Kindness

One thing we want to teach the boys is Kindness. We talked about it all the time with them but we were not seeing a whole lot of kindness going around. So I came up with an idea called Kindness Cans. I spent one evening making and getting everything together and then we introduced it to the boys. We wanted to see how it would work with them first and involve Naomi when she is a bit older.

So each boy has a can and then there is a Kindness Can. Anytime we see them doing something kind, say something kind or think of someone else before himself they get to make a deposit into their own Kindness Can. We be sure to say "That was really kind!"

The things they put in are little scrap booking shapes that are pretty sturdy that I wrote "Kindness" on.

The goal is for them to earn 10 pieces of kindness. Whenever they earn 10 they get to pick a prize. Darrick and I had fun thinking up the prizes and we wanted them to not be a toy or something like that. The boys were excited about the prizes which was a good start.

It is interesting to watch the boys because we can see that kindness comes more natural for Jake then it does for Micah. But when Micah sees Jacob getting pieces of kindness he kicks it into gear and starts earning them too.

Here are some of the things they have done (and they have to be done without us asking):

• Micah read a story to Naomi
• Jacob opened the car door for me
• Micah got drinks for everyone at dinner
• Jacob gave Micah and Naomi the last two pieces of his snack
• Micah cleared the dishes after a meal

So during this week they both got to 10 twice. We want it to be sort of instant gratification to keep them motivated which is why we picked 10. For their first prize Micah picked 30 extra minutes of DS time and Jacob picked to play a game of HORSE (basketball) with just him and Dad. For their second prizes Micah picked (what else) 30 extra minutes of DS time and Jacob picked to bake a treat with me. Tonight we are made Halloween sugar cookies and tomorrow we will frost them.

Let's hope it continues!

Jennings Memorial Park

Today for our Friday Home school outing we went to Jennings Memorial Park. Yesterday Jake woke up with a 101 degree fever and the stomach flu. It only lasted 12 hours and he was fine today but we didn't want to over do it for him so we picked somewhere close to home. The park is only 9 miles from our house.

It was another beautiful fall day in Washington. Where is all the rain we heard about? The air is crisp but the sun is warm. We started out with a snack at the picnic tables.

Then it was time to explore. It is so fun when you move somewhere because you have no idea what lies ahead for you when you go somewhere. But we saw a trail and decided to walk on that. It led us down to a lake that was for kids 12 and under to fish at.

We wandered through trails and over bridges enjoying the beautiful scenery.

We wandered into a part of the park called Dinosaur Park. It had a few dinos to ride and climb on. Naomi wanted to keep trying to feed the dinosaurs.

Then it was down a trail and up a hill.

Then down another trail...wonder where this one leads?

We found some benches that overlooked a beautiful meadow. We found mushrooms and Micah climbed a tree, sort of. Then down a big hill to another bridge.

We found a stream and the kids had fun throwing sticks in and watching them float down. Naomi tried to sneak her foot in the water but Micah was quick and caught her!

Back up another hill! We saw the cutest squirrel eating a nut. We could actually hear him crunching and cracking it, very cool!

There was a part of the park where people could have their own little plot of garden and we saw this gorgeous flower.

There was a cool machine that use to be used for logging and a renovated pioneer house. It was closed so we could not got in but we peeked through the windows.

Then it was finally time to play at the playground! Naomi's favorite thing was the Marysville Express and the boys favorite thing was pretending they were train robbers so Darrick and I chased them around and put them in jail, when we could catch them! It was a great afternoon!

It fell out!

Wrestling with God

Maybe you are familiar with the story in the Bible where Jacob wrestles with God. It is found in the book of Genesis, chapter 32:22-32.

This story explains exactly the type of week that we have had spiritually. It had to do with the church that we visited last week, Everett Community Church. Darrick and I did not sleep well, we talked a lot, got frustrated, left the subject alone, prayed a lot and read our Bibles.

There was something about Everett Community Church that we could not let go and we were confused if that is really where God wants us to go and have as our new home church. Read last Sundays post if you would like to be reminded what the church was like.

We felt God leading us somewhere we are not sure we are ready to go, way out of our comfort zone and very unfamiliar to us.

At the beginning of 2009, during a Fast I heard God telling me that I needed to not be so selfish and to put aside my wants and take up His. The direct result of that is our homeschooling. And again this week I felt God saying that His ways are higher then mine and He has a great plan here.

I have to admit, that God had a much easier time convincing me then Darrick. So I will turn it over to him:

What can I say, Everett Community Church is not what I thought I was looking for. For the past five years I have been at sea duty. Every time Hope Chapel had a men's breakfast or meeting or anything I had to work. So what I really wanted was a Church that had a strong men's ministry because now I would actually have the time to attend. Everett Community Church does not have any of that so I was fighting with going there. We actually went back to the Internet looking at more Churches and wha they had to offer. But when Jacob referred to Everett Community Church as our church and said he was glad he already had friends there after one week I got the point that we needed to go back there today. I am so glad we did because it was just what we need. No frills just straight forward preaching from the Bible and exactly what believers need to hear but the Pastor was still able to wrap up with the opportunity for anyone who was not a believer to become one.
Back to Jenn:

So today we attended our second Sunday at Everett Community Church. The Pastor was very surprised but excited that we came back. We are going to have dinner with their family this week.

The service was great and the Pastor's preaching was on fire! Incredible and we both learned a lot. The kids love their classes and we got to know more people.

God is doing something and we have no idea what, but Lord, where You lead we will follow.

Langus Riverfront Park

We really enjoy our mornings since we do not have to rush out the door to get to school. The house is chilly in the morning when we get up so I turn the fire on before I get the kids up at 7am. They love to roll out of bed and sit and cuddle by the fire while I get breakfast together.

On Fridays, as part of our curriculum, we have Exploration Days. It is really nice for us since every place is new. So in the afternoon we headed to Langus Riverfront Park. It was a beautiful Fall day. It is fun to see the trees changing colors and a nip in the air.

We walked on a path that was right next to the river. A few times we went down to the water, and of course the kids wanted to go in. We have tried many times to explain to them that we are not in Hawaii anymore. But once they felt the freezing water they changed their minds. The water was very clear and beautiful.

They collected rocks and walked on logs.

We saw some nice looking flowers and berries.

There were quite a few people out fishing so we walked down by the dock where they launch the boats. There were also teams of teenagers practicing rowing. They were fast and we had no idea that there is one person laying down in the front of the boat directing them, we learned something new!

Today we went to the library because they were having a free puppet show for school-aged kids. It was called "Jack the Giant Killer". The boys really liked it. After the show the man came out and showed the kids how he does all the sounds effects and switching of the puppets with only 2 hands, it was amazing. One of his puppets was 300 years old.

From there we went to get Naomi's hair cut. Last night doing her hair was a nightmare and it is just too long. So today we got it cut short. It is a little longer then when she came home but it is really short. I was able to wash it and comb through it all with no screaming or crying. For right now it is just the best decision for us and it looks really cute on her. When she is older and can understand that she needs to sit still for a few hours while I do it we can grow it longer. It is not worth all the tears, hers and mine. What do you think?

Jacob's loose tooth

So far Jacob has only lost one tooth but now he has a few more that are pretty wiggly. But there is one tooth in particular that is just cracking us up. It is not quite ready to come out yet but it is hanging crooked and is kind of sticking out. And sometimes when he smiles or talks it just sticks out of his mouth and hangs out on his lip! Hopefully it will come out soon but in the meantime we are enjoying some laughs!

A Beautiful Moment

I have to admit that sometimes I still worry about bonding with Naomi. I have read so much about bonding and attachment I feel like an expert. She has now been a Hays for 10 months but every once in a while doubt creeps in.

Tonight it was time for Naomi to get ready for bed. Darrick was helping her while I was with the boys. When Darrick said that it was time for Naomi to take off her Cinderella dress, yes she was wearing it again, she started crying. This sad crying, not a temper tantrum cry, but like her heart was truly breaking. It lasted through the whole getting ready for bed.

But then she came over to me and crawled up in my lap and hugged me so tight. I held her and hugged her back and she stopped crying. I comforted her. It may sound dumb but it was such a glorious moment for me and a reminder that we are bonded. It reminded me of when the boys were babies and they would cry when others held them but as soon as they were back in my arms they would stop.

At that beautiful moment, with Naomi in my arms, my heart swelled with love for her and my heart whispered "this IS your daughter".

Everett Community Church

This morning we tried our second church, Everett Community Church. We found it online when we searched on the Internet for local churches.



We have talked a lot about what kind of church we want to attend. Denomination is not top on our list as long as we agree with their beliefs. But what is really important is the type of people that attend. It is very important to us that Naomi is not the only Black person in the church. Last week there was one other Black person but they were an adult.



So when we saw Everett Community Church and that it claimed to be a "multi-ethnic church" we knew we had to try it.



It took us about 15 minutes to get there from our house. They started their church almost 1 year ago and share a building with the Baptist church. We were a bit early so they were still transitioning between the 2 churches. We recognized the Pastor, from his picture on the Internet, and went to introduce ourselves. We told him that we wanted to attend his church this morning and he seemed a bit surprised but gave us a very warm welcome. He has studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL and Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY.



The Pastor's wife took us under her wing and showed us where to bring Naomi. The older kids stay in the service during worship then go to their class. The Pastor and his wife are from Kenya and most of the congregation is from Africa. There were 2 other white women there besides us and everyone else was Black, I think that is why the Pastor was surprised. We had found what we were looking for.



The service was done in two languages: English and Swahili. The worship was beautiful and all in Swahili so we just clapped along and enjoyed the music. When the Pastor spoke, he spoke in English then someone translated into Swahili. There was a guest speaker this morning. He was powerful and preached the Word.



We were invited to stand up and introduce ourselves to the congregation. Darrick did a great job and everyone seemed excited that our daughter is from Africa. Many people came up to us after the service and welcomed us. They were shoving food and drink at us: a tea drink that was unfamiliar to us, African donuts and banana bread.



The boys liked their class and said they already made friends. It made us happy that the boys did not seem bothered that they were the only 2 white kids and they were running around playing with all the kids after church.



The Pastor and his wife kept talking about seeing us next week and taking us out to lunch. It was a great church so we have a lot to pray about. If this is where God wants us then we will follow!

Photo Shoot

The day before we left for Washington, we had a photo shoot with an amazing photographer, Tara Sos. Our proofs are ready if you would like to check them out!

Go to www.tarasosphotography.com
Enter the site
Go to Proofs
Enter the password hays

You can either just look at them or order some! Enjoy!

Yes, she still thinks she is Cinderella!

Our view

Every afternoon, since it has been sunny, the kids and I have been having our afternoon snack out on the deck. The deck is right off our dining room and on the second story.

We have our swing, fountain, hawaiian wind chimes and a plant from Ron and Rose out there. There is a greenbelt right behind our house and it is so beautiful. We were told that in the winter all the leaves fall off and it is bare branches so we will just enjoy it while it lasts!