garrett & becky

quick 5

2012-02-10T04:44:00.000-06:00

Sitting in the kitchen enjoying the whir of the dishwasher. Is that a new level of domesticity, when you actually enjoy the whir of the dishwasher? Oh, well, "It be what it are." That's pirate talk for "It is what it is."

On to the five...

1. The Star Wars party came, along with 8 inches of snow that day. We pressed on and had a really nice time, thanks to people that trekked through the snow and the fact that many of the folks we love live in walking distance. The only disappointment of the party is the pictures- not so great. In preparation for the party, it was declared that the boys would watch through the Star Wars movies with Garrett. (I was not in on the plan mainly because for them to watch it I was usually with the girls). One evening I happened to be in the room when they were finishing up Revenge of the Sith. (I have actually never seen all the movies and may have actually fallen asleep during one or two when we were dating. Yes, I am actually that lame. And yes, I do know that I use the word actually way too much.)

So-it was all new to me. I was supposed to be getting ready to leave but was totally captivated by the battle between Anakin and Obi Wan. At the end of that scene, Padme had the babyies.

"No way! It is twins?!" I cried.

"You're joking, right?" my husband said.

"Uh...no."

2. In geography this week we were talking about the Rio Grande River which inevitably lead me to have the song "Lonesome Dove" stuck in my head. ("Back to back with the Rio Grande, a Christian woman in the devil's land..." Any Garth Brooks fans out there? It was a phase in high school- don't judge.) My kids were not appreciating the fact that I was belting that out for them every day. Anyways, I heard the song "Stuck Like Glue" on Pandora, and no more Lonesome Dove. Unfortunately, the new song is literally stuck like glue in my head. I just can't stop it from playing in my mind. It's bad, so bad that when it came on my Pandora station again, Ella yelled, "Mom! Your song is on!"

3. I started reading an e-book called, Scary Hope. You can download it for free, or read the contents of it on this blog. It has been interesting to read through, though I am only a few days into it. It makes you think about the things you might do or attempt or be if you weren't afraid. Afraid of what, you ask? Change and expectations and failure and a lot of other things that keep us from moving outside of the comfortable rut that we call "life as we know it". It's really good, and really easy to read in bite-size little pieces.

4. Lately we have been reading about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. It has worked out nicely that we just happened here in the Bible right as we begin to prepare for Easter. As I read the story through my kids' eyes, several things stood out to me, but mainly the absence of resentment in Christ's interactions with people. He knew that people would betray Him. He was with them before, during, and even after the betrayal. But those cutting words of bitterness, those pointed remarks that remind people that they have wronged you, there is nothing of that in His words or actions or disposition to those who truly left Him during the greatest hour of need.

I have been pondering that because, I am discovering as I get older, I have a tendency to hold on to things that have hurt me. Though I claim to have forgiven them, when I am all alone I will take out those offenses and revisit them, like Gollum hiding in a cave and stroking the Ring of Power. This has been increasingly apparent to me over the years as Garrett and I talk about a situation and I say, "Don't you remember when he said ______?" or "Don't you remember how they did ________________?" His reply is usually, "Really? I don't remember that at all." Then I usually feel irritated that I am all alone in my pain. But now I am realizing that I don't have to be alone in that memory; I could just choose to let it go altogether. That is a powerful choice, indeed. Choosing to deny resentment doesn't negate the pain of what happened; it simply takes away the power for it to continue causing pain.

I'm headed that way, I think. I hope. Scary hope. (See #3)

5. I think we have successfully navigated the breaking of the swaddle wrap addiction around here. Truth be told, she doesn't sleep as well without it. But, "It be what it are."

Is there anyone out there whose favorite food is not pizza? Gosh, I love pizza. We had some for dinner and I was just thinking that I wish I had more. Grilling Pizza Season is quickly approaching, people. Read up. Prep up. Grill it. Invite us over. That's it. Best stuff on earth. I'm just sayin'.

I am working on writing up a pitch (a short blurb- similar to the back cover of a book) to enter my novel for Pitchapalooza (a contest for NaNoWriMo participants). I am hoping to have a few done and float them on here for your input next week. So check back and be honest! (not like brutally honest, like delicately honest- ok? Can we all agree on that?)

So how's everyone coming on Les Mis? You should be fairly well into the life of the Bishop by now, am I right???? Alright, speaking of honest, raise your hand if you are actually reading it with me. <Crickets chirping> That's what I thought. Ah, well.

Guess that's all for today. May Friday find you full of grace and life and pizza.

So say we all.

quick 5

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

Howdy. It's Friday again. Big weekend around here with birthday party Saturday and Super Bowl Sunday. Phew!

1. You know sometimes when you are in a really good book and something about a scene or a character reminds you of your life? I remember reading the memoir "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and there was a certain phrase about good-byes, saying good-bye not just to people or to a place but saying good-bye to who you were in that place- it spoke to me. That is my life, I thought.

I had a similar moment this week when I found this choice piece of literature that a little bird left for me in a book she borrowed:

That is my life. (And thanks, little bird.)

2. I'm terrible with numbers, have I mentioned that? Oh sure, I can do basic arithemetic. But when I try to remember numbers, it doesn't work. This means that every time I go to use my debit card it is a spiritual experience as I pray , "Lord- please help me to guess the right number." I have three pin numbers memorized- one is the old one, one is the current one, and one is the online banking one. I just don't ever remember which is which. And sometimes, when I have tried two and would just need to enter the third, I can't remember which two I have tried. It's pathetic.

Anways, you can imagine my elation this week when I was at an ATM and got the right number on the second try. Woo-hoo! I was stoked. Take that, insomnia! Take that, pregnancy-kills-brain-cells-rumor! Victory, sweet victory! I headed to the grocery store, floating on air. About 20 minutes later I got a call from the bank saying that I had left my ATM card in the ATM. Sheesh.

3. Thanks to some healthy peer pressure from a special group of friends, I started writing my novel again this week. I really want to finish it and complete the process- even if it is just for the process' sake. I was talking to my husband about this, talking about how energizing it is for me to write and how much I enjoy it. Then I felt the need to justify that being energized will inevitably bring life to other people that I serve. He stopped me in that thought and said, "It doesn't have to make you better for someone else. You can write because it makes you a better you- not a better mom or wife or friend." For some reason that thought has turned over and over in my head this week. I think in motherhood you begin to feel like all things in life must be pragmatic, leading you toward the goal of being a better mom or wife. (Thoughts like, If I get some time away, I will come back refreshed and a better mom.) But the truth is that I am made in God's image- not so that I can be a mom, or so that I can be a wife or friend or whatever. He created me as me to be me- and it is ok to pursue things that bring me life because of how He made me. I can be rested for me. I can do creative things for me. I can pursue things I am passionate about because it honors Him and honors how He made me. I do believe that as I am energized and creative it will spill over into those I love, but that isn't why I am doing it. Good thoughts for where I'm at right now.

4. So I'm writing again. This week I e-mailed my manuscript to myself so that I could load it on the Kindle and read through it when I was at our homeschool group (Side note: Why do I always think I am going to have spare time when I am there? It's like when you leave for an overnight trip and take four books- really? you're gonna read all those? Sheesh.) Anyways, I got the e-mail and downloaded the attachment. It opened as a word document, but then it reformatted suddenly to look like an actual e-book. And there was my book, looking like a real book! The whole moment kind of took my breath away. Maybe that's as close as it will ever get to actually being a real book, but it was still a really cool moment.

5. Last week I found Isaac crying and asked, "Why are you crying?"

Isaac replied, "Drew is going to turn seven and he'll be older than me!"

I calmed him down and said, "Drew is already older than you. He will always be older than you."

He began to cry again. "Why are you crying now?"

Isaac replied, "Drew is older than me!"

Oh, brothers.

In other news, I'm thinking of taking my infant to a support group for babies who are addicted to their swaddle wraps. Any local groups?

On a related noted, I am also thinking of attending a support group for moms who are not sleeping well due to the fact that they are trying to break their infant of their addiction to the swaddle wrap. Sheesh.

Hope this Friday finds you doing something you love with someone you love. Or eating something you love. Or shopping for something that you love.

Those are good Fridays.

Welcome to February! Catch you later.

in the absence of a quick 5...

2012-01-27T14:29:00.002-06:00

I know it's Friday. I really only know because Drew is counting down to his birthday (which is Sunday).

We are sick.

The party's been postponed. The house has been sanitized. Right now it is my husband who is going through the round of feeling awful/throwing up. Every child has had it in the last 72 hours. I have not.

I am a lone reed.

That's a movie quote, in case you didn't catch that.

So I'm not going to work out this quick 5 right now but I just wanted to hop on and say hey.

Hope your Friday is so stinking awesome you don't even have time to read this.

Later, sk8r.

keepin' it old school in the homeschool

2012-01-24T23:33:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure if that title really conveys what I am planning to write about, but I am feeling it. Know what I mean?

I have a stash of homeschool posts that I've been meaning to write: homeschool sanity savers, the 4-1-1- on classical education, and a post that is in-the-works-but-taking-forever entitled "how the kindle fire is changing the way we homeschool". I know- you're on the edge of your seats, I'm sure. Well, sit back a moment, because today we are going to address numero 2- classical education.

On a side note (because- let's face it- I love side notes) I'd like to stick in a disclaimer that I am by no means an expert on classical education. In fact, I had the strong urge to google the words "classical education" just to make sure I had a few things right, and maybe for a simple definition. But I resisted said urge because this post is not an exhaustive reference but a simple explanation of the topic as I understand it and see it at work in our family.

Classical education is exactly what it sounds like- an educational model that is based on the classical way education used to work a long time ago. The approach involves heavy memorization in the early grades, then moving on to the skills of writing, analysis, and debate or rhetoric. There is a strong emphasis on reading/using primary sources (like why not read Jefferson's writings as opposed to just read a text book about him), focus on relevant literature of a time period, and frequent use of the word trivium. The end result (hopefully!) is an education that is well-rounded, giving kids a very broad understanding of history and sciences, and the tools to think critically and learn effectively given new information. That is a very basic summary.

A few other points on the subject that I would like to mention but don't want to work into paragraph form:

We're not talking "classic" like a classic car from the '50's; we're talking classic like Plato had opinions about it. Old school, people, old school.
The most common book on this subject that people will talk about (at least people I know) is The Well-Trained Mind:A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer.
There is also a book called The Well-Educated Mind that basically can help you develop skills that would have been part of a classical education. I've ~~read~~ started it...a few times.
This is not to be confused with The Well-Caffeinated Mind, the personal memoir I am writing about being a homeschool mom. Oh, yeah, it's coming, folks.

So, what are the benefits of this approach? Why did we pick it? What are the pitfalls? How is it working?

Wow, that's a lot of questions. You're obviously very curious which I really appreciate.

What hooked me?

I once read a quote by Augustine, one of the great writers and figures in Church history, and it said something like this: The goal of education is to give a student a thorough knowledge of the scripture and a general knowledge about everything else.

Really? I thought. A general knowledge about everything else?

As I studied more, it made sense. Sometimes education can become fractured or disjointed in a way that, in the end, doesn't lend to an overall understanding of history or science or the arts. The idea is not for students to have exhaustive knowledge of every historical event, but to have a general knowledge that will help them place that event in the right era. Late 1800's? Hmmmm, that would be after the American Revolution and around the time of the French Revolution. That would be a general understanding.

What's with all the memorization? Why should kids memorize things they don't understand?

To be honest, I don't know the thinking originally behind the idea that memorization happened at the youngest level. But I can tell you why it makes sense for learners today.

1. Young minds memorize effortlessly. I'm serious. I know you think this is not true, but if you get into a pattern and help young children organize information, they will retain it with minimal energy. I can attest to this because my four-year old knows his states and capitals. My six year old can conjugate a lot of irregular verbs. My two year old can tell you the features of the Western Mountains and several key details about the Louisiana Purchase. And a lot more. We have accomplished this just in this school year in about 20 minutes each day, with occasional review and a lot of singing facts. They only need hear it a few times before it is ingrained in the memory. Children are so good at memorizing; so why not fill their young minds with rich information?

2. It is OK to learn things that you don't understand (case in point: I took Statistics in college. Still don't understand a thing but any day now that comprehension will be arriving. Guess that isn't the strongest example.) Sure- some would argue that it is pointless (and maybe mean?) to force kids to memorize things they don't understand. But I would say that the goal at this level is not comprehension; the goal is preparation.

It's kind of like those cooking shows where the the chef looks the audience in eye as he dumps in his ingredients that have been chopped, measured, shredded, and minced into little glass bowls. He is doing the cooking- but everything is ready to go in. So I picture Isaac a few years down the road as he studies the human body. He will already have memorized all the main systems and parts; now he gets to learn what they actually do, how they interact, and why they are important. The prior knowledge won't stifle him- quite the opposite! He won't have to spend time memorizing (a skill that will become increasingly difficult as he gets older) when he is ready for the higher levels of analysis, synthesis, and critique. The ingredients will be there; he can put them all together to build a working knowledge.

Also, it is good to note that when you have a basic knowledge of something, even if it is just vocabulary recognition, you can begin to make connections. Just today Drew and I were reading about Martin Luther King, Jr., and the book mentioned he lived in Montgomery.

"Montgomery, Alabama!" Drew shouted. He knows that Montgomery is a capital. He knows Alabama is in the South. Both of those facts lend more detail to his understanding of the book we read. And now, Drew has a detail that his mind will connect with Montgomery- the person and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

3. There is brain research that suggests that memorizing is like a muscle; the more often you do it, the stronger that muscle becomes.

4. But what should exactly should kids memorize? We have participated in Classical Conversations, a homeschool community that has a specific curriculum and tools that specify what you are memorizing. You could select your own material, but that would be quite a task to design it, piece it together, and then support it with your own tools. But if you are up to the challenge- go for it!

5. I don't remember exactly why I started numbering these sentences.

6. It kind of makes me feel organized when I type things in a numbered list. Don't you think?

7. Let's move on.

So anyways, you might be wondering if all we do is memorize in the early years. That is not the case. We do a regular dose of math and language arts alongside the memory work (which has facts for history, Latin, English grammar, math, science and geography).

Confession: I would say that, as a teacher, I do not believe that all memory work is created equal. I don't work as hard on the Latin as I do on the history facts and geography. The other things fall somewhere in between.

When we have a big review day for memory work, I like to call it Happy Hour in our kitchen. The kids pick between chocolate milk or juice. I make a half pot of coffee and pour generous amounts of hazelnut creamer (hence the title of my memoir). It's just a fun way to review. Sometimes I hand out oyster crackers as incentive; this works a lot better if you don't feed them breakfast (JUST KIDDING! My kids love oyster crackers even after their deliciously healthy breakfast.)

We also like to make up games to review. We like to sing the history songs when we march around the kitchen. Just keeps it all light-hearted, and kids won't notice that they have sung a song six times in a row when they did it marching around the kitchen.

Does it work? I hope so! I guess I can only answer that the kids are learning it, loving the actual community days, and generally having a really good time. I don't have any perspective to offer on the long-term, though I know there are many parents who have seen it all the way through and been pleased with the outcome. Guess you'll just have to keep reading for, oh, ten more years- and I'll tell you how it turns out.

I keep scrolling back up this post and asking myself, "Where was I going with this?" Usually that is a good sign to just wrap it up.

So there you have it. We aren't doing everything right, and this whole homeschool gig is a lot of trial and error. But I have been pleased with the effort and payoff of this first year in classical education. I look forward to seeing how the years build on each other and how the pieces of information that they file away will build into a general knowledge of everything.

See you Friday.

quick 5

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

I would like to kick off this quick five with an original poem:

A Haiku for Friday

Just another day
That ends another week, still
I deserve a donut

1. So a few years back we were watching The Blind Side with some friends (two other couples.) There is a scene where Sandra Bullock is showing their friend his new room. And suddenly I screamed. Everyone jumped and looked at me in shock as I yelled, "Oh my gosh, that wall color is amazing!" And then they looked at me in confusion. And then they moved on. I was still stuck on that color- I wondered what it was called. Where it was from. What color was the trim. Why on earth have I never had a room with plantation shutters.

Yep, that's the one. It looks better in the movie, trust me. But imagine how it looks in person.

On a totally-related-side-note-that-is-relevant-to-the-point-of-this-story, my friend, Teresa, had a similar experience while watching 24. Jack Bauer was being Jack Bauer, doing his Jack Bauer thing that can only be described as... Jack Bauer (OK- so I've never actually watched 24 so it's difficult to write this part! Just roll with it.) Anyways, he's about to save the world and is sneaking into a patio when my friend, Teresa, starts screaming about the patio furniture. (Apparently it was some awesome patio furniture, though I could not seem to find a picture.) Oh yeah, one of those moments where the story is suspended for love of the set. It just happens, you know?

Anyways, to wrap up this very long and rambling point #1, I saw a post this week where someone had one of those "Oh my goodness!" moments about the living room set of the new Twilight. And it brought back these two memories and so I thought I'd share.

Moving on...

2. I pulled out my novel last week. I haven't looked at it since midnight on the last day of November. I was reading my last chapter when I started to get really into it. (During the final hour of NaNoWrMo, I was so frenzied that I actually couldn't remember what I wrote near the end.) As I read, I started to lean in, to get sucked into a plot twist that I don't even remember writing. A chapter ended with the words "...and then she screamed." Then I said aloud, "Aaaah! What happened next???" Then I scrolled down and realized that was the end of it, I had to create whatever happened next. And I was disappointed. Do I have to do everything around here? I mean, seriously.

3. At our homeschool class on Tuesday, Drew was captain of his team for the review. Excited about this position, he skipped to sit at the front of his team, and then turned to the team captain of the other team. He then held up two fingers, pointed at his eyes, and pointed at her.

Yep. Just like this.

No, my six year old has not seen any of the Meet the Parents movies. Thankfully, his tutor thought it was hysterical. And the other team captain (who is the only girl in the whole group) probably thinks he has a crush on her.

I don't know where he got that. Sheesh.

4. My firstborn (also the character I mentioned in #3) will be seven in less than two weeks. We are gearing up for a PAR-TAY. Oh, yeah. This is going to be a big one, people. I cannot yet disclose the details but I will let you in on a little something that came in the mail today...

Yep, my boy is in serious party planning mode.

May the force be with us.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to mention that I am all about ordering cupcake decor on ebay. I paid six dollars (free shipping) for 12 of these rings and 12 mini light sabers which shall adorn the top of simply frosted cupcakes. And it's settled. I do love to decorate cakes, but tis NOT the season, if you know what I mean.

5. I would like to close with another original haiku:

To Facebook
How did I just spend
One hour and only learn that
A former friend naps.

I guess that is all from our 'hood. Special kudos to you ladies (Jenni & Rachel) who had the early morning comments last week. Thanks! Comments are truly the Dr. Pepper of the blogging world. And you can quote me on that.

And speaking of early mornings, my own little early bird is waking earlier and earlier. So I will sign off.

The early bird around here

Have a good one!

the post in which we all commit to read a french novel

2012-01-19T23:42:00.001-06:00

Jean Valjean entered the galleys sobbing and trembling; he left hardened. He entered in despair; he left sullen. What had happened within the soul?

Have I mentioned that my favorite book is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo?

A character, as well as a rock, may have holes worn into it by drops of water.

Have I mentioned that every chapter in that book is full of phrases and dialogue that will stir your soul to ponder things like redemption, grace, hypocrisy, forgiveness, poverty, and love?

Liberation is not deliverance. A convict may leave prison behind but not his sentence.

Have I mentioned that I am also passionate about the movie and musical version of this story?

When they saw him making money, they said "He is a merchant." When they saw the way in which he scattered his money, they said, "He is ambitious." When they saw him refuse honors, they said, "He is an adventurer" When they saw him repel the advances of the fashionable, they said, "He is a brute."

The answer to all of the above is Yes!!!!

So, you can imagine my excitement (and anxiety- I mean, this is a big story that they are tangling with here) about the new version of Les Mis that is set to hit theaters at the end of this year.

It is a musical.

It is a major motion picture.

Hugh Jackman is playing the lead.

Russell Crowe is the villainous Javert.

Other cast members include Anne Hathaway and Taylor Swift.

<Gulp>

I know. I know.

So, I think that in preparation for this big debut, we should all read (or re-read) Les Mis.

So what if it is 1300 pages.

So what if large portions of that are lengthy descriptions of Paris (I give you freedom to skim when necessary.)

You have no excuses.

Drew is almost done.

Ella is just getting into it.

Isaac got tired of waiting and downloaded it on the kindle.

He's actually reading it in French. Such a renaissance man.

So go reserve a copy at your local library.

Or if you have a Kindle, grab it here for $1.99.

Just do it! If you start now and read 48 pages a week, you'll be done in plenty of time for the new movie.

Let's face it- if you just stopped using facebook and read Les Miserables, you could be done way before the movie comes out.

I'm just saying...

So go! Now! Run! Get started and let me know if you, too, think that the Bishop is the best person that you have never met.

Despair is surrounded by fragile walls, which all open into vice or crime.

OK. That's all for now. But one last quote:

Jean Valjean was oft heard calling Dr. Pepper 'the nectar of the gods'.

(OK- that one was me.)

ella falls for tangled

2012-01-14T09:10:00.000-06:00

Excuse the pun.

I thought it would be nice to get a little video shot of Ella chatting about Tangled. I think that one day, we will refer to this era of Ella's childhood as her 'Tangled' phase.

So she was talking away when I pulled out the phone. Then she got shy. And then she fell off the chair.

quick 5

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

I would like to subtitle this quick 5 "Moments of Motherhood." Let's face it- I am ~~knee deep~~ ~~chin deep~~ up to my eyeballs in mom stuff right now. I know it's a particular season with a couple of little ones that need a lot from me. So in celebration of this season- here are five moments from my last week.

1. Today was quite a day. This morning, in efforts to fight off a not-so-great night's sleep, I made myself a large coffee. It was perfect. I had two drinks of it and then it got spilled all over the kitchen floor. (And you know how liquids multiply when they are spilled, like how a small glass of milk can cover your table? I was basically wading in coffee...which was rich in creamer.) Later in the day I gave all my kids haircuts. (this is not related to the first event but will help you understand my delicate frame of mind for the final event.) It was my first time actually attempting to cut my boys' hair without the clippers- like a real, deal ,little boy cut. <Deep breath> Then at 5:00 I was trying to quickly feed Tessa a whole bowl of freshly mashed banana, when I dropped the whole bowl and it landed upside down. I screamed again and fell to the floor, trying to salvage something left in the bowl.

"What is wrong with me today?" I cried in frustration.

"Well, I think-" began the six-year old.

"Don't answer that," I interrupted.

"OK," he agreed, "cause you probably weren't gonna like what I was gonna say."

Probably.

2. At our school group on Tuesday, Isaac and his classmates had colored pictures of lions. Having finished the lesson of drawing the lion, they were all adding to their picture something that the lion would eat.

Simon's mom: What are you drawing, Kate?

Little-girl-who-draws-better-than-me: A chicken.

Simon's mom: What are you drawing for the lion's food, Kayla?Little-girl-who-sits-so-quietly: A zebra.

Simon's mom: What is your lion eating, Isaac?

My son: A clown.

Thank you, Deep in the Jungle by Dan Yaccarino.

(And I wonder why we aren't invited to more play dates...)

3. I was driving in the car last week and saw this bumper sticker:

There you have it. Too bad Victoria Secret won't buy into that idea and just roll with it.

4. Sometimes I think about the particular challenges of parenting in any given era. I wonder what it would have been like to try to teach your children about human dignity and worth if you lived in a society where slavery was prevalent. I wonder how the lesson of "we need not fear for God is with us" would have gone over as you were preparing a bomb shelter in your cellar. I guess each era has its own challenges of helping children to live in the light and for the kingdom.

A few days ago I was reading a blog that linked to a book. I clicked on the link, read the summary, bought the book, and then started reading it. It occurred to me that my kids may only know a world where books just appear when you want them. Two things struck me: How do I teach my children patience when everything is so instantly available to them? How do I teach my children wisdom when so many ideas and opportunities are accessible? Patience and wisdom, indeed.

5. I saw this at the store this week:

I know that at some point in my past this would have been appealing. I might have even been tempted to crack it open and see what the secret was for "Doing it all". But life has changed, and me with it. I saw the planner and literally said out loud, "Don't do it all. Pick just a fraction of it and do that well." Isn't that the truth? Why do we live under some kind of delusion that we can have it all? Do we really think that will bring us life?

It kind of reminds me of the logo on our local newspaper's feature site for moms- momaha.com.

The first (and only? maybe I've returned once or twice) time I went to that website and saw that lady I was turned off. I do feel like her, I feel like I'm trying to do too many things at once. And guess what happens? I spill my coffee and the bowl of bananas. But I don't want to be her, don't want to feel like I need some sort of genetic mutation that gives me more arms and more energy and more hours in the day to fulfill the task at hand.

I know- I'm reading into it too much. The point of the picture is that moms fill a lot of roles. But I don't want to be all things to all people. I don't want to wear thirty hats. I want to find my center, be more myself, slow life down and really live it well. Why can't we let those aspirations bring us together? I don't want my life to be busy, I want it to be full of life.

I guess that is all. I feel like this 5 didn't stay on the light side very well. I really am doing well- just feeling the weight of what I carry and wanting to carry it with grace.

So here's to you, and whatever things are haunting your mind and poking you to live life with more purpose and vision. Those things are good for us.

Best of weekends to you!

me and my vice (not to be confused with miami vice)

2012-01-08T21:21:00.000-06:00

This morning we were in full out prep mode as we readied the house for friends coming at 11:30. As I tossed some random toys into the play room, I felt the room itself laugh at me. It's a wreck. A complete wreck. "Laugh all you want, " I said, "cause you are on my hit list for next week."

Hit list? I thought. Genius.

How much more fun would it be to have a hit list for my week as opposed to the "To Do" list? The former implies choice, annihilation, total victory- the latter is simply stuff to get done.

This train of thought continued as I scraped gunk from the base of the toilet, wiped down chairs, and retrieved toys from every corner of the dining room. I've been thinking a lot about my New Years Resolutions, and though I have made some notes here and there (and have a post that is half-written about it) I am tempted to yet again rethink the whole resolution gig.

Heard that one before? Yeah, that was my philosophy last year as I decided to think less about doing new things and think more about being the person I want to be. (You can read all about that in Day 1.)

So here's a new thought- what if I didn't try to just do new things (traditional resolutions), or I didn't try to be a different person (which is difficult due to self-defeating patterns of behavior), what if I just declare an all out war on the things that are holding me back? Kind of like a Hit List?

(Side note- so, yeah, I have been watching a lot of Burn Notice lately. At this point we are only a few episodes into season 2, so I'm afraid the spy-meets-mob lingo will continue awhile. Just a little FYI in case you were wondering where the phrase "hit list" came from.)

Since this thought is young (several hours) I don't have the whole Hit List available for you today. But here is #1:

Becky's Hit List for 2012:

1. Little Red Hen Syndrome

I recently took the Enneagream, a personality grid basedon 9 types that indentifies your chief motivation and chief fear. (Half way through, the test cancelled out and lead me to a screen that said...

CHIEF MOTIVATION: Your live for Dr. Pepper.

CHIEF FEAR: Running out of Dr. Pepper.

Wow- this test is right on! I thought. Just kidding...about all of that.)

(We interrupt this gripping story for an equally gripping story about personality tests. One time I was taking a personality test online and I yelled to my husband in the other room, "Do you think I'm indecisive?" True story. Sheesh. We will now return to the first gripping story.)

So I took it and found out that I am a 2. I was in denial a bit, so I took three other tests that all told me that I am a 2. So I guess that's it.

The Nine Types of the Enneagram. (I am the one with the vacuum. Sad, I know, but true.)

The great thing about personality tests is that you learn new things about yourself so there is just more to dislike! Yes!

Oh, I didn't realize that I am passive-aggressive but that is so true!

Wow, I never thought of myself as being borderline paranoid but I totally see it!

Gosh, now I really do see how I have no backbone and therefore invite people to walk all over me! How insightful!

(To ~~feel awful about all the things you didn't realize about yourself~~ find your enneagram number, click here and scroll down for the test.)

So anyways, I read up on the 2. And one of their ~~self-defeating patterns of behavior~~ tendencies is to overextend themselves for others, voluntarily take on too much, and then resent that they are being left to do all the work.

(In one book called The Enneagram Made Easy, the tagline for the 2 was "We were put on earth to serve others. What the others are here for we do not know." Clever way to sum it up. On a side-note-that-is-kind-of-related, my husband is an 8. His tagline is "Don't go to bed mad. Stay up and fight." Yep. He's an 8 alright.)

So, back to what I was saying. What was I saying? Oh, right- the Little Red Hen syndrome. Sometimes I start out on a project or task with a joyful heart, really happy to do something in service for others...

I think I'll bake some bread! the Little Red Hen said.

But then somewhere along the line, when it gets tricky or bigger than I thought or the baby wakes and the toddler has an accident and the four year old lights the dining room table on fire (thankfully that last one is hypothetical), I suddenly feel taken advantage of. And then the LRH syndrome kicks in- and I cry, "Who is going to help me do this????"

Who will help me grind the wheat? asked the Little Red Hen.
Not I, said everyone that the Little Red Hen knows.

And no one volunteers. And the joy that comes from serving has slipped through my fingers, replaced by a resentful heart that brings joy to no one.

The funny thing about me, the particular twist to my LRH dilemma, is that my cry for help is usually so subtle that no one else can tell I am really crying for help. I'm indirect. I beat around the bush. I don't just say it.

So instead of sighing, "Who will help me?" and muttering under my breath. I need to approach a person and ask them, "Will you help me do _______? _______ is how you can help me."

Fine, I'll do it myself, said the Little Red Hen. Then she ate all the bread she baked, all by herself. And she felt lonely. And bloated.

The End.

Yeah, it usually doesn't end well.

As I type this, it seems so trivial, like of course I should be able to just stop being this way. But old habits die hard, friends.

Maybe I should have titled this post Little Red Hen meets Die Hard. That would have been epic. (You like my use of epic? Just trying to break the age barriers around here, keep things hip, you know? That's what the kids are saying these days. Epic.)

So that is #1 on my list of things to weed out this year. Lest you think I am a big self-help guru, let me clarify that I am not saying that, on my own, I will simply fix myself. But I do know that awareness of my faults (some of which lead to sin, some of which are sin) is a tool in itself. I can't fight something I don't see. And when I see myself more clearly for who I really am, I take steps to become more like the person God made me to be.

So there you have it. A Hit List for 2012. I'll let you know as other things pop up and join the list.

On the short-term Hit List is the playroom (which is out of control), the pantry/laundry room (which staged a mutiny mid-last week), and my bedroom (which seceded from the union about a month ago. Oh,yeah. It's just plain doin' it's own thing.)

So there you have it. If you took the quiz- leave us a note about what number you are. I am actually attending an Enneagram party this weekend- also known (in our circle) as an Enneagram-arama. Bring it on.

And you can read about my friend, Sharon, as she deals with her nineness.

Have a great week, folks. Hope you work through your own Hit List with great success.

Later.

quick 5

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Can it really be the middle of January? The day slipped away from me as the warm weather outside kept calling us out. Hope the weather is as pleasant wherever you are on this first Friday of January!

1. My kitchen is a little crazy (which is not newsworthy- it would be more newsworthy if it wasn't crazy but the reason it is crazy is newsworthy so read on) because at 4:00 it was declared that we would have a pizza picnic with our neighbors. In January. In Nebraska. So we spent the evening with our treasured friend, Little Caesar, and our rockin' neighbors. Just when you think they can't get any cooler (our neighbors- not LC), they go and buy a trampoline. So that is big news around here (Ella actually prays, "Dear God- thank you for the trampoline...") But you know how it goes. If you sit outside and look around, someone inevitably says, "Maybe we should light the fire pit." And then the men decide to chop wood. And then before you know it there is a circular saw involved. I can only say that I wish the pictures were better. And we had a lovely fire, and an even lovelier evening. Robert Frost wrote that "good fences make good neighbors", but I happen to think that good people make good neighbors.

2. Over the holidays we took a longer-than-intended break from homeschooling. So now we are trying to get back at it but, I'm not gonna lie, it's a struggle to get back on that treadmill (you can take that literally or figuratively. Both would be accurate). One thing we do often is review in the car. Ella in particular likes to sing the states and capitals song. I prefer her version of the first verse:

"Augusta, Man
Concord, New Hampster
Bossin Mass and Chews It.
Pawidence, Road I and
Hartford, Connect Ick-cut."

3.Today at our WIC appointment we acquired three plates that look like this. Apparently the food pyramid is no longer the thing, now the daily balanced diet can be visualized as the portions of a plate, with fruits and veggies taking up half of your meal, whole grains and protein making up the other half.

On the way home, I declared we would stop for a powdered donut because said appointment went much longer than expected. "Yes!" declared Drew, "I can use my new plate!" I didn't have the heart to break it to him that there wasn't a very good fit for our love of donuts on this new dishware. Oh, dear. However, I have had the genius idea to design a dessert plate to accompany the above plate. It could be like 1/3 chocolate, 1/3 ice cream, and 1/3 .....I don't know. It's still in the design phase but I'll keep you posted on that.

4. I have this very predictable and boring habit of watching the same movies over and over. And over. And over. And over. It's like I don't want to waste my time watching something I might not like, so I'll just watch something that I know I already like. Here's some of the one liners that float around in my mind...and conversations.

"So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"We play a lot of cards in Erie, PA."

"Shelves in the closet? Happy thought, indeed."

"Grace has Bob's dead wife's heart!" and "Potty mouth will change you." and "Hey, kids! It's Sammy Sosa!". Oh, man. I really like that movie.

"Your dream stinks. I was talking to her."

"Do the Q-tip! Q-tip! Now throw it away! Now what am I doing? I'm makin a pizza!"

Yep- same ones over and over. (If you didn't catch all those, they were You've Got Mail, That Thing You Do, Pride and Prejudice, Return to Me, Tangled, and Hitch.)

5. Today while riding in the car I began to refer to my children as though they were hip-hop artists. (Why? I don't know why. Lack of sleep + lack of caffeine + morning spent in a waiting room with lots of other children = rides home that are not entirely lucid + need for powdered donuts.)

I called them...

Big Dawg

Main Man (excuse the wardrobe malfunction)

Home Slice

(I don't know why. I just heard that phrase recently and thought, "Why doesn't anybody say that any more?" So I'm bringing it back. Single-handedly. Unless you want to join me and we could bring it back together. Double-handedly?)

So then the conversation turned to what my hip-hop name would be. I immediately ruled out "Big Mama." (I'm just at a phase of life where I don't want to be referred to as big.) The kids vetoed this idea,and decided I should be...

Big Spanker!?!?!?

Sheesh.

I know what you're thinking- the only thing more terrible than that name is that picture. It kind of reminds me of those tabloid covers where someone is either headed for rehab, just got dumped, or (gasp) is caught in public without makeup.

Wow. I lead a glamorous life.

And that brings this quick 5 to an odd and halting close.

Guess that's all for this Friday.

Thanks for all the comments lately- fun to have some new faces (technically it would be new names that are attached to new faces) around here.

Thanks also to the folks who have shared posts on facebook- appreciate it when someone is touched (or just made to laugh) enough to want to pass it on.

For those of you who are new- here's how we roll: the posts come in spurts but we try to always meet up on Fridays. I try to be honest about life as I know it, and, quite honestly, I don't know that much.

Catch you later, Home Slice (sorry- couldn't help myself).

DIY if you dare- but watch your fingers...

2012-01-03T21:38:00.003-06:00

I've come to an important realization in my life. I am a nester.

I'm not a crafter. I don't crochet, scrapbook, sew, knit, make jewelry, homemade cards, or anything else that would resemble crafting. In my mind, I confuse the words decoupage and macrame. I only sew missing buttons...on occasion. Until recently, I didn't own a glue gun. But I do like to fix things up, paint furniture new colors, move pictures around, and decorate spaces in my house with things I find in my basement.

One day I stumbled on a project that would force me to cross from nester to crafter. Risky move, I know.

A few months back I started following The Nester and I dig her. I love her tag line....

It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful

and this...

Anyways, the Nester has a sister who also has a big-time blog (they must have some sort of genetic predisposition to successful blogging?). Her sister, Emily Freeman, writes a blog and recently published a book, Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life.

What does all this have to do with me? Hold your horses, I'm getting there. But I'll try to get there quickly.

The Nester threw a book release party for her sister. Just the pictures from this event changed my resolve from publishing a book into an ambition to have a party where I decorate with book pages. Oh, my, I fell hard, folks. I swooned (and as a rule, I don't really swoon ) over all the decor in general, but there was one thing that I kept seeing when I closed my eyes at night.

It was this.

OK, so I do see that at times when I close my eyes. But I was talking about this:

Photo taken from Nesting Place- 20 Ways to Decorate with Book Pages

I fell in love. I loved everything about it- from the shape to the color to the fact that it is made solely out of book pages. I could think of at least five places in my house where I would put it. I read the tutorial and began scheming for the day when I would attempt it.

And I have attempted it. And I am here to tell you what I learned.

So this is for you, non-crafters.

When attempting a DIY project, if there is any tool you do NOT ALREADY OWN, you need to quadruple the time the project will take. For example, the Nester said this lovely wreath took her an hour. I did not own a glue gun, so there is a level of glue gun expertise that is severely lacking. Therefore, I should have estimated my time at around 4 hours.

At just under an hour, my wreath looked like this:

After three hours it looked like this:

Progress was slow. It took me awhile to figure out what fold I liked. And I was stopping often to run to the sink to pour cold water on my burnt fingers.

This brings me to my next point.

Glue guns should come with the following warning:

Do not use this glue gun if you are sleep-deprived, cannot concentrate for long amounts of time, like to make things while watching TV, value your finger tips, or draw blood when trying to use safety pins. Do not drink alcohol while operating this machine.

(No- I did not consume alcohol while using the glue gun. I'm just imagining the devastating effects that may have transpired had I used alcohol and the glue gun. I would probably be bald.)

(I also think glue guns should come with neosporin. Just saying...)

(Which reminds me, I saw an episode of Burn Notice where Mike used a glue gun to remove the skin on the ends of his fingertips in order to infiltrate a bank without leaving fingerprints. Seriously- glue guns are no joke.)

(Ok- that is not actually true- about the Burn Notice- but I think it would work. In fact- I may be printless on one or two fingers.)

(Come to think of it, "Burn Notice" would have been a good title for me to use on a post that was about me attempting to use a glue gun.)

(Is it just me or are these parentheses getting out of hand?)

Ok...moving on.

If you have small children, plan to do projects in phases because you can't just leave everything out while it is in the works. Night one I was about half done. Night two my glue gun exploded and I ran out of glue- both serious road blocks. And that night I also watched a really bad movie- so the whole evening involved a seriously high level of frustration. By the end of night three (by this point we are talking a total of six to seven hours of work) I had this:

Ta-da!

It's a little quirky- sticks out in spots and is not evenly shaped- but I kind of dig that.

To say I am pleased is an understatement. I may toy with hanging it a bit higher but it is done and up! Woo-hoo! This is a great project- very cheap (total I spent $13- but I bought the glue gun for $7. So the actual project topped out at $6. Costs varies depending on the size of your wreath and how much Dr. Pepper you need to consume during the process.)

Here is a tutorial on making a similar book page wreath if you prefer the step-by-step info.

So there you have it. There is another wreath that I want to make- you can check it out here. But the time estimated is like ten hours. So if I convert that to "novice crafter time"- this is like a six month gig. We'll see about that.

What a great way to start the new year- with a bit of new life around here. And a lack of sleep. Welcome 2012!

*All references to DP 10 and its presence in pictures is just my own deal. I am not a paid advertiser for Dr. Pepper 10. But I think I should be.

tessa jo - 5 months

2012-01-03T20:00:00.000-06:00

Just when I thought our little family couldn't get any sweeter, sweetness itself was born.

Thanks for a happy five months, little Tessa Jo.

quick 5

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the last quick 5 of the year! I've been pondering resolutions, a playroom overhaul, and a post on immigration (random, I know). But as for now- let's talk 5.

1. Ella. My Ella. She is two. She thinks she's thirty. She likes to crawl in bed with me in the early morning so we can chat about all her favorite things: the Hulk, Tangled, where daddy took her in the blue car, Colorado, etc. She wears a scarf. She doesn't like milk, bread or chocolate. She is always talking. She calls me "Becky". I repeat, she is two.

Today her dad left on a four day trip. These absences result in what I like to call the War of the Wills. It's her strong will vs. my attempting-to-be-stronger will. We had Round 1 this afternoon. Mom-1. Ella-0.

Ella: what Hemingway was referring to when he said that man "can be destroyed but not defeated"

Then we had Round 2 at bedtime. That brings today's final score to: Mom-1. Ella-1.

2. Today marks ten years since Garrett and I got engaged. At one point in the proposal scene I uttered those famous words, "Get up or I will slap you." You see my future husband thought it was funny to pretend like he was going to propose on numerous occasions. At one year of dating, he bent down on one knee to give me a gift he had brought back from Italy (a necklace). At 15 months, he bent down on one knee to pull something out of his back pocket and present...a moist towelette. So you can imagine that by this point (18 months) I was tired of joking about it. And since we had agreed that we would not even talk engagement until the following summer, I assumed he was joking yet again. But my future husband is a free spirit and does not like to be confined by decisions made in groups...or by others...or by himself if he has since changed his mind and now sees differently. So he popped the question. I threatened to slap him. And then we were engaged to be married.

(Some sweet friends of ours celebrated their anniversary this week and you can read about it here. We especially celebrate their great marriage as we plan for our firstborns to marry. Both our second borns are kind of wild so I'm not sure how that would work out. But it's already in the works, folks...)

3. This afternoon we had the neighbor kiddos over to watch a movie. Do you think it seems unreasonable for six kids (ages 2-8) to consume 8 bags of microwave popcorn? The Red Bull must have spiked their appetites. (Just kidding- about the Red Bull but not about the # of bags! I just kept making it and refilling bowls until I went to change the trash and saw all the bags. Sheesh.)

4. There's a new term around our house. On Gift of the Night Fury (a short Christmas episode from the much loved characters of How To Train Your Dragon) Astrid comes up with a new holiday beverage called yak nog. It is creamy, thick, lumpy, and so utterly disgusting that everyone who attempts to drink it simply can not. After watching this little episode, we were sitting together and Tessa, in true baby fashion, spit up all over. "Yak nog," declared Drew. So now if someone happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and on the receiving end of baby spit up, we all proclaim that he/she was "Yak nogged."

5. Isaac has been lamenting lately that he will never be as old as Drew. "I want to be six!" he wails.

"You will be...someday." I console.

"But when I am six, Drew will be older than six!" he laments.

"Here, have a cookie." I reply. Not really, I just don't have any good way to help him get over this. He has been in tears about it several times in the last week. I try to point out that he is older than Ella and Tessa. I try to encourage him to think about what he is and not what he isn't. I have even tried the "Just deal with it, kid" approach. Nothing seems to be working. Have you ever dealt with that in your siblings or kids? Any suggestions? With Drew's birthday in a few weeks, Isaac is already thinking about how Drew will just get even older.

Speaking of Drew's birthday, I mentioned to Drew that we could start planning his birthday. "Bring me the laptop and a notepad," he replied. Sheesh.

Well, that's about all from our neck of the woods. We had a lovely Christmas and look forward to a quiet New Year's.

Resolutions, anyone???? More on that soon.

a merry quick 5

2011-12-23T05:30:00.000-06:00

Can it really be Christmas Eve Eve already? I will spare you the comments about how fast December went but, sheesh.

1. Last night we had a Christmas reunion party with some of our old guys. (For six years we lived in a residential home for teenage boys and we try to gather during the Christmas season each year.) Such memories. Such laughter. Such appreciation for homemade food. Such ability to eat huge plates of homemade food. It was truley a sweet evening.

2. Awhile back I was painting Ella's fingernails and Isaac was sitting with us at the kitchen island. He selected a nail color and declared that it was his turn next. "Sorry, bud," I replied, "painting nails is just for girls." Isaac was mad and demanded to know what kinds of things were just for boys. As my mind scrambled to think of any activity that was unique to boys, Drew (age 6) walked by nonchalantly and said over his shoulder, "Mohawks and BB guns."

Oh, dear.

3. I've done a bit of Christmas baking as of late and have found some real winners in the recipe department. Here are just a few:

Gingerbread biscotti
Oreo Truffles
Snickerdoodle Muffins
Sopapilla Cheesecake
And the best Blueberry Muffin recipe EVER

Looking forward to Overnight Blueberry French Toast on Christmas Eve!

Have you noticed blueberries are strangely cheap right now? Hence, all the blueberry recipes.

Also, does it drive you nuts that on allrecipes.com people will rate a recipe 5 stars and then list all the things they changed about that recipe? I don't get it.

4. Last night I watched 'That Thing You Do.'
Can I just say that I love that movie? I couldn't stop smiling for the first 45 minutes, I know every line of every song, I think Tom Hanks is just the best, and Lenny- he still cracks me up. If you have not seen this movie, you should check it out (and it is on Netflix right now!)

5. Here are some highlights from our holiday photo shoot.

I thought the random glasses would make a really funny Christmas card...but couldn't quite make it work.

Tessa is done.

The pictures got increasingly worse the longer we tried.

When all was said and done (and at these ages, A LOT is both said and done) I used the first picture I had snapped that day. (The only picture before I said, "Ella, go spit out your gum.") But I like how it captures each of the kids.

Here's wishing you a great Friday, safe travels, and a very Merry Christmas!

why not?

2011-12-20T01:23:00.001-06:00

It's almost one a.m. and I'm shutting down the kitchen for the night. Don't be too impressed, I finished up an hour ago but got sucked into a movie on netflix and ended up sitting it out. And now I'm off to bed, right after I hunt down that cat that likes to sleep with the baby. Gotta toss him in the playroom and then it's off to bed. I know, I lead a glamorous life.

I was hitting the light in the kitchen when I looked around and said, "My kitchen looks crazy." There is one whole counter covered with the remnants of the last 48 hours: half empty soda bottles from our friends who came for pizza last night, a pile of supplies from the Walmart run tonight, pans of Christmas goodies achieved by the help of a sweet friend who spent the morning stirring fudge while I fed the baby, dealt with three potty training accidents and a plethora of cries of foul play from the kids. There's a roll of wrapping paper, my beloved copy of Les Miserables that I stumbled on in the basement, and a new tupperware that was my splurge of the evening. (It's how you know you are in the deep throes of motherhood: at the end of a rough day with one kid you treat yourself to a latte, at four kids you buy a new piece of tupperware.)

As that statement echoed in the empty living room, the observation regarding the state of my kitchen, I thought, "My life is crazy. Why shouldn't my kitchen look crazy?"

Is it crazy that I got a bachelor's degree so that I could read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" about ten times a day.

Is it crazy that there is a chance that the brown under my finger nails could be poop? (I'm leaning towards chocolate chips but in all honesty...)

Is it crazy that when it's just me and the kids, there are five of us?

Kind of. That's the answer to all of that, I suppose. It is kind of crazy.

And yet, crazy has a way of settling over you so that yesterday's crazy is today's humdrum.

So good night, Crazy Kitchen. Looking forward to some serious quality time with you tomorrow...and the next day...and all the next days after that.

Guess the craziest thing about it is how different your life can turn out, twisting and turning in ways you didn't expect, and how in the end you can still be pretty crazy about it.

And good night to you, too. Here's wishing a night of sweet dreams and a morning sunrise full of possibility. And lattes. Or tupperware. Whichever is your thing.

quick! 5!

2011-12-16T05:30:00.000-06:00

Is it me, or is the quick 5 really not so quick? You agree? I thought you would.

On to the ~~slow~~ 5:

1. I thought we were sending Christmas cards in 2011. However, said cards have not arrived in the mail yet. It's too bad I can't just use them next year, as obviously the picture will be way outdated. But it occurred to me that once they are older, you know-teenagerish, I'll be able to just recycle cards. People who haven't seen the kids all year will just think, "Huh, pictured them taller" or "Gosh, looks a lot like last year's photo." On an unrelated side note, no one really saves all those pictures each year, do they?

2. Speaking of Christmas cards, wouldn't it be funny if you signed your Christmas cards with everyone's age, like you do with little kids? And couldn't we make those numbers more accurate?

Merry Christmas!

Season's best,
Garrett (33.3), Becky (30.75!), Drew (6.9), Isaac (4.5) Ella (2.6) and Tessa (.4)

You never know- it might catch on.

3. Continuing on the topic of Christmas correspondence, what if people were brutally honest in their Christmas letters?

Scott worked way too much this year, missing Timmy's birthday and our ten year anniversary.

Mikey continues to bite other children in the church nursery.

We're proud to say that we watched all 76 one-hour episodes of Battle Star Galactica in a mere 13 days.

So much change for Kim! She is now dying her hair to cover up the gray and refuses to go in public without makeup.

OK, enough already. Maybe only reporting the cheerful stuff keeps Christmas on the joyful side. But I do think it would be funny....

4. OK, enough about Christmas cards. Let's talk meal planning. I know, not the most cheerful of subjects. I regard it as slightly above a necessary evil but still below a mere annoyance. Theoretically, I would have a calendar for the month that lists what we will have as our main meal each day. And then I would proceed to shop every two weeks. However, I have found that having to look at the calendar and be told I am making lasagna brings back haunting memories of elementary cafeteria food. "Salisbury steak and green beans? But I don't want Salisbury steak and green beans!" And then I think, "Wait a minute! Who's in charge here? I am, gosh darn it. I'm not cooking lasagna. In fact, if this calendar is going to boss me around, I'm not cooking at all! Viva la Taco Bell!" OK, so it doesn't go like that. But I do find that I am a moody cook, meaning I want to cook what I am in the mood for. So I make a menu for the week but don't assign days. That way at 10 a.m. when I want to pull out meat (OK- more like 3:00 p.m. honestly), I look at my list of meals for the week and I have a faint feeling that I am ordering at a restaurant.

We will now pause for a random movie quote:

"What's the soup de jour?"
"It's the soup of the day."
"Oh, I'll have that."

Anybody????

Anyways, I consult my list and think, "Mmmmm, we'll have the chicken fried rice. That sounds good!" And then I cook that. I know, it's basically a mind game that I play with myself to make me feel like I have control of my life. But sometimes you need those mind games to maintain a little sanity. Are ya hearing me? (And it kind of goes back to my personality type valuing flexibility- which I mentioned in my last post.)

5. Tori had asked at some point for a brief synopsis of the plot of the book I attempted to write for National Novel Writing Month so here goes. The book is the story of a teenage girl who can smell when people are lying. She inherited this ability at the age of 15 but, two years later, is still struggling to figure out how it happened and the implications it will have for the rest of her life. Throw in a mom who is a compulsive liar, a flair for the ironic, the world's longest narrative of a Trivial Pursuit game, the entire lyrics of She's Always a Woman by Billy Joel, and an interesting plot twist that comes way too late to actually salvage the story, and that is it. =) I think it will take about 10-15 thousand more words to actually finish the story. I hope to finish it by the end of January, take February off, and then re-visit the manuscript in March and start editing. I'd like to have something readable by summer so I could ask some people to read it and ~~crush my literary-aspiring soul~~ give some constructive feedback. Who knows?

On a sort of related side note, one day we were singing the "I've Got a Dream" song from Tangled (yes- we love that movie. Or more accurately, I love that movie and subject my kids to it often.) We like to make up our own verses so were all taking turns just singing out (my boys' dreams usually involve some form of martial arts and Ella dreams of being the Incredible Hulk. Oh my.) Drew turned to me and asked, "Mom, what's your dream?"

I replied, "Well, one of my dreams is to write a book."

Drew then exclaimed excitedly, "Mom! You're living your dream!!!!" referring to my attempts at NaNoWriMo.

Such a sweet little guy. If I'm at the computer, he will always ask, "Working on that novel?" with a big grin. Oh my goodness...

On another sort of related side note which I already said on facebook but is worth repeating, I made up my own verse to the aforementioned song:

I got a dream, I got a dream
And I know some day my kitchen will be clean
And some day I'll have an hour for uninterrupted showers
Cause like all other moms, I got a dream!

And that, my friends, is the not-so-quick 5. We've got a doozie of a weekend coming but that's OK. You can look at your calendar and say it's too crazy or you can look at it and say your life is full of good people and abundant opportunity. For tonight I'll choose the latter.

Adios, amigos.

discovering the 'me' in mommy

2011-12-15T15:06:00.000-06:00

I've had several classic mom moments lately.

...we all got ready to go somewhere (a feat in itself). Bundled, ready, and eager we stepped out into the pouring rain and I pulled the locked door closed. Immediately I felt (like a gut feeling, I promise) that my keys were on the kitchen counter. Great.

...I reached into my pocket and pulled out my chap stick, and was surprised by its Tinkerbell cover and glitter gloss. Not exactly my thing but OK.

...I was feeding Tessa a bottle, talking on the phone to my mom, and trying to help Ella go potty when I pulled down her pullup and stuck my hand directly into her poopy diaper. "Uh...gotta go, mom..."

Let's face it, these are every days events (at least for me!) for people who set out on the life changing journey of motherhood. Sleepless nights, feeding battles, potty training horrors- there is so much to try and challenge and sanctify in the daily grind. But lately I've been challenged by a different thought, one that is more about WHO I AM as a mom and less about what I do (or don't do) as a mom.

Sometimes I feel this pressure, this unseen voice whispering in my ear that what I am doing (or not doing) is wrong. Personally, I'm pretty OK with a high level of chaos. Books scattered on the couches, a sheet thrown over the dining room table because little people have inhabited it as a fort or rocket ship, every pillow and blanket in the house amassed in The Pile on the living room floor, impromptu crafts and games that leave the house more than a bit piled up. But then that voice nags in the back of my mind, telling me that maybe if I were a better mom I wouldn't be so OK with this. I hate that voice and the feeling it creates that our playfulness is too costly, too disruptive to be allowed to rule the day.

There is a fine art to learning who you are as a mom. That is one reason why (I know I beat this idea to death- but it's true!) that I think the internet is not always helpful. There isn't a lot out there that is dedicated to you being more you as a mom. There is a lot out there about things you should be doing as a mom.

But in these almost seven years of being a mom, I'm beginning to learn my 'mom' personality. There are things that totally stress me, things that fill me up, and things I simply will not do- and that's OK. My 'bread and butter' is being flexible. I like to seize moments and go with the creative energy it brings. This results in fun projects and adventures that weren't planned but are discovered and enjoyed. We have birthday parties for stuffed animals. Build castles out of grocery boxes. Eat popcorn whenever the mood hits us. The flip side? It also results in a to-do list that can gather dust faster than anything can be crossed off. And then one day I hit a level of crazy that is too high for even me and I tend to freak out. So I have to know that my love for the moment has to be met by a discipline to keep our house functioning. It's a reality I am learning to embrace.

What do you bring that is unique for your family? Maybe it's your love of music, literature, Chinese food, square dancing, comic books, or travel. Maybe your planning makes your home run like a well-oiled machine, providing structure and stability for your family (I know very little about this but I hear there are people like this out there!). Maybe your adventuresome spirit has you all outdoors on nature walks, bug hunts, and picnics galore. Maybe you plan killer vacations. Maybe you are one craftastic mom, and your kids could decoupage before they could walk.

What is it? This is not a hypothetical question but one that I want you to seriously consider, answer, and celebrate!

Be confident in this: God has made you in His image, given you special qualities and gifts that only you bring to your family. So bring 'em! Don't sit around lamenting what you aren't, let who you are bubble out of you and bless those little souls that are right there next to you.

What's that? You said your friend bakes all her bread fresh and mops her kitchen floor twice a day? To that I say, "Good for her. You be you."

What's that? You said your friend takes all her kids to the zoo and children's museum at least once a week? To that I say, "Good for her. What does that have to do with you?"

What's that? You said your friend keeps her playroom spotless, laundry always done, and is never late? To that I say, "Find a new friend." JUST KIDDING! To that I say, "Great. Give her a big high five and move on with your day."

If God had wanted your kids to grow up with a mom like her, He would have given them her as a mom. But He wants your kids to grow up with a mom just like you.

So whatever that means, whether you like to play go fish, feed your own fish, or just find yourself picking up a lot of goldfish crackers in between your car seats, find a voice and a rhythm that is yours. Don't obsess over what to change about yourself- that is the Holy Spirit's job. He'll tell you what to work on, what to nix, what to tweak about how you live.

So live! Live like a mom who loves her family and Father with all the heart He gave her. Find what brings you life and do it...a lot...especially when you get cranky (hence our popcorn habit!) Celebrate the mom you are and the mom that God will help you to become.

Whatever you discover, I hope it will bless those you love, encourage your friends, and help you wade through the ups and downs of motherhood.

You'll have to excuse me now- I think our popcorn is almost done...

tuesday morning laughs

2011-12-13T09:53:00.001-06:00

There are some characters living in this house, that is for sure. Here are a few choice moments of the last few days...

Conversation as we were holding Tessa
Me: Tessa! (Tessa looks at me) Isaac, I think Tessa knows her name.
Isaac: Let me see. (Gets right in her face) What is your name?
Tessa smiles.
Isaac: No, she doesn't know it.

Telling the Christmas Story
Me: And then Three Wise Men began to travel towards the star. What's another name for the wise men?
Drew: The Jedi?

A Beyonce fan among us
We returned to school this week, after a break for Thanksgiving and for Potty Training 101. As we sat writing yesterday I could hear Isaac singing under his breath. I leaned in and could barely make out, "All the single ladies, all the single ladies..." !?!

Gotta run- have laundry calling my name (or is it calling me names? I'm not sure...)

quick 5

2011-12-09T19:30:00.001-06:00

Hey there. Happy Friday. I know this is a little late in the day but it is still Friday, is it not? What a week. Some short nights and long days, but here we are on the other side with our joy and sanity in tact.

And on to the five...

1. I got everyone dressed and spiffed up for a Christmas picture today. It's moments like that, when you're trying to get everyone to just look in the same direction with their eyes open, and the thought crosses my mind, "There's just so many of them!" I was frustrated at the end, but when I got them on the computer and dinked around a bit, we actually had a winner! And then I went to zazzle.com to make the photo postcards and found a 70% off code. Double win.

2. We have several friends who live close to us and we try to see on a regular basis. Two couples bought houses just a few streets away when we were living in the boys home, which resulted in us staying within a few streets when we went to buy a house. For two years we met for weekly dinners, and over the years the group grew. We took a break for the late summer and fall, and then decided to get back at it. As we schemed about starting back up, we realized that the group now included nine kids under seven, and twelve adults. Kind of a big crowd to host each week...so we got to thinking and made a new plan. Now we have a rotating calendar so that each week we have dinner with one or two other families. So through the course of a month, we'll see each other at least once. It's working out really well and we really enjoy connecting with those families. And in this phase of life- with a house full of little people- connecting is still possible, you really just have to be intentional about it. Know what I mean?

3. It's interesting how decorating "slogans" go through trends. If you are sifting through a home decor section, you will see phrases like "Always kiss me good night" or "Home is where your story begins". Most of the time they are feel-good or inspirational, but there is one that really grates on me: "Dance like no one is watching." I know the sentiment is to just go for it and not worry about what people who are looking on will think. But it seems like what it is really saying is "In order to let go, just pretend that no one is there." But instead, shouldn't the idea be to just be comfortable with yourself and who cares what the people watching think? Although I guess "Who cares what they think of you're dancing?" wouldn't make such great wall art.

4. Every year I want to really gear up for Christmas and get on top of things with cooking, crafts, celebrating, etc. This year I'm just chilling out, hoping to bake some in the next few weeks, but I'm trying to just focus on the Christmas story. On Wednesday we spent the morning making these printable puppets for the nativity story. We colored, cut out, pasted on cardboard, covered in contact paper, and then stuck them to craft sticks (it took HOURS, seriously!) But now we have a box of puppets that we can use as we tell and tell the story. The kids have already enjoyed it, and I think it was time well spent.

5. We've been potty training Ella this week. She's such a character and so full of spunk that the whole process was pretty entertaining. Here are some funny moments:

The first morning I had some surprises in a bag for when she used the potty chair. I did not anticipate that she would literally pee in the potty chair every ten minutes for two and a half hours. My prize stash was gone much sooner than I expected!
On the second day I started the morning by telling Ella that our goal for today was for her to poop in the chair, to which she coolly replied, "Not my job."
After successfully pooping, I praised her and said, "You just have to be patient because it takes a little while to make a poop." And then she said, "Yeah, that's why mommy and daddy sit on the potty so long." Sheesh.

Guess that's it from our neck of the woods. Have a great weekend!

things to smile about

2011-12-07T15:40:00.001-06:00

It's been a long ~~day~~ week. (One more reason to add to the list of "Reasons to Space your Kids Five Years Apart"- you shouldn't try potty-training the toddler when you are sleep-deprived from the infant! Sheesh.) But you know, there's grace for days like this. My little ladies are sleeping away, the boys are just starting a little Wii time, and I have been smiling over the pictures that I just loaded from the camera.

Here are some things that make me smile.

Thanks to Isaac, we now know that the baby seat slides well on wood floors.

Drew feeding Tessa

My niece, Addie. Doesn't she have a sweet little heart-shaped face?

Ella and Addie are just six days apart! Fun to think that they will share so many of life's milestones by being so close together.

I love these next two pictures because they perfectly capture what we do whenever we hang with our neighbors.

We laugh...

a lot.

I snapped this picture as I was headed up to bed last night. Sorry, Mary and Joseph, apparently there isn't room in the stable either.

quick 5

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

It's 9:30 and I am already in bed. Thankful there is no pressure to write. Thankful there are guys downstairs so no pressure to get something else done. Just me and the laptop. And Tuck, my cat who has a vision of sitting on my keyboard as I type. It doesn't really work that well, Tuck.

And now, let's start at the very beginning...

1. Last week we loaded up the van and headed out to Colorado to celebrate Thanksgiving (and an early Christmas) with family out there. We did not have the DVD players on this trip, but I am happy to report that we had something even better: a 15-year old girl. Oh yeah, my sis-in-law, Em, trooped out the entire ride between the little guys in the back seat. Several things were awesome: 1- she had gadgets that the boys played with for the first few hours until bedtime. 2- any time someone lost a toy, dropped a pillow, etc. She was there to scoop it up. 3- Tessa's pacifier pops out...Em is there to pop it in. Are you catching this pattern, about how supremely helpful it is to have a teenager amidst the herd in the backseat? So I decided that what I really wanted for Christmas is a 15-year old girl. Then, on second thought, I realized that if I wait a few (like 12) years I will have several teenagers. And then I fainted. Sheesh.

2. Once again we tested our theory about the supremacy of the night drive. There are many pros and cons, and I am still conflicted about it in general. The obvious benefit is that the kids sleep most of the trip, thus reducing stops and increasing efficiency. The major downside is that the kids sleep most of the trip and we do not, thus creating rested kids who are raring to go just two hours after we settled into sleep at the cabin. I think it's back to the drawing board on that one...

3. Yes, we stayed in a cabin. The last few times we've visited the grandparents (who live and work at Ponderosa) we've stayed in the same two bedroom cabin. Ella continually referred to the cabin as "our cabinet", which lead to some funny statements, such as "I hope we sleep in the cabinet", "I left my baby in the cabinet", and "They can come play with us in our cabinet." (At one point we walked in the door from being gone several hours and Isaac sighed, "It's good to be home!" Guess they settled in pretty fast!)

4. Last night I went to Village Inn to make the final push on writing for the month. This seemed like a good idea, except that it was free pie night so the place was busy and loud. And there was no table with an outlet to plug in my laptop. And right when I hit my groove, an entire high school youth group filled all the tables surrounding me. As I packed up to go, my chatty waitress asked if I was writing a paper. I replied, "No, I'm working on a novel, actually." This she misunderstood as "I'm publishing a novel" because she immediately started to talk to me as if I was a real author instead of someone with delusions of grandeur who just enjoys trying to write. It was comical. All of it, really. But it did include apple pie, so it was certainly not a waste of time.

5. A few weeks ago we met up with some old friends for a catch-up day. It was good to just be together, even if 'together 'at this point is walking the zoo, stopping to feed babies, frequent snack and potty breaks, and a total dinner meltdown to end the day. Here are some shots!

Enjoying the fall day

Cool polar bear exhibit

Nicole and baby Judah

Lucy and Drew

Notice the stylish hair decor of the little ladies (handmade by Nicole- crazy cute!!!)

(I've noticed that my picture taking abilities have really diminished since Tessa's arrival. But such is life. I'll try to post some from Thanksgiving and the Cousin Extravaganza!)

And that is that. We've got the tree up (but not decorated. On a side note, do you think I'm crazy that I really like the way my Christmas tree looks without any decorations? It's kind of simple, and energy efficient, and a lot easier to clean up, and way less of a big deal when the cats knock it over and...)

Here's to a purposeful weekend with the people who matter most!

well hello again

2011-11-29T20:44:00.001-06:00

Testing...testing...<tap,tap,tap>...Is this thing on?

That's how I feel as I sit down to blog for the first time in what feels like a very long time. Between homeschooling, house guests, a Thanksgiving trip, and a crazy little notion to write a novel, seems that spare time has been lean around here lately. But it's good to be back.

I have so much to tell you. Where should I start?

First the quick summary: The kids? Good. The baby? Getting big. Sleeping great. Cute as a button. Garrett? Busy but awesome. Thanksgiving trip? Rockin'. Christmas coming? Bring it.

I'd like to take this opportunity to say that Pentatonix won The Sing-Off and that is as it should be.

Seems like we've covered our bases, how are you doing? Really doing?

All joking aside, I do feel like there is a lot to say. There's something about being away from your everyday life that brings a clarity to the whole picture. As we drove home from Colorado on Sunday night, I felt a lot of personal renewal in regards to where my life is going and direction in specific to the question of "Now what?"

I feel something (or Someone, perhaps) drawing me back to find my center, to slow down and focus on a few major things at this point.

I've realized that, for me personally, the internet is really not helpful in this phase of life. Oh sure, I can grab recipes in a flash and look up answers to questions like "Are hermit crabs crustaceans?" or youtube whatever song is in my head that I can't seem to recall the second verse of. Those kinds of things are fun and useful and doesn't disrupt the flow around here too much.

But there is another sense that the internet, in it's abundance of ideas and opinions and convictions, clouds my understanding of what God wants me to be doing. I feel like I am at a point (and this is a specific place on my personal journey and not a value statement on these things) where I don't need any more ideas about homeschooling or decorating or living life in general: I need to 1) just do the things I know I need to do or 2)pray about the areas where I don't know what to do.

All that to say, the internet is an awesome source for ideas once you know where you're headed. It's not a great tool to figure out who you are, or what that looks like as a ________ (fill in the blank).

Does that make sense?

In other news, I've been attempting to write a novel. With two days left, I am about 20,000 words shy of the goal. This reality has both depressed and inspired me, but at this point, where I realize that there is no way to finish besides farming out my kids and drinking Red Bull for 48 hours, I think I am ok with it.

I was pretty discouraged last week when I was prepping for a trip and realized that when we returned there would only be two days left. But I guess I see that though I didn't 'win' (technically the goal is 50,000) the whole exercise of writing taught me a lot, and I feel good about that. Here are a few things I learned:

1- I'm a very subjective writer. Some writers have outlines and plans and scenes that they have laid out and are working towards. Though those things are good and I'd like to grow in my ability to do any of that, I enjoy myself most when I just write and see where the story takes me. Sometimes it feels like I have a rhinoceros on a leash and I'm trying to take it for a walk in a specific direction. No matter how I pull, if it doesn't want to go there, I can't seem to make it. I guess my own lack of specific direction shouldn't shock me as I have never been particularly scheduled or detail oriented, but I guess I thought I would feel more control over my story. Instead it seemed to control me.

2- I really enjoy writing. I enjoy writing a paragraph over and over until it finally says what I'm trying to make it say (which is good- but not very conducive to writing a lot in a short amount of time.) Which leads me to my next point...

3- I got so bogged in trying to write well, I didn't write as much. I should have focused more on word count and less on the quality of what I was putting down. This would have helped the story progress faster and keep momentum.

4- I thought it would be easier to create believable characters, but it was actually really hard. I have a new respect for all my favorite authors- heck, any author that actually has been published- but particularly the ones that create characters I love.

5- My life has time for things if I'm willing to make it. For about two weeks, I wrote for two hours every night. (There was only actually one week of the month that we were at home and didn't have anyone staying with us- so writing time was more limited than I expected) Two hours. 120 minutes. When I think of the list of "Things I Don't Have Time for in this Phase of Life"- suddenly most of those are probably doable if I am really honest. <sigh>

So I guess that's it for now. I am definitely going to keep working on this story as I would really like to finish it. I'm not sure what the future holds in regards to writing, but I know, if nothing else, it's good to mentally be working on something. And I enjoy it. And it's free! So there you have it.

In other news, I rearranged my dining room today. Don't you love rearranging furniture? I know there are those personalities out there that hate to rearrange furniture and never change around rooms. I, however, am not of that personality. A good room shake-up was just what the doctor ordered.

Well, it was nice to catch up. Hope your Thanksgiving was thanks-full. I know I owe ya a quick 5 from last week, but you're just gonna have to let that one go.

'Preciate it.

Catch ya later.

quick 5

2011-11-18T07:27:00.001-06:00

Hello there, Friday morning! My oldest three kids spent the night at grandma's but Tessa was up nice and early so that I could get this written before we go pick up the three amigos. Babies are so considerate, aren't they?

Here we go...

1. Three things you need to know: 1- we are Broncos fans (we as in my husband mostly but we all join in 'cause it's a family thing.) 2. Our neighbor, Veronica, is a HUGE Chiefs fan. 3)Last week the Broncos played(and beat!) the Chiefs.

So Garrett took this picture of him and the kids 'tebowing' on our neighbor's front step, and texted it to her:

2. Yesterday I was standing in Walmart trying to decide what box of tissues to buy. Isn't it annoying that the good looking boxes are never as good of a value as the tacky boxes? So I stood there trying to decide if I wanted a pretty box because I am made in God's image therefore I appreciate beauty and want to be surrounded by beautiful things, or if I'm just shallow. Then I finally decided that the tissue aisle was not the place to resolve this question. And I bought the pretty box.

3. There's a website that I really enjoy and I hope you will too. It's a group of artisans in Rwanda who have partnered with Food for the Hungry to expand their economy and sell their goods over the Internet. At first when I read it I thought, "Sheesh, kind of expensive." But then as I thought about the fact that every single product is literally made from raw materials that these people collect, prepare, and work with, I was amazed.

I started to wonder if there was anything if my house made by hand from raw materials. As Americans (or westerners) sometimes we value price or thriftiness so much that we tend to undervalue the talent it takes to actually do a trade well. So if you are looking for a creative Christmas idea that would benefit African families, further the training of future artisans, and help their economy- look no further than Azizi Life.

4. ~~Ella keeps us in stitches~~. ~~We keep Ella in stitches~~. Ella keeps herself in stitches. Last Saturday was round three of stitches for our little lady.

As usual, she took the whole thing like a champ. We are thankful that the cut wasn't any closer to her eye and is healing up well.

5. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell you about the tarantulas, NaNoWriMo, the mouse behind our oven, our KC trip, my car keys still missing, Aunt Mimi flying in today, feelings about early Christmas celebrations, an Advent Hunger Games theory...guess you'll just have to stay tuned!

Have a good one, folks!

quick 5

2011-11-10T22:01:00.001-06:00

Wow, it's Friday again. I feel like just like week it was Friday...

1. Have you been following the Penn State scandal? I'm so disgusted; I don't want to talk about it . But I do . But I don't. I heard it best summarized as "a crisis of character" on behalf of all the people involved. Guess that about sums it up.

2. This morning I told the kids they could watch a show on netflix if they could agree on one. Then the arguing started and everyone was inisistent that their particular favorite be chosen. "Never mind, we won't watch anything if you're only going to think of yourselves." Ella followed me into the other room to plead again to watch her show, the Cat in the Hat.

"You are only thinking of yourself," I told her.

"No!" she insisted, "I'm thinking of me AND the Cat in the Hat."

3. At our homeschool group this week I sat in on Drew's class. (So proud of that guy! This week he met the quarter's goal of saying all his states and capitals. He really worked hard considering how bumpy our first ~~ten~~ few weeks were.) They were playing a review game that was like Jeopardy. He cracked me up on his first time around when he said, "I'll take science for 500." He pretty much cleaned out the science category, which is his bread and butter. He did some math and history questions. He didn't touch the Latin or timeline; which is not surprising as we didn't touch those either this fall.

4. I'm still writing my novel. Fledglingly writing, to be exact (with adverbs like that, is it any wonder?) I am on track for my word count, but the last chapter was so slow I almost fell asleep just writing it. Need some serious inspiration because Dr. Pepper 10 can only take me so far. Maybe my main character could have a blog and every Friday give pithy little updates...You're right, that's so 2009. Sheesh.

5. I've been thinking some about Advent in preparation for our community starting to celebrate Advent on Sunday. I thought these two quotes were particularly insightful:

But Advent is not measured by calendar days. Advent is a season of preparation that transcends hours and minutes and appointments and lists. In Advent, we prepare for the coming as we choose to slow our pace rather than hurry. As we pause rather than rush. As we savor rather than devour. We slow and wait for theLord’s coming—looking back to that first coming in the loneliness of a stable and looking forward to the last coming at the last trumpet in the gathering of saints." – Walter Wangarin

It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.- adventconspiracy.org

Advent Conspiracy has a lot of neat things to say. One of their catch phrases that really got me thinking was this: GIVE PRESENCE. They challenge the notion of determining the value of our gifts by what we buy. What if instead it was valuable because of what it personally cost us? Interesting idea. I like the idea that our presence, the gift of our time and energy in some one's life, is truly a gift. So if you're wondering what to give your neighbors, do something memorable together. Stuck on gifts for kids? Host a puppet show or game night or dance party. Take lots of pictures- or better yet, let the kids take pictures. (This whole idea reminded me that kids spell love differently- they spell it T-I-M-E.) Be present, fully there and available, with them.

I guess that's all for this week. Gonna feed the baby and start in on today's words.

Maybe my character could have some sort of quest involving a piece of jewelry...too familiar?

Maybe she could love a vampire and a werewolf (sort of) and then have to choose...been done? Speaking of that subject, random quote I saw this week:

"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing
what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it
is to have a boyfriend." - Stephen King

I guess Twilight is kind of about that. (That comment does seem a little uppity from Stephen King- King of Horror books, am I right? I mean, he can write but he's no Victor Hugo. Just my two cents, but what do I know. I'm a fourth way into my first book that still has little plot.)

OK- have a great Friday and peaceful weekend. Hope you and yours have recovered from the time change!!!!

Later, skater.

ella enchanted

2011-11-09T15:35:00.000-06:00

For those days when you want to be a dragon and a princess...

a quick hello

2011-11-08T21:07:00.001-06:00

I should be writing but I decided to blog instead. Yes, I know that blogging is technically writing but you know what I mean. Well, maybe you don't. I'm working on a writing goal of 50,000 words for the month and am just over 10,000. To meet it I need to write 1700 words per day- which I have found takes me about two hours. Sheesh.

Getting cold here. How about where you are?

Went to the KC zoo last week and they have an awesome polar bear display. And a water park opening some time in the next decade (the sign actually said that.) So be ready, everyone. It could happen any day.

Ok, I've said enough. Now I'm going to go write. But I hope you are having a good week. I've been thinking a lot about how to think about Christmas this year- so look for that in the quick 5.

Also- this daylight savings gig is taking the wind out of all of our sails. We're all exhausted. What's up with that?

Tessa switched to the crib and to a long night. So no more 9:00-11:00 fussy baby madness every evening.

Tuck likes to sleep with her in the crib. Should I be alarmed?

Ok, I'm going now. Here's my swan song.

Good night!

quick 5

2011-11-04T00:33:00.000-05:00

Kansas City...Kansas City, here I come! We are heading off on a day trip to ~~go to Chick-fil-a~~ meet up with some good friends in KC! (This friend happens to have a very rocking blog. And so does her daughter.) Yahoo! It will be a crazy day, just the four of us and the seven kiddos under seven. You reach a point when there's so many kids- you just embrace the chaos and cheer, "Bring it on!" That is if you've had any sleep, or enough caffeine to expend all that energy. I digress.

On to the quick 5...

1. My sister-in-law had SNOW days this week. And last week. She lives in beautiful CO. Snow days is reason # 97 to move to Colorado. (What are the rest of the reasons? Let's see: reasons 1-20 are lots of family who we miss, 21-30 is lots of old friends who have settled there, #31-40 have to do with IKEA, and then there's the Rocky Mountains, Chick-fil-a, so much sports to follow, wildlife, IKEA,etc.)

2. This semester we are learning the 50 states and capitals in our school curriculum. There is a catchy little song that we sing that is helping the memory process. To hear little kids pronounce all those places is a real trip. My particular favorites are "Concord, New Hampster" and "Dover, Ellaware." (Isaac also says "Harrisburg, Pennsyl-isaac"; he thought it was unfair that Ella had a state named after her and he didn't.)

3. I started writing my novel for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWrMo). The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month, which means a daily average of 1,667. It is day three and I'm on track, though I have not written for today yet. I'm finding that this writing business is really hard- particularly writing dialogue. The conversations have come out terrible. So I guess all those times I've started a book, rolled my eyes, and announced "I could write a better book than this!" - I was probably wrong. (Consequently, Garrett and I like to come up with terrible titles for the book. The main plot line has to do with a girl who can smell when people are lying. Some of our best titles so far are: "Whiff or Whiff Out You", "Heaven Scent", "Smell me the Truth," and "Scents You Been Gone". ) My husband has lived up to his promise to do all things possible to help me write and though the actual writing is harder than I thought, I am truly enjoying myself.

4. Speaking of enjoying myself, here's some things or moments that have warmed my heart over the last week.

DP 10- enough said

The difference between a princess and a diva at age 2: the princess carries a purse to play in the backyard, the diva carries a cheetah print carrying case for her small dog. Oh, no.

She was SO excited about daddy painting her face green. SO excited.

Tessa Yo as a zebra

I am officially a calzone-aholic. So yummy. Been cooking up this recipe in the bread machine.

I feel like any day now I'm going to wake up and she won't be a toddler any more. (Sigh)

5. True Story

On Monday night we went to the KROC (a YMCA-like family center in our neighborhood) for a Halloween party. The kids played games, got candy, did a costume contest, etc. I was flying solo for the first hour because Garrett was tied up in a meeting and coming later, but the neighbors were there to help with the craziness of it all. At one point I was helping Isaac with a game and I glanced up and noticed a stroller. There was a trendy looking lady standing next the stroller. I was curious what her baby's costume might be so I walked up to the stroller and peeked in. The baby was darling and dressed as a zebra. In a costume I had bought. The baby was awfully familiar. Because it was MY STROLLER. Yeah...I know...I'm totally losing it. Sheesh.

So anyways, that's all for today. For all my CO peeps, hope you are staying inside and warm. Unless of course you are going to IKEA, then I hope you are venturing out and having an awesome time. And buying linens. I heart IKEA linens.

Ok, that's all. Good-bye.

P.S. Do you think I should have one of those signatures at the bottom of every post? I have mixed feelings about those.

nicknames

2011-11-01T22:24:00.000-05:00

Part of settling a new addition into the family is finding a nickname. Here's what we have so far.

Cerberus

When Tessa Jo is hanging in her car seat, Drew likes to call her Cerberus, after the mythological multi-headed dog that guards the underworld. Charming nickname, I know.

Tess

I find myself most often simply calling her this, except when I'm calling her...

Smiley Cyrus

I don't know when or how this nickname started, but it's what we call her when she is beaming at us, which is more and more each day.

The nickname we hear the most is also the name that has become the name of all Ella's babies, bears, and frogs. And if you happen to meet us in Walmart, you will hear Ella say,

"This is my sister, Tessa Yo."

Yep, Tessa Yo is pretty much our favorite. =)

three truths and a lie: halloween edition

2011-10-31T15:33:00.000-05:00

True: Today is Halloween.

True: My oldest son is only a few years away from being old enough to be in a boy band.

True: At the trick-or-treat at my grandma's nursing home, a little huddle of tweeny boppers wanted to take their picture with Drew because they thought he was so cute.

I told them to back off and keep their hands off my baby. (False)

True: Isaac's costume was a big hit with people young and old.

True: Isaac took one bite of cotton candy and said "Yuck. I don't want this."

True: I ate it for him.

It took him just one week to grow that mustache. (False)

True: Ella wanted to be a dragon for halloween.

True: Ella likes to play dragon and pretend the bathroom is her cave.

True: She thinks she looks like Wheezy on Dragon Tales.

She does look like Wheezy on Dragon Tales. (False)

True: Tessa has a darling little zebra costume.

True: There are no pictures because she is the fourth child and destined to have no pictures of her infancy (ok- so the second part is false. She actually slept through the event so you couldn't see her costume when she was all tucked in her carseat.)
True: I am planning to get pictures of her tonight.

I am not planning to eat any of my children's candy. (False)

Happy Halloween!

quick 5

2011-10-28T08:12:00.002-05:00

The last week of October is wrapping up. I'll spare you the comment about how fast time is flying by. It was an up and down week, with more ups than downs as of late. And now- on to the quick 5!

1. Today I took Ella to get a haircut. She has long been asking when it would be her turn to sit at the hair store, as she refers to it. So when I saw a coupon in the paper for a cheap cut, I thought I'd let her have a turn. She sat like an angel and the stylist constantly commented on how still Ella was. Then the lady asked her how old she was. "I'm two," Ella replied. Then the stylist asked how old her baby sister was. "She's zero," Ella replied. I would post a pic of the new and improved look except...

2. Blogger informed me today that I had reached my storage limit on pictures. So there's a limit? Hmmmm....going to have to figure that one out. This is really too bad because I was trying to load a picture of....

3. Dr. Pepper 10!!!!!. Oh, yeah. Love at first sip. This new genius of a drink tastes like Dr. Pepper but has ten calories per 8 oz. It's really good and it's cheap right now because it's in the promo phase. My highest recommendations, especially to my Dr. Pepper-loving-compadres out in CO (that's you- Jamie and Shelbie). And speaking of Dr. Pepper...

4. This quick 5 kid update is brought to you by a bit too much caffeine from a Dr. Pepper:

Sweet little Tessa Yo (as Ella calls her) will be three months this weekend! I have been genuinely surprised by how unique she is, how she has all these little mannerisms that none of my others did. Things like: the ability to sleep a full night with a pacifier in her mouth, the ability to cry at the top of her lungs with the pacifier in her mouth, the way she grunts when she is tired, her biggest smiles that make her tip her head to the right. So fun and getting so big. Recent discoveries: smiles, ceiling fan, sunshine.
Ella is entering new phases in her reasoning and conversation. "Why?" is now the most common thing out of her mouth. Still our little drama queen, she asks for ice packs and band aids at the slightest bumps and bruises. She has become more curious about spiritual things, asking today, "What Dod (God) look like?" and always asking which person in our kids' Bible is 'Dod'. Neat to see that unfolding in her. Recent discoveries: tights, playing the animal game.
Isaac...oh, my passionate Isaac. It's no wonder that in Titus 2, though there is a list of 7 or 8 things that are recommended for teaching younger women, there is one thing listed as needed to teach young men: SELF CONTROL. We have this conversation often, and I think there is some growth in that.
Drewsky is still such a big help with chores, the other kids, and life in general. I am trying to get him to read more and have made a shocking discovery: he doesn't like fiction. He will put books in his backpack and trek up to his fort to read- but what books? SCIENCE books. This is difficult on this fiction-lady's-loving-heart. But I guess if that is the battle I'm fighting then we are doing OK.

5. Speaking of science, we have science facts that we memorize for our Classical Conversation group each week. A few weeks back our question was: What are the three types of muscle? Do you know the answer? If not, watch this catchy little video that pretty much cracks us up (you can imagine that the gluteus maximus is quite funny to little people...and their mom.)

Have a great weekend!

she said, he said

2011-10-27T10:46:00.000-05:00

She said, I'm going to write a novel in one month. November, actually.

He said, You go, girl.

A month or two later...

She said, I don't think I am going to write the novel. I have a gazillion reasons why it doesn't even make sense to attempt it.

He said, Here's all the reasons why your reasons are no good.

A week later...

She said, I don't think I am going to write the novel. What if I can't do it? What if I put all this energy towards it and it's terrible? What is really going to be pushed aside to produce that kind of time?

He said, I'll do whatever I can to make it happen. I'll cook dinner for a month. I'll take over house stuff. I really want you to do this.

She gulped.

And then he said, I think you should do it, not because what you write might or might not be good, but because it will be good for you.

She sighed. She thought. She was still unsure.

She said, I just don't know.

He said, I think you should do it because you have a story to tell. Because you light up when you talk about it. Because it's OK to be more than a mom and a wife.

She said, OK. And thank you.

She was nervous but excited.

And she thought he was pretty wonderful.

quick 5

2011-10-21T01:14:00.001-05:00

Today is pumpkin patch day around here. When I think of the pumpkin patch, I can't help but think of Charlie Brown. Anyone else watch that one when you were a kid?

1. Yesterday Drew asked me if more people in the world speak English or Spanish. We asked our friend, Google, and found that the answer was English. As we read through the chart of the 30 most spoken languages in the world, Drew asked what number 30 was. "Polish," I answered. "Is that what they speak at the North Pole?" he replied.

2. We are getting a tarantula. I know. Sheesh. I have reconciled myself to this idea, and find it not nearly as creepy as I would have years ago. Do you think you could sleep at night in a house that has a tarantula living in it? Guess I'll find out the answer to that question.

3. This week I overheard Drew and Isaac having a conversation about jail. Isaac was visibly upset, to the point of tears. The part I caught went like this.

Isaac: But I don't want to go to jail!
Drew: You only go to jail if you do bad things.
Isaac: Like fussing?

4. Ella entered the kitchen on Tuesday to inform me that the cats had pooped on the side of the house and not to touch it 'cause it bites. "It bites?" I asked. Drew entered behind her and explained, "It's the only thing she's scared of. So if I don't want her to touch something, I just tell her that it bites." I immediately informed Ella that my cell phone, car keys, and laptop bite hard.

5. I'm tired. I'm new levels of tired. I had one of those days this week where your mind starts telling you strange things and you know it's not true, but it feels like the truest thing you've ever heard. Days when the truth isn't even comforting, but you have to just will yourself to believe it and act comforted. And somewhere along the way you start to feel it. So I guess that explains the lack of 'zip' in this little quick 5 post.

Have a good weekend, big wide world! See you on the flip side...or at the pumpkin patch!

my counter runneth over

2011-10-17T00:09:00.001-05:00

I just finished mopping up a tidal wave of butter and cinnamon that was covering my counter top, the result of a cinnamon roll baking venture that turned sour. But on the bright side, it was by far the tastiest thing to ever flow and make small puddles on my kitchen floor. But then the obvious drawback is that my cinnamon rolls are lacking a bit of flavor. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

We had a nice but busy weekend around here. A friend of ours is visiting us along with her beautiful little baby. As I prepared her room, I thought about how nice it would be to have another woman in the house- practically like college! (Through our years at the boys' home and having boys myself, I have grown used to feeling outnumbered.) Then I truly considered the situation: 5 kids under seven, both of us breastfeeding, crashing into bed at 10:30, up around 6:00 a.m.- this is NOTHING like college. But it is still very fun to have her here.

We watched Tangled tonight. Have I mentioned how much I like that movie? It's been a long time since I've cried at a movie- and I mean a LONG time. (I didn't even cry when I read the Hunger Games- is that weird? My neighbor thinks so.) But for some reason, when Rapunzel and Flynn are sitting in the boat and the lights are floating around, I always tear up. I don't know why. It's such a sweet moment.

Speaking of crying, I have an idea for a bumper sticker:

No use crying over spilled milk, unless it's breast milk-

then feel free to curse.

Just kidding about that, but the sentiment rings true.

Last week I was in the kitchen when I felt a little hand give my hand a tug. I turned around to find Tae, our little neighbor boy.I was surprised, not because he doesn't often walk into our house but because I hadn't even heard him. "Do you have a bathroom upstairs?" he asked. I replied that we did but that he could just use the one off the kitchen like usual. "But my sister is in there!" Who knew? Apparently he did, I guess.

Well, just two minutes left on my oven timer. I hope your week is a like a tidal wave of butter on your counter top- warm, comforting, a bit messy, but not so bad that you can't sit back and laugh at yourself a little.

Good night, world.

quick 5

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

So here we are again at the quick 5.

1. For the month of October, a whole host of bloggers are participating in a "31 Days" blogging phenomenon. That is, they are blogging about a certain topic every day for the entire month. I considered participating for about about 4.6 seconds, when I realized that I barely get the quick 5 out once a week- blogging every single day? Not so much. But I have thought about what would I have chosen to write about each day: 31 Pet Peeves (sounds like a depressing thing to think about each day). 31 Foods I Would Drive Over an Hour to Eat. 31 Movies I wish I hadn't seen. 31 Parenting Mistakes I have Made. 31 Things in my Closet that no longer fit. I know- what a list. However, there are so many people participating in the challenge that actually do have noteworthy things to say each day. The two I have been following are The Nester, with 31 Days of Lovely Limitations, and my college buddy, Tori, who is brimming with book ideas at 31 Days of Reading. (For the whole list of 31 Day blogs, click here.)

2. However, on a similar note that is not all that similar but does involve a commitment to writing a certain amount in one month, I am getting stoked for NaNoWrMo. This is a competition (but more like a challenge) to write 50,000 words in one month. It starts November 1 and I am counting down. While perusing the website, I noticed one description of the event say something like "a time to let our dishes and laundry pile up, order pizza, and give ourselves to writing for a month." Hmmmm....is it a bad sign if my dishes and laundry are already piling up, and it hasn't started yet? Uh-oh.

3. It was birthday week in our family. Happy Birthday to my dad, who is now 55, and to my brother-in-law, Matt, who turned the BIG 3-0!

4. I've been an allrecipes.com guru lately. Here are some of the tried and true recipes that are jackpots in my book:

Bread Machine Calzones (made them with alfredo instead- yum!)
Apple Turnovers (need I say more?)
Simply White Bread (uses honey instead of sugar and can bake on the fastbake setting. This means fresh bread in ONE HOUR, people!!!! I make it at least 4 times a week)
No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies (crazy good- a big hit with lots of friends)
Whole Jar of Peanut Butter Cookies (yes- a whole jar! some of the best cookie dough ever)

5. Tessa is waking to eat (yes, she does that now, about half of the time). So I gotta run. I feel like this quick 5 was a little uninspired but such is life, or life right now anyways. Have a great weekend!

my beef with K-LOVE

2011-10-11T18:34:00.001-05:00

I'm not usually one to rant, at least not in public forums that could be read and re-read. But I am seriously bothered by this. So here it is.

It's been a long time habit of mine to turn the radio on when the kids nap, and I generally use K-LOVE. The K-LOVE pledge drive is going on right now. It doesn't bother me that they have to ask for money. I have been affiliated on various levels with a non-profit for almost ten years- I get that you have to ask for money. But the current pledge drive that is going on with K-LOVE has offended me on so many levels, I can't help saying something.

1- You can't have it both ways. K-LOVE likes to promote what they do as a "ministry", and have gone as far to say on the air that when you give to K-Love, you give to God. I can swallow that. But if they really want to posture themselves that way, they need to lose the incentives, the pressure and the publicity.

Incentives- can you imagine if before the offering at church, the pastor were to say, "Everyone who gives today will be put into a drawing for an I-Pad."
Pressure- for some reason, the trend this pledge drive is "group dialing". Let's all dial the number and hit send together and see how many people can do it all at once. Not a bad marketing strategy, BUT when you say that people are supposed to be giving prayerfully and as God leads, should you need this? Seems inconsistent.
Publicity- Christ specifically said that we should give in secret, so that our right hand doesn't know what our left hand is doing. Just wondering if announcing people's names on national radio to "thank" them would fit that instruction.

2. Christian Radio is not necessary for the spiritual health of America. They are at that point in the drive where they have to press to reach the deadline. Slowly there emerges talk of "What if you didn't have K-LOVE?????" Callers phone in and lament the idea of life without it. Where is the hope? Where is the Christian music???? Sheesh, people. There are places in the world that don't yet have God's Word, and we are going to act like we will all suffer without K-LOVE? Oh, brother.

3. Oh, no you didn't. Those were the words that popped into my mind as I listened to K-LOVE this afternoon when ~~wrestling~~ putting my daughter down for her nap. At 2:00 central time, the female DJ made a statement that said this: People all over pay money so that you can have K-LOVE for free, just like Jesus paid so that you can have grace for free. I'm sorry, ma'am, but there is very little similarity between those two things. And I find it extremely nauseating that you would even attempt such a comparison.

I'm so tired of western Christianity in general. And I guess K-LOVE sort of epitomizes the whole part about it that turns my stomach: a faith that is comfortable, me-focused, commercial, talks flippantly about Christ, and all-around cheesy.

And that's all I have to say about that.

quick 5

2011-10-07T15:55:00.001-05:00

1. The warm weather is hanging around here. I know in a few months I'll be aching for it, but right now- when the leaves are changing and pumpkins popping up in grocery stores- I just want a little bite to the air. But I know this too shall pass. Supposedly we will be in the lower 50's through the weekend.

2. Tessa is smiling a bit now but the only face I manage to catch on camera is this:

3. Ella and Drew have been playing more together lately. They will sit on the couch together with some sort of science book and Drew will say, "Ella, do you want to read about the octopus or dolphin?" Then he reads aloud and she looks at the pictures. If it takes too long she just turns the page and they start over. So fun. A few minutes ago I overheard Drew say, "Tell me about the Boston Tea Party," as they review their memory work.

4. A few weeks back we took a walk, boys on bikes, Tessa in the bjorn carrier, and Ella in the wagon. (One of the things I love about where we live is that we are in walking distance to our good friends and our old house.) We wandered past the yard of our former neighbor (I was going to say 'old neighbor' but he isn't old-just our age. That's not old, right?) He saw Drew pass on the bike...then Isaac on the big wheel...followed by me carrying Tessa and pulling Ella. "Wow, you are still having kids!" What does one really say to that? "Yup," I replied, and we both laughed.

(On a side note, this is also the walk where, halfway up the alley, Tessa performed one of those baby miracles where you swear they spit up WAY more than they even ate. It wasn't a big deal, except that she was positioned in the carrier with her mouth right above the neckline of my shirt. Yep- all down the shirt. Nice one, Tessa.)

5. Did I mention we have a few walnuts around here? So far we've given away six trash bags, filled two wheel barrows, and they are still littering the yard as well as many left yet to fall. Wowsers.

They are annoying, I'm not gonna lie. They plink the car, the kids, the roof. They dye your hands and feet, stain clothes, and smell strange. But the other day as I marvelled at how large the tree is, I began to wonder when it was planted and why. Our house was built in 1926. Maybe planting the tree was a joint venture between the father and kids who first lived here. Maybe it was a gift. Perhaps it was just the cheapest tree. I don't know but it's amazing to think that what was once a sapling with a burlap bag around the bottom is now this sprawling tree that towers above our house, stretching out in many directions and producing hundreds of walnuts each fall.

And that got me to thinking about parenting. I remember reading an article once that compared investing in young lives with growing a tree. Though we wish parenting was more like a vegetable garden (plant, water, see results within a short time), it is truly more like growing a tree. Plant, water, water, water, water, and in time- there will be fruit. But it takes much time and much tending to allow those deep roots to anchor and feed that tree before it can really begin to produce. And until then, just keep watering! (And eventually, that little tree will make you nuts! Ha!)

Guess that is it for the quick 5. Happiest of Fridays to you, your cat, and your kiddos. May your weekend be full of good times, good friends, and Dr. Pepper. In fact, I think I'll drink one in your honor right now. Cheers.

the truth about this picture

2011-10-06T12:59:00.000-05:00

"Everyone get in the wagon for a picture!"

Drew declares, "I won't sit by Ella 'cause she has a poopy diaper."

Ella nods in agreement.

Isaac runs in the opposite direction crying, "I hate pictures! Pictures are busted!"

I ask. I cajole. I momentarily waiver between discipline and bribery.

Isaac consents without either.

Fighting ensues about who will hold Tessa and who will sit by Ella.

Tessa is getting cranky.

I can smell Ella.

The reality of this picture is fading into the bin of "missed moments". For some reason it suddenly feels like a big deal that I don't have a good picture of all of them and my stress level is skyrocketing irrationally.

In desperation I cry, "Fine- you can have a piece of candy if you all just look at me and smile!"

Click.

I sigh in relief.

Isaac turns and kisses Tessa's head. "I'm so glad we get to keep her forever." he says.

"Me, too," I say. And that goes for all of you.

quick 5

2011-09-30T05:00:00.000-05:00

Call me Ishmael.

I know, funny way to start the quick 5. I've been reading a book called "The Well-Educated Mind" and also ~~reading~~ watching Moby Dick. The former said that the first line of a work defines it, and is there any better opening line than "Call me Ishmael."? I think not.

I ~~fear~~ feel this may be a very literary quick 5.

1. Last night the hubby and I watched the first half of a TV-version of Moby Dick. (Before I go on, I feel the need to confess that I have never read Moby Dick. Seriously. This is a very embarrassing admission for someone who is aspiring to be well-read, but, alas, it is true. Have you read it?) Based on my limited knowledge of the book, I can't tell you if this newest remake sticks closely to the novel. But I can tell you that it is good. Several things I thought in the course of this movie:

Yeah! The first line of the movie is "Call me Ishmael." Good work.
I had no idea it had a theme of equality and humanity.
Is Ethan Hawke still making movies?
Look- there's Pippin!
Whalers are crazy.
Whaling should be an extreme sport.
Whaling would make an excellent reality TV show.
Captain Ahab is crazy even for a whaler.

I'll stop there. Looking forward to catching the second half when Garrett returns from his weekend trip. It is on netflix and you should check it out. Really strong cast, beautiful though I have not watched or read past the first encounter with Moby.)

Here's the trailer:

2. We're scheming with our neighbors about attending the midnight showing of the opening of Breaking Dawn, the new Twlilight movie that comes out in November. (We actually all read the books before we knew that it would be a teeny bopper sensation and would therefore be mandatory for people who read it to also be able to text in their sleep and say "OMG" a lot.) I was thinking of the whole Twilight series in light of the book "The Well-Educated Mind", and this thought hit me like a walnut in the back of the neck (remind to tell you about that later): There is great literature and there is great storytelling. If you could have the choice to write a book that would be loved by critics and hated by students who were forced to read it OR scorned by critics but loved by a billion young people who sobbed, bought all the merchandise, and created a million fan sites- which would you choose? This question is particularly interesting to me because...

3. I am going to write a novel. In November. Thanks to Stacey who referred me to National Novel Writing Month ,I am endeavoring to complete a work of 50,000 words between November 1 and November 30. For the fun of it. For the challenge of writing. For the thrill of having a hobby that doesn't fit into the criteria of "I can do it while folding laundry or feeding the baby." I'm pretty excited. (Sure, you can read it- if you do it, too...any takers?)

4. In our Classical Conversations group we are learning history facts about early American history. To supplement, the kids and I are watching through Liberty's Kids, a TV show published by PBS that follows the lives of several adolescents prior to and through the Revolutionary War. I wasn't really sure how much information the kids would retain, but it is a good filler for the 20 minute gap in our school morning when I need to feed Tessa. However, last week we watched the episode about the battles at Concord and Lexington. As the Red Coats marched on Concord, Drew shook his head and muttered, "It's the Boston Massacre all over again." Guess he is getting it! It is amazing how much information is crammed in these shows- seriously. If you're stuck in a rut, check them out. (Full seasons are on netflix)

Here's a bit of the first episode:

(Just as a caution- depending how sensitive your kids are, you may want to screen first. The shows don't actually show the violence, but there are realities of slavery, war, death, etc. that are talked about by the characters. I think the characters respond appropriately to it so it's not glorified, but just be aware that those things are in there.)

And another caution- the theme song will stick in your head for DAYS on end. Sheesh.

5. What's that noise in the background? Do you hear it...that loud clunk? That's just the sound of walnuts denting the roofs of our cars.

What's that strange plink? That's just the sound of walnuts falling on the bicycle helmets that the kids are required to wear for these few weeks as they play in the backyard.

What's that awful screaming? That's just me, screaming because a falling walnut fell like a baseball hitting me right where my neck meets my spine.

What's that sound... like a chainsaw and people singing? That's our celebration where we cut down the tree, a recurring dream that we have during walnut season each year.

Oh, yes, it's walnut season, folks. How one tree can produce HUNDREDS of walnuts is beyond me. Seriously- it's out of control.

And, in the words of Forrest, that's all I have to say about that.

Guess that's all for the 5. I've been meaning to write about Little Women (the encouragement it was to me this week), homeschool realities, final thoughts on the Hunger Games, and a serious piece on the implications of Finland pondering an exit from the EU (one of those is not true...I'll just let you wait and see.)

Pulling the single parent weekend. Sheesh. But while I am home with my four, Garrett is camping with twenty teens. I think I have it easier so no pity parties around here. And being home alone just makes me more thankful for my teammate to return.

I hope your weekend is full of fall- not falling walnuts but pleasant fall things.

P.S. Thanks for the invite to Pinnterest.

P.S. again. Thanks for the comments lately.

P.S. encore. Are you opposed to blogs with ads? What do you guys think about that?

P.S. finale...(because the last line of a novel is important, too)

It was the devious-cruising Rachel, that in her retracing search after her missing children, only found another orphan.

don't blink...

2011-09-29T22:28:00.000-05:00

I feel like just yesterday, we were here.

And then suddenly we were here...

And then, before I knew it, we were here...

It's almost like each baby grows up faster. Was this just last winter?

And here we are now.

So thankful for memories and little ones.

quick 5

2011-09-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hey there. Hooray for the first quick 5 of the fall! The air is getting crisp and the mornings chilly as the seasons change around here. I feel like doing fall-ish things: pumpkin patch, apple orchards, apple cider, apple pie, apple crisp, caramel apples...I'm sensing a theme.

1. I started reading "Little Women" this week and it's lovely. I think a great book is like a friend that you revisit and find new things about them. (My friend, Rachel, came to visit a few months back and I realized that she is a good question-asker. I don't think I ever appreciated that about her in the past 15 years of friendship.) In this go around, I find myself reflecting more on Marmee, the mother, than on the sisters. She is so wise, and one particular passage of advice really struck me.

"I want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good; to be admired, loved and respected; to have a happy youth, to be well and wisely married, and to lead useful, pleasant lives with as little care and sorrow to try them as God sees fit to send. To be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman, and I sincerely hope my girls may know this beautiful experience."

2. Can someone please explain Pinterest to me? I've been there a few times but don't really get the concept yet. Do you "pin" things you like? Where do you get the pictures? Does it cost to be a member? Is it mostly crafty people or are there other types "pinning" things? Do you browse other people's boards? What's the point? Someone please explain this to me because I am genuinely intrigued but confused. Thank you.

3. I want to write a book. The subject that I am most passionate about is how much I like books. Sooooo I've come up with the genius idea to write a book about how much I like books. Yeah...I know...back to the drawing board on that one.

4. Last week my husband went to redbox to get us a movie for the evening and came back with a new version of "Jane Eyre". It (the movie) was great. (In particular, I thought the casting was superb. Jane was perfect- not too pretty but likable and interesting. Mr. Rochester was perfect- moody but almost to be trusted. Really good remake, though I confess I am not a huge devotee of the novel so if they strayed from the original storyline I might not have noticed as I haven't read it in years.)

More importantly, my husband is great.
5. A few weeks back, our cat, Tutu, wandered in the door sporting a flea collar. No big deal, except that we didn't put it on him. Apparently a little family down the street had adopted him and were feeding him, letting him in their house, and taking over the general care of him. Garrett said we should ask them to stop. I said we should clip the latest vet bill to his collar, send him on his way, and then see if they really want to share ownership. The whole thing was funny but a little awkward, as we really did want them to stop feeding him and keeping him in their house. I think it is worked out as he has started returning to our house to eat and sleep.

Tutu, a cat in high demand

Ok...maybe I'd be looking for new digs, too

Home to stay

Guess that's all for now. Friday is upon us and I hope your weekend is restful and full of fall ~~food~~ fun!

thursday afternoon

2011-09-22T16:23:00.001-05:00

My boys are entertaining themselves and my girls are sleeping. The sun is shining through my open kitchen window. Dinner under control; my household staff hard at work (that's what I say when the washing machine or dishwasher are running), and a slow afternoon ahead.

There's been a thought buzzing in the back of my mind lately, bothering me as I try to articulate it to myself so that I can articulate it to you. It's like a theme that's running through my life, and through the lives of others as I hear their stories, read blogs, zip through facebook. Of all the words to characterize the mission of a wife/saint/mom, why is it this word? Striving. Not striving like "taking good strides to push towards a goal"; striving as in "squeezing everything in me to try, try, try."

Sometimes I think that the internet is our own worst enemy. Suddenly, we are overloaded with a surplus of information about how we should eat, live, decorate, discipline, homeschool, clean, shop, budget, blog, and behave in general. Information can be empowering or enslaving.

I feel like so many great ladies I know have blogs that don't celebrate who God made them but lament all the things they are not. It just pains me. Not that my daily life is a constant celebration of who God made me, but in the clarity of today I feel the burden of striving to be something that God hasn't even asked of me. And I am laying it down.

I'm just me. I don't eat organic or exercise like I want or have a well-run house. I feel shy around people I don't know and I don't know why. I am struggling to homeschool my firstborn and my greatest obstacle is the strong will of my 2-year old and the equally short attention span of her business partner, my 4-year old. We struggle to give our house it's needed attention. I'm not a great friend but I want to be and I'm working on it. I'm tired of being tired. Tired of feeling defeated before the day starts. Tired of having expectations that are so ridiculously high.

Tired of striving.

I want to be free. Not free of responsibility, free of pressure to bear up under it all and be amazing. Cause I'm not.

But I am loved by my Father. I am given all that I need to do His will for each day. I am learning new things about how He has made me and I am learning to leave behind the things He has not asked of me. Like perfection. And having-it-all-together. And exercise (oh wait- He probably would have me do that. Darn.)

So in the midst of your crazy life, of little people that don't sleep or co-workers that don't appreciate you or a house that stands in judgment of your neglect, here's something to celebrate: celebrate you. Celebrate the fact that Christ has made you new and free of the world's standards. Celebrate that He has started something unique and brilliant in your soul and He is committed to seeing it through. Celebrate your freedom to love without conditions and be loved in return. Celebrate the Rest that is coming; when you will finally rest from your striving.

Celebrate grace and hope and truth. Celebrate the little souls in your care, friends in your corner, the ones who are ahead of you in the journey who turn back to point out the tough spots.

Celebrate life, and the life that Christ has brought you.

Celebrate today. And tomorrow. And the tomorrows to come.

Celebrate that you once were lost but have been found.

Celebrate you, and in doing so, help others to celebrate who God made them.

That's all for now. Girls are up and boys are on the move. The day charges ahead and I guess I'll leave this thought for now.

easy awesome excellent breakfast pizza

2011-09-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

Breakfast: It's not just for breakfast any more. At least that's how we feel around these parts. We love to eat hearty breakfast foods but it doesn't fit in our regular breakfast routine. Weekdays there just isn't time for the big to-do. Saturdays should be met by donuts, at least when all is right with the world. Which leaves only Sundays for the big, warm, friendly breakfast- and that doesn't fit with our current Sunday schedule very well. Needless to say, we eat breakfast foods for dinner at least once a week.

I usually don't do recipes and cooking posts for several reasons.

1- all that picture taking is tedious (friends who vacationed with me in college may remember how I feel about needless picture taking...sorry about that).

2- there's a lot of blogs out there that can tell you how to make things. And they are a lot better at it than I am. But no other blog can keep you updated on the daily life of my family, so I feel that is my niche. (no wonder readership is dwindling around here)

3- I'm not an awesome cook. I would say I am a good cook, but not awesome. However, every once in awhile I stumble on a recipe and my husband says,"You should blog this." He made this remark last week when I invented this recipe and so here it is:

Easy Awesome Excellent Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients (makes one 8x8 pan)

Hashbrown patties- 6 or 7
Eight eggs
Breakfast meat (sausage, bacon, ham...all three!)
Shredded cheese

Serves: 4 normal people; or two teenage boys; or 8 picky toddlers

1. Lay frozen hashbrowns in the bottom of a casserole dish. Cut hashbrowns to fit if necessary. Bake for 30 minutes at 400.

2. Cook breakfast meat if necessary. Drain.

3. Break eggs into a bowl. Mix with whisk. Salt and pepper, if that's your thing.

4. When hashbrowns are finished, remove from the oven and pour the eggs on top. Sprinkle meat on top.

Cook for 15 minutes at 350. (Depending how firm you like your eggs- I like mine hard scrambled, but if you like yours on the runny side you can pull them out earlier.) Turn off oven and pull out casserole.

5. Throw the cheese on and set it back in the warm oven until cheese melts.

Wham, bam- wow. Your breakfast pizza is ready.

No, really. You don't have to thank me. Oh, stop, you're too much. No, I couldn't accept payment for this recipe. Well, you had me at hello as well. Thank you.

Enjoy =)

different kinds of happy

2011-09-16T20:55:00.000-05:00

Today I cleaned my kitchen counters. They look awesome. Funny how something like awesome kitchen counters makes me feel awesome. It's like the highschool equivalent of buying a new pair of jeans. Makes your whole day better.

Speaking of which, while I was bulldozing the piles on my kitchen counters, I ran across a new Sara Groves song, called Different Kinds of Happy, that is really cool. And her explanation of it is really cool. So if you have a minute, watch the first three minutes of this as Sara explains the song...

And then watch her sing it here- (you can understand the words more clearly on this one)

I feel like there's so much I could say in response to that song. But I won't for now, I'll just let it soak in with you and return to that topic later. But it's true- isn't it? There are different kinds of happy. From new jeans to clear kitchen counters, things and events move us to find joy in new ways as we grow. And in marriage, there is that different happy that comes as you realize you are not just completely loved but you are totally known and still completely loved.

Different kind of happy, indeed.

quick 5...or less

2011-09-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

I just received a text from my friend that her mother is in emergency surgery. And it's serious. So as I await news and try to do this quick 5, the things I was going to say seem kind of unimportant in light of all that. Not that the random notes of the quick 5 are ever very important; I guess I just don't feel like the usual rants. So here are a few things I am feeling...

1. Someone shared this verse with me and it's been so encouraging in this phase of watching my little ones.

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." - Isaiah 40:11

So thankful God is gently leading me. Not sure what I'm more thankful for- that He's leading or that He is gentle about it.

2. There's an old hymn by Charles Wesley called "Arise My Soul Arise". It's been playing quietly in my head this week and the words are so amazing.

Arise My Soul Arise

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off your guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for every race,
His blood atoned for every race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And 'Father, Abba, Father,' cry.
(You can listen to a modern version of the song here.)
3. Tessa is starting to wake from her newborn state and feel like a baby. It's such good timing; just when the sleeplessness is becoming exhausting and the constant feeding and changing seem a bit much, the little bundle wakes up into a cooing baby. No smiles yet, but the coos have started and been met with a cheer from her siblings, who are convinced she is trying to speak to each one of them (She probably is trying to speak, "Keep it down, would you?") Having a baby is a paradox: so unfairly demanding and undeservedly rewarding.

I think that's all for tonight. Hope the fall weather is breathing fresh air into your home and your life. I know it is mine.

three reasons to homeschool

2011-09-14T15:53:00.000-05:00

1. Drew

When I went in search of the boys at 7:15 this morning, I found them curled up on Drew's bed. Drew was reading ~~Where the Red Fern Grows~~ the Transformers book to Isaac.

2. Isaac

Later in the morning, I found Isaac and Ella hiding under pillows in the living room. Whatcha doing? I asked.

"We're playing Frojan Horse." replied my four year old man.

Nice.

3. Ella

For our classical education homeschool group, we memorize facts in each subject each week. Ella is not technically a student, but ask her about the pilgrims and she'll tell you...

(In 1620 the pilgrims from Plymouth, England signed the Mayflower Compact before landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts.)

Oh, homeschooling. Not easy. Or always smooth. Or fulfilling every day. But so worth it.

neighbor roulette

2011-09-10T23:05:00.000-05:00

When you buy a house, there is so much to consider. Size. Condition. Location, location, location. Funny to think that you can scrutinize all the details of the property, but have no control over who lives next door.

Thankfully, we did ok.

It's not just this...

though it makes for lovely s'mores and keeps bugs away.

It's not just this...

though for some reason kids always find the neighbors' playhouse much more interesting than their own.

It's because our kids are just seven peas in a pod...

and us old folks sit around talking about important things like the Hunger Games and fantasy football.

We laugh a lot. And eat a lot.

Sometimes we storm Taco Bell and leave large amounts of taco ingredients under our tables.

Sometimes our kids go to movie night at their house. Sometimes our cat welcomes himself in their house as well.

Mr. "Wuke" as Ella says

Mrs. 'Ronica

Guess you could say, in the always iffy game of neighbor roulette, ~~they~~ we hit the jackpot. ;)

every day life

2011-09-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

Just a few favorite shots of life around here...

The nice weather has us in the backyard as much as possible. Upside- fresh air and excercise. Down side- Ella is always a mess.

In the afternoons, Drew hangs with me while the middles sleep.

Reading books to Tessa

Cooking in the kitchen

Just a little of the every-dayness that makes life around here pretty sweet...and never boring.

quick 5

2011-09-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

This post is officially the 400th post of this little blog. In honor, I've decided to do a quick 400 instead of a quick 5. Just kidding. We'll stick to 5.

1. Drew, my firstborn who is six, is developing a kind of watchdog personality. I'm not sure if it's his age, personality, or status as firstborn, but he is the constant informant on all suspicious activity. So there's a lot of sounds like this...
"Mo-om! Ella was chewing during prayer!"

"Mo-om! The cats are on the counter!"

"Mo-om! Isaac has a toy at the table!"

And my personal favorite... "Mo-om! Tessa is sleeping during her wake time!"

Oh brother. That is a developing trait that I want to squash pronto. I appreciate him being my informant at certain times, but I've got to scale it back as it is over the top.

2. To counter that somewhat negative point about my firstborn's current tendencies, I walked into the living room the other day to find him on the floor with a pile of dinosaur books. Apparently he was looking for specific information, because he opened the right book and declared, "Finally! Alphabetical order!" Thank you, Dinosaur Encyclopedia.

3. We're planning to finish Mockingjay tonight (book three of the Hunger Games trilogy.) The momentum stalled out a bit this week due to return to normal life, and possibly a bit to the fractured relationship between Garrett and the main character. That's right, Katniss has fallen out of favor with my husband due to her emotional instability and inability to be objective in the face of a world war. I told him that's what happens when the book is narrated by a 17 year-old girl. We agreed he should steer away from such books in the future. Planning to finish the book tonight. (On that subject, thanks so much for the affirmation from you readers that we are, in fact, huge nerds. Such encouragement.)

4. On a similar note, I will be glad when we are done with the book. I have a developing theory that reading is like eating, and people have different appetites. When it comes to reading, I prefer to devour it all at once. I don't want to read a chapter a night; I want to skip sleep for one night and just be done with it. Obviously this isnt' extremely practical for this phase of life (but I'm not sleeping a whole lot anyways so...why not?) I guess I'm not sure what the other reading appetites would be- slow and steady? A little bit three times a day? The chronic snacker?

5. We're in the thick of it around here, folks, I'm not gonna lie. Between returning from our trip, trying to catch up on laundry, housework, and homeschool (the beauty of homeschooling is that you move at your own pace, right? That benefit is somewhat lost with the joining of our homeschool community, who plowed on ahead without us. The nerve...), it ain't pretty. I feel like I'm barely staying afloat. I was telling some friends last night that I feel like I'm running hard on a treadmill, and I'm just barely able to keep from being tossed off the back of it. Such a discouraging feeling: to give all your efforts so that you can barely go nowhere. Sheesh. I know that this, too, shall pass. At some point we'll find a rhythm and the baby will sleep more predictably and the two-year old will turn three and this homeschool business won't seem so monumental each day. But in the midst of it we laugh a lot and find that God gives us plenty of grace for each day. So that is us, in a nutshell; just a bunch of nuts, actually.

I guess that is 5. Looking forward to reading with the hubby, Super Duper Family Night tomorrow evening (also known as "Us and Neighbors Storm Taco Bell"), and being with our community on Sunday. This fall weather creeping in is tres fabuloso!

And it's football season. Any football fans out there? I won't tell you what is propped up in our dining room or all you Husker fans would raid the house and burn it. Don't judge- it's complicated.

Guess that's it. See you in the funny papers...

til death do us fight

2011-09-06T15:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday during our road trip back from Colorado we made an emergency Walmart stop. This, in itself, is not really newsworthy as those kinds of stops are fairly routine when travelling with kids. But unlike other stops- the ones to grab diapers, tums, baby Tylenol-, this was more of a pre-kid stop.

I rushed into the store and scanned for the right section. Hurriedly I jetted around, partially because we only had one hour until Tessa needed to eat and partially because I was excited to find it. I found the right section...the right shelf...and there it was! I let out a small shriek and then look around embarrassed. I grabbed it and forced myself to walk calmly to the check-out.

Once outside, I held up the bag in victory and could see Garrett raise both fists and holler in the driver seat of the van. Wow, I thought, we are big nerds. I hopped in the front seat of the van, tossed a round of fruit snacks to the ankle biters, and unwrapped our new treasure- the last book in the Hunger Games series. Just a few exits back we had finished book 2, but with a few hours left on our drive, we were anxious to dive into book 3. In those remaining few hours, we conquered four or five chapters, finishing the drive while reading to the light of the cell phone shining on the pages. We pulled into home and both sighed.

There was something so fun about reading those books together, something that brings up feelings that were more present before the kids started arriving, more common when marriage was new and this partnership was still finding its way.

Nine years into this deal, this covenant made before God and man, I am still surprised by how hard it is to stay connected. I mean, if I can practically read this man's thoughts, anticipate his jokes, and finish his sentences, why can't I so effortlessly stay tuned into the status of us? Why are we so often victims of the drift?

The drift is the only way I can think to describe it. It is not a decision to be apart, not a conscious effort to not be close, it is a subtle drift that carries us quietly and gently in opposite directions.

What is the solution? To fight. Fight often, fight long, fight until you win.

You have to fight your own selfishness that wants to see all hours past kiddos' bedtime as "me time".

You have to fight the lie that, at the end of the day, you simply don't have anything left for that person.

You have to fight to think the best when communication is choppy.

You have to fight your own ugly heart that wants you to feel like the victim, the one doing all the work, the one who should be served instead of serving.

You have to fight to find things that you enjoy doing together.

You have to fight a bad attitude when things don't go as you planned.

You have to fight to connect, to relate, to listen, to support, to pray, to encourage, to serve.

The stakes are high and the price is costly. But marriage, like anything organic and growing, doesn't thrive best when left alone to nurture itself.

So in light of all that...til death do us fight!

a wedding day quick 5

2011-09-03T06:47:00.000-05:00

Early morning greetings from beautiful Colorado! We are bunkered down in a two room cabin at beautiful Ponderosa and all geared up for today's wedding festivities. Tessa and I are just enjoying the lovely morning hour of 5:00 a.m., the time of day we prefer to spend our quality time together. Now that she is dozing off, I can't help but do the quick 5. Here we go!

1. We love road trips. We really do. Even with four kids, 6 and under, I had a great time driving from Omaha to Ponderosa (located just north of Colorado Springs). There are several keys to road trip to success for our family. 1- good snacks. 2- no schedule. Seriously- if I feel pressure to be there by a certain time, I get all wigged out. Instead, we just meander and take our time. 3- make the best of stops. Since Tessa eats every three hours, we stop for about 45 minutes and feed her, do diaper changes and potty breaks, and then Garrett chases the kids around for awhile. They love it. Not only does it expend energy, they get back in the car all breathless and happy. 4- friends who offer you their DVD players. Woah. Awesome. 5- A good book for me to read to Garrett as we travel. Which brings me to...

2. We read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins on the way out here. I'm into it. Like way into it. We actually finished it yesterday and started the sequel, Catching Fire, after bedtime last night. I want to write on and on about the story but I am afraid that I will ruin it if you have not read it and plan to. Because you should (read it, I mean, not just plan to.) Something about the story has been almost addictive, I find it running through my head when I am just sitting around. Read it, people. (Also you can follow me on twitter under the name "IheartPeeta." Just kidding, though I am considering both Katniss and Peeta as names for future children...that we aren't really planning to have but you never know. Still kidding- about the names, not the kid planning part)

3. I had a moment of postpartum ~~craziness~~ clarity as we prepared for the trip. It was tricky to get ready, particularly because Garrett worked full days and late evenings for the three days before we left. This meant that all pre-trip errands had to be tackled with kids in tow. On Tuesday night, after running to the store and picking up the DVD players from the aforementioned awesome friends, I realized that one of the last things on my list was getting my hair trimmed. What the heck, I thought. I stopped in at our local hair place where Garrett goes, and addressed the lady at the desk. "I know this is crazy, but I'd really like to get my hair cut but I have all my kids with me. Is that ok?" She thought it was an excellent idea. Really, she is the hero of this story, cracking up at how the kids played and laughed and squealed as she trimmed away at my split ends. She was quite patient with Ella who asked every four minutes if she could have a lollipop now. She laughes at ISaac's ~~genius~~ harebrained idea that he could put Ella in a barber chair, pump it fast, and it might launch her up to the ceiling. Fortunately this plan was stopped in the early stages. Twenty minutes after entering, we left. It was nuts. But it worked. I guess the revelation was to not be afraid to try new things with the kids, and to recognize that those new things can be a fun experience (or near disaster) for us all.

4. Yesterday we were chatting with Grandpa Ed (Garrett's grandpa) and Drew asked him how old he is. Grandpa replied he is 78. "Wow, almost a century," remarked Drew. Thankfully, Grandpa Ed thought that was very funny.

5. So today is the wedding day. Garrett's brother, Chad (referred to in our family as C-Diddy) is marrying Jenna and they invited five of their nieces and nephews (ages 6,4,3,2 and 2) to join the wedding. Yesterday's rehearsal went great and will hopefully lead to a smooth wedding debut for our kiddos (yes- my three oldest are all in there). It occurred to us (me and my sister-in-law, Shelbie, who is the mother of the other kids) that we would have our hands full today since our husbands are both in the wedding- and will be attending to their wedding duties at 11:00. Which leaves the two of us to feed,nap, dress, transport, and corral the wedding kids (and we each have a baby), and somewhere in their get ourselves ready- and have us all in place at 2:40! What a day! Our plan includes strategic meal times, early naps, and a lot of fruit snacks at the actual wedding site. Wish us luck!

There is a storm howling outside and my I-man just wandered out. Off to take my station and get this day going. Hope your Labor Day weekend is festive.

quick 5

2011-08-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Well, the quick 5 has survived another week- and what a week it has been! Back to school around here, which has a whole different connotation when you are a homeschool family. But we survived and learned a few things along the way (one being that my children and I are hopelessly fallen and in need of grace from above and each other!)

On to the five...

1. School days...

Here's my little crowd all geared up to head to our first day of meeting with our homeschool community,a Classical Conversations group. It was a bit of a rough start (hurried morning, Ella had different opinions about being in the nursery, I forgot to take any pain meds, etc.) but in the end it came out ok. "I love my school," Drew sighed on the way home. I hope to write more about that community and how it all progresses as we get into it.

2. With the start of the homeschool group (which meets one morning each week), we started doing our actual daily homeschool as well. What words can I use to describe those first few days? Debacle. Battle of wills. Train wreck. It's been a process of getting back into that routine but today was better and tomorrow will be great! (that's a little positive thinking- even if it's not great, it will be Friday!)

Ella working on an activity

Isaac lacing beads

3. Ella's two favorite words:

NEW SHOES

4. Yesterday we were driving on the highway during rush hour and traffic was pretty congested. I glance at the SUV next to me and this lady is texting away, barely looking at the road. I pointed this out to Garrett, who then HONKED at her! She glanced over, and he gave her a friendly scolding face and shook his finger. She looked sheepish, kind of laughed, stashed the phone in her purse, and drove off. I was cracking up. Only my husband would actually confront a stranger in the middle of rush hour...

5. Tessa would like to say this:

Yep, that's still pretty much her deal. Super sleeper. The last two nights she has gone eight hours in the night between feedings, solidifying her status as My Favorite Child (don't tell the others). She has gained a pound per week since leaving the hospital! She eats. She sleeps. She sits still for pictures. What's not to love?

Well- I have to go. Partially because Miss Sleepy Head wants to eat and partially because I just started a good book and really want to finish it tonight. I'm reading Louis Lamour's Last of the Breed- a book exchange score from my friend, Jennie. I've never ready anything by this author before but since last night, I'm a fan. And I may need to finish it tonight, so we'd better wrap this up.

Happy weekend!

in the calm of the psalms

2011-08-23T21:03:00.002-05:00

I feel like I should start with an apology, or some sort of halfhearted explanation of the silence on here these last few weeks. I've been busy...kind of. I'm tired...obviously. I am generally uninspired...totally.

Recently a friend was explaining how he had just received a new hearing aid, one that allowed him to hear out of one of his ears that had been totally deaf since childhood. The world sounded quite different, which he anticipated, and also gave him a terrible headache, which he did not anticipate.The doctor explained that it would take awhile for his brain to become used to processing all of that new information. In a similar way, I feel like I am 'waking' to the reality of my house, a reality which I have been numb to for several months ever since the "decreased activity" order was issued by my doctor in early June. And now as I wake up to reality and begin to feel more capable, my mind is overwhelmed by the information. Every room in my house needs attention; some are in need of a serious intervention. I find myself wanting to go fifteen directions at once, but then end up doing nothing because it feels so futile in light of all that needs to be done. And I'd rather eat a cookie and watch reruns of 'The Office'. Sheesh.

I know that I won't live this way forever, but I ask myself, "Do I really need to live this way right now?"

Lately I have been encouraged by the Psalms. A few weeks back I read this verse:

"Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right." Psalm 106:3

Constantly do what is right. Isn't that a noble goal for how to live your life? It really made me think about what I am teaching my kids, and how I slip into giving them other reasons for obeying God.

Pragmatic- "If you act like that, people won't want to be your friend."

Emotional manipulation- "It makes mommy sad when you say that." (which only works on my firstborn, by the way)

Empathy- "How would you feel if someone did that to you?"

These are not all bad in themselves, but it places the emphasis of our choices on how they do or would affect us.

Instead, I want to raise kids who act a certain way or say/don't say things because it's the right thing to do. Simply that and nothing more.

I read a story last year about Henri Nouwen (widely respected author and priest) meeting Mother Teresa. He asked her for guidance in following Christ and leading his flock. She told him to spend one hour each day in adoration of Christ, and never do anything you know is wrong.

Love Jesus. Do the right thing. Sounds like a good way to simplify life.

Maybe it seems too simple, because we've made parenting (and following Jesus in general) to be such a complex task. But if I could look at Drew at 18 and be convinced that he loves Jesus and is committed to do what is right, I think that would be enough. Heck, if I could look in the mirror and feel like I was really loving Jesus and committed to do the right thing, I think that would be enough.

Another verse that I just read tonight is this:

"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you." Psalm 116:7

So true.

And this:

"How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?" Psalm 116:12

I'm not sure how to repay Him; in fact, I guess the point is that I can never repay him. But I can live in gratitude and thankfulness for His great love.

And somewhere in all of that truth I think I will find rest for my soul and the desire to do what is right.

Well, baby is stirring and I need to move on to phase 3 of bedtimes. (Phase 1- Spank the princess, Phase 2- Settle the ruffians, Phase 3- Feed the baby and pray that she will go down fast.)

So good night out there, friends. It's nice to feel a moment of clarity, where something to say and time to say it actually intersect. It's amazing how clarifying a small dose of truth can be in the midst of a sleepy state.

Wherever you are at, I hope you will hold to Jesus in the midst of it.

quick 5

2011-08-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

Another week heads to a close and Friday is upon us. Funny how "Friday" has such a different connotation to it when you are a kid...or a student...or working full-time...or anything else that is not basically the same amount of work on the weekend. Still, here's to Fridays!

1. There is still great love for the new baby around here. Isaac in particular continues to be enamored with our little Tessa. Today he leaned over her carseat, took a big whiff, and sighed, "She smells like cheese." He said it with a smile, as if it was a great compliment.

2. One more week until school starts. Everyone else around here is stoked. I am ~~stressed~~ reticent ("Oh yes, I am reticent!"). That whole idea of getting us all up, dressed, moving and on task in our different areas, not to mention some serious prep and organizing that needs to happen to get ready. I think we are all looking forward to a new routine and some better patterns to our day; so I can get excited about that.

3. Sleepy Tessa continues to live up to her reputation; she dozed through her entire two week check-up today. The doctor literally had to pry her eyes open and shine the light in them! My friend commented that maybe Tessa would have a laid back personality like Drew, and we would have two "book-ends" that were very easy and manageable (with Thing 1 and Thing 2 living it up as our middle kids). Bless her for thinking that. A girl can dream...

4. I've been trying to read in the Psalms lately. I think the Psalms are the perfect postpartum reading- they are so up and down: rejoicing one minute, calling down vengeance the next. I can relate. I have been struck by this verse, Psalm 107:43:

"Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord. "

What would it be like to truly sit and "consider the great love of the Lord"? In the context of the passage, the author is giving an overview of all of Israel's history, and then that final verse is a challenge to see how God has acted in such love towards them . I think any reflection over the last days and months could be seen in this light- considering how loving and gracious God has been to our little family. I challenge you to look back at the last few months of your life and consider how God's great love has been evident and gracious to spare and guide you.

5. I hate to bring it up. I thought we had survived this whole pregnancy without it. There would be no posts lamenting, no "woe is me" on the subject, just a total absence. But they arrived. Postpartum. Can't blame them for being late, just sorry they showed up at all. That's right- talking about the cankles. I managed to evade any swelling despite the heat and late pregnancy. And then suddenly this week I was making banana bread and I looked down and realized that my ankles were gone. Just gone. No bones sticking out. The cankles had arrived. I have been drinking tons of water, elevating the feet, massaging- but to no avail. I think they are here for a little visit and will not be coaxed away so soon. So I guess we'll see.

Think that's it. Kind of rushing because I want to get ready for bed before the 10:30 feeding. I try to be asleep before the baby is into her bed. Well, not quite that fast, but ASAP once she settles for the night.

Just like to send a shot out to my dad who is in the Far East this week.

Also- one more shout out to my niece, Miss Fiona, who is now a full-fledged one year old.

And to baby Oliver in CO- welcome to the world!

Guess that's it. TTFN.

thoughts from the postpartum fog

2011-08-07T22:01:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday night.

The good news: Today our sweet and sleepy Tessa is one week old!

The bad news: She grows less sleepy and will soon be a regular baby who will have to be coaxed to sleep.

More good news: Garrett took the last week off of work so that he could be with me in the hospital, help the kiddos transition home, and then take care of them for a few days as I recoup.

More bad news: He returns to work tomorrow. <sigh>

I am vacillating between discouragement and slightly hopeful as I look ahead to a week where the pace picks up and the percocet runs dry. I wouldn't say I have the "baby blues" (as some describe postpartum depression), but I would definitely agree that there are some "grey" moments here and there. Breastfeeding is always a little trickier (and more painful) than I recall. Recovering from a c-section is a slow process. And life around pushes ahead at full speed. So here we go.

Here are some shots of life around here...

This is the only picture of the kiddos together that I have managed so far. I know...not so hot. It is very tricky to get all four to even sit still, let alone smile. Working on that this week...

This is a common scene around here- Isaac stopping to kiss, chat, rock, or just look at the baby. He really is so sweet with her and often says, "I very like our baby!" Consequently, he is having a hard time remembering her name. The first few days he called her "PJ". Then, after watching the movie Madagascar, he told our neighbor that the baby was named "Fossa" (type of animal in the movie). Yesterday Isaac was rocking Tessa while she slept and then called out, "What's the baby's name again?" It will stick eventually =)

Nothing like a new baby to make your other kids seem all grown up. It's hard to believe that there is only two years between this...

and this...

This picture pretty much sums up Tessa's personality so far: sleepy. I wake her for almost every feeding, even in the night! I know that the next week will change that but she sure is a snoozer right now.

And just a few other favorite pictures...

And last but not least...

7 Signs you might be one week postpartum:

1- Your 4 year old keeps asking to use the breast pump because he is fairly sure there is milk to be pumped from his belly button.

2. After lots of quality time with dad, directions like "Come on kids, let's go." have been replaced with "Avengers, assemble!" (This is due to the shared appreciation of the superhero cartoon, The Avengers. Even Ella is now a fan, her personal fav being The Hulk. "Hulk smash bad guys in the face!" she says enthusiastically. Sheesh.)

3. You think three hours of continuous sleep is insanely refreshing.

4. The question is not "What time is it?" but "How long until the baby eats again?"

5. When your kid stubs a toe, you ask them to rate their pain on a scale from 1 to 10. (Seriously, hospitals are really into that nowadays.)

6. Showering feels like an accomplishment.

7. You son asks if there is a new baby growing in your stomach. No? he says surprised.

Guess that's all for tonight. I feel so of touch with lots of folks but I know it's just one of those times. Thanks for all the prayers for the safe delivery and our transition home.

Good night.

a pre-baby quick 5

2011-08-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

I wrote this quick 5 over a week ago, and then did not post due to internet issues and a suprise trip to the hospital. I debated if I should post it but, what the heck, it's written and ready. So here it is....

It's one of those diasppointing weeks where I go to do the quick 5 and realize that last week's quick 5 is still the most current post. Sheesh. Not that there aren't a myriad of other things to read on the internet, but you'd think I would have something to say between then and now. But c'est la vie.

1. Today I took the kids to the playplace at Burger King. This is superior to the outdoor playground experience because 1) it is indoors 2) it has Diet Coke and 3) it is sanitized regularly...in theory, I guess. So there we were on this rainy morning. I started chatting with a grandma who had her two grandkids there. She commented on the fact that I am expecting #4, a rarity these days, as she put it. Being a mom of five herself, she said she often encourages her daughters that five is really not more work than three- and in fact it makes many character lessons easier. I thought this line of thought was interesting, and comforting, of course, as we stand on the edge of #4 arriving (and still unsure if #4 will be the grand finale...or just one of the middle guys =)! ). "Three kids is the new five," she said. An interesting take.

2. The kids have taken to talking a lot to the baby in utero. Mostly there is a compelling, "Please come out!" that they say repeatedly. Ella, in her typical two-year old princess way of seeing the world, had a very persuasive argument for why the baby should come out. This week she firmly told my stomach, "Come out and you will get to see me!" Oh, brother...

3. I haven't really read a summer novel this year. I think summer is always a great time to read something big and long that can last through the late light hours. The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Les Miserables were both summer reading when I was in college. Is it too late for this summer? Any one have an epic suggestion? I think with late night nursing on the horizon, I may have time yet.

4. Today I was getting some baby gear ready in what was really the final phase of baby prep. I had left my breast pump on the counter and then Drew wandered in. He picked up the pump and was certain it had some sort of gun-like quality to it. "What does it do?" he asked. I tried to tactfully explain, and his face went from confused to understanding to grossed out. Already I am sensing a difference in newborn life with an older boy. A four year old thinks, "Cool...my mom can make milk." Apparently a six year old thinks, "Ew...my mom can make milk." We'll see how all this plays out.

5. There is something about waiting that is so hard for the soul. This is true when waiting for anything, but seems to be very true of waiting for a baby. It's the unexpectedness, the not-knowing-when, the unsure-how-it-will-all-play-out that makes it feel like the days drag by. I was encouraged recently to practice surrender, to remember that the baby's arrival is not the finish line but the beginning of a new journey that will in itself have new challenges. So true. I feel like the wisdom of that perspective has relaxed me and caused me to look less to my doctor for answers and to rest in the knowledge that the Lord knows when she will come. (Consequently, I have told the Lord that if He wants my input this weekend would be very good timing for several reasons. So if you would join me in praying for that, I'd appreciate it!)

welcome tessa

2011-08-02T21:31:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in a cool, dimly lit hospital room with just the sound of pandora playing and the baby sniffing in the background. The baby. Yes, she is here.

Saturday night we made a trip up to Labor and Delivery that resulted in a c-section (which was previously scheduled- once it was decided I was in labor then the pre-op stuff started) and a new baby. The baby. Yes, she is here.

What followed was a foggy day of morphine, low hemoglobin, and a general fuzziness- thus it was agreed that we would not even try to name the baby until Monday. The baby. Yes, she is here.

Tessa Jo.

She seems so small compared to our others, though at 7 lbs. 14 oz, she is a pretty good-sized 37 week old.

Ella calls her "Baby Fessa". Isaac calls her "PJ" (a lingering confusion from when I said he could call her TJ.) Drew calls her just plain, 'ol Tessa.

I thought that in the quiet of tonight I would write and think and expand on this new journey of being a mom again. But now that we are here- you, me, pandora, and my water bottle- I kind of just want to go to sleep. Or turn on the TV. Or order another cinnamon roll.

So I will save those deep thoughts for another night when it is not all so fresh and the percocet not quite so present.

Thank you all for your prayers and congratulations over the last few days. We are so thrilled and grateful to God for the safe arrival of this baby. Tomorrow Tess and I will join the rest of the family at home.

More to come. Good night.

quick 5

2011-07-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

Let's cut to the chase:

1. My sources report (or more specifically, my dad who reads the Wall Street Journal said) that Borders stores have gone bankrupt and are closing in the next two months. Another source (the homeschool mom's e-mail network) said that the liquidation sale will actually begin tomorrow. I'm kind of bummed about this news. I like Borders, and I like that Barnes and Noble isn't the only mega-bookstore. But I feel a little guilt that I have contributed to this reality based on all the time I have spent reading books in Borders and not buying a thing. I would like to own up to my part in this. Officially. Sorry about that, Borders. (I'll try to make up for it by checking out this liquidation sale...or is that just wrong?)

2. We have a new board game called The Dinosaur Game that was given to Drew. He has taken to it, and the boys have all enjoyed playing it together the last few weeks. As I was helping Drew understand the stats on each dinosaur's card, I came to the phrase "Rate of Reproduction". I explained that it meant how often a species has babies. Drew then inquired, "Mom, what is your rate of reproduction?" And I answered, "Lately, about every two years." He made the thinking face and nodded. Not sure what he thought of that, but if tells you that his mom eats like a stegosaurus but reproduces like a protoceratops, you'll know what he's talking about.

3. I just started reading The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. Wow. Really diggin' it and I'm just through the intro. Anyone else reading something good?

4. Garrett and I started watching the TV show Ramsay's Best Restuarant on Netflix. In the show, Gordon Ramsay (infamous chef who reams people on Kitchen Nightmares) is on the hunt for the best restaurant in Great Britain. Each week there is a theme (Italian, Indian, Chinese...) and two restaurants go head-to-head for a slot in the semi-finals of the show. The funny thing about how all this is playing out is that we usually watch it around 9:00 at night. And due to having a lot of contractions from 4:00-8:00, I don't eat a lot of dinner. And then I sit and watch these amazing chefs and suddenly I am starving for curry...or roasted garlic...or stir-fry, depending on the episode. It sounds comical, but it's bad. This morning when I asked Garrett if he wanted breakfast, he replied, "Not unless you're fixing kobe beef." And I sincerely wished I was. =) But it really is a fun show and gives an interesting look at what it takes to run an excellent restaurant.

5. Last weekend our air conditioner went out. No big deal...except that it was 105 outside. My husband was so good to approach the situation with grace and reality. It's hot. People all over the world are hot. We will do what we can. We can trust God to take care of us. I'm thankful for a level-headed husband, and for an AC that is now back up and running. But more thankful for the husband, and that is saying something.

Congratulations to the new babies that have arrived to our friends this week- Baby Levi here in Omaha and Baby Lucy up in Wisconsin! So happy for both families. Our own little lady is scheduled to make her appearance on August 5- if not sooner. At times we think she is planning an early entrance...but then she psyches us out. So I'm trying to keep my mind on the August date and not have the "she could come any day" mentality- which is technically true but hard to live in with grace.

Guess that's it. Happy Friday.

robo-party

2011-07-21T22:05:00.001-05:00

Thanks to What's New, Cupcake?, the theme of Isaac's birthday party was robots. Instead of basing a cake on the theme, Isaac prefers to base a party on a particular cupcake creation from the aforementioned publication. Last year- race cars. This year- robots. Next year- rubber duckies (or so he has declared so far). The robot theme turned out to be a lot of fun, thanks to the fact that a) it was one of the easiest cupcakes I've done b) Garrett came up with the games that fit the robot theme and c) Grandma had the great idea to use Transformer themed decor. Ah....all coming together. Here's some pics of the big event.

Robocups

This picture of Isaac studying the cupcakes is classic. Because he has invested a lot of time reading the cupcake book, he is a tough audience. His first response to me was that the panel on the front was wrong (which was true- I did not purchase all seven kinds of candy but improvised with M &M's and gummy lifesavers.) But after that was out of the way, he gave it a thumbs up.

Let the games begin. In this game the kids were "fishing" for things out of this big tub. It was a hit. "Pretty much the best game of the party," Drew commented later.

Birthday boy

Grandpa helping out

Time for cake (what a smile!)

Ella needed her picture taken with the cake as well.

Diggin' in

Isaac admiring his new bike (the bike is a funny story. Grandma had been asking Isaac for the last month what he wanted for his birthday. Two weeks ago he saw this bike in Walmart and asked for my phone so he could call grandma. He called her and told her about it while we checked out. Then he hung up, handed me the phone and said, "It's under control." Sheesh...guess he was right!)

Turning into robots- tested the skill of the parents and the patience of the kids!

Grandma with Robo-Ella and my sweet niece, Fiona

Aunt Sarah getting Drew geared up

Our neighbor, Veronica, crafting a shield (The whole robot theme took a slight 'knights in armor' bend as weapons were added)

Cutest robot-that-looks-like-a-knight ever!

And there you have it. Happy kids. Happy times. Happy birthday for our 4-year old.

Two things strike me as I look back at these pics. 1) We sure missed my friend who has been the party photographer for us through the last few birthday seasons. Oh, man. 2) It is such a blessing to be surrounded by people who we enjoy and love. I am thankful for everyone who came to celebrate Isaac. I am thankful that some of our favorite people in the world live right next store and have kids in the same general years as ours. It's so easy to just get used to that and not appreciate it until someone moves away (which we have threatened to sabotage on every level should they ever try to sell their home. Don't worry- the threats are serious but mutual.)

As I planned the party, I kind of felt bad that we weren't inviting as many people and "doing" as many big things. But you realize that so much of that stuff is for you and not the kids. In the end, Isaac had a ball and the whole thing was much more manageable than if we had gone all out. So let the simple things stay simple.

Party on.

quick 5

2011-07-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

Can you believe we are half way through July? How is it that the summer can feel so fast yet this pregnancy feels so long? Just one of those contradictions of life, I suppose.

1. Today is I-man's birthday. Happy Birthday, Isaac! I was laughing last night as I watched Garrett play with the kids after dinner. Garrett was pretending to be a shark and the kids were trying to wrestle, tame, ride and avoid being eaten. At one point, Drew "sedated" the shark so that they could move it to a tank. When the shark woke unexpectedly, I laughed at the boys' different reactions: Drew dove onto the couch and Isaac dove onto the shark!

2. I would like to congratulate my 2-year old on potty-training herself this week. I never would have endeavored it so early (just turned 2) but Ella was determined. All it took to push her over the edge was the knowledge that if she pottied in the toilet she would get an M&M. She has been dry ever since. Sheesh.

3. Speaking of the feisty thirdborn, she was up a lot on Tuesday night. I don't remember what woke her, but between 2 and 3 a.m. she kept coming into our room with various problems (I'm cold, I'm hot, tummy hurts, need pants, where's bear?, etc.) At one point I laid in bed and I was trying to think about how to articulate to her that it is not OK for her to just get out of bed. In my mind I formulated, "Now it is night. Night is not a time for play. Night is a time for sleep." Pretty clear way to say it, I thought, proud of how coherent I could be in my sleep-deprived state. But then my thoughts kept going, "The dogs go to sleep. They will sleep all night." And I realized that entire train of thought was actually quoting Go Dog Go. So much for coherent.

4. Gearing up for a birthday party this weekend. Isaac tried to pull a fast one on me, like he did last year (a week out he changed from the animal party to the race car party!) Yesterday at breakfast he declared his intentions of cancelling the robot party because he wanted a castle party. Truth be told, I would have been open to the substitution if a) the castle cake looked easier than the robot cake and b) decor was not already purchased. Since neither of those were true, the robot party lives on.

5. 35 weeks pregnant. I've reached that point of the pregnancy where you feel like you've come so far but there is still so far to go. The pile of "clothes that did fit" has far outgrown the other pile "clothes that do fit" and the third pile "clothes to grow into" no longer exists. Sometimes Ella will pull up the hem of my shirt to peek at my stomach and whisper, "COME OUT!" (Yes- she is already bossing the baby around in utero.) But I resonate with the desire to just meet this little one and wrap up the pregnancy. Patience...

Guess that's all. Kind of quiet around here as we lay low to fight off contractions and sharks and other things that threaten the living room. Hope you and yours are delighting in summer.

adventuring

2011-07-13T10:41:00.000-05:00

Kiddos are headed out to the backyard on an adventure.

Hats? Check.

Messenger bags? Check.

Snack packs (animal crackers, a cookie, and two large marshmallows)? Check.

Kabob skewers? (to roast their marshmallows once they settle for the night) Check.

Library card? (it's an Ella thing) Check.

And they're off...