Rejoice!

Christmas is over

2012-01-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

Well, it was officially a crazy Christmas season for me. I got sick in the beginning of December, and as a result my big paper was done two weeks after the semester ended (instead of two weeks before) -- by God's grace I was able to drag myself out of bed and finish my other two courses on time! Just before I got sick (while I was working like crazy on that paper), someone wonderful gave us some very nice bunkbeds for the girls. So now Bethany and Carrie Ann are sharing a room, and I have my own bedroom instead of a cot in the living room! (Matthias still has his own room, but the smallest one instead of the biggest one.) So after I finally finished my paper (on the 20th or so), I started work on re-arranging the toys to go with the new beds (thanks to the volunteers who helped move shelves, desks and the extra bed!). The holidays were quiet -- many of our friends and relatives were out of town, but we had a nice Christmas with Kathleen and Alec and went to a movie on Christmas Eve with my friend Marilyn. Other than that, the kids and I went to Van Dusen to see the lights, to a Magic show benefiting the burn centre at Children's, and to Science World (thanks to Grandma's Christmas money). I spent a lot of time sleeping, trying to get over my cold. After Christmas I used some of our Christmas money to buy storage containers for the girls' room, and we worked on sorting toys. Today, finally, we put the last toys away and I vacuumed everywhere so I can now officially say that the chaos (begun by the gift of bunkbeds) is now over. You can come visit if you want!
The kids are back to school. Carrie Ann is still loving kindergarten -- a couple days after they started back, she came over and gave me a big hug as I dropped her off and thanked me for letting her come to such a wonderful place! Two of the staff at the school commented on how happy Matthias is now, and how great his laugh and quirky sense of humour are. Bethany did a wonderful job in her choir concert, and is now trying out for a part in the school play!
I realized on my first day back to school that if I take two courses in the summer (as I was planning), I can finish next December instead of April 2013. This could save me a lot in student loans, so I'm going to go for it. Because two of the remaining courses I wanted to take are only offered in the spring, I decided to take a third course this spring. I'll be busy, taking three courses and working as a teaching assistant for Principles of Translation. (I loved that class, and I'm very excited to be TA'ing it, especially since I haven't had to do any grading yet -- that's always the hardest part of the job!) I was dreading the beginning of this semester, not feeling like I was really recovered from my last cold (the last one came with dizzy spells, weird) -- but once classes started I got so caught up in the subject matter, I'm excited about them now. It's amazing to be in a program that I love so much it's a privilege rather than a chore to do the homework! I just hope that that enthusiasm lasts long enough to carry me through to the end of the semester!
Well, we packed away the Christmas tree this evening. I did take pictures of it, but I'm short a monitor at the moment, and the working computer is not the one with the camera card reader. I'll post the pictures when I have a moment (hopefully sometime before July!) Thanks to everyone who helped make our Christmas this year special.

Birthday Party!

2011-11-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

We had Carrie Ann's fifth birthday party a month early -- since many people are out of town (or partied out) during the holidays. I sent invitations to her whole class, and we had 10 five year olds (plus one big sister) come over.
Wow, five year olds have a lot of energy! They were great -- they all played really well together. When the boys were finished in our little apartment, they asked if they could go outside to play, so we went downstairs to the playground out back and they ran off their energy for at least half an hour. It was so fun watching them! Carrie Ann loved all the gifts she got -- and she let her friends play with them for the rest of the party. She did such a good job sharing, even the mom who stayed with her kid was impressed :-).
My kids even decorated the apartment themselves (after helping me clean it). I left to do some grocery shopping, and gave them scissors, tape and streamers left over from one of Bethany's parties. The whole house looked celebratory when I got back!
Sorry, I didn't even think of taking pictures... maybe next time!

Haircut!

2011-10-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

Well, Carrie Ann decided to cut her hair while I was out tonight... Bethany helped even it out, and this is what I came home to:

For a bit of perspective, at least they didn't fight over the scissors and hurt someone ... hair grows out! And I won't be arguing with Carrie Ann about cutting her bangs off (she's wanted to do it for some time) again for a long long time.

Carrie Ann's pictures

2011-09-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Carrie Ann took some nice pictures recently:

And she was working on her selca:

I also found another tulip picture which I missed earlier:

It went well!

2011-09-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

The dancing went well! The shoes I was planning to dance in actually broke on Thursday, so I headed in early on Saturday to see if I could replace them with real dance slippers. When I got there, the saleslady didn't think they had any ballet slippers, but lo and behold there was one single pair in my size and the colour I wanted (God knew ;-) ). I managed to fake not being nervous, and knowing what I was doing, and enjoying myself well enough that I think I fooled everyone... maybe even myself ;-). It went well over all, and we got quite a few positive comments. Wow!

Today I also taught my first class. I'm a teaching assistant this semester for Syntax and Semantics (advanced grammar, kind of). In the summer I was a teaching assistant for Field Methods, and I did a number of 20 minute presentations, but I was never responsible for a whole class. Today, I taught two 75 minute classes (the same material at the undergraduate and then the graduate level). I used the professor's (excellent) materials, but I had to present it (and answer all the questions) myself. When I asked for questions at the end of the graduate class, about half a dozen hands went up! But that didn't mean it wasn't presented well, the questions reflected that the class was thinking about the topic and digging deeper into it. So it was fun, and went well, and I thank God for that! One of the students even asked if I wanted to be a teacher when I'm done my degree -- and another said the class was a "life-changing experience" -- but I'm pretty sure he was just teasing me!

Israeli Folk Dance!

2011-09-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

Well, since moving back to Langley I've had the opportunity to pick up an old hobby I enjoyed last time I was in school -- dancing! Specifically, Israeli Folk Dance. My teacher asked a group of her students to perform at the Abbotsford Multicultural Festival on behalf of Israel (at 12 noon, if you can make it), so I will actually be dancing on stage tomorrow -- exciting and terrifying! Here are some of the dances we will be doing:
Tzadik Katamar -- my all-time favourite

Nigun Atik

Mayim Mayim

Hine Ma Tov -- not my favourite, because it's a line dance rather than a circle.

This is more what it usually looks like:
Ma Na'avu -- our group is about this size, but a little more energetic.

Ki Eshmera -- we dance like this, but don't have so many people or such a large space.

I hope you enjoyed the links, even though you can't all come to the performance! Pray that it goes well, everyone stays safe, and the audience is moved by it :-) .

Strong Enough by Matthew West

2011-09-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

I just came across this song on Praise 106.5, and I love the words.

It includes Philippians 4;13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," one of my all time favourite verses.

Flowers

2011-09-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

I'm having a happy day today, and what better way to celebrate than with flowers? My summer flowers aren't doing so well anymore, but some of the crocuses and tulips from last spring were beautiful.

I like the contrast between the flower and the drain.

I must be Dutch because I always love the tulips.

So, How's it Going?

2011-09-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it's the day before Labour Day, and I thought I'd do a quick update (yes, it's been 8 months. Sorry). In April I successfully completed the first year of my Master's degree in Applied Linguistics and Exegesis. That year was on linguistics. In April, Matthias joined us in Langley, and in June I started work as a TA (Teaching Assistant -- like all fields, mine has lots of acronyms). It was very fun to work and earn a paycheck, and I had a great summer. After the summer session was over, we enjoyed a visit with Dad and MaryAnna, culminating in Kristine and Dan's wedding (yay! see picture below). The next week we visited the kids' Daddy and Grandma in Creston, stopping at Kelowna on the way to visit with my aunts and uncles. I really enjoyed catching up with my friends Karon and Cait in Creston. Visiting with 5 uncles and aunts at once in Kelowna on the way home was an awesome treat!

This month, I get to start Greek! The exegesis (Bible interpretation) part of my degree starts, so I'm taking Greek and Biblical Hermeneutics. I'll also be TA'ing Syntax and Semantics (that's kind of like Grammar, woo-hoo!). Carrie Ann will be starting full time kindergarten -- she is so excited about that! (About as excited as I am about Greek!) Bethany is looking forward to Grade four, and Matthias is going to do well in Grade five at Langley Christian School.

In August I also reconnected with an old friend from Calvin named Tony. It's been fun chatting on the phone with him and getting to know each other again. Lots of laughter.

And in the bad news, I need a crown on my tooth... but wow, that's a lot to be thankful for compared to one little crown! God is faithful and full of grace.

Fun at Fort Langley

2011-09-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

We had fun at Fort Langley with Auntie Kathleen. The girls were so happy about the facepaint! We hadn't brought our cameras, so a kind stranger took the picture and emailed it to us.

We also got to try some bannock, pet the bunnies, feed the goat, watch the muskets being fired, and guess what? I was really good at the game of translating native place names into English ones. Who would have thought?

People are Awesome!

2011-01-19T16:55:00.001-08:00

People are so awesome! But some people are so awful to other people. Just an observation.
At Aldergrove SDA they had some awesome pictures in the powerpoint for "How Great are You Lord." The first one is the closest I've seen yet to how I picture Jesus when I'm praying or worshiping:

The second is how I picture Jesus when he lived on earth -- again, one of the closest I've seen.
and of course I love the names of God in all languages in the background!
My apologies to whosever the pictures are -- if they are yours, let me know and I'll give credit.
Finally, a picture of Matthias and Frank opening Christmas presents at Grandma's house. (Thanks to Grandma for the pictures!)

Carrie Ann was watching Veggie Tales lately, and they used the word "Hunky." She asked what that meant, and I explained it as "Good to look at." So now, whenever she likes how I look, she says, "Mommy, you're Funky! That means, good to look at!"

Carrie Ann's birthday

2011-01-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Pictures from Carrie Ann's fourth birthday! Her new best friend Riley was there, but I didn't ask if I could post pictures of her... However, it was very fun to have Aria, Nana, and lots of aunties there!
Opening Presents

With Bethany and Nana

With Aria

Reading a story with Kristine

Showing off barrettes

The Tale of the Shy Princess

2011-01-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

One of Bethany's first books. I made it into a pdf -- hopefully this will work. Ideally, you should see two pages beside eachother, with the picture on the right and the text on the left.
The Tale of the Shy Princess

Girls

2010-12-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

I have some pictures of the girls, with many thanks to those who took the pictures and sent them to me!
Both girls, making cookies with Aunty Kathleen.

Bethany had fun!

Carrie Ann dressing up in Aunty Kathleen's belly-dancing costumes.

Carrie Ann dressing up in Hawaiian clothes at our friends' place.

Bethany dressed up too.

Carrie Ann playing dress-up last May.

Carrie Ann did a good job cutting and colouring her name with a craft kit from the Library last spring.

Christmas tree

2010-12-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the generosity of some anonymous friends, we got a Christmas tree this year!

We are very thankful to everyone who gave us gifts or money this year. It has been nice to be around family and friends, and enjoy the season! May God bless you all as you share His love with others and meditate on the miracle of his incarnation and birth.

by the way

2010-12-16T16:04:00.001-08:00

By the way, I don't have access to practicadoula anymore, so if you've been trying to email me there please try at: (name of my blog) zero seven at gmail dot com. Hopefully you can make that out better than the webcrawlers that steal email addresses...

Gone again, back again

2010-12-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

Hi there! Well, it has been a while (okay, 7 months). Sorry. Quick recap: in June, I could no longer hold together my marriage with Frank, moved to Langley. After a summer of living here and there (thanks to everyone who helped us out!), we now live in a subsidized apartment for single moms. Matthias is living with Frank, and having fun "unschooling." We will see how that goes. When I prayed about what to do with my life now that marriage was no longer an option, God reminded me of the MLE I didn't do 14 years ago. So here I am -- already done the first semester (the "Killer Pack" -- by God's grace, it didn't kill me!). If you want to talk to me about any of this, feel free to call or email (I'll be off email for the holidays, though). Dad and Deb both have my number, and Calvin College, or leave me a comment and I'll call you.
I wanted to be intentional about celebrating Christmas this year, so we sat down and made a list of what Christmas is about. The first thing on our list was "remembering Jesus' birth," and I listed all the things we've done to celebrate His first coming -- playing religious Christmas music, reading the story, attending Christmas plays, programs and concerts. The one thing missing on my list was setting up a nativity scene. So we talked about how hard it is to buy one that matches my mental image. The next thing I knew, Bethany asked for my fabric scrap bag, and she created costumes for all her Barbie dolls and now we have a beautiful "Barbie Nativity." So much better than a store bought one!

Close up

Getting There

2010-05-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yay! (or as Carrie Ann says, "Woo hoo!") Yesterday, she stayed dry all day -- not y me rememering to put her on the toilet, ut y going all y herself! That is a huge step ahead. Hope it will last, it's aout time! Sorry aout the key after a... the kids got it yesterday.

My ankle is getting there too. I can walk, even on grass, ut still have a limp, and it hurts at the end of the day. Actually, all of oth legs hurt from compensating! I'm very glad to e ale to get around, though!

Oops!

2010-04-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Good news first... the other day I was babysitting an almost two year old at her house with Carrie Ann and Bethany. Carrie Ann went over to Luna's play kitchen, and said, "Now I'm going to back my favourite food! Spinach!"

Today I sprained my ankle -- I was rushing to walk to the school to get Bethany for a dentist appointment, and tripped when my foot hit the backpack on the back of the stroller. Then suddenly I had lots of time, because I knew I couldn't do the half hour walk anymore! I flagged down a passing neighbour and got a ride home, then called Frank's Mom who was happy to pick up Bethany and take her to the dentist. So it all turned out all right, I even got the fish tank moved to a shady corner with everyone's help (hopefully that will cut down on the algae overgrowth), but now I can't sleep because my ankle hurts. It's not at all like the worst sprain I had (in 1996) which took months to heal. This one will probably be better in a week or two. Such is life.

Updates

2010-02-28T15:28:00.001-08:00

Well, it hasn't been too busy here the last two months, at least not for the camera!

In January we went skating, went to Torch day (Carrie Ann calls it "Canada", since we sang "O Canada" there), saw a baby calf, and I went to a fabulous concert by the Toronto Consort. I don't have pictures of all that, of course, but there are some pictures of the beautiful sweater MaryAnna made for Carrie Ann!

In February:
We did a reading Olympics for school -- 2000 minutes in one month, per kid, and we just finished on the last day!
We went to a concert by the Canadian University College Chamber Orchestra. It was incredible -- the music swept me away a couple times, and that hasn't happened in a very long time. We had a couple of flautists over for the night afterwards. It was fun! They were from Thailand and Seoul, so we could have spent lots more time talking if it hadn't been so late!
Carrie Ann stopped sucking her thumb (with a little help). It took two weeks before she stopped saying "I really need my thumb" at bedtime.
We watched a little bit of the Olympics (mainly figure skating).
But I don't have pictures of that.
I have pictures of the smile finder on our new camera, a new family picture, and the first shoots and flowers of spring.
If anyone wants their own copy of our family picture, just let me know what size, what format (electronic or paper) and which one (this is number one, number two has Carrie's eyes open but everyone else looks bored).

Click here to see the rest of the pictures in my gallery.

December pictures

2010-01-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well, my pictures from December are up!
It was a busy month. I got to go to a play with a friend of mine, in which another friend played Elizabeth Bennet -- in Pride and Prejudice. I had a great evening!
Later that weekend I took the kids to the Mormon's display of nativity sets they have collected -- several hundred of them! Some of them were very beautiful, some interesting -- made of local materials or styles in far away places. They also had a great craft room for the kids!
Two weeks later, my choir sang in the local Ministerial concert -- many churches from town sent their church choirs, and the songs were interspersed with readings and congregational singing. The choir members outnumbered the guests by almost five to one, I think! It's a really neat evening.
Two days later, Bethany and the primary students at their school put on a play about the Mice who saved Christmas. I found out that you have to get there at least half an hour early to get a seat! I got there 45 minutes early, and found the auditorium half full already! The next day, the middle school students (Matthias' section) ran a Winter Carnival -- Matthias helped at the concession.
That Sabbath was our church's Christmas program -- songs and readings interspersed with lots of special music. Creston is a very musical town, I think, and the SDA church is particularly musical. I had the privilege of doing one of the readings and leading one song -- why is it they always pick songs I don't know well? Bethany and her Sabbath School class sang Away in the Manger, and the choir sang our song again ("Twas the Birthday of a King").
By the end of all that, I was exhausted, and the next week first Bethany fell sick, then myself, then Carrie Ann, and finally Matthias as well. (Frank got it a little bit, two weeks later.) So Carrie's birthday was a quiet day at home, though Grandma came over with presents and strawberries to go with the cake. We did manage to bake a cake and blow out candles. Very important: always let the cake cool off before you put the candles in! I put them in right away and the bottoms of the candles melted into the cake! Then I had to scoop the wax out, creating big holes in the cake. Oh well, it tasted great with those nice strawberries!

Hard to believe she's three already! When she was born, I remember looking at her and thinking, "I can't wait until you are three, and can walk and talk and feed yourself, and are done with diapers!" It is finally here!
Carrie Ann Dancing on her birthday:

Christmas eve, we were still sick, so Grandma brought over some presents again, and from Aunt Kathleen and Aunt Deborah as well (Frank's sisters). (Rob and Hyang Ju's gift came earlier.) The Sunday after all the holidays (Jan. 3) we finally got to go to Grandma's house for hot cocoa! I got the kids all a toy and a pack of socks -- but after all the neat gifts from everyone else, mine were anti-climactic!
Carrie Ann with her favourite present:

The next week, I realized that Carrie Ann had not wet her pants since the day before her birthday! A whole week, day and night! I had promised her a doll when she accomplished a whole week dry, so we went shopping and she picked out this Barbie. So many toys in a row! I was so proud of her, though, and happy to be free, finally, of diapers! (She actually made it three weeks before her first accident, awesome!) Now I just have to teach her to do it on her own, instead of always needing help. She is getting there. This week she showed me that she can undress herself -- she wanted a bath, and next thing I knew she was running around stark naked. And she managed to dress herself, at least partway. One day she got panties, tights, socks and a dress on all by herself, all I had to do was the buttons and bow!
My baby is growing up, and finally I don't have panic attacks when I see other people pregnant or walking around with newborns. That doesn't mean I want another one, though!
Last thing this year, the sweater MaryAnna was knitting for Bethany finally arrived! Bethany picked the colours when we were visiting in Niagara Falls. They agreed on a pattern together, and went shopping together for just the right yarn (MaryAnna said it was an eye-opener shopping with Bethany, because she knew exactly what she wanted and was willing to shop around until she found it!). The sweater turned out just beautiful.

Other than that.... I'm trying to save up for my trip to Korea for Rob's wedding, so if you have any typing or transcribing you need done, let me know! (Or anything else I can do quietly on the computer at home for an hour or two per day.
If you go see the December pictures, don't miss the girls' artwork, "Jesus Baby" by Carrie Ann, and "Baby Jesus" and the "Rose Princess" by Bethany.
Carrie Ann has decided that she can make up new words as well! Recently she started using "innervating", which means something like annoying. Also, if it's not "his", it must be "shis" -- rhymes with his, means hers. Three year olds are so cute (but they still do cry, which she is doing right now, so I guess it's bedtime!).

Appreciation

2009-12-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

The other night, I was tucking Carrie Ann in when Matthias suddenly howled in frustration (the shower water went suddenly cold). So I told her, "Stay here and wait for a minute while I check on Matthias, and then I will come back and give you hair some more." I was hoping, though I know that usually she follows me within one minute when that happens. Well (after the shower water problem was solved), I returned to find her waiting patiently in bed for me! I said, "Thanks, Carrie Ann! I really appreciate that you waited in bed for me." Thinking to myself, I've been using the word "appreciate" around her for a couple weeks yet, and who said two year olds can't use four syllable words? When she answered, "I 'preciated that you comed back, Mommy." I love it when my kids appreciate me.
PS don't try to make complete sentences of everything I just wrote; I didn't.
PPS I just got back from a performance of Pride and Prejudice, in which a good friend of mine played Elizabeth Bennet. She did a smashing job! If you know her, be sure to congratulate her!

November's almost over already!

2009-11-27T18:56:00.000-08:00

Well, after getting October done finally I was on a roll, so I decided to work on the November pictures as well. Besides, many of them are just pictures of things that actually happened in October.

I started with a "photo eulogy" of Opa, and pictures from his funeral. Thanks to MaryAnna, Uncle Al, and Angela, Jeremy and Ben for the pictures. Opa pictures: come see what he meant to me.

The rest of the pictures from November show the renovations and rearrangements Frank started in October and I finished in November, and Matthias and Bethany at school (and a couple miscellaneous things like my new haircut). Oh, and the new sun lamp can be seen on my desk under the blue and white tea towel (ugly lamp, pretty towel!), though it is now in the living room since I wanted to read in the morning before Frank and Carrie Ann are necessarily up. The mini-trampoline I haven't taken any pictures of yet, though I'm sure that will come!

Finally, I wanted to mention my dear cousin's baby. She was born Nov. 25 at 27 weeks and her lungs were not ready yet. Heather and Alex, we grieve with you for your beautiful daughter. I burned my mourning candle for her today (it was first lit when Deb miscarried Stretch). I look forward to meeting her when we all get to heaven!

Fall Videos

2009-11-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Well, looks like I forgot to blog about the videos I uploaded since things calmed down around here. So here is the list:

From August:
One of Carrie Ann's first successful attempts to make her tricycle go!

The evening Uncle Tony and Tante Marianne stopped by we were outside playing at sunset, and Carrie Ann showed off some of her new skills.

Dancing around with the piano demo music, with fancy princess hairdos in their hair!

Noisy noisemakers at Bethany's birthday party!

From October:
We always had fun in Opa and Oma's woods, and now my kids did too! Carrie Ann loved it that some of the trees were small enough for her to shake!

My crazy camera sometimes turns to video when you take it out of the case. So the first couple tries came out as videos, before we figured out what the problem was. Opa was so happy to be holding Carrie Ann's hand.

From November:
My new haircut is shorter than I was expecting, and when I shake my head the curly sides "floop" against my cheeks. So I call it my floopy haircut. It is cute.

Carrie Ann is so excited about the snow because she knows her birthday is on "a snowy day". She decided this white dress is her snowy day dress, and when she put it on in the morning she wanted to go straight outside and dance in the snow. (I had to persuade her to wait until I was dressed too!)

October

2009-11-26T19:07:00.001-08:00

Well, October was a busy and emotionally full month for me. Therefore, it has been hard to prepare to share about it -- I need to process it myself before I know just what I want to say. I am going to comment my photos -- I took over 200, and narrowed it down to "only" 80, and I know that's too much for most of you, but it's my scrapbook so I can do it how I like and you can flip through as fast as you want to (just look at the thumbnails, do a slideshow and pause when there's a long comment, or something like that).

First pictures, I signed up Bethany for ballet, and her new outfit arrived in the mail (it is a great use of her birthday money from Grandma each year).

That first week of October, I was thinking a lot about how quiet it was around the house while Matthias and Bethany were on the field trip with Frank. Homeschooling was going less well, Matthias was being more resistant, and I was having trouble focussing. I had a concussion a year ago, and I still find multi-tasking difficult and stressful. (The spot where I hit my head also hurts when it's cold, just like my ankle did for a few years after I sprained it.) I wanted to do more for Bethany in science and socials, but Matthias was taking all my energy and I felt I was not doing justice to the education they should be getting.

At the same time, I had been thinking since last spring of visiting Ontario to see Opa and Oma (they had never met Carrie Ann in person), to see Uncle Tony (he was sick) and to see Dave and Julie (my uncle and aunt) when they were around for the summer. I really wanted to go when Rob was there in July, but Frank said it was just too expensive.

So, in the first week of October, I found some better tickets ($50-$100 less per ticket, per way, per person), and decided that I was going to really regret it if I didn't go to Ontario soon, even if it meant we had to put off some renovations for another season. Uncle Tony had already passed away in July, and Dave and Julie and Rob weren't going to be there, but I didn't want to live with the regrets if I left it too late and missed visiting Opa.

So I bought the tickets, and started looking for a way to get to Calgary at 5 am on a Sunday morning. As I worked on this, I faced the fact that homeschooling was not going well enough, and decided to put Matthias and Bethany in to public school. I was pretty sure Bethany would do well (and she it), and I hoped that Matthias would do better in an atmosphere of compliance and a roomful of kids doing the same thing. Well, he has had three or four bad days (as bad as I feared), but on the whole he has been doing as well as I hoped -- he's working at his level, and not giving the teacher too much resistance. I met her at the store today, and she was really happy with how he did today! Anyway, back to the first week of October, as I was making travel arrangements, I gave up on homeschooling and registered the kids at the local public school, visiting their classrooms with them, and meeting their new teachers and principal. It is a really great school, with a lot of focus on learning virtues and making it a wholesome atmosphere for everyone there (no bullying allowed). I planned for them to start the Monday after we arrived home, allowing a day to rest up and unpack, and Friday was a Pro-D day.

So on Saturday October 10 we set off at 8 am for a restful Sabbath on the Greyhound. The kids were great, a lot of the other passengers really appreciated them (quiet on the bus and cute during the breaks), and I read "A Wrinkle in Time" -- the whole book -- to them.

The flight, and all the connections between bus, hotel and airport, went very smoothly, and I was overjoyed to "come home" to Thanksgiving with the Boonstra Family at Oma and Opa's. It was so great to see everyone again -- my cousins' babies and everything! In the afternoon, we all visited Opa in the hospital. He was so happy to see everyone, and was thrilled that "that beautiful young girl wanted to kiss him" (I'm not sure if he meant me or Bethany!).

The next few days we spent in Niagara Falls with Dad and MaryAnna. My good friend from highschool, Tonia-Joy, came to visit us, and we "did" the Falls together, as well as the SkyWheel, the big ferris wheel (pictures). It was so awesome to see her, and to spend some time with Dad. At Thanksgiving service, I most enjoyed the pipe organ in Dad's historic church! MaryAnna, unfortunately, was very ill those first couple of days, so we let her rest!

At the end of the week, I loaded the kids in Dad's car and we set off (through Toronto) to Bowmanville to visit cousins there (the ones who weren't at the Thanksgiving meal, mostly from Dad's side). Thanks to everyone who prayed for "travelling mercies", because I've never attempted city driving like that before, and it went really really well! We also enjoyed our time with our Toronto region cousins -- some I have pictures of, and some I do not, but I love them all. Some I hadn't seen since 2001, and a couple, even longer. On Friday morning, we even had time for a side-trip to see the CN Tower! How many BC kids can say they've been up the CN Tower?!

The beginning of the next week we spent with Dad and MaryAnna -- it was great to really get to spend some time with her. She has a lot of wisdom about life. We also visited with Dave and Julie -- did I tell you? Right after I booked the tickets, we got an email saying they were coming for Thanksgiving too -- I jumped for joy! We visited Oma as well, and Opa once more in the hospital. Aunt Kathy was with me that time, and we sat in the sunroom and talked while Opa watched Carrie Ann playing. It was so fun to see them together. The thing I remember most from that conversation was Opa saying "I want to go home *in the worst way*" At the time, the context meant, to his house, but I wondered if he also meant his heavenly home. He was very emphatic. On Monday he got to go home, and on Tuesday we visited him at home. He was on oxygen, but was able to take it off for a few minutes for picture taking. He held Carrie Ann's hand the whole time. They were so taken with each other! When she played, she would keep bringing her toy over to show him, or put on his lap, and he would listen to her and smile at her, and follow her around with his eyes as she played. She looked at Dad and announced joyfully, "I have two Opas!!" I don't have words to say how glad I am that we were there that day. Later on, we went for a walk in the woods, and that was such a beautiful time as well -- those woods are so full of happy memories for all us Boonstra cousins! (Pictures)

We left a 4 am, Ontario time, to head home on Wednesday. We stopped for a detour at the Calgary Children's Hospital, where I had a follow-up appointment about some tests Matthias had done in April. (No surprises there, he is still developing at his own consistent pace.) We spent the rest of the afternoon at the hospital, and caught an evening bus to Cranbrook, where Frank picked us up. When we finally arrived home, it was 1 am BC time -- a full 24 hours later! Thankfully, we all got a fair bit of sleep on the bus ride.

When we got home, Frank had indeed done his threatened renovations and rearrangements! Thanks to his earnest efforts, and his mom's help, the furniture (as well as ceilings and floors) were all back in place, and the kids bed had been made up. I had to find my bedding on the couch... The next couple days of "resting up and getting ready for school" ended up being a mad rush to bring order to the chaos in the house. But by the time Monday came, the beds were made, the linens stored, the toys and books all rearranged, the living room cleaned up, and the house was livable. Then I got to "decorate" my desk -- the new "me space" Frank created for me in the rearranged bedroom. Pictures will come, but by the time I was done and took pictures, it was November already!

So the kids started school. Bethany brought cupcakes with whipped cream and sprinkles, and found out that two of her friends were already in her class, so she fit right in no problem. Matthias brought chocolate chip cookies, and his classmates were very friendly. However, the Gr. 5 class didn't have a Teacher's Assistant, so after three days they moved him to a Gr. 4 class with a TA (and another Gr. 5 student who needs a little extra assistance). He fits in very well with the Gr. 4 class -- they are more the same size as him, and closer to his academic level. His teacher also loves science!

I bought a sunlamp, and just this week Frank picked up a mini-trampoline for me, so that I can continue to stave off depression during the dark winter months here. Carrie Ann has become somewhat less clingy, and is doing better at toilet training, now that she has some hours each day of my undivided attention. I even have energy, time and attention to cook something special once in a while now -- pumpkin pie, apple crisp, or a three course meal (I couldn't cook two things at once for quite a while, so while the meals were nutritionally complete, usually one part was cooked or "prepared", and the other two were just opened or peeled).

Meantime, Frank also got the furnace fixed (yay!) and the leaky sewer pipe -- this I have pictures of!

The last thing that happened in October, on the 30th, was that Opa passed away. I thank God so much for impressing my conscience that I better visit now or I'll really regret it (I don't know if I could have handled it if I had not gone). But I did, and I am incredibly thankful for that. Now Opa is at Home, and we will see him again later, but not right now.

I hope you enjoy all the pictures (or at least some of them!).

Jesus on His Throne

2009-11-07T17:18:00.000-08:00

The first Sabbath in September, I led Praise and Worship at church. I started with a song based on Ps. 95, "O Come let us sing unto the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our Salvation!" Next, we magnified his Name with "O worship the King, all glorious above, O gratefully sing His wonderful love" (my childhood version said, "His power and His love"). During this song, I imagined God on his throne, robed in power but full of love towards us. The final song was "Children of the heavenly Father, safely in His bosom gather," and during this song I imagined the whole congregation joyfully approaching the Lord on his throne, taking comfort in the assurance that we are his beloved children. As I sang and envisioned these things, I prayed that the others in the congregation would share them. When I sat down, I saw that Bethany had drawn a little sketch of exactly what I envisioned! God answered my prayer! So I asked her to make a larger version, and we shared copies with the church the next week. Several of the ladies saw deeper meaning in parts of the picture, and I was just thrilled that Bethany and I could bless the body of Christ in that small way.

September Trips Galore

2009-11-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

In September (actually, starting in late August) someone had a trip or commitment every week/weekend. In late August, Frank and Matthias went for a week to the SRAC camp in southern Idaho -- they had a wonderful time.
Next, the whole family went to Cat Tales zoo near Spokane with our friends Linda and Crystal.
On Sabbath we spent the day together on Mount Spokane.

Lots more pictures in the gallery.
The next weekend I attended a "Breaking down the Barriers" seminar in Creston -- an excellent seminar about making relationships right, both interpersonal and with God.
The next weekend, Frank and Matthias headed to Grand Forks to visit some friends there. I like those friends too, but was getting too exhausted for more travel and commitments!
Finally, Frank took Matthias and Bethany on the Homelinks trip to Seattle and Victoria. I was so thankful that I didn't have to go, and drag Carrie Ann with me on another hectic fieldtrip schedule! They had a great time, and you can see parts of Frank's email report in my September pictures.
So, that was September. In the midst of all this, we started schoolwork, and at first it went okay, but as time went on I got more and more exhausted. I just couldn't keep up with everything. ... To be continued.

August pictures and gladiolas

2009-11-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

August was full of fun, family and friends. We had a visit from Uncle Tony and Tante Marianne which I really enjoyed, we enjoyed the gladiolas and the spray park, we went to a friend's wedding, and of course, Bethany had her seventh birthday.

For more pictures click here.

I had some beautiful gladiolas in my flower garden this year, and I took so many pictures they got their own folder in my picture gallery. So if you love flower pictures, or need a dose of beauty, check this one out.

Sorry about that....

2009-11-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a very very long time since I posted to this blog. September was ridiculously busy, and we went on a trip in October, so it is only now that I finally have time to blog again. A lot has happened, so I will go through the time sequentially as I process all the pictures I took. Hopefully tomorrow or early next week I will be done with the August pictures and videos. For now, I have a new email address which I hope will be easier to spell: rebeccajz07 (at) gmail (dot) com. I will still check the old ones regularly, but if you are using the rjzimmerman (at) uniserve address, please change over to the new one. If Frank decides to change providers, I will not be emailing a change of address to everyone, since I rarely give out that address now. Thanks!

July Pictures are up!

2009-08-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

I finally finished posting and commenting my pictures from July!
Click here to enjoy.

July videos up on You Tube

2009-08-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

I finally posted the videos from July, as follows:
All the grandkids, playing at once, how fun!

Playing in the pool:

At home again, Deb and Brad, and Kristine and Aria stopped by:

Harry "You Know Who"

2009-08-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I went to the library and borrowed all the Harry Potter books I could find, and while Frank and Matthias were away for the week I read them (all except book 2, which was missing). I had debated about reading them for quite a while, and read a lot about them. Some Christians are convinced that since thinking about a woman lustfully is the same as committing adultery, reading a book about people who can do magic is the same as participating in witchcraft.

You know, for a long time I've been pondering how to reach the majority of our culture with the gospel -- with the truth about Jesus, who he is, and the relationship he wants with us. After reading those books, I thought, J.K. Rowling may have hit on just the thing. So I googled "Harry Potter Jesus" to see if anyone else had picked up on the parallels between the two. Some people guessed at them as early as book two. Rowling intentionally hid her religion and literary background until after the last book was published, so the ending would remain a surprise. Some people still question whether it was intended to resemble Christian "mythology" or if those themes are just inherent in all great human literature. (I say, Jesus' story is told through all the ages and in all cultures, taking different forms but always the same.)

The best article I found, interestingly, was from The Banner: Harry Potter and the Way of Jesus. (Go read it!)

It's not that Harry Potter is Jesus, it's that Jesus is Harry Potter. Knowing Jesus, you can see a small reflection, a glimmer of him, in Harry. But if you don't know Him, you only know the travesty people have made of His name, yet you love what you see in Harry Potter -- the love, the self-sacrifice, the earnest desire to overcome evil and save people from its effects -- then to you I say, Jesus is Harry Potter. Harry Potter can show you who Jesus really is, apart from the tarnish made on his name by his supposed followers. Don't worship Harry -- don't worship the "Jesus" who tells people to go spray "Lamb's blood" all over movie-goers -- worship the true Jesus, the one who did for us just what Harry did for his friends.

Good series. Not sorry I read it. Not sure what comes next, but we'll see when we get there.

August is here!

2009-08-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

So August is here (Happy Birthday, Caryn, sorry I'm late!).
With it come forest fire smoke, and cherry canning. See the mountains in this picture I took from our backyard?

No? The first day it smelled smoky, but since then it has stayed mostly a mist on the horizon. Get used to it!
In happier news, I am canning cherries once again. We got some nice culls from a friend's orchard, and Frank and I did five batches tonight (that's 35 jars, to go with the 14 I did last time). So if you would like a couple jars of canned cherries, all you have to do is come by and pick them up!

Baby grows!

2009-07-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a little thunderstorm, and afterward, Carrie Ann excitedly announced, "The batteries go'ed out!" Yes, Matthias had noticed that the power went out, and that was her take on that!
Carrie's turn:iii;uuuuy';[[ppiooy'

][[[[i[i[i[i[bbvmmmmm8679kkjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjgggggggffddssattttttttttttrmmmnnnmjkmnnbbuuyytttttst
'''ghhhhh,lkklo9964322`ktktkktkkkkt,kmjjjjjgjgjjggjgjgghygggdfyopo
"It says, Carrie Ann"

The other day, Carrie Ann said, "I don't like my hair. It's just regular. It's not bootiful (beautiful)." So yesterday I cut her hair, then commented that, "Now it's not just regular, now it's very cute!" So Carrie replied, "No, it's not coot, it's pweshus (precious)!"

In other exciting news, Carrie Ann pedaled her own trike for the first time yesterday. She went "back and forth, back and forth, then in circles" in her own words! Oh well, soon she will be able to steer too!

More from Carrie Ann:
nnbbvbccxfdytrwwqcbm,,......ggfggffffxzdryttooobvcxiioouuyttreennhhhgggtttttttyyyj,..... .....;;lkjhhggggggggggggggghhhhhllll
nnnnnnjhyy5333333hhhhhhhhhhf bbvvcxzxxr5jj''lgfffffdffhhhgfffdddddddgggddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddffffff bbggrrewqqfttujyttreeeww

June Pictures

2009-07-23T11:29:00.001-07:00

I posted pictures from June, and got my July pictures from our trip on my computer...
See here for the June pictures.
We got to see our butterfly drinking (the video is up on youtube already).
Our car broke down, and we replaced it (the new one is "winter blue").
Bethany did some artwork and made a clubhouse.
We visited Mom and Dad Z for Father's Day.

Actually....

2009-07-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Matthias and Bethany both rode their bikes today --no training wheels for Bethany, and Matthias on his new big one, now that it is finally fixed! Carrie Ann can even reach the wheels of her tricycle now!

Carrie Ann has started using adverbs -- she frequently comes out with "Akshuly" (actually), and occasionally with "definitely". She also started saying, "Oh my goodness" from time to time, as in "Oh my goodness, that is so huge!" (huge is one of her new favourites). She can count three numbers at a time, but in random order, and 2 (her age) and 6 (Bethany's age) are her favourite numbers. When she can't think of any more numbers to add, she just says "Many!" and throws her hands wide. (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 4, 5, 6, 2, 6, many!) It is so "coot"!

We had a great trip to the Coast (it was awesome to meet Rob's girlfriend, and to have the whole family together), and enjoyed Dad and Mary Anna and Rob's visits afterwards. I am praying about going to Ontario -- I would really like to, but can't see how or when yet.

No accidents!

2009-06-30T20:29:00.001-07:00

Wow! After one week, Carrie Ann went the whole day today with the same pair of panties, no accidents! I am so amazed! It just was not this easy with the other two!

And I posted a new video of our butterfly drinking orange juice.

May pictures are up!

2009-06-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

(And it's not even July yet!)

In May I dressed up as a princess, enjoyed tulips and lilacs, raised a butterfly, went to the coast for a wedding and visited Deb and her family, and Matthias turned 10 (isn't that something!).

Click to see the pictures.

And in toilet training news, Carrie Ann was clean and dry until 8 pm today -- wow, this is going a lot faster than I expected!

Yahoo!!

2009-06-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

Carrie Ann just ran into the house saying "Mommy I'm peeing!" and holding her crotch. So I stuck her on the toilet -- usually she's finished by this time, though once or twice she has managed to get the second half in the toilet. She was still dry this time, and peed it all in the toilet!! Sorry to anyone who has never toilet trained, I'm sure you don't have any clue why I'm so excited about this -- after all, every child learns to use the toilet (at least, almost every child), right? I just did a few calculations, based on an average of five diapers a day (more when they're younger, fewer when they're older), and I've probably changed over 17,000 diapers. So I think I have a right to get excited! The end is in sight! It is quite a skill to learn to notice beforehand and hold it until you get to a toilet. This is one more of those things we take for-granted (like eating, walking, reading and even breathing, which can be a struggle for some children to learn too) -- but it is actually quite amazing. Thank God for small miracles.

New Posts to YouTube

2009-06-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

We raised a butterfly. This video is from an hour after it emerged, before the wings were strong enough to fly.

Carrie Ann saying "Liberry" (her favourite place to go, after Grandma's place and along with church potluck), and "chugga chugga choo choo" with Bethany and Dora.

Bethany's class performed this song for the Homelinks final program:

Matthias' class performed the "Spanish Flea" -- this is an excerpt.

That's it for the May videos, now I'm going to work on the pictures!

Pain and love

2009-06-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this anecdote in response to Brad's blog about Aria's hurt finger.
Last weekend, Carrie Ann had a splinter in her foot, which we had to go to the hospital to get dug out. It was torture for me as much as for her -- but there was another woman there who couldn't sleep because she wanted children so badly and couldn't have them (instead of listening, the doctor quickly prescribed sleeping pills and sent her on her way). We all have our own pain. For Carrie Ann, the popsicle the nurse gave her on the way home made it all worth it!
"Sorry" often means sorry that, not sorry for. I'm sorry that you got hurt, rather than I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry that there is pain in the world, rather than I'm sorry my action caused you pain. What I learned when Mom died was that it doesn't matter which words you use, it is the showing of sympathy which is important.
Parents, including God the Father, can't prevent all pain in this imperfect world. But our children are comforted by our presence, sympathy and unconditional love, just as we are comforted when we let God love us through our pain.
The sunset was beautiful tonight. Someday I'll post the pictures I took!

April Pictures

2009-06-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

I finally finished sorting through the April pictures. (Click the link to go to my picture gallery.)

One picture of myself turned out very well.

The kids had a lot of fun with Easter Egg Hunts this April.

We also enjoyed the tulips.

Hallelujah, Salvation and Glory (Revelation 19:1)

2009-05-20T22:50:00.001-07:00

Wow.
Tonight in choir, the director introduced a new song which I first learned over 15 years ago during highschool. It was at a mass choir concert (all the Christian highschools of Southwestern Ontario), and we learned it during the preparation for the concert. It was an amazing experience, a real high -- singing praise with so many at once, without worrying about sheet music or perfection, just singing with our whole hearts (I believe the director had us swaying, like the first video below).

Huge children's choir

Later, we sang the song again at the end of our Gr. 12 camp (we must have learned it in the end of Gr. 11 or something), and it was again a very emotional experience, I think because of the bonding we went through as a class during the camp. It was very similar to this:

At the end of camp

Today, when the choir director started playing it, I could only sit there with my mouth open -- at the time, it had been a brand new song, and I had never managed to track in down in all these years, then here it comes from a totally unexpected direction. When I did manage to move, I had to run out and cry on the steps for a while. I'm not sure why.

When I got home, I did some research and found out that it is called Revelation 19:1, by Jeffrey LaValley, and is available performed by Stephen Hurd or by the New Jerusalem Baptist Choir. According to YouTube, it went the rounds in 2007 and was performed that year by many church, gospel, and children's choirs.

There is no such thing as luck or coincidence -- only God at work behind the scenes, all the time. He is wonderful!

Feeling Better

2009-05-10T22:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm finally starting to feel better, so now to update my blog...

First, I finished the March pictures -- here is one of the kids:

We had a great trip to Calgary -- Matthias' appointments at the Children's Hospital went well, and all the experts were very happy with how he's doing. We went to Science World (less than three hours was just not enough time, but they close at 4), and swimming after the hospital on Monday, and headed home after the Tuesday morning appointment. It was a lot of fun, but I came home sick again... anyway...

I won't post a picture here, but I got a couple really nice ones of my crocuses this year.
I also uploaded a couple new/old videos -- the kids celebrating Carrie Ann's birth, Bethany doing her first cartwheel, and the older two playing airplane with Uncle Hugh, before Carrie Ann was born.

Cute Sayings

2009-04-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

The other day I was peeling potatoes, and Carrie Ann begged a raw one off me. (I don't know why my kids like raw potatoes, up until about 3). So I gave her one, but wouldn't give her a big piece, explaining that you can't eat too much raw potato because it is hard to digest and could make you sick. Carrie pipes up, "Diarrhea?" I was so surprised, how did she come to that? So I asked her, and she explained that if too much "Vitam and C" gives you diarrhea, maybe raw potato does too. Smart cookie!
She is also learning to say Bethany now instead of Betadane. Usually it comes out without the th -- Bessany, Beffany, Bettany -- but she's getting close!
She got a new stuffed dog from a customer of Frank's, and when Bethany asked what she wanted to call it, she replied "Keffeno". (Sounds a bit like "Kevin O" with f for v.) A couple days later I realized that Keffeno also means "customer," as in "Daddy's going to the keffeno's house?"
When I ask what she wants for breakfast, she replies, "Mashy patoes and bwokii!" (Mashed potatoes and broccoli)
Sorry it took so long to post... since about the last post I've been sick -- nauseous and exhausted, with headaches (no, not pregnant), and it just took weeks to get over. I wasn't sure if it was some kind of flu (there is a long-lasting, exhausting one going around town, but not usually that long) or a bit of a relapse of that concussion I had last fall. I still lose words and spelling more often than I used to, and often mix up my words -- either by switching letters or by inserting the word I'm looking at instead of the one I want to say. For instance, two days ago I told Bethany's friend's mom that "Sarah wants to know if Sarah can come over to play." When Bethany laughed at me and Iveta sounded confused, I realized I'd said something wrong... Yesterday, I was asking the kids if they wanted to sing another song, but the page was open to a song called The Midnight Cry, so I said, "What do you want to cry next?" Last week, I made ramen noodles with a can of mushrooms in them, and Frank commented that the noodles were more slippery than usual. Later I realized that, as I thought "The nipples were sloodery because of the mushrooms." That one made me crack up!
With me being sick so much, Carrie Ann learned the word headache "hegake". The other day she said, "Me have a hegake, Mommy." I thought that was unusual, so I asked, "Where?" and she put her hand on her tummy and said, "Right here, on my tummy." First time I've heard of a headache in your tummy, but with my nauseous headaches, it kind of made sense.
Anyway, I have some pictures, but they are not really ready yet. I will try to get to that when I can! Next week we are going to Calgary for Matthias' yearly appointment, so please keep us in your prayers.

All Done

2009-03-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like I'm all done nursing Carrie Ann! She was down to one last nursing time, in the early morning, for the last couple weeks. Then, suddenly, yesterday morning she forgot to wake up and ask for "dissing". When she also forgot this morning, I decided that means she's finished (fishished, as she puts it). Wow! I started saying no to nursing last October when I got that concussion, because I needed to be able to sleep through the night. So we worked on it gradually for -wow- almost six months now. I also lost another five pounds, maybe because of less nursing (my body doesn't think it needs to store fat for that anymore), or drinking more water, or something... Today I had a bad migraine, it lasted about 24 hrs then suddenly dissipated. I wonder if I'm allergic to the walnut candy Frank made for lunch dessert yesterday.

Miracles

2009-02-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

Wow, everyone else is complaining about snow, but we got very little here - and our tulips and snowdrops are coming up! The crocuses are still covered in snow, but I'm excited to see the beginnings of flowers again!

We went swimming for physio today... Matthias' physiotherapist got a concussion Wednesday night (pray for Candace), and she did not show up at all for our swimming appointment. Matthias had watched her enter the passcode for the door lock, so he opened the door for us and we went in and swam anyway. (I even turned the boiler down afterward.) Four hours later, she called up all apologetic for standing us up. I was happy to explain that we hadn't actually missed the swim, though we missed her... She said that actually, the door lock passcode hasn't been working for a couple weeks now -- so it truly was a miracle that we got in! And she was happy not to have to run over to turn down the boiler. God is great -- we could have done fine without the swim, but I think Candace needed the encouragement that, even though she can't do everything anymore with this concussion, God is still looking after her things for her!

Carrie Ann slept in her own bed until almost 5am last night, and Frank even vacuumed upstairs before Sabbath today -- miracles happen all the time!

Tongue twisters

2009-02-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

(Bad language warning, Rob!)
The kids have been enjoying tongue twisters this week in homeschool. Bethany and Matthias have both mastered the wood chuck one, and even Carrie Ann can say "wood chuck wood". Bethany is also working on Peter Piper: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peckers" is what she usually comes out with (she doesn't know what peckers means, so I chuckle silently...).
The one that split my gut laughing was this one from The Tongue Twister Database:
I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.
Try saying that one without saying a poopy word!

In other language news, I was so proud of Matthias today for completing his Reading Comprehension FSA (standardized test) within the allowed timeframe (and even enough time left to review!). Bethany read "Hop on Pop" all by herself -- I only had to read two words, you can guess which ones! Carrie Ann, when I came in from a brisk walk, spent a couple minutes nuzzling and squeezing my cheeks, and then said, "Mommy, you sheeks towd!" (Your cheeks are cold!) The other day, she was looking at a picture of cookies in a book and said, "Mommy, when I in picsure, I eat this cookie!" I was amazed that she could reason that, if she were in the picture, then she could eat the cookie. "And me doin' cuttin' papers!" she just announced, which is my cue to stop blogging...
And when I took the scissors away, she said, "Thank you. Now you have to put them away. Fishish'd cuttin', now you have-a put dem away." Thanks, kid! Now I *know* I'm just your house-slave!

My Incredible Journey

2009-02-19T20:11:00.001-08:00

[This is a story Matthias wrote for school. He dictated while I typed.]

I was living in my home, sitting in my comfy chair reading the legend book. It said that you could find a magic wand if you headed in the direction of the Orion Nebula. It would be right above the Orion Nebula. So, I left on my journey. I didn't have enough food, so I sold my house to get enough food. I had a car and I used the money that I got from my house to buy enough fuel. And I sold all the stuff in the house except for my computer. I put my computer in my truck. And then I said, “I'm going to need a lot of fuel.” And so, I got two extra fuel tanks, and drove off to the gas station and filled my tank up. Then I started up my car from where I was and started to drive, following the Orion Nebula. And I got way better suspension at the next stop. And got rubber tires that weren't filled with air because I knew there was going to be a lot of pokes. A lot of poky stuff. And then finally I left on my journey.

I was halfway to the place, that's what it said on my computer. So I continued and the first thing that I ran into was a dungeon! I needed to get through. But I couldn't get through the next door. And I guessed that it was a maze. So I searched and searched for pieces that were lifted a little. And then I pushed on them. And suddenly lots of pieces went down. So I drove on top of them. And I got halfway through and the pieces stopped! So I drove off, got out of my truck, and pushed on every foot of the wall. Until, I found another piece, and it fell down, and let us the rest of the way through. So I drove all the way to the end. And when I got out, there was a gas station. So I fueled up my truck, which only had half a tank left! And then I kept on driving.

And now, I found a big bunch of stuff! To help keep aliens from adopting me. And a huge, very sharp sword, for fighting the giants. And key, for getting through dungeons. It was a magic key, it could open any door. And I put them all in the back of my truck. So, I kept on riding. Until, I ran into a dungeon. This time, I fell right into it! There wasn't a wall with a door. So, I used my magic key to unlock every door. I had to hold it out of my car or else it wouldn't work. And I got to the end, and now there was a very long plain. Which I know, when I got to the end, it would almost be the end of my fuel tank. My fuel was almost going to be gone. So, I started driving. Until I saw alien ships. So, I got my heat gun and shot the ships down. And I kept going until more ships came along. So I shot them down. And then I was nearly to the end. I had one more mile to go. So I drove, and I noticed my fuel tank was getting very empty! So I drove as fast as I could! Until my fuel ran out. And just when I pulled in, just when I went slow enough, to another gas station, and fueled up. I kept on going. There was a very big forest that I was going to drive through. And I saw that it was only one mile long. So, I went into a pretty low gear, and drove across. It took me an hour, which means I was going one mile an hour. And now there was a road that stretched for twenty miles until it ended. And then it started to rain as I was driving down the road. And then it was snowing! And the snow stopped. And I knew there was going to be some black ice on the road around here. And I saw a curve coming ahead. Aliens probably built it, because it was perfect for black ice! So, I drove on the grass instead, and I didn't run into any black ice then! That was fifteen miles through. I was tired! And I had to sleep. So I went to bed.

And then I woke up, a day later. And there was alien ships right above. They were just about to kidnap me. So I got my tool out as quick as I could! And shot them all down. And drove quick out of the dangers of alien ships crashing down on my truck! They fell pretty slow. It's 'cause the blades were spinning so quick that they pushed a lot of air down. So I had time to drive out from under them. And then I had got to the end of the road. So I kept on driving. And then, I ran right into a bridge that was broken! So I had to fix it up. That took me one year. And then I drove across it. My battery was almost dead. Until, I found a shop where I could get a new battery. And then, I continued driving. And then, I ran into a field of giants. They were too big! So I used my alien ship shooter to get rid of them. And then there was a huge lake, and a gate that you had to find a key in the lake to open it. So I had brought a diving suit along, so I dived into the lake, searching for the key. And, I had got to the deepest part and there was a glow. So I went down there and I found a key that said the name of the gate on it. It said where to find the key for the gate. So I used my GPS to track it down until I found the key! And then I went back up to my truck and continued driving. But then I ran into a fast-flowing river which would wipe anything away. So I had to make a suspension bridge. And that took me about half a year. And then I continued driving. Until, I noticed on my computer that I was almost there. And from when I was building the suspension bridge, and when I got to the city, it took me about a year. And then, I searched for the Orion Nebula. And, the city was trying to steal my truck. So I killed all the people in the city. And then, police were chasing me. And I was being chased with my car. Until, I got to a gate, and I had to use my magic key really quick! So I opened the gate, and drove through. And then shut it again. And the police cars went wham! They crashed into the gate, and they were crushed into smithereens! And I said, “Whew! That was close!” So, I drove down the road until I was right above the Orion Nebula, and the grass was a little bit taller. So I got out of my truck and searched until I found the magic wand. And I said, “Ah ha! Here it is!” So, I used it to transport myself very quickly back home, with my truck. I was in my backyard, so I looked where my house was. And I looked around the town, and the town was all burnt up! And I saw that lightning had struck my tree and burnt it to ashes. So I used my wand to make a farm. And then I made lots of robots to work on my farm. And a generator to generate power for the robots.

25 Random Things

2009-02-19T20:07:00.000-08:00

This is a Facebook note, actually, but I thought I'd put it here since it will be imported anyway. You are supposed to write 25 random things about yourself. I love reading everyone else's, so I was eager to do my own. Here we go:

1.My favourite flavours are vanilla and almond.

2.My best talent is test-taking. That stood me in very good stead until I graduated from college, but since than (and especially since having kids) has been fairly useless.

3.I can't believe it's been over 11 years since I graduated from college and got married.

4.Frank and I and our children have lived in Germany for about 2 years in total, and during that time visited Switzerland (Frank's relatives) and the Netherlands (my relatives).

5.I am having a hard time writing facts about myself rather than my kids.

6.My first baby, I gained about 20 pounds and he was born 6 weeks early. I was fine but he had a long recovery. My second baby, I gained about 30 pounds and she was born two weeks early, and we were both fine. My third baby, I gained about 40 pounds, she was born two days after her due date, and she was fine but I had a very long recovery.

7.I am learning the value of balance rather than extremes (see above and below).

8.I have always wanted and tried to do the right thing, and nevertheless I have some big regrets. I think the more earnest you are, the harder it is for God to get through to you when you're wrong. That's not to say you shouldn't be earnest – I think humble is the word I'm looking for. Sometimes I feel like I'm not sure about anything anymore – except that God exists and he loves me.

9.When Matthias was a baby, I thought I was addicted to getting mail, because I could hardly wait to go check the mailbox at noon every day. Later I realized it was the fresh air, sunshine, and exercise I was really craving!

10.Frank “gave” me 10 goldfish for our 10th anniversary. But it was unintentional (a rescue), and the fishtank didn't come for another week. A year later, there are six left.

11.I homeschool my kids, and celebrate each of their achievements. This past month, Bethany figured out that she can read, and lost four teeth. Matthias found out that he can memorize times tables if I make the stakes high enough, and Carrie Ann can count up to 9 (“three, four, six, nine, two”). She loves being “up-dy down!”

12.I've had two concussions in my life. The first time I was at swimming lessons practicing the front crawl, supported by the swimming instructor. We each thought the other was watching for the edge of the pool, and I swam right into it. The second time was last October. I went to have an ingrown toenail cut off, and as the doctor was anesthetizing my toe I sat up, fainted, and fell sideways off the bed, hitting my head on a chair leg. It was quite a shock for him, and when I woke up I was back on the bed with two strange faces peering down at me. I said, “Where am I?” then thought “I sound like someone in a movie!” As soon as the doctor answered I remembered everything... Anyway, I also learned that it's much harder to spend a week in bed when you have three small children than when you are 11!

13.Last summer, I prayed to God for a sign that he loves me – and in the next half hour I saw an incredible rainbow! God has answered a number of prayers in the last year – both mine for others, and others' for me. He wants us to pray for eachother!

14.I only fought with my mom twice, that I remember, as a teenager. Both times it was over doing dishes. Now I am being repaid in full by my own kids, who love to fight about it when it is their turn to wash (except Carrie Ann, but she makes more mess than she cleans).

15.I absolutely love pictures and cute stories and little videos of my niece and nephew. I am amazed at my sister-in-law's ability to keep her blog up to date.

16.I really enjoyed getting up to date with old school friends when I joined Facebook. I used to think, “I wonder how so-and-so (fill in your name here) is doing?” and now almost all of my old school friends, and grown cousins, are on Facebook. Neat!

17.I like using public transportation, but trains are my favourite and I've gotten tired of flying. In Creston, the bus system is, well, it's a small town.... I usually walk.

18.The new lightbulbs remind me of swirly ice cream cones.

19.I don't participate in anything that requires you to send it on to everyone you know/a certain number of friends. So I won't tag anyone in this note, but if you are reading this and want to write a “25 random things about myself” note, please consider yourself tagged!

20.I started a photo/story web page nine years ago when we moved to Creston (to help keep in touch with Mom). Over the years it became a photo gallery instead, and when my siblings started blogging I joined that as well.

21.I am amused to note that the older my friends are, the more philosophical their 25 things are. I must be getting old...

22.Ever since I was a child I wanted a big philodendron draped over my window, and for a number of years, I did. (Frank killed it with fertilizer, but I saved a clipping so it is growing back again now – but not yet big enough to drape over the window.) I also love ficus (fig) trees, and have one in my living room which is almost as tall as I am.

23.When I was a kid I wanted waist long hair, like my art teacher (Mrs. DeBree). Unfortunately, my hair doesn't grow that long, and it looks best when the part by my face is chin length. So I keep it shorter.

24.I love to sing. I can't play piano really well, but I can sight-read (singing) not too badly and I love singing alto. Some of my best memories are of choirs (in highschool, and the Oratorio at Calvin). I loved Frank's folky-religious music and early Renaissance preferences when I met him. A friend once said, “You just like Frank's music because you're his wife.” I retorted, “Maybe I'm his wife because I like his music!” Together, with some friends we have recorded one tape (just before Matthias was born), and with Frank's encouragement I have even written a couple children's songs.

25.I have my own Bible reading plan – I read one chapter of Old Testament history (currently in Leviticus), Old Testament writings (currently in Jeremiah), New Testament history (Acts) and New Testament writings (Romans) plus one Psalm and a couple Proverbs every day (well, almost every day). It is interesting to see how the passages juxtapose and reflect on each other, as well as how they speak to my life at unexpected moments. Like the time I was thinking of being induced with Carrie Ann, and the whole chapter (Hosea 9) was about miscarrying wombs and dying children. Needless to say, I turned down the offer of induction. Two days later she was born naturally and the verses were about holding and kissing children (Hosea 11). Amazing!

Matthias won a bike!

2009-02-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

Matthias won a bike! Every year, at the Santa Claus Parade, every school child in Creston has their name entered in a draw. In former years, the one winner got to go to Disneyland, but this year they decided to split the money and buy fourteen bikes. Well, Matthias' name was picked! It's funny, because Frank won a bike when he was a boy too! I'll get pictures up later....

I wanted to share more of Carrie Ann's baby talk, too, before it all disappears! Matthias and Bethany sometimes play a game called "Poptropica". Well, the r in the middle there was too hard for Carrie, so she changed it to an l -- and threw it in everywhere! "Plop-plop-pla" After that, a popsicle naturally became a "plop-plo" (it's already corrected to pop-co now). Another favourite is "Demenst Bears", one of her favourite story series -- can you guess?

February pictures

2009-02-09T17:27:00.000-08:00

Hi! Sorry it's been so long. I've been spending my spare time trying to get a handle on why I'm so tired and down all the time. Well, the head-fog was likely a cold going around, since other family members have it now as well. Carrie Ann is only nursing twice a day now, and the days are getting longer (though the snow isn't as nice for sledding on anymore), so that is helping with the tiredness too. I'm trying to cut back on wheat a bit and see if that makes a difference. It is hard to be strict with wheat on all our shelves, though!

We have been enjoying some theme boxes from the library. This is from the Castle box.

Carrie Ann drew her first person this past week (on the right) -- head, eyes, body, and even arm lines. The line at the bottom is the hem of the Princess' dress. Wow!

We had a very frosty couple of days, and I couldn't resist taking a few pictures (though I'm no match for Brad and Caryn!).

More pictures are at my Gallery.

Reading and Singing

2009-01-19T13:37:00.000-08:00

I posted a couple more videos (below), and added some pictures to my gallery.

Bethany decided the "song with the really long word" was her favourite Christmas carol, and Carrie Ann learned to sing along!

Bethany is getting very good at reading (though she doesn't realize it yet).
Here she is reading a page from Green Eggs and Ham.

Rob posted another great video, from his friend Foreigner Joy.

The advice applies not only to racism, but to any time you may have occasion to comment on another person's actions or character.

Contractions

2009-01-18T15:20:00.000-08:00

Carrie Ann has a couple new linguistic talents! The first one is contractions -- short easy versions of longer words. For example: granola bar comes out go-ba, and Fisher Price (Matthias and Bethany play with their fisher price people often) is Pi-pice. The second development is prepositions -- you know, those pointer words which start a phrase, like to, with or at. The problem is, she doesnt always get the right one! Give it at me! or Hold it with my hand (hold my hand). It is so cute, but also amazing that her language is so developed already -- she just turned two!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T12:57:00.001-08:00

I just decided to go with a new look for the New Year. My new question, instead of "Who am I?" is "Why am I here?" (In the sense of, what should I be doing with my time and energy?)

I realized I forgot to post this earlier:
Little Pilgrim's Progress book report by Matthias and Bethany. I read the children's version to them, and then they did an oral report of what they remembered. They loved the story, they kept begging me to read it to them. I love it when that happens, especially when it's such a good book.

Pictures and videos

2008-12-31T20:28:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to let you know that I uploaded some more pictures and videos:
December Pictures

("Tai-ann eatin' cake!")
(Follow the link above for more pictures.)

Here is a list of the recent videos:
A video from Carrie's birthday, playing with Sparky, Grandma and Grandpa.

The best one was Matthias' class playing "Feliz Navidad" at the Homelinks Christmas assembly.

Carrie Ann playing on the chairs at the assembly.

Bethany particularly wanted to share this one:

The kids playing in their secret house.

Dolphins

2008-12-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Rob posted a video of dolphins playing recently, which reminded me of a forward I got a little while ago:

The one with the nice music had embedding disabled, so follow the link:
Dolphins blowing ring bubbles

This is the one that came in the forward.

You can also read about the science behind how these bubble rings work -- even divers can make them!

Joy!

2008-12-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

Rob posted this song/video on his blog, and I wanted to share it here as well.

I don't know what the creators actually had in mind, but to me, it was the voice of God saying, "Be joyful! I want my children to be joyful!"
It reminds me of a song we sang in highschool choir: "And the Father will dance over you in joy" by Mark Hayes
(Full Text)
which was based on Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
(from the Bible Gateway).

Have you ever watched the movie "Evan Almighty"? The last scene always makes me think of this too. I am so sure that God dances, in pure joy!

Legalism doesn't allow dancing -- nor does it allow mourning. There are also times when I am sure God weeps -- at times with us, and at times over us! But that's a different one of Rob's posts!

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video

2008-12-10T19:13:00.001-08:00

This is for you, Caryn!

Videos!

2008-12-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well, finally, I have some videos to share!

Carrie Ann dancing, last spring.

We went for a walk on Nov. 22 with three cameras, and got a few videos.
My first video with my new camera.
Going for a walk.
Playing in the new water park down the road from our house:

Swinging together (I had to post this because Aria and Silas both posted swinging videos recently too).

Another time, after we made bean bags, we had a bean bag fight.

I have a YouTube account, with the name FRMBCZ (our initials all strung together). Search on it to see other videos from the past year or two (we've had a bit of technical difficulty getting them sharable). I linked all the recent ones in this post. Find the link that says "More from FRMBCZ" to see more of my videos. Enjoy!

Pictures!

2008-12-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

Finally, I got it working (with Frank's help, of course), so here are some pictures!

We made bean bags together!

Soon I hope to post videos, so I will leave it to you to see the rest of the pictures here.

Too Long

2008-12-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long since I posted a picture! I got a new camera (which does videos, by the way), and a new version of linux -- comes with new versions of all the other software, hence... I have not yet figured out how to work everything to get pictures up. I am getting there piece by piece, and soon, soon....

Deb was right, it's not linear.... two nights ago, Carrie Ann slept in her own bed until 7:30 am (wow), but last night, she was in mine at 11:30 pm already.... well, we are still making some progress.

One more brag... today in school, we did our math drills as usual. Yesterday, Matthias and Bethany both did levels 3 and 4 -- addition facts up to 3+12 and 4+12. Matthias finished both in 10 minutes and got only one wrong! Today.... Matthias did 4 and 5 -- one level up -- and finished in only 9 minutes! Bethany finished all of 3 and 4 in only 15 minutes! (That's 50 questions.) Wow! They are learning a lot!

Multi-purpose words

2008-11-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

Kids have a great way of using one word to mean lots of things. When Matthias was very small, "ha" could be house, horse, help, hard.... you get the idea. "Piteh" was computer and printer at the same time. Well, Carrie Ann has her own version. "A-body" (short A sound) means somebody, anybody, nobody, everybody -- you can usually tell by context which one she means! Another nice "a" word she has is "A-deng" for "again" -- she knows there's a g in there somewhere, just not quite sure where! Adeng, adeng, adeng!!! Do it adeng!!

Prayer Works

2008-11-09T11:23:00.000-08:00

I had a rough month last month -- first the concussion when my toe was being worked on, then the toe itself got infected. I was asking God why, what he wanted me to learn from all this (I don't think he caused it, but he must have allowed it for a reason). Well, after two weeks of nausea and dizziness, the concussion finally got quickly better when Frank and Charlie promised to pray for it. The infected toe continued to respond to nothing very well for another week -- until Jacqui and Candace prayed for it, then it quickly healed as well. A week later, to my frustration, I came down with a very bad, sick-in-bed kind of cold. I just couldn't shake it -- usually one day in bed will do it, but this time, I needed a second day, and still felt bad. Then on the third day, Carrie Ann got tired of napping with me all the time and said, "Mommy, wake up!" I explained that I couldn't "wake up" until I was feeling better. So she knelt on the bed, folded her hands and closed her eyes and said, "Jesus up away, mumble, mumble, Mommy all better, mumble, mumble, Amen!" (She knew it needed more words but wasn't sure what they were, so she just put in some random noises.) I thanked her, and said Jesus is very happy when his children pray to him! And after that, I no longer needed to stay in bed all the time!!! So what have I learned from all this? God didn't answer my prayers for myself -- he waited until I asked for help, and let my friends pray for me. I learned that we need to pray for each other, and let others pray for us. Not a new lesson, just one that needed to be reinforced, I guess. So if there's anything I can pray for you about, let me know!

9 hours!

2008-11-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

Carrie Ann slept nine hours last night! Wow, wow, Wow! That's the longest she's slept yet, all the way from 9:30 pm to 6:30 am. I told her no more nursing until the sun came up, but I had 6 am in my mind. Then, when she woke at 6:30 and I nursed her, she paused to ask, "Mommy, why sun not up?" I told her it would be up soon, and it was getting light by the time she finished ("fish-ished, Mommy"). Now if only I could have slept. I woke up at 2 am and 4 am, according to our normal nursing schedule -- and at 2 had a hard time getting back to sleep! I resisted the urge to wake her up, though, because if I can train her to sleep through, surely I will get back in the habit too! Days are hard when you spend so much of the night wishing you could sleep. Oh, well, this too will pass.

Other favourite phrases: "Mommy, where you is?" "What Tysis/Betadane doing?" "Off we go" (Off-a-doe!)-- used anytime we are going anywhere, as in, "Mommy, in car, Daddy, off we go?" for "Mommy, can I go with Daddy when he leaves in the car?" "Tank-oo" has joined "pees", and she has a version of "you're welcome" which she throws in right after she says thank you sometimes. When she needs help, "Mommy, I needing howp!" or sometimes, "Umbey it!" (Open it.) And of course, "Why?" -- sometimes a dozen times in a row. I thought you didn't get that until 3!

In other news, my toe seems to be not infected anymore, though it still bleeds/hurts a little. My head is mostly better, I am only dizzy when I exercise or otherwise overdo it.

After this long break, I've been re-thinking school work, and we may not go back to all the book work we were doing -- it makes it easier to have something to hand in, but I'm not convinced it was helpful in actually teaching the kids. When they are free to explore, they learn new things and grow all the time. With all the book work, either it was covering old ground, or they weren't ready for it yet! Frustrating. Needs a bit more thought.

Jesus Up Away

2008-10-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

Just when Carrie Ann was learning that hot air balloons go "Up, up and away," she came across the story of Jesus' Ascension. Ever since, her favourite story has been "Jesus up away." She even asks for it when we are thinking of a song to sing! So, finally, I wrote a "Jesus up away" song for us to sing when Carrie Ann asks for it. She sang along on the chorus right way when I sang it to her! Here is a recording with Carrie Ann, myself, and Bethany joining in about halfway.

Jesus Up Away

Frank's comment was that it sounds like I'm singing the alto -- so I asked him to write the melody for me! So one day I may come out with an improved version. For now, it is fun to sing it along with Carrie Ann!
Chorus:
Jesus went up, up and away,
He will come back, one day to stay.
Jesus went up, up and away,
Look, he'll be back, quickly!

Verses:
Jesus was born, lived as a man,
Later he died, but rose again.
He told his friends, "Go tell the world,
I will be back at the end."

Jesus went up to make a place,
In His big house, is lots of space.
There's room for you and room for me,
For all whose hearts are made clean.

While He is gone, the Spirit comes,
To do His work, 'til we go home.
Here on the earth, He'll clean our hearts,
Finish the work of rebirth!

Fall pictures

2008-10-26T11:39:00.001-07:00

Deb, Brad and Caryn have been posting some awesome pictures of Aria and Silas, so I thought I should catch up on my pictures! For all the pictures, see the link at the side for the Family Picture Album. In the September folder, I added pictures of our trip to the beach:

Next is a folder from our trip to Calgary with Homelinks. We visited the zoo, Glenbow Museum, and Science World.

In the pictures from October, we had lots of fun playing in some beautiful maple leaves in the park.

And yesterday, for Sabbath, Frank got out the kites and we had a wonderful time flying them together!

Priorities

2008-10-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Deb posted a request to respond to one of Brad's blog postings, "Failing All ‘Round?" and I had enough thoughts to justify a blog post of my own rather than a super-long comment.

The question, in a short nutshell, is "Can I succeed at work and family both, or do I have to pick one, and if so, which?"

I guess I fall pretty strongly on the "Choose family!" side. Perhaps this is partly because I am a woman (we tend to be more relational (ie family) and less idea/object (ie work) oriented). Perhaps it is partly because in my life I have chosen to give up a career and most hobbies in order to do a good job raising my family. The following is some of the thinking which has gone into my choice, and my continuing choice to stick to it. (By the way, if you notice a typo, put it down to the concussion. I've been making about 5 times as many as usual tonight.)

First, the eternal perspective. Naked we came into this world, and naked we will leave it (Job). The only thing we "do" on this earth which we can take to heaven with us, is people. Anyone converted by my Spirit-inspired efforts will be my friend for eternity. Furthermore, since I became a parent, I have responsibility before God for the souls of my children. So any work I do toward saving others needs to come after the work for my own family.

Second, Mom's example. All her life, Mom mourned her missed chance at a career. Until she got sick -- then her testimony was that it was as if God said to her, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" -- not because of the counselling job she never had, but because she raised four god-fearing children. (I can't tell if that is a sentence or not. Oh well.) And Mom did lots of unofficial counselling on the side, as we saw from the amazing turn-out at her funeral.

Third is my own experience. At one time, I thought that every action of living up to the certain standard I set myself was a necessity in my relationship with God. This made my life an un-ending pressure of duties and tasks, each equally as important as the other. A friend astutely pointed out to me that "You're having trouble balancing your roles as wife, mother, daughter, sister, church member, and child of God." She was right. You know what? On this earth, we can't do everything.

One of the most important things I learned in highschool (by experiment, not in class) was the 80%-20% rule: For 20% of the effort, you can get 80% of the result. If you want the next 20% (up to 100%) of the result, you need to put in the rest of the 80% of effort. In other words, you have to put in four times more effort for one-fifth the additional quality. I use this rule to great effect in mothering. For example, if I wanted to cook perfectly, I would have to put in 100% of my effort and would have no time or energy for cleaning, schooling, child-rearing or "the rest of the family". So instead, I put 20% of my energy into each area, and get 80% of the possible result. I'm not a perfect house-keeper, but I also homeschool. I'm not a perfect child-raiser, but I also share my life with the rest of my family, cook, clean, etc. I have learned to accept this -- that I can only do 80% of what I could do in any one area -- because of the following.

Priorities. This is what it really comes down to. If your work (may it be in saving souls) is your 100% priority, then I hope you don't have children. The second part of my experience was from a book by Elizabeth George, where she shared the following priority scheme (from memory, from 3 years ago): God -- spouse -- children -- home -- job -- relatives/church/volunteering. I don't remember the order of the last three. This finally brought sense to my life. If I don't have time in my life to spend with God, reading His Word and praying, then how can I really call myself a Christian? If I make my children more important in my time than my spouse, my marriage will fall apart (the demands of children are never-ending) -- and that's not much help to the children! If my home is in chaos, that will carry over into my job and prevent me from working effectively. If I have more loyalty to my church than to my spouse, my marriage will fall apart over a minor difference of doctrine! On the other hand, if I give my relationship with God priority, he will give me strength and wisdom to balance the rest. If I give my spouse priority, he will be a strong support for my work in the home and with the children. If I give my children priority, they won't distract me from my job when I have to work. And so forth. Her book was directed toward women, so I don't know how the priorities would change for a man.

Who do you want to be? Mozart, who died of excess at 35, or Heinrich Schutz, who composed some of his best works later in life and live to 87? (Please, if you pick Mozart, don't have kids! It's just not fair to them.)

God needs people who are 100% dedicated to him, in all that we do. If we have children, they are a big responsibility, and will play a big role in the work he wants us to do (but must not become our idols). Jesus left nothing concrete behind when he was done his work -- only 12 ill-prepared disciples. His greatest accomplishment, was to die at odds with the law. Yet, that was what it took to win everything. As long as we are looking to him, we don't know what it will be -- our job, our hobby, our kids -- which will make an eternal difference -- but we can know that he knows, and will guide us to the place he wants us at the time he needs us there. So be 100% sure to look to him!

Concussion

2008-10-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I saw the other doctor again on Friday, and he said, no, it is a concussion, not just an infection. I felt nauseous and dizzy again after Tuesday, and he suggested quitting the Advil (ibuprofen), which helped with the nausea. So I am slowly getting better, toe and head both, and getting used to spending lots of time in bed (I can't even read because it is hard to concentrate for long). God must have a reason for allowing this to happen, but I sure don't know what it is yet!

Progress

2008-10-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I went in to the hospital yesterday because my toe suddenly looked quite infected. The doctor there was convinced that the nausea, dizziness and shaking were entirely due to the infection (which must have started days earlier and been hidden until then). So I am feeling better now, on antibiotics and ibuprofen. It is looking good!

Carrie Ann was wiping me out (in the midst of this all), by nursing every hour and a half for a couple nights. So I finally told her she only gets two sides (not left-right-left), and has to wait at least two hours until she nurses again. Well, the result of this is that she doesn't quite fall asleep nursing -- and that means when she wakes up at night, she doesn't think she should still be nursing -- so she goes back to sleep instead of crying to nurse! In the last three nights, she slept 6 hours, 6 hours and then 8 hours! (She's never slept 8 hours before!) I hope she keeps this up! And I hope soon I will be feeling better enough to sleep 8 hours too -- so far, because of resting during the day, I've been waking up at 2 or 3 and not able to fall asleep again for a couple of hours. So I haven't entirely benefited yet from Carrie's extra hours, but I'm sure I will if she makes it a habit!

Number Two, Number One!

2008-10-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Yay! Today Carrie Ann told me "Mommy, poopine", which usually means she has just peed, pooped, or farted. I asked if she wanted to go on the potty, and she said yes, and after a bit of work produced some "number two", for the first time! (You won't understand how excited I am until after you've changed a couple hundred poopy diapers!) This is also the first time she's used her potty since the first day -- when she peed in it twice. So I am excited and hope this is a trend she continues! (It's a trend of three now, Rob, right?)

In other news, my toe is feeling a bit better (dull roar rather than on fire) as of Saturday. However, that made me realized that the nausea and shivering was entirely related to the head injury, not the toe operation! So Frank and I figure I probably have a mild concussion, but there's no point in going to the hospital on a holiday weekend (wait for hours, then go on an 1.5 hr ride to the next hospital, ouch!). I will stay mostly in bed, walk around with my head "wrapped in cotton balls" (so to speak) when necessary, and see the doctor when he's back in the office -- provided nothing more serious appears. As long as I move my head and eyes slowly, and avoid sudden or sustained loud noises and tugging or pulling on my hair (poor Carrie Ann), I feel almost fine. Otherwise, dizzy, woozy, nauseous, with a little pain and fatigue. Then I go back to bed! Please keep praying for me. I am also asking God why this happened. Is there something he wants to tell me by it?

Ups and Downs

2008-10-08T20:09:00.001-07:00

Good news first! Yesterday we went swimming for physiotherapy, and all the kids did a super great job! Carrie Ann, with a pool noodle under her arms, was able to move through the water independently, at least a foot at a time (I remained within arm's reach at all times, of course)! Bethany swam across the width of the shallow end, coming up twice for air and swimming part of the way heads up, without touching the bottom at all! And Matthias finally overcame his fear of letting go, and pushed off from the wall about one foot, then swam under water back to Candace (about one foot). It seems like a little distance, but it is such a huge step for him to try moving through the water without holding on to anything or anyone! Wow, it is so amazing to watch these three precious children grow and develop!

Now the bad news... I had a badly ingrown toenail, and I went in to the hospital this morning to have the sides of it cut off and cauterized. Well, I fainted while he was anaesthetizing my toe, and managed to sit up and then fall off the bed before he could catch me! It was quite a shock for the doctor! I woke up with two faces bending over me, and said, "Where am I?" (Just like in the movies!) So I was on oxygen and a pulse monitor for a while, then went for head and neck x-rays. Good news is, nothing was seriously damaged. However, I had a long day in bed today with a sore neck, head, and foot. Please pray for my complete recovery!

I've been quite concerned with the news of the partial collapse in the USA lately -- I think it will get worse, friends, and if you are living in the city, I recommend that you move out as soon as possible (especially if you live in the States!). Prepare for a reduction in standard of living -- stock up on rice and beans (and learn to cook them). Make sure your heart is right with God and man. Don't store up your treasure on earth -- we may have more time in Canada, but I don't think our economy can survive when the US goes plunging. Keep the Sabbath holy, and don't support any religious legislation (church and state should stay separate!). You are all welcome to join us in Creston area if things get worse in your area! At least we have fresh water and agricultural land here. Ask God what you can do -- and as soon as he answers us, I will let you know where we are headed!

More Talking

2008-10-05T10:25:00.001-07:00

Carrie Ann's favourite new word is "Sorry!" -- it works like a charm for making mad, sad people happy again! (For example, after she bites them....)

Frank got my microphone working again (Yay!), and Carrie Ann cooperated very well today, repeating words and not eating the mike!

Bethany and Carrie Ann on Sept. 24 '08 -- Carrie Ann still had trouble keeping the mike out of her mouth!
Carrie Ann and Matthias on Oct. 5 '08 -- he prompted her to say computer words like "web browser", and she cooperatively repeated all of them! At the end, I ask her to say "Finished", and she says, "Nope, more talking!" So we went on:
Bethany joined them, with a toy telephone -- notice how nicely Carrie Ann says "Sorry" and "Thank you".

Let me know how the sounds are, I'm still learning how to edit... Thanks!

Toilet Training

2008-10-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I finally washed up the new (second-hand) potty a friend passed on to me, and as soon as I had it ready, Carrie Ann did two pees in it! She has sat on the toilet before, but never managed to put anything in, so I was really excited! Her first pee in the potty! Unfortunately, she loves to sit on the edge, which makes it tip, so this morning she didn't want to sit at all and peed on the floor instead! Like Deb said, it's not linear progress -- there will be ups and downs, but we will get there eventually! Matthias was toilet trained at 4 and Bethany at 3, maybe, hopefully, Carrie Ann will decide to cooperate and be done at 2?!

Getting Big!

2008-09-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

My family is getting big! I can't believe it, I cooked a whole five pound bag of potatoes today (our favourite way, baked wedges), and we ate it all up!

I've been very busy with school (I actually got sick last week because I was just so busy...). Bethany can read lots of three letter sight words now ("the" and "and," for example), and is working on long vowels. ("Why would it have two sounds? Why would it sound different if there's another vowel? Why don't you just write "ay" A? (Capitalize to show long vowels)) She's also been working on drawing hands, and today drew a life-sized hand with rings on each finger. Yesterday she drew a princess with full sleeves and the right number of fingers!
Matthias is working on breaking down long words to sound them out accurately -- af-fec-tion-ate-ly, for example, or today's Aus-tra-lia. He is also drilling to memorize the addition facts up to 20 -- and not getting completely frustrated yet!
Carrie Ann writes:
/.,lkiji8[][]=-==-]ulddll;dcpd
s
[flcclolopdopo0osp0wo-q-[q[=]==000qqqqqqqqqqqq-;/'
5.41417
Yesterday she said to me, "Mommy, sit-down table, drink water! Like me, drink water!" Today she asked me, "I yike tum-up, Mommy!" (I would like to come up (be picked up), Mommy!) "Pud-it 'way!" means "Put it away!", and when she was playing she said, "Girl is sleeping ("syeepeen"). Another ("nu-doe") girl is sleeping. A boy is sleeping." When she was drawing she told me, "Me dawyeen piecess!" (I'm drawing a princess!). At the table yesterday she said to Frank, "Pass-it salt, please!"

We are reading Gordon Korman's "I want to go home!" together, and the kids have fun yelling "Miller!" along with the story (Miller is the kid who keeps trying to run away from camp). Carrie Ann says, "Miya!"

Bethany's new glasses!

2008-09-19T18:31:00.003-07:00

Bethany got glasses this week!
On Tuesday we had the eye check up, on Wednesday we went in to choose a frame, and on Thursday we picked up the glasses! She is near-sighted, so doesn't need them for school work or reading, just for distance viewing (eg. watching a movie from the couch).

She picked a nice pink sparkly frame which looks very good on her (in my opinion), and also resembles my first pair of glasses. Interesting!
See my family picture album (link at right) for more on the neat dolls the kids are holding!

The Year of Living Biblically

2008-09-19T18:31:00.001-07:00

Is a great book I read recently by AJ Jacobs. It is a chronicle of his year of trying to follow all the rules of the Bible indiscriminately -- starting off as a secular humanist agnostic, a non-practicing Jew. Since I also try to "live biblically", it was very interesting to read someone else's journey through the same ideal, but from a very different starting point. First of all, he discovered that picking and choosing is not optional -- although he set out to follow "all the rules", from the very beginning this was impossible. In my opinion, that makes the rule by which we pick and choose which rules to follow very important! The best things AJ got out of his year, to him, were living a life of gratitude rather than envy, keeping the Sabbath (he loved this!), wearing white and growing a beard (though he gave these up at the end of the year). He now sees God more as an abiding life-principle (rather than non-existent), not as a personal being, and still has trouble believing in Jesus -- yet his life was clearly changed by the experiment! If you've ever struggled with which rules to follow and which no longer apply, this book is a great read!

Barrier-Free

2008-09-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to a one-day seminar (held by the Bonner's Ferry, ID church near Troy, Montana) by Daniel and Lorna Dreher. We heard about it because Lorna's parents recently moved to our church in Creston. So we camped by the Yaak River. The kids had fun jumping from stone to stone in the river's edge Friday afternoon. (The first miracle was that at 2 pm Frank dropped his work -- just dropped it where he was, instead of finishing his list, and came down and said, "If we want to get there we'd better get going!" I wasn't expecting that so early! It was actually the time we had planned!) So the girls had time to jump from stone to stone in the river after we set up the tent! It was too cold for "swimming". Bethany had fun drawing princesses on the rocks with water, and Carrie Ann cried when the water evaporated and the princesses were gone! Matthias really enjoyed the campfire at the first meeting, Friday night. The night was so cold I could hardly sleep -- but we expected that. We had lots of extra blankets and sleeping bags, and once I finally got them properly arranged (and Frank got cold and snuggled up to me) I got a couple more hours of sleep. Frank got up early (because of the cold) and started a fire -- that was more fun for Matthias, in fact it was hard to drag him away!

The seminar was about getting rid of the barriers in our relationships with eachother and with Christ -- so that his love can flow through us. A barrier is a sin -- the first step is to become aware of and acknowledge the sin/barrier. The second is to be sorry for it -- repentance. The third step is to ask for and accept forgiveness -- from God primarily, but also from anyone we've wrong, and to make restitution where necessary. The fourth step is to ask for and accept the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from unrighteousness and fill us with power to walk a holy life.

The greatest barrier is self -- at first I thought I probably wasn't too bad, but when I read the list of selfish ways, all but two or three of the 16 fit me either now, or at some time in the past! So even though it was a "rate yourself then your spouse" exercise, I didn't rate Frank -- he sometimes feels like I'm always judging and accusing him, so it opens up the way for him to search his own heart when I reveal that I'm searching mine -- not his!

The most painful barrier is bitterness. This is when I am right and someone else has wronged me, perhaps hurt me deeply -- and I have the wrong attitude about it. Instead of forgiveness and pity towards the offender, I cling to the hurt and my "rightness", preventing God from healing me. This is one of my biggies -- it sometimes takes years for me to realize that I'm still bitter about something in the past. So this weekend I realized that, although I made some progress in not being bitter toward Frank, I was selfishly protecting myself, not able to trust God, because I was bitter against Him -- for taking my Mom (it was good for her, but not for me!), for the whole Dickendorf experience (it was not what I expected), for the amount of pain it took to have Carrie Ann (I couldn't roll over in bed without pain for about 6 weeks after she was born -- the hernia is only now starting to close). I want to open my heart up to God -- I always knew he loves me, and I belong to him -- but He can't use me (or heal me) when I'm protecting myself from him! So if you've seen my bitterness in my stories, I'm sorry. And if you put me on a pedestal because I concealed it well -- I'm sorry!

One of the tools they mentioned for overcoming a besetting sin (one confession doesn't take away a habit of years) was to use Bible verses to fight it every single time it tries to creep in. So right after the session, as I was reading my Bible, God gave me this verse from Job (my paraphrase) "God will lift up those who mourn to safety". Isn't that funny? The connection from mourning to safety is not immediately obvious, but it was exactly what my heart was crying for. So I know that doesn't mean nothing bad will ever happen, and I always knew God has promised to not give us more than we can bear... but this is a help for me on my road to healing. God really does care -- he really does speak to us, and even write us love letters in the sky from time to time (see this post and this one).

So, please pray for me too, that my healing will be complete, and God will be able to use me.

Sounds

2008-09-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

So one of Carrie Ann's new words is goom. She said this at the table (I want a "goom", Mommy) -- so take a guess, and I'll tell you at the end of the post.

Here are the last of the sounds I managed to capture.
Stuck
Swimsuit
More talking
Thank you
Who's there?

I hope you enjoyed them, because my drivers took a beating in one of Frank's experiments, and I can't get the microphone working again! My next project (which may take a while since school starts again tomorrow for us) is to get the videos off our video camera and post them one way or another. I'll let you know when I get that working (last time I tried, the sound was about 2 minutes ahead of the video, sometimes more, sometimes less).

Ps Goom? It's a spoon.

Sentences!

2008-09-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, Carrie Ann is making some sentences now! Three words is common, but once in while she comes out with four or even five:

"Betadane wasp see'd-it. 'Aiyan wasp see'd-it." Bethany and Carrie Ann were looking at the wasp.
"I see'd-it big wasp 'den, Mommy!" I want to see the big wasp picture again, Mommy!
(See the August pictures on my picture gallery for the pictures she was referring to.)

She finally learned how to say her own name (kind of). Right now, she loves telling me what someone said. Matthias, "Hmm-hm-hum-hm-mmmmm" Carrie Ann, "Mommy, 'Tias, 'Hmm-hm-hum-hm-mmmmm'" or "Ahhhh. Mommy, 'Aiyan, 'Ahhhh.'" In other words, "Ahhhh. Mommy, Carrie Ann said, 'Ahhhh.'" It's really cute!

More Sounds from the kids (Again)

2008-08-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

A couple more samples of Carrie Ann's baby talk:
"This down"
Hold it
More of this
Please mommy!
Raspberries (or strawberries)
Say about that
Matthias was so proud of this fainting sound he made!
Matthias fainting
Bethany singing about her cute little sister:
Cute baby!

Some new ones which I haven't been able to capture: Carrie Ann says "simmick" for music, one which really tickles my funny bone. She can also say "Amedida Bededida" -- guess who??? And Dopdopdida for Poptropica, Matthias and Bethany's latest favourite game (I highly recommend it, as far as computer games go.)

Night pictures

2008-08-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! The other night we went for a walk, and the moon looked really neat -- full, with a bit of a rainbow around it through the scattered clouds. I went out and tried to take a picture of it -- I actually found the moonlight setting on my camera! However, with the regular setting, I didn't get much, and with the moonlight setting, my hands were too shaky and made streaks of moon. Amazingly, my brother Rob in Korea took the very picture of the very moon, a very nice picture, by the way:

Thanks Rob! (His blog post)

Last night, it was incredibly hot (for us) -- up to 87 F inside the house, as hot as it's been all year. We couldn't sleep, so the kids and I headed outside to the tent. Around midnight, the wind picked up, and I decided to move inside before the rain came. After carrying sleeping Carrie Ann and Bethany inside, I came back out for Matthias. As I came up to the tent I looked up. Above, the clouds were dark. On the horizon, the clouds were dark. But in the middle was a bright spot. In the centre of the bright spot was a dark cloud in the shape of a heart. Wow! Love letters from God don't usually come so clearly spelled out! I had been fighting fear, as with every wind storm since the "mini-tornado" that passed a block from our house last year. But after that, it was as if God had said to me, "I promise not to blow your house down with this storm." I tried to get a picture of it, but by the time I ran in the house to get the camera and back out, the heart clouds had blown apart. So I can't share the picture, only the thousand words this time! God loves us a lot, and he is willing to tell us -- just ask, then keep your eyes open!

Swimming for Muscular Dystrophy

2008-08-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this message from ParentProjectMuscularDystrophy, a site supporting Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy people and their families:

Olympic Gold for Ryan Lochte & PPMD

We’ve been updating you on Ryan Lochte, the Olympic swimmer who is supporting Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, and now we can proudly say that he will be bringing home two gold medals and two bronze medals, as well as a new world record! This incredible athlete, swimming on behalf of those with Duchenne, has truly become one of the 2008 Olympic heroes.

We wanted to give you an opportunity to congratulate, thank, or just fawn over Ryan! We will be bundling up and passing along letters and emails to him, upon his return from Beijing. To take part, simply email info@parentprojectmd.org and put “For Ryan Lochte” in the subject line. Or, if you would rather send something the old fashioned way, mail it to:
Ryan Lochte
c/o Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy
158 Linwood Plaza, Suite 220
Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024

You can also support Ryan by giving a donation to Ryan’s personal fundraising page. Just click here and say thank you to Ryan, while helping PPMD end Duchenne.

The Olympics are not over, but what a thrilling start and what a rare treat to have someone competing on our community’s behalf!

More Sounds from the kids

2008-08-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

I thought it was time to post a few more of the sounds the kids made!

Bethany and Carrie Ann singing
Bethany singing
Carrie Ann crying --yes, even our sweet, cute little girl has her moments!
Carrie Ann -- really loud!
Daddy's Home! -- one of the girls' favourite phrases when they see the car drive up in the driveway!
Jesus goes up, up and away! -- Carrie Ann was very impressed with the story of the ascension!
Matthias and Bethany laughing
Stories -- I posted this one before, but if you didn't finish it then, you can listen a bit farther now!

Enjoy!

Computer

2008-08-14T10:32:00.001-07:00

Bethany says, "Cutis" for computer (I'm not sure why...), and Carrie Ann says, "Putah". One day, Carrie tried to imitate Bethany asking to go on the computer, and said, "Cutosis". Huh?

Bethany is another great word. Matthias said, "Bethaninininiai", Bethany said, "Bessassa", and Carrie Ann says, "Betadane" or "Betadine". Now she can already say, "Betany", but today it came out like this: "BetaNEEEEEEEEE!"

The kids love swimming -- though Matthias not as much anymore. Bethany can swim underwater about 10 ft, and above for about 3. She is just learning to swim underwater, then pop her head up and take a breath, then swim again, in water that is over her head (closely supervised, of course). Matthias is learning to push off from my legs and glide to the wall -- but he's scared to go more than 3 or 4 feet from the wall.

Today Carrie Ann poured her water on her plate, then said, "Simming! Food simming!" What will they think of next?

Meteor Shower

2008-08-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ever since we read in one of Matthias ' space books that meteor showers are a regular, predictable event, I've wanted to catch one. Well, last night was the peak of the main one, the Perseid meteor shower. We went out at about 1 am, after the moon finally set (it was casting too much light to see the meteors). In the next half hour to 45 minutes, I saw about 7 meteors, and Frank and Bethany about 5 each. (Matthias didn't want to get out of bed!) For a good write-up, see Spectacular Summer Sights: Shooting Stars by Joe Rao of Space.com. His picture is a good reflection of what we were seeing:

They will dwindle off slowly, and I read that there are more meteors in the early morning, so if it is clear, get up early in the next few days and see if you can catch some yourself!

Love and Dancing

2008-08-12T14:05:00.001-07:00

Rob had an awesome post from his friend Tamie, about how hard it sometimes is for us to feel the love that God and others have for us. Rob's post Tamie's post
This part particularly struck me: How I am missing the joys of my life, missing the glorious cosmic dance. Not because I'm not a part of it, but because I'm deaf to just how much of a part of it I am. I can't hear that the music is everywhere.
I should tell you that when Carrie Ann dragged me outside for a walk in the rain, and we saw the rainbow, I had just been sitting on the couch feeling depressed, unloved, and unappreciated. I prayed that God would give me a sign that he really loved me! I knew right away that it was an amazing rainbow, and it was really neat that I got such a great picture of it. But it took me a little longer to suddenly realize that that rainbow was also God's answer to my prayer! Last night, watching the meteors with Bethany and Frank, was one of those times of dancing consciously along with the cosmic dance, of listening actively to the music of the spheres. God puts on a spectacular show for us, and we can miss it because we're too busy, observe it academically, or participate in wonder and praise. If we choose the third, we will grow in love and grace!
Here's the rainbow again:

... and a picture of the sky on the way home after the rainbow:

"A glorious cosmic dance." Thanks, Tamie.

Rainbow

2008-08-10T23:49:00.001-07:00

Carrie Ann wanted to go outside for a walk, but it was kind of raining a little. I went anyway, and we saw the most intense rainbow from the park! God still loves us, everyone.

Hot, Pot and Cherries

2008-08-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

So, this week I've been canning cherries. (Remember, Deb?) Monday we canned pitted cherries in pure blended and strained cherry juice -- boy was that a mess! The cherries splash all over when the pit comes out. I cleaned for two hours after the last load was done! Tuesday we did whole cherries, and the juice with the steam juicer. Matthias had so much fun he wanted to make cherry juice next. Wednesday we got started too late and Frank needed the car, so we went swimming instead of canning -- it was so hot, we were totally sweaty again by the time we got home! Thursday, yesterday, we did the juice Matthias wanted. It was really hot outside -- up to about 35 C, I think, and inside we had the steamer running until almost 5 pm. It got up to 88 F inside the house. So I was really glad when it was all over and I could settle down in the tent outside -- we've had it set up in the yard for about a week now. When it was cooler out, it was hard to sleep because it got too cold -- I had to sleep with a hoodie on! Last night, it was wonderfully cool, especially with the whole house so hot still! The only drawback was the pot smoke drifting over us from the new neighbours -- argh! I found out recently that if I inhale pot thickly enough my airways close and I choke on it (someone was smoking right outside the library door, and I walked out unawares and took a deep breath of it, and coughed uncontrollably for five minutes). So I may have to talk to the neighbours -- we've smelled it a couple other times at night, but it didn't bother us until I wanted to sleep out in the tent!!
So if you come visit, be sure to have some canned cherries or cherry juice! We did 21 jars of pitted cherries, 14 jars of whole cherries, 12 jars of juice, one cookie tray of frozen cherries and we have a fridge full to eat fresh. Wow!

Long sentence!

2008-08-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Carrie Ann came out with her longest sentence yet! Bethany was playing on the computer, and Carrie Ann said, "Dora, play Dora" to ask her to switch to the online Dora games. Bethany switched over, but then had to go to the bathroom for a minute. This drove Carrie crazy, as she was eagerly anticipating the Dora game! So she said to me, "Mommy, play Dora -- Mommy, sit down computer button Dora!" (Computer sounds like putah.) That's at least a five word sentence (counting sit down as one word, because that's how Carrie uses it). So far she's only done two or at most three word ones, but she is definitely learning fast!

Sabbath Art

2008-07-31T13:25:00.001-07:00

I have always been curious about the gems used in Aaron's breastplate and the foundations of the New Jerusalem. Are they the same? In the same order? Do both reflect the different tribes of people? I have heard that birthstones come from Aaron's ephod, and that the signs of the zodiac and some personality tests reflect similar character groupings as the twelve tribes and the foundations of the city. So on Sabbath I requested that we do a craft comparing the gems used in the ephod and the city's foundation. Frank and Matthias helped with the research, and I used gem pictures from this site: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/index.html

It turned out there is some question about which gems were meant by the old Hebrew words, but here is our best guess at the ephod:I wasn't sure how to arrange the gems of the foundation: I always envisioned them stacked, under the entire city. But for the purposes of this craft, I arranged them in a square.
Bethany had her own plan for a picture of the New Jerusalem:
Matthias did some cutting, but didn't end up with a final project. That often happens, but I'm sure he learned something nonetheless. Carrie Ann had fun with the glue sticks, but didn't stick anything on the glue afterwards!

I learned two things: we won't know until we get there, and it will be more beautiful than I imagined!

Oboe and Beep

2008-07-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

We read a book about musical instruments today, so I had to find a movie of them playing too! I thought this one was very good (for oboe):

Well, I looked on some MP3 blogs, and it turns out they put the mp3s in with links, just like I did in the previous post. So there you go. And here are some more.
Beep
Babaludipoo
Grandma
Okay
Bye

And one more picture -- I wanted this one of the smocking on the girls' dresses. One day, someone came up to me and said, "I really like the smocking on Bethany's dress." Turns out she had done smocking herself. So now I know what it is called!

On a second look, I realized that it is hard to tell from this picture what smocking is: embroidery on top of pleats. I finally found a good set of pictures on this site (though Wiki tells you all the different stitches as well as the history...).

Speaking of crafting, did you notice the quilt hanging in the background? Deb and MaryAnna made it for Carrie Ann, using some pieces of one of Mom's dresses. I finally found a good place to put it!

Pictures and Sounds

2008-07-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted pictures in a while!

Here is Carrie Ann, being a munchkin:Bethany loves to read (just the pictures, for now, though).
Matthias created a video camera from Construx.
We spent some time recording our voices. The first "podcasts" should be included with this post (how technologically enabled am I?). "Stories" is a long one by all three children, while "potatoblanket" is a short sample of baby talk. If they work out, there will be more to come.
. . .
Well, I guess I figured out how to send a podcast, but not how to receive one. So if you know how, you can listen to mine. If not, click here (for baby talk) and here (for stories)! If anyone knows how I can get the sound links to appear on my blog page (or even if that's possible), please let me know. Thanks!

PS read on, I posted a couple today.

The Dumbest Generation

2008-07-25T17:31:00.001-07:00

I just finished reading a book called "The Dumbest Generation" by Mark Bauerlein (from the library). His hypothesis is that, because teens spend so much time in front of the screen, and they spend it socializing, not learning, the next generation of adults in America will not have the knowledge and intellectual base to support a healthy democracy.

Questions it raises:
Am I dumb (because I don't know most of the historical/civil facts he quotes)? -- Or maybe it's because I'm Canadian, and I have chosen to specialize in geographical and religious facts rather than American social and historical facts.

(Here's a little aside from Carrie Ann: v bbghn http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/20/video-grow-a-living-treehouse-with-terreform/bbhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh n Bachlbghnt
PPPPPP"?"^}U^O
???*&^""""""""""""""""VC f /end aside)

Are my screen habits (blogging, Facebook etc) making me dumber? -- The argument being, I may not have as many facts in my mind, but I can easily find them on the computer if I need to. Does that make me dumber, or smarter -- because I'm not tying up my mind in remembering non-essentials to my daily life?

Are videos and computer games helpful or a hindrance in my kids' education? Some videos introduce them to science, geography, current trends, history and literature -- or at least, modern children's versions of literature. Some games develop imagination and spatial intelligence (something I'm lacking in!). But is the balance between that and other forms of learning appropriate, or is it heavy on the screen learning because after all, the computer keeps them busy and out of trouble for a long time?

Are books obsolete, or necessary for developing emotional and intellectual intelligence? Is it the same to read a book online as in the hand? I agree that reading online leads to skimming -- but as a teen I practiced skimming and speed reading as a desirable skill! Is it just the ability to concentrate which must be developed using a more static medium?

Do blogs/gaming promote or hinder analytical reasoning? I liked Rob's blog about complaining expats because it was an analytical dialogue, with reference to history and even past literature. Was it lacking because it didn't refer to more sources outside of "I observe" or "I think"? Mr. Bauerlein, I'm sure, could recommend some resources which would enrich the discussion (in his opinion). Do I agree that it would be enriched with references to past philosophers and social critics, or do I think that would just add knowledgeable sounding fluff?

How can the media/web be used *effectively* to share the most important truths I know? I can add great content -- my own, or based on my friends' work, but how can I get it viewed by lots of people? Or, as Mr. Bauerlein argues, have I even lost the ability to criticize my own work and evaluate if it is great content or not? Do I have to create a "gospel game" in order to attract visits......

What will the world look like when Web 3.0 comes? What is the possible result of all this read/write, control in hands of masses, social rather than political democracy -- especially if good judgment (and spelling) goes down the tubes? Already, the young voters distrust the political system so much that they hardly consider it worth the trouble to vote (including me, I guess...). I guess like Rob and millions of other bloggers, I hope that writing and talking about what is important to me will somehow "trickle up" to the people in power -- even if I don't trust them to act on campaign promises, or even really mean those promises.

Now for a couple quotes I really liked (they stuck out after disagreeing with much of the book):
"Young Americans need someone somewhere in their lives to reveal to them bigger and better human stories than the sagas of summer parties and dormitory diversions and Facebook sites." (p. 199) But are those stories from American history and American literature, as he argues? I would offer a more international mix than Bauerlein seems to choose. ("These are the materials of a richer existence, and they come from a narrow slice of time and one nation only." p. 217)
Did I mention that he is an English professor at an American college? It comes through.

Another quote that stuck in my mind was actually from Thomas Jefferson. "If 'we leave the people in ignorance,' he warned, old customs will return, and 'kings, priests and nobles . . . will rise up among us.'" p. 212. So, if people are choosing ignorance of the rich cultural democratic heritage, will that lead to the rise of arbitrary authority systems again? Ignorance of what, I ask? Somehow I think the value of the American heritage is not inherent in the democratic system, but in the biblical values it originally reflected. Having rejected the ways of God, studying the early American leaders may help, but it won't turn us back to the values that made they system work.

So from my Bible reading today, Proverbs 18:15: "An intelligent mind acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." We can't throw out knowledge, but we need to be aware of what kind of knowledge we are seeking -- knowledge of what?
And as for the accusation of the "dumbest generation", and his recommendation that "Adults everywhere need to align against youth ignorance and apathy" p. 235, what we need is someone to "...turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse" Mal. 4:6 (quotes from NRSV).

Comments, anyone?

Videos I enjoyed

2008-07-23T21:13:00.001-07:00

A link from Rob's blog led us to this neat video of a young man singing with himself!

I love the expression he uses -- it reminds me of Mr. Bean.

Sesame Street sure has changed. I like the international flavour, it reminds me of living in Vancouver.

This video came from a link on Brad's blog:

It is from this page.
I don't know how practical this is on this earth, especially in Canada, but I hope to have a living tree house in heaven for sure!

Okay!

2008-07-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

Actually, Carrie Ann's vowels are so fluid still, her Okay ranges from "Ai-tai" to "Ah-tay." She always says it with the same intonation, which is the same as my intonation, so it is totally recognizable! I think what makes it so cute is also the fact that she is showing agreement and cooperation with something I've suggested -- "Ah-tai!" sounds way better to me than "Uh-uh!" (She's not a big "no" sayer, for some reason, but uh-uh works just as well!)

We went swimming yesterday, and I put life jackets on the kids and took them in the deep end. Bethany got so comfortable, she managed a slide down the slide, with splash-down and swimming to the side all by herself! Matthias held on tight to the top of his vest to keep it from riding up onto his chin, but was able to tool around a bit using just his feet to propel himself. Carrie Ann kept rolling her face into the water, but she sure didn't want the life vest off -- she fought my hands off every time I tried to take it off, until she was so tired she was practically ready to fall asleep in the pool! Her favourite part was when I put her on my tummy and did a back float with her riding on me -- she loved it, but I had to kick so hard (to keep my head up) I got a charley horse this morning!

I turned off comment moderation, so if anyone is reading this blog besides Aunt Greta, feel free to leave a comment!

Response to Rob

2008-07-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hey Rob! Carrie Ann's Okay is way cuter than Lee Hyori's (though I wouldn't give Carrie a B in English, yet, I guess!) "Otay!" I don't remember my other kids saying it this way, but it sure strikes a cuteness chord. I guess it must have been used this way in some TV series or movie?

Anyway, about expat complaining -- have you heard of the three levels of cultural adjustment theory? The first stage is the honeymoon stage -- it is a big adventure. It is easy to pass off the things that bug you, and you are very excited about everything that is new and different. The complaining at this stage is usually along the lines of "the cheese is really expensive!" The second stage is the main complaining stage -- you have realized in your gut that you are here to stay, and the things that bug you start to bug you more and more. It is really hard to fit your previous image of yourself with your current situation. The complaining here comes from the struggle to change, to know what you can and can't change, how far you can go and what you can't accept. Sometimes you try futilely to change the new situation to fit yourself, sometimes you get depressed, sometimes you leave. Sometimes you go on to the third stage, cultural adjustment. You make the personal changes that are necessary to fit in to the place where you are, and start to feel like a composite person -- half this, half that. You learn the language, history, customs, etc. You make some really close friends. You start to feel out of place when you go "home". At this stage, any remaining complaints are likely to fit the "constructive social criticism" category, unless you are a habitual complainer.

I experienced this in Germany, and have heard that it is a common experience for missionaries -- and foreign ESL teachers too, I guess!

Fun and games

2008-07-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

This morning when Carrie Ann woke up, she said, "Betadine, foo." At first I thought she meant foot, but then realized she was asking for food (and Bethany). I said, "Would you like to go out and pick some raspberries?" and she replied, "I-sy dopadies! Betadine dopadies! Tysis dopadies!" In otherwords, "outside, raspberries!" Outside is sometimes ouw-sigh, or i-sigh. Dopadies was first strawberries, but now means raspberries. Tysis is pretty consistent for Matthias now. I tried to get her to say her name. "Does Bethany like raspberries?" "Betadine dopadies!" "Does Matthias like raspberries?" "Tysis dopadies!" "Does Carrie Ann like raspberries?" "Tatie ann dopadies!" It is very hard to distinguish between Carrie as she says it, and Daddy! The Ann is very low, like "awn" or "on", so Carrie Ann -- Tatie on -- almost sounds the same as "Daddy's home!" one of her current favourite phrases!

I found this site on one of Rob's friend's blogs:

If you want one too, go to meez.com. Put my username in (rebeccajz) when you register and we both get extra coinz. (Coinz are points for "buying" some of the fancier items, such as the striped Hanbok I chose.)

Menstrual Miracle

2008-07-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

(Bodily fluids warning: if you're uncomfortable reading about bodily fluids, skip this post!)

This week I had Praise and Worship for our church service: leading the singing for three or four songs at the beginning of the service. On Friday, my period threatened to start, and lately I've been really exhausted and crampy for the first two days of my period. So I prayed that God would let my period wait until after Praise and Worship to start, so that I could give the praise service my whole energy. Well, I had a little spotting the rest of Friday and Saturday morning, but I felt great, and no period. Praise and Worship went really well -- it was apparent that God had led the choice of the songs, and half a dozen people told me after the service how blest they were by the singing. Within ten minutes of the end of the service, I started cramping, and sure enough, my period had started. Amazing! You know, my meditation at the beginning of Praise and Worship was how God shows his love for us in a million ways -- I mentioned the random, beautiful poppy blooming in my yard -- but delaying my period for one day is another wonderful gesture from Him, blessing me by allowing me to be a blessing to His children in our church. Thank God for small miracles that mean a lot!