Recently (well not too recently - ha!), our local homeschool group did another unit study.  This time, we focused on the Civil War.  Again, classes were held every Monday from 1-3pm, but this time ran for 6 weeks instead of 4.  Even then, we had a hard time cramming everything into 6 weeks, since there was just so much involved in the Civil War.  Nevertheless, it was a very fun and educational study!  Here is the outline that we followed:

Week 1:  Causes of the Civil War discussed (slavery govenment, taxes, etc.)

·                    Each student needs to bring their own notebook.  Papers (worksheets, puzzles, interesting articles,etc.) will be handed out each week to be put in them.

·                    Activity -- Class will be divided into Union and Confederate sides and make their corresponding flags.

Week 2:  Slavery (treatment of slaves, underground railroad, etc.)

·                    There will be first-person drama presentations from classmates on Frederick Douglas, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth & Harriet Beecher Stowe.

·                    During class, we will also be trying some southern slave biscuits with homemade butter we make in class.

·                    Activity -- We will pick a piece of slave quilt to make out of construction paper for our notebooks and then we will be learning how to make a slave quilt block to sew and put together as a class (a take-home project).  We will also learn what a slave quilt was and its hidden meanings.

Week 3:  Abraham Lincoln (Union) and the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis

·                    There will be first-person drama presentations from classmates on Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.

·                    Activity -- We will be making sketch journals dyed with tea, and explaining how they were used during the Civil War.  We will also be explaining how the students will be preparing a diorama for next time.

(We were gone to Chicago this week, so we missed this one... thus, no pictures)

Week 4:  Famous people and famous battles

·                    There will be first-person drama presentations from classmates on Bella Boyd, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

·                    Any student may give a 2- or 3-minute presentation on their diorama.  (We didn't have time to make a diorama since we were gone all last week, but Joshua decided to assemble one really quick Monday morning before class.)

·                    Activity -- Girls will be making rosettes and boys will be making haversacks.

Week 5:  Medical, weapons, uniforms & soldier food

·                    There will be first-person presentations from classmates on Clara Barton and Dorothea Dix.

·                    Activity -- We will divide into groups and make hardtack.

·                    Activity -- Girls will be making fans and boys will be sanding wooden muskets.

Week 6:  Effects of the Civil War will be discussed

·                    100 questions will be given to each student to answer and bring to the banquet to receive a candy bar.

·                    Activity -- Spelling Bee for the lower grades

·                    Activity -- Spelling Bee for the upper grades

·                    Everyone meet over at the park for re-enactment and pictures.

To end this UNIT STUDY, we will be having a Civil War banquet on Saturday night (March 21st) with costumes.  We will have special guests that include Civil War soldiers (re-enactors) and artifacts such as muskets from the Civil War.  We will have a picture area set up so you can have your family pictures taken with some of these artifacts.  Please bring an authentic Civil War recipe.

Yes, we went back to Des Moines for another rally at the capitol on Monday, April 13th.  Norman went with us this time, so it was a pleasant family outing.

Instead of writing it up this time, however, I’ll just copy the email that Justin LaVan (legislative liaison for Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators - NICHE) wrote up and sent to all of us...

“The Marriage Rally web page is up on the web.

www.homeschooliowa.org/localandnationalnews/marriagerally.html

The article below is a follow-up report on Monday's rally to stop homosexual marriage.

You can view a slide show of the event at the NICHE website:

www.homeschooliowa.org

More photos will be added, so check back again tomorrow, too!

Hundreds of Iowans from all parts of the state - including countless homeschooling families with children of all ages - braved the cold, rainy weather and gathered on the steps of the Capitol April 13. Their mission? To urge legislators to enforce the existing law, which states, “Only a marriage between a male and a female is valid.” [Iowa Code 595.2(1)]

The rally was spearheaded by Everyday America and cosponsored by a number of organizations, including The Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE).

Everyday America founder Bill Salier challenged those in attendance to demand their legislators and the governor restore the balance of power by recognizing that a court opinion does not automatically override existing law, and our elected officials must not submit to activist courts.

Salier also hailed the marriage amendment as the long-term solution that will prevent courts from future attempts to usurp Iowa law regarding marriage. In the meantime, the governor also has the responsibility, Salier emphasized, to issue an executive order preventing same-sex marriage licenses from being issued because they are prohibited by existing Iowa law.

The clear message to the Legislature and governor resounded from multiple speakers: Enforce the existing law on marriage and let the people vote on a Constitutional amendment, or you'll be replaced in the next election cycle.

Other sponsoring organizations joined Everyday America in rallying for traditional marriage, with speakers representing their respective groups.

Justin LaVan, legislative liaison for the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE), addressed the crowd with a biblical analysis, showing how the Iowa Supreme Court has usurped God's authority and instead of being custodians of God's law the Court has declared itself sovereign over marriage, issuing opinions that violate God's institution of marriage.

Gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats declared at the rally and in a post-rally press release that if he were governor today, he would issue an executive order to “stay” same-sex marriages, until the people of Iowa had an opportunity to vote on a Constitutional Amendment, and he challenged Gov. Culver to do the same.

Several other speakers delivered powerful messages at the rally, including Tamara Scott, Iowa director for Concerned Women for America; Bradley Cranston, a Burlington pastor and president of Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values; Chuck Walsh of the American Independent Party of Iowa; Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center; and former Sen. Kitty Rehberg, state president of Iowa Eagle Forum and co-founder of Everyday America. Iowa Christian Alliance also was a sponsor of the event.

Following 90 minutes of rousing speeches, the powerful citizen lobby of families and individuals mounted the steps to the Capitol, waited patiently through the long security lines and then spent the afternoon calling out legislators.

The rotunda was tightly packed with citizens opposed to government-endorsed homosexual marriage - more crowded than it's ever been for any issue, observed one longtime Capitol building worker. The wall-to-wall people (even more crowded than NICHE's 850-strong Homeschool Day at the Capitol last month) created ideal opportunities to engage legislators as they squeezed through the myriad of citizens in their path to leave or enter their chambers.

The passionate, firm, respectful and unwavering challenges from countless faithful, committed families - adults and children, from districts all over the state - sent a strong message to our elected officials that resonated throughout the Capitol: “We the people” are righteously angry and we aren't going to stand for God's institution of marriage being descrated.”

Those of you who weren't able to attend, but prayed for God's hand to be upon the efforts, are a huge blessing and a mighty force for righteousness.

Thank you to everyone who abandoned your plans and stood at the Capitol April 13, or kneeled in prayer at your home, lifting our leaders in prayer to our Lord.

The battle continues, so the presence and prayer must continue, as God leads.

May God be glorified through it all.”

As most of you know, Iowa recently became the 3rd state to allow marriage between 2 people of the same sex.  Now, mind you, this was not voted on by the people of Iowa.  No!  Rather, seven unelected judges unanimously struck down Iowa's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) last Friday, forcing same-sex "marriage" on the people of Iowa in a stunning act of judicial tyranny.

A lot of people across the nation have asked, "Why Iowa?"  Iowa is usually considered more "behind the times" and maybe even a little backward, compared to the states on the east and west coasts.  But, Iowa has seen many changes within the last 10 or so years.  These changes don’t come upon us suddenly either.  They have been slowly sneaking their way in.  Besides having a Democrat for a governor (who has lied and not supported Traditional Marriage like he said he would), there have also been multi-millionaires (for example, Tim Gill) pumping money into our political system, promoting pro-gay legislators.  (See "Gay Activists Target Smaller Races in U.S." for more info on this.)

So, now we not only have a "moral issue", with an unbiblical law taking effect on or around April 24th, but we also have a breach of the constitutional separation of powers.  The Iowa Supreme Court has attempted to make law--which is NOT the role of the judicial branch.  I would think that even the pro-gay supporters would stand up and take notice that something isn’t quite right here! 

That's why, when we received an email asking supporters of traditional marriage (between a man and a woman, as God set it up in the beginning of time) to come and join in their rally yesterday, we decided to get involved.  It was time to stand up for what we believe in!  Plus, I thought it would make a great Civics lesson for our boys.  J

Norman wasn't able to go, so the boys and I got up early Thursday morning and headed to the state capitol building in Des Moines at 6:30 am.  This was the day when the first procedural vote to bring the Iowa Marriage Amendment (IMA), also known as House Joint Resolution 6 (HJR 6), to the floor would occur.  This amendment (if passed) was going to put the marriage question on the 2010 election ballot, so "the people" of Iowa could vote on whether or not marriage should be just between a man and a woman.

Before the session started, however, both sides held rallies.  The Traditional Marriage supporters were on the West Terrace of the Capitol and the pro-gay marriage supporters were on the south side.  The email that we received asked us all to wear red, so we looked for the "red people" to make sure we were in the right group.  J  There ended up being around 300 or so people in ours.

Our rally started at 8:30 with a beautiful and emotional prayer (sorry, I didn’t get the man’s name who led it).  It was then followed by comments from Iowa Family Policy Center (IFPC) Action Board Chair, Danny Carroll, who is also a former Republican representative from Grinnell.  He instructed, “You can let them know today that this issue is different.  This is not about taxes or spending and regulations.  This is about morality and the word of God.”  Chuck Hurley (IFPC) also made some comments.

After our rally was over, we were herded into the capitol building and passed through security.  The South Gallery filled up quickly with the “red people”, so the rest of us were sent over to the North Gallery, where the gay activists were seated.  By now, it was standing-room-only, so the boys and I stood against the wall and waited patiently for things to begin.

“One Iowa” is the state’s largest gay-rights advocacy group.  I would say that our group of “red people” far outnumbered the “One Iowa” group.  And, although, extra law enforcement was brought in on Thursday, it was not needed.  Everyone acted in a very grown-up and respectable manner.

Finally at 10:00, the Speaker of the House, Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque), started the session.  Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) sought to force a vote on the marriage amendment bill.  The Speaker ruled the effort “out of order” and it was thrown out.  The exact ruling can be found at:  http://www.whotv.com/media/acrobat/2009-04/46095770.pdf

Another member was recognized and said something about the Republicans going to caucus in such&such a room and the Democrats going to theirs.  The House was then recessed until 1:00.  That is when the “red people” started chanting, “Let Us Vote!” over and over for quite a few minutes.

Everyone then started leaving, but I was a little confused about what had just taken place (or rather, hadn’t taken place), so I asked a woman who was standing next to us.  She explained it all very well to me.  Mainly, in order for this procedural vote to have passed, it needed 51 supporters.  It only got 43, who all happened to be Republicans.  We needed more support from Democrats, but that was very unlikely to happen.

So, what happens now?

Well, for us, we were tired from getting up so early and also hungry, so we took a quick tour of “our” beautiful Capitol…

… and then we left and went to Arby’s for lunch.  After that, we decided to head on home.

We had been informed that when the House came back at 1:00, they’d most likely discuss the budget or some issue like that.  But, I learned later that Christopher Rants (R-Sioux City) tried to revive the issue during the debate of the state’s health and human services budget.  His proposal would have gutted House File 811 and replaced it with the amendment measure.  It failed on a procedural vote, but this time with 2 Democrats joining hands with the Republicans to allow debate.

If lawmakers approved a proposed constitutional amendment this year, a second vote by the Legislature would be required in 2011 or 2012.  If it was passed a second time, Iowans could vote on the measure in November 2012.

Chuck Hurley said that Iowa Family Policy Project would continue to push for a vote.  So…  it’s not over yet!  Please keep praying for our lawmakers and the rulers over our land, that they would turn to God for quidance in all of their decisions.

And, like John Quincy Adams said, “Duty is ours; results are God’s.”

For more information and updates, check out these websites:

www.ifpc.org

http://letusvoteiowa.org/

~Connie~

Sometimes I wonder just how much our sons are picking up by our teachings and examples.  Are we doing enough?  Do we serve others as much as we need to so that our sons can learn by our actions?  Are they too self-centered?  Are our boys oblivious to other people’s needs?

Something happened on Thursday, though, that made my heart glad and gave me hope for their future.

The boys and I were running errands and stopped in at the bank.  Usually we just  use the drive-up window, but this time we had to go inside to take care of some business. 

While I was talking to the teller at our window, Samuel noticed a black cane hanging from the counter nearby.  He said, “I think it belongs to that old lady that was here a little while ago.  I think I know which way she went.”  And, grabbing the cane, he rushed out the door and across the street.

It took me a few more minutes to finish up my business, but Samuel still hadn’t shown up yet.  Joshua and I went outside, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.  I thought that maybe he had made his delivery and had gone on to the van, but when I looked in it, he wasn’t there either.

I was starting to get a little concerned, when I looked up and saw him coming in our direction from the parking lot across the street.  When he got closer, he told his story…

“When I crossed the street, I heard a car start up and saw an old woman in it.  I went over and asked her if this was her cane and she said that it wasn’t.  I asked her if she had seen a little old lady and she said that she had seen one going into the pharmacy next door.  I went inside and there she was!”

I was glad it all worked out well in the end with the cane getting reunited with its owner, but I was also glad to see our son take action without being prompted.  It was just an automatic reaction on his part.  He saw a need… and he fulfilled it.

Thank you, Lord, for working in our sons’ hearts and molding them into what you would have them to be… servants in Your Everlasting Kingdom.

~Connie~  

Last night we watched “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington”.  Our family really enjoys this story!  It is very educational since it shows the behind-the-scene workings of our government, plus it’s just plain fun to watch.

Our DVD player is set up to cut out any bad language.  However, the closed caption was on and everything that was being said was also written out at the bottom of the screen.

This should have been okay for this particular movie because we weren’t aware of any bad words in it.  That’s why we were surprised when Joshua announced, “They cut out a bad word!”

Hesitantly, Norman asked, “Oh?  What word was that?”

Joshua didn’t miss a beat… “Holy macaroni”.  He had read the word wrong, but I couldn't help but laugh. 

Friday (Final Day):

Today wasn’t quite as exciting as the other days, which, I guess, can be a good thing.  J  At this point, we were getting tired of walking, tired of traveling back-and-forth on the highway, some of us were coming down with colds, and we just wanted to go home.  But, Norman still had class to attend today… so we had to check out of our hotel room and find somewhere to go.

There were actually a few places that we still wanted to see, but since Norman thought he’d be done early today, I told the boys to chose only one.  I gave them the choices of the Shedd Aquarium and The Field Museum, which were right next to each other alongside the lake. 

The Field Museum has Sue, the largest, most complete T. rex ever found.  We had studied about her in our homeschooling, so it would’ve been fun to see that exhibit.  But, the boys finally decided to go to the aquarium instead.

We weren’t supposed to use flash photography inside, so that kind of limited us on taking pictures.  Below is one I took of a black stingray with white splotches on its back.  Samuel liked it because one of the splotches made a perfect “S”.

We quickly went around, looking into each tank.  If we found something that was particularly interesting or unusual, we would linger a little longer… such as at the Jellyfish’s tank.  These were awesome!

When we entered the cafeteria, the boys said that they were hungry and wanted to get a meal.  At first, it sounded like a good idea.  But while they were trying to decide what to get, it occurred to me that we had only been at the aquarium for a little over an hour and we would have to be leaving before too long to pick up Norman… and I couldn’t see spending $48 just to sit in a cafeteria!  So, I let the boys pick out something small to snack on and then we moved on.

We finished looking at everything upstairs and then we went down to the Wild Reef section.  Of course, sharks are always exciting!

And, the different types of coral are beautiful!

The Oceanarium section was closed for renovation, so we went on to the gift store and purchased a few items before leaving.

When we arrived back at the Sharp building, Norman came out and informed us that his class wouldn’t be done until around 5:00 afterall.  We were a little disappointed since we could’ve gone to The Field Museum in the afternoon.

But, the more I thought about it, the more I was glad that we came back.  Rush hour traffic would’ve been crazy later on since it was a Friday.  It would’ve cost us quite a bit to see yet another museum.  Plus, it would’ve been more walking and rushing about, trying to see everything. 

Instead, the boys and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Arby’s and then I gave them $5 apiece to spend at the Dollar Tree.  They thought this was great!  J

Finally, we were headed back home.  We didn’t stop for supper until we got to Iowa City.  There, we ate at a Steak ‘n Shake.  YUM!!!  We don’t have any in our area, so our family always considers it a special treat to eat at one.

Oh yeah, before I forget... Norman ended up passing his test and received his Certification of Achievement.

After all, that is why we got to go to Chicago!  J

~Connie~

Thursday (Day 4):

Yes, there was a robbery in our hotel!  It happened at a quarter ‘til 8 this morning at the front desk… while Norman was in the breakfast room right next to the front lobby! 

He didn’t realize that anything had happened until the place started swarming with cops.  They taped off the front door with the yellow crime scene tape and proceeded to question the ones at the front desk. 

Thankfully, no one was hurt and the robber only got away with $300… probably drug money.  He was wearing a mask, but the guy at the front desk told the police that he would still be able to identify him if he saw a picture of him, so he went with them in one of the police cars.

After having a rather rough start, though, we ended up having a good day.  The boys and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry this time, which was also along Lake Michigan.  It was misting out and foggy, so it took us a little while to find it.  And when I did, I wasn’t sure where to park.  After I found a spot, however, a security guard came over to us and said that this parking lot was just for the workers.  He was really nice and ended up being a God-send!  When I asked him where the visitor parking lot was, he gave me directions to the one underground which would cost us $16.  But then he went on to explain that if I wanted to park for free, he would direct me to another route that would take me around by the Henry Crown Space Center.  Yes!!!

And, since “space” is a big interest in our family right now, this was a good place to start.

At 10:50, we saw the “Grand Canyon Adventure” in the Omnimax Theater.  This film took us on an exhilarating river-rafting adventure down the Colorado River.  The scenery was beautiful!  Some day, I’d like to see the Grand Canyon in person, but this was good enough for now.  Besides, this took us places that I’ll probably never get to in real life.

Next, we took an on-board tour of the actual U-505 submarine from aft to fore.  The history behind this sub was very interesting, especially since it was the only German U-boat captured during WWII.

The exhibit surrounding the U-505 had nearly 200 artifacts, including an authentic German Enigma machine, a T5 acoustic torpedo, historic film footage, photographs, radio transmissions and audio narratives from the veterans of the U.S. Navy who made the capture on June 4, 1944… 2 days before D-Day.  Aboard the captured U-boat, they had found the German codebook and other secret materials which assisted Allied code breaking operations.

Only one of the U-505 crewmen died during the battle.  The others were rescued and interned at a U.S. POW camp.  However, they were kept isolated because the Navy didn’t want it to leak out that they had captured the U-boat due to all of the top secret information involved.  The prisoners’ families were informed that the crew had all died and didn’t know any differently until they were released in 1947.

After we were finished with this exhibit (which took a while!), I looked at our map to see where to go next and that’s when I realized that we were less than ¼ of the way through the museum and only had ½ the day left!  I informed the boys that we really needed to hustle!  I was starting to understand why it was considered the largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere!

It was so hard, though, to hurry along!  There were just too many fun things to see and do!

This up-to-date John Deere combine was in the “Farm Tech” section.  I took these pictures for my dad, who is a retired farmer:

Another section that slowed us down was “Fast Forward… Inventing The Future”.  This exhibit intrigued our Speedy Gonzalez…

…and our Future City Builder.

The boys also enjoyed seeing the “Spirit of America”, which is the world’s fastest car…

…and the carefully crafted replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, also dubbed “The Spirit of Glen Ellyn”.

Looking down in the “Transportation Gallery”, we could watch 34 trains on a cross-country journey race from Chicago to Seattle through realistic terrain and cityscapes.

The boys also wanted to check out the inside of a real airplane (or maybe just rest their weary feet!  J), so this was our final stop before the museum closed at 4:00.

No, we didn’t see near all of the displays!  Even now, as I look at the museum’s website, I see sooo many things that I wish that we could’ve seen.  This is definitely a 2-day attraction!

Traffic was really bad today (Chicagoans must start their weekends early – ha!), so we were a little late picking up Norman.  That was okay, though, since it gave him time to hang out at Mc Donald’s with his laptop.  J

The boys and I had skipped lunch to give us more time at the museum, so we decided that the IHOP was the best place to fill our empty tummies.  Now, you might wonder why we didn’t eat at more exotic restaurants while we were in Chicago.  If it were just Norman and me, we would have.  But, with the boys, we decided to go to the “tried and true” eateries.  We wanted them filled up instead of going back to our hotel room and saying, “I’m hungry!” 

Needless to say, we were exhausted… and our feet ached!  So, the guys went back to the pool.  And me?  Well, I was hungry, so I got me a bag of peanut M&M’s from the vending machine.  ;-)

(Coming up… the Final Day)   

Wednesday (Day 3):

This is the day that we got to experience the true Chicago.  Instead of going along the lake shore, the boys and I went downtown… into the heart of the city. 

Our goal was to go to the Sears Tower in the morning and then go to a museum in the afternoon.  Sounded like a simple plan, right?  Hahahahahahaha...... (insert hysterical laughter here)

We had heard that taking the “L” was fun and cheap, so I figured that it would be a lot easier than driving into Chicago and trying to find a parking spot.  The closest station to our “favorite” highway was in Chinatown, so that is where I chose to park.

The “L” train is situated above the ground in Chinatown, but as it nears downtown, it goes underground into a subway.

After the boys and I boarded the “L”, I noticed right away that we were the minority.  Most (if not, all) of the others riding were black. 

We bounced and swayed along in between stops until we reached the preferred destination for the Sears Tower.  We got off and climbed the stairs back up into the sunlight.  According to my map, I knew which direction we needed to go, so we just started walking.  Of course, there were tall buildings all around us, so we couldn’t see the Sears Tower.

After awhile, I asked a friendly-looking woman where the tower was, but she couldn’t tell me.  Hmmm… must have been another tourist, I thought to myself.  So, I decided to ask someone who worked there.  I found a young man with a uniform, who was a parking lot attendant.  I asked him where the Sears Tower was.

Looking around, he answered, “Well… I’m not real sure.  I was away for two years and I’ve only been back now for a year.  I think you’re going in the right direction, though.”

WHAT?!?  Sears Tower is the highest skyscraper and most recognizable building in Chicago… and no one knows where it’s at???

We kept walking.  And, finally, there it was!  Quite impressive!

After buying our tickets inside, we had to watch a video presentation of the history of the building before going up.  It was an interesting story.  After that, our group all squeezed into the elevator and got to watch a mini cartoon while we went up, up, up… to the 99^th floor Skydeck.  Usually, visitors get to go to the 103^rd floor, but it is undergoing some changes right now.  But, this level was great!

I was thankful it was all glassed in.  I had been a little spooked out about the idea of being so far up, out in the open, with just a dinky fence between us and sudden death.  This was soooo much better!  Plus, we were able to walk all around the building, on all 4 sides.  The view was spectacular!  It was a little hazy off in the distance, but on a clear day, they claim that you can see up to 50 miles away… and 4 states!

Look at all the toy cars!

The Adler Planetarium that we went to yesterday is the farthest building out on the lake.  The next building with a white roof, coming inland, is Shedd Aquarium.

Looking more north (in the picture below), the tall dark building with two antennas is the Hancock building.  It is also open for visitors to go up to their observatory and claims to have the fastest elevator.  That’s okay.  The Sears elevator was enough to mess up Joshua’s head for the rest of the day, cartoon or no cartoon.  :-P

Back down on solid ground once more, we spotted a McDonald’s on a corner and decided to take a lunch break.  We chose a table by the window where we could watch the busy hub-bub pass by as we ate.  And then, getting a little concerned that the 2-hour limit on our “L” tickets might be almost up, I hurried the boys back outside.  Along the way, we spotted some pigeons of all different colors.  And, being the tourists that we were, we took pictures of them.  I think the passersby found us rather amusing.  J

Okay, things started getting serious.  I thought for sure I knew the route back to our hole underground, but as we kept walking, it just wasn’t appearing.  Finally, I gave in and pulled out my map as we parked ourselves on a nearby bench.  That’s when a nice black man stopped and asked us if we needed help.  I told him where we needed to go and he pointed us in the right direction.  After some more walking, sure enough, there was our entrance into the subway.

Just as I’d thought, our tickets had expired.  This Iowa girl was a little corn-fused about how to add more time to our already existing tickets which needed to be inserted into a machine, buttons punched and more money fed into it, so I had a lady at the booth help me.  I still think I paid too much money, but at this point, I didn’t care.  Just take me to my car!

Actually, it was quite the experience down in the subway system.  While we were waiting for our train to arrive, we got to enjoy the singing of an older black man.  He was singing spiritual songs and hoping that people would drop some money into his bucket.  He was a pretty good singer, too.  Now, whenever I hear “Lean on Me”, I will think of him.

I wish I could’ve taken pictures of him and others around town, but I wasn’t sure what the privacy policy is on taking pictures of other people.  I suppose I could have asked him, but I was already feeling a little uncomfortable down in the dimly-lit subway and I didn’t want to cause a ruckus.  I had already smiled at a baby behind me who was making cute little sounds and the parents looked back stone-faced, so after that it was, “Okay, you mind your business and I’ll mind mine.”  J

It was nice to get back to “our” car again.  I thought we might still have time to fit in a museum, so I decided to drive on through Chinatown, keep on Cermak Road and head on over to the lake.  Well, I kept driving… and driving… and driving… but the lake just wasn’t coming into view.  I figured it must be because things always look closer on maps than they do in real life, so I kept going.

And then I came to Harlem.  Uh-oh!  That’s when I realized that I had been going in the opposite direction all that time!  Somehow, I had gotten mixed up back in Chinatown.

That’s also when Joshua decided that he needed a restroom really bad.  This wasn’t exactly the place I wanted to be for a bathroom stop, but I had no choice.  And, it made me even more concerned about our safety when we walked into Popeye’s and the sign on the restroom door said “POLICE WILL BE CALLED IF ANYONE IS IN HERE FOR OVER 5 MINUTES”.  Gulp!

An old, black “bag lady” who was all stooped over didn’t help calm my fears any either.  She was standing at a pay phone right next to Samuel and me as we waited for Joshua to get done and was muttering (and sometimes swearing) under her breath about “somebody gonna call da police” when Joshua was taking so long.  After awhile, though, I became a little amused, if not saddened, by her antics.  I never did see her face, but she was constantly rummaging through her plastic shopping bags as if looking for something.  But all I could see in her 5 or so bags was just more plastic bags and shopping ads… nothing of any substance.

When the boys and I were safely back in the car, without being murdered or escorted away by the police, we had a pow-wow and decided that we’d just get back on the highway and head for our hotel.  I think we all were worn out by that time.

We relaxed and watched some tv back in our room for a little while before picking up Norman.  This time we ate at Denny’s and then the guys had their normal routine of playing in the pool. 

I noticed that some of us might run out of certain clothing items before the end of our stay, so I threw a load of laundry into the washer on the second floor.  Since this was off-season, there weren’t very many people in this hotel and our room was located on the first floor.

However, tonight there was quite a commotion on the second floor.  It seems that a group of young people had gotten rooms up there for a wild night of partying.  They were in the hallway carrying on, so instead of taking the elevator, I walked clear down to the end of our hallway and took the flight of stairs up.  That way, I could go right over to the laundry room and ignore the carousers as best as I could.  It worked out okay until my guys were all in bed asleep and I had to go up late into the night… all by myself.  Well, not quite by myself.  I was praying the whole way.  J

(Coming up… Day 4 and the robbery!)

Tuesday (Day 2):

After dropping Norman off at the Sharp plant, the boys and I again got on Hwy 55 and headed east toward Chicago.  This time, we went to Adler Planetarium, which was also along the lake.  The gusty winds blowing across the lake were very icy today, too!  Brrrrr!!!

Looking back toward the city from the planetarium, the Sears Tower stood tall & proud and beckoned us to come visit it, too.  (It’s the tall, dark building on the left.)

The Adler claims to be the most advanced planetarium on Earth and has announced a new vision to be the world’s premier space science center.  We (especially Samuel) enjoy learning about outer space, but we get really tired of hearing/reading about all of the anti-God/Bible theories that get thrown in amongst the facts.  But, there were still a lot of interesting displays to see.

One of those was the fully restored Gemini 12 spacecraft flown by Astronauts Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin in 1966.

Samuel was excited to see something in real life that had actually gone into outer space.  He was even more thrilled when he got to touch something that had originated in outer space!  This 1,015 lb. iron-nickel meteorite was found in the huge Meteor Crater in the Arizona desert.

They also had an actual moon rock, but it was under glass.  This one was brought back by the Apollo 15 crew in 1971.  And, contrary to popular belief, it is NOT billions of years old!

The Lunar Leap allowed kids to learn what it feels like to have less gravity.  Meanwhile, they could watch themselves on the tv screen and pretend that they were actually jumping on the moon.

We also watched a fun 3-D IMAX movie called “Fly Me to the Moon”.  It was a cute animation with actual footage from the Apollo 11 flight and landing on the moon spliced into it.

This solar car looked pretty cool!

Our timing worked out really well today!  We ate lunch at Galileo’s Café in the planetarium, so we were able to stay all day.  Also, this time we headed back early enough that we had to sit and wait for Norman to get out of class.  I suppose it helped that I didn’t take the wrong exit, too.  Ha!

I asked Norman if he was wanting to do any sightseeing with us while we were in Chicago, but he didn’t seem interested.  After a long day in class, he just mainly wanted to relax of an evening.  So… after supper at A&W/Long John Silver’s, it was back to the hotel and pool!  J

(Day 3 coming up…)

This post is a little late, but I figured I’d better record our trip to Chicago before I forget the details, so… better late than never.  ;-)

The following trip was made possible by Norman’s employer and our friends & family who quietly slipped us some money before we left and instructed us to “go have fun!”  Thanks to them and to God, who allowed for the boys and me to go along with Norman on his business trip.

And, thanks to Adam, who let us take his business car since Norman couldn’t get the windshield wiper motor fixed on our van in time and Norman’s business car was just too small for all of us.  This ended up working out great for us anyway since it was much easier to maneuver through Chicago with the Focus station wagon than with our huge, bulky van.

We started our journey right after church services on Sunday evening, February 22 and arrived at the La Quinta Hotel in Bolingbrook, IL sometime after midnight.  This didn’t leave much time to explore, so we quickly located where the pool, breakfast room and vending machines were before heading to our room.

Monday (Day 1):

After a quick and yummy breakfast at the hotel, we drove Norman to the Sharp Electronics building in Romeoville where he would be attending classes all week.

Although the building is in a different suburb than where we were staying, it was actually just down the street a little ways.  Also, our hotel was located right off of Hwy 55, one of the main highways that goes into downtown Chicago, so everything was situated ideally.

Not having a plan yet, the boys and I headed back to our hotel.  I grabbed brochures for local attractions from the rack in the front lobby and looked at them while the boys swam in the pool.  Neither one really knew how to swim, so we brought noodles for them to use.  Before our stay was over, though, Samuel was doing better at going under water and trying to learn some strokes.  But, poor Joshua was too much like his mother and panicked any time his head went under.  :-P

At lunch time, we picked up Norman and went out to eat.  He said that there was a cafeteria in the Sharp building, so the rest of the week, he just ate there for lunch while the boys and I were at the different attractions.

After we took Norman back to his classes, the boys and I headed on over to Chicago.  The boys got pretty excited when all of the skyscrapers came into view… We were really in Chicago!!!

This afternoon, we went to the Navy Pier, which juts out into Lake Michigan.  We started out inside, checking out the many souvenir & food shops.  I was especially excited to see the fudge shop from Mackinac Island, which shouldn’t have surprised me since the island is only on the other side of the lake.  Norman & I had gone there on our honeymoon, so it has special meaning for us.  Needless to say, I bought a pink box of creamy chocolate fudge to bring back and share with Norman (and the boys – ha!).

While resting for a bit and eating our waffle cones, we enjoyed watching the security guards zoom past us on their Segways.  And, since our boys enjoy mazes, we later checked out the Funhouse Maze.

We then stepped outside and walked along the pier, viewing the beautiful sightseeing and dinner cruise boats.  In the warmer months, the shops are more accessible to the outside.  I could only imagine how festive of an atmosphere the pier would transform into on a nice, summer evening.  According to my brochure, Navy Pier is Chicago’s number one tourist & leisure destination.

It was a cold, blustery day, so I was a little surprised that the Ferris wheel was in operation.  As we got closer, we realized it was a ride for sightseeing… not for thrills.  We talked to the operator and he said that it takes 7 minutes to go all the way around.  It is non-stop and goes very slowly, so you just step into the gondola as it moves along the walkway.

Samuel wanted to go up, but it took us a little while to persuade Joshua.  He still wasn’t too thrilled about it and shut his eyes for the first part of the ride.  After he got used to it, however, he did pretty good… well, for the most part.  J

Yes, we were right out in the open and, yes, it was rather chilly, but the sights were breath-taking!

After our ride, we went back inside to get warmed up and strolled through the Crystal Gardens.  I tried to get a picture of the shooting water blobby-things, but we never knew when they were going to start flying and my camera was much too slow to catch them… or was it just me?  ;-)

Norman’s class was over at 5:00, so we left in plenty of time to make the ½ hour trek back to Romeoville.  However, we got caught up in 2 different rush-hour traffic jams and then I turned off on the wrong exit.  After checking my map, it looked like I could just keep going by taking another route, so I did that instead of venturing back up onto the main highway.  This turned out to be a mistake, but we did finally get to Sharp.  I was afraid that Norman would’ve already called the police to start searching for us since it was getting so late, but we found him patiently waiting for us at the front door.  After that, we decided that he would just walk to the nearby McDonald’s if I didn’t show up by 5:00 for the rest of the week.

We ate out at the Golden Corral for supper and then just went back to the hotel.  This time, Norman got in the pool with the boys.  If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m not real big on water, so I kinda became the “towel lady”.  I enjoyed watching them, though.  Norman hadn’t swum since back in his high school days, so I was surprised at how quickly he picked back up on it.  Yes, he’s using the noodle in this picture, but he became a regular Michael Phelps later in the week.  J

(Day 2 coming up…)