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 In a corn tub, that is. A homeschool mom, a homeschool mom and a homeschool mom. I've asked DH to please build me a corn crib one day. It's really relaxing....and if you are in the neigborhood, you are welcome to de-stress in it, lol. Here are a few more pictures of our field trip last night. They are mostly pictures of us riding a tricycle. I forgot how entertaining it was.
Our annual visit to the Tate Farm was by the grace of God. A few of the moms and many of the children were unwell days prior to the visit. But on the day itself, all of us were able to make it. Thank you Shari, for organizing it. Shari, by the way, is our beloved home school director. :) |
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Visit diffferent grocery places and pick on their samples till you are full. Then go to Lowes. They have bigger movie screens than Walmart. (You got to have read this entry to catch the joke of this idea.) No worries, we won't be doing that tonight. Or any other night for that matter. This is a joke, a joke.... Still our date tonight will be a cheap one. It's actually free, lol. We were given a $25 Cracker Barrel gift card for Father's Day and we will redeem that tonight. Then maybe DH will surprise me with something more romantic. I can't wait... On another vein, we took part in the Choose Life Walk for Life event this morning. The sky was overcast and then it sprinkled but that didn't deter the many participants who were present. It was lovely catching up with friends who were there too. My only regret was not being more active in asking for pledges. Almost everyone whom we had asked to sponsor the vent was agreeable and generous. One day when the children are older and homeschooling is done I certainly will want to volunteer my time to this great organization.
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We had our TKD promotional test just now and we each earned our yellow belt. Yeah! That was such a good lesson for my daughter as she could experience in a tangible way the reward of perseverance. She asked to drop out not long after our lessons began because it was “too hard”. Being a perfectionist she tends to be an “all or nothing” kind of person at times. Besides, her bend is more literary that athletic. But with this promotion, she is encouraged. I can always refer to that belt now whenever she falters and wishes to give up...."Look, see what persistence and focus can reap?" I'm not sure how long we will do TKD as a family, but regular exercise aside, it has been nothing but a blessing to us all. One of the school rules (which we had to learn for the test) was “To keep friendship with one another and to build a strong and happy community” is certainly a good one. We are getting to know more folks (several home school ones too) and we usually have some kind of "fellowship" with one another after class. It's great too to bow to one another in a respectful way before and after class. Having come from a bowing culture, I love how natural everyone, from the 4 year old to the elderly gentleman, bows to one another. Like after class, we bow to the master and other black-belters. Then we walk down the line, shake hands, bow and thank our partners and one another for another great practice. That somehow builds a warm sense of camaraderie amongst us. It was just special too when the class encouraged us when the four of us and another little girl took the test in their presence. We had ice-cream cone and chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a to celebrate our little notch up the TKD ladder. We so rarely eat fast food (hey, I'm a raw milk and free range chicken kind of gal!) that was such a treat for the children. The total cost was less than $10.00. Pretty inexpensive, I commented. Well, DH and I are going on a date tomorrow and I joked about having a cheap date by eating at Chick-fil-a. DH added that we could then go to Walmart to watch the big-screen movies there, and yeah, I continued, we could top it by going to Dollar Tree and DH could get me a plastic rose. NOT! But we had a great belly-laugh thinking about that as we drove home. But hey, that's an idea, no? Anyway, too bad “Fireproof” opens only next week in our local theater. That is one movie both of us would like to watch together. That should make for one sizzling date. Maybe we can find time to go out again next week. That will be so nice.
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A dear friend sent this to me via email and I thought I could share it here. If you want to play, copy and paste below on your blog and then erase my answers. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names and things. Nothing made up. Try to use different answers if you and I have the same initial. You can't use your name for the boy/girl question. If you play, leave a comment and let me know! :) So here goes! 2) 4 LETTER WORD: MOVE 3) VEHICLE: Mercedes Benz 4) TV SHOW: M*A*S*H 5) CITY: 6) BOY NAME: Michael 7) GIRL NAME: Michelle 8) OCCUPATION: Map-maker 9)SOMETHING YOU WEAR: mittens 10) FOOD: Mashed Potatoes 11) SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: mascara 12) REASON FOR BEING LATE: motioning children to clean up mess 13) SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: My goodness! 14) ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS: modest
Now you do it. It's fun and not as easy as it looks. :) I sure had a hard time with TV programs as it's been so long since I watched that thing, lol. |
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Want to ensure freshness in your marriage? Date your mate. Well, we have discovered something better than dating. A couple of months ago our family signed up to do family TKD (that is Tae-kwon-do). So 2-3 times a week in the evening and occasionally on Saturday morning (if we miss the evening classes) we (plus children) don our smart uniforms and head towards the TKD school with anticipation. And so far, it has been nothing but great for all of us. For DH and myself, it's like suddenly a new dimension has entered our relationship. DH was involved in martial arts during his teen and adult years. My dad did Judo and taught me some elements of self-defense when I was my daughter's age. And I've always had friends who were involved in some kind of martial arts so both of us entered TKD with our eyes opened. And oh, it has been wonderful. We don't always partner each other (sometimes Master Kim wants us to partner someone our size) when we do our stretches and crunches, but when we do, it's a bit of a tease. How we love it when we are dripping wet with perspiration after our 50 minutes of workout. Our daily stress just melts away and while we may have unusual aches here and there for a day or two, our step is always lighter after class as we laughingly troop to our van. Then back home, DH gives Josh a shower while DD takes her own shower and I prepare a snack for everyone. After my shower (moms always shower last, don't they?) and all of us squeaky clean, we enjoy our snack together. That never fails to warm my heart. Not only do my DH and I have fun, we all get to do PE together. Sometimes before DH goes to work or before we go to bed, we practice some TKD forms and I marvel at my DH's grace. For someone who has adamantly refused to learn ballroom dancing with me, we have finally found something we can do do together. The couple that “kicks together, grows closer together”. Try it for yourself. :) Or find something fun to do with your spouse at least twice a week.
P.S. I realize some readers have qualms about allowing their children to take up any form of martial arts even when the school is run by Christians or even when it has no negative spiritual overtones. They are troubled by its origins for example. I have plenty to say about that and hope to write an essay addressing this issue one day. |
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Last night just before my 5 year old Josh drifted to sleep I asked him (again, lol) if he had enjoyed co-op that day. We had our first co-op yesterday and I was the teacher of his class, the "Leaping Lions". In a hushed tone, he softly mumbled that he had a great time and that he liked me teaching him because: "My teacher understands me. My teacher comes home with me. My teacher looks like my mama. My teacher is my mama. My teacher lives with me. My teacher loves me. My teacher is mama...." then he promptly went to sleep. My daughter, who was in the next bed, thought he was the best brother for his sweet words and she added that she wished I was her teacher at co-op. She then declared I was the best teacher ever. My heart just overflowed. I know I'm so awfully flawed, and I know I mess up a lot as a mother but they love me so much they only see the good in me. Naturally, I had one of the best sleeps last night. Thank you Lord for such sweet and loving children! |
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It's Palm Sunday today – the first day of the Holy week. It reminds us of the ride Jesus took on a donkey into Jerusalem, when people waved palm branches. The same people would later cry, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Our church had service as usual but we as a family made paper palm leaves and are decorating the mantel with them. Too bad we can't get real palm leaves around here.
We also spent some time this afternoon cutting out the flowers for the craft we will be doing for our Easter Devotionals starting this evening. Michiko transformed an empty box into a beautiful flower box for the flowers. We did the same devotional last year. If you are still not sure what to do, check this out. It's a sweet little devotional by home school graduate Katherine Loop. You still have time to buy it as as it's an e- book. And when you get a copy from my site between now and Easter, you will also get a free socialization download for MP3, courtesy of Katherine Loop. :)
Hope you have a wonderful Holy Week. |
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Daffodils and crocuses are dotting our backyard. Spring has made her stamp. BUT it is snowing today! Oh happiness for the children who have yet to see more than a sprinkling of snow this winter. The deck now has a thick dusting of powdery snow while the rocks near the woods wear almost an inch.The children are having so much fun letting the snow tickle their noses and open mouths. They are making mini-snow dogs as I write.... Little Josh is insistent that we keep a large part of the deck a virgin plot of snow. No shoes will adulterate that pristine whiteness. I know my friends in the north will shake their shakes at our awe but snow is such a rare entity here, so excuse our excited joy! I'm so happy thinking how so many children in my part of the world will wake up feeling so thrilled at the snow-capped roofs they see everywhere they turn! It's funny. We were supposed to have a moms' breakfast at a friend's house this morning. But the overpasses and 565 are closed till probably noon. So that special event is canceled as some moms cannot go anywhere. We take snow very seriously here, lol. Okay, going to make hot chocolate for the children now. Hey we might even light a fire this morning! |
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I had not cooked fish since my son was born, his sister being allergic to seafood. We recently had them tested and they were fine with salmon. I was so happy. But Josh disdains the smell of salmon. This morning I shaped a dozen salmon patties and pan fried them in butter. For breakfast, I made a salmon patty sandwich for my young man. He bit into it and grinned. He had just eaten the last bit, and declared that it was very good. He was “well-pleased”. I was thrilled. Ah, the simple joys of being a mama. I personally like my salmon patties with a dash of lemon juice and home-grown sprouts. Yummy! |
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My birthday (seriously, I have to think how old I'm going to be!) is coming up soon and my little Josh wants me to give me something "precious".Over dinner he asked if I knew of something that I didn't know so he could give that to me. Duh? Actually he wants to give me one of his toys but according to him I know exactly what he has so unless he knows something of which I don't know exist he can't give that to me, can he? Then before I read him his goodnight story, he was quite tearful. "I can't write you a story for your birthday (I think his sister is writing one for me, bless her heart). Okay, he can't read or spell yet but that hasn't stopped him from writing me a "story". "Why not?" "I don't know how to write about plots." "You don't know what?" "Plots. Che-che (his sister) says a story isn't a story if there is no plot." Oh, precious. Okay, other treasured questions: 1. Can water burn? 2. How cold is the bottom of the Tennessee River? (I learned that it's around 55 degrees, courtesy of DH) Hmm....there are more but oh well, I can't remember. Mental decline with age.... |
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My inspiring online neighbor has tagged me with this assignment. Renae wants me to write five wishes for things I want, but don’t need, and five wishes of a spiritual nature. Now, this should be fun. Actually I think I have everything* I need except for air tickets for the whole family to visit my mom and sister in Singapore (I've not been there in nearly 7 years: I just wait for them to visit me). Now can you imagine not being able to just drive over to visit your mom? Boo hoo hoo. :( *of physical and temporal nature, that is Okay, wishes that I don't need... bet you can see a common thread. It's either school or something related to physical activity (not that I'm that big on physical activity...but dreams are free). 1. A huge laminating machine so I can laminate all my time line figures and big charts. 2. A pair of custom-made skating shoes so I can learn to skate without my bunions & spurs pinching and screaming at me. 3. A motor-home so we can do school on wheels (and visit Mandi, Renae and all my BPA friends along the way). 4. An indoor swimming pool (with sky lights above) that's filled with sea water. 5. A dance studio so I can exercise and dance to my heart's content. Wishes of spiritual nature. 1. A truly loving heart with not a spot within. 2. "She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue."Proverbs 31:26 3. A prayer warrior others can depend on. Matthew 18:19,20 4. Holiness. 2 Peter 3:14 5. Sweet contentment. Hebrews 13:5 I'll be Little Joan this evening and not tag anyone. :) |
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"Hmmm...Shepherd's Pie will be nice for dinner," I thought loudly as I looked at my heaping bowl of mashed potatoes after lunch. I was also thinking of the picture of the pie in yesterday's Life section of the newspaper. That reminded me how long it had been since I made that - 3 years maybe- and that is also one of my husband's favorite dishes. "Yuks, I don't want Shepherd's Pie!" my Josh declared. He and his sister were at the kitchen table playing a math game I recently made for them. "You'll like it," his sister responded, as she rolled her dice. "Anything with mashed potatoes is yummy." "But I don't want to eat shepherds!" he added. And both his sister and I burst out laughing. It didn't occur to me he actually thought I might bake some shepherds in my pie! Afterall we have chicken pie and rabbit pie and I was just joking about possum pie earlier...(we have been reading Thornton Burgess's Old Unc' Billy Possum). Anyway, this one is a keeper. And maybe I should I really make Shepherd's Pie more often. |
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The past four days were great as dh was home the whole time! I wish he could work at home or retire or something! Sometimes I cannot believe how blessed I am to have married this incredible man. He is steady, wise, easy-going, funny and kind. And very understanding of my quirks. We saw a picture once of a rock and a kite. The kite was laughing in the air and would have flown to who knows where but for the rock which held the end of the string. We chuckled over that cartoon. Dh is my rock who keeps me steady, and I'm his kite who shakes up his world now and then. I guess we complement each other. :) For the past 3-4 days now, we built a lovely fire at 5.30pm each evening. We would sip hot cocoa, nibble on ginger snaps and enjoy the roar of the flames. Last night we roasted marshmallows for the first time (!) and the children thought that was the coolest thing. Sitting around the fire-place and listening to dh strum his banjo and watching the children play with the doll-house is one of my favorite things these days. Today I thank God for my family. There are so many things we can fuss about. So many situations to worry over. But we have God. And when we have faith and family, we can smile and say, "Life is good." And add to that the wonderful friends God has brought into our lives, we can say, "Life is wonderful." So to all my friends reading this, "Thank you for being my friend. God bless you and yours today!" |
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Well, the days have melted into one another...It is hard to believe that half of January has already zipped by us. I was hoping that things would be more organized by now, but it seems that I'm still spending too much time in the kitchen. Maybe if I wasn't too fussy about sweeping and wiping the kitchen floor after every meal, I might save some time. My husband and mother say I clean the floor more often than most folks clean in a week. I had a friend who said she didn't mind eating from my kitchen floor (we don't wear shoes around the house so that helps, I guess). Maybe I'm compulsive-obsessive in that area. Hmmm.... Oh, last Friday, a deer went in front of my husband's truck. Thankfully the damage was minimal, the deer was just dazed and most of all, my dear husband was all right, if not a bit surprised. We picked him up after he drove the truck to the body shop and then after we got home, he took the van to work. So school was disrupted that day. Actually it doesn't take much for school to be disrupted. We are pretty spontaneous. Like this morning, upon waking up, my daughter asked, “Can today be a train day?” And I thought, “Why not?” Maybe I could catch up with my Bible reading (I was so happy I caught up over the weekend; in fact I was ahead, but once more I'm two days behind ) and organize my guest room (repository of Thanksgiving and Christmas stuff especially since the attic entrance is in that room). “Train Day” means she gets to follow her heart and read or write or create anything related to trains (her passion). “Train Day” means we forget about school for the day. We did our memory verses and a little study, and happily I let her loose. Too bad I was in the kitchen much of the time and never got to tick off things from my to-do list (blogging was not one of them – blogging is just relaxing to me...). DD had her violin lesson at 2.30pm and on our way home, it started to snow really prettily. Just little flurries. I know while friends in the north do get tired of snow, we don't get enough of it, if all. I knew the chances of it sticking were nil but the children had high hopes of the snow accumulating. They ran into the back yard and squealed with joy as they stuck out their tongues to catch the tiny snow flakes. Poor things. I hope we get at least a few inches of snow in the several weeks! They so want to make at least a snow-baby! I made them hot cocoa when they came back in and dd told me she wanted to write a little poem about snow. So here it is. I thought it was very sweet. :) She does have a way with nature poems I must say. “How Gently It Falls Down” - A Poem about Snow by Michiko Gibson It falls gently to the earth. Okay, we're done with dinner and dh is doing the dishes for me while I sit in front of the computer. He is kindness personified. Oh, he's done. I hear him practicing the banjo now. I'm going to make a big mug of hot tea now and catch up on my reading.
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I have to blog this. My little Joshie (please remain "my little Joshie "for along, long time!) loves the color pink on me. Each time I wear pink, his eyes light up and he says I look pretty. Now isn't that precious? Kids don't lie, right? Lol. Two nights ago, I had on my pink nightgown. We were snuggling at bedtime and just before he drifted to slumber land, Joshie touched my cheek and said, "You are my star. You are beautiful." He added, "Always wear pink." This little four year old sure knows how to speak so sweetly, lol. So to please my little man yesterday, I had on a pink blouse. He was tickled. Then I wore my pink PJs last night and okay, I confess, I'm still in my PJs now. After this entry, I'm going to take a shower and see if there are more pink stuff to wear today. I need to ask my husband for a "happiness" allowance. With this allowance, I'll buy more pink clothes. Then my greatest fan will be very happy and of course that will make me happy too, lol Hey, research has shown that pink sooths and calms. When they painted jail walls pink, inmates became less violent. So wear pink today for a calmer and more peaceful home. :) Or better still, be the star in your children's eyes. |
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Last night we had a count-down. We used the computer clock. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1- and precisely at 8.28pm, we broke into a birthday song for my daughter. I ended up weeping. She turned ten, you see. Two whole hands of fingers I have to hold up when I'm asked how old she is. Where have all the years flown to? It seemed like yesterday when she entered our lives and changed us forever. My precious little baby is ten years old. We celebrated her birthday with friends on December 1st so we could concentrate on Christmas. Her two cousins (9 and 11) and eight friends (ages 3 to 12) from three dear families came together to commemorate her special day on that day. It was a simple party. All the older children who attended the party had either read or been read to, the Viking Quest Series so the birthday theme was based on that series of books. My daughter wanted essentially a non-structured party so I didn't plan any activities. Actually we did make two die-casts with cardboard and clay so the children could make some Viking coins, but on the day of the party, I realized the casts didn't work so well so we ditched the idea. I baked a lemon pound cake (daughter's favorite) and an eggless Grandma's Chocolate Chip birthday cake (so Josh, who has egg allergies, could eat it) which I decorated with a Viking ship. The children also had crackers with cheese sails, strawberry sweets, my daughter's current favorite ice-cream : chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream, and lemonade. A pot of white chili also simmered on the stove for anyone who wanted something warm. First, everyone decided to explore the woods so we took an invigorating hike in the woods behind our house. Then after the cake and ice-cream, the children dressed up and enacted excerpts from the books in the back yard while the moms chatted. The highlight of the party was making flat bread (I had the dough ready). After it was baked, they ate the warm flat bread (with slices of cheese I had cut from a huge chunk) in the chill of the night. Armed with flash lights, they watched the stars, ate and laughed the whole hour away. So that was my daughter's 10th birthday party. She was happy, happy, happy that evening. All she wanted was to have ALL her favorite friends come together to act out excerpts from the Viking Quest and she had her wish. As for gifts, her friends were generous. She collected two huge bags of items on behalf of the Voice of the Martyrs. They should be heading towards the orphans in Sudan soon. Yesterday was her actual birthday. Daddy was home (he's on leave till next year, hurray!). He had been working on the Princess Anne doll house for almost a week. Unfortunately, with 800 more shingles to stick on the roof, he was not quite finished with the doll house. The birthday girl was nonetheless thrilled with it. She had also chosen the two colors of the paint for the house with her daddy a few days earlier without knowing what the paint was for. When she saw her favorite colors on the house, she squealed with delight. I can't wait for the house to be ready. I'll be sure to post a picture of it here! And as for my gift to her...ah, she was just absolutely thrilled. She spent a long time looking at it, and reading the little things I wrote next to each photo I had chosen for the frame. For those of you who have been waiting to see what it looks like, here it is. It is not very clear as the frame is big but you get the overall picture.
 After she opened all the presents, we went ice-skating! Yes, DD, Josh and me were in the rink for about an hour or so. DD did it without the “walker” this time. I'm so proud of her! We were pretty famished after that so we headed towards her favorite sandwich cafe. She had a bread bowl (sourdough) of potato soup and a bottle of chocolate milk. She also wanted a huge ABC sandwich (which she couldn't even manage a bite as the soup was plenty). She loves the pastries from the cafe so we took away four of her favorite kind. (We still have two pastries in the fridge). Then later in the afternoon, three friends (all sisters) came over with Christmas gifts and also a birthday gift. That made the afternoon so special for her too especially when they all had chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream together again. That evening, she thanked me profusely for a wonderful birthday. And of all the wonderful gifts she had received from family and friends, she loved the photo collage best. We will hang it in her room soon and it is something she will want to gaze into often as she is reminded of her mama's enduring love. I'm so happy she loves that gift! We're now planning to do a similar one for her brother for when he turns five in April. :) Happy birthday, my darling daughter. You are just too precious and I pray God will continue to guide you as you seek to grow in Him. May the Lord protect you always and may you grow up into a woman after His own heart. Mama loves you so very much!
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I finally completed the little project I had embarked for my sweet daughter's 10th birthday! It's a collage of photographs taken over the past ten years. I've put them together scrapbook style, with the heading : "Ten Years of Mama and Me". I bought a 28 by 22 inch picture frame to make my dh a special 50th birthday gift earlier in the year but decided to save that for my daughter instead. I will post a photo of it after her birthday (which falls a day after Christmas). Meanwhile, dh is trying to complete assembling her "Princess Anne" doll house. I hope he can complete it by her birthday. He may have to work on Christmas Day to achieve that. It will be a lovely legacy to pass to other generations and he doesn't want to do a sloppy job of it. But it is Christmas Eve tomorrow! I hope all my dear friends reading this are all set for Christmas! DH and dd still have to go to Toys R Us tomorrow to get little Josh his special gift - a side loader something. On my part, I've bought, made and wrapped everything for everyone on my list. All I need to do now are: 1) Bake cookies 2) Bake a lemon pound cake 3) Make two Tirimasu Bowls 4) Make egg nog (I just bought a dozen of fresh farm eggs so they should be safe raw) for dh and daughter. I don't really care for it and my Josh still has egg allergies. Our Christmas eve tradition is very simple. We order pizzas. This is a real treat as the only time we eat pizzas is in church (once a year), at a pizza place (two times a year, at the most, and only when we have house guests) and when we visit friends who order pizzas for us. I might make pizzas 2-3 times a year but other than that, the kids don't get to eat pizzas much. This tradition of ordering pizzas began before we had children and well, this will be our twelveth year doing it. Our Christmas lunch will be untraditional this year. We always visit my dh's folks for lunch. And for the first time since I married into this precious family, we're not going to have turkey or ham. Instead we're going to have a BBQ lunch. DH has an uncle who lives in another county but who does the best BBQ meat and my FIL will be driving to his farm to get a nice platter of homemade BBQ meat tomorrow, or maybe on Christmas morning. My MIL, sisters-in-law and I will prepare buns, side dishes and desserts. Nice and simple. :) Meanwhile, have a wonderful and merry Christmas! May the Lord bless you and all your loved ones with precious memories and joy in celebrating the birth of our Savior. |
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Okay. I cannot deceive myself. I am not young anymore. My poor bones and muscles are aching after yesterday's falls. But it was so fun...I cannot wait for our next visit to the skating rink. Man, I sound like my children. |
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We went ice-skating today. Can you believe it? It was my children and my first visit to an ice skating rink. I learned to roller-blade some 15 years ago, and had not touched the roller-blades since. I wasn't good at roller skating and the thought of learning how to skate on ice at my age was a bit scary. But we rented two “walkers” for our children and while watching them attempt to ice-skate, I thought I could try. So I rented a pair of skates and when one of the children took a break, I used the spare “walker” to help me move along. That I could roller-blade helped, but I was somehow nervous of the ice under my feet and didn't dare to let go of the walker till towards the end.
 Here I am. The boy next to me is Thomas. He is my dear friend's son.He skated well, but he was holding the walker so Josh could skate without it.Here you can also see Josh on his own two feet.
Oh, it was so fun despite falling twice. The first was on my tail-bone (ouch!) and the second was on my left hip and thigh (I haven't checked but I bet there is a big bruise now). Actually, my tail bone is hurting a bit now. I injured it nearly five years ago when I was going down the slide while playing with the kids and I landed real hard on the tail bone. As a little girl, I dreamed of either being a ballerina or a ice-skater. I never became a ballerina in the real sense, but I did fulfill my dream of dancing on stage this year. :). My goal now is to be able to skate more naturally, if not gracefully, by the end of 2008. That should be a fun goal! :) Lord willing my tail-bone and bunions don't give me trouble!
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We finally picked our Christmas tree yesterday. It looks beautiful in our living room as it shimmers with 300 tiny lights and shows off gorgeous ornaments – many homemade, some special gifts from dear friends, and the rest we bought over the years. Every year, I give each of my children a special ornament. I haven't gotten them one yet this year. I might make them one this year. DD can spend hours under the tree, playing with the ornaments. She is a strange one. She gives the ornaments names. She remembers the names she baptized them with last year and when I ask her how she plays with the ornaments she says she makes up stories about them. She does that with our shell display too. Each shell has a name and each shell is part of a saga she continues to spin over the years. How wonderful to have such an imagination. Oh, on Friday, we went caroling. There were 12 children and 8 adults in all and did we have fun! Last year, most of us had frozen toes, but on Friday, the weather was perfect - cool, with a gentle breeze that had just the right hint of winter chill. We went to a different street from last year and sang to maybe 8 families. We were warmly received and we returned to our home slightly tired (we had to walk up a hilly slope to reach my front door) but pretty uplifted. The rest of the evening was spent drinking wassail, cocoa, lemonade, water, tea and eating snacks. The children also put up a Christmas play for the adults at the end of the evening and that was wonderful to watch. This evening we lighted our second Advent candle...how we enjoy our nightly devotions with daddy. May the Lord grant you peace and joy this Advent season. My heart is filled with joy this evening as I recall the Lord's faithfulness throughout the year. He is faithful in every way – big and small- and our lives can be continually filled with His peace . There is no more need to strive or feel insecure because the Lord is come! Immanuel! God is with is! |
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We don't do Santa in our family, but my husband grew up with him. This afternoon his mom gave him something she had kept for more than 4 decades. It was my dear husband's 'letter' to Santa (via the local paper) when he was our Josh's age. When I read it, I felt tearful. My dearest husband asked for the very things our son now loves, and would probably have asked if we did Santa. And then that my dear mother-in-law saved this little piece of newspaper for more than 40 years also touched me no end. If she did scrapbooking, that letter would have tucked in some scrapbook. How times have changed. I will not only laminate that piece of paper and make a scrapbook page of it (one of these days!), I can also blog about it! So here it is. A precious piece from the past.
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Imagine that! We had not gone biking as a family for more than 1.5 years!!! Shame on us! Back then, dd still needed her training wheels and Josh was not cycling with us. We had a cool carrier (attached to dh's bike) for him. Today, we drove to a nearby greenway, disembarked our bikes and then ALL of us cycled to our heart's content. It was fun. We need to do this more often before the weather gets too cold. Too cold. Did I just write that? That sounds unusual after the extended summer heat! It really is feeling like fall again. :) Happy sigh. Anyway, going biking was a spontaneous decision. And it was refreshing. Who cares about the laundry and other chores. They will always be there. Pretty weather may not. And making memories is always precious. Have a great weekend all. |
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Lest I forget...Josh learned how to wink his right eye last Saturday (10-13-07) and Thursday night (10-18), he finally decided he could change into his pajamas all by himself. He had been putting on his own socks but for some reason had always wanted me to change him. While I cherish all and any extra skin contact with him, it's good for him to own another skill. We've been having a grand time learning more about Jamestown for history. The house is littered with Pocahontas books and we're also making a paper model of Jamestown. Chief Red Eagle, to the children's delight, just made a tepee out of three stout sticks and throw rugs (although the Powhatan Indians did not live in tepees). Armed with bow and arrows, feathered headbands, and other appropriate accoutrements, the children sure are having fun this Saturday morning. And I, Autumn Cloud , just baked cornbread. Guess today will be a "Native American Day". I borrowed two books from the library and have been reading about the real Pocahontas. Hmmm... Chief Powhatan had more than 100 wives and more than a thousand children. Their beliefs included a lot of darkness so it was really significant that Pocahontas eventually came to know the Lord. Her role in the establishment of the first settlement in the New World cannot be discounted. God's hand was in the whole picture. I love history. It never fails to show me how I can trust God. History is indeed His Story. Praise God. Hope you are all having a blessed weekend. |
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I was feeling out of sorts yesterday and dh had to work overtime. So a Saturday was ruined as I was running to the bathroom pretty often and feeling achy all over (you can guess what I was afflicted with). My sweet daughter decided I should rest and so she pulled out the sofa bed, puffed up the pillows and spread a pretty blanket (an old quilt,really) over it. She took out the serving table and prepared a bowl of blueberries and a glass of water for me. Little Josh helped her by carrying the glass of water. Oh, it felt wonderful being served. And the smiles they wore when they realized they were taking care of mommy were priceless. Then I had another precious moment before bedtime. DH was in the bedroom reading to Josh, my daughter was in the shower and I was about to shut down the computer when Little Josh decided he wanted to do something special for me. He went to the kitchen and insisted I mustn't peep. So there I was in the next room, staring at the computer, wondering what he was up to. I could hear clinks and bangs, and well, I was a bit nervous. Finally he came to me, held my hand and led me to his labor of love.
Oh my! My little boy made his first little supper all by himself for mama! A piece of bread thickly spread with butter and a tad of marmalade over it. And he managed to climb on the counter top to reach out for a dish (in the cabinet) to lay the bread, and a mug for the water. And all so nicely arranged on the little serving table. By that time, his sister was all dressed and she and dh came downstairs (they were responding to my excited cries, lol) and we all made a fuss over that sweet display of love. Josh was grinning and grinning and I sure had a grand time partaking of that precious repast.
What a blessing children are!
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I want to thank all my friends who have been praying for my eye. I went to see the retina specialist the past Wednesday. He was patient and reassuring, so I felt comfortable with him although I was pretty nervous. After some small talk (specialists are such busy people, it's nice when they look relaxed and make small talk, lol), he examined my eyes and asked questions. His conclusion was yes, I do have macular pucker on my left eye but it looks like it will remain stable. Since it is “fresh”, it may get worse some, but no worries. Should it get real bad, he will operate on it by removing the membrane. I told him I had read that even with surgery, my vision would never return to “normal” (normal in my definition since I'm so highly myopic). He asked me what I did. I said I was a homeschooling mom. He asked if my children ever made perfect scores in their SATS or ACTs. Well, no, not that my children have sat for all those tests, but I understood what he meant. He then said nothing was perfect but my vision would be better than before the surgery and that would be a good thing. The take-home was don't worry. There is an option and even if it's not perfect, the outcome will still be a good one. So dear friends, I'm just going to leave everything to the Lord. My prayer is the pucker will remain stable. Like now, I cannot do detailed things with my left eye alone. Like I can't read words on the computer screen (words are blurry and wavy) but my distant vision is still manageable with my glasses or contacts. How I appreciate your prayers (thanks for asking and writing). Please continue to pray for the health of my vision when the Lord brings me to your mind. In particular, please pray that my right eye will not get that condition as I'm depending on my right eye to read and do detailed stuff. Meanwhile I will not be set back by this condition. I'll live by God's mercy (hey, every breath we take is a demonstration of God's mercy!) and continue to trust in His goodness. If nothing, I'm just so thankful that when I open my eyes each morning, I can enjoy all the joys that sight brings.
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My husband has been playing the banjo for the past 30 years and he is now going to give formal lessons come September! Since time is premium, we decided that only one day a week would be devoted to lessons. It will held on Thursday evenings at our place. Yesterday we had a fun time reorganizing the office/library and now we have a real nice office/library/studio for his lessons. I'm so excited for him as he really loves his banjo! He's my real Alabama man with a banjo on his knee. Oh, if you can, visit his blog and say hello to him! |
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I do have something on my eye condition that I want to blog about but I think I'll wait on that and blog on something more fun. Fridays are Family Fun Nights for us. What we do is each member of the family chooses something fun to do. And every member must cooperate. We usually wait till all the dishes are put in the dishwasher and the kitchen counters are nice and tidy before we start. I'm so picky about the kitchen and the kitchen floor. If they are messy I cannot have fun. Sigh. Anyway, on Fun Nights, each person takes turn to choose a special dessert for the evening. We didn't have one tonight as we went for a birthday party for my niece this afternoon. We had our sugar fix there, so no desserts tonight. Anyway, this was what we did this evening. Then it was Josh's turn to choose a game. He wanted us to dramatize the story of Moses, his favorite Bible character. So we all had a great time acting out the Burning Bush, the 10 Plagues, the Crossing of the Red Sea, the 10 Commandments and a host of other Exodus scenes. My husband also made funny sound effects with his guitar and we were all reduced to stitches. Next was my daughter's turn. She chose MASTERPIECE- an art auction game. She doesn't care much for board games. Too boring she says, but she enjoys this one. It's fun. You also get to do Math and learn about famous artists at the same time. It was too difficult for Josh but he didn't mind drawing while we played the game. Since this game could go indefinitely, we set a time limit. We had 20-25 minutes of this game. My husband won. My daughter came in second and I was last. We decided we all needed some chocolate chips after the game so each popped a handful into our mouths and everyone was happy. When it was my husband's turn, he decided he wanted to create some music. I think he never has enough of that! So we went to our music/play room and did just that. He played the banjo and I played the piano. We wanted our daughter to play her violin but I think she just had it with her practice earlier as she decided she just wanted to listen instead. Josh sat by me and thumped a bit on the piano keys. Then we played and sang “Down at the Cross”. That's something both my husband and I enjoy playing together. I wish we had the time to practice other pieces together! Okay, you would think we had enough already but no, the night was still young so we played “Sardines”. This is a version of Hide and Seek. One person hides and everyone else looks for the person. The person who finds the “it” gets to hide with him/her. The next person who finds the both of them also gets to hide with them. And of course the last person will wonder where everyone has hidden. Usually those hiding will be squeezing together in some hiding spot, hence the name “Sardines”. After two rounds, the children wanted more but dh and I were getting worn out, LOL, so we said next Friday. It was nearly 9.00pm. We all prayed together and then up the stairs they went after they had brushed their teeth. The children are now in their beds...listening to some Bible stories on CD and talking. Ah, time now for my husband and me to do our individual computer work...before we retire...another day gone forever. But I think the memories we created together tonight will be cherished for a long long time...
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So, am I going blind? What a scary thought! And that might happen if I thought of the worst. But I'm not going to take that route here or now... When I was 11, my eye sight started to deteriorate. Genes? Bad reading habits? Maybe. The myopia didn't stop its aggression till I was in my mid or late twenties. I recall how in every class, I was one of the most short-sighted gals. As an adult, I realized that was the case too. Okay. I recently discovered that my left eye was weird. It couldn't focus. It couldn't see clearly. We don't usually think about our vision of individual eyes till we get an eye check, but because I wasn't able to see my right eye lid clearly when I was putting on eye shadow recently, I started testing the vision of my left eye. Then I realized things were just not right. I couldn't figure out street names. I couldn't see the numbers on the clock clearly. I could n't read something from a page without manipulating its position. Maybe I'm getting long-sighted. Maybe the left eye is become even more short-sighted. Maybe it's my astigmatism, I thought. So I saw my optometrist yesterday. After several tests, he concluded that I have epiretinal membrane or macular pucker (not to be mistaken with macular degeneration). It simply means a think sheet of membrane has developed over the macular region of my retina. And that sheet has become wrinkled. Imagine a sheet of saran wrap. See through it. Not too bad. Now imagine seeing through a wrinkled saran wrap. Now things look blurry and distorted. That is what has been happening and there are no non-surgical treatments to eradicate that wrinkle or that membrane. Causes include medical conditions like diabetes and retinal detachment, inflammation and eye injury or trauma. For many, the causes are unknown. I wonder if mine is due to eye trauma. When I delivered Josh, I did it without any epidural and man, did I push. I forgot to listen to my body and just pushed. After the event, my face was red for three weeks (I broke all the tiny blood vessels) and my eyes were blood shot. Three days after the delivery, I went to the eye ER because my left eye felt like someone had pushed a needle into it. It was so painful. The ophthalmologist didn't think anything was wrong with it and I really can't remember what happened after the visit. I think the eye drops he gave me helped and the pain receded. I was so excited with my beautiful Josh I guess the pain just want away too. At the back of my mind I did wonder if the pain might cause some future problems. (This membrane actually comprises strands of scar tissue.) I hope to see a retina specialist sometime soon to discuss the matter and I'll ask him if my rather rough labor could have contributed to the scar tissue forming. Actually, whatever the cause, the fact is I have this puckered membrane over my macular! Well, that's all I have time for today so I'll end here. In my next blog, I plan to share lessons I'm learning from having a sudden trial (of a physical nature) like this presented to me. Meanwhile I do covet your prayers. Please pray that:
Thank you so much. James tells us to “count it all joy” when we “fall into diverse temptations.” I was talking to my husband about that verse last night. Then this morning, at church, my pastor preached on that and oh, that was just so timely! No matter what, God already knew about this and He has allowed it to take place. And while I feel very sad about it, I'm already seeing many blessings coming from this. But that will be for another blog for another day. :) Thank you for reading. I must just add that “Be Thou My Vision” and “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” now have taken on a far richer meaning for me. Oh, if you want to be more educated on this condition, you can refer to this link.
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"Mama, I just saw a bee pollinating a flower," Josh said, as he came into the house a few minutes ago. I felt all warm inside. He must have overheard his sister's botany lesson on pollination. It's amazing what little ones pick up just by listening to their older siblings narrating or discussing. And it all happens so naturally. Right now, the children are sketching two baby doves perched on a branch of a tree outside our porch. The nestlings are learn to fly and they are just so soft and cute. We love their coos and have been trying to get them to coo back to us. I'm going to get my sketch-pad and join them now. That's our Nature Study for today. :) |
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Yesterday morning, Josh told his daddy he had a dream. Daddy: Tell me more about the dream, Joshie. Josh: I can't remember. You tell me. Daddy: Hmmm...I'm not Joseph or Daniel. I cannot do that. Then Josh looked at me and said, "Mama, you were in the dream. Tell me what the dream was all about." Ah, I wish. Oh, I just love my little Josh to pieces.  He is growing up so fast. One thing I'm really so thankful to the Lord for is that he is speaking so much clearer now. We thought that if his speech didn't improve by the time he hit four we might have to take him to a speech therapist. It's hard when we understood just 45% of what he was saying to us! But you know what? The day after he turned four, it was like something in him was turned on and "S" and other words he previously wasn't able to enunciate suddenly became much easier for him. It was amazing. It's been three months and I think he now has no problems with his "S" words, whether the "S" sound is in front, behind or in the middle of the words. I know simply waiting is not right for every child, but sometimes, it is better not to rush and just wait for the child's own readiness to kick in. That goes for reading and writing too. Why go through months or years of agony trying to teach something to a child if he is simply not ready? Every stage the child goes through is precious. |