school, pottying, sewing....life

The guys just left for wood cutting and I'm still up at 5:20 so I thought Id write a little. I should be sleeping I know....

Things have been fairly active around here. Seems we have several from the village that have been coming around asking for help. So far they have not been quite ready to turn to God and after a day or 2 seem to be back to their ways. It is sad and we continue to love them and pray for them.

We have started sewing with a couple elderly blind ladies on Thursdays from 9am to about 2:30pm. It is 2 sisters that hand sew quilts and do a really good job. We help match colors for them and pin blocks together. I so enjoy that time. They have such a good sense of humor and they ask lots of questions about God. The one has believed for several years but has not had much teaching. It is harder for the elderly to understand all the English language as well and they are unable to read in Hopi since it has not been a written language very long. (they just became blind in the last several years) So it is a lot of fun sitting with them and talking. I'm able to work on some mending of mine too.

Kids time is going pretty good too. There are a handful of kids that are pretty consistent in coming and then others that are sporadic. The thing that has been really good is the Bible memorization they are doing. They keep the same memory verses for them to say because it seems so often they learn the verse but forget it right away. By repeating the same 20 or so verses they are really drilled in their head. They are able to earn "dollars" by saying the verses, to spend in a store that we open every 2 weeks during kids time. So they can say the same verses over and over and earn "dollars" each time they say the verse. We pray that these verses will come to their mind some day in whatever situation they are in and bring them to repentance.

Homeschool is going really good. It sure helps to have help, in the kitchen especially. Mandi prepares lunch every day so I am able to just focus on school. We will sure miss her help when she leaves. She will be going home in about 2 weeks.

Bryce did get his permit then. We had to get a new birth certificate though. So now he wants to drive whenever possible. I went with him once into Hotevilla, but I prefer to let Jim drive with him. :)

Matthew is getting more interactive all the time, cooing and smiling a lot. He has stretched out his feeding to about every 4 hours now, and has his last feeding is at 6:30pm....so now I can get to bed early right? Not! It hasn't actually happened yet, but I have hope. And yes, we are still working on potty training the way some other countries do....very early. He is doing pretty good. We know his schedule pretty much and he seems to know what to do when hes on the potty. It is saving in diapers and Tara and Bryce can help take him. I'm not sure I would try this without older ones to help. And then the best news about Matthew of course, is that he found his thumb! It still thrills me when I see him soothing himself. lol! Strange, I know.

ok, well i should get a quick nap before Matthew wakes up. Ill let Tara do the picture posting on here.