Okay, it happened......
Cookie the caterpillar croaked.
It was moving around the first day and then progressively less. By day two, it wasn't moving at all. Then it turned completely black and is now totally flat- not good. It's definitely dead. So...what would you do? Carter eagerly checked on it every day to see what it was doing. Would you tell your kids OR do the age-old pet swap and sneak in the new Cookie under the cover of night?
We're going with plan B. Cookie is conveniently "visiting" Ms. Kim's house. When we pick him up he will be so rested and rejuvenated! (She's doing the swap for us.) Is this wrong? We struggled with it..........briefly. When we come face to face with death in our lives we did not intend to hide it from our kids. If it were a friend, family member, or our own cat we would tell them the truth, but for this time we want to spare them the heartache. This was a tough one for us because we don't shield our kids from consequences regularly. We feel strongly against it actually, but they didn't do anything wrong in this case- unless loving and befriending a little caterpillar is wrong?
I guess that's how life is. With all love there is risk. When we choose to give a piece of out heart away, anything can happen to it. For now I just want them to continue to love without abandon. I want to save their hearts from a few of life's scars to keep them tender and ready to share freely.
Farewell Cookie. Welcome Cookie II, I hope we watch you fly away one day!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
In Her Own Words
Here's Julia's exuberant account of her first trip playing putt-putt with Carter and Daddy.....
"Me home!! Me ride in Daddy twuck. Me missed you Mommy! I did it golf. Me had a purple ball."
She was so proud of her self and felt so big because she got to hang out on a boy's outing. Though these days when we say she's so big, she reminds us, "My still little. My little and do that." Yes Julia, you're still little. (It's a good thing your brother hit a growth spurt because you're gaining on him fast.)
I love seeing that joy of accomplishment in her face and the big hug around the neck made my day. She spent so much of her life always with me that she seems to always take notice when she goes somewhere without me. I love you punkin and I missed you, too!
"Me home!! Me ride in Daddy twuck. Me missed you Mommy! I did it golf. Me had a purple ball."
She was so proud of her self and felt so big because she got to hang out on a boy's outing. Though these days when we say she's so big, she reminds us, "My still little. My little and do that." Yes Julia, you're still little. (It's a good thing your brother hit a growth spurt because you're gaining on him fast.)
I love seeing that joy of accomplishment in her face and the big hug around the neck made my day. She spent so much of her life always with me that she seems to always take notice when she goes somewhere without me. I love you punkin and I missed you, too!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Drive Time, Bible Time
Here's a conversation/argument that happens daily in our car....
Julia: I want the Bible please.
Carter: No! I want to read it!!
Julia: My turn!
Me: Let's take turns. We can share the Bible. We have lots of other books.
Carter: I don't want books, just the Bible!
Me: Here Julia you can read it first.
(after 3 min)
Me: Time's up now. Let's share Julia.
Julia: NOO! MY BIBLE BOOK!
Me: Carter, thank you for sharing so well with your sister.
(give to Carter)
Carter: It's not my book anyway, it's God's.
Julia: No God's!! Not in just a minute!! I'm whining in my crocs!! I'm not big, I'm still little!!
(after 3 min of silent reading and whining)
Me: Okay Carter, now it's Julia's turn.
Carter: I'm only at Daniel and I'm reading to the end.
Julia: My turn again!!!!!!
Carter: Here you go.
Julia: Thanks! :)
Carter: You're welcome! :)
Julia: It's God's! :)
It makes me want to scream and rejoice all in one breath. I'm so excited they love their Bibles and see them as a valued possession (but the arguing and picking is starting to wear me down).
It's encouraging to see they are truly listening and starting to really get it!
The intensity of these moments is a mom's biggest challenge. I pray that God gives me the peace to ride the waves of it all and really speak to their hearts and also the wisdom to know when to step into their conflicts and when I can just let them work it out and grow. It seems to turn out better without my meddling- I have to say that's a good thing. I love these two!
Julia: I want the Bible please.
Carter: No! I want to read it!!
Julia: My turn!
Me: Let's take turns. We can share the Bible. We have lots of other books.
Carter: I don't want books, just the Bible!
Me: Here Julia you can read it first.
(after 3 min)
Me: Time's up now. Let's share Julia.
Julia: NOO! MY BIBLE BOOK!
Me: Carter, thank you for sharing so well with your sister.
(give to Carter)
Carter: It's not my book anyway, it's God's.
Julia: No God's!! Not in just a minute!! I'm whining in my crocs!! I'm not big, I'm still little!!
(after 3 min of silent reading and whining)
Me: Okay Carter, now it's Julia's turn.
Carter: I'm only at Daniel and I'm reading to the end.
Julia: My turn again!!!!!!
Carter: Here you go.
Julia: Thanks! :)
Carter: You're welcome! :)
Julia: It's God's! :)
It makes me want to scream and rejoice all in one breath. I'm so excited they love their Bibles and see them as a valued possession (but the arguing and picking is starting to wear me down).
It's encouraging to see they are truly listening and starting to really get it!
The intensity of these moments is a mom's biggest challenge. I pray that God gives me the peace to ride the waves of it all and really speak to their hearts and also the wisdom to know when to step into their conflicts and when I can just let them work it out and grow. It seems to turn out better without my meddling- I have to say that's a good thing. I love these two!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Butterfly Farm
Today was our first field trip with our new preschool homeschool coop. It turns out we have a butterfly farm 5 minutes from our house! We've drive by it on our way to the park all the time and never knew it was there. They did a great presentation for the kids teaching them all about monarchs. Thanks Nora- great job! They were hanging on every word and jumped in with quite a few answers.
Then they got a chance to get in on the action and demonstrate the lifecycle of the butterfly. Carter was so proud of his caterpillar...
They all made great assistants....
Ginny was the brave volunteer to dress-up as a butterfly. We learned that they taste with their feet, hear with their knees, smell with their antenna, drink through a straw, and can see in front and behind at the same time.
Then it was off to the butterfly house- WOW! They were everywhere. They had a table up front with eggs, chrysalis, and newly hatched monarchs. Here are two waiting for their wings to dry and the one on the far right is about to emerge- you can see it all scrunched up in there!
Here's a butterfly laying eggs on the milkweed plant. You can see all the eggs on the leaves- little white dots.
Here's the caterpillars munching. They grow 90,000 times their egg size!!!!!
Each of the kids was given a sugar water pad to catch and feed their own butterflies. Carter was in absolute awe! He's so gentle and interested. It warms my heart to see his sweet spirit.....
It was a treat to see them up close....
Here's Carter and his friends- all 3 with a butterfly. They were cute comparing their "catches". Did you know the males have 2 black dots on their wings and the females don't?
Then we went outside for a picnic lunch and playtime. Some people wash their kids' hands before lunch.....we just put ours through the kid wash!
After lunch they each drew a picture of their favorite part of the day.......
The little ones loved the freedom to roam. Allison, Claire, and Julia were off exploring....
The farm is in the flight path and at least a dozen planes flew overhead. Here's JuJu and Claire waving hello to Daddy (He's on his way to Florida.).
And we brought home a new friend. We're now the proud owners of our very own caterpillar. Carter named it "Cookie", after the caterpillar the bug family adopts on Miss Spider. So wish us luck that Cookie grows up to be a beautiful healthy butterfly :) We now have a refrigerator full of milkweed. Apparently growing 90,000x your birthweight requires a lot of eating :) We look forward to watching God's miracle unfold right before our eyes. Carter wants to plant milkweed and a butterfly bush in our front bed so they have lots to eat.
He said he wants to be sure and tell Cookie her name when she 's bigger and make sure she knows our names and where we are so she can always come back. My sweet boy! I hope this doesn't involve too many tears.
Then they got a chance to get in on the action and demonstrate the lifecycle of the butterfly. Carter was so proud of his caterpillar...
They all made great assistants....
Ginny was the brave volunteer to dress-up as a butterfly. We learned that they taste with their feet, hear with their knees, smell with their antenna, drink through a straw, and can see in front and behind at the same time.
Then it was off to the butterfly house- WOW! They were everywhere. They had a table up front with eggs, chrysalis, and newly hatched monarchs. Here are two waiting for their wings to dry and the one on the far right is about to emerge- you can see it all scrunched up in there!
Here's a butterfly laying eggs on the milkweed plant. You can see all the eggs on the leaves- little white dots.
Here's the caterpillars munching. They grow 90,000 times their egg size!!!!!
Each of the kids was given a sugar water pad to catch and feed their own butterflies. Carter was in absolute awe! He's so gentle and interested. It warms my heart to see his sweet spirit.....
It was a treat to see them up close....
Here's Carter and his friends- all 3 with a butterfly. They were cute comparing their "catches". Did you know the males have 2 black dots on their wings and the females don't?
Then we went outside for a picnic lunch and playtime. Some people wash their kids' hands before lunch.....we just put ours through the kid wash!
After lunch they each drew a picture of their favorite part of the day.......
The little ones loved the freedom to roam. Allison, Claire, and Julia were off exploring....
The farm is in the flight path and at least a dozen planes flew overhead. Here's JuJu and Claire waving hello to Daddy (He's on his way to Florida.).
And we brought home a new friend. We're now the proud owners of our very own caterpillar. Carter named it "Cookie", after the caterpillar the bug family adopts on Miss Spider. So wish us luck that Cookie grows up to be a beautiful healthy butterfly :) We now have a refrigerator full of milkweed. Apparently growing 90,000x your birthweight requires a lot of eating :) We look forward to watching God's miracle unfold right before our eyes. Carter wants to plant milkweed and a butterfly bush in our front bed so they have lots to eat.He said he wants to be sure and tell Cookie her name when she 's bigger and make sure she knows our names and where we are so she can always come back. My sweet boy! I hope this doesn't involve too many tears.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Last game of the season....
Sunday was our last Hoppers game of the season. How can it be? We saw a lot of spring games, but have been traveling so much lately we've missed a lot of opportunities to cheer on our Hoppers. Sunday was a perfect night to go and the kids were so excited! We stopped at the new statue out front on our way in. Julia is in love with Hopper. She spends most of the game tracking his whereabouts. This replica was perfect, but still a little intimidating...
Miss Babe was much more her size....
Carter loves baseball THIS much!
Hopper started the game in our section and Julia was quickly waving, though she still keeps her five foot distance. maybe next year she'll give him a hug.
Carter, baseball-dreamin' He is so in his element. Both the kids sit and watch the entire game cheering all the while. Though Julia's watching includes sufficient snacking. We went all out for the last game. They shared dippin dots, an icee, popcorn, peanuts, and a pretzel. That girl loves to eat!
It was a great night and the Hoppers played hard. They had several home runs and strong rallys. They were down by one when we left in the bottom of the eighth (it was 10:30), but big Mike Stanton came out with a home run in the bottom of the 9th and the Hoppers won! We followed it on the web once we got home. What a great family night!
See ya next year Hoppers! Thanks for the memories!
Miss Babe was much more her size....
Carter loves baseball THIS much!
Hopper started the game in our section and Julia was quickly waving, though she still keeps her five foot distance. maybe next year she'll give him a hug.
Carter, baseball-dreamin' He is so in his element. Both the kids sit and watch the entire game cheering all the while. Though Julia's watching includes sufficient snacking. We went all out for the last game. They shared dippin dots, an icee, popcorn, peanuts, and a pretzel. That girl loves to eat!
It was a great night and the Hoppers played hard. They had several home runs and strong rallys. They were down by one when we left in the bottom of the eighth (it was 10:30), but big Mike Stanton came out with a home run in the bottom of the 9th and the Hoppers won! We followed it on the web once we got home. What a great family night!
See ya next year Hoppers! Thanks for the memories!
Friday, August 29, 2008
It must be a sign...
As many of you know I'm back in school this semester at good old GTCC. I can't complain- it's close, affordable, and counts for credit. In order to renew my VA teaching license I have to take two 3-hr courses every 5 years. I cannot believe 5 years has come and gone already. I was pregnant with Carter last time-I know he's turning 5 soon- my husband reminded me last night that that is in 4 months!! Are you crazy- can't be true! Though the nice part about homeschooling is you get to avoid the dreaded first day drop off at kindergarten. It makes the process seem much more gradual and I don't feel like my days with him are numbered :)
Anyway, my experiences at GTCC are always interesting. They are a great little school and growing every year. It has filled many niches in the community with job training, transfer credits, career switches, early college, and continuing ed. But it is still community college and the majority of students are half my age and not always very motivated. I must say I enjoy the relaxed learning environment without the intensity and competition I felt in HS and at W&M. I don't need added stress in my life- especially the kind you have to pay for. This year I am taking Developmental Psych and The New Testament. I have to say these are two courses I am interested in regardless of the "requirement". I am limited in what I can take because it can't be any courses I've had, my major, minor, concentration, or education. I'm left with astronomy, religion, and psychology. Fortunately that worked out again this time.
I always dread the initial registration. It requires getting up early and spending 4 hours in line to be "walked through" the process by an academic counselor. They don't let you register online unless you're regularly enrolled. Then they have to override the system because I don't need the prereqs the high school grads need. This year I got to do it twice because I had to come back for day 2 when a space opened in the online course I wanted. Then I get to do the whole student thing waiting in line to pay at financial aid, getting a picture id, paying for a parking pass, and the beloved bookstore. Now don't get me wrong, I love books and am a sucker for new school supplies, even at my age. But dropping $600 in one day for 2 classes and books hurts a little. I got my books and headed to the register. My Mastercard would not go through. The cashier kept saying, it's not being declined- just referred- you'll have to call when you get home, sorry. I started to worry about identity theft, unauthorized purchases, etc. Don't worry it was none of the above. We called when I got home.......................
........................."uncharacteristic transaction. According to your profile and spending habits, you're too old to be buying books in a community college bookstore." My sentiments exactly! Now tell that to the state of VA and they should let teachers keep their licenses or at least not make us pay out of pocket for the "privilege of being allowed to teach". (Tell that to anyone in the business world and they laugh at you. "You mean teachers don't have expense reports?" Sorry, I'll stop now.) It's a sign.
I digress. So, we are back in school mode for ALL of us. I was fortunate to get my religion class online which works well with my late night habits and kids' schedules. The other is on Tuesday nights. My husband and friends have filled in fabulously to make this possible (and I won't have to miss any of the kids sports or activities). It hasn't been too bad. So far we've watched 2 videos and gotten out early both times- I think I can handle that :) And I will suffer through all the professor's "lectures" about having goals in life, time management, not growing up to work at McDonalds, and waiting until you're married to have kids. I must say though, I'm not the oldest student in the class this time which is nice. Well, I have to go study for a quiz.......
Anyway, my experiences at GTCC are always interesting. They are a great little school and growing every year. It has filled many niches in the community with job training, transfer credits, career switches, early college, and continuing ed. But it is still community college and the majority of students are half my age and not always very motivated. I must say I enjoy the relaxed learning environment without the intensity and competition I felt in HS and at W&M. I don't need added stress in my life- especially the kind you have to pay for. This year I am taking Developmental Psych and The New Testament. I have to say these are two courses I am interested in regardless of the "requirement". I am limited in what I can take because it can't be any courses I've had, my major, minor, concentration, or education. I'm left with astronomy, religion, and psychology. Fortunately that worked out again this time.
I always dread the initial registration. It requires getting up early and spending 4 hours in line to be "walked through" the process by an academic counselor. They don't let you register online unless you're regularly enrolled. Then they have to override the system because I don't need the prereqs the high school grads need. This year I got to do it twice because I had to come back for day 2 when a space opened in the online course I wanted. Then I get to do the whole student thing waiting in line to pay at financial aid, getting a picture id, paying for a parking pass, and the beloved bookstore. Now don't get me wrong, I love books and am a sucker for new school supplies, even at my age. But dropping $600 in one day for 2 classes and books hurts a little. I got my books and headed to the register. My Mastercard would not go through. The cashier kept saying, it's not being declined- just referred- you'll have to call when you get home, sorry. I started to worry about identity theft, unauthorized purchases, etc. Don't worry it was none of the above. We called when I got home.......................
........................."uncharacteristic transaction. According to your profile and spending habits, you're too old to be buying books in a community college bookstore." My sentiments exactly! Now tell that to the state of VA and they should let teachers keep their licenses or at least not make us pay out of pocket for the "privilege of being allowed to teach". (Tell that to anyone in the business world and they laugh at you. "You mean teachers don't have expense reports?" Sorry, I'll stop now.) It's a sign.
I digress. So, we are back in school mode for ALL of us. I was fortunate to get my religion class online which works well with my late night habits and kids' schedules. The other is on Tuesday nights. My husband and friends have filled in fabulously to make this possible (and I won't have to miss any of the kids sports or activities). It hasn't been too bad. So far we've watched 2 videos and gotten out early both times- I think I can handle that :) And I will suffer through all the professor's "lectures" about having goals in life, time management, not growing up to work at McDonalds, and waiting until you're married to have kids. I must say though, I'm not the oldest student in the class this time which is nice. Well, I have to go study for a quiz.......
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Savoring Summer
Happy Birthday Daddy!! We 've had a great day celebrating daddy's birthday. It started with a yummy breakfast and then the kids spent the day getting things ready. They both made him cards and Carter actually wrote the card himself this year- so sweet. He wrapped Daddy's presents all by himself and then hid them all to make a treasure hunt for him. It's so exciting to see him get into it himself this year. He couldn't wait for Daddy to get home and must have opened the door 12 times to see if he was here yet :) We enjoyed a great date night, while Carter was at Awana, at wonderful steak house. Afterward we all devoured our Carvel ice cream cake!
It's been a great week of family time for us as we savor the last days of summer. I truly cannot believe it's almost September. It seems like we just started July! We went to WetNWild last week with some friends. I had mentioned earlier how closely Carter watched the Olympics. As soon as we got there, he put on his goggles and started jumping in backwards. Then he'd run out and stand on the side- pretending to shower!- just like the Olympic divers. He soon had Lily in on the act. It was hysterical to watch....
He turned out to be quite a gutsy driver. I was impressed with his spins and twists........
Saturday night we got a chance to go back with Daddy- just the 4 of us. We all had a blast. The weather was cool, the water was warm, and we had time to kick back and just have fun together...
And any good Saturday night in our house includes pizza. Julia was looking like quite the starlet...
Sunday, we all went to church in the morning. the kids moved up to their new classes. i cannot believe we have 2 kids in the preschool wing AND this is Carter's last year! When did they grow up?! They both love their new classes and teachers and had a great morning. We're excited about the new marriage series Pastor Don started today. It looks to be a real blessing.
Sunday afternoon we headed to a local park for a small Christian music festival. It was a perfect family event. The kids were excited to be at a new park....
Julia dove right in to the free snocones......
Carter really got into the free building set (thanks Lowes!)
Remember these from our childhood playgrounds! Carter and Julia both loved it. I must say, it's not as much fun to spin around as an adult :)
It's been a great week of family time for us as we savor the last days of summer. I truly cannot believe it's almost September. It seems like we just started July! We went to WetNWild last week with some friends. I had mentioned earlier how closely Carter watched the Olympics. As soon as we got there, he put on his goggles and started jumping in backwards. Then he'd run out and stand on the side- pretending to shower!- just like the Olympic divers. He soon had Lily in on the act. It was hysterical to watch....
He turned out to be quite a gutsy driver. I was impressed with his spins and twists........
Saturday night we got a chance to go back with Daddy- just the 4 of us. We all had a blast. The weather was cool, the water was warm, and we had time to kick back and just have fun together...
And any good Saturday night in our house includes pizza. Julia was looking like quite the starlet...
Sunday, we all went to church in the morning. the kids moved up to their new classes. i cannot believe we have 2 kids in the preschool wing AND this is Carter's last year! When did they grow up?! They both love their new classes and teachers and had a great morning. We're excited about the new marriage series Pastor Don started today. It looks to be a real blessing.
Sunday afternoon we headed to a local park for a small Christian music festival. It was a perfect family event. The kids were excited to be at a new park....
Julia dove right in to the free snocones......
Carter really got into the free building set (thanks Lowes!)
Remember these from our childhood playgrounds! Carter and Julia both loved it. I must say, it's not as much fun to spin around as an adult :)
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