Brushing up on our knowledge of little freaks

On the way to see Snow White yesterday, I was reviewing the story with the kids so they'd know what was going on, since it can be hard to get the details from a ballet story.

M: Do you guys remember the story of Snow White?
S: Of course!  The evil witch makes her eat the poisoned apple, and she sleeps for 40 years, and only the kiss of her true love can wake her up.  Or is that Sleeping Beauty?  Why did the witch poison the apple?
N: Snow White is the one with the dwarves.
S: What are dwarves?
N: Little freaks, like leprechauns.
M: How many dwarves are there?
N: 3?
M: 7. How many can you name?
S: Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy...that's all.
M: Doc, Bashful, Happy...and somebody else.  Every time I try to name them, I can only come up with 6.  I don't forget the same one every time, but I never get them all.  Why is that?
N: You need to brush up on your knowledge of little freaks.

A day in our life

8:00 a.m.  Sarah wakes up and wants to watch last night's episode of "Splash!" that I recorded. We do, but first we have a talk about modesty, why she will never wear swimsuits like that, and why Noah is not allowed to watch this show.  Normally, she would wake up with a huge breakfast on her mind, but for the last several days, she hasn't been eating much, for some reason.

9:00 a.m.  The kittens are letting me know in various ways that they can't wait any longer for their morning cantaloupe, so I head for the kitchen.  Sarah orders strawberries, corn, and chocolate milk for breakfast, which is way less than usual.  Noah shuffles out, looking grumpy.  I give him a long hug.  He endures it and even hugs me back...a little.

9:15 a.m.  Sarah goes downstairs to practice her dance for ballet recital. Noah plays Minecraft on the computer.  I unload and reload the dishwasher, then look out the window to watch birds building nests.  I could do this all day if I didn't have responsibilities.  I spend a few minutes watching a rabbit, hoping she'll disclose the location of her nest, which reminds me of the baby bunnies we had 9 years ago. That thought sends me off to search for the video of them.

9:30 a.m.  We all settle in under a blanket to watch our old home videos from 2004.  Noah was little and adorable and sweet.  Sarah was 6 weeks old, but I didn't know it at the time. I wish for the millionth time that I could have held my babies when they were newborn.  Remind myself that I'm thankful to have them at all, and carry on. 

10:00 a.m.  Noah has his favorite breakfast, a ham and cheese Lean Pocket.  I cut up an apple, orange, and strawberries, and we all snack on those.

10:15 a.m.  I read 2 Samuel 17-18 and Psalm 143 out loud, and we all work on our homework for Community Bible Study.  Then I read a chapter from our current read-aloud book, The Far Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George.  I love reading time.  The kids play with army guys while I'm reading.

11:00 a.m.  I go to make lunch, and the kids play G.I. Joe together until bickering erupts and Noah retreats downstairs to play basketball. After lunch, I teach spelling and math to each kid individually.   

12:45 p.m.  The kids are walking to Mrs. Bartholomew's house for science class.  They're studying rocks during this session.  Shiloh curls up on my lap as I type this.  Other than her purring and the keys clacking, the house is quiet and peaceful. I'm taking advantage of the rare opportunity to think, uninterrupted.  I think about what preparations I need to make for tomorrow's busy day.  CBS in the morning, seeing a live ballet performance of Snow White in the afternoon, two Kuk Sool classes for Noah and a gymnastics class for Sarah in the evening.

1:45 p.m.  That hour flew by, and now it's time to leave to pick up kids from science, mail a package at the post office, and stop at the library.

2:45 p.m.  Home from the library.  Had a nice chat with our favorite librarian (Mrs. Yoder), turned in the kids' entries for the summer reading poster contest, and returned a book.  Noah is now throwing playing cards down the hall, and the kittens are chasing them.  They are requesting another chapter of our read-aloud book before quiet time.  I know they're just stalling, but they know I can almost never resist more reading.

3:30 p.m.  Quiet time.  Sarah is doing a math quiz, and Noah is doing a math lesson.  I'm finishing my CBS work, reading, and checking Facebook.

4:30 p.m.  Getting dinner ready.  Noah is finishing math.  Sarah is cleaning her room.  Mike will be home soon.  Sarah is going to Awards Night at AWANA tonight, and Noah has elected not to go.

6:00 p.m.  Mike and Noah playing basketball in the basement.

7:00 p.m . Noah and I playing Phase 10 (card game).

9:00 p.m.  Sarah home.  Prayers, teeth brushing, reading in bed.  Sarah will shut her light off at 9:45.  Noah at 11:00.

Why don't I get to be awesome?

Sarah and Noah are playing G.I. Joe Renegades, for some reason.  Noah says, "I get to be Duke."
Sarah: Why?
N: Because Duke's awesome.
S: Why don't I get to be awesome?

Ezekiel 20

Yesterday I was whining (again) about how discouraging my job is.  It seems pointless to keep teaching and training and correcting these people who don't seem to listen or make any progress.  I wanted to give up (again) and send them to school.  But just like He has before when I've felt this way, God encouraged me and confirmed that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  This time, He used Ezekiel 20, which He knew I'd be reading this morning. 

Ezekiel had repeatedly given the stubborn Israelites messages from God, even dramatically acted them out (see Ezekiel 4), but they wouldn't listen and obey.  The footnote in my Bible for Ezekiel 20:49 says: "Ezekiel was exasperated and discouraged.  No matter how important our work or how significant our ministry, we will have moments of discouragement.  What has been discouraging you? Have you felt like giving up? Instead, continue doing what God has told you do.  He promises to reward the faithful."

Backyard campout

Getting set up.  Mike was spreading out the sleeping bags, and Marty kept attacking him from outside the tent.

 flaming ball of marshmallows

 

 thoroughly enjoying her s'more

 Marty came knocking at the door of the tent and was very happy to come in and sleep with us.

There were several factors that made me want to go AWOL, but when I stuck my hand into the squished Cadbury creme egg gluing me to the sleeping bag, that was the final straw.  I only made it till about 11 p.m.  Mike stuck it out till 2:15 a.m., and the kids came traipsing in around 3:00 a.m.  Must remember to check the wind forecast next time.  Wind whips the tent around so much that it slaps you in the face and makes lots of noise. 
 The morning after:

Raccoon and Goat

Having kittens is SO much fun!  (They'll be kittens for about another month when they turn one year old).  Have I mentioned that Shadow is a goat?  He eats anything and everything.  Shiloh is our raccoon.  Above, she is foraging in the pantry for her favorite toy, a Hershey's kiss.

 

 She'll find them wherever they are and pull one out.  She has no interest in eating it, just playing with it.  She challenges herself by hiding the prey behind the apple juice, in the bag of potatoes, between cereal boxes, etc.

 After she's played in the pantry for a long time, she picks the prey up and carries it all over the house.  She runs up and down the stairs with it, throws it, retrieves it, sits on it,

 and rolls around with it.  The game always ends the same way...

She drops it in her water bowl, like a raccoon.

Day in the life--food version

 Since I started a previous post today with a picture of Sarah's breakfast, I thought I'd continue through the day.  Above is Sarah's lunch: grilled cheese (with bacon) and "fancy vegetable flower", as the kids call it.

 Noah's lunch.  The spread under the bacon is butter, cheese, garlic, and onion whirred up in the food processor.  I spread it on bread, top it with bacon (we like bacon), and toast it on the griddle.

 My lunch.  This is not all I ate, mind you, or else I wouldn't be so large. This was sort of an appetizer.

Chicken tacos for dinner.  One of my favorites to make, because it's super easy, healthy, and the whole family (even Sarah Pickypants) likes it. 

To counteract all that healthiness, chocolate chip cookie bars for dessert.
 (There are also LOTS of snacks throughout the day.  I spend most of my waking hours in the kitchen.)

Marriage requirements

Noah and I were looking over the grocery ads, and I was quizzing him about good prices.  I asked him if he thought he would do the grocery shopping when he got married or if he would expect his wife to do it.  He said, "I wouldn't mind doing it, but I might not be any good at it.  What if I thought $2.99/lb was a good price for grapes?"  I told him that's why I'm teaching him what good prices are.  He said, "It's a lot to remember.  I probably won't be good at it."  I said, "What if your wife isn't good at it either?"  He gave me a look and said, "Why would I marry her if she doesn't know how to buy groceries?"

Various Sarah pictures

 Sarah's breakfast order:  "one orange, half slices, one pear, cut up, baked potato with peel removed, cut up with butter, salt, pepper, cheese, and bacon, one piece of buttered toast, cut on the bias."  She always knows exactly what she wants.  

 She's supposed to be folding laundry, but I found her like this.  Since she's normally not my most voracious reader, I didn't say anything.  Also, I usually don't disturb children who are reading or sleeping.

 She got her ears pierced on Monday.  She was a little scared, but she kept her stoic face on the whole time.  She didn't whimper or flinch or cry.

She loves being able to wear earrings!