Mary tagged me, so I'll post a quick reply:
1. I have a to-do list that includes "sew a unicorn costume for Morgen" on it. Originally it was "sew a werewolf costume for Morgen" but I refuse to sew fur ever again.
2. I have a paper dragon sitting in my in-box :)
3. I also have a clock mounted in a small motorcycle on my computer desk.
4. It is snowing right now, and my fingers are cold.
5. I registered to vote last week.
6. Warm cocoa tastes much better than cold cocoa.
Enjoy your Sunday :)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Yesterday
And that title totally brings the Beatles song to mind :). But really, what I wanted to record today was that yesterday was a good day. With Jared gone, I have less motivation to cook dinner- we're all pretty happy with take-out, and it is easier to take the dinner prep time and let the kids watch a movie while I escape to my computer to check email, read blogs, and pay bills. So, yesterday we went to a nearby park, and had pizza and soda, and I let the kids run all over the park while I alternately read and watched them making friends.
I had my camera, but didn't take any pictures, and on the drive home I was hit with an urgent need to know if we'd ever eaten pizza at the park with Myles. Sometimes, after we go to the library, we go get a pizza and eat it at the elementary school playground just north of the library. The kids run around for awhile, and I read, and it is a nice way to unwind from the day. And I suddenly had a memory of one time in the spring this year, with all 4 of my kids, doing just that. It was still a little windy and cold, and I'd bought a six-pack of sprite [since I'd forgotten cups] to go with the pizza. Myles would play for a bit, then come over for a bite of my pizza and a drink of my soda. He could hold the can by himself, but I had to help him tip it, mostly so the soda didn't end up all down the front of his jacket :). He loved playing with his siblings, loved being outside, loved getting a crust of pizza to hold as he wandered around the playground. I am so grateful I stayed, even though it was windy and cold, and I wanted to drag everyone back to the car as soon as the pizza was gone; I am so grateful for that precious memory.
I am grateful for a lot of things today: my family, my faith, my husband, my children, and most of all, I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to continue to make memories with the three children I'm raising. We've spent a lot more time together lately, just us four, and even with the challenges of homeschooling mixed in, I am glad to have this time to enjoy them. Walker will be 11 in 6 months, and the time 'flies on wings of lightning' it seems. Soon enough they'll be grown, and on their own, and so for now I am happy with what I have.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Normal...
I wanted to list some of the sights and sounds that are common around our house:
* "[Name of child], in the game..." followed by a description of what their powers are, or which kind of animal they are, or a rule they think this game should have. This game [and it changes minute-to-minute] is one they will play in the pool, in the car, at home, outside, in their bedrooms; pretty much anywhere that at least 2 of the 3 kids are together.
* Kids singing along with the Snacktime CD[Barenaked Ladies]. I love hearing Hyrum's evil laugh, 'Bwaaah-haah-haah!' at the end of '7-8-9.' And all the kids know 'The Ninjas' by heart, and join in on the chorus: 'The ninjas are deadly and silent! They're also unspeakably violent! They speak Japanese, they do whatever they please, and sometimes they vacation in Ireland!' ;)
* Walker with his 'glasses' on. He likes to wear the frames of his sunglasses, and pretend they are real glasses. Jared doesn't really get this, but I remember doing the same thing, because I [for some weird reason] really wanted to have glasses when I was 12.
* Walker reading something. He inherited a love for reading from both his parents.
* Morgen talking to the dogs. I hear her every morning outside my window, which overlooks our backyard, calling to whichever dog is closer, trying to entice them over to her. She has entire conversations with them :)
* Morgen slamming her bedroom door repeatedly, but only when she doesn't like how W and H are playing 'the game' with her.
* Hyrum clearing his throat before he says a prayer over the food. I asked him, once, why he did this. He believes that when he clears his throat, it changes how his voice sounds *giggling*.
* Hyrum enunciating his 'L' sounds. I have started correcting him, because he lisps :) and says the 'L' sound as 'W': 'wamp' [lamp], 'wike' [like], 'reawy' [really], 'wawking' [walking]. So lately, when he is sounding out words, he concentrates on pronouncing that 'L' sound.
* Knitting needles clicking. When I sit with the kids while they work on their school assignments, I like to have something to do with my hands. Sometimes I read, but lately I've been knitting :).
* phone conversations w/Jared that begin, "How's Texas?" [or wherever he's currently staying in his travels]
* "[Name of child], in the game..." followed by a description of what their powers are, or which kind of animal they are, or a rule they think this game should have. This game [and it changes minute-to-minute] is one they will play in the pool, in the car, at home, outside, in their bedrooms; pretty much anywhere that at least 2 of the 3 kids are together.
* Kids singing along with the Snacktime CD[Barenaked Ladies]. I love hearing Hyrum's evil laugh, 'Bwaaah-haah-haah!' at the end of '7-8-9.' And all the kids know 'The Ninjas' by heart, and join in on the chorus: 'The ninjas are deadly and silent! They're also unspeakably violent! They speak Japanese, they do whatever they please, and sometimes they vacation in Ireland!' ;)
* Walker with his 'glasses' on. He likes to wear the frames of his sunglasses, and pretend they are real glasses. Jared doesn't really get this, but I remember doing the same thing, because I [for some weird reason] really wanted to have glasses when I was 12.
* Walker reading something. He inherited a love for reading from both his parents.
* Morgen talking to the dogs. I hear her every morning outside my window, which overlooks our backyard, calling to whichever dog is closer, trying to entice them over to her. She has entire conversations with them :)
* Morgen slamming her bedroom door repeatedly, but only when she doesn't like how W and H are playing 'the game' with her.
* Hyrum clearing his throat before he says a prayer over the food. I asked him, once, why he did this. He believes that when he clears his throat, it changes how his voice sounds *giggling*.
* Hyrum enunciating his 'L' sounds. I have started correcting him, because he lisps :) and says the 'L' sound as 'W': 'wamp' [lamp], 'wike' [like], 'reawy' [really], 'wawking' [walking]. So lately, when he is sounding out words, he concentrates on pronouncing that 'L' sound.
* Knitting needles clicking. When I sit with the kids while they work on their school assignments, I like to have something to do with my hands. Sometimes I read, but lately I've been knitting :).
* phone conversations w/Jared that begin, "How's Texas?" [or wherever he's currently staying in his travels]
Thursday, October 02, 2008
quick post
Okay, we're off on a mini-adventure: Jared left this morning for Texas. He and his unit got called up to help down there with clean-up, and of course he was pretty excited to go :). The kids and I are taking this opportunity to visit my in-laws for the weekend; I have been trying to visit them, but only if Jared was out of town. I don't see him as often as I'd like, so when he's home I want to be there as well :). Since Jared won't be home for a few weeks, I thought I'd take advantage of his absence and go spend some time with his parents.
**Jeannette, the MP3 version of the scriptures is here. Each book is a separate download [i.e. the Old Testament and New Testament are 2 downloads], and the best part is that the download is FREE :)
**Jeannette, the MP3 version of the scriptures is here. Each book is a separate download [i.e. the Old Testament and New Testament are 2 downloads], and the best part is that the download is FREE :)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Our week in review
Monday: We worked on school in the morning. My friend Melissa called and wanted to know if I was interested in free tomatoes. YES! My tomatoes produced NOTHING this year. Not sure why... Anyway, she knew a farmer who was finished w/his tomato crop, and was planning to plow the field. He offered us all the free tomatoes we could pick. I ended up with about 6 bushels :)
Tuesday: Remember the tomatoes? We canned a bunch of them. Morgen and Hyrum washed, I blanched, and Walker and Morgen and I all peeled and quartered them. It took all day to do 8 quarts, mostly because of the helpers LOL. I was pretty proud of them, though.
Wednesday: We worked on Math, English, and Spelling. Hyrum got to cut out things that began with the letter "L." We also took some chrysanthemums [yellow] from our flower garden up to the cemetery. Even after I cut enough for Laura May, Myles, and my grandparents and great-grandparents, we still have over half the plant left! Those are some sturdy mums. We cleaned around the graves, and got shakes at Granny's before we drove home.
Thursday: School in the morning, and I went to the temple in the evening- kind of a peaceful day, which is good.
Friday: School in the morning again, then I started another batch of tomatoes. They are spoiling pretty quickly, because they were all so ripe to start with. I had Hyrum wash them for me, then Walker came in and started peeling them for me without me even asking! Wow. :) Oh, and Jared made it back from Chicago safely. Hooray!
Saturday: We drove down to Thanksgiving Point, packed a lunch, and wandered through the Farm Country. The kids love looking at the animals, and wanted to show Jared everything they liked from their last visit. We left so I could attend the General Women's Conference at my church- oh, I enjoyed that :).
Sunday: Church was peaceful and lifted my spirits. I talked to a lady at church who knows how to darn socks, and convinced her to come over to my house to teach me. So, I now know how to darn socks! And, I'm wearing the ones I darned ;). They don't look very pretty- I used a non-matching yarn- but they are warm, and I fixed the holes, and my darns have no lumps [the mark of a superior darn, I'm told]. And I taught Morgen how to knit. Well, I showed her how to cast on, and how to do a knit stitch. She's getting it, but needs me to remind her how it works. [p.s. I also finally learned where to look for an MP3 version of the scriptures, and am downloading it to my Ipod- instant spiritual lift]
**********************
my favorites:
*learning something new and useful [darning]
*making my first batch of white chili this fall
*homemade bread to go with the chili
*children who help without me asking/begging/nagging them
*crisp, fall mornings
*free tomatoes!
*my ipod can do anything ;) [except the dishes]
Tuesday: Remember the tomatoes? We canned a bunch of them. Morgen and Hyrum washed, I blanched, and Walker and Morgen and I all peeled and quartered them. It took all day to do 8 quarts, mostly because of the helpers LOL. I was pretty proud of them, though.
Wednesday: We worked on Math, English, and Spelling. Hyrum got to cut out things that began with the letter "L." We also took some chrysanthemums [yellow] from our flower garden up to the cemetery. Even after I cut enough for Laura May, Myles, and my grandparents and great-grandparents, we still have over half the plant left! Those are some sturdy mums. We cleaned around the graves, and got shakes at Granny's before we drove home.
Thursday: School in the morning, and I went to the temple in the evening- kind of a peaceful day, which is good.
Friday: School in the morning again, then I started another batch of tomatoes. They are spoiling pretty quickly, because they were all so ripe to start with. I had Hyrum wash them for me, then Walker came in and started peeling them for me without me even asking! Wow. :) Oh, and Jared made it back from Chicago safely. Hooray!
Saturday: We drove down to Thanksgiving Point, packed a lunch, and wandered through the Farm Country. The kids love looking at the animals, and wanted to show Jared everything they liked from their last visit. We left so I could attend the General Women's Conference at my church- oh, I enjoyed that :).
Sunday: Church was peaceful and lifted my spirits. I talked to a lady at church who knows how to darn socks, and convinced her to come over to my house to teach me. So, I now know how to darn socks! And, I'm wearing the ones I darned ;). They don't look very pretty- I used a non-matching yarn- but they are warm, and I fixed the holes, and my darns have no lumps [the mark of a superior darn, I'm told]. And I taught Morgen how to knit. Well, I showed her how to cast on, and how to do a knit stitch. She's getting it, but needs me to remind her how it works. [p.s. I also finally learned where to look for an MP3 version of the scriptures, and am downloading it to my Ipod- instant spiritual lift]
**********************
my favorites:
*learning something new and useful [darning]
*making my first batch of white chili this fall
*homemade bread to go with the chili
*children who help without me asking/begging/nagging them
*crisp, fall mornings
*free tomatoes!
*my ipod can do anything ;) [except the dishes]
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Weekend fun
Friday evening we drove down to a party at Jared's co-worker's house. It was interesting, and fun, and a lot easier to see these people again. Last time we all got together was back in June for the Lehi Days parade, and I was still pretty unsteady emotionally. So I enjoyed myself a lot more at this party.
We left around 8pm, so I could make it to a crop. I've been less than successful in scrapbooking during the week; I can do it, but there are so many other things I am juggling, it often is pushed to the side. But one of the LSS has a free crop Fridays that starts when they open, and ends at 2am Saturday morning. :)I can usually find one or two of my friends there, and we usually find somebody else we enjoy chatting with as well. So my new goal is to give myself at least one Friday a month to go to a crop and scrapbook. I've decided it is like getting an exercise buddy- committing to attend that crop forces me to scrapbook [and organize LOL], just as an exercise buddy forces me to exercise. Hmmm.... maybe I need to get me an exercise buddy, too ;).
Saturday we took our GPS and some fishing poles and drove out to Heber. We stopped along the highway and found a geocache [looked for a few, but only found one]. Then we visited Myles. I took along some of the roses from the bush in front of our house. It's blooming again- I thought roses only bloomed once a season, but this one seems to bloom in the spring and the fall. Pretty cool! Anyway, we cleaned off his grave, along with my grandparents' grave and my great-grandparents' grave. The kids played, and I think if Myles were still here, he'd be running around with them. Then we ate lunch at Subway and headed up the Mirror Lake Highway to Wall Lake.
We pulled into the parking area at the trailhead, and began unloading our stuff, when a little SUV pulled in, and the woman driving it called out to us, "Where's the lake?" Well, this trailhead serves 4 or 5 lakes, but you have to hike to get to all of them. So Jared told her we were at a trailhead, and described which lakes were on which trails. She said, in disbelief, "You mean, WALK?!?" [we are in a national forest, remember] And he said, "Yes, you'd need to hike to all these lakes." Again she repeated, "You mean, WALK?!?!?!" Well, since you last asked that question, all the lakes felt bad about being so far away, so they moved and you can see them from the parking lot now. Honestly!!! To be fair, there are some lakes in the area that are close to the road, so you can see them from the parking areas. But, if you have a map [which the nice forest service lady will give you when you pay the entry fee], you can see where the lakes are, and whether you need to hike to reach them. Each trail is marked as a trail, not as a road. I promise. *sigh* Well, the [very nice, I'm sure] lady backed up and pulled out of the parking lot, off to find a more easily accessible lake.
We headed up the mountain for a nice, easy 1 mile hike to Wall Lake. I took some magazines, and my knitting, since I don't fish. Okay, I know how, and I will do it if I think it is necessary, but as a general rule, I would rather read or knit than fish; so I read. Everybody else had a lot of fun casting, and Morgen had a strike or two [that is where the fish hits the lure, but doesn't get caught]. After an hour or so of unsuccessful fishing, they decided to explore, and ended up climbing almost half-way up the wall of rock at one end of the lake. Yep, that's why it is called Wall Lake ;). It was getting cold, and rain was beginning to fall, and some stormclouds were moving in, so we headed back to the car. Part-way down the trail it began to rain, then hail, then rain/hail mixed together. :)Morgen and I booked it back to the car. Jared hung back a little and got out Hyrum and Walker's slickers [see, we're prepared LOL]. We drove up to Trial lake and the kids fished for another hour or so, then we geocached all the way back down to Heber. It was about 9:15 pm when we got home, and we got the kids fed and tucked into bed. This morning, they all slept in 'till about 8am!
Jared left this morning for Chicago- he's taking another microscopy class. Morgen, upon hearing about his course of study, informed her father that SHE knew how to use a microscope. His response was, "I thought I did, too!" I guess he's learning a lot about including the microscope as a tool in studying chemical reactions, among other things.
Oh, in other news, our chicken mummy has burst its bag. It seems this is a direct result of me buying too big a bird, then trying to stuff it into the too-small bag. So, we're off to the store tomorrow to buy another bird [I'm thinking a cornish game hen would work much better], and more salt. This time I'll take pictures :)
We left around 8pm, so I could make it to a crop. I've been less than successful in scrapbooking during the week; I can do it, but there are so many other things I am juggling, it often is pushed to the side. But one of the LSS has a free crop Fridays that starts when they open, and ends at 2am Saturday morning. :)I can usually find one or two of my friends there, and we usually find somebody else we enjoy chatting with as well. So my new goal is to give myself at least one Friday a month to go to a crop and scrapbook. I've decided it is like getting an exercise buddy- committing to attend that crop forces me to scrapbook [and organize LOL], just as an exercise buddy forces me to exercise. Hmmm.... maybe I need to get me an exercise buddy, too ;).
Saturday we took our GPS and some fishing poles and drove out to Heber. We stopped along the highway and found a geocache [looked for a few, but only found one]. Then we visited Myles. I took along some of the roses from the bush in front of our house. It's blooming again- I thought roses only bloomed once a season, but this one seems to bloom in the spring and the fall. Pretty cool! Anyway, we cleaned off his grave, along with my grandparents' grave and my great-grandparents' grave. The kids played, and I think if Myles were still here, he'd be running around with them. Then we ate lunch at Subway and headed up the Mirror Lake Highway to Wall Lake.
We pulled into the parking area at the trailhead, and began unloading our stuff, when a little SUV pulled in, and the woman driving it called out to us, "Where's the lake?" Well, this trailhead serves 4 or 5 lakes, but you have to hike to get to all of them. So Jared told her we were at a trailhead, and described which lakes were on which trails. She said, in disbelief, "You mean, WALK?!?" [we are in a national forest, remember] And he said, "Yes, you'd need to hike to all these lakes." Again she repeated, "You mean, WALK?!?!?!" Well, since you last asked that question, all the lakes felt bad about being so far away, so they moved and you can see them from the parking lot now. Honestly!!! To be fair, there are some lakes in the area that are close to the road, so you can see them from the parking areas. But, if you have a map [which the nice forest service lady will give you when you pay the entry fee], you can see where the lakes are, and whether you need to hike to reach them. Each trail is marked as a trail, not as a road. I promise. *sigh* Well, the [very nice, I'm sure] lady backed up and pulled out of the parking lot, off to find a more easily accessible lake.
We headed up the mountain for a nice, easy 1 mile hike to Wall Lake. I took some magazines, and my knitting, since I don't fish. Okay, I know how, and I will do it if I think it is necessary, but as a general rule, I would rather read or knit than fish; so I read. Everybody else had a lot of fun casting, and Morgen had a strike or two [that is where the fish hits the lure, but doesn't get caught]. After an hour or so of unsuccessful fishing, they decided to explore, and ended up climbing almost half-way up the wall of rock at one end of the lake. Yep, that's why it is called Wall Lake ;). It was getting cold, and rain was beginning to fall, and some stormclouds were moving in, so we headed back to the car. Part-way down the trail it began to rain, then hail, then rain/hail mixed together. :)Morgen and I booked it back to the car. Jared hung back a little and got out Hyrum and Walker's slickers [see, we're prepared LOL]. We drove up to Trial lake and the kids fished for another hour or so, then we geocached all the way back down to Heber. It was about 9:15 pm when we got home, and we got the kids fed and tucked into bed. This morning, they all slept in 'till about 8am!
Jared left this morning for Chicago- he's taking another microscopy class. Morgen, upon hearing about his course of study, informed her father that SHE knew how to use a microscope. His response was, "I thought I did, too!" I guess he's learning a lot about including the microscope as a tool in studying chemical reactions, among other things.
Oh, in other news, our chicken mummy has burst its bag. It seems this is a direct result of me buying too big a bird, then trying to stuff it into the too-small bag. So, we're off to the store tomorrow to buy another bird [I'm thinking a cornish game hen would work much better], and more salt. This time I'll take pictures :)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Chicken Mummy
Or, how to totally gross your kids out in one easy history lesson!
Supplies:
1 dead chicken carcass [ours was skinned, gutted, and beheaded already]
3 cans salt
1 can baking powder
1 box baking soda
rubbing alcohol [since I don't buy wine]
freezer bags
spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves
paper towels
water
bowl
So this month we're studying the ancient Egyptians. And anytime you study them, you study pyramids, and treasures, and mummies :) Which is why we're making a mummy out of a chicken. I didn't get pictures- I was too busy juggling dead chickens and kids to even try.
We did this outside, so I didn't have to worry as much about the mess. First, we rinsed off the outside AND the inside of the dearly departed [chicken] with the hose. Then we patted it dry. That was popular- Morgen and Hyrum were dabbing at the chicken, almost afraid to touch it LOL. I had to dry the inside :). After it was pretty dry, we stuck it in a big bowl and poured alcohol over it. We could have used wine, but since I don't drink, I don't have any of that in my house. I know if I'd purchased some at the state liquor store, I would have run into somebody from my church. And the more you explain why you're doing something you wouldn't normally do, the more lame you sound, LOL. So, we stuck with rubbing alcohol.
We rinsed the carcass in the alcohol, then set it aside to dry a little. We mixed the salt with 1/2 a can of the baking powder and 1/2 a box of the baking soda, then sprinkled in the cinnamon and nutmeg. I added a handful of whole cloves and whole allspice, which I conveniently had on hand for my wassail recipe :). Then we patted the chicken dry again, and again I got the inside. For some reason, reaching into the chicken really grossed out my kids LOL. We poured some of the salt mixture into a bag, then stuffed the chicken inside, then poured more salt into its cavity. We packed the rest of the salt between the bag and the chicken's skin, then tried to seal it shut. I need bigger bags :). Anyway, we double-bagged the chicken, and set it back into the bowl, which I rinsed out first. The general consensus from the kids is that it smelled pretty good.
Currently, it is sitting on my counter, where we will be checking it daily to brush off the clumps of salt that have soaked up water, and adding more salty mixture to the chicken. If all goes well, we'll have a mummy in about 6 weeks. :)Just in time for Halloween!
We also did math, english, and spelling. I wouldn't want you to think this whole homeschooling thing is all fun and games ;).
Supplies:
1 dead chicken carcass [ours was skinned, gutted, and beheaded already]
3 cans salt
1 can baking powder
1 box baking soda
rubbing alcohol [since I don't buy wine]
freezer bags
spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves
paper towels
water
bowl
So this month we're studying the ancient Egyptians. And anytime you study them, you study pyramids, and treasures, and mummies :) Which is why we're making a mummy out of a chicken. I didn't get pictures- I was too busy juggling dead chickens and kids to even try.
We did this outside, so I didn't have to worry as much about the mess. First, we rinsed off the outside AND the inside of the dearly departed [chicken] with the hose. Then we patted it dry. That was popular- Morgen and Hyrum were dabbing at the chicken, almost afraid to touch it LOL. I had to dry the inside :). After it was pretty dry, we stuck it in a big bowl and poured alcohol over it. We could have used wine, but since I don't drink, I don't have any of that in my house. I know if I'd purchased some at the state liquor store, I would have run into somebody from my church. And the more you explain why you're doing something you wouldn't normally do, the more lame you sound, LOL. So, we stuck with rubbing alcohol.
We rinsed the carcass in the alcohol, then set it aside to dry a little. We mixed the salt with 1/2 a can of the baking powder and 1/2 a box of the baking soda, then sprinkled in the cinnamon and nutmeg. I added a handful of whole cloves and whole allspice, which I conveniently had on hand for my wassail recipe :). Then we patted the chicken dry again, and again I got the inside. For some reason, reaching into the chicken really grossed out my kids LOL. We poured some of the salt mixture into a bag, then stuffed the chicken inside, then poured more salt into its cavity. We packed the rest of the salt between the bag and the chicken's skin, then tried to seal it shut. I need bigger bags :). Anyway, we double-bagged the chicken, and set it back into the bowl, which I rinsed out first. The general consensus from the kids is that it smelled pretty good.
Currently, it is sitting on my counter, where we will be checking it daily to brush off the clumps of salt that have soaked up water, and adding more salty mixture to the chicken. If all goes well, we'll have a mummy in about 6 weeks. :)Just in time for Halloween!
We also did math, english, and spelling. I wouldn't want you to think this whole homeschooling thing is all fun and games ;).
Monday, September 15, 2008
Great news!
My SIL Angela had her baby on Friday: he was a whopping 8 pounds and 20.5 inches long! That's exactly 1.5 pounds lighter than her first boy, which she said made for a much easier labor :) His name is Callin, and he is adorable. I can't wait to meet him!
In other news, Walker got up this morning and started his English after breakfast WITHOUT me saying anything about it. Wahoo!! Morgen was a complete pill, though, just to make up for her brother's angelic behavior LOL.
Tomorrow we're starting a chicken mummy- wish me luck!
In other news, Walker got up this morning and started his English after breakfast WITHOUT me saying anything about it. Wahoo!! Morgen was a complete pill, though, just to make up for her brother's angelic behavior LOL.
Tomorrow we're starting a chicken mummy- wish me luck!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Treasure hunts
Monday we went up to Red Butte Gardens. I was looking for something that the kids could do besides walk ;). We found a little treasure hunt paper- it had pictures of some plants and animals to look for while we were wandering the gardens. We didn't see any bobcats, but we did find the Bristlecone Pine, the Russian Hawthorne, and the Hummingbird Mint. We also saw quail around the Hawthornes, eating the red berries, and hummingbirds feeding at the Hummingbird Mint. I'd pull out my camera to capture the birds, and they'd fly [well, the quail ran] away. Finally, as we were leaving the garden, some people behind us scared these quail into our sight. My kids held so still, and I got pics of the quail!
There were 5 or 6 of these half-grown quail that came through the trees, then Walker spotted the adult lurking back behind this pine tree.
We also spent some time looking at the weird colors on the fish in the pond: the most exciting fish they found had black & blue spots on a gold background :)
I love being out in the mountains this time of year, with the nip in the air, and the colors of the leaves changing.
There were 5 or 6 of these half-grown quail that came through the trees, then Walker spotted the adult lurking back behind this pine tree.
We also spent some time looking at the weird colors on the fish in the pond: the most exciting fish they found had black & blue spots on a gold background :)
I love being out in the mountains this time of year, with the nip in the air, and the colors of the leaves changing.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Afraid?
Two things: September 11 and Fear.
They're sort of related; I remember the shock most of all- that day, in 2001, I drove the WRONG WAY down a one-way street in front of the town post office, because I was still so shocked and upset about the airplanes which had hit the twin towers. Luckily, I didn't hit anybody. I didn't even realize I'd driven the wrong way 'til I passed the drop-off mailboxes and they were on the wrong side of my car. :)
So, what are you doing today to remember? Is it something you do privately, or is this more public [flying a flag on your front porch, attending a memorial service] for you? We're visiting my mom- she had surgery yesterday, and is fine, but bored :). And we're going to go visit Myles again.
Along with the terrorist attacks on September 11 comes a question- how do you quiet your child's fears? I have found that sitting quietly with my kids and holding them works better for fears that are abstract, like when they questioned if a plane was going to hit our house. For more concrete fears like getting wet or going down a slide, I do it with them, or hold their hand. And I remembered a scripture in the New Testament: 1 John 4:18 [King James Version] "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
I thought about how many times I have prayed because I'm afraid of something, and how often I am tormented by what I think will happen. And how, when I stop talking and *listen* to God, that the fear and torment I am feeling disappears. God replaces it with His love, and His peace. Knowing this has added another step to how I quiet my children's fears: we pray. And you know, it works every time!
They're sort of related; I remember the shock most of all- that day, in 2001, I drove the WRONG WAY down a one-way street in front of the town post office, because I was still so shocked and upset about the airplanes which had hit the twin towers. Luckily, I didn't hit anybody. I didn't even realize I'd driven the wrong way 'til I passed the drop-off mailboxes and they were on the wrong side of my car. :)
So, what are you doing today to remember? Is it something you do privately, or is this more public [flying a flag on your front porch, attending a memorial service] for you? We're visiting my mom- she had surgery yesterday, and is fine, but bored :). And we're going to go visit Myles again.
Along with the terrorist attacks on September 11 comes a question- how do you quiet your child's fears? I have found that sitting quietly with my kids and holding them works better for fears that are abstract, like when they questioned if a plane was going to hit our house. For more concrete fears like getting wet or going down a slide, I do it with them, or hold their hand. And I remembered a scripture in the New Testament: 1 John 4:18 [King James Version] "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
I thought about how many times I have prayed because I'm afraid of something, and how often I am tormented by what I think will happen. And how, when I stop talking and *listen* to God, that the fear and torment I am feeling disappears. God replaces it with His love, and His peace. Knowing this has added another step to how I quiet my children's fears: we pray. And you know, it works every time!
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