in case you were wondering...

Taco

2008-11-08T00:44:00.002-06:00

This big walking stick was hanging out on our kitchen window, looking in. We made a little home for her in the living room and plan to study her for the next few weeks. Her name is "Taco".

Field Trip!

2008-11-07T00:49:00.000-06:00

Art Appreciation at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum

Gracy and Maggie peering through some glass work at the museum.

The park across the street was a blast!

Leaves!

2008-11-01T10:32:00.004-05:00

We finally got around to our art project with the leaves we collected a few weeks ago. Didn't they turn out great?
We have a frog, a mouse, a couple of race cars, an elephant, and a bear!

But we still took some time to play in the leaves outside!

Cousin Time

2008-11-01T10:00:00.004-05:00

In this corner we have Levon, weighing in at 9 lbs 1 oz.

The happy family!

Levon had a blue knit cap. So did Maggie. Lennon was getting upset with Maggie for taking is baby brothers hat, so she gave in and let him put her hat on his baby. Eventually he figured out there were two, and Maggie's was bigger.

Here's Lennon counting Levon's fingers. Yep-there's five of 'em!

Maggie with Levon. Is he actually looking at the camera?!

Levon has smiles for CC!

Gracy's glad to meet her new cousin.

Sisters!

Think!

2008-10-30T19:59:00.006-05:00

Time for our Think! Challenge again!

This week, the challenge is to sculpt an apple using only your teeth and 4 toothpicks. When you are done, it should look like a person, place, or thing.

We had a tasty blast with this week's challenge. Maggie dug right in. Gracy kept asking me for more detailed directions and got a little frustrated when I just kept reading the directions to her. Eventually she bit off a chunk of apple and got started.

Gracy made a two-faced apple. Comedy & Tragedy perhaps?

Maggie proudly displays her UFO.

Think!

2008-10-21T19:06:00.004-05:00

While I was doing the research to get away from workbook only homeschool, I found this awesome site by following link after link after link...It's Think! (click to check it out!) We took on this week's challenge to think outside the box. Please remember it's our first time thinking outside the box....

This week's challenge:

Place the following materials on the table:

12 straws
12 inches of tape
scissors (these may not be used in the solution)
an egg (raw or hard-boiled although raw is more fun)

The challenge is to build a structure that will support the egg and keep it at least one inch above the surface of the table. You may not tape anything to the table or the egg. You may not use any materials besides those listed above. Good luck!

I'd like to note that we did in fact stick with the more fun, raw egg.

No one can accuse Mags of being an over-achiever. As soon as her egg perch hit an inch, she was done!

Gracy was struggling. She was a bit confused when her little sister seemed to be beating her in the challenge... I kept asking her what her plan was, she didn't have one...

I love the side rails Maggie put up to protect her egg from falling off. This was an addition after I informed the girls if they broke their eggs, they would clean them up! :)

Take 2! Gracy still doesn't have an idea, but she knows her last non-idea isn't going to work.

The light bulb moment!

Once again...we hit an inch. That's all that is required...that and she ran out of tape.

The girls had so much fun they wanted to do another challenge right away. I told them a new challenge comes out every week. "Why can't we go back and do old ones then???" It's a hit! Can't wait to find out what next week's Think! challenge will be!!!

There's Been a Slight Change in Plans...

2008-10-21T18:10:00.002-05:00

In one of our more recent weekly meetings I asked each of the girls, "If you could decide how the school day went, how would you do your learning?" Gracy's ideal school day would be her reading books all day. She'd just read novels that happen to have facts woven into them. She'd never look at another worksheet, test, or report again. When I asked her how I would know she learned anything she said, "I'd just tell you the stuff." Maggie's perfect school setup is nothing but field trips. She'd go to a different museum every single day. She doesn't care what she'd have to do to show me she learned things. She'd be fine filling in worksheets, taking tests, writing reports, or whatever. As long as she can go look at things and flip up the "fact flaps" she'd be happy. Both of these are completely opposite from our current workbook style set up.

I asked because I wanted to know, but now we have some changes to make. We're just starting this homeschool thing, and we're going to have to find our style. I want it to be a style the girls enjoy as well as learn from. I don't want to mimic school and teach to the test. I don't want them to learn things only long enough to regurgitate it at the appropriate time only to later be lost forever. Why bother learning it at all if it never sticks?

So what will we do now? I started researching alternative teaching methods, learning styles, and on-and-on....our new plan is a hopefully harmonious blend of both the workbook school and the free flowing school the girls would create.

On the days I work, we're going to stick with the more self-guided workbook learning. I typically add educational games (both online and not) and small projects to these to make them more interesting all ready. These will also be the days they work on their typing class, and get in a little extra reading. They are going to slightly increase the amount of work they do on these days to make up for not doing this work on the days I'm home.

On the days I get to be home with them all day, we're going to change things up a bit. We're going to keep the math and spelling workbooks going on these days, and they will also still have to get in their daily reading. We'll also set aside time to work on things they may be struggling with if extra work is needed. The rest of the day will be more hands-on child-led learning. We're starting with graphic organizers AKA lapbooks.

Gracy has a life long fascination with the ocean, so she's starting a study on starfish. She's checked out every book about starfish from the library, searched a bunch of internet sites and has been taking excellent notes. I can't wait until she starts to put together her visuals, because it sounds like she has some really neat ideas. I was excited to have her giving me fascinating facts she was learning every couple of minutes. She was having so much fun, I had to force her to stop for lunch!

At the beginning of the year, Maggie expressed an interest in learning more about the US Presidents. I figured this was a great starting point for her. We started by talking about mind mapping. Being a visual learner, she jumped at this and started right away. I found some graphics of the presidents to print and she's taking off with it. I think she all ready knows WAY more about the presidents than the average American. Two highlights from her: When she was comparing two pictures of George Washington, she was commenting on which one made him look younger. (Who does that?! I never thought about George Washington looking anything but old!) And then she saw a picture of Chester Arthur without facial hair and she noticed! "Hey! That guy has crazy facial hair in my book!" Yikes. How many people even know he was a president let alone that he had "crazy facial hair"?

The girls have also decided to work on a topic together. They picked dolphins, and I'm sure Maggie got only a little pressure from her sister on that one! But they were having so much fun on their individual topics today they never got around to starting it.

Great Quote

2008-10-17T22:03:00.002-05:00

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid." ~Albert Einstein

Field Trip!

2008-10-11T09:40:00.005-05:00

It was field trip Friday once again! This time we went on yet another hike, but in a different location. We also went with a specific artistic purpose. To find leaves. I recently checked out a great book from the library that had all kids of crazy animals made out of pressed leaves. It was more inspirational than the average leaf book because they used lots of little leaves for details (scales on fish, eyes, etc).

So today after our picnic lunch, we hunted for leaves while trying to imagine what the different shapes could be. Maggie and her friend had to be continuously reminded to look for different shapes though, or they would've ended up with nothing but crazy colored maple leaves.

Crayfish! What a pleasant surprise to find crayfish in the water! You might have to click on the top photo to actually see the crayfish hiding in between the rocks. The bottom picture is the smallest crayfish I'd ever seen. Gracy found it under a rock. I think when I was younger I tried NOT to turn over rocks to see what was under them. It made me queasy. I'm glad the girls have more adventure in them!

Then there's the graffiti. The kids found some charred wood and picked up a couple of pieces. Later they used it to tag the area with smiles. The graffiti that washes off. :)

The kids were forbidden from crossing the stream of water here because it was too high to cross and stay dry. So they plotted, planned and schemed. Made it look like they were throwing rocks and suddenly...voila! A rock bridge. Now they could cross and stay dry.

Gym Class

2008-10-11T09:29:00.002-05:00

This is what gym class looks like as everyone is leaving. I am always pleasently surprised at the number of kids that come out for gym class. I'm so thankful for the person that pulls this all together! She amazes me. I only helped out in the 6-8th grade soccer area today, and I was ready to throw in the towel. Of course, I don't know anything about soccer...that doesn't help :)

I Always Keep My Room Clean and Neat by Gracy

2008-10-10T09:15:00.002-05:00

Ummmmmm.....No. Nice try. And thanks for reminding me you need to clean your room again.

Directions:
Read this topic sentence. I always keep my room clean and neat. Write five sentences that tell why your room looks clean and neat.

SRY Mom my room is never clean

My Home by Maggie

2008-10-10T09:08:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I don't even know what to say...

Directions:
Write a paragraph of six sentences about your home. Be sure each sentence has a subject noun and a verb.

My home is nice. I like to jump on the couch. I love to sit in my desk. It is really big. We have a wonderful kicken. And it is very comfy.

Yikes!

2008-10-05T21:11:00.003-05:00

So the girls and I were watching a PBS special we checked out from the library on Martin Luther. They talk about how Luther utilized the newly invented printing press. Here's our conversation:

Me: Who invented the printing press again?
Gracy: Don't look at me.
Maggie: Ummm...it was something somebody...(she's serious)
Me: Something somebody?
Maggie: It starts with a G
Me: Gu....
Maggie: Gutenberg!
Gracy: I thought he invented the telephone.
Me: Alexander Graham Bell?
Gracy: My bad.

yikes.

Her-bs

2008-10-05T18:13:00.002-05:00

Wasn't I productive today? Yeah...instead of sitting in the house surfing the net ALL day, I did take some time to transplant some herbs from the out of doors to above the kitchen sink. Now my new challenge...keeping them alive in the house...

Field Trip!

2008-10-05T17:12:00.009-05:00

We've recently decided to do a little bit of extra work Monday through Thursday to leave Fridays for fun stuff. If we get a whole weeks worth of work done in four days, we have an extra day to do some of the things we don't have time to do otherwise.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>START RABBIT TRAIL<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
By the way, I can't even belive that we don't find time to do stuff. For some reason, I was worried that I'd run out of ideas and the girls might be disappointed. NOT THE CASE! I'm ditching ideas left and right because I've over planned. I know, I know. I'm a chronic over-planner. I haven't found the support group for it yet. Maybe there isn't one. I could start planning for one...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>END RABBIT TRAIL<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Anyway, we picked Friday not only because it's at the end of the week and starts with "f" (so we could call them Fabulously Free For Fun Stuff Fridays), but because we all ready have gym every Friday morning for two hours with our homeschool association. After gym class we've been enjoying lunch and art class with our friends, rotating which house we make a mess in.

This week was the third or fourth week they worked on 3-D paper projects, so they started to get a bit bored and off track. We decided to ditch the end of art class and take a field trip that would include lots of walking and fresh air.

Plus, honestly, I think I'm wanting to cram in as many outside activities as we can before it's cold and yucky. And its not like the girls have been complaining about all the outside, hands-on learning time! :)

Even with backs turned, you can pick Maggie (and her fine color matching abilities) out of our small crowd. Gracy was funny when we first got there. She pretended she didn't like the place, but she begs to go all the time! Stinker!

The last few field trips we've taken we've found the famous black and brown fuzzy caterpillar. Every one of them feels the need to poop on whomever is brave enough to hold it. This one was no exception. For some reason the younger girls were surprised its poop was green...I wonder what color they thought digested leaves would be.

I'm sure these flowers looked prettier at some point earlier in the year.

I'm not sure why I didn't photograph the wild grapes we found growing along the trail (and enjoyed munching on). Or the acorn that one of the kids smashed on the ground to taste. Makes me want to borrow a field guide from the library and see what else is hanging around that I don't recognize!

Recess!

2008-10-05T16:58:00.004-05:00

The girls have been enjoying morning recess. I tell them it's 15 minutes, but sometimes I let them play outside for 25-30, especially if they are moving around a lot and giggles are plentiful.

Thursday was no exception. I could hear the squeals of delight, so I went out to take some pictures. I was so proud they decided all on their own to play soccer this week. So I started snapping away thinking about how fun it would be to have a recess page in our yearbooks.

Then I discovered they were wearing slippers. Outside.

Now I did just tell them this was a good time of year to bust out the slips and bathrobes, since we're too cheap to turn on the heat yet. I should've clarified they were for indoors. They laughed tossed back some smart remark about it being homeschool and therefore slippers were appropriate recess attire.

At least they're having fun, right?!

Maggie's Science

2008-10-01T18:21:00.003-05:00

The 4 Stages in the Life of a Butterfly by Maggie

Well, it was the first thing she did this morning, but I had to tell Maggie I was a bit disappointed in her effort here. While I do appreciate that she kept the same number of examples throughout her drawing, the ripped paper and the fuzzy looking caterpillars were not exactly what I had in mind. She added color reluctantly after my strong encouragement to do a good job. I told her I really valued quality over speed...

The 3 Body Parts of a Caterpillar by Maggie

...so she took a little more time on this one. I learned something new on this drawing. I had no idea that caterpillars have six eyes! Butterflies, by the way, only have two.

WWII Projects by Gracy

2008-09-28T09:06:00.003-05:00

After months of reading about WWII, Gracy's projects are finally complete. She wrote a report complete with outline and bibliography and then had these two projects. Yes, she's still reading books about WWII.

I was a bit disappointed with this diorama. She started out strong and had lots of ideas. She worked really hard for one day and deciding she was tired of working on it called it done. I kept trying to get her to go back, but she was finished. I love the train car complete with mini marshmallow wheels. I also tried not to giggle when she used mini marshmallows for the German soldiers but left the Jews to be wire or toothpick people "because they were starving". I guess she pictured the German soldiers to have pot bellies. She made the fence out of an unusual combination of wire and hot glue. I was a bit disturbed by the toothpick Jewish person throwing himself into the electric fence to end it all. "What?! It really happened, Mom!"

And then there's the propaganda poster I requested. Try to make one up yourself I said. Try not to copy one that all ready exists. What would you have said to people in a poster back then? The result? "What?! I changed it. On the original the Uncle Sam is pointing at people." Ugh. It's a start. Baby steps... She did a great job making him look friendly...

Botanical Gardens

2008-09-27T20:24:00.013-05:00

Field Trip!

With Maggie off to her dad's house today, Gracy and I grabbed the neighbor and took her with us the botanical gardens for a field trip. It was the perfect day for it. The weather was not too hot, and not cool enough to need a sweatshirt. The sun was shinning part of the day, then lit up the cloud cover in the afternoon. And the best part - FREE! Family Day at the botanical gardens!

We went late enough in the afternoon that they had shut down the craft section and the food section, (in other words, Gracy slept until 11 and then we decided it would be less crowded toward the end of the day anyhow) but we still had a good 3 hours to wander the gardens. We had a great time and took a billion photos. It was hard to narrow down which ones to post!

We were amazed at this tree. It had these greenish-brown pods with bright orange berries just popping out of them. We were equally surprised to find out it was a type of magnolia. Bright and shiny, just like our little Magnolia. It's official name: Encore Loebner Magnolia.

I love this! If I get to plant a garden next year, I want to grow something (peas, beans, flowers, whatever) on a tee pee made of branches! I figure the victorian style is too complicated. But this! I can do cute, rustic, and whimsical! :)

href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kmt4q6qefGY/SN7i3-
3kHtI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/4umF2Icw7xg/s1600-h/100_3784.JPG">

Along that same note, I told Gracy we should try to do this for the boarder of our next garden. How fun!

I love this picture. I had to stand on my tiptoes and reach the camera way up and over to get this flower. I couldn't even see what it looked like. I was happily surprised to see a ladybug resting on the flower!

Gracy and I were geeking out about how cool it would be to have this at home. They actually grew gourds up over our heads! We want to try this out someday.

While walking on the prairie trail we talked about how strange it must have been for the first settlers in our area to come through here in a covered wagon (Laura Ingles Wilder inspired, of course) without any roads.

I couldn't find a tag to tell me what kind of flower this was, but I want to make sure not to ever plant it. There were bees everywhere! Most of the flowers had multiple bees. Good for honey, I suppose...

I told the girls to lean on the door, cross their arms and look tough...Yeah...I don't think they know how to "look tough". I suppose that's a good thing...

This is a worm's view (on the ground looking up).

Oooooo! Pretty!

Oooooo! Prettier!

The girls couldn't resist snuggling up! And yes, they did try to pluck the strings on the violin.

Gracy said she wants "one of these" at home. "You know....viny things growing up all over and making it all dark and then whoosh...maybe we could build one." Maybe she's never seen her mom with a hammer...

This spot freaked me out. Notice the person in the lower right hand corner of the picture? See how tiny? How far away? When the girls first jumped up here I had a mini stroke thinking they'd fall off and die (no drama here, right?!). They, of course, laughed at me. The drop is about 18 inches. And then there's a steep hill.

True confession time here. I took this picture out of pure boredom. The girls stared out this window for 5 minutes (but it felt longer because there was nothing else to look at). I like how it turned out so thought I'd share it.

Gorgeous Gracy!

If Gracy were Rapunzel...

Why is it so hard to resist wooden cut out photo opportunities?! And why did I leave out most of the wooden cut out?!

I Am Yours Lord by Gracy

2008-09-27T09:12:00.004-05:00

Gracy's working on writing essays in Literature and Creative Writing. She needed to write an essay using the outline:
I. God knows me
II. God helps me
III. God wants to use me
Her book then asked questions regarding each section to help lead her to forming appropriate paragraphs. English, Spelling, and Writing are the areas she's needing quite a bit of work in, but she's starting to put it all together.

I Am Yours Lord

My name is Gracy. I am a kind person. I think it is very important to have Godly character. I think so because it pleases God and our family. I feel I am smart, friendly and funny. I wish I was more faithful and trustworthy.

I am like David because when tempted I pray. Also usually I do the right thing, but sometimes I do wrong. Many times I have been tempted to cheat on my work but I never do. I never cheat because it is wrong to cheat.

There where many shepherd boys in Israel. I think God chose David because of his faith, love, and trust in God. I know God has a special plan for me. I think his plan is for me to show me how to do what he wants.

Maggie Learns About Verbs

2008-09-24T21:18:00.002-05:00

Directions:

Think of three actions each of these words could do. Write these action vers on the lines.

our God

rains
rulls
creats

by Maggie

School Space Complete With Desks

2008-09-21T01:53:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago the girls had said it would be fun if they had desks like at school. At first I thought they were pulling my leg. Seriously?! Then I sort of dismissed the idea because we have no room for them. Then...

Yesterday I was dropping off Maggie's sleep over friend when I spied a couple of school desks on the side of the road. $4 each. How could I pass this up? They were exactly what each of the girls wanted. Gracy wanted a desk with a thin solid top and a small basket for books below the plastic chair. Maggie wanted a desk with the lift up top and the storage space below the writing surface. And amazingly, these were the two desks staring at me. I just happened to have the cash in my pocket, which is a miracle in itself. My friend (THANKS CHERE! YOU'RE THE BEST!!!) was fabulous and picked them up for me in her van and lugged them all the way to our house for us.

But all the way home I kept thinking...I'm an idiot. Now I've gotten the kids all hyped up about having their own desks and where do I think I'm going to put them? Was my brain on vacation? I know better than this. The kids are going to be crushed if I get rid of them...not to mention I'd have to ask someone to haul them for me again. And what a pain!

But Cherie saved the day. (THANKS CHERIE-YOU'RE THE GREATEST!) She came up with this super idea to split the living room in half, making one section a school section and leaving the other to remain the living room. After MUCH re-arranging of furniture and then measuring and re-arranging some more, we finally have a finished designated school space with separate living room.

I couldn't fit it all in one picture, but the couch is obviously in the middle of the room serving as a divider. The desks are in the corners (again, the girls surprised me and picked these locations) with an end table with a lamp and a laptop (THANKS FOR THE LAPTOPS MIMI & POP POP AND SADDIE & KEITH! YOU'RE ROCKSTARS!) next to each of them. The big chair between them is for me to hang out in to do corrections or reading with them, etc. It wasn't in the original plan for the school section, but it no longer fit in the now shortened living room.

Here's what the rest of the living room looks like. It's not very clear in the photos, but there is a blue chair on either side of the couch. Strategically placed so that the girls have no choice but to jump over the couch to go to school. I intend on sliding one of the chairs over to get there, but don't tell them that! It's obviously a smaller living room space than we had. It will take some time to get used to it. But there is plenty of room. We didn't even have to displace the pumpkin that's been rolling around and being used as a chair.

Apples!

2008-09-20T12:21:00.001-05:00

We went apple picking with some friends this week. We had a blast & now are trying to figure out exactly what to do with 50 lbs of apples...So far we've made some yummy carmel apple jam and some apple sauce. Today we plan on canning some apple pie filling. Whoo.

Here's a bird's nest Gracy discovered while picking.

Apple Train. Everybody push!

Apparently all the excitement of apple picking wore the girls out. When we got home they both sat down to finish up their school work and passed out. Maggie is actually sleeping on the pumpkin. Snoring. I think Gracy is trying to learn her spelling words through osmosis.

What I've Learned From My Garden Part 2

2008-09-20T12:02:00.000-05:00

This week I learned that when planting a garden, it is important to make sure you don't plant it on the neighbors land. If you do, they might wait until September to tell you by putting up some posts and trampling through the all ready sad looking plants. Should this happen, your options are to give up the garden, or (and this option is only for the truly stubborn) transplant the entire garden. Obviously I decided on transplanting.

I only transplanted the plants that weren't mostly dead, or still had veggies attached to hopefully harvest. The rest I ripped up and tossed into the compost pile. I've been babying them a bit this week. All plants seem to be doing fine so far. Thankfully I screwed up the plants in the beginning by planting them too close together. Now they are not going into shock being so close to one another in buckets!

Homeschool Update

2008-09-13T10:22:00.004-05:00

Last week we took a field trip with some friends to an event called "Turtle Fest" at a local nature preserve. The kids got to bowl with acorn squash, run through the most pathetic maze I've ever seen, and do a scavenger hunt. They had more fun on the trails than on the planned events.

Here they are discussing the algae in the pond.

The next few pictures are by Maggie. She insisted she takes better pictures than I do.

And then there's gym class. Every Friday the homeschool association we belong to has group gym class for a couple of hours. It's great to see so many kids out there having fun. Gracy enjoyed flag football the first week, but had WAY more fun playing volleyball this week. She's really good at volleyball, and enjoyed serving "like 8 times in a row". Maggie played kickball and dodge ball both weeks. The first week she was a little bit shy. She's never thrilled when she and her sister are put into different age categories. This week she made some friends and had a good time. She must've felt like she could be herself, because she offered to carry one of the orange cones back from the field - on her head.

Seasons

2008-09-13T09:31:00.003-05:00

I think maybe God made fall so colorful to counter the depression I feel about the balmy, sunny, warm summer weather fading into the long, cold, gloomy darkness of winter. That's right. He created fall's beautiful colors for me. Ok, maybe not just for me, but I like to think so.

Every day I see just a few more leaves on the trees in my backyard changing color. And every day I think about how it will only be a few more weeks before frost has replaced the leaves. I keep forgetting to enjoy the season I am in-dreading the one to come.

Oh God, help me to enjoy the season I am in. Both in the very obvious natural way, but also in my life. Help me to not dwell on and dread my children being teens before they are. Help me to enjoy the season of life we are currently in. Help me to not worry about next year, when this year is still waiting to be lived.

My Birthday: An Anecdote by Maggie

2008-09-12T18:14:00.002-05:00

Maggie had an assignment this week in Literature and Creative Writing to write an anecdote. Her book explained what an anecdote is, she read examples of anecdotes, and then walked her through writing an anecdote step by step. Somehow, I don't think she quite got it...but it's a start. Here's Maggie's anecdote:

My birthday

My birthday was comeng up. Megan and I could not see each other for a little bit. Because we spray payinted it and I got intruble alot. On my birthday she came to my house with my birthday present. We played with my blendy pens for a little bit. Then she apolagized. Then we were friends again. We had cake, which was soooooooooooooo good. Then my dad picked me up.

The End!!

I Am Not a Nerd

2008-09-12T07:16:00.001-05:00

And here's my proof. A very reliable, highly accurate quiz told me so.

Thanks God!

2008-09-06T07:57:00.002-05:00

We attended the kick-off meeting for the homeschool association we joined this week. It was a bit intimidating. I felt like I snuck into a group of super moms, and they somehow didn't notice I don't fit in. It's not that they presented themselves this way on purpose. It's my own insecurities. When a mom stands up and says, "I have 23 kids ranging in ages from 30 to 6 months, and if I can do this, so can you!" (OK, I exaggerated-a little) It reminds me a bit of when Gracy was in kindergarten and I agreed to be her girl scout leader. At the training all the moms showed up with blond bobs, prada bags, and french manicures. Completely different group here-yet I feel the same panicky insecurity. I guess I fear not fitting in more than I thought. Ouch.

Then I remember what the Word says, "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you" (Isaiah 41:13). That's right! How could I forget?! This isn't about me! Nothing ever is. When I forget my focus - God - I start to bobble and wobble. Of course I feel insecure-that I'm not as good as the super moms. I'm not! They are depending on God, they're not all that great by themselves either!

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9) How exciting is that! The way I see it, I'm full of weaknesses, so that gives God a TON of room for His perfect power in my life. I don't need to compare myself with others. I only need to make sure I remain in Him, He will guide me the rest of the way. He will light my path, be my shepherd, provide me with a peace that passes all understanding.

What an awesome God!

First Day of Homeschool!

2008-09-02T14:58:00.002-05:00

Walking to School

We started the day by walking to school. We left the house and walked around the block. I thought this would be a cute idea. It would get our blood moving and let us feel like we left home. Our block is enormous, so it took us almost 40 minutes. After about 10 minutes of walking the kids let me know they thought it was the most ridiculous idea I ever had. Gracy said, "Tomorrow, let's take the car to school". I hate when my sarcasm comes back at me in the voice of my child.

Registration & Orientation

After we arrived at school, we went immediately to registration and orientation where we went over our anticipated schedule and set up our weekly one on one meetings. We made a list of places that might be less crowded now that other kids are in school, and discussed things the girls want to make sure they learn about this year, and what their biggest fear about homeschooling is. This of course brought a few tears from Gracy. She's still concerned about her friends from school. Even though she's seen them pretty regularly. I remember all the tears I cried when we moved when I was about her age. We only moved to the next town over, but it might as well have been a different state in my mind. Fortunately things looked better, as I'm sure they will with Gracy. She'll soon get used to the idea of seeing her friends outside of school instead of talking her way through the day.

School Identity

Next, we created a school identity. We'd like to introduce: The Lighthouse Academy
Colors: Yellow and Black (taken from our family crest)
Mascot: Swordfish

We started making letterhead, student ID's, and T-shirts. We paid for the download of a tuff lookin' Swordfish from istockphoto, but I can't figure out how to open it...so we had to put that project on hold. (If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know!)

School Pictures

We made a trip to the local Walmart picture people to get some cheapy/cheesy school photos taken. Then they tried to scam me. They actually tried to sell me a $200+ package AT WALMART! Seriously! If I wanted to spend that kind of money I would have gone to a REAL photographer! They insisted the cheapest package they had was $79. I asked about the sign that read $4.99. They told me it was company policy to only allow one of those packages per person per day. So, I told them that had to be the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard, took my kidos and left. Apparently they thought I was an idiot with too much money on my hands.

We went home and took our own photos. Their not the best, but certainly better than $79 for each of them!

Maggie's a 5th Grader all ready!

Can you believe Gracy is in 6th Grade?!

We took a copy of our new school pictures and put together a scrap book page to kickstart the yearbook. They turned out SO cute!

Here We Go!
So tomorrow starts homeschool with school work. I think they are secretly looking forward to it. Gracy just picked out her outfit for tomorrow, and Maggie is getting giggly.

Presence Or Presents

2008-08-30T18:55:00.008-05:00

I'm ashamed to admit that when the girls were young I often felt as if they happened to me. Um...let's see, how do I explain this...I felt that some people did it the right way-they fell in love (probably at college), got married, bought a house, had kids. But me? Well, I just was playing the cards I'd been dealt. Of course I loved them, they are my girls, but this single mom thing wasn't in my plans for life - it just happened.

While they were still itty bitty I went back to school with dreams of becoming an attorney. When I imagined myself at my current age I pictured a new car, a three bedroom house, nice clothes, and extra spending money. I tried to push away any thoughts of 60+ hour weeks, late nights working on cases, and leaving sick kids at home by themselves because I have no choice but to be in court in the morning.

Not in a million years did I picture that I'd be working with runaway teens making less than my pre-college days (but how much fun and a flexible schedule), driving the same car (and praying it keeps running), and living with a room mate and her son in a rented three bedroom duplex.

In a perfect world I'd be able to shower my girls with gifts for no reason and spend unlimited amounts of time with them. Unfortunately, that's not an option at this point in my life. I have to choose. Do I give my children my presence or my presents? They can't have both.

While some people opt for financial stability, I am opting for time with my children. No, I don't expect them to live at home with me forever. It's just that I am unwilling to sacrifice the lives God entrusted me with so that I can chase the proverbial American dream. Call me crazy, but I'll take my flexible yet low paying job over a high paying time sucking one for as long as my girls need me. Sure, more money would be nice, but I wouldn't miss this loud and crazy time in life for anything.

There will be another stage in my life when my house will be clean and quiet and I'll want to avoid it's monotony by working long hours and saving for retirement - or maybe I'll finally buy that new car...

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
~Proverbs 23:4-5

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. ~Proverbs 21:21

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ~2 Peter 1:3

I Might Be Crazy

2008-08-29T21:14:00.002-05:00

Maggie's dad had somewhere he had to be this weekend. So he left Maggie at home - and brought her sister Cecelia over. So I have the giggle triplets for the l-o-n-g weekend.

Cecelia and Gracy are only 4 months apart, so let's just say there's a lot of pre-teen in the house. I must have said "yes" (temporary insanity?) when they asked if the neighbor could sleep over, because she's here in her pajamas with make-up on and her hair straightened (all the typical signs that a sleepover is underway).

Maggie is currently in the shower singing loudly in a beautiful opera style. The other girls are gathering pillows and blankets and talking about watching Camp Rock and High School Musical 2. They want pizza, ice cream, popcorn, cookies, kool-aid, and popsicles. I anticipate smelling nail polish and hairspray any moment.

They are dancing in the kitchen (I asked what they were doing and they said, "the skit, or skat, or mashed potato, or something like that". Followed by whispers). The giggling...one is giggling at all times. They take turns so that it never stops.

Someday my house will be clean and I'm going to miss this.

Someday.

What I've Learned From My Garden Part I

2008-08-29T14:55:00.010-05:00

@->--Having a garden makes me feel like a hippy. I'm raising my own food (well...sort of...), using grass clippings as mulch, fallen branches as stakes for tomatoes, trying to be all organic, and taking kitchen scraps to the compost bin - and I'm doing all this fabulous gardening in my bare feet (don't look, Mom!) while enjoying the sun on my face, the breeze in my hair, and the sounds of the little critters in the woods.

@->--Patience is a virtue. Allthough I consider myself to be virtuous, I lack this one.

@->--One should not make more work than necissary by watering daily, or one not only will realize the importance of an outdoor water spicket, but also will wear a path in the grass between the house and the garden.

@->--Morning Glories grow like weeds. And if you have some friendly new neighbors who offer to mow your lawn for you (thank you, thank you, and thank you again) they may think the morning glories you planted (next to the enormous electrical tower in an attempt to cover up all the ugliness with pretty stuff) are weeds and chop them down with a weed wacker. Thankfully, they grow like weeds and will make a comeback three times if need be. If you tie them to said electrical tower it will be obvious you put them there on purpose.

@->--Seed packets come with instructions. Use them. The spacing they suggest is based on someone's experience & expertise. Randomly plopping an enourmous amount of seeds and plants into a tiny area will yeild lots of laughter from people who know better.

@->--If you plant a garden next to a wooded area, the deer will find it. Even if you've never seen a single deer in the 2 years you've lived there. The deer will find the food. They think you've planted it for them.

@->--Naming vegetables is fun, however it's also creepy when it comes time to eat them.

@->--Grass has an amazing ability to grow in places it didn't exist before, and a special way of dying in the lawn where it is supposed to be.

@->--A compost bin brings to light how much I throw in the trash on a regular basis. It's embarrassing, really.

@->--I may have ADD. Just two short months ago I was wishing I lived somewhere that had a longer gardening season so I could keep this up longer. I was having a blast, reading gardening books, gardening blogs, talking to people about gardening, starting new plants WAY too late just to see what would happen. Now I'm a bit bored of it all. It may have something to do with the ferns getting all yellow and brown behind the garden, and the trees starting to turn yellow and red...or the realization that I really could've done a better job if I had done it right the first time...Ever since I realized I will not be having enough tomatoes to make salsa and sauce I've been a bit discouraged-but there's always next year!

@->--Nine cherry tomato plants is just enough to keep Maggie happily eating tomatoes all summer. Nothing else. If I want more than tomatoes to feed Mags, I need more plants. It also takes WAY more than I had anticipated of every other plant to come up with a decent amount of food. I was really surprised by this.

@->--I'm cheap. OK, I knew this before, but...I refused to spend the $15 on a trellis on clearance (which is nothing compared to the springtime price of $75!). I can make one of those out of bamboo and string I declared! Worked out well if I do say so myself.

I'm a Big Girl Now, Mommy!

2008-08-27T21:44:00.005-05:00

Today was one of those days where I realized: Aw, my baby is getting all grown up!

It was Gracy's first official night at youth group. Last week was parent's night so it didn't really count (just ask Gracy). But tonight...with the super soaker & bonfire party to celebrate the end of summer going on, now that's a real youth group night.

She was a bit giddy when I dropped her off. I felt a little weird. I cannot recall many occasions where I have simply dropped her off without going in to-I dunno-what exactly is it that we moms DO when we drop off our children? Look around, make sure there are adults present, smile at the other kids, give our kids the look that says, "You'd better not make shame for the family name"? I'm not sure exactly what it is I've been doing all this time, but whatever it is I felt weird not doing it. But this is YOUTH GROUP. Moms are not supposed to go (according to Gracy).

Maggie & I watched a movie at the budget theater with friends until it was time to go pick our big girl back up. The movie was horrible. Indiana Jones. I'd never seen one of "his" movies. I could easily live the rest of my life not seeing anymore. And so could Maggie. We thought it was B-A-D. But an experience none the less.

Picking up Gracy was a big treat. She was all gushy like only a girl her age can be. She hasn't told me much. "I am officially friends with, like, every person in the youth group now." was one of her few reporting sentences. The tone of her voice reminded me of the time she declared, "I'm a big girl now, Mommy!"-which gave us both a laugh.

I'm so happy for her. She's been really nervous about not having friends now that we've decided to homeschool. And I've been praying for her to make some good Christian friends. And did I mention that I can't believe my little girl is actually in youth group all ready!

Update:
Very shortly after I finished this post, Gracy sat down next to me to tell me ALL about youth group tonight. All the fantastic people she met, all their names, how friendly and funny everyone was. "It was way better than school where you sit and look at everybody for three weeks before you are bored enough to start talking. We just started having fun and talking right away!" She's so cute. And then she slipped in the, "Oh, I was sure you wouldn't mind, so I signed up for the youth group's worship team. I'll be singing. So--I'll have to get to youth group an hour early every week." And then, "I can't wait until next Wednesday! Maybe I'll bring __________(a friend from school)."

The Weekend Blur

2008-08-25T09:45:00.005-05:00

This weekend flew past in a big swirly blur.

Friday after our bit of work & chores were finished we did some funky art projects, made some mini pizzas with fresh tomatoes instead of sauce and a salad from our garden and farmer's market finds, made more of Maggie's home-made butter, followed by a family movie night.

Saturday we had much needed lazy morning. We spent the afternoon and evening with friends at Art Street. The girls particularly enjoyed the dancers. We saw two different local dance studios put on productions, a tiny bit of the traditional Native American dancers, and some of the traditional Mexican dancers. We looked at a bunch of fun art, some fancy art, and some art that was a little strange (for example the paintings of different dogs all in martini glasses). But I think our hands down favorite part was the edible art (read Indian tacos, shish-kabobs, nachos, & funnel cake).

We got pretty excited about all of the inspiration the artists provided us, and rushed off to the craft store. When we got there we were a little sad about the crazy prices, but figured we can shop around. We don't have to make impulse choices. There are cheaper places to buy these items! Not to mention there are always sales. I love a good sale! We made a few small purchases, but left the bigger ticket items for another day.

Sunday after church we had a picnic at the leaf racing park. We had fun, as usual. The girls still insist this is their favorite park. It's quiet, empty, and full of nature. This time we noticed someone had dumped a pile of scraps of wood near the woods. We checked it out. All of it was clean and dry. It must have just been left. We boxed it up and brought it home. We have a wood burning tool kit, paint, glue, nails and lots of imagination. If nothing else, it's free wood to burn in our fire pit.

After our park adventure, we cleaned the garage (serious family fun) and crammed my car FULL of stuff to donate & made the drop off. Apparently everyone in the neighborhood had the same idea because the drop off site looked like a flea market without any vendors. It was a dumpster diver's heaven!

We finished off the night by eating pizza, watching a classic Veggie Tales movie, and playing Risk. It was the world's longest game of Risk EVER. At 1 AM we finally agreed that our family had conquered the world, and that was going to be good enough. :)

Ideas Needed

2008-08-22T11:55:00.002-05:00

OK, I'm driving myself nuts again.

I've been scouring the World Wide Web in search of fun things to do, traditions if you will, for the first day of the homeschool year. I'm looking for ideas to make the first day of school special. I am finding thousands of ideas for traditional school first days...breakfast with the neighbors at the bus stop, busting through crepe paper banners in the front door after school, pictures in the new outfit holding a sign indicating the year. No, I've never done any of these fabulous ideas when the girls went to "regular" school. I wish I had. It's one of my disorders you know...wanting to be super mom...

But seriously, I've been thinking about how Gracy is excited about homeschool, but not...(she's a 6th grader. I think they are required to have multiple views on every single topic that comes up AND feel strongly enough to cry about either opposing view.) And Maggie is excited but, dare I say, cautious. (Being a visual learner she requested if we could just go to different museums every day instead of working in a traditional format) I want to start something, preferably simple, that makes the first day of homeschool special. Something that makes them look forward to it as much as one can look forward to school. I have a ga-jillion ideas for during the year, which, God willing I'll follow through on and post about. But I can't seem to find something that strikes me as a "YES" for our first day. I'm running out of time and trying not to freak out completely about it. All I've come up with so far is letting them stay in their pajamas all day. Maggie has suggested going to a movie, and Gracy has suggested skipping all work that day...ummmm...that would be starting school the next day, right?

If anyone has any ideas please, please, please leave a comment or call me or email me or send me a postcard...anything! Please!

Garden Update

2008-08-20T09:54:00.003-05:00

Gracy has been avoiding the garden this summer. She says "no thank you" when I ask if she wants to come see if anything is ripe. She's not been very excited about the new developments or the experiments. I've been trying to figure out whether she thinks that gardening is for little kids and old people or just plain boring. A couple times a week she pokes around and asks questions, but tries to be on the sly - make it seem like she's not all that interested. So I was beginning to think she just thought she was in the wrong age category for gardening (and half of the projects and things we've always done together, but that's a different post!) This morning it was confirmed. I went downstairs this morning to discover BOTH of the girls in the garden looking around WITHOUT ME!

And now...the garden update...

Maggie runs out to the garden each morning to see if there are more red tomatoes. She sometimes can't wait long enough and eats them orange. She agrees that they are better when they are red, but who can wait? Gracy kept her word. She tried out a red tomato. Her face was priceless. I'm quite certain she won't be trying tomatoes ever again.

Here's an update picture of "Skinny Larry". See his baby picture here.

The Great Green Bean Experiment continues... (to see them as lil sprouts click here)

Eggplant flowers are gorgeous! I fear these flowers are the peak of these eggplants. My dreams of eggplant parmasian may be limited to the farmers market!

Dear Cantelope, I wonder if you will fall prey to the watermelon-napers.

Peppers....mmmmm....salsa....

More from The Great Grocery Store Experiment. These onions (click here for thier early beginnings) seem to be doing fine. They are still green and strong. Still experiementing!

Chubby Bob! (click here to see his start) He's almost ready to be eaten! Yippy!

This poor sunflower! It's trying so hard to make me smile. It's just pathetic though!

This pepper is going to be in my salad at supper time. I can't wait!

The watermelons were making a comeback...but this is what we found this morning...

Yummy! I can't wait to much on this one! And just think, I almost yanked these out of the garden because I was sick of watering plants that just kept growing leaves!

Aren't They Cute?

2008-08-19T09:40:00.001-05:00

We're wrapping up the summer. Our homeschool year officially is starting on Sept 2. We've been testing out curriculum and keeping our skills sharp by working a little bit every day throughout the summer. The following pictures are more for me to look at when they get loud. I want to document the fact that they do study independently and on occasion are silent. I'm sure there will be days this will be forgotten.

How to Reform the Education System

2008-08-14T08:18:00.001-05:00

This is hilarious!

Theif!

2008-08-13T07:50:00.001-05:00

We've been robbed! All the baby watermelons were gently plucked away during the night. Since nothing else was disturbed, I'm guessing it was a deer. Stink. And the biggest one, Chubby McChubb-Chub, was about 4 inches all ready!

Bags & Bean Sprouts

2008-08-12T08:26:00.001-05:00

We've been busy! Here are the fronts and backs of the bags we decorated. We're planning on using them for trips to the library. Lately we've all been checking out more than we can comfortably carry-AND reading them! So hopefully this will be a nice solution. The only thing I think would make them better is if they had a little pouch of some sort inside of them to hold a library card. If anyone has any ideas on how to put one in, please let me know!

As some of you know, when we tested Maggie she was only at the 2nd grade level in both Science and Social Studies. We've been working hard all summer long to get caught up. She finished the entire year of 2nd grade and just started on the 3rd grade stuff. She's pretty excited. And it's fun to see her getting excited and understanding subjects that used to make her cry. This is an experiment from her latest book. She's growing bean seeds in wet cotton (or scraps of my old Grateful Dead shirt-whatever) for a couple weeks. Checking and charting the progress each day. Of course this sounded like so much fun that Ben and Gracy had to join in on the action!

Sunday Fountain Time!

2008-08-10T08:42:00.001-05:00

So I got a flat tire on the way to church this morning. Not just a small leak or a slight wobble. A full-out-that-used-to-be-a-tire kind of flat - on the highway. God was good to us. Regardless of the fact that it was one of my front tires and we were going 65ish in the left lane, I was able to maintain control and pull off to the right side safely.

My mom was wonderful enough to pick us up and bring us the rest of the way to church & pick us up when it was over. While we were waiting to get picked up we wandered over to the fountain and the girls kicked off their shoes & jumped in.

And THANK YOU SO MUCH to Keith & Gerald for coming out to my car with a jack to swap my blown tire with my cute little doughnut. (My jack is rusted shut and Mom's seems to be MIA). They changed it in like 3 minutes! They could be in a pit crew! You guys are awesome!

For those about to ROCK...!

2008-08-08T08:57:00.002-05:00

ROCK #1: The girls found a rock in the pond that they insisted had fools gold on it and crystals inside of it. So Maggie went to work on busting apart the rock to get the treasures out of it. She spent an hour and a half on this! So long the other girls came looking for her! In the end she made some progress, but never did crack it in half. Maybe tomorrow...

ROCK #2: During the sleepover of the night, the girls came down and declared themselves "The Goth Girls". Those pirate pants keep haunting me! But who can get rid of them with all the use they get?!

Grocery Store Experiments

2008-08-07T19:52:00.005-05:00

As if I haven't experimented and botched the garden enough this summer, I thought I'd try yet another experiment: garlic and onions from the grocery store.

I read (in my post planting research) that garlic should be planted in the fall for a better harvest in the spring time. But they advised not planting bulbs from the grocery store since they may have been sprayed to prevent sprouting (which sort of grosses me out). Not wanting to spend money, I considered asking my friend for a couple bulbs from her homegrown garlic. She gave me some last year, but we ate it, even though she told me to shove it into the ground pointy side up (but it was delicious). Then I'm doing my grocery shopping and what do I see? Garlic sprouting in the produce section! All proud of myself I come home and Google how deep to plant these things and how far apart they are supposed to be. I'm learning--I'm researching before I put something into the ground.

And then it occurs to me...apparently I forgot it's not fall...It's August.

So I planted them anyway. The sprouts are too big to ignore. I can't just eat them without painstakingly plucking the sprout out of each clove. And let's face it, that's probably not going to happen. So this morning Maggie yanked the onions out of their little dirt homes. This evening the garlic went in its place.

In the same trip to the store as the Great Garlic Purchase, I bought some green onions. Those onions I bought at the nursery earlier this year looked an awful lot like the green onions hanging out at the grocery store. I took them home and stuck them in a jar filled with water for a couple of days until the roots grew a bit longer. I was about to call myself foolish and throw them out when I noticed today that the green part was starting to have some new growth. So right before I planted the garlic I plunked them into the ground where the spinach didn't come up for the third time. I figured it was time to let go - I'm not getting spinach. But why not use the space for some experimental onions?

Experimental Gardening

2008-08-03T19:17:00.002-05:00

So I attempted to garden this summer. I really don't know what I'm doing. As evidence, I offer you my garden plot. It's "L" shaped, about 5 feet long on the two sides, about a foot thick. I was originally going to make it a square, but I got tired and decided an "L" would be perfect for moving around in.

Soil prep? Yeah. I bought a shovel and some seed packets one day, bought some plants and dug up the grass the next. I plopped the plants and seeds into the ground the same day that I flung the grass into the woods. I did not fertilize. I did not add compost. I barely made the soil loose. It was hot and muggy. And again...no clue. I'm experimenting here!

What did I plant? Well, on the front side of the "L" I put in onions, chives, 3 kinds of lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, 2 egg plants, 2 brussel sprout plants, 2 large tomato plants and 6 cherry tomato plants. On the other side of the "L" I added 6 broccoli plants, 6 green pepper plants, 1 red pepper plant, 2 jalapeno pepper plants, radishes, kohlrabi, 6 cauliflower plants, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Oh, is that all do you say? Of course not! I pulled up the radishes when the went to seed and recently replanted them. The kohlrabi got eaten by the dumb bunny. The lettuce didn't work out so hot (also went to seed pretty quickly), so I planted bush beans where it used to be. I tried lettuce and spinach again in a different location. I've noticed people's eyes get big when I tell them what I've planted in such a small space. Once again...no clue. When I was planting I kept thinking I could still add to it. There was plenty of room. However, it is starting to appear on the full side these days.

Water. Yeah. I didn't bother to think about how I was going to water this fabulous experiment. We don't have an outdoor water faucet. So I have to lug the water by hand. Once again I don't know what I'm doing, so I water every day. A few days ago I skipped a day of watering. We had gotten a decent rain and I figured the plants were pretty well established. So I only drizzled some water on the seedlings. The next day EVERYTHING was droopy. I thought the experiment had ended. It was in sad shape. So I made the girls help me haul about 40 gallons of water to the garden to try to revive it. God was laughing at me as I told the girls "This is our last trip" and it began to pour. After the rain ended the plants were perky as usual. I began to research. (Something I usually do BEFORE experiments, but not so much in the case of the garden for some reason) Turns out that if you water your garden every day the plants keep their roots near the surface. They then wilt if you skip a day of watering in the hot summer. Great. So I've made more work for myself than needed!

I did start checking out gardening books at the library last week. I can't believe how complicated this can be! Plant carrots with tomatoes, don't plant broccoli where the cabbage was last year, compost, mulch, grass clippings, weeding, spacing...ugh!

But I can feel myself getting hooked...I didn't expect it, but it's happening. I actually caught myself thinking about what I'm going to plant next year! And I think I even said out loud that I'd like to start up a compost pile. Is there a 12 step group for this?!

Veggie Tales

2008-08-03T18:44:00.004-05:00

Isn't this just the cutiest green pepper you ever saw?

The broccoli has been doing great. We've eaten most of it raw.

"Chubby Bob" was the first tomato to show his shiny self in the garden. Maggie checks every day to see if he's turning red yet. She can't wait to eat him like an apple. ***Thanks Cassy for coming up with such a great name!***

We can't wait for these cherry tomatoes to turn red. Gracy has even agreed to give them a try. God was good to Maggie. For her birthday we had only one red cherry tomato. The first to come out of the garden. And right on her birthday! None of the others have even started to turn yet!

Here's one of our first cucumbers. I'm hoping to have a ton of these. The girls LOVE cukes. And I want to have a cucumber race in the creek where we sometimes race leaves and sticks. I read about it in a magazine and I've been waiting impatiently ever since! I also read that if you put a bottle around the cucumber at about this size, it will grow to fill the bottle. You get a cucumber in a bottle!

Not Quite Like the Store

2008-08-03T18:27:00.002-05:00

Bean Sprout! I just planted the bush beans. I'm hoping they get beans before the cold and yucky weather comes...it's an experiment inside of my experimental garden. Everyone keeps talking about how they are one of the first things to produce, so I figured if mine had a late start, perhaps they would still produce. We'll see.

This is the biggest watermelon we have so far. There are others...this is the biggest. It reminds me of those fruit shaped gumballs you can get at the mall.

Eggplant. I have no idea what I'm doing here. I just like eggplants & thought if I was experimenting, I should try the things I like to eat. It looks sort of like an alien.

Watermelon with a view :)

Dumb Bunny

2008-08-03T17:43:00.007-05:00

This bunny is dumb. That's why we starting calling it "Dumb Bunny". Someone didn't bother to tell the bunny that bunnies are not supposed to be in our garden. And if they are in the garden they certainly shouldn't be eating the marigolds and onions! Seriously. Dumb bunny.

Onions...Aren't the tops supposed to be green? You can't tell the greatest in this picture but Dumb Bunny actually tried to take a bite of ths onion!

At least Dumb Bunny is only eating one of the cauliflower plants...Amazingly, it started sprouting white stuff today!

So we planted marigolds around the garden to keep the bunnies out...But Dumb Bunny eats them anyway!

These Really Are Sunflowers!

2008-08-03T17:24:00.006-05:00

Cindy made this look so easy last year. I posted the awesome sunflowers she grew last year here, here, here, here, and here. Mine are...well...I tried...The birds ate the seeds Maggie planted. So I bought plants. A month in our flower garden and this is what we get. And no, it's not that the pictures didn't turn out!

Maggie's Prized Broccoli

2008-08-02T15:31:00.000-05:00

Broccoli is one of Maggie's favorite veggies (right next to cherry tomatoes). Here she is happily holding up a strong piece she cut out of our backyard garden.

Eager to Learn

2008-08-02T13:03:00.002-05:00

We are trying something new this school year. Homeschool. Feelings are mixed at this point. Most of the time Maggie is thrilled. She can't think of many reasons she wants to go back to regular school. She knows she'll miss her friends but knows she can see them outside of school hours doing fun things instead of during the day. Gracy is SO social. She misses her friends 5 seconds after hanging up the phone with one of them...I think it comes with being a "middle schooler". I am of course thrilled to have the opportunity to let Gracy move ahead as she has the ability. Maggie will have the chance to learn in a way which is easiest for her. With her dyslexia shinning particularly brightly this past year, I've had the chance to research the different ways she will learn best. Reading out loud, and lots of hands on visual learning will help her out.

In the beginning of summer I was trying to explain that homeschool does not have to look like traditional school. Learning can be done in many different ways besides only reading books and taking tests. That yes, books and tests will be part of homeschool, but it's not the only thing we'll be doing. I talked about field trips and experiments, and I'm sure I rambled on way too long because Gracy started reading her book. Maggie's interest were peaked. She asked to go to the Waterfowl Preserve. When I said yes, she jumped up and down and said, "And can I bring my notebook?!"

I'm telling you, it was HARD to not laugh out loud! This new way of learning is so exciting for her. She was running around making notes, drawing pictures, and asking questions. I think Gracy was inspired...she brought her notebook as well, and enjoyed jotting down notes and filling in the worksheet the Preserve provided.

It was fabulous!

As a side note, please read this post by Kelly. It's amazing!

Double Digits!

2008-08-01T14:47:00.002-05:00

Maggie's happy 10th birthday was today. I'm happy to report it went much better than last year!

She insisted that she didn't know what she wanted for her gift - seriously! Have you ever met a 10 year old that has no wish list? So we went to the craft store this morning where she showed me all the things she couldn't live without. Then Gracy and Maggie wandered around the store while I decided which items would be stashed into the trunk until present time.

Of course one of her favorite gifts came from Ben & Cherie - a box full of puzzles. She immediately put one of them together in about 10 minutes (100 pc). and started another. I'm sure it will lay around on the coffee table all weekend (while she's at her dad's) getting bumped and shoved, but she'll be thrilled to see it's still waiting for her when she gets home. Maggie is awesome at puzzles. She loves them. She could spend hours putting them together, and she's quick. Gracy and I don't seem to have that talent. We stare a the pieces for about 10 minutes, slide them around, possibly put together 3 or 4 and then we're done. We're bored. We are amazed at Maggie's mad puzzle skills. Gracy keeps saying Maggie is going to win a gold medal for putting puzzles together!

She was also pretty thrilled with the pair of earrings Mimi & Pop Pop sent her. They are the first pair of earrings she's gotten to wear besides her starters...and they are gorgeous!

Maggie's other wish was to have shish-kabobs for supper....problem being we don't have a grill... So I cut up and marinated some pork, peppers, onions and potatoes and basically stir fried them in small batches, letting them stick to the pan and get that fun brown color. I stuck a bunch of skewers in the bowl of the cooked ingredients and let everyone stick their all ready cooked kabobs. This seemed to satisfy the birthday girl. Who proclaimed it was the best birthday dinner ever! I made a two layer 8" cake topped with chocolate frosting. We split it into 6 pieces (one for each of us and the neighbor that ate over). Maggie was pretty excited that we got to eat the whole cake at once. You'd think she won a prize! And to think I spent a small fortune buying store bought pretty cakes in the past!

Working With Our Surroundings

2008-07-24T17:16:00.005-05:00

href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_kmt4q6qefGY/SIj_9_OazYI/AAAAAAAAAMM/R4jlyDuB4EM/s1600-h/100_3550.JPG">

I've really got to start blogging more than once a quarter...I'll try to do some catch up this weekend...
Until then, let me tell you about yesterday...We tied up some bamboo sticks to use as climbing devices in the garden - yes our garden in our own backyard...more to come on that...But we didn't know what to tie it with. Maggie suggested some vines growing in the woods. She got them out of the woods and tore off the leaves. They worked quite well. But then my little princesses went to work making crowns of vines, leaves, and flowers. They were adorable. I almost forgot that they were sassy talking preteens for a moment! Ha ha!

Where Oh Where Did My Little Girls Go?

2008-04-23T12:34:00.005-05:00

There is an ever growing wave of rebellion that has become my daughter. She's gone from my sweet child to lying about her school work and failing classes for neglecting to turn in finished assignments while giggling about a certain boy and obsessing about how her hair could be straighter while she's wearing a wrinkly shirt she previously balled up in a drawer instead of hanging up like she told me she had done.

I respond with much love by putting her on restriction. I tell her if she's bored with school not to worry. She can bring home her books and I will create extra assignments to keep her interested. I explain in great detail the effects of lost trust and the methods in which she can earn said trust back. I even with much love require her to join the running club which is currently training for a marathon. We have update discussions, encouragement, and prayer.

FINALLY! I see the shift. She's not seeing me as the enemy anymore. I think she's finally come to understand I'm really on her side. She grasps the concept of working towards goals, and is slowly starting to work closer to trust and farther from restrictions. I ease off just ever so slightly, talking about how proud I am that I can begin to trust again.

Then it happens. Teacher stops me in the hall. There are five unfinished assignments this week alone. The major report that was due last week never was turned in, even though I asked her 3 times if she handed it in. It's dropping her 97% average down to 68%! Now understand, SHE DID THE REPORT! She just didn't turn it in, and now seems to have lost it...While the teacher is giving me the news, she is in the hall smiling and giggling at a certain boy as he twists his pinkie finger to point at his ring finger - a cool trick of course. I send her to the car, she goes, but comes right back to talk to her friends.

The phrase "where did my little girl go?" runs through my mind, but I remember how much I hated when people said that to me at her age. I remember how it made me feel like I wasn't good enough. I was supposed to be myself, but I didn't quite know who I was yet...

The cycle has been repeating itself. Just as I think she's getting better, she delves back into deception. Then the other daughter starts to lie about her math assignment...

I realize I have but one choice - pray. It was Jesus who died for all the mistakes I've made. It's His blood that saves me from the punishment I deserve. It's Jesus who made me a new creature, who washed away the old me and gave me a second chance. If He can drag me up from the ditch and not only dust me off but make me a bright shining light for Him, just think of what He can do for my children! I can't wait to see how He turns this difficult time into something to glorify Him!

Watchin tv

2008-04-05T14:23:00.003-05:00

Maggie wrote the following as an assignment in school. As usual, I've not made any corrections. Enjoy!

Watchin tv can have disadvandiges and advantiges. some disadvandiges are if you watch to much tv your brains will turn to mush.

some dvantigus are that if people watch tv they can see what the weather is, what tempitchure it is outside, and see wich schools are closed in the winter.

You can also see cool sites on tv. I like watching tv but not to much. I like watching the news. do you?

Creative Writing

2007-12-23T13:09:00.000-06:00

I was just going through some of the writings from this past summer by the girls. Here are two of my favorites and as usual, I'm not correcting anything...it's more fun that way!

CREATIVE STORY BY GRACY:
In this story, Gracy was given the first line and had about 3/4 of a page to finish the story.

Leave the cooking to me and this is what you'll see...
A huge feast of nothing but foods from China! Such as: Tea, egg drop soup, crabmeat rangune, and fourchen cookies. Also we will eat with none other than chop-stiks! It will be so much fun we will decorate the house like China. After dinner we will have CAKE! (ok, so cake is not from China I made it myself.) It will be double chocolate! (chocolate on the inside chocolate on the outside) So I have One question for you. Do you whant to eat at my house?... ...What? Your alergec to Chines food? Oh! Okay, we could make grilled cheese instead! Hey where did you go?!

WRITING PIECE BY MAGGIE:
Directions on page read (and no, I did not add emphasis): Think of a shape. Write a paragraph describing it without telling what shape you chose. Have a friend read your paper and guess the shape.

It is black and wite and eats grass and is lion's food to hunt for. And its on Madagasgar.

(at the bottom of her page she wrote something upsidedown...it says "Anser: zebra"

Momma, When You Were Little...

2007-12-03T18:54:00.000-06:00

Maggie has always been that kid that asks funny questions. She's asked me things like, "Do I have a birthday EVERY year?" and "Mom, when you were little were pencils invented yet?" or one of my all time favorites, "Mom, did you have cars when you were little?" Sometimes I think she's outgrown this stage. Then we have a conversation like the one this evening during Social Studies homework...

Maggie: Momma, were you born yet in 1607?

Me: No! Why?

Maggie: That's when Jamestown was settled.

Me: Were you wondering if I was around when Jamestown was settled?

Maggie: Yeah.

Me: What did you want to know? Maybe we could look it up together.

Maggie: I dunno.

In The Kitchen With Kids

2007-12-03T18:07:00.001-06:00

I try to make an effort to include the girls with the preparation of supper. It's not always easy and usually takes more time. But the time we get to spend together makes it worth it. This year school has been a bigger deal than either of the girls were ready for, requiring extra time spent on homework and less time in the kitchen with Mom. But today I decided to give them a mini break from homework to help out with dinner. Here's what we concocted today:

1/4 c butter
1/3 c chopped onion
1/3 c flour
couple dashes of salt
couple grinds on the pepper grinder
1 box (16 oz) fat free chicken broth
3/4 c milk
2-3 cups (a small Ziploc freezer bag full) of leftover turkey
1 cup carrots (we cut ours like coins)
1 cup frozen peas

Saute onion in butter, salt & pepper. Stir in flour. Add 1 c broth & milk until bubbly and starts to thicken. Stir in turkey, carrots, peas & remaining broth. Heat through (I think it took 15 minutes or so because our turkey was still a bit frozen).

We enjoyed our "Turkey Stuff" (yes, that's actually what we named it) with Gracy's cornbread muffins. I was wishing I would've stopped to pick up salad ingredients, that would've made it perfect!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

2007-12-02T21:12:00.001-06:00

After a snowball fight with some of the neighborhood kids and some hot chocolate, we put up the Christmas tree this afternoon. It's our standard fake we've had since the girls were little bitty. It's the old school kind where you've got to put each branch on individually and fan them out. And the tree stand...it throws me over the edge each and every year - which is why I begged Cherie to put the stand together this year :) Every year I consider throwing it out instead of packing it back up. But honestly, aside from it being a pain, there is nothing wrong with it.

This year the girls asked if they could make the ornaments for the tree instead of hanging up the stored ones in the boxes. So, we gathered every arts & craft supply in the house and invited a couple of neighbor girls over. The girls and Ben went to town creating all kinds of ornaments. I am happy to report the fake tree is about half decorated at this point. It has been draped in ribbon, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, beads, noodles and aluminum foil.

What can I say? I've always wanted a themed tree. I just didn't expect the theme to be "art supply drawer"!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T00:12:00.000-06:00

Gracy went with her dad and step-mom to Kentucky this week to see her uncle, cousins, and grandparents. Maggie also spent Thanksgiving with her dad, step-mom & family, only they got to stay in town. I'm excited for them that they were able to go and have fun with family. But I really missed having them around. Holidays without my kids never quite seem like holidays. Yet somehow I have a feeling that by Tuesday it'll feel like I need a break! Ha ha! :)

How to Make Pizza

2007-11-16T18:39:00.000-06:00

You need to get dough, tomato sauce, a spatula to spread the sauce, an oven to bake your pizza in, a pizza tray and any toppings you like. (Except candy) You need cheese. Step 1, open the can of sauce, form the dough to a pizza form. Step 2, spread the sauce on dough, sprinkle toppings on sauce. Step 3, put pizza in oven and wait until pizza is done, then you can and should wait until pizza cools off. The End.

P.S. Ask your parents to tell you the temperature for the pizza.

By Maggie

Pie In Your Eye?

2007-11-01T14:11:00.001-05:00

Having the girls in a Christian school means lots and lots of fundraisers. I am thankful that their school goes through extra effort to keep the fundraisers varied and semi-exciting. This fundraiser was awesome. The kids collected pledges for a walk-a-thon. Any child that was able to collect $100 got to throw a pie at the principal. An additional $25 or $50 earned a 2nd pie for a teacher of the student's choice. Needless to say, the girls got on the phone right away and hit up everyone we know. Thank you to all who donated. While the "prize" of getting to throw pies at school teachers is an awesome treat, the fact that you all helped support their awesome school is the true reward. Oh, and the added bonus...the school raised enough collectively that the principal will be spending the night of November 9th on the roof of the school! I have to say, his level of commitment is impressive...Sleeping on the roof in this weather...no thank you!!!

Gracy clearly enjoyed her pie!

Maggie's smile says it all!

Even Pastor had a few pies thrown his way!

Mrs. M...Way to hang in there!!!

Volleyball 2007

2007-10-25T21:06:00.000-05:00

It was the first year for both Maggie and Gracy to play volleyball. The season started out a bit rough...but they did win a couple of games in the end. How awesome is it that both of the girls had the honor of serving the game winning point in the 2 games they won!

Gracy was quite outgoing, and was faithful in yelling "READY!" before each serve. She also yelled, "OUT!" whenever she thought it might be out - even if she was on the other side of the court and the ball was really in... :)

Maggie...well...in the beginning of the season she had some trouble remembering she was playing. She would sometimes daydream while on the court and let a ball or two land at her feet. Eventually she figured it all out and came out pumped up and ready to play.

And can I just say WOW! about their coach! He has got to be the most patient person on the face of the earth! I don't know how he does it! A girl would try to serve - toss the ball in the air and miss it. I mean miss it completely as if she were swinging at something else. And he would say something like, "Great job! You kept your arm straight that time!" I would be thinking WHAT?! How did you even find something positive to say?! As I told him, this is why God made him the coach, and me the parent biting her nails in the bleachers. I couldn't do that. He is amazing. I'm in awe. As encouraging and positive as he is, the hormonal 4th and 5th grade girls still managed to break out a few tears now and then. Poor guy. He had to explain that coaches need to tell the players how to improve. He deserves some sort of high honorary award thingy.

Apples!

2007-10-18T16:39:00.000-05:00

We went apple picking back in September. We had fun trying all the different varieties in the orchard. I'm happy to report that this is the first year I left the orchard with less than 50 lbs of apples. I think I'm finally getting that whole moderation thing...

Maggie likes to climb the trees to be sure she gets the perfect apples

Yes, Gracy is actually talking on a cell phone while in an appletree...someone needs to tell that girl she's not a teenager yet! haha! Actually, she was talking to Pop-Pop, so we'll let her get away with it this time...

My sweet pumpkins!

Happy Birthday Anna!

2007-10-14T16:28:00.000-05:00

Maggie & Gracy's little friend Anna had a birthday party a while back (yes...I'm behind on the posting...) and boy did they have fun getting the rockstar treatment! Hair, nails, dress up, dancing, oh my!

The Sunflower House

2007-10-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

Perhaps Ms. Cindy spent too much time with the sunflowers this summer....

The Sunflower House

2007-10-10T16:18:00.000-05:00

Ben gives his approval to the sunflower house

This sunflower came out of the ground...let me just put it back in here...

Playing inside the sunflower house is THE BEST!

The Sunflower House

2007-10-10T16:11:00.000-05:00

This one looked like it had a heart in the middle

The Sunflower House

2007-10-10T16:06:00.000-05:00

Check this out...I'm actually standing by the sunflower house...

The Sunflower House

2007-10-10T15:59:00.000-05:00

More beautiful sunflowers...

The Sunflower House

2007-10-10T15:50:00.000-05:00

While I wish I would've taken the time to post these when I first took the pictures, I sure am enjoying remembering the warm sunshine on my face and the bright blue sky...

Now I Have Proof!

2007-10-08T09:02:00.000-05:00

I took an online quiz...that's proof enough for me! Someone alert my kids! They need to know this stuff!

You Will Be a Cool Parent

You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need.
You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law.
While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top.
You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

Back at the Pool

2007-08-08T09:55:00.001-05:00

Between all the adventures as of late, it's been a l-o-n-g time since we've been to the pool. The girls were pretty excited to be there. As the time to close drew near more and more people left. Finally, the girls and their two friends were the only ones left in the whole pool! There was a lifegaurd for each of them! They swam around as if they owned the place, having the time of thier lives.

Family Time

2007-08-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

We all hopped in the car and visited Aunt Pat & Uncle Dave today. It was so great to spend time with them! The kids had a blast playing in the woods, and walking the dogs, or being walked by the dogs....however you want to look at it. Playing the quarter game with Uncle Dave was also a big hit!

I always leave there thinking we should visit again soon...more often than we have in the past. I never quite understand how time seems to slip away so quickly between visits with those we love.

Project Go!

2007-08-04T11:31:00.001-05:00

Poor little Gracy spent days and days writing and re-writing this report on her mission trip. She's going to read it tonight at church, and we're going to mold it into her thank you notes she'll be sending out shortly:

Fifth and Sixth graders from all over Wisconsin gathered in Janesville for training. We just happened to be training for a mission called Project Go!

Project Go! is a mission trip for kids to minister to kids of all ages and their parents who need to come to Jesus. Alot of these kids don't have alot of money. We gave them lots of free fun with a message.

We were in training for three days. In those three days we did nothing but practice, practice, practice all of our skits and games. We had to learn to get along. For some it was harder than for others. Pastor Troy taught us how to pray with others for salvation.

Then my team went to Columbus. In those three days we did skits and games. The first night I was in two games: the beach ball game, and the scripture game. Also I was in the skit "You Need A Ticket". I played a rich person! Night two I was in three games: human basketball, balloon relay, and scripture game (there are three scripture games). I was also in the skit "Prodgal Son", I played a bar girl. Day three I was in almost everything! I did four games, three skits, and even got to lead praise and worship with Pastor Holly!

We had a fun time putting on skits and playing games while seeing lives being changed. My favorite part was praying with a little girl to accept Jesus as her savior. I thought it was super fun and I made lots of friends on this trip! I hope I get to go next year!

The End
By Gracy

Fishing

2007-08-03T11:24:00.000-05:00

Here is Maggie's second attempt at a report on her summer activities...In case you can't tell, we're working on answering who, what, when, where, why questions as well as describing sights and sounds in our papers. Happy reading!

I fished at the Inter Costal Water Way. In North Carolina. I whent in Jily with Gracy my sister, Pop Pop her grandpa. I saw a big fish. I heard crockers thats a type of fish. I also got to tutch fish too. And it felt really scally. I was hot. Really hot and sunny. my favorite part was catching a big carp. It was white, red, and silver. I would tell my friends about it. I whould tell my friends to keep a good eye on the bober. That is the thing that is white and orage. It is higher then the weight that is the black and silver thing under the bober and above the hook.

THE END

horsebackriding

2007-08-02T11:17:00.000-05:00

This is Gracy's report on horsebackriding (she tends to leave out spaces when she writes) Enjoy!

Once I went horsebackriding. It was so much fun. I went with my grandparents and my sister Maggie. I was in North Carolina when I went horsebackriding a couple weeks ago.

The horse was a chestnut color with a black tail and maine. He had super tall hooves they almost looked fake. He felt like velvet also he was very tall.

Most people I know say the horse they rode was easer to get on then off, but he was easer to get off then on! Allthough, once I got on I didn't want to get off.

We walked the horse and also jogged the horse. The trainer said when I was holding the reins to pretend there was a box in my hands. Everytime I wanted the horse to turn I moved the box out and put it back. I thought jogging was most fun, but all of it was fun!

The End
By Gracy

Hershey Pencilvanea

2007-08-02T11:11:00.000-05:00

The following is Maggie's report of Hershey PA. I kept all of her spelling in tact for everyone's enjoyment:

In Jily it took two days to get to Hershey Pencilvanea. I went with My sister cecilia, and my step-mom Dawn, and my dad. We saw stors with Hershey sherts and a ten pound Hershey chockolete bar! We saw lights that look like Hershey kisses. And the Hershey factory. My favorite is the ride inside with singing cows and a cow that took your picture. Also they were macking the worlds largest Hershey kiss. What suprissed me was that they have Hershey kiss lights. Also the ride show's you how they mack Hershey kisses. I whould tell my friends about my trip to Hershey pencilvanea. I am a ofisal taster that was my job. I also got a workers badge. Fresh chocolet tastes better then regular chocolet.

By: Maggie

Maggie Turns 9!

2007-08-01T11:02:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Maggie!

My big 9 year old got (in her words) "the worst birthday present EVER" today. Chicken Pox. Poor little girl is some sort of medical miracle and came down with her THIRD case of chicken pox right on her birthday. She spent most of her first day being 9 crying and sleeping...I suppose this will call for a decent birthday party as soon as she's better....

The Garden is Enormous!

2007-07-31T16:22:00.000-05:00

The corn is like a jungle, but the carrots are still tiny!

Sunflower House

2007-07-31T16:10:00.000-05:00

The sunflower house is huge! The first picture has both the girls hiding in the sunflower house. I noticed later that I was cool enough to get my shadow in the shot...

I had to stand on my tippy toes to get the photos of one of the few flowers that started to open up.

I can't wait to see it in full bloom!

Kilts: New fashion for men?

2007-07-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, so the girls and I saw this and we all agreed...

Uncle Stevie can wear a kilt - he's from Scotland. All the rest of you...well...get over it. Skirts are for girls!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=3439814

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=3439814

Less Is More

2007-07-27T14:43:00.000-05:00

I knew the month of July would be a busy and strange one. First Maggie went to Massachusetts, then Gracy went on her mission trip. Ben spent a week with his grandparents, and then the girls left to go to North Carolina.

I thought I was going to get all this stuff done without the kids in various stages. I've come to realize two things..

#1 The less kids, the more work - Especially if the one gone is the oldest. The younger kids follow the lead of the older kids. When left by themselves, the younger kids almost seem lost. They can't think of games to play, books to read, and even make a decision about going to the pool is tough. They also require just as much socialization. Only now instead of the talking being split between me and the other kids, it's all me.

#2 Any plans made to accomplish major tasks while children are gone will not get done - Its like there's an alarm that goes off somewhere. Sarah's made plans to FINALLY do xyz task, the kids are gone....disaster must strike somewhere else to distract her from accomplishing this and all other tasks on the list...It's crazy, but during a time when I should have been able to accomplish extra, I seem to have accomplished less!

Playing Catch-Up

2007-07-24T22:41:00.000-05:00

My apologies...I've failed to keep up on my blog...The past couple weeks are still swirling around in my head. I've added a couple posts below with the dates they really should've been posted as the title.

The girls have been in North Carolina for a week all ready, and I miss them terribly. I know they are being loved and having a great time though.

As usual, Gracy ended up getting sick, and needed to make a trip to the doctor when she got down there. Middle ear infection. That girl gets sick every time she goes there! She's been getting better though and almost has no cough left. -Maggie's working on the sympathy cough though! I almost forgot about that one since schools been out she hasn't really needed to use it...

So far they have gone to an aquarium, a zoo, a serpentarium (yes...snakes and lizards), a civil war battlefield, a car ferry, the beach, several pools, fishing, mini-golfing and horseback riding. I'm not positive that activity list is complete...they've been keeping so busy I get tired just listening about the adventures! Tomorrow they are heading to Myrtle Beach. Gracy's favorite tourist trap there is the Ripley's Aquarium.

As I understand it, in effort to save time making their beds, they've taken to sleeping on top of the covers, using only their small baby blankets they insisted on packing to cover up with. I'm glad to hear their creativity is still intact.

This Should've Been Posted July 17th...

2007-07-24T22:31:00.001-05:00

This morning I put my 2 baby girls on a plane by themselves. Ok, they're not babies...they are 10 & almost 9...to me they are babies - especially to be left in the hands of strangers.

I am fighting with myself to stop thinking about the potential problems they could have during the next few hours.

I've talked to a bunch of people who have flown as "unaccompanied minors" and they all assured me their experiences were pleasant. The girls and I went over "stranger danger", being "buddies" at all times, and recognizing airline staff by their uniforms.

I did my best to not wear my fear. I kept an up-beat attitude. Talked about how cool it would be to fly just the two of them. How they could be extra responsible and read their books while in flight. They packed healthy snacks in their carry-on. I tried to focus on the "fun" part of it. I didn't express my concerns to ANYONE so they wouldn't over hear me and get worried themselves.

Yet somehow my very insightful 10 year old knew I was worried. She just called me from the plane. She just wanted to let me know that they made their connecting flight, and they are just fine. She'll call again when they land.

Part of me is SO proud of her. She's a mature 10; responsible, full of awareness and control. Part of me is so sad for her. Have I somehow robbed her of a normal childhood? Has all my worrying and constant reminding about strangers & safety caused my little girl to act older than she should?

There is a clueless bliss...my girls never really had that. From the time they could understand, I've made my girls aware that "bad guys" don't always look like bad guys. They can be girls, friendly, and wear a suit.

I see other people's kids...they walk up to strangers (adults) and introduce themselves, ask how their day is going, etc. The parents say, "He's so friendly" and smile. I freak out inside. WHY WOULD YOU TEACH YOUR KID IT'S GOOD TO TALK TO STRANGERS?

Those kids wouldn't have called from the plane at 10 years old.

Again, I'm thrilled she called. I don't have to worry they are wandering an airport waiting for the next flight (which is what happened the last time I flew into that airport). I know that they are safe. No one has tried to grab my babies. They are still together and happy. I just wish I could have hid my fear from them a little bit better.

This Should've Been Posted July 14th...

2007-07-24T22:15:00.001-05:00

Gracy came back from her mission trip with a new excitement. She made a ton of new friends, gained confidence, prayed with a couple little girls to ask Jesus into their hearts, and has almost completely lost her voice. :)

My tiny blog entry doesn't really tell the whole story. I'm planning to have her write a summary to post after she gets back from her trip to North Carolina, so stay tuned!

This Should've Been Posted July 13th...

2007-07-24T22:02:00.000-05:00

My sister Saddie and I had the chance to get together for a fun picnic with our little ones...well, Lennon is a little one...Maggie just thinks she is.

It was good to see Maggie finally getting over the fact that she's not the "baby" when he's around. I think she secretly enjoyed being the big kid that was wanted and then pulled around. She got to push the water button on the sprayers for her younger cousin. (That's him squinting under the water sprayers)

He paid her back by pushing her on the swing.

Then they raced back and forth across the bridge, giggling all the way.

Grace

2007-07-20T21:28:00.001-05:00

I just got back from visiting my Grandparents. Grandma's recently been diagnosed with dementia. It's funny how I stayed together while I was there, yet haven't stopped crying since I got home.

It's so hard to watch her.

She's the same, yet not.

Nothing will ever be the same with her.

Her disposition has changed.

She can't concentrate.

She argues about meds and food as though she were a young child.

I selfishly want my Grandma back. I want her to give me a big strong hug. I want her to remember that I'm her granddaughter, not her cousin, daughter-in-law, or friend. I want her strong sharp mind back. I want her to be healthy. I want her to make Thanksgiving dinner and use the dishes she gave me. I want her to remember Gracy's name - afterall, she was named after her. I want her to be able to stay awake. I want her to love going to the farmer's market and enjoy looking around and talking to the vendors. I want her to remember when I tell her I'm going home. I want her to remember where she put my phone number. I want her to write things down and be able to read them. I want her to doodle while she's on the phone and fake whistle while she's in the kitchen. I want her to rub my lower back and tell me that's where all the nerve endings are. I want her to sing "a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck" in my ear right before bed. I want to sit outside with her and talk about her flowers and tomato plants. I want her to remember to water her houseplants. I want her to realize she wore that shirt yesterday. I want her to stand in the driveway and wave to me as I drive off until I can't see her anymore. I want her to "give me such a one". I want to go with her to the store for "paper-paper thin" ham & rolls. I want her eyes to dance & her voice to giggle. Oh God, I want my Grandma back.

Practice, Practice, Practice

2007-07-13T10:24:00.001-05:00

Gracy FINALLY called this morning. She claims she forgot to call yesterday when she said she'd call because someone mentioned the word "trampoline" and she took off. It's nice to know she's not suffering from separation anxiety...

She said they've had long hard days of learning plays and setting things up. They are doing three plays in three days. When I asked what she's been up to she replied, "Practice, practice, practice". She's having fun and didn't want to spend too much time talking on the phone, so not many details are available. :)

Maggie was sleeping during the call, so I'm afraid to tell her...She's been dying to see her sister since yesterday. One more day Maggie, one more day...

Simplicity

2007-07-11T09:32:00.002-05:00

Have you ever started something new with a vision in your head of how it's going to go - what it's going to look like in the process, what it'll feel like, the part that will be challenging, the part you'll be proud of, and what it will look like when it's finished? Do things ever work out like the vision in your head? Not so much for me. It's like God is laughing at me...It's like He's saying, "Good imagination, but we're still going to do things my way."

Take this blog for example. I remember sitting down to begin. I had actually taken time off of work to plan & organize things for the summer. I needed to feel like I was prepared for almost anything and have a backup plan in case something new came up.

I envisioned myself typing of grand science experiments, trips to the library to see the "Oh Froggy" speaker & work on projects for the county fair. I expected to be reporting on the exploration of area parks detailing the number of slides vs trees. I expected to attend the day of races & ice cream social at the park. I imagined the bordom box on the living room floor being pulled from almost daily resulting in a few groans, but mostly an expression of glee & excitement. I pictured posting all the antics in our backyard - picnics, tree climbing, forts, racetracks & even a few fights...This would be an exciting, fun, event-filled summer that I would blog about, scrapbook, and hold in the memories of my family.

But God is teaching me to enjoy the simplicity of life. Everything does not have to be what I would consider exciting. This is apparently something that is obvious to my children.

They prefer the pool with extra swimming room and only 3 diving boards to the one with 3 waterslides, a diving board, various sprayers, a sand area equiped with toys, tables & water, & volleyball courts. Their favorite park is not the one with many toys to explore & play on with the cushy ground in case they fall. It's the one that has one picnic table, a bunch of trees, and a river flowing near it - no playground equipment. (One of the neighbor kids asked my daughter why she even called that a park, what could possibly be fun about nothing but one picnic table to which she responded, "It's just the best park EVER!")

Simplicity isn't easy for an overachiever. Pray for me :)

Gracy's First Mission Trip

2007-07-09T13:26:00.001-05:00

Gracy and a group of fifth and sixth graders took off for their mission trip early this morning. Please pray for her and the team for safety, for the ability to learn all they need to over the next 3 days, for them to all get along, for their witness to be an effective one over the following 3 days, for them to touch lives and change them forever, that their lives are each touched and changed forever.

Maggie's Home!

2007-07-08T13:20:00.000-05:00

Maggie surprised us by coming home a little early. She had a long day in the car, but finally made it back home in time to see her sister Gracy before she had to leave. That means quite a late night of sisterly giggles going on. Poor Gracy will have a tough time getting up to go leave for her mission trip tomorrow! She's leaving at 5:45!

In The World @ The Pool

2007-07-06T23:13:00.001-05:00

I often have converstaions with Christian friends about getting to the point where we are out of touch with the "world". It's easy to do. We start going to church & make new friends, we're learning a new way of life, we are new creatures, our old self has died. Why would we want to look back? Why would we want to spend time in a world where we no longer fit in?

Oh yeah...because Jesus asked us to reach the lost - those that don't yet know Him as their savior, their way. And it's pretty hard to do that from a pew (or a cushy blue chair - whatever, you get the idea). The only way to reach the lost is to get out there in the world with them. Spend time with them, know what they are like, form relationships with them.

If you don't know where to go to get started with this, let me suggest Fisk Park's Resch Center Pool. While we were there for 2 short hours today:

--> Ben slipped & fell. While he was filing his acident report another little boy came in asking the pool staff to call the police. A group of boys took off with his things. The pool staff did call eventually, but not before suggesting to the boy he run after them.

--> I overheard one boy (about 12) instructing his friend on a technic he uses to grab girls butts in the pool while pretending he's swimming. "Just make it like it's an accident." He demonstrated (without a target) the act to his friend and laughed about some reactions he's gotten so far today. And yes, I turned them in...

--> There was the nice lesbian couple with a baby in the wading section

--> I spoted one little girl (about 5 or 6) with suspicious bruises

--> While one couple was yelling at each other loudly enough to draw attention, another couple close by was really needing a room somewhere.

This was only our second trip to this particular pool, the first trip not much different than this one...I think it's safe to say I will not be frequenting with my kids. But it was definitely a place to be in the world......

Happy Birthday America!

2007-07-04T22:41:00.002-05:00

We started out celebrating the 4th of July by -what else - swimming at the pool.

After supper Gracy & I went shopping for various types of explosives. We had Grandma Christine come over & we blew some stuff up! Gracy's top three picks are: Rising Flag, Blooming Flowers, and Blue Ice. Our lighter bit the dust right as we were finishing up. We only got to do one pack of sparklers. I guess the rest will be around for celebrating when Maggie gets home!

Speaking of Maggie...she's having fun & meeting lots of relatives. She got to see quite a big fireworks show last night right after a 2 hour parade in Plymouth, Mass-great place to be on the birthday of America! It was raining pretty hard today, so they weren't sure if they were going to get to see anymore fireworks around the town. Luckily, Uncle Mikey had quite a few to set off in the back yard.

Happy World Missions Day!

2007-07-02T08:30:00.002-05:00

Today we celebrated World Missions Day. Gracy earned her US Missions badge for Missionettes. Her project was to create her very own tract. She personalized hers and made it for a friend of hers in the neighborhood. After she finished her project she was a bit disappointed once she realized she was going to have to turn it in before she could give it to her friend.

After supper we met up with PD & went to family camp to hear Rocky speak. -That's Rocky of Sherry & Rocky Grams- the missionaries we went to help out in Argentina back in February. He prayed for Gracy and instructed her to look up and research the meaning of her name - to look up all the verses in the Bible about grace - to really study the word "grace". He told her she would someday teach others about grace.

Grease Lightning

2007-07-01T00:00:00.002-05:00

Sundays are floaty day at the city pools. Who knew how much of a workout it is to try to swim with a pool noodle! My arms and legs are killing me! Gracy & I had hours of fun making up games and trying out new tricks with the noodles. I found myself forgetting that I'm a grown up and probably looked pretty stupid flopping around in the water like a kid - but I suppose that's ok now and then.

We came home and had breakfast for supper (waffles with strawberries) & Gracy watched Grease for the third night in a row - can anyone help me get those songs out of my head?!

Maggie Update

2007-06-30T12:23:00.000-05:00

Maggie called from the car. They are in Ohio headed to Hershey, PA. She's playing with paper dolls and coloring books from Grandma and looking forward to watching movies later on. So far traveling has been fun. She hasn't gotten into any fights (so she claims) with her sister Cecilia.

We Miss Maggie

2007-06-29T22:45:00.000-05:00

Maggie left for Massachusetts with her Dad today. We miss her.

A Lesson Learned From Ants

2007-06-29T14:52:00.002-05:00

How great is this? Remember when I had the ant problem & I mentioned the smell of curry was curbing my appetite? Check out this article!

Tasty Curry Might Have a Fringe Benefit

By Kathleen Fackelmann

Five years ago Darci Jayne hardly ever touched a vegetable and pretty much lived on pizza, pasta and fast food.

That diet led to weight gain and health problems, including severe joint pain. "I was close to 200 pounds and getting scared," she says.

By cutting portion sizes she lost 50 pounds but always felt as if she were on a diet. Then Jayne took an Indian cooking class that emphasized fresh vegetables and curry spices.

She began to whip up an Indian dinner once or twice a week -- and soon she noticed she wasn't always looking for a late-night snack. And the curry in the food offered her a bonus: It seemed to ease the pain and swelling in her joints.

"I have arthritis," says Jayne, 55. "But I'm moving better now."

Preliminary research suggests Jayne may be right. A study in the November issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism suggests turmeric, one component of curry spice, almost completely prevented joint swelling in rats with arthritis. Other studies have suggested that the spice could protect against diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's, a degenerative brain disease that afflicts nearly 5 million people in the USA.

Rates of Alzheimer's in India are about four times lower than in the USA, says Gregory Cole, a researcher at the University of California-Los Angeles. His studies suggest that curry contains a powerful substance that might protect the brain from damage that leads to Alzheimer's.

Surprising findings in mice

Can scientists prove curry wards off such diseases as Alzheimer's or cancer? Not yet, says Bharat Aggarwal at the University of Texas-Houston. But he says the growing file on curry includes compelling evidence gleaned from animal and human studies.

The findings from Western science fit with what traditional Indian healers have long said about turmeric. "They call it the spice of life," says P. Murali Doraiswamy, an Alzheimer's expert at Duke University in Durham, N.C.

For centuries, doctors trained in Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional medical system in India, have turned to turmeric to treat inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, says Janet Funk, a researcher at the University of Kansas. In the USA, many people with arthritis take over-the-counter supplements that contain curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric.

In the November study, Funk and her colleagues gave rats that were bred to develop rheumatoid arthritis injections of turmeric. "The turmeric almost completely prevented the onset of arthritis," Funk says. The spice also seemed to help stop joint destruction in rats that had already started to develop the disease, she says.

Curry also may offer some protection against cancer. "Indians eat from 100 to 200 milligrams of curry every day, and that might be enough to prevent cancer," says Aggarwal of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.

The curcumin in curry seems to shut down genes that trigger the development and the spread of breast cancer, animal studies in Aggarwal's lab suggest. And a preliminary human study suggests curcumin supplements might -- in a handful of cases -- be able to stabilize pancreatic cancer, he says.

Epidemiology studies in humans also have linked frequent use of turmeric spice to lower rates of breast, prostate and colon cancer, he says.

Large clinical studies still needed

Other research suggests curry might shield the brain from Alzheimer's, Cole says.

The studies on curry and Alzheimer's include:

*A test-tube study by researchers at UCLA in October showed that curcumin could help clear the human brain of toxic protein deposits thought to cause the memory loss and confusion of Alzheimer's.

*A study of more than 1,000 older men in Singapore last year found that those who ate lots of curry-spiced food did better on memory tests than those who rarely ate the spice.

The findings from Singapore suggest curry may help keep the aging brain in top shape. But to get the proof that curcumin fights cancer or Alzheimer's or arthritis, researchers will have to conduct large clinical trials, Cole says, and those studies will be expensive and take years to complete.

Americans don't need to wait for the proof on curry to enjoy a diet that includes more of this spice, says Alamelu Vairavan, co-author of the book Healthy South Indian Cooking. "You don't need to gulp supplements," she says, adding that cooks can find turmeric in Indian specialty shops and in most grocery stores.

Americans should give Indian food a try, Vairavan says. "This kind of food is very tasty and satisfying."

Eating more Indian food has worked for Jayne, who lives with her family in a small town outside Milwaukee. A family physician who recently retired because of disabling arthritis pain, Jayne says she knows there's no hard evidence of curry's health benefits. But that won't stop her from enjoying a lunch of tuna masala or an Indian stir-fry for dinner. She says the food seems to warm her joints and helps keep her in a size 8 dress.

"You can't argue with success," she says.

Source: USA TODAY

What Happens When We Don't Do Our Chores?

2007-06-28T10:08:00.001-05:00

Today the kids seemed to be curious as to what would happen if they didn't finish their checklist. Their actions asked, "What if I skip my chores?" and "What if I take 3 hours to write a paragraph in my journal?"

It took them until 3:30 to figure out that not finishing checklist = not going swimming. Everyone was pretty upset when I announced they had now past the time of being able to go swimming for the day since I had somewhere to be after supper. I quickly reminded them that they had made this choice with their actions.

I was proud of myself. It was the first time all summer that I had to look into the sad little eyes of children in swimming suits (they call this "getting dressed") and tell them "no", and I did it. Even though I wanted to find a way to say yes, I knew they needed to learn cause & effect - Mom can't rescue you just because you decided to be a slacker.

Then the neighbor kid called. I forgot that she had asked yesterday if she could go to the pool with us today. She knew it was getting late. I hated telling her we weren't going. She cried. I wanted to cry for her. I couldn't take it. I went outside (so the kids didn't hear me) and called Cherie. Yes, she could take the kids & the neighbor swimming after supper - she said she could use the exercise...

To make up for the fact that I caved, I added to each of their checklists. I told them if they didn't get them done before I left, they would be coming with me instead of Cherie.

They took me seriously - they all finished long before supper and swam happily ever after.