A Plethora of Ponderings

Field Trip to the Kalamazoo Institute of Art

2010-12-08T20:26:00.006-05:00

On Tuesday afternoon I took the punks to Kalamazoo to visit the Institute of Art which was hosting a National Geographic Exhibit. Here's our trip in pictures.

I believe they are actually reading the informational plaques. Whodda thunk?

Many of you probably recognize this famous photo. Well, the one hanging on the wall.

Cool, there's interactive stuff for the punks. Putting together a puzzle of a famous painting.

Boy wonder enjoys computer art.

The bed of nails...always a hit with kids.

Of course he had to try his face.

Here's the side view and the front of his face.

Here you're supposed to draw the owl.

Notice the tongue-in-cheek...always helps with form.

Budding artists.

Can't go to Kalamazoo without stopping for dinner at Red Robin.

That is one big burger. Good thing the mouth's big enough to handle it.

A great afternoon was had by all. We stopped at Barnes and Noble in Battle Creek on the way home. I'm thankful for a year of homeschooling that allows us to take off on educational adventures at a moment's notice.

Somewhere a dog barks....

Crafts on a Monday Night

2010-12-08T19:52:00.004-05:00

Monday night was craft night at the Chili's. Cold night + no cable + craftie kids = Christmas coloring pages and.....SNOWFLAKE MAKING!! My girls are expert snowflake makers. Me? Well I just can't see it...the image in my head beforehand I mean. The girls on the other hand, seem to have this idea in their head and then they just start cutting and before you know it, they've created this beautiful masterpiece of a snowflake.

First we colored.

And then the kids made snowflakes. Here's what my patio window looks like.

And here's what my front window looks like.

It's quite festive and makes the house oh so cozy. So even if there's not much snow on the ground (which I might add is causing punk #3 a great deal of misery), I feel we have made up for it in a plethora of paper snowflakes.

Somewhere a dog barks....at the moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
which gives the luster of mid-day to objects below.

Random Table Talk

2010-11-30T19:32:00.002-05:00

Sometimes dinner at our house is like being at a comedy club. For some reason everybody just gets goofy at the dinner table. For instance, tonight we all sat down and I asked Chase to pray. So we all reverently bowed our heads and waited for him to say his prayer of thanksgiving. And we waited, and waited, and waited. Until finally we all looked up and Chase was sitting with hands folded, head bowed, and eyes closed. Sensing our glares, he opened his eyes and exclaimed, "I'm a mime." We all burst out laughing. How do you then go on and say a serious prayer I ask you?

We finally regained our composure, and again we all closed our eyes, bowed our heads, and awaited boy wonder's profound words of thanks. He took a deep breath and began speaking in this southern black preacher-type voice....and I quote, "Dear Lawd, please protect my throat. I ain't never done nothin' to nobody." Again laughter ensued and once the commotion was settled I realized he had just quoted a line from the movie, "Imagine That" with Eddie Murphy. An 11 year old white Eddie Murphy, that's what I'm dealing with here.

After dinner Jodie revealed to me that she happened upon Chase earlier in the kitchen as he was standing all by himself and peering into the refrigerator. She said he was talking to his shoulder.
"What?", I asked with a perplexed look on my face.
"He was talking into his shoulder. You know, like that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean where Jack Sparrow talks to the little Jack Sparrow conscience on his shoulder."
"What was he saying?"
"He was asking himself what he should eat."

It's nuts around here I'm tellin', ya. Nuts. I used to be allergic to nuts, but fortunately I've grown out of it.

Gettysburg in a Long Weekend

2010-10-30T11:54:00.005-04:00

EVERYONE should make it a priority to visit Gettysburg. For us it was about a 9 1/2 hour drive, most of which was on the turnpike. The trip could be done in a long weekend and here's how I suggest you do it:

Go in mid October when the leaves in southern PA will be at their peak. Leave after school on a Thursday and drive to the Cleveland or Youngstown area. Remember, you'll be on the turnpike and hotels will be a few miles off the beaten path. We didn't plan ahead, so we used the GPS (and my sister by phone)to help us find hotels. On Friday, rise early and get on the road even if those kiddos are complaining, you don't want to waste any time.

Once you arrive on Friday, go to the 1863 Inn of Gettysburg on Baltimore St. and get a room. (This is just a suggestion, but we found it to be conveniently located and a nice place to stay. It was only $80 a night.) Drop off your stuff and walk around the town, making note of places you'd like to visit or eat over the weekend. If you like pizza, try Tommy's Pizza which is just a couple blocks from the hotel or this would also be a good night to eat at the Dobbin's House.

Saturday morning get up and head to the Gettysburg National Military Museum around 9:00a.m. and reserve your personal tour guide. Either take the tour then or spend 2-3 hours in the museum and then take the battlefield tour with the guide. The battlefield tour will take 2 hours. At some point, get some lunch. We bought picnic food and made sandwiches to take to the battlefield. Spend the afternoon at the battlefield exploring on your own.

On Sunday, visit museums and places in town. I'd recommend touring the Shriver House, visiting the train station where President Lincoln arrived, visiting the David Wills house where President Lincoln spent the night and eating at the Dobbins House at some point. The rest is personal preference. There are plenty of places with interesting relics from the battle which we found fun to look through. And of course, there are ice cream shops.

On Monday drive straight home and wah-la, you have just given your kids an amazing lesson in American history that they, and you, will never forget.

A New Nation, Conceived in Liberty

2010-10-29T10:55:00.013-04:00

The third full day at Gettysburg was spent visiting the Gettysburg National Military Park. The first part of the tour was a 20 minute, giant screen movie about the Battle of Gettysburg. I loved it. Next we road the longest escalator I've ever been on. Seemed like it went up 3 floors. This took us to the Cyclorama, a 360 degree circular oil-on-canvas painting that depicts "Pickett's Charge," the climactic Confederate attack on the Union center on July 3, 1863. Completed and exhibited in 1884, it is one of the last surviving cycloramas in the United States. The painting is an amazing sight at 377 feet in circumference and 42 feet tall. Along with lights and narration, this was quite an experience. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures.

The museum is filled with photos, artifacts, information, and interactive programs that could take all day if one were to be there by themselves and not with 3 kids. We probably spent 2 1/2 hours there, but I could have spent most of the day. The kids are standing in front of a huge display of photographs of some of the soldiers that fought in the war.

One of the interactive programs challenges you to pack all the items a soldier would need to set off on the march with only a 90 second window of time. The goal is to keep the pack under 45 pounds and still have all the essentials. None of us met the challenge.

Many of the men fortunate enough to survive the battle, came out of the war without legs or arms. We learned that at one farmhouse turned hospital, the surgeons would amputate and then toss the limbs out the window and the pile of amputated arms and legs was as high as the window sill.

After hanging out at the National Military Museum, we went back in town. There were numerous museums and tours of buildings available. In fact, one could spend a whole lot of bucks visiting all these attractions and while some seemed quite reputable, others seemed to be a bit more sideshow-ish. So from day one I had been asking every tour guide, store clerk, hotel employee, and visitor center volunteer what they would suggest we see. There were various answers and I was perplexed as to which one would be worth forking over the money to see. We continued to walk around town and came upon a quaint little bed and breakfast called the Brafferton Inn, but when I tried to open the door it wouldn't budge so we turned around to leave. Just then a kind gentleman opened the door and asked if he could help us. I asked if we could just look around. He graciously allowed us in and gave us a mini tour. Built in 1786, The Brafferton Inn is the oldest continual residence in Gettysburg. Here's the punks standing at the front porch.

Of course I asked him which of the museums we should see. He told us of The Shriver House and it sounded exactly like what I was looking for. We were not allowed to take pictures inside so this is all I have of our excursion, but you can click on the link to see more.

This was definitely a highlight of the trip for me. A woman dressed in clothing of that time period narrated the tour. We learned that George Shriver, owner of the home, set off for the war and left his wife and two young girls here at their home. When Confederate soldiers began to infiltrate the town, Mrs. Shriver took her girls and the neighbors' 15 year old daughter, Tillie Pierce, and traveled a few miles to Mrs. Shriver's parents' farm where they thought they would be safer. Little did they know this farm would be even closer to the fighting and was quickly used as a hospital. Tillie Pierce kept a diary of the events and 25 years later published her story. I bought the book and found it fascinating. To learn more about Tillie Pierce click here.

Back at the Shriver home, the Confederates took over the house placing sharp shooters in the attic. We saw where they had knocked the bricks out of the wall so they could shoot through them. A Confederate soldier had actually been killed there and we saw the bullet holes all over the outside of the house where Union soldiers fired back.

Of course no day was complete without a trip to the Battlefield, so we took a drive back out again. We took 4 trips out to the Battlefield and on the last one I really wanted one more picture in particular....

Here's a Reb. coming up Little Round Top....take cover!

If you've seen the movie "Gettysburg", you may recognize the above picture. This is the cupola at the Lutheran Theological Seminary where General John Buford, played by Sam Elliot, surveyed the ground of the upcoming battle.

After a full day of hands-on learning it is imperative that students converge at the local coffee shop for some hot chocolate with extra whipped cream.

A few other tidbits of information about our Gettysburg adventure:
1. We ate pizza 3 nights in a row...it's a cheap dinner. $11 bucks feeds the family.

2. We bought bread, lunch meat, mustard, chips, bottled water, and Oreos and made our lunch everyday, which we took along and ate out at the Battlefield. So about $20 provided 3 lunches for 4.

3. Natty didn't even eat one whole bowl of dog food the entire trip, so that saved us a bundle. (Of course, she still begged for ice cream, but then, don't we all?)

The next post will tell all about our sweet, chocolatey adventure. Stay tuned because....

Somewhere a dog barks....and its breath smells of chocolate.

Our Fathers Brought Forth Upon This Continent

2010-10-27T20:51:00.016-04:00

Our second full day at Gettysburg was simply suberb. We began at 8:30a.m. in the Gettysburg National Military Park where we secured our personal tour guide to the battlefield. I highly recommend that when you come to Gettysburg you hire a guide to take you around the battlefield. We learned so much from Paul, our tour guide, as he drove us around the park pointing out all the different aspects of the battle as well as information that I know we wouldn't have heard or learned on our own. It was great because he drove our truck, so I could just enjoy the ride and...bonus...Natty could ride along so we didn't have to leave her in the hotel.

We began with a drive past this house that was hit by an artillery shell.

Next we went to visit the monument of the Michigan 24th Regiment. Notice the hat was not the typical Union soldier hat. The Michigan regiments wore black hats that turned up on one side and typically had a feather or deer tail in them. These soldiers were known as the "Black Hats".

These cannons were positioned at the top of Little Round Top. The Union army took control of this high ground and held it throughout the second and third days of fighting and is the reason that the Union won the battle of Gettysburg, and ultimately the war.

Notice the green color of the cannons. These are actual cannons used during the Civil War and are made of iron which has turned green over years of weathering. (The "stands" that the cannons are on are not from the Civil War, just the cannons.)

Looking up at Little Round Top.

This is the view from atop Little Round Top. The statue is Brig. General Warren who became known as "The Savior of Gettysburg" due to his quick decision to take control of this high ground which ultimately gave the Union the upper hand and led to the Confederate's defeat at Gettysburg. If you've watched the movie "Gettysburg", you will probably remember the scene after the battle on Little Round Top where the Chamberlain brothers were sitting on a rock looking over the battlefield. That scene was filmed on the rocks right next to the Warren statue. They hid the statue with some "trees", and you can see the hat of the statue at one point in the film.

This photo is looking down from Little Round Top to Devil's Den below. Devil's Den (the labyrinth of large boulders) was taken by Confederate soldiers in a long and bloody skirmish, after which the Confederates brought in sharp shooters to carry out their deadly task of pecking off Union soldiers at the top of Little Round Top. Stinking rebs.

Jayme is standing on Little Round Top. You can see rocks piled in front of her. Exhausted Union soldiers worked through the night stacking rocks between the boulders for added protection from the likes of those aforementioned stinking johnny reb sharpshooters.

I told Chase to pretend he was a Union soldier and get behind one of the piles of rocks. I could barely see him so I suggested he prop himself up as if he were shooting his gun. His intelligent reply? "Because if I had to fight in this war, I wouldn't be shooting, I'd be hiding." Smart kid.

The kids are walking down Little Round Top to the 16th Michigan monument. Monuments are placed where each regiment fought. Gettysburg is one of the most monumented places in the world.

Walking up from the monument of the 16th Michigan. Did I mention that Gettysburg is very pet friendly? Lots of folks brought their dogs and many shops in town are pet friendly.

The kids are climbing around Devil's Den. I must admit I hesitated to let them climb around some of these places. It just seemed like hallowed ground, not a jungle gym. But many folks were exploring and so I sat quietly, contemplating what had taken place on this very spot, while they enjoyed themselves.

Chase pretending to be Spiderman.

Jodie is sitting at the monument of the 24th Michigan which is also at Little Round Top. We spent a lot of time here because it was so beautiful and there were lots of places to explore.

As the sun went down we headed back to our hotel and ate some pizza. Later we walked a block to the annual Gettysburg Halloween parade. I'm pretty sure that was the first time I've watched a night parade. It was pretty cool.

There is so much more to write and many more photos to post, but for now.....

Somewhere a dog barks....still chasing that johnny reb I suppose.

Four Score and Seven Years Ago

2010-10-26T21:57:00.007-04:00

Gettysburg. I've wanted to come here for quite some time now. American history fascinates me, thanks to my dad. He amazes me with his depth of knowledge and his ability to spew out little known, and well known facts. I wish I had half his knowledge of American history. And now that I'm a grown up (well that's still up for debate) I'm thrilled that my own kids seem to have an interest as well, especially punk #3.

For almost 2 months I have been trying to come up with somewhere for us to go...that was the whole reason we are homeschooling this year. But it seemed there was always some reason we couldn't get out of town. Suddenly, I realized that we had this one week without too many responsibilities, and so on Friday I decided we needed to get to Gettysburg. I made a few calls to rearrange appointments and told the kids to start packing. Punk 3 had 2 soccer games this weekend which meant we wouldn't leave until Sunday evening.

We drove to Cleveland on Sunday night and finished the rest on Monday, arriving in Gettysburg at about 2:00p.m. The drive was beautiful, especially once we got off the turnpike and drove Highway 30 into Gettysburg. Here's a pic.

Oh and by the way, we didn't have time to really think about arrangements for our dog Natty, so we just brought her along with us. Here she is enjoying the ride.

Once we unloaded all our stuff in the hotel room we jumped back in the car and went straight to the Visitor Center. It was too late for a tour of the battlefield, but we found out what we needed to do for the next day. President Lincoln gave the kids a warm welcome.

I thought this was worth a picture...the belt buckle that saved a soldier's life.

We left there, went back to the hotel and then walked around town for a couple of hours. Gettysburg is very dog-friendly so it was easy to get around with Natty. We stopped at many Civil War buildings and homes, reading every plaque along the way (well, I read every plaque along the way while the kids tolerated me reading every plaque along the way).

The building in the picture on the right is the Farnsworth House and is riddled with bullet holes. It is believed that a Confederate sniper was shooting from a small window in the attic and that one of his bullets killed Jenny Wade, a young woman who was in her home down the street tending to her sister who had just had a baby. Jenny Wade was the only civilian killed at Gettysburg.

If trees could talk.....

President Lincoln's in town to deliver the Gettysburg address.
The punks are in awe.

Natty's in awe too.

President Lincoln slept here at the home of young lawyer David Wills the night before he gave the Gettysburg Address.

The Dobbin House was built in 1776 and is now a restaurant and tavern that has been decorated to depict the time. The servers wear authentic costume.

We had dinner in the basement tavern. It was lit mainly by candles so getting good pictures wasn't easy. I had the french onion soup....yummo!

I could go on and on, but I won't because I'm about to go nuts with this super slow internet connection. More to come later.

Somewhere a dog barks...probably at some Johnny Reb.

The Traditional Fall Pics

2010-10-18T15:50:00.005-04:00

It's that time of year again...time to take the annual fall pictures of the kids. I've been doing this for many years. It started out with punk one at 5 months old sitting in the front yard with some pumpkins. I continued that tradition for the next 3 years. Then punk two came along and I did the same thing with her. Unfortunately I did not continue this tradition due to the fact that when punk two's second year rolled around I was pregnant with punk three and well, the tradition fell to the wayside.

Anyhoo, here's first born's first 3 years of fall pics. It's true, she was 5 months old in the first picture and sitting up very well. The character was walking at 9 months.

Here she is at 190 months, or 15 years and 5 months if you're getting technical and she still sits up and walks pretty well.

Poor second born, I only have one fall picture of her. Actually I believe I have more, but unlike first born who has a baby book completed through her first 4 years, second born's are in a box somewhere. Sheesh, I'm a second born and I vowed I'd never repeat the photographic black holes of my parents. Ah, history repeats itself.

Here's second born at 152 months, or 12 years and 8 months. She doesn't look too psychologically damaged by the shortage of completed baby book pages.

And then came the surprise, the third born and a boy at that. A wonderful surprise to be sure, but a price is paid with even less completed baby book pictures. Frankly, (I realize that may not be your name, but bear with me) I don't believe I ever even took a picture of third born sitting in the front yard with pumpkins. Hopefully third born will overlook this act of negligence and appreciate the fact that I have taken approximately a bazillion pictures of him playing soccer.

He's a nut, a ham really and the combination of the two is why we sometimes call him "Hammy". That and the fact that he does a fantastic imitation of Hammy the squirrel in "Over the Hedge".

I love my punks at all stages of their lives, but I miss those days of littleness; the smell of baby shampoo in their hair, fuzzy sleepers, snuggling them on my lap, bedtime stories, kissing boo-boos, and 7:30 bedtime. And of all the fall pictures that have been taken over the past few years, this one is my all time favorite.

Excuse me while I go get a tissue.

STOP THE PRESSES!

Whilst writing this blog entry the girls got the picture bug and began sorting through old pictures and thank the Lord, I have been redeemed. Here are fall photos from third born's first two years of life. Of course, he's with his sisters, but hey, it's better than nothing.

The Farside of the Apple Orchard

2010-09-28T14:57:00.011-04:00

Do you remember when you were a kid, or maybe last week, how you'd sneak silly notes on the back of your unsuspecting friends, or perhaps and more likely, your enemies? Notes that said things like, "Kick me", or "Punch me" or "Stay away from me...I'm a total psycho and just a thread away from completely losing it"? Well yesterday the punks and I were meeting up with another home school family and we were all going out to the nearby apple orchard where we could frolic and play and discover the wonders of the apple orchard world. Upon exiting the car, I noticed something unusual on the back of punk #2. I asked her to come over and turn around so I could see what it was. When she turned around there was a little sticky note attached to her sweatshirt and this is what it said:

I immediately burst out laughing. Knowing it was punk #3's writing and also noticing that he had a very guilty look on his face, I asked him where he had the idea to write that particular statement. His reply, "From a Farside comic book." That made sense. Punk #3 has a unique sense of humor and totally gets the Farside. I love him for that.

Now on to the rest of the story. Here is the infamous apple orchard not far from our little town.

Hmmm...Bakery or Apple Barn, which should we choose first? Why the bakery, of course.

Any good country store and bakery will have a deliciously inviting sucker tree.

And of course, any good country store/bakery will also have silly photo ops. This is my friend Linda sneaking into punk #2's picture.

Poor punk #2 is trying so hard to be serious but those other two characters just keep goofing off.

The girls look so cute and then there's the silly "farside" brother trying to imitate the spooky "scream" guy.

These animals decided to sit down to a game of chess before tackling the daunting task of choosing their donut.

This cutie is Gillian, or Gilly-Bean as she has become known to those who love her. She's scoping out the donuts and is particularly torn between the sprinkled kind and well, the sprinkled kind.

Some serious donut eating and discussion going on here.

No apple orchard visit is complete without a stop to pet the farm animals and get all germie.

Always a race to the top with these two.

You knew there'd be a picture of a kid eating an apple on our apple orchard field trip.

And no fall field trip would be complete without the token pumpkin picture.

And to top it all off, the ride home included a stop at the local ice cream shop for the flavor of the week...peanut butter. What more could a kid ask for?

Somewhere a dog barks in a pumpkin patch.....

Schoolin' at Home

2010-09-17T18:11:00.003-04:00

Have you ever been totally blindsided? Of course you have, and just recently, I have too. I've been blindsided by how totally awesome educating the punks at home has been. Who-da thunk? Well, all of you who already home school your kids for sure. You already know what I have just figured out. Home schooling is pretty cool. For starters, we aren't nearly as grouchy in the morning because at 7:05 a.m. when the bus rumbles past our house, we're all still in bed. I've heard it on many occasions and, although just last spring that sound brought about wailing and gnashing of teeth, now it is a most glorious sound indeed. On these brisk fall mornings when my bedroom window is cracked and the cool fall air is seeping in, I listen for the rumbling of that bus and when I hear it, I smile and hunker down further beneath my blankets and thank God for the blessing of home schooling.

The punks are enjoying the freedom of their new schedule, but they are also thriving in their new learning environment. Light bulbs are going on daily in boy wonder's head as we work through math. I am amazed at how quickly he is catching on and excelling. Girl #2 has always excelled in math, well in any subject, and is learning new ways of doing math that makes much more sense than some of the "new" math with all of it's lengthy lattice work. And the oldest girl is totally blooming in her new soil, where she determines her own schedule and tackles the work all on her own. She has discovered that she actually likes learning AND can be self-motivated. Who are these children?!

So here's what education at home looks like in the Chili house. First a good breakfast...and why not? We actually have time for it! We made crepes with fresh picked raspberries and of course, chocolate chips.

Next, boy wonder and mom begin with math which takes about 1 1/2 hours. We begin together, then he does the problems on his own and I check them later.

Boys need breaks and well, guns I guess.

Boy punk decided to use his homemade blow-nerfgun to take out a bothersome moth. Bullseye!

Here's punk #2 working on her Early American History assignment which was to write an essay on a topic of her choice. She chose to write about the history of the Star Spangled Banner. Both the younger two were required to write an essay and boy punk asked if they could also make a poster...did you get that? He asked for more work. So they are both also making a poster to go along with the essay. Way cool.

Here's punk #1 in her room where she spends about 4 hours each day working through assignments given through the local home school co-op. The best part is, she has the freedom to make her schedule and she has decided that 10a.m.-3:00p.m. suits her just fine.

And there you have it. A day in the life. Two weeks in and so far so good.

Somewhere a dog barks.....at a bus rumbling down the road at an unforgivably early hour.

Raspberry Pickin'

2010-09-13T22:17:00.002-04:00

The big news of the day is that the two younger punks and I went raspberry pickin' this afternoon. It was a great day for it and there were many berries to be had. There were a few bees, but they weren't interested in us and we were certainly not interested in them so we all got along just fine. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take my camera on our little excursion so I won't bore you with the details...or maybe I will, but since it's my blog I'll keep writing and you can just stop reading if you want.

Probably the highlight for me was listening to boy punk shout out phrases like, "Woah, I hit the jackpot here!" or "Oh man, I just found the motherlode!" I must admit he surprised me with his enthusiasm. Girl punk was a bit sheepish due to the high volume of bees, but eventually she jumped in and we picked a total of 7 quarts.

The other highlight took place as we loaded the berries into the truck. That very morning boy punk was studying multiplication story problems. So I asked him how we would calculate the cost of 7 quarts of berries at $2.50 a quart. Sure enough, he knew how to find the answer and as he began to figure it out, big sister chimed in about how she would just multiply 7x2 to get 14 and then multiply 7x.50 to get 3.50 and then add 3.50 and 14 to get 17.50. And somehow that took her all of about 3 seconds. Show off.

So here's the only picture I took of our "berry" fun day.

A New Way to Do School

2010-09-12T17:28:00.011-04:00

(This post was actually written a week ago, but for some reason beyond my control...well not beyond my control, it was totally my fault...I neglected to post it.)

Last week we officially began our home education program...sounds official doesn't it? We had a head start in science,what with the whole monarch menagerie and all; it really was quite educational. Although I must admit that I was more into the whole thing than the kids were. Don't get me wrong, they enjoyed it. The truth is, I am a lover of all things nature-like and of course, then there's the whole St. Jansis side of me...don't even get me started. Some of you know all about the baby duck rescue of 2009. Anywho, where was I? Oh right, the kids and school.

We eased into the first week by tackling math the first morning and then heading up to Lansing with our home educating sidekicks, the Barclay's. First we visited Lansing Gift and Bible where we looked over some curriculum and used books. Well, I looked it over while the boys educated themselves on the intricacies of sandtable games.

Next we visited the local farmer's market where we sampled the largest corn-on-the-cob ever grown...not really. We went to Hobby Lobby where they had these ridiculously large fake corn-on-the-cob decorations. Seriously, why would someone buy such a thing?

The Hobby Lobby can be dangerous, so watch your back.

Craftiness is her middle name.

No fieldtrip is complete without a stop at Cold Stone Creamery.

Jayme is doing her imitation of a squirrel eating ice cream and Jodie is just putting up with all of us.

Next we went to Preuss Pets. They have some very cool fish and reptiles.

"When life gets ya down, you know what you've gotta do? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

Pretty sure this little guy was a bit nervous in a pet shop filled with snakes.

Tarantula...not poisonous...who knew? You did? Well, don't be a know-it-all.

Overall it was a good first day of school....very different than what we're used to, but I think we could get used to this.

Somewhere a dog barked....probably ours 'cuz we were gone awhile and she needed to be let out.

The Finale

2010-09-11T18:45:00.005-04:00

Just a few quick shots that tell the tales of our last 3 butterflies. First we'll begin with the release of Amarilla.

We took Amarilla to my folks house so she could begin her life in the real world on a beautiful, yet tasty, butterfly bush.

Looks like she may already have a friend.

My mom kept an eye on Amarilla for the rest of the day. The next morning I got a call from mom saying that she didn't think Amarilla was doing very well. She wasn't fluttering around the bush like other butterflies and had even fallen to the ground the day before. Mom put her back on the bush, but she hadn't moved at all and was just staying on a branch and not eating. So I came over with some honey water. She ate a bunch, but I decided to take her back home since it was going to be a cold and rainy day. I've watched her all day and I think she's doing much better.

Now on to the rest of the story. Two more butterflies emerged today and the poor things haven't had much attention...3rd and 4th kids really get the short end of the stick. I did witness the arrival of the final butterfly. Here's the pics.

As you look at these pictures, notice how the wings change. It's totally amazing how they are so wrinkled and small, but within a few minutes they unfold and straighten out.

Miraculous doesn't even begin to describe it!

I thought you might be interested in the crazy butterfly house we've created. As caterpillars, they started out in an aquarium that we had in the garage...left over from an attempt to raise hermit crabs. The hermit crabs didn't last, but thank goodness the aquarium did. Once the butterflies arrived we needed room for them to stretch their wings...how often can you use that phrase and mean it literally? So Jayme and Chase took apart their homemade nerf blowguns that they had made from pvc piping. We taped the piping to the 4 corners of the aquarium. I had some tulle tucked away from a previous project, so we just draped it over the posts. Wah-lah...butterfly house. They seem to enjoy it. I brought some flowers from mom's butterfly bush for them to eat. They love it!

Finding Nemo

2010-09-10T23:07:00.004-04:00

Another first has happened in our grand Monarch menagerie...we finally saw one of our butterflies come out of his cocoon and I've got the pictures to prove it. We knew the butterfly would come out at some point today because the cocoon was transparent, so we were on the lookout. Chase sat right next to the aquarium to do his math work and keep watch. After a while we noticed the cocoon had split and as I looked closer I realized he was pushing his way out. I called the girls and here's what we saw. (Please excuse the dirty aquarium. The spots are from all the misting we did to keep the humidity in the tank.)

Look at the perfect tear-drop shaped opening.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but the butterfly is making it's way out. It only took about 2 minutes. It looked like this and then...

...he was out. It was one smooth motion.

No wiggling, no jiggling. Just swoosh and he was free.

Now when he first came out his wings were very small and wrinkly. I wondered if something had gone wrong because we'd seen butterflies with deformed wings and they don't live very long. One wing in particular looked like it hadn't formed correctly and when I pointed this out Chase proclaimed, "Lucky fin!" If you've seen the movie Finding Nemo you know exactly what he's talking about. So right then we named him Nemo.

Nemo was having a bit of trouble getting himself in the right position to hang and dry his wings and we wanted to make sure he had a good chance at getting those wings just perfect, so Chase got Nemo onto his finger. Look at the little "grippers" at the end of his legs. Those are called tarsi. He can really hang on tight with those babies.

Then we placed him on a stick and situated him so he'd have plenty of space.

Within several minutes Nemo's wings were perfectly straight and looking strong. He's doing great now.

He'll just hang around all day and sometime tomorrow he'll decide to eat. We'll give him some watermelon and if the weather's nice we'll take him to grandma's butterfly bush and set him free.

Fabio has Emerged!

2010-09-09T09:50:00.011-04:00

Just 2 days ago, on a chilly September morning, our first caterpillar was reborn into a beautiful Monarch butterfly. We were so excited Tuesday morning when we awoke to see that the cocoon had turned transparent and the black, orange, and yellow fabric of Fabio was clearly visible. We waited with great anticipation, hoping to see the miracle of his rebirth.

For about 2 hours we constantly checked on Fabio. Here you can see Chase peering through the glass. This is homeschooling at it's best.

Fabio was clearly ready to emerge, but we had to be patient. Breaking loose of the confines of a cocoon is no easy task.

Look at the details. Fabio's face is smooshed down in the bottom and he's looking a bit precarious.

If you look closely at this picture, you will see that the cocoon has split. He remained this way for probably another 30 minutes. It seemed as if he still had a good amount of work to do, so I decided to jump in the shower.

When I returned, Fabio was totally out of the cocoon and flopping around on the bottom of the aquarium. A butterfly must hang upside down immediately after escaping the cocoon or death is almost certain. The wings are wrinkled and wet and they need to hang upside down in order for the wings to dry properly. Fortunately I was there to pick up our poor baby.

Notice the wings appear a bit floppy. We continued to hold him upside down.

Now you can see that his wings no longer look wrinkled or wet. This only took about 5 minutes which would explain the importance of being present when your butterflies emerge.

We gently nudged Fabio onto a stick to complete the drying process. Can you see his curly little "tongue"?

Isn't he beautiful? We're just so proud.

Fabio won't eat for the first 24 hours, so we had fun observing him all day. Then the next day we gave him a piece of watermelon. Check out his curly proboscis or "tongue".

He'll use that proboscis to suck up nectar and water.

What a beauty, eh? Amazing! Fabio is 2 days old now and later today we will take him to my folks house because my mom has a butterfly bush. He'll love it there.

As I write, we are waiting for our second butterfly to emerge which should be anytime now. Unfortunately she will not get the attention of our firstborn, (isn't that the way it always is?) because I am sitting in a coffee shop waiting for punk #2 to get her braces on. I left Amarillo in the capable hands of punk #3 who is supposed to call with news of Amarillo's arrival. And as is to be expected of any second born, poor Amarillo will not have pictures taken of her miraculous birth. Figures. (Can you tell I'm a second born?)

Oh and btw, some of the pictures are dimly lit because Fabio jumped anytime I used my flash and I didn't want to stress him. I like using natural light whenever possible, but in this case the room was fairly dim and even though we used a desk lamp, pictures taken in the evening just didn't have the best lighting. I need to solve this dilemma for Amarillo's photos.

Fabio has left the building. Here are some shots of our brave little Fabio encountering the great outdoors for the very first time as a brand new butterfly. I think Chase had a small dose of what it feels like to be a parent as he opened the jar and let his butterfly go free. He made statements like, "Do birds eat butterflies?", "What if he doesn't know how to fly yet?", "Maybe we should just keep him at home." Ahh...the joys of parenting.

Fabio knew just what to do when Chase placed him on the butterfly bush. His little tongue went straight to the sweet nectar and he took a big swig.

I think he looks quite happy.

Amarilla Makes Her Debut!

Not long after returning from saying goodbye to Fabio, Amarillo decided to come out of her cocoon. I had begun to get a bit worried when she didn't come out this morning, but she was fine and of course, she came out while I was helping one of the kids with their homework so we missed it again. I wish we could just sit and wait, but she looked ready to emerge at 8:00 this morning and didn't finally come out until about 3:00. I can't just sit around and wait for you crazy winged creatures....I've got things to do! The least you could do is give us some warning, but no, one minute you're in, the next you're out. Well, we have 2 more to go so maybe we'll get to see one emerge yet.

And here she is out of her cocoon and hanging just as she should be. Unlike Fabio who fell down, Amarilla clung to her old home for quite some time. You can see one of the other cocoons nearby.

Also unlike Fabio, Amarilla was quite active after hanging for less than an hour. She began to explore her surroundings. I think she's a bit spunkier than Fabio. Interesting to think that butterflies have personalities isn't it?

So there's another one of our beauties. And as should be expected, that's all the pictures we have of our poor neglected second born.

Bean Night

2010-09-04T03:39:00.003-04:00

Random title, random thoughts. The title isn't as random as it may seem at first glance. This evening was full of beans; refried beans with our tacos, some sort of card game that had to do with the planting and harvesting of beans, and then me partaking of way too many coffee beans. Here's the story.

Tonight I can't sleep due to unwisely drinking a cup of coffee offered to me at my friend Jill's house while playing a game of Ticket to Ride with some great friends at or near the time of 8:00p.m-ish. I mistakenly believed the brew to be decaf. because who in their right mind would serve regular coffee at such a late hour? I blame KD, Jill's husband who must have some sort of caffeine immunity built up in his system. So here I am at 3:44 a.m. wide awake and wondering if the kids will be kind enough to keep the noise level to a minimum so I can sleep through the morning, which I NEVER do and a behavior which I loathe entirely.

Here's a funny random Chase quote of the day, "Hey, when I shake my whole body I can feel liquid moving around in my stomach." I believe he had just had a large glass of water. I watched as he spent the next minute "air" hula hooping and listening and laughing at the sound a belly full of liquid makes when it's shaken...not stirred.

Another funny and quite random scenario from our motley crew that took place today while riding in the car goes as follows:

It began with Chase asking,"Mom, what is a hypocrite?"
I explained that it referred to someone who says one thing, but does the opposite. To which Jodie quickly added, "Like if you told someone not to spit, but then you spit all the time." (to clarify...Chase is a spitter, he's 10...it's what 10 year old boys do and it drives Jodie bonkers.) I also added some other profound examples of hypocrites hoping to make this a teachable moment.
Then Jodie added, "And by the way, that was really a random question to ask."
"Yea that was random, Chase", I interjected. "What made you ask that question?"
"I was thinking about Harry Potter", he said.
Which made no sense to any of us except Jayme who has read all the books and has a mind like a steel trap. And so she responded,"Oh, so you were thinking about the hippogriff."
"Yea", Chase said.
And we all had a good laugh because we had a very serious 10 minute discourse on the topic of hypocrites, when all the poor kid wanted was an explanation of a creature who's body is half horse and half eagle.

Speaking of random, I worked out today for the third time this week. My friend Jill and I are regularly going to the field house and lifting weights as well as doing the eliptical and the stationary bike. I hope to keep this up so that I might fulfill my dream of having a 6 pack...at this point I think I have a 2 liter.

More randomness; I'm reading a good book about a mother who home schooled her daughter for a year. So far it is fascinating and refreshing and confirming. I have had some anxiety about whether my decision to home school my kids for a year is a good one and this book is helping me to see the light and chill out. I am really looking forward to the experience and believe it will be one that my kids will never forget. (Hopefully in the good sense of the meaning of that phrase.)

Even more randomness: today is the first day that it really felt like fall is on it's way. I love fall, it is my favorite season. The kids and I went to Michael's and they spent their own money on crafts and they all chose something fallish...well, except for Jayme who chose these cool bobble heads made from Puffy Clay which will be a hoot to create and since I just used the word "hoot" I believe I can now say that even her craft is fallish...being that owls hoot and sometimes that's scary which makes me think of Halloween and Halloween is in the fall. There it came full circle.

Well that's about enough randomness for one night/early morning so I will now sign off.

Somewhere a dog barked....

The Changling

2010-08-25T16:14:00.056-04:00

It's monarch caterpillar season and we all know what that means, right? Time for the Chili's to go on their 4th annual monarch caterpillar hunt! This is the 4th year that we have helped keep the monarch butterfly population going strong by capturing said caterpillars and raising them to become responsible adult monarch butterflies.

The monarch butterfly population, among many others, is dwindling due to urbanization and so by capturing the caterpillars we are increasing the chances that they will make it into adulthood by providing a stable and safe environment away from predators. We didn't know that when we began this project 4 years ago, we just liked bugs and wanted to watch them go through all the cool changes. But knowing that we are contributing to the betterment of the monarch butterfly population is definitely an added bonus.

And so our adventure begins on the Falling Waters Trail just a couple of miles from our house.

We had ventured less than 50 yards down the trail when we spotted some milkweed plants.

Believe it or not, these little yellow and black striped buggers are hard to spot.

You have to really get in there and look all over the plant, especially under the leaves. They typically stay on the underside of the leaf in order to avoid getting eaten by ravenous birds. (Notice the nerf dart stuck to Chase's shorts. Obviously he took a hit to the butt. Man, if I had a nickel for every nerf dart I found around my house...sheesh.)

Booyah! We found one! We were excited to find this guy, but discouraged at the magnitude of mosquitoes that were swarming us, so we headed back to the truck to drive to our other favorite caterpillar hunting grounds.

This is where we tend to find at least 1 or 2 every year.

Jayme and Jodie are closely inspecting the milkweed plant...

....and wahlah! Another creepy crawly!

Meanwhile, Chase found another and obviously feels quite proud of himself.

We found a total of 6 little critters which we took home and placed in their new surroundings.

They are adapting marvelously, and well they should since they have all the fresh milkweed they could ever want and don't have to fear being eaten by the diabolically evil, Robin Redbreast.

Ummm...sorry to have to tell you this kids, but there's no dating until you're full grown butterflies.

I like this picture of Chase peering through the glass of the aquarium. We spend exorbitant amounts of time watching these fascinating creatures.

And lookie there! One is already preparing to build a chrysalis.

Here's Fabio in his chrysalis. (I had to take this through cellophane so the picture isn't very good.) Once again, for the 4th year, we have missed the making of the chrysalis. They must do it awfully fast because we are like fleas on a hound dog when it comes to sticking to our post as observers of the tank. Those bugger's will be hanging in a "J" for hours and we'll keep checking on it every few minutes, and then "blam", the next thing we know the thing's in a dang chrysalis. We have 2 more hanging in the "J" position and I've looked at them a dozen times in the last 2 hours. I bet the creeps are making the cocoon as I write...so I better go check.

Finally! Finally we have been able to watch these tri-colored changlings morph into the chrysalis stage! We didn't actually see the entire process. The above photo shows the critter already beginning to morph. It seems to begin from the bottom, which is really the head because he was hanging upside down. Notice the ridge of green about midway up the blob. Now look at the next picture....

...the green ridge has moved up higher to the next stripe. This continues until...

...the entire caterpillar is enveloped by the green material.

This picture is of Fabio who built his cocoon first and it now has a ring of beautiful golden spots. Matilda or Amarillo is in the background, hanging in the "j", preparing to begin the morphing process. Wild, I'm tellin' ya, just wild.

Oh My Nerves!! We saw more of the morphing process yesterday and here are the pictures to prove it. I have finally figured out just what is going on with these unbelievable creatures. I wish I would have had my camera sooner, but I was so mesmerized by the whole thing I didn't think to grab my camera right away. Here's what happened. I was walking through the living room and did my usual check on the critters. One that had been hanging in a "j" position was making a lot of movement, so I stopped and continued to watch. The poor thing looked like he was going through convulsions or perhaps had eaten a bad leaf and was preparing to violently heave his lunch. I walked away and stepped into the kitchen for about a minute and came back and there was this green blob on the bottom of the "j". I called for the kids and we watched as the changling wriggled and jiggled, all the while the green blob crept up his body. As the green rose to the top of his body, a black substance was being pushed up which we realized was his old body. He was shedding the old and becoming new...hmmm...might make for a good sermon. Anyhoo, all of a sudden I yelled, "My camera!" and I ran to get it and snapped the following pictures.

The process has begun, notice the old skin at the top.

Can you tell that the little guy is wiggling his heart out?

The old body fell off, there's still a lot of wiggling going on. This looks like hard work.

More wiggling.

From here the lower green material moves up and takes over like in the previous picture from a couple of days ago. Eventually he will be smooth and after a few days the shape changes a bit and the gold gems begin to appear.

So there you have it. Another episode in the life of our beloved caterpillars.

Stay tuned, because in about 5 or 6 days our first cocoon maker, Fabio should be about ready to proudly emerge as a beautiful monarch butterfly. We'll keep ya posted.

North of the Tension Line

2010-08-21T20:44:00.029-04:00

There's a sign in a local cafe' in Houghton Lake that says, "North of the Tension Line", and that's just how it feels when we head up there to visit Joann and Brent and the girls. We headed up last Sunday afternoon and stayed a couple of days, relaxing and playing. Well, most of it was relaxing. We had a pontoon ride that surely could have qualified us for an episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive" (ok, I'm REALLY exaggerating. The story's way too long to post, so I'll spare you the details.)

Anyhoo, here's a few pics of our tension-free activities:

Pizza always relieves tension.

Chase loves playing nerf guns at Aunt Joann and Uncle Brent's cuz he can shoot over the staircase.

A nice relaxing game of ladder-ball.

The night was cool and the mosquitoes were almost non-existant, perfect for a bonfire and s'mores.

Look, even Natty's relaxing. Of course, since her month-long stay there while we were out west, the Cryderman's place has become Natty's home-away-from-home.

Finally, pictures of Joann and me...now that doesn't happen very often.

This picture was a lot easier to take when the kids were little. We almost broke the slide.

They clean up pretty well don't they?

Favorite Pics

2010-08-10T11:10:00.027-04:00

I am learning how to be more creative with pictures on the blog as well as making them bigger. Yippee! This is fun and I am wasting enormous amounts of time on it. If I look up from my computer I can see dirty dishes on my counter, hence I am doing my best to keep my head down.

I love these and have them matted and hanging on my wall just like this.

Livin' Life Baby! Love, love, love his face in this.

These are some photo assignment challenges. The first, Coffee and Chocolate, was depicting smell through pictures. I implore you to find a better smell than coffee and chocolate. The second was perspective I think. The third was to photograph something metal, which seemed boring to me until Jayme suggested I photograph my mountain bike....eureka! The final assignment was color and my Fiestaware fit the bill perfectly.

I have so many more pictures that I want to post here, but dog-gone those dishes, they are haunting me. Ok, I have one more I just have to post.....

Grandma's Love. This picture was totally spontaneous and unplanned which is why it is so beautiful.

License to Kill

2010-08-06T21:54:00.018-04:00

"License to kill mosquitos by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill mosquitos at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a mosquito. And a mosquito will never quit - ever. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote." Carl Spackler played by Bill Murray in Caddie Shack. I took the liberty of changing it to say "mosquitos" instead of gophers.

The mission began at approximately 8:30 a.m. this morning with the intent of obliterating every freaking mosquito that dared to approach the Chili residence. The firepower included 3 quarts of Cutters Backyard concentrated bug spray, a spray tank, and 2 cans of Cutters fogging bug spray. The body gear was composed of a long sleeve t-shirt, hooded sweatshirt, lined sweatpants, long socks, muck shoes, heavy gloves, and a bandana. After 3 long hours of spraying this concoction all over the back 40, those darn bugs had bitten clean through my sweatshirt and t-shirt, as well as my heavy duty gloves. My shoulders ached from carrying the 3 gallon tank sprayer and my neck hurt from constantly jerking my head back and forth to keep those evil biting machines from eating me alive.

Frankly, I'm opposed to spraying any kind of poison on my yard, but I couldn't take it anymore. My kids won't even play outside. Every time I walk through my yard to my neighbor's backyard it's like walking through the Amazon jungle and I end up running and screaming for cover like some crazed lunatic....and that's strange even for me.

Unfortunately I was unable to dowse the front yard, so even though I hurried to get the door when I heard the bell ring, I was too late. The Archers came bursting through the door screaming for help as they were being ravaged by swarms of pelican-sized, needle-nosed, blood-sucking she devils (only the females can penetrate skin). Thankfully the kids and I were able to revive them and doctors believe they will soon be on the road to a full recovery. Hopefully the tremors and night terrors won't last too long either.

Somewhere a mosquito is hopefully taking it's last breath.....

Fresh Start

2010-08-02T10:03:00.002-04:00

Man, it's been 2 years since I posted on this blog. I had high hopes of keeping this thing alive, but I missed a day, then a week, then a month, and then to be honest, I totally forgot about it. Let's blame it on chemo-brain...can I still use that excuse? I believe I can because well, I forget easily and I'd rather blame it on chemo. than on age.

We just finished our month long trip out west and it was everything I'd hope it would be and then some. First and foremost I'm thankful that God watched over us and brought us back safely and also provided some amazing miracles and showed His love to us through the kindness of complete strangers. Second I'm thankful that the punks were great sports and kept the arguing to a minimum and never complained, not even with 2 blowouts that landed us on the side of the road for an hour each time in some pretty hot weather. Third, I confirmed what I already knew and that is that when one endeavors to take on a task that seems too big to handle, one should never give up, but continue one step at a time until the task is complete.

And that is good advice for our next adventure that is both exciting and foreboding. Exciting because it is new and different and challenging and creative. Foreboding because I'm not sure this adventure is the best plan for me personally at this point in my life. But when was the last time I actually made a decision based on what was best for me anyway? All my decisions center around what's best for my kids and, for the next year anyway, I believe that one of the best decisions I can make for my kids is to....drumroll......homeschool them. So there, I said it and that makes it even more real. All three punks are excited about the upcoming homeschool year. My reasoning for this plan began for one reason. Those of you who know me also know that there have been a couple of circumstances in my life that have made me realize just how short life is. Because of that, I want to grab life by the horns and make the most of it and for me that means pouring myself into my kids' lives. What better way to impact my kids than to spend time with them, teaching them, planning grand adventures with them, and sucking the marrow out of life with them.

So for the next year, we will learn together at home and first hand by experiencing things like museums, libraries, nature trails, as well as Gettysburg and D.C. just to name a few. I don't even have it all figured out yet which is half the fun. But, in the meantime, I do have some decisions to make such as what curriculum to use, so if you'll excuse me, I best get to work.

Somewhere a train whistle blows......

Lemonade Stand

2008-07-31T10:50:00.002-04:00

What is it about kids and lemonade stands? Has this been going on since the invention of lemonade? Jamie decided she wanted to do a lemonade stand and although the temperatures were nearing 90, she sat in our front yard for hours patiently waiting for a thirsty traveler to happen by.

After time had passed and no sale had been made, she persuaded brother, with the promise of 25 cents, to dress up in his Darth Vader costume and wave down some unsuspecting passersby. Remember, it was nearing 90 degrees out there!
"Luke, I am your father...now buy some lemonade."

After 2 days of selling lemonade for 25 cents a cup, the kids made a total of about $4, half of which was from our local ice cream truck man who stopped and bought some both days. What a nice guy.

Covert Park Beach and Campground

2008-07-31T10:41:00.005-04:00

The campsite

'Smores again

The beach was really nice, better than Van Buren

Hours of fun

Night swim

Van Buren State Park Camping

2008-07-23T15:38:00.004-04:00

The campsite

Gotta love the 'smores
Nothing better than sitting around a campfire with your family
We rode on the Kal-Haven Trail

Beautiful sunsets

Mom

2008-06-03T19:32:00.009-04:00

Ten years ago today my Mom passed away from acute leukemia caused by the chemotherapy treatments she was undergoing for breast cancer. The song playing is Mindy Smith's "One Moment More". She wrote it after she lost her Mom to breast cancer. I thought it would be fitting to play today.

It’s so hard to believe ten years have passed. At the time Jodie was 3, Jamie was 6 months, and Chase wasn’t even thought of yet. And ten years from now, Chase will be graduating from high school. Where does the time go?

I took Natty-dog for a run today and we went through the cemetery where Mom’s grave is. We stopped for awhile. I think Natty sensed my sadness. At first she sat and licked my face, but then she lay quietly next to me while I cried.

I miss my Mom. I miss the sound of her working in the kitchen. I miss the smell of her Sunday dinner…try as I might, mine’s never as good as hers. I miss hearing her hum while she was lost in thought. I miss the way she would try not to laugh at my jokes, but then she’d smile that crooked smile. I miss how she would make even the simplest things special, like shaping little tomatoes into roses just to make the potato salad look nice. I miss listening to her play the piano. She played all her favorite hymns by ear. I miss her exceptionally soft hands and face, that even at 70 years of age had no signs of a wrinkle. There’s more, but mostly I just miss her.

We really weren’t as close as I would have liked. She wasn’t a warm-fuzzy kind of Mom. She didn’t talk about her childhood or tell stories about her past and she never talked about her feelings. I wish she would have. I would liked to have known her better and I think if she had to do it all over again, she would have wanted me to know her better.

That’s a good lesson, I guess. I want my kids to know me, to know what I believe and what I’m passionate about. I want them to have a huge list of all the things they miss about me when I’m gone! But mostly I want them to know that I loved Jesus and I loved them and that loving others like Jesus loves is what really matters in life.

Even though my Mom was kind of private and I didn't know her the way I would have liked, I know I loved her and she loved me and I miss her very much. I wish I had just one moment more....

The Shack

2008-05-25T21:27:00.005-04:00

So have you read the book by William Young called "The Shack"? Maybe you read the back cover and then, like me, said "No way will I ever read that. Why would I want to read a gut renching book about the tragedy of losing a child?"

After being coaxed along by friends and my sister-in-law, I decided to borrow a copy and take a look at it. I was hooked just by reading the forward. Finished it in 2 days. I'd highly recommend it. You'll be hooked too...you'll cry, you'll laugh, mostly you'll think about your view of God and wonder.....

That's all I'm going to say about that.

Somewhere a dog barked.....

Hero Mom

2008-04-15T22:26:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I got to be a hero. Here's how this rare title became mine for a few moments in time.

As I was putting the kids to bed, boy wonder couldn't find his new Star Wars Storm Trooper. He said he left it in the cargo pocket of his church pants, but he couldn't find his pants. I said that I had seen them in the laundry hamper. He said he looked there and they weren't there. We walked to the laundry hamper and there they were right on top. Figures right? That's not the hero part though.

When he looked in the pocket there was no Star Wars Storm Trooper. Things began to get tense. He had just purchased this the day before with his own money. We looked around, but couldn't find it and it was getting late. I told him he needed to get to bed and that we'd look for it the next day. He fought back tears as he climbed into bed. "I think I lost it and I'll never find it." "Don't worry buddy, we'll find it."

A few minutes later while I was reading a book, he came to me with red watery eyes and said, "Mom, will you wake me up early tomorrow so I can have time to look for my Storm Trooper before school?" I reached out and pulled him up into my lap and said, "Let's think about where you had your Storm Trooper." Step by step we retraced the activities of the day. Took it to church, came home, played outside; "did you take it outside?". "No". "You played downstairs, did you take it down there?" "No, I looked there already." Hmmm....we continued to try and recall all that we had done. Then I remembered that we went out to eat after church. "Did you take it to the restaurant?" "Yes." "What coat did you wear?"

With lightening speed he jumped from my lap and ran out of the room. Within a few short minutes he returned with a somber look on his face. "Did you find it?" Sheepishly he opened his hand and revealed the cherished Storm Trooper. He climbed back up in my lap and gave me a big hug. He didn't say the words, but I'm sure he must have been thinking that at that moment his mom was his hero. It felt good.

Comment to Love Wins

2008-04-14T22:07:00.002-04:00

Ah Joann, I think about mom and miss her everyday as well. I have always loved that picture of you and mom in front of the bathroom mirror. I think that bathroom was turquoise.

Being 6 years older than you I do remember a few things about your birth and babyhood with mom. She loved to cuddle you. She loved to put a curl on the top of your head. (I thought it looked silly.) She loved dressing you in pink. She loved to rock you and hum you a little song. She would let me hold you by putting a pillow on my lap and laying you on it. I have a vague memory of mom putting you in the “buggy” (they weren’t called strollers back then I don’t think) and taking us all for a walk around Bundy street.

As you grew older she loved that you liked to play dress-up in girlie clothes. I always played dress-up by putting on Jimmie's clothes. It was the only time I got to wear jeans and to me that was freedom! After 6 years with a tomboy, she was so happy to have a girlie-girl who liked girlie things. I was totally ok with that since it took the pressure off of me to conform!

Mom would be proud of us, Joann; not with many words, but in her quiet way. She’d smile that sort of half smile where it would start out as if she was trying not to smile and then it would turn into a big grin. You know the one, we see it now in Jodie. I wonder if she would see herself in Jodie if she was still here.

Thanks for writing about mom. I miss her so much, but I’m thankful that one day we will all be together again. I love you Joann. And I love you mom.

And Another Thing

2008-04-05T22:03:00.006-04:00

My last post examined the idea that as Christians we often think that we need to be struggling with some issue in order to feel like we're maturing in our faith. Furthermore, pastors often preach to us about sin, evil desires, and all the things we're doing that keep us from God.

And then today I was reading in Dallas Willard's book, "The Divine Conspiracy", and bam, there it was. He was explaining what Jesus meant when he spoke of the kingdom of heaven, also noting that churches today rarely speak of Jesus as teacher. Instead we hear a lot about the dos and don'ts of "right" living. Willard writes, "We are flooded with what I have called 'gospels of sin management'...while Jesus' invitation to eternal life now...remains for the most part ignored and unspoken." That's it! That's what I have been feeling and trying to convey, but good 'ol Dallas does it so much better. (I must confess here that this is the second time I have begun reading this book. It's definitely not an easy read, especially for someone who has spent the last 12 years as a stay-at-home mom. Gotta get rid of those dust bunnies of the brain.)

I'm learning to love and serve Jesus because he is my Lord but also because he is my friend and, like Paul, "I want to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, so as to somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead." Phil. 3:10 That's not about "sin management", that's about living the eternal life now. The word "know" is used here like the word "intimate". I want to know Him intimately.

But (there's that big but again), it doesn't stop there. Knowing Jesus intimately and becoming more like him everyday turns me outward, not inward. And that's where I often feel challenged. What can I do to show God's love in a practical way not just to those around me...that doesn't seem challenging enough. Well, there are some around me who are quite challenging, but I'm speaking about the forgotten, the poor and oppressed that Jesus so often spoke about. My heart desires to do more, maybe volunteer at a women's center or something like that. I must explore this further.

Somewhere a dog barks......

Not To Fast

2008-04-01T22:19:00.005-04:00

Well, my fasting days are over. Yep it's true. I quit. Gave it a try and gave it up. But (and everyone's got a big but), I'm ok with it. Seriously. Weird huh? I'm not even carrying around that evangelical guilt that so often jumps on my back and puts me in that choke hold.

Here's the thing. I'm a health nut. Even more so since my battle with cancer. I don't really look at food as a crutch or as entertainment. For me it's more about keeping myself alive through smart choices. I have become quite disciplined about it. So while fasting I discovered that I began to be obsessed with food. I'd think about when and what I could eat next. The day before the fast, I'd start thinking that I better eat more to get me through the next day. After the fast, I'd be so hungry that I'd eat too much. I started becoming unhealthy, the very thing I have worked so hard to avoid.

So I chucked it. And yes, I did begin to feel some guilt about it...beat myself up a bit and felt like a big loser. But then I talked with my spiritual mentor (yep, I got me one of those. She's way cool and she has taught me so much about loving and serving Jesus. I highly recommend that you get one. I think I got her through Amazon - ok just kidding about that.). She said that sometimes as Christians we get used to feeling inadequate, like we don't measure up. Pastors preach every Sunday that we must do better in our walk, we read books to inspire us in some spiritual discipline, etc. All that is good and it's important to grow and stretch, but sometimes we can honestly take a look at where we are with Jesus and feel okay. Wow! What freedom! My mentor compared this feeling to the scene in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" where Tom Hanks looks into his son's eyes and says, "We're ok aren't we Jonah? We're ok."

There are times in our spiritual quest that we can look at Jesus and say, "Hey, we're ok right?", and rather than feel shame or guilt over the fact that we're not struggling, we can relish in that moment of "okay-ness". What a great feeling!

So I have discovered that fasting from food is not necessarily beneficial for me at this point in my life. In fact, it was definitely creating some unhealthy habits. I think maybe I'll seek another alternative....hmmmm....I wonder what it could be.

Somewhere a dog barks...

To Fast or Not to Fast

2008-03-08T21:39:00.005-05:00

So our pastor is encouraging the entire congregation to take part in a season of fasting. Sounds like no big deal right? Wrong! I've looked over the fasting schedule and sure it sounds easy enough, but continue reading and you'll see that before it's all over you'll have completed a total of 85 days of fasting and 40 of those days are consecutive! I really want to be a team player, but that just sounds impossible to me. Especially after giving it a try for just one day.

Last week I did a one day partial fast...meaning I went from dinner one night to dinner the next night. It was painful - literally. My stomach was in agony. I'm such a wimp. But I'm really glad I did it and I did spend most of the day in constant prayer because I could barely function due to the agonizing hunger pains. And of course I continually thought about the people all over the world who suffer hunger pains on a daily basis. Again, I'm such a wimp.

An interesting conversation did happen at the dinner table when I finally broke my fast. I hadn't told the kids I was fasting until we sat down to eat that night. I explained to them what it was and why we fast. I was telling them that a pretty cool thing happened while having my devotions that morning. I've been reading in Mark and the passage for that day was the story about the disciples who were trying to cast out a demon from a boy and they couldn't do it. So Jesus came and took care of that pesky spirit. Later the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn't cast it out and he told them that some can only be driven out with prayer and fasting. "Isnt' that amazing?", I said. "The day I was fasting the scripture for my devotions was about fasting!" To which boy wonder replied in that what-did-you-expect kind of voice, "Well yeah, it's a God thing." duh.

I'm going to continue fasting one day a week and maybe work up to 3 days of partial fasting. I want to stretch in my walk with Jesus and this is an area I have always pretty much avoided, not because I'm a food-aholic, I'm extremely disciplined when it comes to food. So why have I avoided fasting? Maybe it's because I don't like discomfort. If that's the case, maybe vowing to sleep on the floor for 40 days would be just as difficult and I bet most of the world sleeps on a hard surface every night, so it correlates. Hmmm...I'm actually not sure which would be more difficult, 40 days of fasting or 40 days of sleeping on the floor. I'll have to sleep on that one and get back to ya.

Food for Thought

2008-02-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

Healthy eating - not an easy task in today's world, or maybe I should say in the United States today. I've always been a bit of a health nut, but even more so after experiencing cancer last year. My friend Mary D. says, "We don't know what we don't know" and I'm sure finding that to be true as I research information pertaining to nutrition.

I'm learning that much of the information about what's good for us and what's not is controlled by politics. For instance, most European countries have stopped putting fluoride in drinking water because they know that it is extremely harmful to our bodies. In fact, according to one article I read, fluoride is more toxic than lead. Yet our government demands that it be added to our drinking water. Check out this website for more info.
http://www.fluoridealert.org/professionals.statement.html

Then I learned that canola oil (short for Canadian Oil, where most of the rape seed that is used to make canola oil is grown.) is bad for us. It's difficult to explain, but if you want to read more, go to http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/conola.html

And all the sugars; fructose, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup - we don't have to be rocket scientists to know sugar is bad for us, but it's in everything from cookies and cakes to crackers and every cereal imaginable. It's even in a can of kidney beans for crying out loud. And don't get me started on the dangers of cereals. We Americans are totally hooked on sugar and our addiction is causing oppression to the people of the Dominican where much of our sugar cane is grown. It's appalling. For more information, go to
http://www.sugarbabiesfilm.com/cgi-local/content.cgi?pg=3

Needless to say, we are making some major changes in how we eat around here. If it comes in a box, we don't eat it. If it's processed we don't eat it. If it has sugar, we don't eat it. The kids are actually handling it quite well. They're beginning to read labels all on their own. "Woah mom, look at all the junk in this." "Hey mom, even these crackers have high fructose corn syrup." I haven't gone totally ballistic on them. We avoid the above mentioned foods, but there are still some around the house. We're just learning to limit them and finding that we really can do without.

I still made chocolate chip cookies the other day, but I only put in half the sugar, used organic whole wheat flour, and chocolate chips that were 70% chocolate with no artificial flavors added. They're not as sweet, but boy wonder said, "These aren't so bad, my taste buds can handle it."

He's not a big fan of milk anyway, but when I put the non-homogenized milk from grass-fed cows in front of him, he began to drink then said, "Oh wait, I forgot to turn off my tongue." He then stuck out his tongue, turned some kind of imaginary knob on it and proceeded to drink it all down with no complaints. Middle child on the other hand, had seconds and maybe thirds.

The goal here is to eat as naturally as we can and re-program ourselves so that we're not eating things just because they're convenient. It's going to take some work, but I believe that it's the best thing for our health. What I think the kids understand is that mom is just trying to do her best to keep the big C from ever entering our home again. And since they saw first hand what that was about, they seem willing to make the sacrifices.

Love Actually

2008-01-19T21:34:00.001-05:00

I'm reading Dallas Willard's "Restoration of the Heart" again. This will be the second time. Actually, if you count all the times I've had to re-read certain phrases or paragraphs, I'm probably closer to 20-25 times. That Willard...sure makes a person think. But I love when an author makes me go, "huh?".

So what is my spiritual side and how does it affect my actions and life? Willard says that "spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ Himself." Look into that and be scared. The inner being of Christ led Him to hang out with prostitutes, have dinner with crooked government employees, touch the lepers, and eventually die a horrible death...willingly. And my goal is to be more like Him everyday...what? Seriously? Do I really want to tackle that challenge?

Yes...yes I do. And it scares me. According to Willard, "the degree to which spiritual formation in Christ is successful, the outer life of the individual becomes a natural expression or outflow of the character and teachings of Jesus." I'm not even close. But I have this longing for my inner life to become like the inner being of Jesus. And it's not about doing good, although that is an outcome. I want to love like Jesus because I deeply love Him, not because I want to be like Him. Does that make sense? I don't want to do good just because I'm trying to be more like Him. I want my love for Him to somehow work it's way out of me into my everyday life.

My battle with cancer drew me into a relationship with Jesus that was deep and vibrant. Most of my prayers weren't answered, at least not the way I wanted them to be. But that was really the beauty of it. I learned to love Jesus more deeply just because. Not because of the miraculous way He had healed me.

So is it possible for me to love others...just because, not for any other reason? Just because...no strings attached. Not so I can gain something from them or so that I can say, "Hey Jesus, look at me, I'm loving like you." Love, pure and simple....well, probably not always simple. Willard says that trying to act lovingly will only lead to despair and to the defeat of love. It's taking God's kind of love into the depths of our being through spiritual formation that enables us to act lovingly.

God's love in the depths of my being...I like it.

"I Want to be a Noun"

2008-01-16T18:56:00.000-05:00

Friday, January 11, 2008

The other day Chase said, "Mom, I want to be a noun when I grow up." Wondering what he really meant but not wanting to embarrass him I asked, "What exactly do you want to do when you're a noun?" To which Jamie quickly recited, "You are a noun, because a noun is a person, place or thing." Ahh, the joy of big sisters.

He went on to explain and demonstrate that he wanted to be one of those people that wears white gloves and pretends to be in a box.
I said, "Oh you mean a mime."
"Yea a mine. I want to be a mine. Do they make much money?"
"I guess it depends how good you are", I replied. He thought for a moment.
"Do mines help poor people?" (A side note: I often can be caught brainwashing the kids by telling them that I believe God will use them someday to help the poor, oppressed and underprivileged because that's what Jesus said is important.) Wanting to encourage this line of thinking I said, "Sure they could perform for kids who have never had the opportunity to see a mime; a mime could even go to a children's hospital and perform for kids who are sick."
"That's it!!", he said all excited. "I'll be a mine for kids in the hospital so they can forget they are sick!"

I love conversations like that.

Change

2008-01-16T18:55:00.000-05:00

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Change....I like change, most of the time. I like the change that the seasons bring; new colors, new temperature, new smell in the air. I like a change of schedule, like Christmas break for the kiddos and the end of teaching a fall class for me. I even like to change my mind, which I do quite frequently.

There is some change that I find a bit more difficult to accept....the change in the size of my kids. Last week I gave daughter in the middle one of my shirts that had shrunk in the wash. Who'd have guessed it'd be the second born getting my hand-me-downs? Today firstborn and I stood side by side in front of the mirror and we can't tell who's taller. If she'd just stand up straight I'm pretty sure she'd pass me by a hair.

Later the little guy gave me a goodnight hug and I picked him up and carried him to his room which I haven't done in a long time. He's getting heavy. I love the feel of his arms tight around my neck. I miss the feel of the fuzzy sleepers he used to wear.

I tucked him in and read one of his favorite books from the Little Critter book series. He likes to spot spider and cricket on every page. I kissed him goodnight and told him I was proud of him and in his best Elvis impersonation he said, "Thank you, thank you very much." I hope his sense of humor never changes.

What If...continued

2008-01-16T18:54:00.002-05:00

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Shane totally gets it. I wish I'd have gotten it when I was his age. I'll start at the beginning.

In my last post I pondered over whether or not Jesus really meant what he said, because if He did then why do we live like He didn't? In his book, "Irresistible Revolution", Shane Claiborne asks the same question. In his search for the answer he decided that he needed to give up Christianity and just follow Jesus. Sounds kind of radical. Shane says he's an ordinary radical. Following Jesus, really following Him, is costly. Just ask the disciples, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, or Mother Teresa, or Corrie ten Boom.

Shane spent a summer ministering in Calcutta with Mother Teresa where he heard her say things like, "We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it." There's the real clincher; it is often easier to "do" than to love. But we are called to love like Jesus. Touching the untouchable, loving the unlovable. That's no easy task.

I wonder if while I sit in my comfortable pew every Sunday, worshiping Jesus, singing songs of praise to Him, if He would just prefer that I got off my butt and went where I could actually be Jesus to someone. And not just on Sunday, obviously.

So how does a middle-aged mother of 3 really make a difference in a broken world? Being a Sunday School teacher just doesn't seem to cut it for me. How can I be an ordinary radical for Jesus and still be a good mom who makes sure the laundry's done, supper's fixed, and the house doesn't look like hurricane Katrina just passed through?

I don't know yet, but I'm not giving up on finding out because it's as important for my kids as it is for me.

What if Jesus meant the stuff he said?

2008-01-16T18:52:00.000-05:00

Thursday, September 20, 2007

I have been reading in Matthew lately. Yesterday's passage has been irritating me a bit. Jesus was walking in the morning and he was hungry. He approached a fig tree that was full of leaves, but had no figs so he cursed it and it immediately withered.

His disciples asked him how the fig tree withered so quickly. Jesus responded by telling them that if they have faith and do not doubt, not only can they do what was done to the fig tree, but they can also say to a mountain, "Go throw yourself into the sea" and it will be done. He told them that if they believe, whatever they ask for in prayer, they will receive.

Ok, I know all the stuff the scholars and preachers tell us..."Jesus didn't really mean that. We can't use prayer as some kind of magic in order to perform incredible acts." But, what if they're wrong? No, I'm not suggesting that it's all hocus pocus. But didn't Jesus say that all authority that was given to him has been given to us? He cursed the fig tree, it withered, and then he told his disciples that they could do even greater things if they believed.

What if we're missing out on the power of God because it's easier to explain away these passages as "symbolism" than to admit we don't have the kind of faith Jesus is talking about?

My pastor says that prayer changes things sometimes, but it changes me all the time. I like that and agree with him. But here's what's really bugging me about all this:

My friend just finished going through chemotherapy for the third time in 2 years. Her blood counts show that the cancer is still in her body and the doctor wants her to begin another 6 months of chemo. If Jesus says we can move mountains, why shouldn't we be able to move cancer right out of her body and down the stinking toilet?

I wonder if someday when we no longer look through the glass darkly, we will realize that we had this amazing gift from God but we were so afraid of failure that we never opened it. Are we so fragile that we're afraid to lay our hearts open before God and ask for a miracle because if we don't receive it than somehow we're weak? Or worse yet, we're afraid it means God must not exist.

I don't think it works like that. Maybe we should pray and ask for the miracle, believing we will receive it, knowing that we very well might not, but remaining faithful to God no matter what the outcome, but never apologizing for believing in the first place.