The Toy Stash...

Little by little Atticus has been accumulating too many toys to fit in the small bin that we had been keeping them in. In an attempt to bring some order to our living room we headed to Ikea a few weeks ago to purchase a storage unit to put all the toys in. 

We made a little play area for Atticus and it was a big hit! He loves it, and we love that he puts his toys away.

Enjoy the photos.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

Atticus' cozy corner.

checking it out for the first time

He approves!

It was only a matter of time before he found a new purpose for the toy bins AND drooled all over his shirt. But check out that cheeky face!

Ready to go for a ride.

Saturday is a special day

After two consecutive weekends of being sick and stuck inside we were finally able to get out. We were all very excited.

In the morning we had a couple errands to run before we were off to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Antiquities Museum). It is one of our favorite museums and they have a temporary exhibit that we have been wanting to see for a while; Egyptian Magic.

Our first visit was to the children's section that was set up where Atticus colored a picture and tried his hand at building a pyramid out of Lego. He sure enjoyed that and it was one of those parental moments where we couldn't believe how much he has grown up.

(just a heads up that some of the pictures are a little blurry on account of no flash photography in the museum)

Coloring

Getting out some building supplies for the pyramid.

Then it was on to the exhibit which included a great variety of items and interesting information about the history and importance of Egyptian Magic. 

Laura and Atticus about to head into the exhibit

Jason next to a statue Prince Khaemweset who is often referred to as the 'first Egyptologist'

There were plenty of items that caught Atticus' eye.

There were even a couple mentions of the Mormon religion including a book by Hugh Nibley which explains why there are Egyptian papyri that contain a message that is of particular interest to Latter-day Saints. 

After a busy morning, we opted for a more relaxed afternoon and went for a family walk. It was so nice to have a whole day to spend together.

It may have only been a Saturday but it felt like a mini-holiday to us and it truly was special.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

"love is really spelled t-i-m-e..."---Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Happy 14th of February!

While we are all still battling various degrees of being sick we ventured out this morning to an appointment with our midwife. The baby is doing well and is growing very quickly. The midwife showed me how to feel for the baby and identify the head and the bottom. When we heard the heart beat Atticus gave us a huge grin. It was a really nice visit to make on Valentine's Day.

We are well over half way there. Here is the last 'Bump-Picture' I have taken; it was taken at 25 weeks. 

(And yes, there is a bump...)

Tonight we are focusing on time together as a family and celebrating that time with heart-shaped french toast topped with warm berries for dinner. Then it will be a movie night with an old classic, we just haven't decided which classic it will be. We all love those old, black and white movies (Atticus included).


Hope you all have a wonderful day and week.

Love,

-The Clog Crew


~ PS ~
If you would like to watch the talk from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf where he discusses why "love is really spelled t-i-m-e..." then you can click here. It is a wonderful talk about the importance of slowing down and enjoying the things that matter most.

The Living Christ

As one of our first family goals in 2011, we decided we would memorize 'The Living Christ' together. (Atticus is obviously a little young for the task, but he does enjoy looking at all the pictures) 

We are happy to announce that we are half way through our 12 week timeline of memorizing it. We wanted to make sure that it was completed before Easter and we are a few weeks ahead of that goal.

For those of you who are not familiar with 'The Living Christ'; 

it is an official statement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued on January 1, 2000 by the leadership of the church. It is to stand as an official statement and testimony that we believe in Christ, His gospel and His atonement.

Memorizing has been a fun and challenging task. To tackle the task we have been using the download on the Discover The Scriptures website. The download on their website has been great! Each Monday night we sit down, practice the words we have already memorized and then introduce the following week. The words to memorize for the next week then get posted on the bathroom door. It sounds like a strange place to post them, but we have found it really helpful to read them as we brush our teeth. No matter how busy life gets we know we will always be brushing our teeth which means that working towards memorization will happen every day.

We practice our memorization by reciting it and also writing it out by hand.

 Some of the printouts on our bathroom door.

We are getting really excited about having the entire statement committed to memory. If anyone would like to give this a try with their family...

'The Living Christ' can be found here 

and the download that we are using can be found here (it's free).

Now we just need to think of a way to celebrate our accomplishment when we are all finished. 

Any ideas?

Love,

-The Clog Crew

Learning a new skill....

Atticus has been practicing a new skill. It may not be a very marketable skill, but at least it is part of good hygiene.

He climbed onto the couch to reach the tissue so that he could blow his nose and was very proud of himself. Being sick this weekend has given him more practice with his nose blowing than we would like though, however...

yes, our kid is talented.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

trying to explain why he pulled out ALL the tissues.

Apologizing...

And finally - practicing!

Our new set of wheels...

We got ourselves a new set of wheels that arrived just before Christmas. 

Check them out....

It's a 3-wheel-bakfiets and it is marvelous! We all love it; Atticus included, who will sing to the person driving it. You can even fit four children in the box (although we are only worried about fitting one for the time being). Life on bicycle has become much simpler and we are so grateful for the blessing of having it. 

And just in case you are wondering...yes, these are a regular sight here.

Love,

-The Clog Crew