Oct. 21, 2009 - Piracy
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Oct. 21, 2009 -
Asrat says, "Look mom, I'm a giant eagle!"
Oct. 16, 2009 - Homeschool Stereotypes Still Persist
I imagine anyone who's been homeschooling longer than me has many stories about stereotypes they've run into. We've only just begun, in our family, and I'm starting to see how frustrating people can be when they insist on their false or downright ignorant ideas about what homeschooling means.
If I had any artistic talent, I'd put my thoughts into a cartoon. I have a great idea for one, but can't transfer it to paper, sadly.
The first panel would be a picture of a large and bustling city. Within this city would be several houses hermetically sealed off in "bubbles" and the bubbles would be connected to each other by similarly sealed walkways. Dour, hunched-over homeschoolers would scuttle between each other's houses, claiming to "socialize" without ever getting so much as a whiff of the "real world" outside. These poor kids would then be either trapped in the homeschool bubble for life, never getting further education but marrying within their inbred group and having a bunch of kids to homeschool, or get chucked out into the "real" world and be unable to cope and become dissipated drunkards and complete losers.
This is, amazingly, how some people still view homeschooling.
The second panel would be a lot harder to draw, because real homeschooling is so much more interesting. It would probably need to be comprised of multiple smaller panels, showing what real homeschoolers really do: participate in organized sports (with non-homeschoolers! imagine that!), attend church with non-homeschoolers, go to all manner of museums, zoos, and events (all rife with non-homeschoolers as well!), attend college courses (at a college!) during their junior and senior years of highschool, develop close friendships with non-homeschooling neighbors, participate in local choirs and orchestras, volunteer, get jobs, get internships, run their own business or help run a family business, pursue their passions, get scholarships, and go to college. These are all things that homeschoolers I know personally have done. All of these youngsters have been perfectly capable of relating to the "real world", in some cases even more capable than their peers in "real world" schools.
Another frequent criticism is that homeschoolers don't know how to deal with "diversity". Even ignoring all of the ways mentioned above that homeschoolers get "socialized", increasing numbers of minority families are joining the ranks of homeschoolers. Our family included. Ethnic diversity is not so much a function of whether one goes to institutional schools or homeschools, but where one lives. In Pittsburgh, we were surrounded by people of all colors no matter where we went. Where we live now, there simply is a huge majority of whites. My children wouldn't get any more diversity by going to local schools, because the population simply isn't that diverse. Diversity of lifestyle and income is the same way. Not all homeschoolers are lower-middle class. Not all of them do the denim-jumper thing. Every family has it's own style, even amongst homeschoolers.
I have only met one family in my entire life that fit the "profile" some people have of homeschoolers. They lived on a homestead, "unschooled" their children, and had done a very poor job of raising their children to be able to function in society. However, looking at the parents, it was pretty obvious that they would have failed equally if their kids were sent to school. Homeschooling didn't make them strange. They were already strange, and homeschooling happened to fit with their conspiracy theories and desired lifestyle. You can't tell me there aren't strange people who's children are in the public school system. There are, and I've met them too.
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Oct. 12, 2009 - When God Turned Off The Lights: Blog Tour
Murphey decided to write about his months of seeking God in the darkness because he suspected his situation wasn't unique. "If this happened to me, a rather ordinary believer, surely there are others out there who have wept in the isolated blackness of night and wondered if they would ever see God's smile again."
Murphey could have handled this topic as a theologian and given pages of heavy, hard-to-read advice, but he chose to write from his heart and expose it for the readers to see. He talks honestly and shares his skepticism and frustration. He asks hard questions. And he lays out the steps of healing that brought him back to the light.
When God Turned Off the Lights is a book for those of us who ask, "What's wrong with me? Why are others living in the sunlight while nothing but dark clouds and darkness envelop me?" Readers will learn:
- Why God turns off the lights
- Why we have to have dark nights
- Why asking "why" isn't the right question
- What's worse than going through the darkness
- How to feel worthwhile and accepted by God
Here is one of several pieces of advice Cec Murphy gives about what to do in those dark times:
Don't see this as divine punishment (unless God shows you it is), but consider the silence an act of divine love to move you forward. This is God's method to teach you and stretch you.
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Oct. 9, 2009 - Gebreyesus: King of Non-Sequiturs
Our resident funny guy often leaves us scratching our heads. Who can comprehend what goes on in the mind of a four-year-old boy?
Tonight after story time (Harun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie), I heard this exchange:
Gebre: Grandpa, so what is the moral of that story?
Grandpa: Well...you should always tell good stories! People who tell bad stories to themselves might end up doing bad things, after all.
Gebre: Yeah! And they might have to put tomatoes in their tomato soup, too!
We just never know what we're going to get from his adorable little stream-of-consciousness.
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Oct. 9, 2009 - Extraordinary winner
So, the winner for Extraordinary (by John Bevere) is Roxanne!
Thank's all who left email addresses. Let's make this a habit...there will be more giveaways! 
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Oct. 6, 2009 - Extraordinary Blog Tour and Giveaway!
I have reviewed a book by Lisa Bevere, and here is one from her husband, John:
John Bevere is an internationally popular conference speaker, teacher, and author of bestsellers, including The Bait of Satan, Drawing Near, and Driven by Eternity. His award-winning curriculum and books have been translated in over sixty languages and his weekly television program, The Messenger, is broadcast around the world. John and his wife, Lisa—also a bestselling author and speaker—reside with their family in Colorado Springs , Colorado . Visit his ministry website at www.messengerinternational.org.
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Oct. 2, 2009 - Molly's Money-Saving Digest for October
Molly is back with a new Money-Saving Digest for the month of October! This month's theme: What can we learn from the Great Depression?
In this issue, we learn about the Great Depression in several articles, find out what's usually on sale this month, learn about couponing (there is a way to make it worthwhile!), get some Biblical encouragement and plenty of practical information. There's even a little parenting advice. There is also a weekly menu which is going to be featured in every digest from now on. This month's menu includes such delights as Chicken Fajitas and BBQ pork sandwiches, along with side dishes, desserts, and all the recipes needed to create these meals.
The articles on the Great Depression are extensive and interesting, based on research and the memories of those who lived through it. Although I don't believe we are anywhere near a Depression like that one, the lessons learned from that time can serve us well as we try to stay afloat in a struggling economy. Even in good times, frugality and contentment are valuable. The Digest ends with this "Word Worth Saving": But Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. 1 Timothy 5:6-7. A good word in any era, but always especially important to remember in times of financial struggle.
Visit the Old Schoolhouse Store for this months issue!
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Oct. 1, 2009 - Boy Meets Girls
I've been having fun watching Asrat awaken to the fact that there's a whole world of people out there who are very, very different from him. Namely: Little Girls
Since moving, we have reconnected with friends who have three little girls around our boys' ages. They play together very well, and have a grand time. The only commentary I've gotten about these "girl-friends" (as Gebre calls them) has been "They're bossy sometimes!"
But yesterday Asrat somehow found himself pulled into a gaggle of 7-9 year old girls, who were re-enacting the zoo program they'd all just watched at the library. At first he was interested in playing with them, but once he got drawn in and then essentially cornered by one particular girl who was clearly The Boss, he started throwing desperate glances my way.
Now, he is used to organizing games and setting out rules. "You be the pirate, I'll be the good guy!.....Let's have a race! To the end of the driveway and back!......You have to drive your bike in this lane!.....Get your swords, let's have a fight!" But at some point he realized that with these girls, the whole game was organizing and rule-making. It was really kind of funny watching this dawn on him, and his increasing need to get out of his corner combined with the lack of certainty about how to deal with Boss-Girl and her cohorts. He is a nice kid and didn't want to just up and leave, but he couldn't figure out how to extricate himself gracefully. Not wanting to be a Helicopter Mom, I let the poor thing suffer for a few minutes until the girl's moms started calling them to go home, to his great and obvious relief.
This afternoon at a birthday party, he ran into something similar, but he was more prepared and instead of being nervous, he just complained to me afterwards, but put on a good show and behaved very nicely during the party. He wanted to know why he wasn't invited to the planned slumber party and was tremendously put out that he got organized right to the back of the line when it came time to give the birthday girl her presents.
Somehow our homeschool group consisted mostly of boys, so now we are entering a new phase of "socialization": How to deal graciously with Girls. It will be interesting because Mama says you can't smack 'em with sticks, or holler at them, and they don't seem to have much interest in being evil pirate captains or speed racers who always end their races with fiery but ultimately not-deadly crashes, but they will organize you to death and attempt to decorate you with stickers. They do seem to be pretty good tag-players, though, so that's a point of common ground to start with.
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Sep. 27, 2009 - Taming the Tongue--Discussing James 3 with a six year old.
Last week I had an impromptu Bible study with the boys, and came away stunned with Asrat's perceptive understanding of the Scripture we had just read. I read to them from James 3, about the power of the tongue, especially it's power to injure and devastate lives.
This is what we read from the book of James:
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
When I started explaining all that, Asrat said "Wait, wait! Can I tell you what it means?......It is like when a Mama and a Daddy fight and argue and say mean things to each other, then their children learn to do that and grow up and do that to their husband and wife, and their children grow up learning that and do that too, and it is just like a forest fire that spreads and spreads and is so hard to put out.....Hey, Mama, why do you and Baba argue sometimes?"
Ouch.
Not only did he nail the intent of that Scripture right on the head, but he unintentionally brought conviction down on my head. Josiah and I don't make a habit of arguing, and we actually get along pretty well, but we're not perfect and there have been times of intense stress where we've had a real blow-out, and of course, those are the times a child would remember. Unfortunately for everyone around me, there are times when my mouth works much faster than my brain. Sometimes that just causes embarassment to me (having said something incredibly stupid), but other times that has caused pain to others.
We had a long and wonderful discussion about relationships and the power of our words to hurt and to heal. Asrat's accurate perception continued as we talked, and he had obviously soaked this all in and figured it out. We talked about how even if we were raised hearing hurtful words, God can help us change the direction of our own families, and how generation by generation we can learn from the mistakes of the ones before us, how we can put out that fire so it doesn't destroy us or our children or grandchildren. We talked about how important it is that clean things, and good things, and uplifting things are what we say, and how we need to control our tongues even when we are feeling very bad on the inside, because of the long-lasting damage a single wrongly spoken word can do. We talked about how God can help us learn to do this, if we ask for help, and Asrat asked me to pray with him so that he could do better at speaking kindly to others, especially to his brothers. I am sure we will come back to this passage many times over the coming years, as "taming the tongue" is such an important part of having healthy relationships and it seems to be such a struggle for us humans to keep our traps shut sometimes.
He's still only six years old, and very much a child with a child's understanding. But I was so blessed by that conversation, to see the lightbulb go on in his head, to see his excitement at grasping a concept so firmly and his happiness to know that the "forest fire" of unkind words does not even have to be lit, if we stay aware of what we speak. That evening I saw a little seed of maturity planted and starting to sprout, and it thrilled my mother's heart.
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Sep. 23, 2009 - The Great Christmas Bowl Blog Tour and Contest!
While some people are scheming up horrifying new Halloween displays even this early, if we're going to do holidays early, I'd like to skip the skulls and go straight to Christmas.
The Great Christmas Bowl is a chuckle-worthy Christmas story from author Susan May Warren. In this tale, Marianne Wallace finds herself torn between supporting her son who has finally, finally decided to play football, and fulfilling her obligations to organize a Christmas tea (her husband volunteered her, oops!). Is this mother so dedicated that she will fill in for the school mascot? Will she actually don the Trout costume out of love for her son? Can she pull off the Christmas tea at the same time? How will she cope when things start to fall apart?
Many of us know the feeling of being over-extended at Christmas, and the feeling that a lot of it is our misplaced priorities. We can relate to Marianne Wallace as she struggles with this, and we can smile as we watch God work on her and work out the mess she's found herself mired it.
You can check out the reviews of other people at the blog tour website as well.
There is a contest with this blog tour! You'll need to follow the link to The Great Christmas Bowl: Recipe Exchange, and submit your favorite Christmas recipe. Also submit your best personal Christmas story (whether funny, or touching, or serious). Susan will post your story and recipe on the front page of The Great Christmas Bowl website, and send you a link so you can tell your friends. On December 5th at 10 am, she'll make the whole collection available for download! You may submit up to 3 stories/recipes, and for each one, you will be entered for a chance to win one of Susan May Warren's collections or series. So go find some great recipes and make your way over to The Great Christmas Bowl.
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Sep. 20, 2009 -
It's good to have connections in Ethiopia. In between our calls and emails with Josiah, we're also getting 2nd and 3rd hand news about him. And now a picture! He's back in his old stomping grounds, and the missionary he used to work with asked him to please do some surgeries in her clinic. He's always complained about how little nurses are allowed to do here. So he's getting his fill of "real" health-care work until he returns to Addis Ababa in a few days.
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Sep. 18, 2009 - Guest Blog: Stolen Identity by Kay Marshall Strom
First, I apologize for the weird formatting. This is a copy-and-paste thing and I couldn't get rid of the background!
This article comes from a woman who has travelled around the world and has recently written a novel about the history of human trafficking. Sept. 25-27 has been chosen by the Salvation Army as a time of prayer and fasting for the victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.
Stolen Identity by Kay Marshall Strom
Enormous eyes in a bony-thin face, and a baggy green dress that dragged the ground. Because of all the cast-off children at the village school in India, the raggedy girl stood closest to our translator, he gently asked her, "What is your name?"
The girl stared.
"Your name. What is it?" the translator asked again.
The girl whispered her answer: "I have no name."
A child with no name. A little girl abandoned so young she could not even remember what her parents had called her. She grew up begging at the train platform, snatching up the scraps harried passengers dropped, watching other children picked off by traffickers. Now that she was seven or eight--perhaps even a scrawny nine--the traffickers had come for her. But the girl screamed and kicked and clawed so ferociously that someone called the police. Someone with clout, evidently, because the police came and pulled her away from the traffickers. Somebody in the crowd suggested that instead of putting the child in jail, the police might take her to the village school, which they did. They dropped her at the door and left.
Human trafficking, especially sex trafficking, is rampant around the world. We think of it as an eastern European problem, or Indian or Nepalese or Thai. It is. But it's also a Western problem. The U.S. State Department estimates between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the Untied States each year, but concede that the real number is far higher. According to the U.S. Justice Department's head of the new human trafficking unit, there is now at least one case of trafficking in every state.
The little girl with no name was fortunate that someone responded to her screaming pleas. What would you do if you heard a child shriek for help? Of course, if she were a trafficking victim in this country, she wouldn't likely scream or kick. She would probably shrink away in terror, or act submissively. You might see wounds--cuts, bruises, burns. Perhaps what would catch your attention would be the constant work: babysitting, cooking, washing dishes, scrubbing floors--never just being a child. Or maybe you couldn't say exactly what was wrong--only that something about the child's situation made you profoundly uneasy.
Please, please, if you suspect a person is being trafficked, call 911 and report it. Yes, it is okay. Yes, even it you are mistaken. In fact, eighteen states require citizens to report possible child abuse or neglect of any kind.
In the 1700s, Quakers led the fight against the African slave trade. In 1885, the Salvation Army took up the abolition banner, and since then it has led the fight against a different kind of slavery. More and more, 21st century abolitionists are followers of Christ determined to see slavery of all kinds ended in our day.
Oh yes... Before I left the school in India, I asked if we might give the little girl a name. She is now Grace.
About the Author:
Author Kay Marshall Strom has two great loves: writing and helping others achieve their own writing potential. Kay has written thirty-six published books including Daughters of Hope: Stories of Witness and Courage in the Face of Persecution and In the Presence of the Poor. She's also authored numerous magazine articles, and two screenplays. While mostly a nonfiction writer, the first book of her historical novel trilogy Grace in Africa has met with acclaim. Kay speaks at seminars, retreats, writers' conferences, and special events throughout the country and around the world. She is in wide demand as an instructor and keynote speaker at major writing conferences. She also enjoys speaking aboard cruise ships in exchange for exotic cruise destinations.
Schedule Kay for an interview or request her book for review by contacting Kathy Carlton Willis Communications at WillisWay@aol.com or call 956-642-6319.
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Sep. 17, 2009 - Macho macho man...
I think one of the greatest disservices we can do to our men and to the boys we raise is to confuse macho-ness with manliness. Although I believe that the "complementarian" view of marriage (different genders, different roles, different responsibilities), I think too often a cultural idea of "manliness" gets laid on top of the Biblical view of manhood, and eventually the cultural smothers the Biblical, causing pain, broken hearts, and broken families. Somehow people associate the Macho with the Man, when they really have nothing to do with each other.
Macho:: characterized by machismo : aggressively virile
Machismo 1 : a strong sense of masculine pride : an exaggerated masculinity
2 : an exaggerated or exhilarating sense of power or strength
Definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster Online.
Here's what the Bible requires of a man:
*Under the headship of Christ (Obedient to him, in other words) 1 Cor. 11:3
*Loving his wife sacrificially and unconditionally (Like Christ) and loving her "as his own body" (who hurts his own body?) Ephesians 5:24-30
*Under this heading of being like Christ, there is serving his wife, just as Jesus humbled himself and washed the filthy feet of his disciples
*Providing for his wife and family 1 Tim. 5:8
*To be unstained by anger or argumentativeness in their spiritual lives 1 Tim. 2:8
*Dealing righteously with the wife of his youth Malachi 2:15-16 (Interesting to note that this passage which is often used to explain that God hates divorce, also speaks to men very specifically telling them not to betray their wife and warning that God also hates a man who "covers himself with violence")
*Displaying the marks of the Spirit-filled Christian, which are found throughout the New Testament but which can be encapsulated in what are known as "the fruits of the Spirit": Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Now, look back at those dictionary definitions. Is there any similarity between "macho" and Biblical manhood?
A Real Man can be a camo-wearing hunter, Harley rider, weigh-lifter, sports-player, factory worker, truck driver, cowboy, and may come across looking "macho". However, a Real Man can also be a glasses-wearing computer programmer, paper-pusher, book-worm, classical musician, office manager, and may come across as a "nerd". The point isn't what they do for a living, for fun, or what they look like. It is how they relate to God and to their family and to the rest of the world. The cultural idea of a "macho" man is one who's concerned about his sexual prowess and his physical domination of those around him, wife, children, buddies, and strangers. A Biblical man may have physical strength and good looks, but his heart is concerned for the well-being of others and putting their needs ahead of his own.
Confusing the two has caused havoc in the Church and in the world. Many women have left the faith in anger and frustration because of the idea that Biblical manhood involves being overbearing and dominating. And many young women who consider themselves liberated and very much feminist suffer the consequences of a society that promotes predatory sexual behavior and a bizarre and unnatural ideal of beauty to attain in order to please and seduce a man. And this has been going on pretty much since the beginning, because humans have a tendancy to be sinful and selfish. There have always been truly good and Godly men, who follow the Biblical prescription for relating to their wife and children. And there have always been "macho" men who seek only to fill their own needs and stroke their own ego, even if it's to the detriment of women and children.
Even in 12th Century literature recognizes a difference between brutishness and Biblical manhood. From a book from that era on the beasts known to man, a little marital counseling makes a showing: "Lay aside, O Man, the pride of your heart and the harshness of your conduct when that diligent wife does hasten to you...You are not her lord, but her husband, nor have you chosen a female slave, but a wife. God wants you to be the director of the weaker sex (Aaahhh, OH NO! Sexism!!!!), but not by brute force. Return sympathy for her misfortunes, kindness for her love. Sometimes, where the viper is able to get rid of his poison (this counsel follows a section of the habits of the viper), you are not able to get rid of the heard-heartedness of your mind. Well, if you have a natural coldness, you ought to temper it out of respect fo the institution of marriage...." In other words, your wife is not your slave, you are not her master, you ought to be sympathetic, a good listener, tender-hearted, and warm...even if doing those things takes you out of your comfort zone.
Even if one takes a complementarian view, as I do, the Bible does not forbid a man from helping his wife, treating her well, serving her, and, I dare say, doing such things as washing dishes and changing poopy diapers if he sees that such service would be a blessing to her. Although the great Reformer Martin Luther has a reputation as a firebrand, and maybe even a bit of a crank, this is what he had to say on the subject of fatherhood:
"What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon all these insignificant, distasteful, and despised duties in the Spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the costliest gold and jewels. It says, O God, because I am certain that thou hast created me as a man and hast from my body begotten this child, I also know for a certainty that it meets with thy perfect pleasure. I confess to thee that I am not worthy to rock the little babe or wash its diapers, or to be entrusted with the care of the child and its mother. How is it that I, without any merit, have come to this distinction of being certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? O how gladly will I do so, though the duties should be even more insignificant and despised. Neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor, will distress or dissuade me, for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight."
We who have boys should not raise them to avoid at all costs such things as sweeping, bed-making, dish-washing, and cooking. We should allow them the physical outlets they need, but also encourage them to enjoy learning and to relish quietly reading a good book. We should teach them to be strong and resiliant, but also to recognized when a situation calls for graciousness, tenderness, and loving-kindness. We should teach them above all that leading a family does not mean ruling with an iron fist, but gently directing the course with compassion and consideration for the whole family, and demonstrating servanthood at every opportunity. If we have a son who has a passion for some activity not deemed "macho" by the culture, we should not discourage him, but find a way for him to pursue that in an appropriate way. We should never allow them to be mocked or made to feel that they are effeminite because of those interests. Real men cook, real men write books, real men find beauty in nature, real men make art, real men may even have an eye for decor.
For the Christian, A Real Man is not characterised by machismo, but by how closely his life and character is modeled on the life of Christ.
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Sep. 12, 2009 - Grandparents and learning at home
One of the ways we are blessed by spending this year at my parents home is that this place is heaven for people who love learning.
Firstly, there is just the general wealth of knowledge attained by two "elderly" (not really!) people who are also highly intelligent. They know answers to the kind of kid questions tha would baffle me. They also know a tremendous amount of trivium.
Second, my dad has a teacher's heart. And he loves to read aloud. And he makes learning exciting. He has a huge collection of books and is always coming home with more. While kid books are fun, as children we were introduced to real literature early on and he's carrying on that tradition with his grandchildren. The first book Asrat got attached to was a translation of a 13th century "Bestiary", a description of all the animals known to man at the time (or the animals claimed to be in existance, anyway), along with illustrations, and a great deal of theologizing the lives of said animals (the doctrine aquired from observing crow family life was wonderful, actually!). It is truly fascinating. Next came Robin Hood, with the story on CD for bedtime listening. I am hoping they will get the opportunity to listent to some stories from Dad's antique children's story collections, like The Wonder Clock. This afternoon he started reading Salman Rushdie's Harun and the Sea of Stories, which we all loved as kids (especially "But, but" the Hoopoe). Over supper, he likes to tell us what he's been reading about. Currently, we are learning all about corn. Or, corn and society, corn and obesity, corn and agribusiness, corn and organic farmers, corn subsidies, and so on. As you can see, starting with corn can lead us down all sorts of interesting rabbit trails, and it does.
If that weren't enough, Mom is great for field trips. She knows all the fun places to go and is happy to take us there.
Third, my brother and two sisters are in and out of the house all the time, all of them going to college (medicine, biology/theology, nursing) so supper-table conversations are always interesting and educational. My sister's college is nearby and Asrat got to take a "field trip" to visit her lab (where she "does things" to mice). He came home raving about the mice, the mice brains, the snake, and the "free spider" (not a member of the experimental team) he saw.
Fourth, with all these adoring relatives in the house, my kids have a wonderful fresh audience for all their antics. This encourages them to try new things, new words, and new concepts, simply for the multiplicity of applause they know they'll recieve.
So while we miss our Josiah/Baba, we do feel tremendously blessed to be spending this year here, instead of on our own. There's no better "consolation prize" than being here with wonderful family who love us to death and who support our homeschooling not just in theory, but in practice.
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Sep. 11, 2009 - We don't actually watch football
But I realized I actually had three Steeler's sweatsuits in just the right sizes for my guys, and it was a chilly day, so we did the Black And Gold thing today.
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Sep. 11, 2009 - Kid funnies
This afternoon my sister and I were getting supper ready, and one of us mentioned biscuits. A few seconds later Gebre came in shouting "Biscuits! Can I have one? Can I?!?!?!". He was followed by my dad who was chuckling. Dad hadn't heard anything, so he was startled when Gebre suddenly jumped up in the middle of watching Popeye, said "Ooooh! Biscuits", and dashed out of the living room.
This just proves that kids do indeed have selective, supersonic hearing. Over a noisy video, with all sorts of background noise and all the way across the house, the word "Biscuit" somehow floated out of the kitchen, through several walls, and into his little biscuit-lovin' brain.
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Later this evening we took the boys out for a walk in the neighborhood. Biruk has recently learned to jog, and he spends most of our walks "running away fwom you". This evening he took off jogging, then suddenly raised his right arm in a fist. Dad mentioned "Power to the people" and for the rest of the walk I was a mess of giggles, because it did look just like that.
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Sep. 11, 2009 - Asrat
Also likes swordfights (that's his Super Uncle James there)
Also likes trees
Is always eager to help his brothers when they need it
Begs to be allowed to read Medieval literature like this book (it does have pictures)
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Sep. 11, 2009 - Gebre
Climbs trees
And climbs trees
And contemplates trees
And rolls around in the grass
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Sep. 11, 2009 - Biruk
Sleeps anywhere
Dances on the stairs
Brings us strange offerings
Likes whacking people with foam "swords"
Loves reading time with Grandpa
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