All of these years we have had the same, shall we say, interesting situations occur in and around our home, and other places we frequent. I have been thinking that these oddities are a side effect of our homeschooling adventure. In the past few months I am beginning to question this hypothesis. I now think I should blame the parents in this particular household. Not to point any fingers, but I am leaning to the male parental unit as the instigator in many cases.
For your reading pleasure, here are the top oddities that are NOT the result of homeschooling, but of parenting. You may feel free to infer which are my husband and which are myself. I am hoping at least one is very easy to decipher. Sadly, it is not #9.
14. When looking for my son we look on the ceiling.
13. We have all gone in public in costume. Not at Halloween.
12. We all have a written list of our superpowers.
11. At the first snowfall the children built a ziggurat instead of a snowman. They used empty containers ranging in size between a trash can and a bowl, which has never returned.
10. At a Christmas party my eldest daughter organized the children into a circle for circle time. Then had a game for them to play. She did not have a craft prepared, but she later said she thought of one after time to open presents but no one was interested.
9. My toddler sings his name. And whatever he happens to be doing. For instance: "David. Farting. DAV-ID. is FART-ING. DAVIDISFARTING!!!!!" Repeatedly.
8. When told we were going to have a healthy snack my children all said: "Alright! Ice Cream!!!"
7. When in public my children line up and follow me like little ducks. With quacking included.
6. There was a fake mustache stuck to the steering wheel of my van for weeks. It relocated to the dashboard, then disappeared.
5. We have at least 6 rubber chickens in a variety of sizes. They have names. And only one is a performing chicken.
4. The mustache was later found frozen to the driveway.
3. Science is everywhere, from the grass growing in the bathroom sink to the mushrooms growing in the basement. However, I can not grow a houseplant on purpose to save my life.
2. My family frequently bursts into song and dance. Even in public.
1. For Christmas my daughter asked for a dragon and a Barbie. She got both, and an attack bat, which is her favorite.
***Some say ODD, but I like to say FUN!!***
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Leaving a Legacy
Perhaps it has been all the reading I have been doing lately, some on art history, some for fun. I have been thinking about leaving a legacy. Obviously, if you are named in a book on history, or have a chapter all to your self, there is a legacy that is well marked that you have left behind. Perhaps you developed a cure for a serious illness. Or carried the Gospel to a foreign land. Or maybe changed the way the world thinks about something through your discovery or led thousands to Christ. There may be millions of people whose lives you changed for eternity or whose lives now take on a better quality from your work.
More likely than not, you are none of those things. You are an ordinary person with ordinary dreams and and ordinary life. I know I am. I used to think that I could change the world, but had to come to grips with the reality that I will never discover a cure for cancer, preach to a filled stadium, or sing on stage. I will never be a professional athlete, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the President of the Untied States, or the dictator of a foreign country. I will never climb Mount Everest, swim the English Channel, or fly a plane. I will never be able to time travel, unlock the mysteries of space, or compose a great symphony. I am ok with all of that, well, perhaps I still will fantasize about the whole dictator thing, but I am happy where I am. I never really liked sports anyway, and am not very good at math. So, where does that leave me? I will never be mentioned in a history book. I am not a household name. I have no great riches, no superpowers, no earthshaking developments in science.
So often we hear inspirational stories, stories of people who are famous, who left a great impact on society or those around them. I would like to share a story of my own someday, but it is still being written. You see, my legacy has not been determined by anything I have done, but by something done for me. I cannot boast great power, prestige, or fame, but I belong to One who can. My legacy, what I hope to leave my children and the people around me has no monetary value, it is a legacy of faith. The time spend in ministering to others in the name of Christ, not my own. The bedtime prayers, morning devotions, and memory verses. The silliness at Bible Club, wiping noses in the nursery, talking to youth. My legacy will not lie in the lives of millions, but in the hearts of my children. I can think of no greater legacy.
And perhaps someday, one of them will do something greater than I. Or perhaps they will touch the lives of those around them on a small scale. And ripple by ripple the effect of one heart set afire for God will change the world.
More likely than not, you are none of those things. You are an ordinary person with ordinary dreams and and ordinary life. I know I am. I used to think that I could change the world, but had to come to grips with the reality that I will never discover a cure for cancer, preach to a filled stadium, or sing on stage. I will never be a professional athlete, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the President of the Untied States, or the dictator of a foreign country. I will never climb Mount Everest, swim the English Channel, or fly a plane. I will never be able to time travel, unlock the mysteries of space, or compose a great symphony. I am ok with all of that, well, perhaps I still will fantasize about the whole dictator thing, but I am happy where I am. I never really liked sports anyway, and am not very good at math. So, where does that leave me? I will never be mentioned in a history book. I am not a household name. I have no great riches, no superpowers, no earthshaking developments in science.
So often we hear inspirational stories, stories of people who are famous, who left a great impact on society or those around them. I would like to share a story of my own someday, but it is still being written. You see, my legacy has not been determined by anything I have done, but by something done for me. I cannot boast great power, prestige, or fame, but I belong to One who can. My legacy, what I hope to leave my children and the people around me has no monetary value, it is a legacy of faith. The time spend in ministering to others in the name of Christ, not my own. The bedtime prayers, morning devotions, and memory verses. The silliness at Bible Club, wiping noses in the nursery, talking to youth. My legacy will not lie in the lives of millions, but in the hearts of my children. I can think of no greater legacy.
And perhaps someday, one of them will do something greater than I. Or perhaps they will touch the lives of those around them on a small scale. And ripple by ripple the effect of one heart set afire for God will change the world.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
CurrClick, Here I Come!
Finally it is official! I am a publisher on Currclick.com, with a whopping one title to my name- Firefly Publishing. And I even sold one- to my mother. LOL
This has been something I have thought about for a while and never have felt prepared enough, good enough, ready enough, brave enough to do. Thanks to a hard push from Andy and a few good friends, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to see what they thought of me at Currclick to begin. In all honesty, I was amazed that I was welcomed aboard. I am not sure why, because if I thought it was good enough for my own children, someone else had to think the same.
And now, as I try to do school for myself and with the kids, I will try to continue to write more. I have lots of ideas, stuff already partially written, scraps of paper, and co-ops I had planned on turning into lapbooks or unit studies. Somewhere. I am excited thinking about all the possibilities.
Next up- a unit study on the Fruit of the Spirit. Which I have as a VBS, but it needs some work to switch over to a unit study. And needs retyped because it is on a floppy disc. Which might mean I am old. My first work is on one of those huge floppy discs. And there are some that were only on a word processor in the pre-computer time. Which does mean I am old. Or at least I lag behind technology a bit. Yeah, let’s go with that one!!
This has been something I have thought about for a while and never have felt prepared enough, good enough, ready enough, brave enough to do. Thanks to a hard push from Andy and a few good friends, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to see what they thought of me at Currclick to begin. In all honesty, I was amazed that I was welcomed aboard. I am not sure why, because if I thought it was good enough for my own children, someone else had to think the same.
And now, as I try to do school for myself and with the kids, I will try to continue to write more. I have lots of ideas, stuff already partially written, scraps of paper, and co-ops I had planned on turning into lapbooks or unit studies. Somewhere. I am excited thinking about all the possibilities.
Next up- a unit study on the Fruit of the Spirit. Which I have as a VBS, but it needs some work to switch over to a unit study. And needs retyped because it is on a floppy disc. Which might mean I am old. My first work is on one of those huge floppy discs. And there are some that were only on a word processor in the pre-computer time. Which does mean I am old. Or at least I lag behind technology a bit. Yeah, let’s go with that one!!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Train up a chil in the way he should go...
…and it will take every ounce of your strength. That is how that phrase should read. Never having been to an actual war, I can only imagine, but it seems to me there are some deep comparisons there. Daily skirmishes. Bone wary struggles. Blood, sweat and tears. Post traumatic stress. Financial drain. Lack of sleep. And the lack of ability to tell while in the trenches if you are winning.
Take last night for example. Faith and Isaac wanted to watch a movie in Isaac’s room. (Yes, there are TVs in the bedrooms. Don’t judge me. It affords me 15 minutes of peace and quiet every other Tuesday or so. It is worth it.) I said sure. They are not allowed to take up food or drinks. They are not allowed to jump on the bed. And lacking the foresight, I neglected to make a rule about taking all of the clothes out of the dresser and tossing them about the room all willy -nilly. And there was not a rule about taking apart lamps. Now there is. I went up to put David to bed and found bowls, every stitch of Isaac’s clothing, cups, DVDs, sheets, and stuffed animals all over the place. There was a lamp shade hanging from the fan blade. Which apparently took three tries. The mattress was off the bed in one direction, and the boards holding it up were knocked out of place. I called for them to come clean it up, and Andy brought them up. He took one look around, kicked the stuff out of the way and took the bed apart. He put the box springs and mattress on the floor. This might upset some people, but not Isaac. Now he just can fall right into bed. And we won’t know if he jumps on it. Totally missed the point.
This was only one of our skirmishes yesterday. And I can never tell if they are “getting it” on a daily basis. However, something must be sinking in because everyday Faith and Isaac (in our home the Faith and Isaac phenomenon has begun to be called Fisaac for short) dump out every single Lego- I estimate there are now 3,834 due to a rare moment of vacuuming rage during which I vacuumed one up- all over the dining room table and floor. And everyday they are surprised that they have to clean them up. Not today. For on this lovely morning, when they came down to play,and as Isaac was about to dump them out Faith shouted “Remember yesterday!!!” and they dug through for the ones they wanted instead. I have no idea what yesterday had to do with Lego clean up. I have only said not to dump them all out or they will have to clean it up for the past 932 yesterdays. One of those must have sunk in. I hope. Tomorrow is another day.
And with a not quite two year old, I estimate there are only about 7,305 tomorrows of this, if I accurately counted leap years, before the Lego’s can be sold on eBay, or even better, be packed up and given to Faith or Isaac’s children. And then I can sit here, sipping hot coffee, cause I hear that’s how it tastes best, and read Facebook messages and blogs from them and their spouses about Lego’s, lampshades and other trauma. And then I will know I have won, even if it is a last man standing type of victory. And I hear that the revenge, I mean, grandchildren are rather wonderful.
Take last night for example. Faith and Isaac wanted to watch a movie in Isaac’s room. (Yes, there are TVs in the bedrooms. Don’t judge me. It affords me 15 minutes of peace and quiet every other Tuesday or so. It is worth it.) I said sure. They are not allowed to take up food or drinks. They are not allowed to jump on the bed. And lacking the foresight, I neglected to make a rule about taking all of the clothes out of the dresser and tossing them about the room all willy -nilly. And there was not a rule about taking apart lamps. Now there is. I went up to put David to bed and found bowls, every stitch of Isaac’s clothing, cups, DVDs, sheets, and stuffed animals all over the place. There was a lamp shade hanging from the fan blade. Which apparently took three tries. The mattress was off the bed in one direction, and the boards holding it up were knocked out of place. I called for them to come clean it up, and Andy brought them up. He took one look around, kicked the stuff out of the way and took the bed apart. He put the box springs and mattress on the floor. This might upset some people, but not Isaac. Now he just can fall right into bed. And we won’t know if he jumps on it. Totally missed the point.
This was only one of our skirmishes yesterday. And I can never tell if they are “getting it” on a daily basis. However, something must be sinking in because everyday Faith and Isaac (in our home the Faith and Isaac phenomenon has begun to be called Fisaac for short) dump out every single Lego- I estimate there are now 3,834 due to a rare moment of vacuuming rage during which I vacuumed one up- all over the dining room table and floor. And everyday they are surprised that they have to clean them up. Not today. For on this lovely morning, when they came down to play,and as Isaac was about to dump them out Faith shouted “Remember yesterday!!!” and they dug through for the ones they wanted instead. I have no idea what yesterday had to do with Lego clean up. I have only said not to dump them all out or they will have to clean it up for the past 932 yesterdays. One of those must have sunk in. I hope. Tomorrow is another day.
And with a not quite two year old, I estimate there are only about 7,305 tomorrows of this, if I accurately counted leap years, before the Lego’s can be sold on eBay, or even better, be packed up and given to Faith or Isaac’s children. And then I can sit here, sipping hot coffee, cause I hear that’s how it tastes best, and read Facebook messages and blogs from them and their spouses about Lego’s, lampshades and other trauma. And then I will know I have won, even if it is a last man standing type of victory. And I hear that the revenge, I mean, grandchildren are rather wonderful.
My Buddy Max
I love Max Lucado, and jumped at the chance to get one of his books, Outlive Your Life, via Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program. And my buddy Max did not disappoint! His book is based on a series of sermons on the book of Acts. His message? Outlive your life through your words and actions. Do not only contribute to make your life better, but to make the world better. Live beyond your personal ambition that will die when you do for something greater, live your faith in ways the world can see.
Through his normal conversational style and questions for reflection located in the back of the book, Lucado challenges us all to pray, think, and act with greater compassion. To become aware of and attempt to met the needs of others. To become the hands and feet of Jesus to this world. And you can not read his writings, any of them, and not be changed. You do not read Lucado to be entertained, you read his writings to be changed.
I highly recommend How to outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference, or any Max Lucado book, to anyone who wants to grow in their faith, to be encouraged, to be transformed. And then, live your faith out loud.
Through his normal conversational style and questions for reflection located in the back of the book, Lucado challenges us all to pray, think, and act with greater compassion. To become aware of and attempt to met the needs of others. To become the hands and feet of Jesus to this world. And you can not read his writings, any of them, and not be changed. You do not read Lucado to be entertained, you read his writings to be changed.
I highly recommend How to outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference, or any Max Lucado book, to anyone who wants to grow in their faith, to be encouraged, to be transformed. And then, live your faith out loud.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Algebra
I am two days into my algebra class, but have done so much work by way of assessments, assignments, and reading. I have to work everyday to stay on top of my classes, and I was really afraid of this class because math of any kind if not my strong suit. I have found that I am enjoying it, however.
There are answers. Correct ones. And specific ways to get those answers. I spend so much of my time struggling in my life to find answers to daily problems, like how to have a clean house and home school. How to get my children to where they need to be. How to pay our bills with only one income. Where am I going to get clothes and a coat for David? Problems with no easy answers, maybe even no right answers. But I keep trying, keep plugging away trying to find our way through this journey.
And then comes College Algebra. With complexities, sure, but I already deal with those. With problems and variables and inequalities. Deal with those daily too. But now there are formulas to help, specific and correct answers that are achievable by even me if only I follow the specific directions. Wow. What a relief! Instead of open ended questions and never ending problems, there is one specific thing I am looking for. One right answer that is out there somewhere, I just have to get it.
And this is what used to drive me crazy about math in general. I had opinions and thoughts that did not fit a formula. I had multiple opportunities that would energize me. And you want me to settle on only one method, the search for only one answer that is not even important in my life? HA! And then I grew up. Got married. Had children. Had more children. And now those opportunities and thoughts and opinions can seem overwhelming. There are too many questions and no “right” answers or methods. And the most math I do is trying to balance my checkbook, which resembles an upside-down funnel. (Just take a second to picture that…)
I know that God is good, that He is in control, and that He loves me abundantly. I see His hand daily in our lives. I do not know the answers, and I know He does. It is simply nice to do something that there are correct answers for and that I can know them.
There are answers. Correct ones. And specific ways to get those answers. I spend so much of my time struggling in my life to find answers to daily problems, like how to have a clean house and home school. How to get my children to where they need to be. How to pay our bills with only one income. Where am I going to get clothes and a coat for David? Problems with no easy answers, maybe even no right answers. But I keep trying, keep plugging away trying to find our way through this journey.
And then comes College Algebra. With complexities, sure, but I already deal with those. With problems and variables and inequalities. Deal with those daily too. But now there are formulas to help, specific and correct answers that are achievable by even me if only I follow the specific directions. Wow. What a relief! Instead of open ended questions and never ending problems, there is one specific thing I am looking for. One right answer that is out there somewhere, I just have to get it.
And this is what used to drive me crazy about math in general. I had opinions and thoughts that did not fit a formula. I had multiple opportunities that would energize me. And you want me to settle on only one method, the search for only one answer that is not even important in my life? HA! And then I grew up. Got married. Had children. Had more children. And now those opportunities and thoughts and opinions can seem overwhelming. There are too many questions and no “right” answers or methods. And the most math I do is trying to balance my checkbook, which resembles an upside-down funnel. (Just take a second to picture that…)
I know that God is good, that He is in control, and that He loves me abundantly. I see His hand daily in our lives. I do not know the answers, and I know He does. It is simply nice to do something that there are correct answers for and that I can know them.
Monday, November 8, 2010
A Moment of Sheer Terror
So I just had one of the most terrifying moments of my life. The kids were all in bed. Andy had gone upstairs a while ago. Faith came to me complaining about hearing a weird scratching sound. I told her she was imagining it. I sent her back to bed so I could go back to watching a creepy episode of Destination Truth on You Tube. Stress on the word creepy.
All of a sudden there was a horrid noise, accompanied by scratching and scrambling around, then pierced by a terrifying scream. I almost swallowed my tongue. I turned around slowly, thankful I was not in the broken chair, in time to see Faith and Isaac chasing the cat and screaming.
Our local escape artist, Cheeky Cheeser the hamster, got free of his cage and was captured by Ferocious the cat, who earlier today brought a mostly dead mouse to Angel. We scared the cat enough that he dropped Cheeky Cheeser who began running all over and biting us. We finally caught him in a toy bathtub from Angel’s doll house- do not let her know that- and got him back into his cage. In doing so I had to wake up Andy to fix the door. Then for good measure I duct taped it shut- in red, which is all the rage in rodent decor this year.
This moment was only second in terror, being topped by the night I was up late typing a paper in my basement/school room and heard a scurrying above my head, some thumping, and then the ceiling tiles fell on my head, complete with the cat. Same cat. Fell on my head. In the middle of the night. FELL ON MY HEAD. I almost had a heart attack. I jumped up pretty high and actually threw the whole mess across the room with ninja like reflexes while screaming in terror before realizing it was the cat.
All of a sudden there was a horrid noise, accompanied by scratching and scrambling around, then pierced by a terrifying scream. I almost swallowed my tongue. I turned around slowly, thankful I was not in the broken chair, in time to see Faith and Isaac chasing the cat and screaming.
Our local escape artist, Cheeky Cheeser the hamster, got free of his cage and was captured by Ferocious the cat, who earlier today brought a mostly dead mouse to Angel. We scared the cat enough that he dropped Cheeky Cheeser who began running all over and biting us. We finally caught him in a toy bathtub from Angel’s doll house- do not let her know that- and got him back into his cage. In doing so I had to wake up Andy to fix the door. Then for good measure I duct taped it shut- in red, which is all the rage in rodent decor this year.
This moment was only second in terror, being topped by the night I was up late typing a paper in my basement/school room and heard a scurrying above my head, some thumping, and then the ceiling tiles fell on my head, complete with the cat. Same cat. Fell on my head. In the middle of the night. FELL ON MY HEAD. I almost had a heart attack. I jumped up pretty high and actually threw the whole mess across the room with ninja like reflexes while screaming in terror before realizing it was the cat.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Giving Thanks!!
So there have been lots of status updates, emails, and posts about thankfulness. Some people are daily listing things they are thankful for, some are listing them in ABC order. I know that kind of list, a daily one, is way more follow through than I have at this point in my life, so I have hesitated to even begin. Classic case of perfectionist procrastination. So here, handily located in one very thankful, very alphabetized blog post are the things I am thankful for this year.
A- Andy, Angel, Amber, apples, alligators, and antibiotics
B- Boys that play so rough and tumble (of which I have two and many nephews- HI LUKE!!), bon bons, books, and bedtime
C- Chocolate, cookies, coffee, and chocolate coffee. The best things in life start with “C”
D- Dads, Dan, dominoes, door bells that work, Doritos, and dinosaurs
E- everything God has given me (a cop-out, I know)
F- Faith (both my daughter and the in God variety), finger foods, firefighters and friends
G- God, grandparents, grapes, glue and Gatorade
H- my home, healing, hamburgers, humor and happiness
I- Isaac, iguanas, ice cream, Italian Sweet Cram coffee creamer, and igloos (because I would love to see one)
J- Jesus, Josh, Jesse (*grin*), joy, jammies and jelly, especially strawberry
K- kids, kites on the beach, Kit Kats and kettle corn
L- lollipops, love, lights, lipstick, and language arts (just kidding!!)
M- mothers, movies, MP3 players, music, maids (on my Christmas list, by the way)and monkeys
N- Ninjas, night, new books, naps, Nintendo, and noodles
O- old friends, old comfy slippers, online school, and open doors- the figurative ones
P- Pepsi, pizza, pastors, police, pasta salad, and pie
Q- quiet (at least from what I remember of it), quilts, and quill pens
R- Raehls, roots (of people, not plants), reading, robes, and rubber bands
S- Scott, silly string, socks, snakes, and superheros
T- Theresa, tigers, teeth, and I would say Tony, but he changed his name
U- unicycles, unicorns, and uniqueness
V- vehicles that run, values, and villages
W- water, worship, and watermelon
X- x-rays and X Files
Y- yaks (the dream kind), yogurt, you tube, youth, and Yahoo groups
Z- zippers, zeros, zebras, and ziggurats
And there is a completely incomplete list of all the things I am thankful for today.
A- Andy, Angel, Amber, apples, alligators, and antibiotics
B- Boys that play so rough and tumble (of which I have two and many nephews- HI LUKE!!), bon bons, books, and bedtime
C- Chocolate, cookies, coffee, and chocolate coffee. The best things in life start with “C”
D- Dads, Dan, dominoes, door bells that work, Doritos, and dinosaurs
E- everything God has given me (a cop-out, I know)
F- Faith (both my daughter and the in God variety), finger foods, firefighters and friends
G- God, grandparents, grapes, glue and Gatorade
H- my home, healing, hamburgers, humor and happiness
I- Isaac, iguanas, ice cream, Italian Sweet Cram coffee creamer, and igloos (because I would love to see one)
J- Jesus, Josh, Jesse (*grin*), joy, jammies and jelly, especially strawberry
K- kids, kites on the beach, Kit Kats and kettle corn
L- lollipops, love, lights, lipstick, and language arts (just kidding!!)
M- mothers, movies, MP3 players, music, maids (on my Christmas list, by the way)and monkeys
N- Ninjas, night, new books, naps, Nintendo, and noodles
O- old friends, old comfy slippers, online school, and open doors- the figurative ones
P- Pepsi, pizza, pastors, police, pasta salad, and pie
Q- quiet (at least from what I remember of it), quilts, and quill pens
R- Raehls, roots (of people, not plants), reading, robes, and rubber bands
S- Scott, silly string, socks, snakes, and superheros
T- Theresa, tigers, teeth, and I would say Tony, but he changed his name
U- unicycles, unicorns, and uniqueness
V- vehicles that run, values, and villages
W- water, worship, and watermelon
X- x-rays and X Files
Y- yaks (the dream kind), yogurt, you tube, youth, and Yahoo groups
Z- zippers, zeros, zebras, and ziggurats
And there is a completely incomplete list of all the things I am thankful for today.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Now Showing...
Andy and I like to watch movies. Our whole family does. We do not have cable or anything, so we watch movies or episodes of shows on DVD or the computer. We have been quite discouraged at the quality of entertainment that can be found today. There are lots of great stories out there, but they are bogged down with either gruesome violence, sexual images, off color jokes, or profanity. Shows that interest our whole family fare better, but when Andy and I are ready to watch a grown up movie, we have been quite discouraged at the choices that we can find. We settle for something that ends up with some things in it that we would rather not see or hear. It is not only one genre of movies either, as I love action adventure, romance, comedy, and even some scary stuff. They all leave a bit to be desired and the Christian versions are lacking the budget to compete, or are too far between.
Every once in a while I am surprised at what we can rent at the local Redbox, however. Last night we watched a movie called Rust. Incredible. It started out kind of slow, but soon I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding a fire that killed a family in the town, and the role an outcast citizen had to play in the fire. And as the story unfolded that characters began to fill out and I was hooked. It was a great movie.
Even better were the special features. There were several that told the story of how local people were cast as leading roles in the story, the meaning behind the dedication at the end of the film, and the story of Lloyd. After seeing the man who plays the character of Travis in the story, I fell in love with him. His life story brought tears to my eyes, and his determination, courage, and integrity are unparalleled. If you want to be inspired, to be moved to tears, to be encouraged, to be challenged, as well as entertained, check out Rust. And watch the special feature about Lloyd. And I will guarantee that he will change your outlook on life and on people. And he will become your favorite hero. I know he is now mine.
Every once in a while I am surprised at what we can rent at the local Redbox, however. Last night we watched a movie called Rust. Incredible. It started out kind of slow, but soon I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding a fire that killed a family in the town, and the role an outcast citizen had to play in the fire. And as the story unfolded that characters began to fill out and I was hooked. It was a great movie.
Even better were the special features. There were several that told the story of how local people were cast as leading roles in the story, the meaning behind the dedication at the end of the film, and the story of Lloyd. After seeing the man who plays the character of Travis in the story, I fell in love with him. His life story brought tears to my eyes, and his determination, courage, and integrity are unparalleled. If you want to be inspired, to be moved to tears, to be encouraged, to be challenged, as well as entertained, check out Rust. And watch the special feature about Lloyd. And I will guarantee that he will change your outlook on life and on people. And he will become your favorite hero. I know he is now mine.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Things I Do Not Understand
There are somethings that my kids do that I totally understand, like avoiding bedtime. They don’t want to miss anything, which I understand since I frequently stay up late doing all kids of crazy fun stuff like writing papers on illegal immigration, stripping paint, washing dishes, folding laundry, and , if I am feeling all kinds of crazy, scrubbing the kitchen floor, a type of fun that I can only handle every so often. Who could sleep with all that fun and excitement occurring under the same roof? (In all honesty I do have to confess that as soon as we tuck them in Andy runs for the ice cream.)
They avoid school like it may in fact give them the plague. That I also understand, as evidenced by the fact that David is taking a rare morning nap so I am blogging. Instead of doing school, mine or theirs.
And I even understand the avoidance of certain activities that I enjoy, such as napping, taking a bath, and reading. These things all take away from the job they should be doing, playing. I get that, because most of those things I do for play, especially reading. And yet, there are some activities others do for play that I do not enjoy, such as bungee jumping, sky diving, cooking, and golf.
What I do not understand is the effort some of my children will go to to avoid the things they are required to do. For example, putting dirty laundry in the hamper. To me, it takes much more effort to hide dirty underpants in creative locations than to toss them in a laundry basket that is conveniently located directly beside you. Or to running to a different floor of the house to toss a toy into the closet instead of walking to the next room and putting it in the bin. Or putting the trash in your hand directly outside of the trash can when it is the same amount of effort to put it in. Or using a napkin that is right by your elbow to clean up the four drops of milk on the table instead of running to the bathroom and getting four bath towels that are still warm from the dryer and tossing them somewhere close to the spill.
The same children who spent ten minutes jumping on bubble wrap are too tired to run to the bathroom to get a baby wipe refill when I am up to my elbows in a dirty diaper. They jump on the couch while watching a movie but can not get up to push play on the DVD player. I have a child who will get out bread, peanut butter, a plate, and a knife and come find me instead of making her own sandwich. I have a child who will bring a gallon of milk and a cup all over the house looking for me instead of pouring it himself. This is the same child who will climb to the top of the fridge to get a piece of gum, but will not open the fridge to get his own yogurt.
I was never the child who would rather do something half way. I was always a perfectionist. It was all or nothing. Now, most cleaning activities were nothing, but if I had to do them I certainly did not hide my toys in a different room. I hide them in the same room, like under my bed. I would never exert more effort to avoid an activity than it took to complete it. I had a brother who would have walked to the ends of the earth for a new video game, but would not walk to the trash can to put anything in. (Oh, you, and your wife, know who you are…) He would do anything to get out of something he was supposed to do, no matter how much effort it took to avoid it. That always drove me crazy. Apparently I was standing too close to him when my mother cursed him to have children just like him, cause it effected me as well. And it still drives me crazy.
They avoid school like it may in fact give them the plague. That I also understand, as evidenced by the fact that David is taking a rare morning nap so I am blogging. Instead of doing school, mine or theirs.
And I even understand the avoidance of certain activities that I enjoy, such as napping, taking a bath, and reading. These things all take away from the job they should be doing, playing. I get that, because most of those things I do for play, especially reading. And yet, there are some activities others do for play that I do not enjoy, such as bungee jumping, sky diving, cooking, and golf.
What I do not understand is the effort some of my children will go to to avoid the things they are required to do. For example, putting dirty laundry in the hamper. To me, it takes much more effort to hide dirty underpants in creative locations than to toss them in a laundry basket that is conveniently located directly beside you. Or to running to a different floor of the house to toss a toy into the closet instead of walking to the next room and putting it in the bin. Or putting the trash in your hand directly outside of the trash can when it is the same amount of effort to put it in. Or using a napkin that is right by your elbow to clean up the four drops of milk on the table instead of running to the bathroom and getting four bath towels that are still warm from the dryer and tossing them somewhere close to the spill.
The same children who spent ten minutes jumping on bubble wrap are too tired to run to the bathroom to get a baby wipe refill when I am up to my elbows in a dirty diaper. They jump on the couch while watching a movie but can not get up to push play on the DVD player. I have a child who will get out bread, peanut butter, a plate, and a knife and come find me instead of making her own sandwich. I have a child who will bring a gallon of milk and a cup all over the house looking for me instead of pouring it himself. This is the same child who will climb to the top of the fridge to get a piece of gum, but will not open the fridge to get his own yogurt.
I was never the child who would rather do something half way. I was always a perfectionist. It was all or nothing. Now, most cleaning activities were nothing, but if I had to do them I certainly did not hide my toys in a different room. I hide them in the same room, like under my bed. I would never exert more effort to avoid an activity than it took to complete it. I had a brother who would have walked to the ends of the earth for a new video game, but would not walk to the trash can to put anything in. (Oh, you, and your wife, know who you are…) He would do anything to get out of something he was supposed to do, no matter how much effort it took to avoid it. That always drove me crazy. Apparently I was standing too close to him when my mother cursed him to have children just like him, cause it effected me as well. And it still drives me crazy.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thankfulness
Since having children I have found there are things I am thankful for that I always took for granted or never quite appericated, like showers. There are things I never would have though as things to be thankful for, they were always so basic, like pencils that stay where I left them. And then there are the things I am thankful for simple because they keep my children entertained. That being said, here is a list of all the things I can think of that right now that I am thankful for that I have taken advantage of or not used properly in my life pre-children.
1. Paper cups. No, I do not mean drinking out of them. David loves to stack them, unstack them, and restack them. This has kept him entertained for over 15 minutes at a time. He gets so excited if I have a stack of one color with only a few of a different color thrown in. It’s like finding gum in your lollipop. Amazing. As for the 15 minutes of distraction, even more than amazing.
2.� Tape. Silly me, I thought it was for such mundane things as holding paper together or torturing cats. Nope, it can also be used to tape your brother’s mouth shut, turn your whole body into a robot, or collect fingerprints. All those uses, and I was simply taping paper. And another reason to be thankful for tape is that it comes in a two pack at the Dollar Tree.
3. Live birds in WalMart. When I worked there they were irritating. Now they are the ultimate distraction. Kid wants a toy, candy, or huge flyswatter?? No problem, simply point out the bird perched above their heads and they forget to throw a fit. Or maybe this only works with kids who have ADHD. Either way, I am covered. I now love those birds and would smuggle them in if they were not there.
4. Pennies. I used to only use the pile of change stacked up on Andy’s dresser for vending machines, mostly at the ER, or milk and Pepsi between paydays. And I always left the pennies. No more, I tell you. Now I can dump the pennies on the floor and tell Isaac there is money hidden somewhere in his room and he can have it all if his room is clean. He cleans up and I do not even have to yell once. At him. Has never worked for the girls though.
5. Chocolate chips for cookies. I hesitate to include this item on a list of things I have only been thankful for in the last decade, but it has new meanings for me, so I chose to include it. We use chocolate chips for a number of things that have nothing to to with baking. We use them for math to add, subtract, multiply, divide, show fractions, etc. And then that kid gets to eat them. Score one for less tears at math. And I also give them to David one at a time to keep him quiet. This only works in small intervals, because he never stops talking, but I take what I can get.
6. The number 3. It is magic. All I have to do is start counting and by 3 they do whatever I was asking them to do. Has never worked for the numbers 1 or 2. Three really is the magic number. Yet another thing I should have learned from Schoolhouse Rock.
7. Scarves. I currently have at least three I am using daily. One ties the fridge shut, one for the pantry, and one for the cupboard under the sink. I used to use rubber bands, but little fingers have actually learned to pick them off already. Soon he will master the complexities of the knot, but for now my food and feminine products are safe.
8. Coffe cans. Silly me I thought they were for holding coffe or playing kick the can. Nope. They current hold legos, flowers, seashells, and live worms- not in the same can. And that is just in my dining room. One from Sam’s is the perfect size for David to wear on his head.
9. The words “Do Not…”. They have a mystical power that forces the child hearing them to try it at least once. I used to think this meant I should never say them. As in: “Do not hit your sister.” “What, you mean like this?!” Now I just follow those powerful words with things I secretly want them to do. For example, yesterday before church the kids were piddling around instead of finishing breakfast. I simply said: “Do not finish eating, we are out of time.” They inhaled all the food, slammed back their drinks, and were done. HA!
10. Clean undies. As a child my mother always told me to wear clean undies everyday. I do the same for my children. Despite enjoying having clean undies myself, I know know they serve a greater purpose than hygiene. If they each have six pairs of undies, and change them everyday, I know how long I can go without washing clothes just by taking a quick peek in any kid’s underwear drawer.
1. Paper cups. No, I do not mean drinking out of them. David loves to stack them, unstack them, and restack them. This has kept him entertained for over 15 minutes at a time. He gets so excited if I have a stack of one color with only a few of a different color thrown in. It’s like finding gum in your lollipop. Amazing. As for the 15 minutes of distraction, even more than amazing.
2.� Tape. Silly me, I thought it was for such mundane things as holding paper together or torturing cats. Nope, it can also be used to tape your brother’s mouth shut, turn your whole body into a robot, or collect fingerprints. All those uses, and I was simply taping paper. And another reason to be thankful for tape is that it comes in a two pack at the Dollar Tree.
3. Live birds in WalMart. When I worked there they were irritating. Now they are the ultimate distraction. Kid wants a toy, candy, or huge flyswatter?? No problem, simply point out the bird perched above their heads and they forget to throw a fit. Or maybe this only works with kids who have ADHD. Either way, I am covered. I now love those birds and would smuggle them in if they were not there.
4. Pennies. I used to only use the pile of change stacked up on Andy’s dresser for vending machines, mostly at the ER, or milk and Pepsi between paydays. And I always left the pennies. No more, I tell you. Now I can dump the pennies on the floor and tell Isaac there is money hidden somewhere in his room and he can have it all if his room is clean. He cleans up and I do not even have to yell once. At him. Has never worked for the girls though.
5. Chocolate chips for cookies. I hesitate to include this item on a list of things I have only been thankful for in the last decade, but it has new meanings for me, so I chose to include it. We use chocolate chips for a number of things that have nothing to to with baking. We use them for math to add, subtract, multiply, divide, show fractions, etc. And then that kid gets to eat them. Score one for less tears at math. And I also give them to David one at a time to keep him quiet. This only works in small intervals, because he never stops talking, but I take what I can get.
6. The number 3. It is magic. All I have to do is start counting and by 3 they do whatever I was asking them to do. Has never worked for the numbers 1 or 2. Three really is the magic number. Yet another thing I should have learned from Schoolhouse Rock.
7. Scarves. I currently have at least three I am using daily. One ties the fridge shut, one for the pantry, and one for the cupboard under the sink. I used to use rubber bands, but little fingers have actually learned to pick them off already. Soon he will master the complexities of the knot, but for now my food and feminine products are safe.
8. Coffe cans. Silly me I thought they were for holding coffe or playing kick the can. Nope. They current hold legos, flowers, seashells, and live worms- not in the same can. And that is just in my dining room. One from Sam’s is the perfect size for David to wear on his head.
9. The words “Do Not…”. They have a mystical power that forces the child hearing them to try it at least once. I used to think this meant I should never say them. As in: “Do not hit your sister.” “What, you mean like this?!” Now I just follow those powerful words with things I secretly want them to do. For example, yesterday before church the kids were piddling around instead of finishing breakfast. I simply said: “Do not finish eating, we are out of time.” They inhaled all the food, slammed back their drinks, and were done. HA!
10. Clean undies. As a child my mother always told me to wear clean undies everyday. I do the same for my children. Despite enjoying having clean undies myself, I know know they serve a greater purpose than hygiene. If they each have six pairs of undies, and change them everyday, I know how long I can go without washing clothes just by taking a quick peek in any kid’s underwear drawer.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Questions
There are a multitude of questions I deal with on a daily basis. Either questions I ask the kids, or the more likely and frequent questions the kids ask me. The questions I have been asked vary. Sometimes they are normal school questions. Other times they are more unique and I am not sure anyone else has ever had to answer. I have begun to see another category of questions in my life. These questions are ones that I may ask, either out loud or internally, but do not really want the answered. So, for your reading pleasure, here are a few things today that I caught myself asking but really did not want to know.
1. What is that squishy thing I just stepped in? (It was orange, but still, I do not care. I just cleaned it and my foot and walked away.)
2. What kind of liquid is on the floor by the toilet? (One may assume the answer to this question is obvious, but you never know around here.)
3. Why would you ever think to do that? (Immediately following Isaac almost knocking his eye out with a rubber band. In case you are wondering, he just wanted to know how bad it would hurt.)
4. Why is your science paper in the fridge? ( I told her to put it in her science folder. Which is not even in the kitchen.)
5. What is this?? (I still do not know. It was yucky. It no longer lives here.)
6. What is that smell? (Didn’t ever hear an answer. Lit a candle.)
7. What were you thinking?? (This time as Isaac had wedged his head behind a bookshelf. He wanted to see what was back there.)
8. What were you thinking?? (Isaac got his arms and legs stuck in the crib railing. Leg, leg, arm, arm. All at the same time. I should have taken a picture. The answer- I just wanted to see if I fit.)
9. Whatever would possess you to cover your whole body in green marker? (Answer: I didn’t. Faith helped.)
10. What did I just sit on? (Sticky tack is a much better answer to that than silly putty or play dough. I was luck today.)
The number one thing I learned today, besides the fact that I really don’t want to know, is that I may never understand boys, no matter how old I get
1. What is that squishy thing I just stepped in? (It was orange, but still, I do not care. I just cleaned it and my foot and walked away.)
2. What kind of liquid is on the floor by the toilet? (One may assume the answer to this question is obvious, but you never know around here.)
3. Why would you ever think to do that? (Immediately following Isaac almost knocking his eye out with a rubber band. In case you are wondering, he just wanted to know how bad it would hurt.)
4. Why is your science paper in the fridge? ( I told her to put it in her science folder. Which is not even in the kitchen.)
5. What is this?? (I still do not know. It was yucky. It no longer lives here.)
6. What is that smell? (Didn’t ever hear an answer. Lit a candle.)
7. What were you thinking?? (This time as Isaac had wedged his head behind a bookshelf. He wanted to see what was back there.)
8. What were you thinking?? (Isaac got his arms and legs stuck in the crib railing. Leg, leg, arm, arm. All at the same time. I should have taken a picture. The answer- I just wanted to see if I fit.)
9. Whatever would possess you to cover your whole body in green marker? (Answer: I didn’t. Faith helped.)
10. What did I just sit on? (Sticky tack is a much better answer to that than silly putty or play dough. I was luck today.)
The number one thing I learned today, besides the fact that I really don’t want to know, is that I may never understand boys, no matter how old I get
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Gospel According to Isaac
This is as close to word for word as I can get. Tonight at bedtime we read the Bible together as usual. I am always worried about Isaac listening because he seems to be doing anything but listening. He has a prayer list though, and he has been praying for several people to come to know God. Tonight after we prayed he decided that he needs to tell these people about God.
This is what he wants to say:
“One time a long time ago God made everything. He talked about it and then there it was. And he liked it all but people messed up and sinned. He had to send Jesus. Jesus did lots of things like catch fish and build stuff and even make some bread into lots of bread. Then some people didn’t like him so they made him go to the cross. They put a nail, then a nail, then a nail to hold him there. Then they put a spiky crown on his head and spit at him. He died. I don’t know how he died. He didn’t get shot. But He died so that we don’t have sin. I don’t know how that works. Maybe like magic. He was dead for three days and then he rised up and walked around with His friends for weeks. Maybe like two weeks. Then he wented up to heaven to get a party ready for us. And I prayed for Him to be in my heart because He loves me and I love Him. And I don’t have to go to heaven right now, but after I am died. And He likes you too and wants to be your friend so you should let Him. Then we can play together forever.”
Amen!
This is what he wants to say:
“One time a long time ago God made everything. He talked about it and then there it was. And he liked it all but people messed up and sinned. He had to send Jesus. Jesus did lots of things like catch fish and build stuff and even make some bread into lots of bread. Then some people didn’t like him so they made him go to the cross. They put a nail, then a nail, then a nail to hold him there. Then they put a spiky crown on his head and spit at him. He died. I don’t know how he died. He didn’t get shot. But He died so that we don’t have sin. I don’t know how that works. Maybe like magic. He was dead for three days and then he rised up and walked around with His friends for weeks. Maybe like two weeks. Then he wented up to heaven to get a party ready for us. And I prayed for Him to be in my heart because He loves me and I love Him. And I don’t have to go to heaven right now, but after I am died. And He likes you too and wants to be your friend so you should let Him. Then we can play together forever.”
Amen!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The Butterfly Effect
I had the chance to read The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews through BookSneeze.com. It was an incredibly moving book about how the decisions you make can impact the world. The illustrations were wonderful, eye catching with a nice layout. The book was an ebook format, but I loved it.
The story is based on the principle of the Butterfly Effect- a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. We can have the same effect as that butterfly with our every action and reaction. The book was well written, tracing the actions and decisions of one person back to the influences that helped shape him, going back several generations. One person made a small decision that ended up several generations later impacting the world.
This book and the theory it represents was a wonderful inspiration to me as a Christian woman and homeschooling mom. The things I do today, the choices I make about how I will spend my time, the words I use, the attitude I have, leave ripples in time that can not be measured. It helped to encourage me to continue to do the right things in my life, and challenged me to live my life worthy of such influence. I highly recommend this book, and the children’s version- The Boy Who Changed the World.
The story is based on the principle of the Butterfly Effect- a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. We can have the same effect as that butterfly with our every action and reaction. The book was well written, tracing the actions and decisions of one person back to the influences that helped shape him, going back several generations. One person made a small decision that ended up several generations later impacting the world.
This book and the theory it represents was a wonderful inspiration to me as a Christian woman and homeschooling mom. The things I do today, the choices I make about how I will spend my time, the words I use, the attitude I have, leave ripples in time that can not be measured. It helped to encourage me to continue to do the right things in my life, and challenged me to live my life worthy of such influence. I highly recommend this book, and the children’s version- The Boy Who Changed the World.
The Boy Who Changed the World
I love being a member of BookSneeze.com. I love the great books that I can get for myself and my children. The Boy Who Changed the World is one of those great books I am glad I got a chance to review. Like the adult centered book, The Butterfly Effect, this book by Andy Andrews chases the ripples through time of the seemingly small actions of several people, tracing the way they are linked together and help form the decisions each other makes until the world is changed. It encourages children to do the right thing so that their ripples are a positive influence on others in future generations. Without some of the more difficult to understand situations outlined in the book geared to an adult crowd, the same story is traced through time. The story was easy to follow and inspiring.
The illustrations were wonderful, and my children loved looking for the butterflies throughout the book.� From the corn fields of Iowa, to the offices in Washington, to the lab of George Washington Carver, the illustrations are beautiful and adorned with butterflies. I highly recommend this book. It’s positive and encouraging message touches the hearts of children and inspires them to greatness.
Check out the Butterfly Effect as well, and my blog post about it.
The illustrations were wonderful, and my children loved looking for the butterflies throughout the book.� From the corn fields of Iowa, to the offices in Washington, to the lab of George Washington Carver, the illustrations are beautiful and adorned with butterflies. I highly recommend this book. It’s positive and encouraging message touches the hearts of children and inspires them to greatness.
Check out the Butterfly Effect as well, and my blog post about it.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Don't Forget the Duct Tape!
That was what I heard Faith yell across the yard as Isaac headed into the house. He was scurrying quickly along with his head down. I was in the kitchen so I intercepted him.
“What are you and Faith working on out there?”
“Umm, why? What did you hear?” He replied warily.
“Just wondering what you came up with to do.”
“Well, we were playing toss the shovel, but we had to stop.”
“Toss the shovel? The sand shovel, right? Not the snow shovel or the metal shovel.”
“Yep. But we quit that game.”
“Why?” I asked, internally cringing at what else they may be inspired to do.
“It got stuck in the tree. We need rope, purple duct tape and a ladder. Faith is in the yard making sharp sticks.”
“Are you trying to get the shovel down?” I asked with alarm over the sharp sticks part.
“Nope.”
“Oh. What are you plan- how about we just try to get down the shovel?” I figure climbing the tree is safer than whatever it was they were going to do that required sharp sticks and a ladder. And they can not have my purple duct tape. Red maybe, or yellow. Not the purple. Some things have to be sacred.
“Can’t. I broke the lowest branch falling out of the tree yesterday.”
“You fell out of the tree yesterday?”
“Well, I didn’t fall, just my cape got stuck up when I came down. And then the branch broke off so I got free.”
“Hmm… How about we don’t climb trees wearing capes anymore.”
“Batman does it.”
“Ok, if your name is Bruce Wayne and you do not need to worry about health insurance or new clothes or being sued by the neighbors when you destroy their property, then you can climb a tree with a cape.”
“Ok, I will do that on Tuesday.” (Really, where does this come from…)
“So let’s get that shovel. You need something to step on to get to the lower branch.”
“I will have Faith be a step stool.”
“Noooo, how about just dragging over the toddler slide and using the ladder for that?”
“Ok. Hey, can we still have the rope?” I shake my head no. “How about that duct tape?” Another shake of my head.
“Well, there goes my next idea…”
And I didn’t want to ask.
“What are you and Faith working on out there?”
“Umm, why? What did you hear?” He replied warily.
“Just wondering what you came up with to do.”
“Well, we were playing toss the shovel, but we had to stop.”
“Toss the shovel? The sand shovel, right? Not the snow shovel or the metal shovel.”
“Yep. But we quit that game.”
“Why?” I asked, internally cringing at what else they may be inspired to do.
“It got stuck in the tree. We need rope, purple duct tape and a ladder. Faith is in the yard making sharp sticks.”
“Are you trying to get the shovel down?” I asked with alarm over the sharp sticks part.
“Nope.”
“Oh. What are you plan- how about we just try to get down the shovel?” I figure climbing the tree is safer than whatever it was they were going to do that required sharp sticks and a ladder. And they can not have my purple duct tape. Red maybe, or yellow. Not the purple. Some things have to be sacred.
“Can’t. I broke the lowest branch falling out of the tree yesterday.”
“You fell out of the tree yesterday?”
“Well, I didn’t fall, just my cape got stuck up when I came down. And then the branch broke off so I got free.”
“Hmm… How about we don’t climb trees wearing capes anymore.”
“Batman does it.”
“Ok, if your name is Bruce Wayne and you do not need to worry about health insurance or new clothes or being sued by the neighbors when you destroy their property, then you can climb a tree with a cape.”
“Ok, I will do that on Tuesday.” (Really, where does this come from…)
“So let’s get that shovel. You need something to step on to get to the lower branch.”
“I will have Faith be a step stool.”
“Noooo, how about just dragging over the toddler slide and using the ladder for that?”
“Ok. Hey, can we still have the rope?” I shake my head no. “How about that duct tape?” Another shake of my head.
“Well, there goes my next idea…”
And I didn’t want to ask.
Monday, August 30, 2010
It's Been Real!
And it certainly has been real. Real change. Real hard. Real fun. Real scary. Real time of trust. Pick one, it has been them all. August started out with Andy working his tail off for very little money and never being home to see our children. He was not happy with his job. He has had a desire to be in ministry. The entertaining he was doing in his “spare” time was the most fulfilling job he was doing. And so now it is the only job he is doing.
It takes a while to build a business. He has been home for a few weeks now, but the first few were still busy. Now we are in the time of building contacts, drumming up business, and waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. We have known for awhile that this was his calling, what he was meant to do. The time was never right. We were too afraid to take the step, thinking it would be a free fall. And it has.
There are people who like that feeling. I am not one of them. I like stability. I used to take risks, and big ones, without thought. Now I cannot bring myself to take risks. I see the responsibilities- the house, the van payment, the kids, the bills. These things are overwhelming in the light of the risks. This has been a HUGE risk, but I have had an incredible measure of peace. God has meet and at times surpassed every need. Sure it has only been a few weeks, but his pay was not so great before that, and we had things that were behind. And things that were really behind. We caught up. We even did some fun things with the kids. We got them the things they need. I got my laptop.
Andy is home everyday. In the past we would have been driving each other crazy by now. This is different. I love having him here, and so do the kids. We get him to help out with some of the school extras, taking hikes, woodworking, soccer practice and games. He has been here to help with David as I cook, or to take the kid outside so I can clean up. I have stayed up late to design websites, business cards, fliers, and all that jazz. We have worked together. Most of the day he is busy with contacting people to get his name out there and has gotten a few shows that way.
So please be in prayer for us. For the business we need. For us as a family. For Andy and I as a couple. Please pray that we can be the light in this world we have been called to be while doing what we love. And know that as you pray, we are rejoicing in you as our friends, and in God as the supplier of all our needs.
It takes a while to build a business. He has been home for a few weeks now, but the first few were still busy. Now we are in the time of building contacts, drumming up business, and waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. We have known for awhile that this was his calling, what he was meant to do. The time was never right. We were too afraid to take the step, thinking it would be a free fall. And it has.
There are people who like that feeling. I am not one of them. I like stability. I used to take risks, and big ones, without thought. Now I cannot bring myself to take risks. I see the responsibilities- the house, the van payment, the kids, the bills. These things are overwhelming in the light of the risks. This has been a HUGE risk, but I have had an incredible measure of peace. God has meet and at times surpassed every need. Sure it has only been a few weeks, but his pay was not so great before that, and we had things that were behind. And things that were really behind. We caught up. We even did some fun things with the kids. We got them the things they need. I got my laptop.
Andy is home everyday. In the past we would have been driving each other crazy by now. This is different. I love having him here, and so do the kids. We get him to help out with some of the school extras, taking hikes, woodworking, soccer practice and games. He has been here to help with David as I cook, or to take the kid outside so I can clean up. I have stayed up late to design websites, business cards, fliers, and all that jazz. We have worked together. Most of the day he is busy with contacting people to get his name out there and has gotten a few shows that way.
So please be in prayer for us. For the business we need. For us as a family. For Andy and I as a couple. Please pray that we can be the light in this world we have been called to be while doing what we love. And know that as you pray, we are rejoicing in you as our friends, and in God as the supplier of all our needs.
Another Awesome Book, Brought to You by BookSneeze!
The heavens Proclaim His Glory: A Spectacular View of Creation Through the Lens of the Hubble Telescope is the newest book I received from Thomas Nelson Publishing through Book Sneeze. It was complied by Lisa Stilwell. I had read a description of the book and thought it looked interesting for school. Wow, was I ever impressed! There are awesome pictures paired up with quotes, poems, and Scripture proclaiming the glory of God. The pictures were awe inspiring, the text fitting. Several times I was moved to tears! I felt in awe of the majesty of our Creator! The book fosters a tone of worship while being informative.
I passed the book on to the kids, the real test! They loved the pictures. Angel kept remarking about the clarity of the photos. She also liked how well the text was included in the book. Just to show how much she liked it, to type this blog I had to sneak it from her- she fell asleep reading it.
Everything about this book from cover to cover can be highly recommended. I fell in love with the book as soon as I saw the cover and was not disappointed through the last page. If you are interested in outer space or are teaching astronomy in your home school, you should have this book.
I passed the book on to the kids, the real test! They loved the pictures. Angel kept remarking about the clarity of the photos. She also liked how well the text was included in the book. Just to show how much she liked it, to type this blog I had to sneak it from her- she fell asleep reading it.
Everything about this book from cover to cover can be highly recommended. I fell in love with the book as soon as I saw the cover and was not disappointed through the last page. If you are interested in outer space or are teaching astronomy in your home school, you should have this book.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Hey, That's What I Said!!
David is a talker. I have never really experienced a little boy of his age talk as much as he does. He is constantly making noise. His gibberish is beginning to make more sense as he lands on the English language. I can not even begin to figure out how many words he knows. And he strings them together in sentences that mostly make sense.
As all burgeoning speakers do, he has begun copying all of us. They kids think this is great so far. The get him to say lines from movies, parts of songs, and tell them they are great. As he’s leaving the room they have him saying “Peace out”. He talks about superheros, video games, and says “Joe Jonas- ooooOOOOooo”.
He has also copied a few of the mean sayings they say to each other. They have been hearing their own mean words echoed back at them, and as Isaac says, “That’s just not cool!” He has this squeal that rivals the one Faith always did when we called her the pterodactyl baby. For some reason Andy can not remember anyone else screaming like that. Not sure why, because just thinking about it hurts my ears and causes my eye to twitch.
It is funny when he says “Hey Daddy honey!” because I call Andy honey, or when he sings the hippopotamus song. He also sings Davey, Davey that they learned in Children’s Church. He has begun to echo our prayers, and just the other night he began asking for David’s Bible at bedtime.
Today, however, he busted into the bathroom while I was in the shower saying “Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, moooommy, mommmy, mom. Look at me.” I poked my head out of the shower and he said “Wash your hair. Use sumpoo.” Which should tell you about how often I have to remind my highly distracted ones to actually wash while in the shower.
All of this makes me pray hard about the legacy I am leaving. I want my children to remember to wash their hair, but more than that I want them to remember to pray. To read the Bible. To sing songs of praise to our Father. I start to worry about balance. Are we allowing them to grow, develop what they like and dislike, while planting a love for things of God in their hearts? It is fine to have Jonas on your MP3 player, but that is not all I want filling their hearts. They love playing and watching Star Wars, but are they equally in love with the heros of God? Any little glimmer of hearts that are being molded after God gives me great joy. They brought me Cd’s to put on their MP3 players, each child had several Christian bands and some praise music. I gave David a movie choice at nap time. He choose Praise Baby over Spider-man and Scooby Doo. As I passed the girls room last night, Angel was reading Faith a bedtime story. From a devotional Bible. Wrapped up in softie, tuck inside Isaac’s pillow case is his camp Bible. He wants to keep it close to his heart, so he stuck it with softie.
And most of the time, even though we all have bad moments and even bad days, I love that David is beginning to emulate the kids and Andy. They all have hearts after God and are trying to walk in the light of His love daily. What better example could he have?
As all burgeoning speakers do, he has begun copying all of us. They kids think this is great so far. The get him to say lines from movies, parts of songs, and tell them they are great. As he’s leaving the room they have him saying “Peace out”. He talks about superheros, video games, and says “Joe Jonas- ooooOOOOooo”.
He has also copied a few of the mean sayings they say to each other. They have been hearing their own mean words echoed back at them, and as Isaac says, “That’s just not cool!” He has this squeal that rivals the one Faith always did when we called her the pterodactyl baby. For some reason Andy can not remember anyone else screaming like that. Not sure why, because just thinking about it hurts my ears and causes my eye to twitch.
It is funny when he says “Hey Daddy honey!” because I call Andy honey, or when he sings the hippopotamus song. He also sings Davey, Davey that they learned in Children’s Church. He has begun to echo our prayers, and just the other night he began asking for David’s Bible at bedtime.
Today, however, he busted into the bathroom while I was in the shower saying “Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, moooommy, mommmy, mom. Look at me.” I poked my head out of the shower and he said “Wash your hair. Use sumpoo.” Which should tell you about how often I have to remind my highly distracted ones to actually wash while in the shower.
All of this makes me pray hard about the legacy I am leaving. I want my children to remember to wash their hair, but more than that I want them to remember to pray. To read the Bible. To sing songs of praise to our Father. I start to worry about balance. Are we allowing them to grow, develop what they like and dislike, while planting a love for things of God in their hearts? It is fine to have Jonas on your MP3 player, but that is not all I want filling their hearts. They love playing and watching Star Wars, but are they equally in love with the heros of God? Any little glimmer of hearts that are being molded after God gives me great joy. They brought me Cd’s to put on their MP3 players, each child had several Christian bands and some praise music. I gave David a movie choice at nap time. He choose Praise Baby over Spider-man and Scooby Doo. As I passed the girls room last night, Angel was reading Faith a bedtime story. From a devotional Bible. Wrapped up in softie, tuck inside Isaac’s pillow case is his camp Bible. He wants to keep it close to his heart, so he stuck it with softie.
And most of the time, even though we all have bad moments and even bad days, I love that David is beginning to emulate the kids and Andy. They all have hearts after God and are trying to walk in the light of His love daily. What better example could he have?
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Love on a Dime: A BookSneeze Review
I recently had the chance to review Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James for Thomas Nelson Publishing through BookSneeze.com. Love on a Dime is a historical romance that centers around the relationship of Lily Westbrook and Jackson Grail. The story begins with their broken relationship, and follows them as the characters grow in their faith and come back together. Lily is a dime novelist in a time when it is a very unbecoming profession. She feels called by God to write stories the reflect His love in relationships. Lily writes under a Nome De Plume, and hides her writing from everyone she knows. She uses the proceeds from her writing to fund a womens’ shelter. She faces a momentous decision when she has to decide to tell the truth about her writing to her family and giving up her calling.
The book was sweet and cute, with likable characters. The characters could have been developed in more depth, and the book seemed a little long for the plot. Without being forceful about her faith, the author conveys messages of true love and building your life on the foundation of God and His Word. It was a good read if you are interested in historical romance. It would be a good book for a younger reader as well.
I have found less and less interest reading romances, so I found the book to be slightly tedious. It did a good job of showing Godly relationships, but I have lost my taste because I feel that most romances leave the story just as it is beginning. The characters finally end up together, the end, happily ever after. Even Christian romances that focus on God tend to leave you there as if marriage solved everything and now everyone is happily ever after. I suppose that after being married for a while I want to see what happens next. The challenge was not finding your true love, but living a Godly life together as a witness to those around you. That’s the hard part!
The book was sweet and cute, with likable characters. The characters could have been developed in more depth, and the book seemed a little long for the plot. Without being forceful about her faith, the author conveys messages of true love and building your life on the foundation of God and His Word. It was a good read if you are interested in historical romance. It would be a good book for a younger reader as well.
I have found less and less interest reading romances, so I found the book to be slightly tedious. It did a good job of showing Godly relationships, but I have lost my taste because I feel that most romances leave the story just as it is beginning. The characters finally end up together, the end, happily ever after. Even Christian romances that focus on God tend to leave you there as if marriage solved everything and now everyone is happily ever after. I suppose that after being married for a while I want to see what happens next. The challenge was not finding your true love, but living a Godly life together as a witness to those around you. That’s the hard part!
Friday, August 13, 2010
It's About that Time
After all, it is August. About time to head back to school. I see it everywhere. Ads for clothes, new shoes, or school supplies. Winding down of summer activities. Emails from yahoo groups about lesson plans and curriculum. And as always, I begin to think about endings and new beginnings. Changes and areas we have grown, or need to grow a little more.
I have a preteen. She will be ten, but Angel has been claiming preteen status since about two years old. She is the one who most reminds me of me. Oh, I see bits of me in the others, but this one is me at nine and me now. I have been having a hard time watching her over this past year because I compare her to myself at that age and around nine is when my life started to unravel and I began to head for self destruction. I see that she is more interested in competing with boys than liking them, and I rejoice. I was not like that. I see how her heart is set on following God, and I am overjoyed. I did not even know Him. I see how helpful she is around the house and how bossy that makes her with her sister and brothers, and I laugh, because I was the same way. I see how she can stomp her feet and whine. And I see myself, and cringe. But overall I am so very glad she is different in the most important way- she already knows the love of her Savior. And that is all she needs. (But I still like to see her race boys and win. Also me…)
And I have a sweet eight year old how has all of a sudden become more grown up! She used to hide when it was time to clean up her toys. Or just shove everything under the bed. She used to scream and hit when she was mad. Here is a familiar conversation in my house. It has been this way ever since they could talk.
Angel: You are supposed to be helping me clean up our toys! Get out of the closet! You clean these up or I will tell Mommy to just take them to Good William (a blog all its own!)
Faith: That’s OK, I’d rather buy new ones than pick these up! I am staying in here!!
Just yesterday I heard this same conversation. But now it was between Faith and Isaac. And boy, did she get frustrated!! But I had to laugh, because it was not soo very long ago that it was her hiding in the closet. He hid in the love seat instead. She has been doing much better in school and I have not found her under a table screaming during church for months. All good signs!!
Isaac, oh, Isaac, where to begin. Every step of growing up has been hard for Isaac. He always wants to stay the same size. He will be six next month. He wants the party and cake and presents, but he wants to stay five. Forever. Mostly I want that too, little man. I would like if you stopped walking around the house in your sleep, though. And if you have to climb the walls, make sure your feet are clean. I have a hard time reaching those dirty footprints!! He is our hero, our warrior, and that will never change!
David is growing in leaps and bounds as toddler tend to do. He talks all the time. Even if we don’t understand him, or no one is around. And he sings! Any music is fine for him. He also likes to hold the guitar and strum. None of my other children have strummed, they usually plucked. He dances too. Just last night at bedtime I told Isaac to get his Bible for devotions. David said: Where David’s Bible? I handed him a toddler Bible and he looked at every page, talking to and about everything, then asked me to read David’s Bible too. We prayed and he said: Thank God for food. (Not timely, but I cried anyway.) Then he said Amen and lalulala, which we assume means hallelujah. He is super sweet, and yet all boy. The other day at the fire station he about had a heart attack over sitting in the fire truck. He still talks about it. And two days ago, he tried to climb the pipes.
Overall, I am so proud of the progress we have all made. But, this post is big enough for now, so I will talk about Andy and I on a different day.
I have a preteen. She will be ten, but Angel has been claiming preteen status since about two years old. She is the one who most reminds me of me. Oh, I see bits of me in the others, but this one is me at nine and me now. I have been having a hard time watching her over this past year because I compare her to myself at that age and around nine is when my life started to unravel and I began to head for self destruction. I see that she is more interested in competing with boys than liking them, and I rejoice. I was not like that. I see how her heart is set on following God, and I am overjoyed. I did not even know Him. I see how helpful she is around the house and how bossy that makes her with her sister and brothers, and I laugh, because I was the same way. I see how she can stomp her feet and whine. And I see myself, and cringe. But overall I am so very glad she is different in the most important way- she already knows the love of her Savior. And that is all she needs. (But I still like to see her race boys and win. Also me…)
And I have a sweet eight year old how has all of a sudden become more grown up! She used to hide when it was time to clean up her toys. Or just shove everything under the bed. She used to scream and hit when she was mad. Here is a familiar conversation in my house. It has been this way ever since they could talk.
Angel: You are supposed to be helping me clean up our toys! Get out of the closet! You clean these up or I will tell Mommy to just take them to Good William (a blog all its own!)
Faith: That’s OK, I’d rather buy new ones than pick these up! I am staying in here!!
Just yesterday I heard this same conversation. But now it was between Faith and Isaac. And boy, did she get frustrated!! But I had to laugh, because it was not soo very long ago that it was her hiding in the closet. He hid in the love seat instead. She has been doing much better in school and I have not found her under a table screaming during church for months. All good signs!!
Isaac, oh, Isaac, where to begin. Every step of growing up has been hard for Isaac. He always wants to stay the same size. He will be six next month. He wants the party and cake and presents, but he wants to stay five. Forever. Mostly I want that too, little man. I would like if you stopped walking around the house in your sleep, though. And if you have to climb the walls, make sure your feet are clean. I have a hard time reaching those dirty footprints!! He is our hero, our warrior, and that will never change!
David is growing in leaps and bounds as toddler tend to do. He talks all the time. Even if we don’t understand him, or no one is around. And he sings! Any music is fine for him. He also likes to hold the guitar and strum. None of my other children have strummed, they usually plucked. He dances too. Just last night at bedtime I told Isaac to get his Bible for devotions. David said: Where David’s Bible? I handed him a toddler Bible and he looked at every page, talking to and about everything, then asked me to read David’s Bible too. We prayed and he said: Thank God for food. (Not timely, but I cried anyway.) Then he said Amen and lalulala, which we assume means hallelujah. He is super sweet, and yet all boy. The other day at the fire station he about had a heart attack over sitting in the fire truck. He still talks about it. And two days ago, he tried to climb the pipes.
Overall, I am so proud of the progress we have all made. But, this post is big enough for now, so I will talk about Andy and I on a different day.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Joseph's Journey
We just finished up Vacation Bible School. It was wonderful. We did Group’s Holy Land Adventure- Joesph’s Journey from Prison to Palace. We spent the tail end of July creating an ancient Egyptian marketplace, a prison, a palace, and a huge paper mache sarcophagus. I absolutely adore VBS! It is a great time to do children’s ministry in a big, big way. Here are some of my favorite highlights of VBS 2010.
The boat wreck! Now, if you are thinking that in Joseph’s story you can’t seem to remember a boat wreck, you are right. A truck pulling a boat took a turn too fast and lost it’s boat as we were doing the closing program. There were firefighters either helping at VBS or there to pick up their children who ran down the street to help. In full costume. As Ancient Egyptians. With make up. It was awesome!! And so I ran down, also in full costume, to take pictures of them loading this boat back up in togas, headdresses, and eye makeup.
The day Joseph came to me and said, “Did anyone realize I need a wife for the skit today??” Ummm, nooo. Me: “Hi!� I will be your wife today. Let’s go!” And so I was Joseph’s wife for the rest of the week. Which freaked out some of the kids, such as my own, who know me and know that I am not married to Joseph, who was my sister-in-law’s brother! My nephew Will kept complaining about all the lies! LOL
We participated in Operation Kid-to-Kid by making blankets to send to Africa. We made five. Each child held a felt heart and said a prayer for the children that would receive our blankets so that at night they would be wrapped in God’s love and our prayers. They were too sweet and I kept taking pictures of them holding the hearts and praying!
My favorite was how well the youth and young adults came together to really pitch in and make this year a success. There was not a time that they failed to do something. I would turn around to find someone standing there with a bottle of water asking what they could do for me. No matter what it was I asked them to do, they did cheerfully. And they are the best.
And that is my VBS in a nutshell. The pictures are all on Facebook. And there are some pretty good ones. I didn’t take many, but the youth sure did with my camera!
The boat wreck! Now, if you are thinking that in Joseph’s story you can’t seem to remember a boat wreck, you are right. A truck pulling a boat took a turn too fast and lost it’s boat as we were doing the closing program. There were firefighters either helping at VBS or there to pick up their children who ran down the street to help. In full costume. As Ancient Egyptians. With make up. It was awesome!! And so I ran down, also in full costume, to take pictures of them loading this boat back up in togas, headdresses, and eye makeup.
The day Joseph came to me and said, “Did anyone realize I need a wife for the skit today??” Ummm, nooo. Me: “Hi!� I will be your wife today. Let’s go!” And so I was Joseph’s wife for the rest of the week. Which freaked out some of the kids, such as my own, who know me and know that I am not married to Joseph, who was my sister-in-law’s brother! My nephew Will kept complaining about all the lies! LOL
We participated in Operation Kid-to-Kid by making blankets to send to Africa. We made five. Each child held a felt heart and said a prayer for the children that would receive our blankets so that at night they would be wrapped in God’s love and our prayers. They were too sweet and I kept taking pictures of them holding the hearts and praying!
My favorite was how well the youth and young adults came together to really pitch in and make this year a success. There was not a time that they failed to do something. I would turn around to find someone standing there with a bottle of water asking what they could do for me. No matter what it was I asked them to do, they did cheerfully. And they are the best.
And that is my VBS in a nutshell. The pictures are all on Facebook. And there are some pretty good ones. I didn’t take many, but the youth sure did with my camera!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
White and Nerdy
The other day I was driving my kids to the store to get the decorations for Faith’s party. They were all either asleep or playing DS so I had a rare bit of time where I could actually hear myself think. So what profound thoughts traversed through my mind that day? Epic ones, that I later had to discuss with my brothers. Such as why Mace Windu’s light saber is purple. Now, this is where the nerdy comes in. Granted, we are going with a Star Wars party theme, but I assume that unless you are as nerdy as me you probably either didn’t know that was unique, or didn’t care. Didn’t care being the most likely. This lead me to a whole series of reasons that I am a nerd. Mostly because I know things like that. And debate them. Sometimes to myself. So, because you were all just dying to know, here is the top ten list of reasons that I am “white and nerdy”.
10. I have seen every ‘comic book’ movie.
9. I have argued why some of those are not true to character or why they were ridiculous. Which, of course, is because of how they compared to the comic book.
8. I consider more fictional people my friends than nonfictional ones. (HI Thomas!!)
7. I read text books for fun. Most of those text books were not for a class I took or will take in the future.
6. I secretly like writing lesson plans.
5. I ponder things like light saber colors. (And then I googled why the light saber is purple.)
4. Then I was disappointed in the answer because I had a huge argument as to why I thought it should be purple. Turns out I was wrong. (Because Samuel L. Jackson’s favorite color is purple. That so does not fit in with the order of the universe. And I am pretty sure it goes against the force as well.)
3. I make lists to cross things off. Sometimes I even make the list after the fact just to see all the crossed off stuff. (I am not even making this up. I may need professional help.)
2. If I am ever arrested it will be for something like stalking an author. Not that I have. You really can’t call peeking through the t-shirt rack at Frank Peretti stalking. (Mostly because Andy wouldn’t let me follow him when he left.)
1. My favorite smell in the world is a tie between baby and newly sharpened pencils. Or maybe the smell of a new book.
10. I have seen every ‘comic book’ movie.
9. I have argued why some of those are not true to character or why they were ridiculous. Which, of course, is because of how they compared to the comic book.
8. I consider more fictional people my friends than nonfictional ones. (HI Thomas!!)
7. I read text books for fun. Most of those text books were not for a class I took or will take in the future.
6. I secretly like writing lesson plans.
5. I ponder things like light saber colors. (And then I googled why the light saber is purple.)
4. Then I was disappointed in the answer because I had a huge argument as to why I thought it should be purple. Turns out I was wrong. (Because Samuel L. Jackson’s favorite color is purple. That so does not fit in with the order of the universe. And I am pretty sure it goes against the force as well.)
3. I make lists to cross things off. Sometimes I even make the list after the fact just to see all the crossed off stuff. (I am not even making this up. I may need professional help.)
2. If I am ever arrested it will be for something like stalking an author. Not that I have. You really can’t call peeking through the t-shirt rack at Frank Peretti stalking. (Mostly because Andy wouldn’t let me follow him when he left.)
1. My favorite smell in the world is a tie between baby and newly sharpened pencils. Or maybe the smell of a new book.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Faith
Today my sweet girl turns 8. EIGHT! I can not believe it. I know, I know, I say that every year, every child, but my, it is always true. The time is slipping away, days tumbling by like grains of sand in an hour glass. You do not notice one or two at a time, even a weeks worth, or at times a month can slip by. Then you look around and the kids are bigger, stronger, smarter. You look older, more gray hair, even maybe a wrinkle or two. And you wonder where it all went, all your missing time. I will give you a run down of the past eight Faith years.
Faith was born on the last night of our VBS. It was entitled Faith Mountain. Not the reason I choose the name Faith, but the kids at VBS were tickled! I sat there teaching the lesson, pausing for each contraction, then moving on. As the kids went to the closing, I headed to the hospital. If we would have brought the car seat with us she would have made it to the closing program on Sunday morning! That Saturday (she was born really early Saturday morning) we missed a family reunion. For the next few years her birthday always fell on both VBS and the reunion time.
As Faith got bigger there were two things everyone would comment on more than anything else. Oh, there was always the comments about how beautiful she looked. But then she would smile. Oh, that smile! It would melt your heart, turn the worst day around. It was the most infectious smile I have ever seen. And she was always happy. So very happy. I was afraid that the smile would be too different when she got teeth, but she has this adorable gap that made it even better! She also had the cutest lisp for the longest time. Sometimes there is just a hint of it when she talks fast or is excited, which is quite often.
The other thing developed as she got even older. The sunniest disposition that you have ever seen. She never lacked joy. And it showed. Sure she could, and would, cry and pout, but she more often than not looked on the world with rose colored glasses. There seemed to be a hint of magic everywhere she went. Every thing was a game. Delightful and ready to be explored, enjoyed, shared. She was always a pixie princess at play. I felt certain sometimes that if I looked closely at her ears they would be pointy.
She has quite an affinity for nature. Most children go through life chasing lighten bugs and butterflies. The come right to Faith and land on her. She has caught birds and ducks. They did not even fly away when she approached and seemed to be ready to get a Faith cuddle. She will gently hold nature in her hands, cherishing it, and then let it go. She will collect bits of sticks, rocks, whatever and set up a museum in the yard. Free admission, because all nature is free to be enjoyed.
Robots are the new thing. Wall-E, R2-D2, C3PO, and droids, and many she makes up herself. She draws elaborate plans to build them when she is older. Or constructs them from paper, legos, blocks, or any material she can get her hands on. She names them, gives them all a personality.
Her art skills are incredible. I know she did not get that from me. She has always drawn very well, and the detail in her pictures is amazing. She goes through stages, like all houses, or robots, or sea life, or a favorite movie. She will be doing something else, and her hands start to fidget and soon she is running off to find paper. It is as if the artistry is spilling out and she can not help herself! I have even seen her do math in on hand and draw with the other.
The years have numbered eight, but the joy, the love of life, the exuberance she brings to everyday are eternal. She is the sunshine in our lives. And were are so very glad for her.
Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!!
Faith was born on the last night of our VBS. It was entitled Faith Mountain. Not the reason I choose the name Faith, but the kids at VBS were tickled! I sat there teaching the lesson, pausing for each contraction, then moving on. As the kids went to the closing, I headed to the hospital. If we would have brought the car seat with us she would have made it to the closing program on Sunday morning! That Saturday (she was born really early Saturday morning) we missed a family reunion. For the next few years her birthday always fell on both VBS and the reunion time.
As Faith got bigger there were two things everyone would comment on more than anything else. Oh, there was always the comments about how beautiful she looked. But then she would smile. Oh, that smile! It would melt your heart, turn the worst day around. It was the most infectious smile I have ever seen. And she was always happy. So very happy. I was afraid that the smile would be too different when she got teeth, but she has this adorable gap that made it even better! She also had the cutest lisp for the longest time. Sometimes there is just a hint of it when she talks fast or is excited, which is quite often.
The other thing developed as she got even older. The sunniest disposition that you have ever seen. She never lacked joy. And it showed. Sure she could, and would, cry and pout, but she more often than not looked on the world with rose colored glasses. There seemed to be a hint of magic everywhere she went. Every thing was a game. Delightful and ready to be explored, enjoyed, shared. She was always a pixie princess at play. I felt certain sometimes that if I looked closely at her ears they would be pointy.
She has quite an affinity for nature. Most children go through life chasing lighten bugs and butterflies. The come right to Faith and land on her. She has caught birds and ducks. They did not even fly away when she approached and seemed to be ready to get a Faith cuddle. She will gently hold nature in her hands, cherishing it, and then let it go. She will collect bits of sticks, rocks, whatever and set up a museum in the yard. Free admission, because all nature is free to be enjoyed.
Robots are the new thing. Wall-E, R2-D2, C3PO, and droids, and many she makes up herself. She draws elaborate plans to build them when she is older. Or constructs them from paper, legos, blocks, or any material she can get her hands on. She names them, gives them all a personality.
Her art skills are incredible. I know she did not get that from me. She has always drawn very well, and the detail in her pictures is amazing. She goes through stages, like all houses, or robots, or sea life, or a favorite movie. She will be doing something else, and her hands start to fidget and soon she is running off to find paper. It is as if the artistry is spilling out and she can not help herself! I have even seen her do math in on hand and draw with the other.
The years have numbered eight, but the joy, the love of life, the exuberance she brings to everyday are eternal. She is the sunshine in our lives. And were are so very glad for her.
Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Memory Lane- My Dad
I spend a lot of time in prayer, reading about, thinking about and talking to other people about parenting. I have never been one to learn the easy way, but this, well, this is something I have been determined to do right. As I spend time contemplating how to go about “right” I have to wonder what it looks like. Is there a right way versus a wrong way? Why do some many blame thing, even in adulthood on their parents? Is “right” a fairness to all children, or is there a “right” for each child? Now, there are lots of things I do know, and lost of those things are about children. It is my career, if you will, to know. And I have had extensive schooling on education, child development, and all that jazz. But, in the heat of the battle, how do you know? Those are the kind of questions that can make a parent break out in a cold sweat. We are all trying to do our best. No matter who, or how, that is what we try.
So I began to look back at my life and wanted to think of something spectacular that would give me a sense of rightness. Now, besides myself there were four boys. So I was treated like a princess most of the time, but still expected to work around the house. I just mostly got whatever I wanted, to a certain degree. I am still waiting for my car. I have always been a Daddy’s girl. I remember a lot of fun things, a lot of good things.
There was one thing, however, that I do not remember. I do not ever remember my father not being there for me. I had a safe place, a constant love, and someone who would hold me and help me through all that life would throw at me.
I remember lazy summer days running barefoot through the back yard. I stepped on a bee. Instantly my leg began to swell. I felt light headed. There were more bees around me. My dad ran over, scooped me up and knew exactly what to do. He knew, because he was also terribly allergic to bees. But he ran through them to save me.
I also remember a new bike. My first with hand breaks. I jumped right on, took off down the hill, squeezed the front breaks and flew through the air over my handle bars. Landing face first on the railroad tracks. My leg was bleeding all over, and full of little bits of coal. I began to scream, but before I could even get worked up into a good yell, my dad was there. He scooped me up and ran home with me. He left the brand new bike there. I was the important thing. He began to pick little tiny rocks, one by one, out of my leg until I could not take it any more. He cleaned it up, bandaged me, and sat me on the couch with a popsicle. Then he went for my bike. To be reminded of this, I only have to look down my leg. There are still a few tiny rocks in my knee and ankle.
I remember being back stage at chorus and band concerts, a couple friends wondering if their dad would come. I knew mine was there. I knew he had a red rose. I knew he had taken of work to be there. I knew he’d video tape me and take pictures. And buy me ice cream, or pizza. He would tell me what a good job I did. It never matter what chair I was or if I had a solo. He told me I was the best one there. And I believed him.
I remember being in college and hitting my head. I passed out, had a concussion. I needed to have tests done. I was told that I had a lump in my brain. My dad drove through 5 states to be there for my next test. He took vacation time to do so. The second test said that I was fine, but I was still feeling terrible. He took me to dinner, to see a movie. It was close to Valentine’s Day so I had my dozen red roses, a beautiful card I still have, and a teddy bear. He waited until I felt better to go back home.
I always knew that my dad would be there for me. I find this incredible, because these stories are from two different dads. I grew up in a family where I could have had a difficult time. My father was killed in an accident at work when I was young. I now have a father that adopted me and two of my brothers by the time I was thirteen. There were two more boys added to that family. For a time, I admit I was messed up about this. It was a lot to handle. But not alone. Never alone. Because of the unconditional love, the encouragement, the importance these men placed on me, when introduced to a God who wants to be my Father, I knew those fatherly arms would be safe arms to jump into. And I am so thankful that I did. And I thank God often for not one, but two dads who were so wonderful.
The one major thing I take from my childhood and try to apply to my parenting every day is that feeling. Because I lost one dad, I know that life is too fragile, too precious to let slip by without celebrating. And because I had incredible love, I want to share it.
I love you Dad. Thanks you so much for being all that you are to me, to our whole family, to everyone that you can. You were my first hero.
So I began to look back at my life and wanted to think of something spectacular that would give me a sense of rightness. Now, besides myself there were four boys. So I was treated like a princess most of the time, but still expected to work around the house. I just mostly got whatever I wanted, to a certain degree. I am still waiting for my car. I have always been a Daddy’s girl. I remember a lot of fun things, a lot of good things.
There was one thing, however, that I do not remember. I do not ever remember my father not being there for me. I had a safe place, a constant love, and someone who would hold me and help me through all that life would throw at me.
I remember lazy summer days running barefoot through the back yard. I stepped on a bee. Instantly my leg began to swell. I felt light headed. There were more bees around me. My dad ran over, scooped me up and knew exactly what to do. He knew, because he was also terribly allergic to bees. But he ran through them to save me.
I also remember a new bike. My first with hand breaks. I jumped right on, took off down the hill, squeezed the front breaks and flew through the air over my handle bars. Landing face first on the railroad tracks. My leg was bleeding all over, and full of little bits of coal. I began to scream, but before I could even get worked up into a good yell, my dad was there. He scooped me up and ran home with me. He left the brand new bike there. I was the important thing. He began to pick little tiny rocks, one by one, out of my leg until I could not take it any more. He cleaned it up, bandaged me, and sat me on the couch with a popsicle. Then he went for my bike. To be reminded of this, I only have to look down my leg. There are still a few tiny rocks in my knee and ankle.
I remember being back stage at chorus and band concerts, a couple friends wondering if their dad would come. I knew mine was there. I knew he had a red rose. I knew he had taken of work to be there. I knew he’d video tape me and take pictures. And buy me ice cream, or pizza. He would tell me what a good job I did. It never matter what chair I was or if I had a solo. He told me I was the best one there. And I believed him.
I remember being in college and hitting my head. I passed out, had a concussion. I needed to have tests done. I was told that I had a lump in my brain. My dad drove through 5 states to be there for my next test. He took vacation time to do so. The second test said that I was fine, but I was still feeling terrible. He took me to dinner, to see a movie. It was close to Valentine’s Day so I had my dozen red roses, a beautiful card I still have, and a teddy bear. He waited until I felt better to go back home.
I always knew that my dad would be there for me. I find this incredible, because these stories are from two different dads. I grew up in a family where I could have had a difficult time. My father was killed in an accident at work when I was young. I now have a father that adopted me and two of my brothers by the time I was thirteen. There were two more boys added to that family. For a time, I admit I was messed up about this. It was a lot to handle. But not alone. Never alone. Because of the unconditional love, the encouragement, the importance these men placed on me, when introduced to a God who wants to be my Father, I knew those fatherly arms would be safe arms to jump into. And I am so thankful that I did. And I thank God often for not one, but two dads who were so wonderful.
The one major thing I take from my childhood and try to apply to my parenting every day is that feeling. Because I lost one dad, I know that life is too fragile, too precious to let slip by without celebrating. And because I had incredible love, I want to share it.
I love you Dad. Thanks you so much for being all that you are to me, to our whole family, to everyone that you can. You were my first hero.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Funday, and I Never Do That Half Way!
Which is why as I sit here typing this I have three extra kids here. For fun. And it is. Mostly. The ones driving me crazy are my own. Well, two of them. With two kiddos napping, and two girls glued to Strawberry Shortcake that leaves three to, well, to be insane apparently. And only two of those are loud. My two, of course.
Today for the first time David and Mariah played together. Mostly it goes like this:
David dumps out his milk. Mariah yells at him and cleans it up. David dumps out toys. Mariah yells at him and tries to clean them up. He yells at her for touching his toys. They both get mad and yell. I give them milk and a snack. They yell at me. Then they nap.
But today David took Mariah a car and said “Come on Riah. Play.” And they did. And they had milk and a snack. And a nap. But the playing thing, nice change.
Angel, Faith, and Isaac are really happy to have a couple friends over who moved far away. They came to visit and I had their mom leave them here for a while. And because there are two boys and Faith, it is loud. And rough and tumble. And lots of fun. And Angel has a little one to paint nails, brush hair, and watch “kid” movies with that she is waaayyyy too old for, but secretly still likes to watch. And they both love chocolate. Everyone is happy. And loud. And having a great time. Did I mention loud?
Which brings to light a strange phenomena. Every single time there are extra kids here, I see my kids less. And have an easier time taking care of kids, household stuff, and making food. They are otherwise occupied, and I am left to my own devices. Which means that anytime I need to get something done I may have to grab a truckload of other children to come home with me. But first I will need to stock up on juice boxes, fruit snacks, band aids and ear plugs.
Today for the first time David and Mariah played together. Mostly it goes like this:
David dumps out his milk. Mariah yells at him and cleans it up. David dumps out toys. Mariah yells at him and tries to clean them up. He yells at her for touching his toys. They both get mad and yell. I give them milk and a snack. They yell at me. Then they nap.
But today David took Mariah a car and said “Come on Riah. Play.” And they did. And they had milk and a snack. And a nap. But the playing thing, nice change.
Angel, Faith, and Isaac are really happy to have a couple friends over who moved far away. They came to visit and I had their mom leave them here for a while. And because there are two boys and Faith, it is loud. And rough and tumble. And lots of fun. And Angel has a little one to paint nails, brush hair, and watch “kid” movies with that she is waaayyyy too old for, but secretly still likes to watch. And they both love chocolate. Everyone is happy. And loud. And having a great time. Did I mention loud?
Which brings to light a strange phenomena. Every single time there are extra kids here, I see my kids less. And have an easier time taking care of kids, household stuff, and making food. They are otherwise occupied, and I am left to my own devices. Which means that anytime I need to get something done I may have to grab a truckload of other children to come home with me. But first I will need to stock up on juice boxes, fruit snacks, band aids and ear plugs.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Because even in hyperdrive I can't seem to get it all going!
For some reason I do not sleep. I have tried lessening my caffeine intake. Going to bed and squeezing my eyes shut reeeaaal tight. Reading. Putting on a movie that I have seen about a million times. Taking a nice bath. Nada! I am still up late. I thought maybe it was because of awesome game nights all night long with equally awesome friends, but that is not too often. Or maybe staying up to watch DVDs of CSI, which is often-er than game night. But, I do not think that is it. And I am caught up on CSI for now. But of course, I am not productive. Even being awake about 30 hours a day my house is still a mess. Sometimes I do not get to shower. All of our towels are perpetually dirty. The cat litter is always full. My mind is on hyper drive, but my body is not.
Oh, I know that the problems we have been having are problem causing some of this insomnia. Andy’s job situation has been very unstable. Bills come due and less money comes in. Plus his schooling situation. I was never good at waiting, and we have been waiting to find out if he is in the awesome program. Since January. And are still waiting. It is hard to be here all the time and have him never here. For all of us.
I sit in the still quiet of my house. No noises, only a dim light (well, that IS because there are about 100 light bulbs burned out in my dining room) sipping my tea (decaffeinated, herbal relaxation tea), and it hit me. This is the only time when I sit without a child hanging on me. And breathe without worrying about the strange banging above my head. Or the dishes in the sink. And sip tea with only my own saliva on the cup and no graham crackers floating in it.
And to think. I think about things such as when I last shaved my legs. Or paid the water bill. How we are going to afford to keep living. And how blessed we are that God has provided so far. Or when David last had a bath. And how long will he have asthma. What are we going to do to keep making progress, in school and in life, with Faith. And if I have enough time with each of the kids. And I think of how wonderful it is to have my husband who is working so hard so I can stay home to keep the stability Faith needs. And if Angel’s school work will challenge and motivate her, or will it be too hard. And I wonder how Isaac’s foot prints, among other prints, ended up on the ceiling. I think about how to beat that part in Lego Batman I am Angel is stuck on. And I think about butterflies and how to raise them. And where. My thoughts begin to drift away from the mundane to the odd and finally move to philosophical. And swing back to odd. (And I am sure there is some pie thought somewhere in all that.) And I begin to feel the tension drain from me. It begins at my shoulders. And I relax for the first time all day. Sometimes I open a window to hear the night time symphony in my backyard.
I miss thinking. Deep thinking. About things outside of myself, outside of us. About God and his glory. About the people and events that have shaped our world. And somewhere, deep inside, I have a part of me that longs to know more. Sometimes the drive surfaces and I have to learn about something. Anything. To read, to experience, to step away from myself and think.
And so, despite the busyness of our home, the pressure that we are under as Andy’s job is ever changing, the daunting task of homeschooling with a toddler (again), I am going back to school. Because I looked into getting a job. And that was hard last time. It was hard physically, but I was working in a field I loved. And I was simply sure that my soul would wither and die if I had to leave my kids everyday to flip burgers. Or ring up groceries. And that was about all anyone would have me do. Having over 130 credits and no degree, that’s all you can do. So I will go to online classes and eventually hold in my hands a degree. That I will have worked so hard for. Shed blood, sweat and tears to hold. I will rejoice. Greatly.
Perhaps that, and repairing my hyper drive, will net me some sleep. Perhaps.
***Disclaimer: The above job related statements were not a slight to the professions of those who cook (which I should not do professionally, or even socially) or those who work in retail (again, I should not do this thing). I only meant to imply that myself in such a situation spells impending doom. Thank you! Have a nice day! And don’t complain.***
Oh, I know that the problems we have been having are problem causing some of this insomnia. Andy’s job situation has been very unstable. Bills come due and less money comes in. Plus his schooling situation. I was never good at waiting, and we have been waiting to find out if he is in the awesome program. Since January. And are still waiting. It is hard to be here all the time and have him never here. For all of us.
I sit in the still quiet of my house. No noises, only a dim light (well, that IS because there are about 100 light bulbs burned out in my dining room) sipping my tea (decaffeinated, herbal relaxation tea), and it hit me. This is the only time when I sit without a child hanging on me. And breathe without worrying about the strange banging above my head. Or the dishes in the sink. And sip tea with only my own saliva on the cup and no graham crackers floating in it.
And to think. I think about things such as when I last shaved my legs. Or paid the water bill. How we are going to afford to keep living. And how blessed we are that God has provided so far. Or when David last had a bath. And how long will he have asthma. What are we going to do to keep making progress, in school and in life, with Faith. And if I have enough time with each of the kids. And I think of how wonderful it is to have my husband who is working so hard so I can stay home to keep the stability Faith needs. And if Angel’s school work will challenge and motivate her, or will it be too hard. And I wonder how Isaac’s foot prints, among other prints, ended up on the ceiling. I think about how to beat that part in Lego Batman I am Angel is stuck on. And I think about butterflies and how to raise them. And where. My thoughts begin to drift away from the mundane to the odd and finally move to philosophical. And swing back to odd. (And I am sure there is some pie thought somewhere in all that.) And I begin to feel the tension drain from me. It begins at my shoulders. And I relax for the first time all day. Sometimes I open a window to hear the night time symphony in my backyard.
I miss thinking. Deep thinking. About things outside of myself, outside of us. About God and his glory. About the people and events that have shaped our world. And somewhere, deep inside, I have a part of me that longs to know more. Sometimes the drive surfaces and I have to learn about something. Anything. To read, to experience, to step away from myself and think.
And so, despite the busyness of our home, the pressure that we are under as Andy’s job is ever changing, the daunting task of homeschooling with a toddler (again), I am going back to school. Because I looked into getting a job. And that was hard last time. It was hard physically, but I was working in a field I loved. And I was simply sure that my soul would wither and die if I had to leave my kids everyday to flip burgers. Or ring up groceries. And that was about all anyone would have me do. Having over 130 credits and no degree, that’s all you can do. So I will go to online classes and eventually hold in my hands a degree. That I will have worked so hard for. Shed blood, sweat and tears to hold. I will rejoice. Greatly.
Perhaps that, and repairing my hyper drive, will net me some sleep. Perhaps.
***Disclaimer: The above job related statements were not a slight to the professions of those who cook (which I should not do professionally, or even socially) or those who work in retail (again, I should not do this thing). I only meant to imply that myself in such a situation spells impending doom. Thank you! Have a nice day! And don’t complain.***
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Gods Promises For Boys
I became a member of Booksneeze.com, where I get a free book to preview and write a review about. My first book is God’s Promises For Boys by Jack Countryman and Amy Parker. The book is broken down into seven sections of promises that are close to the hearts of little boys. Each of these sections is further broken down into two page topics that have a title, a catchy couplet, and three verses. Some of the topics my son got the most excited about were God Wants You To Wear Your Armor and God Wants You To Stay Strong. The front of the book has a gift page so you can mark giving the book to the special little boy in your life. The promise verses are all taken from the International Chiildren’s Bible, so they are easy for children to understand. That differs a bit from what we use in school, so the verses Isaac has memorized were different, but he really liked reading them in this version. The couplets are cute and easy for children to remember as well. I have been hearing the one about putting on your armor a lot around here!
All in all, we really liked the book as a quick topical Scripture guide. We loved the illustrations, and David really like finding the dog on every page. My only problem with the whole beginning of the Blogger Review experience was that my book was folded in half during transit, and it is a hard back. We have been trying to flatten out the cover by stacking heavy books on top, but it still is warped. The girls are wanting the girl version because Isaac has been enjoying this one so much!
All in all, we really liked the book as a quick topical Scripture guide. We loved the illustrations, and David really like finding the dog on every page. My only problem with the whole beginning of the Blogger Review experience was that my book was folded in half during transit, and it is a hard back. We have been trying to flatten out the cover by stacking heavy books on top, but it still is warped. The girls are wanting the girl version because Isaac has been enjoying this one so much!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Why I Do What I Do
I have begun to think a lot lately about what I do and why. In so many different senses. Why do we make the choices we make daily? Why do we home school? Why do we go against what everyone else is doing? Why do something when it is hard? The inevitable ‘Why me??’ And, ‘Why do I blog about it?’ I suppose I have been hit with all the "going wrong" that has been happening around here. Things break. People get sick. Children whine. Mothers cry. Dads get angry. Parents can begin to disagree. Money only goes so far. Tempers can flair. That is the way this fallen world works.
I was having a series of unfortunate events. I began to get into a rotten mood. When you are the mother, you are the heart of the home. Your feelings flow to those around you. You need to choose to use that for good and not turn to the dark side. So fitting, because those feelings and reactions are just that. The dark side of life. The underbelly. If you allow those thoughts to control you and lead your heart away from the truths that can be found in God, well, you ARE on your way to the dark side and you are taking your family along for the ride.
Then I began to ponder in my heart the whys of life. Not the bad why is this happening to us whys, but the whys that are deliberate, because there is a flip side to the why me coin. It says why not me. So instead of giving that coin a toss and focusing on all that negative, I began to ask different why me questions. Why are we following this path? Why are we blessed beyond measure? Why do we have less struggles than some?
It is a matter of perspective. Sure, things have been bombing around here lately, but everyday we are warm. Everyday we have clean water. Everyday we have food. We have each other. We have the love of God. What more is there?
And as for that whole why do I blog question, well, I have discovered it is for me. It has been an outlet for years. A way to connect, to reach outside of our home. And to view inside of others. But also, as I was beginning to get discouraged, it was my light, my way back to focusing on the important things in my own life. Seeing where we have come from. How God has provided so far on this journey. And I have begun to laugh at the struggles that seemed daunting, the challenges that the me of yesteryear have faced. And in my heart I looked at that girl and thought- Honey, you ain’t seen nothing yet!!
I was having a series of unfortunate events. I began to get into a rotten mood. When you are the mother, you are the heart of the home. Your feelings flow to those around you. You need to choose to use that for good and not turn to the dark side. So fitting, because those feelings and reactions are just that. The dark side of life. The underbelly. If you allow those thoughts to control you and lead your heart away from the truths that can be found in God, well, you ARE on your way to the dark side and you are taking your family along for the ride.
Then I began to ponder in my heart the whys of life. Not the bad why is this happening to us whys, but the whys that are deliberate, because there is a flip side to the why me coin. It says why not me. So instead of giving that coin a toss and focusing on all that negative, I began to ask different why me questions. Why are we following this path? Why are we blessed beyond measure? Why do we have less struggles than some?
It is a matter of perspective. Sure, things have been bombing around here lately, but everyday we are warm. Everyday we have clean water. Everyday we have food. We have each other. We have the love of God. What more is there?
And as for that whole why do I blog question, well, I have discovered it is for me. It has been an outlet for years. A way to connect, to reach outside of our home. And to view inside of others. But also, as I was beginning to get discouraged, it was my light, my way back to focusing on the important things in my own life. Seeing where we have come from. How God has provided so far on this journey. And I have begun to laugh at the struggles that seemed daunting, the challenges that the me of yesteryear have faced. And in my heart I looked at that girl and thought- Honey, you ain’t seen nothing yet!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Saga Continues...
When we last left our heroine (that would be me!), she was stranded at the mall with no money, no cell phone, four whiny children, vomit, and a sore foot from kicking the tire of her dead van.
In no time at all, help would arrive (read that as about 2 hours). Meanwhile, back at the van, the kids and I were hard pressed with something to do to keep the highly distractable children (and mom) entertained. After cleaning up the throw up and taking everyone to the bathroom once, we still had about ten minutes shy of eternity till Andy got there. We had devoured the bag of chips and all the drinks, and of course we had cleaned out the van for the field trip so they were not even forgotten toys under the seats for us to round up. We did have a bag of cheesy hull-less popcorn. It took Isaac all of 30 seconds to begin licking them and sticking them together to make sculptures that he attached to the window. That fun had a hint of the forbidden because we have a no licking policy (which could be a blog all it’s own) so that was enjoyed until David went on a Godzilla-esque rampage and destroyed the budding metropolis that was now growing on the windshield.
After Andy showed up, we had a second bathroom run. He took the kids and brought me back a huge Baja Mt. Dew from Taco Bell. I love that stuff. Because he showed up with money, we headed on into the mall for a quick bite. I am sure this is my Mother’s Day right here. We kill time buy walking slow and heading to the indoor playground. Of course, after only about 30 minutes my kids are done playing. This has never happened before. I make them go to the bathroom yet again. It is now close to 7, but we have quite a bit to wait. After getting back to the car and van, we see that Andy has taken out the alternator. He took it to be tested. It was fine. The plus side is that my phone is charged up a bit because he plugged it in while doing his running. He needed the battery tested next, and I begged to drive it over. I got the kids all settled into their seats and David began to scream. His binky was lost at the camp, so now I need to get another one. I head to Toys R Us before taking care of the battery or Andy will go crazy trying to take care of them all while putting in the alternator.
With David binked and the kids all fed, I am sure they will be fine for a bit. Why I am sure, I have no idea. Perhaps I am an eternal optimist. They are really tired of being in the van and it sure shows! They did get little toys of games at Wendy’s, so that should keep them busy for 15 minutes or so. Tops. My mom gets someone to bring the boys home so she can pick up the kids and take them to her house. I am now hearing angels singing the hallelujah chorus as I run to get the battery checked. The battery is the problem and we need a new one. The guy at the auto parts store was quite helpful. He gave me two choices- the gold core or the silver core. I was hoping for a bronze, but no such luck. Speaking of my luck, even after scraping together change from the car, I am still 7 cents short. By the time I head back to get more money from Andy the store will be closed. Mr. Auto Parts tosses it in for me because I made him laugh with my crack about the bronze core.
I arrived with the battery in tow in time to kiss the kids goodbye. It is now 8:50. That is a long time to be sitting here, but we still need to change the battery and get the alternator back in place. In the dark. With a dead flashlight. But hey, we are at the mall. Surely they have one somewhere, right?!? Ten minutes till closing we ran across the parking lot. We dove into the store before they locked the door and ran all over two floors looking for a flashlight. Or batteries for the dead one we have. I found one. Or three. I am done taking chances and am ready to get this over with. I even got one of those shake up flashlights, because with my luck, well, it will come in handy at some point. Problem is they shut down the registers at 9. It is 9:02. A combo of our sad story and the sight of my overtired, dirt encrusted, hungry husband must have pulled heart strings because they opened up a register and allowed us to check out. At this point we are locked into the mall and got some nice down time as we waited for security to escort us out. I looked over at Andy and he looked ready to crawl on the floor and nap. And that is when I realized I told him I would get him something to eat. I said that about 2 hours ago. Ooops!!
As Andy takes off the tire to put the belt on the alternator, I ran back to Taco Bell for food for him. I have been here enough today that I am pretty sure not only a shift change happened, but both shifts have been looking at me weird. It was the closest bathroom. As we sat under the stars eating tacos and drinking more Mt Dew while fixing the van, it feels like a date. Since we never have normal dates, I am totally counting this. There were stars, there was food. No kids. Oh yeah, sounds like a date to me. But Andy was not in a romantic mood and our conversation sounded more like a brain surgeon and his nurse. "Light. Not there, here. Wrench. Burrito. Baja. Light. I said light. Will you stop messing with that shake up things and turn on the flashlight?!?" He told me to point where he was looking, which is kinda hard when he is half under the van in the wheel well. I tired my best, but the humor and sheer relief caught up with me at this point. From here on out I became an exhausted, useless mess of giggles. That lasted the remainder of the evening, and even worsened when we were about to shut the hood and the first person who acted like they noticed we were there stopped to see if we were all right. It was a tow truck driver. Andy cut a glance over at me as I was in a fit of laughter on the ground and said "I’m alright." Seeing it was now after 10, my current behavior could be considered normal under any circumstances, let alone high stress and a lot of sun.
We stopped for gas and were headed home after 7 hours of the parking lot. Almost 8 hours since I began my trek home. And for Mother’s Day this year, I got a new van battery and some food at Wendy’s.
****Actually Angel shopped for me as well as Andy and the other kids, so I ended up with quite a bit of loot. I got flowers, chocolates, jammies that bestow upon me the title "The World’s Greatest Mom", four cards (two from Isaac), and six insect shaped solar lights for the garden that I have been wanting.*****
In no time at all, help would arrive (read that as about 2 hours). Meanwhile, back at the van, the kids and I were hard pressed with something to do to keep the highly distractable children (and mom) entertained. After cleaning up the throw up and taking everyone to the bathroom once, we still had about ten minutes shy of eternity till Andy got there. We had devoured the bag of chips and all the drinks, and of course we had cleaned out the van for the field trip so they were not even forgotten toys under the seats for us to round up. We did have a bag of cheesy hull-less popcorn. It took Isaac all of 30 seconds to begin licking them and sticking them together to make sculptures that he attached to the window. That fun had a hint of the forbidden because we have a no licking policy (which could be a blog all it’s own) so that was enjoyed until David went on a Godzilla-esque rampage and destroyed the budding metropolis that was now growing on the windshield.
After Andy showed up, we had a second bathroom run. He took the kids and brought me back a huge Baja Mt. Dew from Taco Bell. I love that stuff. Because he showed up with money, we headed on into the mall for a quick bite. I am sure this is my Mother’s Day right here. We kill time buy walking slow and heading to the indoor playground. Of course, after only about 30 minutes my kids are done playing. This has never happened before. I make them go to the bathroom yet again. It is now close to 7, but we have quite a bit to wait. After getting back to the car and van, we see that Andy has taken out the alternator. He took it to be tested. It was fine. The plus side is that my phone is charged up a bit because he plugged it in while doing his running. He needed the battery tested next, and I begged to drive it over. I got the kids all settled into their seats and David began to scream. His binky was lost at the camp, so now I need to get another one. I head to Toys R Us before taking care of the battery or Andy will go crazy trying to take care of them all while putting in the alternator.
With David binked and the kids all fed, I am sure they will be fine for a bit. Why I am sure, I have no idea. Perhaps I am an eternal optimist. They are really tired of being in the van and it sure shows! They did get little toys of games at Wendy’s, so that should keep them busy for 15 minutes or so. Tops. My mom gets someone to bring the boys home so she can pick up the kids and take them to her house. I am now hearing angels singing the hallelujah chorus as I run to get the battery checked. The battery is the problem and we need a new one. The guy at the auto parts store was quite helpful. He gave me two choices- the gold core or the silver core. I was hoping for a bronze, but no such luck. Speaking of my luck, even after scraping together change from the car, I am still 7 cents short. By the time I head back to get more money from Andy the store will be closed. Mr. Auto Parts tosses it in for me because I made him laugh with my crack about the bronze core.
I arrived with the battery in tow in time to kiss the kids goodbye. It is now 8:50. That is a long time to be sitting here, but we still need to change the battery and get the alternator back in place. In the dark. With a dead flashlight. But hey, we are at the mall. Surely they have one somewhere, right?!? Ten minutes till closing we ran across the parking lot. We dove into the store before they locked the door and ran all over two floors looking for a flashlight. Or batteries for the dead one we have. I found one. Or three. I am done taking chances and am ready to get this over with. I even got one of those shake up flashlights, because with my luck, well, it will come in handy at some point. Problem is they shut down the registers at 9. It is 9:02. A combo of our sad story and the sight of my overtired, dirt encrusted, hungry husband must have pulled heart strings because they opened up a register and allowed us to check out. At this point we are locked into the mall and got some nice down time as we waited for security to escort us out. I looked over at Andy and he looked ready to crawl on the floor and nap. And that is when I realized I told him I would get him something to eat. I said that about 2 hours ago. Ooops!!
As Andy takes off the tire to put the belt on the alternator, I ran back to Taco Bell for food for him. I have been here enough today that I am pretty sure not only a shift change happened, but both shifts have been looking at me weird. It was the closest bathroom. As we sat under the stars eating tacos and drinking more Mt Dew while fixing the van, it feels like a date. Since we never have normal dates, I am totally counting this. There were stars, there was food. No kids. Oh yeah, sounds like a date to me. But Andy was not in a romantic mood and our conversation sounded more like a brain surgeon and his nurse. "Light. Not there, here. Wrench. Burrito. Baja. Light. I said light. Will you stop messing with that shake up things and turn on the flashlight?!?" He told me to point where he was looking, which is kinda hard when he is half under the van in the wheel well. I tired my best, but the humor and sheer relief caught up with me at this point. From here on out I became an exhausted, useless mess of giggles. That lasted the remainder of the evening, and even worsened when we were about to shut the hood and the first person who acted like they noticed we were there stopped to see if we were all right. It was a tow truck driver. Andy cut a glance over at me as I was in a fit of laughter on the ground and said "I’m alright." Seeing it was now after 10, my current behavior could be considered normal under any circumstances, let alone high stress and a lot of sun.
We stopped for gas and were headed home after 7 hours of the parking lot. Almost 8 hours since I began my trek home. And for Mother’s Day this year, I got a new van battery and some food at Wendy’s.
****Actually Angel shopped for me as well as Andy and the other kids, so I ended up with quite a bit of loot. I got flowers, chocolates, jammies that bestow upon me the title "The World’s Greatest Mom", four cards (two from Isaac), and six insect shaped solar lights for the garden that I have been wanting.*****
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Is this all because we were early??
On Friday the kids and I loaded up the van for an outdoor adventure of epic proportions. We had jackets if it got cold. Sunscreen in abundance. Snacks and water. Picnic lunches. I remembered napkins and diapers, the bee sting kit and wipes. Extra clothes. The stroller. We really had everything we thought we could possibly need. After threatening everyone if they didn’t go potty, grabbing one last snack and pouring my coffee, we left on time, which for us is 15 minutes late. But my unsuspecting offspring were surprised when I told them we were going to be early. I told them we needed to be there a half hour before the event start time. After having to explain to Isaac what "being early" means, we were well on our way to having a great day. No one was fighting or spitting at each other. No one was taking off their clothes or tossing shoes everywhere. They were happily munching on cereal and sipping their hot chocolate. David napped a bit on the way. I did not get lost. Not even a bit.
The day went really well. We saw and did everything we wanted to, sometimes even getting to play a game or visit an exhibit twice. There were all kinds of things to see and do. We played outdoor PA bingo, ran obstacle courses, and discussed which animal used to be wearing which pelt. We played a game as an insect, did tribal drumming and dancing, and talked about recycling. We learned about natural resources and conservation, waterways, and animal tracks. We looked at bird nests and caught Swedish fish in a polluted/unpolluted river display. We even went geocaching and fishing. We saw live barn owls and alive at one time insects. We had a nice picnic lunch. Awesome field trip. After walking all over from about 9, by 3 we were trudging back to the van, all commenting on how wonderful the day had been and how excited we would be for next year. No melt downs, no break downs, no injuries, no damage caused by my kids or to my kids. And we still had a cooler of nice, cold drinks and some chips waiting in the van for the ride home.
If this were a movie this is where the mood music would subtly slip towards the minor chords. We got to the van, loaded up all our stuff and people. I got in and found my keys. Cranked up the van to hear the telltale click-click-click of a dead battery. No problem. I got this covered. I have jumper cables. We hiked back up to the main building and got a van to meet us in the parking lot. We walked back down, this trip resembling the Israelites in the wilderness instead of my excited kids of about 30 minutes ago. It was hot. They were tired. We even had camels- not sure who spit first but three of them we going at it like crazy. Isaac learned the hard way why you should never spit into the wind. We were not a pretty picture. We got there a couple minutes before the van, so we pulled out our cooler, the chips and a blanket. Had a little picnic right there in the shade of a bush in a field of little flowers. So sweet.
The van came to rescue us, and the kids cheered. Two guys jumped out and hooked up the jumper cables and you could hear their van die a slow, painful death right there in the field beside poor dead Bessie. But they had a set of walkie talkies and more help soon arrived. A huge truck came and jump started the camp van, and then helped out poor Bessie. We let her charge for a while, then it was time to hit the road.
At this point, it is kind of like the movie Australia. It could end fine here. Warm feeling in your heart, despite the obstacles faced by the beautiful (hey, why not, I am telling this story) heroine and her dutiful crew. But no, the screen quickly changes from black to the next scene and you are gripped by the drama as yet more obstacles arise to deter the fantastifirical heroine in her attempt to prevail against all odds yet again.
After driving about 15 minutes, all the lights were fading and the speedometer started spinning in a complete circle. I know Bessie, and there was NO WAY she was going over 120. Ever. Plus, the radio went out, which really bothered the kids. Then the a/c. Great. Now I am traveling down the highway going who knows how fast (people were passing me so I felt I was doing okay) with the windows open, three kids singing four different versions of God Is Bigger Than the Boogieman, and my cell phone dying. We were out of drinks, out of snacks, out of patience, out of battery power and out of our minds within 5 minutes. Thankfully we were close to a mall. We got one last panicked call in to Andy to come rescue us, then we went completely dead. At the mall. With whiny kids, no money, and no way to contact anyone.
I got out of the van and couldn’t even have a good rant because the windows were now stuck down. I lifted the hood, kicked the tire for good measure, and paced while I ranted in my head. I got back in the van after saying "Well, this can’t be worse!" David threw up.
Isaac woke up, looked around, and said "Is this what happens when you are early?" It does to me.
Tune in tomorrow for part two of our melodrama "Why I Am Never Early"
The day went really well. We saw and did everything we wanted to, sometimes even getting to play a game or visit an exhibit twice. There were all kinds of things to see and do. We played outdoor PA bingo, ran obstacle courses, and discussed which animal used to be wearing which pelt. We played a game as an insect, did tribal drumming and dancing, and talked about recycling. We learned about natural resources and conservation, waterways, and animal tracks. We looked at bird nests and caught Swedish fish in a polluted/unpolluted river display. We even went geocaching and fishing. We saw live barn owls and alive at one time insects. We had a nice picnic lunch. Awesome field trip. After walking all over from about 9, by 3 we were trudging back to the van, all commenting on how wonderful the day had been and how excited we would be for next year. No melt downs, no break downs, no injuries, no damage caused by my kids or to my kids. And we still had a cooler of nice, cold drinks and some chips waiting in the van for the ride home.
If this were a movie this is where the mood music would subtly slip towards the minor chords. We got to the van, loaded up all our stuff and people. I got in and found my keys. Cranked up the van to hear the telltale click-click-click of a dead battery. No problem. I got this covered. I have jumper cables. We hiked back up to the main building and got a van to meet us in the parking lot. We walked back down, this trip resembling the Israelites in the wilderness instead of my excited kids of about 30 minutes ago. It was hot. They were tired. We even had camels- not sure who spit first but three of them we going at it like crazy. Isaac learned the hard way why you should never spit into the wind. We were not a pretty picture. We got there a couple minutes before the van, so we pulled out our cooler, the chips and a blanket. Had a little picnic right there in the shade of a bush in a field of little flowers. So sweet.
The van came to rescue us, and the kids cheered. Two guys jumped out and hooked up the jumper cables and you could hear their van die a slow, painful death right there in the field beside poor dead Bessie. But they had a set of walkie talkies and more help soon arrived. A huge truck came and jump started the camp van, and then helped out poor Bessie. We let her charge for a while, then it was time to hit the road.
At this point, it is kind of like the movie Australia. It could end fine here. Warm feeling in your heart, despite the obstacles faced by the beautiful (hey, why not, I am telling this story) heroine and her dutiful crew. But no, the screen quickly changes from black to the next scene and you are gripped by the drama as yet more obstacles arise to deter the fantastifirical heroine in her attempt to prevail against all odds yet again.
After driving about 15 minutes, all the lights were fading and the speedometer started spinning in a complete circle. I know Bessie, and there was NO WAY she was going over 120. Ever. Plus, the radio went out, which really bothered the kids. Then the a/c. Great. Now I am traveling down the highway going who knows how fast (people were passing me so I felt I was doing okay) with the windows open, three kids singing four different versions of God Is Bigger Than the Boogieman, and my cell phone dying. We were out of drinks, out of snacks, out of patience, out of battery power and out of our minds within 5 minutes. Thankfully we were close to a mall. We got one last panicked call in to Andy to come rescue us, then we went completely dead. At the mall. With whiny kids, no money, and no way to contact anyone.
I got out of the van and couldn’t even have a good rant because the windows were now stuck down. I lifted the hood, kicked the tire for good measure, and paced while I ranted in my head. I got back in the van after saying "Well, this can’t be worse!" David threw up.
Isaac woke up, looked around, and said "Is this what happens when you are early?" It does to me.
Tune in tomorrow for part two of our melodrama "Why I Am Never Early"
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Isaac's Top Ten
Top Ten crazy things Isaac did yesterday……
10. Wore clothes under his jammies to sleep so he was ready for today.
9. Ate a Koolaid fizzer just to see if it would fizz in his stomach. Couldn’t feel it if it did.
8. Climbed the handrail on the porch to try and jump over the fire pit. He made it.
7. Pushed the wood swing as hard as he could at the bush to see what would happen. It bounced back and hit him in the face.
6. Ate the Cheerios he found under the couch. He knew they were his, couldn’t remember from when.
5. Asked to do extra math. Still not sure why.
4. Used string to make a zipline inside from a nail on the top of the doorway to a plastic bin of toys. He fell. The toys fell. He was totally suprised that happened. He had to clean it up.
3. Used the same string to make a zipline from the same nail to the top of the rocking chair. About the same effect as above. Still suprised.
2. Flipped over the bacon grease onto the floor while looking for a "sleeping permit" for me. Which I do not really have. ( I had said "If only you would permit me to get a little sleep"…) Cleaned it up with Angel and Faith’s hoodies.
1. After all of the above, he had to wear his floaties in the tub because he was afraid to drown. In a few inches of David’s bath water.
10. Wore clothes under his jammies to sleep so he was ready for today.
9. Ate a Koolaid fizzer just to see if it would fizz in his stomach. Couldn’t feel it if it did.
8. Climbed the handrail on the porch to try and jump over the fire pit. He made it.
7. Pushed the wood swing as hard as he could at the bush to see what would happen. It bounced back and hit him in the face.
6. Ate the Cheerios he found under the couch. He knew they were his, couldn’t remember from when.
5. Asked to do extra math. Still not sure why.
4. Used string to make a zipline inside from a nail on the top of the doorway to a plastic bin of toys. He fell. The toys fell. He was totally suprised that happened. He had to clean it up.
3. Used the same string to make a zipline from the same nail to the top of the rocking chair. About the same effect as above. Still suprised.
2. Flipped over the bacon grease onto the floor while looking for a "sleeping permit" for me. Which I do not really have. ( I had said "If only you would permit me to get a little sleep"…) Cleaned it up with Angel and Faith’s hoodies.
1. After all of the above, he had to wear his floaties in the tub because he was afraid to drown. In a few inches of David’s bath water.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Childhood Days Gone By
As I was weeding the garden over the weekend my children played in the yard. David was helping weed the way a toddler does. Eating weeds and grabbing bugs. Taking out all the rocks out of the rock garden and smelling the grass. Rubbing his popsicle on my arm and grinning. Faith was in her usual spot under the shade of the neighboring pine tree with a shovel. Digging for buried treasure of long forgotten pirates. Or fossils to show in a museum. Isaac was at the swing set. Climbing to the top and swinging down. Headed to rescues and daring adventures worthy of any five year old boy’s imagination. Angel sat in the shade with a book and an apple. She would read, then close her eys and I could see her imagination tracking her through space and time to the places she was discovering in her book. The wind set the wind chimes dancing and ruffled our hair. We were all together in the same place, but we were no where near each other. I closed my eyes and only listened to the sounds of their play. Angel crunching on her juicy apple and slowly turning pages, Faith’s digging and muttering whispers about what she would find, Isaac’s yells and humming his own theme music, and David’s laughter as a potato bug ticked his toes. Feeling the sun and wind on my face I turned towards the sun, soaking up the rays. For that moment I was not a mother working to keep the house in order. The worries of my life fell away as I let the sounds of childhood play take me somewhere magical, somewhere wonderful. I was transported back to my own childhood.
I was each of those children in turn. I discovered as David did the joys of experiencing nature with all my senses. I swung to the rescue as much as I was in need of rescue. I climbed to the tops of trees, the garage roof, and a hunting stand we were sure was put there magically for us to play in. My brothers and I dug for buried treasure after finding some really old (from at least the 70′s!!) coins in the garden. We were convinced we could find a dinosaur skeleton in the woods, or at the very least some fossils or gemstones. And the sandbox was our master project one summer as we pushed aside the plastic separating the sand from dirt under it and started to dig toChina
We could build tree houses out of six rusty nails, two pieces of wood and a broken hammer. We dug around the woods to find treasures. Mostly we found vases and glass bottles that we filled with water from the creek. We lived in a coal mining town, so the amber colored water looked great in the sunlight that filtered down through the canopy of tree leaves. Having been drilled not to drink the foul smelling sulfur water by every adult in the neighborhood, we could play in it, but warnings of parents are nothing compared to the inevitable double dog dare to try a sip. Everyone of us was initiated into that club at one time or another. It is something you only do once. We drug a broken shelf that someone was tossing out into our forest sanctuary and set up our bottles of potions and magic rocks (coal). We built, created, imagined, and played the long lazy summer days away. Making the grapes from our grape vine into wine in our swimming pool. Chasing what we though HAD to be a ninja all over town. Riding our bikes over homemade jumps. Running barefoot through the flowers. Any time we abandoned a project it was not seen as a failure. We moved on to bigger and better things.
Later I would spend my summer as Angel does- I climbed a neighbor’s crab apple tree and munched away as I read stories about all the places I could travel or dream about. Elaborate games of hide and seek and kick the can with pacts and allegiances that were quickly made and quickly broken. Bloodline meant nothing if cookies or ice cream were at stake! We would ride our bike to putt putt and play as often as we could scrape together enough change. To raise money we sold lemonade. Or kool aid. We had an ice cream truck and a doughnut truck that would come through town, and a penny candy store only a short bike ride away, so we needed a lot of money for the summer. We would gather a pitcher and some cups, fill it with borrowed lemonade and sell it for up to $5 a glass. There were a lot of us to pay for and at those rates we could all go to putt putt and the penny candy store on only one pitcher of lemonade. Our only customers were our parents and grandparents.
I smiled as I remembered the sweet summer days that are tinted with a golden glow now in my adulthood. Days with no cares, no real responsibilities pressing down, from a time when life was simple because I knew there were people to take care of it for me. Magic awaited to be discovered and anything was possible. Suddenly Angel plopped down beside me to share something funny from her book. Faith called out for me to check if she really found fossilized dinosaur poop. Isaac needed pushed up high. David was trying to lick the popsicle off my arm. I was jolted back to the present, but the golden glow still remained. And I hope it does forever, because as I take the time to never forget how that felt, and as I see it happening for my own children, I can dig for fossils in the yard and send my superhero down a zip line to the rescue. I can take a walk in the woods to find treasure or take the time to lay on my belly and discover bugs again with my toddler. I can feel the magic in the air at twilight as the lightening bugs fill the yard and the bats fly over head. I can hear the faint echoes of my own childhood ringing in the laughter of my own children.
I was each of those children in turn. I discovered as David did the joys of experiencing nature with all my senses. I swung to the rescue as much as I was in need of rescue. I climbed to the tops of trees, the garage roof, and a hunting stand we were sure was put there magically for us to play in. My brothers and I dug for buried treasure after finding some really old (from at least the 70′s!!) coins in the garden. We were convinced we could find a dinosaur skeleton in the woods, or at the very least some fossils or gemstones. And the sandbox was our master project one summer as we pushed aside the plastic separating the sand from dirt under it and started to dig to
We could build tree houses out of six rusty nails, two pieces of wood and a broken hammer. We dug around the woods to find treasures. Mostly we found vases and glass bottles that we filled with water from the creek. We lived in a coal mining town, so the amber colored water looked great in the sunlight that filtered down through the canopy of tree leaves. Having been drilled not to drink the foul smelling sulfur water by every adult in the neighborhood, we could play in it, but warnings of parents are nothing compared to the inevitable double dog dare to try a sip. Everyone of us was initiated into that club at one time or another. It is something you only do once. We drug a broken shelf that someone was tossing out into our forest sanctuary and set up our bottles of potions and magic rocks (coal). We built, created, imagined, and played the long lazy summer days away. Making the grapes from our grape vine into wine in our swimming pool. Chasing what we though HAD to be a ninja all over town. Riding our bikes over homemade jumps. Running barefoot through the flowers. Any time we abandoned a project it was not seen as a failure. We moved on to bigger and better things.
Later I would spend my summer as Angel does- I climbed a neighbor’s crab apple tree and munched away as I read stories about all the places I could travel or dream about. Elaborate games of hide and seek and kick the can with pacts and allegiances that were quickly made and quickly broken. Bloodline meant nothing if cookies or ice cream were at stake! We would ride our bike to putt putt and play as often as we could scrape together enough change. To raise money we sold lemonade. Or kool aid. We had an ice cream truck and a doughnut truck that would come through town, and a penny candy store only a short bike ride away, so we needed a lot of money for the summer. We would gather a pitcher and some cups, fill it with borrowed lemonade and sell it for up to $5 a glass. There were a lot of us to pay for and at those rates we could all go to putt putt and the penny candy store on only one pitcher of lemonade. Our only customers were our parents and grandparents.
I smiled as I remembered the sweet summer days that are tinted with a golden glow now in my adulthood. Days with no cares, no real responsibilities pressing down, from a time when life was simple because I knew there were people to take care of it for me. Magic awaited to be discovered and anything was possible. Suddenly Angel plopped down beside me to share something funny from her book. Faith called out for me to check if she really found fossilized dinosaur poop. Isaac needed pushed up high. David was trying to lick the popsicle off my arm. I was jolted back to the present, but the golden glow still remained. And I hope it does forever, because as I take the time to never forget how that felt, and as I see it happening for my own children, I can dig for fossils in the yard and send my superhero down a zip line to the rescue. I can take a walk in the woods to find treasure or take the time to lay on my belly and discover bugs again with my toddler. I can feel the magic in the air at twilight as the lightening bugs fill the yard and the bats fly over head. I can hear the faint echoes of my own childhood ringing in the laughter of my own children.
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