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Okay...you've all heard of the Jabberwocky right? Well, this is a sample of MY take on portmanteau-ish poems. ~Alexandra~ As I made my pleary way A queedish car along the street My ruined outfit I expect |
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Gee, I really can't afford the time to post this, but I just can't resist bringing a smile to your faces! On Saturday, the four youngest girls went to a birthday swim-party. That left Ethan here with Madeline and Alexandra. I asked them to get the hose out and play with him so that he, too, could have some wet fun on an extremely hot day. So far, so good. But apparently, wet fun turned quickly to mud fun!! They made a large mud hole in a grassless part of the yard and Rolled, Splashed, Squished and Slid through the afternoon! The fun escalated to body art as they "painted" themselves and each other. The only recognizable part of Ethan were his light green eyes shining out of the thick black mud. He was literally black from head to toe - except for the time when he ran in front of the hose and the white seat of his swim trunks peeked briefly through! Last night, the girls doubled over in laughter again as they related what happened when the poor little guy suddenly cried out that he had mud in his nose (on an entirely random bunny trail, anyone know where the idiom "Here's mud in yer eye" originated?!). Alexandra helpfully told him that she was able to get shampoo from her eyes by tossing her head back. He then went into seizure-like convulsions throwing his head forcefully back to the left, right, left again, as his skinny body followed where the head led. His wild gyrations convulsed his sisters in wild laughter and Alexandra ran for the camera. She filmed him just as he slumped on the ground in defeat. She again helpfully And the video ends abruptly there, with the unstoppable laughter of his big sisters. He was not really hurt and that was obvious. But they found it hysterically funny that he almost hurt himself with his wild gyrating. As much as I shook my head at hearing all of this, then watching the video itself, we all laughed, including Ethan. It is just too funny! I did try to be serious enough to ask the girls what the neighbors must have thought watching them laugh as their little brother threw himself all around the yard! They were not in the least concerned about that. You see, no one watching could have known it was Ethan - he was entirely unrecognizable. Of course I "understood" - it was much better that the neighbors think it was a poor visitor convulsing on our lawn while our teens held their sides laughing! I have carefully made sure that all C's know that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, never to be repeated!! ****** Warning: Madeline and Alexandra have begun driver's ed! "Pirates, ye be warned!" Stay off the sidewalks
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suggested that he try one more time and giggled mercilessly as she caught his tossing about on camera. Suddenly as he threw his head back wildly, he stopped and cried out, "Ouch! That hurt my back!"|
Well, we began our 08/09 school year last week. And I just had to share a few of the short stories that came out of that first week's assignments. The oldest 4 girls are working in Learn to Write the Novel Way. They were to create short stories using 3 ordinary items which were assigned . Light bulb, kitten, chewing gum Abigail: Once there was a curious kitten that watched too much "MacGyver". He tried to make a bomb out of a light bulb and chewing gum. He succeeded.... Poor guy. Alexandra: Once upon a time, there was a lonely lightbulb. His name was Frederick. Frederick had no friends. One day, a kitten passed by close to him. Frederick shouted out, "Oh, no! Look out, little kitten!" But it was too late. The kitten got stuck in some chewing gum that had been carelessly thrown down. The kitten cried and cried. "Do not be afraid!" Frederick said valiantly. "I will burn the gum off you." And in a short time the gum (and a little bit of the kitten's fur) was burned all away into magically nameless oblivion. The kitten was very grateful to Frederick. To show how thankful she was, she gave Frederick twelve dollars, two penny whistles and a 13% off coupon to Lowe's. Spaghetti, typewriter, wrench Madeline: Once upon a time, there was a fellow by the name of Harold who was unusually tall and strong. His friends nicknamed him "Superman" and he had fans in abundance. This fame, unfortunately, puffed Harold up with pride. So one fine Saturday morning, about the time when lazy people roll out of bed and plop onto the cold bedroom floor, and people who actually like mornings have already read the paper, gone for a brisk jog, done the shopping, fed the children and downed 3 cups of strong coffee, Harold decided to call up a friend of his friends (one "Kristof" by name) to come and write a biography of him. "This biography," Harold explained when Kristof arrived, "is to be an account of my life - my ordinary, day-to-day activities. In this way, I may show the public that though I am a celebrity, I am also an ordinary man like them." He flexed his biceps in the mirror that stood by the front door. "Well, almost ordinary." He grinned at himself, assuring himself that the people in the world loved him almost as much as he loved himself. Kristof sat in an expensive leather armchair and drew out his Dell laptop, which Harold immediately condemned. "I want it to be professional!" he declared, pointing to an ancient typewriter residing on a small, rickety, wooden desk by a window. Kristof rolled his eyes and proceeded to blow the dust off the decaying items. Throughout the day, Kristof recorded every single thing Harold did in great detail, even when he wiped his nose on his sleeve. (Kristof knew he would be paid a great deal for this ridiculous venture and so did not even object to Harold's demands of rewording and rearranging entire pages.) At the end of the day, however, the items of highest interest were nothing more than the cat eating Harold's lunch of spaghetti and meatballs and the plumber accidently hitting himself in the head with a wrench. So Harold abandoned his biography and took Kristof out for ice cream, where he had his picture taken with Smokey the Bear and was quite happy for the rest of the evening.
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I now get all my staples for the month in one big shopping trip, which frees me up considerably during our school weeks. Alexandra always accompanies me. She thinks it is because she is such an enormous help to me. That's very true. But the bigger reason is because she is so entertaining! Here is a part of our dialog today... Me: Do you guys want mini ravioli again for a lunch or should we try the spaghettios with meatballs for a change? Alexandra: Get the o's. It tastes like dog food. Me:  Later, in the car. A: Something smells like grasshopper. I can't figure out what it is! Me: I don't think I'll even dignify that comment with a response! .... Personally, I have never smelled a grasshopper, so I can't help you. Neither have I ever tasted dog food!A: If you squeeze them just right their little legs kick out again and again. Me: A: They have the ugliest little faces too. You can just stare and stare at them for as long as they'll let you. And of course they always puke on you. Me: That wouldn't have anything to do with squeezing their guts out, would it?! |
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Sometimes we have deep discussions in our family devotions; edifying, encouraging and educating each other. But then there are days like today when we read Genesis 31... (for reasons that will be obvious, the only identified speakers are Sophia and Daddy. Just imagine the rest in the general "hub-bub" that it was) Sophia: What does it mean when it says, "and Jacob stole away unawares from Laban"? --I hate it when someone steals my "unawares"! --My unawares are always missing! --Me too! --Well, I happen to know that ____ stole your unawares! --_____! How could you?!! --Well, you had 3 pair and I had none and I couldn't find any anywhere! And wearing the same pair of unawares for days was kinda gross! All: Ewwww! Daddy: Hey!!! When we first moved here, and I finally had a real job with a real income, we had a big Unawares-buying spree! We all went to WalMart and got new unawares! How can you not have any? --(said very seriously) Daddy, I really think we have an Unawares-Thief! Sophia : Can we please get back to the verse?!********** And here's a short conversation I had with Ethan: Me: You really seem to like that new bathrobe I got you. Ethan: I love it!  Me: That's wonderful, especially since I only paid $0.05 for it at a garage sale!  E: Wow. If I were limited to only one digit, I would have at least picked a 9! Me:  thinking, Did my 7 year old just say "limited to only one digit"?! |
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First of all let me ask you to mark your calendars for Sept 26. The makers of the wonderful movie Facing the Giants (and of the lesser known but also very good Flywheel) will be releasing their newest movie --Fireproof starring Kirk Cameron -- on that date. Here's a quote from Gary Smalley, a Christian writer, "Amazing! Action-packed, heartwarming and a great esource to help strengthen and affirm marriages!" Friends of ours were just invited to an advance screening and loved it, they highly recommended it. They also told us that the production studio told them that they will base their decision about whether or not to make any more family-friendly movies on the income from the first weekend! They want to know if there is a market in America for good, clean movies. Please, please try to go see it on the opening weekend (and take all your friends along ******* Now back to us. The fibromyalgia is bad. None of the meds seem to really help so I am weaning off those. I do have good days occasionally (defined now as not needing too much pain med - no such thing as pain-free these days). Two of my new friends here, as well as some in my church family, have taken up the burden of praying for me daily and I know that is what has helped on those good days and gets me through the bad ones. Low pressure systems (rain) brings on the worst. But I do make a pretty good forecaster - when the pain goes up to beyond tolerable, I know it will rain within 6 hours. The kids have taken to consulting me before they go out - "Mama, can we play in the park or is it going to rain? ... Will I need an umbrella, Mama?" Okay - more than enough on that subject. (After all, my life's motto is "It 's not about me!") We had a marvelous vacation in a nearby state park. We rented a house that actually had 10 beds - no one had to sleep on the floor! Although Andrew was not thrilled at sharing a bed with Ethan because the little guy flips and twists and rolls in his sleep! But it is good for Andrew to begin to get used to sharing a bed! The Lord answered all our prayers for the week. We rested, played games, rode horses, hiked and just enjoyed each other!! The highlight of the vacation was a day at a fantastic children's museum! Every one of us played around and got silly. It was a great way for all of us,even with all the different ages, to connect, to strengthen those family ties. About a week after we returned, Jay and I went away for our 23rd anniversary. We got a very private, very romantic cabin. The days flew by. On each of these trips, there was only one day that I was unable to participate because the pain was too much even with my pain meds. But Jay and the kids were very understanding and we just took it easy on those days. Abigail went to church camp that same week. Then Madeline and Alexandra went to the Worldview Academy. WOW! They are doing amazing things with the teens who attend! It is an intense week of classes, training, small group discussions "practicums". The girls just loved it and came back begging to go again next year. How can you say No -- you may not go back to learn how to live a life that pleases God and not yourself; you may not work at serving others and being selfless; you may not be encouraged by like-minded friends and godly examples?! So they are already signed up, along with Abigail. She is not so sure. She is going by virtue of an exectutive decision made by Daddy. She would have preferred to go back to the church camp she was at this year. She had so much fun there. So Madeline & Alexandra are encouraging her and passing on the promise that WVA made to them: "This will be the best week of your life!"
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But the Lord is bringing much good to me out of this. I am learning to know Him in a much deeper way. I find myself at a loss for words to describe that and all the other blessings that come through suffering. Let me just say this, I am able for the first time to really comprehend and obey the Scripture from James 1: "Count it all joy when you encounter various trials". It is truly a joy and a comfort to me now to suffer in and with Christ. |
An A to A Game last week produced some interesting quotes! Names withheld to protect the silly! Opera is not "luxurious"! People just go there to look at other people -- and you can do that in a bathroom! (People-watching in a bathroom, hmmm..... ****** -Communists killed a thousand-billion people! -What communists are you talking about? -Uh -- many communists! ****** -Killer whales are "speedy"?! -Yeah! They can be fast. Well, unless they're beached. ****** Cow pies are "sensual"! (Ick! ****** -Pond scum are not "calm"! Plastic is "calm"! Pond scum eat and reproduce and - and - pass excrement! -Okay!!! That's the last straw! I can't stand this anymore! What is wrong with you tonight?!!!
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Our closest friends have a son, Daniel, who just graduated from college and is about to enter law school. He is hospitalized in another state, having had 2 strokes. He still has vertigo and other symptoms, making him unable to walk or do much. His family is headed there now. Please pray that the doctors will find the cause of the strokes, keep him from having more and ease his current symptoms so that he can be rehabilitated; and that he'll regain full use of all of his formidible brain power! If you know Daniel, you know what I mean by that!! Thanks! |
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(I have to say at the outset of this post that I am limiting my observations to my teens only today and that this is not at all to be taken to mean that the younger ones are in any way remiss in these areas!!) I have no greater joy than to know that my children are walking with the Lord! Madeline, Alexandra and Abigail have all matured much in the past year and are actively seeking opportunities to serve and to love at home first, then in the community. I am so blessed at the daily Narnia readings around here! I wish you could see them. It is truly the highlight of the day for the llittle ones. Madeline wonderfully and expressively reads while Alexandra "acts" the drama out on the coffee table, using "props" - stuffed animals, dolls and other toys. Alexandra takes some delightful liberties with the text, bringing peals of laughter from the rest of the children. They all love these times and the little ones beg for their Narnia time over and over throught out the day! On Thursdays, Madeline leads G.R.O.M.I.T. (Good Reflections on Making It Terrific - "It" being "our life together" as siblings). This is a Bible Study focusing on their relationships. Right now they are going through the book, Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. Someone usually spends their own money to get a GROMIT treat to share. Wow. Abigail checks with me throught out the day to find out what kind of help I might need and then cheerfully (and I can't emphasize that word enough!!) follows through. Alexandra has appointed herself my shopping helper to ease my work and is very insistent at keeping me from any exertion. Madeline is more and more my "go-to" helper in cooking, leading and cleaning. She plans to learn how to drive this summer even though she doesn't really want to. But she does want to be able to ease some of my work load and run errands for me. These are only a very few examples of the selflessness that I am seeing in my teens this year. I am very grateful for their help but, much more than that, I am overjoyed at the way that they are cultivating relationships with one another and especially with the younger ones. They are not only forging strong bonds with them but they are setting amazing examples for them!! And they, too, are more and more reaching out in love also, and seeking the chance to serve each other and me. And the best part of it all is that they seem to be growing in the Lord and serving in their family in response to His love and His work in their hearts. For it is He that is at work in us to will and to do His good pleasure! And as thankful as I am to the girls, I kneel before my Maker Who has wrought such good in our family. He loved us before the beginning of the world and has lavished undeserved blessings on us!! It is He only Who deserves the praise and credit for all of this. I find myself groping for words to express the fulness of my heart right now. With Mother's Day right around the corner, I feel that my gifts live with me every day! |
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I've talked to some of you recently and naturally you have many questions about the wedding! The short answer is usually - "I don't know"! Date: December 19 Place: PA (Sarah's home town and our old one). But the church and reception hall are still being decided upon. Wedding party: --Sarah's best friend will be her maid-of-honor, with her sister, sister-in-law and Madeline & Alexandra as bridesmaids --Andrew's best man and groomsmen are all college friends --Ethan & Eliza will be the ring bearer and the flower girl; Abigail is in charge of the guest book and Emma & Sophia are greeters. --Andrew told Jay that his job as the Father-of-the-Groom is to keep the Mother-of-the-Groom from crying too much. Jay then asked whose job it was to keep the FTG from crying! I am sorry that I cannot tell you more yet, but there really is no more to tell. They still don't even know how many people they can invite. I am just an observer to all the planning (happily so - our turn will come all too soon! ****** Footnote - still coming to library. It will be several days more at least before we get a new computer!
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Our computer sadly died over the weekend. Jay anticipates a quick revival but I am not as optimistic. (For you who know us well, that should not surprise you as this seems to be our usual approach to life - Jay the eternal optimist and I more cautious.) Those of you who bother to read this blog are pretty much the only ones who correspond with us on a regular basis, so this seemed the best way to tell you all to hold your emails for a while - I do not know how ofter we'll get to the library to check . We'll let you know as soon as we are back! ****** Andrew & Sarah are well into their wedding plans and have graciously included all of their siblings in the wedding. As you might expect, excitement is high at our house and at some parts of Geneva College! ****** Neighbors who bothered to glance into our fishbowl Friday night would have been amazed at the goings-on there! Madeline and I danced boisterously about the living room to the Grease soundtrack; then Alexandra joined in; and soon by the entire clan was part of it! That was about the time that I thought it best to pull the shades! |
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We were amused at these slip the kids made while reading Scripture during our morning devotions recently. I thought you might get a smile from them as well. -- Proverbs 30:2 "Surely I am more British than any man..." (should be "more brutish"!) 1 Thess. 5:14b "warn them that we are unruly..." (should be without the "we"!) I can think of several situations where the misquote might be appropriate to the moment than the correct words! Makes me wonder, though, who would be qualified to proclaim himself more British than any other man!!  ******* Also, to Andrew and Sarah: the kids are all using their message boards on their doors and having great fun leaving silly messages, quotes, polls and announcements for one another. Even dad and I have gotten into it! |
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Hmmm...start out with an eye-catching graphic? Or perhaps a clever question? How about a touching story? ... Nah! I'll just tell ya! Andrew and Sarah are engaged!  We're all very happy (Andrew and Sarah - you would have been thrilled by all the cheering that your announcement brought here at home), although some of us were not as surprised as Sarah. Andrew had shown the ring off to just about every other female he knows in the past 2 weeks. I am only surprised that he managed to wait this long before proposing. What a day of firsts this has been! First child's engagement First piano arrived First "new" car for me First Day of Spring Happy Resurrection Day! |
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We have had a very, very wet winter; tragically so for some around here! This conversation took place on the way to church amid flooded fields. Daddy *pointing*: Larfa! Alexandra *whips head around trying to see the unusual flora or fauna that she'd never heard of*: ??? Now she checks to see if Daddy is joking. Nope. He's just driving - no telltale smirk or sidewise glance. Daddy *points again*: There's another waterfall! Alexandra *smacks self in head* Some people have snipe-hunts. We now have Larfa-hunts in honor of Alexandra's exceptional hearing!! ****** Madeline's sad ****** Madeline, Alexansra and I went Easter dress shopping today. This was the 3rd attempt to find dresses for the big girls. Ugh! It has proven a monumental task to find something modest and pretty!! Both seem to be greatly lacking in this year's spring fashion. Seriously -- have nay of you actually looked at dresses lately?!! Yuck! Anyway, the sight of us trying to exit Panera's was enormously entertaining! We all had our hands full as Alexandra and I attempted to manipulate umbrellas while opening the doors. At the same moment, our umbrellas got ornery. Hers dropped its handle right on the floor as my huge one launched open and forward, blocking the entire doorway! She bent over, fiddling with hers, while I giggled and tried unsuccessfully to regain mastery of mine. Once outside, as the wind grabbed my umbrella and tried to make Mary Poppins of me, I realized that there was a panel out and I had only minimal rain protection anyway.... How very silly we looked. |
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I know that this comes right on the heels of my previous post, but I just got this in my email and found it to be so wise that I had to share! -- from Home School Heartbeat, a radio message from HSLDA
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Ethan needed cold medicines this morning. Yes, that was plural. We prefer to only give the necessary meds and not anything extra. So we have separate antihistamines, decongestant, cough meds, etc... Today Ethan needed all three. He decided he wanted them all mixed together. Afterward-- Me: So how did that taste? Ethan: Well, the aftertaste was kinda good and the first taste was kinda bad. So I guess it tasted half good and half bad! ******* Ethan: Clean laundry delivery! Clean laundry! Daddy: Ooooh! Great - a clean pillowcase! I've been hoping to see this soon. (Because it matched the current bedding.) Ethan, *in a very serious, slow and lowered voice (think Eeyore!)*: Yeah. I was wondering about the flowers! (on the substitute pillowcase. Apparently he had been worried about Dad's masculinity!  ) |
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The following conversation from our church dinner last night: 7 year old girl: Andrew, I love you. Wanna go to China with me? Andrew: . Ummmm... I don't think I feel like China tonight.Girl: Okay. How 'bout Pennsylvania? ******* Ya know, sometimes it just feels like my body is betraying me...  Don't mind me (Pay no attention to the whiny woman behind the curtain!) Big pain day. No relief in sight... It does make me wonder, though, how those of you without Christ cope with life. Life in this sin-sick world has so many pains. Only Christ makes them bearable for me. Do I like pain? No!! Just the opposite - I am a big wimp. But I am greatly comforted knowing that I am a child of The King! And nothing happens to me without His permission. Even more than that, I know absolutely that every little thing in my life is orchestrated by Him - for my good and His glory! Hallelujah! Like Paul, I ask for the removal of the thorn. And sorta-kinda like Paul (my submission to His will and my selflessness are definitely not like Paul's! There is way too much "I want..." and "what about me?" still left in me!  ), I praise Him for His answer, even when that answer is, "No, my child. My grace is sufficient for thee: My strength is made perfect in thy weakness." <2 Cor 12:9+>My prayer then becomes not, "Lord, heal me, take this pain from me." But rather, "Lord, give me the grace to say from my heart: 'Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. And I take pleasure in my weakness and pain, for then Christ is shown to be my strength! Thy will be done.' '" Oh, how He loves me to take so much trouble with me, making me more like Christ each day! And, yes, sometimes that hurts -- "only a little". ( That quote thrown in for you PoTC-fans!!)******* Sorry. I broke my own rule of no philosophizing on this blog. Good thing that The Powers That Be are me, myself and I! |
guess i'm not such a good babysitter after all! |
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Well, I have gotten this much out of the Attack of the Flu-bug - more "free" time as we have been forced to slow down or even cancel school for several days now. And that is why I have posted more in the past few days than in the past 9 months! Your daily Flu Report is summarized in these comments from this morning: Ethan to Eliza: Alexandra's out! Now it's down to just you and me! Madeline: I feel so left out! I haven't gotten a fever, just feeling yucky. As we all do, excepting those two aforementioned, with the yuckiness (I shall spare you any further details! ) extending long past the fever. ****** And for your entertainment, the following is "borrowed, borrowed without permission" from Alexandra's comment on a friend's blog. speaking of madeline...today while we were watching a movie, madeline suddenly remarked, "that guy looks like a preposition." i gave her this look: O_o and she 'explained' herself by pointing out his "curvy head and big, long nose." okay...SOMEBODY'S been watching too much 'Schoolhouse Rock' and speaking of valentine's day, on the very day, right when mama had just given daddy his valentine's present (hershey's pot of gold. best thing in the universe) and he was happily enjoying it by eating it (that's the best way to enjoy chocolate after all...by eating it) and sharing the eating of some with mama (that is the second best way to enjoy chocolate...by sharing it) i happened to notice a loose thread on his sleeve. now you must understand one thing about me: i cannot abide loose threads. they irritate me to no end. there is some sort of mechanism in me that is quite automatic, and it urges me to lose no time in pulling that erratic thread, telling me that not only is it the obvious thing to do but it is moreover the right thing to do. so pull it i did. as suddenly as the thought to pull it had placed itself in my head, instantly a new thought introduced itself: "what if this thread is connected to something? something like---" SNAP! "his button?!" aye, alas...the bright idea came too late. in all but an instant i pulled the thread, his button came off, and it clattered noisily to the floor. mama and daddy froze in their conversation. they looked slowly from the button on the floor, to the thread in my hand, to the hole in daddy's sleeve. i blushed and placed the offending thread in daddy's hand, as if that could somehow make up for the hole in his sleeve. i picked up the button and shrugged sheepishly. "i suppose i could sew that back on..." i started, but daddy interrupted me: "of course you will! but...where are you going to put it so you'll remember?" this was a serious question, and one that needed careful consideration. so i picked up the button, stared at it for a few seconds, and then promptly attached it to my earing. it looked weird, but it worked! his sleeve is fixed!! ****** Lastly, I invite you all to postulate in your own minds and for your enjoyment alone, the possible ends of the very dangerous fight that Madeline and I have undertaken together - SAT prep. It might well be that one or both of us shall perish on the way! Algebra pummels Madeline, with one polynomial tied behind Its back, but she takes the punishment and doggedly fights back. Each round, she slowly beats it into submission. I am confident that she will emerge the victor, though she drags herself to her corner at the end of day. And I, being older and tireder, have not her stamina and often wonder what I will look like at the end of it all? (In plain language, Madeline's intense dislike of math led her to forget nearly all the algebra she ever learned, not even allowing a bit of it to linger as a bad memory. She was thrilled to be done with it, knowing that she'd never need it again. Oooops. So now we're trying to relearn it all in a few weeks.) Her constant question is Why? "Why do we need to know algebra? Why is it so important? When will I ever use it again?" The answers that Jay and I have given do not satisfy her as she has been able to see other answers to the hypothetical problems that we pose, ones that do not require algebra for the solving. So I am asking for real life occasions that use algebra. I know that she would be more content to pour herself into this if she saw a practical application for her future beyond the college entrance exams. |
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My fever has broken. Thanks for your prayers, OPCKid! Abigail's came back, however. Anyway, now that I am feeling a little better, I wanted to post these two amusing conversations overheard around here recently. The first is thanks to Alexandra. And in the second, Ethan is talking about his immune system. Eliza: *squeals* STUCK! Emma: Stuck in what? Eliza: My shirt! Emma: What's stuck? Eliza: Me!! As I make the rounds checking temperatures. Ethan: I'm 98.8! My little soldiers sure are doing their jobs! *then to Emma*: You're 99. Not as good as me. That's cause you're a girl! (So, obviously, girls cannot have as good an army as boys! ) |