May. 3, 2009 Nothing like a good story!
So two days ago we threw out the morning's schoolwork and headed down to the arch to attend the 30th Annual St. Louis Storytelling Festival. I could hear the kids' eyes rolling back into their heads, but as this meant no math or writing, they went along with it. It was windy on the arch grounds, but not raining, so who cares? We had to remove all sorts of things like belts, cell phones and wallets and go through security that was only a fraction below airport level to get in. Gotta' love living in a free country!
The reason we fought the crowds of 3rd and 4th grade mobs was to hear my old buddy, Ken Wolfe, spin a great yarn about Mike Finn, the keelboat captain. It was great! There were colorful characters, exaggerations galore, voices, and even some fairly talented catfish involved. Ken was amazing - he put his all into it, really getting the kids involved in the story (even using them for props at one point). My kids were impressed!
It totally reminded me of camp, and how Heno Jr. could get us all on the edge of our seats with one of his many tales. Those were wonderful days! |
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Feb. 15, 2008 Every day is a JOY! (Or Where is the Joy?)
| Do I mean that I am relaxed, smiling, and in control of beautiful, obedient, mannerly children, every single day? NO WAY!!!!! There are moments (sometimes LONG moments, i.e. hours) of chaos, frustration, standoffs, and even tears. So where is the joy? The joy is in knowing that every minute of every day, each member of my family is in the hands of our loving Savior. Joy is knowing that our goal as a family is to please the LORD, and that, even when we get off track, He lovingly guides us back through His word. JOY is that, after hearing news of shootings at city council meetings (that just happened in our town) or college kids killing others, or a high school child being beaten to death in the schoolyard, I can hold my children, or give them a kiss, or talk about what is bothering them ANY TIME OF THE DAY! I thank God for the blessing that homeschooling is to our family, because I can tell you that my husband and children feel the same way. Our "quality time" is not scheduled between the hours of 4 and 8. That is the Joy! |
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Feb. 5, 2008 Great Wolf Lodge is awesome!
| Our family just took a 24 winter break to GWL in Kansas City and it was such a blast! It has been two years since we did this. The boys hit the big slides right away, doing them over and over. Steve and I took turns playing with Katie and sliding with Steve and David. Katie loved all the usual stuff - the snake pool, lazy river, climbing fort. This trip we talked her into trying the blue slide, and she agreed to go with me. I think she would have liked it better if she hadn't flipped out of the tube when we hit the bottom! I felt awful! We were so proud of her for trying, and she didn't really react badly when it happened - but she flat refused to do it again! (Not this year, she said) I was really kicking myself, but she had so much fun while we were there, I got over it.
I need to back up. We dropped Zoe at the kennel Sunday at 10, and drove to Columbia to have lunch at Shakespeares! Yum! It was not crowded at all, as most people would be getting pizza later that day to watch the Superbowl. We checked into the hotel (the kid cabin room) and headed to the waterpark. After a couple hours, we headed over to Famous Dave's for dinner. Again - no crowd (we should always travel during the Superbowl), and the food was really good (sticky table -yuk!) After that we just hung out in the room and watched cable - and saw the Giants beat the Patriots in the last 2 min. of the game. Fairly exciting to me, who does not love football.
Monday, we packed up the car and headed to the waterpark again. Drove home that afternoon.
Observations - it brought me great joy that there were NO ARGUMENTS, BAD ATTITUDES, OR MEAN COMMENTS the whole trip!!! (If there were, I either did not hear them or my mind is selectively blocking them out). It was cool to hear the kids playing DS together in the back, or sharing ipod music. It was also fabulous to arrive home safely (Thanks, God) to collect our excited dog, shower, and sleep soundly in our own beds! :) |
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Sep. 19, 2007 Just a quickie!
| Where does the time go? So much happening this past few weeks. We are in full swing with school, and although we still have good days and not-so-great days, I have not heard any "I want to go back to school!" (private). Yea! Even my husband commented that the kids really seem to embrace homeschooling this year! I hope every year gets easier! (Wishful thinking!)
S turned 13 - wow! We see more and more signs of maturity each day. I know, too, that a big growth spurt is coming (it has hit some of his buddies already), and I will miss the kid he is now. Although I know the man he will become will be handsome!
D is loving his Traxxas Stampede. He knows how to fix almost every part (as do I, his pit crew; somehow, my hands are better at getting those tiny gears clean). S took him to the track last weekend to watch some real races, and he came home so excited! He is really glad to be in the older hs class at CBS with his brother this year. He wants to be as old as S, and being 2 years younger is hard sometimes.
K is having fun creating things - cardboard stable for her small stuffed horses is the current project. She loves Brownies, playing with Emily and Paige when she can, and Alison next door, and her cousin J, too.
Zoe is becoming quite the lovely little dog. She must have her back scratching first thing in the morning, and then we take our short walk. She loves little walks with the kids during the day, and then S & I walk her at night. So cute! Tonight we scared up three deer, and she was on high alert after that! Right now, she is offering to play rope with me, so I will go.
I love S, and thank God daily for the blessing he is to me! Words can not express!!!
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Aug. 28, 2007 This day has to be better!
| Well, last week was the best ever first-week-of-school, so I should have expected yesterday! Both myself and my almost-13-year old son were way hormonal (full moon too - yikes!). We survived, and everyone did get thier work done, but it wasn't pretty! I awoke this morning, praying, and it was once again so clear that I can NOT do this in my own strength (but boy do I love to try!) Today will be better. I just need to hand over the reins. My beautiful kidos are such a gift, and I don't get to keep them forever - they ultimately belong to the Lord. :) |
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Aug. 22, 2007 I just love Homeschooling!!!!!
| Well, it is only the first week! :) No, really, this is the first year (out of three) that I have not had nagging doubts about if we should put the kids back in school. None at all!!! Yea! The kids are really happy too. I know that we will have rough days, it would be unrealistic to believe that it would all be sunshine and roses!
I have not put much on my blog, but I would love to learn how to add pics and stuff. If anyone who is able to explain this process to me could, I would thank them profusely!
Okay - things that I adore: my husband, my children when they smile, my dog curling up on my lap, this amazing chocolate cake that I had in Phoenix from Nordstrom Bistro, and being at home!
Things that irritate me.... people who cut me off (in the car), bread that goes stale too fast, people who are ALWAYS talking on the cell phone, commercials, and static on the radio.
I think I will put my kids to bed, walk my dog, take a long shower, and open a bottle of wine with my honey. We have a new Netflix to watch that looks funny. Whoever might be reading this, have a lovely day. |
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Jul. 12, 2007 Surrounded, yet lonely....
| It doesn't seem logical that I am surrounded by my favorite people all the time, have good Christian friends, etc, but am feeling very lonely right now. I think most of it stems from the fact that none of my friends homeschool. We have only been homeschooling for two years (and I will have a 7th, 5th, & 3rd grader), and this year, many of my friends are getting ready to send the 7th graders off to the Christain Middle/High School in a few weeks. (Strangely, this doesn't bother my son - he loves hsing, and so do I!) I do know some hsing moms, and we belong to a hsing group, and a field trip co-op, but frankly, it feels hard to break into these groups of friends. So many of them have all done this together, so their kids have grown up together, etc. Many of them go to church together too. We love our church - the teaching is bible-based, and there are ministries in place for everyone in our family - but out of like 600 families - there are only 3 who homescool. Not much suppport there. OH NO - I AM WHINING!!!! Sorry, but it does help to put my pain on paper (so to speak). It is very comforting to know that there are so many hsing moms out there - I am thankful for this blogging community. Even though I don't know you all, I know you are there. :) I also know that the Lord knows everything in my heart, and He cares for me. That is the thought I will dwell on today. I hope everyone has a good day. |
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Jun. 24, 2007 College kids are cool!
| After worship this morning we opened our home to our church's college fellowship group. Their leaders brought all the food and grilled burgers & dogs. It was really HOT and humid outside, so everybody hung out inside, and it was so nice! Our kids are all under 13 right now, so we havn't had much exposure to this age group, but they were so polite, and very eager to talk with us. Our kids had a great time visiting with them, even ds#1, who isn't usually outgoing. I am so thankful that our church has this ministry. College can be tricky enough for a Christian, and this ministry helps these kids hook up with a church community in thier college town. What a blessing! God is so good to us, to allow us to participate in his work on earth - whatever form that work takes! |
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Jun. 23, 2007 Now I am playing.... Jun. 23, 2007 The First Step is the Hardest...
| Blogging - yes, I am very new to this. Was resistant at first, but the tide of technology is sweeping me along. I am familiar with journaling, but that is totally private. Now, we blog and others read it. Some people that know me, some that don't. That sort of adds a different demension, doesn't it? So why do people blog? Just to put thoughts down, to sort of think out loud? I guess I will try it and see what it does for me! (I hear that some people make friends this way - that would be nice!)
What a week I have had! VERY busy with our church's VBS - my dd loved it! One nephew lost his FIRST TOOTH (joy!) and another found out he has inherited a gene for a nasty disease that will change his life when he is older (sorrow!) How does anyone survive the emotional ups and downs of life without the Lord and the comfort of His presence and His promises?
We love homeschooling our three kids! This is only our second year, and now we are taking a couple months off for summer. The kids love all the free time. Ds#1 plays his guitar alot, and ds#2 drives his RC truck - whenever the battery is charged! DD just plays (by herself, with the neighbors, with her brothers....whatever!) My husband, S, is training for a 150 mile bike race in September, so I am already thinking about interesting things to do in that town - we'll be there for 2.5 days! I have ordered all the curriculum materials for next year - I get pretty excited doing that. (My kids don't seem as excited about it as me, though....hmmm....imagine that!).
Joke from ds#2 - What is the difference between broccoli and boogers?
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Kids won't eat broccoli!!! (Just a sample of life in our house! |
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