Family Hike

Yesterday our family went hiking along Jeremy's Run Trail in Shenandoah National Park. The creek starts out small near the top, growing as we trekked down.We made our first crossings carefully, keeeping our feet dry. As the creek deepened and the temperature climbed, we began wading across and stopping to play in the good spots.Although the woods haven't leafed out much at this elevation (see above), we did observe spring flora, mostly wildflowers.

Animal life abounded as well.

centipedecrayfish?? looks like some kind of water-stick buggarter snake (David picked up another one. Rebecca poked this one until it slid under cover.)

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We also saw tiny fish. There were some butterflies (moths?) that fluttered quite low to the ground. Their open wings were just the color of the lavender wild flowers. Closed, they looked like the grey stones and bark.

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Most of our water play was on the walk back up (we had scouted out the best places by then). Becca roped some helpers into building a wall with her, although it didn't do much to hold back the water.

It was a hot, slow (I'd say about the pace of a five year old...) walk back to the parking lot and the beginning of the end of a satisfying day. We missed you, Lauren!

(Photo credits: Len)

Easter Baskets

When I was growing up, each child had her own Easter basket filled with candy, and we hunted for dyed, hard-boiled eggs. My children (with their local cousins) hunt for plastic eggs filled with candy (20 each) and share a family basket.

The contents of the family basket vary each year. Once everyone received a picture/story book. I usually include candy that's not wrapped or doesn't fit in a plastic egg--jelly beans, malted milk eggs, Peeps, etc.

Last year I set up a mini-hunt for a big gift: each child received a plastic egg with a clue that let to another egg. Inside each of those was a piece of the map that led to the treasure: a Wii. It had not been apparent that we would ever get one, so the surprise/delight factor was quite high. ;-)

This year's basket was more low key, with a few sweets and smaller gifts: a dvd of the gospel of Mark, and two games. Just like last week, I spent too much time decorating cookies, but it was fun.And then there was the less elaborate creation for Mr. "No-thanks-I'd-rather-have-mine-without-icing":Sometimes less is more, you know?

Food for Thought

About Jesus' sacrifice from In Conversation With God today:

"Not only has he ransomed us from sin and death, but he has taught us to put the will of God above all personal plans, to live detached from everything, to know how to pardon, even when the offender has not repented, to know how to forgive others, to be apostles until the very moment of death, to suffer without sterile lament, to love men although one is suffering because of them..."

Able Assistant

Yesterday as I was decorating gingerbread cookies for Bible study, Becca decided she wanted to help. Warm, wonderful, and welcoming (hah!) mother that I am, I said, "Sure! Hop right up here!" If only...

I had a cookie plan, and although it was proceeding slowly, it was proceeding MY way. I did not want a mess-maker or a helper who needed help or a companion who would cry when her artwork didn't meet her expectations (believe me, it's happened before).

Fortunately, child #6 is persistent. I succumbed, she washed her hands, pulled up a stool, and produced these:
No fuss, no complaints--just pleasant chatter and shared sprinklings. The child is five!

My design is less complicated, but it was surprisingly time consuming to get the sugar to completely cover the icing (inside, outside, on top). The end result was certainly bright!

Lesson learned? Maybe. I hope so.

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Post script: Rebecca wanted everyone to see her cookies, but did not want them eaten at Bible study. Her solution? "How about if you take a picture and put it on your blog?" ;-)

Oops

I taught our writing co-op (14 students, grades 4-9) again this week. It was a lively class; we brainstormed/outlined two paragraphs. Then I erased the outlines so we could write a paragraph. I had filled almost the entire board before realizing that somehow I was now writing with a permanent marker. Aargh!

I hunted the internet for solutions. The best bet so far seems to be "Spot Shot" carpet cleaner (which we happen to have) rubbed off with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Len added some elbow grease, and the board has progressed to the hazy stage. I'll try another treatment in attempt to achieve complete cleanliness.

Not exactly the kind of teaching moment I'd been hoping for... ;-)

Day 37

We're almost caught up with the "Jesus Tree" readings and ornaments. Even for Rebecca, most of the stories aren't new, but they give us another chance to pray with scripture, always a good thing.

We're in the home stretch now. How's your Lent going?

Dinner with Joe

Cooking a meal with a child can be a time consuming project. Joseph's dinner, rescheduled twice, ended up mid-week, so we planned quicker but still tasty fare.

Tonight's menu: shrimp scampi, peas with pine nuts,

fresh fruit salad,and Moosewood fudge brownies.

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As they say on A Prairie Home Companion, "tasty and expeditious!"

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

Last week I didn't pray enough to "earn" much online time. Truth be told, I had several busy and/or gloomy days that would have kept me from posting anyway. Happily, life is looking up and I have a bit of good news to share:

1. Yesterday the homeschoolers and I made it to Confession and 20 minutes of Adoration, keeping us on track with our family Lenten commitment.
2. We also managed two short visits to our schoolroom "annex", a nearby playground. We ride bikes and combine some work and play.
3. I've taught two classes of our writing co-op and today finished correcting and returning work to the other families. This co-op has been such a blessing; I love the IEW program but on my own have never been able to stick with it for more than a few months.

To be inspired by other moms, visit Faith and Family Live.

It's Not Official Yet...

...but it sure feels like spring!

Today we made our first visit of the season to our schoolroom annex (aka the playground). When Marianna asked, I obliged with a reluctant "Yes", but later was oh-so-glad. We all enjoyed our combination of workand play. Check out Becca's trail-gator above--she was whooping with glee whenever we rode fast enough.
I thought my morning walks had kept me in decent shape, but biking is different. I was huffing and puffing up some miniscule slopes ("Pedal, Becca, pedal!").

Teaching Moment

Right now Lauren is spending her spring break in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, as part of the Mayan Arts Program. She and her fellow students are teaching art to elementary students in a remote highland village. (Remote in geography and culture--there are two translators per class--English to Spanish and Spanish to the local dialect!)

As part of her course work (this is a class she had to compete to enter) Lauren will also be learning crafts from the local women (probably weaving). When she returns, she'll create a reaction project, probably a book or photo exhibit.

Anyway, the program has a website and blog. There's not much posted there right now, but you can check it out here if you're interested. (Actually, scroll up and down a bit--Len just noticed that some days are posted out of chronological order.)

In Conversation With God

This book (I own the Lent/Eastertide edition) is marvelous! Whenever I read it, I find myself underlining quotes or scribbling notes in a journal.

Today's topic is God's particular love for me and my response. It's a message I've heard frequently lately. Such timeless advice:

"The way we love God is shown in the way we live charity with those who are beside us in our day-to-day lives."

Duh. But it requires being mindful and prayerful to actually carry out. I am reminded of a long ago essay by Elizabeth, "It's All About Love."

Another stand-out quote for me today: "When we rise to repond to God's love, the obstacles disappear; on the other hand, without love even the tiniest difficulty sems insuperable. If there is union with the Lord, everything becomes tolerable."

Len and St. Francis de Sales both try to remind me that the annoyances of the day can be transformed (by my attitude towards them) into opportunities for growth, grace, and prayer. I haven't picked an inspirational word for the year, but maybe it should be mindfullness, by which I mean making conscious (and Godly) choices about my actions and attitudes. Hmmm....

In Context: Martin Luther King, Jr.

We're studying American history this year, and finished up the Civil War last week. Inspired by a fifth grade teacher, I borrowed all 5 discs of Ken Burns' PBS series from the library. Joseph, Marianna, and I spent weeks (the series is over eleven hours long!) watching, listening, and learning. With pauses for discussion and review, we all absorbed a lot of information.

Anyway, when we finished the dvds, we covered the era of Reconstruction. Then instead of moving on chronologically, we jumped ahead to the Civil Rights era and Martin Luther King, Jr. The Civil War and Reconstruction should have given all races equality in America, but that's not how it turned out. One hundred years later, the fight was active again.

Our library has an audiotape of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. It's stirring and poetic and inspiring, and I can't wait to listen to it again.

In preparation, the three of us are reading a biography of MLK. I'm not patient enough to read it aloud (it's too long, and I want to keep moving), so we're sharing the book for our quiet time (the homeschoolers have a minimum of 30 minutes of approved/school topic reading each day).

Together, we're reading another book (Becca, too): I Have a Dream by Scholastic Press. It contains the entire text of the speech, along with paintings by 15 different artists. I highly recommend this book! We covered the first half today, analyzing and explaining

• the meaning (the promissory note and the bank of justice),
• the poetry (Why does he repeat "one hundred years later" four times in one long sentence?),
• the context (explaining his urging of nonviolence with the picture of ketchup being poured on people sitting-in at a lunch counter),
• the Biblical references ("I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places shall be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."),
• and the symbolism (Why does he begin with "Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation."?)

We'll finish up tomorrow and then Friday listen to the speech while reading along (as I remember it, the tape is scratchy). Reading and analyzing is educational, but actually hearing that preacher proclaiming will touch our hearts.

I know lots of folks study MLK in January, around his birthday, but his life and efforts will make more sense to my students right now, when the Civil War and its aftermath are still fresh in their minds.