Aunt Christy is our Hero!

Aunt Christy (Christina Joy) came to visit from Texas last weekend - without her husband or five daughters! And Joseph was out of town for part of the time, so it was like a girl's weekend ... with my four kids. :-)


She played wiffle ball, threw the baseball, chased the pirates, read books, drew pictures, cheered for the Cardinals, braved the heights of the YUM center, folded laundry, ate Chinese, watched for Joseph on TV, cleaned the kitchen, bought breakfast happy meals, worshipped at our church, stayed up late, encouraged me in the Lord ... and more!

David ...

1. David (4 1/2 years old) unknowingly created (and often uses!) a new helpful word: "butcept." Here is an example of its usage in context: "I have used all the crayons butcept the green one." Why choose between "but" and "except" when you can combine them?!?

2. Depends or Pretends? In a conversation about what time we eat breakfast, David explained, "What time I eat breakfast pretends when I get up." :-)

3. David and K'nex are a fabulous fit! He discovered them today -- and he did a super job following the directions, choosing the pieces, putting them together and making his "Spy Plane!" How cool is that?! I see hours of wonderful afternoon "quiet time!" Fantastic! :-)














4. "I not matter." David's got it figured out - "I not matter." What he means is "It doesn't matter to me." But there is some real wisdom in his statement, "I not matter." I pray this becomes a selfless statement from his heart (and mine!) - that he doesn't matter in comparison to God's glory or to the needs/preferences of others.

Our Growing Family

Thank You, Lord, for our family - established August 7, 1999.
Pictures below are from 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2010.

Joy and the Boys

Brotherly Love!

Joy Marie Margaret Bonura

We praise God that Joy Marie Margaret has arrived!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

7 lbs 1 oz ~ 19 in. ~ 11:09 am

Here is why we chose her names:

1) Joy - The Bible says there is no greater joy than being in God's presence (Psalm 16:11 "In the presence of the Lord is fulness of joy ...") and my dear sister-in-law is Christina Joy.

2) Marie - My wonderful mom is Jan Marie.

3) Margaret - Joy has two lovely, faithful great-grandmothers named Margaret.

We are so very blessed and thankful!!!!

95

Our church has an annual "Reformation Party." In preparation for the party, at church tonight Daniel and David were learning about Martin Luther and his 95 Theses.

As the boys ate their snack at home after church, Joseph and I were asking the boys what they learned. David described Martin Luther hammering a piece of paper on a door. Joseph asked him, "Do you know what the piece of paper was called? (pause) It has a number. Do you remember the number?"

David grinned and replied, "It is the same number as Lightening McQueen!" :-)

Sports Pictures

Joseph's dad took some fall sports pictures of the boys:



Daniel is playing soccer with other 6/7-year-olds. Go Fireflies!





















David is a 4-year-old fan of the Steelers!

One of Joshua's first words is "football!" :-)

Memoria Press

The link below is to the most recent Memoria Press newsletter and to their 1st grade curriculum we are using. We have been very thankful for the content and the layout. Next year we plan to use their 2nd grade curriculum for Daniel and the kindergarten curriculum for David.

Memoria Press Newsletter
1st Grade Curriculum

David makes us smile!

David makes us smile!

1. Today I was helping David clean his room. I asked him to hand me the box for dinosaurs. He smiled a smirky little grin, and he very slowly and deliberately replied in his cute 4-year-old voice, "With pleasure!" :-)

2. When a person wants another person to do something for him, most people say, "Could you please ..." For example, "Could you please help me?" Not David. He says, "May I please you ..." "May I please you help me?" :-)

3. David and Daniel have jobs/chores in our home. Yesterday Daniel cleaned the bathroom, and today he needed to empty all the trash cans, bake brownies, and fold socks/underwear. Sometimes the socks are wearisome for him. Today we made a race - I needed to clean the kitchen and he needed to do socks. Competition always motivates him! "I don't get distracted," I challenged him.

In the middle of our race, Daniel was doing things like asking me to come see his piles and stacks, luring me away from the kitchen. When the timer for his brownies beeped, I taunted him that he better come check his brownies so they don't burn. Reluctantly he came to the kitchen and we checked the doneness of the brownies.

While Daniel came to the kitchen, sneaky little David hid Daniel's basket of socks!!! It was HILARIOUS! We all laughed and laughed. The socks were no where to be found! Thanks for helping me, David! :-) We finally discovered the basket in David and Daniel's closet.

Quotables

1. David (4 1/2 years old) was laying down for nap time: "Mom, I want to go to sleep, but I can't because my eyes make decisions [to stay open!]."

2. Joshua (15 months) walked up to me this morning and told me "stinkies, stinkies." And he was right -- he had stinkies! Wow!!! His other words are variations of Mama, Daddy, Daniel, David, football, drink, goldfish, and this. When he wants to eat something, he points at it earnestly and sticks his tongue in and out, in and out, in and out.

3. After lunch today, I was extra sore and stiff as I tried to stand up - not unusual at 36 weeks pregnant. I said, "Oh, owww, my back is really hurting."
Joseph, concerned, asked, "What would you like me to do?"
Daniel (6 years old) casually replied, "She's okay. She just needs to walk it off."
Thanks, son - I'm feelin' the love! :-)

36 Weeks

My two babies: Joshua - 15 months, Baby Girl - 36 Weeks. :-)

Cricket Legs

What will a man do out of love for a son? Joseph pulls the legs off crickets to feed to David's sick lizard, Fire-buster. Poor Fire-buster can no longer move fast enough to catch legged crickets. :-(

We have been talking with David about the fact that Fire-buster may not live very much longer. Yesterday I said, "David, I don't think Fire-buster is going to make it."

"Make it where?" he asked.

I answered, "I don't think he's going to live very long."

With a sad face, David replied, "That's okay. Lizards die before people anyway."

Good perspective, son.

20-Second Hug

Today I was feeling tired, and I was trying to think of what activity the boys should do next. Daniel said, "What should I do now, Mom?"

I said, "Hug your mother; she needs a good hug."

He gave me an obliging, wimpy, less-than-half-hearted hug.

I said, "How about hugging your mother while I count to 20?"

Pretty shocked, he said, "20 seconds!?! A 20-second hug?! No way! I'm never hugging anyone for 20 seconds!!"

I chuckled inside and thought, "We'll see - someday you may change your mind!" :-)

Quiet or Silent?

David (4) likes little special stuffed animals - a dinosaur, a raccoon, a skunk, a dog, etc. He call them his babies, and sometimes they come with us in the car, or some days he shares them with me, and most often they stay in his bed with him.

David and Daniel (6) share a room. When they go to bed, Joseph tells them if they should be "quiet" or "silent." Quiet means they can talk quietly for a while. Silent is pretty self-explanatory.

David was in bed by himself without Daniel Saturday night (Daniel was up playing a game with his cousins). David came out of his room and sweetly asked, "Mom, is it quiet or silent?"

"Well," I said, a little puzzled, "I guess it can be quiet, but who are you going to talk to?"

With a big smile, he said, "My babies!" :-)

Of course!!!

We're Back!

We're back! 14 1/2 months since our last post - and we're back! Since I last wrote, we've had a son, Joshua Douglas, and we are 11 weeks from our daughter's due date (October 18, 2010).

Joseph is continuing to take classes at Southern Seminary, nearing the end of his MDiv degree. He tutors at Langsford Learning Center, and he does a great job taking care of his growing family! This school year he will be doing an internship with our church, learning more about how the gospel plays out in all areas of church life and ministry.

Daniel is getting ready for 1st grade in the fall. He really enjoys reading and sports. We are using a curriculum from Memoria Press for our "Happy Home School." (Nice name, huh? Reminds us that the Mom is happy to teach and the kids are happy to learn! :-) The curriculum is very similar to what is taught at Highlands Latin School here in Louisville, where some of Daniel's cousins attend.

David is a carefree but sensitive 4-year-old. He loves his brothers, cousins, and friends. He has a twinkle in his eye and likes to tease (sound like his Dad?!). David will tag along with Daniel's homeschooling - he enjoys his preschool activities.

Joshua has learned to walk! His crawling days are almost done. He is a pleasant boy who works hard to keep up with his big brothers. His favorite words are "drink" and "out." "Out" is for out of my highchair ("I'm all done eating"), out of my car seat ("I'm tired of sitting here"), out of your arms ("I'd like to get down now"), out of the changing table ("I don't want a diaper change"). It's a nice versatile word! :-)

We are thankful for the Lord's continuing work in our hearts, our marriage, our family, our church, and our neighborhood. I'll use this blog to record thoughts, memories, things that make me smile or cry, and whatever else seems important at the time! :-) You are welcome to peek in this window into our world as we find joy in the Lord and on the journey God has for us.

David's Third Birthday

David turned three-years-old on April 26! We had a great time celebrating him and thanking God for him!

Here are some things we enjoyed:
- A train cake




- Cowboy boots from his brother




- A Lightening McQueen Sleeping Bag



- A pass to the Zoo and Science Center for our family from Pappap and Grandma



- A party with Bonura cousins in Louisville



- A very cool police hat and fire helmet from Gramps and Grammy



- A firefighter celebration with Anderson cousins in Missouri











- Family time at a Louisville Cardinals' Baseball Game
















Also, chewing his first gum first thing on David's birthday morning was much anticipated and he is enjoying that privalege!

We thank God for David! And we had a great fun birthday celebration! :-)

David's Scripts

David (just turned three-years-old) sometimes has ideas of how conversations should go. I think he scripts them in his mind.

1. David was talking in a very whiny voice. I told him firmly, "Please close your mouth and do not speak again until you can talk in a clear calm voice."

He immediately replied in a clear calm sweet voice, "No, Mama, you say, 'Awwww, David, what's wrong?"

Oh wow - I was definitely taken back by his reply! And I thought to myself, "We are not going by your script, David, but by mine!"


2. David was sitting with me on the back outdoor steps, watching Daniel and two friends (ages almost-five and two) play in a puddle in our driveway. David suddenly yelled across the yard to the boys, "Hey guys! (pause) Hey guys!"

Daniel replied from the puddle, "What, David?"

David said loudly, "Say, 'David, come on!'"

Daniel, confused, responded again, "What, David?"

David repeated from the steps, "Say, 'David, come on!"

So Daniel motioned and yelled across the yard, "David, come on!"

And David replied casually, "Naw, I'm sitting with Mom," and he leaned over to cuddle with me.

?????? Maybe he just wanted to be wanted by the boys! :-)

Stomach Flu and Salad?

Both our boys like salad. Real salad - with veggies in it! Maybe it is because we only feed them one meal a day and it is always salad?! Just kidding.

Daniel (4 years 9 months - he's counting!) especially prefers salad. He will choose a salad at a restaurant every chance he gets - even over a burger and fries! And he likes cool dressings -- honey mustard, poppy seed, raspberry vinaigrette, etc.

Today Daniel woke up with the stomach flu. After throwing up for the 2nd time, he moaned, "Mom, I don't want breakfast, (sigh), and I don't want lunch. (sigh) But I do want dinner."

I was thinking "That's reasonable - maybe you'll be feeling better by dinner time."

Then Daniel added, "I do want dinner - if we are having salad."

Hmmmm ... generally we follow the stomach flu with toast and Sprite. Salad?!?

Homecoming 2006 - Naked Toddler Jumping!

Oct 2006 - We went to Taylor University Homecoming. Professors from each major were in the gym so students could come visit with them. Lots of kids were jumping on the pole vault mat at one end of the gym, so we let Daniel (almost 2 1/2 years old at the time) join them as we visited.

Suddenly, from across the gym, Joseph saw Daniel start to take his shirt off, so he excused himself from his conversation and started walking towards him. In the mean time, as Daniel proceeded to take off his pants, Joseph started running across the gym towards him. Daniel continued to undress, until he was happily jumping on the mat in nothing but his socks!!!

After increasing to a full sprint, Joseph tackled Daniel to cover him! As he began to re-dress Daniel, and he asked, "Daniel, what were you doing? Why did you take your clothes off?"

Daniel answered simply, "I was hot!" :-)

2006-2007

I found some memories I jotted down from 2006-2007. Here they are ...

1. Oct 2006 - Daniel (2 yrs 4 months) prayed, "Thank you God that you are so kind and gentle."

2. Oct 2006 - We potty trained Daniel, at the encouragement of our dear friend Amy Morello, who was potty training her twins Alex and Peter! It is always better to potty train with a friend, right?!

3. Nov 2006 - Daniel (2 1/2 years old) had an ear infection, and after we explained this to him, he said, "Does David have an ear-itation, too?" :-)

4. Feb 2007 - Daniel (2 2/3 years old) was repeatedly struggling to stay in his toddler bed, and so he had been disciplined quite a bit. This led to two notable conversations:

- Over time we had shared with him that Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sin. After being disciplined again for getting out of bed, Daniel asked with a deep sigh, "When will Jesus take my discipline?"

- Later he asked, "Mama, when you lived with Gramps and Grammy, and when you slept in the bed I sleep in [he usually slept in my old room on Belleridge Pike] , and when you got out of bed, did you get disciplined?" Yep, sure did, son!