Why I Love Summer

 No school schedule, so later bedtime for the kiddos and later wake up time.
They can go swimming often...even in the rain.

They don't need baths as often, after being challenged many summers ago to try and explain the need for baths after spending hours soaking in chlorinated water....I gave up. The girls do need their hair care but

we have started washing their hair on the back porch...

It's usually not so hot back there and I don't have to kneel on the floor in the bathroom or avoid the spray of the shower.

A couple of pitchers of water and we're done.

Summer Skool

I'm thinkin' he's wishin' he wouldn't a said it....BUT

The other day there was an incident involving a very strong emotion. We have strong emotions daily at this house, after all, we have three girls. But, strong emotions acted upon when you are a teen, just look a little different.

Anyway during the debriefing afterward, someone told me that he is bored and wishes school would last all year long.
And why can't I give him schoolwork because he isn't good at teaching himself.
I asked if he really means what he is saying and I was assured that he indeed does mean what he is saying.

SO...
on Monday  I assigned him an essay...two pages long....on the strong emotion called "anger"
It is due July 8 and shall be in proper English, with commas and periods and capital letters. He shall tell me what the Bible has to say about anger, when it can be good and when it is wrong. Give examples of both types from the Bible and from real life...also what type of consequences did the people bear from acting upon their anger.

So far I found out that we never told him what actually happened to Cain after he killed Abel...or he wasn't listening when they studied it in school...and that he thought anger is always a sin.

Turns out that I always thought Cain's mark was on his forehead, when actually the Bible doesn't say where or how God marked him.

Oh and he also didn't think I would give him THAT kind of assignment "rough draft?!"  "re-write?!"  "You can't grade me though"
I have an ace up my sleeve...Hope wants an assignment too and there is a website that will grade papers for me.

Happy Birthday

No, Shekinah it isn't your birthday again, even if you really think it should be!

                               It's Fay-Fay's (not sure who started that nickname)   She wanted a whoopie pie cake.

                         and colored pens, and a bulletin board and white board and tablets

                                           Shekinah did very well, just watching....wistfully

      on to other things....when you eat noodles off the table...it's just too high....so if -

    you fill your skirt with noodles it works MUCH better....that is until mama checks up on you.

Things You Find on Your Camera Cards

              Little girls splashing in puddles...those knots are not a fashion statement...her dress was too long

    Someone send us 2 boxes of outgrown clothes...so the girls promptly decided to play Goodwill AND library...needless to say, the room was a grand mess!

                        The screens need to be washed before putting them on the windows

                  Fifteen y.o. boys are perfect for the job of washing the windows too.

           We have been keeping the library happy this summer...95 books at a time...I think the library gets more state funds...the more books that are circulated. We are doing our part!

              Shekinah needs some lessons of the fine art of softball....after she finds the right size mitt.

                                Joseph decided to take pictures when Hope was fixing my hair

                                            Well somehow little sister was involved as well

                             Yes I even trust her with the straight pins...  Hope that is...

                          Someone finally got his new bike...he needed to wait a week after the MP3 player episode.

                                                     Shekinah practicing her escape routine

                                      Lego/Fisher Price/ Duplo  land is back in town

                      Very much computer time is happening this summer...then this young man decided to rearrange the living room last Friday...I told him it's OK, but he has to remove all the dirt before he moves furniture....didn't do too bad a job.  Today I had him painting...that's a new skill

We also cut enough of patches to make 2 comforters for CAM  gotta post pictures of Hope's efforts

Happy Father's Day

First to my dad,

He taught us by example, how to be honest

how to love Jesus.

He taught promptness.

He taught service to others...he was a volunteer fire chief for ...a long time

He taught me to change a tire.

He taught me to bait a hook.

He tried to teach me, by example, how to keep my mouth shut...

unfortunately I'm still working on that one.

Thanks dad.

                             We took some pictures after church....it's not easy getting everyone to
                                                  look the same direction at the same time.

                                      Especially when a certain 7 year old was determined NOT to smile.

                            Thanks to my husband who is guiding and training this crew in the right direction
                                            There is no way I'd be able to do this without him.

Happy Birthday!

This is what we do on very rainy days

Happy Birthday! sorry we missed the first two. She was so pleased with the cards she got earlier. As you can see, the panda cupcakes sorta morphed into red-eyed pandas...those eyes were hard to do.

 

Then daddy had to pull her ears...."and one to grow big"

a sand bucket loaded with home made play dough not sure if it was worth the savings...

       then this little water table....this seems to be the most fun so far....I'd like to put sand in sometime

You can see she understands possession...telling her sister where to get off!

One Year Ago

I am putting my blog posts from 2012 into a bound book...mostly for a diary and photo album. I just don't scrapbook very well. I did 2011 the expensive way....bought the .pdf and then had it published through lulu.com I really like the quality of the book, but it will have to be a birthday gift and not a frequently purchased item.  I figured I would collect my posts from 2012 and delete some and scrunch some and hopefully come up with a less expensive alternative.....

Any way  I realized while working with these old posts why I am not anxious to start another adoption! That paperwork!
One year ago this month, we finally had our dossier in Ch*na and were also waiting on an update on QuanQuan Shekinah.

She turns 3 tomorrow!  tonite she got a birthday card from someone at church, she was so impressed by it. The lady had put a pop-up butterfly sticker on the front and two quarters inside PLUS 2 little credit card sized cards inside.
Joseph recognized this lady's signature style and found his card from when he was recovering from surgery and showed Shekinah HIS butterflies...she looked at his card and said
"But you don't have money!"

It takes so little to make her happy..just wish they would stay that way!

Reality

Just in case you think we have it all down pat and figured out.

Today the case of the missing MP3 player was solved.

It had been erased....accidentally.

Hidden.....

Thankfully a certain conscience was bothered so that 2 weeks later the truth was finally known.

Fun times

Growing Up

So when your daughter takes the initiative and cleans up the silverware drawer and then (you know how it goes) ends up moving things around and cleaning a total of three drawers and chastising me about old equipment that I never use....does this mean she's growing up?


Then if a son comes down after a long talk with big brother...and apologizes for rudeness and attitude...does that mean HE's growing up?

And what about the elder son that counseled/scolded the younger son....does that mean HE's growing up too?


At least I have Shekinah to keep me young (sigh)

A Girl and "Her" Dog

After running and screaming from Zoe last night, this is the sight this
morning

Technology and Me

The other day Lori over at   Joy Unspeakable    mentioned that she got a new Kindle Fire for Mother's Day. Now I'm over 40 so I shouldn't get envious over other people's gadgets, but I must say ....

I try to think I'm content and I think, for the most part I'm a good example to the people in my house.

You see, I like gadgets too, I used computers when we talked about DOS prompts and floppy disks...came in 2 sizes back then. Screens came in 2 colors ...black and green  or black and brown...256 colors was amazing!
My first cell phone was larger than my purse!

but somehow I didn't keep up

This is what my cell phone looks like now....

That crack in the screen happened when my leg and phone.....hit a tailgate on the pick up truck. When I took it through security on my way to China, the TSA guy winced when he looked at it. Hey it works! I can even text on it...just not with two thumbs and I can't swipe my finger across the screen to answer the phone.

I also got a little green back when mini-vans started having sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle...and they had buttons to push and the door opened or closed!  Oh and they had clickers! (My teens told me not to use that word...makes me sound old)  but they are clickers!  to lock and unlock the doors.
I told my husband that I want  mini-van with 4 doors before we don't need it anymore. At that time Shekinah wasn't even on the radar....well mine anyway.

Well I got my mini-van with the 4 doors and the clicker...I had to pass on the button to open and close the sliding door though...ah well  two out of three.

Brings me back to those Kindles....smart phones....I think I would like a screen that I'm supposed to touch...not one of those that just gets fingerprints...and dust.
Well maybe before they come out with phones that you just look at...and they know what you mean...brain waves or something.

Actually, I will just borrow Zeke's Galaxy Player and swipe across that screen a few times, then go back to being a good example.

Summer Vacation II

Today we found that we have a microwave with a black top...sorry, no pictures from "before" too embarrassing. The working troops actually noticed when they came home this evening and had various ideas of how to keep the surface clear. Electric fences, tall spikes were mentioned

We mulched the flower beds....two girls with shovels can move a lot of dirt!



The girls learned to do a blanket stitch...at 8:45 this evening! They always get interested in things right at bedtime.

Yesterday I found homes for these shoes and boots...mostly in the trash can.

Today DH got the bike he chose for a 30 year service award...it had to be assembled. The booklet with directions bore no resemblance to the bike we were putting together! It's good he had so much help!

If Shekinah tells you that some food fell on her foot...she might really be holding it until you help her out. She dropped strawberry shortcake from her spoon at supper tonite.

Our Weekend

Every year for the past seven years we have attended a special gathering. It is a Fostering/Adoption Seminar organized by a group of  Mennonite churches. Families from all over attend and bring their children. The result is a noisy, crazy weekend where kids outnumber parents 4:1...maybe 5:1...the director at the retreat told us that we are the noisiest group they have...in a good way.
Thankfully a church youth group came and organized activities for the children during most of the meetings.

The best part is that meals are included ( I know, I'm shallow that way) We managed to secure rooms too, so  I didn't even have to worry about bedding...this was no camping trip.

This was however, the first time that Shekinah has been to a large gathering with lots of other children, since we are home. I hadn't thought about it until we were arriving. I wondered if she would notice that other children are commenting on her hands.
I decided she either just doesn't listen or she is used to children staring.
We had all sorts of comments while playing at the playground...mostly "what happened to her hands?"
Then there was the little girl who asked in Pennsylvania Dutch "Is she broken?"
The cutest comment was from a little girl that informed me "I was born with just 2 fingers"  as she showed me her hand with a full five fingers.
I said "Oh? well you seem to have five fingers now."
"Well, yes, that is how all babies are born."
If I wouldn't have known better I would have believed her!


For all those who asked me "Is she always so happy?" Here is a picture from today. She was so good all weekend, she just had to let it out today. I sat her on a chair after she walloped her sister with a pocketbook full of pens and crayons.

The other kids had re-entry problems too...drawers and doors were slammed, washing machine lids were dropped, sisters were accused of lying....

They are finally all in bed and tomorrow is another day.

She did have a "first" tonite, she went swimming and liked it.