Say "stinky feeeeeeet"!

Happy Birthday,
Daddy!

45!


(Whew! Can I stop smiling now? My cheeks hurt!)

Civil War... again

Once again we spent a day at the annual Civil War Reenactment. Tate became interested in the Civil War over a year ago, so he's the driving force here, but a good time was had by all.


I mean, good grief, there were not only toy weapons, there were REAL ones!


The reenactors love to talk with the boys - tell them stories and tell them about all their "stuff". Some of them will even let the boys hold some of the weapons - some replicas and some are the real deal.


I think Tate's favorite is a little cannon that is a real-size replica of a signalling cannon that will shoot golf balls!


All the boys love the battles... ARTILLERY! Sometimes when they fire the cannons, they make incredible smoke rings that go rolling above the field.

Bye Bye Butterfly!

Yesterday was the Big Day.

Gunnar chose to let his butterflies go when we had Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Tami, Uncle Dave, and a friend all over to watch.

Gunnar wasn't upset... just really concentrating.





Each boy was able to reach into the habitat, entice a butterfly onto his finger, and gently lift it out and observe it until they all flew away.

Tate is looking very calm, and intent on his butterfly.




Wyatt also enjoyed holding the butterfly on his finger, in spite of how tickly that was.














And Uncle Dave startled and entertained us all by pretending to SWAT them.

"First Be Quiet"

A few months ago I signed up to receive a daily email 'devotion' taken from the writings of Elizabeth Elliott. She is a breath of fresh air - clean, pure, cold fresh air. So different from the "chicken soup" and "warm fuzzies" that are so easy to come by. So here's a challenge, this Sunday, in her words, (from A Lamp For My Feet).


Our hectic lives involve many changes, and changes require decisions, and decisions must often be made in the midst of a multitude of confusions. We run here and there asking advice. Often we make decisions without sufficient deliberation because we simply haven't time--or so we tell ourselves.

There is a marvelously helpful practice that we usually overlook. It is quietness. Notice how often in the gospels we find Jesus going away alone, even when people needed Him. He deliberately chose solitude. The more hectic our lives become, the more necessary is this quietness. When it is impossible to break away physically to a place of solitude for a day or so in order to think and pray over a hard decision, there is one thing which I think helps--do not speak about the decision to anyone but God for forty-eight hours at least. Just hold it before Him alone. Keep your mouth shut for two days. Pray. Listen. Seek his counsel.

Try this, too--sit before Him for fifteen consecutive minutes in silence, focusing your mind on the words of Psalm 86:11 (NEB), "Guide me, O Lord, that I may be true to thee and follow thy path."

Time Warp

I was transferring some files over from an old computer to the one I usually use, and ran across a letter. This was written back before we started homeschooling.) I had asked each of the boys to dictate a message to me that we would be emailing to a few distant family members. Other than giving the boys very general prompts (like “tell about school”, or “tell what you like to do”) this is entirely spontaneous “boy-ness”. So… from March of 2006…

Wyatt, age 9:
How are you doing? I’m going to be in a concert at school and I’m going to play a guitar (a fake guitar). We’re singing some rock and roll and country music.

I decided not to play soccer this spring. Instead, I’m taking the spring off and I might get to do swim lessons again! I’m pretty busy with church, and school, and AWANA, and so on. I like to play on the computer, play Monopoly, dig trenches in the back yard and build forts. Once I even built one with a chimney and a fireplace and Dad helped us light a little fire in it! Our neighbor Ralph, who is a retired fireman, was a little nervous, but Dad was watching the whole time.
And that’s all.


Gunnar, age 4:
Hi, it’s me, Gunnar! I’m having fun playing on Little Tuggy! Back at home! Tuggy is fun. We’re pretending we’re hamsters and we can talk.

At church today we played “Duck duck goose” and I had a snack… fish crackers and animal crackers. We played Daniel in the Lion’s Den and I was a lion! And another time I was Daniel and another time I was King Darius.

I like to play on the computer, and dig in the “Black Forest”, and I like to see bugs. I like building forts.

Okay, I’m done!


Tate, age 6:
Hi, it’s me, Tate. How are you? I hope you guys can believe in God soon, because then you’ll be able to go to heaven. Do you even know about God? Because God is more powerful than Satan. In fact, in a little while, God will destroy Satan. If you believe in God, then you can go to heaven too. Heaven is great fun! There is so many great things to do in heaven! In fact, God is even better than magic!

We had a pet show at school. I brought Chicken too. (“Chicken” is a hamster.) It was very fun. Chicken got an award for being the best climber! He climbed up his entire cage!

We also had AWANA Olympics and played games at AWANA Olympics. AWANA Olympics and games are very fun. I won a few of the games! I am learning lots of verses, and also we sing songs about God there, and praise His name. And you can also pray to Him at every meal and also all you have to do is ask Him - to believe in Him - and you don’t even have to do anything or pay any money. Also, God can do anything He would like in heaven. He is preparing a place for you in heaven. He will not forget you because He has a big book and He will sign your name in it – each of your names.

Also, God has lots of helpers called disciples. They are very nice and help preach about the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for your sins on the cross. If you believe in God you will go to be with Him in heaven. You will really really love it!

I like to play in the sand box, and dig holes. I also like to dig in the back yard. It is very fun. We hauled away dirt and made mud cement in the wheelbarrow! And we also made a great fort once, and we’re making another!

Goodbye! From Tate

Okay, so his theology isn’t perfect (he was SIX!), but honestly, he came up with all of that all on his own. When you think they’re not listening, they’re getting something.

Butterflies and the Birds and the Bees

Success! All five of Gunnar's "Painted Lady" caterpillars have successfully made chrysalides and hatched. The boys have named them all, (Bob, Joe, Proboscis Head, Duck, and Luke WallWalker), and firmly believe they can tell which is which.

I'll 'spot' them one... When Proboscis Head hatched from "his" chrysalis, he lost his footing and fell to the bottom of the habitat. Consequently, one of his antennae is bent, and the boys claim he has a distinctive ripple in one of his wings.


They have spent a great deal of time clustered around the habitat and have been able to observe several different behaviors. Of course, watching the butterflies feed is always fun. They're rather greedy, and will 'push' each other. Or maybe they're just more clumsy than we like to believe.

Then there are the different kinds of wing "exercises"... flapping, fluttering, and some actual flying. Apparently butterflies aren't quite able to hover, and the actual flying (in the habitat) is more like a pinball-ricochet-demolition derby event.

However, some of the vigorous attempts at flying lately may have had more significance than the boys realized. Possibly courtship related. (The boys have apparently been mistaken in referring to all the butterflies as "he".)

They came giggling to dinner tonight, poking each other, and rolling their eyes. "Mom," giggle giggle giggle, "Bob and Proboscis Head are stuck together!" More giggling and poking.

Oh really? (I checked.)

Yep, really.

Then Gunnar piped up, "Just like the damsel flies we saw at the lake today!" Flying around, stuck together. Really.

Okay, so we haven't shared with them ALL the "facts of life" yet, but our sheltered homeschoolers have just observed reproduction twice in ONE DAY. Good grief. Good thing they weren't watching the ducks too closely...

Serena update...

I haven't wanted to post about this because the news is not good.














Serena is now living with her dad (the "s***m donor") and his very scary mother. The Christian couple who have cared for her nearly half her life have been summarily "dealt out", accused of being bigoted, and - really - treated like crazies. Apparently the deal was 'cooked' before they ever walked into the courtroom.



I have a hard time talking about it without going into a long rant because it is all so very unjust. I am trying not to be bitter, and find comfort in the fact that King David called on God to curse his enemies too :0)











Psalm 7:9
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous—you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!

Psalm 28:4
Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve.

In fact, I don't usually care for "The Message", but this hit home...

Psalm 58:1 Is this any way to run a country? Is there an honest politician in the house? Behind the scenes you brew cauldrons of evil, behind closed doors you make deals with demons.

Or, somewhat more calmly, in the NLT:

Justice—do you rulers know the meaning of the word? Do you judge the people fairly?

Still...
















I was thinking of the stories of Daniel (in the Lion's Den) and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (in the fiery furnace), and it hit me that I had never thought of it from their parents' perspective. OUCH. These were young people who were taken captive (kidnapped), removed to the country of the enemy (treated like an object, not a person), and taken right into the household of the godless enemy KING (placed in danger). They were subjected to three years of "training" (brainwashing). And yet God preserved them.

So, please STILL pray, when you think of Serena...

pray that evil will be exposed
pray that God will protect and provide for Serena
and pray for Patty and Curtis, who are grieving and hurting.

Edible Fungus

What? No 'takers' on identifying the source of the Edible Fungus?


"Forty-two pounds of edible fungus
In the Wilderness a-growin'
Saved the settlers from starvation,
Helped the founding of this nation."


We read "Homer Price" last winter and the boys found it even funnier than "Pippi Longstocking"! (Yes, we read ALL the classics around here...) We're talking, rolling on the floor laughing until their stomachs hurt.

Listening with discernment

First, no - I didn't take the picture. If you can't see the logo, it's a National Geographic photo.

I read an interesting blog by an "English Muffin" recently, which reminded me of our trip to Mt St Helens last summer.

We did a lot of research before we went, familiarizing the boys with the events surrounding the eruption in 1980, and what has happened since then.

While camping near the mountain, we visited FIVE interpretive centers, all focusing on different themes, and all very interesting. The highlight was our stop at the 7 Wonders Museum, a creation-science information center. Our host cheerfully gave our family an enthusiastic and somewhat rapid-fire presentation that was clearly developed for adults and older students. My three boys (then 6, 8, and 11) listened politely, but I really wasn't sure how much they were able to assimilate - especially my middle son, Tate, who is Hearing Impaired.

But all was well. After browsing the gift shop and picking up a couple of wonderful books, we headed for the van. As we drove away Tate said to me, "Mom, I found that quite interesting because it was a Christian way of telling it, so I didn't have to ignore any of it... like how old stuff is."

Please Pray for Serena!

Once again... please pray for Serena.

There is another Hearing tomorrow. I have no idea if this will be a 'final' hearing, or if this will go on and on.

We are praying for Serena to be returned 'home', and for God to protect and provide for her.

Please pray for strength, endurance, wisdom and anything else you can think of, for the lawyers .

Please pray that the Judge will be alert and attentive, and willing to think "outside the box", in this very unusual and complex case.

Please pray for the people who have been caring for Serena for almost half her life (FAR more than her parents, given that she spent almost a year with us). They are discouraged and hurting.

We all want what is best for Serena...

please, please pray.

Julie