{Memory Verse Mania}: CHARACTER!

I hope you're all still chugging along at home with your memory verse memorizing (or at least tucking these away for a rainy day).

As a parent, this set has extra meaning to me. Who doesn't want their child to grow up to a man or woman of character? And what better way to instill these values than by turning to the pages of the Bible? I hope you find these verses
(& printables) to be helpful tools as you seek to do that.

Train a child in the way he should go, 
and when he is old he will not turn from it. 
Proverbs 22:6

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Week 9
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Luke 6:31
Download Character.1 Here

Week 10
Do everything without complaining or arguing.
Philippians 2:14
Download Character.2 Here

Week 11
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23
Download Character.3 Here

Week 12
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Colossians 3:20
Download Character.4 Here

Thanks again Nikki @ LDS Printables for all your great design work!

{Memory Verse Mania}: PROMISE!

{Memory Verse Mania} Moment of Truth:

How are you all doing??

In the spirit of keeping it real, I have to admit that we are officially a week behind schedule. This past week (because of the holiday) has been a whirlwind of packing (and unpacking) beach bags, blowing up kiddie pools, lighting off fireworks, and staying up way past our bedtimes.

*Deep Breath*

No worries. I tend to be a rule follower and I hate the feeling of being behind, but I'm coping. Onward and forward.

For any of you who are still on schedule, here's the next set of lovely printables featuring four of my favorite verses of promise.

{Can I get a round of applause for Nikki @ LDS Printables?}

I love the idea of teaching kids young, that in this topsy turvy world, 

there are truths that they can hold on to even when it all falls apart.

Week 5 {July 8-14}

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Download Promise.1 Here

 Week 6 {July 15-21}

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Download Promise.2 Here

 Week 7 {July 22-28}

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

Download Promise.3 Here

Week 8 {July 29-August 4}

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

I Peter 5:7

Download Promise.4 Here

And a special bonus for you:

Because Nikki @ LDS Printables is super cool, she is offering this great 

verse of promise in FOUR cool color choices. Which one's your favorite?

(I had a terrible time deciding!)

Purple & Grey | Yellow & Grey | Teal & Red | Blue & Fushia

P.S. We're working through the 12 verses of {Memory Verse Mania} during summer vacation, but feel free to join in at anytime. The printables can also be used in smaller sets of four for a quick Bible verse re-boot or individually.
They make great {free} kitchen & kid room art too!

{Memory Verse Mania}: PRAISE!

We officially kicked off summer vacation this weekend in our home!

First up on our summer vay-cay agenda: 

our memory verse challenge. 

I shared the chart last week 

& now here are the first four printables of the series: verses of PRAISE.

(All designs courtesy of LDS Printables.)

 Week 1 {June 10-16}

The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1

Download Praise.1 Here

Week 2 {June 17-23}

This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
Download Praise.2 Here

Week 3 {June 24-30}

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. 

His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

Download Praise.3 Here

Week 4 {July 1-7}
I praise you because I am fearfully & wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:14
Download Praise.4 Here

I hope these printables are good teaching tools for the kids and something pretty to display for the moms. Make sure you link up below if you're working on these at home and let us know how it's going!

Look for the next four printables {verses of PROMISE} coming soon!

P.S. Here's the chart again in case you missed it last week.

Download Chart Here

<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t504/terpblog/button1-1-200.jpg">

a new series: {Memory Verse Mania} + a free printable!

As I was putting together this year's summertime to do's for myself and our family, I realized a big priority for me this summer is helping the kids learn some Bible verses.

I grew up in a church that placed a big emphasis on memory verses between children's church, Sunday School, youth group, and AWANA (can anyone else still sing the theme song because I *ahem* still can).

My mom also frequently ran little contests around the house for my brother and me, i.e. "learn the books of the Bible and I'll give you this giant Hershey's bar." Hint: it worked.

Dylan and Ella {ages 7 & 5} are at great ages to soak this stuff up - they're reading on their own, they're soaking up knowledge like sponges, and they know how to appreciate a fun challenge.

I've been taking notes while on my own journey through reading the Bible (what I affectionately refer to as the Bible in 90 Days 364 Days), and I've come up with twelve verses our family will be learning this summer - one for each week of summer vacation.

I've grouped them into three categories - praise, promises & character - and I thought I'd share them here in case anyone else wanted to join in.

Without further ado, I present to you the stars of {Memory Verse Mania}:

{Praise}

Psalm 19:1

Psalm 118:24

Psalm 136:1

Psalm 139:14

{Promises}

Isaiah 40:13

Jeremiah 29:11

Philippians 4:13

I Peter 5:7

{Character}

Luke 6:31

Philippians 2:14

Colossians 3:20

Colossians 3:23

Now here's the part I'm extra excited about...

If you know me, you know I love a pretty printable. When I was planning out this series, I realized it would be really cool and helpful to have a set of printables to go along with the verses.

And while I appreciate fine printables, I have zero experience creating them. This is where my blogging buddy Nikki comes in. Nikki creates awesome (often faith-based) printables and then shares them for FREE on her blog, LDS Printables, because she's cool like that.

Nikki has kindly and graciously created a beautiful set of 8x10 printables for us - twelve printables in all - plus a chart for you to display and keep track of your progress on.

I am sharing the chart here today. We'll be kicking off {Memory Verse Mania} next Monday and I'll post the first four printables then - all centered around the theme of praise.

Download Chart Here
{Please email me if you have any trouble downloading the chart!}

More fun! (If you can handle it!) Go ahead and link up your blog here - just the main URL, please - if you'll be joining us this summer.

We can keep each other company, compare charts, and cheer our kiddos on together. 

Oh, and grab a button for your blog (isn't it cute?). And make sure you pop over to Nikki's blog and tell her what an awesome job she did on the printables!

<a href="http://theterpblog.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t504/terpblog/button1-1-200.jpg">

{family} love mail

At our last MOPS meeting, one mom shared her idea of putting Valentine's Day love mail mailboxes up in their home. She has one for each family member, and it's a place for them to tuck away love notes, kind words, pictures, or even little treats for each other. 

I loved the idea and Dylan and Ella are at great ages because they enjoy writing notes and drawing pictures. It also seemed like a fun way to spread the love during this (sometimes) dreary, cold season. And what kid doesn't love the idea of their own personal, little mailbox (complete with a flag to raise!)?

I've been keeping my eyes open for little mailboxes and I was excited to find these little guys at Target yesterday for (get ready) $1 each!

Today I pulled out some extra black vinyl I had leftover from a previous project and cut out names and heart shapes using my friend's Cricut (decorating with stickers or even a Sharpie would work as well).

{And yes, I am still obsessed with my fabric wrapped balls}

I stumbled upon these free printable love mail cards, and we're in business. I can hardly wait for the kids to get off the bus this afternoon and start sending some love!

Linking to:

Christmas Break To Do's

I'm a little rusty at being a full-time mom to three kids now that Dylan is in school full-time and Ella is in school part-time.

It is with a mixture of excitement (lazy mornings! cuddly kids in fuzzy PJ's! no schedule!) and trepidation (bickering! cabin fever! no schedule!!) that I approach this year's Christmas vacation.

I'm not really a "project mom" but I'm willing to make an extra effort in the name of surviving - and enjoying! - our extended time together.

Thank you, Pinterest, for sponsoring Christmas Break 2011/12.

On the docket:

• Homemade bird feeders
• Christmas-themed reading and writing
• Gingerbread houses
• Easy Christmas crafts
• Paper snowflakes
• Sun catchers

And no worries, we'll be lucky if we accomplish one thing off this list but there's no harm in aiming high.

How will you be spending your extra kid-filled hours?

technology tickets

I saw this project on Pinterest (orginally from Under the Sycamore) and I was instantly smitten. I like it because it's pretty and because I think it will work.

Here's the idea: each "ticket" is worth 30 minutes of technology time - either TV or computer or video games...whatever your child is into. You put a designated number of tickets in each child's envelope each week and they can use them at their discretion (with Mom and Dad having final veto power) until they run out. You can also reward with extra tickets or take away if needed.

My kids overheard me sharing this idea with Matt this weekend and got excited enough that I went out and actually bought the supplies yesterday. Usually it would take me another month or two to follow through and do the project. My friend Theresa jumped right on board, however, when we discussed the idea at our weekly morning swim today. 

A couple of hours later we were staring down our clipboards in my front lawn with cans of chalkboard paint in our hands.

We painted and cut and rounded and Mod Podged our way through the afternoon and we're pretty excited about the results. We tend to want things to be perfect (which prevents us from ever starting) and we decided it was good therapy to plunge ahead even though we don't consider ourselves to be expert crafters.

Kudos to Ashley Ann of Under the Sycramore for dreaming up this project and posting great pictures of her board. Here are some more detailed step-by-step instructions (or at least our version of them) if you want to give it a try.

Supplies:

Clipboard (my pick = Target)
Chalkboard paint
Painters tape
5-8 pieces coordinating cardstock 12x12 scrapbook paper 
Paper cutter
Corner rounder
Letter stamps & ink
Small brown envelopes
Mod Podge
Hole punch
Ribbon

Instructions:

1. Tape off clip on clipboard with painters tape. Spray clipboard with chalkboard paint. Use thin, even coats. Let dry.
2. Cut out tickets with paper cutter. Ours were 2 inches by 6 inches - you can get 12 tickets out of one 12x12 sheet of paper. Round corners. Punch holes.
3. Cut out smaller squares to stamp initials onto (1 1/2 by 1 1/2 inches) and add the initials - or stamp directly onto your tickets.
4. Cut out paper for your clipboard. We did one larger piece about 9 inches by 9 inches and then two smaller strips about 9 inches by 1 1/2 inches.
5. Mod Podge the paper to your clipboard. Apply Mod Podge to your clipboard first (avoid the part of the chalkboard that will be showing at the top and bottom) and then to the back of your paper in thin, even coats with a paint brush. Leave a strip of chalkboard showing on the bottom. Use your hands or a credit card to push the bubbles out. Wipe away any extra Mod Podge. Let dry.
6. Stamp initials onto envelopes. I did one for Dylan and one for Ella and one for "Mom" [or Mady...someday]. For now I will put the used tickets in the third envelope. Attach envelopes to the front of your clipboard. We used Mod Podge.
7. Mod Podge lightly over the top of your tickets. Be careful not to smear the ink of the initials. Let dry.
8. Cut ribbon - I used 6 inch pieces but you could leave them longer if you want. Thread ribbon through the holes of your tickets. Put tickets in your envelopes. Clip extra "reward" tickets onto clipboard.
9. Hang clipboard in prominent spot in your house. Explain new system to spouse and kids. Enjoy!

{featuring Paper Studio's Hoot Hoot Paper Pack}

how's it going?

Everyone seems to want to know how it's going with three. The short answer is, "it's going!" I guess it's about how I expected it to be - a little busier of course but I do feel like things are somewhat under control...I have also realized lately that I have very low expectations so it's hard to be disappointed :) If we all survive the day in one piece, that's what I call a good day!

I know some people think going from one to two kids is the harder transition and others think it's when you go from two to three. At this point, I'm going to side with the one to two kids people. It's hard to go to the grocery store with three kids, but a lot of times it was hard to go with two...we stay in a lot with three, but we were staying in a lot with two...it's a little chaotic at times with three, but it was chaotic with two. Also, I think I feel more "seasoned" this time around. With your second child, you get thrown off at first because the second one doesn't behave the way the first one did. With the third, I feel like I already know that...I fully expect Mady to be different than the first two and if there are any similarities I just see that as a bonus because my parenting experience might actually come in handy :)

The kids are adjusting as well. We are trying to be intentional about giving them all individual attention throughout the day. Dylan is pretty laid back but he still needs that one-on-one time especially during the afternoon while Ella and Mady are sleeping. His sisters get a lot of attention for being little and cute and we want to make sure Dylan knows how special and loved he is and how much we enjoy his little "boy-ness".

Ella loves her baby sister but I know it's been a harder transition for her because she's no longer the baby or the only girl...and did I mention that she's THREE? She's been extra clingy and emotional and a bit of a mama's girl which is funny because she's usually very independent but I know it's her way of reaching out for extra love and attention.

Mady is a very sweet little baby. She's a cuddler and I keep telling Matt that I've never felt so loved by a baby before. The other kids weren't really cuddlers but Mady loves to snuggle and seems so appreciative when you pick her up and hold her in your arms. Matt and I are really enjoying her in the evenings after the other two are in bed and we can relax and wonder at our little one.

All in all, our hearts are bursting with love for these three kiddos. We feel complete now as a family (which is kind of a shame because we make really cute babies ;) ) and we look forward to continuing to watch them all grow.

Got milk?