20 Things I Am Thankful For Today

Originally Posted 9/4/07
1. God sent rain to wash the air and make it better for breathing.
2. It is not 100 degrees today.
3. I have ink in my printer.
4. Blair & Brittany gave us free tickets to see the Promise last weekend.
5. Our yard has a lot of trees.
6. Brandon likes his job.
7. We watched a spider spinning a web this week.
8. Our garden grew vegetables this year.
9. When I bought Hannah's ballet shoes, I got some cute shoes with smiley faces & rainbows on them for half price.
10. Texas is homeschool friendly.
11. My kids like school.
12. Some sparrows made a nest in my spider plant on the porch.
13. I have a lot of people that will help me when I need it.
14. Hannah hasn't had a seizure in over two years.
15. Gabriel hasn't had a seizure in over a year.
16. Brandon knows everything about me, and likes me anyway.
17. I found some stuff that keeps my nails from breaking.
18. I can buy stamps at the grocery store, so I don't have to go inside the post office.
19. Brandon can fix my van, so I don't have to take it to the shop.
20. Singing is free.

The Singing, Cornet-Playing Ballerina

Originally Posted 8/20/07
We had our first day of TAFA today. For all you foreigners, TAFA stands for Travis Academy of Fine Arts. This our second year, and the kids absolutely love it. TAFA is home to over 500 of the most creative, talented homeschoolers you will ever meet.
This year, Hannah is taking band, ballet & choir. Samuel is taking choir, art & drama. Here's how it works-on Mondays, we pack up all our belongings in the van and spend the day in Ft. Worth. My job, primarily, is to cart about all those belongings in a tightly packed backpack. There is also a lot of running to get them to the right classes at the right time, lunchroom monitor duties, and teaching the younger two while the older ones are in class.
Of course, after we get home, Hannah had to practice her cornet. This must be done in the schoolroom, as a cornet can be surprisingly loud, especially after having lunchroom monitor duty. After a while, things got quiet in the schoolroom. Apparently, Hannah thought this would be a great time to sneak up on her mother and demonstrate her new horn. Let me tell you, if you have never been surprised by a cornet-playing ballerina, it is something you will never forget. Hannah thought this was the funniest thing she had done in a long time. I assured her that it wouldn't seem so funny when I move her practice out to the back porch.
Samuel wants to sign up for band next year, and we're thinking of something in percussion. Any instrument that gives him permission to whack something with a stick would be appropriate.
All this cornet playing has inspired a rousing game of homemade orchestra. Hannah on the cornet, Samuel playing pots & pans, Gabriel on the keyboard, and Gideon using pot lids for cymbals. This is a popular game at our house that tends to go on for hours.
All this creativity has got me thinking-do parents of creative children buy more Tylenol? It seems to be something worth studying.

My New Personal Assistant & Bathroom Entertainment

Originally Posted 7/29/07
Before I tell my story, I have put in a quick plug for my favorite radio station-KLTY. If you're not close, you can listen at http://www.klty.com/. It is hands down the best radio station around, and you absolutely can't be in a bad mood for very long while listening.
Anyway..............on to the story. Gideon has made himself my personal assistant. He follows me everywhere, and is never quiet. If I am moving, there is a steady stream of chatter behind me. If I am still, the chatter moves into my lap. The chatter consists of many questions, stories & songs.
A few days ago, I was discussing with Brandon how Satan lies to people. He constantly whispers in your ear-"You're no good. You've done this & that, you might as well give up, blah, blah, blah." If you don't have the voice of Truth to counteract Satan's lies, they can grow distracting, annoying, and in some cases, literally drive you insane. Anyway, Gideon was listening to this conversation. He made it his job for the rest of the day to climb in my lap and whisper "I love you" in my ear. God is so good.
Another of my assistant's jobs is bathroom entertainment. Since he is past the age where he can accompany me to the bathroom, he makes it his job to stand outside the door. He sings, tells stories, and generally does all he can to make sure that (a) I'm still there, (b) I haven't forgotten he's there, and (c) make sure I don't stay in the bathroom too long. Sometimes I can see his little fingers (or toes) under the door, and sometimes he passes toys under the door, just to make sure I don't get bored.
Best of all is song time. Here is the song he made up for me today. "My beautiful Mommy, she is so beautiful, and I love her. Ketchup man, ketchup man, ketchup man, ketchup man!" I kid you not, the last note (complete with jazz hands), was a full 8 measures. That's my boy!
I know this fascination with Mommy will pass, so I'm trying to take it for all it's worth. God has granted me precious time with these little guys, and I don't want to waste a minute. It reminded me of a song I dearly love. Here are the lyrics-
Remember me In a Bible cracked and faded by the years Remember me In a santuary filled with silent prayers
CHORUS:And age to age And heart to heart Bound by grace and peace Child of wonder, Child of God I'll remember you Remember Me
Remember me When the color of the sunset fills the sky Remember me When you pray and the tears of joy fall from your eyes
CHORUS
Remember me When the children leave their Sunday school with smiles Remember me When they're old enough to teach Old enough to preach Old enough to leave
CHORUS
Age to age and heart to heart Child of wonder child of God
Remember me
Age to age and heart to heart Child of wonder child of God

Current Food Policy and Translation

Originally Posted 7/19/07
Our house is not a democracy. It's more like a dual-dictatorship. We are also running a one-income homeschool program. This affects our policy on food. In other words, nothing gets wasted. At least, that's the goal.
Here's how it works. I cook a mostly nutritious meal, which causes one or more of the children to say either, "I don't like this.," or "I'm not hungry right now." Translation-this food is not hot dog, mac & cheese, or chicken nugget.
To this I reply, "Eat it now, or eat it later. It doesn't make any difference to me." Translation-eat it now, in its current form, or eat it later in the week, cooked into something else. P.S.-no dessert if you don't eat it.
Another illustration-today, Hannah was walking through the kitchen as I was cleaning out the fridge. This always frightens the children, as they are sure that I will take what I find there and cook it into a casserole or soup-like substance.
I had beside me a plate of meat scraps, that I was planning to feed to the dogs. Hannah said, "What's that?", quickly followed by, "Are you throwing it away?" Translation-please, please tell me you're throwing it away and not making it into something we will have to eat later.
As a whole, they are continually lobbying for a diet that includes more soda, fries and Happy Meal toys. However, we feel that in the interest of nutrition and finances, the current policy stands.
Lord help us if they ever decide to form a union. I don't know if I have the negotiating skills to fight the Teamsters.

Pillow Talk

Originally Posted 7/8/07
Hannah isn't feeling well, so she's in my bed tonight. Here are a few of the things I have heard her say in her sleep tonight. (Usually she's not speaking English, so this is a real treat.)
1. No, it's like California. We need rain. (This was in a Darth Vader type voice. Pretty spooky.)
2. You know how usually people get frosting on them, well, Gabriel's all frothy. (I didn't know she knew the word frothy.)
3. How many dogs are here? This is Hawkeye, right? No, it's Shrek.
4. Gabriel! Gab-ree-ell! I'm telling!
5. Yay, Mommy! You won! What did you win?
6. Oh, I see! Yeah, I bet you're right.
7. Sore tooth.
I guess I'll go to bed and see if I can communicate with her. Strange and interesting things happen around here sometimes. :)

Fireworks and A Hired Soldier

Originally Posted 7/4/07
Earlier this week, Brandon had promised to take all the kids to the fireworks store after they finished their chores.
As is usually the case when rooms have to be cleaned in a hurry, Hannah bribed Samuel to help her clean her room. The payment is usually something grand from Hannah's secret stash of candy, rights to future allowance earnings, or promises of game board playing.
Anyway, the room got cleaned, and they came out of Hannah's room. Hannah said, "Thank you so much, Samuel!" Samuel rolled over on her like a mafia informant. He walked past me in the hall and said, "She stuffed everything under the bed", and kept walking. Hannah was furious.
In Samuel's defense, he has to endure a lot helping Hannah. She can be a cruel taskmaster when she wants to be, earning her the title of "Drill Sargeant Daughter" around the house.
For some reason, this episode made me think of Desert Storm. When the American soldiers approached the Iraqis in battle, they would fall all over themselves to surrender. You just can't buy loyalty. It must be inspired.
Epilogue-everyone came back from the store with enough fireworks to start our own war. Moral of the story-never send a pyromaniac to the fireworks store unsupervised.

Missing Mom

Originally Posted 6/28/07
Today was my Mom's birthday. She would have been 68 today. Man, I really miss her, even though she's been gone almost 11 years.
I wonder a lot of times what she would think about me now. I was pregnant with Hannah when she died, and still such a brat. Not that I'm perfect now, but no one really grows up until they have children of their own. I was so self-absorbed then, and immature. Of course, a lot of the growing I did was because of her death, so who knows.
I hope she would be proud of me. I know she would love the kids. She was so looking forward to being a grandma. She would have been a great grandma, and the kids would have learned a lot from her.
Sometimes now I have trouble remembering her voice, and that bothers me. I can still remember her hands. I remember sitting on her lap with my head on her chest, listening to her heartbeat. I remember her making biscuits, and reading, and I remember her smile.
A lot of things have happened since her death that would have made her sad as well. Since there are no tears in Heaven, maybe God only allows you to see things that would make you happy. I hope that's true. I would love to think that she could look down and see her precious grandbabies, and see how happy Brandon & I are together.
Mom, I hope you look down on our little family, and I hope you are proud. I love you, and I'll miss you always.