Oh!

I've been meaning to talk about something that I'm very excited about, but I keep forgetting.  I mentioned awhile back that we were looking into opportunities for Drew to play music in a group, and we found that place called Rock School.  What I didn't say was that was always our second choice.  The first and, in my opinion, much better option is something called the School of Rock.  They have almost the same name,  I know, but they're very different places.  The Rock School is a non-profit organization, whereas the School of Rock is a business with many schools throughout the country.  It's extremely organized and high energy, and it offers a rare opportunity to play great music with other kids in front of large audiences, and to be mentored by professionals.  If you're interested, here's a great video about what the school is and what it does:



Drew would go twice a week:  once for a one-on-one lesson (We would still keep our current teacher, David, though.) and once for a three-hour band rehearsal.  After 4 months of practice the band puts on a show, which revolves around the cover music they learned.  For instance, the school has done Beatles shows, Queen shows, etc.

Anyway, Mike and I weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it work, but after discussing it we think we can, at least for one four-month session.  We'll see after that.

The Ants are Here!

Man, that took forever, too.  They weren't kidding when they said they needed a month to "wrangle" us up some critters.  They arrived in a test tube, and our job was to refrigerate them for ten minutes to calm them down, and then dump them in the ant hill.  Mission accomplished!

Church

In our peer group at church the normal leader wasn't there, so we circled the chairs and just had "fellowship" time.  The conversation got onto how it can be very hard to find a good church, and that led someone to talk about how, before their family came to our church, they started going to a different church solely based on how close it was to their house.  They enjoyed the three block commute, but they soon realized it wasn't the right place for them when their child's kindergarten Sunday school teacher openly admitted to being an atheist.  Whoa.  Then someone else said, "Yeah. That's typical Seattle, unfortunately."  I think I live in Sodom.

I'm going to the "5 Love Languages" Sunday school class this term.  Mike and I have that book and we're aware of our love languages, but something the class covered that I've never considered before is the love languages of our kids.  Once I started thinking about it, though, it was easy to pinpoint what they are.  Zach is "words of affirmation," Drew is "quality time," and Baylee is "physical touch." I can't tell you how many times when she was littler we'd have to say to Baylee, "Honey, your friends need a break from the hugs."  And just a couple days ago Drew and I sat in the hot tub for about an hour, talking and laughing.  He enjoyed having the uninterrupted time.  Zach responds very well to encouragement (and words in general) and always has.  It was eye-opening.  I think it'll be a good class.  

Amish Afternoon

A couple nights ago I watched a show called Amish: Out of Order.  I'm not sure what the whole premise is, but the show I watched was about a 16-year-old "English" (that means someone like you and me) girl who wanted to convert to Amish.  Several ex-Amish spent a lot of time letting her know how hard the lifestyle is and basically trying to dissuade her, but she had her heart set on it.  I'm not sure if she's Amish now or not, because the show didn't cover that.  All I know is they ended up giving her a German dictionary, telling her to study it, and saying they'd look for a good Amish family to place her with if she was still interested after learning the language.

Anyway, today I was thinking about all that, because our whole family (except Baylee, who's at a sleepover) spent several hours this afternoon working.  We were like the Amish!  Well, except for the part with the washing machine and lawn mower and dishwasher and the lights.   Mike and the boys worked in the yard, and I cleaned the house.  Now everything inside and and out is very tidy.

WW

I was reading online today, and I came across this post.  You can click on it and read it yourself, but basically she's saying two things:  1.  We're often unaware of how fattening food is, because we're not accounting for portion size.  2.  Once we know the truth, it's freeing.  The reason she was thinking about this is that she believed the New York bagels (actually from a place in New York, where she lives) she'd been eating were 7 points each, but when she finally took the time to calculate it herself she discovered they're worth 14.  That's a ton!  That's half of what she's supposed to eat in a day.

I had the same experience today.  I eyed some bakery chocolate chip cookies that Mike brought home, trying to decide if I wanted one or not.  I was hoping they were two points each since they're somewhat small, but I was prepared to find out they're 3.  It turns out they're 4.  That made the decision instantly easy:  No cookie!  I was able to walk away and not brood about it.

Maybe you're wondering if I'm going anywhere with this.  Nope!  LOL  This kind of thing is just on my mind, because I've been doing Weight Watchers again for a couple weeks now.

Just Thinking

We finished school just a bit earlier than usual, so now is good time to blog.

Last night the Pioneer Girls did a mother/daughter tea.  I enjoyed it.  More importantly, I think the little girls enjoyed it.  There are only a couple more weeks of PG left this year, then it's over for the summer.  I'll probably do it again as a ministry next year.

Baylee is finished with 2 of her 8 subjects:  history and handwriting.  In both cases the teacher said goodbye and told her to have a great summer, and then showed highlights of things from the year.  Mike and I have been talking about what we'll do for Baylee for school next year.  BJU Distance Learning has been such a wonderful experience for her and she'd love to do it again for 6th grade, but it's very expensive and resources are limited.  Argh.  Decisions.  Either way, whether we're able to use BJU again or I teach her with something else, she'll do fine.

Today Drew and I did a neat experiment on the eye.  Did you know that your eyes each have a blind spot where the optic nerve connects to your retina at the back of your eyeball?  There are no rods or cones in that little spot, so when something is focused there, you can't see it.  We used a piece of paper with a dot and an X drawn on it, and followed the instructions, and sure enough the X "disappeared" and then "reappeared" as the paper moved into and out of our blindspot.  Luckily, since we have two eyes they cover for each other, so the only way this affects you is if you're blind in one eye.

Oh!  I found a place where you can try the experiment for yourself.  Go here and scroll down to "blind spot":

http://www.tedmontgomery.com/the_eye/optcnrve.html

A couple nights ago Mike was working very late at a building, which isn't all that unusual.  What is unusual is that he called me at 1AM, asking me to come pick him up at a gas station, because he locked his keys in his truck.  I really couldn't complain or tease him, though, because I've done that so many times lately and he always rescues me with a smile on his face.

The Red Tent

A friend of mine and I were talking recently about a book called The Red Tent.  I read it about five years ago, and she's just reading it now.  She asked me what I thought of it and I told her I enjoyed it, but truthfully I can't actually remember the storyline at all.  The only thing I remember is that the idea of the red tent is wonderful.  My friend agrees.

Have you ever heard of the red tent?  I'm probably not getting all the details right, but back in the Old Testament a menstruating woman was considered unclean.  Therefore, when it was that time of the month for her, she went to live in a special tent.  Of course, there were other women in there, too.  I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like a sleepover!  A girl party!  A gab fest!  A week-long vacation.

I understand how important and amazing it is that we don't have to do all those things that people in the Old Testament had to do:  sacrifices, following endless laws, etc.  But the red tent?  I miss it.  It feels just a bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Bad to the Bone...Just Kidding

Drew is on the very last module of Apologia General Science, then he's finished.  Woo hoo!  What an outstanding curriculum.  It made both Zach and Drew's Junior high science experience very positive.  Drew's been learning about the human body for the past several weeks, and now he's on the nervous system.  Today we talked about the sensory nervous system, specifically the sense of smell.  You know how when you can't smell because your nose is plugged, you can't taste things very well, either?  We had fun with that (or at least I did!) in an experiment today.  He had to see if he could tell the difference between apples and onions without using his eyes or nose.  (Argh.  See video at bottom of page.  Blogger forced its new and "improved" format on me, and I'm still figuring some things out.)

In other news, I did something yesterday that I almost never do:  I said no.  I got an email from someone at church asking if I would prepare and give a devotional for a mother/daughter tea that would be happening in two days. I let that sit in my inbox for hours, dreading having to answer it.  I knew I could do it and I'd even do a good job, but I also knew I'd hate the pressure.  I mean, to be honest, I don't like doing that kind of thing when I have a week or more to get it ready.  Trying to do it in two days would make me very crazy.  So in the end I responded with a kind refusal, and now I feel a weird mix of guilt and exhilaration.  Like when you're on Weight Watchers and you decide to sneak a Hershey bar.  Like when you're swimming and it occurs to you that it would be more fun without the suit.  Like when you clean your ears with q-tips, even though it's against the rules on the q-tip box.  Well, I'm not quite sure what it's like...but I kinda like it!

  

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!

www.onetruemedia.com

Springtime Fun

I can't drive my car, because as of yesterday the power steering is fading in and out.  I was talking to Mike about this on the phone today, telling him that I'll drive it if there's an emergency, but that I'd rather not otherwise, because I'm a little nervous based on something that happened to me a long time ago.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Well, remember Barbara, that car I had in college?  One time her power steering went out and I ended up hitting a fire hydrant."

At this point all I heard was muffled laughter on the other end of the line.  That was not funny!  It was a somewhat traumatic moment for both Barbara and me!  It was late at night, like around midnight, and I was driving back to the college from my work.  The power steering went out just as I was turning a corner, and I couldn't get the car to make the turn.  I went up over the curb, clipping a fire hydrant on my way, and coming to a stop right in the middle of someone's front lawn.  It was pretty much the most horrifying thing ever.  I tried to drive out of their yard, but it was winter and there was snow and I was stuck.  Finally I rang the doorbell, and the man of the house had to help me get my car (a gigantic blue Pontiac Bonneville from the late '70s or early '80s.  It was so big I had to learn to make wide right turns.) off his property.  After that I carefully drove the last few blocks back to school, and I guess I eventually got the problem taken care of and all was well.  I did have a lasting yellow streak of paint down the side of the car from the hydrant, though.

Anyway, as far as our current car, Mike said it's a quick fix, so hopefully I'll be on the road again soon.

Yesterday there were a ton of kids in our yard playing with the hose, because it was so beautiful and warm out.  They had a great time.

And here's a cute song about pronouns that Baylee learned a month or so ago her English class.

Nursing Home Ministry

Baylee, Drew, and I got up early to go with the Pioneer Girls group to a nursing home to be a part of their church service.  It's a neat thing for the kids to minister to the elderly with little things that they can do:  sing, play an instrument, read a Bible passage, etc.

The weather today is gorgeous!  This was my view out of the windshield on the way this morning.

And here are some pictures from the service.

Mike's been gone visiting his dad in Idaho since Thursday, but he's on his way home today.  We've missed him!

Saturday

I really like this picture.  It's of Drew and a kid named Aaron who just moved in down the street.  They're both 14 and they both play the guitar.

 
They spent quite awhile playing music together, then they got sick of that and went out to play kickball in our backyard with some other boys.

Somebody around here thinks they're pretty funny.

Standing Together

I've got pictures from today.  In fact, I tried to pay special attention to things that were photo-worthy, just for this blog.  But then I realized I have no way to get the pictures on here, because we're "between computers."  Literally.  Something went wrong and this new computer doesn't have iPhoto on it, and our old computer now won't allow me to go to my blog (or anywhere for that matter).  So I can do the words here and upload the pictures there, but I can't put it all together.  Mike's not home to help, either, so he'll have to deal with it all when he can later.  In the meantime,  I'm sitting here trying to think of anything that might be good to talk about without illustrations, and...oh!  I've got something!  I just found this out today:

Did you know that during World War II Denmark did two amazing things?  First, when Hitler ordered all the Jews in Denmark to wear a yellow star so they could be identified, many people who weren't Jews, including the Danish king himself, sewed yellow stars on their clothing to make it harder for the Nazis to figure out who was who.

Second, Denmark wouldn't accept sending its Jewish people away to death camps.  Instead, they came up with a plan to send them away on a fleet of ships.  Because of that, very few Danish Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

Isn't that wonderful?  I love it.

(I got that info from Drew's history book, Discover Our Heritage, pages 400-401)

Edited to Add:

As soon as I finished writing that I decided to google "Denmark World War 2 yellow star," and guess what.  That whole story about the king and other non-Jewish people wearing the stars is a legend!  Blah!  I'm disappointed.  I'm not sure what's worse:  The fact that it's not true and I really wanted it to be, or the fact that Drew's public school history book totally had it in there as a fact.  Somebody didn't validate their source, that's for sure.  On the bright side, the part about the Danes putting Jews on ships to save their lives is true.

Book Love

I thought this day might end up being an uphill climb, based on:

• a late start.
• a grumpy 14 year old.  He and Zach were invited to Leavenworth again and this time I said no, because they need to focus on school.  He wasn't happy with me.
• a 16 year old who thinks I was born yesterday.  I went to the grocery store, but before I left I told him to have the eight functions of nouns memorized by the time I got home.  I walked in the door and there he was with the paper in hand, loudly saying, "And then there's 'subject'..."  Yeah, right.  He was messing around until the exact second he saw the car pull in.

However!  I placed two books on hold at the library several days ago, and today they came.  Good books heal all wounds.  Or make the world go 'round.  Or are next to Godliness.  Or something!

Pics

Here are a few quick pics.  For some reason they're all of Baylee.  (Well, I know why.  It's because the boys are at that stage where they don't usually want their picture taken. Baylee is my only willing subject anymore.)

Playing a board game outside.

We got a new (to us) computer from Mike's mom!  She got a new one, so she gave us her old one, so we put our old one in Baylee's room.  Boy, does it help with getting school done each day to have two places to work now.

And finally, here's another cute outdoor picture.  The good weather was fun while it lasted; it's raining today.

I know this is a lame post.  I'm sorta out of juice lately.  I think it's a combination of being busy with stuff that's a bit boring to talk about (like I mentioned before) and having other things I'd rather do with the free time I do have.  For instance, I'm reading some great books right now, and it's hard to tear myself away.  I don't suppose anyone wants to see another picture of my toe?  So there you have it:  the end of the post.

Sun and Warmth!

It's absolutely beautiful outside today.  Mike is out riding his bike and the kids are enjoying the weather, too.

Kian and Drew (and Zach, earlier in the day) rode skateboards.

Baylee has been in and out, playing with friends.  Here she is this morning with her little buddy, Conner.  They were playing a game on Mike's phone where you have smash bugs before they reach a picnic.

Who Wants to See My Broken Toe???

 

Please excuse the lack of nail polish.  I didn't know I'd be foot modeling tonight.

Celebrating Drew

We've had a good day, a full day.  It started out very quietly, because the boys did school while listening to music with headphones, and Baylee spent a couple hours this morning being a mother's helper, so she wasn't home.  For awhile it was (blessedly) silent in here.  

By the way, Drew got his iPod (that he used to listen to music today) for his birthday.  He had to pool all his birthday money, and then add in quite a bit of his own money that he had saved, but he made it happen and he's really happy.  He's been messing with it every spare moment since last night.  He told me today during school, "Well, Mom, dictionary work won't be so bad now!  I downloaded a free dictionary app!" 

When Baylee got home she had lunch with us, then started on her school day.  After her Bible class she came out, gave me a big hug, and said, "Guess what.  I'm whiter than snow!"  She went on to tell me that even though she accepted the Lord when she was younger, she just did it again, because "Mrs. Overly did an experiment thing with red and white colors, and she told us about what Jesus did for us on the cross, and it just made sense, so I paused the video and prayed, and now I know for sure!"  I think that's pretty great (even though I know it wasn't necessary.  But if it makes her feel secure, then wonderful.)  and it says a lot about that teacher and that curriculum.

Later on this afternoon I broke my toe by dropping a canister vacuum cleaner on it.  Oh my.  The pain was so bad I broke out in a cold sweat all over and just hunkered down by the vacuum closet.  Zach came running over...he's such a nice guy.  Anyway, I'm okay.  Now it's just a sharp, stabbing feeling if I put any weight on it.  Oh, and it's turning a cool color, which is fun to show people.

Finally, we've got Kian over to help us celebrate Drew's birthday.  Mike took the Drew, Zach, and Kian go-cart racing.  Then they came home and we had supper together, then cake and ice cream, and now they're playing video games and stuff.  I'm sure that will go on long into the night.

Random

I've been thinking about Mary and Martha from the Bible.  Is it wrong of me to relate way more to Martha than to Mary?  I mean, here's my honest take:  Unless it's actually Jesus coming to visit, you'd better get off your lazy butt and help.

Baylee read The Tale of Despereaux a couple weeks ago and since then she's been begging to get a mouse.  Actually, she wants two mice, so they don't get lonely.  She even has their names picked out:  Despereaux and Charles Wallace.  Sigh.  I'm an idiot, I know, but I'm probably going to let her have them.  For one thing, she's good at keeping the cage clean by herself. For another, we've still got the stuff from the hamster days.  And for a third, the cat hasn't yet been able to kill anything kept in that aquarium.  Still...argh.  Last night I even dreamed about it.  I dreamed that Mike came home with a gigantic wire cage, the size of a dog kennel, filled with mice.  Hundreds of them.  And then somehow the cat got into it.  Yup.  Idiot, table for one.  

Best Button Ever

Sunshine and Salt Water

I took the kids to the Puget Sound yesterday.  It's been so gorgeous here the last few days and I wanted to enjoy it.  I brought a book, sat on a driftwood log, and read while they combed the beach.

Baylee has been doing something neat.  She was asked by another family to be a "mother's helper" (like a babysitter, except the mom is still in the house) for a couple hours a day this week, because their nanny is on vacation or something.  She did it yesterday and it went very well.  You know what I think is weird?  That on our humble little street at least two different families have a nanny.  I guess it's more common now than it used to be. 

Promotion

Zach was promoted to green belt last night!  Zach and I both were pretty darn excited for him when he got in the car after his class.  Yay!  It's hard to move up a belt.  At this school, for the adult class, it goes white, purple, green, red, black.  So each belt actually involves a lot of learning, because there are so few of them.

Music Possibility

We should be starting school.  It's 9:31 in the morning and 9:30 is my "outside limit."  Zach's still in the shower, though, and the other kids are slouching around, not quite ready for the day.  I guess we'll have a late start and I'll use the opportunity to blog.

I'm really excited about something.  For about a year now it's been on my mind that Drew needs to branch out with his guitar playing.  He needs more opportunities to play music with others.  This weekend I did some research online, putting "music school Seattle" and "music academy Seattle" in the search engine, and I came up with two promising hits.  Both of them are fairly rigorous (but fun) after school programs, and one of them, although a stretch, is within our budget.  It's called Rock School, and he could attend up to 4 days a week.  There are several classes, but the ones that pertain to us would be the guitar lessons, Band 101, Recording, and Songwriting.  I'm not sure how much of that we'd take advantage of, because we love David, his current guitar teacher, but the Band 101 sounds good.  It's a group experience and a chance to learn, and that's what we want.  The description says:

In Band 101, students will learn the basics of the music industry at both a local and national level. Each class begins with a class discussion. In these discussions, students learn about various topics such as:

· Making your first record
· Booking your first show
· How to rehearse effectively
· How to conduct a sound check
· Business people and what they do
· How to listen critically
· How to conduct yourself professionally

After each class discussion, the class breaks into bands. The bands, each overseen by their own musical mentor, will work collaboratively to write, create, and perform original music. The overall goal is to bring the students to a level in which they can perform at Rock School showcases and record in our studio.

Students will need to bring their guitars, basses, small amps, cords, picks, and drum sticks. Although some gear is available for lending, we encourage students to bring their own equipment. Large amps and drum sets provided by Rock School.

 Anyway, he's applied and we'll see what happens.  We would start next school year. 

Happy Easter!

We all got up early, the kids found their baskets waiting on the table, and then we got ready and had breakfast at church...and it wasn't crepes!  (I was secretly glad about that, because crepes kinda aren't my thing.)  We went to a beautiful service and heard about Christ being alive, and now we're home.  Easter dinner is cooking, and the kids are playing outside while they wait.

Drew's Birthday and Eggs

Today's Drew's birthday!  He's 14.  We're actually going to celebrate it next weekend, but for now here's a picture of him not wanting us to "ohh" and "ahh" over his baby album last night.  That, of course, only made us want to do it more.

Also today we colored Easter eggs.  Patty spearheaded that, which was awesome of her.  She, Baylee, and I really got into it.  The boys, not as much.

Conversation

"Mike, for some reason the ice maker has been making yellow ice lately."

"Oh...umm...."

"What?  You know why it's doing that?"

"Yeah.  Awhile back I put a beer in the ice bin to get cold, but I left it too long and it exploded."  He went on to tell me that it pushed the cap off and poured all over everything.  He meant  to clean it up, but he forgot.

"Oh, that's just great.  The kids have been picking yellow ice out of their drinks for days now."

He looked sheepish for about 3 seconds, then he started laughing, then I did, then he cleaned the bin.

The End

Springtime in Scotland

This will be a quick picture post, because Patty is coming for the weekend and I've got a few things to do before she arrives.

Baylee played outside during our lunch break from school, and when I checked on her through the window I thought everything looked so pretty out there in the sunshine that I decided to grab the camera and go outside.

 
That's when I saw this guy walking down the street.  You'd be surprised how many men you see around here in kilts.  Hey, I'm all for it.

Late Night Rock

Tonight I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, getting ready for bed, and I heard this quietly coming from behind Drew's closed bedroom door.  I should've made him put the guitar away and go to bed, but instead I videoed.  I especially like the last 30 seconds or so when he puts the pick in his mouth and plays the neck of the guitar. This song is called "Eruption," by Eddie Van Halen.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

School Today

Today during our lunch break Baylee and I ran a couple errands, one of which was to the library.  Once again I locked my keys in the car, so our visit there lasted about 10 times longer than planned.  Argh.  I don't know what's going on with me lately.  Preoccupation, I guess.  While I was waiting I read a homeschooling magazine, and one of the articles was about how it's okay when our days don't go exactly as planned.  Hmm. 

Anyway, we eventually got home (thank you, Mike!) and finished the school day.  I want to share a couple different things that Zach wrote in school today.  The first is an answer to a question in his Study of Proverbs class.

"From what sister or "kinswoman" do you receive the most blunt counsel?  Give an example." 

He wrote:

The "kinswoman" in my life is my mom, because she has always told me what I need to hear no matter how blunt it may be.  For instance, when I tend to make a mountain out of a mole hill over something I don't want to do, she might say, "Stop being such a baby and just get it done."

lol  I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed about that or not, but...well...we all need to hear the truth sometimes, right?  And who better to tell it to us than someone who loves us dearly and wants nothing but the best for us?  I remember my own mom having a few of those blunt conversations with me when I was growing up.

The other thing he wrote was in English.

Evaluate what you think to be the greatest lesson a young person can learn from reading The Hiding Place.

He wrote:

I think if there's one lesson a young person such as myself can take from The Hiding Place it would be to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."  (Proverbs 3:5)  Throughout the book there is a sense of the power of God and His influence on the TenBoom family as they struggle through the Second World War.  When Corrie and her family house Jews in the Beje, the sheer fact that they manage to keep it up so long without getting caught is proof of the benevolence of our Savior.  Even after they are caught and sent to prison and ultimately an extermination camp, His presence remains clear.  I don't think any of the characters in The Hiding Place could have made it through the experience in the same life-changing way if they had not given all their problems over to the Lord.

Giddyup

Last night I checked on Baylee in bed, and we had a little conversation about how she was feeling.  She looked right at me with her eyes open, so of course I assumed she was awake.  Then she acted like she was handing me something.  She actually reached toward me with her hand clenched around nothing and said, "Here.  I'm finished with this."

"What?" I asked.

"This magazine you got me at the library.  I'm done with it."

I said okay and took the invisible magazine from her.

Today we got our ant hill in the mail.  Now we have to order the ants to go with it.  The information said we have to allow 2 to 4 weeks for the "ant wranglers" to gather the ants.  For real.  Ant wranglers.  I'm picturing tiny lassos.

Drew did an experiment on the urinary system.  He took tea water, put it through a filter, then let it wick through a paper towel.  It was supposed to give an idea of how the kidneys filter out waste.