Kevin and Amy's World

2011 in Books

2012-01-24T20:45:00.007-05:00

2011 was a great year in books, with a few exceptions. Here are my top 11 favorites:

Still Alice (Genova) - This was the first book I read this past year and my favorite novel. It was a page-turner and very thought-provoking. The novel is about a woman who gets early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The interesting thing about the book is that it is written in the first person. So, as the disease progresses, you are trying to piece together exactly what is happening using the words and gestures of others. As you read, you get a little muddled and disoriented, right along with Alice, but without being confused about the plot. It was expertly written and had wonderful themes. I insisted that Kevin read it so I could discuss it with him and he enjoyed it as well.

Pure Pleasure (Thomas) – This book gave me more to think about that pretty much any other Christian “sermon type” book I have ever read. In fact, while reading a lot of other books this year, I have thought back to Pure Pleasure in order to help me balance out some truths I have been wrestling with. The premise of this book is that Christians often lump sin/pleasure in one category and duty/holiness in another category. This is wrongful thinking. God is the author of pleasure and He delights to bless His children and give them good gifts from His hand. Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective, but this book made me more worshipful and more grateful.

Choosing to SEE (Chapman) – This book made my top list because it really struck a chord with me. I really appreciate people who are transparent and sincere. Chapman falls squarely into that category as she bares her heart and shares how God used tragedy in her life to shape and mold her to be more like Him.

When Helping Hurts (Corbett) – This is a book about alleviating poverty, both at home and abroad. This book was excellent and gave me a new perspective. It changed the way I think about trying to help people and get to the root of the problems faced by different cultures. The book differentiates between relief, rehabilitation, and development ministries and provides insight into when certain types of aid are more needed than others. 90% of American efforts are focused on relief ministry because it’s easy and quick and we can pat ourselves on the back and instantly feeling good about ourselves (and it’s easy to measure when giving a report to donors), when that is probably only 10% of the need here in the United States. There was also a very interesting chapter on short term mission trips.

Lone Survivor (Luttrell) – This is the mesmerizing true story of a member of Navy Seal Team 10 who was the lone survivor after a surprise attack by insurgents in Afghanistan. Luttrell has an incredible story, starting with his Seal training, his friendships with his fellow troops, the attack, and his subsequent fight for survival, and rescue by U.S. forces. This memoir is gripping and made me very proud of our men fighting overseas, and very proud to be an American.

The Glass Castle (Walls) – This was one of the most interesting memoirs I have ever read. Walls is a masterful storyteller. And to top it off, she has a fascinating story to share. The book had a wonderful hook at the beginning. Walls starts off describing herself as riding in a NYC taxicab, going to a party, and wondering if she is over-dressed for the occasion. Then, through the cab window, she sees a homeless woman digging in a trash can. Suddenly she realizes it’s her mom! This book stirred conflicted feelings within me. You have heard of the phrase “white trash,” but Walls was raised in that kind of family. At times, I felt that her parents really did love their children and they were doing the best they could. At other times, I felt like they were outright neglectful or worse. This book is fascinating and I loved it. Walls is a remarkable young woman.

Sacred Marriage (Thomas) –This is the best book on marriage I have ever read. It focuses more on marriage making you holy, as opposed to marriage making you fulfilled and happy. This book is uncompromisingly biblical and very insightful. Words are not minced. I was convicted by reading this book and also encouraged. Thomas has become one of my favorite Christian authors. This is a book I will read again.

The Case for Christ (Strobel) –I can’t believe I have had this book on my shelf for ten years and finally just read it this year. (This is why I am glad I have an accountability partner for reading these types of books!) I am really glad I finally gave this book a chance. Lobel was a hard-nosed Chicago reporter, who covered high-profile criminal trials for the Chicago Tribune. One day his wife came home and announced she had become a Christian. His world went spinning and he resented her decision. Then he decided he would at least look into Christianity, investigating it as he would any case. The book chronicles his journey from being a skeptic to becoming a believer himself. It forced me to delve into alleged controversies surrounding the Gospels and grapple with the underlying issues of my faith. In the end, my faith was greatly encouraged and strengthened. I appreciated how Lobel listed numerous books for further study after each chapter.

Oliver Twist (Dickens) –This is such beautiful and moving literature. Of all the classics I read this year, this was one of my favorites. Dickens does such a great job describing evil and filth but then contrasting it with descriptions of love and innocence.

Jane Eyre (Bronte) – Jane Eyre just might be my favorite book ever. I was completely moved by this story. This was the second time I have read it and it was way better the second time around. I think there is no better description of true love than in the final passages of this book.

Half Broke Horses (Walls) – Again, Walls did not disappoint. After reading about her childhood story, I wanted to read more! This book was about her grandmother, who broke horses on a ranch in Arizona, moved east, became a teacher, became a pilot, and lived a life full of grit, determination, and adventure. I loved this book.

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Here are the rest!

When the Cradle is Empty (van Regenmorter) – This book is about coping with (or helping a friend cope with) the emotional affects of infertility. A MOPS speaker visited our group and spoke on this topic. I read it because I was moved by her story and know a lot of people who have experienced infertility and second infertility.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Maguire) – I read this for another book club, that I shortly thereafter quit. You can only do so many book clubs, you know! It had some interesting themes but I didn’t feel drawn toward any of the characters in particular.

The Hobbit (Tolkein) – Sorry, Tolkein fans. I have to confess that I was disappointed with this one. After about the fifth adventure I kept thinking, when is this book going to move on?

The Art of Conversation (Blyth) – This book was very British. The writing was very flowery. But, I confess, I do enjoy conversation for conversation’s sake, so this book was kind of fun.

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (Kesey) – Suddenly I realized I didn’t have any audio books lined up so I downloaded this one. I can see why it’s a classic. It was very interesting, as far as getting into the minds of a bunch of guys in an insane asylum can possibly be. Which is … not very. But there were some passages that were moving and I appreciated the themes of desiring freedom and individuality and fighting against a system that denies you those basic rights.

The Four-Hour Body (Ferriss) – Oh my word. This crazy book just goes to show you how peer pressure can get you to read anything. Some very passionate people used this diet and workout regimen (which I’m sure has been really great for a lot of people) and now many of the people in my circles, particularly my neighborhood, have attempted it. Here are a few things you need to know: 1) I hope you like to microwave eggs. 2) I hope you like cold showers. 3) The book chases some really odd rabbit trails. 4) The author is so full of himself, I could barely stand to read this book. Again … peer pressure is amazing.

The Well-Trained Mind (Bauer) – I re-read this book and really appreciate how practical it is. Also, there are so many people jumping onto the classical education bandwagon, it is good for me to keep reading to make sure I believe it is something that is helpful and right for my family and my kids. This is one of the best books on classical education, I think.

The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education (Bortins) – I thought this book also did a really great job of summarizing the rationale and goals of classical education, as well as giving a lot of practical helps. It’s a much shorter and less intimidating read than The Well-Trained Mind and is a good place to start for people who think they might be interested in classical education.

House of Sand and Fog (Dubus) – Wow, this book was good at times but depressing. This was another one I loaded onto the iPod when I was faced with the choice of doing dishes in silence or having my mind engaged and lost in a story. Actually, I think I listened to this one while I painted our living room.

Committed (Gilbert) – I read the very popular Eat, Pray, Love when it came out a few years ago and so I was interested to read this book on marriage by the same author. Wow. If you want to gain insight into the post-modern mind, this would be an excellent book to read. The author is truly likeable and conversational. While reading this book, I took a lot of notes. The author feels like women have had to give up too much, and bear too much of the load, and she blames marriage. She cites her grandmother as one example of someone who gave up too much for marriage. Despite her resistance to marriage, in the end, she comes to peace with marriage. But you still get the sense that she is only coming to terms with marriage because she “has to.” (Her significant other is a foreign citizen and is exported. He will only be allowed back into the country if she marries him.) I have a different perspective than the author but I thought this was an interesting read!

The Mission of Motherhood (Clarkson) – Contrasted with Gilbert (the author of Committed, above), Clarkson is someone who has lived out the biblical calling of motherhood, living a life of self-sacrifice, and she has reaped countless blessings as a result. This book was highly encouraging, especially since, because of the ages my kids are, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes. I have subscribed to Clarkson’s blog as a result of reading this book. I recommend it.

Cleaving (Powell) – Here is a confession. I almost don’t want to admit that I read this horrible book. If only I hadn’t been on a long road trip to Texas, and that was the only book left to read, I would have put it down. Just go to Amazon.com and read some of the reviews, if you don’t believe me. Powell is the author of the Julie and Julia memoir, that details her endeavor to cook through Julia Child’s The Art of French Cooking in one year. I thought I would give this subsequent memoir a try. Julie Powell ends up having an affair and then going to work in a butcher shop in upstate New York (but that is where the “cleaving” analogy ends). Before I read this book, I had never realized just how self-absorbed a person could be. I have never disliked an author or a book more than I have disliked this author and this book. I cannot believe how intentionally cruel she was to her husband. She expected him to tolerate anything and everything and wanted two men to simultaneously adore her. She is clearly the center of her world and her own happiness is her highest goal. At the end of the book she was completely unrepentant, lost both men, and was consumed with misery and aimlessness. Basically, folks, she needs Christ. When you make yourself the center of your life, and not Christ, this is a study of what can happen to anyone.

Catching Fire (Collins) – This is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I was surprised with how much I liked the first book and the subsequent two books were equally good. The author sets up these impossible scenarios and you wonder how anything is going to resolve itself. The characters are developed so nicely.

The Mocking Jay (Collins) – See above. The ending was entirely satisfactory. You can never have a perfectly happy ending with a plot like this one, but I thought it was a good and fitting one. I enjoyed this trilogy.

Don Quixote (Cervantes) – One of my most proud accomplishments this year was that I made it through Don Quixote. As a friend who read it with me said, “Anyone who survives reading Don Quixote with me, is a friend for life.” Some parts were really funny, though. I did laugh out loud a few times.

The Well-Educated Mind (Bauer) – This is a reading guide for the classics. It breaks books into specific genres and lists them chronologically. I am using it, with two girlfriends, to read through the classics. We figure it will take about three years, if we read one book a month, just to get through the novels genre!! Patience will pay off.

Her Daughter’s Dream (Rivers) – After complaining about this book, some friends told me that I need to give Rivers another try. The plot was unbelievable and the romantic scenes were really cheesy. Maybe I will give her another try … in 2037.

Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life (O’Kelly) – This is the memoir of a powerful CEO who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. A lot of this book was very inspiring. During the last months of his life, he tried to capitalize on “perfect moments” and write notes of gratefulness and live purposefully. He talks about focusing on what matters but I was seriously troubled that he spent so much time writing notes to old college roommates, etc. that he ended up running out of time to spend more quality time with his daughter. For example, he never was able to take the “dream trip” that he and his daughter had planned because he got too sick. Why was his daughter last on the list?

Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan) – I cannot believe I had never read this book and had only seen the cartoon. Shameful! This book was great and got better as the story progressed. I was completely moved by the scene where Christian arrives at the lake at the end and how God’s grace was sufficient for all of his life, his sorrows, and even his death. It was a powerful scene in literature.

The Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood) – This book was very interesting and also very disturbing, futuristic political science fiction, where women are forced to become breeders.

Gulliver’s Travels (Swift) – This was my least-favorite classic this year. I felt like it would probably appeal to third-grade boys pretty well. (Just in case you are reading this and you are a third-grade boy, no offense!) And the plot was extremely disjointed. But this book has been influential in culture and so I’m glad I read it, for that reason alone.

Sophie’s World (Gaarder) – I’m really glad I read this book because I learned a lot about philosophy (and I probably have forgotten a lot of it by now). It was interesting how the author wove in a fictional tale, and I thought the ending was very creative and thought-provoking.

Pride and Prejudice (Austen) – This book is always delightful. I love the dialogue in this book. It is a favorite and a candidate for “top books” as well.

The Elegant Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis (Adler) –After visiting Dallas, I wanted to read more about the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories. Well, this was as far as I got. It wasn’t really about the conspiracy but it was fun to read about Jackie.

Never Let Me Go (Ishaguro) –This book was well-written and intriguing but completely, absolutely depressing. I kept waiting for something good to happen but it never did. I realize that this book was making a point about creating life to destroy it for our own scientific purposes, and I agree with the point. But, it was very disturbing.

A Good Year (Mayle) –This book was delightful, light, and fun. I read A Year in Provence a few years ago and enjoyed it. It was enjoyable to be transported to Southern France and be immersed in descriptions of vineyards, good food, wine, and interesting characters.

The Secret Life of Bees (Kidd) –This book was a good one to iron shirts to, which is what I did. But it wasn’t a favorite. I was slightly bothered by all the idolatry and Mary worship. It is about a young girl who comes to terms with the fact that she was unloved as a child. There are a lot of bees in this book, by the way.

Chapter books I read to the kids:

This semester we read most of the American Girl “Meet [Insert Character’s Name]” and “Welcome to [Insert Character’s Name] World” books, because we are working our way through American history and Meredith and Clara are majorly into the American Girl craze right now.

We also read …

Farmer Boy (Wilder)
The Boxcar Children (Warner)
Five True Dog Stories (Davidson)
Charlotte’s Web (White)
The Lion Storytellter Bedtime Book (Hartman)
Stuart Little (White)
The Trumpet of the Swan (White)
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (MacDonald)
James and the Giant Peach (Dahl)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Dahl)

The kids’ favorites were The Boxcar Children (Meredith’s) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (Clara’s). My favorite was The Trumpet of the Swan!

Sophia is Two!

2012-01-24T20:14:00.003-05:00

Our sweet, feisty Sophia Joy turned two years old on January 21st.

Here she is with her favorite thing to "play" with (when we let her!). She points to it and cries, "Game!"

This cake is the first thing that came up when I googled "cakes for toddlers" or something like that and I thought it was just adorable. We didn't have the "Wilton Ball Pan" that is required for the recipe, so I just baked it in a bunch of glass bowls that we owned already and it turned out great! It's fun for me to be creative now and then and make this kind of stuff. And the kids go nuts and love it. :)

Happy birthday Sophia! We love you bunches and bunches.

Here Kevin is, encouraging Sophia to potty train. I say "more power to ya!" and I plan to wait at least until summer.

Opera for Kids

2012-01-16T10:39:00.003-05:00

We are always looking for ways to teach our kids to appreciate good music and good art! We heard about the Indianapolis Opera putting on a free concert for kids last Saturday and it was FABULOUS. The kids had so much fun (and we did too) and, of course, they loved the cookies and punch afterwards. What a great day at the opera. For those of you who live in the area, there will be another one on May 19 at the Basile Opera Center.

Before the opera began, the kids were invited to sit up front on the floor, which they loved.

The performance was about Jack and the Beanstalk and was hysterical. Some selections from Faust were performed, too.

We checked out a new pizza place in town afterwards. Don't you love the red and white checked tableclothes?

A New Semester ... and Waiting Out the Storm ...

2012-01-16T10:18:00.004-05:00

I have come to accept that the first few days (or maybe even longer) of a new semester of homeschooling is going to be rough. After a period of time being wild and free, the kids just don’t like being reined in and attention spans are not what they once were. I have learned to just stick it out and things will get better!

Once upon a time I wrote a blog post about homeschooling with preschoolers in tow. Everything I said in this post is true, IF your preschoooler is not one year old!!!! Last fall I was in a state of despair. Sophia’s favorite thing to do while I did school with her big sister was to make as big of a mess as possible (scattering mulch from the potted plants, smearing toothpaste, dumping all the clothes from the drawers, applying eyeliner to herself … you name it, she did it). She also interrupted constantly.

I asked advice from a homeschooling mom with ten kids who goes to our church. She said, “You have to realize that this will not last forever.” At the time, this was not the 10-step-plan that I was looking for. But, now that a few months have gone by, I realize how true this statement is. Things are infinitely better now. Sophia plays quietly. When I check on her, she is playing with things like dolls and books and not trying to open a packet of razor blades. Imagine that! Life is good.

Actually, all of motherhood seems like that. When one phase is hard, I have realized that, if I just hold on to the reins and try to stay on the bronco, things will eventually get better. Sometimes there are things you can do to make life easier immediately. Sometimes you just have to wait it out. Sophia finally learned how to communicate better and she became a lot more content. Now the homeschooling is going more smoothly. Whew! What is the next challenge, I wonder?

Here are the girls, playing "school" during Christmas break:

Sophia is constantly being dressed up for the occasion. She is a good sport!

Sophia and Clara have become best buds!

Meredith and Clara both memorized the books of the Old and New Testaments last semester and earned bibles. Of course they picked out the most glittery, girly bibles they could find. :)

Over Christmas break we decided to do some serious home organization. Our main problem areas were the girls' crafts and our ever-expanding homeschooling materials. God bless IKEA!! We are very happy with the new organizational system. And there is room to grow!

Back from the Back Burner

2012-01-11T17:34:00.005-05:00

Oh, yes. That's right. I have a blog.

We have been busy hosting adult gatherings and kid gatherings ...

Of course, there was Christmas Day ...

And then, best of all, daddy took a week off work and we did absolutely nothing structured at all for a whole week (although, I am paying for it now because starting the semester has been painful). We do love goofing off with daddy.

And here is my husband who decided to try to fix the computer and then, when he realized we would be better off replacing it, decided to take the hard drive from the old computer and insert into the new computer so we could have both hard drives. After looking at a few websites and making a few calls to his dad, the job was done. He is good at everything he puts his hands too. And he cracks me up.

We really enjoyed all the Christmas activities, and then having some lazy down time. But we are also glad to be back doing the same ol' routines ... school, gymnastics, AWANAs, etc., etc. Life is busy but good.

ChristmasTree Farm 2011

2011-12-04T20:06:00.009-05:00

Here we are, off to find the perfect tree for us for 2011!

Sophia's favorite thing to do was to hop on all the tree stumps.

YES! I think we found it. It is absolutely perfect.

Here is our tree, all loaded up in the cart and ready to go. We love watching all the young families picking their trees. Everybody is happy and everyone is wishing everyone else a "Merry Christmas!"

Meredith pauses to enjoy some hot chocolate by the bonfire.

Here is Clara shooting down the slide from the loft in the barn. She went down this slide at least a hundred times.

Kevin and Sophia watch the big girls on the slide.

This place SMELLS so amazing!!

The kids enjoy playing in the loft of the barn while we wait for our tree to be processed. It was a lazy day and we just enjoyed being at the tree farm and being together!

Clara was chosen to put the star on top of the tree this year.

The tree is trimmed! Hooray!

Kevin and I stayed up until midnight stringing cranberries and popcorn to make garland for the tree. Yes, he is wonderful. I told him, "I wonder how many husbands would do this for their wives after 10 years of marriage. Maybe on their first date. But, after ten years? You are wonderful."

We don't have many tree trimming traditions but we have carried over Kevin's family's tradition of making Peanut Blossom Cookies to munch on while we decorate. They are Kevin's favorite.

A New Advent Tradition & the Kids' Gingerbread House

2011-12-04T20:04:00.002-05:00

This year we started a new Advent tradition that everyone is really loving so far. I got the idea from Megan last year. I wrapped a bunch of Christmas books that we own (most of them purchased from Half Price Books for $1.00 or less) and each day the kids take turns and open one new book to read together at breakfast time. The problem is that we currently only own 12 books. But I have a massive pile ready to pick up at the library and will be wrapping those to add to our stash so that it will last until Christmas Eve. They are LOVING this new tradition. We are definitely going to do it again next year.

Here are the girls decorating our annual gingerbread house. This is the first year they did it entirely by themselves! They are getting so BIG. They LOVE this tradition and it's so easy when you buy the pre-made box at Costco for $10. :) They wanted to do it early this year so that we could have it as part of the house decorations.

And, finally, I'm going to include this picture of Sophia so that someday she really believes me when I tell her she was a real pistol. She helped herself to my eye liner!! You are waaaaayyyy too young for makeup, darling, as evidenced by this photo:

Happy Snow

2011-11-30T16:28:00.003-05:00

I just love it when the first blanket of snow catches us by surprise. We knew snow was coming but didn't realize it would accumulate. As I write, the kids have played in it twice in the last 12 hours. They can't get enough of it.

Thanksgiving Snapshots

2011-11-30T16:24:00.007-05:00

There are many blessings to count this year. God is good.

Thankful

2011-11-19T20:31:00.005-05:00

A dear friend recently told me that she put her kids in private school and felt like it was a more "rich" educational environment for her kids than homeschooling. This may be true for some people but I have never felt that our homeschooling has lacked richness. This is partly due to extracurricular activities and library classes and also due to our wonderful homeschool group, Classical Conversations (CC) of Brownsburg, Indiana. I also love the curriculum we are using (more on this later).

Last week I overheard Meredith talking with a friend. She didn't know I was listening but I overheard her tell this friend that she "really liked homeschooling." Some days she will probably like it more than others. And that goes for me too! But one thing is for sure--she loves learning. She is inquisitive and curious and creative. I am very encouraged.

Here are the older kids last Thursday before our end-of-the-year CC meeting / Thanksgiving party:

The pilgrim outfit was made by my mom for my little sister when she was younger. I cut up a t-shirt I got at Michaels and hot-glued beads to make this Indian outfit for Clara. The belt and headdress fasten together with velcro.

Here is Clara's class. She has the best tutor for this age group. Chris is very musical and uses puppets to teach English and Latin memory. The kids love her.

Here Meredith is completing her final project for her human anatomy studies. She has two really great tutors as well, who are both good friends of mine. Meredith has really learned to love both geography and science this semester. She also loves music and playing her little tin whistle.

Here are two girls in Meredith's class:

My friend Rachelle made this awesome turkey.

Serving up the feast:

This is right before I decided it would probably be okay to leave Sophia to help serve the food. The next time I saw her she had abandoned her food and had found a lollipop. She was quite happy about it too.

Here is Clara with her best friend, Eden Rose.

Thanksgiving Decor

2011-11-19T20:22:00.002-05:00

Some day I will have elegant Thanksgiving decorations adorning my home. And when that day comes, I will miss having decorations like this laying around the house:

Believe it or not, Sophia "made" this little fellow. I'm sure she had a lot of help from the lady at her nursery class. But she was so proud to give it to me. She pointed at it and smiled so big. She is so funny that way. She loves to scribble on paper and give that to me too. Kevin told me once, "I miss these days already." There are certain moments in time that I wish I could hold onto forever.

Previewing Children's Books

2011-11-15T15:59:00.004-05:00

Most of the books I read to my kids, I get from reading lists (e.g., Honey for a Child's Heart) and from friends' recommendations. I order these books from the library online `and they are stacked up and ready to go when I arrive. But I also like to peruse the children's bookshelves and my kids love picking up books that look interesting to them. I do not often preview read-aloud books. Maybe I should do this more.

There is a Thanksgiving book we have read over the years and love called The Night Before Thanksgiving. It is a cute story of a family Thanksgiving celebration. I recommend it!

The other day I saw a book with a similar title, 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving, and picked it up. I read it to the kids today and half-way through realized it was total animal rights propaganda. Children steal turkeys from a farmer in order to spare their lives. (The farmer's name is Mack Nuggett.) At the end of the book, the children were "abounding in love." The children and their families feasted on "veggies with jelly and toast" and everyone was thankful (the turkeys were most)." In other words, it is okay to steal from a farmer who is trying to make a living but how dare you think you are better than a fowel and take the life of a bird for your sustenance!

My kids took in every word of this book. I continued reading it but, at the end, we had discussion Iabout the purposes of animals and whether eating animals is something that is wrong or allowed for in the bible and a part of God's plan. We talked about whether animals are equal with humans or subservient and whether animals have a soul. We also talked about people like Laura Ingalls who would have never survived a winter in the Big Woods if her pa had not killed animals for food.

So, maybe I should preview books more. But, I tend to err on the side of exposing my kids to stuff and then having conversations with them about what is Truth and what is a lie. I would rather my kids grow up having lots of conversations with their mom about right and wrong, and knowing that their mom is not afraid to confront the lies the world offers, than my kids simply being sheltered.

My two cents, for what is worth! What are your thoughts?

Week six (or so) of pounding the pavement ...

2011-11-15T15:51:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend I was able to run on the trail, which is infinitely more enjoyable than running past mailboxes. Although, sometimes I do tell myself, "You can do it! You can make it to that third mailbox!" and this is helpful.

After my run, I sat to look at the naked trees and the dying mums on my back patio. The gray clouds in the sky blew above me at a hurried pace. It is definitely November. I used to think that naked trees were really ugly, but now I think that they have their own stark beauty.

Starting this running project in the fall has worked out well. I enjoy running in the cooler weather. I have gone out in the rain a few times and if it is below 45 degrees I bring a scarf along so I can breathe in warmer air. But at the end of my run, my body is warm and my head has been cleared and I enjoy the wind, and sometimes even the raindrops, on my face. The world is usually still and peaceful. This is likely the only time I will have to enjoy the quiet for the rest of the day.

I haven't decided if it is better to be alone on the trail or to have happy distractions with other passersby. I do love to people watch.

Running can be uncomfortable and tiresome while I am doing it. But after it is done, I feel on top of the world. It is a tremendous stress reliever. I feel so good the rest of the day. I really appreciate the friends who have encouraged me to give it a try.

I am now on week six of the Couch to 5K plan. I ran 2 miles in 20 minutes without stopping last week and later this week I will take it up to 2.25 miles in 22 minutes. Only three more weeks to go until I am done. Woot!

Peanut Butter Sandwich Timeline (aka Save Time and Money!)

2011-11-09T23:57:00.004-05:00

Here is a timeline for you:

Circa 2008--Before Amy had three small kids and homeschooled she used to make fun of people who bought "Uncrustables" frozen peanut butter sandwiches. "You have got to be kidding me. How hard is it to whip up a peanut butter sandwich?"

Sept. 2010--She became less judgmental and much more desperate. She could now see the rationale behind having quick, no-fuss lunch items to throw in a bag.

Sept. 2011--She could hardly believe it but she bought a box of "Uncrustables" at Target. "Wow! This is great," she thought. Then she discovered that the off-brand is only 50-cents per sandwich at Costco. "Hmmm. I think I will stock up."

Early Oct. 2011--She tasted an "Uncrustable" sandwich and exclaimed, "No wonder my kids like this! This is like a dessert! How much sugar is in this thing anyway?"

Mid-Oct. 2011--A friend tells Amy that you can make your own individually-wrapped peanut butter sandwiches and freeze them for up to a month. Amy starts doing this and thinks her friend is the most brilliant person she knows!

Each week on Thursdays we have to be out of the door by 8 a.m. I love how much time the frozen peanut butter sandwich trick saves me. Packing lunches has become hassle-free. And, when they get old enough to complain about eating peanut butter once a week, then they can start packing their own lunches, right?!

Connecting with Picture Books

2011-11-05T15:52:00.006-05:00

There have been a few sweet books (and one funny book) that has helped me to connect with my kids in the past few months. Books are fun. Books are informative. But one of the best things about reading books to kids is that it provides opportunities to connect with them.

After reading You’re All My Favorites (McBratney) to Clara, I think it really helped her understand the truth of a parent loving all their children the same, even though they are all different. She really loved this book and has commented on it numerous times.

Harriet You’ll Drive Me Wild (Fox) made us all smile. Harriet is just one of those kids who makes lots of messes and gets into trouble. Harriet’s mom is one of those moms who is having a hard time dealing with it. This is a sweet story of a mom and daughter who love each other despite their flaws.

How to Clean Your Room in 10 Easy Steps (Huget) is simply the funniest book ever. It totally describes our life! Although it is absolutely hysterical and very true to life, there are a few parts where the young girl is not very respectful. Just a caveat! But we really do love this book.

You are Special (Lucado) is a very touching book that really highlights the truth of self-acceptance. This book helped the kids understand that we are made in God’s image and we should not compare ourselves with other people. God loves us just as we are.

Nothing to Do (Wood) is a wonderful book about making sure to have unstructured time in our lives. The illustrations are great and I think the topic is something that is important because we adults have a tendency to fill up all the hours and not stop to smell the roses. But this is so important. Life goes by too fast. We need to stop and take time to “do nothing.”

Oct. 31

2011-11-05T15:16:00.003-05:00

Kevin's family has a fun tradition of going to Brown Co. State Park every Oct. 31. After heating dinner (soup) in the fire place and eating, we all take a hike around the lake with our flashlights. After we get back, we eat dessert. This year I also hid candy all over the shelter and the kids had to take their flashlights and hunt for it. We love this tradition. And the fall colors were still pretty, despite it being so late in the season! It really has been a fabulous fall.

I brought along some hot dogs this year but forgot the roasting forks. I felt like such a pioneer woman. Ha!

Fall Bonfires

2011-11-05T15:12:00.004-05:00

The girls are actually getting helpful when it comes time to get ready for parties! (Meredith will clean and organize the entire basement for me in about two hours. I thought the day would never come!) We have hosted two different multi-family bonfires this year. For an extended family bonfire, we decided to make fall sugar cookies, which are a favorite.

Sophia is thinking: "Hmmm. I need to explore the counter tops more often!"

Um, yes. We dress up a lot around here. Here is Clara, as a bride.

The guys roasting the 'dogs. Fun times!

Zoo Day

2011-11-05T15:05:00.003-05:00

Yay for grandmas who take us to the zoo! This was probably one of the best zoo days we have had. The animals were especially active and there were lots of baby animals!

Italian Pastry Diversion

2011-10-21T13:26:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the days are so long and so hard. It's so rare that I get any sort of break. That is why those mandatory afternoon "quiet times" are absolutely golden.

This week has been especially long since Kevin has had multiple evening engagements. Yesterday I finally turned to the kids and said, "Is the reason you are so whiny because your dad has not been home?" Then they started bawling louder. If kids were at all logical, they would be extra kind when their dad is not home to help out their poor mom. But, alas, kids are not logical.

At the end of the day yesterday, when the kids were finally in bed, I decided to absolve myself of the guilt of dirty dishes and crumbs on the floor and that big, thick book I still need to finish for book club. I decided to watch Cake Boss on Netflix.

Let me just say: I love Cake Boss!!

Here is this larger-than-life, boisterous Italian family in New Jersey, operating this 100-year-old bakery and producing these incredible cakes that can only be described as masterful works of art. Last night I watched them make a Leaning Tower of Pisa cake. Amazing!

I love watching them yell at each other and love on each other and make these beautiful creations. It's 23 minutes of comic diversion for this tired mom's soul. I need that now and then.

Tea and Art Time

2011-10-16T15:05:00.005-05:00

God has given me three precious little girls. Sometimes I wonder why He did that because I'm really not that much of a girly-girl. I like law and politics and I have always enjoyed playing sports. Sometimes I think God gave me girls so that I would get more in touch with my feminine, feeling side! One of the things I have done to make sure that I am regularly connecting with my girls is have a weekly tea with them. Every Thursday after our Classical Conversations classes, we come home and have tea. I do not have time to do "fancy" at this point, but we do always get out the nice China. Some weeks, when we don't have any special snack in the cupboard, we just pop popcorn. We rotate through teas, but the girls' favorites are peppermint and Meredith loves English Breakfast. We all look forward to this time together. Last Thursday Meredith and Clara got dressed up for the occasion too.

After our tea is over, we also try to do some art together. I am not very good at doing planned art projects with the kids. (That is why I sign them up for library art classes and we do Classical Conversations!!) So we just get out some paints or do some pencil drawings. I had read in Teaching the Trivium that the best way to become a good artist is to copy, copy, copy. So I bought the book Animals: 1419 Copyright-Free Illustrations. Last Thursday we enjoyed doing some free-hand copying. It is really nice to just take a tea break and focus on doing something beautiful. Life frequently gets so hectic and busy. We love our Thursday afternoons together.

Pumpkin Day!

2011-10-16T14:57:00.007-05:00

Pumpkin Day is a big deal at our house. This is our third year (maybe fourth?) doing it and it just gets more fun every year. We always start the day off with pumpkin pancakes at our house, go to a really fun pumpkin patch and fall fest, and then end the day eating more pumpkin goodies. This year Kevin's mom hosted dinner and made Spicy Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup. And, of course, we had pumpkin pie. I originally got the idea to do this from the book Pumpkin Day by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. What a fun day!!

Our Man

2011-10-16T14:39:00.003-05:00

I love this man. He is amazing. His kids love him too. Family bike rides are the best. (And yes, people smile and stare when they see all these bike attachments!)

Have I mentioned already how wonderful my husband is? Here he is with the girls:

Impromptu Civics Lesson

2011-10-16T14:32:00.002-05:00

This year the kids are memorizing all of the states and capitols. I have talked to them about how a capitol is the center of government for the state and it is where all of the state's laws are debated and enacted. After having lunch with Kevin on Friday--something we try to do at least once a month--we walked over to the State House to show them around.

Meredith, at the Court of Appeals. While I think that Meredith will be a businesswoman/artist (my prediction at this point!), she also is intrigued by law.

Clara takes in the beautiful interior of the capitol building.

Checking out the state assembly. The kids enjoying seeing the buttons on the desks and hearing about how the laws are debated and voted on.

A good day!

Running ... continued.

2011-10-09T15:45:00.003-05:00

I have continued the C25K running plan, with only one slight set back. During week three, I got a head cold. So, I decided to repeat a few days of week three, rather than moving on and kicking it up a notch. Currently I am running nine minutes out of 23. When I start week four, I will be running 16 minutes out of 26.5. Eek. That seems like a big jump to me.

On Saturday morning, I started my walk/run a little later than usual because Kevin was home and I had more flexibility. As I started out, it was just before sunrise and there was a thin fog ahead of me. The world was still and peaceful. I was the only one out. After 10 minutes, I got on the trail that runs behind my house. It was getting lighter at that point and I could see all of the splendid fall foliage and listen to the golden leaves crunch underneath my feet. I started to see a few more people out and about. I continued running and walking alternately, enjoying the crisp fall air. By the time I got home, the sun had just started rising and the sky was full of colorful splendor. I sat down on my back porch to enjoy all the color. All of the stillness. All of the peace. Every time I do this, in the end I think, "It is worth it." It is really hard to get up early. Especially when I feel sick. But in the end, I really, really enjoy it. I can understand why people really love running. When I run, I feel alive.

Apples and More Apples

2011-10-09T15:36:00.006-05:00

The trek to Anderson Orchard to pick apples is an annual tradition.

We love the apple slushies!

We took home three bushels of apples.

And 24 hours later we had turned 2 1/2 of those bushels into 42 jars of apple sauce! Ta da! Kevin's mom has shown me that nothing tastes better with hot soup in the fall and winter than homemade apple sauce.

Another ... field trip!

2011-10-09T15:22:00.010-05:00

I must be new to this homeschooling thing because I signed up for way too many field trips! But it really has been fun.

Here we are at an old-fashioned turn-of-the-century ice cream parlor in Columbus, Indiana, which is also a museum.

Columbus also has this amazing indoor playground. The kids LOVED it.

I also took Meredith to a fire safety program at a local fire department. It was really great because they filled a room full of artificial smoke to show the kids how to "fall and crawl" in the case of a fire and covered other basic info.

They also had the kids practice crawling out of a window.

Kevin took the day off work and we all went down to Marengo Cave in southern Indiana. We had a 60-minute tour of one part of the cave and a 90-minute tour of another part of the cave. The kids also got to mine for gemstones, which they really enjoyed. Unfortunately I only had my phone to take pictures with. :( We would definitely go back! Marengo Cave was great.

Visiting the past ...

2011-10-09T15:11:00.004-05:00

The two older kids and I took a few hours last weekend to sneak up to a Civil War reenactment taking place about 20 minutes away. They will be learning about the Civil War in the spring so I thought it would be a good opportunity to pique their interest!

Ha! A southern belle on her iPhone:

As soon as we arrived, we saw a group of soldiers preparing for battle. The man who was the general took a few minutes to talk to the children and show them some authentic Civil War-era pictures of children he collected.

The ensuing battle:

We even got to meet our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln!

Pride and Prejudice

2011-09-29T22:02:00.004-05:00

Tonight I met with my classics book club to discuss Pride and Prejudice. (I love having an excuse to ignore dishes sitting in the sink and read all afternoon, which is what I did two days in a row in order to get this book done!) This was a familiar story as I had read the book previously and had watched every movie based on this book at least twice. The appeal of this story is that its characters, tension, wit and humor never grow old.

I instantly sympathized with Elizabeth who is a lively and intelligent, yet flawed soul. While Elizabeth's mother wants to see all of her daughters married to wealthy men, Elizabeth is more interested in living authentically. She loves people for who they are, not for what their status in life is. She wants happiness for herself and her sister Jane. She wants to be judged on her own merits, and not based on her embarrassing family members or her social status and wealth, or lack thereof.

There are many obstacles standing in her way--her family, the social customs and mores of society, and her own prejudices and quick-to-judge temperament. Elizabeth remains true to herself and, in the end, gets the man of course.

Honestly, I think that if all of the people in Pride and Prejudice had been gainfully employed, not even half of the drama would have happened. That's what you get when you sit around all day and stew over things and have time to write all those long letters.

We talked about whether Charlotte Lucas was right to marry Mr. Collins, whether Mr. Bennett was a good husband/father, whether people change over time or essentially remain as they always were, and whether it is acceptable to intervene and tell a friend when you think they are making a big mistake romantically. We also talked about the reaction of the family (and society) to Lydia running off with Wickham and whether we would want our daughter marrying such a man if we were in that situation (personally, I would say NO!). All in all, it was a good discussion.

One complaint I have is that the book ends too happily to be realistic. Perhaps Austen made all her books end with such perfection and happiness so that she could live vicariously through her heroines, as there was no fairytale ending in her own life.

So far we have read Don Quixote, Pilgrim's Progress, Gulliver's Travels, and now Pride and Prejudice. Oliver Twist is next. After that only 26 books to go before we are done with the novels' genre in Bauer's book! By the time my kids are in high school, maybe I will feel that I have a handle on classic literature! My fingers are crossed.

Red Barm Farms

2011-09-26T07:29:00.005-05:00

The kids have been asking to go to a real farm so we were thrilled when our homeschool group had a field trip to Red Barn Farms in Greencastle, Indiana. The family that owned this scenic, working farm were so relaxed about the kids handling (and even carrying!) the animals! It was a fun fall day.

Personal Goals

2011-09-21T06:13:00.002-05:00

Lately I have been having that urge to run. Maybe it is because summer is over. The pool is closed and swimming has been my main source of exercise these past four months. Fall is in the air. Along with the splendor of the season comes the dread of being cooped up more. I want to run!

Last spring I walked 15-minute miles in a mini-marathon. A friend who ran in the same marathon encouraged me to try the Couch-to-5K running plan. Another friend on Facebook has been doing C25K. That was enough motivation for me to give it a try. I am getting tired of just wanting to be a runner and being inspired by all my friends who are runners. I would like to join that community. Have you noticed that people who run are generally happy people?

Today was day four of my C25K experiment. So far day three was the hardest for me. Each day had been harder than the one before until today. On day two I was sore from using all the new muscles on day one. On day three I wanted to die by the end of the 20 minutes. But that's just it. It's only 20 minutes three days a week! Anyone should be able to do that, right? Today a mysterious thing happened. Towards the end of the walking periods of the program, I was anxious to start running again. I was ready to run! It felt exhilarating.

The biggest challenge of running for me is not the sore muscles. I can deal with sore muscles. The reason I have given up on running before is that after a certain point my lungs feel like they are on fire. The C25K plan is appealing because of the rest periods that give my lungs a chance to recuperate and build up their tolerance.

On day three, Kevin and I had a little spat. He is a litigation attorney and so his job ebbs and flows in its busyness. Mostly it seems that it flows. He had been working late and getting up early to go to work. He had set his alarm for 4:30 in the morning. I had set mine for 5:30 so that I could get up and run before he left. (A treadmill would probably save our marriage, right? We need to invest in one!) I think I actually said something like, "I just can't have any personal goals since I have small children!" or something ridiculous like that. Finally we compromised and I set the alarm for 5:00, with the intention to take a nap later in the day, and told him I would be home by 5:30.

There have been many times where I remember how disciplined I was during law school. I worked full time and often studied all night. Doing all that was a cake walk compared to being a stay at home mom. Raising small children is the hardest thing I have ever done. But no matter how tired I am, I want to translate that same determination to other goals, including physical fitness. I don't want to be afraid of doing hard things.

Blurry Disney

2011-09-15T21:54:00.002-05:00

Yes, these are blurry phone pictures but we did have some precious memories watching the kids explore Disney for a day, and introducing Clara to Disney for the first time. They are such sweet ages right now. We were surprised that Clara was tall enough to go on every ride but one (Indiana Jones) and even more surprised that she wanted to go on all the big rides. She was so brave!

Ariel was the sweetest princess we met that day.

Vacation IV

2011-09-15T21:45:00.009-05:00

I talked Kevin into leaving the beach for a day and we went up to Lake Arrowhead in the mountains for some hiking.

A resemblance, don't you think?

Here is something I wish we had in Indiana!! Yum.

A morning at Crystal Cove beach ...

Really great breakfast place right on the beach.

More Sand Castle Fun:

My dad got a bounce house for Labor Day--the kids were thrilled!

Our little Sophia had a run in with the playground equipment. It wasn't as bad as it looks!

Two of my sisters:

We miss Rubio's Fish Tacos and their fresh salsa bar. So we had to get our fix before leaving!!

Sophia warmed up to the waves and the last day we went to the beach she did NOT want to leave!

Vacation III

2011-09-15T21:38:00.004-05:00

Whale watching was the most fun thing we did all week! We loved being out on the wide open sea and chasing after the blow spouts. Whenever we would spot the spray, the captain would pick up speed and take us to search for whales. We saw numerous blue whales and two different dolphin pods and other wildlife. It was quite the adventure!

Seeing the spray in the distance:

A closeup of a whale:

A blurry picture of a whale fluke.

The dolphins were awesome!

Vacation II

2011-09-15T21:33:00.006-05:00

At one point during our stay, I overheard myself telling the kids, "Make sure to eat ALL of your fruit loops BEFORE you eat your doughnut!" Feeding the kids lots of sugar is a grandparent's prerogative, right? I'm sure I will do it too someday! :)

After eating fish tacos at Sharkeez in Manahttan Beach, we walked along the strand. California roses are the best, most biggest, most fragrant roses. It was a beautiful day and one of my favorites!

A day in Long Beach ... my hometown:

The famous hat shop in Long Beach. Don't quote me but I think it's the largest hat shop west of the Mississippi:

To Grandmother's House We Go ...

2011-09-15T21:21:00.006-05:00

We are back from our trip to Southern California to see family and life continues at full speed, between loads of laundry, homeschooling, and all the other day-to-day activities. We really enjoyed time together as a family and a break in the routine!

If you have ever flown on an airplane with a 19-month-old, you know that it is absolutely one of the most fun and stress-free things you can ever do! (Fortunately for me Kevin took her for most of the air time!!)

The girls were so excited to get to fly.

Lots of time was spent exploring the sea shore ...

Lots of sand was consumed ...

Numerous sand castles were built. It was great.

Whenever I see snow falling, I feel like a kid because it's something I didn't experience growing up. Kevin is the same way at the beach. He is a big kid! He loves to be either in the water or elbow deep in the sand building something. Here he is boogie boarding with my brother David:

A family bonfire on the beach while watching the sun set over the pacific was a highlight.

Prayer Jar

2011-08-24T16:10:00.002-05:00

One new thing we are doing every morning as we begin our school day is using a Prayer Jar. I got this idea from my MOPS group last semester. The kids love it because they get to pick something out of a jar every morning. (What kid doesn't love to choose something from a jar?!) I love it because it is teaching them to pray about a wide variety of topics and say it from the heart. It teaches them that God cares about every aspect of their life. It also gives them a larger vision concerning things that are important to pray about. I always enjoy hearing them take these topics and put them in their own words.

Here are the topics, if you are interested in doing it too!

Prayer Jar Questions
• Today thank God for something green.
• Today pray for people who live on the streets
• Today pray for people who don’t have food to eat
• Today pray for people who don’t have clean running water
• Today pray for people who are in the hospital
• Today pray for our country and our leaders
• Today pray that our government would seek Gods will for our country
• Today ask God what he wants to do in our lives today
• Today ask God to reveal a new aspect of Himself to you.
• Today pray for your Church
• Today pray for your neighbors
• Today thank God for something small
• Today thank God for something big
• Today thank God for saving your life
• Today pray for someone that you know, that doesn’t know the love of Jesus
• Today pray for your local Police department
• Today pray for your local Fire department
• Today pray for wisdom
• Today pray a prayer of thanks. Each person express 3 things you’re thankful for.
• Today pray for a friend
• Today pray for someone famous, why did you choose this person?
• Today pray for a country
• Today thank God for a blessing in your life
• Today thank God for the way he made you, what is it that you like most about yourself?
• Today thank God for your pets or your favorite animal
• Today pray for the oceans, forests, wetlands, deserts, of this earth
• Today thank God for your home, what is your favorite thing about your house?
• Today thank God for things that make you feel loved, what are some of those things?
• Today pray that God would reveal one way you could improve your relationship with Him.
• Today pray for people who are alone
• Today pray for understanding and patience
• Today pray that God would use you to change someone’s life
• Today pray that you would shine bright for the world to see, what is something you could do to shine bright for God?
• Today pray for your Pastor
• Today pray for your Parents
• Today pray for someone in your family
• Today thank God for your clothes and shoes, pray for those people that may not have them.
• Today thank God for your toys, pray for children who don’t have toys
• Today pray for people in slavery

Memory Work

2011-08-24T15:59:00.003-05:00

Here is a picture of our "morning board," used for reviewing memory work. I revised it this year to greatly simplify it. I didn't want to spend quite as much time on it this year. It takes about 10 minutes and we are now doing it after lunch, so I guess it's not technically even a morning board anymore! All of our Classical Conversations memory is on it, as well as a few other things (a good character habit to work on, that I borrowed from my friend Catherine, and a corresponding bible verse, and also our home address and phone). The kids work on additional bible memory and memorize a poem, but we work on that separately in the morning. They are also memorizing the shorter catechism at night with their dad. My theory is that the more the kids memorize, the easier memorizing is for them. Kids are amazing!! They can retain so much in such a little amount of time when they are challenged to do it.

Summer Slowly Dies

2011-08-24T15:52:00.000-05:00

Summer, we will miss you!

American Girls

2011-08-14T15:41:00.001-05:00

For a birthday treat our daughters (all born in July) will remember forever, my good friend Kristi and I took them to an American Girl birthday tea in Chicago. I never knew having girls would be this much fun! We were in the store for four hours and the time flew by. The staff there really made their birthdays special. The girls also enjoyed browsing the dolls and accessories and watching the dolls get their hair fixed at the hair salon. Their friend Kati got her doll's ears pierced while there and also took another doll to the hospital to get a "birth defect" (lazy eye) corrected. They put the doll in a hospital gown, filled out her chart and whisked her away. The whole experience was pretty awesome.

My favorite memory of the day, however, was telling Clara we would get her a doll for her birthday. She was disbelieving. She laughed and cried at the same time. It was a coming-of-age moment and very precious.

Chicago Science Museum

2011-08-14T15:37:00.001-05:00

We got a museum membership to the Indiana State Museum last fall because that means we can get into the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago for free. And it was amazing. We look forward to taking the kids back! We could have spent at least another half day there!!

Yes, this is their first bubble gum ice cream experience. And, yes, they did pick out all the gum balls and save them for the end. :)

Joy over a tooth ...

2011-08-14T15:29:00.001-05:00

If you can't tell by these pictures, Meredith was overjoyed to finally lose the top front tooth that had been stubbornly clinging on for weeks and weeks. What a transformation in her smile!

Several minutes later, I took a picture of Clara and then noticed that Meredith was jumping for joy in the background! Silly girl.

Broad Ripple

2011-08-14T15:27:00.001-05:00

On a nice evening a few weeks ago we headed to our old neighborhood in Broad Ripple. We miss the canal and the amazing snow cone stand!

Food Stand

2011-08-14T15:21:00.002-05:00

The kids have been wild and free and lovin' it all summer long. It's going to be a big adjustment when we start school next week! I have enjoyed watching all their creative juices flow this summer. As Meredith told her grandmother recently, "I am never bored." I love it!

Here is a pretend food stand Meredith set up. One of our top priorities this year in first grade is working on spelling! But I must confess I will miss the creative spelling a little--it makes for a fun guessing game. :)

Water Lillies

2011-08-14T15:18:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago we pulled the car to the side of the road to get a closer look at these gorgeous water flowers in front of our local CVS.

Peek-A-Boo

2011-08-07T14:45:00.001-05:00

Meredith Turns Six

2011-08-07T14:35:00.003-05:00

July is birthday month around here. Meredith is now six and growing into a lovely little lady. For her birthday we had lunch with dad, which has become quite the tradition, swimming with friends, and a teapot/tea themed family birthday dinner with two friends joining in. I made her cake, using fondant for the first time, and had fun with it. :) her gift from us was a much-needed "big girl" bike.

Clara Turns Four

2011-08-07T14:27:00.003-05:00

Our little Clara is now four and not so little any more! For her birthday we had lunch with daddy on the canal downtown, playtime at Monkey Joe's bounce house play place, and a family party with friend Eden joining in.

18 Months and Loving It

2011-08-04T14:48:00.000-05:00

Our dear Sophia is full of life and enjoying every day of being 18 months old, with two big sisters. She has become such a daddy's girl lately. She loves baby dolls, being outside, and pulling apart peanut butter sandwiches and cheese crackers to eat the filling first.

Nine Years

2011-08-04T14:32:00.003-05:00

I'm reading a book on marriage that was talking about the roller coaster of initial romance and how after a while, the journey seems more like you're driving through midwest terrain. Well, we've got literal midwest terrain around here and sometimes after nine years and three kids, things seem that way figuratively as well. But there is still no one I'd rather take the journey with than Kevin. I am grateful for the time we have had together.

The kids had soccer practice last night so we have delayed our celebration until the weekend. But we did put the kids to bed early and ate Chinese takeout, sushi rolls, and Ben and Jerry's pistachio ice cream on the back patio. There was a cool breeze and even the bugs stayed away!

I'm grateful for you Kevin! You are the best.

Summer is Full

2011-08-01T15:13:00.008-05:00

Where has this summer gone?!

Sophia loves her wagon rides!

Clara's piggies suit her personality. If only she would let me fix her hair more often ...

We have been doing lots of summer reading. The kids agonize over what prizes they will pick out at our local library.

Aunt Betsy came to visit! My sister is a pilot and talked her boss into letting them refuel the plane in Indianapolis. It was great to see her again.

Here in the Midwest, we have the most awesome storms. Here are the kids, waiting out a storm so they can go swimming. We love to sit and watch storms come in!

Sophia's favorite part about the Indian's game was the popcorn.

You can't have summer without blueberry pie!

She took it off three seconds later--it was cute while it lasted!

Why would you kiss a frog when you can play with one?

Meredith loves to read to her sisters:

A common scene in our house every morning--the girls fight over who gets to go in Sophia's room first.

Sophia's hair is getting curlier and blonder every day!

Meredith cracks me up with her little daily inspirations. This particular day she decided to make a "noos" (news) stand and sell papers. She had some terrific headlines, including a tornado and some gorillas attacking humans.

Clara helped me make Moon Pies after reading about them in our God's World News magazine. She is my sidekick in the kitchen and I love it!

Pilgrim's Progress

2011-07-14T18:14:00.002-05:00

Tonight we discuss Pilgrim's Progress during round two of our venture to read through great classics chronologically, starting with the novels genre. We are using Bauer's The Well-Educated Mind.

When I first started reading Pilgrim's Progress I just wasn't sure if I would see it as anything other than applicable allegory. I felt like it was kind of choppy--quickly introducing new characters and having them exit stage before there could be any development. In fact, Pilgrim's Progress reminded me somewhat of another classic I had recently finished: Don Quixote. Here was yet another passionate male, preparing to set off on a journey with unknown and dangerous adventures, and interesting characters to meet along the way. I thought, "Here we go again!" (And having also recently read The Hobbit I just didn't know if I could take any more of this genre!)

Of course Christian in Pilgrim's Progress has slightly different motives than Don Quixote in making his trek. Don Quixote sought after glory and romance. Christian sought after the cross. Quixote had his head full of fanciful fiction. Christian had that ultimate source of truth, the Word of God, as his anchor and guide. Quixote was compelled to become a knight errant by his own delusions. Christian felt the very real and forceful weight of sin on his back which made his journey one of true urgency.

As I journeyed alongside Christian his story became more real and engaging to me. Not only were there both subtle and blunt truths in the allegory at every turn, there were also moments when the beauty of the literature itself engulfed me.

The culmination of the story comes at the end of Christian's life when he prepares to cross the great river (death), over which there is no bridge. Christian becomes despondent as he descends into the flow of that inevitable river. But then Christian recalls the King's promise to be with him. ("When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.") At that point, Christian takes courage to battle through his fears and comes to Celestial City escorted by shining ones. God will never leave us or forsake us. He is our guide through life and also through death.

I loved Fearful's story. He was weak and flawed and full of fear, but nonetheless a child of the King. We don't have to be perfect to be saved. In fact, that is the whole point--we are unable to be perfect because of our sin. Christ is perfect in our stead.

When it was Fearful's turn to cross the great river, he could not handle the river being so deep. So for him, it was a shallow crossing. God's grace is always sufficient for us. He never gives us more than we can handle, in life or in death.

Pilgrim's Progress is a book about real human struggles along the journey of life and it is a book about victory.

Summer Goals

2011-06-16T14:24:00.007-05:00

There's so much I want to cram in this summer and so little time! At the beginning of the summer I sat down and wrote out my goals and put a bunch of stuff on the calendar to try and squeeze the most out of those blissful months known as June and July.

I say "cram in" and that makes it sound like we are running around like hamsters on a wheel all summer. This is the wrong visual. One of the best things about summer is going at a slower pace and enjoying lazy days. One of our favorite things to do in the summer is swim. We usually go to the pool once a day and sometimes twice a day. It is just so relaxing and fun for us to be at the pool as a family. We also participate in three summer reading programs. I love carving out extra time to read aloud to the kids. This afternoon Clara brought me a stack of books and we read for an hour on the couch. I loved watching her smile or be puzzled or concerned at the twists and turns in the stories.

While enjoying a more lazy pace, I also decided to write down specific summer goals because I have found that I am much more likely to accomplish things and make meaningful memories with my children if I write down my goals.

My summer goals are threefold.

1) Have fun! I have listed specific things to do in this category, including VBS, backyard camping, art projects, riding a 4-seater bike on the canal downtown and going to an IMAX show, and taking the kids to an amusement park. We checked off that last one on Friday when we took the older two kids to King's Island. They are the perfect ages to ride on all the "under 48 inches" rides and water slides together. Kevin and I enjoyed riding on mini-roller coasters with them or just watching them smile and laugh and bond together more as sisters and friends. I hope we can take them every year.

2) Work on house projects. The two big ones are painting three rooms and sewing curtains for my dining room (with Kevin's mom to help--I am seriously not the natural seamstress!). The kids have been at VBS this week and I have been scattering animal crackers around the house to occupy Sophia while I paint. She did take a nap one morning too and that is when I got a half bath painted! Isn't it amazing how different a room can look with just a coat of paint?

3) Plan for the coming school year. I already have my curriculum purchased. I also have the school books semi-organized. Now I just need to read through the curriculum and plan reading assignments and simple projects for each of the 24 weeks of our Classical Conversations group. Thankfully Kevin agrees I need some alone time to do this well, and I am going to book a hotel room and get away for 24 hours sometime in July to organize everything into folders. My theory is that 24 hours of advance planning will make the next academic year go much more smoothly.

I also wanted to share my new favorite homeschool resource. It is called "All Through the Ages: History Through Literature Guide." This absolutely wonderful book gives you lists of tons of books--both fiction and non-fiction about many historical time periods and historical figures. It lists books about history both chronologically (e.g. books about World War II) and geographically (e.g.,books about Japan). There are also book lists about famous artists, scientists, mathematicians, etc. Books are also organized based on grade level and there are both fiction and non-fiction books listed for all grades K-12, within each genre. So for instance, if we are studying Monet, I can find a picture storybook about Monet for Meredith at the 1st grade level. I am so excited. This book will be so helpful!!

Reading to Dogs

2011-06-09T08:32:00.001-05:00

Our library, like many libraries, has a read-aloud-to-dogs program called PAWS to Read. I signed up Meredith to do this for the first time and it was a huge hit! I think it also gave her more of a confidence boost. I have noticed her reading aloud to her sisters more. And she also checked out a few chapter books from the library to read to herself for the first time.

Her dog's name was Lance and he was very attentive:

She held the book sideways most of the time so he could see the pictures too:

Clara cracks me up. She put Sophia on this pink unicorn and dragged her around the whole library:

Here is Meredith reading Amelia Bedelia. :)

Favorite Parade

2011-06-09T08:28:00.002-05:00

Our favorite parade is the Indy 500 parade--lots of noise, cars, and action, in addition to all the typical stuff that makes a parade so great! Usually we show up at the last minute and stand for the parade. This year we decided to buy seats with our good friends the Thomases! We bought our tickets through our bank, and it included a lunch. The kids thought it might as well have been Christmas because they each got a whole Coke all to themselves!! It was fun to see the kids enjoy the parade with their friends.

And I had to include this picture of Kevin, grilling on Memorial Day weekend in the rain. It's Memorial Day weekend. You just have to grill, regardless of the weather. :)

Zoo with Samantha

2011-06-09T08:22:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed hanging out with the Schrages and seeing little Samantha over Memorial Day weekend!

Sophia's first time to pet the sharks:

Grandpa treated the kids to a carousel ride:

With cousin Samantha!

Sophia's First Library Class

2011-06-06T13:41:00.002-05:00

I finally signed Sophia up for her very own library class! Poor third-born.

Self Education

2011-06-06T13:19:00.002-05:00

If I have been semi-silent on Blogger lately, it's because I have been spending every spare moment reading Don Quixote! A friend recently asked me to join her and another friend in reading and discussing the classics, using Bauer's The Well Educated Mind as our guide. I was thrilled to be a part of this because there are so many classics that I still haven't read and it's going to be so much more fun doing it with friends!

I especially appreciate Bauer's approach to the classics, reading chronologically within each genre. She lists five genre's in her book: novels, autobiography and memoir, history, drama, and poetry. She writes about how to approach the great books, and has an introduction to approaching each genre specifically.

We met this last week to discuss Don Quixote, which is considered the first novel (the first work of fiction about the individual). We spent probably an hour and a half talking just about the book, and then some more time just chit-chatting. I am really excited about this endeavor!

Reading Don Quixote (picture by Meredith):

Indy Air Show

2011-05-18T21:30:00.001-05:00

Kevin and I both had wanted to go to an air show forever. It was one of those bucket-list things. So the day finally came. We are definitely going again. Next time maybe we will bring ear plugs!

A military, transportable air traffic control center:

There were lots of airplanes and other vehicles for the children to climb on and explore:

Picnicing during the show:

A replica of the Wright Brothers' first airplane:

The girls trying out a simulator of the first flight.

Constant entertainment in the sky:

This crazy guy crawled out of the airplane mid-sky, and then kept waving his arms at the crowd while the airplane did spins, loops, and flew upside down. What kind of mama raised this boy?

The Blue Angels were a highlight, of course:

A Slice of Our Life

2011-05-18T15:51:00.002-05:00

I had to post pictures of the indoor Trader's Point playground because we go there a ton!! We were hanging out until the last half of Kevin's last basketball game (I thought that Sophia could probably only last for half of it)!

My camera fell on the ground and took a picture, which I thought was pretty funny since it captured three of us. :)

Kevin loves, loves basketball. I'm glad he plays every week. He stays in shape and has a lot of fun.

So there you have it ... a slice of our life!

Gymnastics

2011-05-18T15:50:00.001-05:00

The girls are sad that gymnastics is over until the fall. We found a wonderful homeschool class at half the price! They loved making new friends this last semester and getting to play and learn. We are looking forward to a more lazy summer, however!

Sophia loved to run around while big sisters had their lesson:

Homeschooling with Preschoolers in Tow

2011-05-06T13:52:00.001-05:00

A friend recently asked me how I homeschool with preschoolers underfoot. I know from talking to other homeschool moms that this is often a source of frustration. Here are some of my thoughts after nearly completing our first year of official homeschooling (kindergarten), with a three year old and baby/toddler.

I think it is easy to see your preschooler as an impediment to your efforts to homeschool and, whether you intend to or not, you start to view her as a problem to overcome. Kids pick up on this easily and I think it makes them act up more.

Excluding preschoolers from school time altogether makes schooling a lot more difficult, in my opinion. I found that it worked best for us to integrate Clara into our school activities as much as possible. We always start our day off with Bible, scripture memory review, God's world news, and poetry. This takes about a half hour and Clara is as much a part of this as her big sister. Sophia also participates until her Cheerios run out and then she toddles off to play.

I also try to give Clara the first fruits of my attention! I have found that if I give her the first 10 minutes of my time and give her 100% of my attention during that time, she is much more content for the rest of the morning. Her love tank, so to speak, has been filled up and then she usually is happy to go off and play on her own. I usually use this one-on-one time with Clara to work on her phonics.

We also have special toys and activities that Clara may use only during Meredith's school time. She also has some simple workbooks that she loves.

Sophia is currently taking naps twice a day but I foresee the morning nap ending soon. We try to capitalize on her nap time as much as possible!

To be honest, we get interrupted a lot. Either Sophia has special needs or Clara acts up. I think that if I had an only child, we could knock out school in about two hours! Instead, it takes 3-4 hours.

At first I was resistant and a little resentful of all the interruptions. Throughout the school year, however, God has really helped me change my attitude. He has opened my eyes to see the benefits and character building opportunities that interruptions provide.

My prayer at the start of the school year was that God would help me in making the shaping of my children's moral character a number one priority. If I didn't have younger children at home, we would not have very many opportunities to learn to give, and love, and serve. When the kids fight or disobey or are unkind, we can take 20 minutes and work it out. In a homeschool setting, we can afford to take time to make thinkgs right and restore relationships, and learn how to please God and live out the Christian faith. In fact, if it takes ALL morning to work on discipline issues, I should be thankful for that opportunity to teach my children what is infinitely more important than math or the eight parts of speech. All of that can come later, after a good foundation of developing their moral character is laid.

When we are interrupted or have had to work on discipline issues, that is what God had for us that day. I need to accept that as from His hand.

I think it is good for Meredith to have to share her time and her mom with her younger siblings, and learn to work well in a family setting. She is learning to be more flexible and patient. Clara is learning to be more respectful.

All of this doesn't mean that the interruptions are always easy. But I have become more welcoming of them since my eyes have been opened to the gold mine of learning opportunities.

Having said all of this, I do have one time in our school day where Clara is absolutely not permitted to interrupt and that is when Meredith is reading out loud to me. Clara knows that this is sacred time. It is important for Meredith to not have interruptions while reading so she can keep her train of thought. If Clara interrupts during this time, she is strictly disciplined. I have to pick my battles!

The last thing I will conclude with is that I believe I (accidentally) did the best thing I could have done several years ago to prepare for homeschooling and homeschooling with preschoolers. I kept Meredith, and the other two, home for preschool. I wasn't planning on doing this (I have had a hard time with kids ages 2-3 and would have loved the break!) but Kevin really wanted me to NOT put them in preschool and because of his encouragement, and because preschool is expensive, I kept them home. This laid a good foundation for us. The kids have never known anything but being at home and learning at home. They have always had to accommodate each other and I have had to learn how to get things done with them with me at all times. It has made the transition to homeschooling a lot easier. They know how to be home all day and entertain themselves!

Now I need to stop typing because I hear that Starbucks is having a happy hour with 1/2 price frappucinos. I hear one calling my name!

Growing and Changing

2011-05-06T12:28:00.006-05:00

There has been a lot of growing and changing around here lately.

I nearly cried when I discovered Meredith's first loose tooth in January and I had similar emotions when I watched her ride her bike with no training wheels for the first time last week. You know that these days are coming but they come when you least expect it. They are milestones that remind me that my time with my children is short. It is only a season.

There is a children's book out there that talks about how you will never know when the "lasts" will be. When will be the last time your child asks you to play This Little Piggy on her toes? When will be the last time she lets you rock her goodnight? Or when will be the last time she rides her bike with training wheels? You never know until it is past.

Clara is getting close to reading and loves school. She begs me to do Explode the Code workbooks. Meredith taught her all the letters and sounds. She is really interested in reading. I suppose I should teach her sometime soon! She sure is growing up fast!

This first picture is classic Sophia. It was taken on our road trip and we had just told her "no." Whenever we tell her no, she often juts out her bottom lip and gives us the most pathetic looking pouty face in the history of the world. She is SO funny. She is growing and changing so fast right now.

Here are some more pictures of playful Sophia. She put this blanket on her head herself, and then started laughing. I guess you do get kind of bored on long car trips.

Royal Fun

2011-05-04T17:02:00.003-05:00

Yes, of course, we got up early to watch the wedding. Tea and scones were made (dough was thankfully prepared the day before). All that was missing were big, colorful hats!

It's just not very often that a true princess gets married. So I had to wake up the older girls to watch. Kevin made fun of me for taking a picture of the TV.

Here we are, dazed and tired. But 10 years from now we won't remember that we were tired. We will only remember the fun.

Sophia woke up in time to see the kiss!

Motherhood and Politics

2011-05-03T17:21:00.003-05:00

Being a mom is great. The kids are currently playing with their two favorite neighbors. They are romping around in our dirty, disarrayed garage. Never mind the beautiful, expensive playsets that adorn the neighbors’ lawns. The real fun is happening in our garage.

I have no idea what they are doing out there but it probably has something to do with pretending the paraphernalia in our garage is furniture, or sea creatures, or something, and it probably also has something to do with making mud cakes and pies.

I love watching my kids just be kids.
___________________

Politics is also great. Today I did double civic duty. I voted and I also volunteered to work for an hour when the polls first opened, to greet people coming to vote and wear my chosen candidate’s t-shirt. It was fun. I enjoy doing things out of the ordinary. We stood huddled under a tent while it poured rain, drank our steaming coffee, and cheerfully greeted the five people who showed up.

The best part was that the opposing candidate was there. He had the brilliant idea of handing out umbrellas to people coming to vote. Only we think it was illegal because you are not supposed to hand out literature, but he had a “Vote for Bill Smith” (not his real name) sign attached to his umbrellas.

The absolute BEST part was that it appeared that the pants he was wearing were purchased at Target the night before because on the lower part of his right leg, on the back of his pants, there was a long, skinny “XL” sticker still attached.

The poor guy was bent over in the rain, handing out illegal umbrellas, wearing the size sticker still attached to his pants. It was a pretty sad sight. I really don’t think he will win.

Easter Day 2011

2011-04-25T13:17:00.003-05:00

We did matchy-matchy this year. It's probably the last year we can do this because Meredith will no longer fit the little girl Easter dresses next year. :(

Do you realize how hard it is to get a family picture these days?

Kevin's mom set a beautiful Easter brunch table.

Me and my man. We love each other. Picture taken by Clara.

Someone brought Easter Bunny to Aunt Beth's house. The cousins adored her.

It was a rainy day, so the kids descended to the basement for their egg hunt.

Let the hunt begin!

Sophia's first egg hunt. :)

Easter Preparations

2011-04-23T17:54:00.005-05:00

Here are some things we have done in the last few days, to get ready for Easter. This year I was going to skip the "resurrection rolls" (in the last picture) but Meredith would not have it. So I made a quick trip to Marsh and bought a can of crescent rolls and some marshmallows to oblige her!

Do you see how the roll is empty? So was the tomb. This is our hope and our salvation. This is what fills our lives with immeasurable peace and joy. This is what makes us right with God. Christ conquered sin and death. He is RISEN!

Happy Easter to you all.

Missouri and Home Again

2011-04-23T17:03:00.006-05:00

On the way home, we visited my grandmother in southwest Missouri. The family farm was built in 1905.

Here we are with my lovely grandmother.

We got a few more hours of road behind us and stopped at a hotel. The kids LOVE hotels and swimming at hotels.

Sophia loves hotels too, especially pulling tissues out of the tissue box and unwinding toilet paper at hotels.

The Gateway Arch, in St. Louis. What a beautiful city. I loved driving around downtown St. Louis.

Here is Clara, with her crown. :)

The tram ride up was the best part!! Sophia's face says it all: "Up until this point, I wasn't sure what was happening in my life. Now I REALLY do not know what is happening in my life." Then she noticed an empty seat (there were five seats on the tram) and insisted on sitting by herself. What a silly, independent girl!

View of the Mississippi River:

Taking in St. Louis:

The red buds in Illinois were gorgeous on the way home!

What all the online resources failed to tell me, about the best way to entertain a 15-month old on a long road trip, was that you really should just do the driving yourself, and let her amazing dad play with her in the car. That's the best entertainment ever!

Dealy Plaza and Texas BBQ

2011-04-23T16:51:00.007-05:00

We have been studying the presidents and Meredith has had lots of questions about assassination. Since we were going to be in Dallas, we went to Dealy Plaza, where Kennedy was assassinated. This may seem morbid, but the kids were intrigued. And all of it IS very interesting, especially because of the controversy. It was educational and an absolutely beautiful day.

Here we are by the JFK memorial.

Here is Meredith, by one of the "x" marks, where JFK was shot.

Was it only one shot, made from this window? Or were other shots fired from the Grassy Knoll? Hmmm.

Here is Clara with Uncle Kc, walking away from the Grassy Knoll.

Another piggy shoulder (is that what you call it?) ride, this time for Meredith, in the cute West End area of Dallas, where we had lunch.

Shall we say AMAZING?!!!

This is what Sophia had for lunch.

Let me say it again, AMAZING barbecue. We went through one and a half bottles of barbecue sauce. Yum-o.

With the Myers in Texas!

2011-04-23T16:36:00.012-05:00

Story time with Uncle Kevin:

The sandbox was a hit:

All the kids loved the swing. Kevin is flying a mini-kite in the background:

Beautiful day at the park.

The slide is Sophia's favorite.

We joke that Sophia has "chicken wings" when she walks, for balance. She loves to explore new places!

Bennett fell asleep in Kevin's arms. So cute.

We caught the tail-end of blue bonnet season.

The kids loved playing with the Shipps and were fast friends!

A highlight for the kids was making crafts with Aunt Megan. They loved their crowns especially, and wore them for days afterwards, including the hotel lobby, the St. Louis arch, and the library back home.

We loved playing games and shooting the breeze with Megan and Kc at night.

A favorite memory was playing sidewalk chalk with the dads. Meredith was so funny, trying to ward off an attack from a huge chalk alligator. :)

Texas Bound!

2011-04-23T16:30:00.002-05:00

I could hardly believe it but we actually had a GREAT time driving down to Texas. I knew once we got there it would be great, but did not have high expectations of the car trip. We made so many good memories, including simple things like the kids being so excited to buy gum from a gas station. They didn't even fight and the requests for the potty were minimal. We had a great time! Our first stop was for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. The kids were so excited to "get up in the middle of the night" to leave (about 3:45 a.m.).

Escape

2011-04-21T19:22:00.002-05:00

Tonight was one of those nights when Kevin came home from work and I was ready to implode with the frustrations of the afternoon. He took one look at me and said, "I think you need to go to Starbucks." So he strapped the baby on his back and began to mow the lawn while I grabbed the keys and headed for some caffeine and some solace.

Before I left, I was talking to Kevin and used the word "freaking" as an adjective to accentuate my frustration. I use that word from time to time, even though I try not to use it in front of the kids. I also try not to use the word "crap" in front of the kids but I often fail. Sometimes that word is the only word that adequately and succinctly gets the intended meaning across. I'm not perfect and I've never claimed to be.

There are some people who are so sweet and so pure that I can never even imagine them using the word "crap." I really cannot completely relate to those people.

I think I'll finish off my iced coffee and read some other people's blogs. Oh yes, I also need to put a reminder on my calendar to watch the royal wedding. I told Meredith I would let her watch it with me. I love having daughters.

Pictures fixed!

2011-04-12T18:57:00.001-05:00

Thanks for the emails about the pictures not being displayed. I think I fixed the problem!

Last day of class!

2011-04-12T16:24:00.006-05:00

So sad! Our last day of Classical Conversations was last Thursday. We will still homeschool for another month and I plan to continue reading practice and math lessons a few days a week throughout the summer. We shall see!! The lazy summer-loving side of me who just wants to hang out at the pool all day and throw all my cares to the wind might win out!

Here are some pictures of the last day of class. This past semester, for the science portion, the kids have worked in teams to build bridges, airplanes, and a protective shield for raw eggs. At the last class, the kids got to test their designs and see which one was the strongest, flew the farthest, and was the most protective, respectively.

Testing the bridge Meredith built with two friends:

Testing Meredith's egg protector:

The kids have spent the last four weeks learning all the presidents, and they made a White House craft on the last day of class:

We had to celebrate! So Chuck E. Cheese was in order!

Kite Flying

2011-04-12T16:23:00.004-05:00

One of our favorite things about spring!

I have a dream ...

2011-04-12T16:23:00.003-05:00

... of a day soon when I shall have time to write real blog posts again.

We are currently planning a whirlwind trip to Dallas to see Kevin's sister and a few friends who live there. Today I made a list entitled: "Road Survival Plan."

This pre-planning will hopefully keep us sane on the road with three kids, ages five and younger. I have high hopes for the older two. I came up with numerous ideas and found some things online that I think will work.

Basically no one in the online world has any good ideas on how to entertain a 15-month-old on long road trips. I may get really desperate and start handing her lollipops. Or maybe I will eventually just let her eat paper. That's what she really likes! Probably the best idea I read was to bring bubbles.

Speaking of Sophia, I thought I would include a photo of what can happen if you have a really tall 15-month old who has figured out how to open the pantry door all by herself. Murphy's law dictates that this will happen five minutes before you have to be someplace.

And here's my angel:

Opera and Beauty

2011-03-28T16:27:00.001-05:00

Kevin recently bought tickets for us to see an adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen, called The Tragedy of Carmen. He was originally under the impression that it was the full version of Carmen and was therefore disappointed a little bit. I was also not originally sure about it all because of the cost of the tickets! I knew Kevin, who is really musical, would love it and I would love a night out, so I went along with it.

After the opera began, I was instantly swept away into the beauty and emotion of it all. The music, the voices, the acting—it was all so captivating. I can’t believe I ever balked at the cost of the tickets. It was definitely an experience worth every cent.

It made me further contemplate the importance of art and beauty in the human life. It is incredibly refreshing to get completely lost in something beautiful now and then. I need art and music in my life.

In their free time ...

2011-03-28T16:24:00.001-05:00

Here is Clara's caterpillar, which I thought was the cutest ever!

Meredith drew a happy birthday card for my grandpa's 90th and I thought it looked remarkably like him!

Meredith also drew this cute little book about a rabbit. Here is what it says, in case you can't read five-year-old spelling: "The rabbit was hopping a long time, for hours and hours until he came to a garden with vegetables and fruit. 200 fruits. A lot of it. The End"

Yogurt Experiments

2011-03-28T16:20:00.001-05:00

I've been using the yogurt maker I got for my birthday. Here are strawberry, plain, and coffee flavored yogurt. Easy! Yum!

Pure Pleasure

2011-03-21T21:11:00.006-05:00

I just finished reading Pure Pleasure: Why Do Christians Feel So Bad About Feeling Good? and it was a book that truly made me delight more in God and worship him.

The premise of the book is that we honor God when we take delight in the blessings he has given us. God is akin to an earthly father who enjoys seeing his children take pleasure in the gifts he has given. When we truly delight in God and “build lives of true, lasting pleasure” we “fortify ourselves against evil because evil has lost much of its allure.”

The author, Gary Thomas, challenges us that, if we are not reserving time each week for restorative pleasure, then we are likely running on deprivation and are susceptible to any number of spiritual ills. “One of the ways we can fight sin is to build restorative pleasure.”

“Here’s the great irony: Most people outside the church (and some inside it) think of holiness and pleasure as opposites. They see holiness as the main threat to their pleasure. What a lie! Holiness is pleasure’s truest friend.”

This book has impacted the way I want to parent my children. I want my children to see the connection between godliness and enjoying life. My relationship with Christ is the reason WHY my life is so full and joyful. I see all the blessings in my life as coming directly from his hand. It is easy to equate Christianity with duty and obligation, and think of the world as the source of “pleasure.” Is this why so many young Christian adults leave the church? The world has nothing to offer compared to Christ. What would happen if more Christian young people saw their parents living out the principles in this book?

Thomas also talks about being a servant of other people’s pleasure, and experiencing pleasure together as a family. I was convicted when I read about his regrets over not taking more time for family pleasures: “We can make frugality a god when we sacrifice family at its altar. In one sense, I had put principles over people. I doubt my choice pleased God.”

I also really appreciated this statement, concerning truly enjoying your “sinful” family: “Here’s the stark reality: If you can’t love, celebrate, and enjoy raising a sinful kid, then you can’t love, celebrate, and enjoy any child. If you can’t love and play with a sinful spouse, then you’ll never be able to take pleasure in any spouse, for the simple reason that you can’t find any sinless kids or spouses.” How often do we get caught up in discipline issues, or the fact that our spouse isn’t doing what we think he should, and this robs us of all joy in our family?

Thomas also balances out his message by encouraging a life of service and stating that we should live in pleasure and not for pleasure. I also appreciated his remarks that we should accept and embrace what our Heavenly Father gives us, even if it is a cross to bear.

The author also insightfully pointed out how we often look down on other people’s particular pleasures, while blindly and unwaveringly adhering to our own particular pleasures, and had some funny anecdotes to share.

Thomas rebutted the argument of people who say, “Shouldn’t Christ be enough? You don’t need ‘things’ if you have Jesus.” When Adam was in the garden, he was lonely. Instead of berating Adam for not finding a relationship with God to be sufficient for meeting all his needs, God gave him Eve. Obviously God is the highest source of our pleasure, but he also gives us good gifts to enjoy here on earth and we all have a need for pleasure in this life.

Throughout this book, I kept thinking, “Thank you God that you love me and you delight in me and that you give me good things to enjoy.” My faith was strengthened.

Shamrock Shakes!

2011-03-21T21:09:00.001-05:00

To some people, it's just March 17. To other people (me), it's a great way to have a little fun and focus on something other than the March blahs! We always love meeting Kevin for lunch and walking along the canal, which they dye green. We also always play a "hide the shamrock" game, where the kids take turns finding the hidden shamrock. It keeps them entertained all day!

Sophia--the emerging toddler!

2011-03-21T20:59:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures of my little Sophia, who is getting feistier and more determined every day. Why did God give me so many assertive females? Did he really think I was up for this job?!

She had been taking 2-3 steps here and there but started walking as her primary method of transportation on St. Patrick's Day. Overnight, she became a toddler! She is constantly walking around like a drunken sailor seeking something new to explore.

Let me tell you what is NOT a great combination. A toddler who loves to play in the toilet and older children who are always forgetting to close the toilet lid AND also forgetting to FLUSH the toilet!!!! I cannot tell you how many times a day I hear a spish-splash sound emanating from the bathroom, only to find Sophia playing to her heart's content!

Sophia is always saying "yeah" whenever we ask her a question. We have a lot of fun with this. "Sophia, are you the emperor of Japan?" She replies: "Yeah."

She loves getting her shoes on and going for rides in the car. She loves to camp out on the first step of the stairs (her absolute favorite place in the whole house, as you can see in the latter photos)! She also still really loves all stuffed animals. They make her smile. Her favorite thing to do is try to copy her big sisters and keep up with them. She thinks she is EQUAL to them. Her hair is getting thicker and curlier/frizzier every day.

How we love her!

Kids at Play

2011-03-21T20:57:00.002-05:00

We do a lot of playing at our house ...

And this isn't the kind of play we usually encourage indoors, but I thought it was cute that Meredith was trying to teach Clara how to play soccer, and was acting as her coach.

Valentines 2011

2011-03-21T20:46:00.002-05:00

I have been a lazy woman, not blogging these yearly highlights in a timely fashion. ;-) But I couldn't miss this year's Valentine's Day. It felt like Christmas because (as you can see in the last picture), Meredith (and Clara) made like 1,000 cards with personalized messages and illustrations for each member of the family. It was crazy fun! We spent like 30 minutes on Valentine's Day evening opening all these cards. My cheeks hurt from smiling. I love my children so much. They bring so much laughter and amusement into our home.

Sorting Clothes

2011-03-01T07:03:00.001-05:00

Here are my silly children. They added a little humor to my least favorite job!

An Orange Bookshelf

2011-03-01T07:01:00.000-05:00

An Orange Bookshelf sitting in our basement has been a constant reminder of my own failure for about a year now. After I found it sitting next to someone’s trash and brought it home, Kevin, my very proper and dignified husband, said, “Oh no! My wife is a dumpster diver!”

The reason I have felt like such a failure is that I had planned to paint the blasted thing white and convert it into a lovely and utilitarian piece of furniture for the girls’ bedroom and had seriously not found the spare time to do so, for over a year. Keeping up with trying to feed and clothe my family, homeschool Meredith, and nurture and discipline three small souls has been the extent of what I could handle for a long while now. After typing that, it sounds like a lot and I guess I shouldn’t have been so hard on myself. I wish I wasn’t so performance-oriented. It has been hard on me, not to feel like I can ever accomplish extra things. It has been difficult to remind myself that this is just a season.

It was with great triumph that I recently painted the last coat of paint on that bookshelf and there is no longer a pile of children’s books sitting on the floor of Meredith and Clara’s room.

That bookshelf is a symbol to me of a slow but sure transformation in the life of my mommyhood. Things do eventually get better. Things are busy, but not so desperate these days. My brain no longer feels like it is in a constant fog. Meredith has become truly helpful. Clara is no longer at the all-consuming peak of toddlerhood.

My prayer is that I will never forget how hard these past several years have been. Right now I pray for all the women who are currently going through it too. I write these words so that, someday a long time from now when the memory starts to fade, I won’t forget how truly hard it is to have three kids under the age of five!

_________________

Yesterday was one of those days when I couldn’t help but feel happy. I really enjoyed my children yesterday. I have found that I enjoy my children the most when I set aside at least two full days a week to NOT go anywhere. I need to intentionally create space in my life and schedule in order to stop and enjoy small, precious moments with my girls.

Meredith is currently reading American Girl magazines and yesterday we took a survey, “How Well Do You Know Your Parent/Child?” One of the questions was, “What is the favorite part of your day?” I can honestly say that, other than seeing Kevin walk through the door, the best part of my day is cuddling on the couch and reading to my kids. If we are too busy to spend at least an hour reading out loud, I hate it. This must be one of the reasons I love homeschooling!

It was one of those days where I gave the girls baths, cuddled with them, played with them, and read out loud to them a lot. It was a very, very good day.

I am a very happy and content woman.

Our Clara

2011-02-01T16:50:00.006-05:00

Here are some shots of my Clara (age 3 1/2). She is becoming so grown-up lately. No one can make me laugh harder than Clara, who is witty and downright funny. Someone else will say something and then she will copy it, but say it in a different way and make us all laugh.

Clara is usually the most outgoing, most friendly child in a group. The other day I watched her interact with some friends in her MOPPETS class. She was holding the hands of two different children at once and kept turning her head back and forth so she could talk to both of them.

She just learned how to write her name perfectly and she is so proud of herself. She still LOVES babies more than anything. She is very competitive. And she loves to sing songs at the top of her lungs. She also loves to have her picture taken, if you couldn't tell!

I look forward to watching Clara grow into a young woman, as long as she doesn't grow too fast!

Endearing One Year Old

2011-02-01T16:39:00.003-05:00

We love this little girl. She sure does light up our life! Our favorite thing that she does lately is copy everything she sees. If you give her a pen, she will pretend to write. If you give her a brush, she will pretend to brush her hair. Etc., etc. She is so close to walking. We'll see ... I'm definitely NOT in a hurry.

Sophia is SO playful!

Le Mama Salon

2011-02-01T16:37:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures of the haircuts I gave my girls a week ago. Playing with hair is pretty fun. Although, I will admit that sometimes I think it would be nice to have boys and buzz it all off and not have to deal with the tangles and a myriad of hair accessories that clutter my bathroom and seemingly every other space of the house!!

Clara's haircut especially suits her personality!

She's growing up!

2011-01-27T18:02:00.002-05:00

My oldest baby just lost her first tooth! Meredith is someone who gets really excited about things. She loves life and loves holidays and celebrating every little thing. She was super excited about her tooth falling out. It happened while she was eating a rice cake. She said, "That's weird." And then said, "It's my tooth! I bit into something crunchy and it was my tooth!"

When I discovered that her tooth was loose a few weeks ago, I nearly cried because it's just a huge landmark (for me) of the fact that my little child is becoming a young woman. Where does the time go?

Sophia's First Birthday Celebration

2011-01-27T17:55:00.002-05:00

Bearded Stranger

2011-01-27T17:54:00.001-05:00

Here is Kevin at the five week point in growing his beard. After his appendectomy, he decided to let it grow out for awhile, since he hadn't shaved for several days while staying in the hospital.

I can't say that I was a big fan and got rather impatient for him to shave it off--January 21st was Ultimatum Day. But, he always lets me do whatever I want with MY hair. So I figured I should be just as obliging.

The funny thing was, after he shaved it off, I felt this huge sense of relief. As long as he had his beard, he didn't quite feel like the husband that I know and love. My Kevin finally came back to me!! No longer would a bearded stranger be coming home from work to my house every day. They say it's a compliment if women don't like you with facial hair because it means that they like your face unobstructed. :) All those weeks, I missed my ol' Kev!!

Happy Wedding

2011-01-27T17:52:00.001-05:00

Ack! I'm really behind posting some pictures. We went to a really fun wedding on New Year's Day. I love when the happy couple invites children to their wedding. My kids really love going to weddings. Meredith danced her heart out at the reception. So cute!

Still Alice

2011-01-17T18:10:00.003-05:00

The first book I finished reading this year turned out to be one of the best novels I have ever read. This book intrigued me and engaged me the entire time I was reading it, and it will definitely make my “Best Books of 2011” list! My librarian recommended it to me. I should have known it would be excellent. Now I am determined to pick her brain some more!

Still Alice (Genova) is a story about a woman who is a Harvard professor, at the height of her career and the picture of health, who has just turned 50. She starts experiencing some disorientation and memory loss and at first dismisses it as symptoms of menopause or being overly tired and stressed. Soon after, she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

The fascinating part about the book is that it is written in the first person. You see everything from Alice’s point of view. As the disease progresses, the book gets more and more interesting. Toward the end of the book the only way you know exactly what is happening is through the descriptions of other people’s reactions and words, and you are required to piece everything together.

I kept thinking about how tragic Alzheimer’s Disease is and how, in a lot of ways, it seems like a fate worse than early death. It was really interesting to see how the disease affected Alice’s relationship with her husband and also her children, and how there was one particular relationship that was restored through the disease.

The author gives us a lot to think about. How much of our mind creates the essence of who we really are? What about other facets of our being—our heart and emotions specifically? What exactly makes a good quality life? What are choices we would make if faced with a similar situation?

I expected the ending to be inevitably sad, and maybe even tragic, based on some clues the author left along the way. But I was surprised a bit at the end, and left wondering if it was truly a tragic story after all. Yes, it was sad. But I decided it wasn’t the worst thing and there were many redemptive things about the story and Alice’s situation.

This would be a fabulous book to use in a book discussion group. In fact, I’m going to make Kevin listen to the audio book (read by the author) so that he can discuss it with me! I highly recommend this book.

2010 Books

2011-01-17T17:56:00.002-05:00

Here are my top favorite books from 2010, and all the rest are listed below, too.

The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life (Leveen)—A book about how to read more books every year and get more out of them. Excellent resource, and how could I not love this book when I read that the author is also an avid audio-books proponent!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Shaffer)—This one was a really fun novel written in a series of letters, set in post-WW II. It was light-hearted and very funny. I loved it.

Jane Austen (Shields)—Many biographies have been written on Jane Austen. I really enjoyed this one. The author is clearly passionate about Austen. I felt so much sympathy for Austen, a brilliant, creative, beautiful soul. In her day, to be married was to gain independence. Her story is just like her novels, except hers had no good ending. She was never able to find her “home” or her place in the world. I felt like the barriers of time and distance were removed and I could really identify with Austen’s struggles. This was a really good book.

Organizing from the Inside Out (Morgenstern)—This was an excellent book for someone like me who struggles to stay organized! It was very practical and, since you take one room or one closet at a time, not at all overwhelming.

The Hiding Place (ten Boom)—I had seen several different movies based on this book but was so glad to read the book and was really encouraged by ten Boom’s faith in the face of the most extreme form of evil imaginable to the human mind.

The Namesake (Lahiri)—This was a novel about a young man who comes of age and questions the past traditions and decisions of his parents and is trying to find his own place in the world. I just really enjoyed this book. The words and word pictures in this book were absolutely beautiful and I felt myself enjoyably immersed in this book and hated to see it end.

With the Old Breed in Pelelui and Okinawa (Sledge)—I think every American should read this book. This is the memoir of a foot soldier in the Pacific Theater during World War II. This story is gripping, incredible, and one that needs to be heard. This book makes me so grateful and so proud of those boys and what they did for us.

The Heretic’s Daughter (Kent)—This book was really well written and really gave me a stark view of the time period (Salem Witch Trials). It’s based on a true story. The whole way it’s written is dark and foreboding and very intriguing.

Three Cups of Tea (Mortenson)—This book was really incredible! Not only was I immersed in the mountain-climbing subculture, I also was taken on an amazing journey into the heart of Pakistan and learned about the incredible life and adventures of someone who is a true humanitarian. Greg Mortenson is an average man who has made an incredible difference in the lives of so many people. I would highly recommend this book.

Son of Hamas (Yousef)—This was another remarkable memoir! It gave me a lot to think about that is relevant to current events. It read like a (true) James’ Bond adventure. The author is the son of one of the founders of Hamas and it was intriguing to see his love for his father, even though he strongly disagreed with the choices his father made. One of my favorite reads this year!

The Hunger Games (Collins)—I wasn’t sure if I would like this book because of the genre but I found myself spellbound by the plot and the characters. The author set out this impossible scenario and I wondered how the book could have any sort of satisfying end. The book ends with a cliff-hanger and I think I will definitely get the sequel and read it this year!

Here are the others that I read this year:

The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry (Flinn)—A cooking memoir that was funny and interesting.

Educating the Whole Hearted Child (Clarkson)—A homeschooling handbook

How Reading Changed My Life (Quindlen)—A touching memoir by someone who is passionate about literature.

The Bell Jar (Plath)—A novel about a mentally disturbed young woman that was depressing, especially after (halfway into the book) I read on the flap of the book that the author had committed suicide some years after writing it.

Echo in Celebration: A Call to Home-Centered Education (Bortins)—Homeschooling book written by someone who is passionate about classical home education, and founded the homeschool program we are using.

The Help (Stockett)—A novel written from three perspectives about racial tension in Mississippi in the 1960s, and the inhumane treatment of colored servants. I really liked this book and almost made it a favorite.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Hertzberg)—A really great book on making awesome bread in just minutes. Who doesn’t love fresh bread out of the oven?

The Stone Diaries (Shields)—This book was recommended by someone and, other than the creativity of the author in working her theme (“stones/rocks”) into nearly every depiction, I didn’t really care for this one that much.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde)—One of my favorite classics, about the constant struggle of conscience, choosing good or evil, the searing of the conscience, and the consequences that result.

Teaching the Trivium (Bluedorn)—A helpful handbook on implementing classical education at home. At first it can be overwhelming, and I definitely don’t agree on every point, but I really appreciated the things the Bluedorns had to say about educating younger students.

The Lovely Bones (Sebold)—Some parts of this novel were really great but it had really disturbing content and a really odd and dissatisfying ending. I can’t recommend it.

What’s a Smart Woman Like You Doing at Home?—I ran out of patience reading all the statistics, but overall this was good affirmation.

Blessings (Quindlen)—I really enjoyed this novel and the word pictures. I loved this author’s style and descriptions. Maybe, too, I was touched by it because I had a small baby about the same age as the one in this book!

How Should We Then Live (Schaeffer)—An excellent book about how ideas (world view) have consequences in all aspects of history and culture. A classic I had sadly never read until this year.

Raising Bookworms (Andrews)—More inspiration to continue encouraging an early love of reading for young children.

The Little Stranger (Waters)—This is a novel about an old house where strange things happen and you’re never quite sure if it’s haunted or not.

The Last Lecture (Pausch)—After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Pausch shares his passions and his advice about living a full life with no regrets.

Lies Women Believe (DeMoss)—Written to help women be more grounded in biblical thinking. I thought this book was helpful but found myself disagreeing with the author at times. I really hate generalizations, especially when it comes to women, because I often feel like I can’t relate.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Larsson)—This book was really a page turner and had an interesting plot, although dealt with gruesome and dark subject matter.

Rise and Shine (Quindlen)—A novel about a two sisters’ relationship as one of their careers is derailed. Not as good as “Blessings” but I like this author a lot.

The Total Money Makeover (Ramsey)—I thought about including this in my “favorites” because it gave me/us a lot to think about. But I think that some of his advice is a little extreme (having only a $1,000 emergency fund, for example), unless you have massive credit card debt and no savings. But it was definitely worth reading.

Every Last One (Quindlen)—My third Quindlen novel this year. This one dealt with a woman who experiences deep loss and tragedy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)—I finally joined the rest of the western world and have read a Harry Potter book! It was good, but I kept wondering if this was exactly “my” genre. I hear they get better as the series goes on. I think at some point I’ll keep reading!

The Wizard of Oz (Baum)—Not my favorite classic, but I’m trying to get more of them under my belt. I read this to the kids and they enjoyed it.

Life Management for Busy Women (George)—I was hoping this book would be more helpful but it really wasn’t anything profound.

Eat This, Not That (Zincenko)—If you want to be motivated to eat healthier, the descriptions of body fat in this book will probably do the trick! Disgusting! I think this book would have been more helpful for us if I was the type who ate out a lot or bought a lot of pre-packaged, convenience foods. Since I don’t, it was only mildly informative.

Ice Skating

2011-01-12T17:42:00.001-05:00

Clara, getting ready for her first time on ice:

This was Meredith's second time and she is a real natural:

By the end of the day, Meredith was skating quickly around the rink by herself, with no support!

We weren't sure if Clara was going to last right at first:

But Clara quickly built up confidence and did SO great! We were so proud of her (and surprised) becuase she never complained about her shoes being too tight or being too cold! It was a success and we can't wait to do it again!!

Megan, Meredith, and Kevin

Clara and Mommy

Dad whizzed around the ice with Clara and she loved it:

Clara and Aunt Shannon:

Bye Bye!

Sledding with Daddy

2011-01-12T17:38:00.001-05:00

Photo Journal of Christmas 2010

2011-01-10T21:02:00.012-05:00

Wow! I took a lot of photos at Christmas this year. It was a memorable year, with all of Kevin's siblings in town, and all the COUSINS!

The three babies (born within 7 weeks of each other)--they followed each other around like puppies:

Best kind of present:

Drama Queens:

Drama Queen in Training:

Meredith's gift to daddy (a homemade pens/pencils holder):

Clara's gift to mommy (a book light from the dollar store):

Sophia's new doggy (stuffed animals make her laugh so much--too cute):

This is SO Clara--just give her a lollipop and you have made her day:

Mmmmm ... mimosas:

Kc played Santa:

Good family times:

Jeff LOVES the Colts!

Sophia's new toy:

Kevin's new toy:

Megan and Bennett:

Shannon and Samantha:

Clara's new camera (big hit! now maybe I can get mine back!):

Meredith FINALLY was awarded an American Girl doll (her dream gift for a long time now):

Aunt Time--Shannon spends time playing American Girl dolls with Meredith and Megan reads Sophia a story:

The men are full (see empty dessert ramekin):

Poor parents, stuck with dishes. :-(

Brother/Sister piano duet:

"Hey, let's make it a quartet!"

Lots of babies to go around this year:

Playing in the snow with grandpa:

To top it all off, it was a WHITE CHRISTMAS!! Christmas 2010 will be one to remember forever.

Simple Game

2010-12-30T17:31:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T13:11:00.004-05:00

It's Christmas Eve! At our house we are finishing up some baking, reading all our favorite Christmas books, and listening to some festive tunes.

I love the ages the kids are right now. They are so endearing and cute. They are so happy with the simple things. After doing some wrapping (for me and my mom both) I placed a few small presents under the tree and saved the rest for Christmas morning. I think they forgot about more presents coming out last year because they seriously think that the few presents under the tree is all they are getting and they are SO excited.

This past week we have gone to some museums which are free through the local "12 Days of Christmas" program, gone to look at Christmas lights in our PJs, and made homemade marshmallows and hot chocolate for afterward (one of our favorite traditions). Kevin's siblings are all in town, which compounds the fun and makes everything seem like a celebration. And, to top it all off, we are getting more snow. It's a White Christmas!!

Here are some pictures from this month, of a few more things we love to do this time of year:

Meredith decorated these all by herself, including the gingerbread Santa she is holding in the next picture:

We love this "Little People" Nativity Set--it's perfect for telling the Christmas story. The kids love to handle it and play with it: