SPEND A PENNY

I generally encourage people in stretching a dollar, not spending extra money. Today is different though.

Here's the deal. There are kids in our church (and other churches too, so keep reading even if you go to another church) who aren't able to attend events simply due to lack of money. Some are the kids of single parents. Others have a dad who has been laid off of his job. Some have multiple kids who are the right age for attending events and the cost adds up quickly. I know some of these kids. You may know some. Maybe your kid is one of the ones who can't afford to attend stuff.

Our church is awesome and does what they can to help out, but they can't give free rides to every kid living in a home with tight finances and not all parents would ask for the help in the first place. It's pretty humbling to say you can't afford to send your kid to an event!

My challenge to you is to sponsor a kid or two (or more) - grade school, junior high, or high school. Events range from $5.00 to over $100.00, so most people could afford to help a kid out in some way. Here are some ways you could do it, depending on your budget.

- Give a one time gift to the church to anonymously send a certain kid to a specific event that you can afford to pay for.
- Pool money among your friends and anonymously sponsor someone through a whole year (or however long you can) of events.
- Cut some money out of your own entertainment fund and use the cash to sponsor a kid.
- Encourage your kids, if you have them, to sponsor someone.
- Talk to the person in charge of whatever age group you want to help and ask if they know of a kid who could use a sponsor, then give the money without knowing who it goes to.
- Pay for one kid to go to an expensive event (like camp) or several kids to attend an inexpensive one (like water wars or game nights)
- Have your home group or weekly Bible study group pool money to sponsor a kid.

You may already know about events because your own kids go or you help out. If you aren't in the loop, then talk the person in charge at your church. If you go to Athey, then check the calendar every week or two.

Last year we had an event that we couldn't afford to send Silas to and someone paid his way. Total blessing! This year we pulled a year's supply of event money out of our tax refund, then had it all stolen right before camp. Someone then paid for Silas' trip to camp, but we got some of the stolen money back soon after his camp was financed. Silas chose to pay the blessing forward and sponsored another kid at church.

As a sidenote, let me encourage any of you who are parents to teach your kids how to bless others, to be generous. It's so important!! We live in a culture that is incredibly materialistic and selfish, so it's pretty cool to see your kids be cheerful givers.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Though we're set for events this year, we've been on both ends of the sponsoring. It's a huge blessing to receive the sponsorship when you're broke, to know that someone wanted your kid to have some fun and was willing to pay for it. It's also a total blessing to bless another family by giving their kid an opportunity to do something they wouldn't otherwise be able to do.

Before I wrap this up, let me also say that it's awesome to sponsor adults too - whether someone in the college group or an older adult. My focus is on kids, simply because it's usually harder to accept that your broke when you're a kid than when you're an adult.

Just pray about it and see who the Lord puts on your heart to help out. I guaranteed that it will be a blessing to you and the person, regardless of who it is and how much you are able to give.

PINCH A PENNY

Clothes - There are a couple clothing swaps coming up in September and October, both hosted by girls from church. It's a great way to bless others with stuff you don't wear anymore, while getting some new duds for yourself without spending any money. Whether you go to one that's already planned or decide to host one yourself, I'd recommend being involved in one.

Ocean Campout - Last year our family hit the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport when we were at the church's ocean campout. In fact, several other people ended up tagging along with us. Good times! If you're going on the camping trip this year and are interested in going to the aquarium, then scroll to the bottom of this page for a "buy one adult admission, get a kid admission for free" coupon. I'm going to confess that someone gave us a couple of these last year and we sent one of our boys in with another family, as the coupon is limited to one per party. Not so proud of that deceitful little maneuver. So, if you print this one out, then have more integrity than we did last year.

Portland Area Bargains - I stumbled on a really cool site several months ago called Half Price Thursday. They sell gift cards to various places (services, restaurants, entertainment, etc) in the Portland area for less than the value of the gift card. Half the price, actually. Hence the name. Cool, huh? Anyway, you can check out the site for info on all the locations they have cards for and any limitations the cards have.

Random - Ok, I just have to tell you about the two random penny pinching experiences I had this week. The first was on Friday. We had a family trip to the zoo and discovered it was Tillamook day. Well, I was off looking at a goat or something while the male Ws all spun the prize wheel. Tim returned to me with a paper in his hand. It was a coupon good for a free 1 lb. block of Tillamook cheese! Cheese coupons at the zoo? Who'd have thunk it?! Then I stopped by Coldstone on Saturday to pick up a birthday gift card for someone. As I walked up to the counter I saw a stack of Huggies coupons and sample size packages of wipes. The sign said to take one of each, so I did. How weird is it to get Huggies stuff at Coldstone?!

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

Here's a big blogging burp, a post where touches of stuff from the last week comes up all at once. Ready?

Marshmallow Gun War Quotes - Here are some things seen on my screen concerning last weekend's Second Edition of the MGW.

Tiffany (the night before) - At this very moment, right here on our family room floor, with great precision and determination, using muscle and grit, sweat drops accumulating on the brow, weapons of marshmallow destruction are being assembled, cleaned, polished, and made ready for action. Our cold, steel beauties ( ok~our white, pvc cuties) are deadly in the hands of our 'marsh'mans. We will bring ammo and lots of hot air.

Tiffany (the morning of) - We have succeeded! After much target practice last night; yes, in the house, after dark,I am still finding LEAD in the dark corners; we feel prepared. There will be hot L.E.A.D (little, eatable, ammo devices) flying all over your yard today!!!!

Adam (after returning home) - BBQ and marshmallow gun war. yeah, its as awesome as it sounds....

Rachel (after returning home) - Haha, there is something about the sound a marshmallow makes when it comes in contact with someone’s head, that is so satisfying!

Decorating - We're not in a season of life that allows us to decorate our house however we want, which is fine. The benefit to that is that I get pretty excited when one little decorating issue gets improved upon. Simple pleasures. In this particular case it was Naomi's bed. She moved into this bed almost four months ago, but the top bunk had no bedding and she was sleeping on the boys' old, ratty sheets. It worked, as her needs were met. However, we used some birthday money she got and some summer school income to get her new bedding. She actually snuggled one of the packages of sheets all through the store and was so excited to show them off to the guys when we got home. That's as close to being "decorated" as her room is going to get, but at least it's clearly a girl's room now!

Before - ratty sheets and her favorite bear blanket on the bottom and storage on the top.

After - pink comforters, pillows, and sheets covered with flowers and butterflies.

Gnat Trap - My friend Kristal recently posted directions on her blog for trapping gnats or fruit flies. We tried it this week and it's amazingly simple and effective! Here is the link to her post.

Happy Fam - We've had a really great few days here. Some productive and relaxing time at home, a morning at the park with the Everhart's, a family trip to the zoo (we hate going in the summer because it's so crowded, but that's when Tim gets to come ... and it was worth the crowds to go as a whole family), and lots of goofing off.

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Vision - I had my first eye exam. Can I just tell you how bizarre it is to have your eyes dilated? I had walked to the appointment and had to wear these stunning, disposable sunglasses on the walk home because I was so sensitive to light. It was even an overcast day, but my eyes just couldn't take it. I guess I needed a good dose of humility, which I got as I traipsed down Cedar Hills Blvd's four lanes of traffic, past two high school boys who laughed as they past, and past a landscaping crew who tried to discreetly gawk. It was actually pretty comical. Can't blame them for laughing or staring. I mean, look. Aren't the glasses pretty flattering? I pulled my hair back so you could see how they stay up without anything attached to the ear. So pretty.

Once our boys got done chuckling at my new shades, they got a kick out of the fact that I couldn't read anything. My vision was so blurry!! Silas read my mail and checked my e-mail for me, then I sprawled on my bed in a dark room until things started to come into focus. What a trippy experience!!

Leaves - I've spied several trees with leaves that are turning red. I love fall and it's right around the corner!!!

Homeschooling - I got notice that our intent to homeschool was received by the school district. Of course, we've been homeschooling for a while now, but we've never had to report because Oregon's age for compulsory attendance is seven. Silas turned seven this summer, so we turned in our paperwork. I guess that makes us official homeschoolers.

MOHAWK ... OR IS IT A FROHAWK?

Silas approached me last night with a request for a mohawk. I couldn't believe it! I've mentioned to him in the past that it may be fun, but he vetoed the idea. Our kids choose their hair styles and he's the kid least likely to go for that particular style, so I didn't push it.

I don't know if he was feeling an unusual amount of spontaneity last night or what, but he took the plunge. Before you look at the pics, let me tell you that this was my first mohawk ... so it's a little crooked. And I took too much off the front. Just don't hold it against Silas, all right? He likes how it looks, so I'm off the hook, but I definitely know what I'll do differently next time.

One more thing. Some of you have already told me that your sons want mohawks, but you won't do it. Here's my thought, for whatever it's worth - let them do it! It's just hair, for cryin' out loud. If it's being done with a rebellious attitude, then you obviously need to deal with the rebellion. Otherwise, let your kids have some freedom to choose their own hairstyle. It's temporary, they'll have fun, you'll laugh at the pictures twenty years from now, and you'll score some major "cool mom" points. Or don't. We'll like you anyway.

Now, here are the pics.

Thursday night - before the clippers hit the head.

Thursday night - After the clippers hit the head and with the hair picked out to a frohawk.

Friday morning - Using some product to keep the curls intact.

LIFE IS GOOD

Yesterday was a jammy day that was spent puttering around the house, doing school with the boys, having all three kids mess around with playdough, Tim and Devon baking zucchini bread from garden zukes, me getting a hall closet cleaned out, having ice cream for dessert ... just a mellow, productive, fun day where everyone was in a good mood.

Today included a leisurely morning, Devon and I running a couple errands, then going on a date to DQ (he had a free cone certificate from swimming lessons) and Christian Supply (he had a gift card he won at Baskin Robbins and a bunch of spending money). The weather is perfect, Tim's playing outside with the kids, we'll eat some lunch, take some naps, pull some weeds and enjoy Bible study at the church property tonight.

And remember how overwhelmed I was feeling a few weeks ago? Well, I came up with a schedule for our day that I think is going to help immensely. We did a test run for a couple days and it went well, but as long as Tim is home for the summer we'll tweak the schedule to include him in the teaching and parenting as much as possible. We're about to take a break until after Labor Day, then Tim will head back to work and we'll stick with the new schedule. I'm hoping that by the end of September we'll be comfortable in our new groove.

Life is good.

GENERATIONS

My great-grandmother was born in 1896. Sometime between 16 and 21years old, or between the years of 1912 and 1917, she was given a gold bracelet. Her name was engraved inside it.

My grandmother was born in 1923. Her mom died when she was three years old and the gold bracelet was passed to her. Her name was engraved inside it.

My mom was born in 1953. She was given the bracelet on her eighteenth birthday. Her name was engraved inside it.

I was born in 1976. My mom died when I was fifteen years old and the bracelet was passed to me. I will engrave my name in it.

My daughter was born in 2007. She'll receive the bracelet when she turns eighteen. At that point there probably won't be room for any new names to be engraved.

The bracelet is nearly 100 years old.

The picture above spans four generations - my grandma, my mom (not pictured, as she died many years ago) me, and my daughter - and includes the bracelet that has been worn by four generations, with the fifth generation just sixteen years away from wearing it.

I love this picture!

2009 - ANNUAL KIDDO PICS

We take each kid in to get their pictures taken during their birthday month, which means we just ended picture season. Some of you have gotten or will get a copy of the pics, but I don't have enough for everyone on the planet. So, I scanned them into the computer today in order to give you all an opportunity to say how cute the little Ws are. You can click on each pic for a bigger view. Ready? Here goes.

The 8x10 - Silas looking quite grown up.

The wallets - While I love his serious pose, I'm super glad he got a real smile in the rest of them. He's at the age of the fakey smile, so these were great.

The 8x10 - Devon looking a little mischievous.

The wallets - The one on the top right is my absolute favorite! I love that disheveled little boy look.

The 8x10 - Naomi looking quite girly.

The wallets - Check out her lip sticking out in a couple of these. That's a new quirk. I'm not sure why they took so many of her looking away from the camera, but she loves that hat ... so we bought some of those shots. Plus I always end up with one pic of each kid with their bare feet. The dress in the other pics was made for her by our friend Marie, a total whiz with the sewing machine. Cute, huh?

MARSHMALLOW GUN WAR - SECOND EDITION

We hosted another marshmallow gun war on Saturday night and it was a blast! Tons of food, lots of chatting, and some serious battling.

The first war, which was really fun, had 24 people and we went through four bags of marshmallows. This one had 49 people and we went had to stop battling when we used up our fifteenth bag of marshmallows!! It was amazing! I think some of the warriors would have gone all night if we could have kept the marshmallows comin'.

The award for "best dressed" would go to the Wagner family, who showed up with black and silver guns and wearing black shirts with camo pants. I wonder what the neighbors thought when they saw eight people dressed for battle and toting weapons come piling out of their van?

The award for "most violent" would be a tie between most of the twenty-something males, though I was personally assaulted by Chris, who shot me in the mouth. I'm not bitter about it though. Seriously. It was actually pretty funny, though my lip stung all night.

The award for "most enthusiastic little child" would go to Kiana (Did I spell that right?) or Kindra, I keep switching their names in my head, who spent most of the evening warning Nick that she was going to shoot him, then laughing after she fired her gun at him.

The award for "we're not threatened by the younger generations" goes to the Jack and Orma. I'm so glad you guys showed up!!

The award for "we don't really know anyone, but we're coming anyway" goes to several people who just jumped in, chatting over dinner and shooting at strangers, making some new friends in the process

I've dedicated a whole album on our Picasa site to pictures of the war zone, so click here to see them. It's a little tricky to get great pics of people who are moving and shooting at you, but the not-so-great shots will still give you a feel for how chaotic and fun the whole thing was and the good pics will just be good pics. I also took a couple movies, which are posted below. They're short and a little random, but you'll hear lots of laughter!!

Thanks to everyone who came (and you can click the group shot to get a better view of who those people are). We look forward to hosting "Marshmallow Gun War - Third Edition" sometime in the future!!

COLDSTONE - AUGUST GANG

Tim and Naomi cashed in their free birthday ice cream coupon earlier in the week. Few things in life are as great as free ice cream!

Tim scarfs a strawberry blonde (which meant he had to kick in a little extra cash) and Naomi enjoyed mint ice cream with Oreo cookies.

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MORE THAN ENOUGH?

I've been feeling a little lonely, envious, and discontent in a few areas lately. Not so much that I'm plunging into the depths of depression or anything, but enough that I've had some crying spells while I'm out watering the garden in the evenings. As I've wallowed in some little pity parties for myself, prayed, cried, and mentally hashed some stuff out I keep thinking of two things. One is a quote, the other a song.

From Mother Teresa -
You'll never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.

From Chris Tomlin & Louie Giglio -
ENOUGH (just some of the lyrics)

You are my supply
My breath of life
Still more awesome than I know.
You are my reward
Worth living for
Still more awesome than I know.

And all of you
Is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with your love
And all I have in you is more than enough


Now, I'm certainly not at a point in life where Jesus is literally all I have, but I truly want him to be more than enough for me. If I never had any of my other desires fulfilled, would Jesus be enough? Do I really believe that he's all I need? Can I be satisfied with my life just knowing that he loves me?

I'd like to say the answer to all those questions is yes. My thoughts and emotions, however, are telling me I'm not quite to that point. Guess there's some room for growth, huh?

8/20/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for food in my fridge, freezers and cupboards.

What is one thing that you're thankful for?

HIS MAJES "T"

THINK PAST YOURSELF

This is a phrase I use a lot in our home. Admittedly, I use it in a snotty tone when I'm annoyed by a family member whose choices are negatively impacting me. I also use it calmly as a training tool with the little Ws and try to say it to myself when I find that I'm irritated with someone.

REACTIVE - Sometimes thinking past yourself is a reactive thing, something you do before responding to someone else's behavior. It's putting yourself in someone else's shoes and trying to understand where they are coming from. It takes a little more effort to think past yourself when it's a reactive thing, as the other person has generally done something that you feel justifies getting defensive or insisting on having things your own way.

- when I accept that the kids are just being kids and aren't doing anything wrong, so I choose not to ask them to quiet down even though their noise is getting on my very last stinkin' nerve

- when Devon realizes Naomi just wants to hang out with him and helps her find something to do near him, rather than barking at her for accidentally knocking down a lego tower he built

PROACTIVE - Other times thinking past yourself is a proactive thing, something you do intentionally before choosing to do or say something. It's taking others into consideration, rather than thinking only of your own desires. Thinking past yourself in a proactive manner is a lot easier, as you're avoiding any sort of conflict rather than trying to deal with one that already exists.

- when Tim's busy, but stays up to wash dishes after I've had an exhausting day, as he knows it stresses me out to wake up feeling behind in housekeeping

- when Silas uses his free time to offer to help Tim or I with vacuuming, dishes or laundry

THE DISCLAIMERS - First, let me say that you'll never please everyone, no matter how much you think past yourself. Don't let that discourage you!!

- I have a group of friends who are bothered by the fact I use capital letters when typing titles to stuff. I blew it off for a long time, as I think it's a silly thing to complain about. Then I tried thinking past myself and decided to accommodate them. It was a hassle and they never noticed the change. So, I went back to my caps and they went back to complaining.

- We live on a corner and people use our yard as a public park - most often walking in it, but also riding bikes through it and playing on our tree swing. It bothers me, but I didn't say anything for a long time. In this case thinking past myself required thinking of two groups of people. First was the neighborhood people -they shave 30 seconds off their travel time by cutting through our yard and feel safer by staying off the street (we have no sidewalks) as they go around our corner. Second was our kids - we teach them to respect other people's property and they were beginning to complain about there being people (strangers and people we know) in our yard at various and unexpected times. Our family's privacy (you never know who's going to be out your window) and safety (we have strangers in our yard), plus the character traits (respect for others) we're working to instill in our kids trumped the neighborhood's convenience factor. That blew up in my face when the first person I asked to not walk through our yard was offended by the request and got pretty angry about it. My alternative would have been to not say anything, which would send mixed messages to my kids (here's the behavior we expect of you, but you don't deserve the same respect from others), producing a happy neighborhood and frustrated kids. I lose either way.

Second, thinking past yourself doesn't mean never thinking of yourself. Using an earlier example, there are times when kid noise is about to drive me off the deep end, so I explain to my kids that I need twenty minutes of quiet. My desire for a little calmness gets fulfilled and the little Ws get an opportunity to practice thinking past themselves.

THE CHALLENGE - So, here's what I want you to do. Think past yourself. Try it for an hour. Then a day. Then another day. Then the next.

When someone is bugging you, try to view the situation from the other person's standpoint. When you're about to ask a question about someone's personal life, think of whether it's hurtful or nosey. When a something isn't going your way, try putting it into perspective by looking at it in the scheme of life. When you're making decisions, think of how it will affect others. When you're getting all caught up in a pity party, think about what you can do to make life a little easier for someone else. When you're about to bite someone's head off, think about whether they're truly doing something wrong or if you're just feeling irritable. When you feel grumpy, frustrated, or inconvenienced, think of how you can be a blessing to someone else.

Sometimes you'll blow it (as I frequently do), as you're naturally self-centered. Sometimes you'll make the effort, but won't see a positive result because others are naturally self-centered. Sometimes it will seem to make things more complicated (like our yard situation). More often than not, however, you'll be glad you thought past yourself because you'll know that your heart was in the right place.

Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

MENU - SECOND HALF OF AUGUST 2009

Here's what I have on the menu for the rest of this month.

DINNERS
leftovers x3
tacos x2
rice cooker mac & cheese/green beans
teriyaki chicken (crockpot)/rice
noodles with pesto/salad
egg salad pitas/raw veggie sticks
potato enchiladas/beans
spicy pesto chicken/garlic bread
Italian sausage with bowties/salad
chicken broccoli quiche (potluck)
pigs in a blanket/watermelon
baked oatmeal/fruit

DESSERTS
zucchini cake (potluck)
kettle corn (potluck)
ice cream (new recipe) - it was a flop

DOUGHNUT DATE WITH DADDY

"Doughnut Date With Daddy" is a birthday breakfast tradition we have in our family. Last week Naomi got to go on her first one, as we skip the first year because they're too young to appreciate the outing. Of course, her birthday is the same day as Tim's, so it's extra special. Tim took the camera along for this milestone and here's the evidence of their good time.

Frosting and sprinkles, an excellent choice for a two year old.

A doughnut as big as your face is an excellent second course.

One cute little birthday girl who thoroughly enjoyed her birthday outing.

WHICH DAY WAS BETTER?

Yesterday marked one year since Silas died and came back to life. What a miracle his life is!! Thankfully, we had a really great day. Though my mind did a little wandering back to the evening that Silas drowned, I was emotionally stable all day. I'm glad. I really didn't want to spend the day in tears or being nauseated, which is what often happens when I have flashbacks to that night.

8/15/09 - MORNING - We goofed off at my dad's house all day, playing in the pool and just enjoying some vacation time.

8/15/09 - MORNING - We picked up a cultural pass at the library to help pay for our family to spend some time at the Children's Museum. All three kids had a blast! They'd been begging to go for a long time and I'm glad it finally worked out to take them.

Naomi in the water room.

Devon, with his face painted, in the water room.

Silas said his face was painted like a viper.

8/15/08 - EVENING - At 5:30 Silas was found at the bottom of a pool without a heartbeat. He miraculously came back to life, then Tim and I were chauffeured with him to the hospital in an ambulance. Tim spent the night on Silas' bed (that was Silas' request) and I slept (and I use that term lightly) in a roll-away bed that was shaped more like a bowl. Our other kids stayed at my dad's house.

8/15/09 - EVENING - After the museum we came home to relax, then walked a few blocks to spend the evening with Brian, Anna, and their kiddos. The kids all played hard, we ate a bunch of excellent food, had fun chatting, then headed home to tuck all the offspring into their beds. We slept in our own comfy bed.

8/16/08 - MORNING - We woke up in the hospital, fed fish some crackers the nurses gave us, and waited for the doctor to make rounds in the hopes Silas would be discharged. We were back at my dad's by mid-morning.

8/17/09 - MORNING - We woke up in our home and went to church as a family.

I definitely prefer the 2009 version of 5:30 on 8/15 through 10:30 on 8/16 over the 2008 version!! Yesterday was a really fun day spent as a family!!

ALL THE ATHEY SITES

Back in December I started a blog that serves as a swap site for people at the Athey Creek Christian Fellowship, which is the church we attend. Recently more Athey sites have turned up, all run by women who attend ACCF. I want to make sure everyone knows about all of them. For the record, none of these are church sponsored sites. Here they are, in alphabetical order.

- ACCF HOMESCHOOL MOMS - Suzanne and Alicen's site for homeschoolers at Athey

- ATHEY CREEK RISE SHINE WALK - Cindy's site for women to encourage each other in exercising and eating well

- ATHEY CREEK TRADING POST - my site for swapping free items

- TITUS LIFE - Stephanie's site for tips and encouragement for women as moms, wives, and homemakers

If there are others that I've not been made aware of, then please leave a comment with a link. Be sure to share these sites with others at church who may not be aware of them!!

33,333

That's the number of visitors to my blog that I'll hit today. I like mononumeric numbers. I won't have another one until another 11, 111 people pop in to read the fascinating things I have to say here or to ooh and aah over our stinkin' cute kiddos. So, I'm acknowledging the cool visitor count while I can. Nerdy, I know.

A DAY IN THE STICKS

We were blessed with the chance to spend the day with Bob, Cheri, and three of their 3 1/2 kids (they're "preggo" with Ethiopian girl they're in the process of adopting) on Thursday. They live out in the middle of nowhere and it was nice for us to be out of suburbia for a day.

The men talked about teaching (they're both public school teachers) and played chess, Cheri and I chatted about a gazillion things, the boys jumped on the trampoline and played video games, Naomi acted cute, we ate lots of food, spent some time goofing off at a school playground, and had an all-around good time.

Of course, we were too busy chatting and forgot to take pictures. So, here's one that was taken before we headed home at the end of the day.

I'M OFFLINE ... SORTA

You may remember how our computer cord died several months ago. We had to replace it because power wasn't going through it. Well, the new cord is now giving us troubles. It's got power, but there's some glitch at the jack and power won't go into the computer. A new cord has been ordered, but it could take up to 6 business days to arrive. So, I just wanted people to know that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I'm simply unable to get online from home, which is why I'm typing this from the library. I'll be back soon!

8/13/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for sons who are cheerful givers.

What is one thing you are thankful for?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM - 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAOMI - 2009

SONLIGHT'S REFERRAL PROGRAM

I just found out that Sonlight has started a referral program and I'm super excited about it!! Here's how it works. If you are a first time customer making a purchase of $50.00 or more and you use my referral code, then you'll get a $5.00 discount off your total purchase and I'll earn points (which I can then use to qualify for discounts of my own) equal to 5% of your first purchase. Each dollar you spend on your first purchase gives me $.05 toward my next purchase. Everyone wins!

Before I give you my link, which I'll also leave up in my sidebar, let me tell you a few reasons I love Sonlight.

- literature based, not textbook based
- world focused, not USA focused
- 180 day "love to learn" guarantee
- awesome forums for everything from academics to relationships to cooking to chit chat
- a president that is known for sending personal cards to families/kids going through a hard time (Devon got one after his hernia repair)
- curriculum that gives you a library of books, not curriculum that is useless after you've used it
- outstanding customer service

Sound like something you may be interested in? If you decide to take the plunge, then order through this link and I'll get referral credit, plus you'll get a $5.00 discount if you order at least $50.00 worth of products.

RANDOM PICS FROM LAST WEEK

Granny hanging out at Naomi's party.

Ashley and Naomi having fun together.

Some flowers Beep sent that grew this year from seeds that dropped last year.

Naomi's second birthday cake.


In college I discovered gummy grapefruit slices. They were sold at a little store in Florence that my roomie's sister worked at. A couple years later I found them in a store in Ashland. Last week I found them in the bulk section of WinCo. Oh happy day!

Tim having a lot of fun with the insect killer my dad gave him for his birthday. Few things bring such a big smile to Tim's face, but electrocuting insects certainly does the job.

Boys Camp 2009 - Tim, Braden, Silas (I have no idea why he's closing his eyes), Noah, Austin, Michael, Devon

Silas' new smile. Two teeth lost in a week - one swallowed with a meal (second time that's happened) and one lost at church (which earned him extra tickets for the prize booth).

My dad came up for Naomi's birthday party. Here he and Naomi are hanging out before the little lady hits the sack.

Devon blowing out his flaming marshmallow.

We usually eat extra green beans during the summer, but this year I blanched and froze some. We'll see how they turn out. In case you've never seen these purple beans, then try them out. They turn green when you cook them.

THE LAST FEW DAYS

All the male Ws took off on a boys camping trip from Tuesday through Friday. Can I just tell you how nice it was to just have Naomi and I here for a few days? I love every member of my family, but a serious reduction in parenting responsibilities was a nice break. Of course, I was happy to see them return this afternoon, but I didn't miss them while they were gone.

Can I also say that I think being the stay-at-home mom of a single child is the easiest job in the world? I'd forgotten what it's like to be a fantastic parent (lots of time to play with the kiddo and no distractions in training them) and a fantastic housekeeper (plenty of time to complete the "to do" list for the day) all at the same time. I realize others may disagree, especially those whose husbands aren't home much, and I understand that. But for me, it's a breeze. Of course, having only one kid in the house also meant that I didn't see anyone doing the robot to every song they hear, someone climbing every pole or door frame in sight, hear three kids laughing as they play together, hear childish jokes told with enthusiasm, or a number of other things that are perks to having all three of my kids at home. But it was still a nice little vacation of sorts. And the boys didn't miss me either. So, we're even. Everyone had a great time apart and was happy to reunite.

But that's not the point of this post. The point is how my time was spent while the guys were gone.

Tuesday night and Wednesday morning involved girl time with friends and Granny. Wednesday afternoon I took a 2 1/2 hour nap, then spent the evening watering the garden, going for a long walk with Naomi, and doing the prep work for a Christmas project. By the way, if you've seen or heard me mention that project elsewhere, please don't comment about it here because the recipients sometimes read my blog. Other than some drama with a car that wouldn't start or would die at stoplights, Wednesday was an incredibly mellow and relaxing day. Good thing, because I'd planned on having a major work day on Thursday.

Here's what I got done on Thursday - purged some toys, gave several away in a curbside "free" pile, picked basil, made and froze pesto, made a double batch of crockpot granola, disassembled a crib, vacuumed, finished two loads of laundry, put away dishes, finished a big Christmas project (well, technically three projects), figured out a new schedule for our school days so I don't go insane, weeded and watered the garden, picked and packaged some lettuce, got some green beans picked, blanched and frozen, made dinner, gave Naomi a bath, and took a shower. Plus I spent a lot of time just playing with Naomi, something I don't get to do nearly enough.

I was so exhausted when I fell into bed at 1:00am!!

Friday morning was a little more normal. The Nomes and I spent some time playing, washed the dishes that I never got around to washing the night before, returned phone calls to the people who called while I had my ringer off for my work day, and dusted.

The pace picked up a bit in the afternoon. Brandon and Becky swung by to pick something up and Naomi got to peek at "Adduh" (or is it "Adder"?) for a minute. A couple minutes after they left Mary Lou and Dacia Grace popped in for a visit. A few minutes after they left Tim and the boys returned from their camping trip. It took a while to sort stuff out between our van and Michael's (that's the other dad who went on the trip) car, but the job finally got done. A few minutes after the other campers drove off my dad and Ashley arrived. Once all the campers got cleaned up we headed to Chuck E. Cheese, which meant we just missed the arrival of Pam, who was dropping something off at our house. Goodness! We sure had a lot of people come by in a four hour window of time!!

Friday evening was spent with the four adults in the house blogging, reading, decorating a cake, prepping stuff for tomorrow's dinner, playing with new phones, giving movie recommendations, Skyping with Beep and Josh, and enjoying each other's company.

And now Friday evening has become Saturday morning. Guess it's time to call it a night. I am, after all, hosting a party in 9 1/2 hours.

8/6/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for some time alone with Naomi.

What's one thing you're thankful for?

LOTS OF GIRL TIME

I was supposed to head out with Naomi (the male Ws all had plans) about 3:00 on Tuesday to spend the evening with some friends from the Sonlight forums, two that I've hung out with several times before and one I'd only met online. Some last minute car problems made those plans fall through.

At least I thought they fell through. I got a phone call a little before 5:00 from another forum friend who hadn't planned on going to the meetup. Turns out she made a last minute decision to come into town and offered to pick up Naomi and I. We live more than 20 miles in the opposite direction of where everyone else was, so she went out of her way to pick us up and bring us home. She not only got my "best friend for the day" award, but will probably get to keep the title for a few weeks.

Anyway, we met up at Ross, where the rest of the group was finishing up several hours of shopping. Naomi was happy walking through the store with a hanger she found on the ground. The hanger, however, was quickly ditched once she found the shoe department. We spent quite a bit of time watching her try on different pairs of boots (her word for high heels) and walk up and down the aisles. I wasn't sure whether to be scared or impressed by the fact that she could walk around in 3-inch heels. All I know is that she really liked them!

After Ross we all headed over to Stanford's for dinner and spent about 2 1/2 hours giving into gluttony (they have some honkin' onion rings that are fabulous), chatting and laughing. It was a wonderful evening!!

Cheri, Naomi, Toni, Denise, Erica and I strike a pose before heading home.

But the girl time didn't end on Tuesday night. Naomi had her annual pictures scheduled on Wednesday morning and we planned on bringing my grandma with us. Well, the car, which ran beautifully when I walked to the mechanic's to pick it up first thing in the morning, wouldn't start when it was time to head out. A quick call to Granny resulted in her driving her car over to our place and then me taking over the wheel.

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We ended up spending all morning together. First we swung by Dollar Tree for a photo prop that we needed. Then we got Naomi's pictures done, including a special bonus picture that I'll have to share with you in a couple weeks. Next we were off to WinCo to pick up some groceries for Granny, who was thoroughly enjoying being chauffeured around town in her own car. After dropping off the groceries at her place she treated Naomi and I to lunch. It was such a fun morning!

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Family or friends, all the girl time was really nice!

FINDING A BALANCE

Silas is in second grade. Devon is in kindergarten. Naomi will be two next week. Needless to say, the act of juggling parenting and homeschooling is proving to be a little bit tricky this year. I've been kinda stressed about it over the last month, but I know it will get better. Here are some of the reasons why.

First, I can see how I'm going to have to relax some of my box-checking, perfectionist, first born tendencies this year. It will be good, though not easy, for me to go with the flow a little bit more. As Becky reminded me last week, the benefit of homeschooling is that I can make it work for my family. I know that, but it was good to hear it again. My kids are doing well academically, so if we skip a reader or just skim some history chapters, then the world will not come to a screeching halt. I may even combine the boys in a core, which I never thought I'd do. For various reasons, however, it's becoming something I'm seriously considering. That's a whole other post though.

Second, I was encouraged by a post Beep (that's what I call my sister) did on her blog a week or so ago. She was struggling with being pulled in several directions all at once and not feeling like she could do all that was being required of her. Then she was reminded of some verses that helped her put things in perspective. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Pop over to the Moffit site and read what she had to say on the matter, especially if you're feeling overwhelmed by all the hats you have to wear each day.

Third, I was reading some old posts on my dad's blog and read an article he'd posted about my mom. I've read that article a gazillion times before, yet I'd never noticed this sentence about my mom's view on homeschooling us - "The only time it was tough, Barbara said, was when Ben was a toddler." What?! Really? I have no memory of that being a stressful time. My siblings and I have the same age spreads as my own kids do, plus my mom was homeschooling us at the same stage I'm homeschooling my kids right now. I know for a fact that my academic success was in no way hampered by any shortcuts taken during the time my brother was a toddler. I also know that my emotional well-being was not destroyed by a mom who was evidently a little frazzled trying to balance parenting and homeschooling. So ..... I think it's safe to say that I don't need to worry too much about getting school and parenting done perfectly this year.

Our first three weeks of school are already done, but they were chaotic. Life is slowing down and we'll be returning to our three weeks on/one week off routine next on Monday. Meanwhile, I'm going to take some time this week to come up with a schedule for our school days that is a little more structured than what we've been doing over the last month. I'm confident that will make life better.

All that said, I know I'm going to have some "this is never going to work" feelings over the next few weeks. Feel free to remind me that it's only second grade (Silas is doing excellent) and kindergarten (Devon remembers much of what he learned while listening in on Silas' kindergarten and first grade) and playing (Naomi is really good at playing), that it's all right to not get every box checked, to pray for wisdom in how I prioritize and schedule my day.

SOME FUN VISITS

Susan - On Friday we were blessed by a visit from Susan, who is the mother of Sonja. We hadn't seen her in a few years and it was great to get caught up on each other's lives. She always has some general wisdom to share about parenting or marriage and something encouraging to say to us personally. It was a treat to get to spend some time with her!

Adler - On Sunday I got to meet and snuggle Adler, Becky and Brandon's son that arrived on Friday. He's a total doll! I'm thankful they had me over for a quick visit while they sleepily transition into this new season of life.

CUTE KIDS & A HEAT WAVE

We'll start with the heat wave. It's been hot here for over a week. Stinkin' hot. Like up to 107 degrees on some days. Today only got up to the low 90s. I can't believe I'm using the word "only" to describe temps in the 90s.

We are blessed to have overhead fans in the living room and all three bedrooms. We also have window air conditioning units in the living room and the boys' bedroom. We've been able to keep that bedroom cool and the living room ... well, livable. We are also blessed to have a gazillion windows in our house. Except that blessing is more like a curse when the sun is beating into your house all day.

So, let me show you how we've gone "white trash" over the last week. And yes, you can be white trash with black people in the house. I guess you could also say we've gone "ghetto", even with white people in the house. It's all the same. It's just tacky looking. But it's temporary.

The window facing the carport, which has a greenhouse type of roof and is even hotter than the regular outside temps. Notice we left the AC unit uncovered.

The back door window, which also had a big beach towel hanging on the outside of the door.

The kitchen window, right above the pile of three days worth of dishes. It's really hard to get motivated to stick your hands in a sink full of hot water to wash dishes in the hottest room in the house.

Anyone else "decorate" their house similarly over the last week or so?

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Ok, now we'll move on to some cute kids. We'll go from youngest to oldest this time.

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Naomi - She's always dancing, making funny faces, or otherwise being cute. The picture below, however, documents a parenting first for us. See the pile of peas? Those were part of her meal. See the one that's closer to the edge of the tray? That's the one she shot out of her nose. That's right. She put it in her nose and blew it out. Oh my!! Should I be impressed or scared? Or both?

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Devon - He's a total monkey, a head stand expert, and has been proving himself to be a gentleman a lot lately. He's spent a lot of time riding his new, big bike this summer, along with starting kindergarten. Of course, we're skipping a chunk of school, as he's been reading for well over a year, and he sat in on Silas' kindergarten stuff ... so it's modified kindergarten.

Silas - He is learning to ride inline skates, remembers the lyrics to every song he hears, and is a big help in the kitchen. He recently returned from a fun-filled four days and three nights at camp. You can spot him below with the guys on his team and over on the grade school blog hanging out at the campfire (second to last pic, corner of front row), tossing water balloons (second to last pic, sixth set of hands on the right), and performing in a skit about a nasty burrito (third from the last pic, on the right)

MENU - FIRST HALF OF AUGUST 2009

Due to the little heat wave we've had over the last week, I skipped some meals in favor of leftovers or KFC or Quiznos. Yes, I actually forked out money to go out to eat. Can you believe it? Our kitchen is already the hottest room in the house, so the thought of cooking and washing dishes by hand just didn't appeal to me when it was 107 degrees outside. We had some money we were saving from Tim's summer basketball tournaments, but we opted to dip into it for the sake of sanity. Such is life. So, here's what's cooking over the next couple weeks.

DINNERS
tacos x1
leftovers x2
chicken pasta salad (new recipe) - it was a flop
Italian bowtie with sausage/green beans (garden)
turkey and black bean salad/tortilla chips
sour cream cheesy enchiladas/salad (some garden)
fruit & veggie platter (our contribution to dinner with friends)
Hawaiian chicken/tropical salad (some garden)/coconut rice
upside down pizza/broccoli
lasagna sandwiches (skipped this last round)/fruit
chicken broccoli quiche
sweet & sour meatballs/rice
tuna melts/raw veggies (garden)

DESSERTS
birthday cake (Naomi)
apple cinnamon cake (Tim's fave, potluck contribution that fell on his birthday)
lemon bars (the rest of our contribution to dinner with friends)