We have been so busy lately, hence no blogging. But along the way, we have fallen into the habit of watching videos and playing online (pbskids, lego, etc.) much too much. Cutting back is always harder than going "cold turkey" so we've decided to have a TV-Computer Free Week. (With the exception of writing this blog.)
This is a great week for our endeavor, since Vacation Bible School begins on Monday. (The public schools let out last Thursday.) Our VBS is at night, so I decided to plan crafts and activities for our days. Today we went to lunch and Wal-Mart to buy some craft supplies (corn husks, moss, raffia, and a bag of shells). We were also going to buy parrafin wax and candle wick material, but we couldn't find those, so we'll be putting off that craft or finding another way to do it.
We also made some crafts using the shells that we bought. Noah made a drill, Jonah made a mountain, and Gracie glued two clam shells together so they look like a clam opening up. We also plan to make shell candles (I hope), a corn husk doll, a hut out of twigs, moss, and corn husks, and a chess set from twigs and shells. I'll let you know if they turn out.
Tomorrow we plan to go hiking and swimming at Inks Lake in the early morning, and then work on our crafts in the afternoon. Tuesday we babysit, so mostly crafts and reading new books by Tomie DePaolo, Big Book of Favorite Legends and Front Porch Tales and North Country Whoppers. Wednesday Mark has the day off, so we will go swimming at the Slab (on the Llano River near Kingsland) early in the morning. Thursday is Park Day with the homeschool group, and Friday we baby sit again. And of course, VBS every night. I'm feeling tired just typing it all out!
I almost gave up our TV Free Week today, thinking we could just cut back. It was mid afternoon. We had done our crafts. I was feeling terribly tired, needing to rest for a while. The children were asking what they could do next. I almost said, lets just watch a video, but I didn't. After a few minutes, Noah picked up a Hank The Cowdog book and began reading aloud to everyone. It was so nice to just lay on the couch and listen to someone else read aloud. We all enjoyed it very much.
Our day ended with a church picnic.
TV Free Week might not be so hard afterall.
Noah and Jonah have worked hard to create an origami display for our local library. I've included several pictures. The first two depict Noah's work. The last picture shows Jonah pointing to a minature Samurai hat that he made. Jonah's work is shown on the right side of the last picture.
I saw this wonderful video on Godtube. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I can't seem to figure out how to add images and videos, so go to http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513 to view it.
I decided to begin my Bible Reading Challenge a few days earlier so that I would get into the habit (again) of reading my Bible every day. I am reading the Gospel of John. It's surprising (or maybe not) how many new ideas/insights I find, even though I've read this book several times. What stood out to me is how quickly Jesus begins to tell the disciples who He really is. He never claims to be just a prophet or just a teacher or even just a wise man. No, from the beginning He claims to be from God. Descended from Heaven to Earth. The Son of God.
I hope you can join us in reading every day.
First, I have to apologize to everyone! I'm afraid I've been double posting on some blogs. Terribly sorry. It looks as if the post doesn't go through, so I click post again, and well, oops.
We have a new puppy around the house. We named her, Beulah, after Hank's love interest in Hank the Cowdog series. She is a border collie mix. The cats aren't sure what to make of her. As Mark says, there's been a cold war between them. She wants to herd the cats, or at least play with them. They want to sit in their windows and be left alone.
The other day Tiger was sitting in the window above our chest freezer. He got down to explore the kitchen for a minute, so I took the opportunity to open the freezer to get something out. About that time Beulah came barreling into the kitchen, Tiger jumped straight into the air, expecting to land on top of the freezer, but I had it open so he landed IN the freezer. His feet barely touched the frozen turkey in the bottom when he went straight up into the air again.
There was the sound of kitty and puppy feet scurring on our parquet floor. The kitty got better traction and found a new hiding spot. I almost fell into the freezer laughing. Never a dull moment around here!
I am so sick. I have been praying for several children with life threatening illnesses, children whose parents I "met" while blogging. It turns out that one of the parents made up the child, the illness, everything, and then yesterday posted a picture of another child, who is a real patient blogged about on www.caringbridge.org. Someone who knows the real family blasted the fake parent, contacted the real family and caringbridge. Then the poor mother left a message on the site. I cannot imagine how violated she must feel. Needless to say, the site has been removed. But I am left with this empty, sick feeling.
(So there are no misunderstandings, I continue to pray for Noah and Suzannah, both real children, whose mom's blog here also. Praying for them and following their families' stories has been a real blessing.)
Some how or other I ended up at Godtube today. I usually don't have much time to surf the web, but today.... I know that God is at work in my life.
If you want to be challenged, watch this video here: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=19fd9c84c942a08316e0. (Some day I will learn how to add buttons, pictures, and Godtube videos, but for now I'm afraid you'll just have to click and go.)
This is a sermon given at a youth conference several years ago. The video is almost 50 minutes long, so find a time when you won't be disturbed. It is worth every minute.
For another challenge, or at least motivation, to read your Bible daily, go to Leah's blog and sign up for her 30 day Bible Reading Challenge. You can find the information here.
I was reading the children some of the blog entries, mostly the ones having to do with things they had said. They again began discussing whether boys were mammals, with Jonah still insisting that they couldn't be. (Boys can't be mammals because they don't have babies--his reasoning.)
Dad: We are all the same species.
Jonah: No, we're not. Mom's a girl!
I guess just another take on the Women are from Venus/Men are from Mars theory.
Grace to Dad as she was writing: One time I made a beautiful "B".
Dad: You did?
G: Yes. I just had the Spirit, and it was really fancy. It was a beautiful "B".
Mom: Noah, why are you hitting that tree with a stick?
Noah: I'm not Noah. And I'm not hitting the tree. I'm Don Quixote and I'm fighting windmills.
Noah: Did Stephen McGee (Texas A&M quarterback) quit football?
Mom: No.
N: Oh, I must be thinking of Robinson Crusoe.
Mom: Robinson Crusoe?
N: You know. He used to play basketball with Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs).
Mom: Oh, David Robinson.
My dad recently sent me an email, urging me to check out this website: www.familywatchdog.us.
Enter your zip code to find out if any registered sex offenders live near you.
We discovered that a sex offender has moved into the house across the street and two doors down. Unfortunately, the registry is incomplete, so there is no picture, no information regarding his risk level, and no indication of his crime.
We are now aware of a known danger. However, most child molesters abuse multiple victims (I've even heard 50 vicitms) before they are reported. Some have hundreds of victims before they are ever convicted. Please don't feel too safe just because there are no known offenders in your neighborhood. A nice old man was recently arrested in Austin, TX. The "candy man" had been selling snacks to the neighborhood children for years, and inviting them into his house and molesting them.
I believe the best protection for children is not necessarily to teach them about stranger danger. We've all seen the Oprah-like shows where an ex-cop tries successfully to lure children away from the playground with tales of a lost puppy. Yes, there are dangerous strangers out there. But children do not understand what a stranger is. I still remember walking through the mall with my then 3 year old son who was pointing at people and asking, "Is that a stranger? Is that a stranger?"
We are our children's best protection. We must be discerning, vigilant, and wise.
I covet your prayers for our safety, but also for the safety of all the children in our neighborhood. (I count 11 under the age of 10 in a half block area PLUS a daycare licensed for up to 70 children.)
Our big, beautiful Golden Retriever died Sunday, most likely of hemangiosarcoma. (Evidently, cancer kills a large percentage of male Golden Retrievers by the time they are 7 years old.) We miss him terribly. Last night, we read Judith Viorst's book, The Tenth Good Thing about Barney, and then we worked on our own list of the ten good things about Jack. (Note--The adult in the book doubts the existence of heaven, but a child adamantly believes.)
Of course, the Bible is silent about our animals and if they do go to heaven; I don't know. I hate to think I've said goodbye to Jack forever. But Jack was a great dog. He loved us so dearly.
When Noah was about 7 or 8 years old, he got out of bed during the night. I was taking my bath. (The middle of the night, ok, 11 p.m., is about the only time I can be absolutely, almost sure of having an uninterrupted bath!!) Noah was afraid. I told him I would be out in just a minute. Before I got out, it got really quiet, which for Noah is really unusual. I finally got dressed and out of the tub and found Noah just outside our bathroom door, cuddled up next to Jack, asleep on the floor.
Jack never jumped on us. He was always very gentle. But if he had stood up and put his paws on my shoulders, he would likely have looked over my head.
We took him on several trips to the grandparents house. On one Christmas trip, he smelled the food just as we entered the house. Gran always makes steaks on Christmas Eve. I guess he wanted one. I had hold of him on the leash, but that wasn't going to slow him down. He dashed between my legs, bucked me into the air, but never managed to get that steak. I landed flat on my seat. I laughed so hard I cried. (Remember, I am less than 5 feet tall, and Jack was huge!! 150 pounds and NOT fat!)
On one of our return trips, Gracie was asleep in the van when we got home. We thought we would carry our things into the house before we carried her in. Jack would not get out of the van until EVERYONE was out. He was protective of all of us.
He liked to sit in the seat next to Grace in our van. Gracie would look at him and laugh, "Jack thinks he's a human!"
Jack loved to chase toads with the children. He never learned, though, not to put them in his mouth. If a dog puts his mouth on a toad, the toad releases a toxin that makes the dog foam at the mouth, drool and slobber. Jack would drop that toad like a hot potato and shake his head slinging slobber everywhere.
We have a tiny pond in the backyard with a little lily growing in it. That is one sturdy lily because Jack dug it up and hauled it out of HIS favorite drinking hole more times than I can count.
He was a great dog, our dog Jack.
Grace, proudly, as she peeled an orange, "I have opposable thumbs."
A few seconds later she remarked that "Boys are too mammals. Jonah says they're not mammals because they don't have babies."
Happy Valentines Day!!
I found a great recipe for homemade laundry soap here. I haven't been able to find the washing soda to make this, but I do have my own recipe to save money when it comes to laundry.
Instead of adding a full cap of laundry soap to your machine, add 1/2 that amount. Then add 1 cup of ammonia to your machine. Wash as usual. This works great for me. (If I'm doing a smaller load, I adjust the amount of ammonia accordingly.)
The homemade soap is a lot cheaper, but this works, too.
Note--NEVER mix ammonia with bleach. NEVER. NEVER. Creates a DEADLY GAS.
Also, don't mix with oxyclean, either.
A friend asked me for some math ideas. Of course, if it's free, I've looked into it. So here are some of the free resources I've found. I'm sure there are many more. Have fun.