Matthew ch. 6

Just finished installing a new hot water heater, after the old one was pouring out water. Here's our list of breakdowns, repairs or replacements this year: I replaced all four rotors and pads on the van's brakes, I replaced rear (air ride) shocks on the van, I repaired the parking brake system on the truck, we bought a new printer, a new dryer, and a new stove all to replace broken down ones, I removed and rebuilt the clutch and transmission in the washing machine, now (with help from Dad) I replaced the hot water tank. That only leaves the wheel bearings on my truck that need to be replaced and the carpenter ant damage that we found on the exterior wall of our house (I'm paying a carpenter for that one!).
Now don't take this as complaining (I actually laughed audibly when I saw the hot water tank leaking today), our kids are happy and healthy and so are we! And while we are by no means rich, we are (still) not in debt. So I'd say God is taking care of us just fine.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Matthew 6:19-20

Actually all of Matthew 6 would be a review.

Summertime

Picking summer's wildflowers!!

We're not doing school and we're busier than ever!! It's been a few weeks where we have something almost everyday and most nights! Wow! When did we have time to do school?

Here's what we've been up to the past few weeks:
Cal got a job!! Well, sort of. He works one day a week at our library for an hour each time. He works with the children's librarian....helping in whatever way she needs - prepping for the summer reading program, shelving books, etc. He loves it and it's such great experience for him. Of course, it's all volunteer.
The older three kids are taking tennis lessons again. Twice a week, an hour each kid, for five weeks. Luckily there is a park/playground right there so Lily can play for the three hours we're there each time. Cal, James, and Leah love tennis! They've progressed nicely from last season. Hopefully Cal will have an opportunity to play in some tennis tournaments this year for the first time! Charlie and Amy are taking tennis lessons as well this year (not with the kids). There has been some improvement in our skills, but Amy STILL can't beat Charlie in a set. Maybe someday. We've also been playing other friend-couples that play tennis. It's been great fun!

Other than that we've been getting caught up on housework, playing in the stream, staying cool, and helping grandparents with yardwork. We're still continuing with our sign-language lessons during the summer as well.

Before summer officially started the kids had their musical performance. It went great!!! Cal was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, putting to good use his public speaking lessons. The other three kids sang in the choir. Leah played a piano solo. Both girls sang in a trio singing "God Bless the USA". It was beautiful....music to our ears!


We went camping at the beginning of June at one of our favorite places. It's in Vermont...can't tell you more than that because we wouldn't want it to become more popular than it already is now. There's no advance reservations, so it gets a different breed of campers. There's a large field for playing ball or throwing the frisbee as well as a beach area and very nice swimming area. We had such a relaxing time in spite of the overnight thunderstorms while in a tent! Some of us didn't care for the thunder and lightning being so close.....and it wasn't the two girls - they slept right through it!

Summer is flying by....we're hoping to get much more accomplished still!!

Setting off model rockets in the field across the street from the house....the boys and Charlie made the rocket themselves.

Our annual photo spot at our favorite campground in Vermont.

3, 2, 1,.....

The kids' Uncle Mark sent them a nice model of a US Army Patriot missile. The boys and I had a good time putting it together. They did well and it's a nice looking model. We finally got the right combination of free time and calm winds to shoot it off the other day. Here are some photos and a couple videos:

My Argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I , who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such a violent reaction to it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because a man is not a water animal.: a fish would not feel wet. Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private matter of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too - for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist - in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless - I found I was forced to assume that one part of my reality - namely my idea of justice - was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as , if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.
~C.S. Lewis

What's going on here

Spring has finally sprung in the mountains.....well, sort of. The snow is finally gone. It took a looongg time! We made maple syrup. We only made a little over 2 gallons....about half of what we were able to make last year. The kids all love to help with this....from daily gathering sap to helping boil it down (an all-day process) to bottling it up to eating it!

School is going strong. Lily loves to do school! She's learned all her letters and is working on learning all her numbers and little words. She can write many names and loves to copy words down in her notebook. She's a whiz on the computer too! The other day she said, "James showed me a new game on the computer. Good thing it had a walkthrough, so I knew how to play it." What four year old knows what "walkthroughs" are for computer games!?!
Leah is plowing through second grade and doing great. She loves, loves, loves to read!! She's also recently started some multiplication and she is so excited about that!
James is a third grader who has excelled this year. He loves math, so much so, that he often brings it to bed and does before falling asleep.
Cal has been working through fifth grade. It's harder this year, but he's doing well. He really enjoys his physics course. He's doing really well with his Latin lessons that he's taking from a friend's mom.

The younger three all got roller skates and took to them with no problem. Making the switch from hockey skates to roller skates was easy. Lily even takes off when we go on the bike trail.

Happy Spring!

Ice fishing

The boys have been making me take them ice fishing a couple times a year for two or three years now. Two winters ago we caught 1 pickerel. Last year we went 3 or 4 times and caught none. Zero. Zilch. So you can imagine that I was pretty excited (sarcasm) to go this year. Well last Friday we went out and we had a good time. We caught 3 pickerel. Two were 17.5" and one was 14". The minimum length is 15", so we brought home 2. Well we went out again for a few hours this afternoon. Here's what we did:


That's three 18" pickerel, a 15" pickerel, and a 19.5" pickerel. And the Pièce de résistance, a 3.5 lb largemouth bass. I could get into this.

What we're up to

It's cold again!! The rink was a swimming pool last week, but is now back to a skating rink! It's had such a lot of use already with the kids skating at least once daily as well as friends and family coming to join us. If you haven't been up to skate, feel free to invite yourself! We have a few pairs of extra skates to borrow.
School is going well too. We're working on our studies as well as group activities. The kids all love reading! They often can be found with their nose buried in a book during the day!

Stay warm!!

Good Bye 2009!

It's hard to believe how quickly time passes once you have children! I think it has sped up in the last 10 years!
We had a great year! Everyone was healthy and happy this year!

Our backyard rink (started in December '08) lasted into March. We skated everyday...sometimes the kids skated twice a day! In March we did our usual sugaring, this year making over 4 gallons of maple syrup. We had several camping trips this year....to Emerald Lake, Hapgood Pond, Jamaica VT, and even a winter camping trip in February.
Cal turned 10 this year! James turned 8! Leah turned 7! Lily turned 4! They did well in their school work and Lily even began a little schooling.
The kids continued their sign language lessons, piano playing, started Italian lessons, and are playing hockey again. The older three took tennis lessons in the summer while Lily enjoyed time with her friends playing at the park. Charlie and Amy took adult lessons during the summer as well. We all played tennis weekly during the summer besides the lessons.

In the fall we took a trip to Old Orchard Beach, Maine for several days. It was a great trip - very relaxing and a lot of fun! The kids (and Charlie) went into the water despite the chill in the air. We played in the sand, buried kids up to their necks in sand, went for walks along the beach, flew the kite, played frisbee and football, went in the pool and hot tub, and enjoyed seafood!

We had apples galore at our house this year! Our trees produced an abundance of apples that we turned into pies, apple cider, and just ate right off the tree! We also made several gallons of apple cider that was delicious.

One of the greatest things that happened this year was James making a decision to follow Christ and praying for Jesus to be his Savior! We are all so happy, especially Leah who was particularly burdened and worried about her brother not going to heaven.

Our best times were the ones we spent together - playing tennis, playing hockey or skating on the backyard rink, going fishing, or playing board games. We're thankful to God for the freedom and ability to homeschool as well. We love all the memories that were made this year and look forward to making more in the new year!

Happy New Year!

Christmas

Better late than never....

Finally, a post about Lily's big day!!! She was honored to be a flower girl in our friends' wedding. On November 7th, Lily performed her duties as flower girl for Beth and Jacob's wedding with beauty and smiles! She did such a great job! She walked down the aisle dropping red rose petals and looking from side to side flashing a beautiful smile.

Party Time

Since James' and Leah's birthdays are only four days apart, we've always had their birthday party together. They're great about it and in fact have never asked for separate parties. They always decide together on what kind of cake they want. This year they wanted one that looked like Indian corn! They had a great time spent with some of their family. There was plenty of time for food, cake, sitting in front of a warm, crackling fire, snuggling on the couch with aunties, and playing hockey (minus the ice) in the backyard with uncles, siblings, and Daddy. That's what it's all about!

Happy Birthday Leah!!!

Leah is 7 years old today!!! Yes, we celebrate two birthdays close together in November. Actually, it turns into something like a birthday week. Leah is such a beautiful girl! She is so loving and caring and sensitive. She loves hockey, tennis, being outdoors, and playing games. She also loves playing with her dollhouse and dolls and playing pretend. She can often be found to be pretending to be a mother to her dolls. If it's quiet in the house, you can usually find Leah with her nose buried in a book...she LOVES to read. I think that trait is hereditary.
We love you Leah!! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday James!!

James is 8 years old today!!! James is such a loving kid. He's a great big brother to his sisters and a best friend to his older brother. He loves to play hockey, play tennis, go fishing, go canoeing, and play board games. We're so glad to have been given this "miracle" baby eight years ago! We love you JB!!!

Funny girl

Today's humor is brought to you by Leah, the 6 (almost 7)-year old.

We have two weddings to attend...each a week apart....both of the brides named Beth....both marrying a man with a biblical name. To a 6-year old, it can get a little confusing to remember who is marrying whom and which one is getting married first. This morning Leah was questioning all this and then she says, "The girl is called the bride. What do you call the guy? The mayor?" She was given the correct answer and then proceeded to question, "The mayor will be there, right?"
I guess it's time to teach how our small town officials differ from a city...again.

Something's fishy.....

The boys recently caught a bunch of fish, all brown trout.

Signs of Autumn...Apples, apples, apples!!

We've been busy lately with lots and lots of apples....we've made apple cider, applesauce, and apple pies so far!

Just because it's funny....

Beware of the Shawled Invaders!!
These shawled creatures may invade your home bringing much singing and laughter. They have a secret power for bringing out the funny things in life and have a knack for turning things to pink or purple. These shawled invaders are known to carry look-alike dolls and can often be found at a tea party. They have powerful blue goggles useful for detecting something fun to play with while doubling for underwater adventures. They come equipped with pink cell phones that may be used to call in reinforcements. Beware the fairy wand....or else your world may turn to pink and sparkly! While they are cute, they can be persuaded with sweets, book reading, and even tickling. The shawled invaders may appear without any warning and are a sight to be seen!

Hockey

I went to a hockey coaches clinic the other day and they showed this video. I liked it enough to share it.



*Touque translates from Canadian to winter hat in American

Old Orchard Beach

We went to the ocean last week for a few days away. The weather was beautiful!! The temperature didn't get about 70 degrees, but that didn't stop the kids from getting in the water!
We had a great time playing in the sand, throwing the football, taking walks, walking through a marsh, and eating seafood!

What we did with our summer vacation

We took a break from schooling at the end of June and started back up again almost 3 weeks ago. During our short break.....we spent a lot of time outdoors. We also went camping three times this summer....twice by ourselves and once with friends. We had a great time on each camping trip which were all in different Vermont parks.
Cal and Lily both celebrated birthdays this summer. Cal chose to spend his day fishing....would you expect anything else from him? Lily chose to spend her day having a tea party with her two close friends. It was such a cute day. They all dressed up and used real china for their tea while eating special snacks!
Leah learned how to ride a bike this summer! She is very happy about that.
James learned how to mow the lawn on his own this summer! Dad is very happy about that.

We also were able to (and still are trying to) preserve and can some fruits and veggies. They look so pretty stacked on the shelves with this year's maples syrup.

We were fortunate to be able to spend a variety of days with a lot of family members this summer....for both some sad and happy occasions.

The biggest event of the summer....the older three learned how to swim...finally!! They took lessons for two weeks straight and did a great job! Cal was bumped up a group and can swim underwater, learned several different strokes, and can even dive! Leah learned how to swim without a bubble and James can swim confidently in the middle of the pool with his head fully underwater!

The older three also took tennis lessons for five weeks out of the summer. They not only learned a great deal, but had fun together and with several friends. Mom and Dad also took tennis lessons, but Mom has yet to win a set while playing Dad....someday!

We had a great summer, but we were ready to get back into full swing with our schooling. While we're still doing some "summery" things, we're also back to our regular schooling routine. It's so nice to return to a routine after the summer each year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL!!

Barn Swallow

I found a barn swallow that had been killed by a passing car while I was walking home today. So I did what anybody would do. I picked it up, brought it home, and dissected it with the kids.












The specimen.


















Measuring.


















Note taking.














Plucking.













The lungs.




Here's the kids report (their observations and measurements):

Juvenile Barn Swallow

Weight: 0.5 - 1 oz.
Length: 5 1/2"
Wingspan: 10"
Color: Back and shoulders - iridescent blue/green
Wing feathers - Charcoal gray
Tail feathers - Charcoal gray w/white spots
Top of head - Charcoal gray w/iridescent blue/green
Chin - Rust
Breast - White w/tan
Underside of wings - Silver
Underside of shoulders - Tan
Down feathers - Black

Notes:
Beak extends to beneath eye; beak has nostrils; point of beak is black while back is yellow.
Feet have 3 toes in front and 1 in back; feet look scaly; feet are dark reddish/brown with white "stripes".
Legs attach to torso 3/8" below wing; leg is 2 15/16" long; scaly part is 1 1/16".
Tail feathers vary from 2" - 2 1/2".
Wing feathers vary from 1 11/16" - 3 1/2".
Heart measures 1/2" X 1/4".
Liver measures 3/4" X 1/4" X 1/8".
Lungs measure 5/16" X 1/4".
Stomach contained a housefly, a wasp, and other indistinguishable bits of insects.


PS - Even Lily helped out!

10 Years Old!!!

Cal is 10 years old today!! The years have quickly flown by! He's such a great kid....helpful, thoughtful, generous.....he makes us proud. He loves fishing, birds, anything outdoors and in nature. He loves to read....nonfiction being his genre of choice. He skates, plays hockey, rides his bike, loves board games, is always drawing, and plays tennis.







Happy Birthday Cal!!!