Ahem...
'Nuff said.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Weekend Retreat
I got home a little while ago from that women's retreat, and, wow, that was a TON of fun. There were only 6 of us who could make it, but I'm glad it was smallish, because it gave us a chance to really talk and laugh together. I haven't laughed that hard in ages, in fact. Here's a few pics:
This is us. The two women on the ends are twins. It only took me 3 1/2 years, but now I can always tell them apart. (I'm holding two dogs, so that a guy could take our picture.)
The place we stayed was on Whidbey Island.
One of the things we did was go to a farmer's market today. Penny (the one with the really curly hair) and I wandered by a booth that had a man selling dowsing rods. I'd heard of them before in connection with people using them to find water on their property, so I said, "Hey, Penny, look at this. Have you ever heard of these things?" Of course, that was all the man needed to strike up a conversation with us, during which he told us that dowsing can be used to find not just water, but anything: your car keys, a lost pet, a dead body. (He said in the past he's helped sheriff departments locate murder victims.) He also said they can be used to find illness in a person. Now, I'm not stupid. I wasn't falling over myself with belief. In fact, I thought and still think the guy's a crackpot. The only thing is he handed us each a one of these rods and said, "Tell it to point to the right and keep repeating that." After about 15 seconds my rod moved to the right and so did Penny's. Then we did it to the left. Then he had us tell it to "point to Roger," which was him. It did. It was freaky and I didn't feel comfortable during any of it, but I continued to stand there and listen. Finally he told us to start asking it "yes" or "no" questions..."yes" to the right, "no" to the left sort of thing, and that's when I put it down. I told the man it gave me a bad feeling, and Penny and I left. For quite a few minutes afterward I had a strong sense of, "That was wrong and I shouldn't have had any part in it." I feel...what's the word...chastened?...but at the same time it's comforting to know that the Holy Spirit is loud and clear in me in situations like that.
On the homefront, look what Mike bought me for Mother's Day! It was a surprise and was sitting in the dining room when I got back home. (It's the new dining room table and chairs.)
Also, he got this old, but working sewing machine for Baylee. She's wanted to learn to sew for ages and is beside herself with excitement.
Finally, all my caterpillars are either J's or are complete chrysalides! This isn't a good picture, but I can't move the cup to a better location, because it might disturb them or some such thing.
Once they're all hardened, I'll transfer them to the butterfly house.
This is us. The two women on the ends are twins. It only took me 3 1/2 years, but now I can always tell them apart. (I'm holding two dogs, so that a guy could take our picture.)
The place we stayed was on Whidbey Island.
One of the things we did was go to a farmer's market today. Penny (the one with the really curly hair) and I wandered by a booth that had a man selling dowsing rods. I'd heard of them before in connection with people using them to find water on their property, so I said, "Hey, Penny, look at this. Have you ever heard of these things?" Of course, that was all the man needed to strike up a conversation with us, during which he told us that dowsing can be used to find not just water, but anything: your car keys, a lost pet, a dead body. (He said in the past he's helped sheriff departments locate murder victims.) He also said they can be used to find illness in a person. Now, I'm not stupid. I wasn't falling over myself with belief. In fact, I thought and still think the guy's a crackpot. The only thing is he handed us each a one of these rods and said, "Tell it to point to the right and keep repeating that." After about 15 seconds my rod moved to the right and so did Penny's. Then we did it to the left. Then he had us tell it to "point to Roger," which was him. It did. It was freaky and I didn't feel comfortable during any of it, but I continued to stand there and listen. Finally he told us to start asking it "yes" or "no" questions..."yes" to the right, "no" to the left sort of thing, and that's when I put it down. I told the man it gave me a bad feeling, and Penny and I left. For quite a few minutes afterward I had a strong sense of, "That was wrong and I shouldn't have had any part in it." I feel...what's the word...chastened?...but at the same time it's comforting to know that the Holy Spirit is loud and clear in me in situations like that.
On the homefront, look what Mike bought me for Mother's Day! It was a surprise and was sitting in the dining room when I got back home. (It's the new dining room table and chairs.)
Also, he got this old, but working sewing machine for Baylee. She's wanted to learn to sew for ages and is beside herself with excitement.
Finally, all my caterpillars are either J's or are complete chrysalides! This isn't a good picture, but I can't move the cup to a better location, because it might disturb them or some such thing.
Once they're all hardened, I'll transfer them to the butterfly house.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Stuff
Guess what. "Cocoon" and "chrysalis" are not interchangeable. All this time I've been saying that our caterpillars are going into cocoons, but, come to find out, only caterpillars that turn into moths go into cocoons, and the cocoons are made of silk. Those caterpillars weave the silk around them, and then cut or chew (or whatever) their way out when the time comes. A chrysalis, on the other hand, is what caterpillars that turn into butterflies make, and the chrysalis comes from within their bodies. (Which we saw first hand yesterday in my amazing National Geographic-esque video.)
Speaking of chrysalides, I've got bad news. Ours fell off the ceiling last night. I had a bad feeling about it when I noticed that the other caterpillars wouldn't leave his hangy dead skin alone. They kept picking and prodding at it, bumping into the chrysalis in the process, and making it hang by less and less of a thread, literally, until finally it broke off. The directions say if that happens to put it on a napkin in the butterfly house, and maybe it'll still survive. In the meantime, it's day 15 and none of the other caterpillars have done one single thing. So I've got a jumper and 4 rejects.
I've been backburner thinking about curricula for next year, even though we're not done with this year's stuff yet. I like what I'm using for both boys, so I think I'll stick with it. The only exception is I have to find something to use to teach history to Drew next year. I'm not even sure if I want it to be a world history or an American history course. I'll have to look around and see what's out there. I like what Baylee's using this year, too, and up until today I had no intention of changing, but she and I got into a conversation and, long story short, we started looking at an online school called Bob Jones University Distance Learning. They have streaming classes in every grade from K-12. Baylee would do their 5th grade, which includes Bible, history, English, spelling, handwriting, reading, science, and math. Each of those subjects has its own excellent teacher, and fun things are incorporated like drama, virtual field trips, and guest speakers. For instance, we watched a sample of a science lesson on rocks, and they brought in a man who's a rock hound to talk to the kids. To be honest it looks pretty good, and Baylee is very excited about the possibility. We'll see.
Our church newsletter has been publishing short "bios," as they call them, of the kids in the high school youth group over the last few months. Actually, now that I think about it, they're autobios, since they're written by the kids themselves. Anyway, they've been fun to read. This month Zach was asked to be one of the featured kids. Here's what he wrote. (I took out a few of the more identifying details.)
My name is Zach xxxxxx and I'm in 9th grade. I'm home schooled and have been for my entire life. My favorite subject in school is biology, because I like to learn about the world God created.
My parents are Mike and Sue xxxxxx, and I have a younger brother and sister named Drew and Baylee. Drew is twelve and Baylee is nine. I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I spent the first four years of my life at a place called David's House Ministries. It's an adult foster care home for disabled men. My parents were "house parents" there, which means they cooked, cleaned, and cared for those guys 24/7. My family and I moved to Washington four years ago, because my dad got a job here at a place called xxxxxx. Actually, I work there, too. I clean their office once a week.
As far as sports and hobbies, I just started Tang Soo Do, which is a Korean form of karate, a few months ago, and I'm excited to move up to yellow belt soon. Maybe someday, if I stick with it, I'll become a black belt. I also bike ride in my spare time. Sometimes I even go on thirty-mile bike rides with my dad. Lately I've been interested in joining a group that rides in the Velodrome at Marymoor Park.
I'm not sure what God has in store for my future, but I can't wait to find out.
And finally, I'm going on that Pioneer Girls leaders' retreat this afternoon, and won't be home until tomorrow night. From the sounds of it, it's going to be about talking, laughing, and eating. I can definitely handle that.
Speaking of chrysalides, I've got bad news. Ours fell off the ceiling last night. I had a bad feeling about it when I noticed that the other caterpillars wouldn't leave his hangy dead skin alone. They kept picking and prodding at it, bumping into the chrysalis in the process, and making it hang by less and less of a thread, literally, until finally it broke off. The directions say if that happens to put it on a napkin in the butterfly house, and maybe it'll still survive. In the meantime, it's day 15 and none of the other caterpillars have done one single thing. So I've got a jumper and 4 rejects.
I've been backburner thinking about curricula for next year, even though we're not done with this year's stuff yet. I like what I'm using for both boys, so I think I'll stick with it. The only exception is I have to find something to use to teach history to Drew next year. I'm not even sure if I want it to be a world history or an American history course. I'll have to look around and see what's out there. I like what Baylee's using this year, too, and up until today I had no intention of changing, but she and I got into a conversation and, long story short, we started looking at an online school called Bob Jones University Distance Learning. They have streaming classes in every grade from K-12. Baylee would do their 5th grade, which includes Bible, history, English, spelling, handwriting, reading, science, and math. Each of those subjects has its own excellent teacher, and fun things are incorporated like drama, virtual field trips, and guest speakers. For instance, we watched a sample of a science lesson on rocks, and they brought in a man who's a rock hound to talk to the kids. To be honest it looks pretty good, and Baylee is very excited about the possibility. We'll see.
Our church newsletter has been publishing short "bios," as they call them, of the kids in the high school youth group over the last few months. Actually, now that I think about it, they're autobios, since they're written by the kids themselves. Anyway, they've been fun to read. This month Zach was asked to be one of the featured kids. Here's what he wrote. (I took out a few of the more identifying details.)
My name is Zach xxxxxx and I'm in 9th grade. I'm home schooled and have been for my entire life. My favorite subject in school is biology, because I like to learn about the world God created.
My parents are Mike and Sue xxxxxx, and I have a younger brother and sister named Drew and Baylee. Drew is twelve and Baylee is nine. I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I spent the first four years of my life at a place called David's House Ministries. It's an adult foster care home for disabled men. My parents were "house parents" there, which means they cooked, cleaned, and cared for those guys 24/7. My family and I moved to Washington four years ago, because my dad got a job here at a place called xxxxxx. Actually, I work there, too. I clean their office once a week.
As far as sports and hobbies, I just started Tang Soo Do, which is a Korean form of karate, a few months ago, and I'm excited to move up to yellow belt soon. Maybe someday, if I stick with it, I'll become a black belt. I also bike ride in my spare time. Sometimes I even go on thirty-mile bike rides with my dad. Lately I've been interested in joining a group that rides in the Velodrome at Marymoor Park.
I'm not sure what God has in store for my future, but I can't wait to find out.
And finally, I'm going on that Pioneer Girls leaders' retreat this afternoon, and won't be home until tomorrow night. From the sounds of it, it's going to be about talking, laughing, and eating. I can definitely handle that.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Cool
Remember a little while ago when I was complaining that my caterpillars were total flops? Well, literally while I was doing that, the one little guy who was hanging started to form a chrysalis. I walked back into the living room just in time to get quite a bit of it on video, so here it is for your viewing pleasure!
PS: I'm not sure I gave all the exact right details about what was going on as I was talking on the video, but basically what happens is the caterpillar's skin splits one last time and it wriggles out of it. The skin gets all bunched up at the top of the cocoon, with the old head on one end, and then it drops off.
PS: I'm not sure I gave all the exact right details about what was going on as I was talking on the video, but basically what happens is the caterpillar's skin splits one last time and it wriggles out of it. The skin gets all bunched up at the top of the cocoon, with the old head on one end, and then it drops off.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
"I'm So Stupid!" ~ Chris Farley
I made a total doofus of myself tonight at church. It was one of those times when you say something, and the exact second it leaves your mouth you just know it came out wrong, but you can't possibly try to fix it without making it much worse. Some of the most definitive moments of my life are comprised of times like these. Remind me to share with you about the day I told my high school English teacher she was fat, without ever, EVER meaning to.
Tonight I was walking down the hallway on my way back to my Pioneer Girl classroom from the gym, and I was chatting away with my girls, when a not quite elderly, but definitely oldish man said, "I know that voice! I've heard that voice before! Where have a heard that voice?" I knew he was making a dumb reference to the reading I did for the Tenebrae service, because my voice was heard through the speakers, but most people probably couldn't see me. Thinking only about the surreal aspect of that, I replied, "Haha! In your dreams!" See, because a dream might be a place you hear a disembodied voice. So that's what I said. I told a guy he hears my voice in his dreams. An old guy. In church.
Dang it.
The way I felt immediately afterward was a cross between laughter and this:
And because I know you care, there's still only one caterpillar hanging.
Tonight I was walking down the hallway on my way back to my Pioneer Girl classroom from the gym, and I was chatting away with my girls, when a not quite elderly, but definitely oldish man said, "I know that voice! I've heard that voice before! Where have a heard that voice?" I knew he was making a dumb reference to the reading I did for the Tenebrae service, because my voice was heard through the speakers, but most people probably couldn't see me. Thinking only about the surreal aspect of that, I replied, "Haha! In your dreams!" See, because a dream might be a place you hear a disembodied voice. So that's what I said. I told a guy he hears my voice in his dreams. An old guy. In church.
Dang it.
The way I felt immediately afterward was a cross between laughter and this:
And because I know you care, there's still only one caterpillar hanging.
It's Happening!!!
See the little guy on top who's hanging from his feet and curling himself into a "J"? He's starting! I feel like I should hand out cigars.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Cocoon Challenged
Today the caterpillars are all (except one) going up to the lid and hanging upside down by their back legs, which is exactly what they should to be doing since this is day 12 and they were supposed to become chysalides (which, by the way, is pronounced /cri-sal-i-dees/. It's the plural form of "chrysalis.") somewhere between days 7 and 10. However, after they hang for awhile, they change their minds and crawl back down. One time I was convinced one of them was really going to start the process, when suddenly he fell off the ceiling and onto his head. I hope I didn't get a bunch of dummies.
In Biology Zach is learning about the effect of drugs on the nervous system. Here's how part of that conversation went:
Me: Tranquilizers reduce stress, but they also often reduce a person's ability to concentrate.
Zach: ...
Me: So what's dangerous about taking tranquilizers?
Zach: ...
Me: Tranquilizers reduce a person's ability to what?
Zach: ...
Me: Oh my gosh, are you on tranquilizers right now???
Sigh.
hanging...hanging...wait...nope, never mind
Baylee showing her doll, Miranda, the caterpillers
In Biology Zach is learning about the effect of drugs on the nervous system. Here's how part of that conversation went:
Me: Tranquilizers reduce stress, but they also often reduce a person's ability to concentrate.
Zach: ...
Me: So what's dangerous about taking tranquilizers?
Zach: ...
Me: Tranquilizers reduce a person's ability to what?
Zach: ...
Me: Oh my gosh, are you on tranquilizers right now???
Sigh.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Easter Denouement
It's day 11 in the jar, and I just know something big is gonna happen at any time. The caterpillars are all so long that they can't easily hold their body weight on the walls as they crawl around. The back bits occasionally slip off as their front bits cling precariously. Also, almost all the food is gone on the bottom and is replaced with "frass," which is their waste. It's all very disgusting...and fascinating! We're checking on them often, as we don't want to miss the moment when one of them goes up to the ceiling and starts its thing. It's kinda like those last few watchful days of pregnancy...only with more legs.
Something weird: Over the last couple weeks I've been waking Mike up multiple times a night and sending him on fool's errands. Like I'll say, "Mike! Mike! You gotta go check the heat!" And because he's totally out of it at night, he gets up and stumbles around in the dark until his brain kicks on and he realizes there's no real problem. The thing is, I have no memory of any of this. I'm talking in my sleep, and poor Mike is getting more and more exhausted dealing with it. He told me about it a week ago or so, and I guess just being aware of it has helped, but it hasn't made it go away completely. He's getting a little testy, and I don't blame him.
I didn't say anything about Easter yesterday because we got home so late, so I'll just add now that we had a wonderful day all the way around. We had breakfast at church (That is, we partook in the ancient Biblical tradition of Swedish crepes, as our pastor jokingly said), started a new Sunday school series, and then had a beautiful service. I love good music, and the music was especially good this Sunday. After church we went over to Patty's and had a big meal and a lot of fun. My favorite part, I think, was playing Apples to Apples together as a family. A good time was had by all.
Something weird: Over the last couple weeks I've been waking Mike up multiple times a night and sending him on fool's errands. Like I'll say, "Mike! Mike! You gotta go check the heat!" And because he's totally out of it at night, he gets up and stumbles around in the dark until his brain kicks on and he realizes there's no real problem. The thing is, I have no memory of any of this. I'm talking in my sleep, and poor Mike is getting more and more exhausted dealing with it. He told me about it a week ago or so, and I guess just being aware of it has helped, but it hasn't made it go away completely. He's getting a little testy, and I don't blame him.
I didn't say anything about Easter yesterday because we got home so late, so I'll just add now that we had a wonderful day all the way around. We had breakfast at church (That is, we partook in the ancient Biblical tradition of Swedish crepes, as our pastor jokingly said), started a new Sunday school series, and then had a beautiful service. I love good music, and the music was especially good this Sunday. After church we went over to Patty's and had a big meal and a lot of fun. My favorite part, I think, was playing Apples to Apples together as a family. A good time was had by all.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Easter Weekend
The Tenebrae service went well! The only hitch in my part of it was when, halfway through and during one of the songs, communion was served. Since I was sitting in the front row, right by the piano, they went ahead and served me communion, too. In retrospect I should've declined, not because of any spiritual reason, but because I was literally in the middle of a performance. This is terrible and totally against everything I've ever learned about the proper mindset to be in when you take communion, but I plucked the little wafer off the plate with lightning speed and choked it down. Of course it was as dry as it could possibly be, and I spent the next minute or so before I had to speak again just praying that I didn't start coughing. Then the grape juice came around and I felt I was committed at that point, so I took that, too. It was fine, though. I got it under control.
One of the really emotional and vaguely unsettling (but in a good way) parts of the night was at the end. The readers (me and the other guy) talked about Christ's death, the choir sang the last notes, and it went almost completely dark. And that was it. Everybody sat there in dead silence. The choir didn't move, the director didn't move...none of us moved. You could hear a pin drop in that sanctuary. Finally, after probably 3 full minutes someone realized it was over, there was no happy ending, and it was time to leave. In complete silence the entire audience filed out. It was very moving. Now on Sunday we can go back to church and get that happy ending we're waiting for.
Speaking of which, it's time to start preparing for Easter tomorrow. We're going to church for breakfast and the service, then to Patty's for dinner. We're bringing the ham, rolls, and a dessert. Also, yesterday Drew told me that over the years Mike and I have been a huge disappointment in the Easter holiday department. We don't color eggs (I think we did it a couple times when Zach was very young.), we only remember to put up the Easter decorations every three years or so (We forgot this year again.), and he's never in his life experienced an egg hunt. He's bitter. I tried to tell him that at thirteen years old he's missed the boat on the egg hunting, that it's an activity mostly enjoyed by three year olds, but all he said was, "Good! If everyone else is three, then my chances of pulling in a big haul are even better." We always at least remember to do Easter baskets, but I'm thinking that maybe tomorrow I'll also put some candy in some plastic eggs and hide them out in the yard, making Drew's Easter dreams come true.
Finally, the caterpillars are getting big enough that they're starting to trigger my worm phobia.
According to the pamphlet, they should start the process of becoming chrysalides either today or tomorrow, but I have this feeling it'll be a day or two later than that.
One of the really emotional and vaguely unsettling (but in a good way) parts of the night was at the end. The readers (me and the other guy) talked about Christ's death, the choir sang the last notes, and it went almost completely dark. And that was it. Everybody sat there in dead silence. The choir didn't move, the director didn't move...none of us moved. You could hear a pin drop in that sanctuary. Finally, after probably 3 full minutes someone realized it was over, there was no happy ending, and it was time to leave. In complete silence the entire audience filed out. It was very moving. Now on Sunday we can go back to church and get that happy ending we're waiting for.
Speaking of which, it's time to start preparing for Easter tomorrow. We're going to church for breakfast and the service, then to Patty's for dinner. We're bringing the ham, rolls, and a dessert. Also, yesterday Drew told me that over the years Mike and I have been a huge disappointment in the Easter holiday department. We don't color eggs (I think we did it a couple times when Zach was very young.), we only remember to put up the Easter decorations every three years or so (We forgot this year again.), and he's never in his life experienced an egg hunt. He's bitter. I tried to tell him that at thirteen years old he's missed the boat on the egg hunting, that it's an activity mostly enjoyed by three year olds, but all he said was, "Good! If everyone else is three, then my chances of pulling in a big haul are even better." We always at least remember to do Easter baskets, but I'm thinking that maybe tomorrow I'll also put some candy in some plastic eggs and hide them out in the yard, making Drew's Easter dreams come true.
Finally, the caterpillars are getting big enough that they're starting to trigger my worm phobia.
day 9
According to the pamphlet, they should start the process of becoming chrysalides either today or tomorrow, but I have this feeling it'll be a day or two later than that.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Tenebrae Terror
Okay, not terror. More like nerves. But terror is more catchy. I'm sitting here mindlessly scrolling around, reading people's blogs, putting off going through this Tenebrae thing one last time before I do it for real tonight. Is it bad to pray and ask God to help the program go well, and that everyone's hearts are open to the message, when what I really mean is, "Oh, please, help me not to mess up!"
I was thinking about something this morning. I was thinking that if you ever need a pick-me-up, one way to get it is to go on Facebook and write down a list of all the minutiae you accomplished in that day. People eat that kind of thing up! They give you thumbs up and tell you how efficient you are. Even if you didn't do much of anything, it doesn't matter. Once you think about it and really break it down, you'd be surprised how busy you can make yourself seem. For instance: "Woke up and right away had to use the bathroom. I realized there was no toilet paper, so I shuffled over to the cabinet where we keep that kind of stuff and got a new roll. I put it on the dispenser, making sure it was unfurling over instead of under. Finally I finished my job there on the toilet, flushed, and washed my hands. Now I have to go find something to eat for breakfast. Sheesh, I'm beat and it's only 8:30!" That's bound to get some likes.
Okay, I guess I've stalled enough.
I was thinking about something this morning. I was thinking that if you ever need a pick-me-up, one way to get it is to go on Facebook and write down a list of all the minutiae you accomplished in that day. People eat that kind of thing up! They give you thumbs up and tell you how efficient you are. Even if you didn't do much of anything, it doesn't matter. Once you think about it and really break it down, you'd be surprised how busy you can make yourself seem. For instance: "Woke up and right away had to use the bathroom. I realized there was no toilet paper, so I shuffled over to the cabinet where we keep that kind of stuff and got a new roll. I put it on the dispenser, making sure it was unfurling over instead of under. Finally I finished my job there on the toilet, flushed, and washed my hands. Now I have to go find something to eat for breakfast. Sheesh, I'm beat and it's only 8:30!" That's bound to get some likes.
Okay, I guess I've stalled enough.
Yeah, but ham, though! Ham is delicious!
Sometimes World Geography is kinda fun. The other day Zach and I learned that there's a village in Wales called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlltysiliogogogoch. I'm being completely serious. It means "the church of St. Mary by the white pool of the hazel trees near the fierce whirlpool of the Church of St. Tysiliog by the red cave." Llanfair for short.
And today we learned that the teeny tiny country of Andorra is jointly ruled by the Spanish bishop of Seo de Urgal and the French president. In payment for their service, Andorra gives the French president two dollars every other year, and it gives the Spanish bishop about eight dollars, six hams, six cheeses, and twelve hens.
And today we learned that the teeny tiny country of Andorra is jointly ruled by the Spanish bishop of Seo de Urgal and the French president. In payment for their service, Andorra gives the French president two dollars every other year, and it gives the Spanish bishop about eight dollars, six hams, six cheeses, and twelve hens.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Musical Night
Work in progress...
Also, Drew finally finished that banjo piece that he's been learning. I'm pretty proud of him. His teacher said that doing this type of quick finger work on an acoustic (as opposed to an electric) is like the difference between lifting a 200 pound weight and a 20 pound weight. Your fingers have to work much harder.
Also, Drew finally finished that banjo piece that he's been learning. I'm pretty proud of him. His teacher said that doing this type of quick finger work on an acoustic (as opposed to an electric) is like the difference between lifting a 200 pound weight and a 20 pound weight. Your fingers have to work much harder.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Eclectic
I had that Tenebrae rehearsal tonight. I walked in and the first thing I realized was that the music was live. In other words, it's not the CD stuff that I've been practicing with all this time. My mind went to all the little notes I had written in my book. Notes like, "Wait for bells." I looked around and...nope...not a bell in sight. Seriously, my stomach came up into my throat a little bit. But you know what? It turned out to be fine, and probably a little easier, because live music can work around you. I had a lot of fun! Afterward somebody in the choir said, "Thank you, Sue!" and they all started clapping. I think that was because I walked in there for the first time today, while they've all been practicing together for weeks. Even the other reader is already a member of the choir. Anyway, that made me feel really good. I'm definitely a "words of affirmation" type of person.
The caterpillars are growing so much! I didn't even bother taking a picture today, because it's so hard to get one that really captures the details. Like they've filled the bottom of that cup with webs, and the walls are lightly covered, too. They're also starting to make little journeys to the top of the cup often, almost like they're practicing for the big moment when they go up there for good. Then again, maybe they're just dumb caterpillars that like crawling on the underside of the lid. When things get more exciting, like when they actually start making cocoons, I'll video parts of it. I know you're on the edge of your seat with excitement.
Speaking of excitement, we had some here last night. It was about one in the morning and Mike and I were getting ready to go to bed, when we heard banging outside. Mike went out there to check it out, and, long story short, a group of kids was breaking into the high school across the street and making a lot of noise about it. Mike called the police, thinking they might send one patrol car over with a policeman and a flashlight, but no! Within five minutes there 6 police cars there and...get this...police dogs! And an officer showed up at our door to get a report. (At which point I was wishing very hard that I wasn't wearing my fuzzy pink jammie bottoms, but what can you do.) When it was all over that same policeman came back and filled Mike in on what they found, and also to thank him. That was sure nice, wasn't it?
Oh, I almost forgot the best part of tonight. Before I left for the rehearsal Mike triple dog dared me to pronounce it "Geth see mane" when I got to my line about the Garden of Gethsemane. We laughed at the idea of it, and then remembered at the same time the episode of that show called Ed that used to be on TV. The one where his friend dared him to ask the grocery store manager where to find the "leh toose." Ed went ahead with it. I didn't.
The caterpillars are growing so much! I didn't even bother taking a picture today, because it's so hard to get one that really captures the details. Like they've filled the bottom of that cup with webs, and the walls are lightly covered, too. They're also starting to make little journeys to the top of the cup often, almost like they're practicing for the big moment when they go up there for good. Then again, maybe they're just dumb caterpillars that like crawling on the underside of the lid. When things get more exciting, like when they actually start making cocoons, I'll video parts of it. I know you're on the edge of your seat with excitement.
Speaking of excitement, we had some here last night. It was about one in the morning and Mike and I were getting ready to go to bed, when we heard banging outside. Mike went out there to check it out, and, long story short, a group of kids was breaking into the high school across the street and making a lot of noise about it. Mike called the police, thinking they might send one patrol car over with a policeman and a flashlight, but no! Within five minutes there 6 police cars there and...get this...police dogs! And an officer showed up at our door to get a report. (At which point I was wishing very hard that I wasn't wearing my fuzzy pink jammie bottoms, but what can you do.) When it was all over that same policeman came back and filled Mike in on what they found, and also to thank him. That was sure nice, wasn't it?
Oh, I almost forgot the best part of tonight. Before I left for the rehearsal Mike triple dog dared me to pronounce it "Geth see mane" when I got to my line about the Garden of Gethsemane. We laughed at the idea of it, and then remembered at the same time the episode of that show called Ed that used to be on TV. The one where his friend dared him to ask the grocery store manager where to find the "leh toose." Ed went ahead with it. I didn't.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Today
Washington state history according to Drew. (Abeka is rolling over in its grave.) Click on the picture to enlarge it and read what he says.
Any time is a good time to play the piano.
Sorry I haven't done much but throw a few pictures up here lately. It's been busy. For one thing I've been preparing for that Tenebrae service every evening. Tomorrow I have a rehearsal with the whole choir and the other reader. Gulp. I really am a little nervous. It's not the actual reading that's concerning; it's the fact that it's timed to music pretty much exactly. That's harder than you might think. Anyway, it all goes down on Friday, good...or bad.
Another thing that's keeping us hopping around here is that Zach is doing two days of school every day. I really looked at how much he has left to do, and realized he needs to pick up the pace significantly in order to have a summer break. I'm proud of him, though. It's been about a week and so far he's worked extremely hard with (almost) no complaint.
Today Baylee learned that lighthouses are painted in different patterns, so ships can identify them. The assignment was to "color the lighthouse to identify it as your lighthouse." Yep. That's Baylee's lighthouse, alright.
Any time is a good time to play the piano.
Sorry I haven't done much but throw a few pictures up here lately. It's been busy. For one thing I've been preparing for that Tenebrae service every evening. Tomorrow I have a rehearsal with the whole choir and the other reader. Gulp. I really am a little nervous. It's not the actual reading that's concerning; it's the fact that it's timed to music pretty much exactly. That's harder than you might think. Anyway, it all goes down on Friday, good...or bad.
Another thing that's keeping us hopping around here is that Zach is doing two days of school every day. I really looked at how much he has left to do, and realized he needs to pick up the pace significantly in order to have a summer break. I'm proud of him, though. It's been about a week and so far he's worked extremely hard with (almost) no complaint.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Working Together...
...except not really. I thought it was interesting (and a testament to the fact that we've always lived in fairly small houses and, I guess, are used to it) that they're all together in the same room, yet each is happily doing his/her own thing.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Two Beautiful Sights
This meal I made last night...
And Baylee doing her "Mother's Helper" job with the two little guys from down the road...
And Baylee doing her "Mother's Helper" job with the two little guys from down the road...
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Birthdays and Bugs
Drew's birthday was last week, but he's having his party/sleepover tonight. He's got three of his church pals...Rory, Ethan, and Nick...over. So far they've:
Played foosball.
Played video games.
Played with Nerf guns.
Eaten pizza.
Eaten birthday cake and ice cream.
Opened presents. Nick got Drew this science experiment thingie which teaches about physics, and all the boys were totally fascinated. Even Zach got involved.
Basically, it's a really strong magnet, and a top with washers that act as weights. You get the top spinning really fast on a plastic cover, then you lift the cover off the magnet, and if you do it exactly right, with just the right balance of weights, the top will hover over the magnet.
Since the experiment was being done committee style, it never really got to the hovering stage. Instead it sort of stayed in the "jump in the air and then fly off at a crazy angle that makes Mom worried about people losing their teeth" stage.
Now the boys are busy watching The Last Airbender, and for right now it's blessedly quiet.
In other news, my bugs came today!!!
Played foosball.
Played video games.
Played with Nerf guns.
Eaten pizza.
Eaten birthday cake and ice cream.
Opened presents. Nick got Drew this science experiment thingie which teaches about physics, and all the boys were totally fascinated. Even Zach got involved.
Basically, it's a really strong magnet, and a top with washers that act as weights. You get the top spinning really fast on a plastic cover, then you lift the cover off the magnet, and if you do it exactly right, with just the right balance of weights, the top will hover over the magnet.
Since the experiment was being done committee style, it never really got to the hovering stage. Instead it sort of stayed in the "jump in the air and then fly off at a crazy angle that makes Mom worried about people losing their teeth" stage.
Now the boys are busy watching The Last Airbender, and for right now it's blessedly quiet.
In other news, my bugs came today!!!
Look at those cute little guys! Of course, I'll update you daily, as I know you're as excited about seeing them become butterflies as I am. So far they're about a centimeter long, and Baylee's given them all names: Clara, Laura, Ann, Adoniram, and David. I've got my eye on David. He seems a little on the dead side.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Von Trapps NEVER had to put up with this.
The naughty kids worshippers of the Lord learning the music online.
Baylee was asked to sing for one of the evening services in June. The woman who asked said, "Ever since I heard her in The Three Trees I've wanted to have her sing again." That was nice, right? We agreed that she'd do it, we came up with a song (As the Deer), then I had a brain wave! Drew could accompany her on the guitar! That's when things started to go downhill.
Sigh.
You know, 12 and 13 are both hard ages in boys. When Zach was 12 I was ready to ship him off to military school in a box with a few air holes but no return address, and now I feel that way about Drew. The problem is that 12 and 13's are unpredictable, with moods that can change on a dime. They're like 55 year old menopausal women, except without the hot flashes. And you know what else? Nine year old little girls aren't always that nice, either.
So I asked our 13 year old to accompany our 9 year old, and what could be a really beautiful thing turned into the War of the Divas. He complained that she sang in a different key than he was playing (The concept of "accompaniment" is lost on him, apparently. No, that's not it. Actually, he secretly thinks she's accompanying him.) and she complained that he was being mean. Then she wasn't singing the right speed and he wasn't playing the right notes.
If this works it'll be a miracle.
Simple Woman's Daybook
For Today…April 14, 2011
Outside my window…it's a dark, cold, rainy day. Someday consistently good weather will arrive...probably July. I'm not really complaining, though. I don't mind rain.
I am thinking….that I should be getting those baby caterpillars in the mail any day now. I was starting to feel irritated, then I went back and looked at the booklet that came with the live butterfly garden and read that they have to actually hatch the things from "tiny green butterfly eggs" before they can send them to you. In other words, they hatch to order. Sigh. That makes sense.
I am thankful for…how hard Mike works to provide for us.
From the learning rooms….today is a good, productive day. Among other things Zach studied hard for a test on the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Antarctica; Drew did a lesson on apostrophes; and Baylee took two timed math quizzes.
From the kitchen….lunch is over and the kitchen is a bit of a mess. We had hard boiled Easter eggs and chicken noodle soup.
I am going…on a retreat next weekend with the other women who teach at Pioneer Girls. We're getting together at a cabin on Whidbey Island. I can't wait!
I am reading…Miss Read's Fairacre series. There are 20 books in it, and so far I've read 15 of them. After that I'll read her Thrush Green Series.
I am hearing…music. It seems like this house is always filled with the sound of a kid playing an instrument now, which I love in theory. In reality it can be a little loud.
Around the house….the kids are enjoying the last few minutes of their lunch break before we get back to schoolwork.
One of my favorite things….chef salad. We had it at Save the Day Cafe last night and it was delicious.
A few plans for the rest of the week…include celebrating Drew's 13th birthday tomorrow. He's having three friends over to eat pizza, play video games and foosball, watch movies, and spend the night.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing…
Baylee at 5 years old, playing chess with Walden, her stuffed rabbit. I wonder who won.
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