We make the boys and girl help out with regular chores. I want them to contribute as part of our family with a few daily and weekly jobs. I am trying to instill in them an "old school" work ethic, not typical of their generation.
Andrew's job for the past couple of years has been clearing the table. But I decided it's time to start teaching him the art of loading the dishwasher. As with all child training, one of the side benefits is to develop greater patience in me. Teaching Andrew to load the dishwasher take 3x longer than me doing it, but I know that the benefits for him and me long term are worth the time investment.
Right now, he's excited about the new job. I guess that will last about 2 more days. Andrew loves to start new things but follow through and completing things are less exciting to him. Matt is a very impressionable little brother. He is super excited to be doing Andrew's old job, and he can't wait to load the dishwasher and mow the lawn.
2 years - I'm 2 years away. With 2 more years of training, it'll be time to kick back, relax and watch the boys and girl DO EVERYTHING! Ha!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Residents
It's even more official. Sandy and I just became NM residents today. We registered to vote, got our driver's licenses and got our plates. We spent a couple of hours at the DMV, but I thought it'd be worse in a city this big.
I wanted to get this license plate. But alas, the Land of Enchantment is all out of their famous hot air balloons.
So instead I got the turquoise centennial plate. I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of turquoise. But there's a lot of it out here. Hopefully, it'll grow on me. I think this is the last major thing for us now. I can only hope. We're just about all settled in with the major stuff. Phew! It only took us a month.
I wanted to get this license plate. But alas, the Land of Enchantment is all out of their famous hot air balloons.
So instead I got the turquoise centennial plate. I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of turquoise. But there's a lot of it out here. Hopefully, it'll grow on me. I think this is the last major thing for us now. I can only hope. We're just about all settled in with the major stuff. Phew! It only took us a month.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
What about Bob?
To our surprise, our little Matt gave himself a nickname. He goes by the name "Bob" at school. I guess everyone at school - students and teachers - call him Bob now. He's become quite the joker, constantly trying to be funny. Fortunately (or unfortunately I'm not sure which yet), most of his attempts are met with smiles at the very least. How can you not smile when he looks at you like this? 
He drank some chocolate milk the other day, and what appeared? The perfect joker smile.
He drank some chocolate milk the other day, and what appeared? The perfect joker smile.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
ABQ Aquarium
The initial excitement of moving to ABQ has worn off for the boys and girl. They are starting to miss their friends and our old lifestyle. So we've been making a special effort to do extra fun stuff in ABQ.
So we hit the aquarium yesterday. I must say, the ABQ aquarium is VERY cool. It's pretty small, but it had super cool stuff. I really like aquatic life.
The boys got to see some native trout up close. I think they were anticipating fishing for them soon.
There were some moray eels and big old fish.
They had one of those walk through tanks which are always cool.
And some jellyfish too. Plus there were lots of sharks, rays, lobsters and turtles. We zipped through the aquarium in about a half hour. So we headed back to the zoo to see the other animals that we missed the first time. Did I mention that I am really impressed with that zoo?! We saw some crazy wild gorillas. I wish we had gotten some video of them running around and screaming. It was amazing!
So we hit the aquarium yesterday. I must say, the ABQ aquarium is VERY cool. It's pretty small, but it had super cool stuff. I really like aquatic life.
The boys got to see some native trout up close. I think they were anticipating fishing for them soon.
There were some moray eels and big old fish.
They had one of those walk through tanks which are always cool.
And some jellyfish too. Plus there were lots of sharks, rays, lobsters and turtles. We zipped through the aquarium in about a half hour. So we headed back to the zoo to see the other animals that we missed the first time. Did I mention that I am really impressed with that zoo?! We saw some crazy wild gorillas. I wish we had gotten some video of them running around and screaming. It was amazing!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
The Aseity of God
I've had a little cold the past week. Nothing too bad, but my throat was sore and I had a pretty good cough. Now that I am better, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I was thankful for something I take for granted most days - my voice.
During the time, I was sick, I couldn't speak much. So I couldn't read the Bible to the boys and girl during our evening Bible time. I am thankful that God has given me the privilege to read His Word to them. It is something I should not take for granted nor so easily forego on evenings we are busy.
Also, while I was sick, I couldn't sing. That made me real sad. What a privilege and honor and joy it is to sing to our great and glorious God. I am so looking forward to heaven where I will be able to sing, hopefully in perfect pitch, with all the saints of all time and praise God in heaven! And I will never miss a day from sickness or being tired or anything for that matter. O Glorious Day!
But in the end, I am most thankful that God never gets sick. He never gets tired. He never misses a day being God to me and to all His creation. He doesn't need vitamins, Nyquil, a humidifier, cough drops or extra rest. He is self-sufficient and needs absolutely nothing to be the all perfect, all powerful, always righteous and infinitely good and loving God of the universe. Isn't that comforting? The old theological term for this is the aseity of God. This thanksgiving, I am especially thankful that I can depend and trust in the aseity of God.
During the time, I was sick, I couldn't speak much. So I couldn't read the Bible to the boys and girl during our evening Bible time. I am thankful that God has given me the privilege to read His Word to them. It is something I should not take for granted nor so easily forego on evenings we are busy.
Also, while I was sick, I couldn't sing. That made me real sad. What a privilege and honor and joy it is to sing to our great and glorious God. I am so looking forward to heaven where I will be able to sing, hopefully in perfect pitch, with all the saints of all time and praise God in heaven! And I will never miss a day from sickness or being tired or anything for that matter. O Glorious Day!
But in the end, I am most thankful that God never gets sick. He never gets tired. He never misses a day being God to me and to all His creation. He doesn't need vitamins, Nyquil, a humidifier, cough drops or extra rest. He is self-sufficient and needs absolutely nothing to be the all perfect, all powerful, always righteous and infinitely good and loving God of the universe. Isn't that comforting? The old theological term for this is the aseity of God. This thanksgiving, I am especially thankful that I can depend and trust in the aseity of God.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Exercise
Since it's such a beautiful day (sunny and about 60 degrees) and I'm finally feeling healthy again, plus the kids had a half day of school today, we decided to do a little exercising this afternoon and explore one of the walking trails along the Rio Grande River.
The boys and girl rode their bikes while Sandy and I walked / jogged with them.
At first the trail was nice and paved. But we ended up on a very wooded, dirt path that was not conducive to training wheels! There seem to be a zillion walking / biking / horse trails here. We ended up just picking one, but it wasn't the right one for us.
Along the way, we did get to enjoy some beautiful homes with the Sandia Mountains in the background.
We eventually found the Rio Grande and stopped to enjoy the Rio.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Monday commute
God has blessed me with fairly short commutes from home to work. My longest was about 1 hour when I lived in MD. When I lived in Southern CA, my commute was about 25 minutes. Though I did have to commute from 1 to 3 hours several times a month to my territory in either Riverside or San Diego county. When I lived in KS, my commute was pared down to about 7 minutes. And now?
About 30 seconds. This is literally my commute.
This is the view from across the street. The right building is the parsonage where we live. The left building is the church. I counted it out as 42 steps. I walk home for lunch. I walk home when I forget a book or a paper or anything. It doesn't get any better than this. I don't know how much money we're saving in gas too. I'd better stop now or else I'll get too many jealous emails from you all!
About 30 seconds. This is literally my commute.
This is the view from across the street. The right building is the parsonage where we live. The left building is the church. I counted it out as 42 steps. I walk home for lunch. I walk home when I forget a book or a paper or anything. It doesn't get any better than this. I don't know how much money we're saving in gas too. I'd better stop now or else I'll get too many jealous emails from you all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)