Off to Africa

"Off to Africa" is code around our house for "going to the restroom". (Ellie made that one up.) We were off to Africa in a different way last week when we visited Kalahari Indoor Waterpark Resort in Sandusky, OH. I wish I had more pictures but water parks don't really lend themselves to getting snap happy, what with all the...water. So here's a picture of our arrival. Of course, the Africa theme was over the top with these life-size animals. Daniel was VERY impressed with this elephant (after he got over his initial fear of it). The other three were so excited at this point! We had been looking forward to this get-away for a long time, and we weren't disapointed. The water park was really huge. All the kids loved the wave pool and the Lazy River. The water slides were OK, but the girls weren't even tall enough to go on most of them. I made a mistake the first night we were there and took Joe and Ellie on one that I thought would be pretty tame. It was called the Rippling Rhino, and I figured anything with the word "rippling" in the title was going to be OK. I couldn't have been more wrong. We were hurtled at what felt like 60 mph through complete and total, pitch-black darkness. The kids are screaming and crying, and I'm just afraid that they're going to let go of our tube, so I'm trying to yell louder than them, "Hold on! Just don't let go!" Boy, were we a sight when we finally hit the splash pool! Ellie was shaking so badly she could barely walk out. And it's funny that I was afraid they wouldn't hold on because the whole time we were in the wave pool, they were clamped onto me and nearly dragging me under. There's nothing at all wrong with their grips! Anyway, after that water slide, Joe and Ellie were pretty skeptical of any others that I tried to talk them into. They each went down one more big slide, but after that we stuck to the lighter attractions. The important thing was that we all got to play together, and that was such a blessing!

Tidbits That Made Me Smile

Here are some odds and ends from this past week that made me smile.

Daniel discovered the joy of sidewalk chalk. It's a good thing I got that "lifetime supply" back in July...he's got a lot more clothes to color.

Joe has been working on his juggling. He still has a long way to go, but he's getting better. Today, as he bent over to pick up his juggling blocks for about the 50th time, he said, "I know how to juggle, I just can't do it!"

And Erin...just as ravishing as can be!

Made for Work

If I had been more faithful to the blog this past week, this would have been my Thankful Thursday post. Joe was just on top of the world on this day when he got to go out and work in the yard. For some reason, the fir trees in our backyard dumped a boatload of little pinecones this winter. Joe raked and raked and raked! It made me think of a book that's on my list of ones I want to get soon, a devotional for boys called Made for Work. This day made me think we'll definitely be enjoying the thoughts shared in this book. Joe loves to be useful and see the fruit of his labors. This was an extra chore, so I offered to pay anyone who would work. The girls only lasted for about 15 minutes. Joe kept up with the work, but I don't think the money was really his motivation. What a blessing that kind of energy will be for his whole life!

Flashback Friday

November, 2007

I'm always amazed at how perfectly this picture came out. It's not that long ago, but it was taken during a blogging hiatus, so it's new to the blog. Just wanted to throw a little perfection into this otherwise topsy-turvy week. That, along with this precious promise:

"For I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil. 1:6.

Thankful Thursday

For tonight's Thankful Thursday post, I'm rewinding back to our homeschool Valentine party held last Friday. (This is the beginning of the week in rewind, but it works out that it is something I'm truly thankful for, too.) Last Friday morning we got all ready to go, the kids all toting their Valentine boxes with them....

Yes, they are all pretty cute, but I was mostly thankful that they were DONE for another year!

Then, the party...this is one shot that shows one of the things I'm most thankful for about homeschooling.

In this picture the kids are doing a little game to split up into teams for relays. Just look at the teams...that's what I love. See all the ages mixed together? These kids are such a blessing to be around! At one point, Erin was playing with some girls when she fell and hit her head on the floor. I saw it happen, but before I could even get to her, one of the teens had swooped her up and was comforting her. Wonderful! The kids played lots of games, then one of the moms led devotions (and that part was so well done the kids even remembered it that night at supper).

So...lots of fun for the kids. I don't have that many pictures of it because while they all played, I was having a very encouraging time talking with the other moms. That's something I'm super thankful for!

Yes, the valentine party post definitely belonged on a Thursday.

Flashback Friday

My five-year-old's...

Joe - June 13, 2005


Ellie - Feb. 28, 2007

Erin - Feb. 12, 2009

Truth Tuesday

"...Your word is truth." John 17:17

Artwork by Joe

Flashback Friday

Joe and Matt

Autumn, 2003

Feeding the Flock

We've taken up the hobby of birding this winter. Did you know that it's no longer called birdwatching? I guess that's politically incorrect or something. What we've really done is set up our birdfeeder and kept seed in it since the cold weather started. Since the bird feeder is conveniently located just outside our schoolroom window, and the birds are, apparently, more interesting than phonics, the kids have gotten really well-acquainted with our neighborhood flock. They've actually given titles to the birds. The male and female cardinal are the king and queen of "Feederville", and whenever they are spied, the kids call out, "Hail, King/Queen Cardinal! Hail!" (Did I mention our kids are weird?) The tufted titmouses (titmice?) are the prince and princess, while the bluejay is the knight. The juncos are the duke (pronounced "doo-yuke") and duchess, and the mourning doves are the pastor and his wife. The Bewick's Wren is the nurse/teacher and the plethera of sparrows? The commoners, of course. There's also a red-tailed hawk (the evil villain) who flies in and stirs up the kingdom every now and then. Our occasional squirrel is also on his side.

Ahhhh...with entertainment like this, who needs phonics?!

Weekend Happenings

Saturday was a big day in our house. In the afternoon we hosted Joe's piano recital, and we were so thrilled with the turn-out. Many extended family members were here (including Joe's cousin Nathan, which made his day!). His very special, very encouraging piano teacher has her students give individual recitals at which they play a collection of pieces they've learned during their course of study. I can see some nerves on his face as his teacher welcomes everyone....

He played so well, though! This is Joe's second year in piano, and it's been exciting to see him grow in skill and in perseverance as he's studied this year. Praise the Lord for the talent He's developing in Joe!

And, since we had everyone here anyway, we did a little birthday partying! Matt is offically golden now! You can see he's not taking it too seriously, though!

My mom got Matt several gifts that were things in 50's, like pads of paper, vitamins, etc. The best one, however was a container with 50 lizard'ns and frog'ns in it! That's at least a few weeks of quiet playtime right there! Did I mention they stick to the ceiling?

Father Ducks

You always hear about the Mother Duck... Here's a picture of Matt and the dad across the street leading the neighborhood brood down to the park for some sledding today. There's a total of five kids there! The Mama Ducks were home with the babies this year, but next year, there'll be seven kids in the line-up!



The report was that the sledding was OK. It's VERY cold and the floofy snow was sort of hard to plow through. We're loving it, though. Doesn't it look beautiful?

Matt's school had an early release today as the snow didn't arrive until after the buses ran in the morning. Maybe tomorrow will be the snow day.

Fun Day!

Matt's school had a 2-hour delay this morning. We started our day on time, but then took a long break this afternoon to do a little of this...

...and this.

Snowy smiles all around!

Thankful Thursday #3

Tonight I'm thankful for my weird kids. Actually, I should say, I'm thankful that kids are weird, and I get to live with four of them, whose unique brand of weird-ness I totally enjoy.

One aspect of their weird-ness (probably my favorite) is the way they play. We first started noticing this when Ellie got a little family of toy lions for her fourth birthday. Those lions were the only thing the kids played with for days after that! The lions were everywhere, having all kinds of adventures. Other animal families later joined them, but now all have been replaced by what the kids call "lizard'ns" and "frog'ns". They are these little rubber, stretchy lizards and frogs that we buy at Wal-Mart (88 cents for a pack of 15!). There are different colors and varieties in the packs, and the kids have names and character traits for each one. They even speak in different voices and accents! What's really funny is the kids think I know the names of each one. They'll come up to me and ask if I've seen "Susan Lizard'n"...as if I could tell Susan from any of the other 50 lizards! Lizard'ns and frog'ns are sort of like action figures and Barbie dolls rolled into one cheap, little, gender-neutral package, and they've provided hours of fun in this house. For more than a year now, they're about the only toys we've needed.

See? You just don't get that kind of weird with grown-ups.

I got this picture of what appears to be a lizard'n and frog'n pow-wow. Mode of transportation at the bottom right corner.

New Year's Picture

I just came across this picture when I was reviewing my camera card, and I think it's hilarious. It was taken about ten seconds after midnight, Jan. 1, 2009. (You can tell we were at a hoppin' party!) Looks like Joe's looking forward to a good year...

Flashback Friday #3

Joe and Ellie, January, 2003

Thankful Thursday #2

Today I'm thankful that my son loves my singing voice. I know as well as anyone that I can only carry a tune in a very large bucket, but he thinks I should be making my own CD's. I love it that when he's going to sleep at night, he begs me to sing him songs, and then always tells me how good the song sounded. Someday he may hear how limited my singing abilities are, but I hope he still has warm memories of our favorite bedtime songs. What a blessing to be a mother!

Family Christmas Pictures

Here's a photo recap of our family Christmas get-togethers. I always think I have way too many pictures, but then I go back through them and I see that I haven't captured many dear faces and special moments that I wish I had. We truly felt God's abundant blessings in our time spent with family for the holidays!

The Mailing

This morning my clerical staff and I got our Christmas cards ready to mail. If you get a card that has a return address label stuck on upside down, or a stamp slightly askew, please understand. I did my best at quality control, but we were having fun, too.

Flashback Friday #1

"Flashback Friday" is an idea from my cousin Julia ("Jewels of the Kingdom" on sidebar). I think I'll have some fun with it. We'll start out with one of my favorite Christmas shots...

Christmas, 2004 - Joe with his T-Rex, Ellie with her ballerina doll, and Erin with her great big smile!