October

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!).

Tongue twisters

(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

[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.

9 hours!

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.

Getting Big!

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!"

Done! and Fun!

Yay! Yesterday, we finished all our homeschool work!

Matthias actually had about a week of his Map workbook left, but when he heard that Bethany was done, he decided to finish it all! So he did 5 days worth of work in one day! It was long, but he persevered, and now he is done until September (though we will keep reading together). We all worked really hard this year, so we finished a whole month earlier than last year. Last year, Matthias was pushing to finish by his birthday. So now we get to celebrate the beautiful weather!

We went to the park, and Bethany had her own milestone -- for the first time, she managed to pump hard enough on the swing to keep herself at the same height for quite a while! Wow!

Carrie Ann had fun chasing a friendly dog around. It tried to ignore her, but then it went over by her stroller and lay down. She came up and squatted in front of it, and it obligingly licked her all over the face (which is what she wanted all the time, I think). When I got there, she was sticking out her tongue to give it some doggy kisses back!

Her favourite words recently are "bike" and "hat" -- which means, don't forget to wear your bike helmet when you ride your bike! She spends at least an hour a day evangelizing everyone in the vicinity about this principle! She also showed signs of trying to colour in a shape at colouring time today -- the circles had a lot more ink in them than the rest of the paper, and the other letters had parallel lines around them, rather than scribbles in any direction. Amazing! She's going to be an artist like Bethany. One day I'll have a scanner hooked up again, and share some artwork with you.

Homeschool

I wanted to put this picture up to show you what my mornings are like:

Matthias and Bethany are almost done their schoolwork for the year (only a couple weeks to go!), and Carrie Ann really loves colouring!

By the way, there are lots more pictures on my Photo Gallery, the link is at the right. I put some new ones in Homeschool Projects and Playing Outside.

Canada, Eh?

Matthias has been studying Canada in his map book, and so I put up on the wall the Canada map which came in the back of the book.
Carrie Ann came over to it during a meal (she always finishes first), and tried to pull the "C" off. I said, "Canada, Carrie Ann, Canada." Then Frank started singing this song:
Ca-Na-Da
(You'll need RealPlayer or something, it is a ram file.)
He explained that it was the Centennial Song in 1967 -- before my time.

That brought to mind another song about Canada which my sister Deb told me about years ago. All I could remember was "trees and rocks and rocks and trees and trees and rocks and rocks and trees -- and water!" So I looked it up on YouTube. To my surprise it was by a group called "Arrogant Worms". At first glance I was put off, but then realized, isn't that what we all really are, in the big scheme of things? Anyway, we enjoyed the song.

It didn't take me long to realize that there were several versions available, since the group themselves did only a music version, not a video. The first is still my favourite, from Doki Doki productions, an anime version:


This version is the most "Canadian,"

Though I wasn't impressed that they used the same pictures for both sets of "rocks and trees."

Others were the "Shangra-La" version and the "Stargate" version.

We had a good laugh (and learned some symbols and history of Canada). Thanks, Deb and Arrogant Worms!