We spent the weekend in Indiana, celebrating April birthdays with Glen's family: Nathaniel, Glen, Karen and me. The kids were beside themselves - so excited to see Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Brian and Aunt Karen and their cousins. Who wouldn't be excited to spend time with these beautiful girls?
Here are the birthday siblings - with Mom in the background.
Anna banana
Lydia: mid-eye roll. Lovely.
Waiting for dessert
I begged for a nice picture. Katy complied. Isaac not so much.
Happy Birthday Karen!
Waiting in line for dinner. My kids said the best part of the weekend was the food! Of course, seeing their cousins came in a very, very, very close second.
(right) View from my window Sunday night as I drove back to Rensselaer from Lafayette and dinner with Sarah. Very lovely - both dinner and the view!
Since I've neglected my poor blog for... not sure how long... here are
some pictures to catch up on our recent family happenings. And since half of our immediate family were born in April (Nathaniel, Glen and I), it's mostly about birthdays. But other stuff too.
Today is the official birthday of my wonderful husband, Glen. (And that
of his sister, Karen. No they are not twins - but born three years
apart on the same day.)
Happy Birthday Glen & Karen!
(That's ME in the picture, not Karen. This is for Do Re'.)
Our family LOVES March Madness. This year, Isaac and I tied for the highest number of games picked correctly - we each picked 41.
Because today is Glen's birthday, as a birthday gift I will concede that while Glen didn't pick the most number of games correctly, he did pick the final game correctly - Kansas vs. Kentucky. Although he picked Kansas to win. Thankfully they didn't, but this Mizzou alum still hasn't quite forgiven him for picking Kansas.
This is my oldest on his birthday.
He agreed to help me watch the twins of my good friend Dawn so she could attend church. We had so much fun cuddling on those sweet little babies!
Above, Nathaniel is holding Micah.
Below, I'm holding Jude.
(Wait - WHAT? isn't that the 3rd picture of me in this blog post? Do Re', I hope you are ecstatic!)
Isaac and my dad worked hard on creating this car for a pinewood derby this month.
Isaac came in 3rd overall - not bad for his very first race!
And Lydia officially got her expander and braces off this month. Here she is with her orthodontist, Dr. Foley. When I went back for the celebration, the assistants all told me how much they loved Lydia and what a perfect patient she was. It was good news to this mommy.
Congratulations Lydia!
And now I just realized that the only family member missing from today's post is Anna.
She took the picture of Glen and me - hope that counts. I guess I've been as remiss in taking pictures as I have been in blogging.
(in case you're wondering, my birthday isn't until next week...)
Don't they look so excited to be outside? It is a very windy day here - windy but warm. Yesterday, I ran the kids to the library to return books - and pick up some new ones.
That one looking at his watch picked up a movie they are all dying to see. The condition of watching it this afternoon was at least an hour outside. Thus, the watch-checking.
What's a mom to do? Compromise.
So I told the kids if they walked with me around the block (a rather large one), I would allow them to come in and watch the movie. (I think they were all secretly hoping the anticipated rain would arrive early.)
So this is what the watch-checker does on his walk:
Yes. He reads. Can't say I blame him. Like mother, like son. I remember dusting the house each Saturday morning with a book in one hand. Yes, it drove my mom crazy, but I did it every week. At least he's walking. Just not very quickly.
Last, but not least, we spent (the kids and I, while Daddy stayed home to study) a wonderful weekend with my brother and his family last weekend. I promise you I took my camera. I promise you my sister-in-law is a fantastic photographer. And I promise you this is the ONLY picture I have of the weekend. In fact, I would venture to guess this is the only picture anyone took the entire weekend. Lovely, isn't it?
Molly, showing off her daughter's creation.
"You can do anything with pipe cleaners and pom poms." -Priscilla, age 10.
Since we're on the subject, check out Molly's new blog. She was inspired by my new blog for my book reviews, and in about 48 hours recreated her blog/website. It's gorgeous. (And, I have to say, I absolutely adore my new blog too!)
This is an aircraft carrier, complete with a plane with folding wings.
One of my creations: homemade bread. I made four loaves. Then the kids said, "We're tired of homemade bread!" WHAT??
My awesome new shoes. Less than $10 at Kohl's. Who doesn't love new shoes, new red shoes, and a great deal? Not me, that's for sure.
(DoRe': do pictures of my creations and bargains count as pictures of me? **grin**)
Look - we actually celebrated Valentine's Day! As a family! With a festive tablecloth and napkins and everything fancy - except fancy food. Although we did have pudding for dessert. Yum.
Isaac: "Mom! The guy on Nathaniel's card looks like he's looking at a girl!"
The whole table dissolved into giggles.
Another of my recent creations: vegetarian bean chili made from scratch.
Somehow Isaac ended up in 3 science classes at our co-op this semester. In one of his classes, they studied volcanoes. We made it erupt at home. It was so fun he had a hard time parting with it, so I took a picture.
One of the three 'thank-you' hugs Nana got after bringing Isaac a special gift.
What gift was that?
The Vulcan Nerf Gun. Quite the beast of a gun. I got some great video, which I'll share once I get it edited down to a manageable size.
And, yes, Papa was a part of this whole presentation - which you will see in the video.
Hey look! We're caught up! Four months in three days - how time flies.
I'm working on a new book review blog/website (and I can't wait to show you!) but I'm having technical issues - unable to access it right now.
So... since I'm stymied in working on that, and I don't particularly want to plan schoolwork for the next three week, here I am again. With more pictures. From centuries ago. Well, really only Christmas. It just seems like centuries ago.
Our holidays were so busy and full of family gatherings I swear it took me until January 15th to recover. But it was a good busy - and I'm glad I needed to recover - because it meant I got to see and spend time with people I love.
During December, as in every other month of the year, the boys were building lots of 'creations' with their Legos. Isaac asked me to print out pictures of a WWII destroyer from the internet, and he proceeded to build this:
Isaac, with some help from Nathaniel, built this WWII Destroyer, complete with airplane.
Here are a few pictures from the various gatherings:
Anna celebrated her 12th birthday...
Everywhere we went.
Family Christmas
My brother & his wife
Aren't these girls so grown-up??
Cousins - and best buds
Mary gives Nathaniel a hug after receiving a rug he crocheted for her American Girl doll.
I found my camera the other day, and as I was flipping through pictures, I realized I hadn't uploaded them to my computer since... um... Thanksgiving.
Not a fact I'm proud of, for sure. But, I have now uploaded all the pictures between Thanksgiving and today. I will not try to dump them on you at once, but a little at a time.
Aren't you happy?
I almost skipped Thanksgiving. But then I looked at the pictures, and a couple of them made me laugh. So, here you go:
Thanksgiving 2011. Rockford, IL.
Playing games - or the piano
Isaac was enamored with Meaghan's new puppy.
Erik & Grandma
Neil quietly eating the last piece of pecan pie.
Rebecca's reaction when she realized Neil was eating the last piece of pecan pie.
One thing I love about homeschooling my children is that it supplements my own education - especially in history.
I appreciated how much history I had learned when I read 7 Tipping Points That Saved the World by Chris and Ted Stewart.
Their focus is on freedom and individual liberties. They make a good argument in the introduction that we live in a very unique time in history in which liberty is the norm. The purpose of their book is to point out specific moments in history which could have destroyed the foundations of our liberties if the outcome had been different.
The cool thing, for me, is that I was familiar with each of the events - not from my own schooling, but from teaching my children at home. Even if you're not familiar with the historical events, you will enjoy this book.
This is not a dry, technical history book. The Stewarts incorporate narratives, bringing readers to the time and place they are discussing in that chapter. Then they include relevant historical information, and make their claim that if the outcome had been different, the world as we know it would not have been.
I'm looking forward to reading their first book, Seven Miracles That Saved America.
When I think of winter, this is what I imagine: the aftermath of the Blizzard of 2011 last February.
Thankfully, we've had no such snow this winter, and I'm not sure we're expecting anything like this (much to my children's chagrin). They would love winter to be snow this deep every day.
Quite frankly, if it weren't for the digging out part, I would too. Because then my children would be outside every day, playing in the snow. Playing outside in the cold, without snow, does not hold the same charm or excitement.
So far this year, we've been fortunate. We've had relatively mild weather and only a dusting of snow (which does not make for dramatic pictures). But this week it's starting to get colder and colder.
Brr!
Sir Winter
Jean Kenward
I heard Sir Winter coming,
He crept out of his bed
and rubbed his thin and freezing hands:
'I'll soon be up!' he said.
'I'll shudder at the keyhole
and rattle at the door,
I'll strip the trees of all their leaves
and strew them on the floor.
'I'll harden every puddle
that Autumn thinks is his -
I'll lay a sparkling quilt of snow
on everything that is!
'I'll bring a load of darkness
as large as any coal,
and drive my husky dogs across
the world, from pole to pole.
'Oho! How you will shiver!'
- And then I heard him say;
'But in the middle of it all
I'll give you
CHRISTMAS DAY!'
Yay for Christmas! As the radio is playing right now, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!"
... to live near a Trader Joe's, or know someone who does...
And if you love peppermint tea...
I highly recommend you high-tail it to your nearest store,
or politely beg your friend or relative,
for Trader Joe's Candy Cane Green Tea.
I read about the Candy Cane Green Tea in the holiday Fearless Flyer, and thought, "Well, if it tastes half as good as they say it does, then I'll probably enjoy it."
Oh. my. word.
Best peppermint tea I've ever tasted. Hands down. Sending my dear husband for another box before they're gone (maybe the rest of the store's inventory?).
And don't ask for some when you come visit. I'm not sharing mine.
(Unless you're Dawn Swendsen. Cause she's having twins, so she's special.)
Interesting title, isn't it? Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin is a children's book, written from a young boy's perspective during the time of Stalin's rule of the USSR.
Sasha Zaichik is about to join the Young Pioneers - and he cannot wait! He writes a letter to Stalin as he waits for his father to come home from work. His father works in State Security, and Sasha is proud of the work he does, rooting out traitors from their country.
Suddenly, his world changes completely. The Secret Service comes and arrests his father. Sasha is shocked, and he immediately tries to go see Stalin, the great leader. Sasha is sure Stalin would realize a big mistake has been made, and would immediately release his father.
However, things do not go as planned, and events go from bad to worse when Sasha makes his way to school the next day.
Yelchin does a masterful job of slowly exposing Sasha's naivete' throughout the course of the book - and exposing the sinister underpinnings of the system Sasha trusted explicitly. Yelchin grew up in the USSR, and used his own experiences to write this book - which he explains in an afterword.
Because of the disturbing nature of peer pressure, group-think, and manipulation, children should not read this book without an adult. (Which is why I'm reviewing it here instead of on my kid's book review blog.) However, with an adult's guidance and discussion, this book can be a powerful tool in helping children (and adults) understand how people survive in hostile dictatorships.
I found this wonderful poetry book at my library last week. I can't tell you how hard it is to find poetry books I like (really, really hard).
It's called she walks in beauty: A Woman's Journey Through Poems by Caroline Kennedy. I have realized that I enjoy anthologies more than a single poet. And I tend to prefer older poems to newer ones. (The ones I've read are rather depressing!)
I can't say I've read every poem in Kennedy's book, but I've found a bunch I like to share for Poetry Wednesday - and that in and of itself is an accomplishment.
I had found a few I liked, when I came across this poem - which I loved. You who know me know why. And it has a lot to do with the picture up there.
So, enjoy the poem. I'm going to dig around and find something in my stash to satisfy my craving.
We will be celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow with Grandma Nelson and Grandpa Roy. The family who can come will converge on Rockford - Fairhaven Retirement Community - where Grandma & Roy live. Not everyone will be able to be there, but I think we'll be almost 30 for dinner tomorrow - including one of my mom's cousins and family.
I'm so incredibly thankful for my family. I know I am blessed - not only to be a part of my family, but also to marry into my husband's family. Even though we cannot see them all tomorrow, all are in our thoughts.
I admire all of our grandparents so much. So many times I've thought of Grandma Marce reading to Uncle Junior as she washed the dishes - remembering to be thankful I have the opportunity to cuddle on the couch with my children because the dishwasher is running in the kitchen.
This Poetry Wednesday, I dedicate this poem to my grandmothers especially - all four of them. Even if they didn't all work the ground as this poem suggests, they all worked very hard and raised wonderful children.
As I was browsing the shelf of new books at my library, several books caught my eye - and this was one of them. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon tells the story of Kamila Sidiqi, an Afgani woman who came of age just as the Taliban took over Afganistan.
Kamila had just graduated from a two-year teacher training course, despite of her country's civil war. She was looking forward to teaching at one of the many schools in Kabul, but soon after her graduation, the Taliban moved into the city, closing schools and forcing women indoors.
Kamila's story is one of courage, strength, and taking reasonable risks - all while trying to live within the rules imposed upon her as a woman. Because of past political affiliations, Kamila's parents had to leave Kabul for the northern part of the country. The journey was too dangerous to take all their children with them, so they left Kamila in charge of her younger siblings.
The responsibility became heavy as the streets were too dangerous for the young women to venture out. Kamila and her sisters became bored and restless, and Kamila became anxious as she watched their reserves and savings dwindle.
Kamila searched for a solution, trying several ideas before deciding to start making dresses. She risked the marketplace, found a buyer, and started a business which kept her and her sisters busy at home. Over time, she hired more help, and then started an apprenticeship school for younger girls.
Kamila's story is remarkable. Her drive, energy and determination are admirable. But I especially admire her desire, and ability, to start a business within the severe restrictions imposed upon her. Instead of fighting, and losing, a battle with the Taliban, Kamila worked hard to quietly pursue her dream - and she succeeded.
I was going to share a somber poem, and write a book review of the latest book I've finished.
Then I looked outside. Oh, such somber, yucky weather. Amazingly, the sun peaked through the clouds at just the right time to illumine the books I was reading to the older two. We paused and drank in its delicious beauty. Then it was gone.
So, instead of a book review, with it's accompanying serious poem, I present to you this delightful poem which I read to the younger two this morning. They enjoyed it, but could not fully appreciate its fun plays on the word 'hippopotamus.' I hope you will!
I had my poem all picked out for Poetry Wednesday last Wednesday. Honestly, I did!
Then our day got CRAZY. We read our schoolbooks, I dropped the younger two a friend's house, took the older two to a corn maze, went to the library to write my lecture for Bible study, picked up the older two, picked up the younger two, home in time for Anna to be picked up for AWANA, dinner, clean up, kids to bed, run out to pick up Anna, get home and COLLAPSE.
So, no Poetry Wednesday last week.
This week, I'm in my sweats. At home for most of the day. School books read. Dinner planned. A couple of errands to run later. Time to breathe, and time for a poem.
We read this poem last week in school. It's a lot of fun, and rather difficult to read aloud if you go too quickly. Enjoy!
Here are the birthday siblings - with Mom in the background.
