The boys are playing Upward soccer again this year. We missed the first 2 practices, since we were in Ohio, but they went on Thursday night, and they had their first games on Saturday.
This year, Nathan, Luke, and Caleb are all playing. By the end of last season, Caleb was very eager to play, to the point of wearing an old uniform of Luke's to the games, and playing soccer with Jonathan during the games. But since he doesn't turn 6 until Nov. 5, he is still technically in kindergarten this year, and the 4-5 league plays their games at 9:00 on Saturdays. If this were the only game, that would be doable, but with Luke playing his game at 10:15, and Nathan's game starting at 11:30 (or later if the other games don't end on time), then you can see that we would be spending the entire morning at soccer, and I just didn't think that would work. So this summer I asked the Upward director if he could possibly put Caleb in the 1st-3rd grade league, since he just missed the cut-off, and as the third brother, he is used to playing with older boys. The director said he would wait until after evaluations, and if it looked like Caleb was skill-wise at a first grade level, then he would put him on Luke's team. Well, Caleb was at the low end of the first grade scores, but high for kindergarten, so the directer put him on Luke's team. Yay!
Except that Caleb was not all that thrilled with the news. Because I didn't want to disappoint him if he wasn't able to play this year, I never made a big deal about it or really even talked much about it to him. I just told him to do the evaluations along with the other boys, which he did, but Bob said that he wasn't that into it then, which probably led to his scoring lower than I expected.
After we got back from our trip and the first day of practice drew near, Nathan and Luke were quite excited. Caleb did not want to play soccer. Ack! I asked for a special favor, which I was granted, and now he doesn't even want to play soccer?! Talk about hurting the team! I chastised myself severely for signing him up--I should just have waited until he was 6--and also for not talking with him about it before the evaluations.
So on Thursday, I was quite nervous as to how the whole season was going to go. Also, Bob has the last class of this 4 class certification program this semester, and it happens to be on Thursday nights, so it is going to be me taking them and dealing with them the whole season, which didn't relieve my fears at all.
Caleb did like getting his cleats and soccer stuff on, and he went off with Luke with no fuss. Luke had a hard time believing Caleb was actually on his team, LOL. I watched the practice from the playground, and it looked like Caleb did just fine. He's not even the smallest boy on the team, and he certainly wasn't the worst player! Afterward, he said he did have fun, and their coach is really nice and encouraging. He loved getting his Upward uniform shirt and water bottle, so that went a long way, LOL.
Saturday it was interesting to watch the interplay between Caleb and Luke in the game. Sometimes they were both out on the field at the same time, in which case I ttought Caleb hung back a little and let Luke play where he should have been. But when Luke wasn't playing, he was more aggressive. I'm sure there are all sorts of psychological applications as relating to siblings there, LOL. Their team won something like 5-0, which Luke scoring, which made them both very happy. Luke is actually pretty good at soccer, so another reason I had no initial qualms about asking to have Caleb put with him was the thinking that Luke would more than make up for any shortcomings that Caleb might bring to the team. But I don't think Caleb will be a shortcoming at all, and I'm looking forward to seeing him develop his on-field confidence this season!
Nathan's team also did well, although I didn't see as much of that game. It ended up tied 0-0. A lot of his friends, either from church or from the homeschool co-op, are on his team, so I think it is a great group of boys. The reason I didn't see much of the game was that, basically, I was melting from the heat. Midway in Luke's game, I had retreated back under the pavilion with the girls and Jonathan to escape the sun. I could still see the game, especially because Grace was napping in her carseat. By the second game, however, Grace was up and needing to be nursed (nothing like nursing a hot, sweaty baby to really make you feel the heat!), and Anna was tired, hot, and extremely crabby. So with wriggly, sticky girls all over me, I did not get to really watch the game. Plus, I was so hot even in the shade, I could not imagine actually running around in a synthetic jersey, and watching the players made me feel faint, LOL.
As soon as the game was done (close to 1:00), we leapt into the car, cranking up the AC. We went home and immediately all took showers in as quick a time as possible. Ahhhhhhh. Hopefully next weekend will not be so unmercifully hot. Then we rushed off to Ed's birthday party, where we told the boys not to even go outside, for fear they might suffer heat stoke or something, LOL. Talking to Christine at the party (whose boys also played that morning), she had told her boys the same thing!
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Dealing with fears
I wanted to write a little more about our weekend at WSS. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and it was lovely to be away from the heat and humidity.
Luke especially had an interesting weekend, one of dealing with fears. He is definitely my most fearful child, one who does not like to do anything unless he knows he will not fail or be embarrassed while doing it. Did I mention he is the one who reminds me most of myself as a child? : ) Well, he has been looking forward to being able to ride the horses at WSS, and since you have to be at least 8 years old, this year he was finally old enough. Yay! So I signed him, Nathan, and me up to ride Saturday afternoon. Then Luke decided that he really didn't want to ride. Not a bit, in fact. I pointed out that he was hoping to come to Camp Caleb next summer where they would ride horses, and that this was the perfect chance to practice with me around. He was unmoved. "Next summer is next summer. Maybe I won't be scared anymore by then."
Bob finally pulled out the "we've already paid for you" card, and he managed to sweet-talk Luke into giving it a go. Luke was put on an old horse named Dakota, and all seemed well until we actually started to leave the corral. I of course wanted Luke to be in front of me, but his horse had no real interest in leaving, so he pokeyed around in last place, eventually following the rest of us out. We turned and went up a hill through some trees on a little trail. Dakota decided he didn't want to go on the trail, so he ambled through the forest in his own direction. Luke was pretty worried about this, and he started calling me in a panicked voice. We were all shouting encouragement at him to pull on his horse's reins in the direction he wanted the horse to go, when suddenly Dakota decided he DID want to be with the rest of us. So he plowed straight for us, through trees and bushes and whatnot. Luke was crying "Oww! Owww!" but fortunately all he got were some nice scratches on his neck. By this time I was sure Luke would be totally done with it all, but Aaron the wrangler (Christa's brother), who had run up the hill when he heard all Luke's commotion, dusted him off and sent his horse to the middle of the pack, a much better place to be, LOL.
Dakota never ventured off the trail again, although he still moseyed along. Luke was constantly having to prod him along with his feet. Directly behind Luke was the son of a retired couple in my parents' Bible study. Jeff is a real nice, funny guy, and he was such an encouragement to Luke. The rest of the way, he kept telling him what a great job he was doing, and eventually you could just see Luke relax. He was pretty proud of himself for finishing the ride, and I think he did have a good time.
I had a good time too, in that the scenery was beautiful. I did discover that riding horses really hurts my knees, so all my dreams of Olympic gold in dressage just vanished in the afternoon sun, LOL. Ah well.
Luke's other big accomplishment was making it to the top of the rock-climbing wall, where you get to ring a little bell. He had never done it before, and he was pretty unsure of himself so high up there.
Luke: "I'm scared."
Bob: "It's okay to be a little scared. Just keep going; you're almost there."
Luke: "I'm REALLY scared."
But he conquered his fear and did it. Yay, Luke!
The rest of us were not stretched in such obvious ways this weekend, although I think we were perhaps in less obvious ways. The speaker, Andy Capps, talked about how to "pray and plan" and figuring out what the Lord wants you to do. This was very timely for Bob and me, as this is exactly what we are dealing with! We need to get rid of our perceived needs and pray that Lord will reveal the needs He has created and is ready to fulfill. Andy's emphasis on prayer was not on asking, but rather worshipping and praising the Lord. I'd say more but I can't find my notebook where I took notes right now . . . Hmmmm . . . That is going to frustrate me all night now. Anyhow, it was a wonderful weekend, the perfect end to summer.
Luke especially had an interesting weekend, one of dealing with fears. He is definitely my most fearful child, one who does not like to do anything unless he knows he will not fail or be embarrassed while doing it. Did I mention he is the one who reminds me most of myself as a child? : ) Well, he has been looking forward to being able to ride the horses at WSS, and since you have to be at least 8 years old, this year he was finally old enough. Yay! So I signed him, Nathan, and me up to ride Saturday afternoon. Then Luke decided that he really didn't want to ride. Not a bit, in fact. I pointed out that he was hoping to come to Camp Caleb next summer where they would ride horses, and that this was the perfect chance to practice with me around. He was unmoved. "Next summer is next summer. Maybe I won't be scared anymore by then."
Bob finally pulled out the "we've already paid for you" card, and he managed to sweet-talk Luke into giving it a go. Luke was put on an old horse named Dakota, and all seemed well until we actually started to leave the corral. I of course wanted Luke to be in front of me, but his horse had no real interest in leaving, so he pokeyed around in last place, eventually following the rest of us out. We turned and went up a hill through some trees on a little trail. Dakota decided he didn't want to go on the trail, so he ambled through the forest in his own direction. Luke was pretty worried about this, and he started calling me in a panicked voice. We were all shouting encouragement at him to pull on his horse's reins in the direction he wanted the horse to go, when suddenly Dakota decided he DID want to be with the rest of us. So he plowed straight for us, through trees and bushes and whatnot. Luke was crying "Oww! Owww!" but fortunately all he got were some nice scratches on his neck. By this time I was sure Luke would be totally done with it all, but Aaron the wrangler (Christa's brother), who had run up the hill when he heard all Luke's commotion, dusted him off and sent his horse to the middle of the pack, a much better place to be, LOL.
Dakota never ventured off the trail again, although he still moseyed along. Luke was constantly having to prod him along with his feet. Directly behind Luke was the son of a retired couple in my parents' Bible study. Jeff is a real nice, funny guy, and he was such an encouragement to Luke. The rest of the way, he kept telling him what a great job he was doing, and eventually you could just see Luke relax. He was pretty proud of himself for finishing the ride, and I think he did have a good time.
I had a good time too, in that the scenery was beautiful. I did discover that riding horses really hurts my knees, so all my dreams of Olympic gold in dressage just vanished in the afternoon sun, LOL. Ah well.
Luke's other big accomplishment was making it to the top of the rock-climbing wall, where you get to ring a little bell. He had never done it before, and he was pretty unsure of himself so high up there.
Luke: "I'm scared."
Bob: "It's okay to be a little scared. Just keep going; you're almost there."
Luke: "I'm REALLY scared."
But he conquered his fear and did it. Yay, Luke!
The rest of us were not stretched in such obvious ways this weekend, although I think we were perhaps in less obvious ways. The speaker, Andy Capps, talked about how to "pray and plan" and figuring out what the Lord wants you to do. This was very timely for Bob and me, as this is exactly what we are dealing with! We need to get rid of our perceived needs and pray that Lord will reveal the needs He has created and is ready to fulfill. Andy's emphasis on prayer was not on asking, but rather worshipping and praising the Lord. I'd say more but I can't find my notebook where I took notes right now . . . Hmmmm . . . That is going to frustrate me all night now. Anyhow, it was a wonderful weekend, the perfect end to summer.
Diving Back In
We're back home! We had a wonderful weekend at White Sulphur Springs, which will have to be the subject of another post, I'm afraid. We got back Monday at dinnertime, and things haven't stopped since then! Aside from all the unpacking and laundry, our homeschool co-op started up yesterday morning, and the boys all went to a football birthday party at a local park yesterday afternoon. I was glad not to have to go anywhere this morning, but we had to hit Sams after lunch to buy things like milk, diapers, fruits and vegetables--all that frivolous stuff, LOL. I've hardly had time to even be on the computer, and it looks like I need to go now. Not only do I need to finish up dinner, Anna has found an open bag of raisins and is gorging herself on them. That should make for pleasant diapers!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wrapping Up
We are wrapping up our trip to Ohio. Bob caught a hop back to Andrews AFB on Wednesday (big thanks to Ed for hanging around his office to meet Bob there and bring him back home). Before we left home, we called the passenger terminal, and there were flights to Andrews about every day. After we got here, the flights just sort of dried up! We were thinking that he'd fly home Monday or Tuesday, but there were no flights. It actually was really nice to have Bob stay for so long. We really got to relax! We had our double date, and we also would go hit the local hotspots after the kids went down--you know, Walmart, Meijers, etc. We're wild like that. Bob was also able to play a lot of games with the boys, go on walks to the playground, and do things like that.
We went back over to Amy's one evening, and we also had some playdates here. Tami, who used to live with my parents and was also a friend from high school, came over with her 3 kids on Monday. Her kids line up almost exactly in age with Caleb, Jonathan, and Anna (she has 2 boys and a Hannah!). Amy and Jacob came over on Tuesday, and on Wednesday afternoon, 2 of the Turkish women Mom works with came with their little girls. One girl was about Anna's age, and one girl was born in December. Anna is just not sure what to do with little girls that are her age and walk around! She's got the baby thing figured out--no threat there. But she is quite a bit more taken aback by ones who move around and play with the same toys she likes, LOL. We moms had a good time visiting. They were amazed that I just lay my kids down and don't rock or nurse them to sleep, so we had some discussion about that.
I was amazed at Azra, the girl who is Anna's age--she was playing, and then she came over to her mom and said something. Immediately the mom took her to the bathroom. When she came back, she told us that Azra was potty-training. I was so impressed! She obviously could feel the urge, since she told her mom! My boys were so clueless about potty things until . . . well, until close to 3, LOL. I've heard girls are easier to train. I can only hope! Anna so far has shown no sign that she has any clue what she's doing though. I thought I'd be doing well if she was trained b y 2 1/2!
Last night I met Amy at her mom's house, and we all scrapbooked together. When I lived here, we would do this about once a month. Now you can see why I was so caught up when we left, and why I am so behind now! I worked on pages from the summer of 2005--Nathan's 8th birthday, 4th of July downtown, our medieval feast, a trip to Rose's house on the lake, and our trip to Virginia Beach. Only 2 years behind! It was so fun eating pizza and talking. Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids, and Grace cooperated beautifully again with her bottle. A great way to end a wonderful trip!
The vacation isn't actually over however. Tomorrow we all (Grandma and Granda too) drive to Pennsylvania, to White Sulphur Springs, for the Wright-Patterson AFB OCF retreat. We'll be there until Monday, when we'll drive back to D.C. Bob will drive up tomorrow and meet us there, and then we'll caravan back home. So we'll be having fun riding horses, square dancing, listening to interesting speakers, making smores, and eating good food that I don't have to cook!
We went back over to Amy's one evening, and we also had some playdates here. Tami, who used to live with my parents and was also a friend from high school, came over with her 3 kids on Monday. Her kids line up almost exactly in age with Caleb, Jonathan, and Anna (she has 2 boys and a Hannah!). Amy and Jacob came over on Tuesday, and on Wednesday afternoon, 2 of the Turkish women Mom works with came with their little girls. One girl was about Anna's age, and one girl was born in December. Anna is just not sure what to do with little girls that are her age and walk around! She's got the baby thing figured out--no threat there. But she is quite a bit more taken aback by ones who move around and play with the same toys she likes, LOL. We moms had a good time visiting. They were amazed that I just lay my kids down and don't rock or nurse them to sleep, so we had some discussion about that.
I was amazed at Azra, the girl who is Anna's age--she was playing, and then she came over to her mom and said something. Immediately the mom took her to the bathroom. When she came back, she told us that Azra was potty-training. I was so impressed! She obviously could feel the urge, since she told her mom! My boys were so clueless about potty things until . . . well, until close to 3, LOL. I've heard girls are easier to train. I can only hope! Anna so far has shown no sign that she has any clue what she's doing though. I thought I'd be doing well if she was trained b y 2 1/2!
Last night I met Amy at her mom's house, and we all scrapbooked together. When I lived here, we would do this about once a month. Now you can see why I was so caught up when we left, and why I am so behind now! I worked on pages from the summer of 2005--Nathan's 8th birthday, 4th of July downtown, our medieval feast, a trip to Rose's house on the lake, and our trip to Virginia Beach. Only 2 years behind! It was so fun eating pizza and talking. Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids, and Grace cooperated beautifully again with her bottle. A great way to end a wonderful trip!
The vacation isn't actually over however. Tomorrow we all (Grandma and Granda too) drive to Pennsylvania, to White Sulphur Springs, for the Wright-Patterson AFB OCF retreat. We'll be there until Monday, when we'll drive back to D.C. Bob will drive up tomorrow and meet us there, and then we'll caravan back home. So we'll be having fun riding horses, square dancing, listening to interesting speakers, making smores, and eating good food that I don't have to cook!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Funny Story From Last Night
We wandered through Books and Co. on our double date last night as we tried to make room for dessert after our big meal. Right after we walked in, Bob picked up a "Calculus For Dummies" book, which he leafed through as we walked around. On the other side of the store, one of a group of girls asked Bob where the educational books were, because she was looking for a book on anatomy. "Oh", I pipe up, "I know I saw Grey's Anatomy books over there", pointing by where we came in. The girl laughed and said rather dismissively, "Well, I really don't think those would help me with my biology class."
I was pretty puzzled--umm, hello, you said "anatomy", and that is THE classic anatomy text--until Bob said, "You know, I think she thought you meant a book about the TV show 'Grey's Anatomy'." Yeah . . . it all makes sense now. I hope she's not planning on becoming a doctor, LOL!
I was pretty puzzled--umm, hello, you said "anatomy", and that is THE classic anatomy text--until Bob said, "You know, I think she thought you meant a book about the TV show 'Grey's Anatomy'." Yeah . . . it all makes sense now. I hope she's not planning on becoming a doctor, LOL!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Double Date!
Tonight Bob and I took advantage of the free babysitting here at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and we went on a double date with Amy and Jason. We went to "The Greene", which is one of those ritzy new shopping concepts--an outdoor mall/town experience. In reality, it is a fake downtown, which is funny because while it thrives, downtown Dayton goes to pot. Bob asked if there was "faux crime" as well, LOL.
We ate at a Mongolian barbeque place, which was quite tasty. I don't think I've eaten Mongolian barbeque since we were in Colorado before kids! I picked out beef for my meat, and a pile of veggies, and I mixed an Asian teriyaki-type sauce. It was yummy!
We were pretty stuffed after we were done, so we walked around for awhile before going to Coldstone Creamery for dessert. The Greene is a very pleasant place for walking, and it did seem like a nice, friendly town, albeit one very crowded with people. It turned out that this weekend was the one year anniversary of the Greene, so that explained the crowds. It did mean that Coldstone Creamery was giving out coupons for $1 off as well as providing free waffle bowls or cones, so we did quite well for dessert. Bob and I split some sort of chocolate/peanut butter cup creation that was delicious. We ate our ice cream while listening to a band out by the fountain. Although at the end of their set, they played one of Bob's favorites, "Should I Stay or Should I go", by the Clash, he refrained from singing along.
So it was a fun evening, and the best part of it was that Grace drained her bottle with no problems for Grandma! Yay, Grace! Of course, she also totally blew out her diaper all over Grandma, so that was not so good. Not so good for Grandma anyways. For me, relaxing with my best friend and our hubbies, eating good food, and not worrying about diapers, bottles, nrsing, etc., it was just fine, LOL.
We ate at a Mongolian barbeque place, which was quite tasty. I don't think I've eaten Mongolian barbeque since we were in Colorado before kids! I picked out beef for my meat, and a pile of veggies, and I mixed an Asian teriyaki-type sauce. It was yummy!
We were pretty stuffed after we were done, so we walked around for awhile before going to Coldstone Creamery for dessert. The Greene is a very pleasant place for walking, and it did seem like a nice, friendly town, albeit one very crowded with people. It turned out that this weekend was the one year anniversary of the Greene, so that explained the crowds. It did mean that Coldstone Creamery was giving out coupons for $1 off as well as providing free waffle bowls or cones, so we did quite well for dessert. Bob and I split some sort of chocolate/peanut butter cup creation that was delicious. We ate our ice cream while listening to a band out by the fountain. Although at the end of their set, they played one of Bob's favorites, "Should I Stay or Should I go", by the Clash, he refrained from singing along.
So it was a fun evening, and the best part of it was that Grace drained her bottle with no problems for Grandma! Yay, Grace! Of course, she also totally blew out her diaper all over Grandma, so that was not so good. Not so good for Grandma anyways. For me, relaxing with my best friend and our hubbies, eating good food, and not worrying about diapers, bottles, nrsing, etc., it was just fine, LOL.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Creation Museum
We are having a great time here in Ohio, although it has been HOT and humid. Schools are actually closed today because the heat index is so high, and most of the buildings don't have air conditioning.
On Wednesday we took a trip to the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum. It's on the Kentucky side of Cincinati, close to the airport, and it took a little over an hour to get there. It was pricy, but it was very well-done, and we were quite impressed. Adults are $19.95 (there was a $2 off coupon though), and kids 5-12 were $9.95. Bob got in free because he was active-duty military (yay!).
The framework of the museum is the "7 C's": Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. When you first walk in, you see a pool with fish and turtles in it, and above you, there are animated models of dinosaurs alongside children. Jonathan was pretty impressed by the moving dinosaurs, LOL.
The first exhibit deals with differing worldviews, and it shows 2 paleontologists owrking on a dinosaur dig. A video shows the 2 men talking. One man is a creationist, and he explains that he and his colleague have the same facts in front of them, but they just interpret those facts differently because they begin with idfferent assumptions. The evolutionist gives his take on the dinosaur fossils--several million years old, died of starvation maybe, laid there for awhile and became fossilized, etc. Then the creationist gives his interpretation--several thousabd years old, was caught in a flood and fossiled, and so on. There is no condemnation of the evolutionistic viewpoint, just a pointing out that it is not based on the Bible. It was very well-done. The next part of the museum contrasts man's view with what the Bible says on various issues, like how man came about, and how animal diversity happened.
Then you wind around through an exhibit on God's word, and how it came to us. Then there is a part on the Scopes trial, which is where evolution was really introduced into our society. The consequences of that are in the next part, Graffitti Alley, where it is dark and trashy, like a New York back alley. On the walls are newspaper headlines about gay rights, abortion, horrible crimes, and other bad things in modern life. Around the corner is how the church has bought into the evolutionary culture, compromising the truth of theBible so that people really don't have a strong foundation for their faith and leading to problems within the church just like outside of it.
Then you go into a theater where you go back to the beginning by watching a video on the 6 days of creation. The next room has many beautiful pictures and videos running simultaneously on things like common design features in creation, the similarities of DNA and language, and the solar system. Then you walk through a large room that is a big representation of the Garden of Eden. There are many plants, realistic animal models, and Adam and Eve in various scenarios (naming the animals, Adam receiving Eve, them both in a waterfall with a big serpant in a tree overhead). There is next a series of dioramas detailing the Fall, and more scenes from after the Fall showing the effects, like Cain's murder of Abel.
The next big part is a room showing Noah building the ark. The display on the ark was so interesting, with small models of what the ark might have looked like, and plaques detailing early middle-eastern shipbuilding techniques that Noah might have used. After walking through what looked like the inside of the ark, with several video presentations, the next room includes information on how small-scale catastrophes, such a floods and volcanic eruptions, have caused small-scale geographic disturbances in brief amounts of time, like canyons and rock stratas. This room had lots of videos as well, and they all were very well-done and informative.
There was an exhibit on the confusion that followed the Flood, including the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel. The tour ended up with a mive called "The Last Adam", which finished the last 3 "C's", Christ, Cross, and Consummation. This was a very powerful video where "Mary" talks about how when she was growing up, her father made her whole family watch the lamb be sacrificed because he wanted them all to know what a heavy price sin required. She ends by saying that another name for her son was"the Lamb". The centurion who watched over Jesus' crucificion also told what he saw in the video. It was very moving.
There was also a "Hall of Dinosaurs", where they had lots of dinosaur skeletons displayed, but I was nursing and didn't go in there. I did watch an interesting video on dragons and other mythical beasts while nursing, LOL. There was a planetarium where we would have loved to see a show, but again, it was too hard with all the little ones. Outside they have a botanical garden, but it was so hot we had absolutely no inclination to walk around there at all! Obviously we'll have to go back again when all the kids are older, and when it's not so hot.
Nathan and luke really got a lot out of the museum, so it was well worth it for them. I think it really connected the dots about why Jesus really had to come in a very visual way. Caleb and Jonathan definitely enjoyed the Garden of Eden room, as well as all the moving dinosaur models the best.
I was worried that the museum would be chintzy and not very professionally done, but that was not the case at all. All the exhibits were not only very thought-provoking, but also well-constructed. I definitely recommend spending a day there!
On Wednesday we took a trip to the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum. It's on the Kentucky side of Cincinati, close to the airport, and it took a little over an hour to get there. It was pricy, but it was very well-done, and we were quite impressed. Adults are $19.95 (there was a $2 off coupon though), and kids 5-12 were $9.95. Bob got in free because he was active-duty military (yay!).
The framework of the museum is the "7 C's": Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. When you first walk in, you see a pool with fish and turtles in it, and above you, there are animated models of dinosaurs alongside children. Jonathan was pretty impressed by the moving dinosaurs, LOL.
The first exhibit deals with differing worldviews, and it shows 2 paleontologists owrking on a dinosaur dig. A video shows the 2 men talking. One man is a creationist, and he explains that he and his colleague have the same facts in front of them, but they just interpret those facts differently because they begin with idfferent assumptions. The evolutionist gives his take on the dinosaur fossils--several million years old, died of starvation maybe, laid there for awhile and became fossilized, etc. Then the creationist gives his interpretation--several thousabd years old, was caught in a flood and fossiled, and so on. There is no condemnation of the evolutionistic viewpoint, just a pointing out that it is not based on the Bible. It was very well-done. The next part of the museum contrasts man's view with what the Bible says on various issues, like how man came about, and how animal diversity happened.
Then you wind around through an exhibit on God's word, and how it came to us. Then there is a part on the Scopes trial, which is where evolution was really introduced into our society. The consequences of that are in the next part, Graffitti Alley, where it is dark and trashy, like a New York back alley. On the walls are newspaper headlines about gay rights, abortion, horrible crimes, and other bad things in modern life. Around the corner is how the church has bought into the evolutionary culture, compromising the truth of theBible so that people really don't have a strong foundation for their faith and leading to problems within the church just like outside of it.
Then you go into a theater where you go back to the beginning by watching a video on the 6 days of creation. The next room has many beautiful pictures and videos running simultaneously on things like common design features in creation, the similarities of DNA and language, and the solar system. Then you walk through a large room that is a big representation of the Garden of Eden. There are many plants, realistic animal models, and Adam and Eve in various scenarios (naming the animals, Adam receiving Eve, them both in a waterfall with a big serpant in a tree overhead). There is next a series of dioramas detailing the Fall, and more scenes from after the Fall showing the effects, like Cain's murder of Abel.
The next big part is a room showing Noah building the ark. The display on the ark was so interesting, with small models of what the ark might have looked like, and plaques detailing early middle-eastern shipbuilding techniques that Noah might have used. After walking through what looked like the inside of the ark, with several video presentations, the next room includes information on how small-scale catastrophes, such a floods and volcanic eruptions, have caused small-scale geographic disturbances in brief amounts of time, like canyons and rock stratas. This room had lots of videos as well, and they all were very well-done and informative.
There was an exhibit on the confusion that followed the Flood, including the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel. The tour ended up with a mive called "The Last Adam", which finished the last 3 "C's", Christ, Cross, and Consummation. This was a very powerful video where "Mary" talks about how when she was growing up, her father made her whole family watch the lamb be sacrificed because he wanted them all to know what a heavy price sin required. She ends by saying that another name for her son was"the Lamb". The centurion who watched over Jesus' crucificion also told what he saw in the video. It was very moving.
There was also a "Hall of Dinosaurs", where they had lots of dinosaur skeletons displayed, but I was nursing and didn't go in there. I did watch an interesting video on dragons and other mythical beasts while nursing, LOL. There was a planetarium where we would have loved to see a show, but again, it was too hard with all the little ones. Outside they have a botanical garden, but it was so hot we had absolutely no inclination to walk around there at all! Obviously we'll have to go back again when all the kids are older, and when it's not so hot.
Nathan and luke really got a lot out of the museum, so it was well worth it for them. I think it really connected the dots about why Jesus really had to come in a very visual way. Caleb and Jonathan definitely enjoyed the Garden of Eden room, as well as all the moving dinosaur models the best.
I was worried that the museum would be chintzy and not very professionally done, but that was not the case at all. All the exhibits were not only very thought-provoking, but also well-constructed. I definitely recommend spending a day there!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Trip
We made it safely to Ohio on Sunday, and we hada really good trip. The weather was quite pleasant, and the car was not noisy, thanks to our new seating arrangement. Here's how it looked:
(driver) (passenger)
Grace Caleb Nathan
Jonathan Luke Anna
This way, Caleb was able to keep putting Grace's pacifier in, and he did an outstanding job of keeping her quiet. Kudos to Caleb!! Luke was charged with keeping Anna occupied, and he had free rein to shovel food at her, even if it wasn't an officially designated snack time. Her snack bag had teddy grahams, animal crackers, and toddler fruit snacks, and he just kept feeding them to her.
With all the quiet in the van, we were able to listen to a book on CD. This trip's selection was The Swiss Family Robinson. It is a very exciting book, so it certainly kept our attention. It is also unwittingly a hilarious book in that it was evidently written by a man long ago who had read many encyclopedias on various plant and animal life, and visited some zoos perhaps, but had no real understanding of animal habitats. So, the Robinsons met on their tropical paradise flamengoes . . . and penguins . . . and porcupines . . . and kangaroos . . .and buffalo . . . and onagers . . . and trout . . . and salmon . . . and all sorts of other animals, birds, fish, and plant life from vastly different climates and parts of the world. And of course they immediately shoot and kill whatever weird animal they have found so that they can identify it. No real worries about preservation, LOL. So this is not a book that would be written today, that's for sure, but we are enjoying it tremendously. I love how the father is always mindful to thank God for his goodness and mercy to them, and I like how the father makes sure his sons talk nicely to each other, aren't lazy, and in other ways demonstrate good character qualities. Again, not a book that would be written today!
Yesterday we spent the day over at Amy's house. The boys played around in the water outside, and fortunately the rain held off until they were done out there! Anna once again was terrified of their fat old cat, Pumpkin. I'm ready for her to be out of this stage, LOL. It was a fun day, though. Amy made a delicious chicken salad for lunch, and baked ziti for dinner, so we ate well too!
Today Bob is taking the boys bowling at Wright-Pat. Nathan has been dying to do this. This morning Bob had an incredible brain wave, wondering if we could get Nathan's ID card here, instead of trekking all the way to Bolling AFB. We called and Bob will take him on Thursday. Yay! How convenient! That's my man--always thinking!
(driver) (passenger)
Grace Caleb Nathan
Jonathan Luke Anna
This way, Caleb was able to keep putting Grace's pacifier in, and he did an outstanding job of keeping her quiet. Kudos to Caleb!! Luke was charged with keeping Anna occupied, and he had free rein to shovel food at her, even if it wasn't an officially designated snack time. Her snack bag had teddy grahams, animal crackers, and toddler fruit snacks, and he just kept feeding them to her.
With all the quiet in the van, we were able to listen to a book on CD. This trip's selection was The Swiss Family Robinson. It is a very exciting book, so it certainly kept our attention. It is also unwittingly a hilarious book in that it was evidently written by a man long ago who had read many encyclopedias on various plant and animal life, and visited some zoos perhaps, but had no real understanding of animal habitats. So, the Robinsons met on their tropical paradise flamengoes . . . and penguins . . . and porcupines . . . and kangaroos . . .and buffalo . . . and onagers . . . and trout . . . and salmon . . . and all sorts of other animals, birds, fish, and plant life from vastly different climates and parts of the world. And of course they immediately shoot and kill whatever weird animal they have found so that they can identify it. No real worries about preservation, LOL. So this is not a book that would be written today, that's for sure, but we are enjoying it tremendously. I love how the father is always mindful to thank God for his goodness and mercy to them, and I like how the father makes sure his sons talk nicely to each other, aren't lazy, and in other ways demonstrate good character qualities. Again, not a book that would be written today!
Yesterday we spent the day over at Amy's house. The boys played around in the water outside, and fortunately the rain held off until they were done out there! Anna once again was terrified of their fat old cat, Pumpkin. I'm ready for her to be out of this stage, LOL. It was a fun day, though. Amy made a delicious chicken salad for lunch, and baked ziti for dinner, so we ate well too!
Today Bob is taking the boys bowling at Wright-Pat. Nathan has been dying to do this. This morning Bob had an incredible brain wave, wondering if we could get Nathan's ID card here, instead of trekking all the way to Bolling AFB. We called and Bob will take him on Thursday. Yay! How convenient! That's my man--always thinking!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Reading Assignment
We are getting ready to drive to Ohio on Sunday, and I am busily packing and doing loads of laundry. Once we get there, I am sure blogging will be light. With that in mind, I'm leaving you with an article to read.
Our church is a 9 Marks church , and I was poking around on their website a few days ago. Our pastor went to a conference in July, and he wrote a travelogue about it. Mike has always reminded me of my brother Dan, and this article sounded to me just like something Dan would write! So all of you who know my brother (and those who don't--feel free too, LOL), read this travelogue and tell me if you think I'm right.
Our church is a 9 Marks church , and I was poking around on their website a few days ago. Our pastor went to a conference in July, and he wrote a travelogue about it. Mike has always reminded me of my brother Dan, and this article sounded to me just like something Dan would write! So all of you who know my brother (and those who don't--feel free too, LOL), read this travelogue and tell me if you think I'm right.
Update on the Bottle War
Wednesday evening, for the feeding right after dinner, I tried giving Grace a bottle with the new silicone nipples. That did not go over well either, and she put up quite a fuss. She was mad even at the milk that just dribbled in her mouth! Finally she ended up drinking about 2 ounces, but only if I was walking around with her facing out from me. If I was sitting or in any sort of ocmfortable, supported position, she would just fuss.
Last night we tried again. This time Bob was home, so he did the honors. She fussed around for awhile and wouldn't take it, but finally she just sort of gave in and drained the bottle (less than 2 ounces--I figured why waste the breastmilk?!). So that was a surprise! I think that, depending on when she needs to eat, we might take a bottle to Bible study. This will be the true test of whether she has truely given in, or just retreated last night to regroup, LOL.
**Update** So before Bible study, Bob did give her a bottle. She drunk it right down, 4 ounces, with NO fussing. Praise the Lord! I am hopeful that she has just conceded this battle. We'll see when we go to Ohio I guess . . .
Last night we tried again. This time Bob was home, so he did the honors. She fussed around for awhile and wouldn't take it, but finally she just sort of gave in and drained the bottle (less than 2 ounces--I figured why waste the breastmilk?!). So that was a surprise! I think that, depending on when she needs to eat, we might take a bottle to Bible study. This will be the true test of whether she has truely given in, or just retreated last night to regroup, LOL.
**Update** So before Bible study, Bob did give her a bottle. She drunk it right down, 4 ounces, with NO fussing. Praise the Lord! I am hopeful that she has just conceded this battle. We'll see when we go to Ohio I guess . . .
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Not Giving In
Last night my ladies' Bible study had dinner out. We went to a new Italian restaurant and had a great time. As we were getting up to leave about 9:00, my phone rang. It was Bob, saying that Grace was absolutely refusing to take her bottle. Grrrrrrrrrr. She was taking a bottle just fine for the first 2 months. Three weeks ago was the last time I was at Bible study, and she also refused it then. My mom was here, and she tried it first. Then Bob took over, with the same results. NOOOOOO! I can not have a baby who refuses the bottle! I've never had one before, and I don't want one now!
After school today we went to Walmart. I bought some silicone nipples. I have a feeling that is just a desperate attempt, but who knows, maybe her discriminating palate will accept these new nipples, as opposed to those common latex nipples every other child in my family has been happy to suck.
You know, I used to worry that someone would reject the bottle, because I've certainly heard of it happening to others. But when even Luke, who was a more particular baby, had no troubles with it, I relaxed and figured we just skipped out on that problem. Allergies--yes; fake nipple rejection--no.
But I am not giving up. Now, somewhere in my schedule, I just have to carve out a time every day to fight with a crying baby by giving her a bottle even though she clearly doesn't want it and it is tons faster to just nurse. Easy! I really don't want to give up though. I hate the trapped feeling that I can never be gone for a feeding. That Bob can never put all the kids down and I come home to a quiet house. That I have to accomplish anything I need to do by myself, away from the house, in a 2 1/2 hour window.
Off to sterilize the new nipples . . .
After school today we went to Walmart. I bought some silicone nipples. I have a feeling that is just a desperate attempt, but who knows, maybe her discriminating palate will accept these new nipples, as opposed to those common latex nipples every other child in my family has been happy to suck.
You know, I used to worry that someone would reject the bottle, because I've certainly heard of it happening to others. But when even Luke, who was a more particular baby, had no troubles with it, I relaxed and figured we just skipped out on that problem. Allergies--yes; fake nipple rejection--no.
But I am not giving up. Now, somewhere in my schedule, I just have to carve out a time every day to fight with a crying baby by giving her a bottle even though she clearly doesn't want it and it is tons faster to just nurse. Easy! I really don't want to give up though. I hate the trapped feeling that I can never be gone for a feeding. That Bob can never put all the kids down and I come home to a quiet house. That I have to accomplish anything I need to do by myself, away from the house, in a 2 1/2 hour window.
Off to sterilize the new nipples . . .
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
High School Memories
I didn't mention this in my last post, but Johanna and I went to the same high school, good old Dayton Christian. In fact, we had many classes together, and we also ran track together! Seeing her always reminds me of high school (in a good way, LOL!), and so when I saw that Dy had these high school questions on her blog, I decided to steal them.
1. Who was your best friend? My best friend was, and still is, Amy. We carpooled together from Xenia, we cheered together, and we were super-duper lab partners. And then we went on to be roommates (and lab partners) at Cedarville! People warned us not to room with a best friend. We both thought about it, and then promptly paid no more attention to those people! It worked out great! We knew we were wired the same way and would have no troubles getting along. Still haven't! I can't wait to see her again on Monday!!
2. Did you play any sports? I was a varsity cheerleader, and I also ran track.
3. What kind of car did you drive? 198o-something VW diesel Rabbit whose name was Wally. He was loud car, but he was faithful. He reached about 250,000 miles, thanks to my dad's mechanical skills, before finally being put out to pasture. People could hear me coming from blocks away, and many people could run as fast as he would go!
4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? Bible study, I guess. I can't really remember. Obviously nowhere too exciting. I think my high school boyfriend, Craig, and I would go out some on Fridays.
5. Were you a party animal? Not in the slightest.
6. Were you considered a flirt? No, not that either, LOL. I was the girl who wrecked the grade curve, although I did defy stereotype by also being a cheerleader. But I was not really a flirt.
7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Yes, I played first section clarinet since 5th grade.
8. Were you a nerd? Sure.
9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? No. In fact, I never even had detention. I never even used up all my allotted tardies each quarter. I think the number was 3, which for the longest time I thought meant total, instead of per class. I never even got 3 total. It wasn't until I started having kids that I began running late all the time!
10. Can you sing the fight song? I don't think we had one. Or if we did, I didn't know it, LOL.
11. Who was your favorite teacher? Probably Mr. Minor, my chemistry/physics teacher. He was such a godly and nice man. I also liked my math teachers, Mrs. Bragg and Mrs. Brandt.
12. What was your school mascot? The Crusader, although I read that it changed a few years ago.
13. Did you go to the Prom? Yes, although it was called "Junior/Senior" and it did not involve dancing (because a lot of denominations thought dancing was sinful, so there just wasn't any).
14. If you could go back, would you? Well, in some ways it is tempting because I would like to correct a lot of doofy things I did and said. But I am quite glad to have gotten through it, and I know the Lord used all the experiences I had to make me who I am now. And I like me now a lot better than the high school me!
15. What do you remember most about graduation? I had to give a speech because I was "total person" award winner. This is taken from Luke 2:52, where Jesus grew in "wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man", so the idea was someone who was well-rounded. I detest giving speeches, and I was quite nervous.
16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? Did we even have one? I'm not remembering anything, so if we did, I didn't participate.
17. Did you have a job your senior year? No.
18. Where did you go most often for lunch? The cafeteria. We weren't allowed to go anywhere else. DC was downtown, in a sort of rougher neighborhood.
19. Have you gained weight since then? LOL, yes. 10 pounds over the next 6 years, and then 10 more pounds stuck after I had Jonathan. (Grrrr) And right now is not really a good time to ask this, since I am still dealing with 15 (gasp) pounds left over from Grace. Those WILL go away, however *threatening look at belly*.
20. What did you do after graduation? Went off to Cedarville. Actually, I met Bob within a few days of graduation from high school. He had just gotten stationed at Wright-Pat to get his master's degree. He was dating someone seriously from his last assignment, and I started dating a lieutenant in our singles OCF Bible study that summer. Neither of us was remotely interested in each other!
21. What year did you graduate? 1991
22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? Justin . . . someone. Hmmm, his name will come to me. He was short, a junior, and he ended up marrying Katrina N. in our class. A funny guy though, and a good friend, especially after Craig and I broke up (Craig is who I went to Jr/Sr with my junior year).
23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? I did; in fact, Amy and I planned it. It was fun! Of course, we were stationed in Ohio back then. I'll probably try to go to our 20th too.
1. Who was your best friend? My best friend was, and still is, Amy. We carpooled together from Xenia, we cheered together, and we were super-duper lab partners. And then we went on to be roommates (and lab partners) at Cedarville! People warned us not to room with a best friend. We both thought about it, and then promptly paid no more attention to those people! It worked out great! We knew we were wired the same way and would have no troubles getting along. Still haven't! I can't wait to see her again on Monday!!
2. Did you play any sports? I was a varsity cheerleader, and I also ran track.
3. What kind of car did you drive? 198o-something VW diesel Rabbit whose name was Wally. He was loud car, but he was faithful. He reached about 250,000 miles, thanks to my dad's mechanical skills, before finally being put out to pasture. People could hear me coming from blocks away, and many people could run as fast as he would go!
4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? Bible study, I guess. I can't really remember. Obviously nowhere too exciting. I think my high school boyfriend, Craig, and I would go out some on Fridays.
5. Were you a party animal? Not in the slightest.
6. Were you considered a flirt? No, not that either, LOL. I was the girl who wrecked the grade curve, although I did defy stereotype by also being a cheerleader. But I was not really a flirt.
7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Yes, I played first section clarinet since 5th grade.
8. Were you a nerd? Sure.
9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? No. In fact, I never even had detention. I never even used up all my allotted tardies each quarter. I think the number was 3, which for the longest time I thought meant total, instead of per class. I never even got 3 total. It wasn't until I started having kids that I began running late all the time!
10. Can you sing the fight song? I don't think we had one. Or if we did, I didn't know it, LOL.
11. Who was your favorite teacher? Probably Mr. Minor, my chemistry/physics teacher. He was such a godly and nice man. I also liked my math teachers, Mrs. Bragg and Mrs. Brandt.
12. What was your school mascot? The Crusader, although I read that it changed a few years ago.
13. Did you go to the Prom? Yes, although it was called "Junior/Senior" and it did not involve dancing (because a lot of denominations thought dancing was sinful, so there just wasn't any).
14. If you could go back, would you? Well, in some ways it is tempting because I would like to correct a lot of doofy things I did and said. But I am quite glad to have gotten through it, and I know the Lord used all the experiences I had to make me who I am now. And I like me now a lot better than the high school me!
15. What do you remember most about graduation? I had to give a speech because I was "total person" award winner. This is taken from Luke 2:52, where Jesus grew in "wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man", so the idea was someone who was well-rounded. I detest giving speeches, and I was quite nervous.
16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? Did we even have one? I'm not remembering anything, so if we did, I didn't participate.
17. Did you have a job your senior year? No.
18. Where did you go most often for lunch? The cafeteria. We weren't allowed to go anywhere else. DC was downtown, in a sort of rougher neighborhood.
19. Have you gained weight since then? LOL, yes. 10 pounds over the next 6 years, and then 10 more pounds stuck after I had Jonathan. (Grrrr) And right now is not really a good time to ask this, since I am still dealing with 15 (gasp) pounds left over from Grace. Those WILL go away, however *threatening look at belly*.
20. What did you do after graduation? Went off to Cedarville. Actually, I met Bob within a few days of graduation from high school. He had just gotten stationed at Wright-Pat to get his master's degree. He was dating someone seriously from his last assignment, and I started dating a lieutenant in our singles OCF Bible study that summer. Neither of us was remotely interested in each other!
21. What year did you graduate? 1991
22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? Justin . . . someone. Hmmm, his name will come to me. He was short, a junior, and he ended up marrying Katrina N. in our class. A funny guy though, and a good friend, especially after Craig and I broke up (Craig is who I went to Jr/Sr with my junior year).
23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? I did; in fact, Amy and I planned it. It was fun! Of course, we were stationed in Ohio back then. I'll probably try to go to our 20th too.
Out With A Bang
We are packing a lot into the last few weeks of summer. The boys had a tremendously wonderful time at Idlewild on Saturday. They went on the big rides, "all the ones we never go on" ([when you are with us] was clearly implied, LOL). Even Jonathan rode a lot of these rides, although Bob said there was an interesting phenomenom going on there. Jonathan rode most of the rides and regretted it many times (culminating in wild panic in the middle of the roller coaster ride). Caleb sat out several of the rides, although afterwards he wished he had gone. LOL! Idlewild is actually a great amusement park for kids because the rides (even the "big" rides) are normal, not the terrorizing "people just died on this last week" type rides that you seem to find most of the time in your big amusement parks. So really I was not alarmed to hear that my precious babies were riding them or anything, LOL. They didn't get to the hotel until close to 10:00. At that time, I was happily down in my cool basement, scrapbooking and watching HGTV in blissful peace and quiet. Well, you know, we can't all have those thrilling excitement-filled weekends!
Sunday they went to church, and then over to Bob's brother's house. The kids swam in the pool and played on the trampoline with their cousins. They got back here about 9:00, tanned (only Jonathan got a bit burned) and tired, but bursting full of stories about what fun they had. I've still listening to them!
Yesterday we went over to Johanna's house. Nathan calls it "the coolest house in the world". For one thing, her boys have a huge Lego collection, so that built up massive cool points right off the bat. They also have 4.6 acres, both wooded and cleared areas, a boy's dream. Nathan and Luke played football with Russ and Zeke, and then they all played in the 2-story treehouse. They topped that off by swimming awhile in their lovely in-ground pool with a diving board. So now maybe you can see why Nathan was so impressed, LOL!
The only problem was that they have 5 dogs, including an adorable little puppy and an ancient husky. Anna was terrified of each and every one, no matter how unthreatening they were, or even how near they were. One dog was outside, looking in the windows, and you would have thought he was on top of Anna, for how loudly she cried and how she tried to shimmy up my leg like it was a tree trunk. Good grief. Hopefully this stage will pass soon for Anna, since animals are not the only thing she acts this way for. She also is terrified of women who cover (like Muslims), and since we live in a very multi-cultural city, this can make a simple trip to Walmart quite embarrassing and humiliating.
Anyhow, it was such a fun day, and we're hoping we can do it again before the weather turns cold. Of course, with how hot it's been recently, it's hard to even fathom when that might happen!
Sunday we leave to drive back to Ohio for 2 weeks. Bob is going to drive out with us, and then he may or may not catch a hop back to Andrews, depending on what the planes are doing. At any rate, we'll drive to White Sulphur Spring for the Wright-Pat OCF retreat Labor Day weekend, and then home that Monday. THEN school will officially start, along with soccer, co-op, and all the other things we have going on! Summer will truly be over. But first . . . a visit with family and friends.
Sunday they went to church, and then over to Bob's brother's house. The kids swam in the pool and played on the trampoline with their cousins. They got back here about 9:00, tanned (only Jonathan got a bit burned) and tired, but bursting full of stories about what fun they had. I've still listening to them!
Yesterday we went over to Johanna's house. Nathan calls it "the coolest house in the world". For one thing, her boys have a huge Lego collection, so that built up massive cool points right off the bat. They also have 4.6 acres, both wooded and cleared areas, a boy's dream. Nathan and Luke played football with Russ and Zeke, and then they all played in the 2-story treehouse. They topped that off by swimming awhile in their lovely in-ground pool with a diving board. So now maybe you can see why Nathan was so impressed, LOL!
The only problem was that they have 5 dogs, including an adorable little puppy and an ancient husky. Anna was terrified of each and every one, no matter how unthreatening they were, or even how near they were. One dog was outside, looking in the windows, and you would have thought he was on top of Anna, for how loudly she cried and how she tried to shimmy up my leg like it was a tree trunk. Good grief. Hopefully this stage will pass soon for Anna, since animals are not the only thing she acts this way for. She also is terrified of women who cover (like Muslims), and since we live in a very multi-cultural city, this can make a simple trip to Walmart quite embarrassing and humiliating.
Anyhow, it was such a fun day, and we're hoping we can do it again before the weather turns cold. Of course, with how hot it's been recently, it's hard to even fathom when that might happen!
Sunday we leave to drive back to Ohio for 2 weeks. Bob is going to drive out with us, and then he may or may not catch a hop back to Andrews, depending on what the planes are doing. At any rate, we'll drive to White Sulphur Spring for the Wright-Pat OCF retreat Labor Day weekend, and then home that Monday. THEN school will officially start, along with soccer, co-op, and all the other things we have going on! Summer will truly be over. But first . . . a visit with family and friends.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Just Us Girls
This morning at 8:20, all the testosterone in the house left.
Bob took the boys to a small amusement park not too far from his parents' house in PA. The company Bob's dad retired from has an annual picnic at Idlewild, and today was the big day. We didn't go last year because of the new baby, and I certainly wasn't going to go this year with essentially 2 babies, so Bob took the boys by himself. Pretty much all of Bob's siblings and their families are there as well, so the boys should have a lot of fun.
As for me . . . well, I'm trying to have fun here, sigh . . . LOL!!! Woo-hoo! Just me and the girls!! First off, I had my friend Christine and her 1 month old baby over for lunch. Her husband is out of town for the first time since the baby came, and she wanted to do something other than just sit at home and stare at her 4 aparment walls. We all just hung out the whole afternoon, talking, looking at pictures, nursing. It was fun! It was so nice to be able to visit without almost constant interruptions from needy little boys, LOL.
For lunch we had chicken salad with crescent rolls, cantaloupe, and I made gingerbread wtih lemon sauce for dessert. Yum! And the best part was . . . I made one tube of crescent rolls. I made a small bowl of chicken salad. I cut up half a cantaloupe. I did not double my ginger bread recipe. AND I HAD LEFT-OVERS! Wow! It's hard to remember what it's like to cook for something other than the swarm of locusts I usually feed.
I'm trying not to have high expectations about getting a lot done this weekend. Last time I did, when Bob took the little boys away for the weekend back in June, I ended up with mastitis and spent the whole weekend on the couch. So that was disappointing. I guess by virtue of the fact that I am not sick, this weekend is already a great success!
In June, I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish--backing up my pictures onto a CD, cleaning out the storage room, going through pictures and updating the boys' scrapbooks, etc. But since Grace has been pretty cooperative lately, I've been able to do those things anyway, so I don't feel like I have a list hanging over my head. The one thing I would like to get done is Nathan's scrapbook. Then I would be all caught up, except for starting Anna's.
You know, it really isn't a hardship for me to be left home. I'm not a big fan of hot, crowded amusement parks even when I'm not nursing. It's been so nice just to hang out today. And tomorrow--I'll only have to get 2 other people ready for church! Or maybe we'll just take the day off! I haven't decided! (Our pastor is out of town on his vacation, so I know I won't be missing one of his sermons.) Ahh, it's like a mini-vacation, except I get to sleep in my own bed instead of in a hotel room with 7 other people.
Bob took the boys to a small amusement park not too far from his parents' house in PA. The company Bob's dad retired from has an annual picnic at Idlewild, and today was the big day. We didn't go last year because of the new baby, and I certainly wasn't going to go this year with essentially 2 babies, so Bob took the boys by himself. Pretty much all of Bob's siblings and their families are there as well, so the boys should have a lot of fun.
As for me . . . well, I'm trying to have fun here, sigh . . . LOL!!! Woo-hoo! Just me and the girls!! First off, I had my friend Christine and her 1 month old baby over for lunch. Her husband is out of town for the first time since the baby came, and she wanted to do something other than just sit at home and stare at her 4 aparment walls. We all just hung out the whole afternoon, talking, looking at pictures, nursing. It was fun! It was so nice to be able to visit without almost constant interruptions from needy little boys, LOL.
For lunch we had chicken salad with crescent rolls, cantaloupe, and I made gingerbread wtih lemon sauce for dessert. Yum! And the best part was . . . I made one tube of crescent rolls. I made a small bowl of chicken salad. I cut up half a cantaloupe. I did not double my ginger bread recipe. AND I HAD LEFT-OVERS! Wow! It's hard to remember what it's like to cook for something other than the swarm of locusts I usually feed.
I'm trying not to have high expectations about getting a lot done this weekend. Last time I did, when Bob took the little boys away for the weekend back in June, I ended up with mastitis and spent the whole weekend on the couch. So that was disappointing. I guess by virtue of the fact that I am not sick, this weekend is already a great success!
In June, I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish--backing up my pictures onto a CD, cleaning out the storage room, going through pictures and updating the boys' scrapbooks, etc. But since Grace has been pretty cooperative lately, I've been able to do those things anyway, so I don't feel like I have a list hanging over my head. The one thing I would like to get done is Nathan's scrapbook. Then I would be all caught up, except for starting Anna's.
You know, it really isn't a hardship for me to be left home. I'm not a big fan of hot, crowded amusement parks even when I'm not nursing. It's been so nice just to hang out today. And tomorrow--I'll only have to get 2 other people ready for church! Or maybe we'll just take the day off! I haven't decided! (Our pastor is out of town on his vacation, so I know I won't be missing one of his sermons.) Ahh, it's like a mini-vacation, except I get to sleep in my own bed instead of in a hotel room with 7 other people.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Odds and Ends
1. Bob is furiously working on the take-home final for the class he's been taking. It's due Wednesday. Only one class left for the certification after he's done with this one!
2. I think I solved the mystery of Anna's fever last week--Fifth disease. She had the classic rash starting on Friday. She is clearly feeling better this week. Apparently you are contagious for 4-14 days before the rash, and once the rash comes, you aren't contagious anymore. Sorry, Emily! You were exposed. It's a pretty common virus, and I think all my other kids have had it. The fever is the worst of it, so it's not a bad one, as viruses go.
3. "Hershey's All Natural Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate--60% Cacao" is really, really terrible. Don't get it. Ghiradelli dark chocolate is good. Trader Joe's is great. Hershey's--not so much. It is in a shiny, fancy bag, but it has a terrible aftertaste, and it's not very creamy at all. Blech. I do like their Special Dark, but that's pretty sweet as far as dark chocolate goes. Not the healthy kind, LOL.
4. I finished up Luke's scrapbook for last year. Now I'm on to Nathan's, and then (if I'm really on a roll), I'll start on Anna's. The nice thing is that Grace has been having her last feeding around 8:30 or 9:00, so she's going down when the other kids go down, and then I have some uninterrupted time before I go to bed to work on things.
5. Funny comment of the week: at Walmart, the cashier first asked if Caleb and Jonathan were brothers. They did have matching shirts on. I said yes. Then she asked, "Do you make a lot of money doing this?" and she sort of nodded over to the kids. I was confused ("Shopping at Walmart? No, I spend money here, LOL"), and so then she said, "Daycare--do you make a lot of money doing daycare?" Wow, lots of people ask if they are all mine, or if I do daycare, but no one has just assumed before! Too funny! She was a bit taken aback when I said they were all mine. LOL, she must be friends with my OB and think that any family with more than 2 kids is simply unnatural!
2. I think I solved the mystery of Anna's fever last week--Fifth disease. She had the classic rash starting on Friday. She is clearly feeling better this week. Apparently you are contagious for 4-14 days before the rash, and once the rash comes, you aren't contagious anymore. Sorry, Emily! You were exposed. It's a pretty common virus, and I think all my other kids have had it. The fever is the worst of it, so it's not a bad one, as viruses go.
3. "Hershey's All Natural Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate--60% Cacao" is really, really terrible. Don't get it. Ghiradelli dark chocolate is good. Trader Joe's is great. Hershey's--not so much. It is in a shiny, fancy bag, but it has a terrible aftertaste, and it's not very creamy at all. Blech. I do like their Special Dark, but that's pretty sweet as far as dark chocolate goes. Not the healthy kind, LOL.
4. I finished up Luke's scrapbook for last year. Now I'm on to Nathan's, and then (if I'm really on a roll), I'll start on Anna's. The nice thing is that Grace has been having her last feeding around 8:30 or 9:00, so she's going down when the other kids go down, and then I have some uninterrupted time before I go to bed to work on things.
5. Funny comment of the week: at Walmart, the cashier first asked if Caleb and Jonathan were brothers. They did have matching shirts on. I said yes. Then she asked, "Do you make a lot of money doing this?" and she sort of nodded over to the kids. I was confused ("Shopping at Walmart? No, I spend money here, LOL"), and so then she said, "Daycare--do you make a lot of money doing daycare?" Wow, lots of people ask if they are all mine, or if I do daycare, but no one has just assumed before! Too funny! She was a bit taken aback when I said they were all mine. LOL, she must be friends with my OB and think that any family with more than 2 kids is simply unnatural!
Monday, August 06, 2007
A Eulogy
Today we donated our faithful Pathfinder, so a tow truck came and took it away. As you can see, it had gotten a little smooshed up, through no fault of our own. It really wasn't worth much even without the smooshed hood, so donating it seemed to be the best option. It was a good car for us, and we have a lot of great memories in it!It was a 92 Nissan Pathfinder, but we bought it the summer of 95, a few months after we moved out to Colorado. We just drove our Mazda 626 out there, which Bob took to work every day, so I was pretty much stuck in our 1 room temporary apartment for that summer while we waited for our house to be finished. Most apartments didn't have air conditioning in C. Springs at that time (maybe they still don't!), and our apartment faced south. On the third floor. With only one window. It was so. very. hot. every afternoon, close to 100 degrees in there. Bob started dropping me off at my grandma and grandpa's house before he left for work. I would take my snack, book, etc., and he would pick me up on his way home. It was fun to spend time with my grandparents (who did have A/C, incidentally), but I did feel a bit like I was at day care, LOL!
We started looking around for a second car, and we decided that we should get an SUV (why not, everyone else in Colorado had one). We looked at Toyota 4-Runners, but we decided they were too expensive. We bought our Pathfinder from a guy who was coming off a lease, and I think we got a fairly good deal on it. Many times through the years have we wished we spent the extra money and gotten the 4-Runner though--it was just a little bit bigger, and the rear widow rolled down instead of just popping open, like ours did. That would have been very convenient for the dogs! Hind sight and all that . . .
My scrapbook from that time shows lots of trips in the old Pathfinder. We had no kids, and Bob was working this weird shift schedule in Cheyenne Mountain (NORAD), where he was basically on an 8 day week, so his days off didn't usually correlate to the weekends. I wasn't working, so we were free to cruise around the state, and so we did! Right after we moved into our house, my brother Dan and a friend from his college, Dave, came out to visit. I drove them up Pikes Peak in the Pathfinder, which was a bit scary for me. The first of many trips, though! One of my favorite trips was in September, 1996, when we took a camping trip down to Mesa Verde and over to the Black Canyon of the Gunnson on the way back. We had our big dog, Pascal, who was half black lab, and half Alaskan malamute, along on all these trips. What fun!
We got a second dog (Aspen, a Great Pyrenees), and had 2 kids (Nathan and Luke). Bob got a job with more regular hours as the aide to a Navy admiral. We still did a lot of camping though, now with our friends the Ls who had finally followed us out to Colorado! Those were some fun trips, and we loaded the Pathfinder to the gills! Once we rented pop-up trailers from MWR and went trailer camping in October at Rocky Mountain National Park. The Pathfinder did a great job hauling the trailer around!
One of my all-time favorite trips we took in it was up to Telluride in October, 2000. We drove up to the Tomboy mine, which was 11,200 feet above sea level. That was a hair-raising drive, if I have ever had one. The "road" was only one lane, and on one side there is a steep cliff, and on the other side, there is a sheer drop-off of several thousand feet. There were lots of washboard ruts, where the Pathfinder really leaned and bounced. When we got up to the old mine site, we literally had to peel Bob's fingers from the stearing wheel. And then we still had to get back down! I had wanted to visit there ever since reading Tomboy Bride, a book about Harriet Fish Backus, who was a newly-wed there (her husband was an assayist) in the early 1900s. The book was fascinating, and I wanted to have a better understanding of what all she talked about. The drive made it all come to life for me, that's for sure! My only regret, since we went to so much trouble to get there, is that I didn't take many pictures. I think it was just such a nerve-wracking drive, and then I was very anxious about Nathan and Luke, who were scrambling around on the ruins of the town. I didn't want them to fall in some big shaft or down the side of the mountain! The Pathfinder really proved himself on that trip though!
We also traveled across the country several times in the Pathfinder. I think we drove from Colorado to Ohio and back in it 5 times! We were a bit crowded, but it seemed fine at the time. Now that we have driven our Odyssey and Sienna, we look back and wonder how on earth we stood it--that thing was so loud and bumpy! We could hardly hear each other talk, and we bounced around like popcorn!
The Pathfinder was great in the snow and ice. It always gave me a lot of confidence knowing that Bob was driving it when he had to be out in the snow. In fact, he drove it to and from work for awhile last February when we had all that snow and ice here! Guess we'll have to make do next winter, LOL.
After we bought the Odyssey in March 2000, the Pathfinder became the "second car". Then right before we left Ohio, Bob tore a muscle in his calf. Driving the Pathfinder (which was a stick-shift) really hurt his leg, so we bought a used Camry for him to commute in. Then the Pathfinder became the third car, barely used, just taking up space on the street. I would drive it to the library if I went in the evenings without kids, just to keep it driven! We let various people borrow it, so it did serve a useful purpose, but it really won't be any big loss to us. Except in sentimental value! Also, it was weird sitting in it last night and thinking this will probably be the last stick-shift vehicle we own. I don't see anything but minivans in our future for quite a long time, and they just aren't manual! I think driving a stick is a lot of fun . . . ah, those carefree days without kids!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Our Week Without Nathan
We pick up Nathan tomorrow at WSS. We've missed having him around--the family dynamic is different when he's not here. I will say that we've gotten a lot accomplished without him here, although that is mainly because we didn't do school this week.
Monday I worked in our playroom (also known as our formal living room, LOL, but since we have no furniture in there, only toys, it is truly just a playroom). I was able to weed out a lot of junky old stuff. Then I moved a bunch of Little People and one town thing into the family room, switching that stuff for the baby toys that were in a basket in there. Anna never plays with them anymore, but she doesn't like to play in the playroom unless someone is in there with her. So she has been enjoying the Little People in the family room, and it's fun to watch her discover how to push the little cars through the garage door and down the ramp of the car wash.
Tuesday I spent a great deal of time backing up a year's worth of digital pictures on the computer onto a CD. Now I can rest assured that all my precious pictures, including ones of the births of 2 children, won't be lost forever should something happen to our computer! Then Wednesday I made a CD with pictures I wanted to have printed off, and we took that to Sams.
While we waited for those to be ready, we ran over to Walmart and had pictures taken of Caleb and Jonathan. The last time we have individual pictures taken of the boys, Jonathan was 16 months, the same age Anna is now! I thought it was time, at least for Caleb and Jonathan, since they have changed a lot in 3 years. The photographer had a heavy accent, and he really just wasn't all that into getting big smiles from the boys. You know how the good kiddie photographers have a big bag of tricks involving trills, feathers, stuffed animals, etc.? Well, this guy had no tricks. He just stood by the camera and said "Say 'stinky feet'", which since he had an accent, was pretty undecipherable, especially to Caleb and Jonathan. They just looked blankly at him while I hopped around behind him trying to get them to smile. Finally he miraculously hit upon "Say 'Chuck E. Cheese'", which made Caleb's face light up with a huge smile and Jonathan look pleasant because, unbeknowst to him, Bob actually was taking the boys to Chuck E. Cheese that night, as a special treat while Nathan was gone, and Caleb and Jonathan had been EAGERLY anticipating the outing. Caleb did great for his individual pictures too, while Jonathan put back on the solemn formal face he usually has for pictures. You could tell he was trying really hard to smile in a serious way, but he has such a beautiful spontaneous smile, and that just wasn't there on Wednesday. Oh well.
After all that, we went back to Sams to pick up our 147 pictures. After lunch I got busy sorting them into piles for the boys' scrapbooks. I keep an individual scrapbook for each boy, and I add 4 pages each year after their birthday for the previous year. This year I never did Luke's, Jonathan's, or Nathan's, and I need to start one for Anna. Since I am totally behind on our family scrapbooks, this is the one thing I feel like I need to keep up on, so I am a little anal about it, LOL. The thing about digital pictures is that I never get around to having them printed off, so I don't have the pictures I need to do the scrapbooks. Well, not anymore. I sorted everything out and then cropped all of Jonathan's pictures. I was able to finish his pages last night after the kids went to bed, so I really felt satisfactorily accomplished. Now on to Luke's.
Today the big project was starting on the storage room in the basement. For the past 2 years or so, I've just sort of thrown boxes in there, and if I've needed anything out of a box already int here, I would just take it into the middle of the floor, root around in it, and then leave it. How nice! So the room was pretty much a dump of clutter with Lincoln Logs and plastic army men scattered strategically all around the boxes. After lunch the boys went down and cleaned up the army men and Lincoln logs, and then we got started sorting shoes into different boxes by size (we now have 3 large boxes filled with boys' shoes. I should start a store, LOL), and going through boxes. Unfortunately because of time constraints, I couldn't really go through all the boxes very thoroughly, but I was able to combine some boxes. We also turned around our old entertainment center, which was facing the wall, I think to protect the glass doors on it. I decided we might as well put all our old video tapes, including old home videos, on the shelves of this entertainment center. Luke and Caleb were very helpful in putting 3 boxes of old tapes onto the shelves, which cleared out a lot of room. Someday I will really go through these and donate or toss lots of them (NOT the home ones, obviously, LOL), but for right now, it was good to get them out of the middle of the floor. We also threw away several empty boxes for things we no longer own, like the light Anna broke, and an old DVD player. It feels so great to get rid of junk! Grace cooperated very nicely by taking a 3 hour nap, but eventually she did have to be fed, so the rest will have to be left for another day.
We were supposed to go swimming with friends this morning, and so probably none of the storage room cleaning would have been accomplished. Unfortunately, Anna had a fever last night, and she woke up several times in the middle of the night burning up. I had to call our friends this morning and cancel. Today her fever has stayed down so far, but she has been a major El Crabbo all day long, so she is definitely not feeling well. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow, since that is when we have to drive up to WSS. Please be praying!
Monday I worked in our playroom (also known as our formal living room, LOL, but since we have no furniture in there, only toys, it is truly just a playroom). I was able to weed out a lot of junky old stuff. Then I moved a bunch of Little People and one town thing into the family room, switching that stuff for the baby toys that were in a basket in there. Anna never plays with them anymore, but she doesn't like to play in the playroom unless someone is in there with her. So she has been enjoying the Little People in the family room, and it's fun to watch her discover how to push the little cars through the garage door and down the ramp of the car wash.
Tuesday I spent a great deal of time backing up a year's worth of digital pictures on the computer onto a CD. Now I can rest assured that all my precious pictures, including ones of the births of 2 children, won't be lost forever should something happen to our computer! Then Wednesday I made a CD with pictures I wanted to have printed off, and we took that to Sams.
While we waited for those to be ready, we ran over to Walmart and had pictures taken of Caleb and Jonathan. The last time we have individual pictures taken of the boys, Jonathan was 16 months, the same age Anna is now! I thought it was time, at least for Caleb and Jonathan, since they have changed a lot in 3 years. The photographer had a heavy accent, and he really just wasn't all that into getting big smiles from the boys. You know how the good kiddie photographers have a big bag of tricks involving trills, feathers, stuffed animals, etc.? Well, this guy had no tricks. He just stood by the camera and said "Say 'stinky feet'", which since he had an accent, was pretty undecipherable, especially to Caleb and Jonathan. They just looked blankly at him while I hopped around behind him trying to get them to smile. Finally he miraculously hit upon "Say 'Chuck E. Cheese'", which made Caleb's face light up with a huge smile and Jonathan look pleasant because, unbeknowst to him, Bob actually was taking the boys to Chuck E. Cheese that night, as a special treat while Nathan was gone, and Caleb and Jonathan had been EAGERLY anticipating the outing. Caleb did great for his individual pictures too, while Jonathan put back on the solemn formal face he usually has for pictures. You could tell he was trying really hard to smile in a serious way, but he has such a beautiful spontaneous smile, and that just wasn't there on Wednesday. Oh well.
After all that, we went back to Sams to pick up our 147 pictures. After lunch I got busy sorting them into piles for the boys' scrapbooks. I keep an individual scrapbook for each boy, and I add 4 pages each year after their birthday for the previous year. This year I never did Luke's, Jonathan's, or Nathan's, and I need to start one for Anna. Since I am totally behind on our family scrapbooks, this is the one thing I feel like I need to keep up on, so I am a little anal about it, LOL. The thing about digital pictures is that I never get around to having them printed off, so I don't have the pictures I need to do the scrapbooks. Well, not anymore. I sorted everything out and then cropped all of Jonathan's pictures. I was able to finish his pages last night after the kids went to bed, so I really felt satisfactorily accomplished. Now on to Luke's.
Today the big project was starting on the storage room in the basement. For the past 2 years or so, I've just sort of thrown boxes in there, and if I've needed anything out of a box already int here, I would just take it into the middle of the floor, root around in it, and then leave it. How nice! So the room was pretty much a dump of clutter with Lincoln Logs and plastic army men scattered strategically all around the boxes. After lunch the boys went down and cleaned up the army men and Lincoln logs, and then we got started sorting shoes into different boxes by size (we now have 3 large boxes filled with boys' shoes. I should start a store, LOL), and going through boxes. Unfortunately because of time constraints, I couldn't really go through all the boxes very thoroughly, but I was able to combine some boxes. We also turned around our old entertainment center, which was facing the wall, I think to protect the glass doors on it. I decided we might as well put all our old video tapes, including old home videos, on the shelves of this entertainment center. Luke and Caleb were very helpful in putting 3 boxes of old tapes onto the shelves, which cleared out a lot of room. Someday I will really go through these and donate or toss lots of them (NOT the home ones, obviously, LOL), but for right now, it was good to get them out of the middle of the floor. We also threw away several empty boxes for things we no longer own, like the light Anna broke, and an old DVD player. It feels so great to get rid of junk! Grace cooperated very nicely by taking a 3 hour nap, but eventually she did have to be fed, so the rest will have to be left for another day.
We were supposed to go swimming with friends this morning, and so probably none of the storage room cleaning would have been accomplished. Unfortunately, Anna had a fever last night, and she woke up several times in the middle of the night burning up. I had to call our friends this morning and cancel. Today her fever has stayed down so far, but she has been a major El Crabbo all day long, so she is definitely not feeling well. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow, since that is when we have to drive up to WSS. Please be praying!
Monday, July 30, 2007
One Last Picture . . .
This is the end of our pre-church photo session. Emily has had enough and is starting to cry. Anna is wearing the same "what am I doing here" expression she has been wearing all weekend long, and as you can see her leaning away, she had decided to take matters into her own hands by starting to edge away, LOL.
Grandma and her girls
Anna, Emily, and Grace are all wearing their dresses from "Momma Claire", also known as my Aunt Claire or Pilotmom. She was the only Claire who was missing from this party, and she and Uncle Jim were sorely missed indeed!
We were able to take pictures before church. After church, Mom and Dad went out to eat with Dan and Melinda, while we came back home to prepare to take Nathan up to White Sulphur Springs for his week at Camp Caleb. Then Mom and Dad took off this morning, so we are back to just our boring selves, LOL, without even Nathan! I'm hoping to get some projects done this week, since we're not doing school. We'll see how that works out. I'm not holding my breath and expecting big things, though, LOL.
Cute Cousin
Isn't Emily a cutie?! She rode in the swing for awhile and enjoyed it very much. I thought the blue swing really brought out her beautiful blue eyes!Special Visit
My brother Dan, his wife Melinda, and their baby girl Emily visited us this past weekend all the way from Texas! Emily was just born in January, so this was our first chance to meet her in person! We all thought she was an absolute doll--well, all of us except Anna, perhaps. She was definitely not sure what to do with this new interloper, LOL. She was in a pretty grumpy mood all weekend long, and she gave Uncle Dan the ol' evil eye every time she looked at him. With Emily she was aloof and suspicious, although she did like to pick up toys that Emily dropped and give them back to her. After they all left, she was so happy, so Bob and I said she must be thinking, "Yay, that other little girl is gone--I guess they're keeping me after all!" LOLEmily is so cute, and there is definitely a family resemblance between her and Anna. She also sports the same bald haircut that Anna has (although Anna has grown some hair in the last 2 months or so), which helps the resemblance. The boys had such a great time with her, entertaining her and making her laugh. Emily gave out lots of big smiles all weekend long (except during some photo opportunities, of course, LOL) and was such a happy little girl! We really enjoyed meeting her!
*Update* Well, Anna was still pretty crabby today. She's also doing other weird things, like taking over 3 hour naps, rubbing her eyes all the time, etc. So there is obviously something else going on, like a growth spurt or allergies or something, and this just wasn't a good weekend for her to have company, even very, very special company!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Roll out the barrel . . .
This past weekend was the annual family reunion for Bob's dad's side of the family. We left Saturday morning and didn't get there until 3:00, but the party was still in full swing! I was still able to get my yearly fill of polka music and kielbasa, although I passed on the cabbage. This was the 10th annual reunion. We've gone to the last 4 I think, and I am still confused about who is who (or would that be "whom"). Bob's dad had 5 siblings, and they all had big families as well. I desparately want someone to sit down and draw out a big family tree for me. Instead, whenever I ask questions, they assume a previous level of knowledge that I simply don't have. ("Oh, that's (whoever). His mom was a (ethnic Eastern European last name) from up near (town I've never heard of). His sister married (someone else I should know but don't), and they had 3 kids. One of them, (another name), moved out to California, got married and divorced, and one of THEIR kids moved back here and married (some other ethnic last name) . . . ." and on and on with no clear resolution or even answer to my original question.) I am hanging in there, however, and I do feel like I am getting to know the people we see every year at this thing a little bit better. Most of them had no idea we had another baby this year, so that was a little surprise, LOL. Hey, we're just carrying on the big family tradition.We stayed in our usual room at Comfort Inn. This room is the only room in the hotel that has 2 double beds and a fold-out sofa. Of course, that still leaves us 2 beds shy, but this is a big room too, so there is enough room for 2 pack-n-plays. We started staying in this room awhile back, and now we just make reservations for our next trip before we actually leave the hotel. That way no one asks about the number of kids, because it seems like the clerks don't care. I'm not sure what we'll do when Anna grows out of the pack-n-play. Oh well--that's a few years away.
I will say that it was not a restful night. There may be plenty of room for 8 people, but there still are a lot of little sleeping noises from that many people. I had to fiddle all night with the air conditioning/fan thing so that it would stay on, but not freeze us out, so that it provided some white noise. Anna woke up at 3:00, and fussed around until 4:00, but fortunately everyone else slumbered on peacefully. Grace woke up at 6:30, but she went right back down after nursing. Anna and I were both crabby the next day, LOL.
Sunday we went out to eat with Bob's parents at Ponderosa. They really like going there, but since Bob's dad can't drive anymore after his latest seizure, they don't get to go out to eat much. Then we all went over to Bob's brother Paul and Sherry's house. They have a nice above-ground pool and a trampoline, so the boys were in heaven. Anna had a good time on the trampoline too. All too soon it was time to head back home. I had been pushing for a picture of the kids with Bob's parents the whole time, but finally we were able to get one right before we left. Even though Grace is sleeping, it still turned out well, so I was glad I insisted. With Bob's dad's health issues of the past year, I don't want to take anything for granted, and I really wanted to get a picture of them with Grace.
We left about 5:30 and made it home by 10:00. That makes the trip sound pretty easy, but in fact, it was another loud trip. The plain truth is that Grace is just not a very good traveler. I've never had a bad traveler before! She hates her car seat, and she can fuss about that for a LONG time without giving up. This makes Anna antsy, and they sort of feed off each other. When one will be winding down, the other will choose that moment to let out a long shrill cry, and that will set the first one off again. Sigh. I am not looking forward to our trip to Ohio the middle of August!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Roosevelt Island
Bob took a day off on Wednesday, and we went to Roosevelt Island, which is in the middle of the Potomac between Arlington and D.C. It is connected to a Virginia by a little walking bridge, and the island is a preserve with quiet walking trails and big trees. Except for the constant noise of traffic from the George Washington Parkway, you'd think you were all alone in the woods, LOL! No, it really is a nice retreat in the middle of the city--and since it is so shady, it was a great place to go on a hot summer day!
In the middle of the island is a memorial for Teddy Roosevelt. It has this big statue of him as well as big slabs of concrete with quotes of his. One is on "youth", another on "manhood", one is "the state", and the last is "nature". There are also 2 big fountains, and the whole thing is surrounded by reflecting pools and bridges. Very lovely and serene.
Although I would have to say that in general he doesn't seem like he was as deep a thinker as say Lincoln, some of his quotes were good. I liked this one on "youth"--I want to see you game, boys, I want to see you brave and manly, and I also want to see you gentle and tender. (Address at Friends School, Washington, DC, May 24, 1907) Yep, that's what I want, too! Also, I liked this one on "the state"--If I must choose between righteousness and peace I choose righteousness. (America and the World War, 1915) Amen!
We didn't pack a lunch, but after we got back to the van, I nursed Grace while everyone else had juice boxes and granola bars for a snack. It was a nice morning outing!
It is at times like these that I wish I could post more than one picture without locking up our slow dial-up connection. But wait . . . change is in the air! Verizon is in the process of installing FIOS cables in our neighborhood, and when they are all hooked up, we are going to go with their all-in-one package, which includes TV, internet, and phone for I think $99.99 a month. Somehow our neighborhood got skipped for DSL and broadband, so this is really our first quick option, other than cable (and we don't like Adelphia). We're pretty excited! We'll be able to wach the funny videos online that everyone talks about! Open up web sites with lots of pictures! Download songs (hey, maybe we'll finally get an iPod!)! The possibilities are endless!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Grace's well-baby appointment
Grace is looking a little on the serious side because she had her first shots today, poor baby! She's done a lot of sleeping this afternoon, which I hope does not bode for a sleepless night!Grace was 12 pounds, 2 ounces, which is pretty average for us. She measured 22 inches long, but I think she is actually longer than that. The tech did a terrible job at straightening her leg to measure. Everything else checked out just fine! She's a happy, healthy girl.
Happy Anniversary To Us . . .
Wow, 14 years already?! It seems like just yesterday I was posting about anniversary #13! This past year definitely passed by in a blur. In last year's post, I was musing about how this year we would be facing retirement. Well, we still haven't made any big decisions as far as that goes, but I'm sure that will be a topic of discussion tonight when we're out to dinner. It's just as well that nothing has happened on the retirement front, as this year was already filled with lots of changes and adjustments. We had a new baby, and then another new baby, and we also changed churches. Now it's time for things to settle down!
Speaking of dinner, Elizabeth has kindly consented to come over and watch our brood, so Bob and I are going to eat at Cheesecake Factory. Mmmm. It'll be a nice, low-key celebration. It's hard to get too fancy with a nursing baby! Someday we'll be able to go away for a weekend or something . . . At least, that's what people tell me--it's too hard for me to envision right now, LOL.
So we're praising the Lord today for 14 happy years of marriage, and a wonderful family that has come out of our marriage. I never imagined 6 kids when I stood at the altar of Chapel 2 back then!
Speaking of dinner, Elizabeth has kindly consented to come over and watch our brood, so Bob and I are going to eat at Cheesecake Factory. Mmmm. It'll be a nice, low-key celebration. It's hard to get too fancy with a nursing baby! Someday we'll be able to go away for a weekend or something . . . At least, that's what people tell me--it's too hard for me to envision right now, LOL.
So we're praising the Lord today for 14 happy years of marriage, and a wonderful family that has come out of our marriage. I never imagined 6 kids when I stood at the altar of Chapel 2 back then!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Cool Lego Mom
*Although for some reason this didn't get published until Tuesday, I actually wrote it and thought I published it last night, Monday night!*
Well, I don't like to brag or anything, but today was the second time in 3 days that I was a "cool mom" in the eyes of the boys. The first time, of course, was when I brought home those 4 Star Wars books for $1.00 at the used book sale. Then this evening at dinner, we were discussing Leogs (as is so often the case). Nathan was lamenting their perceived lack of Legos, and I happened to mention that I had a gallon Ziploc bag of them somewhere down in the basement. At some point when I was home visiting my parents, I equally divided up all the Legos in my brother's and my Lego collection from when we were kids. I put them in Ziploc bags, and mine were packed in a box where they have lived while traveling about the country.
This casual announcement was met with much excitement and surprise. You would have thought I had been withholding information about a fortune in gold or something. Nathan volunteered to get up and look for the bag immediately--he "wouldn't mind at all". I told him that what I really needed him to do was clean up the play room in the basement (which is the unfinished area where we also keep all our boxes that never get unpacked) so that I would have room to move boxes around in my search. He was also ready and eager to do this, and after dinner clean-up, he and Luke took off for the basement.
The room was cleaned up, although I realized immediately what box the Legos had to be in--the one clearly marked "Claire's old stuff". After some digging, there it was! The jackpot! The boys carried away the prize and spent the rest of the evening going through it. Ahhhh . . . silence on the main floor for me.
Nathan couldn't believe that I had this treasure for so long and had never told them about it. How could I forget about something as important and valuable as this?! LOL I will say that Lego made some cool pieces back then that they don't seem to make anymore--pieces with hinges, pieces with little wheels, funny heads, etc. The boys were quite entertained for quite a while. I am just basking in the glory of being cool, since I know how quickly that will change
Well, I don't like to brag or anything, but today was the second time in 3 days that I was a "cool mom" in the eyes of the boys. The first time, of course, was when I brought home those 4 Star Wars books for $1.00 at the used book sale. Then this evening at dinner, we were discussing Leogs (as is so often the case). Nathan was lamenting their perceived lack of Legos, and I happened to mention that I had a gallon Ziploc bag of them somewhere down in the basement. At some point when I was home visiting my parents, I equally divided up all the Legos in my brother's and my Lego collection from when we were kids. I put them in Ziploc bags, and mine were packed in a box where they have lived while traveling about the country.
This casual announcement was met with much excitement and surprise. You would have thought I had been withholding information about a fortune in gold or something. Nathan volunteered to get up and look for the bag immediately--he "wouldn't mind at all". I told him that what I really needed him to do was clean up the play room in the basement (which is the unfinished area where we also keep all our boxes that never get unpacked) so that I would have room to move boxes around in my search. He was also ready and eager to do this, and after dinner clean-up, he and Luke took off for the basement.
The room was cleaned up, although I realized immediately what box the Legos had to be in--the one clearly marked "Claire's old stuff". After some digging, there it was! The jackpot! The boys carried away the prize and spent the rest of the evening going through it. Ahhhh . . . silence on the main floor for me.
Nathan couldn't believe that I had this treasure for so long and had never told them about it. How could I forget about something as important and valuable as this?! LOL I will say that Lego made some cool pieces back then that they don't seem to make anymore--pieces with hinges, pieces with little wheels, funny heads, etc. The boys were quite entertained for quite a while. I am just basking in the glory of being cool, since I know how quickly that will change
Sunday, July 15, 2007
This Week
I see that I haven't posted for almost a week. Hmm . . . what did happen this last week? Obviously nothing too exciting, and frankly, that's a good thing. That means Anna did not break anything or cause too big of a mess. Also, she did not injure herself, another good thing.
And yet I did not have time to post, so that must mean we were just busy. Oh yes, Bob was busy working on a paper for his class the first few evenings, so my computer time was limited.
We did do an entire week of school, something that hasn't happened for a little while. I think we're getting into a good routine there.
We are also on a major campaign to eat down the freezer so that I can defrost it. Then I will be able to go to the commissary just with Nathan while my parents are here next week to restock. (My parents should get here next Monday, and they are coming because my brother Dan and his wife Melinda and their daughter Emily are supposed to come next Thursday!!!!) This means that we have been eating lots of good, healthful things that were lurking in the back of the freezer--things like meatballs, chicken fingers, fish sticks, and pierogies. Also there have been freezer pops every day, so you know this campaign has been well-supported by the troops.
On Thursday, we got the boys' Stanford Achievement Test scores in the mail. The boys did great--whew! That's always such a relief! Then of course my perfectionistic tendencies take over, and I obsess about the categories where they missed any questions at all, LOL. Shockingly, they both did fine in spelling! (I think Nathan is a good guesser, LOL.) Actually, the section they both did worst in was "Word Study Skills", and they got almost identical scores. I'm not totally sure what the questions were like, exactly, but it was phonetic analysis of vowels that seemed to be the issue. It was just funny that they both had problems with that, since they have such different styles of learning, reading, etc. I would have expected one to do good, and not the other, or something. Interesting.
Bob took Friday off, and I was able to go to the Northern Virginia Home Education Convention for a few hours in the afternoon. I only went to shop, and I did buy a few things that I knew I needed and knew I wouldn't be able to find at the used book sale that was Saturday. I bought a copybook for Nathan from Memoria Press, since he still has terrible handwriting, and I bought Story of the World 4 from Peace Hill Press. In fact, Susan Wise Bauer herself was at the PHP booth, and I got to talk to her!! She answered my questions personally! A red-letter day for me, LOL--a brush with celebrity in the homeschool world!
I went back to the convention on Saturday to go to the used book sale, and I was very happy with what I came home with. I got a Daily Grams book for Grammar review, as well as some little workbooks that work on paragraph writing and outlining, which I want Nathan to start working on. I got a Kingfisher History of the World, as well as a neat book called Words That Built a Nation--A Young Person's Collection of Historic American Documents. I got A Case of Red Herrings, which is a critical thinking book, and a Mindbenders book, which has those great puzzles that you have to use a grid to solve. Nathan is going into the Logic stage, and these sorts of books are what SWB recommends to develop critical thinking skills before starting formal logic in 7th grade. The Mindbenders book has already been a big hit. Actually, before the convention I had gotten out my Critical Thinking press catalog to peruse so I would be familiar with what to look for, and Nathan and Luke started solving the puzzles in the catalog! That was helpful because it gave me an idea of what level book I should buy (and I was thrilled to find one used!). Bob is a great problem solver, and I've always enjoyed those logic problems as well, so it seems reasonable that the boys should also be good at them!
I also got a bunch of fiction books--books I've wanted the boys to read, but that our library doesn't carry, like Rolf and the Viking Bow, The Children's Homer, and By the Great Horn Spoon. I just LOVE buying books at used book sales! They can be so cheap! I also won the hearts of the boys because I found 4 Star Wars books for $ .25 each. Oh well, the dessert along with the meaty stuff, LOL. I came home with my pull-along bag stuffed to the gills. A successful shopping day!
So there you have it--highlights of the week. And now it's time to head off to evening church.
And yet I did not have time to post, so that must mean we were just busy. Oh yes, Bob was busy working on a paper for his class the first few evenings, so my computer time was limited.
We did do an entire week of school, something that hasn't happened for a little while. I think we're getting into a good routine there.
We are also on a major campaign to eat down the freezer so that I can defrost it. Then I will be able to go to the commissary just with Nathan while my parents are here next week to restock. (My parents should get here next Monday, and they are coming because my brother Dan and his wife Melinda and their daughter Emily are supposed to come next Thursday!!!!) This means that we have been eating lots of good, healthful things that were lurking in the back of the freezer--things like meatballs, chicken fingers, fish sticks, and pierogies. Also there have been freezer pops every day, so you know this campaign has been well-supported by the troops.
On Thursday, we got the boys' Stanford Achievement Test scores in the mail. The boys did great--whew! That's always such a relief! Then of course my perfectionistic tendencies take over, and I obsess about the categories where they missed any questions at all, LOL. Shockingly, they both did fine in spelling! (I think Nathan is a good guesser, LOL.) Actually, the section they both did worst in was "Word Study Skills", and they got almost identical scores. I'm not totally sure what the questions were like, exactly, but it was phonetic analysis of vowels that seemed to be the issue. It was just funny that they both had problems with that, since they have such different styles of learning, reading, etc. I would have expected one to do good, and not the other, or something. Interesting.
Bob took Friday off, and I was able to go to the Northern Virginia Home Education Convention for a few hours in the afternoon. I only went to shop, and I did buy a few things that I knew I needed and knew I wouldn't be able to find at the used book sale that was Saturday. I bought a copybook for Nathan from Memoria Press, since he still has terrible handwriting, and I bought Story of the World 4 from Peace Hill Press. In fact, Susan Wise Bauer herself was at the PHP booth, and I got to talk to her!! She answered my questions personally! A red-letter day for me, LOL--a brush with celebrity in the homeschool world!
I went back to the convention on Saturday to go to the used book sale, and I was very happy with what I came home with. I got a Daily Grams book for Grammar review, as well as some little workbooks that work on paragraph writing and outlining, which I want Nathan to start working on. I got a Kingfisher History of the World, as well as a neat book called Words That Built a Nation--A Young Person's Collection of Historic American Documents. I got A Case of Red Herrings, which is a critical thinking book, and a Mindbenders book, which has those great puzzles that you have to use a grid to solve. Nathan is going into the Logic stage, and these sorts of books are what SWB recommends to develop critical thinking skills before starting formal logic in 7th grade. The Mindbenders book has already been a big hit. Actually, before the convention I had gotten out my Critical Thinking press catalog to peruse so I would be familiar with what to look for, and Nathan and Luke started solving the puzzles in the catalog! That was helpful because it gave me an idea of what level book I should buy (and I was thrilled to find one used!). Bob is a great problem solver, and I've always enjoyed those logic problems as well, so it seems reasonable that the boys should also be good at them!
I also got a bunch of fiction books--books I've wanted the boys to read, but that our library doesn't carry, like Rolf and the Viking Bow, The Children's Homer, and By the Great Horn Spoon. I just LOVE buying books at used book sales! They can be so cheap! I also won the hearts of the boys because I found 4 Star Wars books for $ .25 each. Oh well, the dessert along with the meaty stuff, LOL. I came home with my pull-along bag stuffed to the gills. A successful shopping day!
So there you have it--highlights of the week. And now it's time to head off to evening church.
Monday, July 09, 2007
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever"
This lovely object d'art is what art scholars call a "Chia Shrek". Who was the person of classic taste that bestowed such a work of art upon us? Why, my brother Dan! He received it himself as a gift at an office white elephant exchange (if you can imagine giving away such a treasure), and then he regifted it to the boys for Christmas 2 years ago. We brought it home from Texas, and it languished in its box until the Spirit moved or something, and we decided to "grow" it a few weeks ago. I must say 1. this picture does not do it justice, and 2. it looks nothing like the box picture, where Shrek was covered with little plants with short stems and big leaves, such that the picture did indeed resemble Shrek.To be fair, Dan and Melinda also gave the boys a Bionicle set that year, vaulting them into "most favored aunt and uncle" status, a position they kept after giving the boys Walmart gift cards this past year. We are also enjoying another one of their gifts currently, the Star Wars Cookbook, which they gave Nathan for his birthday. We made Skywalker Smoothies yesterday--the book says, "Luke definitely has the Force on his side, but sometimes he gets an extra boost from these scrumptious smoothies." I think "Wookie Cookies" are next on the agenda, followed by "Princess Leia Danish Dos". Luke is interested in making "Darth Vader Dark Chocolate Sundaes--"Some speculate that Darth Vader was lured to the Dark Side by these Dark Chocolate Sundaes." Other recipes in the book include Hoth Chocolate, Han-burgers, Obi-Wan Kebabs, Boba Fett-ucine, and Wampa Snow Cones. The book is filled with pictures of the food, with toy Star Wars figues posed beside them. Pretty funny! At the front of the book are cooking rules. They start: "The calm, perceptive mind of a Jedi warrior will enable you to prevent most mishaps in the kitchen. Use it well and follow these general guidlines." I wish I had some Jedi warrioers in the kitchen! Apparently Jedi cooks "clean up as they go along".
At the end of the book are some stickers with sayings like "Use the fork, Luke." and "Eat this you must. Help you it can." We've gotten a lot of laughs from this book. Now Nathan has the second Star Wars cookbook on our wish list at Amazon.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Chocolate and Friends
Yesterday was another big day! after our late night, we got up and left at 9:30 to drive up to Hershey, PA to meet up with friends. My best friend Amy (in the blue shirt) and her family were camping there with Julie and her family. Julie is another old friend who went to Dayton Christian and also to Cedarville with us. It was so fun to see Amy and Julie and spend the day with them!We went to Hershey's Chocolate World, which was very, very crowded and loud. We ate lunch first, and then we went on this cute ride through a simulated chocolate factory to learn about how chocolate is made. It was very interesting, and just as I was saying to Amy and Julie, "They ought to pump the smell in here to make it realistic", then sure enough! It started smelling like chocolate! YUM! I could have ridden around smelling that for quite a while longer! At the end of the ride, everyone got free samples of Kissables, those little candy-coated kisses. Bob mentioned to the lady that Caleb and Zachary couldn't have chocolate, and so she gave them Twizzlers instead! That was nice. The best part was that this all was free! Nothing else was, that's for sure, LOL. It was a very commercialized place.
After the tour, the kids went though the "Factory Works" line, which we thought would be something sort of hands-on and educational, but in actuality was a commercialized gimic to get you to buy expensive small boxes of Kisses that your children had packaged and otherwise bonded with ($5.00 a box!). We had to pass on that. Then the others went in to see a 3-D animated show that was $5.95 for adults and $3.95 for kids 3-12. We decided that was just to steep for a 30 minute show for our big family, so we went outside and found the Hershey Museum, a little walk away, over by the entrance to HersheyPark.
The musuem also was not free ($7.00 for adults and $3.50 for kids 3-12) but Bob got in free, being active-duty military, and we could stay as long as we wanted! Plus, it was very quiet in there, and after the noise and crowds of the Chocolate World, I was really ready for something quiet. The museum was very interesting, and ironically, it was much more hands-on than the Chocolate World. We got to see and handle equipment from the old factory, read what workers from long ago said about the factory (for example, it was really hot because they could never open any windows--they had to keep bugs out of the chocolate), and learn about how Kisses got their names (it could be from smooching sound that the depositor machine made when a glob of chocolate was dropped out into the Kiss shape). There was an old-fashioned candy shop set up, with display cases that Mr. Hershey used in his shop. There was an exhibit about HersheyPark and its history, with a nice video to watch while sitting in a roller coaster car. There were items from Mr. Hershey's house, and an exhibit on the school he and his wife set up for orphan boys once they realized they would never be able to have children of their own. Mr. Hershey seemed like a wonderful man. There was also a discovery hands-on room for kids where they could try on clothes from the Victorian era, play in a pretend general store, cook in a Victorian kitchen, etc.
Mr. Hershey also had an extensive collection of Indian artifacts, including some relaly nice headresses and outfits. There were items from tribes in all different parts of the U.S., and there was a hand-son station there too, where kids could feel wolf pelts, use a pump drill to make holes in wood, try on snowshoes, and also try on Indian leather clothes.
So we really enjoyed the museum. The kids did a scavenger hunt that they were handed when we went in, and so they got little dollar store rings and coins. They were thrilled with them, of course. We did stay about half an hour longer than we needed to because while we were in there, a torrential downpour began. I wondered if we would ever be able to get back to our car! Fortunately it did eventually stop, so we were able to meet up again with the others, who had been souvenier shopping after their show.
We were very happy to find out that we didn't have to pay for parking (free for 2 hours, then $8.00 for 2-4 hours, and then $11.00 for a day--yow)! We think it was because of all the rain, since the parking is also for HersheyPark, which had to close the rides because of the thunder and lightning. We drove just down the road to the campground where Amy and Julie were camping. Although it was sprinkling, we decided to make it work there for dinner. Julie's camper has a little stove, so she boiled hotdogs for the kids and cooked steaks for the grownups. By the time everything was ready, it had stopped raining, so we had a lovely dinner. The kids ate first, then they ran around and played while the adults ate. Grace took a nice nap on the bed in Julie and Tim's camper. Anna wandered around getting watermelon juice all over her outift, which was already soaked from her falling down on the wet ground. It was so much fun to be able to catch up with Amy and Julie.
Unfortunately, it was 8:00 all too quickly, and I nursed Grace before we headed home. Grace and Anna were pretty much shot from 2 days out of their normal routine, and so they cried . . . well, just about the entire way home. Did I say "cried"? I actually meant to say "screamed", because that's a more accurate description, LOL. We had been listening to Johnny Tremain, a very fitting book on tape for around the Fourth of July, wouldn't you say, but we had to turn it off because we could not hear it at all. We made it home a little before 11:00 and got everyone down before collapsing into bed ourselves.
We've been taking it easy today. Nathan and Luke rediscovered a book on making paper airplanes that my mom and dad gave them awhile back, so that was what they spent the morning doing. I slept in until 10:00. Ahhhh. Anna took an early nap. Now the boys are outside. Unfortunately I have just discovered that the garage door where the van is parked is mysteriously not working, so tomorrow might not be so relaxing, LOL. I guess we are not supposed to go anywhere else for a few days!
Fireworks From the Iwo Jima Memorial
We went downtown to the Iwo Jima Memorial to watch the national fireworks on the Fourth of July. We went with our friends the Ls as we did 2 years ago. The weather played a bit of havoc withour plans, but it all worked out.We were supposed to leave at 5:00, so we went to Ed's parents' house, where the Ls were, right at 5:00, but there was all this serious weather west of us, and we weren't sure where it was headed. We didn't want to be driving in it, so we hung out there for awhile talking with Ed's folks. Ed's brother, an airline pilot, made paper airplanes for the boys and Amanda to fly around, which amused them greatly. Finally we left about 6:45, and I was very afraid that we wouldn't be able to find a good place to watch, especially once we heard that the Iwo Jima area had never been closed, as the Mall was. I was afraid a lot of people would have left the Mall and come over to the Iwo Jima.
It was very crowded once we got there, but fortunately we were meeting some other friends, Brian and Angela, and they rode the Metro in. They were able to save a really nice big area for all of us. Whew! We brought our usual large amount of food, but since we didn't really get settled until 7:30, it seemed like we hardly had time to make and eat our sandwiches, much less fruit, cookies, etc. So we ended up with a lot of extra food.
We really enjoyed the fireworks. There were some new things we hadn't seen before, like fireworks in the shape of a huge star, and some in the shape of Saturn--a big ball with a ring around it. Cool! We were worried that Anna would totally freak out because she's in a weird phase right now, where she has decided to be frightened of all sorts of things, like the vacuum, swimming pools, women who cover (like Muslims), etc. But just to keep us on our toes, she was completely blase about the loud booms and the bright lights of fireworks. Go figure. But it made for an easier viewing experience, LOL.
Unfortunately we were sitting in front of a long-haired twenty-something year old man who thought he was the cleverest and wittiest cool dude of them all, and so he blathered on and on and on the entire show. He wasn't not exceptionally profane--just a few of the more mild cuss words sprinkled throughout--but he sure was inane and annoying. It was especially annoying because you could tell he thought he was just. so. cool. and that we should all be grateful to be getting this free comedy show. His girlfriend was beside him, and she laughed loudly at all his jokes, so I guess someone thought he was funny. True love.
We made it home a little before 11:00, proud to be Americans, and proud that we didn't lose anyone yet again in the huge crush of people walking along the streets in the dark.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Two months already?!
Grace turned 2 months old yesterday. Wow, that is hard to believe! She's getting so big. She smiles a lot, but we have a hard time capturing that on camera. By the time it finishes all its flashes and whatnot, she is no longer smiling and is back to looking perplexed and serious. I think you can see that she is of the "big eye" baby model--like Luke and Jonathan. She's doing really well with her sleeping, going until about 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning. In this picture, she is sitting in the Bumbo baby seat that her Uncle Dan and Aunt Melinda got her. She's technically a little young, but she has a really strong neck, and she enjoys sitting in it a lot for a few minutes. I can't wait until she can go longer in it because frankly I have never had a baby who hates being on her back as much as Grace. This even includes her car seat and bouncer seat. She definitely wants to be sitting upright.
Actually all the kids are enjoying the Bumbo seat. Anna sits in it quite frequently, and even Caleb and Jonathan can still fit their scrawny little bums in there. Nathan and Luke like to wear it upside down on their heads, like a cartoon Spartan war helmet. I wish we had gotten one earlier!
Unfortunately, I won't be able to tell you Grace's 2 month stats for quite a while. Non-military types won't understand this crazy system, but when I called back in June to schedule her 2 month well-baby appointment, they told me July's appointments hadn't been released yet, and to call back in a week. So I did that, and then the only appointments that were left were on July 17 at 8:00, 8:30, and 9:40. I snagged the 9:40 one, since there is no way on God's green earth we could get there any earlier with traffic. Even 9:40 will be a challenge--we'll probably have to leave about 8:30. Grr. Anyhoo, it will be more like a 2 1/2 month well-baby appointment. But I can tell she's healthy and growing!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
"Oh, Anna . . . noooooooooooooo"
Anna had a busy week this past week as well. She started off the week with a bit of a bug. Mainly she just ran a little fever (which isn't so bad--kind of takes the edge off, you know?), but she did throw up a few times Monday morning. Fortunately my reflexes were in fine form, and I managed to whip her off the couch and over a trash can each time, thus saving our nice couch from yuckiness. Tuesday evening she was up on her stool in the kitchen, and she managed to turn the microwave on for some uncertain but very long period of time. I was on the computer, and when I got off and wandered into the kitchen, I smelled something and noticed that the microwave was on. At about that moment, it turned off, so I opened it, letting out a ton of stinky smoke. Some tiny piece of ham or something that had fallen off a plate had become a smoking lump of carbon, and the microwave was blank. I was so worried that she had totally fried the thing, but after about 20 minutes, it did come back, so I guess it was just overheated. Thank the Lord for safety switches like that! When I asked how come no one had told me the microwave was even on (since 3 of her brothers were in the kitchen), Jonathan piped up that he had in fact told me that Anna was pushing buttons on the microwave. Unfortunately, Jonathan pretty much chatters all day long, usually about Star Wars, so I guess I just tuned him out. whoops! I told him that for IMPORTANT stuff like Anna pushing microwave buttons, he needed to come touch my arm to make sure I was REALLY listening, LOL.
On Thursday night, Anna walked on the base of our torch lamp in the family room, sending it crashing over and shattering the shade into a bazillion tiny shards of glass while I looked on impotently as I nursed Grace. Sigh.
Friday, we went to Target to buy a new lamp as well as some new shoes for Caleb. While we were looking at shoes, I was distracted, and Anna (who was in the back of the cart) stood up and reached for a shoebox and fell out of the cart. This is what led to the attractive shiner she is sporting in the picture on top. Usually I buckle her in the front and put Grace's carseat in the back, but who knows what I was thinking then?!
Maybe next week will be a little less eventful for her (and me).
A Prayer Request
Back in May, I mentioned in a post my friend from church, Christine, who is expecting her first baby. She has scoliosis and so can't have an epidural, but she is fine with that, since she was raised in Germany where something like 90% of the women give birth naturally. Well, her due date is Tuesday. Things are going just fine. The head is nice and low, and she's about 1 1/2 cm dilated, and 50% effaced. She had an ultrasound last Monday because her doctor thought she was big, but the baby looked fine and normal sized. You would think that the doctor would then just let things go as they happen, but no, not here in Virginia! The doctor wants to induce her on Friday. Not for any good reason--just because. When Christine reminded her of that fact that she could not have an epidural if things took a long time, or if she didn't handle pitocin-induced contractions very well, her doctor said, "Well, labor hurts with or without pitocin, so that shouldn't make a difference." Umm . . . wow. That's a pretty darn uncaring statement to make, and frankly I wonder if this doctor has ever even SEEN a woman deliver naturally, much less one delivering her first baby after an induced labor.
I think the doctor is setting Christine up for a c-section, to be honest. We talked a long time about possible scenarios, but Christine is like me, pretty nonconfrontational, and it's really hard for her to tell her doctor that she doesn't want to be induced. I'm afraid that the labor will take a long time, and that she'll be too tired to push effectively. It takes a great deal of mental concentration and focus to deal with contractions naturally, and it can really get tiring and painful, especially if the doctor keeps ramping up the pitocin if you don't dilate according to their neat little schedule. A first baby usually means oh, 1-2 hours of pushing, which is exhausting even when you haven't labored all day naturally! What is up with these Virginia doctors that think that inductions are the best way to go?! I have never been anywhere where they are pushed as much as I have heard and experienced here. Ridiculous.
Christine has another appointment on Tuesday. Please pray that she will be able to clearly voice her concerns to the doctor, and that the doctor will be receptive to hearing them. But most of all pray that she will go into labor on her own before Friday!
I think the doctor is setting Christine up for a c-section, to be honest. We talked a long time about possible scenarios, but Christine is like me, pretty nonconfrontational, and it's really hard for her to tell her doctor that she doesn't want to be induced. I'm afraid that the labor will take a long time, and that she'll be too tired to push effectively. It takes a great deal of mental concentration and focus to deal with contractions naturally, and it can really get tiring and painful, especially if the doctor keeps ramping up the pitocin if you don't dilate according to their neat little schedule. A first baby usually means oh, 1-2 hours of pushing, which is exhausting even when you haven't labored all day naturally! What is up with these Virginia doctors that think that inductions are the best way to go?! I have never been anywhere where they are pushed as much as I have heard and experienced here. Ridiculous.
Christine has another appointment on Tuesday. Please pray that she will be able to clearly voice her concerns to the doctor, and that the doctor will be receptive to hearing them. But most of all pray that she will go into labor on her own before Friday!
Not to worry . . .
I wanted all of you to know that we are all alive--the clone trooper cake did not get us. We've just been busy cleaning, and so I haven't had time to blog. The reason we've been cleaning, of course, is that we have people staying with us. That is what it takes to move us to real action these days, action beyond just picking up and vacuuming the parts easily observed. So now I can relax in the fact that the house is clean. Well, mostly. We did amazing things in the kitchen--the desk has never looked so empty! Our bedroom is a disaster area, however. Funny how that works! The study looks clean, but I know that is an illusion. Beneath the quiet surface of books lies a dormant volcano of papers, ready to erupt, strewing chaos all over the main floor as soon as we do anything in there like school. Obviously there is more work to be done, LOL. But we have more company scheduled for the end of July, so we have big plans.
We are having 2 girls stay this week with us. They are part of a volunteer crew of people from Southern Baptist Seminary in Loisuville, KY, who are coming to work on our church this week. Our church was built in the 1850s, and so it is a quaint little building whose maximum capacity is about 90, comfortably, with a lot of wasted space at the front (a second platform behind the preaching platform, for example). We are tearing up some of the wasted space and doing some rearranging inside to make it fit more people with doing anything structural. Should be nice when it's all done!
We are having 2 girls stay this week with us. They are part of a volunteer crew of people from Southern Baptist Seminary in Loisuville, KY, who are coming to work on our church this week. Our church was built in the 1850s, and so it is a quaint little building whose maximum capacity is about 90, comfortably, with a lot of wasted space at the front (a second platform behind the preaching platform, for example). We are tearing up some of the wasted space and doing some rearranging inside to make it fit more people with doing anything structural. Should be nice when it's all done!
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