give my kids just about anything...

...and they will find a way to play animals

...or some form of vehicles.

they've been on a magnetix kick lately.

happy birthday, miriam

we celebrated miriam's birthday a day early with family and a few friends after her final soccer game today. tomorrow we plan to have a mostly quiet (a figure of speech) day at home. enjoy the "Best of Miriam 2007-08" slideshow. (to view it larger, click on the bottom right-hand corner, then "miriam slideshow", and then select the "slideshow" button on the page it takes you to.)

and, i just had to show off her birthday cake. :) i remembered just in time that my mom had this dog-shaped pan from when we were little. matt gets all the credit for flipping it out of the pan in one piece!

tricks of the trade

i didn't even realize this until after i had taken this first photo. see how it looks like i so perfectly captured the setting sun in the background? i thought it was pretty cool, too, until i discovered that it was not the sun at all, but a street lamp in the distance. when i changed my focal point, standing in the same spot...

i got this photo. the weeds (though i hate calling them that, because aren't they pretty?) are creating that blurry effect as i photograph the street lamp through them. i just thought that was interesting.

efficient apology

sawyer had done something to his brother that required an apology. when i asked him, "what do you say, sawyer?" he replied, "sorry levi, i forgive you, and amen."

snowy shoreline

the kids and i took a drive out to the big lake this morning. if you live locally, i would highly recommend making the trek out there soon -- the expanse of frozen waves were too amazing for me to capture in a photo... and i was too cold to try real hard. can you tell i really liked the fences?? and take note of the shadows -- we have SUNSHINE!!

enjoying february

I read a post this week on one of my favorite blogs that inspired me to do something similar. In an effort to see the positive during what can be one of the most downer months of the year, she listed her “February Ten” – ten things that were currently giving her joy. Since 11 out of the last 15 days here in West Michigan have been void of sunshine, I am feeling the need to do the same. Just thought I would list off the things that are helping to keep me going this month. Care to join me, either in the comments or on your own blog?

1 – Having a night away at a B&B with Matt last weekend in South Haven. So wonderfully relaxing.

2 – Attending a very encouraging homeschool support group meeting this past Thursday evening at my friend Joni’s house. We listened to a recorded message given by Sally Clarkson, whom I love, and had a great discussion afterwards.

3 – Playing my new favorite game, FreeCell, on the computer – except for when I lose.

4 – Watching the entire set of Jane Austen films on Sunday nights with my neighbor, Janet. PBS is currently showing all of them in a series. Last night Matt & I also watched the new release about her life called “Becoming Jane” which was also excellent.

5 – Thinking about my garden and the possibility of planting more vegetables this year… is it possible that spring is officially only little more than a month away?

6 – Looking forward to making a trip out to the Meijer Gardens in a couple of weeks to see the butterflies (and buying a year-long membership while we’re there!)

7—Miriam’s Saturday soccer games, and seeing how much she enjoys it and how much she has improved since last year.

8 – Reading Tumble Bumble with Sawyer and hearing him recite almost the whole thing from memory.

9 – Remembering that my children are only going to be these ages once (especially as I consider my oldest will be turning 7 in a week!)

10 – Getting a little handmade stuffed owl in the mail from a very kind and crafty friend.

an attempt to see the beauty in it

even though i am generally not a fan of all this snow and cold, i must admit that there are few things as beautiful and serene as a freshly snow-covered world...

sumac--a splash of color in a black & white world.

cattails in sepia tones.

doesn't this one look like a fine pencil drawing?

i love how the blue sky is trying to peek through in this one.

winter reading

Winter is certainly making herself known this year. The snow just keeps coming! It's a good thing our driveway is short. Our neighbors probably have a good chuckle watching us punch it in reverse through the snowbank at the end of it every time we go somewhere. Shovelling is overrated -- it's just going to melt eventually anyway... right??

In lieu of shovelling, we prefer to cuddle up on the couch with a pile of cozy winter reads. I have been on a winter book quest at the library lately, and here are some of the best (in my opinion) we have come across. I am currently mourning the loss of my misplaced Honey for a Child's Heart book which I am constantly using the booklist from, so I may have missed some good ones. Let me know if you have any to add to the list!

The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader -- I found this book by accident when I was searching the library database for the next book on this list. Even if it wasn’t a Caldecott winner (which it is), I would rave about its beautifully realistic animal illustrations. (Good illustrating can make or break a book for me!) It is a simple story of how various forest animals prepare for winter.

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton -- I probably don't have to tell you that this is Levi's favorite, since it's about a snowplow. :) And not just any snowplow -- a super duper strong one that only gets to come out when it REALLY snows!

The Mitten by Jan Brett -- Again, beautifully illustrated. This story is an adaptation of a Ukrainian folktale in which a group of forest animals, one by one, find and cozy up inside a lost mitten, until the bear sneezes. I noticed that this author also has a similar-looking book called “The Hat” which I will also have to get, as well as another with the cold weather theme entitled “The Three Snow Bears”.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen -- Remember I mentioned in a recent post how much I love owls? Well, God has given me a special gift this winter of having our very own “pet” owl in the backyard! We’ve never actually seen him, but we hear him now and then, usually very early in the morning. We think it sounds like a barred owl. I have been so tempted to run out there in my boots and pajamas when I hear him and have my own owling adventure!

White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt -- An oldie but a goodie, originally published in 1947. It, too, is a Caldecott winner, but I like it better for the actual story and the use of descriptive language.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin -- A children’s version of the true story of Wilson A. Bentley, a man from Vermont who became famous for photographing snowflakes. Now I want to get my hands on his book, "Snow Crystals", which displays his actual photographs.

Stranger in the Woods / First Snow in the Woods both by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoik -- Can you tell we love stories about forest animals?? These are just great because of the way they use real photographs to illustrate the stories, as well as the way they give personalities to the animals. I especially love the photos in the latter of these two books – I believe it just came out this past year.

Frederick by Leo Lionni -- A cute story about a group of mice who are laboring hard in preparation for winter, and one who has different ideas about what that means. I like how it plays out in the end.

Brambly Hedge Winter Story by Jill Barklem -- A few years back i unknowingly picked up a set of four of these sweet little Brambly Hedge books, one for each season, and they have since become a favorite on our shelves that we look forward to pulling out at the turn of each season. The illustrations rival Beatrix Potter -- I love all the detail. I just wish I found mice as cute in real life as I do in children's stories!

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost -- Illustrated version of a classic poem.

Winter Days in the Big Woods / Winter on the Farm both adapted from the “Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder -- The books in this series just make me feel all warm and cozy inside. The first of these two is a story of Laura, and the second is a story of Almonzo. Simplified versions of the chapter books. And once again, I think the illustrations are what make these books wonderful.

Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and Their New Skates by Maj Lindman -- I was so excited when I came across this book at the library! I had forgotten all about them, but you know how sometimes you see something and it instantly jogs your memory? I remember these books from our church library when i was a little girl. I can still picture exactly what the room looked like and everything...

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John -- Another fond childhood memory, so either it's really good or there is some other nostalgic reason that I am not consciously aware of that causes it to stand out in my mind. I remember going to see this movie with Sarah (then Peters) and our moms (maybe siblings, too?) in the theater. I read the book with Miriam last winter, and we watched the movie this year. I love the story, weaved with themes of forgiveness and redemption.

strange similarity

sawyer's favorite pick from our last batch of library books was called "hooray for fish". he was always talking about it and asking us to read it. this morning he was sitting on the couch reciting the title again, and i thought to myself, "oh, he's probably looking for it since i brought it back to the library yesterday." but then i listened closer. he wasn't saying "hooray for fish", he was saying "horatio fitch" -- someone who ran against eric liddell in the story we had just finished reading at the breakfast table. so weird how similar they sound! (i can't believe he was actually listening!)

conference thoughts: part 1

There was more that I got out of our weekend at the homeschool conference than just seeing George Bush in his underwear, just in case you were wondering. There was a ton, in fact, but difficult for me to condense into one blog post. So I’ll start with this for now.

The very first session on Friday night was worth the price of admission for me. I just sat with Matt and cried afterwards. Mark Hamby of Lamplighter Ministries gave a message entitled “bring them up, don’t crush them down” and it nailed me. It was more about parenting in general than it was specific to homeschooling, with much reference to the “difficult child” that you secretly think might have been sent to the wrong family… :) Levi really is a great kid whom I adore, but he is also the child who most often brings me to my breaking point, who most often humbles me, and who can bring out the ugliest in me. (though at the moment Sawyer is competing at a close second!) Mark was talking about his own experience with his difficult son, and how for many years the way he thought best to deal with him was to “crush him” with harsh discipline and demands of obedience, like he was going to do everything in his power to get this kid to perform the way he thought he should. I could really see myself in what he was saying, and it broke my heart. He even drove his son to run away at one point. Yet God has restored their relationship and has worked in both of their hearts and lives in remarkable ways. Within what Mark shared that night, as well as in the following day, are several points that I hope to expand on in another post.

I had a lightbulb moment as I was praying for Levi the other night. (He was already asleep, which probably helped :) ) As I was thanking God for him, God dropped this thought into my mind (and I paraphrase) “Being a family is about more than just raising your children, pursuing your own happiness and sharing life and love together. Each of your children have also been given to you to mold and shape you into more of who I desire you to be. Sometimes that molding and shaping is a painful and messy process, but don’t try to avoid it or make it go away. It is my hands at work in your life.” Oh God, let me embrace whatever means you choose to mold me into who you have created/are creating me to be.

I also read this this past week in a small book by Fenelon, who was an archbishop and spiritual advisor from the 17th century: “I am amazed at the power that comes to us through suffering... Of course, I tremble and agonize while it lasts, and all my words about the beneficial effects of suffering vanish under the torture. But when it is all over, I look back on the experience with deep appreciation, and am ashamed that I bore it with so much bitterness. I am learning a great deal from my own foolishness!”