Living the Dream

A Boy and His Horse - Spielberg style!

2011-12-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of the new movie coming out on Christmas Day? It's called War Horse, and is the newest offering from Steven Spielberg. The movie is based on a children's novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo, and centers on a young Englishman named Albert and a horse he names Joey. The two have a special bond and when Joey is sold to the army at the beginning of World War I, Albert sets out to find his friend.

I will the leave the professional reviews to pluggedin.com, and give you the 'Mom Review' instead. I know that before I take my children to a movie, I am always interested in knowing some details that will help me decide if it is an appropriate movie for them to see. This movie is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence, and I think that it is a well earned rating.

On the good side, we see example of heroism, bravery and courage. Friends who stand beside each other and enemies who learn that sometimes you need to lay down old feuds and work together. We see that even in the midst of the carnage and brutality of war, there is a place for compassion, for keeping promises and stepping out even when common sense would tell you to keep your head down. But I think that the underlying theme which stands out the most is the idea of self-sacrifice. In this day and time, where everything is so "Me" centered, it is very refreshing to see a movie that promotes doing for others, even if it costs you dearly.

Throughout the movie, we see little vignettes of Joey's life from his birth through the end of the war. I want to tell you about them all, but I also don't want to spoil the movie for you, so you are going to have to go see it yourself!

In the "Heads-Up" category, you should know there is a little language. God's name is never taken in vain, and my almost-ten-year-old missed the language altogether (it went right over her head)...she also missed all the war scenes, because I had her close her eyes! I really have to give it to Spielberg though...he was somehow able to portray the intensity of the battles, the horror and brutality of war without us having to see blood spurting or heads flying. For example, (spoiler warning) when two young men are shot for deserting the war, we see the scene in the moonlight, from the top of a windmill which has spinning blades. At the moment that the shots are fired, the blades cross the screen, so we hear the shot, but don't see the young men until after their bodies are on the ground, and again, it is from a distance.

In general, I think that the way the battle scenes in this movie are filmed makes this movie excellent for those studying WWI or WWII, for children who can handle viewing the intensity of battle. You get a good sense of what the trenches were like, what it was like to come up over the wall to charge the enemy positions, what No Man's Land was like, and what is was like behind the lines, where weapons were being moved into position and the dead and wounded were taken. There is a pretty intense scene (again, spoiler warning) where we see that the horses who are captured are forced to move the large artillery into position. It is mentioned that the animals usually only live for one month, and you see a pit where they are "buried", but it is an open pit and there are dead horses lying all around it.

This review feels a little disjointed to me, which I would like to apologize for now...I think that I am having a difficult time meshing the feel-good parts of the movie with the intensity of the war scenes...but I have to tell you that the overall feeling I had on leaving the theater was a happy glow. I know that my kids are not ready for this movie yet, but we will get the book and read it and we will buy the movie when it comes out. It is so good to see a movie like this which handles tough material and is made so well.

Thank you to Homeschool Movie Club, who put out the word on the screening tickets!! You guys rock!

Out of Egypt

2011-09-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

I have said this before, so please forgive me for saying it again...but one of the things that I love the most about homeschooling is how my kids take what they learn and go DO something with it!

The Students - this will have to be the beginning of year pic, since I forgot to take one!

Take the last three weeks. We just finished studying Egypt. Pyramids and pharaohs and sphinxes, oh my! They became totally immersed in studying this long dead culture. They have built pyramids out of Legos, ziggurats out of left over cinder blocks and even included a sarcophagus with a 'mummified' pharaoh in the Lego pyramid.

The Lego Pyramid complete with sarcophagus and mummy.

Working on his ziggurat - pen and paper in hand

They were especially fascinated with the "fact" that the slaves used dolerite stone balls to hammer out tunnels in the pyramids, and to help smooth the sides. Now don't go slamming the kids! There are about as many theories for how the pyramids were built as there are archaeologists! But several of the movies we watched and books that we read had pics of these dolerite and so the kids have taken it to heart.

Dolerite in action

Today finds them out in the yard, meshing many of the things that we have learned over the last few weeks: sand, dolerites, working hard...enjoy the pics!

The Yard Boss - At least he THINKS he is in charge!

The REAL Yard Boss - oh so subtle she is!

Does not care who is in charge, as long as he can build!

Change His Life - Change Her Life - Change YOUR Life!

2011-09-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is a loooong post! Might want to grab a cup of tea!

For the last year, as some of you know, my life has been kind of "ups-by-down", as my son used to say. Before that time, I was involved in MOPS, had started a homeschool co-op and had taken over leadership of a homeschool support group. I also watched different friends kids every week, giving them a chance for a breath of quiet air, or the ability to go to a doctors appointment without raising their blood pressure. Life was busy, but good, as I fed into my passions by ministering to moms and their kids.

Then it all started to change. I graduated from MOPS, had a year long bout of back pain and then back surgery, then we decided to move and along came all the chaos of getting the house showing ready. Because we were leaving, I passed on the homeschool group into capable hands, and our co-op decided to disband, as the kids were all getting older and getting school done with everyone was getting tougher.

This left me in a weird place. I was still doing the core thing that I believe God made me to do. Be the mom to these three delight(-fully crazy) kiddos, and the wife to my amazing hubby. I am still right where I want to be, schooling them at home, cooking, ~~ironing~~...all the things that make up the life of a stay-at-home mom.

And yet, I still have this passion for children 'not my own' that will not go away. I found it again, or maybe just uncovered it from the midst of all the day-to-day junk that gets piled on it, when we were in Guatemala this summer on our sponsor tour with Compassion International.

I had known for years that Compassion had an advocacy program, but at the time it was not a good fit for me. However I learned on the trip to Guatemala that the parameters of the program had changed. Now the program is more fluid and an advocate is asked to use their time, talents and influence to make a greater impact for needy children.

From an online dictionary:
ad·vo·cate/ˈadvəkit/
Noun: A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.

From our 1950 Webster's Dictionary:
ad'vo-cate, n. from the latin advocatus, one called to another.
one who defends, vindicates, or espouses a cause by argument; one who is friendly to; an upholder; a defender.

I can do that!! I can talk to people about the children I met on our trip, how their lives have been changed by the child development programs that Compassion offers. I can tell them about the smiling faces, the singing voices and the happy hearts that I personally experienced. I can tell people about the homes I visited and the abject poverty that the children live in - but also about the overwhelming love of Christ that I experienced in these homes.

And so, I became an Advocate. I love this "job" because I can do it anywhere! At the grocery store standing in line. At a park on a play date. At a 5K race where we are raising money to help girls leave the sex trade...to loosely quote the great Dr Seuss..."I can do it here. I can do it there. I can do it anywhere!"

So today I want to tell you about two children who need sponsors. They need a one-on-one connection with someone who will believe in them and encourage them to be all that God created them to be. They need a listening ear and a heart that will lift them up in prayer for their safety in the tough places where they live. They need you.

First, meet Britney. This kid has spunk - just look at her picture!

Britney lives in the Dominican Republic with her Mom and Dad. She makes beds and runs errands for her Mom. She has two siblings and her Dad is sometimes employed as a laborer. Most of the adults in her neighborhood are unemployed, but some work as domestics and earn about $88 per month. Britney loves to play dolls and play house - sound like any little girls you might know?

Britney needs a sponsor. Would you be that blessing in her life?

Now meet Julio.

Julio lives in Peru where the typical houses in his area are constructed of dirt floors, cement walls and tin roofs. He lives with his Mom and Dad and and helps out around the house by running errands. He has two siblings and his Dad is sometimes employed. He is in Kindergarten and loves to play cars, play ball and create art. Julio needs a sponsor. He is praying that he will get the letter that tells him "Julio! You have SPONSOR!" How do I know that? Because our new sponsor child was praying the same prayers as Julio, over her breakfast, the very same morning we met her!

Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post. These kids pictures are on my kitchen table, so I see them all day long, and I have been praying that God will bring forward a sponsor for each of them. Let me tell you, once you have sponsored a child, YOUR life will never be the same!

Educating the Right-Brain Child

2011-09-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about my kid's education. I have not only been thinking about the "book" part of learning, but also about the heart part. The part which seems bigger to me than all the book part, which is this: What did God create my children to do? How has he gifted them and how am I furthering their learning so that they are equipped to step into His calling when the time comes?

These are pretty weighty thoughts. If my only goal was to make sure they all passed calculus and could write well, that they had a certain number of community service hours and knew how to manage money, then I think it would be pretty easy. After all, there are workbooks for most of that!

But we are talking about hearts here. Hearts and souls and lives that need to be shaped and molded for a higher purpose. This is VERY heavy!

It seems to me that with my boys, it has been a little easier to see their giftings and the ways their brains work. Maybe because they live life out loud - all the time!

Jalapeno at seven is an inventor all the way. He is always coming up with new ways to do things. New ways to make things work better or faster or just be more fun! He has a true heart of compassion for people. How they are feeling, what is going on with them, if they need anything. He is joy personified and feels everything so deeply, both joy and sorrow.

Pineapple has a math brain that scares me. He is six and without much tutoring on my part, he has a natural grasp of times tables, does double digit addition and subtraction in his head with out missing a beat and mastered the digital clock more than a year ago. He is a passionate leader, and thinks that everyone should follow him, because after all, he has worked out all the details and knows exactly how things should be done, and in what order!

Then there is my Sweet Girl, nine. I don't know why she is so tough for me to figure out, but I really struggle with knowing how I should educate her in all areas. Every task she has to do for school is followed by the words..."I hate_____". Not with a lot of emotion (most of the time), but I hate to hear those words when I have worked so hard to find the right fit for her in her curriculum.

Today, I asked her to write two lists for me. One list was all the things she "loves", the other, things she "likes". Here is her list, in her own words:

What I Love to do

1) I love to read.
2) I love to craft.
3) I love to use my tool box.
4) I love to listen to music
5) I love to write stories
6) I love to draw
7) I love to ride my bike
8) I love to ride my scooter
9) I love to run
10) I love to watch movies, Narnia

What I like to do

1) I like to swim
2) I like to swing
3) I like to build with blocks
4) I like to play with my Littlest Pet Shop
5) I like to draw with chalk
6) I like to go on nature walks
7) I like to play games and card games
8) I like to do
9) I like to play volleyball with my brothers
10) I like to play frisbee with the boys

Basic kid stuff here, no real surprises! If she could play and do crafts all day, her life would be "perfect"!

So for now, I continue to pray for her and about her. Asking the One who created her to give me guidance in how to raise her up in the way she should go...I would appreciate your prayers as well!

Whatcha Up To Lord?

2011-09-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

We have had our house on the market for, oh, about six months. Over 80 showings, new sod, new carpet and multiple price reductions...and still not a single offer!

We have firmly believed (well pretty firmly) that everything was going to happen in God's timing. But getting and keeping a totally lived in house ready for strangers to see over 80 times has been exhausting!

We found out last night that we had finally received an offer (albeit a low one)...you can bet that my heart skipped a few beats and that my stomach felt like I was on the Scream Machine. My husband says: "We need to pray about this." I said: "I don't want to pray about this, I want to know what is going to happen!" And I meant it!

Then yesterday morning as I was praying and begging God for peace, I was reminded of a daily note I receive from Chuck Swindoll. He was talking about remembering the "pillars" we have put up in our lives. Times when God has met us and done amazing things in or through us. So I started to go through the extensive list of pillars in our life. When He met us in that tiny ultrasound room and we did not see the heart beat that had been there just days before. When I cried out to him while on a jury with a corrupt jury boss. When we bought this house. When Steve was out of work after 9/11 and we had $20 to our name. And as I remembered these monumental pillars and the many small ones that are scattered through our life, I was filled with such peace - you know the one...it passes all understanding!

Fast forward to today. Even after receiving our offer, we had two showings yesterday. And today I received TWO showing requests. Both from people who have been here before. Both from realtors/buyers who know that we have a solid offer on the table. Both know they have a deadline of 5 tonight if they want our home to become theirs...

...will we have a bidding war, after so many months of uncertainty and wondering? I don't have any idea. But what I do know is that HE holds us gently in His hands, and that wherever we are tomorrow, it will be just where He wants us to be.

Very Interesting!

2011-09-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

My church, Mile High Calvary, is doing a 90 Day Challenge, where we are reading through the whole Bible in 90 days...it is a demanding regimen, but also doable, if you rearrange your priorities. I have decided to give up Facebook for the duration of the Challenge...and so far, it has been AWESOME!!!

Today is day Four, but I was reading ahead on Day 5 in Exodus. I was captivated by the midwives and what it says about them in the Bible...not many women are mentioned by name, so I am always curious as to why their names have passed through centuries.

Here is what Exodus says:

'Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?” And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”
Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.' 1:15-21 NKJV

The first thing I found interesting is the meaning of their names. Shiphrah is Hebrew and means 'fair, brightness or beauty'. Puah means "splendid". Wonderful names, don't you think? To be remembered for generations as 'fair' and 'splendid'? And it would seem that we know their names and a little about their character because they feared God and did not do as the Egyptians demanded, and for this God blessed them and provided households for them.

I also love that they had a sense of humor, even with the feared Egyptian king. “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” Wow! They were standing before Pharaoh - who, with a nod of his regal head, could have ended their lives...yet there they stood with a clever response, and because they feared God more than the man in front of them, their lives were changed forever!

I pray that if I am ever in a situation like that, one where 'fear of what could come' would overwhelm 'fear of He who created me', that I will remember this story and lean into the One who knew me before I was in my mother's womb.

What about you? Have you ever been in a situation where the wrong kind of fear threatened to change the course of YOUR life? What did you do?

P.S. You can get involved by signing up for youversion, a Bible site (also available as an app) that has the 90 program. I recommend signing up online, then downloading the app...seems to have worked better that way!

Calling all Compassion International Sponsors!!

2011-08-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

To all of you who sponsor children around the world through Compassion International - I want to shout out a great big THANK YOU for what you are doing in the lives of your children! The help that you give your child/children through the monthly support you send is changing their lives and the lives of their families in very tangible ways.

We recently returned from a Compassion Sponsor tour to Guatemala and one of the things that impacted me the most was hearing how seldom sponsors write their children - and how DESPERATE the children are to hear from you! You can not imagine the joy that we saw on the faces of the children who do hear from their sponsors compared to the grief of the many more who do not. So don't stop your help when you send that vital support check each month - take five minutes and write your child a letter. Ask them about themselves. Tell them about yourself. Get to know them in a way that you have not done up to this point!

There are several ways to write your child. You can go the "old fashioned" pen and paper route, which is great, because then the child sees your handwriting. Many of the kids don't think that their sponsor is real (one child even suggested that his sponsor must be a robot, because he had never heard from him), so taking the time to hand write a letter and enclose a picture or two of you/your family will make you more real to your child.

In addition to that, you can go onto the Compassion website and write an email to your child. Not as personal, but hey - I think that if the choice is an email vs. not hearing from you, they will gladly take the email!!

If you have not signed up for an account on the Compassion website, please take a minute to do that. There are lots of great tips for what to write your child, the email function is there, you can make a quick donation for an upcoming birthday or tons of other fun stuff.

If you don't have a sponsor child, and would like to, you can go to the Compassion International website and get started right away. There are thousands of kids waiting to get that call "You have a SPONSOR!!" Not only will you change the life of a child, but your life will be changed as well! Click here http://www.compassion.com/default.htm

P.S. Just found out about this blog...all about writing your Compassion kids, tons of tips and tools - check it out!! http://www.bloggingfromtheboonies.com/

Dolphin Tale - A Must See Family Movie - Finally!

2011-08-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I get awfully tired of hearing about the next new "family movie" only to find it full of potty talk, kids slamming all the adults, and rebellion out the wazoo! It is so rare that I can actually show my kids a new release at the theater without previewing it first, well, forget rare - it NEVER happens!

I recently heard about a new movie called Dolphin Tale, put out by Warner Brothers. I saw the trailer for Dolphin Tale while watching Winnie the Pooh with my kids. The story line immediately caught my attention, as it did all of my kids. I was further intrigued to read about the movie on the Homeschool Movie Club site (http://homeschoolmovieclub.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/homeschool-day-at-the-movies/ ) in a review by Nathan Clarkson - this was the quote at the bottom of the short promo: "*also, you may be happy to know that there is no foul language, actors wear wetsuits and rash guards, and there are no romantic plots (no funny business :) and we have seen an early screening and would be happy to answer ANY question you may have about the movie". I was hooked! How often can you read a review about a family movie and get that kind of an endorsement?!

Last week, I saw a post on Facebook from Sally Clarkson, letting us know that "they" were looking for people who blog and are leaders to come and pre-screen Dolphin Tale. You can be sure that I dropped everything to get that email sent off, and sure enough, I was lucky enough to receive a coveted seat at the screening yesterday.

I cannot say enough positive things about this movie. First of all, it is in 'Real 3D"...fun for me for two reasons: 1) I have not seen a 3D movie yet and 2) I just came back from snorkeling in Belize and the underwater scenes in 3D....wow! It was almost like being back in the water...almost!

I am not an expert on the social life of dolphins by any stretch of the imagination, so seeing "Winter" getting into all sorts of mischief before her accident may be totally inaccurate, but for me, it gave me a glimpse into the playful nature of this dolphin (Winter actually plays herself!).

I was also touched by the relationships of the people portrayed in the movie. Sawyer is obviously a child with a heavy load on his shoulders...and his relationship with his mom is so real! I could see myself saying some of the same things to my kids that she said to Sawyer on the way to the Marine Aquarium! And 'Hazel', I want her to be friends with Liyah! What an engaging child, full of spunk and life.

I also loved the "family forever" theme that ran throughout the movie. You saw it with Sawyer and his cousin Kyle as Kyle went out of his way to make sure his cousin knew that he was coming back and with how Sawyer went to see his cousin after the accident when his calls were not returned. Also with Lorraine (Sawyer's mom) and her sister, who lived across the street from each other and were always there to support one another when times were tough. You also saw it in Dr. Clay's family, in his daughter and his father. All of the people really cared about each other and even when things were tough, they stuck together and got through it, a good example to set in the world we live in where it is very common for people to run away from dealing with the hard things in life.

If I say anymore you won't need to see the movie...so I am just going to say - GO SEE IT!! It receives my highest movie rating of "I would pay full price to see it AGAIN at the theater" and this time I will be taking all the kids with me! I really think we need to let the movie industry know that we want more movies like this one!!

So, go see it and come back here and let me know what you think!

Day Three...in pictures

2011-08-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Art

Old Friends

Welcome!

Home

Fragrant

Beloved

the hands of God

Guatemala, Day 2

2011-07-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

Day one was spent in the airport, or in the air, so I am going to skip it except to say...what a nice room we had last night!

Day two started with us meeting in the lobby to ditch the bags we did not need to take to Quetzaltenango, where we will spend the next four days. The skies were gray and clouds wrapped around the mountains outside the hotel doors, but I must say that this lady was super happy to feel the cool breezes blowing through those doors!

Some of you know that our Compassion child in Kenya graduated last week, so we choose a new child, Aleena, here in Guatemala, and hopefully, we will be meeting her on Tuesday, and seeing her again on Friday!

We loaded onto three buses and headed SW into the mountains to the city of Quetzaltenango, which is the highest city in Central America, and also the second largest city in Guatemala.

We drove through some amazing mountains, lots of lush, green hills and farm land. We passed field after field of corn with little block houses nestled on the edegs and sevearal town markets, which were hopping on this busy Sunday morning.

The people, especially the women, in the countryside, were dressed in traditional native dress: colorful woven wrap skirts, equally colorfull tops and these cool belts. They have these beautiful woven blankets that they use for everything from slinging a baby on their backs, to wrapping up baskets of good to go to market. I am amazed at how many uses they have for those beautiful blankets!

We also passed three volcanos, and the the lake which is nestled at the base, Lake Atitlan, which is a pretty famous place here. I don't think we will get much closer than this, but it was beautiful!

Once we arrived at the hotel, we had an amazing lunch, took a short nap and then headed over to a local church for service and dinner. This church has a child sponsor program running and we were able to tour the classrooms, talk to the teachers and interact with some of the children. It was a most amazing time!

We were made to feel so welcome by the people of the church, where, by the way, I disovered that I am pretty darn tall! We received many hugs from most of the ladies, especially the ladies who work with the kids, and warm handshakes or hugs from the men. More than once, tiny little old women came up and gave me a big smile and a bigger hug...I really can't describe the feeling of being in a room full of people, where you don't understand much of what anyone was saying and yet feeling so welcome...just a taste of what Heaven might be like (without needing a translator)?

The children were the most fun, though, with their irrepressable energy and excitement. They all loved having their pictures taken, and really liked seeing them on the screen afterwards. Three little girls kept running up to me, giggling and laughing for their picture to be made, then dashing off again. So fun!

After an amazing dinner, (actually, amazing does not begin to describe the dinner!)we loaded the buses to head back to the hotel. Almost thought for a moment Steve and I were going to be left behind, when we got stuck behind a crowd who were waving good bye! With a loud "Con permisso!" the crowd parted and we dashed to the bus for a quick ride back to the hotel.

Off to bed now for a long sleep - we don't have to be anywhere til 9!

Interesting historical fact to note for today - the Guatemalan Futbol Team played their first ever World Cup game today! They lost (as expected - they did after all play the two time defending champions!), but it seems that all Guatemalans are super psyched that they finally made it to the Cup!

Waiting Patiently...or not!

2011-05-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

Just when you get all wrapped up in your own self-absorption, a tragedy occurs. People's lives are changed forever and you realize how insignificant you really are in the scheme of things.

I recently made a time line on some large index cards that I taped together, end to end. I started about 3000 b.c. and came up to the present. When you see yourself as a little dot in the great expanse of time that has happened from when God created the Heavens and the Earth til now, you realize that you are not even a blip on the radar of time.

Except that my living or dying does matter to three little people and one amazing man.

For too long, I have been letting the tide batter me around like a clump of old sea weed on the edge of the ocean. I think it's high time I get up out of the surf, get on my feet and choose to live the life given to me. It is a good life. A blessed life. I have a husband who adores me, three healthy kids, a wonderful family and amazing friends.

Better yet, I serve an amazing God. A God who knew me before He created me in my mother's womb. A God who chose the time and place of my birth, the family into which I would be born and the time it would happen. He has numbered my days and yet, it is not all about me.

I think it's high time I get off my tail, get healthy and get on with this life. For there are so many in such great need.

And Life Rolls On...

2011-03-24T09:57:00.001-07:00

...and on. I spent 30 minutes in the bathroom this morning (I promise, this will NOT be TMI!) with a child on my lap who was losing it. Round and round he went with his circling arguments never getting anywhere, because we all know that going in circles never gets you any place you want to go.

"I tan't be twiet! I told you one million-one hundred tosuand times I don't know how to be twiet! I am TIRSTY!!! I am going to die of being tirsty! I will not be twiet betause I told you I tan't be twiet!!!"

On and on it goes. I was very calm as I sat with him in my arms. Praying for help. And he would not be quiet. I called Daddy, but he was in a meeting, so no help from that quarter.

I thought of all the people who look at my child and say (I have heard them) that all he needs is a good spanking. That we do not have control of our child. That he runs our house. That they would NEVER allow their child to act this way.

Guess what? Sometimes he is out of control....aren't YOU sometimes out of control too? Do you ever have emotions that you don't know what to do with, boiling up inside you and making you want to scream with frustration or anger? I know I do.

So how can we (me included here) expect a five year old that has been through what my five year old has been through in his short life to have it all together? To know how to act all the time and to do it well? I have not been through what he has been through and I don't act like I know I should!

So, back to this morning...as I sat there with him snuggled in my lap (for though his words were angry and his tone harsh, he was snuggled up to me for comfort) I just started to pray out loud for him. For God to use his strength to help people and not hurt them. I prayed for every part of him, his mind, his eyes, his ears, his heart, his feet - the whole of AJ - that God would use him for good things. That AJ would be willing to listen to God, to learn from Him and from Mommy and Daddy, so that he could be used by God for the purpose for which he was created. For while some may think that this child should never have been born, that he was an accident, I know the truth. God has a plan for this little man.

And after I finished praying, I helped him to pray. To ask God to help him. It was the sweetest moment...because as soon as I started praying for him, he stopped his arguing to listen. To listen to me speak words of love and affirmation over him. To hear me crying out to God on his behalf. It was not the way I had hoped to start my morning, and yet, if it happens this way every day, I will be honored to bring my child to the throne!

So, please don't judge him. He is a boy who needs your love and prayers. A boy who God knew before He created him in his mother's womb. A boy who will do mighty things for the Lord because he has the passion and determination to get it done.

I am honored to be this boy's Momma.

Happy Dance!!!

2011-03-17T13:06:00.001-07:00

I am so happy right now, I could DANCE!!!! And I am not really a dancer...

I have been really focusing on AJ the last few days, making him a calendar and then making him a book with his "Plans". I talked to my friend Carrie, http://schoolrethunk.blogspot.com/2010/10/daily-schedule.html who learned this technique of making plans from a sensory program she had her son enrolled in. Basically, a Plan is something visual that you make for your child, that has all the steps required to do something...anything that needs to get done. It helps kids who can't necessarily keep it all in their minds or who let their emotions get in the way of their thinking. It also helps kids who need to know what is coming.

So here are a few pics from AJ's book. He decided to call it "Austin's 'Making Good Choices' Book":

Page One is a weekly schedule that says what time we are going to eat, when he gets up, what days and times he showers....'nothing' things to me, but things that have consistently caused problems for our day to day life. The morning is on the front of the page, and the afternoon and evening are on the back.

Page Two is his plan for getting up in the morning. I am sending him to bed with a little timer that has a clock on it and by his book, he knows what time to get up. Then he refers to his plan, and follows it step by step, til he gets to the end of the plan. I can't tell you how much more smoothly our mornings have been going, as we get this more firmly set into place.

There is also a plan for bedtime, and one for showers. It seems crazy to me to have to list out each little step - but hey, if it works, I am good!

We also have a consequences page and a page that (I hope) is going to help me teach him not to interrupt. We will see how it goes!

The last thing in the book is a few blank pages that I can write on with Vis-a-vis...for days like today...and hence, my reason for dancing!

This afternoon we took Sweet Girl to art and then made a quick grocery store run. Every 5 minutes I kept changing my plan for the afternoon. As time passed, AJ got more and more agitated and combative. We finally got home, and I sent them outside to play and he kept stealing anything that Jalapeno tried to play with and was basically terrorizing the back yard. I brought him in to put him in his room and he lost it. He started hitting me and screaming...all the behaviors we were seeing before we started with The Plan.

I grabbed him up and snuggled him in my lap so he could not hit me any more, and told him that I understood that he was disappointed about the changing plans but that hitting and screaming was not the way to deal with it. I had him apologize to me, which he readily did, his anger already gone. Then he and I got his book and sat down and I wrote out for him what was going to be happening for the rest of the day. I gave him the timer/clock and he very happily and calmly went down to the playroom until it was time to go get SG. Now, you must understand that in the past (as recently as Monday) an explosion like this would have lasted for 1-1 1/2 hours, with lots of consequences, time out and yelling...none of which either of us wants.

All of these happenings have really made me pay attention to my child this week. Yelling "knock it off!" from my chair in front of the computer just does not work with him (or the other kids either, to be honest), and though I am wondering how all this will look when we are in a bit more "normal life mode", seeing such quick results makes me want to stick with this, even if it is hard. I have hope again, that I will be able to take this child out in public without a scene every time we leave the van...hope!! It is a beautiful thing!

I am so thankful that God heard my cries for help and has given me tools to use that really help me to be a better mom to my child. I have hated the way I have been feeling toward him, and so appreciate this chance for a do-over! God is good...ALL the time!

Today....

2011-03-15T18:54:00.001-07:00

....things were a little better with my little man. If you read the preceding post, you know that we have had some rough times lately and over the course of our almost five years together...but today was an example of how things could be if I am willing to be less selfish, to put aside my to-do list and focus on this darling child God has given me.

As I cried and prayed my way home last night, after the horrible day I had with the little one, I felt like I really needed to focus more on what he was asking for and what he was needing (despite the way he was asking). He is only five, though he seems much older because of his mouth. But I realized that most of what I hear out of his mouth in both tone and words are things I have said, verbatim. Seems like that puts it all on me.

So last night, I stayed up and created a weekly calendar for him. In orange it has all the things that he has to do by himself, in blue, things he needs to know are coming (like showers), in green FOOD!! On the reverse side, we have consequences for his behaviors, and I kept it very simple, only three things we are working on...arguing, being disrespectful and hitting.

I also talked to him about the 'angry bees' in his tummy, and how they make him do things that he does not want to do. We came up with three things that he can do to help the bees be calm 1) sit with Mommy 2) hug Mommy 3) lie down in his bed with his blanket for 5 minutes. I explained it all to him this morning and he has referred to that "tayendar" all day long. To me, it is silly, to him, as my friend Lisa commented, the "knowledge is power".

And here is the amazing thing...no timeouts today - not one! And this for a kid who is in timeout a lot! Every time he headed in a direction that was not going to end well, I would talk to him about what was going on in his tummy and we would follow 1..2..3...to get the bees to quiet down.

Was it a perfect day - absolutely NOT! Was it a better day for he and I than we have had in months? YES!!! Without a doubt. He even happily went to bed 30 minutes before the other kids, after he got ready for bed with no fussing and he and I read a story together. Bedtime has always been bad for us, but tonight, I got a glimpse of what it could be like.

I read an article today by Sally Clarkson. She is someone who I really look up to as the kind of mom I want to be. She admits she is not perfect, that she has made lots of mistakes too, but the fact is, she loves her kids and she keeps trying. You can read it for yourself here: http://www.itakejoy.com/discipleship-relationships-take-a-lot-of-time/ I would love to know what you think!

Easy or Right?

2011-03-15T08:14:00.001-07:00

Have you ever thought (you can be honest here, we're all friends) that it would have been so much easier if each child the Lord gives us came with an instruction manual and a built in screen on their forehead that flashed the page number for the issue at hand? I have. Truly.

Picture it: Child number Two is melting down because s/he has to fold a few pieces of laundry. Their head is spinning round and round, fists and words are flying and a bright red number 44 flashes on the forehead. You whip your handy-dandy Child Number Two Manual out of your back pocket, flip to page 44 and Oila! The answer for all your woes. You calmly apply the wisdom you read there and Child Number Two acquiesces (that's a cool word, eh?!) and all is calm and peaceful again. Ahhhhh!!

There are many days when I have wished fervently that I had manuals and flashing forehead screens for my three delightful children. Days when I question the years and years I prayed for kids of my own. Days (like yesterday, since we are being honest) when I wish we already lived near my family and I could take that kid and drop him/her off for some Grampa time.

This then, is what I have learned over the last five years. If these darlings of mine had come with manuals, then I would not be relying on the One who gave them to me to raise for Him. You see, in His instruction manual, it says that He knew each of them before they grew in their mother's wombs. He knew the days allotted to them...it reads like this:

"For You formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" Psalm 139:13-17

So if the God who created them knew them, and "saw their substance, being yet unformed", and all their days are "written, when as yet there were none of them", then I am guessing that it is not a mistake that they are in my home. Not a mistake that He chose me to be the one who would help them to know Him and to become all that he created them to be. Not a mistake. Not a mistake. Not a mistake.

What I am learning is that I need to be spending time with the One who created them. That I need to be asking Him what to do when I reach that melt down point, and if I am doing it right, maybe the melt downs will lessen. That no book (no matter how wise the author) is going to give me all that I need for each of my children. Yes, I can glean ideas and be comforted by those with whom I share my mom heart, but truly the answers for this child and this situation are only going to come from the Creator of this child.

I challenge you to seek His face for your kid troubles. He will never let you down. See, He knew YOU in the secret place and your days are also written, and He is using this time with your kids to shape you and mold you too!! Thank God for that!!

Divine Interruption

2011-03-13T03:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I stole the name for this blog post from my dear friend's blog (http://divineinterruptions.blogspot.com/) but those words just keep running through my mind in the early hours of this new day.

You see, I am in the middle of a divine interruption. It is more of a cataclysm, really. The earth under my feet is roaring and shaking. But somehow, I am as calm and quiet as a child in it's mothers arms. I feel that "peace that passes all understanding" running through my veins. It is an awesome if not sometimes confusing feeling.

About six weeks ago, we felt God calling us to move back across the country to be closer to our family. We have always wanted to be by them, especially since we became parents, but never before have we felt this compelling urge to make it happen. In fact, I have often said that I would never leave this world I now call home, unless my family needed me back in hot, humid Georgia. Yes, I did say never, but not in the "Uh-uh, no way, I ain't going back there no more, no more, no more!", but more in the "I am happy here. Content. I love where we are and what my life has become." kind of way.

There are competing emotions to be sure. On one hand, I am thrilled that I am going to be within minutes of my sister and her family. And my parents are talking about moving up that way too, which would be just awesome! I will also be near my Georgia family, many of whom have known me since we first moved there when I was seven years old! But as I lay in bed tonight, wakened by these thoughts swirling through my mind, I suddenly realized that yes, they have known me most of my life, but they don't know the woman I have become, especially in the last five years since I became a mom.

The woman I am now has been shaped by a core of friends who know me like no one back home has had the chance to know me. They have helped me become the woman I am today and I am a better person for knowing them.

I could right this moment, at 4 am, call any one of them and say "I need you" and they would jump in their cars and be here as fast as they could. Not many people are that blessed, to be sure, to have such dear, true friends of the heart.

I am not really sure why God is calling me away from my Colorado sisters, what plans He has for us, what things are headed our way. But I do know this. God is good, all the time. The plans He has for us can not be improved upon. So while my heart aches and breaks as the the time for leaving gets closer and closer, I still know that the best place to be is in the center of His will for my life, there in the arms of my Father.

Today is the day....

2011-02-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

...ever wondered if you could make a difference? Ever wondered how you would do it? There is so much horror in the world. So much pain, so many ways that we humans hurt each other. Today is the day when YOU could make the difference in the life of a child. You, making a decision right now can change the life of a child for all eternity. Will you accept the challenge or will you go about you day, drinking your fancy coffee, living your sheltered, comfy life? These are hard words. It is a hard reality for this precious child, as well as millions of others in our world. But right now, today, you can help change the life of THIS child.

Please, take a few minutes and read the story at this link, do what you can to help and then stand back and watch God work. http://divineinterruptions.blogspot.com/2011/02/day-to-save-olga.html?spref=fb

There is already more to this story. Evidence of God working in this child's life, in my life, in the life of a dear friend....there is more to this story, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!!

Women of Purpose and Passion

2011-02-06T06:33:00.000-08:00

It's been almost five years ago now, when I got the call that made me a mom. "I've got some kids here, I think you need to hear about. I think that you would be a good match for each other." And so began a journey that continues today. It has not always been an easy road to walk. I went through several months of depression as my dreams of what motherhood would be synced with the reality of what motherhood is. During those early days, I cried out to God to please, please, give me friends, Lord. Friends who are moms, who love you and love their husbands. Friends who are passionate about things that really matter.

Which brings us to today. Today I am surrounded by friends, women of purpose and passion, who love God, love their husbands, friends who are moms. God has answered my prayers beyond anything I could have imagined.

I have friends who are passionate about unborn life. Who despite their fears of loss of relationship, loss of family, took a stand when women they knew were poised on the brink of ending their child's life. Sometimes a miracle happened and life was saved, family was strengthened. Sometimes, things did not work out the way we had hoped, and friendships ended, life ended. Regardless, I know that our Father will say to both of my friends, "Well done,
Daughter. You did what I asked. I will take it from here."

I have friends who are passionate about women and children caught in the horror of the sex slave trade. These friends actively raise money and awareness to help the victims of this horrible 'business'. One of them almost single handedly put together a 5K race which raised $7500 to help an organization in Germany which helps women escape slavery.

I have several friends who are passionate about orphans and those who are abandoned because they don't match the image that society demands. In fact, many of the friends I now have are now pursuing or have plans to pursue adoption...which as you know, is near and dear to my own heart. One of these dear friends has a passion to adopt, but instead of forcing her husband to march to her plans, she has entrusted the whole thing to God, and while she waits on God and shows the utmost respect for her husband, she is helping to raise awareness and money for orphans with Down Syndrome in Russia. These monies will allow families who want to adopt these children, but who do not have the required $25,000, to do so...uniting forever a child without hope with a family who will love them always.

I also now have friends who are passionate about motherhood, about raising and educating their children to love and serve our mighty God. These women also face rejection and criticism, for in our world today, those are not often qualities that are highly valued. Many times my friends have lost relationships because they stand firm in their convictions. But they continue to walk the path God has put them on, despite the pain and loss that they experience.

Which brings me back to today. God is calling me out of this proving ground, out of this safe haven of women who are passionate about the same things as I am. Women who have helped shape and mold me into the woman, the mother that I am today. We are leaving Colorado soon. Moving back to be near our families. On one hand, I am filled with joy to be close to my parents and my sister and her family. To be able to raise my children with their cousins, for you see, this too has always been a dream of mine. On the other hand, I am having to leave my friends. These sisters of the heart. But God has proven Himself faithful. I have seen what He can do, of how bountifully he answers the longings of our hearts. So I walk forward in faith, in obedience, and with anticipation! For now, not only do I have these dear friends behind me, still loving and supporting me, but the anticipation of what is before me.

Full stop.

2010-12-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

Do you ever find yourself fussing about stuff that really does not matter? Complaining, whining, and fighting about stupid stuff? I have…and today I got an unpleasant reminder that life is short, we don’t know if tomorrow is coming for us. We just don’t know.

We got a phone call today, on Christmas Eve, from some old friends. Their daughter was killed last night in a tragic, horrifying auto accident. She was young, somewhere in her early twenties and was driving home with her dog to spend Christmas with her parents when the accident happened.

We used to live right next to these friends, and when their daughter was younger, we were there with them as she went through some pretty tough times. We watched her grow from a gangly little girl, to a young woman with a “take the world by the horns” attitude toward life. She was spunky and unique; she had a zest for life that seems to be missing in so many people today. One thing is for sure. When Charlene was around, things were going to be interesting.

But now I am reeling. I had just had an argument with my husband about some stupid thing that I don’t even remember. I had fussed at my daughter earlier because she keeps lapsing into talking like a baby…I nag her about it all the time, shame on me. I don’t understand why, when there are such evil people in the world that this girl, the only child of my friends, had to die.

But this I do know. God is good, all the time. I know that this accident was no surprise to God. I know that He can make good out of every evil thing. I have seen that to be true in my own life and I believe it.

So right now, I am going to cling to the things I know. This verse has been an anchor for me, in the tough times of life. I am going to cling to it again now: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:4-7 NKJV. And I am going to be on my knees for these dear friends of ours. Praying that they will find that peace of God, for it seems to me, that nothing else will do in a time like this.

Brakes!!!

2010-11-27T12:19:00.000-08:00

According to family lore, I was walking at 6 months, running soon after, and I have not stopped since. No snuggling in Grandpa's lap for me. I had things to do and people to see...and for the last forty something years, that is how I have lived my life. Full throttle, get-out-of-my-way, let's get moving!

If you were one of the unfortunate ones who got run over, please accept my sincere apology.

Now it seems, I have come to a place in my life where God is telling me to be still...literally and in other ways too. I have been in bed, flat on my back for the last eight days - culprit? The disk between my L4& L5 vertebrae. It seems that this particular disk has had enough of the abuse I have piled on it, and has decided to vacate the premises. Problem is, I still need said disk, so the struggle that is going on between us "Get back where you belong!" "No way, I am outta here!", is proving to be a painful one.

So now, until I can have a consult with an orthopedic surgeon, I am stuck here, praying that a stray cough or sneeze is not the trigger that sends me to the hospital for emergency back surgery.

I have also learned that the phrase "In my humble, true opinion" is not a very good way to live life. Yes, I, like many others, have preferred ways for doing things...trouble is, I have tended to think that my way is the only way. Again, my sincere apology...I don't mean to be bossy. I just figured I would save you the trouble of learning the hard way what does not work....arrogance at it's worst. I really am sorry.

Brakes. God is good at applying them at the right time. Even when we don't see it that way. I pray that I will continue to see what I need to see during this forced still time. And I covet your prayers as well.

Moving on!

2010-11-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

So, we finished North America last week, despite all the puking, colds and general mayhem that occurred. I am happy to be moving on to South America, as we have spent all of this year and all of last year in North America....glad to be moving on to warmer climes, yummy food and interesting studies!

I got all the maps switched out and the new ones hung up...I particularly love these two. One is a satellite image of South America which shows the topography in brilliant color. The second is part of a great set I found that shows the biomes of the world - which is exactly what we are studying this year! It shows a sat map at the bottom with all the tropical rain forests (for example) in the world highlighted, animals that live in that area and some of the vegetation you would expect to see. They are so perfect for what we are doing this year...especially since we live so far from so many of these biomes! I got both sets at Mardel where it costs not much to laminate them before you even bring them home!

This next map is one that I got for under $20 on Amazon, and we are poking all kinds of holes in it, planning on it being trashed when we finish the year. For $20, it is worthwhile! We have marked all the zones on this map, temperate, atctic, etc. as well as the prime meridian and used this map to do some work locating spots on the map with latitude and longitude. It was really fun!

We are also marking places on the map where people live that we know, as we go through each continent. If you know anyone who lives in South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, or Antarctica (I can hope, right?)...send us a pic (email is fine) and a town name, and we will post them on our map!

We are also moving on in the English department...some of you know that Sweet Girl has had some real struggles with her attitude about the level of work increase this year, specifically in the area of her new English book. I really prayed about what to do, as sometimes the lessons took her 2-4 hours to complete, but as we have really worked on the heart attitude, lessons are now being completed in 30-45 minutes - MUCH better!! We should finish 'The Courage of Sarah Noble' this week, and then on to 'The Sign of the Beaver'. I am so happy with how this program (Total Language Plus) works. I have seen such an improvement in her spelling, writing and comprehension...I count this as one of my BEST homeschool discoveries - ever!

OK, off to the library to pick up all the South America books and movies for our book basket - enjoy this beautiful day!

BUSTED!

2010-10-20T15:35:00.001-07:00

My son...there are two, and it's not the usual one...just came upstairs from quiet time with red teeth, red lips and a red tongue. When I asked him what he had been eating, he actually had the nerve to say "nothing". I guess he did not stop to look in a mirror on his way upstairs! I marched his fanny downstairs to discover that he has been ingesting the red and green sugar cookie sprinkles and the white nonpareils (the little white bean bag filler looking decorations) that I store in a basement pantry under the stairs. Oh my land of mercy!! Seriously, I am just glad it wasn't the OTHER son, the one who turns into a monster when he eats food coloring!

Success?

2010-10-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

Success...how do you measure success in schooling? 100's on papers, complete mastery of a subject, a college scholarship or maybe the praise of someone whose opinion you value?

For me, success in our homeschool journey looks a little different. When I see the things we are studying coming out of my kids in all different kinds of ways, then I count that as success. When E comes in with eyes shining and all excited about a couple of old bike wheels, because he sees that he is one step closer to creating a "real" glider, or when AJ uses his God given gift with numbers to help his brother or sister answer a math question, or when L arranges an elaborate adventure for the other kids outside, with elements of the great books she reads, then I count our homeschooling journey thus far as a success.

When I hear the kids talk to their Daddy about what we are reading about, and he asks them questions and they answer them...even when it might not be exactly what we talked about, but they were able to pull from the knowledge that we are pouring into them...then that is success.

I even count it as success when they are eating lunch and they are taking bites out of their nachos to make them into the shapes of the states we have been studying, and they get the name AND the shape right - that is success - and quite a lot of fun besides!

I am so thankful that I am able to educate our children at home. There is really nothing that I would rather be doing right now...even when we go through tough times like the last few weeks, when it seems that every step forward also involves 10 steps back. I think it is being able to savor each step, good or bad, knowing that we are doing our best to equip our children to live the lives that God created them to live. They had a rough start, my three sweet babies....but by God's grace, they will finish this race and hear: "Well done, my good and faithful servant" when they get to the end of their road...that my friends is true success!

This is RICH!

2010-10-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

All summer long, I have been cutting this gorgeous, fresh parsley for my garden...even bragging, when I take it somewhere..."I grew this in my garden!"

So imagine my surprise when I went out to cut said parsley (we have a freeze warning for tonight and I didn't want to lose it) and discovered that it is not parsley at all, but CARROT TOPS!! Ha!

There does appear to be some curly parsley in amidst the carrots, but what I have been cutting is definitely carrot tops! Oh, well...guess we can chalk that up to being a new gardener. Besides, the kids are going to love these fresh, sweet carrots with dinner.

And, never fear...oh, Heavens there is SMOKE pouring out of the oven...be right back!!!

All is well. The apple pie was overrunning it's confines and dripping juice and butter into the bottom of the hot oven - what a MESS!! We are having an "American" style meal tonight to celebrate finishing the US in school....on to Mexico next!

Anyway, you should know that although many of the members of the carrot and celery family have poisonous leaves, the carrot tops are quite safe to eat: http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotops.html ...so I think I will toss these beauties into a green smoothie in the am.

Gotta run - the hordes must be fed...even though E seems to be having a blast learning to speak the Queen's English while watching a Brit cook on CreateTV and the other two are having a rollicking good time playing on the mini-tramp in the play room.

Next year...

2010-10-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a gorgeous, albeit dry fall here this year...last year we had an early snow in October, with a blizzard at the end of the month...praying for the snow to hold off a bit longer this year!

The garden is still producing a little bit...a trickle of beans, a cuke every few days and a few more beets to be pulled...oh, and the soybeans are almost ready!! Next year, I want to plant more of those, earlier! But the silly garden still wants to make more food...the beans and cukes are flowering and some parsley, which was covered over by bean plants that I pulled out, look like they want to give it a try.

We ended up with 20 or so of the "Crown of Thorn" gourds and six of the "Dipper Gourds". Next year I want to plant these two big climbers around a teepee frame for the kiddos...should make a nice, cool place to play on hot summer days!

The acorn squash did okay...we got four or five of those, and the butternut squash...well they suffered from uneven watering, so we only got two of those. I think next year I will relocate the box and try and be more regular in my watering ;-)

Are you planting a fall garden? I want to, but it seems from what I have read, that most people in zone 5 who do a fall garden start seeds in July and plant late August...with my back and school and canning and, well Life, that did not happen, so we will try some lettuce, spinach and kale and see what happens, and plan better for next year. I need to get a cover made for one end of the garden to keep the snow off the plants...hmmmm, where IS that honey-do list?

Today, I put up 8 pints of plum jam - YUM! I had been hoping someone would say they had extra plums, and don't you know, today I got a bag full!! Thanks Ang!!

Overall, I have been pretty happy with my Square Foot Garden. It was a good trial run. Now I know NOT to plant pole beans around corn if you want to actually get corn off the plants. I also discovered that nine bush bean plants will completely take over three squares instead of the one square that they were supposed to inhabit! And speaking of pole beans, no one told me I needed light poles for them to climb! The crazy things climbed up anything they could find, and when there was nothing there, they bent over and then climbed back up AGAIN!

Next year, I plan to start my cukes inside to give them a jump start on the short growing season we have here. I also plan to get beets, kale, lettuces, spinach, chard and sweet peas into an early garden...now I just need to figure out who will be willing to come and water the seedlings while we are in GA, relaxing on the beach, watching the waves crash on the shore at Cumberland Island....I will be willing to pay in veggies later - any takers?

Imagination!

2010-09-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

What do old fence boards, a jump rope with no handles, five 8' sticks of PVC pipe, a yellow plastic chair, three bike helmets, and several pieces of landscape fabric have in common?

Apparently, they are the makings of a glider!! My inventor (Jalapeno) has been listening to the story of The Wright Brothers and he and his little brother decided to build their own glider.

I was not too worried until J started talking about "launching Pineapple through the air"...but after I asked a few questions, I determined that aside from a few splinters, it looked like everyone was going to survive the latest round of inventing.

These children of mine are always impressing me with their creativity. When the first launch ended up with broken fence boards, they decided to use a piece of PVC pipe (much stronger) and put a bigger lever underneath (the yellow chair). They even tried different weight kids to see if one of the lighter kids would be able to "fly".

Now, they have gone back to the drawing board, literally, and are outside now with paper, pencils and a purple clipboard...making refinements to their design.

I do believe they are flying already!

2010-09-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is having a baby early in the am, so her two eldest are sleeping over tonight. I just heard the six-year-old boys upstairs talking...

E: I want to be a missionary when I grow up.

M: What's that?

E: It's kind of like a pastor, but you get to fly in an airplane.

M: Oh, cool!

E: You have to do two years military service.

M: What's that?

E: You have to fight. With a sword. {ching, ching}

M: COOL! I wanna do that too!

BOYS! Anything to do with a sword, airplanes and fighting MUST be cool, eh?

Meanwhile, down in the kitchen, my mom and I are canning up a storm: 10 pints honey-peach jam & 9 quarts of peach halves...mmmm - best of all, I picked the peaches from our tree!! On tap for tomorrow, picking elderberries and making elderberry jam - mmmm! Pictures to follow...

At the Breakfast Table...

2010-08-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

Jalapeno talking about Daddy, who just came home sick from an eleven day trip to Indonesia:

"Daddy is sleeping during the day and awake at night - he is a BAT!!" "And, if we put him on the 'upsbydown table {we have an inversion table} then he will REALLY be a BAT!"

Quote of the day...

2010-08-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

"It is wholly impossible to live according to Divine order , and to make a proper application of heavenly principles, as long as the necessary duties which each day brings seem only like a burden grievous to be borne. Not till we are ready to throw our very life's love into the troublesome little things can we be really faithful in that which is least and faithful also in much. Every day that dawns brings something to do, which can never be done as well again. We should, therefore, try to do it ungrudgingly and cheerfully. It is the Lord's own work, which He has given us as surely as He gives us daily bread. We should thank Him for it with all our hearts, as much as for any other gift. It was designed to be our life, our happiness. Instead of shirking it our hurrying over it, we should put our whole heart and soul into it. -James Reed

At the kitchen table...

2010-08-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

"Yeyah,I know why dis is talled jicama...petause it makes you hiccup!"

Garden Pics

2010-08-20T11:57:00.001-07:00

The peach tree is loaded down with beautiful peaches this year - they survived the crazy end-of-winter/spring...they just need to plump up now...they are small and hard, though gorgeous!

This is the garden, as of August 1 when my darling helped me to put up the frames and mesh for the cukes and gourds to climb...

And here is the garden a mere 20 days later!

This is the Crown of Thorns plant that is at the south end of the garden. It's leaves are silky soft or prickly and scratchy! It has beautiful, fragile white flowers that last a day and yellow flowers from which the Crown of Thorns gourd grow... a very interesting plant!

And this is my first ever acorn squash!! Can't wait to bake this up and serve it with some home-grown-rabbit stew!

Math - Garden Style

2010-08-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love learning with my kids at home!!

This morning the air is super clear and cool, thanks to a fantastic storm that rolled through town last evening. I think my pine trees grew a foot overnight! They seem so much taller, as I weave through them to water the squash plants. There are two acorn squash on the twining vines, and two or three butternut...though it looks like "someone" (a bunny invader, perhaps) knocked off two flowers that had baby squash at the bottom :-( Rabbit stew is good with squash, right?

Anyway, this morning I was out watering the garden, and was soon joined by my darling daughter. The beans are starting to come in good, and as Sweet Girl helped me pick them, she started counting them to see how many we harvested. It seems funny to me to count beans (I remember the days harvesting my Dad's garden, and there were way too many to count - I think we counted bug bites incurred in the garden instead!), but when they first started coming in, there were only a handful, and so that's when the counting began.

Sweet Girl started grouping the beans in twelves, and then started adding dozens. I love how we did not have to sit down and "learn" how to deal with numbers in this way. I mentioned it casually one afternoon, when we were picking beans early on, and she has taken it and run with it. Today, she was even converting "dozen" into twelve to figure out how many single beans we had...multiplication, here we come!! And how much more sense is it going to make to her, to have held the beans, manipulated them in her hands as she counted them, then to do the math in her head and then eat them for dinner?! I wish we had had "bean math" when I was in school!

Really?!?

2010-08-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

So, I read this great article about homeschooling in the Post, and just had to reply...

Here's the article: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_15762640

And here is my reply:

Mr. Brigham,

I would like to say thank you for writing such a positive article about homeschooling. I have homeschooled my three children for the last three years, and it is nice to see favorable articles written about a topic that I am so passionate about.

You wrote at the end of your article:

"Ultimately, for us it comes down to not wanting to take on the additional responsibility or sacrifice the income, free time, and sense of accomplishment we get from succeeding at vocations we know and enjoy."

I am sad for you. Sad that you won't take a journey with your child that is more satisfying than any job you could hold. Sad that you won't be the one to teach her to read, and see the joy light up her face when she finally "gets it". Sad that you won't feel that sense of accomplishment that comes from working hard on something with your child, and finishing it well.

Income...schmincome! Homeschooling does not have to be expensive, in fact there any many homeschool families who are able to do it at a very low cost. We chose to "sacrifice" my income, and I would not trade one great, well paid day at my old job for my worst day as a homeschool mom.

What an exciting journey you and your family could take, if only you would look at homeschooling your child as a blessing and a fight worth winning. Nothing worth having comes easy, you know. Besides, think of all the new material it would give you for your writing!

As for me, I choose to give up the extra income, the satisfaction of having been really good at my former profession, and my free time. I accept all the work homeschooling takes. For there is truly no greater joy than leading my children in the journey of learning.

Sincerely,

Trina Reynolds
Homeschool mom of three in Littleton

Mommy vacation...sort of...

2010-08-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

Day 8: Last Thursday morning, I leaned over to pick up my robe from a chair and WAMO!! Those delicate little nerves, the ones that start out in your brain, come twining down your spinal column and out under a disc, the little darlings that let you walk and flex your toes - they decided that the pressure was too much and decided to SCREAM their protest! So scream they did, like a fire hot poker being shoved down my left leg. Yikes!

So here I recline on my bed for the eighth day in a row...the break that every mother of little ones dreams of...being told: Rest! "You must lay down 45 minutes, then up to walk for 15. Repeat." Add a little traction, a ride on the inversion table, a visit every few days for an adjustment and 'electrocution' at my new best friend's place - my chiropractor.

And I am reminded of a pertinent scripture: "A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." Pro 16:9

I had many plans for this month. We started school last week...we completed only two days. Fun things to wrap up summer. A state fair, perhaps. Many, many plans that have all gone awry.

But I keep hearing stories all around me...people whose lives were changed forever after a train at a kids park flipped over; people who are undergoing surgery to remove cancer, and others for whom surgery is not even an option. Stories of children living in brothels in India who were offered a future and a hope, but whose families needed the money they would provide by "working the line", so their dreams were cut off.

So I say, Thank you Lord, that this is temporary. That I have a husband who loves me and is willing to do whatever he needs to do, to take care of me. That my awesome Mom was willing to come out early to help with the kids and the house. And for my Dad, who is willing to do without her for six long weeks. That my sweet kids come by regularly to see if I need anything, to get me fresh water or to see if I am a "yittle bit better". That I have friends who are willing to take time out of their busy lives to come here, bringing food and helping hands.

I am well and truly blessed.

See how my garden grows!

2010-07-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

The garden is taking off, finally. I realized after talking to my neighbor that I was not watering enough, so now that I am getting more water into the soil, it is really growing well.

Most of the 'plants' we planted died, but all of the seeds did great and we have planted more things this week...soy beans, lettuce, spinach, and carrots.

The first crop of beets look ready to pull, as well as the carrots, and...wait for it...I saw a bean this morning!! Yes, it is only 1/2" long, but it portends good things to come!!

This is one of our squash plants that is growing in a separate box...I love the texture of the leaves!

So far, I am happy with my Square Foot Garden..,I've pulled a total of ten weeds so far, much better than the battle my Dad just told me that he fight in his standard garden. Once you get the SFG set up, it is a matter of watering and planting new squares as you harvest the old...next garden project...start a worm box!

2010-07-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

I am stealing the words below from my sister (Sister Wives power activate - form of...blogger!) because, well, it's good, and why reinvent the wheel?!? I am adding photos though...enjoy!!

"My sister and I long ago decided that the ancient practice of extended family living close together was something we really wished had never died out. When Leah was about 18 months old the two of us came out for a visit. My sister was still working her design job and Steve was away all day at work/school so Leah and I would hang out, taking walks to the park and just enjoying the change of scenery. I also did some light housekeeping which earned me the title "Tri's Housewife." We later coined the term "Sister Wives" when we both had multiple children and collectively tackled house keeping and childcare during our visits. We frequently declared, "Sister Wives' Power... Activate!" Do you remember the Wonder Twins? I still think we should get matching silver rings.

The last several days have been great. We tag team on the childcare and the housework. She does the cooking...I am her sous chef. She had 3 extra kids over for a sleepover...I helped her keep them fed and busy with crafts. It is a great thing to be able to share this with her!

So, today started out pretty uneventful. Church...lunch...nothing out of the ordinary. We had a drive to the mountains planned so we started the prep for that after lunch. Kids piled into the van, fleece jackets were stacked in the cargo area, and all sorts of snack foods rode up front for easy retrieval. We headed out for Mt. Evans so we could say we drove to the top of a 14er but didn't make it far before the transmission on the van started acting up. For whatever reason it wouldn't shift into the upper gears when we hit the interstate. Mt. Evans quickly got tabled and a trip to a museum in nearby Evergreen was our back up. What a cool place! We toured the houses of the Hiwan Homestead for a couple hours. This fall we will start out studying the 1900's so the museum was the perfect location to go. We got to tour the main house as well as several other buildings on the homestead. I couldn't have picked a more timely trip.

As we were winding down at the museum Eric started to look puny. We headed over to Beau Jo's for for some amazing pizza and things seemed to be going pretty well. The kids and Tri took on a 5 pound pizza and amazed our server by finishing every last bite. I had a yummy GF pizza all to myself and even enjoyed cheese for the first time in a year. They had a dairy free variety and it actually melted and everything!

After pigging out on a dessert pizza the kids were sufficiently stuffed and we headed home. Feeling spontaneous, we stopped off on the side of the road to wade in a river for a bit.

The kids had a great time throwing rocks, splashing around, and getting soaked. We piled the sodden crew back into the vehicle and headed for home, praying for an uneventful drive. Amazingly the transmission shifted perfectly and we thought we were in for a smooth ride. That is until Austin started to complain of an upset tummy. By the time we made it home Tri had quite a mess to clean up in the backseat, Leah was complaining of a severe sore throat, and Tri's other two were also complaining of upset tummies.

At present we have 2 vomiting, 2 feverish, and one totally unaffected (Theo) at least for now. We also found that Steve had been running a fever all day as well so the next few days should be interesting to say the least. Oy!

I needed to run out for some Chloraseptic so Tri decided to join me. We figured we might as well medicate ourselves so we came home armed with chocolate and ice cream Dibs. Now, common sense would say, "Go to bed...the kids will be up on and off all night." But, no...common sense was pitched out the window. Once we made sure everyone was comfy we settled in for a movie and junk food. Now we wait. Will they wake us up in the middle of the night? Only time will tell!

Sister Wives' Power, Activate! Form of a nursing team!"

Monday morning update: All children seem to be well...the one who did not get sick at all still seems to be healthy and now that morning chores are done, they have all evaporated to go off and play...I love my family!!!

Hi, my name is Trina...

2010-07-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

...and I am an addict - a Facebook addict that is!

You know you are a Facebook Addict when:

10) Your kid says something funny, and your first thought is how to word it for a status update.

9) You walk in the door from, well just about anywhere, and the first thing you do after you say hi, is go check FB

8) You spend hours scrolling through other people's pages to see if you missed anything.

7) You keep checking back to see if anyone has posted a new update, even at 2 am.

6) You justify all the time you spend on FB.

5) It rains, or you see a cloud shaped like a dragon, or the grass grows 1/16th of an inch, and you have to write a status update.

4) You would rather be on FB than playing with your kids. (ouch that one hurts)

3) You post a status update in the morning, and spend the rest of the day looking to see if anyone has commented.

2) Your house is a mess and your to-do list keeps growing, and growing, and growing...

1) You know you are a FB addict when you spend more time with your face to the computer screen than in living real life with real people.

So, yes, I am an addict, but a recovering one. I stopped FB'ing three weeks ago aside from a post to clear up the "Birthday Dilemma" and a post to let our CWAC ladies know about the next sewing bee.

At first it was hard, and it really bothers me that it was hard. I thought about FB all the time and wondered what I was missing. Guess what? Anything you miss, your friends will tell you when you call them or meet them at the park or for MNO!! A radical idea, I know, but true nonetheless!!

And this from a girl who was a teen and young adult before computers and cell phones even existed!! I should know better!!

So, here I go forward...talking to my hubby, blogging my little blog, playing with my kids and calling my friends on the phone. Ah, it's nice to breath the fresh air!

BTW, I need to borrow a bike for my niece to ride while she's here...anyone have one I can borrow? She's ten. :D

Ta Da!!

2010-07-05T00:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time coming, but Sweet Girl's room is finally done!!

I looked in there recently, and realized that it looked kind-of-like a yard sale gone all wrong...a too small round table that was great when she was five, not so great at eight...a small "church table" that is just plain ugly...old white shutters that I love and she tolerates...no window coverings...BRIGHT paint on the wall...my old chiff-robe from the days when I ate dirt (and brought home cute little round "rocks" that our neighborly rabbits left for us...it was just a mess!!

Knowing that my sister and niece are going to be here in less than two weeks lit a fire under my tail. And thanks to some awesome deals on Craigslist, some cheap pre-made drapery panels and sheets from good ol' Target...her room is finally done!

It really felt like an episode from Design on a Dime: We reused the bunk beds, the white shelves, and the square paper lamp. On Craigslist, I found a six piece bedroom set (two desks, two chairs, a dresser and a bookcase) for $57 - yes $57 for all of it! I found a pair of drapery panels for $17, two sets of sheets for $13 each, and a picture frame for $8.

The drapery panels were too long, so I cut them to the correct length and hemmed them, then used the excess fabric to cover the two chair cushions. The sheets were purchased in two separate patterns, so we split them up - solid turquoise fitted with circle pattern flat and vice-versa - this gives the bunk beds interest and ties all the colors together.

The picture frame is bamboo, and uses two pieces of glass to sandwich an original piece of art done by my friend Kris Gideon. The glass lets the wall paint show through, and oila! A perfect color match for a "mat" for the amazing horse painting that Kris painted for Sweet Girl.

Sweet Girl had also been collecting posters from a horse magazine, and though I was skeptical at first, they make a pretty interesting border along the wall over the new furniture.

So, let's add that up...the grand total spent to finish a room that is big-girl-to-die-for: $95!!

I must say, I told Sweet Girl tonight, as we watched fireworks flash green, gold and red in front the the foothills ..."I wish I had had a room like this when I was growing up!". She couldn't agree more.

A peek into the day of an (almost) five-year-old

2010-07-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

Sleeping in…blueberry pancakes…playing war with Bubba…unloading the dishwasher…swimming in the pool…sunshine…blue skies…diving rings…face underwater…playing in the pea gravel…nachos with cheese…a nap in the playroom…clouds rolling in…rain…thunder…lightening…driving with Mommy…a rainbow in the sky…God’s promise to us…bag pipes and dancing…Amazing Grace…fried chicken and biscuits…millet & limas…five candles…yummy ice cream cake…chocolate ice cream…nuts…a new bike…toys to build with…a baseball bat and glove…an orange camping chair…a new bike…trios…special gifts from Bubba & YaYa…playing with the new toys…driving in the rain…questions…questions… watching fireworks…running in the rain…church parking lot… fireworks…fireworks…everywhere we look more fireworks…red…blue…purple…flowers…poppers…screamers…
God’s fireworks flashing in the sky…at the park…cozy with my family…five years old!

July 4th, 2010
A few days early, but what a day!

Visitors from another planet?

2010-06-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

No, not really, but this week we have had some startlingly beautiful and strange visitors in our yard every morning...

No, I did not take this beautiful photo, but isn't it awesome?!?

We have had a family (do dragonflies live in families?) of dragonflies hanging out in our yard, swooping and flying all around. They are the nice big ones, and on Monday when Sweet Girl and I were outside cleaning out the bird cages, the dragonflies where playing in the water we sprayed in the air.

I am not sure why we suddenly have such beautiful creatures sharing our little piece of the world, but as far as I am concerned, they can stay as long as they like!

Overheard in the playroom...

2010-06-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

..."I don't want a Mommy who says 'no'. I want a Mommy who says "yes" every day!" Pineapple, talking to himself during quiet time today.

Hands...

2010-06-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

...they say it all, don't you think?

My Aunt came over today with my cousin, and I am always amazed when I see my Aunt, how much her hands remind me of my mom's and my Grandfather's hands. Just seeing them reminds me of two people who I love dearly, and in the case of my Grandfather who died many years ago, miss so much. Living so far from family, I am always keenly aware of the people with whom I have a biological connection, a shared memory of events that happened long, long ago. I love my family and am so blessed to have such a great family to be a part of.

Change, it is acomin'

2010-06-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, a green-eyed, blond haired little boy entered our lives, and nothing has been the same since that first day. We have had some hard times, lots of them actually, but I am here to say that this little mischievous kid has made a mark on our home, and we will never be the same - thank the good Lord!

He has grown from a one-year-old, non-verbal, tantruming force to be reckoned with to a delightful almost five year old. He is funny without trying, seems to have a mind for math, and slays me with those green eyes of his, every time I take the time to look deeply into them.

Two days ago, we had a first. Our first ever day with no tantrums, no arguing, no time-outs - a truly amazing day...and I don't want to forget where we came from in the process of where we are going. I know that God has some big plans for this little boy. I also know that life with him will never be easy...but I know from deep down in my heart that he is supposed to be my son. That God is using my struggles with Pineapple to shape and mold ME, to make me a better mom and a better child of God. I just pray that in the process, I will be the Mom that God created me to be for Pineapple. For we are surely knit together in a way that only God can knit two people together.

The Garden

2010-04-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

Did you grow up with a garden in your life? I did. It was a huge rectangle, full of the food that fed us all summer, fall and winter. It was also full of itchy plants which I had to wade through ~ carefully, oh so carefully ~ so as to get them to surrender their bounty to my unwilling hands. Our whole family helped with harvesting, though planting and tending the garden was my Dad's domain. In fact, we were never allowed in the garden, unless we were there to harvest. Which is why this picture means so much to me.

A few years ago, before my Dad got the tiller out to go over the garden for the first time before spring planting, my sister and her kids were there at my parent's house. I don't know how it happened, but suddenly, my sister was racing with wild abandon through our Dad's garden - and guess what? She didn't get in trouble!

And then there was the canning. No way my mom could can all of that food for the six of us without help, and since I was the oldest, it fell to me to help. Not only did we can what my Dad grew in the garden, but whatever else my mom could get her hands on that could withstand heat and pressure. I remember stopping on the side of the road, more than once, because my mom saw berries, plums, peaches or something that she could use to feed her growing family.

I remember the hot, steamy kitchen, the ceiling fan spinning lazily overhead and the old yellow pressure cooker with the paint peeling off the outside. Never did trust that thing, but it never did blow up...my mom was a master at making it sing...and then out of the dark depths would come glistening glass jars, full of wonderful goodness, and I had helped it happen - it was an amazing feeling!

After cooling under towels on the kitchen table, we carried the jars to the basement and stacked them on the pantry shelves by the back door. There is something so satisfying and comforting to go out a door on a regular basis and as you pass by to see row upon row of glass jars, full of yellow peaches, green beans, purple jams and strawberry jelly...just to name a few!

Fast forward 25 or 30 years and now I live in the great wild west, with a yard half the size of my parent's, with three kids under eight, and find myself home for the summer for the first time since I quit my full time job! So, do you know what that means?!?! It's Garden Time!

See, when I was a kid, it was not so fun to harvest beans, tomatoes, and the like. I did it because I had to, but somehow, the beauty of the early morning rendezvous, the dew on the leaves, the bees buzzing lazily about their work...somehow, it got under my skin. I am hoping to share that with my children.

I read years ago about Square Foot Gardening, and was intrigued with the idea. Finally, finally, we are going to have our own garden! Seeds have been purchased, dirt has been dug, and tomorrow we have a trip to the lumber store planned so that we can pick up the boards for our raised beds. We are in the planning and building stages right now, so stay tuned for updates on our garden and canning experiences - it should be a blast!

I am a visual person, so I have made a grid of our garden, so I can decide where to plant what. This is not the final arrangement...just a cool tool to help me figure out what plant should go where, and whom it should live next to. This is either going to be really fun, or a total disaster! Either way, we get to play in the dirt, so it is a win-win situation!

Some of the seeds we started:

Pocket Car?

2010-03-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

We were out for a walk a few weeks ago, and Jalapeno who tends to tire-out the most quickly, grabbed my hand and said "Mommy, I wish we had a Pocket Car!" "A Pocket Car? What's that?"...so he began to tell me all about a little car that you can carry around in your pocket, so that when you are out walking, and get tired, you can pop it out of your pocket, push a button and voila! A quick ride home. Not a bad idea, if you ask me...

So over the last few weeks, we have talked about it more, and today, as we came around the west side of hill (the highest point in Highlands Ranch), with the clouds rolling in and the windchill at 34 degrees) we began talking earnestly about this little car and how to make it a "reality".

It was quickly decided that it needed to be a mini-van (so our friends can fit too), it needs to have hot chocolate, hot apple cider, marshmallow, chocolate bars and graham crackers (do you see where this is headed?), warm blankets, and a heater at every seat. They also want a fireplace and I thought, "What the hey - let's put in a hot tub too!!"

Once we got to the car and got blood flowing back through our extremities, we talked about the design process, how first we needed lists of functions that we would like, then drawings from every angle, then models of many sizes, and a prototype - did I mention that they REALLY believe that it is possible to create this car?!?! Well, they do!! As I write this, Sweet Potato is upstairs working on drawings for the first model!

How fun to spend my days with little people who believe that ANYTHING is possible - well maybe not ice cream for dinner - so almost anything is possible!!

I will post drawings as they become available!

In a nutshell

2010-03-02T08:17:00.001-08:00

I so love when I can see the things that we are teaching the kids, come back out. This week, we have really been dealing with lying. Today, Sweet Potato wrote this story:

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Aby. Her mother asked Aby to go get some firewood for the furnace. So Aby went to get the firewood for the furnace. She took it to her mother then she said, "Mother, I forgot to do something." Her Mother was surprised. She never knew that her daughter had something to do outside, because they normally stayed inside. So her daughter went outside. While her Mother did dishes, she went on the path to the woods. She saw flowers and wild strawberries and blackberries. When Aby looked back, she could not see her house (which she normally could see)! So she tried but the more she walked the more she got lost. So she just stood right where she was and prayed to God. Thankfully her Father was in the woods. He came right where she was and said, "What's the matter darling?" She said, "I lied to Mother. I told her that I had something to do out here." "Oh" her Father said. "So you lied to Mother so you could come here?" "Yep" his daughter said. "Well, let's go home and let Mother know." They got home and Aby told the whole story to her. Mother felt happy and sad at the same time. "Thank you Aby, for telling me. I was worried that I wouldn't see you for two whole days." The End

2010-01-10T19:39:00.001-08:00

We have slowly been working on the kid's rooms, and tonight my Sweet Potato got to move into her freshly painted room. The smile on her face would brighten the room, if it was not already painted day-glow turquoise!! Put on your sunglasses and take a look at what she calls "the best room I have ever had!!!!"

We still have to hang things on the walls, make and hang curtains and I probably need to paint the dresser...but she could care less! It is so fulfilling to do something so relatively simple that means so much to my girl.

She wrote in her journal the other day: "I wish my whole room was horses. But Mommy said no." Well, that broke my heart, and I honestly don't remember saying no, so I am going to do my best to get that girl a horse room!! Looking for old horse shoes, or tack or any cool thing we can hang up, and I hope to paint something...either on the wall or as a piece of art...we will see!

A very interesting book!

2010-01-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

I have been reading an interesting book, lately, "100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum : Choosing the Right Curriculum and Approach For Your Child'" by Cathy Duffy. Of course I had heard of this book, but never picked it up to read it because I had already figured out what curriculum I was going to use. What a shame!! The first five chapters of this book are a gold mine for any homeschooling mom...and even for those moms who only have a passing interest in homeschooling - wow! What a lot of good information!!

She goes through, step by step and helps you understand why it is important to have a "philosophy of education" (she defines philosophy as 'common sense dressed up in fancy clothes'), how you think learning should happen in your home, and how you want to teach or 'run your school'. She also spends a good amount of time helping you understand which educational approach is right for your children, and how to mix approaches.

For example if you come from a background where formal education is very important to you, and all the "feel good fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants stuff that you see gives you the heebie-jeebies, then you might choose the Classical approach. If you have lots of wiggly boys who learn best when their hands and their brains are involved, then you might like the Unit Study approach. In all, she covers nine different approaches.

Mrs. Duffy then goes into helping you figure out what is going to work for your family, by talking about your confidence level, the time you have to give to schooling, how much money you have to spend and how you want your religious beliefs to impact your schooling. One of the things I loved was that she gives examples of all of these things in Chapter 3, so that you can see exactly how to use the technique she is presenting.

But, I have to say that chapter 4 is my favorite chapter! I can't tell you how many times I have had people say to me "I can't homeschool because...my kid needs structure....my kid needs the social interaction...my kid argues about everything...my kid won't be still". Guess what? We all have kids like that! I have three of those in my house...the wiggly one, the arguing one and the structured one. Mrs. Duffy wrote that she thinks God gives us kids that are different from us to stretch and grow us. Can I hear an AMEN!!

So, Chapter 4 is all about learning styles and teaching styles and how to take your strengths and weaknesses and your kid's strengths and weaknesses and put it all together into something that will work for your family. It was like a light bulb going off for me. Personally, it helped me to understand my littlest one better, for example why he gets so upset when I ask him to do something that he 'already knows'. It's part of his personality, the way God made him...and it is my job to help him understand that sometimes we do have to do things over and over, and sometimes it is okay to move on.

Then, in Chapter 5, Mrs. Duffy goes on to help the reader understand "who should learn what and when?" - a great chapter to teach you how to determine what needs to happen when and how to tailor it for each specific child in your home - because really, one of the things that is so amazing about homeschooling is that you can tailor your child's education to your child.

And then the rest of the book gives Mrs. Duffy's Top 100 Picks for curriculum, which becomes very easy to sort through once you have done the work in the first four chapters.

Anyway, whether you are a seasoned homeschooler, or a mom who is wanting to know what all this 'homeschool talk' is about, I highly recommend this book - especially the first five chapters. And if you are a mom who just wants to understand her kids better, and would like to have a glimpse into working with your child's personality instead of against it - then just read Chapter 4. If you read it, let me know what you think!

Happy January!

Day...whatever!

2009-12-18T14:47:00.000-08:00

12/15/09 - branching out...an imaginary story about a sweet horse named Dove that Sweet Potato meet a few months ago:

"Once upon a time there was a horse named Dove. When Dove went to play outside she would play with the other horses. Then she would go back to her stall. The next day Dove woke up early and played outside and played by herself and ran and jumped in the air. Then Dove saw something, it was a horse! Dove couldn't believe it! But soon they made friends. Dove's owner made her come in her stall. The next day Dove woke up and heard a noise. Then all of the owners took all of the horses out of their stalls then all kinds of horses went outside. The horses ran around the barrels and jumped over the gate by the barn."

12/17/09

"Yesterday Anna and Kaitlyn came to our house. I taught Kaitlyn how to sew. Kaitlyn sewed two Christmas presents. Then Anna came in the room and asked to sew and I helped her sew Pineapple's cat. While Kaitlyn was sewing, she said that they also go to church. She said she went to CSD and she missed me because I always go in the grownup church. Then they had to leave to go to church."

It's so fun to have friend over!! While the "big girls" were sewing and hanging out, Jalapeno and his "betrothed" Anna helped make peanut butter cups. But that wasn't exciting enough for them, so they went down to the playroom, to play fire-rescue heroes!!

12/18/2009 - a big day in our home!! We went...well, let's let SP tell the story:

"Yesterday we got birds! We really didn't know that we were going to get the birds. We have three of them. We had to get a cage, a toy stick and we had to get a lot of stuff. We were going to get two birds but my mom said htat we could have three. We have to clean the cage. We put paper towels on the bottom of the cage. We love our birds. We have to take good care of the birds."

So yes, we went to the pet store to add to our hermit crab collection, which had dwindled over the summer down to one crab - Water. They didn't have any at the first store, so we trekked onward, in search of the perfect companions for dear Water. After we made our crab selection ("no we are NOT paying $3 more just because the shell is red, white and blue!") we were headed out of the store when we discovered that this store was closing, and so all of the bird stuff was half off...AND, I had in my possession cash from family to buy gifts for the kids for Christmas...sooo to make a long story short - I know - TOO LATE!! - we came home with three darling little spice finches who are named Miley, Angel and Puggy. OH, and three crabs (can you REALLY call them cute?!?) Whose names change by the hour, but I believe right now, we have Thunder Bolt (really, a crab named Thunder Bolt?!?), Rosie (no offense Granny) and Calypso.

Ummmm....Days 4-14...

2009-12-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been kinda crazy around here for the last two weeks, so I have not had the time to get on here and keep the tally going...so I am going to let Sweet Potato's journal entries clue you in, and add a few fun pics too!

12/3/09:

"Yesterday while my mom was gone, Grammy, Jalapeno and I played war. Then Jalapeno and I played monkeys. My mom came home. Then Jalapeno, Pineapple and I found an interesting game. We danced with a jumping plastic horse. Last night we listened to music while we ate dinner. Before dinner I was drawing ballerinas for a book."

12/4/09:

"Yesterday we decorated the rail. Then Mommy and the boys set up the nutcracker. Last night we went to a place called the street of Bethlehem. We made a lantern, and a necklace, and we made all kinds of things and I can't remember the rest. We saw a show of Mary and Joseph. Baby Jesus was a real baby but it was not really Jesus. Yesterday before we went to the thing, Mommy and Grammy were putting up the houses that have lights. Yesterday I got to use Christmas stencils in a book."

12/7/09:

"Yesterday it was my Mom's birthday. I gave her a special card, it was a ballerina with a paper tutu, it was purple. I gave her a rock and a picture. Of course the rock was purple, because her favorite color is purple. Mommy also likes chickens. Mommy has a whole shelf in the schoolroom. We even have crabs."

12/8/09:

"We got to open presents and I got a horse barn. Jalapeno likes horses because he likes to copy me. but I have no idea why. We have a fake horse outside my barn. I took some paper and cut three boxes and wrote their names. Then Mommy made some saddles. My barn has a gate and a trough and a jump over gate. It has three horses because I got two with it and I got one in my stocking."

12/10/09:

"Today we are having chocolate chip pancackes. Jalapeno came to Daddy's office to tell me. I was in a hurry. We all like chocolate chips. One time Jacob, Christian and Will came and we had chocolate chip pancakes. This morning Mommy was blending some chocolate chips. I am glad that it did not wake up Grammy. We don't always have chocolate chip pancakes."

12/14/09:

"Today we are going to the gym. There is a foam pit, and a trampoline, balls, big stuffed shapes, and you can roll in a big circle because it has handles. We like to go to the gym because it has all those fun things. It also has gymnastics bars. I always swing on the bars because I can practice for the trapeze at home. I am happy that Grammy gets to go. But I am sad that Grandpa didn't get to come."

One of the things that Grammie and Sweet Potato have been doing a lot of, is sewing! SP is getting so good with her needle and thread! She is making pillows, an apron for Grammie, and stuffed animals for her brothers.

Another special event that happened while Grammie was here was we got to go to the Compassion Christmas party - the kids had a great time watching and listening to some drumming and singing from Africa, eating cookies, making an ornament and listening to story time.

So as you can see, it has been a busy two weeks! We so loved having Grammie and Grandpa here with us, and everyone is so sad they are gone.

Naptime is over - better get busy!

Day 3...

2009-12-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

Sweet Potato's journal entry:

12/02/09
"Why did I get ice cream? Because I kept my room clean. I had to keep my room clean for fourteen days. And I did. And since I kept my room clean I got a chocolate dipped cone. Jalapeno and Pineapple kept their room clean. And after the fourteenth day Grandpa and Grammy came. And we went to Wendy's and after Wendy's we went to DQ. Last night we cracked nuts. Then I had to go to bed early. Then I fussed about my glasses. Today it snowed but it is too cold outside. Last night I got to sleep in the boy's room."

Like I said..."character training"!!

We started a plan, two weeks ago to keep our rooms "inspection ready": toys put away, clothes put away or in the laundry, beds made. Each day they got a check mark if they met the criteria...if they got 11 checks, they get an ice cream cone, 14 checks and they get a chocolate dipped cone. They all had to sign the "contract" and did amazingly well..the boys got twelve checks, and Sweet Potato got all fourteen!! Now instead of saying "Go clean your room" fourthousandsevenhundredtwelve times, I say, "hmmm...I wonder if your rooms are ready for inspection?" and they all race away to make sure they are...Mommy is loving it!!

While I was at MOPS today, the kids got to stay home with Grammie and Grandpa! They played games, colored, did puzzles, played cards and read books - what a fun morning!

After the boys went down for quiet time, Sweet Potato and I sat down to do the 'prescribed' math for the day...and she was HOT, so we did seven days worth in about an hour! It makes up for the days when the brain is turned OFF, and we don't get any done!!

Another day full of learning, and it's only 2:41!!

Day 2...

2009-12-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

Day 2:

Sweet Potato's journal entry:

12/01/09
"Today Grammy and Grandpa came and I am glad. Grammy takes us to McDonald's but only Grandpa takes us to DQ. Mommy took us to Wendy's and then we went to DQ. Yesterday I got to use two ovens! I am glad. I love horses and Jalapeno likes horses too. Mrs. Bethany likes tigers. Grammy likes a canary bird."

Today, we went to the "Big Belly Airport" (don't ask me why they call it that, they started using that term when they were 4 and 2...preschool humor, I guess) to pick up Grammie and Grandpa...can you say EXCITED?!!? After spotting the ugly blue horse (I mean honestly...with the gorgeous view that the airport provides, why do we need to have Denver guests talking about the bright blue horse with the flaming orange eyes?!?), we parked and went in to meet them at the top of the escalator.

After dinner, the boys got to color with Grammie and Grandpa, while Sweet Potato had some, shall we say, "character training"...hoping for a more relaxed day tomorrow!

Day 1

2009-11-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

Sweet Potato's journal entry:

"11/30/09 Today I got to go to Mrs. Patty's. She taught me how to use both mixers. We made mints and nut bars and I can't remember the rest, but we made four recipes. It was fun! We even went to a store and I bought a Colonial Times book (Jalapeno got Bakugan, Pineapple got a car)."

She got to hang out with Mrs. Patty for the whole day! Besides the cooking they did, they also watched a couple of movies, played hide and seek (Howie the dog played too) and generally she had a good time being the only kid in the house.

After Jalapeno's reading lesson (he was reading some short sentences today!!) the boys and I had Mrs. Allison, Seth and Paige over, and we made bunches of monster cookies, some peanut butter cups and some meringue cookies.

Once Daddy got home, he and the kids worked on a center piece for our Christmas table...they are not done yet, but it looks pretty cool!

Schooling in December...

2009-11-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my sister the other day, and we both decided that we are closet "unschoolers"...we often do spend the day cooking or building mud flats out of pudding and marshmallows or a day running errands where we practice math as we choose each item from the shelf...but there is something in us that just won't let us put down that checklist of subjects that need to be covered.

So, in the spirit of really enjoying our time as a family this December, we are embarking upon a new course of study from today, until January 4th, when we will hit the books, and hopefully still be able to keep some of the fun in our day! And to help us out, my parents are joining us for two weeks, and Daddy has a nice long break from work between Christmas and New Years, so he can join in the fun too!!

I decided that every day, Sweet Potato is going to do her math lesson, her flash cards and a good journal entry. Jalapeno is going to do a reading lesson. And from there on...fun, fun, fun...and in the process, lots of learning!!

Here are the options we have to choose from:

Art - Sweet Potato has a great drawing book about horses that we never seem to get to...so I am going to ask Grandpa (who is a great artist) to help her through that book.

Science - a whole day doing science with water, or air, or in the kitchen. We usually read the book, but now, we are going to do ALL the experiments!

Cooking - there's always a lot of that going on around here...but how fun to get to cook with Grammie and for our friends! And Sweet Potato is going to spend the day with one of my friends, cooking sweets for a party...oh, soooo fun!!

Sewing - again, looking for some help from Grammie here. One of the projects I would like to do is teach Sweet Potato to piece a quilt top for our group Crafts with a Cause, who make blankets for foster kids.

Crafts, crafts and more crafts! Sweet Potato went through all our Family Fun magazines and marked a whole lot of things she wants to make, so we are going to try and do them ALL!

Games - I moved them all to the school room, where we now have a table big enough for everyone, so I am hoping we can play games every night after dinner. Oh, and puzzles!!!

Field Trips - a few places we would like to go: Whit's End; Littleton History Museum; DMNS; the Aquarium; letterboxing; and Night in Bethlehem - most of these are free, or we have a membership, thanks to super nice Aunt's and Uncles!!

Choir and band concerts - one of my MOPS mom's husbands is a principal near here and he gave me a schedule of all the Jeffco concerts for this season...we are going to try and go to a few of them.

So that is our plan, and we will try and keep the blog updated, so you can follow the fun!

It's Football Season, once again!

2009-09-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Football...you would think that after 40 plus years of having a game on every Sunday, I would know more about this sport than I do. But for me, football is more of a sensory experience, if you will..."let me s'plain":

I was born in Buffalo, and raised by Bills fans from my birth. If I remember correctly, my mom even rode on the back of a very small motorcycle, while pregnant with me, to see a game - it was a looong ride, on a narrow seat, she said!!

Every Sunday found us all in front of the TV, and there was a whole lot of yelling and screaming going on..."GO!!!", "Run, run, run!!", "Can you believe that Reff?!?" I was never particularly into the game, after all, there was instant replay to catch any play that was worth seeing. And there was OJ - back in the good ol' days, when he was a rockin' football player and had a great tv ad that showed him jumping people, chairs and suitcases as he ran through the airport.

After we moved to Atlanta, my parents had to, out of necessity, become Falcons fans...these were pre-cable days, and you could only see the games broadcast for your area. And every Sunday, after church and lunch, you would find my whole family in our living room, around the TV. I usually claimed a corner of the black vinyl, Spanish style sofa (read: black plastic and lots of wood), while my Dad would get the other end, and my mom the loveseat. The boys always claimed the floor, and my little sister, my dad's lap. I always, (always!) had a book and when the weather finally cooled off, would wrap myself in the softest blanket I could find, and zone out in my book, crinkling the plastic library wrap on the book, and listening with one ear to my family watching the game.

And that was football, til I left home to get married. And who did I marry - another football fan! This one, my darling, loves Virginia Tech, and once we moved to Denver, we became Broncos fans too. Once again, every Sunday (and later Monday's - and now...well, whatever day of the week they play - I can't keep it straight anymore!) finds us tuning into The Game. I was even downtown for the parade after the Superbowl one year! How exciting that was!!

Now, I am responsible for "Snacks", and so, instead of getting to read for the whole game, I often find myself in the kitchen, watching the game from across the room, or curled up with the kids, muting (or turning off) commercials that are no longer quite so family friendly.

And there is still a lot of yelling...I finally figured out that it is an acceptable way to really "get loud", and so we do - much to the enjoyment of our kids! Jalapeno decided when he was two, that he wanted to be a football team, when he grows up. Not a football player, but the whole team! A friend said that maybe he will hit so hard, the guy he takes out will say "Man, I feel like I got hit by the whole team!" , and so, his nickname will be Team. We'll see...right now, he won't even defend himself against Pineapple, when he is sitting on his chest and laughing!

So today, as the new season opens, who knows what will happen for our team...and I don't really care. For me, football is a time to gather together, to eat favorite foods, to yell, and laugh, and spend the afternoon together! And to create memories for MY kids, of the days when they used to watch football, with their yelling, screaming, crazy parents!

Hope "your team' does well this season, and that you will make lots of good memories with your family!

An Officer's Life

2009-09-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

An Officer's Life

You wonder why he pulled you over and gave you a ticket for speeding"

He just worked an accident where people died because they were going too fast
_________________________

You wonder why that cop was so mean

He just got done working a case where a drunk driver killed a kid
____________________________________________

You work for 8 hours

He works for up to 18 hours
_________________________

You drink hot coffee to stay awake.

The cold rain in the middle of the night keeps him awake.
__________________________

You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.

He goes into work still hurt and sore from the guy he had to fight the night before
__________________________

You drink your coffee on your way to the mall.

He spills his as he runs code to a traffic crash with kids trapped inside
__________________________

You make sure your cell phone is in your pocket before you leave the house.

He makes sure his gun is clean and fully loaded and his vest is tight
__________________________

You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.

He watches his buddy get shot and wounded in front of him.
__________________________

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.

He walks down the highway looking for body parts from a traffic crash
_________________________

You complain about how hot it is.

He wears fifty pounds of gear and a bullet proof vest in the middle of July and still runs around chasing crack heads
__________________________

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.

He runs out before he gets his food to respond to an armed robbery.
__________________________

You get out of bed in the morning and take your time getting ready.

He gets called out of bed at 2 am after working 12 hours and has to be into work asap for a traffic homicide
__________________________

You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.

His shift ended 4 hours ago and there's no end in sight
__________________________

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.

He can't make any plans because on his off days he still gets called back into work
__________________________

You yell and scream at the squad car that just past you because they slowed you down.

He's in the driver seat of the squad car, on his way to cut somebody out of their car only to find out that they are dead when he gets there.
__________________________

You roll your eyes when a baby cries in public

He picks up a dead child in his arms and prays that it was crying
__________________________

You criticize your police dept and say they're never there quick enough.

He blasts the siren while the person in front of him refuses to move while talking on their cell phone and doing their makeup.
__________________________

You hear the jokes about fallen officers and say they should have known better.

He is a hero and runs into situations when everyone else is running away in order to make sure no one else gets hurt and loses his life doing it

__________________________

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.

He would take a bullet for his buddy without question
__________________________

You sit there and judge him, saying that it's a waste of money to have them around.

Yet as soon as you need help he is there
___________________________

Thank you all those who sacrifice so much for our sake.
May you come home safe each and every day....

Posted by my friend Angela, who is a Denver Police Officer's Wife
Thanks Rob, for putting it all on the line every day!

Sod, sod and more sod!

2009-08-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

My I please brag on my kids? Just a bit?

We have been in the middle of some serious yard renovations, well, since we moved in four years ago. The previous owners had done nothing except have it mowed twice a month, oh and install some weird red plastic lattice around the hot tub...and they lived here for almost thirty years!

Today, we got to the part where Steve got to cut the sod around the perimeter, so that we can mulch and rock it. This part has been a long time coming, but we were not looking forward to it, even though our awesome neighbor is letting us borrow his sod cutter (I think we have had it for about three years now...). But now, the pressure is on, because Good Neighbor is ready to sell the sod cutter, and there is no way we want to cut out that much sod with a shovel!!

So Steve headed out this morning and started cutting - make that started being dragged around the yard by a weighted machine that has a mind of its own. Six hours and three shorn off sprinkler heads later, most of the sod is cut, but there is always some piece that gets missed, so we need to get all of the sod up and out of the way, so we can be sure we are done, before we return the cutter. And there is the minor little detail that 16 yards of Brown Mulch is being dumped in our driveway on Thursday morning...and I won't be able to park in the garage again 'til all the mulch is moved - talk about something to inspire you!!

I headed out around 4:30, after spending all morning running errands with Jalapeno...that was a trip in and of itself, how many of you have boys who just fall down while they are walking down an aisle? Just walking, no running, skipping or raised sections of floor, they just fall down. Well Carol Barnier has written a book all about it, so read it and you will understand what our morning was like!

Anyway, I headed out with the kids to start moving sections of sod to the area where we are going to use them to raise the level of the yard, and Jalapeno came running over and wanted to help. Then Sweet Potato joined in, and soon little Pineapple jumped in too! They were picking up sections of cut sod (they were small, but STILL!!), loading them in the wagon, helping me drag the wagon to the area, unload the wagon and place them on the ground. Over, and over and over. Soon we had a bakery of sorts - "Look Mommy, I have some cookies" (square pieces of sod), "Look, Mommy, I made Tootsie Rolls!" (rolled sections of sod that Sweet Potato was making), "Look Mommy!! I found a snake!" (or 'serpent', we have been reading Genesis),and on and on they went, creating names for all the different shaped pieces, and before you know it, we were in full on "game" mode and having a blast!

These amazing kids worked with few breaks from 4:30 til after 8:00, when it got too dark to see!! I could not believe that they kept going! We talked about how cool it would be to sit when the project was all done, and drink iced tea and think about what we had done as a family, and they totally got into that!

So now, they are all snuggled in their beds, totally wiped out from a day of fun...MOVING SOD! If I had planned this, it would have been a disaster, but it wasn't! It was the most enjoyable day of yard work that I have ever had! I hope there are more to come!

Side yard, this area will be mulched and have lots of cool 'shrubberies", when it is done.

This is the area that is being filled to level it with the yard closer to the house.

This will be "The Orchard" - we are planning on putting fruit trees in here, maybe a grape vine on the fence, some blackberries...my mouth is watering already! Can you taste the jam?

Out of the mouths of babes...

2009-08-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

I came in this morning from checking on the sprinklers in the front yard - with an old system, it takes lots of checking if you don't want geysers of water shooting into the sky and the nice man in the water truck writing you a kind note asking for money - anyway, I came in and heard this conversation at the breakfast table between Sweet Potato (7), Jalapeno (5), Pineapple (4) and Sweet Girl (3) who is over for the day.

To give you a little background, my three kids all saw Dr Monk this week, who tested them to see what "color" they are. It gives a guideline as to what things tend to give you problems: if you are Red, you should stay away from wheat; Green means you are sensitive to chemicals; Blue, you should stay away from dairy. So this is very fresh in their minds...

J - "I can't eat wheat, 'cause I'm red."

P - "Me too! I can't eat wheat, 'cause I'm wed too!"

SG - "I can't eat wheat too!"

SP - "No P, you're green. But Jacob can't eat wheat, he must be red like me."

P - "Mommy, can I eat wheat?"

Mommy - "Yes, P, you can eat wheat, but you can not have chemicals, so you can't eat anything out of a bag."

P- "Oh"

J - "Jacob's not red, he's kind of pink, or tan, like me."

Hmmm.....sounds like we need to do a little more explaining of what "being red" means to little Jalapeno!!

Hope you have a great weekend!

The Vacation That Lasted One Day Too Long

2009-08-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

I think I am finally ready to blog about that last crazy day of our vacation...it was a tough one, and I needed a few days to recuperate, you know, to be able to find some humor in the situation?

That fateful day, The Last Day Of Our Vacation, started out pretty well. Mom and the kids slept in after an exhausting day of driving through Arkansas (should it really take all day to do that? I mean, honestly, it took all day to drive through Kansas, and it is way bigger - anyway, I digress). While they all snored away, I perched on the edge of the bathtub, checking out what was going on in FB-land, surfing around a little bit, just generally killing time. If I had known what was coming, I would have spent that time on my knees!

I got everyone dressed (well, Mom dressed herself) and we headed down to breakfast. While I ran around like a short order cook, trying to fill constantly changing breakfast orders for three little road weary kiddos, I was also trying (unsuccessfully) to keep the kids from watching a blaring TV story about a shooting in a health club. So sad!

After I made the kids eat some scrambled eggs, I discovered that they were totally nasty, and pulled the Mommy card and threw mine in the trash. I was trying to get some protein in the kiddos, before all the cereal and waffles hit their bellies, but did not realize that the eggs were unseasoned and tasted like someone had mixed them the night before, put them in the metal pan and left them to die a slow death in a warming oven. UGH!!!

Then, on to potty breaks "I don't have to go poop or pee!!!", loading the car "_______ come back here RIGHT NOW!", and making sure we were truly on the correct road, headed out of Kansas City, to the WEST!!

After we got a few miles down the road, the aforementioned child-who-did-not-have-to-use-the-facilities, finally decided it was time. RIGHT NOW! Because, after all, he had to go "weawy, weawy, BAD!" So we started looking for a good place to stop. Turns out, we picked a bad exit, and had to drive 3 miles off the highway to find a dirty bathroom in the middle of a construction zone, but we only had to make one U-turn, so it was all good. We loaded up with caffeinated tea for Mommy and Cheetos (hey, those were for Mommy too!) and found our way back to the ribbon of highway that was going to lead us home!

A couple of miles and a few handfuls of Cheetos later, I heard a loud pop come from the front of the van...looking back, I did not see that we had run over any tire fragments (or dead armadillos - oh wait, that was Arkansas), so we merrily drove on, singing and munching and dreaming of sleeping in our own beds. Until, that is, I heard the car next to us making some really loud noises. "Wow, (I said to mom), that car really has a serious engine problem." Turns out it was our front tire, which had been punctured by who-knows-what!

I managed to get the van off the highway and amidst cries from the back seat of "Mommy, what's wrong?" & "Why are we STOPPPPPPPING MOMMMMMMMY?" I managed to get Steve on the phone and then called my dear friends at AAA. Turns out it's a good thing I have been paying those nice people for all these years, because in only thirty minutes, they sent a nice young man to change my tire!

Now, this nice young man did pull up in a red Explorer, with no markings on it, and he was accompanied by a young man with lots of tattoos and a scary T-shirt. I rolled the window up most of the way and asked all the right questions. After all, I do read those crazy emails that fly around the Web world, so I knew these guys could be axe murdering, Cheeto stealing, up to no good fellows!

But it is hard to change a tire when the spare is locked under the van, and the only way to get it out is to unscrew it from the inside floor board, so open it I did, and was immediately thankful that all of the wet clothing from the day before (including some of my unmentionables) had dried and been safely tucked away in a suitcase! But I continued to be hyper-cautious, after all, my babies were in that van!

After the tire was changed, the nice boy (his name is Andy, by the way) had us follow him to his shop, where he planned to cut us all into small pieces, and... OH WAIT! That is just where my imagination went! Actually, Andy is a 21 year-old furniture making, car repairing, hard working boy, who helps his mom out in the family business in a little Kansas town of 500 people. No more TV for me!!!

While Andy drove to another small Kansas town to pick up a new-used tire for us, that would get us back to Denver, mom took the kids to the town park and I found out all about life in...well, I can't remember the name of the town, from Andy's mom, Margo.

Finally, we are on the road again!! Tires intact, cheetos sadly gone, but on the road, headed for home!!

Fast forward (because this is getting really long - but not nearly as long as the day actually was) a few hours. Dinner has been consumed, "Denver" is finally on the little green signs, with mileage that looks doable; and what do my wavering, road weary eyes spy, in my rear view mirror? Oh, no - you have got to be kidding me!! Another nice young man, in a uniform this time and in a marked car, with pretty little spinning lights on top. I knew immediately that he was not there to wish us well on our journey...

More wails from the back seat, along with some very bright and chipper "Hi, what are you doing?" (that would be my Jalapeno) and a speeding ticket and a warning later (my tail light was out, which I knew, but could not fix though I tried) and we were once again on our way...

At this point, I am thinking "What else can happen to us on this day?!!" Good grief! But I was also thinking about what could happen on a highway, driving so many miles, and was earnestly praying that we would make it home safely!

Welcome to Colorful Colorado!!! I have never been so happy to see that sign in my life!! If it is possible to do a happy dance, while driving 75 miles an hour down the freeway (that is the Colorado speed limit, btw!) - then I was doing it...until a few miles down the road when my little Jalapeno said, "Mommy, I don't feel so good" and proceeded to loose his dinner all over him, his seat, and his fave blanket "Baby". So, I pulled over again, managed to get Sweet Potato moved over in front of Pineapple (more thoughts of what happens when your car gets hit from the back next to the highway) and crawled into the back to help out the kid.

I managed to get him cleaned up, and then I went to shake out "Baby" but I did not take into account the sheer wind force of a semi blasting down the highway, and was promptly covered in the "residue" shall we say from dear, dear Baby - YUCK!!!

OK, what else?!?!?!

Thankfully, nothing! We finally pulled into our driveway around 10 pm, and I almost kissed the ground, almost!

I can truly say I am happy to be HOME!!

Day 20 - hiding out in my sister's house

2009-07-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

So we have finally reentered the 21 century, air conditioning, high speed internet, and grocery stores with gluten free offerings! Yeah!!

We are at my sister's house now... we arrived on Saturday evening, after a drive down from VA and dinner with my sister-in-law, who begged a ride back from the Stumps. This would be my sister--in-law Jeanne, who had the open heart surgery a few months ago. She is healing very well and is looking forward to getting some strength back.

The kids had such a good time hanging with the Cousins in VA. The ones who were there are 9, 11 and 13, and live near Fort Lauderdale. We have not seen them for a year, so they were all excited to get together at Granny and Papa's and many forts were built, apples gathered and fire flies captured in a blissful week in The Stumps.

We also took a nice walk along an old rail bed converted to a hiking trail to the Shot Tower, which was used during the 1800's to make lead shot for muzzle loading shotguns and muskets. It is a real engineering feat, if you ask me...the tower is 75 tall (built in a time and place without any kind of big construction equipment) and there is a shaft into the ground that is also 75 feet deep, plus a tunnel out to the river. They would pour the molten lead out at the top of the shaft, it would form into balls and when it reached the river water at the bottom of the shaft, the shot would chill and set. Very amazing to think that all this happened 200 plus years ago!

We also celebrated Pineapple's 4th birthday! He was so funny, when he realized that he was finally four, he ran around to everyone in the house (there were 15 misc aunts, uncles, cousins siblings and grandparents), telling them all "I am four now!". He got to pick his dinner, cake and ice cream, so we dined on pizza, carrots and cucumbers, "tolkit take with tolkit tip frosting and tolkit tip ice tream". So fun to celebrate a birthday with extended family!!

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I hope you enjoy the pics!

t

Travel thoughts...

2009-06-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about something I heard at the CHEC convention last week. The speaker said that you can not really know a person through a blog, or that type of "relationship". Her point was that you don't see the real person, or know the whole story, based on what you read on their blog. I thought, "not me!" I always try to put the real Trina out there..." Then I started thinking about our day yesterday. You got a five minute flash through a 15 hour day, and trust me, you only got the good parts! You did not get the whiney-all-day three year old. The I-need-to-go-outside-and-smash-something five year old, or the seven year old who is actually doing very well on this trip! You did not see the two hours it took to finally get all the kids asleep, and well, neither did I! I finally gave up on the last one, and went to bed with him on the other side of the king size bed, and passed out myself! The kids are trying to survive on 8 hours or less of sleep, when they normally get 12...they are eating all kinds of foods (and chemicals) that they normally don't get, and they are stuck in a moving vehicle for 6-10 hours a day!

So, all that to say...Enjoy the glimpses into our trip, and know that we covet your prayers as we make this incredible journey! We are having a blast, are exhausted, and would not trade it for the world!

These pics were made about an hour ago...I have since packed right over their heads, and they are still all in the exact same positions! Poor, tired babies!

t

Day 4 - Indianapolis, IN, to somewhere in Ohio...

2009-06-28T04:15:00.000-07:00

Day 4...a good day...and a long day! We started out in Indianapolis, with some yummy waffles, then loaded up and headed for the Creation Museum.

What a cool place. The kids really liked the petting zoo (especially feeding the goats) and there is an awesome swinging bridge that is fun to cross (unless the Big Boys get on it at the same time and really make it fly!). I had to use my Mommy Voice to tell them to knock it off, before I lost one of my little boys right over the side!

Inside the museum, the displays were incredible...a fave for us was Noah's ark...a life size representation of just a small section of the Ark, and it towered over our heads. AJ loved all the water that was there, and the big moving dinos...he did ask many times if they were "...going to come down from there and get him..." but he was fascinated with an Apatosaurus that was 'chewing' a mouthful of green stuff, way over his head.

We also loved the "dark room", where it is completely dark, showing that "the world was with out form..." we had to go through that one a couple of times. One of my favorite parts was a video clip that showed the creation of Adam from the dirt. The expression on his face as he looked at his hands, awe, amazement, wonder...but he had a belly button...does someone created by God, not born of woman have a belly button...guess we will have to wait and see!

We finally got to our room last night, after 9:00...so to the pool we went for a short swim, then back to our room for some Little House on the Prairie. As we were leaving the Creation Museum (headed to the next hotel/pool), AJ said..."Mommy, maybe they fixed the pool. Probably they did," He was remembering that last night, we had to go find a new hotel because the pool was 'broken'. Too funny the things they remember!

Day 3 - Newton, NE to Indianapolis, IN

2009-06-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

This was one looooong day of driving! And on Jalapeno's FIFTH birthday - what a bummer way to spend your birthday!

After a birthday breakfast of "make your own waffles", we loaded up and headed out. It was 10 am...

Grandpa need some things from the outlet mall, so while he and Grammie did some quick shopping, the kids made use of their scooters in a safe end of the parking lot.

Nothing much exciting happened, except that I found out that my number two son will do anything (and I do mean anything) when bribed with swimming in the pool. We were driving for ten hours (lots of potty stops in there, just so you know...) and when he started to get bossy and demanding, all I had to do was remind him that a pool was in his near future, and the sun would come out and begin to shine!

We did stop for a birthday lunch at Subway, and Jalapeno had a meatball sub...he really enjoyed it!

Grandpa also made a good call when he bought a box of fudgesicles...witness the results:

I am going to have to take the camera to the pool tomorrow night - the kids had a blast! Problem was, when we tried to book a room at 7:30, we found out that the pool was closed! I did not want to go to the car and tell the kids that they were not going to get to swim after all. So we drove across Indianapolis, to another hotel, and got checked in, only to realize that we had changed times zones, and it was not 8 pm, but 9 pm...so the kids ended up swimming til after 10 and did not get in bed and asleep til almost 11!!! Good thing we are headed for a nice quiet week in Buffalo - they are going to need to catch up on some sleep and get some GOOD food in their bodies! I for one am ready for a really good salad!

So, once again, I am sitting in a darkened hotel room while the children sleep. Tonight I have a wifi connection, so I am taking advantage of it, to update the blog. Hope you are enjoying our trip as much as we are!

Day two – Grand Island to Newton, NE

2009-06-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

Day two – Grand Island to Newton, NE (just east of Des Moines)

The theme for today is “Who in the world thought it was a good idea to travel across the mid-west in mid-June?!?!?” Yes, it is HOT!! And the first time I walked out the door this morning, to go to the van, I remembered why I moved to Colorado - I HATE HUMIDITY!!! Well that’s not why we really moved, but that is my story, and I’m sticking to it! From this point out, I am going to take every opportunity to eat ice cream that crosses my path!

Anyway…the kids slept late this am, I had to wake them all up. A combination of still being on Colorado time and staying up too late swimming last night! I took advantage of them sleeping in and went to the gym and walked on the treadmill. Nothing exciting there, but it felt good to walk! I am already missing my early morning walks through the neighborhood. Can’t wait ‘til we get to my uncle’s house in Buffalo – he lives in farm country, and you can walk for miles, as long as you carry a big stick to ward of the overly protective farm dogs!

Did you know you have to “…pay to get into the hotel room…” every time you go through the door? Apparently, my little Jalapeno, who saw me sliding my key card to open the door, thought that I had to pay to get into the room…makes sense, since Mommy “slides a card” when she goes to the grocery store and every other place we spend money.

We started out our morning at Sturh Museum. It is an 1899 town, in Grand Island, with all the local businesses intact, and run by docents. We visited the dentist, the doctor, the saloon…aka the ice cream shop, the general store and the tin smith. We all got to make “tinsicles”, which are now dangling from the rearview mirror in the van. They will be a very nice addition to our Christmas tree this year. They had some cool tin cups, that the tin smith had made right there in the shop. Guess we will pass on those…

We also went to the blacksmith shop, the hardware store and an old log cabin, complete with outhouse (and a bucket of corncobs). The kids are fascinated with outhouses…mental note – find one they can actually use! My Dad told me that the saying “Rough as a corncob, and twice as long.” comes from the use of those corncobs. If you don’t know what they were for, don’t ask me! Go read a book! I for one, am happy that someone invented Charmin!

We also went to the train station, where the kids delighted in running laps through the cargo area of the depot, down the outside ramp and back up the stairs into the cargo area. Did they not get the memo that it is 92 degrees here, and 200% humidity – ugh!

There was also a kids area inside the museum proper, so the kids and Grammie hung out there after lunch while Dad and I went back to the black smith shop to pick up some custom made dog leash hooks. The blacksmith had just created the first of this design that morning, and he made another for Dad and Mom, while we finished the museum.

We had a run in with the local duck population. It seems that they don’t believe they should have to wait for crumbs from our lunch, so they swarmed the picnic table where we were eating, sending one little Pineapple into tears of terror. He may never look at ducks the same way again!

Then, we loaded up into the van, and began our long drive across Eastern Nebraska and into Iowa. I have never been to Iowa (or Nebraska, either), and I find it very pretty. Long rolling hills, some trees, and still that big, blue sky! Very nice! Especially from the comfort of my air conditioned van. Can you believe that people actually walked across this country for two thousand miles?!? Boy, we have become a very whiney people, don’t you think?

As we tried to find a place to stay for the night, we kept hearing from the back…”Are we at the swimming pool yet?” No, not yet, we kept saying. When we finally pulled up to the hotel, I told my little Pineapple that I had to go get a key for our room. His response: “I will wait for you Mommy – and I will be patient”. Must be listening, after all!

We swam for an hour, got ready for bed, turned out all the lights (except for my book light) and read a little from “Little House on the Prairie”…we were reading about Mary and Laura getting tin cups for Christmas…makes me wish I had bought those tin cups, after all!

Nighty-nite!

t

Day 1 Littleton to Grand Island, NE

2009-06-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Day 1 – Littleton to Grand Island, NE

Amazingly, we got away only an hour late this morning! It has really helped to have my mom here…she just fills in the gaps, whenever and wherever she is needed! I really miss living close to family!

“The Question” started early (with a little prodding from Grandpa, I’m thinking) …”Mommy, are we there yet?” I told them right off that every time I heard that question, I was going to collect a penny, and then I was going to go buy myself a big ice cream cone – which pretty much put an end to that little mutiny!

Pineapple, my dear darling, started asking right off …”Are we on our trip, Mommy?” – I replied that yes, we were indeed on our trip. “Where are we going?” was the next question. To which I replied “Uncle Jim’s” (he lives in Buffalo). So, for the rest of the day, every time we stopped I heard “Mommy, where are we? Are we at Uncle Jim’s? Why are we stopping Mommy?! I want to go to Uncle Jim’s!” – or “Are we going to our home, Mommy?” There are just some things on the space-time continuum that a three year old will never get, even if he is almost four!

After lunch we stopped at an original stop on the pony express… the highlight for the kids, pop guns that Grammie bought for them! We also stopped at an old soddy – very cool. Someone crafted a buffalo and an Indian on a horse out of barb wire. I was trying to explain the symbolism to the kids, but it was of course, wasted! They did like peeking in the windows of the soddy, and climbing in the old wagon for a picture…oh, and peeking under the outhouse door! We are reading Little House on the Prairie right now, so hopefully this is putting things in context for them!

And something of note: We finally found a name for the monkey that is making this trip with us – his name is “Clark” – the rooster my Dad is toting across the country, is of course called “Lewis”! Watch for them in the pictures! Lewis and Clark do the mid-west, backwards, this time!

We made it to our first night stop, and to the delight of the children, we spent an hour and a half in the pool! They were so funny, because they have not been in a pool since last summer, and were a little timid at first, but by the end, they were jumping off the side (Sweet Potato) and off the steps (the boys) with abandon. My little Pineapple climbed up the steps, threw aside the ‘noodle’ he had been hanging on to for the whole time, and leapt off the middle step! His water wings popped him right back up, but he did not have as much buoyancy as with the noodle, so you should have seen the surprised look on his face – too bad we don’t have a water proof camera!

So far the trip has gone very well. The kids have traveled well and they are all snuggled up in bed right now, after a viewing of “Lord of the Beans”. Jalapeno gets to sleep in Grammie and Grandpa’s room tonight, so while the other two fall asleep, I am perched on the edge of a chair, with the lap top on the edge of the sink, in the dark…hopefully they will go to sleep soon!

We were supposed to go to Sturh Living History Museum in the am, but a huge rainstorm just swept through, so I am wondering about how deep the mud is going to be…guess we will drive by and check it out! There is something that makes you wonder, when the hotel sign says “Welcome hail damage repair folks”, and every sign you see in town talks about storm repair…just wondering what the van is going to look like when we head out tomorrow!

Going to head for bed now, talk to you again soon!

Contentedness...Where do you find it?

2009-05-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Why is it so hard to be content? Why do we always want what someone else has? Seems to me, that should be something we conquer well before we exit high school, and yet here I sit, well past high school, and still at times, I find myself wishing...wishing for a leaner body, more hair, a day when everything I plan gets done! A day when I do everything right with my kids, a day when I love my husband up so much, that he never doubts his place in my life. A day when I don't disappoint someone with something that I did (or did not do)...

So what's a girl to do? Let's look at these one by one and try to apply some logic here:

1) leaner body - well, I could walk every day, even if it is on the treadmill and not outside; I could make better food choices, and not justify the yucky stuff I eat. That's a good place to start.

2) more hair - well, not much I can do about that! I just did not get the thick hair gene, guess I will just have to be thankful I have hair!

3) a day when everything I plan gets done - maybe the pronoun is the problem here. What about what God has for me today? Did I take the time to spend some time with Him, this morning, to hear what He thinks is important for the day? "The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way." Psalm 37:23

4) a day when I do everything right with my kids - Maybe my kids need me to play with them, to curl up and read all day, or to not say, "Mommy's busy, I'll be there in a minute." (ten times). I know that these days are short and before I know it, my children will be out doing what God created them to do...I need to savor the time I have with them right now. And I need to cut myself some slack. Being a mom is hard work! Harder than I ever thought it would be. But I know that when I spend time with my Father, then I am a way better mother to the kids He has given to me.

5) a day when I love my husband up so much, that he never doubts his place in my life - And, look, here he is, at the end of my list again! I really need some help here, Lord! I so want to be the help-mate for my husband that I was created to be... it is my heart's cry.

6) a day when I don't disappoint someone with something that I did (or did not do)... - I think that too often, I let this one rule over the rest. I will drop everything to go help someone else, but does my husband get this same devotion? My kids? Sadly, they do not. So I guess what I am saying is that there may be more disappointment outside my house, but more contentment within. I am sorry (in advance), if I have to say 'no' to you, when you ask me for something, but I really need to get my priorities in order so that I can be the woman of God, wife, and mother that God intended in those long ago days, when He created me. "My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me, as yet there were none of them." Pslalm 139:15-16

t

The Dinos Have It!

2009-05-08T15:25:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun at Co-op today! We are doing a unit on Dinosaurs, so this week and next we are learning about them and the following week, we will go to Dinosaur Ridge and see real Dino footprints! We have the distinction of living near the edge of an old sea bed that was pushed up during the flood. So all the cool footprints that were preserved for thousands of years, have been gradually exposed by erosion, and now you can see them!

Anyway, today we were talking about six dinosaurs, Velociraptor, Apatosaraus, Seismosaurus, Iguanodon, Ankylosaurus, and of course, our old friend: T-Rex. The coolest thing was when we laid out the length of the dinos (anywhere from 6 feet to 150 feet long!), and then the height. I found a website that suggested taking balloons and string and measuring a length of string the height of the dino. Tie the balloons to the end, and let them go (after you stake it to the ground ;-))! If the wind isn't blowing, which sadly, it was, then the balloons will float up to the height of the dinos head. The kids were so amazed, especially when they saw the "Seismosaurus" looking at them over the top of the house!! That monster was 84 feet tall!

Somehow, with six moms here, we did not get even one picture, so you are going to have to imagine it yourself (or head to Safeway and buy some dollar balloons and try it yourself!). Just a tip, if you do the "big ones" make sure you get 4-5 balloons to get up to the real height. And don't worry about getting it exact, who can tell when you are at 45 feet, or even 23 feet, like a T-rex! Besides, it's a good way to introduce estimation!

After lunch, the moms were sitting at the table, mixing up sand, tapioca flour and water in dixie cups so that we could sink plastic dinos in them. Once they harden, the kids will get to be "palentologists" when they dig to find out what is hidden in the 'rock'. The kids came in, and wondered what we were doing. We shooed them all out, so they would not see the 'surprise', and then the backyard was abuzz with "The Mommies are making a mess!!!"

Hopefully, I will get pics from next weeks activities!

What the boys do while we do school...

2009-04-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Sweet Potato and I were finishing up school when I heard a lot of giggling coming from the den. I went to investigate, and this is what I found!

Just in case you ever wondered...Ask!

2009-03-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

Kid Questionnaire

L: 7 years

E: 4.5 years
A: 3.5 years

1. What is something mom always says to you?
L – If you do something wrong, I am just learning how to do it.

E – good night
A – no banging and no pulling

2. What makes mom happy?
L – When I obey

E – buying toys for me
A – not screaming (him not me!)

3. What makes mom sad?
L – When I disobey.

E – not buying anything
A – for screaming

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
L – by making silly faces

E – by um…telling me funny jokes
A - tickling

5. What was your mom like as a child?
L – I dunno, cause I wasn’t there.

E – I don’t know…where you like that?
A – don’t know

6. How old is your mom?
L – 64

E - 16
A - 3

7. How tall is your mom?
L – 20 feet tall

E – 90 feet
A – big, like that big

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
L - read

E – buy toys
A - cook

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
L – work on the computer

E - pray
A - cook

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
L – by doing the most loop-de-loops

E - you
A – I going to be four…I want to be four…

11. What is your mom really good at?
L - painting

E - art
A - play

12. What is your mom not very good at?
L - math

E – replacing windows
A – can’t eat pancake

13. What does your mom do for a job?
L – keep us safe

E – work on the computer
A – clean up everything

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
L – pad thai

E – hummus and bread and goat cheese and rice
A – pizza!

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
L – when she cooks the best food

E – that she gets to stay home
A - pancakes

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
L – Larry Boy

E – my mommy
A – a boy

17. What do you and your mom do together?
L - school

E - school
A – make cookies

18. How are you and your mom the same?
L – same colored hair

E – we have brown eyes
A – I don’t know

19. How are you and your mom different?
L – we don’t have the same color eyes

E – because we don’t have the same shirts on
A – I don’t know

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
L – by how she keeps us safe

E – that’s from all your kisses
A – mommy loves me

21. What does your mom like about your dad?
L – that he works hard for us

E – you like to talk to him
A - playing

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
L – to see Aunt Marianna

E – GA!
A - park

23. Who is your mommy’s favorite person?
L - Grammie

E - Grammie
A – I’m your person!

At the Breakfast Table

2009-02-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

Sweet Potato: "Mommy, can we please get some napkins, the next time we are at the store?"

Note: we have been out for more than a few days...and she sets the table, so she notices more than I do...

Me: "Of course. We should have gotten some when we were at the store yesterday, but I forgot".

Jalapeno: "I knew it, but I forgot".

Me: "If you forgot, then you didn't know it".

Jalapeno: "I knew it, but it was in my foot".

Really?....If I had only known that that was a place to store things, I might have gotten more done in my life!!

Argumentative!

2009-02-19T08:19:00.001-08:00

Argumentative!

OK, so you know that whole thing about the duckbill platypus showing that God really has a sense of humor? Well I am sure that He does.

Exhibit A: My son, Pineapple. The child was born to argue. Everything. Whether it is really something he wants, or not.

Example 1: Said child argues every morning about eating oatmeal. Every morning. This morning, being the kind momma that I am, I decided to make eggs for breakfast, to give them a change.

When Pineapple asked what we were having for breakfast, I said "Eggs!", thinking he would be so excited!! Was he? NO. "Mommy, I want to eat oatmeal!!! I don't want eggs!!" So, I gave him oatmeal, and what did he do, you ask (do you really have to ask?!)? He argued about eating the oatmeal!! AAGGGHHH!!!!!

So, I do believe that God has a sense of humor. I also believe that my Mom (and probably my Dad) are laughing hysterically too, because God has given me a child just like I was when I was a kid. No matter the genetics involved, that old adage about your kids being like you, well, it's true.

And for that matter, my husband is probably reading this and thinking, "Yep, just like his Momma!", because I still argue about lots of things too.

Oh, well. Keeps life interesting, I guess!

Quote(s) of the day from Potty Boy!

2009-02-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

Pineapple (aka Potty Boy) came down stairs with his pants falling down, asking me to help him. I picked him up and said "If you had a butt, your pants would actually stay up!" His reply? "Mommy, where can we get one?"

And, I came upstairs from walking on the treadmill and heard Potty Boy crying and calling for me. He was in the bathroom on the potty, and as I came up the stairs, I heard him wail..."Mommy, why are you taking 2o years?" Side note: you must imagine that last one said in a long, sad wail.

Not behind this time!!

2009-02-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

I am going to go to CA to visit my little brother Mikey! I usually try and go see him once a year, but this is the first time I am going to have to fly to see him. He used to live Telluride, and we would just load up the Jeep and drive out for our yearly visit.

Because my brother is a lot younger than me, I always feel like the "old fat lady" when I am with him and his fit friends. Now, he never makes me feel that way - he drags me over mountain tops like I am just as fit as he is, and even waits patiently for me as I gasp for air. His favorite phrase when we are going up 2000 vertical feet in the length of a quaking aspen is ..."It's not bad, we're almost there!"

I always come back from my trips determined to make a change and finally get fit. Two years ago when I went, I decided to get serious about being gluten free and I have never looked back! So, now, the upcoming trip to balmy San Fran has me thinking ahead (for a change). With sixty some days to prepare, I am determined to be more fit when I get on that plane than I am right now.

So here is my plan: Walk 30 minutes a day, six days a week, regardless of the weather (we do after all have a tread mill gathering dust in the basement); stretch out and do my "one" ab exercise that my fitness trainer friend showed me (thanks Shay!); eat a salad a day; drink 8 G's (glasses) of water every day; keep on eating my bowl of steel cut oats every morning. My sister started about a year ago, and she lost 15 pounds!

I will keep you posted on my progress!

Oh, Happy Day!!

2009-01-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

OK, I know it has been a while since I wrote...I kinda got sucked into Facebook, and well, you know.

Anyway, I have been struggling with getting my little Pineapple potty trained. I mean, he is 3 1/2 and for Heaven's sake, shouldn't he be out of diapers by now!! He's been doing pretty well with "#1", not always dry, but if I put him on, he goes. It's "#2" that has been a problem. I never could figure out what the problem was, but he refuses, I mean flat out refuses to poop on the potty.

I have been praying about it (yes, praying! Doesn't the Bible say for us to bring all our cares to the Lord? Well, I am going to take it literally - Jesus was a little boy once too!) and today I decided that we were going in and not coming out till we had something to show for it - literally!!

So, at 9 am we entered The Zone. #1 - check

9:15 Jalapeno is finished with breakfast and comes to see what is going on. I promise that we will bake cookies if Pineapple goes poop. I know, bribery, but I got payed bonuses for selling certain things (bribery)...it is the way of the world.

9:30-10:30 - We (yes, all four of us) crowd into the three by five bathroom for morning story time. My legs are falling asleep, perched as I am on a little, tiny stool. More #1 - check, check

10:30-11:30 - Tired of books (and needing to get school done for Sweet Potato) I move a bar stool and my lap top into the tiny space. Having promised "not to leave", I crouch in the door, while the boys watch Letter Factory (thanks Ang!!). Sweet Potato and I move quickly through memorizing the books of the Bible, our daily spelling, reading about Moses getting ready to take the frogs to Pharaoh, gn/kn making the n sound...you get the idea. More #1, check, check, check

11:30 - I am really hungry by now. I have been feeding the little tyke anything that I can think of that will "get him moving" - rice milk, raisins, apple slices. But if I stay away longer than a nano-second, I start hearing him crying and calling for me. So I have not eaten yet today, but that is okay! I am committed to this endeavor!!

11:45 - I feed big kids and take a plate in to "the one who will not be swayed". More apple slices, and half a sandwich. He's "not hungry" - big surprise, he's been eating all morning, there can't possibly be any room in there!!

12:15 - 12:45 - The big kids head up to quiet time and Pineapple and I enter into a long discourse of "you need to go poop, so you can take a nap"..."I don't want to poop - I all done". He has been taking turns of standing in the bathroom, and sitting on the potty, so his little legs did not fall off, but he is really determined that he is not going to go. I am more determined that we are not leaving that room til we have poop!

12:45 - I suggest he stand up, and he says "no Mommy, I pooping!" And low and behold, he is right!! And it just keeps coming and coming and coming!! "I pooped four poops!" my little pooper exclaims...and proceeds to call due all the promises of the morning: two M&M's, cookies...

We did a big Happy Dance, called Daddy and left a Poopy Message and danced up stairs to tell the other kids what an excellent job he had done. He was so excited!!!

So now we will be baking cookies this afternoon, and hopefully, we (our littlest we, anyway) will be doing some more pooping without the long drawn out affairs of this morning. Pray for us!!

A New Look

2008-12-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

I was taking a look at my blog, and realized that it was dark! So I decided to brighten it up a little bit - what do you think?

Even though it is so busy this time of year, I am feeling really excited about this Christmas. I know that spending it with family is a big bonus, but I am also finally coming to a place where I am letting go of some things from the past.

When I was little, we moved from NY to GA, and I really think that I have spent a lot of years trying to "get back" to what I remembered about those times. There was spaghetti with all the aunts, uncles and cousins at Grandma's house every Sunday, and sledding across the street in the huge fields, playing in the 'crik' behind the house, and ice skating on our neighbors frozen swimming pool.

We moved suddenly, and I am sure that I did not have a clue about what was going on, I just knew that my ordinary, regular old life was gone, and everything I owned (that had not been left behind) was in a big U-Haul truck driven by my Dad, up in front of the car where my Mom, brother and sister rode. At one point, we had to pull over and get gas, and my Dad did not see us, and kept driving. That was a big deal for a six year old! I thought I would never see my Dad ever again.

Of course, we did find each other and finally made it to our destination. Things were not easy, being a little girl from the north who looked funny and dressed funny and talked funny. But looking back, I can really see how God was beside me every step of my walk through those sometimes very difficult years. I can see how he was molding me and shaping me, making me into the woman that he created me to be.

I am also constantly amazed at how my Mom made the most boring things fun! Other than the difficulties at school (I am still trying to figure out what x and y are...), my childhood was so much fun!! We went camping and swimming and did things with friends from church. I had so many "moms", because we all just called each others parents Mom and Dad - it was easier that way! I am really blessed!

So, back to what I wanted to say at the beginning, I am so happy this year, because I am completely content with who I am and where I am in my life. Yes, being the mom to three kids under six years old is crazy at times, but God is always faithful and He has never left me alone. There is so much comfort in that. Besides that, I have a truly amazing husband, who loves God and his family and works so hard to make sure that we have what we need and so much more. He is so self-less and I can see how the training he received as a boy has really payed off for us as his family.

I am also blessed to be surrounded by a group of women who also love God and their families and I can't tell you how much that means to me! I truly can't think of anything that could be added to my life.

So, as you journey through your life, my prayer for you is that no matter how hard things have been, or how hard they are now, or how hard they will be in the future, know that God loves you. He has His hand on you - so lean into it and receive everything that He has to offer!

Merry Christmas!!

t

A Marriage Proposal Like No Other!

2008-12-09T11:17:00.001-08:00

It has already started:

The funny thing is, when she showed it to me, I said, "Well, he will have to talk to Daddy", to which she replied, in a quiet voice "I don't really want to marry him!" Good thing!

2008-12-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Yesterday at breakfast...

2008-11-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, why are you taking your time?"

Now don't ask me where he heard this, but he says it often now, my little Pineapple.

Stream of consciousness, four year old style

2008-11-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

"I wish we could die right now."

"Why?"

"Because I want to see Jesus."

Well, you will, when it is time for you to."

"I love Baby." (His blanket)

"I am going to put Baby on the rocks, and when I die, I am going to take it to Heaven and put it on a cloud, so I don't fall through!"

hmmmm - looks like we need to keep working on developing his theology!

t

2008-11-11T08:02:00.001-08:00

overheard at the kitchen table...

2008-11-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

Jalapeno had on a snazzy new shirt for church on Sunday and I overheard this exchange at the breakfast table:

"Daddy said I look 'sharp'".

"Sharp?"

"Not like a knife. It's because of my shirt".

t

A bit of a rant...

2008-11-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

...after all, this is my blog, so I guess I can write whatever I want - right?

I am going to say, before you read the rest of this, that some of it might be hard to read. I am not directing this toward anyone in particular - please understand that!! But after awhile of hearing some of the things you will read below, I need to try and help people understand.

Today, a lady who I know meant well, but is not informed, asked me, in front of my beloved children - "Which of your kids are real siblings?" I'm sorry, but did you just hear what you said?!?! They are all real siblings!! Did you mean to ask, "Which of your children have the same birth parents?", because that is a totally different question!

I know that many people don't know "adoption lingo". For those of us who have adopted, we have learned it, and unless we want to hide the fact that we are a family splendidly put together by God's loving hands, then the subject does come up. For myself, I often bring up adoption as a way to introduce the idea that foster adoption is a great way to build a family and that there are many, many wonderful children out there just waiting for their forever families.

I guess that I could do more to educate those who don't "know the lingo" and not just get crazy mad when people ask stupid questions. So here goes:

1) Please think about what you are asking before you say it. How is the adopted child going to feel, hearing the question that you want to ask? Would it be better to set up a time to talk to the adoptive parents to have your questions answered?

2) Also, do you want to ask questions because you really care, because you are interested in adoption for your family, or are you just being nosy? I know that sounds harsh, but how would you feel if someone came up to you and said "Was your daughter/son conceived before you were married?" or some other very personal question?

3) Please don't ask us any questions about our children's past. If we want you to know, we will tell you. There are many, many things that happen in adopted children's lives that are excruciatingly painful. I am sure that you have things in your life that are painful too. Again, how would you feel if you shared them with someone close to you, and then later, you came in and heard that close friend discussing your story with a stranger? Some things, I think you will agree, need to remain in confidence.

4) Don't ask who the "real" parents are, or ask where my kid's "real" mom is. You are looking at her!! I would say that the "real" parents are the ones who nurse the child through an illness, who laugh with them, cry with them... you get the picture. The "proper" way to ask that question is to say "Do you know where her birth mother is?" - but again, why are you asking that question? Please refer back to #'s 2 and 3.

5) Please don't talk bad about my kid's birth parents, especially in front of my kids. If you are anything like me, you have also made some really bad choices in your life. To God, sin is sin. Period. My kids birth parents loved their children - or they would have just sucked them down a sink before they were born. So don't go talking bad about the people who gave my children life, just because they could not make good choices for their children after they were born. My children love their birth parents, just as you love your birth parents, no matter how you were treated as a child.

I think that the bottom line here is to think before you speak. Think about what you are asking. Would you mind someone asking you such a personal question? Would there be a better time to have this discussion? If you were the child, would you want to hear these questions asked over your head, as if you were not standing right there?

I am more than happy to talk to any and every one about adoption and what a wonderful, amazing thing that it can be in your life. But please, be aware. For while it may seem that my kids are playing and not listening, trust me, they are listening.

Adoption is an awesome way to build a family! If you don't feel called to do it yourself (and believe me, don't try it if you are not called!!), then try and find a family that is, and see what you can do to help them out.

If you live nearby and want to get more involved, check out this link for Project 1.27: http://www.project127.com/ Their goal is to fulfill James 1:27 : "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." We are all commanded to look after the orphans, but not all are called to adopt. There are many ways that you can help adoptive and foster parents to do the job that God has called them to do. Project 1.27 can help you find a way. You can also watch this video to learn more about what they do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAORLg94x48

And thank you to all of you who have stepped up and helped us in our calling!! We love you and our children love you too!!!

t

Amazing!

2008-11-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

So, I have been having a very difficult time with my little Pineapple since Wednesday. He is pretty mad that Daddy is out of town and not coming home, and is taking it out on me in the form of screaming (about everything), hitting and just generally being difficult to live with.

Last night, we had "family night" which is a night where we make pizza and watch new movies in Daddy's office. They love it!

After having spent an hour listening to the little one scream in the morning because he did not want to get dressed (something that he is very capable of doing, but for some reason resists - vehemently), I told said Pineapple that if he did not get his jammies on quickly and quietly, by himself, that he would go to bed after eating a PB&J, no pizza, no movies, no special treats.

Amazingly, he went up stairs, and with a minimum amount of complaining, was back down, dressed in his jammies and ready to go in less than five minutes!! AMAZING!!! Truly - if you knew what I had been through with him for the last week!!

We went down stairs and discovered an email from Daddy for each child. In Pineapple's, Daddy said in part: "I also miss you always obeying Mommy. Are you always obeying Mommy? It makes Daddy happy when you obey Mommy, and when you are nice to your brother and sister, and when you put your jammies on without screaming." (Obviously, Daddy and Mommy have been talking...) But the funniest thing was this: As I read that line to him, he said "Daddy is happy" - because he knew that he had just put on his jammies without screaming!!!

Ah, the joy!!!

t

One small step...

2008-10-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

So you know that we have a 'monster' living in the boys closet, right? Apparently, it has been behaving of late, because our little Jalapeño has settled down some in the going to bed department. Three nights ago, he was in my room in the middle of the night. He was scared he said, and wanted to lay down with me. Well, this is a kid who once you do something with him, it becomes "The Way Things Are Done" and every night, it must be the same. Not wanting to go down that road, I had him go potty, to try and wake him up a bit. Then when he came back to me, I snuggled him a bit and told him to go back to bed. He resisted, of course, but I told him he could leave my door open, and his door open, that way if he was scared, he could see in my room...

He went back to bed, and that was the last I heard from him that night.

Next night, I prayed for deep sleep (for everyone), and when I got up yesterday morning, found that I had slept all night - no little peppers in my room waking me up - wow! I did notice, however, that my door was open, and knew I had closed it the night before, out of habit...

When my little Jalapeño got up, I asked him if he had tried to wake me up. "No", he said. "I got scared and opened your door, and opened my door. I tried to do it quiet, but it was loud! Then I went back to bed." Well, loud it may have been, but it did not wake this Mommy up!

So thanks to those of you who have been praying for my little Jalapeño, God has answered your prayers and we are all thankful!!

Quote of the day:

2008-10-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

Driving down the road today I hear: "I used to chew with my mouth open" from Jalapeño in the back seat. Before he can continue with this random thought, I hear from the other side of the back seat, "Actually, you still do." That would be his sister. Very matter of fact. No put down in her voice. Just stating facts here. And then on to another topic. Something about a song sung by a vegetable...

My, my, what will they come up with next?

t

bragging or thankful....oh well, does not matter now!

2008-10-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

The other day I was telling a friend that my kids don't "get into things". I thought I was being thankful, but maybe it was bragging, because....you guessed it - one of my dear, sweet, innocent children has started "getting into things"!!

It started the other day when I went in his room to get him up from quiet time to find all of these items shoved down the heater vent! They were so far down, that I had to reach in all the way to my upper arm to get them all out.

I thought I was clear on that not being a depository for all things bedroom, but the next day, I went in to get him up, and he had emptied his sock drawer into the vent, on top of a bunch of toys, his brother's hair brush (not his, mind you) and a stray shirt.

Yesterday, I noticed him missing from the play room, and went up stairs to find that he had taken butt cream and wiped it on the drawer of the desk that holds the fish tank (and underneath which we keep all the diaper supplies). Later in the day, missing again - he was upstairs "polishing" my end table (and my rocker) in my bedroom, with lotion from the bottle on the end table.

I almost hate to see what is next!!

Pray for me! Daddy's headed to Africa...

t

You can take the girl out of the south...

2008-10-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

...But you can't take the south out of the girl!

I know this is a totally red-neck thing to do, but my kids are loving it! And it keeps them busy for hours, is good exercise and they are having a blast! So don't send me any HOA emails about how horrible this looks - it is temporary!!

Important vs. Urgent...

2008-10-14T09:32:00.001-07:00

We were talking about time management last night at our homeschool meeting, and talked about how we often do the urgent (many times meaningless) things and leave the truly important things left undone. Several of the moms said things that have me thinking this morning, so I thought I would try and work it out "on paper".

I know that I am one who often gets swept up in the urgent. My dear hubby say it's lack of margin, and I am sure he is right, but how do you get there, to the place where you have margin?

A few years ago, I really was praying about what to "do", what activities were worthy of the time I would spend on them. I wanted to use the gifts God has given me (feeding people, teaching, compassion) to do what I am passionate about. So I decided that because I am passionate about children, and their moms, and feeding people, that I would do things that have those two things at their center. So, I work with MOPS (two birds with one stone - I get to feed them and minister to the moms and their kids), I keep my ears open for people who will be helped by receiving a meal, I make myself available to watch other people's kids on occasion, to give them a break, or let them get something done. The rub is that I still have to maintain margins. I can't always be doing for others, or my own family starts to suffer - and I can't allow that to happen.

What I have found is that when I keep my priorities lined up, then even though I am busy, I am not overwhelmed!! It really is amazing! The other key, and this probably comes before the first, is that I have to, have to, did I say have to, make time for God every day. If I start my day spending time with him in prayer and study, then all the rest just falls into place. Sometimes it is really hard to do - but is it really? How about I give up on 30 minutes of the time I spend aimlessly wandering around the web, to go and spend it with the Creator of my soul? When you put it that way, how can I ever say that "I don't have time?!" Wow! I am glad I did my quiet time this am, or I would have to get off here now and go do it!!

Part of what we did last night was determine where we were wasting time, and I for one know that I have a real problem of wasting precious time doing worthless "surfing" on the web. I am working on that, and plan to sit down and get together a list of what is important in my life, and start working on those things.

Rebecca said that someone told her that she should stop spending time looking for "new ways to do things" and just do the things she already knew, and was not putting in to practice - ouch!!! That really smacked me in the face.

And Suzanne followed that up with the one-two punch of "Why am I homeschooling?" Is it so that I can check things off on a list, just to say they are "done"? Or is it because that is what God has called us to do? And if God called us to it, do you think He is sitting 'up there' with a checklist, wanting to know if all the worksheets are done, or is He more pleased with us taking the time with our kids to build their character and teach them about relationship with Him? Yes, they need to learn to read, and do math, and all that good stuff, but I really think that if we care for their needs and build good realtionships with them, then teaching them will be so much easier! Their minds will be open to learning because their hearts are full of our love for them.

So, I think that is all for now. Please pray for me as I try and work this out and do the important things in the amazing life that God has given me!

t

yawn... :-0

2008-10-12T09:42:00.001-07:00

Did you know it is possible to sit for eight hours in one spot and have a finished baby blanket to show for it? Well, it is! Only problem is that the eight hours went from 7:30 pm to 3:30 am and as you mothers know, the kids still get up at the same time, no matter what time you go to bed! Thankfully, I have an amazing husband, who got up and got the morning started while I got my shower, but I must say I am feeling that late night right now - I can't even type I am so sleepy!

Anyway, a story about the children: A certain sweet child (whom I love and who, coincidentally, is 'betrothed' to my daughter) told my Jalapeño that "Monsters live in his closet at night". Since then, it has been a real struggle to get said Jalapeño into bed at night without locking the closet (to keep the monster inside, you know?). A side question, what is the logic that a little flip lock will keep a monster in the closet? But I digress...

The closet in the boys room is a walk in, and until a year ago, it stored all of my craft supplies - hence the flip lock on the outside of the door to keep the little ones out. When I set up my studio, all of that stuff got moved downstairs and I put a shelf and toys in the closet for the boys. They love to go in the closet, turn off the light and play in there - with the door closed! I am guessing by now that little boys do not employ much logic in their day to day lives, because, I mean, what about that monster that kept us all up for two hours last night?!? Where does he go during the day?!

Anyway, on the weekends, to garner a little Mommy and Daddy talk time, we often let Sweet Potato go in the boy's room when they are all awake, to play before breakfast. We can usually stretch it out for at least an hour, except when Sweet Potato gets the lock open on the closet door and they all go in there to play. You see, the closet backs right up to our bathroom/bedroom, so all noises are magnified greatly!

So, Steve (as I said, an amazing husband and father) went in this am, to quiet the raging beasts, to find one little Pineapple, standing on a Fisher Price firehouse outside the closet door, trying desperately to reach the flip lock, and thus lock his siblings in the closet! I am guessing that his next move would have been to move the firehouse over to the light switch and begin madly flipping the light on and off, while his siblings wail and pound on the door - but that's just me knowing my little cherub's odd sense of "what is funny". Steve came and told me what was going on, and I told him that I guessed that Pineapple had just seen his sister use the firehouse to unlock the door, and Steve said that "Yes, there was definitely information sharing going on!"

Which brings me to a confession (I have already asked for forgiveness for this, by the way). When I was about 12, I decided to "have a little fun" at my little sister's expense. We had a hook and eye lock on the outside of our bedroom door, to keep out a new little brother who liked to crawl into our room and destroy anything within reach. Again, not a super sturdy lock system, but enough to keep that little booger out (sorry Mike ;-)).

One day, my little sister was playing with a friend in our room and I thought it would be hysterically funny to lock the door and set off the fire alarm. So I did. And totally did not expect the reaction that I got! When the girls found that the door was locked, they did what any public school trained child would do - they headed for the window! Now, I must say that the window is only about five feet off the ground - but they were seven! So, quickly discerning that I would not be able to sit down for a month (at best) if my sister fell out of a bedroom window, I opened the door and turned off the alarm. And felt horrible about it for years, until I finally asked her to forgive me for being so mean. Which she did - because she is kind and gracious, despite living with me for 18 years!

All that to say - like mother, like son - it must be true!

Happy Sunday!

t

"I know who I am!"

2008-10-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

This week, we are learning about large sea animals...dolphins, whales, etc. We are talking about mammals and the sort. Eric turns to Austin and says "Austin, you are a mammal". To which Austin replied - "No - I'm Austin". Period, end of sentence.

MOPS Convention - in a word...

2008-10-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

We just got back from the MOPS Convention, in Texas - and it was a blast!! I thought I would "sum it up" for you:

Suitcases & coolers and little room to move; Large yarn balls and crochet hooks; Many, many hours in a mini-van; The DDD bill boards (don't ask - I'm not tellin'); Rockin' out to songs best left in the 80's; Avocado dip and rice chips; Steak, steak and more steak!! Too few hours in small beds; Rockin' out to "Go Fish" (who knew?!) with 4,500 other moms; Did I mention many, many hours in a mini-van? Enough Kleenex to fill said mini-van; Lunch with Leslie; Stir crazy in the middle of nowhere - literally!! Sisters all: big sister, little sister, tall sister and middle sister; Talkin' 'bout our young'uns - and laughing till we thought we would split; True southern hospitality, Texas style; Sweet tea - the real deal; Pronghorns (not antelope); Mosquitoes so big that... well let's just say they were Texas big! Smarties and snickers and butterfingers - no more!!! T-shirt ideas that will one day put our kids through college; BBQ with no sauce - yuck!! Did I happen to mention that we drove to Texas?!? And back? Plumb and Jaci Velasquez and Kim Hill and Nic Gonzales and Avalon; Julie Barnhill and our ordinary children; Except for Abigail, who is learning calculus while riding a unicycle, blindfolded...; tennis shoes from Heaven for a little Bosnian girl; More Kleenex!! SDWSC - not "South Denver West Super Cool, like we thought! And God's gracious protection all the long, long way, there and back.

Nashville, here we come!!

Wish you could have been there!!

t

'water' fun day!!

2008-09-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

So, we are studying rivers right now, and in several of our books, we have seen the process of river water being purified so that we can drink it and not get sick. So, today, we made water filters, and boy did we have fun!

First, we got to use power tools - yehaaa! when we drilled tiny holes in the bottom of milk bottles. Then we put sand and then pea gravel in the jugs and then some really nasty water from the sand table, and let 'em rip!

Then, we had a lesson on perseverance (doing things even though they are hard) because those little bottles were amazingly heavy and everyone got really whiney on me!! I took a break, and had the bright idea that we should hang the bottles, so that the kids could keep pouring the water through the bottles, without having to hold them. So, lots of bright pink nylon string and a box of matches later (oh, yeah, and a lesson on fire safety and why matches are not toys and why box knives are not toys...) we had some pretty nifty hanging water purification centers going on.

Then Pineapple finished speech and we had to have another lesson on water pollutants (he decided to put nasty water in Sweet Potato's almost clear purifier), but all in all, it was a great way to spend a nice fall day outside!!

Hope yours was as nice!

t

the wisdom of the little ones

2008-09-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

My darling daughter, "Sweet Potato", said to me yesterday, "Mommy, I remember that you used to write in a book for me, when I was sad about my birth parents". I agreed that we had done that, and told her that we could still write in her journal, if she needed too. She responded, "That's okay Mommy. I don't get sad anymore, since I forgave them." Wow. Wow! If only I could forgive the way she is showing me she has forgiven!

What is the verse that says "Unless you come to me as a little child..."

We started writing in her journal shortly after she came, when she was so overcome with sadness and longing for her birth parents. She would verbally "write" a letter to them, and I would put it in the journal for her. The letters she wrote were very telling, about a little girl who missed her Mommy, and despite all that had gone on, needed to know that they loved her, even if they did not show it very well.

Fast forward a few months, and she and I had a half-day conversation about that very topic and forgiveness. That we all need to forgive the wrongs done to us, so that we can receive healing ourselves. Apparently, she got it.

God is good - that's all I have to say.

t

What a difference a year makes!

2008-09-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! Last year about this time, I drove with the kids to see my brother in Telluride. My little Pineapple, whose vocabulary was limited to "wawa" (water) and "NO!", nearly drove me over a cliff with his insistence on pointing out every, and I do mean every, drop of water that he saw on the way there and back. I began to believe that this was my lot in life, and that I was going to just have to get used to it.

Fast forward one year, to a car ride in the rain last night. Still fascinated with water, my Pineapple pointed out that "the road is wet Mommy", yes, I agreed, it is wet. "It is probably raining" he said. Probably raining?!?! How in the world did we go from "wawa, wawa! WAWA!!!" to probably raining?? Oh, yeah - that would be God - doing miracles in the life a little boy (and his thankful mommy).

Have a happy, rainy day!!

t

more notes from the trenches...

2008-08-30T09:02:00.001-07:00

Last night, during Steve's birthday dinner, I felt the need to give my darling oldest son a mini-lecture on the reality that if you don't eat your dinner, you don't get to have cake and ice cream. He had been saying that his tummy hurt, but that has been a common "get out of eating your meal" ruse around here lately, and he had been running and playing in the yard all day, so he didn't seem sick....

Obligingly, he put a slice of hot dog in his mouth and before he could even chew, you guessed it, geyser city!! I did not realize that the human stomach could hold that much stuff!!! We got him cleaned up and then I took all the clothes and towels outside to spray them off with the hose (do you remember my last round with kid puke and the washing machine?). Just be careful if you decide to do that, that you keep the pressure low or you may end up sprayed with cold water and ...what did he have for lunch yesterday?

Anyway, he and I spent the night on the air mattress in my room (my thought was that it would be easy to take outside and hose off if he missed the bucket (do you sense a theme here??). After about midnight, his tummy finally settled down and we both got some sleep.

He is feeling much better this am, not very energetic, but otherwise, in good shape.

Hope you guys have a great Labor Day weekend!!

In case you missed it last time, I am copying my first puke experience here - it was a wild one!!

Note to self:

If your daughter is complaining of a stomach ache, do not
feed her apples, hot dogs or tomatoes.

And, if you do feed her apples, hot dogs, tomatoes
(or chicken noodle soup {it seemed like a good idea
at the time}), you will need to make sure that you wipe
all of it up before you put the sheets in the washer.

Furthermore, who knew raisins would stay in her stomach
for 24 hours, and don't they chew those things before
they swallow them?!?!

And finally, if you fail to clean the sheets off before
you put them in the
washer, you will be picking up apple skins, raisins and
pieces of hot dog off
your floor when you shake the sheets out before you put
them in the dryer - but hey, they're clean apple skins,
raisins and pieces of hot dog, so it's not
really that gross.

;-)))))

a new mom
or "why don't they teach you this stuff in all of those
classes that we have to take!!!!!!!"

Add it up!

2008-08-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

$2.57 - the cost of the gas to go to the dollar store.
$9.66 - the cost of three helmets, three shields, two swords and one battle axe.
24 minutes - the time it took to make the round trip drive.

Three happy "warriors" in the backyard and a little peace for Mommy - PRICELESS!!

AJ the Terrible! AA the Avenger! E the Mighty!

Ahh, the great outdoors!

2008-08-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

We went on our one (and probably only) camping trip this year (the snows fly early at the higher elevations) and we really got to experience God's Creation - all of it!!

We went up near Tarryall Reservoir, an area that is on the edge of an old glacier field. There were many quaking aspens, pines and tons of very cool, very small plants that we had not seen before. The kids were so excited to be going camping - AJ for the very first time.

We got to our site and the sky was bluer than blue and with a fresh breeze blowing through our hair, we got our tent set up and commenced camping! Friends of ours who came up brought two hammocks, which provided hours and hours of fun. There were also the intermittent but loud and beautiful storms that blew through. Nothing like being near the top of a mountain, outside, while a thunderstorm barrels towards you!!

We ate s'mores, hot dogs and drank gallons of water out of green jugs. Then there was the fun of taking a potty training little boy to the bathroom, when there wasn't one!! The camp latrine was not set up until Saturday, so the boys got to practice their aim, shooting for small plants and large trees!
Our Friday night campfire was cut short by a doozy of a storm, but the next day dawned with beautiful blue skies and off we went, looking for adventure. While Steve went off shooting with the guys, the kids and I and my friend Jane went for a hike and found some great rocks for the kids to climb. What is it, I ask, about little boys and the edges of tall rocks that is so fascinating?

Saturday was made most special by s'mores before dinner! Wow! Whodathunkit?? I figured, why not, and this way, they had time to run them off before we had to coral the kids in the tent. More rain blew through but it did not hamper the campfire, and a good time was had by all!

As you can see, they were all tuckered out and ready for some zzzzz's by the time we headed home. Can't wait to go again!!

t

You know your the mother of preschoolers when...

2008-08-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today, at breakfast, a sweet little tyke sitting at my table said these words: "Mommy, I put more water in the potty"!! To which I said, "Sure, let's go!". So we did, and he did and Mommy did a happy dance bigger than Michael Phelps when he won his last gold medal!! Now, you must understand, that he hasn't offered to do it again today, but it was a ray of light at the end of a long dark tunnel - that boy will be potty trained before he goes to college!!

;-))) happy, smiling mommy

I am proud of my girl!

2008-07-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my girl!! She decided last summer that she wanted to grow her hair and donate it to Locks of Love, to be made into a wig for a child who has lost their hair due to cancer treatment. We ended up going with Pantene, because they only require 8", and they make wigs for kids and adults! I will post the link below if you are interested. Any way, there were several times she thought about getting her hair cut before it was long enough, but she stuck it out (her choice) because she really wanted to help out! I am really proud of her for making a decision and sticking with it! The link for Pantene is: http://www.beautifullengths.com/en_US/requirements.jsp
I am going to post these pics there too!