The Newest Member of Our Biker Gang

It's not easy learning to bike ride on a slanted circle in a town filled with hills . . . so we've found the flattest area available to our young riders is the top of our "first hill" in the backyard. Caelan was extra helpful, running behind G$, helping him balance, and finally letting the little bird fly free! He's pretty proud of himself, "Mom! I rode around the circle like 50 times!" The four of them up there on their wheels with a hill above and a hill below is quite a sight to see . . . round and round and round, again!

Hosanna!

Our three youngest again had an opportunity (though brief; one song :) to appear on the church stage in musical celebration. They've been rehearsing for weeks, and this morning they brought it altogether with the grown-up choir to celebrate Palm Sunday. In addition, they gave each child a palm frond to carry and wave . . . which of course, kids being kids, they used to sword fight while waiting for the music to begin, ha!

The song proved bright and cheery, praisin' the Lord, and sounded remarkably well put together considering the kid choir and adult choir never rehearsed together, but sang the same song together this morning for the first time! You can see G on the far left of the picture . . . wearing, I think the same outfit he wore for the Christmas performance, only this time he added glasses :) Gabby went with similar ensemble as well, this time choosing a navy sweater and blue and white skirt (instead of the navy dress with white swirls she wore at Christmas). She is just above Graysen (who is right behind the music stand) to the right.

You'll just have to take my word that B was on stage . . . we saw him walk on and walk off, but as he said afterwards, "They put me at the clear back and then some tall kids stood in front of me." Well, that's okay. As before, he wasn't super keen on a repeat appearance in front of the church, but I told him, "If you don't want people to look at you, don't pick your nose. There is always a kid up there picking their nose, and that's who everyone looks at." Great motherly advice, no? :)

And since you cannot see Mr. B, he was wearing the navy sweater that Grandma J sent for Christmas . . . this sweater somehow got "lost" at the bottom of his drawer and he was so disappointed that he'd not worn it . . . that it has been his choice for church the past three Sundays in a row! He's getting some wear out of those duds before spring puts them in the garage til fall :)

Birds of the Old West?

Trying to combine two post topics :) We finished up this puzzle of the Wild West or maybe it was the Old West, either way, upon completion, the kids could study a little history of famous folk who were settlers and cowboys in the early days of our country. Educational and fun . . . yeah, we pretty much rock as parents, HA! Oh, and Caelan built a bird! :)

 

Too Cute NOT to Repost :)

This picture comparison was Doodle's idea . . . such a great one! C lost her final baby tooth yesterday (and so did her 3-month-older cousin, how's that for crazy timing?!).

 

 

 

In the first pic, she's five(ish) in CO and in the second, 12! Who knew teething spanned nearly a decade?! (Well, I suppose every dentist ever . . . :)

Puffy

For my birthday and C's, my sister gave the opportunity to bond and (for me) flashback to the time of puffy paint fashion design :) I ceded my sweatshirt to orange-loving Doodles, and let the girls express themselves in the paint that never dries (wink, wink). A few smudges later, and tho C never finished the back of hers (which is why the project was completed weeks ago, but just now am I posting the result), here is the (mostly) finished product!

If you hadn't guessed . . . this is a snowman in a cold-weather state, and the same snowman in a warm weather state (with cactus :)

Super Happy Kid!

 

His new Bible arrived in the mail today and he loves it! It's really cool with facts about jungle animals and such :)

 

Cool memories being made at Middle School youth group :) Cae is in the green striped shirt. Live band, worship with friends, fun setting, good times!

Just One More Reason Church is Rad!

Sometimes waiting for the girls to finish up their Bright Lights meeting at church is SO MUCH FUN! Where else do you have this much space to run your r/c cars with no mud, no barriers, and no boundaries (other than, don't hit the furniture!!)

Well, I don't want to spoil you!

One whole week between blog posts . . . did you think I was reverting to last year? Hee-hee :) Well, it turns out . . . the weather has been pretty rad around here--upper 60s and even low 70s--whoohoo!! The kids have been enjoying the outdoors, shovels and fistfuls of mud have flown . . . my voice has raised . . . good times!

We also had our carpets cleaned. This was necessary for several reasons:

1. It wasn't done before we moved in.
2. Our dog regularly pukes on it.
3. The kids haven't fully grasped the concept of "white carpet."
4. We didn't have it cleaned when Chauncey was leaking abdominal fluids all over it post-surgery 18 months ago (I know, gross, right?)
5. The classic doggy-tush drag (nasty!!!)

Our neighbor plans to start homeschooling her kids next year. She's borrowed some of our materials to look through while she sets up for the first time. On the day our carpets were cleaned, we opened all the doors and windows to the house. Interestingly, on the same day, the boys' fire alarm (which is hard-wired to every alarm in the house) decided its 10 years were up and it was going to set the whole house to screeching no matter what we did. Well, until we pulled the plug. So, when our neighbor brought back some of our books, she commented that 1. Her husband thought she was burning bread, and it was their own alarms going off (ha!, been there done that!) and 2. That our carpets looked really nice, and that they should have theirs done also.

As I was explaining the above reasons why we'd gotten them cleaned in the first place, my youngest son . . . oh, my youngest son . . . decided to give our neighbor a visual demonstration of reason #5 in his spider man pajamas. Lol, what are you going to do? She got a good laugh out of that one :)

Let's see, oh I have another Graysen moment. It seems now that they're getting older the funny things they say aren't quite as frequent, however sometimes their understandings of things and their reasoning comes out in entertaining ways. G wanted a new Bible . . . his is full of pictures and short stories, but in Sunday school, they are reinforcing looking things up by name of the book, chapter and verse--his Bible doesn't provide these options. So, he decided to save his money :)

For the most part, he's not super aware of what things cost. He knows he can get a bottle of pop (and subsequently a free donut, perhaps, with the lid at our local bakery). This he began debating with himself out loud, "I would like to buy a new Bible . . . but I REALLY want some pop. Maybe I should just get pop, but it WOULD be more important to have the Gospel." We did order him a Bible by the way; it should arrive tomorrow and he's so excited, he's pretty much talked about nothing else. He knew exactly what he was looking for too, "I want one with a magnetic strap to close it, like Gabby's, and a ribbon inside to keep my place." Well, we found one with a buckle (the only magnet ones were like $70 and in Spanish :) and I'm not sure if it has a ribbon inside, but we'll find out tomorrow.

Brennen provided a couple of humorous observations this week . . . we were wondering exactly where Baghdad is located (we're reading a book in school from that region). So I hit the microphone option on my phone's search page and asked it out loud. The phone, of course, answered out loud in its monotone female voice, "Baghdad is located . . . this region was originally . . ." etc. etc. Bren shook his head in amazement and said, "I wonder how they got that lady to do all that." Ha! From his perspective, that hard-working gal recorded every bit of possible knowledge in the universe and recorded it, so my phone could play it back :) I know that's not how it works, and I explained it to him, but I thought that little glimpse of wonder was pretty cool!

Also, he's very particular about English grammar--he's not a huge fan of learning it himself, so he's quick to notice when someone else isn't footing the bill. We were flipping through radio stations in the van, and on a country station we heard, "We always want what we ain't got . . ." I hear his voice from the far back seat, announcing, "Well, that's not good grammar!" Lol :)

Last one . . . we were invited to lunch at our friends' from church's house (that was some awkward apostrophe and "s" placement). Buck was actually able to join us! The older boys challenged the dads to a basketball game in the driveway after lunch. The dads accepted, and for the first time ever, Buck played bball in cowboy boots :) While they were busy with this, the girls and the younger boys were busy planning some after dinner entertainment.

They came up with the story of the Good Samaritan from the Bible (where a traveler is robbed on the road, and two religious leaders who should have helped did not--instead just passed by and let him lay for dead . . . in the meantime, a Samaritan--an enemy of the Jewish man--stops, helps him, provides for his care, and ultimately shows kindness where those who "should have" did not). It's a story they've talked about recently in many of the age levels' classrooms at church, so I guess it was fresh in their minds . . . but maybe not THAT fresh :)

Elaine (the girls' friend) played the role of traveler. Graysen--dressed in a red bandana with a giant stick--played the role of the robber. One of the funniest parts came next. Our friends have a tiny little black-and-white dog. She is an endless licker; she's just so friendly! Well, when G went after E with the stick (even in his slow motion, cowboy-movie-esque, grinning-beneath-the-bandana way), little Abby went nuts! She was barking and jumping and all over him; protecting Elaine! We were laughing so much! Little hero, that one :)

Next came Gabby, as the priest guy who just walked by. Following her, was E's littlest brother . . . with a Lightning McQueen plate covered with quarters??? We later asked the kids what that was about, and they said they couldn't remember what the second person's job was, but they thought he was an usher :) You know, the guys with the collection plates at church? So funny! Close enough, right?
Finally Gabby (now costumed as the Good Samaritan), saved the day, pulling out a box of band-aids and a bag of gold to help pay for E's care at the inn keeper's (formerly the usher) well swept (another prop :) place of business. All this took place in the backyard in a matter of about three minutes. Super creative! I'm glad they've met such great friends!

Sew Much Help!

Teaching the girls to sew paid off big time today!! We had one dozen new patches to sew on their uniforms . . . silly me, planned to do this all by myself. Then I thought, "Wait a minute--I taught the girls to sew for such a time as this!" I NEVER would have gotten the uniforms done in time for karate if they hadn't helped me! Just one patch to go, and that's on order because their club was one short (when we require things in fours they tend to run out more quickly :)

The arm patches are for joining the Black Belt Club and then there's a large patch on the front that the kids earn gradually for completing something unique during the week . . . like perfect scores on all their schoolwork, or learning a new household chore, or doing something kind (knitting hats for the homeless). They turn these in once each week (when I remember to write them, I try really hard to remember to write them--I think I deserve a star too! :) The karate leaders read them out loud, the class applauds their efforts, they are rewarded with stars, handshakes, and smiles.

We've been saving them up for 24 weeks and this was enough to move them up to their silver patch from their blue. One of the final notes before completing this patch was, "CGBG completed 1,600 chores in order to earn promotion to Black Belt Training." That got a jaw drop or two, lol :) There's no free ride around here, ya'll! I'm just thankful they enjoy doing karate together and they progress at the same time, so though we "run" a lot, we "run" together :)

Sink or Float?

I'm no nautical engineer, but I'm thinking this girl ain't seaworthy :)

(Side note: spelling ain't was really hard for me . . . it gets the red squiggly lines under it, so I thought I'd spelled it wrong, but my computer was just telling me that my grammar stinks, hee hee :)

An Idea to Share

For quite a long time, I've been bothered by not having something to give when I see someone with a cardboard sign or someone who is obviously not going home to a warm shelter that night. I'm not comfortable, nor cash-ready enough to hand out money . . . but food? A warm pair of socks?

When we were in CA last summer, I mentioned the idea to my mother-in-law. A go-bag, a gift bag for the less fortunate, that can be quickly and easily handed out the window. This month, we decided to get it done. 

 

 


As a family, we came up with a list of things we thought would be helpful if we didn't have a home. High-protein snacks and shakes for hungry bellies, toothbrush and toothpaste and minty gum, a little flashlight, a sewing kit, tissues, a first aid kit, little things that might come in handy when you can't just go grab them out of your closet or pantry. Caelan wanted to knit hats, so we girls are each knitting two hats to put into winter bags. The kids colored bright pictures with Bible verses reminding those who receive the bags of God's love, despite their situation, despite their choices in life, despite the heartaches they've experienced . . . all done in honor of God's boundless love for them!


I think we ended up with about 20 bags--some are huge and have everything, some are smaller and mostly calorie-rich. I'll admit I'm a little scared to invite people up to the van when the kids and I are in it alone, but I can only think of Jesus saying, in Matthew 25: ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"

This is also what Mother Teresa taught all the young women who gave up their social standing and plans for the future to serve the poorest of the poor . . . when you touch these people, you are touching Christ. Made in His image, the people He loves. That is super WOW to me! I want to be part of that (in my scaredy-cat, but heart-felt sort of way). And most of all, we want the kids to embrace the concept of sharing what we have with those who don't have as much as we do. It's a responsibility really, God trusts us to use His money (granted, that Buck works very hard for :) to serve His people.

It's interesting that this is something it seems God has put on the hearts of others in our community. I saw on our church's youth group page, that the high school girls are doing something similar--keeping food packets in their bags or purses or cars to share with hungry people they encounter. I love when people work together towards the same goal--sometimes without even realizing it!

Three Things

For Christmas, my bro (and his lovely sweetheart who perhaps helped talk him into such goings-on? :) gifted each child-group a new board game. Ours sat temptingly on the game shelf for the past two months . . . while we battled all sorts of ills. Finally, Buck decided it was time to throw schedules to the wind and bust open the light plastic wrapping.

Of course in the world of tech (in which he so enjoys dabbling), you don't read the included paper instructions first--perish the thought! You go on youtube (with your cell phone) and beam the instructional videos you find to your television (with the help of a tricky little plug-in called google chrome) oooh ahhh! It worked out great, because we could all get the gist of the game together (even if the hosts all seemed to have bizarre accents that made "terrain" sound befuddlingly like "train" through three different videos). "Then you're gonna take your train pieces . . ." What? All I see are trees, rocks, and sand!!!

 
Passing that obstacle, we were able to dive into the game of sinking Atlantis, called Survive! This game is frustrating to Brennen; he doesn't like when people attack (and eat) his little guys with sharks or sea serpents. I actually had to send him to his room today because he was becoming an increasingly bad sport during sibling play. Granted he chose the green guys and one was missing, which put him at an immediate disadvantage (that we maybe didn't notice right away, oops! :) However, the rules are quick to learn and it's very easy for the kids to put together a game on their own with no parent involvement (not that we don't want to play with them, we just don't want to play as OFTEN as they want to play :)

Another "thing" on my "three things" list is this puzzle. We're hoping to visit the East Coast at some point, and hope to take the kids through the Smithsonian. This puzzle depicts a few of the treasures in the Smith, and has hidden objects that you have to detect once the puzzle is put together (like Where's Waldo, but with no Waldo :)

The third thing came along with the second thing; the kids have decided they are kind of bored with the PC games we have in our collection (I'm all about educational rather than video games; they know they have a better shot at getting computer time--gotta know how to navigate computers right? Educational!--than xbox or wii). The puzzle came with a new PC game . . . tadaaa! It's a Bermuda Triangle mystery game, also finding hidden pictures, and solving small games to progress. Definitely more advanced than the old Clifford's Reading Games, Happy Birthday Dora, and ancient graphics help build Noah's Ark games they're used to (ha! It's not quite that bad, they have all the Scrabble Journey, Wheel of Fortune, etc. games Buck used to buy for me :)

(It occurs to me I don't have a picture of the "third thing." If you need a picture of the children playing a game on the computer to feel this blog entry is complete, just leave a note in the comment section, lol :)