Back in town

We left town early Sunday after church to travel to Memphis. My grandmother passed away at the age of 89 early Saturday morning.

We were able to take all of the children and I know it was a blessing to my Grandaddy that they were there. The kids were so well behaved at the funeral and the whole time we were there actually. They were so loving and respectful, yet also sweetly childlike and full of joy and life as only the little innocents can be.


Monday night after the funeral we had some deep discussions with the kids just answering questions about death, funerals, bodies and souls. I was explaining how the body we saw belonged to Grandma Betty, but that she was no longer in it. We respect and care for her body even though she, the real Grandma Betty, is no longer a part of it. Jake said, "Oh, it's like your body is a shell and your soul grows and grows and then you bust out."

Billboard discussion

I think this is so clever! I sort of wish all religious dialogue could be so concise and informative and also respectful.

Lenten Fare from Kansas City Catholic

HT: Amy Welborn

Earning Their Keep

Laine found this old tea set and was dying to use it but it was very tarnished. So we set up a polishing station for her to work on.


Of course, when the others saw what she was doing they became interested and wanted to polish too! I even put our neighbor, Grace to work.

IKEA

I am trying to organize our playroom and turn it more into our learning room. So far, most of the schoolwork has been done in the kitchen and den. The space is just limiting and things get cluttered very quickly. Imagine books and workbooks everywhere, not to mention tangrams and flashcards and art stuff.

We have a playroom over the garage, a wonderful big space, that has been left to become a breeding ground for toys :)

This weekend I decided to take back this space! Goodwill got another donation of some neglected toys. On Saturday I went to IKEA. I got some wonderful cubby like storage shelves and two tables, one low and one high. Going in there is like going to a casino though. It is all warehousey and noisy and crowded. I was there musch much longer than I anticipated and I was disoriented to find it was dark outside when I was leaving.

I am so pleased at how this is coming along, I feel like we are finally getting the most out of this room. My vision is to do most table, workbook stuff up there and also have lots of manipulative and Montessori style for them to do independently while I am working one on one.

Homemade

I am so happy with how these turned out. I saw the beautiful figures that Elizabeth's children use and I really wanted something like that for my children to work with. The price on the figures they use was a bit high, but thanks to some lovely, creative women at the 4Real Learning Forum, we were able to get these together in one day!

The first apostles.

You have to cut a very tiny slit in the oval to make the cloak. Put it over the body and then attach the head.

All assembled.

An apostle's eye view.


I am already planning more sets. Seriously, this was super easy and fast. I like the results much better than our craft spoon nativity and I think we will replace that set with one similar to this.

I still need to get a basket for storing these and also figure out how to identify who's who. Jesus is the only one with a beard, and he is wearing red and white and the rest are in more dull, earthy colors. I know that each apostle has a specific symbol associated with him so maybe I can incorporate those somehow...

Late Winter Science and Nature

Late Winter Field Day

So we're in the car on I-75 on the way home from seeing our friends and Jake says, "Hey mom, I think that's a tornado!" Completely unphased, I look out the window and I am shocked to see this amazing funnel cloud. Luckily, I was able to get some great pictures. As we kept driving (a teensy bit faster now!) I was able to snap several more pictures. It was pretty clear this did not touch down anywhere, thank God! We spotted this in south Georgia, along I-75 on Feb.4. A couple of nights before there were some deadly tornados in north Florida.

It was very thrilling and I am just in awe of what we witnessed. Eventually it completly tapered out and just trailed off. Incidentally, we are doing a bit of weather study and had just read a Tomie DePaola book on clouds. In our region, tornado season will begin soon. Hopefully we will never see any one any closer. This is close enough for me thankyouverymuch. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Incredible!

Lee and I have been talking about getting a piano. We both would love for our children to have a good grasp of music theory and music appreciation as well. I have been working on the recorder with Jake and had some success, but truly I have had a hard time disciplining myself to fit it in our schedule. We have a piano teacher in the neighborhood so they could walk to lessons....ahhh, if only we had a piano we sighed!

This weekend I was dropping some stuff off at Goodwill and then I was browsing around. Suddenly, I heard the unmistakable sounds of children goofing around and banging on a piano. It sounded as if it was coming from the back corner. I hightailed it across the store and there it was, a beautiful old piano. It sounded pretty good too! Cautiously hopeful, I stretched up and leaned over to check the price tag. Wouldn't you know it was quite *quite* reasonable! I called Lee and got the go ahead.

So, we are the proud new owners of this Grinnell Bros. upright piano. It will need a good cleaning and tuning and it is missing a panel at the bottom, but it has already brought joy to our home. The kids love plunking out tunes and Jake has mastered "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat". Yesterday my sister came by and we partied to "Heart and Soul"

As I was cleaning the counters before Mass yesterday, I listened to all of the joyful noise in our home. Someone was doodling around on the piano, someone was playing with Sparky in the den, a couple kids were up in the bathroom giggling and brushing teeth and Lee was in the shower talking and singing to Mary Clare. In that moment the noise really was joyful to me and not overwhelming. It is not always the case of course, but it was a moment to remember and cherish and pull out of the corner of my mind when I am, *ahem* less than enchanted with the clanging and clamoring around here.

Sparky

New Puppy!

We are the proud new owners of Sparky. Sparky is a 10 week male cockapoo. He is super cute and seems to be a good fit with us. We came home with him late Saturday night. I am pretty tired, but I think he'll be pretty easy to train. I will add some pictures to this soon.

This afternoon I was listening to some NPR (Sparky is currently housed in our kitchen and I keep the radio on for him. He is very refined, he likes classical.) and there was an interview with the gentleman who wrote this story Designer Dog Fights about mixed breeds like the cockapoo. I haven't had a chance to read it yet (hey I am lucky to be getting a sec to even post this!) but the interview was interesting.

We are not designer type folks. We chose the cockapoo basically bc it is low shedding and about the right size and not to mention adorable.

We are off to his first vet visit. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am heading there with all the kids and Sparky.

Pray for me.