?

The boys and I saw this site when we were out the other day...
The squirrel was eating something, and the crow was doing a funny little dance. He'd hop close to the squirrel, wait a second, hop away, wait a second, hop back.
The squirrel ignored him the whole time. It was hilarious.

Remembering/Celebrating Summer

Jon asked us to celebrate the last day of summer this week and we were more than willing to do so! He had two instructions: "do something outside" and "find something from outside that reminds you of summer".

With those instructions in mind, we headed outdoors with the bikes (bike riding is definitely a summer activity!)

Then we got distracted with the jungle gym at our apartment....happy climbers until mommy found hornets and made them get off:

Then off to find something that reminds Liam of summer. He picked acorns:

And I added an activity for Liam after we got home. I told him to draw a picture of things to do with summer.
He drew a tree under a blue sky with his bike and a bird (the bird is the "m" up top). I also had him write "summer":

If I had been thinking, I would have given the boys popsicles as a treat, but I didn't think of it. Anyway, we sure had fun remembering/celebrating summer.

Check Out H Week!

H's, h's everywhere at Liam's site!

Hair Cut Foibles...

So, I cut David's hair saturday night. And he let me use Jon's clippers. And it ended up short. Really short.

(he wanted the camera)

I am still not sure if I like it or not, but at the very least, it will grow again. And I wont have to cut it again until sometime after the baby has come.

Yes, I am trying to talk myself into liking it....because I miss his hair. Boo hoo.

And I have no one to blame but me.

On another note: check out Liam's G Week!

Dying Salt

Sometime in the last two weeks, I came across a blog that talked about letting kids draw/write in salt. I can not remember who it was, and I wish I could because they deserve the credit. Because it's a stinking good idea.

Anyway, I decided to incorporate the idea into Liam's letter projects in school, and had him do salt writing during F week (click on the link to check out F week)...

David saw what he was doing and HAD to join in. Both boys loved drawing/writing in the salt. So, I decided to take it to the next level. The blogger I had gotten the idea from mentioned that it's extra fun when you dye the salt instead of leaving it plain white.

So, later that evening, we dyed the salt the boys had used. Each boy got to pick a color and help dye his bag of salt. We will use this colored salt later for more salt drawing/writing and maybe for "glitter".

The internet and blog-land is just bursting with good ideas for us home-schoolers and parents in general!

Remembrance

Do you ever have moments in time when you say or do or write something that immediately touches you so much that you can't help but think: "That must not have come from me."

I had that just now. I was on facebook, seeing so many people talk about it being September 11, and how they are remembering what happened in 2001.....and all I could think was: "Yeah, we Americans remember, but how much has it really changed us? If anything, we seem more selfish and more withdrawn than ever." (I know this isn't true of individuals, but as a whole it's what it seems like.)

So, I clicked on my status window, fully wanting to write something along those lines....but as I sat there thinking of how to say it, something softened or changed inside me, and this is what I wrote:

On this day of remembrance, lets not just remember with our words, but with our hearts as well. And remember that we're not fighting a war against a particular people, but a war against hatred. And what fights hatred better than love?!?


Reading it back brought tears to my eyes. I really don't feel like I wrote that. I feel like God grabbed my fingers and typed His message to me and to anyone who reads it. Because I don't react the way I did to my own stuff.


And, isn't it so incredibly poignant? Isn't it how our lives really should be lived? How we should treat people? Isn't it what Jesus taught?


September 11, 2001 was a day when people allowed their hatred to rule them, and alot of pain and devastation came out of it. And yet, when we allow ourselves to hate back the people involved, or even innocent people who only share an ethnic background with them, aren't we doing exactly what they did? Allowing hate to rule us, allowing hate to win?


So, today I applaud the people who have allowed Love to stem from what happened that day. The people who have sacrificed their lives in the right war.


I am NOT speaking against the brave men and women in our military. Many of those who have lost their lives, many who are across oceans right now are fighting for the right cause. They get it. They strive to protect the innocent people who are simply trying to survive in a war torn world. I hear the stories, I know it's true. 


But for those who are simply promoting and prolonging hate....I pray that God would soften their hearts to see what's really happening, what's really important. 


Love is what combats hate. Jesus showed us that when He died for us. When He rose. And He calls us to love everyone, even our enemies.....because LOVE COMBATS HATE. It is the only thing that can.


And so, as we choose to remember, let us also choose to love and to forgive. For only these can win the war.


For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12

What's In A Name?

Well, we finally have BOTH names figured out. We've had the girl's name picked out for the last 6 years or so.....have just kept with the one we had picked when pregnant with Liam.
The boy's name was much harder this time around. I am hoping that means that we're having a girl.......
But, finally we've decided. I felt really anxious that we needed both names, I didn't like the idea of having a boy and not having a name for him. I feel very much more prepared to be having a baby in a month now that we have both names figured out.

Would you like to know what they are?

Girl: Heidi Anne

Boy: Peter Jonathan

And now to tie in the post title.....we're really big on what the names actually mean. There have been many we've liked until we found out what it meant.....like James. Means "supplanter" or "thief" depending on the site you go to. Either way, not so good.

So, Heidi Anne means "A type of Grace"
and
Peter Jonathan means "Rock [that] Yahweh has given"

E Week!

Don't forget to go check out Liam's E week post!

Bug Square!

I have not been working on my blessings sampler.....not because I haven't wanted to, but because I broke my embroidery needle while at the lake. I thought I had more at home, but alas, after careful and thorough searching, I had to admit I did not.

Well, I finally got more needles and last night while watching a movie, I completed the block I had started at the lake!

Bugs....the "good" ones. I love bees, they are probably my favorite insect. They are so useful and helpful to agriculture and gardening and well, honey would be non-existent if we didn't have bees.
I think dragon flies and butterflies vie for most beautiful, and lady bugs are just plain fun!

I also thought you'd be interested in seeing the full view again:

And, speaking of bugs, and especially dragon flies: a few months ago, we had gotten a book all about dragon flies from the library for Liam. We learned about their life cycle, and all sorts of interesting things (I didn't know they spend the first part of their life under water!)
Well, at the lake, I was sitting on the dock and looked down between the boards and saw what at first looked like a small scorpion. I called Jon over and he said, "It's the carapace of a dragon fly nymph."
How stinking cool! I had to take a picture:

Finally Finished

I started this quilt back when I lived in Mexico.....so, probably about 8 years ago....
It's a wall hanging.
It only needed the hand sewing on the binding done.
For EIGHT years, it's been sitting in my closet....
Waiting for the binding to be finished.
Sometimes, I hate how much I procrastinate!

But, now it's finished and hanging on my wall....

It's also doubling as a disguise for our not-so-pleasant-on-the-eyes fuse box:

In the end, I am very happy with how it turned out....it's very bright and happy. Some of the pieces are hand-sewn. It was going to be all hand sewn, but then I received a sewing machine and, well, to be honest, it probably would never have been finished otherwise.
It is a fun and easy pattern, and so cute. It could well and easily be embellished----eyes, whiskers and such could be added.
I figured I'd leave mine the way it is......in it's simplicity and state of finished-ness.

Yum-Yum

I've been making some yummy food lately. All the german food for Jon's birthday turned out good....except the spaetzl (so sad, because I LOVE spaetzl)......but the schnitzel I made was truly delicious....

Anyway, I thought I would use up some beets we had and make Borscht last night.....and I blogged about it over on my food blog. I even included a "recipe" of sorts. Go have a look-see!

Sal vs Fleas...or an Ode to Advantage

most of the summer, Sal fought a losing battle with the Fleas. It was a sad, sad thing to watch.....

He is apparently allergic to flea bites, he got nasty sores wherever they bit him, and was so itchy he was scratching and biting until he was raw...and all that biting was causing him to have yucky hairballs and throw up everywhere......so he was losing weight quickly.

Not only that, but he became anti-social....which anyone who knows him knows this is very, VERY strange. He wouldn't come near us, wouldn't come sleep in our bed at night...spent most of the day under the couch or under Jon's chair. He also took to sleeping in our paper recycle box (not quite sure about that one).....

It took a little while to figure out that it really was fleas (tried changing his diet, made his ingest Vaseline for the hairballs, which helped a little with the hairballs but not any of the other symptoms) and then we weren't sure we could afford the medicine....but it got to a point where we couldn't afford NOT to afford the medicine.

What a change it made! Within just a few days it seemed, Sal was back to his old self. Barely any scratching, and he quickly became social again.

The Advantage box says it should be given every four weeks, but can be done as often as every week. At three and a half weeks, it was obvious that we needed to redose him, as he was starting to bite himself like crazy again.

So, it looks like we are helping Sal win the battle verses the fleas, thanks to Advantage!!!