Poor kid turns 7 tomorrow and is sick as a dog.

I was gently stirred this morning at 5am, by his little brother yelling “COME QUICK IT IS AN EMERGENCY” and the subsequent sounds of wretching in the background. That is always a good way to start any day I am here to tell you!

Boys are sick, Sissy is fine, but wants to stay in her PJ’s and drink Gatorade too. Only thing we did different, I took the boys to the Super Wal-mart (first time, new germs) to kill some time while sissy was on a princess play date. They are sick, she is fine, you do the math! So who’s up for Gatorade and Ice-cream today?

Mommy wants a nap! Mommy is thankful for the stupid box TV on days like today, and Kleenex and flushing indoor plumbing and washing machines and air conditioning,and Gatorade and…..and…and….. I am a spoiled western American. Every time I go through this, I think what do single working Moms do, what do Moms with no medicine and sanitary conditions living in third world countries do? Mommy is thankful in the midst of vomit, and you can’t say that everyday now can you!

Goodness - you hear the left say “It is the end of the world.” and you hear the right say, “Oh come on, the earth goes through natural warming and cooling cycles. This is all normal stuff.”

I respectfully say, “BS people!” To those lefties out there, I submit that “God is in control of when it is the end of the world, so pipe down.” and for all you conservative righties out there “Your smokin’ the good stuff, if you actually think that we don’t need to consider the way we live and how it affects the earth.”

We try and make little choices to recycle and live simply and sustainable. We have a long way to go. We have a lot to learn. There is more we could do, but I am a firm believer in baby steps. It is not an “idol” in our families life but for us it is a stewardship issue. We are supposed to be good stewards…right? Being thankful and respectful for what we have and learning how to follow Jesus in it.

All I am saying people is, do your part. Be a part of Jesus’ redemptive message to the world, subversively. One day, the entire earth will be renewed, and not just humanity ether. All of it.

Here are a few tips:

• Recycle your junk. (Is it that hard to have 2 trash cans in your kitchen, one for trash and one for recyclable things?)
• Stop buying every new thing that comes down the pike. If you have last years version of the i-phone do you really need this years version?)
• Think locally-buy things grown in your area, try to buy green. (Better yet hand made - sorry folks you can’t get that at Wal-mart - I am really trying to figure out how to do this in our town, because for the life of me I am not sure where to find anything grown around here.)
• Think about how much you drive. Consolidate all of your errands on one day. (Gas prices may force us to think of this.)
• Start a composter - (It ain’t that hard, and your plants will thank you.)
• Start a garden, or a pot at least. Grow a few herbs, start small.
• Quit using paper plates and napkins. (I promise a few dishes and throwing some napkins into the wash wont kill you. Hey, make your kids do it! My Mom started this when we were teenagers and it kinda stuck with me.)
• Donate your unneeded items, to local charities that help those less fortunate then you. (I promise hording your junk does you no good. - God will provide for you - not holding on to that one little widget that you are sure you will need one day, although you have not needed it in the past 5 years.)
• Make it a game with your kids. Go through you whole house, and create a donate pile. Pray that God will show you who needs all of that unused stuff and then go give it to them.
• Shoot, sell some of that stuff on eBay and use the money to pay of your debt! If you don’t have debt, then give it away yo!
• Dang - we even have a few friends who have gone all vegan. Willingly giving something up for a deeper reason. We aren’t there yet, but hey people are thinking about it.
• If you eat meat/animal products, think about how it came to you. Was it humane?

Here is the deal, our kids are the ones who are going to have deal with all of this mess down the road. In the west what we buy, consume and throw away, day after day after day, affects more then just how many times you take out the trash. Here in the states, we have nice little land fills that hide our dirty little secrets. In many other underdeveloped countries around the world, they don’t. So it just sits all over the place, and you step over it, and you pick through it and you smell it, in some cases you live in it. I was thinking the other day, how most of the world, still lives in a type of poverty that was prevalent when Jesus walked the earth. What would it be like, if we sent missionaries around the world who could teach agriculture and sustainable farming, conservation, how to have clean water, safe trash removal and infuse it all with the redemptive message of the kingdom of God and I am not talking the Peace Core here. Better yet, what if I could be a missionary in my own context. What if I could actually make little choices in my life, that speak volumes about what I really think.

Just sayin’ is all~ I’ll tell you what we are doing in this vein tomorrow, well, after we do it ya know:-) Pray I follow through.

Peace to all~

Word of the week - Angaboo! What is an angaboo you ask. Well, we are not sure, but Hudson is using this new found word like a tool.

Mom, I just found the Angaboo.

What is an angaboo bud?

It is under the house.

What does it do?

It sticks on to the house and holds it up.

What color is it?

black.

Can you draw one for me.

No - it’s just an angaboo. You can’t draw one. I wish I could dive underneath this house and get it for you Mom and show it to you.

Walks away singing a little made up song about the glorious angaboo. We thought it was a fluke and he would forget about it, but almost everyday for the last 10 days he brings up the mysterious angaboo. Mike and I are perplexed as to where he came up with this one, and what he is trying to communicate to us.  Poor kid is getting frustrated with our lack of knowledge on all things angaboo.
What is your best guess of what it is?

(I wrote this so, when he is 16 and I want to pull my hair out at him, I will think of his little angaboo and chuckle.)

It’s time for quiet time kids. Up to your rooms. I’d give her a 10 for being quiet, because I swear I never heard her!

Another 10 for creativity. Panties on her head and her brothers PJ bottoms on make the most creative and ingenious super hero outfit.

10 for athletic prowess. Leaping buildings and in this case bunk beds in a single bound is a prerequisite for any super hero. Not to mention the extreme strength to get the mattress off the bottom bunk. She must of enlisted her brother’s help. (Hey at least it wasn’t off the top bunk.)

So for overall task completion she scores a 10. Go to your room and entertain yourself quietly for one hour and Mommy will get you when the time is up. Like I said 10, 10, 10.  Remind me to tell you of the time I climbed up on our families roof when I was 4, oh yeah and brought all my friends with me.  Good Times People!

(I only knew to grab the camera when I saw her sneak from her room in her “outfit” to use the restroom. All I could think was, I better grab the camera quick because this one is gonna be good.)

Yeap that is what the salesman said when he sold us our , then new, microfiber, brown suede sectional coach. That was 4 years ago, and it looks almost brand new, well kind of. OK let’s be serious, we have three little kids running around, nothing is brand new in our home.

Our previous coach we had moved from Gainesville, had been slip covered, reupholstered and finally left out for the trash. I wouldn’t dare give it to goodwill. So when we went searching for a new coach, the one requirement was it must be kid proof. This couch, like many of our possessions, is a pure workhorse. Don’t even get me started with our minivan and dining room table. I must be a horrible mother that I can not contain the mess, nor discipline, train, beg and plead the young members of our clan to stop being so messy. Oh well, it is what it is.

Dark trendy brown, not because that color is a hot color now, but because it hides the many stains

.

This microfiber can almost be hosed off, which in our case is a very good thing. A scrub brush, a bucket of soapy water and Folex cure all evils on this bad boy! (Trust me cats - BUY THE FOLEX! - it is worth every penny for so many reasons!) The cushions become a sailboat for hearty travelers many times a week much to our chagrin.

We store many, many, many little toys amongst its comfy cushions and underneath its carriage.

I have to vacuum it out often, because, even though we have a NO FOOD ON THE COUCH rule, there seams to be unending food product wedged between its cushions.

So, Lora asked me to join a group of moms who list some of their favorite things each week, and as I replaced the cushions once again, to this couch, I knew this was a definite favorite thing. Families with young kids shouldn’t decorate without it!

Today we read King Lear. You may be surprised to know that we LOVE Shakespeare.

However, we decided to do it at the beach!

We had to mix up all that tragedy with a little levity. I scheduled my homeschool evaluation with an old family friend who helped pioneer the homeschool movement here for the end of April. She was also our wedding coordinator, so I am excited to get her take on what we are doing. The fact that she loves Susan Schaeffer Macaulley is a huge relief to me.

On our way to the beach, we passed an officer who had pulled a young kid over on his bike. They boy was on his cell phone and the cops were obviously checking to see why he was out of school. I felt like rolling down the window and yelling, “I’d skip school too with a day like today.”, but I didn’t, I acted like a grown up. Shocking I know but there are days I rise to the occasion:-)

Peace to all~

4:34

Chloe: “Mom, I want to take the training wheels off my bike.”

Me: “Well, honey the wrench is in the garage. ”

Chloe: “I know Mom, please I know I can do it.”

Me: “Well, the garage is such a mess, we may have to wait for Daddy to come home.” (I am stalling because I don’t want to do the running along side thing right now.)

Chloe: “Mom, I know where it is, PLEASE!”

Me: “Well, honey it isn’t like you are going to just get on and go like your brother does now. He had to practice to get that good. It is going to take some practice.” (I am still stalling)

Chloe: “I know that, I want to practice, right now.”

Me: “You really think you can do it?”

Chloe: “YES MOM I KNOW I CAN DO IT!”

Me: “OK - Let’s give it a try.” ( I finally get that there is no way we are not trying this, so I embrace it, and gear up mentally to do the run along side thing.)

4:45

The training wheels are off and we begin. After about three passes she has the balance thing, but we need to work on steering and breaking.

5:00 Daddy home, park the bike out front, eat dinner.

6:00 Family clean up time. I remind everyone that we need to put our outside toys away in the garage. She hops on the bike again and rides it around to the back alley where she sees another family with her friend, and then I felt it in her spirit. It was like “sea biscuit”. She said “Let go Mom I can do it!” and with all the force her little frame could exert, she was off. And not a casual pace, I mean I couldn’t even keep up running along side her, let alone stop her from falling. I gulped and said a quiet prayer and she rode away from me, like she had been riding her bike for years. (Wow that is a metaphor for parenting, isn’t it?)

6:15 All the other little girls in the neighborhood wanted their training wheels off too. (Way to lead by example Chloe!)

6:15 - 7:00 Riding, and Riding and Riding, steering and breaking are old hat.

Today we work on starting by herself and at 4 and three quarters our little Chloe is a dare devil on wheels!

Oh the days they are a flyin’ people! Next thing I know she will want the keys to the car!

Before you click the links see if you can figure out who I am talking about. 

I’ve been thinking about some of my heroes.  This is one of my all time heroes, interviewed on a rare you-tube video. If you know me well, you will already know who this person is. 

This person, to me, embodied incarnational living is such a way, that to be in their presence you experienced the peace of God.  Thanks to Tivo, and you-tube, my children know this person too. An activist, humanitarian and advocate for young people, their life inspires me to be “best I can be.”

Who are your heroes?

I found this great site that gives you step by step instructions on how to make ice cream at home. It is also a great science lesson.

I intend to do this once we are home from Peru.

I left our children quietly carving soap at the dinning room table as I prepared our dinner.  As you see from the picture, the soap is setting next to our little fish tank.  I vaguely remember hearing Hudson say something about the fish being hungry.  I obviously never thought it would end in this.

 He explains that the fish were VERY hungry, and that is why you see the tablespoon in the fish-food.

The fish were gorging themselves on food. If fish do grow according to the amount you feed them, I should wake to find Shamu in our living room.

As I frantically try to recover the fish from suffocating on food, I absent mindedly poured them both into the same container. (People - You try to think clearly when you have the life of family pets on the line.  It is clear why I never went into the medical profession.) I move about my business of cleaning out our grubby little tank when I hear a sweet angelic voice say, “But Mom they are fighting fish. Now they will have  a war.”  I forgot they shouldn’t be in the same container so I frantically am trying to scoop “red fish” out of the way of “blue fish” with a 1/4 measuring cup.  I called my girlfriend “stat” who is well versed in such matters and she said “Be Brave and use a Dixie cup!” Note to self, “Buy a fish net.”

Chloe and Hudson hid their eyes for fear that I would squish them.  Jackson calmly played legos as the rest of us were in a “code red” situation. I prayed I would not drop them down the drain, in front of little eyes.  That would be tramatizing for sure. I can hear it now “Mom killed our first pet.”

            “red fish”                                   “blue fish”

Chloe rubbed my back after the episode was done and said “Good job Mom, that was a close one.”And people think stay at home, homeschooling Mom’s don’t lead an exciting life.  Hillary Clinton I dare you to do any better! On the up side, we got a clean tank out of the deal, and I REALLY needed to do that.

Hope the spaghetti’s good tonight.

Despite all of my pleading,  the last faint bastions of baby days with my big boy are dissolving, or should I say, falling out….out of his head.  Another baby tooth is gone. 

Here they are coming in!

And here they are coming out!

We have now taken to calling him the “Double toothless wonder.”  He thought of it himself. Turkey!  Chubby hands and diapers have been long gone, so I guess I have to wave good bye to baby teeth too.  Shhh! don’t tell anyone, but he still likes to snuggle.  I will take it as long as I can get it!

I have  a great idea for you for last minute Christmas shopping for your kids.

Sponsor a child with them, about their age through Compassion International. Our children start to sponsor a child on their 5th birthday.  Jackson was able to choose the child he wanted to sponsor and has written letters and sent pictures to him regularly the past year.  I showed the children the video clip on the Compassion website and it has really stuck with them.  They talk about it amongst each other frequently.

It is one of his most favorite days when a letter comes in from Josias from Peru.    We will be visiting Josias in Feb. on our trip to Peru.  I am excited and interested to see how this will shape and form Jackson as he grows in understanding of the kingdom of God and being a disciple of Jesus. 

It is only about 30 dollars a month to sponsor a child.  You can pay for an entire year at one time and it is tax deductible at the end of the year. Come on, it is only $360 for and entire year to change a child’s life.  Just stop going out to eat one time a month and you have the money right there. 

OK - I am getting off of my soap box now.  Merry Christmas to all~

Shh, I will tell you a little parenting secret that Mike and I have stumbled upon.  But don’t tell our kids, because so far they don’t know it is happening yet.

I have a friend who has a degree in child psychology tell me that it only takes 15 minutes of one on one time a day with each child to make them feel extra special.  You just need to plan for it and work it in.  Mike and I are very good about having special dates with each of the kids alone, and date nights for each other as well.   Everyone gets their own time throughout the day to be alone, and I work on one on one time throughout the day too so I feel like I am covering the bases so to speak.

So here is our little twist.  Mike and I secretly keep one of the three children up after the other two have gone to bed for about ten minutes or so for special Mommy and Daddy time.  They all get ready for bed together, brush their teeth etc. and secretly one of us takes one down stairs and the other of us puts the others to bed. 

Give it a try….it is so much fun.

Well…It is official.  Our oldest can tie his shoes all by himself:-)

Jackson turned 6 in August and it was a “clue” to me that life as I had know it with him was shifting.  He wanted his own shoes and wanted to have “big boy” lace up shoes.  Thank goodness I had him with me when I was buying his birthday present so I could check for the right size.  I showed him what I had thought he wanted and he gave me this disappointed look, like I had picked out baby booties or something.  Instead, He wanted these “cool kicks” shown above. I acquiesced on the premise that he would learn to tie them himself, to which he agreed.

Well, He has had steps 1, 2 and 3 down for ever but the last step has been eluding him/frustrating him to no end.  I never made a big deal about it.  He just got as far as he could and then I finished up for him.  I noticed in the last 2 weeks or so, his fine motor skills have progressed rapidly.  The big clue has been his writing.  He just can do it now without a problem.

 So today we went over the ”tying procedure” again.  We figured out the problem and within precisely 1 minute and 26 seconds he was tying his shoes as if he had done it his whole life.  I wish I had the video camera going, but I didn’t think it would happen that fast.  His little happy dance at the end was too cute.  I would of shown it to his wife one day if I had it on film.

So tying shoes has been like every other thing.  Potty training, riding bikes, swimming, reading….if I just wait until he is ready and try not to push it too early, he does it in like nano seconds.

OK - I am going to go shed a happy tear.   

Our family has done a really good job this year of not getting tripped up in all the Christmas madness.  We have intentionally not been busy.  We are still making time for friends and neighbors and we have been very modest in our spending for Christmas.  Because we rarely watch network television (our children watch none) we haven’t seen all the crazy Christmas ads and I am blissfully unaware at home during the day of outside happenings.

That coupled with my desire to help our children grab hold of the joy of giving I have been thinking through some things we can do together.   I am considering having us make some special pictures to deliver to a local assisted living facility with maybe carnations.  The children have so much fun delivering special treats to neighbors near by, I thought I would make it a big deal and prepare a whole day of giving for us.  I don’t want it to take a ton of money to pull off or be stressful in anyway to prepare.

Have any of you done something like this or have any ideas?

To celebrate the season we have a few selections playing throughout our home during the day. Music is a big part of our families life.

Handles Messiah

Charlie Brown Christmas

The Nutcracker

It’s the Most wonderful time of the year!  Tomorrow Advent is upon us.  Early in the morning, once we are all awake, we will get out our nativity scene, and read out-loud the Christmas story and allow the children to act it out with the figures.  It is a favorite activity for them.  We will hang a purple bow on our door signifying that we are in “preparation” mode.  For the children it is fun Christmas tradition , for me it is a discipline.

Dig into the waiting this year! Peace to all!

Our dear missionary friends from Peru gave us a hand made creche last year.  We will be staying with them for the month of February as we teach, train and serve God’s people in Peru. Please pray for us.

They found it up high in the Andes by Lake Titicaca in a city called Puno.  Yesterday the children asked why “baby Jesus” was in a little canoe.  I got to tell them how the people who live there lash reeds together to create floating islands.  The weather is hard and cold and the altitude is very hard on their bodies.  Imagine living in a cold wet environment your whole life.  Be thankful for what you have today and where you live.  There are people all over the world who live a very hard life.

Yesterday, I took our 6 year old to the Theater.  We saw an hour long production of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  They took a wonderful, classic piece of rich children’s literature and crammed it into an hour and set it all to music.  You make your own decision about it.

After the performance was over, I asked Jackson “What did you think?”  He said “I didn’t really like it.”  I asked why and he said “It didn’t match up with my imagination. The chapter book was much better.” 

I had to force myself not to laugh out loud because I understood what he meant.  It felt just like when you see the movie of a book you have loved.  It never matches up.  We will see other things and look to go to theater that hasn’t been “dumbed” down for kids.   

I read out-loud the first chapter of Genesis.  I asked the children to listen once.  Then we read it again and I asked them what day they would like to paint.  I then let them draw what the “saw” in their minds eye on the boards and then we let the paints fly.  They really seemed to enjoy mixing the colors the most.  I understand, I like that too.

They wondered how big God was.  Chloe asked if he is very fat.  I was silent and let her explain.  She said if he is all around the world he must be very big.  I then got to explain the vastness of God. (Here is my humble, yet God inspired attempt. I was wondering how I would explain this to them and praying about it one day and this is what God lead me to.)

I said, you know when you go swimming, and when you dive down deep and enjoy how the water holds you? How it is all around you?  They all said yes…they love swimming.  I explained that this is how God is.  He is the water we swim in, he gently holds us in all of our comings and goings. We can never go anywhere that he is not there.  I could tell this struck a chord with them, especially Chloe.  I will tell you where this conversation lead to at the dinner table in another post.  For now enjoy their handy work. 

 ”land & plants” ~ Chloe 4 years old

“water” ~ Hudson 3 years old

“sky” ~ Jackson 6 years old

Have you heard of them?  As in…all of this Halloween candy MUST-GO!

They are my own secret invention to terminate many of these Halloween goodies.  We are chopping them all up and making them into decadent brownies and sharing them with our church family.  We told our kids they could pick their favorite 15 pieces and the rest we need to get rid of.  Does anyone else hear at 7am, “Mommy can I have some of my treats?”. 

Well, my husband predicted it accurately.  We had clear weather for the party and one trip around the cul-de-sac and then the rain cut loose.  Imagine a costumed group running in mass with candy, fire men helmets, tiaras and capes all a flurry.  Many ended up back at our house soaking wet sorting their loot.  It was a good time. 

I am happy to have our kids interact with the neighborhood kids in limited doses on our terms.  I have already discovered we need to come up with some family rules about it. Like letting neighborhood kids know when they enter our home, they are going to have to interact on our rules and not theirs. Every day is a learning process.  Enjoy the pics!

This is a good investment.  We borrowed it from a friend.  She calls it her portable play yard.

Food galore.  I made Swiss cheese fondue. 

Honestly, I am washing all our costumes and selling them on eBay next year in August.  I am sick of seeing them.  The tallest one is one of the kids Nannies.  Yeap - here they all have nannies, so the moms can work their high powered jobs.  Our neighborhood is a ghost town during the day.  Everyone at work or school/day care. 

Loot sorting has begun.

Our three tired, wet, candy hounds enjoyed the party.  They went to bed tired and happy.  As we all grow together, Mike and I will continue to make space for others in our home and teach our kids that this is what part of being “salt and light” is all about. Go throw a party.  You will have some fun and  just maybe some of your family will rub off on the world, which I am sure would be a very good thing!

a tropical depression darkened our door. 

Our poor weary travelers are ever so worried that treats and goodies will not be forthcoming.  A wonderful gala event has been planned for neighboring children and their parents at the gates of our humble abode and we fear that all might be lost.

Oh the scandal, oh the injustice, the travesty.  The earnest and humble prayers of three young saints have been on their lips since sunrise.  Me thinks there will be no “trick or treating” if 40MPH gail force winds persist but we believe that prayer does move mountains and in our case weather systems.

Please pray with us!

…that no one else in the North American Continent, dare I say even the world….

started their day with a 5lb bag of sugar being poured all over the floor, the couch and the carpet.

I found him after he started trying to clean it up. SIGH!  At least he was trying to clean it up. Honestly, people, don’t ask OK - School is postponed a few hours for some KP.

*****Update*****

OK - I bagged the agenda and we got most of school work completed by dinner time.  I am also almost positive that no mom in North America ended the day by sitting on the stairs and having their 4 year old princess say…

“Mom you don’t look so beautiful, you look a little wild. Sit down and let me brush your hair”  She then proceeded to brush my hair and put pretend makeup on my face.  I said I was sorry for having a bad attitude today.  She said “It is OK - I understand.  I get really frustrated when my stuff gets ruined too” and then she gave me a hug. 

One bonus…..I have a REALLY clean house to start my day off tomorrow.

OK - so I have taken your thoughtful comments to mind and have been inspired. 

 Of course I will be purchasing books.  I consider those “hand-made”.  It is like buying an author’s art and as I said before I am “down” with that. I am purchasing the Tales of the Kingdom Trilogy. Holy Moley you need to read these with your kids if you follow Jesus and love allegorical tales  plus some Christmas classics like, The Other Wise Man and The First Christmas Tree.

For Jackson, I will be making a quiver and new bows for his authentic bow that came from Peru.  It only had 2 arrows and one of them was broken by his little brother.  One arrow is a bunch of work so we need a few more and a quiver to hold them all.  And I think a target too.  I am not sure how to pull that off, but I will think on it.

 I will get Chloe a full size tea set.   It is store bought because making one from scratch would be crazy expensive and time consuming.  The idea being that she and I will make and have tea together with special guests.  That to me is where I am at with gifts.  I strive to make things experiential so this qualifies. 

For Hudson I will purchase him a small starter set of real tools.  I know I am not making them, but we will make things together.  He is forever pulling out Daddy’s tools to work with.  I think I will make a small work bench for him with screws and things he can work with.  I had a small tool set with a had crank drill when I was his age and I still remember how much I loved it and how much I worked with it. 

Then if I have time and am adventurous enough I will make them all swords, shields and capes.  We have been learning the Armor of God and of course reading the 50 Famous Stories so we fight many battles around the home.  I may regret it, but I thought it would be fun….. if I can get them to not whack each other with them.  Hmmmmm, I will have to think of soft sword material.

They will have plenty of “store bought things” from extended family, so the store bought toy thing will be met there and I can start making the toys that we will enjoy and then in time when they grow past them I will keep them for the grand kids.  (OK - now I am thinking too much but we are creating a legacy right?:-)  These are hand made wooden items people. If I am spending the time to do it I am making them to last! Or at least I hope I am but you never know with our youngest.)  

I was thinking that on Christmas morning we could have a scavenger hunt with clues to find their gifts.  My mom did that one year and my brother and I had a blast, so I thought it would make a nice memory.  For advent we will beginning reading out loud together each evening and working on delivering gifts to friends and neighbors.  We like to put the tree and decorations up Thanksgiving day after we eat.  This year we may even put lights on the house - heaven help us all.

OK~ now sound off people!  What say ye?

October 19th at 9am.  Trying to beat the heat that just wont quit! They thought they could help the turtles by digging a nest for them. Not quit sure it works like that but the thought was nice!

The kids and I are gong to be making and giving as many hand made gifts as possible this year.  The glitz and glam of Christmas, not to mention this whole toy thing with China is a bit sickening. The goal is to make Christmas special and instill that since of “wonder” without it being about the gifts.  Tricky I know but I am going to give it my best shot.

I have found some cute and inexpensive things online to make and give to neighbors and will be using ETSY as a resource for anything I don’t want to do myself. If you haven’t been to this site, you should go right now and look around.  It is like eBay but with all independent business owners from all over who sell handmade items. 

When Mike and I first got married we decided we wanted to make sure we purchased hand made art in every country we visited.  It was a simple way of blessing some-one’s craft and supporting independent business owners in poor places.  Over the years, that has grown to simple things like buying items form those we know who are just starting a business or are in business for themselves.  When we get bagels on the weekends we go to the local Mom and Pop shop instead of Einstein Brothers.  For us, it is a symbolic way of sowing our resources in a life giving way into people instead of machines.  We can’t do it all the time.  Home Depot and Wal-Mart are unfortunate evils but at least we try.

I am not sure how to make things for the boys though.  Our oldest wants a Transformer or a Bionicle.  He doesn’t watch commercials or movies with these things on them but somehow he knows they are the “it” thing this year.  Isn’t it strange?  Does anyone have any thoughts on a hand made Christmas gift for a 6 yr old boy?

One of the spiritual disciplines I have started teaching our kids about is one of “acting in the opposite spirit”. This is how I started our discussion. What is the opposite of black and they responded white.  I continued with hot and they said cold, fast and they said slow.  Then I said, one of the little secrets about how Jesus calls us to live in the kingdom of God is acting opposite of how you feel.  It is a secret tool to keep our hearts soft like clay so God can keep working on us, otherwise we get hard and then we don’t hear God very well. I was relating this all back to the story of “The King of the Golden River”.  I wont tell you how because I don’t want to ruin the story for you, but the kids understood exactly what I meant.

So I continued, If you are mad at your siblings how could someone who follows Jesus respond?  They thought about it and said, be nice and hug them and help them.  We talked about a few other things too.  Like what could we do if we REALLY wanted money or things and that was all you thought about. (again relating it back to “The King of the Golden River”) They said, give money and stuff away.  Now I have a reference point to refer back to as we move forward together as a family.

We talked about how throughout the story of God’s People, we have been learning how to act opposite and do what Jesus would do and not what the world would do or what maybe feels the best. So this morning the children were playing Lego’s upstairs and Jackson came down and explained an interaction he had with his sister.  Then he said “Mommy aren’t you proud of me I acted opposite”.

If you are interested in learning more about spiritual disciplines I HIGHLY recommend the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.  This book is on my all time top ten list. 

My thought was to do a little school each day while we have been away at Sea World.  Firstly, I forgot my computer so Kim and I have been sharing one and secondly, WE ARE AT SEA WORLD!  What was I thinking?

We have  loosely read through our literature and listened to some extra reading in the car thanks to librivox. Life is learning and petting dolphins qualifies as a bit of school if you ask me.  Not only that, we have been experimenting with tons of nature photos around here.  I will post those soon.

We pray all is well with you all, where ever you may be.

Grace and Peace to you.

Yesterday the children and I went to a local wildlife center to enjoy God’s creation together.  I took an entire photo journal of our time so check out our nature blog.

So what have you found in your fridge lately?

The afternoon was young, the sky was clear, the water was calm and we had set our course for adventure.  We watched the horizon anxiously in hopes of viewing our destination.

The waterway was our own.  Not a soul out and about.  The only noise we heard was the loud hum of the motor and our own laughter ringing out. We had set our course on the “high seas”.

“Land Hoe” was the cry! There it was…our island destination.  Our little oasis sitting proudly, surrounded by the clear, cool, blue waters that gently and graciously rippled up on its shores. 

Quietly our craft glided into port.  For a few brief moments, the only sound was that of the water lapping up against the dock.  The familiar in and out motion that fixes these times deeply in our minds and in our hearts.  The sound that is synonymous with life on the sea.

We greeted the locals who had been anxiously waiting our return.  They stood as sentinels, observing island visitors with both curiosity and fear.

The lush tropical foliage gives little relief from the heat.  Its fronds lightly waving in the breeze applaud our arrival, cheering us in our exploration.

The long awaited moment of using new birthday gifts was finely being realized.  What would be found under the beautiful, blue ocean?

Schools of fish dotted the surface of the water like soft rain and with a bit of fear and trepidation, underwater fish and wildlife were observed.

The sun hung low in the sky, signalling the end of a glorious water adventure.

As we boarded our craft and headed for home, the sky displayed a spectacular show of corals, pinks and oranges.

Before the stars made their triumphal appearance, the sun fell like a fiery ball, off to greet lands unknown. A final farewell to a day well spent.

So I salvaged my hard week last week on Friday by making sure we had “Something to do, something to think about and something to love”! 

I actually took “the show” on the road and went to our favorite park located adjacent to a marine rescue center.  We did some of our lessons in a favorite forest that shaded us from the heat!

Doing narration from high up in a tree always makes it more exciting.  We read Travel and imagined we were hunting for our own “deserted city”.  Mommy had fun too!

By the end of the day the children were back on track, happy and cooperative.  I think we all had cabin fever.  Outdoor time is so important and not just in your front yard but new places as well. 

Do go out with all of your children.  Enjoy the weather and your community pool.  Interact with the neighbors.

Don’t leave your keys at home, thinking oh I don’t need them, lest your two year old runs back home before the rest of you and locks you out! 

Then you will not have to hear the impish laugh behind the locked door, “Mommy you are locked out! hahahahahah”  Rest assured, there is little coxing that will persuade a 2 year old to open the door when he knows he has the upper hand.  Be sure to have a tricky 6 year old handy in this event who knows how to disarm said 2 year old and claim victory for a weary Mom!

Oh yes these are Good Times People!

Here is a beautiful post on how to Learn to play piano on a shoestring over at Lindafay’s blog.  It is very inspiring.  I am a “do it yourselfer” so this really got me thinking about the viability of really teaching your kids to play piano.  I studied violin and piano for 8 years growing up at huge expense to my parents.  I loved it and it is so much a part of who I am now.  I have wanted that for our children and her post gave me the confidence to give it a go.  Isn’t blogging a beautiful thing!

Summer is slipping away in Sunny South Florida.  It is still hot and humid here but there are little signs that fall is near.  Very early in the morning, there is a slight shift in how the air feels.  The sun rises just a few moments earlier than a month ago and the quality of the light during the day is slightly softer. Small things I am noticing due to my slowing down. Finding the metaphysical in the mundane….God in the daily Grind. 

It is not enough however to prevent our daily jaunt to the pool.  Pool and Popsicles, the quintessential summer pastime.

Yesterday our oldest spent about 2 hours with his G’Pa building a rocket. When he came back….he was somehow older.  I saw it in his face and his continence.  He had picked up little words my Dad uses and started using them in his vocabulary.  Our youngest is almost out of potty training and our daughter is teaching herself to read. Life is fleeting.  Why worry about tomorrow, it will take care of itself.  Enjoy the day, right were God has you.  Even if it is hard because the older I get, the more I understand that “hard” is usually “good” being birthed in your life.

So our 4 year old is still in 2T’s.  She is in the 25%.  She is healthy and thriving, just small.  So her jeans still fit everywhere but the length.  My friend recommended putting some ribbon on the bottom to give her another year out of them.

 Aren’t they cute?

Picture this, hazy smokey atmosphere,  80’s music blaring and lots of gutter balls! Bowling..I guess it is a big deal.  Our neighbors invited us to go bowling with them yesterday.  It was our first time.  It was not theirs.  It was kind of like Tiger Woods inviting their neighbor out to golf.  Maybe not that bad but it was intense!  Poor neighbor kid is an only child and you can tell…..if you know what I mean.  Kind of bratty, and his parents ride him like “white on rice”.  Maybe that was the intensity I was picking up on.  Crazy amounts of toys and never having to share with anyone….ever.  Interesting playing with them.

So what do you all think? When you invite people over to your home for entertainment or a play date, do you ask them to clean up after themselves or do you enjoy their company and expect to clean up afterwards?

Honestly, I don’t know how I will top this today, but give it a read and see for yourself.  This Diva is “off the chains”. She is on my reader now!

I am in my third week of homeschooling using the Ambleside prescribed curriculum.  This week both of my boys were sick.  I thought for sure we would bag school.  That was what I had planned to do because I was cleaning up vomit all day.  (That was fun!)  Anyway, I digress.  I realized between the cleaning and the rocking and the laying on the couch (they did watch a video that day) and the not getting out of their pj’s until noon, and the no real prescribed “school time”, they finished ALL of their lessons in 15 min segments throughout the day. 

It was incredible to me that 1) they asked for certain lessons by name 2) they did them in short increments and then went back to throwing up 3) they had fun and it kept their minds off of the sickness thing.  Can you believe it?  I still can’t.  They ask for lessons every day. What do I say…. no?  I don’t think so but what do I know, I am knew to this.   They don’t know  a weekday Monday from a weekend Saturday, so they just keep going.  At this rate we will be done with the math book by Christmas. Jackson is half way through his phonics and it is only the end of August.  I only read the chapters/selections that are slated for the week so they have to learn to think on that one piece for a week before we move on, despite their begging. (Can you tell they love the books?)

Really People….is this normal?  I am thrilled they are enjoying it but I am kind of shocked.   The other day, Chloe said I go to “Turtle River Montessori”  (her old school) and I said, “No honey you go to home school. ” She said “I do?  Where is that?”  I said at home with me and your brothers.  She said “I never have to leave you again?”  I said “Nope” she squealed, I smiled.  It hadn’t even occurred to them that all of these months we had been schooling. 

So what do you think of that?  I guess I just go with it….right?!  OK this is where all the older wiser homeschooling moms jump in and tell me whats up.

This year I am keeping a record of all of our activities digitally.  I am keeping a monthly project going with picaboo to keep all of our adventures organized and kept in one place.  I plan to scan certain written work that is appropriate and drawn narrations to add to the piece.  It will be a fun family keepsake. 

The children have one from the former preschool and they cherish it.  I wish to keep the tradition going without all the actual cutting and pasting.  It is a whole new digital world and I intend to use it like a tool.

 Grace and Peace to all,

Today I am participating in the “All Woman Blogging Carnival” over at 4fabmoms.  

We live in a small three bedroom town home.  Currently the two smaller rooms are occupied by our three young children.  One is a playroom and the other is a sleeping room.  As you can imagine there are some nights we have to split the three of them up in order to  get them to settle down for the night.

One of these particular evenings, we put our tiny daughter (then just 3) on our bed so she could fall asleep.  Things were quiet and all was well for some time, until we heard noises up stairs.  I went upstairs to see what was going on, to see our daughter had gotten into my makeup in our bathroom.  It was all over her, the walls, the floor and the tile grout.  It was a beautiful mess.  I had to not only clean her up but the entire bathroom that night.

What amazed me most was that she was able to put on the mascara perfectly?  Thankfully I use non-toxic make up. In retrospect I should of taken a picture so I could remember the look on her face when I found her.  Now, I lock my bathroom door always, because you never know what mischievous little hands want to explore.

Here is the nature blog as promised.  I think it is going to be a fun addition to our homeschooling rythm.  Jackson would love a comment or two, so Grandparents, please chime in:-)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziDeUbifKIM&mode=related&search=]

My kids ROLLED on the floor when they saw this.  See if it makes you roll too:-)