Happenings

I have no idea how I had so much time for blogging last week. 

Phew, it's Friday! What a week it has been. Here is a whirlwind catch up. 

Last Friday, we went with Ethan's homeschool academy class on a field trip to see "Charlotte's Web" at a children's theatre. There is one phrase we heard the most that day. "It's super fun!" Irina said this at least 20 times if not more. They LOVED it! It brought back fond memories of my acting days before college. The play was really well done and brought me much joy! I was giggling throughout at the interpretation of the animals. I'm thankful for the opportunity to laugh and enjoy with these kids!

 Poppy was able to come along and then took us out to lunch. 

What a great end to our week last week. Thank you, Poppy!

Last Saturday, I was busy working in the school room with the windows open. 

Daddy was mowing the back yard. The weather was glorious! The four kids were 

right outside the window in the front yard. They played HAPPILY together for 

almost 2 hours. Their laughter and giggles, pulled me from my schoolwork. 

Of course, I had to run back in to get my camera. This moment needed to be recorded. 

They were playing a game they called "Bumper Ball Tag" with a beach ball we got from 

Lufthansa airlines last fall. As far as I could gather, they would each take a turn being "it" and 

then ram into each other with full force. This would cause them to bounce and fall to the ground.

Apparently, it was hilarious! Can you hear their giggles? 

OR, they would throw the ball at each other. This was supposedly hilarious too. 

They loved running around in the cold grass with their bare feet. 

 Sometimes there was spontaneous wrestling. 

What amazes me is that this activity lasted so long without anyone getting hurt.

 See Irina with her fists up? She says, "Come and get me!" Aaron said, "Irina is tough girl."

After all that fun, our family outing hiking at a state park on Sunday just couldn't measure up. The grumbling was through the roof! I got some cute photos and I could certainly paint an entirely different picture than reality. However, the true story is that they wanted adventure. A hike through the woods on a trail was apparently, "BORING!!!" "I'm thirsty." "I need to go to the bathroom." "This is boring." "I wish we were playing kickball instead." blah, blah, blah!!!

 I will add that Irina did NOT complain THIS day. She was very happy to be out and about. 

(Although, she does use the word "boring" and the phrase "it's not fair" quite often! oh my!)

The last week of October was busy, but uneventful. I think I only picked up my camera one time. 

I'm ready for the weekend. Maybe our rainy Saturday could be used cleaning up the lego room?? Ack!

Chilly, Silly, Thankful

A year ago, Irina called her brothers on the phone in America to say hello from Ukraine. 

She only spoke Russian and they only spoke English. Their hello's were brief, but super sweet! 

Darin, Irina, and I were squished in the back seat of a car on the way to government offices and lunch.

Today, we ventured out on our regular morning walk before school. All four kids chattered excitedly in English. 

It was a chilly and very silly walk with non-stop talking. What a difference a year makes!

Thankful to have them together!

Guarding the Door

Sometimes a devotion intended for the kids sticks in my head for days.

"You wouldn't open the door to a stranger, would you? You know how dangerous that can be. But let any trashy thought knock on the door of our mind, and we let it right in! Anger shows up and we say, "Welcome!" Revenge needs a place to stay, so we have him pull up a chair. Pity wants to have a party, so we show him to the kitchen. Jealousy rings the doorbell, and we show him to the guest room. Don't we know how to say no? Jesus stood watch over His mind. He guarded the gate to his heart. If Jesus did, shouldn't we?" Max Lucado 

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him standing firm in the faith, because you know your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." 1 Peter 5:8-9

Or how about this one? Does it challenge you as it challenges me?

"Your heart is like a greenhouse ready to grow good fruit. And your mind is the doorway to the greenhouse, to your heart. It is in your mind that you decide which seeds are planted in your heart and which seeds are thrown away. Which ones are worth hanging on to and which ones need to be weeded out. The Holy Spirit is ready to help you sort out all those thoughts that get in. He can help you guard your heart.  

The Holy Spirit stands with you at the doorway. If a thought approaches, a thought that may not be so good, do you throw open the door and let it enter? Of course not. You "capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5  You don't need to leave the door wide open and unguarded. You stand ready with handcuffs and leg irons, ready to capture any thought not good enough to enter." Max Lucado 

"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what the nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:5-6

Surely if I let ugly thoughts enter my mind, they will affect my heart and my words (and the people around me). I once heard the expression, "What's down in the well, comes up in the bucket." My words are a reflection of what is in my heart. (oh no!) Thank God for redemption and forgiveness.

Recently, I found a new set of scripture cd's that have been helping me fill my mind with truth. I'm thankful for God's word set to soothing music! (And the kids have been enjoying falling asleep to these scripture lullabies, especially Irina.)

Sedentary ?

This summer, the boys had their yearly well visits. We were in the process of switching pediatricians, so we tried out a new doctor. (The doctor I wanted to see had such a long wait list and I was behind in making my appointments. The story of my life these days.)

If you know our boys, you know they are somewhat shy with new people. Then you make them strip down to their underwear, invite a "stranger" (new doctor) into the room, and start asking them questions and you would think they are mute.

The doctor was jovial and rattled off his questions. The boys answered slowly and shyly with one word answers. Not one of them answered boldly and confidently. It took every ounce of my self control to not answer for them. Then the doctor asked, "Where do you go to school?" pause, pause, pause... (crickets chirping) "I'm homeschooled," the boys answered nervously. (Remember, they are still sitting in their underwear with a stranger.)

At that moment, every stereotype about homeschoolers lined up for this doctor. The unsocialized, gawky boys sitting in front of him are clearly homeschooled. No wonder they can't communicate with adults. I'm not sure if I was reading in to his feelings about homeschoolers out of my own insecurities and discomfort with the tongue tied boys. Maybe I misread the doctor completely? However, at the end of the visit when he told me that they are clearly sedentary I was a bit perturbed. I sheepishly left the office and obviously, three months later I need to let it go. ;) (I will NOT be returning to that doctor.)

You see, my kids are not sports stars. We've tried a few things, but they don't play sports every season. One boy has gymnastics talent, but we're hesitant to over commit the whole family. One boy is eager to try team sports so we're signed up for winter basketball. However, we haven't been able to figure out how to manage 4 kids in four sports year round. It's not only expensive, but it sounds exhausting to keep up with that kind of schedule. Large families, how do you do this? How do you find the balance?

Does it mean the kids are sedentary because we aren't signed up for lots of sports??? I sure hope not. If you know me, you know that personally I love to exercise. I really, really love it! Since the kids aren't signed up for all kinds of sports, it is up to me to provide opportunities for them to exercise. I try my best. We take walks every day before school. They are only 3/4 of a mile, but we do it daily together. They ride their bikes. They climb trees and take hikes. They run in the yard, bounce on the mini trampoline, do push-ups and jumping jacks during school.

I am adamant that they not be labeled as sedentary. In the first several pictures you see my attempts at trying to overcome this label. I've been taking them to parks and making them do "boot camp." (Skip to that tree, then do 20 jumping jacks. Sprint to that telephone pole and then do 10 push ups. Speed walk to that fence and then do 15 sit-ups.) 3 out of the 4 kids think this is great. We'll see if I can get the straggler to come around and find all this conditioning fun too. But maybe it's okay if he doesn't?

Streams of Mercy

We had a really great weekend! The weather was great. The moods were mostly great. We had no pressing plans, just a few things on our "to do" list and time together. This is not the norm and it was wonderful.

Saturday, I bolted awake at 8:30am shocked that I had slept that long. How did that happen? How wonderfully indulgent! The kids were up between 6 and 7am and so happy to be playing in the lego room.  (I keep it locked during the week until ALL the kids finish their school work each day.) They love Saturday morning lego room time. I'm thankful they were so quiet. Usually the sound of their hands raking through the lego bins wakes me up. Do you know that lego raking sound? It's most irritating between the hours of 5 and 8am. Otherwise, it is a sound of happiness. 

I didn't even leave for my long run until 9am. This is so contrary to my early, fast paced mornings (usually up by 5:45am). How refreshing! Darin does special "Daddy eggs" on Saturday mornings while I'm running, so the kids waited patiently for him to fix his specialty. 

Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you moment by moment what we did all weekend. :) It's just that the start of our Saturday set the tone for the weekend. 

The kids played happily with neighbor friends in the back yard for a while. 

 They did "bike washes" in the driveway, 

This was serious washing. Aaron used a toothbrush to clean his bike wheels. 

Darin built this ramp for Luke's 7th birthday 3 years ago and they still enjoy it. 

Although, for the boys it's all about catching air as they jump over it!

 ... or zipping over it on the ripstick. Have you ever tried one of those? It's harder then a skateboard and a great core workout. Both Ethan and Luke love it. Got them at a yard sale for $5 each. Awesome!

We had been planning all weekend to go to a Harvest Festival at a local farm. I thought it was from 12-5pm. We planned to get there around 3. Unfortunately, when you combine our leisurely morning with our tendency to be late you get a 4:00 arrival time. What a bummer to find out I had the ending time wrong. It ended at 4pm. Whoops! So thankful the kids were flexible! 

 What do you do if the festival is ending when you arrive? Jump off of hay bales!

This young lady is full of many HARD emotions these days. Hard, Hard, Hard. And yet, she is still full of life and youthful joy at other moments. She'll catch up to her age eventually, but for now running around the yard, flapping her arms like a butterfly in the wind is her way to express joy. Can you believe how long her hair has gotten? It is gorgeous, thick, and wavy. Can I say that? ;) I'm a bit biased, although I clearly have not contributed to her hair genes. 

The weekend felt busy, but carefree. There was time for a trip to the park, catch with 

Daddy in the backyard, making double batches of granola, and working on science projects. 

I don't have a picture, but the highlight for Luke was probably on Sunday afternoon. He joined Darin and other musicians from church for a "Worship Jam." Darin pulled out his guitar and freshened up his skills. Luke had the great opportunity to sit behind the drum set and be the drum player for a song. He was elated! He could barely contain his excitement as he told me about his experience. Since it was their first time joining in the music making, Darin decided to hold off on bringing the other kids. However, we can't wait to all go next time.

I've told too many details and left out too many details. We wrapped up our weekend with an impromptu sing along before bedtime. The look on Irina's face as Darin played the guitar and I sang along to "Come Thou Fount" was worth remembering for a long time.

"Come Thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; 

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, 

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet, 

Sung by flaming tongues above. 

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, 

Mount of God's unchanging love."