Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Cruise-cation Journals
Camryn's vacation letter
Thinking of you during the holidays, I’d like to share my vacation memories with you since you might remember that we went on a cruise last month. Out of the many places we went to, Egypt is the most widely known. Excitedly, I am going to tell you about some of the things we did there because I had so much fun. I’m going to tell you about the exotic pyramids which we went into, the fun souvenirs we bought, and the impressive Egyptian Museum. I loved Egypt!
The first thing we wanted to find in Egypt was the pyramids. The three popular pyramids are perfectly placed on the outskirts of Cairo. Actually, we went inside the second largest one which is Cheops pyramid. Inside the pyramid, it was very difficult to walk since the ceiling was so low. At the end of the tunnel was a room with an empty coffin because the local Egyptians have removed the body and treasures. It was also quite hot and smelly inside. Seeing the outside edges of the pyramids, we discovered that they were all rough, bumpy and uneven. The Egyptian pyramids are awesome!
Shopping for souvenirs is how we spent our second day in Egypt. My favorite souvenir is a small black figurine, which is a cat, because it also has the word “Egypt” roughly carved into it. Surprisingly, Mom and Sloan both got belly dancing outfits while we were shopping. I bought a sparkly red head covering instead of the whole outfit. Would you like to see a picture of us all dressed up? We eagerly bought two magnetic scarab beetles. The red one is mine and the blue one is for Dad. I also have a small painting of Queen Nefertiti, who was the wife of King Tut. Among all of this, I still have 25 Egyptian cents or piastres. I love my Egyptian souvenirs.
Before we left Cairo, we curiously toured the Egyptian Museum. Seeing the many treasures of King Tut was the highlight here. Amazingly we noticed the diapers that King Tut used when he was a baby. He must have had big feet because his sandals were as long as Isaac’s leg. We saw the mummifying tables for King Tut too. That was gross! Last but not least, we saw the small statues of the common people which now teach us about how the common Egyptian people lived. The museum tour could have taken many hours although we were happy with everything we saw in just one hour.
If we travel to Egypt again, you’ll have to come with us! Out of the pyramids, souvenirs and the museum, the impressive pyramids were the best because we saw it from the inside and outside. Vacationing in Egypt, which was only one of the many places we went during our cruise, was totally awesome. Hopefully I will see you again soon. I love you!
----------------------------------------------------
Ethan’s Vacation Journal November, 2009
Today we flew in the airplane. We got off the plane and my Mom and I were waiting for Uncle Cameron. Then we all got into the taxi’s. Then we drove to our apartment and got some food and went to bed.
Today we got out of bed and got dressed and went down stairs to eat. After we ate we came back to the apartment and figured out what today for the day and then Cameron said he saw something on the way here. It was a big cathedral and it started about 100 years ago and they are still working on it.
Today we get on the Norwegian Jade. It is a very big ship. Well first we got on the ship and found out that we couldn’t get in the rooms for some weird reason. We had some luggage so we went to the luggage place then we went into town.
Today I had to go to the gym to work out because a friend of my Dad’s gained 25 pounds on this same ship. After we got done we went to the pool. First we went to the hot tub and I saw Dallas and we raced down the slide and I won.
Today in Rome, we got off the ship and went to St. Peter’s square. A bunch of Chinese people took pictures of us like we were famous. Then we went into the cathedral and we found out that if we were in a different cathedral and looked at each picture for 60 seconds, it would take nine years! Then we got on the metro and it took us to the Coliseum. Uncle Cameron went inside because he hasn’t seen it before. We didn’t because we’ve already seen it. Then we went back to the ship.
Today we didn’t get off the ship because it’s a sea day. But we did go to the pool and I ate a whole bunch of pasta. I went back to my cabin and did stuff, then ate lunch, then back to the pool to swim a bit. Then it was time for dinner and I ate more pasta. When I was done I went to bed.
Today we are in Greece. We got off the ship and got on the hop-on-hop-off-bus. We went to the Parthenon, which is a big broken down building with many pillars. We could see the Temple of Zeus but we didn’t get really close to it. There were a bunch of lazy dogs laying around on the sidewalks.
Today we went to Turkey. We went to see Ephesus. It had a big broken down library with a bunch of pillars and an awesome view. Then we went to a place with a bunch of kittens. I got to touch a lot. It was very cool. We also ate some Turkish Delight candy, looked at rugs, saw the knives they used to make rugs, ate at the rug store, then got back on the tour bus to take us back to the ship.
Today I stayed on the ship and went to the kids club. I saw my friends and my sister’s saw their friends. Then I made a poster about pollution. We also watched a movie about pollution.
Today I was in Egypt. I had a tour with my friend James and had a lot of fun on the tour bus. First we went to see the ancient pyramids and got to go inside the second one. It was really hot and small. The entrance was really short and I had to bend down to get inside. We also saw the sphinx and I got some limestone rocks. I also learned that King Tut became king at age 9 and died at 19 years old. We saw lots of his treasures in the museum of ancient history. Then the bus ride was three hours.
Today we were still in Egypt but we didn’t do much. All we did was get some souvenirs and got back on the ship. I did some writing and my Mom took a nap.
Today it was a sea day. I went into Tree Tops, which is a kid’s club thing. My parents and sisters went to the pool. When they got done with the pool they came to pick me up and it was time to go to bed.
Today we got off the ship. We went to Malta. We took a rental car and drove around the island. We went to the ruins of a church that was older than the pyramids. Then it was time to go back to the ship.
----------------------------------------------------
Sloan’s Vacation Journal ~ November 12-26, 2009
Today we got ready and we went on lots of taxi’s and then we went on this big boat that’s called Norwegian Jade. The next day we were in Rome. We also took lots of taxi’s there. Also on the ship, there is a pool and Wii Sport games and TreeTops which is a fun place for kids to play. The teachers in TreeTops have funny names like Silly, Scooter, Penquino, Cheddar Cheese, Turkey, Razzle Dazzle, Gooey, Icky Sticky, Bear, and that’s it. Also in Barcelona, we went on these weird cars that’s like a box that goes on the cord to see around the city. It’s called a cable car.
The next day we went to Athens, Greece. We climbed up a big hill with a bunch of rocks. We went with another family named the Goodson’s. That’s their last name. Then we got on the hop-on-hop-off bus and I fell asleep. We saw the Parthenon and the Temple of Zeus. And we also had a gyro to eat. It’s not like the money, euro, but it sounds like the same name.
The next day we went to Turkey to see Izmir and the old city of Ephesus. We went to this place and we ate. While we ate we watched two men showing us handmade rugs. One was made (actually three) were made with silk on silk. You should have felt it because it felt so good I wanted to sleep on it. So I laid down and I started getting tired but then Daddy called me. At first the tour guide showed us a little machine that has very thin string and little bugs called silk worms were in the machine. Then the lady stepped on the peddle to make the silk turn into tiny string, then she had a brush to squiggle on the silk worm cocoons, bring it up to see the strings and cocoons. Then I think she stepped on another step to stir and move the silk worms. That was pretty cool.
Today we stayed on the ship. I went in the pool and I saw Sabrina and I taught another girl, named Avery, how to swim, I also saw Kelsey at the pool. We went on the slide ten times.
Today we were in Egypt. We went to ride a camel and my mom and I rode the same camel. The weird thing about camels is that their knees bend backward which is really weird. We also saw the three ancient pyramids. There was the oldest one and the tallest one. Inside the pyramid was a few weird steps that looked like this. Then we were in the middle and we saw where the King was dead. But he was not in his tomb. When we came out of the pyramid, as we were going away from the pyramid, a guy said, “One dollar” but my Dad didn’t understand because he thought it was for an Egypt cat. But then the guy said it was $20. It was funny. My Dad did buy the cat.
Day two in Egypt. Today we got off the ship and we saw a little set up store and I went up to a little necklace place and I saw the beautiful necklaces. My Dad bought a necklace for me! It was a purple diamond and when it moves in the brightness of sun it has red, pink, light blue, dark blue, purple and light green.
Today we are at sea. We jumped in the pool and went to TreeTops, went in the hot tub and down the slide six times. I ate French fries and a cool dessert with a pink pludgy inside ~blah~ The middle had a red ~blah~ stuff, hee/hee. French fries taste good in it. This is what it looked like.
Today we were in Malta. We went in a convertible car. It’s like a car with no roof! With the Goodson’s we went to this little place of very old houses, older then the pyramids. Then we came to another one. When we walked up the big hill, Ethan and I played a game that everyone else was monsters so we ran up the hill. We got so tired we had to lay on the floor. Then I ran again before the Goodson’s catched up with me. I ran and found comfortable rocks so I rested on them.
The next day we came home! I was so sad because I didn’t want Uncle Cameron to leave. I actually started to cry in the airport. When we got home and I saw Costas, I gave him a BIG, BIG hug. A few days later we set up our Christmas tree.
Thinking of you during the holidays, I’d like to share my vacation memories with you since you might remember that we went on a cruise last month. Out of the many places we went to, Egypt is the most widely known. Excitedly, I am going to tell you about some of the things we did there because I had so much fun. I’m going to tell you about the exotic pyramids which we went into, the fun souvenirs we bought, and the impressive Egyptian Museum. I loved Egypt!
The first thing we wanted to find in Egypt was the pyramids. The three popular pyramids are perfectly placed on the outskirts of Cairo. Actually, we went inside the second largest one which is Cheops pyramid. Inside the pyramid, it was very difficult to walk since the ceiling was so low. At the end of the tunnel was a room with an empty coffin because the local Egyptians have removed the body and treasures. It was also quite hot and smelly inside. Seeing the outside edges of the pyramids, we discovered that they were all rough, bumpy and uneven. The Egyptian pyramids are awesome!
Shopping for souvenirs is how we spent our second day in Egypt. My favorite souvenir is a small black figurine, which is a cat, because it also has the word “Egypt” roughly carved into it. Surprisingly, Mom and Sloan both got belly dancing outfits while we were shopping. I bought a sparkly red head covering instead of the whole outfit. Would you like to see a picture of us all dressed up? We eagerly bought two magnetic scarab beetles. The red one is mine and the blue one is for Dad. I also have a small painting of Queen Nefertiti, who was the wife of King Tut. Among all of this, I still have 25 Egyptian cents or piastres. I love my Egyptian souvenirs.
Before we left Cairo, we curiously toured the Egyptian Museum. Seeing the many treasures of King Tut was the highlight here. Amazingly we noticed the diapers that King Tut used when he was a baby. He must have had big feet because his sandals were as long as Isaac’s leg. We saw the mummifying tables for King Tut too. That was gross! Last but not least, we saw the small statues of the common people which now teach us about how the common Egyptian people lived. The museum tour could have taken many hours although we were happy with everything we saw in just one hour.
If we travel to Egypt again, you’ll have to come with us! Out of the pyramids, souvenirs and the museum, the impressive pyramids were the best because we saw it from the inside and outside. Vacationing in Egypt, which was only one of the many places we went during our cruise, was totally awesome. Hopefully I will see you again soon. I love you!
----------------------------------------------------
Ethan’s Vacation Journal November, 2009
Today we flew in the airplane. We got off the plane and my Mom and I were waiting for Uncle Cameron. Then we all got into the taxi’s. Then we drove to our apartment and got some food and went to bed.
Today we got out of bed and got dressed and went down stairs to eat. After we ate we came back to the apartment and figured out what today for the day and then Cameron said he saw something on the way here. It was a big cathedral and it started about 100 years ago and they are still working on it.
Today we get on the Norwegian Jade. It is a very big ship. Well first we got on the ship and found out that we couldn’t get in the rooms for some weird reason. We had some luggage so we went to the luggage place then we went into town.
Today I had to go to the gym to work out because a friend of my Dad’s gained 25 pounds on this same ship. After we got done we went to the pool. First we went to the hot tub and I saw Dallas and we raced down the slide and I won.
Today in Rome, we got off the ship and went to St. Peter’s square. A bunch of Chinese people took pictures of us like we were famous. Then we went into the cathedral and we found out that if we were in a different cathedral and looked at each picture for 60 seconds, it would take nine years! Then we got on the metro and it took us to the Coliseum. Uncle Cameron went inside because he hasn’t seen it before. We didn’t because we’ve already seen it. Then we went back to the ship.
Today we didn’t get off the ship because it’s a sea day. But we did go to the pool and I ate a whole bunch of pasta. I went back to my cabin and did stuff, then ate lunch, then back to the pool to swim a bit. Then it was time for dinner and I ate more pasta. When I was done I went to bed.
Today we are in Greece. We got off the ship and got on the hop-on-hop-off-bus. We went to the Parthenon, which is a big broken down building with many pillars. We could see the Temple of Zeus but we didn’t get really close to it. There were a bunch of lazy dogs laying around on the sidewalks.
Today we went to Turkey. We went to see Ephesus. It had a big broken down library with a bunch of pillars and an awesome view. Then we went to a place with a bunch of kittens. I got to touch a lot. It was very cool. We also ate some Turkish Delight candy, looked at rugs, saw the knives they used to make rugs, ate at the rug store, then got back on the tour bus to take us back to the ship.
Today I stayed on the ship and went to the kids club. I saw my friends and my sister’s saw their friends. Then I made a poster about pollution. We also watched a movie about pollution.
Today I was in Egypt. I had a tour with my friend James and had a lot of fun on the tour bus. First we went to see the ancient pyramids and got to go inside the second one. It was really hot and small. The entrance was really short and I had to bend down to get inside. We also saw the sphinx and I got some limestone rocks. I also learned that King Tut became king at age 9 and died at 19 years old. We saw lots of his treasures in the museum of ancient history. Then the bus ride was three hours.
Today we were still in Egypt but we didn’t do much. All we did was get some souvenirs and got back on the ship. I did some writing and my Mom took a nap.
Today it was a sea day. I went into Tree Tops, which is a kid’s club thing. My parents and sisters went to the pool. When they got done with the pool they came to pick me up and it was time to go to bed.
Today we got off the ship. We went to Malta. We took a rental car and drove around the island. We went to the ruins of a church that was older than the pyramids. Then it was time to go back to the ship.
----------------------------------------------------
Sloan’s Vacation Journal ~ November 12-26, 2009
Today we got ready and we went on lots of taxi’s and then we went on this big boat that’s called Norwegian Jade. The next day we were in Rome. We also took lots of taxi’s there. Also on the ship, there is a pool and Wii Sport games and TreeTops which is a fun place for kids to play. The teachers in TreeTops have funny names like Silly, Scooter, Penquino, Cheddar Cheese, Turkey, Razzle Dazzle, Gooey, Icky Sticky, Bear, and that’s it. Also in Barcelona, we went on these weird cars that’s like a box that goes on the cord to see around the city. It’s called a cable car.
The next day we went to Athens, Greece. We climbed up a big hill with a bunch of rocks. We went with another family named the Goodson’s. That’s their last name. Then we got on the hop-on-hop-off bus and I fell asleep. We saw the Parthenon and the Temple of Zeus. And we also had a gyro to eat. It’s not like the money, euro, but it sounds like the same name.
The next day we went to Turkey to see Izmir and the old city of Ephesus. We went to this place and we ate. While we ate we watched two men showing us handmade rugs. One was made (actually three) were made with silk on silk. You should have felt it because it felt so good I wanted to sleep on it. So I laid down and I started getting tired but then Daddy called me. At first the tour guide showed us a little machine that has very thin string and little bugs called silk worms were in the machine. Then the lady stepped on the peddle to make the silk turn into tiny string, then she had a brush to squiggle on the silk worm cocoons, bring it up to see the strings and cocoons. Then I think she stepped on another step to stir and move the silk worms. That was pretty cool.
Today we stayed on the ship. I went in the pool and I saw Sabrina and I taught another girl, named Avery, how to swim, I also saw Kelsey at the pool. We went on the slide ten times.
Today we were in Egypt. We went to ride a camel and my mom and I rode the same camel. The weird thing about camels is that their knees bend backward which is really weird. We also saw the three ancient pyramids. There was the oldest one and the tallest one. Inside the pyramid was a few weird steps that looked like this. Then we were in the middle and we saw where the King was dead. But he was not in his tomb. When we came out of the pyramid, as we were going away from the pyramid, a guy said, “One dollar” but my Dad didn’t understand because he thought it was for an Egypt cat. But then the guy said it was $20. It was funny. My Dad did buy the cat.
Day two in Egypt. Today we got off the ship and we saw a little set up store and I went up to a little necklace place and I saw the beautiful necklaces. My Dad bought a necklace for me! It was a purple diamond and when it moves in the brightness of sun it has red, pink, light blue, dark blue, purple and light green.
Today we are at sea. We jumped in the pool and went to TreeTops, went in the hot tub and down the slide six times. I ate French fries and a cool dessert with a pink pludgy inside ~blah~ The middle had a red ~blah~ stuff, hee/hee. French fries taste good in it. This is what it looked like.
Today we were in Malta. We went in a convertible car. It’s like a car with no roof! With the Goodson’s we went to this little place of very old houses, older then the pyramids. Then we came to another one. When we walked up the big hill, Ethan and I played a game that everyone else was monsters so we ran up the hill. We got so tired we had to lay on the floor. Then I ran again before the Goodson’s catched up with me. I ran and found comfortable rocks so I rested on them.
The next day we came home! I was so sad because I didn’t want Uncle Cameron to leave. I actually started to cry in the airport. When we got home and I saw Costas, I gave him a BIG, BIG hug. A few days later we set up our Christmas tree.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Vacation...
We're getting ready to go... a couple weeks cruising the Med sounds perfect... pictures and details to come after our return...
Saturday, October 24, 2009
I'd like to have a new blog posting
I'd like to blog again, I realy would. But I've been feeling stuck in a rut! Maybe it's called writers block. Maybe it's called perfectionism getting in the way. Maybe I have too many things to juggle everyday and this just isn't a priority. Maybe I'm overwhelmed with the basic neccesities of my life and don't have time to sit down and rehash it all. I have plenty of thoughts and pictures to share but I can't seem to get them organized THE. RIGHT. WAY. So instead I scan and skim other blogs and other websites and other links. Nothing has really inspired me to just jump back into the blogging thing though. I feel frozen. A couple weeks ago I played around with a new blog facelift. I changed the colors and layout a few times... I updated some of the links on the side... I tried adding new music to my playlist but apparently it's not working... I'm playing around with a new blog name... I've considered changing the website address because I'm not sure familychrysalis.blogspot is THE. RIGHT. ONE. anymore. (...taking a big breath...) It's just not quite right so I prOcrAstInAtE and sit here wishing I could do better...be better...have better... Now I better go do something else like feed my kids breakfast, sew on Ethan's new scout patches and get all of us ready for the big bowl-a-thon today. Since I need to get the sewing machine out, I should finish hemming my new living room drapes that I'm completely loving (but procrastinating on about this final step...for some reason). I also have a little pile of sewing repairs on various clothing articles, a bedspread that needs some TLC stiching repairs and three pairs of new pants that need to be hemmed. That all adds up to a bunch of of sewing projects which sounds like too much to get done in one session so I may or may not start on any of it right now. However, I do need to get the patches sewn on so YES, I WILL START IT ALL, right now (well after breakfast gets going). No more procrastination. I just don't have time for all the energy it takes to keep procrastinating the small stuff. Know what I mean?
There. I have a new blog post. :-) Like it or not, I'm hitting the "publish post" box...........NOW.
There. I have a new blog post. :-) Like it or not, I'm hitting the "publish post" box...........NOW.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Psalms 62:1
My soul waits in silence for God only ~Psalms 62:1
Lord, I do not rush on.
I do not hurry on into the noise.
I silence my whirring mind, my racing thoughts.
I close my eyes.
I sit.
I pause.
I rest.
I stay here a moment in the quiet.
I wait in silence for You only.
I need more silence in my life. My house is always full of noise and activity and lists of things to be done and places to go... I need to somehow carve out daily meditation and prayer.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Un dÃa sucio
A dirty day
Yesterday was really fun. We stayed home and did gardening and misc. yard work all day. We cleaned out the garage and swept up tons of dirt, dust, leaves, and other foreign garbage. Then we all took turns power washing our entire front patio and driveway which was no small endeavor. We were hoping to power wash the back patio too but didn't make it that far this time. Our house is surrounded by little, bumpy, white rock "stuff" which probably looked fabulous when it was brand new but at this point, it's a pain in the BUTT to keep clean! The dirt (and mold in the shaded area) builds up in the cracks and sweeping merely gets the top layer off so black/brown dirt settles in between all the little rock bumps. So, now it looks much much better even though it's still not completely white.
Our next big project was cleaning up the pool area. We trimmed the hedges all around it, dug out weeds, dead leaves and TONS of fallen pine needles from the dirt edges and mowed the surrounding grass. We ended up dragging out eight huge, black trash bags of green debris. We also scrubbed down all the lawn chairs and continually moved the hose to water the backyard grass. Travis ended the day ( it was dark by the time we finished) with a huge SPLASH in the pool. :-)
The funny (read "irritating" into this word) thing about this is that we pay for a gardener with our monthly rental dues. We were so excited about this luxury when we moved in earlier this year but he has proven himself basically worthless as a gardener. I think he's mowed the entire lawn only two times all summer. But each time he came, he only mowed one side at a time so we were always wondering when the rest of it would get done. Travis did it several times because it would get so bad and we've had to trim the tree branches and flowering vines ourselves all summer so we wouldn't have to walk on them. We're thinking the "luxury" of having paid help is not really all it's cracked up to be. We've spent way too much time gripping about it and would have much rather just been responsible for it all ourselves. The problem is, is that our "gardener" ended up being our landlord/home owner...so we CAN'T fire him!!
The sweetest part of the day for me was watching Isaac enjoy being outside with all of us. He spent time in the stroller, the exersaucer and the tree swing. However, he had a lot of time getting down and dirty! For the first time I let him play like a kid outside instead of keeping him safe and clean wrapped up like a baby. (bitter sweet) I let him crawl around in the grass and dig in the flower pots, and sit in the water puddles, and chase the cat and push the balls around the yard. I'm sure he ate a bit of dirt and maybe an ant but he was so happy all day. I tried to take pictures of him at the end of the day because his clothes were dirty and damp from all of this outside activity. They didn't end up very good because he had pooped by the time I was trying to get a good shot of him so he needed a diaper change and he was getting very fussy. I'll post the pic later today. I plopped him in the tub, nursed him for twenty minutes, tucked into his crib and he slept like a baby all night long.
Yesterday was really fun. We stayed home and did gardening and misc. yard work all day. We cleaned out the garage and swept up tons of dirt, dust, leaves, and other foreign garbage. Then we all took turns power washing our entire front patio and driveway which was no small endeavor. We were hoping to power wash the back patio too but didn't make it that far this time. Our house is surrounded by little, bumpy, white rock "stuff" which probably looked fabulous when it was brand new but at this point, it's a pain in the BUTT to keep clean! The dirt (and mold in the shaded area) builds up in the cracks and sweeping merely gets the top layer off so black/brown dirt settles in between all the little rock bumps. So, now it looks much much better even though it's still not completely white.
Our next big project was cleaning up the pool area. We trimmed the hedges all around it, dug out weeds, dead leaves and TONS of fallen pine needles from the dirt edges and mowed the surrounding grass. We ended up dragging out eight huge, black trash bags of green debris. We also scrubbed down all the lawn chairs and continually moved the hose to water the backyard grass. Travis ended the day ( it was dark by the time we finished) with a huge SPLASH in the pool. :-)
The funny (read "irritating" into this word) thing about this is that we pay for a gardener with our monthly rental dues. We were so excited about this luxury when we moved in earlier this year but he has proven himself basically worthless as a gardener. I think he's mowed the entire lawn only two times all summer. But each time he came, he only mowed one side at a time so we were always wondering when the rest of it would get done. Travis did it several times because it would get so bad and we've had to trim the tree branches and flowering vines ourselves all summer so we wouldn't have to walk on them. We're thinking the "luxury" of having paid help is not really all it's cracked up to be. We've spent way too much time gripping about it and would have much rather just been responsible for it all ourselves. The problem is, is that our "gardener" ended up being our landlord/home owner...so we CAN'T fire him!!
The sweetest part of the day for me was watching Isaac enjoy being outside with all of us. He spent time in the stroller, the exersaucer and the tree swing. However, he had a lot of time getting down and dirty! For the first time I let him play like a kid outside instead of keeping him safe and clean wrapped up like a baby. (bitter sweet) I let him crawl around in the grass and dig in the flower pots, and sit in the water puddles, and chase the cat and push the balls around the yard. I'm sure he ate a bit of dirt and maybe an ant but he was so happy all day. I tried to take pictures of him at the end of the day because his clothes were dirty and damp from all of this outside activity. They didn't end up very good because he had pooped by the time I was trying to get a good shot of him so he needed a diaper change and he was getting very fussy. I'll post the pic later today. I plopped him in the tub, nursed him for twenty minutes, tucked into his crib and he slept like a baby all night long.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
el anillo de la libertad...
Let Freedom Ring...through the school halls
I'm feeling very grateful for my right to raise my children as I see best, without government permission or controll. It's a liberty I don't take for granted. I've often heard of how strict Germany is about their government run school system and just ran across a couple of news articles about how Sweden and Germany are now both anti homeschool countries.
-----------------------cut-N-paste-------------------------
...Mike Farris says that Sweden will ban all home schooling except for children with medical exemptions and foreign workers with the appropriate work visas. "That's it. People who have religious convictions or are home schooling for religious reasons will not be given one of these very rare exemptions," he points out. "And so for all intents and purposes, home schooling is going to be banned in Sweden. They're following the German statute, following the German model."...
...Mike Donnelly is a staff attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and says home schoolers in Germany are under great persecution. He also notes many German families home school in secret, but if they get caught, they can face fines in the thousands of dollars, lose their personal property, get thrown in jail, or even have their children taken from them. One family, according to Donnelly, has suffered so much persecution that the HSLDA is now helping them seek asylum in the United States. The Romeike family was faced with thousands of dollars in fines and the potential loss of their five children if they did not comply with the demands of German social workers who wanted to put their children in government-run schools...
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This is the kind of thing that makes me want to print up and proudly wear tee shirts that say "I'm a Christian, American, Home Schooler" while on a family vacation to Sweden and Germany, to tour the government buildings and surrounding areas. :-) hee/hee/hee
Earlier this month, Travis and I were eating dinner at an oceanside resaurant enjoying the view and the awesome Italian food when we happened to strike up a friendly conversation with two women that were sitting at the table next to ours. We had all of our kids with us so of course they commented on what a big family we had...that, yes, they were all ours...yes, they all had very curly hair, except the baby...etc. We shared that we were living in Spain for 3 years because of the military and they shared that they were from Germany, both school teachers, on their regular summer vacation in Spain. Then they asked us if our kids went to Spanish school or the military base school. "No, we homeschool our children" we replied. They were almost speachless at this point but proceeded to share that they had never met a family that homeschooled and they couldn't imagine how we could actually do it. They thought only families that lived on small boats might do something like that but not a "regular, nice" family like ours. Needless to say, it was a very interesting turn in our conversation because I knew they came from a country that didn't allow this type of education. I believe we were able to represent our lifesyle in a positive way and thank goodness all my children were very well behaved and friendly through out the dinner. I pray that it will in some little way, be a good reflection of our God-given right and responsibility to raise and educate our precious children as we, the parents, are free to choose.
I'm feeling very grateful for my right to raise my children as I see best, without government permission or controll. It's a liberty I don't take for granted. I've often heard of how strict Germany is about their government run school system and just ran across a couple of news articles about how Sweden and Germany are now both anti homeschool countries.
-----------------------cut-N-paste-------------------------
...Mike Farris says that Sweden will ban all home schooling except for children with medical exemptions and foreign workers with the appropriate work visas. "That's it. People who have religious convictions or are home schooling for religious reasons will not be given one of these very rare exemptions," he points out. "And so for all intents and purposes, home schooling is going to be banned in Sweden. They're following the German statute, following the German model."...
...Mike Donnelly is a staff attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and says home schoolers in Germany are under great persecution. He also notes many German families home school in secret, but if they get caught, they can face fines in the thousands of dollars, lose their personal property, get thrown in jail, or even have their children taken from them. One family, according to Donnelly, has suffered so much persecution that the HSLDA is now helping them seek asylum in the United States. The Romeike family was faced with thousands of dollars in fines and the potential loss of their five children if they did not comply with the demands of German social workers who wanted to put their children in government-run schools...
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This is the kind of thing that makes me want to print up and proudly wear tee shirts that say "I'm a Christian, American, Home Schooler" while on a family vacation to Sweden and Germany, to tour the government buildings and surrounding areas. :-) hee/hee/hee
Earlier this month, Travis and I were eating dinner at an oceanside resaurant enjoying the view and the awesome Italian food when we happened to strike up a friendly conversation with two women that were sitting at the table next to ours. We had all of our kids with us so of course they commented on what a big family we had...that, yes, they were all ours...yes, they all had very curly hair, except the baby...etc. We shared that we were living in Spain for 3 years because of the military and they shared that they were from Germany, both school teachers, on their regular summer vacation in Spain. Then they asked us if our kids went to Spanish school or the military base school. "No, we homeschool our children" we replied. They were almost speachless at this point but proceeded to share that they had never met a family that homeschooled and they couldn't imagine how we could actually do it. They thought only families that lived on small boats might do something like that but not a "regular, nice" family like ours. Needless to say, it was a very interesting turn in our conversation because I knew they came from a country that didn't allow this type of education. I believe we were able to represent our lifesyle in a positive way and thank goodness all my children were very well behaved and friendly through out the dinner
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Dia-en-la-Vida
Day-in-the-Life
For the last couple of weeks, I've been enjoying the blog hop hosted over here. I've had the very best of intentions to jump in but just haven't been on top of things enough to "do it right." We started including schoolwork into our days, two weeks ago and it's been taking all my energy and focus each day to be consistent and productive with the daily priorities. Which is especially difficult to do when summer is still surrounding us in weather...pool time...drama practice...end of summer play dates, etc. I'm up late tonight and enjoying some peace and quiet so I've decided to just do the best I can right now with this weeks theme.
I've spent lots of time this summer working through curriculum choices, schedules, routines, priorities and to be truely honest, even wavering a little on whether or not homeschooling is worth all this effort on my part. It seems like I have a lot of challenges to work through. However, for the most part, I'm really looking forward to this year. It has the potential to be one our best years so far. We're not moving, pregnant or having a new baby. We're settled and have a perfectly full house!
My baby will become a toddler in the coming months and needs his own daily schedule and routine that we'll all have to work around. He also has his own busy schedule of audiology appointments, and regular speech therapy to weave into each week.
In addition to that, I've enrolled my 3rd grader in the public school for one more year so I'll have his school schedule and deadlines to juggle. I'm not convinced this is the best place for him this year but we're going to start out this way and see how it goes. ('nuff said) This won't start until next week though.
That leaves me home with my 6th and 2nd graders. 6th grade will become more and more independently, self-managed. I sit with her for daily math lessons (RightStart) and help her through her writing program (IEW) but I also see my part shifting more into staying a couple steps ahead of her to help her set weekly goals and then following up with each subject on a weekly basis. (Beautiful Feet history, Apologia science, Calvert spelling, GWG grammar) The trickiest part will be to keep her motivated and on task. Over the years, she's learned to escape into her never ending pile of books to be read. She can fade into the background for hours on end if I don't interrupt her to keep her focused on her other responsibilities. At least I know how to motivate her with the promise of new books for the weekends. :-)
One of the things I love about homeschooling is being able to work one-on-one with my kids. Much of our 2nd grade curriculum needs me to sit along side her and work together through the lessons. (RightStart math, FLL grammar, Read Aloud SOTW and Apologia science, SWR spelling/writing) I just can't get excited about assigning workbooks and textbook reading in the early elementary grades. This is where having a wiggly, demanding, short attention span, wants to put everything in his mouth, nursing baby makes homeschooling stressful for a Mommy. With my first homeschooling child, it was much easier. This time around, there is so much more to juggle so I'll have to be flexible and realistic with daily expectations.
Keeping all of that in mind, I think we need another month to get a better grasp on what our daily routine actually is. But as for now, I'm working on consistency and attitudes to get through our daily checklists. Ideally, this is what I'm shooting for (basically).
7:00 - Wake up with hubby, walk on the treadmill, quick yoga stretches, shower... E. wake up and get moving
8:00 - I. wake up, nurse, breakfast (available from 7:30-8:30), walk E. to the bus stop, C. S. up and moving
9:00 - finish up morning chores of bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom needs and start school with circle time activities: bible lesson, Latin roots, Spanish review/practice, review today's tasks/goals
10:00 - math, writing, reading, spelling, grammar: I'm allowing 1hr/child for me to focus on
12:30-1:30 lunch, kids outside, laundry or cleaning f/u, baby time to eat/nurse/nap
1:00 - independent work, reading time
2:00 - together for history, science, or art/crafts
3:00 - finish up "homework" and wrap it up for the day, clean up, piano practice
4:00 - walk to the bus stop to get E., play outside
5:00 - prep, eat and clean up dinner, help with E. homework
7:00 - Daddytime and general evening craziness
9:00- kids in bed, baby time
10:00 - wind down with t.v., book, blog, etc. or just crash and call it a day at this point!
REALITY CHECK: Reality isn't this pretty or predictable because on any given day, we throw in dr. appts., sports practice, scouting, and various after school programs and then things from this routine need to be shifted around. Oh and laundry takes considerable time each week as does a weekly grocery shopping spree and the daily meal planning and prepping. However, I persevere and am always tweaking checklists and trying out new ideas to make this real life part of my life run as smoothly as possible...it's definitely a work in progress for me... Any tried and true tips?
For the last couple of weeks, I've been enjoying the blog hop hosted over here. I've had the very best of intentions to jump in but just haven't been on top of things enough to "do it right." We started including schoolwork into our days, two weeks ago and it's been taking all my energy and focus each day to be consistent and productive with the daily priorities. Which is especially difficult to do when summer is still surrounding us in weather...pool time...drama practice...end of summer play dates, etc. I'm up late tonight and enjoying some peace and quiet so I've decided to just do the best I can right now with this weeks theme.
My baby will become a toddler in the coming months and needs his own daily schedule and routine that we'll all have to work around. He also has his own busy schedule of audiology appointments, and regular speech therapy to weave into each week.
In addition to that, I've enrolled my 3rd grader in the public school for one more year so I'll have his school schedule and deadlines to juggle. I'm not convinced this is the best place for him this year but we're going to start out this way and see how it goes. ('nuff said) This won't start until next week though.
That leaves me home with my 6th and 2nd graders. 6th grade will become more and more independently, self-managed. I sit with her for daily math lessons (RightStart) and help her through her writing program (IEW) but I also see my part shifting more into staying a couple steps ahead of her to help her set weekly goals and then following up with each subject on a weekly basis. (Beautiful Feet history, Apologia science, Calvert spelling, GWG grammar) The trickiest part will be to keep her motivated and on task. Over the years, she's learned to escape into her never ending pile of books to be read. She can fade into the background for hours on end if I don't interrupt her to keep her focused on her other responsibilities. At least I know how to motivate her with the promise of new books for the weekends. :-)
One of the things I love about homeschooling is being able to work one-on-one with my kids. Much of our 2nd grade curriculum needs me to sit along side her and work together through the lessons. (RightStart math, FLL grammar, Read Aloud SOTW and Apologia science, SWR spelling/writing) I just can't get excited about assigning workbooks and textbook reading in the early elementary grades. This is where having a wiggly, demanding, short attention span, wants to put everything in his mouth, nursing baby makes homeschooling stressful for a Mommy. With my first homeschooling child, it was much easier. This time around, there is so much more to juggle so I'll have to be flexible and realistic with daily expectations.
Keeping all of that in mind, I think we need another month to get a better grasp on what our daily routine actually is. But as for now, I'm working on consistency and attitudes to get through our daily checklists. Ideally, this is what I'm shooting for (basically).
7:00 - Wake up with hubby, walk on the treadmill, quick yoga stretches, shower... E. wake up and get moving
8:00 - I. wake up, nurse, breakfast (available from 7:30-8:30), walk E. to the bus stop, C. S. up and moving
9:00 - finish up morning chores of bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom needs and start school with circle time activities: bible lesson, Latin roots, Spanish review/practice, review today's tasks/goals
10:00 - math, writing, reading, spelling, grammar: I'm allowing 1hr/child for me to focus on
12:30-1:30 lunch, kids outside, laundry or cleaning f/u, baby time to eat/nurse/nap
1:00 - independent work, reading time
2:00 - together for history, science, or art/crafts
3:00 - finish up "homework" and wrap it up for the day, clean up, piano practice
4:00 - walk to the bus stop to get E., play outside
5:00 - prep, eat and clean up dinner, help with E. homework
7:00 - Daddytime and general evening craziness
9:00- kids in bed, baby time
10:00 - wind down with t.v., book, blog, etc. or just crash and call it a day at this point!
REALITY CHECK: Reality isn't this pretty or predictable because on any given day, we throw in dr. appts., sports practice, scouting, and various after school programs and then things from this routine need to be shifted around. Oh and laundry takes considerable time each week as does a weekly grocery shopping spree and the daily meal planning and prepping. However, I persevere and am always tweaking checklists and trying out new ideas to make this real life part of my life run as smoothly as possible...it's definitely a work in progress for me... Any tried and true tips?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
mis niños
My children
Living in Spain seems to be influencing us a little.
Living in Spain seems to be influencing us a little. Camryn 11, Ethan 9, Isaac 11 months, Sloan 6
August, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Chapoteo del Verano
Summer Splash
We have spent hours and hours splashing in the pool this summer. It has been a blast to have our own pool in the back yard! In addition to our own pool, we've spent 6 weeks total at the pool on base for swimming lessons. All three kids had lessons for two weeks, then Sloan continued for another two weeks. At the beginning of August, Camryn and Ethan decided to join the school swim team, the Tiborunes. They've been swimming laps twice a week with the swim team while Sloan enrolled into another two week lesson session. Today is her last day of lessons and next Saturday will be the first swim meet for Camryn and Ethan. All three kids have improved their swim skills exponentially this summer! They just can't get enough spash time and my attention is constantly responding to, "Hey Mom, look at this...did you see that...watch me do this...!" Here's a glimpse of it all: 
We have spent hours and hours splashing in the pool this summer. It has been a blast to have our own pool in the back yard! In addition to our own pool, we've spent 6 weeks total at the pool on base for swimming lessons. All three kids had lessons for two weeks, then Sloan continued for another two weeks. At the beginning of August, Camryn and Ethan decided to join the school swim team, the Tiborunes. They've been swimming laps twice a week with the swim team while Sloan enrolled into another two week lesson session. Today is her last day of lessons and next Saturday will be the first swim meet for Camryn and Ethan. All three kids have improved their swim skills exponentially this summer! They just can't get enough spash time and my attention is constantly responding to, "Hey Mom, look at this...did you see that...watch me do this...!" Here's a glimpse of it all: 
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Corrida de Toros
Bullfight
Travis and Ethan went to their first bullfight last week. They both came home very happy with the experience. I mean, how can we live in Spain and not see a bullfight?! They tooks lots of pictures and video clips to show us girls what it was like. I might go myself but really, I'm not so sure it will be entertaining to me to watch them slowly kill three bulls in one night. Travis says it's very well done with respect and dignity and it's such a rich part of the Spanish culture that it's worth it to see again with me. I'll add a couple video clips if your interested in seeing some live action. (these are all glimpses of the "more mild" pics that I don't mind having on MY blog)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Una dia de loca
A crazy day
It all started when I ended up taking a cold shower from start to finish. Apparently the solar panels are not working all of a sudden. (brrr) Can I just add that while standing in the middle of freezing cold water I found there was no bar of soap and none in the storage drawer AND I had to scrape the already empty conditioner bottle. (grrr)
A couple hours later, Camryn starts screaming because she's discovered a dead bird floating in our pool. Ethan and I had to fish it out and dispose of it (yuck)
In the middle of the hot afternoon, our electricity cuts off. The a/c and fans stop. After checking the breaker box and finding everything as it should be, I found an electrician working in the main power box outside of our house. He explains, in Spanish, that the bill has been paid but he is just "fixing" things. About 5 minutes later, we had power back. (wierd)
The day came to an end so I tucked all the kids in bed and went to bed myself. Two hours later, Ethan wakes me up because he woke up, throwing up! No other sickness symptoms before or after this. I helped him shower, and tucked him into a sleeping bag, then spent the next part of my night scraping puke off of his sheets, cleaning the wall and nearby window, and starting a load of laundry. (gross)
In the middle of going back and forth to the laundry room, I decided it was very hot and stuffy in the house so I opened up the back patio door and a few of the windows. At one point, I walked into the living room to find a black yes, a black, stray cat running OUT of my house upon seeing me. (yikes)
After getting back in bed, I woke up three hours later to a crying baby that usually always sleeps through the night but this night he needed to nurse for half an hour before calming back down to sleep a few more hours. (sigh)
It was at this point, I was convinced that the last 24 hours must have really been "unaligned" in my Aries horoscope. ~not that I "believe" in that kind of thing :-) The next morning, was a fresh start and everything went back to normal, in our crazy family sort of normal way. Thank goodness!
It all started when I ended up taking a cold shower from start to finish. Apparently the solar panels are not working all of a sudden. (brrr) Can I just add that while standing in the middle of freezing cold water I found there was no bar of soap and none in the storage drawer AND I had to scrape the already empty conditioner bottle. (grrr)
A couple hours later, Camryn starts screaming because she's discovered a dead bird floating in our pool. Ethan and I had to fish it out and dispose of it (yuck)
In the middle of the hot afternoon, our electricity cuts off. The a/c and fans stop. After checking the breaker box and finding everything as it should be, I found an electrician working in the main power box outside of our house. He explains, in Spanish, that the bill has been paid but he is just "fixing" things. About 5 minutes later, we had power back. (wierd)
The day came to an end so I tucked all the kids in bed and went to bed myself. Two hours later, Ethan wakes me up because he woke up, throwing up! No other sickness symptoms before or after this. I helped him shower, and tucked him into a sleeping bag, then spent the next part of my night scraping puke off of his sheets, cleaning the wall and nearby window, and starting a load of laundry. (gross)
In the middle of going back and forth to the laundry room, I decided it was very hot and stuffy in the house so I opened up the back patio door and a few of the windows. At one point, I walked into the living room to find a black yes, a black, stray cat running OUT of my house upon seeing me. (yikes)
After getting back in bed, I woke up three hours later to a crying baby that usually always sleeps through the night but this night he needed to nurse for half an hour before calming back down to sleep a few more hours. (sigh)
It was at this point, I was convinced that the last 24 hours must have really been "unaligned" in my Aries horoscope. ~not that I "believe" in that kind of thing :-) The next morning, was a fresh start and everything went back to normal, in our crazy family sort of normal way. Thank goodness!
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