Aug. 28, 2008 A Heart Overflowing
Pride isn't even the right word. The word is joy. The kind of joy that makes you cry.
Today Zach was given the "Student of the Summer" award at the clinic. His teacher told him it's because of his attitude and willingness, and she said she's never given one out before to anyone. It was such a cool surprise, partly because we didn't even know they did that, but mostly because Zach's come such a long way on a lot of levels. It's almost like he's a different person. Not only is he making strides in reading and writing, but so much of the anxiety and anger is gone. He's calmer and more sure of himself. He's funny and thoroughly enjoyable to have around. He makes me laugh every day. He's also become more outwardly aware and willing to help when he sees a need.
This time at the clinic has been a true gift from God.
Sue
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Aug. 25, 2008 Comings and Goings
This has been a weekend of comings and goings. Mike and Zach left on Saturday night for a hiking trip to Mount Church with their buddies. They were gone until Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, on Sunday Baylee left for a three day visit to Grandma's house. Oh my excited. Right before she left I teased her by saying I was going to miss her so much that maybe it would be best if I just came along. I told her, "I'll carry you around everywhere you go. You'll hardly know I'm there!" She graciously told me no, but that she'd call me every night. LOL I'm sure she's having a blast.
Here's pics from Mike and Zach's hiking trip. Mount Church, 2008
Sue |
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Aug. 25, 2008 Faulty Filter
You know that feeling when you say something you think is pretty hilarious, but immediately afterward you wonder if maybe you pushed it a hair too far? I sometimes visit the blog of a man who used to teach Bible and theology classes at the college I attended. He doesn't teach at the school anymore, but he's still in ministry. He pastors a church now. Anyhoo...the other day he was talking on his blog about how he's going to be preaching from the book of Habakkuk, so I commented to the effect of:
You don't still insist on pronouncing it Hab-uh-kook, do you? Because back in school when you did that I couldn't help but think, "Yeah, we hab a kook, all right." Grin.
Now I just can't help but feel that perhaps that's one that got past the filter. I hate it when that happens.
Sue |
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Aug. 19, 2008 Entrepreneurs
I was so proud of my kids today. Baylee and Trinity decided they were going to "sell water" for a dollar a cup at a stand made out of a Rubbermaid container. Well, Drew and Zach couldn't let them go out there and fail so spectacularly, so the two boys set the two girls up in style. Drew went to the store by our house and bought them some Country Time powdered lemonade, while Zach got them situated with a card table and two patio chairs. Then when Drew got home Zach made the lemonade and let them borrow his little safe box for the money they earn.
Here they are very hopeful and just starting out:
Much to my surprise because we live on a small dead end street, it wasn't long before they started getting customers!
Still, business wasn't quite as booming as they would've liked, so eventually they packed it all up and moved it down the road to Trinity's house. She lives on the corner where there's more traffic. Suddenly, they were really making money! People were even stopping their cars to buy lemonade. Zach helped them quite a bit with the pouring, and he went with me to buy them more cups at one point. In the end they made a decent little sum of money, which they split several different ways with brothers and sisters. It was a fun day for them all.
Sue |
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Baylee's been doing the library's summer reading program. She read for 1000 minutes! At 500 minutes she won a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut, then today she won the "Finishing Prize." It's a very nice set of binoculars. She also had her name put in a drawing for a personal computer. We're not holding our breath on that one, though. Well....maybe Baylee is.
Sue
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Aug. 17, 2008 Weekend in Review
Man. It's hot here. I mean really hot. Like, the 90s. And the thing is I'm totally spoiled and not used to it anymore, and around here nobody has air conditioning in their home, including us. I'm sick and tired of sweating.
Despite that, we did all sorts of stuff outside this weekend and I basically melted through all of it. The only thing I didn't do is my walking routine, because on Friday I cut my foot on a nail. It hurts to put on a shoe, much less walk several miles. It's a bummer, too, because I'm only a hair short of a hundred miles.
On Saturday I took Baylee and Drew to karate, while Mike and Zach got ready to be in our town parade. As soon as karate was over I rushed home with the two kids I had, they changed clothes, and we hurried to the parade, hoping we were in time to see Zach and Mike. We were. Here's Mike:
No, I'm totally kidding. Here's Mike and Zach:
Zach was passing out candy and Mike was handing out fliers with information about our church's different programs. They were following our church bus:
Kidding again. But wouldn't that make a fun church bus?
After the parade we went down to the local elementary school for a carnival, and Baylee surprised the heck out of us by climbing this rock wall:
It's a terrible picture because Mike took it with his cell phone. Still, it was a pretty tall wall and she's tiny! She was like a monkey!
Then, because it was SOOOOOOOO hot, when we finally got home the kids played in the sprinkler. Now, I'll show you the next picture, but only if you promise to focus on the kids and their inventive use of patio furniture. Do NOT, I repeat NOT, look at the grass.
You looked at the grass, didn't you. You can't be trusted.
Then today was church, a few hours of playing with Saryn and Rory in the afternoon, and a sleepover with Jacob tonight. That is, Jacob's at our house with the boys, holed away in Zach's room, and they're all eating junk food, watching a movie, and playing video games.
I think it's going to be a bit of a shock to the system for a certain group of kids when summer ends and school starts again in a couple weeks.
Sue
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Aug. 13, 2008 Another "You Know You're A Redneck..."
"Mom, wouldn't you love being rich? You could live in a mansion and have lots of maids, you could drive around in a sports car, you could get one of those Orthopedic Sleep Number beds..."
~ Zach
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Aug. 11, 2008 Fun at Matthew's Beach
I want to post a few quick pictures of our day today before the season finale of The Mole comes on at 10pm. Because once The Mole comes on, forget it. That's all I care about. And by the way, I predict it IS that friendly guy in the glasses. He knows too much for someone as bumbling as he is...or would like us to believe he is. [cue me rubbing chin knowingly] Anyway, where was I. Oh. A bunch of us went to the beach today. I took my three kids and Drew's friend Alex, and Candace took her two youngest, Saryn and Rory. This is the second time we've all done this together this summer and it's been fun both times. And both times I've gotten totally fried.
Matthew's Beach has been the crown jewel of our summer. It's a beautiful little place on Lake Washington with a park, a concession stand, and a swimming area that includes a floating dock with diving boards. The beach also has lifeguards. Oh, and across the lake there's the requisite snowcapped mountain range, of course. No Washington experience is complete without it. In the end, though, I like this place because, unlike the Puget Sound, it has fresh water and it's more than two degrees above freezing.
Sue
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Aug. 10, 2008 Ridin' the Bus
Today Drew was saying that since he's home schooled he's never had a bus riding experience. Then Baylee piped up, saying she's never ridden a bus, either, and gosh darn it she wants to! So Mike replied that maybe someday we'd all take the metro bus system into Seattle. You know what he was thinking, right? "Someday," meaning "Some long, far off day in the future that never actually arrives because hopefully you kids will forget about it."
Can you see where this is going? Yup. We all got to ride the bus today.
Here's a little slideshow of our day and the weekend in general.
Weekend in August, '08
Sue
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I'm really excited about our curricula for school this year, especially since a lot of it came in the mail yesterday. I love that first peek, when you take it out of the boxes and look it all over. That's the best part of homeschooling!
Zach gets to do some really fun, cool stuff at the recommendation of the L&L clinic. They said to get him working as independently as possible by using things like books on CD, tape recorders, voice recognition software, etc. At the same time, though, he's making strides with reading and writing, so there has to be a balance. I think it'll be a process, but here's what his year looks like right now:
~ Daily Grams (Quick and fairly painless daily review of grammar. I want to do this on the whiteboard every morning.)
~ Easy Grammar: Plus (More in depth study of grammar.)
~ Weaver's Learning to Love Literature (Love this! It's very, very good. We'll both learn from it. Zach's reading will be done with books on CD as much as possible. He'll be studying several different types of literature, including non-fiction, fiction, poetry, fantasy, tragedy/comedy, and realism.)
~ Writing Strands (Great writing program.)
~ Teaching Textbook Math (Math class on computer.)
~ Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times and Volume 2: Middle Ages (I'm excited about this. It'll be sort of a whirlwind trip through history from ancient times to the end of the Middle Ages. He'll listen to a chapter a day on CD, read by master storyteller Jim Weiss, then he'll answer questions in writing. Next year I want to have him do the other two volumes, which will bring him up to modern times.)
~ Apologia General Science CD-Rom (Another great find. It's the regular Apologia General Science, but on the computer, which means it includes related videos, animated examples, etc.)
~ Typing
~ Guitar lessons
Drew does great with Accelerated Christian Education, so that's his plan. He's very motivated to get through his schoolwork each day so he can pursue his own interests, which makes a program like ACE perfect for him. I tell him how many pages of each subject to do, teach any new concepts, and off he goes. He'll be studying:
ACE Math
ACE English
ACE Word Building
ACE Literature and Creative Writing
ACE Science
ACE Social Studies
And because he needs a little extra in the grammar department, I'll have him do Daily Grams at his grade level. Also, he'll join Zach in guitar lessons, typing, and he goes to karate.
As for Baylee, I'm going to have her try ACE this year, too. The Washington Virtual Academy worked fine for her last year and really taught her a lot. The thing about a kid like Baylee, though, is that she was often willing to learn more than I had time to teach her. That's why I think a more student-directed approach will be good for her this year. She doesn't know this and I'm not going to tell her, but she'll be a 2nd grader doing all 3rd grade work. Within reason I'll just let her go at whatever pace she wants. Added to that will be typing if she's interested, and her weekly karate lesson.
Next semester I hope to enroll the kids in at least one class each at a homeschool co-op. It'll be a good experience for all of them.
Sue
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Aug. 7, 2008 This post is rated PG for boy humor and mild underwear situations.
I went out to run a couple errands tonight, and when I got home Zach and Drew practically mowed me over in their excitement to show me how they'd perfected a trick they learned from watching Mr. Bean. And not only that, they wanted it all on video for posterity. So, without further ado, I give you...
Zach Performs The Underwear Trick
Sue |
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Aug. 7, 2008 Camp pics. Sort of.
I got Zach's film from camp developed today. It was an interesting collection of black shots, headless people, and floors. However, he did take this one of his cabin that turned out nice if you ignore the finger.
He also took this one after he got back home. It's a picture of me unpacking his suitcase. 'Nuff said.
Sue
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I've had a couple different people ask me when the heck I'm going to post on my blog again. Oops. Sorry for letting it go so long. I could say I've been terribly busy and blah blah, but the truth is I've just been lazy. A couple years ago I didn't post at all in July, November, or December, though, so if you look at it that way I'm doing great!
Let's see. We have been keeping active, but not in a hectic, crazy way. Zach went to camp and loved it. He came home with tons of stories about how much fun he had and all the things they did. He also took a roll of film, which I need to get developed one of these days soon. Maybe some of the pictures on it will be worth blogging. Zach's really growing up and coming out of his shell in such a cool way. It's like suddenly he's very at ease with himself. On a possibly related note, his sessions at the L&L clinic are going wonderfully.
Baylee made a new friend named Trinity. She lives down the road right next door to Drew's friend, Alex. (Speaking of Alex, he did accept the Lord into his life at our church's VBS! He was one of a handful of children who made that decision, and the only unchurched child. I'm going to have Drew invite him along to Awana in the fall.) Baylee and Trinity have been pretty much attached at the hip these last few weeks, which has been great for our little girl. She's wanted a neighborhood friend around her age for quite awhile now.
Drew's enjoying his summer to the fullest. I think he spends more time out there riding his bike, skateboarding, and playing basketball than any other kid around.
Umm...I think that's about it. I did start ordering curricula and I'm very happy with what I've chosen so far, but I'll talk about all that another day. Oh, and I'm up to 85 miles in my walking. I had to cut it short and limp home last night, though, for the first time ever. My left knee was killing me. I'm going to give it a couple days to rest and hopefully heal. And...drum roll...I've gone down a size in jeans! Okay, now you're all totally caught up. lol
Here's some recent pics:
Zach dressed the cat in a sweater from one of Baylee's stuffed animals. The cat didn't seem too impressed.
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Jul. 26, 2008 I'm Just Waiting For "Flip That House" To Call
Yesterday afternoon Zach was getting a snack out of the cupboard when suddenly the cupboard door just fell off for no reason whatsoever. (Mmm hmm.) Anyway, by the time I got there the door was hanging precariously by its bottom hinges and Zach was trying to hold it up while simultaneously explaining that he had nothing to do with it. The whole thing was obviously an emergency situation, am I right? So I did what any innovative mom would do...
I handled it with duct tape. I even chose a stylish red color. Then I left for Starbucks with my friend Candace and I forgot all about it. The rest is sketchy, but from what I can gather from the kids, apparently when Mike finally saw my home repair project he was less then impressed. He even laughed at me! And he took that picture! Tsk. Some people just don't appreciate us MacGyver types when they meet us.
Sue
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Jul. 23, 2008 I Just Want To Say...
that as of this evening, I've walked 52 miles. I figure out how far I go in my new walking routine using this website, then I plug that information into this website. The first is a Google site which allows you to use a map of your city to calculate to the nearest hundredth of a mile how far you went. The second site is a fun, cool virtual walk across America starting on the coast of Virginia and ending on the coast of Oregon. You input your miles each time you walk (or run or bike), and it shows you on a map exactly where you are. It even shows you a real photo. Anyway, like I said I've gone 52 miles. I'm both amazed and pleased with myself. And I'm getting some muscles!
Sue |
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Jul. 21, 2008 The Simple Woman's Daybook
For Today ~ July 21, 2008
Outside my window...the flowers in the window boxes are thriving, but our lawn is brown. That's okay, though, because so is everyone else's. The best I can figure, grass around here has shallow roots. For most of the year it rains all the time, so the roots don't have to go very deep to get water. Then along comes July and August, during which time it never rains, and lawns turn into wastelands.
I am thinking...about how much fun VBS turned out to be this morning. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, seeing as how the VBS we did in Michigan was so incredible, but I enjoyed today a lot. It felt good to be acting again, such as it was.
I am thankful for...the friends we're making here. It's been a process, but suddenly I'm realizing we're starting to really know people.
From the kitchen...tonight came a gross sausage, tomato, and rice concoction. (Notice the passive voice which makes it seem like that disgusting meal miraculously created itself in there.)
I am wearing...jeans and a green t-shirt with Mike's work logo on it.
I am creating...well, have created...the outfit for my character at VBS. I made it out of a white tyvex suit and duct tape. It looks pretty good!
I am going...nowhere for the rest of the evening, thank goodness. I'm tired.
I am reading...a book about a woman who left a Mormon community and a polygamous marrage. She was a fourth wife. The book is called Escape.
I am hoping...that the boy down the street who's coming to our VBS this week understands and accepts what Jesus did for him on the cross.
I am hearing...the boys doing card tricks in the living room, the dryer doing a load of sheets, and the dishwasher washing the day's dishes.
Around the house...it's clean and calm, unlike how it was for most of the rest of this day.
One of my favorite things...lately is watching The Mole. A ton of people have been kicked off the show so far, but I still have no earthly idea who the mole is. I'll be shocked if it's that friendly dude in the glasses.
A few plans for the rest of the week...include VBS everyday from 8:30 to noon, tomorrow we're going on a picnic at the park with a family we met who homeschools and owns a bikeshop, on Wednesday Zach has an appointment at the L&L clinic, there's Bible study on Thursday, a picnic supper at church on Friday, and on Saturday I have to get Zach ready to go to camp. He leaves on Sunday. Oh, and karate. I don't really like weeks like this at all. I like being home and doing my own thing. In fact, I hate to say it, but at heart I'm sort of anti-social.
Here's a picture thought I'm sharing...
To read the daybooks of others, please join Peggy at her website here.
Sue
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Jul. 20, 2008 Weekend Project
This weekend Mike and I worked together and finally got our bedroom painted! I really love it. It's warm and cheerful.
We ended up going with "Lemon Drop" yellow on the walls. I love how it picks up the yellow in the quilt my mom made us as a wedding gift.
Here's a view from the other side of the room, looking toward the door. Our bedroom is in a converted attic, so going up into it feels just a little bit like being in a treehouse. I think it's the sloped ceiling and slanted door.
One thing, though. I found out painting is a lot more tedious than it looks on those "Flip That House" shows.
Sue
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Jul. 19, 2008 Life Lessons in Hiking
Today Mike and Zach went on another hike...their second. This one, to Mount Pilchuck, was higher and more difficult than the one they did a few weeks ago. This one required some actual gear. lol They went with our friend Scott and his son Brannon, and our other friend Tom, and they had a great time as usual. From what Mike told me, they started at about 3000 feet and hiked up to an old forest service fire lookout at around 5300 feet. (The lookout is shown in the picture above. Mike didn't take that picture, by the way. I found it online.) Their plan is to try to get in a couple more progressively difficult hikes before they make their big trip to Mount St. Helens in September.
As I looked at the pictures and video of this hike and heard Mike's story of how it went, I was struck by what a cool way hiking is to learn life lessons, especially for teenagers. Hiking isn't necessarily dangerous as long as you listen to people who know more than you, work together as a team, and stay positive. Man, if we could all figure those things out the world would be a better place!
Here's a montage showing some pictures of the hike, and then at the end there's a video of Tom, who's an experienced hiker, teaching the two boys how to stop themselves if they fall on a glacier. It's cool to watch and educational. Mount Pilchuck, 2008
Sue
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Jul. 15, 2008 A Simple Woman's Daybook
For today ~ July 15, 2008
Outside my window...the sun is setting and the air is cooling down. It's that quiet last few minutes of dusk.
I am thinking...that I really need to get an outfit together for my part in the VBS skit next week. I'm a Buzz Lightyear type character and I have very little idea how I'm going to pull that off. Right now I'm thinking a white t-shirt, white sweats, and a lot of neon colored electrical tape. This may not be pretty.
I am thankful for...the safe birth of my brand new niece, Taya Noelle! My sister Lindsey and her husband Travis had their second child last week. I wish I could be back in Michigan to see her.
From the kitchen...today came tuna pasta salad. It's a nice, cool supper on a hot summer day. Plus it's good comfort food. My mom made it when I was a kid.
I am wearing...jeans and a cute, feminine, mint green t-shirt that I got on clearance the other day.
I am creating...a freshly painted bedroom! Well, I will be soon, anyway, with Mike's help. I'm going to paint our room "lemon meringue" and it'll be the perfect shade of pale yellow to match the quilt on our bed. I can't wait.
I am going...to take a bubble bath as soon as I finish this. I'm still doing my walking program and my muscles are sore and tired tonight. I'm up to 3 3/4 miles, though!
I am reading...a children's book called The House on Falling Star Hill. I do enjoy the occasional children's book and always have. I recently finished reading Walk Yourself Thin, which I loved and was very inspired by. AND! I've been meaning to tell you guys that you absolutely must read Marley and Me, by John Grogan. It was the best book I've read in ages. I laughed and cried. I loved it so much I even got my sister and mom to read it, and they loved it, too. Get it from your library. For real.
I am hoping...Zach has a great time at camp in a couple weeks. He decided to go after seeing how much fun Drew had. lol
I am hearing...Mike and the boys watching Deadliest Catch in the living room.
Around the house...it's quiet and peaceful. Mike's working from home on his laptop at the kitchen table (and watching TV at the same time), the boys are curled up on the couches, and Baylee's in bed reading a new book which has something to do with a homeschooling family and pirates.
One of my favorite things...is General Foods Coffee. But I'm picky. I only like the Cafe Francais flavor.
A few plans for the rest of the week...include Zach bowling with the youth group Wednesday, Bible study on Thursday, Mike and Zach hiking with friends on Saturday, Drew and Baylee's karate also on Saturday, and church and a VBS meeting on Sunday. Next week is VBS.
Here's a picture thought I'm sharing...
Baylee got one of those make-a-potholder loom thingies for her birthday and she loves it. She made this.
Sue
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Jul. 12, 2008 All Hail King Mike
Last week at church Mike's name came up to be next year's president of our peer group.* Several people thought that might be a good idea, then the conversation went on to who might be willing to fill the other offices, and finally it was decided that it would all be talked about more in the near future.
So. Much to Mike's dismay because he really doesn't like the title, I've amused myself to no end making fun of Mr. Potential President. I always suspected it would come in handy someday to have the entire script of Monty Python's Holy Grail memorized **, and I was right! I've found great joy in quoting to Mike the scene from the movie in which King Arthur goes out amongst the people in an attempt to drum up support, but nobody takes him seriously.
Mike: So what do you think about me doing this thing at church?
Me: What thing?
Mike: That president thing. But don't ever call me "president" or I'll quit.
Me: Well, I didn't know we had a king. I thought we were an autonomous collective.
Mike: Stop with the Monty Python.
Sue: We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week, voting with a two thirds majority...
Mike: Sue...
Sue: Well, I didn't vote for you.
Mike: [laughs]
Sue: How did you become king, then? Oh right...the Lady of the Lake gave you Excalibur. Listen, strange women lying around in ponds is no basis for a system of government. You can't expect to weld supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!
Mike: [coming after me now to get me to shut up]
Sue: Oh, now we see the violence inherent in the system! Help, help, I'm being repressed!
Ahhh. Good times, good times.
Sue
* Peer groups are groups of people in the church split up by age (Ours is the 35-45 group) who meet for 20 minutes each Sunday before Sunday school. We catch up with each other's week and pray and stuff. Someone sort of loosely leads the group mostly in prayer, while others head up hospitality issues, socials, etc. Honestly, I didn't even know there were titles until last week. It's not really a big deal.
** The Holy Grail was my favorite movie in high school and college, and I watched many, many times. |
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