Facebooking in February

When the end of a month rolls around and a new one begins, I have two special rituals I get to do: design a new blog look and waltz back through the month by scrolling through my Facebook posts.  I enjoy both so much!  :)

Without further ado, here are my Facebook snippets from this past month...

February 3 - While teaching Tobin and Shav's Sunday school class this morning, I asked the class if anyone had a song we should sing. One little girl said "This Little Light of Mine"...Shav said "Zacchaeus"...the usual stuff. Then a little girl that I had not taught before spoke up and asked for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." "Sure," I said, "we can sing that!" Then, thinking to spiritualize it a little, I asked, "Who made the stars?" Without hesitating, she answered confidently: "Daddy." :)

February 4 - Thanks to the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir, instead of the sound of silence coming from the bedroom where my two oldest sons are supposed to be going to sleep, there is the sound of two sweet voices singing a song. In French. I don't know French at all, but Josiah is learning a French piece in Treble Choir, and now apparently David knows it, too. I love how they so naturally learn from each other. :) After the French piece comes a song in some African dialect, and they're both singing that one, too. Now it's a piece in English, but I know Josiah is doing the hand signs for solfege for it while he sings because he's been doing that ever since he got home from choir this evening. You know, it used to be that I sang lullabies to the boys at bedtime. Now they're singing them to me. ;-)

February 5 - I am having an absolute ball tonight looking through my old blog at some of the things we did during our very first official year of homeschooling. In the pictures of Josiah as a five-year-old, he looks so incredibly young, of course. I sit and smile as I scroll past each new post, and memories that I haven't thought about in so long come vividly to mind. While I'm at it, I'm getting some great ideas of things to do with Tobin (because although I'm not officially starting kindergarten with him yet, we're easing our way into some kindergarten-type things). :) Being able to look back like this is why I take the time and spend the energy to blog...because for me, nothing else captures the swiftly fleeing moments of my life like a blog.

February 6 - An old picture (from Nov. 2007) that makes me smile...Josiah was five, David was two, and Jeff was squished. ;-)

February 7 - Out of the mouths of babes... Tonight's burning question on Shav's mind as I tucked him in bed was "Why does God know everything? And why does Jesus know everything?" The second question was easier to answer than the first: "because Jesus IS God." For the first, I began to talk about the nature of God; it's just who He is to be all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving, etc...a great theological treatise, I tell ya! ;-) And then Tobin and Shav got going on a kick about how strong God is. As I finished saying goodnight and headed out the door, I heard them saying to each other, "He's even stronger than lions! WOAH!" (Tobin)...then Shav responded, "He's even stronger than dinosaurs! WOAH!"...Tobin's turn, "He's even stronger than bears! WOAH!"...Shav: "He's even stronger than tigers! WOAH!"... I couldn't help but think that we'd all be better off if we had a little more WOAH! in our response to God!! :)

February 9 - This morning my major project was taking a HUGE load of cardboard, cans, plastic, etc. to recycling; and as the boys were sitting at the table eating breakfast, I said before I walked out the door to bring the van closer to the house so I could load it, "I'm going to go get the big white van and pull it up..." (because we park it halfway down our driveway where there's a gravel lot). Shav immediately interjected, "I thought DRIVE it up!", then sat there beaming at me with the brightest twinkle in his eye. :) He's right, of course; but what gets me is how that boy can, at the age of three, be so clever with language. He sure adds to the laughter around here! :)

February 10 - Saturday evenings are not complete without the weekly ritual: the Laying Out of the Children's Clothes for Church. Sunday mornings go SO much better if clothes are laid out the night before, and I have learned to find joy in this simple, cozy ritual. :)

February 15 - I don't know how your household is, but I've been hearing a lot of blame-shifting around mine recently. For example, I'll ask a child to please close the window, and he immediately comes back with, "I didn't open it!" Or if I say, "Please pick up the socks on the floor," I'll hear, "I didn't put them there!" 
"I didn't ask who put them there; I simply asked you to pick them up!" 
Why is it that when I give an assignment, I hear blame being shifted? I know it's a sin as old as the 3rd chapter of Genesis, so it's no surprise to find it popping up in my house; but I'd really like to chase it out!
I was so encouraged a few days ago when I was reading the 43rd chapter of Genesis. 40 chapters after the original blame-shifting incident, we find a beautiful example of the opposite: someone taking personal responsibility. The context is Jacob's sons needing to return to Egypt to buy more grain during the famine; and although they've been commanded to bring Benjamin along with them this time, Jacob doesn't want to let him go. Judah--even with all his faults--steps up to the plate and says this, "I myself will guarantee his safety. You can hold me personally responsible for him." Ah, yes! Thank you, Judah, for your example! There is hope for the rest of us...including for me and for the little people who live in my home... :)

February 15 - When Shav talks, he sounds sort of like a cross between Donald Duck and an Irishman! He has the funniest, squeaky little voice; and he tends to use the word "me" in place of "my." For example, yesterday I heard him squeak out, "I don't want to wipe me hands!" :) I adore that boy. :)

February 16 - The story of Joseph never fails to bring tears to my eyes. There is SO MUCH emotion in that story of loss and redemption! But this time as I read through it, not only did I cry--I also laughed. :) It happened when I was reading Genesis 45 and got to verse 24: "Then he [Joseph] sent his brothers away [to get the rest of the family and return to Egypt to live there], and as they were leaving he said to them, 'Don't quarrel on the way!'" :) Ha ha! He knows his brothers well!! :)

February 16 - Tonight I was looking up a recipe I want to try this week in the cookbook Country Home Cooking by Marjorie Rohrer; and at the bottom of the page the recipe is on is this quote: "Do for others with no expectation of return favors. We should all plant some trees we'll never sit under." Amen and amen!

February 17 - Yesterday, as part of a chapter in a Life of Fred math book, David and I were talking about his three LEAST favorite jobs that he'd like to do when he grows up. His were chimney sweep (too messy), firefighter (too dangerous), and policeman (also too dangerous). The three that he'd like to do, by the way, were woodcarver, barber, and detective (which apparently isn't as dangerous as being a regular police officer). :) Today, however, David amended his list of least favorite jobs, and now, the one that he REALLY doesn't want to do is to be a "scientist that stays up all night and day and looks at a bunch of screens to see if an asteroid is coming to hit the earth." Oh, but David, I thought you'd be so GOOD at that job!! Are you SURE you don't want to do it?? :-)

February 18 - Tobin and Shav are playing in their room with stuffed animals and various other things; and I just overheard Tobin's voice say, "I've been wishing I had a baby elephant..." ("how nice," I thought, "because Grandma Fisher just sent a baby elephant stuffed animal in a box of goodies..."). Then he added two important words: "for REAL!" :) I wonder if Tobin's daddy is ready to add a baby elephant to our farm! ;-)  
{Tobin's daddy, by the way, left the following comment:  "I will look on craigslist!" which made me laugh and laugh.}

February 18 - Raise your hand if you went to the post office this morning to mail a package and did not remember, until you drove into the parking lot, that it's President's Day and the post office is closed. *pause* Anyone? *crickets chirping* You mean I'm the only one who pulled that neat little trick this morning?? :) Fortunately my post office is almost spittin' distance from my house, so I didn't waste too much time doing it, but still... :)

February 18 - I realize, in the overall scheme of things, this is not highly significant, but I'll go ahead and admit that I'm extremely discouraged right now about the eczema on my hands. It's worse than it's been for a long time, as evidenced by the fact that when I woke up at 5:00 this morning because of it itching, I nearly clawed the skin off my hands trying to relieve the itch...but then not only did it still ITCH, it also HURT like fire. Tonight Jeff suggested that consuming chocolate might be causing it to flare up (the fudge I made last night being the reason that I've been eating a lot of chocolate) ;-) so I did some research online just now, and sure enough, chocolate can definitely contribute to eczema flare-ups. So can a lot of other things. I figure that if I eliminate all the things from my diet that can cause eczema problems, I'll be stuck eating celery and bananas for the rest of my life. Oh, joy. On second thought, maybe that's not such a bad idea. At least then the 15 stubborn pounds I've been trying to lose would finally melt away!! ;-) There's always a bright side, isn't there?? :)

February 18 - Be still, my heart. She makes me swoon... :)

February 22 - I just finished reading Bringing Up Girls by Dr. Dobson, and one point close to the end of the book really stood out to me. It was in a chapter about technology and entertainment choices and was actually written by Bob Waliszewski. He writes, "Teach divine hatred. Yes, you read that right. Sure, as believers we are called primarily to love. But we're also taught in Romans 12:9 to 'hate what is evil.' Jesus did just that. Hebrews 1:9 tells us that He 'hated wickedness.' In Proverbs 8:13, we learn that 'to fear the Lord is to hate evil.' We should follow Christ's example and practice divine hatred, despising the very things that He died on the cross to save us from, which will logically help us steer clear of entertainment that glamorizes such things." Yes! This is a teaching that, from my perspective, is all too often neglected these days. We need to be reminded of this!!

February 24 - It's time for another round of Utterly Useless Trivia about Davene! Tonight's question: "If Davene could have any kind of horse, what would it be?" And the answer is..."PALOMINO!! Because they are absolutely gorgeous!" And now, back to something (anything!) more significant than UUTaD*. ;-) 
(*Utterly Useless Trivia about Davene. Remember?) ;-)

February 24 - This morning we sang "Agnus Dei" by Michael W. Smith, one of my favorite worship songs. It instantly elevates my mind to heaven and the exaltation of the Lamb that is going on there all the time. Powerful! While we were singing it, I was thinking of this quote I read last night: "God's name is qualified by the adjective 'holy' in the Old Testament more often than all other qualities or attributes combined." (Sam Storms) As important as it is for us to remember that God is loving, it is equally as important for us to remember that He is holy. That aspect of His character is, in my opinion, neglected way too often...and when it is, it has such negative consequences.

February 25 - She's done this quite a few times, so it shouldn't really surprise me anymore. But every time I walk into Moriah's room and find her sitting up in her crib, I think, "How did she turn into such a big girl?? She can sit!!" She looks so great, just SITTING there! :)

February 25 - The older I get, the more I realize that the value of customer service CANNOT be overestimated. I was thinking about that tonight when I read this little story in a booklet called Bits & Pieces...
"Mamie Adams always went to a branch post office in her town because the postal employees there were friendly.
She went there to buy stamps just before Christmas one year and the lines were particularly long. Someone pointed out that there was no need to wait in line because there was a stamp machine in the lobby.
'I know,' said Mamie, 'but the machine won't ask me about my arthritis'."
Isn't that the truth??? :)

February 28 - Jeff was in a storytelling mood tonight; and as we lingered around the dinner table, he brought remembrance after remembrance from his childhood years and regaled us with tales from those happy times. The boys--as children do--kept asking for "more, more!" One story that he told was about camping out with friends in the forest in Big Bear, and having coyotes come and circle around the campfire (although they were too afraid to come near because California coyotes are wimps...well, he didn't exactly say that, but that was what I heard). ;-) Inspired by their daddy's example, three boys are having a camp-out tonight. In sleeping bags. On the floor of Tobin and Shav's bedroom. The "campfire" is the string of Christmas lights we still have draped around their window. The coyotes? Only in their imagination. ;-)

The Gymnastics Journey

It's a funny thing, this gymnastics journey.

I don't know a thing about it.  I don't know how to do the stuff; I don't know what the actions are called.  I can't help David with it at home; I can't correct or instruct him.  It's his thing...and HE LOVES IT.

With the other activities the boys have done through the years, I've always been familiar enough with them to be able to either participate with my boys, teach them, talk intelligently with them about it, etc.  :)  With choir and violin, in particular, I feel very comfortable helping Josiah and David with them, of course; but even with sports they've done--like soccer and basketball--I know enough about them to play with them and/or instruct and remind them of what to do and how to do it.  When Josiah took fencing, I didn't know anything about that; and long ago, he took tennis, which I was only slightly familiar with.  So it's not as if I know everything about all the activities my kids have chosen!  ;-)

But this gymnastics thing feels particularly foreign to me.

Foreign, but so exciting, as I watch David EXCEL in it.  He did the beginners class this past fall, and was promoted to the intermediate class for the spring semester.

If you were to ask David what the highlight of his week is, I wouldn't be surprised if he answered, "Gymnastics!"  He looks forward to it with such eagerness and truly enjoys everything about it.

He's thriving in it!

And me?  All I can do is sit on the sidelines (usually accompanied by one or more of my other children), smile at him, give him a thumbs-up sign when he does something particularly well, do "I love you" in sign language when he does the sign to me (which happens multiple times during a class), tell him as we walk out of the rec center how proud I am of him...and let him do cartwheels all over the house, flips on the couch, and handstands in the middle of the living room.

The funniest thing to me about all of this is that I have no idea what the future looks like, in terms of his gymnastics.

Of course, I realize that he could lose interest; and this could be his last semester (although I seriously doubt that); but what does one DO if one is talented in gymnastics?  Will he continue taking classes at the rec center?  Are there local meets that he could participate in?  What does the road ahead look like?

I don't have a clue.

With the boys' participation in music, I can map out what the next few years might look like for them...

...lessons, workshops, recitals, concerts, perhaps participation in a Junior Strings ensemble, maybe (if I'm really looking to the future) being part of the Youth Orchestra here in town.

Looking even further, they could major in music in college and even pursue a music-related career path.

I'm NOT saying that's what they will or should do!  There is plenty of time for them to decide; and just like my parents didn't push me to follow in my mother's footsteps and pursue music, so do I want to act likewise: encouraging my children in the path God has laid out for them as individuals, not as copies of me!  :)

But if they choose music, I understand that path.  I've walked it.

The path of gymnastics?  Well, I can't even figure out the next step after this class!!  :)

It is SUCH an unfamiliar world to me.  :)

But it's a world that David loves; and because of that, I find immense joy in learning to navigate this new world.  Who knows where it will take him??  :)

* all pictures from David's class yesterday when, as you can see, Tobin and Shav accompanied me to it and had a blast playing with little cars on the bleachers and running back and forth along the side of the gym  :)  *

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday {"Mom, Will You Take a Picture..."}

"...of this thing I made?"

Sure,

 I

will!  :)

OBX 2012: Day 4

Our 2012 vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina was so long ago that it seems slightly ridiculous to go back and try to finish up this series of posts about it; but even if it seems silly, I'm going to do it.  For one thing, when winter, my least favorite season, lingers on--especially when it does so without winter's great redeeming quality of snow!--it helps to remember that spring is on the way, and then summer, and warmth, and sunshine, and short sleeves, and sandals, and open windows, and outside play, and all the things I find myself longing for as February plods on by.  It's good to remember...so here we go, back to September of last year.  :)

Here, by the way, is a preview post of sorts...then Day One...a few from Day Two, and then the full Day Two report...and Day Three.  Now on to Day Four!

Wednesday, September 19.

This day began much like the previous one, with Jeff having left the house early to go down to the ocean and fish.  Josiah and David, accompanied by Grandma Fisher, went next; and lastly, Tobin, Shav, Moriah, and I made our (slow) way to the beach.  My parents stayed in the beach cottage and kept the "home" fires burning.  :)  I was really grateful, by the way, that Jeff's mom went along with the older boys because I know it would have really tested their patience if they had had to wait until the little ones and I were ready each morning!  :)

Before I left the house, I paused to take a couple pictures of Moriah in her sweet floppy hat.  :)

When we got down to the water, we discovered that the protected turtle egg area was gone, the fence and signs having been taken down.  We never did find out if that was because all the eggs had already hatched or because none of them ever did.  Who knows?

The weather was windy on this day and a little cooler, and the youngest members of our group weren't enjoying the beach very much that morning, so it wasn't too long until I decided to return to the house with Shav and Moriah.  With the little lady tucked into bed for her nap, the little man playing happily, and my parents watching over them both, I decided to return to the ocean and hopefully go in the water; but when I got back down there, the others were ready to go.  Oh, well!  Another time!  :)

Back at the beach house, we ate an early lunch, then headed out for a drive down Memory Lane.  Buxton was our destination; and since that is the town in which we always stayed when I was a child, I knew there would be many sentimental moments during this day.  I love sentimental moments!  :)

No visit to Buxton--or Cape Hatteras, for that matter--could possibly be complete without a visit to the most beautiful lighthouse in the world (coming from a completely unbiased perspective, of course!).  :)

Josiah and David were excited to climb the lighthouse with Jeff.  Jeff would have let me go, but somewhere along the way from my childhood to here, I have lost my comfort with heights and have actually gotten really afraid of them.  Shhhh...don't tell anybody.  ;-)

Tobin really wanted to go up in the lighthouse, too, but he was a tiny bit too short.  The park ranger kindly let Jeff take him into the bottom of it so he could at least look up and see all the stairs, and I appreciated his thoughtfulness very much.

Next time we go--whenever that may be--Tobin will surely be able to climb it, too!  :)

While the climbers were climbing, the rest of us were exploring the little museum...

...or relaxing on the front porch.  :)

We were so happy that Jeff's mom made the trip in from California to be with us during this vacation!

Moriah was kickin' back...

...and chillin'.  Life is good.  :)

Tobin walked along...

...until he spotted something interesting...

...a dragonfly!  :)

We had to take pictures with the lighthouse...

...that's not even optional.  :)

And then we walked closer to the water to take a family picture.

Five years previously, we took a family picture in this spot; but back then, we only had two children!  (Well, as a matter of fact, I was pregnant with Tobin at the time, so technically, we had three...)  :)  I couldn't be more delighted at how our family has grown!  :)

And then I took some pictures that look like this...

...just mostly feet and sand.

Why did I take those pictures?  Because the boys had found a huge sand crab and were trying to catch it.  The crabs really blend in well with the sand; and boy, are they fast!

This next picture is precious to me.  I'm certain it will be treasured in years to come!

Before we left that area, we walked over to these big stones which show the outline of where the lighthouse used to stand...

...a perfect place for boys to run!  :)

After we left the lighthouse, we visited a couple of other Buxton sites:  the beach house where we always used to stay (and we realized anew how CLOSE to the water it now is since erosion has actually shifted where the beach is), a bookstore my mom and I would always visit (the funny thing is that I didn't find it nearly as appealing as I used to; and although I did buy a book for each of the boys there, I really wasn't tempted to purchase anything else!), and Dillon's Corner, a sort of Everything Store that we would often go to for bait, postcards, and souvenirs, etc.  Some of the most precious of my childhood memories were made in that little village of Buxton, and I was so grateful to be able to ride around and see those sites again!

Eventually we got back to our cottage, and Jeff was the chef in charge of supper, grilling some meat for us.  Yum!  We went for a walk on the beach, but it was a little chilly and we didn't stay out long.

Back in the house, we had a pleasant, cozy evening.  Lots of reading...

...(I never get tired of seeing my mom read to my kids!)...

...and game-playing.  We played some Skip-Bo, but the most fun came when we played Upwords.

That was a new game for me--well, not just for me.  I think Jeff had played it before, but Josiah and David hadn't.  Jeff took pity on us and helped us occasionally when we got stuck and couldn't figure out where to place a letter.  :)

I quickly grew to love that game, but I wasn't so quick to change my mindset from Scrabble to Upwords.  In Scrabble, I try to make the longest word I possibly can...not that I'm that great at the game, but at least I know what my objective is. :)  But with Upwords, using a single tile to change one letter of a word(s) can often give lots more points than creating a new word would.

Neither Josiah nor David nor I could hold a candle to Jeff's sharp brain, and he always trounced us decisively; but that didn't stop us from wanting to play another game.  "Just one more??"

And so ended the fourth day of our vacation.  :)