Signing, Bilingual Family, and Hard Lessons

As new "teethers" are popping out of the tender gums of my 13-month old daughters, these past few weeks have brought their challenges and great joys!


I just want to share a bunch of random things that are going on as well as some nuggets of wisdom the Lord has shared with me. 


Signing with Babies: It can be really frustrating for my 1 year olds to let me know what they want. Both my girls can tell me (through sign language) if they want:

• More
• Water
• All Done
• Please
• Thank-you

These basic signs help so much! I would like them to learn "Juice" and "Milk" also. 

When one of the girls are sitting in their highchair and start to whine, I simply ask them what they want and they can tell me if they want more food, are thirsty, or are finished eating. It's really great. 

How do you do it? We started teaching the girls "All Done" and "More" from the time they were 6 months. We simply signed, "more" every time we gave them more food. Then, before I washed them up to get out of their highchair, I would sign "all done". We just recently added in the rest of the signs into their non-verbal vocabulary and picked it up right away! 

Bilingual Family: We still watch Little Pim everyday (which I LOVE and totally RECOMMEND). I try to speak french to the girls during the day (lately I have been really slacking on this). We listen to kids french music and read books about colors, shapes, and numbers in French, as well as a few favorites (Good Night Moon, I'll Love You Forever, ect.) daily. 

I am going to make some posters to hang up around the house with pictures and vocabulary words around the house. I actually am planing on picking up some poster board today when my husband gets home. I am planning on making:

• Alphabet and Numbers
• Clothing
• Body Parts
• What is the Weather Like/ Days of the Week
• Animals

When they are finished I will take pictures and post them on my blog so you can see them!

Marriage, Pregnancy, and Teething Twins: I have to admit, these past two weeks have been really rough! My husband works 6 days a week and goes in between 3am-5am most of those days. Not to mention we have had only one car for about 3 weeks now. And on top of all this, both girls are popping out at lease four new teeth, and I am in the stage of my pregnancy where the baby is growing dramatically! I am SUPER emotional, really crampy and sore, and stuck in the house with two clingy, whiney kids (I love my kids)!!!

My wonderful husband has been an awesome help. Taking me out for a walk, buying me a chocolate bar, holding me while I cry and reminding me that it will all be worth it and that I am doing a great job, giving me $50 extra grocery money just so I can get out of the house and do something... yeah he is pretty awesome. 

So through all this I am learning to really just sit back and take in the joys of life. If the house doesn't get clean, and dinner isn't exactly that wonderful, it really won't matter in the long run. When my girls are whiney, I try not to spoil them, but I also have compassion on them and spend some time snuggling and reading book while sitting on a pile of dirty laundry; I try to tickle and chase my girls around a house where there is rice and beans scattered all over the floor; I try to kick my feet up and concentrate on feeling the little miracle's movements inside of me.

Also, focus on the wonderful things that your husband does! WOMEN... WE ARE SO QUICK TO POINT OUT THE THINGS THAT OUR HUSBANDS DO WRONG, OR THE AREAS THEY COULD IMPROVE ON. Believe me, it is NOT your job to point these things out, nor is it your job to change your husband. It is your job to:

1.  Encourage him in the areas that he is doing great (or even not so great in). "Hey baby, thanks for putting your dirty clothes in the laundry basket. It makes my job a lot easier." "Thanks for rising off your dinner plate. I really appreciate it." "Thanks for paying our bills and working so hard to provide for the girls and I. You're my hero and I would be lost without you."
2. Pray for the areas that you see your husband struggling in, or the areas where you feel mistreated. "Lord, I really hate when my husband ______. Please work in my heart and in his heart." "Lord I am nervous about how my husband is handling ______. Please be speaking to him and guiding him. Give him wisdom and courage to handle this the way You would want him to."

Here is the bottom line: If you nag your husband or point out how much he is failing (even if this isn't your intention, this is what you are doing), he is going to STOP TRYING. You are crushing his pride (the good kind that makes him feel like the man of the house) and you are making him scared to try because he doesn't want you to see him as a failure. The Holy Spirit and your husband's Creator and Savior know him much better then you do, and has a much better way of working in your husband's heart then you do.

So I challenge you: try saying nothing negative to your husband. Build him up and pray for him. Watch him become the man that you always wanted him to be: loving, trustworthy, courageous, bold, strong... the list goes on. It is truly amazing the impact we have on our men!