Journey Notes

I'm moving

2007-04-29T17:58:00.000-04:00

My new blog can be found at www.hopecaptive.wordpress.com

Mother's Day

2007-04-29T14:21:00.000-04:00

I got home from church today to discover that my family had planned a "Surprise Mother's Day" for me. There were balloons on the table, and a treasure hunt for many sweetly drawn cards. And I got to pick what we watched on tv this afternoon.

Marc found out about the holiday after he got out of this shower (I had already left for church) and was thrilled. He had bought me an anniversary gift this past week (our anniversary is May 27) and didn't think he could wait that long, so was thinking maybe he would give it to me on Mother's Day. So he was excited to find out that TODAY was mothers day. He bought me a pair of emerald earrings, because that is the birthstone for May, and May is when our family was born.

Rain Drip Art

2007-04-17T18:47:00.000-04:00

When I looked ahead and saw a week of rainy weather last week, I put my creative brain and came up with some interesting alternatives for the kids. One day, the girls and I made 'rain-drip' art. First we colored with markers (Crayola washable) on fingerpainting paper. Then we bundled all up, and went out in the rain with our paper. We held the paper under places that were dripping, and wiggled the paper around to make water paths through our many colors. Then we dashed inside and put them on the counter to dry.

It was a fun project. Nothing to put in a frame, but maybe something to use as stationary? And most importantly, the rain didn't beat us today.

Today

2007-04-23T16:44:00.000-04:00

First Hike of 2007

We went for the first hike of the year. We packed up lunch and walked to the Colby Arboretum, found a quiet, non-snow/ice covered group of rocks and ate, played, and talked. I love the woods. I love sharing the woods with my kids.

At the playground last week

2007-04-23T16:39:00.000-04:00

Science

2007-04-23T16:38:00.000-04:00

We are enjoying the science experiments that Caleb has been waiting for all year...electricity. We have been making simple circuits for the past three weeks. Here is a picture of him with the lighthouse he made that has light that actually flashes. We made it with wire, batteries, a light bulb, a couple paper towel tubes, straws, and aluminum foil. What a blast!

A Cardinals Opinion...

2007-04-13T10:02:00.000-04:00

I was just sitting at my desk and heard a persistent squeak, sqeak, squeak outside my window. I peaked around the curtain and saw a female cardinal in the bush. I'm pretty sure the interpretation of her carrying on could be "#*%$#!! - MORE SNOW?!"

Auricularis Superior and the Auricularis Posterior

2007-04-12T11:26:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure why, but about 1-2 times a month, the conversation at our dinner table is about wiggling ears. No kidding! Marc can do it. I can do it. Our kids cannot... yet. I guess it must be a bit like whistling and crossing your eyes and doing silly tricks with your tongue.

I am so happy to have found a GREAT article on ear wiggling. Check it out here: http://www.wikihow.com/Wiggle-Your-Ears.

Happy Wiggling!

Sofia Pinch

2007-04-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

See Marc's blog for further explanation.

HOORAY!

2007-04-01T19:11:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to introduce:
The First Crocus of 2007,
named HopeDrop

First BBQ

2007-04-01T19:12:00.000-04:00

We had our first grilled hamburgers of the year tonight. Know that scene in "What About Bob"?
Where Bob is at dinner? That's how good it was.

Babies

2007-04-01T19:10:00.000-04:00

On our back porch
did I tread
surveying the snow
melting ice
old leaves.
My eye found
a fountain
of hope
for my heart.

On being an at home mother....

2007-03-29T20:21:00.000-04:00

"To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets,
labors, and holidays; to be Whitely within a certain area, providing toys,
boots, cakes, and books; to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals,
manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the
mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career
to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to
tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same
thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone? No, a woman's function
is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute."
(What's Wrong With the World, G.K. Chesterton)

School Vacation

2007-03-29T16:38:00.000-04:00

Aaaaah. School vacation. We just finished a long six week run of school. One of the million advantages of homeschooling is that we can take vacation when we need it. And boy, we need it. We're all a bit tired and a bit weary, and we worked extra hard today to finish up even tomorrow's work.

What I did instead...

2007-03-25T17:10:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday my friend Sarah and I went out for lunch. As we parted ways, she asked what my afternoon held. I told her about a list of internet errands that I needed to run and how I was looking forward to getting them done. However, when I got home the combination of sun and spring euphoria hit, and this is what I did instead.

my snowbear sitting on a snowstump

my peanut hugging my snowbear

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound....

2007-03-19T15:33:00.000-04:00

She's Super-MOM!

Sometimes you just have to brag. And what better place than a blog.

I've been working on a video-editing project - trying to get all our mini-DV footage into a format to go onto DVD. I'm enjoying the process and reacquanting myself with the editing software that I have, but the process takes up oodles of space on my hard-drive. I've been near panic to see that I only have 12GB left.

So this afternoon instead of tackling a to-do list, I took apart a computer that the kids use that had two hard drives. Pulled one out. Opened up my computer. Installed new hard drive. Unhooked a zipdrive that I have never used, and an unnecessary cd-rom driver. Voila. I have 55 additional GB, and the computer is running faster (and I think happier).

*sigh* I should get paid for this stuff.

New Car

2007-03-17T14:04:00.000-04:00

Here is the new car. It is a 2004 Prius. I'll link this to Marc's blog when he writes the full story there. (No pressure, hon.)

Philadelphia Chickens

2007-03-17T10:49:00.000-04:00

We love Sandra Boynton. We have been buying her delightful books since Caleb was a baby. Yesterday, Marc came home with Philadelphia Chickens, a book and music cd by SB. We listened to it over breakfast this morning. What an absolute hoot! Great music, and lyrics that match all the delightfulness of Boynton's books. Songs include "Cows", "I Like to Fuss", and "Faraway Cookies" along with 17 others.

Looking on Amazon this morning, I found Rhinoceros Tap: 15 Seriously Silly Songs, Dog Train: A Wild Ride on the Rock-and-Roll Side, and Grunt: Pigorian Chant from Snouto Domoinko de Silo also by Sandra Boynton.

Hooray! I think I'll go Dance Factory with some Chickens!

Cool Mom

2007-03-17T10:30:00.000-04:00

I rarely get to be the cool parent. I'm with the kids too often, and my spontaneity and fun isn't always in their language. Yesterday I got to be the cool parent. We were stocking up at Sams Club, and I spontaneously bought Dance Factory for myself. I had some birthday money left over, had thought about this purchase a couple months ago, and there it was at Sams, staring at me from the shelf, whispering "you know you want to". So I did. I'll blame it on the moon phase combined with the pressure system of this storm.

It came with two dance mats that connect to our PS2. What I especially love is that somehow you can put your own music cd's in the PS2, and it formats a dance for you. So you can dance to your own music.

I'm especially excited because I began back on Weight Watchers this week and am participating with Move and Improve. Can you say 'fun activity options"?

All of us are having loads of active fun!

Sofia Cuteness

2007-03-15T16:48:00.000-04:00

I was sitting at my desk, when I heard a little voice say "night-night, mommy." When I looked around the corner, this is what I saw.

Book Recommendation

2007-03-15T16:38:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to post this for a couple weeks. I'm currently reading The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships by Harriet Lerner. I love it and think that every woman should read it.

I preached today....

2007-03-11T22:35:00.000-04:00

After a very long break from preaching, I preached today. To hear me, go here:
http://www.vcwaterville.org/sermons.htm. I felt pretty good about it. My homework is to listen to myself this week. I'll post how I feel after I listen it.

2 Year Old Pictures

2007-03-09T13:49:00.000-05:00

March Walmart Picts

We went to get cheap photos at Walmart this morning. They came out pretty well. The first one is the one we went for, the rest are just six extras, so we didn't go for perfection (as you will see). Click on the photo above to see the rest.

could it mean something?

2007-03-08T16:24:00.000-05:00

I got this card from a friend yesterday.

And this was the proverb I found on a tea box as I cleaned out my tea cupboard today.

Think I should pay attention?

Sofia's Little People Playhouse (2007)

2007-03-08T11:53:00.000-05:00