple cat?" My favorite is when Ella reads this book to her. Karis always says "again" and Ella is always game for another reading of Brown Bear. And this is a good time for me to make lunch :)

Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown

Another classic. Here's what Karis says about this one: "Goodnight Moon, Dadda, read it, I wanna sit you lap. Where's red balloon? Goodnight again."