Rant about Politcal Thugs

Rant time.

So yesterday, the kidos and I went to Fort Nisqually Historical Park with some friends and had a blast. Of course, I have no camera and the phone pics just didn't come out, so no pics. The kids had a great time and I hope learned a little something there too.

On the way there, we were struck by the number of political signs in the median. Most were for Democrats. Hmmm. I know that my husband had put a bunch of the signs of the Republican candidate he is working with up in those same areas. So had the other Republican candidates. But for the most part, they were gone. Curious don't you think.

Then on the way home, the kidos notice piles, and more than one, of pulled up signs on the side of the road. I dropped them off at the corner and had them run back and pick up any of the signs that belong to our candidate. I know how much those things cost. And how much time and energy it takes to get them up. All the way home we picked them up. There were a bunch of signs, not just ours, broken, torn or thrown in the streets. Most of them had R's on them.

My kids were flabbergasted. How do I explain this to them? How do I explain that the other side is so afraid that their message isn't strong enough to stand on its own that they need to remove all signs of opposition. How do I explain that the other side is so tolerant of multiple ideas, unless they disagree with them of course. How do I explain that the other side wants people to have choices, as long as it is one that they choose. Aargggghhh.

But on the other hand, I am so happy that my kidos have taken ownership of their government. They are more aware of what is going on and what is at stake. As they picked up the signs, they were waving them as they walked down the sidewalk to get back to the car. As we continued on the drive, whenever they saw the signs of our candidate, they would shout, in the car mind you, "There is one of our signs!"

So there you go, rant.

Vote for David "Ike" Eichner!

Fourth of July

Of all the non-biblical holidays, the Fourth of July has always been my favorite.

I guess that makes my oldest daughter's birthday appropriate. Yup, a firecracker baby.

I grew up in a military family and on many different posts. I grew up listening to the Army band march around the neighborhoods playing John Philip Sousa music. I remember decorating my bike with streamers and wearing my colonial clothes riding or marching behind them. I also remember the local parades around the nation, from the small town of Hope, KS to the town of Morgan Hill, Ca and many others, where locals gather to celebrate. And I love, love, love fireworks! (Kinda my personality, big and loud ^.^)

I love the Fourth because it is a reminder that we live in such a great nation. (One of the best parts is that we can have dissenting opinions and still be free express them, so I won't argue that point with anyone.) It is a time that we can stand together as neighbors and just enjoy being Americans. A great big birthday party.

I think another reason I like it is that it is a time to be with family and friends. This year we partied with some great friends and were able to be on post with the great men and women who defend and fight for our country. We had so much fun. My favorite part was watching the kids on the climbing rock.

Look how high this little one got! It was amazing!

It was free ^.^ More courage than I have, that is for sure!

They got to pet lizards, bang on music makers, and run and play together before watching the Army put on a very patriotic show and fireworks. The weather was perfect, not something you say in the PNW very often, and the food was yummmmmmy. Em got her birthday pie.

It is everything I wanted my children to remember it being.

Adventure 2

So the second adventure this summer only involved 2 of my kidos.
We went out sailing on the historic 90 foot yawl, the Odyssey, hauling the mainsail up the 105 foot mast and taking the helm of this racing beauty through Foss Water Way and out in the beautiful Puget Sound with the Sea Scouts.
I took the oldest two and we had a blast. After we found it. Traffic revisions you know. The kids were each given a scout to shadow. Every half hour they had a duty change. It is like they knew my kids already. They each got a perfect match. I got to sit and visit with the other parents, walk around the boat, go down below and have a parent meeting, and decide that I was not going to use the head. If you saw it you would understand.

Here is Josh on the helm. He did a great job not running us up on the rocks or anything. There is a huge sense of responsibility when a million dollar boat it in your able hands. He learned that it was like driving a car on ice with a really slow reaction All the kids do the actual sailing of the boat. There is an adult captain in charge. He did a great job of teaching and keeping all the kids in control.

Emily just missed out on steering, but she really wasn't all that upset. She did get to pull in the sheets. But I didn't get a picture of that.

I like this one of Josh pulling in the sheets, with the American flag flying behind him.

They also had some down time just to enjoy God's beautiful world and talk with the crew. Come to find out, a bunch of them are speech and debate people.

Still not sure if they are going to join. I hope they do, cuz this was super fun!

Summer Adventure One

I so wish my ankles were stronger cuz I would sure love to go skating.
I took my kids this week and they had such a great time. 
Now that they can actually skate, they are trying to get a little fancy.  They are learning to skate backwards and do the crossover thing when they are going around curves.
And now that they are older, they are requesting music.
There were lots of smiles and giggling. 

sisters, being sisters

 two cool dudes

 she actually was in the process of falling

I think she was done.

Summer adventure number one.

Love That Girl

My fam likes old B-scifi movies.  Some of them are really funny and some of them are pretty good.  Some are plain out bad, but those are fun too.  So any ways....We were watching "Journey to the Seventh Planet" last night.  Totally goofy.  Do you know which is the seventh planet?  I'll give you a moment... hmm hmm hmm.


Yup, Uranus. 
So the big kids and I are sharing all the ways to say the name of the planet.  All of a sudden Deb bursts out laughing.  Not at the pronunciation I laughed at as a kid, but this way-
urine us. 
She had to explain it to me cuz I wasn't getting it. 
"Urine Mom, get it URINE! us!" 
This morning she comes out of the bathroom giggling and shaking her head. 

pic found at astronomoleventia.blogspot.com

"Uranus!"

A Squirrelly Review of The Avengers

For Josh's 15 we surprised him with tickets to see The Avengers at IMAX.
That was pretty amazing.
First off, I'll let you know that we are a family that loves adventure/sci-fi/action movies.  My kids all have seen movies filled with Ninja violence and car wrecks.  We don't do movies with lots of language (if there are more than 5 in the first fifteen or the f bomb is said at all) or naked people or scantily clad people or lots of hugging and kissing.  They know the difference between real and fake.  We don't watch things that I think will make them come to my bed at night.  My sweetheart and/or I preview movies that I think might be questionable.  There were a couple of swear words in this one, some blood, lots of comic style killing and kabooms. The monsters were pretty scary looking too.   It is pretty intense so I wouldn't take young kids.
So that being said, we went to The Avengers.  I took all of the kidos.  I should not have brought the 9 year old or the 11 year old.  Not because the movie was bad, but because it was loud and long.  One put ear plugs in and bugged me that she was bored about halfway through and the other actually fell asleep.
Basically, it was a good movie.  There was a good story and fun characters and lots of bullets and hammers and shields and stuff.  More than once I leaned over and told Josh "I want one of those!"  The effects were pretty amazing.  The guy costumes were pretty cool.  The ladies, well, I never understood the reasoning behind super heroes in high heals.  They were pretty kick butt babes though.  The movie moved really fast and the 2 1/2  hours went by with out me noticing.  My favorite parts were the one liners sprinkled through out, and any part with The Hulk. 
I didn't like the 3D part.  Or the giant screen part.  Or the too loud part.  The challenge for me was that because everything was so close, the craftsman in me was looking at set details, the stitching on the costumes, the make up on Loki, and the changing colors of Tony Stark's beard instead of paying attention to the movie.  I would like to see it again in a regular theater.   Because it was so big I missed a lot on the edges and in the background.   It was just to much for my brain to take in.  I was also a little nauseous and a few times I had to take off the glasses to give myself a break.
And yes, you need to stay til the very very very end.  After all the credits.  Check out some of the jobs descriptions while you wait.  Our favorite was the fire and inferno compositors.  Wouldn't that look cool on a resume!  It was worth it.

Are you ready?

A lost child.
I never know what is going to set off those sad emotions.
Some years cruise on by.
Others knock me to my knees.
Sometimes I think, this year is going to be okay.
Then something happens.
A young man I knew only in passing.
A young man who was known and loved by those that matter to my children.
Taken too soon.
Drowned in a freak accident.
A life that had so much expectation.
I knew my son for such a short time.
But I see the potential of his life in his brother.
I CAN NOT EVEN IMAGINE the pain of this young man's family.
I don't want to seem like I am comparing.
It did bring my sadness bubbling up though.
The comfort of knowing where this young man is, with my son, in the arms of the
One Son.
Comforting, not always soothing though. 
I look forward to knowing them both more in the time that is coming. 
I hope you do too.
Are you ready?
It can happen in a moment.


A couple of links
Josh Eddy's blog
what happened
Hope those work.

Summer!!!!

(picture found at thechildbirthprofession.com)

My goodness, I am excited!  I'm excited for summer to get here already! We have been having tease days of sunny warmer weather tucked into our regular spring wetness. 
The garden beds are planted and there are bunches of baby plants growing.  The promise of fresh vegetables and fresh summery herbs, making me smile.  The dirt is all nice and brown and free of weeds and bugs.  Need to get some wood chips to help it stay that way.  
We finished up the chicken pen.  It is now a good size and looks all official.  The ladies now have enough room so the pecking on each other has stopped.  And who ever was eating the eggs has stopped.  I think.  We haven't had any yucky messes to clean up anyways.  This summer we are going to redo the roof and paint the outsides of the hen house. 
After much delay, I finally got the taxes done.  I have already spent the refund four times over in my head ^.^  I'm sure my sweetheart has plans too.  I am hoping to get the trees cut down at least.  The big tree in front of the house really suffered in the big ice storm we had this winter.  It used to be really pretty if not too big.  Now it is sad looking and too big.  It really needs to go.  The one in back is taking up to much of the yard with its long branches and is way to close to the house.  But once they come down, I have a feeling it is going to get way hot in our house in the summer and way colder in the winter.  Oh well, it must be done.  And then there will be yard to do.  I have many plans.
Business is good.  Been getting more customers and partners.  My learning curve has been pretty high lately as in my conviction.  Being out of my comfort zone is stressful in a good way, not a shingles break out kinda way. 
Speaking of shingles.  They have been coming and going.  I did find out that my youngest could get the chicken pox from me when they are out.  No such luck yet.  She has been exposed to them from other kids, but didn't get them from them either.  Sigh.  Still want her to get them before she gets much older. 
I am looking forward to doing some adventuring.  Speech club is almost done, homeschool PE is almost done, piano is almost done.  I have wondering blood right now.  I'm starting to make plans.  Daycations.  Love that word.  Maybe we can get a little car that doesn't eat as much gas as the truck and actually go more places.  I usually only have four kids with me anymore.  Hmmmm.  There goes more of the tax return. 
SUMMER!!!!  I'm so excited!

Passover Lesson 2012

Photo from fanpop.com

Passover never fails to teach me a new lesson.  This year it wasn't about sin and leavening like it usually is, although the kidos and I did have a few discussions about it while preparing for the holy days.  This year it had to do with Moses and that burning bush. 
We have been celebrating the festivals now for thirteen years.  We have made following Torah to the best of our abilities such a part of our lives that my younger kidos remember nothing else.  A blessing to be sure, but what I didn't realize is that I need to teach the basic bible stories.  When I asked Deb about the burning bush, she didn't realize the significance of if.  My bad.  So now she does. 
In contemplating Passover this morning I realized there is a bunch of stuff in that part of the story.  There Moses was, satisfying his curiosity and realizes God is talking to him.  And then when God is giving him his marching orders he says no!  More than once!  Even after showing him miracle after miracle!  I am not the only person to say Moses was a little touched in the head to tell God no.  But God's will is done.  Nothing can stop Him, not even us whiny humans. 
Like any parent, God got a little peeved at Moses, but He didn't change His mind.  Instead, He provided a helper for Moses, someone to stand by his side and be strong where he was weak.  And His will was done.  The plagues, the covering, the release of His children and the long Exodus that follows.  All to His purpose.  All the picture of the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus to come.  Praise be to God.
My lesson was to do as God instructs.  This year, we had a Seder at my house.  I love hosting parties.  I love to cook and have fellowship.  We missed a couple of weeks at schul and everyone was "taken" by the time we got back.  Darn.  But then we found out that one of my daughters friends from Canada and her family were coming down and we invited them.  They said yes and I was happy.  They usually have places to stay while here and I didn't even think to invite them here.  You see my house is "comfortable", "lived in", and my stuff is "well worn" and plain out old.  Good enough for us, but not nearly good enough for company. 
And then God said to me,
Invite them. 
And I said I will help arrange a place for them to stay.  And I did. 
But then those plans fell through. 
And God said
Invite them. 
And I called around and things weren't looking good. 
And God said,
Invite them!
 Okay, but God, you know I only have one shower and the toilet upstairs is really ugly. 
INVITE THEM. 
FINE!
So I did.  And I figured out sleeping arrangements and a dear friend even lent us an extra blow up bed.
Oh and by the way Rebecca, they will be bring others.
Ummm God, one shower, remember!  And we are doing the Dave Ramsey thing so I can't really get a new toilet to replace that really ugly one upstairs and that would be 10 extra people and I just decluttered my closets and I don't have any extra blanket anymore, remember?
It will be fine. 
Really God, cuz I'm kinda stressing here.
Trust me.  I got you and extra bed, remember.  You finished cleaning a day early, remember.  That is a miracle.  And remember you wanted a big Seder.  Well you got one.
Dang, he got me. 
So they came and there was plenty of room.  And the blankets and sheets came out of no where and there was plenty of room and no one wet there pants, even if it did come close sometimes, and no one smelled of BO cuz we managed to get all the showers in. 
And I had the most blessed time.
The fellowship was amazing.  My heart and soul were filled.  The conversations were amazing and fun and I learned so much.  And it never became overwhelming, even when it was time to start the Seder and the lamb wasn't done.  It was the smoothest Seder we ever had.  And singing and rejoicing and kids playing and learning and man, that was awesome.
And I didn't want them to leave.
Ever.
But they did and now the furniture is all back where it belongs and all the kids are back in their beds and I can go potty whenever I want.  And my house is quiet.  Too quiet. 
Thank you God for doing your will in my life.  Even when I am a little touched in the head and say no. 
Thank you for always teaching me a Passover lesson.

Chickens

We got an egg!!

It has taken a few weeks for the ladies to get settled in. Their house is the one they came with so I was hoping it would happen sooner. But it didn't. I think the five kids peeking in at them and trying to pick them up every fifteen minutes was hard for them to get used to after having two adult humans who worked full time owning them. They had a much bigger place to roam at their old house. We have been letting them out of their pen to free roam the back yard if we are out there, and if it ever stops raining will be extending their run a bit.

The first week they were here, the kidos were literally getting up before the chickens. The previous owner was leaving a heat lamp on them all night so that is what we did too. So every morning the kidos had to get up and turn off the light and the ladies would still be roosting. But after some reading and now that it isn't as cold, I have determined not to keep it on. The ladies are usually up before the kidos now. There is a schedule and who ever has chicken duty still has to go out first thing and make sure there is food and water and everyone is okay.

They are really pretty for chickens. I think they are New Hampshire chickens. And funny too. They each have a pretty distinct personality. Maybe because we only have five we notice. And of course the children have named them all. The head chicken is Donna. She is sooo bossy. But she is also the first one to attack danger aka the neighborhood cats on the outside of the fences and apparently wind. She is named for a Doctor Who companion who had a similar personality. Ginger is the story teller and complainer of the bunch. She is named for the chicken who is the planner in Chicken Run, the movie. She is very talkative. One day we went out and they were all out of sorts. We gave them some treats and all but Ginger calmed down. She continued to complain and eat out of our hands at the same time. On another day, Josh went in to check for eggs and she started complaining while drinking. Did you know that chickens can gargle? Amy and Sage are the next two. Amy tries to bum rush whoever opens the door to the coop. Sage tries to stay under the radar. Amy is named for another Who companion and Sage just because. The last chicken is Henny Penny. Of course there had to be a Henny Penny. This poor bird has taken the brunt of the stressful move. She is the low lady on the totem pole and the other birds started picking on her. Literally. We caught more than one of the ladies pecking at her. She is persistent though. And the first one to come get food out of our hands. She lets us pet her and is in general pretty friendly. Now that they are settled in the picking has stopped but she still is still the low lady, last out and last in.

The hen house they came with is pretty neat. It has an automatic door that is solar activated. So even when we are up late or home late, the ladies get all tucked in safe and sound or out and roaming in the morning. We did have one night that Sage didn't make it in on time. It was so sad, she was standing outside the door all pitiful like bawking and bawking. The challenge came when someone held the door open, she would run away from them. So my ingenious kido's got a flashlight and stood outside the pen and shined it on the solar panel and in she went. That hasn't happened again. We still check every night just in case. There are two nesting boxes inside and two outside. For some reason, they push all the hay out before they sit in them. We are going to get some aspen shavings today and see if the softer bedding is better for them.

So chickens are fun. I have to think of them as pets though. If they were just for eggs, they would be some pretty pricey eggs. But since we can't have animals with fur and I don't like fish, chickens will have to do. They are entertaining for sure.

Missed Me?

Can you say busy mom?
Speech. Two competitors, 3 speeches each, tournaments all over the PNW. And I have decided to take over our club next year. Huge learning curve.
One Bat Mitzvah completed with about 3 gallons of ice cream left to eat. More on that one on another day. It deserves it's own post and I just don't have the time to do it justice.
A computer that is working, but still a bit quirky. I find that I am staying off more and more cuz I just can't get it to do what I want when I want. My Nook helps me get on and check things here and there, but it just isn't conducive to big projects. I still love, love, love my Nook! My computer and I are on talking terms, but the relationship is rocky.
Getting more involved with politics. I am finding that a little research outside of the main news sources can be very enlightening. It has been interesting to learn how things really work.
Still working on our own business. Building up subscriber bases.
Taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Class. A lot of info I know, but man oh man has it been hard to implement.
Taxi driving the team to various activities. Got to get my oldest driving now that she is working.
Garden is getting going. Really excited about this guy
http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/
and his way of gardening. We are implementing a bunch of it.
And we are getting chickens! My son says we are real homesteaders now that we have a rototiller and chickens. ^.^ A co worker of my sweetheart is giving us his 5 chickens and their coupe and the stuff to make them "work" (hee hee). That means getting the yard cleared where they are going to be living.
And still homeschooling.
And doing laundry.
And cooking.
And cleaning.
And studying.
Thank goodness for Shabbats and prayer. Without God, I think I just might go crazy. But He is so good and has given me peace and courage and the ability to juggle. I love Him so much!

Mad Libs

I remember when I was a kid, my friends having these little pads called "Mad Libs" and everybody cracking up at the silly little stories that they would create. I never got them. I didn't think they were funny. I still don't get them, but my kids LOVE them.
Surprisingly, I have also come to enjoy them. Not because I think they are funny, but because my kidos are "doing English" and don't even know it. Their writing skills are improving and they are unaware that their dear sweet mama is teaching them anything.
In case you have never experienced a "Mad Lib" story, here is how it works. Inside the pad are a bunch of stories with key words removed. Before you read the story there is a list of words you need to complete. They ask for nouns, verbs, adverbs, place, verbs ending in ing, numbers, plural nouns, etc. Then you read through the story adding in the list of words you just created, making the story nonsensical.
We started out with simple choices, like red for adjectives and quickly for adverbs. But since we done a bunch of them, now they are getting more creative like daintily and exuberant.
While watching the snow fall yesterday, they pulled out the "School House Rock" DVD and watched all the English themed ones so they would be ready for more "Mad Libs".
This is pretty cool for me. My little one, while reading out loud for me said, "That's a good word, I need to remember that." YES!
Now, I still don't get the humor of these. We have about 10 now and there subject matter runs from Star Wars, to outer space, to survival scenarios. There have been stories that they want to go figure out what the real answers should be. BONUS! And it has been a great family activity. Everyone sits together and we go from youngest to oldest or inside out or in alphabetical order, filling out the list. Then they giggle their heads off and say "Can we do just one more Mom, ppppppleeeeeeeeeeeassssse?" And I will say, "No more fun today, go pull out your math books." and they never even know what I have done. Hee hee hee.

2012

I have always been one who likes to keep busy. Not cleaning or working or cooking or anything like that, but busy. Busy with fun projects, busy with the kids, busy shopping for great deals, busy serving friends and family, busy running the kids to this lesson or that, busy planning this trip, busy planning that garden. You know, busy.
But looking over the past year, I look at all the things we did and didn't do and I, in the spirit of new year beginnings, am going to make some changes. There are a few things that I am passionate about, and somehow those things seem to have been lacking my attention. Time to refocus.
My goal is to focus more on things that are going to grow my kidos into the mighty men and women of of God that I want them to be. This means we need to finish some the projects we have started. It also means spending more time outside instead of on the many electronic devices we have accumulated. (I do love my NOOK!) It also means spending more time studying. Not just school, but more Bible and self improvement things. It also means spending more active time being nice to one another.
I have a stack of sewing projects, knitting projects, recipes that I have gleaned from the many blogs I follow. In fact I have thought of starting a blog about the things I found on blogs. But alas, not yet. I have to actually do these things and not just have them in my favorites list. So that is one of my goals, get that list cleared out.
And of course, get off some weight, get the house cleaned, organize my stuff, de-clutter..blah blah blah. Still don't like those things, they aren't fun, but I do need to do them all so, yeah, I guess I'll add them to the goal list.
I had a friend ask me, if I were the director and producer and actor in the movie of the rest of my life, what would I want it to look like. Last year was full of sadness and joy, being with extended family and missing those who have gone on to be with the Lord. It was full of taking care of mom in law. I learned more about myself and those around me. Being apart from my children during those times, I have been able to focus more in my mind the way I want my life to look.
Most importantly, I want to be surrounded by those I love. I want to be an accomplish-er, not just a dreamer. I want to be focused, not just busy.