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groovyhoovey
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Name: R.H.
Gender: Female
Interests: Two of my greatest desires are to always honor the Father with my life and to show the love of Jesus Christ to those around me. My list of interests is long - so I'll pull one from the middle, alphabetically: M for Myron. And I'll skip to the end: Z for zoology.
Expertise: I currently work and teach at home, although I find that I am being taught by our children.
Occupation: Non-profit family partnership
Message: message me
Member Since:
4/17/2006
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| Someday I will likely look back at these days with nostalgia. But right now I do grimace a bit when mink paws, frog parts, fish heads and mouse skins fall down when I open my freezer door. Our latest animal episode went like this:
On our way to church the boys spotted a red fox by the highway - fresh road kill. Immediately there were visions of fox pelts dancing in their heads, and we were heavily prevailed upon to pick it up. For me, it was out of the question; Myron simply gave it less importance than getting to church on time. Later, on the way home from church, there it was - tantalizingly waiting - and next thing you know, Myron had parked the van and the 3 of them were walking over to check it out. When they came back (a sheepish grin on Myron's face as traffic went by) the boys were proudly carrying the prize. We found some newspaper and laid the creature in the back of the van. And for dignity's sake I will mention that it did not smell bad. 
They skinned it and stretched the pelt, and then they extracted the brains in order to tan the hide using a boiled and blended brain concoction. (I don't think I'll tell which kitchen wares were used in case you ever happen to dine at our table. I will say that I drew the line at using the blender to puree the concoction.) By the time the process was complete, I had had quite enough of fox brains in my kitchen and on the door knobs! And if you are wondering, every spot where there was the remotest possibility of contact with fox brains Has. Been. Thoroughly. Cleaned. And. Disinfected.
I don't always remain patient and accommodative throughout all our children's enthusiastic hands-on experimentations, but I do always delight in watching them try things. I sometimes only experience the feelings of delight after the mess is cleaned up. Like the day they all set up shop to make pokeberry dye on our doorstep. There was a moment of panic before I discovered that pokeberry juice doesn't stain most surfaces unless it's been properly processed to become dye.
If fox brains and pokeberry juice all over the place are a small part of the process of allowing creativity and perseverance and confidence to be developed in the next generation, so be it. And may God grant me grace to give them the room they need to try things and keep on trying until they succeed.
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| Quote of the Day:
Andrew, annoyed: Diana, are you going to be following us around everywhere?
Diana: Well, where are you going?
Andrew: To the blackest of the deep woods.
Hmmmm . . . maybe these siblings need a break from each other. Or maybe I should set them all to work together in the blackest, weediest part of the garden.
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| Quote of the day: Dad, thayrs a rily nys bb gun for 23 bucs, Andrew's IM to his dad at the office reads. He'd better be more adept at handling a bb gun than he is at spelling.
Low point of the day: Having Dr. Post's x-ray confirm our suspicions that Diana's fourth finger is broken near the tip. She crushed it between two 5 lb. dumbbells and it immediately turned yellow and purple and a bit cool to the touch. Such a tiny appendage can cause so much pain when wounded.
High point of the day: Adding Cocoa, a beautiful part-Birman cat, to our small but growing pet population. How well she will cohabitate with Sassy, our sweet little Sheltie, remains to be seen. At first introduction things were none-too-congenial on the part of the feline creature, but if they
don't become fast friends it won't be Sassy's fault.
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| You've heard of the tradition of breaking a bottle of champagne against the bow on the maiden voyage/christening of a ship. Superstition holds that a ship not properly christened is considered unlucky.
Well, in the last several days we've been splattering various 'liquids' about in our new house:
* One of my sons shattered a glass quart jar of homemade applesauce all over the kitchen floor and cabinets.
* I splattered black liquid shoe polish on the woodwork, wall and floor of the laundry room.
* The little boy I was babysitting lost the contents of his stomach 3 times. First time on the carpet, second time on the tile, and third time in the bathtub.
I think our house has been properly initiated. I think our house is now a home!
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| We Moved !! We now reside in our new home on the hill (by Kansas standards you can call it a hill). We love it here! We can faintly recall having lived somewhere else for the past 11 years . . ! Actually, there were some heartstrings that had to be severed from the old place. Diana has expressed the most sentimentality so far. She cried when we laid to rest a couple pieces of worn out furniture and often qualifies her happiness at being in the new house with "but I miss our old house." I'm thinking she inherited that gene from Myron .
Moving has been an eye-opener with regard to the amount of 'stuff' we have. Stuff we don't need. Stuff we have to deal with, and it becomes a burden in itself. The flip side of this is the way I was also reminded of the way our material needs are so completely provided for. A huge blessing it is to have adequate housing, warmth, food, and all kinds of technology and comforts in life. But Jesus' instruction to his disciples was to travel lightly and I hope I can continue to learn how that command will affect my life if I take it seriously.
School is going . . . OK. I think we're picking up steam again after being distracted with moving and all that goes along with it. We are studying the American Revolution and that's been fascinating. The children are often dismayed at how the American natives were treated during that era. Our respect for George Washington grows when we compare how he came to the Presidency vs. how our eager candidates are vying for that position these days.
We have a business related overnight stay at the Hyatt planned for next week and it looks so good to me right now. To name a few of the perks, there will be great company, room expenses paid, and I won't be cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. And we get to take the kids along. (I am serious!)
And here they are with a new playmate and cousin who moved to our area recently.
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