Spirited Sons

Welcome to My Blog!

Schooling two active boys has never been more... interesting. That's the word I'm looking for! I love my boys! God has given them the blessing of strong, active bodies and minds. We continually pray the first will remain intact, and the second will remain engaged with Him first, and then the school work. You'll meet my sweet sons, both entirely different, but both loving God to the best of their ability in the way He made them. I lovingly refer to them as my Bell Pepper Boy and my Habanero or Hambone. That should say it all! This blog is an eclectic mix. The events, conversations, and the thoughts behind it all will be in here. Every once in a while I'll try to capture something I don't want to forget. I hope you find things you enjoy. Please let me know if you do! Blessings!

Our Curriculum

Mystery of History vol. 1
Saxon 5/4
Horizons Grade 2
A Beka Language
Spelling Power
Apologia Zoology 1

Books I'm Reading

The Bible (Isaiah)
Invitation to the Jesus Life
Discover Your Child's Learning Style
The Way They Learn
Archimedes and the Door of Science
(all things Trojan at the moment)

Favorite Links

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Boys and Their Toys

Posted in Boy Things

Most of my years as a mom has been spent acquainting myself with the toys boys love. Many of you may understand some of the love-hate that can go with that whole process. Take, for example, the plain and simple Lego. I love the hours of entertainment my boys have with their thousands and thousands of Legos of every size, shape, and...I'd say color, but most are standard issue Star Wars gray and black. The hate part of these toys is what happens to my vacuum cleaner when it has finally sucked up just one too many Legos. *sigh*

So, on to the topic of this entry: Bakugan. I won't begin a debate on the merits (or lack thereof) of the game itself. I'm just talking about the little plastic balls that turn "critter" when they are rolled. Moms who have these things in their homes know they are a combination of Happy Meal meets Transformer meets card game meets bowling. (At least, that's my take at this point.) Lucky me. These have been in my home for a very short time, and they have wreaked more havoc than I'd like to admit.

First, these things are small. They are pocket-sized and, for some bizarre reason, thoroughly entertaining and enthralling to a boy. Maybe this is why they seem to be everywhere I look? They appeared under the covers at bed time, so they had to disappear. When they appeared at the home schooling table, they disappeared. When they appeared at home school group, they disappeared. When they appeared at church--you got it--they disappeared! (Sensing a theme here?)

Home school group was Friday, and I confiscated the "critters" right before I left town for a ladies trip to Springfield, Illinois, for a Beth Moore conference (another topic to be sure). Well, wouldn't you know it--the little buggers ended up in my leather tote bag the whole time and continued to roll out of my bag repeatedly, causing them to expand/explode at various times when I was not in the mood. I can't even count the number of times I put the critters back into ball form at the hotel on Friday night! I would close one, and another would explode. See? These things really are everywhere I turn!

Today the critters were confiscated before service (all six of them). My Dashing Hero determined I should be the keeper of the critters in (where else?) my leather tote bag. This wouldn't be a problem if I weren't carrying my Bible, pen, and other necessary church things in my bag. Between worship songs and sermon, it was bound to happen. The leather tote toppled...and out came six little balls out of my bag. Yep. They exploded all over the aisle, popping like popcorn all over the floor.

Moms watching knew I had recently confiscated them, I'm sure.

But, really! Really? What did I do to deserve this moment in life? I would have left them in the middle of the aisle, but I knew people would probably be tempted to punt them in the direction of the stage thrust to score a goal...or maybe that's just me.

*sigh*

Boys and their toys.

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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Ancient Wonders of the World--According to a Boy

Posted in Boy Things

This year has been a bit of a review of the Ancients before we move into the Middle Ages, etc. At this specific time we were challenged to remember the list of the first few Wonders of the World.

Me: Can you list the first three Ancient Wonders of the World?

Bell Pepper: The Great Pyramid. The Hanging Gardens.

Habanero: And the hand writing on the wall!

Me: Son, these wonders are the larger-than-life, man-made wonders that we know of in history. There is a list of the Natural Wonders of the World, though, and those would be God-made, I suppose.

Habanero: Come on! A hand popping out of nowhere writing on a wall! THAT'S a wonder! And, it sure ain't NATURAL!

You know, he just might be right. . .

In other news, our handsome Bell Pepper will be turning 11 years old. Would someone mind informing me of how that could have happened while I wasn't looking?!?

Have a great week, friends!

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Sweet Little Victories!

Posted in Celebrations!

Every mother waits patiently for signs of maturity in her children. Those long-awaited glimpses into a child's emergence into something resembling responsibility are so sweet when they glimmer on the horizon, aren't they? Yesterday was my little peek into the lives of my peppers' growth and, if my eyes did not deceive me, the scene was sweet and sunny to my soul! (Insert warm, fuzzy feeling here.) ;')

A little background might be helpful. Those of you who read my less-than-regular blog entries know I have two awesome peppers. My older pepper is nearing 11 and entering sixth grade. My younger pepper is 8 and entering third grade this year. The older is the reserved, cautious Bell Pepper. The younger is my carpe-diem-without-fear-or-forethought Habanero. They are the spice of life, for sure!

Well, yesterday was the day we had planned to send Bell Pepper to a 6-hour bike camp with a friend. This is quite the undertaking, since this child has not been an avid bike rider over the last few years. He's preferred the safer Razor scooter to the bike. He's never built up any real endurance for biking. (The Dashing Hero and I had to admit we weren't sure this was a good idea at all, honestly.) Well, what a trip that was for this boy! When we thought he might not make it through the whole trip, we were wrong. Bell Pepper's victory was in meeting this challenge head-on, without going head-long too often.

I am proud to announce that this group of ten children learned bike safety, trail etiquette, and rode (get this!) a whole 15 miles on the trail! Bell only fell once, I hear, without any major injury. It had something to do with a hill, gravel, and brakes. He spent the day with 9 children and 4 leaders he didn't know, in an unfamiliar environment, working hard at a physical challenge he'd never attempted, and riding at a level he didn't even know he could! Little Brother wasn't even part of this whole excursion to encourage him. That's a big deal! Yay, Bell Pepper!

So, while Bell Pepper was off with his friend for the day on this adventure, Habanero went to his friends' house for the day. When he heard that he was going to spend time there, this little man planned out everything he needed for the day, packed it up, kept it with him, and managed to get it in the car! This is maturity for this 8-year-old boy. I would have thought I needed to tell him what to bring as I have at other times, but not so. DS game. (Check.) DS charger. (Check.) DS cartriges. (Check.) Shorts, in case it gets nice enough to go outside. (Check.) Awesome job, Habanero!

Sweet victories!

Now, I could mention that Bell Pepper needed only four things for his trip (two of which were on the counter in the kitchen while he was waiting for me to leave the house). *sigh* And, I could mention that Habanero's perfectly packed bag sat in the back seat of our car after he'd all ready loaded himself into the friends' van. I guess I have job security even now. . .

Yes, I made sure everyone had everything they needed before they headed off to their separate adventures. I'm good at my job. ;')

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Monday, June 22, 2009

"I Didn't Teach Her, Mom!"

Posted in Boy Things

Have you ever had moments when you felt it might be appropriate to crawl into the nearest uninhabited hole? Well, I had one of those yesterday. It was a pleasant family gathering for Father's Day. Everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the grilled food, the conversation, and the kids' fun.

It was a hot day and the perfect time for water balloon fun, so we turned the kids loose. A bucket was filled several times with lots of water balloons, and they had a great time trying to hit each other and any adult that would play. (No, I did not play.)

I had the perfect vantage point to watch the fun between my kids and the cousins, uncles, and aunts. A great time was had by all. Good, clean fun!

Then a young girl came over with a water balloon that was not tied and imitated a particular "boy action" that smelled like a "Habanero move" as I watched it. I was pretty sure this was one child teaching another child, but I never got a word out. My Dashing Hero was all over it immediately.

Hero: "[Habanero]!"

Habanero: "Yeah, Dad?"

Hero: "Did you teach her to do that?"

Habanero: "No, Dad. I didn't teach her. I showed her."

There was more to the conversation, but I was a goner. In my overtired state, I could only keep it together for half a nanosecond while I began to silently giggle behind my hands. Then it became a silent laugh. Eventually, I was sniffling. Tears streaming down my face, I tried desperately not to show my son the mix of embarrassment and hilarity that was overcoming my whole self!

*sigh*

Why would a boy show a girl something like that? Why would my boy show a girl something like that? Ugh.

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