Getting Ready for Vacation

The time is closing in on the beginning of our big summer vacation. We are going to Dollywood, which must be the coolest place ever since most of my family has season passes even though we live in the PNW. Anyway, since we are leaving soon I'm trying to get the house clean and finish packing, which totally makes sense, but my girls refuse to help. It obviously will take more time for things to get done if I have to supervise every single thing they are doing to get them to clean and organize their stuff, so I was just focusing on what I needed to get done. Apparently that meant to my oldest daughter, my OLDEST, that she should cut her youngest sister's hair . . . AGAIN. Yep, again, because this happened oh, close to a year ago, when she just decimated poor Phoebe's hair, to the point that we had to give her a pixie cut and there were still places that were too short to match that cut. This time wasn't as bad, but the fact that my almost 8 year old daughter hadn't learned her lesson is simply beyond me. Since that first fiasco, I have locked the scissors in the office, behind a door with an external door lock, so she had to go through a lot to make this happen and plan it out from a time that I actually sent her to grab something from the office for me. This time though, I cut her hair in return. Earlier today she was just telling her aunt that she didn't want to cut her hair ever, and that she wants to be Rapunzel. So I figured this would be the best punishment, I let Phoebe make the first cut, then I did the rest and we'll get it evened up later. I know everyone says this is just something that kids do, but this is just ridiculous. Horrible timing too . . . hopefully we'll be able to hide the bad cut she did on Phoebe's hair and it won't ruin vacation pictures. 

untitled poem as prayer for change

I wrote this when I was very frustrated in the aftermath of yet another school shooting. This was the best way for me to deal with my anger and frustration surrounding the event itself, and the response that such events have. So, without bring politics in, I worked through some things I needed to say. 

After the first three lines try to read it with some rhythm, like you are rapping it, I think it makes it flow better.

I'm not afraid to die,
but I certainly don't want to

I don't fear for my kids,
but I love and protect them

My eternity is secure,
yet I'm called in the finite
. . .
A better answer there must be,
but I don't think we'll find it
Without Jesus there's no hope,
I pray that you'll find Him
We constantly hear of rape, murder and mayhem,
we ask how this happened
Now I ask look around you,
our society says that you make your own truth
If that is the truth,
then truth doesn't exist
We get bogged down in politics,
that isn't the way
Love is the answer,
There's no other way
This news that I bring you,
has been all along
For our omnipotent Creator,
embodiment of love
He sent His own Son,
to die for our sins
Now we must surrender,
and begin again
Or this shall continue,
as we draw near the end

Lord Jesus help us,
please show us the light
Your arms are wide open,
with mercy and might
Now help Your church lead,
be Your hands and Your feet
Bring us together,
as we crawl to Your feet
How do we reach to,
the world of the day
How do we help them,
when they run away
They say we are bigots, close-minded or dumb,
as we cling to truth, morality and love
Help us, help us, Lord help us I pray,
For we are sinners and we've gone astray
We're called to declare Your good news, O Lord,
across all of the earth, those near and the far

Help me remember,
help me I pray
To show Your love,
on earth every day
I'll turn off the news,
to not become numb
And I'll pray for Your guidance,
that comes from above
All this I pray,
as I look to Your throne
Help me to spark change,
in the world with Your love

Library adventures

Going anywhere with three girls under 4 around noon is always risky. Today I decided that would be an outstanding time to go to the library to pick out some new book. Well I was definitely wrong. I tried using a leash on Zoey (my 2 year-old), but that didn't help things at all. She laid herself flat on the floor multiple times as she fought to get away from me. As I was checking out our books, it was so bad that two separate library staff members came up to me to ask if they could help me carry anything. I told them no thank you, not out of embarrassment, but more because I really can do it all - though perhaps not if Naomi was also unwilling to walk.

Well, going off of my own desire to make sure that I am representing Christ well everyday, when we got out to the car I asked Naomi if she thought we represented Christ well. She looked sad and said, "No." Then we talked a bit about how the best way she and her sister can represent Christ is to obey, but when they don't I have to show patience and grace.

For the record, I do think I exhibited pretty good patience, but not the best discipline. I did also mention that I deserved every bit of Zoey's behavior (as she was screaming on the floor in the middle of a hissy fit) because I was the same way when I was a kid.

M's Caravan

Mariners are the best. They are great to fans, genuine, and fun to talk with. Thanks Dan for taking the time to come out and sign autographs.

The journey begins

I started homeschooling my almost 2 1/2 year-old daughter, Naomi, on MLK Jr. Day. We did MLK crafts and read about him and the history of race inequality.

Since the service day, we have started working on vocabulary and thanks to the discovery of confessionsofahomeschooler.com I have started a wonderful Letter of the Week curriculum with her. A lot is available there for free, but I bought her curriculum and it is nice to be able to get all the material, plus extras, in one fell swoop. Mrprintables.com has also been helpful.

For vocabulary Fisher Price had good, jumbo animal flashcards to add to what Mr. Printables has. I also find that the fruit and vegetable flashcards from teachchildrenesl.com and mockeri.com are simple and feature pretty decent images.

Naomi loves all the crafts and she likes telling me what things are, so the flashcards are working surprisingly well. From everything I have read from so many great homeschooling moms who blog, every kid is different. Even if you are going to send your kids to school, how easy is it to do some flashcards and craft projects with them, and of course, read to them? Tonight's bedtime story was about the origins of our flag and National Anthem. I like reading stuff to her that I enjoy and can learn from at least some of the time because she's 2, she doesn't always like sitting for a story. So I take what I can get and do my best to keep her interest.