kids problem solving

The kids' problem:

The wild kitten Blackie went under the front porch.

He won't come out.

Their solution: a trap with bait

Like the boots will stop it...

conversations...

Isaac (with great excitement): Mommy! I'm in checkmate, and Carly only got one of my pieces!

(He was really proud of himself.)

Carly: You could've got my queen with your bishop, but you just gave up. And you didn't see it.

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Carly: Mommmmyyyyy!!! Isaac's being contraryyyy!!!!

Isaac: I am not!

(Later...)

Carly: Mommmmyyy, Isaac's still being contrary!!

Isaac: No I'm not!!!

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(Playing more chess...while Carly creams Isaac)

Isaac: I'm gettin' stinkin' tired of it!

hustle

Squirrels love these trees. Acorns galore. No need to hurry, collect, and bury. There are plenty to last all winter long. Have you ever watched these nutty little creatures? They dart here and there, gathering, collecting, eating, tails twitching, not trusting the border collie who watches them. Squirrels are so busy-busy.

I've thought myself to be busy lately. I'm a list person. When I was young, Mom made us lists of jobs to do before swimming in the summer. We hated them, but it was such an accomplishment to make a fat check mark beside the completed task. So, looking at my lists these past few weeks, I've found myself running around like a squirrel. But if you would see my list this week, you'd have to wonder why I'm running around like a crazy-tailed animal. Seriously, it's not that long.

You see, I lost sight of God's priorities. I look at my list and wonder, Which of these tasks are God-given tasks? Jesus didn't finish all the jobs His disciples wanted him to do, like overthrow the Roman government or heal the rest of the sick and dying people. He prays in John 17:4, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." God gives us plenty of time to finish His tasks. If there wasn't enough time for something, He wouldn't give it to us.

My biggest problem these past couple weeks was setting my mind and heart on the petty things of this world. I quote Colossians 3:1-2 often, and I'm going to quote it again. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." It's when I stray from this mindset that my attitude turns more selfish, more proud. And I end up looking like a crazy squirrel, except with loud vocal chords.

By the way, do you want to know what happened to one of those squirrels the other day? We found one dead stiff by the tree with flies eating its inards. I'm sure I could write 5 more blog posts on that, relating it to all sorts of topics including this one, but I'll stop the analogy here. I won't even include a dead-squirrel picture, although it's entirely possible. He's still there.

spring images

one of my favorite grandpas

He'll be 90 in May.

christmas traditions

A few years ago, the realization hit me. Jared and I had started a new family. And our family was different from any other family. I realized that establishing our own family traditions was now our own job.

Ah, I remember the Christmases when I was a kid. Some of you won't understand what these mean to me, but my family will smile when they're reminded. Springerle. The best knoepfle ever. Too much tinsel on Oma and Opa's tree. Santa Claus somehow mysteriously coming down our chimney which was no bigger than a 5" pipe. A tiny advent calendar with cardboard doors. Sister #4 crying because tinsel was stuck in her crack and it hurt. Mooty Man with big black boots, a black fur coat, and foil (can't forget that). Opening presents to the light of the tree. Silent Night in German. Wrapped chocolates in dishes planted all over Oma and Opa's house. Endless supply of chips. Endless supply of pop. Loud Schwabisch conversations...and then loud translations for us kids. Lebkuchen. Hazelnut cookies. Hard, gray, star-shaped cookies that were gross but always there. Buckeyes...and more buckeyes.

Now that the kids are old enough to understand what the true meaning of Christmas is, we have begun to establish our own Christmas traditions. It's been easiest doing this in the form of an advent calendar/box. Most of these ideas were stolen and adapted from Sister #1.

1— put up the Christmas tree and decorate

2— tell the Christmas story with nativity scene

3— color Christmas picture together

4— sing Christmas carols at the piano

5— bake and decorate gingerbread men

6— nativity scene sticker activity

7— decorate sugar cookies

8— make apple-cinnamon tree ornaments

9— color paper Christmas ornaments

10— string popcorn

11— go to the bank open house

12— make stamped nametags on cardstock for presents

13 — open a little pre-Christmas gift: A Baby Born in Bethlehem book

14 — make hot chocolate (fancy, with whipped cream and sprinkles)

15 — make Christmas cards for people

16 — watch a Christmas movie

17 — cut out paper snowflakes

18 — make and decorate brown gift bags (idea from Nancy)

19 — sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

20 — open a little pre-Christmas gift

21 — make presents for cousins
22 — go on a Christmas treasure hunt
23 — eat a candlelit meal
24 — read the Christmas story out of the Bible, open one little gift
25 — open family’s gifts

I know there are so many other good ideas out there, and I'd love to hear them. Rachel, some day I'll get the guts to do gingerbread houses. Lisa, I wish I could think of some awesome ornament to give our kids each year; the pick-ups are so cute. Trains came to mind, but I think our kids have enough trains. Nancy, I heard about a cake that you make, but I can't remember the whole story.

The kids have enjoyed opening each door to see what daily verse and fun there might be. Each year will probably be a little bit different, but hopefully from now until they have a family of their own we can build lasting Christmas memories.

home again, home again

jiggedy jig...

where there's a steady quiet

where the stars shine bright

where you can watch the moon's 180-degree path

where laundry hangs on the line

where 'regular' begins to return

where friends are only a knock away

where family is always there

where you must wipe hay out of the washer

where you hear a tail wag slapping on the garage step in the middle of the night

where you find a random cow hoof in your lawn

where Farmville has lost its luster

images of home

We are glad to be back for a short visit. It's a special treat to mow green grass, to work with brown dirt, and to see fields of corn ready for harvest. What a blessing it is to run free in the quiet countryside. There's nothing like it.

The kids and I have tromped pastures to check our favorite spots. Our "secret spot" by a cliff is still hidden in the trees. "Salsa" is still cookin' in our "salsa jars" there (glass jars someone discarded by a tree decades ago), still sitting on our make-believe stove on the tree roots. There are still sticks and twigs there to break up for kindling this winter. A few yards down, our "thinking spot" still sits with rocks to sit on so we can think there.

We even checked our picnic spot by the crick. The table is still there and the fire pit hasn't gotten washed away yet by the crick rising too high. A cow left a nice pie nearby. Actually, we had to dodge cow pies all the way down to the crick. Hedgeballs are growing. Little Tally (ewe lamb) won't stay in the pen. And Lucy, dear border collie that she is, holds everything together. If she's bored, she gangs up on the poor cows and gives them a good chase.

We're glad to be home, even if only for a bit.

home

There's no place like home...

We're coming home for a visit!!

(The kids and I arrive Friday. Jared will come up for Columbus Day weekend.)

Yippee!

gingerbread boys

When I was a little girl, Mom made gingerbread boys. It was simply amazing how these gingerbread boys would run away and hide in the kitchen somewhere. Somehow, these unreal cookies would just up and run away! I remember how we'd go to our rooms and wait and then come back to find them hiding AGAIN! It was pure magic!! Even as an older girl, I'd probe Mom, asking her if she was SURE she didn't hide them herself. She assured me that they must've just run away.

We made gingerbread boys here for the first time today. When the kids weren't looking, these gingerbread boys amazingly RAN AWAY! When I exclaimed in a wild voice, "KIDS! SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOUR GINGERBREAD BOYS!!!" they came running. Carly's first thought was, "How can they move if they're pretend!" What a fun game it became.

The kids decided to camp out on their kitchen chairs to make sure the gingerbread boys didn't run away again. That didn't last long, so they got up, scolded their cookies, shaking their fingers, saying, "Gingerbread Man, you obey me! You stay here!" Alas, these naughty gingerbread men would move AGAIN! Isaac even gave his a spankin'. (In all good fun, of course, because it would break if the spankin' was too hard.)

When the kids finally started eating the body parts, especially the legs, the poor gingerbread boys just couldn't move as quickly. So, they gobbled them all up. Isaac reminisced, "I was watching them the whole time, and they ran away!" Carly asked me, "Mommy, were you hiding them?" I answered, "No, they must've run away!!" And Carly excitedly concluded, "They could run away, even though they're pretend! They can run away!"

My mom fibbed to me. Don't you suppose it's okay that I fib to Carly?!?

RECIPE:

1/2 butter, soft

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. molasses

1 egg

3 c. flour

1/4 t. soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar. Add molasses and egg. Add dry ingredients. Chill 2 hours. Roll, cut, and bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes.

tornado

Oh. My. A tornado (in the form of two neighbor kids) just visited our apartment. After helping themselves to our outdoor riding toys, they walked right in and made themselves at home. We didn't mind their company; it was good to finally meet them. Carly and Isaac stood staring, open-mouthed as the kids plowed through the apartment like it was a candy factory, wanting to try everything out as quickly as possible. Kade, 5, walked to the fridge and asked, "What's in the fridge?" He opened the pantry and said, "Do you have anything to eat?" I knew they couldn't be hungry because their mom had just brought home Chick-Fil-A. These children come from a split home. The mom told me that the kids spend Mondays and Tuesdays with her, Wednesdays and Thursdays with Dad. And Mom and Dad alternate keeping them on the weekends "to keep it fair." Wow. Kalyn, 7 (big girl), asked me, "Do you have any dessert?" Instead of letting these kids plow ALL of us over, I directed them to an art project at the table. Needy kids needing love or stability or something.

The best thing about loud kids like them is that it gives you the courage to stand up and say whatever you think needs to be said in your house. When Kalyn said that her grandpa died, I said, "Yeah, it's kinda sad when old people die, but it's okay, because if they know and love Jesus, they can go to heaven to be with Him. And that's a lot better than here anyway." She said, "Yeah, my grandpa went to heaven." I replied, "Oh, good! So he knew Jesus?" She said, "Yep! And so do I! But sometimes I hit my brother." We talked a little more about forgiveness, but she changed the subject. Oh, kids are so vulnerable; their hearts are so moldable. I'm not sure when the hard layers start to grow around the heart to make some adults so unwilling to hear and accept the Truth.

After an hour, I told the kids it was time to start picking up. Kade and Kalyn asked why, and I explained, "It's bedtime for Carly and Isaac, and we always pick up before bedtime. So, who's going to pick up the Lincoln Logs?" Kade offered. When all was clean and it was time for them to leave, Kade wanted a hugs from the kids before he left to walk back to his apartment next door. Our clueless kids think hugs automatically go with kisses, so Isaac walked up to him and gave him a hug and a kiss. Kalyn wanted hugs too. Carly gave her a hug and a kiss on her cheek. Isaac gave her a hug and a kiss on her belly. They shouted, "We'll be back tomorro

w!!" as they ran out the door.

We had an interesting talk with Carly and Isaac afterwards.

An afterthought...

After the tornado kids left, I noticed that Carly, in an attempt to regain order and peace in her bedroom, had straightened her room, turned off the big light, turned on her bed lamp and laid her Bible and chapter book out, getting everything ready for bed. This is normal routine for her after a reminder, but she had it done 15 minutes before the tornado kids left. It made me hope hope HOPE that even as a teenager she will never be afraid to lay out her Bible in front of her peers in preparation of reading it.

the purpose of alum

Alum is a chemical compound, also known as hydrated aluminum potassium sulfate. You can find it in the spice section of your local grocery store. Alum can be used for pickling foods, in developing photographs, for preventing bleeding due to small shaving cuts. It was even used as a deodorizer years ago. And alum can also be used in punishing a child for saying naughty words. Just a tiny finger, licked and dipped in the alum will do the trick.

A year ago, we were using Dial soap. I remember getting soap as a kid if I called one of my sisters "stupid" or if I stuck my tongue out at one of them. It didn't taste good. We were using it with our kids if they had a problem with something bad coming out of their mouth. Soap would "clean out their mouth." (That came with an explanation of the reason why we use words that are pure.) I know that prayer for our kids is the ultimate solution; even being a strong, Christian model for them is crucial. Jared and I felt that using soap was a practical, immediate solution to the naughty-words problem. By "naughty words," I mean a defiant "NO!" or something of that severity coming out of the kids' mouths. Later, the kids started thinking it was funny to baby-talk in a snotty, sing-songy tone. Soap was the answer for that too.

But then, the kids overheard me laughing with Jared about Kaden's soap issue. If I can recall correctly, my sister Jeanne told me how Kaden claimed that he didn't care if she gave him soap anymore. He proclaimed, "I LIKE soap! It makes me STRONG!!!" Isaac adores Kaden. Shortly after that, Isaac started liking soap too. We needed something that didn't taste so good.

Enter ALUM

This idea came from sister-in-law Tara. Jared and I both tried it before giving it to our children. It does the trick. It does not taste good when smeared onto your tongue. And it fits well in my purse.

Now, as much as we try to shelter our children from bad language, they somehow come to learn it anyway. A lot of this comes from the words we say. For example, when the kids were just learning how to talk, I heard Carly say "DARN IT!" during her play. Years later, we caught Isaac saying "Dag nabbit." And we realized that what came out of our mouths truly shaped what came out of our kids' mouths. When I say "bad language," I'm talking about purposeful language, not the made-up syllables/words that end up sounding like bad words.

A few days ago, they learned and started using "Oh my gosh." This is not a terrible phrase, but it sounds terrible coming out of a small child's mouth. I looked at them and said that I didn't want them to use that word because it wasn't nice. Battle picked. A couple hours later, Isaac tried it again and looked at me. I looked back and reached for the alum. I told them that "Oh my goodness" sounded nicer. Then yesterday, he said, "Oh my....." and looked at me. I looked at him and didn't say a word. He smiled. Seconds later the kids raced for Carly's bedroom closet. I heard them both laughing loudly, saying "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" They weren't laughing anymore when I joined them in their closet with alum for each of them. Okay, so maybe this was a petty battle to pick, but I don't want them to end up changing their phrase, using the Lord's name in vain.

ALUM. Our current answer for pickling-the-tongue needs. Any other suggestions?

praises and prayer

Just yesterday I was thinking of all of you. I was amazed at how many acts of love we have experienced from people back home. We've gotten mail, emails, phone calls, and more. If I mentioned names, I'd miss someone, but you know who you are. If you're reading this, you're probably one of those people praying for us. It is amazing to me how much love has been showered down on us this past month (even before we left). I was thinking how awesome you all are, but then I realized that it's not YOU. It's Christ's love shining through you. We can plainly see His light shining through you guys as He uses you to encourage and love us. It's another example of God's grace.

We are grateful for your prayers. They are being answered. One example: Prayer for us to get to know people... We are not social people, so I knew that it would have to be a God-thing for this prayer to be answered. Jared is getting to know people in his class (even if it be through him having to beg for a ride home when he locked his keys in the car). I met a girl at the pool who sells wickless candles. She might've only wanted another customer, but it's been good to talk to another mom for a couple afternoons now. Then this morning, I met another girl at the playground. Such a neat girl; she might even be a Christian. God hears us. 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." He answers.

garbage disposals at your service

Garbage disposals are my friends. I've said before that I'd rather have a disposal than a dishwasher. It's true. I'll admit that in the first year of our marriage I stuffed bits of food down the holes in our non-disposaled sink. Trash stunk often, and I didn't quite know how to handle the situation. In our 10 years of marriage, Jared and I have never fully agreed on the usage of garbage disposals. Growing up, it seemed that Mom stuffed everything down those things. Grinding up canteloupe rinds was a blast, watching them go round and round until they disappeared completely. Wikipedia defines a garbage disposal as a device that "shreds food waste into pieces small enough (generally less than 2 mm) to pass through plumbing." Unless we have sheep to give fruit and vegetable peels to, I grind up most all of our food waste, including potato peels, carrot skins, and cucumber peels. (I don't do the canteloupe rinds anymore. And peach pits don't work either.) It's even convenient to crush egg shells in there.

When we first heard and felt this San Angelo disposal grind, we shuddered. It seemed to move the whole kitchen just turning that thing on. Jared warned me about it, as he warned me about past disposals. On Sunday, my thought was, If this disposal fulfills its purpose, we shouldn't have a problem if I just stuff these potato peels down. To my surprise, the pipes became plugged up with potato peels. This has happened before. Twice. Disposal running. Water running. Water not going down. Turn disposal off. Turn it on. Off. On. Off. Water is not going down. Frustration. I do the ever-dreaded thing of sticking my hand down into the disposal to see what potato peels are left in there. I brace myself, ready to pull out whatever yuck I find. There's nothing down there. Jared sits comfortably in the rocking chair, watching, but never telling me I told you so like I so deserve to hear.

I took the kids to Wal-Mart to buy a plunger. We were lucky this time; last time the plunger didn't work, nor did it the time before that. Obviously, this disposal did not grind up the potato peels to 2 millimeters or less.

My main question is: what are disposals for if they can't grind most everything up?

play

Carly announced, "We're going to church now."

our temporary "home"

There's something about being surrounded by familiarity. It's not that our furniture and belongings are all that valuable; they're not. But ahhh, to sleep in our own bed, to eat at our own table, to lounge on our own couch (marker and slobber stains and all), to trip on our own toys,...it's just like home. Well, almost. Well, actually, not really, but it helps. The "big, white truck" (as we called it to the kids) arrived yesterday. The kids were so excited to see their own stuff that they played all day long, while Jared and I unpacked. This living room was clean. But the kids have been busily playing this morning. I just heard Carly tell Isaac, "We'll be good picker-ups." I think that's supposed to mean that they'll clean this mess up, right?!

We haven't met our neighbors yet, but there are about 5 apartment doors that face our front door. Pray for boldness as we get to know some of these people, even when our personalities are non-social.

Good things about this complex: it's pretty quiet, the people seem friendly, it's pretty clean. The complex is only 5 minutes away from Wal-Mart and the mall. Our particular apartment only gets the morning sun, which should help with utilities. We haven't checked out the pool yet, but the playground is nice.

The strangest thing we've encountered yet is our refrigerator. It sounds like a very muffled saturn missile battery firework. And somewhere in the move, we (or the moving truck) lost Isaac's box of shoes. We checked the weather last night for Sabetha and San Angelo. Sabetha was 84 degrees with 72% humidity. San Angelo was 86 degrees with 37% humidity. I guarantee that it felt much better here. ;)

We love you and miss you all!!