Words I didn’t know I needed…

from Ann @ Holy Experience.

This fills out/ gives words and expression to the “questions and answers” I have come up with regarding the death of our baby Hewett.  Keenan’s twin.

That sentence didn’t make any sense.  Oh well.  🙂

Shand climbed on to our dining room table.

My new 1 yr old.  Nothing else to add, really.  Fun times ahead!!

The week in holidays…

DID YOU KNOW?!?!?…  that today is Brother’s Day!  My kids wanted to know when Brother’s Day was (after we celebrated Mother’s Day) so we looked it up on line and found out that TODAY, May 24th, is Brother’s Day.

• My kids think that means we should do something special for them.  I couldn’t convince them it is for THEM to do something special for each other.  When I finally got them to understand, they  decided n a great activity… Keenan would take Thad to Chucky Cheese (?!?) and Thad would take Keenan to H2Oasis (an inside waterpark).  Smaller scale please, boys.

Sunday is Neighbor Day. I think we’ll do some baking for out neighbors, and across the road and the assisted living home where Bryan’s grandpa had been living.

This next week is Backyard Games Week.  So we’ll be digging out the Croquet set, borrowing grandparent’s Bocce Ball, and unearthing the fun games we played as kids. (Red Rover, Kick the Can… ya know!)  I’ll let you know how it goes.  We might need to find some kids to invite over!!  I’m not sure there is enough of us for Red Rover!!

Monday… Memorial Day.  B-que, Beer, and oh wait we’ll be at the in-laws.  B-que, pepsi, and remembering.  Lots of remembering.

There are more… but they aren’t all ok for kids to celebrate, so we’ll leave it at that! 🙂

Merry Holidays Everyone!!

Can summer REALLY be happening? BOOKS!

Oh, the recent days have been amazing.  I am still amazed when I say that about days in the upper 50’s!

SERIOUSLY though!  It’s hot in the car when the sun is shining on it and there are no windows open!! 🙂

I am in no-homeschool mode (which = a little math and LA at the kitchen counter around breakfast time, and continuing with whatever book we are reading at the time)

on to the BOOKS! First the children…

• I am reading The Voyage of Patience Godspeed with the boys… Thaddeus is pretty much enthralled with the the fact that they younger brother has HIS name.  Every time he is mentioned he says “That’s ME!”  A brother and sister go aboard a whaling ship with their father… so far its pretty good, with a LOT more sophisticated language than the our last book, The Boxcar Children.

I am in the midst of reading… in no particular order

• Developing the Leader Within You by John C Maxwell  .  Its ok.  MJ (pastor) and I went through a different leadership book, and this was just another one on his shelf.  It has some good thoughts…
• Something Beyond the Sky by Siri L Mitchell.  Its pretty good… 4 military wives meet and bond… it is my ‘not have to think deep’ reading.  I inherit these kinds of books from a friend who knows I need to relax and escape serious thinking sometimes. 🙂
• Red Moon Rising by Peter Greig and Dave Roberts.  Its my second time.  Its awesome.  It was/is so inspiring and challenging and life changing.  It has significantly changed… or added on, I guess, to the vision of our church.  (More on that in another post)  This time I am reading it with our church “board” (I don’t like that word – but officially, that is what we are called)
• This Day We FIght by Francis Frangipane.  I REALLY like this book… but it is REALLY hard for me to get through.  I have been reading it for a long time.  I don’t know if it’s because there are some new thoughts, or if he is just a hard writer to follow…  reading him makes me think he’d be easier to listen to than read.  This book has spoken to me much about DISCOURAGEMENT and what a hay-day Satan has with that… and has spoken more, again, to me on prayer.
• The Bible by… well, you know!  GOD! I am reading it through in 90 days (or a few more!) from start to finish… I look forward to this.  The goal not being 90 days for me, but reading it as a novel.  And allowing the Spirit to show me new things… 🙂

And my NEW BOOKS I just received today from AMAZON

• Keeping House; The Litany of Everyday LIfe by Margaret Kim Peterson.  The Introduction was wonderful.  I read it at all the stoplights between the Salvation Army and home.  And I am not going to read more tonight… because I’m going to read some more out of Genesis.  Thanks to Tonia for pointing me toward this one.
• The Creative Family by Amanda Soule (of Soulemama )  I actually bought 2 copies.  One for my SIL as a birthday present.  That is how confident I was that I would like the book!  And by my first perusing, I am sure I will.  It looks to be as inspiring as her blog.  I specifically waited until almost-summer to buy this so that I would have the time / inclination to DO / CREATE / BE with the kids.  That is my goal this summer.  Hang out with the kids, and organize the photos on the card table in the sun room.  That is it.  well… almost.

I really have to go to bed.

Home church for the homeless

Last night we had a homeless guy accept our invitation to join us for dinner.  He was a really nice guy.  Had some great stories.  He helped me out in the kitchen… he knows how to cook… maybe I could hire him on Tuesday nights!! 🙂

He brought food to share that he had been given over the course of the day… The kids were THRILLED because he brought some graham cracker scooby snacks ( he thought they were dog biscuits) and mini oreos (Thad wanted to know what he thought those ones were) And he brought my favorite Artisan bread!! 🙂

I hope he comes again.  And I hope he brings a friend.  And if the crowd keeps up like last night, I had best make sure I make a large amount of food!! 🙂

Thad’s terrible dream

This morning Thad was fussing when he woke up.

Thad: I had a terrible dream!

Me: You want to tell me about it?

Thad:  Can I?  I dreamed we were at our Souljourn church and I had a donut and Keenan ate all my sprinkles.  And I was crying…

I suppose that IS pretty traumatic for him.  He DOES love his sweets!!

A few more funnies from Thad

“Mom, will there be sweets at the carnival?”

hmmm…. right, that would be FUNERAL. 🙂 It made for lots of light moments and comments amongst the aunties and uncles yesterday!!

Dad: “Shand are you going to be a high maintenance girl when you grow up?”

Thad: “Is that a type of dancer?”

writing each day

I dont’ know if I really will… but I am going to try to write each day.  Even if its just news or a picture or my mood 🙂  I know you all won’t be terrible interested in my thoughts here and there 🙂  But I’ll share them anyway.

For all you cyber-friends out there… I still keep up on you by reading, I’m just a silent reader for now, pretty much.  I think God is wanting to do some stuff in my heart.  Its kind of icky and hard.  I love the reality that though I may only just now be discovering some of the dark corners of my heart, Father God already knew, and still he anointed me as His and calls me beloved.  I love that.

Curriculum for next year and more of life

So… nothing deep.  Lots to say, but thought I’d pop in and say hello… You’ll notice the new picture up top… that was our 2 1/2 feet of snow the last  weekend of April… so very sad.  But the kids made a stellar snowman, and Shand thoroughly enjoyed the snow! 🙂

That was the weekend of the currciulum fair.  We bought our first microscope… we are looking forward to peering up close at many things this summer.

I have left our schedule for next year free to play lots of math games, and any other kind of game, and go on walks, and pursue the kids interest, instead of  having a “36” week curriculum that I feel I need to get done by a certain time.  Not that I have ever actually finished a 36 week curriculum!! BUT there is still that pressure I put on myself.

Keenan is totally taken with Ancient Egyptian stuff right now, which we have fed with Jim Weiss CD’s on Egyptian Myths and reading lots of fun stuff and doing map work.  He loves listenting to Jim Weiss, and Thad even likes it, though it is a little old for him. SO…

I went ahead bought the second volume of Story of the World, with the CD’s read by Jim Weiss and the Activity Book… I love that we have already started his timeline with American History… even though we are going out of order, he’ll be able to see where it all fits in.  We are going to use a few extra resources from Winterpromise to make it easier to include Thad in our Ancient History studies.  Internet-linked Usborne encyclopedia, MYO Hide-aways and things like that.

We’ll add in Noeo Science, which both the boys love anything science.

I am almost sure we are going to do Rightstart Math… games… it seems to be the key.  I have the Saxon kit for grade three already, which I won LAST year as  door prize… so I don’t know.  Math is Keenan’s weak point.

I haven’t nailed down the Language Arts for either of them… but am thinking 100 Easy Lessons for Thad, and Writing Tales with a Spectrum Spelling workbook (or some other brand)

Enough rambling…

Death through little one’s minds…

Bryan’s grandfather (Big Grandpa to my kids) is breathing his last few tonight probably. They have turned his pace maker off, taking him off meds, IV’s and all that. These comments are from discussing all this with the kids, and going in to say good-bye. I am wondering of course, if they really understand… Keenan definitely does.

Keenan: I don’t want to watch someone die. I’ll just wait and see him again after I die.

(He changed his mind later, once reassured about a number of things, including that he wouldn’t catch Big Grandpa’s gall bladder infection)

Thad: (with great excitement in his voice) OH… I want to see someone die!! Will we get to see his body go up?

(need a little more discussion on what happens when we die… :))

And then later tonight, in bed, talking with Daddy as he heads back to the hospital… with quiet wonder….

Thad: If I’m holding his hand when he dies, will I die to and go with him to heaven? (And then he acted it out… it was very peaceful!! 🙂 Unlike most of his death scenarios… )

(ok, still need a little more teaching…)

LIfe has been crazy… I just haven’t been able to justify much computer time, and anyway, its too overwhelming to try to write about all that has been going on, both serious and fun… one day…