Doing the Next Thing

This morning the kids awoke to a scavenger hunt that led them to clues about a special outing: Nature Study at the park. We haven't done that in a while and they were so excited. They quickly did their morning chores, as well as math, reading, and copywork. Then we headed out. First, a little exercise and exploration. We "did the trail" - Me pushing K.in the stroller, M. & S. on scooters, C. on his bike, and A. running (what else would he do, right?) We were lured by the peaceful gurgling of the creek and found a little waterfall. The Big 3 spent the next 20 minutes floating little stick "boats" down the waterfall while A, K, and I enjoyed the big swings at the senior area. We found a cool tree by t he playground to sketch, and tried in vain to identify it - I wish I had a picture to post. We think it was a "Myrtle Holly" - because of it's many trunks with smooth bark and round, waxy leaves. It is a smallish tree, but still big for a shrub (whi...

The past week has been spent obeying the title of this blog! We prepared for and enjoyed a great visit from my brother and his family, which included Medieval Times, IKEA, and of course, American Girl! I spent Monday with a whopping migraine and haven't had much time for blogging. I have four posts in the works, but just can't seem to get them finished. In the meantime, however, Kate tagged me. So here goes: 1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages.) 2. Open the book to page 123. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the next three sentences. 5. Tag five people. The nearest book is Grace Based Parenting. "Cheaters sometimes win. One-dimensional people often end up with more money. Selfishness, cunning, and backstabbing are often the faster tracks to fame." Boy, that sounds funny out of context! He's talking about "achievement goals" for our children and how, though we want them to be ambitious, we also want them to view glorifying God in the w...

As the title suggests, we've had a busy few days. We went out of town for my sweet niece's 2nd birthday. It was a fun trip, but a lot of work. I won't beat around the bush: travelling with 5 kids (two of which are toddlers) is just plain exhausting, even if it's fun! We stayed with my sister and it was fun to spend our evenings catching up, even though we were too late getting into bed. We had a fun birthday party with not one, but two Elmo cakes (that's how big my family is when we all get together!) We also took a fun field trip to the Parthenon (and the colossal Athena statue) in Nashville, since we are studying Ancient Greece. But that's for another post. We came home and enjoyed playing in what was left of the "big" snow event here in Georgia. Now we're trying to quickly get back into routine and get some school work done before my brother and his family arrive for a visit this weekend! Here are some quotables from the last week: ...

A few weeks ago, I gave a brief mention of my brother-in-law's new blog, The High Tech Hiker . It was kind of buried in a long post , and I thought I'd extend a formal invitation for you to drop by and welcome one of the blog community's newest members. I think that you hikers, runners, photographers, and nature lovers out there will all find the reflections on his hikes interesting. Go make a new friend!

The tribe dances in a circle, covered in war paint and pounding their chests, chanting unintelligibly. Debris is scattered 360 degrees across the area. Exciting scene from Lord of the Flies? No - the scene with my two little guys in the basement! Apparently one of the Big 3 forgot to put his pencil box away after school. A and K, who often express their creativity with markers on non-washable surfaces, discover the treasure with glee. I wish I had been there to witness them removing overalls, shoes - everything - and beginning to paint themselves. I'm sure it was a sight. Instead, My Sweetie discovered them dancing around the office chair, goin' tribal! His very loud, very contagious laugh drew me downstairs, camera in hand. I didn't think it was quite as funny, but since everyone else seemed to, I smiled and captured the moment. My chidren's dignity will not allow me to post pictures of the full effect of this activity ... they were literally covered in marker, top of ...

Since my other Atlanta friends are posting snow pictures on their blogs, I thought I'd join in. We have not seen the white stuff in this town since we moved here in January of 2005. Unlike Lane's kids , who have never seen snow, mine remember it from our time living in Tennessee and they really miss it. So imagine our delight to discover what we southerners would deem a "blizzard" falling at dinnertime yesterday! We fired up the Cocoa Latte (one of my very favorite Christmas presents - thanks, Emily!) and enjoyed hot chocolate and big, fluffy flakes while the fun lasted. As Kate says here , it was a nice break from the yo-yo weather we've been having! The kids had a blast making snowballs, "sledding," and creating some very muddy snow angels. They stayed out well past dark and finally came in for dinner around 8pm, when the snow began to change into sleet. So much fun! A. was a baby for that snowfall in '05, so this is the first snow he remembers. H...

Invasion of the books!

On this blog, I have reviewed several "grown up" books and a couple of children's novels. This time I decided to give children's picture books some time. With two Little Ones in the house, you can imagine that we read our share of these treasures each day. Here are some of our recent favorites. I 'm Dirty! by Kate and Jim McMullan . Isn't that a funny title? We discovered this one quite by accident, but it has become one of A's favorites. For our vacation last fall, we checked out "Mike Mulligan" DVD from the library that had the prequel, I Stink! on it. A (3yo) fell in love with the funny, grumpy, "trashy" book about a garbage truck. When I saw I'm Dirty - about a backhoe loader with an attitude - I just had to buy it for Christmas. We all love it, though Mommy and Daddy are going hoarse from reading it in the tough-guy voice it demands. Cute book with funny illustrations. There are several other titles in this series, and we pla...

Since reading is my absolute favorite hobby, I have several books going at any given time. Books for fun; books to inspire me as a homemaker; books to grow me in my faith; and books to stretch my brain. I wrapped up several books in the last few weeks and decided to share a few thoughts from each. So here goes... Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. I've been a longtime fan of Austen's works, but had somehow never read this one. Since I absolutely love the film version (the one directed by Ang Lee, starring Emma Thompson) I decided it was high time I read the novel. All of my favorite Austen elements are there: witty dialogue, clever prose, humor, good characterization (especially Elinor, who you can see from my sidebar reminds me of myself,) true love that almost escapes. However, while S & S was a very enjoyable read, Pride & Prejudice remains my favorite of Miss Austen's novels. I can read P & P over and over again. Gold Cord: The Story of a Fellowship ...

A fly on the wall at our house this week might have heard... "But you don't love me ? 3yo A wondering why I won't marry him. I told him I already married Daddy. "Why?" asks he... "because I love him," say I. Get the picture? So cute I could have squished him with a hug! ____________________________ "Viper Viper Viper!!" Again, little A, while listening to the pastor quote John the Baptist calling the Pharisees a "Brood of Vipers." Can I get an "AMEN?" ____________________________ "Mom, we have a business for you to post on your blog!" 13yo S and 11yo C, coming to request some free advertising. By the way, if you are interested in a hand-crafted bow & arrow, made from sticks and rubber bands (like the one carried by Brave Sir Robin at Halloween) they can hook you up! ____________________________ "Has anybody seen my Polly Boy?" Umm... let's define terms... that's M (8yo) looking for the guy t...

No, I'm not talking about presidential politics (whew!) I'm talking about ocular dominance. Yes, for those of you who saw Oprah today, I took the little hole-in-the-paper test for eye dominance. I did it twice, just to be sure, and I came out left-eye dominant both times! Apparently this can be very important in sports like golf, baseball, and bowling, as well as when shoo.ting a g.un. Since I don't play those sports (at least not well enough to care which eye is dominant, LOL) and don't own a fire.arm, I'm not sure what all this means for me. But it was fun to find out! Now for a shameless plug... if you have not already discovered TLC's show, Jon & Kate Plus 8 , then you need to check it out tonight (or next Monday if you're reading this too late.) I cannot recommend this show highly enough!! I have been watching it for several months and absolutely.love.it! It is a hilarious, real-life picture of living with a lot of kids. (Or feeling like you live w...

After a nail-biting win last week in Indy, securing their spot in Wild Card Weekend, my Tennessee Titans lost to the Chargers today. :( Man!! I don't know if I'm more let down or relieved .... playoff games are so stressful! I'm sure Kate is joining me in my sadness, as her beloved Redskins fell to the Seahawks on Saturday. My only remaining hope for this year is that somebody - anybody - can take down the puffed-up Patriots! Enough, already! (My apologies to any gentle readers who may be Patriots fans ... you know - hate the sin, but love the sinner! LOL ) Here's to hoping we get a Super Bowl that is actually worth watching for the game and not just the commercials! Oh, well, there's always next year! Congrats to the Titans for making it this far after a roller-coaster season! GO TITANS!!!

The young parents look at the new little bundle with adoring eyes - eyes full of hope, wonder, and anticipation of what the future will bring for their firstborn - a daughter. They are 23 years old and still practically newlyweds. He is just beginning his career as an environmental engineer. She is busy making their first house a home for their little family. Life is a flurry those first few weeks. Midnight feedings. Inconsolable crying. Anxiety - "are we doing everything right?" Broken toes ... yes, he breaks his toe tripping over the rocking chair while bringing Mommy a bottle in the dark of night. It's amazing that such noise can come from so tiny a person! It was January 5, 1971. These young parents are my parents. They would spend the next couple of decades showering me with love and raising me with wisdom and the fear of the Lord. So today I would like to say "thank you" to them! Thank you for valuing life and starting a family during a time of cultural up...

I used to make long lists of noble Resolutions each year. I also used to break each one by the second week of January! I think New Year's Resolution-making is a practice that's doomed from the start. That said, I do think it's appropriate to spend time at the close of one year and the beginning of another reflecting on my "mission status." How is my walk with the Lord? (could be better...) How well am I nurturing my children? (oh, that's what I'm supposed to be doing!? I thought I was just surviving...) Am I loving and honoring my husband? (um, no comment...) Life has been very hectic for me over the last 3 years: a state-to-state move; 2 births; one death (precious mother-in-law;) My Sweetie's new business; returning to homeschooling after 2 years in traditional schools. I could add a few more, but you get the idea. In my former life, I was very dependent on rigid schedules and lots and lots of order. But these last couple of years, we have literally ...

Well, 2007 is under wraps and 2008 has begun. I am again amazed at how fast time flies by! I have a teenager in the house to remind me that the 19-month-old will grow up and become too big to sit in my lap faster than I would like! But the Lord is good and " the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." Psalm 16:6 We had a wonderful Christmas! My parents came down and stayed with us for several days, which was a treat in itself. But it was even more fun to have them here on Christmas morning to share in the kids' excitement. We enjoyed a yummy buffet at a resort in Stone Mountain Park and the whole day was full of happiness and blessings! Last night, while my oldest was at a youth group party, the rest of us rang in the New Year with sparkling grape juice, fireworks, and chocolate fondue. C and M wanted to stay up to watch the ball drop and we let them. But it was a little anti-climactic because they were so sleepy they...