Prissy Girls Grow Up to Be Prissy Women

The school year is coming to a close and the summer camping season is quickly approaching.  Yesterday Miss K had American Heritage Girls (AHG).  It's kind of a Christian Girl Scouts.  I really like this organization.  This is not a boy-haters/girl power club, but centers around God and Country, a group to learn leadership and volunteerism.  This particular group is fairly new, within the last 10 years, and has not had much experience with real camping as a group and from what I could tell of the parent meeting yesterday afternoon, not many have had personal experience camping either. 

Every year AHG plans what they call Camporee.  Essentially it is a weekend campout.  In the years past our group has gone and set up tents, always arriving after dark, always suffering through rain at some point in the weekend, but being fed in a dining hall and having flush toilets and enjoying many inside activities.  Hiking consisted of walking to and from the dining hall from what I can tell. 

This year, Camporee will be held at a different campground and our group will be responsible for their own meals and have to use pit toilets.  They are accustomed to using tents, so this is nothing new for them, and the leaders have finally decided that they should arrive before the girls and oversee the tents being set up.  Some of the older girls will be required to "sleep under the stars" one night to receive one of their badges.  At this point in the meeting, I am having fond memories of my years at Girl Scout and various church camps.  Then the meeting took an ugly turn...

After having to sit through demonstrations of how to pack a tote (they have learned from their soggy past campouts to use a plastic tote rather than a suitcase), and seeing items in the tote and on the provided packing list and the leaders still trying to decide if the girls should be responsible for having their own toilet paper or if the leaders should provide it, I'm starting to lose interest.  I'm hungry, bored and would really just like some sort of waiver stating I'll accept full responsibility for my daughter's toiletries and a final draft of the packing list after they are finished bickering over what is standard.  Next was a discussion about what kind of shoes to wear.  Yawn.

In an effort not to rehash the over hour long meeting, I'll just highlight some of my favorite comments from the parents.

I'm going to take those little paper cover-thingys to put on the seat.  ~ This comment after finding out they were going to use latrines.  Can I ask what difference a seat cover is going to make?  After all, if there are seats in both types of facilities, what is a seat cover going to protect you from any further in an outside toilet?

Will there be a refrigerator?~Really?!?!  First, the leaders had already explained that there was a need for coolers.  Second, they said there was no electricity.  Third, it's a weekend Camping trip!!  Wow!

I'm glad that the girls and the leaders are learning from their past camping experiences together.  There is hope!  Thankfully the young girls are getting many of their own fun camping memories.  Many of my fondest memories are of disaterous camping experiences, but none of them were due to being unprepared.  (Thanks Dad)  I pray that these girls continue to camp and learn to love it as much as I do.  I hope that there are plenty of mudpies, tents with zippers that stick, strange shadows and noises in the middle of the night and flash lights dropped in the latrine.  Afterall, aren't these the things memories are made of?

Yellowstone--June 2009  It rained the whole time we were there and the avereage temp was 50!

Tax(ing) Day Devotions

As you all know, I have spent the better part of the last 2 weeks without the companionship of my best friend and half-bearer of the parental load.  To say that it was all very taxing (pun intended ;D) is fair.  The warmer weather is finally making its way to our neighborhood and we all feel the itch to end a school day even just a little earlier to be able to play.  Unfortunately, the work is still there and after dragging part of the outside in with us, a bit more work of keeping floors clean can be challenging. 

Yesterday was B's first full day back home.  Yay!  He spent it doing our taxes since the accountant we hired didn't complete them.  In an effort to help him with all of the upacking so he could concentrate on the paperwork, I took it upon myself to tackle the cooler he had taken with some food.  It was in need of a good washing with bleach before storing it away.  I sent H downstairs to retrieve the bleach.  C came running up the stairs to let me know that H had dropped and spilled the bleach.  I raced downstairs, introduced my two boys to some new vocabulary, and immediately grabbed towels and H and I blotted and dabbed until we couldn't get anything else up.  There had been one puddle the size of a dinner plate, but the hard part was that it had splashed the entire length of the hall, up the walls and then ran down along the baseboard.  Thank goodness we have a steam cleaner and I diluted most of it.  There is much fading in those places, but because my kids are so good at dirtying the carpets, hopefully these areas will all be blended within a week.

I have really felt like I have spent a lot of time repeating myself.  "Wash your hands.  Comb your hair.  Use a washcloth.  Wipe your feet.  Clear the dishwasher.  I could use some help."  Now, I want to say two things.  First, my kids actually are great at helping around the house--even without being asked some of the times.  Second, I am NOT a neat freak.  I really think that it is the warmer weather and the end of the school year that is pulling our attentions to being carefree.  So, I planned to take the day off of school today and take advantage of a longer weekend. 

All of this brings me to the devotions I had this morning.  I read from "My Utmost for His Highest".  (I saw my cousin photograph a page of the Bible from a scripture that she wanted to share and I'd dearly love to do that except that B is sound asleep and I'd have to disturb him to get the camera.  I'll have to key this in for you.) 

"But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days."  2 Chronicles 15:17. 

Chambers then goes on to talk about how Asa was right and obedient in the main but not entirely right.  God, he said, doesn't take things lightly as we do.  He says, "Nothing is a light matter with a child of God.  How much longer are some of us goin to keep God trying to teach us one thing?  He never loses patience."  Homerun!  God was speaking to me.  I have to ask myself if there are things that I have doubts about and leave them at the foot of the cross.  I have to keep myself spriritually fit.  Thankfully Chambers ends the devotional with this, "Some of us expect to "clear the numberless ascensions" in about two minutes."  What encouragement to me.

I am proud to say that I rarely lost my cool over the last couple of weeks with the kids while B was gone.  I need to remember that they are not going to "clear the numberless chores" in two minutes.  Lord, help me to not just see the outcomes, but their efforts. 



Attack the Killer of Tomatoes

Puny Plants

Has anyone seen my green thumb?  I know I used to have one, but it seems to have disappeared with some of my other things in the last few moves.  Because of the embarrassment, I will not mention the exact number of plants I started off with, but it was more than twice the amount shown in the picture above.  Admittedly it has been a few years since I tried to plant tomatoes from seed, but I assumed that it would be akin to riding a bike and success would be sure.  Boy, was I wrong.  If I have to practice some more before I get this right it will be September before I get anything growing in a pot and clearly too late to put anything in the ground, so perhaps I will "cheat" and purchase some plants from the store.  (sigh)  The title today is a play on the title of the movie, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. I've been singing my version in my head for a week now.  I'm not quite clear why the tomatoes have not yet had their revenge on me. 

I had a good visit with my mom last weekend.  She came over on Thursday and stayed until after church on Sunday.  We had lots of quiet fun--puzzles, knitting, movie, school, and time with Mom II (my mother-in-law). 

B will be home this week.  He called last night to say that he thought he would head home tomorrow, which means that Thursday the kids will see him.  He has had many adventures--buying parts for the wells from a man named of all things, Opossum; driving through barren spaces; getting the van stuck and puncturing a tire after a heavy rain and subsequently needing to be rescued by a backhoe; off-road driving the minivan through cactus; and killing spiders (please note that everything IS bigger in Texas).  All kidding aside, we have learned much from this trip, but not what we expected.  We are also learning to be Spirit-led even when it doesn't make sense to us. 

Sharhawk

H's Do~"The Sharhawk"

Whew!  Wednesdays are never really easy, but without hubby here to give me my day off from teaching, I've had to step it up.  You see, I teach every day except Wednesdays.  I work at church on Wednesdays.  Since we homeschool, I can be flexible though and today we had a half-day of school.  I thought that this might give me some extra breathing room with the rest of the schedule today.  (As I sit here and key this entry, I only have about 15 minutes before we take off to church again!)  As it turns out, I spent waaaaayyyyy more time going over C's algebra test with him, explaining (nice word) to KR about why it's not polite to interrupt me on the phone, and trying to get H to understand the directions for his free writing assignment for the day.  We ended up finishing school about the same time we normally do, so I didn't gain anytime. 

Since B took the laptop I normally use at church, I had some rearranging to do to have another computer to use and I've ended up having to do some of the work at home.  It won't be more than 30 minutes of work, but just the same, I've lost more time. 

At least the temperature reached the low 70s today and the kids were able to play with the RC cars in the parking lot at the church so I don't have to feel guilty about them staying inside and missing out on the sunshine that finally poked through the clouds.  B called a bit ago and told me it reached 101 in Texas.  He said it felt comfortable because Texas doesn't have the humidity that we have here at home.  He got the camper set up today, which he is grateful for since he parked it in an empty lot along the highway last night and didn't sleep very well.  He is looking forward to the quiet sound of crickets and is hoping that the wild boars don't make much noise. 

H wanted his hair spiked this morning.  He just got a cut a few days ago and he relishes the fact that it is short enough to make it stand on end for a couple of weeks.  Today he wanted the mohawk look and said it looked like a shark fin, hence the title for the blog today--Sharhawk. 

C, in the course of reading the Bible today, came across the section where Saul asks David to collect the foreskin of 100 men.  Guess what I had to explain.  You guessed it.  It wasn't too bad until I had to end up drawing it on a dry erase board during dinner.   I don't know if that is the blessing or curse of homeschooling--our interesting and educational, complete with illustrations, lessons and discussions at any given moment, including the dinner table. 

The clock is striking 6:15...must run off again.  Thank you for taking your time to check in with me.  :)

And the Beat Goes On

C, our drummer boy

Here is a picture of C with his electronic drum set.  He's been taking drum lessons for over two years now.  His drum instructors and we would love to get him a "real" set and he has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen any time soon.  Lessons are on Tuesdays with his original instructor and on Wednesdays he goes to church with me and while I work, he practices with Pastor Barry for the upcoming Sunday's praise and worship songs and learns new techniques.  He is being groomed to take over the drum set in a year or so since the current drummer will be graduating high school and moving on.  Pastor Barry played drums all through college and became a music teacher before becoming a pastor.  Our church has received a double and triple blessing of musical talent.  B plays the guitar every week and I sing occassionally.  I actually have a solo coming up on the 17th of April and again for another church the same song for their Maunday Thursday services.  KR has taken piano lessons before, but she tired of practicing.  H would dearly love to play something, but wants to sound professional right out of the gate and so has ceased trying.  We have several instruments hanging on the wall in the theater in the hopes that someone will pick those up and play, but it hasn't happened yet.  Anyone want to try trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, flute, trombone or electric guitar? 

B left for Texas again this morning.  He'll be gone for about a week and a half fixing up the oil well equipment, which was part of the deal when we sold the property.  God is good!  He heard our prayers for opportunities to be able to have B not reenter the corporate world again.  There is enough variety that B doesn't get bored and he is able to flex his brain muscles in new directions as he has also been given a very good mentor.  (Another answer to prayer!)  B will be setting up our pop-up trailer on one of the 3 properties to avoid having to pay for a motel.  I stocked the refrigerator and cabinets with food so he can have a bit of home and save money in food as well.  Missing him already.  We both cried like a couple of star-crossed lovers this morning saying our last good-byes.  We agreed that we like it that way. 



One of the wells in Texas that B will be working on this week


We received a check-in call from B around lunch time.  He had made it as far as TN and needed gas.  He hit a stretch with next to nothing as far as stations and pulled off the interstate hoping to find fuel since the gauges showed that he only had about 10 more miles left on the tank and he'd been looking for a service station for the last 30 miles.  He found an abandoned gas station, but knocked on the doors of two houses that were adjacent, with no answer.  Upon returning to the van, he noticed a bearded man with a backpack coming from the direction of the gas station.  Thinking that perhaps this man was the owner closing up to walk home for lunch, B waited in the driveway hoping to ask a favor of reopening to get gas quickly, but the man walked past him.  Pulling up toward him now, B opened the door believing that he had been prompted by God to offer the guy a ride.  (B is Not one to pick up hitchhikers)  The man got in and B let him know his circumstances but said that he would at least get him to the nearest town and they could have lunch, B's treat.  Come to find out the man is about 37 years old, lives in Florida, but is hitchhiking to Ames, Iowa for the summer to work at a youth camp run by his friend.  B asked to pray before lunch and the man asked if B would pray for his safety to Ames, which he did.  The man's name is Jeff.  Jeff is an ex-marine.  B asked that we continue to pray for Jeff, so I am extending that to all of you who read this blog.  B has had dreams of wanting to use the trailer and travel and minister since we purchased it for our 6 week trip the summer of 2009, but neither of us envisioned the opportunity such as today.  Strange how life turns out.   

Rocky and Bullwinkle Titles

I'm conflicted about what to title the blog for today.  "Snow--Are You Kidding Me?" or "Attic McPhee".   Do you remember the portions of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show when they would have dueling titles for the upcoming segment?  Anyway, I guess I opted for the above title to save myself from choosing one of the others and limiting what I say by the title.  (Of course I know this is MY blog and I can do what I choose, but there is the teacher in me that says that I must keep the supporting details in line with the title.)

It is snowing here today. It is light enough that the camera won't capture it, but heavy enough that it started to stick to the ground a bit.  I saw a funny entry on Facebook yesterday by one of my friends.  Imagine a progress bar on your computer screen with this caption: 33% DONE. Installation delayed....please wait.
Installation failed. Please restart and try again. If installation fails again, please install ANTI-WINTER and try again.  I wish it were that simple.  Traveling to Texas a couple of weeks ago kept the Spring Fever at bay, but I'm feelin' it comin' on with a vengence.  B is headed to Texas again on Monday, perhaps I should tuck myself into the suitcase. 

Yesterday we had some of our friends over to watch Nanny McPhee.  C & KR are involved in a small theatrical production with some homeschooling friends.  Their group is called "The Attic Theater".  Our family and a few of the others in the group had not seen the movie or read any of the books and thought it might help "get into character" by watching.  It never hurts to have an excuse to sit inside eating popcorn and candy on a cold day either.  C will be playing Simon and KR is playing Chrissy.  I liked the show--not to the caliber of Mary Poppins by any means, but very enjoyable.  There is a scene toward the end of the movie of a wedding with snow falling that reminded me of my wedding to B.  OK, I cried at that part.  I never know where or when those soft moments are going to pop up.  I am grateful that I have a wonderful husband who reaches over to put an arm around me watching scenes like that together.  Anyway, performances for the play are scheduled for May 6 & 7 if anyone is interested.  I will be sure to post pictures.  We are so very blessed to be involved with our homeschooling group and to have the great friends and connections through the group.  They are a great support system and extended family members.  

Perhaps the title for today should have been "Nanny McPhee and Married Me". 

Pictures

What is it about becoming an adult and all of a sudden I cannot find a decent photo of myself?  I keep looking for a picture to attach to this blog and all I can find are pictures that are either old, of me in the sun squinting so I look angry or pictures of me on Christmas morning with no makeup and my hair undone.  This picture is the most recent I've found.  It was taken last month.  We had just come home from church.  A company that Husband is volunteering his computer skills to requested a family picture to include in his file.  You'd never guess how many tries it took to get one decent picture with all of us with eyes open, sitting up straight and with smiles.  Thank goodness for digital cameras! 

Going back through the many photos I am reminded of how much the kids have grown over the last couple of years.  KR has finally lost her baby look and is growing up so tall.  C has thinned out.  H is probably the least changed, except for his hairstyles!  C will be turning thirteen in a couple of weeks.  That is enough to make this momma tear up.  There is never enough time...or enough pictures.