the super bowl and sex trafficking...

Would you join me in signing a petition to take a stand against the evils of child sex trafficking that not-so-secretly surrounds the Super Bowl?  You can read more about it on our friend Carolyn's blog (where I was informed about it), here, or here.  Or simply sign using widget on the sidebar.

scripture memory...

For a while now, I have been wanting to do scripture memory with William, but just didn't really know how to go about it.  We had been randomly teaching him Ephesians 6:1, but it was more from us just repeating it over and over again that William was able to memorize it.  By random, I mean using it during teaching moments, which is great, but I was looking for something more structured and systematic.  I wanted to set aside some time in our day to spend on hiding God's Word in his heart (and mine as well). I had tried it a long time ago by writing the verse on large paper in large print and just reading it over and over again, but it only made him frustrated because I was focusing too much on the words and pointing out each one.  (No, he can't read... so yes, I'm an idiot.  Don't know how I ever became a teacher.)  Anyway, I wanted to do it systematically, but needed a method that I could use with toddlers who are obviously not reading yet.   

In God's great kindness, He led me to some older posts written in a Mom's Corner that I subscribe to.  It had some wonderful ideas on doing scripture memory for all ages.  So I was able to glean some great ideas on how to work on it with William.  I basically write the entire verse on a white board and break it up into little segments.  On the first day, we'll memorize the first segment by saying it 5 times.  I'll say it 5 times.  And then I have William say it in sets of 5 until he says one set perfectly.  And then throughout the day, I'll ask him to recite his memory verse to review it.  Then the next day, I'll ask William to recite what we memorized the day before.  If he has a hard time reciting it, then we'll just review it again the way we did the day before and not move on.  (We have not had to do this yet.)  If he can recite it perfectly, we'll move on to the next segment... saying the 2nd segment 5 times perfectly, and then combining the segments together and saying them 5 times perfectly.  It definitely gets harder with the more segments you memorize, and William definitely can get frustrated at times.  But it's a great opportunity to teach him to persevere and to be patient, as he works diligently.  (Sorry about the detail, but it's more for my memory than anything else.)  =)

We've been doing it for about a week or so now, and William LOVES it.  He always looks forward to when we're going to do scripture memory and will ask me throughout the day when we're going to be able to do it (we're not actually able to get to it every day).  I am grateful and encouraged and amazed at how much he enjoys these times, especially how easily his little brain can commit God's Word to memory.  I really love these times with him and pray that the Lord will use His Word to bear in his life.

The Mom's Corner discusses scripture memory in detail, including rehearsing family verses after their meal-time grace and Bible copying, both of which I hope to eventually include in our day or during our scripture memory time.  (One obviously sooner than the other.)  =)  In case you're interested, here are the posts I mentioned:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

an incredible birth story...

Learned of this birth story from our pastor's wife's blog. You gotta read it!

forgetting how big God is...

Just burning the midnight oil with my baby boy...  Loved this post.

christian swearing

A good friend of our's sent us a link to a guy who writes funny perspectives on Christians.  Don't worry...  It's not Christian bashing.  He's a Christian, too.  Some of the stuff he writes is very poignant.  Anyway, we found a hilarious post about Christians and swearing.  Just thought we'd share it with you...  =)

family pics

We are excited to share some family photos we took with the ever-talented Chavia Groveman yesterday.  We wanted to get some shots done of the 3 of us before the new arrival.  Hopefully, you can't tell I'm too pregnant yet!  I wanted something to remember of when it was just William and us, since I know I will so easily forget.  Chavia quickly posted some of them on her blog.  I love the ones of just William in the field.  Can't wait to share the rest of them with you when we get them!

great post

My dear friend Kelly recommended a great post to read about guiding children gently. I have found myself thinking/reflecting on it and going back to it from time to time, so I thought I'd share it with the rest of you. With each day heavy with training, it was a great personal reminder to me to not push William with my own agendas, but to rather gently guide him in love.

wings of fancy

This morning, William and I made a trip out to Brookside Gardens to check out their Wings of Fancy butterfly exhibit. I had been wanting to take William for a while since reading about it on a friend's blog, but it was always too hot and humid, especially since the exhibit is in a greenhouse. But when I found out that today would be in the low 80's with low humidity, I decided to just go for it, since these nice cooler days are few and far between during the hot summer ones.

William was a little scared at first, but quickly acclimated to the greenhouse. Since we left first-thing in the morning, the greenhouse was still relatively cool. Seeing all the butterflies flying around caught his attention for the first 5 minutes, but then he was pretty much done. =P Honestly, he wasn't very interested and didn't really want to walk around (I had to carry him everywhere), but it was a great opportunity to expose him to more of the winged creatures that we sometimes see on our walks near our house. I managed to get a few good pics (with William actually smiling!) and stretch out our time in the small greenhouse to about a half hour, but after that, William was ready to go. And that was fine since there wasn't much else to see but the butterflies. So we (or I) walked around the gardens for a bit before we had to leave. It was a perfect little trip to squeeze into the morning before the day got warmed up. I'm glad we got a chance to go and enjoyed my time of opening the world up a little more for my monkey.

William is looking at a small butterfly to the far right.

Out in the gardens...

makeover

With the new year here, we decided to get into a new groove for our blog. I was inspired by Carolyn, who also re-made her blog. This template is in no way original, but I loved it when I first saw it... (on someone else's blog. Shhh!) =) Bill will be working on it periodically to try to make it our own, but we'll see how far he gets with that. =P (Love you, Boo Boo.) So our blog is still in the works. Be sure to stay tuned...

fearfully and wonderfully made

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

Psalm 139:13-17a

These verses were part of a devotional given to Amy from Mom for expectant mothers. (Amy is starting her 8th month of pregnancy, and the docs have told us it's going to be a boy.) =) The miracle of life is truly a spectacular thing. Most people never really think about it until they are wanting or expecting a baby though. We are so amazed when we think about how this little boy will physiologically be a mix between the both of us, yet at the same time, is a separate spiritual being with a soul, created by God from eternity past. He will have his own personality, his own giftings, his own aspirations, his own struggles, and his own decisions to make, but God has also created him in His own image, already having ordained all the days of his life. In other words, he has been fearfully and wonderfully made. Hence, the title of our blog. But our blog is not just about little William, as incredibly ecstatic as we are to meet him. It is about how we are all ultimately fearfully and wonderfully made... God had each of us in mind from before the beginning of time and created us in the image of Himself. This unique quality does not just simply apply to babies, though it is appropriate and common as it relates to themes of birth and life.

This blog is about how our family, starting with us and now expanding to include William, is fearfully and wonderfully made, to reflect the image of God, the Cross, and His glory. This blog is our hope to (1) record what God has been doing in our family... to help us not forget His ongoing mercy and kindness in our lives. He has truly provided tremendously more than we deserve. And (2) keep our loved ones from near and far updated about our family. Thank you for taking an interest in us as we are excited to see all the things that God will do in the Davidsons. So welcome to our blog! We would love to hear from you, so feel free to make comments! =)