Elizabeth lost another tooth, this time on the bottom. She was eating nuts at school and the tooth went down with the nuts, so we have to leave the Tooth Fairy yet another "I swallowed my tooth note." Good thing, the tooth fairy is flexible!
Elizabeth also informed me that today they had trapel (chapel). She then asked me, "Did you know that Latin is dead?"
Matthew is tired of saying "thou shalt". (They are obviously learning the 10 commandments). We are working on his handwriting because it is terrible. He came home today and said, "I saw someone else's paper and they did a better job than me, so I'm going to work hard and do a way better job this time." It's all about competition with him.
Stephen is thriving at school and asking me questions that I just don't know the answer to. Maybe I need to go sit in a 3rd grade classical classroom. He asked me again about the Minoans and the Mycenaeans and the Greeks and I just don't know. Who's the history whiz out there that we can call when we need answers?
It's also exciting when I pick up Elizabeth to hear them quoting Psalm 23. This was our focus of Camp Life (Zambia). We sing "The Lord is my Shepherd, He gives me everything I need" on the drive home. I hope that these biblical truths are finding deep roots in their hearts. God promises that His Word will not return void!
That's the scoop on school!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Seven Things
I got tagged by Ashley.
Here's some random information you may or may not need to know.
7 things I want to do before I die
1) Go back to Zambia and stay for a month
2) Learn Greek (maybe go to seminary)
3) Watch my children fulfill God's call on their lives
4) Travel the world with Derek
5) Finish scrapbooking my kids' baby books (HA!)
6) Write more encouraging notes to friends and family
7) Leave a great legacy (not famous, just great)
7 things I can do
1) Say my abcs backwards
2) Sing row, row, row your boat backwards (do you see a pattern?)
3) Play the piano
4) Listen to James MacDonald sermons and learn something new every single time
5) Handle any kind of roller coaster ride
6) Enjoy ironing if I have something good to watch on TV
7) Always see a different way (sometimes a better way) that things could be done
7 things I cannot do
1) Go a day without thinking about Africa
2) Think about how old my children already are without getting sad
3) Anything athletic
4) Stay patient with my children for 7 days straight
5) Catch up on my scrapbooking
6) Change a tire
7) Ride the Disney teacups more than twice in a row
7 things that attract me to my man
1) his love for God
2) his patience with the kids
3) his passion for missions
4) his sarcastic sense of humor
5) his patience with me
6) his work ethic
7) his even-tempered personality
7 things I say most often
1) Hurry up
2) It's time to go
3) We're waiting on you
4) How many times...
5) Really?
6) Just a minute
7) Life is not fair
7 celebrity crushes (in no particular order)
???? No idea...so sorry.
Opt out
7 People to Tag
Lorinda
Tabitha
Heather W.
Leighann
Dori
Kyla
Melissa
Terri S.
Becky
and anyone else reading this who hasn't already been tagged!
Here's some random information you may or may not need to know.
7 things I want to do before I die
1) Go back to Zambia and stay for a month
2) Learn Greek (maybe go to seminary)
3) Watch my children fulfill God's call on their lives
4) Travel the world with Derek
5) Finish scrapbooking my kids' baby books (HA!)
6) Write more encouraging notes to friends and family
7) Leave a great legacy (not famous, just great)
7 things I can do
1) Say my abcs backwards
2) Sing row, row, row your boat backwards (do you see a pattern?)
3) Play the piano
4) Listen to James MacDonald sermons and learn something new every single time
5) Handle any kind of roller coaster ride
6) Enjoy ironing if I have something good to watch on TV
7) Always see a different way (sometimes a better way) that things could be done
7 things I cannot do
1) Go a day without thinking about Africa
2) Think about how old my children already are without getting sad
3) Anything athletic
4) Stay patient with my children for 7 days straight
5) Catch up on my scrapbooking
6) Change a tire
7) Ride the Disney teacups more than twice in a row
7 things that attract me to my man
1) his love for God
2) his patience with the kids
3) his passion for missions
4) his sarcastic sense of humor
5) his patience with me
6) his work ethic
7) his even-tempered personality
7 things I say most often
1) Hurry up
2) It's time to go
3) We're waiting on you
4) How many times...
5) Really?
6) Just a minute
7) Life is not fair
7 celebrity crushes (in no particular order)
???? No idea...so sorry.
Opt out
7 People to Tag
Lorinda
Tabitha
Heather W.
Leighann
Dori
Kyla
Melissa
Terri S.
Becky
and anyone else reading this who hasn't already been tagged!
Favorite Foto Friday
We love amusement parks!!
I'm craving a roller coaster ride, but it'll have to wait until next year!
I'm craving a roller coaster ride, but it'll have to wait until next year!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Are You Smarter????
On the 40 minute commute to school, which by the way should only take 20 minutes, but oh the joys of a growing city with lots of schools. Anyway, Stephen starts talking about the Minoans and the Mycenaeans (yes I had to look up the spellings) and I'm thinking, I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about. Where did he read this, hear this, learn this, etc.? Well he learned it at school this week. I don't know if I ever learned about the Minoans and the Mycenaeans and if I did, obviously it's lost somewhere in my brain because the story he told sounded like a first to me. So I'm thinking, "Hmmm...my third grader is smarter than me".
Then Matthew's teacher sends home a note saying, ask your child about creation, about worker bees, about longitute and latitude. So Matthew goes on to give us a thorough explanation of all of the discussion assignments.
According to Matthew,
"Did you know that the worker bees are all womans?"
I'm thinking to myself, "Well now, that doesn't seem very fair"
He goes on to give us many details on honey bees that quite honestly, I just don't know. What did I learn in school?
Once again I'm thinking, "This kid is going to be smarter than me soon."
Then he says, "The boy bees just help the queen have babies."
Well isn't that just lovely. That surely doesn't seem fair!
Tell me it isn't so!
Then Matthew's teacher sends home a note saying, ask your child about creation, about worker bees, about longitute and latitude. So Matthew goes on to give us a thorough explanation of all of the discussion assignments.
According to Matthew,
"Did you know that the worker bees are all womans?"
I'm thinking to myself, "Well now, that doesn't seem very fair"
He goes on to give us many details on honey bees that quite honestly, I just don't know. What did I learn in school?
Once again I'm thinking, "This kid is going to be smarter than me soon."
Then he says, "The boy bees just help the queen have babies."
Well isn't that just lovely. That surely doesn't seem fair!
Tell me it isn't so!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Picture Perfect
Just in case you think that my kids always smile for the camera and always have great days, I wanted to share this. This gives you some insight into our "real lives".
Today is chapel day (tie day). Stephen thinks he looks like a business man, Matthew cannot believe that they're asking him to wear a tie and Elizabeth's shirt is bothering her to be specific "it's itching me". So here's how mommy sent them out the door this morning.
Stephen's old enough to cooperate, Elizabeth has the smile but not the concept to look at me since I'm the one holding the camera and Matthew, well Matthew is just upset about his tie.
Today is chapel day (tie day). Stephen thinks he looks like a business man, Matthew cannot believe that they're asking him to wear a tie and Elizabeth's shirt is bothering her to be specific "it's itching me". So here's how mommy sent them out the door this morning.
Stephen's old enough to cooperate, Elizabeth has the smile but not the concept to look at me since I'm the one holding the camera and Matthew, well Matthew is just upset about his tie.
Monday, August 18, 2008
A Day of Firsts
Today was the first day of school for Stephen, Matthew and Elizabeth. After day 1, third grade, first grade and kindergarten seem to be going well.
My trip to the grocery store was very lonely. I almost stopped at Publix and asked for a cookie in honor of Elizabeth. We go so often, they know she prefers sugar over chocolate chip. And then our house was incredibly quiet. There have been very few days in our house since 2000 where we haven't had a baby, a toddler, or a preschooler making a bunch of noise. Something about the last one heading off to kindergarten does make you kind of sentimental, even if you're not a sentimental kind of girl.
Elizabeth on the other hand transitioned well. She walked right into her class, sat down and said good-bye. She was ready for her new adventure. She made lots of friends which is no surprise since she is a social butterfly. Unfortunately she doesn't remember any of their names.
Matthew told his teacher that they never had to raise their hands at his other school. (He's very convincing, even though it's not the truth! Scary!) He also informed us that his teacher is old. I said "You didn't say that to her, did you?" If you know Matthew you know he says whatever he thinks. Thankfully, he did practice some restraint and didn't say that to her. Just so you know, she is older. She started teaching in 1969 before I was even born, but she seems as sweet as can be. Surely she can handle Matthew!
Stephen seemed to have a good day. My only way of knowing this though is his one word answers to my questions and the fact that he didn't complain about school. If there's anything to complain about, he'll complain. So since we didn't have complaints this afternoon, I assume that means we had a good day.
The only other exciting news to report about the day is that Matthew complained because I put a note in his lunch. I thought I was doing a good mama thing this morning by writing my kids notes. Isn't that what we're supposed to do to "make their day"? Well it appears that it's not cool in 1st grade. He said the kids made fun of him because he got a love note. I promised not to write anymore unless he asks me to. He insisted and so did Stephen that no one else got a note in their lunch. That is hard for me to believe. I thought this was good mama etiquette. So then I ask Matthew tonight, "What do you want in your lunch tomorrow?" and he says "The same thing as today, WITHOUT the love note." It broke my heart!
Here is a picture of them this morning. Elizabeth just lost her other front tooth last night, so now she has a beautiful 6 year old, all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, SMILE!
My trip to the grocery store was very lonely. I almost stopped at Publix and asked for a cookie in honor of Elizabeth. We go so often, they know she prefers sugar over chocolate chip. And then our house was incredibly quiet. There have been very few days in our house since 2000 where we haven't had a baby, a toddler, or a preschooler making a bunch of noise. Something about the last one heading off to kindergarten does make you kind of sentimental, even if you're not a sentimental kind of girl.
Elizabeth on the other hand transitioned well. She walked right into her class, sat down and said good-bye. She was ready for her new adventure. She made lots of friends which is no surprise since she is a social butterfly. Unfortunately she doesn't remember any of their names.
Matthew told his teacher that they never had to raise their hands at his other school. (He's very convincing, even though it's not the truth! Scary!) He also informed us that his teacher is old. I said "You didn't say that to her, did you?" If you know Matthew you know he says whatever he thinks. Thankfully, he did practice some restraint and didn't say that to her. Just so you know, she is older. She started teaching in 1969 before I was even born, but she seems as sweet as can be. Surely she can handle Matthew!
Stephen seemed to have a good day. My only way of knowing this though is his one word answers to my questions and the fact that he didn't complain about school. If there's anything to complain about, he'll complain. So since we didn't have complaints this afternoon, I assume that means we had a good day.
The only other exciting news to report about the day is that Matthew complained because I put a note in his lunch. I thought I was doing a good mama thing this morning by writing my kids notes. Isn't that what we're supposed to do to "make their day"? Well it appears that it's not cool in 1st grade. He said the kids made fun of him because he got a love note. I promised not to write anymore unless he asks me to. He insisted and so did Stephen that no one else got a note in their lunch. That is hard for me to believe. I thought this was good mama etiquette. So then I ask Matthew tonight, "What do you want in your lunch tomorrow?" and he says "The same thing as today, WITHOUT the love note." It broke my heart!
Here is a picture of them this morning. Elizabeth just lost her other front tooth last night, so now she has a beautiful 6 year old, all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, SMILE!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Where There Are No Birthdays
This post has been stirring in my head for days. My fearless mission team leader and sweet friend, Kathleen gave me this title last week and I knew I needed to write a post. So I want to give her credit for the idea. Thanks Kathleen!
Where are there no birthdays? Where is that you might ask? It's in Zambia. They do have birthdays, just like every other country, but they don't celebrate them. Why? Because the majority of children don't even know their birthday. If they can tell you a date it's only the month and day. They don't know the year and so you have to do the math.
Many of them just say "I don't know" when you ask "do you know your birthday?". That alone will break your heart. So we give them a birthday, Jan 1. and then the year depending on their age.
Martha told me her birthdate is Jan. 1, 1996, so that means that she really doesn't know when her birthday is and she's been assigned this birthday by a previous counselor. She has 5 siblings and lives with her mom. Her father is mentally ill and doesn't live with them. So somehow, Martha's birthday has been lost in the midst of that.
I had four other girls tell me their birthdays were Jan. 1st. One girl said, my birthday is July 8. I said "That's today. Happy Birthday!" She had no idea that July 8th was a day for celebrating her. Nobody took the time to tell her, "Happy Birthday". Maybe nobody at home cared.
Birthdays in the U.S. are a huge deal. I'm sure we spend millions of dollars celebrating birthdays. Around here, many families spend hundreds of dollars to throw a fun party at the jumpy place, at the Y pool, at laser mania, at the skate rink, etc. The list goes on and on of options for elaborate birthday parties. Don't misunderstand, I'm all for celebrating birthdays. I'm just amazed as I examine the contrast between Zambian birthdays that are pretty much non-existent and American birthdays which are sometimes over the top!
What breaks my heart is that "where there are no birthdays" is just another example of life in Zambia. The children are not valued (for the most part) and many are not celebrating life with these children. The latest statistics are that one out of every five people in Zambia has AIDS. With those statistics, each day of life should be cause for celebration.
The only hope for these children and for the people of Zambia is that God is offering them new life. He wants to give them a very special birthday. A birthday of when they opened their hearts to Him. He has come that they might have life...and have it more abundantly!
John 10:10 (The Message)
6-10Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. "I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
Where are there no birthdays? Where is that you might ask? It's in Zambia. They do have birthdays, just like every other country, but they don't celebrate them. Why? Because the majority of children don't even know their birthday. If they can tell you a date it's only the month and day. They don't know the year and so you have to do the math.
Many of them just say "I don't know" when you ask "do you know your birthday?". That alone will break your heart. So we give them a birthday, Jan 1. and then the year depending on their age.
Martha told me her birthdate is Jan. 1, 1996, so that means that she really doesn't know when her birthday is and she's been assigned this birthday by a previous counselor. She has 5 siblings and lives with her mom. Her father is mentally ill and doesn't live with them. So somehow, Martha's birthday has been lost in the midst of that.
I had four other girls tell me their birthdays were Jan. 1st. One girl said, my birthday is July 8. I said "That's today. Happy Birthday!" She had no idea that July 8th was a day for celebrating her. Nobody took the time to tell her, "Happy Birthday". Maybe nobody at home cared.
Birthdays in the U.S. are a huge deal. I'm sure we spend millions of dollars celebrating birthdays. Around here, many families spend hundreds of dollars to throw a fun party at the jumpy place, at the Y pool, at laser mania, at the skate rink, etc. The list goes on and on of options for elaborate birthday parties. Don't misunderstand, I'm all for celebrating birthdays. I'm just amazed as I examine the contrast between Zambian birthdays that are pretty much non-existent and American birthdays which are sometimes over the top!
What breaks my heart is that "where there are no birthdays" is just another example of life in Zambia. The children are not valued (for the most part) and many are not celebrating life with these children. The latest statistics are that one out of every five people in Zambia has AIDS. With those statistics, each day of life should be cause for celebration.
The only hope for these children and for the people of Zambia is that God is offering them new life. He wants to give them a very special birthday. A birthday of when they opened their hearts to Him. He has come that they might have life...and have it more abundantly!
John 10:10 (The Message)
6-10Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. "I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
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