May. 1, 2009 - Willow and the Pea

  

This just in from my 6 yr old Willow..... Willow found a pea on the floor from last night's dinner.  I thought she had thrown it away.  (....that was this morning)   (now this afternoon.....)   The kids are outside playing.  Willow just came in and said, "Do you know that pea that I had?  Well, I had it in my bike basket but it fell down a hole and got smashed.  Can I have a new pea?"   "What!!!"  I exclaimed.   "Please, mama!  I loved that pea!"   How could I refuse.  I gave her a new pea to love and care for.

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Mar. 11, 2009 - Chloe Read it Right

Our typically studious Chloe gave us a good laugh.  She was trying to tell us about a cool feature on a house that we pass on our way to church.  We couldn't figure out which house she was talking about.  She said, "You know!  The one that Morgan Stanley is going to live in".  We still had no clue which house she was referring to until.....

As we were driving to church, we passed an office building that is finishing up construction.  Chloe yells out, "There it is!  See!?" 

Well, sure enough!  The banner across the front of the building proudly reads: Future Home of Morgan Stanley 

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Mar. 11, 2009 - Another Quip from Willow

Someone: "Is your tv new?"

Husband: "Yes"

Willow: "But it still says bad words! It's not any better!"

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Feb. 25, 2009 - My Daughter's Dream Kitchen

Actually, I'm not sure what her dream kitchen will look like.  After all, she only just turned 6.  She revealed, however, a feature her kitchen will not have! 

She was standing on a chair by the counter, helping me stir something.  She announced, "I do not want a kitchen like this!  It is too shovey!" 

"What does shovey mean, honey?" I asked.

Her answer: "It means that when momma or daddy is in the kitchen, they are always shoving kids out of the way." 

Let me here clarify, lest you jump to false conclusions!  I love having the kids help me in the kitchen (usually) almost as much as they love helping.  The "shoving" part (which I think is a rather harsh description) comes in when there is more than one person in the kitchen.  One cannot be standing at the sink and still have there be room for either the dishwasher or the oven door to open.  And definitely, both doors cannot open at the same time!   Besides all this, there is the safety issue of a young child standing near an open oven door.

So, these are the times that a child must be shoved told to move to another area.  I guess this daughter doesn't like moving! 

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Dec. 8, 2008 - Reformation Party

Yes, this post is a month late.  It has taken me a month to find the time to write it up!  I do not know how many of you find the time to blog!  I enjoy it so much but I just don't have it figured out how to fit it in.  I can't sit at the computer long enough to write more than a paragraph and to read a couple other blogs.  But I really want to share what I did....

This year, on October 31, we had our 1st Annual Reformation Party.   I had so much fun that I found it very difficult to stop and take any pictures.   In fact, below are all 5 pictures that I took!  We had 3 other families over to celebrate with us. 

I used the book Night of Reformation by Doorposts as my main resource.  Here's a recap of what I did for my first party.

I spent quite a bit of time on decorations since I plan to re-use them each year.  I covered a hallway on our main level with painted stone walls.  It took me several hours to paint the paper stone walls but it proved to be well worth the time.  Now that I know how to paint faux stone walls, I think I can crank out several more next year.   I was easily able to pull the paper walls down and roll them up for re-use.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of these cool walls.

My living room morphed into the "Wittenberg Museum".  The walls were decorated with posters displaying the life and times of the Renaissance period.  There was a registry table where guests could submit entries to the museum exhibits.

I had a Bible Times exhibit that contained entries such as a stone (that David used to kill Goliath), straw (from Jesus' manger), staff (used by Moses), oatmeal (desert manna), etc.  The Reformation exhibit contained items such as a castle diorama, handmade clay pot (old German pottery), reproduction of the 95 thesis (a.k.a photocopy!), and a catapult.  I saved all these crafts for next year and look forward to adding to it.

I did a presentation on the life of Martin Luther followed by a silly quiz for the kids.   We did a Gospel Vs. Law sack race in the yard.  The dining room was the "translation room".  It had Scripture codes the kids had to solve.  Here are some of the kids hard at work (including my 2 yr old down at the end!) 

Our snacks included hot cider, donuts, apples & dip, popcorn, and pumpkin roll. 

For the trick-or-treaters that came to our door, we handed out gospel pencils and candy.

We did a fortress building contest.  Each family had different materials with which to build their fortress (legos, bristle blocks, lincoln logs, mega blocks).  Each family had about 8 minutes to build their fortress - the amount of time it took to play "A Mighty Fortress"  through 2 times.  It was very fun listening in on how each family works together as a team. They all did very well!

What a great evening we had.  I'm already making plans for next year's Reformation Party.  I'm thinking of setting the theme around the life of Martin Bucer.  Don't really know who he is but I guess I'll be finding out!  I read something about him and his wife that interested me which is how I chose him as my next "theme".

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Sep. 16, 2008 - Answers in Genesis at the zoo!

I took the kids to the zoo last week.  This time we took along our Zoo Guide by Answers in Genesis.  I don't find the exhibit signs to be full of enough interesting information.  The kids always love looking through Zoo Guide so this time I decided to bring it along with us.

Shortly into our visit, we sat down to eat our picnic lunch.   Just as we were finishing up, a zoo employee (David) sat down at our table with us and struck up a conversation.  Turns out he is the zoo's education specialist.  He shared with us many eye witness stories and tidbits about the animals both in captivity and in the wild.  He noticed the Zoo Guide and asked to take a look.  Of course, it is creation based!  But that didn't deter him from pulling out his notebook and writing down the information on where to purchase his own copy!  Woo Hoo!

We also were able to share some information about the animals that he didn't know!......That the book of Romans states that man can know there is a God simply by looking at creation. There is no way an explosion could leave behind all this wonderful nature that works together so wonderfully. It took God to create it! We shared that when the animals were created they were all plant eating.  When sin entered the world, it changed everything, including nature!  We also shared that one day the LORD will return. There will be a new heaven and a new earth.  The lion will lie down with the lamb.

Well, I hope he does indeed purchase Answers in Genesis' Zoo Guide.  It may be a tool that leads to a changed life.  He gave us his card and told us to be sure to call him the next time we visit the zoo.  He will give us a personal tour.  Oh Yah!!!

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Jun. 27, 2008 - I Was Fired!

I was left cleaning the kitchen all by myself after an unusually late dinner.  The children had all deserted me in order to do their bedtime routine.  My 5 year old son yelled down from his bedroom, "Hey mom!  I don't have any clean underwear!" 

"Sorry!", I answered back.

He bellowed in reply, "You're fired!"

"Good!", I retorted, "I'll just go find a family where the kids all do their own laundry!"

My nervey little son shot back with, "That's a fairy tale!  You're stuck with us!"

I have no doubt that my husband was feeding my son his lines! 

(By the way, my 8 yr old has been helping with the laundry for a couple years. Recently, my 5 yr old daughter asked me to teach her how to work the washing machine and dryer.  Guess I better get right on that!)

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